Facebook Status Updates ... Again

Here are some facebook status updates (not in any particular order--but they are from anywhere in the last 9 months):

This morning, as I was changing a really messy diaper on my 7 mos. old son, my 8 yr. old daughter announced that she would never change a poopy diaper. I asked her who was going to change her kids' diapers and she said, "My husband!" I laughed and explained that in my many years of parenting (I have 9 kids), I found it extremely rare for my husband to change diapers. She then turned to her dad and said, "What!? You don't want to help take care of your kids!?" My husband explained that he tried to change as few diapers as possible and that her husband might feel the same way. My daughter then said, "But what if I'm gone with my Ragnar team? Who will change my kids' diapers then?" It made me proud ... already planning on being a Ragnar team captain/runner!!

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One of our children mistakenly called resolution 'revolution'. We corrected said child. Then Kenyon said, "Planets revolve." Ezra said, "wow, you really know a lot about planets. Much more than I ever will." ;-)

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Snow + Really Steep Driveway + Huge Van with Bad Tires = Free Entertainment for the Whole Neighborhood

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Claire came into my bed this morning and was lounging around. Then she asked, "Have you and Daddy been married for 8 years?" I said, "No, 18." She looked surprised and then proceeded to talk about us being married for a long, long time. Then she counted to 100 and said, "Someday you will be married for 100 years and either you'll be old ladies or dead." ;-) Hear that Tim? If you stay married to me for 100 years, you'll turn into an old lady.

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Tonight I told Claire her eyes were blood-shot. When Tim came up to tell her 'Goodnight', she said to him, "Daddy, Mommy told me my eyes are all pink-shotted." ;-)

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As I was making dinner tonight, Talley was telling me all about her friend at school who had a "Hunchable". I told her that I believed they were called "Lunchables". She said, "Oh yes, they are, and Keeley told me her mom made the Hunchable and I said 'No Keeley, Hunchables come from places like Smith's and Walmart. Moms don't make Hunchables!'" ;-)

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Claire is home from school today (croup). I set her up on one of our laptops to watch cartoons on Netflix while Henry sleeps and I do some shipping for Tim's business. I wanted to check up on her, so I called downstairs. I had left her in the family room, but she moved herself into the living room. I asked her why she had changed rooms and she said, "Because Daddy is playing his basketball game and I didn't want to get distracted." I totally had to laugh over that one! ;-) (Tim Barron likes to play a basketball video game after lunch sometimes as a reward for working hard.)

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If you happen by our house, just a little FYI ... our kids put up the Christmas lights. When I saw them, I queried them about the low-hanging lights above our porch steps. Ryland said, "Well are any tall people going to visit us before Christmas?" And he was serious. ;-)

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I was having a conversation with my younger kids about the dangers of smoking this afternoon. Claire (7) added her own opinion on the subject by saying, "I HATE smoking ... even though I've never tried it before." Made me chuckle.

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This morning Claire came into my room and said, "I didn't know that baby kittens could pee and poop." That girl! ;-)

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We had parent-teacher conferences yesterday for our 4 youngest school-aged kids. While we were waiting to meet with a teacher, a little boy from one of our kid's class looked at the kids and then at Tim and I before asking me, "Why do they have brown skin and you don't?" I hesitated for a second, because I wasn't sure how much detail to share and then said, "Because we adopted them." He said, "They're adopted!?" as if in complete surprise. And Claire (7) piped up, "My mom LOVES brown people." It made me smile big. ;-)

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Tonight Kenyon (11) said, "Today my PE teacher said the 'D' word." I said, "Really?" Kenyon replied, in obvious distaste, "Yes! I heard him say it and then I waited to see if it was in reference to water or beavers and I never heard anything about water or beavers and I knew it was just the 'D' word!"

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Introduced my 7 youngest kiddos to Bohemian Rhapsody on the way to school this morning. Ryland (13) said, "This is weird. This is like something they would do on Veggie Tales." Ack! I said, "No Ryland. This is nothing like Veggie Tales. This is a very famous, classic rock song."

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i think i'm actually going to like the kids being in public school. i definitely miss them, but this is SO much easier than homeschooling them! ;-) i got a 4.25 mile run in yesterday and a 4.9 mile one today, and i didn't even have to feel guilty once about the time away from home. i ate cake both days and didn't have to get anyone else a piece or share mine/. and, our house is super quiet. all the while, my kids are still learning! it's going to be ok. this is going to be good.

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I ended up staying home from church with my sick little Henry. I'm working on our back-to-school "feast". The kids always want feasts, so I'm cooking from scratch all day--fried chicken, mashed potatoes & gravy, corn on the cob, garden salad, butterhorn rolls and Mississippi Mud (delicious chocolate cake). I'll start my diet tomorrow. ;-)

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I went to tuck Claire into bed just now and saw what a disaster her and Talley's room is. I made a remark about what a disgusting mess their room was and Claire (7.5) said, "Well, at least it isn't as bad as a hoarder's room."

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Ezra (7.5) was hanging out with me in the laundry room as I folded some clothes and said, "I love you Mommy, because you are *really* good at laundry!" Had to laugh. (Especially since I have mountains of laundry awaiting me ...)

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‎7th Half Marathon ... DONE! Did I do well? No. Let's be honest here--I walked at least half of it, if not more. Seriously. I got my second worse time ever (my worst was a half I did a couple of weeks after my ectopic pregnancy--that I had to take a low dose of chemo to "finish" it off). But I finished. And I had fun. Ry was about 10 minutes ahead and Kenyon stayed with me the whole time so I wouldn't be lonely. ;-)

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So, I finally took the plunge and drove the big red beast (our new 12 passenger van) tonight and I nearly hit a deer. Seriously. I think I'm traumatized now.

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This morning Claire (7) said, " Mommy, when I'm old and rusty, will I have cracks in my feet?" :-)

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I am sick and tired of people calling my baby BOY a "beautiful girl". This old man even said to me that it was MY fault he called Henry a girl, because I dressed him in gender-neutral clothing. Henry had on a green, blue and white plaid jumper with a collar. How that's gender-neutral is beyond me. He is a gorgeous baby, but he looks all boy to me.

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Today is Talley's 6th birthday. As per our family tradition, we all say one or two nice things about the birthday person. This morning Tim said that Talley had a "strong voice," and Talley said, "You have GOT to be kidding me!" We all busted out laughing. Everyone agreed that Talley is definitely funny. Happy Birthday Talley!

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Last night Claire took an unflattering photo of me. I said, "Oh yuck. I look like a freak." Claire said, "Mommy, don't talk like that. Jesus invented you!" ;-)

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Kenyon cut two of his fingers on a can. We took him to urgent care. One finger is OK and the other one got 5 stitches.

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Overheard: Ezra said to Talley and Esther, "You know that they kill mermaids to make tuna, don'tcha?"

Tim replied, "No, they kill tuna to make tuna." Ezra said, "That makes no sense!"

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Being near Henry when he's mad is like getting in a fight with a cat. That kid has some sharp nails. I'm just sayin'.

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So, it's like I'm stuck in the 80s. Was at my friend Clisty's house yesterday. The kids were all watching some stuff on youtube. I said, "That is the cutest little movie player thingie. What is it?" Clisty replied, "That's an iPad Wendy." :-) And then I died of embarrassment (as did Sahara, who was mortified for her mother.)

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Henry was laying on my chest, wiggling around and trying to get comfortable. Talley said, "He's trying to smell you to see if you're the right mommy." ;-)

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Apparently Claire (8) is writing a book, and it is titled, "The Lies and the Truth". I can't wait to read it when she's finished.

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Ezra's (7) new year resolution? To be quiet when people ask him to be quiet. I think this will last for about 30 seconds. Poor guy just can't help himself, but his heart is in the right place.

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Talley has two loose teeth. This morning she said, "I wonder if when these teeth fall out I'm gonna get cat teeth instead?" I laughed and asked for an explanation. She was talking about her adult teeth and how when they first come in, they are sharp and have the ridges. ;-)

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Just overheard this conversation: Ezra (8) said, "Beth, who's gonna be the next President of the United States?" Beth (16) replied, "I have no idea." Claire (8) added, "Well of course you don't! No one knows that. Except for Jesus. Jesus knows everything."

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Well, it was bound to happen someday ... my 13.5 year old son, Ryland beat me in arm wrestling. Just barely. It was humbling.

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This morning Talley (6) said, "I think there are mice in our pantry. It looks like they had a party and they didn't even clean up their mess! There are cracker crumbs everywhere." Sahara (16) said, "That was me. I dropped the crackers." ;-)

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Tonight during Family Home Evening Ezra wanted to know what a word meant. After Tim explained it, Ezra (8) said, "Wow! I guess I really need to work on my dictionary skills." ;-)



I want to go back and share all of the facebook status update that talk about Henry and his progress in a separate post. Hopefully I will be able to do that soon.