It Takes a Family to Take Care of a Family and other Important Things

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I don't dedicate my blogs usually,
but this one can be credited to my
Mr. Wonderful
because
if it weren't for his snoring
at three a.m. this morning,
I'd still be asleep.

So this one's for you, Foghorn, er, I mean,
Mr. Wonderful.


The house is finally quieted down today
after having Dani and the Golden Child/Baby G. here
for the past three weeks--
Mr. Idaho is down in the Lone Star State
doing an internship for his Chemical Engineering degree
this whole summer.
So we had Dani bring down her little yahoo
and that's added a whole 'nother element to our house.
We haven't had a baby around here full-time for many years,
so there has been some
re-learning around here...
and some new learning for some of us--
both the Boofus and the Caboose
can make bottles of formula now,
and
each have gotten over their fears of handling wet diapers,
aka "potty bombs"
enough to take them to the trash outside.
Although, the Boofus has held his stance
in the
"I-don't-touch-green-diapers" mode.
The Caboose has to have a scented baby wipe
to hold over her nose
while the potty bomb is in transport to the trash.
She no longer dry-heaves or gags
to the same extent as three weeks ago.
It's celebrated progress, and we'll take it!

Dani and Baby G. returned home today,
as did Mr. Idaho from Texas
because they're all headed to
a beautiful slice of heaven on earth,
Coeur D'Alene, Idaho
for his family's reunion next week.

Dani was a little nervous...
Mr. Idaho hails from a Hu-mong-ous Mormon family
tons of relatives that Dani has yet to meet.
And in our family,
it is just
US...
me, Mr. W, and the Yahoos plus the two In-laws.
Our extended families may as well live in other countries,
or on other planets
because we never see them....
maybe twice in a decade,
if that.

I daydream about  having our own Reunions...
the special places
designated colored T-shirts,
potluck dinners
bonfires
picture-taking
memory-making....
all of it.

For now,
we all go camping together,
in un-matched clothing,
huddle around the campfire
in the Rocky Mountains,
and making silly faces at the camera
for all of the posterity to follow...

We're just getting warmed-up
for the Family Reunions to come,
hunh?

News of the Teenagers:

Well, the good news this week is
Daisie got her door back today.
Oh, yeah--ha!--
I didn't even blog when we took it off.
Had to.
Not because she slammed it.
Nope.
But, because since summer vacation,
she pretended to be an outlaw
like
the Sundance Kid,
Jesse James and his brother, Frank,
Tiger Woods even--
by hiding out in her bedroom
for hours on end
watching the entire 6 seasons of
"Buffy the Vampire Slayer"
which she borrowed from her friend, C.

After many many many
too-many-freakin'-yells
down the stairwell to the basement,
"Daisie!"
"Come here!"
"Daisie! Come help!"
"Where's Daisie?"--
Oh, this Momza had had
E-stinkin-Nuff!

I went down one morning last week,
tricked her bum outta bed and into the
shower,
and while she was in there,
I removed her door and the TV.

Was she mad?
uh, yeah--
hoppin'.

Did I bend?
Uh, nope.

But she got the door back today
and I think
she 's getting the idea that she can't hide
from her responsibilities
and get away with it,
much like other outlaws and politicians
these days.
(coughObamacoughBPcough)

I sat at the table with her
for
3 and a half hours today--
we never have that much down time
around here,
and it wasn't planned,
but whoa,
was it good!
She's fifteen now,
with alot on her mind--
and truthfully, I've been sayin' to myself
alot lately,
that I needed more time with her.
So the planets aligned
and we got three whole hours
at the dinner table this afternoon.
She talked at the speed of light,
about herself,
her relationships,
her developing philosophy on Life
and choices she is making now
for the results she wants later.
I got to put my two cents in
whenever she took a breath
which was nice. haha.

She got conflicting messages
from her birth father
when she visited him last Spring--
she needed to vent the residual feelings
from that and the conclusions she's drawn
on her own--
sifting the chaff from the wheat
as it were.
He's not LDS anymore
and does not adhere to any of the philosophies
or doctrines of his childhood faith,
so he is accountable to noone.
We talked alot about what it means
to define your own morals and ethics
without a standard with which to be
guided
and where you might end up
at the sunset of your life.
It's not likely that you'll be happy
with the results.
It's good to know where you want to end up,
so you chart your course with clarity and purpose...
in Daisie's case,
she has her heart set on an eternal marriage in
a temple to her "own personal Prince Charming--
who is gorgeous like Taylor Lautner, but with the Priesthood."

She is fifteen, remember.
If Taylor were LDS and could croon like Donny Osmond
well, I'd be safe to say that he'd be a
trifecta.

Anywho,
Daisie is learning and growing
and we both had a few tender moments
and good laughs
today at the dinner table.



As for Nana:

Her world looks like Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory--
so much to choose from,
so many choices between
Good, Better, and Best
she can't decide if she wants the

Everlasting Gobstopper
or a

Wonka Bar.
She makes Big Plans to do this or that,
and I grin a little.
She sorta cringes and smiles when I'm right.
It's a coming-of-age thing,
I get that and don't take it personal.
I'm hoping she holds out for the
Golden ticket,
and she's aware of that--
but my impetuous child wonders

if a Wonka Bar would be just as good.

She is going as a leader for Girls' Camp
next month, working FT, and is only home to sleep.
She was home Thursday night because it was Mr. W's
birthday,
so she laid on our bed (as all of our yahoos like to do occassionally)
and we all watched NCIS together--
Me, Mr. W, her, --
altho Boofus and the Caboose
came in every 15 minutes or so
to tattle on each other or
make excuses as to why they weren't
in bed already.
It was time well-spent for us.

Lessons I shared this week with la familia:
When you are madder than a hornet,
disappointed as heck,
frustrated beyond reason
at a family member--
that is when you purposefully
serve them.
It may not make the difference you want to see,
but it will make you
feel better about them
and about yourself.

For instance:
I took Daisie breakfast in bed one day last week.
Yeah, it was before I took the door off.
But, she knows I love her still.

I made Nana a fruit smoothie on a day
that I was particularly worried about her choices.

One of my daughters (who shall remain anonymous)
was very very upset with one of her sisters--
to the point where she didn't want to spend any time with her
at all...
I talked her into spending time with the offensive sister,
encouraged them to go to a movie and grab a bite to eat
just the two of them.
At first, my suggestions were bristled at--
but heeded, and the results were healing.

ME?
Been having some short and long term memory issues lately,
so that affects my mood and energy.
Everyday I feel like I'm forgetting something important
and that stinks.
I try not to think about it too much and just live in the moment.
5 Funny things about memory loss:
I don't hold grudges anymore.
I don't have a favorite food anymore.
I forget that I like chocolate when I don't have any.
I can't remember if I'm mad at someone or if they've hurt my feelings,
unless it's really really significant.

See? I can still put a positive spin on it, so I must be doing okay, right?

Well the sun is up.  I have Mr. Wonderful to thank for being awake to see it rise.
I'm going to make him breakfast in bed.

** This is our family motto btw