Smooth Mowing

As I headed home from my grandmother’s house on Thanksgiving, I noticed I had a rather large stick in my back windshield. So I asked, “Why is there a stick in my back windshield?”  My dear sweet child, Sebastian, said that he liked the stick and he was taking it home.

Yes, my child found a stick that he liked and decided to take it home. 

This short conversation has stayed on my mind ever since.  Why in the world would he need to bring a stick home? He never plays outside. 

Our yard is a barren wasteland of just plain old boring grass.  Perfect for smooth mowing, which is exactly what Josh is trying to accomplish, but it isn’t the best yard for the childhood imagination.

We don’t have rocks in our yard.  Josh gets rid of those.  He doesn’t want to run over it with the lawn mower.

We don’t have sticks in our yard.  Josh gets rid of those, too.  He doesn’t want to run over these with the lawn mower, either.

We don’t have leaves because Josh chops leaves up with the lawnmower.  Not sure why he does this.  Don’t they just disintegrate?

We don’t have old tires, overgrown flowerbeds, swings, picnic tables, overgrown roots, or rusted old stuff left over from 30 years ago.

I told Josh about the conversation with Sebastian and how there aren’t any sticks in the yard.  Of course Josh implied that he did wish the kids would play in the yard more.  Knowing better, I said, “Now just what would you say if you walked outside and seen the kids digging a hole in the yard with a stick?”  He chuckled and said, “I would tell them to stop.”

I am not sure where Sebastian put his stick, but hopefully he hid it well.  There is no rock, stick, or leaf in our yard that is safe from Josh, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.

Read Full Post »

Who needs common sense when you have a six year old?

Yesterday I received the following text from Jacob: call me when u can. u gotta hear this.

I called him back.

Jacob: You are not going to believe this. Lucy (our new puppy that is supposed to be about 9 months old according to our vet) took Sebastian’s coffee cup to her pallet and did not spill a drop of the coffee (it is decaffeinated coffee). She took it to her pallet and drank it with out spilling it. Can you believe it?

No, I didn’t.

Me: (Laughing) Let me talk to Granny.

Jacob gives the phone to my mom that proceeds to tell me the same story that Jacob just told me.

Mom: Can you believe that dog picked up that cup and took it to her pallet without spilling any of the coffee?

Me: Are you sure that is what happened?

Mom: Well, Sebastian come to me and said that she drank his coffee. He was very upset. I asked him how she got his cup and he said that she took it to her pallet and drank it. I asked him how did she get it to her pallet and Sebastian said, “by the handle.”

Seriously? My mother is listening and believing the logic of a six year old.

Me: Where was the coffee at to begin with?

Mom: The table.

Me: Doesn’t it make more sense that Lucy drank the coffee from the cup, then took the cup to her pallet?

Mom: (after a moment of silence) Well, I guess that makes sense. I was just going by what the kids were saying. (Then she starts laughing about it.)

Me: I think so, too.

Here is the sad thing…before I talked to my mother about it, she seriously went around the path from the table to Lucy’s pallet to make sure that there wasn’t any coffee anywhere on the floor.

Read Full Post »

Dog days…

I have added another member to our household. Her name is Lucy.

She is some sort of hound mix. I am thinking maybe a black and tan hound with beagle.

Who knows? She might be just a mutt that looks like a hound. Either way, she is really sweet and I believe that she is going to make a really wonderful pet for our family.

She was stray that wandered up to a friends house and my friend unsuccessfully tried to find the puppy a home. After a month, she brought the puppy in to the office with the hopes that someone would take her. Someone else did for two days, but that situation did not work out. So, I brought her home with me.

I haven’t had a dog in years. I have never had a house dog.

She has something in common with everyone in the family, I think.

Lucy is house broken.  Most everyone in our home is, except for Samuel (he is still in diapers).

She is an older puppy. I have two older kids that would probably be the equivalent of older puppies.

She is a she. I have one daughter, so having another female in the house should be fun.

She likes her blanket. Sebastian does, too.

She likes going outside. My husband loves being outside. He claims that it is too hot, but he stays out there all the time so it can’t be too bad.

She sheds. I do, too. I think it is hormones, on my part at least. I seem to remember shedding hair after having each baby. That is not her problem, though.

My mother is staying with the kids and she sent me a text earlier that said “Lucy made a little sound. Sebastian said it was her first word.”

You got to love kids…

Read Full Post »

Three kids playing ball at the same time is not that bad…really, it isn’t.

I have seriously neglected my blog for the last few weeks.

I have seriously been really busy.

Seriously.

Jacob, Emily, and Sebastian are all playing ball. They all have two games a week. Times are getting hectic.

Jacob’s first game was last night. He played great. Bless his heart, he was nervous and excited. I know that I may be a little biased, but my son was the best looking ball player out there.

Emily has been playing for a couple of weeks. She is doing good and she seems to be getting better and better. She really enjoys it and I hope that she keeps playing.

Sebastian is doing really well, too. He has been playing for a couple of weeks, too. Josh took him to the game last night and was giving Sebastian pointers on batting. Sebastian said that he didn’t want to hit the ball too hard and hurt someone. Josh was a little speechless, I think. He told Sebastian that “That is why they have gloves, son.” Sebastian  hit a ball over the shortstops head and got a double and an RBI.

Last night was really hectic because Emily played at 7pm, Jacob played at 8pm, and Sebastian played at 8:30pm. I watched Emily and Jacob while Josh watched Sebastian’s game.

I know one thing–it was cold last night. It is past the middle of May. Last night had to set record lows. I had mittens on Samuel. He did not like that at all.

Anyway, ball season is in full swing. I am loving it.

I love sitting on the sidelines watching my kids be kids. I love to watch their excitement when they hit a ball and get on base or even make it across home plate. I feel their disappointment when they strike out, miss the ball, or make a bad throw. I love watching them make memories that will last a lifetime. I love knowing that they are learning skills that will benefit them for a lifetime, such as working with others toward a common goal, always doing your best at whatever you do, and realizing that not everyone is an all star pitcher, but that everyone has their place on the team.

Whatever that team may be.

Read Full Post »

You might not want to ignore the weird noise under the kitchen sink.

You don’t know how much you take your kitchen sink for granted until you can’t use it.

The other day I received a phone call from my husband. I didn’t get to the call in time so I had to call him right back.

The first thing he said when he answered the phone was that he couldn’t win from losing. This was not a good sign. I braced myself and asked “What’s wrong, now?” (Notice the ‘now’…there is always something wrong with the house.)

Jacob was washing dishes and noticed this strange sound every time he would turn on the water, but he didn’t try to figure out what the noise was because he just wanted to get the dishes done so he could go back and play his PlayStation 2. Josh walked through the kitchen and noticed the sound. My husband wasn’t as quick to dismiss the sound like Jacob, so he investigated to see where the noise was coming from. He opened the cabinet and the pipes under the sink was leaking.

It was about 4:15pm and the hardware store closes at 5pm so he had to go get the supplies to fix the sink. He gets back and fixes the sink.

Of course, it isn’t that simple.

There is another leak, but now it is after 5pm. So, he had to wait until the store opened up again.

Yesterday afternoon, he was able to fix the sink and now we are able to use the sink.

By the way, Jacob has been told that if he is doing anything and he hears a noise that is weird, not to ignore the noise.

Read Full Post »

A few thoughts from my daughter…

The kids are on Spring Break. There is a lot of nothing going on in the house, except for some PlayStation playing, Internet surfing, and TV watching. For some reason, they believe that they are on vacation from chores when they are on Spring Break. They do what they are supposed to with a little bit lot of reminding from me, but I don’t complain too much. After all, they are kids and you are only a kid for a short while. Except for those people with brains that never catch up with their body.

Anyway…

Emily is really getting into the show, Jon and Kate Plus Eight. She tries to tell me about the show when I get home in the afternoon.

So far, I have gathered this from the show–from Emily’s opinions.

Jon is really easy going and does whatever Kate wants.

Kate yells a lot and has to have a lot of help because she has a hard time controlling all those kids.

There is always someone crying.

Kate is always tired.

Evidently, we could have our own show because it is just as chaotic in our house as it is in theirs even though we have only four kids and not eight.

I handle things better than Kate. (No offense Kate.)

Jon is calm and has Daddy and kid time while on some trip somewhere.

Evidently, Kate and a friend took the kids to some “chocolate place” and she is crazy, because Emily said that I would never dare take them anywhere like that. Apparently, I know better. (Again, no offense Kate.)

Kate would never make it working in a day care, because Emily said I watched more than eight kids with no problem.

Since, I have only heard bits and pieces of the show, I can’t really comment from experience but only on Emily’s perception of the show.

First of all, I think that if Kate is able to handle all eight children all day, every day, without going insane, then I think that she is doing great. Especially, since they are so young. My children are spread out and not even close to the same age, so I have to deal with 4 children that are all in different stages in their lives.

Second, I suspect that it is just easier for Jon to go with the flow than to argue. From what I gather though, he works hard and does all he can to support his family. Also, I think it is great that he tries to make time for every child. That doesn’t always happen even when a family only has a couple of children.

Third, I am glad that they decided to put their story on TV. It is great entertainment and I think that it helps Emily because she relates to the show–even though we only have four children. Being the only girl, Emily often feels like she is misunderstood and out of the loop. I do what I can to help her not feel that way and let her know that she is an important part of our family.

Finally, Emily said that she is glad that I am her mom. If watching the show allows her to appreciate the family she has, then I will gladly let her watch the show.  Besides, I like hearing Emily’s observations about their family.

Maybe one day I will get around to actually watching a full episode.

Have a Blessed Day!

Read Full Post »

I must be doing something right.

I use charts, lists, and a huge calendar to keep my family organized–or at least try to, anyway. I felt like it was a losing battle. I have to constantly remind my kids to check their lists. I have to remind them to actually do the stuff on their list. I don’t always get to everything on my list because life gets in the way. Life has a funny way of doing that sometimes. 

My mother (who is my biggest critic) came over Friday morning. She commented on how clean my house was and asked if I had spent the night before cleaning. I told her that I had not and I looked around my kitchen. I realized that my house was clean. It was clean without me having to spend hours cleaning.

All this time that I thought I was fighting a losing battle, I had actually won it.

Sometimes, it just takes stepping back and seeing your situation through the eyes of others to see the real picture. I am sure this applies to more than just my clean house. Thanks Mom!

Have a Blessed Day!

Read Full Post »

Would someone else in my family look at The Calendar besides me?

It is a sad day at my house when I am the only one that has it all together.

Let me explain. I am what some might call scatterbrained. I call myself that, too. I am forgetful and often to the point that someone might even think that I didn’t care about whatever it was that I was supposed to remember, but really and truly my mind is somewhere else–Sonya’s own little world. Sonya’s World also makes me run late quite often, too. I even forget to leave work when I am supposed to and then I run late getting home. Sad, huh?

I lose misplace items all the time: keys, check card, makeup bag, purse, cell phone, occasionally my car in Walmart parking lot, and other things. I have developed my own system for dealing with my habit of misplacing stuff, just because my mind is on something else at the time.

My keys: I always place them in the same place every day as I walk into my home. It is a cute little fish dish.

My Purse: I drop it into the same spot every day.

My Makeup bag is a little harder to keep up with. It stays in the same spot, but sometimes I don’t have time to put on makeup before I leave the house so I take it with me and then I forget that it is in the car until the next morning when I am ready to put on my makeup. It is a vicious cycle.

I always park in the area of the parking lot at Walmart. It just makes it easier to find that way.

I will put my cell phone down anywhere. I find it all over the house. I have even had to call it before so that I can hear it ring, but then half the time I realize that it is on vibrate. A quarter of the time, I have left the thing in the car. I will only realize this after calling it 5 times, realizing it must be on vibrate, and I have torn the house apart searching for it.

Knowing how I am, I have been determined to get organized. I have lists everywhere. Lists that I have forgotten about. I have lists for the kids. I have a huge desk calendar at work and at home with everything listed on it. I don’t know how much more I can do.

The other day, I was on my way home. I had just picked up baby Samuel from the sitter. It was 5pm. Jacob had a Chiropractor appointment at 5:15pm. I called Josh.

Me: Hey, I just picked up Samuel. I am on  my way. Tell Jacob to be ready when I get there.

Josh: Oh, Shoot.

Me: (I could tell this wasn’t going to be good.) What?

Josh: Jacob went to hit balls with Stanley. (Stanley was Jacob’s baseball coach last year and Jacob is really good friends with Stanley’s son.)

Me: Well, do you know where they are?

Josh: No, but he took the cell with him. (The cell that Jacob’s father bought him…not me.)

Me: OK. Well, I will be there in a minute. You know, I have it written on The Calendar.

Josh: I don’t look at The Calendar.

UGH! Can you feel my frustration? I thought that my husband was the one that had it all together. He is the neat freak in the family. I just assumed that neat freaks would be great at organizational stuff. Perhaps, I am wrong…or it is just him. Anyway, for me to be the one that has it all together in the family is sort of comical really. Since when is the most scatterbrained person in the family the one that seems to know what is going on and when it is happening. It all comes down to determination and constant vigilance on my part to have a routine for everything. Repetition is the key for me.

The Calendar is our command station. It is where I communicate to my family, as well as telling them, that this is what is on the agenda for our family. The Calendar and our lists are a way to remain organized. Having and maintaining a routine is crucial for my family. Apparently, I need to make some revisions to their lists.  

I need to add “Look at The Calendar” to my family’s lists–either that or stick a post-it note on their foreheads.

By the way, we did make it to Jacob’s appointment–barely.

Read Full Post »

What are your family traditions?

I would think that traditions are important to a lot of people, especially around the holidays. Some traditions are complex while others are simple. Some involve religious beliefs while others do not. Who knows, you may have a tradition that you don’t even think of as a tradition.

I was thinking about the traditions in my own family. We have traditions such as doing crafts at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Even something as simple as having my Grandmother’s Chicken and Dumplings at every holiday could be viewed as a tradition.

I think about how my mother and I would go out to eat, then to the movies every Saturday when I was a teenager. That was sort of our mother and daughter time. Even now, I still go shopping (most of the time it is to Sam’s or the grocery store) with my mom on most Saturday’s. We don’t get to the movies much anymore, but I feel like we have continued the tradition of spending time together on Saturday’s.

Now that I have my own children, I am thinking about traditions that I celebrate with them. Sadly, I can’t think of anything really significant that we could call a “tradition” other than attending church, but I don’t know if this qualifies as a real tradition. I think that my family gets so caught up with life that we forget to stop every now and then and enjoy being together as a family.

So, I need some inspiration! I want to hear about your family traditions.   🙂

Read Full Post »

Staying on top of school projects…

“Mom, I have a project due tomorrow.”

I can’t tell you how many times these words have been uttered in my house. Oh, it could be a project or it could be that tomorrow is snack day and they just have to have a drink and a snack.

And why do you find out at the last minute? Well, it is simple–they forgot.

Well, not now. I am emailing Jacob’s teachers regularly to find out how things are going. This is how I discovered that he had a project due. I thought that it was amusing that at PTC, all the other parents had no clue that their child had a project in reading and that it was due in less than a week. I felt like I had the inside scoop, because I knew about the project. Of course, if I was waiting on Jacob to tell me about then I would have found out about the project last night or at the PTC like all the other parents.

Since I had found out about the project about three weeks ago, I felt that we were on top of things but being the procrastinator that I am, I waited until yesterday afternoon to get the board that he needed to display his project. I knew that he had most of the work done and that all we needed to do was put it on the board.

Well, if you have kids and you have ever helped those kids with their school projects then you know that it is never as simple as putting it on the board. There are always school projects that do not want to cooperate with your efforts to just get them done. There is usually a snag in the process and this project was no different.

First let me say that his project was over a book that I have never read–and I have a degree in English and I felt like I read constantly during college.

I get home from Walmart with his board and the fun begins.

He didn’t get everything printed off at school. Of course, he could print it all off at home–if our printer would print.

I had to compile Jacob’s stuff and attach it in an email that I sent to myself. I went to a friends house to print the documents.

Of course, I would forget that not everyone has upgraded to Microsoft Word 2007.

I had to call Jacob and talk him through re-saving the documents in the MS Word 93-2003. Then, I told him that he needed to open his email.

He couldn’t remember his password to his email.

OK, so I told him to go to my email and I gave him my password. I walk him through creating a new message and attaching the newly saved documents. Then, I told him to press send after assuring him that you could send an email to yourself.

I waited patiently for at least 30 seconds (it was the longest 30 seconds ever) and the email never showed up. I was on the phone with my husband at this point and he told me that it would take longer than a minute to get an email. Well, as much as I pay for Internet–it should be there instantly.

Then, I realized that I could look in my sent folder. Sure enough, there was the email.

I printed off the documents, went home, and helped Jacob create his masterpiece. We were done by 9pm. Since my son has inherited his procrastinating self from my procrastinating self, then we are usually up until midnight working on project.

But not this time. I might have procrastinated with getting the board, but we were on top of the project otherwise.

I have to say that it feels good to be done with something before crunch time.

I may just have to rethink my procrastinating ways.

Read Full Post »