Numbers

I'm a number person. I love numbers, which might lead one to think that I love math, but I don't. I don't hate math, but I don't really care for it either. Sounds strange I know ~ to love numbers but not love math. The fact that I'm not very good at math could have a lot to do with that, but that's beside the point. So I am a number person. I remember birthdays, anniversaries, phone numbers, addresses ~ anything that has to do with numbers. I love number patterns, the way numbers relate to each other and most of all, how true numbers are. A given amount of something is the same amount no matter what language you are speaking. Eight apples is eight apples. Period. So now here we are at the end of 2009. We are ending the first decade of the millennium. What does this mean for a number person like me? Well let's see:



1) This is the first odd numbered year since the millennium that I am not pregnant for New Years Eve.

2001 pregnant with Ben

2003 pregnant with Kate

2005 pregnant with Will

2007 pregnant with Cam

2009 ~ not pregnant!

(I say that deserves a toast in and of itself!)



2) Since you are bright people you can probably figure this one out, but I'll put it in writing anyway. 2010 will be the first even numbered year since 2000 that we will not be bringing a new baby home. While this was a decision we both made and stand firmly behind but it doesn't come without a hint of sadness in my heart.



3) 2010 will be the year I turn 35! ACKKK!!



4) Everyone else in this household will turn even numbers ~ Jon 34, Ben 8, Kate 6, Will 4 and Cam 2. Even numbers for the even years, odd for the odd. Love it! (Funny how I am the one born in an odd year and don't follow that rule. But I was born in a 5 year, so it's always easy to figure out how old I am, which as we get older can be hard to remember ;)



The last decade of my life, and the first decade of the millennium, has been dedicated to growing, birthing, nursing and caring for babies. It's what I have done for a long time. My body is very good at it. I love newborns. Giving birth is a powerful and amazing gift that we women have. That part of my life has come to an end. A decade of babyhood is about to be behind me, and in the next decade?? Well, I guess in a way I don't really know. My kids will grow, that much is a given. The next ten years is sure to be as much, if not more, of a whirlwind and roller coaster ride as the last. I just pray to God that I am half as good at being a Mom to growing kids with complicated issues as I was at tending to my newborns. I have a feeling that this past decade is going to be one I look back on and wish to relive. I will long for the days of cranky toddlers, irrational preschoolers, emotional kindergartners and sassy first graders. I will beg for five minutes with each of my kids instead of longing for five minutes of solitude. I will miss the days when I just didn't have time to take a shower, get dressed or finish my coffee before noon. My morning runs will be spent day dreaming of time with my kids instead of my hectic mornings with the kids spent day dreaming of running. The last ten years may have been the most life changing, but the next ten will be by far the hardest. I better buckle up and rest up, I have a feeling we are in for one hell of a bumpy ride!

Happy New Year Everyone! Stay Happy, Stay Healthy and Stay in Touch!

Christmas!!

Christmas is nothing short of magical around here and I love every minute of it. From Christmas carols, to decorating the house, making cookies, writing to Santa, having the kids pick out presents to give away etc etc. It's just a wonderful time to be a kid, or have kids is you yourself can't be one. Of course the true meaning of Christmas is pretty spectacular as well, and while we try to remain focused on who and what Christmas is all about, as a kid the idea of Santa and eight reindeer coming to your house is way more exciting that the birth of a baby ~ especially in this house since birthing babies just seems normal everyday life type stuff. It was on a daily basis that I would find Baby Jesus (from our wooden nativity scene) wrapped in one of Camryn's diapers, or in a stroller, or under a pile blankets going 'night night' ~ at least Camryn was taking good care of Him.

Ben with his new electric guitar from Santa. He plays everyday and doesn't sound half bad. I guess it's time we get him some lesson so he can really learn how to play it.


Cam loves her babies ~ the last thing she needed was a new one since we must have over 50 of them, but Santa just couldn't resist besides her list was a little short this year and we didn't want her to feel left out.


Camryn opening her gift from her big brothers and sister ~ a miniture doll house that came with a "mommy" and "daddy". She likes to set up their little table on top of her little table and eat with them. She even gives them plates and utensils, keep in mind they are less than 3 inches tall. It's rather adorable.


Jon made homemade gingerbread last year, little did he know that it would become a holiday tradition. Don't start something around here if you aren't willing to keep it up, especially if I like it! The best part is how wonderful the house smells while it slowly bakes all day. Yummy!!

Santa gave in and brought us a Wii along with the Wii Fit Plus balance board this year. Boy has it been a blast! Katie is kicking every one's butt at bowling ~ she rolled a 220 today!! And the rest of us are just having fun playing all the sports and games. Will can snowboard like nobody's business and Ben has a pretty mean punch in boxing. The hula-hoop game has been the funniest to watch so far. We were all in tears laughing at each other today.

Of course one of the most highly anticipated presents of Christmas day was Will's remote control fire truck. Thanks to Baba and Papa who went to great lengths to get it to us before the 25th, after Amazon dropped the ball. Will was thrilled! I must admit, it is pretty cool. Not only does the ladder extend and swing side to side but it also shoots water! Will has loved it! I wish I had a picture of him when he first saw it, but it was very early in the morning and my camera reflexes were in dire need of coffee after being up all night wrapping presents and assembling toys! But here's a video of him driving it later in the day after I got a few cups under my belt.

And here is Ben in all his musical glory. Drums and guitar. Next it will be a keyboard and some lessons. Our little rock star sure is growing up fast!

Our Maine Visitors

Our visits with Mammie and PopPop always seem to go by in a blink of an eye. We tried to keep our schedule pretty relaxing and open since it was our first weekend back from our Thanksgiving trip. We even spent one day just playing at home and baking cookies, but still before we knew it it was time for them to head back north. Here are some pictures from their visit. (Again the pictures are backwards cronologically, so if it really bothers you start at the bottom and scroll up. I got presents to wrap.)

These are at the Columbia Zoo. I wish I got more pictures, but since I was in the 'cage' with them and we were being swarmed by birds it was rather difficult. The three older kids and I went in with tiny cups of nectar and were instantly attacked. Being a cold day in December the Zoo was rather empty, I guess the bird were happy to see us. Most of the time my arms, shoulders and head were covered in them, making it impossible to get to my camera. It was so much fun!

Ben holding a lone bird. This one was on his head most of the time. I guess I need to show Jon how to use a camera. You just have to see for yourselves, we literally had birds all over us.

Mammie and PopPop reading bedtime stories to Camryn and Will.

Camryn is quite the snuggle-bug. I don't think Mammie minded one bit.

We went to the Davidson town Christmas party. Santa was a big hit but Camryn decided to keep her distance.

Here's Will trying to get a peek at Santa as we wait in line. He was soo excited!

Couldn't have a Chirstmas party without a fire truck. Camryn wasn't to sure about this either.

We had a great visit and as always were sad to see them go. Thanks for coming down to see us, we love you!

Mason's Own Little Tyco

I've been dreading this post. Tyco died the Monday after Thanksgiving. He and Jesse stayed with my mom as we traveled north over Thanksgiving break. Prior to leaving Tyco had been a little more lazy than usual (if that dog could have gotten any more lazy) and wasn't eating all his food. Nothing alarming. He was still eating, just every now and then he would skip a meal. Nothing drastic. When someone is slowly deteriorating in front of you it's hardly noticeable. But when you've been gone for nine days and then lay eyes on them it becomes very apparent that something is wrong. Mom had mentioned she was worried about him a couple times when we were gone. It's not unusual for Tyco to be sad when we leave and besides he was getting older. We didn't think much of it until we saw him that Saturday night. The entire day Sunday was spent in the emergency vet hospital with Tyke. It wasn't that it took them long to figure out what was wrong. It just took them forever to get to us. Understandably they see patients based on severity of injuries. When we walked in the vet tech took one look at his gums and ran him back into the lab. His gums were almost white. That's not good. (And for those of you with animals that's the first place you should look to determine how sick your animal is.) Once the tech determined Tyke was stable we had to wait. And wait. And wait. Waiting didn't make Tyco any sicker, nor did it change the fact that his spleen was 10 times the normal size. It just meant that we spent our last day together (and practically our last dollar) in the vet clinic.

Tyco's spleen was HUGE. On the x-rays it looked like three grapefruits lined up next to each other. After discussing all of our options we opted for an ultrasound the next morning. There was no concrete evidence this was cancer, but being a nine year old Golden it was most likely. (And yes for those of you that remember Mason that is what he died of as well.) The ultrasound would tell us if there were signs of cancer on other organs. If so, there would be no reason to operate. Tyco would die in a matter of days. We called our vet, Dr. Booker, the next morning to talk about what we knew. He agreed that the ultrasound would give us much more information. We were all THRILLED when the ultrasound came back 'clean'. It looked like Dr. Booker would be able to remove the spleen and Tyke would be ok. Talk about roller coaster! Before the ultrasound we had accepted our dog was dying. We didn't know how bad it was, or how long he had, but we were pretty sure our dog was dying of cancer. But now. Now we had a chance. Tyke had a chance. A good chance! Everyone was very optimistic! Tyke's surgery was scheduled for 11:00. Dr. Booker was pretty positive that IF he got the spleen out that Tyco would be ok. His only concern at that time was that the spleen would rupture as they tried to remove it and thus fill is body cavity with cancer, guaranteeing death within days. It was on the verge of rupturing before anyone touched it and removing it was risky. We decided to sign a DNR in case the spleen did rupture during surgery, but we really didn't think this would happen. We also came to the decision to not resuscitate if cancer was found on other organs. Even though the ultrasound looked really good, Dr. Booker warned us that until they opened him up they really didn't know for sure what they were dealing with. I stopped by to see Tyke just before surgery (I was on my way to take the kids to the doctor). Tyco was so happy to see me. He jumped at the crate, licked my hands and face. He was getting so excited that I had to leave. I didn't want him worked up before surgery. Besides we were told to treat him like an egg shell, his spleen was so delicate we were not to get him excited. I only stayed for a minute. I gave him a quick pat and told him to have a good surgery. I would see him soon. I could hear him yelping for me all the way to the car. Tyco never made it off the operating table. Dr. Booker found cancer on his liver. He did not resuscitate.

I was the last one to see Tyke. I kissed him, turned my back and left him in that crate. I knew he wanted to come home with me. He told me in every way that a dog can tell you something. He wanted to come with me. I left him there. I left him there to die on that operating table surrounded by strangers. It broke my heart. And now I had to turn around and break my kids hearts. I can still hear Ben screaming "I didn't get to say goodbye! I didn't get to say goodbye!"

I know exactly how he feels.

Ok. Enough tears ... let's remember some happy things about Tyke. Everyone asks about his name. Officially his AKC registered name is Mason's Own Little Tyco - you know like the toy company. Mason was two when we got Tyco and he was very much a toy for Mason to play with.

Mason taught Tyco everything, or at least tried to. Tyco sure was cute, but he wasn't very smart. Mason was born with hip displasia so he never jumped, therefore Tyco never jumped. He never knew a dog could get on a couch, chair or bed if he tried. One day when Tyke was chasing Jon through the house (playing hide-n-seek with the kids) he ran into Katie's room and ended up standing on top of the bed. You could tell by the look on his face he had no idea how he got there.

Tyco was one of the biggest Goldens I have seen. 105lbs at his heaviest and resembled more of a small horse than a Golden Retriever. We picked out Tyke from his litter when he was just a few days old ~ his eyes were barely open. He was the biggest in his litter, so the fact that he ended up at 105 wasn't surprising. He was the best dog with the kids. Every one of our children crawled over, pulled on, tugged at, poked and prodded that dog. He sometimes would look up at me with those big brown puppy dog eyes and say "could ya do something about this little person with their fingers in my nose?" But mostly he just smiled and took what love he could get.

When summer rolls around we will miss him all over again. Boy did he love to swim in the pool. And he even figured out how to jump into it. We never tired of seeing him run and leap into the water after a ball.

We miss you Tyke. More than I ever thought I would. I hope you and Mase have found a nice cool lake to swim in and plenty of tennis balls and ducks to chase. We love you. And I am so sorry.

Uncle Dressing Contest

Leave it to my crazy father to come up with a contest having the kids dress up their Uncles. Four kids, four uncles. It worked well and was quite hilarious. Can you guess who dressed who??

Kate was the creative mind behind Craig's cross dressing. Notice the number of necklaces he has on! You can't really tell from these pictures but Cory is wearing a curtain, rod and all. Will was in charge of his get-up. Camryn had Jesse as her victim, although his girlfriend Robyn did most of the damage. Ben had the honor of dressing Matt. Notice the socks on the hands and yes, that's a bugle he's carrying. There was also a hair drier in his bathrobe pocket. So funny. Keep in mind everyone was quite sober when this went down. They can't even use it as an excuse. I guess that just makes them the best uncles in the world. What I don't get is what Dad and Barb are doing with a life jacket in their house? They don't own a boat or live near a lake??

There is never a dull moment when you come from a crazy family, but that's what makes it so great!

More Thanksgiving

Here are more pictures from Thanksgiving Day. I love this one of Craig and Anna. So much so that it's on here twice. Truth is I couldn't get it to delete the second one and I don't have the time to figure it out right now. So here they are. Craig and Anna live in Jacksonville, FL have been married for 9 years and are the proud parents of a boxer named Sammy. Craig and I are closest in age, he's 20 months younger than myself. We fought like cats and dogs growing up, but I do love him to pieces ... and Anna too!

My youngest brother Matt and his fiance Beth. They are getting married next October and I am soo excited for them ... and for my kids who get to be in the wedding. So fun!

The kids attack Uncle Jesse, he's number four in the line up of Sammons kids. Being a busy doctor out in LA we don't get to see Uncle Jess much. Which may be why Katie told her friend Claire that Uncle Jesse on Full House is her real Uncle Jesse. Her mom emailed me because after she thought about it she said that she could see that John Stamos and I could be related. Nope, not quite. Jesse (the real live one) couldn't make it to Thanksgiving last year so it was great to get to see him this year!

My older brother, Cory, me, Craig and my kiddos. My mom wanted a picture of all of us since she didn't join us for Thanksgiving this year ... here you go Mom! (Don't worry I have a better one I will get printed for you!)

Thanksgiving

It's always so much fun when my family gets together. And as usual the food was fantastic. For those of you who have never brined a turkey make sure you try it next year, it was the best turkey to date! The fact that it was done 2 hours too soon didn't affect the taste at all, in fact chef Craig says that's one of the reasons it was so tender and yummy. As the turkey cools it sucks all the juices back in. Whatever the reason it sure was good! Here are some of my favorite picts.

Camryn hanging out with Grandma Baba and Uncle Matt.

Trying to figure out if the digital thermometer could really be right. There is no way that turkey should be done yet! Well it was ... oops. Dinner was still delish!

Dr. Jesse doctoring the potatoes.

Camryn fell asleep just as we were about to sit down and eat. She slept right through the meal. It was perfect timing!

Tackle basketball/football?? ... just trying to knock Papa to the ground.

More NY

There's a great little playground right near Dad & Barb's. The weather was perfect for a day an afternoon at the park. Ben and Katie were here too they just didn't make it into the blog this time for some reason.

Papa & Cam, Baba & Will.

Oh, yes Dad's silly hat. He says he wears it to support Barb's fight against breast cancer, but we all think he just really wants to be a pirate.

This must be who I get my love of swinging from. I don't know of any other 66 year old men who will jump on an empty swing set for the fun of it. I too love to swing, really I do. It must be genetic?!?

Grandma Baba and her baby girl.

Onto New York

We arrived in Gardiner, New York just after dinner on Monday night. I've always loved the area of New York where Dad and Barb live ~ just at the base of a beautiful mountain range in a cute little town. I haven't been there since Dad's 60th birthday party over six years ago! Far too long. Back then we only had one little one who just turned one. My how time has flown by. After initial hugs and kisses and hello's the wigs made their appearance and they stayed around all week. Will would wear one for hours at a time, it was a riot. These picture still make me giggle when I look at them. What a bunch of goofballs we all are!

More DC

Our second day in DC started off at the Lincoln memorial. Washington and Lincoln are the only two presidents Ben and Kate have studied in school (so far), so it was important we spend lots of time at the Lincoln memorial. The kids were most impressed by the shear size of the statue, but personally I was moved by his speeches and dedication to end slavery. Jon and I had a lot of fun 'relearning' all sorts of American History thanks to this trip. The week before we left we brushed up on our early presidents, their lives, how they died, what they did for our country etc etc. As much as I enjoyed history in high school (ok, so I hated it) ... I would love to take a course today.

At the American History Museum. Look out world here come the first brother/sister Presidential duo.

Camryn was upset she couldn't get to the games. She's trying to push the glass away.

The transportation wing was a favorite for everyone. Will loved all the trucks, trains and cars. He would have stayed there all day if he had had his way.

Future engineer Ben LOVED all the machinery. The rest of us were tired, and honestly a little bored by this department, but not Ben. You could just see his own gears turning as he tried to figure out how EACH AND EVERY machine worked.

Our last stop for the day was the capital building. One of the greatest things for me was seeing all the amazing architecture. The buildings are truly breathtaking. The one thing I did not get to do in DC was run, there just wasn't time. Someday I am getting back there and doing a tourist run through the city. I am still dreaming about it at night.

Kate on Capital Hill.

Kate and Cam bustin' a move at a cafe before we hit the road to New York. I love this picture of the two of them. You put a single step in a restaurant and my kids make it a stage. I don't know where they get this performing gene from but it's quite entertaining!

Watching people walk to work on Monday morning. They were shocked when I told them that you don't even need to own a car when you live in the city.

Road Trip

We picked up Ben from school Friday before Thanksgiving and hit the road for a 1,500 mile trip up to New York to see my family. We made it to Richmond that first day and then stopped in DC to stay for a few days to see the sites, and of course Uncle Matt and (soon to be Aunt) Beth.

Traveling with four kids is a lot of work. For the most part it was a very enjoyable trip. We tried to limit the amount of TV watching to one movie a day so packing car friendly activities was crucial to every one's sanity.

Here Kate is sporting a "must have" in the car ~ plastic ( and stackable!!) art and craft desks. We got one for each of them and they were great!! From coloring to puzzles to playing bingo and serving as tables for meals. They were truly one of the most important pieces of luggage on this trip. They fit right over Ben and Kate's booster seats, Will and Camryn's car seats were a little too wide for them, but if I put my seat all the way back it held Will's table in the perfect spot for him. We managed to wedge Camryn's in just right a few times, but luckily for us she was quite content with a bag of Goldfish.

The hardest part about traveling with four kids is having four kids. Never do they want to, or need to, do the same thing at the same time. Camryn will just nod off to sleep after being fussy for an hour when inevitably someone will HAVE to go pee. Jon will slow the car down enough for me and the little rascal to jump out in a McDonald's parking lot while he circles trying to keep Camryn from waking. By the time Will has fallen asleep Camryn is up and needs a diaper change, someone else is starving and now another one HAS to pee. I spent most of the car ride turned around tending to one need or another. It was exhausting, but worth it.

We stayed on 14th street, just a block from the White House. It was great being walking distance from everything. After a couple days in the car we were more than willing to forgo our seatbelts for running shoes! Our first stop was the White House, of course. The kids were a little disappointed that we didn't get a personal tour from our current President, but had fun counting the secret service men hiding all over the property. I think Katie's last count was 13.

I now regret not telling the secret service that we did indeed have a meeting with President Obama. I hear they aren't really good about knowing who should be coming and going these days.

An added bonus was getting to spend the day with Matt and Beth who just happen to live in DC. We met them at the Washington Monument and made our way over to the Air + Space Museum. Will and Katie enjoyed all the seeing and touching and watching, but Ben could have spent the next year of his life reading every plaque and notation and studying different types of flight and experimenting with aerodynamics. They all thoroughly enjoyed themselves. We left Air + Space to head onto Natural History, after a quick stop over at the carousel. Here the kids gawked at dinosaurs, plants, animals rocks and gems. It was a fun filled but tiring day!

As we walked back to the hotel Kate says to me "Mommy, I like city livin'!" Me too Kate, me too.