We asked God for 3..He heard "3 more" (be careful what you ask for)

This Darn New Technology

2012-01-23T00:25:00.000-05:00

Please excuse all the extra STUFF on the counter and focus on the bottle of Pepsi. I was putting groceries away and making dinner and helping my girl unpack from her trip. See the old school glass bottle. My girl went on a church retreat this past weekend ALL. BY. HERSELF, meaning without her brothers. I think this is the first time they have been away from each other for that long. Not that they don't have their own friends and do different things, but they do often run in the same social circles. The three went away to camp for a week a couple of summers ago, so being away from home is not new, but I feel better when they are away AND together. Safety in numbers.

When you have triplets, you have to find a balance between fairness and sharing and equality and fostering their independence. Like all siblings, you have to share mom and dad, but multiples also have to share birthdays and toys and clothes and classrooms and friends. Youth group and retreats are shared usually, but the boys opted to stay home since they didn't want to miss b-ball. Hoops is their life. But in sharing many of these things, as a mom, finds me security because I know they look out for one another too.

During their school years so far, we have done many combos - all in the same class, separate classes, and homeschooling. They have risen to each occasion and done well in all scenarios. For my say in it, I do like having them together. Even if they don't interact, they have one another's back. Last year, my girl faced some verbal bullying by two older girls. Two girls with potty mouths. The majority was on the afternoon school bus. She tried to ignore them and did for a long time, but they got a little bolder and her brothers took matters into their own hands and eventually they backed off. I found out about this later. There have been other events where they stood up for one another. Even in preschool and kindergarten when they were very little, teachers told me they each did their own thing, had their own friends, yet watched out for one another. They knew where the other was. They would look around and search out their sib, then go back to whatever they were up too.

Back to the Pepsi. My girl picked this little treat up on her way home when they made a pit stop. It's from Mexico. All in Spanish, and I was told, high in sugar. The kids were absolutely fascinated with this glass bottle. She graciously offered to share with her brothers. They were thrilled.

I sat back and watched my poor deprived modern children attempt to get the bottle open.

First they tried to twist it. Uh, no - didn't twist. Hmmmm

I told them they needed a bottle opener. Mike told them they needed a CHURCHKEY. Huh.

I fished around the recesses of the miscellaneous drawer and handed them a bottle opener.

Then I sat back and watched. It was pretty funny.

They even worked together, but to no avail. After Mike and I stopped laughing, I popped the cap.

Next week I'm getting them a rotary phone.

Mozelle

2012-01-21T23:04:00.001-05:00

Please keep us in your prayers. Mike's mother passed away this week. It's been a tough week. Sadly, my children lost their last grandparent. She was 87.

Mike had no brothers or sisters, so he had no siblings to share the stresses (or the joys).

We are okay, but it's always tough to lose someone you love. I know I lost my sweet mother in 1996 and my dear father in 2005. I understand.

We'll stick together and get through it. Mozelle was a wonderful lady, a Believer, and we are all richer for having had her in our lives.

♥ Make Spaghetti Soup ♥

2012-01-15T19:47:00.001-05:00

Someone asked on Facebook earlier this week, what's for dinner. I posted Spaghetti soup and steamed broccoli and a few asked for the recipe. But you know me, before I give it, I have to give a little background and a story to go with.

When I was a little girl, there were many weekends I would go to my Granny's for the weekend, from age six to about twelve, at least once or twice a month. My dad was an only, so my brother and I were cherished and spoiled only grandchildren. It makes me sad my children, at least the younger three, have missed out on the grandparent - grandchild connection - but I digress.

My dad would often take me to my Granny's work on Friday evening and I would go home with her and my Granddaddy from there. My grandmother worked in an office building (10 stories) on Louisiana St in downtown Houston and she was an elevator operator, back in the day when there was a handle you moved to "drive" it up or down, and stop on the right spot to line up to the floor. When I was little, she would let me "drive" the elevator and it was fun to stop it between floors and open up the doors. It was a good job but it had it's ups and downs - ha ha. For several years, my grandfather worked in the same building as a maintenance man - isn't that cute.

(borrowed photo)

First stop after work was a shopping center near their apartment where Granny had a standing appointment each Friday to get her hair done. Side note, my Granny nearly always drove because she thought my Granddaddy drove too slow. Granny DIDN'T drive slow. She navigated the Houston freeways just fine, thankyouverymuch and get out of her way please.

While she was being coiffed and curled, always wanting ~~threatening~~ to get my stick straight pixie cut hair permed, which thankfully my mother vetoed, my Granddaddy and I would walk a couple of stores down to the drug store and sit at the counter and share a grilled cheese or apple pie or ice cream. Fond memories. While my grandparents were young grandparents, she was 48 when I was born and he was 51, my Granddaddy who had a heart of gold, was someone who was always OLD. He never acted young that even my father could remember, and he was only 19 when my father was born. That was just him. It may be because his father died when he was a toddler and from an early age, he had to go to work to help support his mother and baby brother and he never really had time for fun. Sitting at the counter with him is one of the few memories I have of doing anyting with him. He died when I was a senior in high school. He was 69.

We often stopped by the grocery store on the way home since Friday was payday for them as well. I'm sure she made other things, but most requested and fixed was hamburgers and spaghetti soup. Her burgers were nice and greasy, buns lightly steamed in the same skillet after the burgers were done, with a lid, fire turned off, giving them a little crunch on the bottom - with pickles and mustard. And a cold Coke in a small glass bottle. The spaghetti soup was a side dish. In later years, it became a main dish for my family.

While I always thought it was something special, I later discovered it was really an economical way to stretch the leftover hamburger meat. Speaking of hamburger meat - in New England a lot of people called it "hamburg", as in "add a pound of hamburg to your recipe". I still find that odd and can't call it just "hamburg". Is that just a New England thing or is calling it "hamburger meat" a Texas thing. My grandparents were not wealthy in the least and so had to be frugal, just like we are today.

After dinner, we would make brownies or a cake, something I never got to do at home. And we would watch country music shows which back then was hillbilly music, and the Dean Martin show. She loved Dino like I loved Elvis. Such good times and sweet memories.

But to the recipe - here goes!

Pretend you also see a pound or so of HAMBURGER (not hamburg) in addition to these simply ingredients, and forget you see the oranges. They aren't part of the recipe, DUH, but I did make homemade Orange Soda too. I also did part regular spaghetti and part whole wheat.

You are going to use about half of a large onion and a large bell pepper. Chop them up. I chop them quite small because one of my dear offspring has issues with anything green, unless it happens to be a Granny Smith apple or broccoli or a cucumber or lettuce with ranch. I probably did a little more than half and I threw some of the onions in with the HAMBURGER (not hamburg).

After I browned the meat, I drained as much grease out as I could and used a slotted spoon to take it out of the pan. In addition to changing our eating habit SLOWLY, I am also trying to use less paper towels, plastic, etc - and be greener and not have as much trash.

While the meat is cooking, bring the water to a boil, about half a large pot, and add the peppers and onions and also a tablespoon of Crisco. Now - Crisco is not something I use very often. In fact, this small can which I store in my fridge, will last years. And quite possibly it would be fine without, but she made it that way so I am convinced need to make it that way too. Back in the day Crisco was used quite often to grease a cake pan or a skillet since we didn't have Pam or other cooking sprays.

Add some salt and pepper and let cook until onion and pepper is soft, you can add a bit more water if it cooks down too much.

Add 24 or so ounces of tomato sauce and add the hamburger meat.

After that simmers for maybe 15 - 20 minutes, you add the spaghetti - not a whole box - maybe half to 2 thirds depending on how thick you want it. Let that cook for another 10-15 minutes until the pasta is done. I break the pasta in half.

This is another one of those dishes that is better the next day too. Make sure you season it well with salt and pepper. My son likes to put grated parmesan on it. It's very filling, very easy - and very economical. Good with grilled cheese sandwiches too.

*See the cookie jar to the right of the stove. It was my Granny's and in her kitchen for as long as I can remember. It's amazing it is actually unbroken and has survived my house and our many moves and many children.

And that my friends, is that. Very very simple. It's one of those dishes that warms my heart.

Homemade things & A.D.D. & Eliminating the Bad, help!

2012-01-11T17:42:00.001-05:00

I go through various spurts of well intentioned attempts to make my family opt for healthier options. My reasons are varied. My oldest son, now 25 (who I am not supposed to mention on my blog) struggled with some learning difficulties and was diagnosed with ADD around kindergarten age. From the time we adopted him at 18 months, until we FINALLY got him graduated from high school at age 20, every day was a struggle. We had more than our share of doctors and therapists and technicians and IEP's and tutors and conferences and possible and assorted diagnosis, and the list goes on. He never had the H (hyperactivity) factor, but his main issue was focus, or rather inability to maintain focus. Unless it happened to be something he had an interest in and then it was an issue of "attractability" where he had difficulty transitioning to the next thing. I think one of his last diagnosis was "PDD not otherwise specified". Naming the difficulty didn't matter. It was the struggles that mattered. And how to cope. What and why was not as important as what next. We believe a lot was hereditary and poor prenatal care (drug use)and we had little birth history, not that that mattered. As you can imagine, this did not bode well with traditional schoolwork or home life in general. We learned lots of strategies along with medications, which helped to compensate to ease some of the difficulties. It was always a struggle. ALWAYS. It still is. The deficits are still there. The school system failed him immensely. Yes he graduated and yes he met the goals they set, but whenever he had difficulties the goals were lowered rather than more assistance. Mike and I knew too little about Special Services and needed placements to advocate as we should have early on. By the time he was in middle school and high school, we had an educational advocate for him and he was given a full time aide and yes, it was better, but those early years took it's toll. The triplets were born when he was in 6th grade. You can imagine how the 5th grade (pregnancy) and 6th and 7th grade (preemies, infants) took a toll on our ability to focus as fully on his issues as we would have liked to.

I say all that to say this - there were times I saw that certain foods and additives and coloring impacted his behaviors and abilities immensely. For example Fruit Loops sent him bouncing off the walls. This was long before it was trendy or even common knowledge about the pitfalls of all the artificial sugars and colors and such. From about age 3 to age 7, we severely limited refined sugars and artificial colors. It made a huge difference. Once children get school age, it gets more difficult to monitor. Throw in a second child (we adopted Matthew, who was a very sickly and clingy baby) and some very difficult family situations like caring for my mother who had cancer and eventually passed away and my father's accident which resulted in a hip broken in nine places and a couple of years of wheelchair, walkers, therapies, etc - life. During this time, I was also working full time. It was a difficult few years. We made it through but much of those years are a blur. When he was 12, the triplets were born.

Watching and monitoring foods is a very consuming job. It's tough to tell three crying hungry babies to wait while I make some bread from scratch so it is natural without high fructose corn syrup. When an infant is in and out of the hospital with seizures and then bronchiolitis from RSV, and another has pneumonia, it's not "sorry I can't be there because I have to make sure the ketchup and fries are not laden with refined sugars.". Life was hard.

I am not making excuses, but I was tapped out. My plate was beyond full. I got lazy and we went back to a lot of the easier old ways of not always making the healthiest choices. I could cite excuses of unemployment, underemployment, teen stresses, infertility issues, sick babies, loss, depression, etc, but the why's of how I got there are immaterial now.

All that is background. Where we are now is important. My two older boys are grown - adults - who have to make their own decisions and choices. I can guide and support and advise, but they are in charge of themselves. The younger ones and Mike and I are the focus right now.

Back to my original point of making better choices. It's a process and a relearning of good habits. My biggest vice is Diet Coke. Mike too. I feel like I am totally addicted to it. I am addicted to it. I can take coffee or tea or leave it, no big deal. But I love DC! I am vowing, promising, swearing, I plan to totally be rid of soft drinks this year, this 2012. I have been buying the 8 pack of smaller bottles of DC, and having one each day. Eventually I will wean off of it. I am drinking more water. I like water - plain and I like water with lemon. I don't know why I don't drink it more. Lazy I guess because it's much easier to grab a coke. I am keeping a pitcher of tea in the fridge for Mike and the boys. And trying to lessen the sweetness of it, using agave sweetener. Which they are not happy about. Oh well. My girl likes water. She and the boys like milk too. But I buy 1%.

New substitute - and the kids actually like it. Add fresh orange juice to seltzer water and sweeten = homemade orange soda. It's really good. And fizzy.

We are taking vitamins - multi vitamins. Also I take fish oil and D and B12, in addition to my thyroid meds for Hashimoto's. I need to add calcium. I've been taking melatonin at night and I have been sleeping better. The kids and Mike do just the multi. Any other ideas or thoughts, shoulds or shouldn'ts.

And I am trying some new things out in addition to more fruits and veggies and leaner meats, Homemade yogurt made in the crock pot. I hate to mention it because I don't want to sound like one of those "all natural" nature goddess moms, but it turned out pretty good - and economical. I have oatmeal for breakfast, with banana and some nuts and Silk soy milk. I am definitely a work in progress. I think my goals are overall to eat better as a family, combined with weight loss (for me, hopefully), eliminate HFCS and the dyes and artificial stuff.

I am open to suggestions and advice.

Dr Naismith, You're the MAN!

2012-01-08T23:30:00.000-05:00

Waaaayyy back in 1891 at the local YMCA, Dr James Naismith had to keep his gym class occupied during December's bad weather, so he stuck a peach basketball on the wall and led his boys to throw a ball in it - thus basketball was born in the tiny town of Springfield MA. Dr. Naismith is to my boys like the Pope is to the Catholics. He's the man. He is at the basic tenets of their hoop faith. They have a passion for the all things b-ball.

My boys don't just enjoy playing the game and watching the game and keeping up with their idols from the game, they study the game. They know the stats and the standings and the history of teams, both NBA and college. They know about various players and their histories and their awards and their accomplishments. They study strategies and various plays. They both plan to be NBA stars so they can take care of their mother in the manner she would like to become accustomed to.

I love that they love it.

Since we moved to Utah, they have found basketball to be an activity they could find common ground and a kinship within the community of other basketball lovers. They found a place to grab some of the old ways of being part of a team - something they were passionate about in our former home.

Right after our move, they tried out for the 8th grade boys basketball team at their new school. After three days of try outs, the aspiring player list was whittled down to the current nine players representing their school. Thankfully, both my boys are part of that nine. Key word is BOTH.

When you have multiples and they are younger, there is no problem in placing them on the same teams because you are paying for them to play and the money talks. My boys have always played on the same soccer teams (all three kids when they we little), same little league teams, and same basketball teams, starting with the 7-9 league and then the 10-13 league. Otherwise it is a logistical nightmare. I know you moms of similar age children KNOW what I am talking about. You may not have a choice when the ages vary. But when you can make life easier, you do, unless you are just plain crazy. But when the boys tried out for the team I began to think what IF one makes it and one doesn't. (although boys I know you read this so please know Mom knew both of you would make the team)

I cannot even imagine the horror nor do I want to.

In addition to the school team, they are playing on another team as well, an AAU league. For the two different teams, our schedule is this: Monday practice, Tuesday practice, Wednesday game, Thursday game, Friday practice and then another practice other team, and Saturday morning practice and Saturday evening a game. WHEW - I need a schematic to keep up. Or maybe a flow chart. At the very least a detailed calendar.

But because it is their passion, and they love it, and we love them, we do it. Mike on the other hand, is playing vicariously through his boys. He eats it up. It is his thing and one of their connections.

I have to admit, I don't know a lot about basketball. But I am learning. When the whistles blows I usually have to ask Mike why. I know about traveling and double dribble and fouls, but don't get screens and setting a pick and over the back. I even know what a triple double is. But for all I don't know, I do know the thrill I get when I see my boys on the court at the same time and see one of them pass the ball to the other - and then he makes a shot and they high five each other. I love seeing cooperation. Same with baseball and one is the pitcher one is the catcher. I love it.
When Mike and I were dating and I was in college, we used to go to a lot of the basketball games there. It was a small school and he had graduated from there also, a few years before me. I had little interest in basketball, but I loved being with him. We'd sit there, me with my popcorn and coke, talking to my friends, and him with his rapt attention to the game. And his yelling. Mike likes to yell at the refs because they all make such bad calls. And to his credit, he does know the game inside and out.
"Which game are you watching!"
"Give him a suitcase for that travel!"
"Last time I witnessed a robbery, they had a gun!"
"Call it both ways!"
and the all famous ... "Get your tongue out of your whistle ref!"

Some things never change. Love you honey.

The interesting thing is my boys are having to reinvent themselves. Before, they were big fish in a small pond. Now the pond is way bigger and the competition is more intense and they are not so big. But they have a perseverance fueled by that passion and are growing. It's a learning experience and they are rising to the challenge. Like I've heard time and time with multiples, it doesn't always get easier, it just gets different. Instead of juggling bottles and diaper changes and play group, I juggle different props now.

Add into the mix my daughter's current theater rehearsals and yes, it's busy.

"Boy, you have your hands full!"

How original. Yes, I do - and my heart is full as well. Praise God.

NewYear New Place New Lives Same Great Love

2012-01-06T16:31:00.001-05:00

I need to get this post down because, goodness gracious it's already the 6th of January and where has this week gone to. If this week is any indication of what this year holds, then before I blink twice we will be off to high school and then college and work and marriage and grandchildren.
Oh my - it makes my head spin just thinking about it.

There is approximately six years between the triplets and Matthew and six years between Matthew and James - 1998, 1992, 1986 - we must like those even number years. Mike is the only odd number.
By the time they graduate high school I will have had kids in school for 25+ years. That's a boatload of school lunches and field trips and projects and teacher gifts and HOMEWORK and conferences and report cards and all the rest that goes with navigating K-12 and coming out whole on the other side.
Four more years folks - four more years!

Back to my original thoughts - the New Year in a New Place. In many ways our lives are very different now than back in New England. We are settling in, finding our way around, and going about making it good. The kids still miss their friends (so do I) and I miss our house. Whereas MA was a small town life, which is both pro and con, Salt Lake is more city. Growing up in Houston, it doesn't bother me, but the kids, well they are still amazed by all the lights and stores and such. It's going to take time.

Imagine my surprise to see fireworks as I perused the aisle of Target! Maybe not blow-em-up spectacular fireworks, but sparklers anyway. I was absolutely shocked. In Massachusetts, they are pretty illegal in any form, not that that stopped everyone, but for the most part fireworks were verboten within the state line. Last year I did manage to pick up some contraband sparklers from a friend of a friend and we froze our rears off "sparkling" them in the driveway. It was a first for them.
So to ring in the new and out with the old, I bought the sparklers. Conveniently they came in a package of 6 small boxes, color coded and divisible by three. And picked up a bottle of bubbly - which for us came in the form of sparkling apple cider. Do we know how to party or what.

In order to truly celebrate, as if 12 straight hours of Disney Channel - and a little of Dick Clark - love Dick Clark! were not enough - we ~~popped the cork~~ twisted the top and toasted the year to come!

I am not really worried about my boy having a drinking problem if his reaction to "sparkling" cider is any indication.

To my friends and family, and folks who happen to stop by our little journal from time to time, I wish you a happy 2012. May God richly bless you.

Introducing... the Black Eyed Peas!

2011-12-31T23:39:00.001-05:00

Not the singing group silly - the food!

Being a southern born and bred girl, married to a southern born and bred guy, both going back a few generations - except for my New England trio - southern traditions are still intact around here.

One such is black eyed peas for New Years - can't have good luck for the new year if you haven't had at least a bite or two.

Forgive me for going all Pioneer Woman here, but I thought I'd share how I made them this year. Not that I have her cooking ability, or her photography skills, or her sense of style, but hey, I love my hubby and kids as much as she does and I do know how to cook southern style. For what it's worth, Mike and I love B-E-P's, just cooked with a little bacon grease, served with cornbread and topped with onions - YUM.! But I decided to do a little different variation here for a heartier meal.

I chopped 4 stalks of celery, half a green bell pepper, and half an onion. I actually did this a couple of days ago and put them in the fridge so they were ready to go when I needed them.

This was the rest of the cast of characters I used.

Here in Utah, there's not a Trader Joes - at least I haven't found one yet. I shopped there only occasionally in New England as it wasn't close either, but I did stock up on a couple of their spices which I loved, one of which is 21 seasoning salute. It's a spice seasoning combo and there are other brands comparable I'm sure. Guess I'll have to search for one when my stock runs out.
I used dried peas because I like to cook my own WITH the seasoning, but you could use fresh or canned also.

Rinse the peas really well. Then put them in a large pot and cover with water. I know a lot of people say you have to soak dried peas and beans first, but in all honesty I have NEVER done this and have never had a problem. Bring to a boil and cook for about 45 minutes or so, making sure the water does not cook down too far, so you have to watch them close and probably will have to add more water.

After that, add the cut up veggies, a couple or three tablespoons of the seasoning and a couple or three tablespoons of chili powder. I chopped up a jalapeno and a some garlic cloves and added that too, as well as salt and pepper and chicken broth and more water. NOW, I didn't picture this, but the key to yummy taste is adding a slice or two of bacon. I didn't have any bacon, but I do keep a jar of bacon grease in my fridge and I add a spoon or two to a lot of different things, like pinto beans or green beans, or black eyed peas. I don't cook bacon very often but when I do, I always make sure I save the grease. When I get low on grease we have bacon at our house again. You could use a ham bone if you have it, or some chopped ham, or just go vegan and go without. It's gonna be good either way.

Let it cook for a looonngg time, maybe an hour or 2, adding more liquid (water or broth) as necessary. I actually made this yesterday and then put it in the refrigerator because B-E-Ps, like pinto beans, or chili, or soups and stews, is one of those things that seem to taste better the next day after all the flavors have blended effectively. I then cooked it another 30 minutes before serving, adding a little more salt and pepper.

You can let the juices cook way or down, or serve it more like a soup if you wish. We prefer it more soupy. You can serve it over rice, top with a few chopped onions, and a side of cornbread of course. In the south, cornbread accompanies many meals, often a few times a week. Mmmmm I love cornbread, Mike loves cornbread, my kids do not.
Side note, best way to bake cornbread is an iron skillet - add a spoon of bacon grease, put in the oven and let it get hot, THEN pour the batter in the skillet and bake. Makes a nice yummy slightly crunchy crust to the sweet yummy inside.

On a further side note, do NOT grab the handle of the skillet with your bare hand once it is out of the oven. I did that once when I was a child. I thought I'd help my mother out and flip the cornbread onto a plate for her, like I'd seen her do a million times. I didn't realize she had JUST taken it out of the oven. Ouch! I had blisters on my palm like you wouldn't believe. But I digress....

Although Mike and I grew up in Texas, my parents were originally from Tennessee and Alabama, his from Texas and Louisiana - a little Cajun influence there. According to my father, his family not only had B-E-Ps on new years, emphasis on the HAD TO HAVE, tradition included putting a silver dime in the pot. The story goes, if you were the lucky recipient having the dime in your bowl, not only would you have good luck, you would come into some money during the new year as well. I can report with all certainty, this particular tradition must have stopped with my grandparents because we didn't put money in our food. Ha - with my luck, the dime would probably bring bad luck since someone would probably choke on it.

Please use your imagination and picture a big buttery slab of cornbread sitting alongside this - and while you're at it, maybe some mustard greens or boiled cabbage and a slice of ham - delish!

As yummy as this taste treat delight is, my kids won't touch it with a ten foot pole. They will fight over the last piece of steamed broccoli - go figure. Must be their New England birth.
Mike and I will enjoy and the luck will just have to trickle down to them vicariously as they enjoy their chicken nuggets and fries. Quite possibly the tradition stops here.

Happy New Year!

No Need to Feel So Puzzled

2011-12-29T15:50:00.001-05:00

A few weeks before Christmas, in my motherly ~~insanity~~ wisdom, we did a jigsaw puzzle as a form of a family activity. I already expressed my love hate relationship of puzzles. Does anyone like puzzles. (forgive my lack of question marks - it appears that key is non functional - kids) So anyway, we completed that fun Santa puzzle and shortly thereafter, for some insane reason, started another 550 piece one.

Last night we (and I use the term WE very loosely, as in WE shot a bear) finished this puzzle. My family totally bailed on this one with the exception of the last twenty or so pieces. It's as if we are the Little Red Hen of puzzledom. No one wants to plant the seeds or grind the wheat or kneed the dough, but everyone wants a slice of nice warm bread.

Everyone felt the need to place the last piece and then admire their work. Actually, my boy who placed it should have had the honor due him since HE found the missing piece under the couch. How did that happen.
I chose this particular puzzle for two reasons. One, it had nothing to do with Christmas and we were ready to move on, and two, this sweet little girl reminded me of my sweet little girl, back when she was a little girl - she's still sweet.

I did receive a compliment from Mike last night. He admired my stick-to-it-iveness as he sat on the couch watching Rockford Files. I am not so sure it is a determination as much as an innate stubbornness. Once I start something, especially something challenging, I don't want it to get the best of me and I do - within my power - what I said I would do. I hate to give up. It's a good thing I have that stubborn streak. I have my children because of it. I refused to accept defeat and continued on the infertility road for thirteen years. I do know when enough is enough, but I seriously felt God would indeed give me "the desires of my heart" and waited on His timing. I had fervently prayed for years to have that desire removed, with no results. After the birth of our children, I knew our family was complete. I just knew. That longing was gone. I loved seeing babies and being around babies, but no longer had the tug from within. Had that desire dissapated prior, I would not have been so determined. I just wish I understood His timing. It would make things so much easier through those years of heartbreak.

Once there was a little girl, about three or four years old. She enjoyed going to church with her family and had been in church since in utero, starting with cradle roll and since. Almost every experience in her home church was in Sunday School or Children's Church. She had little exposure to BIG church, but she had learned in her limited childish way, to love Jesus with her whole heart.
One day her mother had a very important committee meeting at church. Those all important committees. Mike says if the Ark had gone to committee Noah and his family would have drowned. The girl's mother soon realized she had not planned for a sitter and there was no class or group or nursery to occupy her little darling. She resigned herself to bringing her. After all, she was a good little girl and would be no problem. Armed with a tote bag of picture books and crayons and paper and a dolly, she decided to sit her down on the back row of the church and make a quick appearance at her important committee meeting. Attempting to put the fear of God in her, she gave specific instructions. "I have to go to my meeting. You sit right here, be very quiet, and wait for me. Do not misbehave or do anything bad. I will be back very soon!".

The little girl sat obediently and occupied herself with her bag of goodies. After a few minutes though, she got bored. She soon started looking around wide eyed at the sights, never having been in Big Church. There was a group of men down front. Cocking her head to one side, she listened intently to what they were saying, but she couldn't understand. Happily, she finally realized they were praying.

She stood up and in a clear loud voice, said "Dear Jesus, ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOP, QRSTUV, WXYZ, thank you Jesus!". And she sat back down. Right away, a man from down front marched to where she sat and said in a loud booming voice, "Young lady, how dare you say the alphabet to God!".

She looked up at him quite innocently batting those big blue eyes. "Well I wanted to talk to my Jesus, but I didn't know what to say. So I gave Jesus all the letters and I'm going to let Jesus put it all together!"

The man had no reply. He quietly walked away. For the new year, it might be a good thought to let the master puzzle builder have the pieces and let Him put it all together.

Dear Utah

2011-12-28T22:38:00.000-05:00

Dear Utah,
The time has come. I am going to tell you unabashedly, without reservation, and without remorse or guilt - I like you. If you were a facebook post, I'd "like" your status. If you were a blog post, I'd comment on your fine features. If you were a quote, I'd share you with others. If you were a photo, I'd want a copy for my wallet. You're OK.

I can't go so far as professing love, or even adoration. That is reserved for my beloved Texas. But you are well ahead of the game. After fifteen years of New England life, our relationship never progressed beyond acceptance and cooperation - and compromise. Sure, there was an inital honeymoon period and a joy in the novelty of snowy winters, colorful falls, and pleasant summers. But it was still superficial. I never felt acceptance, but for the sake of my children, it was tolerable. Even so, it was floors above Southern California's rockin and rollin'. California did have a redeeming factor in birthing Matthew.

So while you don't have the status of love and you certainly are not loathed, you are beyond compromise. I think we're going to get along just fine. The fact is has been the least snowiest December on record doesn't hurt a bit either. You are friendly and sociable. Only time will tell where this leads. It definitely has promise.

Sincerely,
A Native Texan

"Santa Comed - He Really Comed!"

2011-12-26T17:49:00.001-05:00

Many many years ago, when Mike and I were still fairly new parents, quite overwhelmed at the holidays with our ONE child, James(Ricky), age 3 or 4, exclaimed those title words in such excitement over the fact the big man in red had indeed visited our house overnight. Since then, every Christmas morning those words come back to me.

This year was no different. "Santa comed!" We have no little ones that believe in the magic of Santa, but we still have excitement. The excitement is much better contained than in the younger years, but nonetheless it's there. And this year the excitement was on a different time schedule since Mike had to work. As much as I would have preferred him to be home, I am so grateful that after 2 + LOONGGG years, he has a full time job. He does love what he does and he makes a difference in the lives of the veterans who deserve so much more than we could possibly give. I am so proud of him.
The kids opened one gift on Christmas Eve, a family Wii game. Christmas morning, when everyone got up around 9ish (boy is THAT different from years past when we were DONE by 7 - lol), the kids explored their stockings - customary socks and underwear along with nail polish and foam balls and candy and oranges and nuts, then one group gift - Skylanders for Wii. To keep them occupied of course a method to my madness. We them watched a jillion hours of ~~mindless~~ entertaining tween Disney shows until Mike finally got home from work. You know, there was a reason we didn't have cable before. Sponge Bob is on some channel 24 hours a day I'm convinced. Why I don't know.

We went to the Christmas Eve service at church Saturday afternoon. Our church is really good and interesting and quite cutting edge as far as churches go. Part of me misses the more traditional, but this style is a good fit for our family. I don't know too many people there yet. I am more introverted and it's hard for me to make friends in new situations. I really could use a friend - praying to make some friends this new new year. Mike is just the opposite. You know, I had a thought during the service. A lot of people don't go to church using the excuse that churches are full of hypocrites. Which may or may not be true. But isn't it just as hypocritical or maybe even more so, for non-believers to celebrate and embrace Christmas so wholeheartedly - celebrating the birth of Christ. Food for thought.

We loaded up the kids that evening, pajamas and all, made hot chocolate, and drove to see Christmas lights.

We only got lost a few times, made several wrong turns, found out that yes they charge to drive through the light display. Honestly it didn't occur to me since the ones we went to back in Houston and also in College Station, never charged. It was a gift from the city. Silly me - how times have changed.

And yes, sadly, I am one of THOSE moms who match or coordinate their kid's Christmas pajamas. They don't complain too much. Either that or they have just resigned their fate and roll with the punches, humoring their dear old mother, while also knowing who butters their bread.

They were more than ready to open gifts by 5 o'clock - which they did in record time. Mike and I watched and reflected on year's past when chaos reigned and all we could do was crowd control trying to minimize the damage and the lost pieces that inevitably were in the trash with the wrapping paper. In fact, I think this was the first year we DIDN'T have to go through the trash searching for an important and integral tiny pieces of something. I know you know what I'm talking about. Nothing took a hundred hours to disengage from the packaging either. It makes you wonder just how people shoplift toys. And there were no tears, no arguments, no disappointments. It was truly a first. Most Christmases I am so overwhelmed by the time the excitement dies down that I have to take to my bed - lol.

Today my house is still total chaos. Honestly it couldn't be much messier, but it is a happy place so we'll just go with the flow for a day or two. I miss having my two adult sons here with us, but it wasn't in the budget to fly them here. I am sure the calmness had to do with less people in the mix and the fact the kids are getting older. Their toys are more expensive so that leads to less gifts. Electronics are smaller so that leads to less mess. It's a work in progress. Life is really a work in progress.

Lucy received the gift of her dreams - a new monkey. She loves her monkey. If you get a new monkey, how can anything be wrong in the world.

I hope you all had the holiday you wanted, savoring the gift of His love, and rejoicing in being with those you love. Merry day after Christmas.

Cookies, Contests, & Puzzles: A Hodgepodge

2011-12-21T21:42:00.001-05:00

The kiddos are out of school until after the first of the year. I am so glad. No, really I am. I know the craziness of having multiples would seem to dictate just the opposite, and while that may have been true at other points in our lives, right now I am enjoying being with them. It is easy to just BE with them and not have to entertain, supervise, dictate, schedule and referee.
Well maybe a little refereeing is involved from time to time, but for the most part the squabbles are solved with minimal intervention from me. It's nice to have big kids :)

It hasn't always been this way. There have been many many days in recent years I was so glad to be at work. I hate admitting that. Work was calm and predictable and I felt appreciated. I don't do well with chaos and adversity and having to walk carefully so as to not upset the cart. And that cart was so easily upset. It makes me enjoy the place we are currently at in our family life. I constantly pray it is a new normal and not the calm before another storm appears on our family horizon.
Since we've been home, we've had plenty to keep us occupied. The kids youth group had a party earlier this week. They are slowly getting into the group, but still missing their old friends. Speaking of such, my girl got the gift of her dreams from a friend. A 5lb Hershey bar!

The party came complete with a cookie competition and an ugly outfit contest.

Cookies, while creating wonderful family memories, do not come cheap. My boy decided HE was going to win this, since he knew his brother was a shoo in for the ugly contest.

To get the full effect, you need to see the whole get up. Oh, and the tie plays Jingle Bells - classy.

I am sad to report he came in 2nd place. He did however, score a Cold Stone gift card which he is giving his Secret Angel for Christmas. I hope I am his Angel. Every year on Thanksgiving we draw names for Secret Angels. You don't tell who you got. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, you secretly do kind deeds for your Angel, such as do one of their chores, or make their bed, or perhaps bring them a fresh hot cinnamon roll. Then you purchase a small gift for that person and when we exchange gifts, you try to guess who your secret angel is. In theory it works that way. In practice it is still a work in progress.

My other boy decided he was not comfortable working an ugly outfit, so I WE made melting snowman cookies.

My trusty mixer is on it's last leg. I LOVE my mixer. It was my mother's and has made many a fruit cake, birthday cakes and Christmas cookies. It is probably at least 40 years old. It makes me feel a little closer to her to use it - silly, huh

Speaking of old things, trendy to call them vintage - I also LOVE my rolling pin. It belonged to my grandmother. She and my grandfather married in 1925 and her uncle carved it for her as a wedding gift.

She was 14 and he was 17. Can you imagine. They were married 54 years so I guess it worked out.

Making fanciful cookies is not an inexpensive endeavor. I had to go to three different stores to get the colors and types of ingredients I needed. If someone makes you cookies, you should appreciate it!

Voila'! (he didn't win) ..... but it was fun.

Also, a word of advice, do not buy a used jigsaw, even if you are repeatedly assured that "Yes, all the pieces are there! ". I truly despise and yet love, jigsaw puzzles. The epitome of a love-hate relationship. I think they are a tremendous waste of valuable time. So for some insane reason I decided in all my motherly Christmas tradition glory, it would be a wonderful idea for us to do a holiday puzzle as a family.

I told the kids we had to finish the puzzles in order for Santa to come (insert huge eye rolls here).

We finally finished it last night - less 3 missing pieces.

Since that was so much fun, I picked up another puzzle while I was out today. I don't know why I do these things - mom insanity I guess. This one is a new one so all the pieces SHOULD be there.

As we count down to the big day, the day we celebrate the birth of our Saviour, I am making a serious effort to slow down and enjoy these moments of family togetherness. This is the first year in memory I am ahead of the game, having gifts purchased and wrapped 3 whole days before Christmas. I am missing my 2 big boys, even though I am not supposed to mention them on my blog. Sigh.

But my younger three are doing well, looking forward to Christmas, glad to have time off school, and as for me, I am taking it one day at a time. The days often drag, but the years fly by.

The One Where Mike and I Went Out

2011-12-18T18:26:00.000-05:00

Mike and I are not exactly part of the "get dressed up and go out" crowd. We are part of the rather stay at home and be comfortable and hang out crowd. In fact, until the other night, I had tucked in the back of my mind, the loathed feeling of getting gussied up. I guess when I was younger, and thinner, and prettier, it wasn't so bad. But as I age - and not as gracefully as I would like - the thrill of make up and stockings and jewelry and heels, has lost it's luster. Back in the day, I loved it, but now, it's just a lot of work.

But there are some pros and advantages at this point in our mundane little lives. For one, we don't need to scour high and low to procure a babysitter nor do we need to break the bank to hire one. On occasion, in years gone by, James and later Matthew would sometimes sit their sibs, but often times it was not a smooth event. It was way more trouble than it was worth - the mess, the tears (mine and theirs), the worry, and often times the phone calls of distress. I'm just saying there are those that allowed a little power to go to their heads. It was way easier to hire someone. But I digress.

This is the actress Jane Seymour - Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman. She spoke for a few minutes at the dinner we went to. Forgive the poor quality of my cell phone pics.

What a great way to be included in the hot ticket event in Utah. We were given VIP tickets to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's Christmas program. It included a fancy schmancy interfaith dinner that was YUM, (strawberry salad, prime rib, veggies and chocolates), a few remarks by LDS bigwigs welcoming us, escorted VIP reserved seating (and Mike loved this, reserved "special guest" parking) - after everyone passed through the metal detectors successfully - and then the Christmas extravaganza.

Being new to Utah, and very much confused by the simplicity of their street assignments, we arrived ALMOST late since we got a little lost. I miss the confusing traffic patterns and kamikaze rotaries of New England. At least you had good reason for tardiness there. Since I mentioned Mike and I are polar opposites, this is another area we are Felix and Oscar. It's one I would very much like to change because punctuality is not my greatest strength and I really don't like it. Sadly, that apple did not fall far. My dad had the same annoying trait. Good thing we have those that love us and overlook this character flaw. I do think my mom overlooked my dad's flaw much better than Mike overlooks mine. We left a bit late, got a bit lost, had some words concerning bad drivers, confusing traffic, which street was which, whether we were heading north or south, and where the parking lot was located. Right before we finally found our lot, Mike had exclaimed we should "just forget the whole thing and go home!!", plus a few other choice words not fit for a preacher to be expressing. His fuse can be a little short at times. Short fuse and constant lateness does not make for a pleasant exchange.

The point is, we DID find it, parked the car, walked across the street to the conference center, and were rewarded for our stick-to-it-iveness by this beautiful sight:

After the dinner, making small talk with the other invited guests, meeting some really nice folks, we were escorted to a tiny little conference center. As in a 21,000 seat auditorium filled to capacity and an elaborate stage with lights and trees and an orchestra and a 200 rank organ. Wow, just wow - overwhelming. The show was really good, the musical talent outstanding - Nathan Gunn, who I hadn't heard of since I am not much into world renown baritones and opera singers - and of course the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Jane Seymour did the narrating. It was interesting to watch the flow of the show. It was being filmed for a PBS special, complete with a gigantic teleprompter behind us and many cameras and lights. The dancers and costumes were spectacular. It really is THE event since tickets are free and dispersed by a lottery system MANY months prior to the event. Evidently there are people that try to get tickets for years!

Since we are not in the know as far as the LDS regime, we had an interesting oops moment. Prior to the start, the room became quiet and everyone stood up. I looked around for a flag thinking we were going to sing the Star Spangled banner or something. Duh. The leader (president) of the LDS church had entered the auditorium and was taking his seat. It was really a cool sign of respect, I get that, but I'm not sure how I feel about a church elevating ANY person to that level. Any church.

After the show, we left the building talking about our favorite parts, and this was our view of the Temple near the conference center.

So all in all, despite the chaos, and the traffic, and the getting lost, and the crowds, it was definitely worth getting all fancified and going out - a free dinner, a free show, wonderful sights, and holding the hand of the man I have loved for the past 32 years.

A Few (and I do mean FEW) Decorations

2011-12-16T10:00:00.000-05:00

You would think, for someone my age, with 5 children, who has been married 27 years, I would have more Christmas decorations than you could shake a stick at. But for some reason, I don't.

Mike and I are polar opposites. He is a saver and I am a tosser. I don't keep a lot of things I probably should have kept, but I did keep some. Also, with our moves, things have disappeared - probably still buried in a random box that has yet to be opened (from our LAST move in 2003) when we bought our house. I am of the mindset less is more.

This is the main display of our Christmas decor, other than our tree which gets closer every day to totally defying gravity with it's leaning ability. Just another Christmas miracle.

I also have a new in the box, Dept 56 ceramic Graceland. I think I bought it about ten years ago. Maybe next year I will get it out, but I still don't feel confident enough to do so, even though the kids are thirteen. Two thirds of them are boys. I also have my grandmother's 1950's ceramic NOEL angel candle holders, but I have no idea where they are, not that I would put those out either.

When I was a little girl, I always wanted a dollhouse. I had one when I was very young. I barely remember it. Borrowed eBay photo - it looked like this.

I distinctly remember some of the pieces - the baby's playpen and crib, the washer and dryer, the kitchen table, and the plastic people unlike the one in this photo because the ones I had were not bendable - they were more of the plastic soldier variety. I loved that little dollhouse .... until ...

I vividly remember this too. I stood up to leave my room and felt something strange. I glanced down at my hand and the blood was gushing. I had sliced open my thumb on the lovely SHARP edges of the roof of the METAL dollhouse. I remember screams and hysterics and pain. To this day, I still have a long scar as a reminder of this dollhouse. I think my mom must have put it away after that incident because I don't think I ever played with it again. I think I was afraid of it.

Safety was not was it is today. Anyone else remember those metal fans that would slice your hand off if you got near it. We had the fear of death instilled in us and knew it would suck us in and so we never ever went near it.

After all these any years of wanting a dollhouse, I acquired one recently. It is small, non-metal, and was bare. I discovered a few ornaments and decorations that fit - or not - added some lights. Voila' - I have a dollhouse - a Christmas dollhouse. My kids laugh at me, but I don't care. It's nice to bring a little joy into their mundane lives.

I do have a few favorite cherished ornaments. I was glad to find those.

I think one of the joys of Christmas is the memories. I'm not sure my kids will remember their mother's silly dollhouse, but I hope they always remember how much they are loved.

Traditions and Counting Down

2011-12-15T10:00:00.000-05:00

One of the true joys of Christmas is family traditions. Looking back when I was growing up, several come to mind -- my mom's fruitcake for one. She made a fruitcake around the 1st of December and it was "seasoned" in bourbon until Christmas. Everyone loved it. Supposedly even those who claimed to dislike fruitcake, loved her fruitcake. I was never one of those fans, although I did like picking the pecans off the top and eating them. I have her recipe but have never made it. Mike is the only one who would like it.

Speaking of pecans, that brings up another memory. My dad was an insurance man and had a LOT of customers. Forty years in the same business does that. Anyway, every year he would bring home a sack or two - paper garbage bag size - of pecans. He would watch tv in the evenings and shell them. It was usually one for the jar, one for him, one for me. He would end up with several containers of pecans, and Mom used them in oatmeal cookies, pecan pie, and of course, fruitcake.
Another memory is mistletoe. We always had mistletoe. And my grandmother's coconut cake. And leaving cookies and milk for Santa and having a "thank you" note written on the napkin. Santa's handwriting was remarkably a lot like my dads. Isn't is funny the things that spark memories for us.

This is the first time we have ever had a real tree. We left our fake one back in MA. It was a white fiber optic gaudy looking tree - but it was picked out by one of the kids and they loved our disco tree. After several years it was a bit ragged. It was time to forgo that little "tradition" and start a new one. When the kids were younger we had lots of winters when nebulizers were our best friend and we were concerned a live tree would aggravate the situation. I am thankful to report the only neb user the past couple of seasons was me with the idiot H1N1 flu. You know, the flu I couldn't get a shot for because I wasn't in the "high risk group. Anyway, so far so good. Aside from the tree sharing a special trait with the leaning tower of Pisa and the fact we haven't unearthed a lot of our ornaments from the move, all is well.
I wonder if the kids will remember the first time we had a real tree.

I know my kids will remember THIS tradition. We've done advent calenders with the little pieces of chocolate, red and green paper chains to countdown, opening a new Christmas theme book each evening to read, an advent wall hanging where you move the decorations each night, but by far their favorite is the "Christmas Countdown Box." The end of November I start collecting small fun and varied gifts - 24 of them. I wrap each one and number them 1 to 24. A bowl holds scraps of paper 1-24. Each evening a child draws a number and then finds the corresponding gift. This was a great tool for learning to wait until YOUR day. Often times the gifts were gifts to share.

There's been three Hershey bars, a jar of green sprinkles, a dog treat, a Wimpy Kid book, a snow globe, 2 ornaments, an Angry Bird plush toy (that has turned into a soccer ball of sorts) and body powder.

You just never know what you're going to get.

My boy was just giddy with one of his recent prizes. Something right up his alley.

Everyone loves being able to scrub their own back.
Ten more gifts to go.

Each year I remind the kids they are silly fun presents. Do they really want to do it again this year. I receive a resounding yes. So I guess this is our tradition.

Christmas will be here before you know it, ready or not.

Utah - Moving West and Moving Forward

2011-12-14T10:00:00.000-05:00

I have debated continuing my little journal or not. When you read about people stealing photos and worse horror stories and you realize there is a whole big cyber world out there, it can be daunting. But on the other hand, I have met so many really nice folks through this blog - cyber friends - and I enjoy reading blogs about family life and other topics - there is more to life than just people who have multiple children, believe it or not - and I learn a lot about a variety of topics, from chicken farming to stain removal to how to stand even more craziness than I have in my life, thus making me look somewhat sane and calm.

So moving forward for now, here we go.

On the home front, we are HERE - Utah that is. We are settling in, slowly but surely. It is interesting to move somewhere - 2000+ miles from "home" sight unseen and try to get a handle on what and where and who. It sort of hit me when I registered the kids for school (we had planned to homeschool, but had to switch gears last minute for MY sanity - big mama guilt about that). When you fill out the million forms, in triplicate, there is a place to list emergency contact in case they cannot reach you. I realized I had NOT ONE NAME to list, knowing absolutely NO ONE within 1500 miles! That was weird. I left it blank.

Since October, we have not had a television. That has been an adjustment. We left a lot of our things back in MA since the two older boys are living in our home there. Maybe NOT the best idea in retrospect, but in theory it should work. (in actuality, no one is paying their rent as they should - flakes!) We arrived without a washer & dryer, no living room furniture, no television, minimal kitchen items and linens - leaving things for the boys. Plus, those of you with children, multiples or not, can understand that often times after MANY years of triplet ~~abuse~~ use, much of it was not worth bringing. Since arriving, we have hooked up with a great church that Mike was already attending, and through their acts of kindness ministry, we have acquired a few things that some members were planning to discard as they didn't need them - including a Maytag HE front loader washer and dryer, beautiful sofa and loveseat, distressed leather couch for the kid's loft area, an entertainment center, and a TV (which was hooked up to the Wii post stat). One of my boys was incredibly happy. He received a BEAUTIFUL queen iron bed with a NEW queen pillowtop mattress and boxspring. He is sooooo happy. Plus the boys each have their own rooms - they have always shared. That said, it has still been a struggle, although I can't justify complaining. The move costs us much more than we anticipated and was estimated. Starting over is expensive, from trash cans to towels to pots and pan and so on and so on. But it will eventually settle down after the first of the year.

The boys are playing basketball, having made the 8th grade team at their school. They are also on an AAU tea. My girl is dancing, so she is happy. They are slowing making their way into the Youth group at church. I know they miss all their friends and they have gone from being big fish in a small pond to one of many fish in a much larger pond. They are in honors classes and it is a much larger school, all new teachers, new kids, making their way and finding their course. It has been a HUGE adjustment for them, but they have been troopers and I couldn't be more proud. Six week mid terms came home last week and it was very pleasing. I have the best kids. We are sticking together and it's going to be good. We are finding our new normal. Gosh, I love them more than words can say.

I will start my holiday prep posts soon. Stay tuned. Blessings!

Grade 8 VS Grade 1 & Plans

2011-09-06T22:17:00.002-04:00

After a few windblown days delaying the start of school, 8th grade is now officially underway. My girl spent weeks deciding what to wear her first day - gray skinny jeans and striped shirt - beautiful curls that she loathes, carefully straightened.

My boys picked out new outfits too. It is interesting to see their varied tastes that shows how individual multiples can be. This has been true since day one.

Back in the day when Mom picked out all their clothes - 7 yrs ago to the day in fact - the start of 1st grade. (boys spots are switched).

My how time flies.

Mike is in Salt Lake City and I am playing single mom these days - to the trio and the 2 adult children who are not to be mentioned on this blog, per their very specific instructions.

The plan is in place, with a few twists and turns and minor bumps in the road, but we are coping. The kids questioned starting school here since we will be leaving mid October, but school is important and not to be missed, even if it is only 6 or 8 weeks. Our plans for the remainder of the school year are not yet set. There's a very good possibility we will homeschool the rest of the year, depending on where we will be living, which has not been determined yet either. Mike is looking for a house, scoping out areas, schools, churches, etc. Our two older boys will stay in our house here, renting it with a couple of friends. I wish we could sell it, but the past couple of years of unemployment and underemployment have weighed heavily on the upkeep and repairs and that, along with the sinking home values have left us with a home that is worth less than what is owed. So we will hang onto it for awhile, renting it out.

Back to packing .............

Shaking & Blowing & Floating, Oh My!

2011-09-02T13:01:00.004-04:00

Let's see, where were we, before everything else happened? Oh yes, the MOVE.

Backing up, Mike is off in the wild west - has been for a few weeks now. Life is interesting as a single parent. Certainly many aspects are much easier since my little ones truly aren't little ones. But they aren't grown either. (Remember that kids - you are NOT grown - because I know you are reading this).

So in Mike's absence, as I ~~like a wild woman~~ leisurely inventory and pack our belongings, decide what stays and what goes and what is trashed - so much to be trashed - all other things are crumbling nature wise around us.
And on that note, it's probably a good thing Mike is not here because he is such a pack rat. (I will admit he pales in comparison to his dear mother.) Because you never know when you might need Youth Ministry materials from 1979 or seminary textbooks from 1976 or a 1962 steel guitar. Yes honey, of course I kept the steel guitar. I know it was one the last gifts you ever received from your father before he was killed - but you might have a hard time finding that book on "33 Ice Breakers for Your Next Youth Shindig".

A couple of weeks ago as I sat in the living room at the computer, my chair started to shake. I told my boy who was laying on the floor watching TV to stop shaking my chair. He often unconsciously will do things like that. He claimed innocence, and in fact he was. My girl and her brother were on the couch and she said "Mom, the couch is shaking too". Kids, I think we are having an earthquake. After living in Southern California, my instincts immediately identified it. It was rather mild, more like a gentle rolling instead of the jolting awake throw you out of bed Landers Quake that cause me to permanently loath California. Note to self - does Utah have earthquakes? Check that out. The kids thought it was rather cool.

Next in the line of events was Hurricane Irene. Ahhh, Irene. There was tons of hype here in New England and being a girl from the Texas Gulf Coast, I've seen my share of hurricanes so I don't get in a huge panic over these things. We had flashlights and candles and bread and snack foods and water. I bungee corded the trash can and the pitchback. We were fortunate to not have a lot of damage, although we did lose power for 3 LONG days - just long enough for all my refrigerated food to spoil. I needed to clean out the fridge anyway. But during this event, my van went on a storm search of it's own and I have had in the past few weeks, battery problems, brake problems, and the latest, transmission issues. I suppose it's best to have these all done before the kids and I set out for the wild west come mid October.

As if these events did not throw enough curves, my lovely FRONT loading washer decided for whatever reason, to not drain correctly and also to not lock correctly so that my son, not once, not twice, but three different times opened it to a cascade of water pouring forth - sort of like Fibber McGee's closet, only in H2O form. And no, I am not old enough to remember Fibber McGee and Molly, but I do know the expression. Now my basement oasis has fans going and wet dry vacs running and I certainly needed this to fill my days because I just don't have enough to do.

Oh - and work is super busy with Religious School and the High Holy Days coming up and by the way, school started and I have 8th graders!

To be continued.......

One Thing Leads to Another

2011-08-17T00:36:00.000-04:00

You know what they say - one thing leads to another .....

Well, THIS

Led to THIS

Which led to THIS

Which led to this

And ultimately led to this

Which I especially love having a little one on one time with one of my sweethearts - but not at the expense of a dog bite to the face, piercing his nose.

The truth is, Oreo is not the least bit vicious. My boy was holding her and she started to slip and he repositioned her and she snapped at him. It was most likely a reaction thing, not an aggression thing. She is getting older (7 now) and he either scared her or hurt her. I probably wouldn't have bothered with the doctor except he also had a mystery itchy spots on his leg and I wanted to have it looked at as well. Turns out poison ivy was the culprit. Anyway, they said even though he AND the dog are both up to date on their shots, they recommend antibiotics for a bite to the face.

It's always something.

Our BIG News

2011-08-03T10:00:00.005-04:00

SALT

LAKE

CITY

UTAH

Finally, after 22 long months - Mike has a new job, full time, with benefits ------- only 2000 miles away.

A long way to go and a short time to get there - the FIVE of us (and Lucy) will be on the move.

Should be quite the adventure. I'll be documenting it as we go. I'd welcome any information, hints, etc - we're moving across the country sight unseen, on faith - just like the pioneers did.

One More for July ....uh nevermind - I meant August

2011-08-02T19:43:00.001-04:00

I better get this is quick. July is almost a distant memory as we rush headfirst into August and before you know it - GASP - back to school! My kiddos are already talking about what they want for Christmas. Are you kidding me?!

Where HAS the Summer gone? Truth be told, we have not really done anything extraordinarily special this summer either, just like last summer. The kids have done some VBS fun, playdates (is it still playdates at 13?) and the boys have a basketball camp coming up before they finish up the summer, but other than that, it's still the lazy hazy days - or in our case - daze.

We are in a daze because of our preparations for the big event that is heading our way in the next couple of months. The one I haven't mentioned yet because it hasn't happened yet and it has not been finalized yet. I am perfecting speaking in riddles, sort of like speaking in tongues, only not.

I have been busy as a bee, purging and throwing and selling and organizing and still have a ton of stuff to do. The kids have been sorting clothes and throwing out too small, too worn, too young, too old, too ugly, too not acceptable. I think THEY think they will get whole new wardrobes, but it's unlikely. My thought is the less clothes they have, the less choices they have to make in the mornings, and the less laundry that will pile up. This is especially important since they are each solely responsible for their own laundry. Their mama taught them well. The only issue with that is putting a load either in the washer, or moving a load to the dryer, but then FORGETTING to actually turn it on. How does that happen? We've had a fun laundry mat trip to play catch up and I think they now see how grateful a washer and dryer IN your home can make a person. I know I hate that excursion. But it does make for interesting people watching. And I now know the life story and medical history of the woman with 8 children (no multiples) who oversees the laundry mat.

Lucy is continuing her bratty rat dogs ways and Oreo is still the fat dog. Some things never change. I love my Lucy bug and my Oreo cookie. They say your pets are your babies before you have babies, then your pets become your pets. So true. But as your babies grow up, I think your pets become your babies again. Lucy is most definitely Mike's baby. She has destroyed her monkey and still loves her grody Aflac ducks. In place of her monkey, she fetches her plastic squeeker that she ripped from her monkey's bowels. Silly crazy dog.

Short and sweet - that's my update. Tomorrow I post our news. Stay tuned.

Because I'm the Mom

2011-07-21T01:35:00.001-04:00

If you moms of wee ones think you've cornered the market on whining and complaining, you are sadly mistaken. Here lately, I hear moans and groans whenever I take out the darn camera.

Seriously, you would think they would have learned to grin and bear it (literally - grin) but that's not the case. We go through these periods. Here's the drill. I take a million pictures, they plaster their fake smiles and placate me until they get to the point the complaints can no longer be contained and they have to spill out.

At that point, I listen and ignore for as long as I can, then begrudgingly I back off. Thrown in with that is a little hurt and wounded mama guilt because after all I only take so many pictures because I love those sweet faces so much and I want to always have a visual reminder of these precious days that I cherish so much, with my three miracles.

And for the record, I have received VERY SPECIFIC instructions from my oldest two sons (especially Matthew) that I am NOT to include them anywhere in this blog either by reference or photo. So POOF! no more mention. It's not like it's my blog or anything like that.

So the saga continues. After a few weeks of very few pictures, the kids begin to notice there are no cameras in their faces and their every activity if no longer being captured for posterity. A couple of weeks later, they make comments "don't you want to bring your camera?" ... "do you want to take a picture of this?" .... "hey Mom, take a picture of this!"....

And eventually we will get back to the norm and plod along that route until the cycle is someday repeated.
Meanwhile back at the ranch, the long days of Summer and the quiet lazy routine is in play. As it should be.

My girl has hung out with friends, worked a bit at my office answering phones and filling in for the vacationing secretary. It's a slow pace that allows her to sit and do her Summer reading and mama enforced workbooks, all in air conditioned comfort and getting paid in gift cards to compensate for her "volunteer" efforts, since she's too young to put on the payroll.

She and her friends saw the new POOH movie - and she got new glasses this Summer.

The boys have learned to mow the grass - a biggie. They have spent some time with friends - friends who happen to have a pool. Their 2 buddies are twins, same age as them, with a brother 13 months younger - so it's a nice pack of quints having the five boys together. Their big activity now happens to be Wiffle Ball championships. That and some sort of smackdown game their friends have.

Evidently it's oodles of fun. Something only a 13 year old boy can see the joy in. There's also been a couple of birthday swim parties and sleepovers and minor league ball games - the events of the dog days of Summer. Along with Summer reading of course - the joys of Gulliver's Travels and Mark Twain.

All three kids have been enjoying ~~suffering through~~ VBS this week. Seriously, they are liking being with their friends. These same kids have spent many VBS's together, since 1st grade. It's fun to see these kids all growing up. The 7th and 8th graders are doing community service during VBS week - picking veggies at a local farm, cleaning up a tornado damaged home, etc - and will be rewarded Friday with a day trip. The part they really don't like is the getting up and dressed and at the church by 9.

The Summer is flying by and soon we will be experiencing some huge major big life changing events, but I can't share the details just yet. I do plan to document every step of the way.

Hopefully my camera cycle will be on the OK to shoot mode rather than the poor me guilt mode when the time comes.

In a pinch, we can make do with the fake smile pacify mom mode if we have to. He's mastered it.

By the way - how does one manage to spend the day in the sun and only get his knees sunburned?

Wishing & Dreaming & Moving Up

2011-07-02T01:40:00.001-04:00

I have been so MIA, not because the blog posts do not pop into my head nor do plenty of pictures not reside in my hard drive, but little things like life and work and laundry and cooking and cleaning and yada yada .. you know - get in the way. Then at the end of the day when I do consider a post because I really want to capture these life's memories for posterity's sake, I am tired. And I do like my sleep - right kids?
(because I know you're reading this - my life is an open book).

So rather than a myriad of words and thoughts, I'll minimize the commentary and maximize the photos because when you get right down to it, that's the best part anyway.

Baseball has ran it's course. The boys had a terrific season, then ended up losing the finals in the championship.

My boys were "this close" to being chosen for All Stars this year. They were a bit disappointed, but I ~~lectured~~ encouraged them to congratulate their teammates that made it and am proud to say they showed great "character" rather than sour grapes. They were allowed to gripe and complain all they wanted to each other - and they did.

We had an up close and personal run in with an angry volleyball net in gym class which meant a trip to the Dr for a possible scratched cornea.

Thankfully he's fine.

On a side note, I still think about all 3 laying sideways on those very same examining tables at their pediatrician. Wasn't that just last week?

Now this event I am especially proud of - all three were inducted into the National Junior Honor Society. It was a lovely ceremony, complete with candles and pins and cords and a beaming mom and dad - and celebratory dessert at Chili's which was like 3 sharks at feeding time.

On another sidenote.... I remember being inducted into the NJHS in a very similar ceremony back in 1970 something. I still have my pin and my NHS one too.
Mike seems to have misplaced his - ahem.

Thrown into the mix was a dance recital with sweet girl dancing in three numbers - again stunning and fun to watch. It's amazing to see the improvement from year to year.

Another doctor appointment was added for a possible scoliosis concern, but thankfully the orthopedist felt any concern was so mild it was of no concern.

But we did have about a 2 hour wait and had to entertain ourselves.
Lunch out one on one is always a treat - for child and parent.

School ended (finally - too many snow days) and report cards and honor roll completed grade 7 - with 2 having high honors and 1 having a B amongst the A's - not shabby at all.

So summer is upon us.

Games of Risk vying for world dominion and Wii basketball championships and computer games and tossing the ball around and leisurely reading and sleeping in and a little housework quickly become the routine.
Next week I'll pick up some Summer workbooks because I know how much they ~~think their mom is incredibly lame for making them do it~~ look forward to it.

That in a nutshell is where we are at the moment.

No vacations this summer, but big changes are possibly a-comin - stayed tuned.

Hangover

2011-06-04T18:02:00.002-04:00

If you have read my blog any at all, you might be a bit surprised at the title.

But I have discovered, or rather my trio have discovered, a hangover can take many forms and they don't need to arise from alcohol. We aren't drinkers around here anyway - but with recent issues of the past few years, that's probably a good thing or I'd find myself snockered from time to time - lol.

Last weekend was a nice long weekend - Memorial Day - the official start of summer. Unless you live in this area of the country where you start school later, get out later, and have so many days off and snow days that school seems almost year round. These kids are still hitting the books until June 20th. Then I ~~persuade~~, ~~bribe~~, insist on some summer workbooks and a group read to keep our skills up. I really miss homeschooling and they bear with me.

Memorial weekend also means an annual birthday weekend for one of their friends - let's call him Josh, shall we? All three were invited to Josh's 14th birthday party/pool party/sleepover - even my girl. These kids have all been friends since 2nd grade and still get together a few times a year. I know the family quite well and allow my daughter to go too. There are a couple of other girls and the girls sleep on the 2nd floor, boys in the basement. Plus she is around her brothers ALL THE TIME so it probably less of a big deal for her than the other girls.

Plus her two brothers are there policing the scene, and they all three ~~tattle~~, ~~blab~~, inform me of what's going on pretty well.
In fact, this is why I know what went on - on the scene reporting followed by corroboration of the story upon further investigation.

Now that they have cell phones, I get lots of calls and texts. I got three calls asking if they could go with their friend to the neighborhood convenience store. "No, absolutely not. You are there at a party. They have snacks. You cannot go ...blah blah blah". Second call .... Can we go to the store with Josh AND his dad?" Again, no.... "arghh - ok".

I even asked "do I have to go over all the rules you already know? you know what I do and don't allow."
I was told no - they knew.

I am happy to report they did NOT go to the store.
However, Josh DID go - and bought them all Monster drinks which they KNOW I would never in a MILLION years allow them. I limit caffeine, refined sugars, red dye 40, etc. I say LIMIT. I would love to totally BAN it, but that's a tougher call.

In fact, one of my boys admittedly had 3 Monster drinks over the weekend. The other had 1, and my girl told me they tasted terrible. I would tend to agree with her.

So you have lots of junk food and sugar from the cake - Monster drinks - minimal, if any, sleep - and the majority of the day Memorial Day in the sun and in the pool. Which equaled three sunburns even though they swore they had sunscreen on.

Just because they are teens does not mean the end of helicopter parenting. The teen years evidently bring huge memory lapses and forgotten warnings.

I think it's totally believable that I had three incredibly overtired, hurting, sick kids come time for school Tuesday morning.

Misery is it's own reward. Mom is so mean that she reminds them of their transgressions and feels so little pity. It's a tough life when we make bad choices.

I told them they made serious mistakes and have to deal with the hangovers. And also, Josh and overnights are verboten for the time being.

I brag on them a lot and with good reason, but they are still kids who don't always think clearly or reason well. It's that immature brain capacity that blocks common sense. There are consequences to your actions.

I know a 19 year old that still suffers from the same affliction.

At least OREO cookie listens to me - most of the time anyway.

Swing Batter Swing!

2011-05-29T23:25:00.002-04:00

And he did!

I had the bright idea, several weeks ago, of telling my boys that if they hit a homerun, I'd give them $50.00. Not just any homerun, but a "swing the bat, whack the ball, clobber it OVER the outfield fence" homerun. I have no idea why I do these things. Since this was a feat yet to be accomplished and seemed pretty unlikely (not undoable, just improbable), I felt pretty smug and safe. I felt they would appreciate that added incentive.

I am now $50.00 lighter in the wallet.

First at bat of the game, first pitch, and my 4.3oz, 6 weeks premature, teeny baby boy knocked the cover off the ball and with an ear to ear grin, jogged around the bases.

My other boy is ready to make his mark. They have 4 games this week, so the race is on.

You know the best thing about this? As my boy rounded third heading for home, all his teammates poured out of the dugout to congratulate him. The first one out of the dugout cheering the loudest and high fiving was his brother.

Later that night, he asked if I'd given him the $50 yet. "not yet" ..... "can I give it to him?" ... "sure".
I was as proud of that as I was the hit. Instead of bemoaning he had not been the one to hit the homer, he was genuinely happy for his brother. Not that he isn't planning to have his own $50 celebration.

Privately, I praised him wholeheartedly. That made my heart sing.

They are great kids.

The End is Near?

2011-05-19T10:49:00.001-04:00

I am so out of the loop these days. My life seems to revolve around baseball games and dance practice and work schedules and "what's for dinner?". Lots of "whats for dinner?". Just once I want to be able to be the ask-er instead of the ask-ee.

I haven't watched TV for weeks, except for a snippet or two of Dancing with the Stars. Any down time I have is best served book reading or computer reading. And on the computer, I have important things to keep up with, like eBay auctions and mommy blogs. Occasionally I peruse the headlines or the weather (to see if it's likely the game will be rained out).

Imagine my surprise when I discovered the end of the world is May 21st - at 6 pm to be exact. Sheesh - that's in 2 days. That particular headline caught my eye. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501465_162-20063951-501465.html It's important. In fact, there are areas of the country where billboards have sprung up just to get the word out.

1 Thessalonians 4:16,17 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Now as a Christian, and as one with a Bachelor's degree in Christianity (as well as Business Mgmt - double major), I have my own full understanding of the idea of the Judgement Day and the Rapture and the end of the current age and the Millennium to come - whether your stance is pre-millennium, post-millennium, or a-millennium. I firmly believe Christ is coming again to reclaim His bride. I also think that's going to be a tremendous and glorious day, should it happen in my lifetime. But I also believe, if I am interpreting the Scriptures correctly, that it is very clear we don't know when that will be. It could be before I finish this post or it could be 1000 years from now. God is not held by restraints of time.

Matthew 24:36 "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father

Matthew 24:42-44 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

Mark 13:32 "But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

Acts 1:7 He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.

Doesn't that seem pretty clear that we don't know and we aren't to know?

Also, why hasn't this been mentioned at my church? My pastor is holding out vital information. Heck - my husband is a minister - a chaplain - why hasn't he told me about this?

The truth is the simple idea that is could be May 21st, doesn't change anything for me nor should it cause panic or concern for Christians. We are supposed to live as such to be ready at any time. Am I going to fool God by changing my ways simply because I got a heads up that He's en route? He's God - couldn't He see through that? Do I need to be right with God? Yes. Do I need to try to live my life as best I can so that Christ shines through in me? Yes. Do I need to share the Gospel? Yes. Relationally and by example is the best way I know.

Maybe the date is important if you are on the fence about Christianity, but in most cases, the fear mongering of Judgement Day doesn't hold a lot of weight in the salvation of souls.

It saddens me that things such as this make a mockery out of Christians and Christianity. If they are right, it doesn't matter because it's too late and if they are wrong, then we all look pretty silly, whether we hold to that stance or not.

Even worse, there are those that mock and make profit. I read of one enterprising individual who has started a business to contract to care for those whose pets are left behind at the Rapture - charges $135.00 for a set amount of time - paid in advance of course - and already has a few hundred PAID clients. That's a quick $30K.

I just don't believe God works this way - to reveal little cues and secret slips to a select few. I think the Scriptures hold more weight than these individuals. I know where I am going and knowing the time in advance doesn't amount to a hill of beans so I am not worried.

I have eBay auctions ending Sunday night so if you don't get your item, then you'll know why.

Vanity, Thy Name is .........

2011-05-16T22:16:00.000-04:00

Ever since she was around 5 or 6, my little golden curly haired girl began to notice she was different from her brothers. No, not THAT kind of different. Her blond ringlets began to darken, very subtly. But girls notice these things, even little girls. It's inherent. Around 9 or 10, her beautiful thick wavy tresses could best be decribed as dark blond, or light brown. Meanwhile, her brothers, one in particular, still maintained hair like spun gold. The beautiful array of light colors that I wish I could bottle because it's a sought after effect. She began to ask me when she could lighten her hair. I half heartedly threw out the " maybe when you are 13, ask me then." She did.

I can relate. My hair started to darken a bit too, but I was in my twenties. She's an early bloomer.

But I had to admit to her that it is just not in the budget. I know. I had mine done a couple of months ago and almost passed out from sticker shock. But especially with THREE birthdays right after Mother's Day right after Easter and right after Matt's birthday. April and May are tough months.

Cue big brother Matt. You know, the one who torments her and teases her to tears and bugs the living daylights out of her.

"I'll make an appointment for you to get highlights and I'll pay for it for your birthday". Huh?

Baby girl was sooooo excited. Another rite of passage. A cell phone AND highlights.

Doesn't Matthew look thrilled to be there?

My children are growing up way too fast. She loves her new highlights and I have to admit it does look pretty.

But wasn't she this size just yesterday?

Maybe blonds do have more fun. Regardless, she is very happy with the change, albeit temporary - and I think she looks very pretty. But then, she was pretty bald headed and no teeth - all 3.8 lbs of her.

Are You Proud of Me?

2011-05-12T00:42:00.000-04:00

"Are you proud of me?" he asked.

It was late in the evening, actually past the usual bed time - one of these evenings that just gets away from you, full of playing catch and homework and dance and a baseball game, with a late supper and dishes and showers, searching for matching socks and pajama pants for tonight and gathering assignments and clothes for the morning - making sure the dogs got fed at some point as well.

And yes, ~~Elvis~~ Kitana has not yet left the building. Our star boarder is still with us.

I had planned to do a post about the birthday - the one where we have teens in the house. But that will have to wait for another day.

Am I proud? Am I proud? I am shouting from the rooftops, yelling in the streets, singing your praises, proud beyond comprehension. sickening to my friends, bragging proud. How can you even ask such a thing?

Truthfully, there are not words enough in the English launguage to adequately convey the depth of my pride in you. And you and you.

isn't that a parent's job?

I am not sure exactly what precipitated this question. Asking am I proud is akin to asking do I love you. Of course I am proud - it goes without saying. But maybe that's the point. It needs to be spoken too. Yes you know it, but you need to hear it as well - and often. And I need to say it.

When I say I am proud of you, it means so much more than your accomplishments or your grades or your performance on the field or in dance. It borders on an arrogance, but an acceptable arrogance. It's a pride every mom has - or should have - that feels a connection to who you are becoming in relation to a path you could have just as easily chosen.

It's a pride that is connected to a mother's unconditional love. To believing the best, wanting the best, expecting high standards, and still unwavering when there's a slip from perfection. And there are a lot of slips in this house. From the top on down.

Your question is like the toddler's "look at me, watch me watch me" as he jumps over a stick or the child's belly flop in the pool. It's an invitation for approval and acceptance, even though those were a given from the point of conception.

When I first heard those cries, saw those tiny squished faces, I was proud - and grateful, and happy, and relieved and scared all at the same time. As your dad's chest puffed out a little more with every single "congratulations", he felt the same way too. As you met milestones and accomplishments - reaching for a toy, sleeping through the night - holding your own bottle (a biggie) - walking, writing your name, riding a bike, passing a test, telling the truth, being kind to one another - I was proud.

As you stood by your granddaddy's casket when you were only seven, and gently patted his hand to wrap your little mind around the concept of death and sorrow and compassion and hope .... as you were each baptized at the age of eight, having a quite deep understanding of the depth of sacrifice Jesus made specifically for you to give you a gift you could not earn - I was proud.

I could fill pages and pages of examples - small things, monumental things, things you think no one knows about - things that show your character, smiles and gestures and tears and hugs - all make me proud.

So sweetheart, you never have to ask me if I am proud of you - know that I am.

The two things I told your older brothers are true for you too. You don't have to tell me "you ALWAYS do this .... or you NEVER do ....". There are two things you can count on - one always and one never.

I will never stop loving you no matter what and I will ALWAYS be glad (proud) you are my child.

So yes, I am very proud of you indeed.

Just Give Me the Award

2011-05-11T10:28:00.000-04:00

I deserve the award. I'll admit it. Best Mom Ever. Mother of the Year. ~~Mother Who Gives In Even Thought She Probably Shouldn't Have~~. Mom Who Loves Her Kids SO Much and Loves To See Them Over The Top Excited!

My trio of miracles are officially TEENS. In fact, I am parenting FOUR teens since Matt is 19 ~~going on 30~~ so he is technically still a teen too. As my Jewish friends might say "oy vay".

When Mike and I married and decided to start a family, we had so many roadblocks - and happily two adoptions in there. But we had 13 very long agonizing heartbreaking and sad years of infertility, losses, treatments, proceedures and surgeries. Very long! And now on the flip side 13 years that have flown by filled with diapers and bottles and cribs and carseats and preschool and swim lessons and t ball and dance - and joy!

It seems like only yesterday I was color coding bottles, but now am color coding cell phone covers.

Happy 13th Birthday yesterday to my babies - more to come soon.

WE LOVE MOM minus the WE

2011-05-08T15:29:00.000-04:00

More to come a little later today I hope, but wanted to share. My girl was banging plenty of pots and pans in the kitchen this morning. I knew she was up to something. Mike and I had to go out for awhile and a couple of secret calls to her dad ensued. I came home to a platter of cupcakes .... "LOVE MOM" ... seems they ate the "WE" because they couldn't resist - lol. They boys made me a sweet card.

James actually remembered and called me - Matt told me at 5:45 this morning when I took him to work.

But nothings tops Mother's Day 1998 when my trio made their debut in this world.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY.

HE is Risen

2011-04-25T23:42:00.001-04:00

Easter, although low key among the holidays, is probably my most favorite celebration. It's meaning, symbolic and literally, provides the basis for renewal, new life. Without the resurrection, Christianity would be meaningless. Serving a risen Saviour who gave a gift none of us deserves and making a way when we could not, means everything.

I am so thankful all five of my children are Believers, even if a few are presently strayers and fringers. The foundation is laid and hopefully they will return.

I am so blessed. Blessed beyond words and beyond comprehension, yet still so human that I often forget and overlook my blessings. I like the renewal of Easter as a gentle reminder to refocus. Like me, my children are a work in progress. They do GET IT, but they are still young. A little reprimand was necessary upon learning the boys (and their friends) one by one snuck out of the Good Friday service to shoot some hoops in the gym - returning just in time for communion. They were taken to task for that, so perhaps they don't have a full understanding, but still I find comfort in the fact the basics are there.

When you don't have a lot of family, extended family (we have plenty of nuclear family), holidays and traditions are all our own. We don't have the obligation or the stress of the joy of being with loved ones - and you do know what I mean. It CAN be very stressful. Not that I wouldn't gladly trade the ease for the joy of grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins and happily accept any accompanying stresses. But they are already witness to the joy and for that I am thankful.

That said, we are not bound by tradition. But I cherish the old times too. Wasn't that just yesterday?

I still find fun and happiness in the less conventional and more commercial Easter trappings too. I like the idea of renewal and Spring. Bunnies and chicks are cute. My children have always received Easter baskets. We have dyed eggs and had egg hunts and pictures with the Easter bunny. We've made Resurrection cookies and this year's plan was for Resurrection rolls - all read with the Easter story from Mark. The kids know what Easter is. They know WHY Easter is. But they are still kids and enjoy the celebration.

When they do get older, filling Easter baskets gets a bit more complex. Gone are the days of a few plastic eggs and packages of Goldfish crackers and bubbles and sidewalk chalk and coloring books and stickers. This year it was a couple of DS games and a couple of much coveted books from Barnes and Noble - received a couple of weeks ago doing double duty as report card celebration gifts. That negotiation was understood, so it became more of a challenge to fill baskets and not break the bank. Also, in the spirit of being practical and not purchasing junky babyish unnecessary baskets, Easter TRASH CANS for their rooms were filled with goodies.

The kids got new tees, candies that are appropriate for braces - another challenging obstacle - another Eeyore for my girl's collection.

Baseball items completed my boys "baskets" and my girl got Tangled - which the boys will watch too even though they will pretend they are totally uninterested and then will swear they weren't really watching - it just happened to be on and they happened to be in the room. Ahem.

And sadly, no matter how old they get, they will most likely always get "their color". I can't help myself. I need a mutiple intervention.

Even though my two biggest boys are technically adult men, of course I don't leave them out.

My boys are so secure in their manhood that they didn't even balk at wearing pink shirts to church. It's a good color for them.

My sweet girl was stunning in her (Savers) Easter outfit.

We stopped at Subway for a joyous Easter lunch, but I did cook a nice dinner later. Pork chops and veggies instead of the traditional ham. That's what I get for hitting the grocery store Saturday night and finding they are all out of ham. Who knew?

So even though we have passed the days of Easter egg hunts and hopping down the bunny trail, I can say with even more emphasis - He is risen.

He is risen indeed.

Happy belated Easter.

Spring Hits and Misses (but finally arrived)

2011-04-20T20:28:00.001-04:00

Instead of my usual moans, let's do a little celebrating.

Thankfully, it's totally fixable. In the scheme of inconvenience and hardships, the main idea shines through. It's a vehicle.

When things are repainted and buffed shiny and new, they look so much better than before. It gives you a new perspective and a sweet appreciation.

It's good that our skulls are nice and hard (although being hard headed CAN be an issue - hence my son Matthew). And the bright side is his friend says she plans to always wear her seat belt from now on. I have chided her several times in the past since she is someone's mother now. It's not just about her. So her beautiful baby boy will have a mother who takes care of herself so she can take better care of him.
Sunday was an event filled day. My boys looked splendid in their new uniforms.

Time has flown. Only yesterday they looked like this, playing tee ball:

Now they are part of the "big boys", but still not the biggest boys.
The parade was good, opening day was good, working in the concession stand and smelling like grease for the remainder of the day was .....

Playing a little soccer/basketball with our houseguest ...

And yes, she is still just visiting.

They won their first game by the way. Second game postponed due to rain.

yes, it's Spring.

Did I DO That?

2011-04-16T00:58:00.000-04:00

When you have small children, or "littles" which seem to be the en vogue term these days, you expect things to get broken. It happens.

When the triplets were small, our combination living room/playroom (formerly a dining room) was aptly baby proofed. Which would have been sufficient for one baby, or possibly two, but when there are three in cahoots, all bets were off. Doorways were gated, stairs were gated, lamps were replaced by only the overhead light. Gone were knick knacks, and pictures were placed high on the wall. It was pretty barren decorative wise, but had plenty of assorted baby toys and other related items that held their fancy. Mike used to say Toys R Us should just back up the semi and unload to save time.

That's not to say that they didn't unroll an entire package of toilet paper and paint the windows and the leather couch with A&D ointment and mark on the walls and each other with a sharpie and empty baby powder and knock over the television and move their toys to climb up and over the gates - whew - makes me tired just thinking about those days.

As they get older and wiser and have more self control, you can slowly regain a semblance of normalcy beyond a padded room. It's a slow process.

By the time they are close to the teen years, you can breathe a sigh of relief. Gone are the days of destruction, replaced with young adulthood.

Unless you have a boy who walks by his brother's car and pulls on the back radio antenna to hear the cool B-O-I-N-G sound it makes. Then he decides to pull it back a little farther and release to hear an even bigger sound.

But instead of B-O-I-N-G and silence, you hear B-O-I-N-G and then - C-R-A-C-K!

Matthew was none too pleased with his younger brother, to say the least.

The only bright spot was this is the car HE had already totaled and it's in the driveway awaiting pick up to lala land.

Famous last words ..... "I didn't think it was gonna break" ..... operative words - "didn't and think."

It's Always in the Last Place You Look, Right?

2011-04-12T14:04:00.003-04:00

There is a period of sheer bliss almost each and every morning. There must be a time continuim in some parallel universe that I slip into for only 5-10 minutes, but oh how I love it. That special time between sound asleep and fully awake. I lay completely still and I listen. My covers call my name and I sink in, totally relaxed. I can hear muffled sounds in the background - usually padded feet, moving around, sometimes the low buzz of the tv but more often not. It's a quiet time of soft noises. It's funny as moms, we can tell who is up, whose footsteps belong to who, and who is in the bathroom and who is in the kitchen.

It's nice to have big kids who can get themselves up and dressed and fed and ready for school. The operative word is CAN. It doesn't always happen so blissfully. There's still a lot of "have you seen my shoes?", "where's my math homework", "please sign this", "I need some money", and the ever present "CAN YOU HURRY UP IN THE BATHROOM??? I HAVE TO GO!".

Getting to this place was not easy. It's taken years and years of reminders being drilled into little heads to get your clothes ready the night before, find your shoes, put your homework IN your backpack as soon as it's done and have your lunch ready to go in the fridge and put your things by the door the night before - as if you are going to walk out the door right then.

I think back to years past - the hurry up and where's this or where's that and finish your breakfast and wipe your face and brush your teeth and put your shoes on and the battles over the red shirt or the blue shirt, climb in the car seat and buckle up to take the big boys to school, or heading to preschool themselves. But even before that, mornings were for morning snuggles. Little pajama clad feet scooting in and climbing up and snuggle bunnies under the covers, as their sweet breaths and giggles often turn back to rhythmed snores as sweet little lumps of love cuddle close and fall back asleep - lots of whispered "I love you's" - sigh - how did those days disappear so quickly?

My kids will be mortified as they do read my blog, but they are still my snuggle bunnies every once in a while. Snuggles are shorter and often not much more than a hug, but just as cherished. Even if

I don't always get up with them since that duty falls on their dad's sweet shoulders most of the time, (I am so not a morning person, right kids?), they still very seldom ever leave the house without coming to the door with a "bye Mom, I love you". I am so thankfully they got their dad's morning disposition.

They're great kids. Not perfect by any means, but good kids. Kids I would like even if they were not my children that I love so much. And report cards were stellar. Although they constantly implore me to homeschool them again (seriously, they do - at least the boys, not so much my ~~social butterfly~~ daughter), they do their best and they do well and they behave themselves which is just as important as academics. CHARACTER. I feel as if I am letting them down, but right now I can't homeschool. I have to work. And with the two big boys at home there is so much chaos.

Switching gears, you are in luck. I had planned this post to let you know that there won't be many photos in the coming days except for those I can snap with my cell phone, such as the one below that is actually not too bad considering it is a cell phone and the sun was bright and I couldn't even see the screen. In fact, that is why I haven't posted much lately. My camera took a vacation to an undisclosed location. So I used my girl's camera for a few weeks until it decided to join it's friend in camera club med world. Both were MIA. Mike said I needed to check the local pawn shops since both my older boys are always needing money. But I had the chargers to both cameras so I felt it was pretty unlikely. I have been going crazy looking for them. I had my daughter's in my purse until last week when I had jury duty and I took it out since I knew you can't bring a camera in the courthouse. I just couldn't remember where I put it.

I found my camera last night - rejoice me, dismay to my ~~willing subjects~~ kids. It was tucked away in a corner behind the stack of books by my bed that I am working my way through. Excitedly, I immediately went to put it in the pocket of my purse because I like to have it with me at all times - no telling what sort of thrilling photo op I might come across in my daily travels. It wouldn't fit in the pocket because my daughter's camera was ALREADY IN THERE. I am just too ~~absent minded~~ efficient. I must have put it back after I got home from court. Do senior moments start this early or is it just that I have five children - and ~~three~~ two dogs.

Kitana is still visiting - operative work - VISITING, as in not staying, temporary house guest, going home soon - even though she does plop her white furry self in Mike's lap as soon as he sits down on the couch.

Finally, that time is upon us. Unless Mother Nature gives us snow again as a cruel joke like she did April 1st. Surely not. So rejoice, now instead of basketball photos and indoor pictures of the dogs, we'll switch to baseball photos and outdoor pictures of the dogs. And birthdays and dance recitals to come soon too.

I was so ready for Spring. Such a late arrival this year - must have been vacationing with my camera. Has Spring finally sprung in your neck of the woods? Any plans? Do tell.

Twitter, Tattoos, & Other Timely Topics

2011-04-07T13:06:00.001-04:00

I have a Twitter account. You have the opportunity to follow Teensandtriplet (no "s" - not enough space on the title limit, darn it) on Twitter, as you can see on my sidebar. I have followers on Twitter. 58 of them in fact. But I am not sure why. My Twitter is none too thrilling, and quite sporadic. I need to work on that. Feel free to follow if you want to increase your thrill a day factor.

I forget I have Twitter and always forget to "tweet" and then when I do remember, it's generally pretty lame since I can never think of the exciting things and topics other Twitter-ers tweet. I suppose I could be a copy cat Twitter-er, but what would be the fun in that? Somebody needs to write a book of Twitter for Dummies full of suggestions and ideas and provide remedial Twitter help.

I did tweet I had jury duty earlier this week. Grand jury, handing down indictments - would have been a 3 month stint. I would totally do it if it would not present such a hardship, because it was quite fascinating. The day was interesting. I got several chapters of my book read. I played a dozen games of Sudoko. I made a grocery list. There was a lot of down time. I people watched. I listened to a long winded prosecutor - and a judge who pretty much said the same thing but in a totally different way. The courthouse is an interesting place. The Halls of Justice. Too bad people cannot read "no smoking" when standing outside by the building. Cough cough choke choke - trying to get in the building of 6 doors, which are for some reason all locked except for the ONE revolving door. I hope the letter of the law is better followed inside.

When I do a new blog post, that get's Twitter-ed. And I think it gets Twitter-ed to my Facebook status for TeensandTriplets too - another medium I forget I have since I have my personal FB. I can also Twitter and Twitpic from my phone, although that's stretching my abilities - and I forget too.

Oh wait, I just Twittered - today is Matt's 19th birthday. So glad I thought of something exciting. At least I am sure it was exciting at the tattoo establishment he visited last night - (picture to come later when I can sneak it in). The excitement may wear thin when his father notices the tatt.

Speaking of tatoos .... since this is my blog which reflects my opinion ..... I just don't get it. And it's not because I am old since there appears to be tons of people my age and older with them. But I don't care for tattoos. There - I've said it. No offense to anyone with one (or two or three or four - seems to be an addictive type thing). My "going against the flow" voice is out there now. Now that Matt has one he has followed in his big brother's footsteps. James has a couple of them as well. Lovely scorpion on one arm and a skull on the other. Lovely, just lovely.

Maybe it's a mom thing since I hate to think of anything marring the soft sweet suppleness of my babies dewy baby skin. Not that they have had baby skin for many years. But I still can see those tiny hands and sweet toes and cute innocent faces if I look hard enough - and squint and turn sideways. I look at my 3 younger ones, still young at the tender age of 12, when so many are 12 going on 20. Did you know there are children at the middle school - 11, 12, 13 - with various piercings and probably a few tattoos too? I need to ask the kids. I bet there might be tattoos. There was actually a girl last year who brought vodka to school! Oh my! I am sure there are a whole lot of things I don't know.

I always had my children promise me three things when they were little. I won't smoke. I won't do drugs. I won't join a gang. My two older boys both smoke. I hate it. HATE IT. I grew up with smoking parents - smoking parents who died of lung cancer and heart disease and my children do not have grandparents and I am an orphan because they made the choice to smoke - and quit, but too late, and the cost was high, and there was no satisfaction in being right.

Neither have joined a gang. The jury may still be out of the drug thing since alcohol is technically included in the drug category - although nothing drug related has been an issue - that I know of.

I want to keep my little kids little.

Back to tattoos. I know it is a personal choice. I know they are a fashion statement. I know they send a message. I know they are about self expression and freedom and art. Quite frankly, some are really pretty. Some are quite inspirational and thought provoking and some are a nice tribute or memorial. And some are scorpions and skulls. But I simply cannot imagine ANYTHING I would want to permanently put on my body that will be there F-O-R-E-V-E-R. When I am 85, do I really want butterflies flowing down my back? And if you get your tattoo when you are young - to make your statement - is that the same statement you want to make when you are 40? or 50? or 75? Can you really think of your grandmother with flowers or mermaids or a harley on her neck?

All that aside, as well as my religious convictions about marking your body - is this. My father was dead set against tattoos. When he was a young man, 16, 17, 18 - he fought in WWII. He was a sailor. Tattoos and sailors went hand in hand. Many of his buddies had them. He fought his way out, more than once, of being held down by buddies who were insistant he was going to have one too. He saw MANY infections from them - and yes I know techniques and sterilization and such is much improved since the archaic 1940's practices in the ports of the South Pacific and is a non issue compared to those days. But because HE felt so strongly and because I had such respect for him, it's my respect that motivates my opinion. Again, the operative work is MY. Enough said.

Switching gears totally - on the homefront. I baked a pineapple upside down cake last night. Matt's birthday cake of choice. He's off work today because of course you don't work on your birthday, right?

Tomorrow is report card day for my younger trio.

Spring is possibly really really really on the way now - after last week's snow.

Basketball is over and baseball practice starts next week with a game the week after. Dance recital costumes are being fitted and that's coming up soon too. And the triplets' birthday is next month. Officially teenagers.

And yes, Kitana is still with us. But it's temporary.

And the Beat GROWS On

2011-04-05T22:57:00.001-04:00

Groan... lame title I know.

Life continues with the many days of our life. All 5 children (the 2 adult ones specifically) are around these days, car sharing with Matthew is still the norm - or should I say Matt occasionally allows me to drive MY van. It's official that his car is totaled so when the insurance comes in I guess a car hunt will be on. Fun times. He has champagne tastes and a beer budget. Don't we all?

Matt starts school later this month so life will change a LOT for him. School and homework and work will be his order of the day. Doesn't leave much time for a poppin burn the candle at both ends lifestyle he has - which drives me nuts.

For the record, Kitana is STILL here. It's still temporary, honest.

Speaking of growing.....

My girl has been wanting a haircut for several weeks. I have put it off because while the notion is good, she is never too happy with the results. Last Fall, she wanted bangs, so we got bangs. Not happy! A few years ago, Locks of Love - again, idea good, but actual haircut, not happy!

After weeks and weeks and weeks, I couldn't put it off any longer. Her sadness and despair over split ends could not be remedied with a promise of a hair cut soon. Her brothers tends to think she is a bit of a diva. Of course brothers tend to exaggerate. I could say pot meet kettle and it wouldn't be too far from the truth.

The ending involved a full fledged adult cut, since children's cuts stop at eleven. I guess when a girl turns twelve she automatically has an adult head. Thankfully my boys still have child heads for another year according to their barber shop.

After perusing the books for styles that the majority of realistic people would not dream of wearing, or that would be impossible to recreate at home IF one were to get that style, she decided to have 4 inches lopped off and returned to bangs, only on the longer side this time around.

The results, stunning of course. She's my girl and she's always stunning. I love how girly girlish she is and how she cares about things like hair and makeup (which we don't allow yet, archaic parents that we are) and clothes and friends and whether something matches and how it looks and how she feels about things and all that being an almost teenage girl encompasses.

Besides, it's just hair - and it always grows back. But she looked terrific.

Now my other girl is begging for a new "do" as well. Girls!

Dew Drop Inn

2011-03-26T00:07:00.000-04:00

Our two dogs, Lucy the rat dog and Oreo the fat dog, are marginal on the watch dog circuit. They have their moments. Lucy, all five pounds of her, is a ferocious terror, growling and snarling at anything that moves. NO ONE is scared of her. She has a case of "little dog" syndrome.

Oreo is a bit more reserved, saving her barks for when it counts. Most of the time she can be a bit oblivious to life that extends beyond her little canine world. She tolerates Lucy because Lucy knows her place. It's unspoken that Oreo is the alpha dog.

My point is this - they know their place in our family. And they LOVE us. But others, well not so much. At least until someone reaches to pet them. Then they are tail wagging best friends.

This canine warning system can be quite useful. When one of my older boys come in, I always know who it is. Our barking alarm will often give a yap or two when they hear the car door. By the time the door is unlocked and opened, they have laid back down. However on the occasion they might have someone WITH them, all bets are off and my attack dogs sound like a pack of wolves. This is what happened the other evening. Matt came home (you can tell it's him by the music in the driveway - WHY do they have to have it so loud?). Lucy and Oreo went nuts, so I just assumed Matt had one of his friends with him.

Matt usually tells them to calm down and his friend pets them and it's quiet again. Not this time. I looked up to see which of Matt's friends was setting them off.

Meet Kitano.

Lucy and Oreo were not very welcoming. And Lucy scared this poor little girl half to death. I don't think she is used to other dogs. Lucy quite happily got her bluff in.

Oreo is so good natured and finally found her hospitality. Live and let live is her motto (as long as there is not food involved). Lucy is still a work in progress.

Talk about an uproar - the dogs and Mike. "Get her out of here... take her back where she belongs." After all, she was upsetting his baby Lucy - you know, the little dog he doesn't like at all. I do agree Matt should have asked first. I think that was the big issue there. Mike is really a big softie.

The story is this: she belongs to a friend of his. She is a 3 year old spayed female West Highland Terrier. His friend needed someone to watch her for a few days and Matt graciously volunteered (not that he's ever home). She's housebroken (she really is!) and she is quiet. She us up to date on her shots. She has a sweet personality.

She needed a bath which my boy and I gave her. She was very good. We brushed her and blow dried her. She looked so pretty.

So this is day two and she seems to have settled in a bit. You can tell she is still unsure. She sleeps in Matt's room.

WE ARE NOT, repeat NOT KEEPING HER. Just so that is in print. I am not sure why her owner can't keep her for a few days. I haven't got a straight answer on that yet. Vacation? School? Jail? Can't be jail since he has called and texted to check on her.

So DO Drop Inn - we are the hotel for dogs evidently.

You have Been Warned

2011-03-21T23:30:00.000-04:00

Sometimes it is interesting to see the attitudes and personalities that your children exhibit. For the most part, their general personality is set from in utero. I always knew where one of my boys was, doing flips and somersaults on my left side. He still has the two main settings - fast and fast asleep.

My girl has a sweet gentle spirit. She is a giver and a peacemaker, but she gets fed up and lets it all out sometimes too - with both barrels a'blazin! My other boy CAN be a bit high maintenance, however he will study and assess a situation and usually has remarkably good insight. All three - in fact - all FIVE are "fearfully and wonderfully made" and quite unique.

What's funny though, is seeing yourself or your spouse in your children. For instance, my daughter brought this to my attention.

This is her new curling iron. Not that Miss Curly NEEDS a curling iron. Maybe it should be a styling iron since she already has curls aplenty - which she loathes.

This is the tag that was attached to said curling iron.

The reverse side of the warning has wonderfully helpful advice as well.

Her question to me was "Do they think we are morons?". It's like the hair dryer warning that advises you NOT to use it in the shower. Uh yeah, ok - good idea. Thanks.

Or the caution that Mc*Donalds coffee will be HOT. Or on the frozen pizza box - "cook before eating". Or even the door on an airplane that says to not open in mid flight.

She thinks along the same lines I do. So much is marketed with the intent to reach the masses that they feel it has to be dumbed down. Are we THAT ignorant as a society? Wait - don't answer that.

She finds things like this incredibly funny.

Her brothers have a pretty good sense of humor. Typical brothers - they like to tease and harass her a bit. She can give back as good as she gets. It's fun to see the group dynamic. Even at this age, way past the toddler stage and the "triplet language", they are still quite in tune to one another. I think they are incredibly lucky to have one another.

I know I am terribly lucky - and blessed beyond words.

The Ins and Outs of Life

2011-03-20T19:07:00.000-04:00

Sometimes in this life, you find yourself locked OUT ... but you want to get IN ....

Sometimes in this life, you find yourself locked IN ... but you want to get OUT ....

And sometimes you have to laugh to keep from crying.

So when life gives you lemons ....

Make lemonade.

Top O' the Morning to Ya!

2011-03-17T23:25:00.001-04:00

Actually morning was many hours prior, or still many hours away however you want to look at it. But keeping in the interest of the fact it's St. Patty's Day I thought I'd throw that out there.

We aren't big on celebrating St. Pats, but I have done a few fun things in the past, but none went well, so it's become a moot point. Note to self, my picky kids refuse to drink green milk. Mashed potatoes are meant to be white, and butter meant to be yellow. One of my sons, who happens to be a small clone of his grandfather, feels things have to be pleasing to the eye before it hits the palate. Also different foods are not to be mixed. He has his own brand of kosher, as in casseroles of any kind are just not edible. Just one of the many ~~quirks~~, ~~idiosyncrasies~~, ~~oddities~~, personality traits of my sweet guy. If he follows to be anything like his grandfather, he will be a wonderful gentleman and have a happy life.

I did bring home green construction paper and shamrock cutouts for the kiddos. Yes kids, I know you are not six. Yes, I know you are a bit old for this, and yes, I know crafting at this age is a bit lame. My thoughtful kids after much cajoling, humored their mom anyway.

Oreo always has her green. At least with a camera flash. With her brown eye and blue eye, the flash gives her a traffic light motif.

Thankfully we are finally heading towards Spring in these parts. I am so looking forward to the transition. I don't really mind Winter even though it is mostly inconvenient. But I know Mike is tired of it.

Two weeks ago, he was out late one evening helping a friend with some office cleaning. We had a sort of unexpected freak snow that night. He called right before he left there and told me it was pretty sloppy and he was taking his time and being very careful. Two days before that his car burned up, so he had my van. Part of his trepidation was knowing we only have one vehicle. Not more than 15 minutes later, he called me hysterical. "I've totalled the van!! I had an accident!" Now Mike does not do emergencies well. There's a reason he's in ministry rather than medicine. I told him to get off the phone, call 911 and call me back. He did. He is fine, was just a little sore and a lot shaken up. The van hit some black ice, at a very slow speed, did 3, 360's and bounced off the guard rail several times. My bumper is pretty torn up. He landed on the edge of a barrier and thankfully did not go over the embankment, even though he thought it was. Sheesh! Never a dull moment. And yes, he is a seat belt wearer - unlike Matthew who rolls his eyes every time I remind him to buckle up. Don't you know when you are eighteen you are invincible?

In other news, my trio have been gathering signatures, dates, and other related information pertaining to being considered for the National Junior Honor Society. I am hoping all three make it. I was one of the charter members at my "junior" high school, MANY years ago. You have to have terrific grades, but they also look at leadership, citizenship, character and service. We'll see what happens. I have a feeling this is just the beginning. I have been telling them all those "extras" will count. This is just 7th grade and I am sure it will be even more important come high school.

The days are blending one into the other. The weeks fly by. We've hit almost seventeen months since Mike lost his full time position. I don't know how we have made it this far with his very part time jobs. He has made a job of searching for a job but the older workers are not respected in this country. Age and experience are in direct opposition. It works out well if you are 30 with 20 years experience in your field.
He is honestly quite discouraged - but we'll get through it.

All in a day's journey.

Why Don't They Know That?

2011-02-27T01:09:00.001-05:00

I seem to frequently forget what my children don't know. There are times I subconsciously believe just because I know something, or understand a concept, or believe something to be true, that they have the same level of information within their little brains.

Case in point:
My children recently had a few days of winter vacation from school. Their homework assignments were caught up for the most part and their sports and dance outlets always remain in fine form, but their rooms, well that's a horse of a totally different color.

My daughter's room and her triplet brother's room are next door to one another. Up until age 5, the three shared a room. Right before school age, we separated them. My girl had her "princess room" and the boys have always shared space. Even though half of it was sports theme and the other half was camouflage. Much to their chagrin, they will probably always share a room. There just isn't space to do otherwise. Especially when adult children keep returning to the nest.

I tend to avoid entering their rooms because I always have a meltdown, complete with heart palpitations and unattractive bulging veins in my forehead as my blood pressure rises proportionately with my anger. I have a hard time keeping the house clean as there are so many people who move things, break things, misplace things, use things, etc. But to have a room of your own, or even sharing a room, that is YOURS, should not be hard to keep up with. The entire rest of the house belongs to everyone, like it or not. For some reason, everyone, including the BIG boys, love our bedroom and want to be in there. I can't keep them out.

When I was a child, my parent's bedroom was pretty much off limits. It was at the far end of a long hallway, and also had a half bath. The bed's (yes, bedS, as in Lucy & Ricky Ricardo twin beds) were always made, clothes hung up and put away, with polished fruit wood furniture and knickknacks on the dressers. It was always dark and cool. Maybe the foil on the windows had something to do with it. My point is, it was their room, as we would never even think of simply barging in, night or day, flopping down on the bed. One of the biggest perks of being sick was getting to lay in my father's bed after he went to work. But I digress.

If one has a room of their own that they are pretty much the only occupants, how can it look as if a tornado blew through? My children generally only sleep in their rooms. They are too big for toys for the most part. None of the three spend much time in there. So when I see the rooms in that state, blow my stack and bark out the order to make order from the chaos, they know I am serious - and they get busy. This busy involved bringing downstairs, plastic baskets full of clothes. I truly do not believe all of these clothes are dirty, wearable, or even clothes. They basically throw it all in baskets and POOF - it's clean! Ummmm - not today, sorry. As ~~they~~, we, I sort through the baskets, weed out and donate the too small outdated clothes and shoes, the broken and unidentifiable parts of games/toys/?, and the trash, I find a good portion are clean clothes sent to be put away that never made it out of the basket in the first place. Once those are put away, dirty clothes are left.

Oooh, too bad mom now as to do all this laundry. Guess again? Kids are now responsible for their own laundry, start to finish.

We've taught the load sizes, the buttons, the correct amounts of detergent, and the various cycles. Mostly they use the normal cycle - warm/cool, extra rinse. Then switch to dryer, throw in a dryer sheet - easy peasy no problem. Put into basket from dryer, fold/hang and put away. Should be an easy step by step process. Especially for what I consider to be smarter than average kids.

Back to my point of kids not knowing things. Last night I am summoned to the basement. There's water on the floor by the washer. Upon closer inspection, it was determined the washer did not cycle completely and there are inches of water still in the washer and it has not drained and spinned - which means the clothes are sopping wet. Now the simple solution is to switch the washer to the spin cycle as it was interrupted - no problem. Except I realize there is only part of a load in the washer. And still no account for the water on the floor. Hmmmmm.

They had taken totally wet dripping soaked clothes directly from the washer and thrown them in the dryer! How did they NOT know you don't put sopping wet clothes in a dryer? Seems pretty basic, but they had no idea it was not a good idea. Another case where you think your kids know what you know. But they don't.

Last week, the children wanted to have pizza. Money for restaurant pizza is scarce, so we make pizza at home. Tastes better anyway. Same for pancakes and waffles. I don't buy frozen since it is much easier and surely healthier to make my own. If there are ever any left, I freeze them. Making my own, I can throw in fruit, flax seed and and sometimes hide extra veggies in sauces. They will eat more of the store bought than the homemade. Why? "It tastes better." I explain it is the same, only healthier - and better. Same for mac and cheese. That just kills me. Why don't they believe what I tell them? Why would I work harder and pay more and take more effort and time to provide better and healthier? Just for kicks and grins I guess.

I wish they automatically knew what I know - it would make life much easier.

We are here, we are here, we are HERE

2011-02-24T21:47:00.000-05:00

Remember the story of Horton Hears a Who and everyone thinks Horton is crazy and in the end all the Who's in teeny tiny Whoville somehow (fuzzy details, sorry) magnify their collective voices and yell out "we are here, we are here, we are HERE!". And then they are finally heard and saved from whatever doom was about to befall them? And Horton is proven sane.

Well believe it or not, we are still here. That's how I feel. The jury is out on the sane part at the moment.

We are facing some new ~~challenges~~ opportunities. The prodigal son has returned and while there is not a total transformation, there is a change. It seems one's "friends" are not always friends when push comes to shove. And life is not as simple as we'd hope, and circumstances are not as forgiving and easy to rectify. In short, it's a tough world out there, even under the best of circumstances.

I can't lie. It was certainly more manageable to parent only the trio whilst the two older sons were living on their own. Most of the drama had dissipated and while it was still busy, it was like an easy flowing albeit constant stream rather than a massive river of rapids (great analogy, huh - especially when you feel you can easily drown because of the strong undercurrent - an undertow of chaos and malcontent).

Due to seperate sets of circumstances, BOTH our older sons have now returned to the fold - so we are once again a household of technically 4 adults, 3 pre-teen children, and 2 pups - plus ONE bathroom in 1300 square feet. Sheesh - inhale and synchronize the breathing. Add to this current mix, 3 jobs, school, dance 3x week, basketball 2x week, church activities and toss in ONE functioning vehicle and you see where I'm going with this. It's a juggling act.

Insert photo of Lucy - for good measure. See what she puts up with?

Matt's car is currently kaput, until he works enough to save the money to have it repaired. Note, it WAS working when he left home, but that's another LONG story. He IS working a lot of hours, but many of those hours are 5:30 to 2:30, as in 5:30 AM. And he is looking into some sort of school in the next few months, possibly medical assisting. So he has a viable money making career until he does decide to go to college and further prepare for his adult vocation - whatever that might be. Nothing wrong with McD's, but he does have more ambition than that. He just needs to get to a point where he has the patience and fortitude to stick with the necessities to lay the framework to get where he wants to go.

Mike's car, as of Tuesday, is also kaput. (I never use the word kaput - don't know why I've used it twice now). It needs more work than the car is worth. When a car value is approximately a thousand dollars, it's tough to swallow putting 2 grand into it. Especially when we don't have it. So we are looking into our limited options. He was taking our sweet girl to the orthodontist when it just plain stopped, after making a funny sound for several miles. It turned out, something happened to a gasket and all the oil drained out and guess what? If a car has no oil then the engine burns up and it won't run. Previous to this, it was running just fine. We think some sort of warning light SHOULD have come on, but nothing did. We did see the puddle of oil on the driveway AFTER we got home, but since it was under the car we were getting into, it wasn't something we saw beforehand since the car was over it.

On the positive side, father and daughter spend some quality time together with the AAA driver and the state trooper and sitting in a wrecker facility waiting (not so patiently) for me to rescue them.

Lucy resigns herself to being humiliated.

Moving on to James and his lovely roommate situation. Remember the girl with the baby that I helped get the crib and clothes and other necessities for? She dropped her boyfriend end of January, picked up a NEW boyfriend who is/was a friend of James. He moved in and with a week they are "engaged". But sadly, he had lost his job and she hadn't worked much and they ~~conned~~ talked James into paying 3/4ths of the rent with the promise they would reimburse him in a week or two. Several days later, they threw him out. There's probably a more elaborate story there too, but it doesn't matter. What does matter and is quite convenient, is they kicked him out AFTER the rent and bills were paid. And now the story is they aren't paying him back because he ate their food while living there. Seriously, that was a lot of food for such a short time.
He has been in contact with them and now that March 1st is approaching, they have apologized and asked him if he wants to move back in. "Thanks, but NO!".

So we are one big happy family.

In all honesty, there is a ~~sick,~~ ~~crazy,~~ maternal part of me that likes having ALL my children under one roof. The older boys returned with certain expectations and certain financial requirements, as well as household obligations. It has been explicitly spelled out and so far, so good. We're all a work in progress.

The boys have been busy with basketball - on the bright side. Two different leagues, 2 different days. On one league they are on opposing teams and the other the same. I just cheer when anyone scores.

So on that note, I'll close - more to come soon. Our saga continues...

How Do I Love Three? Let Me Count the Ways ...

2011-02-14T23:46:00.001-05:00

On this day devoted to love, I decided to do a little acrostic for you. It should be more aptly titled "how my six loves bless me so", but it didn't sound as poetic.

V - very special sweethearts, from the one who first taught me how to be a mommy, to the very hard headed one who drives me absolutely crazy (and he knows who he is), to the driven perfectionist and the one who loves life and the sweet compassionate heart of gold soul.

A - amazing miracles, all five in their own way - the older two because of the unique providential circumstances of how they became our sons and the trio because as the expert doctors stated, I wasn't supposed to be able to carry a child.

L - life, my crazy, frantic, busy and stressful life that never seems to slow down, but I am so glad for it anyway. One day I will miss it - but oh that day appears to be very far off.

E - enthusiasm and energy - they have a boat load of the former, and it zaps me of the latter

N - never ending laundry and dirty dishes (and messes and groceries)

T - tender-heartedness - is that a word? Each one posseses a tender heart of varying degrees. Of course it is always exhibited at varying times. We're working on all of us being nice at the same time.

I - intelligence - I have smart kids that love learning and I love watching them learn. For that I am grateful. I loved learning too.

N - even more never ending laundry and dirty dishes (and messes and groceries). I told you it was never ending.

E - evolving. I love looking back and seeing where they all started and watching the people they are becoming and the changes as they grow, in so many different ways.

S - steadiness - Mike, my love, my soul mate, my rock. And the only one who can ~~sometimes~~ often drive me crazier than the above unnamed person. It's a close race. I love you - to ~~the~~ our moon and back.

Living Past the Comma

2011-02-12T23:00:00.001-05:00

John 10:10 (New King James Version)

10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

John 10:10 is one of my favorite verses. I think it is one of the first ones I ever memorized, after John 3:16.

I grew up in a very middle class, family oriented, 60's, 70's wonder years era, with a morally on track family. Although we were good people and had the trappings of occasional church visits, there was little depth or meat to the spiritual aspect. By "good people", I mean my parents and grandparents adored my brother and I. Our needs were met, and our wants were few. We knew we were loved. There was no abuse or mistreatment or any other scandalous activity (that I know of). My father worked hard to support his family, 40, 50 60 + hours a week. My mother stayed home, kept a need and orderly home, provided home cooked meals daily, packed nutritious lunches, made sure we had clean clothes, etc - all the motherly things we expected June Cleaver to do.

Holidays were shared with my father's parents who lived locally, 2 weeks of summer vacations usually involved a much anticipated trip to the Smokey Mountains to visit my mother's parents every couple of years. In between were family trips to areas within driving distance of a day or 2.

My brother and I knew what was expected. We went to school, did well, generally behaved ourselves. We didn't talk back, didn't swear - neither did my parents. We were respectful. We never really got into a lot a trouble. We were far from perfect and certainly in my head there were times I let loose, but it was a different time. It was hoped for and expected my brother would go to college. He was the first to do so. The generations prior hadn't. It was even more surprising that I went to college as it wasn't as expected or necessary for girls.

So while our life was very calm and complacent, predictable and even keeled on the outside, on the inside I always felt there was a piece missing. I felt incomplete. As I finished high school and worked a bit before going to college, I had a couple of years where I searched to try to fill the void. Those are years I would rather forget. Through a series of events, I finally felt the void was gone after I found my place in the spiritual area. Some call that feeling a God shaped void. Sounds poetic. And it may even sound corny, but the truth is much more complex than the words ..... "Jesus saves". And while complex, it was so simple. For me, salvation was a change of heart, more than a major change of ways.

Since that Spring of 1979, my spiritual journey has taken me to a greater understanding of many things. It seems the more I learn, the more I know I don't know. But I am grateful for the journey and His compassion and leading to come to a greater appreciation of the gift. In fact, I find I am now more tolerant and understanding of differing viewpoints than I ever was. And it doesn't undermine my personal beliefs at all. The truth hasn't changed and never will. I find that comforting.

Back to my point - this verse. The thief comes to steal and kill and destroy. Is the thief Satan? Is it the evil one? Is it that which robs us of what is for our betterment? Is the thief sadness and anger and greed and malice and hate? Is the thief discouragement and selfishness and bitterness? Is the thief discontent and covetousness? Maybe it is all those things. I think the thief can also be anything that takes our heart off of the graciousness of the gift.

The hope and joy and ability to stick it out and try to see the positive and the love and joy and appreciation and compassion and contentment all are part of my life which has been provided for me by my salvation experience through my Saviour. That experience has grown and led to a life with meaning. Jesus gave me that life. That I know. I remember the years searching and I pray I never forget that emptiness and take the fullness for granted.

But I want to live past the comma. ".... , and that they may have it more abundantly" . I don't want to just live, although that could be enough, I want to live abundantly. I am grateful for my life, but I believe it doesn't have to stop there. The means are in our reach to step beyond the COMMA, and not just live, but live fully. Live boldly, live completely.

I am not sure what all this entails for me, but I have claimed the word CONTENTMENT as my word for this new year. That word keeps coming back to me. I want to be content. Contentment is not complacence. It doesn't mean settling. I want my contentment to provide the joy I know that is available. I want to see "what is", rather than "what might be". I have spent years living my life in stages, waiting for the next step, and missing the right here. I can't go back and relive the times I didn't appreciate, but I can begin to appreciate where we are RIGHT NOW. I think learning to live in this way leads to contentment, which will provide an abundant life.

So with that said, you know what has been on my mind with all the upheaval with my children, specifically the older two. It's been on my mind with our unemployment situation and our financial difficulties. It's been on my mind as I approach growing older and missing those who have left us behind. I am not sure how everything will play out, but I know I can be content in my circumstance, and that can push me to live past the comma.

Ok, sermon over - but I really think it makes perfect sense. I feel it with my heart as well as my mind.

Global Warming is a Big Fat Lie

2011-02-01T22:31:00.001-05:00

They are saying this is the "storm of the century". While I am not sure about that moniker being entirely true, it certainly is more white stuff than we have ever seen for a single season in the almost 14 years we have lived here.

It's a far cry from the balmy breezy, ~~hot & humid~~ Gulf Coast.

Today was a SNOW DAY, which since the kids are older, brings a quietness and ease to the day rather the chaos that ensued when they were little. Maybe part of that is they're mentally gearing up to help with the snow removal process, which Mike and I have determined they are old enough to be a part of THAT fun. With all the ~~inches~~ FEET of snow and the back to back to back to back storms, it's more snow placement from point A to wherever you can find, instead of snow removal. Mike thought he had the snow blower repaired, but today's attempt to start it proved otherwise, so it's back to the old fashioned scoop and throw and the more scoopers and throwers, the better.

"Thank you Lord for a healthy husband with a strong back. But please make his load a little lighter."

One of the issues with this storm and all the others that recently preceded it, is the ~~insane~~ vast amount of snow and the decreasing area in which to place it. Just last week, I told Mike they should dump it in the ocean. And yes, I know there are environmental issues and so there can't just be carte blanche, but it is a huge public safety issue when piles are so high it obscures vision. Today on the local news, it's been suggested to start dumping it in the ocean (with checks and care to not include any debris). WHAT A GREAT IDEA!

Snow and ice is not all gloom and doom. It has some positive aspects. Sledding for one. Actually that is the only winter activity we participate in that comes immediately to mind. We don't ski, or snowboard, or ride snowmobiles, or ice skate, or ice fish, or sculpt the snow, or cross country ski, or bobsled, or anything else that relates to being cold. Basically, we're pansies. But we're happy being pansies - warm weather pansies.

With a smidgen of winter sport.

We're super sports enthusiasts - in small doses. On our own terms.

In the photo below, can you the small blue saucer shaped snow sled my boy on the right is holding? It's from LL Bean. Super cute, colorful - we have four of them, but had never used them before now.

This little thrill ride came with instructions etched on the bottom of the plastic, Mike, being the safety conscious dad that he is, is outlining the written instructions:
1) This sled does not have a braking device
2) Only one rider per sled.
3) Do not attach to a motor vehicle.
4) There is no steering device.

The butt sleds as they are affectionately referred to around here, are safely back in the top of the hall closet, where they will most likely stay until our next yard sale. Unless I discard them sooner - which is highly likely as I am on a purge lately. I've cleaned and reorganized the kitchen and the living room. It's a start.

In the spirit of Spring and Summer approaching - let me share a warm and colorful shot or two from a day trip last year to a daylily garden.

And if warm weather and pretty flowers arrive, can baseball be far behind?

Stay warm.

Let's Talk Snow

2011-01-29T21:40:00.000-05:00

Ode to Snow - go away - enough is too much. Especially with a broken down snowblower.

Snow is the word of the ~~day~~ ~~week~~ month. We have had around 60 inches in the past 30 days - way way WAAAYY past normal. Our driveway is a solid wall of snow on both sides, both towering over my head. No telling what is buried underneath it all.

Our poor little pups ventured only a few feet from the door, sniff, do their thing, then scoot back in to the warmth of the home fires. Lots of yellow snow by the back door. I guess fortunately it gets covered up by the next snowstorm pretty quickly.

Since I last updated, here's a rundown of events. Our second son is still living elsewhere, not too responsibly and with a lot of hostility. He had an accident and of course I got a call from the hospital, just what every parent dreads. He is fine, just a sore back. His car is not so fine. It's a complicated story, but I am not sure the insurance will pay since it's not all accident damage. The larger portion is from not changing your oil or adding oil in over 11,000 miles ~~even though your mother reminded several times to get it done~~. That tends to burn up your engine, kwim? And when you have an accident because you are driving on a donut - on ice - instead of your new tire which is in your trunk ~~even though your mother reminded you several times to get it fixed~~, well, I'm not sure how that's going to turn out. And when your car insurance is now past due because you haven't paid it, ~~even though your mother reminded you several times it was coming up~~,
you see where this is going. Now the paradox is in not going to work because you don't have a vehicle so you can't earn the money to pay the necessary bills. And said adult ~~stubborn~~ child has ruled out taking public transportation to work. So what's a mother to do? Flatly, I just don't know at this point.

And somehow all this is MY fault.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, second triplet son ended up at the hospital as well. He injured his ankle playing basketball at youth group. It turned out to be a bad sprain and not a fractured, but he had a couple of days on crutches and lots of attention and sympathy - and two weeks permission to get out of participating in PE. He loves PE though. This restriction would have thrilled my daughter.

I will pull bragging rights in that I had three, count 'em three HIGH HONORS students this term. Smart like their mama - lol. Honestly, I am so proud of them and their hard work. I had coupons and rebates and they were happily rewarded with Wii's "Wii Party" - to which WE have been partying. They take some sort of sick satisfaction in ridiculing my lack of gaming skills, but they always want to include me in the fun. I did however beat them at Wii Jeopardy, even though my Mii had a disproportionately big head. But she was fairly thin so it was an adequate trade off.

The kids have a few games they love, mostly the boys - NBA and Madden Football mostly. We don't allow any fighting shooting etc games. Just ask them and they'll tell you I shelter them way too much. Uhhh - no I don't shelter. I try to responsibly parent. There is plenty of times for more grown up things in the years to come. Wii is a privilege that comes after homework and chores and is quite limited, same as Gameboy and /or computer time. It's nice to have a little leverage.

The boys also think it is okay to play basketball in freezing temps with snow and ice surrounding their court. It was decided pretty quickly chasing after the ball in the snowdrift was not too fun.

We took the kiddos sledding today - reward for great report cards and helping shovel snow, between making snowballs and trying to knock down icicles. I guess snow can have it's positive angle too.

Tough Love HURTS

2011-01-18T23:51:00.000-05:00

Our family is going through a most difficult time. I want to think it is a growing opportunity and a healing time, but before you can heal, the pain has to subside - and it's not stopped it's throbbing yet.

I don't want to go into specifics, but it involves cutting the cord of an adult child (a true oxymoron) that has been controlling and abusive and refuses to follow the rules of the home. There comes a time when boundaries are crossed and limits are reached and that time arrived - and it hurts. It just plain hurts. He may not think it hurts us, but it does. But for safety issues, the time has come. To enable him would do no one any good.

Please pray for my son, and for us as well. It's heart breaking.

SNOW DAY the Love/Hate Story

2011-01-13T00:54:00.003-05:00

The news yesterday warned of the impending storm. The teachers had already given the students their assignments, knowing a day confined to the lovely warmth of the home fires was inevitable. I had brought some work home to keep me busy.

Hours of swirling snow and ice crystals, mounting up from a dusting to inches to over a foot, make the coziness of a nice warm home, well, cozy and nice and warm.

And that is where I stayed, being domestic, cooking, reading, staying warm.

Matt left early for work. Because of course McDonalds NEEDS to remain open and fully staffed during a blizzard. I do have to give the kid credit. He has an incredible work ethic. I even allowed him to take my van since it has newer tires and better traction in the snow.

After a few hours of quiet bliss, sleeping in, listening to the kids playing Gameboy and Wii, it was decided that we might as well get after it and get the snow blowing and shoveling out of the way and dig out from the winter wonderland. I am using the term WE quite loosely here.

I graciously volunteered to stay in the house and cook a delicious and hearty hot meal for my family. Off they went, happily bundled and hat-ted and mitten-ed, shovels in hand, snow blower gassed up.

A few minutes later two frosty kids showed up back at the door, wanting food color "to see if we can make colored snow". ~~yeah, ok, here ya go - close the door, it's freezing.~~ Who am I to squash their thirst for knowledge and their curious nature?

I am not sure it brought all the excitement they thought it would. But regardless, it's food color, so no big deal. Close the door please.

After this experiment was over, and sledding and snow throwing and sweeping off vehicles, mixed in with some actual shoveling, these same two snowflakes appeared back at the door, shivering, cold, and tired of the fun outside, ready for the fun inside again.

My boy decided, after I made them all leave their wet snowy coats and hats and boots on the kitchen floor, that he couldn't feel his toes.

Not one to waste water and take an actual bath unless really needed, he filled the tub with warm water and stepped in, probably dreaming of our summer beach trip. His sister even joined him. Nice toasty toes.

Mike and my other boy, were still out playing in the snow. Don't they look like they are having a grand time?

Growing up in Texas, near the Gulf Cost, a frozen wonderland like this was only story book material. It was so far away from our actual experiences that it seemed almost like an imaginary place. Mike is a Texas boy as well, so he had the same limited snow experiences that I had. And he lost his love for snow about thirteen years ago.

We've been here going on 14 years now, and while the beauty is still awesome, the novelty has worn off. And the older we get, the less fun it is to shovel snow/play in snow/drive through snow ....

And Lucy does not care for it ONE BIT.

So while Mike and my boy finished up the snow business at hand, and while I waited for Matt (and my van) to get home safely, I prepared a warm and hearty breakfast for dinner - biscuits, pancakes, bacon, scrambled eggs - delicious.

The other two, my other boy and my girl, absorbed a little educational TV. A mind is a terrible thing to waste.

Stay warm - 2 hour school delay tomorrow, so the snooze button is going to get hit.

AF*LAAAAAAAC

2011-01-11T00:26:00.003-05:00

If you happen to read posts and advice within multiple support group info, you'll find that ever so often, someone will sing the praises of Af*lac supplemental insurance. Once it's mentioned, a million others chime in with resounding agreement.

Oh how I wish I had heard of this back when I was gestating my miracles. But alas, I had not a clue. I missed that boat. It truly does pay out well if you have the right type of policy. It serves it's purpose.

A few months ago a representative came out to my work with his sales pitch. I knew I had no need for the type that could have paid B I G once upon a time. However, there is an accident policy that comes in handy when you have a lot of children. You just pray you never have to use it.
The rep had these cute little ducks that squawk when you squeeze it and he passed them out. After he left, I was given 2 additional ducks by my co-workers because even though my grown up children are 12, it would not be wise to come home with only one duck. My co-workers have children and they know the drill.

The kids played with them for approximately 30 seconds. Gee thanks Mom, cute.

But some one in my household LOVES the ducks, CLAIMED the ducks, PLAYS with the ducks .... HER DUCKS.

Throw the duck and it comes back. We get tired of the game long before she does. Just look how well loved that poor little duck is.

The ducks have been washed and sewn and re-washed. It has lost it's eyes, but not it's squawker. That little duck has spirit.

There is one duck put aside just in case the other two should somehow get misplaced, lost, or "destroyed".

All my little ones are so spoiled. Chasing ducks is tiring business. Too bad we don't care about Lucy. Just like she doesn't care about the duck. Yeah, right.

AFFFFF*LAAAAAAAACCCC.

As the World Turns, Babies and Boys

2011-01-10T01:18:00.001-05:00

Life continues in full force these days. If only I could blog in my sleep, or just "think" my blogs and have them magically appear. You know, the ones I so easily compose in my head after I fall into bed at night, trying to turn off the spinning wheels that outline all my life encompasses and the many hats I have to wear.

Writing itself comes very easy to me. I can probably express myself in written form better than I can verbally, especially if I were to have to speak in front of people. I am not sure if my shyness is simply self doubt or fear or a combination. I have never been a big people person. I easily get lost in a group. One on one, I do pretty well once get to know someone. Maybe that is one of the perks of a large family and having multiples. I have no problem talking about them. It's an automatic conversation starter.

Mike is just the opposite. He can talk to almost anyone about almost anything. My dad was even more so. He never met a stranger.

I have had babies on my mind lately. Not MY babies, although they are always on my mind. It's funny how at 24, 18, and 12, I can look intently in those grown up faces and still catch a glimpse of someone once tiny. It's called looking with your heart I think. Sadly, my 18 year is currently intent on breaking his mother's heart right now. A story for another day.

But there are 4 specific babies in mind. One is the baby of a friend. She has Downs Syndrome and recently had heart surgery. Her progress is very slow, but steady, although she has been in the hospital a month now. The other 2 babies are not families I know personally, but Internet friends/acquaintances. Both are one of a set of triplets. One has heart issues, the other recently had a liver transplant. The liver baby is making slow progress, a good sign; the heart baby is in need of serious treatment very soon.

We are truly "fearfully and wonderfully made".

My oldest son James has made some recent life changing decisions. He and his girlfriend of a couple of years, broke up last Fall. Honestly, this is a good thing. The relationship was a learning experience. Not that I was happy about this, but he and the girl shared an apartment. He has his issues, but she had more baggage than he needed to shoulder. After she left, he had the apartment to himself for awhile, then had a couple of quite unsavory roommates for a month or two. That was a ton of drama right there in and of itself. He has now moved to another apartment which is more affordable, and he has a new roommate.

His new roommate is a young single mom, with an 8 month old, quite adorable, baby girl. The roommate also has a boyfriend, who does not seem to mind her living with my son. I guess her family has no problem with it either. For the life of me, I can't quite figure all these relationships out. Not that I really want to. Also, I might add, the boyfriend is NOT the father of the baby either. Are you still following this?

So here is the scenario : James, a two bedroom apartment, a single mom WITH a boyfriend, a baby, no apparent father of the baby (except court ordered), a family that has little to no involvement with mom or baby, and oh yes, the boyfriend lives in his parent's house still. Throw in a plethora of assorted friends and strangers who seem to happen by every single time I have been there.

And I thought I had drama in my house. Sheesh. I'll keep my own drama any day, thankyouverymuch.

James volunteered me to help gather a few things for this baby. Then he asked me "because you know so much about babies Mom.". I guess having three at once makes one an expert.

I asked what she needed. Seems the baby does not have a bed. She has always slept in a playpen. I firmly believe every baby needs a bed of his or her own, a safe place, clean, comfortable, with ample support, and cozy and comforting and secure. So I set out to procure a crib. I was later informed she needed shoes and pajamas and a jacket and formula and clothes.

So in the space of a week or two, with the aid of craigs*list and free*cycle and a state triplet support group and a couple of consignment stores, I am happy to report all those immediate needs have been met, including books and toys and a seat for the icky grocery cart.

That's short term. Long term, I have no idea how this is going to play out. I've cautioned James to be very careful and NOT get too attached to this baby. The mama has had, or so I've gathered, some very harsh circumstances. Not that she didn't possibly bring them on herself. But I am hoping a little kindness will soften her a bit.

Now if only I could find a way to soften Matthew.

All Together Now .... Awwwwwwwwwwwww

2011-01-02T17:07:00.000-05:00

See what a $10.00 gift card from Wal*Mart can buy? Although the precious gift is not the message here.

This sweet boy is the story.

For Christmas, my brother and sister in law sent each of my kids a gift. They always have. And it's always very welcomed, since they are the only extended family we have. My SIL does an exceptional job, finding out what the kids like/want. Since their grandparents are no longer with us and there are no other aunts or uncles (Mike is a special only child), it is their link to family beyond the 7 of us.

She is very careful to be equitable and fair, even including Matthew and James even though they are both adults now.

She sent my one boy a Wii game they wanted, a specially requested flat billed New Era Red Sox hat for the other, and a couple of AG items for my daughter. James and Matt got some clothes and gift cards. Each of the younger children also got a $10.00 gift card to buy themselves a little something special. My girl has already spent her Barnes & Noble card. Knowing her, it didn't take long. She already had in mind the specific book she wanted. My boys both received Wal*Mart cards. One of my boys seems to have misplaced his card. Hopefully we'll find it when we clean up this tornado of a mess called our living room.

Yesterday afternoon, I dropped off James and his brother at Wal*Mart, then went to the grocery store. The pretense was James needed to go there and little brother accompanied him. Mike picked them up on his way home. I pulled in the driveway and my guy came out to the car to meet me, holding a box.

"Mom, I know you didn't get anything for Christmas and you worked so hard to make Christmas nice for all of us, so I decided to get you something - here". I wish I'd had a camera for the huge grin on his sweet face. He was so happy and so proud.

Oh My ... it is the most precious gift I think I have ever received. It was a gift from the heart, a gift of compassion, and a gift of unselfishness.

This is the same boy who made a handmade Christmas card complete with an original poem.

No matter what the new year brings, January 1st gave me a most spectacular gift.

Strange Things are Happening ...

2010-12-31T14:19:00.000-05:00

I am not sure if this is sign of the year past or the year to come, but the early morning of the last day of the year was just plain strange.

Mike and I awoke about 5:45 (to be exact 5:43) to Oreo barking and growling. She normally sleeps in her kennel in the kitchen, by the back door - always has. Not that she would love to be in the middle of our bed, but anyway - that's where she sleeps. Lucy on the other hand, the rat dog that Mike doesn't like at all sleeps in her fluffy round princess bed, with her pink furry security blanket, snack dab in the middle of our bed right by our heads. She has a little nest which reminds me of Big Bird.

This was really strange for Oreo so I made Mike get up to see why she was barking. There was a man with a flashlight walking in circles around our van, right by our back door. Good Dog Oreo - you little pseudo watchdog you!

Mike asked him what he was doing and he stated he was looking for his dog. There was indeed a small dog walking around the van too, but the guy couldn't get the dog to come to him. How is that your dog if the dog acts like he doesn't know you? Then the guy was just sitting on our porch. Just plain sitting there, kicked back relaxing. Mike asked him nicely to leave but he didn't. Just pick up your dog and leave - how hard is that?

Around 6:20, James calls me to ask me if I know the bus schedule. What???? How in the world do I know and WHY is he calling me at the crack of dawn on my day off?   Is this the same child I spent 13+ years trying to drag him out bed to get him ready for school? Is this the same boy I actually had to pour water on to get him up - more than once?

By now, Matthew is up and is freaking out because "there is some weird guy outside!"   "why is he here?" "I have to go to work and I'm not going out to my car with him there!!!". Matt has a tendency to be ~~overly~~ a bit dramatic, but I do agree it was strange. The guy was just an average guy - didn't appear drunk or anything like that. He wasn't loud or obnoxious or confrontational. But Mike was trying to handle it., but evidently not to Matt's satisfaction. So after exchanging words with the guy, Matthew, who can be very blunt - "just pick up your %$%*&^ dog and leave!", he then goes back downstairs and calls the police.

The police arrive, talk to the guy (after lodly telling a LOUD Matt to stay inside and quit yelling and shut the door), the guy finally picks up his dog and leaves. This has taken about 45 minutes total now.

Matt leaves for work and Mike and I lay back down. It's 6:45. Mike sets the clock for 7:45 so we can get another hours sleep. 7:05 someone is ~~knocking~~ quietly rapping on the door and Oreo AND Lucy are both barking now. It's James. He must have found out when the bus comes.   He announces he is here to spend the day - AND the night with us because he just likes being with his family.

ARGHHHHH.....

We are up for the day. Out with 2010 and in with 2011. If these things didn't happen to us, I'd never believe it.

Holiday Highlights 2010

2010-12-30T00:11:00.001-05:00

Sometimes the most obscure things become BIG hits. Things you think will never fly. Think back to hula hoops, Slinky's, mood rings, and more recent years, Bakugan and Zhu Zhu pets. Thankfully my kiddos are pretty well past the "hot toy, gotta have it, marketing brainwashing" ploys of child geared television programming. Maybe it helps we don't have cable.

The big joke around our house for the past several months have been Pillow Pets. One person randomly says "it's a pillow" and the other replies "it's a pet" - in unison now - "it's a pillow pet". I'm not sure they have even seen the commercial, although we did look it up on the Internet.

We also say "it's a rat." "it's a dog." - "it's a rat dog - it's Lucy!". Poor little Lucy. Such abuse.

In this particular case, the marketing must be true to the name because it truly is a pillow pet. Every single time one is within her reach, Lucy perches herself on it, makes a few turns, lays her fluffy little rat self down and snuggles in - hence a PILLOW PET.

I often wonder why I can't come up with a novel concept and make a fortune off of it? We have three of these darling marketing miracles - Ladybug - the girl, Bee - my boy who's always busy, and the Penguin - for my other boy who did a recent report on Penguins, plus that was what was in stock at Wal*Mart at the time.

They must have done some quick and sloppy stitching to keep ahead of the supply and demand. Notice anything different about the smiles on these two?

They ARE pretty soft and cuddly and cute. A hit!

Other than the dreaded PP, AG was also a hit in our house for Christmas. I was little concerned since my girl is 12 now, and not so much interested in dolls. It's sort of an odd age. Although she doesn't PLAY with her dolls, she does enjoy her "collection", specifically Julie.

We've had Swedish girl Kirsten and no name girl and 70's Julie for a while now, and she has been slowly adding to her Julie items. This year brought the basketball outfit, bleachers, and roller skates. She even has a tiny metal splint for her finger. My sweet girl also received a nice point and shoot digital camera.

The boys were thrilled with their Wii games and Pictionary Man game, a new hat, a new baseball glove and a new bat - bat to be shared of course - and my one boy had his heart set on a #13 Steve Nash Phoenix Suns basketball jersey. Thank goodness for Amazon.

Look how happy he is! Honestly, I don't have much of a clue who Stevie boy is, but if it makes my sweet boy happy, then I'm happy.

Speaking of "as seen on TV", check out this fabulous Fushiki anti gravity ball.

Didn't you think for sure it was magically floating when you saw it? Fabulous marketing there - ha!

The older boys James and Matt, both got much needed winter coats, some clothes, and gift cards. They were happy. Also Axe - the preteen/teen/quasi teen virile smelling, a little goes a long way but most boys think if a little is good, a lot must be really good, cologne for the WITH IT sort of guy. Think Hi Karate meets Old Spice. Or if you have a teen, you know what it is.

In a nutshell, those are our holiday highlights. Mike and I didn't exchange gifts again this year. Our concentration is on the kids. I plan to be sharing a wonderful holiday post with you all next Christmas, detailing Mike's yet unknown terrific full time job and a more stable financial situation. I've told the kids next year it will be a better situation.

God is indeed faithful and although I don't know what He has in store for us, we are grateful He is in control. 2010 has been a tough year. I'm hoping 2011 will bring some improvement to our current circumstances, but like the apostle Paul, I want to be able to find contentment.

My, the Years Fly By

2010-12-27T22:53:00.000-05:00

There have been many many Christmases in this household, many that happened after our adulthood and prior to the advent of triplets. Those years involved two special baby boys that God, in His wisdom, decided would try their best to teach Mike and I how to be parents.
We had been married only a couple of years, suffered through miscarriages and an awful ruptured ectopic pregnancy, and were in the throes of limited opportunity as we faced the ugly reality of the injustice of infertility. Then James came into our lives. He was a little over a year old when we got him and turned two right before his first Christmas as our son. That was such a special holiday. He was too little to really get it, but as the only child and only grandchild on both sides of the family, it was pretty terrific.

A few years later, quite unexpectedly and out of the blue, God answered our prayers and James became a big brother. Matt turned one a few months after being part of our family, so his first Christmas he was a year and a half. That was thrilling as well. I remember spending three hours building and placing the hundreds of stickers on his Fisher Price Big Action Garage. (borrowed photo)

Which by the way goes for $150.00 ++ on eBay right now. (Why didn't I save the darn thing?) That Christmas he also got a V-tech electronic town of some sort, a precursor to computer stuff, but very modern and tech-y for the up to date toddler back in the early 90's. James was all over Ninja Turtles and Micro Machines back then. It's funny how I recall these details, but I am sure they don't.

The next few holidays included special people in our lives. We lived close to my parents, so of course their Grandmommy and Granddaddy were there, as well as Mike's mom, their mamaw. My brother and sister in law and little nephew were only a few hours away, so being with family was a given. I guess it was also taken for granted.

Fast forward almost twenty years. My "baby" boys are grown men. Their triplet siblings, which were not even in the recesses of our imagination then, are heading into their teens. All the grandparents have sadly (for us, not them), gone to be with the Lord, except for Mike's mom. She's lives near us in a nursing home. We all visited her on Christmas, but I'm not certain she knew who we all were. We live over 20000 miles from where we grew up, in the frozen Northeast. Snow and ice and blizzards are not a novelty to our children. Southern accents and Texas drawls sound funny to their ears. Mike and I the older generation. How did THAT happen?

Christmas finds me a little melancholy and blue and missing those I loved so much. As much as I love our children and look forward to giving them a nice Christmas hopefully full of wonderful childhood memories, while trying to keep them aware of the true meaning of the holiday, I find the holiday let down always hits me hard. I don't want to live in the past. I want to rejoice in the present.

Depression is a hard pill to swallow and a tough bear to wrestle.

May you all enjoy the times you have now, the memories you are making and the traditions you share with your sweethearts.

A Little (very little) Christmas Poetry - Merry Christmas

2010-12-24T20:56:00.001-05:00

Twas the night before Christmas, there's still noise in my house,

no one is sleeping, except for my spouse.

My children are happy and excited and loud,

the gifts are all wrapped and for that I am proud.

The eve usually finds me stressed and in tears,

but this time is different, the best eve in years.

Some last minute shopping and paying of bills,

proved none too crowded and provided some thrills.

The weather is pleasant and the groceries are bought.

Our dinner is planned and prepared in advance

as much as I could, given the chance.

After years of the stress and mountains of worry

will it fit? will they like it?

I've taken a vow

to let it all go, and work out somehow.

Gifts can be returned, exchanges made,

but being together is what will remain

in the hearts and the minds and memories gained.

So as my youngest 3 offspring humor their mom,

with matching pajamas and hot cocoa galore

and soon hit the hay with Christmas in sight

snoring and sleeping

Merry Christmas to ALL and to all a good night!

"Jesus the is the reason for the season."

All American Darling

2010-12-23T00:05:00.001-05:00

I made a little impromptu trip to a special ~~museum~~ store - a nice little establishment that requires you to bring a truckload of cash (or plastic) for your purchase.

It's really a quite spectacular and magical place. The details and intricacies of the dolls and accessories and clothes and furniture and so on and so on ... it's mind boggling.

Excuse my poor photo quality. Photos were snapped quickly and discreetly with my cell phone.

My daughter has the Julie doll. She did have Nicky, but we sold her on eBay this year. At 12, she doesn't "play" with the dolls anymore, but she does enjoy collecting some of the accessories. She has decided to only collect things relating to Julie, the historical doll from the 70's, as in 1970's.

Since when are the 70's so historical? I was a girl in the 70's. It's not like the Native American girl or the Civil War girl or even the World War II girl. It was only the 70's. But I did have a pretty cool banana seat bike, much like Julie's. My children have a hard time fathoming me riding my bike, poppin wheelies, and even more unbelievable, NO HELMET, especially since I am so adamant about helmet wearing. They have been known to lose bike privileges for 2 weeks if they "forget". Back in the day, no one gave a thought to busting their melon. Although I never cracked my skull, I do have a small scar by my left eyebrow from when I attempted to steer my bike with my feet.

I never had a super cool groovy bead fringe bed like Julie. But I had a small black light over my fish tank, and a terrarium on my desk.

While standing in line, the LONGGG slow line, purchasing my lone item, there were several people ahead of me with young children, little girls, arms laden with many packages.

Bored children who flung themselves down on the floor while waiting not so patiently for their $100.00 dolls.

I also saw a few fits pitched.

But there was one particular child/mom/nanny? combination that truly took the cake. I was so flabbergasted that I covertly snuck these pictures. This particular mom had so many boxes and bags, that she had a store helper in addition to her child wrangler. Box after box after box ...... I leaned closer to hear the damage. $1747.84!!! Oh my goodness. "debit or credit?" .... "debit' .... again, OH MY GOODNESS! Can you even imagine dropping almost two thousand dollars on toys for what appeared to be ONE child - at ONE time?

Her child was WITH HER, so it didn't appear she was buying Christmas gifts from Santa. However, her precious little one was busy throwing herself on the floor and writhing around because she wanted to GET HER DOLL'S EARS PIERCED TOO! And guess what? Mom said .. "OK, throw in an ear piercing too." So while mom and the assistant schlepped out to the waiting (valet parked) family vehicle, the nanny and little darling headed up the escalator to have holes punched in the doll's ears to the tune of twenty or so additional dollars.

And they say there is no Christmas spirit.

On the home front ... just thought I would throw this in...

I came home from work and found my bathroom looked like this. Why? I have no clue.

Don't ask, don't tell seems rather appropriate in this circumstance.

All in a day's journey I guess.

Weiners or Ho Ho Ho's?

2010-12-14T21:48:00.000-05:00

On my way home, I pulled into the gas station to AGAIN fill my tank - and this was what I saw.

Not something you see every single day.

Mike says if he had to drive this monstrocity, he'd wear a mask.

I'm not sure if you can tell from the photo, but it appears to have seating inside, sort of like a bus or a limo.

Just think, you could take your whole crew with you. Better than a minivan. Everyone has a seat, and you won't lose it in the mall parking lot.

IF you can find a big enough parking spot. Wonder if he gets better mileage than I do?

On the home front, our situation is still pretty dire. Mike is hitting the cyber pavement daily bombarding potential employers with resumes and faxes and documents and such. This time of year is not the best for job seekers - and to be realistic, his age is a hindrance. How did we get here? Where have the years gone?

I did however, without his prior knowledge, find him a one day job. Actually it was only about 4 hours total.

He was just beside himself with joy.

He and Geoffrey became best buds.

"Ho Ho Ho ... are you talking to ME?"

My kidlets are a little past the Santa age. But some times things happen that reinforce your former beliefs.

TRU is really fun about their Santa. He does a 3 hour stint, sits in a chair, poses for pictures and greets the kids. NO kids on the lap. NO holding the kids. NO promising children anything. He had instructions to be a very vague Santa.

"I'll do my best".... "My elves are working hard" ..... "I hope you have a joyful Christmas" .....

He was MELTING in the Santa suit. Santa had to have a good supply of deodorant and breath mints.

My boy is in training. It's a good look for him, doncha think?

Our family pic with Santa, really IS a family pic with SANTA.

Bootstraps and Resolve

2010-12-02T20:23:00.000-05:00

I officially declare it is time for the pity party to be done. We've wallowed for a couple of days, now it's onward and upward.

Time to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and move forward.

I Quit

2010-11-30T12:51:00.000-05:00

I had a nice post written about my feeble attempt to get my children on board with the paring down of Christmas, more specifically, 3 gifts fulfilling a wish, a need, and a surprise - which would still equal 15 gifts. Mike and I don't give each other gifts - we spend it on the kids. The last gift I got birthday or Christmas (both December) was over 6 years ago before my father died.

When you blog, there are written and unwritten rules. Blog often is a good one. Ease up on political and religious views for the mom blogs. Pictures are nice. Don't complain.

I'm complaining, sorry.

Mike lost his "20 hr a week, barely getting by and struggling to make ends meet" job.

24 days before Christmas - with 5 kids.

He lost his full time job September 09, 6 months of being unemployed, then only part time since then, and now this.

I have no idea which way to turn at this point.

Merry Christmas - I quit.

Black Wed.. Thur.. Fri.. What Day is it Anyway?

2010-11-26T14:58:00.000-05:00

Sheesh- where does the time go? Is it the hours are short but the days are long, or the days are long and the weeks are short? Or where am I and what am I doing? Life has been hectic lately.

A week or so ago, we got a call from the nursing home that my mother in law had fallen, but she was fine. Mike questioned "are you sure she didn't break her hip or something?" No - she's fine, just bruised.

Next day we get a call that she is in the hospital because she did indeed break her hip. How could they have not known she had broken something? This is her third hip fracture. And on top of that she was having some heart arrhythmia's. So between visits to the hospital, working, school projects, dance and basketball, eBaying to raise Christmas gift funds, having the kids home, and Thanksgiving on top of that, life has taken a more hectic turn. I suspect it might stay this way until ~~the kids all move out someday~~ after the holidays.

She is doing better but can't have surgery because of the way it is fractured so she has to be immobilized and it just has to heal. She is now back at the nursing home, but in the rehab section. Her dementia seems to have increased as well.

Public Service Announcement: Ladies - take your calcium. Osteoporosis is awful. I went through it with my mom as well who seemed to break a bone just by looking at it.
And while we're on the subject, I had a little mishap myself right before this all happened with my MIL.

Last year, being taken out big time by the lovely appearance of H1N1 in my household, I made sure I arranged for our flu shots. The kids recently got theirs. We are a family who has always chosen to vaccinate and on schedule. Thankfully we have never had any adverse reactions. Last year, Mike stood in lines for HOURS to get the kids their shots. He got his because he was working in healthcare. I couldn't get one because I was not on the high risk list. The kids did indeed get H1N1, but fairly mild. Mike thankfully didn't get it at all, and I ended up in urgent care, out of work for two weeks, with a nebulizer as my best friend. Just shoot me. I have NEVER been so sick in my life. But I wasn't high risk enough to get the shot.

I went to my doctor's office to have some bloodwork done. I have thyroid issues which really affect me pretty negatively if my meds are not correct. Silly me, thinking while I am there, I will waltz on over to the dr's and get my flu shot. Umm, no - can't do it. I have to come back the next week for the flu shot, then come back the week after that for my physical. It's a good thing I have such flexibility with my job.

So the next week, which was last week, I went to get my flu shot at 10 am. Mike happened to be there because he had an appointment at 9 so he was waiting for me. He is evidently standing by the door, sees me, looks away and looks back, and sees I AM NOW LAYING ON THE GROUND. Owwww. I have no idea how but somehow something happened and I must have tripped and the sidewalk caught me. As I lay there, taking inventory, he and about 10 other people come over to see if I am ok. Maybe I am ok, not sure, but I am majorly embarassed. I have been walking for a good many years. I am not 2 nor am I 82. I do know how to walk.

Once inside, bleeding right palm, torn pants, and bleeding right knee. I am told I cannot just go get my flu shot but that I have to be seen and an incident report filed. That took another hour. So after two hours, four bandaids, a bag of ice, a visit with the nurse AND the doctor, I get my flu shot and hobble out.

And get this, about 20 minutes after I fell, someone else fell IN THE EXACT SAME SPOT. Only this poor dear hit her head too and was disoriented and carted away in an ambulance.

A week later I had my physical and although my hand has healed, my knee is still giving me a lot of pain. I had xrays done in addition to my physical and have an orthopedic consult next week. So yes, life has been busy, with it's many ups and downs - forgive the pun.

Yes Virginia, I have been busy.

And for what it's worth, I went by Toys R Us this morning and no, I did not feel one bit sad to not be working there this holiday season AT ALL.

A DWTS Commentary - Mad, Sad, or Confused?

2010-11-17T16:56:00.000-05:00

I know this is totally off topic for anything that relates to anything else, but I have a DWTS observation.

Last night I sat on the couch, my leg propped up from a huge fall I had yesterday - yes, I feel like a totally klutzy dork for falling. After all, I'm not 82 nor am I 2, so walking should not be an issue.

I watched the Dancing results show, even though it is packed with total fluff and time wasters to fill the gap between the hour and the actual 5 minutes it takes to give the results.

(I did think Derek and Cheryl's 50's dance was really cute though).

So Jennifer was given a yes and is in the finals, as it should be. I'm rooting for her because I think she is good, classy, and I liked the movie Dirty Dancing. Plus we 50 something women need to stick together. (I cannot believe I am putting myself in the same category with 50 something women by the way.)

Kyle - cute, fun to watch, definitely improved - my Disney pre-teen kids favorite. Check - he's in too.

We're left with Bristol Palin and Brandy. (does Brandy have a last name??)

Bristol is more assuredly the underdog here, no matter who her mother is. I will say she has improved tremendously and it has been fun to watch her blossom. Brandy - she's an entertainer and she IS good, no doubt. But she has always seemed to have a bit of a arrogance about her, IMO. And there is a fine line between confidence and arrogance.

Down to the wire, and it's shockingly announced Bristol moves on to the finals and Brandy is O U T. Did you see the looks and the expressions? Know I have 5 kids and I can totally read between the lines on certain facial nuances. I think Brandy was really really really mad. Not just sad or disappointed, but downright angry.

Anyone else get that? Or am I out in left field? And while we're at it, who do you think is going to win?

I Know a Guy ...

2010-11-17T00:03:00.002-05:00

I know a guy who is a total hat guy.

We all have our little quirks, likes and dislikes, pet peeves and attention getters and that is part of what makes us, well, US.

One of my sons, when he was younger, MUCH younger, was a total jeans guy. With belt loops and pockets please. I won't say who, but I will say this: he had ways of making sure he did not wear sweatpants or super cute adorable overalls (which his mommy loved). Or at least he did not wear them for very long. Think a very young child and potty training and you get my drift - manipulative little stinker. That jean guy totally became the Imelda Marcus shoe guy of teen boys later in his life.

One of my guys was a total green guy. If it was green, he liked it, period. I have a friend who's son was so into the color orange that he only wore orange tee shirts all through middle school. She was worried the school would begin to think he was wearing the same orange shirt every day. In fact, for years, any time my toddlers saw a boy with an orange shirt, they would yell in unison ... "An-rooo'' .....

My two older boys were pretty opposite in their dress. I had one who would wear whatever fit and was comfortable. Clean was not an important option, but was a necessity to me. We had to work on that. My other son was a bit more of a fashion icon and style played a much more important role. Still does. He was easy in middle school though - jeans and white tee shirts - so very easy. I remember doing a load of just his laundry and realizing everything was either grey, white, or black. I felt I was back in the 1950's Leave It to Beaver era. He has grown out of that phase and being a working guy, buys most of his own things now, thankfully. I am not a Hollister or American Eagle shopper, so it's good he's his own personal buyer and that he has a job.

My two younger guys have picked up similar stances on things. One is not picky about his dress. If it fits and is comfortable, and semi clean, he wears it. The clean part and pre-teen boys is a give and take situation. Matching and coordinating are unimportant to him. His wife is going to have to take some control some day. My other guy carries a bit more concern as to what he wears, although since he knows Mom pays the bills, he reasonably tows the line. I lean toward a classic look - lol.

And my girl - well let's just don't go there completely, but suffice to say, she is not at a loss for decent clothes and an ample selection. Being the only girl in the ranks of so many brothers has it's privileges. Embarassing true story. I was in the mall the other day and saw the Gymboree lady and she asked about my kids, how we were, etc.... my kids are LONG past the Gymboree stage. Ummm - she just had a really good memory.

My girl also likes some other things I try to find second hand, due to the expense. Note to moms of baby girls - Barbie is not your biggest concern. I'm just saying ....

I do shop a lot of second hand, re-sale, consignment, and yard sales. My kids have always been dressed decently for a very reasonable budget. It can be done.

Back to the hat guy. Being a hat guy is part of what makes this guy so lovable. It's his THING. It was his thing when he was three and had a black and white cow print plush fabric hat that sort of resembled a sleeping skunk sitting on his head. He ADORED his "Dipsy" hat. He lived in his Dipsy hat. He slept in his Dipsy hat. He also has a small plastic figure of Dipsy (wearing his hat) which he carried with him, EVERYWHERE.

He is fine, thank you, no permanent damage from this particular phase.

So when my guy won $50.00 for the essay contest, he was allowed to add to his hat collection - and he did. He does still have money left over (hats can be expensive!). And he requested I keep a photo folder of all his hats. I thought sharing a few with the world would be sort of nice. Some day he can fondly look back on this.

He wears a 7 3/8, just in case anyone wants to know.

One + one + one does not = ONE

2010-11-15T17:05:00.000-05:00

For the most part, my children, well my younger three children, get along FAMOUSLY. They really do. Honest. My older two, uuhh, not so much. But that's another story for another day.

If the truth be told, the triplets have always coexisted very well. I suppose they learned it in utero, or maybe as infants because they had very little choice in the matter. When you are with someone 24/7, it's sink or swim. Sure there were skirmishes and when they were toddlers we had a biter in the bunch who was a bit of a bully, and one who shall remain nameless who was almost too passive but now SHE has really done a turnaround (not that I am saying who SHE is), and one who was really just really really busy.

I knew a triplet mom with g/g/b a few years older than mine. When they were about five or six, the boy and one girl were thick as thieves and got together and decided Carolyn was no longer their sister - told everyone she was NOT their sister, and pretty much shunned her. Can you imagine? They excluded her from EVERYTHING and this went on for about six months. Those kids are teens now and I wonder if they still remember that. I know I was horrified and even more so that the mom did nothing about it. "it's just a phase..." I'm sorry but hurting your sibling deliberately is NOT a phase in my book. My babies really were just babies then and looking at my sweethearts crawl all over each other and share hugs and toys and squabble - well, anything else was just unimaginable. How could they not always love and adore each other and spend their lives together?

As toddlers, they definitely had a pecking order. I had one who was the "idea" guy, one who was the "action" guy, and my girl was the "conscience", whose many sentences began with "Mommy, MY brothers .........". At twelve, some of this still resonates truth.

This past weekend there were a few battle lines drawn. One such drama is over who's turn it is to feed the dogs - THEIR dogs. Generally the rule is the "front seat-er" - that person who gets the privilege of riding in the front seat, also has the responsibility of feeding the dogs during that week. It's only fair, right? We used to do "days" but it caused many more problems than solutions, so "weeks" is better. However, this past week, the dog feeder was unavailable on two different days due to other commitments, so someone else was called upon to step in. You can't just NOT feed the poor dogs.

Now this person is the dog feeder THIS week and wants the former person to take over the duties for two days since they had two days reprieve last week. This can easily get complicated. More arguing and debating and discussing turned to louder debating and actually took longer than it would take to do the job at hand and feed the poor doggies, who are looking like "I don't care WHO, someone feed me!".

These are the days of my life.

Getting back to getting along .... as I was thinking about this issue and explaining to them this weekend, yes they ARE triplets and yes, they do have a special bond, and yes, I am glad because I feel like they have each other's back a bit, out in the cold cruel world of Middle School and I hope they always will be a support for one another. Mom and Dad won't be here forever. (how well I know that - feeling like an orphan is tough at any age). But just because they were born together, it doesn't make them the same people. I KNOW that. It is expected they will grow up, have their own interests and their own friends and their own relationships and their own families. They most likely won't always do the same things, go to the same colleges, live in the same town/state, have the same vocation, even if they do think they will be professional athletes. If they were to really be professional athletes, they probably won't play for the same team. They are I N D I V I D U A L S.

As much as I know in my brain they aren't a unit, I still have a hard time in my heart seeing them apart. Is that weird? How do parents of older multiples come to that place where they can separate them emotionally? I know if they were just close in age, I wouldn't even think twice about it.

I recently read a similar post about a g/g/b trio and they were getting to the school age issues of separate friends and play dates and such, coming to terms with how best to handle this. I read the post casually and thought how silly, well of course they should have their own little friends, blah blah blah - then it hit me like a ton of bricks! I DO THE SAME THING. I expect mine to ALWAYS be each other's best friends forever and ever, amen. I was just as guilty and I didn't even realize it. Wow. Baby steps ....

Then I realized it made me sad to think of them apart because it does mean they are growing up - and ultimately growing away.

So to my children, who read my blog... know I love you, and I want the best for you, and I promise in the future to try to do better about letting you be individuals. Old habits are hard to break. So bear with me and don't complain too much when I once again, find you matching pajamas for Christmas for the 13th year in a row.

I'll try to break the habit before you get to college.