Random Adorable Pics - 2

The top two pics are of Joey and Jack fighting with chocolate pudding, and the pudding won! I'm kidding...they were having pudding for dessert. The other two pics are of Jack and his second best friend (James would be first!), Duke. Jack L~O~V~E~S his dog!

Random Adorable Pics

Joey, on Father's Day, at the park drinking for the first time from a drinking fountain.

Done Before Noon!

So I decided to keep track of all the things I do before noon. BK (before kids), I wasn't even CONSCIOUS before 12:00, so I thought, maybe, when I am old and lonely, I could look back and see what a nightmare my days are...smile. So, in no particular order, here are the events from 6 am to noon.

Made coffee. Drank coffee. Ahhhhhhh.

Washed the kitchen floor.

Applied 2 band aids.

Infiltrated my lungs with poisonous, and potentially cancer-causing materials. Bad for the body, but oh-so-good for the mind.

Scrubbed the toilet.

Played I Spy with my 5 year old.

Wrote a blog post about all the things I do before noon.

Threw out a vaguely familiar container of green goo from the refrigerator.

Vacuumed 4 1/2 pounds of cereal off of the dining room floor.

Cursed my Dad for buying the boys 60 mini boxes of cereal.

Called Poison Control to find out if having your child eat enough Tums to fill his cheeks like a chipmunk would induce a coma. (No...but it may cause a tummy ache...just FYI)

Washed 3 loads of laundry.

Assembled 2 puzzles.

Popped a zit (sorry!).

Donned a HAZMAT suit to disinfect the kitchen table.

Payed bills. Sigh.

Delivered (yes...DELIVERED) lunch to my husband who is working from home today.

Worked on the plans for our trip.

Broke up...ahhhhh.....crap, I dunno....50 fights.

Scheduled karate lessons.

Marveled in the incredible intelligence of my children.

Imagined smacking my husband for telling me he "needs some quiet time" while I was talking to him.

Made breakfast, a snack and lunch.

Put 2 kids in time out (you figure out which ones...smile).

Swept the kitchen floor.

Gave and received a bazillion, yes, a bazillion hugs.

Changed my husband's address (long story).

Wiped several butts.

Searched out and destroyed the item causing an awful odor in the laundry room.

Answered no less than 25 questions that, to my kids, seemed of utmost importance.

Cleaned the outside of the refrigerator.

Got 3 kids dressed.

Found 2,739 ITTY-BITTY Lego pieces on the floor and put them away. AGAIN.

Changed 3 dirty diapers.

Made my bed.

Had at least 5 daydreams.

Washed 3 different kinds of fruit.

Folded and put away 4 loads of laundry.

Sorted through a forest of stray papers and mail that has accumulated on my desk.

Sourced the location of both the DVD and book of the next Harry Potter I am reading to James.

Wondered how, with all that gets done around here, I could possibly be so fat.

Top 5

TOP 5 WAYS YOU KNOW YOU ARE A MOM

1) When everyone, including you, is sick, you are the only one NOT in bed. AND you are cleaning the house.

2) You not only READ and UNDERSTAND the ingredient labels on food, you can pronounce Ferrous Sulfate, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Monosodium Glutamate and Disodium Phosphate.

3) Instead of art, you see nothing wrong with having your walls filled with ever changing pictures of kids and their activities.

4) Instead of spending several hundred dollars on a new purse or pair of shoes, you spend it on sports leagues and memberships to the Children's Museum.

5) You spend weeks planning birthday parties instead of weeks planning tropical vacations.

Top 5

TOP 5 WAYS YOU KNOW YOU ARE A MOM

1) While driving your mini-van, you see a fabulous sports car that, historically, would have caused a huge amount of envy, but all you feel now is content in your kids' safety.

2) You not only KNOW, but have nick-named, every park in a 25 mile radius of your home.

3) You can make chocolate chip cookies, Rice Krispie bars and blueberry muffins not only from scratch, but from memory.

4) Going to bed early is now a luxury, not a punishment.

5) Your favorite holiday is Mother's Day.

Fathers Day

Since it is Fathers Day, I am writing this post about the obvious father in our house...Daryl. I could gush on and on about what makes him a great dad (he plays with his kids, he takes them to breakfast, he helps them when they need it, he fixes bikes, he does homework...grin) but, I think what makes him a great dad is the sacrifices he has made for us.

While most people would think "sacrafice" would equate to working all the time, and making as much money as possible, it is quite the opposite. The greatest gift he gives his kids is his time. He has turned down job opportunities with significant pay increases because it meant too much time away from his kids. He starts his day at work at 6:30 am. Which means he then gets home at 4:30 in the afternoon. This allows The World's Greatest Dad to be home every night to have dinner, play and give baths, and read bedtime stories.

My husband has sacrificed in other ways. We both have, but it is his intrinsic need to be with his kids that makes him a great dad. HAPPY FATHERS DAY!

Update

I am temporarily delaying today's post due to a national holiday. Fathers Day! MTS and I are busy with the celebration, but here are a few pics to hold you over.

~ Joey in the tub

~ Jack at baseball

~ Dukey on the table

Faith and the Hypocrite

There is something that really bugs me that I need to vent about and it all has to do with religion and the way people manipulate it. But first, let me preface my soap box stance with some background information. I was born, and, for a short period of time, raised Catholic. To say that I am a lapsed Catholic would probably be an understatement. There are many reasons (which I would gladly go into, if you ask. I have nothing to hide..smile) why now, as an adult, I still do not choose to participate in Catholicism. Some has to do with my brother dieing at a very young age; some has to do with my feelings about all of the rules and regulation associated with being a catholic. Some of it has to do with how the church feels about those who are gay or lesbian, and the recent issues with molestation at the hands of priests.

I DO, however, believe in a higher power. I DO believe things happen for a reason...like we are all participating in a master plan. I DO believe in karma, and doing good deeds will come back to you. I DO NOT believe that you have to kneel on popcorn kernels and recite the Lord's Prayer a hundred times in order to get into heaven.

For quite some time, I have wondered how seemingly highly intelligent people could give themselves up to, and have total faith in their chosen religion. Surely, they must know something I do not. Someone that I actually, really don't like said something that made a lot of sense to me. Jesse Ventura (of all people) said "Organized religion is for the weak minded". I took that to mean that people who participate in organized religion would rather throw their hands up in the air and say I LEAVE IT UP TO JESUS, rather than really accept and deal with the problems in their life. THAT I could understand. THAT was tangible. But again, what do these Doctors of Theology know that I do not?

So, to address the reason for my post! While I have been grappling with all of this, I have encountered a select few people who seem to use their beliefs in God and Jesus only when it seems convenient to them. One minute they are spouting profanities and dirty jokes that make ME blush, and the next they are praising the Lord for all that is good. HUH?!?! It makes no sense to me. On one occasion, a particular person was talking about participating in several of the 7 deadly sins, broke most, if not all, of the 10 commandments, but yet still preached to high heaven (no pun intended...ahem...ok, maybe a little pun) when faced with someone they disapprove of.

Is that was faith is? Does believing in God and Jesus also equal becoming an actor in your own life? Are we unable to have faith AND be ourselves? Isn't it better to be yourself and LIVE your faith instead of assume a role that only you think is righteous, and be a hypocrite?

Top 5

TOP 5 WAYS YOU KNOW YOU ARE A MOM

1) You stay up late to write Top 5 lists for your blog

2) You tell your stylist to give you a haircut that looks better with dirty hair because you never get to wash it.

3) You know every song to every show on Disney Channel.

4) All of your friends are moms with kids too.

5) Your kids are bathed and dressed in name brand clothes, but you haven't showered in a week and are wearing a t-shirt from the early 90's.

TOP 5 WAYS YOU KNOW YOU HAVE TOO MANY KIDS

1) You have a separate freezer just for bread.

2) You buy a professional hair clipper to cut their hair because it is cheaper than going to have it done.

3) When grocery shopping, you buy two of everything because one isn't enough to feed them all.

4) You have a whole organizational system for clothes because you have so many hand-me-downs.

5) You use an entire loaf of bread just to make lunch.

Updates

We have a very busy weekend at The Linges. Or should I say, a very busy next 3 weeks. I am making 100 cupcakes for a graduation party for a good friend of mine tonight and two of My Three Sons are starting baseball on Saturday! They are so excited...lots of practicing going on in our yard. And we cannot forget Father's Day!

We are also getting ready for our H*U*G*E garage sale next week (PLEASE come). I am getting rid of a ton of MsChief Gift stuff...sigh...sob. But, it is all taking up room in a space that is desperately needed for our growing family. We recently moved all of our living room furniture downstairs and converted our old living room into a dining room. I was tired of having to move furniture around just to move through our house. It has at least given us a little more space; now I am working on each of MTS (My Three Sons) having their OWN rooms.

Plus we also have our Jellystone trip coming up AND Joey's 2nd birthday party....whew. I'm tired just thinking about it.

Choice

What causes us to change....to see our life head in a different direction? Is it a traumatizing event...a feeling inside....an ultimatum? When you want something, but it seems out of reach, how do you attain it? Whether it is weight loss, health, love, money. Children, a home, a job.

Material items, I think are much easier to attain. You just put away a few dollars here and there and one day, you will eventually get to your goal. But to change the way you think is much more difficult. I want, more than anything, to be a good mother. No, not just a good mother, a GREAT mother. I want my children to look back fondly on their childhood and remember how great their life was. Now, I am not so naive to think that there would'nt ever be struggles, but I do not want to "white-knuckle" it through their childhood.

Like mine was.

I do not EVER want my children to feel badly for who they are. Or what they aspire to be or do. I want them to remember that their parents fully supported them and help guide them into adulthood. To feel uncomfortable with the way they look, talk, think. I do not want my children to ever question their worth, or that they are loved.

Like I did.

I want to have laughter and joy in our home. To celebrate the great times...and face the bad. I want my children to appreciate the family they have and cherish the time we spend together. I want them to see the importance of love and respect. Of helping others and being helped. I do not ever want my children to think of a gift as payment for a future service.

Like I did.

Every day we have a choice to live with love or with anger. What choice are you making?

TOP 5 WAYS TO KNOW YOU ARE A MOM

1) You discover, only after leaving the house, that you are not wearing a tie dyed shirt....it is just dirty.

2) Coffee has replaced alcohol as your drink of choice.

3) They know you by name at Babies R' Us.

4) You have accumulated enough Pampers Points to fund a 2 week cruise for your whole family.

5) You get dressed immediately each morning in preparation for the inevitable emergency room visit.


TOP 5 WAYS TO KNOW YOU HAVE TOO MANY KIDS

1) Your grocery bill exceeds your house payment.

2) You have a punch card for the Emergency Room.

3) "Honey" and "Sweetie" are used instead of names because you can't remember them all.

4) You have to buy a second washing machine "just to keep up" with the mountain of laundry.

5) You are accused of running an unlicensed daycare because you have so many toys in your yard.

Various pics from the last few weeks.

Jack opening presents at his party.

Jack sleeping with Duke.

Our new bounce house.

Kid Fest 2009.

My Three Sons.

Day 2 of 2009 summer vacation and the words that mothers all over the world love to hear were uttered today. "Mooommmmm...I'm bbbooooorrrreeeeedddd!" Day 2. DAY 2!

The obvious response to such a statement is, and was, the time honored "I suggest you find something to do before I GIVE you something to do." I felt like such a mom. I also pulled out the When *I* Was A Kid card. You know...when I was a kid, all WE had to play with was a rusty can, a rock we found in the woods behind our house and a basketball hoop we made out of twigs. AND WE LIKED IT! It didn't seem to phase MTS (My Three Sons). As a matter of fact, I think I heard them rolling their eyes at me.

In a more positive turn of events, we found the f***ing (and I say that with all the love I can muster...grin) cat that bit Jack yesterday. We called animal control and the kitty is currently being whisked away to solitary confinement for 10 days to be sure it doesn't have rabies.

Honestly, can the summer get much more interesting. Apparently, not for MTS.

Jack Man vs The Feral Cat

My son. Jack the Walking Wounded Boy.

We have had a visitor the last few weeks that two of My Three Sons have been enamored with. These children have had (and do have) a virtual zoo of various pets. The menagerie has included fish, hamsters, dogs, butterflies, frogs and the occasional, AHEM, bug. But the most coveted of all of these beasts, is of course, the one they can't have. Cats.

I would actually love to have a feline; they are perfectly suited for my temperament. They are independent. They sleep a lot. They can go days without interaction on my part. You can fill up a 55 gallon drum of food and water and leave for a two week cruise to Mexico. They do, however, cause me to sneeze, rasp, choke, sputter, hack, cough, pant, convulse, wheeze and gasp for air. None of these are the kind of behavior that I like to exhibit for long periods of time.

So this cat comes trotting by, and the boys shoot like rockets across the yard to see the pretty kitty. Purring and petting ensue, along with gentle whispers of adoration and hopes of a long and glorious friendship. Cries of "BUT MOOOOOMMMMMM! We HAVE to get the kitty some food! IT MIGHT DIIIIEEEEE!!!!! coupled with the..ahem...puppy dog eyes that only little boys can do for their moms, send us (AGAINST my better judgement), to Target to purchase a small bag of cat food. "OK, just this once!" I tell them as they gleefully prance through the pet food isle. "JUST THIS ONCE! Then the cat is on it's own!"

Days go by and the cat comes around more and more until, finally, Jack decides ENOUGH with the niceties...It's time to get down to Jack-Man business! He has been Mr. Nice Guy long enough and it is time to show this cat who is boss, and the boss conducts his business in a tree fort in our back yard. The trouble is, the only possible way for JACK to get into said tree fort is to climb UP the slide, and what is good for the boss, is ahem, good for the cat. Unfortunately, the cat did not agree. To have a 5-year-old so unceremoniously shove his kitty BUTT up a slide was more than the poor animal could bear. The cat decided to repay said indignity by clamping down (and per Jack, WITH RAZOR SHARP TEETH) on Jack's arm.

Needless to say, I am, from this day forward, listening to my Mommy Instincts, banning all felines from our property and no longer giving in to "puppy dog eyes". And I am dressing Jack in bubble wrap.

Faith, Doubt and Aspiration

I am going to admit something huge to you. I LOVE TO WRITE. Er...should I say express myself. If you have known me for any length of time you already know this. Ahem. And when I have had a bad day, the neighbors know it too. I can yell really loud...but I digress.

I started writing this blog a year ago and it was magical. In my world anyway. I could verbalize all of those collected snippets of useless, random thoughts that were rattling around my brain!! I was so prolific at it, it started to scare me. Maybe I was exposing too much of myself. Or my kids. Maybe I was going to be viewed as feeling entirely too self important. So I sorta stopped writing. How pretentious of me to waste my time doing this rather than raising our children. But I missed it SO much. Obviously, this "expressing" thing is something I am pretty good at, yet one thought continues to bother me.

That anything I have to say would be interesting enough for anyone else to spend their precious time listening to.

Then I realized that it doesn't matter. While I adore writing for people, it doesn't matter if anyone out there is listening. Doing what I am doing feels so good to me, that I am just going to do it for myself.

I have ALWAYS wanted to work for myself. Always. When I was, like ten years old I wanted to sell things to people. No idea WHAT I would sell, just that I had to sell it. I started my first "real" business at 18. Peggy's Cleaning Service. I cleaned newly constructed homes and I can tell you it is definitely a business for the young. Or those in really good shape. NTS (Note To Self): Start that business again....I seriously need to exercise. And I digress again.

I have had some pretty stinky ideas for ways to have my own business. There is was the selling "stuff" one. Peggy's Cleaning Service. Medical transcription. Decorating picture frames. Clothing designer for fat girls. Home made gift cards. DML Computer Services. Professional sweepstakes enterer (is that a word?? Spell check says no!). MsChief Gifts. Real estate picture taker. That was off of the top of my head. But with each of these..ahem..endeavors, one thing remained constant. Doubt. What is it with perfectly smart women and our inability to believe in ourselves and doubt in our aspirations??

While most of these ideas were best left in the Research and Development stage, I wish I would have had more faith in myself. If I really worked hard, I am sure I could have made something of the fat girls clothes thing! What is that saying...every long journey starts with one step forward (seriously, I should just Google it, but it fits) So going forward, I am going to aspire to be a good mom, wife, friend and be the best person I can be.

Oh, and kick doubt to the curb.

My Head is Going to Explode

I think I may be Sybil. Does anyone remember that book (was it a movie too?) about the woman with multiple personalities? I think I may be like her. How can I be a happy, quasi-normal person one day, then wake up to the Jabba-The-Hut-esq creature I am today?

PMS has taken over my life. I rarely, if ever, eat chocolate (I know, something is wrong with me) but have just devoured an unusually large amount of it today. In an unusually small amount of time. Along with anything else sweet that I can find, with the only exception of things found on the floor. Or with hair on it. Unless I can identify and extract the hair. I kid. Kinda.

Things that normally would not bother me have sent me into outer space...like the way my husband breaths....and talks. That constant IN...OUT...IN...OUT breathing. Does he have no idea how the repetition is so grating?! And asking of inane questions...like "Can I get you a tranquilizer?" How annoying. I kid. Sorta. Sorry honey.

My face looks like some sort of connect-the-dot project James has brought home. Isn't childbirth enough reason to not have to endure the constellation on my chin? Shouldn't there be some sort of free pass once you become a mother insuring you a lifetime of clear skin? Why can't these things be allocated to those who are young?! I kid. Not really.

My Three Sons are quivering with the anticipation of their Dad coming home just so they don't have to listen to their whimpering mother vacillating from one extreme to another. I kid. Not at all.

This is a picture Jack draw of his friends at Rainbow school.

I have the most amazing friends. You are going to hear that word a lot in this post. AMAZING. Whether I have known them for years, or we just recently met, whether we are related or not, I am happy to say they are my friends. I know my blog has sort of been a place to document all the "Linge Boys' Adventures", but I am feeling a large part of who we are is missing by leaving out these fabulous people. I won't name names (unless you want me to..smile), so here goes!

Ms. D.G. is someone who will forever be special to me because she has the most incredible capacity to nurture the soul. She surrounds herself with her family, and while complaining that she has absolutely ZERO free time, still finds it in her heart to help others. She has, in the past, helped me through one of the most difficult times in my life. She is a mother in every sense of the word, and I hold her in the highest regard for it.

Ms. H.P. is a friend that I have had for years, but only known recently. We are so similar that we could be sisters, and I joke that one of us HAD to be put up for adoption because of it. She is calm, kind, loving and generous. She has an incredible tranquility about her and yet is the funniest person I know. Her ability to look deep into herself and not only verbalize, but try to CHANGE the things she doesn't like is astounding to me. She has sat through countless hours of my psycho-analyzing myself and still comes back for more! I have so much respect for her opinion because I know that she will be absolutely truthful, yet still care enough to be kind. I am so grateful for Ms. H.P.!

Ms. J.S. is my best friend from long ago. We lost touch for years, but thanks to technology (smile) we were able to reconnect. What is amazing to me about Ms. J.S. is that she was a mother LONG before I had any concept of what that word meant. She has always had aspirations to better herself, contrary to what I, or anyone else thought at the time. While we were having fun and getting into trouble, she was re-dedicating herself to achieve what she thought was, and what should have been to me, most important. While I went left...she continued right and now has the most incredible family because of it. She has worked hard for herself and her kids and has the brightest future ahead of her.

Ms. L.B. is someone I met a few years ago. This woman....I just cannot put into words how much I respect, appreciate and adore her. She was with one of My Three Sons on a weekly basis and saw us through many growing pains. But she met every obstacle with grace and kindness. Never made anyone feel uncomfortable, or unloved. I just wish I could make her understand just how special she is. She is someone who I will go out of my way to keep in my life...and I would be there for her just as she was for my family.

Ms. R.A.S. is someone I met when a specific part of my soul needed to be nurtured. Every week I would see her and like a warm blanket, she would envelope me and Joseph in kind words and laughter. She the epitome of the word "mother". I would listen to her tales of time spent with her various grandchildren and be in awe of not only the time she invested, but her sheer lack of feeling anything but grateful for being allowed the time to spend with them. I lovingly call her my surrogate mom.

Ms. P.H. is my newest friend. She has been through UNIMAGINABLY difficult events in the last few years and is still the funniest, most optimistic person I have met. Ms. P.H. is actually what made me start thinking of writing this post; I had heard through the grapevine that she was feeling unlovable...and the more I learn about her the more amazing I think she is!! This woman has got a spirit about her that is blinding, I just can't believe that she would ever think that. She is the most talented person I have ever met and I am so excited to see what the future holds for our friendship!

These women, and so many more, have allowed me to see what my potential in life is as a friend, mother and person based on their capacity to share their love, wisdom and humor. I have often said that I never had a full filling job until my job as a mother came along, and I am SO grateful to have these people along for the ride!

I realize just how sappy all of this sounds...trust me! But as I, *GASP*, get older I am realizing the value in telling people how special they are when you have the chance.