It's about time and other random things...

Caden Lane is walking! Why the excitement? No reason other than the fact he is 16 months and it was about time, don't you think? He is still really wobbly but getting better every day. Caden is the happiest baby I have ever seen, seriously, and he just makes you feel so happy whenever he smiles at you. He had a check-up this past week and weighed in at a whopping 21 pounds and 2 ounces. Small compared to his brothers at that age.

Speaking about his brothers... School is out and we have been so busy. The boys have all been playing flag football again and of course play on 3 different teams which makes for lots of games on lots of different nights.

I still can't believe that 3 of my 4 boys will be at the same school in August. Caleb is going into the 4th grade, Mason into the 2nd and Myles into K-5. For some reason just saying Myles and K-5 in the same sentence just blows my mind. He was the baby for 4 years until Caden came along and I just can't believe I will be dropping him off with his brothers in a few short months. Someone, please stop the clock!

This has by far been the busiest season of my life. With my own four boys, plus my full time job caring for another baby boy for the last almost 10 months, plus my house cleaning jobs, let's just say it has been non-stop. I long for days past when all I had was just caring for my family again, but I also am so thankful that I am healthy and God has provided ways for me to help contribute financially to our family while still being a stay at home mom. I am also so thankful to have a husband who works so hard to allow me to have been home with the boys for the last almost 8 years. It has not been easy all of the time but I wouldn't trade this job for anything...

Well, enough rambling, but since I can't seem to update this regularly I guess random is what you get... Happy Summer!

No rest for the weary...

I really want to put into words how our hearts have been broken for the people in Guatemala but I have not been able to sit down and do it the justice it deserves. Isn't it funny how we can step away for 8 days and leave the responsibilities of this life behind and the minute we arrive back home (literally) we have to jump right back in... We have been home for 2 weeks and it has been non-stop since. Dentist, Orthodontist 3 times, ENT for consult, Physical, stomach virus X 4 kids... I am tired thinking about it... Basically the long and short of it are that Caleb will be having his adenoids and tonsils out on May1st and will be having a palatal expander put in his upper jaw that he gets to sport for the next 12 - 15 months. Fun times...

Update: We had the palate expander put in this morning. I guess I didn't realize he would drool so much and how his speech would be affected. They said it will get better and I sure hope so for his sake. Kids can be so mean... Afterwards I took him to eat a Krystal burger as I figured that was really soft and that was a bad idea. Everything is getting stuck in it... So we settled for a milkshake much to his delight and sent him off to school doped up on Motrin. They said it will be pretty painful for a few weeks and that we could take a break from turning the key for a week or two during/after his surgery as his mouth is going to be sore enough. We have to turn the "key" every other day until the doctor tells us it is enough. Basically it will just split the suture in his upper jaw which should help with his teeth/jaw issues and widen his palate. Braces are still years down the road, so this kid will have a car payment in his mouth for the undetermined future.

Guatemala Here We Come...

Tomorrow we leave... After weeks of anticipation it is time for Caleb and I to go to Guatemala. I am nervous, scared, excited, humbled and grateful. So many people have helped in order for this all to work out and I am so grateful. Caleb and I have never gone anywhere (besides the store, Doctor, mall) by ourselves. There are always some bonus brothers tagging along. What an opportunity for an almost 9 year old. I am so excited to view these people and their lives through his eyes. I pray that this is the beginning of a spiritual awakening in us both. May we never see people the same way again. May our hearts break when we see people hurting instead of being callous to it. May our hearts and eyes be open for change. May we love different, see different, share different and want different. May we never be satisfied with just doing ENOUGH again. Move in us God or do whatever it takes to MOVE us...

Bragging Rights...

Not that this matters, has any major importance AT ALL or will affect their future in anyway, what kind of men they become, how they treat other people or if they even grow taller, but TWO of my boys are now in gifted. I know this will come across as bragging, but I am just so darn proud of them. Cale is wicked smart and school was a piece of cake for him. For me on the other hand, well lets just say that sometimes when Mason does his 1st grade math homework, I have been known for saying "Mason, I think this one is wrong," at which he then explains to me how he is actually right. I hate it that my 6 year old knows more than me... Anyhow, Mason was recommended last year in K5 and finally went through all of the testing this year and has now been going for about a 6 weeks. They have K5 - 3rd grade in the same class together, just at different tables. He gets to go all day every Tuesday which means he gets out of regular class, gets to eat lunch at the "special" table and gets out of all of his normal class work for that day. He gets to do super fun stuff like Mind Benders, making snow, field trips to the Art Museum, Sudoku, and I'm sure really high tech stuff like Quantum Physics, Calculus and Underwater Basket Weaving. Well, anyhow, Caleb was recommended back in first grade, went through all of the testing and then we moved. He was recommended again last year in 2nd grade and finally got tested now in the third grade. I just got a call from the guidance counselor (which by the way is the same guidance counselor from back when I went to the same school and did I also mention Caleb has the same teacher that Johnny and I both had) to schedule his meeting which means he got in. I know, no big deal. We have really played this down as he is super sensitive and didn't want him to get his feelings hurt if he didn't make it, knowing Mason did. Even though I know disappointment is a really important life skill. I think he would be fine either way, but I'm not sure I would. We spend so much time teaching them to share, making things even, spreading the love around 4 ways and sometimes in life it won't be. One will make the team and the other one won't even be able to catch the ball. One might be freaky smart like Cale and the other one, well lets just say "SHE tries really hard." One might get taller and the others may look just like their parents. :) For one to win anther must lose. So at least for today everyone wins.

Did I mention that they will now be in same class every Tuesday? Together? The whole day?

That should be very interesting...

Things I did NOT do in February...

I had glorious plans to write faithfully on this blog in February... That didn't happen. Was it laziness? Bad parenting? We will never know as I can't remember why other than to look back at my calendar and be amazed that we fit everything in... So instead I will post things we did NOT do.

I did NOT have to make 6 trips just to load all of my 4 boys, plus the bonus baby, backpacks, diaper bags, purse, and household belongings on 2 separate rainy morning this month. This did NOT take my over 20 minutes and I was NOT soaked from head to toe.

I did NOT celebrate the 1st birthday of my sweet baby Caden Lane on February 8th. We did NOT strip him down to his diaper and did NOT smash cake all over his chubby little face. I have NOT purposefully encouraged him NOT to walk as this would be bad parenting to stunt my child's development and he is just to darn cute crawling.



I did NOT spend a fun Valentine's Day with my sweet hubby on a date and he did NOT give me a gift certificate to go to a spa for a facial. That would be a total waste of money and we are extremely practical and would NOT ever spend money on such a thing.

I did NOT sign up to bring ice cream to Myles preschool party and on said day have to drag Caden, Myles and Andrew to Walmart in the freezing cold and proceed to by ice cream cones instead. I did NOT plead Mommy brain when I arrived and realized my error. I would NEVER be so irresponsible because I am a perfect Mommy.

I did NOT take my children to the post office to apply for a passport. After waiting for over an hour with at least another hour to go, I did NOT search for a public restroom as my bladder was about to burst due to my NON-addiction to diet coke. After realizing the post office does NOT have a restroom available to the public, I did NOT take my kids back to the van, make them sit in the front, crawl to the back of the van and proceed to relieve myself into a diaper. That is GROSS, disgusting and horribly bad parenting and I would NEVER do such a thing. I DID however keep my spot in line and we now have passports. :)

I did NOT get so behind in my laundry that my kids were forced to wear socks more than once and definitely did NOT make them wear underwear that was totally to big or to small because it was clean. I am NEVER behind in my laundry, my house is ALWAYS clean, and that is just wrong.

I did NOT strap my fussy baby in to his carseat, turn on his EeeBee movie and get into the carpool line almost 30 minutes early just for some peace and quiet and spend time reading a book. I would never entertain my children with useless TV. We spend our days learning long division, Sudoku, and foreign languages.

I did NOT allow my baby to play for and extended amount of time in the tub as I sat checking my email on the laptop in the bathroom with him and only eventually notice that he was playing with POOP Playdoh. My babies are perfect and would NEVER poop in the tub and most certainly would NOT proceed to squish it into a million pieces.

Anyhow, since NONE of the above actually happened, February must have been so boring that I couldn't think of anything to write about and I just skipped it. Here's to hoping March is as good as February...

Why a blog?

Why you may ask? I am asking myself the same question. I guess the best answer is because I want to. Even if no one ever reads this besides me, which is quite possible since writing is not my forte. I want my kids to be able to look back and read (once they all know how that is) about how much I loved being their mommy. I want them to know the ups and downs of being a mommy to four boys, the good, the bad, the ugly, the joy and the pain, but most of all the JOY. I guess I should have started this long ago, this written diary of my parenting journey considering my boys are 11 months, 4, 6, and 8, but here goes nothing... This is dedicated to my sweet boys Caleb, Mason, Myles and Caden. I love you so much...Love, Mommy