Someday This Will Be a Law

Have you ever heard about some of the ridiculous laws that some states have?

Take for instance, in Alabama you may not have an ice cream cone in your back pocket at any time or play Dominoes on Sunday.

In Billings, Montana no person shall raise pet rats.

Do not try to put a coin in your ear in Hawaii because yes, you guessed it, it’s against the law!

I’m sure in some states it’s against the law to play hopscotch in rain boots and no pants!

There are hundreds more equally strange laws in different cities and states across the country and I found myself thinking about them the other day when the kids and I were driving down the street.

As we were driving, my 5 year old son, Bency, asks, “Mom, is it against the law to drive backwards down the street?”

I immediately said, “Yes! Well, ummmm…..I think so. Well, I don’t know. If it isn’t a law, it should be.”

I tried looking up the answer to this burning question but have yet been able to draw a definite conclusion if this is in fact a law. However, you can bet your patootie that when Bency reaches driving age I will be constantly monitoring him because if anyone would try to drive backwards down the street, it would be Bency.

I’m sure Bency is trying to figure out how to put this car in reverse!

This also brings me to another burning question. How in the world do these strange laws get enacted?

I’m taking a wild stab in the dark here but if I had to guess based off the examples of weird laws I gave above; I would be willing to venture they all have a fed up mother behind them.

If I had the ability and drive to put a new law into place I certainly have a few in mind.

I have a feeling this might be against the law!

My most recent annoyance has been stickers. You know those big stickers that people hand out to kids at stores, doctor’s offices, fairs etc. The ones that are encouraged to be put on your child’s shirt as soon as they receive them. Yes, those little gifts of kindness that my children enjoy receiving are one of my biggest pet peeves.

Why you ask? How could a simple sticker be the bane of my existence? Well, the problem with these stickers is that we forget about them and the clothes go through the wash with these stickers still adhered. After we pull them out of the dryer the sticky substance is still there in a perfect rectangle with bits of the paper still remaining. I either have to deem these clothes as a lost cause or sit for hours trying to get it off. Just this past weekend I pulled out my favorite sweatshirt and there on the front was a sticky patch left over from one of the kids putting their sticker on me!

I’ve had enough of stickers and am ready to march down to City Hall and fight the fight. I want the production and doling out of all stickers to cease.

I want it to be a law!

Look closely at Bency’s shirt…yep, it’s one of those stickers!!

 

I Heart Shrinky Dinks

I have been racking my brain trying to decide what my children should give their teachers on the last day of school. Luckily, I saw this post about homemade Shrinky Dinks from a fellow blogger over at mummyshymz! She is a homeschooling mom in Singapore and always has great ideas!

What I loved about the concept of this is that it allows you the freedom to create whatever you want!

As soon as I saw her post I went to Hobby Lobby and purchased this:

Plain sheets of Shrinky Dink plastic

I then told the kids they could create key chains for their teachers!

I drew the shape they wanted and they colored whatever they wanted on it! After they were done I cut it out and punched a hole in it and put it in the oven. We put them in the oven at 325 degrees for 3 minutes and they were done!

It was an easy project and one that we all really enjoyed.

As you can see we have already made quite a few in the past few days!

our collection of Shrinky Dinks

One of my daughter’s key chains

Another one of my daughter’s key chains

One of the key chains my son made

 

 

 

 

All of Their Belongings Fit Into a Volkswagen Beetle

Have you ever found yourself wondering how different expressions come about? Take for instance the phrase, “Bite the bullet.” People often use this expression when they are referring to taking a chance on something. This expression came about due to a dangerous army practice in the 1850’s. Prior to using their rifles, soldiers had to bite off the head of the cartridge to expose the explosive to the spark which would ignite it. This was extremely dangerous and needed courage and firmness to pull it off.

In our family we have many expressions. Many of them are originals. I owe this fact to a particular reason.

They came about because my mother and father have been together for a long time. They are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary today. They got married young, came from the same area and know all of the same people. They have many inside jokes.

For instance, when the house gets a little messy one of my parents will say, “It’s starting to look like the Coggins around here.”

Apparently, a family that they both knew from their childhood days were not very good housekeepers. I have no idea who the Coggins are, but seeing that I have heard this expression over 5000 times in my life you better believe that when things are getting a little out of control in the upkeep of our household I say, “It’s staring to look like the Coggins around here.”

I am determined to keep this expression alive, along with many more.

My parents started from meager beginnings. They started out their life living above my grandparent’s general store. They soon moved into their own apartment with their new baby. My Dad went to college and worked full-time. My Mom worked as a nurse and took care of my sister. When my Dad graduated from college he received a job offer 3 hours away, working for the State of Wisconsin designing roads and bridges.

My parents say they moved themselves, my sister and all of their belongings across the state in a Volkswagen Beetle and that included a rubber tree plant.

My Dad always brings up this fact whenever my mom brings home a new piece of dilapidated furniture she recovered from the thrift store to refurbish. He then adds, “Now we would need two semi-trailers” which my mother likes to retort with, “Well, if we didn’t have that stupid treadmill in the basement collecting dust we would have more room.”

They’ve added more than just belongings in the past 50 years too. They added 2 more children, 10 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren with one more due any day. Plus many memories….many, many memories.

If you ask them how they managed to stay together so long their answer would be because they are best friends and they know that no one else would put up with them.

However, I do know one other key element that is part of the longevity of their marriage.

Whenever my Mom gets angry with my Dad and yells something along the lines of, “Gosh darn you (insert my Dad’s full name here), why on earth would leave grape jelly blobs on the counter? Why can’t you just wipe them up gosh darn it?”

My Dad busts out in a baritone version of Brenda Lee’s “I’m Sorry” song.

Happy 50th Anniversary Mom & Dad!

I’m so glad you “bit the bullet” and got married and stuck it out all of these years!

Mom & Dad’s Wedding Day

Memories, Like the Corners of my Mind

Memories,

Like the corners of my mind

Misty water-colored memories….

It has been brought to my attention by my mom that my memories and some of the things that I recount here on my blog aren’t always factual when it comes to my childhood.

Remember when I said that my older sister gave me a home perm when I was a kid? Well, it was actually my mom that gave me the perm. My mom has finally figured out how to comment on WordPress so now if I get some facts wrong she will kindly set the record straight. Also, my aunt pointed out the other day that my Grandma didn’t eavesdrop too much on the party line. My dad may have exaggerated a bit that it was often.

The point that I’m trying to make is that everyone’s memory of a situation is different…especially when it comes to a kid’s memory.

Someday, I want my children to read this blog and see all the wonderful and not so wonderful memories of their life and their family’s history.

So today I am writing this post for my 5 year old son Bency.

When Bency was 3 years old he tackled his then 5 year old sister, Iris, on the recliner in the living room. She immediately began screaming, “Get off of me, you’re hurting me! Get him off of me…he’s hurting me!”

I was sitting on the couch adjacent to the scene and my husband was sitting at the computer desk next to them. After we both asked Bency to get off of his sister and he made no motion to discontinue his jumping on his sister, my husband reached over and pulled Bency off of her.

We heard a pop.

Both my husband and I looked at each other with wide eyes and then Bency let out a blood curdling scream.

Bency began holding his elbow and continued to scream at the top of his lungs. We instantly knew that something was seriously wrong so without a second thought we scooped him up and we all raced to the doctor’s office 5 minutes away.

Once inside the clinic, they immediately ushered us back to the examining room and the doctor came in within minutes as Bency laid in my lap still crying softly. He briefly felt Bency’s arm and elbow and then looked at me and said, “This will only take a second but hold him tight and expect a pop and a scream.” The doctor quickly pushed and turned and within seconds we heard the pop and Bency let out a yelp. Bency cried for a few more seconds and then we asked him if his arm still hurt. He thought about it for a moment and then answered, “no” and proceeded to hop off of my lap and start jumping around.

The doctor then explained that this is a common occurrence in children between the ages of 1-3 years old and is often called nursemaid’s elbow. It happens because the ligaments in that area haven’t fully developed at that age. You have to be extremely careful not to pull a child by their elbow. There is however no permanent damage done and it just pops back into place.

We breathed a sigh of relief and after spending a mere 15 minutes at the doctor’s office we left with a happy boy.

Over the last few years we have brought the story up occasionally because it was slightly horrific at the time. Also, Iris was 5 years old and remembers it quite vividly so she has told her brother that his elbow popped out of his socket. Bency, however , obviously doesn’t remember the situation at all.

The reason I believe this is because last summer Bency said, “Mom, do you remember the time my elbow popped out of my socket and blood started spewing all over? There was blood flying everywhere and my bones were poking out and you were trying to get my bones back into my body?”

I immediately sat Bency down and told him the whole story and assured him there was no blood involved and no bones were poking out of his body. I went over it a few times to make sure he fully understood. I was certain I had set the record straight.

A month ago at the dinner table Bency said, “Remember the time my elbow came out of my arm and all of my skin started melting off of me and all of my fingernails fell off? It was so terrible. The skin was literally just peeling off of me. And bones just started falling out of my body and blood was just dripping everywhere.”

I let out an exasperated sigh and once again found myself telling Bency the whole story all over again. Step by step. Every detail. I once again reiterated that there was no blood involved. No skin peeling or melting off. No bones protruding or falling out. Not one fingernail fell off.

So Bency, this one is for you. This is the real story. Please don’t tell people “your version”!!

Can you believe my bones were falling out and blood was everywhere and my skin was melting off??

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Engrave a Ray of Sunshine on my Soul

Is compassion something learned or is it born into us?

I watch the daily interactions between my children. Sometimes I see moments that engrave a ray of sunshine on my soul. Other times I witness acts that make me wonder if solitary confinement is the only way to successfully achieve peace in a house with three small children.

One of those sweet moments of Bency reading to Cesar when he was a baby

We have a basket of blankets in the living room that are for any ones use should they get cold. For some reason my 2 year old, Cesar has formed a strong attachment to the red fleece blanket in the basket. Even though there is an exact matching blue one and my 5 year old son, Bency, doesn’t prefer one over the other he will grab the red one if he sees Cesar entering the room just to start a battle. It’s moments like these that make having more than one child difficult.

But then there’s instances that occur like the one last week. It was my daughter, Iris’s 8th birthday. In the past I have taken Bency to the store to let him pick out a small gift for his sister. However, this year things got busy and I found no time for this outing but I did pick up two ceramic unicorn statues for each boy to give to their sister on her birthday.

As Bency gave Iris her gift I heard him whisper something to her. I saw her give him a smile and a nod. I couldn’t help but to ask what was said. Bency looked at me and in the sweetest voice said, “I told her that I had really wanted to buy her a unicorn swimsuit. Maybe someday I can get that for her.”

Those words melted my heart.

Iris does love unicorns and a honestly, she really does need a swimsuit for this summer. It would have been the perfect gift and this sweet, little 5 year old boy knew that because he loves her and knows his sister so well.

Two days ago another touching moment occurred.

Normally I help Cesar brush his teeth in the morning. When he requested my help Saturday morning I told him I was busy and to hold on a minute. Bency immediately piped in with, “I can help Cesar brush his teeth.” I was a bit taken back by his offer because Bency has not really shown any nurturing qualities in the past but I agreed that he could help.

I noticed that the boys had been in the bathroom quite awhile so I decided to go check in.

When I peeked in, I saw Cesar sitting on the stool and Bency sitting there lightly brushing Cesar’s hair. Bency looked up and said, “I already brushed his teeth but I’m just trying to get his hair looking good too.”

As I stood there speechless just taking in that moment, Bency also asked if he could help Cesar get dressed for they day. I proceeded to witness Bency remove Cesar’s pajamas and help him into his shorts and button-down plaid shirt.

Bency wasn’t always a hands on kind of brother. Sometimes he would ask, “What’s wrong little guy?”

Later that day, my two older children and I went to the grocery store. As I pulled in, I noticed an old lady struggling to push her shopping cart across the parking lot. By the time I got parked and got the children out of the van, she had made her way to her car. I immediately went over to her and asked if she would like help putting her bags in her car. She said she did.

I helped her and we talked for a few minutes before the kids and I headed into the store. I did not discuss this with my children and they did not bring it up.

Should I have explained why I did this or do my children already know.

To lend a hand when you can. To lend a smile or a nice word. To buy a unicorn swimsuit…or at least tell someone you would if you could!

You’re never too small to lend a helping hand

 

Welcome to the Party Line

Two longs and one short. One short and one long.

These were my parent’s phone numbers back in the 1940’s and 50’s. They both lived in rural Wisconsin and were on party lines. Back then several houses would be connected by one phone wire. Each house was given a different ring for their crank phones. When you heard your particular ring you knew to pick up the phone because someone was trying to reach you.

old crank phone

The disadvantage to this system is that everyone on your circuit could listen in on your conversations.

The advantage to this system is that you could listen in on everyone’s conversations!

I love when my Dad tells me the story about his mom (my Grandma) and the party line.

You see, my grandma was a sweet, soft-spoken lady. She was a farmer’s wife living in a house with no running water and no television. She worked hard raising her four children, tending to the garden and taking care of the chickens. She couldn’t drive a car. The one time my Grandpa did try to teach her, things didn’t go so well, so she refused to try again. Therefore, she only made it into town every few weeks when my Grandpa drove her.

My Dad tells me that many times he would walk into the kitchen and there would be Grandma with the phone to her ear. She would be perched on her chair sitting still as a mouse and listening intently. She would shoot my Dad the “look” and put her finger to her lips to ensure his silence. My Dad knew the drill and would mosey on his way.

I had never heard about this until she passed away some years back. The thought of my dear old Grandma Freda eavesdropping just puts me in stitches. The grandma I remember was always full of news. She would update us on everyone in the family and tell us the goings on in the town. She wasn’t a gossip…just an informer of all the important tidbits!

I think back to that woman who was around the age I am now, listening in on the party line. In all likelihood I may have very well done the same thing.

In a way, I do listen in on the party line. In a way, we all listen in on the party line.

I think it’s human nature to want to know what other people are doing and how they are. It’s interesting to see how other people live. It’s nice to have connections with others and to learn from other people’s experiences.

If this wasn’t true then Facebook, Twitter and blogging wouldn’t be so popular.

Our whole life is submerged into one big party line. The only difference nowadays is you can hit a “like” button or leave a comment and let the person know you’ve been by to catch up on all the juicy news! There is no need to sit in silence or shush the children!

Grandma Freda in 1942 with two of her children. My dad is the baby on her lap.

A Glimpse Into An 8 Year Olds Birthday Party

I once had a fleeting thought that I would like to start my own business doing children’s birthday parties. After I had planned and thrown a few I thought they were the cutest things in the world! Fast forward to present day; I still absolutely love planning them and hosting them but I am completely over the notion that I would love doing this as a career. With 3 children of my own, I will have plenty of parties to keep me fulfilled!

The thing I think other parents will appreciate about the parties I throw is the fact that I keep things simple and affordable. Last year, the party I threw my daughter cost a total of $18.00 and that included lunch for 13 children. I didn’t keep track this year but I am sure it was right around the same amount.

Today I present to you my daughter Iris’s 8th birthday party:

Iris all ready for the party to begin!

The Theme Requested: Rainbows

The Cake: Rainbow

Rainbow Birthday Cake

This is a 4 layer cake made out of 2 box mixes. One was lemon cake and the other was strawberry. I made lemon curd for in between the layers. This is not necessary. Frosting or jam works just as easy. I knew I would be eating the cake as well and I thought lemon curd would taste heavenly….it did!

Decorations: I save my decorations from year after year so we have quite an assortment. I also usually make one new decoration each year.

This is pictures of Iris birth to present day except I somehow managed to forget age 4!!!

Tableware:

I made new labels for the soda bottles that said “Freshly Squeezed Rainbow Juice.” I thought I was so clever. Unfortunately, 8 year olds are so sophisticated nowadays and didn’t believe it for a minute!

Loot Bags: This is always a great topic of conversation between my friends and I. To loot bag or not to loot bag? This can be very costly even if you are shopping at the Dollar Store. However, I have chosen to go non-traditional routes. I stockpile little things whenever I see them on clearance. Think after holiday super blowouts! This year after Valentine’s Day I found huge packs of little heart boxes that had cute sayings on them like “Forever Friends.”

Games:

Pictionary: I wrote different objects on pieces of paper and each girl had to pick one and let the other girls guess what they were drawing.

playing Pictionary

All About You Memory Game: Girls this age love to talk about themselves (okay, no matter the age, girls love to talk). I asked the girls 6 different questions and they each got to answer the question. After we were done each girl got a piece of paper and had to write down how much they remembered about each person.

The questions I asked were:

Favorite food, Favorite tv show, Favorite color, Favorite place to go, Favorite hobby, Favorite school subject

playing the All About You Memory Game

Telephone: I came up with sentences and would whisper them in one of the girl’s ears. They would then have to pass it down the line and would we see how different it ended up being compared to the original sentence!

playing Telephone

Snatch: I gathered several objects from around the house (spoon, box of jello, pencil, plastic ring etc.). I spilled the contents onto the floor. Each girl took turns taking one object away while the other girls closed their eyes. They then had to guess which item was missing.

playing Snatch

Ha! Ha!: Form a circle. One girl has to say, “Ha!” the next girl has to say, “Ha-Ha.” Repeat this around the circle. The catch is that no one can laugh. If someone laughs that have to get out of the circle and make silly faces or dance around trying to get the other girls still in the circle to laugh!

playing Ha-Ha

After all of the games we had cake:

Singing Happy Birthday!

eating cake

After cake we opened presents:

opening presents

It was a wonderful party and I think all of the girls had fun! Iris said she had an excellent time!

Iris and her brother Bency!

I look like I’m ready for a nap!

Iris trying to steal a Skittle off of her cake!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday the 13th Was One of the Luckiest Days of My Life

She entered our lives on Friday the 13th.

1 day old

We gave her the name of Iris after the Greek Goddess of Rainbows. Her middle name, Hope, was her Great Grandma’s middle name.

I never took my eyes off of her. Her beauty captivated me.

1 month old

Her personality started to shine through and she filled us all with laughs and happiness.

2 months old

I couldn’t get enough of dressing her up and still do to this day!

3 months old

She was so darn cute and I just wanted to eat her up. She was so chubby at 5 months that I think I could have taken a few nibbles out of her!

5 months old

Iris has continued to delight and amaze us everyday. She is extremely thoughtful and generous. When she celebrated her 6th birthday in Kindergarten she was allowed to bring in 3 extra treats to hand out to favorite teachers. When she got home I asked which teachers she gave her extra cookies to. She listed about 12 different names. I asked her how this was possible and she said she just broke the cookies up into little pieces so she could give to more people.

Last year, Iris’s birthday fell on Mother’s Day for the first time.  Her spirit and love has been one of the most precious Mother Day gifts I have ever received.

It’s hard to believe she is finally at the age where she can start dating. Actually, it’s just dates with her Dad.

Iris and her Dad April 2013. All ready for a Father/Daughter dance

In just a bit our house will be filled with lots of little girls to help us celebrate Iris’s 8th birthday. The party theme this year is rainbows. Iris loves them. She is after all our Goddess of Rainbows.

Friday the 13th has proven to be one of the luckiest days of my life.

It brought me this sweet little girl named Iris.

 

 

 

Reading Can Be Hazardous to Your Health

My soon to be 8 year old daughter, Iris came home complaining last week that she couldn’t see the board at school. They recently got one of those new fan dangled Smart Boards in her classroom that is basically a huge computer hanging on the wall. I’m sure it’s wonderful but I am a little sad that my children will never experience the daily chore of clapping erasers at the end of the day and being lost in a cloud of dust as they sputter and choke to get the erasers ready for another day of learning.

I made Iris an eye appointment for the next day that was scheduled directly after school.

I picked Iris and my 5 year old son, Bency, up from school and along with my 2 year old, Cesar, we headed off to the optometrist. As soon as we arrived I could already smell trouble. For one thing, there is not really a waiting area. There were only two chairs in the corner amidst all the racks and racks of sample eyewear. There was one little basket of magazines and nothing else for two little boys to occupy themselves with.

I encouraged each boy to pick out a magazine and plop themselves on the chairs while Iris and I strolled around looking at the various options for glasses. Cesar chose an issue of Birds and Blooms while Bency began perusing the latest copy of Good Housekeeping.

I obviously should have brought books from home!

Problems started to arise as the wait went on forever. The boys tired of reading about the newest bird feeders on the market and cleaning tips on how to remove lime scale from your bathtub. They started in on impromptu games of leap frog and seeing who could conceal themselves in the tiny basket of magazines. I tried my best to keep them under control but even when they were still they would make silly faces at each other and erupt into fits of laughter.

I soon glanced over my shoulder and noticed the lady doctor drinking in this chaos with a disapproving look on her face. She beckoned for us to come back to the room but did so with an eye roll and a huff. I asked Iris if she wanted to go in by herself but she adamantly shook her head “no” and really I couldn’t blame her for not wanting to be left alone in a room with a lady with such a sour look on her face. As we entered the room the doctor flippantly told Iris to sit in the examining chair and said, “I guess the rest of you can find somewhere to sit over there” as she motioned to the one chair against the wall and spoke in a tone that was laden with rudeness.

Bency and I made our way over to the one chair while Cesar made a beeline for the doctor’s swivel chair. I immediately began to tell Cesar that he had to come by me but the doctor interrupted with shouting at my poor 2 year old exclaiming, “This is my chair! No one sits on here but me!” At this point I wanted to get up and leave because there is nothing that gets my goat more than someone yelling at my child when I am already trying to remedy a situation. Somehow I managed to hold my tongue and the eye exam proceeded.

The doctor asked Iris a few questions and then asked her to read the eye chart on the wall ahead. Before Iris could get a letter out my 2 year old, Cesar began reciting the letters in a sing-song voice, “E-R-V-B-S-U-W-A-T.”

Needless to say, this sent the doctor into dramatic sighs, huffs and under the breath muttering as she made it clear that Cesar had ruined everything and she would need to push a button to change to a different chart.

After what I am sure was a streamlined short exam the doctor made the diagnosis that Iris has weakened her eyes by too much reading. She has perfect eyesight but apparently since her nose is always in a book it causes her eyes not to be able to focus on things faraway.

She sent us away with a prescription that Iris has to wear glasses while reading and after a sigh of relief she said, “Good bye you monkeys!”

I made a silly face and the boys and I burst into fits of laughter as we leap-frogged our way out of there!

Iris with her new glasses!

I’m So Busy I Can’t See Straight

Hi Everyone!

You may have noticed that I have not been blogging as much and more than likely will not be able to for awhile. It’s not because I have writer’s block or creativity block. It’s actually quite the opposite! I have creativity overload right now and have so much I want to share but have so little time.

I have my daughter’s 8th birthday coming up and with that a big party with all of her friends at our house. I have been working on getting things ready for the big bash this weekend. Soon after that we will be hosting my parent’s 50th wedding anniversary at our house. Right around the corner from that is Bency’s 6th birthday and another party to plan. Two days after his party we will be leaving for a 2 week cross country trip to visit our family in Albuquerque, NM.

In between all of this exciting stuff to plan I have been trying to do spring cleaning. My attempts are absolutely fruitless I fear because everywhere I turn there are:

Spills everywhere!

Kids bringing jars of bugs into the house….

Besides kids spilling things and bringing jars of bugs into the house the weather is warming up and we are getting some rain so the house is constantly being tracked up with mud….

It’s finally getting nice so we can play outside…look at all of the mud. Also notice Bency is only wearing socks!

Along with all of this fun stuff I am also working on a children’s book. Not to get published or anything mind you, just a fun book that I can give to my kids to read and I will also get an extra one made up to do a giveaway on my blog. I have the story written, 5 pictures done and 8 more to go!

Even though I am extremely busy I will still continue to read blogs. It’s the only way I can start my day. I try to wake up by 4:30 or 5:00 am everyday, grab a cup of coffee and read blogs. If I get behind, please forgive me….I will read them all eventually!

So I leave you today as I go start cleaning up all of the mud in the house that this weekend brought, make a snack for my son’s Kindergarten class that I will bring in when I go volunteer later and put the finishing touches on my daughter’s birthday party!

Best wishes to you all,

Melissa