Update

G checked a library book out for research for a dragon story line they are playing out with their toy dragons. We had a yard sale over the weekend, due to the impending move and while sorting for it, I threatened to get rid of the dragons if they continued to be ignored. After a few days, Keaton got out the box and came up with a story line for the dragons, played out like a movie that was far too complicated for Maddy and I to understand so we just went on about our business. Today G came home with a library book about Medusa, the two of the discussed information the whole way home. Minutes after we got here, they were off in their room, adding their new spin on the story line as they went. I'm a little proud he took the time to find a book about what they needed, or maybe the book found him. Either way they are pretty smart, those two.

On a toddler note... Thank goodness for Crayola color wonder markers. Where did she get that marker and how long has she been coloring Elmo's eye?!

Here she is later today, sorting her crayons into piles, then back into the bag, out of the bag, in the bag, on the floor, then back out of the back. I got the crayons out for her because Maddy was doing homework, Keaton was writing a creative story in his notebook, and G was off somewhere doing... something... I am not sure what. Anyway, she felt she had to do something too. So I got out crayons and a book for her to color in and she started sorting like mad. Oh, and I couldn't help. She growled at me when I put some in the bag while I thought she wasn't looking.

A Day in the Life

This morning I thought I'd pick up some extra bucks by babysitting Big Sis's kid. Little did I know, SOME people don't like you snatching up their babies and poking their eyes out with a Matchbox car. I was just trying to help out...

After I realized I wasn't getting anywhere with the baby sitting gig, I decided to try my hand helping Mom with her school work on the table. She looked so busy, I didn't think she'd notice. Then she did...

She said she likes me better on the ground, so I decided to do some shopping in the cabinets (there's this one that doesn't shut so I can still get in, even though they have those annoying hang up things on there). Hmm.... what looks like it would make the most noise dropping onto the tile floor?

I had a hypothesis that I could actually fit inside of the cabinet.... I still think there has to be a way.

Then Mom shut the cabinet.

Boy did that just set me off, I mean first with the babysitting, then sitting on the table is a "no-no", now I can't even do a little shopping!? Then I spotted my Pink Blanket on the dryer. You mean That Lady washed my blanket while I wasn't looking!!!! I bet she's got Captain Quackers rolling around in the dryer like he is some dish towel! Geez.

At least I got to take Pinkie to Wal-Mart. My favorite part of the day was helping Mom unpack groceries. I just love helping her out! You can't see it here, but I even tried to open the milk for her, she said we already had one opened in the fridge and not to worry about it.

Still testing that hypothesis out.

After dinner, I was playing with my "Cah" when I noticed it was looking a little dusty. I thought it would be helpful to take care of it myself, so I just slipped it into the dishwasher with my Elmo fork. As you can see, I tried to explain to That Lady that the cah would make it just fine and not to worry, but she threw out another "no-no" and I was shut down yet again. See how I respond next time she comes to me with a great idea.

To finish out the afternoon, I slayed Brother while Big Sister sat on him for me.

What's your talent?

It turns out I do have pseduo tumor, I've been taking the meds for about 5 days but am still seeing double.

G is totally turning my condition into a side show. Their neighbor friend was over the other day and this is how it went down,
G: Watch this!
G: Hey Brenda, take your bandana off (it helps me see better to only use one eye). Now, how many fingers am I holding up?
Me: 2 Gabriel.
G: See, she THOUGHT it was 2 but it was only 1!
Me: Can I put my bandana back on now, please?
llin
If he starts having extra change to get candy bars I'm going to say he's charging admission.

The Sweet Baby went and turned one on us. She's still the same sweet baby though, she didn't grow up over night. But boy is she teething, that kid has some toxic poo right now like you would not believe. And she just discovered Elmo is on her Pampers.
"OMG. Why didn't you tell me of this before, Woman!? Did you know ELMO is on these?! Has he been here, GASP, the whole time!?"
Then she refused to let me put that diaper on her because she was not done telling him about her day and giving him kisses. That girl loves some Elmo right now.

Life lesson #549:

 If you buy the baby a toy Elmo cell phone for her first birthday, be prepared to think, "Did I change my ring tone?" 45 times a day.

Another Summer Almost Gone

The days left in our summer are numbered, very numbered. And if I do say so myself, I am just about ready to go back to school. I've been a bit sickly lately, I had a lot of pain for a few weeks and then started seeing double. Ni-Ni came to the rescue and after some tests the doctors think I have a pseduo tumor, which is a tumor that isn't really a tumor. I should be back to normal after some medication but we haven't go the results back from a test yet, so double I still see. That makes it a little difficult for me to take the kids to do fun stuff so they are getting a little restless, as am I.

We did venture out ot the library today. G was thrilled when I stumbled upon the non-fiction part of the children's section. He came home with enough books about dinosaurs to do some "research" for his upcoming paleontology career. He was pretty excited and started spitting out terms and info that stumped the rest of us.

The Sweet Baby will be one whole year old Friday. I am really hopeing I will only see oing ne of her by then! She is growing so much! She is in love with Elmo this week. She kept Poppy, NiNi, and me up from 3 to 5 this morning cutting her 2nd set of eye teeth. Poppy walked her back and forth in front of the TV talking away to Elmo. She had a washcloth to chew on, and quickly found it this afternoon stuck in the couch cushions. So all night she has been blowing her nose on it. Don't worry, nothing usually comes out because her nose isn't that snotty, but it is still funny to watch her blow in the cloth every few minutes. Sometimes she even checks to see if something came out. She is also learning how to chase those brothers of her's around the sofa. She even tries to tickle them with "the claw" like I do to her.

That Shopping Trip

Yesterday while the boys were at VBS with a neighbor, Sweet Baby and I went to Target to snag some coupon deals. Only she was not feeling very sweet.

She has become That Baby in the store.

I keep a steady supply of animal crackers and juice for occasions like this, only this night we had issues... She started in earlier than usual, so I had to get the crackers out a mere 10 minutes into the trip, we were barely done with the $1 bins in the front. As you know it is back to school clothes shopping time, so I was browsing the clearance racks in the baby department when she uncovered my keys from the bag and started flinging them around my face and giggling. Real cute, and as I say "No, no, you'll lose those" she did something even better, something I hadn't even thought of until the event was flashing before my eyes... as soon as the words left my mouth, something small and shiny leapt from her tiny hands. I spent the next 10 minutes looking for the end of my rather expensive clickey key slider thing, without it and we would have been setting up camp in Target clothes racks. After that she was a wee upset I took the keys from her and in her emotional state, overturned the bowl of crackers.

Oh joy.

Animal crackers all over the floor. Can't eat them off of this carpet, even if we don't tell Poppy. Gross. We both looked down at the floor in disbelief and muttered, "uh oh."

That's okay, we still have the sippy cup of juice. Only we are new to sippy cups, you know the real sippy cups with the hard top that aren't at all like a bottle. So all the new clearance clothes ended up damp and smelling a wee bit like apples...

So an hour later, we are in way backed up check out lines but because Target is great someone was sent over to open up a lane and the manager sent the lady with the crying baby right to the new guy. Yay!

I pull out my reusable shopping bags, my coupon stack, my coupon binder, her "peek-a-boo in checkout lines" blankie (you laugh, but I bet you're jealous your mommy didn't think to have one), and settle in. The guy pulls out the bags and jokingly says, "Oh, you're That lady" (Meaning the one who doesn't want millions of plastic bags to suffer simply because I have an addiction to shopping, but I do believe he was just trying to make conversation and in no way MEANT what he said to sound like, well... American).

My reply was simple. "Yes, I am."

Then at the end, I hand him my coupon stack. "And I am That lady too, the one with the 2 coupons for almost everything in the cart lady."

By this time, the Sweet Baby had grown tired of the peek a boo blankie, we were out of crackers, and everything she had on was juiced. Not happy. "Oh, and I am THAT lady too, the one with the crying baby, cart full of stuff, reusable bags, and coupons. You're favorite!"

We both had a good chuckle. I did manage to have $59 in coupons though.

Commenting Woes

My apologies everyone, I had commenting set to people with blogger.com accounts only. The "anonymous" setting I have been claiming to know about is now back. Comment away (but be sure to leave your name in the comment so I know who you are)!

Today, Milk and Cookies. Tomorrow... College Applications, sigh.

Disclaimer: I am on my mom's computer which doesn't have a spell check tool bar... probably because she can spell.  Plus I am in a little bit of a rush, so please read this in the morning, before your coffee and ignore mistakes until I can edit the big ones.

Today the Sweet Baby is 11 months old. One more month and I will have a toddler on my hands, which is very bittersweet for me. This year has been filled with so many milestones for her, it is sad to think that soon she will be no longer a sweet baby. Aunt Jo Anne swears she said, "Stop" today while holding out her little hand. I didn't hear it but I did see her hold out her hand, and she very well could have said it.

Cousin Camp went to The Fun Factory today, which is like Jump Zone with a shark jumper. Lots of fun was had at the factory, almost no melt downs, and only one time out. G had fun taking Ben Ming around to the different jumpers, Skywalker and Makenna busy-ed themselves with races, and Sweet Baby had fun jumping in whatever we would let her. She would crawl so fast to try and keep up with the big kids, then get to the entrance of the jumper they were in and growl because she couldn't get her leg up high enough to get in.

I let her in one jumper with big brother Skywalker, who was more than happy to help her "dance" in what he called the dance house (since it had brightly colored circles on the floor). He gets into a lot of trouble for "helping" her when she doesn't need it, which has already lead to a situation involving the fire place bricks and her head, so he was very proud to be able to help his little sister in a time of need (and not get yelled at for it).

This afternoon we went to see Makenna's gymnastics practice, she is very good! And I had no idea, but she is on a competitive team and will be in meets later! The baby and I made a pit stop at Poppy and NiNi's house... she has been stuffed full of cookies and milkers and is now being held by Poppy, who is being led by her around the house using her power of grunts and kicks to the gut.

Camp Update

Quick overview of Cousin Camp so far...

It is 12:17 A.M. Tuesday morning, I am up late finishing up the last of the cousin camp t-shirts. I am covered in fabric glitter and still not sure that it is effective. I have one more coat of paint to do on 2 more t-shirts. This year we went with tie-dyed, stenciled shirts. Pretty cool even if I do have to say so myself, and I'll try to post a picture later.

There was tie dying, and swimming at Briarwood. Ben's 3rd birthday was Friday so we went bowling in in celebration of that. Then there was a night at Aunt Jo Anne's house followed by a family birthday party Saturday. Sunday we did the 4th celebration with fireworks and surprise paper lanterns from Uncle Danny (they were so awesome, "just like Tangled!" they said). Monday (today) we woke up a little cranky and in need of a nap shortly after breakfast, so after a 3 hour snooze while the big kids played, the babies and moms woke up. But the moms woke up with a headache, so we just went to McD's for some playtime then had some tasty yogurt. According to Skywalker, they had "about a million kinds of ice cream to chose from and all kinds of candy to put on it." I think they were very pleased. Our part of the cousins are back home for a night of rest, plus I needed to finish these shirts. The Sweet Baby needed a night in her own bed, she hasn't been sleeping well and the boys needed to rest too I think.

Tomorrow, back into the swing of things at Aunt Jo Anne's. I think we are going to a bouncer place. Fun times!

Let the games begin!

The 2nd Annual Cousin Camp has officially began! Wahhoo!

Aunt Jo Anne just got back from the beach (everyone stop and give her an evil eye for not inviting us, okay good) and called us up this morning to see if we were still doing cousin camp. Why, yes as a matter of fact, sounds like a good idea. We started off by making tie dyed t-shirts for all. Me being the over paranoid, spastic art teacher that I am completely covered my kitchen counter in trash bags and gave the kids all a "how to not get dye everywhere" lecture before we started (mind you, there is a 3 year old and a very spacey 8 year old involved here). My attention to overbearing details paid off though, I don't think we got dye anywhere but on the shirts. They are in trash bags on top of the washer now, I can't wait until tomorrow when I get to reveal! Now that I am thinking, I really shouldn't get too excited about a dye free counter until the shirts have been washed a couple times, huh. The kids were very excited to get to help with their shirts and I think it won't really matter to them if they turn out looking like tie dyed shirts that should have been riding the short bus to summer camp... but we shall see, we shall see.

After the shirts and some playtime, all the big kids went back to stay with Aunt Jo Anne at the fun house... that is how I think of her house. There's stairs, and a fun loving atmosphere, and a pool, and horses, and stairs, and a snack drawer. Her house is so fun.  My house is Aunt Brenda's house. It has a Wii, and a backyard, and a hallway, and well, you get the point.

This Sweet Baby is NOT happy to be left here alone. She sat in front of the door and cried for her brothers until I picked her up, she stopped of course, so I put her down in front of the pantry where I was digging around. She sat in front of that pantry and cried for her brothers until I fixed her a bottle. Sleep and formula seem to be the only things that can erase the pain from her memory. Poor, over dramatic soul. I'd like to go to Hobby Lobby for more Cousin Camp supplies, but the poor thing has tuckered herself out.

Tomorrow will be the pool, followed by other fun filled plans we will bring to you one blog at a time. If I ever find the time to blog this week. Please send the adults good thoughts and hope that I have enough caffeine to see us through. :)

She'll do anything for an animal cracker

The Sweet Baby is learning, slowly but surely, how to walk. Adam has been coaxing her with Animal Crackers-- he's tricky, that Daddy. She takes one from his hand, gets a nibble, then sways in mid air as she decides-- cracker or balance-- most of the time she sways long enough to get a few bites in then plops herself down. In the last few days though, her standing has gotten longer and longer, and more often.

Yesterday she walked 3 steps for one of the precious cookies, very quick and decisive steps too. Today she was holding onto the hallway wall, walking her way down to her bedroom where I was calling to her. When she got just far enough, she took one tiny step to me without clinging to the wall or to my hand. This afternoon she has taken 2 steps, and I don't even think there was a treat involved, LOL.

She's hard enough to keep track off crawling. These big kids are going to be in trouble when she is fully mobile!

Awwwl, Sweet Baby hearts her blankies.

Sweet Baby is under my feet (mothers everywhere gasp at the thought of a small child being under my feet, right?) chatting away with herself about whatever things are exciting to a 10 almost 11 month old girl. She is also toting a small blanket back and forth with her from underneath my feet at the table, to the chair on the other side of the table, to the front door, and back to my feet.

She has a new thing with blankets. She's always loved 2 blankets the best: her hot pink fleece blanket because it means nap time with Mommy and her blankie NiNi crocheted the edge around for her, it is very soft and made from bamboo fleece.

Here she uses the beloved pink blankie to entertain herself while avoiding nap time.

Now blankets can also be used as toys, to be drug around the house and flung at unsuspecting victims. One could also use them to help ease the pain of teething. I'm just waiting on her to chew a whole right through one. And now, she has learned she can comfort herself with them too. She takes the blankie, flings it out as far as her little hands can reach, positions herself up on her knees, and face-plants herself right in the middle of its softness. Sometimes, if you are lucky, you will hear the sweetest "awwwl" as she rubs her hands on the softness.

Because some days in the summer are just good for having a rest.

This weekend the boys went to stay the night at my sister's house (but not Sweet Baby, her mother is not ready for overnight trips at the current time). They had a blast as always, I think G would move in with them if all the grownups would go for it. This time though, something magically happened. Their cousin acutally stayed the night with us! She tried this last year and she was not ready for overnight trips at that current time but now she is good to go! This was her first time spending the night with anyone other than NiNi (my mom). We watched movies, played in the pool, and had pancakes with blueberries, strawberries and whipped cream for breakfast.

We also went bowling, cousin Ben and his momma met us at the alley. Everone had a blast! I think Ben is hooked, he was a natural! He used a handy dandy ramp to help him get the ball rolling. He'd give it a push, then watch very still has his ball rolled down, if he happened to knock over any pins he'd say, "BOOM-BA" and throw his little hands in the air. If he didn't get any pins, he'd srug his shoulders and turn around. G actually got a very high score for us, I think a 99- wow!

If Only Life Had Bumpers

We ventured out on our first summer bowling trip for the summer. I believe we went Monday... yes, that's right. Monday the pool is closed so we have to find other means to keep ourselves entertained. The first game we didn't use bumpers...

Score without bumpers

Then the owner came by, took pity upon us, and asked if I knew how to set up bumpers. "Why, do the scores look like we need them?" hahah, so...


Score with bumpers

 Skywalker got both of the only strikes scored, one with and one without bumpers. The Sweet Baby had fun watching as long as I kept the Animal Crackers coming.

Today the boys have been helping Adam move logs from a tree he cut down in the front yard. They say it was hard work that took them all afternoon and now they would like to just play. I agree, I'd like to just play too.

Baby Steps

Another day at the pool. The Sweet Baby is ready for a bottle and the boys are in the middle of a Star Wars marathon (I am sure just the first one of our summer).

The baby's favorite possession for the past few months is a pink baby brush, she'll settle for the white one but prefers the somewhat soft handle of the pink one. Usually she just shoves it on her mouth to chew, but tonight, she flicked her left wrist in the air, looked at the brush, and jammed it into the side of her head! She was brushing her own hair, awww big girl. :)

...So, about that bottle?

Finally Really Summer

It is officially summer now! Wahoo! So far summer for the kids has consisted of staying with NiNi and Poppy while I finished in-service days, hanging out with the cousins while I got the oil changed in the Mazda, and today we finally visited the pool. My sister and her kids came with us, and we all had a blast. The boys enjoyed having Makenna with them and had lots of fun. They didn't get worn out like the did before after a day at the pool, but the baby and I did! After we got home, they watched Jurassic Park for the 15 millionth time while the baby and I  took a nap in the living room. I think she slept for almost 3 hours!

She is saying "uh-ohhhhh" now, almost every time she drops something. She is still pointing to things she wants, in fact I let her try just a bit of cotton candy tonight, then I cleaned her up and was sitting with her while the boys finished their's. She raised herself up to standing in my lap and pointed her little demanding finger across the table to Skywalker as if she was saying, "Give me all your good stuff Brother, NOW". She loved the water today, loved, loved, loved it. And made many friends who loved her pink tutu swim suit.

I plan on taking the kids back to the pool tomorrow. Next week seems pretty busy already, so we may not get much of a chance to go. Monday the pool is closed, drats. Tuesday the boys have their first dentist appointment, double drats. Wednesday I have my last in-service day, drats again. Thursday Adam should be in, not a drats but may keep us from the pool anyway. I would also like to get them involved in the summer library program, so maybe we will check in on that tomorrow too. I hear a baby starting to stir, better finish this up.

And We're Back

This is the more detailed update for the cabin weekend...
We started out like any other Thursday. I had the car packed and ready to go as soon as were were done with school. Due to 2 accidents during the day, we were already down 2 changes of clothes for the boys.

We had to stay in town for The Diva's graduation so I helped get things set up after school then we had dinner at Sonic and that's where the trouble started. The stomach bug had been going around at preschool, and on our way out that afternoon someone had said, "I hope she doesn't get this, it is pretty bad stuff." Oh but we did. Adam was the first victim of The Sweet Baby and her wrath. I was on my way back from helping The Diva change for her graduation ceremony when he brought me a soaking wet baby with stomach bug germs all over her. (Set #3 of change of clothes). We made it to the ceremony where the kids did a mean rendition of Eric Carle's popular Brown Bear, Brown Bear. Not a dry eye in the house as their dear, sweet teacher read a poem to her first set of little darlings to move on to big school. We were so proud to watch as The Diva accepted her certificate in her cap and gown, and man was she excited. Then The Carrier picked her next victim. I was on my way out of the door with her and her bag and the camera bag. I glanced over my shoulder to see if any big kids were following me and there is was, the cough all mothers know will be followed by a large amount of barf. I froze. I don't believe I've ever been covered in so much barf in public, and at such a fast rate. Luckily, one of the teachers saw me and guided me into the bathroom where she prompted me to put the baby over the sink because she wasn't done yet. (Set #4 and #5 of change of clothes). After a brief state of panic on my part and some discussion about staying or going, we were off to the cabins.

Did you know that all back roads to Hot Springs are curvy? Very Curvy. And did you know that The Diva gets car sick? Very Car sick. And I bet you didn't know that as a graduation treat, she got candy. Lots of candy (Set #6 and we had barely left the zip code yet, with 4 days still untouched on the trip). As we finally got out of the car my greeting was, "Nice to see you, but do. Not. Hug. Anyone." And that was Thursday night.

Friday we woke up in a good mood. There was fishing, boating, and swimming. Adam caught some fish so the boys could see them close up. They fished with Papa too, which G had been talking about since I had tried to convince him I was NOT the on that should take him fishing. I just am not. Granny Mary took all the big kids swimming later that day. It looked like so much fun, I had to take the baby. She had a blast in her little pink tutu suit, or bathing soup as we call it here. After I took her out of the lake, she was pointing at the water every time we passed it. She is apparently a water baby. Then Friday night, The Carrier picked her next victim. Ad felt the wrath most of the night, and although I did not feel like death, I too was impacted by the plague.

Saturday everyone else woke up feeling ready to go, except for the baby, Adam, and myself. It didn't take long though until Granny Mary was down. Then Papa. They were dropping like flies! Before long, that Sweet Baby had taken out 2 cabins worth of adults! Skywalker got a little sick Saturday, but G and The Diva are still untouched. Such a small, innocent looking baby. Squishy even. Dang can she take some grown men out. They thought they were dying.

By Sunday, everyone was beginning to feel normal, but we were tired and most of us were out of sets of clothes. So we packed up and went home. While I was getting everything packed, the Sweet Baby finally went to Granny Mary without crying for me. "Finally! That's the baby in the pictures," they all said. Yep, she's a pretty cool kid when she doesn't feel like she is dying. And Charlie thought she was cute sick, imagine if she had felt good the whole time.

All and all, we had a blast. Hard for even me to believe, but true. The kids loved spending time with their family and enjoyed every minute of the lake. The dinosaur dig kits Granny Mary brought were a big hit, they are still trying to find all the missing pieces of their fossils. They painted sun catchers too, and those turned out beautifully. I must remember to buy some hangers for those. And Uncle Charlie insisted that the boys had to watch Jurassic Park. In fact, Adam was scolded for not sharing this little cinema gem with them at this point in their short lives. Good Ole Uncle Charlie made sure they came home with a copy, plus the next 2 in the trilogy. I do believe they have watched each one at least 2 or 3 times each this week alone. Good call Charlie, good call.

Today I finally blew up the kiddie pool I bought upon our return home. I just couldn't wait to get in the water again. They had a blast in about 2 feet of water. You would have thought I had dug them an Olympic size pool the way they splashed and played. The baby walked 3 times around the rim of the pool, holding onto the side and splashing all the way around. She came in demanding a bottle and pink blankie. She's asleep on the couch with NiNi right now.

But the havoc was so wide spread for such a small carrier...

It has been brought to my attention lately that I should blog more often. I couldn't agree more! I won't try to catch you up in one afternoon, so I'll just fill you in on what is going on right this moment.

We're home from school early today due to 1:00 days at the end of the school year and a sickly baby. The boys have one more day of school left and then they are off for the summer. The Diva had graduation last week and is super excited about going to see her mom for the summer.

We had a camping trip over the weekend to a nearby lake, complete with cabins and fishing! There was a lot of fun, but also a lot of stomach bug thanks to "The Carrier", as she was lovingly nicknamed after taking down 2 cabins worth of extended family. Oh man was it rough. And a 1/2 week later I thought we could be in the clear, turns out not. We came home early today with a sick baby all over again. I'm not feeling so well myself so I thought I'd munch on some Saltines, but The Sweet Baby just yanked one right out of my mouth. She is happily chewing away at it right now.

She's into pointing to what she wants right now. Yesterday morning she pointed to the playground when I got her out of the car at preschool. She pointed to bananas at the store. As a matter of fact, she just pointed to the other half Saltine sitting on the table. Poor thing.

I'll give you more on the camping trip another afternoon, don't worry.

Peek-a-Boo!

I really hate it when my favorite blogger gets into a rythym of writing every day or at least 3 times a week, let's say. I'm addicted to reading so I check back everyday. One day without an update can be excused, they are human after all. They do have a life worth blogging about, let them live it! But 2 days without an update and I'm a little erked. A week without any word, and I might boycott!

Thanks for coming back. We've been busy.

The Sweet Baby never slows down. She is able to call me "Mamama" and Adam "Adah". She calls for me while she's a preschool, so I've been told. She is playing with the big kids and laughing at what they do, like running down the hallway. She thinks that trick is just too much. She loves Ritz crackers and watermelon and carrot juice. She still doesn't have any teeth but threatens to grow some any minute now.

Track and Field was this week for the boys. G got one 1st place in Magic Circle and two 3rd places. Skywalker got two 1sts, a 2nd and a 3rd. They both had a good time, but were disappointed their dad wasn't there to take them to lunch and see them. I did get to see some events between classes, and what I didn't see, a friend took pictures of.

The Diva is living up to her name! She is going full force with personality but that's why we love her. She is loving that the baby has a little more personality and can play more now. She's getting so smart, knows almost all of her letter sounds now and is trying to sound out small words. She is doing very well at preschool and always gets stars for helping out.

We have 15 more days of school this year, not that we're counting down or anything.

5 going on 25

Sweet Baby is crawling all over the place now. Nothing is safe! As I type she is attempting, with much grunting, to pull herself up using the corner of the sofa and the edge of the recliner I am sitting in. She's peeking her little eyes up at me as if she is checking to see if she has been caught already. Her mobility was exciting for the big kids at first. They really are so proud, however, they have realized it means cleaning up their stuff or wiping off slobber if they missed something. Now it that makes it a lot of work! But they still encourage her and brag to other people, "Hey, her crawlin' now."

We had a picnic outside today but first we went by McD's and picked up some Happy Meals. The kids enjoyed sitting outside on a blanket together. They got a kick out of the baby feeding herself and making a HUGE mess of it. Then they ran around the yard after they were done. The neighbor's grandson came over to play,  who, by the way, happens to be Maddy's boyfran.

Yes, that is right folks, and it has been sealed with a ring and everything! He brought it over Friday afternoon while Maddy was taking a nap (she didn't have one at preschool and was feeling a bit on the Dark Side of things) so he asked me to give it to her and tell her, "You know, hey."

When I passed along his message and token of admiration, her reply was, "Why him not get me one like yours?" (Referring to my engagement and wedding rings) I said those cost a lot of money and are for grown ups when they really love each other. "Oh, when him big he'll get me one. Like yours." She said, holding her plastic, shiny blue fish ring out to admire the way it caught the kitchen light.

This afternoon he got a little bit in trouble with his momma because they kissed, according to them on the cheek, according to the big brothers, on the lips. The jury is still out on that one, but I'm pretty sure the big brothers were purely disgusted either way.

And Sweet Baby still hasn't made it to a standing position but she is quite upset that I took away that flip flop she stumbled over.

and She's Mobile!

Long time no post. Sorry. I suppose we've been a little busy lately!

Skywalker has been sickly, I think with seasonal allergies. G was sick last week, same thing. I was giving him Benedryl until he started referring to it as "the pink stuff that makes me sleep realllll goood" and I thought I should stop giving it to him least he develop a habit. The Sweet Baby has her 2nd ear infection and has been feeling pretty crummy. In spite of that, she's learned to crawl!

Last week she started trying, but couldn't take a stride. She'd just get on her knees and then stale out and fall on her belly, which really made her mad. This past Saturday, she started taking strides of about 3 or 4 at a time. She went after plastic Easter eggs that were in the living room floor first, then anytime I left her in the floor while I went to do something, she would cry and try to crawl after me. But she'd usually just get distracted by something in the floor after a few minutes. Today though, man she is going full force! I had her in the floor early, Maddy was playing with something that involved paper and before we knew it, it was in the baby's mouth. After that, she's been after what ever she wants... as long as it is about half a room away.

At the moment, she's just finished her nighttime bottle and she is curled up in my lap as I type.

28 Minutes and Counting

The Sweet Baby has gotten better at sleeping in her bed but tonight was a new record! Usually we're talking 30 minutes to an hour of patting on the bum, swaying back and forth, snack giving, music playing, mantra saying, weary eyed momma. And then sometimes we just give up and she ends up back in the bed with me. I have suspected she hasn't been getting enough milk for a while now, and after talking to a friend at work I decided to cross the line and go buy formula tonight. Yes, it is true. I gave her a bit of cereal, a bath, and she was ready. 2 ounces later, she was putty in my hands, 1 after that and she was sleep eating, with 1 once left in the 5 ouncer and she was out. She did cry when I plopped her into the crib but nothing a few pats of the bum couldn't solve. Now, the real test. Will she make it past 11:30?

I'll report back soon.

The boys both have big tests tomorrow. Although it seems to me 1st grade is having a party with the excuse of a test. Skywalker gets to bring a healthy snack and a board game. Huh? Where's the party hat and Pin the Tail on the Donkey? Sounds like a good time to me! Just kidding, it is for break times he says, because they'll be working so hard all the other times.

And from The Diva herself... today's word of advice when someone at school calls you a "boogerhead", your response should be, "Don't care," followed by a smack that sounds as if you have a giant watermelon seed stuck in your teeth. Works every time, she says.

One Proud Momma

6:10 P.M. - Experiment with me here, we shall see how long it takes me to post an average blog while finishing dinner and playing referee.

We had conferences last night and I was very pleased with the boys' reports. They both got great grades and great behavior reports. Skywalker has improved his behavior a LOT this nine weeks and I am very proud of him (although I just asked what color he was on and it was green). Dang. Talking and he doesn't even remember about what. You can bet if I was going to get in trouble for talking, I would make it good enough to remember the same afternoon. G just has problems turning in tests. Apparently it is a little like an Easter egg hunt to find his completed tests. We're working on that. The Diva got a good report from her speech therapist too. Overall, I'm one proud momma.

Sweet Baby did not like my being gone so late last night and we are paying for that today with one clingy child. Right now she is eating sweet peas for the first time, real ones not mushed up. And by eating I mean she is experimenting with how it goes when she smushes them into her seat. So far, she is pleased with the results. Oh, one just made it into the mouth, yum yums.

6:24 P.M. - 14 minutes, not bad if I do say so myself. I only had to stop to referee Wii players.

Blue = Jedi

We were all just hanging out in the living room, waiting on the shower rotation to be completed. G had a small light wand which changes colors, and man was he giving us a show. The Sweet Baby followed every move he made, watching the glow change hues as he sliced the air. At one point even clapping her hands and squealing with delight. Then he decided to get educational, "Look, this is red. Sith.*"

"That's right G, teach her the important stuff," his dad said, proudly.

*For those who aren't Star Wars privy, Sith is the dark side and uses red light sabers mostly. Luke Skywalker, for example, would never be caught with a red light saber.

Spring Break Friday

Today we've stuck around the house. The kids helped Adam change the oil in the truck...

Doesn't he look fabulous?

I cleaned up around the house a bit. Vera Lynn sported a new do...


That's what 15 minutes and determination looks like.

And then we attempted some spring pictures outside. Of course it was chilly and cloudy and the kids all were in the mood to injure each other. We still managed to get everyone in approved attire, faces some what clean, hair brushed and fixed, jewelry in place, headband secure. I had hopes that one photo would be perfect. The first picture snapped before any of them realized what was going on seemed alright, I thought. During the whole photo shoot I was clinging to that one picture as a fall back. Then I upload them and I get this...


Eyes Wide Shut

Currently the big kids are all at the Home Depot with their dad. He went for a new element for the stove and apparently is buying a new kitchen sink. He just called for measurements. Sweet Baby is napping. She went into her crib without even a whimper this time!!

Sweet Baby Sleeps



Sweet Baby Sleeps.

So I haven't been so good about making the baby sleep in her own crib. It is easier just to feed her and let her go back to sleep next to me. But she's getting older so we've started practicing in the crib. This is night 2 of independent sleep. It takes about 10 minutes of fighting and crying but then she settles right down to sleep. Now when she wakes up at 1:00 A.M. she's right back in the big bed, but it is the effort that counts!

Zoo Adventures

Today we graced the zoo with our presence. It was The Diva's first time as well as Sweet Baby's. All and all, it was a very good trip, usually we go in the summer or for field trips and it is so HOT but today was a nice spring day. I put suntan lotion on all of the kids but neglected Adam and I and now we're feeling it. I have the weirdest shoulder strap bag sun burn.

The Diva's favorite part was the giraffe and I have to say, I may agree with her. One was right up next to the fence so we got up close and personal.

G's favorite part was the new penguin exhibit, which was pretty cool just because it is new this spring. You can see them go underwater through a window but they weren't interested in that today. Here's a shot of them standing proudly, surveying the crowd.

Skywalker's favorite part of the zoo adventure was in the reptile house, specifically the Gila monsters. After some consultation I have found out for you that Gila monsters are big lizards. Okay, Adam just informed me that most of you will know what Gila monsters are, show of hands? Alas, I have no pictures of these. They  were in the reptile house. It is dark. And I wasn't impressed. Sorry folks.

Sweet Baby's favorite part was... the gift shop. Because that was the only part she didn't sleep through. She was the perfect baby and snoozed the whole way, didn't even fuss when she didn't get her meals on schedule.



3 little monkeys



And I leave you with a final picture of lorikeets. Just because.

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Spring Break 2011

Today the boys took a boys' day to go hiking at Peit Jean Mountain. They had a blast going with their dad. There will be pictures coming soon, but I fear I will not have enough time to upload them before the natives get restless. They seem to have enjoyed getting to go all the way down to the falls. After they were done there they went to the P-ville playground to play for a while. G seems to have enjoyed that the most (he even got to see his teacher hanging out there with her kids). The Diva and Sweet Baby went to preschool to see their friends while the boys went hiking. I had to go get an oil change on the Mazda 5, and a haircut for  myself-- don't worry kids, you didn't miss any fun.

At the moment they are all outside playing knights, a storyline they have developed from one of the video games Adam has been playing. Sweet Baby is sitting next to me in her highchair, wondering what I'm going to feed her next.

From the Mouths of 5 Year Olds

After watching cartoons all morning, The Diva was in the mood for something a little heavier, a movie perhaps.

"Can we watch Star Whores?" she asked.

"Daddy's going to have to go to a special store for that movie."

"I wanna go with you!"

I think we'll work on the "w" sound sometime soon...

Campfire fun, minus the camping (thank goodness)

Today the big kids spent the first day of their spring break with their daddy. They went to run some errands and came back home to help him around the house. They tuned up the truck, cleaned it out, and then spent the afternoon preparing for the big event-- a campfire!

We just came in from outside, the kids had a great time. A fine dining experience was had by all, hot dogs and s'mores, yum yum. G and The Diva entertained us with a "S'mores Dance" in honor of our tasty snack. Even the Sweet Baby joined us outside, although she slept through all the fun.

She did not have a good night last night and in turn, did not have a good day. I am pretty sure she has my allergies, lovely, which lead to a sinus infection and possible ear infection. But that's just my opinion as the mother, I'm no doctor. If she isn't better by Monday, we'll get a professional opinion to back me up.

Busy, Busy

I haven't had the chance to post much this week. We've been rather busy, fussy, or tired this week and sometimes a combination of all three!

Spring break is upon us and the kids couldn't be more excited! The Diva has asked every day all week, "How many school days?"
"Oh, so then we stay home 9 days?"
I know she likes school but she loves those stay home days. Oh, she got to see goats today at school. They were still there when I came to pick her up, right there on the playground running around. There were 2 babies, so cute and fluffy. Her favorite was the brown baby goat because he was so cute. The Sweet Baby missed the goats, she left early with her daddy. Poor thing was sickly and doing her "mahmahmahmahmah" cry. She still doesn't feel well, coughing a lot and not wanting to eat much.

Activities on the "want to" agenda for spring break: camping (which to these kids means Adam starting a fire in the backyard and having marshmallows), a park or two, cleaning up, scrap booking, and maybe some art making for the kids. I'd also like to go to the zoo but that might wait for another weekend. Taking some outside spring pictures of the kids would be nice too. As we were leaving school Skywalker told me spring break was the "perfect time for me to get stuff cleaned up around the house." Well okay, I'll put that on my list.

At the moment, they are watching Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief with their daddy. Yeah spring break!!!

And it is only Monday

Sweet Baby is experiencing many firsts lately... first steps while holding onto someone's hands (last night she walked all the way down the hallway holding her daddy's hands, panting her "I'm so excited" pant), first wave (this afternoon she waved bye to her brother when he left the room for a shower), and tonight her first fit over not getting what she wanted!

I wanted to go to Target for nothing in particular, just to go. I picked up some clothes for all of the kids, bath toys for the Sweet Baby, and a tutu swimsuit because that is just too cute. So I walk past a display of stuffed animals that dance and sing when you push their hand. One push and she was sold, she stared at that thing like it was her new best friend. I let her listen one more time just because I'm a good mom like that then put it down to move on. Oh the screams. Oh the glares. Oh the kicks and squirms. You would have thought I had taken away her banana! So like any good first time mom, I picked it back up and took it with us for a few isles. i shamefully pushed the hand while looking at scrap booking supplies, toothpaste, pj's, and then again while browsing bath toys. I distracted her with bibs, balls, spinners, and tutus. Only the pacifier clip's ribbon could stop this fit, and even then it was touch and go. She held on until the car, but when we were buckled in, she let loose. And continued to do so until we hit the driveway. It must not have been too bad though, not a tear was on her face. The little stink.

Oh, she's getting better at crawling too, she can now drag herself a pretty far distance if there is something she wants badly enough. Just doesn't get the whole getting up on her knee thing yet.

Fun Times Carnival

Saturday we went to a parking lot carnival, all the kids had a blast. It was a first for Maddy and she really enjoyed it. We got the kids all bracelets so they could ride as many as they wanted. G started out on the Sizzler but the other two were too short so they went to other rides. A favorite with all of the kids was the slide, super high and just greased that morning.

 



Confident Brothers,
ready to take on the world



Adam and I wanted G to ride this ride that went upside down, he wasn't all about it but agreed once Skywalker acted excited about it. During the first round on his head, G was screaming, "I'm done!! I'm really done now!!!", and giving the guy in charge of the ride death glares when they came around for another round. Skywalker had a good enough time but did admit he didn't want to go again. From that they went straight to the swings (I thought G needed a slower pace) but during that ride he seemed to get a little dizzy. LOL. He took a break for a few rides after that. It was Puff the Magic Dragon that finally did him in; after so many circles his equilibrium just couldn't take it anymore and as the ride slowed he barfed all over himself. He went with me to Kmart for new clothes while Adam stayed with the other kids. After that, the only thing G was interested in was the slide and cotton candy. Poor kid.

Sweet Baby is going to be walking before she can crawl. She has been practicing steps all weekend, as long as you hold onto her little hands while she's going she is happy. And that's about all that will make her happy now, she is pretty fussy unless she is hanging onto the side of something or walking with you. Currently she is sitting in front of me wailing because I won't let her hang off the side of her pac and play while I type.

Girl Stuff

The girls and I took a short shopping trip this afternoon. I have to admit it was fun just taking them and looking for "pretties". We went to a consignment sale, mainly to look at their handmade bows and tutus. The Diva and I looked at every rack in hers and Sweet Baby's size, some racks more than once. She was very good at spotting pretty dresses for both sizes, mostly dresses with no occasion (or at least fancier ones than we have a purpose for). She came out with one pink dress and a Disney princess night gown for the baby and a denim cropped jacket and sequin skirt for her. THEN I saw a zebra print tutu for her and a deal was made. We put the sequin skirt up in exchange for a brand new tutu. Upon our return home, fresh pictures were taken to celebrate such a find!

Before we left on this shopping trip, Sweet Baby got a package in the mail. We love packages here! A brand new hot pink, silk petticoat was waiting for her. We had to put it right on. In her opinion, it was cute enough to eat- so she did. Ruffles taste yummy in the afternoon. She would take the edge of it and flip it around in the air, then wave it to her face and cram it in her mouth, cooing the whole time. Yum, yum.

The boys stayed at home with their dad during all of this "girl stuff" and talked about boy things that girls won't like "because they don't like cool stuff."

It is bedtime here at the ranch. The Diva is brushing her teeth, G is picking out clothes for tomorrow and supposedly picking up what he got out (sounds more like playing to me), and Skywalker is attempting to write another chapter in his journal (although I highly doubt anyone will leave him alone long enough to get the word "Chapter" written).
Now The Diva is pretending her legs are broken, one of her favorite pretends. She takes two swords and pretends those are crutches, then when she is asked to do something she can't because her legs are broken! Sounds like a good plan to me! All the kids seemed to have a pretty good day today, just ordinary school stuff.
Sweet Baby is pulling up on my leg to get a better view of my shoes. She also just said, "Blah, blah, blah," no joke. LOL
Adam will be home in about one hour!

A Notice to Her Public

Me: "G. are you getting in trouble at school for not paying attention to your teachers?"
G: "Uh, I don't know."
Me: "If you don't know if you're in trouble that means you aren't paying attention."
G: "Huh?"

Sweet Baby pulled herself up in her crib at school today! Her teacher texted me a picture of her during my 5th grade class, when I first saw it I didn't even realize what she was doing. Then it dawned on me, "Hey, no one is holding her up!!" We came straight home and tried it here, but her crib is a little different. She still pulled up but not as well as she did at school. Hope showed me a video she took on her phone, it is so great to have teachers at her school who really care and get just as excited and proud as I do. So great to get messages while I'm at work and watch videos when I pick her up. I hate missing her day, but I also know I would be a different person if I didn't work. I wouldn't be able to get my job back after taking off for years and then wouldn't get to be with her when she is in school later. I would miss being able to be there for the boys as they grow up in the school I teach. It is so great to work with the boys' teachers and be able to be involved in what is going on at their school.

She seems to be at a growing point, not physically but mentally. I can see her responding to more of what is around her, interacting with her brothers and sister, starting to wave and laugh more. She is sitting up a lot better now, I think she might have been crawling backward earlier today. She seems so alert, and always has, but I think she is learning a lot at 7 months old. This week, she has really wanted to just play. She loves to sit on her blanket surrounded by her toys and chew on them, wave them in the air, and talk to them. I'm glad Adam will be home soon to see it for himself.

Oh, the wave. She's been working on it at school for weeks now, but this morning while she was eating her apple sauce she waved. Both kinds of wave no less. First, she took her hand and looked at it, concentrating-- open. close. open. close-- looking at it the whole time she moved it, little eyes squinted slightly, mouth pulled tight. She took a few more bites of apple sauce then waved her hand in the air, smiling proudly as if she was addressing her public. Since the older kiddos had not gotten up yet, her public at that time was me and the toys she had thrown onto the kitchen floor from her highchair thrown, but she addressed us, none the less.

Spring  break is coming up and Adam has not two but THREE weeks off! I'm sure this will provide us with many memories to blog about!

On a Roll

Three days and three blogs, yahoo! I finally figured out that it was the blog domain that was keeping it from being visible, no sense writing the thing if I can't read it. Now we're on track with that but it seems I have a little helper beside me who needs to know every button I am clicking and what it does...

After our naps yesterday, Sweet Baby was up at 4:00 A.M. ready to go. I don't mind being greeted so early if she coos and laughs at me. So I pulled her close to me, gave her back her pink bear lovey and smiled as she batted my closed eyes with her sweet little hands.

On the ride home, during a moment of shared insanity, Dudley and I decided we should videotape the madness around us to entertain our coworkers. The Diva was in the back declaring every song in the afternoon line up as "THIS my sawng!!!" then proceeding to talk the whole way through it after asking for it be turned up. The Sweet Baby had just choked herself with her own pacifier. This was only a minor set back for her mood though. She let out when terrifying cry, followed by what we call, "The Silent Cry" which consists of holding her mouth open in the most pitiful, silent way followed by a full on sob. After that, there was a minute of complete whining then cooing as she had found her plastic hanging fruit again and all was right with the world. But all of that was followed by a play be play from none other than Skywalker in the back seat. The whole time I think G was just concerned about dinosaurs as fossils.

The Napping House

Sunday afternoons usually find us way more active than this.

Earlier I curled up on the couch to feed The Sweet Baby, we ended up drifting off. Between my eye lids, I saw Big Brother sulk into the living room after what no doubt was an argument he had lost in the bedroom.
"If you're going to be in here, you're going to have to sleep." I said, still half asleep myself.
So he shrugged his shoulders and curled up onto the other couch.
We woke up two hours later. I was amazed the other two didn't kill each other while I was sleeping.

Then the same thing just happened, only I had taken the baby to the back to change a diaper and ended up curling up in bed this time. I awoke to find the two brothers playing Star Wars Legos on the Wii and Maddy, you guessed it, curled up in a chair fast asleep. She had apparently been there the whole time I was asleep because I had not been awakened by a fight.

So Here We Go!

I'm not totally sure about this blogging thing but I'm willing to take it on. My husband suggested I start a journal to imprint the goings on of these kiddos of ours. There's something new going on around here almost everyday. The journal sounded like a great idea to me, but every time I pick up my favorite flower pen to write, Vera Lynn bats at the pretty white petals on the end until I end up wrestling her for it, she has black ink on her face and don't get anything written. So a blog is born!

But now I remember that every time I sit down at the lap top, Vera Lynn tries to eat the USB cords. Ah well, a mom can try.

This will serve as a place for me to chronicle milestones, phases, and hum drum that is our every day life. It will be a place for The Four to look back one day at what their experiences were, a place that will allow them to KNOW what their father and I did to screw them up permanently- no guessing like those kids without their own blogs!

So for the moment... Sweet Baby is in the floor right under my feet on a blanket, surrounded by her toys and whining because she can't be in my lap. The big kids are all watching Dinosaur (picked by G). Not a lot going on tonight but we did spend the day at my best friend's house after a 36c*a/9+* zoo trip canceled due to weather. There was a trampoline involved, plus Nerf guns and stairs so they are pretty tired and easy going. Come back tomorrow when the animals have had more rest.

*shortly before hitting "PUBLISH POST" Sweet Baby won her way into my lap and quickly tried to eat the keyboard, she added her own 2 cents to my first post too.