Hot Mess Mama

In my old, pre-children, well-put-together, organized, head-on-straight, ready-for-anything life I was very predictable.  As much as I want to be that way now I just can't get it all together.  Instead, I find myself doing crazy, brainless things. 

One recent Sunday morning, Brian was coming off a long call night.  The boys woke early, we ate breakfast, dressed for church and had enough time to spare to watch cartoons and play a game.  We were doing great.  Once the older boys were nestled on the couch watching their cartoons, Kennon and I went back upstairs so I could finish getting ready.  He started getting sleepy so I laid him down for a short nap. 

I finished getting ready, started some laundry and played a game with the older boys.  Then, suddenly, as if the past 25 minutes hadn't just past, my heart sank and I tore through the house yelling Kennon's name and searching frantically.  I thought surely he had crawled off the back deck or was playing in the street.  I had the older boys helping me search.

Finally, Brian woke from his sleep, walked to Kennon's room and reminded me Kennon was sleeping. 
As relief swept over me and my heart slowed to its regular pace I wondered where my brain had gone. 

I've put formula in the coffee pot because I scoop it far more often than coffee.  We occassionally find diapers - clean diapers so far - in the freezer.  I've driven off with countless items on the hood or cab of my car.  I've accepted a snotty shoulder as an added accessory thanks to cuddling my boys and finger prints on my pants as a way of life.  I've accepted that a spit bath will - occassionally - take the place of a real bath in the name of everyone getting to bed on time. 

As much as this frustrates me at times and makes the butt of jokes with friends and relatives I am still hopeful this is a phase and someday I'll be my old self again only with a lot more experience and a family full of rowdy and lovable boys to enjoy life with.

Like a Fish to Water

After two and a half years of watching and waiting patiently for his brother to finish swim lessons, Grayson is taking swim lessons on his own.  He introduced himself to his teacher and jumped right in.  Brayden showed him the routine by taking a nice cleansing shower first.

Grayson jumped in the water to Ms. Emily and set off on the kick board.  

He completed his third lesson yesterday and successfully wore the goggles almost the entire time.  He is practicing knee dives into the deep end, can retrieve the sunken whales from the steps by submersing himself to get them and swimming about 5 feet on his own to the steps.  Success!

His Blue Eyes Melt Me

Kennon's eyes speak to me.  They are so bright and beautiful I just want to pick him up and kiss him at every glance and grin.  His personality is blooming and interests growing.  He enjoys big and small adventures and his ever present beautiful baby blues dance with excitement.  Like when....

....we have a spontaneous picnic in the basement on Saturday morning so daddy can sleep after a very long call night....

....and when he watches his brothers sledding down the hill on a crisp snowy day....

...and when he crashes his brothers Valentine's Day party.....

...and when he stands at the stairs rattling the gate like a wild man just begging to tumble down.

A Hypothesis and the Law of Momentum

With winter winds and cold, cold days lingering long into March we have exhausted our options for indoor creativity.  Now, we just keep hitting the repeat button.  As a result, the boys have been watching more TV than I like to admit.  I succumb and give them a free pass hoping there is some educational value in the programming we choose.  Still, though, I feel guilty not offering something a little more structured. 
At the end of a recent long and cold week when we had watched more PBS than I care to admit, Brayden was "helping" me get some projects done while the other boys were napping.  He wanted to "go for a run on the treadmill."  I gave in hoping to get a few things done in my two hours of "free" time.  He ran at his top speed for a couple minutes, turned the treadmill off and walked to the door. 

As he walked to the door - to go sit on the couch and watch more cartoons, no doubt - he said,

Brayden: "Mom, I have a hypothesis." 

Me:  In my trying not to sound surprised voice, "Wow, really, you have a hypothesis?  What is it?

Brayden: "My hypothesis is that once you finishing running on the treadmill and get off to walk on the regular floor it still feels like you are running."

Me:  "Yes, you are correct.  It does still feel like you are running.  That's called momentum and there is a scientific law that explains it....yada, yada, yada." 

Brayden: "So my hypothesis was correct." 

Me: "Yes, the only difference is usually you state the hypothesis before you do the experiment. How, exactly, do you know what a hypothesis is?"

Brayden:  "I learned it from Buddy on Dinosaur Train"

Me:  "Awesome.  That Buddy sure is smart."

From now on, no more guilty feelings for me when the boys watch PBS.  It's educational.  I can prove it.  My five year old understands the law of momentum and the value of a hypothesis.  Sweet! Now, we move onto physics, trig and complex sentence structure.

Unexpected Answers

A few weeks ago Brayden was having a wild behavior phase.  I was at my wits end and Brian had witnessed just enough he wasn't far behind me.  Nothing we tried worked.  I did my best to be consistent and set boundaries, but still our sweet Brayden refused to listen, insisted on learning everything the hard way, was rough with his brothers and dabbled with lying.  I knew this must be a phase and said many prayers for patience and guidance for all of us as we worked through this difficult time.
Just when I was feeling desperate there was a knock at our door (literally).  Our neighbor from across the street was dropping off cookies for us.  We hadn't talked in weeks because of forced hibernation due to weather.  I invited her in to talk.  As we chatted the boys played with her daughter in their room and the living room.  As S was telling me about some recent health problems, her discomfort and concerns, we discussed possible treatment methods and options.  She felt she had explored all of her options and there were still no answers.
Just then Brayden looked up and said, "S, you could talk to God."

Silence...nods.....then eyes filled with tears....then smiles from both S and I.  Nothing more need be said.

S had no idea the situation we had been going through with Brayden, but she looked at me and said, "Abby, you are doing something right."  I so needed to hear that and she needed to hear what Brayden had to say. 

Answers to our prayers often come in the most unexpected times and places and from the most unexpected sources.