Tuesday, January 31, 2012

The New Names Are Revealed!

I am tired of using the phrase "my ___ year old". 

To fix that, I told the kids they were going to pick their new names.  

With a blog named "A Fly on our Chicken Coop Wall", where else would you find a new moniker except the Murray McMurray chicken catalog?  A plethora of chicken breeds to choose from.

And magically the 13 year old becomes Phoenix, the eleven year old becomes Buttercup...  You get the idea.

And a cheat-sheet for all of us, with their photos and names listed there on your right.

Add three more things to the things I learned this week. 

6.  I can get text on a photo.

7.  I figured out how to get those photos into a permanent spot on the blog.

8.  I learned the names of several chicken breeds.

I love being productive. 

Have a lovely day!

What I Learned This Week

No joke.  This actually happened this morning. 

I put some eggs on to boil, but was way too impatient too efficient to watch a pot of water boil.  So I set the timer and ate my breakfast and watched the news while they cooked.  When the timer went off, I came to find that in my absence, the water had boiled over.


Then, just minutes ago, I was reading through some of my favorite blogs, and found that Julie, From Inmates to Playdates, found a great tip on keeping water from boiling over.  Wish I would have known this an hour ago!

So, today I am linking up with her What I Learned This Week, and letting you in on some of my newly acquired knowledge.

1.  I always suspected, but now I know for sure.  There is a reason we wear our pants the way we do.  This is not a good look.



2.  Norwegians know their stuff.  Since moving to Indiana, my hands have cracked and bled all winter long.  Until our pediatrician told me about Neutrogena Norwegian Hand Cream.  I leave it with my clock and my Kindle and apply a little dab every night.  Have had nothing but soft, smooth hands ever since.  But this week I learned a new use for it.  When my lips started cracking and bleeding, and no amount or kind of lip balm would work, I read the label on the hand cream.  It suggested I use it on my lips.  Done and done.  Chapped lips are completely gone.



3.  Eggs come in all varieties.  We have had itty bitty round eggs.  We've had ginormous double-yolked eggs.  We've had eggs with sand paper-like shells.  But yesterday, we found a new type.  Hubby found this in the coop.


An egg without a shell.  Awesome.  Creepy feeling, and makes me a bit nervous for the hen that laid it, but awesome none the less.

4.  Twin day is way more complicated for girls as they get older.  I had to get up extra early this morning to do my daughter's hair in just the right way.  A french braid on top, a different braid at the bottom, and a head band.  Apparantly, the more complicated the costume, the more like twins you are.  Very unlike the boys, who were happy to have matching shirts for their friends.  Although, the nine year old did mention something about cutting his hair.  No, I don't have a picture of daughter.  It was way too early for my brain to think of a camera.

5.  For years and years I have fought diaper boxes.  They put ridiculously sticky tape on those things.  Every time I have to open one, I lose a nail to the fight.  And now, months away from the end of my diaper buying years, after SIX kids, I finally realized that there is no tape on the bottom of the blasted box!  I opened the box this morning in a matter of seconds, all nails intact.  How have I not figured this out before?  And I'll let you in on a few embarrasing secrets.  First, I never used scissors, because I opened the box in the kids' room, where there aren't any scissors.  I wasn't going to waste time and energy going all the way downstairs to retrieve the scissors.  Each time I wrestled a box, I reminded myself to open the next box as soon as I got home from the store.  Before I took it upstairs.   Never did.  Another secret:  Each of the opened boxes is used as a cardboard recycling receptacle.  Several times the boxes have given way, and it never occured to me that tape did not keep it together.  Apparantly, I am a lazy moron.  But it does beg the question, "Why in the world is there tape on the TOP of the box?????"



So there you have it.  It's been an enlightening week.  And it's only Tuesday morning!

What have you learned this week?

It's getting crazy warm around here.  The chickens, the kids, and I are thrilled to be going outside. 

Hope you have a lovely, warm day!

Monday, January 30, 2012

FYI: Super Bowl is Coming to Indy!


For the last year or so, we've all been watching the countdown clocks all around town.  We've waited through construction, which had different roads closed each day.  We've seen glimpses of all the changes being made inside buildings to prepare for private parties as well as big public events. 

The time has come for us to finally get to see what it was all for (and to cry that our struggling Colts couldn't be playing).  

Hubby and I took the kids downtown yesterday afternoon to see what there was to see.  We spent three hours downtown, only spending money on parking and dinner.   (We wouldn't have had to pay for parking if my big ol' van wasn't too tall for Hubby's parking garage.)  There are plenty of things to do which require some cash, such as the NFL Experience, but we never even made it to that side of town.  

Here's a glimpse into our afternoon.  Keep in mind, six kids, a busy public place, and good photos do not go together.   If the kids are in the photo, they won't stay for long.  If the kids aren't in the photo, you only have a few seconds before you have to put the camera down and count heads.

First, you can't have an Indianapolis event without race cars.  (The Indy500, greatest spectacle in racing, is held here!)  There was a car for each NFL team. 


We found some impersonators.


Clearly that is not Elmo.  He would never be caught dead in such raggy fur and a head on sideways.  But the three year old didn't know the difference, so all is well.

We were astounded by the number of volunteers.  They weren't hard to find, either.  Each had an iPad and a blue and white, hand-knitted scarf, ready and willing to help the lost and confused.



Even the church, smack dab in the middle of the main party drag was getting into the action.


They were also offering extra mass and confession times.  How funny is that?

There is a zip line up just for these two weeks.  The kids aren't old enough to do it, but we had fun watching all of the crazy people flying over our heads.



I don't know if you've heard, but Indy is rather freezing cold this time of year.  Good for the ice sculptures...


not so much the people.

The planners were ready for the cold.  There were plenty of options for folks to warm up, besides the outdoor bars.

There was a mini football field, where you could warm up by playing a game or two.



Also, a department store was turned into a food court and play/shopping area.

We warmed up while we ate,

and threw a ball at the targets.


And if that weren't enough, there were heaters placed around town, so you could warm like a fast-food burger.


There was a dome which practically begged you to come in and play Xbox games.  We don't have and Xbox, and we were cold, so we gave it a try.



And to end the evening, a free concert.  Actually, there are free concerts every night, with some big name bands on the agenda.


I have no idea which band this is, but we had a good time listening and dancing.



We won't be going to any of the parties, let alone the game.  But we are glad to have had the chance to see what an event like this is like.  The kids said, over and over again, that it certainly didn't seem like downtown Indy.  They thought it was more like Disney World. 

Now, if Hubby can make it through the traffic jams and get home in time for dinner each day, I'll say I'm glad the Super Bowl came to town.

Enjoy the game!  (or at least the commercials :)





Friday, January 27, 2012

This may sound random...

My daughter prefaces many comments with the phrase, "This may sound random".  And it usually is.

I've had several random thoughts lately.

"When IS the last time I had a good hair day?"
   -I sprayed myself in the face with hairspray today.  It dried up in the nozzle, so when I went to put some hold on my good-lookin' hair, the spray veered off into my eye.  I'm thinkin' a face held like this really detracts from the awesome hair.


"How can I be both omnicienct and completely clueless at the same time?"
   -According to my daughter, I know nothing when I tell her that 20 degrees is cold and coat-worthy.  According to the three year old, I know everything, including where every single car on the road is going.

"Why does the second biggest toe on my left foot keep twitching?
   -It's been going on for a few days now, and it's a bit unnerving.

"How does one go about losing a fight to a hard-boiled egg?"
   -Yolk powder on your eyelashes?!  Really?




"Who feeds you, reads books to you, plays games with you, and kisses your boo-boos all day, every day?
   -The two year old screaming his head off  every morning because he wants Daddy to get him out of bed is getting old.  We have to have the same "conversation" about Daddy being at work, and if you want out of your bed, it's gonna have to be Mommy that gets it done.  He grudgingly agrees, but lets me know that I am very much his second choice by crying about it for at least 10 minutes.

"Is it possible for chickens to get Seasonal Affective Disorder?
   -The chickens only get to come out of the coop when Roy the Wonder Dog is tied up.  We can't tie the dog up on rainy or really cold days, as he can't get into his dog house when tied up.  We have had extreme cold or rain every day for WEEKS now.

"The little ones may be feeling a wee bit left out.  Or confused."
   -I was asked what sound an ostrich makes.  I replied that I never heard an ostrich speak.  The three year old said that he did.  I, of course, asked, "When?"  He replied, "A long time ago.  Before you were born."

Have you had any random thoughts lately?

Have a lovely day!

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Another day, another new word

I was happy to hear that the nine year old was reading one of my favorite books in school. 

                                       

So when he was looking up vocabulary words for homework, I didn't think twice.

Until he came to me and said he couldn't find a word. 

Which word?

Castrate. 

I made him show me the word, 'cause it couldn't possibly be a word in the book, let alone a word he needed to look up for homework.

He showed me.  Pages 103-110 or so was all about how Old Yeller helped corral the hogs in order to clip their ears and castrate them. 

Funny how one forgets such things in the decades since one read one's favorite book.

I immediately started having flashbacks to the horribly hilarious essay the ten year old wrote for the same teacher when he had her last year.  We needed to avoid similar embarrassment.

So, I looked the word up in Webster.  It says, "to render impotent or deprive of vitality".  Funny, but clearly not helpful.

So I stalled.

Now, you may be wondering, "You live on a farm, and you raise pigs.  How do your children not know that word?"

Simple.  We're not real farmers.  We get our pigs when they are 40 pounds and well healed from their own castrations.

I explained to him that our pigs are castrated before they come to us.  That it is done to protect the taste of the meat.  Blah, blah, blah.

Then I just blurted it out. 

"They cut off its balls."

I can't believe the words came out of my mouth.  I hate that expression.  But when my boys say, "I got kicked in the...." that's what they say.  I don't know where they learned it.  I just know I needed to say something that he would understand clearly.

And did he ever.

His eyes bugged out, there was a long pause, and he said, "How am I supposed to write that?"

I suggested male body parts.

I don't know what he ended up writing.

I'm just grateful that this teacher doesn't require what many other teachers in the school do.  Their students have to draw pictures of their vocabulary words.

Have a lovely day!




Tuesday, January 24, 2012

It's a Love/Hate Relationship

I love order, organization, and timeliness.  I am thrilled to bits when my day clicks along on schedule and follows the plan I made.

Recently, however, even I am just plain sick and tired of the clock.

It seems that everywhere I look, everything I say is a slave to it.

Bedtime, naptime, "Wakey, wakey, rise and shine.  Time to get up!"

Breakfast time, lunch time, dinner time, snack time, time to cook, time to go to the store, "Wash your hands 'cause it's time to eat!"

Used minutes, unused minutes, rollover minutes, "Time to get off the phone!"  Unless, of course, you have unlimited minutes.

Time for school, homework time, study time, computer time, "Put your coats on, 'cause it's time to do your chores!"

Me time, down time, cuddle time, time to read a book, "Don't talk to me for five minutes, 'cause I need some quiet time!"

Practice time, game time, half-time, time out, "Game's over, time to go home!"

Prayer time, scripture time, time to volunteer, "For heaven's sake, get your dress pants on, 'cause it's time for church!"

Playtime, video game time, quality time,  "Grab Boggle, 'cause we have time to play a quick game!"

And when the school secretary calls to say your child is injured, "Drop everything, 'cause it's time to go!"

Time is flyin' by. 

I need to grab on to it and slow it down.

I need time to savor the little things that happen each day.

My littlest baby getting dressed on his own, everything mismatched and backwards.

My three year old, learning to wink, boasts, "I'm good at blinking with my eyes closed!"

My nine year old, bustin' out all the moves when a favorite song comes on.

My ten year old giving me little secret grins, now that he is old enough to be in on the joke.

My little girl being both fascinated and disgusted by the thought of disecting a frog in science class.

My teenager, who claimed he wouldn't be all that interested in a baby before the three year old was born, going out of his way to make the little ones giggle.

My dear hubby, using the same awful voice for all of the characters in the books he reads to the kids.

Time to reflect, time to write, time to jump in puddles, time to take walks, time to visit.
Time to wrap this up, 'cause it's time to play Candy Land.

Monday, January 23, 2012

Another Story for the Grandkids

The day I brought my ten year old home from the hospital, I put him up in his crib for a nap.  After a while I heard an odd noise coming from upstairs.  Hubby and I looked at each other with, "What in the world is that sound?" expressions.  We ran up to investigate and were astounded to discover that it was coming from our itty-bitty baby boy. 

That was our first clue that baby boy was not going to be anything like his older brother and sister.  He is a child of extremes.  

He certainly can't just smile for a picture.



He is either silent or yelling.  He physically cannot do an inside voice. 

He will eat four helpings of dinner or absolutely nothing. 
He is either sitting or running.  It takes everything he has to simply walk. 

He is either deliriously happy or uncontrollably angry. 

He is either completely focused on an activity or bored out of his gourd.

He is intelligent enough to skip second grade, but he has the darndest time tying his shoes properly.

He doesn't just play soccer.  He is a goalie.  And he has no qualms about launching himself in front of an opponent looking to score on him.   

He doesn't just play catch with a football.  He will attempt to catch any ball kicked or thrown.  My brothers are scared to catch footballs that my little boy will dive for.

Unfortunately for baby boy, he has the scars to go with his extreme ways.  And they're all on his face.

When he was four, he did his usual run out of the kitchen.  Misjudged his clearance, and ran smack into the counter.




There was the time he and his next-youngest brother decided to play frisbee with the empty dog dish.

No trip to the hospital, as Hubby was home alone with all of the kids.  His Doctor of Jurispudence qualified him to diagnose that a butterfly bandage would suffice.

Then The Big One.  In kindergarten he decided to jump off of a friend's swing.  His arm didn't come with him, so he fell off on the backswing.  His little head landed on a not-so-little rock and busted wide open.



Sixteen stitches and a couple of missed school days for that one.

And today a new story/scar was added.  At twelve noon I got a call from school alerting me that he had hurt himself on the playground.  Probably want to call the dentist.  Have mercy.  Not the teeth!

My boy was playing tag.  Running full tilt, he tripped and landed on the pavement, tooth first.  Broke his front tooth in half.  When the teacher asked if he found the missing piece, he replied, "It shattered.  I had to spit out a bunch of little pieces." 

I am not joking when I say that the pavement was still on his jaggedy tooth when I picked him up.  Even the dentist commented on it when he came out to talk with me.  With a grin, he said he would "clean off the parking lot" before he fixed the tooth.

With a big sigh of regret, I must confess that I did not get a photo of the injury.  I couldn't take the picture when I first saw him.  The school staff was all around.  I am not embarrased to admit that I take photos of my children before I give them comfort, but I'm not a fan of witnesses.  By the time I had a chance to take a photo, I had six cranky, hungry kids in tow, all completely thrown off schedule.  The thought of a photo completely left my head until 7 hours later when I was putting the little ones to bed. 

Unlucky. 

So, we took the "after" photo. We will patiently wait for the "before".  It's only a matter of time until that filling gets knocked out.



On a related side note, I had to take all of the kids out of school early in order to get the ten year old to the dentist.  As the nine year old was leaving his classroom, many of the kids were asking why he was leaving.  (No one but the ten year old and his class knew what had happened.)  With a straight face he tossed out, "I'm going to Florida again!"  as he walked out the door.

Have a lovely, accident-free day!




Friday, January 20, 2012

I Really Should Have Known Better

Spend two days braggin' on your kids, and one can expect a ginormous piece of humble pie.  I knew this.  And yet I did it anyway, for all ten people that read this blog to see.   My humble pie came in the form of bees in the proverbial bonnets of all six kids. 

My day yesterday was filled with tantrums, arguements, rudeness, backtalk, whining, crying, foot-stomping, head-spinning, and procrastination.  Have mercy. 

The newly organized pantry sent one into a tizzy because he couldn't find a snack.  The unfashionableness of a winter coat in middle school caused chaos on this frigid day.  The lack of apple juice at breakfast (which, by the way, we've NEVER had) was a serious dissappointment.  The disappearance of a shoe in the van started WWIII.  A last minute change in the dinner menu from pancakes to waffles was a legitimate reason to complain.  And on and on and on.  After all of this, there wasn't a drop of Calgon to take me away.

At 8:00, after I got the little ones in bed, and I got dinner on the table for Hubby and the two stragglers after practice, I announced that I was going to put my feet up and do a crossword puzzle.  Everyone was told that I was not to be disturbed for five minutes.  Unfortunately, the oldest was in the shower when I made that announcement, so I only got three minutes.  But it was enough.  Kisses were given at bedtime without any sign of lingering annoyance. 

Thankfully, the bees seem to have disappeared.  The big kids got out the door without any of the drama from yesterday.  The little ones are still asleep.  It's gonna be a better day.

On a happier note, the chickens are laying a dozen eggs each day, even in these dead of winter days.  I especially love the extra-extra large double yolk ones we've been getting lately.

Now that I've said that, who wants to bet that they don't lay any today? 

Have a lovely, (hopefully tantrum-free) day!

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Feeling Special in a Big Family

Yes, it may be cold outside, but from indoors, the view is glorious!

Some may be wondering how I got away with taking only one child on an extra trip to Disney.  How did the other kids react to that?

Hubby and I work very hard to make sure each of our kids feels special and loved by us.  I remember my siblings complaining that I, as the oldest, was the only one with a completed baby book.  All of my kids have them.  Throughout the year, we take each child on dates, so he/she has some one on one time to do something fun.  We make sure that we help each child find at least one thing that he/she does better than his/her siblings.  But there is one thing we do that the kids love the most.

With this many kids, family vacations will always include a car trip.  The cost of plane tickets would be completely prohibitive.  So, each year, one child gets to go on a plane trip with a parent for a long-weekend vacation. 

When the kids were younger, we chose the destination.  The trip either coincided with Hubby's work trip or we went to visit a friend.  Now they get to choose what they want to do.

When she was seven, our daughter got to go to New York City.


The next year our oldest chose Denver, Colorado, where he hiked and went white-water rafting.



The following year, Hubby happened to win the ticket lottery to see the Colts play in the Super Bowl.  The now ten year old got to go with him.


This past August, the nine year old chose to go to Glacier National Park for some horse-back riding, hiking, and fishing.



We say these trips are for the children, but they are for Hubby and me, too.  It is awesome to see how each child acts when the siblings aren't around.  When they don't have to think of what the other kids want to do.  When they don't have to wait their turn to speak their minds.  They act differently and do things we never would have expected.  When we took our daughter to New York, we let her choose a TV show to watch before bed.  She chose to watch professional wrestling in Spanish.  Never saw that coming!

I did feel a bit guilty about the nine year old getting another special trip out of order when he got to go to the soccer tournament.  I was worried about how the other kids were going to react.  Even though they never accuse us of being unfair, I was afraid that this might be a problem.

Not only did they not grumble about his extra trip, they were happy for him.  They really wanted to know which rides he chose to ride.  They were curious about the tournament, and didn't begrudge him for getting to go.

This year, the three year old is old enough to get into the rotation.  Next year, the youngest will.  If we are going to get one more trip in for the oldest before he heads off to college (Oh, have mercy.  Did I just mention my baby in the same sentence as going to college??)  we're going to have to make these trips more often.  Insead of one per year, it may have to be one every seven months.  I'm not going to complain!  I can't wait to see where they take us next.

Have a lovely day!

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Well, That Was Certainly a Learning Experience


I'm so proud of my little boy.  He did such a great job in Floriday.  The whole experience was quite a shock, but he handled it very well.

Who knew that kids started playing very competitively when they are only 5 years old?  Who knew that kids played 3v3 all year round?  Who knew that parents hired personal soccer coaches before their kids could read?  Who knew that young kids were driven long distances to play with certain teams/kids to get the best team they could? Who knew that following rules was an option if the ref doesn't call it?

My son's team is just a bunch of boys who happen to be very good soccer players and just happen to be on the same team.  Most of the boys only play soccer during soccer season, none of them have personal coaches, and none of them played on "travel" teams until last year.  Oh, and they look to the refs to make calls when, say, a ball goes out of bounds. 

The boys (and coaches) learned real quick when in the first game, the other team just kept grabbing the ball and kicking it in.  Before our boys could say, "Hey, isn't it our ball?" the other team was getting ready to score.  Zoinks!  And to top it off, the ref didn't know all of the rules, and took away an awesome goal that my little guy made.  (Coaches checked the rules after the game.  It totally should have counted.)



 Rough start, but those sweet boys took it in stride, learned from it, and moved on.  In each game they learned and improved their play.  Not once did they give up.  Not once did they get snippy with a ref or player.  They played their little hearts out and gave those teams a run for their money. 



They never won a game, but the scores got closer and closer.  First game ended 2-9.  Last game ended 6-7. 

The boys had a great time.  They showed better sportsmanship than a large number of adults that were there.  They did what I wanted them to do all along.  They learned and had a blast doing it.


And, since they didn't make it to the championships on Monday, they got to spend a fun-filled day at Disney together!




Friday, January 13, 2012

I'm outta here!

It is wickedly cold.  The wind is howling.  Time for me to hit the road again.

The four big kids play on "travel" soccer teams.  I am OK with it, because the travel normally isn't any farther than we would go with the school's team.  Once a season, all the teams go on one out-of-state tournament.  I am not thrilled with that part.  It seems ridiculous to me to take anyone this young to play sports against teams to two states away.

Until, of course, it takes me to Florida.  In January.  In the middle of the first cold snap of the winter.  Then it is the best idea ever!

Our nine year old's team actually made it to nationals, so we're off to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Center at Disney World. 

He and I will be flying out this afternoon, returning on Tuesday.   I sheepishly had to write to his teacher to let her know that our spoiled little boy was going to miss more school to take a second trip to Disney in two weeks time. 

The rest of the family will stay home to finish up science fair projects, go to basketball games, and enjoy a long weekend at home.  Oh, and brave the weather to take care of the animals.

Have a lovely weekend!

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Is it me?

It is a rare day when a friend asks me to watch their kids.  Most people think it is a huge burden for me, seeing that I already have six kids.  (Of course, they could just be giving me an excuse.  Perhaps they don't think I can handle it?)  I tell them that an extra child or two actually makes my day easier, but only one person believes me.  The mom who has five kids. 

We got to host the youngest of the five today.  She is such a sweet thing. 

Within moments, my three year old was working his charm.  She said she wanted to ride his toy motorcycle, and he said, "Why don't you ride on the back, and I'll drive you around?"  She hopped on, put her arms around his waist, and off into the sunset they went.

The main event for the day was when I pulled out the new box of Play-Dough.  Kids can entertain themselves for hours with that stuff. 

At least long enough for me to get some vaccuuming done.  Oh, and time to tackle the laundry mountain.
 
I have washed 11 loads of laundry in two days.  If only I could find a little folding fairy running around.

Back to the kids.

They had a ball squishing


flattening


and shaping.



My question for those who let their kids play with Play-Dough (not everyone does. GASP!  My sister-in-law hates the stuff.) Do you let the kids mix colors???



Even if it means a bunch of containers full of hideous colors?


As with many things, the oldest two kids were the practice children.  I used to be vigilant about keeping the colors separate.  They sat at opposite ends of the table, and each child was allowed to play with one color.  Then more kids were born, and I ran out of table ends.  Colors got mixed.  And the kids didn't care.  They still played with the ugly colors with as much excitement as with the bright, new ones.  How 'bout that?  Certainly made my life easier. 

When the fun is done, this is the part some parents hate.



The crumbs.

I don't mind them a bit.  If you can ignore them for half an hour or so, they dry right up.  Easily swept away.

I've found that it's a whole lot easier for kids to learn and have fun when they are allowed to be messy.  Or downright dirty, even.  They can learn, too, from the cleaning up. 

Huh.  Maybe the whole dirty, messy thing is why people don't let me watch their kids.

Have a lovely, messy day!

Monday, January 9, 2012

V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N!

Thanks to a little ditty my dad made up many years ago, my children can spell the word "vacation" before they can spell their own names.  We love a vacation.  Time to spend together and just enjoy ourselves.  A little break from reality.  

For six days, our kids lived in an alternate universe. 

Where thrills are around every corner.


The three year old was very brave and rode all sorts of big kid rides.




Where everyone has a bag of snacks strapped to himself, and is allowed to eat whenever the mood strikes.


Where ice cream is considered (according to Hubby) "something more substantial".


Where silly hats are required attire.





Where Christmas decorations are larger than life.

That is Hubby with the colorful hair.  He wore it all week as a beacon for us to follow. 

Where you are surrounded by big-named celebrities.


Where you can kick back and relax whenever you feel the need.

Why do little kids love It's a Small World so very much?  The big kids were good sports and took rest times the four times we had to ride the boat around the world, as it was the two year old's favorite ride of all.


Where fun bridges are part of the landscape.

Where you get to try any new thing you want.






Where everything is bigger and closer than anything you've ever seen.


Where the sun and the fog amaze.



Where even normal things like sunglasses are jazzed up.


Where naps and bedtimes are unheard of.  You simply crash on the last night.


And when you awake, reality hits.  You load up the van for the long drive home.  Within 30 minutes, one child vomits into his car seat.  Thirty minutes later, a second one does. 



Helloooooooo reality!