We are Family...

Sister Sledge aside...Do you ever look at your children and think that the insane amount of love you have for them is probably not healthy?  I think that often.  I had one of those mornings where my house got very...quiet.  Eeriely quiet...suspiciously quiet.  I started poking about from room to room...calling out their names.  No takers.  I went to the door and looked out.  There was Claire, heading across the lawn...green jammie pants getting soaked with dew, carrying a Little Tykes chair with her.  On a mission.  The destination:  The old chicken coop.  Pretty soon the other two  poked their heads out--apparently they had decided this morning that the old chicken coop was an excellent "clubhouse" for them...until Payton spotted a ball of fuzz she decided MUST be a mouse bed...and back in they came.  I LOVE that my children are buds.  That was the entire reason I suffered  went through three back-to-back pregnancies...because I wanted them to have playmates...instant and unwavering friends.  Granted, I know this can also cause a share of squabbles and chaos, but I wouldn't want it any other way.  Something as simple as watching that little girl head determinedly across the lawn, to the expectant faces of her brother and sister completely validates my life path...I AM a mother...(rawr)...

Zombie Mode

So--the time has come--I am "officially" on summer vacation!  I should be dancing about the room...loud music blaring, perhaps?  Splurging in a celebratory drink, you might think?  Well, sorry to disappoint, but it is none of the above.  I am, in fact, laying on my bed, in a half-comatose state...listening to my children right outside my bedroom window, partaking in all kinds of summer mischief.  The problem with my children is that they have now entered the stage where they are very aware of Mommy's "zombie mode" and they try to capitalize on it however they can.  The door will creak open to a plethora of requests they think I'll okay in my groggy stupor..."Can we have a Popsicle?"  "Can we set up the sprinkler?"  "Can we get out the slip and slide?"  Unfortunately for them, I am too aware of their plot to let too much pass me by...that being said, they have now in their desperation moved on to the water faucet under my bedroom window.  I'm not sure exactly what is happening, but I am pretty sure it involves a bucket of ice-cold tap water, and a little game of chicken.  Whatever...they are wet and happy and safe...and that, my friends, is enough!  Bring on SUMMER!  Woo-hoo!

The kids (in a fuzzy pic) AFTER the water faucet fiasco! 

The Quiet Critter Conspiracy

     So...I was browsing the Target dollar bins and I came across a few packs of pom pom critters.  Remember those?  They have a pom pom body, glued to feet of foam or felt, googly eyes, and some little antennas?  Teachers on Pinterest have been calling them "Quiet Critters"...being that they tell their students that they are tiny creatures that are very shy and only come out when it is SUPER quiet in the room...then when a student is quietly working you set one on their desk...you get the point.  Well, I took a pack home, in case I wanted to try it out, and when we got home, I took a few out, and explained to my children...apparently a with a little TOO much gusto all about the "quiet critters".  Of course they each wanted to hold one, and I let them, thinking, of course, that they totally got that they were just a fuzz with glued on eyes...boy was I wrong!  Before I realized it, my three each on their own had spread themselves out to the most remote corners of the yard to sit in silent wonder, waiting for their critter to magically come alive.  Neil and I were flabbergasted.  Carter was standing by the garage, ear to ear grin gently holding his little critter...looking at me every few seconds expectantly...Payton climbed to the top of the play set--discouraging Claire to come near--warning her she needed it QUIET.  In Payton-like fashion she sat there with a too grown-up expression on her face...willing her critter to come alive...and Claire, stood in the middle, giddy with delight, gesturing wildly with her finger to her lips that all should be quiet. 

     I felt...horrid.  Really.  I had somehow unintentional tricked my own children.  I hadn't meant for them to take it so seriously.  I thought they would laugh and pretend along with me.  Neil and I kept looking back and forth between them...whispering..."Oh my gosh...what are they thinking is going to happen?!  I had no idea they'd really think they were magic!"  I didn't know whether to let the illusion continue...or tell them they truth...it was like being caught off guard faced with Santa or the Easter Bunny.  Finally I went with the distraction technique...and quickly pointed out the kittens down by the silo...they ever so gently placed them back in the package...shrieking when one of them fell to the ground in front of the dogs...no worries...we saved the little critter and put in back in its bag! 

     To appease my guilty spirit, I promised them that we will spend a day making a bin of our own quiet critters...I got out a bag of pom poms for them to admire, and we thought of different ways to make them unique.  However, I still think they wholeheartedly believe the tiny beings will spring to life once made...it will be interesting to see how my third grade class takes to them...of course, remembering their enthusiasm for Leprechaun catching last March...I don't think I'll have anything to worry about...and the Quiet Critter Conspiracy shall continue...

This pic is taken from (this) blog:  http://projectsandpolkadots.blogspot.com/

Simpletons and Solar Lights

Okay, so...let me just say that we are dorks...and by we, I mean ME.  Well, let me just toss in Neil and the kids into that "we" as well.   There.  I said it.  WE are dorks.  We know it, we own it.  Take tonight, for example...as you all know, Neil and I rebuilt the front deck.  Of course that meant new landscaping had to figure into the mix...and as part of that, we bought some new solar lights for around the deck.  This in and of itself should not be a big deal...we have had solar lights before (until Neil kicked them apart one too many times and hauled them to the dump in typical throw-everything away Neil-style).  However, did that stop us from experiencing the rushy-excitement of watching the new lights "click" on for the first time?  Of course not.  There we are, Neil, Payton, Carter, Claire, and I...gathered out in the driveway at dusk, screeching with giddy delight each time a new light popped on.  It was like the redneck version of a pyrotechnic display.  Even as it was happening, I openly acknowledged to Neil, that we, undoubtedly, were a strange family...but than another light would click on and the kids would be cheering and clapping and running to see it, and I'm not going to lie...pure joy, my friends!

You see, this is why Neil and I are the perfect homebodies...we are so easily entertained by the elements around us that we have no need to stray far from home.  I was just explaining to one of my friends at work today why I would never want to be a "weekend camper groupie" (as she is).  And she said, "Yes, but if you are at home what do you actually do?"  Well, Jody, there it is...now you know.

The Easter Bunny Lane...

I was feeling nostalgic...wanted to take a walk down the Easter Bunny's Lane...here's a peek at the last seven years of Easter's with my kids.

The One and Only...1st Easter with Payton--I would kill for that glowing complexion!

Every little girl needs an Easter Bonnet!  Year Two adds....

A Little Brother!  Carter's 1st Easter

Back in the Bonnet!

We were so rushed we left for Church with your hair still dripping wet!

Year Four brings a sister!  Claire's first Easter!

Not quite an Easter Bonnet--but adorable none the less!

Getting bigger...

Okay, so I know this is a HORRIBLE shot...but my memory card was corrupted, and this is the ONLY pic I have to remember this year by...SO sad. 

This brings us to the present...three pretty big kids!



Say Cheese!

I know...I KNOW!  The thing is, I, myself, am irate whenever my faithful bloggers don't update...I feel neglected, out of the loop.  Once again...I have an excuse...lame as it may be:  My laptop was not in working mode.  My cord literally frayed through, and my battery was dead.  I had to wait for a new cord to be delivered before I could boot up again!  That's my story and I'm sticking to it...Okay, well.  Can I just stick up a bunch of pictures and call this entry done?  Please?  Okay, thanks, here goes:



How can you not just fall in love with these two?  This also happened to be after one of Claire's ER inducing asthma attacks a few months ago...which makes a peaceful sleep even more of a blessed occurrence!

Later on...all tucked into the downstairs bed--so we could keep our eye on her.

Here is Little Man fast asleep in Mom and Dad's bed--he disappeared, and this is where we found him!

Payton--the night she lost her last tooth--she is getting SO grown up!

The day before Easter--dying Easter eggs...each year the kids are another year older...and the dying process is that much easier!  No spills this year!

When it comes to dying eggs, we don't mess around--I think we had...17 different colors of dye!

Neil's ONE egg that he did--"Jesus is Risen"...I, on the other hand...did an Easter Bunny...

All That and a Bag of Chips...

     Okay, so I know I am really, really bad at this blogging thing...I want to be a good, faithful writer...but truthfully...first off–I bought a Kindle Fire and have sort of...abandoned my laptop. Not that I couldn’t blog on my Kindle Fire–I can, and I have...it just takes me a really long time. And secondly...I just can’t seem to focus on any one topic long enough to fill an entire entry...so today, out of guilt, I will sit here faithfully and type away...however I make no promises whatsoever of staying on topic...none. Remember that.
     This weekend was a whirlwind of various happenings...first off...Friday night we took the kids to see The Lorax. Which now brings their movie theater total up to a grand total of THREE visits. I know, we really outdo ourselves around here...we call it: Being Cheap. So off we went to spoil our children with a real movie theater experience. I liked it...I didn’t LOVE it...but that could be due in part to the fact that I had overtired, and ill-behaved Claire on my lap nearly the entire time...whispering LOUDLY things like, "When is it OVER? I want to see the movie I saw on your computer...I don’t like these glasses...they are HURTING my ears...Is it over NOW?" So...I have to admit a sense of relief flooded over me when the credits finally rolled. So much for spoiling our children. I walked out feeling like I had just put my child through torture...a very expensive 3D butter-coated, caffeine-splurging type of torture. Then, as a final kicker to the evening we had to make a quick stop at Walmart on the way home to make an emergency microwave purchase...as Neil had witnessed ours shooting out flames earlier in the day...and since I have a really serious bacon addiction right now–and pan cooked bacon is gross–we HAD to buy a new one. And seriously, what is it with Neil and fire-inducing appliances lately?
     Roll Saturday. Payton had her first EVER friend birthday party invite. Big stuff here. So, off we went...the entire family to send her off in style. I panicked slightly when giving her wardrobe free-reign...as she ended up with a Packer jersey and leggings...seriously? First grade? First party? This has sparkles and floofy skirts written ALL over it! Doesn’t she realize these will be the party photos that will resurface in 11 years as yearbook and slideshow flashbacks? However, I gave her the choice, and I wasn’t going to interfere...so off she went. Party was a huge success...(three of the six girls in skirts...future Prom court right there...). She happily chattered away the entire way to Grandma’s house when it was over. Claire and Carter were green with envy...and I was left yearning for Payton’s next birthday when I can put together an equally kid-wowing soiree.
     Unto Sunday. Well...went to Mass and Grocery shopping (put away groceries and realized we have 20 boxes of cereal in our pantry. 20. None are old. None are stale. We stock-pile cereal the way Mom and Dad did toilet paper.) Ate bacon...felt exhausted, ate more bacon. Took Excedrin to counteract exhaustion. Wished the house didn’t smell of bacon. Made cereal bars after feeling extreme disgust at having 20 boxes of cereal...Managed to use up two...down to 18. And now...Excedrin has kicked in enough that I could blog, and will now go whip up a casserole for supper...and maybe some laundry...and closet cleaning...although the kid's just put in Camp Rock...and I may get sucked in.
     And that my friends is a really long, really boring entry. You asked for it. I warned you. I did. So there. (Cue really childish tongue-sticking out and finger wiggling).

Through the Eyes of a Child...

     So being the...curious mom that I am, I was probing Carter last night to see if I could get a feel for where he sat...in comparison to the rest of the class.  (Okay, so I know it's stupid, but don't judge me, I'm sure every parent has wondered the same thing from time to time!)  I was asking him if they have started doing Guided Reading yet.  He said they had.  I nonchalantly said, "Oh really, what group are you in?" 
     Carter proudly declared, "The Green Apples!"  (Okay, this was not going to help me out...so much for an actual Guided Reading letter like Payton's groups were last year...)  So I thought I'd try a different approach...
     "Which group do you think has the hardest books?" I asked.
     Carter thought for a moment and then said, "Oh, that would be the Peach Umbrellas!"
     "Really?"  I said lightly, my heart sinking.  "You've seen their books, and they are pretty hard, huh?"
     Carter nodded his head, eyes wide, "Oh yes!  I've seen their books and they are really hard!  There last two were almost completely in Spanish, and THAT would be really hard for me to read!"
     I looked into his open little face, smiled, nodded and said, "You are right Carter, that would be really hard for us to do, wouldn't it?"  Done probing.