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.)