Falling Down the Stairs, Cursing and Other Amusing Items

This morning as I was putting breakfast on the table, Clayton was singing a little made up song called "Joggity." It goes like this:

"Joggity, joggity, joggity, joggity, joggity,

joggity, joggity, joggity, joggity, joggity,

joggity, joggity, joggity, joggity, joggity..."

Apparently Justice didn't like Clayton's little song.

Justice: "Clayton, that's a bad word."

Clayton: "Joggity, joggity, joggity..."

Justice: "That is a bad word, Clayton!"

Clayton: "joggity, joggity, joggity..."

Justice: "Mom, Clayton is saying 'joggity!'

Me: "It's not a bad word, Justice."

Clayton: "Yes it is!"


(Aside: I really don't like it when I'm blogging here on my computer and I hear the sound of eggs cracking coming from in the kitchen, and I get up to find that *sigh* I have lost another dozen eggs and I have another mess to clean up. *sigh*)

Where was I?

Amusing item #2 or I guess maybe #3 now for Mr. C. Clayton was sitting on the toilet the other day saying "Wait for it... wait for it..."

In other news, my boys have discovered a new wonderful game to play, which frankly my mother hates. Oh how I wish I'd had my camera with me at the time! We were at my parents' house after church the other day when my boys invented the fun new game called:

"Falling Down the Stairs."

Oh GOSH I wish I had caught it on tape! What you do is pretend to look at the picture at the top of the stairs, or pretend that you are a baby, or perhaps an old lady, and oops, you fall down the stairs, rolling and bumping and screaming all the way down. It's really hilarious.

The draw backs:

1) You can only play it at Grandma's house because she is the only one with heavily padded, carpeted stairs.
2) Grandmas has an especial aversion to falling since she spent some time in a wheel chair about a year and a half ago after a particularly traumatic fall. Hence, Grandma doesn't find this game very amusing.

On yet another subject, I guess other families with multiple kids have do deal with the phenomenon of "Calling things." I get so annoyed with my kids calling everything. Justice's last words nearly every night are,

"I call the computer first in the morning!"

Me: "No you don't."

We can't go ANYWHERE without every person under the age of 15 in the family yelling

"I call sitting next to Clayton, no call backs, pad-lock!"

or

"I call window seat, no call backs, pad-lock!"

Apparently all contracts are null and void if you don't say "no call-backs, pad-lock!"

Oh and if somebody sits in the seat that was called by somebody else, WWIII is surely to follow. "I CALLED that seat!"

"I didn't hear you!"

"MOM, I called window seat!"

"I don't care. Get in."


I often amuse myself imaging a world where grown ups "called" everything and you HAD to say "no call-backs, pad-lock" or it didn't count. Although come to think about it, we really are kind of like that with all the red tape - political BS that surrounds every facet of our lives. Is it really so different from "no call-backs, pad lock," but I digress...

Anyway, apparently we've reached yet another dimension of calling things. I opened the fridge to find that we seem to now be calling food too.

Ross of course hid "Lydia's orange" behind a bunch of stuff in the back of the fridge and told her that he ate it. *sigh*

Moments of Genius

Have you ever talked back to your voice-mail? As in:

"No, because....."

"What happened was ..."

"It's like this..."

"Yes, well if you just..."

Aside: "I'm trying to explain the answer to your question! Why the heck won't she let me get a word in edgewise?!"

"What is going on is..."

"I'm trying to tell you..."



"Oh yeah, this is just a message. Wow, I am REALLY a moron!"

The Irony

Well that completely sucked! School has been back in session for about a week and a half. Justice was really excited about starting kindergarten. The first couple of days when I dropped him off, I pitied the other mothers and fathers who's kids were clinging to them and crying. I actually thought "Oh, I am so glad that my kids never did that!" Justice was happy to be there, and that is just how the older kids seemed to feel about kindergarten too.

However after about day three, Justice started to wander just when he was going to be done with kindergarten. I think he thought it would be like the Thursday School that he had gone to: a couple of hours, one day a week.

Today I had to literally drag him out of the van and carry him kicking, screaming, and crying into the school. As we walked through the front door, he grabbed the door frame and held on for dear life, creating a traffic jam behind us, as Clayton trotted in happily about 10 paces ahead of us, holding Justice's backpack. My small three year old walking in by himself gave the duty teachers quite the poser. They weren't sure if he should be going to somebody's class, or what. He hardly looks old enough to go to kindergarten.

Once I got Justice into the building and caught up to Clayton, I just stood there in the hallway, trying to get him to calm down - to no avail- until his teacher came by with the rest of the class. Resigned to his fate, Justice walked down the hall in tears, hand in hand with his teacher. That was when I broke down into tears. I guess that's what I get for being so glad that my kids had all gone to school so happily!

The Side Kick

Being the youngest, Clayton is always stuck playing the side kick. When he and Justice play Harry Potter, Clayton is always Ron. When they play Ben 10, Clayton is always Kevin Levin. If they are playing Indiana Jones, Clayton is always Indiana Jones' son. It's okay, he doesn't seem to realize or care. He's just happy to be included in the game.

This morning after he had just gotten out of the shower, the game was Superman. Since Justice was already Superman, that left:

"I am Super Girl!"

"No, you are definitely not Super girl."

"Okay, I'm Super Boy!"

At one point he was "NAKED NINJA!" Everyone laughed, and Mark and Ross immediately started plotting the new "Naked Ninja" game. Boys.

My "Renae is a Jerk" Moment of the Day

I took Clayton to story time at the library today. As they were passing out the snack, the little girl across the table from us asked "Does this have any fat in it?" to which I laughed out loud. It just sounded so odd to hear that phrase coming from a three year old little girl. It struck me as funny and darn cute. I attributed it to a mother who worries about her own diet, and her daughter was picking up on it. That was until I heard her say "Good, I don't have to take my enzymes." Wow! Renae is a jerk! Her mom played it off very nicely and acted like "Yes, my daughter is cute." Which she was, but man I felt like a jerk! I am so very thankful that I have healthy kids!

Mothering

Mothering is just the strangest phenomenon! It's like ... getting mauled by an overly loving, cute as a button, HUGE, disobedient puppy dog. You appreciate the love and the cuteness of it all, but at the same time, you need some space. That's not quite exactly right, but... I can't find the right words.

On the one hand I positively CRAVE solitude and quiet moments, and time to work on things that I want to learn to do. You know you might be a parent when you find yourself taking your time on the toilet, because you know that's the only time when everyone is at least supposed to leave you alone.

On the other hand, I seem to have lost the ability to truly enjoy any time away. Any time I actually DO get away, it is always tainted by a little twinge of guilt, and a small wish that the kids were there with me.

The kids just started back to school, and OH BE JOYFUL!!! I am loving having a routine back! I never feel like a good parent during the summer. I feel like all I do is yell, and tell folks to turn the darn TV / computer off. There seems to be a fight to be broken up every two seconds, and somebody needs something from me every blessed second of the day, and I NEVER have a minute to myself, the kids are BORED, and I just turn into a mean, frustrated, horrible ogress!

I love having a reason to make the kids get up and get dressed. I love having something to do. I love getting into a routine for bedtime again. I love when the kids come home from school, and we can spend some time together in the evenings. I actually feel like I have a reason for the things that I do. I love that now I have my piano time back. But most of all, I love that Clayton takes a nap, and I can have some peace and quiet!

The down side is that Justice is now in Kindergarten. I've been looking forward to when I finally get all of my kids in school, so I can go back to school. I positively ACHE to learn! I LOVE school. BUT... every time a kid starts school, I miss my little buddy! It's never quite the same again. I miss each and every one of those 3 and 4 year old kids that have left me to go to school. As much as I want to go back to school, I don't know if I can take not having a preschool kid here with me. Come to think of it, I don't want to do it at all. I don't want life to change like that. I can't believe I'm actually SAYING THAT!!! But it's true. I miss Clayton already, and I still have two more years with him home. I guess it's a good thing to realize that right now. I miss my Justice, I miss my Mark, I miss my Ross, and I miss my little Lydia. Life will definitely lose a little of it's magic when I no longer have a little one to share it with. Sigh... I'm a bit pathetic, you know.

Outings

While out, I took a picture of this "Getting Along With Your Neighbors Fail." There are actually three "No Trespassing" signs running the property line between these two houses.

While Bruce's BRAVE and wonderful parents took my four oldest kids clothes shopping today, I took Clayton to the park, just the two of us. How different it is to hang out with just one child at a time. It reminded me of when Lydia was little and I used to go out with just her. It was just the most beautiful day ever. I really enjoyed hanging out with just my Mr. C.

This evening Lydia and I did some shopping, just the two of us, also a very good time. We always laugh our heads off when we are together.

These are pictures from yesterday's outing to the park with all of the kids.
I had to bribe Ross to let me take this picture, as he was trying very hard to boycott my camera. He wanted help moving a big log. Easy!






I really liked this picture of Ross until he pointed out that he looks like Gollum.

How nice when they play together. Actually they were having a spitting contest.

Quintessential Justice!