It's Over

The last flower has faded.  It's over.

I know.  Sad, isn't it?

Knots

Anya gave me her baby so I could untie the ribbon knotted around its waist, and said:

"Mommy, do you know why I can't untie some knots?  I can untie easy knots, but if I try to untie hard ones, my tummy hurts.  That's why I can't untie this knot.  It's a hard one, and I don't want my tummy to hurt."

Ah.  I see.

Choose An Activity!

Isaak wondered, "What should I do next with Anya's computer?"

The computer told him, "Choose an activity!"

"Oh!" Isaak echoed, "Choose an activity!"

It Still Ain't Over...

Happy Two-Sundays-after-Mother's-Day!

I know.  Sad, isn't it?

But it still "ain't over" until the last flower fades!

(Because I still say so, and I'm still the Mom!)

Unspeakably Cute

Excuses

One morning when I told the kids to come downstairs for breakfast, Isaak didn't come.

I called him again.  He babbled a long reply, and still didn't come.

So I went up to check on him.

He was determined to finish that puzzle before he came down for breakfast.

And he did!

Of Vegetables and Kids

Our commissary has two sizes of bags in the produce section.  There are the normal, kinda flimsy bags that most grocery stores have, and there are some really big, strong bags that can be used for the bigger vegetables, like heads of lettuce, piles of spinach, bundles of kale or chard...even stalks of rhubarb can stand up in those bags!  For most of our produce, we use the little, flimsy bags, but I like the big ones for things like bananas, corn, and broccoli.  

Today, while I was picking through the asparagus, I let Jaela and Macey fill one of those small bags half-way full of green beans.  They did a good job, so when they asked if they could get some broccoli too, I said yes.  While I waited, I busied myself with checking my list, making sure Isaak was sitting down, and preventing Anya from squishing the grapes.  

Until I heard the older couple next to me chuckling.  "You don't see that every day!", the man said to his wife.

THAT would be my two very busy 7-year-old daughters, filling one of those really, big, strong plastic produce bags to the very top with broccoli.  I made them put half of it back.  "But, Mom!", they protested loudly, "We LIKE broccoli!"

The older couple laughed out loud.  

I guess they couldn't help it.  :)

Tips for Preparing to Go Grocery Shopping

Today's tips are brought to you by the need to go buy some groceries.

Before backing the van out of the garage, you should:

*Make sure daughter #1 has a right shoe and a left shoe, not two matching right shoes.

*Make sure daughters #1 and #2 are in their assigned seats so there is no fighting.

*Make sure son is in his own carseat, not sitting, grinning, in daughter #2's seat.

*Go back inside and grab the diaper bag.  

*Check to be sure you have your wallet and military ID.

*Go back inside to fill and hand out water bottles to all four kids...it's gonna be a hot day.

*Go back inside and get one for yourself, too.

*Go back inside again to get the cold bags, re-usable grocery bags, and milk crate full of empty bottles.

*Make sure daughter#3 has her seatbelt on properly, and while you're at it,

*please be sure to notice that she is also wearing two right shoes, and

*go back inside to find the matching left shoe.

*Grab your car keys on the way back out, and since you are going grocery shopping, you should also

*go back inside and get your grocery list off the fridge.

*Get in the van.  Do not look at the clock to see how long that took you!

Have fun grocery shopping!

My Pet Cobweb

I keep a cobweb in the corner of my shower.  It's been there for months, and I have no immediate plans to get rid of it.  It's my pet cobweb.

I like looking at it.

It reminds me that no matter how clean the rest of my house looks, there is always something that needs cleaned.  There will always be a small pile of dust in a corner somewhere, the carpet will always need to be vacuumed around the edges in one room or another, and the baseboards and walls will always need to have the scuff marks wiped off.  Again.  

The cobweb in my shower gives me permission to NOT have a perfectly clean house.  You can expect to have clean towels and mostly-clean floors if you come to visit, but I would fail a white glove test.  My cobweb helps me to be okay with that.

The cobweb I keep in my shower also reminds me that there are cobwebs of another kind hidden in the shadowy corners of my soul.  No matter how clean my life looks from the human perspective, God and I both know about those spiritual cobwebs.  Sometimes those cobwebs are small, fairly simple to dust away, and their removal doesn't bother me much.  Other times I find that they are much larger and stickier than I thought they were, and they grow faster than regular cobwebs, too.

Sometimes simply naming those spiritual cobwebs helps to clear them out:  fear, gossip, laziness, selfishness, pride.  Once I am aware that they are back, they are easier to dust away while they are small, but I don't always see them return.  That's why I keep my pet cobweb in the corner of my shower, a visual reminder that I need to check the corners of my heart for spiritual cobwebs.  Because nobody likes those kinds of cobwebs.  

Not even me.

It Ain't Over...

Happy Sunday-after-Mother's-Day!

I know.  Sad, isn't it?

But it "ain't over" until the last flower fades!

(Because I said so, and I'm the Mom!)

Isaak's Birthday Festivities

Isaak blew out his candles and announced, "It was hot!"

Then he had a bite of cake.

He opened presents, which included a toy German Shepherd, a toy pig, two new truck decorated cups, a bi-plane, an apron of his own for when he helps in the kitchen, and a G.I. Joe with his own sleeping bag.  Isaak immediately christened the dog "Didi" (our newest neighbor's German Shepherd), oinked like a pig, tested out the empty cups, and flew the airplane around the coffee table.  He insisted on trying on his new apron, and, well...

Meet "Joe".  

(Who is NOT a doll.  He's just Joe.)

Happy Birthday, Isaak!

Look who's TWO years old already!!!

Happy Birthday, Isaak!

Smells Like...Romance!

This morning when I got downstairs to make breakfast, Isaak met me at the bottom of the stairs carrying a sample of perfume that I was given at CHET and its packaging.  I took it from him and told him it was mine, thank you, and put in on the counter.  When I bent to pick him up to help him into his high chair, I was overwhelmed with the scent of perfume, and realized on closer inspection that the sample has its own little spray nozzle, and that the perfume level was considerably lower than it had been.  I didn't think Isaak could actually figure out the pump and spray part of applying perfume, so I asked him if he had used mommy's perfume (he answered, "Mm, hmm!) and what had he done with it...  

He showed me:

Ah!  Of course!  Ralph Lauren's Romance perfume...

apparently also useful as chapstick!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day!  Just thought I'd share my Mother's Day gifts with you...virtually, anyway. 

 (Back away from the chocolate...)

And, yes, I know I'm a few days late...but better late than never!  

Besides, I have a really good excuse!  My Mom is here!  

Happy Mother's Day to us!

Ing!

When Isaak came down the stairs for breakfast this morning, I noticed that his hair was wet.  I asked his sisters how it got wet, and before they could answer, Isaak patted the top of his head and announced, "Ing!"  (A new word, and I had no idea what it meant.)

"Well," his sisters told me, "we were reading our Picture Bibles, 

and then we decided to anoint Isaak king!"

Simple Pleasures of Spring - Part 2

Rain.

Rain.

And more rain.

Hide 'n' Seek

While Jaela counted...

...everyone else hid!

Nah Nah Nah Nah

Tonight at dinner we were entertained by Isaak repeating a phrase that Jaela taught him.  And by repeating, I mean that he said it over and over and over and over and over and...you get the picture.  I thought it was funny that he was strapped in his high-chair as he dared us:

Nah Nah Nah Nah, muh muh mit me!  Which in toddler-speak (as we all know) means "Nah nah nah nah, come and get me!"

I thought that was cute, and figured that was his new word/phrase of the day.  Nope.

We got upstairs to his room to get him ready for bed, and he very sweetly said, "Bebe bibah pees, Mama?"  (Which translates to, "Baby Bible please, Mama?")

How do you refuse a request like that?!?

You don't!