Love Those Words

After two and a half years of no words, I love all the things Trey is saying now. Well, almost all the things he is saying. He told me to go get the camera and take his picture with Rosy. Well, actually he said, "Mama, picture, Rosy." But I understood.

Snapshot of an Afternoon

Okay, so maybe Micah is feeling a little needy since the baby came. He and Trey are vying for time in the Ergo, especially late afternoon. Trey was still sleeping so Micah got the ride. It took him 14 months to get "cuddly" so I'll take it.
Cora's turn with the baby. Are they yawning? Or is Cora teaching Rosy all her tricks....
Cora is so sweet.
Oh dear!
The girls are on laundry duty. Yup. Laundry is folded on the kitchen table in people piles.
Erik is making biscuits. He likes to cook once in awhile.
These are the ingredients for biscuit beef bake. One of Bob's favorites and pretty easy.
Kloey has recently conquered the frying of the meat. Yeah! She likes to do it.
Pretty good for a nine year old.
Nice job guys.
I love it when they make dinner.

Nappy Time for Sanity's Sake

I am afraid to admit this and jinx myself. All three littles have napped for a couple of hours every afternoon for the past few days. After nap time, it is like starting a new day. Sometimes we do school, sometimes I take a nap (like today) and sometimes I get time to myself. I try not to do laundry, dishes, and cleaning. Everyone needs time to rest.

Here is where Rosy rests in the afternoon.

Here is Micah.
Whoops! You caught me taking your picture. Guess you're not asleep anymore.
Trey, on the other hand, is still fast asleep. Time to wake up.

Sleep is good.

Missed a day

I took a day off from the laundry. Here is what happens. Today, the pile was twice as high because everyone had to clean their room before they could go to a birthday party.

Trust dusty machines. I have had a motor replaced. I asked how long these things last. Repair man says about 7 years and how old is the machine. Well, not that old but I think it has done 7 years worth of work anyway.

Apron Antics

Time to get dressed. Off go the jammies. On go the.... Home Depot aprons. Get the camera.

Let's go to the beach

Last Sunday, Bob suggested that we go to the beach. I thought it might be too cold. I am glad I was wrong. What a beautiful day. The kids love the beach. Something about wide open spaces just allows everyone to relax, especially important with some of our sensory sensitive kids. My camera was at a photo shoot in Concord so I had to rely on the old point and shoot. Wow, I am so spoiled. Then the batteries died. Oh well. We will just have to go again soon.
I love this little boy!
Kloey got ahold of the camera. This is what she takes pictures of.

This was also our first foray out of town altogether in the "Big Mac". It was a revelation to me about traveling together when, after our two mile walk down the beach and back, it took 25 minutes to get everyone loaded back into the car. Diapers, bathroom runs, change pants, sandy shoes, baby equipment, juice box, crackers, another diaper, no you cannot sit there. Okay, let's go home. Stop at grocery store and buy a big bag of M&M's as a surprise. It worked. I got a "good mom" award that day.

Indulgence

I indulge. Often. If it can't be chocolate or nacho chips, then it has to be popcorn. And just to prove the sheer decadence of my indulgence, here is the proof.
This is how much butter I use. Yes, an artery clogging amount. All for me. It must be in liquid form. One minute takes care of it quite nicely.
Pour in a swirly fashion. Watch out, the bowl is hot.
A little salt. Very little. Not every time.
I cannot resist this.
Bliss. It was sheer bliss.

I Littered

In the span of seven days......

1) 10 out of the 11 people in our family threw up (mostly within a 72 hour period). Let's just say we will not be having guacamole, chicken noodle soup, or red lasagne anytime soon.

2) We received a new baby into our home for however long she needs us.

3) Check engine lights are on in 2 of 4 cars.

4) I littered.

Here is the proof exactly two weeks later. We found the spot and the evidence was still there. See for yourself.





We were on our way home from bowling. Cora said she didn't feel very well. I said okay, come sit in the front seat. Here is a grocery bag. Oh shoot, it has a hole in it. Well, let me tie it up so at least we have something. Oh dear, there she goes. Most of it goes in the bag. I pull the van over and shove her head out the door. Most of it gets outside..... I throw the bag into the snowbank. I use baby wipes to clean Cora up. I throw the baby wipes into the snowbank. I silently ask for forgiveness and speed away, leaving the unsightly mess in the snowbank. I could not possibly take the chance of upsetting the constitutions of the other 5 passengers in the already queasy car.

So two weeks later, we scanned the side of the road for the evidence. Shoot, we found it. I rolled down the window to take a picture and they all groaned and said it smelled like puke. That's imagination for you. Two weeks and 5 inches of rain later along with a windstorm that knocked out power to 300,000 people. But they could still smell the smell. I think we did not need to relive that.

And then......I drove away again.

Everything Ends Up in the Kitchen Sink

Bath time. The kitchen sink is as good a place as any for a 14 pounder. She is a butterball but much cuter than a turkey. She doesn't seem to mind the water.




There really is nothing like the smell of a clean baby!

Time Out Versus Power Struggle

Warning! Pictures of miserably sad child. No one was harmed in the making of this blog post.
Remember that practice time-out? Guess what? Practice makes perfect. Micah is having a little trouble with a certain behavior that is requiring a little intervention. A recent incident landed him in a time out until he could say "sorry" to his brother. This simple technique turned into an unfortunate power struggle because this little guy is standing up on the inside!
The silver lining is that I realized there is full comprehension of the sin and the consequence. Poor little guy. Sometimes learning the hard way is no fun. After the making of this blog post, there were lots of hugs and kisses and one mumbled "sorry" by a semi-contrite little man.