Pointer Finger, Family and a Remote Control

I have to write this post today because Dustin has been driving me crazy all week and so I have to remember why I love him. Seriously. . . I am at my wit's end with this kid and I don't know how much more I can take!
Anyways, last Sunday when we were all at my Grandparent's house, I decided to show Dustin that I was magic. He was getting into trouble (again) and so I told him that if he sat under the light in the family room and said "abracadabra" then the light would automatically turn on or off. He didn't believe me, so I said the magic words and all of a sudden the light turned off. Dustin got really excited and so he jumped up and said the magic words and all of a sudden the light turned on. Now, Dustin is a really bright kid, so as soon as this happened he looked to see if there was someone standing next to the light switch. No one was because unbeknownst to Dustin, that light is controlled by a remote control that my brother just happened to have in his hand. We all laughed continuously as Dustin turned the light on and off with his magic words and his incredible magical powers.
As with all games, it did start to become old after a while (sooner for us than for Dustin) and so we told him that the light needed to go to sleep and so his magical powers wouldn't work while the light was sleeping. Dustin (totally convinced that he was the one with the magical powers) didn't believe us, so while almost everyone went back to their various activities, Dustin sat on my dad and discretely pointed his finger at the light and very quietly said "abracadabra" over and over again. Unfortunately, the light had, indeed gone to sleep and it took Dustin about 5 minutes to finally convince himself that his magical powers would have to wait until the light had woken up again.
I guess that the kid does have some magical moments. . . I will just have to hold on to those when he is being a holy terror!

To Four Generations

This weekend I had the opportunity to spend some time with my family. I realized, as I was standing in a room full of my relatives and learning about my ancestry, that I am so thankful for the 4 generations of my family that have touched my life. And so I wanted to take a minute and thank those generations for all that they gave me.
#1 - I want to start off and thank my Grandparents and their generation for all of the time, effort, money etc that they have put into recording my ancestry. Family has always been a big deal to me and I am so grateful for the wonderful examples that my grandparents are to me. I have always felt loved and special whenever I have been with them. I appreciate the time that they have always made for me growing up. I still remember how lucky I used to feel when Grandma and Grandpa would take just me and go to the farm, or go visit my Grandpa's sister, or go to something on the Archer side. I always enjoyed my time with them and I always learned a lot. They taught me that family is important and that I am a part of a support group who loves me and cares about me no matter what.
#2 - I want to thank my parents. My parents have always been an example to me of people who are balanced. I love how ambitious they are. I am so proud of my mother and all that she has accomplished. When I was a little girl, she showed me that she loved me by making all of my birthdays so special and by making it exciting to go on trips by buying us little presents to open during the car rides. Because of those things that she did for me, my children benefit from it. No matter what is going on in our lives, my kids always look forward to their birthday parties because we spend months planning them and making sure that they have the time of their lives. I am also so grateful for my dad who sat me down one day when I was about 16 or so, and told me that he chose me. That was something that I have never forgotten and it has always meant so much to me. I believe that my dad is the wisest person I know and even though I am now grown up with a family of my own, I still seek him out for advice when I am about to make a big decision.
#3 - I want to thank my husband for being my rock. We have always worked as a team. I really appreciate how our marriage works and how we are always doing something side by side instead of one in front of the other. I really appreciate what a wonderful father he is to our children. People often ask me how I am able to have 5 kids and my immediate answer is that it is because I have such a wonderful husband. He is so thoughtful and caring and I believe that my kids see him as a superhero!
#4- Finally I want to thank my children. I have never known as much happiness in my life as I have been able to experiece since I have had my babies. I love how unique they are from each other. I love how beautiful they are. I love their strenths and I worry over their weaknesses. I have thought about what my children would be like ever since I was 16 and it really affected the choices that I made when I was that age. I am so blessed to have them in my life and I love that they believe that we are "Team Comin". After dinner you can usually hear the cheer "What kind of work? TEAMWORK!" being chanted in our house as we do our family chores, or as the kids are tackling the kitchen. I hope that they grow up to realize that our family really is "Team Comin" and that when they are going through something that they have a team of 6 other members who are cheering for them and who will support them in any trial.

So Thank You to all of my family. I know that I am so blessed to be a part of this wonderful family and I hope that one day I will make you all as proud of me as I am of you.

Brothers!

Have you ever noticed that some people seem to just be born to do a certain thing? Sometimes it seems as though there is just natural talent oozing out of them? That's what I have always felt about Abby and the cello. I had always hoped that one of my children would want to play the cello, and then when Abby was 3, she was invited to attend a cello camp for a week and by the end of the week she could play 3 songs on the cello. I knew right then that the girl HAD to play the cello or else I would kick myself for the rest of my life!
Last night was Abby's cello recital. She takes from a teacher who has a double music degree in singing and the cello. The first 5 performers were singers and then my Abby played the cello. I sat in the perfect spot to video her and she was doing such a good job. . . and then. . . Dustin came into the room! The room was silent and so it was very obvious when he came running down the aisle and proclaimed that he was going to chop off everyone's heads. He kept on walking directly in front of my camera and talking. I couldn't make the kid be quiet and Otto was in the hallway with Lee, so he couldn't help.
I felt so bad for Abby, who just endured it and played on, and as soon as she was done, Dustin was quickly whisked away into another room and given the biggest lecture of his life!
I always wished that I had had more brothers, growing up. But now I am grateful for the one that I have because he never used to bug me, or tease me, or hurt me. He was a great little brother. . . . I hope that one day Abby can say the same thing!

My Little Handsome

- He says the craziest things
- He can solve grade 1 math problems
- You can convince him to eat anything provided his plate is orange
- His tummy always needs a snack
- He has so many Thomas and Friends trains that when they are put end to end they make a line that goes from my bedroom all the way to the bonus room
- He likes candy, candy, candy, candy, candy
- He can stand and pee and will tell you so
- He refuses to do anything that my seem girly because "I am a boy mom!"
- Spiderman is the coolest
- Transformers are the best
- He has superpants that make him go superfast
- He can navigate the Internet to get to his favorite websites
- He will count anything that is put in front of him
- He loves his mama
- He is now 4 years old
- His name is Dustin

Where did the time go? It seems like yesterday I was walking into the hospital announcing that I had an appointment to have my baby and going through the easiest C-Section I have ever had, and now he is 4!!! This little boy is so bright, and funny and crazy! I am constantly laughing at the things he does, and cherishing all of the cuddles he loves to give me. The only other person who looks at me the way that Dustin looks at me is Otto. I have never seen such love looking at me from any of my other children as I do when Dustin looks at me. Dustin is always trying to impress me and he is always trying to figure out how things work. Dustin is always hungry, but only for snacks. . . he hates eating meals! However, last week when I announced that I was making a white chocolate banana loaf, Dustin looked at me, licked his lips and stated "I like what you said mom!".
I sure do love that boy, and I am so happy that he is in my life. I know that Dustin will accomplish great things in his life because he is so driven, smart and talented. I constantly have to remind myself that he is barely 4 years old, because it seems as though he is about 6. I sure do love my little, handsome boy. I am looking forward to watching him grow up. I think that I will have the time of my life raising this one!
Happy Birthday Dustin!

Treat Your Mom Nice And You Will Be Rewarded

Thanks for your comments on my previous post. I do think that I am going to have a nice chat with the mothers of those other girls. Not a mean one, just a nice one so that hopefully they can help their daughters understand Caroline a bit better.
So, speaking of Caroline, we were running errands today and I ended up buying her a bike. No, it is not her birthday, and we actually do have a ton of bikes around here. However, this child rarely asks for things. She is generally a happy child, and being number 3 I often feel as though she gets overlooked. The bikes that she has been riding have been old boy bikes that were given to us by some random people about 5 years ago. They are both really boyish, but Caroline has never complained. The other day Caroline asked me if I could take off her training wheels so that she could ride a two-wheeler. I told her, of course, and then I watched her as she struggled to ride this boy bike and all around her were all these girls (including Abby) riding these beautiful girly bikes. I felt so bad for Caroline (even though she was just happy to ride the bike) and I felt especially guilty because Abby is 9 and has just learned how to ride a two-wheeler, and Anne is 8 and hasn't learned yet even though she has the cutest bike in the whole world; and then there is my little Caroline who is bound and determined to ride a two-wheeler and she is stuck on a boy's bike. So, I fixed that and bought her the most girly, purple and pink flowered bike I could find! Right now she is outside riding her little girly bike around, just as happy as can be.
The icing on the cake was when we were driving home from the store and Caroline said to me "Mommy, thanks for getting me my new bike! When I saw it in the store I really wanted it! When can I ride it?"
TOTALLY WORTH EVERY PENNY!!!

Breaks my Heart

So I got a phone call from a good friend of mine this morning who just happened to teach Caroline's class on Sunday. For those of you who don't know, Caroline is my 5 1/2 year old who has a severe speech problem (which gets better and better every day) and is soooo shy because of it. However, once she opens up to you, you are able to see that she is the most hilarious, cheeky kid you will ever know. She loves to tease and be teased and she totally plays practical jokes on everyone. It KILLS me that she is sooo shy because Caroline really does have the best personality!
I guess on Sunday, my friend had to leave the room for a minute with another child and when she came back, apparently the other girls in Caroline's class were making fun of her speech and telling her that she talks like a baby. Apparently Caroline didn't really notice, or else she gets that alot because she didn't bother to tell me about it and when I talked to her about it today it didn't seem to phase her.
However, it broke my heart that other children (especially these two girls that Caroline really likes) would make fun of something that Caroline really struggles with. It has taken me 2 years to get Caroline to actually speak when other people are around and her speech and improved by huge leaps and bounds, and even though apparently Caroline didn't really care what they were saying, my heart broke when I heard what had happened. I don't know why Caroline has the disadvantages (her speech is only one of them) that she has, but I really wish that she could, at least, have a couple of friends who wouldn't make fun of her and just love her for who she is. This kid has my entire family wrapped around her little finger, now she just needs some friends.

My friend Herb

For all of you who don't know, my parents share a birthday. I have always thought that it was sooo cool and when I was younger I thought that you had to marry someone who had the same birthday as you, so I would always ask the boys when their birthdays were before I became friends with them. (Turns out, not that many people were born on May 3.)
Well, my dad turned 50 this year and so him and my mom went away for a little surprise trip. My siblings and I have been planning on having a surprise dinner for them when they get home today and so I have been cooking all night and morning. We are going to have some really tasty ribs, roasted potatoes, buns, salad and then for dessert, I have made a Sour Cream Chocolate and Peanut Butter cake. The recipe for which I got on the Smitten Kitchen blog that I follow.
I don't know how many of you make ribs out there, but it is a lengthy process if you want it done right. As part of the process I always boil my ribs for an hour to start the tenderization process. Now, most people just boil their ribs in water because that is what most recipes call for. However, I see this as a perfect opportunity to add some flavor. So, I decided to turn to my best friend. . . Herb! (That is what I have named my Herb Garden. . . go ahead and laugh. . . I never did quite grow up, even if I AM 30!) I had planned on having a large garden this year. I had bought the house that I did because it came with a gorgeously huge backyard and side yard that was southwest facing! This is PERFECT for garden growing! However, to make a long story short, the garden wasn't created.
I was feeling bad about the lack of garden one day, so I took the kids to a local greenhouse, and paid way too much to buy some herbs. We planted them in some nice long planter boxes, assigned the older 3 girls their own boxes to take care of, and VOILA. . . Herb was born!
So, today I decided to use some of the fruits of my labors and add some of my fresh herbs to the boiling water to infuse the ribs with more flavors. . . the smell in my house is HEAVENLY!!! And I can't wait until dinnertime when I get to taste these wonderful smelling ribs! I could write about food forever, but alas, I haven't made the BBQ sauce that will be topping these ribs yet, so I had better get on that!
So, thanks Herb! I can't wait to taste your wonderful contribution to my ribs!

Sorry Baby!

Pretty much every afternoon, the two little boys and I go for a nice 3.8 K walk around the neighborhood. I have decided that there is no better walking partner than Dustin because we end up singing all sorts of songs, playing tons of games and generally having the most interesting conversations. I am really interested to know what he is going to be like when he is older.
Because it was such a nice day yesterday, and because I kind of felt sorry for Lee who had been stuck in the front of the stroller for a good 1/2 hour, I decided to stop at one of the various parks that we pass on our daily walks.
At this park there were some swings. So, I decided to put Lee in the swing and see what happens. Unfortunately, Lee has never been in a real swing before and so I had no idea as to whether or not he would like it. I should have known that the happiest baby that I have ever met would, of course, love it! He had a blast! Lee had the biggest smile that I have ever seen, and he threw the biggest temper tantrum when I pulled him out of the swing. I felt really bad that Lee had never had the experience of being in a real swing until now.
I guess that that's what happens when you are the youngest of 5 kids. I often feel as though he misses out on things that I have done with the other kiddies, but I do try and do lots with him. In fact, I can't wait until September because the girlies will all be in school all day and Dustin will be gone every afternoon, so it will be just me and the baby. Maybe then we will be able to do some more things together. I really don't want him to feel deprived. I guess I will just have to try harder.