one enlistment, 2 global moves, 3 weddings, 4 kids and 20 years later...

The man I married 3 times...and would marry all over again!

and here I am. And who knew a reunion with the people I knew during the most anxiety ridden stage of my life would be SO MUCH FUN!!
So, high school just wasn't all that fun for me. I spent so much damn time worrying about other people's opinions, my social status, my wardrobe and my love life that I just plain forgot to enjoy it. Not to say that 4 years went by with nary a fun time...but really, I don't recall a ton of fun. I remember being completely consumed with worry and anxiety A LOT. Although, I must say my best year was my senior year. Steph, Wes, Stacey and I were the coolest music geeks around and we had an absolute blast. SO, I guess in retrospect...
as Michelle so eloquently put it "Good Lord, we're all adults now, who gives a shit what happened twenty years ago!"
I second that!!
My reunion was hysterical. Suffice it to say that there was a discussion regarding a lack of underwear, a ridiculously long walk in the dark...over a fence...through some woods...to a VERY closed bar, a push up contest (in my finery with my best friend,) NEED I GO ON? A ridiculously good time was had and I will definitely sign up for the next one. BUT next time I vote for a whole weekend of stupidity.
I must say, I was really bummed not to have more time to talk to many old friends. There were many people I was SO looking forward to catching up with. And before I could blink, the night was over and I had not one more minute to chat. So, if I missed catching up with ya, hope to see you at the next one!
And Kristine Eisenacher...girl you rock. Bringing a sweet baby and an even more wonderful hubby to keep that baby...that is awesome! Wish we could have chatted more than 3 words on the way out!
So, now enjoy these ridiculous pics and feel free to comment... I'd love to hear from you.

My oldest and bestest friend....

4 friends VERY late in the par-tay mode!

Why am I the only one who still has hair?

Karena, Jen and Me...damn we some young chicks!! LOL

The fab four...together again for the first time in TWENTY years!

My sweet, wonderful, very missed pal...Shawn. Missed you all these years!

Steph and me... watch it or we might break into song...again!

The first boy I ever kissed (behind a barn in the 7th grade!)... Jason

Man, that Randy is a lucky dude!! Hee Hee :-)
Note the bar crawl ringleader (Sheila) hiding in the center...

Sheila's hubby Marty...always trying to get in the BED!

I do have other children...

you know. It seems like lately all posts have been about the minis...and to avoid the excessive cost of therapy to address the lack of posts regarding the bigs, I figured it was about time I chronicled their happenings...
Seriously, the guilt is killing me. Where has the summer gone? Where are all my funny snippets about the queen Eva and her loyal subject...tyrant Charley? With an undying patience that will undoubtedly come back to me in spades when they are teenagers, they have endured a most crappy year. I have been continually amazed by their gumbylike adaptation to every new situation/home/school/friend/etc...etc... we have vaulted them into in the last 13 months. And if you really want to go back...It's only been 2 years since we left Oki. SO, let's count... we've moved 5 times in the last 2 years. No wonder my brain is fried & I can't decide where to hang a picture, set a book, plant a bush, set a lamp... at least I still retain the ability to alphabetize spices. :-)
So, the truth is, my bigs are amazing. Eva has endured the lack of extracurriculars, playdates, "field trips," mommy time, daddy time, well, just about EVERYTHING she is used to, with a sweetness that defies the odds. I swear this child is from an alternate universe. (well, there was that one time in target that she jumped up and down & threw a fit that had my mother picking her jaw up off the floor.)

She has morphed into a queen bee, ready to lead the brood at a moment's notice. (when it suits her, that is.) How quickly she has gone from my shy kindergartner to an outspoken and sassy first grader. While mostly endearing, it does try my patience on occasion... A newfound fascination with horses has lead her to repeatedly request riding lessons, horse themed clothing and a ridiculous number of stuffed horses. So, at my own financial peril...I am caving. Riding lessons it is. And in deference to my texan family, western pleasure it will be. It's bad enough my husband married a yankee, if I let her learn to ride english, I would be summarily excommunicated from all things Texan. And that would suck. So, western it is! The other most exciting part of her day is constantly messing with her hair. I am honestly quite amazed at her ability to "do" her hair. Most of the time I thank God, since it is one less grooming task I must be responsible for. She is still a bit "out there" with her wardrobe, but truthfully, I find it so endearing that I really don't look forward to the day she grows out of it. Tommorow is the big day... off to first grade. Wish me luck and pray for the sake of the teacher that all goes smoothly for my baby bug. :-)

As for Charley. Well, what can you say about a child that yells louder than you do when she's in trouble, beats regularly (but with love) on her siblings, has the aim of a major league pitcher with whatever she is launching at you...but refuses to give up her binkie or potty train because she wants to be little. And you know it's just because she wants more of you than you can figure out how to give. My sweet, sweet baby bean. That child is on fire.

And mostly in a good way. Brighter than a thousand bulbs, if you give it to her, she will figure it out. A phone, a camera, a leapster, a game, a puzzle, you name it. I am considering asking her to teach me how to use my new phone. I still don't know how to turn the ringer off... She is sweet beyond anything I have ever seen in a child that young. She craves and gives love so magnanimously that is just makes your heart want to explode. I think mine does at least a few times a day. Her favorite activity lately is dressing up in Eva's clothing. This usually results in one of 2 things... she either looks so cute you want to eat her or she looks like a poster child for horrible hand me downs. And I simply don't have the heart to ever make her change (well mostly never,) so I head out on the town with the brood, dressed like a bunch of street people and hope no one is surreptitiously snapping our photo to use as an ad for birth control. :-) You should have seen the looks we got when JoJo was here... It was like a clown car every time we went to unload. I should have stuffed a pillow under my dress and pretended to be pregnant. Now that would have been fun...
So, I resolve to try to turn over a new leaf. I pray every day for a fairy to arrive and put away all this crap that is stressing me out and making me consider psychedelic drugs. I have to figure out how to step back and do a little at a time. I need some PATIENCE. So if you have either that or a nanny you can spare for a week, let me know! But until then, I'll just try to keep from going slowly insane...
in my brain.

and so, tonight i retire
in the midst of this quagmire

determined to rest
to wake my best

to enjoy my offspring
with lots of zing

wish me lots of luck
pray I don't get stuck

in one of these piles
that goes on for miles

someone please send a nanny
to save my fanny!

in sheer and utter insanity, i sign off...
madcap mom of the many mini macs!

The Adventures of Stick Baby and the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man...

happy stay puff and giggly stick baby...

my crazy clan of kiddos...

Sittin' babies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ah, the time it is a scootin'. So, I swear yesterday I was one BIG belly and all of sudden I have babies who sit up, hold their own bottles, babble like crazy, roll all over the place (Mercy only on this one, Max is too fat and can only roll front to back and then he's stuck...)


SO, Stick Baby is first in the lineup...
As you may have guessed by my fat comment re:Max, Mercy is AKA "Stick Baby"
Just like her older sister, she is such a petite little bean, only possessing one fat roll per side at the very top of her little thighs. No potbelly or double chin on this baby bug. She is COMPLETELY addicted to her johnny jumper, perfectly content to spend at least an hour twisting, jumping, doing the "lick and wipe" and generally observing the clan mac happenings.

Observing, preparing the "lick and wipe..."

licked, and ready to wipe...where is mommy? is she still dry? I can fix that.... :-)

A happy observer...

She is mostly NOT happy if you leave her to her own devices on the floor. Since that is simply not acceptable, she tends to hog the mommy during the day, since her brother would be happy staring at the ceiling fan for hours on end. She is most picky about the temperature of her food and is known to "demand" a reheat on the bottle. This usually consists of pushing the bottle out of her mouth, letting formula dribble off her chin, and the occassional squawk. She is also QUITE loud, preferring to spend her days yelling random syllables at anyone or any stuffed animal in eyesight. I'm in deep doodoo when she starts talking. I may have to wear earmuffs. or take more pills. or drink more wine. or... well you get the idea!!
She simply adores bathtime, getting quite the charge out of drenching mommy and every near surface with feet that NEVER stop moving. I envision a future in serious martial arts. That child is NEVER still! She makes rolling revolutions around her crib, the floor and every other surface she can stand for a few minutes. Truthfully, this adorable, smiling, giggling, super ticklish and snuggly sweet bean SCARES the ever loving cr*p out of me. I have a feeling she is going to give me a serious run for my money... (more pills...more wine... :-)

And now for the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man...
For those of you who are trying to figure out who that is... see Ghostbusters again...you'll get it. Now imagine that dude shrunk to baby size and wasn't pasty white and had blonde hair...that is my Max man. He is all rolls, all the time. Rolls on his arms, rolls on his belly, rolls on his legs, rolls on his fat little fingers, even rolls on his ankles! And his chin, that is the cutest of them all! My little man is, bar none, the happiest baby ever. The only thing that pegs his fun meter is loud noises, poopy diapers and a delay in nourishment. I swear he is convinced his stuffed puppy is real. He spends inordinate amounts of time chatting with and chewing on that poor dog. Bedtime consists of the face plant, followed by the face rub, followed by a binky and settling into the middle of the bed flat on his belly where he will remain unmoved until morning when he might flip himself over if he can get enough leverage...and then he's stuck since he hasn't figured out how to get enough leverage to flip back over. The good thing about those adorable rolls is that they are darn helpful in keeping him upright when he's trying to sit! The funniest part of this little marshmallow must be the expressions on his face. I swear he is looking at us half the time, like: "What the heck where you thinking," or "What on earth is this silly thing you just stuck in my face? Do I look that dense?" and my personal favorite: "just what is HER problem NOW?!" I'm relatively certain this dude will spend his formative years hiding out from his sisters to avoid estrogen overload. Poor guy.

"What the heck where you thinking?"

"really? I think not."


"Hmmm, what trouble can I get into now..."

So for the Stay Puff/Stick Baby major moments:

July 2: Max can hold his own bottle!
July 20: separate cribs...I cried.
August 2: Max sat up!
August 7: Mercy sat up!
August 8: First torture session at Chuck E. Cheese...(oh the things we do for our children)
August 11: First official road trip not related to moving in any way. Headed home to Maryland for fun time with crazy extended family...

So, that's it for now. Yes, I still have the Bigs who deserve their own post... and my 20 year reunion... THAT is a post in the making...
Stay tuned!

tiffers

so, here's the situation...

i need to get away for a week's vacation.
wish i could drive a brand new porsche...

AYEEE, i'm showing my number! I hate it when a song gets stuck in my head. Or a poem, or a kid's rhyme. My type-A brain just runs it over and over and over and over, well... you get the idea.
Seriously, I am SO looking forward to a week at my parents to relax and ENJOY my offspring. this time is just whizzing by and i feel like i'm missing all the good stuff. actually I am missing all the good stuff. my littles are getting so big & my bigs are so grown up. I can't stand it and yet, it's so awesome. my new resolution is to STOP THE MADNESS and enjoy the stillness. Because it could be gone before I even realize it.
So, I'll try to update this silly blog soon, so my kids won't need extra therapy sessions when they are older because mom dropped the ball on blaring their lives to the world.

And an update on me...
It's been a tough month for us. My Aunt Millie passed unexpectedly several weeks ago. Since the INDIVIDUAL that was in the "driver's seat" at Charles' school has no life and not one ounce of sense, we were told he could not take off so we could attend the funeral. Uh, he'd be teaching this stupid ass school if he were still a Gunny, so what exactly is it he can't miss? Then we moved into the house and, as you know, my rings and bracelet were stolen. (the bracelet is a new development. discovered it after they fingerprinted my armoire. UGH.) In the midst of all this, I'm trying to unpack and set up this house with 4 kiddos underfoot all day. Needless to say, my wine consumption has been at alarming levels... Then last weekend, I received a call that my cousin had passed away suddenly, at age 39. Leaving behind the love of his life and 3 children. Talk about a kick in the ass. Still can't take time off, so we didn't go.
Well, thursday night was it for me. I finally found out where my jewelry was pawned, when and who did it. I haven't gotten it back, but I'm praying. Regardless of the outcome... I learned this. (Thank you Lord, for hitting me with the proverbial baseball bat of sense and reason.)
I might think I can control my life, but really God is ultimately in the driver's seat and he has a purpose for every event.
The event might make you sad, tick you off, confuse the ever loving daylights out of you, make you doubt, BUT if you stop wallowing in self pity and start letting Him lead you, He'll show you the purpose.
Now, here's where I get to control my life...
I can listen. Or not.
I choose to listen.
And this is why.
Life is entirely too quick. We never know what is around the corner and how it will change us. Am I sad my rings and bracelet are gone? You bet your bootie. Would I change it? Nope. Why? Because it somehow taught me that I wasn't paying attention to my life or the amazing people in it. I was mired in my own stresses, my own worries, letting my fears and impulses lead me around by the nose. For the love of Pete (who is Pete, by the way?) I have the MOST amazing husband and 4 beautiful gifts from God. It's time I learned to live a life of Praise instead of pity. (thank you Beth Moore!)
My rings were the outward symbol of a marriage that has survived some pretty heavy junk. They were beautiful and made me smile.
My kids & Charles are more beautiful.
I'll celebrate that.
Off to Praise.
with love,
the clan mac mama