Life is, how should I put this delicately... complex... with 5 children. I do my best to make all errands and appointments as uncomplex as possible. That means scheduling things with as few children as possible. It also means missing nap times for the little ones occasionally. Apparently, I am on strike with missing nap times. For the second week in a row, I have missed a 1:30pm appointment for Jackson. The first one was a follow-up for his surgery. An appointment I was anxious to have to make sure things were healing properly. Day of the appointment, I totally spaced it. I came home from dropping Jacob off at school, put the little ones down for a nap, and sent Jack off to practice reading so I could have some quiet time. Today, Jackson had a dentist appointment at 1:30pm. Again, one I was eager to have to make sure his front tooth is okay. And I spaced it again. I dropped Jacob off at school, put the little ones down for a nap, and sent Jackson off to practice reading so I could get a little computer time in. (So busted). I just saw this dentist 2 weeks ago with Sam and Jake. So I fibbed a little. I told them I had the appointment written on my calendar for tomorrow. Seriously. My spaciness is starting to concern me. Perhaps I need to sleep on it a bit...

Part 2

Before Surgery



Ok, so the week that he was recovering was hell. I don't mean a little bit difficult. I mean HELL! Worse than newborn sleep added to constant crying, a trip to Children's Hospital, the worst breath you have ever smelled, AND the normal wear and tear of 4 other kids. It was beyond words. But we made it. And I don't want to relive it again. So part 2 is out. Sorry. If you need details, call me. I will happily share them when I have recovered... so in maybe the next decade or two.


In Recovery

A Multiple Part Series Part I

The last week has been an interesting roller coaster of emotion. We have had more drama than the Bachelor... and all of it was PG!
It started innocently enough with new fabulous hair! Every so often I need a bit of a change. Since I am too scared to pierce anything, I like to change the color of my hair. Last summer I went from "Dublin Mom" highlights to a deep reddish almost purple color. Loved it! And it was hard to keep that color. So after many shades of red (that Miss Clairol and I did), I decided to change it again. So on Tuesday I went to visit Miss Tara, our favorite local hair girl. Over the course of 3 hours, we changed the very red hair to mostly blonde with red still on the ends and then spruced with a nice cut. Love the color, love the cut. And still will be going for crazy blonde as the summer progresses. Stay tuned for it! Since it took 3 hours to get this fabulousness, Jacob was late for school. I wasn't sure what lie I would create for the hens that work in the front office. I decided to just tell them the truth. I think they thought I was lying though :) It was Jacob's first tardy and he was not too happy with me about it. Ah well, sorry sweet boy but beauty rushes for no one.
That evening we spent shopping for Jackson's favorite foods. The next morning he was going into surgery to have his tonsils and adenoids removed and the doctor told him that he is allowed to eat whatever he wants for 2 weeks after the surgery and doesn't have to eat anything healthy. I thought about punching the doctor but decided I wanted him in tip top shape if he was going to be working on my boyfriend. Finished shopping, went home, Tuesday was great... tra la la.
Then Wednesday arrived. VERY early. We had to be at the surgery center at 6:45am. It was 30 minutes away from my house. That is early in the morning. And I don't really care for mornings. But Jack had to do it too and I decided if he could be brave enough, so could I.
So we got to the center, filled out the paperwork, and waited for the nurses to take him back. The came and got him and took us to a little room. The nurse came and explained to him what they would be doing. Then she gave him a little cup of medicine to drink and told me he might look "a little drunk". I would say a more accurate description would have been stoned. He looked stoned. My sweet little 5 year old boy was stoned. And would have been funny had it been someone else's child. But he is mine. And I have been having nightmares about my future ever since! At one point I asked him if he felt ok. He looked at me, smiled, and said "I feel goooooood." Then he laughed about the mask he was decorating and made his fish dance. It was a regular pot party. The nurses came and got him and the fun ended there.
Next time I saw Jack, he was crying with a swollen face from the anesthesia. It was awful! No Mom should have to experience that. He was sad but seemed to be doing okay. He had eaten a popsicle and was now sipping ice water. Actually he was drinking ice water faster than the nurse and I could keep it filled. Then he crashed. He felt sick to stomach and got very pale. He said he just wanted to sleep. So he slept. Finally after an hour, the nurses were kind of kicking us out. They kept telling me he could go home now. I kept telling them I would take him when he could stay awake. Poor Sean was at home the whole time not really knowing what was going on. He got the occasional phone call, but I, of course, had not charged my phone so the battery was VERY low.
Finally we made it home. We were all exhausted emotionally and physically. Oh yeah, and Joshua was running a fever of 103 during all of this. It was fantastic!

He is a Genius

Conversations at our house are sometimes a test of one's patience and "willingness to play along". The most obvious questions to Sean and I are tedious at times, though asked seriously by our kids. Example. We were sitting at the table the other night and Jacob asked me if I know George Washington's middle name (not obvious or tedious. Actually a pretty good questions). I said that I don't but we can look it up. So he asked me if I know George Washington's last name. (Here come the irritating questions). I said yes. It is Washington. So he asked if I know George Washington's first name. Again I replied yes, it is George. Then he asked if I know Abraham Lincoln's last name. Then first name. The game is getting old and I have repeatedly pointed out the answer is in the question. So he finally asks if I know Abraham Lincoln's middle name. I told him that is a good question, different from the others, but I don't know his middle name. Jackson pipes up. "I know it", he says. Eager for this answer, we ask him what it is. He looks at us like we are clueless parents and answers, "Ham. His middle name is Ham. Abra Ham Lincoln". Genius.

Hair cutting #2

I am sitting here wanting to blog but couldn't decide what to write about. Jackson to the rescue! He is standing in the bathroom next to me talking to me in his towel, just out of a shower. He is holding a disposable razor that is sitting on the counter.
He asks, "are these little knives in here?"
"Yes... basically", I reply.
"Do they cut me?", he asks.
"Yep", I say.
"And they pull my hair", he answers back.
Now, I am a little taken aback by this statement. It seems an odd thing to say while holding the razor. So I tell him that they don't pull, they just cut.
"No, Mom, they pull too", he replies emphatically. "It pulled my hair when I put it on my head".
Head whipping toward him, I notice some strands of hair on the ground. I decide to not panic, as this is not my first hair related incident (I will explain at the bottom for those of you not privy to the hair cutting story of June 2009). Jack walks over to me and asks me to dry his hair with the towel. As I am drying, more hair is falling to the ground. I pick one up and show it to him. And I explain, again, that razors cut us and they will cut our hair. Jackson looks at me, a little astonished and says, "ooohhh" in his best 'oops, I really messed up voice'.
The hair isn't completely dry yet. I guess we will see how it looks when it is. I suppose it is no worse for the wear. He is going for that cool dude look (i.e. long hair) and this will just give it personality.
My Jack, ever keeping me on my toes.

So if you know the hair cutting story from last summer, no need to read on. This is just to give those who don't some insight into life with my boys and the reason for this title.

The setting is one morning in early June just after school let out for the summer. Sean is scurrying around the house getting ready to leave for New Jersey on a business trip. I am trying to help him finish with things. He calls for the kids to come downstairs so he can kiss them goodbye. Sydney walks down the stairs. He glances at her and asks her why her hair is wet but continues with what he is doing. I stop and stare at her head. Her hair isn't wet. It is gone. Gone, gone, gone. I ask her what happened to her hair. Then her brothers appear, each with large chunks of hair missing from their heads also. Turns out that the boys decided to cut each others hair a little. Then they decided to cut off ALL of Sydney's hair. Sean did his best in the remaining few minutes he had, then rushed out the door. I freaked out, sobbing, wondering what I did to make my boys turn out so awful. I was certain they were ruined and headed for a life of crime. I had to trim some of Syd's hair to try to even it out. They left strange chunks in it that could be fixed with more cutting. The boys spent the rest of the day in their beds. Then they had to have their hair shaved off to try to fix the patches they put in themselves.

Time always provides new perspective...
They didn't hurt her. In fact, Sydney liked getting her hair. Unfortunately, they cut it so short that only now does she kind of need a haircut.
They didn't hurt anyone else. Hair always grows back (except for Sean's, sorry babe :) and it really isn't that big of a deal.
My boys aren't ruined. They are boys. They are wild and crazy and full of ideas that never occur to me. And they are fun and happy and full of love.
So add disposable razors to that long list of things that the boys have been "curious" about. And pray for me. I still have another one that is only 1 year old. The end is no where near!

It has been an interesting week. I am gearing up for my youngest (and final!) baby's birthday. He will be 1 year old. How quickly it has passed! We were all incredibly bummed that Sean was going to miss it on Sunday because of a trip to Canada. As luck would have it, I cured that little trip with a trip of my own. I fell down the steps to our garage. Actually I just fell down one step. And now my entire foot is swollen and purple. I have been to the doctor twice and no one is certain how bad the damage is or what it will take to heal it.

On the way to taking Sean to work this morning Sydney had to use the potty. She was yelling from the back that she need to do poopies. She told us "not toots, poopies". At least she knows what she is doing! We got to Sean's work, he took her in and she got stage fright. Oh well.