Budding Artist....

A wonderful girl named Rachel J. has started teaching art lessons, so I enrolled Kennedy. She's only had one lesson, but I was very pleased with her experience. I mainly just want to expose her to the art world. She loves to draw and create things, this class is a way for her to do it with a little bit of direction. I, myself, have not one drop of artistic ability. My stick figures even look lame. She needs a real artists influence. This class is perfect for her to get a better feel for something she already loves to do.

Drawing a portrait of a leaf.

With fellow artist Alison.

Ethan's Amazing Ability......

Ethan has started a collection. He came home one day after school and had 5 Yu-Gi-Oh and 2 Pokemon cards in his possession. "A nice kid on the bus gave them to me." The entire year his collection kept growing. I, myself, have purchased 5 cards for him. They came in a small pack and were part of a Christmas gift. 5. That's it. Somehow he manages to acquire these cards from other kids. He has a way of making people want to give him things. I've seen it happen. Amazing talent. His father is equipped with the same kind of talent. This uncanny ability has caused his collection to continuously grow without spending a dime. He now totes this container (also given to him by a friend free of charge) back and forth to school each day. He uses them for the purpose of "trading" but ends up once again with more than he started with. Wow. Only a select few children can gain objects without inflicting bodily harm, or threats, and remain liked by others in the process.

Mission: Re-adjust babies schedule....

Landon has been taking amazingly long naps. We are talking 3 to 4 hours. However, he has been staying up later than the other children due to the extreme sleep in the afternoon. All my other kids are in bed by 8, usually asleep by 8:30. Landon has taken to spending time alone with me, or Shawn and I if Shawn is home, and just hanging out until around 9 when he tells me "upstairs" meaning he's ready to go to sleep. It's kind of fun to cuddle with the little bug all alone at night. But, it would be nice to be alone with my absentee husband at 8 and not deal with any little people. So, I came up with this great idea of re-scheduling Landon's sleep. He always wakes up at 7 when I wake up Kennedy, then he naps from noon until around 4, then goes to bed at 9. I decided I would only let him sleep 2 hours this afternoon so he'd go to bed at 8 with the others. Ready, go. Today was the day. At two o'clock this afternoon I find myself sound asleep on the couch downstairs so have to ponder the reality of this plan. I decide it's for the best and drag my sleepy body up the stairs to wake the little guy. He was not happy to be woken up. After a little coaxing and cuddling, he seemed happy----until 4:30. Then all hell broke loose. He would start to cry if I looked at him wrong. Nothing was pleasing this typically happy-go-lucky child of mine. Finally at 7:30 he was off to brush his teeth with the others. At 8 I start tucking in. Landon is standing up in his crib with tears and snot running down his cheeks. Not just crying, but making quite a scene. I made all the others comfortable, down to the final drink of water, and he was still bawling his little head off. I relented. I grabbed him up, wiped his face, got him a sippy cup of ice water, and sat down in a chair to cuddle the little fella. I sang him 5 songs, and rubbed his feet. By the time I got him placed back into bed he was sleepy. He rolled onto his tummy and said, "night momma". That's it. The kid just likes to be alone with his mom. And he LIKES to take long naps. Who am I to argue with a long nap and a little cuddle time at night? So for now? Mission: ABORTED. Let the kid set his own schedule. After all, he's the baby, right?

Hello, Hello.....

Landon has found joy in the phone. Jack has an old cell phone he picked up somewhere and Landon thinks it's real. He'll talk on it for hours. He has this crinkle in his forehead he gets when he talks like the person on the other end is saying something worthy of serious concentration. The phone call I caught on camera was probably a wrong number because he answered, said goodbye, then hung up. I imagine he thinks when I talk on the phone I'm conversing with myself. Maybe I am sometimes.

Fighting Kids.....

Every once in awhile my kids get so bored that all they do all day is pick on each other. Some of their fights are actually comical. Like this one. Kennedy hung this sign above her bedroom door:She obviously did it to make Ethan angry because the other two boys can't read. Ethan's response? Well, he entered her room of course. He explained that "i lawd" is not a word and therefore the sign means nothing. Yelling as loud as she can muster, "ETHAN, IT SAYS ALLOWED----AND YOU ARE A BOY SO GET OUT OF MY ROOM!!" As calm as can be, with a slight giggle to his voice, "Kennedy, it says i lawd and that basically has no meaning to me." He then turned on his heels and exited the forbidden territory. I think it's safe to say that the sign backfired a little. Either that or Ethan inherited the make-the-other-person-more-mad-by-not-reacting-as-you-are-supposed-to gene from his father.

Shawn's Job Description....

Book Club Has Begun.....

We met for the first time today in my home. I'm supposedly in charge. I've been the leader of this book club for a long time. This will be my 6th year. All it really means to be in charge is that I need to set the date and provide my home. All the girls bring their thoughts, ideas, and opinions and that is really what makes this club run. I LOVE book club. I have always loved to read, but sometimes get stuck in a rut and feel overwhelmed by the library selection. It's nice to have other people's favorite reads brought to my attention. Today I typed up a list of suggestions sent to me via email from some of my favorite readers (Tiff, Jodie, Erin) and a few from some of the new girls joining this year. We had a pretty amazing list to narrow down. I imagine I will eventually work my way through the entire list, but for now I'll stick to the monthly selection. In no particular order:

#1) My Sisters Keeper by Jodi Picoult
#2) The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
#3) The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
#4) Odd Girl Out by Rachel Simmons
#5) Ties that Break, Ties that Bind by Lensey Namioka
#6) Eat Cake by Jeanne Ray

You'll notice that two of these are already listed under my favorite books. It never hurts to re-read a good book. I hope this year brings many good discussions.

I'll Just Wear Flip-Flops......

On Saturday Ethan was playing outside in flip-flops. In the fields. I've told him a bazillion times that he needs proper foot-wear to wander in the weeds. When chasing frogs one could get injured if not protected with tennis shoes. Whatever. What do I know anyway. I'm just the mom. That evening he complained of a scratch he hadn't noticed earlier. He said it hurt to put on shoes, so he wore flip-flops to the school carnival. Sunday morning while getting ready for church I noticed his foot was a little swollen. It kind of looked bruised. Church shoes were out and once again flip-flops were the preferred attire. (I know, flip-flops with dress clothes...blah,blah,blah. Heard it). Monday morning his foot actually looked a little purple. I think "bruise" and write a note to get him out of gym until a doctor can check him out. I of course don't mention the doctor will be his father when he finally rolls back into town that evening. Come Monday night he is in pain enough that he lets his dad get a pretty close look. Ethan and Shawn head upstairs and shortly thereafter I hear LOUD sobs. I find them in my bedroom. Ethan in tears covering his eyes so he can't see what his father is doing, and Shawn with various kinds of silver instruments laid out on the bed. He was able to pull out a sliver 1 centimeter in length. He then had to squeeze out all the pus that came along with the minor infection. I have to give Ethan credit. It had to be painful. He cried his little eyes out, but managed to keep his foot completely still while the doctor fixed him. I also have to give Shawn credit. Medical School has taught him a few things. I guess not having to pay for a trip to the ER would be considered a perk to this long journey he got me involved in.

The foot was fine after it was splinter-free and drained of infection. Now maybe I have a little clout when it comes to foot-wear suggestions.

Jack's new hat....

I told Jack to go get dressed because we needed to go to Walmart to get stuff for dinner. I saw him run buck-naked from the bathroom with his underwear on his head. I figured he just put it there so he wouldn't lose it when it was time to put it on. When he emerged moments later fully dressed still donning the hat, I checked to make sure he was wearing another pair in the proper location. He was. He told me he just felt like wearing underwear on his head that day. We piled in the car. I'm past caring what other people think of me and had no problems with the head ware in Walmart. He removed it before actually getting into the store. He said it wasn't as comfortable as he thought it would be. What a character.

Which Friend are You?

I LOVE friends. I was sad to see it go off the air, but realized it needed to. I found this quiz on some random blog and needed to take it. I think it summed me up quite nicely. Which friend are you? (Quiz at brainfall.com)

You are part Monica. You have a go-all-out nature. Your friends better watch out, because you play to win. Also, when it comes to order and cleanliness, you're a bit obsessive compulsive. Your best trait, however, is your thoughtfulness. You go to great lengths to care for your friends.
You are part Ross. You're intelligent and adored by your parents. However, your lack of social skills causes you to talk too much and try too hard. While your friends pick on you for your nerdiness, they better watch our for your rage.
(When did I turn into one of these take-a-quiz girls anyway)

A lot of work...

Sometimes when I know Shawn is going to be working lots over the weekend, I like to perch myself on the end of the bed like this:I think I'm trying to evoke sympathy out of Shawn. I kind of throw a mini pity party while watching him put on his shoes. It rarely works. Probably because he knows he's not going away on vacation, but rather to a place where a lot depends on him. He carries a lot of stress on his shoulders. He does acknowledge the fact that weekends with him away are probably difficult, but nothing I can't handle. I know all this in my mind, I just like to pull the "poor me" card sometimes. Days can be really long without him around to wrestle with the boys, draw with Kennedy, or just be in the same vicinity as me doing nothing but being there. Often times when he is away and I'm exhausted from the daily grind, this is what happens in the evening:What you can't see is the small TV glowing in the background. Yep, I plug in a movie in the bedroom. It's a special treat to actually watch something in a bedroom. That TV is specifically for video games only. Except on nights like these where all I want to do is lay in my own bed with a book, or watch what I want to watch on the real TV. I call this survival. The good news? Shawn is going to be IN TOWN this weekend. He is on-call, but I'm probably going to see him at least a few hours. He then gets TWO weekends in a row with no responsibilities. I already have him booked solid with quality time.

Play-Dough Fun....

I realized the other day that Landon had never touched play-dough. Pathetic. He's almost 2. I think Ethan was using play-dough when he was barely 1. I guess either I've gotten lazy with my parenting, or smart about having to clean up the doughy mess. Regardless, I decided the boy needed to take a crack at molding the stuff in his hands. I found a recipe for Jell-O playdough from a friend (thanks Ruth) and decided this would be a good start. I made the stuff, and while it was cooling Kennedy gathered all the supplies needed to cut, mold, shape, and roll with. Landon LOVED this new activity. He preferred the plastic utensils to any cookie cutter. He just diced away for about 45 minutes. How have we not done this time-alone-for-mom activity before? (I mean, this learning-with-your-hands activity.)

Kennedy read on the recipe that this particular dough would harden when molded and left out to dry. She took full advantage and made many shapes. Most were from cookie-cutters, but my favorite were original designs. The cell phone (buttons included) and the nest FULL of eggs were the best.

I guess the mashed play-dough all over the floor (and some in Landon's hair courtesy of Jack) proved worth it in the end. Ethan wants to make chocolate play-dough next. I don't think he really wants to play with it, I think he just wants a little dessert.

Repeats....

Because I live in a town that is so transient, I get to meet a lot of new people every year. I've recently started to notice that there are many duplicates. Every year it seems that someone I knew once has a "twin" move in. I'm disappointed if the look-a-like is someone I wasn't too fond of previously, but am excited if it happens to be someone I really enjoyed. Sad that I let my previous relationships dictate how I approach this new person. This year the look-a-like happens to be someone I really had a good time with. Unfortunately, I need to remind myself that this is an entirely different person altogether, and no hairstyle, or accent makes this new person the original. I hold the look-a-likes to some sort of standard set previously, and when that standard isn't quite met I find myself a tad bit disappointed. Unless the look-a-like turns out better than the original. This happened one year. It happened to be a repeat of an unpleasant person. I guarded myself around the look-a-like until I discovered she was much more fun than the original. I chastised myself for having pre-judged her. There is also the case where the original and look-a-like come from identical personality-quirk-molds. This is just a wierd thing to encounter. But it has been encountered before. After all these years I'm still looking for the Pam or Aimee repeat, but have never found them. Some people are just one-of-a-kind.

My soxygen is hurting.....

Today I experienced what I think is a migraine. Before I took Jack to preschool my right eye was only seeing black wavy lines. I thought I'd looked into the sun too long. When that went away I had an excruciating headache. Lucky for me, Landon went down for a nap early, so I took 3 extra strength Tylenol and went to sleep. After 2 hours it was down to a dull throb. Then Jack came home. I told him my head hurt. He said "I better go get my skeleton book to tell you why it's hurting". (He has this book about bodies that I bought for him when he wouldn't leave Shawn's anatomy book alone.) He sat me down on the floor and opened to the page about brains. First, he told me all about the brain. I kept asking, "but why does it hurt". He skirted the issue like some doctors do. Finally he got to the point. "Mom, your soxygen is hurting. This arrow points to your brain. Here are your lips and teeth. If you have 5 loose top teeth, and two loose bottom teeth then your soxygen starts to hurt." I asked how to make it stop hurting. He said, "If you drink 1 glass of water it should go away." I drank a glass of water, in front of him of course. I don't want to doubt his cure. Then he said,"There. It should start to work. It will definitely be gone tomorrow after a good night sleep". Good thing for me I have a doctor that is willing to diagnose anytime.

My Wish....

I wish I had a kitchen that had a drain right in the center. Then after my kids ate a meal I could simply load up the power washer with part Lysol, part water, and just hose the floor down. How easy this would make my life. I guess there would have to be a trick to make it ascetically pleasing, but that is a minor detail, right? This all came about because I thoroughly cleaned the kitchen after dinner. Shawn is gone (again) so I decided we needed to do something fun. Snicker doodles was the consensus. I would make the dough, and then they would roll the little balls in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Fun, right? After I make the dough (it's quite a crumbly mixture before it's refrigerated) I'm headed to the fridge. As I'm pondering which shelf is best suited for this dough, the bowl somehow slips out of my hand and all over the floor. Not just all over the floor, but across 3 of the fridge shelves also. I get out the vacuum deciding that using the wand would be easier than trying to clean it up by hand. I get kind of carried away with the vacuum and end up cleaning all the nooks and crannies, all the baseboards, behind and around the garbage can, and even in a few cupboards. I make another batch of dough, place it in the fridge safely, and then re-vacuum my work space. After I clean out the inside of the vacuum and put it away I stand back to admire my work (spotless kitchen) only to realize the kids hadn't rolled the balls in the mixture yet, and I would once again find myself cleaning the kitchen----for the 3rd time in under an hour. After going through this wish in my mind while typing this up, I'm re-thinking my wish. I would prefer a "Tim Taylor" type kitchen where everything is behind one giant door. When it's time to clean up simply shut the doors, push a button, and it starts just like a dishwasher. Counters, cupboards, floors, everything steamed and scrubbed to perfection. I realize this is just a wish. It doesn't hurt to dream.

I'm What??

Right now, at this very minute, I'm vanilla. Yesterday when I took this I was chocolate chip cookie dough. I'm guessing that if I took it tomorrow I'd be some other flavor. Apparently my personality is so full of flavor I could open my own ice cream shop.

You're as popular and relaxing as vanilla ice cream. You go with the flow, and get along with all sorts of people. You appreciate peace and simplicity, so you sometimes find crowds and loud noises overwhelming. You are a chilled-out, calming influence on the people in your life, and your friends appreciate how supportive and flexible you are.
***funny that it says I find loud noises overwhelming---I think I'm the one overwhelming people with my loud voice!***

Art by Kennedy....

Kennedy loves to draw. She is very creative and quite detailed for a girl her age. At age 3 she was drawing quite a few details in her artwork. Not art-gallery-front-page-news-amazing, just pretty darn good. Her father will have to take credit for any artistic ability our children inherit because my stick people even turn out wrong. She took my camera the other day to document a picture that she drew of monkeys. "It's for your blog mom". She even took a picture of Shawn holding it up for the world to view.

I decided I needed to document some of her other artwork. This next picture is one she drew 2 years ago but I saved it because it is priceless. It's a picture for Shawn of Shawn. Notice the patient in the bed, the stethoscope around his neck, and the cutest part? The money in his hand. Every day Shawn tells the kids he has to go to work to make the money we spend, not because he wants to be away from them. This picture is how she sees her dad. Adorable. (click on the picture to see enlarged version).

She also loves to draw pictures of things she knows well. Like Spongebob and his pet Gary. And her version of a bird in flight.

I love to see her creations. Not because I think she will be the next Picasso, but because it's her mind on paper. She often draws what she thinks about. I hope she continues in this direction and starts to develop into a talent something she loves to do.

6:50 A.M.

This is the time my two older children need to be awakened in order to catch the bus on a school day. It's painful for a mother to wake sleeping babes this early. Especially when they are in bedrooms with the younger ones that have no reason to be awakened. The other morning Kennedy said,"Oh, I hate this part of the day". It's early. With the season change the sun is just barely peeking over the horizon which makes it seem earlier than it really is. I watch them trying to dress themselves while keeping their eyes closed as if somehow this will make it easier. Part of me just wants to send them back to bed and tell them when they get up I'll drive them to school. If it is so difficult to be awoken this early on a school day, then WHY, WITHOUT FAIL, do they come bounding in my room at 6:50 am every Saturday, Sunday, and Holiday dressed and wondering if they can go outside yet??!! Who are these people anyway? Do they think I need to be woken on days I should be sleeping in as retaliation for the school day wake-up??!

Jack's First Day...

Jack started preschool this week. If it were up to him he'd be starting college and living in his own place. I've never met such an independent child. Preschool doesn't start until 11:45, and he was ready with backpack on by 7:45. I tried everything to buy me time, but we ended up on the front porch with a camera by 11:05. I made a deal with another mom that I'd drive the kids, if she would pick them up. Awesome deal. We showed up at the friends house at 11:20. A little early? She was just about ready to go, so it only bought me another 5 minutes. We showed up on the porch of the preschool at 11:32 and of course the doors were locked. What preschool teacher in their right mind would leave doors unlocked to eager 3 year olds and even eager parents?! We played on the porch. We took pictures. We walked the wooden ledge around the flower beds. We jumped off the porch. We made silly faces. We talked about what fun the day was going to be once we were allowed to enter the doors. We talked about what their teacher was probably doing that would cause her to lock the doors----they figured she was eating her lunch.

Finally the teacher was seen walking towards us. She unlocked the door and we were allowed to actually enter the building. Jack couldn't put his backpack in his cubby fast enough. He has 2 nametags to choose from----1 with Jack, and 1 with Jackson. He couldn't decide on back-to-school-night which one he would like to be called, so his teacher made him 2. He decided he'd be Jackson for the first day. He kissed me goodbye, and I left. Wow. My 3rd child is now in school. When did these kids grow up?

He had a great day. The next day he wasn't ready to go until 8:15, so he was getting closer to the correct time. He also told me that I didn't need to walk him in to school because he could go by himself. I told him it was the rule for me to walk him in. He also thinks he should get to go all day like Ethan and Kennedy and is pretty ticked they won't accomodate his wishes. I guess I never need to worry about this particular child living with me when he's 25. I just hope he sticks around my house long enough to finish elementary school......

SWAT team..

Flies are infesting our home. The kids leave the door to the garage open when they head outside to play leaving ample opportunity for the pests to enter my domain. I am horrible at killing the things. I can swat for 30 minutes and maybe hit one. Kennedy told me I was a failure. Her words, not mine. Ethan happens to be a very good aim. He told me that when I'm able to hit 7 flies in a row then I can be a member of the "swat-team". "Until then, you can only wish Mom". Lucky for me the people that have achieved "swat-team" status (Ethan & Jack) live in my house and take care of the little buggers for me.

Long Drive Home....

I just found some pictures from our long drive back to the midwest. Kennedy was given make-up for her birthday from Grandma Angela and decided she needed to do make-overs the first 5 hours of our trip. Jack happened to be her client.

One Last Summer Swim....

Today being Labor Day the kids were out of school. It's also the very last day to swim outside here in this little town. We took advantage and ventured out to the lake. The water was nice. Even Jack got in and got wet (he's pretty particular about his water temperature). The weather was absolutely perfect for a day at the lake. We took snacks, buckets & shovels, and life-jackets ready to spend the afternoon in the sun. Ethan loves to swim out to the dock and jump off. Today the dock was full of college age kids who were fully entertained by Ethan and his friend Aimee. I kept hearing roars of laughter coming from that direction--------Ethan and Aimee had raptured all their attention and were really taking advantage of being in the spotlight. What a great way to say good-bye to summer days and welcome in the fall. I do feel bad that Shawn is missing all of this because he's working so hard for our family. We love you babe, and really missed you today.

***Ethan is the one on the dock in the orange life jacket gesturing with his hands. Looks like he's entertaining the crowd. That's my Ethan.

Bagels & Cream Cheese...

Landon's new favorite breakfast is blueberry mini-bagels schmeared with strawberry cream cheese. I think he feels like he's eating something covered in frosting, which is why he's so willing to eat this typical food. You can see by the picture that he thoroughly enjoys his breakfast. Landon has really grown up these last few months and has FINALLY started to spit out some words. He has names for all the kids. Ethan is "E-O", Kennedy is just a long "EEEEEE", and Jack is "Ga-Ga". It's funny to me to watch his vocabulary explode so I can finally hear what has been going on in that little head for so long. He knows all his body parts, but his favorite is elbow. Anytime anyone's elbow is in view he needs to touch it and say "belbow", then point to both of his own. He doesn't really know the names of animals, but everytime he sees one he makes the sound over and over. The thing that is fun to watch is his excitement. He pounds on my arms saying "Mama, mama" until he knows I'm paying attention, then he'll show & tell me what he's viewing. The other night me & the kids rented "A night at the museum" for a movie night, and Landon watched on my lap. There are so many interesting things to a 21 month old in that movie. I'm surprised I don't have bruises covering my arms. He pounds me incessently, even though I've acknowledged whatever it is he's excited about. I guess he just wants to be 100% assured that I'm not missing what he's seeing. Funny boy. I find myself doing things for him that were forbidden to my other children. Like bedtime for instance. My kids just get into their own beds and stay there. I don't care if they cry. I just have always made bedtime sacred "me" time. Lately I've been putting everyone else in bed and taking Landon downstairs to cuddle on the couch with. He'll just sit in my arms cozy in a blanket and let me hold him. He doesn't say anything, just every once in awhile he'll pat my arm to let me know he loves me. I love it. I might regret it in a year when he won't stay in his own bed, but for now this is our time. After all, he is the baby.

Jack's "World"

When we were in Idaho, Jackson kept referring to my mom's "world". He'd say things like:

"Grandma, we don't have these kinds of french toast sticks in our world". Or, "Will you show my mom where in your world to buy this licorice so she can take some back to my world?" Hilarious. My mom just kept laughing because of this "your world, my world" stuff, like he was on a new planet. I discovered after 9 hours into our drive home that "world" actually means "city". "What world are we in now Mom?" was a frequent question. I laughed and said "do you mean city?" I'm sad that he now knows to use proper terminology because the "world" thing was so cute, and so Jack. One thing Jack acquired on our trip to the other world was a kid-tough mp3 player. Kennedy already has one, but Jack really needed his own. He LOVES to dance to kids bop songs----L.O.V.E. is one of his favorites. A few days ago we were outside playing and Jack disappeared down the street pushing his backpack in the stroller. When he came back into sight he was listening to his ipod bouncing along. I can safely assume the music was stored in the backpack for future use. He makes me laugh. His creativity is genius.

Lazy Sundays......

I'm bored. I've been through all my regular blogs---twice. I've checked my email---three times. I've read everything on myfamily at least 4 times. Shawn is gone, and my kids need attention. I don't really want to give it right now. I should probably go make dinner, but it's no fun when Shawn isn't home to eat it. I'm trying to count weight watcher points which makes the thought of dinner even less appealing to make. Wow, it's only been 3 minutes since the last fight broke out. The fights are getting closer together which means I better feed them before they totally destroy one another. Maybe we'll head to the park just to get out of the house.......