Weekend Fun

This weekend was jammed pack with fun and excitement all around.

Saturday morning I got up around 5:30am (the dog had gotten sick on the bottom of our sheets) Cleaned that up. Packed sack lunches and snacks for the road, loaded up the car with travel items for the younger two. I cooked eggs,biscuits, and gravy for breakfast and we left the house around 7:30. We stopped @ Morgan/Maumelle Exit to drop off a car and then off to Conway for soccer games. The first game was good, we won. The 2nd game was even BETTER! Jacob not only scored his second goal of the season he also was awarded a P.K. which is taken from twelve yards (approximately eleven metres) out from goal and with only the goalkeeper of the defending team between the penalty taker (Jacob) and the goal. I buried my face in my hands I was so nervous for the little guy...and I peeked in between my fingers to watch the ball hit the crossbar and go in. It was great. Jacob jumped like a little leprechaun, he was so pumped. My dad jumped up and screamed, "that's my grandbabby" and we all just laughed, he was so excited. So that's three points for the year.

(trying to work on his Meridana??? while warming up for the game)

When the games were all done, we left Conway a little after 1pm. We got to Morgan/Maumelle exit and dropped Adam off at his car. The boys and I carried on to Lake Willastine where our sista to sister group was meeting for lunch with all our boys. They played on the playground and we sat on a bench and went over our material. Those boys played so well together.

From there I got back on Maumelle Blvd. and was stuck behind the last two women racing in the big damn bridge race. I got home by 4pm. Got everyone washed up and dusted off and then back in the car and off to Camp Aldersgate. The Methodist Church has a fundraiser there with catfish and kid fun, plus all the Aldersgate campers are there too. For me it's good for my boys to see the handicapped kids playing along side of them. We left and got home by 7pm. I crashed, we were in the sun from 8am-6pm. That's a LONG time. I was supposed to go out with ALL the Holsted Women...but that didn't happen (sorry guys)...but what did happen was a day filled with family fun and we all enjoyed the weather together.

I slept so hard that we went to 2nd service on Sunday morning. Which was very interesting to see all the different people and hear some man screaming out loud to our preacher. It was odd. But relaxing with my family on Sunday morning was great! We weren't rushed and that was a blessing after the hurried day yesterday.

Then off to game number three of the weekend. Jacob played the #1 team in the state (Ft. Smith) @ 3pm and we lost by 1, which isn't bad. Then after that hop in the car and go to Daddy's game (Adam) @ 5pm. I love watching these older guys play...they really love the game and are passionate to stay in shape and maintain their soccer skills. We left BP and then meet up with Mammy (my mom) to go eat at Sr. T's. It was a great evening.

During Adam's 1/2 time...I went to take J to the restroom (as our fields were locked)...and checked my phone and I had a text that read, "It's official this fat guy just got engaged". It was from my brother Sean. I am so happy for him and Angie and Vivian (aka Shorty- Angie's 4yr old). He is happy and I am thrilled to have her as a sister in law.

Vivian, Angie, Sean, Mammy

Ever want to know what a Holsted boy eats in a day...here is what Kobie ate this past Saturday...

YES IN ONE DAY!

2 Eggs

1 Biscuits w/ Jelly

2 Toaster Strudels

Slice of Watermellon

Breakfast Burrito from Hardee's (Papaw Balls)

Flaming hot Cheetos

Peanut butter crackers

a kids meal at Denny's (with DoDo in Conway)

Extra food (off Choo Choo's plate)

peanut butter and jelly sandwich

handful of carrots

sliced apples

handful of red grapes

2 pieces of sausage pizza

package of ritz bitz peanut butter crackers

3 pieces of catfish

2 hush puppies

handful of fries

biscuit

coleslaw

bowl of cereal

brownies

cookies

Drinks included: water, water, water, gatorade, and sierra mist...

If you see Kobie 4 inches taller in the next week, this is probably why!

My grocery bill has risen $200 extra a month (not to mention the auto gas). I've gone from cooking a serving for 6-8, to making a meal for 12...and we barely have left overs...these boys can eat! I meal plan and use all of my coupons and save probably $100+ / month. But it's only going to get worse...I know! When Adam and I got married I only knew how to cook for 12...cooking for my brothers and all their friends that were at the house. I would make huge meals for just the two of us and we would eat it for a week...I had to learn how to scale down. But now my training has come into good use. The boys will eat 2 1/2 grilled cheese sandwhiches with their soup...that's just craziness.

Off to interviews...I hope everyone has a great week!

Job hunt

Little Rock glass is out right now replacing my TWO window panes that "were" broken. One by a golf ball and the other a baseball...of course boys will be boys. So now is a good time for me to stop calling, emailing, applying for jobs...take a break!

September 30th will be two weeks with no job...not to mention, the illness I had that meant no income for almost the past month.

Thank God for Adam, he is working his rear off, but he has a large burden to carry right now. I know he is mentally & physically exhausted.

I've applied for dozens of jobs and have three interviews on Monday. I get my Postal Exam material in the mail next week and surely something will turn up.

Please pray that we can weather this storm together and that the bickering be kept to a minimum during this time. I know I'm irritable right now.

C

The Little Things

The power of positive thinking is an awesome tool!

This past week I tried to focus on the positive. Here is what happened.

We were driving downtown together, while Jacob was at soccer practice, and Kobie said, "you know mom, I don't like that house (now an office bldg). I asked why. He said, "it reminds me of a witches house, all pointy". Now where has he ever seen a witches house? Probably these Halloween decorations everywhere.

While eating lunch together, I was in the kitchen making my plate...the boys were chowing down in the dining room and then screamed, "OHHH Gross man, mom, Kobie pulled a slug out of his ear". I asked for proof and here is what they gave me.

We had Andrew over Friday and around 3 I made them hot chocolate chip cookies. When they were done I said, "come and get it". Of course my boys come running in, and Kobie says, "hot cookies, Andrew, Come on!"...Andrew says, "What do you mean hot cookies? Hot like spicy hot?", Kobie looked at him and without missing a beat said, "no silly, hot like woman hot!"...and my comment is? Silence.

When getting ready to leave the house Saturday morning. I was still in my jammies after making breakfast, doing 3 loads of laundry, etc...the "usual". And all my guys were ready to go, I said give me 5 min. and I'll be outside...3 min. later I popped out the front door ready to go. Kobie said, "you know why you can get ready so quick, you don't wear makeup and you dress in athletic clothes"...Then Jacob commented on how as he puts it, "most girls take 2 hours to get ready, they have to look pretty and can't smell.". So I sit there and think to myself, Jacob thinks I'm not pretty and smell bad. :) I let it go!

We head to my mom's house to see Logan (my 2yr old Nephew) Saturday morning. I turn up the tunes. Kobie takes his straw and turns it into the shape of a triangle. He says, "mom look here's my instrument" complete with some silly dance and finger tapping the "triangle".

Kobie is my comedic relief during the day!

Jacob on the other hand has his point of view and interesting thoughts about things.

We went to Target to buy cat food and cereal...Jacob's turn to push the buggy. I let them all take turns (D can't see over the handle), but I hold onto the end of the cart, guiding it along. They think they are big stuff. This Friday, Jacob decides that he can do it all by himself. He tells me "mom, I got it, I am aware of my surroundings" and did a great BIG circle with his arms. I tell this to the boys all the time...my usual reiterative before we go out in public, "You are not the only one here, be aware of others and your surroundings, and pay attention to your volume level". It was odd hearing my instructions from my child.

Jacob was on the way home from his friends soccer game. Adam took a Sharp turn. Jacob was just sitting there eating his candy bar and his body slid into the door. Jacob says to Adam, "man I didn't see that one coming". Adam was telling me about it, laughing, b/c Jacob is so "matter of fact" kind of person.

Or the time we were all driving...he saw a Jeep Cherokee that looked just like Adam's old one. He screamed, "mom, there's a CHERRY - O - KEY, just like dads"...we all died laughing and Kobie just said, "dude, that's what you do when you see the words on the screen and sing" (Karaoke).

Dylan is just an observer. He is starting to get competitive on us and loves to beat us at card games, with his sheepish grin. He doesn't say much to us, but sings to himself from the time he gets home from school till the time he goes to bed. I have no clue what words are coming out of his mouth, but he's just bee-bopping along to the beat of his own drum.

Surround Sound

So, I have had a rocky few days...
Tuesday, I got the boys from school and we came home. They had snacks outside and played while I went through back-packs, lunch boxes, etc. I sat down on the couch with my snack and smelt a funny smell...thinking it was the neighbors painting / something. A few minutes later it got stronger and I saw the boys come inside to throw away their trash. Paint was on two of the three shirts. I was very loud to say the least and said, "Take your shirts off and get in the bed, think about what you did wrong and I'll come back and ask you what you did wrong".

So I immediately scrub the RED SPRAY PAINT off of the WHITE UNIFORMS. Put them in the wash with a ton of bleach and then proceed to their bedroom. I asked them, "Do you know what you did wrong?"...
Dylan's reply, "I used spray paint". NO Try again.
Kobie's reply, "I didn't have on the right clothes".
Jacob's reply, "I didn't ask permission".

Okay two out of three got it right. The only two things they did wrong is not ask permission and not dress appropriately...and if they would've asked permission I would've reminded them about the clothes...(we had just painted their skate park this past weekend with crappy clothes- so it's not like this is a new concept). And I welcome free time to paint and be creative, no matter the mess (as long as it's outside, with a plastic sheet).

We get ready to head across the river for soccer practice and I go to open the fridge to get out water. Well my fridge won't open...Seriously...Jacob kicked in the bottom drawer (when he got out his snack of yogurt) and it apparently didn't shut. This made the door attachment get stuck on the drawer and was crammed tightly. I got it open about 1", enough to get my fingers inside and slowly pulled the door and then pushed the door attachment and in 5 minutes. I was dancing in the kitchen saying, "I'm the great fixer momma", and my boys just laugh at me.

So we get to soccer practice, Jacob goes to play and the younger two do homework in the car...I decide to read. I looked down and I had spilt the bleach all over my favorite cargo pants...5 dots ranging from pea size to half dollar size. I am sad...but when I got home to switch over the laundry 1 of the 2 shirts was completely clean...Dylan's was just too hard to get out. So 2 of them owe me $3 for half the shirt. :)

Wednesday we left school, got our snacks and back on the road to Kobie's ear Dr. We had our annual hearing test. He has lost a little bit of hearing, in the ear that has had 2 surgeries. The plan is to wait 6 months test hearing again. He could’ve had an off day, no need to panic. The plan: If it is worse in 6 months will go down the road of CT scan, and possible surgery. But right now I’m just praying that he will have a better test in 6 months and we can go back to the annual checkups.

We went to church last night. And let me tell you something, worship was the best Rx anyone could ask for...good food, good friends, great songs, and no expectations. We all got to worship how we felt (differently); some at tables, some in rows, some standing, some clapping. It was real...I felt moved by the volume of love and the awesome display of community.

I keep getting asked this one question for the ones who dare to come and ask me...the others stare as if I have lost my mind having three kids so close in age. I get asked this question sometimes daily and for sure once a week (I may know them / I may not) and they say,
"I don't know how you do it, how old are they all"

I tell all these people the same answer...
"Oh they are 9, 8 & 6 – it’s like having surround sound."

Our Holsted world is crammed with excitement, entertainment, disagreements, and love. It is very loud in this household, every boy fighting and getting louder for attention to tell me about a good grade, grasshoppers he caught, this cool new trick he did on a skateboard, something a friend said that was funny, showing me love notes from a girl (that’s crazy). I do NOT want to stop this line of communication, as I feel it will be very important, come Jr. & Sr. High. This life is fun and crazy, sometimes frustrating and full of laundry and food. But in the end I wouldn't trade it for anything else.

Nancy (Mom-in-law) gave me this painted canvas; it states our life as a family... (Melany did you ever get around to painting one? U took a picture after I first got it)

In this home...

we do second chances.

we do grace.

we do real.

we do mistakes.

we do I'm sorrys.

we do loud really well.

we do hugs.

we do family.

we do love.

Trust

You know we say it a lot "trust in God" but what does that really mean?

To me it means to rely fully on God, that he will take care of my needs (not necessarily my wants- those are extra).

Today I walked into the office after being gone for almost two weeks and was laid off (I still had to write up all my policies and procedures for my client list). I texted Adam and let him know and asked him not to call me, as I was afraid I would loose it and start crying at the office.

20 minutes after my lay off, my mother called. She asked if we could go to lunch. We RARELY go to lunch / anywhere just the two of us. So I walk down the stairs and get in her car. I looked straight at her and said, "did Adam call you?". She said, "no why". I then told her what had happened.

God shut the door and immediately opened another one. My mother wanted to take me to lunch to ask me to help her business out more...This is a complete miracle! Not only will our financial needs still be meet but I won't waste near as much gas and I'll be able to talk to my mom on a daily basis. What is better than that? God is so Good! - Trusting and seeing miracles.

Sister 2 Sister

I am in a great sister to sister group. It's a group of ladies that get together to support each other...we do a religious study together. We started meeting again last Friday, I was so excited to see everyone and talk about "real-life issues". My "Sisters" are Larronda & Stephanie.
This fall we decided it's time to work on us as wives, not as moms. We are studying
What a Husband Needs from His Wife: by Melanie Chitwood.

In chapter two we are asked to list our top 5 priorities in order. Well...apparently I failed at this; because in all honesty, I put my kids before my husband. I spend more time with them, I interact more with them. So this is something I am addressing.


I was confronted with my husbands job. I feel like I get put on the back burner when a client / boss calls...but in the big scheme of things; I do know that Adam is just providing for his family, for me. I am making an effort to end our phone conversations on a high note rather than something negative about the kids (which is often) or just a bad tone of voice on my part.


Today I was leaving soccer practice when the phone rang...it was Adam. Time to show my effort. To set the scene for you: my boys are talking so loud I can't hear. They knew the phone had rang (when Adam's phone rings it's silence, when mine rings - they could care less). So Kobie is loudly asking me a question (What's for dinner?)

and I looked at him and said, "Kobie, I am talking to your father, and I cannot hear him, he is my priority right now, NOT your question." Kobie looked at me quite shocked and nodded and just gazed out the window. Adam laughed and said, "where did that come from"...I replied, "I read my book during practice". When I put my husband first. I think it empowers him and makes him feel loved and admired. Isn't that what we all want to feel?

I'm pondering the many nights when Adam and I used to sit down and talk about anything. Now with the stresses of "real-life" I have to make an effort to get the budget and kids and schedule and chore list out of my brain, unwind and just enjoy my husband.

I am really LOVING this book right now. It's nothing I haven't heard before. But it's a refresher course. We can all do better, especially towards the one person we vowed to spend the rest of our lives with.

My List (One I'm working on)

1. God
   
2. Adam
   
3. Boys
   
4. Health / Fitness
   
5. Community Involvement

Yo!

So Dr's called! They sent off labs for the tick tests Monday...to test for all forms of tick related diseases (not just one like the last test- that came back negative). I will wait up to 10 days...So by Sept 22nd I should know something.

Blood Culture prelims came back great! No growths and they'll keep it for a while to see if anything grows over the course of 30 days.

Now I am feeling fabulous. No symptoms are left that hinder my functioning skills.

Worst case scenario...I finish this round of antibiotics, and Monday afternoon my symptoms return. We will then go see an internist and figure out what exactly is wrong with me.

OR...my life returns to normal, running its usual course. The tick test comes back negative and the blood culture negative. Then will just say I had some mystery bacterial illness and leave it at that.

All that matters currently is I feel great and my the meds are working. :) Thank you all for your prayers and concern.

Girls gone QUIET

So this past weekend we hit the road...Shana, Steph, Erica and myself...we all know I was ill...but not contagious so we were ready for a relaxfull time. The trip usually takes my family and I about 2 hours to get there; That's including our usual potty break(s).

Erica and I left the house at 5:20pm to pick up Steph. I was greeted warmly with three large birthday balloons and some great cookies.



We then went to get Shana...then after that we went to get Mandy...but she had a tummy bug :( Sad she couldn't go...So we were on the interstate by 6:15...wait NO ONE followed my rule (except Erica) to eat before you leave...even I didn't follow it. So we stopped in Cabot / Beebe...and ate...Then back on the road. Potty break in Brinkley.

All this time Steph couldn't open her door from the back seat, but we could open it from the outside (child lock?). So I said why don't you hit that button, that looks like the child lock switch...WRONG...the door would NOT SHUT! I call Adam in distress...of course he cannot help me. So we all scour the car for tools...NONE!

MacGyver Crystal to the rescue...

A KEY....A TIRE GAUGE...A PEN

These three magic jewels and 20 minutes later, we giggled and we had shut the door...I was thrilled to get back on the road; by now it's dark, dark on I-40.

We get to the lake at 9:15 call all of our husbands and chit chat with each other until 11:30. We all go to sleep; wake up refreshed, read, watch the fish jumping from the dock, knit, sleep, scrapbook. We didn't turn on that TV until we watched a movie to wrap up the evening "College road trip" we all laughed at Steph for picking out the movie, but it was quite a tear jerker at the end (for me at least). We woke up Sunday morning ate breakfast, cleaned, packed up, and were ready to see our families. It was a quiet weekend not wild and crazy. No "Drink" involved. Just 4 girls renewing their spirits, minds, and bodies. I hope this happens often...







Here are my bday flowers from my mommie and Nano & David.