We Are Family

photo credit: MeeMom

MeeMom: This month of September we join with families across the globe in celebrating OUR FAMILY! Okay, not our family specifically, but our families in general.

Bass: I am a twin. Being a twin is very fun and cool. It gets very annoying when everyone says, "You look just like your brother?" or "Does anyone ever call you Treble?" Of course I smile and answer "Yah" to both questions. Other than that, it is cool to have a twin to play with and fight with.

Fermata: The other day when we were at Costco I saw many people start counting with their fingers how many kids we had in our family - - - and we were short THREE, and I could tell that they were still surprised. It happens all the time when we go places.

Mezzo: I am the oldest in the family of nine kids. I sometimes love to be the eldest. Sometimes I get annoyed. Once time my aunt and uncle and my five cousins came to watch all of us so my parents could go out on a date. We decided to walk to a park that wasn't too far away. As people drove past they started to count, thinking my aunt and uncle had 14 kids! I told them that's how people look at us all the time.

B Sharp: I Love my FAMILY. mY dad and MOM Are The BEST.

Allegro: I'm a good girl because i love my family and my mom and dad and my grandparents. Signed, Allegro.

Staccato: All I know is I couldn't get away doing what I do if I were in another family. My ability to tease was one of the talents given me in heaven. MEEMOM! Why are you writing things like that? Now my teachers from school will read it.

Coda: Ahh, all I can say is that being the youngest in this family means I am the c.e.n.t.e.r. of attention. And I love it!

Middle C: My family is the BEST like when we go to awesome places. But sometimes, because I am in the CENTER, I get picked on. Mezzo won't let me into his room and Staccato will just do things to me that make me so angry. But, I always LOVE my family. About what Fermata said, almost every time we go somewhere someone will ask MeeMom or DooDad "Are those all your kids?" MeeMom says one day she's going to make us wear our Scout uniforms for no reason just to pretend we are a Scout troop instead of a bunch of brothers.

Treble: Our family is special. We love to go places together like swimming, to the park, to Costco, and to the grocery store (to see if we can put stuff in the cart that MeeMom won't know about until the checkout). Sometimes my siblings get really annoying and don't stop, but I forgive them. Our family is the best!

MeeMom: While I may be wrong, as I am on many occasions (but shhh, don't tell the kiddos), I have come to believe that somewhere in a Great Meeting in Heaven, we were given the opportunity to choose our family. I know that might be a stretch to even consider, but I believe that if we have full agency here, we probably had full agency up there. Which means I don't think the Lord sent us to our families kickin' and a screamin' (although I've had a few delivered like that). It's been enough to make me think that our relationship before we came to earth was important enough that we decided we would take on earth-life together, as a family!

DooDad: Family, Ah....a six letter word...like....wowzer or insane or sleepy. These are just a few words that describe our family. You know, they really are the cream of the crop. With all the chaos that exists within the walls of this home (and outside as well), I would not trade my wild tribe for anything. I would have to say, MeeMom and I did pretty darn well.

Have You Seen Me?

photo credit: Bass

MeeMom: Oh the joys of having pets. Currently we have a dog and two box turtles . . . er, one box turtle. On Friday evening one of our sons decided he would go the extra mile and let the turtles roam the back yard. . . Which was a very thoughtful thing for this son to do. However, instead of taking them out and watching them ever so closely, he placed them carefully in the grass and then turned around and walked right back in the house. It wasn't until Saturday morning when DooDad happened to peek inside the turtle's box that he noticed ZERO turtles in their home. It was easy to find Fiona (not her real name, just in case a crazy out there is searching for box turtles) because she likes to cozy up in her shell and rest. She was pretty much right where Staccato had left her. But our crazy, could-beat-a-hare turtle, Guy (name is also changed to protect the innocent), was no where to be found. this happened before. But he had only been missing for 20 minutes. Those 20 minutes have now stretched into days.

Middle C: When we went to look for our turtles Saturday morning, we went to our neighbor's house. We couldn't find him. We prayed to find our turtle but it has been now three days and we still can't find him. I hope that this is not the answer to our prayers. I feel so bad for him. I hope we find him soon.

B Sharp: WHEN WE Went To looK FOR OUR TURTLE WE LOOKed Everywhere

Allegro: We went to look for our turtle but we couldn't find him. Signed, Allegro

MeeMom: Just FYI, B Sharp and Allegro are becoming very independant and are quite determined to type their thought on their very own. The above (and I am sure everything else that is to come from here on out) was typed with their very own sticky fingers. Literally.

Treble: I really miss the turtle! (Why MeeMom named him "Guy" is beyond me. To protect the lost innocent?) He has been missing for the past many days now. He loves to crawl around. I bet he could cross 1 yard in 30 minutes. How far do you think he could be? I really hope to find him. Tomorrow I'm going to ride my bike around the neighborhood to ask neibors if they have seen him. I am also going to make fliers for everyone. I hope I find him, that little explorer!

MeeMom: So the kiddos were talking about putting up "LOST TURTLE" posters around the neighborhood to go with the "LOST DOG" posters that appear every now and again. They were mostly concerned about which picture of Guy they would use.

DooDad: I finally had to say "Kiddos, the reason why people put pics of their dog is because there are at least a hundred different types out there. How many "LOST TURTLE" posters have you seen in your lifetime?"

Bass: Ha ha. We are so glad for DooDad because we didn't even think of that.

Middle C: Thanks DooDad.  But I agree with with Treble, Guy is a little explorer. I bet he could cross the road in about 20 seconds. I think he is on the other side of the street. I don't know but the Lord does.

Treble: I don't think he is on the other side of the street. How would he get in someone's front yard whe he starts in their backyard?

Fermata: This is very sad for me. I don't like saying goodbye to pets. I still remember when our horned toad died and we buried him. I remember when the stray cat that MeeMom would not let us feed or let into the house kept hanging around and she decided it was time to take that cat to the animal shelter. I made me so sad. And now our turtle Guy (My heavens MeeMom, what kind of turtle name is "Guy"??), who we have had as a pet for almost three years minus a few months, a few weeks, a few days and a lot of hours, is gone. I am so very sad.

Mezzo: We lost our box turtles on Saturday. I wasn't surprised when the turtle, now named "Guy" by MeeMom so some crazy out there doesn't track us down, came up missing. Dad found Fiona by some cinder blocks. So boys and girls, the moral of the story is you should always be obedient to the rules.

Bass: I miss our little Guy. (Guy?) I think he has gone the way of our neighborhood, I mean the way of the earth. And I like rotissere chicken.

Staccato: No one said that it was me who took the turtles outside. But it was me. And I am so sorry about it.

DooDad: Nice to know you Fireman . . . WHAT?? I'm not supposed to use his real name?!?

Dessert Entitlement

Photo credit: Bass

MeeMom: When DooDad and I were first married I already had my own compilation of favorite recipes - all desserts!!  While I have since added much, much more variety to my recipe collection, I have successfully passed on a love of desserts to my children. All of whom have sadly grown-up thinking that a dessert comes with every meal!

B Sharp: My favorite dessert is cookies and ice cream. I like ice cream for breakfast, but MeeMom won't let me have it unless my brothers make a fruit smoothie on Saturday morning. Then she says it's okay.

Coda: Puh-lease don't talk about dessert.  I still have to work my way up to rice cereal!

Treble: Okay, so I love dessert! But I don't think that every night we should have one, but I think that every once and a while we should have one - at least four or five times a week. Some nights I really. feel like one, but I don't constently ask for one. GO DESSERT, I say!!!

Middle C: I am one of the guilty parties who ALWAYS asks MeeMom "What's for dessert?" Most of time she makes us desserts. But when we get irritated that she didn't, DooDad tells us we should be grateful because GrandMeeMom only made desserts once in a while. And DooDad said when her cookies came out of the oven, if they weren't eaten hot, they were used for hockey pucks 10 minutes later.

Staccato: I got mad today because I could see frozen cookie dough in the freezer from the cookies MeeMom made yesterday but she wouldn't bake them for me. She said we were going to have dinner in a half an hour. A half an hour is such a long time. I think I was going to starve.

Bass: Dessert is the best ever! I prefer dessert over pretty much anything. We should get a dessert every once in awhile, not everyday. Tonight, I feel like dessert. My favorite dessert is cornflake chewys. Fermata is a cornflake chewy and a really big piece of snow pudding.

Fermata: We should not eat dessert any day of the year because it is bad for our bones! HEY, Bass typed that! I think we should eat stuff like cheesecake so we can get our dairy for the day. We also need to eat banana cream pie so we can get our potassium. Chicken pot pie should be considered dessert so we can get our protein and veggies.

Mezzo: I like dessert. It is the best at our house. Our mother is the best chef in the world. I think that we should have dessert some of the days of the week (at least the ones that end in -day).

Allegro: My favorite part of dessert, other than eating it, is helping MeeMom bake. I like that. Signed, Allegro.

DooDad: Dessert? I'm more of a main-course kinda guy. Succulent steak or tender, slow-cooked ribs is my kinda dessert.

MeeMom: Gulp.  Pretty sure we are now on the USDA/Michelle Obama radar as an unhealthy, dessert-loving family. . . Just you wait until we blog about c.h.o.c.o.l.a.t.e.

Saturday Sound Off

photo credit: MeeMom

MeeMom: Since this blog is new and each family member has a say in what we write about, the kiddos want to have a day when they can talk about anything they want.  So it's looking (as of week 1) that Saturdays are the day to SOUND OFF about anything that has happened  in our family during the week.  So to give us all a little memory jogger here are some things that have happened this week: back-to-school father's blessings, wearing school uniforms, Saturdays, Milanesa and gnoochis, swimming, homework, our "new" daily responsibility chart, and Mezzo's IPod contract. Certainly this is not all inclusive, but it's a start.

Mezzo: My IPod contract is okay. I wish my parents would let me go on the computer to get apps and that kind of thing. My parents hardly ever let me get apps for my IPod. I wish I could get more ITunes Gift Cards but I don't.

MeeMom: Mezzo had the golden opportunity today to write up his own contract regarding the use of his IPod and the family computer.  It's not like we hardly ever let him get apps, it's more like we don't let him get whatever apps he wants whenever he wants to get them.  So, after it was all said and done, I was very impressed with his capacity to try to see his parents' side of things.  And I'll be even more impressed to see his contract in action!  I'll see is he will let me post a copy of his contract in the weeks to come.

Treble: I don't really like Saturdays, because we don't do anything. Even if we do something it's what the younger kids want to do. I always want to do something after cleaning the house but we don't really do anything. I think that Saturdays are one of the weirdest days. But I guess it's good because we get a break from school!

Middle C: I don't really like Saturdays either because we hardly do anything so we just sit around and watch TV.

MeeMom: Treble is right.  Saturdays are our "get the work done day."  It does seem that by the time we get everyone in the cleaning groove it seems like the day is already gone.  And Middle C seems to think that TV is what he should be doing in between the cleaning groove he should be getting in.  Take today, for example, I was ready to pull out all my grey matter (for that matter) due to children being over-indulgent in other people's business and not their own.  It took h-o-u-r-s for us to be somewhat done withour chores because everybody wanted to do something other than what they should have been doing.  Finally, when we were ready to get out and go, we had to have a family council to figure out what we wanted to do.  Because we do have such a large family and DooDad is self-employed, we have to be very creative on finding activities that are free or next to nothing.  Going to library, playing basketball at the Church gym, going for a hike all come to mind, but it doesn't always jive with everyone, so there are compromises to be made. And that's what happened today.  We got out of the house and did what the younger kiddos wanted to do.  At least it saved my grey matter.

Fermata: Every day we have individual daily responsibilities. This Saturday I had to unload the dishes, -and I HATE unloading dishes. I don't mind the other chores, so every time I have unloading I try to switch chores with someone.


MeeMom: Yup, he tried to switch with me, but I had a cushy responsibility today: clear and wipe the dinner table and put away food.  (Oh, if that were the ONLY responsibility I had . . . .)


Staccato: I have a new teacher.  This is her first year teaching.  She is the nicest teacher.  Tomorrow I'm going to Church and having an interview with my Bishop because I'm going to get baptized.  Am I done now?  Because I can't think of anymore things to say.


Allegro:  What we should have had for dinner was peas, carrots, corn, coconuts, chicken and that's all.  Instead we had corn and this stuff with cheese on it - what was it called?  Oh yeah, milanesa and pears and soda drinks. Signed Allegro.

Bass: Our dinner was very good. We had many things: milanesa, chicken, soda drinks and much more. My mom and dad are the best cooks in the world. Hope they cook something big tomorrow.

B Sharp: I played games. I played games with my family.

DooDad: What is left to say? Kids with wiggles and always hungry.  We had a great Argentine dinner that took about two hours to prepare. The funny thing was that during the two hours of dinner prep the kids asked over and over when dinner would be ready. When it was finally done, it took them about 10 minutes to finally drop what they were doing, wash up and get to the table. It's like that every day.

MeeMom:  And well, that about sums up our first Saturday Sound Off.  BTW, believe me when I say the Milanesa and gnocchis were out. of. this. world. Yummo.

Got Milk?

photo credit: MeeMom

MeeMom: With eleven bodies in our home, most of which are children who think they need to eat and drink because they will starve to death, we go through A LOT of milk. If we weren't such city folks we would seriously consider buying a milking cow. But since we would never seriously consider milking a cow, we settle for the double pack of milk (times five) everytime we pass through Costco. (And who can just "pass through" Costco?)

Coda: Well, I'm not the cow milk drinker so no one can look at me. I'll stick to my Kirkland brand formula, thank you very much! Isn't that why you go to Costco anyway, or is it really for the food samples???

Treble: Well MeeMom, I hate to burst your little bubble, but milk is sick! I don't like it! Sure, drinking milk is great with cookies and cereal and that stuff, but drinking a plain glass of milk is gross. It's Mezzo who loves milk. He drinks it for every single meal. I think milk is just a gross, gross liquid. YUCK!

Middle C: I agree with Treble, I don't like milk but it is good with cookies and cereal and when I put a lot of chocolate or strawberry syrup in it. Ooooooh, now that is when milk is good!

MeeMom: So now I know where all the Hershey syrup disappeared . . .

B Sharp: I have to have a milk whenever I take a drink. But, if there is juice or soda, I will choose soda. I leave my cup of milk in the fridge so it will stay cold because I don't like drinking warm milk.

Bass: Just for the record, I do. not. drink. milk. But I do with waffles or pancakes. Milk is my last preference of drinks. Water, on the other hand, is my favorite thing to drink, and I drink about 5 cups a day.

MeeMom: Umm, so where is all the milk going?

Allegro: Milk is good. I like milk. I especially like giving myself a milk mustache.

Fermata: I'm with Bass and Treble on this one. Milk is definitely not on my beverage list.

Mezzo: I LOVE MILK! Milk is the best drink that has ever come into our house. I love milk so much that it doesn't matter to me what temperature the milk is. I pretty much drink milk when ever I get a chance. And boy, do I take all my chances!  Folks, milk is the best!

MeeMom: Ohh-kay, I just figured out that we've been buying 10 gallons of milk a week for one teenage boy who, honestly, can drink a gallon or more a day!

Allegro: I want to say something else: I love milk. It is so good because I love it. Signed me, Allegro

Staccato: Milk is my comfort food (I didn't write that. MeeMom did and I had to ask her what comfort food means). I like milk so much that when I was six MeeMom made me a quilt with cows on it so I could dream of milk when I went to bed.

DooDad: Let's just say that milk is, well, rather moo-ving. :)

MeeMom: Whoa, this topic opened my eyes to some ways we could budget our food money and use more of that powdered milk that's in Food Storage. Tofu, anyone?!?!

Bingo

photo credit: Treble Clef

MeeMom: So, we have this game we play as a family while we drive. Whoever spies a Volkswagon bug or a yellow car, they shout BINGO and then the person next to them gets slammed with the fist. When Mezzo sits next to me my arm is about ready to fall off because he doesn't quite figure out that I AM NOT A PUNCHING BAG. And I'm the driver!! So I decided to put my foot down yesterday (with the Bingo game, not the gas pedal) and let the kiddies know that while they are more than welcome to shout "Bingo" as many times as they want, there is no. more. punching. BTW, I can't believe how many yellow cars there are out there on the interstate. Honestly, who would choose to drive a yellow car that's not a school bus or a taxi?

Bass Clef: The game B.I.N.G.O is very, very fun to play. Hitting my brothers and sister is just so fun to do. But when I hit them, I know it is fun for them while they are getting hit. For the past couple of days I have found so many yellow cars. Buses are the easiest to find while driving home from school. It is fun to hit my brothers very, very hard so there arm hurts like it's jello.

Staccato: Yeah, I like Bingo. It's fun. Hey, can I play bingo before I go to bed?

MeeMom: Umm, Staccato, it's not that Bingo. It's the one we play as a family when we drive in the van and see a yellow car.

Staccato: Oh yeah. That one. Can I have a cookie before I go to sleep?

Middle C: I love B.I.N.G.O! Sometimes we all think gold or orange cars are yellow, so we purposefully hit our neighbor (seating partner, that is) ten times! Around school time, school buses are very simple to find. MeeMom said that you just yell Bingo on Volkswagon bugs. What she should have said was that it can be any yellow cars. And, if we see an old, yellow convertible Volkswagon with its hood down, we get to hit 5 times. And Bass Clef, when you punch me it doesn't make my arm feel like Jell-o!!

Mezzo: My friends, not my brothers, punch me so hard that I get bruised really bad because they have been playing Bingo their whole life. Sorry Bass Clef.  When we were coming home from Scout Camp, exhausted from getting four merit badges including the painful Shotgun Merit Badge, we played Bingo and it was 2 to 1. By the time I got home, my left arm was one giant bruise. It is a really fun game. SOME FRIENDS!

Treble Clef: Bingo! This is such a great game to play. We drive 10 miles to and from school so it's a perfect time to get out my energy by hitting my brothers. I think Fermata does not enjoy playing the game. Whenever you hit him he hits you back because he hates the game! Poor, poor Fermata does not love to have an enjoyable time with his brothers and sister in the car. Whenever I get in the van I sure do enjoy the fact that we are hitting each other. Whoa Middle C, your arm probably does feel like jello, your just to tough to admit it.

Fermata: I don't agree with Treble Clef. Okay, so it's true that I used to hate playing Bingo because my older brothers would punch me like I was their pillow and I would get these HUGE bruises. But I have had a change of heart and now I like it because when they punch me I punch them harder. Also I find lots of yellow Beetle bugs, and other yellow cars. Treble Clef always asks me "Does that goldish yellow car count?" Then I say "no" because it is not fully yellow.

Allegro: I like playing Bingo. I sit in the very back, so most of the time my brothers forget I am there because they are too busy punching each other.  Does every family who drives in cars play this same game?

B Sharp: My favorite part about Bingo is getting to hit someone.

DooDad: I am pretty much King of Bingo, but without the punching. Really. Ask MeeMom. I give her sweet, little love taps when we ride along and I find the yellow cars. One time I had 8 Bingos to her zero. Woop, woop, I am King of Bingo.

MeeMom: Ahem, now you know why I had to put my foot down!