Adventures of the Supersized 6

Having a boy around makes for an interesting adventure, having two is asking for trouble! I had to laugh at my motley crew of children today. Jake was hobbling around acting like a wounded jedi back from a fierce battle. It was partly true, the wounded part anyhow. He had a pretty good slice on his big toe from playing around papaws tractor over the weekend. He knows that the garage is off limits when one is barefoot or in sandals, but he learned that one the hard way. I have been trying to keep his would clean and covered. Easier said than done when the wild child is a seven year jedi passionate about his next mission. Madison who has been full of chatter keeps me laughing. Not because of any one thing that she says but rather the lack of two front teeth within the last few days that has her making that whistling sound we all did with toothless smiles. Then there is Noah, oh yes Noah. Noah decided that while everyone was occupied in the pool he would come in the house and help himself to his favorite treat, chocolate. We were out of the conventional forms but he found a yummy alternative...chocoate chips! He had poured some minichips into a small bowl and planted himself in the living room snacking away. What he didn't plan for was the heat of about 94 degrees with heavy humidity, the kind that you can breath. Within what I am sure was a mere minute he had a bowl of chocolate syrup. When I found my young one he was covered in chocolate goodness. He cried to me with his hands outstreached to grab me, his hands were the least of his concerns. How does a 4 year old get chocolate into their belly buttons? Now I can check that off my list of my lifes burning questions. And it wasn't even lunch time! All the while my sweet and petite little Annika watched from her bouncy seat, stretching, and passing gas at such audiable levels that even the dog took notice. Well as Shrek says, "better out than in I always say." These kids never cease to amaze or amuse me!

TLM

Since it is now officially summer it is the time of year when traditions that have been forged many seasons before get into full swing. It is the time of year that we find ourselves at family reunions, picnics and pool parties. I was raised in a very small family, and enjoyed the small and intimate settings that would be our summer gatherings. My husband comes from a rather large family. Even after 8 years of being a member of this family I still at times find myself clueless as to how I am related to the person I am talking to! Yet I am honored to be a part of this wonderful and amazing family. But these large gatherings make lasting memories as the tradtions grow every year.
A tradition that has been going on for about 4 years or so is a huge 4th of July gathering. Every year on the 2nd or 3rd everyone starts the migration to Bethel Ohio. A small farming community about 20 east of Cincinnati. My in laws have a nice home that sits on 6 acres of wooded land. It has a nice creek that you drive over to get the house. There are paths cleared through the woods, there is a family burial plot from the late 1800's, a bench swing, dozens of varieties of flowers and benches scattered about calling you to stop, sit and enjoy the scenery. It starts to look like a national park when the tents start to show up. Some camp, some stay in the several rooms in the house and last year our home served as a bed and breakfast to a few of the aunts. I am sure that I will have some company this year as well since I am not a fan of the idea of sleeping in a tent. There is a screen house that has the aroma of July goodness seeping from within. There are the family favorites like grandma's angel food cake, Brenda's cheese ball that has all the yummy herbs and cheeses, my patriotic popcorn, Rosies homemade ice cream, and the best BBQ. Plenty of tables and chairs surround the camp and tiki torches keep the festivities going into the wee hours of the morn. There are usually games for all ages and scavenger hunts, balloon tosses and snow cones. The party goes till the 4th where the grand finale is supplied by the Steward cousins who make the annual fireworks run to Indiana. What comes is a good two hours worth of fireworks from sparklers to the rocket style airal show.
This tradition leaves such good memories for all who come and enjoy the fun and comfort of family. It is alot of work for the hosts, but the results are evident when it is all my kids can talk about till October when our big Halloween festivites start. I am glad that I have a chance to show my kids what tradition and family means. One year I will have to try to do the camping thing and sleep in a tent. Yeah right!

TLM

Once again I am defeated in my attempt to get my kids in bed at a more reasonable time. Am I upset? no. I do enjoy my evenings. It can be hard at times with a dad who works nights. I get the chore of rounding up 4 children, feeding them something we can all agree on, ( other than chicken nuggets every night!) cleaning them all up, medication administered, teeth brushed, story read, foreheads kissed and tucked in by 9pm all on my own. I usually have a puppy following my around and motioning towards the door for her potty break all the while. Lately it has been harder to reach that 9pm goal, it is a summer thing. Here in Cincinnati it doesn't really get truly dark till after 9:30. It must be a natural kid reaction that we can't go to bed until it is pitch black outside. We do tend to get wrapped up in stuff too. I enjoy the little moments of our nights, being silly, watching a movie together, or reading book after book.
I enjoy my nights for myself as well. Once I get the little critter's into bed I get time to catch up on a few chores for the day. Fold that last load of laundry, load the dishwasher from our dinner, and I have to sweep the floors before I call it a night. I like to catch up on my emails, check out the blogs of a few friends who are serving in Iraq, check the news and the weather forecast for the next day. I review the calendar to see what I have going on the next day and get my check list started. I am a recovering neat freak, and I passed the disease on to my oldest child. Jake is a very neat child. I can always count on him to take care of his toys, pick up after himself, and clear the table after dinner. It is either genetics or because he is the oldest. Maybe a bit of both. The other two are lost when it comes to organizing anything, or picking up, dispite my best efforts to teach them. Jake tries to get them involved when he starts to get stuff picked up at the end of the day, usually to no avail. I shufffled into my laundry room to place my empty clothes baskets into their holding pattern for the next days loads. As I turned I jumped startled at the life size stick figure with wild hair that my 5 year old Madison drew on the panty doors. Just last week we painted the doors with chalk board paint, on the wall next to the doors are two small containers housing plenty of chalk in a rainbow of colors and an eraser. I giggled at her person wondering if was a self portrait. Cute. As the dishwasher sounded it's rolling hum I continued my shuffle past my clean (for a few hours) kitchen and into the living room. The pup laid under the baby swing snoring our two cats perched on my glider watching her and my sweet 12 week old Annika greeted me with a smile while she sit in her bouncy seat. My shuffle became a gleeful stride as I hurried to pick her up. I spent some quiet time with my little blessing before she fell asleep for the night. I tried to catch the nightly news and noticed some smudges on the screen. My instinct was to get up and clean it, but I wondered...which mom would the kids remember the most? The neat freak who was always cleaning? Or the mom who played games, read book after book, and loved their giant chalk people? One of my favorite quotes, "The world may not remember you for what you did or what you said, but they will remember how you made them feel while they were in your presence." I pray that I always make my children feel happy secure and loved. I can think of no greater gift. The smudge stayed for two more days....

TLM

In the midst of doing my mom/wife thing I sometimes pondered what career I would like to have. In high school I wanted to go into sports medicine, but then realized that the good money is in physical therapy. When I had Jake I pondered nursing school. For a brief time in Chicago I used my artistic talents to make money doing stenciling and painting. I thought that I might like a career in interior design. A saturated market I realize, but I would enjoy it. Having had the experience of asthma through out my life I knew how miserable it was for Madison when she had her bout with RSV and later when her and Noah both started to show signs of asthma. Madison has not had any breathing problems in over a year now, Noah has not been so lucky. For over two years now Noah has been taking nebulizer treatments daily. We have seen allergists, and now we get to see an ear nose and throat doctor. Some experience in Respiratory care I have. One visit to the ER with Noah got me thinking though. The doctor in the ER said that a respiratory therapist would be coming to give Noah a breathing treatment with albuterol. Something I did at home, usually half asleep at 2 am! You mean they have a job for this!? The therapist came in and did what I do, open the vial and squirt the few drops of the liquid medicine into a small chamber that has a tube that runs to a compressor. Connected to that chamber is a face mask that helps get the steam that comes from the contraption into Noah's lungs. At home he has the option of a mask that looks like a dragon, or a fish. When he was done she packed up and off she was to the next patient! That is it!? How much does she get paid to do that!? After some research I found out that she got paid well, and it takes completing a 22 month associates degree program to be a CRT or Certified Respiratory Therapist. Hmm.

I married a saint. Aaron is the most devoted and dedicated family man I have witnessed. I truly thank God for allowing me the priveledge to have such a wonderful man in my life. When we left Chicago he walked away from a job that he enjoyed, with a company he loved. He came back to Ohio so that he could purchase a home for his family. When the glamorous marketing jobs didn't look appealing enough he opted for a very unglam job. He is a night janitor at a high school in a neighboring district. The cons are that he is a janitor...but the pros are what gets him through it. The benefits are better than he had in the marketing world, and with him not having to leave for work till 2pm he was hoping to take advantage of that time and use his GI bill and go to school. And he gets to see his kids during the day. A cool plus. The downside is that working full time being a college student and trying to keep a healthy family life is harder than it sounds. After some discussion and lots of prayers we decided that we both needed to get degrees and get real jobs. If all keeps going as planned then I will be a first year student in the Respiratory Care Program at the University of Cincinnati at Clermont in September. It will be a rough 2 years but once I find employment it will allow my saint to quit pushing a mop and get his education. Luckily even entry level CRT's make more than your above average high school janitors, and working with a hospital will ensure benefits. Aaron will only have about 2 years to get his BA in Business Technologies. It is hard to think that in 4 years we both will have achieved something we wanted after graduation 10 or more years and 4 kids ago. It seems like a lifetime when you add his military time and the children. But it will be so worth the effort. So we tend to do things backwards, at least we will have life experience to go along with our formal teachings!

Carpe Diem
TLM