Oh Bubble

I've been reformed. Maybe. Probably not. But, I did let the kids do bubbles. Any of my long time readers/family members/close friends/therapist know I do NOT like bubbles. Too messy, too gooey. Blech! But, they asked and I said yes. The ground rules: Outside, in the grass, not on the deck, wear rubber boots, don't ask me for help, don't spill them in the yard. :) Don't I sound fun?! Well they did have fun. They did come up on the deck, they did spill (dump) them in the grass and they did have FUN! And aren't they cute!!

Markers

Sis loves to draw, color and write her name. I have to be VERY careful not to leave out any pens or markers...or pencils or she will get them and practice her skills...EVERYWHERE...walls, counters, face/body, blankets, dolls, etc.!

I'm very proud of her drawing and writing skills. However I am not happy about her constant need to draw on any and everything. Yikes. New house with lots of Sis markings = not happy mommy. She also loves to color her finger and toe nails. Pretty. Just like mommy's. :) She also colored the doll's nails too. Pretty. Not so much. This is one of my childhood dolls. Permanent ink. Darn.

I now have a bin of Crayola washable markers for her. All other pens/markers/pencils (did you know pencil does NOT come out?) are under lock and key. :O

Replaced!

While my great SIL and BIL were staying with us I might as well have left town. I was replaced. At one point I came outside to play with everyone and was told, "MOM, GO!" by my youngest child. Well! The kids eagerly awoke each morning and the first thing out of their mouths was "where is Aunt Cinn and Uncle Jamie?". Then they would perch themselves at the top of the stairs and wait for them to wake up. Uncle Jamie was a wrestling machine. The kids could not get enough. Jamie's back probably had enough the first day. :)

Cinn played with the kiddos too. Here she is making cards with Sis.

I got to have a fun time with my other SIL too. Sara and I went with baby (and her parents) to the Farmer's Market. Fun day. Here we are in the car soothing our sweet niece who had been crying.

Baby Time!

We had the pleasure of having my SIL, BIL and our precious niece stay with us for 5 days! It was

so much fun. They were awesome house guests. Just imagine having live in human jungle gyms with the bonus of a sweet snuggly baby! Heavenly! I REALLY wish they lived closer. :( But, there is hope for the future with them applying for professor jobs closer to us. FYI: if you two plan on any job applications on the east coast I *might* be calling them to say how terrible you are. Kidding....not really kidding. :)

We spent the days keeping track of whose turn it was to do the holding. Sis loved her time with baby girl.

Nap Time for Uncle Jamie, baby....and Busy Guy snuck downstairs to sleep too. He curled right up. Precious.

Oh! Baby Feet. What more can I say?!

This is known as my "I've had it" hairdo. Clippy and ponytail tied up says I'm tired and ready for bed. Or in this case it's morning time and I just want to sit around in my pj's and hold this pumpkin. I had a terrible cold while they visited so I didn't get in as much holding as I wanted to. Well, to tell the truth there is no such amount that would be enough.

Mr. P's turn for some baby love.

Tuba was thrilled to have a baby in the house! Mr. Busy Guy was thrilled to be in LOTS of photos. I could publish a whole book of him from this visit. ;)

Uncle Cam had to work most of the days but he still got lots of snuggle time too.

Who is missing....hmmmm....no pics of Baby George holding his cousin. Well, I guess that just tells me he's either an alien or maybe he's just plenty happy being my baby. :)

More to come soon from the visit. Lots of good pics of The Human Jungle Gym. Sorry Jamie! Some day when you have back surgery we'll watch the baby!

Sweet Moment

Some days are long. Some times it's chaotic. Some times I'm frazzled. Some times I dream of what my life will be like when my kids are older, more self sufficient.
Yesterday I had a wonderful day with my kids. We played and worked and had a great day.Last night Cam and I were tucking kids into bed. I was singing to Baby George and Cam came in and handed him a Lego guy. BG was so excited and hugged it to his chest. All of a sudden a huge wave of emotion overcame me. I suddenly thought that some day my baby would be too big to be excited about a Lego guy. As I sang "You Are My Sunshine" to BG I got all teary eyed.
I kissed him goodnight and then went off to have a good cry. I came into the kitchen to get a hug from Cam and the tears really flowed. I was all swollen eyed and blubbery. I could barely tell him why I was sobbing. He was a nice man and told me how sweet I was.
When I went into kiss and sing to Mr. P I told him I was feeling sad that my kids were growing up so fast. He told me, "Don't worry mom when I'm grown up I'll come over for some holidays". Oh great! At least he made me laugh.

9/11

On 9/11 we got to see a steel beam from the World Trade Center. A local fire department had gone to NY and picked up the beam. It will be displayed in a memorial at the fire station.

We want our kids to know about 9/11. Only Tuba was part of our family 10 years ago. We spent some time showing the kids pictures of the towers and of the planes flying into them. It was somber and sobering to view those photos with our kids. Their faces reflected the sadness and horror. They asked lots of questions which we did our best to answer. Then we got to go see the beam, touch it and spend a few moments in prayer

Doggy Beauty Shop

The kids LOVE our sweet dog Kali. Sometimes Sis loves her a bit TOO much. Okay, all the time. :) Kali is the best dog and I can honestly say she is too tolerant. The other day Sis and BG were dressing her up. They worked for about 15 minutes trying to get her into a pull-up and a dress. Sis was the boss calling out all the directions to her little brother. The dog just laid there on her back the whole time. No resisting. It was hilarious.

Success at last. Poor Kali.

Then the next day I guess Sis thought Kali needed some "pretty lips". She was applying pink sidewalk chalk to her mouth. Very pretty!