Summer Rec Programs

The Summer Rec Program got delivered in the mail today & we always start planning our summer with its arrival. Luckily Maverick really doesn't need any extra activities, so that just leaves 5 to schedule & manipulate around. I let them all know immediately that we would be only shooting for about 3 activities each (and I secretly was hoping my "sway power" was on high level). We start at the beginning of the book & I call out the different sub topics & if anyone is interested they speak up & find out more. An asterick & number (birth order!) go on the page if someone is still interested & on and on. Mostly, we are still undecided. I actually have to make a mock calendar up & make sure that we aren't trying to plan the impossible with activities going on at 2 different places at the same times. Last summer, because of age cut offs, I was at the baseball field 4 nights in a row with Mitch playing M&W & Marina playing T&T. Hoping to avoid that again I flipped ahead to the baseball section and... I'll be at the baseball field 4 nights in a row... sad sad sad... at least this year Madigan can also get in on the team. Morgan has resigned herself to drawing classes and swimming lessons ~ she HATES the deep end, but will be working on level 3 this year. Marina ~ is going into level 4 of swimming (Morgan & her passed level 2 together & then last year Morgan asked to pretty please repeat that level. I explained to her that I was not holding Marina back ~ Marina is half fish! ~ and she was fine with that. The other rule was that this year she'd have to do level 3) and would like to do softball again & learn tennis. Mitchell is all for t-ball and swimming and is debating between about 3 or 5 other things. Madigan wants swimming (with daddy!), t-ball, and "do they have fishing?" and Miranda is looking forward to swimming (possibly with Uncle Carl) and ballet.

Clearly you can see my summer unfolding before me already! We still have family vacations to plan and the summer library schedule to do and then add in VBS, soccer camps and a week long camp adventure for the 2 oldest girls. Should be a full BUSY summer ~ one with lots of photo ops and memories ~ missing baseball gloves & lost shoes ~ empty gas tanks & after game slushies! Honestly it all sounds fantastic ~ I Can't wait!!!

Mitchell on Soccer

Today was Mitchell's first soccer game of 2008. Spending so much time watching & kicking around the ball with his sisters has created a little soccer prodigy... a cocky kung-fu soccer prodigy. As the three little ones & I sat amongst 2 folding chairs and a couple of blankets we watched the orange #10 jersey blaze up and down the field ~ passing, shooting & scoring. At 6 years old they play 3 on 3 and it's co-ed, but today his 3 were 2 other equally talented guys who were beating the snot out of the other team. Each time they touched the ball magically, or talentedly, they scooted past the other team & floop ~ the ball was in. It actually got tiresome cheering because in four 8 minute quarters the 3 boys scored 23 points to the other teams 3. What was funny, highly inappropriate, but still funny was Mitchell... at one point he had the ball & was slowly kicking it towards the goal... then as the other player was approaching him I heard him say "Waahhh...." (imagine a Kung-Fu move here) & then "I know Kung Fu" as he did a scissor kick & passed the ball through the legs of the other player & into the goal. I giggled. I thought it was funny. He doesn't know Kung-Fu. Over the course of the game I heard him do it a few more times and after about the fifth time motioned a throat slice to him for some silence. Not so funny anymore. That's when the cockiness came in. I can't really blame him. His sisters play hard, they sweat & turn beat red, they've gotten kicked by feet & balls alike in most body parts, Morgan in particular has been in the goalie box for extemely long, brutal games and they lose... they lose alot... they are determined, though & go out week after week. Mitchell's team, today, probably scored more goals then the girls team has scored in 3 years combined. Which is why I let the first offense slide.

"Eighteen to your One ~ YEAH! WAHOO!" How he was keeping track, I'm not sure, but he was dead on. He's seen that other side, though, so I had high hopes for him yet.

Be Considerate ~ I was trying to send telepathical messages ~ Be Courteous. No Bragging.

"Nineteen to your One!"

"Mitchell!" ~ I figured I'd send him a warning, hoping my inflection would renounce his actions.

"Nineteen to Two, that's okay, I know Kung-Fu!" That was it... I broke out all the "Secret Weapons" a mom has & sent him "THE LOOK", "THE TONE" and "THE WORDS".

"What? It rhymed!!!" Two... Kung-Fu... UGH! It did rhyme... nevertheless, he trotted over & I explained I didn't want to hear him saying the score anymore & the rest of the game proceeded with little to no noise from him. Afterwards, after congratulating him on an highly impressive game, I gave him the minilecture about hurting friends feelings and looking at it from the other side & he seemed to get it... Hopefully he won't be cocky again.

I'm not too confident on the Kung-Fu... as he was running to the playground nearby he turned around & looked at me & said "I DO know Kung-Fu, Mom... WAAAHHH!"

My Pink Purse

Notorious for losing things... (things, not kids!), especially at critical moments, I opted for a BRIGHT pink purse this spring. My tan purse that I've used for over a year now was often found hiding even in the most obvious places. I really liked that tan purse... lots of pockets & zippered areas made an interesting filing component for my couponing habit. The new pink purse has cute side pockets for my virtual cell phone & matching sunglasses, convient for crayons & chapstick instead. A big middle pocket just lets me "dump & cram" & by using the same wallet from 2 purses ago I have a little bit of vintage "old faithful" with me. I'm not one for pink, especially bright pink, but now I can spot that purse from across the house. As often as my husband hangs it up on my office (read: cute nitch under the stairs with a door on it) door, I leave it laying somewhere... usually thrown about casually as I run in from one errand or another, picking up or dropping off kids, choir practice, church, you name it. One sweeping glance, or a quick gallop around the first floor & TA DA! There it is. You would think I would learn, you would think I would be able to find a safe place for my purse & put it there consistently, you think I would be smart enough to want to save myself the headache & hassle & just be a bit more organized, but... there are small miracles performed still today... someone had the insight to make a pink purse!

It had to happen today...

I woke up sometime between 3am & 6am to the sound of someone getting sick & Mike talking quietly & slowly. I had been up late having a gab session with two friends & then, after they left, reminded myself that Morgan needed cupcakes, 32 frosted & jimmied cupcakes, for her school treat today. So, at almost midnight, I set out making 2 batches of cupcakes, cooling, frosting & putting the sprinkles on. Realizing I didn't actually have a carrier for that quantity I ransacked the basement & found an underbed storage container that, with a bit of tin foil, worked perfectly. All done & safely on the dining room table I trudged off to bed. Fast forward to me waking up in the barely lit bedroom where my sweet husband was taking care of everything. Its bad I didn't even think to ask who it was, I really didn't care, I was too tired. I knew he could handle it, his working hours are filled with cleaning up other people's messes, and I needed a few more moments of sleep... out I went. By the next time I woke up, there were 4 of us in the bed. Morgan & Madigan had both managed to wiggle in & I was sure it was one of them that was sick... great! Morgan woke up too & asked if I had made her her cupcakes... "Ah, Shoot!" I replied leading her to believe I had failed my mom mission & informed her I'd be stopping at the store to get some. Clearly dissappointed, she scurried off to get her clothes on & then back for a french braid. Marina & Mitchell woke up & gave Morgan some Birthday Greetings. Mike was planning on taking them to school, so next he is up & letting me know that Morgan had gotten sick last night. UGH! Not on her birthday! I asked her if she was okay & wanted to go to school & sure enough... she wasn't missing her birthday. Downstairs they all went for breakfast... primed & ready for school, Mike does a double take & says "Can't forget these!" grabbing the cupcakes. I got a double squeeze hug (You didn't forget!) and I smiled saucily at my new 10 year old. So Big!

An hour or so later, after I had just climbed back into bed with Madigan (still sleeping), the phone rang & it was school... Morgan had gotten sick & we would need to come & get her. I drove over & got her, she hadn't even enough time to pass out her birthday cupcakes! After getting her home & in bed with a bucket & a cool washcloth, the phone rings again. School Again. Mitchell is sick & we would need to come & get him. I drive over to get him & have the foresight to see if Marina is feeling okay before leaving her there & taking Mitch home. Two in bed with buckets & Madi is now walking around with a bucket thinking she'll get sick at any time. Dinner plans with extended family moved to tomorrow & storm clouds have been rolling in & out all day.

Of course, it had to happen today!

Rite of Passage

Our once little baby is turning 10 on Tuesday, so today, shoved in with Sound of Music & a 2 hour photo shoot, Singing at Church, Sunday School, going out for dinner (for Morgan's birthday) and a stop at Barnes & Noble for her next Warriors Book ~ Morgan is the proud new owner of 2 14k Diamond stud earrings! Waiting this long to get her ears pierced was easy since we told her early on that when she was 10 she could get them done... whoever thought time would fly so quickly! Today was the perfect day, family was in town from Appleton to see SOM, so they joined us at the mall. Morgan got the seat of honor, right next to the mall window, in a pink high back chair. She picked out her birthstone for her studs. I clipped back her hair with purple hair clips & then the nice lady put a dot on each ear where the stud would go. Getting all of our approvals, Morgan grabbed my hand & squeezed tight. I counted slowly to 3 and in it went, slower then I thought it would (I was expecting a quick gun, but it was a casual stick). She never even flinched. Then, after a long delayed second, Morgan just said "ouch"... slowly & matter of factly... just "ouch". On to the next ear & 10 seconds later it was done. Morgan is now the only child to have hit this Johnstone rite of passage ~ I should mention this rite is ONLY for the girls... the boys' can get theirs at 18! She has First Communion & Confirmation next (I'm ok with that), and then it's on to getting her Driver's License & I don't know if I'll ever be ready for that!

Sound Of Music

As Many of you Know Marina is Brigetta in Sound of Music at Cardinal Stritch University & it is Opening TONIGHT!!! Yesterday I got invited to attend the Final Dress Rehearsal & she was FANTASTIC!!! Its overwhelming to think off all the late nights & hours driving & gallons of gas ~ but when you are watching your child, on stage, in the lights, saying words that you know everyone else in the audience is hanging on to, singing songs that you know & hold dear... nothing else matters & you just want to watch her over & over again! She really impressed me last night... never missing a word, a costume or an entrance & these kids have 7 costume changes!!!

Its even more special because 5 Years ago, when Marina was 3, she was enrolled in a Language Enriched Classroom because she barely talked. For a long time her favorite, and only, word was "DIGA!" Diga, Diga This & Diga, Diga That and she would throw temper tantrums and was just an unhappy child because she couldn't communicate (especially now as she is the sweet motherly one of the bunch). Through lots of work from teachers & parents alike she is a full fledged talker & those non talking days are a distant memory. Putting that into perspective, she WOWED the PANTS off me!

Couple all that with the fact that Mike & I both performed in Theater, at Stritch, and it turns it into a nostalgic & warm fuzzy spot for us.

All in All ~ Proudest momma in the theater!

You're the Best, Mom!

After dropping Marina off at rehearsal (4 more till Opening Night!) Johnstone & Company were itching to go to the park, the store or the library... pretty much in that order. Being a little too chilly out yet & not up to the challenge of corralling 5 in a grocery cart or just keeping them close by we opted for the library. The little kids LOVE to look at all the hard paged books & play with the animal puppets, while the bigger kids search for new stories or music. Morgan has been going gangbusters on reading the WARRIORS Series... flying through around 100 pages a day & was already on Book #6. She had asked before the weekend at her school library for it, but someone else was a step ahead of her. We immediately hit the shelves & found that only 1, 3 & 5 were in... DRATS! Off to the electronic card catalog to see if we could request it or when to expect its return when I stumbled on the fact that they actually had a copy... in paperback... on the spindles in the kids section. We looked past the BoxCar series, the Harry Potter Books, Nancy Drew & Geronimo Stilton & found WARRIORS Book 6! I pulled it out & handed it over to Morgan, who was frantically searching a different spindle. She quietly squealed & hugged it to her chest & uttered those 4 fantastic words... You're the Best, Mom!

Out of Ketchup

It rarely happens in this house... The Johnstone's actually being out of something!

The diligent shopper that I am (my friends might call it obsessive compulsive) has turned our basement & attic into more of a warehouse then anything. I have a second pantry in the basement that is difficult to get to on account of the bins & boxes piled up filled with stuff, good stuff, useful stuff that's intended for more then the 8 people in the house. The walk-up attic has an entire room that's dedicated to "presents" and stuff, good stuff, useful stuff for other people... My freezers, yes ~ a full one in the basement & one littler one in the fridge in the kitchen ~ are usually brimming, so much so, that I sometimes have to stick a big piece of packing tape across the door to make sure it stays closed. I actually pride myself with the knowledge that I have a replacement for the replacement for the replacement. We have toliet paper for our toliet paper & enough diapers to make sure every stuffed animal & dolly have their own allotment... what we didn't have was Ketchup!

There I stood, having exhausted the main kitchen pantry, down in the basement pulling boxes & totes out of the way so that I could get to the shelves & again NO Ketchup! My children were sitting at dinner with lovingly prepared, highly unoriginal Chicken Nuggets & Tater Tots & Corn & Milk and the one last thing they wanted was Ketchup... such a simple request. A request I, as a parent, the grocery shopper, the fridge & cabinet filler, the keeper of the Ketchup should have been able to grant. However, the facts remained, we were in fact Out of Ketchup! Suddenly, a lightbulb went off ~ I grabbed out the small bag of condiments from the butter dish area (who ever uses it for that!) of my fridge & found some ketchup packets that they could squeeze onto their plates... so useless... Ten packets later, dinner was over & I had escaped the paradox of not having more, in a family where one of our mottos is, "There's ALWAYS More!" I have a good feeling that we may never again be... Out Of Ketchup!

Things Kids Do & Say

I remember years ago... We had taken the three kids (yes, there was a time when there was only 3) out to lunch at Applebee's... we were sitting in a corner booth... The waitress came over & was poised, ready to take our order & I asked Morgan if she wanted Chicken Fingers (to eat!). This weird look came over her face & she stared at her own fingers & she said "NO! I want People Fingers!" Too Funny... Yesterday we had two moments like that... As I'm driving around our neighborhood we pass a yellow sign... Morgan, who is completely engrossed in her book (Book 5 of the Warriors Series) looks up breifly & ends up startling me with the gasp she makes. I immediately ask if something is wrong & confused she says, "Why would we have to watch for a Dead Child?" WHAT?! She goes on, "That sign back there said 'Dead Child...' that's kind of mean!" I start racking my brain for where she would have gotten that & before I have to actually turn the car around & retrace my steps I remember the yellow sign... "Honey," I say very calmly "It didn't say Dead Child... it said DEAF child!" She laughed & sighed & said... "Ok... Deaf child I get it... Deaf!"

The other moment was while I was finishing things up around the house & my darling 2 year old was showcasing her coloring for me. We had had waffles for lunch that afternoon & I remembered that the old syrup bottle had a miniscule amount left, so I grabbed down a new bottle & proceeded to open the new one & stand the old one upside down above it to drain the syrup into the new one. A few moments go by & I get busy cleaning another area of the house... a few minutes later I walk back into the kitchen & there are no syrup bottles only the lids. Frantically, not wanting sticky syrup everywhere, I start looking for the syrup bottles. I find one kicked aside by the back door & turn around to see my little "angel" child still coloring with the syrup bottle (no lid mind you!) tucked in close. I come a little closer... not wanting to really startle her, but still get the syrup & I snatch it up when I get there. I put the lid on & she says, "But I want it." I try to explain to her that she can not just have syrup... we use it on pancakes & waffles to which she replies "But its Yummy, I want to drink it!" YEOW!

The things Kids Do & Say

More Money, More Kids

There was just an article in the USA Weekend that caught my grandma's eye... she promptly picked up the phone & called me to let me know that I was RICH! WAHOO!!! According to the article "Having more than two children is a luxury" and "Three or four is getting to be a size that only the affluent can afford". Here's the full article if you are interested... http://www.usaweekend.com/08_issues/080406/080406abtn-money-family-size.html

I read through this article which shows that poorer families are having less children & came to this statement which prompted a jaw drop ~ Now, "people hurt their own standard of living and diminish prospects for their own children if they have more than two," Demeny says. WOW! I always knew I was sacrificing material things & maybe a few vacations & trips to the restaurants by having a couple extra kids, but never in my 10 years of being a mom have I have thought we were hurting our own standard of living or diminshing our children's prospects. In retrospect I think we are doing just the opposite. I guess getting married young, having children quickly thereafter & not ever having that affluent lifestyle saved us from having an actual "standard of living"... I guess We've only had what we've only had & that's just been good enough for us. All our needs are met & some of our wants & we have hope for the future. I think our children's prospects are outstanding, they are leading a "rich" life, full of unique experiences, awesome endeavours & its all directed by two parents who completely love them and find them to be fantastic representations of everything good in life! I hardly find that to be diminishing their prospects. They all are secure individuals with a HUGE support system that extends outside these walls & encompasses family & friends alike... And, they all actually like each other!

Another comment that irked me was "Once families have more than two children, everything becomes much more expensive, he says, pointing out that larger families need bigger cars and homes." Okay, the car thing I get... of course... unless you want to be driving 2 cars to the same place ~ I've already degressed about my suburban & its gas tank ~ We still live in the same house we lived in just after we got married & we adapt & make changes along the way to stay here... (The whole 1 bathroom thing is going to wear out soon enough, though, with 4 girls!) I've seen my grocery bill go up with each child, maybe $5-10 a week, but subsequent children don't really "add" too much to the family budget. The younger ones eagerly await the older ones hand me downs in toys & clothes alike. They are using the same books, crayons, pencils, sheets, pillows, etc. You choose their things more carefully... looking at durability & longevity... you run your errands solo (dad's in charge!) so there is no "I WANT THAT!" or "CAN I PICK SOMETHING OUT?" You spend your money carefully & precisely and don't buy frivolous things (well, sometimes!)... but you aren't catering to 1 or 2, 1 or 2 that just might be used to getting everything they want. I know, I know, society on a whole encourages that mentality... the whole instant gratification umbrella our youth lives under, but that doesn't mean MY kids get to do that. You start it & pretty soon it turns into a habit, a very bad habit that extends into their teens & on where they are soon expecting everything they want they get. We desperately want to give our children all the true goodness of life, but that doesn't mean a new game system everytime one comes out, a car on graduation day & a "free" ride through college (I'll blog my thoughts on that on another day). I truly believe children should work for the things they receive & not always be rewarded with tangible items. We should be preparing our children for "real life" including disappointment & turbulent times instead of just sugar coating them & sticking them in a plastic bubble.

We live on a "for 8 people" modest income that my husband provides. Looking at different charts & programs & by Society standards we are actually "poor", but I've never felt that way, or felt that we couldn't provide for our children. They still get to be on soccer teams & take swimming lessons & play baseball in the summers & enjoy a family vacation every year, they take in an occasional movie & have been to enough restaurants that they know how to behave at them. Rarely have they ever said anything about being bored. They have huge prospects & a fantastic view on their "standard of living".

Spring Cleaning the Front Porch

Yesterday I took part of the day to Spring Clean my Porch. We have a front enclosed porch that ACCUMULATES during the winter. We walk in the front door and DUMP! I'm probably the most guilty. Six kids doesn't help either. Shoes, boots, clothes, toys, brooms, jump ropes, coats, art projects, school work, rummage items, bags from shopping excursions with stuff I bought but we apparently didn't need yet & I wasn't yet wondering where it was! Too much! Eye Sore! It was to the point where I just hurried through the porch, keeping my head down & focused on the front door, kicking my shoes into the growing pile ~ knowing I was going to have to unbury them later to go out again. Yesterday I cleaned it out. Five bags of stuff landed themselves in the garbage and another 5 bags & 2 older ride on toys went in the back of the Suburban to travel to new homes via my church's rummage. Trips were run up to the attic, the basement, laundry chute & sink. How refreshing to have my porch back! The kids rediscovered it, too, constantly amazed at the growing expanse. The shoes still need a major overhaul, but when don't they! With the kids feet growing by the minute and the seasons about to change, we'll have to attack that on another day. For now its nice to come on the porch & not be shaking hands with clutter and mess immediately... you have to actually walk in the house for that!

Signs of Spring ~ Memories of Summer

Despite still being able to see my breath when I breathe, the kids & I took to the outside today. Being an EXTREMELY long winter they all have a ton of built up energy & I'm running out of mine, so the outside seemed like a fantastic place to roam. After shoes & socks & jackets we ventured out to find the backyard DISGUSTING! With a golden retriever I'm sure you can imagine ~ droppings EVERYWHERE ~ the kids could barely take a step without yelling "MOM!" With the little girls safely on swings I took to cleaning up and out the backyard "landmines". Some helped me discover that there were still a few patches of snow & ice, while others were in close proximity to the first bursting of spring ~ My Daffodils are coming up! Debris was scattered here, there, and everywhere & a quick assessment convinced me I am going to have a few long afternoons getting the backyard parklike again. Through it all, though, I was constantly reminded of warmer days ~ we had a 10' pool up all summer last year & the grass has gone away from that spot leaving a large empty circle. Just imagining them so hot they are in the pool half the day, towels hanging over the fence, little bodies sunning on the cement was enough to keep me in my windbreaker instead of running back in for my winter coat.

Report Card Day

Today was Report Card Day in the Johnstone House & I am pleased & proud to say my 3 in school all got 3's & 4'... S's & E's... What's that you say? 3's, 4's? Yes, gone are the days of A+, A, A-, B+, B... and so on... now it is S & E & 1, 2, 3, & 4's. I think the schools are trying their hand at the self-affirming mentality our society has come to depend on. You get 3's if you are doing the work & at grade level, 4's are for those subjects & those students that go above & beyond & are working at an advanced level. E's are for Excelling & S is for Satisfactory & I think there might be one more letter standing in for an "effort" level. They also tote a reading level & have a few comments. Nowadays, apparently "F" is just too harsh for our kids & so must be the rest of the upper alphabet. I remember back to my grade school, high school days & while I was an A student, that dreaded "F" just held way too much clout... a "1" just doesn't seem to get the job done. Nevertheless... all 3's & 4's in this house! Very Proud Mommy!