Ten Stitches Are Plenty. Ten Stitches Too Many.

Can you guess where DangerBoy spent last Friday morning? No, he wasn't in the street, or in a boat, not out in the heat. He wasn't in a museum, not even in an arboretum.


"What?"


"What's that? You think he was in a hospital?!"


"Silly readers, what ever would make you think that?!"


I'm embarassed to admit it, but you are right!!! And so the saga continues...


One Friday morning, while momma was at work and ahem* daddy* was in charge, DangerBoy decided that his recent battle wound was looking a little small. It just wasn't the size he wanted it to be. He wanted one much bigger and more dangerous-looking. And so he thought. And he plotted. He waited ever so patiently for the moment to make his move. Moments later, daddy started getting ready for the day. Daddy showered, changed his clothes, and began to shave his face. DangerBoy knew his moment was fast approaching. He excitedly studied his momma's bedroom for the biggest piece of furniture he could climb.


Hmmmmm..... he thought.


"What could I jump on that would bring me the most delight?"
"Daddy's dresser? No, that was too hard."
"Mama's nighstand? No, too square."
"The Big Soft Bed in the middle of the room? Yes, that would be juuuuuust right!"


So DangerBoy climbed the bed. He climbed and climbed all morning long. His daddy took him down several times. But DangerBoy would get right back up on that big mountain of down comforter. It was just too tempting not to. Daddy was getting frustrated and he yelled at DangerBoy to stay off. His daddy's arms were soooo tired of taking DangerBoy off the bed that he finally just gave up altogether. That's when Dangerboy seized the opportunity to climb once more onto that big, brown bed. He climbed up all the way to the highest pillow and when he got there he took one long look at his daddy in the bathroom and flashed him the biggest smile he could. He was quite proud of himself for getting all the way up there. He was even more proud of the fact that he technically outlasted daddy and won the war to keep the baby off the bed. But that only lasted for so long because we all know Dangerboy and how quickly he gets bored. Not a minute later he decided JUMPING would be much more fun than climbing and even more fun than torturing daddy with his mischeivous grin. So Dangerboy JUMPED up. And Dangerboy JUMPED down. He giggled and giggled and tumbled and tumbled and JUMPED and JUMPED. And just when he couldn't jump anymore, his big sister climbed up and joined in on the fun. Now, there were two little monkeys siblings jumping on the bed!

Go ahead. Sing it. You know you want to!


Two Little Siblings Monkeys Jumping on the Bed...
(Come on.You know the words.)
One falls off and bumps his head.
Daddy calls the Dr. and the Dr. says...
"Three More Stiches On Ben's Head."

When daddy heard the THUD he figured it was probably just the average everyday boo-boo for Ben. What's new? It was the sight of blood dripping down Dangerboy's nose that caught daddy's attention. He cleaned up DangerBoy's face and was horrified to see that he had split open the same wound from his adventure at Knott's. Daddy rushed poor junior off to the Dr. His momma left work and met the boys there. The kind doctor worked his magic on little Dangerboy's face. He consoled the boy's parents and reminded them that 'boys will be boys.' 

The doctor's words didn't do much to make his mommy feel happy. Although her son got his wish; his daddy felt crappy. Ben's wound is now bigger than ever before. His once 7 stitches turned into 3 more! 

Ten stitches are plenty. Ten Stitches too many.

Troublesome Trashcan Trauma

We all know how bad I am about following through with my promises to post pics at a later date...(i.e.- the girls' bedroom re-do.) Trust me, I haven't forgotten about that. I know, I'm a bad blogger but I can't help it if it hasn't made it's way up to the top of my To Do List. I promise it's on the list but at the very, very, bottom of the bottomless list of CRAP to get done.

But I definitely made sure that pictures of Ben's... ooops... I mean Dangerboy's little fiasco were at the top of said list. I mean how can I not remember to do that; everytime I look at that kid I'm reminded about it! It's written all over his face! HA! (pun intended).

Sooo without further ado, let me introduce you to Destruct-O-Boy's archnemesis (AKA- the trashcan).

Please excuse the poor quality of the pics. A camera phone is no comparison to a Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi. And here is DangerBoy moments after the damage was repaired. See the sleepy look in his eyes??? Yeah, that's good stuff baby!

The following morning when I went to rescue him from his crib, he had already taken off his bandage and it looked like this. I changed his diaper, walked over to the trashcan and threw it out which gave him just enough time to climb on top of the dinner table. I swear God heard my prayer for a lil boy and said to Himself, "you wanna boy, well here ya go!"

The following ones were taken about 5 minutes ago.



Daddy took some hilarious video of him just after he was sedated. I think being heavily medicated is the only way to calm this child.  Much to daddy's frustration and despite mommy's begging and pleading that damn doctor wouldn't send us home with a prescription of that stuff.

What???!!!

I don't see what the problem is?  In my book, it's very similar to an adult soothing a hectic day with an nice glass of wine to unwind. Whenever he starts acting up, all I have to do is walk over to the medicine cabinet... "Here sweet boy, open up and swallow 'Mommy's Little Helper'. This will take all of mommy's your troubles away.

A mommy can dream!

Oh, and just for kicks and giggles.... here's Ewok's face. He was watching me take pictures of Ben and apparently felt like it was his turn!  I swear he's like my 7th kid sometimes! In case you couldn't tell, that's him smiling.  

The Adventures of DangerBoy!

Okay, I got all the kids down and it's only 7:17pm! YESSSSSS-- they are DOWN. Down as in down for bed! Can you believe it? I barely can!!!  I bet you're wondering how on earth I managed to get my crew of six monkeys down before 8 o'clock. Ask me. You know you want to.

Okay, you don't have to twist my arm. I'll tell you. But, shhhh... don't tell the kids. They'll be sooo mad at me.

Promise? Pinky Promise? Cross you heart? Okay, good. You're sooo gonna love this!!!!

I set all the clocks in the whole house forward 45 minutes.

WHAT?!!!

You think that's wrong?!!

Is tricking my children into bed at such an early hour just so I can maintain my sanity have some peace and quiet all to myself wrong?  I guess it is kinda cruel. But what they don't know won't hurt them, right? It helps that it's winter right now too. There's no daylight out. It's gonna be awfully hard to keep this lie going come summer. I guess I'll just have to enjoy it while I can (insert evil laugh----muuuuahhhhhh!). But seriously, help me out here. I'm trying to make myself feel better about doing this! Besides, daddy works nights and I have all the responsibilities of homework, cheer, karate, dinner, cleanup, oh and safety too (that's a whole nuther story I'll tell you about in a bit) all on poor lil 'ol me. So the question is...why didn't I think about this sooner???!!!



The reason I needed them down so early is because I have so much CRAP to do!!!! I'm overwhelmed. Luckily, cheer practice got canceled today. As sad as I was that it was canceled (I say that sarcastically), I managed to get some really important stuff done (like laundry) that ordinarily would have been pushed back to the end of my day. I also saved some time by making them a quick dinner. Hot dogs, fries, and fruit cups. Every kid likes that which meant no complaints or long fights with a certain particular, picky child ahem* cough*Elizabeth to eat her food. I had just enough hot dogs to feed each of the six kids and myself until I remembered that I had an extra mouth to feed because Elizabeth brought a friend home from school today. I can't make that child watch us all eat in front of her. That would be wrong. Wronger than tricking your kids. So being the kind person that I am (and the fact that I remembered I had just bought some Snickers Ice Cream Bars today at Target... Did you know Target sold those?... I didn't!... But as soon as I saw them I threw a box [thought about taking 3 boxes] into the cart)...but, I digress.... Remembering those Snickers Bars in the garage freezer, I grudgingly gave up my hot dog to the poor starving friend of my dear Elizabeth.

I could hear those Snickers Bars calling my name the whole time I was serving the kids their dinner. They wouldn't stop screaming for me even while the kids were brushing their teeth. So that's when I did it... that's when the idea hit me to set the clocks forward almost a whole hour.

One hour closer to my ice cream dinner.

Then, while they were getting their PJ's on, I heard those damn Snickers yell out, "if you don't eat me right now, I'll tell the kids that I'm in here."

I called out to the Snickers, "SHUTUP! Those darn kids are gonna hear you. They don't know you're in there yet!"

But apparently, they didn't listen. The screaming got louder and louder until I just couldn't take it anymore. I caved. I yelled at the kids to get upstairs, "Go upstairs. Go NOW. And STAY UP THERE. And while you're up there, keep an eye on Ben too." I used the excuse that I had to clean the kitchen. But we both know that 'clean the kitchen' was really code for 'sneak into the garage and grab myself my long awaited dinner.' I admit it. I'm not going to lie. I ate my ice cream bar inside the downstairs closet. I hid in between all the hanging coats, the basket full of diapers, a vacuum cleaner (I think the vacuum was jealous), and five umbrellas. I made sure to keep the lights off so that I couldn't accidentally be discovered by any of those six kids. Sometimes they like to sneak downstairs even after I tell them to stay up there. So I made sure to really stay hidden until each and every last bite of that caramel goodness was gone. And I will also admit that I almost thought about grabbing myself another one. Almost.

Anyways, that's what I ate for dinner.

Now where was I before I went off on that tangent about dinner? Oh.....yes... I have sooo much CRAP to get done tonight. I really do need to clean my kitchen and that's not code for anything. I have to keep at the dent I've made in the mountains of laundry we have right now. And I have to sew some poodle skirts for the Father/Daughter Sock Hop Dance next week.

Sigh. Such is life with six kids and no daddy home. I'm not feeling sorry for myself. Really, I'm not. Okay, maybe just a little.

Anyways. Back to the chores.

Sigh!

But, blogging is sooo much more entertaining. Don't you think? Plus, it doesn't take as much energy cuz the only thing moving is my fingers. I just don't have the energy in me to move anything else right now. Besides, I got some stuff to catch you up on. The chores are there and they aren't going anywhere, right?

Still blogging.

Just blogging.

Heyyyyy... that reminds me of the part in the movie, Nemo. "Just keep swimming blogging, just keep swimming  blogging... I love that movie! Don't you remember the part where Dory says to.... okay ... I know.. I know...I watch too many kid movies... Nevermind.


Hmmmm.... what else can we talk about since I just seemed to have made up my mind to blog instead of clean, launder, or sew. That's your fault cuz I know you're reading this. I definitely would be doing chores instead of blogging if I knew this blog wasn't getting read. See... it's your fault.

Oh, yes I know what we can talk about! Actually, I'll do the talking (or typing, rather). Because I'd like to tell you a story. A story I named-- The Adventures of DangerBoy! Daddy likes the name-- Destruct-O-Boy better, so I'll entertain you by alternating between the two names. You pick whichever one you want, I really don't care. Just pay attention to my story, okay?

Ready? Got your popcorn? Okay, here we go....

Once upon a time, there lived an adorable *wink*  little boy who loved to climb (hmmm, bet you know exactly which kid this is about). He loved heights. He loved danger. He feared nothing. (I bet you know where this is going too...) So anyways, this boy we'll call, DangerBoy, went to an amusement park we'll call Knotts Berry Farm to enjoy the day with his family and watch his three eldest sisters compete in a State Cheer Competition which just so happened to be held at the same park. Now, while Desctruct-O-Boy's mommy went into the competition auditorium to collect his three cheer sisters and to bring them down to where DangerBoy himself, his daddy and other siblings were waiting, Destruct-O-Boy decided to see what kind of trouble he could get into. What's new, right?! Apparently, Dangerboy found some trouble lurking in a nearby trashcan. (or just maybe... there were ice cream bars in there calling his name, Beeeeennnnnnn. Okay, probably not. That only happens to me.) Where was I.... there was trouble lurking in the trash can and DangerBoy decided to see what it was all about. Daddy happened to turn his back for one quick second. DangerBoy knew this was his only chance. WHOOOOSHHH!!!! As speedy as a lightning bolt, Destruct-O-Boy darted to the can and pulled himself up with all his might.

Now, here's where the story gets good.

Are you listening????

DangerBoy didn't make it into the can as planned. Not even a little bit. Instead, the not bolted to the ground fiberglass trashcan came toppling down onto DangerBoy's beautiful untouched, unmarked face.

DUN. DUN. DUN.

Did this stop him? Well, yes... for the moment.

DangerBoy's daddy ran over to the can as fast as he possibly could to rescue the trouble seeking boy. He pulled the can off DangerBoy's body expecting a bruise or maybe just a frightened little expression on his face. But instead... Daddy was met with an ugly laceration and a large amount of blood pooling onto Dangerboy's little babyface. Unscarred he was no more. Because of that incident, DangerBoy's face will forever be evidence of his day wrestling with the big, red can.

As you can imagine, Destruct-O-Boy's mommy was quite shocked when she arrived down in the food court to see Daddy holding a cloth to DangerBoy's forehead and staring back at her with an 'OH SH*T, YOU'RE SO GONNA KILL ME FOR NOT WATCHING HIM' look on his face. Now so many thoughts were going thru DangerBoys momma's head at that very moment. And yes, she will admit, that was definitely one of them. But she was a remarkable, young woman and an honorable wife. In those few seconds of seeing her bloody son, she decided that because of this little boy's hyperactivity, surely, this was something that could have happened in her care as well. She desired to be the most enviable marriage partner and to not mention anything to Destruct-O-Boy's father about those horrible 'how could you' thoughts that entered her mind for a millisecond. Instead, she concentrated on what's more important at the moment, which was not passing out everytime his daddy moved the cloth to check the bleeding.

Both his momma and Knott's associates called 9-1-1. And very shortly after, daddy and Destruct-O-Boy were wisked via ambulance to the nearest hospital. It was there, at that very hospital, where DangerBoy woo'ed the hearts of a nurse, or two, maaaaybe even three, all the while braving his injury and being stitched up 7x.

Wow!

WHAT. A. DAY!

Sadly, Destruct-O-Boy only got to take a spin on ONE whole ride before his trashcan debacle. And Sadly, because of his rambunctiousness, the plans to spend the rest of the day after competition riding all the amusement park rides as a family never happened. Rather, the lovely three cheer girls won their trophies (1st place in cheer and 2nd for Hip Hop) and the bandaged up DangerBoy and his family went on their merry way home.

DangerBoy lived the rest of his life with the female attracting scar across his face. In fact, the very next day he was searching for the next adventure to tackle. Joyfully though, he and the rest of his family lived happily ever after.

To Be Continued...

(pics will be posted later)
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Ahhh....I hope you enjoyed this non-fictional story. Yes, this just happened this past weekend. I'd post some pictures but it's getting awfully late and..... sigh.......back to reality. Or at least my reality. It seems that just as I guessed they would, just now, four of those disobeying children seemed to have found their way out of their nice warm beds. I hear much laughter up there as they entertain themselves in the upstairs hallway, thinking that mommy is too busy or too tired to even care. HA! I'll show them! Those darn kids should be in bed sleeping, cuz it's 9:45 10:45 already! I just screamed up there, "just wait til I tell your father you're still awake." But I only heard 1 pair of feet go running. Those darn kids are getting too smart! I bet that one pair of running feet was from the youngest of the four. That child hasn't lived long enough to know that mommy doesn't usually follow thru with her little threats. So, unfortunately, I'm sorry, but you will have to excuse me now while I go spank my kids, pull out my hair, and maybe eat another Snickers Bar tuck my sweet lil angels back into their fluffy warm beds.



Goodnight. Sweet Dreams, Bloggy Readers.

Meet Hillary

I'd like you to meet someone pretty special. This is my cousin, Hillary. She's a BEAUTIFUL young college student who has overcome some pretty amazing trials sent her way. Like most typical teenagers, Hillary worried about her studies, sports and her social life. Something distracted her though. Something in addition to normal high school issues. Something got in her way of just being a 'normal' kid. At 14, she was diagnosed with a rare bone cancer. Imagine dealing with this at fourteen years old! All the while going to school and trying to keep up with tests and assignments and basketball and volleyball and friends and just every day teenager stuff. Imagine that. Really imagine how little "normalcy" she had being interrupted by doctor appointments and hospital stays. Chemotherapy and the like. Because that was her life. And despite all of the yuckiness that goes along with this disease, she didn't falter. She didn't stumble. She was so brave and she fought so long and so hard. In my book, she's famous. Google her and you will see. You will see what an extraordinary woman she has become. She can sing, play the guitar, and can speak Chinese. Hello!!!! Do you know anyone like that?!

With God's amazing grace, she won her battle with cancer and because of it has become the strong woman she is today.

I'm so very proud of her. I'm so proud to tell people that I not only know her, but (even better) we are related. Her story is truly one of hope for those who may be experiencing the same or similar circumstances. I'd like to say that she gets her brains from her father's side of the family (obviously, that's how we are related) and that smart kids just seem to run in our blood. But... (there's always a but)... but, unfortunately I think this is not the case with her. Because Hillary is different. She's just so very different. She's not your typical college kid you'd meet on the street. She is a hero of sorts. A role model for me and also for my children. She stands out in a crowd.

After her fight with cancer, she mentioned that one of the things she learned through it all was to "enjoy the time you have here and now because you never know when things will be going wrong. And the other thing is you need to give back in life. Now I want to leave the world a little better than when I came in."  Ummmm.... Hello AGAIN!!!!!......I don't know about you, but there's not many teenagers I know who have the wisdom and insight that this girl has!

What I admire most about her is that she knows what she wants in life and she goes after it, all the while jumping over the hurdles thrown her way. As a child, her dream was to grow up and become a doctor.  Something got in her way BIG TIME. And instead of easily giving up like I probably would have, she weathered the storm. ONE. DAY. AT. A. TIME. And when the storm was all over she was left weak. But weakness was piddly compared to what she had just been through. Did she take time to recoup and gain her strength back? Perhaps. I can only hope so. But when she felt better she stood up and accepted her next challenge.

So the next time I'm feeling sorry for myself or the next time I find myself acting selfish and bitter because something didn't turn out the way I planned it (case in point: my 911 call, or my bidding wars over a house), I will remember her story. I will remind myself that life is not easy. Life is full of struggles and hardships. Sometimes God throws us a curve ball. But that shouldn't stop me (or us) from fighting for our dreams. I want my children to know this too. They read this blog very often. So children- Take Note: Sometimes we fall on our own and other times we're pushed down. But when you are faced with hardship, please remember Hillary. Hillary stood up. Hillary brushed herself off. Hillary accepted the challenge sent her way and even fought through it with a "bring it on" type of attitude. My beautiful children- sometimes we'll win and other times we may lose. But when we win.... remember.... give the glory to God. Thank Him for what He has done in your life and what it has taught you. Take your experience with you and continue on your journey. Fight for your dreams. It will be worth it. And remember those who helped you along the way. Let that touch you and encourage you to pay it forward, give back to others. I pray that you, my children, will never have to experience such an ordeal as hers. But... if you do... remember, I will be there to help you every step of the way and to remind you of Hillary's bravery and determination.

I'm happy to share that Hillary was just accepted into medical school!

Hillary, congratulations. I am sooo very honored to be your cousin. You are an inconceivably amazing woman. And you deserve this more than any other person I know.

PATIENCE

Out of all my children this one is definitely the most difficult! God, give me patience in raising this child!

Wordless, Toofless Wednesday

Vivian on Valentine's Day

My sister in law called me up and asked me to shoot a few pics of my niece, Vivian. Knowing that Vivian is much like Emily and loves clothes, fashion, and shopping.... what better place to take her than Victoria Gardens (an outdoor mall)! Here are my favorite shots of the day...

Say Cheese!

For Elizabeth's 9th bday, she wanted a slumber party. So, a slumber party was had. We invited a few girls over from the cheer squad and from her class. To keep them busy, I borrowed an idea I've seen from another (adult) party I've been to where they converted a downstairs closet into a photo booth.

Daddy and I had such a fun time at that party because of that photo booth; I'm sure the fact that we had a lil booze and we were minus our children helped a little too.

Sigh.

But, I digress.

Anywho, that's what we did for Elizabeth. The photo booth that is; not the booze! Here are a few of the snapshots captured in the closet...

A good snapshot stops a moment from running away. ~Eudora Welty

Happy Birthday Elizabeth

Today you are nine years old! When did my little newborn baby with the creamy skin and jet black curls turn into a little lady? Stop growing so quickly please! I want you to stay this way forever. Right now you are full of attitude; even a good spunky kinda attitude. You still love babies and you help me out so much with Megan and Ben.  My skinny lil Elizabeth hates to eat most any food unless it has been thoroughly inspected by you alone or unless it's a Toaster Streudel. You love fuzzy, furry animals. Especially bunnies and chinchillas. You have been in competitive cheerleading for about 9 months now and you are loving it. Your favorite friends are Arianna, Natalie, and Alexa. Your deep set eyes are absolutely gorgeous. You are one of the brightest students in your class and you know it. You carry yourself with the utmost,modest confidence (if that's even possible) I've ever seen anyone have. I have so much to learn from you.  From your springy black curls all the way down to your turned in feet, you are PERFECT!

Perfect in every way.

The lyrics of this song may sound familiar to you. Silly girl, you probably thought that Bruno Marx wrote them about some cute girl he was dating. But I swear that man wrote them about you! Cuz these are your words and they are all about YOU! 

Oh her eyes, her eyes

Make the stars look like they're not shining

Her hair, her hair

Falls perfectly without her trying

She's so beautiful

each and every day

Yeah I know, I know

When I compliment her

She wont believe me

And its so, its so

Sad to think she don't see what I see

But every time she asks me do I look okay

I"ll say...

When I see your face

There's not a thing that I would change

Cause you're amazing

Just the way you are

And when you smile,

The whole world stops and stares for awhile

Cause girl you're amazing

Just the way you are

Her nails, her nails

I could kiss them all day if she'd let me

Her laugh, her laugh

She hates but I think its so lovely

She's so beautiful

Each and every day

Oh you know, you know, you know

I'd never ask you to change

If perfect is what you're searching for

Then just stay the same

So don't even bother asking

If you look okay

You know what I'll say

When I see your face

There's not a thing that I would change

Cause you're amazing

Just the way you are

And when you smile,

The whole world stops and stares for awhile

Cause girl you're amazing

Just the way you are

The way you are

The way you are

Girl you're amazing

Just the way you are!

   Happy 9th Birthday to Our Beautiful Elizabeth Ann!