Habits

Yesterday's picture was a month old. I'd been meaning to post it and hadn't done so yet. The Queen of the Paci is still pacifier-less, 3 weeks pacifier-less. Rock on! She usually only cries for 5 minutes or less when we put her down for naps or bedtime. But I do now have mother guilt because we discovered last week that she's cutting molars and her mouth really does hurt ... if I were a nice mom, I would have waited until afterward, right?

Oh wait, I'm not the nice mom. In fact, I think Bob and I are up for the Kids' Choice Parents-of-the-Year Award this weekend. Why, yes, that is sarcasm you detect; however did you know? But that's an entire other post....

I guess the next habit we'll have to tackle is the wearing of the glasses all the time.

Even More Time Out

** See also this post and this post. :)

At the Park

We had a tour of realtors at our house a few weeks ago, so we had to find something to do with ourselves. We took Sariah and Junebug to the park to kill some time. They played hard, and we all enjoyed the spring "breeze" and the nice weather.

Don't be deceived by this picture of techno dad. He did not merely stand around holding the dog's leash, checking his email. He walked the whole park several times over with boy dog and daughter. I love that man! It gave me a chance to stand around taking pictures and doing nothing at all. It was great!

Why Fathers Rock

Dads are always there when you need them, like when you're coming apart at the seams ... er, shoelaces.
They're most amazing when you're scared and you have something important to do, like cross a bridge. Dad's right there behind you with his hand stretched out to catch you if you stumble...

... and then, somehow, someway, he's waiting for you at the end of the bridge to hold out his hands and give you something strong and sure to reach for.
When I saw these, I thought about what a great dad Bob is, how much he loves his little ones. I thought about how I've always counted on my dad for these things. And I thought about how Heavenly Father is somehow always right there to catch me when I think I'm going to fall, how He ties up my shoelaces for me regularly, and how He always manages to be on both ends of the bridge with His hands stretched out.

It's Spring!

NOT!

My eunomous bushes are really taking off this year.And look at my day lilies! They might actually bloom before June.

Buds on my redbud tree!!!

My little hostas deciding it's warm enough to reappear.

My sweet gum tree is ready to burst into leaf.

My neighbor's redbud tree is way further along than my own. It's gorgeous!

My carolina jasmine vine--I didn't even know it had started blooming.

It's a good thing that the jasmine will bloom again.
Because this is the weather forecast.

Seriously? Winter mix?
Oh wait! Silly me! We live in Oklahoma after all.
When we know for sure what season it is,
we won't know what to do with ourselves.

@!#$@%!$@#*@^!%@#@#!@%!!!

I don't think I've outgrown my klutzy phase yet. But I have a really cool camera/phone, so I can document every stumble ... er, step of the way, and I can call the wrecker, too!

Mother Moments

Humor is the most essential character trait you need for parenting. Okay, well, it's the one that *I* need the most. Without humor, I would probably sit down and cry and never stop. Some days are like that. Okay ... well, when you're a mom, most days are like that.

That is the reason why it would be really easy for me to say that pictures like this are my favorites because the treasured son or daughter is asleep, quiet, immobile, and not pulling on any of my clothing or bodily appendages.

Or it would be very easy for me to point out that I should be more careful since Sariah clearly follows my example. This is exactly the way she sleeps in bed with me.

I don't really like to wax poetic or "all emotional," as Caleb would say, because humor is just more comfortable for most people.

But really, pictures like this are my favorites because Sariah's innate sweetness and goodness just take my breath away. Just seeing her like this reminds me--in the space of a heartbeat--of all the reasons that I'm a mother, and how blessed I am to be a part of these sweet little spirits' lives. It keeps me humble and grateful and joyful.

A Watched Pot Never ... Blooms?

I remember now why I like spring (until I crash, anyway). I wait and wait and wait for things to start blooming and budding and growing and greening. And the more I wait, the longer it takes. And then one day, you look and the daffodils are in full swing, and the Bradford pears looks like popcorn trees, and you can see purple on the redbud trees. And everything is gorgeous.

And then my throat starts itching, my nose starts running, and my freaky weird reverse seasonal affective disorder kicks in, and I get extremely cranky.

I love spring!

Meditations by Sariah

~But, Mom, you SAID my baby needed a bath. I don't understand what the big deal is. I used the only water I could find! And why the heck do you have to mop the bathroom again now? It's just toilet water!~

P.S.

You'll notice that I actually put the right links in for my post about Bob from February. Scroll down if you want to see a real animal. {wink}

Monkeying Around

Sariah and I went to Oklahoma City Zoo on Friday with April and Lydia. Hannah came, too, because they sent her home from school with some weird rash thing on her face that we never actually figured out what it was (and that you can't actually see in this picture). Can I just mention that she was not the only school-aged child I saw at the zoo? I find it really hard to believe that so many families in Oklahoma home school. But who wouldn't have wanted to be at the zoo on Friday? It was perfect zoo weather!

I wonder how long the zoo has had these statues all over the place? The kids love them. We have pictures of our kids on the zoo statues since Hannah's very first trip to the zoo. I'm feeling really nostalgic, so I might have to find them, scan them, and post them. (Yeah, keep on wishing!) This time around, Hannah wanted to climb the gorillas just to see if she could finally get up to the top all by herself.She can.

Meanwhile, Sariah was quite taken with the tiger. That was good, since the real tigers were all snoozing, and if the statue made her happy, well alright then. She still doesn't share very well. First, she allowed Lydia on.
Then Sariah wouldn't let Lydia touch her. And she was quite pleased with herself over that.

And then she just sort of took over.
And just for good measure....
But that's okay, because Lydia posed beautifully for me for pictures. Too bad I didn't notice the trash can in the picture until just now.


Sariah walked a bunch of the zoo, insistent that she hold nobody's hand, quite independently (shocking of Sariah, I know!). She should have been exhausted. But strangely, I don't think she was. You'd think after 5 kids, including SuperRex, I would understand that when kids should be exhausted, they never are. They save exhaustion for your ... ahem, convenience. Thoughtful little devils, aren't they?

I just took this picture because when I was in the 2nd grade, I did a report about the okapi (I still have no idea how to pronounce it, even though the zoo has a sign and everything). I'd never heard of one before. And I still wouldn't have ... except that the OKC Zoo actually has them. So of course, they are one of my favorite parts of the zoo!

And that, my friends, was the first zoo expedition of the year.

That's My Man!

Ok, let's try this post again.

My man has been working really hard around here so that we can sell our house. He'd painted, repaired, sanded, built, cleaned, scrubbed ... you name it, he's done it. He's been a really good sport about it. He's put in mounds and mounds of effort, and I can't even describe how much I appreciate him.


But as always, when you live in a zoo, try not to provoke the specimens. They usually take matters into their own hands.

Winter Weather Day

I did take pictures when it snowed ... oops! I mean iced here a few weeks ago. I just have taken my time getting them posted.

It truly was bright enough for sunglasses.

Sariah really wasn't too sure about this. She wanted to touch it. But not.

So the neighborhood girls chauffeured her all over and kept her happy and entertained.

These are 3 of the best Sariah-sitters on earth!

Fixed

I think the picture links are fixed now. Sorry!

R&R

Have you ever noticed that sometimes it's really hard to find a comfortable position?


That's why when you find something that works for you, you have to go with it!

Obsession?

Elisabeth and Sariah woke me up from my nap on Saturday afternoon by joining me in bed, where Sariah promptly picked up the book I had been reading and started reading it aloud quite solemnly.

Elisabeth: Sariah, you're such a big girl, already reading Pride & Prejudice like Mommy does!

Mom: It's not Pride & Prejudice.

Elisabeth: Well, what is it then? It's something like Pride & Prejudice.

Mom: {Very reluctantly} It's a book about Pride & Prejudice.

Elisabeth: {Eye roll} Is there a difference?

Some people obsess about Harry Potter. Ok, I've read the HP books multiple times, but only when new ones came out. So that I could brush up on important details. Really.

Some people obsess about the Twilight Books. I've only read them once. Except for Twilight (book 1) which I felt compelled to read again after I'd seen the movie and couldn't figure out what everyone was in a tizzy about when they said the movie was sooooo different from the book (personally, I think the movie captures the essence quite well, if not the exact details).

Some people obsess about all things Austen. That would be Jane Austen. You know, Pride & Prejudice, Sense & Sensibility, Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion?

I suppose I could possibly maybe fall into that category.

The first time I read P&P, I was 17, a senior in high school, and I am not exaggerating when I say that I hated it. I didn't get any of it. In fact, I don't think I even finished it (which, incidentally, was not uncommon for my high school assigned reading experiences). I thought the hype was completely and utterly ridiculous. I just couldn't get it.

I reread it in college, for pleasure, and not by assignment, and a whole new world opened up to me. It's one of my all-time favorite books now, so much so that Bob read it a few months ago because he figured he ought to be culturally aware (at least in our household). My kids routinely ask if I'm watching one of my "Elizabeth movies" (it's what I iron to) or reading one of those "Pride and Prejudice or whatever they are" books. I laugh out loud when I read Pride & Prejudice. Every time. It's the timeless story between men and women.

So, yes, I might be Austen obsessed. So much so that I check out books about Jane Austen's books from the nonfiction section of the library and read them purely for pleasure.

But it's really bad when your kids know this about you. And roll their eyes about it.

Hmph!

Happy Valentine's Day!

So, my wonderful husband totally rocks. For the big day this year, he arranged a date with two other couples we know. We went to the Yamato Sushi & Steakhouse (or something like that) where we ate yummy Japanese food set on fire right before our faces, and yes, I even tried sushi (I was right, I don't really like it). Our chef was a total riot! At one point, he went to squirt more sauce into one of Amy's bowls, but then he started squirting it right at her (and because I was sitting next to her, I thought me, too)--horrible juicy brown ... string! I laughed until I cried. He also really liked to play with our food, making a lobster hobble around until he set it on fire, too.

Maybe you had to be there. Maybe you have to like playing with fire, I don't know.

In any case, the guys also arranged for a barbershop quartet to come and sing lovey-dovey Valentine's songs to us, and they made us beautiful tissue paper roses (Amy has promised to dry hers, and I'm going to hold her to it...hmm...maybe we could set those on fire, too?).

Maybe I'll go put all the matches up now. {wink}

Have a good Valentine's Day. I know we will. We have one on antibiotics for strep, one with an ear infection, and two more running fevers. Wahoo!

The End of an Era

These pictures signify the end of an era. This is what remains of the first computer desk we bought, before Hannah was even born. We were so proud of it. It was a corner unit with lots of hidey-holes for all sorts of our college paraphernalia. And it stashed nicely in our apartment. And we had student loan money to pay for the whopping price tag of $300.

But not so nicely in our house once we decided to move the computer out to the living area.

And it was a real booger to move, too. Lots of need for an allen wrench, and it could only be moved in sections, it didn't fit through doorways. My dad probably swore about that desk more than once. Bob might have been tempted (but probably not, because I'm the only one who's ever tempted to be foul-mouthed around here).

So, we bought a dark new sleek model that looks really nice in our living room (ostensibly because we need to sell our house, of course), and dismantled the old behemoth. It fell apart. Well, my section fell apart. Bob lovingly unscrewed things. Me? Not so much.

Rest in peace, little computer desk. We loved you.

For Sale

So, our house is officially listed for sale, and you know you want to buy it.

So as we can move into a bigger, better, badder house.

Ok, seriously, 7 people in a 1300 square foot house? It was truly great for 4 or 5, but 7 is pushing it. How did log cabin people do it?

Check it out online at realtor.com.

Something to Make You Smile!

How to Win the Pinewood Derby

1. Let your boys pick their car designs the night the pack has the saws out.
2. Make the boys sand the cars until their hands are raw. Or when they get tired. Whichever comes first.
3. Have Daddy prime the cars.
4. Let the boys paint their own cars with red paint (the same paint that's in the bathroom, btw). Or if you're Rex, gladly let your sister paint your car for you.
5. Be grateful for the ice storm that gives you one more week to figure out what the heck you're doing.
6. Figure out what rubbing compound and powdered lubricant are 2 days before the race.
7. Chip parts of the car while installing the wheels.
8. Tattoo your cars in the wrong places. And peel off the misplaced tattoos, thus peeling off the paint.
9. Lots of car wax, because the boys got really tired of sanding and rubbing compound.
10. Have Papa make a run to Ace 3 hours before the race, so that you can glue "weights" to the bottoms of your cars. Wherever they may stick.
11. And in Rex's case, pick off a rather important chip of wood (because it was holding in the wheel nail) in the car on the way to the Derby, thus making your car effectively 3-wheeled, because the wheel keeps popping off at the end of every heat because it's only kept on with electrical tape.
12. Bring your Grammy, Papa and Baby Sister to the race for good luck!

If you haven't figured it out yet, though we tried, the boys' cars were put together in a rather ... haphazard fashion. And yet, we came home with 2 medals and a trophy. It's either a testament to beginners' luck, or the good Lord blessing these boys because they worked so hard on their cars (and their parents' best efforts were a little ... scary).

The red blur was Caleb's car. Too late I remembered that I have a special speed function on my camera. It figures.

Rex and the tri-wheeled car that took 1st place in the Open Division for siblings.

Hail the Grand Champion! Yep, Caleb took not only the Wolves Division, but his whole pack. He and his car totally rocked!

My two champions!

And our good luck charms, Grammy the Queen Babysitter of Sariah during the Derby, and Papa the Chief Engineer.