Just a little glimpse

It's five o'clock here and I've already run the dishwasher twice.

I've made hot chocolate, cereal, waffles, macaroni and cheese, pizza, toast and top ramen. I've peeled oranges, cut up watermelon and apples. I've poured countless cups of chocolate milk and diet coke.

I didn't get dressed until noon.

I've dressed children up as Indiana Jones and the Ingalls children. I've assisted in "science" experiements that require baking soda, vinegar and food coloring. I've downloaded songs from legalsounds for Joe, and gone "fishing" with John.

Today is the first day of a fourteen-day long spring "break" from school. More like a spring "work" for mom. I can't really complain though...I just returned from a five day long trip to Utah with my mom and dad, and WITHOUT any of my children. It was pure bliss...just long enough to relax and really miss them before I came back. I wish there was a way to store up patience and energy, but I guess it doesn't really work that way.

How many times a day do you think the word "mom" is spoken in my house? I'm seriously considering getting one of those little counter thingies like they use and Costco and clicking it every time I hear it? Any estimates?

Well, time to go....Charlie just came in crying and telling me that the song Maggie was playing on the piano has given him a headache. Harry has just brought me a flyer he made for a "science club" to be held at our house this week. He wants me to make 30 copies for him to take around to all the kids in the neighborhood. Just what I need...more kids at my house. At least THEY won't be able to call me mom.

Happy Spring Break!

Grocery Store Smile

I went to the grocery store yesterday.

Sigh...

I've made it part of my personal mama-code to never (except in cases of EXTREME emergencies)take more than two children at a time to the grocery store with me. And, it's not because I think it's important to have one-on-one time with each child and thus take a "date" with each one when I run errands. It's really more along the lines of self preservation, and also because I want my children to remember me as a semi-sane person...and not the frazzled, half-crazed person I'm sure I would be if I ever broke the mama-code and took more than two children to the store with me.

Nothing bad happened at the store today...this isn't a sad story. I had two children with me, John and Jack, dressed adorably in green and blue striped shirts with matching shorts. I was in a breezy new spring-green skirt and the weather was fine. I loaded the two boys into the cart.It was one of those terrible, huge, and obnoxiously loud "car carts"...you know, the kind where the kids sit in front and you try and maneuver the aisles without knocking anything over while at the same time making sure your children don't climb out or get their fingers run over. I passed by the complimentary anti-bacterial wipes without a second thought, (because really, what's the point? It would take an industrial strength power washer to wipe away the germs of the thousands of snotty-nosed kids who have occupied this space) and hoped my kid's immunizations and immune systems are up to snuff. I headed directly for the donuts. This is another part of my grocery store mama-code. Go first to the donuts, give each child a sugary treat, (but not a chocolate one...that's just asking for trouble) and hurry on with your shopping before any shenanagins begin. From there, I headed straight to the back of the store for milk. No matter that I'm criss-crossing the store and passing the bread aisle right by...this I know...milk MUST go in the cart first. Then, as I'm loading my eight gallons of milk into the cart, (yes, I said eight and that MIGHT last me six days)I hear someone calling my name. I instantly paste the grocery store smile on my face and turn to see an an old friend of a friend giving a friendly wave. She's there, in her workout clothes, pushing a regular standard cart, and is decidedly NOT loading eight gallons of milk into her cart. She has two children, who are the ages of my two oldest children, and I assume they are in school....given the workout clothes and standard cart. We exchange friendly words, comment on the weather, and she tells me that my boys are so cute. She continues on her way and I am struck by a thought.

She has moved on and is so completely out of the little child stage. She can work out in the morning and take a quick trip to the grocery store. She hasn't bought diapers in years. She doesn't have car seats in her car and probably can't even guess at what a can of formula costs anymore. And while we were once in this stage together, and our occaisonal bump-ins at the grocery store were a time where we could commiserate and share common experiences, she has moved on to a world I still cannot yet imagine. And I am STILL in a stage, I suspect, she can hardly begin to remember. I don't know why this struck me so...and I don't really know how it made me feel. A little SAD for myself that I'm still pushing around the huge cart...a little HAPPY for myself that I'm still pushing around the huge cart....a little JEALOUS of her for pushing around a standard cart...but also a little bit SORRY for her that she's moved onto pushing around a standard cart. My mother once said something to me that made me think (well, she's said lots of things to make me think, but I find this thought most appropriate for this post). She said, "Brooke, take your time...those children are going to leave your home every bit as quickly as you've brought them into it." Ouch...that hurts...while I was busy having children every other year, I never looked ahead to the time where they would be leaving every other year.
So, I'm trying to enjoy pushing around the huge cart, and dressing my boys in identically striped shirts and having the word "mom" spoken (or screamed or whined) hundreds of time every day.

This is my third set of children to enjoy this battery powered jeep...and I've even relaxed enough to let them bring it into the house and drive it all over my freshly polished stone floors.


I've lately not been feeling myself. I'm still hurting quite a bit and am missing the comfort that my steroid treatment provided. I spend a lot of time reading on my bed...because it's the only place I can carve out and claim for myself. I've always wanted a bed full of pillows and a fluffy comforter...you know...like the ones you see in magazines. It's never really seemd very practical however. But, slowly over the past few months, I've been working on making my room my own...a retreat you might say. I've become a bit territorial about it. If you were to count, you'd find I have no fewer than 18 pillows on my bed. I have those cute little wall lamps on either side of the bed. I love nothing more than to come into my room and see this:



I even have a love seat at the end of my bed where I can sit and get dressed:



On days where I'm not feeling so great, this is definately a bright spot for me. I even bought fresh flowers and put them on my dresser. For some reason, it makes me supremely happy...and right now I'm taking what I can get in that department.

Last night, after a long day of work and pain, I wearily climbed the stairs for the last time of the day, ready to settle into my super soft and comfy bed...to put my feet up and enjoy reading the last chapter of my new book. Imagine my distress when my eyes met with this image instead:

And on my pretty little love seat, this:


I almost lost it...but then I took a deep breath, pasted the grocery store smile on my face and reminded myself that just like the time I spend pushing around the huge car cart will someday come to an end, so will the time when my children want to all pile into my super soft bed TOGETHER and snuggle up for a good night sleep. Hopefully, it will be be before they get too heavy for me to carry them to their own beds!

And finally, if anyone else out there is feeling like I do sometimes...unable to keep up with all the craft and sewing blogs, and feeling like an utter failure for not being able to do it all, you might enjoy this image:



Not that I am currently or have any future plans to work on such a project, but I take solace in that fact that I have undertaken such a project six times!

Cub Scouts Countdown

Tuesday was our Blue and Gold Banquet. Officially, it was Joe's last Blue and Gold, since he turned eleven last week. Unofficially, he still has a few more things to do before he gets his Webelo badge and graduates to the tan shirt and 11 year old scouting. This year was also Harry's first official Blue and Gold Banquet, as he turns eight in December. I'm trying to not even think about how many more of these I get to go to until Jack is done!

From Brooke

From Brooke

Harry also got to take part in the traditional "bad relay race" that happens at every pack meeting. Harry seems to approach life with a certain type of passion, and his approach to the relay race was no different. For some reason, he found it necessary to wear his safety goggles (from his air soft gun) during the relay. Joe IV just about had a come apart to see him wearing them (what is it about little brothers that just really get under your skin?) Harry's team claimed the victory in passing a string and then a bagel through all of their shirts...he seemed to really revel in his win....

From Brooke

And from this picture of Harry rubbing the win in Joe's face, maybe I CAN understand what it is about little brothers that gets under his skin.

From Brooke

Can we get a little Variety Please?

Last night was the Annual Sinsheimer Elementary School Variety Show. I emphasize that this was a VARIETY show, not a talent show. It was an amazing mix of acts...from comedy skits, to dancing, to music performances. Two of my four Sinsheimer students participated in the event... Maggie first with her two friends Ashlynn and Laura. They played the viola, piano and violin respectively. Have I mentioned that Maggie plays the viola? she does...and she's getting quite good....for a first-year student. We're finally past the point where her practice time hurts everyone's ears and on to the part where we can start to enjoy the music.

Stings Trio from Brooke Brundage on Vimeo.

Harry was up next, playing the Van Halen song, "Right Now" on the piano. His dad helped him with this one and he's been practicing hard for several weeks to get it right. He was a pretty big crowd pleaser last night. My favorite part of the video is hearing the other children who were sitting next to us...they were all really supportive of him. His performance attire was also all up to him. Somewhere along the way he missplaced his red sunglasses that were supposed to go with ensemble, but I think that contributed to a better performance, since he was able to actually see what he was playing!

Right Now from Brooke Brundage on Vimeo.

Eleven Years In The Making

A better day for a birthday could not have been asked for today. It was sunny and clear here on California's Central Coast, and this young man celebrated his eleventh birthday in beautiful style.

He got checked out of school early to enjoy lunch on the patio at Firestone, and was excited with his "year-long" birthday present from Grandpa Steve and Grandma Lark. "The best part is, I get to get something in the mail EVERY month, and it will be addressed to me! I never get mail!"




He was in good enough spirits to even let his sister borrow his new hat for a while:



An afternoon off from school to play NBA2K10, and Grandpa Joe and Grandma Carole over for dinner and birthday brownies:





And a Laker game on TV tonight to boot!

As we were driving home from lunch, I merged into the turning lane, and Joe asked me how I knew when to get into that lane. I answered his question and asked why he was so interested. "Well, it's only four years until I can start driving...I figure I'd better start paying attention." Oh boy, everybody better buckle up...we're in for a bumpy ride!

Sickness and Steroids

My two littlest boys have been sick this week...that's John and Jack for those of you who are counting on your fingers right now. They've just kind of had that yucky cough, runny nose, fever kind of thing that every kid gets. I was thinking this morning that if they had been my first two children....that's Joe and Maggie for those of you again...it would have been the kind of sickness that brought my world to a grinding halt. I would have been whining and complaining about how sick they are, and how they don't sleep, and how they're so cranky, and blah, blah, blah. And I'm not saying that's bad...you SHOULD whine and complain about sick kids when you have two kids and both of them are sick.That's 100% of your kids. But when you have six kids and two of them are sick, and that's not even half of them, I find that life moves on and I don't have time to whine and complain, and somehow, they still got better. Without my whining and complaining. Amazing.

Isn't my outlook refreshing?

Or, maybe it's just the steroids I'm taking.

Wait, WHAT?

My rhemetologist started me on a short course of steroids to help my joint pain. I finally had to stop taking the other stuff that was helping me because it made me so upset to my stomach that I couldn't eat anything. So, we're trying this. I asked the doctor, "do I need to worry about any side effects with a short course like this?" He said, (pausing and tilting his head) "Well, you might find you have a little extra energy for the first little bit."

Um, yeah.

So, sick kids are nothing. I'm back to painting and sewing and moving furniture just like I did in my old life. I know it won't last forever, but it's sure nice to feel "normal" again for a while.

It's raining again today...but that's okay....I still have two days left on my steroids...I'm sure I'll find something to do.

P.S.: Really, it should be a practice of all pediatricians to give the mother a round of steriods with every antibiotic they give to the child. And, what does it say about me that steroids are what it takes to make me feel "normal?" Maybe I'd better ponder on that for a bit....

Nostalgia

I'm trying not to be too sappy here, but this video was captured today, almost ten years to the day that my first child took his first steps. I know I have that video somewhere, and someday when my time and energy isn't otherwise engaged, I'll find it. For now, enjoy!