Adventures in Summer

Okay, well it has been way too long since my last post. I find that is becoming a regular opening line to this blog lately.

We are still alive. Since the last post we have had four bday's, 2 school programs, 1 doctors visit and our first broken bone. That is just a few of the big things anyway.

Austyn turned 13! Yikes, we are parents of a teenager. I am so glad he is our first. His personality and over all disposition is a joy. We are glad to have him as the "test dummy".

We had a Fear Factor themed party for our new teen. It was an eye opener. Teen boys will do alot for bragging rights. Our lone girl Sam stepped up the girl power and did all the challenges and showed the boys how it was done! Go Sam. Makoa was the dark horse of the party. He put some of the big boys to shame with his brave face and choked down some of the nasty food concoctions. Rick was a brave soul and took the crew of boys camping for the night. I am so glad I got to stay in my comfy bed. Thanks honey! Austyn had a great time and thanks Lisa for letting us invade your house with all our goo and boys.

Landon turned 1 in March and we think that he will be a cake LOVER. This is his first reaction to dig in! He attempted to poke his finger in the middle but it did not deliver the same results. I have to hand it to him. We were very amused.

Not a very good shot of Alex's cast but he likes this picture alot. That is Liz one of our favorite babysitters. She is graduated now :( Alex thinks he will be ready to ask her dad if they can get married when he turns 6, we'll see how that works out. She may find a man her own age before he is brave enough to chat with Mr.T but if she isn't married before he graduates he has his eye on her.

I will update you all hopefully with pictures soon, our boys have been putting on daily performances for each other and it is pretty funny what they are coming up with.

My final input for this post was from Alex..

"Hey mom, what is does whitty mean? Is that like a short name for Whitaker?"

Cole says " NOoooooo Alex, it is a rapper name duh!"

Oh my gotta love them.

So.. Yeah..Okay

Well, I feel like I am just not as interesting without my children home with me all day.

Since we have the kids in school, not homeschooling at the moment, my days are just as busy, but much less time to have the I can't believe he did that moments to occur.

I was reflecting on all that has been accomplished since they are gone 8 plus hours a day. Sadly nothing more is getting done. We still have the same piles, chores and regular household maintenance going on.

Today I was excited to sit down and knit. Having a very active wee little man around the house has made all mommy time a CHALLENGE. He thinks he should sit on my lap and type too. All the while chattering in his baby-ese language no one but Alex understands. But some how he manages to express loudly his dislikes.

Back to the knitting. I had set my knitting bag on the back seat in the car. Not realizing that my baby was with in arms reach of my knitting treasures. Praise God for the project bag inventors.

I heard him gag a little as we pulled up to the house but he was fine. We have named him Choke-a-hontas. He eats everything then promptly shoves his fingers in his mouth and gags it back up. Laughing proudly at his accomplishment. He did however manage to get the one lone post it note that was marking and cataloging essential information for the baby Roo afghan I have been working on. Well note to self. Don't assume that he must have only torn up the post it. No, no, no.. As sad as loosing the information is for me right now ( I have to go back and re write the info in my NOTEBOOK... I know I was working my way there, I just hadn't made it that far yet)

to my utter shock, the before naptime diaper revealed, post it notes, when digested quickly following a mexican lunch have a strange thing in common with corn. It comes out the way it goes in... Tiny little neon green pieces of paper were staring back at me. Oooohhh my heck. Landon laughed the biggest belly laugh I have ever heard. I must have had the most entertaining expression on my face.

Anyway all that to say I have yet to knit a stitch today and would have taken a photo to share but upon further thought decided, somethings I know you can imagine.. hehehe.. Landon is sporting his new top down sweater I started and finished for him in a week. Very fast Knitting Pure and Simple Bulky Sweater.. The other is a rare shot of all the big boys standing still long enough to get a picture..

2009

Wow! I can't believe this year has gone by so quickly. We are in the middle of so many things at the Whitaker house right now. Some good and some, well, not so much. I hope that the not so good is just about behind us.

We enjoyed a nice quiet Christmas. Our crazy weather conditions here in the Gorge made traveling back and forth even in town a little sketchy. So we stayed home Grandparents came to our house. The kids got to play with the things they received and we chilled out. It was so refreshing to be home. To have less and to enjoy our kids.

The only draw back to our Christmas is the family addiction to the Wii. Fun as it is, we find ourselves drawn to the challenge of beating our last score. My fascination with it is wearing off. But I too was sucked in.

I am sad to report that with all the frenzy of the stormy weather. The limitations to shopping and lack of funds this holiday spurred on the obsessive holiday knitting, out of pure necessity. But not many pictures were taken before gifting. My goal is to get the items on the giftee and share away. But at last count December knitting included.......

(1) adult pair of mittens

(8) pairs of fingerless mitts

(5) Hang Ups ornaments (knotanotherhat.com)

(3) kid hats

(1) pair tot mittens

(2) adult hats

The sewing machine produced (8) stockings with hand embroidered names. I have to say that in spite of the shoulder pain it was a rewarding handmade Christmas.

I will leave you with a few pictures of the troops. I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday season and enjoy a fullfilling and Happy New Year.

Holiday Reflections

Does anyone else ever get completely overwhelmed by the day to day? I have found lately that just trying to get the next thing done, can be almost paralyzing. Gggrrr...

In my attempt to take better care of my emotional self. I set out to make a little time for me, something that was not directly benefiting anyone else. Hahaha. Is that even possible with 5 kids, a husband, and the current sports schedule? Well that is what I have been trying to find out.

It has become crystal clear to me that I don't know how to do that. Can you expect to much from yourself? Can you be so involved in doing the next thing that nothing is fulfilling anymore? My hobbies are important to my mental health so I am resolving to get with it and continue to make time for the things that I love to do.


Reflecting on a few things some people have "shared" recently about my kids (that connects with my parenting) made me really angry. I do not let my kids get away with much. They are good kids, with kind hearts, and lots and lots of energy. That is not bad, or disruptive. It is the nature of boys. Why do I let people get to me? Why do I care what they think?

Negative input from people have been a blow to my psyche and heart many times. In an effort to change their minds I have slowly changed. My kids are my life right now. Where is the grace that comes with being in the trenches of parenting together? It is a tough job for all of us. I don't expect nor would I want anyone else to do this job for me. No one will love my kids like I will or can. They are mine! So I am committing to thinking of my kids in a positive way as much as possible. Well I will end that soap box moment with a little insight a friend shared with me yesterday.

"They will remember that you LOVED them." Gulp. It sparked something in my core.

Wow I was really mad about that. Hehehha. Let's move on.

My pictures don't seem to be downloading to share with you all right now I will try again this afternoon. I hope you all had a good Thanksgiving.

We enjoyed a relaxing afternoon here at our house. The kids had a very good time too. They ate played and watched a movie. Holiday's have not been that simple in a long time. Yeah!! I hope Christmas is as pleasant.

Speaking of Christmas, I decided not to knit anything for Christmas this year.... Nothing.. Not one item... WELL THAT IS A LOAD OF... YEAH RIGHT... This little statement has now produced two pairs of commissioned ankle socks, a girl hat, a pair of fingerless mitts (more to follow) and the ideas keep coming. Not that I will get all of them accomplished before the big day but I will write them down and get to them as soon as I can (crawling, active, baby not included, some restrictions apply).

Then there is the afghan, oh the treasured, heirloom afghan. I am going to get caught up on that as soon as I can too. I can't put it off any longer. I must finish.

Well I should close for now. My little man thinks it is lunch time already. Happy December!!

Photo Update

Landon the day before school started. He just loves boxes as playpens. He has truly completed our family. On the few days he is naughty (very few) he is a joy to everyone the rest of the time. I am waiting to see if he will show us a different side of himself as he grows. But I will take it!!

Wow!!

I can't begin to explain why I have not been writing. Most of it seems to be the kids again! Hmmm, funny how that always seems to get in the way of things that I feel are important.

I don't know if anyone still reads this or not but I purpose to be a better blogger this year. I missed it so much.

I have been knitting, just not really finishing much. I did a couple of scarves for Knot Another Hat. Realizing quickly that I would not be inspired to knit scarves for all my Christmas gifts (smirk,chuckle,laugh).

Okay so the boys are in school again this year. Most of them are loving it. I will refrain from any long ranting here. Just in case I have any school folks reading this. We have one challenge person in our midst and I have committed to praying for said person, because the alternative is not, well very nice. heheheh.

After a few months of discovering mean people in my life. I quickly decided, mean people suck. Really there is nothing I can say that would make that statement untrue.
So I am weeding out those that take to much out of me and take me away from the things that matter in my life. FAMILY, FRIENDS, KNITTING...ETC.

Alex has been so over the moon with his classroom and his new teachers and friends. He is so funny. The stories he is coming home with are challenging me as a parent to figure some things out.

The boys are all doing a round of soccer and Makoa can't wait to get a turn. Basketball and wrestling are just around the corner for him. Can I just say if any care dealer/manufacturer would like to donate a 10 passenger van or Suburban to this crazy, busy mom of 5 active boys we are glad to have you email us. heheheh. We are living in the car. Homework is just not as fun if you are elbowed by your bony knee, pointy arm brother, who can't sit still for anything. Not to mention the light are not made for homework/reading.

I will post photos after I drop off the kids tomorrow. Mr. Landon is getting so big. I can't believe he will be 8 months already. Time just seems to have taken a lofe of its own this year.

If anyone still reads this and is interested in the rantings of this busy mom. Shoot a little comment and I will share some stories with you soon.

Eyelicker

Okay, sadly this post is only about a month over due. I can't believe it takes me so long to blog these days. Wee little Whitaker seems to know when I sit down at the computer, he is hungry or poops just about every time. Heheheh..

So, on to the story. It isn't really as big of a deal now a month later, but the day it happened well, you tell me what you think.

I have been trying to find ways to discipline the troops in a more creative way. Our old stand by methods are just not working for the bigger boys. They require a bit more than "Because Mommy said so."

In honor of that, my boys were on a quest that morning to give me several opportunities to work on my creative correcting. Funny how that works. The day you decide to put some new plan into action they find new ways to wow and amaze us. I don't even have to say anything they just KNOW mom is up to something so they should be.

On my way into town we had to stop a couple of times to remind a couple boys who's names have been changed for their protection. Dex and Joel (hmm can you guess). How to behave in the car. Absolutely no throwing balls, jacks, or cards at anyone. We had to be reminded that yelling in the car is not okay and that our made up swear words would no longer be acceptable. Dex replies "You never told me that before
'' "Sorry mom". I am figuring out that boys need to be told what is expected they don't ever just KNOW that something is unacceptable. Go figure.

So we continued on to the store for a few more EPD (embarrassing public displays).
Just the usual things we all deal with when shopping with children. I am determined to make shopping for things necessary for our survival a pleasant experience. If I don't we may all starve to death.

After that was a quick stop to drop off a coffee drink to a friend at work. The boys were reminded that they didn't need to get out of the car for any reason I would be in and out. I could see them from the door and all that fun stuff. Well, another thing with boys is it doesn't matter how short the time frame is they find ways to AMAZE me. I was gone for maybe a minute at the most two. I open the door to my van and hear all of them in unison tell me "He licked Landon's eye." It took a me a few seconds to register what the heck they were talking about. I decided finger pointing can be used as a weapon when you have three brothers pointing at you all at once.

"WHY! WOULD YOU DO THAT!" I asked. Any mother would be curious I think. Really? Why would you think, Hmmm.. I should lick my poor, helpless, car seat bound, infant brother in his eye while mom is away. Sure, why not? Hello!!!!
" I don't know " was the response (note to self I don't know is not an answer). How do you take care of that? I was in shock that he would even think about that. I got into the car informed the troops to buckle up and I drove on in SILENCE. Our next stop was HAIRCUTS! Once we arrived my friend Maria noticed I was a little tense and says "What happened?" . Then the silence was broken. Sharing with her the events of the last few moments she look at the suspected individual and said. "Did it taste good?"
"NO"
"I think that is hilarious" she says. " I did that to my husband once just to annoy him" hahahhahha.. What? Seriously I would never think let's lick someone in the eye. What ever call me closed minded and sheltered. That is crazy. So I did what any good mother would do. I told him "Wait until your father gets home."

See not as big of a deal now that I think about it. My poor little Landon will have several more interesting boy moments before he understands his brothers I am sure. Well that is all for that story.

I have been knitting a few things and I do have pictures to share I just need to download again. I got a new diaper bag friendly camera and I am still learning how to use it.

Check out knotanotherhat.com for all the new yummy yarn choices and fun stuff they have been getting in. I am working a project for the shop right now using Alpaca with a Twist PUNCH.. Oh what yummy softness. The color choices are wonderful & bright.
I miss all my knitting pals a lot right now! Can't wait for a day off to go and hang out for the whole day.

Well more from my housefullofboys soon.