My children & their antics:

It's a really gorgeous day here. It must be in the 70's, it's bright and sunny and you can hear the excited chatter of birds. The window's are all open and there is an awesome fresh breeze blowing the winter staleness out of the house. These are the days when Texas weather is much appreciated. So I'm cleaning, running the vacuum ect., and I'm watching the antics of my children, and thinking about some of the funny (or at times, not-so-funny) childhood moments I've witnessed in the last 2-3 days.

-We buy toilet paper in bulk, you know, the 20-24 packs. So I buy some on sale and restock the cabinet. Less then two minutes later Caden (aka Trouble) climbs in the large, empty bag and starts hopping around the living room like he's in a potato sack race. He even whooped and hollered and had the expression of strained competition on his face for good measure.

-I don't believe Bryson (B) can ask a question without some form of humor, flattery, drama, or all of the above. This includes flexing muscles, smootching the air and saying, "What can I say? Chicks dig me?" for the sole purpose of driving Tristen absolutely crazy. Today he acted faint & weak in the kitchen, insisting that a Pepsi would probably give him just the lift he needed. Try again.

A couple of hours later it was a charade for me to guess what he wanted. Think: "three," "little," and then him chomping away going, "gobble, gobble, gobble."

-Morgan was in my bathtub yesterday afternoon and I was folding towels on my bed. He asked for Buzz & Woody (Toy Story characters that he's fascinated with) and I told him I'd get them as soon as I was done. "Okay" by him. So I finish folding the towels and go into the bathroom to put them away. There he is, wiping his lips trying to hide the evidence of what he'd done. But some blood smeared over his tummy and all over his hand was a dead give-away. Morgan found out that mommy's razor is much sharper than his little plastic one that he & his brothers use to wipe the cool foam off of their faces. He did not cry. We wiped the blood away with a wash clothe and I checked out the damage - he had a nick on his top & bottom lip. I grabbed a little mirror and showed him his owie, and explained razors = injury. His response was a simple, "Oh."

-Halle is a nicely balanced girl. She loves horses, playing barbie & other make believe, but can get just as dirty and disgusting as any boy. She wears socks outside with no shoes and says, "I forgot," and I sigh when I'm folding her & Bryson's new socks with big 'ole holes in the heel. But she is still a girl and she loves shiny, sparkly, pretty things. On Wednesday she was waiting for me to braid her hair and I see her peeking in my jewelry box. She smiles, carefully lifts something and tells me I have an item similar to Gramma Sue's and she knows because she's organized Gramma's jewelry box twice! Halle, Halle!

-I head upstairs for something to see four boys fighting with toy swords made out of fiddle sticks, slaying each other and fainting from the wicked, vicious wounds. And then Morgan turns his sword on me. So, since I'm bigger & tougher I steal the sword and get him good.
A bit later it sounds like the sword fighting has turned into Harry Potter dueling as the sound of curses being yelled back & forth reverberates off my walls. (Swords made from fiddle sticks are very easily transformed into wands.)

-Morgan climbs in with Mom & Dad most nights. So two nights ago he climbs in, gets settled and then tells Dad he needs his sippy cup. (Hear the whip?) Dad obliges and scrambles across the house, in the dark. Returns to bed and hands it to Morgan. Dad lays down and Morgan guzzles some water. "Here you go." Hands the sippy back to Dad to lay on the floor beside the bed. (Morgan is very particular about this.) Morgan lays down, getting himself nice and comfy and a moment later Morgan says, "Woody's hat." Brian states firmly he is not finding Woody's hat and to go to sleep. (Mom wonders to herself "hmmm?" because she know's Morgan has daddy wrapped tighter around his finger than even Mom.) Morgan sits up in bed. Dad says, "LAY DOWN!" A moment passes...Morgan knows there's a line so he's treading carefully, he responds quietly, "no." Dad says, "Morgan, LAY DOWN." Another quiet but firm, "no." I hear the covers get thrown back and Dad grumbling about how ridiculous this is as he goes off into a dark house on a wild goose chase for Woody's hat. After searching three bedrooms he returns to our bed to find it was in fact only inches from Morgan.

For the York Children

I actually wrote this in 2008 for my goddaughter and her siblings, who are all very sweet & genuine children. I went to school with their parents who are good friends of mine, and have done a terrific job raising, teaching and guiding their kids.

The intention was to put it into a book, which I intend to do...someday...one of these years...when things slow down....

Lily Rose

Never has there been a flower

as fair as Lily Rose

Whom in all her gentle sweetness,

around a garden grows

Surrounded in this beauty

by shrubs, flowers, bushes, trees -

singing birds and crawling bugs

and wondrous creatures such as these

But her favorite is the little

busy, buzzing Catherine Bee

Who takes the nectar from the flowers;

oh-so-merrily

She flies around the garden

with a smile on her face,

then a wink and off she goes

disappeared without a trace

Lily sways within her garden,

it's sweet fragrance she inhales

As the Meghan Bird takes flight

and across the garden sails

Over lakes and streams and mountains

not a worry or a care,

having many grand adventures

as she journeys through the air

But as the day comes to an end

and the sun begins to set,

Meghan Bird returns for night

free of stresses or regrets

She wiggles and gets comfy -

cozy, snuggled in her nest,

While Catherine Bee relaxes,

sleepily settling for rest

Just then the Little Prince comes out

and takes his royal seat

Upon a lily pad he's perched

bobbing to the mellow beat

Of the crickets and cicadas

dreamy, soothing, evening song

that puts the garden all to sleep -

that chorus sweet and long

Prince Adam in his dark green suit

and giant, knowing eyes

lets out a deep, long croak -

a bit of wisdom from the wise

Luminous moonlight glows against

the vast, deep navy sky,

sprinkled endlessly with stars;

some of which go shooting by

Ever slowly Lily Rose

tips her stem and falls asleep,

into a nighttime slumber

that is fitful, rich and deep

Full of dreams about her garden

as her pretty petals doze -

for nowhere is there a flower

as fair as Lily Rose

© Amber Davis

P.S. - But I do need to find an illustrator for my book (hint, hint James.....)

So while I type this Morgan INSISTS on being curled up on my lap. For those who don't know, I have a mole he is obsessed with back from his infant days. He had a melt down and needed comforted because he couldn't have desert before lunch. Anyhow, after wriggling around like he had ants in his pants to the point of which was driving me crazy, he finally fell still, fell limp against my chest and fell asleep. So he's now quietly snoring on my lap...his finger still attached to what he calls "my mole." I'm not going to lie, I worry a little about this freakish obsession of his.

A Day With The Boys

I took the oldest three boys, Tritter, B & Trouble, for a hike today. The temperature reached into the 60's with clear, blue skies and hardly any wind. So we're in the car on the way there only to find out Tritter and Trouble forgot their water bottles. So they get a short lecture from me on responsibility and listening. See, they were told at least three times, "Fill your water bottles." Tritter was on the internet & Trouble has the attention span of about 4 seconds. A very minor setback which didn't ruin more than a moment in the car....you know, the moment where it enters the left ear, but before it exits the right ear.

We had a very nice hike - saw some deer quite close and a few bright red cardinals whose color jumped out at you in the bare, dull trees. The sight made me think of Michigan and all the birds we had on our property.

"Afternoon Sunbeams"



The boys had fun and we only had one minor injury, and it happened to B. He's slightly accident prone, which is odd because he's so athletic. From behind me I hear a yell and turn around to see him holding his face...nothing around him but a tree so it takes about one second to put two & two together and like a good Mom I start laughing...hard. Who runs into a tree? The photo does not do it justice. His cheek was all red and ever-so-slightly puffy, the top of his nose a nice shade of crimson, the side of his nose scraped and bloodied and a nice wide stripe down the middle of his forehead with a couple of little scratches. It wasn't a very big tree. He was looking at the owl they have in outside cages and evidently it did not occur to him to watch where he was walking. Never mind how many hundreds of times (he in particular) has heard those words.

I stifle my laughter somewhat and hand him my cold water bottle to cool it off and keep the swelling down. There was clearly no real damage except perhaps his ego. As soon as we started walking again he said in a quiet, shaky voice, "I know Dad's gonna come up with some good jokes on this one." More quiet belly laughter from me. (I'm not a bad person, it just appears I've inherited a slightly dark sense of humor. Who knew?)


"Blasted Tree"



Only Trouble can show this much enthusiasm as I take the last photos of our afternoon hike - My three boys, all lined up with happy, somewhat tired grins on their faces. And then Trouble takes his emotion to a whole new level.

"Oh Yeah!"



So we throw our backpacks in the trunk, and I tell the boys to drink their water as we get loaded in the car. We're all buckled in and driving slowly out of the park when Tritter comments in his serious, somber voice. "Ya know, I've never seen anyone run into a tree. But they show it on T.V. all the time." (More silent laughter from depth of my stomach.) Also in a serious tone, B responds from the back, "Yeah, now I know why. It's easier than I thought." No sound escaped my lips, but my body continued to shake in the driver's seat.

Fulfilling a Special Request for The Godfather

"Put 'Em up"



"Godfather and I"



"HEY YOU MOM!"



"Childhood Is Exhausting...."



"Wash this...."



"Everytime a bell rings and angel gets his wings."



"I Wonder Where the Keys Are to That Lock?"



"I Can Open It Now? Right Now?"



Imagine a really loud yell of enthusiasm to go with this one



"Yee hah, I got blocks!"



"Love Hurts"



"This is SO Tom Sawyer!"



"I Think I Can...I Think I Can...."



"Small Wonder"




Our not-so-little anymore, taste of what it is truly like to have a child with the energy of the Tasmanian Devil, the persistence of Sylvester (the one always chasing "Tweety"), and the curiosity of what I can only imagine must be up there with other great, need-to-know minds such as Albert Einstein, Benjamin Franklin and Nikola Tesla. (Kirstyn's hero)

Now, what our colorful child who keeps life constantly entertaining with his exasperating ways will do with his bright mind and boundless endurance...well, only time will tell. In the meantime we enjoy his energetic antics and try not to go nuts, when, yet again today he asks the exact same question for the 87th time, convinced that if he asks enough he will eventually get the answer he needs.

Christmas Morning

We had a great Christmas this year. The kids got up and piled their gifts and waited patiently for Mom & Dad to get up. They did not wake me until 8 a.m. I am not a morning person and like good children figured it better not to ruffle my feathers with a crack-of-down, rude awakening. I heard some gasps and the shifting of gifts, but slept on. So we enjoyed a lazy day of home baked goodies & treats as we leisurely opened presents. It was a terrific day where childhood wonder and marvel make all the magic of Christmas come alive.

*And I just want to state that only a true outdoorsman could burn through over 800 caps in his brand new Shotgun in a matter of hours.

Why not?

Soo...I'll give it a go at blogging. Not sure how good I'll be at keeping up, or how much detail of my life I'll be willing to blurt out, but I'll give it a whirl. I'm hoping for a fun & healthy 2010 filled with some travel & good times. Every day is a bit of an adventure here.