Heaven Help Me!

We are the proud parents of six children, as well as various pets. In the past month, we have added butterflies and rats to our menagerie. Our home now houses 19 inhabitants. Granted five of them are a transient flying species, but the rest of us are in it for the long haul:

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I haven’t written a post in a while. I have about five drafts that are unfinished and unpublished, but I can’t seem to break through and write something substantive.

Until I get there, please enjoy the ‘Archives’ ! There is a lot there; a lot of really good writing and many funny stories. I have faith that I’ll get back on track soon. Keep checking back!

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The older girls have been attending summer camp this week. So, Clare asked Gianna, who is not attending camp, to look after Kitty for her. I remember seeing Gianna go upstairs to feed her yesterday morning.

Today, at breakfast, Clare asked Gianna to take care of her again. I asked Clare if Gianna did a good job taking care of kitty yesterday (Fully expecting her to say ‘yes’). Clare responded hesitantly, “Well, there was one small problem. Gianna feed her the entire bag of “hairball remedy” instead of cat food!”

Oops. Kitty seems to have a slight tummy ache today.

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I woke up to a morning of choas. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, being that I have six children, a dog, a cat, (and a rat or two about to join the family soon). But for whatever reason, today I did not feel up to dealing with it. Hubby and I stayed up late last night for “date night”, and needed much deserved sleeping in time. My kids have been intelligently arguing and *stinging* each other for the past couple weeks since school has been officially ”over” in our house. (It is frustrating to watch just how mean they can be to each other – even though they are brother & sisters! As my father-in-law put it to my husband and his brothers when they were growing up, “You have to fight the whole world – why fight each other!” ) My eight year old daughter unlocked my bedroom door with a key this morning proclaiming that my three-year old just had an “accident” and could I please come and clean it up. As I mobilized my troops kids to action in cleaning up the spill (and helping their sister get new clothes), I tripped over the dog who was spinning in circles around me wanting to be fed and let out. Then I returned to my bedroom, because our newborn woke up screaming and needing to be fed, and my husband expressing that he missed me and wanted more time with me.

So, waking up with demands from all sides prompted me to recall a familiar scene from a horror flick – one in which a woman is running away from ghostly arms coming at her from all sides. Once in a while, it comes at me, like a movie that is on continuous repeat. In this panic, I just felt like being a teenager running away from home (I did this once, but only made it to the end of my driveway); to escape my responsibilities, and fly to a deserted island where the only noise would be the lapping of the pristine blue ocean waves, and the only conversation would be a waiter who would bring me interesting, gourmet tapas and perfectly prepared pina coladas, as I dreamed of fitting into my former size 8 swimsuit, beached in the glowing sun on a comfy, white sand mattress.

Finally, with the assistance of my husband, I made myself an iced cafe mocha, went to my room, closed the door, pulled out my computer and typed in a google search the words “overwhelmed mother”. What this search yielded was a timely surprise:  an article on being an overwhelmed mom written by an overwhelmed mom.

I won’t say exactly what the article says, but I felt much better (and grateful for the choas I’ve been given) after reading it.

It was a good reminder that what I need is to make sure I take time out once in a while. My husband constantly offers such time to me, but something inside wants to stay home enmeshed in my responsibilities. What is it? Pride? That I can do it all?

A mother of a large family is called to a life of service. As I tell my kids sometimes, when I need to “recharge my batteries”, “Okay, guys, my tank is almost on empty. Time for me to take some time to fill it up and for you to watch a movie!”

Fifteen minutes later after ‘filling up my tank’, I am a happy woman again.

Which is a much cheaper, much more  accessible solution than a flight to Kauai!

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I saw this message yesterday…in bumper sticker form. I was amused & immediately thought of how fitting this is for my husband! Our dog absolutely thinks the world of him!

Could they come out with a cat version?

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Despite my earlier posts on my status as a “cat-lover”, learning that our dog is seriously ill has enkindled a great love for her within me, and a desire to appreciate her for as long as she lives.

Snoop has been diagnosed with pancreatitis and has been hospitilized for the past four days.

She started to seem sick early last week. So, I called the vet and they recommended I give her some medicine & she’d be fine. When she didn’t respond to the medicine as well as expected, I began to worry about her. The next morning we woke up and she looked like hell. Fortunately, Nick was home, so I didn’t have to deal with all the details of feeding the children and getting them ready to go out (which I knew would slow me down immensely), so I could just rush out and take our sick puppy to the doctor.

We believe the pancreatitis was triggered by Snoop eating something she usually doesn’t get – that her body couldn’t process. The vet said his initial impression was that she had been poisoned. The only thing we gave her that she doesn’t usually get was an organic, all-natural “dental chew” bone that I bought from REI. Although one can not know the cause of pancreatitis for certain, the bone is the only thing in her diet that’s changed.

I should have remembered that organic natural stuff is not regulated as well as non-organic. And unfortunately, with organic being akin to big business, it does not necessarily guarantee that it’s safer.

Well, bone or no bone, our dog is on an IV at the hospital, getting antibiotics and anti-nausea medicine daily until she recovers enough to come home.

You don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone (Or there is the threat of it being gone).

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