What… and be like everyone else? Ha!
Not too much to tell with Julie and me… we’re too deeply entrenched with the house, work or kids to have any type of life of our own… we sometimes laugh (like disturbed people do) when we talk and say “remember when it was just us”? As some of you know (those in the know) and for those of you who aren’t… our lives have become somewhat of a rained on watercolor with days and events having an inclination to run and smear into the next. Being no exception, this year seemed to be a continuation and blending of the past several… ala Bill Murray in Groundhog Day. Perhaps this occurs when there’s WAY too much to do and not enough time to do it in. Progress is insufferably slow on the restoration of the house due to damage sustained from the tornado (now almost) two years ago… it seems like it’s always something. While quitting isn’t an option… sitting mumbling alone in a darkened room while rocking back and forth in the corner is… and can be therapeutic. Then there’s dealing with the city and the like… we’ve made nice with them and to this point have reached an understanding, but… it leaves me reminded of a line from an old Stealers Wheel song; “Clowns to the left of me, Jokers to the right… here I am stuck in the middle with you”… we’ll leave it at that. It’s been an experience to be sure and we now realize how insane we really are in our attempt.
As you might imagine having 5 under the age of 10, the kids can be a frustrating handful at times, but they’ve also been known to bring a great deal of joy from time to time too… but did I mention the frustration? At the root they are great kids really, but as kids are kids, it’s a constant exercise of thumping their heads… I mean ours… against the wall. Some days though we believe we could teach an earthworm to jump before the kids “get it”. Perhaps the onus is more on us to get through than them, the kids, to get it. As with everything, it’s been a learning experience, and this is the part where I sound like my parents, hopefully one day they will “get it” and understand “where we’re coming from”. Our only hope (the secret parental curse) is they get to experience the same “joy” with having their own children… Now hand me back my cane and get me down off this soapbox and back there into my chair sonny.
Emmah (9) is doing well in school, but isn’t happy with the changing of principals. Emmah is in band this year, drums… yup drums… and likes it so far. She’s still in Girl Scouts and has flown to the next level… and so is no longer a Brownie. She was also hit by a car this year while riding her bike… she was a little scuffed up, but in the end was fine… though it’s left a bit of a psychological scar. She’s still afraid to get back on her bike, which has hand brakes, her first with only hand brakes, and she thinks that this had something to do with the accident… of course it did not. She’s also feeling the pressure of being the oldest and at times has things unfairly dumped on her, so we try to be good about keeping things balanced. She does really try and honestly, that’s all we can ask for.
Nick (7) is also doing well in school… too easy he sez… we’ve assured him that things should get tougher. He also has decided that he wants to be in Scouts too, so he’s in his first year of Cub Scouts and seems to like it so far. He seems to take pleasure in making Lyndsey laugh (when the mood strikes him) he’s pretty good at doing it too. He tries to be tough and pretend he doesn’t care about various things, but through his “tough” façade, he’s a softy. He challenges you; for example, if you ask him to take care of something and he doesn’t and then is given an ultimatum, say like no riding his scooter… he will ask for how long. You can just see the wheels turning in his head and him weighing his options… pushing the envelope already. He likes to come out and help with the garage, as long as it doesn’t entail clean-up. He said one time (after I made him help me clean up) that he was no longer going to come outside, not until the garage was done. Okay tough guy… that lasted until the next day when I asked him if he wanted to build something out of the scraps, to which he was all to eager to do, until he bopped his thumb with his hammer. He was okay, but he went in for a while not telling me what happened. I reassured him that I’ve had my share of smashed fingers and thumbs and that one time I had to go to the doctor so they could drill a relief hole in my thumb nail to relieve the pressure. He felt better after that… knowing his wasn’t that bad and wouldn’t be needing any immediate medical attention.
Jake (4) and Rachael (3) are quite the twosome… Jake started pre-K this year and Rachael sometimes “misses him” but she quickly recovers once we get back home and Dora the Explorer or the Backyardigans… or any other of her shows are on. She still won’t look at Jake’s teacher directly when she sez hi to her… Jake is doing very well and is quite the artist… he loves to draw and color and is quite good… actually, he’s very good. He will draw and color all day long if allowed. His teacher is very impressed with his abilities… “You just don’t see coloring or drawing like this from a 4yr old”… “He’s very anal about things”… we prefer meticulous or thorough over anal, but he is very methodical and particular in his approach and he definitely has a plan in his head he’s following. He, without a doubt, has the most creative imagination and to this point is the only one capable of entertaining himself… though Rachael following in his footsteps is showing signs of being able to do the same. Along with Emmah and Nick, Jake got a taste of swim lessons this summer… first time for him… he loved it. Jake exists on yogurt, grilled cheese and chicken nuggets… oh… and fish sticks too. Only recently has PB&J been added back to the list. First it was I don’t like the peanut butter because it has peanuts… but then (get this) he’d turn around eat a handful of peanuts. Now it has to be only with strawberry jelly… no strawberry, no sandwich. Now that’s all been ironed out, PB&J’s are back. Rachael is P/T (potty trained) and so it’s only one in diapers… well she and Jake still suit up for bed, but that’s it. Rachael’s diet is in the shrinking phase… as Jake is well entrenched in the same and is showing her around… you think we’re trying to poison them by asking them to try something different. Emmah and Nick are getting pretty good about trying new things but they all pine for the “junk-food” that mom doesn’t buy, but dad will. It’s hard waiting for them to grow into new foods, especially since it feels like we’re short order cooks come dinner time. There are a few meals that they will all eat the same. Cheese pizza is one of them, but one cannot (well shouldn’t) subsist on cheese pizza alone… though I suppose the argument could be made for it.
Lyndsey (<1) the sleepless wonder, which could explain why she won’t be receiving the happy baby award anytime soon, the big baby… as in large maybe… but not the happy. She has her moments of cooing, clapping and smiling, but if you blink, you might miss them. Of all the children, she’s been the most challenging and is putting a kink in our restoration dreams of completion. We’re well acquainted with the demands that a ten month old baby requires… when they’re happy babies… but she needs constant (almost 24/7) attention and that doesn’t allow for much anything else. When things don’t go her way, she stiffens up like a board and it makes it difficult to do much else with her but say, “Fine, have it your way then”… it’s definitely been a trying of our patience to this point. She’s by far the worst sleeper and seems very bitter about it. I don’t know if one could say that babies shout… but that’s how it sounds at 1am and then 3am and then 3:30am when she “goes off”… she’s so loud and sounds… well… really quite irritated. She’s taken an interest in whatever we’re eating and is becoming quite mobile perfecting people surfing, which in our house isn’t exactly a good thing. She’s showing outward signs of brain activity now by mimicking clapping and returning the razz berries to us and no problem if something’s not wanted it usually ends up impatiently thrown back at us. In case of emergency, to soothe the savage Lyndsey, pop in a Veggie-Tales DVD and this is crucial, don’t leave home without one… always have one in the Sequoia.
Alright… here is a small sampling of things overheard and/or experienced around the Gudeman house…
- I was told by Rachael that the wind comes from the planes… “Cuz Jake said so”. That was a popular phrase for her for quite a while “Cuz Jake said so”.
- I was asked by Jake “can we use the McDonald’s credit card and go for lunch”… I assured him that we don’t have a McDonald’s credit card.
- Julie and I were treated to, by Emmah & Nick, a luxurious back massage/rub down complete with lotion… that is to say every bottle of lotion we owned was lined up for us to choose from… as well as drinks to sip on.
- As the leaves were falling this autumn, the neighbors thanked Rachael for picking up every single leaf that hit the ground “for her collection” and “to give to mommy”. She had taken in so many that I practically had to rake out the Sequoia (our truck/car/family cruiser).
- Since losing our leaf producing tree to the tornado, the kids were reduced to importing their leaves to make a leaf pile this year.
- Rachael saying “Dad… Jake’s not sharing” and conversely… Jake saying “Rachael, I had it first”.
- Jake being (and performing) Buzz Lightyear one day, then Bob the Builder the next and Jimmy Neutron the next. Then there’s Larry-Boy (Veggie-Tales) and the old stand by… Steve from Blues Clues, he’s more of a Steve guy than a Joe guy.
- Jake saying that he didn’t like G’ma’s new house as much as the old one cuz “there’s no toys at this house”. (they weren’t unpacked yet) He has since reversed his position since the toys have made their appearance.
- Julie and I were also treated to an anniversary breakfast… scrambled eggs under foil… very tasty.
- Jake announcing that “I have to go pee” or “I need to go poop”… We’re still trying to educate him on that he can just go and doesn’t need our blessing to do so. A side note to this… after announcing he has to go poop… he then announces that he’s done and needs to be wiped… or more specifically in his own words, “I need you to wipe my butt”… with the emphasis on the word butt. Furthermore in doing so he will… more often than not… parade himself out and about of the bathroom, pants and skivvies encircling his ankles, in search of a wiper.
- Rachael is now doing the same… we’re so proud.
- Hopefully Rachael can find a chiropractor to marry… “My back hurts” is the response we get if we ask her to pick up, or get her boots or do anything else that she doesn’t want to… either that or “I’m tired”.
- Our very own “Ringo’s” innate ability to play drums… had we known we could’ve gotten her started that much sooner and avoided all this rubbish of practicing.
- Rachael exclaiming “the DVD has footprints” (instead of fingerprints of course) when a part of the movie they were watching became all pixilated.
- Nicholaus singing “All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth” well, cuz he’s recently lost both… three days apart.
My apologies for the lengthy letter, but with the goings on surrounding five kids, it can make for some long writing. Okay… here’s our blog address: gudefam7.blogspot.com… You’ll be able to see some of the events and goings on if you read around a bit. It’s nothing fancy and if you do visit, you might notice that I haven’t been very religious about keeping things current and all up to date. In my defense though, it’s been kinda busy round here. ‘Bout the only time I get to do anything with it is after the kids are all in bed and usually, by then I’m heeding the call of my own pillow. It is kinda fun to do though (the blog) as it’s a “creative” outlet, plus they’re making it easier to post pictures, but it does consume time just the same. Now that you’re all dying to rush off to your computers, those that have them, I guess I should put the wrap on this year’s missive.
Wishing you all the very best of health, happiness and prosperity for ’06.
As always… PEACE
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