And Now We Are Normal

Cleaning. 

This is normal.

The cat exploring. 

This is not normal since the dog was right downstairs, so we'll call this a good new normal.

Yes, they eat all of those in one meal after completing the math to determine how many they can each have. 

A house warming gift from my parents-- 

one of my favorites from way back in Memphis. 

The Texas Hibiscus is finding a home and growing like mad.

That

became this.  

And now I can go through my little door and put my clothes away directly in my closet instead of hauling them through the kitchen.

Stained and screened and shaking a fist at all of the flies around here.

And when Ben asks for 100 of grandma's peanut butter cookies, I have the pleasure of accommodating. Normal. 

Now we plan to hunker down and slow down.

While We Were Out

We went ahead and closed on our new house in North Carolina!

 

And we welcomed ourselves in before having to pack up and head home for now.

 

The kids had no problem finding their living area and settling in. Thankfully phone service is good there.

 

Strikingly similar to our previous house in Texas, we think we'll make ourselves right at home during our April through June staggered move.

 

And, I have no high hopes that this will actually organize the flood of shoes, but perhaps it will help keep them dumped in an out-of-the-way area for at least a little while.

A New Level of Efficiency

Elaine wins.

This would never have occurred to me.

The student is now the master. 

Shredding Day

First, I found two that would take the bait and take on this job for me. 

And it didn't take long for there to be four, interested in the new noise. 

Long after everyone else figured out that this was work, Alida stuck with it. 

This is the next day, after she had stacked everything, nice and neat--regular, legal size, and stack of random receipts and small papers.  She even figured out somehow what really needed to be shredded in that stack and what she could actually just throw away.  

Our New Lawn Furniture

Saturday: We arrived to an empty, new home.  Excited to get our stuff on Monday, but prepared for it to be delayed to Tuesday.  We were fresh, and ready, and excited.

Sunday: Hurt a little getting up out of the air mattress in the morning, but the thought that our stuff  might arrive tomorrow kept us going!  So we took advantage of our free day to go shop lawn furniture sales. 

Monday: Morning sprung, but we hadn't heard that our stuff would arrive.  No worries, we put up our lawn furniture in the sun room.  A cute, multi-purpose lounging and eating/gathering room for the next day--just till our stuff arrived.  The Internet was connected, so who needed anything else?  A pan to cook, please--we had some frozen meals.  My back hurt a little from the air mattress, so I opted for sleeping on the floor.

Tuesday: The moving company called yesterday, and the truck was still in Houston on Monday for routine maintenance.  We'd get our stuff on Wednesday.  We decided to pass the time at a local home and garden store.  I bought a tree, and added it to our little furniture collection. One more night on the floor, no problem.

Wednesday: I awoke to my daily double Alleve, thanked Patric for insisting that we take the coffee pot with us in the car, and then I threw a little sarcastic thank you at him for moving us here.  No worries, our stuff would come today!  Then the moving company called: the truck was broken down, in Houston.  After a few words flung here and there and everywhere, I went for a drive because I love my family, and I didn't want to kill them.  I bought the candle and added it to our little furniture collection/everything thing we own. Oh, no they didn't have a date yet when we would actually get our stuff.  After my calming drive, I suggested to Patric that he try pulling the cushions from our lawn furniture and sleeping on them.  We put a Transformer twin sheet around three of them to hold them together, and his snoring kept me awake on the floor.

Thursday: I clawed the Alleve from the bottle before attempting to sit up. Drank two pots of coffee.  Took the kids to register for school, where we found out they wouldn't accept our records, started a week earlier than we thought, and have to wear uniforms.  Then we got kicked out of an on-post laundry facility, went to the airbase, snuck into another laundry facility, washed our collective five pieces of clothing, and may have eaten popcorn for dinner.  We huddled around the computer on our lawn furniture after figuring out how to watch DirectTV online out of desperation. The moving company called that day, they may be there Friday, probably Saturday, don't be surprised if it is Monday.  Whatever.  As we drug our lawn furniture cushions to the bedroom, Patric suggested that I give them a try.  It may have been the wild look in my eye at this point.

Friday: I awoke with no hope, but I had slept.  We put our lawn furniture back together, ate breakfast around it, watched the news, watered our plant, lit and blew out a candle, swept up the floor around our lawn furniture and cleaned it up. And then Patric took the children out to buy them stuff to make their own fairy gardens, because we were running out of ideas and our lawn furniture was not that exciting anymore.  The moving company called.  They would be there at 8:00 am the next morning.  Whatever.

Saturday: Not really excited, but at least rested, I hugged my lawn furniture cushions before rolling out of bed.  We didn't bother to wake the children, because we didn't really believe our stuff was arriving.  So when it did arrive, we were pretty much still in our pajamas with skeptical looks in our eyes.  As things rolled off the truck, we realized it really was our stuff, and so started three days of unpacking and rearranging.  The lawn furniture is now where it belongs, on the patio, getting soaked in the rain.  Hallelujah

Things I Do

Make Commands, such as "Get OFF your brother's face!"

Clip 80 fingers and toes at a time, forgetting my own 20 until they are a problem.

Impersonate Harrison Ford's Hans Solo on a regular basis when I refer to Alida as "Princess."

Buy Sam's Club stocks of towels.

The Questions That Plague Stuber Days

How do you get the minivan in to get the oil changed and air conditioning fixed when you also have to go to work and get all the kids to daycare and you only have one car that holds everyone?

How do you get to a 7:30 doctor appointment and get the kids into daycare when he has to be across the state (a very longish state) three hours from now and needs his regular old car so I can have the minivan later in the day?

How did I get a flat tire the week after an oil change and a day after having it in for air conditioning service? No one noticed this?

He says we'll look back and laugh some day.

A Season of Thanksgiving

To everyone that has been helping the economy and helping us with diaper disposal:

Thank you. You can stop now.

The Saturday Outing: Inspiration

So if you've been over to Emily and Gracie's blog lately you know they've been decorated for Christmas since Labor Day or some such non-sense. Saturday they spread the disease by showing up at our place early and watching children while the parents went shopping and got a few things done.

And we did get a few things done.

And the kids didn't seem to mind not getting out this past Saturday.

No. We didn't get our Christmas cards done. But pretty much everything else, and we are ready to start receiving as soon as Nicholas lets go of the card holder, which he has claimed as his own.

Really. They didn't seem to mind being left at home all day.

Christmas tree with shatter proof ornaments--done.

I'm still unclear how it is that Nicholas ages five years every time he is around the Kings.

Snowmen sheets to match the bathroom of course.

I'm told they even took a nap Saturday.

And I even got a chance to do a trial run at Christmas Morning Rolls. We used Sunday School as the guinea pigs--they seem to have come out okay since there were only six of us there and this is what we brought home.

Nicholas will tell you, that's a bear.

And this is Santa Claus.

Yep, we even got the wrapping finished and assembly complete.

Now, have a Happy Thanksgiving!

It's Hot Here

So during our code orange days, we make attempts at keeping them hydrated.

Even the girls get big cups.

And we hope some makes it inside of them.

But if it doesn't, they just suck it off the table.

You can give the children cups of water, but you can't make them drink it correctly.

Oh well. We try.

What Goes In Must Come Out

There is a general rule in the Stuber house that goes something like this: what goes in, must also come out. Meaning that in order to manage the amount of stuff that kids need, we must constantly trim back our belongings. It is part of a futile battle to not appear that we live in a daycare center. So each holiday, birthday, shopping trip, etc. is coupled with a skimming down.But then some very well-dressed girl cousins come to visit, and well, we lost the battle. Clothes, shoes, games, dolls, more clothes and then some clothes arrived at the end of last week. Uncle Curt couldn't see his own children in the back of the car on the way here because of all the stuff! Enough stuff that the girls would no longer have anything to wear if we stuck by the normal rule. Even so, we are so very thankful to have such a great haul for the future. So we coordinated packing in Christmas, taking bookshelves out of the kitchen after one-to-many times of the boys climbing up them, putting the lamp we love away until we can get it rewired and children don't see it as a toy, storing a gigantic suitcase that airlines want to charge us to bring, and the cousin haul for a shuttle to the attic, which is located through a tiny hole in the girls' closet with no ladder. All during nap time of course, so the girls got a comfy spot in the playroom to sleep. A couple of bad backs, 15 loads of laundry, and five furniture rearrangements later, we are back to normal.
But we had so much fun not being normal! Erika tried to help Nicholas learn his alphabet, but he really just wants to hide the pieces that belong on the fridge but wind up anywhere but there.
Lauren was a worthy opponent in a sword fight bravely fighting without a sword.
And some fudge was all it took to get everyone together for the cousin shot. (Hmm, the Stuber children are all looking off to the left there as if there might be a tv in sight.)
In other news, Alida now has Elaine's cold. Yesterday morning began at 7:00 with a 103 degree fever, a stripping of clothes, a cold bath, and some Motrin followed by a naked nap on mom and dad's bed. And, we're teething. Not the babies. Nicholas. Poor little fellow decided to rupture his last four teeth yesterday, and it was not good. Add a runny nose, and he had a pitiful day. Benjamin has the cold now as well, but his is taking the form of a scratchy throat and deep cough. Try getting him to drink something warm though--not fun. And we think next in queue in teething for Alida. Elaine? Getting over her cold and feeling rather nice now with some lingering cough.
Happy New Year!

Past Due

Dad gives us our bath. As with everything, we have a rhythm, a schedule, a way of doing things. I guess that is why they hadn’t really given up the baby towels yet. That, or it is just off mom’s radar and dad is very good at making do. But there is a rhythm. Dad gives us our bath and towels us off, quickly puts on a clean diaper if we don’t escape him (the carpet must last at least a little longer), and we’re off. The baby towels have a little nook that goes on our heads. As the towel hangs down like a cape, we escape the bathroom and run. We run and laugh and scream with our baby towels flowing behind like a super hero’s cape.Problem is, we’re getting bigger. Much bigger. And then mom gave us our baths on Saturday. As we wriggled through the toweling off (part of the rhythm), she started grumbling about using a washcloth to dry us off. We don’t even know what a washcloth is; dad doesn’t like to bother with them. (And, shhh, he really just uses soap as shampoo as well.) “These don’t even make it to your butt anymore!” she exclaimed.We guess it’s just part of growing up, but Tuesday night we no longer had the baby towels. The bath time rhythm isn’t nearly as heroic feeling, but it sure is much softer and warmer now.

The Efficiency Expert

Mom appreciates anything that resembles order and efficiency in the care of four young people. She must. We have processes that must rival the most successful emergency management plan. We are stocked to the roof with most everything baby related from bouncy seats (6) to diapers (thousands). Almost anything goes in the name of making things easier. However, she stops short at endorsing the orange juice and Fruit Loops mixture.

The Multi-Tasker

Since mom says that she does not like to have anything in her kitchen that is not a multi-tasker (something about Alton Brown deserving an Emmy Award), we have been helping her find more uses for the lettuce holder. While it is very effective at keeping iceburg lettuce fresh, we have also found it to be useful as a crash helmet and now a broadway top hat of sorts.

We Don't See Bleach Box Racing On The Schedule!

Mom wanted to let Jennifer and Mark know what our schedule was like because they are going to keep us, but I don't see the racing schedule in there. Mom said that it falls under "play," but I'm not sure they're going to get this right if they don't know about the racing schedule.
Friday evening:5:00:Get home from work and daycare.Once you get inside the house--no matter how freakin' cold it is outside--start screaming and try to get back outside.Walk around and scream while mom and dad get dinner ready and throw pacifiers, milk, apple wheels, anything at you to occupy your mouth.5:30-6:00 Dinner:Sit down and be quiet for a few minutes, whew. Mom and dad give you a bunch of whatever they have around and we make a mess. Then we will have a brief moment where we all start clapping for no reason. Benjamin is done when he starts cavalierly tossing things off the side of his plate onto the floor. Nicholas is not done until he has rubbed mashed up food into his hair behind his ear.6:00-6:30 Clean-upRun around and yell while mom and dad clean up the dinner mess. Take things out of the dishwasher as they are loaded, take everything out of the refrigerator and put it in a remote area of the house. Fight over the broom even though you have no intention of using it.6:30 -7:30 Bath and quiet playBath time is good. We know the rule about not standing in the bathtub, but we'll test you anyway. They stopped even trying to use the earplugs because we pull them out and eat them. When we are out of the tub and dry, we will scream mightily when you try to put a diaper on. Nicholas gets about 30 different lotions and Benjamin none. We actually like to hear a book.7:30 Into Bed.Whew. We're pretty good at this one. Mom and dad pretty much put us in there and run out of the room flipping off the light as they go....Saturday Morning:6:00-7:00 Rattle the cageDepending on our mood, we will let you lay in bed and ignore us while we chatter, or we'll start screaming if we want something now.7:00 Everybody UP!8:00-8:30 Breakfast**see Dinner8:30-10:30 We rule the World!Make a mess. Demand a snack. Play. Repeat.10:30/11:00--1:00/2:00 NaptimeWe're pretty good at this1:00-2:00 Lunch**see Dinner2:00-5:00 We rule the World!Make a mess. Demand a snack. Play. Repeat.5:30-6:00 Dinner:Sit down and be quiet for a few minutes, whew. Mom and dad give you a bunch of whatever they have around and we make a mess. Benjamin is done when he starts cavalierly tossing things off the side of his plate onto the floor. Nicholas is not done until he has rubbed mashed up food into his hair behind his ear.6:00-6:30 Clean-upRun around and yell while mom and dad clean up the dinner mess. Take things out of the dishwasher as they are loaded, take everything out of the refrigerator and put it in a remote area of the house. Fight over the broom even though you have no intention of using it.6:30 -7:30 Bath and playBath time is good. We know the rule about not standing in the bathtub, but we'll test you anyway. They stopped even trying to use the earplugs because we pull them out and eat them. When we are out of the tub and dry, we will scream mightily when you try to put a diaper on. Nicholas gets about 30 different lotions and Benjamin none. We like to hear a book, but we won't act like we do.7:30 Into Bed.Whew. We're pretty good at this one. Mom and dad pretty much put us in there and run out of the room flipping off the light as they go....Sunday Morning:6:00-7:00 Rattle the cageDepending on our mood, we will let you lay in bed and ignore us while we chatter, or we'll start screaming if we want something now.7:00 Everybody UP!7:00-7:30 Breakfast**see Dinner7:30-9:00 We rule the World!Make a mess. Demand a snack. Play. Repeat.9:00-11:00 We rule the World (at church in someone else's care...)!11:00-1:00 or 2:00 NaptimeWe're pretty good at this1:00-2:00 Lunch**see Dinner2:00-5:00 We rule the World!Make a mess. Demand a snack. Play. Repeat.