Summer memories

I was over at Live Each Moment this morning and was reminded of two things. One I am grateful what God has provided for me and my family and two to write a Monday Memory.

As I was sitting watching my children play this past week camping, I reminisced about my summers growing up. We didn't have a pool growing up so my parents bought a season swimming pass at one of the local campgrounds on the lake. Everyday my mom would pack us all up with lunches and sand toys and we would go to the lake. The really remarkable thing about this(I didn't appreciate it until I had my own children) was that my mom didn't know how to swim! Yet she still brought us to the lake which must have given her so much anxiety! That lake is where my dad taught me to swim. It is where I had my first boat ride. It is where my parents first gave us kids a taste of independance by allowing us to walk by ourselves up to the campground rec hall/store. We made so many friends over the years from all over the place because it was a campground. We would feed the squirrels cheese doodles, yes squirrels like cheese doodles! We would build sand castles that stretched the length of the beach. We would hide from each other under the docks, which had airpockets underneath. Our eyes would burn from opening them underwater all day. We were tan and didn't worry about skin cancer. WHen it got dark and we went home we would play flashlight tag in the neighborhood. We used to catch tons of fireflys. Which brings me to a sad conclusion, Where did the fireflys all go? I know we didn't catch them all. My kids don't know that joy of chasing the blinking little critters and catching them in a jar because we never see any. If by chance we see one it is just that one. When I was a kid there were millions or so it seemed. So now the fireflys are just another monday memory.

I'm Back!!!!!! Did you miss me???

I am back to posting! Sorry for the blogging interuption. I needed to get away for a little bit. We packed up the camper and spent the week at some family friends private getaway. The boys enjoyed fishing everyday and swimming in a pond. They went out in a boat with Grandpa and my DH. They caught snapping turtles and rode their bikes. I actually got to relax. Yup thats right that five letter word that all moms want to be able to say! No worries! It was absolutely marv-o-lous!!!!
I have spent most of tonight reading my favorite blogs and catching up. Boy I have missed alot in a week. I have found a new blog by visiting Blest With Sons, that I plan on visiting daily. It is One Weigh Or Another. Join me in watching these wonderful women in their journey toward weight loss. I plan on taking the journey along with them.

Reading over at Don't Try This At Home I enjoyed reading Chilihead and What she can't Do. she inspired me to come up with a list of things I can't do.

1. I can't stick to a schedule. Really I can't, I have tried.
2. I can't be supermom. Again, Really I can't, I have tried. But I am the best mom I can be.
3. I can't be funny. At least not on purpose.Not like Kathyrn
4. I can't keep my house clean. Not even for five minutes.
5. I can't fly on an airplane. Really I can't, the thought scares the beejebus out of me.
6. I can't think of anything else I can't do at this moment, but If I think of anything else I can't do, I will revise this list.

Hope everyone had a great weekend and remember to thank God for what you have and don't complain about what you don't have.

Bad Boys, Bad Boys

Okay I don't live in a big city, I don't even live in a small city, I live in a Large town. I NEVER expected to have a night like last night, I NEVER thought I would think, "this is for an episode of cops".
I went to bed around 9:30 pm last night. My DH and the two older boys were watching some TV before bed. Well, the boys were arguing and I went to give reinforcement to DH. When I got out of bed I noticed the motion light was on in our back yard. I looked out my window and saw about six people with flashlights in my back yard!
I quickly told DH and he looked out too. He decided to go outside and find out who and what was going on. He left the dog in the house because I told him it sounded like there was a dog barking out there. I figured someone's dog got loose in the trailer park behind my house, again.
I was wrong, DH came back into the house. It was the police SWAT team and ALL!
I told him I saw our neighbor go in his back yard so he went back out called to him to meet him in the front yard. WHen they got out there, DH found our gate to the backyard was broke!
He called the police, they came, checked out the back yard and found the back gate to the wooded section of our yard busted too!
Whoever they were looking for had jumped the back gate busting it, ran through our backyard, and jumped our front gate busting it!
ALL I kept singing in my head was "Bad Boys, Bad Boys, What Ya Gonna Do when They Come For You!"
I told DH to go across the street and inform our neighbor whose husband was working nights. He was heading over when detectives came up the street he stopped them and explained our neighbor has a fort in their back yard, maybe the perps were back there? So they got out and checked her yard with GUNS drawn!
We heard a crash from the back yard and a little while later the detectives came back out front. They said to the nieghbor she needs to have the top step to the fort fixed. Seems it broke as they were climbing up to check it out. They chuckled alittle when she said well it was made to hold the kids who are consiterably lighter than you.
They left and we all went in and went to bed, feeling a little less safe than we used to.

Surviving insanity!

I think my husband thought I was totally out of my mind last week when I announced to him that I was taking our boys to the beach and letting them each bring a friend. As today approached he kept asking are you going to be okay with them all? If I didn't feel I was going to be okay I wouldn't have offered to take them now, would I?
I was completely prepared this morning. I had written my trusty lists of what I needed to bring, and do before leaving for the beach. I was only running 15 minutes late to pick up Picasso's friend. Then I had trouble finding his house, which I did eventually find. We got to the beach and set up our little camp. Buddy waited for his friend to arrive, he was getting dropped off. When they were all present and accounted for, they went off crabbing and having a grand old time. Later in the afternoon it started to rain, we packed up and headed for the van! We waited a little bit for the rain to stop, which it eventrually did, and we set up camp again.
Only for us to get poured on this time! That was it we were done! We packed up and headed home. Where I made dinner for all five of them and watched them nicely play with race cars and play playstation. Soon they will be asleep, and I will go to bed myself. Completely sane!

Clutter, Clutter everywhere!

Okay, I am not Martha Stewart or Mrs. Cleaver but I have learned a few things from watching shows like Clean Sweep. I have been using a couple of these techniques for years and others I am just starting to implement myself.

1. If you haven't used it in the last two years get rid of it.
a. You can yard sale it.
b. Give it to charity.
c. Go to Freecycle.org and list it.
d. Put it on Ebay.

2. Kids Paperwork and artwork.
a. If they are old enough to sort through it themselves and decide what they want to keep, let them but designate a bin or box to store them. If the box gets full, they have to sort through it again.
b. One storgae box or bin per child.

3. Any items to be stored put in rubbermaid or plastic containers.
a. Label what is in them.
b. Go through yearly and decide whether you need them or not.

I hope these little tips help anyone out there. It works for me hope it works for you too! Good Luck!

Glad to be home!!!!!

Oh where to start? This weekend was emotionally draining and with the scorching heat physically draining.
I am so proud of Buddy, but I wish he didn't have to endure this weekend. He had a life lesson no ten year old should have to endure.
Him and his racing buddies were playing football Saturday morning at the racetrack, like they do almost every race weekend. Well, I guess he had suggested playing two hand touch( because he knows I don't like them playing tackle), but some of the other boys said that was for wimps and they decided to play tackle. Well, his best buddy D was going out for a pass and another kid went to tackle him, the other kid hit him just so and D fell to the ground face first. At first Buddy thought everything was okay, but when D didn't move he knew something was wrong. He ran over to him and kept saying his name, but there was no response. He knelt by him and slowly and carefully rolled him over( His face was on the ground), while saying his name. When he was rolled over and still not responding Buddy saw D's eyes roll to the back of his head and his body was twitching. Buddy knew this wasn't good, so he ran to his other buddies ( J) racing trailer to get his dad and another adult and then he came running and yelling for my DH, who is an EMT, and D's parents. When DH got there he was not expecting such a serious injury, he thought he fell and broke a bone or something, but when he got there D was still not responsive and he thought he was going to have to perform CPR. He yelled for someone to call 911, which they did. And shortly after D came around but was very combative. He had lost his sight, but by the time the ambulance got there, he had regained it. He spent the night in the hospital with a severe concussion. He returned to the track late yesterday afternoon and we were all relieved to see he was going to be okay. He won't be able to race for a few weeks, but that is a minor inconvenience compared with how the situation could have turned out. Picasso also witnessed everything and said he was going to get help too, but he saw Buddy going already.
After Buddy saw D okay yesterday afternoon, he went to our camper and slept for a couple of hours, out of pure exhaustion and relief. This experience was one that will stay with him for the rest of his life. D's sisters kept calling Buddy a Hero, which made him feel real good, but he just did what he knew was the right thing to do. The rest of the kids playing all scattered because they thought they were going to get into trouble.
Just glad D will be okay and that everything worked out, and now I am glad to be home!

Going Camping Be back Soon!

Okay I know this is my third post today, but as I stated in my previous post I am a blogging addict.
Actually, we are going camping for a couple days, so I will not be able to post until I come back.
I am looking forward to camping, we haven't done much camping this summer, and I really do miss it. Yes, we are going camping, not "roughing" it in the woods in tents kind of camping. But relaxing in our camper "semi-roughing" it without water and electric hookups. Of course we will have our generator so we have power when the batery in the camper runs low, but we will have no phone ringing off the hook. We will be camping at the race track Buddy races at so he can get some practice in that he really hasn't gotten to do this year. Baseball season lasted so long this year.
Picasso will probably spend most of the time there catching bugs. He has really been into collecting bugs lately. Or playing in the dirt.
Bubba will just hang out in the pack in play or the stroller since he isn't walking yet.

The Blue car in front is Buddy. He didn't finish first, but I think he came in third in this race. Honestly, I can't remember which weekend this was. He loves to race!
Buddy( the one in the red shirt and blue shorts) and one of his best racing buddies were chilling out before a race! They have been racing together for 3 yrs now. Even though they live in different states I have to say they are the best of friends. On the off season they call each other to keep in touch. They have another buddy that when the three of them are together we call them the three muskateers. They are all competetive and they race against each other but they never make each other feel bad if they do better than each other. We try to teach them sportsmanship and they really do a good job of supporting each other.

I will be back to blogging in a couple of days and I will let you know how the camping trip went.

My name is MomOf3BusyBoys and I am a blogging addict!

I am a thinker, I am always thinking. I have found lately as I do my housework, as I play with my children, as I have conversations with my friends, that I am always thinking about what to write next on my blog. I am even dreaming about blogging. So I guess you can say I am a blogging addict.
You may ask how this addiction started? Well I got started by reading Daring Young Mom she is a very creative writer and I love reading her blog everyday, you must check out her blog. But wait! Stay here and check mine out first, okay?
In my quest to become a Blogger I have come across several cool blogs that I enjoy reading Shannon has become one of my all time favorites. She has actually single handedly brought the most traffic to my site by her WFMW Game that I participate in.
I can totally relate to Blest With Sons since I too have 3 sons and enjoy reading her Blog about raising boys.
But as I said I am a thinker and I wonder to myself why I haven't shared my little addiction with any of my friends( Except one dear one who I would trust my life with :) ). She has read it and told me she enjoyed reading my Blog. I am trying to convince her to start her own Blog. I know she would have an awsome one, because she is such an awesome person and she is a dedicated mom to triplets! ;) So those of you reading this if you can leave a comment saying you would like to read about her experiences raising triplets I am sure she will read the comments and consider it. But anyways, I have realized I am afraid to trust my inner thoughts and feelings with those that know me, maybe because then I might be vulnerable. But I have no problem with complete strangers reading my inner thoughts and feelings because they don't know me and so there is that level of protection. I know I won't fall victim to vicious gossip, or at least I would hope I wouldn't. But trusting people I know to read this would be opening up myself to their judgement, which isn't what I want. So for now at least I will limit who I trust my blog to.
I need to intereupt my thought process right now because we have severe thunderstorms coming our way and I need to shut down my computer. But I will be back, yes I will, because I can't stay away from the blogosphere!

Frugal Grocery Shopping

I missed works for me wednesday last week, the holiday threw me off a bit. But here is this weeks addition:

As I am sure many of you out there are also, we live on a very tight budget. So when I go grocery shopping I usually have a dollar amount that I can't exceed. What helps me stick to this amount are two things.

1. When making my list I write down the basic nescessities first, then I write down items that are on sale that we use, and last I put down items that we can live without but if there is enough money after the necessities I can buy.

2. So how do I know wether or not I am getting close to exceeding my alloted amount? I keep tally marks on the side of my grocery list. If something costs $1.49 I put two tally marks. As I shop and put down tally marks I count the tally frequently to make sure I am not exceeding my amount.

I hope this tip helps others stick to a budget! It works for me and I am always surprised at how much I can really buy for the alloted amount!

Late night ramblings

I am really enjoying blogging! And even though I am not sure how many people actually read my Blog, according to my site meter, not many do, I am okay with that. Why? Because I started blogging as an outlet, a way for me to vent, a way for me to brag about my kids, and a way for me to get back into writing. I am slowly getting there. I enjoy reading other Blogs and realizing I am not alone! There are so many women out there that are experiencing the same things as me. There are so many women out there that I can relate to and it makes me feel connected in a way I haven't felt in a long time.
When I was a teenager, I used to write faithfully in a diary. I still have that diary(I think) in a box in my basement. But that helped me sort through some very difficult times in my life, and I really feel that Blogging has been brought into my life so that I can share my experiences with other moms and so that I can learn new things from other moms like me.
I have learned so much in my thirty something years. I have learned that life comes at you fast and sometimes you will go off the road and take detours, and there will be bumps, and major mountains to climb, but with Faith you can accomplish anything.
I have worked through some pretty powerful moments right here at my blog and it has helped me be a stronger person. I know I have a purpose in life, what that purpose is, I still haven't figured out. But I do have Faith that I am heading in the right direction in my life.
In reading other stories of moms I have learned that my kids are normal and they really are the good kids I have always said they were.
I am very thankful to be blogging. And if anyone is reading my blog. Thank you for sharing in my thoughts. Hopefully I can provide you with humor when you are down and hopefully some answers if you have a question.
But for now it is getting late and I must sleep. Goodnight new found friends may God Bring you Peace and many blessings!

Getting to know You!

This is a really Great meme! I found it over at http://www.daringyoungmom.blogspot.com It's great one to get to know new people. I will give you my info so you can get to know me better and feel free to leave your info here in the comments or email me or you could just put your answeres on your Blog and link them here.

What is your full name? MomOf3BusyBoys WhoDoesNot WantToTry ForAGirl
What is your date of birth?Many moons ago
What four cities have you lived in?Farmville, Hicksville, Suberbanville, Boringville
What four TV shows do you love? 24 , American Idol, CSI, anything with ADULT content!LOL
What Four Credit Cards do you currently Use?
Discoverthe joys of bankruptcy
American Expressway into the pits of debt
Mastercard the priceless way into foreclosure
Visa its excepted everywhere you go, except bankruptcy court
Can you tell I think Credit Cards are EVIL?
What are four credit account numbers assigned you, and when (month/year) do they expire?
00000000123 09/10
00000000456 01/11
00000000789 02/22
00000101112 03/33

Do you have four credit card pin numbers, and if so, what are they?
1234
5678
9101
1121
What does your mother's maiden name look like if you type it four times in a row?
DarwDarwDarwDarw
What are the first four digits of your social security number?1234
What are the last four digits of your social security number?6789
What number did you leave out of your nine-digit social security number? (That's your lucky number!)5
What are the first four lines of your mailing address?
3 Boys Lane
Boringville CT
09876
What are your four favorite banks?
Any that give away FREE money
What are your four favorite bean dishes?
baked beans
green bean casserole
3 bean salad
What four people do you wish to tag with this meme?
Anyone who is wiling to provide me info!

This information will be used for humor only! I promise! Really, Honestly, I swear!

Moms Night Out

We had an awesome time last night at the Chris Cagle & Jo-Dee Messina concert. They are two great performers! I have always loved their music, but I didn't realize what a show they both put on. Chris showed emotion several times during his show, I guess he has been going through some personal issues over the last year. It just showed how human these entertainers are. Jo-Dee had her Dad come on stage to get a hug from him.

My neighbor/friend who got the tickets FREE, Angie and I kept watching these three guys during the Jo-Dee Messina portion of the concert. One of them looked like and acted like Chris Cagle and the other two we were assumming were body guards, But alas at the end of the concert we got a better look and all they were were posers!

It was great to get out without the kids and DH, but I did call DH and tried to let him hear Chris Cagle sing Miss Me Baby but he couldn't hear it through my cell phone.

What was really interesting was the diversity of the fans! There were young kids to elderly people and all ages in between. I am a people watcher and I always find it interesting at concerts because there is usually some pretty interesting people at them. Or at least they look interesting. I always wonder what their story is, you know everyone has a story! There was this tween or teenager up front to the stage that I swear had springs on his feet the whole concert! He looked like Tigger on crack! Jo-Dee commented to him several times by name because she had met him earlier at a store where she was signing her new album. She even gave him a kiss on the cheek!

Our next planned night out we are all ( all of us moms in the neighborhood that is) are going out to a new Japanese Steak house in town. That should be fun too!

I am officially a Blogging Chick!

After several attempts at updating my blog, I finally did it. And I am officially a Blogging Chick!
I can't post too much right now, but I will check back later and post! I am going to see Chris Cagle and Jo-dee Messina in concert tonight with my friend/neighbor. WOOO-HOOO moms night out! I will post all about it later.

Off to The Races!!!!

I won't be able to post tommorrow since we will be at the race track for Buddy. We haven't been in two weeks, so we will see how he does. Now that baseball is over we can get him to the track to practice more. Tommorrow is a big day, IF he gets into the A- Main Feature and gets 1st,2nd, or 3rd place he gets a cool trophy cup! He hasn't made an A main race yet, but tommorrow could be the first time! I will try to take some pics of the boys at the track so everyone can see how much fun they have.

Houdininess

Bubba is no longer Bubba he has transformed himself into Harry Houdini. Yes, I am convinced my 9 month old is a reincarnation of the ever famous escape artist! If he is confined in any way shape or form he will be bound and determined to get out!

Exersaucer- Can use No more. WHY? Because he can get out of it!

Swing- That was gone about 3 months ago when he was showing signs of his houdininess.

High Chair- He has learned to escape from that, and yes it has straps that I do use, but alas, my talented son can and WILL get out!

Strollers- we are on our third one, trying to find an escape proof one that of course doesn't cost alot!

He tries hard to get out of his crib and pack and play, and when we put him in his car seat he watches ever so carefully how we are buckling him up. I can see those little wheels in his head turning." okay you push the red button and pull the do-hickies out and walla!"

So now I must be even more vigilant about where HE is when I have to run downstairs to do the laundry, or be in another room cleaning, or god forbid if I need to use the ladies room. Which by the way, for moms everywhere is probably single handedly the most not private thing in the world to do because you know the minute you have to go they are barging in with some problem or another!

How do we get to escape??? I know I get very little me time during the course of the day. I am lucky if I get my 15 minute shower in without any interuptions.

Well, Bubba is asleep now and Buddy and Picasso are too, so I am going to RUN and get my shower and have a little me time before they all wake up!

Tantrums and temporary tattoos

WAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!! I didn't get my new/used van today!!! Can I please throw a temper tantrum? Can I stomp my feet? Can I throw myself on the ground and say " IT's not fair?"

Okay I feel better now that I got that out. And yes I am still getting the van, but I just didn't get it today. And I really really really wanted it today!

And I appologize for my behavour, but I was around Princess Perfect this afternoon and her tantrums rubbed off on me. Speaking of Princess Perfect, if any moms of girls are reading this I have a serious question for all of you and please respond. Something has been bothering me since last week. Princess Perfect ( who is my five year old niece) was showing me her temporary tatoos. No problem right? Well I thought the two butterflies on her ankles were cute, but when she pulled the back of her shorts down to show me the one on her back very very low on her back, I had a sick feeling in my stomach. And then the next day she showed me one that was under her belly button very low. I just don't think those are appropriate ares on a young childs body to have temporary tattoos. I wanted to say something to her mother, since she is my niece I do worry about her and what she is being taught, but I held my tongue. My question to all of you other moms out there, am I being too sensitive about this or do you also feel it is inappropriate for a child to have temporary tatoos in those places? Oh yeah, two weeks ago she had a rose on her chest. I have all boys, but if I had a girl I would not allow her to have temporary tatoos in those areas of her body.

Okay, enough about Princess Perfect, but please give me some advise on this. Should I voice my concerns to her parents about this?

Bye Bye Sardine Can!!!!!

It is ANOTHER rainy morning! It has rained so much here in the last couple of months, I am so SICK of rain! Bubba is finishing his waffle as the dog sits patiently for any crumbs to land in his lap where she eagerly devours them while tickling his legs with her tongue! Picasso is watching cartoons because he can't go outside right now. Buddy is still sleeping, he loves to sleep in!

We are getting MY new vehicle today! Well it isn't actually NEW it is a used conversion van! I am soooo excited!! No more driving around in the sardine can! Which is what we so affectionately call my Ford Escort Sedan. The boys can hardly fit in my back seat! Buddy is not old enough or weigh enough to sit up front, and of course Bubba has a car seat, and in our state Picasso is not old enough or weigh enough to not have to sit in a booster seat. So that is why we called it a sardine can! They are so squished back there! But once I get my van they will all have plenty of room! I will have room for kids and groceries and anything else I need to have in my car. The boys are excited because it has a TV and VCR in it! I know my little sardine can probably gets better gas mileage but I feel safer in a bigger vehicle! I won't have nightmares of driving my kids around and getting in a car accident and getting hit broad sided! That was my fear driving the sardine can! I have seen my share of car accidents to know what can happen! I know that in ANY car there is risk of injury in a car accident, but hopefully we will all be a little safer now.

The Holiday weekend.

The Holiday weekend is over and it was Fun but hectic. Buddy's team is out of the ALL- Star Tournament. It is bittersweet, baseball is finally over, but it was heartbreaking to see them get eliminated from the tournament. We went to several picnics over the holiday and got to visit with friends and family. We watched the annual parade with all of our neighbors. I was disheartened by the amount of disrespect for our country's flag though. Proper flag etiqutte is to remove your hat and stand when a flag goes by, but very few people even do that anymore. It is out of respect for all our country stands for. Anyways, we did have a beautiful weekend and we all enjoyed ourselves. I took lots of pictures and I will try to add them to this post as soon as I down load them. I hope everyone out in cyber space had a nice holiday weekend.

First booboo

Bubba just got his first bloody lip. I am sure of many! He is sitting in my lap enjoying a nice icee watching me record this milestone. He is fine and only cried a little, but he learned the perils of crawling with a toy in his mouth!

Speaking of bloody booboos, I am doing the mommy dance! Picasso made it through June without a trip to the ER! He has broken the curse! The last two summers have started off with serious booboos with trips to the ER. The first time was seven stitches to the forehead because his cousin accidentally hit him with a crochet mallet( not Sure of the correct spelling). And last summer we spent Fathers day in two different ER's because he got too close to a 2x10 that was being used as a catapult by some older children. We were VERY lucky and I thank GOD everyday that he wasn't killed by that board! An inch higher and his nose bone could have been pushed into his brain! As it was the first ER diagnosed him with a broken nose and his upper lip had seperated from the gumline, which they tried to stitch, but couldn't. Sooo he was rushed by ambulance to a childrens hospital because they said he was going to require surgery to reattach it! I prayed all the way to the next hospital, and yes miracles do occur and prayers do get answered! we got there and the doctors there said his nose wasn't broken and he didn't need surgery that kids mouths heal easily and quickly. After a couple of days of homemade shakes, he was able to eat regular food. He is still sensitive when he gets hit in that area while playing but he is a very resiliant kid!

So I am celebrating no major booboos!!! And praying none occur in the future!