Thursday, October 22, 2009

Number 3

We worry about what a child will become tomorrow, yet we forget that she is one today.
It is not often that a child in this house gets Mom and Dad to themselves.  What we have learned over time is that when it does happen they tend to act as if they have not talked to you in 10 years…trying to catch you up on everything that has happened since they were 6 months old…talking quickly, afraid that another child will appear and they will lose precious time…and telling all they know about the children that are not around.
We recently had child number “3” all to ourselves…this does not happen often anymore because as all teenagers do, she feels that when the clock hits 5PM on Friday it is mandated that she be away from the house….far far away.
I had forgotten how funny Noel is, how smart and witty she can be (she has decided she is going to be a Young Republican and has a very educated argument as to why) and I was reminded how darn much I am going to miss her when she leaves the nest. As I have said she reminds me so much of myself…lord help her (wait a second, lord help me).
Never know what a night with a tribe member is going to bring…this night was Mexican food (duh) where Noel ordered a virgin daiquiri…then died with embarrassment as I asked the waitress to make it an EXTRA VIRGIN (emphasis on the virgin please). Hey I figure I have to get my hits in when I can :) 
DSC00991
It may never be easy but it will always be worth it.
Babs

Nick is back!

DSC00917 DSC00913
DSC00906
Baseball is the only place in life where a sacrifice is really appreciated.  ~Author Unknown
For a very long time Nick has not stepped onto the ball field. Something I never thought I would see in this lifetime…he just stopped playing ball after high school.
You can imagine my surprise when he came home and told us he had joined a local business’s softball team.
There is nothing I enjoy more then pulling up my chair next to the fence and watching a ball game. Under armor, glove oil, RBI’s and yelling at the UMP….I love it all.
They play during the week so it is a little difficult to get to the field…but in a family this size it is no big deal, there is always someone who will ride along and cheer you on.
It may never be easy but it will always be worth it.
Babs

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Never one to just “sing” a song….

The girls
In this family there is no pride…none at all.  The girls decided to write Nick a song and then perform it at the restaurant the night of his birthday.  They even enlisted help.  I missed part of it, still figuring out the camera :)
Songwriters? NOPE… Singers? NOPE… Loving sisters? YOU BET!
It may never be easy but it will always be worth it.
Babs

Monday, October 5, 2009

Yet another funny nephew moment….

From a recent email Erin sent me:
There is not enough wine in the world to help me deal with my son. 

I picked Parker up at school today and he's got a scratch and a hole on his nose.  I asked him what happened and he tells me that a wasp stung him at recess.  He proceeds to tell me that one of the teachers on the playground told him to go to the bathroom and put a wet paper towel on his nose.  I didn't think anything about it. 

Twenty minutes later, the kids and I are the doc with Nora for a check-up and I notice that Parker's nose is really swollen and bruised on one side.  Again, I didn't really think anything about his story.  He's my child and he bruises easily.

After a couple errands, we finally make it home to Jamie...who IMMEDIATELY notices that it's not a sting.  Parker bursts into tears and tells us the REAL story.  He was playing two-hand touch at recess when he ran into another boy.  He fell on a rock and BROKE HIS NOSE!!!!  Now he's sitting on the couch with an ice pack on his nose and he's grounded for lying to us.  Lord help us!  That's twice now.  He looks like Owen Wilson.
All I can say is “BLACK VELVET WATCH” baby.
DSC00939 DSC00933
It may never be easy but it will always be worth it.
Babs

Happy 21st Nick

I have sat here for several days having much difficulty in writing this post. Not sure why…I love celebrations…I love to write about my kids…but this one is hard.  I think its the combination of my baby growing up…and thinking that soon I will be as old as dirt.
There is something about the oldest child…maybe its that you grow up together? Maybe its that you are just to young and stupid to be scared? What ever it is I never understood this when my mother told me…until I had Nick.
It is so hard to believe that 21 years ago I gave birth to Nick. It seems like just yesterday that I held him in my arms…amazed that I was so lucky to have been given such a gift…what could I have ever done to deserve such a beautiful baby boy.
Over the last 21 years this gift has continued to leave me as breathless as I was that very first day.
It is because of Nick that I got the name for this blog…It takes a village…because he truly was the child that was raised by the village.  Every one of my friends and family had a part in creating the man he is today…from the early days when I was to afraid to bathe him…afraid that he would drown and my dear friend Brian told me “girl this child stinks” and then rolled up his sleeves and showed me how to give him a bath in the sink….to my sister who spent more hours than I can count chasing balls as Nick threw them tirelessly… my grandmother who allowed him to drink coffee, at the early age of 3 months… my mother who flew him to Kansas to make sure he had every sports opportunity there was… my father who took him to get his drivers license…Tom who has taught Nick integrity and hard work (and how to balance a checkbook)…the list goes on and on…the common thread being that we all love him…and he allows us to be a part of his world.
When Nick was in the 5th grade I got a call from his teacher to come into talk to her at the school. All I could think was OH SHEEESH what did he do now. You can imagine my surprise when I found out that the reason she called me in was not to tell me what a heathen I had…but to have me read an essay that he had written. The essay was titled “My Hero”…apparently while all the other children had written about past presidents, ball players, movie stars…my child had written about his hero…his mother…it was the most humbling experience ever…this child that I loved with all my heart did not realize it but at that moment he became my hero. While I was teaching him about life, he was teaching me what life was all about.
So I may not have done everything right…I certainly made all my parental mistakes on him…but I have to admit…WE did good! And remember no matter how old the mother…she looks to the youngest children for signs of improvement…imagine how good the rest should turn out!
Yes we always celebrate at the Mexican Restaurant…and yes his cake has a 40 year candle on it…I realized on the way out the door that I forgot candles…this was all that was in the drawer so I grabbed it…in my mind it was better than nothing…but I have come to realize that what is in my mind does not ALWAYS make sense lol. Hondo said that this was even a doozie for me…hey gotta keep the men in my life guessing what is next right? Plus I had Sir take out his pocket knife, cut off half the color on the 4…making it half of 40…or closer to 21…okay again made sense in my mind.
Happy 21st Birthday My Nick,
DSC00924 DSC00925 DSC00943 DSC00950 DSC00956 DSC00970 DSC00958 DSC00959 DSC00960 DSC00961 DSC00962 DSC00963  DSC00965 DSC00966 DSC00967 DSC00968 DSC00969
It may never be easy but it will always be worth it.
Babs

Beauty school drop out.

 

When we remodeled the house I asked Hondo if I could put in a beauty shop for the girls.  I had dreams of sitting down stairs “fixing hair” and “doing nails” with my girlies. 

Of course he said yes because where in the heck was I ever going to find the equipment? Never underestimate a tribe woman…I had a friend who was remodeling her salon and she needed to get rid of some equipment…

I love sitting and watching the girls friends come over and get a makeover…many hours have been spent together getting beautified. No doubt about it Allie is the best…Cassie is the most eager…and Noel is just down right dangerous with any electrical appliance.

DSC00921

DSC00920 DSC00923 DSC00922

It may never be easy but it will always be worth it.

Babs

Family.

Not even rain can stop the tribe from posing.

IMG_1699

It may never be easy but it will always be worth it.

Babs

For every beginning there is an end…

and in true tribe fashion it could not go uneventful!

Considering the kids were already covered in mud…it was a no brainer when they asked if they could go help push out all the cars that were stuck in the mud.

They earned $20.00, which we kept for clean up fees…they had a blast…and pushed out 26 cars. Unfortunately I did not think through how they were going to get home. I KNOW they were not planning on riding in my white car with the light grey interior? UGH yes they were…luckily I had packed a few beach towels.  They were a little upset when I made them strip down, put their clothes in a plastic bag and ride an hour home wet and muddy. They were even more upset when I made them stand in the yard as I sprayed them down with a hose before they came into my house.

I asked them if they had a do-over if they would do it all over again…YES YES and YES was the reply!

Ben was no where to be found during picture time because he was to busy pushing out cars and Noah was sitting under the tent watching TV…no way he was getting dirty.

DSC00897 DSC00895 DSC00896

It may never be easy but it will always be worth it.

Babs

Do not stick out your tongue at me young lady!

For what ever reason my girls think it is cool to stick out their tongues in every picture…I remind them they are not members of Kiss…now it grates on my nerves more than you can imagine…BUT it grates on my mothers nerves even more…she should have never told us that…Erin and I were reduced to 3 year olds and we convinced the tribe to stick out their tongues for Maam in every picture. Poor Maam!

IMG_1696 DSC00893

IMG_1690 IMG_1684 

It may never be easy but it will always be worth it.

Babs

Babs…are you laughing?

So this is one of those times I know I am going to Mom hell…Ben came running up covered in mud…breathing hard…very upset..

Seems he was pushing the girls on a merry-go-round…he went to jump on and his feet slipped…not wanting to fall off in the mud…he hung on…only to be pulled in the 2 feet of mud…around and around and around….DUH!

It was at this precise minute I fell off the bench and give new meaning to ROFLOL…rolling on the floor laughing out loud!

DSC00884 DSC00885

It may never be easy but it will always be worth it.

Babs

Boys will be boys…

What is worse than the kids pushing cars out of the mud? Watching Sir push Erin out of the mud when she got stuck…the tribe was so busy pushing everyone else out they did not know that their Aunt was stuck 3  feet deep.

DSC00904

It may never be easy but it will always be worth it.

Babs

The girls of the tribe

I just can not put into words what it means to be a woman in this family. Girl power rules…from girl days at the mall…spend the nights…to just hanging out…the boys do not stand a chance…GIRLS RULE AND BOYS DROOL.

DSC00813 IMG_1669

DSC00816 IMG_1652 DSC00866 DSC00826 DSC00842 DSC00840 DSC00901 DSC00838

It may never be easy but it will always be worth it.

Babs

Where’s Waldo?

Do you remember the books where you would sit as a kid for hours and try to find some shlepp named Waldo? I don’t think I ever found him…what I did find however was our own tribe version of Waldo when I went back and looked at my pictures…see anyone you recognize?

DSC00822

DSC00825

DSC00828 DSC00858 DSC00829

It may never be easy but it will always be worth it.

Babs