The Talk at School (aka Poor Frank)

This year Frank is in 5th grade, and it's the year they have "The Talk" at school about the birds and bees. Frank is still at an age where girls are gross and any talk about sex is just plain "nasty". Poor Frank, having three younger sisters, he had to go through this first. Libby would have LOVED to go. She can't wait.

In Wichita they have some kind of place set up where all the local schools take their kids to learn about puberty. They go on a "field trip". I was emailing my Mom and Sister about this and JoLynn replies "Where on earth do you go for a "field trip" to learn about sex?"

They seperate the boys from the girls, but both groups learned the same things.

Frank was sooo funny when he came home and told us about it. He was absolutely mortified. He said that "the lady" made them say the words Penis and Vagina "Out Loud". Can you imagine such a horror?

He said he learned all about periods and those gross things that girls have to use call "Tipons" and Pads.

He said they had a plastic vagina that they showed them (only trying to imagine here what that looked liked. LOL.) And "real life" pictures.

I asked Frank if they talked about sex. He just rolled his eyes and said "No, that's for next year". (Snicker.)

Now keep in mind that Bob teaches abstenance/health at school. And that Frank has a hard time dealing with stressful stituations. So we decided we'd better talk to Frank ahead of time about what he'd be learning. So he'd be prepared.

I enjoyed listening to Bob talk to Frank. He was really good with him, and very factual. But I think maybe he DID take it a step too far, because he got on the internet and made Frank look at pictures of male "equipment" that had been infected with STDs. Frank was horribly grossed out. And I told Bob "I hope you didn't scare him with those pictures into being gay!"

Mornings at our House Just STINK.

Maybe it's just a normal thing with four kids so close together in age, but our mornings are just consistently difficult.

Bob gets up at 5am. The rest of us get up at 6am. We have to leave the house by 7:20am. That gives us nearly an hour and a half. We are constantly yelling at kids to get moving, get your clothes on, get your shoes on, get back OUT of that bed. Did you brush your teeth? Is your lunch packed? Where are you book bags and coats?

Someone is ALWAYS missing their shoes, their glasses, their homework or their band instrument.

Someone is ALWAYS bawling (and its usually not me). And the four kids are ALWAYS fighting. They fight over the remote. They fight when Libby tries to boss the others. They fight because one of the girls looks at Frank cross eyed.

Carlie threw a fit this morning because she didn't want to wear a PINK coat.

I had to give all four kids medicine this morning for various reasons. Madi said her stomach was hurting. Frank had a stuffy nose, and Libby's teeth were hurting because she pulled off two of her caps this weekend. Carlie NEEDED the medicine because I stayed home sick with her yesterday, and she refused to take it. So I had to force it down her.

I was scrambling this morning trying to find the ingredients for Libby's science experiment.

I'm just at a loss for how to make our mornings smooth and cooperative.

October Quotes

If you have one foot in yesterday and the other foot in tomorrow, then you pee on today - Heard on the Radio
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The child must know that he is a miracle, that since the beginning of the world there hasn't been, and until the end of the world there will not be, another child like him. - Pablo Casals
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We child proofed our home, but they still got in anyway!! - Mouse Pad

Lippy in Kindergarten

When I get home from work I always ask the kids about their day "Who did you play with?" "What did you learn?" "Did you get into any trouble?" "How did you do on your AR Test?"

I've been trying to tell them at school that if they'll keep Carlie busy she'll cause alot less trouble. When I went to her 9 weeks Parent Teacher Conference, she had already completed every single task required of Kindergarten.

If she's good all day she can earn a maximum of three stars for her chart. I asked her last week if she'd gotten all of her stars that day and she said "Yes, but then at the end of the day I had to take one back off!!!" She said she wouldn't stop talking at the end of class so "Mrs. Smith made me take off one of my stars and gave me a WHOLE BUNCH of Hard Fun Sheets that I have to do now" Ahhh HA. So they finally figured it out.

I asked her yesterday if she got into any trouble and she burst into tears. She said she got all three stars, but she repeated over and over that she couldn't tell me why she'd gotten in trouble because then I'd be mad at her. There was ONE bratwurst left over from dinner last night, and that is her absolute favorite food in the world. I told her that if she told me what happened at school she could have that brat for dinner, but if she didn't then I was going to let Bob eat. Still she wouldn't tell. Finally she let Bob get the brat all the way to his mouth and she goes "All right. All right. I'll TELL!!!! I got lippy with Mrs. Stepp. Okay!!!!"

A REAL Bra

Libby is anxiously waiting for her body to start changing and for puberty to begin.

My Mom and Dad kept the kids over night last Saturday. The kids had a blast, and it gave Bob and I chance to go out on date!

While Libby was there, she asked Granny. "Would you buy me a REAL bra. You know the ones like my mom wears with the stuffing inside!" Choke! Gasp! I am SO not ready for this.

A few weeks ago, she passed me in the living room, and I noticed something wasn't quite right about her. I made her stop while I looked her over. Then it finally dawned on me that she had "Boobs". She had stuffed one of her training bras with kleenex. And so it begins!

No Contact Week

This is the week in high school athletics between football and basketball where no atheletes may be contacted. So I am soaking it up. Bob has been home every evening, and I haven't cooked a meal or given a bath one time this week!! Woo Hooo!!!

I just finished the second book of the Twilight series. I can't seem to put them down. Better get them finished before Basketball Season starts!

Leave a Comment

I write in this blog mostly for my children to read when they get older. And it's also theraputic for me to write.

But if you are a regular. Please leave me a comment about who you are and why you visit!!! It would be fun to know who reads the blog.

Libby's Revenge

When Frank got angry, he was going to throw a big tantrum (or do something spectacular) and everyone was going to know about it. Now Libby reacted completely differently. She'd give you the evil eye, and then get even with you later.

When she was four years old, she went through a period where she colored on the walls every time she was alone. I was complaining about this to my Mom, and she said "All kids color on the wall. YOU did it." My reply was "I colored on the wall ONCE, got a spanking, and never did it again!!!!" Libby just kept on doing it.

We gave her a bucket and a soapy rag and made her scrub it all off, we grounded her, we spanked her, and still she colored on the walls. She did that for about a year before she finally stopped.

Then one day she got in trouble (I don't remember what it was about) and she gave me the evil eye and skulked off somewhere. I thought that was the end of it. Later that night, I went to take a bath. I was going to read my romance novel in the tub. When I got to the bathroom, Libby had taken my paperback and torn all the pages up!!! That was her revenge!!!

Frank's Revenge

At one point we have two little foster boys named Dodge and Caleb. We were considering adopting them along with their two younger brothers. Dodge was 6, Caleb was 5, and Frank was 4.

One day they were playing out in the back yard. Like typical boys, Dodge and Caleb were poking Frank with a stick. I went out there and made them stop and had them apologize. I thought it was all over and done with.

We'd just moved into a new house, and I didn't have all of the beds put up yet, so Dodge and Caleb were sleeping on a pallette in the bedroom. When they got ready to go to bed that night, they came and got me and told me that their covers were all wet. I didn't really believe them, but I went in there to check and sure enough there was a big wet spot in the middle. At first I thought one of the cats had gotten in there and peed on the blankets, but I smelled of it and it smelled like HUMAN pee, not cat pee. So I lined them all up, and Frank confessed that he had done it because he was mad at them.

After we got all the beds set up, in one room we had bunkbeds along one wall and a full bed along the opposite wall. I walked into the room, and Frank was on the top of the bunkbed, peeing in an arc right into the middle of Dodge and Caleb's bed!! I made him change all of their covers!!!

Fast forward a few weeks, and he got mad at ME. So instead of standing in front of the toliet and peeing into it, he stood on the toliet and peed all along the back wall. So I got him a bucket and some soap and made him clean up the mess himself. Then I told him "Son, if you don't stop peeing on things...I...AM....GOING....TO...CUT....IT.....OFF!!!!!"

I'm not sure if it was the threat or the fact that he had to clean up his own pee, but one of the two worked, and he never peed on anything again.

A Typical Week

I thought I'd give a run-down of a typical week for us right now.

On Monday, Lena takes Frank and Libby to piano lessons after school. I pick them up on my way home and drop Frank off at football practice which goes from 6-8pm. Bob had JV Football and didn't get home until after 8pm.

Tuesday I had to leave work early to be at a school conference about his behavior that was from 4-5pm and Frank had practice from 6-8pm. Bob got home around 7pm.

Wednseday morning was the A/B Honor Roll Breakfast for Frank and Libby. We had to be there at 7:30am, and I was late to work. Wednesday is also dance/tumble cheer day. Lena takes them at 4:45pm, and I drive from work to the El Dorado YMCA and pick them up. They are done by 6pm, and we get home around 6:30pm. We carved our jack-o-lantern when we got home. Frank did not get to help with this because he acted up at school and had to spend his entire evening doing school work he refused to do at school. Bob got home about 8pm.

Thursday, Frank has an appointment with his counselor from 6-7pm at Augusta. My Mother In Law is driving up from Oklahoma today. She and Lena are taking the girls to Bob's football game (which also happens to be in Augusta). I'm going to take Frank to his counseling and then meet them there.

Friday is Halloween, so we'll be Trick-or-Treating. The girls get to wear their costumes to school. So I have to make sure they have them on in the morning and also have a bag of clothes to change in to after the parade. Oh and Madi needs $7 in cash by Friday too for a project...gotta remember to send that with her.

Saturday is Frank's Football Bowl. His first game is in Newton at 9:45am. If he wins that game, he plays again at 2 something. If he loses it he plays again at 6 something. If his team makes it to the finals they'll play on Sunday too.

If Bob wins his game on Thursday, they'll go to the play offs on Tuesday night at Andover. Can't imagine them winning that one, so then we'll be done.

We have about a week off before basketball season starts. Bob is Asst Coaching the High School girls this year, and all four of my kids are playing Rec Basketball on Four different teams. Not sure yet how I'm going to manage that one. I didn't think Carlie would want to play as she's more an intellectual than an athelete. But she is insisting that tough girls play basketball and she's going to play. I told her there would be running involved, but she still insisting!!!

They say that there is no rest for the wicked, so I must be REEEEAAALY bad!!!!

JB Had A Break In

JB's apartment isn't in the best part of town, but it is cheap. Someone picked the lock and broke in the other day. They took his PlayStation, videos and games. He called the police to report it. When they came to take the report, the police told him that someone had been killed in his apartment last summer. They said they found the guy in the living room, and told JB he'd been there several weeks before anyone found him so he was melting into the floor. NICE!!!! I think that falls into the category "Thanks for Sharing". No wonder the rent was so cheap.

Pluck Those Orioles!!!

Last week Bob's team played their big rivals, the T-Birds. They made a giant sign that said "Pluck Those T-Birds." Carlie asked me what pluck meant. So I explained to her that it meant to pull all the feathers off of a bird. So the whole game she's asking me "Have we plucked 'em yet?"

Well last night towards the end of the game she asked me what the mascot was for the team were playing. I told her they were the Orioles and that was a pretty black and orange bird. And without missing a beat she says "Well I guess we'll pluck them too!!!" So she spent the rest of the game shouting "Pluck 'em!!! Pluck 'em!!!!"

Hehehe.

Why Mom Never Gets a Hot Meal

From my journal five years ago today. Frank is 5, Libby is 4, Madi is 18 months, and Carlie is 8 months old. It's the end of football season, and as always I exhausted by then.


Bob is home tonight...so I think oh good...I have some help tonight. I go after school and pick the kids up from daycare. Its only 4:30...since Bob is home I think that I can get some errands done. So I drop the kids off with him....I leave Carlie and Madi both screaming because they want me....and Frank and Libby bawling because they want to go. So I go by the post office and mail Parker's package, fill my van up which is on empty, go by the library and pick out two new books on tape for my van, go to the bank and deposit our paychecks...then go to Sonic to get something to eat.

I get back home and immediately Madi and Carlie both want me. I stick Madi in the high chair and get her food ready and put her drink in a sippy cup, and give Frank and Libby their food and drink. Calie is screaming. Bob had a shake to drink...so I tell him to go drink this before it melts, and I will give Carlie a bottle. So he eats while I give Carlie her bottle. She finishes and wants her paci...and starts screaming for it. Its no where to be found because Madi stole it and ran off with it. So Bob and I look all over the house. We have SEVEN of these paci's and not one can be found. Finally I find one in a corner. I was going to give Carlie to Bob so that I can eat, but now Madi is throwing a fit in the high chair. She doesn't do this unless she needs something. I give her a spoon and fork...nope. I put her out...nope...put her back in ...nope...give he raisins...nope. Finally figure out she has a poopy diaper. So Bob goes to change her. I am still holding Carlie. So I put Carlie in her walker...thinking I can finally eat. I go to get my hamburger...and before I can sit down...Frank pokes a hole in the bottom of his styrafoam Sprite cup. It was completely full and floods the kitchen floor...his pants and my feet with sticky Sprite. So I get a mop and a towel and get it cleaned up somewhat...but the floor is still sticky. Again...I start to sit down...when Libby decides to pull off her shoes which are full of sand. The sand sticks to the sticky floor!!! Ugh!!!

So finally I do get to sit down with my food. And here comes Madi. She has been in the trash and retrieved Bob's empty shake cup with the straw. She has taken the straw off and licked the cup and has it all over her face. She runs toward my plate and is waving the straw. I am trying to catch her...while I wrestle the cup away from her...she takes the straw and jabs it in the ketchup on my plate and gives the straw a good whing...which splatters ketchup everywhere. Ugh!!! So I catch her....wipe the ketchup off of both of us...and the shake off her face. Take everything away from her. And guess what. She's pooped AGAIN. It smells like diarhea poop, so I figure I need to go change it quickly. So I go change her......Bob still has Carlie all this time who is still fussing off and on....and FINALLy get to sit down and finish eating!

Calgon...take me awaaaaayyyyy. LOL. All of this and it wasn't even 6PM yet!!!

A-B Honor Roll

Both Frank and Libby made the A-B Honor Roll this 9 weeks. That's not an easy thing for either one of them. They have to work to get there. I got to go to the Honor Roll breakfast with them this morning. That was fun.

Thank You and I'm Sorry

For those of you who know more of the story of JB and our history with him, you'll truly understand the significence of this post. His birthday was on the 23rd, and he turned 19. He's been in our lives for 15 months now. He continues to be cancer free. His next check-up is in January.

From the beginning his relationship with our family has been a push-pull kind of thing. He wanted what our family had to offer, but after having been burned so many times in the last few years, it was hard for him to trust. So he'd often pull close to us, then panic and push us away.

We frequently heard from him that he didn't need any help, he didn't need anybody or anything. Three times he left our house in a fury because he didn't want to follow our rules, but he always came back.

He came over the other night to pick up the birthday present I had for him, and HE gave ME a hug and thanked me for trying to take care of him. It's the first time he's ever shown/initiated affection towards me. Occasionally in the past he'd tolerate me hugging him or ruffling his hair, but that was about it. His Thank You meant ALOT to me.

Then a few nights later, he made me mad. Typical teenage boy being selfish kind of thing. He sent me a text that he was sorry he'd hurt my feelings, and that he knew he messed up alot but he didn't do it on purpose.

Wow, has he really grown up alot this last year. I'm sure he's still going to have bumps in his road. But I sure am proud of how far he's come.

Trick or Treat at Madison

Wow, what another crazy-busy weekend. We went to the High School game on Friday Night. Then I had to have Frank in Hutchinson for his last regular game at 9:30 am. It's an hour's drive. We got home from that at 2pm, then left at 3pm to go have Halloween at Madison with my Mom and Dad.

While we were at Madison, JB stopped by the house with his new girlfriend. I missed getting to see her, but Bob said she was nice.

Today Madi had a skating party in the afternoon. Carlie was upset she couldn't go, so I took her and the other two out for ice cream while we waited for Madi. Whew!!!

We had a really good time Trick or Treating with Granny, Papaw and Memaw Obie.

Freedom on two wheels!

Madi learned to ride her bike without training wheels this weekend. I was so proud, because Frank was the one who patiently taught her how to ride it. They were so excited.

Now she wants to practice every day. I got out in the street and took pictures of them yesterday. Libby wanted me to take a picture of her doing "tricks" and then Carlie had to show me her "tricks" too.







She wants her training wheels off now too. I told her we'd do that this weekend.

Busy Weekend

We went to the home El Dorado football game on Friday night. JB's grandpa (Ken) met us at Pizza Hut before the game and bought us pizza, then went to the game with us.

Frank's last home game was on Saturday at 10:30am. I didn't know it but Frank and Libby's Birth Dad had called and talked to Bob earlier in the week and told him they were coming to the game. Bob forgot to tell me!!!

So I get to the game, and we walk by this guy and he reaches out and pulls Libby's hair and grabs her. This Momma Bear had her karate chop out and was ready to do battle until I realized who it was!!! Mr. Robey brought his Mom with him and his grandson who is four. Frank and Libby think it's really cool that they are an Aunt and Uncle.

Saturday night we headed to Madison. My Grandma Obie is there visiting, and we spent the day with them on Sunday.

We got lots of family time in.

JB's Make-A-Wish Dog

JB was diagnosed with AML Leukemia when he was a Freshman in High School. He spent a month on a ventilator in the hospital. They gave him a 40% chance of living five years.

After JB got out of the hospital, the Make-A-Wish program offered him a Wish. Of all the things he could have asked for, what he requested was a dog. They went to the local animal shelter and he picked out Bo, a Black Lab mix.

I think he’d had his dog about six months when he found out that his Mom was moving to Pennsylvania. JB stayed in El Dorado and was living with friends. His Mom took Bo with her when she moved.

As we got to know JB and he told us his story, he said one of the most painful things that had happened was losing his Make-A-Wish dog.

His grandpa called me shortly before JB’s 18th birthday and asked if there was anything special JB would like for his birthday. I told his grandpa that the best gift he could get him would be to get his dog back for him. By that time, his Mom had been living in another state for two years. We weren’t even sure she still had his dog.

But his grandpa made a call, and his Mom said she’d be willing to bring Bo back to him when she came to visit at Christmas time.

So now JB has his Make-A-Wish dog back.

Wise Mr. Sock

I tried something out this morning with Carlie when she has her fits that my counselor suggested. I made a wise Mr Sock puppet.

She threw a fit because I pulled her hair back out of her face today and she wanted it down. So I got wise Mr Sock puppet out and made him tell her that her hair was beautiful and made him try to eat the sausage she was having for breakfast. She laughed so hard she forgot about her fit. She told me the next time I threw a fit she was going to use it on me. LOL.


Last night the other kids were at a neighbor's house, so I took Carlie with me to the store to buy some bread. She wanted to buy some candy, and I told her No. She said “I think you need to let me win this argument because you are big, and I am little!!!"