HELLO GENTLEMEN

Wednesdays are "Homeschool Park Day" in our neck of the woods.  Each Wednesday a group of area homeschoolers gather together to play, run and roam the local park while mom's chat and relax in the nice, Summer breeze.

Today was no exception.

I gathered Kole, Daxx and "Chickadee," our foster daughter, into our 1 ton family van.  We began to roll down the road when it became quite apparent that we were all very hungry, so I decided to drive over to our favorite Little Caesars to grab a Hot N Ready pizza....as usual.

I was driving along, when I looked back, through the rear view mirror.  I couldn't help but notice that my little babies are just not babies any more.  They were sitting, quietly, right beside one another, chatting and getting along as if they were happy as larks to just hang out together.

I drank in the serenity and decided that this would be a good day for Kole and Daxx to go inside to get the pizza and pop by themselves.

Yes, today they are men.

I gave Kole 10 bucks, explained that he will do the talking...because he talks best and can be understood...and Daxx will grab the 2 liter of cola while Kole orders the pizza and pays the man.

As I sat in our van, right outside the store window...just in case help were needed....I couldn't help but sneek a little picture of their very first grown-up action taking place.

If you squint really hard you will see Kole and Daxx standing in front of the counter chatting with the owner.

They were all smiles when they emerged from the Pizza Parlor with their pizza box and 2 liter of Mt. Dew.

I asked them how it went.

Kole: "The man said, 'Hello Gentlemen.' "
Daxx: "And he gave us Animal Cookies!" 

Yes, today our little 6 1/2 year old gentlemen navigated the adult world on their own. :o)  It was a good day.

CHUCK E CHEESES

While our older boys were playing in a Halo tournament today, Brian and I got to take our 5 year old twins, Daxx and Kole, to Chuck E Cheeses.


They had only been there one time before in their lives, when they were only 1 year old. I had forgotten how much fun Chuck E Cheeses can be when witnessed through the eyes of newbies.





We got to see our boys' eyes widen and their laughter bubble up for hours as they watched Chuck and his friend's play and sing, the games whistle and pop and the tokens and tickets spill into the floor.



They got to use the tickets to buy Cotton Candy and then go over to get an Ice Cream while I had the attendant make up a couple of "boy bags" with the rest of the tokens.


One thing we don't do it stand around for 20 minutes while the kids pick every little toy trying to spend all those points.


This is the quickest and most fun way we've found to attack the "toy counter." The boys think they are playing for Cotton Candy and they are surprised and thrilled to be handed a bag full of little goodies to play with after they buckle up in the car.

The attendant also thanked me. :o)

THE CAMERA BANDIT IS BACK

Not very long ago I discovered that Daxx and Kole had been stealing my camera in the mornings to take various odd pictures around the house. After posting about the issue and having a little chat with them about boundaries the little camera bandits ceased and desisted from rummaging through my desk and various personal items.

Over the past week and a half I've begun to use my camera more. I actually remembered to take it with me on our trip to Kentucky and I've had it our for Vinze's 9th birthday also. (pics of that coming soon) Little did I know that one pair of eyes had been watching closely to find out when and where the time was ripe for the picking!

Yes, our sweet little inocent Kole has a nack for sneaking around for the best moments to disobey and/or horse around. The camera proved to be too much of a temptation, thus these shots were found a few minutes ago as I uploaded pictures to my computer.





I don't know whyyy he finds it necessary to put things into his nose when he's sneaking around with my camera. I don't KNOW why. All I know is that I was very pleased to see that he didn't feel the need to take another picture of his hiney this time.

God bless his little heart.

ARE YOU WEARING GREEN?!

Today Kole walked up to me with a sly little grin.

"Mom, Are you wearing green?"

ACK! It's St. Patty's Day!

"No"

Then he whacked me in the arm! First I had to explain that we Pinch on St. Patrick's Day...NOT Punch, then our house became a frenzy of kids clamouring to find green clothing.





In the process of the hustle and bustle I found THIS fun site, that details how to make a Leprechaun Hat. We had to use 2 pieces of construction paper stapled together to make the "top hat" portion, but everything else went pretty well as planned.

Daxx and Kole gave their best Leprechaun looks. I do believe they nailed it! Aren't they cute! :o)

BEDTIME AT OUR HOUSE

This was taken on Thursday. The boys just don't care to go to bed so they lolly-gag around as long as they can. It's not a fascinating video, it's just what happens at our house on a regular basis. I'm sure they'll look back at this and laugh when they're older so I thought I'd blog about it. :o)

Here is Daxx and Kole going to bed.

PEOPLE CROSSING or SO THIS IS WHAT THE WORLD LOOKS LIKE

In our home, with a new year comes new medical physicals. I like to get them all out of the way as soon as possible. This way, I don't have to think about medical appointments, dentists and/or eye appointments throughout the year. If you have a large family, this is one way to make sure everyone is seen at least once per year also, so there are no unknown conditions festering for too long.

This year we found out that Kole needs glasses. The ophthalmologist came to me after his exam to tell me that both eyes are affected. So, we had a chat with our 5 year old son and told him that he would need glasses. He was excited! LOL

A few days later, after a glitch was cleared up with our insurance, Kole and I made the 1.5 mile trek to our Doctor to pick out his glasses. He was very choosy. I had a pair that I liked but each time I handed them to him he would wave his hand and say, "No, I don't like these."

After a while, the technician came over to tell us about her favorite glasses for children. They bend, fold and smash without breaking. I very much like those but I didn't let on. She handed a few to Kole and after much time in the mirror he chose the glasses he wanted. No amount of ooohing and aaahing over other samples did anything to make him change his mind. So we bought the pair that cost money out of pocket, though only a small sum so I was obliged to pay the price above and beyond our insurance coverage.

After 1 week of waiting, yesterday, we got the call. Kole's glasses are in and waiting to be picked up. He bundled up ever so quickly and in the falling snow we trudged to the van. We arrived, he put on his glasses and smiled with such a smile as I have never seen. He was so quiet, though.

He hardly spoke a word. He answered the technicians questions with a nod or a wave but did not speak hardly at all. I was puzzled.



I chatted a bit with the doctor and ladies at the desk, then said our goodbye. I walked hand in hand with Kole out the door and to our van. He climbed in and put on his seat belt. As I contemplated why he was so quiet we pulled out onto the street. We had hardly gone a block when, from the back of our van, came a small voice...

"Mom, there's a two and a five on that sign."

"Yes, there is. That sign tells what price the gas is today."

Silence for a bit. We stop at a red light.

"Mom."

"Yes Kole, What's up?"

"I feel like my HEART has glasses. I think I'm so happy."

Immediate lump in my throat with slight tears in my eyes.

"I'm so happy that you are happy."

We turned the corner and drove to the next block.

"People Turning?! Why does that sign mean People Turning?"

"No honey, that sign means people are crossing the street. It means that I need to watch for people so we don't hit them."

"Oh"

And with that, the ride was over. In 1.5 miles I found out just how much our little Kole had missed in his 5 short years and just how much different the year 2009 will be for him.

HALF FULL OR HALF EMPTY?

Well, what is it? Is it Half Full or Half Empty?

I often wonder about those "half empty" people. I do believe that they are the same people who rush outside into their backyard, when it starts to sprinkle, to bring their children inside before they get wet.

Those "half empty" people say things like, "They don't have enough sense to come in out of the rain."

I just don't understand that mentality. I just do not understand it at all. Life is too dog-gone short to come in out of the rain!

What does that mean exactly anyway? "They don't have enough sense to come in out of the rain?" Why do they need to come in? What is going to happen? What seems to be the sensible part of not having any fun in the rain? Why would someone want to miss the opportunity to smile as a drop of rain drips from their nose?

See?! I have questions!

To me a warm, rainy day is just the right time to make memories and sing.

To me, there are two types of people. There are the "Get out of the rain" people and the "Sing in the rain" people.

I am a "Sing in the rain" type of gal.

I actually get a little sad when I witness people huddling together under awnings, of stores and markets, when the rain is coming down. I walk on past them, look up at the sky and smile.

I have to wonder why they are so much like ants that they feel they can't venture out to have a little bit of nature touch their skin?

Now that you know this about me you will understand why I was so excited to see the following occur in our backyard yesterday. I, dear friends, have passed my love of rain and nature on to my children! I don't know when and I don't know how, but somehow, somewhere, they knew that THEIR momma would not be annoyed by this sight. They knew, with large beaming smiles, that THEIR momma would actually laugh and be honored to witness this moment in their lives. I'm raising "Sing in the rain" people. My heart is more than half full and filling fast.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. :o)

I was, however, annoyed to see, in our pictures, that we have to repaint the garage again this year. Look at the bottom of that thing. *ugh*

KOLE LOVES BUTTERFIES...poor butterflies

Kole loves bugs, worms and anything that flies. Today, at the park, he found a "butterfly" (moth) and decided to carry it around to protect it. LOL Poor little moth. He thought it was sleeping. I had to post this for Kole to see in the future. It's another funny one from our little lawyer.

I'M NOT RAISING A GARDEN, I'M RAISING CHILDREN

Saying, "Stay out of the water" is like saying, "Sic-It" to a dog to our little guys.

The combination of lots of rain with Huskies who love to dig caused this train wreck of a back yard a few weeks back.

It has since dried up and we are going out to grab some dirt to fill the holes relatively soon. In the meantime, Daxx and Kole found themselves in paradise.

If you look closely you will see that Kole tries very hard to stay clean. He does not enjoy mud or dirt of any kind. Daxx, however, was actually wading in the "thigh high to a 4-year-old puddle" before I could get my camera. I snapped the picture from our Kitchen window.

When Daxx came in the back door I was ready and waiting to snap a shot before I herded him off to the bathroom for a much needed bath. I really am sorry that I didn't get a picture of Kole just to show you how very skilled he is at keeping clean. I could have taken him to get a family photo and no one would have been the wiser. He has a talent, that boy.

Look closely at our floor and walls in that picture. You will notice the beautiful hue of grimy smudge on the white trim and the powdery dew of dust on the back door landing.

Let it be noted that I do "try" once in a while to wipe down walls, sweep and mop but I do not have the "keep my home nice and clean" gene. I never had it and gaining 5 sons hasn't changed my DNA in that sense. I've gained some patience and a lot of laughter, but the house cleaning gene is lost somewhere between "I don't care." and "I'll get to it tomorrow." I have a handy-dandy sign in my kitchen that boldly states, "My house was clean last week, sorry you missed it."

I know one thing for sure. I won't be one of these old women who look back on their life and wish she had spent more time with her kids while they were home and less time cleaning! Blogging maybe...but not cleaning! LOL

That goes for our yard also. I've contemplated more than once the idea that I need a sign for my yard.

"I'm not raising a garden. I'm raising children."

Anyone know who makes signs on the cheap?! :-)

CHILDHOOD IS FUN

I bet you think these are Popsicle faces. Nope! Our new favorite find are the individual KoolAid packets that can be poured directly into single serving water bottles. They are mighty yummy on a hot day and the boys apparently like to have them without water also. *sigh*

This is the result.


Ah well, they aren't too far off from the sugar sticks from back in my day so why not? Eat em up boys!

MY PARENTING STYLE & OUR KOLE ON YOUTUBE...21,000 HITS

A little over a year ago I put a few of our personal home videos on Youtube. One in particular was funny because I was so very tired, trying to cope with things that were going on in our extended family and was recovering from my broken leg. Now you have the backdrop for this video. ( my leg still looks like that by the way...ick..I have to live with that stuff in my leg. *sigh*)

As most of you know, we adopted some of our little buckaroos. It has become a running joke for me to say, "Hey, how come there are no other girls around here?" The boys know I'm totally kidding and sometimes they say, "Because you wanted me!"

I did ALWAYS want boys and I sure to goodness got them! So I say to them..."Why didn't I get any girls?" And they usually say "Because you picked boys!" or "Because you wanted me!" and I say "You Betcha Baby!" :o)

On this particular day, near the end of this long video, Kole had something very , very different to say to me after I asked that question.

THAT IS WHY this video now has over 21, 000 hits on youtube.

Enjoy.

SPRINGTIME FRUGAL CRAFT

Isn't this the cutest little craft idea? It is a piece of construction paper folded and cut to look like the backdrop of a flower garden. After you make the base you then cut flowers out of construction paper and glue them to the "popped up"areas of the backdrop.

As you can probably guess, this is one frugal craft idea.

On the other hand, we soon found out that getting the thing to look like the picture is no easy task.

(The directions can be found by clicking the picture)

The boys and I followed the directions but our craft kept flipping and flopping all over the place. One of the crafts wouldn't even pop up for that fun effect.


Daxx is holding up the final display. It's a far cry from a self standing craft. I would say to affix it to a harder poster board if the kids want it to stand freely for display.

By the end of the project the boys had given up. Daxx began cutting paper willy nilly and Kole made a Van and a Rocket from what should have been their flower gardens.

That was the fun part of this craft! LOL

If you have better luck with it please post in the comments and we'll come visit your blog.

HE'S FINE...REALLY HE IS

I was blogging.

The boys had eaten and gone outside to play with my good friend's children in our back yard. This is our normal routine. I keep the kitchen window open and the kids play on the tire swing, with their toys and with each other. It's nice.


The breeze was blowing and the weather was warm. They were having a good time. I was feeling pretty springlike myself.

All of the sudden Vinze bursts through the back door screaming..

"MOM KOLE IS DYING! REALLY! HE'S DYING! DAXX KILLED HIM WITH A STICK! HE HIT HIM AND HE'S BLEEDING AND DYING!"

I got up in my normal, 'oh this is another skinned knee' way. Vinze is prone to exaggeration so I honestly wasn't worried. A stick cannot really do that much harm in the way of killing a brother. Honestly, brothers injure each other ever day in the course of playtime. Our sons are no exception so... I got up and went out in a nonchalant "okay" sort of way; all the while telling Vinnie to calm down and everything will be fine.

I was met at the back door with a blood fest. I immediately knew this was no skinned knee. Kole was screaming and asking me if he was dying. I assured him that he was going to be fine and that he was not going to die. Daxx was crying that he was sorry, as he carried the "stick." (more like a club from the tree branches we were cutting the day before. Apparently; Kole was taunting Daxx while Vinnie was egging them on. Daxx took a swing...Voila...consequences)
I saw blood running from the back of his neck and I immediately thought...

'Oh My God! He's Dying!'

I pressed my hand over the area where I thought the wound was, carried him inside and placed him on the counter. I could not see his neck, head or lower back for all the blood puddled in my hand. I had to place him in the shower to wash away the blood in order to see where the wound actually was located.

After the shower, it became apparent that it was NOT a neck wound. It was a gash to the head under his hair. I told him that he had a big cut on his head. He immediately wanted me to take a picture so he could see it. I got the camera and obliged. (I really must take a lot of pictures lol)



Brian came home and we took him to the emergency room as it was after hours for the doctor. After speaking with people there and being told that the wait was over 4 hours we had to decide how badly we wanted to wait with our little boy to get stitches in a place where the scar would hardly ever, probably never, be seen. Brian and I took another look at the wound as Kole chatted on and on about this and that. He had stopped all crying after the shower. The wound was closing together a bit already.

We ended up throwing up our hands and opting for the pain free scenario. We trotting over to our friendly neighborhood CVS Drug Store for liquid band-aid and antibiotics. It's been 2 days. He's fine, we're fine, the wound looks fine. Daxx and Vinze are gentler, kinder brothers for the scare they got.

Kole's hair covers his wound without a problem and it hasn't bleed since the shower.
All is well with the world. But I know one thing for sure...

Head wounds bleed...A Lot!

THE SQUEAKY WHEEL

Daxx Robert has been written about, talked about, talked to, and even reasoned with more often than all of our other children combined.

Everyone who reads this blog or knows our family, knows who Daxx is and why my hair has finally, at the age of 37, started to turn gray.

Today, I want to talk about the wheel that doesn't squeak. Our little Kole is Daxx's twin brother. Kole, is the child who can be trusted to roam the house and yard freely. He is funny and talkative and very bright. He's got Wit and never fails to make us laugh.

Today he wanted his picture taken. I, of course, whipped out our camera and this is the picture he decided he wanted me to blog about. When he awakes in the morning he will be all shouts and screams of laughter when he views the picture of him "dying." Yep, that's his playing dead face. ROFL!

God love his little heart. He's a precious little soul.

CHANGING THE BEDDING

For some reason Daxx and Kole love "bedding change day."

BED TIME AND PARENTING

About 5 years ago I felt like a pretty good mom. Parenting in general had been fun for me. I felt like I was not too strict and not too lenient.

My boys have pretty well listened to good 'ol mom when she says to do something. They get into mischief like prank calling on sleepovers at other people's homes or giving their friend's nicknames because of what they wear or what they eat. For instance, Kazz's friends are Socks, Pink Hair Girl, Maestro, Shorty, and so on and so forth. They all make up names for each other and have since they were like 7 years old. At any rate, those are the big parenting issues I've had to deal with so far so I'm thinking I got this parenting thing down pat.

So I say to myself, "Hey let's have more children."
Brian says to himself, "Hey let's have more children. This is fun."

So, we go out and get more children. We decide we'll take two at first and the next day decide to take one more.

Yes that's what happened. We went out and got them. LOL

Little did we know that 3 at one time is interestingly different than one at a time. Two of the same age....is CRAZY! Now don't get me wrong. We love our boys. We LOVE LOVE LOVE them. They are awesome and sweet and ours forever and a day and they can never do anything to make us question that. BUT what they can make us question is our parenting!!

Two. Two little same aged boys are a different species than one little boy. One little boy can be talked to, reasoned with, and pretty well "handled" very easily and without much fuss. We say "no, no" they say, "okay"

Two little boys make that type of parenting very hard to do.

Why? The one who would listen without question watches the other one test the limits. When the one testing the limits doesn't get killed by us they realize that we have no real power. All we have is, "Sit there and think about your actions." Well la tee da...whoopy doo. Even a smack on the butt isn't too scary and eventually one fateful day they realize,

"I can do whatever I want!"

For instance,

"Kole, go to bed. " "Okay." says Kole.
"Daxx, go to bed." "No" says Daxx.

chitter chatter, walk him to bed, tuck him in. Lots of attention going to Daxx so mom gives lots of attention to Kole too. Mom has to catch Kole being good to praise him. Mom has to catch Daxx being good to praise him. Mom has to pay attention to these boogers and put in a lot of time so she can keep order in the house. Eventually mom gets very tired. Mom slacks off. Kids get a whiff of exhaustion and immediately become united to gang up against mom's authority.

Case in point...

Bed time. It became so crazy with "go to bed!" "Sit down" "Stay in your bed" "no talking" "don't take the covers, sheets and dust ruffle off the beds" "Don't play with toys at bedtime" etc etc... that Brian and I decided to take the toys out of the room during naps and bedtimes. All toys gone! Whoo hoo... we roll them out of there in the evening and think we have this thing conquered. It got very quiet so I THOUGHT the boys were in bed.

Little did I know that they....oh just look for yourself.

That was the view from the door.

What is it? They found a marker to draw on the wall. That wasn't fun enough so they took the bedding off one of the beds and pulled the mattress into the floor between the beds.

Well that must have made them tired because they were zonked out...on the bed slanted between the beds! LOL You know, because to sleep on the other one wouldn't have been as fun apparently.

Yep, I left them there to sleep the night away. They didn't make a peep. Go figure!

Where in the...How did...*sigh*

Daxx this afternoon....

"MOM! MOM!!

Vinnie and Kole called me a cracker baby!"

ie: crack baby

(Should I be glad they thought it was cracker or sad that they knew that wasn't a good thing? hmmm)

They may look innocent but...well....

no...they don't even look innocent!

Those boogers.

MUD SOUP

Yes, I did pretend to eat it.

Kole thought I actually tasted it and for a second, I thought he would vomit! LOL

OUR DINING ROOM TABLE

Our diningroom table is the fun spot in the house. There is an ever present basket of crafts sitting on it and the kids have free reign to play with it whenever they want. I made the mistake recently, of putting 4 small containers of glitter in the basket.

(like our dead plant hanging from the ceiling? It's gone now, since I saw it in this photo! LOL)

Our table CANNOT be wiped clean of the glitter. It just wants to move from one side to the other, rather
than be wiped up. Our floor and the counters and floor of the kitchen are also very sparkly. My clothes and the clothing of most of our family also have that "just been crafting" look to them.



It dawned on me today that THIS is the reason we don't wear Prada. :-)

DOG HOUSE

We got Zuma and Sasha on December 31st. They have GROWN so much! I forgot how quickly puppies grow. Vinze, Kazz, and Brisan took the overnight shift in turns the first week. They would sleep in the bedroom nearest the dog cage and take the puppies out every 3 to 4 hours so they could do their business. Needless to say the boys were dog tired!

It's funny what comes out of the mouth of boys who are exhausted. Kazz threatened to sell the dogs for a profit. Brisan looked at me at 4:30 one morning, one eye shut with his shoes half on/half off. "This can't be healthy for people." he moaned, as he carried the dogs out the back door in freezing weather. LOL



"Wait until you have a baby." was my answer. The last few days have been better for the kids. At this point, they only have to take the dogs out during the day every 4 hours and are able to sleep from 11:00pm to 8:00am. Still, they are working in shifts.

Our schedule has been this...

7:30 my alarm goes off. I hit snooze 3 or 4 times so I can wake up slowly. I wake the kids up at 7:50. Kazz takes the dogs out from 8:00 - 8:15, Brise gets the dog food and water, Vinze takes the 8:15 - 8:30 shift, Brise takes the 8:30 - 8:45. Kazz showers from 8:15 - 8:30. The twins get up sometime around there. I cook breakfast and the day begins.

After that shift the dogs have played. The boys have frozen their tushy off and they are all ready to warm up with some hot breakfast and relax into our homeschooling day.

It has been so funny to watch all the emotions that 2 new puppies can bring to our home; laughter, exhaustion, give and take. It really brings out the personality of all the boys. Mostly, they are precious as they watch the dogs, pet them, hug them and love them.

I really like our dogs.

They create a nice warm and fuzzy feeling in the house.

They boys have some new best friends.

And our family has new memories.

Childhood pets are remembered forever!

I'm well aware of this as I watch our boys bond with these puppies.

Remember King and Buffy mom and dad?

Yep, I'm still 3 years old watching Buffy run all over the yard and 11 watching King play with Zach.

Those are good memories folks.