Days like today...

Days like today just can't happen all that often. I know other moms have the energy to handle days like today all the time, but I just do not. It's not that it was a bad day. It's just that it was a long day, a busy day, a full day. But it ended with whiny kids, a screaming babe, and a mom who was too tired to give baths tonight. (And a mom grateful for a dad who willingly helped out with those baths...)

I enjoy the days where I feel like we have as much time for school as we want or need. When we can spend as long as necessary figuring out the long division problems or reading about and discussing the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Days when I get to play a game with Caleb and do a craft with Emma, when I get to play on the floor with Ben till he giggles.

Nope, those things didn't happen today. But I am grateful that there will be other days this week that they will. At least, I hope they will.

What about you? Which kind of day do you prefer?

Sweet

Sweet

summertime spent

spinning

splishing

and

splashing.

Splendid!!

Hey I'm just like Brett Favre!

Yep, just when you thought I was gone for good, I'm back! Ha!

I often have these random thoughts that I think it would be fun to blog about, but I haven't been very good at doing it. So here I am. Doing it.

Do you know that my darn shift key on my right hand is stuck with something kiddish and sticky so that when I capitalize things, it's like I'm on cap lock. SEe? Even though of course I NEVER let my kids eat when using the computer.....

Okay, so I told you it would be random. Or maybe sometimes not so random.

DO you know that this kidtotally cracks me up? Yep, I posted on FAcebook (I'm ignoring that sticking shift key right now) about his leg discipline and Caleb vs. CRying. BUT he totally rolls on the floor whenever Luke does the pulling-the-finger-off trick. I think CALeb is freaked out cause he thinks it's real. SO tonight I was doing it for him, and he just laughs and his eyes get so big and then he asked if I could drop it on the floor. (the pulled off part). I said no cause I might lose it.

SO that's it for today. DON't lose your finger. AND ignore my caps, okay?

AMA

So we'll see who's reading my blog.

Yep, I'm officially AMA. That means I'm pregnant and 35. So I'm old. Advanced Maternal Age. (AMA). Baby #4 is due at the beginning of February. We are very excited!! But I have to admit I'm feeling old this time too. The nausea sends me to bed, and, well, okay, pretty much anything sends me to bed these days! So, sadly, the other 3 have spent lots of time in the play room amusing themselves. (And sometimes screaming at each other too.)

But yes, we are excited! The kids are happy too. Emma and Caleb are both pretty vocal about wanting it to be a boy. Emma says, "There is a boy baby in your tummy". Very cute. Elizabeth doesn't really care either way, I think, although she does not want to share her bedroom with ANOTHER girl!

So as August begins and I look ahead to starting school with Elizabeth and Caleb in the next few weeks, I think, "Am I nuts?!" But clearly this baby, which we did plan for, has already been designed by our heavenly Father. And I may be (or go) nuts, but it will be worth it!! =)

My kids crack me up...

Caleb is often saying things that crack us up. He's not intentionally funny, it's just his comments about life, etc.

Tonight he and I had finished eating dinner and he was anxiously asking for dessert. I told him that he and I were the only ones finished, everyone else was still eating. And he says, (complete with accent), "High five, Girl." I'm surprised he didn't suck his teeth at me.

Elizabeth, on the other hand, didn't crack me up, just made me kind of shake my head, when she said at dinner, "Mommy, I learned about hydrophilic and hydrophobic things today, and surfactants." She proceeded to then define them accurately and give examples of them all. How does my homeschooler learn these things without me knowing? By watching Fetch on PBS. It's a great show. And when she says stuff like that I'm sometimes kicking myself thinking that I could be teaching her so much more because she can obviously learn so much more. But she's okay where she's at right now, and I am working on it for next year.... And she does still love to learn.

And right now, it's too late and I need to sleep...

I'm Back! (Or am I?)

So it's been super-long since I've blogged. Yes, Facebook has eaten away at my computer time. But so often when I'm on there posting pictures or whatever, I'm wishing I could add a bunch of commentary to what I'm posting. So this is where I do it, right? Well, I'll try....

Okay, was that my 2-year-old who just came out of her room from her nap mostly unclothed because "I couldn't get them back on." Why did she take them off? No answer.

And was it Emma 2 nights ago crying for me at 10:30 PM from the bathroom, again unclothed and with her hair soaked and the hand soap pump in her hands and lots of soapy, lathery bubbles in her hair? Why? "Because I couldn't get it out."

Sigh.

Somehow though, (because she's the "baby"?) I don't get angry with her, and I manage to make it all right for her again. Because it's easy right now. Putting clothes back on, washing hair in the middle of the night, praying the monsters away -- that's all easy. And as tiring as it may be, I have this feeling that it's nothing compared to the things that she'll need to be made right in the future. Things that maybe I can't make right for her. But that's all down the road. So right now I'm enjoying her sitting on my lap, watching me type, smelling her sweet (clean!) hair, and even her whining for some apple juice ("Pretty please?")

So I'm off. For apple juice.

More Poconos...

One afternoon most of the family went to Tobyhanna State Park for a hike. (I stayed back for Emma's nap and Lydia stayed to nap too). Luke and Jeremy took turns hauling Mario in the backpack. Caleb picked wild blueberries and enjoyed eating them all! (Reminds me of Blueberries for Sal. Anyone else remember that one?) He did bring home a couple in his pocket to show me, and he also showed me sadly that one got smooshed. Caleb also became "the Tobyhanna Ninja" and stopped everyone from passing him until they told him their favorite color. He loves being a warrior....

Almost every evening we were able to swim in the indoor pool in the community center. What a blessing! All of our kids loved it. Two mornings we ladies also went to the pool for high impact water aerobics. We younger ones were surprised by how sore we were! Ha! (Most of the ladies at the class were probably 60+) =) It was very fun. In these pictures are Aunt Kate with Emma and Elizabeth and then Caleb floating on his back, which is quite funny. He always closes his eyes.

One morning we went horseback riding. The kids were all too young, but thankfully Uncle Jeremy and Aunt Rachael volunteered to stay home with them. Since Elizabeth and Caleb got to ride horses just a couple months ago, I didn't feel too badly. I loved riding the horses through the gorgeous PA woods, enjoying the ferns and other trees and plants. Sooo much more beautiful than California. At least to me! We got to ride the horses across a stream, too, which was fun. Here's Luke on his horse, Sarge.

Our Pocono vacation - part 1

We just returned from a 10-day trip to PA/NJ. The majority of the time - 1 week - was spent at a huge, beautiful rental home in the Poconos. Luke's grandmother lives in the Poconos and invited us all to her 90th birthday party, which she began planning 3 years ago. So Luke's parents thought it would be a perfect time for us to have a big family vacation there.


We started the trip with 4 of the 5 of us (not me) having the stomach flu. Yuck, yuck, yuck! Luke, Caleb and Emma all threw up on the plane. But by the time we landed in Philadelphia and were picked up by Luke's sister Kate and her husband Josh to drive to their house 1/2 hour away in New Jersey, everyone felt much better. (Unfortunately we must have still been carrying it and passed it on to several more people that week...)

Sunday we went to church at Kate and Josh's church and then drove up to "the big white house that's sometimes yellow", as we called it all week. It has 6+ bedrooms, a 72-inch T.V. a pool table, hot tub, an amazing kitchen and many levels of decking. The next morning we discovered a deer in the backyard with her fawn. She seemed to be waiting for something, so....we fed her. Which made Luke very mad. But the kids liked it. =) She came back daily at mealtimes hoping for more.


We spent lots of time hanging out at the house - the kids quickly became addicted to playing the Play Station on that huge T.V. Lots of games were played and most nights after the kids were in bed various ones of us hung out in the hot tub. What great times those were - talking, laughing, and sharing.

One of the best things about the week was getting to meet our first-ever nephew Mario, brought home from Guatemala by Papa Jeremy and Mama Lydia only 2 weeks before! He is 1 and such a cutie with smiles and hugs for everyone! Here is Luke with Emma and Mario. He's bigger than her, I think!

More to come...