Playdate

 

 

 

These two were good buddies in preschool and have looked forward to seeing each other since Ty left at the end of September. It was a great day. Aren't they adorable?

Christmas Cards

So I had this crazy idea I wanted to use for this year's Christmas cards and today was the day we were going to take the photo. Shutterfly cards are 40% off this week, in case your family is feeling a little more cooperative than mine. Sigh. All of the teens were given two days notice to work on their hair because the good Lord knows I can no longer spring a photo on any of them anymore. Ty apparently did not get the memo and had a meltdown. It was ugly and I honestly considered taking a shot of the meltdown with a sarcastic caption as the Christmas photo but thought better of it when I decided photographing a three year old mid-fit would eliminate my nomination for mother of the year. I am most likely not in the running for that award anyway. Hmm...should have gotten that shot after all. Instead, I snapped this one as soon as the meltdown ended.

Silent night?  But seriously, even the dog was prepped and ready for the Christmas card photo! I swear his nails get more attention than mine.

While we were waiting on the teens to finish eliminating what's left of the ozone layer, Kate lost her second front tooth. Perhaps we have a new Christmas card photo idea?

 All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth?

Recently heard in my house

*we'd rather find out you are getting a divorce than hear we are having another kid-Erin

*Dad, don't catch that ball, I want to hit you with it-Ty

*It was a great concert, but he didn't propose yet-Lauren after the Justin Bieber concert

*We're casting lots for Erin's room-Makenna and Lauren in reference to college next year

*I already know that bible story because Miss Amy taught it to me-Kate during bible this week

*Miss Jennifer gives me a lot of junk food and sometimes lets me drink Pepsi at her house. One time she let me and Shelby scream for ten minutes IN THE HOUSE! I replied, "she's rotten" and Kate answered, "no, she's awesome"

*"I can't tell you". "Can't tell me what, Buddy". He answered with a grin, "I have Pepsi". Erin then attempted to explain once again what it means to keep a secret. (They are both rotten.)

*And my favorite was submitted by my sister via text message. Theresa and Mason (age 5) were playing with Lego characters and chasing bank robbers. Theresa grabbed two guns and tried to hand one to Mason who told her he didn't need it, just handcuffs. He then said, "I'll cuff him and if he gives bad answers, you shoot him". She finished her text with, "I hope he doesn't want to be a police officer!"

Perspective

perspective: mine's moved quickly from gratitude to grumbling. I went from awe at the beauty of the world around me to the anxiety that consumes me during the holidays. Sometimes that anxiety is beyond my control, most often it is something I wallow in. This honesty hurts. I hate the upcoming season. I want to embrace it and enjoy it for my kids but I don't make my heart move past the pain and the stress. The pressure Greg feels at work mounted upon family demands and the financial burden it is, no matter how simplistic I try to keep it sucks the joy right out of the season for me. I try to finish my Christmas shopping before Halloween every year so I don't also have the pressure of dealing with other stressed out shoppers during the actual season but it does make me start facing Christmas plans way too early. At any rate, it is my perspective I need to work on. I am blessed. My family will be warm this Christmas. We will eat.

It was a tough start to the week. Three kids with stomach bugs, a water leak that has us staring at another over $300 water bill this month and the reality that another family needing childcare has not yet appeared has left me maxed out emotionally this week. Then we received news a little boy we love dearly got a life changing diagnosis and another friend entered ICU after months of unanswered questions. The days have been long and draining. I care deeply and feel strongly. I wear my emotions on my sleeve and this week has been hard. BUT.....on the way home from school this morning the sun was out and Awesome God was on the stereo and I realized I do love and serve an awesome God. Things aren't going to go smoothly and people are going to be mean to my kids and test results are going to be bad and life will hurt some days but in the end, no matter what else is going on, I have the option to keep my eyes focused solely on the God who loves me even when I am not loveable. I have the incredible privilege of trusting Him to carry my friend and show me how to love her in tangible ways. I have the knowledge that God provides. The reality is that I have to change my perspective if I want to be joyful this side of Heaven. It's November 1 and if I am going to make it to January 1, I have to choose to love and follow God no matter what life throws at me these next 60 days. After all, I posted on Tuesday night,  "Day is done. Thank God" on Facebook and within hours of waking Wednesday, I wished I could go back. Back to not knowing test results. Back to worrying about water bills and sick kids. Back to a friend on the mend and the normal teen drama that sent one kid to bed in tears. Those were temporary things, things that only mattered in the moment because I didn't have the right perspective.

And because I need to lighten the mood a bit. My son loves his footie pajamas. He has two pair. He has several pair of other pajamas but he only likes his footie ones. Monday night he wanted to wear them but they were in the laundry. He was not happy. Tuesday night they were clean and he eagerly got ready for bed. Wednesday he refused to get dressed because he didn't want his pajamas to go into the laundry.  He wore them all day, even under his Halloween costume and again to bed last night. He fought bath time this morning because I assured him the footie pajamas HAD to go back into the laundry. We have one more pair. Guess who's doing laundry today?

Erin took him Trick or Treating to a few homes in our neighborhood last night dressed as a UPS man. Given they only visited neighbors we know, everyone immediately noted he looked like his Daddy. Everyone started to comment that he looked "cute" but Erin was quick to cut them off and let them know Ty doesn't like the "C" word. Confused expressions were a plenty as people tried to figure that one out. There were several guesses that Erin was trying to prevent the word "crap" from being used but that didn't make sense in context. Erin quickly pointed out that he actually likes the crap word but he will literally cry if he hears someone call him cute....we can't explain it but assume he'll get over it eventually. Perspective. In his mind, being called cute is a bad thing.

I was at the hospital with my friend during Trick or Treat but Kate loved walking with Anne and her kids. It was a chilly night but a good time none the less. I am blessed to have such good friends. Adorable kids are pretty awesome too.

Family Fun

I took Erin, Kate and Ty to Theresa's Saturday for her annual pumpkin carving party. We all had a great time, as usual. Theresa invests days in preparations each year for all of the treats and the kids have a blast. The grown ups do too. This year, we also joined my brother-in-law's family on a local campground for trick-or-treating. Ty was a little uneasy about the scarier costumes, but found the mommy-pulled wagon ride for candy quite relaxing. Little stinker.

 

 

 

 

 

He may be one of the cutest little UPS guys, but he isn't the hardest working!

Welcome to My Office

I confessed to a friend the other day that I hide in my van to talk on the phone when the call really matters. I reserve it for rare calls like a doctor's office, a friend in need, the once a year call from my friend in Iowa, etc. It is sound proof. The little ones don't know where I am and it is a clear signal to everyone else that it is important; therefore, don't bother me with insignificant information right now. Mommy needs to be "Sherri" for a few minutes. I hardly know what that means most of the time, but my fellow Mommies know what I am trying to say here. Anyway, having a mini van for an office does present it's challenges. I need to plan ahead if I want tea during my conference calls and I don't exactly have access to important documents, a computer or chocolate. That last one being the most essential in a real office, I assume. So, during a tough season for one of my good friends, I would call to check in with her on my way home from the grocery store.....otherwise known as, "Mommy's time out" to see how she was doing. She was losing her dad to cancer and I desperately wanted to be there to support her. Given how wild my house is the second I pull back into the garage because everyone suddenly becomes aware they just survived an hour without me, I pulled over and parked in the neighborhood to let my friend finish her thoughts. All three times this occurred, the same police officer neighbor caught me. He would drive by very slowly, staring at me as if trying to figure out what I was doing. I suspect he thinks I was up to no good. Every time I see that man I feel compelled to explain myself but can't figure out how to do that without sounding guilty or crazy. I've kept the office parked in the garage for all my conference calls since, just hoping to convince the neighbors I am relatively sane.

Toothless grins

I love this stage. She's seven and still in awe of the world around her. She believes in all things magical and good. She sees the best in people and loves them unconditionally, even if they aren't always kind to her in return. She is still generally happy and carefree. Last night, the tooth that has been precariously dangling in her mouth the last several days finally fell out while she slept. The grin. It's priceless.

Loud Train

 

Quick Transformation

It is amazing what a quart of paint and a few hours can do the overall feel of the house. These little projects have been on my to-do list for a few months and the beautiful, warmer weather gave me an excuse to complete them.
Before

 

After

 

While I had the black paint out, I also put a fresh coat on the front door exterior as well as the garage door entrance from the mud room. Everything feels richer and updated. I am really pleased.

I love him to infinity and beyond

 

Buzz wants to fly. His mommy is worried he'll find ways to do that and land us in the Emergency Room.

The leaf run

It is simply gorgeous in my neck of the woods. I can't breathe in enough of it and am almost manic about capturing the color on camera, trying to remember the aroma of the fallen leaves and desperately encouraging my family embrace the beauty of the world around them these few short weeks. In the car, I am constantly pointing out areas with vibrant color or asking Greg to pull over to let me take photos. There is a strong likelihood I just annoying them all but I need to remember this. It's my favorite time of year. Change. It can be beautiful. Given how resistant I am to change in general it is almost ironic how much I crave this season with weather that is in a constant state of flux and color that pops up suddenly and then all too quickly disappears. My little people are enjoying it too; adding another layer of "I can't get enough".

 

 

 

 

 

 

Daddy's Helper

Ty insists his dress shoes are work shoes and he wears them all the time...even with sweats because he may need to get some work done. Last evening, as Greg was getting up, Ty asked him if he could help him get his work shoes so they could go work on stuff. As it turns out, there was "stuff" that needed worked on!

 

 

Does it get any sweeter? I found him working on my van with his plastic hammer this week. He was quickly redirected and then he decided the stop sign needed attention. He worked on it for a long time. The sound of metal being struck by plastic is unique. Our neighbors are amused rather than irritated and I am grateful.

Honesty

We hosted a bonfire for the kids and their friends last night. Having such diverse age groups represented in our home presents some challenges in finding family friendly activities for everyone. We tackled this one by inviting younger kids and families to join us for dinner until the typical bedtime. The teens brought their friends after attending the football game. As much as I would love to have them all at the same time, it is probably best to keep the teens in their own time slot as they don't always have filters and say things that are perfectly acceptable to say at 16 that may not be as acceptable at 7. It was a beautiful evening, we all enjoyed ourselves and it was needed after the week we've had. I wish I could say fall break was the relaxing break we needed but I would be lying. I've been fighting sinus symptoms for two solid weeks now, convincing myself they will go away if I ignore them long enough. This would be my typical approach to all things medical. But by yesterday, it was clear things were progressing, not improving so off the the walk-in clinic I went, knowing full and well I would come home on an antibiotic. Ugh. I am grateful they exist but really don't like taking them.

The football game was a "pink out" and all ticket sales were given to breast cancer research. FC lost by one point in overtime. The kids say it was a great game.

After the dryer incident with Kate this week, she had difficulty sleeping and has been pretty grumpy. I can't blame her but going on very little sleep myself because Ty has also been running a fever off and on this week and not resting well left me with very little patience for it all. I feel horrible even admitting it but I found myself irritated more easily and ready to hide with tea somewhere quiet. I treasure my kids and know how quickly these days pass. I don't want to take any day for granted but the total accumulation of issues this week left me depleted.

This girl makes me crazy! She licked the jug of fruit punch so no one else would drink it!

The goal was catching marshmallows on fire. He didn't actually want to eat them.

Lauren attended a birthday party for a classmate Thursday night. I felt uneasy allowing her to go. She went to this girls' party last year and noted the mother made her uncomfortable with the way she glared at everyone and didn't interact. I questioned why she would want to go again and she said more of her friends were going and they would have fun no matter what. I can't explain it further but just didn't feel settled. Greg called after dropping her off at the party and said he wasn't comfortable leaving her there because it appeared to be a rough area. We were both texting Lauren, questioning her comfort level, which of her friends were there, etc. The party was supposed to end at midnight. We'd already said 11 was late enough but after Greg dropped her off, I decided 10:30 was best. She agreed but texted at just before 10 and said some girl just hit her and she wanted me to get her immediately. It took me twenty minutes to get there and I called Greg to meet me, even though it meant he'd have to leave work for a little while. We've never had to do that in all the years he's been there so I was fairly certain it would be okay. He needed to be there. I am so glad he was. He took the bull by the horns, so to speak and made sure things were handled assertively and calmly. His demeanor was exactly what the situation needed. I would have taken Lauren home just to get out of there. Greg asked for an explanation from the parental chaperones and was offered none. He asked if the girl's parents had been called and then insisted that call take place immediately. He handled the phone call with that parent and determined the police needed to be called as well.

Lauren went to the party with her friend Dylan and his friend Dalton. Lauren and Dylan have been friends for over a year and we carpool with his family. She was dancing with a group of kids, including Dylan and Dalton when a girl she doesn't know, who is new to the school walked up to her and asked her if she was trying to make her mad (language cleaned up a bit). Lauren asked her what she was talking about and she repeated her question. Lauren was confused and again asked what she was upset about. She apparently had dated Dylan for a week or so and was mad Lauren was dancing with him. Lauren laughed it off stating they were good friends and she had nothing to worry about and even invited her to join them. Hailey acted like she was going to walk away so Lauren turned her back to her to go back to dancing when Hailey grabbed her from behind and punched her in the forehead. Lauren was shocked and walked away. Hailey's friends held her back and were yelling at her for doing it. Within seconds, Lauren was grabbed from behind a second time and hit. This time she said she turned, swinging but Hailey grabbed her shirt and pulled it down. Lauren knelt down quickly to avoid being exposed and was hit again as she slipped. Several people took Hailey outside and a parent from the party drove her around to allow her to cool off. When we arrived, they acted like they had no idea what had happened and had already sent this girl back into the party!

This girl was dancing as the police arrived, admitted everything and had no remorse. Lauren is fine but was shaken. She is concerned about school on Monday but we've already made the school aware and they will be intervening first thing Monday morning. Greg and I are both upset with ourselves for ignoring our initial instincts about this birthday party. We have no reason not to trust our daughter but just as this situation revealed, our kids aren't the only ones we have to trust. When Greg called the police, a parent from the party rounded up a van load of teens and drove them away. It was something we noted but didn't really think about until later. Once we were in a state of reflection, rather then reaction it occurred to us there was a lot more going on at that party than initially understood and the parents were fully aware. We've talked with Lauren, who was clueless about the extra activities about being more aware of her surroundings and using our code word text to be rescued from situations she isn't comfortable. She wasn't uncomfortable until the attack which again reiterates that we were negligent allowing her to be there. Once we talked with a few locals and the police officer we were warned that we were in a really bad area of Louisville and should NEVER be there. Thank God this was the only incident and our daughter walked away relatively unscathed. Lessons learned.

I can't turn my back for a second

This morning, I made a hot cup of tea and called Kristin for a sanity check because it had been a rough night. My son has been up more than down the last three nights and I cannot explain why. It is just something he's doing right now. It is not fun and does not make for a very happy mommy in the morning. There are tears, lots of them, mostly his. The kids had taken a view finder projection toy into the laundry room and closed the door so it would be dark enough to see the images. They also play in the laundry room with flashlights. In other words, it is a common thing for them to do and it provided a few minutes of relative peace for me. Kristin and I discussed our current state of crazy and were about to wrap up our conversation when I heard a horrible thud, the sound of the dryer running and both of my younger children screaming. I ran from the living room to the laundry room in the amount of time it took Kate to take three full rotations in the dryer. I frantically opened the dryer door to my hysterical Kate who was pretty banged up but going to be fine. Praise the Lord. I removed Ty from the top of the dryer as he was also screaming uncontrollably. It took awhile for all of us to stop shaking long enough to ask questions. First, my clever husband asked Kate if she was warm and dry yet! I wasn't sure if I wanted to laugh or slug him in that moment. He bravely went back to bed and let me handle the interrogation. As it turns out, Kate was playing in the dryer. Ty closed the door and scaled the dryer with his bare feet so they were able to stick to it as he climbed. He turned the knob and hit the start button. I am still in a state of disbelief. Why? Just Why? Ty swears he will never start the dryer again. I am certain this will be his lifelong ticket out of laundry and his future wife will hate me for it. The "what ifs" have played in my head over and over today. I keep thanking God for His protection. Kate has bruises and abrasions up and down her spine. She is sore but safe. Again, I thank God.

A Day with Friends

We took a road trip for the day to see Colby and his family. I can't begin to express how much we miss that little guy or his parents. It was a great day full of sugar, fun, fresh air and laughter. We will be back. Not soon enough.

 

 

 Audrey asked to join us for the day because she also misses Colby. He really does feel like part of the family. For that matter, Audrey does too.

 I can assure you this is trouble.....they were working together to decide how to get Colby up that tree.

 

 Makenna and Colby didn't miss a beat. They are rather fond of one another.

 The look on Ty's face cracks me up.....I think that flaming marshmallow concerns him a bit!