Darren and Jenn minus 6

As we left Denton on the way to our 12 and a half anniversary trip - it was good to just be together. Just the two of us. But it wasn't much different than a regular date.

As the miles added up, the daily noises faded away. By nightfall, we were snug in our little 2 bedroom time share in New Braunfels.

No TV. No questions. No laughing. No arguing. No "I need to tell you something." No click-clicks down the hall. No crying. No comments. No interuptions. No questions.

All that quiet had an unexpected effect on my ears ...

Not a ringing. Not a thumping. But more of a fuzziness?

And when the fuzziness finally went away... silence.

Well, listen to that ... nothing. For 5 whole days.

Jenn and Darren at Winery on the Gruene.

Gruene is properly pronounced grewn, but all the locals say 'Green'. Apparently the school systems around there have been failing for decades, since even the old folks can't pronounce the name of their own town correctly.

Looking down from the loft. Notice the internet wire draped across the living room and tied around the banister so we could get internet in the cozy little loft.

BIGGEST PORK CHOP EVER !!! At Cooper's Pit BBQ (Thanks for the tip, Poopa)

Nothing but Starbuck's is open on Thanksgiving Day - Darren's phone app shows us for sure... How dare all those people take off a day to eat turkey while I am on vacation!

Darren made sure the front door wasn't open and some kids followed him thinking he was going in :)

The grumpy Darren and Jenn after a Thanksgiving day that was out of their control...
sometimes everything doesn't go like you planned it.
But He is faithfully working on Darren and I.


We recovered, because He is a big God, not scared of our complaining.
And He puts us back on the right path.
We had a wonderful get away!

Thank you again, Bill and Delight ... both for the gift of where we went and the gift to be able to go alone. We love you.


What a wonderful Anniversary, Birthday, Christmas, Hannukah, Valentine's, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, April Fool's Day and New Year's Day present all rolled into one.

Maybe Darren and I can get away again in another 12.5 years!

sadness, puking and accidents

The parental units had finished their conversation and moved to the kitchen to prepare the evenings meal. Emily was on food prep duty with a knife and red pepper.

Emily: (tears in her eyes) I don't want you to go.
Darren: Why?
Emily: I don't know.
Jenn: Are you worried we won't come back?
Emily: no
Darren: You'll have grandma Lite and Poppa Bill...
Jenn: and no mean mommy or daddy to tell them no.
Darren: You'll have lots of fun with them.
Emily: (crying)But why do you have to go?
Darren: Because we want to. But we'll call you every day. And then you'll say you don't have time to talk to us, because you are too busy having fun.
Emily: But what if you don't come back.
Darren: We will. We will miss you. We will come back. We are just going away for a few days.

In comes Becca, crying (having been on the potty in the back of the house)...
Jenn: What's wrong?
Becca: I was calling for you and no one was answering me.
Jenn: Are you ok?
Becca: Yes, but I was calling for you and no on came.
Jenn: Darren, Claire just threw up.
Jenn: Oh no, she did it again. I need another towel. I'm sure we're going for the rule of three here.
Jenn: yep, here we go....

* it might get a little yucky here*
Claire threw up all over herself and her tray. I removed tray and placed it gently on the table...so the throw up wouldn't spill. I tried to undress her without touching her. Or breathing in her direction.

Emily starts the bath for Claire. Darren holds Becca. I am ever so careful to take Claire to the bath. She plays happily while Becca and Emily tell me their stomach woes.

Darren enters bathroom: Jammies and bed for everyone.
Emily and Becca : WITHOUT DINNER???!!!!???
Jenn: I thought your stomach hurt?
Becca: Well, I want something to eat.
Jenn: (I know she wants applesauce). What do you want?
Becca: Something not crunchy.
Jenn: Like what?
Becca: Something cold that I don't have to chew.
Jenn: Like?
Becca: Applesauce
Jenn: (that's what I thought. I've been hearing about an upset stomach for 2 days. But no signs of stomach ache when she's in the backyard playing dress-up with Emily tonight. No stomach ache during snack time. But now, it hurts. Maybe it does... but not enough to stay home from school tomorrow.)

Darren feeds kids, I dress Claire, girls are on their bed - waiting for a book.

Finally, I begin reading Emily's nite-nite book ... "Emily's 100 Days of School"... LONGEST picture book ever. Cute book... but not a quick read.

Day 20 - In comes Darren and Amanda...with no panties.
Accident?
Yes.
Where?
Cozy room.
:(

Daddy cleans Amanda up and sends her my way.
Now we are all on the bed - Emily, Becca, Amanda, Claire and mom.
Day 85 - Claire coughs.
Yep. More throw-up.
Luckily it was on Becca's jammie pants that she was not wearing and not all over the bed.
I get Claire off the bed and she continues to puke on the floor.

*Messes happen. Kids get sick or have accidents - you just have to keep your wits about you and aim those messes to facilitate fast clean up. And the floor is easier to spray and wipe than removing all contaminated bedding and finding clean alternatives while you start washing the messy bedding. The non-carpeted floor is just easier. I might change my mind in the new house.

Resume reading at day 85. Almost there. Almost time for all the kids to be in their containers for the night. Only 15 more days.
ooops. Mistakenly think that Emily's book was sufficient for Becca and Amanda.
Nope.
Read 12 Dancing Princesses easy reader (Becca's book choice)

Katy, will you find us two puke buckets. Emily and Becca both want one.
Thanks big sister.

Read Lilly's Big Day (Amanda's book choice)
Lights off and music on.
Goodnight.

"Aren't you going to hold us?"
No, not tonight. (You see, although you two claim an upset stomach...Claire is the only one who has thrown up.... so I need to hold her and put her to bed.)

As I make my way to the cozy room, turn off all the lights and just hold my sweet little Claire...
I see 3 short figures make their way into the kitchen, looking for their mom.
I say nothing.
They find me anyway.

Becca: My tongue hurts. I told Daddy and he said to come ask you if I could put an ice pack on it.
Jenn: (WHAT? GO TO BED!) No sweetie, I don't think that's a good idea. Have a drink of water. All of you. Then get in bed.

They are all in bed now... but even as I began writing this, I could hear Emily coughing.

Jenn: Emily, come to the kitchen. You need a drink of water and some cough medicine.
Emily: What? Are you talking to me?
Jenn: Yes. Amanda - get back in bed.

(And unless anyone has a fever in the morning... you are all going to school.)

Why I dislike afterschool playdates...

You'd think that since I have so many kids, adding one more friend to the bunch wouldn't matter.

You're wrong.

My kids are used to me, I'm used to them. They know my rules, my pet peeves, what they can and can't do. Add new kids into the mix, and they ask questions, they whine and they smell. No wait, I think smell must be a different post.

Why I dislike afterschool playdates...

1. They invade family time. Now that the kids are in school all day - separate from each other - when they come home, it's their chance to be together. Whether they choose to or not, at least the option was there. When other kids get involved, a sibling gets left out... much sadness (or arguing) follows. And Amanda always wants to play with them.

2. Boys vs Girls. 1 boy vs 5 girls. We share rooms. I don't like to hear "no boys/girls allowed". I don't like big kids leaving out little kids. These are values I have, so when playdates move outside that box, I get aggravated real quick. Real Quick.

3. Our flow/schedule gets all messed up. We have things to do when they get home: snack, homework, chores, playtime, dinner prep, setting the table, dinner, kitchen clean-up, maybe a little more free time, get ready for bed, reading. That sounds doable, but it takes ALL our time. If someone gets playdate time, their backpack and snack wrappers get left wherever they land and all their jobs get backed up. When they get home, it's hard to get caught back up.

3. The questions! These kids don't know me well enough and they ask questions (or ask my kids to ask me things that my kids already know the answer to, but thought they should check in case I've changed my stance on the ice cream truck, candy, video games, playing in the street, feeding mentos to small rodents .) Do you get the picture?

4. The wii get's it's own number, because we only have one. And there are always at least 2 people who want to play. So if you are going to have a turn, a five minute turn just isn't long enough. Sometimes the friend is video game savvy and it's ok, but usually the kid doesn't have a wii or some particular game so they haven't practiced as much as Jacob - so there tends to be some whining. "Jacob, don't do that. Jacob, stop killing me. Jacob, let me get one. Jacob, I wasn't ready. Jacob... whine, whine, whine." Not to mention, all the sisters sit around watching him play and now they want their turn. How much screen time do they really need?... and now it's unfair because so and so has a friend over.

5. "Something special "- all the children not involved in this particular playdate grow large doe eyes and tilt their head while pleading their case for "something special" (which means candy and a movie). Now I have to make a decision... and the consequences and repercussions that follow.

Know you know. And knowing is half the battle.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Today was Career Day... the sisters were hardpressed to figure out what they wanted to be when they grow up that coresponded with an outfit we had in the dress - up box.




In the end, Emily chose a simple leotard with her hair in a bun to show the world her desire to be a ballerina dancer. Becca went with our newest dress-up box arrival and her hair in a bun to express her desire to be rich and famous. They both want to go to fancy parties when they grow up... which could really be any number of career choices.



Jacob has decided that a video game beta tester will suit him just fine. So he took one of the wii-motes with him. He's really good at any game he plays (wii, computer, cards, board games....) Now to figure out how to get paid for that!





I made Katy get her horn out. We realized no one has seen her with her special alto. Although, her band director is moving her up to Tenor this week.





What about Claire and Amanda?

Claire wants to grow up so she can get everyone's toothbrushes without having to use the stool.




Amanda is pretty comfortable being Amanda... not sure if she wants to grow up. She's got the best of being one of the littles and yet lots more privileges at 3 than Katy or Jacob had.




When Mom grows up, she wants to remember not to bonk her head on Jacob's bunkbed.




Here's one more picture from today. Guess which buddy was laying there first.










Claire was laying there first...the time change can throw off a girls schedule. Layla brought her toy to chew on, in the sunshine, next to Claire :)