It's a Vivas Thing!

Fred

Meet Fred.

He's our newest family member! His new BFF is Jonathan.

This is Jonathan's face when he first met Fred...

He says they look a lot alike...

Merry Christmas!

Laughable Moment #29

We have two dogs, one of which has decided to come into heat. Yeah, I know...we need to spay her and neuter him. Trying to take care of him this week. In the meantime, we are keeping them separated. He's not taking it to well; he's miserable.

In his miserableness this morning, the Drama Queen wanted to know what was wrong with him. I remarked that he can't take it because he just wants to be with Roxy, to which my husband commented,

"Just admit it, it's all males. They all get this way around certain women."

To which I remarked, "Yeah, Daddy loves me so much, he'd do anything for me."

The Drama Queen interrupts and starts telling us,

"Yeah, Daddy loves me so much, he gave me clothes, he gave me a crib, he gave birth to me....."

At which point, I quickly interrupt and state, "Let me get this straight, dear, I gave birth to you."

(She does know that, by the way, it was just a slip of the tongue.)

Daddy went into fits of hysteria, stating one can never take that away from a women because she will always remind you that it was she that gave birth to her children!

Oh my goodness...we laughed so hard!

Now if only we could get Joey to stop howling and whining and eat something..............

A Glimpse into Our Family

We're a strange bunch, us Vivas's! I thought I'd give a glimpse into little daily parts of our lives. But where to start? Hmmm.

 

We like to just hang out. Literally.

 

We like to have parties that scare our favorite friends. Really.

 

We're not afraid to take happy pictures! (And some of us look a lot alike!)

 

We're not afraid of nature...or little critters.

 

We're not afraid of a little adventure, either.

(Don't you just love the look on their faces?)

 

We're kind of competitive...(even if it means beating our best friend's little sister!)

 

...and we like our cousins, especially if we're in the race for our lives!

We are a little afraid of small people with big knives!

Some lessons are painful for us. Literally.

Matching Christmas gifts are cool. Matching personalities even better.

Sometimes.

 

We take care of each other. Even if it means carrying your sister down a slippery rock.

Some of us are a little weird. She's pretending to eat the iguana rock in the background. It's the blurry thing that she's about to take a bite out of.

 

Then there are those bonding moments. You know...youngest and oldest, just chillin'

 

We also have weird pets. This one has a tongue disorder. Can you tell? We convinced the Good Looking One's girlfriend that we had even taken her to the vet and that the name of the disorder was too long to say. She felt so sorry for the poor dog. We finally caved in laughter! (But we really do think she has some unknown tongue disorder!) I really think this picture is priceless though! I mean, what are the chances of catching a shot like this?!

 

And after a long day of licking...she lays down ON MY PILLOW and crashes.

(In case you're wondering, the weird dog belongs to the girl who likes to pretend she's eating iguana rocks. Don't you think that's a perfect match?)

But the all time funniest picture I have come across is this one.

 

Seriously. I went to upload pictures onto my computer and found several of these. Not just one, but six or seven. See, my brother bought us a Wii for Christmas. My HUSBAND is addicted. He bowls with his sons almost every night. Before the Wii, he had no interest in video games. Notice the bald head and glasses? That's hubby. Notice the score in 1st place? That's the Smart One. Who had to take a picture and have me upload it to my computer for safe keeping. For proof.

As if the hysterical screaming when he actually scored it wasn't enough!

It'll be interesting to see what 2010 holds for us!

Hopefully, we'll still be smiling. Like this...

Sear's Repairmen and Goldfish, Part 2

...And there is water every where.

My first thought was, "Lord, please don't let it be the washing machine."

And then I thought, "Lord, please don't let it be the water heater."

And then, I called the Smart One over to help me figure it out. We got out the flashlight and looked up, down, around, over and under. I didn't think it could be the water heater because there wasn't enough water, unless it was a slow leak. But, the water was actually closer to the heater than the washing machine, so I wasn't sure. We ran a rinse and drain and couldn't find the leak, so we finally decided to call hubby. The conversation went somewhat like the other night; only this time, I was the bearer of bad news.

Me: "Hi, honey. You may not want to come home."

Him, "What's wrong?"

Me, "Well, you know how the other night you told me to just go to bed? You might want to do that tonight."

Him, "Why's that?"

Me, "Well, either the washer or the water heater is broke. Regardless, the garage is full of water."

He came straight home and went to work trying to figure it out. And it was; you guessed it, the washing machine! The water was pouring out of the top of the machine, towards the water heater. The new rubber seal was put on incorrectly. I won't tell you what I was thinking, but you can imagine that I wasn't real happy. I called the Sear's repair line and stayed on hold forever, only to get the person that makes you give them all of your information even though you've just told them that you have a warranty, a service number, etc and you don't want to have to repeat the information all over again to a different person. Then, I tell them anyway because after all, they're just trying to do their job, and I'm put on hold once again. After another 15 minutes go by, we're finally connected and none of the information has been passed, so I have to start all over again!

They apologize and say that they can't get anyone over to fix it until Tuesday. (It's Saturday, and I've been waiting since Thursday to wash my clothes.And there are EIGHT people in my house!) It does not matter that there is water in the garage or that I have dirty clothes or that their repair men are incompetent. It does not matter that I am desperate or that the dumb washing machine keeps breaking on me! Apparently, they think by giving me a $10 gift card takes care of the countless hours I've spent waiting for them to fix my machine. And I don't qualify for a new machine, because in order to qualify it has to be the same thing that keeps breaking, not several different things. Yeah, like that makes sense. So...They can't come until Tuesday.

The lady does give me another number and suggests that I call on Monday and see if they can get over to fix it same day, pleading my case. She wants me to call at seven am, central time. That's five am for me, but hey, if it will get my dishwasher fixed a day earlier, I'll do it! Then she realizes that that won't work because their department calls my city's department and if it is five am when I call them, it is also five am for my city's department. Well, duh!

Ok, honestly, this is where it becomes almost comical. She then spends the next few minutes trying to calculate what time I should call on Monday. She's trying to figure it out because there is a two hour time difference and she wants to make sure that my city's office is open when I call. I suggest that I just call at whatever time they open, since I live in the same city. She isn't happy with that answer, because she's still trying to figure out the time difference. HELLO...I am in the same time zone as the office in my city!!! She finally decides that I should call her at 9:30 in her time zone which would be 7:30 in my time zone because by then the office in my city should be open, because they also have a two hour difference. Ok, ma'm, I'll do that.

Do you suppose that they train their repairmen and their customer service people in the same office? Maybe what they really do in their training sessions is teach them 101 Ways to Annoy Their Customers.

At any rate, I finally get off the phone and head upstairs to relax and try and watch a movie after such a day as this.

And then the wailing starts. OH NO PLEASE SAY IT ISN'T SO!!!

Yah, it's the Drama Queen.

"Goldie is dead! I was watching him and he was breathing and then he went upside down and his mouth was doing this (she actually shows me how he was gasping for air) and then it stopped and now he's DEADDDDD!!!"

We are not a callous family, honest. But B-boo had to leave the room before she burst into uncontrollable laughter.

Poor Punky had to hold the Drama Queen while she sobbed.

I offered her a hot bath to make her feel better.

And when she left, I quickly told B-boo to have her daddy flush it into Neverland.

He wasn't thrilled because the agreement was that I would do it while they were at church. But hey, the fish was still alive then! He flushed; I tried to appear compassionate.

Hey, at least I didn't make us circle the toilet as we said a few nice things about the fish!

As for the washing machine...we're waiting for part 4 of the continuing drama.

Other Sear's Fiascoes:

Appliances and Repairmen

A New Day

Sear's Repairmen & Goldfish

Sear's Repairmen & Goldfish, Part 2

DMV

Sear's Part 3

Sear's Repairmen and Golfish

After the week that I'd had, I decided to rise to the occasion on Saturday and make it a great one. I was hoping the repairman would come early so that I could accomplish my mounds of laundry. I was ready for my day! I'd made an omelet for the bowler, a waffle sandwich for the karate boy and was working on turkey bacon for the others.

We managed to get them where they needed to be in the morning and came back to tackle the house. The three little ones and I would clean, clean, clean and have fun doing it We dusted, we vacuumed, we straightened shoes, we mopped.

And of course, there was drama. Chicken Noodle Butt has been on a roll of tantrums whenever he's asked to do something. Not hard things, just normal things; like taking a shower, picking up your toys, putting your plate in the sink...you know, normal things. And while this was going on, Mr. Goldfish had been found floating around on his side. Then upside down. With his little mouth trying to suck up air. The Drama Queen was sobbing uncontrollably because *this was the first pet that she'd ever had that she didn't have to share that was dying." Now understand that we've had hamsters, rats, fish, frogs, lizards, snakes, birds and dogs. The only thing that is remaining today is the snake and the dogs! (Ok, we had to give the birds away because the dog wanted to eat them, but still! And no, they didn't all die, some we shared with others, but still!) And we were crying over a goldfish??? I was nice and I held her and told her how sorry I was. I asked hubby to take her out of the house with him when he left so I could flush it down the toilet give it a proper burial. Meanwhile, little Goldie was still trying to decide whether he wanted to float or swim.

And then, the repairman calls to let me know he's on his way. I ask if he's got the rubber seal. He doesn't know what I'm talking about. No, the nice lady from Friday didn't put it in the notes. I tell him what is needed, he states he'll get it and I'll have my washing machine today. I do have serious doubts, especially after my last Sear's fiasco, but I am determined to stay positive! He comes on over, with the part needed and we discuss the washing machine. We talk about previous fiascoes with the washer and repairmen and my growing dislike of this particular machine. He guarantees me that he will be able to fix it and fix it correctly the first time.I almost believe him. I'm elated when he tells me it's fixed and I can do laundry! I'm so happy, I can do anything! I can put up with temper tantrums and dead goldfish because I can wash clothes again. Wow, this was easy. I can't believe it! Life is good again in the Vivas household!

I manage to get a load in and even sit for a whole 30 minutes! The kids are happy playing outside now, the goldfish has decided to live after all, and it's not so bad.

For about 30 minutes.

We head out to run an errand and do what we need to do while the clothes wash. I get back and start cleaning again, and ask the Smart One to please put the clothes in the dryer, then put the jeans from the other day back in the washer so that they can be rinsed out properly. He wonders if the reason why he was itching the other day was due to soap in his jeans, I say it might be. I finally finish and head downstairs to relax.

And I walk into the garage.

And there is water every where.

But I need to get ready for church, so I guess there's a part three to this saga.

Other Sear's Fiascoes:

Appliances and Repairmen

A New Day

Sear's Repairmen & Goldfish

Sear's Repairmen & Goldfish, Part 2

DMV

Sear's Part 3

Great Photography

Every once in a while, we get priceless moments in time that we just want to capture. There have been countless times over the past 22 years where I have thought to myself, "OH, I wish I had a camera right now!" Instead, we try hard to keep that moment in our memories and hope that we never forget it. Sometimes we do, however, until the memory is jarred back by a thought, a smell, or a laugh.

A great picture isn't only about the actual photo. It's about what was going on at that moment..and about how the photographer felt. For instance, don't they look like twins? They're actually three years apart, and this was one of those priceless moments where they were at complete peace with one another.

The picture below is actually of me and the Drama Queen. We were at one of the Smart One's karate testings. It's not a great photo in terms of quality, but it is one of my favorite photos.  I had no idea my picture was being taken. I think it shows me as a mom. And a wife. And I wonder what my husband was thinking when he took this photo.

 

I can't even begin to express this picture. It's simply a boy and his rat. What other's may not know is that this wasn't just any rat. This was my son's gift from God; his special friend that he needed. Buster picked my son; and his heart was broken the day Buster passed. We all cried. But I'm glad that he was able to have his time with Buster.

 

This is one of my all time favorite pictures. It's my dad. My dad instilled the love of picture taking in me. He loves to capture life. This was taken during one of those moments when he was filming my children; his grandchildren. Again, I love those moment when the person is caught unaware.

The next two photos are of my children. The first is of B-boo. She was getting ready for a production she was in and kind of caught unaware. This was her last year before becoming the big teenager. I had helped her put on some make-up for the show. That was fun. And then, I grabbed the camera and she looked up and smiled, and I remember thinking to myself, "When did she grow up and become such a beautiful young woman?"

This is of the Smart One getting ready for a test. I laugh every time I look at this photo. He was obviously having a good hair day! I just love the look on his face. Happy. Content. Excited.

These next two say it all. At least I think so! Ah, the beauty of God's creation! The sunset will always remind of a time when I just needed some peace...and to know that God had a handle on it, know what I mean? And so, God gave me that sunset. It was amazing!

 

But THIS is my favorite photo of all! It is the photo that inspired me to write this blog. You see, on Good, True and Beautiful's blog today, they are giving away a rolled canvas print of a digital picture. I immediately thought of this picture, because I've always wanted to get it printed on a canvas. This picture is of my youngest two children. We had *hatched* some butterflies from caterpillars. We had a special net home and we watched them spin into cocoons and then emerge as butterflies. When it finally came time to release them, we went out into our backyard on a beautiful, spring day. The Smart One was so careful to take them out without harming them. The Drama Queen wanted to hold one, so he carefull placed the butterfly on her fingers. This picture is of that moment, as he was handing it off. When I look at this photo, I see the wonders of His creation; my beautiful children enjoying something so rare and wonderful. This was one of those moments when I was so glad to have my camera handy; a moment not ever forgotten, and always cherished.

Why Mom's Can't Sleep

It's a holiday today. As a homeschool mom, I'll be sure to remind my kids why they don't have school today and to pray for those families whose members are serving or have served in our armed forces. And I'm not making light of what today is. But holidays mean something around here.

I have six kids at home. Count them...six. (I have a college student but he lives on his own, so he doesn't count in this post.)

Six kids means that I can have six different places to be on any given day. It means, everyday, I have four public school schedules to keep to at three different schools, plus working homeschooling around my youngest. Whew! It makes me dizzy thinking about it. Add in doctor appointments, counseling appointments, sports, activities, etc...and I am one tired mom!

Which brings me back to a holiday. It means I don't have to get up at the crack of dawn to take anyone to school! Don't get me wrong; I love getting up at the crack of dawn and making breakfast for my kids and having that special time in the morning. But I'm getting older and tired.

So back to that holiday anyway! Last night, hubby made the littlest ones promise not to wake up anyone...at all...this morning. (I did tell him that he should realize that is a promise they won't be able to keep. The Princess can't stand being alone, quiet, for anything and Chicken Noodle Butt will find something to cry over.)

I also have this problem. Once I'm awake, that's it for me. I can not go back to sleep. It's the same for me at night, too. Wake me up, I'm up.

A friend asked the other day how can she be so tired and yet not fall asleep. I replied that it's the brain. It finally has time to function, so it goes into full mode. Mom's go to bed wondering if they've accomplished everything they should have during that day and wondering how they can get the everything accomplished the next! Unfortunately, God forgot to give us a turn off switch for our brains.

So this morning, it's a holiday. I don't have to be anywhere. I get to sleep in, right?

At 6:47, the little one goes into the bathroom. He's talking as loud as he can about counting and the fact that something is yellow. I pretend I don't hear him, but he starts to get louder. I finally just say, "Shhh!" He stops, and it becomes quiet again.

Next thing I know, my phone goes off. Now, I know that I turned off the alarm, so this means it's a person. It's 7:03 and my sister-in-law wants to know if I want to go to the parade today. I tell her I'm asleep and ask when and where. She says she was asleep, too, but mom woke her up so she's texting me with one eye open. I consider the parade.

"The little ones might like it. That means I'll have to wake the older kids up. That means I'll have to get up soon and make breakfast. Oh wait, we're all supposed to be sleeping in until whenever we want today. We do need sleep. But hold on. Chicken Noodle Butt needs pants and it's supposed to get cold tomorrow. I'm supposed to find time to get him pants today...and it needs to be cheap. Penneys might be having a sale since it's a holiday, or I can take him to Savers. It sure would be nice if hubby had a job. If I take them to the parade the Drama Queen will be walking around a lot on that broken growth plate. She'll probably like that but we really should keep her off of her feet. Oh, that's why I promised her we'd paint today. Oh man, that means a mess...I wonder if I can con Chicken Noodle Butt into doing something else. I could give him a puzzle. Maybe I we could all work on a puzzle together. Oh wait, I need to call the ortho doctor and find out where his leg braces are. Today's the eleventh and they told me to call today if I didn't hear from them. Speaking of doctor visits, I need to make them a dental appointment, too. I wonder when I can get them in. Speaking of teeth, maybe I should make a good breakfast today. I could make biscuits and gravy. That sounds really good, but it will have to be for a late lunch/early dinner because I need to thaw out the sausage. I'll have to look up a recipe for gluten free biscuits for the Smart One, and I'll need take out part of the sausage to make the Drama Queen dairy free gravy. That reminds me, I still haven't replaced the broken skillet, but I think I can manage with the pot. Giggle...I better make sure the Drama Queen doesn't touch it otherwise she might break another toe. Speaking of gluten free recipes, I need to find one that doesn't have eggs so I can still make stuffing this year for Thanksgiving. Did someone let the dogs out? I hope they gave them water. Oh man, they need a bath today. I wonder if the kids can handle their baths by themselves. Roxy is a pain to bathe. We really should have named her Marley; dumb dog."

About this time, I realize the toilet is running, so I get up to go jiggle the handle. Chicken Noodle Butt starts crying about something, so I head over to find out what is wrong with him. Hubby comes upstairs to take over and let me sleep. Yeah, ok. I head back to my room and lie down. I text sister-in-law to tell her the plan for today was for everyone to sleep in as late as they want. She laughs; I laugh.

I try to go back to sleep.

"I wonder what to get the Good Looking One for his birthday. Poor boy has to work on his birthday. It really would be cool if we could all show up with a cake and sing to him at work. I wonder if he'd get fired if we did that? Maybe if hubby is working we can take him out to lunch. It will probably be pretty crowded though since it's black friday. Oh, I hate going out on black friday...who does that anyway? It was fun though, last year, when he took us out in the middle of the night. Boy, was it cold. That reminds me, what are we going to do for the Smart One's birthday. I can't believe he's almost 12. He'll be hitting puberty soon, that will be fun. I wonder if the Good Looking One will teach him how to shave, too. The Talented One loved that! Christmas is coming soon. What will we do? What do you get a 22 year old? The little ones are easy; legos and barbies will make them happy.And they do seem happy a little don't they? I wonder if we'll end up adopting them. Where will we put them? I wonder if I can get a good job and just have all of my salary go into adding some rooms on the house? Then we'd all fit. Speaking of fitting, I can't believe the Talented One and the Smart One are graduating college and high school the same year. Can we really throw a big party for the graduations and the 18th birthday all at once? It could be like a family reunion! That's be great. Where would we hold it?"

8:25, I get another text message. This time from Punky, asking me to bring the choir book so she can make copies. "It sure would have been great to skip activities tonight, too." I text her back ok.

I write this blog.

It's now 8:46 am. Hubby thinks I'm sleeping. I think I'll go make some coffee and cuddle with him.

No, no parade today. It's quiet in the house for now and somehow, that seems a much better way to spend my morning.

She has a Disorder

She's cute, isn't she? But she has a disorder. We're not sure what causes it, but it is definitely there.

 

We call it a tongue disorder! The dog is completely, totally unable to keep her tongue in her mouth! Really. I'm not sure we've ever seen it in her mouth. And, it seems to be connected to her tail...which is somehow more connected to her butt than most dogs. It goes something like this. Her tongue hangs out and starts moving back and forth, her head moving with it. At the other end, her butt wags, causing her tail to move back and forth. Seriously, the tongue and head go one way and the butt and tail go the other way.

People come over and and ask what is wrong with our dog. I tell them she's a mini Marley. Seriously, if she was bigger, we'd be in serious trouble! Hubby tells them she has a tongue disorder. The thing is, they believe us...because it looks like she really does! I'm sure if we took her to the vet, he'd agree. It's probably got some long, weird name and there is no cure and we'd pay a lot of money just to not be able to pronounce it, so we just accept it for what it is and when asked, we tell them, "She has a tongue disorder."

Personally, I think she's a little off, too. The problem is that she just doesn't realize that she's a dog. She thinks she a cat perhaps? The dog is small, but she can jump through windows. Seriously. And she can catch birds out of the air. Really. But mainly, she has a tongue disorder.

She acts dumb, and sometimes, I wonder why we keep her. But really, she's pretty smart. I think she knows it, too, and just acts dumb. And she gets away with it because we feel sorry for her, because of her tongue disorder.

I guess you could say that she fits in with our family well. I never thought we'd have a dog, let alone two. Our family comes with multiple...er...disorders. We don't do normal.

Which is why we keep her, even with her tongue disorder.

Listen and Obey

This morning was not at all what I expected it to be. To start off, I had a hard time waking up; not good when you have a gazillion kids to get to school and a van to the mechanic. But my hubby was so good and tried to give me rest. So, he took the kids to school, then took the van to the mechanic, got a ride home and then took the Smart One to school, too! All so that I could have a calm morning and not have to do anything else but get the youngest two on the bus. He tried.

But the youngest two were not listening very well today. Things like brushing teeth and combing hair, putting their dirty clothes away all became a frustration. And I wondered to myself, "What will it take to get them to listen to me? To see the importance of what I am asking, and that it is for their benefit?" Asking simple things of them should not be so hard.

As we were trying to get shoes and backpacks on, the Drama Queen opened the door to watch for the bus. We do this every morning. But this morning was different.

Because somehow, in the midst of me begging the little ones to get their shoes and backpacks on, our pups disappeared. They have never left the front yard and usually listen to me when I tell them to stay in the house. We never even saw them leave. But in a flurry of motion and fear, the Drama Queen screamed that the pups were gone! Joey heard her and came running back into the house. He knows where he belongs and where he is safe. Roxy, however, was nowhere to be found.

Crazy Lady in Purple Pajamas Runs Around the Neighborhood This Morning!

The Drama Queen, in a panic, took off down the street (on the sidewalk) after the pup. It is a VERY busy street in the mornings! I screamed at her, "STOP!" and then I turned around to the two who weren't listening so well and yelled at them to stop and not step out of the house. About this time, a lady yelled at me that our pup was on the corner...across the very busy street. And the pup wasn't listening.

I told the Drama Queen to stay put at the house and ran across the street after making sure it was safe to cross. As I called the dumb dog, she started to run toward me, then realized that she may be in trouble, and instead darted back across the street towards our house. For once, people were actually paying attention to the school zone that is in front of my house! They could see what was happening and stopped.

As the pup ran towards the house, a car was approaching near our home. The Drama Queen bolted down our driveway after her. I again yelled at her to "Stop!" She did. The pup was scared silly by this time and ran into the safety of the Drama Queen's arms, who promptly kenneled both dogs. Exhausted, the pups plopped down and fell asleep.

The bus showed up about that time, and the youngest two, still frozen at the door, woke up and put their shoes on and headed to the bus, with me escorting them. The Drama Queen burst into tears of apologies. As we sat down to talk about what had just happened, she burst out, "But mom, I stopped when you told me to!"

She did.

So did the the youngest two.

When it's big; when it's important, they listen. And Obey.

After we calmed down, I began to think about how this lesson was about me and what had happened this morning. Too often, we ignore the small things that are meant to help us. Do we read our Bible daily? Do we keep our fellowship with Him? Do we do the little things that He asks of us?

Or do we wait until we're in trouble and then start listening?

"But God, when it's important, I listen to you!"

Lord, help me to do the small things, so that when the big things come, I'll know how to follow you.

²This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. ³This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome,

1 John 5:2-3

Hubby Missing; Hubby Returned

Why is it when the hubby goes out of town everything falls apart? That's why I haven't blogged in a few days! Monday B-boo had dental surgery, and well, we all know how that went! That turned into a fiasco of well, gross things, for the past four days. On top of that, the bird dog got into a bag of m & m's hidden in B-boo's room. Really bad. That made for a lot of gross things on my carpet...a mixture of peanuts and chocolate on a tan carpet is never good, especially when you have a daughter who has a fatal allergy to nuts. (And no, I don't usually allow peanuts into the house, but this was a sealed bag, in a closed room...who knew the dog would find them!) Literally, at the same time, we had a...er...clog in the toilet. Great, just great. Hubby goes out of town and I'm at home with, well, I'm sure you can figure it out.

And the week just kind of went on like that. I think those things happen so that I can appreciate my hubby even more, because if he were here, he would have been the one plunging the toilet and moving the furniture around for the carpet cleaner yesterday. Not that I mind doing it, but it's just one of those things I love about being married.

On the other hand, while hubby was gone, the Talented One started getting up earlier and having an omelet for breakfast and a cup of coffee with me. I realize he's only 16, but it's been fun to have my young man moment with him. We don't have those often. I used to make him breakfast every morning, then he stopped wanting it. I'm not sure what happened this week, but it's been nice to be able to share those few moments with him.

Which is another reason why I like to get up early and enjoy the shifts of the morning. It's nice to have a few minutes with B-boo and the Talented One before everyone else gets up. Our time. Then, as soon as I drop them off, I wake up the Smart One and he has his omelet and we spend some time reading a passage from the Bible and discussing it and talking about what the day holds. If the little ones decide to get up, they are to quietly get ready for their day upstairs and then spend some time reading or coloring in their room until the next shift starts.

Once I drop off the Smart One, the little ones come down.I then make them breakfast, share things with them, memorize verses, sing together, etc. and then we ship them off.

And then, it's finally the Drama Queen's turn! And we get a whole 2.5 hours together to homeschool!

Anyway, back to the missing husband. When he's gone, it's hard to function. He likes to call me supermom, but really, it's because he's my partner in crime! For instance, he always calls me and asks whom he is taking where. In a family of 8, that is very important! Wednesday night I had four different place to be at the same time! Needless to say, for the first time in 6 years, I missed open house and meeting my kids teachers. We've always done open house together, so he missed it, too. I had to call in recruits to help get the kids to church and back! (Thanks, friend!)

And finally, he came home..to a clean carpet and a messy kitchen! And he's so good, he didn't complain at all about the kitchen, but instead told me how much he liked the clean carpets. Oh, and he took his shoes off, too!

I think I'll keep him. :-)

We Just Know...

Kids are funny. They think parents just don't know. But we do. I thought I'd put together some examples of what I'm talking about for today's blog. Feel free to add your own!

For instance, when talking to the Talented One and he replies, "Sure, Mom," what he really means is, "If it will make you leave me alone, I'll agree to anything."

When the Good Looking One calls and asks, "What are you doing tonight?" what he really means is, "I'm hungry and I'd like to have mom cook me a good meal while I hang with my family."

When the Princess comes to me and says, "I love you, Aunt Hope" it usually means she wants something, but doesn't want to ask.

When the Drama Queen comes up to me and asks, "What are you doing?" it really means, "Mom, I want you to do ***** for me."

When the Smart One jumps out of the van and says a quick, "Goodbye" what he really means is, "Mom, please don't embarrass me in front of anyone today." (I'm sorry, I can't help it, sometimes this other person takes control of me and I just have to whine shout out how much I'm going to miss him today!)

When B-boo says, "Mom", it usually means, "Mom, I already have (whatever I am looking for), so can we please go now?"

And then, there's the actions. I just love those.

For instance, last night, when B-Boo hurdled over me at lightening speed and dove for the back of the van, I knew there was a homeless person on one of the nearby corners and she was racing for a bag to give to them. Yup, he was on the right hand corner. And was he surprised to have a bag of goodies all ready for him.

This works for pets, too. When Roxy disappears, we know she's managed to catch yet another bird. So far, we haven't' been wrong!

When the Drama Queen put her hands on her hips and gives you that look, it means she is not happy with you at all...or she's thinking that you're pretty ridiculous.

Oh....and when she disappears upstairs after being talked to by mom, it's so she can go tell Daddy all about it.

When the Smart One gives you that smirk, it means he is trying really hard not to laugh at you.

And then there are those moments, when you can stop a child dead in his/her tracks and warn them not to even think about doing whatever it is there about to do. And they look at you in amazement that you know. Well, of course, silly!

One of my favorite memories of my oldest son is when I asked him about something one day out of the blue. He just looked at me in shock and asked, "Mom, how did you know?"

Well, son, you see, it's because I'm a mom...and we just know these things.

The Talented One

We found out we were pregnant with the Talented One exactly one year after hubby had proposed and one month before hubby's adoption of the Good-Looking One was final. The holidays were full of celebration that first year! After a pretty non-eventful pregnancy, we were thrown into a surprise by the early arrival of this one. 7 weeks premature, weighing in at 6 lbs 3 oz, he just couldn't wait to join us!

 

By far the best baby, we often joke that he was great...until he turned three! He's also the clone of his father!

      

Hubby on the left, the Talented-One on the right!

He was a child who had a mind of his own, too! When he was four, I tried and tried to teach him the alphabet. He'd have none of it. Then, one day, he noticed the letters on Wal-Mart made up a word. A child who loved anything to do with reptiles, he turned to me and asked,

"You mean if I learn how to read I can learn more about animals?"

A week later, the boy was reading. If he wasn't reading books about snakes and lizards, he was reading the dictionary. Yes, the dictionary.

So why is he the Talented One instead of the Smart One? Well, because he has an amazing musical talent. And quite a gift in photography, too. When he was younger, about 8 years old, he picked up my clarinet while I had gone upstairs for a sec. Moments later, he was playing a song. He was the same on the piano. He would hear a song, and then play it. He's like that today. And I'm not talking simple songs, either. He watched, "The Phantom of the Opera" and then went into the other room and started playing. Same thing after attending a Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert. For years, he'd only play for us. Today, he is slowly starting to share his musical talents with his friends and others. His dream is to one day own a Baby Grand piano.

Really.

At camp this year, he waited for hours, just to ask someone to let him play the baby grand in the dining hall. He was refused. Mom prayed. Hard. And then we went in search of someone to talk to. And God answered that prayer. In His way. Which meant instead of playing that piano in the big room, we were taken to a small, private room. And my son was able to not only spend some time playing his heart out, but mom got to spend some time just sitting in the corner, listening, and praising Him, for the talents He's seen fit to give my son. Wow! It was a moment I won't soon forget; my own mini concert.

When he's not playing music (either on the piano or mp3 player!), he can be found manipulating photos he's taken. He's quite the talent for that, too!

His youngest sister, the Drama Queen

He never outgrew the reptile passion either. Really. Being the cool mom that I am, he's been able to have some friendly reptile pets...among others. For his 16th birthday, we threw him quite the party! You can read about it here.

 

Yes, that's a python around his neck!

Now that his older brother has moved out on his own, the Talented One has become the in-house older brother, not just to his younger siblings, but to his younger cousins as well. Yikes! But it's ok, because he can always escape to his music, which he does!

Diapers and Mice

A while back, I wrote a post about "Things We Were Never Told About Being a Mom." Yesterday, I drove 13 hours in order to get home. It's been about a month now since I'd seen hubby, between my travels and his, so there was a high motive to get home quickly! (Not to mention, 13 hours in a van with 5 kids can be exhausting!) We finally made it home only to be invaded by some certain teenagers who shall remain nameless. In addition, one of my bff's is here in town, so she was here when I got home, too!

Hubby, in all his lonely time, started taking the videos from the camcorder over the years and transferring them. It was good to watch some old videos while my friend, her daughter and our kids talked for a bit. B-boo wanted her dog since she hadn't seen her in two weeks, so we headed over to a friend's house to pick her up. Roxy-the-bird-dog spent the past two weeks out of the house because she was/is in heat and honestly, I don't want puppies right now. Yes, I do have my limits! (Hush up, Bruce!)

So anyway, of course, the nameless teens had to come with me. Then they had to write "thank you" notes and plaster them on the bedroom of another nameless teen who helped watch the bird dog. Then, we had to go to the pet store to get, well...some stuff.

And as we were walking into the petstore, with the dog and the crazy nameless teens, it dawned on me again...this was one of those moments. Honestly, in all my dreaming of being a mom, having a family, etc....I never dawned on me that one day, one night, I'd be walking into a pet store to purchase diapers for our dog and a mouse to feed our snake. (And for once, they didn't make me sign the paper that says I promise to love and protect that cute widdle mouse until I take her home and feed her to my snake...Seriously, I love animals; and the snake has to eat, too!) I never thought I'd be making said teens put the diaper on our dog in the van I also never dreamed I'd have. Really.

We finally made it home and I went upstairs to spend some quality time with my dear hubby. And promptly fell asleep. Poor man; I really do love him!

Things We Were Never Told About Being a Mom

I've been thinking about motherhood. You know, the kind of mommyhood really, where you never thought you'd do this or that? I remember being a child and wanting a large family. I wanted 8 kids and I was going to be a great mom. I'd cook for them, sew for them, play with them, and we'd be the best family there ever was.

Well, I am 40 years old. I have 5 kids, plus guardianship of my niece and nephew. Seven kids. Yup! Ok, well my oldest is 21 and living on his own now, but I'm still his mom. I took my youngest son to a doctor's appointment this week, and as we were sitting there discussing some stuff, the doctor brought out a poopy chart. I didn't know such a thing existed! In case you'd like to know what a poopy chart is, you can see it for yourself right here. The next few moments were a discussion of poopies, what they look like, etc.

Never in my daydreaming of motherhood did I imagine myself someday looking at a poopy chart! And I got to thinking...what else did I not ever think I'd do as a mother? I mean, motherhood is VERY different than what I imagined it'd be. Better, but different. So here's my list of thing's I never imagined I'd do as a mom:

1. Look at a poopy chart (sorry, I just can't get past the poopy chart!)
2. Cook chocolate covered mealworms for my son's birthday and feed them to his friends.
3. Pull a cockroach out of my 18 month old's mouth, alive and kicking (the cockroach, that is) not once, but twice. Ewww
4. Explain to a police officer that I am sorry there have been three 911 calls from this number of the past couple of years, but please be patient and understand I have five children; it's bound to happen again.
5. Explain to a profusely bleeding child as we run out of the mall that this is an ideal time to call 911.
6. Make green eggs and ham.
7. Homeschool.
8. As a mom who hates needles, I never ever expected I'd have to give my child a shot of epi during an anaphylactic reaction. Yes, I can do it if necessary!
9. Be able to drive a stick, hold a cloth to my child's severely bleeding head and get us to the hospital in less than five minutes. (She lived, but has a great scar after 17 staples to the head.)
10. Have to figure out how to cook a great dessert/meal without gluten, wheat, dairy, eggs, soy or nuts.
11. Find my daughter's frozen tastebuds connected to the top of a frozen orange juice can because her siblings convinced her to put her tongue on it after watching "A Christmas Story."
12. Take a dying lizard to the vet , crying, hoping that we could save it so my son would not be sad.
13. Have a range of pets over the years consisting of rats, hamsters, parakeets, lovebirds, ball phythons, garden snakes, water dragons, japaluras, rabbits, dogs, and whatever else I can be talked into.
14. Have a 7 ft python brought to my house...and then hold it.
15. Be filled with so much love.

I'm sure there is much more, but this is what I could come up with on the spur of the moment. Anyone else want to share?

And speaking of moms who could never have imagined, please pray for my friend, Kayla and her son, Elijah. She's such an inspiration. Elijah has EG and is tube fed a special formula. In my book, Kayla has gone above and beyond in the motherhood category. You can read her story at Bristle Ridge Academy

All Things Creepy!

Yesterday was the Talented One's 16th birthday...and since you only turn 16 once...well, we had a few surprises in store for him. We started off with a kidnapping to get him out of the house.

I don't think he expected to be dropped!




After several hours, he was brought to the party; blindfolded



And then he had to wait for his surprise!



I don't think he was expecting this python!

Kim, at Exotic Pets, was awesome! She did such a great job of educating everyone about the many reptiles that she brought, as well as handling them well. She was so patient when it came to letting the kids handle the animals, but made sure everyone was safe, animals, as well as humans!

I told them I was about to drop the snake!





This boy isn't afraid to hold anything! And yes, that scorpion has its stinger!



No matter how big!



This one was absolutely terrified, but you have to give her credit for trying to overcome her terror! Doesn't she look brave?



There was even a kissing iguana!



And chocolate covered mealworms...she wasn't afraid to eat them, either!

I am pretty sure my son was surprised at his party. In addition to the animals, he had numerous friends show up, as well as family. There were special video's made just for him and lots of laughter to go around.