Week In Mi Life - Saturday

Better late than never… right?

I woke up to this… Because it's Saturday the ultimate laundry day around here. 

Got the diffuser going with some fall like oils… because I hopped on the essential oil train.

I have the wildest diffuser ever : ) I need one with better square footage coverage though!

Ready. Set. Laundry. plus trophies for the little Alligators 

Over a year ago I bought this oversized jug of Dreft because you have to wash all baby clothes in Dreft, right? Yeah well I was pretty proud of myself that shopping trip. However, I have realized that the jug of Dreft is still not gone… Usually I stop washing the baby clothes in Dreft when the bottle runs out around 7-9 months so M is still smelling like Dreft for now

Happy Saturday morning!

Papa's frying up the bacon : ) 

M's content with raisins and Cheerios

E and R are matching (again, I know) and working on Grammy and Grandpa Joe's birthday cards. They did quite well accept E decided to thoroughly seal Grammy's card without writing anyone's name on the inside so we cut open the top and amended that issue (without any tears at that!)

Prepping for the season's last soccer game. 

M sees someone in the kitchen?

She knows there's an opportunity for a snack - she has trained us well

Getting ready to leave for soccer. 

I told Lee we needed to leave at 9:45 for our 10 am game when he asked me when he was cooking breakfast.

But I realized about 9:43 when we were loading up the van that I told all the parents to be there at 9:45 (15 minutes before - as I have every game!). Oh the details…. Good thing the field is only 3 minutes away and shuffling around 3 kids is an obvious your-entitled-to-be-a-few-minutes-late card. Which I really really really hate playing but… 

Oh and it was insanely cold (okay in the 50s) but that is cold for me and M - who is yes, in a snowsuit. 

Grammy and Uncle Kev came to the game and E still talks about it. E did not notch that second goal she needed to earn a trip to get ice cream but she did have a good time. R played with Uncle Kevin and really had fun at practice this season but with 5 (going on 6) yr old boys out there, Little Miss 2 Year Old would have likely gotten run over one too many times for her liking. 

Future 3 yr old Fire Ant though - we've already got her team name picked for the Spring : ) 

Grammy came over for lunch and we surveyed the logging damage - and that's how it remains… 

E and R collecting acorns to throw over where the trees were logged so more trees will grow

M enjoying the peace of the quiet house on her Bug. 

She is so so so funny to watch when she rides it!

Then it was rest time for M and R and I headed upstairs to tackle the clothes pile - that I had reorganized less than a month ago. 

Clothes that I pulled from the girls closets and drawers… Oh and you're probably wondering what's up with all the icons because it is totally normal to just seethe laying around a spare room? Our little mission church moved to a church that is well-established with a bunch of icons already so we did not need to bring our own - one day when we do have a place to call our own all these icons will go back to our church. In the mean time, there are some here and many stacked in the big room on the second floor.

Halloween costumes, birthday hats, clothes we have been generously given...

Clothes I had sorted out as fall/winter last time but never took downstairs because it didn't get cold.

An hour later...

Most everything put in the closet 

Or taken downstairs for the wearing...

New decoration for my office...

Naptime was wrapping up so I went to check on the outdoors-people… E is supervising the planting of Monday's plants : ) 

R again went for Smarties over any of the decent Halloween candy… I'll never understand!

M wants to know where her dessert is… See those eyebrows… Yep, she's mine  : ) 

Bath tub antics…. 

Headed to the laundry basket for next week's laundry run

One of my favorite scenes… Yes they are coordinating and E changed from wearing a pink nightgown to Hello Kitty because she could not bear R wearing Hello Kitty alone - I'm not kidding. Oh and they are reading that silly Hello Kitty book. I think I always am asked to ready Hello Kitty has a Sleepover. 

After books it is Bible. I forget how long we have been reading a chapter a night… But everyone must be present so when Papa goes to Bible Study or when he or I is out of town we skip that night so our progress is slow. We are currently in John (having started with Matthew)

You might even notice that dress hanging from the back of the chair… That's because tomorrow is Sunday which requires more than a bit of planning just to get out the door. 

Week in my Vida - Monday

Happy Birthday to my Dad and a big thanks to all veterans out there! 

Because this sounded to interesting to pass up… I am going for it. This was my last week because it was bound to be way more interesting than this week!

                                             

                          

Hopefully Kathryn won't kill me for making a mess of her nice logo! I won't do it again if you tell me I'm not supposed to                     

The week and morning started off with M's birthday and pumpkin muffins. I usually make breakfast on special occasions and I knew M would love the muffins. Thanks Trader Joes, we are hooked. I also sent some in for a treat at snack. 

Speaking of birthdays… After breakfast the girls had to color a card for their cousin's birthday. They colored it so much I think the words were barely readable. E specifically used black over them… Go figure. I'm sure there were some screams throughout this process followed by some threats from me that it would be taken away whether it was finished or not. 

Yes the girls are wearing matching shirts. They love to match each other. And it is easier when R cannot decide was to wear… Whatever E is wearing is a super easy 'suggestion' 

E attempted to color out the pink cupcakes because boys don't like pink. See why I love my kids?

I got my nails done for a work trip… not their normal state

Okay, I'm not going to gloss over the 'real' stuff. And maybe I'll hear it from Lee over the next week but here's the real deal messy parts of my motherhood. Everyone has different messes… No need to be ashamed of them. Just embrace them and try and tidy them up... eventually. 

That would be 4 winter coats - it is cold when we leave for preschool and warmish when I pick them up; 2 tote bags, a book bag and a show-and-tell item. It's a good day when all this stuff is:

1. Unloaded from the van

2. Cups and containers are put in dishwasher

3. Bags and coats are hung up

E is unhappy about not having a 'booster' seat like her friends...

The van.. crumbs, books, soccer cones, hangers… The works

The birthday girl!

Here's another self-proclaimed thing that would make my life easier at lunchtime:

1. Dishwasher unloaded - Papa usually does this but he was out of town (more on that tomorrow)

2. Breakfast dishes off table and table wiped off

3. Breakfast dishes in dishwasher (I jest, I know!)

Yeah… A stitch in time? I need improvement

Indeed...

New birthday gifts everyone is enjoying {litters the floor}

Oh the lunchtime crunch time. We get home late (for toddlers/preschoolers) to eat lunch so people are usually tired and whiney and complainy… And if I'm hungry, I am too. Cheese sticks pacify many...

90 seconds later… Lunch

I usually peddle around the house… Usually cleaning up and putting stuff away while lunch is happening. I do enjoying sitting down occasionally but usually someone needs a refill or more Honey Mustard or their fruit or this or that - then it is usually NOT WORTH IT!

On this day I emptied the trunk - of Lee's project courtesy of my boss who is a serious gardener and is sharing the wealth of his yard!

R and M go down for a rest… Finally. It is one of the better moments of the afternoon because a lot of the noise has been cut. I didn't get around to all my wash and M's clothes had to be washed so I broke with my rule and ran her clothes because I thought she needed pjs. Turns out Grammy had washed the 2 pairs that went to her house the week before and since I hadn't unloaded that bag, I had a stash I found at bedtime. Hence M's clothes lived in the dryer for at least 2 days.

E wants to FaceTime Papa who just arrived in Ohio… but that didn't he couldn't : ( 

Little girls asleep? E gets her markers and workbook or in this case she did her homework. Which consisted of writing a letter upper and lowercase several times. 

Oh and the school papers. I could use a good organizational system for them. I'll take pictures of their art once a week but each day there is a plethora of papers. 

Home office? Oh yeah I did I mention I work from home in the afternoons.. Yeah. This is it people. 

Checking on the sweet sleepers is interrupted by a call from work...

After rest we race to get ready for soccer practice. Daylight savings messed our schedule up so we were practicing early and M had to come because Papa wasn't home… Yes they are matching again. 

See I was there too...

It was cold but M was distracted enough by a kind mom who kept feeding her puffs and bananas. 

Against my better judgement we hit up the playground for a moment. The girls had fun so I do take that into account when making decisions like "Should we go because we have not eaten in 5 hrs or should we stay for a few minutes and play?" I kinda paid for it. But listening to them cackle was worth it. 

Fun times in the swing

R still likes the bebe swing

Melting down on the way to the car...

But I stopped to enjoy the colorful sky...

As soon as we get home, everyone was hungry and whiney. I have found that when there is whining and screaming, I tend to get flustered and yell and have a short(er) temper. Though I have significantly cut my yelling down but there is always room to improve. It is just interesting in retrospect… I can almost tell when I am going to get upset by what else is going on in the house.

ANYWAYS… I've got the best husband. He cooks. He cooks ALOT. I cook out of necessity. What kind of husband do you know who will cook an entire extra meal (on top of the birthday one he was cooking at the same time for M's party yesterday) for when he's not going to be home for dinner?Congratulations… You can meet one. MINE!

After dinner it was the dreaded bath night. Lee and I are very grateful for non-bath nights. But bath night alone - it's comical. Well here's how it goes… 

E finishes dinner so I turn on the shower for her and she gets going. R is lingering finishing dinner and eventually dessert. M and I head to the laundry sink because  - 3rd children over the age of 1 routinely get bathed in the sink still, right? R finishes and demands to get down. M is in her room having finished her bath. R goes into the bathroom for a shower (sticky, dirty fingers and all). Get M dressed enough to get by because the shower is calling. Plop her in big girls room with Legos because… Well you know that's how we do. 

E and R finally get showered… Baths take entirely too long and there are way more interesting things to do than take baths, so showers it usually is unless we are looking to kill time. At one point before all pajamas were on, all the girls were screaming over something... but I took a deep breathe and held it together. 

Story time in Mama and Papa's bed. All is well. The sunglasses? Yeah I have no idea...

This is what awaits me at 7:40 after books have been read, prayers have been said, and squeezes have been given. It's kind of a bummer but then I think of all the single parents or tag-team parents who do nights like this all the time. Whining stopped. 

Yes the muffin tray has still not been washed since this morning. I have a method for cleaning the kitchen. Load dishwasher as I go. Take time to stake out where other items that are out will go. Clean off table - because at least I can see the progress. Completely load dishwasher with anything that can be fit. Wash anything that could not be utterly squeezed into dishwasher - Lee thinks I'm crazy. Spray surfaces. Clean slate for the morning.

E camped out in our bed because R was losing it over something or she was screaming for some reason - which is uncommon. Usually there is choir practice or reading or something going on between the sisters for a good time before they drift off... Daylights saving is messing with their minds!

Then I crank out a birthday post for M because even 3rd children deserve a 1st birthday post : ) 

That's all I have for that day. 

Welcome to my world