It's nice to dream

When cleaning dishes, I let me mind wander.  I go down my to-do list, what I got done, something funny a kid did that day, and most importantly I pray.  I tell God thank you for His provision, food, family, friends, work, health, and I pray for my children's future spouse (seriously, it's on my mind already)! 

Lately, it's been nice to dream.  I think of the floorplan of my dream home.  I want a wide open floor plan. The living room, kitchen, dining room should all be in view of each other so I can see everyone easily.  The thought of being in a different room than my children is unsettling to me.  Plus, since I'm home with the children all day long, I herd them.  Wherever I am, they are.  If I'm in the kitchen, now, they are in there with their toys.  The bathroom, not so much if I can help it.  One of these days I'll take a picture of little fingers beneath the door.

I want acreage, a large area to play.  To be able to say "Go outside and find a bug!' will be the highlight of my day.  I have two little boys with enough energy for all of us.  For Christmas, my favorite present for them was a mini trampoline for them to jump on.  They run from one wall to the other as it is, pretending they are racecars.  Boys have energy, little ones have major energy to burn.  Plus, I want chickens and two goats.  Mainly for eggs, meat, and milk.  I've killed every plant I've owned, so I'm not so sure I want to go there yet.  But maybe, with enough of a area to cover, it'd be something to dabble in. 

A washer and drier is another exciting moment I'm awaiting.  We currently do not have any mostly because there is no hook up installed in our apartment.  We do laundry about twice a month.  Twice. A. Month.  We have a monster laundry pile hidden away that Kendall gets to when he can.  Kendall washes laundry so they children don't have to go sit at the mat, plus I'm usually pregnant and that stuff get's heavy.  We have known no different so it's not hard to deal with, it's just the way it is.  Usually there are three or four totes of laundry to be done.    To be able to put a wet blanket, a puked on tshirt, or dirty towel into the wash right then and there is not something to be taken lightly.  To not have to wait until the next day will be a breath of fresh air.  Now that we have two little ones in diapers, plus all three of the kids are on the young side, I have really seen the effects they've had on a simple laundry pile.

And, a garage.  You try piling three little ones, blankets, diaper bag, coats, and snacks into the minivan while a.) -10` windchill, b.)snow falling c.)rain that falls horizontaly d.)ice is all around you.  On second thought, what in the world is so important that we'd take everyone out in that kind of weather.  Anyway, a garage will be great, especially for Kendall and his projects.

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Never too early

Why no, I don't believe it's ever too early or children are too young to take some responsibility in the house.

Mom, can I swifer today?

Swifering and sweeping.  What a beautiful sight!

Biblical characters with my sleepy wrap

I purchased my Sleepy Wrap off of ebay after seeing a mom carrying her kiddo in it at the zoo.  Once again, it's sooooo amazing good on my back and is the best equipment I've purchased for kid-carrying.

Here, however, it has found a different use.  It is now a dressing for either Jonah or David from the Bible.  We have the Veggie tales version of Jonah.  And David kills Goliath by swinging around a rock. 

Both stories are way cool to a 4 year old.

A mess only a mother can love

There was so much spit up, I asked Kendall to take a picture so the moment will be forever remembered.

Kendall, LOOK AT ALL OF THIS! She is one well fed baby!

And this is why I have "Church clothes" which I immediately take off as soon as I walk through the door,

my "going out into public clothes" for fancy places like Walmart,

and at the bottom of the barrel are my

" we aren't going anywhere so I'm going to only brush my teeth today"-clothes.

Around around she goes!

Ever since the week of Thanksgiving I have been slammed with business.  There have been appointments, social events and general stuff to be done.  Plus the weather outside has been more on the "no way am I taking all of the kids out in this weather!" weather.  Generally, I wait until Kendall is awake and can actually see Ernest trying to put something in a wall outlet before I leave for the grocery store with Ethan.  Ernest usually has a snotty nose and the baby is snuggled asleep, and we all know not to awaken a sleeping baby :).

This was the very first outfit I purchased for Ethan.  Now all three of them have worn it! 

And, seriously, could you awaken such a sweetie?

Back when I had only one kiddo, I wouldn't mind going out into the negatives.  Big deal, no problem, bring it on.

But now I have to think of layers, two different sizes of diapers, and wind chill.

Eleanor had her 2 month check up today and she is in the 93rd percentile for height and weight.  Big and well proportioned.  Amen. 

Today Ernest had an appt and his height and weight puts him into the 40%.  When he was 8 months old he was at 0.7%.  That sounds like the verge of death if you as me.

Our homeschooling has been...steady?  Ethan works his little workbooks about 30 minutes a day, focusing mainly on reading/writing and math.  He's starting to recognize the difference between 6,8, and 9.  Those are tricky numbers now that I think about it.  Same as b,d,p,q.  Who came up with this English language anyway?  We play dominoes, bingo, cards, and board games as a fun way to learn.

Whose chair is this?  Surely not the babies!

 

Don't lick a frozen pole.

Ethan got bundled up to "go check the mailbox".  I'm sure it was because this is daddy's job and since he's not around, typical little boy needs to take over for dad.  However, he was taking a bit too long and when I checked on him he was throwing some snowballs and being silly upstairs.  I don't mind this so much because he's a little boy with a lot of energy, too much for our little apartment.  A few minutes later he opened the door and was quite the site to see.  He wasn't screaming or crying so I knew nothing was broken or terribly injured.  The kicker was his jaw was covered in blood.

"Mom, my tongue is bleeding!"

Yes, Ethan and daddy have been watching A Christmas Story.  I'm sure the idea of licking a pole or whatever came into his head to see if it would really happen.

"Get to the sink!  What happend?  Did you lick a pole or something?"

Yes.

Look at how much blood is on his jacket.  Poor little guy. 

No tears were shed in the recording of this catastrophe.

A few layers are missing on his tongue and a bit of his bottom lip got it too.

A pink swollen tongue.

My little ham.

Oh Ethan, you keep me on my toes.