Scooter chicken, dodge the lawnmower, and other dangerous games...

I bet you've never heard of the game, "scooter chicken." I hadn't either until I was outside with my kids one day and they invented it. As a mother of 3 boys, I am rarely surprised by some of the things my kids come up with. Trust me....girls would never do some of this stuff. At least, not the girls I know. Scooter chicken is a game, now requiring helmets in my yard, where two people ride towards each other on their razor scooters until they are inches from each other and then, right before colliding, jump off into the grass, rolling and abandoning their scooter. Scary I know, but it has been the source of much entertainment around here.

My kids have no fear. Just today my husband was mowing the lawn and my 3 and 6 year old decided to play "dodge the mower." As you can imagine, it is similar to scooter chicken, only this time it is daddy coming at you with the lawn mower and the object is to stand there as long as you can and then jump out of the way at the last possible second, laughing hysterically. At the time this was going on I was running in and out of the house doing different things. Each time I was outside, I could hear my husband saying things like, "jump sooner next time" or "what were you thinking on that one?". Never a dull moment.

I am pretty sure the "dodge the mower" game was a spinoff of the "dodge the vacuum" game my kids invented this past winter. I probably don't need to describe the details of this game other than to say that it involves lots of jumping on couches and trying really hard not to get your toes run over by the vacuum.

The last game I will mention is probably the one I consider to be the least dangerous. It is the version of bumper cars that my kids play repeatedly on our driveway (see photo). I think the main reason why I don't mind this game is because I feel like if you're wearing a helmet and are that close to the ground, you can't possibly suffer too severe of an injury. Although, I guess you never know. I might be blogging later this summer about little boys with broken bones...

life and hexbugs

For Christmas this year my kids each got a hexbug. A hexbug is a small robotic bug that vibrates and "runs" around bouncing off of everything it comes into contact with. They also received a Hexbug racetrack which they can reconfigure and play with for hours. One day, before school my kids were playing with their hexbugs and racing them around the kitchen table. Suddenly, my oldest son turned his off and put it away and said to his brother, "I don't want to waste the battery....if you keep playing with yours, the battery is going to die and then it won't work. I am saving mine."

I cannot tell you how much this statement is a window into the way my two oldest sons view life. D, my oldest child, is a saver. He gets a toy and puts it away so it will stay nice. A, my second oldest son, gets a toy and plays with it until it breaks. He plays hard and the holes in the knees of all of his pants can testify to that. He is carefree, fun loving and enjoys all the fun moments that life has to offer. This year, we had a surprise birthday party for him when he turned 6. We had some of his cousins and all of his grandparents over and we decorated with balloons and streamers and when he walked in the door, we all jumped out and yelled "Surprise!" It was great. I knew he would love it but I think the part I loved the most was watching him spin around the room later that night, completely oblivious to everything else, with a huge smile on his face singing to his balloon after having entirely too much sugary frosting.

I have a lot to learn from my 6 year old. He fully enjoys life and rarely puts much thought into if others might laugh at him for something. I have to admit I am a little jealous. He doesn't just dip his feet in the lake when we first get to camp every summer, he goes running in with his clothes on. He is definitely not a battery saver but at the end of the day, he has definitely had the most fun.

days full of questions

My life is not boring by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, boring sounds like a nice vacation sometimes. Instead my days are full of bus stop pick ups and drop offs, laundry, cleaning up, making food, monitoring tree climbing, and many other things including lots of questions. I never in my life expected to be asked some of the things I have been asked in the last 5 or so years. Some of them have made me cry like the time D asked me, "Mom, if your grandma is dead, why can't you borrow daddy's grandma?" when he was 3 and I was looking at a picture of my grandma and got a bit teary when we looked through a family photo book together. It seemed so easy to him at the time, which of course was so sweet and made me cry even harder. But I have to say that most of the questions over the years have made me laugh. Here are just a few I fielded today from my kindergartener, "What do you think would happen if I had four arms?", "Are bigger spiders more deadly than tornadoes?", "Can I fill this squirt gun with soap and water and wash the bathroom mirror?"

It's funny because some of the questions have obvious answers, like "NO!" but many of them stop me in my tracks because I have no idea how to answer them. For example, last year, while I was standing in my kitchen, A asked me--out of nowhere--"Mom, do angels have nipples?" I am still confused as to where this came from and my response was, "I have no idea." Last week, when one of my children wanted something that happened to be in his sister's closet while she was napping, he asked me, "Mom, can I go into L's room and get something if I am as quiet as a germ?" This past winter when daddy was working late, my kids found my folder of temporary tattoos and A asked, "Mom, can I put 100 tattoos on my body?" I told him yes as long as I did not have to help. As you can see by the photo, he was not kidding.

Then there are the more serious questions that make me so thankful that I am the one who is here with my kids all day every day answering them. Last January, my first dog died and it was awful for all of us and in the weeks that followed the question that kept coming up was, "Mom, do you think Payton is in heaven?" Since I was the person who missed him the most I certainly was hoping so but in all honesty, I told them I did not know for sure but I wanted to believe that he was because I imagine heaven as a place where we are happiest and where we get to do all the things that made us happy on earth, including snuggling with our dogs. I am sure hoping my big oafy, "first baby" as I called him, is up there somewhere chasing tennis balls and eating peanut butter on everything because I know that is what made him happy.

"I want to be like my daddy"

If you ever ask my boys who their hero is, you can bet they will answer with "my dad". I would not have it any other way. My husband was made to be the father of boys. As someone who grew up with one sister, I am especially thankful to have him to coach me through all this boy stuff that, up until nearly 8 years ago, was completely foreign to me. I have asked my husband on more than one occasion, "Is this normal?" when something that a female would never do is happening in front of my eyes. Whether it's the amount of wrestling that occurs in my house--almost non stop on some days--to the dangerous stunts they pull when playing outside, I constantly have to step back and try not to overreact. Boys will be boys and my husband is right there in the middle of all the wrestling and ball playing and yes, he even had a go on the slip-n-slide one summer. He does draw the line at playing in the mud and tubing down the basement stairs. But I have to say I am thankful that my kids have such a great dad--he will do almost anything they want to do just to connect with them in some way.

So, this past summer the hero status was kicked up a notch when my husband got his very first Harley Davidson motorcyle. Now these boys are pining away to take a ride on the back whenever the weather is nice. I think my little W was actually shaking with excitement last weekend when daddy told him he could go first. I failed to get a picture of that but I did manage to capture one of A and daddy. It was only a quick trip around the neighborhood for each of them, but it totally made their day. And seeing their little faces light up after doing something fun with their dad made my day too.

6 months old!

I never in my life thought 6 months could fly by so fast. I feel like it was just yesterday that my daughter was born. She is the little girl I never knew I needed. It makes me laugh to think back to many of the moments in the months before she was born. Like when we told the boys we were having a baby, A responded with, "Mom! I thought you said we weren't going to have any more of those!" Or when D read the ultrasound picture with the word GIRL out loud for the first time to which his brother responded, "I already knew it was a girl because I saw eyelashes in one of those pictures."

I vividly remember the ultrasound tech saying, "It looks like you have a perfect, healthy girl growing in there." Whoa. A girl. A thousand things must have flashed through my mind at that moment. I know for sure my first thought was that I was so thankful she was healthy. Then, I pictured a little girl with blonde pig tails chasing her 3 big brothers and playing in our yard and was overcome with emotion. And yes, maybe for a moment, I considered that there would not be one more to join in the wrestling. That was just the beginning and we are only 6 months into this adventure with this little girl. I am enjoying this baby stage in every way and can honestly say I appreciate ALL the little things this time around...the dimply smiles, the way her brothers love her, and the silly songs my husband makes up for her when he is holding her. But, most of all I am looking forward to seeing what comes next.

"I like my forsfeeld becos it brtex me."

Of all 4 of my children, my 6 year old stands out in the personality department. He also happens to be our most imaginative child, turning almost anything into a toy and playing with it for hours. In his mind, a bottle cap makes a great mini-spaceship, an empty mac-n-cheese box is perfect for an Iron Man shooter hand, and a pencil can be sharpened to become a super sharp rocket blaster. Just today, he asked if he could have the 3-piece hanger that his new pajamas came on and proceeded to pretend it was a robot, a space ship and then a rocket flying around the house.

He started kindergarten this year and the daily journal entries started coming home. I love reading the sentences he comes up with and seeing the illustrations that accompany them. Yesterday, I looked in his folder and found this. A picture of himself with "a forsfeeld" circling around him. At first glance I thought he had scribbled something out but then I realized it was part of the picture. My husband and I got a good chuckle out of it and my son was so proud. I love these little windows into his imagination.

Are we raising grass or are we raising boys?

I played catch with my 3 boys this week. It felt really good to say yes when they asked and I think it surprised all of us. I said yes not because all the chores were done--rarely is that the case in our house--but because I heard a great story last week at the moms group that I go to. It was a great reminder of what is really important.

The story is about a farmer who had 4 sons. This particular farmer made use of all his land except for the front yard, which was the space where his wife took care of their grass and planted her flowers each year. She was especially proud of her front yard and quick to protect it from the trampling feet of her sons. Well, one day when the farmer decided it was time to teach the boys the great American game of baseball, he set up the bases in mother's yard and told the boys to get their mitts. When the mother heard the ruckus going on in the front yard, she ran to the front door, threw it open and yelled, "What is going on out here?!?" to which her husband yelled back, "Ma, are we raising grass or are we raising boys?" The woman said nothing and went back in the house. She appeared moments later with a catchers mitt in hand and joined in.

After I heard that story, I made a promise to myself that I would say yes more this summer when they ask me to do things with them. They are not going to be asking me to join in for too much longer so I need to make the most of it.

Not the season for sleep

A wise mother once said to me right before I had my first son, "You will soon understand why sleep deprivation is used as a form of torture in some countries." As most things with motherhood, I didn't really ponder that until after I was so tired and I thought back to it. Things always make more sense after you yourself have actually experienced it. Well, here I sit now with four children and can honestly say that I am always in need of more sleep. I have always loved to sleep. My college roommates can attest to me sleeping almost the entire 24 hour trip to Florida during spring break two years in a row. After them giving me grief the first year for not having done my part in the driving department, I took Vivarin the second year in hopes of being more alert. Needless to say, it did not work and I had to remind them that my sister had given me the nickname "the log" for a reason as a teenager for always leaning on her shoulder or lap when our parents would take the two of us on roadtrips. My husband now understands this as we have driven to visit my parents and there have been many times where I have slept nearly the entire 6 hour trip.

Yesterday I met a mom who has three boys in high school and a daughter in middle school and as we were discussing the fact that it is non stop wrestle-fest pretty much everywhere you go with boys, she added, "Oh and I hate to tell you this but I am still tired from my kids waking me up for this or that even now." I have to admit I was a little shocked at this. Having never had a baby sleep through the night until after they turned one year old, I was kind of hoping that at some point, I could look forward to an 8 hour night of sleep without my feet touching the floor. But I guess this is just not my season to sleep and I need to relish things like holding and feeding my baby girl at 2 a.m. or hearing my sweet 3 year old say, "mommy, could you cover me up?" while standing next to my bed with his blankie in hand in the early morning hours. Oh well..... maybe next season:)

happening right before my eyes...

The idea of starting a blog about my life and the everyday fiascos that occur in a house with 4 kids and a puppy has been something I have been thinking about for a while. I thought and thought about how I would come up with topics that would be fun and interesting for people to read and then I realized, I don't need to think of things to write about because they are already happening right before my very eyes each week, each day, each moment. I can't stop the chaos, so I better just go ahead and document the things, big or small, that are going on around me that make my life FULL. I definitely can say that life is rarely boring around here. So, here it is. I am finally doing it. Welcome to my life.