Breaking News!

We interrupt your blog reading, for a very special announcement.

The Tail of 2 Doggies is up and running. Head on over to our place.

Go HERE, to check us out!

When you're done, we guess that you can come back here..if you feel that you must.

Sincerely, George and Gracie.

I Asked and I Received!

The other day, I asked if anyone would like to hear about raising a large family. Most comments were a thumbs up. There was interest in several things...But BZ was as specific as you can get. So, for starters - today I'll answer her queries. Here are her questions:

Hmmm... questions re: TEN kids....
Okay,... well..... as a curious person that often asks TOO many questions, here's what I'm wondering:
What are the genders and times lengths between each?
Ex:
1.. boy
2. 14 months later, girl.
3. 2 yrs. 1 months later, boy
4 & 5. 18 moths later, twin girls...
Birth order and gender has always intrigued me with what research shows as "typical" (that's the curious psychotherapist in me).
Hmmm, what else....
Were all regular deliveries or any cesareans?
Did you breast feed? ...all?, or #s 1,5,6,7 and 10?? ...if breast fed, how long typically?
[Is this enough ?s yet :-)! ]
Is there a typical career field that they -boys and/or girls have leaned toward?
Are any of them particularly close as adults? ...if so, how far apart time-wise were they?
And lastly, ...I know... are you sorry you asked?!? :-)....
...here it is: Was there a time that you ...??... said... or thought... maybe we should ??? ummm... ?? ...do ????..... "something else" since you thought it was a fertile time for you....??...and maybe .... you were, in general, TIRED?
I'm honestly asking because my husband and I have ONE ....and this has been the case with us before although, we are planning on "trying again" soon).
*
Okay... did I just make enough comment/questions for the rest of the quarter?!?
:-)

1st child - Boy
2nd child, 23 months later - Girl
3rd child, 26 months later - Boy
4th child, 15 months later - Girl
5th child, 15 months later - Girl
6th child, 35 months later - Boy
7th child, 26 months later - Girl
8th child, 27 months later - Boy
9th child, 19 months later -Girl
10th child, 12 years later - We adopted a boy who was 10 years.

No C-sections. Had very quick and easy deliveries. And when I say quick I mean very quick. When my third child was born the doctor didn't make it, nor on with number eight or number 9. With my second, my doctor couldn't get upstairs in time, so a resident on the floor stepped in.
For the last three or four, we were at the hospital (and hubby starts the clock when he park) for 20 minutes or less before delivery. The most I've ever pushed was three times. Had two deliveries when I never pushed at all.

I did have high risk pregnancies, due to RH/ABO blood incompatibilities. I had pre-eclampsia with my first.

I breast fed all but the first (and of course the last ), and of all the babies the first needed to be breast fed the most. He was allergic to most of the formulas that we tried. His pediatrician scared me into bottle feeding him. His bilirubin was higher than the doctor was comfortable with and breast milk can (for a brief time) raise those levels. I was young and didn't know didly. I did a lot of research before my next child was born.

As far as the length of time - I basically let them wean themselves. Most quit at around 15 - 18 months, the longest was almost 3 years. I didn't use bottles at all with most of them. Just started them on sippy cups, when they were old enough.

No typical careers. Most of them are very musical. 3 play the cello. 3 play the viola. I plays the violin and soprano sax. 2 of the 3 violists play the folk harp. 2 of the 3 violists play the piano.
2 of the cellists play the guitar. One additional child plays the guitar. Many of the kids where in choirs in Elementary through high school, and a couple of the boys are really good artists.

One son has a 2 year degree in computers and is a certified personal trainer. He has a son and a daughter.
Another son is pharmacy tech, works for Marriot in sales and is working on a degree in Business Management. He is expecting a son any day now.
Another son has is A+ computer certification, and will start college next year. He thinks that he want a degree in English and teach high school or college level English and minor in Physcology.
Another son is a vet tech, and is going to college full time online.
Big J is still in high school.

One daughter is a clinic assistant/office manager for an Orthopedic Surgeon. She has 3 boys.
Another daughter works at a CDC on an Air Force Base. She has two boys and one girl.
Another daughter has a degree in music, but is a stay at home mom right now. She has a son and a daughter.
Another daughter works from home with her husband, while raising 2 small children - one boy and one girl.
Youngest daughter graduated from high school last May, and works at Olive Garden. She doesn't know what she wants to do, but plans on going back to school in a year or so.

Most of the kids are very close to one another, especially the girls - but are scattered across the country. They all hope to get together for their sisters wedding coming up. They stay in touch by phone, email and Facebook. Oldest daughter and 2nd son live close by, and they live about 45 minutes from next to youngest son. Youngest daughter and next to youngest daughter live a half mile from each other and these two live about 90 minutes from next to oldest daughter. 4th son and Big J live with us.

I've been TIRED since before my oldest was born. My kids where not sleepers!!! From the time that my oldest was born, until my youngest started sleeping through the night - 19 years - I only had 3 months when they were all sleeping through the night.

And as far as your other question... too put this delicately, my husband like to come home for lunch...a lot! I wasn't able to use most types of birth control, due to allergies, a tilted uterus, and other medical issues. After my youngest daughter was born. I had complications which required transfusions right after her birth and then 10 days later had a massive post- partem hemorrhage, which required a 911 call, an emergency D & C followed an hour later by an emergency abdominal hysterectomy. I received numerous units of plasma and whole blood. Due to the lack of oxygen from blood loss, I'm one of the few people who can honestly say that their child gave them brain damage!

So BZ - there you have it!

In future posts, I'll address routines, groceries, and favorite recipes. I'll have to dig up some photo's, and I also hope to have a few posts from some of the kids...and maybe I'll even talk the husband into saying a few words.

I've just spent 5 hours trying to get refills on medication that has 4 refills left. AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRG!!!

A week ago last Friday, my husband took all me meds up to the pharmacy for refills. All but two were taken care of. We were told that they both needed authorization from the doctors office. They said that they would fax the info to the office and to come back the next day. When hubs went back the next day, he was told that the authorization had not come back. I TRIED not to panic. S went back on Monday - and was told the same story. Since the doctors office is next door, he went inside, and explained the problem to the "front desk lady". She said that my chart would be pulled, and that the pharmacy would be contacted. Tuesday - no medication. Wednesday no medication. Thursday - still no medication, and another trip to the doctors office. Friday - no authorization yet...S goes back to doctors office, As soon as he walks in the door, snooty front desk lady says "every body's out for lunch - come back later". I beg S not to go back and make a scene. At 4:00 when no authorization has been called in, I call doctors office and plead with appointment lady for an appointment on Monday morning (at this point I have cut medication in half, and now in thirds to get me through - averaging about three hours a night of sleep...NEED MY AMBIEN!!!), she gives me one a 8:40.

I get to the office at 8:25 for my 8:40 appointment, so that I can fill out paperwork. Front desk lady is looking nervous. Says to me "I'll take care of your chart, so that you don't have to get up and down". I'm thinking, ooooooooooooh maybe things will get straightened out now. 8:40...8:45...8:50..9:00...9:10...9:20...I hear front desk lady holler " did anybody tell MM (my NPRN) that we scheduled patients for her this morning"? "Her 8:40 has been her for 40 minutes". Oops - I guess nobody did tell her, and apparently they scheduled 2 patients at 8:40, cause when the nurse came out, it wasn't my name that got called. Oh crap (pardon my French) I'm getting just a little steamed at this point. There's no way for me to prop my leg up, cause all the chairs are connected to each other. Why do they do that? Do you think that there's a band of doctors office lone chair thieves that are roaming across the country stealing chairs that are really ugly and uncomfortable? Dang, my foot has now turned three different shades of purple, my butt has gone numb, and my right foot went to sleep.

Door opens and nurse calls my name. I'm so relieved, I almost cry. I try to jump up out of my chair, but with a numb butt, and my only good leg on pins and needles, I find that I'm stuck. What do I do now? I start wiggling my butt checks toward the front of the chair, in hopes of being able to rock myself forward. I dig my right wrist into the arm of the chair, and pray for lift off...didn't happen. Nurse says "are we having a problem"? I won't tell ya what I was thinking right then.

When I finally manage to get up, I hobble through the door...to the dreaded S*C*A*L*E. There are three people standing a foot away, at the check out counter. Now I'm not blind. I can see the numbers on the thing... so WHY does she have to say the number OUT LOUD? Mind you, the nurse probably weighs 98 lbs. soaking wet with her clothes on! *#@^!

I finally get my blood pressure, temp, and heart rate taken, and noted on my chart, and am sent into an exam room to wait. Thank goodness the two chairs aren't attached, so I can turn one around and prop my leg up. When MM comes into the room, I feel as if it's Christmas, my birthday, and valentines, all rolled up in one. Hallelujah. My life might just be worth living. This wonderful woman of healing, is going to take care of me! I talked. She listened.

I explained to her about my medication problems. That while in Florida I had my lab work done, and that my doctor there had faxed the results to the office here, and had given me a script for another months worth of Synthroid. That someone in the office here had called me to tell my that my blood work was normal and that I didn't need to be on medication. That I tried to explain to the woman that this was a repeat test to see if I was getting the right dose. That she said again said oh no, you don't need to be on medication because your results are normal. I had told the woman that yes, they were normal now, because I was on medication, but needed another script. She had said, if the results are normal why would you need meds (is this beginning to sound like the old Larry, Curly, and Moe routine of Who's on First!)? I then explained that I hadn't been able to sleep, because the pharmacy had been faxing the office for a week trying to get authorization for the other medication.

MM read all through my chart. Made lots of notes. Apologized. Sent scripts straight to pharmacy on her PDA. Filled out paper work for a Dexa Scan, Mammogram, and (Shudder) a c*o*l*o*n*o*s*c*o*p*y. She wanted to see me again in three months unless the tests warrant an appointment any sooner. Told me to call if I had any problems.

I checked out, and called S to come and get me. I came home and plopped into my recliner, and thought about how lovely it would be, to have a decent nights sleep. Smile on face...aaaaaaaaaaahhhhh.

Short lived. S comes home and tells me that they had one script filled, but that they needed authorization from the doctors office for the Ambien. I say more curse words in my head. Taking the bull by the horn, I call pharmacy - tech tells me that because I am taking something called Sonata, that I can't get the Ambien. Sonata? I've never taken Sonata. I'm told that I have to contact my insurance company. After speaking to 5 different people in 5 different departments, I find out that no claim for Sonata is anywhere in my records, but that in January my policy changed it rules on Ambien. They will only pay for 60 pills in any given 90 day period. That it takes 10 days to process the material that is faxed in by the doctors office. If I want my medication, before this can be processed, I am free to pay for the refill in cash, and they will reimburse me.

I call the pharmacy back and ask to speak to the pharmacist. Tell him my tale of Woe. Ask...can I get this medication refilled if I pay for it myself? He says sure. So I tell him...I've been able to refill it all this time, it was just that my insurance wouldn't cover it? Why didn't someone tell me that? I'm put on hold.....he gets back on the line and says, that a new tech was confused by the terminology.

This is me^ right about now!

Went to pharmacy. Paid cash. Got my AMBIEN!

This is the sign that they need to put up outside of my neighborhood!!!

Going to bed now. Plan to stay there for a while.

I' ve Got Some Questions for Ya!

Over the last year, I've had a number of comments about my husband and I raising a large family. Is this something that you would like to hear about? Maybe a week of posts on the subject? Just let me know...cause I want to keep ya'll coming back!

Anything else you want to hear about...and Tater Girl...keep it CLEAN. At my place Crisco is only used for cook'n (in the kitchen ;-)!!!

But seriously folks. Give me some ideas of what you want to be reading here!

XOXOXOX's
Libby

I LOVE THIS PLACE

Yesterday the S man slid me into the back seat of the car, and he drove us to Whole Foods - one of my very favorite places. Hubby met us there.
We had lunch, and then started cruising the aisles.
Well, the guys cruised...I hobbled.

THESE ARE "STOCK PHOTO'S" I got them from Google Images, cause I left my camera at home. Several comments have been left, about the pics being professional quality - that's because they are. I'm getting better with my camera, but not quite this good yet!

They have the most wonderful variety of ready made foods to choose from.

Salads, main dishes, veggies, soups and sandwiches.

And the most decadent desserts! I should have included a photo of the cupcakes they make. They make every icing flower you can imaging, and goldfish, and elephants, and teddy bears - true works of art.

Beautiful fresh flowers. A couple of weeks ago they had loads of orchids, and hydrangeas.

Produce, that's so pretty, it's almost a shame to eat it.

Look at all this yummy stuff. Hot food, cold food...

...Cheeses from all over the world. Hubby's favorite is the smoked mozzarella.

Look at this luscious fruit.

The men had pizza today. Hubby had pepperoni and S had spinach, feta and tomato.

I buy the 365 brand of canned dog food. The Lamb and Rice is George and Gracie's first pick.

S picked out a salmon fillet, and found some cedar planks to grill it on.
He marinated it(the salmon - not the planks) in lime juice. Along with the salmon, he made garlic mashed potato's, green bean casserole, and broccoli florets. Yum!

We got a loaf of Country White (the 99 cent loaf of the day), and a loaf of Parmesan.

And here's what I had for lunch...Avocado Gelato. Man oh man, was it ever good. I usually sample two or three different flavors, each time we go, - thinking that I'll have something new - but I end up ordering the same thing. I just love the Avocado!

Do you have a Whole Foods Market, in your home town? If you do, and you haven't been there yet...boy are you in for a treat! Make sure that you take your time and find all the free samples for your tasting pleasure.

Have a great weekend!

She Showed Me Her's So I'll Show You Mine

Okay People- Get your minds out of the gutter. Tatersmama showed us her pantry so I'm show'n ya mine.

This photo is just for Katie Tatie. Look - I have it in BIG cans! Hee-hee;-)

We keep snack stuff in the baskets. We're each supposed to have our own, but nobody pays attention when they put things back. I've been meaning to make individual name tags to hang on them. Maybe that will help.

I'm lucky that my pantry is large enough to hold this bookcase. I keep all my cookbooks in it. Some of them are really old...and look, I just noticed that somebody put a jar of Palmolito Guava Jelly on one of the shelves. Geesh...Iguess the old saying "If you want to have something done right, ya gotta do it yourself" is true!

This big bin (which is on wheels) holds bags of dry dog food. A couple boxes of my favorite cereal are on top of it. The bin sits to the left of the bookcase.

Yep - I've got stuff on the floor too. Look at all that diet Coke. I don't know how my boys drink that stuff. I think it's nasty with a capitol N.
The clear box (without a lid) that's sitting behind the cans of Coke, has plastic cups, Styrofoam plates, and paper napkins in it. I like to keep them on hand for when I have grand kids here.

And here's the messy section, tucked in behind the door.

Good ole TaterGirl also showed us the front of her fridge, a while back. Here's mine.
Right now, there's only three magnets on the front of it.

But I've got a lot of junk on the right side...

...and on the left side!

And here's a close up of my magnets. I've already shared the one on the left. The one on the right was sent to me by a couple of my grandsons...thanks Carson and Andy. The one on the middle keeps me legal. It says "Thou Shalt Not Weigh More Than Thy Refrigerator"!

Okay - now it's your turn. What do your pantry's and refrigerators look like?

PEOPLE - I'm flattered that someone thought that I had won this (see below)- But Geesh, I'm not that good. I didn't win this...

...I'm just letting you all know about it, cause I plan to nominate a few posts
that I've read lately.

If you've read something great somewhere...share it with the world. Everybody needs a pat on the back now and then!