Sunday Sound Out

From Chicago, where we purposely make our rivers look like green toxic sludge, it's Sunday Sound Out with your host, who is now thirty-ten, Dawn Meehan!

THIS is the decade where you really won't give a toss what every other tosser thinks (no really, even less so than you have done in the past), where your brain works in wonderfully fast-forward ways and comes up solutions that a 20 year old can't even imagine and a 30 year old can't imagine doing and your dreams become more vivid and prophetic.
First off - I have no clue what a tosser is. That must be an Australian thing. And let's hope my dreams aren't becoming prophetic or according to last night's dream, I'm going to visit my friend Kelli in Texas, but for some reason, her husband will have turned into a strange fat guy who sits around drinking beer and they'll suddenly have a dozen dogs instead the cats they actually have and I'll have a brand new baby. Yikes!

Technically, you're about to enter the last year of your 4th decade (if that makes you feel any better!).
0-10 = 1 decade
11-20 = 1 decade
21-30 = 1 decade
then 31-40 is still the same decade.So you see, it's not so bad!
We don't do math on my blog!

Happy Birthday!!!! You're only as young as you feel....wait...do you feel old? Sorry. ;)
:P <-----that's me sticking my tongue out at you, in case you couldn't tell.

Did you get any great artwork from the kids? I'm sure they did something nice because they're a sweet bunch.
Savannah made me this card...


Hilarious! Have you ever thought of a career in stand up? I could actually visualize you up on a stage doing the "club" bit.
Hello? Is this thing on?

Oh, and, *Heh-hem* I noticed that you haven't taken the, "I'm a 30-something year oldstay-at-home mom of 3 girlsand 3 boys. The original BradyBunch (without Alice!)" down yet. Are we denying the truth? XD...
Yes. What's your point?

I just had a child diagnosed with ADHD. Do any of your kids take meds? If so, are you comfortable talking about it?
Yes and yes

Hmm a SSO question.....In less than three short years, I'll turn 40. Is it really THAT bad?
Well, let's see here. I've been having hot flashes for a year. Last month I skipped my period, but nature, being cruel and mean, made up for it with a bonus one this month. Yep, forty's fabulous.

Did anyone get you a bottle of wine or some fruity coconut drink?
I got a bottle of wine, a bottle of margaritas, and a bottle of rum (because apparently, I'll need to drink a lot to forget about the fact that I'm forty)

I know this is probably a stupid question to ask with 6 kids- but did you have any problems getting pregnant with any of your children? My husband and I have been trying for 5 years now and it's a daily battle. Thanks.
Actually, it took a little over a year to get pregnant the first time. I had tried Clomid for a couple months to no avail and was starting to get really worried that there was something wrong with me when I got pregnant. I never had any problems conceiving after that. I can't imagine the pain and frustration of going through years of infertility treatments and let-downs.

Ok SSO now that the twins are 1 tomorrow how do I keep them entertained with there 2 year old sister while all my eye's(aka the big kids) are at school?
Well, Brooklyn has watched the movie Ponyo fifteen times this week. I think there are subliminal messages in the thing because I can't figure out for the life of me, why anyone would watch it even twice otherwise. You can try that. Or duct tape.

Oh and does the fighting between the big kids ever end?
Well, when the kids get to about, ugh, hang on a minute. Will you two stop arguing over the remote control?! I'm sorry. As I was saying, by the time your kids get to be ten years old, they, ugh, I'm sorry. Please hang on again. Don't make me come in there! Do not call your brother stupid. And you, don't hit your sister! Ok, where was I? Oh yeah, I remember - does the fighting ever end? Well, in my experience..., That's it! You're both grounded until you're thirty! Go to your rooms and don't touch each other on the way there! To answer your question, no. No, the fighting never ends. Ever.

Hmm, SSO: Don't you feel just a tad guilty for packing up the snow gear? March and April snow are not unheard-of in your neck of the woods!
Well, I started feeling slightly guilty for packing away some snow stuff when the 3 inches of snow came down yesterday, but since it all melted today, I'm sticking with my decision to pack away the snow pants and boots. They were taking up a lot of room in my family room. I have a very small house, remember?

I know each year in Chicago they dye the river green. Have you seen it? What is it like?
It looks like a river. That's green.

I have a daughter w/ ADHD and have been considering the Feingold Program - any suggestions? Did you subscribe and do the full blown program or just avoid anything that wasn't all natural? My daughter is currently taking Focalin (ADHD medication), but was wondering if I should give her the medication while "trying" the Feingold Program - any thoughts? Thanks!
Well, the Feingold program won't hurt anything. It's always good to eliminate some of the artificial garbage that's in our food. I saw an improvement when Jackson was on the Feingold diet. And yes, I subscribed and did the full-blown, very strict diet. A drawback was that it's quite a bit more expensive to buy all natural/organic/whole foods without the added artificial stuff. It's also more time consuming to cook from scratch. And it's hard to stick to 24/7. You can't monitor what your child eats at school for example and even though they know they're not supposed to eat the cupcake with the neon green frosting for their friend's birthday, it's hard to resist. You should talk to your daughter's doctor, but I personally wouldn't discontinue her medication right away when you start the diet.

Am I allowed to like butterscotch even though I'm only 33? How's that for a question? :)
I just spent over an hour trying to find a video clip of Tim Conway starring on Suddenly Susan where he talked about old people liking butterscotch. I couldn't find one. Instead I got sucked in to watching a dozen old Carol Burnett clips. This is why it takes me half a day to write a stupid blog post! So, yes, you're allowed to like butterscotch at the tender age of 33, but it's a requirement when you turn 60.

OH! I forgot to ask, did you nap on this National Napping Day?
I was too busy celebrating Barbie's birthday, National Crabmeat Day and International I Can't Think of Anything to Blog About Day

Where was the weirdest place you've ever napped? Now, that's a question.
Yes, yes that is a question, a very weird question, but a question nonetheless. I don't fall asleep easily. I have trouble getting my brain in sleep mode. More often than not, I lie there awake with my wheels spinning, so I'm not one to nod off in strange places. Brooklyn, on the other hand, can fall asleep anywhere. (And usually with her eyes open!)

Okay I have a question. What kind of cane do you beat them with? And do you get out of your chair to do or just wave your arm around and hope to hit one or many of them?
Are you kidding? Canes are heavy! I don't lift a cane and wave it around! I just point my bony finger menacingly at everyone while I mutter about hooligans and shenanigans and the general disrespect for the elderly.

I have a question, I finally got a copy of your book today and I was wondering if you have a link to the baseball auction? I read the Pokemon card one a long time ago, and I had thought that's what started you blogging. I'd be interested to read the Baseball one.
Here ya go. And yes I did take creative license on this one. Click HERE.

An SSO question. How many siblings do you have? Where do you fall in the birth order?
I have one sister. I'm the oldest least young.

"What trips/vacations do you have planned for the summer?"
I don't have anything planned, but I'd love to take the kids to the ocean. Maybe South Carolina or Georgia. We'll see, I guess. Anyone want to send my family someplace cool so I can blog about it? A tropical Beaches vacation? Mount Rushmore? The Grand Canyon? Pike's Peak? San Diego? Yep, I'm pretty sure we'll be vacationing in lovely downtown Chicago.

Here's an odd ball question. With 3 boys I figure you must be a bit experienced...any advice on socks that don't wear holes in 2 weeks flat? We are constantly throwing away my son's socks, thinking I should by stock in Hanes.
You shouldn't throw them away. Whatever happened to the fine art of darning? Or making sock puppets? Ooooo, hoo hoo, hee hee! That's a good one. I don't even have time to sew Brownie patches on Lexi's vest, let alone darn socks! I suggest duct-taping them like I do Jackson's hockey pants. It's much harder to rip through duct tape.

Here's a question: Is it wrong for you to dress your children in their worst clothes when you visit their grandparents in hopes that they buy some new ones?
Nope. In fact, you shouldn't feed them before going either in hopes of scoring a free dinner.

Which kid was it? [yogurt in backpack]
Oh, I'm sorry. I thought it was a given. It was Jackson.

What time do your kiddos go to bed on school nights? Do you make them stick to the same bedtime on weekends too? How about once school is out?
Since my kids have to share rooms, I try to stagger their bedtimes. The youngest three go to bed at 8:00, Jackson goes to bed at 9:00, and Austin and Savannah usually go to bed about 10:00. I sometimes let them stay up a little later on the weekends, but not much because I don't want them getting too off-schedule. During the summer, I let them stay up late-ish because I'm a night person and I'd rather have everyone sleep in in the morning.

Not related to this post, but how are the frogs Clay got for Christmas?
They were tasty. Kidding! Just kidding. They're still alive and kicking. You know, because they're frogs. They kick. And hop. Frogs, kicking. Umm, they're fine. I, however, am tired. Time for bed. Good night, Seattle!