So...

So I've had plenty of funny tidbits to share and plenty of interesting things to say. Unfortunately, I have terrible news for Mommies. What they say is true. True, fellow Mommies! It's all true.

Each child that you give birth it takes a quarter of your brain capacity.

Yeah, I'm screwed.

I can't remember where I put my car keys most of the time, and they are in my hand or my pocket.


So all those those funny little tidbits are lost somewhere in my brain matter. Hopefully they will be released from hostage at some point. I usually remember things at three in the morning when I get up to pee. Then I have to hurry and write them down, or they are lost again.

Obsession

My oldest is obsessed with video games. To the point that when we have "Imagination" time, he plays "video games" in his head and acts them out. If he isn't playing a video game or the computer, he will be watching someone else and telling them how to do it. Or he will be begging to play. Or saying "I'm bored! There is nothing to do!" Seriously. It takes 100% of my effort to keep him involved in stuff when he isn't playing video games. He is not able to play by himself if it doesn't involve video games. He needs someone to guide him.

It is just so sad...do you know what he said to me this morning? He said "Mom, I have never felt so needed as I did last night." He was referring to the fact that he was sitting (in my space bubble) directing me on playing WoW during our "after-dinner-find-a -quiet-activity-and- relax time". I'm so sad that he determines his self worth according to his involvement with video/computer games. I almost cried. Seriously.

I don't know what to do about this or for him. He loves video/computer games. They are his passion. He's good at figuring them out. He likes to figure them out. He has such a hard time with idle time. I don't know how to help him. If he is idle with no one engaging him in a specific activity, he hits, yells, bosses, and generally gets in trouble. He soaks information and attention up. He seeks it and it drives him. But the video games rule his world.

We are about to bust outside for the day. It's sunny and warm and beautiful. It's always a struggle outside. As long as me or someone else is engaging him, he's fine, but as soon as the game is over, it starts. "Can I go inside and play video games?"

Um, no. Stay outside and run and play. Have fun. Be a kid.

We won't mention my new WoW addiction that is still in the budding stage.

Can I hear three cheers?

For the first time in nine and a half years, we are a completely diaper free home!

I'm so flipping excited.

Spring Break

So, this week is spring break. As much as I would love to say I'm mom of the year and all that, I have to admit this week has been difficult. The first two days the kids were bored. It rained and it rained and it rained. We made due, escaping once during a bout of sunshine to play in the park. The kids had the entire park to themselves and had a blast. Usually, they share it with forty other children. And that is just from our block. No kidding. The park is just the right size for my four kids to enjoy, but whatever, right? Fortunately, they can ride their bikes around the circle in the alley and it all works out great.

Yesterday I put bullet proof vests on all of us and we ventured out. OK, OK, I'm kidding. But sometimes it feels like we need one. We ventured over to the safer part of town and signed up for the library. As soon as we crossed the bridge, I felt much calmer and happier. It seems almost normal over there. The library actually went rather well. We came home and things went better for the rest of the evening. I tucked up the kids all snug in their beds at bedtime and I was pleased when no one yodeled. For some reason, my six year old has taken up yodeling when the Hubby has duty. He stands on his bed and yodels at the top of his little mighty lungs. I told him absolutely no zoo in the morning if he insisted on visiting the Swiss Alps last night. Thankfully, he put his Swiss Horn away and refrained from yodeling with with the goats and slept peacefully.

Ahhhhhh. Happiness is.

So I thought things were going great. Until I woke up. At seven o'clock in the morning. To the cries of "It's smoking, it's smoking!"

WTH?

Turns out my nine-year-old and my six-year-old decided to find out what happens when they rip the light bulb off of a lit/on night light.

Um, it smokes.

And sparks.

And thankfully trips the breaker in their room so no one was shocked and no fires erupted.

I really wish they could have skipped that specific science experiment.

So Mama Bear got out of bed instead of Mommy. And I was a bear. Literally. Growling and snarling. Mostly out of fear. But don't tell "them" that.

I stomped around the stream and cleaned off my fur and emerged more of a Mama Cat. Prowly and cautious. I gathered up the kittens and brought them downstairs and put them to work. Cleaning and sweeping and picking up. I fed them all their bowls of milk (with some ceral and fruit in it), and swept them out the door to the zoo.

The zoo went OK. It was cold. My oldest was nice enough to give his sister one of his three shirts to wear. We saw some creepy crawly things and some scaly things. We pressed nose to nose with some monkeys. Well, with a sheet of glass in between our noses, but the kids weren't aware of that. In their minds they were nose to nose with some curious little monkeys. It was very cute...I wish I had my camera with me. We fed some goats and pretended to be prairie dogs. Then we headed to a park outside of the zoo to eat a snack and play on the playground. My oldest was kind enough to supply another heart stopping moment for the Mama Bear/Cat/Mommy. They had some of those old fashioned metal monkey bars that are in an arch. You know, the ones we all played on for years before they deemed them too dangerous. Well, he was trying to make it to the top of the arch, and he had just reached the top and was about to celebrate when he fell through. And my heart fell out of my chest, down my leg, and out of the leg of my pants. And then some squirrels stomped all over my heart. All in three seconds. It was amazing. Really. I watched my little boy's head whiz past the bars in slow motion at 70 MPH. I saw the hairs on his head brush over the bars, his skull intact. I didn't even have time to be relieved because the squirrels were already taking off with my heart. I watched him fall to the ground in a heap and rejoiced when he immediately stood up. "MOM, DID YOU SEE THAT? THAT WAS SO COOL!"

I ran after the squirrels and got my heart back.

Boys.

I swear.

Home safe, getting ready to bake. Chocolate cake. Just what the doctor ordered.

A quick video

The last egg.

(If look up on the fence next to the post, you will see him passing by the blue egg over and over)