The Legal Stuff....

So I saw some legal stuff on someones blog one day and thought...oh I better make sure that's on mine.  So here it goes -

Any review on my blog is per my personal opinion.  I may be given something to review but that doesn't mean it's going to get a good review!  It's just going to get an honest review.  No one pays me for reviews.  I may get free products to test, but again they will be given an honest review.

All photos and content on the site are mine and copyrighted, do not share them.  Some clip-art I get off the Internet and you are welcome to search the Internet for those.  If it doesn't say that you may copy it, then please don't.

I think that covers it.  If I think of more I'll add it!  :)

A whole bunch of nothing....

Shortly after my little Monster left for his new home yesterday I got an email letting me know that Jr. too would be leaving.  Now I knew that both would leave eventually and soon.  But thinking about it and the reality of it happening create very different emotions.  So today I am packing up yet another foster child.  Both moves are good for the boys, once they settle in they will do great.  And shortly after I got the text that the Monster was leaving I also got news that one of my very best friends got orders and will be moving this summer.  This week is has nowhere to go but up at this point!
So with the Monster gone and our new news about Jr, Tony took us to Kohl's last night to get Jr some last minute things before his move.  He's thin and long and can wear some 0-3 month stuff still, but today I have a 6-9 month outfit on him!  I wanted to make sure to send him with a good amount of clothes.  We picked out a cute one piece outfit, since he looks great in those and some little polo shirts and plaid short sets... just adorable!  Then Tony took us out to dinner.  My husband knows me well enough not to let me sit home and wallow.  We've been through this enough times. 

But life has to go on.  And on it did go.  Daddy has now taken over story time at bedtime.  Last night as he was reading the story of Noah and the Ark out of their little picture Bible they got to the end part about the rainbow and Baby Cakes interrupted him and said "I want to slide on it.  I want to slide on that rainbow!"  Today I have spent a lot of the morning explaining to both my girls why we can not slide on rainbows or climb up them.  I feel like I'm crushing the hopes and dreams of my 2 and 3 year olds.  They are not pleased with what I am saying.  So I'm wondering - do you lie to your kids about stuff like this?  Do you say "oh we'll go find one someday and let you slide down it?"  Is that like Santa or the Easter Bunny?  How much fun would it be to go with it and drive after a rainbow one day?  I know we'd never get there, but to them it would be an adventure!  I'm never sure what to say, however this time I can show them a little better what I mean about not really being able to touch a rainbow.  We're going to go shopping and look for some type of prism to put in the girls window to create rainbows around their room.  That may help, either way it will be fun!

Davinci Bracelet Giveaway Winner!

Congratulations to Carey from http://sunnydaysatthebeach.blogspot.com/ for being the winner of our DaVinci Bracelet Giveaway by Copins Gifts!  Carey was selected randomly by a widget on random.org, which selected comment #7. 

We haven't gotten any entries for the Covergirl & Olay coupon giveaway so the first 5 people to comment I will send coupons to.  If we have no comments by the end of the week they're going into the recycling bin!

Grumpy Face

The first thing my husband said to me this morning when I rolled out of bed and walked into the bathroom was "Wow.  That's the grumpiest morning face I've seen on you in a long time."  The nonexistent morning person in me just wanted to growl and bare my teeth at him.  But the good wife in me just rolled her eyes and continued on with what I was doing. 

Of course I am grumpy this morning.  Our family is dwindling to 6 today.  It's not a fun day.  There is no way to sugarcoat it.  Every other day of the year if someone asks "How do you do it?" I smile and say truthfully and wholeheartedly that it is not about me, it is about my kids, that they have a safe home.  I don't think about the cost of this one day.  I think about the blessings of every other day.  But this day, the day they move, there is no not thinking about it.  Here it is, standing in front of me, following my every move as I try to do anything to dodge around it.  Leering at me and even slapping me in the face at times when I manage to pull away for just a second.

To add insult to injury of a day like today, I also have to pack his stuff.  Well, I did last night.  As if it's not bad enough they are going away from you forever, you also get to lovingly fold and count every shirt, pants, pair of socks, toy, and item you ever bought them.  So then you have all these memories flooding through your mind.  "Oh, I remember this outfit, he wore this for Christmas and he looked so handsome!  He wasn't all that happy to be dressed up and we caught a photo of him screaming and he looked like James Brown!" 

In the morning, walking into his room and seeing his face erupt in that bright morning smile that I look forward to every day and knowing it's the last one I will see. 

I would lie if I said it was all bad.  I am excited for him.  The possibilities that open up to a child who will having a loving and supportive forever family.  Knowing that his life will be blessed and he will be safe.  That he will be loved and adored and just the right amount of spoiled by his new mom and dad.  And after the ache of the day wears off a bit I will always be left with the blessing of being his mom for the time God allowed.  Goodbye my little Monster, I will love you always.  I look forward to watching you grow from afar and I know I am passing you on to loving and capable hands.  My memories of you will always be precious to me and you will always have a place in my heart.

Happy Birthday Tony!

Today is my wonderful husband's 32nd birthday.  I can tell you how old he is because for one he doesn't care.  And two, he thought he was turning 33!  Poor guy works so hard he can't even remember how old he is.  I guess I could tell you a little about Tony, or how we met, or something like that.  But how do you sum up the love of your life in a blog post?  I'm not sure it's possible, but I'll ramble a little and see what comes up.

I met Tony shortly after my 16th birthday.  It was the first day of my first job and in walks this boy... and I'm thinking "oooh... customer... and he's cute... I like this job already!"  He was not a customer, but the son of someone who worked in the building.  He gave me a Tootsie Pop and offered me a ride home.  I accepted the Tootsie Pop but couldn't accept the ride, as my mom was on her way to pick me up already, which I wasn't all too happy about.  (Maybe I should mention I had a boyfriend at the time, who I quickly broke up with due to the remote possibility that Tony might ask me out!)  That was almost 15 years ago and we'll celebrate our 12 year wedding anniversary in August.  I still remember the first few months of our relationship.  I was shy, he was not!  It always made for an interesting time when we were together.  We were complete opposites, but by the end of the first month I was head over heals for him.  And of course we've gone through our share of ups and downs the first few years, but the last 10 have definitely been up, up, up!  There is no one else on earth I'd rather be with, no one who would compliment me so well.  Tony shows me every day how much he adores me.  There could be no better dad for our children and I could not have picked a better best friend. 

So Happy Birthday to my husband, soul mate and best friend!  I can't wait to celebrate many more with you.  I wouldn't pick anyone else to grow old with.  If we HAVE to grow old, at least it's together :)

Covergirl Bzz and Coupon Giveaway!

Do any of you Bzz?  Are you shaking your head thinking "what is she talking about?"  Let me tell you, because if you don't Bzz, you are missing out!  BzzAgent.com is a Word of Mouth marketing network that you can sign up for, for free and then they send you cool stuff to try out.  The only thing you have to do in return is tell people about it and share some samples or coupons!  Pretty easy right? 

Recently they asked me to check out Covergirl and Olay's Simply Ageless make-up.  I picked my skin tone and was sent their new eye corrector, the new eye concealer, foundation and sculpting blush. 

Now let me tell you... with 5 kids I rarely have time for make-up.  And even when I do have time, I have never felt all that comfortable in my make-up artistry abilities.  I have 8 younger sisters and they all have such a great sense of fashion and they all look perfectly groomed at all times!  That gene skipped me and went straight on to them.  I just don't have the desire to make the time for make-up.  So when they sent me the invitation to try out this new Simply Ageless I thought "if it can save me time I will give it a great review, if not then it's going to just sit in my make-up bag like half the other stuff I own!" 

My package arrived in the mail on Friday, just as I was getting ready to head out for my girls weekend.  I knew we were going out to dinner so I thought, perfect time to try out this stuff.  I skimmed the Official BzzGuide because I have never worn corrector before.  I do have some circles around my eyes (hello...5 kids...remember?) and so I dabbed some on.  Wow, did I look weird!  So I charged ahead and added the eye concealer.  That looked better but I was still a little worried!  I then opened up the foundation.  First let me say - the packaging of the foundation is really cool!  I love that they stored the applicator in a separate, vented (no smelly applicator) area.  I tentatively rubbed the applicator around in the foundation and lifted it to my face.  I was a little surprised at how wet it felt, but after applying it, not only did it feel light on my skin (I hate heavy make-up), it looked great too!  My skin color looked even and there were no circles under my eyes.  And at this point I'd been applying make-up for less than 5 minutes!  I read some of the guide and was very excited to see that the foundation has SPF 22 and is good for sensitive skin (since mine is!)  It also comes in 15 different colors, but the color they sent me worked well for me.  After that I added the blush, which is also wet, but goes on smooth and looks very natural. 

I have worn the Simply Ageless make-up 5 days in a row and I really love it!  together with some eyeliner, mascara and a light lipstick I feel more like a woman while I'm having fun being a mom.  I know it sounds like a line, but I will probably wear makeup more now that I like the finished look.  Before now, the circles were still under my eyes after I applied my foundation and powder, making it seem like I didn't even have any on... so what's the point if it just looks the same?  I also read in the BzzGuide that after 4 weeks of use it can improve your skin.  I have noticed a slight improvement in my skin in just 5 days!  Which I noticed before I read that little snippet in the guide.  So all in all I do really like the Simply Ageless by Covergirl and Olay.  I really think I need to go get a new lipstick to celebrate finding make-up that works for me.

So yesterday's giveaway was pretty exciting and this one pales in comparison.  However, I figured there are still some of you out there who might like it!  Included in my BzzKit were 5 coupons for Covergirl & Olay make-up.  Each is for $2 off any Simply Ageless product.  Combined with a good make-up sale you could try one of the products out for practically nothing!  There will be 5 total winners for this giveaway.  Here is how to enter, please put each entry in a separate comment -

1. Comment below and tell me who your favorite Covergirl is!  (Mine is Taylor Swift!)
2. Follow my blog
3. Follow MominaShoe on twitter (include your user name in your comment)
4. Tweet about this giveaway (include the link of your tweet in your comment)
5. Blog about this giveaway (include the link of the blog post)
6. Add my button to your blog (include a link so I can see it)

This giveaway will end on May 27th at 9:00am.  The winners will be contacted for their address and I will mail the coupons to you!

DaVinci Bracelet Giveaway from Coppins Gifts!!!

After launching my blog a few weeks ago I was contacted by the wonderful Brenda at Coppins Gifts (a Halmark store) complimenting my blog and asked if I'd like to take a look at the Coppins Gifts blog and website.  I did check it out because part of her email said the magic words "Precious Moments", which I have been a huge fan of since my grandmother gave me my very first Precious Moments doll (not porcelain figure, actual doll!) when I was very young, around 3 or 4.  Now, somewhere in the attic is that doll, along with many others that are just waiting for shelves to be built around Fancy Pants and Baby Cake's room so they can be displayed once again.

 

But I digress... So I went on over to their site and checked it out.  One of the products that stuck out to me is their DaVinci beads!  They are so adorable!  The DaVinci bead sets are very similar to the popular Pandora beads, but easier on your wallet and just as cute.  There are so many different occasions you could celebrate by giving the gift of a DaVinci bracelet or necklace.  Mother's Day would have been perfect. However, since that is just over and the wedding season is upon us, what about a wedding shower gift for a childhood friend?  There are so many different beads that depict hobbies, birthstones, family, etc.  How special would a bracelet that tells the story of your friendship be to a childhood friend getting married?  Not only is it a unique gift, it's also fun to build just the right bracelet.  Right now Coppins Gifts is even doing a promotion, if you buy 4 DaVinci beads you get the 5th one free.  Just add 5 beads to your cart and enter the promo code “FREEDAVINCI” during checkout! 

AND!!!!!!!

After talking with Brenda for a few days via email Coppins Gifts has decided to do a giveaway on my blog!  You will receive the 7.75inch starter bracelet and also be able to chose 3 beads off their website!  How awesome is that?  The giveaway starts today and will close on Wednesday May 26th at 9am!  So here is how to enter, please be sure to leave a separate comment for each entry. Please be sure to leave all info requested, as I will check!

1. Reply to this post and tell me which three DaVinci beads you will chose if you win.
2. Follow Coppins Gifts on Twitter (be sure to include your username)
3. Follow Mothering in a Shoe on Twitter (again, leave your username)
4. Tweet about this giveaway (include link in your comment)
5. Follow Mothering in a Shoe here on blogger (include name in the comment)
6. Become a fan of Coppins Gifts on Facebook (Leave your name in the comment)
7. Post my brand spanking new button on your blog (Be sure to leave a link!)
8. Blog about this giveaway!  (include the link)

Please let me know if you have any questions and have fun checking out all the great DaVinci beads and all the other wonderful stuff at Coppins Gifts.

****Note: Please put each entry in a separate comment!  So if you tweeted about my giveaway, follow my blog and follow me on twitter that is 3 entries and needs 3 separate comments!  Thank you!******

Great Girl Weekend and Giveaways!!

I had such a fabulous weekend!  A good friend and I drove to Ft. Worth to my mom's house to go dress shopping.  We left our husbands and kids home Friday night and got to my mom's around 7:30.  We went to dinner and just hung out for the night.  Saturday we got up and went to Ikea, Grapevine Mills Mall and a few other places.  We both found dresses for our events this week!  Denise even got 2 dresses at the JC Penny outlet for less than $45!!  That's some fantastic bargain hunting.  Mine was a little more than that, but I got a great shirt for $12.  It was a ton of fun and great to see my mom.  I remember going on girls trips when I was growing up.  Mostly we went to Solvang, CA every spring/summer with an aunt and cousin of mine.  We shopped and ate yummy food.... so it was great to get a girls weekend with mom again!  And so relaxing, I feel ready for my busy week after such a fun weekend!  When we got home Sunday night my wonderful husband had even gotten dinner all ready and cooked for me. 

So that was my weekend... so relaxing!  I did feel a little bad that Tony was here all weekend with 4 of the kids and it rained!  We didn't get a drop in Ft. Worth.  (As I type this a big storm is going through town... thank goodness blogger auto-saves, just in case). 

So my weekend was great... what about yours?  I hope everyone else's was good!  If not that's ok!  Your week can make up for it, especially since we are doing 2 giveaways this week!!!  I am very excited about both and I hope you are too.  I am going to leave you in suspense until tomorrow when we'll open up the first giveaway!  In the meantime get a head start on your entries by following us on google friend connect and twitter :)

Also, I 'd like to thank you all for the kind comments.  I am still going through them and becoming fans of all your blogs!  I did alter a few more photos on Friday and this one was my favorite -

Oh look kids! There goes the Poop-mobile!

(Thank you so much to my friend Semalee for today's post title!)

I can't even begin to tell you how sick of poop I am!  Now many would say "what do you expect with 4 kids 3 and under?"  I am not talking about dirty diapers. Oh no, this poop is of the feathered variety!

Our beautiful tree in the front yard is thick with green leaves.  But with this foliage comes birds.  Tons and tons of birds.  It seems every business in town has decided to get those annoying speakers that play predator bird sounds, so all the birds that usually grace the mall and poop all over it have now invaded our neighborhood and my tree!  Part of the tree covers the driveway.  Since it gets very hot here in the summer that seems like a good thing.  However, my car is so covered in poop it is embarrassing to drive!  Seriously embarrassing.  I get looks at stoplights!

So last night after grocery shopping with my Mini Jedi I decided to go through a car wash.  (It may have been the snickering I saw the guy in the car next to me do at the light on the way to HEB that finally pushed me over the edge).  I pull up to the car wash and of course there's no way to pay with a credit card.  And of course I have no cash.  Mini Jedi's come in so handy at times like this!  He busted out his wallet and haded me a fat wad of cash.  (Where does an 11 year old get so much money?  Oh. Grandparents. Duh)

So I stick five bucks into the machine and we go through the car wash.  (Only after the car in front of us spent 15 minutes going through the blowers at .05MPH.  Seriously!?)  And we go through.  And I drive home.  And I start to unpack the groceries and Tony comes out to help.  And even though it's 9:20pm and dark out we can STILL see bird poop all over my car!!! 

I guess that means I need to hand wash it.  Because I really don't want to pay anyone else.  However, the thought of touching bird poop while I wash it is equally discouraging.  Do you think the neighbors will laugh if I wash my car wearing gloves??

Amature Night!

So I have been playing with Photoshop Elements 8.  I installed some free actions I got from the Pioneer Woman blog.  Now please remember I am not a professional photographer.  I just wasn't born with the "eye" for it.  However, I am very excited about the program and played around with it a bunch and here is what I've made so far...

...it's a start anyway!  And SO much easier than the Paint Shop Pro I had been using. 

The Pits!

My husband was quite the funny man this weekend.  At one point he walked into the kitchen and told me "I'm an idiot".  Really how should a good wife reply to such a statement?  "Of course honey, whatever you say!"  (I don't remember what he said next, why he called himself an idiot)

Later, as I was cutting up avocado for dinner he walked into the kitchen and observed what I was doing and said "Hey, you should do that thing you do and sprout the avocado seed".  What?  You mean with a flick of my nose make it sprout into a tree?  Ok, no problem!  Although I know how to sprout an avocado seed (kinda) I wasn't sure what he meant by doing that thing thing I do.  Then he said "You know, like you did when you were a kid at your house."  Ah, ok... that clarifies things. 

We did in fact plant an avocado see when I was a kid, however it never grew (we didn't do it right).  I also sprouted a few seeds but never planted them.  So with a quick google search I found a site that gave instructions and we now have 2 avocado seeds stuck with toothpicks and sitting in a Dixie cup full of water.  (The site said 2 are better than one for pollination).  

So there you have it.  If they sprout we still wont get avocados for 3 to 4 years, however we do love our avocados and if we can grow them it will save us quite a bit of money! 

To-Do Tuesday

So after recovering from Monday I am ready for the rest of the week.  And boy is there a lot to do.  I have zero attention span when it comes to things I need to do around the house.  My husband is always telling me to make a list.  He's a little bit OCD so lists are his life.  I do admit, when I make a list more gets done.  So I'm going to try a little harder... not a lot gets done here with 3 toddlers and a baby!  So here are my lists for the week -

Need to-do

• Balance the checkbook
• Go through last year's summer clothes, see what fits Fancy Pants still and what will now fit Baby Cakes
• Go through the girls pajama drawers, they barely close!!
• Go through Monster and Jr.'s clothes and start sorting their stuff for their upcoming moves
• Go through the girls clothes in their closet and put away any winter clothes that won't fit them next winter
• Clean off my desk
• Clean the bathrooms
• Sweep and mop
• Weed my gardens
• Gather up foster care paperwork.  Make copies for Pathways and put in boys files
• Put away my laundry (I don't use the desk chair anyway, why can't that be my closet?)
• Do an inventory of the fridge/freezer/pantry and plan a menu for the next week
• Clean off table in the living room (it's not really a dining table, as we don't really have a dining area)

Now, that is not just for today... and I do have more to do around here but that's a good start. 

Want to do-

• Bake banana muffins (finally)
• Water my plants
• Figure out how to make shadows behind my graphics in Photoshop
• Organize my gardening stuff and wash off the outside tables
• Take more pictures
• Edit more pictures
• Tweak some stuff on the blog

That is all I can think of right now... so which list to do first?  Or do a little of each, back and forth?

How do you prioritize your want to do and need to do lists?

In the Garden with my Girls

For years I have longed for a garden... one where I lovingly grow tomatoes, squash, lettuce, beans, etc. and feed my family healthy, nourishing foods.  However, something always seems to go wrong and I may buy the seeds and even start the seedlings but the follow through has just never been there (I will spare you my 10000 excuses!)  Now that I have two precious little girls though it is something I want to share with them, something I want them to enjoy and learn. 

So this year it's been different.  We moved into our home in August just after Baby Cake's adoption and our new backyard sports three flower boxes.  All were completely overgrown with weeds and crabgrass.  We dug up all the soil out of each box, pulled the weeds and junk out (we found many items in the soil including a bunch of little animal figures and a bobble headed cat).  I layered newspaper on the bottom of each box to help keep weeds out and we refilled them with the soil.  We also had to do a little bit of cat-proofing, as we have 2 cats who thought these new lovely boxes of dirt were their brand new litter boxes. 

So far we have planted tomatoes, peas, summer squash, peppers, and green beans.  I think for our first year and limited space this is probably all we'll do.  We also have some herbs planted in pots.  I thought it would be a lot of fun to really track how much our plants grow.  They get it, but a visual is always better right?  So we bought some dowels  and picked a few plants to track their growth.  After our fun Mother's Day panting project both girls were eager to paint some more.  So we went around and painted a line on each dowel at the height of the plant this week.  The girls had a lot of fun with this.  I don't know that they understood what we were doing, however once everything grows some and we paint our next lines they will get it!  They are pretty smart girls :)

Happy Mother's Day!

First I'd like to say Happy Mother's Day to all my readers (if anyone is reading this!)  I have had a wonderful day so far.  Let me tell you about it!

We have been wanting to dedicate our girls since their adoptions.  (Fancy's adoption was in Feb. 09 and Baby's in Aug. 09)  However, something always seemed to come up.  People we wanted there couldn't make it, Tony ended up having to work, kids were sick, etc.  So as a surprise to me Tony arranged to have them dedicated today, on Mother's Day!  I can't think of a better day to dedicate my girls to the Lord, who answered my prayers and my hearts longing for a daughter and even one upped me!  (The Lord sure gives us the desires of our heart in abundance...) So this morning we dedicated our girls and they were just adorable.  I'll try to share photos once we get them from our friend. 

Our church then had a free Mother's Day lunch for anyone who wanted to stay.  It was so good and just such a blessing.  There is no way we would have been able to take 4 kids out to lunch with the long waits, and at nap time at that!  (Monster is with his other family this weekend so we were down one kid). 

We got home and I have been working on spreading the word about my blog, editing photos and watching Avatar with Tony and TJ.  I am not able to do the things I wanted with this old version of Paint Shop Pro I had and so Tony, being the wonderful man he is went to Walmart and bought me Adobe Photoshop Elements 8!  I am going to install it in a few minutes, in the meantime here are some unedited photos of the girls making Mother's Day gifts for their Grandma and Nani.  Monster made one for his new mom too, but I am not allowed to share photos of any of my foster kiddos on the Internet.  (I got the idea for the gift from a friend's blog "The Toybox Years".  You can find a button for it at the bottom of my blog).

May oh May

Dear May,

I tried to hide my feelings from you.  I tried to treat you just like any other month.  But I can't do it any longer.  Some days I dislike you immensely, some days I don't mind you at all.  But today May, you are breaking my heart.  Tomorrow though you will fill it full!  Today you have taken my Monster from me for three whole days, and you've left me with this raw spot on my heart, just knowing that this is the beginning of him leaving our home forever.  Tomorrow I get to celebrate being a mother and dedicate my beautiful girls to the Lord.

Next week May you will most likely send the calls that say when both my Monster and Jr. leave, but next weekend I get to have a get away trip with the girls and do some shopping.  The following week our family will dwindle from 7 to 5, but we will also celebrate Tony's birthday.

So you see May, you are playing with my emotions!  You brought promises of a promotion and new job for Tony, new homes for my foster boys, great homes at that!  So why then May is my heart aching so much?
So this is how I feel... like a bipolar crazy lady... happy one minute, crying the next.  Maybe you could somehow take it easy on me?  Soon May, very soon, I'm going to be done with you.  June will come and I will leave you behind, so let's get along and make our time together count ok?

Thanks,
Tracee

What to-do in a shoe?

I wonder if that old woman in the shoe had a routine?  She had many more than 5 kids, she must have had some type of routine.  Did she make a to-do list?  I struggle with making a to-do list each day.  My wonderful husband lives by his lists and is constantly bugging encouraging me to.  I mean to, I really mean to.  But I get distracted...very easily!  And even then I need to make a "want to-do" and a "need to-do".  I'd much rather make a "want to-do" list and just hope the "need to-do" gets done too.  And this is the reason my house is in the state it's in right now!  So for today, here are my lists -

Want To-Do

• Make mother's day crafts with the kids (done!)
• Finish making yogurt
• Make banana muffins for Tony
• Tissue paper sun catcher crafts with the kids
• Finish the book I'm reading (the 2nd Yada-Yada Prayer Group book)
• Read my "Adoptive Families" magazine that came in the mail 4 days ago and I haven't had time to read

Need To-Do

• Unload the dishwasher
• Wash Fancy Pants sheets (we're still potty training at night!)
• Remake FP's bed
• Water the garden
• De-clutter the kitchen counters
• Wipe down the counters
• Start dinner (enchilada casserole and Spanish rice)
• Start kids laundry
• Put laundry away (I really think the clothes prefer the basket... they get more air that way)

What do your want to-do/need to-do lists look like?  Which do you start first??

My Shoe...

I remember, as a child, pulling out my mother's huge Mother Goose Nursery Rhyme book, plopping it in my lap and reading all the interesting stories in it.  I especially liked the one about the old woman who lived in a shoe.  It went something like this -

There was an old woman who lived in a shoe.

She had so many children she didn't know what to do.

She gave them some broth without any bread.

She whipped them all soundly and put them to bed.

And there was always a picture that went along.  I know this isn't the one out of my mother's book, but it's similar -

I don't think the mother was smiling in the book, but the kids all looked like they were having so much fun!  The rhyme confused me though because having all those kids sounded exciting!  So why would she spank them and put them to bed?  And why did she look irritated in the picture?  Did she just spank them on general purpose because those kids all looked like good kids to me! :)

Now that I am a mother to many children I understand a little bit more about that mother who lived in the shoe.  That shoe must have been so cramped for space, and all those kids whining and crying that they were bored, their sister hit them, etc... oh that poor mother!

I don't live in a shoe, but I can totally relate.  My life is totally chaotic and busy and I have kids coming in and out, making their way into our hearts and lives and then leaving again.  All the while we try to build a "normal" life for our forever children.  I don't spank them all and put them to bed each night and I sure feed them more than broth (although, ask some people what they think about foster parents and that part of the rhyme may resemble their opinions!!) but I bet that mother did the best she could (I always wondered where the dad was!) and we do the best we can too for our beautiful children.

My shoe is loud, messy, and completely crazy but my heart is full!  And I bet that mother's was too...