Here are my boys. Aren't they adorable. I love this old swing. Its about to fall apart, and everytime I sit on it, I wonder if it will be my last. My dad put this swing in when the house still belonged to them. When my husband and I were dourting (dating/courting), we would sit on it and talk. (we kissed too!)

10yo: "Mom, I really wish I lived in Roman times."

Mom: "Oh yeah. Why?" (I'm thinking he will say something deep about living during the times of Jesus or enjoying the Roman culture.

10yo: "The Roman calendar was only 10 months long. My birthday would come around a lot faster!"

I posted this originally in February of 2007. I am not up for any original or humorous writing at this time, so I went searching for something that I could repost for my huge internet audience. (haha) At the time that I wrote this my 20 mos old was a newborn and my 4 yo was 2 1/2. Oh wow...it seems like forever.

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Spontaneity was once a friend of mine.  We hung out often and always had fun.  Then the babies started coming, and coming quickly, and she slowly stepped out of my life.  This morning, it was dreary and cold outside,  and the low, grey clouds were threatening rain.  I thought I saw of glimpse of Spontaneity as she sashayed through the house.  Yep, it was her! She came right up to me and asked me if I could play.  I realized that it had been awhile since our last playdate, and said “Sure!  Just let me get ready.”

Poor Spontaneity, she stood in the doorway tapping her foot as I changed three diapers, dressed three bodies, and called out a continuous stream of instructions to the oldest.  We worked our hardest to pack diapers, and bottles, and snacks, and even suckers in case bribery was needed.  Just as Spontaneity started huffing and puffing, we were done. Record time too, only took forty five minutes to get four kids, three diaper bags, two strollers and myself into the truck.

Our destination was the library.  There were some homeschool books that I wanted and even some Once-A-Month-Cooking books that looked useful.  Spontaneity did not approve of the latter, but was willing to go along for the ride.  Before the library we had two stops to make.  The first was to a used children’s store in search of an over-the-shoulder-baby-harness.  Even though I could easily put the baby and the 1yo in the double stroller, and let the 2yo walk, I knew that he could not, in any manner, be trusted to walk beside me in the midst of a rows upon rows of books.  My first stop paid off and I got a baby harness for $7. 

My second stop was the bank.  I needed to get cash out to pay the fine at the library.  The fines are inevitable.  Mainly because after each trip to the library with all of the children, I realize that I don’t want to do that again any time soon.  Spontaneity was getting quite impatient and started yapping loudly in my ear.  Because of her incessant talking, I forgot about the bank and went straight to the library.

I was so excited to use my newly acquired baby harness.  I unloaded the double stroller, stuck the diaper bag in the bottom, put my cell phone in the top, strapped in the 2yo, went around to the other side of the truck, strapped in the one year old, made sure my wallet and keys were in the diaper bag, situated the top straps of the baby harness, buckled the bottom straps, told the oldest to unbuckle baby, waited while the oldest unbuckled the baby, grabbed the baby, stuck his fat legs into the holes, tugged and tugged until he fit, fiddled with all the buckles and velcros and snaps until he was just right and WE WERE OFF!!

Of course, by this time, my dear friend Spontaneity was giving me ugly looks, but I just ignored her.  After all, this was fun!  It was exciting!  It was a break from the norm!  It was raining.  Ahh.  We rush across the huge parking lot, the baby is dangerously swaying back and forth in the maladjusted harness.  Finally we reach our destination.  As I pull open the doors, I see the checkout stand and remember that I forgot to go to the bank.  I almost start to cry.  Our little trip is ruined.  They won’t let me check out more book when we have a $20 fine.  They don’t take cards, I don’t carry checks, and I don’t have any cash.  Oh no!

I decide to be strong.  Instead of giving up, I head back to the truck, baby bobbing about bouncily, and reload everything that I unloaded only moments ago.  Still joyously, we drive to the bank and make a pit-stop at a fast food joint.  I figure some food will calm the kids down, and give me and Spontaneity a chance to chat.

We finally get back to the library, and I unload everything that I previously unloaded then reloaded, and we head into the door.  Our library trip was perfect.  I happily sped about picking up books on cooking and homeschooling while expertly negotiating the double-stroller and the jiggly bulge attached to my front.  Being the great mother that I was, I even let my 8yo pick out some books for himself.  All the while people were staring and some even smiled as our strange little caravan of boy, double stroller, bouncy baby harnessed to a strangely giddy mom walked past them.  I don’t think they’ve ever seen a “largish” family, especially one led by a stir-crazy-happy-to-have-escaped-the-asylum type mom.

Spontaneity was awfully proud of me as we started loading everything back into the truck.  I was still smiling, which is clear proof of an awesome trip.  The 1yo needed a diaper change, so I grabbed him out of the stroller and laid in the back of the Expedition.  As I laid him down, I felt something warm and slimy on my arm.  Then the smell began attacking my nose.  He had poopied, but not any ordinary poop.  Slimy green mucous poop that traveled up his back and onto my arm.  Ewww.  I stripped him naked, even though it was 40 degrees outside, and began to wipe poop from every little part of his body.  Fortunately the poop only got on the truck’s carpet, seat, his jacket, pants, and shirt, and me. 

By the time I cleaned him up and buckled him up, my winsome ways were gone.  My giddiness had flown out the window and Spontaneity had quietly taken her leave of me.  Oh well, I’ll see her again someday, only this time I’ll be sure to plan my playdate with her beforehand.

What does a mom of four boys do on a hot day, when she has an hour to kill? She puts them to work, of course. Even a 1yo can is capable of manual labor.

Notice the detailed undercarriage work.

What a team!

This is how you get your kids to not suck on a pacifier.

Thanks, Mom for the chocolate syrup. The kids love it!

Just another example of why the disaster twins need serious tomato-staking.

Tonight my 9yo pitched his first baseball game. He loves baseball, but can be a bit awkward at times. This has been a tough season for him, as he hasn't had a single hit. He wanted to try out for pitcher at the first of the season, but the coach didn't let him. I think he thought my son was just too clumsy to be a good pitcher.

Son and hubby have been practicing at home, and my son finally got the courage to ask his coach for a chance to show him his pitching skills before the game. Well, it started out as one coach watching him, and then the coach went and got another coach. They both stood there, knodding their heads.

Later in the game, our son told us that if they scored a few more runs (ie, if the lead was big enough to take a chance on my son) the coach would  let him pitch. Before we even had the chance to blink, he was on the mound.

The smile on his face was amazing. He did so well. He struck out two batters and walked several, but he was so awesome to watch. At the end of the inning, as he left the field I could tell that he felt like a superstar. I thought to myself, that the smile on his face and the pride that he felt was better than having any of my own accomplishments.

I've got pukey little ones today. Technically, I had pukey little ones last night. Today, they haven't been pukey, just not very hungry. I think I saw more than my share of vomit in the past 24 hours. I'm glad its almost over :)

This morning my 2yo refused his diaper. He said he wanted underwear. We stole a pair of his brother's and he proudly showed off his spiderman underpants. He stayed dry ALL morning. We had several trips to the potty, but nothing to show for it. Finally, before naptime I took him to the bathroom and he peed 6 inches from the toilet. Huh!

This morning I woke up to a crib full of poop. This is somewhat of a regular occurance at our house, although this was the first offense for my 1yo. The normal offender is his 2yo brother, though I'm hoping he's grown out of it.

My first thought was, I sure won't miss this when I leave. I'm a horrible mother. I've leaving my hubby at home with our four crazy, I mean, energetic boys for a week.

I leave for Mount Hermon in the morning. The conference doesn't actually start until Friday, but they have an early bird session on Thursday night. I'm leaving a day early due to airline prices.
Thanks to a generous relative in high places, I get to stay the night at Doubletree Hotel San Jose. Talk about luxury. Room service, anyone?

Hubby planned a last minute trip this weekend. The boys put their feet into the icy Atlantic for the first time. Hubby challenged them to put their feet into the other three oceans before they die. I have touched the Pacific and the Atlantic (from both sides). So, I've got two more to go!  Here are some pics to enjoy.

My 3yo and I were sitting on our swing outside and having a wonderful conversation about the differences between girls and boys.  He had some great insight, and a few misconceptions about girls.

Mom: What do boys do?

3yo: Boys play with trucks and go pee-pee.

Mom: Girls go pee-pee too.

3yo: No, they don't have no pen*s.

The 9yo then gave the 3yo a short and simple anatomy lesson. Hmmm...I'll have to make sure he leaves those type of lessons to me and hubby.

My sister made the little boys big boy  bibs for Christmas. They are ADORABLE and  practical. Check them out!

My 9yo son has a way with words. The other day he came and sat next to me on my bed. He looked down at my head and said "Mom, I can see straight through to your scalp, even though you have hair. But its not BAD, like a chihuahua." So, my thinning hair is being noticed by others now. Eww...

Today, I was stomping around the house in a tiff because our Christmas tree has been utterly demolised by the littles and laundry is piling up again. I was barking orders at everyone right as hubby called. He later told me that the conversation between him and the 9yo went something like this:

dad: Hey bud!

JD: Hey.

dad: who's mom fussing at?

JD: (lowers his voice for dramatic effect) She's fussing at EVERYone dad, she's grumpy.

dad: The best thing to do when mom is grumpy is to do exactly what she's says.

JD:  I am. Its not helping.

This weekend we went on our annual hunt for a Christmas tree.  Our caravan consisted of me and my hubby, our two older boys, a dog on a leash, and one large wagon with two babies.  We were quite the sight. We managed to get all of us, our gear, and our dog onto the hayride that would take us to the farm.  I'm not sure that the other passengers appreciated our gang.

Starting our trip on the hayride!

Look Dad! Christmas trees!

We're ready to go hunting!

Baby cuts his first tree down! What a man!

All finished!

Here are some autumn pictures of my boys that we took yesterday.  I really need to learn how to use my camera.  I can't seem to get a crisp foreground to save my life.  My cous, whose great photos can be seen here, says the secret is to "know your camera".  I haven't learned this camera, and I can't seem to find the owner's manual.  So...here are some pics that only look  decent because they've been edited.

Have you ever preached to a baby before?  I've been doing it lately, and I've been getting pretty good results.  My youngest son is 11 months old and a future gymnast.   The Hamm brothers have nothing on this kid.  He has a fully developed repetoir of backhand springs and aerial front walkovers that he performs every time I try to change his diaper.  He even manages to execute these amazing moves while I'm holding on to one of his chubby ankles. 

Fed up with baby poo on my hands and carpet, I decided to let the word of God speak to my budding Olympian.  I looked into his eyes, when I could catch a glimpse of them between stunts and said ...

"In the name of Jesus, I command you to obey me.  God's word says 'Children, obey your parents, for this is right.'  It also says that if you honor me, 'it will go well with you and you will have a long life'.  So, if you don't want your little life to end tonight, buddy, then you'd better honor me and stop this wiggling.  Jesus used his authority over the heavens and earth to still stormy waters, and I'm using my authority to still your stormy heiney.  So BE STILL."

And it worked.  That baby has the word of God in him now!  Hey, we're promised that it won't return void. 

JD (9 years old):  Mom, its a lot easier to read a book than to copy one.

He said this after copying the first fifteen pages of the book, Billy and Blaze.  He started this venture on his own, and he hopes to copy the whole book by Friday.  Of course, after the day of inner-writer-turmoil that I've had, I'm thinking that I should edit his quote to say...

Its a lot easier to read a book than to write one. :) 

I'm posting these for a friend who has moved out of state.  I thought she might miss our smiling faces :)

 Here we all are at my 3yo son's birthday party.  It was a fun little family party at a pizza place.

Okay, I know what you are thinking...that woman looks nothing like the woman in the avatar picture.  Well, the avatar picture was taken while pregnant with #3, so I was about 30 lbs smaller and had that pregnant "glow".  Plus it has been photo-shopped to death.  You'll notice that my avatar pic has been cropped close, so that you can't see my double chin! :)

This is Baby Ack!  His two older brothers have aptly named him.

Here's my 18mo, nicknamed Gator.  I thought y'all would appreciate this adorable half-awake picture.

This is "The Man", he's 3yo.  This picture was taken after he and his older brother came in with these strange playdough creations on their heads.  They promptly said "Look mom!  We're FRENCH!"

My oldest and his dog, JD & Ginger.  She licks my feet and follows me everywhere.  Its kinda annoying.

Its awfully hard to get a good picture of a wiggly 7 month old who really wants to grab the camera.

  Here's proof...