The baby?

The other day I referred to my 17 month old (third) child as the baby and my friend asked how long I was going to call her the baby.

'Good question - I guess until I have another one' I replied. A few months ago, I had a friend tell me that she is not really a baby anymore. I started really thinking about the reference the baby. I am 35 and I still hear my mom refer to me as the baby.

After much (unnecessary) thought,I realized when you have more than two children, the title the baby is an identifier. When you have one, there is no need for an identifying label and when you have two there is still no need to identify your children by rank...unless of course you have two children of the same gender. It's when you dip into the third, forth, etc., that you really have to start to identify your children with labels. The oldest, the middle, the second child, the baby...the baby!!!

I also think with the more kids you have, the more you want to hold them little forever because you know how fast it goes! Maybe I will stop calling her the baby when she breaks 20 pounds!!

Goodnight Popsie…Goodnight G-d

Last night my sister was leaving Nonie’s (non)farm and as the kids do every night, they looked up to the big open sky and the moon and said…goodnight Popsie, love you , see you in the morning!! A looked at us and asked if we wanted to say goodnight to G-d too!!  I was touched that she said that because we had never done that in the past.  I looked up at the sky and said goodnight to G-d.  Aunt C looked up at the sky and said the same thing but added, ‘G-d, please make sure you look after Popsie for us!!’ We all looked up at the big full moon only to see a reflection of a cross appear through the screen.  I ran to get my camera and the reflection was gone.  I turned to put the camera back in the bag and P screamed the cross was back.  A said she could see the ‘church thing’ in the sky…if that is any indication of how much we need to go to church again on Sundays.  Anyway, I captured the reflection of the cross!!  Amazing, although the picture hardly gives the reflection of the cross justice!!

Holy Mother....

I thought 10pm would be a great time to catch up on my blogging BUT my 3 year old daughter thinks 10pm
is a great time to babble, talk and WAKE up the baby!!! Aggghhh - maybe tomorrow!!!
How can I get mad at this face?


-- Post From My iPhone

Family dynamics

I had to write a letter for my sister for a project. I loved my introduction so much that I thought I would share it with all my blog readers!! I really feel like I was able to capture the energy and dynamics of my family!! Perhaps my words will find their way into the book I am writing too!!

-------------------------------------------------------

I always thought the house on Big Oak was magical and held the secrets of family, life, love and laughter. When mom and dad sold the house, I realized the magic of it all was held inside each of us, not the walls of the house. I realized what mom and dad planted in all of us was something that could be harvested anywhere, not just on Big Oak. I began to take a deeper look at everything around us and everything we had to be thankful for in this world. I began to feel so blessed that mom and dad were healthy and moving somewhere with their own freewill. I looked at our entire family helping out, pitching in, and enjoying every second of being a part of such a loving group. I felt so happy and so proud. I took a close look at each part of our family and realized if someone was observing us, they wouldn’t be able to identify the sister, mom, wife, brother, dad, husband, brother-in-law, uncle, cousin, niece or nephew. We all blend as one despite age, gender or the position in the family. We are all always there for one whether it be for a ride somewhere, a Starbucks run, a much needed ‘family-time’ vacation or a simple bitch-fest phone conversation. We are lucky that we will never be alone; we will all always have each other, all 26+ of each other.

Momma weekend

Many years ago, mom, the sisters and I went to a hotel for the night.  We had a fabulous time and on the way home, we declared we would do it again. The days, weeks and years went by and the intentions were there but the plans were never set in stone.  This past weekend, we made it happen and it was fabulous!!

The husbands, kids and life in general were left behind, if only for a weekend.  We laughed, talked, gambled and dabbled in a little liquor too!! Truth be told, I lost my money in the bar, not the casino.  We had such a blast! If pictures speak 1,000 words then this album should just about sum up this post!!

View Full Album

Getting ready to mow the lawn??

R was mowing the lawn today and P was outside with him. Suddenly I heard thumps and thuds and low and behold P was back in the house. I called up the stairs and asked him what he was doing and he called down that he was 'getting ready to help daddy cut the grass!!' I was eager to see how in the world he was getting ready...




....check out the undershirt, work boots, work gloves and best of all, the hat!!!!

I laughed so hard when he came down the stairs that he ripped the hat off...after much convincing him that I was laughing at how cute he looked...he put it back on his head!!






Post From My iPhone

GOOOOD EVENING FELLOW PROCRASTINATORS...

I am a procrastinator and my relaxed nature annoys my husband to say the least but heck, it has come in very helpful with 3 kids so close in age...probably the reason I want more!! Anyway, I don't see the point in laying my clothes out the night before, looking for something to wear to an event the moment I get the invite, etc. While I have had many stressed out nights (and mornings) of an event, I work best under pressure and it has proven very effective in real life.

Last night (April 15th) at 8:15, I called Mr. Planner Hubby and asked him if he would find a post office that was open late so he could mail my taxes when he got home. BLAH BLAH BLAH - I have heard it all before - he complained about me waiting until the last second, etc. So I told the kids to jump in the car (in their jammies and no shoes)so we could hunt for a post office. FYI - I did look online but the search was bringing up places in the city. Anyway, we all jump in the car in our jammies - including me! We were almost out of our neighborhood when I happened to notice an annoying orange light flashing - whoooops, if only everything in my life had a flashing light to remind me of things!! GAS!! Shoot!! Instead of stressing out (which is what I think Hubby thinks someone should do) I laughed! This is so me!! I had to fill up my empty tank in order to go find a post office to mail my EXTENSION (not even completed taxes) before the April 15th deadline!!!

All is well - the first post office I went to was open. I soon realized I had to take everyone out of the car to actually mail the letter inside. Whoooops - everyone was in jammies and just to add to the trashy look of us, nobody had shoes on either. I walked into the post office only to be greeted by about 40 other procrastinators. Of course, instead of shutting my mouth, mailing the letter and getting out of dodge without being noticed, I opened the door and said 'GOOOOD EVENING FELLOW PROCRASTINATORS!!' Nobody thought I was funny which humored me even more!!

Anyway, tank filled, taxes sent and all is well!! SO THERE BABE.......

My rockstar

The song Cryin' for Me by Toby Keith was on the slideshow at Dad's wake. P, my handsome 4 year old, learned most of the words and loves to sing it to anyone that will listen.


ENJOY!!!

Lion at the zoo

I am in love with my Nikon 5000! I purchased it at Wolf Camera before the holidays in 2009 and the love affair continues.

I was at the zoo the other day and I was having so much fun with the zoom lens and the animals!! When I was taking pictures of the lion, he started to roar, although it was more like a bark. Anyway, I was able to catch it on video...and by the way, after he was done making noise, he put his head down and went to sleep!!

Is Popsie a what?

Oh the conversations I have before bed!! I would like to hope my dad took some time out of heaven to hear the one I was having last night before bed because he would have found some serious humor in my four year old boy's question.

'Mommy, is Popsie a fairy? (Haaahaaaa - it still make me laugh while I type this!!) I explained that Popsie is not a fairy but an angel.

...Although, his name was Flaming Arrow when he was our Indian Princess Guide and boy did we tease him years later when his Indian name took on a whole new meaning!!

Gosh I miss him!! Has it really only been 2.5 months?

You lost what?

The other night A slipped (on nothing) and ran into the coffee table.  She got herself right on her check but closer to her eye.  She bruised almost right away but after ice, TLC  and a pep talk, she appeared to be recovering nicely until of course I added this to the end of my talk….’'Honey, you just lost your balance!’ She burst out crying and started doing the toe dance (you know the one, the tiptoe tantrum/cry, like when you stub your toe.) Anyway, I was concerned she really did a number on her check until she was able to compose herself enough to cry/whine, ‘AGGGGGHHHHH, FIND IT, FIND IT, I WANT MY BALANCE BACK!!!  FIND MY BALANCE!!  WHERE IS IT?’ I told her to stand on one foot and she would find her balance and she refused. She wanted me to find her balance first.  We played a good old-fashioned game of Simon Says and when I said ‘stand on one foot,’ she not only found her balance but she was also out of the game!!

Forgive my neglected blog

Once again, my FB status updates and posted pictures on FB have taken away from my blogging. I love looking back on the last three years on my blog. Blogging has allowed me to capture moments in time that I probably would have forgotten...the tantrum in the gym parking lot, P freaking out over chocolate milk and locking me out of the house, etc. The little details of the stories are so fun to look back and read. The videos and pictures are priceless.

Anyway, I always wanted to write a book and I finally am serious about putting it all together...I THINK! I am going to try my best to balance blogging, scrabble, writing and of course FB with my limited computer time. The noise level in this house as I type right now is hilarious!! The baby is chanting 'daddy, daddy, daddy, love you daddy,' the bird is screaming 'jenny, jenny, jenny, want to play,' the dogs are barking at the ambitious people walking their dogs. I have stopped ten times to open gummies, cookies, juice (and yes it is 9am), and I have been forced by my demanding son to look up at the television at yet another toy he thinks he needs. Am I a great multi-tasker or do I have adult A-D-D? Don't answer that!! It's no wonder someone that has always had 'undiagnosed' A-D-D wants five kids!!

An update on us - We are surviving. Things are going the best they could possibly go two months after losing dad. My heart aches every single day, sometimes several times per day. My family has been my rock. We have gotten each other through the long days. The kids have been a great distraction for all! We are a busy family with no idle time so that helps too! The kids and I took a girls trip to Florida with Nonie and Sistah S! We had a phenomenal time. Family, family, family!!!

I am sooooo ready for another baby but have to wait for the much needed deposits!! I will keep y'all posted as to when I get my way! If it was up to me, I would be 9 months pregnant right now and I am very serious!! Maybe a closer gap between number 4 and 5...if I get my way and have 5!!!

Until next time cyber-friends....