Summer Road Trips

This past weekend I had the pleasure of driving three out of my four kids across town and I realized that even though they are growing up, they are just as bad in the car as when they were toddlers.  One was in the back seat trying to tell me a good story about school, one was interupting the entire time to get her two cents in from the other back seat and the one in the front (Jake) was changing the radio station ever two seconds trying to find a song then cranking up the volume once he did! 
I did have a little smile on my face though, thinking back on all the times my own mother used to yell at my sister and I telling us "I hope someday when you have kids they drive you as nuts as you two drive me!"
LOL, you win mom... paybacks!

http://www.zazzle.com/family_road_trip_cartoon_tshirt-235236250652483713?gl=SnakesMom&group=mens&lifestyle=classic&rf=238413649595441313

You know I had to race home and create a family cartoon to showcase these moments we all have seem to have had.  I hope this story brings back some good family car moments for you too!

ZigZag Zeal

My son Jake is a football player.

Youth football is crazy, you never know what you will see at these games. I have seen crazy dad’s who yell at their sons in front of the whole team, trying to re-live some crazy fantasy of their youth.  I am always shocked at the parents more then the kids, if you ever need a good lesson in good & very bad parenting go watch a youth football game.  Anyway, back to my football story...

I love sitting there in the stands watching Jake play even though I am a nervous wreck thinking about what injury is he going to get today the entire time. I love to watch Jake zigzag down the field with such determination and I smile when his teammates offer a hand to get up after a tough play. I love to hear his name over the loud speaker when he has a great play, especially love hearing other parents say “keep your eye on number 45, he is good.”

I loved watching Jake's twin sister on the sidelines cheering for the team, she was a great cheerleader. She was the “flyer”, you know the girl who gets thrown up in the air and relies on other young girls to catch her also known as the give-mom-a-heart-attack landings. She quit the cheer team last year but that’s okay, I love sitting in the stands with her where I know she is safe.

I love that my youngest daughter always looks for Jake on the field, is the first to run to him and hug him after the game and that even though he is a teenager he remembers to hug her back.

To make your own sport's mom shirt click here:

http://www.zazzle.com/personalized_football_mom_tshirt-235092320383545684?gl=Graphix_Vixon&group=womens&lifestyle=fashion&t_text1=JAKE%27S%20MOM&rf=238413649595441313

My favorite football memories of all though is when they have a really tough loss and my son Jake comes out of the locker room and walks back to the car with me slowly because he is so sore and tells me how he much fun he had. That alone is reason enough to love the game of football.

The Toybox Torture

When Jake and his twin sister were a little over a year old, she came up with a pretty good trick, she would begin the day by using a step stool and climbing into the tall toybox to perch herself on top of the pile of toys until lunchtime. She was smart enough to figure out that if she sat there on top of all the toys that she had all the power, she alone could decide what and if Jake played with for the entire day. She could also bark off orders to Jake to go and retrieve anything she might need that was not inside of the toybox, trust me she had the power that he would in fact scurry off to get anything she asked for.
I was always quite surprised that Jake put up with this kind of monarchy like he did but there really was no way that he would have had the patience or endurance to sit on top of that pile of toys for 2-3 hours at a time like she did and he knew it, he was way too much of a on-the-go kid.
They did talk and share toys the entire time she was in there, but there was the occasional hit to Jake’s head by a toy when he tried to take something out without following the proper procedures, such as begging and pleading for it first.
I think this was yet another way she had her own little way of telling Jake without words that she was in fact the queen of his castle, like he did not already know that!

http://www.zazzle.com/funny_little_girl_cartoon_speckcase-176592956236351536?gl=SnakesMom&rf=238413649595441313

Even at the age of one Jake knew that there can only be "one" and he was not likely to be the "one" anytime soon, unless of course she said he was the "one" for a very brief minute or two.

Stitches, Staples & Shiners!

Jake's Lifetime Injury List Excluding Scrapes & Bruises (everything mom can remember at least)
1. The very first shiner ~ black & blue eye compliments of twin sister smacking him with a building block before the age of one. He can always look back at the pictures of it and see where his troubles all began.
2. Stitches under chin ~ pushed by twin sister and fell into the coffee table, age 1.
3. Staples to the head ~ pushed on the stair steps by twin sister, age 5.
4. Dura bond (medical glue) to the forehead ~ rode bike into corner of the house while looking down watching his feet instead of the driveway, also age 5.
5. Dura bond again ~ ear lobe injury from messing with kitchen cabinets, age 6.
6. Staples on side of head ~ fell outside on back stairs of house, age 6.
7. Staples to back of head ~ rough housing with friend and hit edge of table, age 8.
8. Staples to side of head ~ playing with friends outside, age 9.
9. Sprained wrist ~ Football injury, age 10.
10. Stitches on two fingers ~ Shot by twin sister with BB Gun after letting her use it for the very first time, after a full year of him using it safely by himself, age 11.
11. Bruised ribs ~ Football injury, age 11.
12. Sprained thumb ~ Football injury, age 12.
13. Sprained ankle ~ Football injury, age 12.
14. Surgery to abdomen ~ to fix hernia Jake was probably born with, age 13
15. Bruised tailbone ~ Football injury, age 13
16. Stitches on two fingers ~ Just last week, after pulling a hunting knife out of a bag, after it had wiggled out of it’s case, age 14.

I am pleased to say however that Jake has a incredibly high pain tolerance and has always taken the medical procedures in stride and is usually more upset about the low number of stitches or staples he receives, I guess this lessons the bragging rights at school or something.  Once he even got a doctor to add one staple, after much begging!

http://www.zazzle.com/funny_doctor_cartoon_button-145269752468705774?gl=SnakesMom&rf=238413649595441313

As you can see by the size of this list, Jake is a very injury prone boy, which drives me (mom) crazy!!  I am constantly praying that my little boy has had enough injuries to last him a entire lifetime! Thanks to all the wonderful doctor’s who have used great skill to leave Jake with only a few noticeable scars that are all thankfully under his hair! 
Now, how many staples, stitches or shiners have you had in your lifetime?

Questioning Quandary

When Jake and his twin sister were finally able to talk and be questioned as to “who did this or that?” Jake always spoke first and admitted to things there was no way he could have ever even done. No matter if he was there or nowhere near the scene of the crime, he always said he did it. He never wanted to see his twin cry and would even cry too if she got punished for anything. This went on until they were about 8 or 9 years old, and now that they are teens, forget it, he would rat her out in a flat minute.
Thank goodness though he finally stopped this practice and let her get punished for things he did not do, it did however take a lot of talks about how she needed to learn to be responsible for her own actions.

http://www.zazzle.com/blame_me_mug-168769114697573295?gl=SnakesMom&rf=238413649595441313

The funny thing is… even when she was very little she would in fact say that she had done it (with a little naughty smirk on her face) even with Jake standing there trying to take the blame, this often led to a argument between the two of them over who really did it, which was quite comical actually for any parent to watch.

Priceless Peacemaker

Having three sisters means growing up around a lot of wars.
There are the standard wars over toys, the bitter feuds over the last popsicle in the house and of course the knock down drag out clothing wars.
Jake has seen his fair share of wars but it never gets any easier.
If the war draws sides in the sand though, forget it, he will always be on the side of his twin sister even if he knows she is wrong.
We like to call Jake the “peacemaker” because he hates to see his sisters mad at each other, he will often do or say something funny just to make them smile.
Jake is the type of kid who will go from bedroom to bedroom trying to make negotiations or stretch the truth in one sisters favor just to get the other to forgive her.

Jake is also a boy who keeps his mouth closed if it is a no win situation like the one in this cartoon, he knows when to say nothing when you have nothing good to say, just like his momma taught him.

http://www.zazzle.com/no_way_can_i_win_this_speckcase-176296725712094280?gl=SnakesMom&rf=238413649595441313

The funny thing is, this “peacemaker” attitude only applies to his sisters since he is a fan of war type video games and of course "peace" is never a option when it comes to playing Monopoly against his own mother, so apparently his peacemaking attitude does have it’s boundaries.

License, Louie & Love

LICENSE:
Since I have been sharing all these true childhood stories about Jake's life since birth, I do not think I have ever actually said how old Jake is right now, but you can probably guess his age when I tell you that this summer he will be taking drivers training.  Yes, Jake and his twin sister are almost 15 years old and that means they will be driving on their own by the end of next year!  I can only imagine the stories that milestone will bring.... which is why I created something to warn people next year.

http://www.zazzle.com/new_driver_cartoon_tshirt-235451436743450024?gl=SnakesMom&group=mens&lifestyle=fashion&rf=238413649595441313



LOUIE:

Louie is Jake's new puppy he rescued from the aminal shelter around Christmas time.  This "puppy" is already huge and I can only imagine how big this bullmastiff mix is going to get but he loves Jake and is a very loyal companion already.  This picture is of Louie when Jake got him, today he is already big enough to jump up and lick Jake's face and Jake is just taller then me at 5' 7".

LOVE:

There are no words to describe my love for my son Jake or his three sisters all I can do is hope they feel it in their hearts each and everyday.

Judge & Jury Jake

From the very moment Jake saw the movie Toy Story he was hooked, there was something about Buzz Lightyear that he just loved, probably all those gadgets.  Jake quickly grew a entire collection of Toy Story toys but he especially loved his first Buzz Lightyear which had "JAKE" on the bottom of the foot, thanks to me and my handy dandy black permanent marker.
Every night Jake would sleep with that Buzz and one Woody in his bed (now that he was finally sleeping in a actual bed), one night though in the middle of the night...
Jake came out into the living room where I was still awake and with tears running down his face, he stood there crying and mumbling the words "Woody pushed me out of bed" over and over again.
Needless to say, I could not get Jake to go back to sleep until I removed every last woody from his bedroom, he was convinced that Woody had not only pushed him out of bed but that Woody was the bad guy and would continue to pull tricks on him if he let even one of him stay in the room.

http://www.zazzle.com/bad_boy_cartoon_speckcase-176265266459609931?gl=SnakesMom&rf=238413649595441313

The next morning, Jake was still convinced that Woody had in fact pushed him out of bed and that day all of the Woody's were packed up in a box and put away for good, that is the power of being the judge and jury over who you let into your life and who you send packing.    

Identifying Independence

Attending parent teacher conferences when your child or children in this case (twins) are in 2nd grade is usually pretty standard stuff, you go over the basics (math, reading, etc.) and the teacher tells you how your child is progressing. This particular conference though took a very strange turn when the teacher said something quite unusual to me…
She said “Jake does not appear to know what to do, unless a girl is telling him what to do.”
Without a ounce of hesitation or thought I said the unthinkable “well, there is nothing wrong with that.”
She moved on quickly with the academics, with a small grin on her face.
On the drive home though thinking about the conversation is when it really hit me, was I raising the perfect male? Or a house full of take-charge women that will go out into the world and dominate? What can I do to change this situation?

　

http://www.zazzle.com/living_with_women_tshirt-235237834928513964?gl=SnakesMom&group=kids&lifestyle=classic&rf=238413649595441313

Later that night I called a family meeting at the kitchen table and asked Jake if he does in fact know what to do if a girl is not telling him what to do, he laughed loudly and said “Yes, but life is so much easier if I do just do what they say."  (lol, the perfect male!)

Humorous Hernia Help

Jake had a hernia a little over a year ago and had to have a minor surgery to repair the spot in his abdomen, according to the doctors this was caused by a weak spot in the abdominal wall that Jake was probably born with.  Anytime a parent hears the word "surgery" though it is sheer panic, you just want to get it over with and everything get back to normal, sometimes it gets back to normal a little too quickly...
After the outpatient surgery Jake was quite groggy and his little sister felt very bad for him, she sat next to his bed for hours reading to him, talking to him and bringing him things to make him feel more comfortable.  After a good night's sleep, Jake was back up moving around and ready to eat of course, he sat down at the kitchen table to have a bowl of cereal and little sis pulled up a chair.
Little sister said to him "I took such good care of you, I read you like thirty books, rubbed your hand and brought you drinks."  Jake (not even thinking about the result) responds "I don't remember any of that."
Being seven years old, little sister just saw red because of this, stood up, screamed "YOU BIG JERK" and stormed off to her room and slammed the door.

http://www.zazzle.com/i_am_sorry_cartoon_card-137275190151170548?gl=SnakesMom&rf=238413649595441313

Jake sat there for a minute and then remembered a good lesson learned much earlier in life from dealing with his two other sisters and that is to apologize, apologize, apologize!

Football Frenzy

Jake loves to play football and no matter what he is going to play. 
There have been seasons where he was a key player for the team, a season where he sat out a lot, a few seasons where his team won almost every game and a season where his team was lucky to even win one, through it all though Jake always played.
Jake has finished games even after being hurt in the first quarter and once played with a sprained wrist (hiding it from the coach of course), this boy is dedicated and all heart when it comes to the game.
He seems to leave it all out on the field because win or lose he just loves to play, I guess some people are just born with it.

 http://www.zazzle.com/football_sports_postal_stamp_postage-172836050798856794?gl=Graphix_Vixon&rf=238413649595441313



Explosively Exhausting Energy

When Jake and his twin sister were born it became quite clear that Jake had more then enough energy for the two of them.  He never quit moving, never, not even when he was sleeping, his liitle legs just kept moving as if he was even dreaming about doing adventurous things. 
One of the many fun gifts for Jake and his twin sister was a set of Graco Johnny Jumpers, which for those of you who do not know is a hanging seat that attaches to a interior doorframe and it allows babies to jump. 
One of the perks of having two doorways in the hallway that faced each other was the twins could play and jump in their Johnny Jumpers and watch each other. So we thought...
From the very moment Jake got into his, he was a jumping maniac, he jumped so high and so far he could almost even get his seat to reach across the hall to his twin sisters.  This kept her so entertained she forgot to ever even jump in hers!
Jake jumped for so long one day that his twin grew tired of watching and laughing that finally she just laid her head down on the tray (which had Cheerios on it) and when big sis got home from school and woke her up she had Cheerios stuck to her cheeks which made everyone have a good laugh.

http://www.zazzle.com/i_do_my_own_stunts_cartoon_mug-168953421489181277?gl=SnakesMom&rf=238413649595441313

Whether you are the jumper like Jake or you prefer to just stay safe and watch, life is always a leap worth taking .

Demanding Diva

Since the day Jake was born he has been bossed around by either his big sister or his twin sister so when he heard he was going to be a big brother at the age of five the very first thing out of his mouth was "I hope it's a boy" and the next was "Good! Someone for me to finally boss around."

It's a Girl!

Poor Jake took it all in stride and he did really love the idea of being a big brother, this was finally his big chance to be the boss of someone younger then him.
That is until little sister arrived and gave that undeniable look he had seen many, many times before, that look that told Jake right off the bat that she was going to be trouble with a capital "T".
He was right, little sis has bossed Jake from the time she found her voice to this day, even though she is much smaller and five years younger.
She used even sit in her room and scream his name and then start some sort of evil countdown of "Waiting, Waiting, Waiting" until he arrived. Talk about demanding, it was always "do this", "do that", "help me with this"...etc..
Day to dawn, morning to night, pitch black to daylight his little sister was always demanding something.

http://www.zazzle.com/just_call_me_princess_speckcase-176346878013527046?gl=SnakesMom&rf=238413649595441313

Jake understands now that the demanding divas in his life will always boss him no matter their age or even their size.

Addictively Amusing

When a boy gets his first bike it is a very big deal and Jake was no exception, he was so excited to get a big wheel bike he could hardly wait to get outside and ride it.  He rode that big wheel up and down the driveway for hours having fun, every once in awhile he would stop and pick up a little stone or just for the fun of the taking off again.  The day was going great for Jake, he was really enjoying his big wheel, that is until big sister got involved... 
Seeing Jake having all this fun, big sister decided to make things a little more interesting by telling Jake that his trip up the driveway would be so much more fun if only he would let her tie a jump rope to the front of his big wheel and pull him with her bike.  Hearing the words "more fun" is all Jake needed to hear and he was in on the plan, he even ran to get the jump rope when big sister suggested he could get it faster then her.
After big sister tied the rope real tight to both bikes she got on her bike, turned her head to look back and said "okay, here we go."
That ride down the driveway was so fast, Jake just grinned from ear to ear, he never even noticed when big sis had taken the turn at the end of the driveway and passed him going back the other way.  This is when the fun came to a screeching halt because when that jump rope pulled Jake's bike all the way around, Jake did not go the same way his big wheel did.  Jake ended up with two band aids on his knees, one on a elbow and a few tears streaming down his cheeks that afternoon, big sister was highly amused that she did not have one scratch on her pretty little legs.

http://www.zazzle.com/sometimes_you_have_to_cry_mug-168146180587716915?gl=SnakesMom&rf=238413649595441313

Jake learned that day that sometimes it is best to just be happy with what you have and maybe big sister's idea of "more fun" is not exactly more fun.

The Friendly Push Or Was It?

One relatively calm afternoon years ago,  I was making Jake's favorite meal at the time which was hamburgers and macaroni and cheese.  Once the meal was complete I called out to the kids playing upstairs that dinner was ready and to hurry it up before it got cold (they had a tendency for horsing around and making late arrivals to the dinner table).  The next thing I heard was a couple of loud thumps and then that dreaded scream that only comes after the typical hard fall but this was not a typical fall, I would soon find out.
After rushing out of the kitchen, past the living room and to the stairs the first thing I see is Jake bleeding, holding his head, I picked up Jake and the next thing I see is a little "shock and awe" look on his twin sisters face standing right on the middle of the stairsteps.
"What happened" I asked in a firm voice as I quickly ran with Jake in my ams to the downstairs bathroom to grab a towel and access the damage on his poor little head.
"I dunno.  He um... Well, I was um, helping him get to the table faster momma" Jake's twin sister replied.
Needless to say Jake had a pretty deep but small cut on his forehead that was surely going to require stitches.  Jake was just sitting there listening to this crazy story his twin sister was telling and with his big brown eyes looking at her (tears in her eyes and all for fear of the wrath of punishment for the crime), then looking at the floor mulling it over.  He proceeds to look up at me (with the huge brown eyes) and say "it was a friendly push mom, she didn't mean to do it."
Then he quickly hops off the counter holding the towel on his head says "let's eat before we go get stitches."

http://www.zazzle.com/naughty_sister_slinky_joke_tshirt-235619903045895510?gl=SnakesMom&group=womens&lifestyle=classic&rf=238413649595441313

You can only imagine what a uncomfortable dinner this was with Jake holding a towel on his head the whole time he ate and his twin sister looking down at her plate the entire meal. 
To this day I am still amazed by the idea that Jake was smart enough even at the age of five to figure out that if his sister would have gotten punished, she would have made his life even crazier and the better option was eating his favorite burgers and taking the stitches like a man.

"You Must Call Me Princess Or Else"

One day Jake was playing with his older sister and she made quite a few demands about how their time would be spent.  After almost an hour of meeting all her demands and even calling her "Princess", finally Jake said "I don't want to play anymore."
Jake's sister stood up, calmly shut the door shut and with a stearn voice said "You must call me princess or we are not playing together anymore!" 
Needless to say, I had to go open the door and rescue Jake!  After that day, he was always sure to ask "I don't have to call you princess... right?" before each and every time they played. :)

 http://www.zazzle.com/call_me_princess_or_else_speckcase-176817775225779388?gl=SnakesMom&rf=238413649595441313



An Introduction Into the Wild World of Crazy Kids Cartoon Art

Hello!! Come right in...
and welcome to my CraZy WoRld!!
I am the mother of four wild, crazy and almost always hilarious children, three daughters and one son named Jake which is where the "Snakesmom" came from. I often feel for Jake because he is surrounded by women and ones that are, let's just say "highly spirited".
Jake has a older sister, a twin siter and a little sister. Other then his first 31 FULL minutes of freedom, he has been dominated by his often naughty twin siter Amber. Though you would never know it by looking at them now...
Anyway, Jake and his sisters inspired me to go back to what I enjoyed doing long before any of them were born, which is art. The only difference is now I create art inspired by my memories of all the crazy things these four have done to each other while making their way through this crazy thing called "childhood" and now these designs can by customized to fit any other family with crazy kids and parents too!
The postings I will be adding are all TRUE (a little strange) and a whole LOT funny and will describe exactly why my little angels are more like little "crazies"!! :P
One of my most recent crazy kid designs on a cooking apron...

http://www.zazzle.com/angry_mom_cooking_cartoon_apron-154868648249295644?gl=SnakesMom&rf=238413649595441313

The above was inspired by me having one of those "special" moments in the kitchen with two of my children. :P I hope you get a good laugh!