The Fireman's Parade

My parents live near this little town Colonial Beach. It is right on the Potomac River. The town is on the small side, and it is very pretty in some parts. They even let golf carts drive on the streets in most of the town. It's a very amusing thing. They also don't have to have car seats on the golf carts, so it's very nerve racking for me to watch. They have a place called the River Boat. It sits in the water just over the high tide mark so it is officially in Maryland. They do off track betting and stuff there. The population of this town is just ripe for people watching. We certainly add to the entertainment when we show up!

Every year there is a parade there where firetrucks and rescue vehicles from about 100 miles come and drive down the main drag. It is really so much fun for the kids. It is also really LOUD!

The trucks all drive by with their sirens wailing. The anticipation of the first truck was just killing the kids! They also were excited to see if there was going to be any candy. Nothing is as much fun without candy!

Dance Recitals

The girls have been in dance for quite a while now. One has been dancing since Kindergarten year I think. That's five long years! This year we finally got really cute costumes! These things are so cute. I LOVE them. The dances they did were just as cute.
They did such a good job. Usually they look at the kids next to them, but this year they both knew the dances and did a wonderful job! I am so proud of them.

Birthdays

He doesn't eat at all, but he managed to make quite a mess with his cupcake. Four turned one! He seems like such a baby still, but he's not an infant anymore. I am trying hard to look forward to all of the cool stuff he's going to learn how to do in the next few months, but it's hard to not miss that sweet little bundle with the smell good head. These days he has dirty feet and hands, and more often than not he just plain stinks!


And then while I was blinking my baby girl turned seven. She is the only one of the four I was able to hold directly after she was delivered, and I will never forget the look in her eyes. She has an old soul. I have a hard time believing she is so very old now. The awful part is I know it is only going to keep on happening. She is big enough these days to not even technically need a car seat anymore.


I know that no matter what I do these kids will continue to grow and change, and that is a good thing. I know it is and if I keep saying it it will be true...right. I just can't help but feeling like they are growing WAY too fast. I just am glad that I am able to be at home with them. I can't even imagine how much I would have missed if they had gone right into daycare and then into school. I am truly a very lucky woman!

My Boys

I can just see them wanting to take Papa's Corvette out for a joy ride fourteen years from now!

Now Hear This...

These boys are so much fun! They just play so very hard. And when they nap...well, they nap really hard. They stayed just like that, without moving, for about an hour. It was a delightful break for me. The Baby has finally learned how to crawl and he just loves it. He's getting pretty fast. I've had to remember to keep my lazy susan shut. If I don't I get flour, sugar, and salt all over the floor. He's also learned how to push buttons on the DVD player. That can get very upsetting for the girls and Three.

I forgot just how appealing stickers can be for a small one. He managed to put a whole sheet of them on his head. He even had one inside his ear! As you can tell his sister thinks he's a hoot! After the sticker sticking he got up and danced his little butt of to Hannah Montana. It's really amusing. He might just be the next Justin Timberlake. I've got to get the video function working on camera. The dancing just has to be documented.

We have extra kids this week so I will be very busy, and probably in a bad mood by Friday. I have to snap out of it though because it is Two's birthday on Saturday. I am trying to figure out what to get her. Things just snuck up on me, and everything she thinks she wants comes from American Girl. I just don't have enough money to pay for rush shipping. Cross your fingers for me that I think of something equally cool!

Head Injuries-R-Us

This has been a banner week for the boys and their heads. On Thursday the Baby fell off the front porch onto the first step. He didn't really hurt himself, but since it is concrete he got quite the nasty scrape on the side of his head. Then on Sunday Three fell off of a climber thing. He managed to catch himself with...His Head! Could he manage to do this feat on the grass? Of course not. It's always much better to fall a few feet, catch yourself with your head, and land on the nice soft driveway. Now, this is a kid who doesn't generally cry past validation of a hurt. He just motors right on after an injury. Not this time. He cried for a good ten minutes. He has the road rash on the side of his head to prove it. Then, when he did manage to get calm again, he ran right into the counter. So much drama. Then the Baby decided he wanted to chase the cat on Monday morning. Down the stairs. Really, I don't know what he was thinking. Thankfully there's a landing about half way down. I'm just not sure my nerves could handle a full on fall all the way down. So, I'm hoping things will calm down and we are done with the whole trying to bash their skulls in thing for a few days at least!

Where's My Spot?

On Saturday I got up early and went yardsaleing with a good friend of mine. I like to go see what sort of stuff other people are getting rid of. I also love it when I find really cool stuff for really cheap. This week I scored a headboard for my Mom for $5! Such a good deal. I also got a pink princess lamp for the girls for $2. Totally cool! Then there are the people who try to sell stuff at antique store prices. I saw a very pretty serving bowl. It was blue and pink and was a sort of oriental style. I might would have paid $5 for it, but not $25! It's a yardsale, get over it! But the whole upshot of the yardsale thing is that I had to get up early. 6:30. That is just wrong. I don't like to get up that early, but we do what we must to get the bargains. So, after I got out of bed I looked and there wasn't any room for me even if I had wanted to get back in.

How did this happen? I never started out thinking we would have a "family bed". I always thought it was weird and a little creepy. Well, that was four kids ago.

We were really good about getting the first one to sleep by herself. Then when the second one came along, I was just too tired to care much. She started sleeping in her own bed a little after she was a year old. Our wall sharing neighbor went away on a cruise, so we didn't feel guilty letting her scream. It only took a couple of nights and she was sleeping the night away in her very own bed.

Then came that boy. He refused to sleep in his bassinet as an infant. Then when he got too big for it (about a week after he was born) he would not lay down in the crib at all without screaming. At the time, we lived in a two bedroom place, and we couldn't just let him "cry it out" in the same room as the girls. So, when we moved into our current house, we did let him scream. He would scream for hours! It was awful. We finally gave in. He will go down in his bed, but he winds up in ours sometime between two and six every night. He's three now, and I just hope before he turns ten he learns to stay in his bed.

Then there's that cute, yet very stinky, Baby. He is 11 months old now. He has yet to sleep in his crib. It's all set up and waiting for him, but it is empty every night. He just won't lay down by himself. I've tried a few times, but I give in after about five seconds. I really do like to sleep with him though, and I think that is why I don't try very hard. He is so warm and soft and cuddly. I can't imagine just letting him lay there and cry. It would break my heart.

Now we are those weird people with kids in the bed. I am that Mom that has no spot in the bed after I get up. That is my wonderful husband who is pushed to the very edge every night by little feet. There aren't many nights when we sleep straight through. There's always someone waking us up for some reason. But, these are good nights. Our kids love us enough to want to be with us even when they are asleep. In a few years they will be to cool for us, and that big bed will seem empty. Then I will long for little feet and hands to push and wake me. Until then I'll have to keep trying to find my spot!

The Hubby also had to get up about five minutes after I left. The Baby's Mommy proximity alarm went off and he wasn't going to sleep if I wasn't there!

Atlas...Sort of Didn't Happen

I have discovered something about myself. I do not have the time or energy to concentrate on "heavy" books. I love to read! I can almost always be found with a book nearby. I read constantly; while cooking dinner, while brushing my teeth, while nursing the baby and just about any other free time I can find. I really like light easy reads. Patricia Cornwell has been among my recent reading. Then there's always Anne McCaffrey. I reread all of her books on a yearly basis. I just really like them. Recently however, I picked up "Atlas Shrugged". I've been reading it for over a week now, and I haven't quite made it page 200. It is a fantastic book. I am really enjoying it. But, I can't read it while the news is on. Way to scary! I can't read it while I'm cooking. I forget about the cooking while concentrating on Rearden Metal and burn everything. I have a hard time reading it while I nurse the baby because it is such a big book! The baby gets antsy when it gets near his head. It could squash it after all. I have a hard time reading it at night when I go to bed, because the type is really small and my eyesight is not what it used to be. I could turn the lights up a bit more, but it bugs the baby (yes he still sleeps with us). I need to carve out time in the day for me to sit and read. Preferably with no distractions or small children sitting on me. I think I might be able to find about five minutes. Sadly, at that rate I might get it finished just before Barry finishes up his first round of country destruction. We'll see how it goes. Rain is forcasted for the next week or so. The kids might be watching a lot of movies!

Not Quite a Three Ring Circus

We live close to many things, but in reality we are in the middle of nowhere. There isn't much that comes our way. Generally if we want to see a show of some sort we have to drive a couple of hours to get to it. But every year the Cole Brothers Circus comes to town. It is a small cirus that still performs under a big top. They even have elephants that put up the tent. Most of the performers are the same every year, but the acts are different and new and exciting! Since the kids are all of an age to enjoy the show we decided to take everyone. I am so glad we went! The kids all had such a good time. Even the baby enjoyed the show.
The one odd thing was that they picked my oldest girl to get up and do the YMCA. Sadly they had no idea they were picking a homeschooled kid. She had NO IDEA what they were doing. It was very amusing to watch. I'm sure that makes me a bad parent, but it really was entertaining to watch her look at the clowns and try to copy them. Luckily for her they did only one chorus and then she could return to the audience and quit being a performer. All in all it was so much fun.

Three is Three

So, my boy turned three. I can't believe it has been three years. He is getting so very big. He's even starting to talk. Finally. He's hit that stage where his favorite word is "No". Coming in a close second is "No! Me!".

Since we are doing the Feingold thing, the brightly colored cakes of the past are gone. No more food coloring in the frosting. So, instead I've been using cocoa powder for brown. He didn't seem to mind having cars on his cake instead of icing. I think it's funny that he actually gets the blowing out the candles thing.

Oh Dear!

It has happened. I thought that maybe it would, but it was sort of shocking for me.

I have become that flaky homeschooler.

You know the one. Always a little late for everything. Forgetful to the extreme. Seems to have at least one more child than she can competently care for. Her house is never "clean", there's always lots of clutter and random pieces of curriculum scattered about. And when you meet her, after several missed meetings, she looks like she just rolled out of bed and there is some sort of baby gunk on her somewhere. People look at her and wonder "she can't get herself together, how is she teaching those kids anything?" It has happened. That is me.
Now my biggest struggle is whether to embrace my "new" persona, or to work hard at changing it. Sadly, I'm probably so far over into flaky, that no matter what I do I'll be that other homeschooling mom. You know her too. Way to together. On top of everything. Never late. She bakes everything from scratch. Has an immaculate house. Keeps perfect records of her totally wonderful schooling. Her kids are stepford kids. I just don't have that much Zoloft. That will never be me. So, to celebrate I'm going to go watch a movie with the kids. In our clutter. And since it's after noon, I'm going to spike a drink of some sort, and ponder what to cook for dinner. After I clean up the kitchen. And defrost something. Or maybe we'll get takeout, and watch another movie, and I'll have another drink. It is Friday. Here's to Flaky!

Don't Make Me Go Back!!!

I have discovered the downside of a Super Walmart. If I get my groceries there around the Holiday Shopping Season, I have to stand in line with people buying Christmas Crap. Thankfully I only had Two with me. We actually had a nice time until it came time to check out. The lines were SOOO long. Then you add to that the fact that I ALWAYS pick the wrong line, and you realize you might die before you make it out of there. Ok. It wasn't long enough to kill me, but it did take 25 minutes.
The first person in our line had to go through no less than four separate cards to pay for their stuff. Here's a clue, if the first card doesn't work, put your stuff back! Also don't glare at the people in line behind you, it's not my fault you've overspent. The lady after them had to write a check. I didn't know people still did that. I quess she should be applauded for actually having the money to buy her stuff, but it doesn't make the line go any faster. Then comes the lady with two little boys and one on the way. She had a cart full of "food". There were two items in that entire cart which required any actual perparation, bacon and rice. The rice however was such a small amount that it was in a box. I didn't know rice came in a box. I thought it only came in bags of varying poundages. But that was the only real food in her whole cart. Then of course she paid for it with food stamps.
Please don't think that I begrudge anyone the ability to feed their kids. I am so lucky to never have had to put my kids to bed hungry. That must be a horrible thing. On the other hand, the whole program is so flawed. I mean really, she bought essentially nothing that she needed to actually cook. I think the program needs to run more along the lines of WIC. You get certain foods in certain amounts. If you want french fries, buy some potatoes. Meat shouldn't come ready to warm, prepared in a factory somewhere. You should have a voucher for a couple pounds of actual meat. And I had no idea you could buy collards in a can. I've actually never had a collard. I was however talking to my husband about ways to prepare them the other day. I'm looking for ideas on vegetables I can grow in the winter. Trying to cut the food bill you know.
We finally did make it up to the register and were able to purchase our items. But, don't make me go back until January! If I do have to go, I'm taking a Xanax first.

A Day at the Park

I love unseasonably warm days! They are like a wonderful surprise. Just when you think you won't be able to go outside again without getting cold fingers and noses along comes the perfect day. It just screams "Throw away those books, leave the dishes for later, go to the park and ENJOY ME!!" So, upon hearing this voice (yes, schizophrenia runs in my family) we promptly shucked all of our responsibilities and headed to the playground. One is getting so big! I sometimes can't believe she was ever as small as Four. Who is also getting way to big, way to fast for me!


The kids decided to use the picnic table as a stage. My middle children are quite the drama queens at times. Notice that Three has a stick. He almost always has something he's using as a sword these days. He totally needed to be born in the era of knights and squires. Alas, he'll have to settle for Airborne Infantry.

I'm so gosh darn glad the kids can get themselves going on the swings now. It hasn't been but a year since even the biggest two needed my help to swing. I am an awful Mom, because I really dislike pushing kids on the swings. We are there for them to burn energy, not for me to push them. One really likes to spider with the smaller set. She can't wait for Four to be up to it.

I never thought I would be able to love a little boy. I was so happy with my girls, I just couldn't imagine loving a dirty, smelly, boy. Was I ever wrong! Three is such a handful that there are days I think I would willingly trade him to a tribe of Gypsy's for my fortune, but then he does something just so "boyish" and my heart just melts. I'm so glad to be able to have my girls. They are lovely, and are turning into people I really like to be around. At one point I would have thought they would have been the perfect completion to our family all by themselves. But, now I have my boys. How sad and lonely our family would have been without their addition. They are the perfect complement to the girls. I couldn't have been more lucky. The boys round out our family in the perfect way. I must have done something very good to be charged with the care and keeping of these kids. I certainly never imagined being able to enjoy a December at the playground so much!

Math in the Driveway

I can never tell which math lesson is going to be the one to prove difficult. If I was to look through the math book and pick out the lessons that would hold us up, those would be the lessons the girls would fly through with the greatest of ease. It is always the ones I think they will fly through that prove to be the hardest ones for them. I can't figure out why, but I have a very bad track record with that. In following with this pattern, Two came to estimation and rounding to the nearest ten. The sound of our math progress coming to a screeching halt was enough to wake the dead. I'm not sure why this is a difficult concept for her to grasp, but evidently it is. I tried explaining, and watching the DVD, and using the blocks. Nothing was working. In years prior this would have been when I would have started yelling out of frustration and screaming at her. But, I have learned that all I accomplish with that is a total brain freeze on the part of the small and scared one. So, being a much better version of myself I got to wondering what I could do to really illustrate the whole nearest ten thing. Where could I find enough space? There are times when I am glad we live in a subdivision with plenty of paved driveway space. It's not often, but when I need a number line big enough for a small person to stand on I'm very glad. So the two of us went outside in the cold and used that big driveway to grasp a math concept. There was no yelling and no crying, and in the end she was able to understand what I was trying to teach her. It was a good day for our Homeschool, and it gave our driveway a chance to earn it's keep!

The Dreaded Review

Today I had to go and have a meeting with a representative from the public schools. I had to prove that my kids are receiving regular and thorough instruction in the subjects generally taught to kids in the public schools. I passed. I'm so disappointed in myself. I'm not a sheep. I HATE that I feel like I can't challenge them. I want to yell and scream " I'm NOT responsible to YOU!" I don't take their money. I shouldn't have to prove my kids are being schooled. They should have to prove to me, a tax paying citizen, that they aren't wasting MY money, and that the kids they are responsible for are receiving a regular and thorough education. I want to get in their faces and refuse to provide them with even a speck of information about my family and our schooling. But I didn't. I was pleasant and engaging. I provided plenty of work samples and art projects. I didn't want to, but I did. It's a case of just not being worth the fight. If I refuse to play by their rules, they can make my life hell. They could arrest me, investigate me, and possibly remove my kids. I just can't see what I would gain. It makes me sad that I have to behave like a sheep and play nice. I've never played well with others and have always enjoyed being a rabble rouser. I guess this means I've grown up. I can see the bigger picture and know how awful it would be without my kids. On the bright side, since I'm a grownup I can have a drink right?

Facebook

Up until recently I had never looked at Facebook. Then Chris got himself a page. I still hadn't looked at it. Then my "friend" Dy says "Hey, why don't we let our oldest kids get Facebook pages? Then they can chat." Well, I thought this might be a good idea, but I wanted to check it out for myself first. So, now I have about nine friends on Facebook and have wasted an entire day and a half of my life that I will never get back. I should know better and stay away from this stuff! But, along those lines, how in the world do people get so many friends. People must be friends with people that they don't even know, or have never even talked to except for maybe one time twenty years ago in High School. Otherwise how does Mary Anne have over 400 friends. She's a nice person. But 400 friends! I can't remember that many Latin nouns, let alone that many people.
Then there's that whole picking a picture of yourself for your profile thing. I haven't had a decent picture taken of me in the last four years. I've been pregnant, or nursing for just about that long. How am I supposed to take a good picture? There are only four children here and they just can't block enough of me in any decent picture. So, when you do pick a picture it's a little tiny thumbnail until that person accepts you as a friend. I have a really bad memory, and people change. How am I supposed to tell who people are by a tiny little thumbnail? My eyesight just isn't that good. Now I've started to sound like a bitter old woman with too many cats. Thanks Dy!

The Bestest Way to Watch Mulan

Well, of course the best way to watch Mulan is naked on a bouncing zebra!

What other way could be any better?

Why Did I Pay the Money?

We recently had one of our playdates at the Sprayground. The girls have asked to go once or twice this year. Since the schools are back in session we decided it would be fun to meet there. My first complaint is that I have to pay to go in and watch my kids frolic. OK, it's only $2 but I can put 800 gallons of water on my lawn for $2. Plus, it's not like I'm going to frolic in the overly chlorinated and recycled water in my burkah. There are laws about being that drunk in public, just ask Ron White. So anyway, you can tell from the picture how much the girls enjoyed it. They were "cold". Really. It's August. We don't live in Canada. Get in the water! But you can see Three in the background getting water dumped on him and having a grand time.




I wish I didn't have to wear a burkah. Maybe I would have gotten my money's worth and froliced with Three. He really knows how to have fun at the sprayground. I just love to watch him play!

Not The Sharpie!

You should never fall asleep on the family room floor. These girls are SOOO close to taking a Sharpie to him. They are sweet sisters, but they can only take so much of Three before they decide to retaliate. He gets in their stuff. He chases them. He hits them. Okay, he's our household menace. We should have named him Dennis. But, he's just so cute!

(Please ignore the stains on the builders grade carpet, I hate it and can't wait to rip it out! But, we still have to potty train Four so what's the point?) He was really just so very tired. He fell asleep with food in his hand. I wish I could do that. But, I'd have a brownie instead of a PB&J.

Why Today?

Three has decided he isn't going to talk. One didn't talk until she was three so it's not really a huge deal. In the spirit of being proactive, I called and made an appointment with Infants and Toddlers to get Three evaluated for speech therapy. We were supposed to go today, but I got a phone call this morning saying we would have to reschedule because the lady has to take her daughter to the doctor. Well, I have four kids. I had arranged to be there for that appointment. If you have kids , stay home. I don't like being inconvenienced because other people decide their kids really aren't worthy of being looked after by their parents.
So, in the midst of fuming about this Two pulls one of her stunts and says "why does something stink?". Now this child will be the best ever at backhanded compliments when she grows up. It will be fun to see when she doesn't live with me anymore. Right now though I would prefer a " Hey Mom, Three just pooped all over the floor!". Why does it stink could be a whole lot of things and I don't have the time or energy to ferret out the smell! Turns out there was lots of poop on the carpet (I HATE CARPET!!!) courtesy of Three.
Now that the poop is cleaned up and my day is freed up, I'm going to watch the Olympics and drink some coffee.