Cinco de...Stromberg

So the news is out, thanks largely to a couple of overzealous souls. We are having a baby! Yes, you read that right. Baby number five will grace our presence just after the first of the year. I kept it a secret for a while. The grandparents knew and couple of friends (one of which is a nurse -- more about that later).
Let's just say, this came as a big surprise to us. This will be c-section number five for me, so I'm kind of scared about how my body will react. And dear daddy will be about 85 by the time this one graduates high school. Truth is, he'll be, well, he'll be older than me. Let's just put it that way.
Farmer Boy and the Princess are already thinking of names. They learned Spanish in school this year. So they have suggested "Cinco." Cute, but probably not. And, as Princess is quick to point out, this is actually baby number 6. The middle child is somewhere bouncing around in heaven's playground.
This baby was totally unplanned. However, we have no doubt he or she will be a definite blessing in our family. And, as one friend pointed out. "LaRue" couldn't have been the baby. She was obviously referring to the flailing, screaming, dramatic fits she has at the drop of a hat. Entertaining? Yes. Getting old? Definitely.
I mentioned today that it's partially my late uncle's fault we're in this predicament. If I hadn't been grieving his sudden death, and my wonderful husband hadn't been so quick to comfort me, well, you married couples know...
Without knowing I was pregnant, I had surgery. Good thing I didn't know I was pregnant, because I probably would have put off the surgery even longer. But bad thing that I took darvoset and other pain killers. (Hence, the call to my nurse friend when I found out I was pregnant). We just pray for God's mercy and grace on this little one.
Farmer Boy and the Princess have been more than eager to tell people we are having twins. Sadly, people believe them. I quickly correct them, and, as of this week, I have proof that is NOT the case.
I took them with to the doctor when I had an ultrasound, just so they could hear the nurse say, There is only one baby." I asked her to repeat it for emphasis, and louder in case they didn't hear her.
So they've moved on from the discussion about twins and cinco to now: "Mom, are you going to go to the vet now like Lily (our dog) so that you can't have any more kids."
Actually, I've got some wonderful BRAVE male friends who will be taking daddy for a drive, something they should've done for about 2 years now....

? of the day

Something is so wrong with this question I just asked Cookie Monster: "How much perfume did you put on?"
Seriously, when the smell lingers from the basement, through the main floor and up to the top floor, enough already little guy!! Plus, do you know how embarrassed you will be when we remind you of your obsession with perfume when you bring a date home.
At least this time it was a cheap bottle and not one of my expensive perfumes.

Is it a sin?

I've spent some of this morning trying to recuperate from a trip to the Children's Museum with all 4 kids -- by myself. Cookie Monster stood at one display (I guess the non-working sinks made him think of running water) and looked up at me calmly and said "I'm peeing."
"Stop!" I shouted, trying to be calm. But the fountain just kept running, down his leg and onto the carpet. What was I thinking, asking a three-year-old who is potty training to control his bladder?
So all 5 of us trekked to the bathrooms to discover the dreaded yellow sign saying it was closed for cleaning. I mentioned to the young teen working in the area that there was a cleanup in aisle 9. She said they would take care of it. "They" meant the man currently in the ladies room, who would not budge so I could remove Cookie Monster's clothes.
Sorry -- brief sidenote -- I'm laughing to myself because we were in Cookie Monster's playground at the time -- a Sesame Street display!
So I waited outside the door for a few moments. The young teen told me I could go downstairs to the other restrooms. Sorry, I said, we'll just wait so as not to stomp his pee-covered shoes down the elevator.
So I just at on the bench outside the bathroom and used Farmer Boy and the Princess as a shield for Cookie Monster's bare bottom to change him. Needless to say, the pull-up replaced the "big boy" pants at that moment.
Oh, and while the quick change took place, LaRue stood at a window overlooking the main floor -- licking it clean!
Guess hand-sanitizer doesn't work for that one.
So I was just kind of vegging this morning, working on some Vacation Bible School things in the living room and trying to recuperate.
I wondered, as I looked over the booklet filled with Bible verses and references to God: is it a sin that I can hear my dear husband in the dining room laughing and playing with the kids and.....
TEACHING THEM HOW TO PLAY POKER??? Oh, and they are using REAL poker chips.
Guess I have a new prayer for the VBS prayer list?

How Much?

I've joked in the past with my children that I would pass them by the scanner at the store checkout to see how much they are worth. They laugh. So do I. But yesterday, I might've been more serious about that.
I made the choice (mistake?) of taking all four munchkins to the local shopping mall -- Wal-Mart. After spending 6 months worth of pay (dad's of course) to buy Mother's Day cards, we stopped to eat supper. No, I didn't even peak at what they selected, but I do know one cost $6.49. Thank goodness it's for their favorite mom.
Most of the brood selected food from the deli area. I just ate a couple of bites of their food. The Princess wanted pizza. They were enjoying their meal when I told them I'd be right back and went to the restroom. On the way there, the young man who had served up our food at the deli walked out of the restroom -- wearing his plastic gloves that he scooped up the food with.
I tried to keep from vomiting (I hadn't really eaten much yet). I took care of my business and returned to the table, all the while wondering what the heck happened to common sense?
I was tempted to walk over to the deli and scream "Didn't your mom teach you to wash your hands?" But with the kiddos with, I decided against that.
Seems Cookie Monster is one mega-sponge lately and I could hear him screaming that to random people in public restrooms.
So I lied and said I needed to go get a tissue in the restroom. I'm surprised Cookie Monster didn't offer his already snot-covered shirt. Instead, I went to the service desk and asked for the manager. I shared my observations with him. After sharing his disgust, off he went to the deli.
After a short time, he returned with a gift card. How thoughtful, but don't know if that would cover a doctor's visit from the germs we could contract. Anyhow, he arrived just on time to see the GIGANTIC mess Cookie Monster had made.
When he was reaching for a cup of pop from Farmer Boy, he dropped it. Apparently, the Princess was done eating, because her pizza was now soaked. Luckily, no clothes were wet.
And, luckily, the elderly couple behind us must have had bad hearing. Because they didn't hear Cookie Monster shouting.
"G. Damnit." Not once, but several times. Again this was one of those times that was hard to discipline him with a straight face. Seriously, I think the phrase comes from dad. But the way he shouted it through gritted teeth came from me. He made me laugh after a stressful shopping outing.
But still, wonder how much he would ring up for on the scanner?

It could've been me!

A news report earlier this week said a New York mom was being charged after leaving her 2 daughters on the side of the road after she grew sick of their fighting. Well, at least I did NOT leave mine. I just drove beside them (see earlier post "These Boots Are Made For Walking"). Another country song comes to mind: "It Could've Been Me....."

LaRue's First Haircut

LaRue had her first haircut today. It happened much earlier than The Princess, about 20 months earlier. But it wasn't because her hair was too long. In fact, we were still trying to model the baby mullet and bring it back in style (not by choice, though). Yes, my kids have known since ages 3 and 2 what a mullet is, thanks to The Princess.
Anyhow, unfortunately I had to give LaRue a haircut today. I was hoping that whatever food she added to it on Monday morning would have washed or worn itself out by now after 4 baths or so. That was wishful thinking.
And, unfortunately, Cookie Monster was right there observing my barber skills. All scissors will be moved up another few feet today.
I'm not sure if the culprit was gum eggs or imitation Peeps delivered by Mr. Easter Bunny. Actually, it was Mrs. Easter Bunny. Maybe I'll send in a compliant email to her.
The food was not just stuck in one spot like I did when I was little. LaRue either stretched the gum or candy out and laid it on her sweet little head or rolled around in a string of it. It was stuck in her hair, stretching around the entire back of her head.
I won't have any cute pix of her crying during her first haircut. Or a photo of her sucking on a hair-covered sucker.
Chances are we won't have a mullet either, since that hairstyle is LONGER in the back and shorter in the front.
Or, as my kids say "Business in front. Party in the back."

Praise God is almost Easter!!

Yes, praise Him for a new day! And it can't come soon enough. Not for reasons you might guess, though. I need daddy and gramma to rescue my children. I think I'm on the verge of a mommy melt-down. Let's see, in the last 3.5 hours, this is how I've spent it:
-Just shy of 2 hours listening to LaRue scream at the movies (outside the door of course). I couldn't leave because The Princess and Farmer Boy were engrossed in Hannah Montana. And, I had just spent 3 weeks wages to pay for tickets and the kids' supper. Yes, that did include 3 bags of candy, 2 slushees and a ton of popcorn. LaRue didn't just cry. She wailed. And wailed. And wailed some more. All while pounding her hands, feet, head and every other appendage on the floor or wall. What the heck? None of our other 3 kids did that!@!!!???? Finally, the movie guy gave her a slushee. That worked.
For about 5 minutes.
-We left the movie and I drove around long enough for her to go to sleep. At least that's what I told the kids. Actually, I just needed a time-out. And, since dad is in the field, that's the closest I could get to having "alone time."
-Once we got home, Cookie Monster got busy. I tried to finish cleaning the main floor. Ya know, the Easter Bunny can't come into a messy house.
At least that's what I've told the kids. Truth is, I just don't like a bunch of dirty clothes, spoiled sippy cups, wrappers and whatever else they've discarded just inside the front door in the pictures. Wouldn't that make a great scrapbook page: "The Easter Basket Hunt." The journaling would say something like: somewhere amidst the piles of clothes, blankets, toys, homework, books, sippy cups and dog hair we found the baskets. And oh, look, there's a Peep rabbit covered in dog hair. Yum. Happy Easter! Everybody looked so cute! Let's call mom in the loony bin!"
-While I was cleaning, within a 13 1/2 minute time frame, here is what Cookie Monster accomplished:
-30 seconds jumping on the couch, throwing the blankets mom had just folded. He stopped once I threatened him with his life.
-An entire, yes ENTIRE roll of toilet paper unrolled. AND emptied into the toilet.
-Bathwater splashed ALL over the ENTIRE bathroom. No need to worry about the toilet paper. It was already wet!
-Dumped a nearly-full bottle of cranberry juice in the kitchen. He said he was getting a drink and I said just water. Yeah, well......
Oh, and this was accomplished hours after he had done one of the best things of the day: turned on the blender while it was full of a smoothie mixture --------------with the lid OFF. Yes, I was quite annoyed. I had just scrubbed the kitchen (minus the floor) yesterday.
Thank the Lord for big brothers. Farmer Boy rescued him and took him up to watch TV.
Gramma will rescue him tomorrow.
Thank the Lord it's Easter
Gotta go LaRue is digging in the toilet.