...with a husband and 5 sons, I am truly outnumbered....stories and thoughts on life from a mom in a houseful of little men!

Monday, November 26, 2007

Friday, November 16, 2007

Oh the Things That Cause Excitement....

There was excitement in Boyland this morning. Spunky frantically began pointing to the ceiling yelling, "Uh oh! Fly!" Actually, it sounded more like, "Uh oh! Ohiy!" He had discovered a teeny-tiny spider. Trying to assure him that it really was ok, and that we didn't need to execute emergency procedures only proved to cause more of a commotion. The older two now joined in, "What is that? There's a spider on our ceiling!" Spunky busied himself with scooting a chair over in order to reach the fly swatter, and I realized this was not going to blow over. Because the little bugger was at the highest point of the vaulted ceiling, I could not reach the thing, even standing on a chair. Finally I managed to brush him off a little, causing him to dangle down to the floor. In an instant, three pint-sized boys dropped prostrate to the ground, in a fashion that would have impressed any drill sergeant. They examined the arachnid closely, all the while arguing over what his fate should be.
"Don't hurt him!" exclaimed Eaglet.
"Give me the swatter!" countered Bobcat.
Spunky just sat giggling, nudging the poor creature with his nose in order to make him run.
"We can put him outside."
"No! He'll freeze to death!"
"Let's just let him live in our house."
At this point, Mom finally stepped in with the final decision. "He can't live in here. Bobcat, swat him." This was suddenly met with great approval (Boys can be a bit blood-thirsty, in case you haven't noticed.) and we deposited the remains down the sink.

"Ughhhhh", sighed Eaglet. "I wish there was such a thing as spider snow gear."

Saturday, November 10, 2007

Catchin' Up My Blog--Eaglet's Birthday






Hard to believe, but Eaglet is FIVE. We took him to a local indoor playground for his special celebration, followed by lunch, cake, gifts, and a pinata at home afterward. He likes underwater scenes, and so we found him the little treasure chest and scuba diver for his cake. Later, to his delight, we washed it up and added it to his goldfishes' tank. The pinata was a first for our family, and I must admit I was a little worried about it and our houseful of boys. We came away unscathed, however, and it ended up being Grandpa who finally smashed the thing open! I WISH I had a picture of THAT! We were laughing for two days about Grandpa's killer smash.

Catchin' Up My Blog--Our Departed Buddy



Our sweet Laska (AKA Mr. Boy) left us in September. He was 13 years old, and the luckiest dog in the world. There are few families on this planet who would've taken this guy in and loved him for all his days! I say that with great fondness, remembering the wild days of his youth, and how difficult of a dog he was to keep at times! Tony and I adopted this guy from my tech college in 1995. The school obtained several animals from USDA each semester, where we as students, cared for their every need--treated illnesses and gave all necessary shots, treatments, and surgeries--before letting them out for adoption. I will never forget the day we proudly took him home. We moved across the city and upped our rent in order to live in a home where we were allowed a dog. He was our first "baby" and taught us much about commitment, values, and love. It was not easy to keep Laska in his youth. We could publish an entire book of the tales of him digging out and biting through things. We spent oodles of money (money which we did not have in those barely-out-of-college-trying-to-make-our-way days) on fence repair, leash and harness replacement, and copious amounts of rawhide chews. This dog, in those days, was what you'd call high-maintenance! Regardless, we LOVED this dog, and he proved to be one of the most faithful creatures alive. He provided us wonderful companionship, protection, and laughter for many years, even showing gentle patience and loyalty toward our real babies as they were born and have grown. On a cool, crisp, sunny September day this fall, Mr. Boy curled up in his dogloo, drifted off to sleep and then peaceful death. His four canine companions entered into a mournful group howl, and I knew he was gone. It's the end of a chapter in our lives. The boys asked me if dogs go to Heaven. I told them that while the Bible doesn't tell us for sure, I know that animals are very important to God. I for one, believe Mr. Boy's soul is secure in glory.

First Snow on October 14




We had our first snowfall mid-October, but these pictures are actually from the 20th. We thought it'd stay, but it only graced the land for 10 days or so. However, we got about 3 inches this afternoon (November 10) which we expect will stay for the long-haul.

Surprise Visit!





We had a surprise visit from our dear friend Jenni in October! She and her friend had just completed canoeing the MacKenzie River and had vehicle "issues" in Inupik. (Ya just can't trust those barges to haul your truck where and when you hire them to.) Anyway, we were thrilled to have her for a few days....and thrilled for the help painting my treacherously high-ceilinged entryway--thanks, Jen! These pictures are from the day we hiked through Crevasse Moraine Trails and from the boys enjoying a great geography lesson.

Fall in Our Alaska






Here are some shots from the last couple months. We had a gorgeous, long (by Alaska standards), fall this year!

Spunky Update




Looks quiet and innocent, doesn't he? This guy rocks our days with his NOISE and zest for life. Daddy is very relieved, because it appears we have at least one sports-lover in the bunch. I'm amazed at the things that have become "asebowl ats" (baseball bats) and "gockey icks" (hockey sticks). He also picks up on everything the big bros are doing--a few days ago, he was yelling and kicking the snot out of the Thomas the Train play tent. I asked him what he was doing, and in a very bold, serious tone he explained, "ahtee eeups" (karate kiups).

Eaglet Update




Our Li'l Eaglet took his first round of swimming lessons in August and is signed up for his second round starting next week. He began kindergarten this year and is learning to read! We celebrated his turning the big 0-5 in October--can you believe it? His world still revolves largely around drawing trucks and other vehicles. He amazes us with his attention to the finest details on autos. He's also very into music and has declared that he's going to be a songwriter. He quoted, "But I'm warnin' ya! I'm going to be singin' about God!"

Bobcat Update




After taking four months off from "blogland", where does one begin? I'm going to just try and hit the high points (and low points, depending on the case!) for each person in Boyland. Let's begin with Bobcat. Our little gentleman turned the big 0-7 in July, began 2nd grade in September, and proceeded to get a double fracture of the forearm a week before beginning karate. Karate is his latest passion. He's a student at Valley Tang Soo Do, and absolutely LOVES it.