This Summer ~ June

Summer seems to be flying by (it's July 1st today in case you weren't aware!) and for some reason, *grin* I haven't had the time to blog about each summer excursion on its own.  I have, however, been taking pictures and hope to post them after each summer month to sum up our summer (summer, summy, sum - ha!).  So, here's what summer looked like around here in June.

A pair of robins made a nest on the light fixture right by our front door and since dive bombing birds don't exactly say, "welcome" to family and friends, D had to move it.  

The kids enjoyed seeing the lone blue egg in the nest and while this mama bird never did find her nest's new location, the birds in our lilac bush and grapevine seem to be thriving!

We're doing the library's summer reading program again this year, 

here's a few 'to read' books on our shelf end table.

Uncle and Aunty took our kids with theirs to the local Share a Story where they got a free book, free lunch, and free balloons (among other things)

not to mention meeting Sid the Science Kid

and getting their faces painted!

The kids caught their first toad of the season

(who has since escaped the baby pool where they were keeping him, so please don't ask the kids how their new pet Hopster is, ahem!).

The cowboy themed Vacation Bible School at Church was a huge hit with both kids (it was I Man's first time).

Nothing says summer like husking corn,

ice painting,

(an idea I originally saw here)

and a new 

pool

(trust me, she had this coming!!).

Another birthday has come and gone...

MINE!  

#33 found me celebrating with presents, flowers, cards, cake and supper at Perkins

(they're playing tic tac toe).

Goodbye June, Hello July!

Father's Day 2014

 Singing to the baby is exciting for everyone, apparently.

 This picture, I see so much in this picture...see the tie D's wearing?  I Man made it for him in Sunday School.  The expression on I Man's face?  Classic (sad it's blurry!), and that big nasty spider in his hand?  Also, from Sunday School.

 Oh, and inside that gift bag?  A watch, a rain gauge and some t-shirts because we're nothing, if not practical!  :)

Currently ~ I Man

loving his little brother, a lot

playing superheroes, ninjas, peter pan and star wars

wearing mismatched socks and his turtle shell

asking to do school

needing a nap (because he and L stay up too late and get up too early)

staying up too late (whenever he's had a nap, sigh!)

swinging on the glider, and only the glider (as opposed to an actual swing)

claiming he doesn't like ice cream because it's too cold

using the water table to make mud, beaver dams and stone soup

sleeping with his striped blankie and Cheetah

retelling parts of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Peter Pan and Frozen

enjoying his very first Vacation Bible School

trying to do whatever his big sister does

There's No Use Crying

So, D left this morning at 7:30am for an out of town conference for work.  He comes back home Thursday evening which makes me a single mom of three for the very first time (thank goodness it's only for 58ish hours)!  He texted me this morning asking how it was going.  My response, "you don't want to know."  You see this is how my morning went...

I woke, fed the baby and pumped while the big kids watched 2 shows on PBS.  So far, so good.  Then I headed to the bathroom to get ready for the day.  It was then that I heard the garbage truck driving down a side road outside.  Suddenly I wondered if D had remembered (whilst making sure he had all he needed for this conference and 3 days away from home) to take the two full garbage cans to the curb before leaving.  I ran downstairs to peek out the front window...nope, no garbage cans.  Now, I didn't know if that garbage truck had already been by our house or not so I quickly grabbed the full garbage bag sitting in our kitchen, threw it in one of the garbage cans and ran outside with both garbage cans in tow.  Now remember, I had just headed to the bathroom to get ready for the day so I'm still in my pajamas at this point.  Am I feeling embarrassed?  Yes.  Hoping and praying that all of the neighbors are at work or otherwise occupied?  Absolutely!  But if that garbage truck doesn't pick up our garbage, we are stuck with it for another week plus all of the garbage that we'll accumulate this week and then what??  Now the garbage is out, but I still don't know whether or not they've already passed us by so I ran to the side yard (still in my jammies) and tried to wave down the garbage man to tell them I had just put our garbage out.  He nodded but didn't seem to hear me.  After finishing with the neighbor's garbage, he drove closer and rolled down his window at which point I again told him that I had just put the garbage out.  He said, ok and they drove around and got it - phew!  Crisis averted.

But then, then...I made breakfast for the kids (after getting dressed) and gathered bottles so I could wash them.  At some point, I realized that there were three more bottles on the other side of the counter so I leaned over to get them only to hear a splash.  It was then that I realized I had never put the cap on my freshly pumped breast milk.  "No, no, no!" I yelled.  But it was too late!  There on the counter lay a puddle of 2.5 ounces of liquid gold.  I wanted to cry.  I almost did, but then I thought 'maybe I can save it.'  Surely I could put it in a bowl and get it back in the bottle, right?!  Grabbing a bowl, I wiped the spilt milk off of the counter and into the bowl.  I had done it!  No harm, no foul.  But, could I really vouch for the cleanliness of my kitchen counters?  Really?  Was I willing to feed my 2 month old questionable milk?  Um, no.  Sadly, I poured the lost milk down the drain. 

Again, I wanted to cry, but as the old saying goes...

there's no use crying over spilt milk

...even if it is breast milk. 

So, I didn't cry. 

Instead, I put the cap on what remained of my milk, finished washing the bottles, texted D back and cleaned up the breakfast dishes. 

I helped L get the caterpillar-like creature she found outside into her bug habitat and read to the kids so we could log some more minutes on our summer reading charts from the library.

I fed the baby, pumped some more liquid gold, made lunch and gave the kids baths. 

And then, I wrote this blog post to remind myself not to take this 'mom life' too seriously. 

And of course, to give you a good chuckle and plead for your prayers for the next 51ish hours!  ;)

Hurry home D, we miss you already!!

Outtakes and Keepers

Last week, on an overcast day I took the kids outside for a photo shoot.  The problem?  I am not a professional photographer.  My solution?  I just take lots and lots of pictures.  As in one hundred...yep I took 100 pictures of my kids the other day!  Of course, with that many pictures there's bound to be plenty of outtakes and (hopefully) a few keepers.  I'll let you decide which is which...

 

Two Months Old

LJ is two months old today and while I would normally say, "I can't believe it," this time I totally can believe it!  Yes, I have felt each and every day he has been with us (all 61 of them, but who's counting?) both in a good way (he may very well be my last baby and I am trying to enjoy every almost every moment) and in a bad way (when are you going to sleep through the night, already?!).  :)

 

 

At Two Months LJ:

 

weighs 11 pounds, 7.4 ounces(!)

 

measures 21.65 inches (short and fat - he gets that from his mama!)

 

eats every 2.5 - 3.5 hours with one 4 - 5 hour stretch at night, which typically amounts to 7 bottles and 30+ ounces(!) a day

 

naps about 5 times a day, an hour or so after eating

 

sleeps swaddled in the swing or bouncer for naps and swaddled in the bassinet in our room at night

 

likes his brother and sister, to be swaddled, baths, ceiling fans, to be held, the dark frames on our walls, to eat!

 

dislikes his late afternoon nap, being hungry, sleeping without being swaddled

 

does smile, coo, turn toward familiar voices, follow you out of his line of vision

 

And now, a few snapshots from Month Two:

 

(first bath he didn't scream through - yay!)



Conversations

L:  "How far is it to Walmart?" 

Me:  "Not far."

L:  "Is it the closest place in the village?"

L:  "I can't wait to see what Jesus looks like."

Me:  "Me neither!"
L:  "But do you know what the best part will be?"
Me:  "No, what?"
L:  "Playing on the streets!"
Me:  "Because they're gold?"
L:  "Yes, and because Jesus won't let the cars hit us."

Me:  “Do you have to go stinky?”

I Man:  “No, my butt’s just itchy!”

{While playing a game in which both L and I had already each won a round}

D:  “Looks like I Man and I are the biggest losers.”
I Man:  “I’m not big, I’m little.  I’m a little loser.”

{While watching the offering plate go by during his first time with us in ‘big church.’}

D:  “Do you know what that is?”
I Man:  “Yes, it’s the money we give to God; but how do they get it up there?!”

{While discussing baby names:}

L:  “If it’s a boy we can name it Carsten because that starts with a C and that’s the THIRD letter of the alphabet.” 
I Man:  “If it’s a girl we can name her Flower and if it’s a boy we can name him Super!”

A prayer by I Man:

“Dear Jesus, thank you for this food and dear Jesus, thank you for those strawberries, and dear Jesus help L to not be mad when I want her to play with me.  Amen.”

D:  “L, are you going to be an inventor when you grow up?”

L:  “I don’t know.”
I Man:  “I’m already an inventor…what’s inventor mean?”

I Man:  "I love LJ.  He's the best person in the world except for God!"

L:  "Amber and Carl are having a grown up play date."
D:  "Who are Amber and Carl?"
L:  "The neighbors."
Me:  "Did you talk to them?"
L:  "No, but I waved."
Me:  "How do you know they're having a play date?"
L:  "Well, the boys are playing basketball and the girls are watching."

Me:  “What was I going to do again?”

I Man:  “I don’t know, I thought grownups were good rememberers!”

And, after seeing these cracked, hard boiled eggs in the fridge...

L:  "Mom, the eggs are hatching!"