Flashback Friday: September 2009

I will never, ever forget taking this picture.

It had been a very long weekend while Patric was away at National Guard on the other side of the state.

Let's just say, this may have been the only time there were any smiles that weekend because it had been a long one.

 

And then along came Sunday night at bedtime, daddy still not home, and there is a sudden outbreak of sweetness throughout the brood.

 

That.  That would melt away 47 crap hours in a heartbeat, and it still does.

Let it Begin

After our Thanksgiving relaxation, we went to work getting ready for the next big one.

And, I didn't kill them while we did this, so we're off to a strong start.

 

Well, the start was filled with the middle on the bottom of the three part tree, followed by a too-long discussion of finding all the male and female light string ends to put together, and then many scratches on the arms from all of this work. 

 

And in the end, I gave them a box of ornaments and walked away.

Best decision ever.  It's beautiful and perfect.

 

 

 

Don't You Dare

 

Make the first words out of your mouth when you see me at the end of the day for the first time, "What's for dinner?"

 

Unless you have consulted the oracle there and can affirm a positive answer to each of these questions.

 

I am not a servant.  We are a family.

 

It's So Cold

Accepting that the weather would never dip below 80 here, I dressed them in their shorts and t-shirts for school the other day.

When they hit the chilly 74 degrees outside, I heard:

"Moooooom!"

"It's SO cold!  I'm freezing to death."

"We need jackets!"

and my favorite

"You should have never put us in shorts mom!"

Brother.

Elaine is in a 2T jacket there because it was all I could dig up on such short notice.

They are adjusting a little better than I.

Mommy Away

Last week I had to be out of town for a few days, and it appears that video game playing was allowed at the table.

The kids were given food, so that's at least good.

And they seemed to like it.
And I would bet money that Alida lived in her Valentine's Day gift from grandma the entire time.

They were clothed, so that's at least good.


And there was bad weather, so they had to retreat to the storm center/laundry room at one point.

They were safe, so that's good.

And there was art time.

So their little minds were expanded, way to go Patric.

I love that Patric is so good with the kids and that I have no worries when I leave for a few days. He is an incredible father to these four, and we are so lucky to have him.

Still Going

And going, and going.

I'm Not Convinced

That a bigger house is entirely necessary.

Waiting

There are tactics that can make it fun.

Just Fun People

At a time not long ago, the thought of having four little ones in the front yard was hard to consider, let alone with only one parent while the other got dinner going on a weeknight when evening traffic was racing home through our neighborhood.

While I Was Away

Now I understand why Patric suggested that perhaps I look for some cowboy boots while I was gone....

What good were the Star Wars toys doing in the attic anyway?

I hung this shirt out of the laundry last night with no clue what it had been through until seeing this picture this morning. Good job on the laundry Patric!

Suspiciously getting past bedtime while playing with grandpa.

I think that's what grandpas get to do, and I hear that he spent a wonderful birthday with the grandkids.

Playgrounds

One of the firsts on the Welcome-Home-To-Do-List was finish the swing set.

This included seats, a drink bar, and flowers of course.

They loved it.

He said, "That took half a day! I have no idea how your parent and Curt even got this thing up!"

But, when it gets too hot outside,

you just turn dad into the new playground.

And they all slept well that night.

Too Smart

When they ran out of bubbles, I took the canisters to the sink. I thought I had been very sly when I snuck the dish soap down into the basin and quickly added a little, filling the rest with water. Wahlah, more bubbles Princess.

Nicholas had been quietly watching the entire process. Later I found him in the half bath with Elaine showing her how to make bubbles with the hand soap there. And they made bubbles and bubbles and mess and mess.

GOOD MORNING!!!!!

This morning, the first e-mail I read was something like this:

"Good Morning,
Today is going to be a good day! I'm starting out with a very positive attitude.

Blah, blah, blah, work stuff.

Thanks. Have a good day today :)"

Um, I changed three, yes three, poopy diapers before we left the house this morning at 7 ish. Dealt with one melt-down because I wouldn't let the princess wear her play shoes. Dealt with another melt down because I was accused of losing a piece of paper that one boy child dropped in the seat of the car. Dealt with another melt down because I was mean enough not to carry everyone into daycare in my arms, on my back, clinging to my legs--whatever way they could get a ride. Then I hit traffic. I got another sad e-mail from Patric this morning about a soldier losing a family member in Afghanistan. And, what on earth is going on that EVERYONE beat me to work this morning and took all of the good parking places. I'll be leaving early as well to take Elaine back to the specialist.


Right now, I just want to do like Nicholas: sit alone at the table and eat my breakfast of a tube of Girl Scout cookies alone in peace under an umbrella.

Just Try It

Making dinner with four helpers.

The Actual Birthday

Scramble in the door through the rain after daycare and start taking drink orders.

Have toys from their teachers shoved at me to be opened.

Get Dora going before there is a meltdown.

Chocolate milk. Chocolate milk. Apple Juice. Ben what did you want?

Mix brownies. Throw them in the oven and forget to start the timer.

Answer the phone.

Start dinner.

Curse the toy packaging.

I think it's trash night. Did I take the trashcan down?

Throw dinner at them.

Answer another drink order.

Dora is over, begin another round.

Are those brownies I smell? Oh, no. Change a diaper.

Wash my hands, start a load of laundry, finally take my coat off.

Throw dinner dishes in the dishwasher (wonderful invention Jen).

Throw more gifts at the children (Grandma Montana--just thank you, thank you from the bottom of my worn out heart for sending the girls something to open.)

Curse more toy packaging.

Stop to hang new Dora ornaments on the tree--curse the Dora ornaments, but not you grandma Montana because the things I curse often are my lifesavers--i.e. Play Doh.

Do I smell brownies?

Answer the phone.

Ben did you already break one of your toys?!

Choose which child will talk, hand off the phone, and hope they say something.
No. Just No. We're not going to color tonight.

Start explaining to the children now that there will be only one round of Batman before bed.

Step on something and nearly break my ankle.

Take my work shoes off.

Fly to the brownies. Are they done? I can't tell. Take them out.

Serve hot, gooey brownies.

Answer the phone.

Round up three bags of trash.

Give in and get out the colors.
Start baths.

Get clothes ready for the morning.

Remember to take the trashcan to the curb.

So no, the pictures aren't that great...but the kids had a great time and there was little fighting. Thank you all for making their birthday a success.

More From The Saturday Inning

Saturday marked the first day since having mobile children that I was able to fold laundry without little hands picking everything apart as quickly as it was folded. This is HUGE. Prior to Saturday I would spend the weekend completing baskets of laundry and then hiding them unfolded until Sunday night when I would sit down after they were in bed and fold laundry for an hour. The cost for this momentous occasion was allowing them in my room where they decided to put on make-up and explore all of mommy's things. Thankfully, I am horrible at being a girl so there were lots of make-up brushes and chapstick--that's about it.

Point-to-Remember: They think my economy size bottle of Tums are candy. Must put those up high and still easily at hand...

The Saturday Outing

was a nightmare.

From the 5 a.m. Alida wake-up

To a pretty good job at the donut shop, until we all lost our heads while leaving;

To the hair salon;

To driving to the Botanical Gardens to have one say no he didn't want to go there;

To the overcrowded other park and cranky children;

To home again.

Fifteen hour constant movement Saturdays suck.

The Weekend Outings: Bravery

Didn't you just get back?

See ya.

My plan was to just drive around in the new car all weekend with movies playing. But either I realized what kind of gas money I would be spending or I realized that in a short five weeks we would be sentenced to home confinement or get over ourselves and start going. So we headed to the Botanical Gardens, which I really like to imagine are just my own gardens. The crowd was small enough that each kid had their own play house with one to spare.

After lunch, we took the long way to the zoo.

And maybe sat in the parking lot once we got there for a few minutes to finish naps and the movie.

We trekked to the Teton Trek at the zoo, which was beautiful. This would be where Nicholas decided it would be fun to run off on his own. So the camera went away. And for good or bad, I let him wander on the porch while I watched him through the window for a minute or two to let the whole vastness of being lost sink in. We've been talking a lot lately about how important it is that we stick together in every sense of the word.

And then this on the way back.

It was nearly like camouflaging a set of twins.

Mostly I don't mind the attention we get, but I have my days. This had been a long day. We had been at the zoo for about three hours at this point. I was alone in large open space with them for the first time really. So every time I passed someone and they stared at us; every time I passed someone and I heard them exclaim behind us; every time we negotiated a door and someone just stood and stared at us to watch how we do it (with a little quiet help and a smile from a stranger would be nice); every time people felt comfortable just stopping us to chat; every time someone new walked in the bathroom and stopped short to assess how I was dealing with my kids, I looked away. I wasn't in the mood Saturday. I wasn't trying to be rude, I was really just pretending there was nothing to see.

Really, they were so good that we all got ice-cream at the end and stayed an extra half an hour lingering at the zoo entrance area. Because there was no way that combination was getting in the new van.

And wearing them out must have worked because the escape artist and her sister Alida didn't show up at my door until 7 Sunday morning. And they were perfectly happy to do this while I took a shower and poured a cup of coffee.

Whatever Works

They just kept piling in.

Who am I to tell people not to get in the bathtub?

Bad Day Defined

And I quote:

"Noooooo. Not thoooooose cookies mommy. I just want the little, black ones."

(yeah, Oreos)

And so it went

All.

Day.

Long.