Is It Friday Yet?

Oh, wait...Friday won't take away my troubles.

Is it Saturday, then?

Ummm...no.  Saturday will have no more success taking away the daily distresses than Friday had.

Sigh.

I guess I just need to hold on and hang in for the long haul.

In the mean time, I will pretend that Claude and I were not woken up sometime in the middle of night by a 45 minute tantrum.

No, it wasn't a night terror.  It was a full-fledged "I didn't get what I wanted so I'm going to scream as loud as I possibly can for as long as I can stand it to see if you'll give in" fit.

I will also pretend that the morning has not included another hour of screaming and outright disobedience from the afrementioned middle of the night tantrum thrower.

No, this child is not ill.  This child simply wants his/her own way.

Instead, I already took a few minutes to stand on our giant porch.  I listened to the birds chirping and the general calming sounds of nature.  Of course, I ignored the sound of cars racing down out little country highway and the smell of the trash cans that were sitting right in front of me.

I snapped the below photograph before heading inside.

This is the view from our kitchen window.  Green.  Crisp.  Spring.  Isn't it beautiful?

Now, I will poor a cup of tea and continue on with the morning routine as usual.

And wait for Friday in the hope that it will start off a better foot than Thursday has.

Snapshots: Games

Joshua and Hannah finished their first ever standardized tests this week.  Praise the Lord!  As a special treat (and since we had the tests scheduled all week and managed to complete them on  Wednesday) we took Thursday and Friday off from school.  The kids enjoyed free time and playing outside, and while it rained yesterday afternoon we played some games.

Rachel wandered around scavenging for stray popcorn.  She found more than her fair share!  She also rummaged through the fruit drawer and rounded up all the oranges her little arms could carry.  I am convinced she would eat all that we would peel.

Jeremiah played along and turned the same two tiles over each turn until he finally got a match.  Some of his older siblings were quite generous and donated their matches to his cause.

The kids usually get pretty upset if they don't win.  Maybe it was having unlimited popcorn to snack on and being able to enjoy a piece of candy, but they didn't seem to mind when I won.

 

And, as things usually go, moments after snapping these photos the entire fun operation came to a screeching halt.  The older kids were on a sugar high, the younger kids were crying, and the middle kid was coughing, sniffling, and starting to feel pretty terrible from an oncoming cold.

Such is life with a crew of littles!

45 Minutes

 The morning was great.  We got up, made it through our morning routine, even read a few books with the little kids.  School time was smooth.  Everyone was in their places doing what they were supposed to be doing.  It was a good day.

12:05pm - Two children began throwing tantrums for different reasons.  I cleaned up Rachel from her lunch, attempted to put her in her bed and quickly realized that she needed a new diaper in a bad way.  Jeremiah walked in the room and it became obvious that he also needed a new diaper.  So I began the process.

12:15pm - Both tantrums persisted as I cleaned up the little guys' diapers.  Both messes were a bit bigger than I had anticipated.  Rachel needed a new shirt.  Neither diaper swished out in the toilet nicely.

12:20pm - One tantrum ceased, but the other ramped up as I rinsed out some pretty fowl cloth diapers.  It didn't take long to be literally elbow deep in some pretty mucky water.  Ewww...

12:22pm - Hannah comes through the front door, screaming, "Abby won't let go of the jump rope and I already asked her to!"  Oh, yes...this requires my direct attention.  Not.  I send Hannah back out to resolve the jump rope issue with her younger sister.

12:24pm - Still up to my elbows in diaper water, trying to keep Rachel out from underfoot, and Hannah enters yet again.  This time sreaming about ten times louder than the last time.  "Abby hit me with the recorder!"  Cry.  Sob.  Jump up and down.  Yep.  Another tantrum.  At least the tantrum from the other room had toned down to some moaning and groaning.

12:30pm - I look up to explain to Hannah that I cannot deal with the recorder/jump rope situation because my hands are covered in poopy water.  I see blood streaming down her face.  A blood nose.  Perfect.  I send Hannah to get some tissue.

12:33pm - The diapers are rinsed.  My hands are scrubbed.  The bath tub is bleached.  Hannah is still freaking out.  She runs in to find me and I send her right back to the bathroom where she started.  She leaves a drippy trail of blood through most of the downstairs.  My usual pregnancy heartburn rears a very ugly head about now.  Oh, well...no time for that.  I get the hydrogen peroxide, put Rachel in her play yard, and hope that this is over soon.

12:35pm - After cleaning the blood trail, I find Hannah standing over the toilet.  Screaming.  There is blood everywhere.  Her hands and arms are covered.  Her clothes are covered.  The toilet seat is covered.  Blood is splattered on the walls, the floor, the outside of the toilet, the sink, the mirror.  I'm glad I have the hydrogen peroxide and that I apparently have a strong stomach after working through those messy cloth diapers.  I start cleaning.

12:45pm - Hannah is clean and changing into fresh clothing.  Her nose is no longer bleeding.  The bathroom is clean.  The laundry has been rinsed with hydrogen peroxide to prevent stains and is in the washing machine.  All tantrums have stopped.

12:50pm - Three of the kids are playing play dough.  They are laughing as if none of them had thrown a tantrum, produced a blow out poop, had a blood nose, or beat up their older sibling with a recorder.  (Please note, the blood nose was NOT from Abby.  It happened all on its own.)  Rachel is in bed, not asleep yet, but on her way.  And the complaining from Tantrum-Thrower Number One has ceased.  Now it's time to dictate a spelling list, supervise violin practice, heat up lunch, and prod the preschoolers as they clean up the Duplos.

If ever you hear a mother or father with a few (or more!) small children in their constant care, this is what you should think of when they say things are "busy", "hectic", "crazy", "exhausting", "tiring", or "non-stop" at their house.  This can happen any time of day or night without warning, without due cause.  Things are running smoothly and then BAM!  Everything spontaneously combusts and chaos abounds for 45 minutes.

Okay...so on a good day it only lasts 45 minutes.  I won't even get into what a bad day can look like.  You're smart.  I'm sure you can imagine.

After you have imagined, then you can say a prayer for any parents you know who have a troop of little tikes at home.  You may just be praying at the precise moment that a blood nose, two tantrums, two incredibly messy diapers, some heartburn, and a few other urgent matters collide in one big train wreck.

Snapshots: Playing Catch Up

We haven't updated much about the general comings and goings in the Crew.  Things haven't been out of the ordinary, but they certainy have been busy.  I can't quite imagine what things will be like with another Crew member in tow this summer.  For now, the five little guys running around here keep Claude and I on our toes and ensure that we fall asleep without difficulty at night.

Here are some photos from the past month or so, just as a bit of a catch up on what we've been doing recently.

Working backwards...here's what we did today.

Ice cream for lunch.  :)

Don't tell Rachel she missed out on the ice cream.  She has no idea!

Our church hosted a 5K to raise money for a girls' home in the Dominican Republic.  The entire Crew was supposed to participate, but with a few of us being sick, Hannah and I went on our own.  It was a fun way to kick off a mother-daughter day.  :)

Last Friday we did the big seasonal clothing switch.  We have been working on acquiring all that each child needed for spring/summer for a few weeks.  It was so much to keep track of that I was having anxiety dreams over it - even with my master checklist!

Praise the Lord, the final clothing items arrived just in time to put away the old and take out the new.  But by the end of a long day, I could hardly stand on my feet.  Joshua was sick that day, so these guys were my clean up crew - chocolatey faces and all!

Hannah and I may have walked a 5K, but Claude ran about 20 times longer earlier in March.  We hung out near the finish line, played on the playground, and ate candy.  :)

The kids were pretty excited to see the sun set and watch the stars come out while we waited for Claude to finish.  Here they are, enjoying some rest while Dad is slogging away in the mud.

And he did it!  100Ks!  Joshua is wondering when he'll run 100 miles...

We had quite a bit of snow in the late winter.  The kids loved it!

Claude and Jer built this snowman just after the last (Lord willing!) snowfall of the season.

There was plenty of shoveling to do.  Since Claude never did get a snow day, we had a pretty long driveway to clear with each storm.

 

I recruited a new team of kitchen helpers.

I have to watch these three.  They all like to taste test, especially Rachel.  Just this week she shoved her face into a measuring cup of cocoa powder.  I don't think it feels great going up the nostrils!

Hannah and Joshua helped sew some wash cloths.  They are begging to do more on the sewing machine.

Of Forests and Fields: An Ode to Inspirational Trail Running Films

When someone in your household is into trail running you end up viewing many short films meant to inspire and encourage a love of the sport.  Here's the Chew Crew's take on the whole thing.  Hope you're inspired to go run a few miles!

Password: 2005ChewCrew



Of Forests and Fields from Chew Crew on Vimeo.

These Days

At tthis point it has been several days since I wrote this post.  I wanted to put a link to kiviak and Inuits who go under the sea ice to collect mussels in the spring.  It's not going to happen any time soon and I want to push publish.  If you are interested in the diet of Inuit people try Google.  And if you don't care to know, then the link wouldn't have served much of a purpose anyway and I won't feel bad about not including it.

Okay...so here's what I wrote a few days ago...

I wrote this yesterday...didn't get around to publishing.  Between writing this in the morning and bed time last night I witnessed my children gathering mussels from  under the sea ice in the Arctic.  They fermented the mussels in order to make mussel kiviak.  I overheard Abby explain to her two-year-old brother how gums are very small when you're young and will get bigger and bigger as you get older until they are all of half an inch long.  Josua and Hannah spent their evening free time playing a homemade game about seeds - it came right out of the science text book.  I think this classifies them as nerds, if watching the imaginary tides until just the right moment to venture under Arctic sea ice in order to ferment mussels isn't already nerdy enough.

And how could I forget the hugs from Rachel?  She and Jer are the first of our kids to be so affectionate.  I am (sometimes literally) showered with hugs and kisses from them during the day.  If I wasn't a softy before having kids, I most certainly am now.  Of course, a bunch of pregnancy hormones probably has something to do with that.  Or not.

Maybe I'm just getting old.

Anyway...here's what I wrote yesterday...

There is a storm coming in today.  Right  now the sky is grey and getting darker by the hour.  The wind is starting to blow so that the trees on our property are swaying significantly.  It's the kind of day when I want to curl up under a blanket and read a good book.  But around here, there is no such thing as a "curl up on the couch" kind of day.  The activity levels are as high as ever this morning, which has proven to be both good and bad.

Today I was reluctant to get out of bed.  There are those days when I just don't want to do anything - not like doing nothing is ever an option.  As my feet drag, especially through the afternoons, I have discovered my coping mechanism.

Earl Grey.  Hot.  It smells good, it's decaf, and it is not chocolate.

We are having some friends over on Saturday afternoon.  As I was thinking of necessary preparations for their visit, I realized that we haven't mopped the kitchen floors since the last time we had people over.  That was sometime before February began.  Sweeping is done at least twice a day and usually three times, but no mopping in over a month?  This says a lot about my current housekeeping habits.

If you could see the clean laundry that resides on the floor in the master bedroom, you would also have a picture of how well I've been doing in the household management department.  Of course,  you should also look at the pantry, re-organized kitchen cabinets, and the fridge which is about to burst at the seems with pounds of newly cooked beans.  So, I suppose only some things are left to the wayside.  Mopping and putting away the laundry just don't rate around here.

While I'm on the subject of cleaning, I asked Joshua and Hannah if they would vacuum the upstairs today.  It's been even longer since that happened than the last time we took out the mop bucket.  My instructions were to be thorough.  They moved all of the large toys and containers out of the toy room, cleared out the underbed storage bins, and even attempted to move their clothing drawers.  My concept of thorough wasn't quite so, well, thorough.

The little ones have been rocking out to demo songs on the keyboard.  They're bottom-wriggling dances are quite funny.  And the laughter that ensues from a good dance session is priceless.

To wrap things up, I am feeling extremely pregnant.  Aches and pains I normally feel in the last few months have been with me for a while now.  I'm only 21 weeks.  The second half of this pregnancy may just feel like an eternity.  In addition, the first trimester nauseau persists.  I guess my body has gotten mixed up - the second trimester is supposed to nauseau and pain free - hello sixth pregnancy!  Or perhaps that should be, goodbye abdominal strength and general agility.

Maybe I'm just getting old.

This little guy is very active, though, reminding me of the reason for the discomforts.  While I can try and feel bad for myself, and for the first time think that pregnancy is really hard, the pity party can't last long.  We have had two in-depth ultrasounds in this pregnancy.  No complications, just a question about the due date and a routine mid-pregnancy scan.  To see such a tiny person (he was only 3 inches long the first time) wriggling around and putting his hands to his face was nothing short of amazing.

Aches, pains, nauseau, heartburn - none of it can compare to the awesome privilege of watching these kids grow up.  And if this little one is as active out of the womb as he is inside, we'd better be ready.  The Crew is about to not only get bigger but busier.  Much busier!

State of the Nose

A few weeks ago Jeremiah fell and hit his nose on the frame of our couch.  Instead of rushing him to the doctor we decided to wait it out and see how things went for him and his nose.  Everything healed up well as far as we could tell and he doesn't seem to have any problems breathing through the nostril that took the brunt of the fall.

Here are some photos taken the first few days.  They do not come close to capturing the bruising.  It all looked worse in person.

The day he fell.

Day 1

Day 2

Day 4

Today

See that little bump on his left side of the bridge of his nose?  It's not just a shadow or some funny trick with the lighting.  He actually does have a lump there...for better or worse it's probably there to stay.  We'll ask the doctor about it whenever Jer has a well-patient check up, but for now it doesn't cause him any trouble.  Except that it looks a litlte weird.  Sorry, Jer...

 

The Cold That Kicked Me To The Curb

By God's amazing grace, I managed to miss out on all four rounds of the Great Stomach Virus of 2014-2015.  Managing morning sickness was pretty much enough for that stage of things, and I was so glad to not add other unpleasantries to the mix.

Been there.  Done that at least twice.  Not fun.  In fact, it's kind of like a cruel joke.

"So, you have morning sickness, do you?" asks the stomach virus.  "Well then, take this!"  And before you know it you are out for the count.

Aside from the Great Sickness, the kids have been sick with colds all winter.  Jeremiah and Rachel seem to get one every other week.  I'm pretty sure this comes from their time in the nursery with other wee ones who are getting colds on the weeks our kids are healthy.  They meet up on Sunday morning, swap some germs, and say "See 'ya later" until the next week, when they trade colds.

The Lord has spared me from these colds.  And I have been very grateful.

This past week, however, I finally succumbed to the milieu of germs that is our household.  Even while pumping my body with vitamin C, I still couldn't manage to keep this one at bay.  It hit like a ton of bricks on Friday night and I have been wiped out ever since.  Ugh.

Claude put it best when he said, "This one has been carefully selected by the kids."

Yes, it has.  After all the rounds of colds, the Little Crew has filtered out the weaker viruses and only the hardiest has survived.  Now this virus is kicking me to the curb...and boy is it hard to get back up!

Rachel and Jeremiah are sharing in the joys of the current illness.  They seem to take it better than I.  I've grown to be quite wussy in my old age.

Anyway...this is about as good as I have felt this week.

Obviuosly Rachel is not her usual self, either.  Or is she?

She really has been frowning since just moments after birth.  She has now had 15 months to perfect the frown, though.  She's getting better all the time!

In all seriousness, this is a terrible, no good, very bad cold.  Poor Rachel and Jeremiah.  I feel your pain.  But have no fear.  We shall prevail over this villainous virus.  Until the next time you go to nursery...

Heart Attack Moment

This little girl nearly gave me a heart attack a few moments ago.

Cautious is not really a word that I would use to describe Rachel.  The likes to keep up with her older siblings, doesn't mind falling flat on her face, and when she does she gets back up and keeps on trucking.

She has been trying to access the stairs for quite some time.  We usually have a safety gate at the top and the bottom of the staircase.  Both are meant to be locked whenever Rachel is awake.  When relying mostly on a 4-year-old, a 6-year-old, and a 7-year-old to close the gates it goes without saying that they are not always locked.

Anyhoo...I saw Rachel climb about five steps last month.  Then, in a horrifying split-second, I watched as she fell down the same steps.  I was too far away to catch her.  Scary.

This afternoon, while the older kids were playing outside, I was enjoying some toddler time.  Then I noticed Rachel was no longer in the living room.  Not hearing her in the dining room or kitchen, I headed to the stairway.

The gate was open.

And there she was.  Standing at the top of the stairs.

My heart nearly stopped.

Rachel, on the other hand, was as cool as a cucumber.

 

Lessons in the Kitchen

The kids cooked dinner last night.  Mostly.

I asked Joshua to head up a team to make waffle batter.  He is well prepared for such a task, having been a kitchen helper since he could stand on a chair.  He has about one year of experience making things on his own.  He can make pizza dough, bread dough (because it's really the same as pizza dough), cook bacon and pancakes on the griddle, and fry eggs.

The batter making process went smoothly and the kids even cleaned up after themselves as an added bonus.  I, however, was out of the kitchen so I didn't know all that actually went into the batter.  Neither did I know how much of everything went into the batter.

Come time to cook the waffles I noticed that the batter was a little too yellow, a little too thick, and a little scant.  I assumed that I had just forgotten how this particular recipe turns out.

The waffles cooked quickly and were a wonderfully crips golden brown.  They didn't seem to hold together like usual, but they looked great.

Then I tasted one.  It was rather salty.  In fact, it was salty enough and not quite as waffle-y as I expected from a tried and true recipe, that I began asking questions.

"How much flour did you put in?"

"Four cups."

"Okay, how much oil did you put in?"

"One cup."  (No one said waffles were healthy!)

"Okay, how much milk did you put in?"

"One cup."

"I think the recipe said 3 1/2 cups."

"No, it said three to one or two.  So we put in one."

"Okay...well, how much salt did you put in?"

"One and half teaspoons."

"Didn't the recipe say half of a teaspoon."

"Oh."

"Yeah..."

One third of the flour and three times the salt.  That's just how we roll sometimes.

Matching Games and Visual Learners

With everyone being sick on and off, the kids and I have been very much out of routine.  Sure, we have our meals at fairly regular times and bed time is generally on schedule.   But school...wait a minute.  What is school?  I think I have forgotten.

We have also had some major fallout in the attitude department.  I don't think the kids know how to talk nicely to one another.  When they try it sounds just as rude and mean as whatever tone of voice I tried to correct.  Somehow they will get there...hopefully.  The process, however, is painful and slow.

In an attempt to keep everyone on the same page and tackle the attitudes, I instituted a game day early in the week.  We built puzzles and played games all day long.  We practiced rejoicing with those who rejoice (instead of throwing a fit that your sister got ahead of you in the Ladybug Game).  And I corrected and corrected and corrected.

By Tuesday the kids had picked up on the game thing and were playing by themselves.  Now that the week is over I think we have built the same three puzzles about 5 times each, played the Ladybug game several times, learned Uno and played it a few times, and we have probably played a dozen or more games of Memory.

Well, it's what I knew as Memory growing up.  Now it is called Matching.  Apparently we don't want children to feel bad about their memories, so we put the responsibility on the tiles.   It's not that I didn't remember where the second tile was, it's that the tiles were not matching.

Anyway...back to the point.  If there ever was one, that is.

Hannah started out as the most enthusiastic Memory/Matching player.  She and I played several times while in Montana over the holidays.  Her excitement waned just a tad with each game because I would win.  Like, really win.  As in I would take the last 10-12 matches in one sweep.  Maybe I should have cheated and played dumb.

While she still wants to play most of the time, Abby has taken Hannah's place as the most zealous Memory/Matching player.  At least once a day she traipses downstairs announcing to her siblings, "I'm going to play a game with Mommy!"  Out comes the box, along comes the very long process of maticulously setting out each tile, and then we play.

And I win.  Every time.  But only by a small margin most of the time.

She doesn't seem to mind.  Usually she just laughs the whole time and says funny things like, "Oh, bummah!"

During one of our games, Abby said to me, "My brain is very smart, Mommy.  My brain has eyes in it.  They can see things and remember what they look like even when my real eyes can't see it."

If ever there was a description of a visual learner, that would be it - eyes in the brain to see things even after the image is no longer visible to your real eyes.

This strength in visual learning is a big reason why Abby does very well at the Memory/Matching game.  Some of the kids will see a tile and excitedly shout out, "Oooh!  Oooh!  That one is somewhere [points to about half of the tiles] over there!"

When Abby sees a tile that has a match she knows of, she smiles and says, "I know!  I know!  The other one is right [points to one specific tile] there!"  And she is right about 99% of the time.

For the time being, I am the undefeated Memory/Matching champion.  I have, however, met my match.  Soon, with those eyes in her brain, Abby will be winning.

I'd better be willing to pass on the title.  It is, of course, a game for preschoolers.

Wasabi Peas

Photo from https://www.lehivalley.com

Mmmm...wasabi peas.

Great for adults.

Not so good for 2-year-olds.

And how would I know?  Well, today in the midst of the older kids and I working on some projects Abigail, Jeremiah, and Rachel were keeping themselves busy.  When a 4-year-old is in charge, it's never a good thing.

First, they got into the locked bedroom and dumped out the entire, neatly organized container of hair ties.  We use those teeny tiny clear ones.  There were about 500 on the floor.  Ugh...  Oh, yeah...and they also opened Joshua's container of teeth that he has lost.  It's a little weird to be asking your young children where their older brother's teeth are as you desperately search a giant pile of hair accessories.

After the hair tie incident the Three Stooges managed to find my envelopes of neatly organized printed photos.  We have thousands of photos on our computer, but only a few printed out.  Today every hard copy we own was spread out over the floor...no longer organized.

And sometime in the middle of these endeavors, someone opened the bag of wasabi peas.  Joshua and Hannah were introduced to them last night and Jer decided he wanted to try them this morning.  I have no idea how many he ate.  What I do know is that he walked into the bedroom chomping on a mouth full.

"Aren't they spicy?" I asked him.

"No.  They just sting my tongue," he replied.

And now I know something else about wasabi peas that I wish I didn't.  I won't go into any detail, but I will say that I changed a lot of diapers this afternoon.

This parenthood thing will either give me a stronger stomach or mold me into an incredibly picky eater.

Leaves, Naps, and the Big Red Bus

 Our rental house is situated on four wooded acres.  As far as I can tell the property contains approximately zero evergreen trees.  Since it is November, the end of the fall season, most of the leaves from the trees now cover the ground.  Four acres covered in a 4-inch blanket of leaves.  Saying that we have a lot of leaves is an understatement.

So, when Jeremiah brought me a leaf this afternoon and said, "Look at my leaf, Mommy.  It's my money."  I panned the front yard and thought, "If every leaf were a dollar, how wealthy with this little guy be?"  My guess is that he would be a billionaire.  And by next year at this time...maybe he could get the United States out of debt.

Speaking of Jeremiah, he has proven to be a champion sleeper.  His move to a big boy bed has been a smooth transition with only a few nights of him getting up to play.  Even nap time has been a breeze.  I give him a stack of board books and instructions to go to sleep when he is finished reading.  And you know what?  He actually follows orders.  Amazing!

Here he is after putting himself down for a nap this afternoon.

 

I noticed something inside the driver's door of our big red van today.  On the little label that has our VIN, make, year, etc. the vehicle type says this, "Bus (Not a school bus)".  We often call it the Big Red Bus just because Jeremiah calls it that and sometimes will refuse to get in if we call it a van or a car.  I guess he was right afterall.

This morning we went into Charlottesville for an appointment.  While there we had to park in a parking garage.  I think this is the first time we have parked in one since getting the Big Red Bus last month.  Boy was it stressful...and I wasn't even the one driving!

We were instructed to move up to the third level but I don't think the attendant was paying much attention to the great height of our vehicle.  As we passed a row of "Oversized Vehicle" parking spaces, I thought how great it was that they offered these spots and I assumed they were on each level.

I was wrong.

You know those big metal beams that hang from the ceiling of parking garages?  You know how they have a height limit written on them?  And do you know how many times you drive right underneath and never give it a second thought?

Well, apparently our red van is nearly seven feet tall because we couldn't quite make it under the metal beam.  Instead we had to wait for clearance to turn around (have you tried to make a tight U-Turn in a giant vehicle?) and head back to the oversized vehicle spots.  Praise the Lord for those!

Obviously we made it in and out without real incident.  However, even in the oversized space our bumber was hanging past the end of the line.  Ugh...

Next up: Parallel parking.

Big Boy Bed

Here's a good way to get your exercise in for the day.  Put your 2-year-old into a big boy bed for the first time.  Make sure his bedroom is on the second floor and that you are writing a blog post about the experience busy on the first.  Run up the stairs each time you hear his feet pitter pattering, lift his 25 pound body into your arms, walk briskly to his bed, and administer discipline of your choice.

Repeat.

And repeat.

And repeat.

Listen to the funny things that your adorable and defiant little son has to say about his first night in a big boy bed.

"I'm just going to sleep now, Mommy."
 
"Mommy, I was walking and then running."

"I need a derrink!"

"Mommy, I'm not in my bed.  I'm on my bed."

"Daddy, I'm going to get up!"

And then have a good laugh at Big Brother's speech regarding the importance of obeying Dad and Mom and staying on your bed.

Big Brother:  "Jer, if you don't want to have spankings you should just stay in your bed.  Then you can go to sleep and forget about all of the spankings you just got."

Little Brother:  "Okay."

Remember to snap a photo once he finally dozes off to sleep.

Oh, yeah...have some ice cream or chocolate ready to celebrate your success.  And to replenish your energy reserves.  ;)

Snapshots: Sunday S'Mores

I know, I really owe you an actual post with more than two paragraphs of text excuses.  Sorry...this post will not be it.  But rest assured, I have been blogging in my head for about three weeks.  Eventually some of that will translate into some real writing.

For now, please enjoy some pictures from our backyard "camp out".  I'm not sure why we called it that because we weren't camping out at all.  But we did have a nice fire going and we enjoyed plenty of hot dogs and s'mores.  Yum!