And The Monkeys Are…….

Well so far you all know that I have 8 children but I didn’t really tell you to much about them so here it is………..

Marie is the oldest and she just turned 13.  She was a surprise child as I was on birth control (see I do know what it is) but it just didn’t work.  From the day she was born I knew she was destined to go places.  I was right.  By age 3 she was claiming that she was going to be a star.  Well fast forward 9 years and she is! (In my eyes at least).  She has been in several Plays and Musicals and just finished a 4 month run of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolored Deamcoat.  It amazes me how she can get up on the stage and sing and perform like she does in front of so many people.
She is gifted academically (no seriously I am not just a bragging mom -she tested gifted on her c-cats) and she is the only child I know who makes up math work because she just feels like it!
She is an activist and heavily involved in Free the children.  
She loves her siblings but hates when we are out in public and people stare.  She calls it “The circus parade.”
Her favourite saying is “Wow that is so epic!”

Joshua is 11 turning 12. He is amazing and the reason I don’t need a husband here all the time.  When he was 7 he was diagnosed with ADHD, by 9 he was diagnosed with Aspergers as well.  A few weeks ago we discovered that he most likely has  been experiencing early onset bipolar but we will be more sure of that over the next few years.
He is so smart and what I call tech savy.  Give him a computer and he can figure anything out. But it doesn’t end there – oh no my friends!  Last summer when I was pregnant with the twins we had to do some re-organizing in the bedrooms.  Joshua got some tools took apart bunk beds ON HIS OWN and put them back together in another room – ON HIS OWN.  
Despite the fact that he has to deal with so many issues on a daily basis he never fails to amaze me with his honesty, hard working attitude, and his commitment to our family.  He is my number one helper with the twins and I know he will accomplish anything he sets his mind to.

Sebastian is my tiny but mighty 9 year old. He loves soccer but loves hockey even more.  He walks around with mini sticks and I swear his jersey is permanently stuck to his body.  He has a social life that puts mine and yours to shame. He will be at a friends house, come home five hours later, be home less than fifteen minutes and back out to visit another friend.  At this point he is too young for a cell phone and that is a good thing because given the amount of time he spends on the phone I hate to see what the bill for that would be! He is a womanizer and he will be the one that goes on a date, comes home to change and goes out on another date with a different girl.  
I swore I would never be a hockey mom and given the fact that Sebastian isn’t a strong skater I was pretty sure I was off the hook – that is until he discovered ball hockey and now he is a Provincial Champion – Damn!

Arielle is almost 8 and a drama queen just like her older sister.  She hates the fact that she has so many brothers and felt really cheated when the twins arrived.  She tried dressing them up as girls a few times but finally realized they were much cuter as the boys they are. Arielle is a challenge to say the least, but she is so sweet at times that you quickly forget about that side of her:)
Arielle loves to sing and entertain and will actually be performing in a production with Marie and Sebastian at the end of the summer – I can’t wait to see all three up there on the stage!

Zachary is my 6 year old who like his older brother lives with the daily challenges and surprises that Aspergers brings.  I call him my sweet little elf and love seeing his smile when he wakes up in the morning.  He loves to spin and dance and is always making up his own video games.

Ryley is my almost 5 year old brute!  He is so strong and reminds me of Bam! Bam! on the Flintstones.  If he isn’t moving furniture around he is scaling the walls or climbing up the basketball net in the backyard.  He feels it is his given right to be allowed to walk out of the house and up the street to the neighbour’s house – ALONE.
He loves Batman and puzzles.

Thatcher and Tanner were my surprise but also my miracle babies.  They are almost 6 months and each day I realize how lucky I am to have them!  When I was pregnant I had the beginnings of twin to twin and then Tanner was IGUR.  We were actually told to be prepare ourselves for the possible demise of Tanner. Even though because of the shared placenta and the fact that he was getting more nutrients Thatcher actually helped Tanner out during the entire pregnancy by pushing blood back to Tanner.  They managed to hang on for 34 weeks before they had to make their dramatic entry.  Thatcher was 5lbs and Tanner 3lbs.  They spent 3 weeks in NICU and now they are the most amazing identical twins!

So there you have it in a nutshell – I’m sure my kiddies sound sweet right now but trust me they can be a handful too!  A house full of children is a loud and busy house indeed but I wouldn’t change it.  Well maybe for a few million dollars…..nah.

Until next time
Chantel, momof8crazymonkeys