Mom, I need to tell you something!

I know those words seem innocent enough. But, when they come out of Ryan's mouth and they are coming out right after school, it's usually not a good thing. Yesterday's was particularly enjoyable:

"Mom, I need to tell you something."
"Yes, Ryan."
"Well, I kind of got in trouble today."
"Oh yeah. What happened?"
"I don't know. I was just smiling and I lost 15 minutes of recess."

Poor kid. He was just smiling. And he lost 15 minutes of recess. He must think I was born yesterday.

Pasta!

So, I recently downloaded a few of my favorite 70s songs to my IPOD and I have been listening to them alot lately, since, you know, I clean my house alot lately, with it being up for sale and all. One of them is a Donna Summer classic, Hot Stuff. One of my children says to me: "Boy, this lady singing sure is hungry." "What do you mean?" I ask. "Well, she really wants some pasta." The kid thought she was saying "pasta" instead of "hot stuff" :)

Lookin for some pasta baby this evening.
I want some pasta baby tonight.
Gonna get some pasta baby this evening.
something something
I need pasta. I need pasta.

Come to think of it, I relate much better to that version.

Prejudice

There's been a lot of talk lately in the news about prejudice and whether or not certain candidates can win the presidency. I don't know, I could be wrong, but I don't think either democratic candidate can win. Because, sadly, despite our happy faces and our holding hands, too many of us carry too many prejudices.

Jaden played on a mainstream basketball team this year. It was a church league. The teams played on 1/3 of a basketball court, so it wasn't like "real" basketball. BUt, Jaden had such a wonderful time. Jonathan was his wheelchair handler and it was so special to see them work together to achieve something for Jaden. But, then, it came to my attention that one of the dads on his team anonymously wrote in that he was upset that his kid had to play with the handicapped kid. Something about the whole season being ruined for their team and his son because of the handicapped kid. Talk about prejudice! For two days, I was so livid it was all I could think of. Of course, since this "man" sent his comments anonymously, there was absolutely nothing I could do about it.

I learned a couple of things, though:
1) We still, as a people, have a lot pf prejudices and a lot of mixed up priorities. When a person would rather exclude someone than have their son maybe lose a few non-basketball games, I think that's a problem.
2) I was watching a documentary on the Little Rock 9-those children who were the first black students to go to an all white school after the Brown v. the Board of Education ruling. It never dawned on me before that those kids were kids and that they had moms whose hearts were probably torn in two hearing the things ignorant people said about their children.
3) God is no stranger to feeling the sting of people dismissing a child for something they cannot help. In church around Easter, we read the words about Jesus from Isaiah 53. Things like "men turned their face from him. We rejected him and esteemed him not, he was considered afflicted by God." Yes, God does know how I feel when people do not see the beauty in my son.

Jaden was telling me a story of something that happened it church. They were putting on a little skit and Jaden was chosen to play Jesus. Some kid yelled out, "He can't play Jesus, he's in a wheelchair!". I asked Jaden how that made him feel. He said, "I just felt bad for him. He doesn't know that kids in wheelchairs can do anything.". I'm glad Jaden, somehow, has picked up a good attitude. I pray he keeps it. I think he's going to have a lot of educating to do in his life.

Half-Way Point

Today marks about 6.5 years of wedded bliss for Rob and I. We've been married 15 years today, just 6.5 were blissful. When we got married, we decided that it would be for 30 years or death whichever would come first. So, we are halfway to the end of our commitment. Thing is, I'm thinking about renegotiating. 30 years doesn't seem quite long enough. Maybe I'll contact Ben Roethlisberger's agent. He seems to do a good job with negotiations.

The Caboose

I heard this term on a mothering board I am on. It refers to the last child, but specifically, the last child that comes maybe unexpectedly, maybe not, but certainly a number of years after having a clump of children. I have a caboose (no comments here about my backside necessary!) and I love having her. By the time the caboose comes a long, a mom has learned a thing or two, a mom has calmed down a notch or two.

I remember when the triplets were two I thought to myself, "If I knew they wwere going to actually stick dirt in their mouths when they were two, I wouldn't have spent so much time boiling nipples when they were babies." I know this now. I know that they aren't always going to want to snuggle with me. In fact, there will be a time when they won't even fit in my lap. I know that I can't control every little aspect of their life. Oh, it seems so easy when they are babies. I can control what she eats, when she sleeps, where she sleeps. But, that period of total control is long gone from the lives of my other children now. They will one day sleep through the night, they will one day use the bathroom on their own and get their own food. I will one day be able to go to the store without packing a million and one things in a diaper bag. In fact, I'll be able to go to the store without them at all. And, I know most of all, that when those things are gone, I am going to miss them terribly.

And, so with my caboose, I relax and enjoy. I enjoy every snuggle, I let her sleep in bed with me or worse yet, right in my arms. I let her enjoy lots of foods just for the thrill of seeing her experience them. Because I know that food battles are bound to come and I know that my children have still managed to grow OK. I enjoy temper tantrums because I know that there are many more confusing character qualities yet for her to develop. I even enjoy every bump and bruise she gets, because these physical wounds are so much easier to deal with than the emotional ones that I know are in her future.

I am thankful for my engine kids...the ones who are first in line and keep things moving and pave the way. Together we experience the new challenges and joys of life. I am thankful for the middle car, too. There's always a lot of activity going on in the middle cars...laughter, comraderie, and that drive not to be forgotten or overlooked by the others. (as if we could!). But, that caboose...I think everyone should have one. BTW, mine is 8 months old!!

Dating...Jonathan Style

I overheard an interesting conversation in the back of the car while driving. I find it's best not to interrupt these things, but instead to listen in and see what I can learn. Jonathan is telling Trisha about what it will be like when they start dating next year at the Intermediate School. (Let's just for the moment overlook the silliness of the premise.)

Jonathan tells Trisha that if he is lucky, he'll probably only have one, maybe two girlfriends next year. Because, he says, girls are so hard to get. He says, "I mean really all a girl has to do is bat her eyelashes and say 'I want a boyfriend' as she gets one. Not us boys. Girls are so hard to get." I wonder if Jonathan knows how wise about the ways of women he really is.

These are not mine...

But they are too, too funny. I first saw them on www.noelheikkinen.com and then he referenced some other place, that referenced some other place and so on and so on.
Forget, Foerber, Sears, Spock, etc.

Are they all yours?

If only I had a dime for every time I've been asked that question. People see me with 5 kids in tow and they just can't help themselves. They have to ask.

It always strikes me as curious. I mean, would I really take all of these children to WalMart if I had any other choice available to me? Do you think I drive around the neighborhood and pick up kids just so I can take them all to the doctor's office? Yes, they are all mine. And, I like them all. Every last one of them.

I guess I forget that we are a big family. Most of the time. We took the kids for a quick overnight to a hotel with an indoor pool. My five kids made 9 total kids in the pool. There were three other families there. Our one family had more kids than the three other families there combined. I guess we are quite a spectacle. But, I wouldn't trade any of them for the world!

On The Market

So, our house is officially on the market. It was no small task to get it ready. It was 7-8 days of doing nothing else other than painting and cleaning. Which I guess is one day for each year we have lived here. Some things hadn't been touched since we first moved in. Like the brother's room. What is it that makes a small boy want to write on the walls with, well, anything? What is it that makes them also want to wipe boogers on the walls? Good times. Good times. We do have the perfect house to move into. It just has to fall into place perfectly. I hope that it not only falls into place perfectly, it also falls into place quickly!!

30 Day Challenge

I almost hate to put up another post, just because that picture of Hayleigh is so darn cute! Anyways...

So, I was reading this news story the other day about a pastor in Florida who is challenging all of his married congregants to have sex every day for the last 30 days. He was quick to say that this challenge does not apply to single people, although I suspect that they would have a much easier time meeting this challenge than the married folk.

Now, I've taken my fair share of 30 day challenges. Heck, once I even didn't eat for 30 days, only drank juiced fruits and veggies. But this? C'mon. Really?!?! Seriously?!?!?! It will probably come as no surprise that this pastor is a man...no woman would ever think up such a thing. I think I am going to pray for the nursery staff. I suspect that in 9 months, there going to be a little busy.

7 months old

Headlines at 7 months:
- Two little toothers that are just too cute.
- She's crawling all over the place from room to room.
- She stickes everything in her mouth. If she makes it through this phase without choking on something, it truly will be a miracle.
- She's resolved her eating disorder and eats lots of fun things now.
- She's just a super-fun baby.

Here's a video of her cuteness, including her funny, if not slightly creepy, laugh. Oh, please ignore the messy room and the fact that I still have a small Christmas tree up...whatever!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVHxiQ_3PaE

Missing Items

Following is a list of items currently missing from our home. If found, please return them to Kiddyland as soon as possible. Thank you.

My cell phone
My bank card
My camera
Trisha's left clog
Trisha's socks that save "Love" on them.
Jaden's right tennis shoe
Jonathan's shin guards
2 envelopes to send in for class picture day
1 elementary school directory for 2007-2008. (Although in searching for that one, I finally found the one from 2006-2007 that had previously been missing!)
Ryan's half-eaten pack of Strawberry Bubble Yum
High School Musical 2 Soundtrack (although I have a sinking suspicion that a certain adult male in the family might have been in on that one.)
My sanity

One of my children suggested that maybe someone has been breaking into our house at night and stealing stuff. I wasn't so sure about that until the Bubble Yum went missing. Now, I think they might be on to something. In fact, that might also explain why the house is messy all of the time. It boggles my mind how I can clean, clean, clean all day long and then wake up in the morning and the house is all messy. Yes! Someone has been breaking in, taking our Bubble Yum, and throwing crap all over the place. It's genius, really.

New Survery

Askmen.com just came out with their list of the hottest 99 women. I, for some reason, was overlooked. This is really disappointing, especially since I have lost 27 pounds. I thought I had a chance.

The winner was Katherine Heigyl. Which reminds me of how much I miss Grey's Anatomy...and The Office...and Desperate Housewives. American Gladiators just isn't cutting it, people.

Super-D-Duper!!!

I can't even tell you how happy I am that the Giants won last night in that really big game that I won't mention by name for fear of incarceration. As a Steelers fan, I have a deep-seated dislike for the Patriots anyways since we have lost ot them many times in our attempts to get the big-game-that-I-wont-mention-by-name-for-fear-of-incarceration. Plus, seeing Tom Brady F-Bomb his teammates all year when they missed a play even though they were up by like 1000 points was really un-cool, especially for someone who is a dad for crying out loud. Not that I'm a Manning family fan, either. But, really, Eli was doing it for all the little brothers out there. I am fond of little brothers, given that two of my sons are little brothers, and I have a little brother. He was doing it for the underrated, overlooked, beat-up, blamed for everything little brothers. I was glad they won. And, I was glad for Plaxico Burress, a fellow Spartan :) Yea, MSU!!!

From one souper (see how I spelled it like soup so I don't get busted!) thing to another, tomorrow is Super Tuesday. I'm really excited for this. More than likely the Republican race will be over. You know what I like though? I love how like really liberal people and really conservative people are saying "If John McCain wins, I'm voting Democrat", or "If Hillary Clinton wins, I'm voting Republican!" Reeaally? Really, Ann Coulter, if it's John McCain vs. Hillary Clinton, you're going to vote for Hillary Clinton? Really. Please. Oh, and you Obama supporters who are supporting him because you hate the Iraq war...are you really going to vote for McCain?? Reeaaally. Please. People are so silly. I think everyone of us would be better off if we only said what we meant and meant what we said. Even toddlers can recognize an empty threat.

Does anyone know if any of these candiates is a little brother?

Girl Crap

No, this isn't a post about Hayleigh's diapers, although given the fact that she has started eating some solds, it very well could be. This is a post about GIRL CRAP. The following is representative of an exchange i hear so often after school.

Me: Hey, Trish. Great to see you, how was your day?
Trisha: Terrible. _________ and I got in a fight.

Problem #1: Trisha wasn't invited to Girl A's brithday party. I am not sure why. She has been in the past. I do think in theory that a person ought to be able to invite whomever they would like to their own birthday party and not invite those whom they would not like to have at their party. It doesn't mean that it doesn't hurt my girl's feelings when she isn't invited. Trisha said she was hurt because Girl A just told her what a good friend she was and she shared her fried rice with her on Thursday (brought in by me for her MVP lunch.)

Problem #2. Friend B was the one who told her about Girl A's party. So, when Trisha asked Girl A why she wasn't invited, Girl A wanted to know who told her. Trisha told her it was Friend B. Friend B than told Girl A that she did not and that Trisha was liar. Girl A apparently believed Friend B.

If you have followed this far, well I thank you. This kind of crap makes me want to 1) Go up and punch Friend B and Girl A
B) Call both girls parents and give them some helpful hints on how to raise nice people. Or,
Quattro) Pull Trisha from school and homeschool her.

I know that Trisha isn't perfect and she has certainly done some things that have hurt other people's feelings. I just really can't stand this crap. It would be great if just for one week out of the school year she could come home everyday and not have had a bad day. And, while I do seriously consider the whole homeschooling thing, I am not sure that taking her away from people is going to teach her how to get along with people and teach her how to grow a thicker skin and how to learn who you can trust and who you can't. But, at the same time I am not sure that the constant barrage of negativity is good either.

Actually, I should just be thankful that Trisha wasn't invited to that party...it was sleepover and well, let's just say Trish is a girl who needs her sleep. I hope Hayleigh doesn't have these problems.

MVP

Trisha is her class MVP this week. SHe gets to do all sorts of neat things like yesterday she got to bring in a sharing sack filled with things that are important to her to share with the class. Her sharing sack contained:

1) Cinnamon- Her first WebKinz.
2) A Huge Stuffed Monkey - she got it in her 3rd grade class junk exchange. She loved her third grade teacher.
3) A stuffed lamb. She said to the class "I got this stuffed lamb out of one of those crane games right after my mom told me not to waste my money because no one ever wins on those things." The object lesson that proves mom wrong made it into the bag. That's just great.
4) Her letter from President Bush. I think some of the luster of that wore off after another kid in the class said that he got the exact same letter.
5) Assorted pictures and things
6) This one wasn't stuffed in the bag, but she brought Hayleigh in and said "This is my sister Hayleigh and she is the most important thing in the world to me."

Tonight I have to write a letter about Trisha that her teacher will read to the class tomorrow. I have strict instructions that it is not to be embarrassing. Believe me when I tell you that the pressure is on. Then on Thursday, I get to join her for lunch and what she doesn't know is that one of her friends that is homeschooled is going to join us. It's a surprise! Then on Firday all of her classmates make her a little poster with cute little signatures on them. I think it's a great idea!! Trisha's teacher this year has lots of great ideas like that.

A Controversial Subject

Well, since it was the 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade this week, and since despite my best efforts to think of a different post, I can't, and since I can't quite seem to get this Everlast song out of my head, you're getting a post on abortion.

First an excerpt from the song from Everlast:

Mary got pregnant from a kid named Tom said he was in love.
Said don't worry about thing babydoll I'm the man you been dreamin of.
Then 3 months later he won't even return her calls.
Something something mic, mic mic.
So she heads to the clinic and she gets some static walking through the door
They call her a killer and they call her a sinner and they call her a wh***
God forbid you ever have to walk a mile in her shoes,
then you really might know what it's like to have to choose.

I'll get back to that.

For now I want to go to 1997 and an ultrasound that was devastating. Two of my kids looked to have defects and that, according to the doctors was putting the life of the third in jeopardy. It was recommended that I terminate at least one, if not two of the pregnancies. I went ahead and amnios so that I could know for sure what I was dealing with and went home. The Drs said I had only a few days to make a decision. With my head swimming and my hear in oodles of pain, I called my local crisis pregnancy center and told them what was going on. The response I got?? Basically, my Christianity was questioned. The supervisor of the whole place got on the phone and told me that the hospital was just an abortion factory and that they lie to people all of the time about defects to get them to abort. I'm still bitter about that.

I am pro-life. But, I am pro-life because, like the Everlast song said, I know what it is like to have to choose. I know how it feels to be in a place where you can't imagine giving birth to this "thing". I know what it feels like to want to put those pre-pg jeans back on and pretend that this baby isn't happening. I've thought about ways to justify ending a pregnancy and I thought of excuses to tell people who wouldn't understand. I know what it is like to be in the pain of that limbo. And, I've seen the glorious imperfection of bringing that life into this world and seeing that yes, even in situations that are less than ideal, there is tremendous, tremendous value everytime God breathes life into a human.

Do I wish the Marys of the world didn't head to the clinics when they got pregnant from the Toms of the world??? Absolutely! But, it makes me more sad that people would look at us at the type that would call her names. Maybe that is because we have been. I personally feel like anyone who is working in a crisis pregnancy center should have to have had to choose. I think we would be a lot more effective.

Adventures in Paper Mache

Those of you who know me know that I am not crafty. This, along with not loving animals have been two very freeing admissions on my part. I don't do animals and I don't do crafts. Fine. I still like me. However, now that my children are getting older and getting into these projects, a certain amount of craftiness is a requirement. What ever happened to the days when all a person had to do for a book report is write a paper? Anyways, back to the paper mache. Jonathan is doing a report on alligators of all things and for his "visual aid", he chose to bring in a paper mache alligator head. Yes. You heard me. A paper mache alligator head. I think Jonathan has some ideas about me that aren't true. However, if it's a paper mache alligator head my son wants, then by-gum it's a paper mache alligator head he shall have.

I must tell you that while this was my first foray into paper mache, it actually went quite well and this green thing that I created, once we put some teeth, eyes and scaly things on it, might actually look like an alligator head. Of course, we have 1 part flour/2 parts water just about everywhere in the dining room. The directions called for salt in the glue mixture to keep it from getting moldy. I decided not to do that step thinking, "Well, I wont have the glue out for the long, for crying out loud." Never mind that the glue will be on the alligator head for quite some time. Oh well, sorry about the stench Jonathan's teacher. Really it will just make it more authentic. What alligator has a nice smelling head?

So anyway, now that I've conquered an alligator head, I'm looking for other things to paper mache. Any ideas?

Food Issues

Hayleigh has an eating disorder.

We were at her 6 month check-up yesterday and the doctor asked how she is doing on solids. Simple answer: she's really not. We've tried just about every kind of pureed crap out there and she just won't do it. Now, put a banana in a mesh feeder and she goes to town. Give her a slice of banana to gnaw on and she's in heaven. Open up a jar of pureed bananas and try to feed it to her, and she looks at me as if I have committed the most heinous act of betrayal imaginable. My girl just hates that stuff. And, apparently this is a problem. Ped. says if she isn't eating in the next few weeks, she'll have to be referred to the eating disorder clinic.

I suppose this type of referral was inevitable, given that she is female, and she is related to me. Food issues were bound to be part of her life, but really, this is earlier than I ever could have imagined. I wonder if they'll have little baby recovery meetings. Hayleigh can string together a bunch of babbling, which in baby will mean, "Hi, I'm Hayleigh. I'm here because I refuse to eat disgusting pureed crap." Hmmm. I wonder if they'll make her be an inpatient and refuse to release her until she eats.

Seriously, though, I understand that the fact that she may have "sensory issues" is important. She seems to have no problem sticking anything else in her mouth: paper, stuffed animals, lead-ridden plastic toys, markers, pencils, batteries, or anything else that may have been left on the floor. I think it's just that she's smart and doesn't like the disgusting stuff. I mean I won't even taste it before giving it to her it's so gross. I'm thinking I might just wait and follow her lead when it comes to eating solids. There's always plenty of time for the eating disorder clininc.

Gas to get to Detroit to see the Hannah Montana Concert: $85.00
Tolls from here to there to see the Hannah Montana Concert: $25.00
Refreshments at the Hannah Montana Concert: $12.00
Souveniers of Hannah Montana : $60.00




Having a fun G.N.O. with my daughter...priceless!

BTW, YouTube says that I can't post the cool videos we got from the concert, but if you want to see them, give me a holler, and I'll send them to you. Of course, I'll have to regain use of my ears to hear your holler, but that's another story.