Budding Artist

Shelly loves to do art projects. I feel guilty throwing it away so I'll share a little here, humor me, ok? And then I'll toss it. Sorry, Shelly, I just can't keep it all.

Mom and Kids

Our Home and Family

(Eli is the one on the outside, not sure why!)

Eli in his bassinet



Coming soon: Archer's robot drawings

Recognition

Today we had Miss C, Miss A, Archer, Shelly and Elijah all home with me. It was a day full of fun and when it was all over I was a little worn out. But I was on a mission, the kids' rooms needed a SERIOUS cleaning and as I sat on the floor in Arch's room putting together a puzzle, he said something amazing to me. "Mom babysat kids today and tonight we're having a sleepover so she has a LOT of work to do. So she's going to need a lot of help." I melted right then and there. Aww, Archer, you're my hero today!!! And then he helped me. For ten minutes. Then he got distracted and moved on to other things.

Now for round two, a sleepover tonight and more babysitting tomorrow. Deep breath, ready, set, GO!

Travelling Salesperson

We've had our fair share of travelling salesmen/women/children over the years, but this week I was most surprised by who showed up at our door. A neighborhood girl came to the door, a girl who sometimes comes over to play with Archer and Shelly and sometimes sells us Girl Scout cookies. When she showed up this week and asked Archer to talk to his mom I was a little surprised because its not cookie season. "I was wondering if you'd like to buy some pictures." She stood there with a folder in her hand as I quickly tried to figure out what fund raising event was on the calendar. School? Nope. Hmm. What kind of pictures, I asked. She opened up her folder to reveal drawings, pages of the alphabet written in different styles, numbers, and even a price list. Oh. Her very own artwork. A second grader is going door to door selling her pictures of bunnies and rainbows. I'll pass, I told her, but I also asked Shelly if she wanted a picture. "Sure," she says and picks out a rendition of the Easter Bunny. The Travelling Artist checks her price list and confidently announces, "One dollar please!" Whew, its a little steep. During the price negotiation Shelly announced, "I don't even really think this is necessary for me." She had no idea why we were talking about money and eventually we settled on 25¢.


On one hand I was annoyed that this kid expected us to pay a whole dollar, or even a whole quarter for her art. On the other hand I was impressed with her entrepreneurial spirit, I wonder how much money she made travelling around the neighborhood that afternoon. She's headed for great things, I think!

Surprise Vacation

Last night David told me that he was taking Archer to the baseball game today. Oh? So, you're just working in the morning then, or...? Are you coming home to pick him up at lunch time? "Nope. I'm taking the day off." What a great surprise! This morning David took his little girl out for breakfast, just the two of them. And then they came home and the boys left for a Brewers game. I was only a little jealous of Archer getting to go to the game with David. Mostly I was just so happy to see my children enjoying special time with their dad. Awesome. Sometimes those unplanned, unexpected adventures are the best.

Elijah: 5 Months

How do you learn to sit up on your own without ever sitting on the floor on your own? The baby who's nearly ALWAYS being carried can now sit up on his own. Sometimes I put him on the floor for a minute. Then the minute is over, he's calling my name and saying, "Mama, would you mind please picking me up because I feel a little small and lonely down here by myself." Or actually he's just screaming at me, as if he's been abandoned and there's a pack of hungry coyotes headed in his direction.

I've heard that babies who need a lot in the beginning can become completely laid-back, relaxed kids that go along with anything later on. I've heard that babies who are born in the 95th percentile for weight and length can turn into toddlers who are smaller than all the other kids around them. Time will tell.

Archer is getting two new teeth. Elijah has no new teeth yet, but he drools a LOT. And that's all for now, folks!

Illusion

I'm sure you've seen this picture before, the young lady or old lady, depending on your focus. This is the thing I see when I look at my little Shelly. Little girl, too innocent to send off to school, too small, young, precious. Too grown up to be kept home any longer. Does a mother bird ever hesitate before pushing her chicks out of the nest to fly on their own for the first time? Keeping them in the nest any longer would be equivilant to keeping them caged. Keeping Shelly home from school this fall would be the same. Its looming, creeping closer each day.

When I'm folding laundry I often catch myself not knowing whose pants I'm holding. Archer's or Shelly's? Surely these pants I'm folding cannot be Shelly's? They're too long. She's not really that tall, is she? What happened to the little girl clothes? In reality, I'm in denial. Of course. Archer's pants are even longer and there's no mistaking what belongs to which kid. I'm in denial that either of my children are REALLY that tall, their clothes are REALLY that big.

Even E is too big already. Sigh. Watch now, Mom, take a picture now, Mom, because the moment is fleeting and will be gone before you take another breath. Hold the baby NOW, Mom, because in a minute or two he'll be too big to carry. In five minutes they'll all be in school, five more and they'll be gone, grown up, building their own nests.

A Horse in Your Basement. Really!

I love kids' stories.

Today Shelly and I were treated to a nice story from Miss C. They were taking turns riding a stick horse around the house and then Miss C told me that she has a horse. "A REAL horse?" I asked her. "Yep," she replied, very matter of fact.

Me:       Where does it live? Outside in your yard?
Miss C: No, downstairs.
Me:       Oh! What do you feed it?
Miss C: Seeds.
Me:       Oh, of course. Do you take it for walks?
Miss C: No! I RIDE it!

Shelly thought I was crazy for believing Miss C, and C thought I was crazy for asking if she takes it for walks. But what I want to know is what kind of seeds does a horse eat? And can you REALLY keep a horse in your basement? Because if you can, I want one too!

NEWS ALERT: At 7:44 this morning, Archer lost his first tooth. YAAY!

Finally! Sunshine!

Today we spent over an hour traipsing around the woods at River Bend Nature Center. It was FANTASTIC to be outside!!! Sunshine!! Warm weather! (What is it, like 50° or something?) Oh how I needed that. How the kids needed it. Outside air. Thank you Lord, for seasons that change and bring us warm sunny skies. And the hope of GREEN. There were only little hints, green moss, a little grass poking through dead leaves, but its the sign that spring is on the way. Yaay!!! (Can you tell I REALLY enjoyed myself?)


P.S. I looked up the definition of "traipse" to make sure its a real word before I used it. And here's what I found:
   1. To walk or go aimlessly or idly or without finding or reaching one's goal. (We certainly were aimless. There really was no goal.)
   2. To walk over; tramp. (Yep, lots of that.)
   3. A tiring walk. (Definitely. Also, the kids were starving by the time we got back to the car.)

So "traipsing" really was the perfect word to describe our afternoon adventure!

King of the Castle!!! And Princess too

Baby in his cozy carrier

"CHARGE!!!" The warrier cry, with the walking sticks swords held high



Why didn't I see these rules before?

Motherhood Rules

Every single one of these rules is spot on. And I'm SO relieved to know that I'm not the only one who hides cookies from her chilren, and then tries to eat them secretly.

I just wish I'd been able to take the short cut and find out about these before, instead of having to learn them on my own. But we all know that's not how parenthood works, right? No matter how much you read, you have to learn it on your own. So the journey continues.