Me and My Shadow

Matthew's nickname for Elliott is "Shadow" because whenever Matthew walks in the room Elliott has to worm his way right over to him. He especially loves to watch his daddy building fires. Matthew will bring the wood in and the minute he opens that gate Elliott is right behind him watching everything he does. I worry that one day he's going to trip over him because the little guy is right under his feet.

Incedent Report

Crime: Breaking an Entering, Vandalism, and Stolen Property

Scene of the Crime: Hardin family Christmas Party

Victims: Carol Hardin and Kay Hiott

Suspect: Dakotta Hardin, 2 years old approximately 3 feet tall 25 lbs, blue eyes, blond curly hair, was last seen wearing pink flowered leggings, a green shirt and a lipstick stripe on her cheek

Accomplice: Corinna Hardin, 2 years old approximately 3 feet tall 24 lbs, blue eyes, blond curly hair, was last seen wearing, pink leggings, a green shirt and lots of expensive jewelry that may belong to one of the victims.

The victim was hosting a holiday party when she realized that someone had broken into her bedroom. She found the drawer of her jewelry box on the floor with some of her jewelry missing. Then she found that the contents of one of her guests, a Ms. Kay Hiott, had been dumped out on the bed. All medications and credit cards were accounted for but her car keys were missing and there were teeth marks in her lipstick. Also a plastic green milk crate was placed next to the victims desk. It appears this was how the suspect gained entrance into the jewelry box. Ms. Hardin said she saw the suspect prior to incident walking around with the green crate which she uses to hold toys. Other witnesses say they saw Corinna walking around with large amounts of jewelry. It's not clear her level of involvement in the crime. But the pair have a history of these type of crimes.

Tis the Season

Saturday we loaded up the kids to get our Christmas tree. We went to Pike Nurseries because we've always had the best luck there for a decent price. They had a lady taking pictures of the kids by the trees and putting the pictures in card frames. At first she saw the twins with me and took their picture. Then she said, "Oh I didn't see the baby" and got one of Elliott. About the time she had it in the frame she realized there were 2 more kids. Then Kendall wanted hers by the flocked trees so I think we ended up coming home with 4 pictures. So I figure the least I could do is give them a good plug.

Sunday our neighborhood had cookies with Santa at the clubhouse. After church we quickly fed the kids and loaded them up. About the time Santa showed up Rebecca came to tell us her stomach hurt and she wanted to go home. We quickly got the picture with Santa and once I realized she wasn't going to hurl, I asked her to give the other kids a chance to have a treat. A few minutes later when it was time to go, she was mad we waited so long to leave, Kendall was upset that she didn't get to ask Santa how long it took him to get there and the twins were mad that they didn't get to play longer. This is the first event we've attended since we've lived here and I don't think Matthew or I got to have more than a 2 minute conversation with any of our neighbors. Maybe next year.

Later in the week the girls were talking about what they wanted to get from Santa. I jokingly told them that they were getting coal. Rebecca then explained that if you've been naughty all you get from Santa is socks, underwear and coal . Then Kendall said she was going to get Rebecca some coal for Christmas. When I asked her why and she said, "Well sometimes she's not nice to me BUT it is a ROCK!"

Well it took us a few days to actually get our tree up and decorated. First we had realized that we needed new lights and since I wasn't taking all the kids to the store it had to wait until Matthew got off work. Then once I got the ornaments out within minutes one was broken and Elliot went straight for it. So the next day I packed up the 3 little ones and made a run to Target. Thanks to a few boxes of raisins, a package of animal crackers, a double stroller and a sling, I was able get the only set of multicolored shatterproof ornaments they had without any major meltdowns from the little ones. After making the kids wait half a week they had fun decorating the tree all of 10 minutes before they decided it was more fun to play with the ornaments.




While I was trying to get the lights done on the Christmas tree I put my little Elves to work stuffing and putting the address labels on the Christmas cards.




Today Meme and Papa Hardin came over to watch the three little kids so that I could go to Kendall's Kindergarten class and help her decorate a ginger bread girl. After she was done she ate her ginger bread cookie's arms and legs off. Kendall said she wanted to make sure she didn't try to run away. After that we wrote a story about her ginger bread girl who she named "Bristol" and caused quite a bit of trouble at school. (Sounds awfully familiar). Kendall was especially excited that I finally got to meet her friend Charlie who she talks about all the time. Then they ended the day by singing a few Christmas songs. Kendall took a few minutes to warm up. I was worried about this part since a few weeks ago she totally froze up when she was supposed to give the scripture and prayer in Primary (children's Sunday school). But she did great!

Twin Love

The other night Corinna woke up very upset in the middle of the night. I went in to calm her down but the normal stuff didn't work. She kept saying she wanted to go downstairs. So I finally made sure Dakotta went back to sleep and brought Corinna to bed with us.

Well 6:00 Dakotta wakes up crying and I could tell she was upset and realized that she was all alone. I go to check on her and she's in Corinna's bed bawling. I explain to her that Corinna is in my room and we'll go see her. In the meantime Elliott is in his bed (also in our room) crying and soaking wet. So I tried changing him while Dakotta clung to my leg in the semi dark. I kept telling her Corinna was in the bed but she wouldn't leave my side. I even set her on the bed hoping she'd find Corinna while I finished changing Elliott. Well she eventually woke up Corinna but would not move to go to her. So Matthew finally asked Corinna to talk to Dakotta. Corinna crawled over and put her head on Dakotta's lap and gave her a little hug then Dakotta's whole face lit up and she gave her the biggest hug. It was if she was trying to say, "Don't ever do that again."

I think I felt my heart melt a little at that moment.

4 Out of 5 Kids Agree

That's about the way it rolls around here.

So this year I decided to try my hand at taking my own Christmas photo. I bought some coordinating pj's and made my bed (not an every day occurrence around here) and tried to get some pictures of my 5 children. Well as is always the case one of my kids just can't get with the program. It started out being Dakotta, she wasn't being disagreeable, it's just that every time I went to take a picture she had to jump or put something in her face. About the time I got her to cooperate Elliott decided that he had enough of this nonsense and cried every time I put him near his sisters. One of the things I've learned in the past 3 years is to let things go (if you've seen my housekeeping skills you'd agree) so I called off our little photo shoot.

When I finally got around to uploading my pictures I thought I had some really cute shots but was a little disappointed that I didn't get that one "perfect" pose of all 5 of my kids. Part of me was tempted to get them all dressed again and try again. But I decided that anyone who knows us knows we are far from perfect and I'm not trying to sell picture frames after all.

Distracted Much?

Is there such a thing as pregnancy induced ADD? If so I think I must have it because I'm not sure I've completed a project in the past 9 years. Today has been one of those days. I think I had 3 things on my to do list and didn't complete any of them.

I'd been nursing Elliott and was going to put him down for a nap when I found my front door wide open. I run outside to see Dakotta outside raking leaves in nothing but her diaper (and she probably wouldn't have had that on if it weren't for the duct tape). I wasn't sure if Corinna had followed her (more likely she led her) outside or not so I call for her in a panic. Luckily she was just barely to the side of the house and came running when I called. She at least had the good sense to put on a pair of patent leather church shoes on with her diaper before braving the cold wet Georgia weather. So after I pick my heart up off the ground I usher them in the house. Needless to say Elliott was no longer asleep so I dead bolted the front door and went to get him lulled back to sleep. After I get him settled in his crib I begin the process of getting the twins ready for their naps.

So about 45 minutes later I've finally gotten them all to sleep and realize I have less than an hour to get housework done without toddler help. So I quickly pick up the toys and throw them in the corner without really putting them away because getting the floor vacuumed is my top priority since a) I have a crawling baby and b)he screams when I vacuum when he's awake. Well before I can even get the all the living room vacuumed I hear crying. Elliott slept all of 45 minutes, apparent he doesn't like me even vaccuuming even when he's asleep and on a different floor. So I bring him down since he doesn't care for the vacuum decide to start putting the toys away. And I don't get far with that when my big girls start banging on the front door while of course is now dead bolted and they have to wait for me get the key to unlock it.

Kendall comes in and throws her bag at me and wants to immediately go back outside. I keep her in for all of 5 minutes to go over her day and to check to see if she has homework. Then she's off while I review Rebecca's school work. She and I talk a bit and play with Elliott and then I start back on my project of picking up toys. Well of course before I could finish I hear Kendall at the kitchen door. I go to see what's going on and her hands and shoes are covered in mud. So I make her strip and send her upstairs to the bathroom to change. Then I spend the next hour trying to get her shoes and jacket washed(which she needs for school tomorrow). And of course once all the mess is cleaned up it's time to start dinner and get the girl's homework done. Which of course leads to dinner and clean up and getting kids to bed and reading and before I knew it it's 9:00 and I realize the vacuum cleaner hasn't even been put up and the the toys I had started to clean up are already out again. And as I'm trying to write this post Kendall has come running all the way downstairs to tell us she needs to go potty (passing 2 bathrooms in the process) the twins woke up and needed to be retucked and now Rebecca is complaining of bad dreams. I guess I'll just add this post to my list of incomplete projects.

Old MacDonald

So Corinna and Dakotta love the song Old MacDonald had a farm. I always stop when we get to the animal and wait for them to call out the name of a farm animal. Well at least that's the way suppose to go. A few days ago we were singing and they shout out "spider" (I guess it should have been expected since they'd watched Charlotte's Web earlier). I tried to distract them and started in on the chorus of "Moo, moo, mooos" but they weren't having it. I finally did some itsy bitsy spider hand motions and something about wiggling, that they seemed content with. Apparently they really got a kick out of my confusion so now it's become a big joke to them. They throw out kangaroo, giraffe, zebra and ballerina. Who knew Old MacDonald had his own little Utopia.

The title reminds me that Rebecca used to call the fast food restaurant O MacDonalds. I wonder if that has anything to do with her self proclaimed vegetarianism.

I just can't win

How many things can 2 people find to fight over in one day?

There's the morning milk cups, poured at the same time with the same gallon of milk into sippy cups that to the untrained eye appear to be "identical."

Or the diapers. Yeah I know Luvs thought they were mixing it up by giving kids a new picture of Blue with every poop but those people didn't have 2 in diapers. Not so much a problem when my 8 year old with OCD tendencies is home because she actually seems to enjoy rifling through a stack of diapers to find 2 with the same picture. But I don't have the time nor the patience to put so much thought into something that will peed on within minutes.

Or the clothes. So for all of you that have relied on me dressing them differently (Kendall) the time has now come to learn to tell them apart.

Or the toys. Yes apparently it's not good enough to have a set of blocks but they each must have their own A block, B block, C block....

Or the towels their Aunt Victoria made them with their names embroidered on the hood. No matter how many times I've told Corinna that pink towel has Dakotta written on it she still insists is says Corinna.

Or the parent. It's not enough that each child is being carried (dressed, buckled, fed, tucked in) by A parent. It has to be a specific parent. (And I can guarantee the preferred parent will be the one that needs the help the most).

What's weird is there are a few things that they never seem to fight over. They have stuffed bears, a yellow one and a black one. Corinna always gets the black and Dakotta the yellow. Same thing with their blankets. And Corinna has come to accept that all Doodle Pads (Magnadoodles) are Dakotta's which is funny since only 1 is and the other 3 technically belong to each of her sisters, including Corinna. I will never figure them out. Oh well, off to break up another fight.

Rewind for Pumpkins

Well I've been kind of busy and I forgot to post our pumpkin pictures. So here they are now. My sister Lettitia came with us to pick pumpkins at a local church. I could see the fear in the volunteer's eyes when we showed up and kids kept pouring out of my car like clowns at the circus. He followed me round the whole time and I'm sure his blood pressure peeked while we were there. We wanted to take some pictures of the kids with their pumpkins but he had enlisted help to carry them to my car before I had a chance to put away my wallet.

Rebecca picked the tall pumpkin

Dakotta went for a big one but we convinced her to go smaller

Corinna just posing
Elliott with his bitty one

I'm not sure what Kendall was doing here
but as as usual she makes me laugh.

Gourd Relays

Instead of toys for Christmas I think I'll get them some gourds

They had this cute little spot with a scarecrow that shouted "photo-op"
But before I turned around the man was at my car trying to load it in the back which of course had 2 or 3 strollers back there. lol
At least I got this shot.

My tired pumkin

The problem with Georgia weather is that you almost have to carve your pumpkins the night before or else you end up with rotten pumpkins instead of Jack O Lanterns on Halloween. Well Matthew had to work and I was too scared to give my kids a carving tool so I ended up carving the pumpkins all by myself. I cut the tops off so they could clean them out. Then I tried to do the whole Survivor Man thing where I would carve and then try to get pictures making the process that much more tedious. Luckily only 1 of my kids wanted an intricate design.

Here they are cleaning out their pumpkins.
Notice Kendall is not touching that stuff and
Dakotta is tasting it. YUM-O

You can't really tell but Dakotta was actually taking the seeds out of the bowl
and putting them back into her pumpkin.
She's always been my hoarded.

So I quickly got tired of documenting the process so
here they all are with their finished pumpkins.

Rebecca's Witch with Elliott's bitty one

Kendall watched over my shoulder as she told me
exactly what to do for her "spooky" face.

The Pumpkin Twins

Hardin Halloween

Trick or Treating was fun because this was the first year the twins really got into it. I couldn't really get a good group shot since they were so ready to fill up their bags. We live in a neighborhood with lots of hills and not only are the roads steep but we had to walk down a steep driveway just to walk up the 20some stairs to the front door and then back down the stairs and up the driveway to walk up the hill to the next house. And then on the other side of the street we did the opposite. And since our neighbor's mom had a nasty fall off some of these stairs just Sunday, I was paranoid and ended up carrying one twin up/down each set of stairs. But other than that it went really well and I figure it just gives me license to eat lots of their candy.

Rebecca was a Jack O Lantern Ghost
She got the idea when her uncle said she looked like a Jack O Lantern
with all her missing teeth. She's lost another one since yesterday.

Kendall couldn't decide between a Witch or a Queen
so she settled on being "a stepmother."
My favorite moment of the night was when she was skipping along singing
and stopped and said to herself, "Wait I'm supposed to be EVIL."

This is the best shot I got of Dakotta as Shirley Temple.

Rebecca and Kendall with Elliott the Teddy Bear

Corinna as Shirley Temple

So today after lunch I got the twins their candy bags down so that they could pick a piece or 2 each to have for a treat. So Dakotta digs in her bag and pulls out a bag of Skittles and Corinna pulls out a long tootsie roll. I helped Dakotta with hers while Corinna unwrapped hers and then she tore it in half and handed the other half to her sister. And then Dakotta dumped out her bag of Skittles so they could share. When they were done with those I let them get another piece each. Dakotta reached in her bag for 2 packs of Smarties and Corinna got out 2 lollypops out of hers. I thought it was so sweet that it didn't even occur to me that they ended up actually with 3 pieces each until I was putting the bags up. Sneaky kids!

Stay Tuned: I hope to get some pumpkin pictures up soon.

Dakotta's Doodle Pad

Dakotta is obsessed with her Magna Doodle. Actually we have 4 different ones and she spends hours a day coloring on any one of them. She even insists on taking one to bed with her each night.

Here is a picture of her a few weeks ago drawing the sun.

The big girls built a train from used boxes that day,
but you can see that Dakotta was engrossed in her doodle pad
while everyone else was having fun playing train.

This is a picture she drew today.
She threw a tantrum when I took it away
so that I could take a picture before she erased it.
She says the ball on the right is a "kitty ball".

Blackmail Material

I went to throw away Corinna's diaper and when I came back this is what I found. If you look closely you will notice her reading material of choice is a "My Twinn" catalog. I guess someone should warn Dakotta that she may be replaced. And for those of you keeping score, they still haven't actually peed in the toilet.
But they sure do enjoy the ritual.

Playing in the Dirt

So for several months we've had a giant sink hole in our front yard. Apparently this was where the builders buried all the trash when they built the house 20 years ago. Matthew has spent many hours digging this garbage out and had gotten as far as he could. So Saturday he rented a Bob Cat to fix the sink hole and to do some leveling of our back yard. His exciting find of the day was a rusty old water heater. Anyway, my job on this beautiful autumn day was too keep 5 children entertained and out of the way of any large machinery.

We started the morning off by making muffins
Corinna licking the cup.

Dakotta sneaking a taste

I tried to keep them on the deck playing so they could watch what was going on and be out of harms way.

I went to get a picture of Elliott and all the girls jumped in the shot.

Watching the work.
Elliott in his exersaucer Kendall came up with the idea to make a scarecrow.

Corinna checking out the dirt

Our friend Roman is coming back tomorrow to finish the leveling and to plant the seed. Unfortunately since we're in a drought we just have to cross our fingers for some rain because we aren't allowed to water. Of course someone should tell that to my neighbor who was busy watering the street last night at 9:00. I'm trying to convince Matthew that if we can syphon out our tub water the grass should be fine. Maybe tomorrow I'll let my kids paint themselves with chalk and we'll do a little rain dance. (And then take a bath).

Pictures from the Play

Unfortunately the pictures from the play didn't turn out great. I'm sure a better photographer would now how to get a good picture of the shortest kid in the play who is in a glow in the dark costume while in a crowd of other cameras.

Rebecca with her biggest Fan.
Kendall sand along with all the songs because she had
been practicing them with Rebecca.

After the play we took them to Brusters.
Rebecca ordered the banana split which is much bigger
than the picture would lead you to believe.

After I let them sleep downstairs and
this is what I found the next morning.
My own little Ying/Yang

Bravo! Bravo!

Last Night we went to see Rebecca in Tide Pool Condos at the Elementary School. Kendall had seen it during the school day and said she did "Excellent!" We had a sitter to watch the 3 little ones so that I didn't have to wrestle anyone while watching the play. It was a cute play and everyone did a good job, especially Rebecca. But of course I'm one of those has-been, stage moms. I have to admit that I'm such a sap, I actually get teary eyed watching my kids perform. But she was the best Bioluminescent Guy, I've ever seen. I'll try to post pictures soon.

The show was a little bitter sweet because I loved seeing Rebecca showing off her talents but on the other hand it makes me sad because it reminds me of a part of my life I've put on hold for the last 8 years. I was excited to get to help with one of the rehearsals. I would have loved to do more and 3 kids ago I was the type of mom that was always at the school. Unfortunately until we figure out how to install another bathroom for an Au Pair, or until the kids are older I just can't do as much extracurricular stuff as I would like. It was kind of weird the one day I showed up because I expected just to keep kids on task. But I ended up in a group that was learning a dance. The lady responsible for teaching the dance did not have a dance background and had just been taught it herself a few minutes before. At first she just wanted me to be in charge of the music. But when she found out I had dance experience I ended up getting to help teach the girls. I can't tell you how much fun I had.

Yesterday was also an exciting day for Kendall. Her class has a Green, Yellow, Red card system for behavior. Well, Kendall was born with a disability. She was born without a volume control. Add that to the fact that she's very social and it doesn't make for many "Green Days." Well at the first week of school when I had already gotten a phone call from her teacher and we had just gotten done discussing our expectations she asked me when I was coming to have lunch. I was so fluster I spouted, "When you can get 5 Green Days in a row." So this has been her goal for the school year. And up until last week she's never gotten past 3 in a row. But she finally did it and it only took her 9 weeks of school. So Monday Kendall gets to have lunch with Mommy and her younger siblings.

Tickle Me Elliott

That's Kendall narrating, she can't stand to have a camera pointed at someone other than her.

Can you say determined?

My children are very goal oriented. Apparently the twins goal for yesterday was to get a shower or a bath. First thing in the morning I got them changed and fed. I had left Matthew and Elliott asleep in my room and a little while later Matthew brought Elliott down and he headed back upstairs to take a shower. While I was taking care of Elliott, Corinna and Dakotta must have heard the water running because when I walked backed into the living room they were both completely naked. I had already changed them for the morning so their diapers were not longer duct taped on (if you have to ask see side note below). I asked them what they were doing they both told me they were going to take a shower. I decided since they were already naked it was a good time to put them on the toilet.

This little toilet ritual of ours is something I do in hopes that one day they are going to actually pee in the toilet (3 kids in diapers is not cheap). It involves first a fight over who is going to go first and who is going to put the cushy toddler seat on top of the regular seat. Then while I try to encourage one to "tinkle," complete with all manner of embarrassing songs and sound effects, the other will play with toilet paper. Then another fight ensues about who is going to wipe the "tinkler's" bum. Then we repeat. Then another fight about who is going flush the toilet. And then we wash hands. Time spent in bathroom:30 minutes. Toilet paper used: 1/2 roll. Fights broken up: 4. Pee in the Toilet: None.

So then I thought maybe I'd just let them run around naked for a bit. People keep telling me the bare bottom technique is the way to go with potty training. But apparently they took that as a sign that they were getting a bath. So as soon as they were allowed upstairs they headed straight to their bath tub. I finally got them out of their bathroom and shut the doors and they ran straight o my tub and decided to play in there. Since I needed to do some laundry, I let them play in the tub while I changed loads. When I came back I found ice skating in toothpaste they had squeezed into the tub. When I turned on the water to rinse out the tub and they started to get excited about taking a bath. But I'm a mean mommy and cleaned off their feet and got them out. Then I got them dressed and off to play.

A little later in the day the kids found some chalk outside and were coloring on the walk way in the back yard. All 4 girls were being so good playing so nicely together and I was watching from the deck. My view was somewhat obstructed by their play house. Then I noticed a pair of blue legs and realized they belonged to my 5 year old. Apparently the chalk had been left out in the rain and was the consistency of make up. So my angels come up to me looking like little Aborigines. Who knew wet chalk made such good War paint? And of course what's the first thing out of their mouths when they get to me. "I wanna take a bath" Well I was trying to head out to dinner for the night and by now I'm just as determined that they aren't going to be rewarded with a bath for being such trouble makers. So I cleaned them in the sink. Yes I know it would have been easier but I'm stood my ground on principle.

I am however, all about starting the day on a clean slate (literally) so first thing after breakfast this morning I gave them their bath.

My Little Aborigines
Corinna

Corinna washing up

Dakotta

My lovely walkway

Side Note: TMI Warning: If you have a weak stomach skip this little side note: THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE. My little darlings have the most disgusting habit. When they are left unattended for any length of time they will removed their diapers. Now that's rather annoying in itself. However, they aren't content just to enjoy the freedom of a bare butt. No, they must then use the contents of their diapers as art material. When they first discovered this hobby I outsmarted them by putting their diapers on backwards, so that they couldn't reach the tabs. They quickly figured out how to get to the tabs anyway. Luckily for us the weather turned cooler and we realized that they couldn't figure out the tabs that went over the zippers of their footy pajamas. So we had a brief reprieve until they figured those out as well. So finally, we've had to resort to duct taping their diapers on to them. I only do this at nap and bed times because that's when they are mostly likely to engage in this unsavory art form and, well if you've ever tried to duct tape a diaper on very active toddler while trying not to get the duct tape on their sensitive skin you know it's no picnic. Now before anyone thinks of call DFS or Dr. Phil, I got the duct tape recommendation from my Pediatrician.

Happy Birthday to ME

The weird thing about being 6 weeks younger than my spouse is that when he has his Birthday in August I start thinking I'm a year older and then by the time it's my Birthday I think I'm a year older than I really am. I thought this was some weird little quirk of mine until I was talking to my sister and she admitted to doing the same thing.

So Matthew took the day off for my Birthday and asked his parents to watch Corinna and Dakotta so that we could head to Atlanta. I've been itching to get to the IKEA for sometime, but not so much that I was willing to do it by myself with little ones in tow. Once we got there Matthew needed to make a Pit stop, so I was walking around the lobby trying to figure out my game plan. I went to grab a catalog, since I had left mine at home, but there was a small group of people in my way. They appeared to be planning something and I wasn't sure if they were employees or not. Trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, in case they were sales people, I quickly went for the catalog when a gentleman who looks like someone I think I should know looks at me and nods. About the time I see all the camera equipment I realize that it's Vern Yip, a designer from Trading Spaces and other TV shows.

IKEA was a little overwhelming and I don't think Matthew realized what he was getting into. I've been looking for the perfect scrapbooking table since Mother's Day and of course the one from the catalog that I really wanted to see was out of stock. But I got some good ideas and we did get some fun things for the kids rooms. Not exactly what I had in mind for my Birthday present but if it helps keep their junk off the floor I'll be happy.

After we were done at IKEA we decided to head to our favorite Thai restaurant. Unfortunately, since neither Matthew or I spend much time in Atlanta these days, instead of the the wonderful little restaurant we love we were greeted with a giant mound of dirt in the the middle of down town Atlanta. We drove up 14th street and were lucky enough to find Tamrind Seed. The new place was so fancy and I felt a little under dressed in jeans but the food was as good as I remembered it. And the best part is that there were plenty of leftovers.

As the staff oohed and aaahed over Elliott, I was reminded of the first time I ate at the old restaurant. I was a new mom and one of the hostess was quite taken by Rebecca, who was about 9 months old at ther time. Rebecca was restless and had been trying to get out of the high chair. She reached out to the hostess who picked her up and before I knew it the lady was taking my baby to see the other waiters. I was a little taken aback by it and Matthew and I whispered things between us and decided she was safe. Then she totally startled me by taking my baby to the kitchen and out of my site. That's when I gave my dear husband that Mother Bear look. He quickly hopped up and headed to the kitchen. I think the hostess must have realized her faux pas about the same time because she came out and returned her to my arms. Rebecca of course was as happy as could be. These days I may have made a run for it while she was in the kitchen. Well not really, or maybe, just long enough to pee in silence.

Now to top off my great day I'm going to go enjoy some Triple chunk Brownies. TTFN

When It Rains It Pours

This afternoon I had gotten Rebecca started on her homework, Elliott sleeping, and Kendall and the twins were playing in the living room. I have gates into the dining room, the kitchen, and at the top of the stairs and I had the outside doors dead bolted. I thought it was a good time to take a quick break and to read a few emails and check in on a message board I visit. I was wrong. As I'm at my computer in the basement I begin to hear water running. It sounded like it was coming from the bathroom and I didn't think much of it. A few minutes later I hear a dripping sound. I followed the sound which is about 2 feet to my left and look up and realize there's a water spot starting on my ceiling tile. I ran upstairs to see the gate open and Corinna at the back of the sink with water pouring out of it. I turn the water off and start mopping up the mess when I see Dakotta eating Rice Crispies off the floor with the empty box next to her. The funny thing was that when I asked who left the gate open both Rebecca and Kendall took responsibility. So they both got the pleasure of cleaning it up.

This is the problem with all these childproofing gadgets we have around the house. We are constantly in a state of thinking of ways to childproof better with as little inconvenience to the rest of us that live here. For example the doorknob covers are a blessing for me most of the time, until Kendall needs to make a mad dash to the bathroom. I've observed that there is a direct correlation to how badly one has the urge to pee and how difficult it is to open a door with a childproof doorknob cover. I've even experienced it first hand myself. This phenomenon usually leads to me cleaning a bathroom floor while consoling a humiliated 5 year old. Now the caveat to this theory is that if you are accustomed to peeing in your pants, or let's say a diaper, you then begin to possess super toddler abilities that allow you to outsmart the device and remove the doorknob cover all together. This is the only explanation I have for finding 2 toddlers in the hall and the doorknob cover in pieces in their room yesterday morning.

I'm wondering how much those professional childproofers charge per hour? Maybe I could hire out my twins to new parents. I'm sure in less time than any expert my kids can show them what things are going to be a problem when there's a toddler around. Sounds like a great way to support their cereal purging hobby.

Blue Bear Bash

So yesterday was the Blue Bear Bash at the elementary school. Kendall was so excited and asked me what a bash was and I told her it was a "wild party". What!? I was in the car without access to a dictionary or the Internet, it was what came to my mind.

They had lots of activities like a climbing wall, scooter relays and old standbys like a cake walk and face painting. The twins only had eyes for the slide but the big girls enjoyed many of the games. And then we had some pizza and ice cream.


Dakotta and Corinna were in awe of the Chic-fil-A cow. But they had no desire to get close to him. After he left every time they went by this spot, they'd say "Where's cow? Where's Moo?"

Dakotta getting a blue heart of her cheek

Corinna getting a pink heart

Rebecca and Kendall both chose kitty faces.

And off they go.
We gave Kendall permission to go play and Corinna and Dakotta both just took off. Mommy was on her A game and managed to snap the picture and catch them before they were lost in the crowd. Of course there were plenty of odd looks from spectators but she quit paying attention to those about 2 1/2 years ago.

When we were headed home I was asking the girls what their favorite part of the day was. Kendall said her's was playing with her friend Macy. And then she said, "But I don't think they should have called it a Bash." I asked her why and she said, "It wasn't very wild." I guess it's time she learned about truth in advertising.