Independence Day Fun

We celebrated the Fourth by hanging out with friends. First, we ate a yummy dinner with the families of some of Caleb’s closest friends. No pictures there but we met new people and got to see Caleb in his native environment, lol. 

Afterwards, we came home and popped off a bunch of small fireworks with a few of our neighbors. We are really blessed with great families nearby! In fact, while we were busy making noise and light, our next door neighbor came over with a bowl of sweet, cold, sliced watermelon for the kids, which somehow was the cherry on top of our Fourth. 

Happy birthday, America! We are grateful to be a part of you, and to have the freedoms that don’t come free. 

Hot Dogs & S'mores!

We entertained ourselves with a backyard cookout last week. The little ones really, really, really wanted to roast marshmallows and hot dogs after they saw Daddy burning some brush. We had to wait for the weekly grocery store adventure, and then voila! See if you can spot the elusive Sariah creature. She was ... elusive.

Apparently, we have all been eating our hot dogs the wrong way. Per Madeline's fine example, we should approach eating our hot dogs as if they are corn on the cob. I was fascinated.

And then there was the Thor incident. Our boys were quite pleased with themselves for recreating a scene from Endgame. Caleb will probably kill me if he sees this published ... but since I'm not on Facebook right now, no one will see it, right?

And more Madeline cuteness. IBC root beer for the win, and yummy s'mores smeared all about! Success!

Sweet Girl

And when you still have long eyelashes when you are nearly 5. Mom is a bit envious, truth be told.

From Saturday

When you get donuts on Saturday morning for sleeping in your very own bed, all night long, every night.

Bakers

Today Madeline and I entertained ourselves by making cookies. Technically, we made the dough yesterday, but we ran out of time, so shapes today, which she picked out all by herself. She was so thrilled, because all the siblings were banned to elsewhere, so it was her very own project. They tasted good, too!

Fort Fun

Some days you have to make messes, forts, and towers. And frowns, too. This is what I awoke to after my Sunday nap. There are much worse ways to wake up, lol.

Poses

This is the other child who likes to pose for me. Until she doesn't, which is what happened in the photo above. In the meantime, she has the best antics.

Masking It

I guess we're legal now.

The first one took me several hours. The rest all together took me another several hours. Interestingly, I had just enough elastic to do what I wanted to do. That's good. Since the ties seemed labor intensive and like they might require straighter lines than I am capable of making, lol.

Wiped

If this little girl had a Fitbit, she'd be kicking my tail at steps, and running, and jogging, and scootering, and biking. She was wiped completely out before 8 pm ... which is unusual for our little night owl trying to keep up with the big kids.

Easter 2020 Preparations

Easter happened, and we did indeed prepare the day before. I've just been busying myself with other tasks than the blog. Sad day. But fun times getting reading for the Easter bunny. Check out Madeline's cake -- best decorating job ever!!!

Easter Is Coming!

We didn't do school work today because Sam's birthday is tomorrow. But we did do some arts and crafts. We decided to put paper Easter eggs in our windows for the modified Easter egg hunts kids can do this year. We shouldn't do hunts where everyone gathers together, but walks in your own neighborhood are fun, and the kids have liked hunting things down in people's windows. So now our windows are decorated. I hope the HOA is not in full form right now.

They also got to play outside today. It was a little miserable ... but not to Sam and Madeline. They came in wet and happy.

And last but not least, the blue hair. This is the officially sanctioned picture.

But I do not feel that this picture does the color justice. So I asked for another one. And was declined. Punk kid.

Oh, and yes, we did have pancakes for dinner tonight. Pancakes make me happy. And they are easy if you have pancake mix on hand, lol.

Tuesday Happenings

In an effort to cheer everyone up ... ok, wait, that's a lie. It was totally a bribe for Madeline last night so I could have a little quiet time to myself. I told her if she went to sleep in her own bed all by herself, we would make cookies today. I don't mind resting with her at night IF I'm prepared to put myself to bed because I WILL get sleepy. But. I needed some quiet time inside my own head and --this is the important caveat-- with no one touching me. So bribery. And it worked. So double win because cookie dough and cookies today. 😁 This face!

 Rose made the comment today that this little girl is pure joy, and that's for sure and certain the truth.

She has also been, hands down, the best at entertaining herself in quarantine. It makes my heart so happy to see her pretending because I'm a firm believer that that's the way our brains like to grow. Also, can you believe those legs? She's like a frisky colt these days, all legs and movement! I had to ask her to lie still just so I could get this picture without blurs. On a side note, now we know why the couch cushions are sagging.

Meanwhile, Mel's older sister was happy because she got to play with power tools today. Who knew that in Texas you'd need the blower in the spring and not the fall?! Not me. But apparently ALL the trees in our yard don't shed their leaves until the new ones start growing in. Good news? Spring is here. And we can use some spring.

And because I know you all are dying to know: Caleb's blue hair is in progress. First he bleached it. Blue coming soon.

And one final note: if you are going to race home with one of the kids, don't do it with the bike she pawned off on you so that she could win and because she's afraid of falling. The road rash on my elbow is pretty exciting. But both the bike and I survived, so awesome. And just for laughs? It was the four-year-old's bike so I was jogging and tripped over it. Nothing so glorious as falling off the bike. As always, my ideas are bright and I am grace personified. Haha.

Incoherent Minutiae

I've tried all day to organize my thoughts into something coherent.

I had grand plans for this blog post. Fun picture of the kids, or maybe something about the family history I've been working on.

But nothing has really gelled into place.

I walked 5 miles this morning. The weather was a bit cooler, and I'm just so grateful that my ankle has healed and doesn't give me any pain any more so I can go on an adventure ... the only one I'm allowed outside of my house right now.

We are trying to get into the swing of schooling at home. I've been homeschooling Sam and Madeline, of course, but now Rex and Sariah are home as well. The school district is gearing up to return to grading next week. Should be loads of fun.

Yes, that was a bit sarcastic. I've already been overwhelmed just by adding Madeline's schoolwork (learning numbers and ABCs) to Sam's school work this year. Adding two more kids to the mix is a lot. It'll even out eventually. But right now I feel like all I do is school work in one form or another.

I guess I did have an additional adventure today. I ventured out to the store. I had an order to pick up at HEB and then a prescription to pick up at Target (plus the things that didn't make it into my HEB order because the store shelves still have issues and the HEB curbside order limit can be challenging for a family of 8). It's exhausting to shop these days. There are fewer people, but the emotional toll is greater ... I get anxious about the things I touch and the air I breathe and the things I might be taking home to my family. And as much of an introvert as I am, it's just plain awkward and depressing  to keep so much distance between myself and others.

But, bright side: the store shelves are showing signs of catching up and being fully stocked again. AND this way I'm forced to plan ahead and not fly by the seat of my pants and be at the store eleventy times in one week.

I sat down tonight with my scriptures to prepare for Easter. This was probably the smartest thing I did for myself all day long. Right up there with pumpkin bread from Kneader's that I didn't share with anyone tonight.

I brought Madeline home a new baby doll. She's been loving on one who is at imminent risk of becoming decapitated. She wanted to fix it with tape today. Sadly that's probably a no-go. Seeing her face light up at the new doll was priceless.

Also, Caleb is turning his hair blue even as I type.

Tomorrow should be fun!

A Little Sunday Fun

It's not very often Rex poses for -- and I actually capture -- pictures likes this. Apparently the children thought our "lemonies" were a tad on the sour side tonight. Still, there was enough sugar for us all to be happy. However, Rex's face prompted a series of similarly entertaining poses. Sadly, some family members ... ahem ... declined to leave me with photographic evidence (or forbade me to share it).

After this there was an epic game of Risk (all hail Sam the Conqueror), which lasted just long enough for me to finally complete our federal and state taxes for 2019. A+ for me! I usually get them done much sooner, but 2019 was complicated, and 2020 has been even more so (shocking, I know!).

And then we opened the unexpected Amazon package on our doorstep. We left it quarantining there in the sunshine for several hours. Surprise! Sam's teachers sent him a fun treat, and he was thrilled!--so thrilled, in fact, that he goofed off for the camera and laughed afterwards. I love that kid, and I love the people who care about him!

We miss seeing our church friends on Sundays, but have had some sweet spiritual experiences at home while we are all apart. We enjoyed getting to participate in the worldwide fast today for COVID-19. We are keeping prayers close to our hearts for the world and our loved ones and those who are suffering.

Stay safe, friends!