If you haven’t noticed, I’ve been in radio silence the past few days. Sunday evening as I got ready for bed, I started to feel off balance, like the entire room was tilting to the right. By Monday morning I was down for the count. Both evenings I went to bed very early. Today I got back to work, and by this evening I am finally feeling pretty good. I’m not exactly sure what it was, I’m just glad it is over!

The big kids had church this evening, so Baby E and I came home and hung out for awhile. He requested some Good Mythical Morning, so we watched an episode while he downed yet another blueberry waffle and some almond milk. Then he was ready for bed.

The house is so quiet without the big kids here. I actually got some cleaning done and now I am just enjoying the peace. They should be home any moment now!

In the middle of the night last night, C thought she saw a bug in her room and it totally freaked her out. I ended up spending the rest of the night on the floor next to her bed, with Big E next to me, squirming and pushing against me. Needless to say, no sleep was had. Surely when they get home tonight they will be tired enough to sleep well!

Hopefully my creative juices will start flowing again soon, but seriously my brain feels drained.

Is it a pillow? Is it a waffle? No need to decide.

I had to go grocery shopping this evening so Tim took the kids to the park for awhile. He kept sending me adorable pictures while I was shopping. They seemed to have a lot of fun, and I was able to cross several errands off my list! Bring on Monday!!

What a handsome fellow!

I was trying to figure out what I was going to share with you this evening, and all I could come up with was that we had a lazy day, played with Legos, and visited Tim’s parents this evening for a little while.

But as I was sitting here at the computer I heard it…

There was a strange noise coming from upstairs. The kids have been asleep for nearly two hours, but this is about the time that I might expect to hear Baby E make some noise. I stood up and by the time I got to the stairs, I heard what sounded like hysterical laughing. A kind of cackling laughter that didn’t sound like any of my kids. This totally freaked me out and I ran upstairs to see that the kids doors were still closed. We leave the bathroom light on for the kids, and I heard the laughter coming from there. When I turned the corner I found Big E standing on the step stool, both hands reaching into the sink and he was hysterically laughing, a kind of laugh I have never heard come out of his mouth. When he saw me he stopped and just smiled at me with a huge, unnatural grin. I asked him a few questions and he just stared… smiling… I asked him if he knew where he was. If he had gone to the bathroom. Why he was laughing. All of a sudden his whole demeanor changed, his shoulders sank down and he started to quietly cry.

I scooped him up and took him to my room and held him as we sat on my bed. He seemed very confused and sad. I asked him some more questions, just to make sure he was awake. He didn’t seem to remember anything and couldn’t remember being in the bathroom at all.

Then he perked up and asked me what Baby E was doing. I told him that he was sleeping. At my response, Big E started laughing that hysterical laugh again. He quieted quickly and got sober again. I asked him if he was ready to go back to bed and he nodded yes. I carried him to his room. I asked for a hug and a kiss, and he gave me both (so I could tell he could follow instructions) and then he crawled back in bed. I put the covers on him and he rolled over to go back to sleep.

I have no idea if he will remember this in the morning, but I am guessing he will not. I think this might be the first time that any of my children have sleepwalked, and I have to admit it freaked me out, especially the cackling laugh!!! I’m praying he stays in bed for the rest of the night. I called Tim and relayed my story and he told me that his siblings often walked in their sleep as young children, and I know I did it too. I praying this isn’t a trend for Big E, though, cause I doubt my nerves can take it! Ha ha!

**update** Got off the phone with my sister and she told me C used to sleepwalk when she would stay with my parents when she was younger. So there’s a precedent, I guess!

Have you or anyone you know ever had a similar experience? I’d love to hear about it!!

Our family has become somewhat addicted to a YouTube show called “Good Mythical Morning.” It’s a daily show that is goofy and silly. We prescreen any episodes the kids watch so we know they are safe, though for the most part it is pretty family friendly.

The show does a lot of “Will it…” episodes. Basically they ask a silly question and then proceed to answer it.

For instance… Will it cookie? Then they take random things and bake them into cookies and taste test them. Then they vote on whether or not those things will in fact cookie. Sometimes the thing they use is just a food with a conflicting flavor, sometimes it is something that you wouldn’t normally eat, but isn’t toxic. C loves the episode, “Will it Ice Cream Sandwich?”

And sometimes it isn’t about food, as in Big E’s favorite episode, “Will it shoe??”

I’ve been having problems getting the kids to eat lately, so I started doing our own “Will it” episodes. For instance, in order to get them to eat breakfast, we played “Will it combine?” And mixed different cereals together. In fact, my kids both agreed that Fruit Loops and Reeses Pieces Cereals will combine.

This evening at dinner we played “Will it combine?” again. We learned that french fries and chicken combine while french fries and green beans do not.

While we are playing the game the kids don’t even realize that they are eating more food than they normally would. It’s also funny to watch them slowly chew the foods, deciding whether or not something will and then giving their sophisticated answers.

It’s a silly game, but it works and we all have fun.

Big E drew this picture of me this evening. I look very happy. 

“Most of us won’t even be a footnote in history. Therefore if we do not embrace the reality of the ordinary, the immediacy of the routine, the privilege of the little bits and pieces that make up life, we’re in for a sore disappointment.” Alistair Begging

A few moments after we closed the door for bedtime, Big E wandered out to find us. Normally I tell him to go right back to bed, but this evening I allowed him to crawl into bed with me. We laid there as he told us about all his future children and what he would name them. He relished every moment of his alone time with mommy and daddy. As the middle child he gets this less than the others, so this evening we embraced it. We embraced him. You are loved sweet boy. So very loved.

“Jesus loves me!” He said proudly as we walked to his classroom. We had practiced this phrase all morning and he was ready to recite it to his teacher. Big E is loving Cubbies. He really has enjoyed going each week, and asks almost daily if it is Cubbies night. Tonight he earned his vest and painted this picture.

C was eager to show me the book she wrote for me during class. (I got out of bed. I love my mom and my dad. I just love my family.)

Picking the kids up from their classes is always kind of daunting. Three kids… Three classrooms… All of them tired, yet all of them hyper. Getting them to the car without a scene is next to impossible, so this evening I decided to try something preemptive.

We would be spies… hiding from the Snarfle Monster. (In case you are wondering, the snarfle monster, as described by my children, is a large nose that drips boogers that turn you into blood if they land on you. It seemed a little graphic to me, as I imagined a large round monster covered in long curly hair that made snarfly noises while it walked, but I digress.)

Anyways, I convinced the kids that it was safer if we travelled together so the Snarfle Monster couldn’t get us, so they stuck close by through the parking lot. They hurried to the van and got in their seats very quickly and closed their eyes. The Snarfle Monster chased us out of the parking lot and down the road, where I was instructed that I should drive fast, but not too fast because we don’t want the police to stop us. Fortunately for us, the Snarfle Monster was apparently zapped by some lightning, and therefore couldn’t chase us all the way home. We arrived home happy and smiling and ready for bed. Minimal fussing and everyone was fast asleep!

Thank you Snarfle Monster for making our evening a breeze!

And a huge shout out to all the people that volunteer their time to Awanas. I know a lot of planning goes into each week. The kids love it and they learn so much. Thank you!!

I took a Benadryl just a few moments ago, so I probably have a good 18 minutes before I completely pass out for the evening!

Tim and I have an ongoing disagreement. Whenever I get a cold, I take Benadryl at night. His argument is that Benadryl is for allergies, not colds, and really doesn’t help with the symptoms. I can conceded that he has a valid point, however, Benadryl knocks me out pretty strong, so I figure if I’m sleeping, the symptoms won’t bother me anyways! And that’s what your body needs to fight a cold, right?? Sleep??

The problem is I usually take it too late in the evening and then have a Benadryl hangover in the morning. I decided to try taking it right away and hopefully I will avoid that!

I can already feel it working. That stuff is potent!

The kids actually did great at bedtime this evening, especially once I mentioned that I wasn’t feeling well. They crawled in bed and didn’t fuss. They also both wished me a good evening and a get better soon before I closed the door.

Ok, that’s enough for now. Good night!!

I look over as he starts screaming. There is a soup crusted into his hair. His eyebrows have small chunks of green bean embedded in them. And there is blood dripping out of his mouth. He is screaming and hysterical, so it takes a moment to track down the source of the blood. Apparently he bit himself as he devoured his soup. Just moments earlier he had thrown a fit because I placed the soup (sans broth) in a plate in front of him. I had tried to hand him a fork. But he grabbed both and attempted to toss them on the ground, arching his back as he screamed no. I shrugged and placed his plate on the counter. He will get hungry eventually. 

I spoon some soup into my bowl and walk toward the table. Baby E starts to squeal and beg for my bowl. The bowl that is filled with the same contents that were on his plate. But somehow it must taste better in a bowl, because he begins to inhale it the moment I put it in front of him. Soon his shirt is dripping in soup, and he has a hard time holding the spoon because it is so slippery.

Eventually the bleeding stops and he begs for more soup. At least one child likes it.

It never fails that my children are starving until the very moment that I set food in front of them. Then all of a sudden they aren’t hungry, or they find the meal completely disgusting. I used to sigh and give in and prepare them something more to their liking, but one day I decided that that was a ridiculous, time consuming practice that didn’t work with our lifestyle, so I no longer do that. Tonight, as Big E stared at that table he said, “I guess I’m going to bed hungry.”

Yup kid, I guess you are.

Before you think that they are justified in turning their noses up to dinner, I would remind you that I do not serve them things like liver and onions or frog legs (both of which were served to me as a child) but I stick to pretty standard meals like soups, pasta, tacos, chicken, etc. And I serve them things that I have seen them eat before, so there is no pity!

I really don’t want my children to grow up thinking that it is ok to demand a certain type of food from other people. I want them to be respectful and accept what is put in front of them, wherever they are. And that needs to start at home. So if you ever hear my kids whining that they don’t eat much dinner, gently remind them that it isn’t because of lack of opportunity!