7QTs - Big Pillows, Helpers, Cute Drawings

Here we go... 

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Because everyone needs a pair of glow in the dark glasses from their sister's end of year bucket!

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A's not quite sold on the pool but I did finally get him in. I got him a few reusable swim diapers because the disposables do the exact same thing and I'm the washing machine is rinsing bathing suits every other day around here. I need to try the mesh wrap that a friend loaned me but I'm not much of a wrapper - I 'get' the buckle carriers :  )

Also the pool put down these rubber restaurant mats in one of the corners of the pool deck and it is the perfect spot to put him down when either of us needs a break. 

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R is having a rocking time in the pool and getting a bit more confident swimming - though I am not 100% sure she'll make it to swimming 6 and under this season - which is totally fine, I mean come on she's 4. Offer stands for racing bathing suit when she does though!

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M would love to claim ignorant on how to help with the laundry and I'll admit sometimes it is way easier to let her lounge about and be cute. However, she can in fact sort the clothes from the PJs and put them in baskets. Sometimes it takes a little prodding and it is BOUND to take FOREVER but I usually have so much wash to do on Saturdays that it doesn't matter how long she takes! Then getting R and/or E to inside them out is long, drawn out screaming match waiting to happen!

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R's version of our family is awesome. I love the way she draws her people

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There was a sextuplet pillow that fell into M's bowl early one morning and she got a few other doubles so I snuck it out and put it back in the box for E to find because I knew she'd freak out.

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Well it has taken forever to get this post cranked out so I'm going to stop while I'm ahead. I have a few more pics from last week that I'll add to the next post.

7QTs - Acorns, Cheerios and Fun in the Rain!

Oh what a week...

--- 1 ---

Last Friday we had a playdate at our house and this is what it consisted of:

Lots of rain

And no thunder. 

The girls has a blast because it is probably the first time they've played in the rain like this and they were out there for at least 30 minutes. And no one caught pneumonia and no one cracked their head on the super slick garage floor. 

---2---

The next day E and R were playing "mail"

Which was this bizarre game of them dropping leaves around the sideway and driveway. There is now one section of one tree that is quite barren. Though I did convince E to climb the tree to get more leaves because I wouldn't pull them down for her - and she actually did it. 

I figure I have way more problems than one tree missing some leaves so that's why I didn't stop them. 

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Sunday we went to Grammy's

And played hide-and-seek in the park

And took Grady on a walk with Grandpa Joe

These girls are too peas in a pod!

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If you have read this blog for any length of time you might remember we throw our bread scraps and other crumbs to the squirrels affectionately known as Buddy or ardilla. Well here's what I found one afternoon:

Me - M, stop eating the Cheerios off the steps

The second time I caught her...

Me - M, Stop!
M - Look the bee-bus.
Me - M, they are gross!
M - They not dirty!

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Grandpa Joe pulled this gem out of one of his flower pots.

Papa - Oh I give a homily about this!
 #alwayslookingforpreachingmaterial

I had never seen this stage of the acorn-to-oak tree. It was super cool and E took it to school the next day and it came home in pieces so R couldn't. Maybe I should have sent it with R first. Well anyhow, this came in perfectly handy with some of E's homework because she had to write about a plant. She could pick any one but after some debate over flowers and tree she settled on the oak tree.

The first 2 sentences were pretty easy for her to come up with because they were about acorns but then for the last 2 she did NOT want to write about a season (spring = pollen, fall = colorful leaves, winter = no leaves) because that would make the sentence long. So then we had to clarify that trees do not have stems they have trunks and trunks have rings for each year the tree is alive and 25 minutes later I couldn't pronounce the Latin words for oak tree; the rings sentence was way longer than any seasonal non-sentence but what do I know?

We got to visit the chicks that hatched in E's class

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A is so so so crazy...

Either that or he has got me completely wrapped around his finger. It is so hard to listen to him cry and if he is awake he wants to be nursing, eating or being held. However, this is not conducive to getting ANYTHING done so - like most things it seems - I just do whatever halfway. Why is table wiped off and the dishes still on the sink? Blame A. Why is our bed made only half the time? Thank Sir A. Why can't you sit down and eat dinner with us Mama? Ask your brother.

At this point, I have come to accept any number of things won't be done or they won't be done very well or completely. That's just what this stage of life is like. Maybe A will decide he likes his jumper thing. Or maybe he'll figure out how to stuff Cheerios in his mouth by himself. But I'm mostly okay with how we roll because he is so cute and I don't want to rush him.

I'm quite sure I have one of the preschool songs in my head on repeat - Peace, patience, love and joy... gifts of the Holy Spirit. Especially when I'm not feeling any of the gifts. 

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It is so interesting to see/watch siblings interests evolve.

When E was 2-ish she ALWAYS had to ride on the mower with Papa, as soon as she heard it. She was ready. Now E still likes to ride but she's got other things on her mind plus she's getting slightly on the bigger side : ) R will ride occasionally but really it has never been her 'thing'. She'll ride for a few minutes and she's done. M is going to be Papa's mowing partner for sure. She loves to ride and has to ride with her hat. I can definitely see her just riding along, singing whatever song comes to her mind - just like E used to. 

Week in My Life - Saturday

I don't think I'll get tired of waking up to this view... 

Here's E's Lego creation that she was saving from R's potential destruction. It is on Lee's major todo list to make a Lego table for upstairs. If you have any brilliant ideas let me know otherwise to Pinterest I will go... 

It is Saturday so you know what day it is around here? Laundry day. Usually I'll employ the girls to get their clothes separated but E was leaving and I wasn't up for a battle so I just did it.  

E and M have really taken to A. R is still mostly doing her own -almost-4-yr-old thing so she is usually not paying him much mind. I think M is on the phone with Grammy and Grandpa Joe. Now when they call all the girls want to talk so the conversations can be a bit lengthy : )  

We did our Jesse Tree before Papa and E headed out. We really have not been on top of it like we were last year so we definitely need to do better at planning 5-10 minutes in the morning or evening to do it. 

E and Papa were heading out to the campgrounds where her American Heritage Girls had spent the night and were spending the day. Neither of them really knew what to expect. Here's to a father-daughter adventure!

That left me with the youngest 3. And I get constant reminders there is a 2 yr old in the house. This is the girl who I had to call Poison Control for because she ate an unknown number of my Tums, she is bound to get a hand or foot smashed in the van door because she will NOT stop closing them herself (I've seriously considered turning off the buttons) AND the other day she stuck a fourth of a cashew up her nose and it was pretty well lodged up there - but I got it out before it require medical extraction. 

She's really cute though... And she loves taking pictures

In between R and M's antics laundry was done and Rumba was run. It is nice to be able to tell the kids to clean up their room so I can run Rumba and they know Rumba means business. We have migrated most of the toys upstairs except for the Duplos, some baby stuff and MagnaTiles so clean up is not too terrible. 

A and I were treated to a solo shopping trip because Jibbe took the girls to the park for lunch. They are savoring the waning not-so-freezing days. That was a huge help to not have 2 extra helpers while shopping. 

The view after a shopping trip and note the pile of clothes that needs to be folded. Shopping trips can mess with my laundry schedule but I did manage to get the bulk of it done. 

The girls came home from lunch and then hit the hay for rests - or quiet time as R calls hers.

I watched the second half of the Carolina football game and I still cannot believe they actually won because the last few minutes of the game were pretty terrible.

The girls got up and a neighbor came over and we chatted it up while our girls played. 

Then I got a text from Lee saying that they'd be home - so that gave me 30 minutes to feed R and M, shower them and tidy up. It was a success since I had a pretty unproductive afternoon. 

I got the scoop from E about her time at the campgrounds and she was so tired she gave me a skewed report about how there was 'nothing to play on'. The girls were tossed in bed because it was late and well Sundays are Sundays around here. 

I got the scoop from Lee who said they went on a hike, cleaned up a few campgrounds, and went to the nature center and they heard a talk on hibernation. Overall I think it was a success. But a word to the wise - before you start going to trash talk someone or some group of people it would be best to know who is in earshot of your conversation as you never know who is listening and what you are saying might be quite hurtful to them. 

7QTs - Cotton Fields, Stitch, and Pumpkins

Bridging the gap between last week and this week... 

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Last week... Papa went to a clergy conference in Chicago. Yes A was 8 days old. Yes we survived with the help of Grammy providing double-team coverage... 

After we survived soccer practice - A was not too unhappy with me for coaching - Grammy and E and R wanted to feel some on-the-stalk cotton. #countrylife

Papa surprised us by coming back a few hours early from his trip on Thursday which was awesome! When he called and said "I have a surprise for you" I replied with "Are you in the driveway?" - because I'm that kind of surprise-r. He wasn't in the driveway but en route.

--- 2 ---

Then Papa and E turned around and went to South Bend for a wedding - E's godfathers. I think I have discussed ad nauseam how disappointed I am that I could not go. So I'll stop complaining...  

And of course on Friday E shows up with the class pet. So Fidget was in for the longhaul. I was alittle nervous about Fidget getting lost or left (I left a stuffed animal at KFC when I was small - another story, another day) SO I decided to outfit Fidget with his own luggage tag in the off chance he was misplaced. #iamworrier

So Fidget and E and Papa had a grande time at the wedding and on the trip. E had a mountain of things to write about in Fidget's journal - which I did NOT write, If she had 100 pictures I am quite sure she would have written a hundred sentences - fortunately Papa only printed 4. I think I might get her a notebook to 'journal' in because she really enjoyed writing and then reading the sentences she wrote. 

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There were more fall crafts to be completed... 

Yes M is INSANE - I know!

Pink and purple pumpkin anyone?

She didn't want to make a face on it so she drew lines like the grooves on the punpkin

Everyone wants in 

The finished product : ) 

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The weather hasn't made up it's mind about being warm or cold so some days we play outside

I was asked by a wise uncle what to get M for her birthday - because really she doesn't need anything... and my answer was chalk and bubbles. 

#smallestnubofchalk 

That's what happens when they leave the chalk in the rain and out in the driveway... 

--- 5 ---

Funny story... 

Awhile back M took to this Christmas Stitch that Jibbe got R for Christmas a few years ago. Why? We don't know. But she loved it. Alot. She carried him around. Called him 'Stit-h'. The part she loved most about Stitch was his tags. She'd sit there forever and suck her thumb and twiddle with his tags. Well after a few months the tags got curled up and not terribly clean looking. 

One day Stitch was left at Jibbe's. Jibbe -being the well-meaning grandma cleaned Stitch up a bit. Well she cut off Stitch's tags. M got Stitch back and started totally ignoring him. She wouldn't carry him around. Didn't want him during rest or anything. If you asked her what happened to Stitch she'd say 'Jibbe broke it'. 

So Jibbe of course tried to replace Stitch with someone similar - Sully from Monsters Inc. He was blue, had a little tail, and two tags. Totally fit the bill. 

M wasn't buying it. 

THEN Jibbe came back with the real Stitch. Except the new Stitch did not have a sweater and was a bit bigger. M was super confused and not happy when she saw them side by side. We thought she was going to pass Stitch onto A. 

Let's just say... She's warmed up to the new Stitch quite well

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I'm finally getting around to writing thank you notes to all the people who have helped us/given us things since A was born.

The list is growing so we feel quite blessed to have such great family and friends!

--- 7 ---

I'll probably do a post on my laundering success from the weekend just because I want to

A and I are back to a semi-normal work schedule... 

He's generally pretty happy about it but makes this face when I tell him I forgot his bouncy seat.