Happy Birthday Ike!

(The song "One Little Slip" by the Barenaked Ladies was used in your slide show because you and Sam "sing" it in the car when you are watching Chicken Little. It is the sweetest rendition.)
Today is your big day Isaac. (Hold on to your hats world, Ike is 2 years-old:)) Although you are the third son in our family, you are such an individual. You have an energy and spirit all your own. You love any adventure, and I am certain there isn't anything that you think you can't or shouldn't do. You follow your brothers everywhere, and fortunately for you, they think that is fine. If they are on the bunk beds, you want to be on the bunk beds. If they are eating at the counter, you want to be at the counter, even if you aren't eating. Unfortunately, we only have two bar stools so you holler at Will until he gives in and gives you his chair. You have learned quickly that Will is much easier on you than Sam so you don't even attempt to get him to move:) Wherever they go, so do you.
Although you love following your brothers, you have no problem blazing your own trail. You love playing ball. Basketball, baseball, golf, any kind of ball is your game. And you don't care if the boys want to play which they usually don't. So you just grab Dad or me and you are ready to play. I can't even count how many hours your dad and I have sat in the living room wearing your little baseball cap and little glove fielding balls you bat off the ottoman like it is a tee. You are also our outside kid. If I am in a hurry to get out the door, I have to carry you out to the car and not open the garage door until you are strapped in your seat because if I let you walk out on your own and you see an opening, you are off on the scooter car burning a path out the driveway.
Unfortunately, you didn't decide to sleep through the night until just a month or so ago. Strangely though, you have always been my easiest child to get to bed. We just rock a few minutes, and then in your bed you go. You might talk to yourself for an hour, but you have almost always put yourself to sleep. Why you waited so long to sleep through the night then is a question for that Dr. Ferber and his Ferber Method.
Your vocabulary has come alive lately. You have been chatty for awhile but just lately you really began throwing out all kind of thoughts that most people, not just mom, can understand. Some of those things we understand clearly from you but we laugh because they might be things that weren't so clear to you from us. For instance, for awhile you had a bad diaper rash and hated being wiped. So to try and get you clean as possible, I would distract you by tickling you in that area while wiping. I would even say something like, "tickle, tickle." Then you began saying, "Tickle, tickle star." It took us awhile to figure out what you were saying because it was a little confusing but I guess to you "tickle" and "twinkle" sound alot alike. You are also a good guy to have on hand right now because if anyone lets out a toot, you so sweetly say, "I farted." I think you think that it is all one word and you had to have learned it from Sam. He is probably the only one in the house that announces his flatulence.
You love to sing. You love to dance. You love books. You love Miss Pattycake and Boz. You love to make a mess in the name of exploration and discovery. You are almost always ready to party. I am certain you will find trouble in the years ahead. Fortunately for you, you have a sweet look of innocence in your eyes so I am sure most of it will go unpunished.
You are a delight Isaac. Your smile is genuine. Your spirit is contagious. And although our house is full of boys, it would feel very empty without you. Happy 2nd Birthday Isaac. We love you.
PS - While Mommy was out of town, some of your relatives got ahold of you and played dress up. You were the prettiest little girl Mommy never had:)

Halloween Happenings

Here are some pics from all our Halloween adventures. It is a potpourri of pics from the past week so I will kind of give a rundown of what is in the slideshow.
-First, Ike had a dress up day at Kids Day Out. Mom didn't quite have the costumes ready yet so he had to go as Bob the Tomato. (That was made back in the day when I actually used a pattern:) I am too cheap for that these days!)
-Sam also had a party at his preschool. After two nights in a row of 1:00 am+ bedtimes, I had all their costumes ready so Sam went as Batman. He dressed at 7:25 am that morning and didn't take it off until after 6:00 pm that night, even the gloves and mask. When he did take it off, there was sweat running down the inside of the mask. He is a Batman nut!
-The boys went as Batman, Robin, and the Joker. These costumes were Will's idea. After I bought all the stuff to make them, Will informed me that he didn't really want to be the Joker. I asked him why he suggested it then if he didn't want to be it. He told me that he thought it would make Sam happy. I then had to explain to Will that many times in life, it is great to make others happy but that he should never do it at the expense of his own happiness. That is a life lesson I still haven't learned;) I did offer to make him a different costume since I hadn't yet begun making them but he didn't really have any other ideas so he found peace with the Joker. And, since Sam wore his costume for all of Friday and most of Saturday, I think Will accomplished his goal of making Sam happy:)
-We trick or treated at Brent's work on Friday and in our neighborhood with some great friends on Saturday. Our neighborhood is crazy busy on Halloween but I think that just makes it more fun. And doing it with friends makes the night a real treat for the kids and the parents.
-I took the boys out to the pumpkin patch earlier in the week to pick out a pumpkin to carve. That was fun and the day was beautiful. The boys were even very willing to take the pictures. Oh, I guess I did bribe them with ice cream but I am sure they would have smiled just as much without the bribe. Boys love pictures;) Oh and the two pictures with Ike's pants down, I forgot his belt:O
-Lastly, we spent Friday evening carving our pumpkin. I use the term "we" very loosely. Will was SO excited to get going on the pumpkin. He drew the face, I carved but then none of my boys would help clean the pumpkin out. They wouldn't even put their hands in it! It should bother me that my boys thought it was gross to touch the pumpkin guts but really, that cleanliness helps out in so many other areas of my life so I was ok with it. In the end, I cleaned it out and the boys still seemed to think it was a fun time watching. Brent took the pictures.
All in all, it was a very busy week. It was a rough week but when I look at these pictures I think about how one day very soon, I will miss a week like this, chaos like this, my boys like this.
Happy Halloween!

Welcome Little One

With each one of my children, I have kept a pregnancy journal. I am not sure I really had something profound to say but I did one when I was pregnant with Will. That was when I had ample free time and ample brain power. I am sure I had some profound thought or secret to life back then. Well after becoming a new mommy with Will, I quickly realized how little I really knew and how thankful I am that I have God backing me. So since Will, I have tried to keep a journal with new each pregnancy to more document the little things rather than bless them with my vast understanding of the world or my body. (And by doing the journals I don't have to feel guilt for not doing one for the other kiddos or wonder if children #2, #3, and #4 question if I loved child #1 more:))
Well, I haven't yet found a journal for baby #4 and today I felt compelled to write a little something to our newest "Little One". So, I am introducing Baby #4 into my blog. So welcome Little One.
You are right now the size of a piece of rice, maybe. I saw you on an ultrasound two weeks ago and you are fantastic. I am already short of breath, nauseous most of the time, and needing a nap just about every day. Rocking Ike to sleep makes me sick to my stomach and it takes me forever to eat because I feel the need to burp after every bite:) You are 1/8 of an inch and you have a beating heart. You are spectacular and I am blessed. The road to a family of 6 has been bumpy. I feel a little strange when I fill out patient forms and fill in that this is my 7th pregnancy. (Our family is gonna liken itself to the Duggars when we get to Heaven.;) But I know that I am blessed.
So I was thinking the other day how much my feelings during pregnancy parallel my relationship and feeling toward God. I wanted to share it with you because I thought that it would tell you a little about my feelings toward you and a little about my relationship with my God.
So here goes: You are living inside me. I can't see you. I can't always feel you but I know you are there. You are always with me no matter what. I am not always wearing that "pregnancy glow" because sometimes I am just too tired. But then other times I am alive with the idea that you are mine and I can't wait to meet you. It will be a day that I never will forget. You are wonderful and each day that I spend with you, talk to you, know you, my life feels a little richer, a little more meaningful, and a lot more peaceful. My cup overflows. You are delightful and all of us are waiting for you arrival. No one really knows when you will get here but boy will we celebrate on that day! What a day it will be:)

Happy Birthday Willboy!

Happy Birthday Will. Tomorrow you will be 8 years-old and just typing it makes me teary eyed. I guess we get caught up in the now and the joys and challenges that the now brings with it. So all of the sudden, 8 years have gone by. And let me say that you are a delight. Please do not misunderstand that you do have your moments of totally irrational behavior when our only but best option is to fall on our knees in prayer but really, you are a great kid.
This past year has been full of adventures and discovery. This past year, I think you figured out that currently, sports do not come as easily to you as many other things. And because of that, you have little patience for them. Unfortunately, I am sure Dad and I both see your point that things that are frustrating are not a lot of fun and really why do something not required if it is just going to frustrate and maybe even cause a blow to the ego. But, we can't say any of that to you right now because you, your body, and your mind are constantly changing and the world still has a million possibilities for you. And we want you to be able to grab onto any and every one of those that you desire.
So sometimes you were willing and other times resistant but this past year you played soccer, basketball, tee ball, golf, and competitive swimming. Some of these lasted a season, some a month, and some a day which is why we could fit it all in a year. Some of these were a great fit, some with a little practice would be a good fit while others were just not your game. I will tell though you that one of my proudest moments as your mommy was during the swimming tryouts. Within the past year, you became a really confident swimmer so you were ready and willing to give the team a try. In the tryouts, you had to swim each of the 4 strokes required for 2 lengths of the pool. (That is 8 pool lengths.) I didn't even know you knew a stroke. But you got out there and worked and worked. The last lap back, your were pretty much dog paddling to not drown but you never gave up or took the smile off your face. I can't even tell you how big I felt inside seeing the strength and determination of my Willboy.
You know the areas in your life that require a little more work but you also know the areas in which you excel. You didn't care much for 1st grade. You loved your teacher and the social aspect of it was right up your alley but academically, you were done around Halloween. You are like your father. You know things that I have no idea how you know them and that which you don't know, you pick up quickly. So yes, you were bored out of your gourd for most of the year but you learned some valuable life lessons: 1)Most of the time in life, you have to wait on others. It stinks but you do. 2)Everyone has a gift, you may just not appreciate it as much as they do 3)There are rules to follow. Whether they make sense or not, there are rules. 4)Some of the things you do just seem like a waste of time but you have to do them anyway. That is just part of life. 5)Everyone is special and unique. Love them anyway:)
You are an amazing boy, Will. You have a sweet heart, and I fear the day it gets broken for the first of many times. You are a good person who sees the good everyone. You don't see differences in people but potential. You are extremely good to your brothers and probably more responsible with them than Dad or me. (I have been typing this for a few minutes now but stopped to get you some cold medicine. I walked in the the living room to find you tucking Isaac under a blanket on the chair and giving him a sippy cup you had just filled with milk for him.) That is who you are. You are great. Yes, you have moments when the world defeats you and you crawl underneath your bed in frustration. But for the most part, you are my easygoing, even tempered Will. You are funny and mentally challenging. You are a teacher and a student of life. You are my Willboy, and I am so of the boy you have become.
Happy Birthday Will!
Here are some other highlights from this past year:
-Camp Invention - you loved the challenges that it provided and the quest for thinking outside the box. You have already asked to go back next summer.
-Guitar Lessons - you are doing really well with this. You could be great if you actually practiced:) I have been trying a few different motivational techniques to encourage practice. So far, I have been unsuccessful but I am still trying.
-Pokemon - Neither Dad nor I understand this game/cartoon and maybe that is why you like it so much. Gone are the days of Handy Manny and The Backyardigans. But, you still will sit and watch Veggie Tales or Tom and Jerry with me and the boys.
-Scootering from school - You are dying for independence right now. You would love to ride all the way home alone but I just can't do it. Yes, it is only about 6 blocks but it still 6 blocks. So right now, I run your scooter up to school before the ending bell and then you scooter with a friend 1 block to a friends house where I meet you. It is not ideal for either of us but a compromise we both can live with.
-Silver Dollar City - You think this is one of the best places on Earth. I decided to include this highlight because you are practical and I know pretty soon you will change your mind and see it more as the slightly expensive haven for bad crafts that it really is. But the funnel cakes and frozen lemonade are delicious!
-Clifford - Best friends come and go but Clifford is still the tops.
-Pictures - You are my picture kid. I never have to ask twice. I just say, "Smile" and you do. I have lots of great pictures of you but you are always willing to give me a grin!
-Ice Cream - You eat ice cream with such abandon. You get it all over your face but you don't care. It is about getting every last bite! (You get that from your dad too!)
-Swimming - This was the summer that you dove right in. You have been swimming for awhile but this was the first summer when you just let yourself go and even did it without the swim mask:)
-Sight Words Folder - This year you had to recognize 1,000 sight words, 100 at a time. I guess you were getting tired of the process because one of the times I noticed words that I hadn't seen before but had "signed" my name to. Well, you can figure it out.

Happy Birthday Sam!

Sam, it is your 5th birthday today. You have been asking how many days until your birthday for about two months now. Well, it is finally here buddy. You headed off to preschool today with treats in hand to share with your classmates and a goose egg on your forehead from running square into a cement pole at Sam's club last night and a gash on your arm from the fall you took the night before while walking into Chick-Fil-A. Honestly though, this is exactly how I would have pictured you walking into school today. This is just who you are. You are extreme but you are spectacular and fun.
When you are excited about something, you get really excited and want to share it with others so that they will experience that same joy. Unfortunately, there are many times that others do not seem to have the same appreciation for things as you do which then breaks your heart. You often cry loudly shouting something like, "You hate me!" or "Then I will just never play with you ever again!". Because you live in a world of extremes, it is kind of hard to know when you are faking it, a little sad, really sad, or when your heart is broken. You have always been able to cry big crocodile tears with really little effort. (Maybe acting is in your future.)
You get angry from time to time and when you get angry, you get really angry. Most the time you just growl and scrunch your face up but you have been known on more than a few occasions to run after a brother or two and pummel them in the head.
You play hard. You rarely walk anywhere. At this moment your front teeth are both chipped and dead, you have a massive wound on your arm, knot of your forehead, knot on the side of your head (Monday at preschool), and red scar on your peenie (somehow you fell off the toilet about nine months ago and the toilet lid got ya).
You ooze love. You are my hugger and always have been. You're the snuggler. I don't think you left my lap until after you turned 3 and that was only because Isaac arrived and kind of took that spot. I am not sure you liked him enough at first to share the space;)
Sam, you are a wildly emotional child but you are a delight. I always know how you feel. Sometimes that is frustrating and requires me to work harder as a mommy but most of the time, it is just plain amusing. You are a funny kid. I NEVER know what you will say. In the past year you have told our carpooling friend that her car smelled bad, a good family friend that he was a "little bald", another good family friend that she drove like your grandma, and another carpooling friend that you knew I was a secret agent because I have a secret compartment where I put my sunglasses:) I can count on a good laugh or red face from you almost every single day.
So thank you Sam. Thank you for keeping me humble and in regular conversation with God. Thank you for bringing such joy to our family. Thank you for coming to me in the middle of the night when you are scared and actually believing that I, little ole mommy, can keep you safe from the scary guys. Thank you for being my little buddy!
Happy Birthday buddy! We love you.
PS - A couple of other little Sam notes from the past year:
-You only eat peanut butter sandwiches because, although you like jelly, you don't like getting your hands sticky.
-You won't drink milk out of one of the cups in our cabinet because the duck on it has a dirty face. For that matter, every time you finish eating, you ask if you have anything on your face. You also get grossed out if Ike is sitting next to you with a dirty face. I mean like you make gagging sounds and everything:).
-You take forever to go to the bathroom, especially in public restrooms, and you will talk about anything and everything while you sit and we wait.
-You told me the other day that it was my fault that you need to play Indiana Jones on the Wii all of the time. If I had not bought it for you, then you wouldn't have to play it so much.
-You are an awesome reader and you have been for several months now. Good job buddy!
-You always take your shoes off and place them right in the entry way. This doesn't sound like much but I can't get any of the other people in my house to do this.
-You started swimming like a fish this summer. You ditched the life jacket and love the freedom! Yea!
-You were frustrated the other day because you were struggling with something on the Wii. When I tried to help, I myself had a couple of failures so you said, "Now you feel my pain."
-You love to tell jokes right now. You love it so much that you are willing to tell the same one over and over to the same person over and over just in hopes of getting a few more laughs.
-You don't really like girls right now. You say that they "make you nervous". That's ok with me though. You made sure to clarify that it was only "wittle girls not big ones like me";)
-You were obsessed with Ninja Turtles for most of the past year which is why there are so many pictures of you with swords. You were a Ninja Turtle:) Then you moved onto an Indiana Jones obsession. You carried your woven belt around because mommy was too cheap to buy you a whip. Now you love Batman. You have a mask and Batman boomerang. Just wait until you see what you are getting for your birthday:)

First Day of 2nd Grade

Will is starting 2nd grade today. I am excited, nauseous, sad. The first day is always tough for me when Will heads out. As a kid, I loved the first day, new pencils, new lunchbox, new shoes. Of course there was always the little bit of apprehension. Will I know any of the other kids in my class? Will I like my teacher? But probably even before lunch, I would find at least one friend that I knew would soon be one of my best friends and I would know for sure that when I grew up, I would be a teacher:) But, now it is not me on my first day, but my eldest child, the family peacemaker, Sam's best friend, and Ike's protector. So I am sad to not have him around all day for the next 9 months. I am nauseous because I want him to find that best bud and love his new teacher. I am excited because this is Will's chance. It is his time to go and expand his world and create unlimited possibilities for his life. It is his time to not be the big brother or the oldest child. It is his time to be kind, funny, and/or helpful to someone else and maybe show them a little of the Jesus that lives inside him. Will is an amazing guy and as his mom, it hurt just a little to leave him at school today. But, as his mom I also felt pure joy at the beautiful boy he is becoming, the confidence he holds inside him, and the boundless opportunities that await him. Go get 'em Will!

We've Got Company!

Nana and Pawpaw came to visit for the Fourth of July holiday. I am proud to say that on this visit I actually remembered to take pictures. I guess I always get caught up in the moment and just forget to grab the camera. I still didn't take as many pictures as I would have liked but I now have a goal for next time:)
Anyway, Nana and Pawpaw flew in on the Fourth. There was some confusion as to where they actually landed though. Springfield got a new airport. Not just a new terminal, a whole new airport. This caused confusion for those of us picking them up and especially for those flying in. However, we did retrieve them eventually so that was good;) We didn't do anything majorly adventurous while they were here, although I think Nana thinks my life is one treacherous activity after another, but we spent time together. With my parents in Florida, we rarely get to just do life together. This week, we went to the movies and tee ball games. We watched fireworks and ate popcorn. We went to Steal Your Dollar City (Silver Dollar City) with The Fleischman family for a day in the sun. It was really hot but great fun none the less. For a week we just got to be. My children got to spend time with their Nana and Pawpaw, and they loved it.
So thank you Nana and Pawpaw for spending a week of your vacation time with a very exhausting, unpredictable, but in my opinion, entertaining crowd. We love you and miss you already.

You're Gonna Miss This

Here are some pictures that our family took last August. Yep, I said last August. It has been a whole year, and I still haven't ordered any. But the other day I was looking through them trying to figure out what to buy and I was struck by how quickly the time has flown. It is almost time to take new pictures (yearly thing) and I haven't even bought these!
I guess in the day to day life of being a mom of three young boys, I have lost track of time. Some days the time just flies by and other days I am counting the minutes until bedtime. I think we all do it. We make plans for what is coming next and lose what is right now. So, before we take new pictures and none of these get seen because they are old, here is my family in August of 2008 (Brent, Ashlee, Will 6, Sam 3, and Ike 9 months). Enjoy!

The Beach With My Boys

We have spent this past week in Destin, FL. My in-laws, Bill and Fran, graciously and crazily (is that a word?) spent their time and money planning such an event. It was our family, Bill and Fran, and Kevin and Jenni and their three children. Honestly, the idea of 6 children 7 years-old and under on a 30+ hour roadtrip gave me a bit of anxiety. But, was I going to turn down a week at the beach because of a little or a lot of madness? Of course not, I have three boys. Madness is a part of my daily life. And my plan was, if one of them gets unruly, put him in a different car with some other unsuspecting poor soul;)
Anyway, we headed down last Saturday morning (5:00 am expected departure time - delayed, 5:40 am actual departure time). There were hopes of children sleeping the first few hours and maybe a 8:00 am breakfast. Well, none of them went back to sleep. So, breakfast was at 7:00 am. And this was a little glimpse into how the rest of the day would roll. We were not guided by schedules, maps and arrival times but by small bellies and bladders. We had one vomit, Ike, but he seemed ok before and after the event. I am not sure if he was carsick or just got to coughing and gagged himself. (He tends to do that.) He was in the car with Kevin and Jenni during that fun time. Sorry K&J but thank you Jesus!:) There were the usual stops for gas and food. We also had two sudden roadside stops to pee (Sam). It is hard to work on scheduled potty stops with Sam. If you ask him if he needs to go his response is always the same, "Yes, I need to go. I always need to go." So he might go then and then again feel the need 10 minutes later.
Honestly though, even with 6 small kids and it taking us 16 hours in the car each way, we really had very little drama. We only had one crying issue and that was because Ike was sitting next to Eli and Ike is obviously a bit of a torturer. He felt the need to continuously touch Eli. He wasn't pinching or hitting, just touching. Anyone with an annoying sibling knows that this innocent touching is the worst kind of torture. (I think Ike could work with the Pentago in some interrogation techniques. Unfortunately, I am not sure that Congress would approve of his heinous tactics.) So, Eli stood this annoyance as long as any 2 year-old should be expected to and then he cried the sadest cry I have ever seen. Sorry Eli!
Here are some pics of our trip. We had beautiful weather and the condo we stayed in was great for beach time, nap time, and then beach time again. It was really a wonderful week. In the 16 years that I have been dating Brent, I have only really traveled with the Chism family a handful of times. And to go against every stereotype of in-laws, I really get along well with the family that inherited me. This was a trip comprised of one family (Bill, Fran, Brent, and Kevin) that has become three families (Bill, Fran,) (Brent, Ashlee, Will, Sam, Ike) (Kevin, Jenni, Lexi, Aaron, and Eli). And although our ages and upbringings make each of us individuals and we see and deal with life differently at times, we are a family. And it is our love of Jesus and for each other that makes us the same and that love made this week great. So thank you Bill, Fran, Kevin, Jenni, Lexi, Aaron, and Eli for giving our family a really fun time and some wonderful memories.

Flying Kites and Jesus

You will see pictures in this post of everyone in the family but little Ike. He had already gone down for his nap when I thought about the kite I had randomly purchased one day several months ago. Ike loves being outside. Rain, snow, sleet, he doesn't care. He just wants to be out there running free. So although I write this post with a smile on my face, I am a little sad that Isaac missed this sweet time for our family. We missed him:)

Yesterday was beautiful, and Brent and I were looking for ways to get the boys outside. There are many, many kids in our neighborhood. Unfortunately, not many of them live right around us. So, my boys, mostly Will, resist going outside. Will doesn't like getting hot and Sam really doesn't like being dirty. (They are obviously my boys!) I guess they figure if it is gonna probably be just the two of them anyway, might as well stay inside cool and clean. That being said, Brent and I still work hard every nice day to get them out into the fresh air. So, yesterday after listing ALL the glorious things to do outside without much response, I remembered our new Diego kite. This idea actually got a cheer from the boys and the $3 purchase made for a nice little family activity.

Ok, so now that I have explained how we got there, I wanted to share what most made me smile about flying the kite. It was a little comment by each of the boys that made us pause with pride that they are listening but laugh about how simple the message is for them.

Brent was flying the kite and doing a masterful job at that. The wind was really blowing so at times the kite would dip and dive. A gust of wind came along that caused the kite to spiral to the ground. Before Will could get to the kite to help get it going again, it rose off the ground and was back soaring again. Will came running back yelling, "It rose again. It rose again like Jesus!" So then Sam responded, "Fly Jesus, fly!" ;)

We are taught to bring The Lord into every part of our day. Good job Will and Sam.

Easter Sunday

(Let me preface this blog by saying that I get the true meaning of Easter. But I will be honest in saying that although I am not of the world, simply living in it, there are times when my humanity overtakes me and the line between in and of becomes blurred.)
I am seven years into this parenting thing, and I think I have finally found a peace about the Mommy side of Easter morning. You know, the "Easter outfit". I guess the first few years went off without a hitch. Will was an only child and so it was easy to get one child coordinated and ready for his big Easter debut. But, the last few years we added children and it has messed me up. I mean, don't get me wrong, I spend hours thinking, plotting, and pounding the pavement looking for clothing that color coordinates the boys with Brent and I. And each year I wake up Easter morning feeling excited and prepared. Then, the boys wake and those positive feelings spiral downward quickly into Negativeland. This year looked to be no different.
I woke early so as to be ready early so that we could all be ready early and actually get a picture before church. (In years past, I have run short on time and settled for a picture after church which then resulted in disappointment because at least one child was asleep or heading that way and the other or others would sit for a picture but were coming down off of an Easter candy high and so their need to make Mommy happy was nonexistent.) The boys woke in fairly good moods and at a fairly descent time, especially for not going to bed until 10:30 pm.. (They were having somewhat of a sleepover with their best bud, Dad.) But, their attitudes turned sour when it was time to get dressed. Will didn't want to get dressed because he thought his shorts looked goofy. (They were blue and green plaid. Oh, the horror!) Sam was upset because his clothes were cold. What? Ike just didn't want to have anything to do with clothing. After much discussion of the quality of Will's new duds and how many children in other countries would love to wear plaid, a blow drier to Sam's shirt and shorts, and pinning Ike down to the floor in a wrestling type move seen only on the WWF, the three were dressed. They were not happy but dressed. Unfortunately, by this time we were running late so it was a quick look in the Easter baskets for a photo opportunity and it was out the door for church. Another year and another no photo of my family before church when reason might still exist. So, off we went to church and afterward we tried to take some pictures in the lobby in an attempt to avoid some drama. (This also allowed me to threaten to not take them home if they didn't sit for the picture;))
Well, here are the results. There are five people in the pictures when there should be five and three when there should be three. No, not everyone is looking at the camera. No not everyone is happy about being there but, they are there. I have told you this long story and this is the point: This is the year that I am ok with all of this. The pictures aren't perfect but we are not perfect. And one day these photos will remind me of life back in the day when each day was a challenge and an adventure. This was life when no matter how hard I planned, I was never prepared for the unexpected or the overwhelming. This was a time in my life when I needed Jesus the most! Who else can I blame or ask to explain this madness I call my life?

Oh, Isaac!

I know that as a defense mechanism we sometimes block things from our memory so that we can simply continue to move forward in life and feel the sunshine on our face. I can only assume that this is what I have done with all memories of Will and Sam when they were 16 months-old. I find it amazing that I could forget a chaos similar to the tornado we lovingly call Ike. Although he is precious and I love him very much there have been several days lately that I am not sure that I like him a whole lot.
He is just everywhere! If I leave the kitchen, he moves the chairs so that he can climb up onto the table and chunk fake fruit across the room.

If I take my eyes off of him to tend to something or someone else or even just look in the opposite direction, he scurries to the plastic drawer to begin unloading it into the trash! (The other morning I found 4 plastic containers, 12 magnets, 2 learning toys, and his pajama bottoms in the trash!)Today, he figured out how to make the water dispenser on the refrigerator. I think I would have been alright if he had just filled a few, even several, cups for a nice cool beverage for any and all of our neighborhood friends. But instead, he was filling them and then dumping them on the mat in front of the refrigerator. Luckily, I caught him between cup #2 and #3.

I don't know. Except for the fruit throwing, I guess he is figuring the world out and doing as he sees done everyday at our house. (No lies, I might not be a fruit lover but I ain't hatin' on the fruit either:)) He is the third child so he receives a third of my attention. I guess I should be thankful he hasn't discovered matches or the weed eater! (Hmm. It is still only lunchtime.)

PS - Here is a funny pic from the other day. Ike had woken up that morning and had wet all over the bed. I cleaned him up and off we went with our day. A couple of hours later, I was rocking him for nap time and saw his pants were wet. What! How is that possible? Well, I took him to the changing table and when I went to grab the legs of his pants, I discovered our little problem.

I think in my haste to get Isaac ready that morning, I failed to attach the diaper correctly. I guess as the morning went on and the urine accumulated, the weight was just too much to bear anymore. So, south it went, right down to Ike's ankle! It was so full and fluffy. I don't know how his little leg could breathe with that diaper clogging the pant leg. Anyway, lesson learned. Mommy, take your time and double check things!

Playing Catch Up

It has been awhile since my last post. So this post is to catch up on the last month or so. If it seems scatter-brained, no worries, that is kind of the last month or so in a nutshell:)

(Will) Right now, Will is done with school, maybe not physically but definitely mentally. I am not sure how or when it happened, but he just sort of checked out sometime after Christmas and has no intention of cheking back in until at least second grade which makes life sort of tough around here. Most mornings are rough and I spend about 3 days a week explaining that it is not me making him go to school but the government and if he doesn't go, then I will go to jail. I think I finish most mornings with, "Now would you like to see Mommy go to jail?" I know that a time will come when he does wish for me to spend some time in the slammer to get me away from him, but thankfully, that time is not right now. So, Will slowly gets out the door each morning but I am certain that on his way to school he is making plans to run for office at his earliest convenience so that he can change this great injustice in America. Will is a no nonsense kind of kid. He can spot busy work from a mile away and he has little tolerance for it. He has a very good teacher who is trying her best to keep Will engaged but at the end of the day, she has 21 kids at all different stages so some busy work is necessary.

Brent and I both hate the fact that Will is bored at times with school and that he would just rather drop out and shovel cow manure. (This the the job I told him he would have if he left school. At first, it was inspirational and motivated him to get up and off to school. Now, he is considering it as a real life path if it means he can stay home:)) We feel bad about his current feelings but our prayer is that through these less than desirable times, he will learn how to adapt and make the best of each and every situation. This is definitely one of the top things Brent and I hope to teach the boys. School is one of the first places we see that life isn't always fun, people aren't always nice, and many of them don't share the same goals and or family values as us. School is where we learn math, science, and art but it is also where we learn patience, true tolerance, empathy, and a love for people so very different from what we know but whom Jesus loved equally to us and gave His life for them just like He did for us.

Outside of school, Will is doing great. He is still very sweet to his brothers and probably takes better care of them and is most likely more attentive to them than his mother:) He has always had a soft heart and a desire to serve. That hasn't changed and our family is blessed by it.

(Sam) He has had a tremendous change of heart these days. Sam is in preschool and has really disliked it for most of the year. He is a real home body and would rather hang here as go anywhere and actually do anything. But, about a month ago, Sam decided he would like to spend most of his time at school. In fact, there have been days when he wanted to go back after just getting home. I was really shocked by this drastic change in attitude, and I was hesitant to ask about it in case he forgot that he hated preschool and my question was simply a reminder but I went for it anyway. His answer for his new found excitement for education, Ninja Turtles. The school has Ninja Turtles, the Chism house does not and that is the way it will stay:) Sam wants to play with Ninja Turtles and to get to do that, he has to go to school. Yeah!!!!! So, the lesson learned here fellow parents: Don't buy any new toys for your house, buy them and take them to school!

So, Sam is happy and really a pretty easy going kid these days. He is still the snuggler and loves quality time. He talks and talks and is really pretty funny to listen to. He picks things up from Brent, Will, and I and to hear our thoughts come from a 4 year-old is a treat! You would think that would make him fun to take places and he is but I do it with definite reservations especially if we are going to be around people we like. Lately, Sam has decided that honesty is the best policy. Now, I am too a fan of honesty but it is one thing when someone asks you a question and you tell the truth. It is quite another when you volunteer information such as, "I don't like riding in your car because it smells funny." or "When I hugged you, I saw that you were a little bald." The hard part about all this besides possibly losing friends that we love or being the target of one of his honest moments, is that he really isn't trying to be mean, he is just telling you how he sees the world. So, we are working hard to keep him from sharing things with others that I guess are probably honest and obvious but still encouraging him to share his thoughts and feelings and maybe with just Mommy and Daddy:) P.S. - I said that Sam picks phrases and such up from us earlier in this post. To be clear, I am pretty certain that none of us (Brent, Will, or I) have told someone that their car smells funny or that they are bald.

(Ike) Isaac is on a terror. I do love him very much but he is working me silly these days. When we are at home, he is like a puppy. He turns over trash cans, pee pees on the carpet and chews on most things including the couch and his family. He loves unloading things like the refrigerator magnets, the pantry, bathroom cabinets, and the plastic container drawer. If he is quiet, there is cause for concern. He is usually up to trouble. When we go out, he unloads things in public too like the stocked shelves at Walmart, the books at the library, and greeting cards anywhere he finds them and this is the worst. About the time I find where one stack of cards go, he is off unloading another stack! I am having trouble keeping up with the Ike lifestyle. We rarely go to Walmart anymore. My mind and body get exhausted just thinking about it. I plan on trying again two years from now, when he turns 3!

Ike is working on his vocabulary. He has about 6-7 words I can understand but my favorite is "chich-in". That is Ike speak for chicken. He is learning all the time and just wants to explore his world, thus the unloading of our house and also a mad dash for any passage way to the outside world! He loves to walk and I would love to allow him that opportunity but most of the time he wants to go left if we need to go right. If we are in one area, he wants to be in another. He is on the move. These days he also is less interested in going to bed. (I guess there are drawers and cabinets that have gone 2 hours untouched.) Used to, I could rock him with a bottle and then place him in his bed with a kiss and he would roll over and fall asleep. Now, he takes his milk and snuggles up to me. (I love that part.) We rock and rock. Just about the time I think he is ready to "give up the ghost", he pops his head up and grins the biggest grin. I am not sure if it is an "I love you SO much that I just needed to communicate that to you before I go to sleep." or if it is a "Gotcha!" I am leaning on the first option. So, most bedtimes and naptimes involve a little crying but nothing that DFS needs to be contacted about.

Brent and I are good. Brent is still hard at work trying to share the news of Coca-Cola to every man, woman, and child that shops at Walmart:) I am obviously busy with the boys. We are blessed beyond belief and are just trying to keep up with all of those blessings!!!

What did I do today?

Most days, Brent comes in the door and very innocently asks about how my day was or what we did that day. So often I begin listing off the days activities and although Brent doesn't question where the time went, there are many times that I do. So, here was an article I read that I thought maybe gave me a little better understanding as to how I lose so many hours in the day:) Enjoy!

Tell Me About It by Carolyn Hax : Friend really doesn't get the kid thing

● Carolyn:
My best friend has a child. Her: Exhausted, busy, no time for self, no time for me, etc. Me (no kids): Wow. Sorry. What'd you do today? Her: Park, play group . . .
OK. I've done Internet searches; I've talked to parents. I don't get it. What do stay-at-home moms do all day? Please, no lists of library, grocery store, dry cleaners. . . . I do all those things, too, and I don't do them every day. I guess what I'm asking is: What is a typical day, and why don't moms have time for a call or e-mail?
I work and am away from home nine hours a day (plus a few late work events), and I manage to get it all done. I'm feeling like the kid is an excuse to relax and enjoy — not a bad thing at all — but if so, why won't my friend tell me the truth?
Is this a contest ("My life is so much harder than yours")? What's the deal? I've got friends with and without kids, and all us child-free folks get the same story and have the same questions.
— Tacoma, Wash.

Relax and enjoy. You're funny.
Or you're lying about having friends with kids.
Or you're taking them at their word that they actually have kids, because you haven't personally been in the same room with them.
Internet searches?
I keep wavering between giving you a straight answer and giving my forehead some keyboard. To claim you want to understand — while in the same breath implying that the only logical conclusions are that your mom friends are either lying or competing with you — is disingenuous indeed.
So, since it's validation you seem to want, the real answer is what you get. In list form. When you have young kids, your typical day is: constant attention, from getting them out of bed, fed, clean, dressed; to keeping them out of harm's way; to answering their coos, cries and questions; to having two arms and carrying one kid, one set of car keys and supplies for even the quickest trips, including the latest-to-be-declared-essential piece of molded plastic gear; to keeping them from unshelving books at the library; to enforcing rest times; to staying one step ahead of them lest they get too hungry, tired or bored, any one of which produces the kind of checkout-line screaming that gets the checkout line shaking its head.
It's needing 45 minutes to do what takes others 15.
It's constant vigilance, constant touch, constant use of your voice, constant relegation of your needs to the second tier.
It's constant scrutiny and second-guessing from family members and friends, well-meaning and otherwise. It's resisting the constant temptation to seek short-term relief at everyone's long-term expense.
It's doing all this while concurrently teaching virtually everything — language, manners, safety, resourcefulness, discipline, curiosity, creativity, empathy. Everything.
It's also a choice, yes. And a joy. But if you spent all day, every day, with this brand of joy — and then when you got your first 10 minutes to yourself, you wanted to be alone with your thoughts instead of calling a good friend — a good friend wouldn't judge you, complain about you to mutual friends or marvel at how much more productively she uses her time.
Either make a sincere effort to understand, or keep your snit to yourself.

More Peenie Stuff

Honestly, how many posts can I write about peenies? With three boys, I am sure the number is bigger than I or anyone else wants to guess, so please forgive me. The peenie is a regular part of our daily discussions which means that from time to time I will post about it. However, I will just try to not make back to back peenie posts in the future:)
The other night at approximately 5:53 pm I heard an annoying sort of crying coming from Sam down the hall. I say annoying not because I was annoyed he was crying but because it just wasn't a full on cry but just a whiny sort of noise. At that very moment I was actually changing a pasty, poopy diaper which made me wonder what Sam could possibly be whining about that was worse than my current situation. About a minute later Sam rounded the corner with his pants around his ankles. I looked up to see his "Sammie" (ok, we don't call it that at home but I was kind of tired of saying peenie so we will use both interchangeably during this post:)) bleeding. I mean, the thing was in trouble! And, I am not sure that until the moment I looked at it, Sam had either. Maybe it was a defense mechanism until he could seek first aid, but at about the same time I looked at it, Sam did and then the crying, real crying began. I tried to ask him was had happened and got bits and pieces of a story about closing the toilet lid on it and then something about falling off the toilet. It was all very confusing and nauseating really. I decided that the details of the injury could wait but that some medical attention was needed. Unfortunately, that wasn't really what Sam had in mind. He didn't want it touched or looked at unless it was by Jesus himself who could heal it in an instant! So, I did the only thing I knew to do that would maybe help which was spray it with some numbing medicine (It is the stuff they give women when they have babies to help heal her precious region but I would never tell the boys that what works for my parts also works for theirs!), I gave him some Advil for the pain, popped some popcorn and started a movie. Honestly, I knew only two of the four of these steps would help Sam but I just needed a moment to think and was hungry. Just kidding! Anyway, since this is not my area of expertise, I decided Brent needed to be involved in this so I tried his cell but of course since this is like the one part of the body that the boys have that I don't and therefore I will never understand, he didn't answer. He had decided to try an exercise class at the gym that started at 6:00 pm and of course this injury happened at 5:53pm. So, next I tried cleaning the region without touching which meant spraying it down with a water bottle. Sam seemed ok with it. His only complaint was that my head was in the way and he couldn't see the movie. So, after careful assessment and a few calls to my parents and Brent's parents, I decided that it would probably be ok just needed a little TLC, Advil, and vagina numbing spray:) Well around 7:00, Brent arrives home and I inform him of the situation. He gave it a quick once over and informed me that I should have taken Sam to someone. In my mind I am thinking about how I could have possibly carried a 1 year-old on one hip and a 4 year-old who can't bend or wear pants because his penis is bleeding on the other? (The 1 year-old can walk but he currently likes to walk in the exact opposite direction of anywhere I need to go.) But, I didn't say what I was thinking, instead I said that I was fine for Sam to go somewhere I just needed some help watching the other kids. He then said something about me specifically needing to take Sam because after all, I would be caring for it during the day and things. Ok, that made sense. I made a call to the doctor and got an appointment for 8:00 pm. As we waited to leave for our appt. time, Brent kind of wandered around but said very little. I thought to myself that maybe he was mad that I hadn't taken Sam somewhere already. I asked him what was wrong. He proceeded to tell me that he was sick to his stomach. No he didn't have food poisoning or the flu, it was Sam, well Sammie that was making him ill! The thought and idea of Sam's injury was making Brent nauseous. He couldn't even look at Sam without feeling sick which was the real reason why I was taking Sam to the doctor and not Brent.
Boys! I think that this is what God meant when He said that He would create a helper for Adam. Had I been out of town, Will would have had to call 911 because I am certain Brent would have needed medical attention had he needed to address Sam's unfortunate injury.
So, Sam and I went to the doctor. She took a look and thought that proper cleaning, ointment application, and time would remedy this situation. When I returned home and told Brent of the doctors treatment plan he questioned if it didn't need a stitch. I told him that I didn't think so and that I was sure that the doctor would have suggested it if she thought it was necessary. Brent's response, "It was a woman doctor? It figures!"
Although Brent has no problem with females physicians, he clearly felt that had it been a male doctor, more attention would have been given to this particular ailment! Mind you that Brent has never had an issue with my male doctor removing one of Brent's children from my girlie region. He doesn't mention how wrong it is that a man invented the tampon. Strange? Personally, I found it all, not the injury but Brent's reaction to the injury and treatment, humorous. I guess what he is saying might not be practical but maybe makes sense. When it comes to medical problems, women physicians should not take care of penises because we will never fully understand them. On the other hand, male physicians should never tend to a woman's brain, they will never fully understand that:)

Reincarnation and peenie glue

Our nighttime ritual at the Chism house is that I get the boys ready for bed and then hand off to Brent so that he can read and pray with them. We used to take turns doing the reading and praying part but I had a tendency to fall asleep before the boys and crash for a few hours which meant that the night was a bust for getting chores and things done. So, Brent has taken over reading duties but he has been out of town recently so I have gotten this pleasure. Last night I was laying with the boys and we had just finished reading books and saying prayers but I was not quite ready to leave them so I hung around for a few minutes.

Somehow Will got on the subject of babies and where they came from. I got in a bit of a panic and thought that my idea of hanging around was no longer a great one! But, I decided that someone gets the heavy questions and I might just want to be the one to get them. Brent's parenting philosophy is a little less delicate than mine which is great in some instances but maybe not for the Birds and Bees conversation with a 7 and 4 year-old:) So, Will proceeds to explain to Sam that when people die they go to Heaven for 40 days until a mommy and daddy decide they want a baby and then at that time they go to be in the mommy's belly. (I think Will's school is putting WAY too much emphasis on recycling these days!) Anyway, when the baby is to be born the doctor gets the baby out of the mommy's tummy and cuts the thing that connects to the peenie. (Obviously Will knows something about the chord but we haven't really explained it well enough. All he has seen in his two baby brothers is that they come home with injured belly buttons and peenies. So, I think he believes the chord runs from the belly to the peenie and it clearly damages both ends.) He then explained that the doctor uses some sort of glue to fix it all.

Voila! That is how you get a baby! At least that is how my 7 year-old saw it yesterday and now my 7 year-old and 4 year-old both see it that way today:) And honestly, I just didn't have it in me to correct any of the story. Brent asked me why I didn't tell Will about Heaven and the whole non reincarnation thing. Well he obviously knows about Heaven and if I at that point, alone without a safety net, tried to say no to reincarnation, I know that I would have gotten the question of where babies really do come from. I mean I have answered that question already by saying that God gives mommies and daddies babies. I thought that was a good answer. Clearly I didn't figure that my son would see God as the master recycler and just send one, a used one, down from Heaven! So, I decided that for that moment in time, I was going to have to let this one slide. We'll let Daddy handle this one when he gets home, delicately or not so delicately, it lets me off the hook;)

Baby Steps

Ok, the holidays are over and things are finally getting back to normal. Well, normal for us anyway:) So, I am working hard to catch up on all of life that fell behind before and during Christmas. That includes a post about Ike's first steps. Yeah!!!! He took a few Christmas morning and has been building ever since. Crawling and being carried are still his preferred modes of transportation but I am sure that won't be for long. I love the early steps, so exciting and fun. It is really sweet to see him in the middle of the living room just stand up and walk. It makes me smile to see him try to chase after Will and Sam at a turtle's pace with a drunken sort of sway to it. Good job buddy! You will get the hang of it soon enough and then, "bar the door" 'cause here comes Ike!