The apple doesn't fall...

HMMMMMM, if I were a bettin' gal, I'd bet that Butch won't ever ask for a paternity test...ever...never...

The picture of Butch was taken a month away from his 2nd birthday and the picture of Niklaus was taken a month from HIS 2nd birthday. I think it's pretty funny that they're both wearing stripy shirts and even cuter that they both look the same. I'll have to dig up a pic of Matty at that age, he had the same hair as Butch and looks much the same as Butch when he was a little older. No paternity test necessary for Matty, either...I bet!

Katrina's Art

I really love the creations Katrina comes up with. Especially her cartoon girls. She is so darn creative and when I saw this sketch she had just done, I thought to myself, "Now THIS one is great, I gotta scan it before it gets destroyed!" Hmmmm, too late, although, it looks as if Analise and Niklaus appreciated it as much as I did and just maybe tried to "improve" it. Oh well, someday when she's famous they can say, "I knew her when..."

Joint Effort by Katrina, Analise, and Niklaus 

Tenacious Two's

I'm starting to get an idea of what people mean by "terrible two's". My other children were never "terrible" per se at that age, I always thought that the 3's and 4's were MUCH worse due to the fact that they could start to sass you back or realize that if you were in public, they could basically get away with murder and/or run in the opposite direction that you needed them to be and were a lot faster, too. I guess as a result of having three other siblings to learn from, Niklaus is just a bit advanced in the "curious kid" stage of what people like to call the "terrible two's".
Tonight alone, he:

A. got into the markers and drew all over Trina's new book and his own body that was naked because...

B. I had to undress him because he had crawled onto the counter in search of chocolate chips in the cupboard but instead found a whole, little bottle of cake decorations which fell onto the slightly damp counter and turned everything including the bottom of his feet all red, then...

C. I realized that the reason that the counter and his clothes were slightly damp was because he had discovered that if he crawls up on the stool, turns on the water and presses the sprayer, water will spray out.

D. pulled every book of the shelf at least 4 times today after I had organized them for the nine billionth time

E. started to pull the decorative balls off of the tree and tried pitching them around the room like they were play balls (luckily this year I opted for non-glass ornaments)

F. has developed a bad habit of whenever I say "no, please put that down" he throws it as hard as he can (which is pretty darn hard for a 2 year old) no matter how heavy it is and in any direction which is usually for some reason right where Weazy is and I swear, today alone he really hurt her (however accidentally) at least 3 times, the last one being...

G. when I was decorating above the front door on a ladder, the kids were handing me stuff very nicely and Niklaus had gotten hold of one of those big, pillar candles and pitched it to the ground right on weazy's foot.

WHEW! I don't really get mad at him too much because usually, everything he does is a result of someone else's carelessness and my (however momentary) inattention to him. He's walking the fine line of "just bored" and defiant, but for now, I think yelling at him or punishing him so much after the fact is a bit like kicking a dog after he pooped on the carpet the day before...neither one knows what the heck you're getting so worked up about!

I think I'll start taking pictures of his adventures like one of my old neighbors used to do with her "extra curious" daughter when she was about that age...hey...come to think of it, she was the fourth child, too!
Her mom used to take pictures of her adventure aftermath and catalogue them in a "naughty" book. I don't like the word "naughty" because he really is quite innocent and he looks up at me after getting into writing utensils and says (with his face all "decorated" along with anything else within reach), "Mama! Markers! It's NICE!". Now how could anyone get mad at that?!

Best and Brightest

I've never done a book recommendation, but I heard E.D. Hill (one of the hosts of "Fox and Friends" on the Fox News Network) talking about her new book with Laura Ingraham yesterday. It sounds like it will be very inspiring reading for me and the kids. It's about how some of America's most successful people got where they are and who inspired them and how. I can't wait to read it and it's really quite inexpensive on Amazon.
It's nice to read something inspiring during the Holiday season instead of depressing or boring! OH! I was completely shocked when E.D. told Laura that she has 8 children! She seems so young and lively, I thought for sure that she wasn't even married...not that marriage makes you any less attractive (ahem).

ALERT ALERT ALERT!

In certain places in the "blogosphere" I've seen rumblings of PP people who are boycotting Target Corp. for their refusal to dispense and promote the "morning after pill" behind and over the counter.
http://www.cwfa.org/printerfriendly.asp?id=1559&department=cwa&categoryid=life. Please let your local Target know that you appreciate and support their decision to allow their pharmacists to respect the health of women rather than endanger their lives and the lives of their unborn babies! I hope they don't buckle under the pressure. The one thought that comes to my mind if this drug should be sold over the counter is...what if some guy doesn't want his pregnant girlfriend's/wife's baby and slips the drug in her drink or food. If you follow this nightmare scenario, can you imagine the evil things that could happen with
a. a jealous girlfriend
b. an angry mom or dad
c. a cowardly child molester???
keep an eye on this issue and pray for Target pharmacists!

Mother Theresa said:
"It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish."
and this:
"But I feel that the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a war against the child - a direct killing of the innocent child - murder by the mother herself. And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another?"

THE SKY IS FALLING!

Weasy just came into the classroom and asked me if the sky was "hard"...
Mama: Weasy, what do you mean "hard"?
Weasy: I mean is it hard when it pushes or falls on houses?
Mama: Ummmm, Weasy, the sky doesn't do that, the sky is just air.
Weasy: I KNOW, but if it fell would it hurt the houses and smash them up?
Mama: The sky doesn't "fall", Weasy that's just in the movie and stuff.
Weasy: (sighing and skipping out of the room exasperated with a Mama who doesn't know that much at all.)

"Cheerleader" by Katrina (when she was age 9)

"Bugs" by Matty (age 7)

"Rose" by Weazy (age 5)

serenity now, serenity now, serenity NOW!

A couple of days ago, Megan wrote the "Serenity Prayer" on her blog, and had a link to the history of it. Today on the radio, I heard a good version of it. How many times have you said something like, "I can't stand how (insert name of offending person here) is acting, how can I change (him or her)?".

A good answer:
God, grant me the serenity to ACCEPT the PEOPLE I
cannot change,
The courage to change the PEOPLE I can,
And the wisdom to know that they are ME!

I mean no disrespect to the original, but so often in society we think that we are the ones being offended when we really do have to look in the mirror and either change how we look at the other person, or change those sinful things about ourselves that we just don't take the time to deal with. This gave me a lot of thinking to do, so now I have to go clean my house and praise God for giving me kids that mess it up instead of swearing under my breath while I pick up dirty clothes and vacuum and scrub icky floors.

Where I'm From

Inspired by my friend Megan's blog, I'm going to write a poem about, well, you know...

I'm from a 70's mansion
now a 2000's crappy rambler.
I'm from rollerskating on bumpy, metal wheels on a long dirt driveway
"in town"

I'm from a large, German family who's been here forever
and it looks like we ain't never leavin'!
I'm the oldest of six and cousin of hundreds

I'm from Barbies, Strawberry Shortcakes, fake, homemade Cabbage Patch dolls, hand me down and rummage sale clothes.

I'm from love, prayers, Church, laughter, living in the kitchen with Grandma Laura, snuggling with my sister in bed and under a blanket in front of the heating vent on cold mornings.

I'm from a place I will always go back to...because I'm already here!

Nik names II

When Niklaus was born, I had such wonderful thoughts of him being nicknamed "Klaus" and had no earthly idea of what his name would become. It all started with Nickerbocker. Sure, I can see that. Nik...Nicker...Nickerbocker bockety bop, I like-a-the way that you bob-attie-bop etc.. Then Gabby started shortening it to "bocker" and sometimes the kids all say "bock". SO, now instead of a nice, slightly quirky and ethnic sounding "Klaus", someday, when he's a grown man he'll answer to the name "Bock".

It just goes to show you, it doesn't matter WHAT the heck you name your kids, so why bother? I should just name them "Baby (insert last name here) and see what their siblings decide to name them after all!

Katrina...Trina, Tree, Trinabina, Kat, Katie, Trine, Tree-knee
Matthew...Matt, Matty, Mattchew
Analise...Anaweese, Weazy, Weas
Niklaus...Nik, Nikerbocker, Bocker, Bock

I give up.

Bocker reminds me of a (very) young Ron Howard. 

My friend, Karla wanted me to send pics of the kids doing everyday type stuff, ummm, yeah...