I’m finally to the point where I trust the big kids to watch over Baby E when I have to do things like go to the bathroom or take a shower. However, it backfired on me the other day when Baby E came barging in on me when I was in the shower because his watchers got distracted with a toy. They had no idea he had climbed the stairs and hunted me down. So I got to complete my shower with a giggling and squealing little kid staring at me from around the shower curtain.

Well this morning I attempted the same task. I told Big E to watch Baby E while I took a quick shower. I thought it was a pretty successful exercise by the time I had stepped out of the shower and dried myself off without an audience. When I wandered downstairs the first thing I noticed was Big E’s Easter candy bucket on the stairs. I didn’t remember it being there when I went up, but it could have been. But there was a few pieces of candy scattered on the stairs. Then I saw Baby E walk past me with a huge, chocolate covered grin on his face and chocolate dripping down his pajamas. Apparently Baby E had gotten into the Easter candy in my absence. And where was his big brother, who was supposed to be diligently watching him?!? Watching TV, of course!

Anyways, the next thing I noticed was the lack of any candy wrappers. Everything in the bucket was wrapped candy- small chocolate eggs, etc. And while there was chocolate streaming down his face, there were no wrappers. Uh oh! After a mild mommy freak out, and frantic calls to family members to inquire about the dangers of swallowing small amounts of foil. Then I googled it and surprisingly (for googling standards) it said I really didn’t need to worry, but that I would likely see it when it comes out the other end. (Yay, something to look forward to!) I kept an eye on him, but he acted normal. He’s been fine all day. I know it wasn’t much (if he even got any foil at all- it might have been a stray m&m.) Everything I read online said glass= bad, foil= not bad.

Fast forward a few hours later when C was pretending to make cupcakes for her daddy. She has a play cupcake set she got from someone for Christmas one year. The cupcakes come with dry erase markers that allow to you decorate the cupcakes to your choosing. Apparently C handed a decorated cupcake to Baby E who thought it was a real cupcake and tried to devour it. He couldn’t of course, but that didn’t prevent him from spreading green marker all over his mouth and hands.

 

Apparently we are raising a goat. At least my other kids munched on things that were biodegradable! (However, they definitely beat him out in the gross out category – stink bugs and cat poop!)

Fortunately the rest of the day was pretty uneventful in the food department- some chicken, a little oatmeal, some pretzels. Hopefully everything passes quickly and painlessly!

Mommy, my nipples look like little volcanoes! ~ Big E, age 4

I don’t know about you, but there is nothing like the threat… I mean, promise of visitors to put a fire under me to get my house cleaned! We have some family coming into town in a few days and they want to see everyone’s houses. This is actually the opportunity we needed to get the house in order. We usually just let it slide, so we need events like this to get us moving on it! Ha!

Unfortunately neither Tim nor I are organized people. Between the two of us, I am the tidier one… and that’s pretty unfortunate cause I’m not good at tidy! I’d hire someone to come in and clean my house if I wasn’t embarrassed to have someone come in and clean my house! Ha!

See the problem is that Tim and I are both ‘artistic’ people, so creating order for us is very difficult. We aren’t practical. We aren’t precise. We just aren’t. It’s a shortcoming that makes me want to sneak into my kids’ bedroom at night and whisper “math and science” in their ears as they sleep in hopes it will somehow encourage them to purse STEM careers instead of art!

But we also acknowledge that there is a trade off. While we don’t possess the talent of order, there are traits that we do possess that are just as valuable and just as important. Not everyone can be doctors or astronauts, but likewise not everyone can be artists. It’s pretty wonderful and amazing how unique and important each person is and how their contributions can validate and compliment the people around them.

So while I may whisper “math and science” in jest, I would choose for my children to pursue what fascinates them, what stirs their passion, and what makes them tick. So whether it is math and science or art history and French I’ll cheer them on! (But not without serious conversations about being able to pay your own bills!)

Three doses of antibiotics and seventeen more to go. Poor Baby E was miserable for most of the day and fighting a fever on and off. By this evening it seems that the antibiotic might finally be kicking in and he was pretty cheerful.

I love how it stays lighter now. When we got home, the big kids and I took a walk to our favorite gazebo park and upon arriving home they played with the neighbor kids in the cut-de-sac. I’m looking forward to many summer evenings spent sitting outside and watching the kids play. What a blessing!

I’m going to write a book, she said resolutely as she sat down at the table.

C loves to read. She loves to write. She loves to learn. And it’s fun to see her getting more creative. The other day she wrote her first book. It has a total of six pages, but I was very impressed that the story made pretty good sense and she didn’t ask for any help with spelling. She was very proud of it when she was done and asked to take the notebook into school to show her teacher. Thankfully it came home again and I got to document it!

The End.

Good job, C! Mommy is proud of you!

In other news, Baby E has… wait for it… another ear infection! Actually, the doctor thinks the last ear infection didn’t quite clear up so it came back. Ugh. Poor kid! He’s on another antibiotic, this time for ten days. I will be so very happy when the warm weather is here to stay and I can say goodbye to all the germs! This poor kid has had such a rough winter and I just want to see him catch a break!

During dinner, Big E had eaten his food and I told him he could get something out of his Easter basket. He spent a few minutes Eeny Meeny Miny Mo-ing it before he landed on a pack of Smarties. He came over the to the table where Tim and I were still eating and he asked me, “Is it ok if I share my smarties?”

Wow, this kid. I told him it’s always nice to share and he promptly gave me a smartie. And a few moments later he handed me the very last smartie in his pack. That’s the thing about Big E, this is the second night in a row that he has given me the very last smartie, and he does it without hesitation and with a smile. (Both nights I told him I was happy that he thought to give it to me, but I wanted him to eat it, which he promptly did.) His generosity always astounds me. I hope he keeps and nurtures that generous spirit as he grows. Such a sweet boy!

Meanwhile I don’t have any pictures him today. So… Here are the other savages!

You’re very pretty, mommy… He said as he stroked my face. We were both squeezed onto his toddler bed and he had snuggled up against me. I could feel his breath against my face as my fingers trailed through his blonde hair. My little boy is four… no longer a baby. I love you all the way up to heaven and back again, mommy. Everything about his face is handsome to me and I hope all mothers feel that way about their sons. I love his wide little nose and his big blue eyes. I love his eyelashes and his blonde eyebrows. I love his little ears and I love the way the corners of his mouth curl up when he smiles. I know I often gush about his sweetness, but it flowed over me again tonight how lucky I am to have him in my life.

And as I leaned over to kiss C goodnight she smiled at me that sweet little smile that only she can give. Her arms wrapped tightly around my neck and she held on for a moment. Goodnight Mommy! she said and her arms relaxed as I pulled away.

And Baby E played patty-cake with me tonight… He stared at my mouth as I sang the song, concentrating on my lips as I spoke. At the end of the song he would grab my hands and start hitting them together, a not so subtle hint that we should do it again. As I laid him in bed tonight I pulled the covers over his head and pretended he disappeared. The giggling under the covers was replaced with full out laughter as I pulled back the blanket to discover him there. That little tradition tends to ease the transition to bedtime.

This evening, as my children sleep in their beds I am once again reminded that I am a very blessed woman.

Spring Break is drawing to a close. I took the day off today to spend the last day of it with C before she heads back to school tomorrow. We spent the whole morning with the neighbor cousins- watching tv, playing, drawing, etc. Watching the six kids run around was fun, and I got some great grown up time with my sister in law! After nap time, they went out and played with a neighbor. Then it was dinner and bedtime.

This evening I looked in C’s backpack only to realize she had been assigned homework every day of break. Oops! So, she did some marathon homework lessons this evening. Serves me right for setting her backpack to the side the first day of break! Oh well!

While C was working on her homework, Big E was practicing his drawing skills… with hilarious results!

Easter and Christmas usually battle it out for favorite holiday status. On the sentimental, gifty, warmhearted side I choose Christmas, but in the life changing, reason for being I have to go with Easter. Easter is the day we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior. It wasn’t enough for him to die on the cross, but to raise from the dead was to conquer death and all its power. His death and resurrection secured a place for us in heaven that requires no payment from us but acceptance that it is true. That an omniscient, omnipotent God should choose to do such a thing for me, so that I may freely receive it is an act never matched in other religions. No other gods die. No other gods raise from the dead. And no other gods take such a personal, intimate relationship with their creation. There is no greater story than that, and I love that each year we get to celebrate the story of redemption.

Teaching my children that Easter is more than hunting eggs, and Easter baskets is very important to us. We don’t tell them the Easter bunny is real. They know that I go to the store and buy the candy, that I pack their Easter baskets, and that we are the ones that hide the Easter baskets. That’s just how we choose to celebrate Easter. I’ve been on the fence about Santa at times, but never the Easter bunny.

I woke the kids up early this morning and as they rubbed sleepies out of their eyes I told them they needed to go find their Easter baskets. They went downstairs and started to hunt. They found them pretty quickly and immediately begged for some candy. I acquiesced since it was Easter. Then we had breakfast, got dressed and headed out for church. But not before a brief photoshoot with the neighbor cousins!

Getting my kids and the neighbor cousins to all sit still and smile was next to impossible, but we got some cute shots anyway!

We went to church, had a very nice service, and then headed to my in-laws for an afternoon of eating, egg hunting, and playing. It was the first get together where most of the kids were old enough that we felt comfortable sending them all outside for most of the day. They only came in for food and bathroom breaks! I love that they spent the whole day with their cousins building amazing memories. They played games, had a picnic, blew bubbles. They didn’t need us to entertain them for plan games for them. They did it all on their own!! We’ve waited years for this and it was wonderful!

Of course they loved the egg hunt!

If we thought getting a handful of kids to all sit still and smile this morning was going to be tough, just wait until they were all together! I think I snapped between 20-30 pics and surprisingly I got a few that they were at least all facing forward!

Wow, I love all these guys. They are each so different and amazing in their own ways and we are so thankful to call them family!

 

A few weeks ago I got something called a “Piggyback Rider.” It’s a standing child carrier. The idea is that you wear a vest like contraption, as does your child. There is a bar that they stand on and their vest is clipped onto your vest. That way, instead of having their legs wrapped around you, they are supporting some of their own weight. I was a bit skeptical about it, but I got it for a good deal and I decided to give it a try! First thing first was getting myself hooked into it, which was relatively easy. My first victim… ahem… volunteer was Big E. We put the vest on him as he protested loudly and then hooked him up to me. As he stood on the bar, I stood up. The weight was pretty evenly distributed across my shoulders and back, and as opposed to doing an actual piggyback ride, his arms weren’t clinging around my neck and strangling me! However he was freaking out that he was going to fall, even though he wasn’t because he was securely attached, but I let him down and then we hooked Tim and C up to the contraption. She loved it. It’s supposed to be for children over 18 months old and up to 60 lbs, so I think it will come in handy as Baby E gets a little bigger.

This evening I had a ton of stuff to do in preparation for tomorrow being Easter. I had run to the store for the last minute basket stuffings, I had to clean, do laundry, and dishes… but I was also incredibly exhausted, so in a moment of weakness I had Tim make me a cup of coffee… Soooooo…. I’m wide awake at 11:30 pm and I am really going to regret it in the morning. Meanwhile, their baskets turned out pretty cute!

I know, this post is one huge, caffeine induced ramble. Here’s to hoping I crash soon!