Ok- WOW!!!

WOW! I just received my first-ever (and probably my only-ever!) blogging award!! And not only that, but it was given to me by someone whose blog I greatly admire! In fact, I absolutely adore her blog design and have been inspired to try to do something more fun with my own blog- thanks to her! So, if you haven't already been over to visit her blog, be sure you head over there ASAP! And with a title like Boogers, Screams, Headaches and Dreams, you know it won't be hard to enjoy- just wish I would have come up with that catchy title!!! So, thank you so much Sherrie! Anyway, part of the honor of receiving this award is that we get to pass it on to others- yay! And I have several that I can't wait to share with everyone!

So, after I pass this award on to you, be sure you follow the rules and do the same for others! Simply name 8 other deserving bloggers in a new post on your blog, and then include the following:

These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends.

They are not interested in self-aggrandizement.

Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut,

even more friendships are propogated.

Please give more attention to these writers!



1) Linda

2) Robin

3) Patrice

4) Brent

5) Kaden, Brody, and Angel Ava's mommy!

6) Jess

7) Kate

8) Kelle

I love each one of these blogs for very different reasons, but the one thing that they have in common is that they are all amazing people!!

ON ANOTHER NOTE: be sure to check out Matthew's Madness for my latest post- it's pretty darn cute! You can get there by clicking here!

Outdoor living...

Well, now that we know we're staying here for a few more years, and since it's summer, we've decided to do some work on the backyard and all of our outdoor living spaces! Our builder put some really neat things into this house- one of them is a lenai that is right off the kitchen and hearth room area. It's a really neat outdoor space because it is designed to be used in both the summer and the winter. It has slate floors, a ceiling fan, a fireplace and shutters instead of windows, so in the winter, you can close all the shutters and enjoy the fireplace! Off the lenai, is our deck. It's a nice size and overlooks the play area of our yard!
Here's a view of the back deck from down below- the builder put up a nice wall to make it more private, which also serves as a great place for hanging plants!
Here's Zack in the process of planting 10 Arborvitae that we bought last week and were deliverd yesterday!
We have a patio down below that comes off the walkout basement- it too has a shelter (or whatever you want to call it). You can see the lenai coming off the upstairs...
Emily decided to pitch in and help Zack out with all the new trees!
We're going for that foresty look!!
After Zack spent the day digging holes and planting trees yesterday, he had a hard time standing up straight!!
We picked out the Arborvitae because they grow 5-7 feet per year, are very hearty, and get up to 30 feet tall! We have a road behind our house that we hope to block out a little more so that, when we do try to sell the house again, it won't be an issue!
Here's the view looking from the kids' play area- we have a pretty big yard!
And here's the main part of the yard, which is shaded by a HUGE tree! We now have a tether ball, a wooden playhouse, a swingset, a teeter totter and a trampoline! We'd like to thank my dad for his very generous donations to our play area!! He was so sweet to give us a new tether ball set and our fabulous new swingset!!!! Thanks Dad/Grampa!!!


Here's Josh playing with the new tetherball- he and I played a game, and it was a blast! I forgot how much fun they are- I don't think they allow them on playgrounds anymore- someone might get hurt!!!!
And Sophie discovered a new talent- she started making smoothies from her own made up recipes- and they are really good too!!
Nothing like a yummy smoothie to sip outside in your own backyard on a hot summer day!!!

8 things...

Well, I have been tagged by a sweet blogger that I follow, Elyse over at Following Him, so now I get to do this post about 8 things! Be sure to check out the end because I may tag YOU!! So, here we go...

8 Things I am looking forward to...

1- spending lots of days at the pool
2- no homework!
3- Allie's upcoming trip to Europe- I'm excited for her!
4- finishing up some re-decorating
5- my new blog background- thanks Kate!
6- our big yard sale
7- our camping trip with the Appelbaums!
8- my mom coming back to visit in June!!

8 Things I did yesterday...

1- fed the kids breakfast
2- did 3 loads of laundry
3- ate dinner at Schlotzsky's with Allie and Emily
4- went clothes shopping with Allie and Emily
5- hung a new curtain
6- took some pictures
7- changed several diapers
8- put gas in Allie's car

8 things I wish I could do...

1- go to Hawaii with Zack
2- go on a Disney cruise with the whole gang!
3- get a new car
4- get someone to clean all my blinds and baseboards- ugh!!!
5- find time to read the whole bible
6- absolutely nothing for one whole day!!!
7- adopt an unwanted baby
8- GO TO THE BEACH!!!!

8 shows I watch....

1- Hannity
2- Glenn Beck
3- The O'Reilly Factor
4- Greta Van Susteren
5- Jon and Kate plus 8
6- 18 Kids and Counting
7- Little People, Big World
8- What not to wear
*note- I rarely watch anything at all, but when I do get a few minutes, these are the programs that I would choose! Also, I am usually watching them while doing some other task at the same time!

8 People Tagged.......

1- Mom (Linda)
2-Kate
3- Robin
4- Tonya
5- Rachel
6- Jess
7- Kelle
8- Lauryn

So, if I tagged you, you get to do a post just like mine!! Can't wait to hear what everyone else has to say!!!

Kids' rooms tour...

It's been a crazy week with the end of school and trying to make sure that there's enough food in the pantry and everyone has enough bathing suits and flip flops to survive the next couple of months!! I've been completely neglecting my blog, as well as all the blogs I love to follow;-) So, today, I decided to join Kelly's Korner in her kids' rooms tour. Although we have 7 children, I decided to focus only on the 4 younger boys' rooms! And I'm so mad because I accidentally uploaded all the pics to the "right" side of the post, and I'm not about to go back and start over- don't know how it got switched from my standard "center" upload!

So, the first picture is of Matthew and Jacob's room.
They have sort of a circus theme, and although it's a fairly nice sized room, there's a lot going on in there, and with the 2 cribs, it looks rather small!

My mom quilts, so we have piles and piles of beautiful quilts everywhere!

Jacob has the crib and Matthew has graduated to a toddler bed!

The moon we have hanging from the ceiling, and it is something that Zack picked out when I was pregnant with Noah- I love it- especially since Zack picked it out!!


We never invested much money in our nursery furniture, but I think you can do a lot with the rest of the decor to make it look nice even if your crib is from Target!!
Each of the boys' has a picture wall- the first one is of Matthew.
And Jacob's is next!
This is such a pain trying to label these pics because they're coming up side by side on my "compose" and I can't tell where the words are going to end up! I will never make this mistake again! Anyway, the four towels are hanging in the jack-and-jill bath that joins the four boys' rooms together!

And here we have Josh and Noah's baseball room! Zack loves baseball, and his team is the RED SOX- he grew up near Boston!
They each have their name above their beds...
We have several Red Sox caps in the room, and maybe even a couple of Celtics caps too!
Every boy needs a baseball card collection- this is a neat way to hold them!
We have loved having a small chalkboard in their room- they really seem to enjoy it!
Some vintage signs we found that I love!
Ok- that's all for now- this post has ended up a jumbled mess, and I think I even lost some pictures along the way-UGH! But I've been working on re-doing some rooms in the house, so I'll get those pictures posted soon, and I will upload them right next time!!!

Under-dog daddy...

School's officially out, the swingset is up, and daddy's giving under-dogs... and he lines it up... ...and he pulls back...
...and he takes a BIG BREATH and starts to run...
...and he ducks...

...and he releases...
...and Matthew loves it!!!

Jon and Kate...

So, I'm a little wrapped up in this whole Jon & Kate drama, and I just watched the new episode- will someone please tell Kate that there are more important things in life than money, and that you can take care of all 8 of your kids on a much smaller income! I mean, we have only one less child than them, and we are supporting and taking care of our kids just fine- on one income, I might add ( and it ain't mine!)! She just seems so driven by the fact that nothing matters except her providing for her children- even at the expense of her husband's self-esteem and happiness! Maybe Jon did cheat, but I honestly feel like she's much more at fault. But, in her defense, she does seem to be softening slightly, so I really hope that maybe she will wake up, cancel the show, and make her marriage work. She sounded rather resolved to the fact that they will likely get a divorce. Why?? SHE can still save their marriage!!! And the burden at this point really does fall on her! Ok- I'm anxious to hear what others think- leave me a comment!

So sad...

So, I was just watching a re-run episode of Jon & Kate plus 8, and I have to say that it is now incredibly hard to watch knowing what was probably going on behind the scenes at the time! Just so, so sad...

The beginning and the end...

Ahh, summer! The joys of chasing lightning bugs, roasting marshmallows, and jumping in a cold pool on a hot day... The two crazy teenagers above are Allie (on the right) and her friend Shannon- both girls are sophomores and have only 2 days of finals left to finish off their year! They celebrated the beginning of summer today by spending the day at our neighborhood pool. And below is me, I got to take all the kids to the pool today so that Zack could work on the new swingset!
And here's Jacob's 1st day at the pool- he spent most of his time playing on the deck, eating and napping!
Matthew had a blast of course- put some floaties on him and he's all over the pool!
Josh, Noah and Matthew...
And here's what dad was up to...
With the beginning of the summer season comes the end of the school year- it always makes me a little sad. The kids are growing up- they are leaving current classmates and teachers and movin' on... here's Noah with his kindergarten teacher at his end-of-the-year picnic...
Zack & I took Jacob and Matthew to Noah's school on Friday for a picnic and slideshow to celebrate the end of Noah's kindergarten year- my fifth baby to graduate kindergarten!
Noah and I at the picnic....
And Noah, dad and Jacob- Matthew was too busy playing on the swings to get in the picture!
I love having different seasons in life- as one season comes to an end, there is always a new and exciting season just around the corner- there is always a new beginning...