Start the New Year Right!

LeVive Juice

There are 25 reasons to take Le'Vive Juice every day!

1) Decrease the levels of harmful free radicals, the cause of aging.
2) Keep your skin and hair healthy.
3) Fight funguses, virus and bacteria.
4) Increase your energy level.
5) Feel and look younger.
6) Prevent cancer.
7) Maintain a healthy blood pressure.
8) Control your blood's sugar level.
9) lose weight.
10) Sleep better.
11) Improve your vision.
12) Enhance your sex drive.
13) Improve your digestion.
14) Prevent gastritis, reflux and ulcers.
15) Maintain a normal cholesterol level.
16) Improve your memory.
17) Prevent diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
18) Control inflammation and arthritis.
19) Prevent tumors.
20) Protect your kids' health.
21) Keep your joints flexible and healthy.
22) Prevent respiratory conditions such as tuberculosis, bronchitis, emphysema and asthma.
23) Improve your fertility.
24) Keep your liver healthy.
25) Maintain an overall state of good balance health.

Where does this juice come from? Le'Vive juice comes from the 5 most powerful berries on earth:

1) Pomegranate - (Egypt & Asia). One of the oldest fruits known to man. Rich in vitamins A, B & C, potassium, phosphorous, magnesium, calcium, sodium and fiber.
2) Goji - (Himalayas - Tibet, Mongolia). Considered miraculous since ancient times. Rich in polysaccharides; with 18 amino acids, vitamins A, B, C & E, 21 minerals, proteins, fiber and Omega-3 and Omega-6 oils.
3) Acai Berry - (Amazon Brazil). Legendary fruit from the Amazon that contains 10 to 33 times more antioxidants than grapes used for red wine.
4) Noni - (Polynesian Islands, India). Used as a medicinal plant for thousands of years to cure different conditions. Contains polysaccharide-based nutrients, organic acids, vitamins and minerals.
5) Mangosteen - (Thailand). An Asian native that has caused a commotion with its splended flavor. Known as the "Queen of Fruits", possesses high levels of xanthones.

ORDER YOUR LEVIVE JUICE TODAY!

Holiday Special!!!

In the spirit of the holidays, I'm offering an awesome special on any and all of my products. I am offering everything at wholesale price until Jan. 1. Remember those awesome before and after pics HERE I have, well now you can have your own transformation for half the price. Interested yet? Sure you are! Skip on over to my website HERE and decide on one of my awesome reshaping garments or nutritional products and shoot me an email at courtneyartis3@yahoo.com and we'll get you set up with an order in no time. Have a wonderful holiday!

Creepy Crawlies for Dinner

Every family has a picky eater....you know that 1 child who has a grand total of 5 foods that they will consume. Well because we have about 2.4 times the number of children the average family has, we have 2.4 picky eaters..me and 1 extremely picky eater and 1 mildly picky eater. Drew is my extremely picky eater...we never chose what we'll eat for dinner based on what he eats. If we did, our diet would consist of french fries, hot dogs, chicken, fruit, and any kind of healthy, card board looking wheat cracker. What 3 year old, picky eater prefers fruit and card board crackers???? Well, to get on with the story, Drew went with my sister for dinner yesterday. My sister is an avid seafood lover...so for dinner yesterday they decided to have crab. The minute the waiter brought out the crabs, Drew felt the need to inform my sister, very loudly, that the things they were eating were nasty. She said he repeatedly protested to them eating the crabs and encouraged her to have a hot dog with him. He was concerned that the crabs were not dead, and even protested to the folks at the neighboring table enjoying their crabs. Upon returning home last night, my 3 year old came to me looking very concerned. He said "Mommy, Auntie was eating bugs." My sister had already told me about dinner, so I decided to play along and replied, "What? What do you mean Auntie was eating bugs?"

"She was eating some bugs with legs, that have hands, and it was orange, and it can crawl around, and it was nasty." I could barely hold in my laughter b/c he looked so concerned. He later told me that she was using a hammer like Papa at the table. "You're not supposed to use the hammer at the table, right? Only on the wall, right?" By this point I could no longer hold in my laughter. He actually wanted me to have a talk with my sister. And this morning he tried to convince his twin that they should talk to Auntie together, which normally would have been a great idea, except his twin is the child that eats and enjoys everything. She decided she was upset that Auntie didn't take her to eat bugs too.

Seafood and picky should NEVER go in the same sentence. As a matter of fact, I don't eat any seafood because I can't get past the way it looks. It always looks like someone just caught the animal and threw it on your plate...no dress up to confuse me, and convince me that I'm not eating my pet goldfish? Nevertheless, I've decided that maybe I should encourage Drew to try some different things....any suggestions for encouraging a picky eater? Drew and I could really use them.

Happy Birthday Tyler

Fourteen years ago, my precious Tyler made me a mom for the very first time. I remember not knowing what to feel. I was so young and scared. I had decided to give him life against the advice of some credible others in my life. I found myself pregnant with Tyler during my freshman year in college. His father nor I had a job and really no way to provide the essentials in life for him, but I knew he would be special. The first night I brought Tyler home, I watched him all night. I could hardly sleep because it hit me that I was responsible for shaping and caring for the little baby that slept in the bassinet next to me. He would wake up at night and wanna look into your eyes for hours. Wow, he carried that one for the first 6 months of his life....can someone say sleep deprived! The big, little baby that I gave birth to 14 years ago has developed into the most handsome, respectful, helpful young man I know. He is so mature for his age. He is a little camera shy so I'm gonna have a time digging up a picture of him. Tyler is one of our star athletes. He excels in track, being nationally ranked, and football. But what I can honestly say I am most proud of is his character. He is that young man that everyone loves and wants to be around but he is always rooting for the underdog. It isn't uncommon for us to find Tyler defending someone else. I can still remember a very tall 2 year old Tyler running through my mom's house kicking and hitting things just because. Awww, now I'm getting teary eyed as I realize that I have gone through the majority of years that he will be in my home. In a few short years, I will have to release him to the world to fly and impact the lives of others. I watch as the little girls grin at him and I think, thats my baby, knowing that sooner than later, I will no longer be the most special lady in his life. Ok, I'm gonna have to stop here, cause I'm getting teary eyed, but Happy Birthday T-Will!

The World of a Working Mom

So everyone has been asking why I just haven't been posting as often as I used to....well, I have entered; or re-entered the world of being a working mom..but for real this time! For months now I have been working tirelessly to build my business. Of course you didn't think I had picked up a regular JOB, or 9-5...I'm too stubborn with too many kids to be punching the clock. I am a free spirit that requires freedom to sleep during nap time and chat with my girlfriends on rainy days, but I still love MAC makeup and shoes, Jimmy Choo designs for me( shhh, don't tell anyone, its a secret to even him right now), and here lately the travel bug has bitten me. I have this overwhelming desire to drag, fly, pull all 6 of my kiddos across the world and experience new cultures and lands. I want them to really know something outside of North Carolina. There is so much of this beautiful world to see and I want to teach them to give to others, always. So needless to say, all of those things require additional financial resources....so I have started my own business, and I have a product for each and every mommy that surfs upon my awesome blog. So take a moment....Please, pretty please, and visit my new website. Put your info in...I promise not to bite or harass you and then look around. I'm sure you'll find something you love. And if you have questions...call me or email me. And just in case you're wondering do the products really really work, take a look at my before and after photos. A picture is worth a thousand words. Happy Shopping from the comforts of your computer and pj's! www.shopartis.com

Party Like a Rockstar

Wow! I am exhausted from one of the most rewarding and entertaining weekends the Artis 6 has had in a while. This weekend we set out 6 hours away from home to visit my hubby's grandmother. I feel so ashamed to say this, but its been years since we visited her and the visit was well overdue! So the drive went much better than I even prayed for. We drove during the night, praying that the kids would sleep and not fight. No fights with six kids is impossible so only a few spats here and there was remarkable. We arrived at the hotel around midnight. We settled into 2 rooms. The boys were across the hall, my oldest is a teen so he usually crashes with the 5 and 3 year old. The girls stayed in the room with my hubby and I. After about an hour I was feeling like I was trapped in a never ending sleepover. Giggles and whispers surrounded my head as I searched and yearned for sleep...and just when I thought sleep would be captured (around 3am) I hear a faint knock at our door followed by laughter. I vaguely remember my hubby answering the door and leaving the room for a few moments...and off to sleep I went. I woke the next morning and walked across the hall to wake the boys. I opened the door and thought I had been dropped into the aftermath of a toddler frat party! The floor was covered with fragrant coffee grains, water, sugar, tissue, clothing, and toys and sprawled across the floor were Ike and Drew. My oldest informed me that he tried to stay awake but he must have dosed off and it appeared that the toddlers decided to party like rockstars! They later told us that they tasted the coffee and danced to the TV and threw tissue up in the sky like stars. Boy was I thankful that we were in a hotel and not at home. I could laugh about it because we were in a hotel. And yes we did make them clean it up....

Just a little thought

"Nothing encourages creativity like the chance to fall flat on one's face."
- James D. Finley

I am learning that it is in those times when I risk it all that I birth forth some of my greatest works and ideas. Fire and pressure shapes you. Either it will break you, or it will shape you into that stronger, smarter, more creative person that you yearn to be.

Weight Loss Journey

Anyone who has read my blog more than once knows that I am OBSESSED with losing weight. With each child I packed on an extra 10-15lbs. I have finally found something that works. I will be journaling my weight loss journey on another blog with a dear friend of mine. Details of that blog will be coming very soon. In the mean time, let me bring everyone up to speed. Well, I had a friend drop quite a bit of weight with little effort or stress. Of course, I wanted to know what she was doing. She was kind enough to share with me her secrets. No diets, no pills, no surgery, and no gimmicks, just a garment that I wear for 4 to 6 hours a day. No sweating, no stress, strain, or worry. Its actually very comfortable because it provides so much back support. Anyway, I've been working the system now for a little over a week and I have lost 5lbs. I think this is awesome. But even more astonishing is the dramatic difference I saw in my body immediately after putting the garment on. I am including before and after photos. I know someone is looking at the before photo in the top corner wondering, is that really her belly pulling on her shirt, spilling over her pants, ewwww. Yes, its what I like to refer to as my post baby love. Its the physical expression of the amount of love I committed to when I carried my 6 little rugrats in their early developing stages of life, you know, pregnancy. What's 10lbs of extra padding, ok I know its more like 70lbs, but anyway what's a little fat compared to the joy they bring into my life, its just a little issue with extra tissue, or what my friends and I refer to as being extra juicy. Except now I'm thinking since the baby producing days are over, maybe I should let the extra padding and juiciness go. Take a look and let me know what you think..... click on the photo to really see

Potty Training at its Best!

Ok, I will be the first to say that I suck majorly when it comes to potty training. You would think that by now, with potty training enrollee #6, I should have it down to a science, but unfortunately, I just don't. Its one of those things that you are excited to finish but cringe going through. I love the results, a fully functioning pottyer, but the journey getting there is just as bad as child birth. All of my girls were pretty easy to train. They pretty much just started going to the potty. My oldest son decided one day that he would be a big boy, and he just went. My middle son took me through much drama to get him where he is today. Drew, the lone non-practicing pottyer, is the one that I will have stories years from now that will be fresh on my brain. He is 3 and 1/2 and until a couple of days maybe even hours ago, he had no interest in pottying. He cared nothing about being a big boy or wearing pull-ups, or diapers. There was no forcing or shaming him into pottying until NOW. I am so proud to present an original idea of the mommy of many. I present to you, THE POTTY BOOK! Quite simply I purchased a cheap little journal, small enough to carry everywhere I go. I am keeping it in my purse. On the pages of this potty book you will find a potty entry. A potty entry consist of the name of the now practicing pottyer, date, and time of each potty experience. For every favorable potty experience, Drew gets a shiny star sticker. Every favorable potty entry is accompanied by a huge proud grin from Drew. And just today when we were in the store he mentioned to the clerk that he goes to the potty. She said "Do you? That's great!" he replied with "Yep, look at my potty book." He turned to me and I proudly whipped the potty book from my purse and showed the clerk all of his favorable potty entries. Why didn't someone tell me that spending $2 and a little creativity would bring forth a proud fully practicing pottyer? Now I wonder if getting through dating will be this simple.....

TV teaches proper dining etiquette!

Obviously the person who said children don't mimic what they see, did not have kids!

Proud Mommy Moment

"Oh, what a beautiful morning, oh what a beautiful day......don't I really wish everything, and I do mean everything would go just my way...." Well I know that's a little different from the original song, but its the version I prefer, its what I call a mommy remix of the song. And since I'm singing about everything going my way, let me tell you guys about something that went better than my way. Today was little Ike's snack day. As usually I didn't remember until this morning so I wasn't prepared. This made Little Ike extremely nervous. Even at the ripe ole age of 5 he has figured out that I have a memory as long as Drew's record of staying dry, which by the way is not very long at all. Before putting Little Ike on the bus, I reassured him that I would remember to bring snacks to school, before snack time, and then I ran to make a note in my blackberry. I still had a few things I needed to do, (mainly catch about 20 more min. of shut eye) before leaving to go purchase snacks. To my surprise, my blackberry remembered to remind me. Now today, I had the extremely rare opportunity of going to the school without non-schoolers in tow, so this meant I could actually walk to Little Ike's room instead of dropping the snacks off in the office. Hubby is working an off shift, which I feel must be against some parenting laws, but that's another post for another day. Upon walking into Little Ike's classroom, he not only greeted me with a hug, in front of his little friends but he asked everyone in his class to give his mommy a happy clap because I remembered to bring the snacks. He told everyone he was so proud of his mommy because she is the "coolest and prettiest mommy." I don't cry, but I thought about how this would have been a great moment to say that I teared up, but I don't cry so I didn't. But none the less I am feeling pretty proud of my little man. His daddy has already taught him the importance of celebrating and praising the women in his life. If he keeps that up into adulthood, it will take very far in marriage. One day his wife is gonna thank us.

New Look

For a few weeks now I've been feeling like The Artis 6 needs a makeover. I thought of paying someone to do it, but I enjoy learning and tweaking the page to find the perfect look. The problem is that I am finding so many looks that I like but I have yet to find something I love. I guess until then you guys will see alot of different looks. I feel like the most beautiful teenage girl trying to find that perfect outfit for the homecoming dance, because she knows everyone will be looking at her. Until then bare with me through the many transformations, and if you see something in particular that you like, now that I have fixed my comment section, Leave a comment!

The Artis 6 need your votes!!

I suppose just like most Mama's, I think I have some of the cutest, most adorable babies. This thought alone, inspired me to enter a few of my little ones into the GAP Casting Call. I wanted to enter them all but the reality is that 2 are too old, and the other 2 and way to shy, they barely speak to people they've known most of their lives. But I did manage to enter the two that are extremely outgoing and they need your votes. Right now we're a little behind in the running, since I just entered them the other day, but I know my bloggy buddies are gonna come through for me and vote my babies to the top. Thanks

VOTE HERE and enjoy a few of my favorite pics of my babies

Big Girl's Slumber Party

This weekend I had the opportunity to experience something completely new, to me. My wonderful cousin decided to host a Girl's Weekend. My little ladies later renamed it to the"Big Girl's Slumber Party." Quite simply she invited a bunch of her female family and friends to her house for the weekend. We were invited to stay the day or the weekend. I felt as though I had been taken back into a time of no worries. From the moment I hit the door the smell of wonderful, deliciously, fattening foods intruded my nostrils, and the sounds of our favorite old school jams blarring through the house speakers all day. From Wii games, and air hockey, to the internet, chit chat, digital cameras flashing everywhere, the excellent Body Magic presentation, the surprise visit of the purse lady (and yes I'm lovin' my new hand bag), and a delicious brunch on Sun, the weekend was jammed pack with fun. Oh wait, how could I forget the awesome 30 min. massages. We ate, we laughed, we danced, we talked. And surprisingly things don't change. Just as little ladies stay up all night, talking, dancing, and giggling, guess what, so do older ladies! The main difference was is adults we have the freedom to come and go, and do as we please, so we were able to take the party on the road for added fun. I enjoyed laughter with my sister and cousin who I've known all my life and the opportunity to meet many new women. Whoever said women were "catty" and couldn't get along, has never met these ladies. I had planned to stay all night but around 3ish in the morning I decided the thought of sleeping next to my hubby's warm body was too much to bear. I drove home for the remainder of my sleep and joined the ladies in the morning. Yeah, I know I'm punkish, but forgive me for loving my hubby. Sleep is so much better beside him. Regardless, this "Big Girl's Slumber Party" is a must do from now on. I'm already looking forward to the next shindig. Great Job on the planning Fee!

A Prayer Answered

For more than a year now, it has felt as if my family and I have faced one situation after another. None of the situations on their own have been strong enough to take me out but several of them back to back had left me weak and tattered. I found myself begging God for mercy and still feeling overwhelmed. Non-believer associates of mine would like nothing more than to say, "Where is your God now? You used to be so happy and full of joy, but it looks like the God you talk so much about, is no where to be found." And I must admit that there were times when I felt alone, and my flesh longed to be emotionally overwhelmed, but the Holy Spirit would always remind me that God said he would never leave nor forsake me, and he is always faithful to his word. I found myself mentally revisiting times that seemed to be less burdensome, just to keep myself motivated. The rougher things got, the less I wanted to pray, but the more I wrote to God. At times when my lips refused to open, my hand constantly wrote. Even in times of struggle I needed God to know that I love him and I trust him and his will for my life. Its amazing how struggles can affect you. Financial struggles, health challenges with me and my children, and family discord among my close family members had broken me. Broken-ness was a new place for me. I had no idea that the brokeness was what I needed to allow God to rebuild and restore me. These issues combined had taken me to a place where I had to come to lean and rely on no one other than God. And today I stand in a place where I can honestly say to God, "Thank you for allowing me to go through and triumph over these circumstances. Trials are only temporary. And I can now begin to see the break in the storm clouds. I'm coming out." Thank you Lord, for I am victorious!

Just one of those days

Its only 8:35 am and already, its been "one of those days." You know its one of those mornings when you promise yourself that you won't raise your voice but then you realize that it is 7:21am and Ike has a stomach ache and he's refusing to leave the bathroom but he needs to be at the bus stop by 7:30, and his sisters are waiting, very impatiently I might add, with way too much "attitude" for my taste, and then for a moment you think, I'll just take him to school this morning, its only 5 min. away but, "Oh, shoot!" Hubby took your keys and his to work with him this morning, by accident of course and he won't be returning until lunch, so unless you plan to keep Ike home all day, you better rush him out of the bathroom, and oh, how he hates to be rushed, and SaySay is once again reminding me that she is "still hungry, though" even though she's had a bowl of cereal big enough to feed 2 children her size, and is Miss Ny popping her lips at me? Usually she is the one everyone is impatiently waiting on, but since she has a new outfit she wants to wear today, she was up 45 min. early without the help of anyone to drag her from the bed, and is the house spinning, round and round, full of noise, crying, whinning, little bare feet running across the hardwood floor, and LeLe jumping in joy from the sound of beads in her hair bumping and jumping creating a rhythmic... sphich, sphich, sphich, and who gave the twins balloons to pop at 7 in the ........! OK, EVERYONE STOP TALKING, CRYING, MOVING, JUMPING, RUNNING! NO MORE! ..........I think I will just go back to bed and restart this day.

Headed to Burkina Faso, Africa

I think most people have a written or unwritten list of things they plan to accomplish before leaving this life. My list has things on it that range from losing weight to visiting foreign countries. About 4 years ago I added "make a difference in the lives of others through a missions trip to Africa and Nicaragua." I thought it would be years before I would have the right opportunity come along, but God has orchestrated an awesome opportunity now. I sit in awe as a I watch something that started as a small thought grow and mature into a strong desire. Its so amazing how God always does the things he promises. This opportunity is a true desire of my heart.

On Monday, November 30, 2009, I will leave on a 10-day journey to Burkina Faso, West Africa with Koinonia Christian Center Church Missions Team. Burkina Faso is the third poorest country in the World. We will be setting up medical clinics, working with children, hosting a vacation bible school, providing spiritual guidance and knowledge to the people living in the areas we will visit. We will return on Wednesday, December 9, 2009.

The total cost of mission trip $3,005.00 per person, which includes $2,005.00 for airfare, $600.00 for lodging, $200.00 for transportation, and $200 for food. We are not all able to travel abroad for various reasons, but we can all help by contributing financially and offering up continuous prayers. I solicit your prayers and any financial assistance you are able to provide—no donation is too small.

For those of you who may be wondering about Koinonia’s ministry here, please take a few moments to view our website at www.kccfamily.com. Back to School Rallies, Family and Friends Weekend, local missions ministries, senior health fairs, and Harvest Fest are all examples of the community outreach activities we sponsor. As a church, we are building into the lives of individuals here and abroad and I solicit your support as we seek to empower individuals.

Please help me make a difference in the life of others in Burkina Faso. No Donation is too big or too small. I thank you for helping make my dream a reality.

Again, thank you for your prayers and support.

All is Well!

Tuesday morning brings much anticipation of well needed and desired sleep. Over the past couple of days I think I experienced every emotion conceivable. From extreme happiness and excitement as I watch yet another little one prepare to enter kindergarten to sheer exhaustion from days that brought things I never planned for. It all started Wed. night. Just as I was beginning to unwind and relax for the night I realized that my wonderful hubby would be leaving for an awesome men's retreat with our church on Thur. morning. While it was a great opportunity for him, I had not begun to prepare myself mentally to be home with his little clones for several days with no relief or backup adult (have I ever mentioned that my wonderful hubby is also wonderfully loud and active?) and I had not washed or packed clothing for him. Yes, my dear hubby is fully capable of washing and packing his own clothing, and he will gladly do it several moments before he is scheduled to leave but thats something I enjoy doing. Its a labor of love. I enjoy helping him prepare and letting him know just how important he is by doing little things that I know he appreciates, little things that say "You're on my mind, I enjoy this love thing we share..." So anyway, after helping him prepare, lets skip through a very hectic, chaotic but normal Thur. and Fri.and arrive at Sat. I had promised the "schoolers" that we would drive 30 min. to the clothing outlets and do a little last minute school shopping. Thankfully my lovely sis. agreed to keep the the "non-schoolers." "Non-schoolers" and shopping do not make for a happy mommy...After hours of grueling shopping, we get home only to have Lil Ike try some new flips, turns, and somersaults that result in a broken hand...and every mommy knows that broken bones do not come without many tears of pain from the child and tears of pain from the parent after an extended wait to see a Dr. Sometimes I think the wait at the ER or Urgent Care is punishment for somehow "allowing" your overly active child to figure out the best way to break a bone.....yeah, just what I needed. Oh, did I mention that awesome hubby didn't return til Sun. night? So needless to say, I approached Mon. morning tired, sleepy, grumpy, nervous, hungry (eating goes with every emotion) and prayerful. After hours of sitting in the hospital waiting on Drew to come out of surgery, expecting the best scenario but emotionally prepared for any of the many avenues that Drew's healing and recovery would take, I was overwhelmed to hear the surgeon say that Drew's surgery was a complete success! There were no remnants or return of the cholesteatoma, and he was able to place in the delicate ear prosthesis. Over the next couple of weeks my precious Drew will develop "perfect" hearing. He will be able to hear all the beautiful sounds that our creative God designed, with clarity. So now my prayers have switched to hopes that he will turn down his volume a notch!

Little Drew Drew

Its been awhile since I posted pictures,

but as my family and I prepare for Drew's

surgery on Monday I thought it

was only fitting that I post pictures of

my precious Drew.

Thank everyone for your thoughts and prayers.

I'll update after his surgery.

First Kiss

During the month of July, the supertwins (Leah-an old 5, and Ike- a young 5; they are 11 months apart) attended a wonderful summer camp at an awesome church just around the corner. They learned so much about God, friendships, and life, and the cost was only $25/per child for the entire month. I learned how quiet and calm my house is when they are gone. Well, everyday they came home with new stories of things they had learned. Its been a little over a week since camp ended, so the stories have been gradually slacking off, until last night. My hubby and I were relaxing and enjoying a quiet night watching "The Soloist." Every member of the Artis 6 should have been in the bed, but as you know, bed time is not a great time in our house. So being true to who they are, Leah and Ike burst into our bedroom overflowing with words. They were talking so fast and their voices were filled with emotion. In Leah's voice I hear concern, anger, a tinge of "hate". But Ike's voice is filled with opposite emotions. I hear supposed dislike and happiness, excitement.

Leah blurts out her version of the story first. "Ike kissed a girl!"

My hubby pauses the movie and I sit straight up in the bed, "What? When! Who?!?!?!"

I see a grin cross Ike's face as he hurries to defend himself, "Well, No, She kissed me, I mean she tried to kiss me but I stopped it, I told her no, don't kiss me, I just put my hands up like this, and then I told her, I'm not your friend." The entire time he's talking he's putting his words to motion with hand movements motioning how she leaned in to kiss him but he crossed his arms in front of his face to tell her no, but she still somehow managed to kiss him, or did she just try? Who knows? Ike's story is a little confusing.

By this time, I am attempting to look serious and hold back laughter as my husband questions Ike about the situation.

It is obvious that Leah doesn't care for this young lady who apparently attempted, and succeeding at kissing her younger brother, but who also hit, pushed, or possibly punched Leah. Ike claims to never have seen the passing of licks between the little girl and his sister. He knows he daddy doesn't allow for the hitting of his girls. But Ike really didn't want to discuss the passing of licks, he wanted to explain and replay over and over how the little girl sat down beside him in the cafeteria while he was supposed to be looking for his sister, and the little girl just kissed him. He "said" that he told her he wasn't her friend anymore, but his grin and his eyes said, he never really meant that. He was definitely her friend. She gave him his first little smooch on the lips, and he didn't even have to work for it. He said she is a bad girl in camp and she was often sent to the Principal's office. My hubby continued to question him to get more details. "Well, did she kiss anyone else? Why do you think she kissed you? "

Ike responded with "NO! She didn't kiss anyone else. Just me. She always got in trouble so she never got any stickers at the end of the day. I got all the stickers and I got to move from here to here (motioning to us how his popular sanguine personality wooed the teachers and thrust him to the front of the room)." He was voted Camper of the Week twice by teachers and students and Best Camper at the end of the camp. So in other words I guess he was saying he's just got it like that!

At some point during his explanation I looked at the anger building up in Leah's face and the excitement overflowing from Ike's face and I could hold it no longer. I ruined the entire parental conversation by bursting into laughter. I never expected Ike's first smooch to come at 5, and I'm not sure how I would feel if this was one of my little ladies handing out smooches to the little boy with the most stickers but I do know that Ike was very happy that it happened.

Artis 6 Update

I miss the days of early morning inspirations, and long blog writing, but that was all before summer school. Now-a-days, the minute I have something to blog about, I also have something to study or some paper to write. Since I only have a few minutes to happily tap away at my keyboard for my own selfish pleasures I will attempt to quickly update everyone on the adventures of the Artis 6.

Drew is headed back to surgery at the end of the month. The doctors are hoping not to find any remnants of the cholesteatoma they removed in the earlier surgery. The plan is to reconstruct his ear bones with titanium. As the Dr. explained all of this to me, I'm thinking, ok, well at least he won't be able to tear that up and then the Dr. actually said, "For the four weeks immediately following surgery we will need you to keep him calm."

I respond with "Well what do you mean?" In my mind I'm thinking we are talking about Drew Drew, the three year old that climbs and jumps or falls, and flips off of anything. The Dr. then proceeds to explain to me that there is a possibility that the titanium ear bones will tilt over if Drew has a hard bump or fall. So I told them to go ahead and plan the surgery to sit the ear bones back up, unless they plan to sedate the little rascal for the 4 weeks. While I've been on my blogging diet, Drew has climbed up the shelves in the pantry several times to obtain whatever snack is on the top shelf. I tried to prevent the climbs and jumping down by moving the snacks to the bottom shelves and moving cooking items to the top shelf. Who would have thought that he would need the cooking items too? Just the other week he climbed up to get the corn meal off the top shelf. Apparently he and his twin sister wanted to create a beach in the middle of my den floor using corn meal for the sand and bowls and spoons for the shovel and pail......they get their creativity from me.

Never too far.....

Here lately with mommy-ing, wife-ing, school, and volunteer events, I just haven't had the time to write. So you guys are really behind on my whole weight-loss journey. Well for about a 1 1/2 weeks it was more of a weigh-more journey. I kinda hit a bump in the road where I refused to eat the things that I know are good for me and indulged, and over-indulged in the those foods that stick to my mid-section, back, and hips. Nevertheless, I regrouped and I am once again back on track. Well on my journey, I picked up a new exercise activity to add to my very short list of enjoyable activities where ACTIVE actually takes place. For example I consider scrapbooking, reading, writing, and listening to music to be enjoyable activities but they really aren't that active. So anyway, I picked up bike riding. A couple of weeks ago I went to the local Goodwill and purchased a great bike for $20 that I later saw in the store for $195. My son and I did a little repair work and I was ready to hit the road. On my first bike ride in about 15 years I was feeling great. I hit the bike trail armed with ipod, water bottle, helmet, and cell phone (for emergencies). I was just a ridin' and humming along, enjoying the beautiful scene. The bike trail meanders through the woods and across a lake. About 17 min. and 32 sec. into the ride something in my head said, "Don't ride too far. You still have to get back home." So I turned around and began home, and you guessed it, 3 min. later I was so tired from pedaling that I felt like I would fall out! I ended up sitting down on the grass and calling my teenage son to come get me. He told my daughter, who then called my father. Now everyone had something to laugh at. The thought of me sitting on the side of the street, bike thrown in the grass, and helmet tossed away was more than my father could contain. I think he's still laughing. He even hopped in his truck trying to make it to the park before my son could get there just so he could get a real visual image. Well I haven't given up on bike riding yet, but I also haven't hit that trail again. For right now I think I will just build up my endurance riding in the cul-de-sac down the street, that way I'm never too far from home.

And I have dropped another 3lbs. Thats a total of 10lbs over the past 5 weeks.

Lil Ike turns 5!!!

Lil Ike turns 5!! Lil Ike is my bundle of energy wrapped up in a huge layer of care and concern for others. He's never met a stranger and carries on long, extensive conversations with children and adults alike.

He's friendly and charming and has a serious addiction to anything on tv that remotely resembles martial arts. Quite early my hubby and I noticed that he has a gift to flip, turn, twist, and roll off of anything or nothing. He watches tv while flipping in the air. Lil Ike is the spunk in our family. He keeps things poppin' in the Artis House.

Happy Birthday Lil Ike!

Such a beautiful morning

It was a beautiful sunny morning. I was able to sleep in past 6:30 without little ones asking for cereal at 6am. With a smile on my face I reach for my toothbrush only to realize, its wet! Why would my toothbrush be wet when I hadn't used it?

We seem to have this issue with toothbrushes in our house. There are little ones who view toothbrushes the same way they view say, family toys, or silverware. Yes, there are enough for everyone in the house to have their own, but its not personal property. I have made several attempts to change the way my little ones view toothbrushes. I've purchased several. I have proof, there are enough toothbrushes for everyone to have more than one.

All to no avail. And when I asked why someone used my toothbrush, the reply I got with a smile was "I couldn't find mine so, I borrowed yours, but I put it back where I got it from."

I guess I can't argue with that, it was returned. And for those of you wondering, I keep new toothbrushes handy for situations just like this. I'm just not willing to take the chance and put it back in my mouth. It was only yesterday that I had to remind everyone younger than 10 to brush their teeth. Now that I'm thinking about it, chances are they didn't even use my toothbrush for teeth. It may have been for the cat, or the dolls hair, or to draw pictures in the tub with soap.

I have been tagged!

All during this busy week I have been trying to make time to tell everyone that Robbie over at A Spiritual Connection thinks I have "An Honest Scrap." Look right over there to the right This is awesome! Caramel Diva tagged her. Before I pass on the rules I will go ahead and tell you that I have altered the rules just a little. I had more than ten things to share so some numbers have parts A and B. I just couldn't resist. I'm in a sharing mood today. So here are the rules

You have to tell your readers ten things about you they may not know, but that are true. Then you have to tag ten people with the award. Finally, let all the people you've given the award know they've gotten it (comment on their blogs or something). Don't forget to link back to the person who awarded you.

1. I love to travel. Well, I don't enjoy the traveling or the getting there, but I do really LOVE going to new places. Once all the kids leave the nest, I plan to burn the road up!

2. When alone in the house or car, I keep everything quiet. No radio, no TV, no iPod, no whining ceiling fan, no nothing. Just beautiful....silence.

3. a) I am extremely shy in person. I have to make an effort to make sure face to face conversation aren't weird or strained. I can write 10 page emails (ask my hubby), chat online all day (Am I lying Kim?), but have only have 3 whole sentences to put together in person.

b) My mother tells me, from infancy, I did not like to be touched or bothered. I was the only baby who preferred to sit in my infant seat unbothered to being held. I think this was a sign of my independence from the beginning.

4. a) Until this year I didn't talk on the phone. (My middle sister is a talker who refused to stop calling me!) So phone conversation has kinda grown on me now, I actually went way over my cell minutes last month.

b) Don't test this. There are still those days that I don't answer the phone. I can go over my personal "talk limit" very easily.

5. For me sound and sight are very closely related. Sometimes clutter and the filling up of every available piece of space can get to be what I refer to as "visually noisy." Other times too much noise feels cluttered. Everything and sound needs an appointed time or place. I'm a simple type of girl. (Jeneen, don't say a word! This is not a disorder than can be given an abbreviated title. No GTM, OCD, or ADHD!)

6. I have become addicted to looking at people's photos on facebook, and blogs. There is something so fascinating about being able to read and see other people's lives without having to talk much, and its at MY convenience! It's great!

7. I have a great little circle of friends with my hubby and sisters being some of my favs. It takes quite a bit for me to let people in but once they are in, we're friends through thick or thin. I forgive and get over things as easily as I get worked up into a fuss.

8. I want to publish many books.....fun stories for children, a collection of nuggets for sons and daughters from a mom's perspective, a devotional for wives, and the list goes own. One day I will be an award winning author. You'll see my name on books everywhere!

9. My favorite foods are plain cheesecake, french fries, pastas, rice, and spinach.

10. Seafood hasn't crossed my lips in more than 25 years. I hate the way most seafood looks like the animal. I could absolutely live without all meats. For years if I had to clean it, I wouldn't eat it.

So now to those wonderful bloggers I tagged. I hope you will visit, and leave them a comment. I'm sure they love comments just as much as I do!

1. FranticMommy

2. Dry As Toast

3. Future Mama

4. TanishaRenee

5. Little Bites of Heaven

6. Pink Nothings

7. Scrapperlicious

8. Shamelessly Southern

9. The Brown Mommy

10. Divas Can Cook

Thursday's Thoughts

How many bars of soap does it take to get to a clean set of twins?

If you guessed 8 then you are right!!! So how many got people got that right? Don't worry I wouldn't have guessed 8 either, and the twins belong to me. Apparently it takes 8 bars of soap to properly bathe and clean the twins........ according to them. I allowed the twins two minutes in the tub while I went to grab towels and in those two minutes they successfully unwrapped 8 brand new bars of soap and filled the tub with several sets of dirty clothing. Yes, dirty clothing. Not only did they think it was a great idea to fill the tub with soap and clothing items, but dirty clothing. During the interrogation it was revealed that dirty clothing appeared to be the best thing to put in the tub because (1) they were in the hamper close to the tub and (2) "Mommy puts dirty clothing in water too."

As of yet the investigation is ongoing. I have yet to discover just who put the items in the tub because according to the twins neither of them participating or witnessed anything happening.

I've been missing my blog buddies!

For those of you who don't know, I'm in summer school. I've been in school for what seems like forever now. A couple of years ago I decided it was important for me to return to school and complete my degree. As I watched my oldest son get closer and closer to high school I realized that it was going to be very important to me that I was able to say to him, "whatever you decide to do, do it well. Don't give up because it seems difficult, or boring, or even when it seems like its something you don't really think you'll want to do in the future." It never hurts to have additional skills or knowledge, so........I re-enrolled in college.

Just to give you a little background info., I attended NC Central Univ. straight out of high school on a full academic scholarship. I almost went kicking and screaming. I wanted to be out of the house but I didn't want to go to college. I wanted to go to cosmetology school. Well to make a long story short, I did nothing in school, made some decisions that made school more difficult and dropped out. I eventually went to cosmetology and loved it. I enjoyed a successful career in cosmetology for about 10 years and then it happened. In one phone call, the plans I had for my career and life changed completely. After having months of back pain, chiropractor visits, and physical therapy, I visited a neurosurgeon. After one visit and a few test he called me back the next day to inform me that I needed surgery immediately to fix the worst disc herniation that he has ever seen. I was at risk for having permanent nerve damage. I can still remember that day. Now that I think back I realize that everything was set up perfectly. It just so happened that on this busy day in my salon, my mom was catching a nap under the dryer. I imagine I would have lost it emotionally had she not been there to keep me grounded. Its not everyday you get a call from the Dr. saying, "You need surgery now. I'm going to postpone my vacation to perform the surgery tomorrow, and if you happen to lose function of your bladder or bowels before tomorrow, come immediately to the ER. You are at risk for having permanent nerve damage of your legs." He promised that I would return to work 4-6 weeks after surgery. Here I am 1 1/2 years later. I was never able to return and now I wish I had finished school when it was so much easier. In the mist of all of that I am thankful that God has given me the opportunities to stay home with my little ones. There was so much about them that I was missing. Yes, there are days when I feel that they are sharing more than I really want to know, but at the end of most days, I'm lovin' be a stay at home mom. Its amazing how a devastating situation that seems to be one that you will never recover from can actually be an unbelievable opportunity waiting in the wings. For example, writing is something that I've always loved but would have never taken to the time to do, but here I am sitting up at the crack of dawn happily tapping away at my computer. I now find myself dreaming about what I'll write about, not only in my blog, but I've found the time and inspiration to actually write a few children's stories. My little ones are enjoying the characters in my stories that I have developed based on their personlity quirks. I say all of this to simply say, I've been busy with school and homework and mothering, and I haven't had the time I would usually have to blog, and I'm finding that I miss it dearly. But I guess its one of the many sacrifices I'm willing to make in order to set an example for my children and family. The great thing is the summer session will be over in another 3 weeks and I don't plan to take two writing intensive classes at the same time during the fall session.

Oh, I can't end this post without saying I have an awesome hubby. He has been wonderful at supporting and encouraging me. By the time I finish school, I think he will know enough about criminal justice to earn a degree also. He has been great at helping with cooking and laundry and all the other little things I've had to put on the back burner to focus on school. Thanks baby!

Scrapbook Pages

For months now I have been promising some of my scrapbooking friends that I would post pics of some of my pages. Because I have a zillion things to do, I am just getting around to it, so here they are!

Partners in Crime features my "irish twins". They always find a way to create a mess of trouble. Neither of them ever did it, nor do they ever have a clue of who the culprit could be. From the time Ike could talk, they have conspired to always stick to their story.....They didn't do it!

10 Things I love about me was very hard, and it took a while to come up with these 10 things. I didn't want all of the things to be physical or based on the titles I've acquired, such as mommy and wife. While I love the fact that I feel pretty good about my mothering and wife-ing skills, I wanted to dig deeper for things like my creativity, and my strength. This was a hard one!

What I Love About You was an easy one, because there aren't many things not to love about my wonderful husband ;-)

This layout features my precious Leah, Peah, Deah. She is a quiet middle baby with the most precious smile. Her personality makes me think of spring. She's so bright and refreshing.

This layout is a testament to the love I share with my hubby.The little tags around our picture are love songs that remind me of our love, Anita Baker's "Sweet Love"; Stevie Wonder "Ribbon in the Sky", and Sade "By Your Side."
This is just a layout of some pictures of my little ones while they were enjoying the beach. This is one of my favorite pictures.