Mud Puddles and Dandelions

Enjoy This Time.....

2012-01-20T10:36:00.004-06:00

The other day I had the radio on while I was cleaning house and playing with the kids. I was only half way listening to the music, but in between songs I caught the DJ talking about how she was at the grocery store with her three young children. They were all tired and cranky and hungry. An older lady walked up gushing over the kids and said to enjoy the time she had with her kids because before you know it they are grown up and don't need you anymore.

I hear this a lot. And, sometimes I feel like I am a bad person or something is wrong with me because, honestly, sometimes I just can't imagine that these people that are saying this truly enjoyed every second of parenting. Either that, or I have done a horrible job raising my kids.

Yesterday, I had a woman stop me at the big box store. I had Mady in the buggy, trying to hold EVERYTHING that is put in the buggy at once so her brother could not touch anything. She would whine every time something fell out of her way-over-full arms. Meanwhile, Andrew is throwing things we do not need in the buggy. When this woman stopped me, I had told Andrew to pick ONE box of pop-tarts and he was telling me that he needs two boxes and he was going to get two boxes. We were back and fourth, one box, no two, okay zero boxes, etc. She said the most honest thing anybody has ever stopped and told me.

"It is hard, but when they have grandchildren it is both your reward and your revenge!"

I smiled at her and said "Thank you and I can't wait for that day!" She just smiled and continued on. I will never forget this comment and on some days it may be my motto.

As this DJ (who apparently read the same article that a FB friend just sent me the link to) said, I don't think it is the act of parenting that they love as much as the act of HAVING parented.

It is easy to forget the hard stuff when you are not in the midst of the hard stuff. It HAS to be. If we didn't forget the hard stuff we would NEVER have more than one child. Parenting, like giving birth, HURTS! I did not love giving birth to five kids, but I love that I GAVE birth to them.

The love and the good times far outweigh the bad.

I am not saying that I want to rush through every day with my kids. But, some days I do. Some days I am merely surviving. I don't think it matters if you have one kid or 10 kids, I think if we are all honest, every mother has these moments. The moments where you daydream about getting to sleep through the night, go on dates, being spontaneous, traveling, etc. Doing all these things without the monumental planning process that goes in to every move you make. Even for me to go to the bathroom these days, if I want to go alone I have to plan distracting the kids or watching for them to distract themselves and sneaking off.

I would love to skip the hard things. My children's hearts being broken. Discipling (contrary to my children's believes, it really is not fun), phone calls from school, bullies, fights (between siblings, parents/kids, other kids). The hard decisions that effect the kids and family. These are all things I could live without. But, these are the things that make us ALL who we are!

I do want to enjoy the times my kids are home. I won't enjoy EVERY minute, though. I know they are growing way too fast. I agree that when they are grown I will miss the time we are in now. I have daily reminders of that since I have such a wide age-range of children. It is easier to see where I have been with the first one when I have another one going through it. It is also easier to see how fast they are growing up.

But, I will love when they are "parented" and on their own too. And, I will REALLY love them when they have their own babies and truly get what it is to be a parent!

The First "Date"??

2012-01-13T21:50:00.003-06:00

Not really sure what happened tonight, it is all a blur.

Night before last Mady was up ALL night throwing up. That means I was up all night attempting to catch throw up and clean her up. Needless to say yesterday I got nothing done. Today we were out all day trying to get Paul what he needs for his trip to Toronto.

While we were out we found out that the company Paul is working for is possibly being bought out. Let's just say it is something we are stressing about!

So tonight, we are feeding the masses (known as our children) and the doorbell rings. Let's back-track a bit. Sunday Caleb said something about going out with his girlfriend and another "couple" this weekend. I told him we would have to talk about it. That was the last we heard about it. He is 13. Not really ready for him to "date!" Not to mention there had been a string of completely irresponsible actions on his part AND the fact he was told earlier today he was grounded for the weekend.

So, tonight the door bell rings. Paul answers it and there are two giggly girls asking if Caleb was home. We have not met Caleb's girlfriend. Caleb goes outside for a few minutes and comes back in and ask if he can go to the movies with his girlfriend. He said he told her we had said no.

Paul and I just looked at each other. We were put on the spot. We went out to meet his girlfriend and her mother. The plan was that her mother was taking them to a movie and staying and another two kids were going.

This is where the evening got awkward and embarrassing. Everything in us was saying we should make him stay home. However, we felt bad that her Mom had driven over with the understanding that he was going and the lack of communication. I commented that we had no cash on us because we did not know this was happening. She said she would pay.

I look over at Caleb, with his goofy, innocent grin, and ask if he was planning on wearing his school uniform. He says "Do I have too?" and continues standing there. I told him they were needing to go (still had someone else to pick up and had to get to the movies) and if he was planning on changing he needed to get busy.

Well, it is cold outside. I couldn't make everyone stand outside while he changed so I had to invite them in. Remember at the beginning of the post I said Mady had been sick and then we were gone all day today. Needless to say, my house is a DI.SASSSSSSS.TERRRRRRRRRR! I have not done much the last two days. Clothes folded in piles all over the couch and coffee table. The kids toys everywhere. We were in the middle of feeding kids, so the kitchen was destroyed. Can we say embarrassing?

As a friend so sensitively put it: I have a dirty house, no money and no idea what my kid is up to! Love how she can put things in perspective for me and make me NOT feel better about the situation!!

Hindsight is 20/20. My son is on his first date - he is not supposed to be. Besides that - this is why boyfriends moms get bad raps! OR - maybe this is why girlfriends get bad raps. Depends on what story you believe and what perspective you take. Did Caleb really tell her we said no and she thought if she showed up and put us on the spot we would let him go? (Okay, yes it worked). Or, was Caleb irresponsible and did not tell her we said no. He genuinely seemed surprised she was there (even if he wanted it to play out that way - we probably would have thought nothing of him changing out of his uniform and he is ALWAYS in front of the mirror).

This is what I know.

I hope Caleb enjoys his first date. It was nothing like I envisioned. There was not prep. There are no pictures. There IS a funny (though irritating) story.

I hope he enjoyed it. It might very well be his LAST date for a long time.

He might think he won. I am going to let him have that this evening. Because tomorrow he will know that he most certainly did NOT win. Tomorrow is when reality hits.......

UPDATE LATER SAME EVENING: As I pace the house waiting on my son to return from his first night out with a girl (yes I like the way that sounds better than the "date" word), with a 20 dollar bill in my hand, it occurs to me that there is something horribly wrong with the fact that I am waiting to PAY for my son after he has been out with a girl.

Just sayin'!!!

The Encounter

2012-01-07T17:36:00.001-06:00

This morning Paul decided we needed to take a road trip. He decided he wanted to go check out a national forest in Mississippi. He is always looking for places to go kayaking.

We had a map with road names, however, out in Nowhereville, Mississippi the roads don't have signs to match those names with. We ended up on the road we started, but not where the directions had us going. It was still on the way, just a slight detour.

Shortly after getting on the road we were not supposed to be on, we were looking at the map figuring out the easiest way to get where we were trying to go. I heard Paul say "MAN!" and looked up just as a police man came over a hill in the opposite direction and turned on his lights.

Paul pulled over before the officer even passed us to turn around and come after us.

As he walked up to the car the yapper dog starts barking at him and made him flinch. That is how the encounter began!

He immediately pulled a gun on us and said "what are you doing in these parts wearing THAT (referring to the LSU hat). If you don't give me a REALLY good reason, I am going to shoot."

Paul took off as fast as he could. He was shooting at us the whole time.

We finally outran him and made it to the forest. After driving around for a while we saw a dog being attacked by a wolf. The poor dog had a collar on. We saved the poor dog from a certain death and killed the wolf with our bare hands.

Then,

Okay, so our trip was not THAT adventurous!

So, he walked up and the dog started barking at him.

"License please." he said. "I was going to forgive you going 95....."

"But you saw the Louisiana plates?" Paul asked.

"Well and then the hat. There is really no reason for forgiveness!" the officer said.

"We were looking at the map trying to figure out how to get where we are going....." Paul began to explain.

"Don't look at the map. You have a wife there who knows exactly where you are going. And, I bet this nice vehicle has cruise control."

He then asked where we were going and gave us directions (what do ya know - I DID know where we were going). He also told us to slow down because there were four new rookies who would DEFINITELY give us a ticket.

As he reached his vehicle he turns back around and yells "AND GET A NEW HAT WHILE YOU ARE AT IT!"

Glad we got an officer with a sense of humor and forgiving nature!

Oh, and by the way, Paul was NOT going 95 or anywhere near it!

There was a dog in the forest that was running around with a collar on and no people around. We happened to have dog treats and got the dog to come to us. We called the owner and he came and got him.

Wasn't the initial story much better (no, I don't really want to live ANY of those adventures).

Her First Date

2012-01-05T18:30:00.001-06:00

Mady got up this morning at 5:30 and was in a horrible mood. She would not give, or let Daddy give her, a kiss, hug, say goodbye or even look at him.

This morning after a bubble bath she kept saying she needed to talk to Daddy, but would not tell me why. I finally gave up and called him and gave the phone to Mady.

"Daddy, you come home now and play dollhouse?"

Fast forward to about time to start dinner and she comes in and asked if she could have a "Daddy and Mady" dinner at Wal Mart. She has never asked for or had a "Daddy and Mady" dinner. I told her she could help me cook.

Helping me cook turned in to her and Daddy eating alone in the dining room. She requested that we get out the "special" dishes. She insisted on a pink teapot for their tea to be poured from. She told me she wanted brownies and ice cream for their dessert (good thing we had that!).

Then she needed to wear a dress. Oh, and don't forget to do my hair. And earrings. And a necklace and bracelet. "Mommy I need my makeup too!"

Mady does not fool around when it comes to food. You don't put her plate on the table unless you are ready for her to start shoveling food in her mouth. Daddy didn't know he had a date tonight. He was late - a good bit late! Mady watched her brothers eat, but she would not eat until Daddy got home.

When he got home, she went shy! She gave him a silly grin and hid behind me. Once they sat down and started eating she was better. I have had Pan dora on all afternoon. At one point while they were eating she leaned over to Daddy and said "Do you like this song?"

She would not allow Daddy to pour the drinks or get more food. "Mommy do it" was what she would say (yeah, thanks Mads!). When he did leave for a second, she went in the kitchen and got him and told him to go back and sit down.

After dinner and dessert she had to change clothes. She needed pajamas and Daddy needed to change out of work clothes and then go play dollhouse with his date!

This will be the only kind of date she will have for a VERY long time (ever if Daddy has his way). My heart melted into puddles as I sat in the kitchen listening to them in the dining room. I could sit here and listen to the giggles coming from that room ALL. NIGHT. LONG! I am truly VERY blessed!

notice how she grabs his ears to pull him in for a kiss (hehehe)

Glasses

2012-01-04T11:03:00.001-06:00

New Year's Resolution - In One Word

2012-01-01T22:45:00.005-06:00

For the last couple of years I have been doing a one word resolution. To me it makes more sense than making a list just for the sake of being able to say I have resolutions. One word that sums up what I want for the new year. No list to get lost in. No unattainable goals. One thing that I want to focus on for the next year.

My word for this year is HEALING.

There is the obvious, physical healing. The past year has found me in the worst health I have ever been in and it has seemed never-ending. After months of different treatments and lots of blood being taken, it seems we finally got the major health issues under control, but it is still being closely monitored. The possibility of me having problems from it at any moment always lingers in the back of my head. And, with each time the problem reoccurs it could get harder and harder to treat. There are also side effects to the illness and the meds that I have to learn to live with.

Shortly after getting that under control, I injured my knee. Three months later and I am still in a knee brace and still not 100% sure exactly what is injured. I am to the point where I would prefer to have surgery and move on with my life!

I have already been sick several times this season. Due to the immunosuppresant drugs I am on this is something I will probably just have to get used to.

Then there is emotional healing. There are relationships in my life that need healing. There have been things that have happened that have not been addressed. I simply have been stubborn and let my hurt feelings get the best of me. In reality, maybe it is completely unknown to the other person that they upset me. We don't all see things (or hear things) the same. Maybe I am assuming that they know what they did (or do) and did (do)it on purpose. But, even in the case where someone KNOWS what they did was wrong and hurtful, but refuses to apologize, that is not on me. I still need to forgive and move on.

Then there is spiritual healing. I need to work on myself to become more like Jesus. I need to be more forgiving, less hypocritical, less judgemental, more PATIENT. I need to be a role model for not only my children, but those around me (I should probably delete the "do as I say not as I do" attitude). I need to rely on God more and myself less! When I give Him something that is too big for me, I need to remember I gave it to Him because it was too big for me, and NOT take it back from Him!

I know my problems PALE in comparison to what so many are going through in their lives. I have an AWESOME husband that loves me unconditionally. He tells me, he shows me and I truly believe he would do anything to make me happy. He works extra hard to provide for his family, even when he doesn't want to. I don't know how I ended up with him, but I thank God daily. We have five beautiful and healthy children. I am proud of them all. The continuously challenge me and teach me. I am blessed to stay home and be here for my family. We have a roof over our head, food for our mouth, clothes for our body, vehicles to get us where we need to be. We may not have an abundance of money, but we have what matters the most, and He has always provided for us.

This year I want to focus on healing every aspect of my life that needs healing so that I can be a better wife, mother and friend. I want to focus on the good in my life, because there is SO much good in my life! I want to clean out all of the negatives that clutter me.

Saints Family Pics

2011-12-30T14:12:00.000-06:00

Family Football Fun

2011-12-30T13:48:00.001-06:00

Bryce has our family divided with college football teams. We all like to give him a bad time for being the only one to go for the Razorbacks while the rest of the family cheers on LSU. I thought this would be a fun photo shoot, and it was!

Bryce was a GREAT sport about the family ganging up on him for these pics. THANKS BRYCE!

Sometimes you just gotta stand alone!

The Razorback is off.....

and LSU tackles the Razorback

CATCH!

And she runs the ball

Touchdown dance?

and the Razorback lost the ball - you can SEE the disappointment in his face!

Mady "tackling" Isaac

It is Her World.....

2011-12-05T06:49:00.001-06:00

We are all just visitors!

In her world no one is safe!

Santa gets pacifiers shoved in his mouth (no she does not and barely ever did, use a pacifier)

The cat sometimes has to play the part of the baby - doesn't he looked thrilled?

The dogs sleep on the table with a blanket.....

while the "babies" sleep on the floor with rags,

or on the cold windowsill with nothing but a view of some bushes.

She fixes her hair the way SHE wants it

And chooses her clothes the same way.

This is HER world and we love her dearly!

Christmas 2011 Decorations

2011-12-05T06:48:00.001-06:00

Thanksgiving in Texas

2011-11-28T07:59:00.001-06:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We did :)

I have decided that I am going to have to break down and buy some photo editing software for my Mac!! Some day. I have a ton of pictures from over Thanksgiving that I will eventually get on here. We had so much fun, especially the kids. My Dad has been working at a Youth Camp and we went to the camp for Thanksgiving. It was my parents, our family, my sister and her kids and my best friend since JR HIGH (which means we have been friends for about 7 years) :D and her three boys.

That makes THIRTEEN kids, 6 adults (until my Aunt came on Friday). Out of the thirteen kids there were THREE 13 year old boys! Need I say more? Interesting to say the least.

It was so neat to see all the kids pick up where they left off. They don't get to see their cousins much and they have not seen Emily's boys but a couple of times in the last 10 years. You would have thought they were together every day. There was not even fighting amongst siblings that I saw.

We got there around lunchtime on Wednesday and just visited the day away. Thursday was spent cooking and eating. It was so awesome to just turn the kids loose and not have too worry TOO MUCH (did I mention three 13 year old boys?) about where they were or what they were doing. I have decided we need a LOT of acreage with different "stations" of activities. But, instead of dorms I would prefer a big house. Hey, we all can dream. But, I digress....we had two turkeys, a ham, shrimp, casseroles, potatoes, gravy, watergate salad, homemade rolls and HOMEMADE PIES among pies among pies (10 total). It was YUMMY!!

Friday was spent having FUN. After breakfast, we took the kids to the zipline. All of the kids had been nagging to go, but once we got to the zipline, many were uncertain and some changed their mind. Andrew wanted to go, so he was attached to Paul to go down. Right before they step off the tower Andrew says "Geared up and ready to go!" So cute. Mady watched him go and started saying "I fly like airplane with Daddy." So, Daddy took her down. She was REALLY excited about flying, until they started flying that is. She SCA-REAMMMMMMMMMMMED the ENTIRE way down the line. When she got back up to where we were all sitting I asked if she wanted to go again. She said "NO" and shook her head so hard she almost fell over!

My aunt went down once. She said she could mark it off her bucket list and never needed to do it again. Emily went down (although she was rather uncertain). There were lots of loud "Oh my gosh"-es coming from her the whole way down, but nothing like Mads.

I went. I LOVED it. I actually did it twice. I would have kept doing it, but the uphill hike back was not great on my knee. I do appreciate Emily and Paul walking my brace down (couldn't wear it going down) to the end of the zipline so I could wear it back up the hill. I am ready to zipline through the rainforest now if anyone would like to pay for that trip ;)

It was great seeing my Aunt that I have not seen in probably 8 or more years. I wish we had had more time to catch up! Hopefully she will make a trip to Louisiana soon.

Kids went back to school today, so we are back to reality and it has hit me in the face! Between decorating for Christmas, the stuff from the trip, a ton of laundry that came from some deep dark corner that it needs to go back to and regular chores, I am not sure if I will ever catch up!!

Tea Party Picnic

2011-11-18T17:21:00.000-06:00

This was the most fun we have had taking pictures! She has been asking continuously since to have a tea party picnic. Love my girly girl!!!!

Buddies

2011-11-15T18:57:00.001-06:00

These two are so fun to watch together (most of the time). Don't get me wrong, they know how to push each others buttons and they do it a LOT! But, for the most part they get along really well and it is fun watching them play together.

My AJ

2011-11-15T18:46:00.000-06:00

Mady

2011-11-15T18:40:00.000-06:00

Rainy Day

2011-11-10T18:08:00.001-06:00

Hula Hooping

2011-11-10T18:06:00.001-06:00

Candy, Church and Christmas Presents

2011-10-31T16:36:00.001-05:00

Yesterday my "alarms" did not get up early like they normally do, so we were not up in time to go to church. Bryce and Isaac were having this conversation just now:

Bryce: "I found out what the treats were. Matthew told me."

Isaac: "What was it?"

B: "Your choice of chocolate candy."

Me: "Is that why you were so upset about missing church?"

B: "NO!" (like I was crazy even suggesting) "I wanted to hear God's word!"

I: "I wasn't upset. I didn't want to go. I wanted to go get Christmas presents!" (which was not even decided until AFTER we had missed church)

B: "Well that IS important too!!"

Ladybug

2011-10-25T17:52:00.000-05:00

Father/Daughter Love

2011-10-18T10:05:00.001-05:00

This morning as I was putting Mady in my bed and as I was getting up I kissed her cheek and said "I love you more." She kissed me back and replied "I love Daddy more!"

Honestly, it does not bother me to hear her say that. I want her to love her Daddy "more." I want her to find a man (in a REALLY REALLY long time) that treats her the way her father treats me and her. I want her to look up to him to see what she should expect from a man and I want her to settle for nothing less.

So, I had to chuckle when I was scrolling through my face.book page I came across this article that a friend had posted a link to.

50 Rules for Dads of Daughters by Michael Mitchell

1. Love her mom. Treat her mother with respect, honor, and a big heaping spoonful of public displays of affection. When she grows up, the odds are good she’ll fall in love with and marry someone who treats her much like you treated her mother. Good or bad, that’s just the way it is. I’d prefer good.

2. Always be there. Quality time doesn’t happen without quantity time. Hang out together for no other reason than just to be in each other’s presence. Be genuinely interested in the things that interest her. She needs her dad to be involved in her life at every stage. Don’t just sit idly by while she add years to her… add life to her years.

3. Save the day. She’ll grow up looking for a hero. It might as well be you. She’ll need you to come through for her over and over again throughout her life. Rise to the occasion. Red cape and blue tights optional.

4. Savor every moment you have together. Today she’s crawling around the house in diapers, tomorrow you’re handing her the keys to the car, and before you know it, you’re walking her down the aisle. Some day soon, hanging out with her old man won’t be the bees knees anymore. Life happens pretty fast. You better cherish it while you can.

5. Pray for her. Regularly. Passionately. Continually.

6. Buy her a glove and teach her to throw a baseball. Make her proud to throw like a girl… a girl with a wicked slider.

7. She will fight with her mother. Choose sides wisely.

8. Go ahead. Buy her those pearls.

9. Of course you look silly playing peek-a-boo. You should play anyway.

10. Enjoy the wonder of bath time.

11. There will come a day when she asks for a puppy. Don’t over think it. At least one time in her life, just say, “Yes.”

12. It’s never too early to start teaching her about money. She will still probably suck you dry as a teenager… and on her wedding day.

13. Make pancakes in the shape of her age for breakfast on her birthday. In a pinch, donuts with pink sprinkles and a candle will suffice.

14. Buy her a pair of Chucks as soon as she starts walking. She won’t always want to wear matching shoes with her old man.

15. Dance with her. Start when she’s a little girl or even when she’s a baby. Don’t wait ‘til her wedding day.

16. Take her fishing. She will probably squirm more than the worm on your hook. That’s OK.

17. Learn to say no. She may pitch a fit today, but someday you’ll both be glad you stuck to your guns.

18. Tell her she’s beautiful. Say it over and over again. Someday an animated movie or “beauty” magazine will try to convince her otherwise.

19. Teach her to change a flat. A tire without air need not be a major panic inducing event in her life. She’ll still call you crying the first time it happens.

20. Take her camping. Immerse her in the great outdoors. Watch her eyes fill with wonder the first time she sees the beauty of wide open spaces. Leave the iPod at home.

21. Let her hold the wheel. She will always remember when daddy let her drive.

22. She’s as smart as any boy. Make sure she knows that.

23. When she learns to give kisses, she will want to plant them all over your face. Encourage this practice.

24. Knowing how to eat sunflower seeds correctly will not help her get into a good college. Teach her anyway.

25. Letting her ride on your shoulders is pure magic. Do it now while you have a strong back and she’s still tiny.

26. It is in her nature to make music. It’s up to you to introduce her to the joy of socks on a wooden floor.

27. If there’s a splash park near your home, take her there often. She will be drawn to the water like a duck to a puddle.

28. She will eagerly await your return home from work in the evenings. Don’t be late.

29. If her mom enrolls her in swim lessons, make sure you get in the pool too. Don’t be intimidated if there are no other dads there. It’s their loss.

30. Never miss her birthday. In ten years she won’t remember the present you gave her. She will remember if you weren’t there.

31. Teach her to roller skate. Watch her confidence soar.

32. Let her roll around in the grass. It’s good for her soul. It’s not bad for yours either.

33. Take her swimsuit shopping. Don’t be afraid to veto some of her choices, but resist the urge to buy her full-body beach pajamas.

34. Somewhere between the time she turns three and her sixth birthday, the odds are good that she will ask you to marry her. Let her down gently.

35. She’ll probably want to crawl in bed with you after a nightmare. This is a good thing.

36. Few things in life are more comforting to a crying little girl than her father’s hand. Never forget this.

37. Introduce her to the swings at your local park. She’ll squeal for you to push her higher and faster. Her definition of “higher and faster” is probably not the same as yours. Keep that in mind.

38. When she’s a bit older, your definition of higher and faster will be a lot closer to hers. When that day comes, go ahead… give it all you’ve got.

39. Holding her upside down by the legs while she giggles and screams uncontrollably is great for your biceps. WARNING: She has no concept of muscle fatigue.

40. She might ask you to buy her a pony on her birthday. Unless you live on a farm, do not buy her a pony on her birthday. It’s OK to rent one though.

41. Take it easy on the presents for her birthday and Christmas. Instead, give her the gift of experiences you can share together.

42. Let her know she can always come home. No matter what.

43. Remember, just like a butterfly, she too will spread her wings and fly some day. Enjoy her caterpillar years.

44. Write her a handwritten letter every year on her birthday. Give them to her when she goes off to college, becomes a mother herself, or when you think she needs them most.

45. Learn to trust her. Gradually give her more freedom as she gets older. She will rise to the expectations you set for her.

46. When in doubt, trust your heart. She already does.

47. When your teenage daughter is upset, learning when to engage and when to back off will add years to YOUR life. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

48. Ice cream covers over a multitude of sins. Know her favorite flavor.

49. This day is coming soon. There’s nothing you can do to be ready for it. The sooner you accept this fact, the easier it will be.

50. Today she’s walking down the driveway to get on the school bus. Tomorrow she’s going off to college. Don’t blink.

He has a blog with more tips at www.lifetoheryears.com. This is an awesome blog!

I love you Babe and appreciate you being such an awesome Daddy to all of our kids. But, I especially appreciate you teaching our daughter that she is beautiful and worthy of a man that can treat her with the love and respect and playfulness that you show her and I both on a daily basis.

Certain is it that there is no kind of affection so purely angelic as of a father to a daughter. In love to our wives there is desire; to our sons, ambition; but to our daughters there is something which there are no words to express. - Joseph Addison

Bike Accident

2011-10-17T17:17:00.001-05:00

Caleb was in a bike accident Saturday (yes, again!) This time did not include any fire hydrants or foreheads!

It did, however, include a six hour trip to the emergency room!

What happened still is not completely clear. The three older kids were out riding bikes with a kid down the street. From what I have gathered, Caleb was racing the other kid (so he was going as fast as he could) and his chain broke. What we were first told was that the chain came off and IT hit him. What I was later told was that the chain popped off, the bike fell and it drug him about 10 feet. He was in shock when he came in and was barely able to talk.

He had a busted lip, two VERY skinned up knees, his left hands pointer and middle fingers had skin hanging and lots of blood and he had a hole in his arm - to where we thought we were seeing tendon, along with some minor scrapes.

it these pics are not enough, you can double click the pics and see them bigger.

It was a very busy night at the ER and while we were taken straight back we still waited a couple of hours before we even saw a nurse. Then it was a couple of more hours before we saw anyone again.

The nurse said she was also pretty sure that we were looking at his tendon on his arm. She said he would probably need stitches on his arm and at least one finger. She put a wet dressing on his arm and made him stick his two fingers in a cup of water/peroxide/betadine. He sat that way for over an hour and a half! They also did an xray of his right arm to make sure he did not break anything.

When the dr came in he said that nothing was broken. There was not enough tissue to put stitches in his arm (and we were not seeing tendon - it was the fatty layer right above the tendon). He would have to pull tissue to try and stitch and he said it would be very traumatic and painful. It will take longer to heal without the stitches, but it will heal just as well as if he had them. His fingers also did not have to be stitched. They, too, are wrapped. His right arm (the arm with the hole in it) is in a sling.

A different person came in and spent about an hour cleaning all of his wounds and wrapping/bandaging him up. His arm is in a sling and he goes to see his pediatrician on Wednesday to make sure everything is healing correctly. He can't do PE (they were starting weight lifting this week), band, swim (his final competition is Saturday). He is left handed, so he is having a hard time doing much with his fingers bandaged up. I don't want to see his writing this week!

Of course, Paul left today to go out of town for the week. I don't do blood very well, so I really was not sure if I was going to be able to dress his wounds. But, it is amazing what a Mom can overcome for their children. I had the icky shakes several times while taking care of them last night, but I got them all cared for.

this picture was taken today

New "Dishwasher"

2011-10-10T16:55:00.002-05:00

I got a new dish washer last night. Here it is:

He will remain the dish washer until he no longer considers this clean:

The smirk on his face when I pulled the pot out of the cabinet and asked him about it did NOT help his case any!

Socks

2011-10-05T08:22:00.000-05:00

I walked by these socks a couple of times yesterday, but eventually I really SAW the socks.

My first response was to see where Andrew was. I needed to make sure he did not turn invisible. Maybe he has some super power I didn't know about.

He was playing in his room. Very much visible (and audible).

HOW????

I asked Andrew how he got out of his socks with them looking like he was still in them.

"I peeled out of them!"

I have no doubt that that is EXACTLY what happened! The way he and Mads were running circles in the living room all day yesterday it seems like a very likely and acceptable explanation.

I Needed Some More Excitement in My Life?

2011-10-05T08:12:00.000-05:00

Now I have done it!

You thought being sick with five kids was bad. I might have topped it. Now I am on crutches with five kids!

Saturday, after spending the morning running some errands, we decided to take advantage of the BEAUTIFUL weather we have been blessed with and took the kids to the park. The park we went to has some parking along a road on the top of a hill that goes down to a lake. I got out, got Mads out and we were headed around the car to the road. The ground rolled out from under me. Literally! The ground was covered in acorns, on a hill, and I rolled DOWN landing on my derriere.

The good news is, Mads is perfectly fine!

I, on the other hand, had my leg twist behind me and then had 30 pounds of "fine" land on my twisted knee! There was pain shooting from my knee to my hip. We got me up and I tried to walk off the pain, which didn't happen. So, that was the end of the celebration of the beautiful weather. It was time to go home!

I spent the rest of the day with my leg elevated and ice on it (RICE - rest, ice, compression, elevation). The pain in my hip seemed to improve, the knee not so much. We looked online and it sounds like a sprain, but of course there is the possibility of a tear. I did not go to the dr, because I did not want to pay to hear RICE. It did not swell very much and there was no visible bruising.

I have been on crutches since Paul went and found some Saturday evening. That was fine this weekend, when my wonderful husband was home to take care of the kids, care for my every need, cook, clean, shop, etc. Monday, however, reality set in. I was home alone with two preschoolers and on crutches. By Monday, I could put a little weight on my leg so I used the crutches when possible, but slowly hobbled around when not possible. When Paul came home I was sent to the couch. Same story yesterday.

Today the swelling has gone down, I can "walk", if you want to call it that, although it still hurts. I was told by a nurse if there was not improvement within the week to go to the dr. I was also told I needed to stay off of it completely. I asked if she remembered I have five kids, two of which I am with ALL. THE. TIME. and they never stop.

I have to go run a couple of errands this morning. I am going in to this chanting "I think I can, I think I can!" and hoping for a cooperative four year old and two year old.

STOP LAUGHING! It IS possible that they will cooperate - not likely, but possible :)

Mad's Halloween Costume

2011-09-27T10:06:00.003-05:00

I know people think I am crazy because I have already started with Halloween costumes, but I have five kids who all need costumes and all want them made, not bought. I don't mind, but I need TIME to get them all done! So, yes we have over a month before Halloween and I am working on costumes already!

Mady was actually going to be a Candy Corn Fairy, but after I got quite a bit of the costume made, I could not find some of the materials I needed to finish it (of course, now that I am done with the Lady bug I have the supplies needed for the other costume). So, I got her talked into being a Ladybug, which is what her Daddy really wanted her to be (actually HE is the one that talked her into the Ladybug).

Here is her costume. It will be a little different when she actually has it on. She will also have antennas to wear. It was all pretty easy to make, except the wings - they were a pain in the booty!

Now, time to get busy on the next costume!

Obsessed Much?

2011-09-27T09:05:00.000-05:00

Yesterday Mady spent most of the day "shoe shopping." Basically, she walked around the house pushing her shopping cart and taking any shoes she could get her hands on. She would fill up her shopping cart, empty and start over. This was ALL day.

Usually when we tell her it is bedtime she grabs her Gingy (Ginger is the bunny Daddy made her at Build-a-Bear for her first Valentine's Day), her bebe (her blanket) and she tells Bella (our Australian Shepard that sleeps in her room) it is bedtime. Last night, however, when I said it was bedtime, she did all of that while also trying to grab as many shoes as she could. She got mad at me when I took them and said the shoes could not sleep in her bed with her and she could shop for them some more tomorrow.

Well, her little brain worked overtime after I closed her door because this morning I found this:

To her defense, I did not tell her she could not sleep with the shoes, I told her the shoes could not sleep in her bed. Yep, she made a bed in her closet and slept there. Girl after my own heart. I heart shoes, too!

She happily got up this morning and started all over, except so far it has only been her shoes. My door is CLOSED and my shoes are all safely put away!

Fancy Nancy Tea Party

2011-09-15T06:11:00.004-05:00

The younger two kids and I have always gone to story time at the library. We LOVE our librarian, she is so sweet. When we go, each one of the kids carry their own backpack to put their books in (okay, they carry it in and Mom carries them out). Mady's backpack is a Fancy Nancy backpack. She is always checking out at least one Fancy Nancy book and she usually chooses what she wants to wear to the library (and just about anywhere we go) and for some reason she frequently picks something "fancy" to wear (like tutus).

Ms. Nancy, our librarian, picked up on all of this and decided that the library needed to have a Fancy Nancy Tea Party. Mady has been looking forward to it and was so happy when yesterday came so she could go.

She picked out her clothes, jewelry, boa, shoes, purse, bows for her hair, etc. She was DECKED OUT!

They had story time, and introduced Fancy Nancy to the kids. We got there late and were sitting in the back. While she was introducing Fancy Nancy, she was also telling parents that if they had any ideas to please share and that the reason she was doing the tea party was because Mady told her she loved Fancy Nancy. Everyone turned around to look at Mady (it was a FULL house) and she got EMBARRASSED!!

Then they played a game, listened to classical music, made tiaras and crowns, and had tea (lemonade) and cookies. Andrew had fun to, being surrounded by all of the girls (I think there were only a couple of boys and a LOT of girls).

Parent Gone Wild

2011-09-14T06:14:00.005-05:00

Or just plain crazy!

Yesterday morning I was having a great morning. My kids were keeping me laughing. I looked down the road at Caleb's bus stop as I was putting trash out for pickup and see Caleb doing what looked like ballet moves over someones sprinkler (that was turned on, of course), over and over. Then there was Andrew singing, which he does all the time, but we never know what to expect HIS words to be. He gets close to correct, but usually whatever he doesn't get correct is pretty hilarious. Yesterday it was "Glory Glory Hallelujah He Reigns" except he was singing Glory glory, hallelujah PEA BRAINS. When I corrected him he looks at me and says "I think I like MY words better!" and runs off singing glory to the peabrains.

I get Bryce on the bus and send Isaac to his bus stop. I noticed a little bit after I put Bryce on the bus his bus, which should have been long gone, circled back around twice. I am thinking this is odd, but what are you going to do. Then I notice it parked at the end of our road. I figure something is wrong with the bus.

I go to the kitchen sink to start breakfast dishes and look out my window to see a police car in my driveway and one in front of the house. I freeze. All kinds of things go through your head when you look out your window and there are police at your house, even when you have done nothing wrong. Or have you? Then I wonder if something happened to my husband, who is out of town. Quickly, many thoughts are swarming in my head and I am glued to the floor.

Luckily, the police talked on their radios and got back in their cars. I step outside to see what is going on. I would not typically go outside if there were police in the neighborhood, however I have one child on a bus that is acting strangely and one child standing at his bus stop. When I stepped outside there were FOUR police cars down by Isaac's bus stop. At Bryce's bus, there is a car in front of the bus and a second bus is next to it. The kids are getting off their bus and on to the other.

At this point, the police have ALL pulled up next door. There is one standing on the side walk and a friend that was driving by told him that I had a child on the bus and one at the bus stop and asked if everything was okay. He assured her it was. This Momma is not convinced, seeming as how there are four police next door, my child was taken off one bus and put on another and the bus driver is now next door talking to the police.

Come to find out, the bus driver, who picks kids up at their house (at their age, they do not have to walk to a bus stop), had missed the neighbors stop. Now, this child is not normally outside waiting when the bus gets here. We can see the entrance of the neighborhood and we can see the bus make the stop before their stop. The bus driver typically stops at their house and waits on him to come out (which he takes his time doing). Bryce got on the bus and the kid was not trying to walk down to our house to get on either.

The dad decided to put his son in the car and CHASE down the bus. When she stops he pulls up, gets out and his son gets on the bus. He goes to the drivers window and starts yelling at her that she can't keep missing the bus. She said that it was the first time she had missed their house and it was a mistake and apologized. Somehow in all of this, he started cussing her out, yelling in front of all of the kids on the bus.

The bus driver called her boss and the police. I found out what happened yesterday morning, apparently there were several witnesses, some that were not even outside, but heard the yelling at 7 in the morning and went to check it out. It happened on the next road over in our neighborhood, but Isaac heard it at his bus stop on our road, and saw him driving crazy.

The third grade point of view was almost exactly the same story I had already heard. The only difference in his version was that "17 police cars came and they pulled into the neighborhood with their sirens on, half turning one way and half turning the other way. Then they all drive fast up to the bus and slam on their brakes." Yeah, he is eight - I kinda expected a story similar to that!

He also said that when he was cussing out the bus driver he was flailing his hands around and that the kids on the bus thought he was going to pull the driver through the window. The kids were genuinely scared. Then the man stomped off to his car and followed the bus for a little bit and then drove off crazy.

He said he was a little worried to get on the bus yesterday afternoon, even though the kid does not ride the bus in the afternoon. I am SO mad that my child was put in that situation. From hearing the words he heard to seeing the man act the way he did. This mans child was on the bus when it happened. This child has to go to school with these kids. I asked Bryce if the child said anything and Bryce said "Yeah, he said he thinks his Dad has gone crazy!"

Bryce is friends with this kid. He occasionally (not very often) goes to this child's house to play. He came home yesterday saying "I think I will not being going to his house for a long time, just in case he is still mad." He also said he would stay away from the little boy. I told him that would be a pretty permanent thing, him not going to their house, but that it was okay for him to still play with the little boy at school and at our house. That little boy did not do ANYTHING wrong! Bryce is scared of this man now, in a big way!

The first thing out of Bryce's mouth when he walked in the door, though, was "Why did the police come to OUR house when we didn't do anything wrong?" I explained to him that they were just at the wrong house. He asked what they said to me and I told him they never even made it to the door. Apparently, the bus driver saw them at our house and told the police it was the wrong house and the police at the bus radioed it to the police at our house. But, the last thing Bryce saw before the craziness of switching buses and trying to get to school (which they were late for) was the police at our house and it apparently bothered him all day.

How dare a parent act like that in front of his own child, much less a bus of kids (luckily the bus was not full, I think there were about 10 kids on it). How dare a parent make my child not only nervous about getting on his school bus, but nervous because he is our neighbor?

I don't know what happened to the parent, whether he was ticketed or what, but I hope their was a consequence to his actions, other than the consequences that he imposed on the kids! I am proud of Bryce for telling me how out of line this man was, how he was talking in "improper tones" and how he was NEVER going to do anything that stupid.

Hoping today is less crazy and involves no police!

Smelling the Roses

2011-09-09T06:19:00.008-05:00

The beginning of July I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. I wasn't feeling great before I went to the dr and had all the test run, but after I went I felt even worse. Over the last couple of months we have tried MANY different mixes of medicines, different doses of medicines, diet changes, etc. Seemed like nothing was working. I was (and am) on high doses of steroids, which, I think the side effects of are worse than the disease often times, but unfortunately it is not a medicine I can just stop taking. We are working on tapering me off of it VERY slowly.

On top of that, I am anemic. The last thing a mother of five kids needs is to be anemic. My energy level isn't near theirs on a good, healthy day!

The last few months have been rough here. There have been days I could not get out of bed. There are days that I made it out of bed, but only as far as the couch. My awesome husband did a great job of taking care of me.....and the kids, and the house (inside and outside), and cooking, and his job. My wonderful children made me get well cards and continuously came and checked up on me (and still frequently ask me if I am feeling okay). I am extremely blessed with the man the Lord chose for me and the children He gave to us.

At the moment, we have gotten the disease under control. But, it will always be a day by day thing. You never know when it will flare up and how bad it will be.

I say all of that to tell of a lesson this has taught me. The couple of months that I was down and out, I have felt like a failure. It is hard not to get discouraged when you feel so horrible physically and can not correct what is causing you to feel that way. Add on top of that that the kids do not all understand why I can't get out of bed or don't have the energy to go anywhere or do anything. I felt like I was neglecting the kids needs and they were not getting the attention they deserved.

When Mady sees a flower (even a weed) she runs to it and gently grabs it and smells it. She can linger at that single flower, no matter how small or insignificant it looks, for what feels to me like forever. She wants to take in every last scent she can from that single flower. And, if there are 100 flowers that look just like the first, she wants to enjoy the smell of each and every one of them.

This disease and my children are teaching me to slow down and smell the roses. I felt like I was missing out on so much with them when I was not feeling well. I did NOT like it! My kids are growing so quickly and I don't want to miss ANYTHING!

It is hard with so many people doing their own thing to remember to slow down and enjoy it. It is not something that I have not known, just something that I sometimes forget to do and need little reminders. Every time I see Mady smelling the sweet fragrance of a flower I am reminded that I need to slow down for ALL of my kids and enjoy them being kids. These moments are so limited by time. Before I know it they are going to be moving out and I don't want to have any regrets when it is too late to do something about it.

So, next time Mady runs to smell a flower, I think I will run with her and smell it with her. And while I am smelling it, I will say a little prayer of thanks for God for all the blessings in my life and remind myself to slow down and smell the roses!

Trip to the Zoo

2011-09-08T06:40:00.007-05:00

We have been having some WONDERFUL weather since we had the tropical storm last weekend. Lows in the 50s, highs in the upper 70's, low 80s. Yesterday we decided it had probably dried out enough to take advantage of the beautiful weather and go to the zoo.
I decided I was going to go without the stroller or wagon we normally take with us. The kids had a LOT of energy built up that they needed to get rid of. We were going to walk until they could not walk anymore. And, we did.

Potty Trauma

2011-09-03T08:14:00.002-05:00

The first few days of potty training we had all the potties prepared for Mady. We also had a small potty in the living room, just in case. Sometimes she liked to just sit on the potty and watch cartoons.

The first time she pooped in the potty she was doing just that and it caught her off guard. She got up concerned that she had pooped in the potty. I went and checked and sure enough she had. Now, I was expecting that to take a while, I definitely was not expecting it that soon.

Momma SQUEALED with delight (because if it is in the potty Momma does not have to clean it off of her). I was hooting and hollering and cheering,

Mady SCREAMED! I guess she thought she was in trouble or just was not sure what to make of it.

I traumatized her. The next few days she would NOT poop in the potty. She would disappear to her room and then come tell me she had pooped. We would discuss where we are supposed to go as I cleaned her up (and may have possibly promised some bribes, but that is neither here nor there).

The next time she DID poop in the potty, Mommy was very careful in how she cheered and told her what an awesome job she had done and what a BIG girl she was. Let's be honest - the rewards helped too!

Thankfully, it did not take her long to get over the trauma her Momma caused her.

Slimy Pockets

2011-08-31T06:33:00.004-05:00

Over the years I have learned to check pockets before putting the kids clothes in the washer - especially school uniforms where crayons frequent. Here is one thing you do NOT want to shove your hand into at six am when you are trying to start laundry:

Thanks Son! I guess the chicken and carrots portion of your dinner didn't do it for you.

Guess what? The 6am heart attack you gave me didn't really do it for me, either. Putting my hand in YOUR pocket full of something cold and slimy has a way of waking one up!

Potty Training - The FINAL Chapter

2011-08-29T06:04:00.004-05:00

I introduced the potty to Mady when she was about one. I did not push it on her, did not make her use it, just got her a pink potty and put it in the bathroom. She would occasionally ask to sit on it. She would occasionally use it. Basically, it was just there.

I have tried a couple of times since she turned two, to get her to use it. Again, occasionally she would. She would go through times when she would ask to sit on it and she would sit on it for LONG periods of time (by her own choice). She would get up and have a big pink ring on her bottom (should have gotten a cushy potty), but usually nothing in the potty.

Right before school started I decided I was really going to try to get her potty trained. She was not really interested. She would sit on the potty if I asked her to, but that was about it. Then, I had a reaction to some meds and got pretty sick (sicker than I already was). There were several days I could not get out of bed and when I was able to I had ZERO energy for anything, much less potty training. Daddy was so busy trying to work, take care of his normal house chores, take care of MY chores, do the cooking and taking care of the kids. Potty training wasn't really on his radar. So, potty training went to the sidelines.

Last week I finally had the energy to attempt it again. We started Monday. Something clicked with her (pretty sure it was the rewards ;)) and she has not peed in her pants since Monday (nights don't count). We went cold turkey. No diapers or pullups during the day at all. A while back we found some panties with her favorite characters (Fancy Nancy and Hello Kitty) and we bought them. She was so excited to wear them and quickly realized they were much more comfortable than diapers!

I don't know what got into me, but I would not even put a diaper on her when we went out to run errands. She never had accidents while we were out. After less than a week, she was going to the bathroom by herself. She would go do her business, then run out to me and say "Mommy, I peepeed in the potty. I a BIGGGGGGG girl! Come on Mommy" as she waves her little hand in the direction of the bathroom. She still has to wear a pullup at night, but she is not even two and a half yet so I kinda expected that. The good thing, though, is I am not changing diapers AT ALL! She gets up in the morning, takes it off and goes potty.

Yesterday she wanted to go to church in her panties. I told her she could and packed some extra clothes. I didn't know if she would go for someone else, or in a new place, or with the excitement of all the kids - but there was no time like the present to find out! I took her in and told her teacher that she was in panties and then I took her potty. I honestly expected to pick her up and find her in her extra clothes. She wasn't!

After almost THIRTEEN YEARS (you read that right) I am done changing diapers! Let's NOT do the math on the time I have spent changing diapers or the MONEY I have spent BUYING diapers. Let's just say Pampers LOVES us :)

As hard as most of the "last first" have been (with Andrew and Mady because we thought Andrew was going to be our last baby) this was not really a hard one. The hard part is seeing my baby as a little girl now. The other day she was in just her panties with her hair up in a ponytail, singing and dancing around the living room. I must say, at that moment, I wanted to run and get a diaper and put it back on her. It seems like yesterday I thought I would never have a girl, much less a girl with enough hair to put in a ponytail (her hair has been slow growing), or a girl in panties singing and dancing. I will not miss diapers, but I DO miss my BABY baby (she will always be our baby) girl!

Okay - so girls ARE easier to potty train than boys!

Fun Pics

2011-07-25T08:16:00.008-05:00

Okay, so I HAVE to get back into my blogging! FB has made it so quick and easy to put pics up that I tend to do that and never get around to putting them on the blog! Hopefully, with school starting soon, I will get back into the swing of things!

Last week the oldest two went to church camp. They had a blast and I enjoyed the extra time with the younger three. We saw this memorial rose garden and thought it would be a fun place to take some pics. It was really sunny and hot though :(

Madeleine LOVES wearing her boots! She will wear the boots around with nothing else. Anytime she sees me put on my boots, especially with that dress, she runs and gets hers and asks for the dress she is wearing in these pics. I have wanted to get pics of us in our boots for a while.

The Truth About ADHD

2011-07-19T08:40:00.004-05:00

I have had this post swirling in my head for a long time, but have not had the courage to actually type it. This topic is one of those sticky ones and usually people seem to have strong feelings one way or another about it, usually depending on if they live with it or not. I am not putting this out there to pursuade people to feel one way or the other on the topic or change anyones mind. I am strictly putting my experience and struggle out there.

I am talking about Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. I have two children that have been diagnosed with some form of ADHD, and the road to get to where we are has not been easy on any of us (and still isn't).

To medicate or not to medicate is a question that gets lots of controversy. Honestly, a couple of years ago, I was more on the don't medicate side of the fence. I was also very uneducated on the topic! Many people, and I was one of them, thought that as a parent if you "medicate" your child for ADHD you are essentially trying to change who your child is.

I could not have been more wrong.

When the first child was diagnosed, it was after months of trying to figure out why he was struggling so bad in school. He was never in trouble. In fact, his was so hard to figure out because he was so quiet and calm that he blended in to the class. He never raised his hand in class. He went from making good grades one year to big time failing the next year. It took us half of the school year, many conferences with teachers, interventionist, school counselors, principals, not to mention drs, to figure out that he was, in fact struggling with ADD. Even after the diagnoses, I was still on the fence about meds. He had symptoms like disorganization, procrastination, forgetfulness, easily distracted, etc. The class would move from English to Math and he would still be asking questions about English. He just could not focus.

After talking to his dr at length about what was going on, and how we felt about medicine, etc. the dr told us about a medicine that only last 6-8 hours a day and when it was out of his system, it was out. The side effects were minimal, if any and there was no concern of dependency. We could give him the medicine only when he needed it (when he was going to school or doing something that he really needed to concentrate on). The dr started him on the lowest possible doseage.

We stayed in constant contact with his teachers for updates. Since he was only taking the medicine at school and it was out of his system by the time we got home, we had no choice but to trust his teachers to pay close attention to him. Thank God, we were blessed with a couple of teachers that were more than willing to help us out. They truly had his best interest at heart.

That was a brutal year. He struggled SO much and worked SO hard to get his grades back up so he did not get held back. He would come home from school and do homework until bedtime, with no complaining. He volunteered to go to summer school that summer so he could continue to work to get caught up. The next year he went in to a transitional class, meaning small class size (16 kids as opposed to the normal 25ish), that had interventionist come in regularly and work with the kids on their problem areas. He went from failing one year, to getting his grades up to C's sprinkled with an occasional A and B, to last year A's and B's sprinkled with an occasional C. He made A/B honor roll several times last year. It still has not been easy, and he still spends a LOT of time on homework (which is hard because his other two brothers are sponges who don't study and still make A's). But, he doesn't complain. He makes the best of his situation. He knows what he has to do and he wants the grades so he is willing to do it.

He is one dose up from the lowest possible dose of his medicine. We did have to adjust it when we realized he was doing well in his morning classes and not as well in his afternoon classes.

The other child that we are dealing with this with is the opposite. He DOES have the hyperactivity portion of it. But, when many people think of a child with ADHD, they think of the child that is always bouncing around, fidgeting, loud, can't sit still, etc. Those are all symptoms that we deal with. Unfortunately, they are not the biggest or worst symptoms. Those are the "easier" issues to deal with. There are so many other issues that you don't hear about as much. There are impulse control issues like impatience, difficulty delaying responses (which can lead to stealing, hiding things, deceitful type behavior), lying, interrupting continuously, etc. He does not always have the ability to think of the consequence for a behavior he chooses "in the moment". He also has anxiety issues, he is just naturally a worrier.

I don't know why these struggles are less talked about, but I know for me there are many reasons I tend not to discuss it. For one, I do not want my child labeled by anyone. Yes, he has struggles but they do not and should not define who he is as a person. As a parent you never want your child to be "that" child, whatever that means. I don't want his peers to know what he goes through because these are his peers for life. I don't want other adults judging him or jumping to conclussions about him or assuming if something is missing he took it, either. People have ways of remembering things, especially negative things about others. I don't want choices he makes at such a young age to follow him around for life.

There is also a very selfish reason for me not discussing the less obvious struggles. I don't want it to reflect on the kind of parents we are. I know that is a horrible attitude. These are not things we have "taught" our child are permissable. They are not things that we let him get away with, although punishing a child that would seemingly rather suffer the consequence of his choices than to make a better choice is very difficult.

I can see why so many parents struggle with their kids. Society judges so quickly and easily and points fingers, even without having ANY of the facts of the situation a parent is in. I can see where parents would not want to reach out for help if it would put a target on their back for their parenting skills. Things can snowball out of control so easily and I can see where parents can lose their children because they do not know how to handle them. As much as I do to try and help, there are still times I feel helpless and worry about his future.

One of the things that get overlooked about this diagnosis is the self-esteem of the child. When you struggle with everything you do and you always feel like you have the wrong answer, why would you want to raise your hand in class? When you KNOW you make poor choices, but don't feel like you can control those choices, it is easy to feel like a failure and not good enough to be around others. Then you start making up lies to make yourself look and feel better or get the attention you crave but can never get enough of, no matter how much you get. It is a whirlwind and it is heartbreaking to watch in both situations.

With the second child's diagnosis, it has been almost a year. I am not convinced we are at his dose yet. He is still on a very low dose, but I am not sure we are there. He makes great grades, even though we struggle getting him to do his homework. He will hide his homework worksheets, throw them away, tear them up, and tell us he has no homework. Since he is very unorganized we have to pull EVERYTHING out of his backpack every evening and go through papers one by one (he does not use his folders). If it is blank, he has to do it, whether he says it is homework or not.

I still do not want my children on medicine for ever. The child that has the inattentivness we have found that he loves golf. We have also found that golf is great therapy for him. He is in First Tee, which teaches life skills through the game of golf. He learns how to interact with others, look them in their eyes, good strong handshakes, respect, etc. It is also a game where you take your time and are not rushed. He has to pay attention to what he is doing though. I do not give him his medicine before he plays. I want him to learn that he can do things without depending on his meds. I want him to learn that he can learn to focus and pay attention to what he needs to without meds. But, I do NOT want his grades and learning to suffer while trying to teach these lessons. Most importantly, he LOVES the game and his self-esteem in the last year he has played has sky-rocketed. He is the only one of the kids that plays, and we plan on keeping it that way. He has something that he is good at, and none of his siblings can outdo him at. He likes to show his siblings how to play. Eventually, we might let the others learn, but not yet.

With the second child's diagnosis, his is a little more serious in nature as far as long term effects. I worry about him because there is so much substance abuse in our families and I know the addictive nature is in his blood. I don't ever want him to feel like he needs to turn to something else. He is in counseling. I am trying to give him every oppurtunity to succeed at life and not let him let this define who he is. He is learning coping techniques for when he feels impulses to do or take things he should not. He is learning to think of the end result of his choices and how THAT will effect him. He is learning to help himself. His counselor feels like he is making good progress, but it will be a work in progress for some time.

I feel like we spend a lot of time in power struggles with each other, so the counseling, although the counselor and I only spend a few minutes each session talking about what has been going on since last time we were there, helps me as well. She is able to get things out of him and feelings out of him that we are not.

As any mother, I always want what is best for my children. I will move Heaven and Earth to give them what I can and offer them any help I can. We cannot do this on our own. We have been blessed with a great support system with the drs and counselor and golf staff. When it comes down to it, I cannot make their choices in life for them. I can only give them the best foundation I can and hope they get the most out of it for life.

Meanwhile, I continue to pray for them and for their lives (of ALL of my children). And, I continue to pray for lots of patience and understanding and forgiveness. After all, isn't that what I have to ask that God has for me?

Wrapping Up Summer

2011-07-19T07:47:00.002-05:00

Another summer is quickly coming to an end. That means my kids are still growing too fast.

This will be Andrew's last year at home. The past year we have done a lot of discussing and praying about whether or not to put him in preschool. The cost of the public preschool here went up significantly this year and while his education is very important to us we decided to just wait and let him start Kindergarten next year. He has done very well learning at home and he has NO issues as far as being a VERY social (often times TOO social) child. My only concern with him not being in a preschool environment is the fact that he does not have the structure at home that he will have at school. This year we will be spending some time working on sitting quiety, staying on task, etc., as much as I can with a four year old and a two year old anyway. Then we will hope for a teacher on the stricter side when he DOES start next year! My days of having kids at home all day are becoming numbered and I want to enjoy it and soak it in while I can.

This summer has been good. I started it off with a vacation (albeit a working vacation) with my husband. It was so awesome to get to spend some time together alone and out with other adults. It was our first trip without kids since we had kids - 12+ years ago!! We have to find a way to do that more often! It was nice to see that we still like each other and can still enjoy each other without kids.

A couple of weeks after that trip I got to go on a trip with my bestest friend ever -for going on TWENTY years *cough, cough*. This was another first. We talk just about daily, but she lives in Texas and I live in Louisiana, so we don't see each other much. It was great to get to spend some RELAXING, kid-free time with her.

In between the trips we stayed busy with golf camps, church Bible studies, lots of swimming, etc. I was not too excited about getting a pool when Paul first mentioned it, or even as it was going up. But, I LOVE it! Man, can it zap the kids energy!

The last couple of weeks have been rough for us all. I have been under the weather and back and forth to the dr. It is never good when Mom cannot get out of bed for a week and a half and when she does make it out of bed she is weak and has no energy! It was great to see how concerned and caring the boys were though. They really helped me out, especially the older three. And, I got several get well soon cards from some of the boys.

This week Caleb and Isaac are at church camp. They have been looking forward to this all summer and I am glad that they are getting to go. The year we moved to Louisiana Caleb went with our church in Arkansas. That was the last time he got to go. He is going to the same camp, but at a different campus in Mississippi. This will be Caleb's last year with this camp and then he moves up to Youth Camp. That means next year I will have THREE to pay for! I can't wait to hear all of their stories when they get home.

Next week Bryce is going to Dallas to spend five days with Nana. He is so excited and he doesn't even know all of the fun plans she has for him. He has spent the last week guessing because he knows I know. He has been wanting to go to Legoland since he found out there was one in Dallas opening. He has asked several times if he is going with Nana and I just keep shrugging my shoulders. She also got them really good seats to the circus. He has never been to the circus, so I am sure he will love that.

Next week we start our School Orientation/Open House rounds. Three kids at three schools this year! It will defininetly be a school bus transportation year! But, at least I can stagger what times they get up and who has to be ready when. It MIGHT make it a little less hectic in the morning, but I am not going to hold my breath about that!!

Then, school starts the 11th!! We have a 7th grader, 4th grader and 3rd grader! I think they are all pretty much ready to start. Caleb is looking forward to being on the swim team again and is playing in the band again. Isaac is still playing golf, which is more or less year round.

I hope everyone enjoyed their summer (and those who still have summer left continue to enjoy). While I will miss having my kids all at home, I am ready to get back on our more routine routine!

Bad Dr Etiquette

2011-07-07T17:50:00.003-05:00

Last Friday I went in for a medical procedure in which I was to be sedated for. I went back to get the IV put in and wait for my turn. As I am being wheeled back to the procedure room, my dr and another dr are in the hall talking - rather loudly.

The excitable dr to my dr ".....and then when someone dies we put a plaque in the room right here." he says as he walks into the room I am about to be wheeled in to.

I am NOT sedated yet! "Ummm....well let's hope we will NOT need that plaque today!" I say as I go in the room.

My dr quickly says the other dr was talking about when a DR dies, not a patient.

I told him that the word death, dead, die, or any other form of the word did not need to be coming off his lips before he comes in to my room - seems like bad luck!

As I am being sedated I hear someone in the hall saying "The patients do not want to hear the drs talking about death back here."

GO FIGURE!

My dr did apologize for the other dr and said that is not something that should be talked about when they are surrounded by people having whatever procedures done.

Life - Knowing How to Turn a Door Knob

2011-06-24T10:08:00.003-05:00

Since Mady has learned to open doors, bedtime has become very not-easy! She does not stay in her bed, or her room. If I get up in the middle of the night I have to be careful where I step because who knows where she might be sleeping. Usually it is in the hall, right outside her bedroom door, on the hardwood floors. You also never know what she will be wearing. I have found her completely dressed (in regular clothes, not pajamas), I have found her completely naked, I have found her in her tutus, I have found her in as many as 7 pairs of panties and just this morning (at 2:45) I found her like this:

That is the stinky boys bathroom next to her and the door at the top right corner of the picture is her bedroom. And, she has her Pinkalicious book with her :) She is wearing a night gown AND pajama pants this time. I tried to move her to her bed and was up for the next hour trying to get her to go to sleep. Then she was up to stay around 5:45!

A "BORING" Girls Trip to Florida

2011-06-23T10:37:00.008-05:00

For a while now, a friend and I have been trying to get away for a little trip - just the two of us. We were going to do it the year we turned 30, but I had Mads instead. A few months ago, my wonderful husband did lots of research, found us a great deal, booked it, paid for it and sent me the info. We were going to Florida and staying on the beach!

Emily and I have been friends for almost *cough* 20 years. This is the first time we have ever done anything like this. She lives in Texas and I live in Louisiana, so we don't get to see each very often, although we "talk" (through texting and IMing) every day. It was nice to get away from everything and both of us have a VERY relaxing vacation!

We got checked into our hotel around 3:30 and we were on the beach before 4! I was more relaxed in the short amount of time we were out there before dinner than I had been in YEARS! By the next morning, my brain was turned off. It was such a different beach experience with no kids. At first it was weird not carrying a ton of stuff down to the beach and watching kids every move. But, I QUICKLY began enjoying this new experience - and LOVING it. Don't get me wrong, I love taking my kids to the beach. But, as I have said before, I do not consider taking five kids anywhere a vacation. I call them business trips.

THIS was a VACATION!

The only choices we had to make each day were beach or pool and what are we having for dinner (we went to the grocery store so we did not even have to leave for breakfast or lunch). It was awesomeness! The hotel had two pools and a hot tub. The big pool had a waterfall in it, and inside the rock under the waterfall was a bar. It was also a COLD pool! We got in once and that was enough for us. We used the hot tub several nights and I got in the heated pool a couple of times.

Mostly, though, we chilled at the beach :) Paul would ask if we were having fun and my response was always "yeah, in a relaxing, do nothing kind of way" which he always replied was boring.

A boring vacation is just what I needed! I VERY rarely have anything "boring" in my life, so yes, I am at the point in my life where I apparently crave boring (and I didn't even know I was craving it).

The water was pretty rough while we were there, and got rougher by the day. There was a lot of seaweed and it wasn't as clear as it normally is. The last day (of course) the water was still rough, but it was beautiful and clear. I did not go very far into the water until the last day. On Monday night when we went out to take some pics there was a sign at the water that said Do Not Enter - Rip Current! Between not being able to see in the water, and the fear of rip currents (which we were warned about a lot) I was content to lie in the sand!

The drive home was good until we got to the Mississippi side of Alabama. We had a a pretty heavy, short rain. Then, as soon as we got in Louisiana it was a DOWNPOUR! I don't like driving in rain. After a while I realized my hands hurt from squeezing the steering wheel so hard. We could not see in front of us, lots of water on the road, high winds, everyone driving between 35 and 40 with their flashers on. I wanted to exit and sit it out, but we could not even see the signs on the side of the road TO exit!

As nice as it was to go, it was nice to come home too! The kids were super excited when we got back. And I was too, especially since I came home to a spotless house (he even did all the laundry)!!

AWAY!

2011-05-15T16:13:00.002-05:00

My husband goes to a conference every year. Every year it is at a different location. A couple of years ago it was in Toronto, and I REALLY wanted to go, but it did not work out. This year it did work out. So, I am in Portland Oregon, with my husband and without my babies.

I had mixed emotions about coming. I was REALLY excited but at the same time, I had to leave my babies at home. Our oldest is 12 1/2 years old. I thought this was the first time we had ever gone anywhere without kids, but I remembered that when Caleb was a baby and I was pregnant with Isaac we went to New Orleans with Paul's boss at the time for a couple of days. So, it has been over 10 years since we have gone anywhere together, overnight, without kids.

We needed to have some time alone. I needed to have some time alone! This trip was needed. But, even knowing this, it was not any easier to leave the kids. I know they are in good hands with my Mom. She came over a week early to learn the kids routines and learn her way around the area. I knew the transition would go okay. I knew things would be fine.

Then, on Wednesday night, I heard Bryce crying in his bed. I asked him what was wrong and he said he did not want us to leave. Honestly, he was not one I was expecting to react that way. I figured Andrew and maybe Mads would take it hard, but not the older kids. I got him calmed down and in bed (and there may have been some bribing about us getting the kids something from Portland - which he then coined as the "Portland Prize").

Things were okay until Friday morning. Andrew got up and came to my room and saw our luggage. Then he started crying and saying he was coming with us. He was glued to me and would cry off and on. We had already decided that we were going to put the kids down for their nap before we left, just to make it easier on everyone. So, we laid them down, explained that we were leaving and would be back in a week and gave our goodbyes. Andrew reminded me that we needed to get him some candy from Portland and that was it.

As much as WE needed the trip and as much as I needed the trip, I realized the KIDS needed us to take this trip. They have learned that Dad can leave for a trip and he will come home. But, Mom has never left on a trip. They need to learn that they can survive without me being there and that I will come home.

As for me - I had a very relaxing day yesterday. I explored downtown Portland with the wife of a friend of Paul's. We did a little shopping (there is no sales tax in Portland :)) and a lot of people watching! You can sit and watch people for HOURS here and NEVER get bored! Today has been very relaxing too. I slept until after 9 this morning. Other than going out for lunch I have stayed in the hotel room. It is cold and rainy and I have enjoyed just lying in the bed and watching tv. Paul has had an all day class both days. I am looking forward to us doing some sight-seeing between his conference this week.

Bin Laden Controversy: MY Opinion

2011-05-03T09:00:00.003-05:00

Since the death of Bin Laden was announced I have read and heard a lot of controversy over how American's have perceived his death. Especially Christians.

There are people cheering that he was killed. There are people praising that he will rot in hell. There are people who ask how can you (as a Christian) cheer for someone who died and never knew of Jesus.

I don't normally get into these type of topics and debates, especially when EVERYONE feels SO strongly one way or another.
Heated debates turn ugly quick on this topic. People say how we should stand undivided, yet those same people start criticizing if your opinion does not agree with their opinion.

Here is my opinion. I am a Christian and I am glad he is gone. I would be JUST as glad if he was captured and not killed. Yes, it would have been awesome if he was able to turn his life around and accept Jesus, but that did not happen. He was a murderer and a terrorist. If we leave these people on the street more innocent people die. I understand those that say he should not have been killed. It is my understanding the military went in with hopes of taking him captive. But, the man carries a gun with him all the time from what I have seen. There was a slim chance, I am figuring, that he would have been taken captive.

I don't cheer that he is dead. I cheer that he is no longer able to harm innocent lives. I cheer anytime anyone who purposefully causes harm to anyone is taken off the streets. I fear that one day it will be MY family or MY friends that crosses paths with a person like this and I would like to see them all off the streets.

It doesn't matter who started the war, why the war was started, who sent the commands to go after him or who pulled the trigger and shot him. What matters is that he can no longer harm anyone.

Or can he? Why are we still letting him divide us, even in his death?

BIRTHDAYS!

2011-04-20T07:08:00.006-05:00

HAPPY FOURTH BIRTHDAY ANDREW!!

HAPPY SECOND BIRTHDAY MADELEINE!!

My babies are growing up too fast! I know I say that EVERY birthday, for all of the kids, but they really are!! Sweet Andrew turned four on the 11th. He keeps us laughing with the witty things he says and he loves giving hugs and kisses (to anyone who will accept them). He is in the asking questions phase. I mean, asking questions he knows the answer too. Like, he will ask what we are eating for dinner - WHILE we are eating dinner. Or he will sit down to breakfast and ask if we are eating dinner right now. Or, he ask every morning where his brothers are at. Like he has suddenly forgotten they go to school. He is such a goofy boy.

He is still very into Toy Story. Although, after the new pirate show started on Disney he is now very into pirates as well. He got a Toy Story landfill toy and an Alphie Robot for his birthday. The Toy Story obviously is MUCH more important than the robot, but he does play with them both.

Madeleine turned two yesterday (the 19th). There are times I still can't believe we have a girl! She has recently gotten big into GIVING hugs, kisses and saying I love you. Melts my heart every time. Her vocabulary has exploded and she is saying new things daily. Even if she isn't speaking English, she is usually jabbering away. She has an infectious belly laugh and she likes to use it to make other people laugh. She is still a perfect mix of girlie, with just enough tomboy. She still allows me to do dress up with her, and is now starting to ask to play it. She has MASTERED walking in heels, even heels that are WAY to big for her. My shoes will never be safe again! She squeals when she sees a bug or lizard, which I not-so-secretly LOVE!

It has been a very fun two years!

She got a double stroller, a baby doll and a Jessie (pull string Toy Story) doll. We got her the Jessie doll because she is always trying to take Andrew's Sheriff Woody and we thought this might stop the fighting over it. This morning they were fighting and I told AJ to get away from her and her new toys. He busted out bawling. I asked what was wrong and he said "She won't leave Jessie's hat on her!" SERIOUSLY??

I am going to enjoy my last year of having two at home. I am glad they get along so well (for the most part) and enjoy playing together. If Mads doesn't see Andrew, wherever we are, she will start yelling "Where ANJOO??" I hope they always stay that close!

Blessings

2011-04-06T13:43:00.003-05:00

After a rough couple of weeks with several things going on, some friends loss was a breaking point for me. I had really been questioning why God "allows" things to happen the way they do sometimes. I heard this song this weekend and it has really helped me put things back in perspective. I still don't understand WHY things happen the way they do, but that isn't my place. God has a plan for everything He does and who am I to question that.

I hope that those suffering trials of any kind or a loss can feel the Lord's mercy on them. I hope they can keep their faith in Him and feel Him near them. I pray that their hearts are open to feel His blessings - however He sends them.

Is God Walking With You or Are You Walking With God?

2011-03-24T09:20:00.003-05:00

Imagine going to heaven and standing by God as He lovingly shows you the calendar of His plan for your earthly life. It begins with the day you are born. Once you received Christ as Savior, every day that follows is outlined in red. You see footprints walking through each day of each week of your life. On many of the days, two sets of footprints appear. You inquire: "Father, are those my footprints on the calendar every day and is the second set of prints when you joined me?"
He answers, "No, My precious Child. The consistent footprints on your calendar are Mine. The second set of footprints are when you joined Me."
"Where were You going, Father?"
"To the destiny I planned for you, hoping you'd follow."
"But, Father, where are my footprints all those times?"
He answers, "Sometimes you went back to look at old resentments and habits while I was still going forward, hoping you'd join Me. Sometimes, you departed from My path and chose your own calendar instead. Other times, your footprints can even be seen on another person's calendar because you thought you liked their plan better. At other times, you simply stopped because you would not let go of something you could not take to the next day."
"But, Father, we ended up OK even if I didn't walk with You every day, didn't we?"
He holds you close and smiles, "Yes, Child, we ended up OK. But, you see, OK was never what I had in mind for you."
"Father, what are those golden treasure boxes on certain days?"
"Blessings, My child, I had for you along the way. Those that are open are those you received. Those still closed were days you did not walk with Me."

I got this out of a Beth Moore Bible study I have been doing and I have not been able to stop re-reading it. When I first read it I immediately thought of how I am always telling my children to hold my hand. When they do hold my hand, they are usually pulling on me to go their own way, but I force them to go MY way.

I am that child pulling on God's hand. I want God and I to walk together, but too often I want God to go my way. What is the difference whose way we go, we are both walking together. That is what counts, right?

I am learning that it DOES make a difference! God wants us to walk with Him, because He knows the plans He has for our lives. But, unlike when I am holding my children's hands, God is not going to "force" me to go the path He had planned. What blessings are we missing because we want to do things OUR way and walk OUR path?

Isaiah 30:21 and whenever you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear this command behind you: "This is the way. Walk in it." (HSBC)

Valentine's Day 2011

2011-02-15T06:42:00.008-06:00

I had a busy valentines day yesterday, but we had so much fun! I made fruit smoothies for the kids for breakfast, which is their favorite breakfast (they all agree on something)! As I made the lunches for the school aged kids, I cut their sandwiches in hearts. Then for dinner we had heart and flower shaped pancakes and bacon (they all also love having breakfast for dinner).

After the older kids went to school, the younger two and I went and delivered some Valentines to some friends. Andrew and Mady wanted to do Valentines like their brothers, so we filled out some and gave them to friends. Then we went and met Paul for lunch. Andrew had filled out some of the valentines for people that work with him, so we had to hand deliver them. Andrew chose a hamburger joint for lunch....one of those that you sit in your car to eat. We had a wagon in the back for our later plans. He sat in the wagon and ate his lunch (yep, he is goofy).

Andrew decided that he wanted to just sign the From: section of the rest of the cards and hand them out where ever we go that day. Our plans were to go to the zoo after lunch for a while. We knew we didn't have time to stay long (Caleb gets home at 2:30), but I was planning on getting our annual pass, so we planned on going back again this week.

We got to the zoo and as I stood at the entrance filling out our information for the annual pass, Andrew stood next to me armed with an envelope of valentines. He chased to give them to the people coming in, and he gave one to the lady at the ticket window. They went on and on about how sweet he was to give a stranger a valentine card. We did have one older lady who kept trying to give it back. She didn't understand what he was trying to do, and he was very insistent that she take it. She finally said "But Mady won't have a card" (the Hello Kitty valentines had Mads name on them, Toy Story had AJ's name). I explained that he had planned the day before to take all of his valentines and hand them out to everyone he came across. You could see the sternness in her face melt and she came around the counter to give him a hug and thank him.

The first half of the short visit consisted of Andrew literally chasing people down to give them cards. He was not so much interested in the animals as he was giving away his cards. When he would give them to little kids (Mads age and younger) he wanted to give them kisses. He snuck one in before I could stop him (actually I HAD stopped him, but he got away and kissed the baby anyway). After apologizing for him entering the babies personal space, we moved on. Needless to say, he was a hit at the zoo yesterday!

Mady LOVED the zoo. This was the first time she has been and really understood what she was looking at. We ended up not taking the wagon in because we were going to be there such a short amount of time. They did great without it! Mady was so excited about the animals that she would hold my hand until she saw a new animal, take off to see it and then come back and grab my hand when it was time to walk again. There was no complaining, just lots of squealing and laughing.

She especially liked the "Big Ducks" (aka the emu's). Paul and I figure it was because they remind her of Big Bird. But, she saw them, didn't even care about the zebras that were with them, and started laughing, saying "big duck" and quacking over and over. She also kept saying the big tiger was a "Beaux Beaux" (which means dog) and would not go near him. He was lying down most of the time. When he lifted his head (even though he was looking away), Mady's mouth dropped and she started slowly taking steps backwards.

She also liked the elephants. They were standing just on the other side of the big ditch that seperates them from the fence we were behind. She did not want to go near the fence, but was very excited to watch from further back. One of the elephants kept talking and swinging his trunk and she thought that was pretty funny!

We are going back today. Our weather is so awesome right now (70s and sunny) that we want to be outside. After seeing how excited they were, and the fact that Mads slept until after 7 this morning (and she was woken up then), I think it is a good thing to do (and it is free now). Our zoo actually lets you bring in food and drinks, so we are going to take a picnic lunch with us. Andrew and Mady are both excited about going back.

My Perfectly Imperfect Life

2011-02-14T16:41:00.004-06:00

On my favorite radio station, they have a contest every year where listeners submit their love story and artist Matthew West writes a love song for the winner. While our love story was not submitted, I could swear this song was written for us. Here are the lyrics:

I WOULDN’T CHANGE A THING
By MATTHEW WEST

HAD A PICTURE IN MY HEAD
OF HOW I THOUGHT IT OUGHTTA GO
BUT LOOK WHO SHOWED UP INSTEAD
TURNS OUT YOU NEVER KNOW
LOVE WILL STEAL YOU BY SURPRISE
TAKE YOUR HEART JUST LIKE A THIEF
LOVE CAN BRING A STUBBORN MAN
DOWN TO ONE KNEE

I WOULDN’T CHANGE A THING
IT’S PERFECTLY IMPERFECT
SO CRAZY BUT IT’S WORTH IT
I’M WRAPPED AROUND YOU LIKE THIS RING
AND SOMETHING TELLS ME EVEN IF I COULD
I WOULDN’T CHANGE A THING

LOVE WILL SHOW YOU WHAT YOU LACK
LOVE WILL LAUGH AT ALL YOUR PLANS
AND IF YOUR HEART WON’T GIVE IT BACK
LOVE WILL SLIP RIGHT THROUGH YOUR HANDS
HEAVEN KNOWS WE’VE HAD OUR SHARE
OF DAYS WE’D RATHER LEAVE BEHIND
BUT LOVE DON’T REALLY SEEM TO CARE
IT MAKES THE WRONG TURNS TURN RIGHT

I WOULDN’T CHANGE A THING
IT’S PERFECTLY IMPERFECT
SO CRAZY BUT IT’S WORTH IT
I’M WRAPPED AROUND YOU LIKE THIS RING
AND SOMETHING TELLS ME EVEN IF I COULD
I WOULDN’T CHANGE A THING

I’M TRULY, DEEPLY, MADLY, COMPLETELY
DEVOTED EVERY MOMENT UNTIL MY LAST BREATH I’M YOURS

I GOT A PICTURE IN MY HEAD
A HUNDRED YEARS FROM NOW
ALL OUR LINES HAVE ALL BEEN READ
AND WE’RE BOTH UP THERE LOOKING DOWN

Our perfectly imperfect life together started over 15 years ago. We were in high school together. We spent endless hours when we were dating talking about how our life would be together and the family we would build. Of course, when people create these pictures, they are always "picture perfect." My picture perfect life was me and him being in love forever with our own family. The thing noone ever tells you about planning your picture perfect life is that this "picture" you have can't show what is around all of the corners of the windy road that gets you where you want to be. That windy road is not always an easy road, and it hasn't always been for us.

at our prom

But, I can still say that I have my picture perfect life. I have a wonderful husband who treats me like a princess on a daily basis. I NEVER wonder how he feels about me because he tells me constantly. If he could give me everything in the world, I have no doubt he would. Not because he thinks that is the only way I know he loves me, but because he would do anything to put a smile on my face. He makes me laugh until I cry. He is my best friend and I have no problem or complaint about spending all of my time with him. Fifteen years later, I am more certain now than I was then that he is THE ONE I want to be with for the rest of my life. I can definitely see us growing old together and it makes me excited about what is to come in our lives together.

And, I have a beautiful family! I have five wonderful and gorgeous kids. It can be a very frustrating job sometimes, but all of the other moments make all of the work worth it! I have the best job in the world and my hubby works extra hard so that I can stay home and be with them.

Sure, there are days we don't want to remember, but the days we do want to remember far outweigh and overshadow those. I am very lucky to have met the man I want to be with forever at an early age. Our life together will never be "perfect", but I can honestly say that I would not change anything we have gone through in the past. Those hardships are what got us where we are today. Each hardship made our love for each other stronger. Our love is perfectly imperfect and I wouldn't have it any other way!

First Valentine's Dance

2011-02-12T18:35:00.005-06:00

Last night Caleb and I went to the Mother/Son, Father/Daughter Valentines Day Dance at school. I was not really sure what I was getting myself in to, but it was a good night! It started off with us going to the car to leave. When I walked outside, Caleb opened my door for me. He even let me get ALL THE WAY IN the car before he shut the door (I was kinda nervous for my foot/leg). When we got to the dance and we were getting out, I opened my door and he lectured me that HE was supposed to do that!

I never would have guessed how emotional it would be for me. I know, I sound crazy. But, other than Caleb's band concert the middle of December, this is the first time I have really seen him in the school setting since he started middle school. I caught myself by surprise. First off, we walk in and I see all of these Dads slow dancing with their daughters. That is enough sweetness to get anyone feeling sentimental! He just seemed so much older when we were in that room full of kids his age.

We walked around the dance for a few minutes, just checking things out. Then he went and fixed me a plate of fruit. As I am standing there eating my fruit, I really start looking at everyone there. The dance was "Sunday best" attire. Most of the boys and the parents were in their Sunday best, but I was pretty shocked by what the girls wear to church. It was looking a lot more like prom than a middle school dance! There are girls at all stages of development wearing strapless dresses, dresses that barely cover their bottoms, dresses that looked like second skin, etc. And some of the dancing going on....I wanted to throw my coat over my sons eyes and lead him out of the dance!

Okay, maybe it wasn't THAT bad! But it DID look more like prom and the girls were spending a lot of time pulling their strapless dresses back up where they are supposed to be! The dancing would not have been bad if the dresses were more bouncing friendly (they were REALLY short dresses). As a girl, I can understand the girls excitement of dressing up for a dance. It was funny listening to the girls complain about how uncomfortable their heels were! GET USED TO IT GIRLS!

The funniest part was seeing the MOM's that were in THEIR formal gowns! There were only a couple, but you had to wonder if they were living vicariously through their children or if this is really what they wore to church. Maybe all of these people wear formals to church every Sunday. If it is what they wear to church, I might want to visit their church from time to time. It would give me a reason to dress up!

Caleb spent over half of the dance by my side. He left several times and came back with cookies or cake or drinks or some kind of goodies for me. He didn't even get himself anything most of those times, he just got stuff for me. I kept telling him if he wanted to go find his friends he could (by this time most of the parents are on the sidelines and the kids are with their friends). He kept saying that was okay. After the third or fourth time of me telling him I didn't mind if he found his friends he says "This is a mother/son, father/daughter dance, not a friend dance." I got a HUGE smile, gave him a hug and didn't mention it again. After a while longer though, he took off. He would come back every now and again and check on me and see if I wanted anything.

He mentioned dancing on songs like "Whip My Hair" and the Cuban Shuffle. I sat those out and told him I would go for more of the slow dances. He wasn't around for most of those ;) He came up at the last song with a handful of M&M's. The song was "Butterfly Kisses". EVERYONE was dancing with their kids. I commented that he should be dancing with me, so he popped some candy in his mouth, put his arms around me (my arms and everything) and started swaying so hard that I almost fell over (with no hands available to catch myself with). Then he stopped, popped a few M&M's in his mouth, grabbed me the same way and "danced" the same way. He did this throughout the entire song.

When the dance was over and we left he said he was going to race me to the car and took off. He beat me to the car, but as he started to open his door he said "OH YEAH!" and ran to my door. On the way home he thanked me for coming with him and I thanked him for inviting me. Then he asked me if I would go with him next year :D

It really was fun to spend the evening with him. While him being in middle school is MUCH more real for me, as is the fact that he is growing up, I was reminded that teenagers today are still a lot like teenagers when I was one. It is still about being with your friends and having fun.

I am feeling better about when he starts to date, which he says will be NO later than the eighth grade (although he said he will have girlfriends before then). I was very impressed with his attentiveness and manners while we were out. I can only hope if he HAS to go out with girls, he treats them as well as he treated me last night! I felt proud that he has such a great father that treats me so well and teaches his children, by example, how to treat girls (and how to expect to be treated by boys in Mads case).

Hiking Pictures

2011-02-08T08:40:00.007-06:00

Upside of Having Big Brothers....

2011-02-08T08:32:00.002-06:00

When you get tired of hiking, someone will be willing to give you a ride. Sometimes, they will even CRAWL THROUGH THE WOODS with you on their back! Yes, having big brothers is great (just remember that when they are stealing your girlfriends and running off your boyfriends!)

What is in a (Nick)name?

2011-01-26T06:45:00.008-06:00

I read an article this week about a book (I am not going to put the name of the book or the author because I don't want the search traffic) in which the author discusses how the "princess obsession" that little girls go through is unhealthy. The article starts with "Is our daughters' obsession with all things ultra-girly unhealthy?" I came out of the article a little annoyed. Obviously, everyone is entitled to their opinion and this is her opinion, which I am NOT criticizing. I just don't agree. Also, I have not read the book, so I am only going by the article about the book. (I am going to see if the library has the book though-maybe I will have a different feeling towards it after I read the entire thing)

She says "Instead of staving off the pressure on girls to judge themselves by how they look, and to become too sexy too soon, I think it pushes them toward it." She also says "The Cinderella-Belle phase feeds into the Miley Cyrus-Hannah Montana juggernaut-then Miley goes from wearing a promise ring to wearing a bustier and dancing in a cage."

Here is my problem with this thinking. First off, my daughter will not sit down and watch a full 30 minute toddler show, so, she has not seen any of the "Princess" movies. She still likes to pick out her own clothes and likes to wear tutu's and pink and jewelry. If she has been influenced by someone to want to wear these things it would be MY influence, not the movies. I buy her clothes and I DO buy a lot of pink (and after four boys would you expect anything different, especially since I LOVE the color pink). She has a ballerina room, and has tutus all over it. I don't think that is pushing her to dress sexy. If it is pushing her to something it would probably be ballet!

Secondly, how does my daughter wanting to be ultra girly mean that she is going to turn in to a girl that is going to dress "too sexy too soon"? It is not the small child's imagination that leads to this. It IS partially what they see as they get older, but why are the parents allowing their daughter to dress like this? Miley Cyrus was at an age where her parents should have not allowed her to dress the way she did. Just because Miley Cyrus is allowed, doesn't mean that I have to allow my child to dress like that.

My son likes to act like he is a superhero. Does that mean he is going to grow up to be a Chip and Dale dancer? Is he going to dress in tights all of his life and give lap dances because I let him make believe that he is a superhero? He likes to shoot things, even if he doesn't have a gun in his hand. Does that mean he will be a murderer?

How about we put the blame where the blame should be. If parents are going to allow their children to dress too sexy for their age, then it is the PARENTS fault for their child dressing this way. Yes, it is hard when the media is constantly saying you should be stick thin and dress like this and look like that. And, yes kids will be kids and try to sneak out in what they want to wear, what their friends are wearing. Even if you don't allow certain pieces of clothing into your house (like the super short skirt or the low cut shirt) they can still get their hands on them when you are not around. This is not a new problem. What happened to parents teaching self-confidence and that you don't have to look a certain way. Why can't parents sit down with their children (male or female) and watch things with them and then discuss why it is important to be happy with who you are regardless of what you look like or what other people say about you.

Why can't we let our children's imaginations soar? We are so worried of what they MIGHT do when they are older. Teens being rebellious is nothing new. Kids are going to try to test their limits and see what they can get away with. They start that EARLY on! That is why my one year old will stare at me when she goes to do something she KNOWS she is not supposed to do! This is how they learn. I don't think that stifling their imagination is going to change who they become, as long as we, as parents, teach them the difference between real and make-belief. I don't recall Cinderella or Belle, or any of the other princesses that little girls look up to wearing inappropriate clothing or lingerie.

Yes, there are parents out there that go over the top. Like these pageant shows for little girls. Where they are wearing "flippers" (pieces they put over their spaced out teeth that make them have a perfect smile) and tons of makeup and wigs. Some of them even wear inappropriate costumes. THIS is where I see children growing up with pressure to judge themselves (and be judged) on how they look. They are also a completely different person on the outside during the pageants. Their looks are usually COMPLETELY transformed! Is this teaching them that they are not pretty enough the way they are naturally, so we have to make them look like a different person for the stage?

In my opinion it all comes down to how they are raised and what the parents let them learn, believe and get away with. I will allow my daughter to watch Princess movies if she wants to. I will let my daughter wear pink everyday if she chooses. She can wear her tutus and her jewelry and her dress-up clothes. She can carry her purse wherever she wants.

(an exclusive from the Mady collection)

But, I will do my best to teach her to love herself for who she is. I will teach her that it is okay to have what others might see as flaws. I will try to give her what she needs to have a healthy self-esteem and self-confidence. I will tell her everyday that she is beautiful and loved. I will do my best to teach her to have a good attitude and to be friendly and forgiving. I will teach her that she is a daughter of the King (aka a Princess) and that she should portray that in how she acts and dresses. I will do my best to teach her to become a Godly woman, wife and mother.

Most of all, I will continue to call her my Princess. It is a term of endearment. That doesn't mean she will always get everything she wants. She will not always get her way. She will not grow up thinking she is "entitled" because we call her Princess. She will grow up with the same rules and expectations that her brothers will grow up with.

After all, nicknames don't make an attitude.

Rapunzel

2011-01-12T17:08:00.005-06:00

I am enjoying watching the relationship blossom between Andrew and Mady. It is so neat to see them becoming such good friends and playmates.

Mady loves ALL of her brothers. When they leave in the morning she stands at the door with Andrew and they scream "huggy huggy, kissy kissy, have a great day, I love you" to each of them as they get on the bus. When she hears the bus in the afternoon she runs to the door squealing.

Mady and Andrew are together ALL the time though, so it is natural that they would either hate each other or love each other. I am happy to report that it is LOVE! I know this could all change, so I am going to enjoy it while I can. Andrew is a very loving child to begin with. He is constantly giving hugs and kisses to ANYONE! He doesn't care if he knows you or not. He is not biased, he believes EVERYONE should be loved! I LOVE that about him (Isaac is like that too)!

When they watch movies together, they sit side by side. He often annoys her with his constant need to hug her and hold her hand and have his arm around her. She squeals and screams until I make him move. A few minutes later though, she is moving to where he is.

He will bring out his pillow and blanket and they will lie on the floor together to watch a movie. If he is playing his handheld game and she wants it, he will gladly give it to her. Sometimes he will come and whine that Mady took his game. I will make her give it back, but as soon as her lip comes out he gives her a hug and tells her she can play with it! She is the ONLY person other than him that can play with his Toy Story toys!

It makes him very mad if someone calls her a "bad girl". One of the older boys was in the kitchen doing homework the other day and Mady tried to take his homework from him. He said "No, Mady! Bad girl! Give me my homework." Andrew was in the living room. As soon as he heard "bad girl" he came RUNNING to the kitchen yelling "She is NOT a bad girl! She is MY girl!" Then he gave her a hug and took her hand and led her back to the living room, while telling her she was a good girl AND a "very pretty girl."

I was getting on to her in the car because she likes to pull her earrings out of her ears when she is in her carseat. I did not even say she was a bad girl. I said "it is bad to pull your earrings out, it will hurt your ears" trying to explain to a one year old (I know....WHY?) why we should not pull on our earrings. Andrew, in a very exasperated voice says "SHE. IS. NOT. A. BAD. GIRL!! Don't call MY girl bad." Between laughs I tried to explain to the three year old (again...WHY am I trying to explain things to them?) that I was not saying SHE was bad!

Earlier today Andrew and Mady were playing together in Andrew's room. Andrew came out and stayed out, but I never saw Mady and she was being quiet. I asked Andrew where she was. "I don't know where she is." So, I went to investigate.

The kids door knobs are turned backwards because a certain little boy kept locking the doors with noone in the room to unlock them. When I got to his door and noticed it was locked I KNEW he had locked her in. I opened the door. She was lying in his bed (happily).

He had followed me to his room, so I turned and asked why he locked her in his room.

"Because, I was going to come back and play with her later!"

I told him she was not Rapunzel and we can not lock her up and hide her away (especially since her hair is so short still). Then, since he didn't know who Rapunzel was (guess he needs to go to the movies), I asked how the toys in Toy Story 3 felt when they got locked up by the mean toys. He said it made them very sad and they missed Andy. I told him that she was not a toy and he was not Buzz, so he could not lock her up. He said he WAS Buzz (my mistake) but, he seemed to understood that and said he still wanted to play with her later.

A New, Revolutionary Diet

2011-01-05T08:23:00.004-06:00

For many, with a new year come new resolutions. Personally, the only resolution I have made in MANY years was 2009. I made a resolution to lose a substantial amount of weight by the end of April. I accomplished that New Year's resolution on April 19th, when Madeleine was born. I KNEW it was a resolution I could keep!

One of the most popular resolutions we hear is to lose weight. Was that YOUR resolution?

If so, I can help! It is a revolutionary new diet that works so well I have lost weight and have not even been trying (FOR REAL)! For a minimal fee, YOU TOO can experience this life-changing experience!

It is a simple diet with a not-so-easy-to-follow plan.

All you have to do is borrow my Madeleleine for a while. If you as much as glance in the general direction of the kitchen she will be in it. She will whine and whine until you give her food. The best part, and this is why the diet works so well, is that if you actually have the audacity to eat without feeding her what you have....well let's just say you don't want to hear or see what happens!

You are probably thinking "well, I can just feed her BEFORE I attempt to eat, so the diet won't really work!" That is what is so great about this diet. She doesn't care if she has been eating non-stop all day. Somehow, she finds somewhere to store more food. I have fed her her entire dinner before I sat down to eat. I had her cleaned up and playing when I sat down and she still climbed into her high chair next to me. She will literally take the food right out of your mouth if you are not careful! She has no problem stealing the food off the fork on the way to your mouth. And the food on your plate....it is NEVER safe!

Some common side-effects include, but are not limited to: closet eating, gray hair, exhaustion, frustration, love, smiles, laughter and joy!

Now, I need to get busy figuring out a diet for this little diet of mine!

Christmas 2010

2011-01-04T08:49:00.011-06:00

Christmas Eve...making cookies to leave for Santa:

We had another wonderful Christmas with the kids. I LOVE seeing the excitement in their eyes when they are opening their presents! Makes all the hard work more than worth it.

Santa came and enjoyed the milk and cookies the kids decorated. The kids all loved their gifts from him. Caleb and Isaac got a new computer. They were so excited when they came out and saw it. Their old one was OLD OLD and VERY slow. They can actually do their school projects on this one!

Bryce got a DSi from Santa. He had things on his list like an MP3 player, a camera, games, etc on his list and he got ALL of those in one system. He has enjoyed everything the DSi has to offer more than the games he can play on them (don't get me wrong, he likes playing the games too). It has a recorder on that you can speed up or slow down when you playback. He has had so much fun recording things and playing them back goofy sounding. He even takes the music we put on it for him and plays with it.

Andrew got the iXL game system. It is made for little kids and you can put games, music, pictures, etc on it and you can also color and listen to stories on it. Of course he got Toy Story for it (and Handy Manny, but all he cares about is Toy Story). We added the Toy Story soundtrack to it, along with a bunch of other songs. He basically listens to "Woody's Roundup" and "You've Got a Friend In Me" over and over. He likes to to take pictures of all of his siblings and "color" them by scribbling all over their face. He finds if very amusing!

Madeleine got a pink kitchen. She has played with that constantly (so have her brothers - ALL of them)! We constantly have play dishes and food scattered around the house. I put some of it up because I was tired of picking it all up. Her kitchen is right by my kitchen. It worked out just as I hoped, she spends more time playing with HER kitchen while I am in mine and less time pulling things out and whining about food!

They got more toys and stuff from us, but the Santa stuff is always the big stuff and what they spend most of their time playing with.

Caleb got a tent for Christmas and wanted to try it out the day after Christmas (even though our low was 20 that night). So, he set up the tent and helped Isaac and Bryce get their stuff out in it (YES, he actually invited them to join him). Dad felt sorry for them because it was so cold, so he went and made a firepit for them to use. While he was doing that, I ran to the store to pick up some warm hats and gloves, and of course all of the supplies you would need for SMORES!! This time they were REAL smores, not the city smores we have done in the past!

I loved having all of my family home for two and a half weeks! It was nice to just spend our days chilling and playing and not having to rush off anywhere. Now, we have to get back into the daily grind of life!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year.

Scariest Experience of my Life

2011-01-01T07:44:00.002-06:00

My "death phobia" is dying from some form of suffocation. I have never felt like I was suffocating or truly having a hard time breathing, so I don't know why in my mind this is the worst way to go, but that is what I have always thought.

I have been sick for three weeks. I had cold/flu-like symptoms earlier in December for about a week. I didn't go to the dr because a) I don't typically go to the dr unless I am really sick (which I don't usually get sick very often...this is only the second time since we moved to LA that I have been sick) and b) they don't normally do a whole lot with those symptoms unless they are caught early on. After about a week I seemed to get better except for the lingering cough, which always takes a little longer to get over.

Last week, for about five days, Mads was sick. She was having fevers, snotty nose and coughing. After two days of fever and a night of us being up ALL night, we took her to her dr. She had a virus, nothing we could do but wait it out. Wednesday I started feeling bad again. This time it felt more like allergies....runny nose, runny eyes and the cough got a lot worse.

Yesterday morning I decided to go to the dr and see what they could do. It was an After-hours clinic with HORRIBLE service, but I was diagnosed with acute bronchitis and acute sinusitis. I was given a (very rudely done) shot of cortizone and a prescription for a cough syrup with codeine and an antibiotic. Although I am supposed to take the cough syrup 4 times a day, I can only take it at night because I will pass out from it.

Last night I had been sitting in bed talking on the phone. I got up when I was done and walked to the refrigerator. All of a sudden my airway completely closed up. I could not breath AT. ALL. I am trying to gasp for air and coughing and begin to panic. Paul comes running in when he realized it was more than a coughing spell, but I could not speak to tell him what was wrong. He was saying "I don't know what to do for you" I finally got out "INHALER" and he ran and got Bryce's quick acting inhaler. I could barely take a puff of it, but I got enough that it opened my airway to where I could get a couple of breaths of air, then it would close up again. I ended up taking four puffs of the inhaler (which is probably more than I should have take, but I felt like it was LITERALLY a matter of life or death).

Poor Paul was trying everything to help his freaked out wife! When I got to where I was able to gasp for breaths he gave me my cough syrup and was trying to get me to calm down and take short breaths. He was telling me to breath through my nose....which was not functioning! I was shaking and my leg had some uncontrollable restless leg syndrome (which was probably from all the inhaler I took which causes jitteriness). I was burning up and feeling like I was going to pass out. I got some frozen peas on my forehead which seemed to help.

I finally got some what calmed down, but it took over an hour to get my breathing back to how it should be and I could barely talk. Paul had looked up online what to do and one of the things it said was breathing in steam. He boiled some water and brought it to me, but it made it worse. Our pharmacist is a good friend of mine and he called her to make sure we were doing everything correctly because there was some medicine mixing going on! Basically, she said he had done everything right and if I had anymore issues I needed to see my physician.

In the end, my head was killing me, as was my chest and stomach. Once I started calming down I got better a lot quicker. It was hard watching my husband feel helpless, yet trying everything he could think to do to help me. The hardest part, though, was that the kids saw a lot, especially at the beginning when it first happened. Mady was glued to me, just staring in deep concern, but never crying. She kept coming up and patting my back and leg and saying "Mommy". Andrew came in and asked if I was sick and if I was going to be okay. The older boys were all asking if I was going to be okay. I was trying to tell them I was okay, but when I am gasping in the middle of short words, I don't know how believable I was. Paul got them all to their rooms as soon as I was able to breath a little and after I had calmed down I made rounds to everyone to let them know I was okay. Andrew woke up this morning asking a LOT of questions!

I was expecting to take my cough meds and be out early on New Years Eve, but the inhaler seemed to null out the codeine and I was just wide awake and shaky. I slept sitting up all night and I am very sore this morning, but I am thankful that I am here for the New Year (and at home). This was the scariest experience of my life and I hope to NEVER relive it. On the upside, I now have an inkling of what my son would go through when he would have his asthma attacks!

20 Minutes

2010-12-27T12:18:00.005-06:00

We set up Madeleine's twin bed last week. She had gotten to where she was sleeping on the floor, at her door, everytime she went to sleep. I was hoping the bigger bed would either be more comfortable and keep her in it or make her not want to get out of it because it was bigger.....whatever reason, bottom line I wanted her to stay IN her bed!

She does seem to be sleeping better at night. Other than last night when she woke up on fire and throwing up, she has slept through the night since we put her new bed in her room. We were still having to pick her up off the floor after she went to sleep and put her in her bed though!

I started something I knew I shouldn't! The past couple of days I have laid down with her until she fell asleep for nap and bedtime. I KNOW this is a bad thing to start, especially now! But, it is more of a selfish thing than anything.

For twenty minutes twice a day I get to lie down and cuddle with the little girl that never stops going. For twenty minutes twice a day I get to stare at her while she drifts off to dreamworld. For twenty minutes I get to bask in her beauty. I try to soak in as much of her as I can in that twenty minutes because in no time at all, those twenty years are gone.

Oops...I mean those twenty minutes are gone!

Santa Came to Town on His Reindeer Sleigh Helicopter

2010-12-24T13:19:00.010-06:00

We have some great friends that called yesterday and said that her dad has a friend that has a homemade helicopter and that Santa was going to be using the helicopter to make some house visits today. Her mom lives right outside our neighborhood and one of Santa's stops was going to be her backyard. They invited us over to see Santa.

We did not tell the kids what we were doing. They knew nothing about it. We simply told them to get in the car and left. They knew who lived at the house when we pulled in, but had no idea WHY we were there. After a little while (we had to get there a little before his expected noon arrival - didn't want to miss his entrance) we started hearing a helicopter. Some of the kids commented about the cool helicopter flying low, and about how the cool helicopter was circling and getting lower. Then someone noticed that OH. MY. GOSH! IS. THAT. REALLY. SANTA??

THEN - SANTA LANDED IN FRONT OF THEM!!

Look closely at his helicopter! It had reindeer antlers, a rudolph nose that really lights up and eyes on the windows!

Mads did not like the helicopter, therefore she did not like what came OUT of the helicopter! But, the other 8 kids out there were beyond excited! Santa gave them each a parachute snowman, gingerbread man or santa. I thought that was a cute little gift from a Santa that makes his entrance with a helicopter.

He did not stay long - I mean, Santa is a busy man on Christmas eve. Right now he is in Ukraine, so it was VERY sweet of him to fly back here, get his helicopter (the reindeer needed a rest) and come just to visit these nine kids! Santa is a pretty awesome man!!

Merry Christmas

2010-12-23T14:13:00.002-06:00

2010 Christmas Card

We opted for individual pictures this year, although we did family pictures too. We did individuals the night before we went and did family, just to make sure we had something for the cards (which I did HORRIBLE at getting addresses and mailing them all out). Although we got some really cute family pics, I liked the individual pics for the card this year. It shows some of their personalities a little better.

Funny side note, I was bribing Mady with M&M's when we were taking pictures. She has one in her mouth in the picture ;) Whatever works!!

Many Presents All Wrapped In One

2010-12-21T08:12:00.003-06:00

Sunday night we decided to let Andrew open a Christmas gift early. Everyone was wanting to watch a movie and every time watching a movie is mentioned Andrew runs around saying he wants to watch Toy Story 3. I made it a point the day the movie was released on DVD to go to the store and get it and I have had it hidden since.

We knew he would be excited when he opened it, but I was NOT expecting the reaction we got. He opened enough to see the title on the side of the movie (yes, he can read those two words....he has seen them PLENTY). He froze and his mouth dropped. He sat speechless for what seemed like forever. Then he ripped the rest of the paper off and just stared at it, jaw on the floor. When he "came to" again, he started hugging the movie. Then he ran to the DVD player (like he knew how to operate it). After pushing a few buttons and not getting the movie started (which was still wrapped in plastic and hugged tightly against his chest) he turns to us and says "I am taking my movie to bed with me" and disappeared to his room.

After a few minutes of us all in the living room laughing at him, I called him out. He came out, still hugging his movie. I asked if he wanted to watch the movie or if he just wanted to take it to bed. You would have thought he had unwrapped another present the way he was jumping around.

He continued jumping around until the movie started. Daddy decided to watch the previews (which we always skip), just to prolong the excitement. After the second preview he turns to us and says "What is all this?" I told him it was previews and he asked where his movie was. Dad started it and it was SILENT (except for a laughing) throughout the movie.

For the next 103 minutes we did not have to get on to anyone, chase anyone or get anyone out of anything. For 103 minutes our house was calm and fairly quiet! That was a pretty awesome gift for Dad and I too! Makes me want to have Toy Story on ALL. THE. TIME!

It was the reaction every parent wants from their child when they get to open a present. I must admit, I did NOT really expect the reaction by a MOVIE being opened though. When we got in bed after watching the movie, Daddy commented that we should have just gotten him the movie and been done. As excited as he was, he still would have been the happiest kid in town!

I did not have the camera out for his reaction, unfortunately. But, I cannot WAIT to see his reaction when he opens his giant Buzz robot! I will definitely have the video camera and camera out Christmas morning!

Just Some Pics

2010-12-08T15:32:00.000-06:00

First Band Concert

2010-12-08T06:30:00.003-06:00

Caleb had his first band concert yesterday. He has been very excited about it. Before I write about the concert, let me give you some background. Caleb got his trumpet for Christmas last year, but did not really start playing on it (learning the proper way of holding it, etc) until right before school started. Paul taught him the correct way to hold the trumpet, play the trumpet, basics like that, and had taught him a few notes. Basically, though, Caleb has been really playing since school started.

They do not do the typical "chair test" where you are first, second, third, etc chair. The top four trumpets sit in one row and the rest sit in the row behind them. Caleb has been in the top four since school started. After a little arguing at the beginning of the year about practicing, he now practices way more than the "required" 30 minutes a day!

Okay, enough bragging!!

So, the concert last night. We got there a little early and got a seat. (When you have as many kids as we do, you have to get there early to get everyone seated and settled!) We, by luck, chose a seat right in front of where Caleb was sitting. I was pretty happy about that since I had my camera and video camera! Then THE PEOPLE came and chose their seat right behind me! I heard her telling her mom that their one year old son was sick (so I hear, KEEP YOUR KIDS AWAY!!) and he was fussy. The fussing and crying and parents talking loudly did not bother me too much because we had quite a while before the concert began.

However, when the concert began and the child was still screaming.....Luckily, at first he only screamed between songs. I think I was able to videotape Caleb's part of the concert with minimal screaming (maybe). But, by the time the intermediate band started playing the kid was full out screaming, kicking me in the head and back, and mom and dad were telling him to be quiet and that it was too cold to go stand outside (in a voice louder than the child). Needless to say, it was VERY annoying and distracting.

Despite not being able to calm the child she never took him out. He screamed through the ENTIRE concert! The kids grandma took him out for the last song of the concert (why bother at that point). As a mom of five, I completely understand kids having bad days and parents wanting to stay to see their kid (which was in Caleb's band and the first to play). But, if you can't calm your child after the first song or two, think of those around you that want to HEAR the music!

The first thing Caleb said to me when he saw me was "Mom, that kid sitting behind you was REALLY loud! I could hear him over us playing!" I knew it was distracting for the audience, but I had no idea it was so distracting to the band!

Here are some pictures and I when I get a chance to upload the video I will post that too.

Check out the white socks with the black dress pants and shirt! Maybe he does still need Momma's help dressing! I DID catch the wrinkled up mess of a shirt he put on to begin with.....I failed to catch the white ANKLE socks though!

When Safety Precautions Become Safety Hazards

2010-12-08T06:11:00.003-06:00

Yesterday I was in MY bathroom blow drying my hair while the kids slept. I was about 3/4ths of the way through when the blow dryer stopped working. The GFCI plug for ALL of the bathrooms in the house is in the boys bathroom, so I went in to reset it. I pushed the reset button, but it didn't reset. The outlet cover on the bottom was in the way, so I unplugged it. As I sat it on the counter I thought that it felt really warm and that that was strange. At this point I realize I am smelling something that does not smell too great, and is not the normal boy bathroom stinch. I pushed reset again, nothing. I pulled out the top outlet cover. Only part of it came out. The outlet cover, meant to protect my children from injury, was melted INSIDE the outlet!

Guess that explains the burning plastic smell I was smelling!

I called Paul to tell him about the situation. He said to leave it alone until he got home and could replace it. He was at lunch with a friend, who happens to be a fire captain. He said he told this guy about it and said something to the affect of "you know how women are, she probably had her curling iron, blow dryer, iron, etc all plugged in at once.

Let me set the record straight. I ONLY had my blow dryer plugged in! And I was not even using the outlet that was having an issue!

He came home and changed the outlet last night. The back of the outlet box is burned and melted. I am not sure WHAT happened or WHY, but I am SO thankful that the GFCI worked before the bathroom that is between the bedrooms where my two children were sleeping caught on fire! If my blowdryer had not gone off, I never would have gone in there and found out that plastic was melting inside the outlet!

Now, however, I am scared to stick outlet covers in the outlet!

A Stubbornness All Her Own

2010-12-03T09:39:00.005-06:00

I am stubborn. I don't deny it. My husband is stubborn. He probably WOULD deny it! My boys...they are all stubborn. We met our match with them. They wear it like a badge of honor though.

Our girl.....

She is REALLY stubborn! I cannot even say we met our match with her. She blows us ALL out of the water. She gives new meaning to the word stubborn!

I know many might find it hard to believe that such a cute little angel could be so stubborn, but it is true!

Hear is an example we see daily..... often when we tell her to get out of something she stares at us with that toddler I-dare-you-to-try-to-do-something-about-it kind of way. When you take a step toward her, she doesn't stop or get out of what you are telling her too, she just releases her shrill cry that would be about three octaves higher of what one might imagine when they hear the word squeal - all the while keeping her hand on what you are telling her to leave alone and staring you dead in the eyes. Let me tell you...the girl can hold it out too! Sometimes I fear that she is so stubborn she would pass out before she stops "the sound" long enough to take a breath!

Then, you go to pick her up and REMOVE her from what you are telling her to get out of. Many kids at this point would go limp and noodley (Yeah, I know - not a word). She has her own, more stubborn, way of doing it. She goes all noodley, except her back. She arches her back as much as she can and some how manages to freeze her back that way, while all of the rest of her body is noodley. When you put your hands in her armpits to pick her up, your hands manage to just slide down her arms until she is an arched-back heap of noodley limbs laying in a pile on the floor, all the while still making "the sound".

One might think "This sounds dangerous. What if she were to hit her head?" I can tell you (from experience) that when this happens she will attempt to go a few octaves higher, which apparently is not possible (apparently she DOES have a limit to her shrill) so her screams become silent. When she calms herself down she will give you the best how-can-you-live-with-yourself-after-treating-me-that-way look there is. After all, if you had just allowed her to play with the scissors (or whatever she is into at that moment), she never would have had to go into a back-bending, noodley pile that caused you to drop her and hit her head on the floor.

After a stare down and making you feel VERY SMALL, she will go get her beebe (blanket), sit on the floor and pout until she decides to go find something else to get into that she KNOWS she is not supposed to be in!

Since we have learned her trick, (and in an effort to stop letting her hit her head) we now pick her up with an arm under her neck and an arm under her knees. She is working hard to figure out a new routine to get out of that one. So far, her attempt is kicking her feet as much as she can, while rolling her entire body in your arms and deafening you all at the same time. It hasn't worked yet!

I hope you can get a little bit of an idea of her stubbornness from this explanation. We find it kind of amusing (although we don't let HER know it) that she can be THAT stubborn!

The Family Tree

2010-11-20T15:22:00.002-06:00

Family Pictures

2010-11-20T15:18:00.001-06:00

My Baby Girl

2010-11-20T15:03:00.004-06:00

My Boys

2010-11-20T14:52:00.002-06:00

It is Called HOMEwork for a Reason!

2010-11-14T18:36:00.003-06:00

At the kids schools they do not send home papers every day or week. In elementary school they send home "paper packets" every two weeks which is all of their graded papers in an envelope. I am not a fan of this AT ALL! By the time the papers and tests come home for me to see and have the kids correct, they have moved on to something else in class. To me, it kind of defeats the purpose of the kids doing assignments if they cannot learn from their mistakes on the assignments.

In Middle School, we don't get papers back. If we want to see the kids grades we have to get online and look them up. I got on to check Caleb's grades, because we are STILL having the "I don't have any homework" discussions every night. I was NOT happy to see that he had a B (an 85, here an 84 is a C, so almost a C) in READING! He reads ALL.THE.TIME!

When I asked why his grade was so low he said he must have not done too well on a comprehension test. I argued that he needed to read his book at home and he said they read it in class. I told him he obviously was NOT comprehending what he was reading and he needed to bring it home and reread.

After a couple of days (and getting progress reports in the mail with still a B) of not getting any good answer for the grade, I emailed the teacher. Turns out, she says the ONLY reason he does not have a A in the class is because he either did not complete or did not complete correctly a HOMEWORK assignment! That is right....he has a low grade because of his HOMEWORK (which he didn't do at home, so I don't know when he did it)

This did not do much for his argument! He has already been a little weary of the fact that the church we have been going to for the last month (and joined today) is where his teacher for this class goes. Even worse, she is in the Sunday School class we have been visiting! I am not sure that he likes me having such easy accessibility to her (not that we talk about his grades at church)!

He better hope he has that grade up in the next 3 weeks!!

Potty Training: The Finale

2010-11-11T06:14:00.004-06:00

Madeleine started carrying her potty around and sitting on it (dressed) a couple of weeks ago. Sometimes she tries to take her diaper off, sometimes she just sits. Tuesday I decided that since she was showing interest we would REALLY introduce the potty and see how she does. She is not even quite 19 months yet, so we are not going to push TOO much! As long as she is willing to sit and try we will go for it. If she decides she doesn't wanna do it then we will put it away for a while. However, if she wants to do it and I can quit buying diapers, well LET'S DO IT!

So, after nap Tuesday we began our final venture into potty training. I have done it four times already, I should be a pro - right? Well, the one thing that I DID learn with the first four is they are ALL different! I am going into this adventure with my eyes wide open. EVERYTHING about her has been different than her brothers! Everyone I have talked to or read about says girls are MUCH easier to potty train. I am going to assume she is going to be very difficult to potty train, then I will not be heart broken or feel like a failure when she is stubborn and difficult about this like she is with everything else!

Tuesday after nap she got up and sat on the potty. She actually peed in the potty! We clapped and cheered and did the "potty dance". She got embarrassed and hid between my legs! A while later she peed again in the potty, We clapped and cheered and did the dance and she hid again. After her brothers and Daddy got home though, she was not too interested in sitting on the potty!

Wednesday morning when she got up (at 5:30am) we went straight to the potty. She again peed in the potty. We toned down the cheering and did more dancing (did NOT want to wake all the boys up). She did not hide this time! Guess she doesn't want all the hoopla her brothers enjoyed. She wore a pullup to the library for storytime and for nap, but when she was home she was in underwear. She had one pee accident (and decided it was a good day to poop four times, all while in underwear). She used the potty four times yesterday!

This morning, she got up and went to the potty. Before, I would put her on her potty and go do what I need to do. Her potty makes noise when she pees or poops in it, so when I hear the noise I run to her and praise her. I was fixing breakfast and she came in screaming at me. I turned around and asked what was wrong and she was pointing to the potty. I went and checked and she had peed! She was very proud (and upset that the potty did not reward her with her princess sounds). I was happy that she knew she had done what she was supposed to, even without the potty telling her! That is a good sign!

A while later she came in saying something. I asked what was wrong and she pointed to the potty and started pulling her panties down. I helped her to the potty and she sat down and peed!

I am going to assume that it is still fun and exciting and new. I had another child that was ready to go and making progress and then decided it wasn't for him (he was still potty trained before 2 1/2 though). I am not getting my hopes up to high, but I am going to encourage and nudge as much as possible!

Andrew is NOT enjoying the potty reward system. He thinks if she gets a reward he should too. When that didn't work, he tried to tell me that when he goes potty I have to give him a prize! There might be a "tad" bit of jealousy ;)

A while back I found some Fancy Nancy panties. She has three favorite books and the Fancy Nancy series is one of them. I went ahead and bought them and put them away in her drawer. We pulled them out and she has been SO excited to wear Fancy Nancy around!

Halloween 2010

2010-11-04T06:27:00.004-05:00

I thought this was going to be a pretty easy Halloween in the costume department. We had decided Mady's costume a while back, after the first time we took her hair out of a rubberband and it stood in a mohawk the rest of the day. When we started talking about costumes Bryce wanted to be the trashcan (for the THIRD year in a row....it is being retired now) and Isaac wanted to wear Caleb's costume from last year. Andrew had seen a picture of a robot and said that he wanted to be a robot.

Caleb was so difficult! He wanted a homemade costume too. But EVERY. IDEA. we gave him he did not like! I had given up on him and told him he could go as a stubborn teenager. He asked what the costume would look like and I told him to look in the mirror! He FINALLY decided to go as a fisherman (I think he sensed my impatience with his lack of costume decision).

I was thinking a simple robot for Andrew. A box, painted silver with a silver face, etc. But, I gave the task to his Dad! THIS is what we ended up with:

On Wednesday we went to Fall Fest at the church we have been visiting. Because there were lots of games, jump houses, races, etc. I did not want to put Andrew and Bryce in their costumes that they would not be able to sit and move around in. So, AJ wore his monkey costume from last year and Bryce wore his Fireman costume. When we tried on Andrew's costume Mady got so excited we put her in an older monkey costume. She thought it was hilarious

Here are the pumpkins Dad carved with the kids:

Here is everyone before Trick or Treating. Mads would only have a picture if I was sitting in it! They did individual pictures at Fall Fest with a professional photographer and I had to sit in that picture with Mads too! I will post those when we get them in the mail (everyone got a free photo).

We had so many people asking if they could take pictures of the trashcan, robot and punk rocker. But, I think at EVERY house we visited we were told that the robot won the costume of the year. Then they would put HANDFULS of candy in his bag! This is some of what we ended up with. I found more after I took the picture and this does not include what they had eaten over the few days before I took the picture!

I sent a grocery bag FULL of candy to Paul's office yesterday. There was no way FIVE kids were going to be allowed to eat near all of that!

Mady had so much fun going to each door. I had to hold her hand, of course, because she isn't fond of strangers! After every house she would want to stop and eat candy though. She could have been given a couple of pieces all night and would have been happy (she wasn't though, she returned with a full bag as well). She loved wearing all of the jewelry and makeup too.

Andrew's hand had to be held the ENTIRE night too. We knew if he fell it would be the end of the robot! Daddy saved a couple of falls throughout the night, but for the most part Andrew did a great job of staying on his feet. When we got back home is when he fell going up the porch. He fell right on the mums Paul had gotten for me :( Robot-1, Mum-0 :( He managed to not mess up the robot at all. Now to figure out where to put this masterpiece!!

Hope everyone had a fun Halloween!

Best Big Suckers - I Mean, Brothers a Girl Could Ask For

2010-10-26T10:25:00.004-05:00

Last night I had one of those melt-your-heart kind of moments. I was headed to my bathroom and heard Paul talking to Mady, so I stopped and listened. He was giving her instructions on how to comb her hair. I listened for a minute and then I went in. He had her on the sink and was combing her hair, painting her fingernail (yes, only one) and teaching her how to put on makeup (maybe someone should teach HIM how to put on makeup). It was so sweet!!

I commented that I could not wait for the day that she wanted to show her talent on Daddy's face. Then I went and got eyeshadow and lipstick, just to see what she would do if I handed it to her. Daddy let her use his face, but I had to swear not to get the camera out (which I agreed too THIS time). She put some makeup on Daddy. Then she got her suckers, I mean brothers, to lend their faces as well! There was a lot of screaming from her when I finally put the make-up away. Here is her artwork:

I think her hair would have been enough to send me running!

After she did this to Caleb, every time he came near her until he washed the makeup off, she would scream. It is sad when her work scares HER!

Doesn't she have some AWESOME big brothers! Isaac was not able to be persuaded today, but if I know Isaac and how much he likes to make people happy, it is only a matter of time! I am sure if she had tried harder with him she would have won! They all washed their faces off quickly, but I had the camera ready!

I failed to realize that she had Colorstay lipstick. Ummm....well, it really stays. Unfortunately, she did not get much on their lips. She also got it on her chin (where you can still see it) and all over Andrew's hand (which you can also still see).

My life is so awesome!!

My Cheerleader

2010-10-18T08:14:00.006-05:00

I have been looking for a Saints cheerleader outfit for Mads and I finally found one this weekend. She was so cute running around yesterday in it, doing somersaults, running with the football and trying to tackle her brothers while we all played football. The cutest part though, is that she learned how to say "Who Dat"! So, yesterday she was running around in her cheerleader outfit yelling "Who Dat"!

Training Him For His Future Wife (In Ways Most Would Not Think Of)

2010-10-16T14:39:00.004-05:00

After a conversation this morning at the store with Caleb (and the rest of the family), I have decided Caleb needs to be trained for something that most parents do not train their sons for.

While we were at the store I went to pick up some feminine products. When we stopped so I could find what I needed Caleb says "OH, so you are menstrating?"

"No, not at the moment."

"Then why are you buying stuff for when you menstrate?"

"So that I have it when I need it."

I figure since he is so interested and doesn't mind discussing it in the middle of the store he should have no problem carrying them for me next time I need to buy them. I will just "forget" to get a buggy when we go in the store and have my hands full (which I usually do anyway).

This will either teach him not to talk about menstrating or it will make him used to buying the feminine products. Either way - I am sure his future wife would appreciate which ever one of these lessons he takes away from it!

Miscellaneous Pictures

2010-09-28T06:36:00.007-05:00

Divide and Conquer and First Swim Meet

2010-09-26T16:46:00.003-05:00

Life has been so crazy lately. For the first time, we (as in Paul and I) are really having to take a divide and conquer approach to our evenings! Between swim, golf, Beta meetings, volunteering, dinner, five kids and homework for three - our evenings are CRAZY!! A typical afternoon would be something like I get the little two up from nap around 2:30. Caleb gets off the bus at 2:50. I drop Caleb off at the Library around 3ish, on the way to pick up Bryce and Isaac from school. After they are picked up I pick Caleb up around 3:45 and have him to swim by 4. If it is a non-golf night, we hang out at swim until practice is over around 5:10. If it is a golf night we drop Caleb off, take Isaac home to do homework and change and take him to golf. Hopefully in that time Dad is back with Caleb (who he picks up on his way home from work) and he stays with everyone else while I take Isaac to golf. We get home between 7:30 and 8 and Isaac eats dinner and finishes homework . Somewhere between all of that we do practice test for three for spelling, vocabulary and whatever test they have, listen to two read and do any other homework the three have. The crockpot has been well used the last couple of weeks for dinner!

I watched Isaac play a short game in golf last week. He really impressed me with how well he did! He knows what club to grab for where he is at on the course, pretty good at judging how hard to hit and is able to make the ball go to the green. It was nice to see him having so much fun doing it, too.

Caleb has had one swim meet so far. It was basically just a meet to get times for all of the kids. They are placed in heats against other kids around the same time as them so it is a little bit more fair (these are 6th through 8th grade kids competing together). He is his worst critic and came home quite upset that he finished in "last place". We explained that he is competing against himself more than anyone else and as long as his time is getting faster at each meet than he is doing well. We also told him that most of the kids have pools at home and swim regularly and have for most of their lives - unlike him. He was in a bad mood most of the night, but it made him work harder and listen more at practices, so it was probably a good thing.

His coaches have told him several times (and me) that he is, by far, the most improved student on the team. He has a friend on the team that has a pool. The kids dad has invited Caleb over several times to practice and he actually gets in and works with him. I can't wait until his next meet (this Friday) to see what progress he has made!

Here are some pictures from his first meet. I tried to show them to him the night of the meet to cheer him up. He, instead, got more upset because he was looking at the pictures and telling me what he was doing wrong (I wasn't breathing to the side, etc). I told him that it was great that he could recognize mistakes and that will help him see what he is doing wrong so he can fix them.

Hiking with the Family

2010-09-08T09:11:00.012-05:00

We went on a family hike a couple of weekends ago. We used to go all the time in Arkansas, but it is so hot and humid in the summer the last thing I want to do is go hike! We were blessed with a few days of lower temperatures, and more importantly low humidity (so it actually felt like lower temperatures), so we decided it would be a great day to hike.

On our hikes the boys like to point out everything they see. Just in case someone is with us can't see the big log in the middle of the trail, or the massive rock you have to get around! This time there were lots of "Hey, Mom. Take a picture of this!" So, here is our hike in pictures. We saw.....

spiders that had webs over the trail. I am pretty sure they were trying to catch hikers to eat!

lots of different mushrooms

crazy roots and vines

ummm.....well there were lots of boy-type theories

teepees

snakes

flowers

but MY favorite things to see were my family
looking at who knows what

Someone wants their PawPaw. Out of all the signs on the trail (there are signs all throughout naming different plants) this is the ONLY sign she stopped at and she would not leave!

hiking together

Looking over the bridge

running together

sitting together

walking through the meadow

her curls :)

walking up the stairs on the trail

The Princess Seat

Smart Discipline

2010-09-08T06:34:00.002-05:00

As you can imagine, discipline with this many kids is a must! It is also very challanging to find something that works for everyone. The last several weeks we have been trying a discipline plan that was recommended to me. I have been told it works for EVERYONE! As of now, I am a believer.

It is called Smart Discipline by Larry Koenig. Basically, you make out a list of rules. Each child has a daily or weekly chart. They get so many "free" squares a day or week and then they start losing privelages. On each chart you right a rule that the child needs to pay specific attention too (while still following all of the other rules) and you rwrite something positive that they did the day before.

We started out with daily charts for all of the boys. They had three free squares (three chances to do something wrong before they start losing privelages). In each of the other five squares you write a privelage. If that square gets x'd they lose the privelage for that day.

Here are the problems we found with this chart:
1. the boys were rushing through homework or saying they didn't have homework (then getting up the next morning and trying to do their homework before school) so they could have their privelages.
2. Everytime I would tell Andrew he was getting an X, he would cheer. It did not matter how many times I would explain it, he thought a x was a good thing!

So, after a week we had to reevaluate how we did things. We went to the weekly chart. They get 7 free chances for the week and there are five privelages listed.

After pleading many times with the boys and refusing to help with homework in the mornings and telling Caleb if he didn't study I would expect him to come home with a 100 for EVERY. SINGLE. GRADE. in school (which he found TOTALLY unfair and said my expectations were TOO HIGH), I had had enough! Since, ALL of the kids were rushing through or saying they didn't have homework we took away all weekday privelages. I told them that from the time they got home (which is about 5:30 by the time we do swim) until bedtime they were not allowed to do anything but homework (stopping for dinner of course).

THIS finally got their attention, especially when they realized I was serious! Now, the privelages that they chance losing are their weekend privelages! This weekend was the first weekend to lose weekend privelages and they had all lost some! It was hard on all of us. Paul and I would have to remember that certain kids couldn't watch tv or go outside and who could. And let me tell you..they TRIED to get us to forget! For once, no one tattled "so and so isn't supposed to be watching tv because they lost that privelage." The charts ARE NOT mentioned by the kids!!

The charts are hanging up in the kitchen. If I X someones box, I write why it got the X. Then they do not have to question me as to why they got it. As they are learning this is being taken very seriously, they are getting less and less X's.

I had given up on the chart with Andrew for a while, because it just didn't seem like he was getting it. Then I heard him fighting with Caleb and he said "I am going to tell Mom to give you a X because you are being bad!"

His chart went back up RIGHT then! I am obviously a little easier on him because he is still learning the rules. Also, the book says to start them at age 4 with these charts and he is only 3.

The best thing is that this is supposed to cut down on a lot of the lecturing. And it has. Now I just say "You are getting an X because....." and they say "yes maam". Sometimes it is with some attitude, but they do not backtalk (they learned real quick that would earn them another X)!

This weekend (when he was not allowed to do many of his weekend privelages) Caleb asked me to go back to the daily charts. I asked why and he said because he never lost privelages when they were doing daily charts (which is good since they are at school all day). Then he asked me if he could earn back his privelages, which I said no. THAT is when I KNEW I had found a winner discipline plan! They recognize that they have to do their part to get what they want. They also realize this is something we are sticking with :)

Adjustments

2010-09-08T06:07:00.003-05:00

The school year is off to good start, I guess. Caleb seems to be really enjoying jr high. The only problem is that he doesn't want to study. He has nagged us for several years to get him a trumpet to play and he has been looking forward to middle school so that he can start band. Well, band started but the first couple of nights we really had to fight him to practice. They were not actually playing at school yet (he just started taking his instrument yesterday and they have yet to start playing), but I knew he needed some time to get used to the fact that he HAD to practice a minimum of 30 minutes a night. He is finally to the point that he is doing it without me telling him.

He is also enjoying swim, although it is obvious that many of the kids on the team have pools and swim regularly. He is holding his own, but when he gets tired he starts swimming underwater, which he is great at. He can hold his breath a long time! Unfortunately, underwater swimming isn't really a part of it! He has finally gotten the freestyle down and he is great at the kicking of the breaststroke, they are working on the arms.

Isaac is night and day difference from last year. This time last year he was failing...more than one class. It took us half the year to figure out he had ADD and get him set with a medicine. He struggled ALL year, but never gave up and worked so hard. He even did a voluntary summer school this summer to help him catch up. He brought home his first paper packet (they only bring home school work every two weeks and we sign it and send it back) last week. He had 10 graded papers. He had one D, 2 B's and the rest were all 100's!! His hard work has REALLY paid off! We spent HOURS every night last year doing homework. He is getting it done in about 30 minutes this year!!

Bryce is making great grades, for the most part. He has been diagnosed with ADD and was put on medicine yesterday. His problems are showing more in behavior than grades. He is having a hard time with spelling and reading comprehension. He can read very well, knows his sight words, etc. His problem is that he doesnt want to take the time to do it. So he skims everything. You cannot answer all the comprehension questions correctly by skimming! As of now (and hopefully it will stay this way) he is on the same medicine Isaac is on. This medicine is only in his system for about 8 hours, so it is out of his system by the time school is out. There are no highs or lows, he doesn't "come off" the medicine (there is no obvious mood swing or any kind of down when the medicine wears off). Isaac has had no side effects (other than a "weird" feeling the very first day he took it). And, he doesn't have to take the medicine when he doesn't go to school.

Homework time is definitely less stressful than it was last year, but I am hoping that we can get Bryce to focus on his spelling and reading a little better and homework time won't be a problem at all!

Ladies Man

2010-08-29T20:44:00.002-05:00

We went to a birthday party last night. It was for a four year old, but there were kids of all ages there. Andrew was talking to them ALL, but there was one little girl who was probably 11 or so years old that he was really into. When this little girl was leaving she came to Andrew to tell him bye and ask for a hug. He gave her a hug and then asked if he could have a kiss too!

Then today, a friend of ours that we see daily had been out of town since Wednesday. We had been going down a couple of times a day to let her dog out and every time we went down there Andrew would get upset that she was not there. Today, though, we were outside when they were coming home from getting dinner. They stopped to say high and Andrew went to see her.

She opened the door to the truck and he climbed in. He put his hand on her chest and said "Where did you get these?" She assumed he was talking about dinner and said the name of the food joint. Then he put his hand back on her chest and said "Where did you get these?"

Her husband was in the car and starts laughing. She answers "Ummm, from God?!"

He has always been a boobman. He used to only go to sleep if he had his "pillows" to sleep on. But, I think it is taking it a little far if he is asking other women where they got theirs from :) Yeah, obviously she had a bit more than he is used to!!

I am gonna be in SOOOOOO much trouble soon! I already have one that thinks because he is in middle school he HAS to have a girlfriend! I still have three to go behind him. I don't hear Dad talking about putting the boys in burlap sacks and making them have ratty hair like he does his little girl!!

What's a mom to do?