Scared to go to bed.........

Ok, so it's 11:15 p.m. on Sunday night, and I'm scared to go to bed. Not because there is a monster under my bed or I'm hearing strange noises outside. It's b/c I caught my 4 boys (ages 6, 9, 10 and 12) making a YouTube video of them trying to kill each other, not literally, but that's what they called it. I walked in on them throwing duffle bags full of clothes at my 6 year old's head. So, I shut the computers off, scolded them the best I could and got in bed.

Then, I heard a lot of laughing. I got up and opened the bedroom door and my 12 year old was tied to a chair with a metal pipe running through the rope. I'm not sure what the pipe was about or where they even found it. They said that they were timing him to see how long it would take him to get untied. That was only 5 minutes after I found them making the video. I mean, what was coming next? My husband assures me that this is normal boy behavior.

When you get 4 boys together so close in age, things like this are bound to happen, right? RIght? Or am I just living in a zoo?

Oh, and tomorrow, there will be 6 kids here. I'm also keeping my sister's two kids. Fun, fun! The good part about that is that one of them is a baby. I LOVE babies!

Anyway, now I have to stay up until I think they're asleep. Ugh!

Another thing......my 9 year old lost his first molar today. So, I went to get it from him and told him to put it under the pillow in the extra bedroom b/c the tooth fairy wouldn't come in there if one of them was still awake. He looked at me and started laughing. I said, "What?" He said, "Do you really think I believe in the tooth fairy?" I said, "Who told you there wasn't one?" He said, "I'm 9 mom; I'm good like that!" I wanted to start crying right then. My baby is growing up. I say my baby b/c the oldest two boys are my step-sons, so I haven't been around for all of their "losing of teeth". They live with their mom in Texas.

I have to admit that I told my boys that there wasn't an Easter bunny. They caught me putting out the baskets last year. We always go camping on Easter weekend, and I have to keep them in the trunk of the car under a blanket. They saw them before. I tried to lie, but it didn't work. Finally, I said, "Do you really think there is a huge bunny hopping around with a million Easter baskets? That would just freak me out!" They thought that was funny.

Well, that's all for now. I'm sure I bored everyone to death. Maybe I made a few of you realize that your life isn't really that bad after all, LOL.

Oh crap. I just heard one of my boys declaring proudly that he could fart his name. Then, I heard a bunch of boys going, "Ooooh" and gagging. How do you fart your name?

"Gotta love little boys"

I have to share something that my 5 year old son said to me this morning.

I was laying in the bed and he crawled in beside me and woke me up.

I was laying on my side. For all of you women that have had babies, you will understand this. When I lay on my side, all of my fat kind of falls over to my side as if it's no longer part of my body.

Well, my son put his arm around me and said, "Mommy, how did you get so fat?"

As most women do, I said, "From having babies son".

He looked up at me with those big brown eyes and so innocently said, "It looks like you're having another one".

Enough said. Time to get back on the diet.

"Can I pull it off?"

It's almost that time again. Time to go back to school. I'm talking about me, not the kids.

I'm currently attending college, majoring in Web Design & Development.

This is supposed to be my last semester; then I graduate! Yippee!

I'm just a little scared this time b/c I'll be taking 4 classes, working almost full time, and handling 2-4 kids and their activities. Who wouldn't be scared, right?

Well, I just hope I can pull it off. Everyone wish me luck!

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"A Cup of Coffee"

This weekend was wonderful.

We just moved into a new house and have a great backyard.

My husband and I put together the kid’s trampoline.

I can’t tell you how good it felt to just sit out in my backyard on my wooden swing and watch my husband and my kids play.

He played football with them. He wrestled with them on the trampoline. It was great!

You know that feeling you get when you just sit and stare at your children when they’re sleeping, wondering how you could have created something so beautiful?

Well, I had that feeling while they were awake!

It’s a miracle!

All I was missing was a cup of coffee!

I think I’m getting old!

Here’s some proof of that.......

The last two months or so, if I wake up anytime past 5:00 in the morning (to go to the bathroom), I don’t go back to sleep. So, I end up getting up at 5 or 5:30 every morning and watching the news; and I look forward to it!

If that’s not proof, I don’t know what is.

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"What's happening to the world?"

There have been so many bad things in the news lately that it’s got my mind racing again.

What’s the deal with all the school shootings?

There are many questions that I ask myself when I see these stories:

Where are the kids getting the guns?

Are the parents responsible for their kids actions?

Why didn’t someone see the signs and do something before it happened?

Is there anything that really could have been done to prevent it?

Do you feel there is anything that, as a parent, you need to do to keep your child safe in his/her school?

I’m sure that most moms ask themselves some of these same questions.

There have also been a rash of children being run over while crossing streets, etc. Why?

Kids have always crossed streets. Is the media just reporting it more or are the number of accidents going up?

After hearing about some of the recent stories of children being run over, I wonder how old a child should be before he/she is allowed to ride his/her bike in a neighborhood (assuming it has sidewalks). My son is 7. I let him ride to his friends’ houses every once in a while. Is that too young?

Boys are just so independent. I know when I was 7 I rode all over the neighborhood. Have things changed too much?

Update: I've answered my own question about whether a 7 year old was too young to ride his bike to his friend's house. My son was found last night about 7 blocks from our house crying and screaming my name. He was lost. Thankfully, a nice lady noticed him and brought him to me. If you're reading this Mrs. Wallace, thank you!!!!!! Thanks also for telling him to never ride with strangers, LOL! Needless to say, my son will not be riding his bike to his friend's house for a while. I knew there were dangers, but it never crossed my mind that he could get lost going around the corner. What is the appropriate age for that?

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"Moving Day"

I have to start by saying that these last few weeks have been some of the most exhausting of my life; next only to childbirth.

Our family moved this month.

Anyone who has ever moved knows why I’m exhausted.

It’s not just the moving as much as it is the 4 children hanging off of my legs while I was trying to lift a 50 pound dresser. That was just my end.

While I was going from one end of the old house to the other, going through old clothes and stuff, my kids were supposedly playing ball in the yard.

All of their toys had already been moved so there wasn’t much for them to do.

Well, I started in my boy’s bedroom, going through their old clothes and pulling the ones that no longer fit. I put them in a trash bag and went to the next room.

Next room..........Toy room.

My boys had a “toy room” where the video games and books and big TV were.

I methodically went through all of that stuff, throwing away anything that wasn’t absolutely necessary for their survival.

I did let him keep the Playstation 2. I know.....it doesn’t seem necessary for his survival, but it is.

It’s not b/c he will just die if he doesn’t have his Playstation 2.

It’s more that if he doesn’t have his Playstation 2 to keep him out of my hair, I may strangle him (that’s a joke for those of you that take things WAY too seriously).

So you see, it is necessary for his survival!

Moving on...............

When I finished their toy room, I moved on to the master boudoir (LOL! I’m laughing hysterically right now). That place was so far from a boudoir.
It was more like a really bad motel. You know the kind; the ones you see in horror movies.

So, as I finished up the master bedroom I heard some noises on the other side of the house. It sounded as if the boys were playing ball in the house or something. I thought I’d better check it out.

When I walked into the “toy room” I almost lost it. They had unpacked everything I just packed up. They were playing with all the toys.

I made them repack everything themselves. It took them about 4 times what it would have taken me to do it. It was the principal of it. So, we waited until they were done and got out of there as quickly as possible.

Now I’m sitting here, in my beautiful house, enjoying the peace and quiet.

It’s been a long day....................

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"Wal-Mart Woes"

How many of you moms dread going to Wal-Mart or any store with your kids?

Maybe it’s just because I have 4 boys that are 10 and under.

Maybe it’s because I don’t have the patience required to walk through Wal-Mart when it’s crowded.

Whatever the reason is, I just hate it!

Here’s a typical trip to Wal-Mart with my kids………

As we pull up into the parking lot, my boys start opening the car door before we’re even parked. There is always some majorly expensive sports car parked right next to us. Of course, my 4 year old slings his door open and almost hits the car. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve almost had a heart attack over this.

I dread the day that I have to leave a note on someone’s car explaining that my child has decided to maul their $50,000 vehicle. I’ll also have to tell them that I’ll pay for it, but that they’ll have to let me pay it in monthly installments.

I really try to be honest, but I still dread it. Who wouldn’t?

So, once I find a buggy in the parking lot that isn’t covered in chewing gum or some other foul substance, I take off running to grab it. Meanwhile, my boys are sitting in the car fighting and hitting each other. They’re fighting over who can spit the biggest loogy at the car next to us. I just hope that the sun melts the loogy before the poor man sits in his nicely polished convertible.

Ok, so I have the buggy and am on my way back to the car. All the time I have them in site. Trust me; I would never leave them unattended. I’ve learned my lesson there.

While I’m on the way back to the car to load them up, I realize that they are whispering and laughing. I don’t even want to know why. So, we load up and make our way to the front entrance. I feel like I have entered the twilight zone.

All of a sudden, a sense of doom hits me. I’ll soon know that it’s the premonition that I may go to jail today.

I usually make the 4 year old ride in the front part of the buggy. My 7 year old stands on the end of the buggy, jumping off every chance he gets. He’s daring me to run over him. Little does he know that I think that it's funny. This is one of the little things that make me smile. If I happen to have my step-sons, ages 8 and 10, with me they walk beside me. Well, that’s the plan anyway.

As we enter the store, I realize that I have forgotten to bring in wipes. Any mother knows that this can be an absolute disaster! Even though my youngest is 4, it doesn’t mean that there won’t be a mess.

I usually spend half my time trying to keep him from grabbing all the food off the sample lady’s cart. He will literally scoop and hide it until I’m not looking. So, we always bring wipes. Not only does he eat all the samples, but he also ends up getting some kind of drink from somewhere in the store.

Normally, some little old lady thinks he’s the cutest thing she’s ever seen, offers him a drink, and here’s what transpires:

Little old lady: Look at you. You’re a big boy aren’t you? He’s so cute! How old are you?
4 year old: I’m 4. I go to preschool and my mommy beat me up yesterday.
Little old lady: What? She beat you up?
4 year old: Is my mommy going to go to jail?
Little old lady: Uh, Uh, Uh
4 year old: My Mimi is old as dirt.
Little old lady: Why does your mommy beat you up?
4 year old: Because I shot a rock through my dad’s truck with my sling shot. She didn’t really beat me up. She just told me that it was bad.
Little old lady: You shouldn’t tell people that your mommy beats you up honey.
4 year old: Why?
Little old lady: Because she could get in trouble.
4 year old: Cool!

I got lucky. There were no police in the general vicinity.

Anyway, you can see why I don’t like to take them in public. Actually, my 4 year old has gotten better about embarrassing me. When I say better, I mean he doesn’t do it as much anymore. He’s moved on to bigger and better things.

Oh, and I have since figured out what all the laughing and whispering was about in the car. Apparently, this is the “planning phase” of our trip. For those of you who don’t have more than one child, the “planning phase” is when the older child tells the younger child what to do to embarrass mommy in the store.

So, while we’re trying to load our buggy up with healthy foods, my older boys are sneaking junk food every chance they get. They seem to be able to slip it into the buggy without me noticing. I wonder why that is?

Hmmm, could it be because I’m still trying to explain to the little old lady, and the other 3 people that overheard the conversation, that I really didn’t beat him?

By the time we get to the checkout line, I’m sweating like a fat man chasing a runaway M&M.

My boys are, of course, mesmerized by all the trinkets that the store has so conveniently placed in the checkout lines. I cannot tell you how many times I have to tell them, “No, we don’t have enough money for that.” That just doesn’t seem to comfort them.

Meanwhile, the clerk has totaled my grocery bill. I have managed to spend $350! What? How in the world am I going to explain this one to my husband? I don’t care if it took 3 cars to get it all home. Men just do not understand how it’s possible to spend that kind of money and only come back with what I got.

Maybe it’s because of the kids clothing that I threw into the mix.

Maybe it’s because I didn’t pay close enough attention to the prices.

Most likely it’s because of the junk food and toys that were unknowingly added to my buggy.

Whatever the reason, it will be MANY, MANY years before I ever go back to Wal-Mart with the kids in tow. That’s what I keep telling myself.

I’ll see you there next week! Just look for the woman with kids hanging off her legs and a big pile of cans on the floor next to her.

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"Watch Your Kids Please"

My previous blog about “The Local Hangout” got me thinking. It’s really sad that some people use their neighbors as babysitters. Let me first say, I’m not referring to the people that live directly on either side of me. I’m referring to other parents in our neighborhood.

Isn’t it just common sense that a 5 year old child should not be riding their bike in the street without an adult watching them? Or am I just paranoid?

Here’s another thing that’s got me thinking. Why is it that when I go outside to pick up the barrage of things that have been left in my yard, I find other children’s pants? I can almost understand little boys leaving their shirts in the yard, but pants? Come on!

What child went home without their pants and the parent didn’t wonder where they were? If my child came home without his pants on, I would lose it!

I have an entire collection of shirts, pants, socks, and shoes that have been found in my yard. I could outfit my entire family with this stuff. But, normally I just throw it away. I got tired of saving it and waiting until someone came looking for it.

Anyway, I digress……

The whole point of this story is that parents need to be watching their children; especially the little ones! I’m tired of backing out of my driveway wondering if a child has run behind my car. I always wonder, “Will this be the day that I’ll hit a child?” That really shouldn’t be something I think about every day.

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