Control

I'm starting to feel a little bit more in control of the situation of moving. More is packed and things are scheduled for connection and disconnection and address changes have been made. I just want this to be a smooth transition.
One event that helped matters is that my oldest son was accepted into the school that he had applied and tested for. It is a Charter school that is for gifted accelerated kids. The school is grades 7-12. It made me breathe a huge sigh of relief because it is a great school and then I don't have to worry about high school like I was. The high schools here are the worst. They are under constant lock down and there is a lot of gang activity. There are a few other schools but they are very difficult to get into. I am very proud of him and I pray that he can keep his grades up and focus.
We have decided to send our oldest daughter to a private Christian school. She will do well there but it is going to cost us a pretty penny. It will be worth it in the end though. My son Reynaldo will continue being home schooled and I am still not sure what we will do for Gracie. I am  leaning towards homeschooling her also for Kindergarten. I would then like to get her into the same school as Kiarrah the following year. I would have done it this year but we missed the deadline for the scholarships.
The kids are feeling so mixed about the move. One minute they are happy, the next they are a little anxious.
This is going to be one busy Weekend!

Awake

I woke up with such a horrible panic attack and can't seem to go back to sleep. It seems to be an ongoing theme this week. I keep having nightmares all week and in them my youngest keeps running away from me and into the street. My chest just feels like it is going to explode. I hate feeling like this. I know that I am stressed out about moving and all the changes that are going to take place. I'm worried about how it is going to affect each of the kids. Reynaldo has already been acting out and I know it is because of the move. I just don't know how to make the transition easy for him when I myself am falling apart inside. I hate change myself. I hate feeling so out of control. I hate when I finally let my guard down and get comfortable and accept things everything has to change. There is just something so wrong with all of this.
I'm trying to find all of the positives in the move but it isn't helping. I hate the fact that we can't afford rent for a place that would be large enough for us in the Heights. Everything is way out of our budget. I know this is the place that God has for us but I am seriously going to miss this home. Just in a rough place right now.

Puking, Packing and Cuddling

Ugh! Nothing more gross then getting puked on first thing in the morning. To top it off my stomach is also a mess this morning. I knew little dude wasn't feeling good this morning when he climbed into my bed to cuddle and didn't demand breakfast immediately. He also had that fever smelling breath. How many of you moms know what I'm talking about? I can usually pick up on that smell and my kids usually get very whiny before they get sick.
I'm trying not to stress out in this little lapse in plans. I had planned to get a lot done today but it isn't going to happen. Especially with the way my stomach is feeling myself.
Last night I ended up going to the Er with a friend of mine and her son. I'm glad I was able to be there to support them. I'm thankful that things are going to be ok and that the truth comes out .

Well it's a little under two weeks and we will be in our new place. We still have soooooo much work to do. Cleaning painting packing. Plus on top of all that I am homeschooling my son. Life is crazy busy but I do love my life.
Well, I hope everyone has a great weekend. Time for me to go cuddle with the little dude.

Trapped by the Ooey Gooey Goodness

While I was making a dinner of pancakes and bacon last night I had asked my husband to help me out by mixing a cake mix so his tween lifegroup could have a cake to celebrate the birthdays for the past month. While he was mixing it up he informed me that I trapped him into marrying me by enticing him with scrumptious baked goodies. When I was a nanny I did a lot of baking. It was something fun to do with the kids and it is just something that is expected of a nanny. Luckily for him I was pretty good at it and did it weekly which meant he would also get yummy treats to enjoy. He loves chocolate chip cookies, brownies and anything else I would make him. His absolute favorite was an oatmeal cookie that I made and added Raisinets too.
When we got married my baking suddenly stopped short. You see, baking is not something I really enjoy unless it is at Christmas time. There is just something about Christmas and Christmas cookies. They go together like peas and carrots. Same as making pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving or apple pie in the fall after you have visited the apple orchard. I guess you could call me a seasonal baker. I would try to make him happy by making chocolate chip cookie bars but he didn't like those. Hey they were quick and easy for me to make but they weren't the same as my cookies. He felt I was cheating him out of the ooey gooey goodness. Now that I am watching what I eat baking is extremely rare.
Cooking is a passion of mine. People just don't understand how I can like to cook but not bake. With cooking you see it and what you are creating but with baking you just throw it in the oven and let it do the work. Its just not the same.
So the question is did I trap him? :) Maybe I should bake him a pan of brownies to convince him otherwise.

Out of the Mouths of Babes Moments

As a mom, we have a lot of "out of the mouths of babes moments to share". Believe me, when i tell you that it is a daily occurrence in our house. With 5 children ranging in age from 2-12 and their fathers and my genes (Yes, I honestly have a sense of humor, dry as it might be), laughter can be heard through the day.
This morning I was cuddling in bed with my two littlest ones. I so did not want to get out of bed. It was rainy and cold and my allergies have knocked me down on my rear. I told Sprout that she was my littlest princess and Noah was my littlest prince. She proceeds to tell me that Noah is a King. I corrected her and told her that Daddy was the King. Noah then said that Daddy was a Burger King. :)
Noah has also declared to us, after hanging anything that resembles a cape, down his back, that he is "PooperMan". Got to love when they can't pronounce everything yet lol. Yes Noah, you are indeed Pooperman. Speaking of pooperman, potty training is a process that I just can't seem to get the little dude to grasp. He loves wearing big boy underwear but doesn't seem to appreciate the concept of not peeing on Spiderman. Hey it worked for my older too. We even tried not peeing on Dinosaurs and Diego and Footballs. He has been known to just take his pants off and just pee on the floor. This kiddo is going to be a challenge.
My oldest son is going through that abnoxious tween stage of thinking he is awesome. This kid does not lack in self esteem. He was picking his hair (which he refuses to have cut because he wants an Afro) and he said to himself in the mirror " Hey handsome" How are you doing? and smiled at himself. He walks around the house saying random things about how muffins are awesome and his name is Bob the muffin man. Even Noah walks around mimicking him and saying muffins are awesome. It is a daily comedy show here.
My darling Kiarrah is the most serious of all of the kids. She doesn't find things humorous often, including her father. Boy does he try to make her laugh but she just looks at him with this look like " Are you done?"
I love the uniqueness of each of my children and I think it makes my family mesh together so well. I don't try to change the way the kids are. We pull out their strengths and work on their weaknesses. They are each so different but yet, we are family. A family that God meshed together. I love my family. Silliness and all.

Heavy Heart

1 Peter 4:8-10 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace:

 So many people around me are hurting today. People having cancer scares or actually battling cancer. Others falling into deep pits of depression and others just so lost and unhappy. We are called to encourage each other. To intercede in pray for one another. God wants to hear from us. He wants us to place all of our trust in Him to know that He has got this. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in our own struggles and worries that we fail to see the hurt around us. Believe me I know. I have been there. This woe is me mentality is a vicious cycle. Yes we do legitimately need prayers and do go through rough patches but are we becoming like a horse with blinders on that we can't see what is going on around us?

With all that being said I challenge you to take your focus off of your struggles and reach out to others around you hurting. Give them an ear, a hug, a bag of groceries. Be a blessing to them. We as the Body are to use our gifts and talents to edify God. Not keep it to ourselves. I would love to hear back from you and what is on your heart.

Back to the Basics

It has been such a long time since I have updated this blog. The world of Facebook and MyFitnesspal has threatened to take over but sometimes we need to just get back to the basics. I have missed writing here and I feel like I left a whole world behind. I have made some awesome friends through the blog world. I think its time to get back to the basics and do some writing more than a brief status update :)
The Bishop family is expanding............property size not family size (I credit that line to my dear creative friend Danisia) We are moving to a 4 bedroom in a few weeks. I had hoped to never leave my home but a guy had to come into the picture (darn those men) and steal the heart of my landlord, who mind you, threatened if we ever tried to move that she would hunt us down. So said relationship and upcoming marriage has required us to relocate. We had until August to find a place but started looking right away due to our family size and budget. My heart was set on escaping Jersey City and moving to the burbs somewhere. Everyone knows I am not a fan of the city. BUT!!! Yes that is a big BUT. God has other plans! You can try and run but you can't hide lol. What is so funny about this is the fact that I am the one who found the place. It is spacious and has a lot of potential after a good cleaning and a few coats of paint. The previous tenants?? Well I suspect a serious case of being colorblind or gaudy taste lol.
I look forward to the two older boys having separate rooms and actually even being on different floors. There might be a little more peace and quiet now.
The kids are finishing up a year of school. We are trying to finalize our plans for them next school year. Its hard to believe that Dominic will be in Junior High. I miss my baby. Gracie will be in Kindergarten.
Well, I best get back to packing.

Dino Rest

Mr. Noah is finally sleeping in a big boy bed. We moved Rey to the top bunk and put together the other time bed for Dominic and Noah is on the bottom bunk. I bought him an adorable dinosaur bed in a bag from Kohls and he loves it. You should have seen the excitement on his face when he saw it. He kept questioning Mine? Mine? Mine? He calls his blanket it a bank. lol. The first night he slept in it was Friday night. I had tucked in the sides so he wouldnt roll out and he had woken up in the middle of the night when he had crawled to the bottom and couldn't get out lol. He went right back to sleep. The next night was a littl rougher but he is getting the hang of it.