Stop it with the birthdays already!

 Well, it’s been a little while now but Captain Obvious had another birthday and I had yet another moment of realization, “I am grown up!”

 How does it happen?

No one can say. But I was picking dandelion bouquets one day and filling little vases with my children’s beautiful weeds the next.

I love this first picture of us as parents. You might not be able to tell except the red face but Captain was taking a breath in the middle of a good cry and Matt and I are laughing.

Who would have known that this little screaming baby would turn into a boy?

A boy who loves the Lord.

A boy who helps with his siblings.

A boy who loves animals.

A boy, whom a the ripe age of 9 is already passionate about truth and faith.

Where do they come from?

I am certainly nothing special.

After all, wasn’t I nine just last week?

 

No one has ever been able to describe it and mother’s will forever say, “I can remember my childhood like it was yesterday.”

I am in awe at the wonder of God’s creation!

Children.

Beautiful, unique, challenging, growing, child of mine.

Side note – Captain Obvious has requested a nick name change. I haven’t decided yet if I can bear to give up my “authority”. He would like to petition the blog for the name Doolittle instead of Captain Obvious.

Waaaaaa!

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Super glue saves the day again.

It was half past lunchtime. We rarely use the real clock here, everything revolves around food for my boys. So, half past lunchtime and all we had left for school was math. I had to gather my wits and collect supplies so with the little one’s down the big boys set out to entertain themselves while they waited.

I shoulda’ known that the giggling couldn’t be a good sign. Then, in a flash, a crack… and no more giggling.

Scarfunkle, duly named, had whacked his noggin on the old steam trunk in my living room. As head wounds do, it bled and bled.

So much for math!

I rinsed it off in the bath to get a good look and that darn thing was so small but still spread open and wouldn’t stop bleeding. It’s a good thing this injury happened indoors so the wound was really clean! I put some antibacterial ointment on it and separated the hair.

What do do? Three hours in the ER didn’t sound real appealing so I texted my nurse friend.

Scarfunkle cut his head. Small but won’t stop bleeding. Think I could superglue it?

We decided that since he cut the back of his head there wasn’t anything cosmetic to worry about and it was probably only a 2 stitcher, plus they often use super glue in the ER… SOoooo, glue it is.

He cried and cried but told me he didn’t feel a thing. I guess it was just the though of his mom gluing his brains in. 🙂

You might remember the OTHER time I had to use super glue in a pinch. That poor dog won’t be anywhere within a mile of us if we are unloading the truck now.

Or remember Loud Kiddington’s nose fascination.

Why do these things always happen to me? 🙂

Monkeys in the Trees

My husband loves to tell the story about when he and his younger brother built a zip line in their backyard as kids. His brother would want me to inform you that he was only a semi-willing participant but when things started to get ugly he was the one saying, “Matt, I don’t think you should do that.”

A rope and a bike wheel and a couple of boys zipping through the yard make quite the spectacle. But tie that rope to a cement wall and you’ve got a problem. They soon learned when part of the wall tumbled downa.

Since he is all grown up now he needed to relive those times. He and the boys made one this weekend with a broken bike and are having quite a time playing on their new toy. I hope you enjoy my goofy video production. CLICK HERE to see my monkeys!

Thank you to all our service men and women. I’m so proud of you Luke & Mary.

Have a nice holiday!

Link up NEXT week for FAB Friday

I wanted to remind you that it’s almost THAT time again. Time to share your bloopers and find the silver lining. Time for standing in the rain. Time that we share our struggles and look on the bright side. Time for LEMONAIDE!

Have you had any days like that this month? Days where you would cry if you didn’t have someone to laugh with?

Write a post, including pictures if you like and come back next Friday to share with other bloggers how they’ve turned trials into joy’s. Read these great examples.

• Some have written poems – Check out Jaime’s take on PMS “Every month she sends me a gift
  But it never gives my spirits a lift…”
• Some have told stories – Here is The Lumberjack’s Wife (AKA Lumberjill) on boys, messes, Idol, Starbucks and being a “help meet”! HAHA! Love it.
•  Some are oh so smart and include mom tips – Momma Mindy’s “Leno Style Grammar Tutorial” cracked me up!
• Others have shared pictures and perspective – A post I wrote on life’s blessings. 

Whatever your style, the rules are simple. Write a post. Include a link to Blog Schmog so readers can find other FAB Friday posts. Visit the others and laugh together!

For more muddy details 🙂 click the FAB Friday page above.

My littlest boy sings opera.

Check out my little Pavarotti. Yes, he dressed himself for the “concert”.

Loud Kiddington sings Jesus Loves Me opera style.

http://www.myfamily.com/share?s=PJYPWDjoCrTlylVH5nVj5Q

10 or more ways to curb video game addiction

Did you see my new button? It’s in honor of comments. I love comments. That cute new button features my oldest son, Captain Obvious.

Lets get the conversation started.

What’s a mom to do when her kids can’t put down the video games? I’ve had varying degrees of trouble with games in my house and I recently read a funny take on this mom crisis at my friend Gina’s blog Writer Interrupted. Read her post The Devil’s Play Thing, you’ll get a good laugh. The sympathetic kind!

Gina and I came up with some solutions…

1. No video games ever, no way, no how. Haha!

2. Limit the game days. Keep it to weekends or some other time that works in your family.

3. Limit the time allowed.

4. Make the kids earn the time.

… but I want to hear from you. So the rest of those “10 or more ways” as mentioned in the title are going to come from you.

Truth be told I am at a loss on this one. My boys were earning video game tokens for their daily chores and then only allowed to use them on certain days. At the moment they’ve lost video game for the entire month of March. I resorted to number 1 in a moment of crisis. Actually four moments of crisis (hence the 4 weeks that equal one entire month). I don’t want to stick them in a dungeon 😉 and keep video games away forever because that way they wouldn’t learn responsibility.

What do you think? What methods work for keeping perspective when it comes to games? We could have a whole other discussion on cell phones, TV, friends. AKC!

Counting my Blessings

Sometimes it’s an automatic response for me to dwell on the things I can’t have, my kids can’t eat, those aspects of my life that aren’t working… and then came Fab Friday and as I thought about what to post I realized that perspective is like hanging from my toes. All it accomplishes is clouding my vision.

God wants our worship. He requires our adoration. Not as a chore but as a response to the wonderful things he does. This world is not our home. He has a plan to restore a far greater dwelling that does not decay, disappoint or cause grief. Why worship? Because everything good comes from the Father of Lights.

All that bad junk? A consequence of our fallen world. Not God’s idea. Our idea. OUR idea, to do it on our own to make our own way, to pursue our dreams.

Look around you today. What can you praise Him for?

Of all the things Loud Kiddington can’t eat I’m praising God there are thing he can! Check out Gluten Free 4 Goofs to see what yummy breakfast treat is all over his face.