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!