My left chi

Jack has been having bad dreams this last week. His bad dreams is that "No one will EVER get me a Thomas turn-table." He still loves to do his homework and actually asks each day if he can sit down with me for some homework. He stabbed himself in the eye the other day with his homework pencil. As he was trying to show me which eye was hurting, he stabbed himself again. I felt horrible that it was so hard to not sit there and laugh at his little comedy of errors.

A few days ago I heard a minor ruckus upstairs. I didn't go tromping up to see what happened. I figured I would wait it out and see if anyone started to cry or fight. I only had a few seconds of silence before I heard Jack quietly calling out "Mommy, my chi hurts." I asked him to repeat himself and he said "My left chi hurts." I smiled and asked if we needed to work on opening his chakras. He pointed to his face and said "Mommy, vat's not funny. I told you my left chi hurts." I still wanted to make cracks about opening up his chakras, but he's four.

If you, dear reader, are interested in opening up any of your chakras, you can go to: www.eclecticenergies.com/chakras/chakratest.php (I can't get a link to post in this silly blog.)

I cut the boys' hair on Sunday. Jack agreed to the ordeal only after he negotiated for a slinky. Wy wasn't having it until I mentioned chocolate. He stopped on a dime and said "OK." He was only calm as long as he had a chocolate in his mouth and one in his hand at all times.

Every Monday morning I spend a good long while working up a menu and grocery list for the whole week. In an attempt to save money on the grocery bill, I try to figure out meals that don't have too many ingredients, have inexpensive ingredients, are foods that the kids MIGHT eat and keep some variety going. Feeding 10-11 people healthful meals on a LOW budget is very challenging. Once I put all the groceries away, my menu gets posted on the refrigerator.

My two favorite things about this menu are: 1. I don't have to figure out what I'm going to cook after a long day and 2. The kids aren't bugging me about "what's for dinner?" They just look at the menu! We operate off of this menu so much that Jack will ask me "What is for breakfast?" I tell him and he replies with "Is that on the menu?"

What is everyone else's favorite part about the menu? Friday night. I work nearly every Friday night and have found the fam really likes to get out from under my menu thumb when I am away. I now have Friday night's dinner listed as "GET OUT OF JAIL FREE CARD" and allow the family to pick/purchase/prepare dinner that night. 90% of the time that means a call to Pizza Hut.

Wy has discovered that the bottom shelf of my little kitchen island is a perfect hiding spot. He loves to pull all the lunchboxes out onto the floor so he can crawl into his little spot. He and Jack remind me of the cats - whenever Libby finds a new cozy spot in which to doze, Gracie makes her move and takes over the newly discovered hang out.


Before I go, please pray for two friends of mine. One is going through serious health issues with her father and the other is going through serious health issues with her child. My heart aches for both of these women.

Blessings on you and yours,
Owenland Park.

Jess' mask

Jess is studying Romeo & Juliet in her English class. The teacher asked each student to pick a character and create a mask. Here is the beginning of Jess' mask for Romeo. She picked red, gold and yellow sequins and feathers to symbolize the "fiery nature of Romeo's passion for Juliet" as she put it. She says her teacher was impressed with the finished mask. From what Jess tells us, a lot of the other kids used paper plates as the base for their masks.

Wy came down with pink eye the other weekend. I have no idea how he got it. I bless the Dr. who didn't want to drag us out to the office that Saturday morning in the ice - he just called in an RX. Getting Wy to endure the eye drops was a Herculean feat. We finally managed to get him to cooperate by popping chocolate in his mouth and hold him down long enough to get a drop in each eye.

What I found super puzzling was the fact that Wy had an uber crusty case of it but all the other kids were fine...That is until 3 days later when Devlyn came down with a puffy faced version that looked like we had been punching her only she hadn't bruised. Then the next morning Jack's eyes were crusted over...All 3 kids suffered5 days of eye drops in the morning and at bedtime. We went through a lot of chocolate.

Jack went to see Life on the Mississippi with me on Saturday. He ran a few sound cues in the booth. You should have seen his head whip around when he ran a boat whistle sound cue - this cue sounds EXACTLY like his train whistles. He begged and begged to do it again. I told him he had to wait till the show was over and he could run it as much as he wanted. We had our archival photo shoot after the show that day and I let Jack run that sound cue between each set up. The cast thought it was so funny how happy and bouncy Jack would get every time he ran the cue. It was very nice of them to put up with that. Later that evening, John and I took Jack to see Around the World in 80 Days at the Rep. I got pretty worried that we would have to leave as he started getting pretty squirrely near intermission and throughout Act II. Then as we were leaving, the couple in front of us commented on how well behaved he was! Jack said his favorite parts were the super loud boat's whistle and what he called 'the banging part' This was the big gun battle in act 2.

Please say a some prayers for my friend Shannon and her family. Shannon's dad had three heart attacks in 36 hours and is having a valve replaced and a triple bypass on Monday.

My little nephew, Noah was helping his daddy fix breakfast last weekend when he slipped his hand past his dad and laid it palm down on the piping hot glass top stove. The little guy has a large 2 degree burn covering his palm.

Jack & Wy got little blasa wood models for Christmas. John helped Jack put together his jet enjine weeks ago. Poor Wy has been waiting patiently for us to help him with his race car. I finally sat down with him last night and we put it together. The directions were so utterly un-helpful and confusing that I thought my brain was going to explode. Anyway, Wy named his car Frankenstien, said we would paint it orange and then he was going to drive me to the candy store. I thought this was a brilliant idea as I deserved a piece of candy after all the brain trauma I endured in putting that car together.

Jack is still doing 'homework' nearly every day. He has discovered the Instrument point. For days I had no idea what he was talking about, until he was reading something to me and he ended the sentence by saying "instrument point" He meant exclamation point.

I hope to be get back to more informative and regular updates. I have had a couple of rough weeks and my spirits have been low. Lucky for me I have the best guy in town and he has some great shoulders for my tired head.

Love and blessings,
Owenland Park.

Paint, paint, pain...

We switched the kids' rooms. I painted both rooms, Devon and Mom picked up new curtains for the girls' room. And since we were in the midst of all the paint, I went ahead and painted my room too. The kids all seem to be adjusting to their new rooms very well. The girls seem to have a bit of an attachment to their old room as I'm constantly kicking them out of the boys' room. (We have a rule that the boys are not allowed in the girls' room nor are they allowed to hang around at the door and the reverse is true of the girls in regards to the boys' room.)The photos don't show it very well, but the kids' rooms are the same color. And my room is now a lovely dark grey - it also doesn't show up well - but whatever.

The dryer bit the dust. Mom & Dad picked up a new one this weekend at the NFM. Laundry backs up fast when you have 10 people in 1 house and the dryer is taking 4 full cycles to dry the clothes...Who knows when I will get around to learning how to use the thing. It took 6 months before I would even touch the washing machine - it has more buttons and options that my computer...

On the school front, Jess is has just wrapped up her first week at the local HS. Abby brought home all As & Bs. Great job!!! Connie is pushing harder and harder against doing getting her homework or any other chore completed - I'm not sure what is up with that.

That sums it up for this week. Love and blessings to you all.
Amy & the gang.

I won't do it again, Mommy

Jack is fond of playing "car". I often find the kids setting up chairs and telling long involved tales of where they are going to or coming from. Jack describes in detail how he starts the car: "I has to push a green button, then put on my glasses and open the garage door. Ven we drive off." He makes wild driving motions that indicate he has just ripped the steering wheel off the column and out the window or through his head. The part I find odd though, is that he drives from the front passenger seat.


The other week, Jack came upstairs to tell me I needed to go look at what Wyatt did. Wy had gotten ahold of a dry erase marker and colored all over the sofa slip cover, the wall and the floor. There is no saving the slip cover and the wall has to be painted over. I gave Wy a magic eraser and made him clean up the floor and chair that he scribbled on. He scrubbed and chanted "I won't do it again, mommy. I won't do it again?" I said Thank you and told him he still had to clean it up.

Wy has been sleeping without his passer for a little over a week now. The first night wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be. They boys and I laid down in my bed and I let Wy hold his pacifier. He carressed it against his cheek. He rolled over to put his face in the pillow so he could sneak the passer into his mouth. He cried 'I just want to hold it in my mouf'. He was restless and it took forever for him to fall asleep but he eventually drifted off. Then John came to bed, moved Wy into his own bed and all holy hell broke loose. Wy had not been asleep for very long and was so sleepy that he didn't even know what he was upset about. He sat up, half asleep on the edge of his bed and wailed until I came in and rocked him to sleep. The next few nights were easier, but it still takes him quite a while to settle down. He is also waking up in a fit every night around 3 or 4 and not quieting back down until he can slip into bed with John and I.

The boys and I went to have lunch with John last Monday. As we were sitting in the lobby a pretty 20-something young lady walked by. I thought 'One day, the boys will flirt with pretty girls like her.' Then Wyatt said "Hey!" He said it to the girl who just walked by and he sounded just like Joey from Friends. It was nuts. The girl kept going. Wy looked at me and said "Mommy, she did not say hi to me." I said "I know, buddy. I don't think she was expecting to be hit on by a 2 year old today."

OK - on to the headlines...
Jess has come home from Omaha this past weekend. She has been enrolled in high school here in O.P. and there ya have it.

Since Jess is back we are switching the kids' bedrooms. I have painted both rooms this week and we will make the big switcheroo before the weekend is over. Mom kept suggesting the kids move into her room while she and Dad move into the guest room but I nixed that. The boys' room is bigger than the girls' room. We will just switch them out. If that doesn't work, we will go from there.

Beth is very sad that she has to find a real job and thus can't watch the kids anymore. My cousin Monica is watching the kids for a few weeks till we get something set up.

And my sister Melanie is taking college classes! She had her first class this week and we are very proud she is able to get her hands on this long time goal of hers. Good luck!!!

Another Story from Jack

Yesterday Jack told me he wanted to tell me another story. I said ok and sat down to listen. He said "No, Mommy, at the computer." So off we went to the computer.

One Day on the Island
By Jackson T. Owen

One day on the island, Thomas was looking for machines. Sir Topham Hatt said “Whoah, Tomas, I want you to look for the machines but they might be lost. They might be at the quarry or the beach.” Alfie the new engine found more and more and more machines that were hiding in bushes and curtains and at Tidmouth Sheds. There was a diesel engine, his name was Diesel 10. He was going to get the engines, even Thomas. He said ‘I AM GOING TO GET YOU!!!” Thomas said ‘No you won’t!” Sir Topham Hatt said “WAKE UP ENGINES!” They waked up and said “What? What! WHAT WHAT WHAT???” Sir Topham Hatt said Mr. Mail’s car is broken down. We need new tires!

Victor said "Every engine broken? Ooooohhhhh. I don’t have any tires." Thomas went back to the sheds and told Sir Topham Hatt that Sodor's Sheds didn’t have any tires. Sir Topham Hatt said "WHAT THERES NO TIRES AT THE SODOR STEAMWORKS?" The end.

8 Deluxe Crackers

Mom picked up a package of 8 Deluxe Crackers for the kids to open on New Year's Eve. Of course we didn't do it New Year's Eve Evening. We did manage to get around to it the following evening.

As crazy as this sounds, none of the adults present had ever popped open one of these things before. We were all expecting something along the lines of those little champagne bottles you pop open on the 4th of July. That being the case, John laid out a sheet to catch all the debris. Let me tell you, when a person expect streamers to fly out all over the room, that person ends up being disappointed when all she gets is a "POP" and the task of digging out a folded up paper crown, a joke card and a little plastic toy...

I will now share the 8 Deluxe Cracker jokes with you. (Aren't you the lucky ones?)

What is grey and has four legs and a trunk?
A mouse going on holiday!

How do you make a band stand?
Hide all the chairs!

What did the hat say to the scarf?
You hang around while I go on ahead!

What do you get if you cross a parrot with a centipede?
A walkie-talkie!

What did the mayonnaise say to the fridge?
Close the door, I'm dressing!

When do spare parts from Japanese cars start falling out of the sky?
When it's raining Datsun cogs!

Where do little fish go each morning?
To plaice school.
(I don't get this one, but I never was the sharpest tack in the box...)

What is green and bounces around the garden?
A spring onion!

Of courser(Wy responds to many questions with "Of courser, Mommy!") my little plastic toy was the only whistle in the bunch. Jack simply will not leave me alone about it. He wants this whistle. He wants this whistle bad. He wants this whistle WICKED BAD! I am not going to give him this whistle. There is no way I can keep a handle on my sanity if anyone is running around this house blowing for Jesus. (Cuz you know they aren't going to blow it softly people.)

OK - the dongle is still not functioning - I will have to get a new one, upload pictures and get back to you all.

And so my friends,
Happy New Year, with love!
From Owenland Park.

Don't leave about me!

Wy has officially entered a separation anxiety phase. He constantly wants to be held "up high" and tries to have melt-downs if we don't pick him up. He also tells us repeatedly "don't leave about me." The only way I can not giggle at him is to say "Wy, I will never leave about you."

Our cat Libby has a unique bond with Wyatt. He is the only one of the kids that she will hang out with. She sits with him. She lets him pet her. She lets him hug her(sometimes). She snuggles him up at nap time. She even sleeps in his bed. He calls her "my special cat".

We are very slowly working on potty training Wyatt. We aren't making much progress, but oh well. I promise not to inundate you with so many bathroom stories this time around. However, I will share with you that Wy is obsessed with "two drops". Anytime I ask him if he has to go to the potty, he says "Yes, I has to make two drops" then he sits on the potty forever. Or he answers me with "No, I just made two drops" and runs off. He is though, starting to let us know when he needs clean pants - so that is a step in the right direction.

When I am cross, Wy likes to tell me that I should go to a dance with him. He tells me that daddy should come too and gammy and poppie.

Someone gave all the kids stuffed animals for Christmas. Jack's is a white dog with a silver lightning bolt stitched into his side. The tag on his collar reads "Bolt". Jack loves this thing. He sleeps with his arms wrapped around its neck. Jack's bed is near a window in his room. I have found the curtain pulled back and the little dog propped up so he can look out the window while the kids are elsewhere in the house playing.

Most of the kids all had the opportunity to see Little House on the Prairie a few times each. After their initial viewing I allowed Jackc, Connie and Abby to take turns coming to the theatre with me for a day or two. There was a lot of music in the show and the kids saw it enough that they all run around the house singing songs from the show. This is normally fine by me but I'm right tired of hearing Old Dan Tucker. This "of courser" is their FAVORITE song in the entire world. When one of them starts in on it, all the rest of them join in.

My Aunt Johanna tells me that kids don't understand sarchasm. She is right. Sometimes though, I find it hilarious that the kids don't get it. My favorite example of this is a conversation I have started to have repeatedly with Jack and Wy. It goes something like this -

Mommy, do you know what?
No, I never met him.
What?
I said, I never met him.
Oh. Do you know what?
No. I never met him.
Don't say that, Mommy.
OK.
Um, Mommy, do you know what?
No, I never met him.
Mommy, I want you to say something else.
Ok, 'something else.
MOMMY!
By this time I am hysterical.

I want my Aunt Johanna to know that the 6 year old is beginning to get it. At dinner the other night, Connie asked John where his parents live. John said he dad lives in Chicago but his mom died a few years ago. Connie looked down at her plate. She looked up again and asked "Did she swallow a horse?" (This of course comes from the book - I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. Throughout the book, the old woman swallows various animals until the end "I know an old lady who swallowed a horse. She's dead of course.") I was horrified by this question and was on the verge of telling Connie that what she had said was rude. Then John started to giggle. I looked up at Connie who had the goofiest grin on her face. She knew she was asking a silly question.

Jack, Devlyn & Wy run around calling out OH-BAMA! It sounds like a 4 year old political rally, but I think Wy simply overheard and mis-repeated Emeril's "Bam!"

Finally, when bedtime gets out of control for the girls, one of them invariably has to grab her pillow and blanket and lay down in the hallway until folks can settle down. The other night jacktold me he wanted to sleep in the hallway. I finally gave in when he started to cry about it. So, here is Jack, curled up on the hard wood floor...

OK - I can't upload any pictures right now because my dongle is broken...
But, because I'm way behind on getting things posted, I will post now and add pictures later.

That's it for this one.
Love, from Owenland Park.