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.

Public Service Announcement

If your kids dump baby formula all over the floor (or any other powdery substance) and you vacuum it up, remember to empty the the vacuum cleaner IMMEDIATELY.

How did they get baby formula? Well we keep their diapers and diaper bags in the coat closet. And apparently one of the gift diaper bags they had given out at the hospital had a sample can of powdered infant formula. Somehow they not only managed to get the lid off but also the sealed top. I got it all cleaned up but forgot to empty the vacuum cleaner. So I come back to find more formula (only clumpier this time) all over the floor. So I'm trying to figure out where they found more when I see the canister missing from the vacuum. I then realized they just recycled the previous formula.

Fun Run Boosterthon Day

Last night I fell asleep while Rebecca was reading to me. She woke me up to see if she had read her required 15 minutes. Once I got her and Kendall off to bed Matthew suggested I go to bed, which I did at 8:30. I did get up to feed Elliott twice in the middle of the night. But come morning I realized that the sun was shining through my window. I jumped up to look at the clock on Matthew's side of the bed to see it was 7:30. The time the kids should be at the bus stop. Someone (a mysterious toddler I'm sure) had turned off the alarm. The weird thing is that I almost always awake before the alarm goes off. I guess I was a little tired.

Anyway we all rushed around getting ready and Matthew dropped them off at school. In the meantime I got the little ones up and fed so that we could go to the school for Rebecca's FUN RUN. It's the school's way of raising money for the PTO without having to sell wrapping paper or candy bars. Rebecca and Kendall were supposed to get sponsors for each lap they ran. I was surprised at how eager they were to call family and friends to hit them up for money. It was actually kind of hard for me to watch because I get a pit in my stomach doing that kind of stuff. But Rebecca did a great job getting pledges for her and Kendall.

Rebecca ran 36 laps (about 2 1/2 miles)

Wardrobe malfunction: Someone stepped on her shoe and it came off.

Then after an hour in the heat Corinna, Dakotta, Elliott and I headed home for lunch so that we could come back that afternoon to see Kendall.

Kendall waves at her fans. She ran 27 laps (about 2 miles)

The cheerleaders decided to wear the track cones.

Cheerleading stunts

We all had lots of fun. The little ones were a big hit with the big girls classmates. At one point after the run I was letting the twins go down the slide and looked over at Rebecca and about 15 of her classmates had surrounded Elliott's stroller. You would have thought we were celebrities. Of course leaving proved to be a bit of a challenge because the twins wanted some of the popsicles reserved for the athletes.

And apparently we wore my little man out because this is what we found a little later.

Notice how his little hand is still holding the fishy toy.

OK this little red mark made me smile because it reminded me of my Dad. He was notorious for falling asleep in church with his head on the pew in front of him. Whenever he woke up he always had one of the red marks.

Wood, Rocks and a Praying Mantis

Well if you have ever been camping with my husband you know he has an obsession with fires and firewood. He spends the winter procuring, chopping, splitting and stacking firewood. If you have a dead tree he may even ask you if he can cut it down for you. So with the hopes of cooler weather on the horizon today he began his yearly ritual of moving firewood. And like most years, at the beginning of the season the girls are eager to lend a hand. By February it will be a different story. So here are some pictures from today.

Kendall

Rebecca

Matthew not too happy about having his picture taken.

Kendall thought this piece was cool.

Rebecca's Rock Collection
A Praying Mantis

Random Thoughts

So I was told that I needed to update my Blog. It's been kind of a hectic week so I'll try to fill in some of the highlights.

Monday: I took the 3 little ones to the doctor. My prediction was wrong. Dakotta only had 1 ear infected and Corinna had 2. Elliott has a cold but his ears and lungs were all clear. Dakotta now weighs enough more than Corinna so that their prescriptions are different dosages. Just to keep mom on her toes.

Wednesday: I met up with some of my friends at the Mall. The twins were getting a little restless so we took them into the Disney store. My friend Kari was going to buy them some little stuffed animals. She let them pick from this shelf with all these cute furry stuffed animals. They had Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Piglet, Dumbo, Thumper, Dalmations, Marie the Kitty. And what did they pick? Mater the Tow Truck from CARS. We had to dig through the pile to find the 2nd Mater.

On a side note: I've never actually SEEN this movie. We have a DVD player in the van and I've HEARD it numerous times and could probably quote lots of it. So tonight as I was tucking the kids in I looked at their stuff trucks and realize he's "Tow Mater." I asked Matthew if he knew that and he said "I've never actually SEEN the movie" I'm guessing most people knew that.

Thursday: A friend of mine had mentioned how much fun the kids have pretending to wash dishes. So I filled the sink full of plastic dishes, and soapy water and put a towel on the floor under them. For the longest time they stood on their stools playing. I finished what I was doing in the kitchen and went into my living room but decided since they were playing so nicely to let them keep washing dishes. A few minutes later I hear lots and lots of giggling. I decide to see what's so funny. I walk in and my kitchen floor is flooded. My kitchen sink doesn't have a back splash or a wall behind it. They had figured out they could reach the faucet from behind the sink. Well that wouldn't have been so bad. Except they also realized that they could now reach the sprayer nozzle. So they took great delight in spraying water clear across my kitchen. The good news was I got my floor mopped. The bad new is it may have been foreshadowing.

Thursday Night: When I put Rebecca to bed I heard dripping in her bathroom. I see water on her sink and the floor is wet. She says Kendall must have been playing in her sink again. I clean up the water on the sink and put some towels on the floor. It's bedtime so I leave them there overnight.

Friday: I'm trying to get things together so that Matthew and I can go out for dinner. (Not to self: Post about mad frenzy involved before being able to take a break). Well why I'm trying to get things together I go into Rebecca's room and see the towels. They're soaked so I throw them in the washer and put a few more down while wondering what exactly Kendall did to make such a mess. About this time the kids are home from school and Rebecca points out that there is water coming out of the ceiling in our living room. At this point I call Matthew who tells me to turn the water off under the sink. Now I'm kicking myself for just assuming it was my kids and that it never occurred to me I actually had a plumbing problem.

When I was cleaning it up Rebecca says "This must be the worse day of your life" (She's always declaring days to be the worst day of her life). I said, "Nope, not even close. " She looked a little surprised and asked me what was worse. I replied "The day my dad died, or the day Dakotta had to have her arm cut open, lots of things are worse than having a leak." She gave me a thoughtful look and said, "Oh yeah." I wonder if we'll be hearing her declare days the of her life any time soon. Oh and we did have an enjoyable evening out so it couldn't have been that bad.

Saturday: Rebecca and Kendall were going to spend the night at their cousins house and I was headed to a Tupperware party. Matthew was helping me load all the kids in the car when he noticed one of the interior light were on in the very back. One of the twins must have turned it on the last time I was loading them up. The last time anyone drove the car was Wednesday so of course the battery was dead. Matthew was able to test the battery, realize it was dead, go to one store to see they were out, go to a second store and purchase the battery and get it installed all in about an hour. I told the kids he was faster than triple A and they just looked at me like I was crazy.

So those are the highlights of my week. I'll try to post more often. Maybe if this week will be a little quieter.

Is it a Stick or a Bug?

It's a Stick Bug.

Rebecca found a stick bug on our deck yesterday. She found one last week on our way to church but we were in a hurry so she didn't get to look at it too much. So when she saw one again she decided to catch it and put it in her bug cage. Last week she caught a moth and a grasshopper and when she went to get them she noticed that the moth was gone. We convinced her that she didn't want to hurt the stick bug so she let it go a little while later.



Then last night during story time she found a leafbug on the outside of the deck door. She wasn't as eager to catch that one since the last time she caught one it bit her (actually I think it pinched her). I didn't get a picture of that one.

In other news. My 3 little ones have had colds for almost a week now. I thought they were gettting better but yesterday Dakotta kept telling me her ear was "ouchie" and asking me to kiss it. So I'm going to call the doctor and see if I can get them all seen today. If history repeats itself Dakotta will have a double ear infection and Corinna will just have one. Not sure what to expect from Elliott since this is his first illness.

Diaper Math

Kendall was explaining Diaper math to me the other day.

If I ask for 1 diaper she gets 1 #2 for Elliott.
If I ask for 2 diapers she gets 2 #3's for the twins.
And if I ask for 3 diapers she gets 1 #2 and 2 #3's.

So if I need to change just 1 of the twins or Elliott and 1 of the twins I guess I have to get the diapers myself.

Diaper Duty

These are some pictures I took this morning. That's Dakotta putting a diaper on Rebecca's "lammy" a Beanie baby lamb she's had since she was 3. At first Corinna was helping but she got bored with the project while mommy was getting her camera.

First getting her cleaned up
Attaching the tabs to the front of the diaper

Making some adjustments.

Apparently #2 diapers are not the right size for a beanie baby.

Daily Dialogue

The following is a conversation I have no less than 20 times a day.

Corinna: Where's Becca?
Dakotta: Where's Ree Becca?
Me: Rebecca's at school.
Corinna: Becca at kool.
Dakotta: Ree Becca at kool.
Me: Yes, Rebecca's at school.

(pause)

Corinna: Where'd Kendol go?
Dakotta: Where's Kendol?
Me: Kendall's at school, she went with Rebecca.
Corinna: Kendol at school on the bus.
Me: Yes Kendall went to school on the bus.
Dakotta: Kendol at school.

(pause)

Corinna: Where'd Daddy go?
Dakotta: Where'd Daddy go?
Me: Daddy's at work.
Corinna: Daddy at work.
Dakotta: Daddy at work.

(pause)

Corinna: Where's Eh Ee It?
Dakotta: Where's Eh Ee It?
Me: Elliott's asleep.
Corinna: Eh Ee It sleeping.
Dakotta: Eh Ee it sleeping in his bed.
Me: Yes, Elliott is sleeping in his bed.

This is how we start each morning, it's the conversation we have after nap time and several other times a day. Of course sometimes the answers change and often they like to add someone to the list. Today it was

Corinna: Where's Granny?
Me: Granny's at her house.
Dakotta: Where's Reuben?
Corinna: Where's Reuben?
Me: He's probably working.
Corinna: Reuben's at work.
Dakotta: Reuben at work.

This is sprinkled with an ample amount of "What's this?" all day long. Now you see why I'm so eager to talk to telemarketers.

Why I have an answering machine

So last night I got to bed early and actually had a decent night's sleep. I got the big girls off to school with no drama. And even had a little quiet time to myself before the little ones woke up. I had gotten them fed and the 4 us of were playing in the living room. Then the phone rang. I know I have an answering machine but I have problems just letting the phone ring. Probably from all those years of not having a answering machine. Or it could be that I crave adult conversation even if it's with a telemarketer. So big deal, I answered the phone. Except for one thing: I have TWIN TODDLERS.

So the phone is in the kitchen and I unlatch the gate to the kitchen to get to the phone. And guess who is right behind but little Search and Destroy. In the meantime Elliott is not happy about being left alone in the living room so while answering the phone I go to check on him. I have a short phone conversation and realize "It's QUIET" which is never a good thing when kids are awake. I see the gate is unlatched and go back to the kitchen to find 2 chocolate covered peanuts. They had gotten into the Ovaltine mix and were covered in cocoa dust, as was my kitchen floor. The good thing is that my laziness has paid off because they are still in their pajamas. So, I sweep up the mess but notice they are leaving chocolate footprints all over the place.

No big deal. I'll just throw them in the shower. I get Elliott situated in his swing that I keep in my bedroom and get them showered. So now I've got them all in my room and I'm in the process of getting us all dressed so we can go to the grocery store (and that's an event in itself). Well while I was changing Corinna, Dakotta found the diaper ointment. Now in all fairness she was doing what you are supposed to do with diaper ointment. She was smearing it all over her butt. Unfortunately her skinny butt does not need more than about a marble size squirt and not the golf ball size amount she had already dispensed. What's that saying "You can't unsqueeze the toothpaste"?

Anyway, I get her cleaned up and go get her dressed. I get Elliott changed and then we head downstairs. As I turn the corner I see Rebecca's door wide open and realize Corinna has been MIA for the past 5 minutes. I find her in Rebecca's room covered in PINK. She had found Rebecca's play make up and was giving herself a makeover. Now I have to admit my first thought when I saw her was to curse the grandparents that bought the gift. But in all fairness to said grandparents, I was the one that bought the Ovaltine. And the diaper ointment. And the cereal.

Yes, let me tell you about the cereal. In my 8 years of parenting I have learned that 2 year olds are diabolically opposed to cereal IN a cereal box. I could have fed a small nation with the amount of cereal I have swept up, dumped in the sink, and vacuumed in the last 8 years. So in my rush to get the girls in the shower I had left the gate to the kitchen unlatched AGAIN. So after cleaning up Corinna (just 10 minutes out of the shower) all I had to do was get Elliott in his carseat so we could get out the door. I'm ready to get them out the door before they cause any more when I'm greeted with a kitchen floor covered in cocoa puffs. All this in less than an hour from the point, I made the fatal error of answering the phone. Yep, all this because I answered the phone. So if you call my house and I don't answer, you'll know why.

Kendall World

Kendall told me today that her imaginary friends are like worms. You can cut off part of them and they'll grow another head. I see a career as a science fiction author in her future.

Welcome

Welcome to my blog. Which is really just a place for me to write down some of the interesting things that happen in my crazy little life before my mommy brain files them away with other forgotten details like where I put my cell phone (after the battery has died).

I'm married to Matthew and am stay at home mom to Rebecca, 8; Kendall, 5; Corinna & Dakotta 2 and Elliott, 5 moths. Once upon a time I loved to scrapbook, throw parties, stamp, read, camp, go to the theater and long before that I even loved to work in the theater. About the only ones of those I still do on a regular basis are camping and reading, although it has been while since I've actually read anything beyond the 5th grade level. We are in the process of fixing my basement up to include a craft area so I hope to get back into some of my creative outlets soon. Right now I spend most of my free time (read that as time nursing while no one else is climbing on me) catching up with the friends in my computer.

Rebecca is my little Granola Girl. She loves everything outdoors, especially rocks, horses and lambs. She whistles like a bird and has her sister convinced that she's actually talking to them. She's a self proclaimed vegetarian who is forced to eat animal flesh by her evil omnivore parents. She just started the 3rd grade and her favorite subject is science. Right now by her bedside are her current favorite books, which are Calvin and Hobbes (not sure which one), The DK Encyclopedia of Science and a book on horses she checked out of the library at school (and I'm pretty sure she checked the same book out last year). She is the best big sister. She loves playing games with Kendall, giving her twin sister piggy back rides and taking care of her baby brother.

Kendall is my little entertainer. She wakes up full of energy and ready to tackle the day (we will never know where she gets this because both her parents are night owls). She loves clothes, especially anything cheetah print or purple. Her motto is "The louder the better" and not just when it comes to clothes. She's excited to be in Kindergarten this year but sometimes her exuberance can get her into trouble. She loves to make up stories and songs and has a long list of imaginary friends, who we never know when they'll be popping in.

Corinna & Dakotta (or Shock & Awe as their dad likes to call them) are our 2 year old identical twin girls. Corinna is my little chatter box and very out going. Her middle name is Scout and it is very fitting. She jumps head first into things (literally and figuratively). She can also be very bossy and is a little mommy to Elliott. Dakotta is more laid back. She lets Corinna explore while she is quietly in a corner coloring, playing with blocks or reading a book. Dakotta is also a Daddy's Girl. From the time she could crawl she was the first one to Daddy the minute he walked in the door. The majority of my day is spent trying to stay one step ahead of these two. And if I don't the rest of the day is spent cleaning up after them.

Then there's Elliott, the apple of his sisters' eyes. He is a very happy and easy going baby, but then he has 5 females that attend to his every need. The boy isn't allowed to cry without someone coming to the rescue. He loves to sit around watching all the craziness that goes on in this house. He's anxious to be on the move. He waits until Mom isn't looking and then he traverses the floor. He's not crawling but that doesn't stop him. He also enjoys watching sports with his dad. The kid is bound to understand the game of football before his mom ever does.

The ring leader of this circus is my husband Matthew. He spends his days in a nice quiet (relatively speaking) office building where he works in IT for a "Needs Fulfillment" company (whatever that means). I'm sure he will tell me that I've gotten the lingo all messed up so I won't go into the specifics of what he does. The important thing is it pays decent and he gets excellent benefits (like going to the bathroom by himself and a real lunch break that doesn't involve anyone throwing half eaten peanut butter sandwiches at him). He's the fun parent. The one that watches cartoons with them and throws them around and plays his guitar so they can dance around half dressed.