Our Cast of Characters

Just wanted to get us started. This blog is going to be about the insane goings on of The Six Pack. They range in age from 14 mos. up to 14 y/o... 3 boys, 3 girls. They are a lively, creative, clever, brilliant, loving... and exhausting, chaotic, insane, mixed up bunch. We love them all the time -- but especially when they're sleeping ;)

The Cast includes...

Gregory, age 14, HS freshman and member of the concert band where he plays oboe and marching band where he is a member of the pit. He is an honors student who always makes honor roll, more often than not high honor roll, and loves learning and academics really just seem to come easy for him. He's a great kid really, even for a teenager. He's still at that point in life where he is a joy to be around and he's becoming a lot more fun for Mom and Dad as he can have adult conversations with us, watch TV with us, and is getting to that point where he's forming his own idea's and opinions and we love to hear them. I'm thinking that once puberty hits him full force things may change but I'm liking this teenage thing so far.

Emi Rose, she likes it when we just call her Emi now that she's older but she'll always be my Emi Rose. She's 12 going on 20 and *is* in full swing of puberty. She's on that great roller coaster of mood swings and wanting to be Mommy's little girl and wanting to be her own woman and hasn't quite found a balance between the two yet. She is a moody little thing and one moment it will seem like she has swallowed the sun she's so happy and glowing and then 5 minutes later you would think she was a minion of Satan as she scowls and growls at people in her way. Isn't puberty FUN? She's a good student but it doesn't come as easy for her, she works for it and earns A's and B's and we're super proud of her because we know she makes the effort required when it's not as easy for her as some of her sibs. She's our "artsy" child and we LOVE that about her! She's been taking drawing classes for years and seems to have found her niche early in life. If it were up to her she would move into the art studio in town and just live there (sans all those pesky brothers and sisters and chores!). She's really a wonderful kid and in all honesty our most helpful and cooperative child... ummmmmm... for the most part. She's the first one there asking what she can do when Dad or I say we need some help and that has not gone unnoticed or unappreciated.

Next in the line-up is our Tessa, age 10, fifth grader. Tessa is without a doubt a total Mommy's girl and will still take the opportunity to sit on Mom's lap or cuddle up on the couch or snuggle in SOME way any chance she can get (when there isn't a baby in Mom's lap already). Like Gregory academics come easy for her and she earns excellent marks without putting in much of an effort... it's just a gift I guess. Like ALL our children actually Tessa is an excellent reader who reads well above her grade level and I often find her curled up on the couch reading a book that one of her older sibs has just finished because she is NOT one to be left out... EVER. Tessa is probably our most "well rounded" child. She is unique and loves being herself but still has a ton of friends, she does well in school but it's not the end-all and be-all for her. She loves playing and having fun BUT she's equally happy with a good book in her hands that she can dive into and get lost in. She's also, by far, our most stubborn and head strong child. The battle lines in this house seem to be drawn right around Tessa... between her and Patch mostly but Gregory gets his fair share too. It's a struggle but we're figuring out how to walk this tightrope with her.

Patch is our funny 6 y/o guy who is in first grade and has been our first experience with a "typical" little boy. Gregory was always so laid back and sedate and quiet... not so Patch. Patch has more energy than any child should be permitted to have and has two speeds... stop and RUN! I noticed a very interesting thing about a year ago about my two oldest sons. Since Gregory was very little he has been a pacer. When he's thinking about something, when something is on his mind, when he's worried, when he's trying to figure out what to do next... he paces. He walks around the house, pacing, and thinking. Patch, I noticed... is a pacer too... but at running speed. He races around this house like his pants are on fire and does the same thing Gregory does, only at 5 times the speed! He never stops... running, talking, playing, laughing. He is a character and a half and he is a joy. Completely and utterly exhausting, but a joy... doesn't hurt that he's gorgeous too :)

After Patch we have our sweet little Ben who is 3½ y/o. Ben has special needs (SN) and has had many health issues since he was born. It's a big mixed bag of little quirks and issues, I'll try to hit upon the bigger ones. Let's see, Ben has what is being called a "peri-natal brain injury of unspecified origin." In other words he has a brain injury, has since birth, and nobody knows why and we'll most likely never really know for sure why. Some Dr.'s say oxygen deprivation either just prior to birth, during birth, or just after birth (nice that we get so many answers eh?). Other Dr.'s say that Ben suffered from Lyme disease in utero because I developed Lyme while pregnant unbeknownst to me. Others say it's neither and "just one of those things." The brain injury when you come down to it, and excuse the medical jargon, is a "lack of myelination of the white matter of the central occipital." That helps a lot doesn't it? So there ya have. Because of his brain injury Ben is significantly delayed developmentally in all area's - physically, cognitively, verbally. He also has central nervous system (CNS) issues that have resulted in him having a ptosis (droopy eyelid) and apnea when he's sleeping. As a tiny little guy he used to have tremors due to CSN "irritation" but out grew those at somewhere around 6 mos. old. He had surgery for eye issues and has had his strabismus (crossed eyes) and nystagmus (shaking of the eyes) corrected when he was 9 months old. He's also had two other surgeries in his short life, typical one every fall. I think this is going to be our first fall since Ben was born with NO surgeries!!! Pretty exciting stuff. Ben also has hypotonia, global developmental delays (GDD), severe pronation (which he just got leg braces for) and other little things here and there. Enough medical stuff. Ben the BOY is a wonderful loving kid. Really the most loving child I have ever known. He loves his Mom and Dad, his sibs, his grandparents, and loves meeting new people even though he's shy at first. He gives out hugs and kisses to all the people in his life and is a precious boy. He's also headstrong and difficult and has a one track mind and is difficult to dissuade once he has decided something. It's been a long difficult journey with him in all honesty BUT I wouldn't have it any other way. We adore that little fella.

Kit is the baby of the family. She's now 14 months old and, much like her older sibs, is headstrong and stubborn. She started walking at 11 mos. old and there's been no stopping her. She is a whirlwind - she climbs, she runs, she gets into absolutely anything and everything, she wants NO part of being a baby and is dead set on doing things herself and for herself. She wants to eat table food AT the table... and of course she must feed herself, none of this silly baby stuff of being fed by a parent. She must mess with her clothes and TRY to put them on first before eventually acquiescing and allowing someone else to help her. She is just full of piss and vinegar.. and God help me while it drives me absolutely batty sometimes I also secretly LOVE that about her. She is SO strong and SO smart and SO independent, it makes things hard sometimes but God bless her I think it's awesome (well, except at night when we want her to sleep and she doesn't want to!). She has come into our lives and made me whole again, and that cannot be overlooked. The best thing I think is that when Kit came into our lives it's like we ALL learned to laugh again. We had to look beyond Ben and his issues and medical problems and we were reminded that life is good and there is SO much in this world to laugh at and find joy in. Kit is the light in all our lives.

So there ya have it. That's our merry band of cast members here at the 6-pack home. I hope you will get to know them much better over time by checking back in to see what the latest news is. Maybe I'll even let the older kids post a blog of their own now and then!

In Peace.