NO BAKE COOKIES

We were working on Carl's bear badge for scouts yesterday and he needed to make a dessert or a snack for his den. We were going to make cookies. As we were going through the recipes he saw no bake cookies. Instantly this is what he wanted to make. I made him gather everything up so that when I was finished doing whatever I was doing I could help him. He gathered it all and we started making the cookies. Have you ever thought for a moment that no bake cookies can't be that bad for you. Here is what is what Carl gathered: oats, peanut butter, milk, sugar, cocoa and vanilla. I have been thinking for the last day that I don't have to feel guilty eating these little cookies, they are not that bad for me. I know that I can't eat the whole batch. Although sometimes I really, really want too. What do you think? Let me know by clicking on comments and tell me what you think.

ADALYN TURNS ONE

I can not believe that Adalyn is one already. Oh how time flies. She is such a joy to our family. She is spoiled rotten. Haylea loves to pick her up and carry her around the house. I was glad when she started walking the week of her birthday. She only has her two bottom teeth, but want to eat everything. I can see each of her brothers and sister in her. She looks like Little James and Haylea. She gets mad like Isaiah. And she loves to play and be with her family. She doesn't like to be alone. But who does!
We celebrated her birthday in Cassville when we went for kids fishing day. My mom made her cake. She picked at it with her pointer finger and thumb. She ate more frosting than cake. It was fun to watch her. It was like she didn't know what to do. I think she got more on her arm then in her mouth. When she was done she stood up and put her foot in it.

BLOG GOING PRIVATE

If you are reading this post I want to let you know that I am going to make it a private blog. This has been weighing heavily on my mind what to do. A couple of weeks ago I saw something on television about children's pictures being taken off of blogs and put on Craigs list pretending they are up for adoption. I want to protect our family and friends in every way possible. The reason for this blog is to let our extended family see pictures of our children and family. So if you want to keep reading the blog please email me and let me know and I will put you on the list. I will wait until probably Tuesday to do this. I will wait until then to post any more pictures of the kids. I have some of Adalyn's birthday, and a cookout we went to the other night. So please, please, please email me I don't want anyone left out. I hope that everyone understands.
Thanks,
Holly

Email address:
holly@holgatepc.com

HOMEMADE SHAMPOO RESULTS

Okay, I am a believer in my new shampoo. My hair is not weighed down by the oil, and it has not been oily since I started using the baking soda and water. This past weekend we went to my moms and I put some in an empty shampoo bottle. Apparently the shampoo bottle had some shampoo left. I used this for two days while I was there. We came home on Sunday. I didn't shower until Monday night. By then my hair was oily and yucky feeling. I was excited to wash my hair Monday night.
I have noticed that my hair feels thicker. This is very exciting because my hair is thin and fine and there isn't much hair. People have also noticed the color that my sister put in my hair in March.
Haylea has also been using the shampoo. She says that she would rather use mine, and then she loves the lemon juice sprayed in her hair. I think I will stick with what is working. The girls in our family are loving it. Now how do we talk the boys into it?

Here is the recipe.

I put about 1/4 cup or a some more in 4 cups of water.
I mix this and bring it to a boil.
I then put it in a shampoo bottle that I had. (it has a pump) and let it cool
That is it.

Then I put a little lemon juice in a spray bottle and fill it with water. You could use apple cider vinegar, but I like the smell of the lemon better. And Haylea likes it too. I spray this on after the baking soda and water.

KIDS FISHING DAY

Our family really enjoys kids fishing day at Roaring River.
This is a day that the kids get to take some classes to earn another free fishing day and to get their names in the drawing at the end of the day. This year we met up with the Burt cousins and enjoyed the day. The kids did the classes that they needed to enter the drawings. They all picked out a prize for doing the prizes. We ate free hotdogs, chips and drinks, and then it was off to fishing. Carl and James did a fly fishing class. And all the children got a fly tied for them. They fished awhile. It was nice to see Little James helping Tatum with her fishing. Adalyn enjoyed walking around, she tried to eat some rocks also. Adalyn got tired so I took her up to grandmas for a nap. After fishing until 5:00 we went over to see if anyone would win the drawing. There are several prizes donated by local businesses for the kids to pick from. Theys ay that this was a record turnout for Kids Fishing Day. I think that there were about 1600 children ages 15 and under. Tatum was called and then awhile later Haylea was called. Tatum picked a Barbie fishing pole. When James took Haylea up there were only fishing poles left, and all Haylea wanted was a pole like her brother James. So she ended up with a baitcaster. We all had a lot of fun. It was the girls day to win. They

continued to fish
until about 8:00 when the buzzer goes off. I think that fishing after the drawing is better. THere are not so many people there to contend with. I think that this time was enjoyed most. Our friend Jurgen and James would get a fish on and then give it to Haylea or Isaiah. The one not realing in the fish tried to get the fish in the net. This is alot of fun to watch. After the buzzer we went to

Jurgens camp spot and ate dinner.
Haylea and Isaiah roasted marshmellows and had some smores. I think that we ended up with about 10 fish.

It is fun to spend the day with the children doing something that they love to do. This is a great activity that we all enjoy. I can't wait until Adalyn is about three. She will hopefully enjoy fishing day also.


I did have to go and put the boys name on the list for the free fishing day. They didn't know where to do it at. I had to go up to the hatchery and ask if I could get them added to the list. The nice man couldn't find the paper to put the names on. As I was writting them on a different paper, he finally found it. That would have been sad not to get their free day. Now we get to go again before October 31.

SHE"S WALKING

I know that I talked about Adalyn walking and here are some pictures of her. I really love it when the little one are learning to walk. She has been holding on to my finger for the past 2 weeks just not ready to let go. Ever since Carl got her to walk she has become brave and is doing it more often. I love to watch her concentrate on what she is doing. And the moment that she realized that she is doing something different without help is priceless. The kids really enjoy getting her to walk. I am grateful for this stage in her life. Adalyn is so much fun.

THE GIRL PIGS SHOT

I did it. I gave the girl pig a shot. Here is the story. The pigs weren't growing, and we were trying to figure out what was wrong. James and the boys got some vaccinations and a shot for lice. He ended up giving one of the boy pigs 2 of the lice shots. So the girl pig only got a vaccine shot. The boys pigs look so much better and are actually growing. The girl isn't getting any better, and is still small.
Yesterday I was in Oswego and went and got her a shot. Today James asked if I had given it to her, and I answered no. So Haylea, Carl and I went out to catch the pig and give her the shot. I took out some food thinking that I could grab her while she ate. Catching her appeared to be harder that I thought. We tried to corner her and get her. I tried to get Carl to crawl in and grab her. While we are doing this James is by the front porch telling us how to catch her. Then he says that we probably wouldn't catch her by the time that he got there to help.
Well guess what I did catch her. And I held her and gave her a shot. I was excited that I accomplished it without the help of my husband. Now maybe the girl pig will start clearing up and gaining weight.

ADALYN IS WALKING

Adalyn walked without holding my hand today. It seems as though she knows that mom will help her. When I let go of her hand she falls to the floor. Today at church she learned that she could push the step stool in the library around. It was great.
We were sitting eating dinner and Carl had taken Adalyn out of her highchair and played with her. He was able to get her walking. She would walk between Carl and James. They dangled a cup in front of her so she would go to it. It was so fun watching the boys work with her. I had a mom moment. Being grateful that the older children enjoy the younger ones, and realizing that our little one is growing up.

THE FLEA MARKET

Today James took James and Carl over to Pittsburg to see Tom Knapp, and I get to spend the day with Haylea, Isaiah, and Adalyn. I told them we would go swimming after Adalyn had her nap. I also needed to go to Wal-Mart and get a few things. I also thought I would go to the flea market in town also. On the way I saw signs for some yard sales. There are seldom good yard sales around here, so I thought I would drive by and see. I was able to get a few things.
Then we went to the flea market. I like to walk up and down the isle and look at everything. Haylea wants to try on all the shoes and Isaiah wants to play with all the toys. I did find a waffle maker for $5.00. I thought it was a great deal. The only waffle makers that I can ever find is the Belgium waffles, and I am not a fan of those. I like the little waffle like at Waffle House. In my mind I struck gold finding this. We also found Haylea a cute skirt that should fit her next summer or next year. We couldn't pass it up.
We drove by a few other yard sales but there was nothing worth buying. We finally made it Wal-Mart to get our things that we needed. We are going to make some liquid hand soap today. Haylea is excited about it. I also got some buttons for Hayleas dress that I made her. Maybe it will get done next week. I also picked up some buckets from the bakery for food storage. I get tired of trying to get them from Country Mart. I need more. They are so handy for different things.
It is always fun to get out with a few of the children at a time. It is really less stressful for me when I am by myself, and we get to enjoy being together.

SORTING CLOTHES

I had several bags of clothes piled downstairs along with the totes outside. I decided that before school starts I wanted to go through and figure out what we had for clothes. So the boys helped me carry in the totes, and brought up the clothes from downstairs. I went through and divided them into save for Adalyn, Isaiah, Haylea, James and Carl, or get rid of them. Then I had a great idea. Because I have so many different sized, mainly for Adalyn and Isaiah, I will divide those into sizes and put them together. Now that the clothes are all over the living room and dining room I started the project. So now I don't have to dig in the box to find all the size two clothes. They are in plastic Wal-Mart sacks with a two on them. I did this for all the extra clothes. Then the clothes that they will wear this winter we put in a trash bag for now with their names on it and it is in their room for now until we need them. I eventually want to get a tote for each of them to put the out of season clothes in so that it will be easier to get too. I put in their winter coats, the snow suits, jammies, shirts, and pants. Now I just need to go through the shoes and do the same thing. Then I realized that I still have totes of clothes at my moms. I hope that it is easy to add to the things already in place. I even put the bigger clothes on the bottom of the pile and hopeful will rotate them around as we go. I really don't like having to dig through the boxes to find the things that I want and then find out that they are not in that box or I no longer have them. I will have to see how well my idea works.

HAYLEA'S SHOTS

I decided that we would get Hayleas kindergarten shot so that I could mail her shot record to LVS. We have to go the health department to do this. As we are driving up to Parsons I am worried that the boys will scare her talking about the shots. She says "It is like a pin poke." I said to her that she was right. It is like getting a splinter out of her finger. When we got to the health department there were several people there to get shots. I was glad that Haylea played and didn't see the kids sad faces as they came out. When they called her name Isaiah, Haylea and I went back to the room. The nurse explained what she was doing and asked Haylea if she wanted all three shots in one arm, or one in one arm and two in the other. She opted for the one in one arm, and two in the other. She did such a great job. She didn't cry, or scream. By the time she was getting her third shot she said that she didn't want it, but it was over. The nurse said that she was the best one of the day. We went to Braum's and celebrated with ice cream.
I am glad that it is over, and that she is such a tough girl.

ARROWHEAD HUNTING

My two oldest boys are fascinated with arrowheads. They have been begging me all summer to take them to the river so they can look for arrowheads. They are determined to find one that is worth a lot of money. Today we were out running errands and they asked if we could go. I said yes. I have to say it was fun. It will be funner when Adalyn can walk by herself. The boys found all kinds of rocks that they thought could be used as arrowheads or tools that were used. Haylea and I looked for shells. She now has started a collection of shells that she will keep on her dresser until it gets too big. We were there probably fifteen to twenty minutes and I had to go to the bathroom. I told the boys that it was time to go and they didn't even argue with me. It was wonderful. James said thanks for me taking them down there. I told them that we would have to go back at a later time.

LAWRENCE VIRTUAL SCHOOL

The boys came to me and told me that they wanted to be home schooled this year. I told them that the only way that I would do it through Lawrence Virtual School (LVS). Carl said that he would do it if James did it. I told them that they had to do it all year and there was no going back to school. I thought that the sign up date had past and told them that if it did they were out of luck. Well guess what, the last day is August 21st. James decided that he wanted to do it, it was really his idea. So I got them all three logged in and started their testing. Haylea did great on her test. She knew more than I thought she would. James and Carl finished their tests this morning. I filled out all the paper work and now I have to find their report cards and I will be able to fax everything in.
I looked at the thing that each child will be learning and it will be a fun year. I have been torn between homeschooling or sending the children to school. I am glad that they chose to be home schooled. I am looking forward to the support of another person for the boys. I am also glad that there is someone else that the boys have to report to. I think that we will do music with one and art with the other and work all the children in each one.
The great thing about it is that everything is provided for us. I don't even have to make lesson plans or find the material. It will be an exciting year. I will work with Isaiah on some of Haylea's things hopefully. He was excepted into preschool in Altamont so he will go there in the morning. And we should be able to our schoolwork while he is gone.