What's your boiling point?

3PM. That's when my creativity, tolerance, and typically good nature start their downhill descent. (Chad, you wouldn't dare say otherwise!)

At nine o'clock in the morning, an un-provoked scream from my three year old, would activate the 'mommy cop' in me and would be dealt with firmly and lovingly in a scenario in which my daughter would gently be directed to the 'corna scene' by loving hands, while I softly remind her that any outburst of that nature will result in punishment. She cooperatively follows because of my uncanny ability to remain calm while appearing disappointed and firm at the same time.

Fast forward to one o'clock. An un-provoked scream from my three old would alert me to the fact that due to the pushing of my husband out the door, the sweeping up of green beans from lunch that somehow made their final resting place the kitchen floor and not the stomach of my children, and the re-directing of my two eldest children's energy to the outdoors, I have somehow forgotten that screaming is a direct sign that nap time is over-due.

With a sigh of exasperation and a sweeping of the hair from my sweating forehead, I call out to her to find her blankie and I lug the two youngest to my bed to prepare them for some sleepy time.

The 15 minutes that I wrestled with the two youngest is just enough to wet my appetite for a real nap but with a 6 and 5 year old wandering unsupervised in the yard, I am acutely aware of the danger of a few extra minutes of rest for myself...at least until I locate them and pop in a movie while I fall onto the couch in exhaustion.

Looking out the window and seeing them digging in the sandbox, I decide that folding the baskets of laundry that have now wrinkled would be the responsible thing to do. Fourteen trips in to get a different toy, go to the bathroom, ask for a "Freezie", tattle on the other, and ask if it's supper time yet, I give up on the hope of finishing the housework today and I walk out into the sweltering garage to join my children in play time until the younger ones awaken.

I immediatley hear the bickering of two kids who can't agree whether or not their new pet spider will eat ants or grass. As soon as they hear me approaching I am met by racing feet and pushing arms as they attempt to be the first to plead their case. Had this scenario happened at say, 10AM, I would have suggested that we Google it and find out.

But not at 3 o'clock. No. I don't give a DANG what a spider eats and there is NO WAY IN HADES that it is coming into my house. I don't care if you named it Ernie! Now get into the house, stop hollering, and don't ask me for anything for the next 15 minutes! (all said in a less than parenting book suggested tone)

So, am I alone here? Or are you all super-parents 24/7? If so, share your secrets...no I take that back. You have the right to remain silent...use it.

My mother would be so disappointed in me....

I know that the importance of chocolate has been discussed here before. I also know that there is a whole range of chocolate lovin' going on out there. While I enjoy and understand the important role that it serves, I do not consider myself a choco-holic.

Chad needs something sweet after most meals...and no folks, he doesn't consider a kiss from me as adequate sweetness. I know, what the heck? Anyway, I'm more of a hormonal chocolate eater (yeah, about once a month hormonal). Most of the time I don't have much adult chocolate (the creme de la creme, DARK CHOCOLATE) in the house, unless I have a bag of chocolate chips in the freezer that I have stashed away for a day when I actually feel like baking.

Well, about a week ago now, I had just kissed the heads of the three oldest as dad took them to their rooms for stories and prayers. I grabbed the littlest fart-sack and headed to my bed to relax and unwind via the television. As I walked through the kitchen I felt an overwhelming need for chocolate. DARK CHOCOLATE. I didn't want some, I needed some. And not later...YESTERDAY, needed it.

I checked the freezer for chocolate chips...nothing. I checked the cupboard for a hunk of dark chocolate that my sister-in-law had brought me from Hawaii NINE months ago...nothing, I checked the cupboard where I keep treats that I don't want Chad to find...nothing. I was desperate. I needed chocolate in any form. No M&M's in Kate's new M&M dispenser, no rock hard store bought cookies in the cupboard, no chocolate sugar wafers, no Coco Puffs cereal, no fragmented chocolate shavings in ice cream....NOTHING!!!

I grabbed a glass of water and sadly walked to the bedroom. As I plunked down on my bed I couldn't help but wonder how disappointed my mom would be in me. No chocolate in the house? Whose daughter am I?

Silly songs with Heidi

I have a tendency, I'd like to call it a talent, to make up silly songs and rhymes with my kids. I inherited this annoying trait from my grandfather, who passed it down to my father and here it is with me.

When the kids were born, I created a little jingle using the spelling of their somewhat long names, set to music, and all different...hoping that hearing it from birth would aid the pre-school teachers in getting them to write their names. It's worked so far.

Anyway...to the point of today's post. At breakfast, the kids were eating their Trix while I was drinking my coffee and I noticed that the teasing and fighting over cereal boxes was about to ensue. Not being especially inclined to listening to the screams that would soon follow or being alert enough to dole out punishments so early in the day, I tried a distraction technique. I'll sing a silly song to them! (Yeah, kind of like Silly Songs with Larry.)

Here's what I came up with, and obviously this is sung to a catchy little tune...but no video blog here!

• I have four kids, and they are all SPECTACULAR...but each one is the most spectacular at something quite unique.


• I have four kids, and they are all SPECTACULAR...but Nicholas is the most spectacular at building Lego Robots.


• I have four kids, and they are all SPECTACULAR...but Olivia is the most spectacular at hitting the T-Ball.


• I have four kids, and they are all SPECTACULAR...but Katharine is the most spectacular at making people laugh.


• I have four kids, and they are all SPECTACULAR...but Andrew is the most spectacular at giving cuddly hugs.
  

(well actually that isn't the first song i sang to them. the first one had each one being mayor of 'dork ville', 'stinky ville', 'crabby ville', 'whiny ville')

Okay, I didn't say I was a very creative jingle maker. But honestly, set to a tune, this was pretty catchy...and you wouldn't believe the way they waited quietly to hear what they were spectacular at.

I followed up the silly song with this conversation:

"Guys, we are all good at different things. No one is the BEST at everything," interrupted with, "Ya-huh, Jesus is!" "Yes, Jesus is pretty good at everything, but He still uses us to be His light here on earth." ANYWAY... continuing, "What is something that daddy is good at?" Stumbling over each other with answers I heard: being a coach, throwing baseballs, fixing stuff, working like an engineer, wrestling us...

"Okay guys, what is mommy good at?": Getting mad at us. Being crabby. Oh yeah, I did get 'cooking' too. Lovely. Apparently they don't see my jingle composing as a talent.

Baby's got a hatchet!

No, that is not the title to my favorite country song. That is just one of many phrases uttered this past weekend while camping with my family. Seriously, baby had a hatchet.

We spent lazy hours by the water and campfire. It was nice just to relax and fry ourselves like chicken in the sweltering heat.

I managed to get a hole in one in our first game of Bocce...which by the way, is not the point of the game. I somehow managed to roll a ball into a water drainage pipe and get it stuck. Yay for me! It took all of the men's efforts to figure out how to get it out, but they did indeed get it out. The game was canceled.

Shane reminded the kids repeatedly to "Stay with your tribe!" as they began to wander off, however, he managed to wander off and make friends with another tribe himself.

The Double Mint twins dominated the Cowboy Golf Tournament. Taking out even their youngest opponents, Nicholas and a new buddy named Andy. Way to go guys.

All in all we had a great time as a family and are looking forward to another go at it next year. I'd love to stay and chat but I have to get the rest of the dirt out from under my fingernails...so enjoy the slideshow.
(put the cursor over the picture for the caption)

Disposable parenting?

Everything from gladware to marriage is disposable these days.

Sometimes I feel like I'm drowning as I struggle to swim upstream against the cultural currant to teach my kids the value of money and therefore respect for the blessings that we have in our life.

My mother-in-law still has sandbox toys that my husband played with 30 years ago. Albeit they have seen better days, rain and sun have done their damage, but they still exist. I just finished throwing out last years junk sandbox toys in preparation for the new ones we'd be getting for this year. Replacing one 99 cent shovel for another.

Does anyone fix anything any more, or do we just throw it out and get new? When was the last time you looked in the yellow pages for a man to fix your vacuum, your VCR or DVD player, your zipper, your microwave, your bicycle? Or how about a marriage retreat? Fix it? What? We just throw it out and buy new. About the only thing we will call a repair man for is our vehicles and even that mentality is quickly becoming foreign to us. We drive it until the warranty is gone then trade it off for something better.

How do I teach my children that our time equals money and our money equals things and our things need to be respected so that we don't have to work so much to get more, if everything that we buy can be replaced and thrown out when we break it or tire of it?

This is one area of parenting in which I feel like I am losing the battle. I want them to know and comprehend, that all that they are and all that they have is a gift from God. Not an entitlement, not a privilege, not a right. A GIFT. Why is this such a difficult lesson to teach?

Hey Just Mom...here's one for ya!

Mommy's Law #WHATEVER:

Just upon completion of washing all bedding, potty-trained three year old will have an accident at nap time.

For more Mommy's Laws visit Just Mom here. Check the side bar.

Father's Day Tradition

I'm sure I'll be corrected if I'm wrong...but this was our fourth go at this Father's Day tradition. And yes, I am responsible for creating this tradition. (Thank you very much. I'll pat myself on the back, don't bother.)

When Chad became a father I realized quickly how important it was to find a way to celebrate fatherhood including all of the men in our life. Instead of dividing our time we wanted to mulitple the love.

What man doesn't enjoy a little race car competition? That first year we invited Chad's siblings, my siblings, and our father's to join us at the race track and then at a local park by the river for lunch afterward. Four years later our group has welcomed more and more into the fun and each year we all look forward to our time together.

It's such a great way to spend the day celebrating men who have such an impact in our children's lives. Some kids don't even have dad's who treasure them...my kids are blessed beyond measure with love and devotion by some incredible men.

We weren't without the usual shenanigan's from a certain Mr. James Comes...he manages to cause a few wrecks each year. None of the men are too keen on following the rules of "no weaving, bumping, or cutting off of other drivers". Kate managed to get a shiner and Olivia a bruised neck and pinched finger. Nothing a little kiss and hug wouldn't fix though.

Thank you all so much for making this a tradition. Thank you for putting up with the heat, the crying kids, and the bossy women. Thank you for enriching our lives by being examples of God's love to your family...and to mine.

Our tradition was altered slightly this year, to include the celebration of a beautiful little girl who celebrated her fourth birthday on Father's Day. Madison Ann was surrounded by love on her big day and we all enjoyed some fun at the lake.

Just thought I'd share

Princess Abbi-Chanko has been baptized. No, Andrew is not a man of the cloth, but I'm pretty sure that after surviving that full body dunk in the pool, Abbi-Chanko deserves a free pass into the great life ever-after.

No picture to accomodate this post, as I felt that it would be considered animal cruelty to make her remain in the pool while I ran for the camera. Unfortunately, her little razor like kitty claws left some pin holes in our kiddie pool, making it the fastest deflate yet to date.

***Family: pictures of our Annual Father's Day activities will be posted tomorrow!

Happy Father's Day

If there is any question as to the way that I feel about my dad, you can read about it here and here. I love you dad! Happy Father's Day.
___________________________________________________

The father to my children:

teaches, prays, protects, defends, wrestles, plays, laughs, respects, encourages, disciplines, adores, brags, cries, listens, directs, hopes, naps, provides, volunteers, shares, marvels, kisses, forgives, involves, hugs, jokes, builds, attends, loves, cares, grows...

He is a blessing like none other. The love and devotion that he has for us is only superseded by his love and devotion to Christ. I can not imagine riding this roller coaster of parenthood with any less of a man by my side. I love you Chad, you are an amazing father.

Dad, this Don Williams is for you because I know how much you love his music, and Chad this is for you, because you know how much I love you. Everyone else...enjoy.

A new day

Today is a new day.

Even though I will feel the urge (many times), I will not yell...as a fool gives full vent to his anger, and a wise (wo)man calmly thinks before speaking.

Even though I received a phone call that annoyed me early on in my day...I'll try to forget it and remember that I too, annoy people regularly.

Even though I have a load of things to do that I don't really want to...I will do them with love instead of indignation.

Even though the girls will ask 100 times to do something fun...I will not turn on the television to avoid their not-so helpful hands.

Even though my husband appears clueless to the amount of time and energy that is drained from me daily....I will not make him pay for his ignorance.

Even though it would be easier to run to McDonald's for lunch...I will use the resources in my home to make our meal.

Even though the time used for a walk could be used for something more productive....I will remember that my body is a temple that's in need of some maintenance.

Even though the chocolate is screaming for me to take it out of it's confining wrapper....I will leave it there for a day that is not as good as this one.

According to my kids

4 classifications of cheese:

according to my children

string cheese

square cheese

shredded cheese

stinky cheese

Any questions?

Ode to the Carnival

How do I get talked into this stuff? Seriously.

The traveling "carnival", and I use that term to mean, vile, disgusting, disturbing, bacterial, atrocious, freakin' scary form of entertainment, came to town last weekend. Not a big deal to me.

My hard-working and observant husband (the carnival is set up right outside his office) came home Friday from work and said, "Hey the carnival's in town!", with an odd amount of cheerfulness, then added, "it looks pretty rough though." I responded, "The people are always creepy at that stuff, Chad." He said, "No, I mean like duct-taped up rides, creepy." I volunteered, "Well, we don't need to go then." To which he said, "Well, not that creepy."

So, we went. How bad could it really be, right? Besides, I had read just earlier that day that two very classy moms were taking their kids. And kids don't mind creepy people...that just adds some flavor. I wasn't a very enthusiastic attendee and made sure that my husband knew just how badly I opposed his attempt at family fun. He was so happy he brought me along, I could tell. Once we actually got to the carnival, even his cheerfulness seemed dim compared to the odd population and foul stenches emanating from the area.

Being a people watcher I let my eyes wander over the sea of faces looking for one familiar face that would ease the panic constricting my airways and threatening to send me into hyperventilation. Who were these people? Granted we've only lived here for two short years, and I don't get out much, but I was beginning to wonder if we had entered the twilight zone. Not the gas station clerk, not the lady that rings me up at the grocery store, not the Librarian, no local law enforcements officers, not the kids from our church youth group, not the ladies at the gym, not the book store clerk....NO ONE FAMILIAR!

"Chad, this is not a good sign...why don't we recognize anyone here?" I muttered under my breath. "Oh relax, I told you I saw Ferber here earlier," he replied.

Determined to carry on like this was another day at Disneyland, we made our way to the ticket counter. The fine young maiden running the traveling E Coli booth suggested that we purchase the 20 sheet of tickets for $15. Done.

As we browsed about at our ride options we were indecisive as to which wonder we should experience first: The Spinning Tea Cups, which used to be green but now were a lovely shade of RUST, The Spinning Apples, which we were informed by a nice young man had been the trigger to a vomiting incident just earlier that day, The Carousel, The Circling Pink Elephants, The Ferris Wheel, that only allowed four of the 12 cars to be filled, or the gas powered miniature Viking Ship...yes, lawn-mower-engine-gas-powered...the vroom, vroom noises of this one were exhilarating.

Well, ride they did. But $30 later, I was more certain than ever that this would be our last hoorah as Carnies.

*editor's note: we did run into one family that we consider friends, they were stumbling around looking as horrified as we were. in their defense, they moved here just months after we did..... thankfully they agreed to ditch the dump and meet us back at our house for a pleasant bon fire!

Drumroll please.....

Thank you all for your creative input. There were many great suggestions and ideas, but ultimately it came down to the kids' preference and ability to pronounce!

Kerrie, I ceremoniously dub you "creative genius". Sorry, that's all you get.

So here is the kitty's new name, although we all know that she'll get called Kitty more than anything else.

Princess Abbi-Chanko

The 'princess' is an honorary title that all Comes women receive in this house. Abbi was one of the kids' first choices and Andrew already knew how to say that. And Chanko, well, that's just pure genius! If you missed it, it is the first letter of each of our names...courtesy of Miss Kerrie Meyer.

Thanks everyone!

Calling all creativity

Well, my brother was right in his prediction that we would be adding a member to the family soon. I didn't want to address his comments at the time because I wanted our close family to be the first to know- so I cleverly ignored his insinuations. But my oh my, how the rumors started to fly.

We brought this calico home with us after our trip north over Memorial Day weekend. When we don't have a pet, I can ramble off a list a mile long of pet names that I think would be so cool..... but now, I got nothin'!

The kids keep asking what her name is and I just can't decide. I have been open to their suggestions but it changes daily and ranges from Princess (go figure) to Yoda (imagine that).

So here's the deal. I want you all to help us name our kitty. We like fun names and it doesn't necessarily have to be gender specific, well because folks...it's a CAT!

Knock me out with your creativity.

Camping, is it IN you?

There are two types of people:

-Those who camp.

-Those who wish they could.

What is it about camping that draws us all? I know that some of you are thinking, "Are you serious? I hate camping!" I have been there and said that. But what I really hated, was that I wasn't a 'camper'. I didn't have what it took to rough it, dig in, and be at one with nature. I've never hated the idea of camping, I have just drug my heels at the thought of getting unnecessary dirt under my fingernails.

I think it is in us all...that desire to get out there and smell the scent of camp fire smoke, get sticky fingers as we roast a marshmallow, and feel the pride as we eat an entire meal cooked over charcoal.

We have tossed around the idea, as I think MANY have, of whether or not camping would become part of our family history. Would we join the millions of Americans who make camping their summer recreation? Both of us have fond family memories of moments shared in a tight camper on a rainy night and laughter around the glow of a fire. We knew we wanted that for our kids, but did we have it in us to give it to them?

I'm not talking financially here. Buying a luxury camper was never part of the equation. I'm not knocking them, because at some point (retirement) I could definitely see myself owning one. But both Chad and I knew that something much more rustic was our style (and budget!). Something upgraded from tenting it but far short of a luxury resort. So we landed in the middle with a pop-up tent camper.

That's right. We took the plunge. We bought what many before us have had and one year later sold. We are determined to enjoy this decision not regret it.

What else forces you to sleep in one small place AS A FAMILY? Forces you to say your prayers all together out under the stars looking up at the heavens created by our God? Forces you to laugh as you all cover your noses because the beans eaten at supper are digesting faster on some than others? Forcing you to give up conveniences that really just pull us apart?

No, I don't yet know if I have it in me...I don't especially like being dirty and smelling like smoke. But I do love the look on my children's faces when they fall exhausted into bed with mud smeared across their foreheads and sand in their hair and they smile a smile that exudes an inner peace they themselves can not understand.

So, anyone up for a weekend away?

Taking the bad with the good

The bad news:

I've waited and waited for my Kohl's package, containing my new Capri's, to arrive. It came, and they don't fit....

The good news:

...they are too big!

The bad news:

I'll have to drive to the store and return them....

The good news:

...to get a smaller pair!

The bad news:

I could end up spending more money....

The good news:

....on smaller Capri's!


Oh yeah, I'm doing that happy dance now! "It's my birthday, got my car fixed, new bumper...."

I wonder if...?

Recently I was honored to be asked by two special people to write a letter of recommendation for them. It didn't take me more than 2.5 seconds to say, "YES!".

As I sat down to type, a flood of memories came rushing back. These were two people that I've known since childhood. And while I could have written a short story about our escapades as teenagers and times shared together way back when, I refrained from revealing those personal moments and instead focused on the adult-version of my friends...who those teenagers became.

As the words flowed from my brain to my fingers I was overwhelmed with how much love and respect I have for them. It was not a challenge in any way to answer the 7 or 8 questions about who they are as people and what defines them.

As I finished up my last sentence, I realized that it shouldn't take a letter of recommendation for me to share the goodness I see in my friends. It shouldn't take someone asking me to volunteer what is in my heart. It shouldn't be at someones funeral that I take time to remember when.

I have been blessed with so many amazing people in my life...I know it, but do they?

Which is it?

a) Each child gets easier after the first.
-thus farly :-), nic has been our most challenging child. but some things have gotten easier simply because we've had more practice and more of an understanding that "this too shall pass".

b) Our expectations for each child after the first, go down.
-for us, things like potty training, sleeping through the night, eating everything put in front of...etc. have definitely become less of an issue. we realize that some things are not worth the path to insanity that they surely lead to. behaviourally, we have not lowered our expectations...we have altered our beliefs about what is reality and what is fantasy though.


c) We become better parents with each additional child.
-i don't say this to mean that if you have 10 children you are 10X the parent compared to someone with one. i mean that we learn from our successes and failures and for us it's only natural to assume that we get better with more practice and more personalities to challenge us. we work better as a team, we are better at backing each other up, etc. if we weren't getting better at it then we aren't growing. we trust God completely to give us guidance and perseverance.


d) All of the above.
-for me and Chad it wouldn't be accurate to say that only one of these are true. parenting is a learning process for us, and we know that we have miles to go before we finish the marathon. we rely heavily on prayer and trust that with Christ we are MORE THAN CONQUERORS!

10 things you'll probably never hear me say....

1. ~I can't explain it, I can just eat and eat and eat and never gain a pound!

2. ~You guys don't need to pick up your toys....really, I enjoy doing it.

3. ~I get way more sleep than necessary.

4. ~Big boobs? Who wants em?

5. ~Kids put down your books and let's play Play-doh!!

6. ~I'd like to order the Prime Rib.

7. ~Chocolate won't solve anything.

8. ~Don't mind the screaming, my kids are just expressing themselves.

9. ~No, really one beer is enough.

10. ~Sure hon, we can unhook the internet.