Mommy Monday- TEENAGER!

It has finally happened. I have become the mother of a teenager. Where did the time go?

J1's birthday is to day and we celebrated this morning with birthday waffles.  He had his favorite meal of orange chicken and pork fried rice.  He chose a sophisticated turtle chocolate torte for his birthday cake.  We sang. He opened his gift and is now glued to the television playing a game on an actual school night. He is happy as a clam.

Poor J2 ended up getting sick after his birthday doughnut last Friday. I got a call right before my Chemistry class that he had gotten sick so I came home.  I ended up cleaning puke most of the day.  Later that night, J1 got sick at his scout camp out so I drove out and picked him up.  Then around midnight I got sick!  It was not fun.

We got a new cake for J2 and sang to him a day late even though I wasn't fully feeling well. He had fun and today we also gave him a belated gift.

All is well. What more could a mom ask?

Mommy Monday- March Madness

One peculiarity about my kiddos is that they were all born in March. While it is fun to celebrate all in one month it also makes it a bit crazy.  The boys' birthdays are first, followed by the girls. My poor youngest daughter has lamented that her birthday is too far away from the other kids birthdays, it is two weeks later.

Friday is the first birthday and I still have no idea what I am going to do for any of their birthdays. I have been so wrapped up in my classes and tests that it sort of snuck up on me this year.  I used to plan great parties for the older kids when they were little. Living in a fifth wheel makes such parties difficult.

We had a tradition of the birthday doughnut.  We used to do pancakes, but since my time has been more limited in the morning and doughnuts became more of a rarity around here, the birthday doughnut tradition was born. This also means we are all sick of doughnuts by April. Last year, A2 opted for a birthday bagel and A1 opted for blueberry waffles. So, I guess we have a new tradition once again.

 


They will get a choice of either me making them a cake/dessert or picking one out from the store. They also get to pick their favorite dinner that I have made. I do know that on Friday we will be having macaroni and cheese with hot dogs. It is not my favorite meal and is a mostly a hurry up and throw something together meal, but J2 loves it.

For the most part, March makes me remember how lucky I am to have four wonderful children. They help me to be thankful for the small things. They grow up way too fast. Somehow, this year I will become a  mother of a teenager. I don't think I am old enough to be the mother of a teenager! We will make it through somehow. I hope we are ready for it.

Mommy Monday- Hard Pill To Swallow

I've mentioned before about J1's IBD issues.  We got labs done early last week for him.  We saw his regular pediatrician on Thursday.  He has been having more pain lately along with headaches and some knee stiffness. So, of course his inflammatory markers were elevated. What we didn't expect was that they were doubled from the last time and they were already elevated then.  The pills he takes are bright blue and are huge. He takes two in the morning and evening and one at lunch time.  He has other medicine too but I'm not going to get into that. Who knows if they will end up changing them due to this recent flair up. I worry about him far more than he worries about himself, but I'm the mom and that's what I do.

The dreaded pills.

When we first got his pills he had never been successful in swallowing a pill before.  These capsules that he takes can't be crushed or chewed because they are time release and are not effective unless swallowed whole. I thought I'd share how we got him to be able to swallow pills, and a huge ones at that.

You want me to swallow that?

Okay, I guess I'll try.

So, I went to the store and bought micro mini marshmallows (the little dehydrated ones for hot chocolate packets), Tic Tacs,  Good and Plenty,  and Mike and Ikes. The Mike and Ikes are the closest in size to the pills he takes.

We started with the micro marshmallows, they dissolve fast and are really tiny. 

He tried swallowing those a couple of times with the help of some water. I had him put one as far back in this throat as he could and then take a sip of water.

Once he was successful with those, we moved to tic tacs, then Good and Plenty, then finally the Mike and Ikes.  It took several tries with each, but he finally did it. Now, he takes his pills with no issues.

I got this!

Mommy Monday- Stuck in Sunday

Mondays are the WORST.

As I was returning my library books today. I had an interesting exchange with the librarian at my community college. He is an older Hispanic gentleman who is very friendly and super helpful, he also has a touch of an accent. He asked me how I was doing. I said, "It's Monday." Then he said, "Mondays. De are bad because de always feel as if part of you is stuck in Sunday." Can I get an amen?

I apparently left my underwear, bra and shoes in Sunday. I forgot them all when I went to school today.  Now, don't get me wrong. I was wearing them when I left. I just forgot the extras that I bring to change into after my workout. Of course, I didn't realize they were missing until after I decided that a full on crazy 45 minute, sweat dripping off my face cardio workout was in order.  My underthings were drenched and I wasn't about to put them back on after my shower. So, I went commando for the first time in over a decade.

So, I went to all my classes, barreled through my first Biology test of the term, picked up my littles and headed home. I changed as fast as I could so that I could feel human again. I then went about trying to study so that I can hopefully pull an A in Chemistry. I also took time to argue about the true theme of Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Richard II in my online class.

Then, A2 and J2 decided that uncooked ramen would be a good snack.  Since I was absorbed I obliged them.  Then I look up and discover that the ramen is being crushed and scattered all over the couch and floor.  Next, I look up and the kids are playing with Legos.  Following that, suddenly the Legos are being flung all over as A2 desperately searches for just the right piece. Soon, A2 has grown tired of the Legos and wants to color. Of course, she decides that her markers and crayons are inadequate and she NEEDS to use the grown up pen/pencil stash. Now that entire stash is on the floor, along with the container and drawers pulled out. Since space is so limited in here it really looks like a bomb went off. I will spare you the carnage.

How such a small thing can make such a HUGE mess is a conundrum I don't think I will ever be able to solve.

Then, I got some more bad news but, that I am not going to regale you with.  I hope your Monday was better than mine, if you remembered your underwear, be happy because your day was better than mine.

Mommy Monday

I really suck at being a blogging mother. I don't like to post about the things that my kids do when I don't know who will be reading everything.

They are all doing well. Those who are in school are getting good grades. The one that isn't in school is currently feeling a bit sick but still a sweetie.  Here's a picture from Christmas morning. Please note how they got in the Christmas spirit by turning their eyes red. Guess I will have to fix it when I have time... or not.

Mommy Monday- Thankful

In honor of Thanksgiving on Thursday, this week will be a 'I'm thankful for' theme feature each day according to topic.

Can I just say that my kids are awesome? I am so thankful to be their mother. I'm thankful for my kids. They make me laugh everyday.

J1- Is growing into a fine young man.  He is developing a good work habit at school and scouts.  He endures his affliction well and is finally starting to not take himself so seriously.  He still loves to give me hugs and I love it.

A1- Is my darling girl who just wants to be loved.  She is sensitive, like her mom, and is mindful of other's feelings.  She loves to sing and has a beautiful voice. She is doing great in school and makes me so proud.

J2- Is such an outgoing and fun boy.  He loves to tell jokes even if they don't make any sense.  He is currently running laps at school so that he can earn rubber ducks.  He says he is going to win a ton and sell them all to make lots of money so we can buy a house with stairs.  He just melts my heart.

A2- Is my little shadow.  She is a little princess. She is always seeking me out for hugs and kisses.  She also loves babying the neighbor's cat and is always asking people if she can pet their dogs.

I didn't originally seek out motherhood, but it found me.  I am so grateful that they are a part of my life.  I think they have taught me more about love and compassion than I would have been able to learn on my own. I am eternally grateful that they are mine.

Mommy Monday- An Amateur

Why is it that despite being a mother for 12 years and having four children that they make me feel like an amateur mother?

I love my kids, I really do.  Their teachers love them, they are good in public.  I swear though that once they climb up our metal stairs and into our home, something clicks in their brains and they turn into little monsters.  I guess it means they feel safe to act however they want.  It also seems that their ears stop working. I have to ask them to do things three or four times. Even when I use love and logic, I still have to repeat myself over and over again.

Then suddenly, one of them will run over and give me a hug and a kiss. They tell me that I am the best mom ever and my heart just melts. And everything is right with the world.

Mommy Monday - mom blog

Being a mom is like writing this blog; half the time I don't know what the heck I'm doing and other times I get it just right.

This would be one of those, I don't know what the heck I'm doing times.

But, I must be doing something right because my kids still like to bring me flowers.

Mommy Monday and Trailer Trash Tuesday-Halloween

Two posts in one, the holiday yesterday decreed it so!

I've always loved Halloween. I love it even more now as a mother.  It is fun finding out what the kids want to be. I also can't help but notice what their choices say about their personalities.

This was the first Halloween that I didn't spend any money on Halloween costumes.  The kids kept changing their minds but finally settled on what they wanted to be.

J1 decided he wanted to be a military commando. So I dressed him up in my BDU pants, army boots, and a brown shirt.  He also toted around a play M-16.  I tried to convince him to wear some camo paint on his face but he refused.  This year was probably his last Trick or Treating.

A1 wanted to be something pretty. I told her that she was pretty all the time and that wouldn't be much of a costume.  She just rolled her eyes at me.  She finally decided she wanted to be a secret agent/spy.  So she donned my black fedora, and put my black trench coat over a sleek black dress with black tights and her shiny black flats.  I also let her wear my sunglasses. She was pretty and pretty happy too.

J2 wanted to be a Knight.  His costume took the most work.  I made him a tunic out of some leftover felt I had from super hero capes and sewed a shield on the front of it.  I was going to put a design on the inside of the shield but he didn't want anything on it.  I made him a helmet/visor out of a milk jug, paper, cardboard, hot glue and silver paint. I also used some brads so that his visor could go up and down.  I then put a belt over his tunic, tucked in his sword and handed him his shield.  I also had him put on his black rain boots to top it all
off.

A2 wanted to be a princess. So, I asked my SIL in AZ if she could send  me some of the tutus that she made. I forgot to bring some back the last time I was in AZ.  She happily said yes.  She sent me not one but three tutus.  Abby chose to be a rainbow princess.  I put her in a white peasant type shirt with a red shrug.  She also wanted to wear her green legwarmers on her arms, so I let her.  I had a crown for her, but it wouldn't stay on, but she was happy without it.

The downtown area businesses always have Trick or Treating so we headed there.  We went with my BIL and his family along with some friends from church.  We had a lot of fun.  The weather was nice and clear and warmish.

We headed back to BIL's house for dinner.  DH and I were exhausted.  I had to run a mile and a half for my wellness class earlier in the day, which was followed by regular classes and a midterm in my Art History class. Ammon had three tests for Spanish along with his Nursing classes.  The kids had a good amount of candy, so we called it good.

BIL was a trooper though and decided to take all his kids and ours minus the two little girls and went to Trick or Treat at the mall, the church, and various houses.  So now they have a huge supply of candy.  The kids were super excited when they got home, and said they had a blast.

All in all, it was a pretty nice day.

Living in the RV makes it so that we don't have any TOTer's that come here. I'm looking forward to having a house in the future where I can pass out candy.  It is just a fun holiday tradition to dress up as anything you want and get treats for doing it.  The funnest treat is spending the time with my kids, as cliche as that may be, and enjoying these memories with family and friends.

Mommy Monday- An Unexpected Surprise

My body trembled and shook as I breathed and moaned through the intense contraction. Sweat dripped off of my skin in droves as if I had been running a marathon. My husband was dashing around trying to get everything ready for the baby’s imminent arrival. 

It was a couple days until my due date and my midwife was running late. Where the heck was she! She knew that once the contractions became almost intolerable that the baby would be here quickly. I was angry. This was my fourth pregnancy, so we knew by experience that it would be time soon. I was trying very hard not to push. 

 A primitive sound escaped my mouth. Panic was trying to creep into my mind. The pain was unrelenting. Without warning I heard an internal pop and felt the baby’s head slip into the birth canal. I yelled for my husband. This baby was coming whether we were ready or not. I let my body take over and do what it was made to do. With a gush of water and no other fanfare, my youngest daughter was born. I gently cradled her in my arms and she looked up at me with her bright innocent eyes. In that moment, I was happy.

That amazing experience, along with many others, has shown me that happiness is often found in some of the most unusual circumstances. I have also discovered that I am best able to recognize happiness after feeling an emotion that is one of the polar opposites of happiness. For instance, despite the anger, pain, and intense non-happy feelings experienced during the labor and delivery of my fourth child; an incredible sense of peace, love and happiness was mine at the end of it all. 

 I find that happiness is found within ourselves regardless of where we are geographically located. My definition or idea of happiness best coincides with a Denis Waitley quote. He sums it up perfectly, “Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude.”

Mommy Monday- Happiness Amid Misery

Wow, I don't know what I was thinking, but trying to blog on a Monday has proved to be the most difficult.  Add to that blogging about being a mom and that just doubles the problem.  So, I think the next four weeks on Monday, I will post a story about one of my kids.  This is a paper I wrote in my first Writing class, two years ago involving J1:

Happiness Amid Misery

The walls were a cold, blank white.  The room was quiet except for the whir and occasional beep of a machine. The lights were dimmed for the comfort of the little inhabitants of this place. He was encased in a plastic box with a lid like a bread box.  Wires ran from all the essential parts of his body. A tiny hand clenched my finger, making me feel as if I were a giantess.  As I lifted him from his clear case that eerily resembled Snow White’s coffin, I felt a jolt pierce through my heart. How was it that such a small thing could elicit such a strong emotion from me?  My firstborn son snuggled into the crook of my arm and happiness was mine.

Across the room a loud burst of beeping machines heralded an emergency. Nurses bolted into the room, followed by frantic doctors.  A tiny life was slipping away.  Time seemed to slow down.  My heart thudded in my chest in agony for the little child and its parents.  The alarms seemed to speed up and the doctor’s movements quickened. Suddenly, there was silence. The air was thick with grief. Here in the NICU  misery and happiness were companions and distanced by mere feet.

Eric Wiener says, “’Misery serves a purpose’ says psychologist David Myers. He’s right. Misery alerts us to dangers. It’s what spurs our imagination” (323). Statements like that infuriate me. Specifically, the last part really gets my goat. Misery serves many purposes, the least important being my imagination.   Most of those who have experienced true misery rightfully avoid it like the plague. Some like Eric Wiener, witness misery and try to minimize it by claiming it as a sort of Muse.  I do agree that it does alert us to dangers, but more importantly it can help us recognize and appreciate happiness.  Have you ever noticed that those who have experienced tragedy and misery and ‘escaped’ are some of the wisest and dare I say happy people you’ve ever heard of or met? Mother Teresa, for one, comes to mind. Do I think you have to have misery to experience happiness? No. I do, however, feel that to really appreciate happiness and embrace it, you need to be able to have something to contrast it against.  I’m not saying that you should go and seek out opportunities to experience misery; life will provide its own without any help.

My trip to the NICU that day taught me many things about life, especially relating to misery and happiness. Firstly, that happiness and misery in life can be a literal heartbeat away.  I may have forgotten that moment of happiness with my son, if it had not been etched into my memory because of the tragic event of that day. Even though I did not know that infant or its family, I was able to witness the misery and then truly be grateful and happy for the moment I did have with my son. Secondly, I learned that a tiny, helpless newborn can instantly change your views on the world, but more importantly that all life is precious, no matter how short.  In turn, small moments of happiness, no matter how short are precious and should be acknowledged as such. For me, tallying up all the tiny moments of happiness in a day does wonders for my overall happiness and contentment with my life. I will always be grateful to the unnamed newborn that lost its life that day. That little baby taught me that each microsecond matters. So for me, that life, though cut short, helped me unlock the keys to happiness in my own life.

Today I am faced with the mortality of my firstborn son, once again.  He is now ten years old and has recently begun experiencing debilitating abdominal pain and has been rapidly losing weight. The most likely culprit seems to be something that could eventually kill him if left unchecked. Luckily, we have access to a great doctor and medical facility in Portland. Unfortunately, at this time, we do not have a definitive diagnosis. We will soon face another blank white room and hopefully discover what if anything we can do to cure him. Misery will be there again caused by the waiting and the agony over the unknown and things I cannot change. Surprisingly, at times like these, all the tiny moments of joy come flooding back: a hug here, a little kiss there.  Like a mini movie in my head I think about the times he met each of his siblings, the first time he scored a goal in a soccer game, each of his birthdays, the first time he learned to ride a bike and his unforgettable performance as Tom Turkey in second grade. All these moments, though lasting just a short time individually, have already added up to a lifetime of joy.  So, I know that happiness will be there too, because right now, I have a son who knows he is loved and that makes all the difference. 

Works Cited

Weiner, Eric (2009). The Geography of Bliss. New York: Twelve.

Update: J1 still has an unofficial diagnosis of IBD but is on medication. He does great as long as he remembers his medicine.  Those huge blue pills are a constant reminder of his and my own mortality. I hope to use this reminder to be courageous in how I live my life.  I hope you can find the courage to be happy in yours.

Mommy Monday

Too busy being a mom to blog about being a mom. :P
So here are some pictures of my cuties from our last trip to the beach before school started: