A father's value

It's Father's Day today. I've been back in Louisiana for about a month now. I've spent almost every morning here having coffee with my daddy. Today I am thinking about how valuable a daddy is. 

Both for boys and girls a daddy has an enormormous impact. Making little boys into caring and productive men is something most mothers cannot do alone. Giving little girls confidence and self assurance with grace and poise is equally as challenging. 

I am so thankful that my daddy has always loved me and believed in me. I am blessed far more than I deserve. Being the daughter if a farmer who happened to spend a lot of time with me, afforded me the opportunity to have surrogate dads also. Between Mr Rudy and daddy, I have always gotten advice (wanted or not), always had a place to store any of my possessions, and always had someone to pull me out of the mud. 

As I grow older and watch my own children form those precious bonds, I think about the men in my life.  Men who always accepted me for me and wanted me to be happy. No matter what happy meant. 

Uncle Sonny - for realizing that as a teenager, I just needed someone to be with me, to hear me and not condemn me. Thank you for baking hundreds of Christmas cookies with me. I find therapy in baking to this day.

Dan - thank you for understanding that I just wanted to talk to my boyfriend on the phone. 

Guy - because you loved me when I hated you. 

PawPaw Zack - I hope that I am able to create the memories for my children and grandchildren that you created for me

PaPa Hughes - not every grandfather takes you to open your first checking account as a freshman in college. You picked me up and brought me to dinner and returned me to my dorm so often. I was never lonely with you around. 

 

Papa Floyd - you saw what Yody saw in me. Because you loved him, you loved me. 

Uncle Mike - you are a father figure  to me and my husband and a grandfather figure to my boys. More than that, you are our friend. Your patience with my children is amazing. They learn so many things about wildlife and outdoor activities with you. I love that you take the time to point out the simple things to them. They now compete on the trip from Elton to Mamou regarding what crops are growing in the fields. They've learned hunter safety from you along with some choice words. ;) You laugh with us when we tease you and Clay will forever giggle about rubbing apples on his arms while deer hunting. 

Mr Rudy - I'm not sure if you are always genuinely happy to see me, but I've never felt that you weren't. Since I was an infant I have loved you and Mrs Bonnie and Mr Rudolf and Mrs Margie. I have such precious memories with you all. You have no reason to be so good to me but you always have been. 

Daddy - you have always been my cheerleader, my support, my mechanic, my ambulance, my psychic, my hero, my builder, my mover, my first love. No matter how many times I don't listen, you continue to love me and guide me and teach me. My boys are lucky to have you as am I. 

Being the mother of five active, spirited, and challenging boys has been quite an adventure. I am thankful that their father is one they can model themselves after. Yody, you are an exceptional dad! You provide for all of our needs and wants as well  as find time to coach, play basketbal, football and baseball in the yard, and foosball in the den. You teach them to hunt and fish and work. But mostly you teach us all about life. I love you with all of my heart and I am thankful for you everyday. 

Happy Fathers Day to all the men in my life!  Here's to having someone that can always pull you out of the mud. 

Taking Daddy to the doctor

Everyone should experience taking an elderly parent to the doctor for several reasons.

Of course they need you to take them. Bless their hearts they can't see or hear or walk. Someone needs to drop them at the front of the building, find the location of the office, translate what the the precious tech is asking them to do and guide then to and from the waiting room to the inner office. 

This is what a good child will do for her parents as they age. I try to be a good daughter. I take daddy to from each visit. However, I cannot completely claim the status of good daughter.  I have no class.  I laugh out loud at the various degrees of his handicap. I can't help myself. 

Currently I am sitting at the eye doctor with him because his eye lids have fallen into his eyes. What the heck is that about?  This poor little girl is trying to get him to explain why he's here today. Good grief.  Now she needs him to look through the little lenses and tell him what he sees. I'm killing myself laughing here in the chair. If I'm not careful I will wet my pants. The beauty of it is that he can't see or hear me. Hahahaha

Back to waiting in the group area. All these sweet old folks talking to each other about how the price of watermelon has risen. They absolutely love watermelon. You can't get the long watermelon anymore though. They're all seedless. One old guy rinses his in Clorox in the sink just to make sure no toxins from the rind get in the actual melon. Conversation has switched to washing your chicken. OMG! This is so funny but I can't risk laughing. They might think I'm crazy!

By the time we get called back to see the doctor daddy is ansy. He gives me his cell phone to hold in case it rings. There's a sign saying to turn if off, but he's expecting a call. If it rings, I am instructed to run out of the room and handle it. Perfect. I can do that. 

Conversation while waiting consists of how he had to milk 4.5 gallons of milk from the cows every morning and most evenings when his brother in law wasn't around. Moving on to how easy kids have it today. After 15 minutes he hasn't been seen and he's ready to leave without being seen. He's now given the good doctor a 5 minute limit he proceeds to begin to count in 60 second increments.  He's killing me. 

Regardless, I will take him to any appointments he has. I will continue to laugh at him and love him dearly. 

Hallelujah....the doctor made his 5 minute time limit!  

  

Home

It is truly amazing how good it feels to go home! No matter how old I am, it is just always so comfortable. 

The 4 little guys and I are back in Louisiana for the summer. As Clay as pointed out so poignantly, I do realize I am doing this all backwards. Winters in Colorado and summer in Louisiana. Yes  in the most extreme climates in the exact wrong season. But my family is here. 

Already my boys are getting brown skin from playing outside. They have managed to collect two toads, a lizard, and eight tree frogs of which they haul everywhere we go in three seperate $5 plastic containers from Walmart...so far my best purchase while here.

In less than a week they have gone swimming five separate times, fishing with their pappy, water gun fighting with a cousin they never met, made it to a very special birthday party for my godchild, fire bombed ant piles and grandma's, and loved up on just about anyone they could. Ah...so good to be home. 

I have said goodbye to a family friend. Garrick, you will be missed. Giggled uncontrollably with my sister. Made fun of my daddy but also hugged him super tight. Enjoyed the simplicity of drinking coffee with Mr Rudy at the warehouse. Enjoyed a bottle of wine with my friend, Becky. Managed to run every day in the heat. Paint my darling Irie's fingernails. Sit on the porch just visiting with Mr Ted. Rub my friend's pregnant belly. 

And the summer has only just begun.

I am home. :)

Change is only change until we adjust.

It seems like everything has been spiraling out of control. School is coming to an end. I'm gearing up to move most of our things to our new home in Louisiana. Clay's athletic events and banquets come all at once. My little guys are just anxious to see grandparents. 

Grant has been feeling better since we have changed his diet to gluten free.  We still have huge decisions to make concerning his esophagus. The whole situation makes me so proud of him. He has endured approximately 60 surgical procedures in his short little life. And we know there are more to come. 

The celiac diagnosis through us for a loop. His stomach pain has subsided but he still has trouble eating meats. He's so cute. He chews and chews and chews. We should all eat like him, I'm sure. We'd be much thinner and healthier. I find he eats small amounts...often. He has really been a trooper about avoiding all those baked goods. 

A friend of his brought cupcakes to school on Friday. He couldn't eat one :( but he was so good about it. I am learning and I will be prepared for next year with frozen cupcakes (gluten free) ready to celebrate anyone's birthday!

Blood tests came back and the rest of our five boys have it too. I am negative! I guess I'll smuggle bread when they are not around. I know that it seems like such a huge change. I know that I can do it for my boys. Once I figure it all out, anything else will feel abnormal. 

Preparing...

No one tells you that as your children grow up, it gets harder. 

While your expecting, you prepare for sleepless nights, breast feeding basics, safety proofing the house, and all those things that you think must be absolutely perfect. What you don't prepare for is the challenges each child as an individual presents. 

I've always been competitive. Always wanting and reaching for more. For ways to make myself better, be better. Always looking for ways to challenge myself.  Setting goals. Meeting them and setting new goals. 

There is no preparation for understanding how children are so different from you. It's hard to accept those differences. But as a parent, it's my job to recognize that difference and accept who he is becoming. As a parent, I must trust that he will make decisions based on the morals and values we have taught, on life lessons. It's not easier as they get older. If anything, I am always second guessing my decisions and his.

There are no books to prepare you for the heartache of child who feels different. You cannot prepare yourself in creative methods of comfort to meet their individual needs. And they cannot always be rescued or the winner.

I guess I am feeling the growing pains of my boys getting older. I have always wanted them to have their own ideals and opinions, to go their own way, to be individuals. Idealistically, I thought their uniqueness would be like mine. :) And for the most part they are strong and smart. Reliable and independent. 

But I have to admit, I miss those little boys who thought I was super mom. 

Busy in May?

It's May 8th here at the top of the Rockies. So far this week...

Aaron and Will have had track and field day on separate days of course. They were awesome!

I organized the annual PTO Teacher Appreciation Breakfast with wonderful ladies who adore all if our fabulous teachers.

I've brought Grant to doctor only once.

Will attended guitar lessons. How I wish this 30 minutes would go by more quickly. Not quite as bad as Clay's relentless Twinkle Twinkle on the violin, but painful still.

Three of my 5 boys ride their bikes to school for National Bike to School Day in a downpour of fluffy white snow. There was no hot chocolate when they got there. So I had to comfort little boys who were soaking wet and cold.

Grant participated in a bike rodeo and received a new helmet. Hooray for safety measures. I love that other people are trying to protect my children as well.

Clay wrecked and paid for repairs to our car bumper, which was a wonderful lesson for him. ;)

I managed to have a play date yesterday.

And today, I've bribed 400 elementary students to bring their library books back by offering candy to the first classes in each grade to get them all in.

I shaved my legs too.

Wow! It's only Wednesday. I'm sure of it now...I'm really a super hero. I'm going to buy a cape!

I think something is wrong with him

Here's my challenge. Aaron is beautiful. He's athletic. He's funny. And he's really really smart. So he stays in trouble...

He truly believes himself to be the victim in most situations in our home. He's smart enough to twist things around so that I have learned a great line from love and logic 'Aaron, I love you too much to argue.' Which works for me but not his 4 brothers.

He aggravates his brothers. He always knows the answer. He questions everything we say. When I spank him, he laughs. When his brothers beat him, he tattles. He's just that kid that always has something going on...and he's probably up to no good.

One of his lazy day weekend pastimes is so strange. He sumo wrestles Grant. However, I'm not sure Grant is really participating or goading him onward.

For those of you not familiar with sumo wrestling, I'll try to explain the minutia amount of the sport that I know! Sumo wrestling is a Japanese sport (I think). They are trained from childhood. They are huge and massive men wearing these strange underwear thongs. They are really really strong. The object of the sport is to push your opponent out of the circle.

Aaron has become fascinated with the thong part! So on these rare occasions where Grant will participate, Aaron is ready to go. He will strip down to his underwear in the middle of the living room. Pull the underwear way up his butt and proceed to wrestle Grant, who is still fully clothed. He stops every once and a while and gives us a wink as he pulls his underwear further up. (There's definitely something wrong with him)

Of course this goes on for a while and Aaron makes us laugh and he usually ends up crying...Grant is bigger.

But, it's so strange. He completely gets into his character....underwear thong and all. It is a brief reprieve from his incessant tattling and fighting and thinking he's a victim.

I know that as long as we continue to love and mold Aaron, he will be a wonderful, intelligent, hard working gentleman one day. And even though he is probably my most challenging child, I have visions of the man he will become

My special hope for my precious Aaron is one he has taught me. I hope he continues on his magical yet sometimes annoying journey.

Throughout your life, may you never be pushed out of the circle!

I just want to finish my book

So it's the weekend and Yody is home even though he is on call.  Sethie is at a sleepover and Clay is at baseball practice or something like that.  We only have Will, Aaron, and Grant.

Will insists he has a friend over and he is such the social butterfly, how can I say no.  However, I am almost done with my book...huge Jack Reacher fan here.  Yody and I chat and agree and K comes over.  This of course happens in the evening after 3 or 4 other children have already gone home from playing here.  Lots of children is never a problem.  Put out snacks and drinks and hide in my room...great philosophy by the way.

Tucked away in my room with only a few chapters left, I hear a huge commotion.  "OMG, it stinks!"...giggle giggle.  "Dad, someone pooped in their pants and it's in the laundry basket", "the bathroom stinks"  followed by hoops and hollers of laughter.  Yody (whom I absolutely adore) starts yelling for me.

Emerging from my book, I enter the living room where he and the children are sitting on the couch with the laundry basket with poop sits in the middle of the living room.  Of course, no one wants to do anything and the boys are all blaming Sethie.  Remember, he is at a sleepover.  Words fly...good and bad and I eventually remove the pants from the underwear and have Aaron take it out the garbage.

It's only underwear...no washing machine should have to endure poop filled underwear and no mother should care that much to rinse it out in the sink.  Goodbye little blue undies with puppies printed on them.

Needless to say, Will's friend, K, was not accustomed to the fiasco of a stinky bathroom with dirty undies nor placing it in the living room for everyone to try and figure out to whom they belong.

He puked.  Can't say I blame him.  If I were a 9 year old boy, I probably would have too.  Poor guy.

Of course, keep in mind, I already dealt with the poop.  I cannot do poop and puke in one night.  Yody to the rescue. I told you I adore him!

Situation under control.  Just another small adventure in our household.  However, K did not ever resume playing.  He just couldn't get it together after that.  Again, poor little guy.  Will did not get to have his sleepover.  K's mom came to get him shortly after.

We did figure out the culprit of the stinky underwear.  Since all four are only a year apart, they wear the same size in almost everything.  He of course sat there and let everyone blame Sethie.  He was quite embarrassed when we asked him about it and his innocent response was just "I thought I was gonna just pass gas".

You just can't make this stuff up.  I love my boys!

Sunday Big Breakfast

So Grant officially was diagnosed with Celiac Disease yesterday.  Now the whole family needs to be tested.  Apparently it is genetic.

As I am going through the list of symptoms...I find that everyone I know has some of these symptoms.

• Abdominal cramping, intestinal gas
• Distention and bloating of the stomach
• Chronic diarrhea or constipation (or both)
• Steatorrhea – fatty stools
• Anemia – unexplained, due to folic acid, B12 or iron deficiency (or all)
• Unexplained weight loss with large appetite or weight gain

Of course on any given day 1 or more people in my "locker room" style family have 1 or more of these symptoms!  Of course mine is always the weight gain.  

But it gets better....(I love the internet.  I can diagnose anything my children have, right through the Mayo Clinic online)

• Dental enamel defects
• Osteopenia, osteoporosis
• Bone or joint pain
• Fatigue, weakness and lack of energy
• Infertility – male/female
• Depression
• Mouth ulcers
• Delayed puberty
• Tingling or numbness in hands or feet
• Migraine headaches

Again, depending on who you are talking to in my home....someone has something wrong in this list!

With all of that said, I am attempting to make our household gluten free!  With much resistance.  I am searching online and finding recipes and figuring out how to make the best doggone cajun food...gluten free.  I know, I have set my goal pretty high.  

My biggest priority today is Sunday Big Breakfast!  Each Sunday morning, Yody and I hop into the kitchen (ok the boys drag us out of bed and into the kitchen) to make pancakes, french toast, biscuits, eggs, bacon, sausage, gravy, hashbrowns, and sometimes even beignets!  The menu varies from week to week depending on what I remembered to grab at the store, but they love it!  The boys look forward to Sundays for this event only.  They invite their friends.  It's quite a production and they think Yody and I are cool!  Their friends talk about it at school.  They set things up all week in order to come to Big Breakfast.  

Now, I have to figure out a gluten free Sunday Big Breakfast.  I think we just dropped a couple notches on the cool-o-meter. :(

I attempted pancakes today.  Potato Pancakes.  Seemed simple to get the ingredients together.  Looks the consistency of pancake batter.  Ok, I can do this.  Wowzers, they even cook like real pancakes.  Maybe it takes a little longer to cook, but they could fool an 9 year old, right?

Wrong.  Will was my test subject.  So excited! Wide eyed and happy for breakfast.  He poured on the syrup.  Cuts a bite with his fork.  Gives me a thumbs up and then proceeds to gag and run to the trash can.  My suggestion...maybe you took too big of a bite!  Once again, being the precious sweet boy that he is he tries again.  Smaller bite.  He really really tried, but couldn't get it down.  Back to the trash can for Will. 

Back to the drawing board for me.

Introduction

When you think you have things under control....you probably don't.  That has been my experience raising five beautiful boys in the top of the Rockies. 

Hi, I'm Rebecca and I am a southern belle who has transplanted to the High Rockies with the man of my dreams, Yody.  We have five rambunctious boys ranging in age from 7 to 17.  This is my story of life in and out of the ER. 

Our trips have been frequent...about once a month or so.  My friends laugh at me and my family just shakes their heads.  Is it me as a parent or do my children take that many more risks than others?  Aren't all boys needing stitches and casts this often? I'd like to think so, but I know that it is not the case.

My oldest son is Clay and he is 17.  His injuries have been limited to a fractured liver from a fall out of a very tall Magnolia tree, a shattered clavicle from snowboarding with surgery and a plate, a repeat surgery for a pseudo aneurysm and plate removal, a broken thumb and several stitches and staples in his head.  Perhaps it is too heavy.

Grant is 11.  Grant started out early as a 34 weeker.  Grant rolled over at 6 weeks and fractured his skull.  He proceeded to drink a chemical called Nubrite when he was 2 years 10 months that resulted in a peg tube placement for feeding, over 55 esophageal dilitations and lots of barium studies.  He has also broken his hand punching his younger brother in the head, along with both arms twice for a grand total of 7 broken bones.  He has needed numerous amounts of stitching.  His newest venture is celiac disease.  Can't wait to see what we are gonna come up with for this one!

Wilhlem is 9.  He's a joy.  He's only broken each ankle.  He has never needed stitches.  I'm sure his turn is coming.

The pistol of the bunch is Aaron. He is 8.  Aaron has broken only 1 arm and needed stitches once!  We are excited that Aaron has taken a minimum amount of our money to the hospital.

Last but not least is Seth or as I like to call him Sethie.  Seth has had NO broken bones!  Woohoo!  However, he has fallen into a muffler of a Ford Excursion and needed about 22 stitches in his eyebrow.  By the way, that eyebrow is permanently tattooed with a nice black scar (possibly from the burning muffler... who knows?)  Following his brothers' lead, he managed to get a severe concusion in which he had to be 'flighted for life' to the hospital and relearn to walk, talk, eat, etc...  He still maintains concussion symptoms 2 years later.  Yay us!

All this in such a short time of life!  I need to take Aaron to the doctor.  Yody thinks he has whooping cough.  We all got chicken pox over spring break too. It was fun!