He's Going to be Trouble

Since B is staying with us for a while, she is a huge help around the house. It's amazing what happens when there's an extra adult in the house. She has been so helpful to S and me, including doing the laundry and cleaning the kitchen. I think I'll just keep her!

We've also gotten the opportunity to spend some one-on-one time with each other. For example, the other day we were able to visit a wine store and get some other necessities along the way. We left all 7 kids with S, knowing that he is perfectly capable of handling the situation.

When I got home, I noticed that the house smelled like air freshener. In fact, it was quite strong. S met B and I in the kitchen and informed us that there had been a small "incident." No one was hurt so I was okay for the moment.

Last week, in an effort to help with the rapid consumption of laundry products, B purchased a large, gallon-sized container of fabric softener. It was sitting on the floor of the laundry room still in the bag awaiting the emptying of our current bottle. Someone, I'm not naming any names, left the laundry room door open. In the meantime, the boys, including S, were busy playing an attention-robbing video game and lost track of H. When S found him, he was in the middle of the laundry room floor, seated in a puddle of fabric softener. Somehow he got the top off (a twist-off top) and proceeded to empty the entire contents of the bottle. Y'all, that's a lot of fabric softener. There was approximately an inch of softener left in the bottle.

S did his best to clean up H and the laundry room. We've had to lift up the washer and dryer to clean out from under them. The floor has been mopped several times with several different cleaning solutions and is finally getting back to normal.

Oh, when S did the initial clean-up he used some dirty beach towels that were waiting to be washed. They came out of the dryer smelling really fresh and were really soft. H was no worse for the wear other than needing a bath and clean clothes. He didn't ingest any so there was no need for poison control. I'm guessing S found him pretty early in the dumping out of the fabric softener.

Where's the camera when you need it?

Lots of Fun, No Pictures

Yesterday my sister-in-law, B, and I took 4 of our children to a local water park (K, L, and her two youngest, W and A). Much fun was had by all. Unfortunately my camera was placed perfectly by my computer. Such is life. We really did have a blast with the kids. K and L got to practice their swimming and W and A had a competition to see who could go down the big water slide the most.

B and I got to relax and watch the kids from the sidelines until it got too hot and we then cooled off in the water. K and L spent most of their time swimming "under the bridge". We were all exhausted but had a fabulous time.

I am so grateful to have this time with family we rarely get to see. Our family is precious to us and we have really enjoyed the time spent together.

What's Been Going On

Here's the rundown on what's been going on at Maison de Maman. We have been super busy with family in town and really enjoying it. We have played musical houses when it comes to dinner and sleeping arrangements. All of the kids have had a great time together and the adults have had a good time, too. Here are a few things we've been doing over the last week:

• S and I were able to go to dinner with Sporty Mama and her husband sans children. It was a very relaxing and wonderful time spent with friends we don't get to see very often.
• we had college students over for lunch on Sunday. They're here on a summer missions trip.
• we celebrated my nephew's, W, birthday Sunday night. (Yes, that's two large meals at our house in one day. It was fun and exhausting all at the same time. We, at one point, had 15 people in our living room.)
• swimming lessons are over for the time being but the girls got some practice when we were able to go to a friend's pool on Saturday afternoon

I just realized that the list I gave you is the span of 24 hours. We've also gone to the gym almost every morning and we just returned from a day trip to a nearby town. Needless to say we are tired!

L-ism of the Day

Tonight as I was tucking the girls into bed, L gave me this little gem.

"Mama? My boo-boo hurts really bad again," L said, referring to the road rash she got falling down after swim lessons.
"It's looking a lot better than it did yesterday," I said, attempting distraction.
"But it hurts again. I think it's going to explode!"

Sometimes there's nothing to do but laugh. And I'm so thankful I have this blog to remember all the little L-isms she has provided.

How Y'all Doin'?

I must say that I am worn out and it's only Wednesday. We have relatives visiting and we've been busy doing fun things with them. We've had a great time but this is the first night my kids were in bed before 8:30. And that includes H. I know, I'm a terrible mom for keeping him up so late but it's been really nice to spend time with family we don't see very often.

As for swim lessons, I have been so amazed at the girls' progress. The instructor was even impressed today. It's amazing what a little confidence will do. L was jumping off the side into the shallow end by the end of today's lesson and K was diving (DIVING!) off the side into the deep end and swimming to the ladder. Y'all, she didn't know how to swim until last Friday. She could go under water and hold her breath but had no clue how to swim. And now she's diving. I'm so, so proud.

And I'll leave you with a much-needed L-ism. Tonight, as I was putting on my pajamas in my bathroom, L barged in. "What are you doing, Mama?"
"Putting on my pajamas."
"What's that?" (pointing at my shirt)
"You know what that is. It's my shirt."
"Oh, I know. It's for hiding your boobies."

Duke

I can't decide if I like this one better in color...

...or in black and white.

H's New Obsession

H has a new obsession: cups. He loves cups, especially if there is some sort of liquid in the cup. While I think it's great that he enjoys drinking out of a cup now it's making life difficult when it comes to the laundry. He bangs them on the table, on the floor, anywhere I will allow it. And it was the only thing that would keep him quiet at lunch the other day at one of our favorite local Greek restaurants.

The Dentist

I promised an update and update I shall. We've had lots going on in the last two weeks including trips to the dentist and a visit from Nana. Add in swim lessons and cousins coming to visit and we've already got a busy summer.

K and L both went to the dentist last week. They did great and I was so impressed with them. It was L's first trip there and she did a fantastic job of sitting still and doing what the hygienist asked of her. We are thankful that our hygienist, Kathy, is great with kids and made them feel so comfortable. As a mom, it did my heart good! The girls got to wear sunglasses to keep the light out of their eyes and even got to hold the vacuum cleaner (aka suction) on their own.

So Many Posts, So Little Time

I have several posts running around my clouded head right now but don't have the time (or the pictures) to put them together. I have some great pictures from K and L's recent trip to the dentist. Plus H has a new found interest: cups. And Nana is visiting and there are plenty of things to post about that. Oh, and we start swim lessons tomorrow.

So I'll try to get pictures uploaded tonight. (Well, that's not entirely accurate. I'll do my best but, frankly, I'm worn out and have the head cold from you-know-where to boot.)

I hope y'all are having a good week!

Telling On Myself

S and I tried a new (to us) barbecue restaurant a few weeks ago. We like barbecue a lot and we've yet to find one that we truly love in our small town. I grew up with great barbecue so I'm sort of picky. And with S's discerning palate, he's picky about barbecue, too. I will say that this BBQ place was just okay, not one we loved.

(As a brief aside, barbecue and cookouts are two different things. Barbecue refers to the method of slow cooking your meat over an indirect heat source, often utilizing some type of wood. Many will do this to their ribs and then finish them on the grill but the essential cooking process is smoking. Grilling chicken, burgers, and hot dogs is not barbecue. That is a cookout. Just FYI.)


Just before our food arrived, as is usually the case, K announced she needed to use the girls' room. So I take her. Now the signage giving direction to the restrooms is a little confusing. As you stand in front of said sign, the bathroom doors are on your right and left. Arrows point towards "Women" and "Men." That is clearly marked. What isn't clear is the direction in which the arrows point. The word "Women" is on the right side of the sign with an arrow pointing to the left and vice versa for the men. The letters are of equal height and the arrows basically point at the opposite word. Just trust me; it was confusing for someone who wasn't really paying close attention.

I believe you can see where I'm going with this. Yes, you guessed it, I walked into the men's room. With my little girl. When I saw the urinal I knew I was in the wrong place and immediately backtracked. K was quite confused as to why we weren't going to the bathroom but I didn't answer and just kept moving to the correct restroom. Blessedly no one was in the men's room so I didn't scare some poor soul and scar my daughter's eyes for life. That urinal is right at the front and we would have seen things we didn't want to see.

This brought flashbacks of my childhood when I did the exact same thing as a seven-year-old at a friend's birthday party. I'm just thankful no one noticed!

Here Comes Trouble

I spent most of my afternoon going through toys, discarding the ones that were just past their prime and recycling the ones we no longer needed. Both K and L have birthdays just around the corner and I have a feeling they will be receiving a new supply.

H's favorite activity, however, is destruction. After all the care I took in sorting toys, putting them back into organized bins and cleaning up all the mess left over, this is what I found H doing...

Of course, once I got the camera out, L wanted to be in the picture with H.I'm pretty sure they're going to be a bad combo in about 10 years. I just have a hunch.

(As a brief aside, at dinner H said "na-na" for banana and said "sees" for cheese when I told L to say "cheese!" for the camera. Oh, he's so talented!)

Good Friends are Hard to Come By

Yesterday I got to spend my morning with some wonderful friends. Our youth/music minister took a job elsewhere about 2 years ago and we've missed him and his family terribly since they moved. They are in town for a few days and we were able to see them yesterday at a friend's house. It was so much fun. The kids played on the water slide while the mommies (and one daddy) got to catch up, reminisce, and just enjoy being around each other. Time is precious when you're a mom of young ones and I was so thankful that everyone was able to be there. A good time was had by all!

The Things They Learn When You're Not Looking

Yesterday, on the way home from the gym, I had to stop for a red light. The gas station on the corner is undergoing some renovations and the kids (meaning my girls) always ask what they're doing and wonder, aloud, what those big machines do.

Then L piped up and asked, "What is that hand for?" I'm thinking she's talking about something in the car or something related to the gas station. I, for the life of me, can not figure out what she's talking about. I said, "What hand are you talking about?" Again, she asked, "What is that hand for?" I'm still baffled as to what hand she is referring. It's one of those moments where you feel completely lost and would love to answer your child's questions but just can't. I don't like that feeling.

K, on the other hand, knew exactly what L was talking about. She said, "It means you're not supposed to walk across the street." That's when I looked up and realized that L was referring to the red hand on the crosswalk sign indicating it was not safe to cross the street.

I am so amazed that K, at five, knows what she knows. Some things are taught at school; many more things are taught at home. But there is so much that children just pick up on. When I asked where she learned that she said, "I don't know. I just knew it."

Edited to Add: After telling S this story, he informed me L asked the same question the other day. He answered her which is how K knew the answer when I was around. So much for thinking my child is brilliant. Well, I know she's brilliant, just not about this particular subject.

One More

I promise I'm done with the blogging today. I guess this makes up for my absence at the end of last month. Here's a picture of K with all her buddies at a birthday party for a friend. These were the girls in her kindergarten class this year.

I Couldn't Have Said it Better Myself

I was going to write about this very thing but Mod Girl beat me to it. It truly sums up a dear friend's adoption journey. I, too, received the early morning phone call relating the good news. What a beautiful answer to prayer!

Family Fun

S's brother, along with his wife and 8 kids, live in the same town we do. Well, at least until Thursday. They are moving and we are very sad to see them go. They spent the evening with us one night last week, eating dinner, playing, and visiting for the last time. We are so grateful for the time we've had to get to know them and will truly miss having them around.

Since we're still trying to be healthier eaters, S got watermelon for dessert. He got two small watermelons and cut very large chunks for all of the little kids. It made for some great pictures!

Oh, How the Mice Played

This past weekend I got to do something I rarely get to do: I got to surprise my mom (Nana). As an adult, we get so few surprises in life so this one was really fun. She celebrated a big birthday last week and I was able to be there, unbeknownst to her. You should have seen the look on her face when she pulled into her driveway and I was there waiting for her! It was totally worth the trip. We had a great time getting to do all sorts of fun things we never get to do, like shopping, eating out, smelling lotions at the store for half an hour.

How, you might wonder, was I able to do this when there are usually 3 children tugging me in a million different directions? They were home with their Daddy. Yes, you read that correctly. All three stayed home with Daddy while I spent the weekend with Nana. Oh, it was such fun. My mom and I haven't had that much time to ourselves since I got married. It was quite nice. Plus, I got to sleep in!

Meanwhile, on the home front, S let the kids have lots of fun this weekend. The house wasn't too torn up when I got home. Here are a few pictures of their day on Saturday: