Sitting here with a glass of wine-hoping that the wine buzz will drown out the screaming.  No such luck.  Apparently asking to eat dinner in order to get an after dinner snack is an outrageous request.  Four-year- old does not concur with that decision.
  Sooooo-my husband is deployed.  Again.  That means that I am on full time duty and add that to the fact that we have a new puppy and my life is like an episode of Jerry Springer.  Yesterday our new goldendoodle Rosie ate a chocolate bar.  Which is supposedly deadly to puppies.  Nice.  So I had to pour hydrogen peroxide down her throat to make her puke and then I got to clean up vomit and a month's worth of doggie doo outside.  And my two-year-old stepped in a pile of it.  So it was an interesting evening, to say the least.
  Today I got to talk to two very dear friends of mine on the telephone.  I am so thankful to have friends that know what this military life with children is like and don't try to sugar-coat things.  Nothing makes me madder than people who act like their life is perfect.  It's not, people.  Life is a messy, complicated thing, full of ups and downs.  Some days I feel like I am a stellar mom, other days I am failing hard core.  I think we as women would be a lot less hard on ourselves if we could only learn to speak the truth about what we are really feeling inside.  We wouldn't feel so alone and isolated.  Satan's number one tool is isolation and a break down in communication.  If he can make us feel alienated and different than everyone else, he can make us rely only on ourselves, which is a horrible mistake.  I am so thankful for friends that laugh with me in good times and hold me up in bad times.  I hope that every day I make a careful decision to be that kind of friend, too.

Can I get an amen for family and great friends?!

  Today I am feeling especially thankful.  I have to first give a shout-out to one of my besties, Sarah, because of her insistence that I get back to blogging and that I genuinely have a talent for it.  Sometimes all it takes is a little encouragement to keep going, ya know?  I have no idea why I quit.  Laziness?  Lack of brain activity?  Poor time management?  Perfectionism gone horribly wrong?  Maybe a little of all of the above.  I really want my blog and writing to be perfect, and if it isn't everything that I envision, then I just don't do it.  It's kind-of a bad way to be in life.  It holds me back an awful lot.  But I am trying my best to embrace my imperfections, and learn from them.  Oh who am I kidding?!  I HATE my imperfections.  I need to lose at least twenty pounds before I am "happy" with my body.  Then I need the mole on my back removed.  And then some dermatological work on my face to fade those age/sun spots and scars.  Then a little laser eye surgery.  Then to top it all off, I would get the "mommy makeover" to correct the damage that birthing four children and nursing them each for a year did to me.  And then maybe I'd be happy?  I doubt it.
  Then what really makes me happy?  Well to start with, sunshine makes me extraordinarily happy.  So does laughing.  Especially when I make other people laugh.  ESPECIALLY my kids' laughter.  Fabulous friends.  A great book.  Music and dancing, especially when the two are put together.  A great cup of coffee or a smooth glass of red wine, depending on the time of day.  Love.  Life.  Most of which I have experienced today, on just an ordinary day in my humble home.  Which leads my to why I have much to be thankful for.  And this blog is kind-of like sitting down and sharing my life with a group of great girlfriends.  What could be better?
  And Sarah, when we strike it big and have our first book deal, you are totally going to have an inscription ;).  Make me keep going!!!
  

  I am sitting at the kitchen table working on my blog, and I am looking around me and counting my blessings.  On my right is Wyatt, who is working on his homework while simultaneously biting his toenails.  Mitchell is in front of me, making fun of Wyatt biting his toenails.  A fight ensues.  AHHHH-this is the life.
  Today has been a rough day.  Lincoln has just gotten rid of the flu bug, and Mitchell seemed to have gotten it.  He was puking all night last night and ended up staying home from school today.  While talking to a dear friend on the phone this morning, Wyatt accidently locked Lincoln in the downstairs bathroom.  Which was funny for about thirty seconds until the realization that we don't have a key to the door and my attempts to "teach" Lincoln how to unlock the door from inside were futile.  Which isn't hard to believe, given he is only 22 months old.  Ten minutes and some hysterical crying later, the door was unlocked with a screwdriver and a credit card.  I felt like MacGyver.  It really is the small victories in life.
  At the gym today, the childcare workers informed me that Lincoln was able to bust out of the locked fire escape door.  The lady in charge told me that in all her time working there, no child had figured out the lock before.  She said that they needed a two-to-one ratio for him because he is always trying to escape out of there.  It made me feel warm and fuzzy inside that MY kid is that smart.  I actually felt validated because I have such a hard time with him at home-he is into EVERYTHING.  So I am glad the act isn't all just for me.
  There were also many messes made today-spilled coffee, a bag of dried cherries strewn across the floor on three separate occasions (believe me, after being on our floor they are now inedible), and the remnants of pukefest.  Did I mention it was raining a cold, icy hail today?
  But I have to be thankful for the blessings that show themselves during trials.  A very dear friend brought over dinner so that I wouldn't have to worry about it.  My living room and downstairs bathroom were cleaned and sanitized (albeit by me) the best that they have been cleaned since living here.  And little D's giggle as he put the step stool on his head was not to be missed.  The best of all?  That my husband will be home tomorrow to take over the madness for me.  Life is good!
 

  It has been a pretty great weekend so far, I must say.  Yesterday Wyatt had his first wrestling tournament of the season, and he weighed in at a hefty 44 pounds-ha!   The crazy thing is David, who is almost 3 years younger than Wyatt, weighs 37 pounds.  Wyatt is a little peanut, but what he lacks in size he makes up for in spirit and tenacity.  That kid is tough.  He crouched down to wrestle and he looked like a bear getting ready to catch a salmon from the river.  He won all three matches, and I never cease to be surprised at how different each of my boys are.  Wyatt refuses to lose at anything.  He wants to be the very best at whatever he does.
  After coming home and taking a nap, I took the boys to a couple local parks.  It was such a beautiful day, and after a long winter full of snow, it was a literal breath of fresh air to enjoy 50 degrees and sunny.  Even though I have had four boys, it still takes my breath away to watch Lincoln stare up at the sky and take in every wonder in the world that I take for granted.  The sound of crunchy grass beneath our feet, a cool breeze that whips across his cheeks, a fast zip down the slide, etc. are all thing Lincoln delights in.  Life is so simple for kids.  When do we start growing up and taking everything for granted?  And why?  It really is the most simple of things that gives us true pleasure and happiness, not all the "things" that we try to attain.
  Last night I had one of the most wonderful girls come over to babysit.  She is nothing like the sitter described in my last post-she is an angel!  She plays with the boys and cleans up my house.  My sister Meg and I went out to dinner at Outback Steakhouse and did a little shopping.  We had a really great time and I came home rejuvenated and relaxed.
  Today we went to church and had a wonderful sermon and now I am off to enjoy more sunshine and go for a run.  Praise God for his many blessings this weekend!

The Babysitter Dilemma

  Today has been a rather uneventful day.  I stayed home in my pajamas for most of the day, doing some things on the computer and cleaning the house while little D and Lincoln went behind me and destroyed it. The hubby had to leave again for a week, despite the fact that he has only been home for a week, but oh well.  Such is the life we lead.  I had heard about a local photographer having an exhibit tonight with pictures that she had taken in southeast Asia.    Check out her website and you'll see why I want to go see her work.  http://www.suwaneephotography.com/.  My friend had told me about her photography talent and I would really like to go to the exhibit, so since my husband is gone I need to find a babysitter because there is no way in h-e-double hockey sticks that I am taking all my kids to something like that.  That ranks right up there with the embarrassment of asking a camera crew to film you at the obstetrician's office.
  That brings me to the arduous task of finding a babysitter.  Once upon a time I practically had someone's background checked in order to babysit my kids.  And there was a long list of do's and don'ts that the sitter had to follow in order to have the privilege to watch my two oldest sons.  I paid a sitter a reasonable $6 an hour, and that was if she was really good.  Now that I have four boys, I practically have to beg and plead for someone to watch them.  My only requirements now are that she has a pulse and can speak English or pig-latin.  And I pay an incredible ten dollars an hour for someone to sit over here and make sure my kids stay alive.  Most of the time, apparently even that is too much to ask.  While having a babysitter over here, I have come home some times to find doors locked from the outside with no-one in them and no keys, second floor windows wide open and handprints in the snow on the roof outside the window, the house thoroughly trashed, and a trail of Ritz crackers leading up to Lincoln's room, as if that was how she got him into his crib.  
  Despite the thought of coming home to a house that is worse than I left it (and that is hard to do), and taking out a small business loan in order to pay for a night of relaxation, I still do it?  Why?  Because the alternative is me in a straight jacket and paying for years of intense therapy.  And time away from my kids and from being a person other than mommy, makes me a better mommy in the long run.  So it's a win-win.
  Cross your fingers that I'll find a babysitter tonight...

It's been way too long

  I am back!  I had taken a hiatus from writing on the blog for a while, frankly, because I felt like I had nothing great to say.  I was burnt out on child-rearing and thinking in general.  But I have read that a blog is like a garden, which needs to be well-tended in order to thrive.  I haven't done a very good job at that, and anyone who know me and my green thumb abilities can attest to that!  I am going to just start writing about whatever comes to my mind, and it doesn't have to be a long, thought-out affair.
  Today is the late Dr. Seuss's birthday.  Before I elaborate further on that, can anyone please tell me how to properly write the possessive form of Seuss?!  It always throws me when something ends in a s and you have to turn it into possessive form.  Sorry, my mind goes in a hundred different directions.  Anyway, the kids and I started the day with a delicious breakfast of green eggs and ham.  Not hard to do, you just add a little bit of blue food coloring to the eggs.  Because we all learned in kindergarten that blue and yellow make green, right?  The color of the eggs reminded me of something that came out of my little Linky's diaper, but alas, it's the thought that counts!  And I didn't have to eat it.  Wyatt had a Dr. Seuss party at school today, and he wore different colored socks and his Dr. Seuss Converse high tops.  I spent a little of the morning looking at different quotes from Dr. Seuss and I never cease to be amazed by his genius.  His books are so ridiculous, yet so beloved.  I want to be like him when I grow up!  Here are a few great quotes that I found:

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind." 


"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go..." 


"We are all a little weird and life's a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love." 


"Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple."




  I could go on and on with his brilliance.  But the bottom line is I am so happy that I have kids that I can read his books to and keep his legacy alive.   I hope that I, too, can leave an indelible mark on the world just as he has.  






 

  This past week I have thought about a lot of things that happen that I wish someone would have informed me of before having children that might have made me think twice before having four.  Oh who am I kidding?  We didn't plan any of our kids and I never read a book about parenting, but I think that the information needs to be put out there for all mommies-to-be.  Mind you it isn't traditional information like sleep when the baby sleeps or anything like that.  And a lot of it has to do with the bathroom since that's where we spend a majority of our time.  Deal with it.  If it offends you, don't read it.
  These are just a few off the top of my head.  Please log in and leave your comments to add your own!  I love a good laugh!
 1.)  Never EVER change a baby's diaper without wipes nearby thinking that they have only peed.  It will not work out well for you.
  2.)  Why is the toilet paper roll out whenever I sit down and take the two seconds to go to the bathroom?!
  3.)  Why do the kids have to all go # 2 right before we have to go out the door and be somewhere?
  4.)  Why does someone need me the second I get into the shower?  And continue to ask me things through the door when I repeatedly yell that I can't hear them?
  5.)  What exactly is the radar that I emit whenever I come into or leave the house that causes all the children to scream, cry, and need me simultaneously?  Or better yet, how do I lose it?!!
  6.)  Why whenever I sit/ and or kneel down to do anything, that I instantly become a human jungle gym?
  7.)  Why can't I get skinny by just chasing my toddler away from the toilet and dining room table?  It is an every five minute thing...
  8.)  Why hasn't someone invented an automatic car seat cleaner so you don't have to take the darn thing apart every time your kid pukes, poops, or leaves crayons in the hot car (hypothetically speaking, of course)?
  9.)  How do your breasts return to a normal size when your over 6 month old baby stretches them out about 6 inches while nursing and trying to watch his brothers wrestle at the same time?  Wait, scratch that question-they DON'T.
  10.)  How do little people that can drive you so crazy make you also the happiest?!!