Must be all the wind ...

It swept me away. That is why I have been absent from my posting. Actually it is the whirlwind of activities that have happened in the last 3 weeks. The wind is strong and bitterly cold enough though right now to sweep you away.

For Thanksgiving we all travelled out to SE Utah to see family and spend Thanksgiving week. The kids thought missing two days of school was an early Christmas gift. For the week before I was busy cleaning, washing clothes, packing and taking care of obligations I have at church and with our school's PTO.

Then there was the travelling. We left Friday (21st) about 5 p.m. and drove into Iowa. We took off the next morning to be hit with a snow storm on I-80. The snow was creating icy and slick roads. Some of the kids thought Dad was just being cool by swerving all over the road. I was trying to not have a full-blown anxiety attack. We made it through the storm and had good weather, perfect travelling weather in fact, the rest of the way. We arrived in Utah early Sunday evening. That many hours with that many people smashed together in a van and hotel rooms gets old fast.

While the kids had grandma and grandpa all to themselves, we rode the four wheelers, went hiking to see ruins and had a picnic at the sand dunes. I was dumping sand out of jeans for days. On Wednesday, everyone started showing up. The excitement of the evening is when Joanna split the back of her head open. There is no hospital in hubby's small hometown, and the urgent care was closed early. Super Glue, butterfly bandages and a trained Brother-in-law go a long to fixing up a distraught little 5 year old.

Joanna didn't even know she split her head open. She was trying to get outside to be with her cousins when the door handle came off in her hand. She fell. She was more upset she broke grandpa's door. It was her uncle that noticed the blood running down the back of her head. I think it was the mention of staples that made her hysterical.

For Thanksgiving we packed 35 people in one large room. It was full of fun, food and laughs. We had a family white elephant gift exchange later followed by games. The major entertainment for the young kids was taking a foam mattress down the stairs at grandma's house. Joanna tried to get back into the game after we patched her up, but I was a meanie and made her wait until the following day.

Joanna was the only major injury. Hubby was sure there would be one with Cara on the four-wheeler. It amazes me that the child that tattles on every little slight can be so fearless when it comes to rides and roller coasters. Cara was driving with Clint riding on the same four-wheeler behind her. She took a corner a bit fast and had two wheels off the ground. She laughed, and her daddy informed her to slow down. I think he invoked a speed limit after that. ;)

Coming home we took the I-40 route home since I-80 through the mountains in Colorado was going to be in poor travelling condition. We didn't need a fishtailing van on mountain roads as the flat roads occurrence was scary enough. That lengthened our trip home a bit. We avoided snow until our last day which was spent the entire day (8 hours of driving) in it.

Once we got home, we stretched our limbs and enjoyed our rooms and own beds. The next few days were catch up with laundry, unpacking, doctor appointments and all of our normal obligations. Things are still slowly returning to normal or what is normal around here for us.

Pictures will be posted soon throughout next week.

Look, Ma! No Brakes!

Wanna know how up your stress level? Drive a big ol' van with 9 kiddos having a grand time. Not enough stress for you? Drive that big ol' van filled with 9 hyper kids down a big hill. More you ask? Drive that big ol' van with 9 hyper kids down a big hill and have your brakes fail. Oh yeah, that is not for the faint of heart. Heck, it isn't for me, and I have a healthy heart.

I will try to positive and look beyond the bad things. I will look beyond the cost of towing and repairs. I will look beyond being cooped up in the van with the 9 hyper kiddos as I wait for my hubby to come get us (he was 40 minutes away). I will look beyond that the brakes went out on a steep hill with no warning.

What I will see is that hubby was not travelling so at least he could come get us. Rather it was me because I couldn't see cramming 11 people in a 5-person Prius (one being an infant in a carseat). We went and got our other car so we could divvy up the kids and continue on to church. I guess it is a blessing we have three cars having bought the hybrid Prius when gas prices started sky-rocketing.

Another blessing is that the van brakes failed when they did. If they failed the day before, I would have lost our new piano hubby was hauling. If they failed any sooner, I would have hit a house or seriously re-landscaped a neighbor's yard. If they failed any later, I would have gone on to a highway unable to stop or in town with more people, cars and buildings. Neither of those scenarios appeal to me. There could have been some serious injury and damage. Although the "Hulk" (aka my van) seems to be indestrucible from the couple of other things that have hit it like a mailbox and the car that rear-ended us. They didn't look too pretty afterwards.

It is hard to not say what if. I am just glad I didn't have to worry about the what ifs. When I realized I wasn't stopping although my foot was about to go through the floorboard, I let the van coast while still trying to get it to stop. I didn't make my turn. I don't think I would have anyway having either rolled or driven the van into the deep culvert. I am glad we are safe. I am glad my heart rate returned to normal (and that it was strong enough to withstand the fright).

Go, Mom, Go!

Okay if you have never read Dr. Suess' "Go, Dog, Go!", you have no idea what the title means or even caught the try at a joke. It has been all of my kids' favorite book. Well, maybe except Joanna but only because our copy died. After countless readings, our copy was falling apart and 5 times the thickness when we first bought it. We couldn't let Joanna not be exposed to the book so found a copy at the library (really gotta buy another). I am happy to say the tradition lives on.

My children are quite the backseat drivers. Something about getting driving advice from little people who can't even reach the pedals is rather annoying. My children see no need for stopping at red lights. When I do, I am told to go. So I quote from the above mentioned book -- "Stop, Dog! Stop! The light is red now." When it turns green, the kids say, "Go, Dog, Go! The light is green now."

The is nothing about yellow lights in the book. That is okay though. Joanna knows what those mean. As I was driving the other day, the light turned yellow right before I got to the intersection. Joanna pipes up from her carseat, "That means speed up, Mom!" LOL!

So red is stop. Green means go, and yellow means go faster. She might not reach the pedals yet, but at least Joanna knows that much about driving.

Because, because, because ...

Because I birthed them ... Because I feed, clothe and clean up after them ... Because I chauffer them ... Because I pay for their braces ...

Because of this I have the right and privilege to embarrass my children. I have the right to have some good, ol' harmeless fun at their expense. The biggest reason is I had one of those weeks. I had cranky, sick kids. I had a travelling hubby. I had two snowstorms making the cabin freezer worse. The only thing I didn't have was enough sleep.

I also have a car that can swerve while hugging the road and traction control. I had rain puddles and windows that I can control and lock. I had boredom and a desire for some impish fun at the expense of my older kids.

Hubby and I had to tag team it this morning since we have a sick child. He went for the first part of church since he had obligations there. During the second portion He came home so I could go for the last portion when I had obligations. I brought the five that stayed at church home. The baby, sick child and another poor feeling child (who came back with her daddy) stayed home. Since the weather was a downright balmy 40-something, we had the windows down while I drove home after church with the kiddos.

When I turned down the first of 3 country roads to get to my house, I rolled up my window; locked the windows and rolled the two back ones down all the way. My oldest is a smart girl (and thinks like me) so she started screaming, "No, Mom! No!" I was laughing too hard. The second oldest girl (#3) is smart but didn't quite get it since was still laughing at her older sister. She was soon screaming when I hit the puddle. I got her good. Their poor little brother who was in back behind them (we have a 3 row Freestyle) just had his coat zipped up over his head. He looked like the headless horseman.

A few puddles and bullseyes later, I was really having fun. #2 was in front so he felt safe to laugh at his sisters' expense. The girls were huddle together trying to get away from each of their open windows. I was glad to be the reason to encourage such sibling bonding. Then came our driveway and the screams became louder.

There is a low portion in our driveway with TWO puddles, one for each window. I had stopped and revved the engine to cover the yells that were coming from behind me. Then I went for it. I have had more impressive splashes, but the look in my girls' eyes was worth it. It was fun even though I was promptly told on to their father. They tried to act aghast that I would do that to them, but they like my driving and were all laughing as they were describing our drive home.

They think I am fun.