Birthdays

This morning I had to make a run to the grocery store to pick up some items for a baby shower happening this evening. Since I signed up to bring both food and decorations, I felt it necessary to actually purchase the food. Fortunately, I have cheese and crackers so there isn't much in the way of cooking.

As I was being helped out by the bag boy, he asked if I was ready for the 4th. It kind of caught me off guard because I actually haven't thought much about it. There's a picnic at our church, complete with volleyball (S's favorite) and a large water slide (K's and L's favorite). Other than that, it hasn't been on mind. I guess it should be since I'm an American and proud to be so. But there are two big events that happen right after the 4th that are weighing much more heavily on my mind: K's and L's birthdays.

I remember celebrating the 4th 6 years ago in New Orleans. A friend of ours said it would be cool if I had my baby on his birthday, which was July 7. His wife, however, didn't think it was funny because our church friends had planned a surprise shower for me on Sunday the 7th and wanted us to be there. Well, his wish came true as I had K on the 7th and completely missed my shower.

Two years and one week later, I was doing the same thing: having a baby girl. I don't even remember the 4th that year. I barely even remember K's 2nd birthday. I think there were friends but I know there was cake.

Fast forward 4 years and here we are. I can hardly believe that my girls are about to be 6 and 4. They are growing up awfully fast and I'm not sure I like it. I love watching them in every stage; love it when their little hands grab mine knowing that all too soon they will be grown and gone.

So look for some wonderful, fabulous birthday pics in the next week or so. And have a happy 4th!

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.