Looong Underwear

Conversation today with un-named child:

Mom: Are you wearing underwear?

Child: No, these are called long underwear, so I don't need the others.

Too many pillows and a messy kitchen.

Dave was sick with a terrible cold last week.

Now every time Dave coughs Caleb now asks his daddy, "Do you need to spit?"

Also, Dave uses a couple extra pillows to sleep at night.

Seriously? Is there ANY way this could be comfortable?

This morning I asked Lydia what kind of bagel she would like and she promptly starting pointing and saying "eeny, meeny, miny, moe......"

She even included the second verse, "my mother told me to pick the very best one...."

It is warm here today - like sweatshirt warm.

After breakfast and morning chores, we went to the dairy to get milk and visit the baby cows.

Liam found the youngest one (3 days old!). She was so soft - yes, I even touched it.

He said he was going to come home and write it's number in his notebook to help him remember which one was his favorite.

A couple nights ago I acquired black Converse sneakers for $1.50.

I brought them home gave them a nice soak and scrub.

Today I feel like a cute mama in my 'new' sneaks.

I also went to Granny's - a local Amish-run store.

A police officer came in and asked if anyone had dialed 911 and hung up.

The girls didn't know anything about it and the officer asked to look around just to be sure things were alright. I joked about them making prank calls and all I got in return were blank stares. I'll blame the language barrier. Later the matriarch of the family came in and said she was dialing. 9...1.... then the button got stuck ....1... PANIC! So, she hung up.

I bet that sly gal knows what pranking is.

Before naps, I overheard Caleb saying "cross my heart" to Liam.

At lunch I made the TASTIEST green smoothie.

I even shared.

4 out of 4 kids LOVED it.

If my face fit in there I would lick it.

Now, my kitchen looks like this:

It's almost like a game of I SPY.....

Can you find:

frozen peaches defrosting for dinner

extra spinach for tomorrow's smoothie

Lightening McQueen

whole wheat bread that I bought at Granny's for $1 a loaf

stack of cards just waiting to be opened on my birthday

bag of quinoa

I will stop there.

I have a kitchen to clean up.

And dinner to prep.

And did I mention that we have care group here tonight?

and in 1.5 hours 4 other kids are coming for the afternoon?

My hope is to take them all for a nice sunny walk to the track

because it's sweatshirt warm and I have some new sneaks to show off.

Mondays before 9am.

my oatmeal was ALL THAT - especially since i'm not a fan of oatmeal.

modified from jessica seinfield's Deceptively Delicious..

my right bicep is TIGHT! it even hurts to fully extend it - as in try to make it straight.

at least i know that i have a muscle there.

i am taking 2 ibprofen.

kids did NOT like having oatmeal this morning... weeping and gnashing of teeth at sight of their bowls.

cinnamon sugar to sprinkle on top saved the day.

boys did school and are playing dressup.

girls wanted to do school once they knew dress up was available.

dress up is wonderful motivation.

hauling dressup bin from attic was tough with said bicep.

there's lots of skin and undies around with all this changing of clothes.

liam told caleb that ninjas don't wear undies.

Back in the Saddle Again.

We started our homeschooling this year.

Our days are busy, but the extra structure seems to be helpful with the

end-of-summer-boredom that was setting in.

Somehow I have a first grader.

He is almost 7.

Fast, confident, and funny.

I also have a silly girl in kindergarten.

She thinks that she has to keep up with her big brother and she works hard to do it.

She loves to help her momma in the kitchen.

After years of saying she doesn't like peppers and tomatoes,

this summer she started to eat both.

Meanwhile, these two are quite the pair.

Luckily, they are cute.

The year of being two holds nothing to the months we've had so far of being three.

My heart stops just thinking about what the rest of the year will be like.

The kids are too fun together.

They laugh, cry, tease, tattle, and play hard.

All. Day. Long.

It is so fun to watch these little people grow and learn to love one another.

Once upon a time..

I dreamed I had a blog.

I would write down all the funny things that happened in my days.

I would record photos and witty sayings of my children.

I would charm grandparents and friends.

Then I woke up...

and tripped over the vacuum,

and nearly fell into a basket of laundry.. was that clean or dirty?

Someone was hungry, then the kitchen needed cleaning.

Then I had to contain/restrain the littles while teaching the older ones something school-ish.

Do I hear harsh words needing correcting?

Is that arguing from the other room?

I am off to handle it, then back to schooling again.

Kids are hungry again?

Eat, drink, wipe, kitchen tidy.

Is it naptime yet?

Make sure everyone goes tinkles, has their blankey and is tucked in...

ahhhh... quiet time....

I sit, I rest.

I breathe.

(Sometimes I even sleep!)

Do I hear footsteps upstairs?

Wake up time.

Hungry, again?

Apples or carrots.

What's for dinner?

Wash, chop, boil, season.

Set the plates and silverware on the table.

Helpers help set the table.

Re-set the table.

Find missing forks.

DADDY"S HOME!

Run, greet, kiss.

Dinner time.

Sit and eat.

More, please.

Wipe, clean, stack, load.

Running, wrestling and noise.

Soon it's bedtime.

Running, wrestling, and noise.

Brush teeth.

Running, wrestling, and noise.

Tinkles and jammies.

Running, wrestling, and noise.

Stories, kisses and prayers.

Lights out.

Talking siblings.

Mommy and Daddy can sit.

and breathe

and talk.

"Dave, you'll never guess what happened today..."

Time for bed.

Maybe I will dream about having a blog....

You know mama is sick when....

...you hear "Daddy, Can we watch another video?" and it's not even 8 am.

It's how I know he loves me.

The day after Valentine's Day is "Chocolate Day" at Dave's office.

It has been for years.

Which, by itself, isn't too odd, but if you look at the larger picture you see:

they like to celebrate with food.

A LOT.

For example:

St.Patrick's Day - Soda bread anyone?

Fat Tuesday - You bet there will be doughnuts.

Easter - There's more than chocolate bunnies.

Fourth of July - Home of the Free!

Cinco de Mayo - Pass the salsa con queso, please.

Halloween - Grab some of your kids stash to share!

Thanksgiving - Don't we already eat enough now?

Christmas - Cookie overload, folks!

Oh yeah - anyone having a birthday - bring your own treat to share.

Getting married? Having a baby?

There will be a celebration with cake (please note: Dave prefers if it's from Costco).

I am sure I am missing something, but I want to avoid exaggerating to make my point.

No, he doesn't work in food services. He is in corporate offices. Does this happen everywhere? Back in the day I was a teacher.

Now I know those elementary teachers can rock out the snack with all those kid birthdays - but at the secondary level it was less common.

But is this what all those business persons are doing all day? If so, go desk-work!

So, back to Chocolate Day.

I want to represent my Hubbs well.

No stopping at the grocery store to buy snack here. Homemade, baby.

So this year I made my husband Chocolate Whoopie Pies to share with the class, oh, I mean, his co-workers. They were tasty.

And how do I know my husband loves me?

This year, on Chocolate Day, he smuggled a Tupperware container to work, filled it with chocolate treats, and brought it home for his wifey.

Who says romance is just for Valentine's Day?

This boy knows the way to my heart.

He understands how I work.

He's picking up what I'm laying down.

After 10 years, this guy knows my love language: FREE.