A Saturday

• Stumble out to the front room...fighting sleep to reach the much needed caffeine and to fix breakfast for kids (two of which have been up since before the sun)
• Getting 5 human beings ready to run errands and arguing with two of them who don't want to go
• Drop off gun and sunglasses to Dad at work because he forgot them
• Grocery store with 4 kids and a two page list...fully confirming the need to those apple strudels I picked up at the entrance as I try to catch all the "stuff" the little boys tried to sneak in throughout the store (which included two kids books, toothpaste, chips, and oddly enough hand sanitizer)
• Home and unloading of suburban full of groceries while arguing with the teenagers to move faster than one bag every 5 minutes and to stop Super Wy from twirling with his open drink on the lawn AND Holy Terror from attacking people with the loose branch he found
• Drama Queen's friend over for science fair preparations where they had to "test" the experiment in the backyard patio, thereby spewing globbing baking soda and vinegar all over the glass top where it dried to a nice hard cement texture
• Nap time for little boys and Mommy's only 30 minutes of quiet
• House cleaning a.k.a General duty by Mommy for kids to pick up their things strewn all over the house
• Backyard BBQ preparations for Hubby and his fishing buddies to cook up recent victories and share fishing stories
• Fighting the hose away from Holy Terror when he was spraying Daddy's friends
• Catching Holy Terror as he ran through the house unwinding blue and red party streamers he found in hall closet
• Collapsing into bed and leaving Hubby and friends outside laughing and talking, daughter and her friend (who was only supposed to stay for 3 hours but ended up spending the night) giggling in the front room, and my son who was pissed because he had to let the girls alone and go draw in his room, and two boys who were passed out in their beds from a full day's toddler work

Just another Saturday at the Norris house.

Annnnnd....We're Back!

Yes, the Norris Ranch is finally back on its feet. All kids are healthy. Both parents are healthy. Dogs and cat are...well...okay, they were never sick.

Any-who.

Last night was the first night things were back to routine and let me tell you...Phew! Our lives are so normally chaotic, loud, and crazy but there's a pattern and ritual to it. It's a positive chaotic, loud, crazy.

Ash and I knew something was off when, during the sick, the house was quiet, lights were dim and/or off, and no one was arguing or laughing.

But, like I was saying, it's all back. There's monsters and dinosaurs growling and eating action figures. Kitty is getting Super Wy into trouble (so Super Wy claims), Parkour Boy and Holy Terror are wrestling in the front room. Drama Queen's mouth and eye rolls are in full gear.

This weekend we're going to celebrate our health with a nice hike in the Valley.

Yay!!!!

Our Soundtrack

I was reading an article today about the healing powers of music and (of course) it got me thinking about what role music plays here at the Norris Ranch. For me, music has been a big part of life. Ash has also always been a big fan of music.

I grew up in a household where Saturday mornings was disco or early rock housecleaning. I'd go to sleep with the radio on. As a child I'd listen to music in my room and write more than I'd watch television. Even now, I have the music on low as I go to sleep. Music is comforting to me personally.

Looking at our household, it plays a large part there as well. My husband and I have music on as we relax, clean the house, or work on projects. My older son and daughter listen to music in their rooms as they fall asleep or when they're drawing. writing, or reading. My little boys love jumping on the coffee table and rock out to all genres of music, as their older brother and sister did when they were little.

It's a connector for us. Whether Ash and I instilled this in them or they were born with a musical muse...it is as much a part of them as us. But it doesn't only connect us; it also individualizes us.

Each older child has identified with a main genre that helps them understand and better define who they are as a person. I've seen them evolve through the types of music they listen too. My younger boys still use mommy and daddy's music to understand and perceive the world around them. Eventually they, like their older siblings, will start veering off into their own music style.

So, I guess music is the background soundtrack at our household. I'm sure it's the same in many, if not most homes. Take a break and listen to the music of you and your children...see what it tells you.