Dad's moments

I wanted to post last night but the evening ran much later than I planned so I wasn't able to stay up. I did sleep quite well though as it was a long, busy, late evening.



Last night at dinner, we all had a good laugh at poor Mike's expense. On Sunday I made a roast, it was delicious and fortunately, since it was so large, we had a lot of left overs. Mike was craving his mom's brown gravy so for dinner last night he shredded the roast and added brown gravy to it. He was quite excited about this meal. Funny thing is, as I was dishing up the kids' plates, I put on the veggies, the potatoes, and then, as I was dishing up Abby's roast and gravy mixture, I saw Abby's and Karl's faces turn from indifference to concern, confusion, and disgust. Karl's mouth dropped in amazement as I placed the gloppy, brown, poo colored gravy with chunks onto Abby's plate. Abby's eyes got wide and though neither of them spoke their message was quite clear (we have to eat this) For a moment Karl pulled his plate back, but then, realizing what he did, he returned it back to me and they both continued to stare as I loaded up Karl's plate. It was as though they were still in awe that the pot contained what it did - and worse - that they were expected to eat it. It wasn't until I dished up Aine's plate that words were spoken - Aine said what they wouldn't, "I don't want that Mommy. That's gross. I not eat that." Mike, who was in the kitchen until that moment missed all of it, but as he walked in and Aine said quite defiantly and loudly what all the kids were thinking, witnessed Karl, Abby, and Mom burst into laughter at the honesty of a two-year-old's words. Karl and Abby laughed because their younger sister spoke the very words they knew they would not be allowed to say, and I laughed because I kept having visions of the boiled bacon scene from Better Off Dead (or any cooking scene for that matter from that movie). The thing is, is that as I was dishing up each plate, all I could think is, "Wow, this looks horrible. Looks worse than dog food." And adding that to the expressions on my children's faces and it was a hilarious moment. Mike didn't find as much humor in it, but before the meal was done we got a few chuckles out of him about his meal. In his defense, it tasted wonderfully. In fact, once we got the kids to actually try some (all on the count of three at the same time) they actually agreed that it was quite good. I just wish I had a video camera to catch all this for others to see for I know it was one of those moments I won't ever forget and others wouldn't either.



Once dinner was done, the boys played/cleaned and the girls went through boxes of baby boy clothes that my sister had brought for our baby. I had Mike bring up the one bin of clothes I saved and took a stroll down memory lane. I have all the baby hats and blankets from our three kids as well as many pieces of clothing and memorabilia from when Mike and I were babies. The hit of the bin was the Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls my mom bought me when I was pregnant with Karl. My older brother and I had a set when we were growing up and they disappeared, so, when I was pregnant with Karl my mom saw some at a craft show and got them for me. Well, Abby and Aine LOVED them and carried them around the entire evening. They set Ann on Dad's chair and when Mike went to move her, Abby told him he wasn't holding her right and showed him the proper way to hold her. Mike asked to try again, picked Ann up by the leg and proceeded to keep the girls in a panic (and entertained) for a good five minutes trying to "save" Ann from mean-mean Daddy's clutches. Eventually Dad returned Ann to the girls and all was well with the world again - or at least for a short time.


It was an entertaining night for many reasons. We all had some pretty good laughs and I just hope the kids remember some of this stuff as much as I am sure I will.

What a long weekend

Wow,

I cannot believe that only 48 hours have passed, it was such a very long weekend. This weekend I watched my sister's boys - William (3) and Danny (11 months) from Friday early evening until Sunday late afternoon. There is nothing wrong with my nephews, they are well behaved boys who have their moments (like my own children) but if you do the math - that was 48 hours of five children - three of which were under the age of three. So...I didn't get much sleep, cleaned up more than ever and the house is messier than ever, changed more poopy diapers than I ever want to change in that short of a time frame, and basically, am pretty tired. On top of this scenario - add in that Mike, who works 12 hour shifts every other weekend, was working this weekend (As much I know he would have helped I also know he is VERY happy he did work) and I have only two weeks of school left so am in the process of correcting research papers and essay tests galore. Um...I didn't get much done on the correcting so I decided to stay up late Sat night - until almost 2 am, only to wake at 4:30 am to Mike leaving for work, Danny up and crying, William up and coughing, and Aine up with a bad dream. Mike took care of all three before he left (much thanks to him) but being 8 months pregnant - it was not easy to fall back to sleep.

Ahh...five kids. Five kids!??!?!

Anyhow, they had fun. Lots of playing outside. Aine loves the hose - William too. They painted rocks, which was fun activity until they started painting each other. We went to the park, came in and watched a movie when it started raining, had ice cream, played games, and basically kept everyone running and busy all weekend long. The kids tired themselves and me out. Danny was exhausted too - as he fell asleep - butt in the air- in the middle of playing with toys. Abby and Karl got pretty tired out form all of this as well - Abby fell asleep before Mike could dish her up a late night ice cream treat, and Karl, though he stayed up for ice cream, requested to go to bed as soon as he was done. Those two were still feeling it in the morning as they cuddled together on Dad's chair, not yet ready to deal with the kids.

This morning I was determined to get the older two kids to church. It is their final weekend of Jubilee and they get church dollars based on attendance and such, to buy a gift. I really did not want them to miss this, they would also be singing in front of the congregation so I thought that would be neat to see. The problem with this plan is that I have a hard time getting ready on time for church when it is Mike and I and our three kids - now it was me by my lonesome and five kids needing to be dressed, fed, cleaned, and ready to go, piled into the car by a schedule I rarely meet. For a moment I thought I wouldn't do it - but all I had to do was think of Karl and Abby and know how much they would love church today and I got myself motivated. Somehow, between fits about not having the right shoes (aine) needing hair done (abby), not finding socks (karl) wanting a treat (william) and needing yet another poopy diaper changed (danny) I got them and myself (wet hair in a claw clippy thing and light makeup) ready on time. It was an experience - I think the least favorite part of which was the loading and unloading of the car. But we made it, on time, safely, and all had fun (and I had my first moments alone without children in days..hee hee) As I was leaving, my big pregnant belly, one child on my hip, a diaper bag over my shoulder, and four kids holding hands as we crossed the street, cars stopped to let us pass, and I would have loved to hear some of the comments made about that picture, maybe some extra prayers were said for me this morning :)

Well, I knew we were done at four, but after this weekend, I think we should both get fixed just to guarantee there are no oopsies in the future - I think I would truly need to be committed.

Five kids!!!??!?!?

I praise all mothers out there who juggle so much every day - especially those with more kids than parental arms...

Little Readers

Hello

Hope this finds everyone doing quite well. Sorry I disappeared for a while - got in a bit busy and in a funk - glad to say I am out of it now. The kids were wonderful on Mother's Day. Karl and Abby were at Grandma and Grandpa Haskins' house overnight (they got to sleep in their trailer). It was strange to wake up on Mother's Day without the kids jumping in bed and shouting those sweet words. Mike must have sensed my feelings on this (or he is just a smart guy) but he went up to get Aine from bed and trained her a bit because while I was getting ready for church, Aine ran into the bathroom, jumped in and shouted "Happy Mother's Day Mommy" so wonderfully that my heart nearly burst. It was great to see the other two kids as well(6 hours later), and though I think I was more excited to see them on this day, their hugs and kisses were still quite loving.



Nothing exceptional has happened in the last few days. My belly keeps growing bigger and bigger - as does the rest of me. The kids are excited for summer and cannot get enough of being outside with this warm weather. Mike, I think, looks forward to school being done so that I am not so bombarded with work at night. His job stays at work so he can hangout and relax and take on more household responsibility than me - who has school work to deal with. This summer will be a much needed break from stress as well as a happy time with new baby.



Well, now that Abby reads, she wants to try more and more books. It is almost like she isn't fully convinced that she can, in fact, read actual big kid books so she grabs more and more and tries and is successful and tries again and at some point I imagine she will believe that she is now an actual reader. With Abby's new talent, Aine is also quite in to books; she wants to "read" too, so she tells me what all her pictures are and counts things and says her colors. She does not like to wait for Abby's turn to be over so she will sing and talk during Abby's reading time. I think she may be beginning to see that her actions only make Abby's time longer. Abby had read her Drip, Drop, Plip Plop book so many times that we made a much needed trip too our local library. I am not sure Aine quite understands the library-all she knows (and loves) is that they have a lot of books and she can take some with her(returning them part is hard, thankfully there is a drop-box she likes filling).
Karl is a big reader too. Lately he has been staying up way too late reading at night. A few weeks back his dad got him the Harry Potter book #1. I thought it was a bit ambitious but it took Karl all of two weeks of reading only before bed time to finish the book. We quickly got him #2, which he stays up to read as well. Last night he read so much that this morning, Mike couldn't get him out of bed for ten minutes. What a spot to be in...as parents, readers, and me an English teacher - it is awesome that all our kids are so in to books - at the same time, we have to be able to wake them up in the morning, so where do you draw the line. All our kids, since they were still in cribs, have always gone to bed with books. In the morning, the floor is covered, not with toys or clothes, but books. Again - in one way - wonderful, in another, get some sleep so you won't be such cranker-pants-impossible-to-get-out-of-bed-in-the-morning-pain-in-the-butts.
There could be bigger problems, I know...

Dexter's bad dream

Sorry I haven't posted in a couple days, I had to finish my grad school homework/project, and now that I did that, I feel like a free person. Don't get me wrong, I love taking classes but I am pretty busy without taking them that to add that to the equation - well, sometimes I think I am crazy. Anyhow, it is done now and I am quite happy about it.

The other morning, Abby snuggled in bed with me for a bit before we all got up for the day. Dexter was at the foot of my bed and he started whimpering and making strange sounds and breathing heavily. Abby was quite upset until I told her he was just having a bad dream. We both got up, I woke Dexter up and Abby went upstairs to get dressed. Dexter followed. When we got upstairs, Aine was awake and Abby explained to her that Dexter was having a bad dream. Aine tried to hug and talk sweet to him (high pitched voice) and then Abby joined in asking Dexter what he dreamed about, why he was scared, if he was OK now, etc. She even told him she had bad dreams sometimes and if he was scared he could come sleep with her (my biggest night-time chicken being so brave). Well, it was all very sweet. It almost appeared like the three of them were having an actual conversation based on the expressions on their faces. After the "talk" Dexter climbed up on Abby's bed and got quite comfortable.

I wish I had my video camera...

The kids had a choir concert last night - it was great. I will get my pictures on here tomorrow and give the highlights.

Take care and hope all is well with everyone

April

Busy Day

After staying up quite late to work on my grad school project, I was really looking forward to a nice morning of sleeping in. I even decided I wouldn't go to church today because I was so tired. I was out...and then, earlier than I wanted, I woke up to, "Mommy, Mommy, come quick. Hurry Mommy." I sit up right away wondering what could be going on and I find Abby staring me in the face with a big grin from ear to ear. Realizing quite quickly that this is not an emergency, I put my head back on my pillow, gaze over at the clock which reads 7am, and tell Abby that if it is not an emergency, Mommy is tired and is going back to sleep. Abby is completely bummed but tries again, "But I cleaned my whole room all by myself!" I had to ask when, she said this morning when she woke up (how early did she get up - that room was a mess). I explained to her that Mommy was up late and that I needed a little more sleep, as soon as I got a little more sleep I would look at her room first thing. Abby wasn't happy but asked if she could cuddle. Sure. Well, if by cuddling she meant toss and turn and sigh and whimper, then we had a good half hour cuddle. Finally, enough was enough, I got up to see her room. She charged up the steps like an elephant - she was so loud. I whispered to be quiet so she didn't wake Aine (for some reason I still thought I might be able to squeak a bit more sleep time after the room inspection-I was wrong) she bounded to the top of the steps, announced that Aine was awake now (imagine that) and smiled proudly with a big "Wha-la!!!"

Her room was quite clean. Now, she wanted to arrange them...which was actually fine with me because the last time she rearranged her room - the arrangement was not great and there was no room at all. In fact, Mike and I were planning on doing that the following weekend anyhow so I didn't mind. Well, three plus hours later, her room was rearranged. In the process of moving things, Abby found some old favorite toys and playthings; plus, the move allowed easy access to her extra toy storage thingy where even more old toys were hiding. Aine was quite excited to see what all was in this space and found that the space in and of itself was quite fun. Instead of being terrified by having the cabinet closed, she thought standing in a dark atticy spot was hilarious and wanted me to close her in again and again. She didn't cry or get frightened once, rather when I would open the area to check on her she would quickly say, "No Mommy, do again." and want me to shut her in again. Karl and Abby soon joined in (they were always big chickens about the area before but apparently couldn't be outdone by their little sister) and fun was had by all three.

Later that afternoon Grandpa came for Karl's piano recital. An old/favorite sitter Brittany, she had gone away to college and was home for the summer, was able to come over to watch the girls. This was nice for a couple reasons - Aine and long, quiet piano recitals do not match, and they adore Brittany and were quite excited to see her. Karl was bummed about his performance. He made more mistakes than normal and couldn't get over that, so he sat bummed for awhile. Grandpa hadn't been to a recital of Karl's before and was glad to make it, I was glad he was there too because he spoke with Karl after regarding how to deal with those feelings. It isn't that I couldn't handle it, it is just that Karl really looks up to his grandpas and listen to what ever they say to a fault. Advice or words of wisdom coming from a grandpa is much more important that something just from Mom. To celebrate Karl's performance, Grandpa treated us all to A&W treats. Mom got a hot fudge sundae that was more fudge than sundae (perks of knowing the student workers-see teaching is more than just summers off...) and Karl got a strawberry shake. If Grandpa's chat didn't cheer him up, the shake certainly helped.

After we headed home, Grandpa was on his way, and after some nice conversation with Brittany, the regular Sunday evening get-ready-for-school routine began.

A busy, but productive and memorable day.

Karl - growing up way too fast...

Most days I find myself just looking at Karl in amazement. He is getting so tall, he has no signs of a baby face (unless he is pouting), his words and actions are usually quite sophisticated, and he wants to do more and more, and learn more and more, and have more and more freedom. I already find myself trying to pull on the strings rather than let them out and let him grow a bit more. There is a fine line between holding back and letting go too soon and sadly, I thought I had many more years to go before I had to deal with these issues.

Karl loves riding his bike to the store/park/school without mom or dad. He likes to have some freedom and that terrifies me. At the same time, I am so happy in some of the ways he is growing up. He WANTS to do big kid things and is so proud of himself when he does. Today in the car on the way home from my parents, Karl found a Soduko puzzle and wanted to know how to do it. He had seen Mom and Dad do it so he wanted to try. I was hesitant to show him because I didn't want him to frustrate himself, but he persisted and I relented. Once he got it - he really got it. After doing two mild puzzles he moved to the next level and spent well over an hour trying to solve it. He occasionally solicited the help of Mom or Dad but made it very clear he only wanted us to help him with one and did not want us to do it for him. Rather than get frustrated - he got more determined. When we told him to go to bed and it was not yet finished he was a bit upset; we told him to put the puzzle on his dresser and look at it with fresh eyes in the morning...he was content with that. The thing is - I was getting frustrated looking at it - it was hard for me and Mike (and Mike is really good at those). Point is, he is not a little baby boy anymore - which is tough because he always will be my little baby boy. I dread the day he doesn't want me to hold his hand or rub his back or cuddle, he is my cuddlebug after all. But seeing all the signs, I know I must begin to prepare myself for the inevitable, no matter how much I don't want to do so.

In fun Karl news, he was getting a bit jealous that our Sunday morning pancake routine did not include him. Aine poured the powder and water (nope - super mom does NOT make homemade pancakes), Abby mixes (and declares herself the "best mixer in the whole entire world") and mom always makes the pancakes. The kids love the pancakes because they can have either Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Shrek (thanks Dave and Shea) or heart pancakes (tricks I learned form my dad - thanks Dad for making me the cool mom without even realizing it but by just being a cool Dad). Depending on their mood they select their favorite and then sit with big smiles waiting for them at the dining room table. It has become quite the morning tradition (which is really sad for Mike because he isn't a big pancake eater) Anyhow, Karl didn't have a job and was usually quite bummed about this, plus, pancakes get delieverd by order of age (youngest to oldest) so he always has to wait. Then he asked if he could be the flipper. I was nervous about this (hmmmm...burns...) but figured with close supervision and repetitive warnings about the hot pan, my 8-year-old could tackle this. So he was now the official flipper. He was beyond nervous when the time came for his first flip - Mom was watching, the girls were watching, it was a big moment. He got the spatula like Mom showed him, took his time, and FLIP - it was flawless. The smile on his face was priceless. The girls cheered (without any prompting from Mom which was cool) and Karl was now (according to Abby) the "Best flipper in the whole entire world". Now, every Sunday everyone has a job (and Karl doesn't mind eating order b/c he is too busy cooking). Mom has been promoted to supervisor and dad remains strictly eater (which I think he is still trying to find a clever way to get out of-poor guy but a great sport)

Karl's latest request - scrambled eggs, and then one day-eggs like Grandma Stasko makes because Mom tries but they just aren't as good (thanks Karl-but you are right).

Ups and Downs

This week has been a busy one for all of us. The busy-ness and craziness won't end for a few more days either. The kids have been very good the last couple days despite their parents' obvious full schedules. I came home from work yesterday to screams in the living room - they were good fun screams, but screams nonetheless. Mike was playing steamroller, a favorite game of the kids that simply involves Dad rolling back and forth on the living room trying to trap the kids in his steamroller, the kids run around the living room trying to avoid getting caught. When one gets caught, the other tries as hard as they can to free their trapped sibling. Much laughter and fun ensues and they are all quite exhausted when the game is done. Well, shortly after I arrived I took a break from watching the fun to change out of my work clothes. At this time, Karl got too far from Mike's clutches so Mike tried to lure him in by pretending he was really hurt. He did some fake whimpering in hopes that Karl would come closer so he could grab him and trap him once again in the mighty steamroller. Well, the plan backfired, apparently Mike is a better actor than either of us ever imagined. Karl really thought he hurt his Dad and was quite upset. For this reason, Karl hid. It didn't take long for us to realize Karl was sad/scared and hiding somewhere. Abby found him...in the bathroom towel closet...on the second shelf. How he got up there I have no idea. Good thing there were no towels in there at the time (add to "to-do" list - laundry) or he wouldn't have fit. It took Mike physically pulling the scared little guy out of the cabinet and some lengthy talking to convince him he didn't hurt his Daddy. Mike made it quite clear that it would take a lot more than an 8-year-old to hurt him (even though, as Karl pointed out, "he was getting old") After the drama, everyone returned to their happy joyful selves, steamroller was over, and some level of quiet returned to our house.

Also this week, Abby began to read out of books! She knows several small words so we broke out a My First Hello Reader book and she was able to read the first story with very few problems. We were all quite excited for her and proud of her. She was quite pleased with herself and has been carrying her book around ever since.

Then there is Aine. Aine loves the movie Hocus Pocus. I am not entirely sure why but it is currently her favorite. Part of it might have something to do with Halloween. Aine, a sugarholic who loves Halloween and trick-or-treating. Every once in awhile she will ask if she can go trick-or-treating and I have to get her busy with something else so she forgets about that plan. Today, Aine took that one step further...she got dressed up, got a small wooden bucket (a present from Daycare Diane) and seriously asked to go trick-or-treating. I tried explaining that it was May (which means nothing to a two-year-old) and that no one would have candy, but she was determined. So...I let her walk up and down the block in her outfit, she said "trick-or-treat" to me twice, got a couple of suckers and then (after about 15 minutes) was finally ready to go inside. Once inside, she tore into her suckers and, once done, wanted to go trick-or-treating some more. This time I was able to get her busy with something else and the idea was gone - for now.

It has been an interesting couple of days. To add to things, as I was driving home from a workshop class today when I pulled up to a stop sign that connects two highways. I didn't stop long at all b/c I noticed a big coach bus coming down the hill, what I didn't notice was the cop coming the other direction. Trying to beat the bus I did a perfect "rolling stop" and smiled, pleased at myself for getting ahead of the bus. The smile turned to a frown quickly as I noticed a cop whip a 180 in front of the bus in order to pull me over. Obviously I pulled over for the cop, the bus passed us both, and I had to deal with the possibility of getting a ticket. Luckily I didn't get the ticket, but while waiting for the cop, I did get about five text messages...that bus I pulled in front of was the entire senior class (I teach sophomores thru seniors by the way) returning form their senior trip. Apparently, the bus had to brake to accommodate the cop so everyone had to look to see what was going on...which was their teacher getting pulled over...some of my media students had to text me to let me know they saw the entire thing and wondered if I got a ticket...Great...cannot wait for Monday to get more smart-alec comments about that one.

Well, like I said, life has been interesting. Can't wait to see what this weekend brings...Hope it is great for everyone. Take care.