Wink

Inside joke:  Rachel, tell Simon that Claudia and I think this is Josiah's "Hello, ladies!" pose.  :)

Everyday Stuff

Often in the evenings I think of things I want to blog about but by the time I get a chance to sit and write, I'm simply too exhausted.  Had a couple of funny things happen this week that I wanted to write down.

As they often do, this past Sunday evening my parents came over to hang out.  I told Mom I was making popcorn and smoothies and she brought some fruit along to add to the mix.  Included was a quart size jar of frozen elderberries that her and dad had grown last summer.  As I was making the smoothies I heard her telling Claudia how good they were for you.  My logic said, "Good for ya?  Throw a bunch in."

Shorty after eating we all went for a walk.  2 kids started complaining of a stomach ache.  The longer we walked and the more they complained, Mom and I kinda whispered to each other that our stomachs didn't feel right either.  I'll spare you the details, but of the 8 of us that ate the elderberry super-smoothie, 5 of us ended up over the toilet in some direction.  All were short lived except for me.  Mine lasted almost 24 hours.  After making a few phone calls to some friends and a couple of quick google searches, I learned that elderberries are in fact quite good for you, but only to be consumed in very small quantities.  Let's just say I'll be staying away in spite of any nutritional value!

***

I think Greta contracted hand/foot/mouth.  It's a virus where they get a fever and blisters on their hands/feet/mouth.  Her poor toes have it the worst.  I have been telling her the last couple of days to not pick the skin off her blisters.  Today she was crying and come to find out she had peeled most of the skin off of her big toe.  It was pink with fresh skin.  I firmly reminded her that I had told her not to peel the skin off b/c it will make it sore.  She looked at me with all seriousness and said, "My invisible friends peeled them off."

We were sitting on the porch this evening, I was playing with Josiah and her with her Polly Pockets.  Out of the blue she said, "My invisible friends are mean."

"Why?" I asked.

"Because they peel the skin off my bwisters."

***

My days are flying by and it's hard to believe that little man is almost 5 months.  Though my transition to him has been pretty smooth, I still feel like I am trying to find my rhythm with 5 kids.  I feel I spend most of my days feeding the baby, feeding everyone else, keeping my house from looking like a tornado stuck, and putting out relational fires that flare up between the kids.  It is a sweet, fun season, but truly exhausting on every level.

One of my favorite things about this season is to see my kids enjoying each other.  Though there are certainly issues between the kids (some more than others) overall they really enjoying being together.  Yesterday was super hot here and my kids LOVE to play in the water.  Someone got it started and for hours they played in buckets, the sprinkler, chasing each other, etc.  It was so fun to hear them laughing and playing with each other.

Josiah is often the center of attention and it seems no one can quite get enough of him.  He's such a happy dude and for the most part loves all the attention.  He is quick to smile and lights up whenever someone is talking to him.

I've had this picture for awhile.  Little Bud got rescued at supper.

It's off to bed for this tired mama.

Baby swirl

Little Baker #2

Recently my girls were having an argument about who was going to bake cookies.  I have a very low tolerance for ridiculous arguments so I decided to implement a plan.  The girls could take turns baking dessert every Wed. night.  It has turned into such a fun thing for them.  My only rule is that they must clean up after themselves.  (go ahead and ask me how that one rule is working...) They've turned out some impressive stuff so far!!  Morgan turned her dessert into a breakfast treat b/c of all the Easter treats last weekend.  She made this pull-apart bread.  It got a little toasty on top (not her fault, my oven is hot).  It was a hit!!

40 Years

Last Sunday, along with our Easter celebration, we had another reason to celebrate.  My parents had their 40th anniversary!  Being the wonderful daughter that I am, I didn't realize it until the night before.  Thankfully my parents aren't ones to want a lot of pomp and circumstance, so I didn't feel too guilty.  :)  My husband did insist on getting them a nice gift card and he wrote them a sweet card.  He is certainly a faithful anniversary celebrator.

I am so grateful for my parents and their commitment to each other and their example to me.  There are many things to commend about their marriage, but one that I like the most is that they simply enjoy being together.  They do lots of fun things together.  What mom likes to do, dad goes along with.  And vice versa.  Even now, they are at a bluebird conference together.  I know that mom could care less about bluebirds, (sorry, Dad) but she went along to be with him.  They laugh together, work hard together, and seem to bring out the best in each other.

Happy 40th, Mom and Dad!!  Love you both.

Family Photo

I have not been able to get to my Easter photos yet this week, but here is our attempt at a family shot.  Not perfect, but it's all of us!

Tea Party

I guess I'm not supposed to brag about my own kids, but it's my blog and my rules, k?

Claudia has this from-birth desire to plan things.  Ever since Morgan was born I remember her setting up and planning little parties for the 2 of them.  Though it's definitely needed some fine tuning, she's quite good at it.  Steve keeps telling me to keep cultivating it b/c someday she'll be planning our 25th wedding anniversary get away!  No pressure, Claudia!  :)
This week has been spring break, so with no school to do, she wanted to plan a tea party for Greta and her little friend, Cianna.  It must say, I was overly impressed with her.  She did every bit of what you will see below.  The food, the decor, putting the stakes in the ground.  Way to go, Claudia.  The girls loved it!!

Creative seating

She even sewed her own skirt for the occasion!!

Somehow in all the planning, Greta's outfit got a bit overlooked.  Claudia made her this skirt out of my old table cloth.  It got a little on the short side!!  Love the sneakers and sweater tights.