Gentlemen Please

While I am thankful you did it, fixing the flap on my car in your church clothes makes me cringe. 

I am unclear why I can't get an oil change without having the flap re-shut properly; this is the second time. 

Nick I won't even ask where your shoes are.  I gave up on that battle LONG ago. 

And then I find you here. 

Thank you for fixing the light over the stove, but it is greasy up there.  

So very greasy.

My Mother's Day Gift

I am the jeggings-wearing princess. I live in the castle
I married the pirate, who dresses like Batman, who lives in the boat. The pirate is obviously currently on deployment, because this princess wouldn't allow that mustache.
That is our family below. I got great hair extensions.
The math of our family didn't really turn out 1 plus 2 equals three, backwards in mirror-talk, but it kind of did if you take it times two.

There's Something About Emily

And her hand-me-downs.

And it's contagious.

Really catching.

I Wasn't There, But I Heard

There was a trip to the airport last weekend,

Some swimming in the sweltering heat,

some car washing,

movie watching,

YouTube showing,

Tent making,

Hair-doing,

Oh, and parent-returning in the end...

Thanks grandma and grandpa. You are brave souls, and we appreciate it.

Wet Weekend

Swimming on Saturday with Cynthia. I'll just say that I have three kids that once all water-winged (thanks for filling out our stock of wings Cynthia), were belly-flopping and dog-paddling all over the place like they belonged there. For once, I'm not too disturbed that Nicholas is the one who isn't naturally the best at something. He claims I let him sink and was still talking about it this morning. Ben put his wings on when we got in the car this morning, hoping we were headed back.

Then it rained. So we did what any responsible person would do and grabbed our umbrellas and hit the slide.

Then Sunday JB Anon came over to witness the chaos that is water play in our backyard. And now she must abandon us for retirement play in another state. She got in her last snuggle with Elaine, and Elaine got in her last iPhone lesson. Very symbiotic those two.

And Sunday evening at the mention of bath, for some unknown reason, they were all standing there ready for me to turn the water on before I even got up the stairs.

The Saturday Outing: Playdate and Solitude

I meandered through Target for two hours and talked with Patric, just talked. I can count on one hand the times in the past six months I've done that. Actually, I can count on one finger the times in the past six months I've done that.

And without further delay, click here to see why my kids didn't mind me abandoning them and how good, brave friends sustain me.

Every Weekend?

Must we have this beginning on Friday evening?

Time to pop up the princess castle from Uncle Curt.
And there they played for hours.
And a new love affair with the second floor of the house began.

I Think They Like It

Our first swing set injury. Nicholas ran out the door so fast it slammed back and hit Elaine in the face.

But it didn't really slow her down.

And I think they like it.

And the girls made it to the top before the boys.

Two words of instruction and the boys had the glider going. The swings are low enough the girls can push themselves from the ground (thank you in particular mom, dad, and Curt).

And the ladies scaled this thing on the first try without slowing down.

Now, I wonder if I can get some Wisteria to grow on the slats up there.

Thanks for all of the construction work from the family.

Waiting...

Beautiful weekend.

Beautiful kids.

Frustratingly long assembly.

I believe they are in the rain working on this right now trying to finish it up.

Hard To Believe

There was no Saturday outing because it RAINED, a lot.

They are actually not playing in the sand; they're playing in the water...

Sunday however, there was a bit of a ladies day at my house that I was not invited to.

Emily and Jennifer came over to watch the girls for a couple of hours and

Nanny Jenny and Anna came over to fold my kids laundry.

This freed me up to take the boys to a movie. This was the first time I've ever done this, and it was so fun to have an afternoon with them.

Thank you.

And I'm pretty sure I can guess what is happening above--Alida is either a dog or a cat and Elaine is leading her around by the collar. This is the new game. Recently they've thrown horse in to the mix, but it usually isn't as subdued when they are neighing.

I think the ladies had a great time.

Little Ladies

Patric's observation when I sent him this picture was to note first how beautiful his little girl was and then note how tall she's gotten in the time he's been away.

My observation was first, where is her other glove? and second where is her other leg?

Thank you grandma Montana for the beautiful spring dresses that made them break out into a chorus of "I am a princess!" (large emphasis on "-ess," which turned into nearly shrieking to the world their humble status as nobility.)

Spring Has Sprung

And our new garb from Aunt Lori and Aunt Brian is lovely.

But it makes Alida look a wee bit older than the 2-years-old that she is.

The Saturday Outing: Cedar Hill Farms

We were up and out Saturday morning to Cedar Hill Farms and first in line for the Hayride to hunt Easter Eggs with Emily, her parents, and our friend Tena from work.

Elaine on the left; Alida Emily on the right.

Alida took off for some other part of the ride. I guess she didn't want to be associated with us...

And five kids under five sent out into a field to pick up exactly 13 eggs.

Yeah sure. Elaine's bucket was filled to the top by the time I got around to her quality assurance check.
But they had fun.


And after this I was on the run.
And I am so sorry to have missed the rest of their trip, which was artfully documented by the Kings, but I had to run to go get groceries and maybe some Chik-fil-A.
Thank you Tena and Kings for giving me a solid block of time to get a few things crossed off my shopping list.

Now This Made Me Smile; She Probably Screamed

Compare if you will to down below.

We got a package in the mail yesterday from the Dukes' mom. After I smelled it, as I smell all packages from Sarah (coffee, my friends, coffee), I ripped it open. And on the same day that I shared my pictures of my pictures for the kids, Sarah sent me pictures for the kids. I laughed heartily. And then I was thankful for such an incredibly thoughtful friend.

Now when Ben really does give daddy a bath, we'll have a back-up...

Guest Blogging: Grandma's Week

Words from grandma's week below. Pictures tomorrow, they are languishing at the moment on my computer at home. Thank you Gayle for soldiering through the week for us. Let's just say that as I was watching this in the mornings, she was getting her workout:

First of all--I HAVE to day--I DO NOT know how you do this every day, every week, all the time! I have LOVED being with them, but it is exhausting. For me, the saving grace is that I do not really have a schedule and don't have to worry about being any place at any particular time. Also--I can do clothes and dishes while I work!

SO given that--it has been a wonderful week. Thank you for letting me have such a wonderful experience! I hope I have [sic--I hope at least...] totally messed up your routine at home. The kids have really been great--a few meltdowns here and there, but -- hey!--they are kids!

The girls love being a princess and announce it often. The boys are into Buzz Lightyear thanks to the new Toy Story movies. And, I might add, new movies have been a life saver this week. We have used the kitchen table for those 'markers' which has worked fairly well. Elaine has beautiful nails (or is it snails!?), of course, but overall, the pictures are beautiful and it has kept them busy.

Grandma's challenges:

Before Mom left--how to use the garbage disposal, dish washer, and garage door opener (except for the button in the car!)

Monday morning--how to close the garage door. Ben knows there is a button somewhere, but with the Robot Car, who knows what all the buttons would do. (by the way--the car beeps all the time and I can't figure it out!) Thanks to Ben's suggestion, I call Mom just before she boards the plane to find out which button to push so we can get to school!

Afternoon--OK! The kids get to use the markers and we watch the new Toy Story which keeps everyone happy--twice!

Tuesday--overall, went well. The kids are really helping out--and seem to be OK with Grandma not really knowing how to do all the stuff they usually get from Mom! We played with the new play dough toys that Aunt Kate sent--they have enjoyed them and send their "thanks" to Aunt Kate!

Movie night--we watched Ratatouille--a movie that Nick requested. They liked it-no princesses, but not bad.

Wednesday--the major challenge was the Washing Machine craziness. I closed the door while washing sheets and towels and the machine was apparently unbalanced. It moved across the floor, in front of the closed door, and--imagine the rest! Fortunately, I managed to get my arm through the door, shut down the machine, move the door enough to get through, and all was well!

Movie night--back to Toy Story 2~ and markers. Dinner was corn dogs, green beans, mac n' cheese, and ketchup! Remember the corndogs--

Thursday morning: Every time I tried to put the left shoe on either of the girls, they cried and said it hurt! The shoe fit yesterday--what was the problem??? It turns out, that Elaine lost a corndog the night before--we couldn't find it--looked everywhere. Well--once I finally stuck my finger into the shoe--I found it! The shoe fit and all was well--

Thursday night: Making Cookies night--I took before and after pictures and the cookies tasted great. Ben likes the dough (me too) and everyone liked the chocolate chips. Might explain tummy aches later in the evening, though. The weather was great--and they played outside before movie night (Toy story--fortunately, I really like it!)

Friday: my last day as a 'lone grandma'--Took the kids to school, washed clothes, and am now catching up with emails. Mom comes home late tonight. The kids and I are going to make some pretty "Welcome Home' Pictures--and -- Saturday Morning--Welcome to Mom! Have I said it--you are a GREAT mom!

Gayle

All I Can Think

Is surely grandma can do a better job of keeping them clothed and fed than I do for just five days...

Aunt Lori and Aunt Brian

Here is my big brother Brian, aka Aunt Brian to my children.

(Took a couple of reminders to correct that.)

He's eyeballing his lovely wife Aunt Lori...

Who apparently did not start sitting around with her hands in the top of her pants only after she got pregnant. She just has more of an excuse now, you know, like feeling the baby or something like that.

We love when Aunt Brian and Aunt Lori come to visit.

Aunt Brian is good at cleaning. Who says gender roles should be so strictly defined?

He also helped me figure out why my lights were acting funky upstairs.

Helped me get Patric's car running.

Trimmed bushes.

Planted a bush.

Made pancakes.

Power washed my patio.

He really wanted to paint my bathroom. Seriously.

See, he's nesting, I think, but he ran out of things to do at his own house...

Along the same theme. Benjamin decided he would go ahead and have a baby too. He even made sure to get a real baby doll to pretend with.

The first thing Elaine said to me when I gave her a hug this morning and she wiped the sleep from her eyes, "Mommy. There's a baby in your belly."

"Hush child. That's a bad word in our house."

Brian practiced the art of hanging around with a child hanging from you.

He'll get the hang of it.

Then we went to our favorite Big Backyard.

Alida was tickled because Elaine and Lori fell asleep and stayed in the car. So while Brian had the boys, I got to just hang out with her for a little while.

Then while we played and Elaine slept, Lori cleaned the van.

We won't talk about how quickly we can make a mess of a car.

These are the most industrious Aunt and Uncle you've ever seen.

Nicholas re-arranged the bottle tree.

And when Nicholas said it couldn't be done, Ben proved him wrong and crammed himself in that tiny portion of the fort.

Then we helped Lori celebrate her birthday.

We provided the cake and the entertainment because five minutes after the kids had cake, they all went crazy on a sugar-high. It was truly amazing.

And the girls gave Lori a spa treatment and did her hair.

And Lori was a trooper.

Not only did she let us cram her in the back of the car with the kids on most trips out of the house,

but she also let us make fun of her wardrobe as well...