First week of Summer

The last day of school finally came! Adam is so funny. They played games and watched movies at school for the last week and he said it was sooo boring! He just hates when things change...

In the middle of all that school fun...I had a birthday! Yeah--this is the only picture I have of Erica eating my cake (I didn't care just as long as she was eating something!) I felt really spoiled on my bday...lots of time with friends, family and a sillouette machine that I was not expecting!

 Adam lost his 2nd tooth...and he almost really lost it in the kitchen...blended right in. But we found it and it is safely with the tooth fairy now

 And...I broke my foot. Darn darn darn. Just stepped wrong in my exercise class I have gone to a hundred times. I was in a splint and crutches for three days which was the worst part. Then I was in this boot for a month which was doable except showering/bathing was awful and not ever taking it off was awful. Now I am just supposed to wear good sneakers and go back if it hurts. Which it does. Almost all the time. But not enough to get me out of anything...just enough to make me mad I can't do the activities I want to do.
I have learned to be patient with myself though and it's been interesting to spend some time as a "handicapped person." I'm thankful to friends who brought meals, babysat and changed diapers, and for the strangers at stores who helped me with groceries and heavy lifting.

So even though it started off kinda rocky, we are so happy to be in summer and have done lots of fun and happy things...more to come! :)

Saturday is a Special Day...

...the day we get ready for Sunday....and cram everything else possible in!  I definitely don't want to have a day like this again for a long long time!

March 1
6 :30-8am Get up and prep RS lesson (because I'm dreaming about it anyway)
8-9: Eat breakfast and pack up the car with sports equipment and diaper bag. Ry goes to work for an all day tutoring class
9-9:50: Hockey game (Brooke stays in stroller, erica doesn't run away too much-actually get to watch Adam a little bit)
9:50-10: get Adam changed into regular clothes and get everyone in car. Check email on my phone. notice the T-ball schedule. He has practice right now!  Skip getting smoothies and head to the park
10-10:45- Adam goes to T-ball practice sans equipment (his glove was in the car the whole time though :( and I entertain girls in car with snacks and a trip to the bathroom. Erica slept for a little while thank goodness
10:45 Spring Adam out of T-ball a little early (didn't matter cause he didn't have a helmet) and head to
11:00 gymnastics  The playground was open and the girls were entertained.
11:45 end gymnastics and change into ballet and diaper changes
12:00-12:45 Rachel at ballet Get Adam's help on playground until he's bored and then send him to the game room, "by myself?!"
12:45 Collect everybody and race to the car. Adam has melt down in parking lot and gets promised Jack in the Box. he closes his eyes and tries to sleep right away
1-1:30 drive through Jack in the Box (I get a much deserved soda!) and ask if the babies are sleeping (please stay awake till we get home!)

1:30-2:00 Change babies and put them down for a long nap Yeah! make Rachel a pbj cause she didn't want anything at JintheB. Finally get to eat my salad in peace!

2:30-3:30-put big kids in front of screens while I shower and do a load of laundry and dishes
3:30-4:30- big kids play outside nicely (bribed with cupcakes friend dropped off) and I prepped my lesson. I had to find food coloring which led to me cleaning out my spice cupboard (can we say 6 canisters of baking powder?!) and then I had to get my purse and diaper bags ready for the night so I cleaned out about 4 random bags
4:30-5:30  Get babies up and changed and fed and put off trying to decide what to give them for dinner
5:30-8: Melissa comes to babysit and I leave her to deal with the dinner problem. Drop off a gift to the girl whose baby shower I missed earlier in the day. Head to BJ's for another baby shower. Almost go to the wrong location and Leave my wallet in the car so have to get my friend's to pay and take off early to send Melissa home
8-8:30 hug and kiss kiddos goodnight
8:30-9:30 talk to mom on phone and gather up lesson and diaper bags for next day
9:30-10:30 wash face, jammies, and climb into bed. write in kid's baby journals cause it's been 6 months
10:30-11:30-catch up with Ryan and start planning vacations and tell him all of the funny things the kids have been doing. Like:

Adam, while telling Rachel how he was born: "I'm the only one who didn't get cut". R: "Well, how did you come out?" A: "I don't know, I just found a way!"

And Rachel while naming animals in a book, "Lola, Snuggles, adadkadkf, Bitch..." !!

11:30--fall asleep knowing I deserve it!

The pictures are in reverse order but I don't care!

The Aftermath

Well, they've been in school for two weeks. And I'm exhausted. But it's not because of school. It's of what happens when they get home!  Like this unfortunate incident--a premovie night fight wherein Adam threw a bottle of Gatorade at Rachel's face. This is her 4th facial injury-and all four of them have been Adam's fault. Sigh. I can't complain--no stitches for any of them and a church friend took care of this one instead of Urgent Care. 

We've had some fun though...

And we started soccer...Coach Dorritty is our favorite :)

I managed to take all four kids by myself up to Utah for my gpa's 90th birthday. People have been wondering how I managed. Well, I didn't take any pictures if that's a hint. I actually did fine and had a lot of help (DVD's and sleeping babies) but I did have quite a bit of a breakdown and am only now feeling recovered five days later. I am human people :)

Lately Around Here

This is a conversation I hear everyday as the big kids play:

" I have to go potty. Pause the game!"
"pause"
"ok, I'm back,"
"unpause!"

Their most favorite imaginative game is "dog and cat". The gist is that they pretend to be baby animals and then take care of each other. It would be super cute except for the really annoying kitty sounds! (But at least we don't have to get real animals yet :)

As of this moment they are playing with claw grabbers and a cardboard box

Other conversations:

After church last Sunday, this is what I heard Adam saying as he was playing with some toys. (I guess they needed to be rescued)
"The power of God will save you! The power of God is special. It will save us!"
(Thanks primary teachers :)

And of course the spotting of a bug is the most exciting thing around here--

Adam: "Mom, there's a bug!" (It was an earwig)
"okay, get a wipe and get him"
Adam: "I'm too scared to do it"
Rachel: "I've got you Adam"
And she expertly deposits the squished bug into the garbage--love it

And the babies are always around:

Brooke found her thumb during her nap today. It only lasted for a minute, but it was cute

We got the bumbos out...they're not huge fans, but it's a nice change from sitting on the floor sometimes

 And we borrowed a playmat. They really like this and the big kids play with it too!

After church 3-10

Better Than Mr. Roger's?

Probably not,but I do love our neighborhood...as soon as the weather turned nice, we headed to our favorite  walking destination- to feed the horses. The kids love tossing baby carrots over the fence.

Experiment

Have you heard of that psychology experiment with the kids and the marshmallows? You put them in a room with one and see if they can wait to eat it and if they do, then they get two. Well, we conducted a not very scientific version of it at our house....
I didn't even get a chance to finish explaining the rules before rachel exclaimed, "i wanna eat it now!" And sure enough, she only lasted seven minutes. Adam lasted the whole fifteen, but he kept saying,"this is taking forever!"

Really, I didn't need to do this to figure out what would happen:
Rach is just like her daddy...all about the instant gratification...
And Adam is like me...will follow the rules at all costs ...

Adam's Day

Read a Story by memory...

(There is a Monster at the End of This Book AKA The Grover Book)

Sorry you can't understand it :)

Have a photo shoot complete with wardrobe...

Be on Binki high alert...

One down, one to go...

Thanks for your help bud!