Happy Birthday Ella!

Yesterday was Ella's birthday. We arrived home from Colorado last night and sweet Ella had celebrated most of her day in the car. I don't feel too bad because it is kind of a birthday week for her. She enjoyed swimming followed by cake and hula dancing with her cousins in Colorado. She got way too many presents, but what is a budding artist to do without lots of material to create with. Then this next week proves to be filled with lots of celebrating.

I really can't believe that Ella is six. While Sadie has been my adventurer, Ella has been my cautious child. She explored the world from my side.

She never tried to do anything until she was sure she was ready.
Ella was quiet and sweet.
For the first two years she was Sadie's little shadow, learning at her big sister's side.

But then things changed and she wanted to do everything her way. Both little girls would look at me and say, "No Momma, I Andy Panda."
She grew up lightning fast while Maisy was in the hospital. Every weekend brought something new and I missed all the in between.
She is the child that wants to look pretty, wants to be like Mommy, needs new dresses, and always wants everything to be fair (even if she doesn't totally get that concept.)

She has her own sense of style from her favorite color (black) to wearing mittens and scarves in the summer.
Ella is creative and busy, always trying to make everything pretty.
This year has brought so many changes in her, as she is learning to be who she wants to be. She has become strong in her opinion of right and wrong, good and bad, pretty and not so pretty.
But she is still my sweet, kind, little southern lady. Happy Sixth Birthday Ella Wren. We love you.

We Have a Winner!

Hi Pam. I'll send you a package this week.

Fountain Fun

We had a little fun in the fountain when we went to see Grandma Gayla. Maisy enjoyed the water from her wheelchair, but there were too many kids for her to get down. Plus she refused to put on her swimsuit.
Sadie had a too cool to get wet attitude. She pranced through the water like the princess we love.
Ella looked super sweet in her new suit. It took a bit of coaxing to get her to wear the swimsuit and to get her in the water.
And Jack payed more attention to the camera and cookies than the water.
Who knew my most daring child would be the one who spent the first six months in the hospital? I guess she wants to absorb it all now. But by the end of the day, Sadie and Ella were drenched, Maisy was back to her book...

And Jack had eaten all the food. (Not sure what happened to the focus here!)

Here's To More Sleep

I have a surprise. It has been about one year since I slept in a hospital. Now I'm not saying I won't have to do it again, but to go a whole year without sleeping there is pretty great. Evan did stay overnight with Maisy in September. So it doesn't mean we haven't been to the hospital in the last year, it just means it's less frequent and since that was a good stay (decannulation) we'll only loosely count it.
So this is my surprise, partly to celebrate and partly to see who is visiting. (Are you out there Christie?) I decided to give a present to someone that leaves a comment. I'll pick it at random, so you don't have to be clever, just let me know you stopped by.
Here is a hint:
And for a good laugh.
No there isn't a diaper behind those chips. Just the course of my day. Hope you have a nice day!

Frame by Frame

For some strange reason, I like these flags. You can't tell from the photo, but they are wavy. They look as if someone took the perfect flag waving in the breeze moment and froze it in time. I think I like them so much because of that concept. I wish I could take all those perfect little moments and freeze them. I really don't want to pause life, I just want to live it in slow motion. I want a remote control where I can push the pause button but then hit fast forward so that I get to live in 1/4 time. Why can't Jack be twenty-three months for four more months? Does he have to turn two?Sadie can stay in first grade for thirty-six months, right? Ella will hold my hand for eight minutes instead of just two. I can read Maisy a story for forty stolen minutes, not just ten. I really think it would be nice.
Instead, we seem to live in fast forward. "I can't wait until..." "When I can..." And then, there are the never ending have tos. Most of which are calling me right now.
So, until I create the Ultimate Lifestyle Remote Control, I will take pictures and attempt to forget that sometimes they don't want their momma to kiss them goodbye.
Or that more often than not, they are running away, just beyond my reach. But when I catch them, watch out, I might even kiss them with lipstick on. I'm sure their friends will like that!

What!?

While I was in the shower, Jack removed his diaper and painted himself with red fingernail polish! I can't even show you pictures of what he did (they would be toddler obscene) but believe me when I tell you it's everywhere! I don't think I can use remover. I put him in the tub but that doesn't seem to help. So if you change his diaper in the near future, don't worry, it's just nail polish.
He looks very remorseful, doesn't he. (Did you notice the nail polish on his left leg?)

New Blankets

Jack received some new blankets. Its not that he needed them, but we were at the fabric store and he found fabric with guitars. I had to chase him down (even carrying a bolt of fabric he was pretty fast) just to get it cut. I wish I had a picture of little man running with bolt in arms. It was bigger than him.
For the blankets, I backed one yard of cotton with flannel (no batting, the flannel and cotton stick together pretty well) and bound it with 4.5 inch binding (you'll need 1/2 yard of coordinating fabric for this.) First, I machine stitched the binding to the top then hand-stitched it to the back. This might help. Although, I didn't double it up, like she does in the tutorial, I just pressed both long ends in 3/4". Either way, this is one of my favorite ways to make a take-a-long baby blanket. Next time I think I'll use Minky for the back. Can you ever have too many blankets?

The more things change...

"Nothing looks good since I lost my tooth." Sadie uttered as she tried to get ready for the day.

Last night, Sadie was so excited that her front tooth finally came out. Today, she feels different. Both girls have been late to lose their teeth. At just shy of six, Ella still hasn't lost any teeth. Sadie has only lost three. She wants so badly to be a big kid. "After all, I'm almost eight, Mom!" But then this morning I cheered when she asked for pigtails. Reluctance is a common thread at our house. While we want things to change, sometimes we miss the way they were. Sometimes we realize that the way they were was pretty great after all.

Little Tote

I made a little tote for my nephew to carry his scriptures. So for you, if you want them, I made some directions, so you can make one too. If you want.

Bath time

My kids always fight me about taking a bath.
Yet, they seem to enjoy it once they are in the water.
If I could shower them in the sprinklers, all would be well. A little shampoo, a bit of soap, and running through the grass.
Do they make baby soap that fertilizes the lawn? Someone should invent that.

Illustrating Childhood

Most often, no matter where we are, this is what Maisy is doing. She takes a book with her everywhere she goes. Usually she will sit and flip through the pages, laughing at her favorites.
So imagine my delight when I found this illustration. Maisy to a T, right down to the curls. She has others too and they all make me smile. I love the way this reluctant swimmer's toes are placed.
I am so happy I found her. (Yes, I bought the print. It is in Maisy's room and it makes her smile too. I think she knows its her. And Sarah Jane is a very nice person to boot.)

"Twilight's Last Gleaming"

I have this little problem. Evan has been working eighty-hour weeks to fill in for vacationers; and it seems when I am dealing with four kids without husband, I become even more forgetful than usual. So I have forgotten my camera on more than one occasion this week. And since my computer and photo software are on strike, I am feeling inept.

When I worked outside the home, oh so long ago, computer and software know how were my job security. The designers would come to me with problems, like the client not being able to view their design and I would wave my magic wand. But that was the wonderful world of MAC and I now have a PC, as well as a few distractions. Anyway, when I sit down to my computer things aren't going exactly like I plan.
So, having said all that, we had a really fun Fourth of July and followed it up with somewhat of a repeat (and a little something extra) on the fifth. Even though Evan had to work, we have great friends who helped out at every event we went to. They chased down kids, read stories, cleaned up cut lips, and helped me stay sane.
Sadie and Ella have a new found love of sparklers. Jack has extra full lips. And Maisy has new boyfriend named Greg (just kidding Chantel.) We live in a wonderful neighborhood. My favorite thing about being here is the people.
We had a fun visit with some friends from South Carolina, along with their daughter and her cute family. It reminded me of how much we loved living there. Smiling faces, beautiful places held true. We received so much kindness there. Good friends and helpful hearts followed us from there to Missouri to here.

I love people. Oh sure, you have your occasional crazy, but on the whole I love people. I think we all have issues and we all make mistakes, but we try to be good and kind and we want to love and be loved and that is the best part of life. So, that's my little declaration of taking-four-kids-out-of-the-house independence - life, liberty, and helping everyone find happiness.

Favorite Places

I think we all need a favorite place. Somewhere we can go that makes us smile and is a little home within our home. Sadie's favorite place is anywhere small and cozy that mom can't find. But I was able to find a few of the other favorite places.

For me, it is kind of a toss-up right now. I love a nice bath and a good book, but most days you will find me out in the yard. I spend more time pushing kids on the swings than actually gardening. However, I dream of a beautiful perennial garden. With shasta daisies and poppies, tea roses and hydrangea, lavender, blanket flowers, lamb's ear, rose of sharon, hollyhocks, agapanthus, oh my! Someday I want a beautiful garden that I can wander through and touch and smell. I will have little nooks and hiding places. Doesn't that sound so nice. You can come over and we can visit while the kids swing. Someday.

Guitar Crazed

Evan recently made an electric guitar. (Here is Jack nicely modeling it for me.) I am so proud of his new found skill. He has made two acoustic guitars, but this was his first electric. Jack also had his first guitar lesson.
He found a pick in a guitar case and brought it to Evan, so they had an impromptu lesson. Evan is pretty proud of his boy; and I know he is thrilled that Jack loves guitars as much as his dad.
Aren't my men cute!

Holding On

With year-round school, our actual summer is so short that I feel a need to cram every single day. So this last weekend, even though school wasn't officially out we got in a few little tastes of summer.
We ate corn-on-the-cob, courtesy of Grandma Gayla and Grandpa Dave.
Evan did a little golfing in a church tournament.
And I took all the kids to a dessert tasting and ate too many of these. (But who could resist lemon buttercream, right.)
I love summer, even the heat. It just reminds me to never complain about the weather, because in the winter I was asking for this. I love working in my yard and visiting with neighbors after the kids are in bed. I love summer storms that come in quickly and cool everything down. I love fresh fruit and farmers markets. Squirting Jack with the hose and watching him run away with that sweet little giggle of his. Pushing Ella on the swing to yells of, "Higher momma." I love that Maisy can crawl outside and all I have worry about are holes in the knees. And I love seeing that even though Sadie is growing up too fast she is still prone to slipping back to being the little girl I need her to be.

Teacher Gifts

To all our teachers this year,
Thanks for all your hard work!
And thank you for loving my kids.
We'll miss you.

Vroom

This does not bother me nearly as much...

Thanks to this.

I think my dust buster makes me a happier mommy. Why is it so much more pleasant to watch cereal disappear into a little vacuum than to sweep it up?