Vacation 401

With checkout time being only 2 hours away, one could liken the bustling activity to an ant colony preparing for winter; and with 23 family members going in, out, and about the cabin, that's not an exaggeration! Dads were lugging dufflebags, pillows, and souveniers to the cars, moms were cleaning the living spaces, counting shoes, and double-checking each area to ensure nothing was left behind, while the 14 cousins were trying to squeeze in every game they never got around to playing.

So, as we wrap up our vacation, let's go over the rules for Vacation 401.

Rule #10 - Be sure to do at least one activity for yourself. Vacation is fun for the family. And most of the time is spent making sure that the kids have a blast. But don't forget to do something that's fun for you. First off, it teaches your kids to share, think of others, and compromise, but the real reason is because the last thing you're going to want to tell your friends at work is that your kids had a good time. Be sure that there was something specific that was fun for you.

For me, that was going to Cooter's Place. I was hoping to actually meet Ben Jones, the actor who played crazy Cooter, the mechanic from Hazzard County, on the TV show Dukes of Hazzard. But, just being able to get my picture next to the General Lee was a dream come true. There was a sign that said I could pay $5 to sit in the car to have my picture taken, and I would have, had I not bored my kids to spend almost an hour just looking at "stuff." But to tell you the truth, I would have paid $100 to have been able to try my Luke Duke impersonation while sliding across the hood of the car and climbing in thru the passenger-side window.




Rule #11 - Motion sickness trumps ALL activites! Although this is mentioned next to last, it is THE most important rule of all. Nothing can ruin a vacation quicker than vomit in the back seat. Travel time from Gatlinburg, TN to St. Louis MO, 8 hours. Time it took the Ferris family, 13 hours spread over 2 days! Value of not having your car smell like vomit for the rest of the trip, priceless.

When we realized our oldest didn't feel good, we decided to stop for some fresh air and check out the deals at one of the many outlet malls... or in Tennessee, a tin warehouse, fashioned with doors on each end, a hallway down the middle, and about 5-6 stores on each side. The fresh air did some good, so we grabbed a quick bite at a Wendy's/gas station/truck stop. The Wendy's was one of the nicer restaurants we've visited, but if it wasn't for our famished state, I'm not sure we could have endured another loud speaker announcement about Shower #2 being available to the next customer.

After only 2.5 hours of driving on the road, we discover that our oldest still isn't feeling well. It wasn't mentioned, but we both realized that before we had a child who didn't feel well; now we had a child who not only didn't feel well, but also had half-digested food in his stomach. While trying to come up with a game plan, I heard our sick one in the back seat say, "Dad, I smell something..." This of course, is what any parent would recognize as the point of no return. At this point, what's in, is about to be out; and there's no stopping it. And as my uncle can attest, there's also no returning to that new car smell once that happens.

I had about a nano-second to respond. Immediately, yelled, "HOLD ON, COOPER!" as I hit the 2 buttons for the windows with my left hand and jerked the wheel hard to the right. If there was a car in my blind spot, it was now in the ditch because I was going determined to catch that exit ramp, no matter what! I don't know if it was the sudden change in cabin pressure, the slower speed, or the need to focus on something else, that kept us from reaching the point of no return, but I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Luckily this exit had a real mall this time, but unfortunately, it wasn't a whole lot better. After an hour and a half of shopping and 2 leather belts for the boys, we decided to spend another hour or more on a non-fast food dinner. Afterwards, we took all the necessary precautions before loading back into the van such as moving Cooper out of the back seat and secretly placing a garbage can within reach. The clock now said 7pm, and I realized that we had now spent more time out of the van than we had spent driving. We still had about 7 hours of drive ahead of us, as well as a stop in Padukah, KY, to pick up the dogs.

We were going to have to spend the night, but I'll choose a red-eye trip to dealing with a sick kid any day!


Rule #12 - Vacation is what you make of it. Because our trip home was less than stellar, we decided to have one last hurrah before we concluded our vacation. But since Monday was spent with Sheri catching up on laundry and cleaning the house, and I was back at work, we settled for a rush hour show of Kung Fu Panda. We met at the movie theatre between home and my work and bought 2 large pops to share.

After the movie, we were famished. But coming off a vacation with a grueling trip home we couldn't stomach another fast food restaurant. So, we took advantage of the free pop refills and drove to the other side of the parking lot to order a pizza.



Hey, it's good, cheap, and was ready in about 6 minutes. But most of all, we did it together. And the way I see it, even though you had to use an entire bottle of Tylenol (See Rule #8), if you can say that you had fun, then it's a successful vacation!

Vacation 301

Day 3 began only a couple of hours later than Day 2. Ugh. Maddox was ready to go at 5 am, and his brothers shortly after. Their excited chatter of everything they wanted to do that day sounded like the chugging wheels of locomotive bearing down on me. The whoosh-CLAP sound of the drawers being slammed shut as they pulled out their clothes for the day told me the train was close. I tried to ignore the whining "whistle" asking for a snack. I could feel the bed rumbling as the train was climbing over his Mom. I moaned as I rolled over, attempting to avoid the inevitable, but this train was not bound by a track and collided into me with full force. The screeching wheels screaming DA! did little to slow the impact. The giggle in his voice could not stop my ears from ringing, my body from aching, and my eyes from burning due to lack of sleep. Slowly I arose, and began my death march up the 13 stairs to the kitchen in an effort to stop the noise with a bowl of cereal. Immediately, I discovered rule 7.

Rule #7 - Vacation requires stronger coffee. In an effort to maximize fun, kids on vacation play harder, stay up later, and often skip naps. This is especially true when it comes to vacationing with their cousins that they haven't seen for months, if not an entire year. But because the kids stay up later, the adults don't get to have their fun until later, and like the kids, often stay up longer than they should in order to maximize their fun, because after all, they are on vacation too! Next thing you know it's 2 or 3am before you're going to sleep, and you've barely gotten both eyes closed before you're being roused by anxious kids, excited to start another fun-filled day. Take it from me, set the timer on the coffee pot before you go to bed. If it's an older coffee pot. Just start the coffee when you're going to bed. It's so late that it'll probably still be warm when the kids wake you!

Rule #8 - Vacation with family requires Tylenol. We all love family. But no one except for the stay-at-home mom is around their family 24x7, and for most of us, that has about the same effect as the first time we had more than 1 beer on an empty stomach. Time with your family makes you feel good; but a couple of Tylenol makes you feel better.

Rule #9 - Vacation allows swimming to be an acceptable substitue to bathing. Granted, there are a few exceptions, such as the questionable indoor pool where the chlorine content is so high that the fumes in the air burn your eyes. But, in general, when dealing with hot, sweaty, and sticky kids, far better than putting them in the tub is to throw them into the pool. First of all, swimming is far more fun than bathing, and not to mention, it tires them out more than a bath can, and to top it off, they don't stink in the morning! Besides, both activities get them sufficently pruny, which is really the only measure of a good bath anyway.

Vacation 201

Day 2 of our vacation was just as fun as yesterday, although not as adventurous. Today went pretty much according to plan: Revelie at 3:30 am, accidently wake all 3 kids while moving them to the car in the dark, depart at 4:00 am, wonder if it was a mistake to leave that early when they are still awake at 4:50 am, reassure each other that you made the best decision when they finally fall asleep at 5am, then enjoy un-interrupted conversation until a spouse joins the sleeping crew-- (preferrably, it's the passenger, and not the driver that falls asleep.)

But, just because today wasn't as adventurous as yesterday, doesn't mean we didn't learn some valuable lessons today. Follow along as we discuss the guidelines that Vacation 201 has to offer.

Rule #4 - While on vacation, a sleeping child uses approximately 1.5 times his height in circumference of bed-space. This rule was discovered last night when I decided to share a twin bed with my 20 month old son. Numerous times, Maddox and I have shared the only sliver of bed left after pregnant Sheri gets comfortable. But while on vacation, children decide to explore new sleep positions. Apparently, the standard tummy, back, and side positions are too passe for vacation, and new positions such as perpendicular, upside down, backwards, and the popular foot-to-the-unmentionables should be attempted numerous times during the night. Who needs a grandfather clock to chime every hour when you've got a child ticking off the quarter or half-hour by changing positions?

Rule #5 - When sharing a bed with a child, proper sleeping position is with their head at your feet. This may sound strange at first, but consider that if a child's head is on the pillow with yours, their feet are directly in line with your nether regions, a part of your body that is extremely sensitive to blunt force trauma. Putting their head at your feet not only fixes this problem, but it also discourages them from sleeping perpendicular (shins and knees are not nearly as comfortable for them to lay on) as well as allowing your elbows, wrists, forearms, and ribs, all parts of your body that do not bruise easily, to absorb the blows from flailing feet. Unfortunately, I didn't discover this until 2:17am. It was the best hour of un-interrupted sleep I had that night.

Rule #6 - Breakfast at the buffet. Nothing says good morning like a car full of tired and hungry people. I don't care how good the honey bun and french vanilla coffee were at keeping you awake while everyone fell back to sleep, tired + hungry = cranky, and cranky can ruin a morning faster than spilt coffee. The good news is that a full stomach fixes both by making one sleepy, even on the brightest mornings. However, most people don't realize that it's not enough to just stop at the first Denny's or IHOP that comes along. Restaurants such as IHOP and Denny's are good for hungry people. Cranky people need a buffet! At a buffet, there is no wait for food, and there is no crying, temper tantrums, or melt-downs when the children can't decide what to order. Unless you have a snack to get the kids started while the food is being cooked, the only way to breakfast is to find a buffet.

Thankfully, we adhered to this rule today. We took the exit and scoped out our options...



Hmmm, Waffle House or Shoney's...




You can't pass up a Shoney's !!

Vacation 101

Today we explore the rules of Vacation 101. It's our first ever real vacation as a family, meaning not one of our usual weekend or short stays visiting friends or family in Texas, Kentucky, Indiana, or Illinois, that we just call a vacation in order to get our kids excited about spending somewhere between 4 - 6 hours in a car on our way there just to see it all in reverse a few days later.

I used to remember as a kid in school when the teacher would reward us for being good during a reel-to-reel movie by playing it backwards as it rewound. We would laugh and laugh as the boring movie we just saw became a humorous enjoyment. I even caught the teachers trying not to grin a few times! Maybe it's the incessant crying over my right shoulder that makes the trip seem longer, or my praying that it would change to whining just for a change of pace, but either way, seeing the same stretch of road for 4-6 hours in reverse is not as humorous as the reel-to-reel in my younger days. So, with that in mind, I thought I'd pass on some things I learned in my numerous road trips that may help you as you begin your travel season.

Rule #1 - Vacation starts when you leave work, not when you leave town. This is very important. So often we stress about leaving "on time" that we bicker and fight while packing up the car that it actually delays us longer. And you thought the car was cramped before you got in with your last minute items that now have no place but to sit on your lap or next to your feet. On top of that, you're fuming, and the thought of being this close to other family members for hours on end is only making it worse! Take it from me, learn that your vacation started the minute you stepped out the door at work. Sure you want to hurry home and get the car packed, but what's the rush.... you're already on vacation!! This rule is fundamental to understanding that your vacation is more enjoyable if you arrive happy, than if you arrive "on time" but in a bad mood.

Rule #2 - If you mess up on Rule# 2, the radio does not fix it. Make no mistake, people who start off bickering and fighting while packing stop the bickering once the trunk is closed. But that doesn't make them happy, as they are still upset. The tension in the air is exaggerated now that the doors are closed, and in an effort to ease the uncomfortable silence, someone inevitably reaches for the radio. DON'T DO IT. It will only be the source of another argument. Better off reading a magazine and let the mesmerizing mile marker signs massage the air.

Rule #3 - Vacation is an adventure. Sure, everyone has their agenda, but not everything goes according to plan. This can either make you upset, or you can decide to make the most of it. Take for instance our vacation to the annual Ferris Family Reunion. On the first day, 3 hours into it, (and after 2 hrs 45 minutes, and 37 seconds of a certain strong-willed child crying and deciding not to use his words) we realized that in order to make it to our dinner location, 45 miles away, by our dinner time in 30 minutes, I would have to drive 90 miles an hour. So, we opted for a safer alternative and checked out the local fare. (Local, meaning middle of nowhere, S. Illinois.) And we're glad we did. Had we not taken that Vienna, Illinois exit, we would not have had the opportunity to chose between Jumbo's B-B-Q, and Dolly's Country Cookin'. I mean how can you beat that! A place where the food's good, the price is cheap, the establishment is... special, and the bathrooms are an experience all in itself.

Well, that was Day 1 of the Ferris Family Reunion. We're having fun, and we haven't even arrived at our destination yet! Stay tuned as we review another chapter in our Vacation Rule book.

Crazy weekend, leads to a crazy week.

We had the entire weekend planned out. Little projects around the house to get ready for our family vacation starting Wednesday. We had every intention of getting started Friday night. We went and picked up a new phone for Travis and then had to come home and deal with an aweful migraine that snuck up on Cooper. Poor kid was miserable.
We sat on the couch and made a "game plan" for Saturday. All of that went out the window when the phone rang at 10:45 that night. It was the pastor asking for help with meals for 2 teams of workers that were at the church until this morning. Saturday was spent running to Sam's Club getting necessary things for our vacation (supplies to cook 2 meals that need to feed a minimum of 25 people. Yes, Travis comes from a HUGE family). We also had to run to Verizon to try to get the archic phone that Travis has been using for 3 yrs transfered to his brand new chocolate slider phone (yes, he got a great Father's Day gift). Come to find out, the charger port was fried, no can do. He had to enter in over 85 contacts, several of which had more than one phone number. I then picked up over 40 pieces of chicken and headed over to the church to get lunch set up for the teams that were working. We fed them, cleaned up after them, and came home. I managed to nap for over 2 hrs instead of using that time to clean, do laundry and pack... I went back t o the the church at 5 to set up dinner. I finally made it home after that adventure right before 8. I changed and just layed on the couch with my book. This morning we got up and all of us were at the church at 8:30AM so I could make pancakes for 15 youth and their chaperones. We went from church downtown to Busch Stadium. We got to enjoy the beautiful summer weather sitting at the ballpark watching the Cardinals win. Tonight I finally tackeled Mt. Laundry. I can *almost* see the seat of my comfy green chair... Maybe by tomorrow afternoon.
Tomorrow and Tuesday we have to finish up our housework and pack the suitcases and cooler. Wednesday afternoon we are off to Pigeon Forge, TN with an overnight pitstop in KY to visit with Erin!!!!!
No pictures tonight, the camera died at the ballpark when I tried to get pictures of Travis and the boys... Sorry. I'll make up for it with great vacation pictures, I promise.

Much anticipated pictures!

Nelson showing up his new Batman and Superman capes.

Swimming with Uncle Eric and Evan.

Nelson and Sophie playing with "Auntie Sheri" (in Nelson's arms) and "Sheila" (in Sophie's arms).
The light saber cake. This cake was complete with "dark side" and "light side". It looked amazing and tasted amazing! Good job, Travis.

Happy Birthday Travis!

Happy 33rd. Hope you have/had a great day with family!!!!!

Happy Birthday, Nel-Bomb!!!!

(Tomorrow is Nelson's birthday, but we will be out of town and away from all the saved pictures so I had to post this today!) Look for party pictures early next week!
I can't believe you are already 5. Time has really gone by!! Daddy and I love what you have brought to our family. I look forward to waking up every morning to see if I'm going to have Nelson for the day or Batman or Superman. You have the most amazing imagination.

The boys getting along...

Three smiling faces are a rarity lately. For some reason, the 3 boys find something to bicker, fight, and yell about. Aparently Summer Vacaion isn't the answer for my boys. They finally got along yesterday for the first time in a really long time. I had to document them happy with eachother. I may blow these up and make them posters in their bedroom as a reminder they do like eachother.

Me too, me too!

Since we first got Toby we've had a routine... He lays in Travis's lap every weekend morning while Travis sits at the kitchen table reading or whatever. This past Sunday Maddox was feeling very left out. He kept trying to push Toby off, but Toby wouldn't budge. Finally he gave up, climed on a chair, got on the table, and plopped right on top of Toby.

Trying to be as cool as Dad.

I loved being away, it was exactly what I needed. Travis loved being with the boys, it was exactly what the 4 of them needed. Now that I'm home again and we are back to our "normal" routine it's hard. If I hear one more time, "that's not the way Dad did it", "Dad didn't make the eggs like that", or "Dad let us do it another way" I may have to scream. In an effort to start fresh, I decided today was outside day. As much as possible is going to be done in the backyard! The older 2 have set up a "house" with the blanket, animals, and some favorite books. Maddox went straight for the dirt. My thought is... I do the laundry, I'm going to be doing the baths, what's the big deal.

Home, and almost normal.

I've got the 3rd load of laundry in the dryer, Maddox down for a nap, the boys comfy on the couch with a movie, and am almost unpacked. I figure, it shouldn't be much longer before the house is back to normal.
Now, if I could get my dog normal... Tallie seems to have somehow gotten an injury while I've been away. Her tail is limp. When I touch the base of it she whimpers and yelps. Thankfully I was able to make an appointment with the vet for this afternoon. Hopefully it's nothing, but with our luck, that's probably not the case. When I was talking to Travis earlier today he said he had read about "limp tail" after cold baths. He gave her a bath with the hose yesterday afternoon after she dug in the freshly spread mulch, we are hoping that's all it is. (Usually she's the pampered pet and gets baths with wam water in the tub.)

The things I learned today... (Part 2)

Look! I think that's Mommy coming to see me!

Not quite, but ALMOST!!

T-2.5 hours until Sheri arrives at the STL airport. I have had more fun than originally planned with my boys, and I got more accomplished than I thought I would. Plus, I can tell Sheri had the time of her life, because I only got 3 phone calls the entire time she was gone. Usually I get more than 3 phone calls a day, so I figure it's "Mission Accomplished" all the way around.

As for the things I learned over the 2nd half of the vacation:

1) It is still possible to have fun on rainy days. We colored, put puzzles together, watched a movie with ice cream, played Xbox, made Mommy a "Welcome Home" sign, etc. You just have to use your imagination.

2) When Mommy's not around, Maddox is a snuggle-bug!! I loved every minute of this. I know Sheri tires of endlessly picking Maddox up whenever he wants, but it's been 4 days now and I've not tired of it yet; and mostly due to the newness, there isn't any end in sight!!

3) If you plan ahead, church on Sunday is possible. I got the diaper bag and the outfits together the night before. But Sunday morning, I still had to get myself and all 3 children fed, showered, dressed, one down for a nap, the kitchen cleaned up, and still be at church an hour early to open the building and set up for the service. It's still a bit of a blur, but I now know what Sheri means when she says, "I feel like I was wearing my Supergirl cape today!" (Except, I don't cross-dress.)

4) I need to clone my wife! Hey, we back up things that are important to us, our mp3's, pictures, data, we even build a financial "safety net". I think having a Sheri backup is just smart planning. I survived this weekend, but only because there was an end in sight. Don't get me wrong-- I'd do this again in a heartbeat, but I would not enjoy doing this on a full time basis. I don't mind helping around the house, but I loathe doing it alone.

The things I learned today...

Usually, people wait until after an event to pause and reflect on the things learned. However, 1 man going it alone with 2 dogs and 3 boys for 4 days can learn a lot even 1/2 way thru. Here is just a sampling of what I've learned so far.

1) It takes roughly 30 minutes sans mom for the word, penis, to be uttered in conversation. After dropping Sheri off at the airport, we didn't get back to the house until 5:30pm. So, we "called an audible" and decided to take advantage of Cecil Witticars Tues & Thurs pizza special. It was during this meal that Nelson declares, "Dad, wouldn't it be funny if God made boys without penises?" Perhaps it's the 6 years of parenting that helped me keep pop from going up my nose and reply with a straight face, "He already does, we call them girls."

2) Taking the kids to Grant's Farm does not help the headache you woke up with. Neither does the 2 free Bacardi's you had while there. Enough said on that one.

3) When kids are entertained, they forget about eating a snack. Kids who don't get a snack eat as much as men. Probably due to my headache, I got carried away with the peanut butter and ended up with 7 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for me and the boys. I added 2 ziplock bags of chips, and drinks for the kids. I came home with a hand full of chip crumbs. Maddox ate 1 entire sandwich, and countless chips. Cooper, Nelson, and myself each had 2 sandwiches and the rest of the chips, along with the beverages.

4) A magical ingredient can make naps longer. No, I'm not talking Benedryl, or some other sedative, I'm talking the magical ingredient of Mommy and Daddy's bed. Maddox fell asleep before we left the Grant's Farm parking lot at 12:15. I was still struggling with my headache when we got home 45 minutes later and Maddox thought he was finished resting. So, I put in a movie for the older 2 boys, and hopped in bed with Maddox. He woke me at 4pm saying, "Na" (snack) and, "mmph" (milk/drink).

Now with my headache gone and Maddox fully energized, we should be able to have fun with Xbox after dinner.

If this is vacation, send me back to work!!

I love my wife, but I was looking forward to having her gone. I couldn't wait to spend Thursday night, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and all day Monday with my boys. We were going to wrestle, go to Grant's Farm, have a picnic, play outside, play Xbox, watch a movie, laugh at fake fart noises, etc, etc. But most of all, I was looking forward to dropping my honey-do-list, and finally knock some stuff off MY to-do list.

Then, I remembered, oh wait. All that free time I thought I had would now be spent making breakfast, cleaning up breakfast, making lunch, cleaning up lunch, making dinner, cleaning up dinner, and that's just the must-do, survival-mode stuff. I'm hoping to convince my wife that nothing says welcome home like a laundry room full of clothes, but I can pretty much guess that it will go over like a lead balloon. Considering the condition of the house after just one day, I figure my best bet is to apologize early, apologize often, and proudly declare that all 3 of her children are not only alive, but all in one piece!

So, how did my "vacation" day go? Well, I'm glad to say that I did it. On my vacation day, I not only did the above, but I also showered... twice. And as any stay-at-home mom can attest, one shower alone makes a day successful. But I also mowed the lawn, cleaned out the inside of the van, (finding my phone charger, and a small order of french fries in the process) shoveled and moved 20 wheelbarrows full of mulch around our yard filling in holes so I don't roll my ankle again, put Maddox down for 2 naps, took pictures of it all, introduced Nelson to worms, kept the boys so busy that they only fought once, gave myself and Cooper a slight sunburn, ran errands to Lowe's and Target, watched a movie with the boys, ate ice cream, and put them to bed.

I'm sore.

I'm also going to bed early. Grant's Farm is on the agenda tomorrow, and then I'll have to clean the mud off the kitchen floor from 4 boys playing in mulch all day. So I'm going to bed, but I'll leave you with a couple of pictures of the boys, touting their new haircuts and helping daddy today.

God, Superman, and a little boy

Today, I learned just how different a Father-Son relationship is from it's Mother-Son counterpart. Hopefully, Cooper learned about his inner "Clark Kent."

I received a call at work, detailing Coop-dill's heartbreaking 2nd to last day of school, how he got off the bus, broke out in tears, and spilled his heart to his mom about all the mean things that his best friend said to him that day. But when I get home, Cooper says nothing about his day. When I pointedly ask, he non-chalantly says, "Harley' was mean to me today." Knowing the back-story from Sheri, I comfortingly asked him to tell me about it.

His 1 sentence reply made me realize that I parent a man in little boy shoes. His school was my work, and just like every other man, we talk about work while at work. We don't like talking about work at home. Is this innate? Can this behavior be learned so young? And how about the stark contrast in conversation between a son to his father vs. the same to his mother?

Hoping to equip my son with the training necessary to keep his self-esteem aloft despite the barage of piercing verbal missiles, I wrestle with the difficulty of breaking this concept into something a 6 year old little man can comprehend.

I paused a moment, and asked him if he thought Superman's outfit was cool. With bright eyes, he gave me a resounding, "YEAH!" Then, I asked him if Clark Kent was cool. Now it was his turn to ponder, and after a moment, he finally came to his own conclusion that if Superman was cool, and Clark Kent is Superman, therefore Clark Kent must be cool too!

That's when I told him, "Cooper, the Bible tells us that people look at the outside, but God looks at the heart. Clark Kent is cool, because he's really Superman on the inside, whether he is wearing his Superman outifit, or his Clark Kent suit. The same is true for you. You are cool, because of who you are on the inside, not because of the clothes you wear."

May we all take a lesson from God, Superman, and a little boy, and not only find, but hold on to our inner Clark Kent...

...Up, Up, and Away!!

My poor Cooper.

He has grown and changed so much this past year!!! I can't believe tomorrow is his last day of kindergarten and that he will then be a big 1st grader. He has loved school, struggled thru subjects, but stayed a happy kid. 2 things never changed this year, his love for the bus and his love for "Harley" the cool kid in his class.
Both of those things changed today, he got off the bus, and before he was up the driveway I saw the huge tears rolling down his face. I did what any mom would do, I pulled him onto my lap, wrapped my arms around him, and we sat in the middle of the driveway while he cried into my shoulder.
He finally calmed down and told me that "Harley" was no longer his bestest friend. (Travis and I have struggled with this "friendship" all year, we don't really like what this kid says or does and what Cooper says or does after time with him) Secretly I was doing a dance of joy over this news, one less nussance! However, I was also crushed for Cooper, he really thinks this kid is his best friend! Sometime today "Harley" told Cooper he wasn't cool enough to be his friend. "Harley" had a long list of what was wrong with Cooper: He had a silly name (Harley's real name isn't conventional by any means), his hair wasn't right, he didn't wear the right clothes, his shoes looked dumb... The list went on and on. Poor Cooper remembered it all.
After that story he told me he was never riding the bus again. A kid from the neighborhood, who he sat with everyday told him that "Harley" told him not to sit with Cooper anymore. Cooper is now convinced his only friends are his cousins who live in Chicago. He would like to live there this summer and go to school with them next year. His reasoning, they tell him he's cool and they don't have to ever ride a bus.
I'm thinking the reason this bothers me so much is not becasue my son had his feelings hurt; that's part of life. It's almost expected. It bothers me becasue I know EXACTLY how he feels. All through school (grade school, junior high, high school, and college) I always felt like I was on the fringe. Not a complete outcast but not part of the inner circle either. I know what it's like to over hear parties being planned and not be included, to hear about weekend plans but never get the covetted invite, and to hear about fantastic summer excursions just to be left out.
I'm all of a sudden very thankful tomorrow is the last day of school! I can't wait to just enjoy our summer.

Pre-K graduation in pictures

The promised pictures.

The token Mother's Day picture a week late. I always think I look like my mom, then I realize it's all an illusion... I'm 2-3 Xs the size of my mom, at least when pregnant!
All of the cousins that were able to make it to St. Louis for Layna's party. (Eric, I want to hear all about the interview in OH.) Nelson, Sophie, Maddox, Cooper, Layna, and Ryne

To those of you who are wondering... Yes, Maddox and Layna are roughly the same size.

Clint's way of dealing with family parties, 32 oz of beer. I like the way he thinks...

Big Weekend, give way to big day...

My parents came in on Thursday night, to surprise me! They weren't supposed to be in until Friday afternoon. You don't know how happy I am that I cleaned on Thursday!!! Friday was spent running around and entertaining Layna while her parents prepared for her 1st birthday on Saturday.
Saturday we took my parents to look at a house... More on that later, we are still talking, processing, and praying.
The party was Saturday afternoon and evening! Talk about fun!!! Karl and Jenna sure know how to throw a party. The food was amazing, Sheila and her family drove down, and the neighbors showed up! The neighbors aren't a big deal until they pulled out the nacho machine!!!! YUMMO.
Sunday we had church, gyros (from the new Chicago Taste restaurant), naps, and then Travis and I had an AMAZING date. We went for Thia food and then to see the final showing of Jersey Boys. It was great!!!! I loved the music, the time out, and the fact that my parents were so willing to watch all 3 boys for us!!!
Today, ah, big day... Nelson graduates from pre-K. My parents are going to graduation with us and then heading back north. (The good news is, I get to see them again in 3 weeks for Nelson's birhtday party) Thursday afternoon I will be the mom of a Kindergartener and a 1st grader!
There are tons of pictures from this weekend, they will be posted this afternoon and tomorrow, I have to sort thru them.

No more denial...

There is a baby coming in less than 4 months whether we are ready or not. I've been putting off getting the room ready, getting the clothes organized, and just general baby stuff for quite a while. I realized this past weekend, this is about the time that I went on bedrest with Maddox for 2 months. After a few strong contractions last night we decided it was time to come back to reality and start planning for this baby. Tonight Travis and I are meeting at Babies R Us to just wander (without kids because Caroline is the best last-minute babysitter around!) and see what we "need" before this one comes. I did go to the cosignment shop today and pick up a new baby monitor since our boys managed to break the last one. I also took the changing pad and diaper pail out of the room and cleaned them. (No, Maddox isn't potty trained or anywhere near it! We don't use the pad anymore, we just change him on his bed). Their room looks like a real "big boy" room. No more baby stuff... It was kind of bitter sweet. I also started looking at "coming home" outfits. If it's a boy, we have plenty, if it turns out to be a girl... YIKES, I've got nothing!!!!
*Sheila, you may have to come down with Mom in August. You know what I'm growing and I know you've been shopping.

Mommy's little helper.

Maddox managed to do all of this "help" before 8AM this morning... I can't wait until he really is a help, I won't know what to do with all my free time.

We are trying to teach Maddox to clean up after himself. He really enjoys wiping things. He purposely spilled the dogs' water bowl this morning, grabbed the kitchen towel and started wiping up the mess. He then tried to rehang the towel and gave himself a handclap.

Maddox thinks it's necessary to sit on the table. Maybe he thinks otherwise it will float away. He found my pen and pad of paper and was helping me with my grocery list for the week.

Happy Mother's Day!

Sunday was our new pastor's first Sunday at our church. We had a welcome/Mother's Day lunch immediately after the service. I was so grateful for Travis! He assembled the entire luch so that I wouldn't have to be in the kitchen at all. (Usually chuch lunches are my "job") After lunch and clean up (which all the men did) we came home for naps. I slept almost 2 hrs, it was great! I woke up to Travis and the boys cleaning the family room and putting laundry away. All the boys (including Travis) then took me out to dinner at O'Charleys. I had ribs and steak, they were amazing!!!! We came home, put the boys to bed. and our friends came over for X-box/visiting time. We had french silk pie, made fun of the boys lack of shooting skill while playing Ghost Recon and called it a night.
The Gifts... I know you want to hear about those. The boys each made me a coffee mug in Sunday School. They took white mugs and put stickers all over them, I drank coffee out of them all day yesterday. The boys also gave me my final baby charm for my necklace. I had to laugh when I oppened it... It was an August baby (We are due Sept 2) and it was a girl. Cooper told Travis they had to get the girl one because they don't have a baby sister yet. He thinks if we buy girl things it will make the baby a girl... I guess he's going to have to wait another 16 weeks to find out if his theory is right. Travis got me tickets to see the final showing of Jersey Boys next Sunday night. He even arranged babysitting for the boys! All I have to do is get dressed up and decide where we are going to dinner before the show. I'm very excited that he planned the enitre date, leaving no detail hanging.

Cooper and Nelson giving me a Mother's Day hug. I had countless hugs from them and loved all of them!!!!

Maddox and Daddy enjoying their Mother's Day dinner. We discovered shortly after I took this picture that Maddox doesn't like drinking out of his sippy cup when the other boys have straws. He kept trying to trade cups with them. Now we'll have to get him a "big boy" drink when we go out and leave the sippy cups for home and in the car.

Family Day at the Park

In an effort to spend more time together and try to compensate/balance the extra time we have been giving to the church the last 7 months, we have declared Sundays Ferris Family Day! After church (and the all important nap) we will do a family activity until bedtime. This past Sunday, the weather was beautiful, we decided to pack a picnic and go to the neighborhood park. Cooper enjoyed using is Heely shoes and skating after Travis, who was on his rollerblades for the first time in almost 8 yrs. Nelson just enjoyed jumping around and chasing after Travis and Cooper. Maddox managed to inturrupt every basketball game that neighborhood kids had going on by going up to them and pointing and saying "ball, ball, ball". (Some of the poeple were even nice enough to stop their games and give him the ball for a while.) I didn't get pictures of the rollerblading and bouncing around, because I was too busy anticipating and worrying about injuries and Sunday evening trips to the ER. I did get pictures of all the fun after dinner.

Maddox is fearless! He climbed all the steps up and went down this slide without a second thought!

The older boys discovered the excitement of trees! We had a really hard time getting them out to go home.

Maddox enjoying the grapes (the only part of dinner that he ate).

My crazy boys.

Fun weekend with cousins.

Sophia and I hamming it up for the camera.
Maddox happy he has a full belly.

Maddox getting all cuddley on Aunt Sheila.
Ryne taking his turn as catcher.

Sophia and I trying to stay warm at Ryne's baseball game.

If wonders never cease...

The tree guy called, after 10 days, 2 "broken" stump grinders, and countless excuses he says he's going to be here 20 minutes ago (yep you read that corectly, he called at 11:15 to say he would be here at 11). Needless to say, I'm not going to hold my breath.

Edit: I want this dude's job! He finally made it to the house at 11:45. He was gone when I got home with Nelson at 12:30. The stump is still not fully ground. Let me guess... grinder #3 must have somehow broken, by no fault of his I'm sure (insert rolling eyes)
BBB is getting a call when this is all said and done!

Another Edit: to quote the guys "Are you a witch or something?!?! I've never had so many problems on a job as I've had at your house." Dude, am I a witch or capable of acting witchy? If that stump is not gone before noon tomorrow he won't know what hit him!!!!!

Edit #3: He said he would be here "early this morning". It's 10AM and raining, if I were a betting woman, I would put LOTS of money on him not calling or showing up today...