SNL

Sometimes I feel like I'm living in a Saturday Night Live sketch! 

Those of you that know my family, might say that I have some of the sweetest, most well-behaved children you've ever met.  Let's just say they put on a good show in public!  Walk into my house at any given time and you will find the boys fighting (yes, my oldest is 17 and my youngest is 8.....the 8 year old usually prevails) and my daughter screaming and crying because one of the boys dared to look at her or speak to her.  Add a dog that barks at every shadow and snorts like a pot-belly pig to the mix and we're in business.  Just the other day Abby came flying up the stairs bawling because Danny (the oldest) had called her a "lippy little freak".  I told her to relax because she's not a freak but I did tell her she's lippy and she is little (she's actually a midget but I didn't want to further upset her!). 

The thing about my kids is they continually antagonize each other!  I know this not uncommon between siblings, but my kids have turned it into an art form.  (footnote: after Danny read the last sentence he said, "At least I'm good at some form of art").  Abby is the typical girly-girl.  She is in constant motion....cheering, dancing and tumbling all over the house, ALL the time.  This drives everyone crazy and she knows it, so she does it even more and even louder just to prove a point.  The munchkins (I refer to the 2 younger ones this way all the time) love to torture Danny about anything and everything.  They are always teasing him about his girlfriend, his grades and his crappy car (Abby once reminded Danny that her American Girl doll is worth more than his car).  Tommy frequently walks up to Danny and starts pulling his leg hair.  But don't think Danny is an innocent victim.  He finds great joy in making his sister cry.  Last summer we roadtripped to Chicago with my dad.  Danny and dad in one car, Brian and I and the munchkins in the van.  We had walkie talkies to communicate which was really quite fun until......as we got into Schaumburg, Danny got on the walkie and said, "Hey look Abby, it's your store, Babies R Us."  As you can imagine, she became hysterical and cried for like 2 hours while the rest of us laughed for the next 2 hours.

The latest toy that is wreaking havoc on my home is the vuvuzela! (side note....Danny and his buddies won these on a youth group trip to Valley Fair.  I had to confiscate them on the bus ride so the driver didn't stop and leave our group in the middle of Interstate 35.)  Not only is the vuvuzela an obnoxious sounding horn, but it also doubles as a vicious weapon that can be used to smack your brother and sister.  Try to picture the noise of a World Cup soccer game combined with the high pitched screaming at a Justin Beiber concert and that's what you get when the vuvuzela is in use downstairs.  My dad will sometimes call and after a few minutes ask, "How many kids are at your house?"  "Just mine," I say. 

The other day the munchkins were doing battle (again) and tattling and crying (well Abby was crying), so for their punishment I made them sit on the couch and hug each other for 5 minutes.  Abby informed me it was worse than having to put her nose on the wall for 9 minutes (9 years old gets you 9 minutes on the wall). No applause necessary, I know I'm mother of the year.....guessing my trophy got lost in the mail.

Time for me to catch the end of Father of the Bride.  I love this movie because the soon to be bride and groom are Brian and Annie (pathetic, I know, but it makes me smile!).

Later taters!!
Annie