Pause Button

Do you ever have things happen in your life that you just find difficult to take in?  Wouldn't it be nice to have a pause button for life, so you could absorb everything you wanted?  Maybe just so you could take a mental picture so you don't miss anything?  The world just spins so fast!

Being a mom of 5 has it's challenges, and certainly has it's rewards.  While I realize that probably the only people reading this know us, I like to pretend that at some point, people I don't actually know will be interested in reading my ramblings.  In that vein, here's a little background.

We are a blended family... a yours, mine, and ours mix.  I won't be using their real names on here, just because... but here's the breakdown:

Mine

18 year old girl - Since she's no longer a minor, and since she's a little bossy, I think we'll call her "The Major".

12 year old boy - Hmmmm... what to call him?  I could go for Tween, but come July, that will be over, so what's the point of changing his name 6 months in?  He's a talker, and I frequently reference him as Chatty McTalksalot at home... so maybe we'll keep that moniker.  I may shorten it, and just go for McTalksalot... we'll just have to take it as it comes.

His

14, almost 15 year old boy -  This one is 6'2" and plays football.  His freshman team went undefeated this year.  Ego, ego, ego.  Funny, funny, funny.  He's actually the Hub's stepson from his first marriage.  We're going to call him Kutcher... because well, he looks like a younger Ashton Kutcher, and has his sense of humor.

8 year old boy -  Taz.  Right before our wedding, one of the groomsman called him the Tasmanian Devil.  It fits.  He is sweet and calm one second, and crazy destructive the next.  Very spirited, but very sweet.

Ours

19 month old boy - Monkey.  Because he is one.  He climbed out of his crib for the first time at 16 months.  He has really long little monkey arms that he used to reach every thing on a counter that he's not supposed to be able to reach.  He's way tall for his age, and climbs on EVERYthing.  He's busy 100% of the time.

Major, McTalksalot, and Monkey are with us full-time.  Taz is with us every other weekend, and as often as we can have him during the summer.  One of these days, we hope he'll decide to stay with us full-time.  In the interim, we will take him whenever we can get him.  Kutcher isn't here nearly as often as we'd like.  His biological dad is in TX, so he spends some holiday time there.  His social life is extensive, so when he can fit us in to his busy schedule, he does.

Ok... there's the background, but here's what I was thinking about before my ADD took over and I got sidetracked with the descriptions.

Monkey's crib got turned into a toddler bed yesterday.  Last night at bedtime, he crawled in all by himself and covered up with his little blanket.  It was perhaps one of the sweetest little things I've ever seen.  He's trying to talk (FINALLY) and apparently has chosen 'shoes' as his favorite word.  He's growing up way too fast.  How do I make it stop???

We played in the snow yesterday.  He was too little last year to really enjoy or pay attention to it.  Watching him look in awe at all that white stuff that was so cold on his little hands was simply amazing.  He had fun, but we weren't out very long before he was done, and wanted to go back inside.  Of course, as soon as he was in, he wanted back out.

McTalksalot is in Junior High.  Let me repeat.... JUNIOR HIGH.   As I was looking through an old blog I used to keep, I came across a letter he had written to the Tooth Fairy.  He was letting her have his tooth, and hoped she liked it, but wanted assurances that she knew just how much that tooth had meant to him.  He goes to the orthodontist for braces next month.  I'm missing the Tooth Fairy a little bit.

Major just recently became a major.  She's been 18 for less than a month.  How did I get old enough to be the mother of an 18 year old, that's what I want to know!!

When my DH and I first started dating,  Kutcher was 11, and no where near 6 feet tall.  Our first encounter was at Worlds of Fun, a local amusement park.  He talked about how he wasn't scared of a single ride there.  That was right up until I wanted to ride the Thunderhawk.  He looked like he was going to pass out, and I told him he could hold my hand if he wanted.  He did.  On the way out of the park that day, I heard him tell Dad that I was really scared on the Thunderhawk and made him hold my hand.  He "didn't see what the fuss was about, it was just a ride!"

Taz actually proposed to me before his father did.  He was four at the time, but he referred to me as his girlfriend, not his dad's.  If he would see his dad kiss me, he would have a fit, and tell Dad that he was not allowed to kiss his girlfriend... only hugs.   Fast forward 4 years, and he barely tolerates hugs and kisses from me now.  He has his own girlfriends to worry about... in the second grade.  SECOND GRADE.

Time goes too fast.  I'm getting too old.  So whenever you come up with that pause button... you let me know.