Fact- Plymouth also smells like tomato sauce.....

No joke here people, there is always some odd food smell in Plymouth. It has never smelled like chocolate which is very unfortunate.

So, we are adjusting pretty good to a new town. The kids schools although there are many of them are all fantastic. I had 2 IEP's yesterday and I was very impressed with all that they are already doing with the kids. Almost all of the kids have made friends (Tobey and Edwin have a harder time) and we have really settled into a good routine.

I have decided to just work part-time with one job for a while, I think it is for the best because Eddie will be going to school in the spring for Engineering if we have no catastrophic things happen in our lives....that is the plan. So, I will hold down the home front and be the supportive wife. I plan on staying busy with Church stuff and getting involved in the kids school as much as I can. I like Tobey's school the best, they just seem to get me.

Next weekend is Blueberry Fest and because of my location from what I have heard we must plan like it is the Apocalypse. I am trying to make sure that we are settled in and have everything we need for 4 days, it is not easy to stock pile soda when you and your entire family are seriously addicted to it. We have company coming also, so I think we are going to have a fun weekend with our friends.

Eddie's little sister is getting married the week after and all 5 girls are in the ceremony and Eddie will be an Usher (not the singer!), my main job will be to prevent Edwin from trying to kill her as she is walking down the aisle and to keep Tobey from running around. I am also making food and some crafty stuff so we will be busy that weekend too.

After that though I am delving right into everything Fall because I LOVE it! I have already made a turkey dinner at the new house and I have the apple cinnamon air freshener in the car! I am ready!!!! I am so ready to see pumpkins and the crunch of the leaves and the Halloween candy which is always the best tasting out of all the holiday candies! I am trying to plan a train trip for the kids but we will have to see if we have time. We have a Precious Stones party and school stuff and a Autism walk, and the list goes on.

So, here is some self reflection...(very random post, sorry....to be honest this is how my brain works) I found out with the move and having no Internet, cable, home phone and 1 part-time job that a secluded Melissa is not a happy Melissa. When the highlight of my day is getting a key chain there is something very wrong. And even though the key chain is nice, I have to be busy. Me sitting at home looking at a clock brings out a bad side of me. I am so much more in my element in the busy life of South Bend, not the slowness of Plymouth. So, I am going to just have to double the gas budget.

Speaking of gas I got gas the other day for $3.09! Jealous?! I was so giddy that after waiting for 15 minutes I realized when I got to the pump that the tank is on the drivers side...so another 15 minutes of waiting after I made a fool of myself I got the "cheap" gas! Again, that should not have been the highlight to my day.....

This is a long post....sorry. Last week we our dear friends Aaron and Jenni came to our Church and we went out for lunch. We had such a great time with them. Every time we hang out with them we just love them more and more. But man, you should have seen the looks Old Country Buffet with 8 kids and 4 adults. I had my crazy hair colors and Jenni looking so sweet and innocent in her hair pulled so perfectly in a bun. It was a sight. You know what is so awesome though, we are friends because we all serve the same God and how cool is that? Here is a little fact about Old Country Buffet in South Bend, it is practically a fashion show there. We were actually getting to the point where it was hard to keep a straight face. There was some interesting outfits there to say the least. After we finished, Aaron and Jenni loaded up my car with things from their garden and this awesome potato dish and 2 chocolate cakes! Which had zucchini in them and Edwin ate them! Shock! So, thank you Aaron and Jenni for keeping Olivia and Emily for the night and for being our friends.

Ok, here is the last paragraph in the never ending blog. And it is a Tobey Jude story....here we go. After the IEP meeting for Tobey I asked if I could go see Tobey and give him kisses. They acted like I was nuts but in South Bend you were not always allowed to jump back to the classroom and see your kids, going on... So he was on his way back from gym (he is in gym, how cute is that?) and he seen me and grabbed my hand and took me right to his classroom. Before we walked in the door, I gave him kisses and hugs and was going to walk in the room with him and he slammed the door on me! What the heck? At first I was in shock! I mean really Tobey I nearly died having you, I write a blog on you, you are the world to me and you slammed the door on me? Arghh! So, after I regained my composure, smiled to the teacher even though Tobey had just stuck a knife in my soul and walked head down out to the car. Am I happy that he is loving his school? Of course. I am happy that he is getting a life without me? Uhmmm no. That should just not be allowed.

So, I will see you guys later. Bye!

Back to School....

So, the Holstein kids are officially back in school and the schedule is crazy for getting them ready. Here is what a typical morning is at the Holstein's.

6 am I wake up
6:15 I get up the crew
6:20 Dress the youngest three and braid and/or fix 5 girls hair.
6:40 Cry because for some reason they have tangles in their hair even though I brushed it before bed and put it in a ponytail (what the heck do they do while they are sleeping?)
7 Now we are at crunch time! Mad scramble to make sure everyone has what they need so I can shove them the heck out of my house.
7:20 Edwin and Tobey get on the short bus....their driver is named Charley, he is probably 70 and wears hearing aids (said that Edwin is a quiet kid....turn on your hearing aids Charley)
7:25 Send Lena to her bus stop.
7:30 Send Alison to walk nearly a mile to her school.
7:35 Breathe and watch the Today show for 5 whole minutes.
7:40 Walk Emily and Olivia to school with Melody in tow.
8 Deal with walking Melody back home and she hates me for leaving her sissy at THAT place. On this trip back home with youngest I am told that I am mean and Melody loses her ability to stand. So I usually end up throwing her over my shoulder and trying to avoid eye contact with other parents.

So, that is my mornings. Welcome to my life.....

I think Plymouth schools are great but this whole 5 school thing is seriously screwed up. Lena goes to Lincoln Jr High, Alison goes to Riverside, Edwin goes to Webster, Olivia and Emily go to Jefferson and Tobey is at Menominee. We got the paperwork on Melody and she will be attending Washington shortly. Just so you know that leaves only the High school and the Catholic schools that my kids are not in. The whole coming home from school thing is even worse than the mornings because somehow I am going to have to clone myself to get Tobey off the bus while picking up Emily and Olivia....Nice.

Today I am taking CJ's kid to Church with me to help put at a Back To School event and tonight I am going out to dinner and to see a community theater play with a dear friend of mine. I am sooo looking forward to the break and just let Eddie take over the kid thing for a couple of days. Of all weeks Eddie had to work some 12 hour days, I am surprised I made it!

I quit one of my jobs and to be honest I am enjoying just working 1 part-time job. I have to stay busy though or I will lose my mind! I am simply not any good bored. I have some ideas for Precious Stones and I have 6 schools I need to get involved in and of course my Church stuff so I think I will stay busy enough.

I signed the kids up for the Boys and Girls Club. I had no idea how awesome of an organization it is! First off it is a $170 for the year for the 4 oldest kids. Wow! And they do all sorts of fun activities, Edwin is going to do a program on making video games on computer...perfect. And, the kids can stay there until 8 if I wanted (which I don't because we are trying to eat together every night) and they do special things for winter break and they are open on snow days! Holla! I am giddy about this one folks!

Well, I am off to put on makeup for the first time this week and feel like a human again! I hope you have a great day!

It's the most wonderful time of year...

We all seem to be a LOT more at ease right now. I am not sure if it’s because we are out of the situation we were in, or because of the small town vibe we get from Plymouth, but we are just a lot more relaxed…
Anyhoo, the kids are very excited about starting school, especially the Emilita. She is going to Kindergarten and is very excited about it. We are hoping to get Melody started in preschool, but it is looking like if we do, it will be a private one. The public preschool is a co-op initiative. Melody’s doctor wants her to go to a special needs preschool so we can keep an eye on any possible autistic tendencies, but Plymouth is different than South Bend in that respect.
Edwin is an enigma. There are times when I could hug and kiss that boy all day everyday. Then there is the rest of the year when he is in a “mood”. He has a wicked sense of humor and loves to torture his siblings.
Tobey is really enjoying the extra space in the new house and he seems more at ease, more able to be himself, so to speak.
Lena is really excited about the new school year and also getting her own laptop via a program at the school.
Alison is a little apprehensive about a new school. She is at the hard age of 12-13. Growing pains definitely suck, and she is a little sensitive anyways.
And Olivia has decided she is a girlie girl. When we moved into this house, we moved literally 3 houses down from my best friend in high school, Michelle. She has a little girl, Olivianne, and Olivia has taken a liking to her. One thing I have to get used to is the fact that my non-autistic children can just go outside and play without me having to worry. I still will, but I don’t need to.
Well, that is all for now. Take care, have a good week, and BRING ON THE FALL!!!!!

(husband here---bring on the football)

So, Plymouth smells like Pickles....FACT

Hello world, I have no Internet at my house yet, so I am doing this while working......The move has been interesting, to say the least. I know that we are not living in the desert or anything but this has been a little bit of a culture shock. So here is some things about Plymouth.....

Yes, my readers it does smell like pickles, there is a pickle plant behind Krogers.
There is only one Starbucks which seems insane.
The town essentially dies at 9:30 pm. Krogers and Walmart are the only things open I think.
There is only 7 schools in the town and my kids are in 5 of them...God help me!
Even thought we live in town it seems rural to me, I told Eddie I should get a cow!

I miss my South Bend so much, I tell Eddie that we need to head into the big city! that being said I can't stay away from South Bend for more than 48 hours without going through withdrawal. I am so thankful that we were able to find a big house and in a safe area and that takes pets, but my heart is in South Bend and I get this excitement when I know I get to go to South Bend that day.

Ok, so on to the kids which I know is why you are reading this. Haha

Lena is very excited about going to a new school where she gets to bring a laptop home for the year. And even though she got the smallest bedroom she is LOVING having her own room, finally.

Alison is loving having friends 3 houses away, I am sure that she is driving them nuts though!

Edwin has been a handful. The boy has decided to try elopement again and tried to jump out of the upstairs bedroom. I caught him in time, but now he has to be in my sight unless he is sleeping and he hates that.

Olivia who is also thrilled about having friends down the road is so excited that the owner planted a garden, she is so in her element picking vegetables and seeing how things are growing.

Tobey Jude, this has been very rough for him. First off he started the move very sick. Which I am to blame. I have to keep such a close eye on his temperature and fluid intake and because I was so focused on moving he got very sick, very quickly. He also has had a fever and his allergies are acting up so he is not my active dude yet, which breaks my heart. He is still not a 100% yet, so we just keep watching his every move.

Emily Frances who is loving her new house but the excitement of starting school trumps everything! I have never seen a kid so excited about school in my life! Love it.

And Melody is doing well, she has decided that Icee Pop is her dog now, and enjoys introducing the dog that way to everyone that comes over.

So, that is all on news for now....I will be back on Sunday!

This is not Good Bye South Bend....

So, here is the good news...we found a 6 bedroom house for us to live in! It is in a great area with great schools, it will take our pets and welcomed 7 kids. The landlord fixes things and very personable.

Here is the not so great news, it is in Plymouth. Our lives however is in South Bend, everything from our jobs, my hairstylist, our friends and most importantly our Living Stones. I actually broke down yesterday thinking about what life would be like somewhere else. This is very hard to leave a place that I love. But I have to have that roof over our head, so there you have it.

I do have to say this, I will still have lunch dates with Sarah and I still planning on Kris teaching me how to make Christmas Stockings (that is what I finally chose Kris, so get spinning). I will not leave my duties at Living Stones, and I will still be working here. We will pretty much be using all the money we saved on rent for gas now.

Eddie is going to show me how to get better with the whole picture thing because I really am bad with that stuff, so we will get pictures of the house up asap. I am planning on doing some painting because the kitchen is done in watermelon wallpaper. And it is not that I hate watermelons...but I certainly don't LOVE them enough to see them everyday.

Here is our update.....

Not a very clever title I am sorry to admit. So, 2 out of the 3 ideal houses are a no....Today we find out about the 3rd. We were told that we were not a good fit, in other words we are too big of a family. Today we will find out about the 3rd house, if it is a no we are going to have to move out of South Bend which kills me. I know South Bend has it's crime and school issues but I LOVE it here. My family (church family) is here, my best friends are here, My Living Stones is here, our jobs are here. Even though it has not been all rainbows and unicorns I am my happiest here, I am myself here.

We have out every effort into staying here, but I will not move to a bad area. We have called over a hundred places, and on Craigs list more that Facebook (hard to believe, I know).

Eddie's parents called yesterday about a house that is 3 blocks from them in Lapaz (not to far). The bright side to the house is it is still standing and within a half hour of South Bend. The downside though....I don't get along with my in-laws, I don't like the person I am when I am with them, it has no appliances,, it has no fence, it has lead, and I have no idea if the schools can handle all of the Autism I would bring and I certainly do not know if they can handle a kid like Tobey Jude. But, at this point I feel like it is either this or being homeless which does not sound like fun either. Maybe, it won't be as bad as I am thinking.

I don't know what happened but the Portage people apologized to us yesterday, they felt bad about how they talked to Lena...there will be no court involved and we have a little bit of time to move now. They did promise no more harassing. Even with the kindness they are showing I am still not giving them a glowing review to the 5-8 people that come to the house everyday to look at the house.

So on a lighter note ( I sound like the Today show). The kids have been cracking us up. Edwin is now on this whole wish thing. He has to earn wishes from us, and when he makes the wish another family member has to say "wish" or it won't come true. The other day though it backfired on him though when he was behaving like a buffoon and we had to take away the wishes. Here is the conversation....

Eddie- Edwin stop (yelling, cussing, killing your sister...take your pick, I don't remember) or I will take your wishes!

Edwin - Come on!!!!! Don't take my wishes! (expletives inserted here)!!!!!

Eddie- Ok, that's it I wish that Edwin will lose all of his wishes!!!!

Edwin- WISH!!!!!! Oh crap! (Edwin wished away his own wishes, as is the rule of our house) I was laughing so hard!

Tobey Jude has started a new dance in the car and the boy looks insane doing it! The first time I saw it I was a little concerned that it may be the start to a seizure, it's not the boy is a dancer. I felt like I was old not knowing this new dance that all of the young whipper snappers are doing!

Well, I think that is all today! If you are a praying person (if you aren't why not?) please pray that we get good news on the 3rd house, we need this house!!!!! Have a great day and I will let you know asap with the news.