As husband and wife, they joke together about several things. One thing that gets joked about consistently is buying food on a Sunday. Being a good Christian household, they strive to keep the sabbath holy and focused on Christ. Being parents of seven, they strive to keep their heads on their necks.
Usually after a long day of trying to keep a rag tag group of boys somewhat focused on the sabbath they lock themselves in their room with a movie to drown out the chaos of outside. Each will tease that they are going to go pick up food. Usually when one says it, the other rolls their eyes and reminds them it's Sunday. They had, on occasion, stayed up till it was 12:01 and run to taco bell for a scandalous midnight snack.
But this was the day that mom had enough. After chasing a dog out of their yard, getting rid of a dead chicken, rebuilding a pen, and chasing the chickens back into their enclosure.....both parents go into the house to find that the large Sam's Club size chocolate chips have been spattered about the kitchen, a full bottle of syrup had been dumped on top of that, 3 blankets were also muddled into the sticky mess, and crumbs dotted the entire household.
Seething from head to toes the mother looks at the father......"I'm getting three bags of burgers from Braum's" The husbands eyes become wide with shock. He knew she was serious. Oh, blasphemy never looked so hot. Not only was she willing to go get it, it was SUNDAY, and she wasn't taking no for an answer. "I'm serious, I'm going now. I'm not cooking dinner."
The husband wiggles his eyebrows, "Growl, talk dirty to me." Food coming to him without a kitchen mess is a dream come true. Junk food, on a Sunday....that's the impossible dream. The Mother gets in the large 12 passenger van, rear window still broken out and covered in painters plastic.
She pulls up to Brums, but can't help look over her shoulder to see if anyone from church is around. Silly, if someone from church is at Braums they would be hiding from her. The voice comes over the intercom asking for her order, "tell the grill guy I'm apologizing in advance." She orders three bags of burgers, at $4.74 each for a bag of 5 burgers that feeds the whole family under $20, even if you add in a large fry. What the heck, she's already going to hell, might as well go in a farrari, "Add a large chocolate shake too."
"Ok....15 burgers, a large fry, and a large chocolate shake? that'll be $22.20 at the first window." Surly the cashier was thinking these were for a birthday party. Brahms had only been their a few months....bags of burgers are so cheep, they'll figure it out after the 30th time. She pulls up to the window, "$22.20.....and you will have to pull forward, sorry, it's going to take a bit." She laughs...of course it will, she just ordered 15 burgers, they probably can't even fit more than 6 on the grill at a time.
After waiting a bit, a young woman comes out the door with a large brown paper bag holding 15 burgers, a large fry, and a giant chocolate shake in her other hand. Mother thanks her and drives home. She walks in the door unapologeticly, "DINNER!"
Vultures, they don't have children, they have vultures. It wasn't even worth it to clean off the table, she sits on her bed and turns on their newest acquired super hero movie. Mobs of boys sit down and the sweet crinkle of burger paper is heard around the room. Even after several of them had seconds, there are still questions every now and then of, "Can I have another burger?" "Is there any more?"
Mother looks around at the chaos, if anyone saw them today they would think they were hoarders. That poor house, if walls could talk, it would be crying. The rest of the night until 11:45 is spent putting children back in their beds, swatting bums, and parents locking themselves into their rooms.
Blaspheme.....she hopes her kids don't remember what day it is. The burgers were nothing but bun, patty, ketchup, and 2 pickle slices. They tasted way better than they should have. She vowed to herself that someday she would figure out this parenting thing. Someday she would be amazing.....like that chocolate shake....AMAZING.
Sunday, October 2, 2016
The one where they found the missing chicken.
The backyard was still a disaster. Mother had finally gotten around to cutting down most of the overgrowth, but to do that she had to take down the chicken pen that was attached to the fence. The chickens were elated at their freedom. Too much so. Mom was constantly telling kids to chase the chickens back into the back yard.
The day before, all the chickens had run off. One of them didn't come back. She was hoping the poor thing had just gotten lost. But she knew it was probably dead somewhere.
On this particular day, the last 4 chickens actually stayed in the back yard. Mother was doing laundry, her favorite pastime....maybe not favorite, but most frequent pastime, when all the children began yelling. "There's a dog in the yard!!" Mom ran out faster than you could say dead chicken.
She began yelling and chasing the dog and waving her arms. She had spent so much time with the stupid chickens she started acting like one. No matter her distaste for stepping in their droppings, she wasn't about to let a dumb dog kill of another one of her live stock.
The dog dropped the hen and began chasing another. "CHARLIE!!!!" It was the neighbors dog. "You get out of here!" She ran out the gate. Why did that woman ever bother with animals. It's not that she hated them....yes actually it is.
Mother hated dealing with animals. "I already have to clean up kid messes, why do I need more messes to deal with!" She had bought the chickens in the hopes that the fresh eggs would help the diet of the three of her children with eczema. The eggs were good but she always contemplated killing off the birds in the winter when they weren't laying. The only reason she hadn't is cause she would have to pluck them and gut them. She wasn't queasy....it was just more work than changing water and filling the feed bowl every day.
Once the dog was out the gate she began looking for the hiding chickens. She checked over the back fence....right on her neighbors back porch was a dead chicken. But this was the missing one from yeasterday. It's neck was broken and it's bum was chewed clean off. Luckily no one lived in that house. That would have been unpleasant to step on in the morning. She took the shovel and hopped over the fence. The poor chicken was so scared it laid an egg right before it died. She thought that was just a cartoon thing. Guess not.
She picked up the egg and it's shell was more like a water ballon than an egg. She was surprised it didn't crack. She hucked the egg in the dumpster, then the dead chicken. Well, that's a waste of meat.
After checking the remaining chickens for damages, and finding nothing was awry, she took to the street to find the dog. "Dear, we need to get this pen up before we can deal with that dog." Her husband said. Even still, she knew Charlie was a big part of her neighbors life. She sent the kids on their bikes to try and track the dog down. "We have already had child services called on us for letting our kids ride around the neighborhood. We need to bring them home. " As usual her husband was right. She called home her children and got in the car to look around the neighborhood.
For someone who hates animals she sure has a bleeding heart.
The day before, all the chickens had run off. One of them didn't come back. She was hoping the poor thing had just gotten lost. But she knew it was probably dead somewhere.
On this particular day, the last 4 chickens actually stayed in the back yard. Mother was doing laundry, her favorite pastime....maybe not favorite, but most frequent pastime, when all the children began yelling. "There's a dog in the yard!!" Mom ran out faster than you could say dead chicken.
She began yelling and chasing the dog and waving her arms. She had spent so much time with the stupid chickens she started acting like one. No matter her distaste for stepping in their droppings, she wasn't about to let a dumb dog kill of another one of her live stock.
The dog dropped the hen and began chasing another. "CHARLIE!!!!" It was the neighbors dog. "You get out of here!" She ran out the gate. Why did that woman ever bother with animals. It's not that she hated them....yes actually it is.
Mother hated dealing with animals. "I already have to clean up kid messes, why do I need more messes to deal with!" She had bought the chickens in the hopes that the fresh eggs would help the diet of the three of her children with eczema. The eggs were good but she always contemplated killing off the birds in the winter when they weren't laying. The only reason she hadn't is cause she would have to pluck them and gut them. She wasn't queasy....it was just more work than changing water and filling the feed bowl every day.
Once the dog was out the gate she began looking for the hiding chickens. She checked over the back fence....right on her neighbors back porch was a dead chicken. But this was the missing one from yeasterday. It's neck was broken and it's bum was chewed clean off. Luckily no one lived in that house. That would have been unpleasant to step on in the morning. She took the shovel and hopped over the fence. The poor chicken was so scared it laid an egg right before it died. She thought that was just a cartoon thing. Guess not.
She picked up the egg and it's shell was more like a water ballon than an egg. She was surprised it didn't crack. She hucked the egg in the dumpster, then the dead chicken. Well, that's a waste of meat.
After checking the remaining chickens for damages, and finding nothing was awry, she took to the street to find the dog. "Dear, we need to get this pen up before we can deal with that dog." Her husband said. Even still, she knew Charlie was a big part of her neighbors life. She sent the kids on their bikes to try and track the dog down. "We have already had child services called on us for letting our kids ride around the neighborhood. We need to bring them home. " As usual her husband was right. She called home her children and got in the car to look around the neighborhood.
For someone who hates animals she sure has a bleeding heart.
The one where the baby falls out of bed
Thunk, small cries of a two year old echo down the hallway.
"Oh no, she fell out of bed"
"Wha?" Says Dad sleepily. Mom pats his shoulder lovingly and tells him to go back to sleep. She walks into the little kid room to find the baby crying on the hardwood floor. Scooping her up she comforts the sad baby. Nothing is hurt she just needs to be held. After taking her potty she hands the baby over to Daddy, who has now woken up enough to hold his baby. He can sleep through a lot of things but not little girl sobs.
There is stirring down the hallway as another child gets up to pee. Mom looks out her doorway in time to see the silhouette of a child walking down the hallway. His head is drooping and she wonders if he is upset. Before she calls out to him he slowly walks until his head smacks into the door frame.
Well...that was unexpected. Maybe he just put his head there because he was upset. Children had been known to rest their heads on the walls when they needed a moment, but then he began to move again. Chin still dropped to his chest and slowly turning back and forth as he walked. Dad was fully aware of the situation by now as he and mom began to snicker. "I don't think he is awake," dad says, "he's sleep walking"
The oldest slowly makes his way around the foot of the bed and comes to a stop on moms side. Bending himself in half, he face plants into moms tummy. The giggles have almost consumed Mother. She begins to stroke his hair to wake up theirs oldest child. After calling him by name a few times she manages to wake him. He lifts his head, "hi buddy," says mom, "how'd you get here?"
The boy looks perplexed. Why was his mother in his bed and he next to it. "You were sleepwalking. Do you need to use the bathroom before you go to bed?"
It finally hits him. He shakes his head no, and even in the dark mom can tell that his face is beat red. 10 year olds don't just wander around the house looking for their mom in the middle of the night. He shakes his head as if to try and wake himself up more. Mom calls out goodnight and he gives a cool two finger wave as he saunters back to bed, trying to regain some of his 10 year old cool. The baby stirs then wiggles from snuggling dad, to mom.
Mom turns her head to dad snickering uncontrollably. "Well...you can't fake that!"
"Oh no, she fell out of bed"
"Wha?" Says Dad sleepily. Mom pats his shoulder lovingly and tells him to go back to sleep. She walks into the little kid room to find the baby crying on the hardwood floor. Scooping her up she comforts the sad baby. Nothing is hurt she just needs to be held. After taking her potty she hands the baby over to Daddy, who has now woken up enough to hold his baby. He can sleep through a lot of things but not little girl sobs.
There is stirring down the hallway as another child gets up to pee. Mom looks out her doorway in time to see the silhouette of a child walking down the hallway. His head is drooping and she wonders if he is upset. Before she calls out to him he slowly walks until his head smacks into the door frame.
Well...that was unexpected. Maybe he just put his head there because he was upset. Children had been known to rest their heads on the walls when they needed a moment, but then he began to move again. Chin still dropped to his chest and slowly turning back and forth as he walked. Dad was fully aware of the situation by now as he and mom began to snicker. "I don't think he is awake," dad says, "he's sleep walking"
The oldest slowly makes his way around the foot of the bed and comes to a stop on moms side. Bending himself in half, he face plants into moms tummy. The giggles have almost consumed Mother. She begins to stroke his hair to wake up theirs oldest child. After calling him by name a few times she manages to wake him. He lifts his head, "hi buddy," says mom, "how'd you get here?"
The boy looks perplexed. Why was his mother in his bed and he next to it. "You were sleepwalking. Do you need to use the bathroom before you go to bed?"
It finally hits him. He shakes his head no, and even in the dark mom can tell that his face is beat red. 10 year olds don't just wander around the house looking for their mom in the middle of the night. He shakes his head as if to try and wake himself up more. Mom calls out goodnight and he gives a cool two finger wave as he saunters back to bed, trying to regain some of his 10 year old cool. The baby stirs then wiggles from snuggling dad, to mom.
Mom turns her head to dad snickering uncontrollably. "Well...you can't fake that!"
Friday, September 30, 2016
The day where they get ANOTHER trampoline
Back yard is a funny term, theirs was more like a cross between a jungle and a landfill. The swing set had finally broken that year, and their third trampoline within 5 years had busted, leaving only the empty frame and a large matt strewn about the yard. A large wooden rectangle, standing on its end, was used as the hen house. The mother had tried to move it to a different spot, but the structure was so large and heavy she had only managed to turn it slightly.
Remnants of a wire chicken pen lay just beyond that. None of the wire matched and it was a hodgepodge of scrap wood and wire fence pieces they had collected. Not that it mattered, the chickens always escaped anyway. Poor chickens, there were 5 of them. The children loved those poor things to death. They always brought out food in mom's good kitchen containers....and left them about the yard. A once good teflon pot now scratched from chicken beaks, a glass plate that had, surprisingly, not been broken, cups of every assorted shape and size, and a few, now broken, plastic bowls shining with morning dew.
"Grandpa is HERE!" shout the chorus of children.
"Hi guys! Ready to set up your trampoline?!"
Shouts of 'Sweet!' 'woo hoo!' and 'Alright!!!' ring through the air.
Excitedly they all run outside in their shorts...only to run quickly back in the house complaining of the 'freezing' weather. It was 65 degrees outside. Grandpa laughs and he and their mother begin moving large metal pieces to the back yard. Eventually one or two kids come out to help, but mostly they watch from the windows to keep warm.
"Thank you Daddy, the kids are so excited."
"I'll come back after work and help you set it up this evening"
"Oh, I'm sure the kids will have it done by then." She kisses her father goodbye and returns to the house. The kids are already huddled under a mountain of blankets already watching a cartoon. She wonders if it would be better to let them watch the movie this morning while she gets the kitchen clean, or if she should make them come into the kitchen and clean it. That would take three times longer than doing it herself. Movie wins, sometimes you just have to turn your children off.
The rest of the morning unfolds normally, a few wet pants and a small pile of bread crumbs in the floor. The mom would have loved to get the trampoline set up, but one child was sick and needing to be held. Another child saw the attention and decided they needed mom too. Oh well, holding children isn't a waste of time, they just won't have a trampoline today.
After lunch their Dad comes home from work early. The two little girls excitedly rush to his arms. "How are my beautiful girlies!" They squeeze him affectionately and smother him in kisses. While holding the little ones he leans in and kisses his wife. "Yeah, everyone else went home early, I figured I'll just finish up work from my computer." His wife explains that she has been trying to go outside and put up the trampoline. "Well, how about I spend some time with my little kids and you can help the big boys set up the trampoline."
They begin working, the trampoline was the one her parents had in their yard. Her parents are moving out to the country and offered their fort and trampoline to the family of 9. The children held up one of the legs while Mom tried to get a piece to match each of the poles on the leg. After a few attempts they figured out the pattern and within 20 minutes they had the whole thing set up.
Now, time to work on that chicken pen.
Remnants of a wire chicken pen lay just beyond that. None of the wire matched and it was a hodgepodge of scrap wood and wire fence pieces they had collected. Not that it mattered, the chickens always escaped anyway. Poor chickens, there were 5 of them. The children loved those poor things to death. They always brought out food in mom's good kitchen containers....and left them about the yard. A once good teflon pot now scratched from chicken beaks, a glass plate that had, surprisingly, not been broken, cups of every assorted shape and size, and a few, now broken, plastic bowls shining with morning dew.
"Grandpa is HERE!" shout the chorus of children.
"Hi guys! Ready to set up your trampoline?!"
Shouts of 'Sweet!' 'woo hoo!' and 'Alright!!!' ring through the air.
Excitedly they all run outside in their shorts...only to run quickly back in the house complaining of the 'freezing' weather. It was 65 degrees outside. Grandpa laughs and he and their mother begin moving large metal pieces to the back yard. Eventually one or two kids come out to help, but mostly they watch from the windows to keep warm.
"Thank you Daddy, the kids are so excited."
"I'll come back after work and help you set it up this evening"
"Oh, I'm sure the kids will have it done by then." She kisses her father goodbye and returns to the house. The kids are already huddled under a mountain of blankets already watching a cartoon. She wonders if it would be better to let them watch the movie this morning while she gets the kitchen clean, or if she should make them come into the kitchen and clean it. That would take three times longer than doing it herself. Movie wins, sometimes you just have to turn your children off.
The rest of the morning unfolds normally, a few wet pants and a small pile of bread crumbs in the floor. The mom would have loved to get the trampoline set up, but one child was sick and needing to be held. Another child saw the attention and decided they needed mom too. Oh well, holding children isn't a waste of time, they just won't have a trampoline today.
After lunch their Dad comes home from work early. The two little girls excitedly rush to his arms. "How are my beautiful girlies!" They squeeze him affectionately and smother him in kisses. While holding the little ones he leans in and kisses his wife. "Yeah, everyone else went home early, I figured I'll just finish up work from my computer." His wife explains that she has been trying to go outside and put up the trampoline. "Well, how about I spend some time with my little kids and you can help the big boys set up the trampoline."
They begin working, the trampoline was the one her parents had in their yard. Her parents are moving out to the country and offered their fort and trampoline to the family of 9. The children held up one of the legs while Mom tried to get a piece to match each of the poles on the leg. After a few attempts they figured out the pattern and within 20 minutes they had the whole thing set up.
Now, time to work on that chicken pen.
Thursday, September 29, 2016
The Day Child Services Came
The young woman stops her car in front of what looks to be a war zone. Used bricks are piled on the front porch and beside it. The bench of a van is sitting next to a broken recliner.....which sits behind a broken washing machine. All crammed on a tiny porch. Bikes are strewn everywhere as she walks up to the house. Kids began to run in and out. Mostly boys with shorts and messy hair, and a very young girl in just her underpants.
"Hi! What are you doing?" asks the child with a dirt smudge over his eye.
"Is your mommy home?" She politely asks?
"MMMMOOOOOOMMMM!"
"Some LADY is here to see you!" says a chorus of voices all at once.
Two chickens walk past and poop on the porch.
"I'm coming! Just a sec." says a voice down the hallway. The front door is left wide open. Toys and clothes, some folded....some wet, litter the hallways from what the young woman can see. "I told you guys we can't play with neighbors today. I'm too....Oh hi." The mom steps out of the hallway and sees the young lady with the clipboard. 'oh dear,' she thinks, 'Another solicitor. I already bought that vacuum when we didn't have the money for it.' "What can I help you with?" she asks.
"Hi, I'm Linda, from child protective services"
"Oh," the mother says unexpectedly but not too surprised. "What can I do for you?"
"We had a grievance call about unsupervised children in the home."
Linda looks as if she has just graduated high school. Trendy boots, and a soft pink scarf around her neck. The mother has a wad of wire in her hands, a old 5k shirt on, and worn jeans. Reluctantly she invites Linda in. Child services hu? Linda only looked old enough to be selling candy bars to earn money for a school trip. The mother kicks aside a few toys and welcomes Linda in the front room, while stepping over mountains of legos. Mismatched couches are pushed into each corner crowding the already tiny room. Linda sits on the one chair without laundry on it.
"As you know I am here because a concerned party thought children weren't being supervised. Here is a copy of your rights as a parent, and if you would just sign this form that says I have given you that information." Linda pauses, and looks around, "How many children do you have?"
"7" the mother replies. Linda's eyes become the size of saucers. "I don't know why someone would have complained. I mean, the older ones are aloud to ride their bikes in the street, but the little ones shouldn't be in front without me. Sometimes I'm doing dishes or laundry and they make their way outside to play with their older brothers, but I'm never busy for more than a few minutes before I go check on them." she pauses, "isn't that normal? Letting your kids ride their bikes on the street?" Linda nods in agreement. The mother looks perplexed. Which neighbor would have called? They know almost everyone on the street. Though there is that one older lady who has yelled at her kids a few times for being in the road when the trash truck was coming.
"Do you mind if we take a walk through the house. I'd like to see where the children sleep." The mother hoped Linda wouldn't ask that. Its the middle of the day and she hadn't been doing any household chores. In her mind she weighed the option of telling her no. Inevitably she was going to see the house. Telling Linda, no, would just mean there was something to hide. Nope, up front and honest is always the best way to go.
"Alright," the mother says, "We are in the middle of construction in the basement, but......you need to go potty.......let me show you upstairs." The little girl in the underwear races to the bathroom and stops short of the door stripping her underwear off before entering. "This is the kitchen, sorry, I've been working on the car today so breakfast hasn't been cleaned up."
It looks as if a cereal blizzard has blown through the kitchen. Half eaten bowls of cereal are on the table, and benches, and spilled on the floor. A large appliance is in the middle of the room. "Again, sorry, we only have a portable dishwasher so we have to hook it up to the sink." The mother moves the dishwasher only to wish she hadn't. Two mashed and brown bananas lay underneath it, smearing when she wheeled it aside. It's too late to put it back in the middle of the room. The mother pushes the dishwasher to the wall and grabs a partially used paper towel off the table to wipe up the mess. Grateful she had done dishes last night. The counters were clear, but after finishing the pots she had decided to go to bed an finish up in the morning. Oh how she lamented that decision today. The little girl comes streaking out of the bathroom with a large smile on her face telling her mother that she "did it." "Oh!" the mother cringes, "Thats great sweety but you need to put your pannies on BEFORE you come out of the bathroom." she helps her daughter regain some small form of modesty and returns the underpants to the child. "Sorry....potty training"
Linda....how can someone so young be in charge of the fate of a veteran mother of 7. Hopefully she is understanding. Time to move down the hallway. A mop lay across the floor. They pass the bathroom where a paint can and a gaggle of used painting supplies are sitting on the counter. "Did you just paint your bathroom?" Linda asks.
"Yes, I just got the second coat on yesterday." Linda peeks in the bathroom. Wet towels are on the floor and bits of paper are scattered about. Children are running back and forth through the house as they pass their mother and Linda.
Room by cluttered room they peak their heads in. There are only three rooms upstairs two beds each in two of the rooms. Both with hardly any of the floor visible. The parents room is also small and covered in laundry. The mother explains that at night two of the boys sleep in the front room, and both the girls, since they are little share a bed. "Its only temporary until we get the leak in the basement fixed."
"MMMMOOOOMM! The chickens are down the street again!"
"Just get some food and call them in the back yard, they'll come back. Come on, let me show you the basement." The make their way down the stairs. the landing is missing and only concrete is beneath the stairs. Linda takes the large step down. The laundry room is down stairs. At least three wide baskets are haphazardly stacked with laundry and 4 more full baskets litter the floor. Construction was obvious. These people needed a bit of help. Water had seeped in through a crack in the wall rendering the basement useless to the large family until it could be fixed.
Linda found out that the family had been working on the basement for months, they just had to take it slow for financial reasons. The husband was his own boss and was still trying to get his business off the ground. Work hours were long and finances were low. But in his few spare moments he was down in the basement doing everything he could to make a few more rooms for his children. Children began to climb down the open stair case to inspect the adults. "Oh no," the mother grabs the 4 year old, "you know this is off limits. Out, out!"
The make their way back to the lego infested living room. "I think this is a pretty closed case," Linda says smiling, "I'll just need the names and ages of your family members and I can close the case file. I can tell you are busy, but I don't have any concerns about your children." She smiles sweetly and they sit down to finish up the paperwork. "Call me if you need anything. My number is on the paperwork I have given you." She gets back into her car that is parked on the street as the kids file outside to grab their scooters. Linda drives off.
"Guys, I need that piece of wire that was in my hand. Anyone know where it is?" The children all shrug and go about there mischief. Trying not to let the whole visit get to her, the mother finds a different pieces of wire to finish tying off a new horn switch to the dashboard of their old car. She finishes the job and proudly walks back towards the house....stepping in chicken poop on the porch.
"Hi! What are you doing?" asks the child with a dirt smudge over his eye.
"Is your mommy home?" She politely asks?
"MMMMOOOOOOMMMM!"
"Some LADY is here to see you!" says a chorus of voices all at once.
Two chickens walk past and poop on the porch.
"I'm coming! Just a sec." says a voice down the hallway. The front door is left wide open. Toys and clothes, some folded....some wet, litter the hallways from what the young woman can see. "I told you guys we can't play with neighbors today. I'm too....Oh hi." The mom steps out of the hallway and sees the young lady with the clipboard. 'oh dear,' she thinks, 'Another solicitor. I already bought that vacuum when we didn't have the money for it.' "What can I help you with?" she asks.
"Hi, I'm Linda, from child protective services"
"Oh," the mother says unexpectedly but not too surprised. "What can I do for you?"
"We had a grievance call about unsupervised children in the home."
Linda looks as if she has just graduated high school. Trendy boots, and a soft pink scarf around her neck. The mother has a wad of wire in her hands, a old 5k shirt on, and worn jeans. Reluctantly she invites Linda in. Child services hu? Linda only looked old enough to be selling candy bars to earn money for a school trip. The mother kicks aside a few toys and welcomes Linda in the front room, while stepping over mountains of legos. Mismatched couches are pushed into each corner crowding the already tiny room. Linda sits on the one chair without laundry on it.
"As you know I am here because a concerned party thought children weren't being supervised. Here is a copy of your rights as a parent, and if you would just sign this form that says I have given you that information." Linda pauses, and looks around, "How many children do you have?"
"7" the mother replies. Linda's eyes become the size of saucers. "I don't know why someone would have complained. I mean, the older ones are aloud to ride their bikes in the street, but the little ones shouldn't be in front without me. Sometimes I'm doing dishes or laundry and they make their way outside to play with their older brothers, but I'm never busy for more than a few minutes before I go check on them." she pauses, "isn't that normal? Letting your kids ride their bikes on the street?" Linda nods in agreement. The mother looks perplexed. Which neighbor would have called? They know almost everyone on the street. Though there is that one older lady who has yelled at her kids a few times for being in the road when the trash truck was coming.
"Do you mind if we take a walk through the house. I'd like to see where the children sleep." The mother hoped Linda wouldn't ask that. Its the middle of the day and she hadn't been doing any household chores. In her mind she weighed the option of telling her no. Inevitably she was going to see the house. Telling Linda, no, would just mean there was something to hide. Nope, up front and honest is always the best way to go.
"Alright," the mother says, "We are in the middle of construction in the basement, but......you need to go potty.......let me show you upstairs." The little girl in the underwear races to the bathroom and stops short of the door stripping her underwear off before entering. "This is the kitchen, sorry, I've been working on the car today so breakfast hasn't been cleaned up."
It looks as if a cereal blizzard has blown through the kitchen. Half eaten bowls of cereal are on the table, and benches, and spilled on the floor. A large appliance is in the middle of the room. "Again, sorry, we only have a portable dishwasher so we have to hook it up to the sink." The mother moves the dishwasher only to wish she hadn't. Two mashed and brown bananas lay underneath it, smearing when she wheeled it aside. It's too late to put it back in the middle of the room. The mother pushes the dishwasher to the wall and grabs a partially used paper towel off the table to wipe up the mess. Grateful she had done dishes last night. The counters were clear, but after finishing the pots she had decided to go to bed an finish up in the morning. Oh how she lamented that decision today. The little girl comes streaking out of the bathroom with a large smile on her face telling her mother that she "did it." "Oh!" the mother cringes, "Thats great sweety but you need to put your pannies on BEFORE you come out of the bathroom." she helps her daughter regain some small form of modesty and returns the underpants to the child. "Sorry....potty training"
Linda....how can someone so young be in charge of the fate of a veteran mother of 7. Hopefully she is understanding. Time to move down the hallway. A mop lay across the floor. They pass the bathroom where a paint can and a gaggle of used painting supplies are sitting on the counter. "Did you just paint your bathroom?" Linda asks.
"Yes, I just got the second coat on yesterday." Linda peeks in the bathroom. Wet towels are on the floor and bits of paper are scattered about. Children are running back and forth through the house as they pass their mother and Linda.
Room by cluttered room they peak their heads in. There are only three rooms upstairs two beds each in two of the rooms. Both with hardly any of the floor visible. The parents room is also small and covered in laundry. The mother explains that at night two of the boys sleep in the front room, and both the girls, since they are little share a bed. "Its only temporary until we get the leak in the basement fixed."
"MMMMOOOOMM! The chickens are down the street again!"
"Just get some food and call them in the back yard, they'll come back. Come on, let me show you the basement." The make their way down the stairs. the landing is missing and only concrete is beneath the stairs. Linda takes the large step down. The laundry room is down stairs. At least three wide baskets are haphazardly stacked with laundry and 4 more full baskets litter the floor. Construction was obvious. These people needed a bit of help. Water had seeped in through a crack in the wall rendering the basement useless to the large family until it could be fixed.
Linda found out that the family had been working on the basement for months, they just had to take it slow for financial reasons. The husband was his own boss and was still trying to get his business off the ground. Work hours were long and finances were low. But in his few spare moments he was down in the basement doing everything he could to make a few more rooms for his children. Children began to climb down the open stair case to inspect the adults. "Oh no," the mother grabs the 4 year old, "you know this is off limits. Out, out!"
The make their way back to the lego infested living room. "I think this is a pretty closed case," Linda says smiling, "I'll just need the names and ages of your family members and I can close the case file. I can tell you are busy, but I don't have any concerns about your children." She smiles sweetly and they sit down to finish up the paperwork. "Call me if you need anything. My number is on the paperwork I have given you." She gets back into her car that is parked on the street as the kids file outside to grab their scooters. Linda drives off.
"Guys, I need that piece of wire that was in my hand. Anyone know where it is?" The children all shrug and go about there mischief. Trying not to let the whole visit get to her, the mother finds a different pieces of wire to finish tying off a new horn switch to the dashboard of their old car. She finishes the job and proudly walks back towards the house....stepping in chicken poop on the porch.
Friday, June 26, 2015
Family Vacation!!
We are finally home! it has been a LONG week. But it has been wonderful! Be prepared this is going to be a LONG post. It was so awesome to go see everyone in one whirl wind of a week. My little brother (I guess I should say younger, none of my brothers are little anymore), Got married to his sweetheart this past week. So we decided to make a family trip out of the whole week. Luckily for us we have friends who live 1/2 from home to the wedding so we got to stay there for a day and enjoy their company. On our way there we had to stop and take pictures with the HUGE windmills!
Our plan was to drive until we got to Dinosaur National Monument and camp there.
Bringing camping gear for our crew is quite a big deal but we managed and even had smiling faces to boot!
The view on the drive was wonderful.
Melting snow makes for some really amazing scenery.
We turned off the beaten path to avoid construction and this beautiful view unfolded before us. (I took the picture through my front windshield, now I'm kicking myself for not stopping.) But as we drove we found a campsite sign. With that beautiful view I had to stop and check the camp ground.
Yes, we stopped. It was awesome. There were 30ish sites with a table and fire pit and there were only about 4 sites taken.
Daddy set up camp and we began to explore. There was an awesome beach area and the boys wanted to go swimming. We knew it would be cold, but at the insistence of the boys I donned my swim suit with them and waded out into the ice cold water.
It was cold, but we were totally alone. Not one single other person was on the "beach"
The boys were crazier than me. I got to my knees and then booked it out of there. It was COLD! But the boys took it as a challenge to see how far they could get into the water.
Someone who had been there before had made some rock sculptures on the beach. Our three year old's favorite thing....was knocking them down.
This is all of my super awesome family on the beach in the evening.
The three year old throwing rocks again.
All the boys just being boys.
And the girls being girls.
The whole crew by the water.
This is the picture my awesome husband took of our campsite.
This is us the next morning. It was a little cool to start off the day, but it warmed up quickly.
My super sweet Xander Went and picked me a bouquet of wildflowers and handed them to me as we were packing up the campsite.
These boys sure had a ton of fun.
I don't know if you've ever seen Holes or not, but if you look closely this mountain looks kinda like "God's Thumb" from the movie only in stubby version. It was one of the mountains around our campsite.
Michael and I after we packed up our campground. I sure love this man.
It was time for us to move on so we headed out to UT to see the Dinosaur National Monument.
As we got closer we began seeing dinos everywhere.
At the quarry the boys got to touch actual dinosaur fossils!
Our 5 year old found a fossilized turtle shell and couldn't hardly contain his excitement.
This is the gang in front of the fossils.
We saw lots of really cool bones and the resident expert even pulled out some recreations of dino fossils they had found.
Using a stegosaurs skull as a mask.
Actually being a stegosaurs.
This is the stegosaurs tail spike, back plate, and skull.
The little ones had to get in on the fun too.
Getting bit by and allosaurs.
The oldest liked the allosaurs much better than the stegosaurs.
AAAHHHH!!!!
the actual wall of actual dinosaur fossils. We asked the kids how all the bones came to be in one spot and they suggested maybe it was a tar pit. Good theory!
Me and the girls.
And the whole fam on the tram!
We couldn't stick around too long because we had friends we wanted to meet for dinner. My poor husband looked like this for most of the trip. We drove a LOT.
We were going from small town to small town and it was defiantly the back roads of UT. This was in Indian Pass and let me tell you, it was beautiful. But I would NOT want to be caught there in bad weather. We were going down 8% grades. If you aren't a mountain person just know that is pretty steep for a car.
We get out of indian pass and the road we were on had no center stripe and sever pothole sections.
There were also these orange poles sticking out of the side of the road. My husband informed me that those were to keep track of the road in snowfall. ick....
We got to have a wonderful dinner with friends from Michael's mission. They were super awesome and bought our dinner and ice cream for all the boys. I don't know if it's because I was just tired of being in the car, but I totally forgot to get a picture with them. Still kicking myself for that.
We made it to our cabin and the next day all my siblings who could, went to the temple together. Mike watched our kids so I could go with my siblings. Then when I got back he went repelling and shooting with my brothers.
Everyone had a good day....just a long day.
The next day was the wedding and we sure had fun. We somehow managed to get all the cousins ready EARLY so we got to take some pictures before we left.
This is every last grandkid up on the loft of our cabin.
This is us just after the wedding. The Manti temple is SO beautiful! It is so amazing that the pioneers built this.
Silly faces
My awesome brother and my beautiful sister in law as Husband and wife. You couldn't find two happier people on the planet at that moment. They are so awesome.
After the wedding everyone came back to our cabin to have lunch. It was great to get to sit and talk with the brides family. After everyone left were just enjoyed being family together. Lots of bike riding and hiking. This lake was just a short walk from our cabin.
This is some of my amazing family outside of the cabin watching Grandpa take all the grandkids on his tandem bicycle.
We put the baby in our hiking carrier and walked around the lake.
this was the view at the top of the small mountain we climbed.
I know I keep saying this, but everything really was beautiful.
It was nice just for the Hubs and I to go for a walk....well the us and the baby.
Although, by the end of our walk she was VERY sleepy.
She slept in my arms all the way back to the cabin.
The next day was time to pack up and leave. These are the two youngest cousins saying goodbye.
Yay Cousins!
We made a short appearance at the reception but we had sick kids so we left fairly quickly. We headed north to go see Mike's sister. It was so wonderful to see more family. They knew we were coming and stayed up late with root bear floats waiting for us. That was so nice to have after a long drive.
This is their family. I wish we could have had more time with them.
Sadly we had to continue our journey home.
It was quite the drive home. We stopped again at our friends house. They were so fantastic to let us stay there again. Finally on Sunday night at about 11pm we made it home again. Long trips are hard work, but so is anything that is worthwhile.
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