Well, technically, it should probably be "movie, movie, picture" :)
Grandma has been quite demanding lately...she wants more grandkids around here! Here you go, Yaya & Papa. We miss you.
This first video was taken because I was getting such a kick out of watching Thomas eating. He adores the tomatoes from our garden...you can tell by the way he's trying to lick his tray! Turns out, Sammy and Clara got in on the action too. "Camera shy" will never be a title any of my kids hold :)
This next video is of Thomas crawling around and playing. He's so much fun these days :)
And this last shot is one of Thomas getting out of the bath...just last night!
We're doing our best around here to soak up as much summer as we can in these last few days. School starts on Monday (sniff!). There's a lot to do yet! Like swing games to play...
Little girl secrets to tell...
Bars to monkey around on...
And new tricks to learn...
And I suppose I shouldn't forget: frogs to scare so badly that they pee all over the place...
He probably saw my Clara coming at him with this big stick. If I saw a giant Clara approaching with a big stick, I'd probably pee too! Here he is, checking out his "gift" (much to Clara's delighted squeals)...
He seems to approve. Mostly though, I'll bet he's trying to figure out if he can somehow hide under the stick. (Note: No frogs were harmed during the production of this summertime event. He was deposited safely in the long grass by the shed where 2 year olds with sticks and bored dogs could not find him.)
There's stuff to do inside too. Like play video games (I console myself with the fact that he at least has to be standing and moving to play this one)...
And eat snacks while charming Mama with a killer dimpled smile...
And when Mama pokes her head out from behind the camera and shouts "BOO!", there is lots of tray banging, giggling, and kicking of legs to do...
I thought I'd better grab this shot of summertime grass with a bit of morning dew on it...something to stare at when all that's outside is dead grass, brown trees, and snow (don't worry, I'm sure I'll still find great stuff to take photos of).
...Or the babies. My Thomas is going to be a year old NEXT MONTH! I seriously...truly, and honestly...can NOT believe it. I don't know if I want to laugh along with his giggles, or cry at the rate he's growing up. Although hubby is planning a getaway for the two of us to some strange, sandy, sunny place for after I wean my last baby...I guess I'll stick to giggles ;)
We went to a local park the other day. Thomas and Sammy adore the swings...would have stayed on them all night if we'd have let them. Clara likes to help with the little ones, and Ben...he's outa there! He went straight to the monkey bars and got himself a giant blister on his palm. It seems like just yesterday that I was pushing my baby Benjamin in these very swings.
My sweet and spunky Clara Rose spent the night away from us last night for the first time. She stayed at her cousin's house. They live about 40 minutes from us...out on the "ranch". It's not really a ranch, but they do have goats, sheep, and dogs. And most importantly, Clara's favorite cousin...and a POOL.
I half expected to be driving out to get her at midnight, but she was quite the trooper. In fact, I just got off the phone with her and she was begging to stay the rest of the day and another night! I don't know what kind of brainwashing is going on over there, but I don't like it. Not one bit!
Yesterday was quite the day. I think the upcoming STLS "Satan" topic is making life difficult for me. Not to sound too dramatic, but I think that this is what spiritual war feels like. Yesterday I felt physically heavy...waves of fear coming over me at times that literally made me nauseous...tears and frustration for no apparent reason. I wasn't ready for it! But I've been working on putting on my armor this morning.
Bottom line? Satan is real. He's at work. And one of his favorite tricks is to make us believe that he's a fairytale. If we ignore him, we can't very well fight against him, now can we? Let's do some study, folks. Let's learn about him, let's seek the Lord about him, and let's shine some light on the SOB. He's the Prince of Darkness for a reason...he does his best work from the shadows.
I hope you'll join me this weekend to write about what you've learned about Satan, so we can all be educated and encouraged.
Well...I wasn't planning on writing about that today! Can you tell what's been on my mind? :)
To finish up, the grandparents are due for a baby video. Here you go...enjoy!
I've mentioned before that we do lots of singing and dancing around here. Every time one of my kids hears music playing on the TV, they jump up and yell, "Mommy! Dance time!". I drop what I'm doing, and go dance with them. We like it loud. I grab the remote, crank up the volume, and we boogy around the living room. It's great fun :)
Well, today was no exception. Only it wasn't music on TV, it was on the computer. Clara found this great music on Playhouse Disney...click HERE and then click on "Do Your Own Dance" if you'd like to give it a listen. Consider yourself warned though...this song will be stuck in your brain for days!
To my point...
Thomas LOVES this song! When it gets going, that kid starts kicking and flailing his arms so violently that I can hardly hold him!
Sammy has lots of fun with it too. I love her pretty little dance and how she tries to sing along. Here are some clips:
Hubby and I were chatting the other day, when he said something like "It just goes so fast! I can hardly remember Sammy at Thomas' age."
It was then that I was so happy that I've been such a "picture Nazi" all these years! I have an album for each year that we've been married. Photos are in rough chronological order, and the outside of the album is labeled with the year. I know it's hard to imagine someone so crazed with photo-organization. It drives even me nuts sometimes.
This a good place for a disclaimer...since getting my DSLR, my photo organization has gone totally to the birds. I've been busy taking so dang MANY pictures, I'm just overwhelmed with the idea of sorting and printing and organizing. So they're on my computer. It gives me nightmares sometimes, and I'm not kidding. I know, I need help.
Anyway, I went to the shelf and pulled down the album for 2006 - the year that Sammy was 8 months old. Wow. What a year...for so many good and terrible reasons! I'll stick to telling you about the good for now.
It was so fun to look at my sweet Sammy's first year! Someone once told me that, "With kids the days are long, and the years are short." I couldn't say it better than that!
I pulled down a couple more albums, and scanned in pictures of Ben and Clara too. Just look at how they all resemble one another! These are my kids at 8 months old...every sweet, spunky, drooly, toothy, chubby, smiley one of them! Man I love these children. I just can't believe that God entrusted little ol' me with such precious gifts!
Clockwise from upper left: Benjamin, Clara, Thomas, Samantha
P.S. I'm sure enjoying your input on The Hair Decision Of 2008! I made an appointment for Wednesday...I hope I don't lose my nerve!
Here's "Summertime" by Ella Fitzgerald...a classic! This song will forever be etched in my memory as a song my Daddy sang. I couldn't even count the times he whistled, hummed, or sang this song as I was growing up. Dad has a beautiful voice.
Anyway...click play on the video, and then scroll down to see some fun summertime pictures while you listen to the sweet song :) ***********************************************
We had a daydream kind of summer day a few days ago. It was about 87 degrees, with a little breeze. Perfect for playing in the sun and water for the kids, and perfect for sitting in the shade for us moms.
It was the kind of day I fantasized about when I thought "I want to be a stay at home mom some day"...easy, relaxed, peaceful, fun. A little bit of Heaven on earth.
The kids romped around in the pool, sun, and mud puddles while us moms sat and chatted several hours away. We munched on carrots and pita chips dipped in hummus and fresh salsa. We sipped raspberry tea. I never wanted my friends to leave! Just think, in Heaven some day, we'll be able to visit and munch and just bask in never ending sunshine (or should I say son-shine?) forever and ever. Amen!
(BTW, is it coincidence that the one thing in our entire universe that brings light and life to this world of ours is called a "sun", pronounced just like "Son"? Interesting...)
I had some fun teasing one of my friends' girls. She came down to our house before I'd had a chance to get the hose going. I was bustling around cleaning up dog poop, gathering toys, brushing off the table, etc. She went and sat in the dry kiddie pool I had sitting out in the grass, and she said, "Hey! Where's the water?!" I said, "Listen, I promised a pool party, not a water party. There's your pool - have fun!" I thought it would be obvious that I was kidding, but she looked at me in horror and burst into tears! I wish I could say I felt badly, but it was too funny for me to regret teasing her :)
Of course, I couldn't let the perfect afternoon slip by without getting a few fun pictures.
Here they are getting the pool filled:
They like to run down the hill screaming "Cannon Baaaaal!", and then jump into the pool. Here's Sammy doing her little 2 year old version:
Uh oh, the candid shots are over. She's spied me taking her picture, and she's feeling silly.
Can I just take this moment to tell you that our kids get an embarrassing amount of song and dance from me every single day. I never thought I'd be such a goof-ball mom, but I am. I make a song and goofy dance out of everything. Our poor kids. Are they going to be singing "Pee Pee On The Potty" and "Macaroni, Macaroni, Macaroni Cheese Please" in their little heads for the rest of their lives?
So I guess it's shouldn't be a surprise that when she's feeling silly, she decides to bust a move. Here she is, revving up:
Oh, she's getting into the swing of things now: Go Sammy...just don't dislocate that shoulder, girl!
This one totally cracks me up! What a little spunky punk she is! I love her so much!
Oh boy, here come the silly faces. We do quite a few silly faces around here too. I'm glad to see that I'm teaching them such valuable life skills...
...like how to nearly rip your lips off while making a goofy face :) And just like that, her performance is over. The water awaits. And she's off...
Why, oh why, is it not cute when my thighs have those little dimples, but on Samantha they're adorable? No fair.
I just love how she still looks like a baby. Her little baby tummy. Her little baby toes and fingers. Her little baby cheeks. I know I'll wake up one day and there will be a young lady where my baby once stood so I'm trying to soak up all her babyness now.
By the way, my friends have some pretty dang adorable kiddos too. Here's one now!
And here's one of her big sisters. I kept wishing the breeze would blow the hair OUT of her face, but when I saw the pictures I was happy it didn't. This little sweet pea is a bit timid (at least around me)...hiding behind a few wisps of hair seems to suit her.
Ahhh, summer...friends...does it get any better?
Well, actually, I think maybe it does. We got a giant slip and slide yesterday, and when Daddy comes home today we're going to set it up to go down the big hill in our back yard. Hubby and I will have to "test" it for safety before we let the kids go down...of course!
I hope you're having as much fun this summer as we are :)
Happy Friday, everyone! I'm not sure why this story came to my mind recently, but I thought I'd share it with you...
This happened before I was blogging, or you can be sure I would have told it right away! It's one of those "I can't believe that just happened" kind of things.
Thomas was about 2 months old, so it was November last year. I took the kids to the health department for their flu vaccinations because I wanted to do the "flu mist" instead of the shot, and our doc's office only did the shot. Normally, taking four children ages 2 months, 2 years, 4 years, and 5 years old would definitely be something I'd do WITH my hubby. I don't remember why he couldn't be there that day...and I have no idea what I was thinking doing it by myself.
Sometimes I like to think of myself as Super Mom. "Hey, these are my children, there's no reason I can't take care of them all by my Super Mom self!" These episodes of extreme confidence and nerve are usually quickly followed by me throwing myself on my bed and crying until my eyes puff up for the next two days. Anyhoo...
So we were all in the waiting room, patiently waiting our turn. They had a fun little play center there for the kids, and Thomas was being his sleepy little 2 month old self. Life was easy. It was easy for 5 minutes at least. And then Sammy got that look on her face. You know the look...the look that is evidence that I will be changing an unpleasant diaper sometime in the very near future.
I wanted my few moments of peace to last a bit longer, so I looked away and pretended that I didn't see THE FACE. Maybe if I could just ignore her, we could get out of here and home before I actually had to change her. Or maybe it would just go away...maybe it was a false alarm? Hey, a mom can hope.
But "the face" moment was soon followed by my oldest child using his favorite word, "Oh, VOMITROTIOUS. Mo-ooom...you have to change Sammy NOW!"
I wasn't about to leave my kids in the waiting room while I changed a diaper, so I dragged myself and all 4 kids into the bathroom with me. Luckily, the bathroom was roughly the size of a postage stamp, so we fit just fine.
I started to dig through the diaper bag for the necessary stuff...changing pad, check...wipes, check...diaper...diaper...diaper...please Lord, a size 6 diaper...no that's a size 2...diaper...diaper?! DIAPER?! No diaper for Sammy. Only about 15 size two diapers.
Okay, this calls for some creativity. The poor child stunk to high heaven, so she had to be changed. It could not wait until we got home. My plan was to take of the diaper, shake off the smelly lump in her diaper, clean her and the diaper to the best of my ability, and then strap the diaper back on her until we got home and I could do it properly.
So I got her up on the changing table, got the pants off, got the diaper off...and uh-oh. There's no lump. There will be no shaking this gooey mess into the toilet and getting on with life. The diaper was a total loss, and oh so smelly.
It was really helpful when Ben, discovering the amazing echo resulting in screeching "VOMITROTIOUS!" at the top of his lungs, decided to do so repeatedly. My ears still ring.
Got Ben quieted down. Got the offensive diaper sealed in a garbage bag and thrown away. Decided to squeeze Sammy's size 6 hiney into a size 2 diaper.... squeeze.... squirm... grunt... groan...sweat...whimper. It's no use. Ain't gonna happen.
WHAT am I going to do?! I certainly wasn't going to let her go without a diaper. She hadn't even begun potty training, and after the diaper I just threw out - there was no way I was going to risk one of those without a diaper in place!
And...have I told you that I have a degree in engineering? I'm pretty sure that my superior problem solving and design skills were all meant for that very moment in time. Never mind the high tech world...it's all about the poopy diapers.
So, I looked at my sweet and ever-helpful Clara (then 4), and said, "Clara, sweetie, let me have your undies."
"My undies?"
"Yes, your undies."
"But why?"
"I need them for Sammy."
"But...no! They're my princess undies!"
"Clara, I really need them."
"But what about me? What will I wear?"
"You'll wear your pants. With no undies."
"I will?!?"
By this time, Ben was giggling hysterically in the background.
"Ben, would you like to donate your undies here?"
Instant...and I mean INSTANT silence from the boy.
So Clara, bless her little heart, took off her precious princess undies and handed them over. I put them on Sammy, stuffed a size 2 diaper in there like a giant, ill fitting maxi pad...and we were off!
We got out of the bathroom in just enough time for them to call our name, and no one was wise to what was going on... My Sammy with a maxi pad, and my Clara going commando.
When we finally got back to the office for the immunizations, the nurse was concerned that they'd never had the Flu Mist version before, especially with Sammy being so young. She wanted to give her, and maybe Clara too the shot instead of the Flu Mist.
"All we'll have to do is pull their pants down a bit, and poke them in the thigh."
"Um, no. We will be doing the Flu Mist. There will be no pulling down of pants and no shots. Really...I think it's in everyone's best interest."
I was ready to fight to the death. Ben had started giggling into his hand again...but a swift look out of the corner of my eye let him know that his life was on the line, and he quieted again.
Everyone got the Flu Mist that day.
We finally got home, got Samantha into a proper diaper, got Clara a clean pair of undies...and Super Mom had a good laugh...and then a cry...and then another laugh.
Next time Daddy's coming with us. Maybe he can donate HIS undies...
We told Samantha it was time to go, and to leave her cone on the table while we got her washed up. She was a mess since she'd decided to start eating her cone from the bottom. I think it's obvious...she had a hard time letting go!
Sometimes I think I have a vision of the future. I'm dead and gone, and my kids are sitting around the dinner table together reminiscing. One of them says, "My most vivid memory of Mom is her constantly saying 'Go play...outside or upstairs!", and the rest of them will all go, "YEAH! Me too!"
I hope they remember lots of hugs and kisses too...
Okay, I just realized how wrong that title sounds...but I'm going to leave it because it keeps making me giggle. Some days you just have to put up with me!
We had some fun company visiting us recently...meet my kids' cousin, Sydney. Isn't she beautiful?! Look that those big blue eyes. And yes, those curls are her natural curls. I should add that I'm a bit embarrassed that I'm envious of a 2 year old's hair!
Here she is again in all her cutie-pie glory. Wouldn't you just love to pinch those cheeks?!
Here's Sydney's mom reading a Dora book to the girls. Sammy is pretty pleased with herself :)
You can see now where little Sydney gets her beautiful curls...
Here are my girls with their beloved cousin. How cute, eh? I have a question though...what makes cheeks red? My kids have the rosiest cheeks I've ever seen. Seriously...anyone know what causes this?
And then this handsome fellow happened by, so we dragged him into the picture too. My oh my. I don't know if it's because he looks like his daddy, or because he's my first born...but that young man steals my heart at least 57 times per day!
I have some more fun cousin pictures to share...stay tuned!
I was multi-tasking to the extreme today...holding and soothing baby, checking email, browning burger for spaghetti, and playing "doctor" with Sammy. She had her little doctor's instruments out, and she was giving me a checkup. In between stirring the meat and clicking on the computer, I was saying "Ahhh" and taking deep breaths.
She told me I was being a good girl and she was "poud a me". Little did I know what she had in store!
I was reading an email, when, within a corner of my preoccupied brain, I heard Doctor Sammy inform me that I needed a shot. She pulled out her little green plastic syringe, and proceeded to poke me with it. She'd poke, then look up at me to see what my reaction was. I'd give the appropriate "Ooo! Ouch! That hurt a little, but now it's all better!" She'd smile at the expected response.
Evidently though, she wasn't satisfied that our little game was realistic enough because as I was innocently reading Big Mama, I felt a searing pain in my left arm. I hollered "OW!" and "NO!" and "WHAT THE?!" and something like "GET AWAY FROM ME!" ...all before I even realized what what happening.
What was happening, you ask? She was stabbing me with all her little 2 1/2 year old strength. With a FORK. A real one. A metal one. A sharp one. A fork, people!
She looked up at me with her startled blue eyes, her bottom lip started to quiver, she hung her head and shoulders low, and she walked in the other room with gut-wrenching sobs wracking her little body.
Well, now. She stabbed me with a fork! But what did I do next? It defies reason. It's unexplainable, really. What did I do?
I apologized. For scaring her. When I screamed. BECAUSE SHE STABBED ME WITH A FORK!
I have no idea why she gets away with stuff like this...
I just realized that it's been since last THURSDAY that I posted any pictures of my kiddos! Gasp! I'm surprised the grandparents are still talking to me.
To make up for it, I have some fun ones for you. This post is inspired by my bloggie friend, Angie. She has some dance machines living in her house too. Her recent post made me realize that I had some of my own dance pictures from just this past Friday!
By the way, if you're looking for a fun kid's movie with some good boogie music, checkout "Shark Tale". We really enjoyed it :) I should also mention that I can't take credit for these pictures. Hubby took them while I slept in. And who says romance is dead? He proves his love for me every Saturday morning.
I'm pretty sure Clara's destined to be a choreographer. And check out Sammy bustin' a move :)
Go Ben, Go Ben, Go Ben! He's informed us that with moves like his, he's pretty sure he's going to be a movie star some day. Whatever you say, white boy...whatever you say!
Ahhh, my little Samantha Ruth. My little sweetie. My little cherub. My little rosy-cheeked babe. And lately? My little tornado. Did I happen to mention lately...she's two. Yes. She is fully, 100%, totally, completely...TWO.
This was what I found on the kitchen floor the other day. Sammy wanted a snack. It was almost time for lunch, so I said no. When I walked into the kitchen, I realized that she had unleashed her fury on everything she could reach on my kitchen counters (except the shoe - that was on the ground already).
Then, when I informed her that she would have to pick it up...her response? A very sweet, very calm, very determined..."Nope".
Dang her for being so cute! I can't help but smile at her even when she's being a complete turd! But I was able to get over her cuteness for long enough to make sure that she picked the stuff up.
And...do I dare admit this?...I'm actually enjoying her rebellion just a little bit. Not a lot. I said a little.
She's just so smart and beautiful...and now she's spunky and bold too. I love it. I love to see her begin to know her own mind, and to try and stick up for her little diaper-bum self.
Would someone do me the favor and NOT refer me to this post when she's 16?
A friend recently turned me on to THIS site. It's pretty cool...has some neat photography projects that I'd like to participate in.
His current project is "Project Looking Through". Photographers take their pictures of looking through something, link up to his site, and everyone can share their stuff. It's fun! Go check it out and see what everyone else is submitting.
I had a heck of a time with this one! I was hoping to come up with something really unique and interesting...maybe even a little artistic. But what do you get? Just me, and my kids, and my dishes...just my life :)
Here's the first shot. I was straightening up the kitchen, and the blender was out from making smoothies the other day. You can see my candle burning...yep...through...the handle of the blender. I like the light and glass combo in this one.
After Thomas woke up from his morning nap, I headed to Sammy's bedroom with my two little ones to get her dressed. Thomas was enjoying playing on the floor with some toys he'd never seen before. And Samantha...man, that little girl must have known about this project! She started playing peek-a-boo with everything and anything she could find. She started with these sheer curtains hanging in her room. She thinks she's being so sneaky....has no idea that I can see her :)
OK, this one I set up. I grabbed the baby wipes container, opened up the lid, and shot Thomas through the oval opening. He thought the whole idea was pretty interesting.
Sammy didn't like the idea of Thomas getting attention when she was in the middle of her "peek" game. She grabbed this toy and started trying to get my attention.
She had my full attention until Thomas started playing with this great toy...perfect for this project! I love his drooly little bottom lip :)
Not to be out-done, Sammy pulled this stunt! It's actually her favorite new "Mommy, watch!" trick. She bends over, puts her head on the ground, looks at you through her legs, and starts giggling. She gets quite the kick out of it! I'm pretty sure that she thinks she invented something here that no other human has ever done...
So that's my first try at this project. It's been fun! I'll be bringing my camera with me as I'm out and about this weekend...looking for more great "looking through" shots.
Go Sammy...just don't dislocate that shoulder, girl!
And here's one of her big sisters. I kept wishing the breeze would blow the hair OUT of her face, but when I saw the pictures I was happy it didn't. This little sweet pea is a bit timid (at least around me)...hiding behind a few wisps of hair seems to suit her.
