The hills are alive with the sound of... hot dogs?

Clara: Mom, what's a wiener?

Me: A hot dog?

Clara, No, mom, what's a wiener?

Me: Who said that?

Clara: Me. (now singing) "So long, farewell, all wiener's say goodnight".

(Not so) Easy as Pie

Just in case you lose your pie server (and it has been lost for a couple of months), and you are finally ready to buy a new one, you must remember to look behind the radiator... behind the couch... in the living room. You will find it happily residing with a wooden spoon, a polly pocket, an army man, and a clear plastic magnetic frame. However, trying to retrieve said items may result in you just wanting to buy a new pie server.

Efficient Teamwork.

Last week we made a gingerbread house for family night. It was a hit.

In an effort to prevent the kids from sucking the icing right out of the tube, I piped the icing on and the kids decorated it. For the most part they were very self-controlled to not eat the candy while they were building it.

They were so proud of their teamwork.

And they couldn't wait to dive in!

I don't understand how some families make these and then keep them around for a little.

Ours met a quick demise.

Lydia was a sticky little mess.

Please note that she did NOT have a barrette in her hair, it is held back by icing.

I am an efficient mommy.

Candy's about gone.

What now?

The kids never seem to like the store bought gingerbread.

I'd like to think it doesn't have anything to do with the fact that I bought the gingerbread kit last year and it has been in the bottom of my chest freezer for the year.

90% off, folks. That's efficient.

And I have another one I am considering saving for next year, if we don't use it this year.

(My in-laws are cringing.)

(It's okay, Mom and Dad, because they don't really eat it, anyway.)

(But to keep it real, I would totally let them if they wanted to.)

Since it was Family Night: Dave also made a fire.

I got a new camera. Does it look foggy?

It was. Smoky to be exact. Burn your nostrils, set off the smoke detector,

and leave-the-front door-open-even-though-it's-freezing-outside kind of smoky.

That would be our couch cushion Dave is using to help circulate the air so that we can all breath again. My man is efficient, too. Or maybe this has happened before... to a friend, of course.

Since it was a family night, and our unspoken theme was Teamwork, I put down the camera and helped.

Funny Talk

At lunch today, as Clara and Daddy were having a little talk, Liam informed me,

"I guess church wasn't very helpful for Clara."

Wouldn't we all like some instant results sometimes?

The other morning, Caleb woke up and climbed out of his crib and came into the bathroom, took one look at Dave and I and said,

"Hello little stinker".

We exchanged giggly glances over his head.

He looked at us and said, "Ta Da!"

He earned points for cuteness, but still got put back to bed.

The Best Seat in the House...

...to look at the flurries! that are sticking! and it's on the grass!

I love my excited children - even if I am not getting out their snowsuits yet.

Silence is mischief.

Exhibit A. Any guesses?

I included my bling for size reference.

We have a cold house so at the first hint of cold weather we use this for added insulation around the windows. It usually looks like this:

Never mind the smudgy sills. They add character.

So that is what the putty usually looks like. It comes in a nice little roll and Dave unfurls it and presses it into the seam of the window. I have decided it's like the male version of shaping pie crust. See those fingerprint dents? It is art.

Well, basically, it's like putting play-doh on each window and asking kids not to play with it. But we covered that and were VERY clear that this was a "no touch".

There is a sill in a window in the nursery that didn't fare so well, and it was a little picked at, but that was a teachable moment and baby A and baby B seemed to have caught on quickly.

Fast forward a couple of weeks and all the kids are playing on Liam and Clara's bunk beds. Everyone is occupied. Older kids on top, twins on the bottom. I am a cheerful mommy accomplishing my daily tasks as my kiddos entertain themselves. I faintly remember hearing Liam call out, "Mommy, the babies are chewing on..." No big deal, if it were something important Liam would come running, or be screaming about the fate of his toy. I kept working. Time passes.

Well, let's hope that window putty passes, too, because Lydia swallowed her gum, or as she called it 'num'. Caleb, however, just kept on chewing and had about half of it in his mouth when he was discovered. See exhibit A at the top. I'm not sure how much Lydia ate, but she wasn't very hungry for lunch.

Why don't I have time to blog?

Peeking through our windows this week:

• fall is here! we woke up to a brisk 63 degrees inside our home and we got to turn on the yummy heat.

• the babies pulled my desk chair over to the microwave and ate chocolate cake that was being stored there as well as liam's and clara's goody bags from his bday pinata. they were so happy at their good fortune to find these goodies. caleb was listing all his treats. 'mommy, i eat cake,i eat candy, i eat lollyPOP, i eat num! (gum)' after cleaning up the sticky mess and the sticky babies i addressed behavior and after caleb's 'correction' he stood up and said "i eat lollypops...." i guess it was totally worth it for that boy. he. cracks. me. up.

• the babies are not yet interested enough to sit and watch a video. (see above)

• clara fed lydia one of her toenails... and lydia ate it.

• a couple of 2 year olds have decided to climb out of bed whatever the cost... including 4 times during a ladies meeting in our home.

• if one of the twins wakes up in the middle of the night, s/he wakes the other one and they climb out - in the middle of the night. however, last night lydia woke-up and climbed out 4 times between 12:30 and 1:30. so we eventually just put her in our bed, then in the packNplay in our room.

• while on a walk with daddy one of the children and the jogger stroller rolled into the pond.

• amidst the madness, my hubbs let me prepare for and participate in my first craft show. it may be my last, but i did really well.

on another note, these kids are so stinkin' cute! they are playing well together and enjoying their days as brothers and sisters. they give me much to laugh at when I'm not pulling out my hair. :)

or wiping up leftover chocolate cake.