Massimo

There are a 3 things that make me incredibly happy: my kids, spending time with my family, and taking pictures.

When the kids are not in school, I spend many happy, fulfilling hours with them. They are so funny sometimes it takes all I am not to pee. Between the minor arguments, jokes, stories, and conversations, it really is a phenomenal way to spend my day.

It's not often that I spend time with my family though. Mostly it's because I live in the middle of nowhere and it's a massive undertaking packing up 5 kids and all of their paraphernalia and to travel for several hours and I work 6 days a week too. However, when I get there it's all worth the time and effort. I feel at peace, loved, appreciated, and most of all I know that my children are in the presence of someone who loves them.

Now when I take pictures, it really makes me happy. I know absolutely nothing about taking pictures except to point and click. But when I take 100's of shots of my babies doing everyday things and I get that 1 picture that blows my mind away, captures everything about my child, and you know i'll want to be buried with it, it make me feel happy.

My mother-in-law once told me that we are all responsible for our own happiness. How right she is. These are the incredible passions of my life...and I will get it right. I will enjoy my children even more than ever, I will visit with my family more often, and I will continue to take pictures.

I will purchase a new camera. Soon. OK maybe next year. Or the year after that. But he will be mine. He will be a digital bad boy who will be subject to my every whim. Massimo will be his name and he will serve me well. He will take beautiful pictures of my offspring and capture them for posterity.

Now without further ado, may I present Massimo:



Otherwise known as Canon Digital Rebel XSi 12.2 MP Digital SLR Camera in his world.

He will be good for me. Promise.

So Glad

She wasn't feeling well. We were having a conversation and I started clicking away.

I'm so glad I did.

Her brothers were distracting her.

I'm so glad they did.

She's looking at Isaiah. Trying to ignore me.



I'm so glad she did.

This one is my favorite.



Own It They Did

Conferences this week. Expected nothing less than their best efforts. And they surpassed all expectations. Again. These little people are simply successful and productive in everything they do, touch, think of, and imagine.

She was rockin' a new hairstyle. She owned it baby.

They all wanted to know who the powerhouse behind Alyssa was. I, of course, took all the credit. Mind you, my math skills are essentially non-existent, and my English ees not so gud. Isaiah and Manuel came with me to her conference and Manuel kept asking me, "What if she gets a B, mom?" "Are you gonna ground her?" To which her Geometry teacher responded, "You need to go sit down. These are confidential!" Manuel responded with his own snide remark, "She's so grounded!" She did get 1 B. In Geometry. She was not given points for class participation for about 2 weeks because she was nasty ill. Hospital nasty ill. She scored A's in everything else. Told ya. She is amazing. She is smart. She has a good heart. She's ballsy. She's gorgeous. She's mine. All mine.

Oh, and the real powerhouse behind Alyssa? Alyssa.

Michael. Oh my dear Michael. Kindergarten has nothing on you my love. His teacher was all like, "What can I say? You are doing a great job of making sure he does his homework. His test scores are wonderful. He plays well with others." And his dad was all like, "Cool." I think Michael summed it best when he told me the other morning as I was getting him ready for school, "Mom, you shouldn't send me to school because all the girls in my class just jaaaack me up." Imaging his head moving from shoulder to shoulder too. I just about died laughing. I might've peed too. Apparently, these little chicks like to touch his long hair and they corner him against the fence. Apparently, he loves it. A little too much. Whatever dude. As long as you want to go to school and do fantastic, the motivation is up to you. Kinder girls are pushy. Just sayin'.

Straight O's baby. O's for outstanding.

His teacher loves him. She wants a class full of Manuel's. My question: why can't he behave like that at home. Seriously. She was full of compliments and love and praise and more compliments. Again, I took full credit. Shamelessly. Even though he does all his work. Hardly asks for help. He is popular with the guys, starting basketball teams and soccer teams and football teams. All on his own. He's a leader. They follow him. And he get's straight A's. What more can I ask for? He is passive. Always wanting to please. Don't get me wrong. The boy can argue. For sure we will have a lawyer. A man of character and integrity and most of all, empathy. That is my son. Mine. And it doesn't hurt that he's good lookin'. Wow. A good looking lawyer. I can handle that.

Aiden. My Aiden had some issues with separation. Anxiety to be exact. So we made a mutual decision, the school and us, to part ways until the next school year. But while there, my Aiden rocked the hell out of pre-school. Knew all his colors (except tan - what 3 year old knows what tan is. Really. Does the state actually read their exams?) and his numbers 1 - 10, identified his letters and sounds, and wrote his name and owned it baby. Next year is going to be his year to shine even brighter. Just you wait and see.

I thought I was supposed to school you lady, not the other way around.

Now Isaiah is only 15 months old and does not attend school. However, this kid schools everyone else. Truly. He only has to gibber jabber and it's like the Pavlovian experiment is being conducted in this joint. Z, as he's affectionately referred to, is now starting to call his siblings with his own twist on their names and they all come running. Seriously. It's funny to watch my kids being bossed around by a 2 foot dictator. Not so funny to have him write on my freshly painted walls. With a red marker.

This is truly a blessed life I lead with these incredible little people.

Go. Go get costumed out. Rock your alter ego. Or your inner bad self. It's Halloween tomorrow. Own it.

Happy Halloween.

He's My Genius

Last school year, Manuel scored the highest CST scores for his 2nd grade class.  His reward came this year: a trip to John's Incredible Pizza in a limousine. The other 3 highest scoring students came as well.

Here's the limousine. It was a Cadillac stretch, shiny, chrome filled, gorgeous hunk of metal.  I seriously got a huge lump in my throat as I saw it driving up. Really. Truly.

It was all he spoke about for the week.

He came flying off the bus with the invitation in his sweaty hands dying to open it. As soon as he saw me he came to a stop and shouted, "I'm going on the limo to John's Incredible Pizza!" The invitation was torn into and read. Then re-read to make sure everyone around him had heard. I smiled and congratulated him. Tried to give him a kiss but his friends were around so he shot me a "later at home I'll let you smother me in kisses and hugs just not now cuz my friends are here" look.

I made him his favorite dinner: deep fried tacos with all the trimmings, Spanish rice, and Coke. All week he waited and talked about it and waited and talked about it some more and waited and told everyone who would listen all about the limo and pizza thing. I made sure to point out it was because of his test scores. What? I'm a proud momma.

His school really went all out to send them off in style. All the students from grades 2 through 6 came to rally them. I had no idea. As Manuel pointed out to his g-ma Bell, "Alyssa never went on the limo trip grandma," I didn't know what to expect for him. It was grand. It was beautiful. It was amazing. It was simply a moment in time that he will remember. Forever. I cried. Very quietly. Didn't embarrass him though. That's why I wear sunglasses.

Manuel, I am so proud of you. You are an amazing little boy who is becoming an amazing young man.

May God continue to bless you with these wonderful rewards for all of your hard work.

Pumpkin Fun

Last weekend: $20.00 worth of pumpkins that are going to rot as soon as these monkeys carve them because it's still 90 degrees here.

They'd been bugging me for days to take them. I wonder if she'll ever want to be seen with us again. Alyssa came only because I gave her an orange blouse to wear and told her to get in the car.

It actually started to drizzle as we backed out of our driveway. So much for our beautiful blue skies and magnificent weather. I have to admit, the "drizzle", I secretly adore it. It reminds me of where I grew up, by the coast, overcast, nip in the air and plenty of wind. It was hardly appreciated when I was a child. But now, if only I would be so blessed to be back in the same cool climate. I'm rambling. Or over sharing. Take your pick.



 Aiden was so excited he kept running from massive pumpkin piles to even more massive pumpkin piles.


 My curly headed boy is excited. It is a wonder to see this little corner "faux" pumpkin patch through his eyes. He was completely enchanted with everything, from the hay bales, to the inflatable slide, and back to the pumpkins.


Isaiah didn't know where to turn. Or walk. He didn't walk up to the pumpkin patch. He practically ran as fast as those little size 2 feet would take him. More like speed walked. He seemed to be looking over the entire patch of orange to see what he would lay claim on. And when he picked his pumpkin, he sat with it and refused to let go. Completely oblivious to the fact that his orange treasure was roughly his size.



Ironically, she was the first to pick out her pumpkin. Quick and methodical is her way. Confident, smart and beautiful is what makes her amazing.



At this point, seeing that his baby brother had picked out a huge pumpkin, Michael decides to do the right thing and pick a pumpkin more Isaiah's size. And then take over Isaiah's behemoth pumpkin. I have genius kids. Do you see Aiden still running from pile to pile? 



Manuel chose perfect roundness. He is a connoisseur of pumpkin picking. Last year he pick out the most difficult pattern and carved his pumpkin (with a little help from us). His carving came out so awesome. They all looked spectacular lit.

Still looking over the sea of orange.



 

Their chosen treasures. See the pumpkin Isaiah ended up with? His was the one next to Michael which is now Michael's.

They're dressed in their coordinating pumpkin shirts and they will continue to wear them until they physically outgrow me. Just sayin'.


Priceless: They were informed that since it is a week before the 2nd biggest day of their lives, the 1st being Christmas, they could not carve their pumpkins because they would rot and I didn't just spend $20 smackeroos to have them rot the next day in 90 degree weather. Guess you had to be there to see their "What the hell" expressions. I did give them markers to ease the pain. I'm not that cruel.

Once they're carved, I'll show you a picture of their masterpieces. I wish I had a picture of last years pumpkins because they were awesome all lit.

Happy Halloween!

And just because my Aiden is simply so handsome and a ham, here are some pictures of him with my next project. I'll share soon.











Bye!

P90X Update

So...I hurt my ribs. Bad. My auntie diagnosed me with corto something or other. Basically, you know where the cartilage and your ribs meet? Well, that separated. And it hurt. A lot. I couldn't take a breath without feeling like I was inhaling shards of glass. That happened the Sunday before I was supposed to start my workout.

It's now October and I feel fine. I can breath. In fact, I can also inhale a whole pizza fine. So now I will try to defy the gods that prevented the 30+ days that I lost due to injury. Monday will be the day. Monday. For reals. I have to lose this weight by the time the holidays roll around. Don't know about you, but I tend to gain quite a bit of weight during this time. And I refuse to shop for clothes until these pounds are off. So if you see me recycle the same 4-5 outfits don't say anything. I know I wear the same thing every 4-5 days. I know. I'm saving up for a new wardrobe when the 30 + pounds fall off.

And because I discovered that my camera will take 12 pictures at a time and I can save them on the internal memory, here is Isaiah. I call these: "What the hell mom. I'm 13 months old and not old enough to potty on the big people toilet. Didn't you have like 3 boys before me?"

And these from the park.

 

Bye!



Cut The Cord Bitch, Cut The Cord

It's becoming very hard to stop nursing. One minute I'm all, "That's it! I'm done. He bit me again! Look at him, he's even laughing! The nerve!" The next minute I'm all, "I love the deranged ape act. Love it. Look at him, he can't get enough of me!"

I know I should cut the cord on the whole nursing thing because he is about 15 months old. The older he gets the harder it will be to cut him off. Then there's the whole biting thing. Not good. We'll see who lasts...odds are in his favor.
But as he roams the house with his Frankenstonian walk calling out "maaaaama" I melt. We have this love/love/love/love/give me a minute to pee cook relationship. He's with me all day long. He eats what I eat. He drinks what I drink. He's all mine. All day. Until it's time to cook. He's banished from the kitchen. Which produces big fat alligator tears because he's not by my side. (I secretly love this!) When I'm done, the monkey is back on my back.

I have found a solution to get a few minutes rest though. Brothers. 3 older brothers. Z loves his brothers. Loves them to no end. Loves when they get home from school and they play together. They rough house with him - the rougher the better - and he gets into their backpacks and homework and creates havoc all around. And he LOVES it. Them, not so much.

Should I bite the bullet and cut the cord? Or should I continue bonding letting him suck me dry? 

Me thinks I'll let the river run dry. Or until he doesn't want me to nurse any more. Whichever comes first. But I'm establishing some ground rules: no biting, no biting, and no biting. I'm sure I'll regret it. It will be very hard to make him stop no doubt. He's kinda stubborn - like his momma. He wants what he want when he wants. And that's ok with me. It's more than ok. He's the last of the babies...and I'm ok with that too. It's been said that we need each other. We do. And I cherish every moment. Most of the time. When he's not biting.

And because I found the cord (no pun intended) that transfers my pictures to my laptop (that's the technical term, swear), I will share some pictures of Isaiah.  He was actually posing for me with these cheesy faces and cheesy poses. Gotta love this boy.

Nurse me! Nurse me! You can't say no to this cute face with razor sharp teeth!

The camera is not at fault here. The craptacular photographer and her cropping, or lack thereof, skill is.

Toilet Paper 1, Satan 0

So all at the ol' house is not so good. I have a tween. She thought she grew a pair but after further inspection, found none, then proceeded to tuck her tail between her legs.

I held toilet paper for ransom. She was out. I had some. I exorcised her foul mood while she was on the toilet and contrived promises of goodness and solidarity and kindness and no foul language and love and respect and repeated apologies.

I love when the planets align and give me mom superpowers.

Oh, and this week was lock down week. My house is a-spark-a-lin' baby.

Gotta love those tween hormones.

My tween with her brother.

Randomness

I needed light. My mind craved light. So I painted. Light. Gray blue. Love it.

So with the light comes thought and peace. At least for me. Seriously. I want to cry. Happy tears. I am in a happy place. Content. For those of you who know me know that this is sometimes difficult to achieve. To think I've wasted years on negativity. To know that I've made a choice to think about today, now and in the light is a great thing.

Lyssy, Manuel, Michael, Aiden and Isaiah are healthy, smart, loving little people. I certainly did not envision my life today as it is, but the older I grow I know one thing for certain: God has a reason for every curve ball he throws my way. It may not seem so at the time, but in the end I hit that ball out of the field. Not all the time. I'm far from perfect. But I try. 

I am thankful this morning for little boys who smell like sweaty puppies when they wake up even after a bath last night, roly-poly bellies ready for raspberry kisses, straightening Lyssy's hair, taming Aiden's hair, and slicking back Michael's. I'm thankful that today I will have lunch with Manuel and Michael at school. Mickie D's. Yummy. The temperature is in the mid 80's. We're actually cold. The boys begged for sweatshirts this morning. I laughed but complied. For cheesy baby necks that can identify my baby out of millions with one sniff. And I keep sniffing because it causes deep baby belly screams of delight. For my family who allows me to make stupid mistakes and still loves me. Who help pick me up without the I told you so's. They are the greatest. My momma and stepdad, aunties, sisters, brothers, dad, uncles, in-laws...especiallly my 5! monkeys...they are why I get up every morning. To challenge the new day. To behold the wonders of God and all that He has given me. Me. I don't deserve these wonders but apparently God thinks I do. Who am I to prove Him wrong?

Crabby

I have to tell you. I woke up very crabby today.  Just thinking of all the crap I have to do TODAY had me feeling pissed as hell irritated.

Then this happened. Lyssy said she didn't have volleyball practice today and she was coming home early (yay! I can spend some time with her. Practice + Hours of Homework=Absent Lyssy). Isaiah actually sat in his high chair and had breakfast (messy, but he ate), Manuel kept blowing me kisses, Michael came up to me just to say he loved me, and Aiden did the most profound thing ever, he slept in. 

I am so thankful that my job allows me to be home for my wild herd. I am thankful for my family. I am thankful to have a job when so many do not. I am thankful for my far from perfect life. 

Now, if I can actually take a shower sometime today I'll be reeeally thankful.