Eating dinner outside. (why is it that all 2 year olds get so goofy when you hold up a camera and say "Smile!"?) 

A Blog to Take Time For

I would just like to point out that although there are some blogs that make you angry and some blogs that make you wonder why the person would share such boring stuff, and some blogs that make you laugh very very hard, there are other blogs that inspire. I decided tonite to point out the one blog that I read that inspires me to be a better mother, and a better version of myself. It is a blog that contains beauty, poetry, wisdom, and loveliness. Go take a look at Belle On Her Toes. She is wonderful.

Why we don't "do" TV

Dazey Mae left a comment asking about why we don't do TV here, and so I thought I'd bore you all with the story. Especially since I don't have any inspirational summer break photos for you today. :)

There is no deep, dark reason that we don't do TV. We didn't have one when we got married, then found that we were fine without it. (although it was hilarious how people would act like we didn't have running water or something when they found out!) Then we got a TV for a Christmas gift about 2 years later and we watched it faithfully for probably 4 years before making the decision to put it away. We found that we spent too much time watching TV instead of engaging with our kids or each other. We found ourselves watching junk, making kids wait for our attention til the commercials, etc. We realized that although some people do just fine having a TV and don't overdo it and don't stay up too late watching stuff they'd be better off without, we just weren't those people. We're TV weaklings, I guess. :)

Once we stopped watching TV (we stopped videos too...just put the whole thing away) we found that we got more rest (no more staying up til 11pm because that's when the made-for-TV-movie ends!) and therefore felt better, our house was quieter, and we were better parents since we weren't putting off our kids in favor of Phil Donahue or the nightly news. I did go through a couple of transition stages, one where I listened to talk radio for hours during the day, and the other where I talked on the phone for hours every day. Thankfully, I am now able to go through entire days without any fillers in my noise space. Somehow, I think having 6 children fills that space quite enough. ;)

When we haven't even had videos available we have found that the kids do so much more creative play, they read more, and just generally spend their time in more positive ways. So, it's a good thing.

When I was on bedrest with baby #4 and I had kids ages 1, 3, and 7, we did get a little 13" TV with built-in VCR in order to help fill the hours of laying in bed trying to keep little kids happy while my husband worked his 24-hour-long shifts. TV didn't really come in very well, but movies worked just fine. Since that time we've gotten to the point where we now have 2 TVs, 2 VCRs (both broken, though, so we're considering getting rid of all of our videos), 2 DVD players, plus the PS2 which can also play DVDs. We have watched possibly too many movies, but now that we are Netflix-less, there will be less of that, although we will still avail ourselves of our library's free DVD collection. I am trying to get myself into the midset of offering movies less and less, just in the interest of having the kids choose to do some other stuff. But I will admit that I am just like every other mother who sometimes just wants the kids to shut up and veg out so that I can get something else done. So, offering movies gives me a helping hand and I'm not going to give that up at this point in my life.

Every now and then I think I might like to get cable or satellite so that I could watch HGTV or some good history or nature stuff with the kids to enrich what they're learning about in school or whatever, but then we talk about how our whole life would be oriented to the boob tube again....and so we decide not to. And truly, I can't imagine spending money on TV every month. It would probably be one of the worst money choices we've ever made. We're just really better off without it.

I love it that we have no TV in our living room. I love it that the room all the people that visit in my home is oriented toward people and not toward TV. To me I feel that not making TV a big part of our life is very much in harmony of one of my distinctive values, which is People First. I try to always value people more than other stuff, and this is one way I can do that.

Sunshine On My Shoulder Makes Me Happy.....

Day 4, Summer Break

Today, like yesterday, was a wonderful, breezy day here. The temperature is still somewhat low for this time of year, but the sun was shining. I sat outside reading Surrendering to Yourself, the third and final Surrendering book from Iris Krasnow. As Iris challenged me to figure out what I love to do, what I felt was the desire to lay down in the grass and soak up some sun. So...I did! I got a couple blankets, my favorite pillow, and just took a little mini-snooze while the the sun warmed me and the wind danced through the leaves in the apple trees, and the kids ran around the yard. I loved smelling the fresh grass smell and it made me think that I'd like to try out stuffing some mattress ticking full of sweet grass as I remember being described in some Little House book or something. Ah! To sleep on a mattress smelling of sweet grass!!!!

I don't know if I will find my great passions and purpose in life by taking naps (although SARK seems to think napping can help our creativity grow!), but I know that as I lay there on our hill, squinting to change the shape of the sunlight coming through the blanket that I had over my head, I felt very peaceful and could remember doing the same thing as a child. I was able to distance myself from some recent financial stress that has been plaguing me, and to feel that my life is good and full as it stands, with or without money. Although I'd like to always pay every bill early or on time, to have a nest egg of 3-6 months income "just in case," to be out of debt, to know how every need will be taken care of........what I do have is so much more than so many others. Even more than many people who have all the financial security that I do not.

I have a husband who goes to work and comes home and plays with the kids and tells me I'm beautiful and is committed to this family no matter what.

I have 6 healthy, happy children who love each other and their parents

I have a house that I love, and a wonderful, fabulous back yard

I have a best friend that is the rare kind of friend that will hang in with the friendship through over a decade of highs and lows and changes and personal growth that is sometimes spectacular and sometimes painful

I have a wonderful, amazing mother who is also my very close friend

I have two siblings that I love and enjoy

I have the knowledge and skills that allow me to stretch a dollar, keep my family healthy or help them back to healthy most of the time without needing a trip to the doctor, teach children, help myself learn things I need to know, and to be content in most circumstances.

I have faith in God, that helps me accept the things I cannot change, to hang on when things seem unbearable, and to remember that my life and everything in it is for a purpose that is greater than any of the parts of it.

It's a good life. Maybe a little time in the sunshine will help you too. :)

At Times Like These, I Really Wish We Had TV

Well, folks, tonite's the night! Rob and Amber's wedding is going to be on TV...and I'm going to miss it! :(

We don't do TV here, although we do watch plenty of videos (less now, though, since we've just recently canceled our Netflix....sniff sniff). I got hooked on Survivor thanks to the couple of seasons available on DVD, so I got to watch Boston Rob and Amber fall in love during Survivor All-Stars. And now, say what you will, I wish I could watch their wedding on TV! Anybody want to tape it for me??????? (9PM, CBS--Be There!)

Gentlemen, Start Your Engines!

This morning our kids asked us to come outside and judge them on how well they could ride Big Wheels down the hill. We have a dug-out spot in our yard where the Easy-Set Pool goes, but until it gets set up, the ledge there makes a great spot to jump your BW off of and pop wheelies. So, we had to score the riders based on speed, coolness of pops, and coolness of the landing, with an optional bonus point for especially spectacular creativity. Our whole family enjoyed a rollicking good time screaming, clapping, and cheering as the kids took turns showing their stuff....


Getting a running start from up the hill....(I LOVE our yard!!)

Revving up! (trying to keep the dog out of harm's way was trickier than figuring out how to score each jump)

Sullen doing a cool wipe-out in the sand.

Jake the Great!

The Firecrapper even got into the act. (I'm so sorry to tell you that I did not take a turn riding a Big Wheel down the hill...) I thought that with all of his boyhood ramp-jumping experience he would have been great at this, but actually he was....not.

Not to be outdone, our only daughter rode fast and hard, even free styling by riding down the hill backwards one time. She can pop a wheelie with the best of 'em!

All smiles, he heads down the hill (pedaling at a snail's pace.....) and......

Doodle rides over the edge.

Izzy Man!

They also spent time playing in their tree fort/club house and climbing in the trees so that they could ride our newest toy......

This is a sad little attempt to catch one of my kids riding our new zip line.....better luck next time! It was fun, even if hard to take pictures of!

Waste Not, Want Not!

What to do with all the scraps of bread left from the kids' raid on the freshly-baked bread? Run it all through the food processor and then turn it into......

Bread crumb cookies! (which taste better than the title or the way they look in this picture)

The recipe comes from The Tightwad Gazette, which I've been rereading a bit since we're currently in the poor house. My kids love these cookies, and although they aren't entirely healthy, I like knowing that the bread scraps (especially the homemade bread!) never goes to waste. Here's the recipe:

1.25 cups flour
1.25 cups sugar
half teaspoon salt
half teaspoon baking powder
one-third cup cocoa
half cup milk
1 egg
1.5 teaspoon vanilla
two-thirds cup melted shortening/cooking oil/butter
2 cups bread crumbs

Stir together dry ingredients, then add the wet ingredients. Drop by spoonfuls onto non stick cookie sheets. Bake at 350 degrees 12 min. or so until set.

"It's a beautiful day!" 

A beautiful day indeed.....

So, we've had a nice day here on the real (meaning all the kids are now out of school) day-number-one of summer break. Tonite the littlest 3 guys got their baths. Izzy Man was all bundled up in his towel, strolling through the house....and then I hear the older 3 kids saying, "Quick! Get the camera! Mom! You gotta see this!" And so out to the living room I go, where Izzy Man (age 5) is laying on his back on his bath towel all nicely spread out as if he was at the beach, totally nekkid, calmly grinning and saying, "Ahh....It's a beautiful day....."

Born to join a nudist colony, that one.....

Philadelphia Chickens

My fab friend SoozieQ gave my family the wonderful and hilarious Philadelphia Chickens book and CD a few Christmases ago, but it had been awhile since I had been able to listen to it since the CD was missing. But, Good News! In my recent hard-core decluttering binge I FOUND IT and so today I got to listen to this very, very clever stuff. Basically, it's smart, witty, clever, and musical enough that parents AND the kids will be able to enjoy it. My oldest son likes the song called Snoozers, about wanting to sleep all day and stay up all night. My younger kids get a kick out of the song about the guy with 15 animals, all named Bob. "I've got a cat named Bob and a dog named Bob, and two fish called Bob and Bob...." (very easy to sing along to!) My personal fave is The Belly Button Song ("Belly belly button you're oh so fine, ooh belly button I'm so happy you're mine....." and then with very meditative sounds in the background saying, "So round....so profound....so great to contemplate....").

Well, OK! I know you can't hear it in your head like *I* can, but just take my word for it--it's sime very fun family music. I've purchased it as a new baby gift for friends with several kids and they love it too.

More fine words from The Big Yellow House

In a recent post about bumper stickers, Chris comments:

And just what is up with the sticker of the boy peeing on things? For some reason I always see this one on pick-up trucks driven by boy-men under 30. Am I supposed ot be impressed that you have a penis and can pee standing up? I'll admit it would have advantages when camping in the woods.

But, I can push a live baby out of my vagina, much more impressive.

Clearly you can see why I think this woman is a complete HOOT. Go pay her a visit at her blog today!

Cheese! (or is that cheese-y?) 

I haven't baked homemade bread for months, but got to it today. Fresh bread, anyone? 

Today I got inspired by this flowering bush in our yard. I decided to capitalize on nature's bounty and decorate the house with these lovely, gloriously-scented flowers. The kids really got into it, and we ended up using every vase, plus a lot of glasses and Good Seasons salad dressing cruets. We now have pretty flowers all over the house (and vases full of water just waiting to be spilled!). 

Two charming little flower harvesters, Jake and Izzy Man. 

My dresser 

Living room 

Kitchen table 

This is my son, Jake the Great, in his role of Turtle from his 1st grade class play. :) 

Laundry room window makeover--If you can't beat 'em, join 'em

I have never really liked the room, the window was cracked, there isn't much light, and I didn't want a curtain blocking what little light there was. So a few weeks ago I got out my children's paints and decided to cover the window with a fun and cheerful painting that also let in light while providing privacy. What do you think?

They are not the boss of you!!

Hey, folks, time for a little talk. Y'see, I've just been over to Very Mom's where she tells of her visit to meet a midwife. She just wanted to interview her a bit to see if this is even a person she wants around to help her with her birth. But before she even got to see the midwife the nurse came in and told VM to take off her clothes and get ready for an exam. Poor VM wasn't exactly prepared for said exposure, yet went ahead and did what she was told.

So, you know, Very Mom has her reasons for that, I'm sure. But what I'd like to say to all of you is,

They Are Not The Boss Of You!

Women get so mousey and wimpy around medical personnel. Especially religious women, who seem to think that after doing what God and their husband want them to do, they should also obey their doctor.

Guess what, gals--you have the power to say no! Just because you're in a doctor's office does not mean you are obligated to take off your clothes or submit to exams or tests or anything. Every single procedure is available for you to say yes or no to. Now, I will admit that it is so rare that people say NO, that the personnel may not know what to do about it if you do, and may even tell you that various things are required absolutely. I have found over and over again that if you stick to your guns (nicely but firmly), that does not often turn out to be the real story.

So, for instance:

If you, like me, find it humiliating and disheartening to be weighed every time you go to the doctor, just say NO. You do not even have to get weighed for pregnancy visits if you choose not to. There is very little chance that knowing your weight is going to help anything. (frankly, I'm quite happy to not know what my top weight ever has been!!)

An alternative to not getting weighed at all would be not looking at the scale and having the nurse/midwife/doctor not tell you your actual weight or weight gain. If they feel they need to know, great, but keep the information far from my ears!

Another common pregnancy issue that seems to come up is the initial pap smear and vaginal exam, such as what VM experienced. Ladies, you DO NOT HAVE TO DO THIS! You don't have to. Nope. Nope. Nope.

Furthermore, tell me WHO of you ladies actually *wants* to go in 6 weeks post partum to have yet ANOTHER pap smear and exam? Most of us can barely stomach the thought of cramming something up our HooHa 6 weeks after having a baby. So why do you go? In particular, if you had a decent birth, have no other issues that need to be dealt with, and know you can go back any time you have an actual, legitimate need to do so. The *only* post partum visit that I have found helpful at all was the one where I had to have staples removed from my c-section incision. And I did that at about 10 days. I didn't go back. My bod didn't need any more poking and prodding at 6 or 8 or 10 weeks post partum. I've got enough to do! I don't need a green light from another person to tell me if I can have sex or not. I think I know better than anyone else if I'm ready to jump back into that scene after having a baby.

You don't have to agree to "routine" newborn stuff if you don't want to. I've had babies and not agreed to eyedrops or vitamin K shots. I've had babies and gone home within a few hours. I've had babies not bathed at the hospital because I wanted to wait and let the vernix sink in and do a bath at home in our own way, rather than by a stranger or while uncomfortable standing by a stupid baby bath basin with a hoovering nurse watching to see if I know how to do it all right. (hey--we were only there for a few hours..he wasn't gloppy or anything!) You can consider each intervention and make a decision!

Then there are those parent-guilt-induced doctor visits. You have to go to all those well baby checks, even though you can tell plainly that your kid is perfectly well. I understand that some parents may actually not be sure that their child is well, or may need to get the doctor's help with something, but for a lot of you out there, you know you don't need a thing. WHY would we feel we had to give up the better part of a day of our life shlepping to and from the doctor's office with a perfectly healthy baby, just to be told that she's perfectly healthy! Stay home and save yourself the trouble!

The other one that really cracks me up is when you take your child to the doctor for, say, a cough or ear infection or some minor and obvious problem. So, the doctor helps you with your problem by giving a prescription for meds or advice about how to handle the problem, and then tells you, "come back and see me in 2 weeks." What I so greatly wish parents would ask themselves is, "What for?" If your kid was sick and now he's well, you don't need to go back! It's very simple. You can get an otoscope to look in their ears on your own, if you feel concerned about whether or not their ear infection is cleared up, and you aren't satisfied that the kid is no longer showing any signs of still being sick.

I'm not saying doctors are bad or to never go to one. I'm not saying you have to make the choices I've made. I'm just saying THINK, and when you go to the doctor or agree to a test or procedure, know WHY you are saying yes, and remember who's the boss----YOU!

Color Test

Hey! This is fun! Go see how you do on the color test. I got 100%!! Woot!

Time for an interview!

Carmen over at Mom to the Screaming Masses has asked me some interview questions that I am to answer here. If you want to be a part of the interview round-robin thing (or if, like me, you felt like you simply need something to put in your blog because you're so dry and lacking in your normally abundant wit....) read the last section that explains how you can get involved. :)

1) Where were you when you recevied your first kiss? Were you traumatized?

*Where* was I? Rather than WHO? Huh. OK. Um, at my wedding. HAHAHAHAHA OK, even my mom knows that's a big fat lie! The first kiss I can think of probably happened outside my elementary school (!!!) and no I was not traumatized.

2) Would you like to have more children?

Well......um......maybe. For a long time we thought we'd be ok to just go with the No Limit number of kids, but then I had babies 4, 5, and 6 in under 3 years with two of those births featuring c-sections due to placental abruptions. That combined with the general mayhem and madness of 6 kids makes us sure that we are taking a significant break from more kids, before seeing what's left in our brains once the dust settles. (place your bets now!) We still think about adopting and foster care, but we're not to the point where we really have the capability to take good care of anybody else.

3) Why do you call yourself Dollymama?

You can read my explanation here.

4) If you had a free hour, what would you do with it?

Depending on my energy level, either read, do a house project, or sleep.

5) What is your favorite section of the newspaper?

Usually the front page. But I'm not much of a newspaper reader. If I got a big city newspaper (which I don't) I'd read the Lifestyle section first.

The Official Interview Game Rules

1. If you want to participate, leave a comment below saying "interview me."

2. I will respond by asking you five questions - each person's will be different.

3. You will update your journal/blog with the answers to the questions.

4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview others in the same post.

5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Summer Break, Day One

So today officially begins summer break. My older kids are still in school until Friday, but my preschoolers are now home every-day-all-day-long. I plunged right in by including my 3 little tykes in some house organization, which was made more fun for them by playing some good music for kids. I'm not sure how it worked out this way, but I've actually accomplished more today than I normally do with 2 of them at preschool. I went through about 5 terrible containers packed full of various toys, cups, papers, puzzle pieces, etc. that were jamming up their bedroom closet. Would you believe that just about every bit of that is all put away/thrown away? I've also done laundry (several loads! Entirely done and put away!), put a couple dozen books away where they go, taken the boys outside to play, and even stocked the Burb with nice educational and entertaining books and travel-sized electronic games! That's something I have long thought of doing but just never.....you know....picked out the items I wanted and walked my rear out there to put it in the back-of-the-seat organizer thingy. So, now we have board books and easy readers and all sorts of good stuff to keep my little kiddos's brains engaged all summer long. The best part is that there is an actual place for these items to go, so they will be within reach and easily put back.

Like a lot of stay-at-home moms, I really get a thrill out of organizing persistent Bad Spots in my house, and making things look better, even if it's just one tiny little thing (like that day when I took all the magnets and papers off the fridge). One of the best things about home organization is that it is a form of FREE entertainment for me....which is a mighty good thing right now because we're on a poor streak that is not very fun. So, I have been trying to stave off despair by saying to myself, "Hey! Cleaning is free! Organizing is free! Moving things around is free! A shiny sink is free!" and just be happy for simple stuff like that.

Now, in the spirit of I-am-feeling-very-poor, I have been trying to figure out if there is something else I can do in life to bring in some money. How this will be accomplished with 6 kids around is a little bit tricky, but I have at least come up with a few ideas. So, you, my willing victims, can see my list of possible (and a few rejected) ideas for how I can rake in some bucks:

1. Summer childcare: Yes, I already have 6 kids. BUT, what I was thinking is that if I could get a couple of school-age kids that my older kids would play with, it might work out alright since they don't need to constantly be watched for fear of them swallowing Legos and other stuff like that. (Yes, I KNOW I would still need to watch them. I'm just saying that to me it would be easier than, say, a one year old) DOWNSIDE: I thought of this too late. School ends on Friday. Anybody who doesn't have their kid care lined up yet is probably so much of a moron that I should not get involved with them.

2. EBay! : I've had some decent success with Ebay in the past, and I actually do have a whole basket of goodies waiting to be sold right now, so that will definitely happen once I get a chance to do it. I will try to get going on it this week and see what I can declutter and earn. Maybe after that I could scour yard sales for Ebay-worthy items to resell.

3. Going along with the Ebay idea is this other brain child of mine: I have this idea that people who have yard sales DO NOT want to face packing up all of their unwanted stuff and doing something with it at the end of the day. I thought that the hubster and I could start a business taking away yard sale remnants for people. The idea would be that they pay us something to pack it all up and haul it away. The fee would be anywhere from $10-50+ depending on amount of stuff and whether or not what they have looks Ebay-ish. They would have the joy of walking into their home at the end of the sale and not have to think about the junk that's left, and we could take the Good Junk to Ebay, and drop the rest at Goodwill for a tax deduction. What do you think??

4. Meals on wheels (of sorts): My husband works at a fire dept. and I thought about offering to make meals for the guys and deliver them. They already spend so much money eating junk at drive thrus, plus they spend time at the grocery store, AND the cooking, which especially doesn't work out well for them if they have an overly busy day with training or calls to respond to. I think I could make them good meals that would be healthier and tastier than what they eat now, for less or the same as what they currently spend.

5. Another idea spun off of the above would be to just specialize in one meal (such as lasagne, salad, homemade bread, and dessert) and just offer it once a week, even locally. Maybe people would want the convenience of take-out, but without a huge expense. I don't really know how I would drum up enough business for this, though, and I live in a really small town.

6. Laundry service: I could pick up people's dirty laundry and bring it back all clean and folded. Yeah, I have plenty of laundry to do here, but it's not that big of a deal. I've got a big Maytag Neptune so I can do very large loads, and it would still only take about 20 minutes to fold a load. Do you think people would be too nervous to let someone take their laundry away? Will people fuss at me that they're missing one sock or a hand towel? What do you think is reasonable to charge per load, considering the picking up and returning?

7. Tutoring: I already tutor one kid for 1-2 hours a week. There may be other kids who need summer tutoring.......again, I'm not sure how I would find enough of them to make it worthwhile. How much do tutors make in your area?

So what do you think, faithful readers? Do you like any of these ideas? Do you have some other ideas for me? Now is the time to share your genius, Internet!

Wake Up! Wake Up! I want to tell you something!

I know I've lulled all of you into a nice, quiet sleep with all of my boring, serious posts lately. But, WAKE UP! I want to tell you about this great book!

After last week's read of Iris Krasnow's Surrendering to Motherhood, I decided to check out her next book, Surrendering to Marriage. This book is an excellent, realistic look at marriage. Although it's decidedly pro-marriage and pro-til-death-do-us-part, Krasnow doesn't pretend it's going to be easy, or even nice, for a lot of the journey. But she does a good job of convincing us that it's worth the fight to stick with it.

I thought I would just toss out some quotes from the first section of the book (entitled The Malaise) that I thought were good, to give you all a taste of it. (I ran out of time to reread the whole book to share all of my favorite quotes!) You can probably find this book at your library, or for dirt cheap on half.com.

The 4 things she knows:
A. Marriage can be hell
B. The grass is not greener on the other side
C. Savor the highs, because one thing you can count on--the dips are just around the corner
D. Nobody is perfect, so you may as well love the one you're with

"I have found that if I wait the squalls of marriage out, they always pass, and a softer wind blows through that makes me feel as if I'm the luckiest woman alive, to be with a partner who is fiercely devoted to me and our boys."

"I'll tell you one thing that needs to be altered about expectations in relationships: that someone else can make us happy. An intrinsically unhappy person who leaves one marriage is going to be an unhappy person in a second and third marriage. Happiness is self-generated."

"We share neither blood nor genes, perhaps not even common interests. Yet we met and married and now share a home, in-laws, and children.
It can be hell."

"there's plenty of hate that comes with love..."

"Surrendering to marriage means realizing that to succeed in this most mysterious and difficult, yet essential, of partnerships we must push through waves of sadness and rage, and accept them as part of the whole marriage organism that also includes the profound joy of being in a committed union, and of giving your kids a rock to hold onto."


READ IT!

Invincible Mother Presses On

So, my back is still hurting quite a bit, but I've just kept on keeping on, with little laying-down-on-the-bed back rests every here and there. Just call me Granny!

Flylady and I have had an on-again/off-again relationship for years (like most of the rest of you) and last week I decided to get on again. I spent the first week happily deleting every single message, since my back was hurting so much. But this week I have actually made mighty fine progress decluttering. I'm always amazed at just how much you can accomplish in a 15 minute burst. Now my kitchen has far less clutter, and much nicer work spaces. So, let's hear it for the never-ending nagging of mighty Flylady!

Several weeks ago I discovered a site that could be dangerous for all of you that grew up in the Atari years: Jimbo Games.
Here you can find all of your old favorite games like Space Invaders, Frogger, Mario, Donkey Kong, and my personal favorite, PacMan! :) They have lots of other games far too newfangled for me to be interested in them, but some of you younger gamers would probably love it. I guess it's a mixed blessing about how much my back hurts. I have a pretty short window of time where I can sit at the computer (or anywhere) before I get to the pain-and-agony stage. A couple rounds of pacman, and I've got to get back to my decluttering!

Many of you will remember the news bulletin from the Potty News Network last fall after I found out that my two preschoolers were the only ones from their class still in diapers. After a lot of work, we've finally got both of those little terrorists using the pot quite successfully (one of them got the hang of it fairly quickly....the other one took a darn long time, so much so that we still breathe a little sigh of relief every time we see him perched on the throne instead of hiding in a corner pooping his pants). Since I have that accomplishment crossed off my parental To Do list, I've now undertaken the Nighttime Weaning Process with my youngest, Squiggy Magoo. On the first night (and a few others) he would pitifully cry "I need some MILK, mama!!!" and I would sweetly say, "We aren't having any milk at night any more. Would you like some water?" After several tearful refusals of the water, he would eventually have some and then say in such a sad little voice, "Would you hold me?" It's been so sad and pitiful at times that I nearly broke down and just whipped out a boob to give him a swig.....but then remembered how far we've come and how much we need to move past this point. He's 26 months old, for cryin' out loud! And I've been breastfeeding for a current grand total of 142 months, or 11.75 years. I think I deserve to reach the finish line soon...don't you?

Once we get over that hump, I assume he'll stop waking up at night, since there won't be any perks (excuse the pun! Which of course, if you would see what's left of my breasts, you'd know that PERK isn't exactly a pun for them...). Then we can move him on to Sleeping Somewhere Other Than My Bed. We've always had our babies and little ones sleep with us, and really we've enjoyed it. If I could go back and change it to having them all sleep in cribs, I absolutely would not. There is nothing that would make me trade all the sweet cuddles, and all of the peaceful rest that I've gotten because I knew my baby was safe and sound right next to me all night. It's been good. I have no regrets. BUT, part of the process that is not fun, is the part where, as a caring parent, you know that it's going to be a hard transition for your child to go from sleeping by your side for his whole life, to sleeping somewhere else. It takes a lot of time for some of the kids, and for parents who are particularly tender-hearted about this issue, it's often 3 steps forward, 2 steps back. The good news is that our 4 oldest kids all sleep just fine in their beds in other rooms, and I know that the youngest two will get there eventually too. We'll be working on project Sleep In Your Own Bed this summer, with The Firecrapper and I looking forward to the day when we get the whole bed all to ourselves.

Only 6 more school days for my bigger kids, and just 3 days for the preschoolers. Then we'll be on summer break.... I've been so spoiled this year, having some less busy time in my days. I need to just be thankful I had it, rather than ruminating on how I'd like some more of that! For now I might as well kiss my quiet and privacy goodbye, because next school year we'll have 2 of our school-age kids home for homeschooling. As the 1990 dance tune says, "Back to life....back to reality..." That's ok. It's all good. It's just been mighty nice to have so many Mental Health Days this year. I should be more mentally healthy than ever, now!

Well, peeps, that's all the Invincible Back can take for today. Dollymama, over and out!

What I wanna be when I grow up...

As funny as Chris over at The Big Yellow House. Go see. She never ceases to crack me up.

With educators like this.......

Recently my middle school-aged son came home with a notice for parents from the school counselor. I was struck by the absurd over use of exclamation points, plus some of the less fortunate choices in spelling, grammar, vocabulary, and content. Here's the letter, and I promise you I did not make one single extra punctuation mark than what was actually in the notice:

ATTENTION PARENTS!!!!!!!!!!

It's that time of year again---TEST TIME!!! The KCCT/CATS test will be given to the 7th and 8th graders. The CTBS test will be given to the 6th graders. We wanted to inform you of the dates your child/children will be testing. On the reverse side of this letter you will find a calender (yes, this is how she spelled it) with the testing schedule.

It is of the utmost important that your child/children be at school during the 2-week testing window!! Students will be able to earn prizes based on attendance and 110% effort!! To qualify for these rewards/prizes, students must in attendance and give 110% effort. Students know the criterion for what 110% effort means. (criterion?!) These have been discussed in class!!! Please reinforce to your children/children the importance of coming to school and having a great attitude about taking these tests!! Each child has worked hard all year--what a great way to show all that you have learned at Ourtown Middle School!!!! Also, a healthy snack will be provided each day of testing!! (I later found out that the "healthy" snacks included ice cream, soft pretzels, and other interesting choices, showing me once again that healthy is a relative term)

Some tips you, as a parent, can do to help prepare your child/children for the test:

-Have a relaxed environment during the testing window
-Get plenty of rest the night before each test
-Eat a good breakfast each morning of testing (breakfast can be purchased at school!) (it is hard for me to imagine a parent who does not know this by the end of the school year)
-Talk to your child about doing the very best he/she can do!! This is all we can ask for!!!!!!!!

If you have any question related to testing, please give me a call. I would love to hear from you!!!

I wonder if she was a cheerleader in high school. That's A LOT of enthusiasm.

About a week later we got a letter from the principal, letting us know that our son had qualified to attend the honor roll dance, and she also used a extra-large dose of exclamation points, causing me to think that this might be a school-wide ailment.

9 days left til summer break....we can do it.....we can do it....