A guilty conscience

A few days ago Scott pointed out some graffiti on a hallway wall. We both figured it was Brooke, just because she has written on the walls in the past. I was going to wait until I could get all four kids together and look them in the eye and ask them who wrote on the wall.

Today, Brooke told me that someone had written on the wall by her bedroom. She said that it looked like John's name so it must have been John. What she failed to think through when she threw her brother under the bus was that John knows how to make his "J" the proper way and not backwards. And instinct told me that John wouldn't make his "O" into a smiley face.

I told her we'd wait until dad brought the lie detector home and then he'd be able to tell who did it. This really didn't phase her. She said she wanted to see the lie detector.

Jacob saw the writing and became "Mr. Junior Detective". He had the kids give him a writing sample and then compared it to the one on the wall. He also asked me to install a camera up in the hallway so we could tell who was writing on the walls. He came to the same conclusion that we had. The tagger was Brooke.

So Scott took Brooke on his lap and talked to her. Her guilt got the best of her and she crumbled.

I hope this behavior isn't a preview of what is in the future. She's already in a gang. Its the Callaway Monkeys.

My passion, not The Passion

In 3rd grade, I discovered horse books. Then later, more books on animals, The Babysitters Club, Nancy Drew, Sweet Valley High Twins and Flowers in the Attic. Flowers in the Attic. I read that book a dozen times. It was dark and twisted and right up my alley. I read more of V.C. Andrews books and then read a bunch of Stephen King. Admittedly, King scared the pants off of me. I could never look at a clown again without thinking of It.

I've been an avid reader for 25+ years. I can read a good book again and again. I'm not much for non-fiction, but I will pick up a book now and again.

My New Years Resolution was to read a book a week or 25,000 pages. The year is about 2/3rds of the way over and I have read just over 9,000 pages and I have read 23 books. I'm disappointed that I probably will not meet my goal, but delighted that I started reading on a regular basis agan.

With the triplets entering Kindergarten this year, I'll have more time to finish up some projects that have been put off for 5+ years. I plan on painting a couple of rooms, organizing and purging, cleaning on a regular basis (even if regular means once a month), weekly small group meetings with members of St. Peter and maybe even getting a job.

Getting a part-time job that right for me and my family will probably be time-consuming. I'd like to be able to use the gifts and talents God has given me to reach others. Whether that be other church members or the unchurched. I'd like a job where I can make a difference. Maybe other people don't know it yet, but God does. I'm a tool.

Private - No Trespassing

I'm just going to say it. I'm not going to pussyfoot around the issue. I feel like you boys and girls are big enough to handle it. Whether you like it or not. Its something I've thought about and decided I need to do. At the end of August I will be taking my blog private.

For a couple of reasons. - Then I can tell stories about how Brooke confuses her body parts with the boys body parts without fear of someone creepy latching on to the story because they did a search for a male body party.

- I am thinking about going professional. With a job. A desk job. And I think that to make the best impression on everyone, I'll keep my personal life personal.

- Its trendy. More people are doing it.

- My real reason for starting this blog was to journal my kids life. And they do some pretty funny and hilarious things. And I say some pretty funny and outrageous things. If unoriginal and boring people stumble upon my blog, they just won't get it.

So, if you'd like to receive e-mails about current updates on my blog, put it in the comment section, facebook me, e-mail me...

The raggie

While I was tucking in the kids last night, I saw something that made me fall in love all over again.

Matthew was laying on his blanket and I pulled it out from under him to cover him up. When I did that he turned towards me and there was something underneath his pajama top. I looked under his shirt and there was his raggie. He was keeping it close to him. Awwwww. I just melted and fell in love with that special little boy all over again.

Jacob's birthday and Graduation Day

Jacob turned eight today. Eight. Eight years. Ocho anos. Where has the time gone? I think its gone pretty fast now that he's in school. I see him stretching out, getting leaner, looking more like his dad every day. Happy Birthday baby. I pray for many things for you. I wish you happiness, such deep happiness that you feel deep in your heart, in your being. I want you to pursue your dreams, but realize that they will not be handed to you and you have to work for them. I want you to pause and enjoy being a kid. You are never to old to play in the sandbox or play with Legos. But most of all. I hope that at every chance you get, you fill your cup with Jesus. "With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26

Now on to the trio. They got a diploma and graduated from preschool today. I even checked the authenticity of the papers. They are real. They are going to Kindergarten. God bless Mrs. M with patience, understanding and a good sense of humor because my babies are ready.

They all got their picture taken with their teacher, Mrs. P. All of them gave her hugs. Even though they are looking forward to Kindergarten, I know they will miss her. She was a very gentle and nurturing teacher. Kind of not like me. :)
Then they got their pictures taken with their chapel buddies. These are older kids, usually 7th and 8th graders who sit with the kids during chapel and show them how to act and behave. My kids love their chapel buddies. I hope the friendship continues for years.

In random thought, I realized that what parents do for a living really affects their children.

Do doctors kids have doctor's kits? Do teacher's kids play teacher? Do musician's kids have miniature instruments? Do stripper's kids have play poles? (I had to add that one) Do police officers kids have fake badges and guns?

For instance, with my husband being a police detective, they get to see their share of police cars, badges, policeman, guns, etc... They understand words such as "search warrant", "burglary", "lie-detector", "suspect". I am surprised that there is not more cops and robbers played here. They are more into power rangers and that kind of stuff. We don't have play guns in the house. I don't think thats even a possibility down the road. I realize that they can pretend anything is a gun, but I think its all too real.

Hodgepodge and Mother's Day thoughts

Nevermind it took 15 minutes to log in here. Its been five months since my last confession, er, blog. I've been blogging in my head and facebook. But frankly, I am just been lazy. And I feel for the guy named frank that the previous saying came from. Cause its not just a saying its also a name for a hot dog. And also for a common guy. Like if you don't remember someones name you can just say, "Hey, Frank! You wanna get the door?" And they know you are talking to them.

Back on track. Mother's Day. According to the great source of wikipedia, it was founded by a lady in 1870s. Woodrow Wilson made it a Hallmark Holiday in 1918 and now everyone remembers to call their mom on this day.

I received a cookbook from Jacob (made at school), I received some awesome handmade cards/pictures from the triplets (made at school) and then Jacob made me a paper plate card at home using his best cursive. I spent the day with my family eating a lunch at a supper club. Then took a 3 hour nap. Now THAT is a good Mother's Day. Love the nap.

I've been thinking about my life and what it takes to be a mother and smirking over those articles in the papers that kids write about their mothers. Did they write them willingly or did their moms put them up to it so that everyone else who reads that paper will know what a great mother they are?

I've decided not to go for the Mother of the Year award, ever. I won't be nominated because frankly, (it just flows so well... sorry anyone named Frank) I don't have the patience I should have, I favor the kids who let me sleep in, I don't cook as much as I should and I don't play with them as much as I should.

What am I doing during this time when I should be cooking or playing with them? I'm searching for my keys which mysteriously disappeared. I'm calling a tow truck and then trying to get a ride to the dealership to get new keys made while trying to figure out how to get four kids there and then get two vehicles home. Or, when I'm trying to make a home-made spaghetti sauce, I'm searching for for spoon rest that has mysteriously disappeared. Only to be found in the sandbox a few days later.

My patience is sorely lacking when I repeatedly find wrappers stuck under and in the couch when I say multiple times every day not to eat in the living room. I fantasize about the day when they'll understand that wrappers invite unwanted house guests and they throw them away. I really don't want six or eight legged creatures in the house.

I know the day will come when I only have to say things once and not repeatedly because they have become good listeners.

I live for the day that I can tell their girlfriends and wives about their escapades on creative peeing spots. The dryer, the front yard, the waste basket, the general area of the toilet. I will train them properly that their wives don't have to worry about seats being up, dribble around the toilet, etc...

I accept the fact that some of my children have inherited my sense of humor. Which is really funny to me, but may be childish, rude, or completely innappropriate in certain situations. Like in school, at church, when talking to adults.

So instead of having my kids write a bunch of untrue things about me, I'm going to write my Mother's Day wish for them.

I hope that someday you can look back and see that I tried to provide a home you felt safe in. That when I was discipling you or yelling at you, it was because I love you and want you to grow up learning right from wrong. I want you to learn that there are consequences to your actions. These actions can hurt yourself, other people and may not be following God's commandments.

I want you to know that I love it when you help me around the house. Its a great time for bonding while also learning how to clean and take care of our home.

I want you to think of others and how your actions affect them. I want you to think of Jesus and that He died for our sins. He loved us that much. I want you to show your love to others by treating them with respect, with kindness and being a light for this world.

I want you to remember all those times I took you to lessons or practices, or a road trip to something fun. All those things that took a lot of planning, money and patience.

I want you to remember the fun times. When I didn't feel like cooking so I threw out marshmellows on the table or I let you forage for yourself and some pretty interesting combinations are made. When we take a ride around the circle and you're all riding your big wheels. Or when we go to the park or Wild Air. When we're singing in the car some of our favorite songs. When we're on the couch and everyone has to pile on me. It can't get any better than that.

Be your own person, make your own path. But let God guide you. Enjoy your childhood because it goes way too fast.

Vacation to Chicago

Scott had bicep/rotator cuff surgery on December 1st. He's been off of work this month. So I had a great idea to take the kids to Chicago on christmas break. For a couple of different reasons. I think having family time is really important. When we take vacations in the past, its me driving the triplets to the destination and Jacob and Scott driving in another vehicle. Then usually Scott is doing his own thing (fishing) and I spend time with some or all of the kids. So family time, but not really family time.

I want to give my kids great memories of their childhood. Opportunities to learn, places that they have been, memories. Hopefully good memories.

So I planned this trip overnight to Chicago. We stayed at Embassy Suites, which was great because we had plenty of room to sleep and have the kids play. However, when I booked the room on priceline, I thought I booked a nonsmoking room. Yeah. Love the smell of stale smoke. But the hotel had free continental breakfast and we made sure we had our fill. There was a small pool and when I took the triplets swimming, it said 3 feet 2 inches. Well, the pool was deeper than that. It was almost over their heads. So they couldn't stand in the pool and had to be by the ladder or clinging to the edge.
Then as it got more crowded, six ghetto girls were horseplaying near us. Even though they could go anywhere in the pool, they had to be right on top of us. They kept bumping in to us. And the last thing I needed was one scared moment to set my children back in the pool. And then it happened. The girls were on each others backs and one bigger girl threw another bigger girl right into Matthew and knocked him into the water. And I went ghetto on her. I started yelling at her and she tried to walk away from me. Hehe. She didn't get away. I got in her face and told her to look around at who she just fell on. She had no comment. I told her that he was four years old and she needed to be careful around little ones. She had no comment. I asked if she understood me. She said yes and then I let her pass. They left the pool then to go sit in the whirlpool and stare at us. Of course they had no supervision.

So, the kids were pretty good on the way down to Chicago. We stopped at the Chicago O'Hare Oases and ate lunch there. It was really neat to see all the cars going right underneath us. Then we drove into the city and went to The Field Museum. Sue the T-rex was pretty interesting. But the kids were excited and Scott and I were tired. We didn't last long at that museum. I wish there had been more dinosaur related things there.

Then we walked to the Hard Rock Cafe and ate dinner. It was a nice walk in winter, but on the way back to the hotel, we decided to take a cab ride. The kids really enjoyed it. They always got excited when they saw a cab. Appleton has two or three cab companies, but seeing cab after cab was still exciting to them. Another exciting thing was looking for license plates. Jacob had this list made up of all the states and then checked off how many times we saw that license plate. I'm guessing we saw at least 20 states and 2 provinces.

The next day we got to the Shedd Aquarium bright and early and we actually stayed almost five hours. The kids loved the Caribbean reef and shark aquarium. We saw an aquatic show with dolphins, penguins and Beluga whales. It was very entertaining. But five hours wears on anyone, especially children. We were glad to leave. That is a place I'd love to visit again.

On the way home we did a detour to the Lego Store that took over an hour to get to. It was not like the Lego Store in Minneapolis. The trip home was quieter, but the kids were whiney and ready to be home.

There was some fighting and bickering. With two of the children kicking each other and one child doing a soccer kick to her brothers head. She got a time out for that. But overall, I think they had a good time.

I could use my own vacation now.