The day after.......

The day after a holiday it's always kind of hard to get back into the swing of things, especially for the kids. If it's called "winter BREAK" why do we expect them to work? It's amazing how fast kids can disappear when the "c" word comes into play. Eventually, at least they gave us their laundry and kind of picked up their rooms. Then it was time to play! or veg rewatching all the movies they received yesterday.

And so today went. The garage door opened and closed every 5 minutes with someone going out to play in the snow, or coming in because they were cold. The back porch is cleared by stomping feet and swishing mittens. It takes them twenty minutes to get ready to play outside for five minutes. Such is the first real snowfall of winter. I now have footprints in my yard, and snowballs splatted against the sliding door. Poor Si Guy wasn't allowed out, because some of the drifts were as tall as him, so he just watched...and waited for his chance, but when the garage door opened he realized it was too cold. So he satisfied himself with stealing mom and dad's sodas and his siblings toys.

Our street is always one of the first ones plowed because of the grade school a few houses away, but there really wasn't any traffic to speak of on this quiet day. Nobody coming, nobody going, really quite the peaceful day of rest and recovery. Maybe that's why there are doves for the second day of Christmas.

Christmas with just us.

This was the first Christmas in years where we did not go anywhere, have anyone over, or have any "event" level planning. While I missed having Mr.M's brother around in the morning, for the most part it was really nice. The kids woke us up at 7:07, knowing the cardinal rule of NEVER wake mommy before 7am because it doesn't lead anywhere good. They gleefully raided their stockings, and played with the stuff in them for over an hour. I was starting to wonder why I bought the bigger gifts.

After breakfast, they opened their remaining gifts, only two this year...but two well chosen gifts are worth a dozen just because ones. Then it was playtime. Nowhere to go. Nothing else to do, but enjoy their new stuff and each other. Everyone shared their toys. Everyone thanked Jesus before we ate our ham dinner. (Don't get too excited, we're talking microwaved pre-cooked him w/ frozen mac and cheese, nuked potatoes and veggies here...not an event status meal, but one my whole family enjoyed nonetheless.)

After the excitement, mommy needed a nap.....apparently about a five hour nap, because Daddy didn't wake her up for anything. And the kids didn't interrupt either. The wonders of them each getting a new movie for Christmas no doubt. Although, that does explain why I'm still up at 12:45am....

Some great moments...

Our Swedish chef muppetfest on U-tube, leading into the Star Wars episode of Pigs in Space.
Si Guy climbing in the back of his new BIG truck!
Chip playing with Si-Guy's Spiral Speedway.
Princess P carrying her new inflatable Tinkerbell chair everywhere with her for the whole day.
Our oldest helping Chip put his new hotwheel track together.
Bob giving me a big smile, and a big hug for Christmas.
The girls painting their nails themselves.
Si guy bringing me sparkly nail polish to paint his toes.

and quotes:
"Mommy, can I shovel the sidewalk and the driveway? Pllleeeease?" (Yes, hands were together and in begging position with this one. How could I say no?)
"Ook Mommy! I have a cwown. I'm a qweeen!"
"Can I brush me teeth again?"
"Wow! Wee! Ball! Ball! Ball!" (Think, An-i-mal. An-i-mal.)
"This is the biggest doll, ever!"
(After apologizing for not getting him a toy, our oldest responded)"What do mean mom? The DVD player is a toy! See, it has a screen and buttons like my DS."
Ah, they grow up so quickly. Glad I have a few more tiny tot years left.

Peace be with you, a Merry CHRISTMAS to all...and to all a good night.

Have yourself a merry little Christmas...

This year, we're hibernating over Christmas. The ice/snow is drifting down outside, all pretty and sparkly. I can enjoy it knowing I'm not driving anywhere. I pray for my friends who are travelling though, and hope they've already arrived safely at their destinations, in Missouri, in Iowa, or across town.
Today was full of chaos, chasing tots away from the packages under the tree, retaping a few of afore-mentioned packages, debating which christmas specials/movies to watch on tv, cleaning, & making fudge, caramels, and marshmallows...that no one is allowed to eat until tomorrow.
Still ahead is the stuffing of the stockings...once that last holdout upstairs has gone to sleep.
This year, we don't have any real projects though, and I can't decide if I'm more sad or relieved not to have a bike to build or a train table to assemble. I look at our oldest sons gifts and see there isn't a single toy...and I don't think he'll miss it either. The only toys he asked for were building sets that were outside our means this year, but it's okay. I have one more shot before he's lost in the teen zone.
Our second son is starting to get there too. Last year his main gift was a video camera, but he was still happy to see his hot wheels. This year I hope he'll be happy too.
Our third child has the joy of Christmas in his heart all year round. He's a giving soul, shares whatever he has with whoever wants it, laughs easily, and always has a sparkle in eye and a spring in his step. He carefully alloted the little money he had to make sure he had a gift for everyone. This holiday brings out everything we love about him.
The youngest three bring about even more joy and chaos. They are the ones being constantly chased out of packages, trying to see what they'll get. They squeal at the lights, shred the paper, and stick fingers into the candy dish. I don't have too many years with ones like this left.
Though they try our patience, they're joy is infectious. It's unrestrained love and stickiness spreads around.

I love having a houseful of kids at Christmas, after all the star of the day is the babe, resting in a manger, surrounded by hay. Thank you Father, for allowing your son to be encased in flesh, and become one of us that day.

And now we're halfway through the second day...

and just when I thought I was going over the brink the phone rang. Two Christmas gifts unwrapped by toddler, (neither toys to the toddler's dismay). An entire Sam's size container of baking soda dumped on the bathroom floor to make it look like "snow", and remote control wars at full speed.

Brring.

"Hey, can I take the boys to a movie today?"
The Alle-lujiah chorus starts playing in my head.
Then princess D chimes in "I wanna go too!"
"Honey, there's not room in J's car."
JG chimes in in "It's okay. I just got paid. We ALL can go."
Kindergarten crisis averted. Mom's aspirin afternoon begins. The feature is "Alvin and the Chipmunks 2." Nough said. A preschool and adolescent testosterone delight, but a mommy migraine in the making. Still, if all goes well, it's better than defending the tree all day.

Next step, call Mr. M and tell him the plan. (Even with kids, all social events with another guy are always cleared through him.) Mr. M informs me that he just found out "tomorrow is a company holiday." Woo-hoo! Praise #2. This day may turn out all right yet.

We're only halfway through the first day......

One dentist appointment down. The boys have folded four baskets of laundry. Now they're fixing lunch. It's really nice having our oldest home. Now I just need a crowbar to pry them off the couch to help clean the rest of the house, so we ALL can enjoy Dad's week off next week. Yet they are not convinced. Why should THEY have to work?

Reasons kids have chores.....beyond the trite "it teaches responsibility,etc."
Mostly it comes down to there are six of them and two of us.

1)IF they didn't fold their own laundry, I wouldn't have time to cook. They like eating. Therefore they fold.

2)If they didn't take care of their own rooms, they wouldn't be able to get out of them, because I'm not doing it.

3)Their father works eight hours a day, and comes home to do laundry, read stories, and take care of the dishes. Guess which one goes first if runs out of time because someone forgot to take out the trash and recycling, pick up the living room,etc.

4)When the house is caught up on Sunday, we often do a family activity like the zoo, park, games,etc. They'd rather do that than be memorizing sections and cleaning bathrooms. At least they say they would.....

5) IF they don't help bring in groceries, I might forget to buy something next time, like chips.

6) Staying together, helping herd toddlers, and pushing carts in grocery stores often has french fries at the end of the checkout line. Scattering, wrestling, and whining often has cold cuts and water....that they have to get themselves.

7) They like money. The more I have to remind them of their chores, the longer I "forget" to give them their allowances.

8) They like seeing their friends. If the chores aren't caught up, they can look at pictures.

9) Whining and stalling at chores begets more chores. If it takes too long to do something, then maybe they just need more practice. If it's not just automatic for them to help out when asked, they obviously need more expected of them.

10) Because I said so, and when mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy.

We still have another dentist appointment this afternoon, and I have lunch to fix for Princess P. So Happy Holidays to you! May the SON shine upon you.

We're gonna party like it's 2009!

Not quite as catchy as Prince, but all four of our older kids had room parties today...and I had the priviledge of helping with one, and observing moments from two others.

Our daughter was sooo excited when she came home from school today. She got a new book from the principal! Wrapped and everything! They had snacks and games...and now no school until January 4th. Oh my. Princess P is so happy to have her nemesis/best friend home.

I headed to the school around 1:30ish to help set up 5th grade. I love that group of kids. Our oldest is fun to be around and rather popular, so as his mother I kind of get rock star status too. Although the real star is the room mother for our class. She gets everything planned out the week before, so showing up to help is a snap. The kids had a great time, dancing, eating, and playing games, and grabbing some more "to-go" snacks after school.

Once fifth grade was in game mode, I chose to wander by my other two older boys classes. Chip's class was receiving their wrapped presents from the principal, and had discovered snowman straws made great whistles! Chip was to busy bending and shaking the package to notice though....I wonder, what does a book sound like? I hugged my bug and trotted down to third.

Bob was so busy goofing off with his friends, he didn't even notice me walk in the room. I always consider being ignored at a kid party a successHe really enjoyed the fruit-kabobs they had for snack too. It was nice to see how much fun he and his classmates had together.

After they got home, they divied up their extra snacks among the two young beggars, and raced to show us Christmas crafts and tell their stories. They're so excited to be home until NEXT year! Days like today are what I live for as a parent. Here's hoping the next two weeks are equally fun.

Childhood nostalgia... at a sales party?

Last night I went to a games party for Simply Fun at my friendly red-headed Angel's house. It was a relaxed evening of joking around, playing games, listening to sales pitches, and of course, eating.

The food was like a hug from Jesus, taking me back to New Year's Eve with my parents. Angel's entire life is Spirit-led, and it showed down to her menu. She had the tri-popcorn can from Topsy's w/ caramel, cheese, and cinnamon, a veggie tray w/ peppers and carrots, ritz crackers w/ summer sausage and two kinds of cheese, and diet coke to drink. So noshing, and chatting, and sitting around playing games....just like an idyllic family night. When I was a kid, it was New Year's Eve with my parents. As an adult, it was just a "sales party" with my sisters in Christ.
I'm simply blessed.

Keeping on keeping on.

There are some weeks that are a success just for their completion. Sure the house looks like a war zone, and we're eating pancakes and beans for dinner, but who cares? We survived. And we're grateful.

Last week was like that. We'd be just thinking, phew...out the woods with that kid, and another one would puke on our shoulder. Sometimes two. And then, by the preschool program Sunday night, we really though everything was great! We were all feeling okay going in. Princess P got to be "the star" that the wise men followed (literally followed her up onto the stage. It was so cute!) And afterwards a cake/cookie/punch party! What could be better?

Allergic mom on the alert, I got the punch for the allergic kids first, and candy canes so they wouldn't focus on what they couldn't have....Thing is, I only was counting the two kids with severe food issues. The other four weren't even on the radar. Especially our oldest. He'd outgrown virtually all of his food issues, or so it seemed. Sure he still occasionally got a stomach ache and a skin rash from eating half a hersheys bar before he realized there were almonds in it, but it wasn't anything severe. He could take care of himself.

Or not. Allergies can and do change around adolescence. Doh!

And his old nemesis almonds had quite the nasty surprise for him. He had taken an almond crescent type cookie in disguise. It was rolled in a ball, and looked/tasted like a spicy chocolate truffle. The only thing that gave away the presence of nuts in it to me was the texture. By the time I knew the cookie's true ID, it was too late to tell him. By the Grace of GOD, he had gotten one that had been overbaked, so other than biting it in half, and whatever crumbs were on his plate, he hadn't been able to ingest much at all. I shrugged it off, thinking, eh, it's his stomach, and he didn't really eat much, so maybe he'd slide this time.

He was laying on a couple of chairs, sucking candy before we left. And then he threw up on the outdoor stairway....I, being dense and forgetful, chalked it up to too much rich, overly sweet food coming off a stomach bug, and cleaned it up while they waited in the car.

Then we got home. He watched basketball with his Dad and even requested cereal before bed.
About half an hour later he was in the ER at Children's Mercy, with severe chest pain...I'd heard him moaning in his sleep.

EKG, Chest X-ray, don't know what caused it, but it's gone now. Follow up with his doctor.
Dad brings him home. Dad goes to bed at 5am. I'm stewing....and then I realize, it was the cookie. Just a few crumbs brought him down. I'm so grateful he hadn't been able to eat the whole thing. I'm so grateful God's more diligent than me, and loves my son more than I can.
He truly does not give us more than we can bear.

We are emerging from the toughest week of this holiday season. The big kids program was at church last Sunday. It was a huge blessing to see our kids display their talents in the performing arts. Our oldest had a speaking part, Bob sang a solo, and Chip and Princess D were quite the hams to watch in the chorus.
Tuesday night the Holiday Shoppe at school was a huge success! One more thing checked off the list, so I should be breathing a bit easier...and would have been if we weren't struck by the "virus." As the week progressed, every single member of our household fell like flies to this years intestinal bug...and nightmare of nightmares, both parents were down on the same day.
Fortuntely, by the time we went down, the kids were on the mend for the most part. I'm proud of how well they can fend with minimal intervention in a short term situation. There was remarkably little complaining, lots of quiet entertaining, it warmed a mother's heart, when she was conscious enough to notice. On this day too we tag teamed. One parent sleeping while the other "supervising" the children. It kinda worked. Still, not particularly a day I'd choose to relive. Still, trying to be grateful in all things,

I am grateful that for the most part, the kids were down two by two, allowing tag team parenting to work at it's best.
I am grateful no one needed immediate medical attention.
I am grateful it is almost over now.

I am grateful that we are recovered enough to enjoy the week ahead, with the preschool program at church, and final preparations for next week's AWANA store.

I am infinitely grateful for my husband, and all he does for us and our home.

I am grateful it's almost Christmas, my favorite day of the year. Peace be with you.

Tis the season for giving.

We try to take the winter season off from sports/activities, so we can focus on the holidays and breathe for a while. Maybe spend some time cocooning with our kids and crafts and games.
This year the plan went wrong somewhere.

First, there was no chair for the Holiday Shoppe for PTA. Football is over. Sure I can do it. How different could it be from running the AWANA store which I do year-round anyway?
Then they needed a cookie chair for Damaris' girl scout troop. DH said, "sure we can do it." And Mr. M never volunteers for anything without wifely coercion, how bad could it be? He's doing the number crunching after all.
Then we remembered, the Christmas Store was AWANA's big "giving" push. (Usually, the store is mostly a toy store to reward the kids for their work.)
And then we found out Football Factory started Dec. 1, and would like our two players there every day after school for about 1 1/2 hours.....so much for our break.

Yet really, I've enjoyed our volunteering immensely. I LOVE shopping, especially with other people's money. And the chase to get the highest quality stuff for the lowest price has always been one of my driving forces. Best score so far? $15 floating candle set for about $3. And on the personal rewards side, same store I was shopping for the school at I found my husband $40 jeans for $6 - 20%. For Mr. tall and lean, that was a HUGE find. And I still get to finish the shopping for Holiday Shoppe up this weekend.

The cookie sales involved me running a kid meeting, dh running an adult meeting (he said he didn't know that was involved or he wouldn't have signed up) and me making a bunch of phone calls towards the end begging for forms. Then I added up the totals, and DH fought with the SNAP system. Notice the mom work vs the "volunteers" work here....It's okay honey. I love you.

And all that is before AWANA store. I've steadily unpacked and rearranged the store since it was destroyed for Judgment House in October. I have just now gotten to the point where I'm ready to inventory and shop....for a whole new sports and boys section, and fill out some nicer stuff for moms for Christmas. The best part of this is I'm shopping with the church's money and a friend!! Double the fun. Visiting and bargain hunting!

Yet all this is before we start our own holiday preparations. SO far, I've bought ornament kits and about half the kids Christmas presents. The tree is not up. The candles for the advent wreath need replacing. Yet the kids get to see hands on what giving is about, and that's more important than greenery anyway.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We are having my in-laws over today for a co-hosted turkey day. The turkey will be cooked at Mr. M's brother's home, since we don't have a full sized oven. It's only a couple of blocks away, and in addition to the bird we're sending over 2 dozen brown and serve rolls and a few bags of steam-bag veggies. It's nice the other house is so close so we can pull this off.
Not that we're slacking here. We're making 2 dozen rise and bake rolls, four pies, home-made whipped cream, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, two kinds of dressing, cranberry waldorf salad, and prepping the turkey.
The kids are pitching in with the cleaning so they can earn minor jobs helping with the cooking. They'll be rewarded with a nice hot brunch of GF gingerbread, orange rolls, eggs and sausage.

It should be a great afternoon/evening of good food, good family, and good football. It's truly a day to be thankful for. Happy Thanksgiving alls!

Thankful for my big kids being home today

Today started kind of rough. It's the first day of a five day break so the boys were um, "excited." So grouchy mom tried to be snappy. It didn't work too well. Our dear oldest son, just said "okay" every time I asked him to do something...even things I should have been doing.
"Get your sister breakfast"
"K"
"Keep the tv on preschool channels so I can get work done."
"K"
"Guard my soda from Si-Guy"
"K" (and he didn't drink any of it either!)
It's hard for a mom to stay in a bad mood amongst the three ring circus when there's even one kid who has their act together.
Later in the morning, post stolen diet pepsi and not stolen diet mountain dew,...I had a new task for them. Cleaning the back living room/dining area. We are having my in-laws over tomorrow after all...and Dad is working today.
This time it was our second son who just "did what he was told." Again, just one kid doing what he was supposed to, but then that child's good behavior was able to guilt the other two boys into coming around. AND Princess D, who didn't have to help, asked for a job! Woot!
Maybe we're doing something right on this parenting gig after all.
I'm thankful for the glimmers of maturity I see in my kids from time to time. All of them.

Being thankful for today.

Today is the kind of day I just want to go back to bed with a quilt and a book...relish the cool damp weather by surrounding myself with warmth and quiet. Seeing Si Guy using a flashlight as a microphone for a be-bop concert, I don't think that day is likey.

Yet I am thankful for my little soda-stealing ray of sunshine. He's almost always joyful, and full of noise to prove it. His partner in crime is all smiles this morning too, and that is something I'm grateful for. Princess P is the little girl, just without the curl.

The older kids will be bouncing off the walls when they get home. FIVE whole days with no school! AND we get to eat all their favorite foods on Thursday. They'll be joking, running, hugging. Their relationship with each other is something to be grateful for.

Chip has his "turkey bowl" tonight at the Football Factory. I'm grateful for his coach opening up his schedule to get the kids on the team together for the holiday.

Princess D has "daisies" tonight, and she's always over the moon about it. + We may get the first of the cookie forms back. We're greatful for her leaders and their sweet spirits, and the fundraiser that's getting us started.

Seems there's a lot to be grateful for in today. Family, friends, and of course, God giving me the strenght and grace to put my wishes aside for their good...which is the greater reward.

Thanksgiving week!

Thursday is Thanksgiving and we have much we are thankful for. I have a few friends posting their "1000" lists, and those are so fun to read. This is more of a how to "flip gripes into thankfulness" thread.

I truly believe there is wisdom in being thankful for "all things." Some things are hard to be thankful for...like dirty dishes or being knee deep in various kinds of debt...except that it means we have dishes and the products/services that debt is for. It's easy to be gripey about student loans, but where would we be without Mr. M's education? How much insight would I have lost without mine? Other gripe to grace thoughts.

I often get overwhelmed by the faults of our home, but taking a house with "personality" allowed us to move into a great neighborhood. It also has a big back porch we like to eat on in warm weather, and a decent sized yard for the kids to play in.

The laundry for a family of eight is a massive affair, especially with toddlers and sports, but that means we have our six children with us, and they all have clothes, and we have the means to let them have "extra" activities. THOSE CLOTHES are mostly gifted to us through friends and family, including things for eleven year old borderline "husky". (Down to football pants for his practices. We are so blessed!) I only "have" to buy pants for the two slim sized boys. Our friends/family have truly blessed us in this manner, and that is something we are grateful for every day.

Feeding allergic kids can be a challenge, but that means we have the medical care to find out what was causing their issues, and the wide array of groceries available for them to have a varied and healthy diet.

So now I've started it...what gripes can you turn into grace my friends?

Sunday was such a fun day!

Today things reverted back to almost normal. I took kids to Sunday School this morning. They were excited to be back. Miss. D is making a turkey placemat that says "Give Thanks Unto the Lord" and it is working up to be so adorable. She was really excited to be back in Kidz World too.

This afternoon I took each of the kids over to our soon-to-be home and let them pick three potential colors for their bedrooms. I taped the colors on the wall, and informed them we'd revisit them again around Thanksgiving to see if they still liked their choices, and what their top two would be. It was a good time of almost one-on-one with each child and visiting with their grandparents.

Tonight was AWANA and ALL the kids were ready to be back. (I think derby cars had something to do with that for a couple of boys.) It was "hero" night. Lots of capes wandering around the gym. My TnT'ers all got big bucks, and my Sparkies all received sparkly jewels,. Miss P made a pine cone turkey. It was a great night.

Hopefully Sundays will stay this smooth for a while. :)

Are we ready for some football? (to be over!)

Today is the last day of the football season. Note of gratitude for today. The weather is awesome! Who would have thought it would be in the 50's at 8am in November?
The kids are excited. Kind of end of the season excited. They've been living, breathing, sleeping around football since early August. They've missed playdates with friends. They've had to do homework instead of watch t.v. after school because of evening practices. In some ways they're ready for a break. Ready for.....
No more practices four nights a week. No more keeping track of pads and "bananas". No more worrying about them getting killed out there. But then there's no more outlet for Chips endless energy. No motivation for our oldest to unplug himself from his assortment of digital devices. Uhmmm. Not exactly.

There's still the good ole football factory. Once the "official" season is over. That's when it cracks open again. Yes kids. First graders have off-season training, and I'm grateful. Fifth graders lift weights in the off season, and do some conditioning too...and I'm stil grateful. Our first grader needs to stay connected to other activity addicts like himself. Our fifth grader needs anything that can motivate him to exercise. Coach E. tells them both how it is, in an affectionate grizzly military commander kind of way. So football season may be over, but football "lifestyle" has just begun.

Things my kids have said today.

Si Guy:

"Knock Knock."
M: "Who's there?"
S: "Nana!"
M:"Nana who?"
S: "Knock! KNOCK!"
M: "Who's there?"
S: "Ba-na-na!"
M: "Banana Who?"
S: "No! ME banana!" Running towards kitchen and pointing at fruit shelf.

Princess D:

"Mom, Do ladybugs like potato chips?"
"No honey. They like aphids. Little bugs that grow on rose bushes."
"How about the leaves on the bushes?"
"Don't know. Have to look that up."
"How about peanut butter?"

Princess P:

"No Silas! Not that way! This way!" (Showing him the proper way to push a chair over to raid the freezer.)

One of the older boys:
" I'm starving. What's for dinner?"
"That? I'm not hungry."

Gotta love kids. :)

Giving Thanks.

Some of my friends on FB are doing a daily thankfulness list for their status each day. I've updated my flair board for thankfulness. My kids know that Thanksgiving is coming, so I'm encouraging them to share something they are thankful for each day with me.
Yesterday, we hit the basics...food, drink, shelter,family....
Today, unprompted, my darling 3yo princess P came up to me with a sleeping beauty doll and said "thanks."
"You're thankful for the doll?"
She nodded yes.
Then off she went to watch dinosaur train with her brother.
It's good to start on the right foot.

Being thankful for what is not.

Tonight I spent the evening at the ER with our second son. The doctor was amazed at how calm I was, despite the news/non-news about his condition. Although at the time I blew it off as experience in medical settings, the truth was I was thankful for what is NOT wrong with my son.

He did not have any abnormal labwork. (No meningitis or other serious infection.)
He did not have an abnormal CAT scan. (Between these two, no brain tumor is likely to be involved.)
He did not need to be admitted or transferred, (a consult was done by phone by the excellent doctor we had drawn who "just happened" to have a special needs child of his own thus have the connections we needed on a personal level.)
Whatever he has may be chronic, but it is not terminal.

Other things that went well.

The ER wasn't overly busy.
We were taken back to a room rather quickly.
My son remained positive and calm throughout.
There were shows he liked on the entire time we were in the ER.
We got a competent, calm, compassionate doctor who likes kids, and was straight forward without being overbearing or rude.
We had a kid-friendly nurse.
His IV went in on the first try.
It was time alone with one of my kids.

Still working on the attitude of gratitude when I saw what the prescription was for, and heard "neurology appointment".....(the great land of the unknown in medicine.)..but practice makes perfect, right?

Leaf love.

I love the colors of fall. The kids love raking the yard. Not that they intend to bag the leaves. No, they rake the crunchy brown piles so they can jump into them and run through them. That's okay though.
It's good to learn that hard work has rewards at a young age. It's good to learn that work sometimes has to come before play. It's good to learn that working outdoors can be energizing and fun. It's good to learn work can be fun, period.
Now the older kids will eventually start bagging the leaves. Fifty cents a bag is big money after all. They look forward to spending it on Stuco bake sales, arcades, soda, and the other small joys of childhood.....after they're done jumping in the leaves.

Twas the night before Halloween

And all through our home,
the children were sleeping.
Mr. M & I were up alone.
The pumpkins were sitting
on the table with care.
Knowing tomorrow would bring
jack-o-lanterns there.
The candy was stashed up on the shelf.
Except for the twix bars I bought for myself.
The floors were all vacuumed
by my husband so dear
For tomorrow would bring
young trick or treaters here.
So excited are our children all aglow
To carve and light candles
and fill the candy bowl
With boo-mallows, reeces, skittles and starbursts.
With whoppers and hersheys and kit-kats and twix.
By the end of the evening
We'll all have our sugar fix.
So to all we bid well
Take flashlights with care
Trick or treat! Time to eat!
Happy Halloween to all my friends out there!

The phone saga is finally settled.

Our orders with T-Mobile are confirmed. (Sorry Sprint fans, we are just too cheap to pay more for the same # of minutes, when what we have works.) We can't wait to have two phones that can actually charge + our new "kid phone"... that we have NOT told our oldest we've ordered, yet. Once he knows he'll start chasing brown trucks.

So what did we get. Pretty much what my gut said to get.
Red Blackberry Flip for Mr. M $50 (after rebate.)
Rose Behold for me $30 (after rebate)
FREE I forget but it downloads music and has orange stripes on the side for kid(s).

Last night I called after the site wouldn't give me the "proof sheet" (how much money when for what device) for the order. I never confirmed them, but they were in process, call again in the morning please. They couldn't process the order until we replied to the confirmation e-mail. Except there was no confirmation e-mail. At that point, they didn't even have our e-mail.I The money came out of the bank that night, in greater amounts than expected. I'd say they were processed.
I called them today about mystery money going to them did I find out about the $18 per line upgrade fee + 5.99 per phone shipping for me and Mr. M.
Ah, I see. The fees were supposed to be on the blank screen I was supposed to double-check and approve._
And now, that they have our money, they tell us that they could have split over our next four bills if we had called instead of ordering our phones online...Yeah, zero out of pocket the week of Halloween would have been nice. ...And the reps for customer disservice were very nice.
Here's hoping the rebates go more smoothly.

Happy Birthday to our now 11 year old son!

What makes today remarkable is how ordinary it was, and how our dear son just took it in stride. His cake was a leftover cupcake from the nursery after church. He had vanilla pudding instead of ice cream. His only present from us was a t-shirt. Yet to him it was no big deal. He knew he wasn't getting a "big" present because we were taking a family trip the weekend before. He understood we couldn't do much "special" today because of his schedule. He had mathletics until four, and football from 5-7. After that we had to pick up his sibs and get homework done. It was just a usual Wednesday, except for the new t-shirt, with mud stains from tackling by the end of the day. I am so grateful to have a son who takes great joy in ordinary things.

He just rolled along, grateful for his t-shirt, and happy about both the trip last weekend and his plans for the upcoming one. As it worked out, one of his friends had a birthday this week too, and invited A to Worlds of Fun, as his #1 choice. Too be chosen over the other boys in their set was a big honor. Our son has never been to Worlds of Fun, and is flying as high about a kite about it. Thanks N, for making his birthday weekend special by sharing yours with him.

The moments I wish I had a video camera

There are many times I wish I had a camcorder.

Right now, w/ Miss P playing behind me with the primary colored bins from the toy box, arranging them just so, and playing hide and peek under them.

Yesterday, when Princess P & Silas were "cooking" with chocolate milk, salt,cayenne, and sunflower seeds.

Anytime Miss D is telling a story. Her face is so expressive, and her stories are hilarious, especially because she believes they're true.

At the boys football games, or even their upstairs playtime.

When the kids dress up and play "characters." or "puppets" with their stuffies.

When they're all walking/running to school. There's just something sweet about their little backs w/ backpacks tromping off together.

Any kid practically flying home w/ paper in hand yelling "Mom! MOm! Guess what?"

And so on. Maybe I should make sure my next phone has video. Hmmm.

Texas countdown

3,2,1....Everyone here is counting down to Friday, the day we go to Texas for the weekend to see J. Everyone has their own reasons.

All the kids are wild with excitement about camping in another state. They loved Wisconsin last summer, and can't wait to sleep in a tent and live on snack food again. Texas in the fall is warmer than Kansas. 60's definitely sounds better than 40's to everyone here.
The older boys are excited about the football game. A real high school game with J in it. What could be better? Everyone knows Texas has some of the best high school football in the country.

Our oldest understands his relationship to J. He's curious to know him better, and wonders how his life would have been different if I had made a different choice. He's curious to know what it's like to change from child to man as his transformation is bubbling to begin, so this visit at the brink of his adolescence means a lot to him.

My husband is just happy to have a 4 day weekend with his family.

I'm on emotional spin cycle. It is so wonderful to see my oldest son thrive in the family God chose for him, to know he's where he really belongs. It's exciting to see how he's stretched his wings, and is almost ready to fly off on his own. It's touching and warm and fuzzy he cared enough to find me almost two years ago. Yet there's some wistfulness, sadness, and pain mixed in there too. The whole experience is really beyond words. Seeing the light that shines within him is worth is all.

Saturday morning was a ball!

Well, we got through Friday really well. Mr. M even was home for dinner and practices.
His reward was taking two kids to football games in 38 degree weather Saturday morning. I'm so grateful for my man. He could have plead tired and stayed home with the others, but instead he braved the cold to watch his little men play ball. Or was it so brave?

True, I got stay warm, but I also retrieved the early game child and had to take #2 to his bowling learners league....with four younger children. I wimped out and immediately called my MIL. She agreed to meet us there at noon, so I'd only be at the bowling alley for an hour alone. As soon as we pull in,
"Can I bowl? Can I bowl?"
"No honey. It's youth leagues on Saturday morning. We can play in the arcade."
"Arcade yaaaaaay!"

One game of foozball and several pieces of candy from the "play until you win" machine later.
"We're tired of this. What else is there to do?" and off they run around the corner.
Sure enough they find the "ball" machine.

The bowling alley has a machine that sells big inflatable balls in "eggs." The pump to fill the ball is attatched to the machine. That could be a blog in itself. $4 and 45 minutes later they got tired of jumping on the foot pump. They were starting to get a bit wild with their balls so I needed a new diversion.
So it's off to the snack bar for a pitcher of Pepsi and some fries. Thankfully it was in the midst of that grandma arrived. I was running out of money and options. Someone was watching over me!

So I was free to go home. It felt good. I can't imagine having a better family.

Today is a great adventure.

Once in while God pulls away all our crutches, just to teach us how to be fully dependent on Him. Today is such a day. Mr. M left at 5:20 to drive about four hours to a funeral, so he's not available, even by phone. His mom, my #2 in my support system, has appointments all day and is also unavailable by phone. Today is also payday...known for it's stresses in bill paying and grocery shopping...and there's no one there to peel me off the ceiling, except God.

So far, it's been good. Everyone got up on time and got ready for school. All the big kids were out the door on time. The littles are fed and playing nicely....but I haven't put them in the car yet. Princess P is playing with giant lego type blocks and dominoes behind me. Si guy is watching Noggin, and refusing to wear clothes in our 65 degree house, the only real snag of the morning. I'm grateful for the peace around me. Hopefully, I won't have anything too interesting to post later.

How do I know if I'm ready to be a parent.?

Set your "reminder" on your cell phone to go off on LOUD every two hours. Every time it goes off boil some water on the stove, and make a cup of caffeinated tea. Drink tea. Try to sleep until alarm goes off again. Repeat for six weeks. (The frequent bathroom breaks are great practice for pregnancy and beyond.)

Practice the newborn burrito wrap on a small squirmy animal, like a cat or a rabbit. Make sure no legs get loose to scratch you or themselves with.

Take that animal, and set it on the floor with a few trays of paint. Leave unattended for 5 minutes. Clean up mess, with paint trays and pet still loose.

Now let's take both those animals shopping. Pay for everything they chew on, open, or break.

Go roller skating with a bowling ball duct taped to your leg.

Use a different glass every time you get a drink without washing any for three days.
This is approximately the number your eight year old will use in one day.

Put a half eaten apple behind the couch. Leave it there for a week. Clean carpet.
Bonus points if a month goes by because you forgot about it.

Let your husband host an all night guy's party. You'd be surprised how similar the aftermath is to a slumber party.

Have your husband wear earplugs. Now ask him to take out the trash.....

Go to the grocery store blindfolded. Load your cart and pay for it. Don't peek at the groceries until you get home.

Leave your car parked on a busy street in a questionable neighborhood for a few hours. Try not to notice the new dents or missing headlights/hubcaps.

Give away one of your most prized possessions. A lot of parenting is learning to let go of something/someone you treasure.

Random thoughts of parenting.

One of my friends had a baby girl earlier this evening, her second, and posted it on FB a whole 5 hours later. Another friend has a baby due next year. Another friend desperately wants to get pregnant, but has opposite schedules from her husband. Two of my other friends are foster parents to kids who's parents "are not able" right now. It all leads me to think a lot about parenting, and how unfair it is our kids have to memorize an incredible amount of "stuff" in their school years, some of it they'll never need or want to know again, and yet, a simple class in Human Development is not a requirement. (Nor a class in personal finance, but that's another blog.)

How many of us have needed to know the anatomy of a fetal pig since graduation? How many of us have wondered if it's okay that our three year old strips at every opportunity, or if this behavior will lead to a future career and needs to be nipped in the bud?
How many of us have needed to know the difference between mitosis and meiosis? How many of us have wondered if our child drawing the same picture on every single sheet of paper in every drawing pad in the house means they're autistic or at least a little OCD?
How many of us think of pie (Pi) as something other than a dessert? How many of us wonder if our child will get sick from eating dirt for theirs?
How many of us stayed up all night writing papers on topics we can't even remember now? How many of us have wondered how to help the new baby to realize at night it's time for sleeping now?

So many of us agonize for months about childbearing methods, but don't think more than ten minutes about how to actually take care of the thing until it gets here. We have our stuff ready and the room painted. We understand the material things, but how do we prepare for the reality of it? Maybe instead of Lamaze or Bradley, our OB's should hand out pamphlets on baby classes. Let's face it, who has a real brain for "the baby channel" AFTER giving birth?

There's a lot of power in knowing what's normal and what's not. Yes, our grandmothers, mothers, sisters, and friends are a great resource, but how much stress and unnecessary worry could be saved just by knowing what's okay? What a percentile is and is not? When to look for milestones? When to realize it's not your fault, it's just the developmental stage they're in now?
For everything we ask our older, wiser moms about, aren't there ten others we worry to death without asking, for fear it seems silly or stupid? And really, how are people supposed to know if they're never taught?

And yes, your baby is normal if it sleeps 20 hours a day, or 12....

Kids are cracking me up today.

Earlier princess D was playing with some plastic tracks.
"Whatycya makin?"
"I'm building a road for cars and trains, 'specially built cars that turn into trains."
"I see. Are you hiring Bob the Builder to help you?"
Eye-roll "mo-om. Of course not. Bob the Builder isn't real. He-llo."
All rightie then....

Princess P is in the naked phase. I'm just grateful it's only at home. She quite willingly put on clothes to go outside this morning, and promptly took them off when indoors again.

Perhaps the funniest thing is watching Si guy and his relationships with food. My favorite was the Starburst dance this morning. Mmm. Mmm. jump. Mmm. Mmm. Butt wiggle. Mmm. Mmm. Throw wrapper on floor and eat....while still humming. Sly little fox stole my soda too while I was typing. At least he's moved on from dumping liquid on the floor to dumping liquid into containers. And since it's 2ish...he's running up to me going Wubzy! Wubzy! It's amazing how fast they change at 2.

Being thankful for all things.

Mostly Mr. M these last couple of days. He took 2 1/2 days off from work because I was sick. I slept about two of those days, and he cleaned both living areas and the kitchen, in addition to cooking and all the kid chores. Oh yeah, and he caught up the laundry too. Hands off ladies, he is so mine!

I'm also thankful that I didn't share this with any of my kids or my lovely dh, (although I suspect I caught it from our oldest who had his own 24 hour sleep-a-thon last weekend.)

I am thankful for my friends who wished me well on FB, and offered support, updates on stuff I'd missed, and stuff to make me laugh/smile.

I'm thankful for being at a point of peace.

But mostly, I'm thankful for being awake and able to enjoy the mischief and mayhem of my kids again. (As Si Guy once again steals my morning soda. At least he pours it into a glass now without too much spilling.)

Something with a ring to it.

Yep. It's time for the biannual phone shopping blitz. I feel like I'm in Vegas. Either I'm going to win big or my losses will set me back for a couple of years. The kids are wild with excitement, especially our oldest, because we're buying a third phone. He thinks it will be his, no matter how many times we explain it's a "general backup phone" for whoever needs it. He KNOWS he's the only one who will need it for at least a year. He sees it as his ticket to freedom.

He's almost eleven, and we have never been willing to leave him home alone. We used the "no home phone" as our excuse. Now it seems, our time for excuses is up. We're going to have to trust him a little more and let him grow up a little bit.

Last spring, when we had to have three kids at three different places we realized the time had come. One of us had to leave our phone with him at mathletics so the other one could call him from the car with sleeping toddlers and let him know where to find us afterwards. We found we didn't like having a parent sacrifice his/her phone when we were kid coordinating and on the move. The time for the third line has come.

Yet what kind of phone? The possibilities are endless. We think we have settled on a kid phone. It's made out of recycled materials, inexpensive to replace if it gets broken or lost, and does NOT have internet access or IM or a full sized keyboard for texting. We can wait on the data plans for another two years at least.

The adult phones are a much harder decision, and a much larger gamble. Those are the ones where we feel like we're playing cards at a casino. Do we stay in the game? Do we hold? Do we call? Are we going to bust? Guess we'll find out soon.

The changling has returned.

I'm not referring to the naked toddler who's running circles around the house yelling "Wow! Wow! Wow! Wubsy!" like he's being chased in a game of duck, duck, goose.
Nor am I referring to the Princess who's learning to read and write.

No, the "changling" is the almost eleven year old who at times acts like he's 2. How can the same kid who helps get his siblings breakfast in the morning without being asked throw a tearful tantrum at dinner because he doesn't like rice? How can the same kid who stays after school to paint chairs for a fundraiser be the same one who has to be told five times to take out the trash? (and then blames us for making it "so full.") How is it our fault when his DS gets taken away because he didn't do his homework after school? How can this kid then joke and smile and then say "sorry" about leaving his laundry on the floor, and then fix it without a fuss? Will the real pre-teen stand up.
I now understand where the phrase "tween" came from. Still young enough to play with hot wheels but old enough to want a cell phone. No matter what his age, at least I know what the first words when he gets home from school will be. "Mom, what's for snack?"

Chip Chip Hooray!

Today our third son is turning seven. Skittles for school in his backpack, he is off! He's grown so much in the last year. He has gone from having video taken of him rolling in the dirt at flag football to being part of the core of the offensive line, from not caring about his letters and numbers to doing his math homework first thing and eagerly reading to me each day, from a shoe size 13 to a size 3. He's a head taller and it is finally starting to rest on his shoulders. I wasn't sure this day would ever come.

He's still full of boundless enthusiasm and huge smiles. He's still very expressive about his views on the world. He's still a "busy" child...but he has learned some self control and tamed his wild edge a little.

Overall he's had a great year. Happy Birthday Buggie.

The week of almosts.

This has been a hard week for our oldest, and he has come through it with flying colors.
He ran for secretary of student council. He almost won....but didn't by ONE vote.
He had his first tackle football game last night. They went into overtime against one of the best teams in the league....and lost.
The Stuco defeat was no big deal to him. His teachers handed him an invitation to math club as soon as they knew he lost. He'd rather do Mathletics anyway...and he hates to write. I never did quite understand why he ran for secretary.
The football loss was a little harder to swallow, but as we pointed out, next week can be better. The kids returning to the team were VERY happy with how the game went. They lost their first game 36-0 last year. The improvement is amazing. He's part of the difference. He's doing just fine.
This morning he's playing video games. He's doing just fine.

Si Guy and the bathroom.

Si Guy's current fascination is with a pink, hello kitty electric toothbrush. He carries it everywhere. He uses it to clean doorways, brush his hair, give himself an electric brush back massage, occasionally he rubs certain parts with it on that makes me grateful he's a boy.

Really , he loves everything bathroom. Flushing toilets, running water in and over the sink, diving in the bathtub, dumping shampoo, all that is the in thing. Playing in the tub w/ empty plastic bottles and a rubber duck is sheer heaven.

One would think, with such an interest in the supplies for self cleaning, he would like to be clean. Alas, no. He is still a boy. Approach him with a bucket and a shampoo brush and he heads for the hills. Actually succeed in giving him a bath? Hey, there's chocolate syrup in the fridge and markers in the art cabinet. This cleanliness thing can be fixed.

At least he's gotten to the point where he doesn't like bodily function products as fashion anymore. He'll tell us when he needs a pull up changed, or take it off himself. He likes having his nose wiped when it's running like the Falls. So that's progress I guess. Nobody goes to college with chocolate syrup face painting. I think we'll be okay.

Zoo of a weekend

Labor Day weekend was a whirl of activity in our household. Friday night football practice. Saturday cleaning day. Sunday, my birthday! Woohoo. The kids choir at church sang and we went to the zoo. I love the new red pandas, and enjoyed tiger in a log. The high point for the kids were snake feedings, petting sheep, and playing in the tree in the discovery barn. A good time was had by all, for the most part.
Sometimes I think the "D" in Princess D should stand for "Diva."
"I don't WANT to go to Australia. IIII want to go to the discovery barn NOW."
"Don't you want to see the kangaroos?"
"NO!"
"Fine, you can just ride in the wagon."
Off we go down the trail to Australia, with a pouty princess covering her eyes in the wagon.
She got over that as soon as we found the play area.
Then we proceeded towards the kangaroos.
"Look mom! Kangaroos! Aren't they cute?"
"Mom, we need to go IN THERE!" (In there was to see the tree kangaroos.)

Then we were off to pet the sheep, far and away her favorite activity of the day, and all of this was in, Australia. Leaving the sheep (and snakes, the boys favorite. real mice and all.)......
"That was the best."
"So you're glad you came to Australia."
"Yea-ah. Thanks mommy." (Big preschool hug.)
"Guess where we're going now?"
"Where?"
"THe discovery barn."
"Yayayayayay!"
Sometimes you can have your cake and eat it too.

What's different about having a girl in kindergarten

It isn't the maturity factor, nor the enthusiam level. Our oldest is quite mature for his age, and any child can come bounding home with a "Mom! I need you now!" kind of message.

No, what's different about a girl is how many words she uses.

Our boys would come home and say, "Mom! We had the hearing test today, and I passed!"
Great honey.

Princess D comes home yesterday. "Guess what? We had our ears checked today. We had to wear these big headphones, and every time we heard a peep we had to raise our hands. Sometimes it was a loud peep. Then it would be a teeny-tiny peep! And we got our eyes checked too...."
"And how did you do?"
"Everything's a-o-k, but you wouldn't believe how many peeps there were." And so she would tell the peep story to every person she could take captive for the rest of the day.

Todays theme is handwashing. They went to the library for a special presentation on it. And one of the girls in full day likes her ever though she's just half day...and it's soooo important to wash your hands. The librarian needed two volunteers, but she didn't want to volunteer, so she she didn't raise her hand.......and here's her sign she made to remind her to wash her hands. She put fingernails on it just like her real hands. Do I like it? Of course I do. Oh, and tomorrow is her REAL library day, with new books and everything.

Such is the drama of a kindergarten queen.

This is one of those amazing moments when all three of our youngest are playing nicely and sharing. They are cooking in the kitchen in the girls room. Princess D is in charge, of course, and Si Guy is just overjoyed to be included. I'll doublecheck later to make sure there aren't real ingredients in there. In the past, there has been water in the sink and a dash of cinnamon about everywhere.

It's amazing to think we may be getting past the baby phase for good. For many years it seemed like we'd live in the la-la land of baby magic and diapers forever.

Yet Si can use the potty, and often does at home for #1, especially if naked...It's just,well, he's not often naked because he has zero interest in #2 landing in the toilet yet. He's not even 2 1/2, so I'm not worried. The fact he pees in the toilet means my time in "baby-land" is about to end. My youngest boy is growing up so fast, using words, putting on clothes, following simple directions. And I 'm a good 20 years away from grandchildren. Guess I'll have to borrow my friends babies in between.

Fall is in full swing

Even if the leaves haven't changed colors yet. Chip's first flag football practice is tomorrow. Our oldest is turning in his posters for StuCo secretary. Bob's art classes start soon. Princess D has been to the "Daisy" orientation for Girl Scouts. The babies are begging to be outside every second of every day, because the weather is wonderful. Maybe this is why September and October fly by so fast.

I'm hoping we're all up for the challenge. The first couple weeks of school have gone okay. Only one child has lost homework, and there haven't been any forgotten lunches, library books, or backpacks yet. They've all been brushing their teeth and wearing clean clothes, and even our first grader has been wearing underwear. I consider all of these signs of success.

Now it's time to take it up a notch, so to speak. Over the next two weeks we'll go from being "scheduled" four evenings a week to six, and that's assuming there are no evening football games. Some nights we'll divide and conquer, but for the most part Mr. M & I like to see each other for a while before bedtime so we'll be putting a few more miles on the van...and spending a little more on paper plates and juice boxes. As long as this weather holds, a good time for all. Some of my favorite kid pics are mud puddles at practices and games. Maybe they bring a toy that week. Maybe they poke sticks in the mud. Occasionally, they'll watch they're sibling play, and nothing means more to the older kids than those toddler voices saying
"Go! Dat's my brud-ter."
And not much means more to me than seeing them all pulling for the same team, supporting each other.

School library musings.

Today princess D brought home her very first library book of her own. She was soooo excited. I just peeked into her backpack to see what it is. It's Horton Hatches the Egg. Nice choice. We have at least two copies of this story floating around. It doesn't matter. This one is her book.

I have yet to see Chip's first library book. I hope he didn't lose it on the way home.

The older two boys are testing the waters on their library selections. Both of them have gone beyond "approved" reading into territory we'd rather wait until they're older for. I'd worry more about Bob if he was actually reading the books...but he's really just seeing what he can do without us saying anything. He flashes the "forbidden" book and never pulls it out again.

Our oldest child is of the "Trust me" age. He's almost 11. He can ready anything in the library.
So after an evening of reading about death eaters he shows up in our room around 1am.
"Mom, I'm scared."
"Go pray. Read your Bible. Perfect love casts out fear. Goodnight."
"But Mom, I feel like something is watching me."
"Well, you chose to read HP's third book before bed. Ever think there might be a reason we wanted you to wait until you were a little older? You think we don't know when you like to read, and how vividly you can visualize things? We do make rules for a reason. It seems to me this is a consequence of your own actions."
"Ooooh." in the light bulb tone of voice.
"Now get a drink and go back to bed. Think of good things."
"K. G'night mom."
"Goodnight."

I really can't complain. Our kids do enjoy great literature, on their own terms. They even read poetry, voluntarily. I know eventually they'll find what will feed their mind and what will feed the shredder. Like so many other things, it's just a trial and error process. I'm very proud they've made so few errors.

Ways I know school has started again.

We have to wash socks regularly.
The clog in the vacuum was a pencil gripper.
The t.v. is seldom on before noon.
We're buying juice boxes again.
The boys don't have to be reminded to wear underwear or brush their teeth.
The first words to greet me in the morning are "Mom, where's my...."
The preschoolers find their own clothes and shoes by 10:30, ready to "get D."
New backpacks. New shoes. In my living room.
Paper on the floor.
I'm up by 7 a.m.
I get celebrity practice: daily autographs required.
I can load the kids in the car in less than fifteen minutes during the day.
Emergency wal-mart runs for stuff for "tomorrow."
Our evenings are scheduled six days a week.
T.V. is off at 3:30...until homework is done.
Bedtime is enforced at 8:30, instead of 10.
Everyone's looking forward to Labor Day.

The first week of school

The first week of school is a bad time for mom's computer to be out. So much to say, so few keystrokes to say it in.

The big boys went back on Monday. Chips first day of first grade. First grade is so full of firsts. The first time he gets to walk home with his brothers daily. The first time he takes his lunch to school. The first time he gets a desk of his very own. Wednesday was also his first real full day of school. I got to see another first when I was at the school Thursday afternoon. Up on the bulletin board, was the first thing I've ever seen Chip color neatly. His teacher told me about how she had told him to do his best, and he had just scribbled the first one. She gave him another one and told him SHE knew he could do better....and he did. That orange and blue cow is the best seatwork I've ever seen out of him. It's comforting to realize he has a teacher who "gets" him, and knows he's capable, and willing to take the time to motivate him.

The older boys are in third and fifth grade. We've had Miss S before for third grade, and right away she made Bob feel at home and safe. He's quite content in her class, and excited to be earning his "cursive license" this year.

Fifth grade is uncharted territory for us all. Nervous parents packed the room on back to school night. Teachers tell us us how fifth grade brings on the first year with "real" projects, typed reports, and teachers with a hands off approach. Assignments are written on the board. It will be HIS responsibility to write them down and get them done. Homework is "supposed" to be about an hour a day. School is starting to get serious because middle school is just around the corner. Thanks for the reminder. Let's just get through this year for now.

Then there's kindergarten, and princess D. As our principal put it, "D has been ready for kindergarten for about two years now!" On Wednesday morning she's about to pop with excitement. We unpack her things, and she assesses the loot. She has markers, glue, scissors, a dream world in her five year old mind. "Bye mom!" is all she says. She's good to go. Starting next week, she'll be walking with her brothers in the morning. Four little backpacks, bounding down the sidewalk. She's only half day, so we still have the pleasure of picking her up.
She still gets her own time to rattle off the details of the day.
"Look mom, at my maze!"
"Today we colored this mouse!"
"Mom! Si guy is trying to tear my paper!" Okay, so it's not all quite so perfect.
Here's hoping the excitement of the first week of school can stretch the whole year.

The ultimate challenge.

Today's battle starts in the mind. In one corner, the current reigning peace in my household this morning. My quiet time at the computer while the kids are all being occupied happily by each other and PBS morning line up.

In the other corner...payday, and the last one before school starts at that. I should be buying those last few back to school clothing items and the few straggling supplies off the list. AND get the grocery shopping done. Mr. M hates shopping. My Friday day shopping shows him how much I love him. Especially when all six kids are home.

Maybe I'll start by sorting and labeling what I've already bought. Then I could just make a short list of things to pick up while I'm already in store W or T or K....
Maybe I'll start by planning all our meals for the next two weeks.
Or maybe I'll just hide on FB and play Bejeweled Blast for the next hour, throw all the kids in the car, drive thru Wendy's or BK for lunch, buy what I think we'll need and pray there's some money left over for gas.

Probably the answer lies in a combination of options one and three. I know better than to plan meals around here. Something always "happens" like a 3pm meeting for dh or Si Guy raiding the dinner ingredients out the fridge, or the older kids deciding the taco shells are snack chips.
Thus I just keep a general stock of foods we usually eat and an extensive spice shelf. It seems to work out okay.

Right now, I think I just need to go blow up some jewels. Good practice for what our finances will look like by the end of the day.

Housework: The ultimate exercise is futility.

Today I started the day inspired. Mr. M had banned t.v. for the older kids and decreed they have extra chores. Today we would clean the house!

It started well. Oldest child was very cooperative.
Middle two boys grumbly.
Preschoolers not being overly destructive....That's just because they were waiting for us to be done.
By lunch, I had a shiny sparkling bathroom I had cleaned myself, laundry sorted, two baskets folded and put away by boys, the front living room picked up, AND under the dining room table cleared out and ready to vacuum. Oldest boy had loaded an run the dishwasher once.I vacuumed happily while they ate. After they ate our oldest unloaded and loaded the dishwasher again. What a great morning of accomplishment!

15 minutes later there's teff bread w/ sunbutter crumbled on the freshly vacuumed carpet. Another 20 minutes go by and it looks like it's snowed kleenex. By the end of the afternoon Si Guy has stripped everything including pull-up, and left a trail accordingly......And this is what Mr. M came home to.

Mom fried on the computer, and when he asks a simple question like, "What's for dinner?"
my reply is "I don't know. My give a damn is broken."

Breakfast for dinner is a wonderful thing. There goes the kitchen.
Hey, at least we start at the same place every morning.

Media madness

Our oldest: "Why are you crying mom?"
"Sniff. Because. Beth died."
"UH, in the movie?"
"M-hmm." The boy was confused. Why would I cry about a movie? Shrugs it off as a girl thing. Smart boy.
Grinning mischievously..."Oh. Look what I found! Change. Ha. Ha. It's mine." He closes his hand around it again. " And mom...."
"Uh. Honey. This is a movie based on my favorite book-ever. Do you think this is a good time to interrupt me?"
"It is?" The look of incredulousness on his face was priceless. Why on earth would I like something that makes me cry?
"Oh, ok. mom." He retreats up to his room with his brothers, where I still hear them now, squealing over video games......

Some day he'll see the link. Really.

What is it about scissors?

What is it about scissors and some paper that can keep a three year old occupied for hours? (and me too, unclogging the vacuum hose later.)

Princess is P is sitting behind me this morning, very importantly cutting out shapes and writing "letters" on them to her friends. Like any budding author, the first several renditions get crumpled and pitched.
She comes over to me. "More Pape! More paper. Pleeeeasse."
Pretty soon the floor starts looking like it's snowed inside.
Finally she draws something she's satisfied with, and leaves it uncut, uncrumpled, and spends forever putting together the final details.
We may have a real author in this family yet.

The floodgates of fall are starting to be opened.

Football has officially started. Our oldest had his first "conditioning" practice yesterday. After it he was hot, sweaty, and smiling. He's ready to go back today. I think we may have finally found something for our bookish video game junkie to do for exercise without complaining. Or is it that I told him if he made it through this week without complaining he could pick the snacks and the movie we watch at home on Friday night?

His coach told us this week was the only week it would be every day. Starting next week it would be MWF at 6. Hmmm. Flag practice is MW at 6.....at a different school. Dance is 4-6 on M or W. Anyone know how to teleport? In reality, it will be okay. Our oldest will just be dropped off a little early, with a cell phone in case he needs to call us.

It's hard to believe that our kids do so much stuff now we "need" two cars, and we "need" a third cell phone for when we have to drop one off. Does this mean we're too busy? That we don't know how to say no, or find your own ride? What's it going to be like when Mathletics starts, and student council, and scouts, and band? 5th grade seems awefully young to be this busy. I don't remember having that many activities in the fire until high school. They're all good things, but is it too much?

So far, he seems to handle it well. His best grades last year were when he was the busiest. No matter what he'll find time to read, hang with his friends, and play on his DS....when he finds it.

Si Guy has a thing for M words....

His favorite words of late are "mine" and "monkey." Last weekend at the zoo, everything was a "bird", "deer", "kitty", or "monkey" to him. Monkey was by far his favorite. Maybe because he can relate to them.

Si guy is still in baby explorer phase....but he's starting to have intent. He's careful to wait until he thinks I'm busy to raid the fridge. He's gotten quieter at dismantling bookshelves. He is gleeful when he finds a marker and just can't wait to find a surface to draw on, whatever surface that may be. Monkey describes him well.

Mine, his other favorite word, generally is reserved for drinks and people. My drink. My mom. It's nice to know I rank so high.

Yesterday, he tried to get in the van to go back to the zoo. "Monkey! Monkey!" Si, you can see a monkey whenever you want. Just look in the mirror my son. Just look in the mirror.

My big boy is home

This week, I finally have my big boy home for the rest of the summer. On Monday, Mr. M was home too. What bliss.
On Tuesday, I tried to catch up on some housework.
Yesterday, we dragged out the kiddie pools. He blissfully floated for about an hour on a floatie in about 18" inches of water. I wish I had a good camera. It was great. Him sitting in the tire, with the dolphin floatie rested around his head like a crown.
Tonight, he starts at Football Factory. My sweet, gentle boy wants to play football. The kid who hated being accidentally tripped in soccer, wants to intentionally ram into boys that are his size and bigger. Kind of scary to me.
Saturday he'll officially be signed up and get his pads. Now it's true, boy #3 plays football, but that's flag. This is tackle.
Either he's going to man up or get hurt.
Not that our oldest hasn't been growing up in big ways. He got all his siblings breakfast this morning. He takes out the trash. He settles disputes. He does his homework without me breathing down his neck, even in summer.

Soccer was easier for me to take, but at least in football he has pads....and he plays where his brother plays. So this fall, it won't be quite as crazy. Princess D is taking dance the same day as Bob too. This is instead of soccer. We might even have an evening at home.
I know my kids are growing up, and making their own choices. My job is just to provide them with the tools to do well at what they choose.

Sometimes it's hard.
Especially when I feel their choices aren't suited to their abilities or natures.
But sometimes being exposed to something different makes them stronger.

I'm lovin the Vibe

Dh's new car is a Pontiac Vibe. I LOVE driving it. It's responsive, has a good radio and climate controls, is comfortable, what's not to like? I confess to extending errands over the last couple of days just to get some more time in the driver's seat.

He's still kind of shy with it. Not that he misses his old car. The Vibe gets much better gas milage, won't abandon him for no reason, and is absolutely beautiful. He likes the radio, the interior controls for the mirrors, and how comfy the car is. It's just, well, it's a manual transmission. He's never driven one regularly before. He kind of likes his life to be automatic.

Today after work he was smiling though. I think he'll get used to having more control.

Why do I have to clean something to feel accomplished?

and other strange things I dwell on.

Why must we change that food stained/grass stained outfit RIGHT NOW, five times a day?

Why do I have to clean something to feel accomplished, even if I read stories, took the kids to the park, paid bills, scheduled appointments, chauffered a birthday party and researched a car?

Why is it the first words out of my mouth any time I clean are "BUT I JUST CLEANED THAT!?"

Why don't kids count as something when it comes to cleaning? Because they're someones?

Does it really matter if we eat hot dogs for dinner two days in a row?

Should kids have allowances? Should they be tied to chores? What about grades? What about "because you're part of this family and I said so?"

Are there expressions that should be banned from future use in parenthood?

Is it possible to raise kids who are better than us? (Man, I hope so!)

Why can't faith be passed through an IV like a blood transfusion?

Is life more like a choose your own adventure book or an elaborate novel?

Does the laundry ever end? Or at least all make it to the basement?

Are we sure today isn't Monday?

(mock Shania Twain on the way....)

Honey. I'm ready for you to be at home.

It's 10 o clock
I've stopped to take stock
There's cheese on my floor and my patience is shot
There's Boomerang on when it's s'posed to be Noggin
The house is a mess but I digress

This job is worth the pain
For the hugs at the end of the day
Maybe a shot of Tanqueray?

Hey, what do you say?

Honey when your home I need a break
Girl cut her hair and Si got away
Busted a phone, lost a comb
Sometimes I hate being on my own

Honey come home at lunch today
Si washed his hair w/ stuff for carpet stains
Too wet to play
Too hyper to stay
I need a break.
Hey, Honey come home.

This is where we're at.

Today, after church and a little girl friend's birthday party, Mr. M attempted to install a new radio in my van. Isn't that the sweetest anniversary gift?

In reality, he was trying to retrieve his credit card. Thanks to a spousal communication error, I didn't realize he'd left his wallet in the car the other night. Silas found it, and decided to see if the van's CD player was an ATM machine.

Five hours, two screwdrivers, and two wal-mart runs later, we had his card back...but I had no radio for my car. We had to break it in the retrieval process...but hey, we found $1.04 in change in there too! We had bought a replacement, but we didn't get a volt checker??? Maybe we've blown a fuse. If you asked our kids, they probably would say we had.

So I have a shiny new JVC in my van. Maybe we'll fix the fuse for my birthday. Happy Anniversary bear.

Here's to us.

A dozen years from our wedding day. The day where our best man couldn't find a tux until 10 am. The day I stayed up all night the night before because I just had to do all the reception table arrangements myself. The day our flower girl and ring bearer "traded" what they were carrying, so they would both make it to the altar. The day I took the shortest walk to the biggest change in my life. Where it wasn't all about me anymore. Husbands are great practice for kids. (So are wives by the way. I had a lot more growing up to do than he did.)

Marriage is the not beginning of the end. It is the end of the beginning...of us. Then we branch off and start so many other new beginnings, all entwined, all separate. We grow together. We grow apart. We intertwine with each others lives again, to support each other, to help each other, to see the beauty in each other. We are one, but we're not. Marriage is probably the best allegory we have for our relationship with God, or perhaps even the nature of the trinity itself. It is simple, but inexplicable. It is beautiful beyond measure to live in and through.

Marriage is not a form of bondage. It is a form of freedom.
Marriage is not monotony & boredom. It is depth and discovery.
Marriage is not an excuse to be mediocre....it is committing your life to excel for the good of another.

Marriage is not a joke, but it should be full of laughter.
Marriage is meant to be a haven, but not a place to hide.
Marriage is not something to enter lightly, for it is meant to last a lifetime.

Marrying Martin was the second best thing I've done in my life. I'm his number two too. We both share the first one, in our choice to follow Christ.

Momma's general parenting principles

Those of you who know us know our kids can be a tad well, uncivilized in toddler years, but then magically turn into very pleasant people once they're around 4-6. Overall though, all of kids try to listen and are compassionate, friendly, human beings, a fact I'm proud of and have heard comments on for years. If you're reading this, you're already in the upper half, as per our favorite preschool teacher, because you care enough to parent intentionally.

I've already done the biblical version of this, so this is our practical version...(although it does follow biblical principles.) So here's my unofficial, unsubstantiated, unprofessional, parenting guide, famously known as "What works for us." (Because I have been asked...not because I think I'm perfect. There's plenty of material within this blog to prove otherwise.)

1) Kids grow into your expectations. I don't mean that if you expect your kid to be Einstein, he'll be a scientific genius. I mean that if you have "good thoughts" and "good attitudes" towards your children...that you know they're a great kid, that they just sometimes have their moments...they feel that...and eventually they will want to be the kid you think they are. Parents have great power in kids self image...more than we realize. I'm not saying to totally ignore Tiny Timmy's pyro tendencies. I'm merely suggesting that we work very hard to find something positive in his personality to be our primary focal point, especially when talking to him and around him, which brings me to point 2.

2) Kids aren't deaf. Even babies and toddlers can get the gist of what you're saying about them. That's why it's so important to stay positive about our kids as a habit. I'm not saying we don't need to vent or seek advice or be overwhelmed from time to time. It's just around our kids is not the place to express that.

3) Kids want their parents attention. And will do anything that works. They are not out to get you. They are out to be noticed by you. If we ignore our kids when they want attention we will pay....We all know that. The trick is to know how to give them the attention they need while getting the stuff we need to get done done. I tend to err on the side of the kids, as my house will testify.

4) I am the only adult with only my child's best interests at heart. Now granted, there are times I have to balance this with my best interests or my spouse's, but in general you are your child's only true advocate. We had a child we knew had a language isssue. The school district didn't believe us, and told us he was just "stubborn." We took him to an allergist and our family doctor. A few changes in his diet and some speech therapy paid out of pocket, and he's a whole different kid....one who is called "just sweet" and "eager to please" by his school now. (We live in a totally different district now too. We homeschooled our oldest in district A. He attends in district B. Again, according to what's best for him.) Sometimes, doing what's best for my kid is a pain for me...but kind of like labor pain, the joy of seeing my child succeed is worth it.
Getting help when we need help falls under this category too.

5) To keep from getting upset, I always remember this quote from Vicki Iovine. "Consider all childish behaviors normal. Part of our jobs as parents is to discourage those normal behaviors that are destructive or annoying to us or others." Really, your kid is not the first to turn on the stove with wooden utensils on it, climb on the roof naked, drink children's Benedryll, or cut a cord with kitchen shears....while plugged in. You can bet none of these things will happen twice in our household though! A calm parent is an effective parent. A purple, crying, pleading parent is a very entertaining parent. They just might repeat the behavior just to see you put on a show again. A yelling parent is a scary parent. Scared kids might be compliant at the time, but they grow up to build brick houses to keep the hot air out. We try to be as boring as possible when our kids are misbehaving. "Quiet mom" is not a good sign around here.

6) Make a big deal out of "small" achievements. What's small to us is not small to them. A stick figure on the fridge becomes a cartoon becomes a pencil drawing with shading becomes......well, you get the idea.

7) The carrot and the stick. Some people might call this natural consequences...but I believe a little engineering of the consequences isn't a bad idea now and then. "If...then" is a powerful phrase in parenting.
"If you are good in Sam's, then we'll have time to stop at Toy's R Us."
"If you get your room clean by x, then we will have time to go to the park." Then leave them alone in their room. It's hard...but I swear it works. It may not seem like it works the first few times, but like trying new foods, new discipline structures take some time for kids to adjust to. There is no magic bullet.
Sometimes a surprise carrot is in order. "Look, we got what we needed done here early! Let's stop by the arcade!"
But the stick shouldn't EVER be a surprise, that leads to.....

8) Kids are not psychic, or even particularly knowledgeable. They don't "know" how to act. They have to be taught. We make sure, that we as parents, are aware of what needs to be taught for each age and stage. Most of the time, kids really don't "know better." (especially true with the under six set!)

9) Back up rules by outside authorities whenever possible, especially with older kids. They like to know the why, but as they are asserting their independence, sometimes it's better if the why doesn't come from you.
Mr. M and I are rather conservative on the entertainment front. Our oldest has friends who have seen recent movies like Wolverine and the new Star Trek. He has not. He's disappointed, but not mad at us. Why? Well, we agreed to go by Common Sense Media's guidelines. http://www.commonsensemedia.org We said no because they said no. He can look up the reviews himself, and if he disagrees...he can appeal. So far we've only made one exception for him, but he's okay with that. (disclaimer, he's not a full-fledged teen yet...so we haven't fully applied this principle. We'll see where it goes.)

10) is really #1! Make sure your kids know you love them. Hug them. Hold them. Take them out to lunch. That verse about training up a child in the way he should go often drops an important part of the translation "according to his bend." Show them you know what their interests are, and help them develop the healthy ones. Show them how awesome you think they are, just as they are. They won't disappoint you.

blue skies and blue carpet.

It's amazing the range of emotions children can experience in a short time. They can go from crying to fascinated to happy to furious in just a few minutes. Sometimes, they take the adults with them along for the ride. The thing is, as adults, we aren't allowed to express the full emotional spectrum. My three preschoolers today have brought out an amazing range of behavior. Some of it warm fuzzy picture worthy, some of it tar and feather worthy. Well, maybe just glitter glue and carpet worthy.

Yes, this morning while I was finding Si shoes to go to the park, somebody dumped an entire bottle of elmers blue sparkly glue in the center of my living room carpet. Thing is, I didn't notice until we got home. I was just so happy to find shoes that fit Si and get out the door. Hey, he doesn't care if they're purple crocs w/ butterflies, why should I?

Perhaps it was good that I found this after the "warm fuzzy" experience. It wasn't so great to them that I wouldn't fix lunch until after it was cleaned up.
"Me help!"
"No, you go to your room. I'll call you guys when I'm ready."
"OooK!" Si is holding up my make up case....(and this is why my home will NEVER hit ground zero. It took me about an hour to clean up mess A. That's enough time for the destructive duo to make at least three other messes, especially w/ Diva girl directing.)
"Now Si. Let go please. That's a good boy." See, they are trainable...sort of.
At least the make up didn't end up smooshed into anything.

Lunch ended up being turkey and strawberries, w/ a bag of cereal dessert for Si, and chips for Phoebe. Diva girl refused to eat her sandwich because I didn't have any cheese with holes in it. I thought about taking a straw to our colby jack slices. I know what it's like to have Spiegel taste on a Wal-Mart budget.

So far the afternoon is going well. All is calm. The girls are cleaning their room w/ Si's help. Now, if I could just get a nap in.

It's no big deal, but it is.

This morning, our oldest child is off on his first overnight adventure without a parent/grandparent with him....a four day adventure. He's pumped. He didn't even argue about going to bed last night, and actually tried to sleep! He didn't say goodbye when he left this morning, because the babes and I were still sleeping. He's almost eleven. It's time to let him fly.

Mr. M went into work a bit late so he could drop him off. He's the most considerate man in the world, sparing me the waking and loading of three preschool aged kids in the morning...and having to have windshield wipers for my glasses because I'd probably be crying so hard on the drive home.
So far I haven't cried today, well over him. It's been a long time since I've had only preschoolers at home, and three of them! Ack. I'm not as young as I used to be.

Overall, the house has been pretty quiet. With the middle two boys at G'mas, and our oldest off to camp, the t.v. has been off all morning. Other than the mine wars, an overflowing sink, and an exploding diaper, the morning has been pretty incident free. All the littles ask for is some pretend play time and food. I wouldn't say it's slower, or less busy, just focused differently. There's so much to do, but no schedule we have to follow. It's a nice place to be. All the same, I'm ready for Thursday when my boy is back home.

I'm 5! And there's fireworks!

Princess D had her 5th birthday yesterday. She had just wrapped up "diva for a week" at one set of grandparents, and we were off to swim, eat, and hang out with another. She was the center of attention, and her siblings were okay with it. It was amazing. What was really amazing though, is down at the lake they were doing fireworks a day early, on July 3rd. She was convinced it was just for her. We told her the story of bringing her home on the fourth of July, and watching the county fireworks display from our driveway.
She made off like a little bandit too. She had a brand new camera from us. She had a new scooter that's purple from grandma and grandpa W. But the present that took the cake was from my parents. They gave her a music box, with a dancing Cinderella. She didn't know such an amazing thing existed. She'd open the lid, and just watch her dance. Then close it and wind it, (by rotating the entire box.) Then she'd just open it and stare in wonder again. Grandpa W tried to get her attention for a photo shoot, but she was too absorbed in this new miracle. A box. That was just hers to put her stuff in....and it made music. What a miracle.

I'm sure the music box will be a favorite for years to come. Even after Cinderella doesn't dance anymore. A little space of your own is an amazing thing when you share a room. For Princess D, I think this was the best birthday ever.

Monday at the Mall

Yesterday we went to the semi-ghost mall. It was lovely not to have to worry about crowds, or have a huge agenda. The kids could run fifty yards ahead and I didn't have to worry about losing them. There were play structures in the hallway. Bob was just so fascinated by the little "picture booths in the hallway." The toddlers thought they were peek-a-boo toys. I tried to entice our oldest into some early clothes shopping for school. He responded with appropriate pre-teen apathy. It was a day just to hang out with my kids, and see what there was to see.
What there was to see was a food court with a playground, a movie theater, an arcade, and an indoor playground/inflatable place from the kids point of view. From the mom's point of view, there were outlet stores, unique little crafty places, and a new purse on the horizon. So we compromised. I bought a brand new K-State purse with matching wallet in reverse color scheme, and they got to play for a couple of hours in the arcade and have lunch in the food court.

Lunch out with five kids in a food court can be an adventure of it's own. Thankfully, I had the right kid combo, one that included the one who's almost old enough to babysit. Unfortunately, he was being a spacey goofball. There was only one way in and out of the play area where I'd herded the children to wait while I ordered. His instructions were simple. No escapees allowed. About halfway through my order, I felt a little boa constrictor around my leg. Sure enough, it was Si guy. Where was big brother? Jumping off the bridge in a game of tag, even though he was almost a foot over the height limit for the play area. So much for watching his siblings because he was "too big" to play there. Who made those rules anyway? Are ten year olds really that big? Heck, even my six year old maxed out the height limit. What am I supposed to do when he's seven? Fortunately the parenting police were elsewhere, so my kids were allowed to play in peace.

I tried switching places with the big boy, and letting him order his own food. What does he come back with? About half a special ordered pizza. He said "I didn't know the pieces were going to be so big." That's okay. He shared. Somehow 3 extra large pieces of pizza, three grilled chicken breasts, an order of nuggets, a hamburger, two orders of fries and a large order of onion straws all disappeared, even with two kids only eating the chicken. (They got their fries at BK on the way home, so I guess that's four orders of fries.) What am I going to do when they're teens? Next time we're bringing lunch.

After lunch we find the "game hall." There are several businesses, all geared to the school aged child, ranging from a movie theater to an indoor gym with inflatables. Today, we hit the arcade. 500 FREE tickets with a $20 token purchase. Well, how long can it take six people to burn through 80 tokens? Well, when two of those people only want to play skee-ball, where they throw a ball, it rolls back, then mom rolls it in for the points,....it can take a while. So two hours and 725 tickets later, we are about ready to leave.
"Boys, you can pool your tickets and share a dart gun and a ball."
"Nah. How many are mine?"
Yeah. So they each have 100-150 tickets to spend. Just enough to get plastic bin stuff to be lost in the carpet and break the vacuum. Great. 3 disc shooters, 5 erasers, 10 army men, two sticky walk the wall men, two sticky lizards, two paddle balls, and 1/2 hour later we are ready to go. That is when they see "Monkey Business."
Can we go? Can we go?
Umm. Well...no.
"Why not?"
"We just spent two hours in an arcade. Mommy needs a rest." (Not to mention it's after three and neither tiny tot has had a nap, and Princess P is out of pants and lost her shoes. No I am NOT going through the whole mall again looking for them....)
Kids loaded in the car, slusheed up from BK, and headed out. Toddlers asleep. Mom has a new purse. It's what I'd call a successful day.

All things work for the good.

It does not look like we'll be getting our "dream house" right now. Seven acres is a lot to care for with six smallish children anyway, and no ac in August may not have been that enticing. So why I mourn the absence of my ideal, I know God has a more permanent solution for us in his time.

The miracle that came out of this is our current landlord is going to fix our house. Things we mentioned in time frames from the last month to over a year ago are going to get taken care of.
If he does what he says he will do, our current home will be quite habitable for another year or two, until, maybe, we can BUY our own old farmhouse somewhere in the country. Then it would be our permanent home. What could be better?

Operation birdie rescue.

This morning started out so perfectly. Mildly warm weather with a gentle breeze. The kids watering their seeds in the back yard, then playing w/ a shoebox full of sand and their riding toys. A toddler making it known he wanted to walk to the park. I was feeling indulgent, so off we started to go. We made it about three houses before it happened.

"Mom! Look! That birdie is only flapping one wing. He's in the street! We have to help him!"

Okay. Deep breath. "We need to find a box."
He brings me an old lego carton.
"It needs to have a lid."
His eyes start welling up. "This is all I could find."
"Hang on a sec." I run into the house, and grab the pull-ups box. Dump the pull-ups into a plastic tote, grab an old towel and come back out.
"You found one!" No more tears, just joy.

That was one lucky bird. Two trucks had already steered around it. I headed into the street while kids 2,5, & 6 stared from the sidewalk. The fledgling hopped towards the box. I put the towel behind it to hem it in, and it hopped the rest of the way. I then put the towel on the box and secured the flaps.

"Everyone in the car!"
"Can't we keep it?"
"No honey. Wild animals have to stay wild. It's not a pet."
"Where are we taking it?"
"I'm going to start at Animal Haven. They'll know where to get it help."
"I'll bet God is really happy we're taking care of his creation." Bob piped up.
"I'm sure he is." I smiled...and kind of sighed.
So off we go with a complaining bird in a box. When we arrive at animal haven....

"Doggie!"
"Can we have a cat?"
"Can we play with them?"
"Why are there so many animals in cages?"

I explain that this like a homeless shelter for animals waiting for new people to take them home. No, we can't get a cat. Dad is allergic to them. No we can't get a dog. Our home doesn't allow pets. Yes, there are nice people who volunteer their time to come play with and care for the animals.
"Can I volunteer?"
"Sure, when you're a little older honey."

When we get inside, we get a reference to O.W.L. Next stop, the Wildlife refuge.

On the door is a sign stating "No skunks, PLEASE."
When we walked in they were discussing the medical care of a chipmunk who had been caught by a cat. I have to admire people who have empathy for chipmunks. Personally, we've considered getting a snake to eat them in our garage.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" the cheerful desk dude asked.
"Uh, fledgling robin. We think he might have an injured wing. My son says he can only flap one side." (Yes, we knew it's a he. His red feathers were just starting to come in under the fluff.)

A mother earth type lady comes to get him. "Hi birdie. Let's go have a look at you."
I fill out some paper-work while Princess P happily plays with wildlife beanies, and Bob peers over the counter to see everything that's going on. We get a flier about O.W.L. and what they do. I temporarily lose track of Si.

Earth lady comes back out. "Come here everyone! It's education time. This birdie gets to go back home!"

Princess P and Bob come very close to her, where she's holding the birdie. Si Guy, well, he's behind the sales counter with the breakable, collectable plates of course. Seeing the live bird out of the box draws him back to where he belongs though.

"This little guy can't quite fly up yet. He can probably fly down and coast horizontally, but that's about it." She stretched out his wing. "See these feathers. They aren't quite long enough yet. His wing is not injured. He just hasn't really mastered using them yet. Just put him back close to where you found him. Mom and Dad will recognize him by call."

"Oh, okay. Thank you. I guess I made a mistake." Bob looked kind of embarrassed.
"No. No. You didn't know. You did the right thing. It's important to take care of nature.'
My crest-fallen child started to smile again.

So we returned home with the peeved, frightened bird and let it loose again in the neighbors yard. Sure our morning was shot, but my mama feathers were fluffed with pride. It's good to see that our children understood the life lessons we'd been trying to teach them about compassion and stewardship.