4days

4 days without D.

So I think I recently told my favorite aunt that I hate summer.
Not totally true.
Yes she is my favorite, no I dont hate it, it just makes me feel itchy.

Regret:Missing D.'s Skype calls. Again.

T: feels better already. Hooray. Watched Z. play outside but sat it out himself for a few hours. After lunch he was roarin' to play. Said the Island style music I was playing for him on the ipod was making him sad. Ukuleles?
He is smiling but still needed to sit with a throw up bucket and a warm blanket over his sweats, in 80 degree weather.
Just cant stand being inside.
Gets it from his dad.



S: thinks its fair to attack a sleeping sibling. Discovered goggles today.
Hee hee.
I wish she would find an object to be obsessed about that she could put on her self.
Yesterdays headband for example.



Z: just cant leave the bugs alone. We have a few. New pet snail and attempted dragonfly. Bug net wasn't long enough, she added several feet by taping the broom to it. Loves duct tape, still.
Thanks a bunch to her cousin for all the cute clothes.
She is so spoiled.
My floor is so messy though.
She seems to think the toyroom is a great place to create outfits(including accessories) and then leave them there on display.
Forever.
Mom almost caught a Dragonfly but by the time the jumping broom net arrived the bugs were more cautious.
I'm sure she'll try again tomorrow.





N: ended school today. Came home loaded with treasure won at auction. Had earned so many "tickets" all year he was winning things to give away. Just like him to think of others besides himself.
Can't you just see how excited he was?
He was literally jumping around and talking ahundredmilesan hour!
N. lucked out on clothes this summer again too, my moms neighbor with 2 boys.
We are just too blessed.
This one is his favorite.
He already offered it to me, the sweetie.
Kitty-face here is the only type of feline we can talk daddy into for a few years.
Does this kind of excited face make you miss the last days of elementary school?
It does to me.


I am planning on a long tub soak tonight, while icing my eye. It turns out mowing the lawn is more dangerous than I remembered. A few years ago a stray piece of gravel shot out of the mower and cracked some house siding. This time it got me on the cheekbone. Im the one who needs the goggles, not the baby.

3 days without D.

We had an awesome thunder storm last night that threatened to knock out the power a few times.
The kids are slowly warming up to the idea of thunder and lightening as a wonder instead of a threat.
It was a great start to a great day.
D. and I both love storms.
I have several vivid memories of watching lightning together as engaged people and as spouses.
I think the lightning seared it into my memory.

Regret today: not showering after weeding. The rain made the soil so easy to work in, I had to do it. S. just doesn't think moms need showers. She has never been a sweaty mom before apparently.
Notice the huge piles of weeds.
Gardens really are worth it.
I look like my mom in those stylin' gloves.

N : danced awesomely today around one of two MayPoles at his school. He's got some talent I tell ya, it must have been all these years walking around on tip toes. The girl handholding thing was definitely not his choice but in a class of 25 kids and only 5 are boys you don't get much choice( unless the choice is which girl).
Tomorrow is his last day of school.
He is typing out a story about a Good Knight.
I could use a Good Night.

Z : chose the absolute worst time ever to get a sliver. Another bandaid here we come. She was going about her own business quietly stalking bugs(we now have a pet centipede and dragonfly). It was a quiet day up to that point but suddenly even without her "maaahwwwm!" There was chaos....
The dragonfly.
Now she is looking for one in every color.
yes I know its crooked but an hour later its the only way I can figure out how to upload it!
The look is a classic Z.

Which leads us to T: never eats much unless its Daddys lunch so when he picked at lunch, mom figured his before lunch treat filled him up. After the park he wanted to be carried which also sometimes happens but just usually when Daddys strong arms are around. A few minutes later everything changed( and not for the better like wanting a big meal or walking on his own legs). One of the 3 friends over(is this a daycare? )used the term Vomit. Not my favorite of words. Around here we say puke or throw up. They just don't have the ferocity of that V word.
On the couch before it was unfit to sit on

In the tub, resting.
Those eyes just melt my heart!


S: has found a new favorite thingie. Its a headband but she loves it on her neck. It reminds me of a dog collar. One more reason to not get a puppy, we already have one(or several depending on the day).
The recycle can provides easy access to her reading needs.
Mom prefers board books at her age, less newsprint fingers.


See.
We all lived.
Day 3 "Check".
Lets all just hope I dont run out of towels and bedding before the night is over and all will be well.

2 Days without Donny

2 Days without D.

First day was lovely. Good kids. Good weather. Good times.
No picts, getting as much accomplished as I could while Chica was playing so well.

Regret: Not sleeping enough.

Second day was longer but nearly as lovely.

T: slept with gum most of the night. The rest of the time it was tangling itself in his blankie. Thanks to Z for providing grape bubalicious(smells just like D.'s fav. koolaid). Thanks to Gma M. for providing "easy to pick off gum" fleece.

Z:fell right into summer vacation. T. was kind enough to get her another bandaid. Love the phenomena of "owie naming". Takes longer to listen to 3 kids tell where and when injuries happen than the actual events took.

N:danced with Hanna Montana on stage. Okay the principal sort of lost a reading bet or something and had to dress up. Wish I had seen it(N. dancing, not Mr. G.) Visited a museum on campus(horray for free, close fieldtrips) and saw "those pots they put mummies guts in". Dissappointed that there wasnt one marked for "brain". Obviously thats the most important part.

S:played, smiling most of the day. What a change. The only part of the day that was nearly as lovely as day1 was the proud, loud, screech only S. can make. Standing up in the highchair looking at mom with a smile while doing it added just the right emphasis.

Here are the picts of the day

No one ever told me that when you have kids they actually double or sometimes triple in number.
i.e. I have 4 Darlings.
There are 6 in this picture(there is a small baby in the background drooling on toys).
Too bad N. was at school or there would be even more.
Whats the dealie-o?





Finally warm enough in the Arctic(a.k.a. Logan) for some dangerous fun times on the tramp. According to my pediatrician, dont tell her about the hose!














We planted giant sunflowers along the house.
T. wanted to keep on digging.
N. wanted to water everything(including mud).
Z. wanted to do it all herself.




Isnt she just dwarfish or elvish or something supernatural?!





Our 3 blondies.
Z. showing how bandaids are necessary.
Its quite convincing.


Sloppy Jones!!! The kids were so excited to have daddy eating somewhere out of the house so they could eat "Sloppy Jones".
How exactly am I getting everything done on my own with such ease , well I just stick the small one in the sink with the dishes to wash.
Dishes done and dinner made and a free babysitter!


S. wonders why she hasnt tasted this great easy onion filled dinner before.
Mom wonders why its so hard to remember a bib on the baby.
Daddy would have certainly remembered. (We miss you!!!xoxoxo)

Celebrate good times

Two march birthdays means party time at grandmas and then more party time at home. S. thinks grandmas dishwasher is some kind of fun amusement park ride. Mom just needs five minutes to finish loading, is she allowed? No.

S. then moved on to the cereal cupboard and eventually to the cupboard of poisonous death where she got a tongue full of Ajax before mom noticed. All dish doing stopped at that moment and grandma had to take over. Poor grandma, it's all she does when we visit.

N. celebrated at home after grandmas house again with his friends. Half of them couldn't make it, more Booty for the Pirates that could. Note: If you ever have a treasure hunt and dont want hundreds of muddy footprints on your carpet make sure all of your outdoor clues are found together instead of having kids run in and out!
Inflatable swords sounded less painful, damage causing and more likely to need chucking in the trash sooner. All the better for mom.

Z.'s party was also pirate themed but she may not have even noticed.She was just so very excited to have all of her friends over. Mom was surprised to find girls can be much louder than boys.

Her favorite gift ever was the plastic decorateable fingernails! She has fun scratching T. and modeling with them of course.

Lovin Cousins

Andrea and 6mo.old S. sitting by Shayla and S.. We have to bring the pink plugs to grandmas house when we visit so that we dont confuse them with "Soapys".

S. has decided that sitting on her cousin looks very fun.Cousin S. isn't used to rough housing as much as S. but is still a good sport about it. We hope that they can keep getting along as they get older and that Cousin S. puts up with S.'s hugs and kisses for a little longer.

I thought You were watching her.

Although not very tempting to us, a trash can looks like a fantastic place to score a snack if you are 10 months old.

S. just really wanted a cupcake. I didn't realize she wanted one bad enough she was watching the wrappers go into the trash, planning her big move when I stepped downstairs for a second.


She just isn't used to mom yelling out in surprise otherwise her look would still be "ohhh, this is good!" instead of the "what' s all the noise for mom?". Food is food to her, no matter where she gets it.

Once there was a snowman

It feels like all we do around here is look at snow, why not make it more interesting. The kids decided to decorate their snowmen for fun. We did get a few laughs from passers-by and the laundry I neglected while helping did eventually get done. L. is a great place if you like winter, we still do somehow.