Friday's Feast

Appetizer:
How many pieces of jewelry do you wear most days?
Two rings and a pair of earrings

Soup:
What is your favorite instrumental song?
What Child is this?

Salad:
Who has a last name that you like?
Dr. Hand. It's a name I will never forget.

Main Course:
Name a popular movie you’ve never seen.
Pirates of the Carribean

Dessert:
Fill in the blank: Nothing makes me ___________ like ____________.
Nothing makes me laugh like my mother and sister do when we're together.

Click here to enjoy your own feast.

13 things I love about summer...

1. Sleeping in
2. Sunshine
3. Beach days
4. Watermelon
5. 4th of July
6. Barbeques
7. Taking the kids to the fair
8. Hummingbirds~I could watch them for hours
9. Warm evenings
10. Miniature golf/Other activities with the kids
11. Seeing flowers as I drive around
12. No need for coats, boots, hats, mittens, snow pants when going somewhere
13. I'm hardly ever cold~I hate being cold

Wordless Wednesday

Highlights

What has been happening?

Eleanor climbed into my bed during the middle of the night Saturday for the last time. She peed on me! She peed in her own bed Sunday night. Zach woke up wet Sunday morning as well. I've had enough of wet sheets and clothes!

Zach hasn't been feeling well. His eyes are all gummed up, his head and ears hurt at times, and he perks up after we give him medicine.

Yesterday, Zoe convinced Emily to combine all their money and split it in half (of course Zoe had less to begin with).

Emily is wearing mismatched earrings. I successfully got her first pair of earrings out and a new pair in (with a lot of struggle from Emily because she said it hurt), and I tried to change them again the other day, but was only successful with one earring.

Matt and I did our first batch of vouchers last night. It only took us until midnight to complete the task.

Our internet wasn't working yesterday. We've had this problem before...either the phone works and the internet doesn't or vice versa. Right now our internet is working, but our phone isn't. I need to call Vonage today and get the problem fixed, which I am not looking forward to. I should wait until Kate is asleep so I'm not trying to keep her happy, talk on my cell phone with the Vonage representative, and fiddle with wires. I don't want history to repeat itself.

Friday's Feast

Appetizer:
Name a funny habit you have.

I have a habit of checking and rechecking my wallet before I go into a store to make sure I have my bank card and/or money. I'll count my money even if I know how much I already have.

Soup:
If you could instantly know how to play a musical instrument, which one would you pick?

I would play the piano. I can plunk out songs with my right hand, but I'd love to be able to play with both hands, and play beautifully.

Salad:
How long is your hair?

I had it cut last Friday, so now it's a little longer than chin length and pretty much all one length.

Main Course:
When was the last time you forgave someone, and who was it?

I forgive my children every day for the little annoyances and bad decisions they make. :-)

Dessert:
What is your favorite kitchen appliance?

Microwave. It is quick and allows me to enjoy hot food when Matt shuts down my cooking for the summer (Our trailer gets way too hot in the summer to use the oven).

Visit from the Tooth Fairy

Emily lost her 3rd tooth yesterday. When she told me that she lost a tooth, I expected it to be one of her top front teeth that are loose, but somehow she managed to pop a bottom tooth out that we didn't even know was loose. She was pretending to eat some play food and bit down just right...or wrong. The tooth fairy gave her 4 shiny State quarters for the tooth. Very exciting!

13 Observations and Discoveries

1. Zach likes to brush his own teeth. He'll let me help him for about 2 seconds.
2. I love hearing Zach say "Thanks Mom" and "Yelcome" in his 2 year old voice.
3. Eleanor needs my attention less when Zoe & Emily are around. She is content to watch them play when they don't include her.
4. Eleanor can swing all by herself! It was fun watching her & Emily swing outside together the other day when Zoe was at school.
5. Emily has a habit of dropping whatever she is holding onto the floor when she is done with it.
6. It doesn't matter how loud Kate is crying when I am busy, the kids will ignore her.
7. On the rare occasions that they do acknowledge Kate's cries, they pick her up and bring her to me...who is busy and does not want to hold her at that moment.
8. My children will eat chicken salad when I tell them it is tuna fish.
9. Kate is going through another "I want to be held ALL the time" phase.
10. Emily copies Zoe and Zach copies Eleanor.
11. Zach & Eleanor love to get lots of cards while playing Attack Uno while the rest of us are trying to get rid of our cards.
12. Zach is not fond of break time at the pool, and Eleanor takes her sweet ol' time getting out of the pool after the whistle blows.
13. If you look around at the objects in your home, it is fun to see who they remind you of and what memories and thoughts they bring to mind.

Wordless Wednesday

Summer vacation

It's official. Emily's last day of school was last Tuesday, but Zoe's last day (half day) was today. I look forward to our lazy summer days!

FINALLY

I just saw Kate roll from her back to her stomach. :-)

Eleanor's quote

Mothers don't have faults...sisters do!

Playing tag

Dawnae caught me...

What was I doing 10 years ago...
I was a recent graduate of the University of Maine, graduating with a degree in Child Development/Family Studies. I worked at a summer day camp called Camp Molly that summer, so at this time in June 10 years ago I was attending training sessions. I was in charge of the youngest group at camp, the 5&6 year olds. Never a dull moment there!

What was I doing 1 year ago...
The same thing I am doing now being a full-time Mom, only with one less kid. I'm dealing much better now with being at home most of the time with no car then a year ago!

5 snacks that I enjoy...
Peanut M&Ms
Cheetos...the twisted ones are the best!
Trail Mix
Ranch flavor WheatThins
Pretzels

5 Songs I know the lyrics to...
Do as I'm Doing
Popcorn Poppin'
Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam
Kindness begins with me
Twinkle Twinkle little star
(Can you tell I have children AND I serve in Primary!)

5 things I would do if I were a millionaire...
Build a house...or 2...or 3!
Buy Matt a Humvee...or 2...or 3!
Hire a professional landscaper to whip our land into shape
Pay A LOT of tithing
Eat out at a restaurant everyday

5 bad habits...
Blogging when my children want/need my attention
Yelling
Being more detail-oriented instead of people/kid-oriented
Hearing, but not really listening
cracking my knuckles

5 things I would never wear again...
Short hair
high heels
boxers
Belly button ring
make-up

5 toys I love...
Computer
MP3 player...although I only know how to listen to what Matt has already put on it
Books...I'm addicted to reading lately
Yahtzee ~ the electronic version
Phase 10 game

5 people to tag...
PJ
Cindy
Courtney
Dawn
Kristen

You're it!

Negative

For peace of mind, I took Emily to the doctor this afternoon to see if she has strep throat. She doesn't. I feel better now knowing for sure, but when the $65 bill comes, I'm sure I'll be regretting this decision!

Shannon from Rocks In My Dryer (host of Works for me Wednesday)had the "Mom I'm bored" edition last week (June 6th)...we all know we're going to hear that at some point this summer from our school-aged kids! I loved Shannon's idea of making a list of all the possible activities your children could do and post it on your fridge or somewhere visible. List boardgames, puzzles, toys, everything you have that they could do. When your kids get bored, you refer them to the list. If they look at the list and still claim there is NOTHING to do, then they get assigned a chore. :-) I made our list yesterday. I realized how well this list could work when I found games that I had forgotten about because they were hidden in the back of the closet...out of sight, out of mind.

So, here are 13 activities on our list of things to do when Zoe & Emily get the "I'm bored" syndrome this summer...

1. Twister
2. Charades
3. Paper Dolls
4. Play-Doh
5. Jenga
6. Battleship
7. Make jewelry
8. Doll House
9. Ride bikes
10. Madeline Dolls
11. Bubbles
12. Computers
13. Portable CD Players

There are also 117 other ideas listed for this "Mom I'm bored" edition. What a great resource we have!

FYI: Yesterday's picture was Eleanor

Wordless Wednesday

Ooops

Zoe opens a cup of milk that has been hidden for days and I discovered this morning...
"Ewww"..."What is that?"..."It smells like spit-up"..."It smells worse than spit-up"..."That's disgusting!"
I chuckle
"Oh yeah, I meant to rinse that out before you did the dishes" (I really did).

One of those mornings

I was rushing around this morning getting a card ready to be mailed out. I wanted Zoe to mail it while she was waiting for the bus so I wouldn't have to walk to the mailbox with Kate, Zach, and Eleanor. It was time for Zoe to leave...and I couldn't find my stamps! I found them as she was heading out the door. I put the stamp on the envelope and asked Eleanor to catch up with Zoe, give her the card, and then come back. Eleanor headed out the door with the card and then a minute later I heard her crying. I went out to see what was going on and noticed Eleanor walking funny...she peed in her pants. I got her in the tub and Zach wanted a bath too, so I put him in the tub with Eleanor. They played and then I washed Zach up and got him out of the tub. I washed Eleanor up hoping Zach would wait long enough for me to put his diaper on before he peed, but he didn't. There was a big wet spot on the living room rug. The card has yet to be mailed.

Step-up day & Ice cream

It was step-up day for Zoe and Emily today. They met their teachers that they'll have next year and the kids that will be in their class. Zoe got the teacher she wanted, Mrs. LaLonde. I've never met her. She has been a 4th grade teacher, so after teaching 3rd grade next year she will go back to teaching 4th grade the following year. The plan is to have Zoe's class move up to 4th grade with her, so Zoe will have her for 2 years...unless we don't like her. A 3rd grade teacher is retiring after this year, the teacher that both Zoe and I wanted her to have next year :-(
Emily didn't get the teacher I was hoping she would get, but I do like the teacher she got, Mrs. O'Roak. The one time I was in her classroom this year, she helped a boy with an issue he was having and she was very patient. I think Emily will like her. Emily's best friend in her class this year will not be in her class next year. I'm actually okay with that because her friend is pretty rough with Emily, as I noticed the few times I saw her. Emily didn't mind, but I didn't like it.

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As part of our Family Home Evening tonight we went to get ice cream.

I really need to put away the hat and mittens that are in the car and Eleanor insists on still wearing!




On the way home, Eleanor asked if we were going to have a treat. What did she think the ice cream was???

Sneaky little girl

Kate rolled from her back to her stomach yesterday! But I missed it. I laid her on her back on the floor during the 2nd hour of church while I was getting ready for Primary. She was rolling onto her side and I had the thought that it wouldn't be long before she could go all the way over. Well, the next time I looked over at her she was on her stomach. And I missed it.

No kids=No noise

Kate and I had a quiet evening last night after Matt and the kids went down to camp Bravo for the night.





I finished reading "The proper care and feeding of marriage" by Dr. Laura, and then I read half of "The rocky road to romance" by Janet Evanovich. Not long after I turned off the light to go to sleep, Matt came in with Zach. Zach woke up crying from a deep sleep, so he got evicted from the tent. That didn't bother Zach since he got to join me and Kate.

Matt took Zoe, Emily, and Zach canoeing this morning. Eleanor I guess decided she had had enough adventure for one weekend, so she stayed behind with me and Kate.

Zoe and Emily are quite exhausted. Emily just woke up from a short nap and Zoe laid down and read for awhile...this was after they were fighting and I assured them that they would be staying home tonight instead of spending the night with my parents if their behavior didn't change. Matt and I are looking forward to watching a movie together after Zach goes to bed...we'll see if Matt stays awake long enough to see the end.

New game

Eleanor started modeling for me yesterday when we were pretending to take pictures of things. She was being so cute and funny that I had to get my real camera.













Adding props...


Adding Zach...

4 months old

Miss Kate turned 4 months old yesterday. She is starting to play with toys as she holds on to them and puts them in her mouth. She can grab her binky out of her mouth and sometimes she can get it back in her mouth. She sleeps good at night...in bed with me. She only wakes up once or twice briefly to eat and then she goes back to sleep. She still has a lot of cranky moments, but she is also able to go long periods of time content to look around and play. She loves to smile and laugh at me and her siblings. She's going through a phase though of not wanting her Daddy to hold her, so if he picks her up when she's happy, she eventually starts crying, and if she's already crying then she cries louder. I hope the phase ends soon!



Zoe giving Kate kisses.

Wordless Wednesday

Plans change sometimes

Last night I enjoyed the thought of having Eleanor go over to a friend's house today, which would give me a break and maybe I would get a few things done on my to-do list (I don't need to entertain Zach as much as Eleanor, but of course it would also depend on Kate). My plans changed when Zoe woke up twice early this morning and threw up both times. She is home sick, but she is on the mend. Eleanor is home too. Jenn and I decided to wait until tomorrow to see if Eleanor stays healthy. Jenn will take Eleanor to storytime if all is well in the morning. So maybe my more quiet day will happen tomorrow.

The girls (minus Eleanor)

Zoe's teacher took a picture of us during Portfolio night and she sent it home with Zoe on Friday. I think it came out pretty good.

Tea Time

When I sat down with my kids at a table this morning for the Doll's Day Tea Party at a local library, the Mom next to me asked sincerely, "Are these children all yours?" When I replied yes, she complimented me on how organized I was...due to nervous children in a new situation being good. I assured her that getting ready for the Tea Party was anything but organized. Our house looked like a tornado had gone through it when we left...looking similar to a typical Sunday morning. I didn't bother to mention my thought as I was forcing Zach into his carseat so we could leave...we're going to this tea party and we're going to have fun dammit. Then a few minutes later when we were on our way and Kate was crying...like she had been for the past 45 minutes...Zoe says, "I liked it when Kate was in the hospital, she slept all the time. I'm glad we appeared on the ball to others. Although the lady checking out our books probably had doubts when Zach tried to leave the library with a book that wasn't checked out, and the person waiting for us to cross the street had to wait a second longer while I picked up the same book when Zach dropped it in the middle of the crosswalk.




A guest lady who collects dolls showed us a doll and a collection of clothes that she had won in a raffle. She bought one ticket for a quarter and won. There was a real fur coat for the doll and there was a dress with mink around the edges. The children tolerated the doll show and then they enjoyed "tea", muffins/bread, and cookies. When the lady in charge announced at the beginning that we would listen to the lady and then have tea, Zoe gave me a nervous look like we don't drink tea and for a brief moment I wondered if they would actually serve tea, but then another lady set a pitcher of chocolate milk on the serving table. The choices were apple juice or chocolate milk. This was the highlight of the party. After eating we paraded around the library and outside a bit so the kids could show off their dolls and their attire. We saw Zoe's 1st grade teacher, Mrs. Simko as we walked around. When we got back to the room, they had a drawing for a tea set, but none of my kids won it, which is probably for the best since there would have been complaining from the non-winning kids. Poor Emily didn't win a prize yesterday at her beach party and Zoe did, so I'm glad that wasn't repeated. Zach sat like a big boy through all of this. He really liked the flowers in the middle of our table. He would touch them and say flowers over and over again.

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I had a girls night out last night. Jenn, Andrea, and I (and Kate, too) watched "Because I said so" at Jenn's house. I had a fun time with the gals :-)

A new blog in town

My friend Courtney has been pressured into blogland. She's very pregnant and ready to have her baby boy. Her oldest daughter, Lucy is Eleanor's best friend. Her daughter Emma is going to marry Zach and her new baby Spencer is going to marry Kate...they just don't know it yet! Speaking of Kate, I just gave her a talking to about all the crying she insists on doing. I'm tired of it. I have plans this morning to clean up the house before a playdate next door and I need cooperation from Kate to accomplish my plan. Be happy Kate!...This sentence reminds me of the grumpy and happy bags Eleanor was using the other day. One bag had a smiley face and the other bag had a sad face, which Eleanor termed as grumpy. I was annoyed with Zoe and Emily so Eleanor asked, "Are you grumpy Mom?" and she gave me the grumpy face bag to hold. A few minutes later she takes the grumpy bag and asks, "Are you happy now"...I wasn't really happy, but I forced a smile and said yes. She handed the happy bag to me. A few minutes later Eleanor caught me scowling at Zoe and Emily, she walks over to me, yanks the happy bag out of my hand and puts the grumpy bag back in my hand. She wasn't fooled for long!