Girlfriends make for a much better Mood

Who needs Effexor when you have girlfriends?
The past two weeks have been a whirlwind of kids being sick,me being sick, school functions, IEPs, trying to get ready to leave, and generally feeling the need to be super mom while all this chaos is unfurling around me.
Today I took a break to pull it together again, and bring some normalcy back into MY life - not as a mom just as myself. Only me. ME.
It’s nice to say that. ME. It’s easy to put me last because the kids need me. It’s easy to put me last..... because I just forget about me. Until it comes and smacks me in the face and I decide that unless I get a little ME time, I might lose my mind. That was today.
So this is what I did to find myself again… I spent time with several women I love. I emailed close girlfriends and talked to them about things that were bugging me. Spent time talking, just talking with a dear dear Auntie and gossiping with a Jamaican pseudo-Grandma. I called my best girlfriends and yelled about things that angered me. I arranged ‘dates’ with girlfriends that I had been missing… and will see Sooon, in CO, for brunch, dinner, play-dates, movies. I went to Whole Foods, Yep, with a girlfriend. I spent time with women. Women whom I love & admire.
And it worked. Sure enough, I feel rejuvenated and alive again. Ready to bring on another month of sickness, traveling, training, mommy-hood, etc.
It’s amazing what women can do for one another. I find myself in awe of the friends I have. Sometimes it’s easy to forget how great they are, until you take away the pressures of life and just share a little. These are some of the things I re-learned today:
…Sisters are hilarious, generous, and very competitive when running from the parking lot in the Florida rain. They will babysit when they are sick, and bring dinner too.
…Mothers are human. They can complain with you about men, and can understand when you are tired of being mom. They won’t judge you, and they will ‘forget’ the conversation afterwards
…Aunts are more than just your mother’s sister. They are people who love you and wish they spent more time with you. And with a little effort they could be a great person in your life.
… Grandmothers are amazing. Seriously, amazing. They know everything. From sex and marriage, to gardening and dinner. They know it all. And if you just listen, you might learn something that could change your life.
… Old girlfriends give you a perspective that you need. They get you out of your current world, and make you feel young again. They bring you back to grammar school & high school... silly decisions and all. They know your family and they know you. They cut through the bull-shit that you tell them, and know what is really going on.
… New girlfriends allow you to soar. They don’t have past preconceptions about you, and let you dare to be who you want to be. They help you get there by giving great advice and by making you laugh
… Mommy girlfriends lend the support you need to get through the day. They love your kids because they love you. They don’t judge your parenting or your children, and they often teach you by example. They let you perform ‘parenting experiments’ on your children AND theirs - to see what works and what doesn’t.
… Non-mommy girlfriends remind you of the ideals that you hold, and the life you want to live as a person outside of being a mother. They remind you of what is at your core, and encourage you to embrace it.
… Best girlfriends do it all. I don’t know how. They just do.
All in all, I am rejuvenated and soooo ready for a ROAD TRIP... thanks to my girlfriends. I learned a lot, and I hope I don’t forget it all. However, I know I can count on my girlfriends being there to remind me when I do.

the Vice Prez

This post is stolen from Pinch... whom I read faithfully. He is so ON-TARGET with this.
"If there is a picture that conveys the articifical and fake soul of a career politician better than this one, I would like to see it. Fake smile, cultivated hair, capped/laminated teeth, artificial tan - we’re in the best of hands."

Children of Poland

Children Are Not Garbage, Says United Way Poland
People all over Poland are facing the issue of “street children” thanks to United Way Poland Driving to work, they might hear a radio announcement like this,
“Eleven-year-old Franek stole two car radios worth 700 zlotys. He will sell them at the market for 50% of that value, but he owes Tom 100 zlotys for amphetamines… so how much money will Franek have left to buy vodka?

It is terrifying what the street teaches children. United Way Poland and its partners are trying to change the future of Poland’s 300,000 homeless children through effective programs that take children off the street.
They’re doing this through public awareness-building and fundraising campaigns, by engaging cross-sector coalitions of groups that work with children, and with enrichment programs for this target population of children. The Partnership for Children was started four years ago in North Praga - Warsaw, brings together community leaders willing to expand the initiative to cities across the country.
“We call them ‘Street Children’ in Poland, but they are not homeless—they are really “social orphans”. These young people live in homes, with families, but they are neglected. Most of their time, often even during school hours, is spent on the street in the company of other ‘Street Children’.”
Malgorzata Mularczyk
Executive Director
United Way
Poland

Busy.....gettin ready.............

Seriously?

ROAD TRIP............ Colorado coming up. We leave in 4 days. Of course, Murphy is here. Oh Yes, everyone is sick with not one, NO NO not this family, but TWO virus'. Everyone has the respiratory crud and then yesterday and today the littles have all come down with Gastro crud.
Ugggh.
Murphy.... shoo. Go away.
But through all the coughing, hacking, rivers of snot... and now, well you know............
I know we are very blessed and this is going to be GREAT!
We'll keep you posted along the way.

More on THE question.... "Are they all yours?"

Sometimes we have to laugh at ourselves and I know many of you moms get the same question, my girlfriend over at Sanctuary NOT sent this... some tongue-in-cheek responses:

At the grocery store: Watch out, there's a two for one deal in aisle 5.

In the women's section of a department store: I didn't think shopping for a bathing suit was hard enough so I borrowed some children to make the experience easier.

At a restaurant: We asked for the Children Section, they came with the table.

At the park: Actually they followed my son home one day and he asked if we could keep them.

At the mall: Bill Gates will give me a $1 for every time someone asks me that question. I'm on my way to becoming a millionaire, thanks!

In a parking lot: I'm practicing to be part of the 10 clowns tumbling out of a tiny car circus act.

On the sidewalk: I'm a gypsy, do you have any kids for sale?

At home, answering the door: I have a boy and a girl. Wait... *counts the children quickly.* Dang it! *yelling over my shoulder* Tell your father to quit playing with the cloning machine again!

While waiting in line: I don't have any kids. *asked in a psychotic hushed voice* Do you see children?

At school: I'm testing the number of children it takes to drive a person insane.

Anywhere: Yes, we're trying to take over the world.

Happy Memorial Day

We are blessed because they have fought to keep us free.
May we always remember and be grateful.

Isn't Grocery Shopping Fun??????

You haven’t lived until you’ve gone grocery shopping with five kids, boys no less, Down syndrome not with-standing, in tow. I would rather swim, be a contestant on Fear Factor when they’re having pig brains for lunch, or do fourth grade math than to take all the boys to the grocery store. Because I absolutely detest grocery shopping, I tend to put it off as long as possible. There comes a time, however, when you’re peering into your fridge and thinking, Hmmm. You make the decision that you cannot avoid going to the grocery store any longer. Before leaving, I change 1 diaper, make sure Boobah has gone potty (he's loving public restrooms, along with Bug.... ewwwwww), tell the older boys to grab their IPODS, and look for 10 min for my shoes, finally found under Bug's firetruck bed.
We spend 10 minutes getting everyone out and into the van. I'm trying to be consciencious, and let the 2 youngest littles traverse the floor full of toys, threshholds, etc and make their own way to the van.
Finally everyone is buckled in and before a DVD (love this) begins... the "grocery talk" is given.

The "grocery talk" is something like..

Me: “We're going to the grocery store.”

KIDS: “Whine, 'cool', 'I want..., 'I want to stay......', etc.“

MOM: “OK, so everybody listening.? Do not ask me for everything in the cookie aisle, do not poke the packages of food in the butcher section, do not take things and 'slip' them into the cart, do not pull-out the bottom anything in the overly tall display, do not play 'catch' in the produce section, and do not try to get out of the cart or wander to another aisle....”

OK, rules stated and DVD on. Time to go.

Once at the store, we grab not one, but two shopping carts. I put the two youngest littles in one cart... seat at the front and main basket. Bug starts out walking along side me and while I push one cart and my oldest son pushes the other one. My second oldest is not allowed to push a cart. The last time he pushed the cart, he ran into me and laughed so often he ended up hoarse... not to mention my ankles.

At this point, like every other time, a woman asks me, “Are they all yours?” I answer good naturedly, “Yep!

“Oh my, you have your hands full.”

“Yes, I do, but it‘s fun!” I say smiling. I’ve heard all this before. In fact, I hear it every time I go anywhere with my crew.

OK so we begin.... in the produce section are all these wonderfully arranged hugh displays of fruit. There is something so irresistibly appealing about the orange on the bottom of the pile, that a child cannot help but try to touch it. Much like a bug to a zapper, the child is drawn to this piece of fruit. I turn around to the sounds of citrus cascading down the display and onto the floor. There stands Bug, with fingers splayed in front of his eyes... smiling, holding the perfect orange. He has a surprised look of "Wow, did you see that??? ”

With superhuman effort, I calmly take Bug by the hand... I swear I had only let go for a split-second......

An older, obviously Floridian couple looks at all of us and says, “Are those all your kids?”

I want to say and have been known to say something similar.........“Nope. They just started following me. I’ve never seen them before in my life.” instead I smile and say, "Yes, we're very blessed with independent thinking in this family." The couple smiles as Boobah hooks them with those eyes and his smile that can light up the Devil's lair.

In bakery section where everything smells so good, my children are drooling. At this point, the lovely blue-haired lady behind the counter comes out with cookies for all.

“Can we get brownies?” chimes forth from AJ..........
No.
"Cake?"
No.

They’re just getting started.

The free cookies or coffee cake bites are offered by Mrs. Blue-hair....... the kids all take one, except pee-wee. Boobah decides he doesn’t like it and proceeds to spit it out in my hand. (That’s what moms do. We put our hands in front of our children’s mouths so they can spit stuff into them. We’d rather carry around a handful of chewed up coffee cake, than to have the child spit it out onto the floor. I’m not sure why this is, but ask any mom and she’ll tell you the same.) Of course, there’s no garbage can around, so I continue shopping one-handed while searching for someplace to dispose of the regurgitated mess in my hand.

In the butcher department, a mother with a tiny baby girl asks, “Wow! Are they ALL yours?”

I answer her, “Yes, but I’m thinking of selling a couple of them.” She smiles and can't resist the boys gazes.

(Still searching for a garbage can at this point.)

After the butcher department, the littles attention spans are spent. They’re done shopping. Hurricane and AJ are restless but hey... IPODS.

While grabbing burger buns and bread, Bug lets loose and is running down the aisle; he's quick and about to crash head on into a giant cardboard cut-out of a favorite cookie elf... oh yes, stacked with Fudge Stripe cookie packages.... Hooray biggest brother grabs Bug. I guess that's why my oldest was given the nickname "Hurricane" at a very young age... it has stuck.

While this is going on, peewee is playing Houdini and maneuvering his little body out of the seat belt in an attempt to stand up in the cart. I’m amazed... he finally is truly no longer a baby but a full-blown toddler.

At the front of the store... wait R U ready, there it is STARBUCKS... ahhhh, I'm saved. So while ordering a tall double xtra foam latte, I spot the trash can and finally dump out the icky contents of my hand. The boys are all happy with the break as well... 2 kid juices with half water for Bug and Boobah (Pee wee still doesn't take liquids), 1 tall passion tea lemonade for Hurricane, and a vanilla bean frappacino for AJ.

Shopping continues ... there are the inevitable power struggles between Hurricane and Bug... both control freaks and both think they are the alpha male. Now and then, I stoop to pick up things the toddlers have managed to fling out of the cart. I try to get everything on our list without adding too many other things to the carts... or allowing the kids to sneak in the cart.

Wow, even with the Starbucks break, we are done in just under 2 hours; we head for the check-out. Now the boys couldn't care less about candy but what ignorant person, whom obviously has no children or concept of shopping with them, decided it would be a good idea to put the newest hot-wheel trucks in the check-out lanes, right at Bug's eye level?

Unloading the carts, there are extra items (some I don't catch till putting everything away at home) that the boys have managed to sneak in the carts. Cat toys...to be honest it's a brilliant green ball, pudding cups, and Cookie Monster Bubble Bath. I later find sour cream (kosher approved), and a box of waffle cereal... 2 items... not too bad. As I slip my debit card into the card reader to pay for purchases, the clerk looks at me, looks at the boys, and asks, “Are they all yours?”

Tired of hearing that question, I look at the clerk thinking, “ 'No. They’re not mine. I just go around the neighborhood gathering up kids to take to the grocery store because it’s so much more fun that way.' I answer, yes.. these are my 5 Angels," she smiles and asks about the boys... says she teaches Sunday school and has "2 special needs kiddos in her class."
A reminder I shouldn't be so testy with the question "Are they all yours?"

California... the clue salesman is calling

Two different stories, about California, came to my attention today, via emails.
The first totally absurd notion circling the net and blogosphere is about splitting CA into 4 different states.
" Experts argue that the proposal doesn't have a chance of working, but we say 'never say never.'
This is the state the elected Conan the Destroyer, after all."
I wonder, Why not just cut CA loose altogether?


The second story, sent to be by a friend and non-liberal, ex-Spec-Ops, California boy.. (yes, at least one exists.. and he lives in Marin county, who knew?), involves Berkeley. It seems, once AGAIN, protesters were arrested after they confronted neighborhood police. What were they protesting you ask? "USMC recruiting by way of honoring Memorial Day." A year ago the city council said military recruiters were "uninvited and unwelcome intruders." As crazy as that is... this wasn't recruiting... this was a Honoring Fallen Troops ceremony.
Did I missed something? When did Berkeley, CA secede from the United States. Interesting how they feel the military has no right to be there, and they are using the rights and freedoms that were given to them, to protest, THROUGH the sacrifices of the military of the United States throughout history... Ungrateful doesn't even begin to describe them.

I lived in Southern CA, I loved it. After 22 years living elsewhere, I still have good friends and fond memories of my CA time. I don't hate CA, I do however, totally get why it is known as "the land of fruits and nuts."

I have to say as soon as number 1 son came along ... hmmmm, well it wasn't somewhere I wanted to raise kids.

Pride and Grief

Airman Jacob Proffer, a member of the Air Force Honor Guard, pauses to salute a grave after placing a miniature flag at its base during the “Flags In” tribute at Arlington National Cemetery, May 21, 2009. “When I do this, it makes me take a lot more pride every time I put on my uniform, seeing the measure of sacrifice so many have made,” he said. DoD photo by Donna Miles

Both pride and grief are with me today.
I am proud to have been married to a sailor whom forever loved his country. I am proud to have worked for both the USMC and the USN, experiences which had significant impact on my life and gave me a perspective and friendships I will always treasure.

I also find myself in the midst of a visceral grief, I grapple with the loss of my husband, my son's father, the man I loved with all my soul. A perfect man... oh don't make me choke and I would never imply such; but a loving son, husband and father. More than the day he died, Memorial Day is a time when it all seems too fresh. We always had an annual Memorial Celebration .... to honor our fallen troops and those fighting the battle to keep us free and safe. Friends and family, friends of friends, neighborhood kids and acquaintances were always welcome. BBQ, beer, laughing and games were the order of the day... all day.
Where did this all go? Yes, Jon's ship flag and medals, pictures and memories are all here........ but he is not. I no longer ask why, it is moot. It simply is.

This weekend we will attend honor services for those we know whom are serving, those whom protect us and we do not know and those brave troops whom are no longer with us. We will pray for them and their safe homecomings. We will pray for their families. We live in a continually dangerous world. Not all homecomings are happy... for many families the homecoming they have anticipated will end with prayers for a peaceful repose in a church cemetery. For these brave troops and their families, we pray for peace of heart.

For my sons, I say extra prayers that they never forget the love their dad had for them. I will never forget.

Different ways to change the world

YES, I may want to change the world thru "one child" adoption; there are those whom have a different spin....
There's an organization "PlayingForChange" out to change the world thru one shared language...music. Their first CD is on sale at Starbucks. This video was produced by taping a street musician, then playing his recording for different artists around the world, recording them and mixing. Dimitri can be found everyday near Red square... Maxim loved watching him.
Here's the video........ ENJOY

Happy Mother's Day

If your day starts with tiny voices, tiny bottoms, and cleaning faces, you might be a mother...

If you consider the choices between a shower and a quick lunch (yes, noon is the time for showers, right?), you might be a mother.

If you choose the t-shirt of the day based on the one that most hides the snot when it's wiped on your shoulder, you might be a mother.

If you've been peed on, pooped on, wiped someone else's runny nose, cleaned up vomit and held your own in, and still smiled when it all happened in one hour, you might be a mother.

If your medicine cabinet consists of tummy meds, little noses spray, baby pain reliever, and a large bottle of adult Tylenol, you might be a mother.

If you think that "Johnson's" is the scent of choice, for baby and yourself, you might be a mother.

If you firmly believe that there are 5 staples to everyone's necessary diet and that they include 1- chicken nuggets, 2- mac n cheese, 3- peanut butter and jelly, 4- hot dogs, and 5-crackers, you might be a mother.

but most of all...

If you find that your heart moves outside your body because it belongs to a little person... or two... or three... or more... you are most definitely a mother.

Happy Mothers' Day!

Red shirt Friday

For the freedom of a child.........

Just think...

I cried during this entire video... I weeped out loud. I want to shout this out to the world.... I want to say to those who believe I shouldn't have adopted the boys.... &^%$#@ sel%$#@, *&%^ (read that as not very Christian things), I want everyone to know how blessed we are to have my 5 Angels.... no longer orphans. None of us can save the world.... but you may be able to save just one. Your Father saved you. If you cannot adopt... you can Remember the orphans, talk to everyone, give to a charity helping orphans (http://www.reecesrainbow.com if you click on this posts title, it will link you to the site), support a family in the process of adoption, pray for forever families.... love those around you.

Few word Wednesday

We work..........


and .........
we Play

Overly cautious or not?

We are going through a weird period, both globally, nationally, and locally in Florida. School is on free-fall with the current swine flu scare. 3 kids now confirmed at an elementary school in Lee county. The boys school? No, but that doesn't matter in our case.

Our Pediatrician doesn't want Niky in school at all... he is just too susceptible with a compromised immune system. He was pretty much "sick" from January until , maybe 10 days ago... oh, yes he'd get better, for a little while but never really well. Yeah... he's finally Well, healthy!

So all 3 littles are out of school. Pediatrician's recommendation, MY choice.

Days are busy and filled with the kids fun and dreams. Sanibel and shell hunting have been getting a workout; as has, a favorite park; places they like where there is openness and not a lot of other kids. We are spending a lot more time in the backyard with fewer playmates coming over. Jesse has been busy with new friends and new job. Andy misses not going to visit his "granma peoples," aka nursing home residents that he reads to a couple days a week. There are many years ahead for school and missing now to be cautious is somehow insignificant in the whole picture.

If you have something negative to say about this..... move on, I delete.

ARE YOU SERIOUS???

Reason enough to stay away from golf.........


I understand Representative Joe barton (Texas) has Congress looking into college football and the BCS.... seriously? Is this all we have to do in this country? What happened to the economy, the War on Terror (oops... whatever it is called now) and "manmade disasters" (aka terrorists attacks), healthcare, Gitmo, blah, blah, blah
Congressional inquiries into sports issues typically result in extensive public buffoonery and lengthy bouts of elitist grandstanding. They mispronounce names of athletes, meddle unnecessarily and many times utterly embarrass themselves. Some of them wouldn't know the difference between A-Rod and Selena Roberts.
Now, Congress is engaging in full-throttle hand-wringing when it comes to the flawed, farcical college football non-playoff system. To some people the BCS should stand for Be-Gone Congressional Silliness.
Congress is inefficient when it comes to sports. Fine. There is also a lot more going on in the country that requires its attention. Maybe it's just me... maybe this is important to my generation and the next and the next. Aaargh!