Cooking isn't my bag.

I'm not a very good cook. At all.

It's not that I don't try. Well, to be honest, I really don't try. I have a few recipes I like to use...like macaroni and cheese and hotdogs or quesadillas. I'm a big fan of the make-your-own nights. Like make-your-own cereal or make-your-own leftovers. Those are fun nights. I can also do some crockpot cooking. Like throw in some frozen chicken breasts and a bottle of barbeque sauce and let it sit all day. That I can do. Gourmet for me is grilling on the George Foreman. And by "grilling", I mean cooking the chicken in the microwave for a few minutes until it is almost done and then throwing it on the grill just so it gets those fancy grill lines on it. Oh, I've tried joining recipe clubs and mailing lists and such. If it has more than 5 ingredients or 5 steps, I just get lost somewhere between "debone chicken breast" and "add a pinch of fresh garlic". I need recipes that say things like open a can of chicken, add soup, enjoy. If anyone has any like this and would like to share, please do!

Of course, this is all part of my plan of good parenting. I mean if I wanted to cook really good meals, I would. But then, my daughters-in-law would have to live up to my perfection. All this non-cooking really is just my way of looking out for the future welfare of my boys' marriages!

The 80s are alive and well at my house...

I don't think there is much about the 80s I'd like to bring back. A few things, maybe. Like music and big, big hair. I mean the kind of big hair that can only be achieved by hairspraying a piece of hair, wrapping it around a tight curling iron and then taking a comb and teasing it big. That kind of big hair I would take back. Jeans with a peg-leg and long sweaters that cover the butt with leggings...not so much now that I have had children. And, the TV shows? Well, perhaps with the exception of Growing Pains (Hellooooo, Kirk Cameron), there is not too much I am interested in seeing again. Which is why it pains me greatly to say that my kids have taken to watching this show:



Yeah...remember Alf? I didn't like it the first time! Jaden chuckles through the whole thing. He asked me where this show had been all of his life. Which surprises me, given my dad can probably name every time and station the show is on. Watching Jaden chuckle makes me chuckle, I have to admit, but I'm not sure how much more Alf I can take. I guess I should consider myself lucky...it could be Punky Brewster!

When Did I Become THAT Kind of Mom?

Saturday at cheerleading, we found out that one of the girls decided to quit. The reason was that the coach was being harsh on the girl and the girl's mom didn't like it. I guess the mom of the girl said "They're only 11, coach!". That comment sort of struck me. In a day when we see so clearly what a lack of taking responsibility for our actions can do to a person, a family, a nation, it seems like at 11, we can expect a certain level of behavior. Can't we.

But, really, I can't judge that mom too harshly. Because, it has come to my attention that I've fallen into the same trap.

It happened so quickly and yet so subtly. I used to be so big on the kids cleaning up their own messes and taking care of their own things. I used to be big on not necessarily getting everything you wanted, but wanting everything you got. "You get what you get and you like it!" was the motto around here.

And, then, they started school. And, people weren't always nice. Teachers yelled. Kids were mean. Schedules were busy. And, somewhere I thought that if I could ease their burden a bit, it would be better for them. Hey, let me pack your backpack...you relax it's going to be a hard day. Hey, I'll clean up your breakfast dishes, you go ahead and relax. I'll set the table, make dinner, clean up the family room, etc, etc, etc, you go out and play...you've had a hard day. Hey, I'll call your teacher and make sure they go easy on you, they probably don't know how hard you have it. You can't be expected to listen...you're only 11.

I thought I was doing the right thing by keeping things easy on them at home. I thought I was giving them that "soft place to land", which I totally believe is so important, but I have to find a way to do that that doesn't kill the lesson of personal responsibility. The future of our country depends on us teaching our children this important lesson. Afterall, 11 is plenty old enough to learn how to behave.

Talking Points Tuesday

So, when you hear a democrat say "I warned several years ago that Fannie and Freddie were going to be a problem", here's proof that, once again, they are full of it!!

Mosaic Monday

Jonathan's Soccer Adventures...

Will Someone Please Stop the Merry-Go-Round

I keep thinking of that Duran Duran song The Reflex. Especially the one little line that says "I'm on a ride and I want to get off, but it won't slow down wah wah (or something like that)". That's my life. Especially yesterday.

I was coming home from a particularly frustrating day at work thinking of all that I had to do that evening. Even thinking of it was stressful. Just trying to figure out what to do for dinner...how to get everything done...and crap! Where's Ryan's baseball shirt??? As I am thinking through where Ryan's baseball shirt probably is, I realize that it is in the washing machine...where a load of clothes has been growing mildew for three days. Double crap!!

I arrive home in time for Jaden's bus. He promptly tells me that he needs to take an apple and a banana to school tomorrow. This will most likely mean that when Trisha and Jonathan get off the bus, they will tell me the same thing. Triple Crap! Why is it on the busiest days the kids need crap for school. As if?!?!

I get Hayleigh from the sitters, take Jaden to therapy, run through Sonic for dinner, spray some Febreeze on Ryan's mildew infested shirt and throw it in the dryer, pick up Jaden from therapy, get Ryan dressed for baseball (a friend drove him to his game), make sure Jonathan is ready for soccer so he can leave right when Rob gets home, take Trisha to cheerleading, go to watch 1 1/2 innings of baseball (during which Ryan did very well, apparently mildew is helpful!), go back and pick Trisha up from cheerleading, go back to the baseball game to pick up Ryan,change oopy diaper in the backseat of van, and stop at the grocery store on my way home.

In the midst of it all, just when I am thinking that I can't possibly go on like this anymore. Just when I think that I am quite likely to have a nervous breakdown or at least a good, long cry, I hear something in the back seat of my car. Hayleigh is making little noises. I turn around and I see that she is waving and saying "Hi" everytime we pass a person on the road. I say to her "Are you saying Hi" and she turns bac toward me and gives me the biggest, cutest, 6-toothed grin you ever did see. And, in an instant I remember why I have as many kids as I do. Because there is absolutely, positvely, no greater privilage on this earth than being able to raise a precious little soul.

Even if those precious little souls need to be driven all over God's green earth.

Talking Points ala Jerry Maguire

Jerry Maguire is one of my favorite movies. I have seen it probably 1,000 times and I hope to see it at least 1,000 times more. Who doesn't love lines like "Show me the money!" and "You had me at hello". One of the less quotes lines, but also a favorite of mine is when Rod and Marcie are talking with Jerry and giving him a hard time. Dorothy comes in and says"...do you know he's broke? He's broke! Broke. Broke. Broke." I've been thinking of that line lately when it comes to politics. Because let's face it folks...as a country we are broke! Broke. Broke. Broke.

So when you hear either presidential candidate mention all of their plans. I just have to ask myself "How is that going to work?" We can't fix healthcare. We can't invest in infrastructure. We're broke! I don't want to pay more taxes, but I can assure you that we can't double the child tax credit or give a $1000 credit to middle class families off the top...we're broke!

When I hear Iran's leader talk with glee about the American empire beginning to fall. Or I hear about China wanting to create a one-world currency that does not include the US, I know our being broke is a real problem. When North Korea and Iran do what they want because they know our threats our empty (Oh yeah...how are you going to get us with your $9 trillion debt?!?!), I know that this is not simply a crisis of the economy, it is a crisis of national security!

This is not all Bush's fault either. There is plenty of blame to go around. Plus, I am not interested in who's at fault, I am interested in who can lead us and fix this. I do not feel like being a commonwealth of China!

So, strip away all of the plans of the candidates...they are not going to happen...or at least I hope not, we can't afford to go depper into debt. All you are left with is two men. I am voting for John McCain for many reasons, but in this context, I beleive his energy policy makes more sense and I think energy independence is a cornerstone to rebuilidng our economy. Instead of sending money to countries who hate us, instead we can circulate that money back through our own economy. We can't wait 10 years for that. We need to move now.

So, strip away the spending plans and tell me who you want to vote for and why. The only rule is it can't be because Bush sucks or Karl Rove is evil or Obama associates with terrorists. It has to be something positive about your candidate. Something that will get us out of being Broke. Broke. Broke.

My Spam Filter

I have to admit that I am very curious how the spam filter actually works...or in my case doesn't work. What makes an email worthy of getting through to the inbox and what makes it seem suspicious? It's really one of the world's great mysteries. However, in the off chance that my spam filter reads my blog, I'd like to offer a few suggestions:

1. I do not have a penis. Therefore, I have no need to enlarge it. I have no idea who Ron Jeremy is, but I do not need to know on a daily basis how excited he is about his penis. Send those to spam.

2. It seems like this should be a no-brainer, but emails addresses to my colon can go in the spam box.

3. I know that I am fat. Thank you very much. Daily emails asking "Why are you still fat?" are really just cruel and unusual punishment. Those can go to spam.

4. I really appreiciate the recent friendship I have apparently struck up with a fine gal named Michelle Anthony. She's really trying to get me a job and has found one where I can make $97 per hour from home. That can go ahead and go to spam since being a phone sex operator is going to lose something with that baby crying in the background.

5. Emails I do like to read: ones from my boss, my mom, and my kids' teachers. You can go ahead and send those through spam filter. They're actually important.

More Proof that I am Not the Only One Seriously Distracted in Life

It seems that recently a person went into a local gorcery store looking to buy a cake for a coworker who was moving away. The person instructed the person at the bakery to write "Best Wishes Suzanne" and underneath that "We Will Miss You". And, here is the cake that they got:

It's so hard for me to blog.

If I did what I wanted to do I would blog about politics every single day. And, well, that would be totally boring to most everyone. So, feel free to ignore and come back and visit soon. Because I am sure that once I get a political post out of my system, I'll be able to think about more light-hearted topics like: "What is that smell in my van?" or "How dirty can a 14-month-old possible get?" or "Fall Sports Update AKA why my car has so many miles". But for now...

1. The current economic crisis wasn't caused by republicans or democrats. It was caused by greed. It started with Mr. and/or Mrs. Citizen wanting a house they knew deep down they couldn't really afford, but hey! Mr. and/or Ms. Mortgage Lender was more than happy to figure out some sort of risky mortgage scheme to get them into the house they wanted. These risky mortgages that shouldn't have been issues in the first place were then bought and sold on the market spreading the love everywhere. And, to people who are saying this was all caused by Bush deregulation...the law that deregulated and allowed companies to be brokerage houses and banks and insurance companies all at the same time was passed in 1999. Hmmm....I wonder who was president then?

2. Obama's two biggest economic advisors are right smack dab in the middle of the crisis. One of them was a former head and Freddie and Fannie and one was a former head at Lehman Brothers. Wow. They did such a bang-up job with their previous posts, I can only imagine what they will do with our country if they are allowed to advise a president. Don't worry about them, though. Even though their entity went bankrupt or was bought out by the taxpayers, they walked away with millions.

3. John McCain has not flip-flopped. On deregulation: He's not suddenly for more regulation. He's for the current regulations to be enforced. Which is why he called for the SEC chair's resignation. That was supposed to be his job. On AIG: I don't think anyone, fundamentally, is for taxpayers bailing out corporations. Especially during a time when AIG was still trying to raise its own capital, it would have been irresponsible to say "Don't worry...we'll bail you out!" In the end, it was the only choice that could be made. It was the lesser of two evils. On the fundamentals being strong: You remember the old Chicken Little story. "The sky is falling! The sky is falling! I must go tell the king!" Can you imagine if the king was also running around telling all of our allies (and our enemies) that our sky was falling. Why that might be dangerous! And it most certainly wouldn't put those that invest in our economy at ease! And, yet, that is exactly what Obama has been doing.

4. In all reality, what with record foreclosures, record unemployment, record high gas prices, record high debt, etc, etc, Obama should be winning in a landslide. But, he just can't seem to get it right. Which reminds me that a few weeks ago, he was talling people that he had executive experience because he was running this huge campaign. Um...with all due respect, not very well.

Mosaic Monday

Yes. Yes. I know. It's Wednesday. But Mosaic Wednesday doesn't sound as nice as Mosaic Monday. And, since I started trying to figure out how to make one of these on Monday...I think it counts. So, I give to you our vacation...in a mosaic. Of course, it was a month ago, but since I still haven't completely unpacked, I think it can still be considered quite timely.

True Conversations...or not?!

The following are actual conversations I had this week...or are they??? You decide.

#1.
Child of mine: "How come I always get in trouble. Ryan does the same things and he never gets in trouble."
Me: "Trust me Ryan gets in plenty of trouble."
COM: "Nuh-uh. I nvever see him get in trouble."
Me: "Well, he does, and besides what happens between me and Ryan is between me and Ryan and is really not your business."
COM: "I know. I don't even care if Ryan gets in trouble. Who ever said that I cared if Ryan gets in trouble."


#2
Another Child of Mine: "I got in trouble at school today. I lost a ticket."
Me: "Again?!? Seriously?!?! That's not too good. How many tickets have you lost?"
ACOM: "Only 3"
Me: "You've only been in school 7 days!"
ACOM: "Yeah...that's less than half..."

#3
Yet Another Child of Mine: "Mom, I really think that the next president should make it a law that people can't shoot other people unless they are breaking into their house."
Me: "Actually, that is already the law. Exactly. People who do it go to jail for the rest of their lives."
YACOM: "See. That's why I'm really thinking that when I grow up I won't shoot anyone."


#4
One of the Aforementioned Children: "Today the teacher asked us what we wanted to be when we grow up."
Me: "Oh yeah. What did you tell him?"
OOTAC: " I told him I just wanted to play video games all day."
Me: "Oh..like a video game creator or tester or something."
OOTAC: "No. I'll just marry a rich lady and then I can play video games all day."

That's It! I'm calling NASA!

So, I was watching the Today show this morning when I really should have been helping the children get ready for school. I actually had vowed never to watch any NBC news program again, what with all of their Palin-bashing and all. However, I do love me my Matt Lauer, so I still watch Today. Aaaannyway, there was a story about an atom smasher in Europe that many fear will cause a black hole to swallow the earth.

That doesn't sound too good.

However, a little tidbit for NBC: It already exists. In my family room.

It is absolutely amazing to me how things can disappear in this house. all. of. the. time. Cell phone charger? Can't find it. 2 overdue library books? Who knows. Ryan's batting gloves? Check the black hole. The amazing thing is that this black hole knows exactly what to take and what to leave. We never seem to be missing a dirty diaper or a pile of dirty dishes. It's genius, really. And, sometimes, the black hole spits things back, which reminds me of a funny story about Rob's childhood.

See, in Rob's house, they would make a lot of Christmas gifts. They would pack all of these gifts up and travel to another state for Christmas to visit with relatives. Well, one fateful Christmas, their van was broken into and all of the presents were stolen. Only thing is once the burglar discovered the hand made items, he threw them back. So that, in the morning, they discovered macrame pot holders and hot mitts all over the grass.

That's my black hole. It finds things...it doesn't like them, so several days later after I have sufficiently lost my mind it throws them back. I wonder what NASA would have to say about that!

Why I Love Sarah Palin

1. She's an Effective Reformer From what Ih ave read, she has done more to clean up politics in Alaska in her short term as governor there then Ed Rendell has done to corrupt politics in his 6 years here. That's saying alot, since Mr. Rendell has been quite corrupt!

2. She's courageous. Do you kow how much courage it takes to know that the child you are carrying has a severe birth defect and then still choose to value it's life and bring it into this world anyways? I do. It takes a lot.

3. She's somehow managed to achieve that fragile work/life balance that every woman strives for. If she can run for vice president, there goes my excuse as to why I can't exercise! As the old saying goes, I made time, not excuses. And, I now find it funny that many democratic bloggers and saying things like how can she possibly find time to mother and to work. Gloria Steinem should be appalled!

4. She has a son going to Iraq. Meaning when she talks about loving her country and the troops that serve it...she really means it.

5. She is super smart when it comes to talking about energy. And, let's face facts, energy is one of the biggest issues facing our country. All other issues stem from this. National Security, the economy, the environment, job creation would all be better if we can come up with some smart energy solutions. This is her forte and I love hearing her talk about it.

6. She has experience dealing with Russia. And, I think it's becoming clear that Russia is becoming a problem.

7. Her unmarried, 17-year-old daughter is pregnant. Ahhhh...a chink in the armor. As I always say I hate perfect people because I have nothing to learn from them. GIve me someone imperfect anyday. Because I know in my failings is where i have learned the most.

I do, however; have one thing I do not like about her:

She gave birth 5 months ago and she is skinny. That's not right or normal!

Back to School Wednesday

Look at my awesome kids! Can you believe how big they are getting?!?!

The first day of school always makes me feel somewhat like Sybil the schizophrenic.

I am so happy and excited that I will finally get some time back to myself and that I won't have to hear as much fighting or as many "I'm bored"s. But then, the house seems eerily quiet and I don't really know what to do with myself and now it's me saying to myself that I'm bored.

I'm so excited for them to meet their teachers and meet new friends and learn new things. But then, I am nervous because what if those teachers aren't nice and supportive and what if they are bullied or worse, no one talks to them, what if the new things they learn don't come out of an approved text book and are things I's rather not have them know.

I'm looking forward to having more of a routine and a schedule and seeing what sorts of fun projects the kids will be doinig this year. But, I dread the rush, rush, rush of school, homework, sports...school, homework, sports. And, I dread the piles and piles of paper that will invade my house starting this afternoon.

I am proud of myself for surviving another summer without a)going insane b)anyone being seriously injured. But then, I feel bad for even thinking that having all of that time with my children is anything other than a blessing.

I am thankful for how well they are growing up, for the characteristics I see in them that I enjoy. Oh sure, they have weaknesses as we all do, but I love seeing their strengths emerge as well. I am starting to get a little glimpse of who/what they might be like as adults and that is really cool. And, at the same time I can't believe how fast time goes and how I feel like I am running out of time to instill values in them before they start looking to their peers more than they look to me. It scares me.

So, to my children: Know that I am thinking of you and praying for you today and always. My prayer is that this year will be the best ever for each of you. That your teachers will adore you and that God will raise up friends who encourage you to do and be your best. I pray most of all that you will know how totally awesome I think each of you are and that you would be secure in the person God created you to be. Thanks for a great summer!

Vaccinations

Oops! I just noticed that one of the advertisements from BlogHer is about vaccinations. I just wanted to say that my personal views are that each and every parent needs to decide for themselves how they feel about vaccinations and not just go with the "approved" schedule because someone told you to do it. We did vaccinate the four older children on schedule, we DO NOT vaccinate Hayleigh according to the "approved" schedule, for a variety of reasons which have been heavily debated. Anyways....

Back to School Shopping-Tween Style

So, yesterday Trisha and I went back-to-school shopping. You see, the boys couldn't really care less about clothes, yet. I asked them all if they would like to come and pick out some new clothes. Jonathan said no, but if I could pick him up a pack of underwear that would be great. Maybe some socks, too.

Our first stop was Kohls. Keep this a secret though, because unbeknownst to me and my credit card bills, apparently Kohls is not a cool place to shop. Nonetheless we did find a few cute items and I picked up some socks and underwear for the boys. Next, we went to that mecca of tweenaged fashion...Limited Too. Limited Too was, oh, how should I put this, an entire store that pays homage to Miley Cyrus. We truly, and I am not exaggerating here, spent two hours there. That was for one outfit. One $80 outfit, might I add. But, we all know that a girl has got to look nice, or at least as much like her BFF as possible, on the first day of school. Next stop: Claire's Accessories. Trisha had gotten $80 worth of gift cards for her birthday to spend there. I think she spent all but $11. DO you know how long it takes to spend $69 at Claire's. A long time. That's all I know. I also know that these stores really should put in like chairs, or maybe a latte bar for parents. I know that the decision whether to buy paper clip earrings or the stars with peace symbols on them is a huge one...but 1 1/2 hours?!?!?! Ugh.

So, after 4 hours of shopping, we were finished. I'm just waiting for the day she tells me she has nothing to wear.

The Recurrent Nightmare

Lately I have been having this same nightmare. It involves Ryan and school. It's sort of different every time, but the main gist is that Ryan, on teh first day of school, wears sandals. The problem is that the first day of school is gym day. Apparently, we were supposed to know this and didn't, because Ryan is wearing sandals and he isn't wearing tennis shoes. This is very upsetting to his teacher, because his teacher loses it and kicks Ryan out of his class for not remembering to bring tennis shoes to school for gym.

Now, I happen to have read a book or two on dream interpretation and this is what I think. I think I am panicked about the fact (OK...here it goes), that Ryan doesn't know how to tie his shoes. Ryan's going into 3rd grade. 3rd grade. And, he doesn't know how to tie his shoes. And, this colossal failure of parenting has seeped its way into my dreams. Good thing those tests he has to take this year to be measured for No Child Left Behind don't include skills like shoe-tying!

3 days left. I have 3 days to redeem myself and get him tying his own shoes. I hope it's enough time.

1930s wife

I saw this little gem from Mommy Confessions and decided to take the quiz. If I were a wife in the 1930s, I would be.....

44 As a 1930s wife, I am Average Take the test!

I think average is pretty good. Sure I don't curl my hair and make myself pretty and dainty before Rob gets home from work. And, maybe I don't repair all the buttons or sew our own dishtowels. And, heck maybe I do buy take out food from the delicatessan more than I should. Apparently, though, I'm not all that bad. I think I got extra points for having lots of children and for talking positively about my husband and marriage in public.

Let me know how you do.

Nicknames

For wahtever reason, we use a lot of nicknames here in Kiddyland. I think that with each new child came more and more nicknames.

Trisha: Trisha Lee-Lu Who. We called her that so much that when she went to Kindergarten, she thought her middle name was Lee-Lu. Trishy, Sissy.

Jonathan: Johnny, Johnny Croc, (this is because, as we learned in a science project, crocodiles are much more aggressive than alligators, and we use this name to remind Jonthan to be a crocodile on the soccer field.) Juan-e-ton (?), Brother Jon.

Jaden: J-Dog, J.D. or Jadey

Ryan: Ry-Guy, or Super RY-Guy (Spinoff from a book series that he likes where the character is Super Fly Guy) Ryan-E.

Hayleigh: Hayleigh Bug, cutie bug, Buggers, Hayzers, Missy, Hayzey, Crazy Hayzey.

Probably when the other kids were babies they had more nicknames too, it's just that they didn't stick. I wonder which of Hayleigh's will stick!

Anyone remember this commercial?

I didn't really get it when it came out. But, now, I get it. Oh yes, I get it. 19 days until school starts. Part of me is so giddy I can't stand it. Part of me is sad. Today, since I have heard "I'm bored" and "What are we doing today" and "Ryan has his hands in his pants" more times that I care to think about...I'm giddy!

The Field Trip (Or Why I am not the Sharpest Knife in the Drawer)

It's always at this point in the summer that I begin to feel guilty. With summer passing us by and school a mere three weeks away, I feel like I haven't done enough fun things with my children. I always have grand visions of going on fun field trips to the park and the museums and picnics and the pool and the movies and miniature golfing and amusement parks and, well, you get the picture. Unfortunately, it's been more of all-stars and cheerleading and working around my one-year-olds naptimes.

Anyways, no more excuses! It's time to get these things done. So, yesterday I took the kids to the movies. To see Prince Caspian. (oh, we don't go to see movies when they first come out, we have to wait until they come to those really cheap movie theaters...five kids, you know!) At 1:00.

I'm not really sure what in me made me think that taking a 1 year-old to a 3 hour movie in the middle of her nap time would work out OK. It must have been a momentary lapse of judgement or maybe I was just clouded by all of that guilt. But, suffice it to say, it was a disaster. At one point, I was feeding the girl licorice just to keep her quiet. I think this worked for about 10 minutes. I let her try walking around the theater, but she was just too noisy. In the end, the older children got to see their first movie without a parent in the theater and I got some exercise in by strolling Hayleigh up and down the hallways of the theater for 2 1/2 hours. I guess that isn't all bad.

Next week , we're going to try a baseball game and an amusement park before we leave for vacation. I better bring some licorice!

My Confession Monday (On Wednesday)

The Craziest Thing I Ever Did For Love

Compared to others' stories of crazy things done for love, (click on the pic above to go to Mommy Confession's Blog to see some cool stories) mine will seem pretty tame. But given that financial security is something that makes me happy, it was at least kind of crazy.

Rob and I got married 9 months out of college. Neither of us had found a job in our field. So, on a whim, one week after we got married, we took the money we got from our wedding, packed up our meager belongings and moved to where we live now where we knew absolutely. no. one. And, we did this because Rob had always wanted to live here. His whole life he wanted to live in this city. Why??? Because he had always been a huge fan of their sports teams. I'm serious. So, I left everyone I knew, moved to this strange place where neither one of us had a job, with only $2000 to our name, so that Rob could be near his favorite sports team.

It worked out OK. 15 years later, we are still here, raising our family, and loving every minute of it. We've also attended lots of fun sporting events!!

IComLeavWe

I am so sad that today is the last day of International Comment Leaving Week. It has been so fun to get comments and to read so many awesome blogs! I've even subscribed to a few. Thanks to all who visited here for the first time. I can't wait for next month!

Can Anyone Tell Me

why crude oil prices have gone down 15% since July 11th and gas prices have only gone down 2%???

Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

The Answer to that Burning Question

Over these past 11 years of being a mom, especially a mom to a gaggle of kids, there have been several questions that I have been asked.

I have been asked 1,417 times "Are these all yours?" Yes. For a more detailed look at my feelings on that question you can look at this post, if you care to.

I've been asked 989 times if I took fertility drugs. The answer is yea, although, a word to the wise, it's usually not polite to ask this if were not on a first-name basis!

I've been asked 189 times if I just love Jon & Kate Plus 8. This one is new to the countdown, and the answer is that I don't like it at all. I can't quite put my finger on why though.

And, then I've been asked 9,457 times "How do you do it?" Or it's equivalents: "I don't know how you do it", "When I'm overwhelmed I just think of you and then I don't feel so bad about my life" or my personal favorite "If I were you, I'd kill myself". Well, for the first time, I am going to reveal the answer to that question...the secret to my success if you will.




Diet Coke. Alot of Diet Coke. Prayer doesn't hurt, either.

There you have it.

The Trouble with Triplets

well it's that time of year again when I begin planning in earnest the triplets Birthday party. In Kiddyland, we do not do a friend party every year. Instead, Ryan alternates every other year with the triplets. Can I admit that planning their party causes me great anguish?! Let me tell you why.

It is no easy task to find an activity that all three will enjoy. I have considered having seperate parties in the past, however, they have mutual friends and that makes things trickier. Over the years we have managed to agree on something. This year we have rented the town pool and are basically inviting the whole town. Trisha still contends, however, that she has been jipped sice she's never been able to have a princess party, bead party, etc. etc. She's probably right. SHe probable has been jipped. I'll throw another $20 in the therapy jar.

Then there was the issue of presents. I sure don't want to make coming to the triplets party a financial burden on anyone and I sure didn't want to come home with 80000 gifts. So, we've come up with a solution where we invite a friend as say "Jonathan's special guest" to the party. That seems to work OK. The problem with this is that there are certain friends who all three want as their special guest. There negotiations that go on are amazing! "I'll give you Joey, if you give me Jenny." Pretty funny. You can imagine that while all of the negotiations are going on, I am just praying that the list comes out with exactly the same number of guests on each list.

Which brings me to the next problem. One year, half of Jaden's guests couldn't make it. That was a bummer!!

It makes me sad that their birthday is such a stressful thing for me. I want it to be perfect and I want it to make them feel special. It just never works out quite as I planned or hoped. Maybe this will be the year. Here's hoping!!

As if buying a new bathing suit isn't painful enough...

So, the kids and I bought season passes to the local pool. Thanks to a very vigorous baseball schedule and a coach who doesn't like the kids to swim on game days, our first trip to the pool was this week. There were three rules posted on the entrance:

1. No profanity
2. No Cutoffs
3. No sagging

I am not totally sure what is meant by rule number 3, but I'm pretty sure given the lack of support in the bustular region and low cut nature of my bathing suit that I was breaking it. So, I thought I should get a new suit. Being that I didn't want to spend very much money, I decided to go to KMart.

I have always really not liked KMart. I remember when I was a kid, my mom would try to get me to go to KMart to buy stuff. Please! What if I was spotted?!?! My mom tried to tell me that if someone saw me there, it would mean that they, too, were there. Of course, she failed to mention that they would probably be getting tampons or sunscreen or something else that would be acceptable to get at KMart, and there would be me with my shirt or something...can you imagine?!?!

Anyways, before heading over to the swimsuit aisle, I pick up some tampons and sunscreen just in case I should happen to run into someone. The actual picking out of the swimsuit wasn't so bad, which is surprising. I think this is most likely due tot he fact that I have totally given up. I am not going to look good. I can't look good. The goal, really at this point, is just not to scare small children with body parts falling out all over the place.

So, I pick it out and go up to the cash register. Here's what happens:

Lady: "Did you find everything you needed today?"
Me: "Yes"
L: "Would you like to receive a $10 coupon over email by giving us your address?"
Me: "No thanks."
L: "Would you likr to donate $1 to Make-a-Wish?"
Me: "No thanks." (Hey...before you say anything, we already donate to make-a-wish!)
L: "Would you like to participate in a short.."
Me: "No" (thinking: What I would like to do is get my total, pay, and get out of this place!)
L: "OK...that's $24.00. Will this be on your Sears card?"
Me: NO
L Would you like to open a Sears card?
Me: no

Seriously...this should be illegal. If I were running for president, part of my platform would be to make this illegal. Just ring me up and let me be on my way. Didn't the crying baby in my cart make her think that maybe I was at least in a semi-hurry?!?!

I think she was just trying to keep me in there to increase my chances of being spotted.

This makes me so proud.

Who among us really likes to walk into a room full of people where we know noone? I know that I sure do not. I do it, but I always like it better when I know someone I know will be there. Which is why I am so proud of Trisha.

She has wanted to try cheerleading for a few years now. She hasn't really pursued it because none of her friends do it. All of her friends seem to be into soccer and Trisha has tried that and decided it's not for her. So, when cheerleading sign-ups came around, she was really thinking about it. I asked around town to see if any of the ladies who are "in the know" had headr anything bad about girl-fighting going on with the cheerleaders, and really everyone had only heard positive things. So, I signed Trisha up.

Cheer camp was a little rough. MOst of the girls seemed to already know each other and one night Trisha got kicked in the nose during a stunt which made it start to bleed, which made her feel ridiculous. But, she hung in there and now she's chatting with all of the girls and making new friends...many of whom will be new friends she would hopefully make anyways when she moves up to the intermediate school in August.

I'm really proud. Learning to walk into a crowd of people and make new friends isn't easy, but it is a skill she will need all of her life...and I think she'll do just fine with it.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday Ryan and Hayleigh,
Happy Birthday to you!



Ryan is active, active as any 8-year old should be.

And, how can it possibly have been a year since Hyaleigh was born?!?! It's hard to believe. I love, love, love one-year-olds. They are just about the funnest ever. Every day is a new learning experience for Hayleigh, and it is so much fun to see what her interests are and to see her make connections about the life around her. It is sad to be done with babies though. But, as Dr. Seuss says, "Don't cry because it's over...smile because it happened."

Happy Birthday!

Waving your WHAT all over the place?!?!

How about this gem:

We have compiled a "Pre-Game Warmup" CD to listen to on the way to games. Yesterday we were on our way to Ryan's semi-finals and "We Will Rock You" was on.

Jaden says: "Mom, this song is really inappropriate."
Me: "I know, Jaden. It talks about having blood all over your face, which is really quite gross, isn't it."
Jaden:" No, that's not what I mean. I mean the part where it says 'waving your bladder all over the place.' That's inappropriate. "

Um, it's banner. Waving your banner all over the place.

I can hardly blame him. Since as all of my loyal readers know, my bladder does tend to wave a tad at these games!

I'm Starting to Think it's A No-Go

I must admit that when it comes to figuring out what God might want for my life, I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer. I'm starting to get the idea that maybe, just maybe, it's probably a long shot however, that God doesn't want us to move.

Exhibit A. After out trip to Arizona we had two visitors on the same day. The first family was a second visit. They ran into each other on the way out/in. The second family called my agent while they were still in the house and said that they loved it and she would be in touch. Meanwhile, while all of this was going on, the agen listing the house we want called our agent and said a deal they had on the house had just fallen through and the owners would work with us, basically give us whatever we wanted. They were depesperate. Sure seemed like maybe things were falling into line. Except that 2 weeks later we hadn't heard anything from either looker.

Exhibit B: We have another person come through for a second time two weeks ago. We decided for kicks and good times to go through the house we like once again while they are looking through our house. Before going through the house that we like, the listing agent called our agent to say they had dropped the price $10,000. The next day, we were told to expect an offer. It really seemed like things were falling into line. Two days later the offer came in $25,000 lower than our asking price. That of, course, made me want to respond to them with a hearty offer to um, jump off a cliff or something. But, we countered politely. And, they didn't budge.

We've tried to leave this house many times. There were the resumes to Michigan, and then the bidding with 45 other people on the drug house and now having all this. I think I'm starting to see a pattern here. Maybe the message is pretty clear.

Or, maybe not.

So, I'll keep cleaning up while the kids follow me and immediately mess it up and I'll keep repairing every blessed thing that they break. Like the railing...for the eighth time. And, if I get 10 examples of failed tries to move, THEN I'll know it's a no-go...or will I?

On Having More than One Boy...

This is Jonathan about to take a corner kick at an annual soccer tournament he recently attended. His team went 2-1-1, which is pretty good, considering I don't think during either the fall or spring regular season they won more games than tehy lost. Which is the reason for this post.

I know moms of more than one boy have noticed that boys are just the teensiest bit competitive. (Or am I the only one??). My boys can make a competition out of anything from "Who can eat the fastest" to "Who can brush their teeth the fastest" to "Who can finish peeing the fastest". Anything, really, can be made into a competition. Except for the ones I keep trying like "Let's see who can clean a room the fastest" or "Let's see who can make the most compliments". Those never seem to catch on. I think the boys are starting to notice that one of them is perhaps better than other ones of them in sports. And, an on-going competition has begun: "Let's see who has the most trophies".

Ryan is always on a winning team. Always. He's got more trophies and he's an all-star. (Who is more than likely going to win more trophies this summer). Jonathan hasn't been on a winning team yet. He's a good soccer player, but he has had to work very hard to get better. He's received trophies and medals, but only the "particiaption" kind. It's starting to really bum him out. Although, really, in the future, that practice of working hard will serve him better than Ryan having everything come naturally I would think. It especially stinks for Jonathan since Ryan is the LITTLE brother! I'm just glad they play seperate sports, so the difference isn't entirely noticeable.

My philosophy as a mom is to always play on my kids' strengths and downplay their weaknesses. One of the coolest things about Jonathan is that if you asked every kid in the family who their favorite sibling is (which, of course, I wouldn't do) they would all answer Jonathan. Just there's no trophy for that. And, believe me, if I made some and passed them out...well, it just wouldn't be the same.

The Championship Game

Last night was Ryan's championship baseball game. We had won four games to earn the right to play for 1st or 2nd place. That wasn't that big of a deal though, since we had beaten all of those teams lots of times duing the regular season. There was only one team we lost against: the red team. And, it would be the red team we would face for the championship.

All through the day, Ryan would come up to me and say things like "the red team can hit the ball really far" or "I'm going to have to hit it in the outfield against the red team". So, I knew he was nervous. Heck, I was nervous. But, we went through the day, kept it as low keyed as possible and at 7:30 he was ready to play.

We lost the coin toss and had to bat first. Our bats were going pretty good, but that red team is really very good, so hits out to centerfield were kept to singles. We scored two runs. Red team's up. They scored 2 runs.

Second inning: we scored three more runs. Thanks to a double play by Ryan, they scored zero runs. 5-2.

To be quite honest, innings 3-5 are kind of a blur. I know there were some great hits and some amazing plays, including a diving catch made by our shortstop. At the end of five innings, the score was 7-6. Orange team was winning.

Pinto rules have a 5-run cap per inning, except in the 6th inning, you can score as many runs as you can. I knew we would need to score a few more, except that we were at the bottom of our lineup and they were at the top. Kid #1 gets up to bat and gets out at first. Kid #2 gets up to bat and gets a single. Kid #3 brought us to the top of our lineup with one out. Again, some details are fuzzy. BUt, when Ryan got up with one out, I thought I might vomit. He foul tips the ball two or three times and gets down to his last pitch (you only get 7) and rips one over the third baseman's head hitting in the 10th run. That would be the last run we would score.

Red team gets up and starts off with lots of hits. Fuzzy details. All I know is that the tying run is on third, the winning run is on second and there are two outs. I know that Ryan made one of the outs with a great throw to first base. There were some bobbled balls and errors by us for them to get there and I can see tears welling up in the third and second baseman's eyes. Ryan looks over at me and I can tell he's feeling it. "That's OK, buddy, get this out and you're done!" The next batter comes up. He makes contact with the ball and what happens next...well, this ought to tell you.



No time for losers, cuz we are the champions of the world!!

The ball went right to Ryan, he chased the guy down and tagged him and the game was over!! Moms were cheering and hugging. Grandmas were crying. One kid's aunt was doing an Indian War Cry. And, let's just suffice it to say, I've decided to rethink that whole no-Depends-until-I'm-40 thing! 10-9 was the final score. It doesn't get more exciting than that!

sCAMPs GETTING ALONG

Sidebar: Happy Father's Day to my dad, husband, and father-in-law. Really to all dads. I know you are all the unsung heroes that work really hard for the things that people mostly take for granted...like a roof over our heads, etc. Thanks for working so hard and never complaining!

So, I guess it was about 3-5 minuted into our summer vacation that I realized my children have some "issues" with getting along with each other. Seriously, I've seen more human decency on a New York subway than was happening in my own livingroom. I decided that my children need a camp where people learn to get along and since I couldn't find one to go to, I have created one.

In sCAMPs GETTING ALONG, your scamp will learn how to interact in a respectful way to adults and peers. The sCAMP day will start off by singing the sCAMP song, which is "Let's Get Together" from Parent Trap. Then, we do our sCAMP exercises which are currently the Electric Slide, Cha-Cha slide and Crank that Soulja Boy (which is maybe a little too racy for sCAMP, but it's fun). Points are earned each day for participating in sCAMP activities and field trips...but, only if you are able to get along.

There are four goals to sCAMPs GETTING ALONG:

1. Learn to use words that are respectful and do not cut other people down. In this rude, rude society we live in, it is very easy to think that rudeness and/or sarcasm is OK. It's really not. Not at sCAMPs GETTING ALONG.

2. Learn the art of negotiation and compromise. No one can get their way all of the time. No one can be the boss all of the time. It is important to learn not only to be a good leader, but to be a good follower.

3. Learn how to handle someone saying no to you without taking offense. It is important to ask for what you want. Otherwise, as my dad always saud, you have no chance of getting it. If you ask for it, you at least have a 50% chance of getting it. However, when someone says no...roll with it, baby.

4. Learn how to laugh at yourself more than you laugh at others. We all make mistakes. And, if you're me, you make tons of them. If I can get the sCAMPers to not take themselves so seriously, they won't feel like they have to point out everyone else's mistakes to keep people from noticing their own.

We also hope to have fun!

We even have a theme verse:

Romans 14:19 "Let us make every effort to do what leads to peace and mutual edification."

And, sCAMP names:

Trisha: Charlie (this is from a recent viewing of Top Gun)
Jonathan: Twig-O (I have no idea)
Jaden: Blaze 897 (It's his Webkinz login name)
Ryan: Poop (I think because he didn't want to play, but now he's stuck with it)
Hayleigh: Baby Bug

Trisha's comment on the first day: "I'm really surprised, but this actually kind of fun." :)

sCAMPs GETTING ALONG...where children learn to get along, and are surprised when they sometimes have fun!!

Thriving (?) with five.

With the kids on summer vacation, I am running at least a good 3-4 days behind in life. My dear friend Amy, who is a journalist, like a real one, made reference to my blog in her writingsover at Strollerderby. Something about people who thrive with five children. (She's also tagged me for a meme, but as previously stated that will take 3-4 or days to get done!)

One thing I noticed about having a large family is that we do things differently than people who have small families.

When you have one kid and two parents, you can run a double-team type of defense. The kiddo isn't getting away with anything. If one parent isn't watching closely, the other one is. Sure, the wiliest will still get away with something every now and again...even Terrell Owens will catch a pass once and a while while double teamed, but for the most part, that child is well covered.

When you get to two kids with two parents, you have to move to more of a man-to-man defense. If the parents guarding child A isn't working, you can switch. A kiddo can certainly sneak some thing by you if you are not paying careful attention, but overall it's a tight defense with very little shenanigans going unnoticed.

When you get to 5 kids, really your only option is to run sort of a zone defense. You know you are going to give up the little passes. They're going to get some 7 or 8 yard runs, you just hope to God you can contain them and keep them from scoring big. And, that's really the only thing I have found that works in keeping the sanity with a large family...the small things just have to go.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

So, I had Jaden's transition meeting on Friday. Since he will be moving up to a new school, we got to meet the new people and tell them all about Jaden and what he will need. As expected, the meeting went fine as far as Jaden was concerned. It was just that Hayleigh is getting harder and harder to take places. I think that she probably spotted something very dangerous to stick in her mouth over in the corner and she proceeded to spend the entirety of the meeting trying to get over to it.

ONe thing I had forgotten since having an almost toddler is that if you are going to have a squirmy little person grasping at anything and everything trying to get out of your arms, well then it's best not to wear, say, a lower-cut shirt. I remember that there was some talk of Jaden in the cafeteria, blah, blah, blah, but I don't remember what we decided because half way through I realized that my right bra-covered boob was hanging out for all to see. Hello!! Whatever it takes I guess to get the services my son needs.

I'm not so sure I'm ready for toddlerdom.

Also, at the end of the meeting I told the new principal, "Oh, by the way, I like to have my triplets seperated." He gasps and says "You have triplets!!" I found this somewhat refreshing, actually. I just always assume we are the freak show family of the community and everyone knows that we have triplets...one in a wheelchair plus some more. (That's how I've heard us described anyways) Apparently not. I remember when we went to Kindergarten registration everyone kept saying, "These must be the triplets" and "Here come the triplets" like we were a circus act or something. This guy didn't even know. I think I like that better.

Arizonaaaahhhhh!

Here's where Rob and I stayed for our trip to Arizona. Isn't it lovely??? It was for our 15 year anniversary. Bob and Linda answered the call and bravely watched all 5 kids for 4 whole days. I did keep a very rigorous laying schedule, I must say. I'll miss my lounge chair. You all need to go. Really. Leave your kids and go. It was awesome.

Children's Resort and Spa

Jaden and I recently had the pleasure of an overnight stay at Children's Hospital (aka resort and spa). How can I possibly express to you the hatred I feel for that place. Some long-time readers of Kiddyland may recall our last visit to the resort and spa was less than ideal. You can read about it here.

This time it was the exact opposite. We went to the Emergency room at 10:00 am on Thursday because Jaden had a headached that he ranked an 8 out of 10 on the pain scale since the evening before. The only other time this had happened, it was a shunt malfunction. So, we took him in. They did the obligatory tests: another CT Scan (didn't a study just come out linking lots of CT scans to kidney cancer???), a series of xrays and a needle into the head to test for shunt flow. Everything looked fine. However, they wanted to run one more test and they wanted him to stay overnight for observation. At that point, I appreciated the cautiousness they were taking.

When we got to our room, I was so pleased to see that Jaden was the only patient in his room. Until 4 am. That's when they brought Damon in. Not pronounced (DAY-men) but pronounced (day-MON...like on). He was climbing a tree around midnight when he fell out and they thought he broke his neck. Luckily, no broken bones, but unfortunately, they found a growth in his rectum when they did the full-body MRI. How do I know this??? Well, because he was scoped right on his bed, right next to me at 4:30 in the morning. Actually, I felt quite bad for this family and ended up really liking them. But, not so much when they first came in.

The next morning, I learned the other test was called a shuntogram. My first thought was that a clown was going to come out, do a little dance, or recite a naughty poem and give Jaden some chocolates or flowers or something. Actually, he was going to get another needle in the head, get filled up with radioactive stuff and then get xrays taken. Since Jaden had been acting fine since about 4pm the previous evening, I wanted to talk to the Dr about not doing the test and going home. While I enjoy the thought of using Jaden for an alternative energy source once this whole "oil" thing runs out. I do try to avoid that radioactive stuff when I can. I asked at 8am, I got to speak to the Dr at 2. THis was only after I went into "winning friends and influencing people" mode. It's not pretty. Although I did keep a respectful tone to my voice which I think is pretty commendable.

In the end, after a consult from ENT, it turns out that Jaden simply had an inner ear infection...thus the headache, sore neck (lymph nodes) and dizziness. UNBELIEVABLY, the ENT wanted to order another CT Scan to get a more conclusive picture AND he wanted to keep him another night. I'm serious. But, thanks to Dale Carnegie I was able to make my escape.

It seriously took them from 10 am to 4 pm the mext day to diagnose an ear infection people. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Let's Go Pens!

It's only one game! Plus, they obviously set up some booby trap to trip our players on the way to the ice. Cheaters.


(Thanks to pensblog.blogspot.com for this one)

Whoa! Dude!

Whoa! Dude! When did it get to be the middle of May already?? In four weeks, 4 weeks, we will be on summer vacation. Whoa! Dude!

And, my baby is 10 months old. 10 months old And, on MOther's Day she twice took two little steps, so I guess we have a walker. Whoa! Dude!

Someone once told me that once your kids get into school the years just click by rapid fire. They weren't kidding.


Hayleigh loves to stare out the window and watch her siblings or birdies or whatever.



Isn't she cute????



Ryan at Flat Stanley day. Special thanks to Aunt A-Chelle, Uncle Don, and Poet for their help with this project.




Here are my graduating 4th graders before that party I was telling you all about. (Sniffle, sniffle)

Elementary School..Good Times, Good Times

For 5 years now, since the triplets started Kindergarten, I have been hearing about the 4th grade party. Mostly what I heard were arguings at PTA meetings about how $600 wasn't enough for this party and the fighting back and forth about this, that and other thing. Last night, I got to experience it, and it was soooo much fun. My kids had an absolute blast. And, as usual, I had a blast watching them have a blast.

I can't believe their time at [Community Elementary School] is nearing the end. They started at this place as barely more than preschoolers and they are leaving nearly teenagers. I was so worried on that first day about what kinds of friends they might make. Would they be teased? Would they have mean teachers? Would they do OK? Had I prepared them for everything they would need to know both academically and socially? Now I know the answers to all of those questions. They made great friends. They met great people. They have been teased from time to time, but they have always had friends around them to hang out with. They have had outstanding teachers. Teachers who really, really enjoyed teaching and who seemed to genuinely like my children. They've not only done OK. They've amazed me with how they have grown and all that they have achieved. And, miracles of miracles, I think that they were actually as well prepared as they could have been for the challenges they faced. I continue to be so proud of them.

Next year...a new school. New friends. New challenges. Same questions. Will they be OK? Will they be bullied? How am I going to handle their budding interest in the opposite sex? How am I going to handle puberty and everything that goes with it? Have I prepared them? DO they have the necessary life skills that they will need?

Jonathan was talking about some of the fun times he has had at [Community Elementary School] and while we were all laughing and remembering he said, "Elementary School....Good times! Good times!" Please, Lord, let him have the same perspective after Intermediate School too.

I went to WhiteTrashVille and all I got was this stupid (but clean) Tshirt

My dryer is broken. I'm hesitant to buy a new one since we are planning on moving and I would hate to buy a new electric dryer, only to find out that our new house requires gas. Plus, I want this this one and I'm hoping that when we move and money is flying out all over the place, Rob will let me get it.



Let's just pause for a moment and gaze at it's beauty.

OK, back to the story.

I haven't done laundry in a long time because of the broken dryer. The kids started complaining about having no clean underwear...blah, blah, blah. I reminded them that needed to be grateful they had underwear at all. I mean some children have to make their own underwear out of tree bark and papyrus grass. But, since I do live by the rule that one must always wear clean underwear in case of an accident, I went to that mecca of white-trashedness....the laundromat.

I have to admit I was a little nervous. But, with my laundry, soap, Starbucks Venti-Half-Caf Skinny Vanilla Latte, Vera Bradley baby bag, and baby in hand, I went. And....I was surprised. It was clean. It smelled nice. I was doing 8 loads of laundry at once. I even started thinking that maybe I would not get a new dryer. That instead this would be the way I would do laundry from now on. BUt then...other people showed up. And. One of them decided to talk to me.

He is showing me this PSP that he has and is telling me about how he can download movies and games and how the quality is so good. See, he says and turns the screen around to show me...black porn. That's what he calls it anyways. He tells me he's into black porn. Wow...um, that is great picture quality. Wow. Then he tells me that the PSP isn't hot or anything. He gets it from rich kids, probably from like my neighborhood who want something from him and maybe they don't have cash, but mommy and daddy give them nice toys and they want stuff from him, so he's fair, he trades. He also got this nice ring that he shows me and asks me how much I think it is worth. I don't know sir. Then he shows me Grand Theft Auto on his PSP again. Again, wonderful picture quality. I'm very impressed.

Thankfully, my dryer starts beeping that it's done. The clothes are still damp, but I don't care. It's time to go. Good Luck with everything sir, I tell him as I leave because really I don't know whether to laugh or cry. I didn't have to travel far to see that insanity. And, now I don't know what I will do in like 2 days when I have 8 more loads of laundry to do.

Spare the Rod, Spoil my Day

Here in Kiddyland, we tend to be non-spankers. By we tend to be, I mean I do not and Rob probably still would if the situation warranted. This wasn't always teh way it was. I used to spank. But, then for a host of reasons, I decided that wasn't a parenting technique I wanted to use. For starters my children are older and it just didn't seem to make sense anymore. Also, it is truly not my children's currency. I could probably spank them all day or until my hand fell off and it wouldn't have much of an effect. I didn't like the way it made me feel, either. I hated telling my children don't hit all the while I was hitting them, and I don't care what parents say about how you make your child go into their room and then you go in and spank calmly, if spanking is part of your repertoire, then I am sure a spanking in anger has happened at least once. It has here. I didn't like it. I stopped spanking altogether.

The thing is though that spanking is so easy. It didn't require any thought on my part. My kid is bad. He/she gets spanked. My kid is really bad. He/she gets spanked multiple times. And so on. Now, when a kid misbehaves, I have to be creative and think of something really good. Something that is really going to get them and drive the point home. And, well, that spoils my day.

All this being hypothetical, of course. You all know my children are perfect angels.

Primary Day

So, it's the Pennsylvania Prmiary day. I voted. I'm not really sure why. I was the 12th Republican to vote at my polling place today. :)

In Pennsylvania you have to be a registered member of the party whose election you would like to vote in. I contemplated changing my party affiliation just to vote in the democratic primary. But, I didn't for two reasons:

1) I just really couldn't stand the thought of getting all of those annoying phone calls from democrats urging me to vote for so and so. I don't want to be on anyone's list that would in any way suggest that it's a good idea for a democrat to call me. Now listen, I have many good, smart friends who are democrats and I am glad that they call me. Please keep calling me. I just can't handle the "Hello, Mrs. Lady-of-the-house, if you hate George Bush as much as I do (insert various and sundry comments here linking him to everything from high gas prices to 416 abused children in a Texas compound ), then you'll vote for so-and-so. No thanks.

2) I don't care who wins. I guess prevailing thought is that we want to go up against HRC. I don't know. She scares me a bit. She seems to be able to pull wins out of her butt, or somewhere else, just when it looks like she's going to die. I also think that Obama has some skeletons that can easily be exposed. Either way, this loooooooonnnnnnnnnnggggggggggg democratic primary season has been good for us. It's still a long way to November though.

Oh, and when I voted, I wrote myself in for something. Just for fun. Wouldn't that be hysterical if I won. I hope I do, since I've been looking for a way to fill that 5 minutes of free time I have everyday.

Act Naturally

So, I allow my children to each have a "mental health" day. Otherwise known as "playing hookey". Today was Ryan's day. He picked a good one, being that it's 70 degrees and sunny outside. However, since my children eat me out of house and home and seeing that Hayleigh was wearing the last diaper in the house, we had to go to WalMart. While we are there, we see a police officer, walking toward us. Ryan must have been a little nervous, because he whispered to me, "It's the cops. Act natural." He then begins to sort of whistle and look around. All the while we are walking toward the police man and he is walking toward us. As we pass each other, Ryan stops his whistling and his casually looking around to say, "Hello, Officer" in his cheesy voice. (Think 70s pick-up line cheesy) This, apparently, is acting natural.

House Selling 101

Certainly by now you must have been asking yourselves "What is going on in Kiddyland? Why have there been no new posts in Kiddyland?" I know. I apologize. You see, here in Kiddyland, we have been trying to unload this hunk of junk that we like to call a house. Many of you who have been visitors in Kiddyland for some time now will recall that I often refer to my house as "the crappit", "the hell hole" or my personal favorite, "the stinky place". My realtor, of course, tries to put as positive of a spin as she can on it. What can I say? I have five kids. We live here. I am, however, getting sick of people coming through and saying they hate it.

Maybe I am going about this the wrong way. I've been doing everything all of those shows tell you to do to sell your house: clean, put away clutter, etc. Maybe this is just the type of house that is the exception to the rules. I mean, you can't fully appreciate the beauty of my house until you've tried to manuever through the family room without piercing your foot on a Pokemon toy. You can't fully experience the ambience without there being something smelly like a diaper or shoes or socks laying around. You can't fully understand the amenities the house has to offer until you've walked into the bathroom and realized that one of the boys has left the seat down to pee, again. (BTW, how DOES pee get all over the walls...lets focus on one thing at a time, boys. One thing at a time.)

I'm sure the right buyer is out there. Somewhere. BTW, if any of the above sounds appealing to you...let me know. I'm sure we can work out a great deal!!

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?