Traci's Testimonials

I am about to send my oldest daughter half a world away. Just the thought fills me with equal amounts of excitement and terror. This girl has always been very independent. As soon as she learned to talk she's been adamant about doing things for herself. We affectionately called her "Buggy" from birth which is what she assumed was her name and so, in order to assert her little 2 year-old independence, she would constantly run around shouting, "Buggy do!!" From pouring her own "mornin' soup" (cereal) to putting on her own "baby soup" to go in the "swimmin' cool" she insisted that, "Buggy-do!" So, now, when any of the kids decides to assert their perceived self-sufficiency Hubby and I look at each other, smile and say, "Another case of the Buggy-Do's." While her autonomy was encouraging to her pregnant mother it was also a wee bit scary since she has always been...well, easily distracted. Like the tim...

I didn't want another dog. My husband and I have had dogs ever since we were married, many, many dogs. Our first was a black Lab named Ani. Hubby had equal amounts of love and hate for her. She was clumsy and dumb and annoying and completely lovable. She died the same day as my oldest was born. Mid-contraction we received a phone call informing us that Ani was hit by the school bus. It was devastating. Usually bringing a baby home for the first time makes your house seem fuller, ours did not. As happy as we were, there was something glaringly missing. Mix the loss of a pet with post-pregnancy hormones....let's just say my husband is a kind, kind man. While pregnant with my second born, my uncle asked us to take in his American Staffordshire Terrier (a member of the "pit bull" family). We were apprehensive to take Malibu in because of the stereotype. He turned out to be a 65 pound slobbering, stinky, wimpy, completely lovable pup...with separation anxiety. When we ...

Buddy #2's surgery was finally scheduled. He went in trepidaciously but willing nonetheless. I knew he was nervous because the child never shut up! As we pulled in the parking lot, I muttered a quick prayer for each nurse who would encounter my little chatterbox. We entered the registration area and the nurse asked the routine questons. I had the routine answers prepared but my little guy had answers of his own! "Any allergies?" She asked. He said without hesitation, "Yep! Ranch dressing." "None known," I mouthed from behind him shaking my head. "Father's name?" She continued unruffled. "You should know him! He just had knee surgery TWICE!" He spouted. While we waited for the paperwork to print out she asked for his right arm to attach the bracelet, he offered his left. Then we were sent to the next area to sit and wait. I had just managed to busy him with a book to calm his mind when my cell phone rang. My eldest ...

My whole life I have listen to my mother say, "I never wanted boys! I'm so glad I had girls." She grew up with 5 brothers and has seen first-hand what little boys are capable of. She knew (due to her severe lack of a sense of humour) that she would never be able to handle boys of her own. Honestly, the roughhousing my dad participated in with his girls was even too much for her. I remember one trip to Disney World. We were getting a little restless after the daily 8 hour drives to Florida so after checking into a Days Inn somewhere between Ohio and Tennessee a wrestling match broke out, just for fun. Mom sat on one of the double beds and transitioned rapidly between uttering silent prayers not to get kicked out and yelling, "John! You're going to hurt one of them and then I have to listen to them crying, Knock it off!!!!" The match was terminated when I got wedged between the second double bed and the wall and Dad had to pry me out. There was none of the cry...

When Hubby and I got married we discussed, as most people do, the children we would like to have. At first we decided we would have two boys five years apart. Yes, we were actually dumb enough to believe that we might have some control over the gender of these hypothetical children. Our plans were nullified when our first was born a beautiful, wonderful, everything we didn't know we wanted girl. But after a dreadful pregnancy and terrible labour and delivery we changed our minds about having two and decided one was enough. Yes, we were actually dumb enough to believe we had some control over this without surgical intervention. Five kids in five years later........... We have always stressed to our children the importance of, well, each other. We have taught them they are each other's first best friends. We have encouraged them to be kind, sweet, and gentle. Apologize and forgive. I assure you there's more apologizing and forgiving going on than kindess, sweetness, and gen...

Before I had the Buddies I was slightly intrigued by the stories I would hear about secret languages and shared phenomena but never paid any real attention. After I had the Buddies I was constantly questioned about secret languages and shared phenomena but still never paid any real attention.  Until the first day I decided to take them outside by myself. They were just about 16 months old and the weather was beautiful. I got the idea that they needed fresh air in our unfenced yard. I carried them to the lawn and set them down. They felt the grass on their toes, looked at each other, I swear they grinned, then immediately took off in separate directions. That evening when Hubby got home from work I went to Walmart and officially became the mother of "leash kids". I feel no shame. Now, I can't say it was any sort of "telepathy"...more like "turdepathy". But the one thing I know for sure for sure was that the were inseparable.  They still are. They have l...

One thing I have always been able to do is see the humour in almost every situation. Not necessarily right away but eventually the hilarity dawns on me. Today, I even chuckle at the time Hubby and I found poo on the living room ceiling. I wasn't really laughing then but I do now. Every day there is something to laugh about; small, simple, crazy things to laugh about. It makes me feel better. God said it would.   A merry heart doeth good like a medicine.... Proverbs 17:22a  When I was a child I was the same. I always found something to laugh about. Especially when I was bored. When I was bored my creativity flourished. Like the time I was riding in the backseat of my mother's car on a long drive. We had stopped at a fast food place for milkshakes and Mom was listening to elevator music on the radio as usual. I attached the straws to the arms of my glasses and told Mom I was picking up HBO. If we had gotten into an accident that day it would have totally been my fault. She...

Why is it that what doctors do is called a "practice" but the same luxury is not afforded to parents? Most logical people understand that some ailments arise that particular doctor doesn't have experience with so consultations are made, research is done, and trials (and many times errors) happen. We trust our physicians to do their best for us. It's in the hypocratic oath! But for some reason we don't allow the same leeway to parents. There are bad parents out there, no question! But many are just trying to establish their "practice".  I cannot begin to number the times I have heard clicking tongues and expasperated sighs directed at people with children by parenting critics. The mall is a fantastic place to observe the observers. Attacks can range from dirty looks to tongue-in-cheek comments to overt insults hurled at surprised and usually frazzled parents. And quite often such is done with little to no context.  One might say, "I can't believe...

I have known for a long while that my youngest son has suffered from enlarged adenoids. In 7 years I have never seen him breathe with his mouth closed and he could beat his father in a snoring contest hands down (not an easy task, I assure you). I was putting off making an ENT appointment because he doesn't have the strongest constitution. To put it mildly, he FREAKS OUT.  One time he was walking through the kitchen holding a steak knife blade out. I reprimanded him telling him he should be more careful because he could've "accidentally stabbed me." The look that passed over his face was utter panic. I could see that his little brain was visualizing his beloved mother bloody, writhing in pain, and ultimately perishing  all because of his negligence. He covered his ears, looked at the floor, shook his head as if to banish the thought. He begged me never to speak of such awful things ever again. He learned to hold a knife correctly and I learned to be extraordinarily ca...