I Ate WHAT!

I have to say that Eli can be frustrating, obsessive, disorganized and pretty much your standard 10 year old boy. He also has the ability to make pretty much anyone laugh. He can make us totally crack up and as usual it comes out of no where. So not only are we laughing like maniacs but we are also amazed at being totally blind sided.....yes even after living with the kid for two years.

Tonight, after witnessing his less than sedate supper consumption....the kid can clear a plate faster than a line backer....we were talking about the different foods he had just inhaled. He kept referring to the chicken....we didn't have chicken...Mike pointed this out....his next guess...turkey?...no but give him credit for a white meat. Mike said those were pork chops. Eli wanted to know what pork was (we have explained this but it never sticks). Mike said, "It comes from pigs."

The utter shock and horror on Eli's face was amazing. He screamed, "I ATE WHAT!" The kid had just devoured 2 pork chops, tomatoes, 3 servings of rice, 3 rolls, corn and now he was worried about what everything was? I think it's safe to say that he loved the pork chops but wished he didn't know where they came from. Don't think we'll be reading Charlotte's Web in the near future.

M...o....m....

Parents everywhere know the feeling of waking up in at 2 a.m. with their child standing beside the bed to wake you up and let you know they are sick.

Lucas is one sick guy. He has a 102.7 fever at 2 a.m. and it took til about 3:30 before we could get any kind of reduction. To accompany all this he has what he calls a hurt head. It takes a lot to stop this kid and he is flat out stopped.

I think I jinxed it. Last week when Alison was so sick, in passing I thought, "You know the boys have really done well since coming home. No major illnesses. None of the illnesses that were constantly reported in the Philippines." Yep. Jinx.

This a.m. he's got a cough that will require a trip to the doctor. He seemed to develop pneumonia easily when he was sick in the Philippines and it's something our doctor wants to stay ahead of. The longer we can keep things from developing in his lungs the more time they have to strengthen. So today is Tylenol, Motrin, cartoons, rest and more rest.

Sadder note yet. While we were working on bringing his fever down, he kept patting my hand and saying, "Thank you, thank you. You take care of me." How sad. How many times was he sick in the orphanage and there wasn't a mom and dad to help. :(

I Don't Like That

This is the latest phrase coming out of Eli's mouth for the past 4 days in regards to food....urghh! Guess we don't have to worry about him feeling comfortable enough to tell us his preferences. He's more than happy to share his opinions on all food related subjects.

If I've managed to fix one meal in 4 days that didn't start with him telling me, "I DON'T LIKE THAT!" I would be amazed. Well tonight I amazed him and said, "Well that's too bad. This is what we are having, you can choose to eat it or you will probably get very hungry." He expressed his views by sitting on the back step pouting. I expressed my superior mother cooking skills and promptly burnt the blasted supper.

We are ordering pizza and I'm getting the kind I like. Very mature parenting of me, I know.

He's Not So Smart

Are you familiar with the saying, "oh boys and their toys". There are many big discussions in our house about toys, their own and other boys'. Then we have discussions on how maligned Lucas and Eli are because they do not have all the toys and "things" their friends have.

The hot "thing" to have....or so Lucas and Eli would have us believe....is a bb gun. Don't panic people...there is no way on this earth or in any future that I govern that these two will acquire this prized object. That doesn't stop them from wishing, asking, talking, begging, whining and complaining. It just isn't going to happen for them, so they live vicariously and somewhat naively (there are not that many of their friends' parents that are crazy) through those friends who have the infamous bb gun.

In the car Eli is once again explaining to Lucas which one of his friends have bb guns and all the fabulous things they do with these fantastic things. He stated that "Tom (name changed to protect the 10 year old bb gun aficionado) has a bb gun. Lucas' response? "WHAT! He should not have bb gun....he's not so smart!" Hmmmm. Well. Sometimes it's really hard not to laugh at inappropriate comments. I'd much rather have them fixated on sports. It doesn't usually involve the embedment of small pieces of copper or miscellaneous metal.

"I Got To Lax First!"

Everyone was up bright and early today. It actually feels like the first day of autumn outside. What do we do when it's not 100 degrees outside? Wash windows. Mike, Lucas and Eli found the ladders and cleaned the outside living room windows for me. Boy! Having guys can be handy!

They came inside to take a break, get a drink and "discuss" the rest of the morning chores. Mike told them to head outside and pick up sticks and the yard so they could start mowing. Eli headed for the door and hollered for Luke to come on.

Lucas' response, "Wait! I got to lax (relax) first!" Actually I think his "lax" version was pretty accurate. It lasted a minute and out he went. Apparently, laxing is a mini version of a break. Either way the yard is getting mowed. After mowing the 2 acres, I bet they need the extended relaxation version.

Reason 297

That is the rough estimate of the number of reasons that Lucas has decided that he would like his own room.

What is his number one reason? His younger brother, Eli. Also known by screams of EEEEE!, Hey!, STOP! EEEEEliiiii! (who knew a 3 letter name could be drawn out so long?)

Tonight Lucas announced that Eli is messy.....umm he must have missed his pile of clothes by his own bed, Eli talks all the time....only when Lucas takes a breath or goes to the restroom and my all time favorite....he needs his own bedroom because Eli keeps him awake by wiggling his tooth. Yep apparently Eli is a roommate, dental terror.

Unfortunately Lucas will not be receiving his own room as his sister has prior dibs on the other bedroom but we can offer him ear plugs to ease the night time squeaks of Eli's wiggly teeth.

As Long As SHE Doesn't Get To!

All things this week have shifted back into school mode. I'm back at work, Rachel's off to college, Sydney, Lucas and Eli have made it through the first few days of school. New schedules, back to school year rules and back to the sibling bickering over who is boss. This bickering also carries over into happenings of the day that someone....(Lucas) may have a slight "he man" attitude towards his sister.

His latest "conflict" is to make sure that if I won't allow him to wield a paint brush in the livingroom that Sydney doesn't get to either. I suppose you may say that testing me while I'm on a ladder with a paint can/half standing on a window sill is probably not going to generate a positive parental moment.

He got the point.

Task Master

In preparation for Sydney's high school graduation next May, I thought I'd take a lesson from past experience and start on those "graduation" chores that we always seem to "think" are a must. I'm really hoping this graduation is less hectic.....Rachel's graduation 2 1/2 years ago saw us in the middle of home studies and psych evals for the boys' adoptions. No stress there.

This week-end saw me painting the living room and hallway. I hated having to do this. Number 1...I am not a good painter, Number 2...I really liked the old paint job, Number 3....I seem to have way more spectators and supervisors than actual help.

Sydney helped out as long as she could before leaving for work, Mike kept the boys occupied with outside chores most of the afternoon....that is until they had to make their million trips inside for water and then to stand with the hands on hips and judge how far I've gotten or not gotten as the case may be.

The last trip Lucas made through the house his statement of my work abilities was, "Hmmm. Not as bad as it looked last time I was in. Keep going you will get better." Gee. Thanks for the encouragement!

"My Friends Know More Than Mom"

Eli has decided that this is the case concerning mom's rule on using sunscreen and his friends decision that he doesn't need it.

Both Eli and Lucas love the community pool. It's been their big deal all summer to go to the pool. Sydney and Rachel have been good sports about taking them in and hanging out. Those knowing the Pickle girls know that generally outside is not their favorite place to be, so thank you to them for "enduring" such trauma so their water loving brothers can have some fun.

Eli informs me that he no longer needs to use sunscreen because one of his enlightened and much more knowledgable 10 year old buddies has decided that because Eli is "brown" that he obviously doesn't need it. Wow. So much ground to cover here.

No. Your friend is not the boss. No. He does not know more than your mother. No. "Brown" people still need to use sun screen. No. Your blonde haired, blue eyed friend will never achieve your level of "brownness". No. You will never be as "white" as he is....even if you roll in sunscreen. Boys and their ideas....grow into men with ideas and mothers, wives and girlfriends who add the dose of reality.

Adoption vs. Just Growing Up

This is a topic that I have a lot of trouble figuring out. What things are adoption related, what are just your average issues with boys and what things are just muddled together. Some days we have more success figuring the puzzle out than others. Some days we all do well just to survive the pre teen years....can we really be entering that phase already?

The biggest problem exists when both adoption and common boy issues collide. Control, need for (but not recognizing it in themselves) independence and then the oh so favorite of parents everywhere....the bull headed, I know more than you and "were you talking to me?" phases.

Can you tell that we are having a lot of growing pains in our household?

I Don't Know This Boy

Eli. He looks like the same son we've known for nearly 2 years. But today I'm not sure I know him at all. Today he announced that he has 3 "wiggled" teeth. That is not the oddity. The oddity came when he dictates that I make him a dentist appointment so "his" guy can give him smelly stuff, he can watch Sponge Bob overhead and have his "guy" take out the 3 wigglers.

Is this the same kid who had to be physically held to have a doctor look at his ears and throat, is it the same kid that we had to go through 3 dentists in order to find THE "GUY" that he now so surprisingly requests to visit? Let's revisit November 2009....you can go back and find my posts. After 5 kids and a gazillion doctor visits, I was pretty sure Eli was the kid who beat me, Mike and our collection of medical professionals as the one least likely to ever welcome a visit to their offices.

Again this conversation happened in the car at 60 miles per hour. I also think Eli secretly wants to know what really happens when I run off the road. He's always looking for a new experience. My new experience is just trying to survive a road trip to the grocery store.

Independence Day

This particular independence day doesn't have anything to do with the 4th of July. We've been working on Lucas and Eli to help them understand that they are two separate people. You'd think that would be a given. Not with two guys, who until 2 years ago, only had each other. Now it seems to be time to establish a little independence, we've worked from day one for this but with time they are a little more able to absorb the need for independence.

Trying to get them to establish their own likes and dislikes, independent thoughts, talents and friends is a challenge. We don't want them to lose the bond they have with one another but to expand it and let them explore who they are, individually. It also helps with their English and behavior...nothing wrong with that.

Today, Mike took Eli with him to work. It was a short day, 20 minutes of work and 4 hours of driving. A lot of father/son time. The kid that came home today was speaking full sentences, polite....to the point of being scary and full of himself (in a good way). Lucas spent the day with Sydney. They went to the pool and had by all reports a fun day with no problems. Again, full sentences and no whining. It's hard for Lucas to stop the worrying and bossing to let go and just be himself.

Now to the outside observer it probably seems like no big deal. To Lucas, Eli and us it's huge. Getting them comfortable to be separated takes advance planning and a lot of good luck. We even managed a big talk about how when they grow up they won't always be living together and that when they have jobs they won't be the same. It sounds simple, it's not. I think twins couldn't be closer and more of one mindset than these two. But for today, independence reigned and they broadened their worlds.

Future Eviction?

Lucas and I were driving in the car today and as usual we were playing the "Lucas asks a million questions and mom tries not to drive off the road answering" game. One of the things we talked about was how many houses have I lived in.

Tonights' road worthy pondering was...."Mom. When your old can I keep your house?" Now I may be getting up there in my years but I do know that he was in deep contemplation, worry mode. He tends to still have that survivalist, plan ahead for contingencies thought process. But he had a very well thought out process as to how we would eventually be old and someone would need to take care of the house....I'm just not sure if he's planning on taking care of his parents or if we will be evicted. He may have to take the good with the bad, house=old folks. I think we will revisit this down the road.

Face Plant

Have you ever been at work and received a call from your daughter in charge of the home front and the conversation begins like this? "Mom. He's okay. His face is okay. He had a wreck. He's okay. Is Bactine okay to put on a face?"

Yep. That was my call this a.m. at work from Sydney. When my heart restarted I was able to find out that he'd gone over the handle bars of his bike into the gravel. The picture shows some of the aftermath. I'm not sure who was more upset, Sydney or Eli. Eli was reassuring her he was alright, she was assuring him it would be okay and then they were both trying to reassure me that his face would look better before the first day of school. Right now he looks like a prize fighter. No, helmets do not help for a full frontal assault on the face.

Once I got a "face to face" with him, he patted my arm and said, "I'm okay. I only cry a little, Sydney fix me but Alison (sister of the RN variety) needs to see me....she know how to fix it." I think he thinks she possesses mystical powers of healing....she probably told him that.

I asked Eli how he managed to only get hurt on his face. His hands, arms, elbows, knees all checked out fine. He proudly explained to his obviously crash knowledge, deficient mother that, "I hang on to handles, I go over the top (handle bars), I hang on, you no let go mom!" Obviously, he was so disgusted with my lack of crash knowledge, he promptly went outside and tried to break up a fight between our dog and a stray cat and got bit. I really mean it people. I'm wrapping him in bubble wrap until school starts next week. I guess he's truly becoming a farm kid with all the milestones, good and bad, that comes with it.

For all of you out there that laughed hysterically when we told you we would be adding boys to our family...saying that I was never going to be able to "handle" the rough, tumble and injuries....I say to you, "I haven't passed out or vomited yet but do at times wonder what is it with the male species?"

Hard Adjustments

It's never easy when one of your kids leave home. While as a parent you are really proud to have your child succeeding in their goals and moving into adulthood, on the other hand you secretly wish they'd stay little forever....well at least the "little" part that was easy...you wish to by pass all the "unpleasant" parts of growing up.

We moved Rachel this week-end into her own apartment off campus. Lucas and Eli helped move her in and participated in unpacking by staying on the couch with their video games. Probably the safest and smartest move for little brothers at a stressful time.

We were all pretty composed until we started the 3 hour trip home. Then the boys started worrying about Rachel. How does she get food? How does she know when to go to bed? How does she know when to get up? How does she know how to get home? When will she be home? Is she ever going to live with us again? Ok. I'm trying to drive a pick up, pulling a trailer and answer questions while not running off the road or turning into a blubbering mess on my own.

Eli is not handling the adjustment to all the changes well. He doesn't trust easily or make attachments without a lot of trust...Rachel (even though he pesters and annoys her as much as he can) is one of his "special" ones. Given a chance I'm pretty sure he'd live in her closet to make sure she's okay in her new place. It may be good to grow up but it sure can stink at times.

Super Groper?

Well I've had my morning laugh before heading in to work. Rachel and the boys were watching Sesame Street this a.m. while I was working in the kitchen. I hear them talking but not really tuned in until I hear Eli holler, "SUPER GROPER!".....repeatedly.

Rachel was trying so hard to control laughing and explain that his name was Grover not Groper. Parents beware. You can not teach English pronunciation to your ELL child by using Grover as a model.....not unless you want to spend a whole lot of time explaining to people :)

Long Day?

Today marks day 1 of 2 very long days at work for me. Registration at an elementary school. For those parents who dread going in to school to fill out that paperwork....the secretaries dread it too.

Parents fill out a lot of forms, hey I'm a parent, I know. I'm also the secretary. I not only handle those disgruntled parents' forms, I also handle 400 other sets of parent forms. It's a long process. It's also long for school secretary families who are sitting home, fixing supper and doing nightly routines.

Tonight I came in just as the boys were headed for bed. They wanted to know, "are you home?" Hmmm I think I live here. "You going to work long time tomorrow too?" Yep, one more day. Then they summarily let me know that they are not in favor of this and that I should stop.....I don't think the school district or our banker would appreciate that......1 more day! Seriously grateful for a job but seriously grateful it's just one more day.

Back to Work I Go

Well this a.m. I am once again off to school. We open registrations up on Tuesday and Wednesday so it will be it's usual hectic pace today.

Rachel will be "watching" the boys today...first day back is usually a long one. As they were all up late last night celebrating Sydney's 18th Birthday...Happy Birthday Syd!......I'm hoping everyone stays asleep longer this morning and gives Rachel a chance to get her feet under her.

It's funny. The longer she's in college, the more of the elementary/special ed teacher I see emerging. She already has "the voice" and it's kind of like listening to a kid when their voice changes. She moves from sister voice to teacher voice in the same sentence. Either way it usually works with the boys....let's hope it keeps working!

Furniture Shopping with Males

What on Earth is the matter with me? Why did I ever think it was ok to take 3 males shopping for new furniture? I'm chocking it up to an ever shrinking time frame and the insanity of one going into her Senior year of high school, one moving into her first apartment, 2 boys bored and impatiently waiting for school to start, my school year starting on Monday and whew!

Rachel is moving into her Junior year of college and her first apartment. Our family room is slowly piling up with her things that are going with her. She's also going to be using our living room furniture thus us needing to replace what is here. Somewhere this summer I lost 2 weeks where I'd planned to find replacements. Now the furniture is going out the door on Saturday and we don't have anything to replace it.

I love to furniture shop...when I can find things that I like.....when I have time to look.....when I'm not dragging 10 and 11 year olds off the displays, making sure they don't touch anything glass and keeping track of Mike who seemed to be falling further and further behind. So what's a woman to do? Leave the store, feed the men and decide to return solo to finish the shopping at a later date...let's see how many days til Saturday?

Sunflower Ranch

We are in the full out, house torn apart, pre opening of school cleaning mode. At lunch today we didn't even have chairs available to sit on as we ate tacos so we did a picnic on the floor....100 plus degrees outside...no way we were eating out there!

Lucas was on his third taco when he announces that he likes the Sunflower Ranch....huh? Ok, maybe it was the cleaning fumes or the exhaustion of keeping 4 kids cleaning in 3 separate areas but I couldn't figure it out. He gets really frustrated when he has to stop to try to make us understand. His English is pretty darn good but sometimes he doesn't refer to things by the correct name.

After trying to explain to Rachel, Sydney, Eli and myself he disgustedly puts his taco down, gets up goes over to the counter and grabs the Hidden Valley Ranch salad dressing and points out, "See, I like the Sunflower Ranch sauce!" I said, "Buddy. That's called Hidden Valley Ranch." He looked at the label, sounded out the words and said, "Huh. Whatever. I like it."

On Safari

We took a trip back to Sylvan Lake today. The boys went swimming but decided that swimming in a heated pool was better than a mountain lake...they do like some warm water. Then we went on the great buffalo hunt with no success, we did however find very friendly buros. Eli was satisfied with this discovery and demanded to be returned to the campground to play with his new $1.95 marshmellow gun. Headed back towards Iowa in a.m. bet the back seat riders are asleep before we clear the Black Hills...ahhhh the quiet. Mike says if we'd just let the boys shoot the buros in the mouth with the marshmallow guns they'd have both been satisfied. I don't think I should leave those 3 alone anymore.

Trying to nap on vacation

I tried to take a snooze while the tribe took a bike ride....yep the campground decided to mow around our trailer...no nap and the tribe returned early it made me happy...

No Internet

Our newest campsite doesn't have Internet so our posts are being dictated to Rachel at home to post.

We made it to the Black Hills of South Dakota. It only took us about an hour and a half from our last camp ground to the newest one... Lucas and Eli have talked themselves into enduring another seven hour ride so they were pleasantly surprised!

They haven't decided if this is an okay place or not. Going up is not the favorite thing to do especially as we are climbing into the Black Hills. And are realizing that there are clouds covering the tops of hills so they couldn't see. Eli thought we should stop completely as we drove into the clouds above them.

I made (tried to make) a joke on the way up that we may need them to get out and push the Yukon because it might not pull the camper up the hills. Its too bad no one had a camera ready because as I looked in the rear view mirror I couldn't help but notice the shocked and horrified look on Lucas's face! He said, "Mom. I cannot do that. I will get runned over and smashed! It would roll backwards and be bad." I then asked if he could get out and help slow us down on the downgrade.... "Mom! That would be worse! I get run over! No way!" Smart kid!

We hung out close to the campground most of the day but took a drive up Needle's Highway in the evening. The boys were sure we would drive off the edge and were amazed at the narrow tunnels. I have explained, "Why are the Bad Lands bad?" "Why are there colors in the ground?" "Why are the Black Hills black?" "Why do I have to listen to my sister?" "Why is Mount Rushmore not called South Dakota?" "Why are the roads so twisty?" "Why can't I pester my sister?" "Why is Crazy Horse crazy?" ...... you get the idea.

Lucas's quote for the day was, "Wow! The Yukon say 'I like to shake my booty!" ...... Translation: The road was a little rough.

Next amazing statement came when we were trying to show the boys Birch trees. As soon as I said the word "birch" I knew we were in trouble and waited for the "bad" words to start... Eli said, "That sound like bush!" ... whew!

The pictures are of Sylvan Lake and the view from our campsite.

What Got Into Them?

Tuesday was the day for exploring and hiking the Badlands of South Dakota. I hiked my share but when the quartet of climbers you see below decided that they would climb the "difficult designated" trail, my bad knee and I opted to stay below and take pictures and call 911 if necessary. They all were ready for lunch and water by the time they got back to the bottom.

The photo above is interesting, thought I'd take a shot of it while they climbed...notice how tall that peak is?

Look closely. Do you see two little darker specks appear at the top?

Yep...it's them....no fear and no judgement on anyone's part.

The intrepid climbers are now ready for the Himalayans or at least a bottle of water since it looks like Lucas isn't sharing the one he has.

Mike demands that I say it is not as bad as it looks....yep stick to that story and I'll stick to my photographic proof.

The photo below is Sydney at the top confessing to the camera that it was a bad idea and how very sorry she was for following the misguided and ultimately how smart her mother was to stay below....she also said...."I'm too short to get back down."

A Few More Photos

No children were harmed in the exploration of the Badlands.....we just finally explained to Lucas and Eli that rattlesnakes were like cobras....they're not but it got our point across.

Eli is always 50 feet ahead and walks like he's contemplating the universe....works out well until he gets too close to a cliff....I'd be rich if I had a quarter for everytime I said, "Eli, not so close, get back here!

2 Boys Take on South Dakota and Their Family

Mike, Sydney and myself have survived our first day as chaperons for Lucas and Eli's "Great South Dakota Adventure." They have tolerated us as a necessary encumbrance in order to arrive at their destination. Please keep in mind their own point of reference for the Badlands and Black Hills are the tourism ads on tv.

My first "mom" observation of the trip: Billboards are dangerous. Forget your standard ad placements for restaurants, the interstate across South Dakota is a mecca for kids learning to read English...they read ALL of them including those about reptiles, caves, snakes, cowboys, Mt. Rushmore, mazes.....it goes on forever. Eli spots one billboard that was definitely an oldy (I think I remember it from my trips here as a kid) it was a classic Indians chasing a cowboy and stagecoach....not on the side of today's politically correct line. Eli asked if Indians killed white people....so my wanting to give him both sides, I attempted to explain that yes and white people killed Indians a long time ago. He then asked, "did they kill brown people?" Ok. Then I had to explain that there weren't Filipinos in old west America....yep good luck there. Then to top this conversation off..."Mom. Are there Indians here now?" I must have had some sort of mental issue cause I said, "Yes there is (which there are and no I can't explain the correct terminology to him.) and there are two Filipinos. He hit the end of his seat belt so hard screaming, "WHERE?" I'm surprised he's not bruised. And so that was my revenge for having to explain 400 miles of billboards.

Once we entered the Badlands, where our campground is, the road twists and winds through the first part of the park, throw in a couple sharp turns and a vertical hillside and we hear Lucas chime in from the rear of the Yukon....."Mom! We're going to fall down!" We made it to the bottom in one piece and he didn't ask to get out and walk.

Sydney, having traveled to Manila and back when we brought the boys home, is quite a trouper when it comes to long distance traveling with them. Her only complaint today was after having endured about 120 miles of less than pristine road conditions, announced from her back seat, "I think I'm suffering from Shaken Pickle Syndrome!" She too arrive at the campsite in one piece.

The boys have played on the playground, checked out the pool, played basketball, ridden their bikes, played a board game and are now eating ice cream....yep, we'll never return to normal when we get back. We actually found time to take a hike up into the Badlands this afternoon. Mike and I are ready to fall into bed but the kids are going hard...suppose the ice cream was a mistake?

Ready To Roll?

We head out in the morning at 4:00 a.m. for the Badlands and Black Hills of South Dakota. Our house/pet sitters are here and are really wishing we'd clear out sooner rather than later. It's been a very loud and messy day packing the camper.

Did I mention that Pickles really aren't outdoors people. We enjoy a good hotel and restaurants but we are broadening our horizons and our pocket books by introducing/forcing ourselves to commune with nature. We've taken a lot of short 2 and 3 day camping trips and one 5 day camping trip about 12 years ago....has it really been that long? I'll have to double check with Pam and Gene to make sure.

While the homestead is being tended, we will try to keep everyone up to date on our "fun" as we go along. Lucas and Eli are very excited about the "mountain with the faces" and still do not believe me when I tell them that there is no inside and no treasure like in the movie National Treasure 2. We're looking forward to watching one of the local Boy Scout troops play taps at the flag lowering ceremony on Thursday night at Mt. Rushmore. Hopefully the weather cooperates...forecasts aren't looking good. Wish us luck!

Transformers on the Road

Mike asked that I put in a short story about a recent road trip with Eli. They were driving down one of our local country roads when they came upon a familiar sight in rural Iowa farm country. Below is a picture of what Eli was positive was a Transformer....not a good Transformer but a Descepticon (I have no clue how to spell that and spell check doesn't recognize it...go ask the nearest person under 16 and they will explain).

Mike once again tried to explain that movies aren't real, no Iowa has not and will most likey not be invaded by either Transformers or Descepticons much to Eli's great disappointment.

No Filter

Little boys and big boys for that matter, do not possess a verbal filter.....or at least not this morning when my little "cherub" of a youngest son grabs my hand and says, "Oooh mom! What happened! You have grandma hands."

Well. Where do I go to buy a mouth filter that goes around his foot which is inserted in his mouth? I have a feeling I'll be needing a steady supply for awhile or at least until I've reached a point where I am so old I am deaf and unable to hear his verbal bashing. According to Eli that will probably be next week. Good thing the kid is so dang cute.

Heart Attack Waiting To Happen

We are starting baseball tournaments this week.....yeah! Not! I absolutely am not a calm sports parent. It is excruciating to watch your kids put it all out there and listen to some of the less than nice comments from spectators.

Don't get me wrong, there are more positive supporters by far but those one or two obnoxious "fans" make it difficult for all the parents and the players when their comments reach the field.

Lucas is playing third base and pitching. Eli plays right field. Wednesday's game ended up as close as you can get and still win. 9 to 10. We had a rough final inning, going from 2 to 10 to the final score. I was pretty sure that my heart was going to explode at the end when Lucas was moved from 3rd to pitcher for the final out. Again, if you didn't catch it....I'm not so good at watching my kid in a difficult situation. He does great, they both do great, now if they could just have training camp for over anxious moms and a sound proof dugout for the obnoxious fans my blood pressure would be much lower thus avoiding that impending heart attack.

Easter Bunny Arrives on a Go Cart

I'm getting a little slow on posting slide shows....it's a lot easier to write. This slide show was from Easter morning when the boys discovered that they Easter Bunny hadn't forgotten to fill their Easter baskets...the go cart wouldn't fit.

Personalize your own free picture slideshow

Break It Up!

With the holiday and days off work for one or more of us in the Pickle house, we are starting to wear on each others' nerves.

You know that affliction where one person breathes and it makes three other people instantly irritated? Yep. We have arrived at that post holiday event. If I had a quarter for every time I told the boys to go play outside or the girls to stop picking on their brothers or the boys to stop pestering their sisters or to just stop, I would have a very nice vacation paid for....of course it would be a solo vacation in a blisfully quiet environment - no not the funny farm!

Don't get me wrong, I don't wish any one of these preciously obnoxious family members to leave, I just want 30 minutes without a dispute.....stop laughing a mom can dream, some days it's all we have.

Happy Independence Day!

We've been celebrating the Fourth of July for three days.....the boys think this is the American holiday that doesn't end. Eli asked me tonight what was next, what are we doing tomorrow....more fireworks? more parade? more party.

I had to say, "Sorry buddy. Tomorrow is July 5th, it's over." He wasn't a fan of that news. I think all the kids (big and little) had a great 4th of July, at least by the degree of tiredness it was a raving success. Hope everyone out there had a good one too!

Bed Check

We have probably some of the most mismatched dogs a family can have. Faye, is a German/Shepard/Huskymix who we chose at the pound. If you know her you also know she's all bluff. She loves to put on the ferocious watch dog for the Fed Ex/UPS guys and gals but she also knows they carry treats for her. She's not dumb.

Our other dog, Walley, is a basset hound, who decided he liked to visit his neighbors and chose to frequent our place so much his owner said, "Keep him, he's there more than home." Walley has the energy level of a moth just before a hard freeze. Movement is not an activity he chooses to participate in. He does, however, believe he weighs 5 pounds instead of 50 and that he is Sydney's lap dog.

These past few days my sister has been staying with us and Eli has let her use his bed for the duration. Hey. This is a huge step for him. His bed is a big deal. He's on the couch, where he's been begging to sleep for a couple weeks. He thinks he's hot stuff.

How do our pets and the musical beds tie together? With the heat index in the 90's at night, the last place a husky mix wants to be is outside. We let her in to sleep. When Faye is inside at night she does what we call "her rounds". Everyone has to be in their bed and she will not stop pacing until everyone is home and down for the count. If the girls are out, she comes and let's us know that we too should be pacing.

The first night she came in and found Eli sleeping on the couch, she tried to make it her mission to wake him up and escort him to bed. I'm not sure what would have happened if she'd found my sister asleep in Eli's bed first. Hopefully she doesn't make midnight rounds.

Big Plip Plops!

Sydney and I went clothes shopping for senior picture outfits on Friday. Let me tell the parents out there that if they've done this particular shopping trip you would so very much appreciate Sydney's shopping.....one store....one hour.....lunch.....shoe store in and out in 20 minutes we were done!


On to the fashion show for Mike, Rachel and the boys....it's mandatory....I shopped, they can sit and adequately ooh and ahh over this successful endeavor and like it. Mike had prepared the boys ahead of time, they immediately sat down and sat quietly (I wonder what the bribe or creative impression he left with them was in order to achieve this?)


Sydney came out with one outfit and the first thing Eli can say..."Sydney those sure are big plip plops. Can I try?" Her answer...."No, not even if you learn to say flip flops...and they aren't plip plops." So much for subjecting brothers to a style show.

Million Dollar Idea?

I'm not sure if this is really a million dollar idea but to a mother of two nail biting sons, I think I'd pay $20.00 for some type of finger nail "caps" so that these two little wood peckers can't reach their nails until they have a chance to grow and heal.

It appears to be nervous/bored/intense situations that bring them to chew away. It's driving me insane (there are truly levels to insanity ~ I've visited several and will probably continue my trek).

I just think that some little rubber sleeves for fingertips, like secretaries use to sort paper, could accomplish a lot towards healing them up. They absolutely, from day one, can not stand to have any type of finger/toe nail showing. Ouch!

Lucas informs us that if they didn't have fingernails in the Philippines that the dirt would not get in them and then they wouldn't have to scrub with the "brush". Well we don't have the "brush" here but that still hasn't convinced them to stop biting! Urgggh!

The Field of Medicine

One of the areas where we've been making slow if not backwards strides at times with the boys is with needing to take medicine.

Their orphanage did not have access to a lot of things one of those being medicines that most of us take for granted. Medicines they did have were used sparingly and some out there may argue that we'd all do better if we didn't rely on over the counter meds as we do....debateable for sure.

We talk and talk to the boys about the need for them to let us know when they aren't feeling well. I hate walking in to tuck them in at night to find Lucas crying cause he has a nasty headache or the knot on his shin from baseball has doubled in size since I'd looked at it earlier. They cover any illness or injury very well. What we've learned over time from Lucas is that when you were sick in the orphanage the sick one would have to go to the infirmary which was not a good place and they were split up, they never knew for how long. It must have scared them to death because we have to play 400 questions to figure out the problem (that's assuming we catch that they aren't feeling well.)

We are making progress, Lucas now knows that a headache won't mean he suffers in silence, Tylenol is his friend and Aleve helps with muscle pain. He's not a frequent requester by any means but he no longer suffers in silence. Band aids are another matter, I'm investing in stock.

Eli....not so much progress.....the quickest way to know he doesn't feel good; he either ends up sitting as close to you as possible or has a pinched looking face. That is until the middle of supper the other night. He looked up from his plate...that by itself should have warned me.....to announce, "Mom. I need that medicine. My arm no good from baseball. I cannot move it right. I need it to feel better." We did try some ice and a warm shower which alleviated the need for a pill but hey it's progress in the field of medicine.

Spider Man Bites

We were outside trying to mow the yard before the next rain storm hits...seems like it's a daily occurrence lately. I'm mowing, Rachel is mowing, Sydney is fixing us lunch and Lucas and Eli are suppose to be picking up sticks and limbs from last nights storm.

What the boys were actually doing was picking up a couple sticks and then playing, picking up a few more and riding bikes, picking up some more and then playing in the mud. Little do they understand that even though I am on a riding mower I do know what they are and aren't doing. So for every round of the yard I made I'd have to scream over two mowers' noise and tell them to stay on task.....it's a whole lot of yelling going on in the Pickle yard.....pretty sure the roofers repairing our neighbors roof 1/4 mile away wondered what kind of people make so much noise.

So in one of my many stops for instructions or maybe it was when the boys flagged me down, Lucas informs me that he has been bitten by Spider Man. Ok. I had seen Spider Man in the mud puddle earlier so .....who knows. Finally he explains that no, it was not Spider Man but a spider that he picked up in the garage. Urgghh! So mowing stopped, disinfections, bandaging and observation begins. I'm waiting for Mike to get home so I can finish mowing cause it's just not happening with the help of the spider bitten, mud balls that are our sons trying to help.

Eli Has a Calling

His calling ....to become a driving instructor. Please disregard the fact that he has little judgement on the go cart. Faster the better and if he clips a few things on the way by...it's what you are suppose to do.

I have managed to curtail his back seat driving when I'm behind the wheel but he's managed to get his fix of bossing someone's driving and that would be the other people on the road.

We were headed to a baseball game and his instructions, to the "challenged driver" in front of us, went something like this...

"He is not driving right. He is all over road! He's not suppose to drive in MIDDLE! He's on the left, he's on the right. Why is he putting his brake lights on all the time. He drove off the
road! He not know how to drive! He's on wrong side, this is no passing, the sign says no passing. There is no car to pass...he's on the wrong side. URGHH! He not good driver, he needs to stop."

So. Lessons for all of us here. Never drive to a game following a challenged driver, with Eli in the back seat you will be deaf and also have to pull over as you are now laughing too hard to drive yourself. Also if you or anyone you know should come across a driving instructor in about 15 years by the name of Eli Pickle.....take a bus.

Dude! Be QUIET!

I wish I could figure out a way to record the conversations the boys' have between themselves....they'd probably sue me later in life.

I was sitting in the kitchen and they were playing in their room. Mom's will understand this, you know your kids are talking but you aren't tuned 100% into their conversation unless you hear that certain voice tone that warns of imminent issues? Yep. That one.

I'm noticing laughing and the ridiculous sounds only boys playing Spider Man vs. Iron Man can make. Then I hear Eli say, "Dude! Be QUIET! Stop talking!" and then silence. I waited for the explosion from Lucas. Nothing. Then Eli continues, "Dude (I don't know who taught him this word, I'd like to visit with them) you should use your brain! What? Don't you know English? Stop making so much noise!"

At this point I've decided I'm having an auditory hallucination. Eli is telling someone else to be quiet, use his brain and stop making noise? Eli who could compete with a stadium full of people for noise and pure chaos? And then to have him recognize that the volume was getting out of control? I think someone switched kids on me.

After several minutes of quiet....something that does not happen.....guess who finally broke the quiet.......me. I couldn't stand it. I had to know what the problem was that could initiate such absolute quiet.

Eli's take on the situation? "Mom. Lucas talk too much. He should be more quiet. Why does he have to talk all the time? (facing Lucas he says) "DUDE, you make my head hurt!"

My mature, motherly response. I burst out laughing. Are you kidding me. This coming from the kid who can bring on migraines and down planes with his volume. I did manage to drink an entire cup of coffee before Eli got over his need for quiet and the decibels once again reached the heavens.

How did Lucas handle this directive from Eli? I think he was in shock because he wasn't upset or mad. He just sat there, looking at Eli as if he didn't recognize him either.

Part of the Game

If you have kids in sports you probably prepare yourself for the occasional injury. I brace myself at each ball game.....I did this to the girls with piano contests...you never know when the piano bench could spontaneously combust :) I'm not a good, take it as it comes sports parent. Lucas pitches and plays 3rd base. Eli is playing up a grade level and plays 2nd base and center field.

It's amazing how much faster the throwing is and how much harder they hit this year over last. I anticipate the baseball plowing into them as each teams' pitchers try to perfect their aim. So far Lucas has been hit twice, Eli's shirt has skid marks from a pitch today and so far they've both walked away each game.

Unfortunately I didn't really contemplate the damage that could be wreaked by my kids on others. Now I'm having guilty parent thoughts (like I could have done anything to change these unfortunate events.) Lucas hit a line drive this past week and for some reason the other teams' pitcher took a dive for it, it hit the back of his hand and busted it. Oh my! Then in today's game Eli, who came out swinging for all he was worth, drove a foul ball right into a car's windshield and let's just say those people had to drive home with their heads half way out the side window. Yikes! This season can't end fast enough.....we have a game tonight.....let's hope everyone and their property goes home safely.

Big Sister Tattling

Mike and I came home Friday to find the following on the computer. It's written by Sydney, aka frustrated, big sister brother sitter. It made us laugh .... and also pay her $20.00 to attend the Renaissance Fair for her hard work.

Posting from Sydney ~
I thought only parents had selected hearing; this thought process of mine was proven wrong Friday afternoon. While I was watching my brothers, there would come times for them to do chores. This entails them having to listen to me…which has never been a favorite thing of theirs, as is, I am a woman. I would find myself saying, multiple times, “Boys, it’s time to take out the trash.” Then that quickly turned to, “Boys, PLEASE take the trash out.” And not long after that, “Boys, take the trash out now, or I’ll have to call dad.” Eventually, on their own time, they would do it. This went on, and the day tended to stretch itself out as the boys like to test me. I believe Eli found the spot that really makes me tick when, at 11:00 am, he appeared before me and stated, “Make me a swammich.” Yes, he wanted a sandwich, I’m sure because they’d just finished with swimming lessons, but that is NOT the way to ask for one from his big sister who doesn’t have patience with chauvinistic men. These incidences occurred all day, and the noise level kept rising, until...it happened. For the very first time, my brothers responded to me the first time when I said, almost at a whisper, “Do you want a chip?” It made me laugh to myself, and made the entire day worth it. Selective hearing is amazing; I almost wish I could acquire it.

Mom posts ~ I hate to tell Sydney this but she developed and perfected selective listening at the age of 3. She's now just meeting her match :)

Mom. I Don't Feel Good

Another new area of difference between parenting boys and parenting girls....at least ours. Boys are just sick without the drama.

Both our boys still haven't gotten used to riding in cars, lets just say major car sickness unless we use Dramamine and then it's the same as if I'd hit them with a brick.

Because of all the road closures in our area due to flooding we are having to take a lot of windy, hilly back roads in order to travel anywhere. This is not good for the travel challenged.

Eli made it a whole 48 miles today before the dreaded, "Mom, I don't feel good." and in true boy style grabbed our travel trash can and urped. Once done he grabbed a bottle of water, swished and that was it. It made me think back to road trips when the girls were younger, one of the three inevitably got sick. The difference was the aftermath. The crying, whining and general "I don't feel good so therefore you will understand my level of misery" that everyone was subjected to.

I'm not saying that the girls didn't feel good and I too whine when sick (think I know where they acquired their whining skills) but Lucas and Eli just take it, deal with it and move on. Good for them, pretty sure that the females of the family will never surpass them in this area.

Solutions for Boredom

1. Eli (big time - naughtiness seems to be his solution)


2. Lucas (watching his brother get into trouble is his solution)


3. Mom (determined to not let boredom or boys win)

It has rained for the past two days and being enclosed in a house with a 10 and 11 year old will give new dimensions to my ability to create distractions. Last night I threw in the towel, it was that or get out the duct tape. I threw in the mom towel and told dad it was his show.

I want someone out there to explain why it is that when dad comes on the scene of the mouthy, ornery, disobedient behaviors, they vanish....the behaviors not the children. And then the pint sized cherubs manage to convince the father figure that mom is crazy, they are perfect angels.

I don't care if it's raining tomorrow, they will go outside even if it's to take a rain shower. They always tell me that's how they took showers in the Philippines. I'm thinking it wasn't so much to get clean as it was to give the Ate's a break.

Iowa Rednecks

Father and sons bonding. What do you envision when you think about it? Playing catch, working on projects together...nice pictures, right?

On Monday evening we were once again relegated to our basement where a nasty thunderstorm with hail and possible tornado sent us...without electricity. As we sat there in the dark watching radar on our cell phones and the boys playing video games by candle light, a mom can learn a lot about her sons' daytime activities.....some of which the "oh so guilty father" would just as soon not be brought up.

You see, Mike, Lucas and Eli disappeared that afternoon to pickup some things from town...or so I thought. I knew they were gone a long time but they are after all guys, easily distracted. Apparently while they were picking up things they also helped to move some things that are going to be used at church camp.....toilets. Eli is telling me all about how they put them in the back of the pickup, how heavy they were and that they weren't dirty....for which I was grateful. Then Lucas says, "We saw Aunt Debbie. We waved to her cause she could see us. We ride in the back of pickup." Ok. Mike, Lucas and Eli know that this is not my idea of safety even though almost every kid in this farming community has done and continues to do so. But before we could once again have this discussion, Lucas continued..."It's ok mom. We sit on the toilets. We didn't stand up." WHAT! Yes. In their fathers' redneck mind, this was hilarious. Our boys riding in the back of a pickup, in the open, sitting on toilets.

Lucas and Eli continued to rave about how comfortable they were to sit on, blah, blah, blah. Until they realized that all three of their sisters were stunned silent and I did not have a pleasant look on my face, Mike was studying the floor intently. The boys finally stopped the story of the "glorious, public toilet ride" and figured out maybe we should talk about other things.....

Don't Snort the Pepper

Tasting things to Eli is about as important as sniffing them...not quite...he smells everything. Food, toys, the dogs, his brother, his shoes.....we'll call him an eccentric smeller or just a little strange in regards to odors.

Anyway, at lunch on Sunday, he asked for the salt and pepper. He decided that the pepper was the most interesting thing on the table. "Is it spicy, is it hot, does it smell." It did have something to do with the pepper shaker shape as it was just too tempting to resist but he had to smell it......resulting in the pepper shaker being emptied and sanitized and him with a snoot full of pepper. Another smelly lesson learned.

What I Learned At Swim Lessons

This morning was day 1 of swim lessons for Lucas and Eli. It was day 1...they did fine but this isn't about what they learned as much as what I learned.

As many of you know, you take your kids to swim lessons, some moms stay and watch, some drop and run for 30 minutes of peace. Today I stuck around as we (Lucas and Eli) seem to be experiencing a high degree of not listening....didn't want the high school swim instructor frustrated on day 1...we'll wait til day 3.

Let me start by saying we live in a small, Midwestern town. From the beginning of our adoption journey our community has been supportive, helpful and understanding. The boys arenot the only internationally adopted kids in town. As a whole it's been a very positive place for the boys.

As can be found anywhere there are those pockets of less than accepting individuals. Most of the time this hasn't been a problem...actually the hardest part in dealing with people of "diminished social awareness" is determining if it's honest interest, ignorance or prejudice. Unfortunately, having to deal with the last on the first day of swim lessons (early in the a.m., with no coffee) is probably not the best time for me to "educate" someone...fortunately I didn't have to, the educator proved to be the 6 year old girl of the offender.

This person, whom I didn't recognize, was sitting behind me and had also seen me walk in with the boys...so I would think she'd been able to connect the dots...maybe she did and it was part of her "issue". About half way though lessons I hear her start questioning about who the boys are, "where did they come from" (not in a nice way), what race they were.....now understand I'm cleaning up the language of these questions....a lot.

I'd reached my decaffeinated level of patience and started to turn to introduce myself and my boys when I hear this little girl say, "Mom, that is Lucas and Eli. They are from here, they didn't use to be. They used to be from a far away place, I think it's called Flipins (she tried but couldn't quite get it out)...They are really nice, Lucas helped me find my room. Eli is nice to me. Lucas is bigger, Eli is the littler one. They are nice, you can say hi to them. They didn't used to have a mommy and daddy they came here and now they do, they are from America now." Then she ran off to play with some other kids.

My hope is that mom learned a lesson today...yes I know it's not that easy. But better yet is that I learned a lesson. After nearly 19 months of living in our community the boys have made a mark, established themselves by their actions towards others and have "defenders" of all ages and we aren't the only ones who will help them to fit into our community. They are things a parent may know in the backs of our minds but sometimes you have to be sitting pool side while someone else takes up the battle and helps you to remember to be grateful for your home town, warts and all.

The Art of M&M's

During some point in this past week-end house cleaning extravaganza, I found it necessary to encourage (ok bribe) Lucas and Eli to keep moving.

In a fit of cleaning fume induced dementia, I gave them snacks of M & M's and Diet Coke. We were out of everything else... no root beer, sprite, juice....milk was not going to cut it and they'd inhaled all the fruit the day before. I cracked under the pressure ok?

The first sign that I was entering the vortex of no return was when the boys are sitting at the table counting how many M&M's they each have....11 for Lucas, 12 for Eli...oops! Then I sat there and watched Lucas consume his treat as a normal, starving (because that's what I'd been hearing for 20 minutes) boy....he wolfed. I thought, again from the vortex, great we can get back to the chores.....and then I tuned into Eli.

Eli does nothing without complete and surprising results. Apparently M&M's fall into a category of their own. First he counted them, then he sorted them by color, then he subdivided them into the number of pieces for each color, then he equalized the colors by eating the offending extra pieces....did I mention this entire event was done while simultaneously needling Lucas that he indeed had one more M&M then him.

I give credit to Lucas, he didn't rise to the bait. He simply looked down his nose at Eli and said, "So what I ate my candy, you are still counting it." And so the vortex entered the next level.

Equality in Housework

Well. Yesterday was the first day home for myself on summer break. Yesterday was the first day of the boys' RE-education in the equality of housework. Boys need to know how to clean and not expect others (their mom, sisters or future wives) to do it for them.

In the hectic last few weeks, I've slacked off having them do their chores. I can't (or won't) make that mistake again.

It took over 2 hours this morning to "offer instructive assistance" to Lucas and Eli in the need to keep their room and the rest of the house clean and how that is achieved. Now neither one of these male life forms are incapable of reaching this goal. As a matter of fact when they first arrived home they were meticulous. With the addition of a billion toys and clothes and the same small room they can't afford to be messy....for my sanity and their possessions.

We were really good about limiting toys and things when they came home. It lasted 6 months at best. As they get bigger, their toys get bigger....unfortunately their room does not. In the mess of gutting their entire room and starting over (10 trash bags full) I expressed my displeasure in having found wrappers, trash, broken toys, dirty socks and things that I still haven't identified where upon Lucas informs me, "Mom. I very good at cleaning in Philippines." Ok. What happened? He explained, "I not have anything to pick up so my bed always clean." Well crud. I managed to dig myself out of that landmine and pulled up my mommy britches and still made them keep going....even if it was with a little more patience.

Now if you are thinking 2 hours is not bad for such a feat, please let me tell you the 2 hours I mentioned was just reminding them who was in charge and that yes the house was getting cleaned with the help of everyone. It actually took 8 hours of hard work from the entire family. Like I said I won't be making that mistake again.

Attachment

No this post isn't about how the boys are adjusting to family or community. It's not about how attached they are to their go cart or baseball. It's about their attachment to their clothing. All their clothing. From skin level out....mom's you know what I'm talking about.

Lucas and Eli have both been growing by leaps and bounds. Usually I can weed out the clothes that are too small around the waist with little fuss on their parts (they don't like to be squeezed) unfortunately this doesn't include those articles that are too short.

Eli especially has a great attachment to his jeans. I came home from work to find him in the rattiest, shortest pair of jeans you can visualize. Holes in both knees and the rear end and hitting him at mid calf. Luckily he didn't go away from home today. Mike wanted to take them to a movie and even he knew those jeans weren't going off the place. When he told Eli to change and put that pair of jeans in the trash you would have thought he said, "go shoot the dog."

Where did the jeans end up? After the guys left for a movie I extracted them from Eli's newest hiding place for all valuable things and they will not be making a reappearance. Before anyone feels too badly for him, I did tell him and then showed him that he has plenty of jeans (without the holes and shortened version). He was ok with it as long as he didn't have to actually put them in the trash can. Now. My next question lurking in the back of my mom brain....is he really that attached to his stuff or is he beginning to develop the kid mentality of it is easier to hide things than pick them up. Time will tell.