Could I be married to Noah??

I think I was a veterinarian in another life. Or maybe an animal on the Ark and now I want to show my appreciation for Noah's determination.

Honestly, I'm a softie when it comes to animals. I want to love them, snuggle them, and feed them and make them plump little creatures. I posted not to long ago about it and the post was about my dog Charlie. He is a mutt that I found on the side of the road. I also posted about how my husband would likely divorce me if I brought home another creature. He says 2 cats and 2 dogs and 3 kids are enough mouths to feed.

Meet Milo. He was brought to our family by none other than my HUSBAND!! You might remember that I mentioned  he would divorce me if I brought home another stray. I might be a softie, but neither is he. Well, looks like I'm not Noah after all.

But I just might have married him.

Buzz Lightyear is a bad influence...

Hollis and Buzz Lightyear are like peas and carrots. They are always together. We take one of his many Buzzes wherever we go. Buzz Lightyear, according to Hollis, is his brother.

From the minute Buzz Lightyear graced the TV screen, Hollis was in love. He wanted to be Buzz. So it was no surprise when Hollis said that Buzz was his brother, his best friend. He identified with Buzz. He even has a laser on his arm like Buzz. He shoots everything from the cat to his own parents.

It was no surprise yesterday when I was in the kitchen and heard "To Infinity and Beyond". The surprise came a few seconds later when I walked in the living room and saw his posed on the edge of the couch with one hand in the air. He was about to try to jump over the coffee table from the couch. Before I could get a word out he had jumped. Let me just say that it didn't end well. Hollis now has a busted lip.

I'm seriously thinking about his and Buzz's relationship. Maybe too much Buzz is a bad thing...he clearly is a bad influence.

My Middle Child

When I was pregnant with Hollis and found out that I was going to have a boy, I almost didn't know what to do with myself. I already had three nephews, but that wasn't the same as having a boy of your own. I was talking with a friend of mine that had just had a boy a year earlier. She said that little boys were special and that you loved then differently. I kinda brushed the comment off because I knew how much I loved Katie and couldn't imagine a different kind of love for my son. Boy was I wrong.

I soon figured out just how right she was. I love Hollis so differently than I love Katie and Ava. Not more or less, but just differently. I can't explain it. Maybe it's because of all the things that I want him to be that I feel are so important. Not in the "doctor/lawyer/ fireman" kind of way, but more in "who" I want him to become. I want him to grow up to be a man that loves his wife. I want him to become a man that loves his children so much that they light up when they see him. I want him to be kind to the people around him. I want him to be generous. Even being all those things, I want him to be tough, as well. I want all those things for my girls, but finding a man with all those traits isn't as easy to come by.

I am a little more protective of Hollis, too. My heart broke for him before his first birthday. He had to have surgery on his nose, mouth, and scalp to have hemangiomas removed. I'm sure that it was harder on me than him because he will never remember it. But he was so little and sweet.

He will be three this November and has changed so much. His imagination makes me laugh. I always say that I would like to be in his brain for just one hour. I'm sure it would be entertaining and enlightening.

He is fascinated with Buzz Lightyear. In fact, he informed me this week that Buzz is his brother and his best friend. Poor Katie gets shot with Hollis' imaginary laser beam a minimum of twenty times a day. I caught him climbing the entertainment center this morning trying to shoot the bad guys on TV. He is falling asleep, as I type this, to Buzz Lightyear defeating the evil Emporer Zurg. 

My sweet, baby Hollis, even though he is almost three and not a baby anymore, will always be my baby.

My Youngest...

My youngest. My sweet, baby Ava. When she was born I thought it wasn't fair that she looked so much like her Dad. I did all that work for all those months and she didn't even look like me...at all. But even though she looks so much like her Dad, she has definitely got her own little look.

Her almond eyes light up when she smiles. She has the prettiest heart shaped mouth. She has one little dimple in her right cheek.  Dimples make a child look so innocent, but with a little bit of "up to something" behind it. I'm a sucker for dimples.

But my favorite dimple is the one on her shoulder.

Something about this dimple makes my heart melt.

It makes me never want her to grow up.

It makes me want her to stay my sweet, baby Ava.

Forever.

My Oldest

My Katie is so special to me. Don't get me wrong, I love all my children equally, but differently. My Mother always says that Katie has a silly heart. I agree. She spent her third and fourth years on earth as a unicorn. Really, she thought she was a unicorn. She would introduce herself as Katie Grace Benson Unicorn. The first year was funny, but the second year had me a little worried.

(This is Katie's mean face. You can tell that she doesn't really have a mean bone in her body.)

She came to me the other day with this idea. I could see her brain working while she was telling me her idea. She was convinced that she had the human mind and body figured out. She's even going to draw a comic strip about it. Here it goes:

Katie-"Momma, I have it all figured out."

Me - "What's that?"

Katie - "how your brain works."

Me - "Really? Tell me."

Katie - "There is a little mouse that lives in your brain. He sends messages to your brain box about what you want to say and do. The when he gets hungry he runs down your spinal cord to your stomach and eats the food you just ate. That's why we get hungry...to feed the mouse."

Me - "Really? Why a mouse?"

Katie - "Because that's the only animal I could think of that was small enough to fit in your brain."

Me - "Well, it looks like you have it all figured out then."

Katie - "Yep!  Can I go play with the girls?"

I don't know now if she still thinks her theory is true, because that was last week and this is now. A lot of things change when you live in La La Land. I know I don't want her to change. I want her to keep her carefree, fun, and silly heart. Forever.

I know how she feels...

As if wading in the creek and getting barbed wire in your foot wasn't enough to make the day eventful, we decided to head back to the house and visit with the animals. Hollis was especially excited about the sheep. I have no idea why, but they were the best part of the day for him. When Coach finally brought them out he just looked at them. He said "OK, talk". He was a little disappointed when they didn't follow his commands. When the sheep were put up in their pens again, we got to meet Luby the goat. She is a tiny little creature with and enormous belly. I wanted to take her home with me. The kids wanted to make her belly bigger.

She ate as long as there was food in her sight.

Knowing that my girl and her friends are a little on the stubborn side, Aunt Rae told them to lead - and I use that term loosely - Luby around by her rope.

I now know the only thing more stubborn than this bunch of kids is Luby the goat. She only walked when she wanted to, no matter how hard they pulled.  We watched this for about a half and hour and then someone said "hey, why don't you try to ride that goat". That was all it took.

Then Hollis took his turn.

Then Rachael noticed something on Luby. She noticed that Luby had teats like those of an animal with child.

My heart sank and I felt horrible. Here we have been letting our kids play tug-of-war and ride this sweet girl and didn't even know she was with child.

So Luby, I wan to formally apologize for letting my kids ride you. I can truly sympathize with you, having to carry their big behinds while carrying a baby in your belly.

I carried this one's big behind

while pregnant with this one. And I carried his big behind

while I was pregnant with her big behind.

So, Luby, I am so, so, so very sorry. Please don't tell PETA.

What a long & fun day

We woke up Saturday morning and had to be at the soccer fields at 8:30 for a make-up soccer game followed by another game. We lost the first and won the second. We had BIG plans after the game. Sarah and I were taking the girls, Katie, Hollis and the twins, to Aunt Rae's farm in Fayetville, Tn. Rachel and Aren, the twins, had never been to the farm and were so excited. What child doesn't love the thought of wading in a creek all afternoon. I know I did when I was their age.

Aren, Rachel, and Katie, in that order, took off to the creek. There have been some big rains lately, so we weren't sure what the creek was going to look like. They were in for a nice surprise.

It was perfect!! The water was still chilly since Mother Nature has some issues lately. It was in the mid 80s earlier in the week, but on 70 on Saturday. We came prepared, though. Rain boots saved the day! And speaking of rain boots....

Aren got a nice surprise in hers while wading in the water,. It never pinched her, I think it might have been a little too small for that., but it was a fun surprise to find.

Hannibal came along for the walk. He brought his bone...I'm not sure what animal that came from. He stuck his head in all the holes along the banks of the creek looking for snakes to catch. Such a good, handsome watchdog.

They looked for arrowheads (didn't find any), geodes, and fossils. They found some really neat things and every rock with a point on the end was a "almost" arrowhead. They were having the time of their life until...

this dear, sweet, accident prone child of mine stepped on a piece of barbed wire without wearing her rain boots. My, being the mother-of-the-year that I am, first thought wasn't about the wire hanging out of her foot. I was thinking about the pain that would ensue the 2 days later when we make it to the Dr's office for a tetanus shot. The last time she had shots it took 3 of us to hold down all of her 45lbs. Luckily, she has had a tetanus shot so my mind came back to her pain. I carried her all the way back to the house. She didn't let it get her down, though.

I'll post more about the day tomorrow...

The Stray has a Home

One Sunday, a little over a year ago, my husband and I were is a little tiff. It was so insignificant that I can't even remember what it was about. He had come home from the fire hall and we were supposed to be getting ready to go to church. He decided to stay home because they had had a busy night at the fire hall. Needless to say, I left the house still ticked off at my husband.

I go less than a mile out of our neighborhood that is surrounded by cotton fields when a little puppy jumps out of the weeds onto the side of the road. The car in front of me swerves to the left to miss him. He is stunned and stands still in the road with his little puppy ear flipped backwards. I swerve to miss him, too. Then, the car coming in the opposite direction almost hits the poor thing and I look in my rear view mirror hoping and praying that he is still in one piece. And what to you know...he had escaped the jaws of death, not once, but three times in a matter of minutes. There was no mistaking it. I had to bring the dog home until we could find him a more permanent home.

I pick up the puppy and drive him back to the house. Now remember, Damien and I are still not on the best of terms from our little disagreement. He is in the bathroom, or as my father always called it, the library, for his morning session. I knocked on the door and he cracked it. There he is, magazine in hand, sitting, not knowing what I am about to drop in his hands. I shove the puppy in the little crack that he made and say "I found this on the way to church, do something with it" and shut the door as quickly as possible. I RAN from the house back to the car and left. 

When church was over I called the house to check and see if he would even take my calls after my little stunt. He had given the puppy a bath, some food, and a name. He told me that Charlie was fine, but had mange. We called the co-op the next day and got him some mange treatment. Once he was in the clear to be petted and loved on, he became part of the family. Permanent home found! 

His existence has been a little touch-and-go at times. He ate the shoe holder, foam padding, and the spring pads for the trampoline. He climbed onto the trampoline and couldn't figure out how to get back thru the opening in the net, so he just went thru the side of the net leaving a hole you could drive a truck thru. He ate the wiring for my husbands trailer that he pulls behind his truck, twice. He ate the foam padding from the pipe that leads to the AC unit. He ate the back door frame. He has learned how to open the latch to the privacy fence and let himself out. He also ate one of the trees that my husband planted in the backyard. See what I mean when I say touch-and-go. 

But now Char-Char is as much a part of the family as any of us. There are times where it is still touch and go, but I tell my husband that he is just "misunderstood". Look at his face. How could you not just love the guy.

Baskin Robbins & Peace and Quiet

I'm not really sure why I am starting this blog, other than my house is quiet and I'm not sure what to do with myself. I never have quiet...ever! My wonderful husband took our kids, well some of our kids, and 3 neighboring kids to Baskin Robbins. It's 31 cents a scoop night and there is a firetruck there for all the kids to explore.

This photo has absolutely nothing to do with anything. I just like it.

It's one of the few where all my kids are looking at the camera without holding something in front of their face. Hollis always wants me to take a picture of his sippy cup. It is a Buzz Lightyear sippy cup and I know thats cool and all, but I don't need 50 pictures of his cup.

I still don't know what to do with my quiet time. Maybe I will go try to fold my laundry

or mop my floors

or dust the furniture

or think of a way to achieve World Peace.

I have to feed the dogs and cats first.