Words That Bang Around In My Head...

and fight to get out. I am in a writing mood, not bloggish type of writing honestly, but story and poem and just stuff kind of writing.

 Its been building up for several days, the thought of writing each of my children a letter or even letters to be opened on a certain special days has been tugging at me as well. 

Stories for the younger ones, poems for the older girls. An account of my first and only hunting trip with my dad for Bubba. He needs to know that grandpa took me hunting but didnt have the heart to kill anything in front of me so he kept me chattering about anything and everything to scare all the animals away, and then we went home and shot at coffee cans. I was 12 then, same age he is now. 

There are days I want all of them to have letters for, graduations, wedding days, the birth of children and other things as well. I dont know why this is pressing so hard at me but Im going to do it. Maybe they will each end up with a stack of crazy ramblings and memories from their mother and roll their eyes thinking Im sappy and ridiculous but I feel this is something I need to do. 

I have no idea how to wrap this post up so I think I will just leave it with this little quote.

God gave us memories that we might have roses in December.
JM Barrie

Warning: Teens live here!

This should be a sign hanging on our front door: 

That's still probably not a significant enough warning for those unknowing, unsuspecting, teen free souls who come into our home. Maybe I should get more specific and use one like this instead:

There needs to be a universal symbol however when you are entering the home of a teen, especially a teen girl. That way you know you are on thin ice and that anything you say is liable to be taken sideways, turned around and inserted backwards, to not resemble anything you said or were trying to say at all. 

Something seems to happen in our brains around age 12 or so, call it hormones, puberty, asserting independence, hell, call it the exit of all common sense if you'd like, the point remains the same. It's somewhere along this time with each and every flock member so far where they have decided that running their mouths, back talking, and even going so far as to basically tell a parent to shut up has occurred  Yes, this is all a part of growing up and learning how to and how NOT to respond to matters in the real world, but at what point does it go past that and turn into a lack of respect? 

I've heard its all in how they are raised, kids are given to much freedom, not enough freedom, they aren't taught manners or what respect is, they are given to much, they aren't made to do chores or don't know what it is to work for something, and almost always someone, somewhere, pulls the discipline card. If you had (insert speakers favorite discipline here) when they were younger you wouldn't have this problem now. More often than not that comment has been said by someone whose children are either still young or doesn't even have children yet. I always want to say "Yeah, because I spent the first 11 years teaching them it was ok to argue with me!"

Fact of the matter is however, for the most part the entire flock is very well behaved. Yes, they do have their moments where they could make a preacher cuss, but on the whole, we rarely go more than a couple of days without someone praising the actions of at least one of them. People have stopped me in the middle of the grocery store to compliment me on their manners, good behavior & willingness to help not only me but those around us as well. I don't know how many times I've been asked how do I manage keeping the flock under control, I almost always respond with "They are good kids!", and I make sure they hear that. Because they are, each and every one of them is a good kid. Right down to the one who is going thru his "big & bad" phase, and they need to know & hear us say that they are good kids. Each and every one of them would drop what they are doing to help someone in need, I've seen them do it repeatedly. In the end that's one of the most important things we can instill in our children, there is the respect, the glimmer of hope our world needs. 

Yes, tempers were lost this morning, and a talk is in order for this afternoon. The prescribed discipline will still stand as flat out disrespect and disobedience are not now, nor has it ever been, a welcome addition to the household. It isn't about shutting a child up, squashing who they are, robbing them of themselves or their independence, rather it's about teaching them to do it constructively, respectfully and smart. So that once they enter the real world they understand that doing things the right way is much more rewarding. So yes, a certain teen and I will be discussing how we each could have handled ourselves better this morning because this is not only a learning process for them, but every day provides a parent with the opportunity to learn and grow as well.

Easter or Frat Party?

Wow, as I'm looking around the house this morning I'm seriously wondering how I let this happen. We are usually pretty good at cleaning up before bed time rolls around, but I guess we were just too into the family fun yesterday and last night. It looks like a frat party (minus the keg and beer bottles)! The house is trashed! It seriously looks like there was a wild party going on here lol. I would share a pic but because of my OCD'ness thats just NOT going to happen! lol

So I guess I know what Im going to be doing after while, besides laundry that is. In all honesty, the flock had a great weekend, Sissy, Mimi, and Dede celebrated here on Saturday and then off they went to their dad's to celebrate there on Sunday. Bubba, Brudderbear and the Princess woke up here to little toys and chocolate for the boys and a big zebra, onesies and suckers for our allergic spoiled princess. Along comes Dede back home in the afternoon and a spirited game of whack 'em with Bubba at grandmas next door. What is whack 'em you ask? You know those giant pool noodles? Not the skinny oes, but the fat ones? Yeah, I think you get the picture. That afforded us a pair of broken glasses and a little girl with a headache from being without said glasses but from what I could see from our back door into grandmas yard, Dede gave as good as she got. I think Bubba forgot that even tho shes small for her age shes quick and cunning.

Guess I better go start cleaning the mess up, anyone have a backhoe and a dumpster I can borrow?

Saturday Centus: Deviled Eggs

Once again Saturday has rolled around, and that means it's time for the Saturday Centus blog challenge from Jenny Matlocks blog. This weeks challenge is a photo prompt and we are to write 100 words in rhyming form using this picture.

If youd like to give this a try (its a LOT of fun) or read more blog entries you can check them out HERE. Now on to my entry.

Little fingers creeping over so slowly,

Across the counter they inch towards the plate.

Blue eyes watching moms face so closely,

If she was caught, who knew her fate.

Almost to the plate, and mom cracks a smile,

Hands her a deviled egg and places a finger to her lips.

As parents we have to play along once in awhile,

Indulging little ones and not always with denial.

A smile and a hug, and away she will run,

All to soon she will be grown, moved, gone.

Relax and love, have some fun,

And cherish every stroke made with crayon.

Eyes On the Tiger...

Wow, spring break has been good for the most part. A few blowups have happened, but isnt that part of family life anyway? Weve played, enjoyed staying up late, sleeping in, shopping trips, homemade milkshakes and so much more!

Yesterday we took the flock to a big cat refuge a few towns over from us. This is one of our favorite places to go. It isnt anywhere near as big as the zoo and they have guided tours telling you about each of the cats they have. So much more interesting and the kids learn something new every time we go.  

This was our favorite big cat shot of the day, its amazing to think that a tiger, even in the wild will eat several pounds of food a day, and then spend 20 hours or so lounging around and napping!

This is one of my favorite shots of the day, Dede just looks so thoughtful and reflective. Its not often that the whirlwind comes to a complete and utter stop in this manner. I think I took this as the intern was telling us about how our favorite tiger from last year had passed away. His name was Puppy and he had such a goofy personality, he "talked" to and showed off for us as we stood watching him. 

To me this is one of those places that is a big families dream. We  can get a years family pass for cheaper than we can get in for one days visit. Those are always great deals in my book.

Its a great deal as far as the flock is concerned too! 
Yes, we are THAT family, you know the ones... we dress similarly quite often, not because its cutesy, but because its so much easier to put your eyes on your flock when they all match to some degree.

What's An Hour?

An hour.... at times it seems like forever, other times its passing in the blink of an eye. Look forward to something and that hour passes as slowly as the changing seasons. Spending time with the one you love? That hour will never last long enough. Take that hour away completely and you have a houseful of little lambs who will spend the next week trying to adjust their sleep patterns. 

Thank goodness time change coincided with spring break this year. Sissy and the princess seem to be having the most trouble adjusting. Its amazing how something like that can throw their little inner time clocks so out of whack. I'm sitting here now waiting for the princess to enter that magical place in dreamland where she can be moved to her bed without waking up. I don't think we are far off.... 

She is very well equipped, a paci in her mouth and one in each hand! Some nights that is just the only way to keep those little hands still, she often wakes herself up searching for something to hold, her blanket, her shirt, most often her paci which is when she wakes up because she pulls it out of her mouth. 

We have had a very good start to our spring break around here, Mimi has her first formal dance coming up in a couple of months, it just makes my heart ache to think of my 7th grade daughter attending a formal dance! I took her out yesterday for her birthday lunch and a bit of window shopping and... well... we did more than window shop lol. We found her the PERFECT dress at a FANTASTIC price and there was just no way I could pass that up. So of course, any woman knows that the next stop is SHOOOOES! So she is now ready for her dance, whether momma is or not.

We took part of the flock out to eat tonight, half of the lambs are off having sleepovers. What good is spring break without a sleepover or 2? While we were out our waitress actually fussed at one of the lambs for using manners and saying "Yes Ma'am" and "No Ma'am" and that her mother had given her a name to be used, not replaced with a word like that. I was in such shock that I almost responded to her in an ugly manner, I mean, I myself had been saying "Yes Ma'am" and "Thank you Ma'am" to her. My first thought was how dare she undermine my position as a parent. However tho, I politely told her that our children have been taught to use their manners and to respect other people. Why is it that so many people are uncomfortable when people use manners? Yes, I know it is common place for hatred and ugliness to be the norm, but you would think seeing a teenager using manners, being polite and having respect would be something that an adult would appreciate BECAUSE of all that ugliness we see every day. What really got me was that she said absolutely nothing to the people she went to after us who were rude and hateful to her. As we left I wished her a goodnight and shook my head as we walked out the door. 

Once we got home the princess once again reminded us that you don't need a bunch of expensive toys to have a good time. I snapped this shot of her bypassing her toys to play with an empty peppermint bucket.

And now that the little princess is good and asleep this tired momma is off to catch a bit of a nap before the rest of the household wakes up.

Saturday Centus: Code Red!

I'm going to try something new, it's called Saturday Centus and its from Jenny Matlock's Blog and if you would like to give it a try or read more for yourself you can do so HERE. Now without further ado..... 
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So living in a houseful of very excitable little lambs, sometimes the most simple thing can turn into an epic moment of what you would think is code red proportions by the over exaggeration that can go on. Little Princess has a simple dirty diaper? Youd think she smeared it all over the house! Dinner time? They havent eaten in months! Hugs? You can bet they will be the tightest, most loved filled hugs youve ever received. Would I change anything? Not on your life, it may be pure chaos at times but I hope to continue to encourage their heartfelt enthusiasm!

Whipped Cream and....

Birthdays! It's official, we now have another teenager on our hands. Today was Mimi's 13th birthday. We usually do a small family thing here at the house with a cake and then the birthday lamb and I take the day together on the weekend and go have lunch, window shop and just spend a little time together. It's so hard to comprehend that she is already 13, wasnt it just yesterday that she was watching the Tigger Movie and snuggling beside me? Well yeah it was but you know what I mean, Im sure. Kids grow up so fast, they grow up faster now then we did. They go from our little babies to these half grown strangers that we dont even recognize seemingly over night. See what I mean? 

From this

to this

Even having a messy hair day she is still so photogenic, she always has been. I could probably count on one hand how many bad pictures shes taken in her lifetime.... unlike me lol

We tried a new recipe tonight, the flock all really enjoyed it. I thought it needed more cheese personally lol. Look how cute these are.

They are super easy to make, heres the recipe:

Create Your Own Signature Mini Pie (and an easy way to get rid of leftovers!)

Mix 1/2 cup of Bisquick, 1/2 Cup of Milk, and 2 eggs together for a base. (put about 1 tablespoon in each muffin cup)

Top with about 1/4 cup of any "fillings" you want. - Cheeseburger, Pizza, BLT, Chicken and Veggies, etc.... You can mix it up in the pan (any meat should already be cooked)

Then top with one more tablespoon of the "Bisquick Mixture" - and bake at 375 for 25-30. It's a great way to get rid of your leftovers! These can also be frozen! Just pop them into the microwave for a quick meal on the go!
Recipe from Betty Crocker

We used ground beef and cheese in ours but the flock came up with so many interesting ideas, I do believe we will be having these again soon. Paired with a salad they made for an amazing meal!

Well I better bring this to a close, tomorrow I get to go to town to buy the items needed to make a 3rd grade solar system with Dede.