Drummond Family Thanksgiving Photos Finally

http://picasaweb.google.com/kimdrummondthomas/200911ThanksgivingOk#  Click on this link to see the pictures of Thanksgiving at

I have been slow to post pics from Thanksgiving, and have been off the blog for a few weeks because I think my body was trying to do me in.  I had sinus surgery on 12/1, where the doc decided to take tonsils too, then got pheumonia in the healing process.  Last night I blew my nose and a bone came out of my nose (sorry, this is gross I know).  Anyway.  This is the link to our recent Thanksgiving pics, and more will be coming soon.  I feel like I am just going to wake up one day and have a spring in my step again... hopefully soon!

Merry Merry!

GO Pokes! Our Little OSU Fan - Pistol Pete is a superhero

The Oklahoma rivalry game is tomorrow. It is a Thanksgiving tradition. I am the only person in my immediate family that went to OSU (OK State). My parents and siblings all went to OU (sooners). My oldest boy thought Pistol Pete was a superhero. He had a orange OSU shirt with a large Pistol Pete mascot on the front and back. He wanted to wear it every time it was clean. When we visited Papa, he was told "Pistol Pete is an outlaw... a bad guy!" He was a serious kid who thought deeply about everything, so this information troubled him. We all have fun with the rivalry. Papa loves to buy sooner gear for my kiddos, and we love to wear our OSU gear when we visit. This year is the first year that we actually have the upperhand. We play on Sooner turf though, so it is not a easy win, if we can pull it off. My kids are in the spirit though. GO POKES!

Trick or Treat in our world - Too Much Fun

Halloween was a blast. Halloween was a blast. Halloween was a blast… I clicked my heels and told myself this as if I needed to convince myself of this fact this year. And if I watched it through the eyes of my children, it was a real blast. Through the eyes of this exhausted mommy, it was a little overwhelming. For starters, I visited the doctor first thing on Friday 10/30 for some antibiotics to start the week-end. A mommy needs to be in tip top shape on Halloween, and tip-top, I was not. I am tough though, and I love my children, so I will get my strength up for a busy week-end. We will have some daggum fun, no matter what. If I come back in another life, I would like to be my children, or my mom’s dogs, because they all have a pretty good life.

First… this crazy mom decided to schedule Ben’s birthday party at Pump It Up on Friday the 30th. What was I thinking? Actually, like I usually do, I scheduled it before I looked at our master calendar. I also had to do it because Ben was to have his tonsils out on November 5, and it is over a month past this 4th baby’s birthday and I put it off as long as I could. Since his birthday a month ago, he has had a few emotional moments out of the blue, when it hit him that we forgot to have a birthday party. We missed this last year too, because of this little hurricane named IKE that rolled through around his birthday, and prior to that, his birthdays were smaller because he was one and two and didn’t know the difference. This year was the first year he knew he should have a party, and he felt he was missing something. We would hunker down and persevere. That’s what we do in the Thomas / Grizwold familia. We love our kiddos, so we keep going… and going… and going… and then we go some more!

When I first saw that Halloween was to fall on a Saturday, I thought it would be fun. We would have the WHOLE day to celebrate… I then realized that our Saturdays are always crazy with sports and activities, and Halloween is such a busy day too. I am so tired of missing these special moments because I am holding on so tight to the roller coaster that is our life these days.

Note to self… It is okay to miss an event. Everyone doesn’t have to be in a sport every single possible season. It is okay to miss a 5 yr old soccer practice. The world will not end for any of this, and I know it, but I am one who sticks to the plan because it is easier than ever ever saying “No”. I need to try to say “no” more often. That is my goal. I know, I know… I will never do it, but it is a calming thought.

Our Saturday schedule included a all day horse show, starting at 7:30am, where Maggie was to dress a horse up in a costume, then participate in several fun games on a horse. I dodged the bullet on the horse costume, because I told John the wrong amount to write the check for, so we did not pay the fee for the horse costume. You should see this parade of horses in costumes. I have enough on my plate without the need to make a costume to fit a horse. That just made me laugh. How would I make a costume for a horse?  I thought. Some of these kids (and likely their moms) had some very creative ideas. My personal favorite was the black horse that was dressed up to be a poodle. He did not like that costume one bit. It was adorable, and probably took the most time to make, but it was not for the horse on that day. More on the horses later. I still laugh when I look at these pictures. These poor horses. They were good sports though, for the most part.
Maggie won ribbons for 1st place in a pole bending event where she winded back and for th between the poles in a relay race mixed with all levels of riders (so the older faster girls could make up the time for the beginners). She won 2nd place for a cup relay, where they did a similar relay, passing a cup back and forth, then 4th place for a pole jumping course, and a 5th place ribbon for the apple bobbing event (where they rode in a relay, got off the horse bobbed for an apple, then carried the apple to the other side, then the next rider started). Maggie costed her team a few points because her mouth is a little small for the apples so she had a lot of trouble grabbing that apple w/ her teeth. It was at the end of this event, when my friend’s husband, who is a dentist asked if we had our H1N1 shots. Oh NO! I didn’t even think about the germs in that bucket of water… say a prayer that there was not any H1N1 in that bucket of apples. (Please, Please)

I had duty at the horse show all day. We arrived at 7:30am, and returned home around 3:30, after Maggie insisted on stopping off at Petsmart on our way home to procure a costume for Marshmallow the dog. We just can’t stop! While Maggie and I were playing with the horses, John was to take the boys to Anthony’s baseball game, the little’s soccer game, and a birthday party. Soccer game canceled for rain, which I have learned is not always a good thing, because the rain out make up games all get piled at the end, and we have a crazy week (unlike our normal crazy week). Anyway, they were busy, but they left the house a couple of hours after us and stopped for pizza and still beat us home by over an hour, so I would say we won on the business of the day. Maggie was so happy though. She arrived home with all 4 medals around her neck, gave her daddy a hug, and asked him if he would start an account to save to buy her a horse. What daddy could say no to that? Her daddy, that is who. He didn’t say no, but I could tell in his eyes he is not on board. He will be…He just has no idea! His little girl loves horses like no other. I fear the day that Daddy gives in, but one day, he will not be able to look at those eyes that have been longing for a horse as long as I can remember and not try to do something about it. BUT… She must first learn to walk that dog that she was dying to have for Christmas.

And...We are just beginning the real part of Halloween… TRICK Or TREAT!

It was a lovely evening, kids were happy...

Maggie is my creative child. She has always been. She never wore her princess costumes as they came. She was always mixing and matching with another costume, some cowboy boots or a piece of a bathing suit or pajamas. This year, she picked out a angel costume and wanted to turn it into a ghost costume. This involved giving that sweet face ghost make up. In the end, I think she was a cross between a mad scientist and a ghost, but we tried, then she got ahold of the make up and worked her creativity. She was happy, and as always, cute Maggie. Did I say cute enough?

Ben bought a policeman costume, but switched to a Fireman hand me down from Anthony’s 4 yr old days. Being the 3rd boy and 4th child in a family that loves to dress up (thanks to Maggie), he has a closet full of hand me down costumes to choose from.

Alexander was Darth Vader all the way. He loves to dress up too. Although the costume we picked out at the store was Darth Vader, he has two other Star Wars costumes (Storm Trooper and Luke Skywalker), and during the week, he tried them all on for size, but in the end, stuck with Darth. He was happy as Darth Vader

Anthony is now at the age where he doesn’t really want to wear a costume – he doesn’t want to look uncool. He does like candy though, so he was torn between a baseball player, football player, or Dracula. In the end, his love of OSU football won, and he was a OSU cowboy football player for trick or treat (same as last year). This year, sadly, our cowboys team was in the process of losing a football game while the trick or treating was going on, so he got a lot of comments from those nasty Texas fans. For a moment, he thought he was stuck in that costume… and our team’s loss was looking more final. We ended the evening watching the end of the game inside. It was a sad ending to a fun day.

This tired mom’s head hit the pillow pretty hard at the end of this busy day! Tomorrow, I may not move at all – ha! Even if I could manage that, I wouldn’t know how!

To Be a Kid at Halloween Again… age 4 … Can it get any better?

It was one of  THOSE days.  I was just about to lose my mind today. It was one of those days when it seemed that just as I was about to catch my breath from the last crisis, someone screamed "MOMMMM!!". Actually, they did nothing wrong.  I was just a little overwhelmed today.  I know it isn't the end of the world, but I was just tired and needed a moment, but a moment was not meant to be today –had to teach college, busy schedule, dental appointment, Monday homework, baseball practice, busy schedule, 4 kids, and the regular Monday get our house back in order (or less messy), AND THEN…

My two littlest littles played this card… "Mommmm… LOOK!"  They were trying out their halloween costumes and were gushing with excitement.

It made me smile in the craziness of this day. I needed it. I snapped a few pictures, and almost forgot the mound of laundry and upcoming baseball schedule.

Then, Anthony asked me for his one favorite pair of baseball socks, and I was sucked back into the chaos and stress. I absolutely hate baseball socks and soccer socks. It seems we always lose one, and we can't substitute just any old sock, which means my normal method of "just punt" doesn't work here. We must sift through loads of laundry (clean & dirty – yuck!) looking for that one lost sock. And my oldest has a thing about underwear and socks… when they don't fit right, he is impossible to live with. I will never forget when he was only 3, and he awoke one morning in a fit because his underwear was too small. It was as if his little hiney had grown overnight. He was so dramatic in showing me, squirming all around in his utter discomfort, and I couldn't help but crack up…

And here is where Ben found the whistle.  That whistle... he blew it nonstop until bedtime.  He just blew...

and blew and blew...I have to remember the laughter on days like today. I know that the baseball sock is not the worst problem, but tell that to Anthony on a game day. Anthony dumped all of the clean and dirty laundry together in a mound on my bed… Yikes… that means my day of laundry progress is down the tubes. In the end, we found the daggum sock (thank you), and baseball only lasted an hour instead of three hours thanks to the early sundown. At the end of the day, I can look at my messy house, piles of laundry, and in exhaustion, I look at this...

… and I smile!

I will get to the laundry mess tomorrow.  

We may have to lose the whistle before the 31st, but his happiness makes me smile. 

Oh… to be four again. 

The Little’s First Soccer Game - The Ben & Alex Team

Ben has been waiting for a year to get a call from his coach…

 He started asking during fall sports last year and the other kids were getting calls from their coaches for their new teams. I put off signing this 4^th child up for sports as long as I could. If he wasn't the 4^th, he might not know he was missing it, but since his Saturdays have been consumed with siblings' sports since his birth, he has been anxiously awaiting. With 4 kids in sports, our Saturdays are no longer ours. They are owned by sports fields and activities. We went to our first soccer practice for older brother Alexander, and I started scheming to find a team for Ben that practiced at the same time, thus eliminating one practice from our schedule. I then thought about the kids on Alexander's team. Some wouldn't even go on the field, some were smaller than Ben. Even though Ben is almost 2 years younger than these players, would anyone really know the difference? Does it really matter at this age? I consider it a huge success that I was able to get Ben "played up" to Alexander's soccer team, and we now have only one practice and one game for the 2 of them. Ben is certainly big enough, but he really has no idea how to play. Hopefully, his brother, who is usually the fastest on the team, will overshadow Ben's lack of direction.

The bottom line is that this move was all about reducing the madness of our schedule for Mom… but really for all of us. I think it will be okay. Right? In the first game, we only had 6 players show up, so all the kids had to play the entire game with no bench time.

Alexander was once again one of the fastest and scored a goal.  And Ben...

Look at this face of confusion... you can just see his little brain trying to figure it out.  He is only 4 afterall, even though he looks like he is six.  Ben wore out before the end, and he basically wandered aimlessly during the game. They don't keep score in YMCA soccer – Everybody Plays & Everybody Wins! Better games will come… I know it!

We Found the Gorilla Glue... Office Organization Project

Those without children, or without small children are probably getting tired of my stories about Ben. These things really happen… like almost every day here. He either has a future as a brilliant engineer or as a criminal of sorts… his mind is constantly going!

What Hubby Said That Started it All…

The story began when my sweet husband returned home from baseball practice with 9 yr old Anthony at around 8:30 Thursday evening. My mind officially turns to mush at 8:31pm, and if kids are not in bed, I get grumpy. This poses a problem as Anthony gets into more competitive sports, and the older kids have the later practice and games since the league only has so many fields. I had the other 3 kids quietly in bed, and was ready to start my Thursday night ritual of internet and Grays Anatomy, and the season premiere of Private Practice. YES - I do have DVR, but I like the excuse to sit down at a set time on Thursdays and Sundays. I usually don't make it until 8:30, as I am tardy with almost everything I attempt these days. As I was in mid sitting stance, ready to begin my "me time" (ha-what is that?), John announced that we need to find a better place for the kids to do their homework. Maggie usually does her homework at the dining room table, and Anthony uses either the kitchen table or the sofa in the living room. We also have a large desk in the office, but I will admit, our office is often a cluttered mess, that often resembles Sanford & Sons. Both twins are good to get their work done, and keeping them separate during homework time is essential. We all agree on that fact. On Thursday, after baseball game, and after I turned into a pumpkin, Anthony proceeded to start his homework on the sofa, and he was hunched over the coffee table. I agree, this looks to be uncomfortable, and he would be more comfortable at a desk or table. After a day full of activity, I was brain dead by this time, so I didn't even notice to be honest.

My reply to John was that he did not have to sit at that table. The dining table was available, and there was the kitchen table (may have had a few things on it at the time), and the office. John came back something like "the office desk is usually too cluttered to do anything" – I will admit this is true. I have had a vision for creating a work area for the kids on one side of our office. One wall has John's grandfather's large antique desk, and a inexpensive computer armoire. The other wall was a cluttered mess. I had a large TV armoire that was taking up a lot of space, but was not needed as we never (and probably shouldn't) watch TV in the office. Most of the armoire was a storage for things I didn't have time to find a place for. Beside that was a huge pile of things we need to get rid of, but I need to decide what to do – donate, sell, trash? I had grand plans of a giant ebay listing, but I don't have time to meet the bottom level or our hierarchy of needs these days. But, it still annoyed me that this father of my children would actually call me on my mess. How dare he? It also bugged me that he was so right. I hate it when they are right!

… Then my head spun, and I Turned Into My Mom… I was on a Mission…
I couldn't sleep that night. I knew he was right. I knew we were not terribly organized with their school work, and I was operating on faith that someone would alert me if we missed something major. If something happened to me in my sleep, my mother would be horrified at the state of this household. All of these thoughts were running through my head as I drifted off to sleep. He really only said one thing – didn't make a big deal of it, but it really sent me off on a mission. I awoke at 3am and decided to tackle the mound of school papers that had accumulated in, I swear, less than a week. There had been a couple of times when kids were needing a paper that they left here or there, and I would dig through this mound that I had formed in the kitchen of papers that I pick up here and there. It was pathetic – I am sorry Mom. Friday would be my one and only day last week with no kids and no commitments. I would get this ship in order. I would and I did! I would show him! I had actually had this vision of creating this area for the kids for some time and had most of the supplies in the garage, but never had the time or the priority of my time to follow through.

I worked tirelessly during the entire school day Friday to clean out clutter, try to purge the office of unnecessary clutter. I then called our yard man who has helped me move heavy items before, and asked if he could come help me move this giant armoire. I called at 11, and he said he could come by at 3. But… by 1pm, I had the thing empty, and I wanted it gone. It had these soft "sliders" on the bottom, so I thought it pushed kind of easy on the wood floors. I will get it to the door, I thought, then I could move forward with the office, and Howard would arrive later to get it to the garage. But… when I got to the front door, I thought "I am WOMAN, Hear me Roar", I can get this out on my own. Once I got from the wood floors to the front porch, to the sidewalk, to the driveway… to the garage, I was using everything I had to move the darned thing. I remember my mom doing the same thing - pushing large items with her feet while sitting… anything to get the thing moved. I was on a mission now, and my mom comes out in me when I get in mission mode.

When John arrived home, the armoire was gone, the ebay boxes were scaled down to one tub, and the desk area was clean. He was impressed. He went to bed early, and I couldn't stop there. I then proceeded to the garage where I started to build a long desk table for the kids in our office. I had purchased a desktop (6 ft x 2 ft) and some sturdy table legs a while ago with this in mind. I assembled the table, and worked to get it sturdy, then told myself to let it be for now. I would tackle painting or staining this later.

We had a busy morning of sports on Saturday. Anthony had clean up at our school with his Cub Scout troop at 8am. Alexander and Ben played in their first soccer game at 11:30, and Anthony had to be at Baseball field at 12pm for a 2pm game.

On the way home  I picked up 3 wooden chairs that were not an exact match at a resale store, and would paint them all black so they match. I am on a mission and I can't stop until it is done! John was a little under the weather, so he took a nap after our activities, and kids were playing, so I went back to the project… help me now - I am obsessed. I couldn't stand it. I had to make more progress. I painted the kid's desk, hung shelves, and started getting the area set up. And then, I used Glue for something... BIG MISTAKE!
And The Mystery of the Gorilla Glue – Fun Saturday Night entertainment!
Now is where it gets interesting. John napping, Kids playing, and Kim trying to make progress… I turned around for a split second and the GORILLA GLUE that I had just used was GONE! I still had the lid in my hand, so where ever it was, it was topless. Gorilla Glue in our house with no lid is a definite hazard. After I looked igh and low for the bottle, I called to Ben. After some interrogation, he did admit to putting it in his truck and then he couldn't remember where he went or which truck. We looked in every truck we could find. He was so puzzled and bless his heart, he was no help at all, but he was really trying to find the glue. I sent out a red alert to the whole family that there was a missing bottle of gorilla glue with no lid somewhere. The dog was banned to the crate as it was raining outside and I feared if she got the gorilla glue, it would kill her. That stuff foams up and would just seal her throat shut! I was now in panic mode. By dinner time, there was still not sign of the glue. I offered a reward to all kids. After kids were in bed, I vowed to get the glue before I went to sleep. I searched and pulled tables and chairs away, and still not luck. I eventually returned to my project in the office, determined to get to a stopping point so that I didn't have more dangerous items out the next day. John was sick in bed, so what the heck! It was about 1:30 am when I went into our guest bathroom to wash my hands from paint. Out of the corner of my eye, behind the shower curtain, I saw something. It was the TRUCK… with a open bottle of Gorilla Glue. Yippeee…

But My Mom is Pretty Amazing – Look what happens when she comes out in me. I was then committed to get this project to a stopping point and not do anything else with Ben lurking around. What the heck... I will go ahead and finish (most).  Then I don't have to get pain on me tomorrow, and I don't have to stay up all night searchin for Gorilla Glue.  Good News is I have a somewhat orderly office with a space for us to work, and a space on the other side of the room for the kids to do homework. Quiet places are hard to find in our house, but at least they can go into the office and shut the door if they need to concentrate. I can't believe how much more they are doing in 4^th grade than I was at their age. Whew… Now I will melt into my bed.  I should have taken  before / after pictures but I am not sure I want to see the before take in a photo...
The reason I say that my mom came out in me is because Mom is known for her ability to get things into shape in record time.  She may sweep a lot of things into drawers or cabinets and you may never find them again, but she can transform a house in a short period.  She is a machine.  I usually think I don't have much of that in me, but occasionally, if I get mad enough about something, it comes out.  It probably wouldn't be great for our marriage, but hubby could probably get a lot of projects of high center by hitting my nerves a bit with his comments... thankfully, he doesn't do this often.  It doesn't take much these days.  Although I hated that he was so right about our Sanford & Sons office, I do feel good that it is now organized.  I can do a few more tweaks, but it is a nice workable space, and hopefully we can keep it somewhat uncluttered.

Baby Luke -- I want to pinch his cheeks!

My sister had her first baby last night.  She has been waiting for this moment for so long, and the little guy made her wait 2 days past her due date, but when he arrived, he made it well worth her while.  Look at this face... who wouldn't fall in love with this guy immediately.  I am 500 miles away, and I am already in love.  I know what a hospital room is like.  People are coming and going, and she is trying to bond with this baby and recover, and for that reason, I have only called her one time.  I hope that she doesn't think I am not thinking of her, because it is taking everything I have not to abandon my own little munchkins to come hold this sweet baby.
I would do this, except, well, Ben is sick, and this is our first week-end of Fall Sports, where we have 3 games on Saturday.  I will get there soon though... I promise... wait for me Luke.  Aunt Kim is coming.  Don't you grow up until I get there.  Okay?
Holly and Mark just look so happy.  I know they are.  They have planned out this birth better than anyone I know.  Baby Luke, you are such a lucky guy.  These parents of yours will give you anything you want cutie! 

Ben and Alexander were pretending to have a conversation with Luke's pictures on the computer today.  They were saying, "Do you want to play, Luke?  Let's play!  How about playing trucks?"  It was priceless.  We all can't wait to meet Luke.

We also love you Holly and Mark.  Get used to it.  From now on, Luke is the star.  Princess... I am afraid you now have a little prince to compete with.  We love you all!

Our Journey to this Life – Part 1

How Did We Get Here?
I am not sure who I am writing this for. This started as my nostalgic focus as my baby boy turns 4 years old and proclaims he is not a baby any more. I digressed into the memory of all of my children as babies… then thoughts of life before babies… then life before we were married. How does life move this fast? I guess I am really writing for myself and my sanity. I was never very good about keeping a journal, and I failed at scrapbooking miserably, though I still have some fantasies of catching up quickly with digital scrapbooking.
Anyway… Our Journey…It seems like we somehow just snapped our fingers and… Poof… we were in this chaos of a family of six. John and I started dating about 20 years ago, and we have never stopped running on the treadmill of life. I have always thought " after this next phase… things will slow down, and we stop and enjoy life". All of the sudden, twenty years later, that first phase seems so slow and peaceful, though at the time we thought we were soooo… busy. What I thought was busy then was not so busy at all, looking back.
I thought I had surely paid my dues when I was all of 26 years old. I thought that the hardest work I would ever do was behind me. Man, how stupid I must have sounded! I remember a cousin of my dad's who is a prominent attorney calling me on it. He is a very successful attorney with his own firm in Houston. He speaks Russian, and has done business internationally. He has 3 kids, including twins, who are grown, and still works very hard. I was newly married, about 5 years out of college, and was working as a restaurant manager at la Madeleine, where I believed I was very important. I naively commented that I had paid my dues (in the first couple of years after college), and he laughed – how stupid this must have sounded to someone who had been working hard for some 40 years! My life was only beginning. I had worked a lot of grueling hours and had done some very hard work, and I thought I was done! This would surely be the toughest part of my life. Ha!

Back to our Journey…John and I…We met in college at a Steve Miller Band concert in Oklahoma City. I was with my girlfriends, and he was with a group of guys that one of the girls I was with knew from high school. It was a very brief meeting, pretty uneventful for both of us. We were invited to meet this group later, but for a reason I cannot recall, we never went to the meeting location. That was it. It was just a blip in a fun summer of parties and fun. As the fall semester started at OSU (Oklahoma State University), somehow it came up in a conversation with my roommate, Amy, that I had met this person John. She knew him from Student Government, which I had no interest in, and that was the end of the conversation. She asked me a few questions about it, and that was it. She was like that… she always asked a lot of questions. She was just a thinker… always thinking…because that is what thinkers do!

About Amy (she was a key player in this journey):
My friend Amy was (and still is) a very smart, very motivated individual. She is one of the smartest people I know. She took Chinese classes at OSU (which was very unusual). She speaks Chinese, and went to school in China for a semester in college, just because she is smart and she had this vision of Chinese being an asset in her future. I remember that my goal in life at the time was to major in Hotel and Restaurant Management, with a minor in Spanish, because I thought it would be fun to work in Barcelona at the Olympics. Never mind that the Olympics was only one summer, and that I had no goals beyond that. I am not sure why I chose the Olympics, as I was not even really a big sports fan. I met a girl from my sorority at a school in Kansas (K-State) who was also majoring in Hospitality, and I think we cooked up this goal to go to Barcelona. She got married after college though, and I needed a "real" job, so my dad told me, so the dream of the Olympics went to the wayside. I thought the fact that I had a goal was commendable – it is a little laughable to me now.

Amy came to OSU from University of North Carolina, and had gone to a private girl's school in high school. I had also gone to a private girl's school – though mine was a boarding school - Hockaday, and there were some behavior issues that landed me there, plus, my parents divorced when I was in 8^th grade, and I couldn't really find my happy place after that. Boarding school was actually the best thing I ever did. I didn't really acknowledge any of this in college, because the sorority might not have wanted me if they knew I had spent a night in the juvi in Pawhuska for stealing signs with my friends (funny story I will elaborate on later). Anyway, Amy and I connected through this common thread of perceived intellect and prominence of girl's school graduates. We were not quite as peppy as a lot of the girls in our sorority, and we just clicked. The difference was that Amy was really an intellectual, and I was not at all. She was also very interested in politics, and I really had no concept of this. I was in awe of her intelligence.

I think she must have thought I was as smart as she was when we met. Actually, I was reasonably smart, but just not very motivated or mature at the time. She must have been so disappointed when she realized that I was in college for fun, and was not terribly driven as a student. Anyway, Amy tried to motivate me academically, and she also tried to drag me along in her effort to network. I was not mature and didn't really understand networking. I just sort of wandered where the action lead me, with no real plan in mind. You could say I was a follower. I was not a crazy partier at all, but I enjoyed being social, certainly much more than I enjoyed studying.
So how was Amy involved in this journey of mine? Amy was my roommate at the time. We had different circles of friends, but we really clicked for some reason. I don't even remember who I was dating or interested in at the time, but I recall that Amy did not necessarily approve. All of the sudden, Amy started coming home, telling me of this guy in her student government office that was asking about me. She talked about this a lot. In another world – John's world, there was this friend of John's, Chris telling him that I was asking about John a lot. The truth is that our meeting during the summer had been very brief and not that memorable. I remember that he was sunburned, and with a guy named Graydon that I knew through a home town connection, and that is about it. I am sure his memory of me was about the same. We really knew nothing of each other. For some reason though, Amy and Chris decided to become matchmakers, and continued this plot.
On October 10, 1989, the night of my 22^nd birthday, just after I returned to the sorority house from going out to dinner with my dad, I received a call from a guy named John. It started a little awkward. We didn't really know each other, and I was not expecting his call. Then, he asked what I was doing and I said it was my birthday, and all of the sudden he felt like he had missed my day, but really we didn't know each other so how would he have known it was my birthday. We talked for a while, and made plans for a date on October 12.

On October 12, we had our first date. There were a few coincidences that were chilling. First, over dinner, I learned that John grew up in Pawnee, Oklahoma, a town only about 40 miles from my home town. Next, John went away to a military school in Indiana for high school. In small town Oklahoma, this is a pretty rare coincidence. We grew up only a few miles from each other, then we both went away to boarding school, then we both end up at a college which is an agriculture school in the middle of Oklahoma, where the population of people who went to boarding school was very small. I never met anyone else in college who had this experience. It was an amazing coincidence – gave me chills! After dinner, we went to a movie at our college town theatre, which at the time likely only had 2 movies playing at the same time. We selected a movie by the name of Dead Poets Society (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Poets_Society) because Robin Williams was in it. I don't think either of us knew much about the movie… then as luck would have it, the movie was about a boarding school. What are the chances of that? Though this was a first date, and we barely knew each other, I felt incredibly connected to this guy -- This unknown guy who I had been set up with, though at the moment, we had not figured out the scheme of Amy and Chris.

John and I started dating at that point, and spending a lot of time together. In fact, this would be the semester in which I made the lowest grades ever. I would watch John Wayne movies or football games with him until late at night at his fraternity house, even though I had no interest in these things and I had a 7:30 am class the next day. I was in lala land for sure. Life was a blur from October until Christmas that year, and when my grades arrived during the Christmas break, I was in so much trouble.

We continued to date through the next couple of years of college, with no clear plans for a future together, but we had a great time, and just took it day by day. Neither of us was into planning at that point. I graduated a semester before him, and he had no clue what his plans were, so to proove that I didn't need a man, I accepted a job which lead me to St. Louis, Missouri, where I would be far away from this man... and I hated it! Subsequently, John graduated and went to graduate school in Houston, Texas. We were now over 20 hours away from each other and it was no fun.

He started sending me the classified ads for jobs in Houston --remember when we had to cut ads from the newspaper, and send our resumes through the mail? I accepted a job in Houston and started to make plans to move less than a year after moving to St. Louis. I still told myself that I was moving because of a fabulous job, and not because of a boy / man! I fooled nobody! While he was attending school, I was working very hard as a manager for a new restaurant group -- la Madeleine. He finished school, started working, and we were engaged a little while after that. By that time we had been dating close to 5 years. We were married in 1994, and I started my graduate school after a year. When I was almost finished, John announced that he was applying to law school. Yeah... we would be paying for college forever!

Help Me Help Me… My Baby is Turning 4

Ben is turning FOUR on Monday. He is our 4^th child – the 4^th in a 5 year span of pregnancies. The twins were a wild ride, then Alexander was born when the twins were only 3 ½, then Ben was a unplanned blessing, born when Alexander was only 20 months old. As a parent, we are not supposed to, and we really don't love one child more than another, but at different times, they capture our hearts in different ways. When they have birthdays, I seem to reflect on their entire lives from birth in some nostalgic way. Ben will be four on Monday, and I am settled into this state… only this is the last baby, so I may need more help snap out of it.

Also, he is my snuggliest one (I know snuggliest is not a word, but it should be). Ben keeps agreeing when we ask him to stay little. When school started in August, and Alexander went to kindergarten, I realized that this time I have with Ben on the 2 days a week he is not in preschool, is the first time I have ever had just one child. I have been savoring Tuesdays and Thursdays for the past month, realizing that this is what my friends with one baby had that I missed. I know I probably benefitted from a lot of moments that moms of singleton babies didn't, but this one on one time is amazing to me right now. I have never had it.

It is cold and rainy too, so we have had 'lots of snuggles this week. I am in real trouble. I am really having emotional issues. I am not just reflecting on the four glorious years of Ben's life, but on the entire 10 year journey that lead us to where we are now. I guess, because he is my last baby, I am realizing this is it… finale...end of the road… no more babies. I don't have any regrets about this. I know that I am stretched beyond my capabilities, and I can't even remember my name at the end of many days. For this reason, , and the fact that I do have a lot of work to do with these four to make them fit for society, it is a good thing that this baby factory is closed. But, I really will miss the babies in my life. I have had a baby for the past 9 ½ years, and now all of the sudden, no more babies.

I cannot imagine what life would be like without Ben. He is the master charmer of my crew. It seems it is always this one… the one that was not in our grand plan (not that we had a grand plan)… the one that my mom almost disowned me for conceiving… the one that caused me to cry when I realized I had conceived him – my 4^th baby in 5 years…. It is this one that absolutely wraps himself around your heart in a way that changes everything about you. For that matter, he wraps himself around the hearts of almost anyone who meets him. He doesn't have a bad day. He is happy when he wakes, and happy when he goes to bed. He is busy, but always smiling. He tells strangers about his day.

Ben… sweet Ben… he is so "go with the flow". He love trucks and tractors, and is happy to go anywhere. He is busy, but he is so happy. He hasn't gotten the attention that many of his friends get from their mom, not because I don't want to, but because he spent the first year in the baby bjorn, the second in a car seat and stroller, and the last two years have been a blur. He finds ways to entertain himself though. Whether he is bathing our white lab in Hershey's syrup, squeezing green Play dough through my garlic press in the middle of my cooking (before all of the garlic was pressed), or mixing red Kool Aid in his giant dump truck, he is happy. Just this morning, I was cleaning up the splattered blackberry yogurt in the kitchen from when Ben fed his yogurt to the dog yesterday. As I was on the floor, I looked in his dirty dump truck and there I saw one of my earrings. I don't have many pieces of expensive jewelry, but this pair was my Christmas gift from my mom last year and I know they were nice. I had taken them off one night in exhaustion and placed them in my bed side table, rather than my jewelry box, and for some unknown reason, Ben thought one of these earrings would fit nicely in his Tonka Truck this morning. These things happen every moment of every day. It is so hard to get mad at him because he is honestly not trying to cause destruction. He is just exploring. Sometimes I do have to discipline him, but I try to keep my perspective that he is so happy and innocent and did not intentionally cause the mess. I am so grateful for that happiness. I think I have more funny Ben stories than the total of all of my children. He is just such a character. I could write an entire book on this kid. He recently said to me "Mommy, when I get bigger, I will still be Ben." Innocence at it's best!

I am really not sure who I am writing this for, but over the next few days, I will re-live the past 10 years, focusing on the birth of all four children, and the stages of chaos our family has been through, and how Ben came to be Ben. I sometimes complain about the craziness, exhaustion, and many other things I can't even describe. This week, I am reflecting on the blessings that I have been given in this life. Ben is one of my blessings, and because his birthday is in four days, he is getting a lot of focus. All of my children are all blessings in their own right. The journey of the past 10 years has lead to this last baby growing up.

School Days - Our 3rd off to Kindergarten

Alexander is off to Kindergarten... Just another day in his life! He is the most even tempered of our children. He is the middle child. He was born when the twins were 3 1/2 and he slept all the time. Our house was a busy one with 3 yr old twins. I would see him start to open his eyes, then he would close them quickly again. To me, he was saying "I don't want to be here right now" and he would drift off for another 2 hours. I would say "I don't blame ya buddy... I wish I could escape sometime too." He was a great sleeper -- I mean really over the top. He would sleep 12 hours at night, take 4 hour naps. He could wake up from a nap at 6pm, and still would go to bed at 8pm like clockwork. He never woke in the night. He was a easy baby. We really didn't even know he was here until he started walking. He was only 18 months old when the twins started Kindergarten, then Ben was born a month later. He was still a baby, but he had to be a big brother, poor guy. He sort of got lost in the chaos. I feel guilty sometimes because I never had that much time for him. He was so loveable. He still wants snuggles, hugs, kisses as much as we can get them in. Hopefully, the benefits of having a lot of siblings will out weigh the disadvantage of getting lost in this crazy mix of ours. He is really a special child. Though he has always been easy going, I have noticed him acting out for attention a bit in the past year. He sort of gets stuck between wanting to be a big kid with the twins, and wanting to get the attention that Ben gets as the baby. He has been pushed around a little by older brother Anthony, and now he starts to do this to Ben. I know he needs attention, and I hope to make his transition to Kindergarten a BIG deal.

He started kindergarten this year, and he was so ready. He was not anxious one bit. He also wasn't super excited. It was just like another day for him. He walked right into his class and never looked back. He seems to really love school. He is learning to read, and spell color names. He comes home singing songs about colors, teaching Ben (almost 4 yrs old) what he has learned. The other day, I heard them playing upstairs, and he was trying to teach Ben the "SH" sound. Though he sometimes struggles to wake up in the morning, he is happy in school.





Then... there is little brother, Ben -- 4th child, totally spoiled, and master charmer
Ben will be four in late September. Ben is very big (almost the same size as Alexander), and Ben really doesn't have a bad day. He is busy busy, but always happy, from morning to night. He is a charmer deluxe. I feel like I could put Ben on the school bus too. He is only in the 3 year old preschool class, so we still have 2 more years before Kindergarten. He is ready though. He can't wait to ride the bus!

He comes into my bed in the morning and says "Mommy, do you need snuggles?"... Then he tells us how many snuggles we get for that day -- it could be 2, 5, 100... but he really always wants "snuggles". This summer, he said to Papa, "Do you want snuggles?" Papa asked "What are snuggles?" Ben had to explain that it is a BIG hug and sometimes kisses, and everyone wants them. Of course, Papa was wrapped around his finger -- and that isn't easy to do.

John and I have said over the last year, "Ben, can you just stay little?" and he of course agrees. One day we were talking about his feet (he has enormous feet- same size as Alexander). He asked if his feet would get bigger like Daddy's. I said that when he gets big like Daddy, his feet would likely be big too. He said "Wait... I am not supposed to get bigger!" I then replied that as much as we would love to keep you little, god has a plan to make you get bigger and that is just out of our control. Ben then said "Well... my daddy is just going to have to get God because I am not going to get bigger". Ben thinks his daddy can do anything -- just like most boys. I then had to dig ourselves out of this hole that we created with the desire to keep him little so that Ben would not wish for Daddy to beat up God. I hope he doesn't bring these conversations to sunday school, or they might ask us to join a different church. I can see the teacher's face as Ben tells the class that his daddy is going to beat up God! Oh Mercy!

Ben started a new preschool this year too. He goes 3 days per week, from 8 to 3, and he loves it. They serve him a hot lunch, and my little eater tells me of his meal when he first gets into the car. He feels like he is a big boy too... and he is. I guess the 4th child in any family grow up a little quicker.

And Mommy... well, this is the first time EVER that I have had days at home with only one child, and I am in HEAVEN! We started with twins, and the past 9 years has been crazy. Finally, we have 3 in school, and it is just Ben and I. I teach college part time, so the days he is in school are a little busy. I try to be productive on those days so that I can enjoy the days with Ben. We go for a walk or bike ride, pick up the house, do a few chores, and sometime errands, then we head for our SNUGGLES! I have never known the day with one child, and I love it. I am not as productive as I might otherwise be, but he is the best medicine for this over stretched mommy right now.

Why Do They Grow Up?

TWINS WERE A WILD RIDE...
I am not sure why I had these babies in sunglasses in this picture. I was always so frazzled that I hardly ever put shoes on them. We would be out in public, around people in my mom's circle (proper ladies) and someone would ask where their shoes were and I would be a little embarrassed. Also, we live in Houston, where it is summer weather all year, and I love looking at little baby toes, so maybe that had a little something to do with it. Anyway, for some reason, on this day, I had them in socks, shoes, hats, sunglasses. Geez... it likely took me hours to get out of the house, and the chance that I returned home with all of these items is very slim. I did love these days though. Life was simple before we entered the world of school and activities. We walked, played, ate, slept. We were on our own schedule. We didn't need to go many places. I love newborns. I love their joy at experiencing everything. I love that I was their world then. We were so busy with twins, but looking back, it was so simple. Diapers didn't bother me a bit! With every phase, I have said that I wish they would stop there, then something else wonderful happens and it seems even better, but looking back, I am definitely a fan of the newborn stage. I feel like I really lost control and priority in their life when they started to elementary school, and I know this is not the end of this. I liked that control and order in our life.

Fast Forward...Now Look What Happened...

So why does this happen? They went to camp and did not look back. The tired part of me was glad to be freeee... but then I realized that this also means that I am no longer their world!

It passes so quickly. Our doorbell rings every 15 minutes most days for one or the other child. It is grand central station around here. I thought life with newborn twins was hectic, but it was a different kind of busy! I know social development is good for children, but I would be fine if we were isolated somehow.

I am good with the diapers... they don't bother me one bit!

My baby will always be my baby!

Ben is my fourth child... my baby forever. He gives me the best hugs and wet slobbery kisses -- the kind you need to wipe your mouth with a keenex after. He is going to be four soon, and he is getting so big. Diapers are a thing of the distant past for our family, and Ben has been anxiously waiting for his soccer coach to call since last fall when all of the other kids were awaiting calls from their coaches.

This week, the older kids started school. Alexander started kindergarten in the same school where the twins attend fourth grade. Alexander still seems so little to me, but he has instantly grown up with his daily routine of riding the school bus and going to real school. Ben was sad when he realized that everyone started their school on Monday except him. He just had a cookie party on Monday, then we start next Monday.

He is mostly bummed because his new school has some really cool trucks and a track for him to play with -- he is obsessed with trucks. "They have a car carrier and a firetruck!" he exclaimed. In our house, you know you are really special if he lets you play with his car carrier, and firetruck runs a close second". He relates everything to what people drive. He asked one of the concession stand workers at Silver Dollar City if she drives a truck or a car. He asks many people we encounter this question. If they drive a truck, we move on to if they have a trailor and what kind of trailor. When Papa recently went into the hospital, he was very concerned about knowing if Papa went to the hospital in an ambulance or in the feed truck! Oh how I wish we could freeze this moment in time! Yesterday, he came into the room and exclaimed "Moooommmy - You need to turn off your computer NOW!" I said "why?", and the little bugger said "Because it is snuggle time!" as he bound into my lap. How can anyone resist this?

School is back in session, I started teaching college this week too, and I have so many things I need to catch up on, not to mention the fact that I suffered a ruptured eardrum just 5 days ago and am still not 100%. None of that matters right now because I am head over heels in love with the best snuggler in the world! I realize that this time will pass too soon. He will always be my baby though.

This week, Ben and I have had a lot of together time. I am just savoring this time, because it is starting to hit me that it will be gone before I know it! The twins were a bit of a blur from birth until kindergarten, then Alexander wasn't even 2 when Ben came into the mix, so this is the most calm my house has ever been. I never really had that newborn quiet time because I was outnumbered with twins. This is it... really. This is the most time I have had with just one child. I do long for more time to get things done, but for now, I am cherishing this little snuggler.

This Girl LOVES Animals!

I have never seen a child who loves animals like this. Maggie has always been captured by animals. As a toddler, she never really had a Barbie phase. She has this collection of horse toys and she lines up the mamas with the babies and they all play and have conversations, etc. She could get lost for hours in this type of play, and really needed no playmate... just her horses.

I have only met one child who thinks like Maggie about animals, and it is one of our cousins in Oklahoma that lives on the ranch. Halley and Maggie are 2 peas in a pod for sure.

As she grew up, she became interested in reading about horses and expanded her passion to dogs too. She asked for a puppy from Santa for FOUR years before he finally brought Marshmallow. By the 4th year, Maggie told Santa that he didn't have to bring her anything else if he could please just bring a puppy. She really meant this.

By age 6, she stopped watching kid television programs, and would watch Animal Planet channel at every opportunity. She knows the most random facts about all animals from this show. She is not the most energetic about school studies at this age, but she has an amazing mind for animal facts -- she loves all animals, but her love is especially for dogs and horses. I think this shows that she can retain what she wants to. She now says that she wants to be a veterinarian or a animal rescue specialist. Though this is a common goal for girls her age ( I think I wanted to be a vet at some point), I think she has a spark about the animals that most children do not possess at this age. My sister loved animals a lot, but I still think Maggie's passion is unique.

When we left ranch camp, Maggie begged to just stay for the next school year. She would miss us, but the animals would help her to get over her parents. She really belongs in the country. Her smile at ranch camp was like no other time I have seen. She was really in her element!

Only time will tell what the future holds for this child. My brother says that she will stop wanting to come in a few years as she becomes a teen and gets more interest in social life and boys, etc. I know this is probably true for the average girl, but I just can't see Maggie dumping the animals for a boy.

Country Girl at Heart - Memories of the Ranch and Ranch Camp

I live in one of the best metropolitan suburbs around. We are a master planned community, and everything was certainly well planned. We have every amenity I could imagine for children. Our schools are top notch. Our neighborhoods are connected by bike and hike paths. You never have to go more than a mile to reach a wonderful park, and all of the parks have the latest and greatest equipment. Any sport or recreational activity we would want is within 5 miles. We have every major shopping venue within 10 miles.

Maggie & Anthony were 2 when this was taken - 7 yrs ago. They were cowboys / cowgirls for halloween. It is just in their blood I think!

We even have childcare at the Kroger grocery store... something that is just about the most valuable of all of the amenities -- I cried when I discovered this one.

The Woodlands is absolute Utopia for families. For this reason, many people who relocate to the Houston area end up in the Woodlands. So another interesting fact about our community, is that it is made up of people from around the world. Just on my street, we have families representing, Germany, Thailand, Switzerland, New Zealand, Philippines, Mexico, and Canada. I love meeting people from other cultures and learning about different places, and I hope my children are also soaking this in. Anthony's little friend Felix came from Germany 2 years ago and did not speak a word of English. He now speaks very well, but their friendship started with 2 boys who could not communicate very well. I have to think these experiences will be remembered.

After our 2nd summer at "ranch camp", I am sitting in a quiet suburban house for the 4th day. I have had the opportunity to catch up on chores (which I need to get back to shortly), but I will never be caught up. What I notice as I re-enter this world is that I miss the country. I really don't need much, and though I never appreciated the quiet of the country when I was growing up, I do prefer the quiet of the country. Peace & Quiet - That is what I love about the country. I love my quiet house now, but there is a difference between QUIET and PEACE. I feel like we just go all the time here, and though we were busy on the ranch, it was a peaceful kind of busy. There was a purpose to our work there, which made it seem less like the treadmill we are on at home. I guess we always want what we don't have. When I was growing up in a small country town, I would have thought this life in a wonderful place like The Woodlands would be the ticket. As I age, I see it a bit differently.

As a child on the ranch, we would just get on our horses and ride. We would be gone for hours, and nobody ever worried. We were safe from the outside world, and we just didn't worry about things like snakes and other mishaps that we might have encountered (thank goodness nobody told us to worry about it). What I remember most is that we entertained ourselves without any technology. Just the great outdoors, some animals, a companion or two, and our imaginations. We didn't need a formal activity.
Alexander was not even one here, and already he loves the ranch. What's not to love?

I sometimes worry that my children are so programmed for the scheduled activities that they won't know how to entertain themselves. We got a little taste of this at ranch camp. We didn't watch much television, and they played with each other in the great outdoors. In current life on the ranch, we have added 4 wheelers and Rhino vehicles to the mix. I loved watching my kids play outside together. In my world, peace doesn't necessarily mean QUIET. My four kids are very loud, actually. You can ask just about anyone -- they are LOUD! Somehow though, a simpler life for a few weeks gave me some kind of inner peace.

When I was a teen, I hated that I lived on an isolated ranch so far (10 miles) away from my friends and social life. As I look at that life through the eyes of a parent, I think how much I will always cherish our "ranch camp" because my children are each other's friends. There are no friends ringing the doorbell, or calling from the street. It is just us, and this has been good bonding time for all of us.
Another fun time about ranch camp is the time we get with cousin Forest and Uncle Thatcher. This is the most time I have had with my brother, who is 5 yrs younger than me, really ever. The 3 kids were about 3 in this picture, and they have always loved the horses. Maggie especially, but that is a whole posting of its own.

As it sit in my house, which is more quiet than it has ever been, I notice the noise of the lawnmowers, cars, people. Ours is a quiet neighborhood by Houston standards, but nothing compares to the country life.
My children are raised in a different world than I was, and for them this is mostly good. I think they also love the country, so I really hope that this experience can continue and that it gives them somthing valuable as they look back. For me, ranch camp has brought back a lot of great memories about my childhood, and has given me a new appreciation for my children.