Ramblings from a Mild Mannered Mother

I don't know if many of you faithful readers (and if you're faithful at reading this, I commend you because I'm sure not faithful at writing) have seen the movie Jerry Maguire but there's a kid in it who is constantly spouting of facts to anyone who will listen to him. He is perhaps most often quoted as saying something to the effect of "The human head weighs 8 pounds." Add to this line, a slight lisp, a spiky hairdo, and some cute little glasses and you'll understand why movie viewers loved him. My point in telling you this is not so that you'll run down to the local video store (do people still do that? or does everyone just watch stuff on the computer now?) and rent this classic movie from 13 years ago. Rather, it is to share with you that Lainey has now entered the phase of spouting off random facts to any and everyone who will listen. I LOVE how much she reads and just takes it all in. I think she remembers everything. Today she said to me, "Mom, sea lions and seals are cousins." She also shared several other oceanic facts, but, unlike her, they just didn't stick in my head. Homeschooling is going very well this year and I'm really enjoying it. Lainey seems to be excited about learning things and amazes me with her abilities. That's a proud parent and teacher talking and this is MY blog, so I can brag. Thank you.

We laugh quite often at Sarah Grace and her little sayings that don't come out quite like most everyone else. It sort of makes my heart ache when she gets it "right" and stops using her version of things. Her latest phrase is "later often" instead of "later on". As in, "Mom, later often can we watch a movie?"

Abby is talking more and more these days. Like Sarah Grace at this age, every animal she sees says "neigh" unless it's a bird and then it says "cack cack" like a duck. My dear friend Jana gave us a wooden rocking "cow" the other day. It was handmade by a man from Texas and even though it has long horns and is a steer, she, being the diehard OU fan, refuses to call it a Texas Longhorn. Anyhooo, when Abby wants to ride it, she has to have a little help to get on it. As she is unable to say to me (yet) "Mother, please I'd like to ride the rocking horse. Could you please assist me in getting on?", she comes to me and says, "Neigh, neigh, neigh, neigh" over and over until I get a clue and put her on. And when she rides, she RIDES noholdsbarred!!! It seems that today, Abby really mastered saying "Joey" instead of "Jo-jo". Again, this is one of those moments when I wish I could slow time down just a little bit. I want him to always be "Jo-jo".

Our token little male is just awesome. He weighed in at 12 pounds 13 ounces last week and is growing like a weed. He is long and lean. He has mastered rolling over and can also get from his tummy to his back, especially when he's mad that I have not retrieved him from his bed as quickly as he might like. He smiles all the time and had several really good laughs tonight. He warms his mama's heart!

It's interesting to me the looks and comments I get when I take all 4 kids out in public somewhere at the same time. I get comments like ,"4?" and "You've got 4?" and "You've got your hands full!" and my least favorite "You finally got a boy!" as though there was something inferior with our 3 beautiful girls and we've finally got one worth hanging on to! I guess to an outsider looking in, it does appear to be a fairly busy life we lead, but as the one who's in the middle of it, I must say, "it's just life". It's what I know. Do I even remember what it was like to parent just 1 child? Barely. I think it's great training for these little kids to grow up in a home where they have to think of others above themselves and where they learn the importance of multitasking. On a good day, I can pay bills on the computer, get a knot out of a shoelace, remember the location of most all things in the house (except the DVD remote which has been missing since before we left for NC) and make 3 different breakfasts all before 8:00. Okay, I'm exaggerating a bit (it's usually 8:30), but my point is, "it's what we do". Yep, I've got 4 and yep, they're all very close together, but I can't imagine it any other way. One day, they'll all be grown up and the house will be quiet and I'll be sad because I'll finally know where the DVD remote is, but won't have anyone here asking to watch one!

First Grade Pictures

As promised, here are pictures of Lainey's first day of first grade!

Sarah Grace: Just a Plain Ol' Kid

We are settling back in and adjusting to West Coast time again. It's a slow process, but we're getting there. On Tuesday night, we were in bed by 7:30 and up between 5:30 and 6:00 on Wednesday. This morning we were all up and doing breakfast by 6:30. Being up early is sort of nice because we really get a jump start on our day, but no one has really been in favor of a decent naptime since we got back so that makes the day feel a little longer. As we were getting ready this morning, I went down to the laundry room to put some clothes in the hamper. Sarah Grace walked down with me and (talking a mile a minute) said, "Mom, when I get bigger, I'm going to wear big girl panties but right now I wear short panties because I'm short. I'm just a plain ol' kid." Good to know!

NC Visit, Part One

Our time in NC is quickly drawing to a close, but it's been a great trip. Our time at the beach was incredible. We had a great view from our front porch of the ocean with a beach access just outside our front door. The girls LOVED the ocean and spent lots of time playing there with Daddy, Nana, and Aunt Kelly. Mama doesn't do water or bathing suits as I have a phobia of both. I think my phobia of the bathing suit might be stronger than my phobia of water and that's saying a lot! Two words, Jana: beached whale! At any rate, we had a great time and I think the girls made some memories. We took lots of pictures so as soon as we return to WA, I"ll get them posted. We did lots of rocking on our porch, a lot of laughing, and a lot of eating! On Tuesday, Nana, Lon, and I took all the kiddos for a ride on the ferry and a trip to the NC Aquarium, or as Sarah Grace calls it, the "inquarium". It was great. The girls LOVED the fish and ran from exhibit to exhibit to see what was next. As good as the aquarium was, I think I enjoyed watching them enjoy it most of all.

Joey didn't know well enough to care too much either way about the beach. We did grease him up with sunscreen one day and let him stick his toes in the water, but he seemed rather unimpressed. But I must say, he was hot stuff in his Hawaiian outfit and his hat! I think he was too busy working on other skills to care too much about the beach. This was the week he learned to roll over! I've really not had opportunity to let him be on the floor too often to practice because Abby usually tries to sit on him and that can't be good. So, I really had no idea he was so close to rolling over. I got up to feed him one night and realized, after I picked him up, that his back was to me and that I hadn't put him in bed that way! He's got it down pretty good now, but still needs to work on what to do once he gets over on his tummy. At this point, he thinks that what comes next is "getting mad"!

It's taken me about two days to get this posted so as I write this, we are preparing to leave tomorrow. We have had a wonderful time and I know we've all made some great memories. More highlights to follow soon along with pictures.

First Grade Was Awesome; Flying With Four Kids, Not So Much

Lainey's first day of first grade went very well. She came running into the living room on Tuesday morning at about 6:30 and said, "FIRST GRADE!" She was very excited. Lots of pictures were taken before leaving for school so as soon as we get back to WA, I'll get those posted. She has the same teacher that she had last year as well as many of the same students in her class so I think that gave her a little confidence in heading back. She has a good little friend named Abby (she is often referred to as "friend Abby, not sister Abby" so as to avoid confusion) and it was neat to see them reconnect and play together. I catch myself trying to look down the road of time and wondering if they might still be friends in 10-15 years. They're too cute.

Our flight to NC went fairly well. Traveling with 4 kids using any mode of transportation can be an adventure, but when it's an airplane, it's even more so! Abby wasn't too thrilled with flying because it meant staying in one place for a long time, but we managed. Flying with two lap babies definitely made things interesting and I'm sure folks had to smile when Lon and I "traded" children a couple of times. Traded as in "this one's quiet and that one isn't" so let's switch for a while. At any rate, we arrived safely and have enjoyed our visit thus far. I spent part of Thursday cleaning out some of my old stuff from my parents' attic. Wow, what a step back into time that was! I relived a few childhood memories as well as some painfully tacky fashion choices of the 80's and 90's. The good news is that I got rid of a number of boxes and bags of things and opened up a little space up there for them. There are more bags to sort through and as I have more time, I'll get up there again to throw away some more stuff.

Yesterday, we visited with Miss Alma, our dear family friend. She's in a nursing home now so our visit was a bit shorter this time, but I know it delighted her to see our kids. Last night, we had dinner with one of my dear friends from college. She's adopted two kids and I've had three since we'd last seen each other so we had some catching up to do. Dinner with 6 kids (especially my 4 with no naps) did not really lend itself to a lot of visiting, but I did enjoy seeing her.

Today is beach day! We're all headed down to the NC coast in just a few hours for a week of fun. When I was little, we vacationed at the beach quite often and I can't wait to share some of those memories with my kids. We'll be staying at the same beach so many of the things we'll be able to do will be things I did there. I'm most excited about taking them to play miniature golf. I told Lainey about it the other day and she said, "Oh I LOVE golf!" She's never played, but I'm glad to know she's excited! Before they head down to the beach, Lainey and Sarah Grace get to take in a Wake Forest football game with Nana and Kelly. Neither of them have any understanding of football, but I suspect they'll enjoy the mascot, the band, and the atmosphere!

More to follow once I have a view of the ocean!

Look out First Grade! And NC!

Today is our first day of first grade and we are VERY excited around here. Our princess bookbag is ready, our pencils are sharpened (Can I tell you how difficult it was to find those in Whatcom County? Nearly impossible. None at Walmart on two separate trips, none at Rite-Aid, and almost none at the grocery store. I finally found some Hershey's pencils with the candy logos on them. Nothing like a little advertising during math class!), and our princess lunch box is almost packed. Yesterday, I was downstairs folding laundry and I overheard Lainey in the bathroom saying, "I can't WAIT until tomorrow. First grade. Tomorrow is first grade day!" Can this be the same little girl who was so nervous about making friends last year? This year she's going to have the same teacher with many of the same kids in her class so she's feeling much better. I'm sure several pictures will be taken this morning so I'll get those posted as soon as I can!

In traveling news, all our bags are packed, we're ready to go. We're leaving on a jet plane at 6:00 am tomorrow morning headed for the Old North State and I can't wait! Lainey and Sarah Grace are very excited about getting on an airplane and I'm praying that Abby and Joey will be calm, yet excited as well. Yesterday as Abby sat in her high chair eating lunch, we heard an airplane fly overhead. She perked up and said, "Pane?" I guess much of our conversation has centered on these recently so she's learned a new word in the process! Can't wait to see family, friends, and the Atlantic Ocean!! And most importantly, eat some good ol' NC BBQ!!

One Busy Night!

I'm sure most of you are familiar with Murphy's Law: if something CAN go wrong, it WILL. Well, today I discovered that there is a Murphy's Law for Parenting: if someone can wake up just as mom is drifting off to sleep, they will. Joey woke up to eat at 2:30 this morning. That was a little earlier than he usually gets up in the middle of the night, but I went with it. I always turn the TV on when I nurse him with the hopes of being mildly entertained while I'm up. Since we only have basic cable, my options usually include an infomercial on the latest diet/exercise fad or a TimeLife music collection. Lately I've been watching the one for greatest rock ballads and let me tell you, those hair bands of the 80's really rocked! But I digress. As Iwas nursing him, I dozed a little and woke up to find that I was watching a show on TBN about a group of Christian builders/volunteers remodeling homes. It was really good so I stayed up to finish watching it even though Joey was no longer eating. I got him back in bed about 3:50 or so. At 4:00, he was up again and was very unhappy. I finally got him settled and back in bed about 4:40. At 4:55, he started to cry again at which point, I said to Lon, "I can't do this anymore; you've got to take a turn." He got Joey and laid him in the bed with us. Thinking all was well, I drifted off to sleep. Five minutes later, Abby started to cry. As she usually sleeps until 6:30 or 7:00, this was much too early for her to be up. Looking back, I should have let her cry and I think she would have gone back to sleep. But, sleep deprived as I was, I got up to get her. As I came downstairs with her, I heard Sarah Grace crying downstairs. My thought? SERIOUSLY? IS EVERYONE GOING TO GET UP NOW? I was soon to find out that the answer was yes. It turns out that Sarah Grace had wet the bed (her first accident since she started sleeping in panties all night long so really we were due). So, at 5:15, I had to get Lainey out of the bed, strip the sheets, put them in the washer, and change both girls' pajamas. I put Sarah Grace in the bed with Lon and Joey and attempted to get Abby back to sleep on the couch with me. No dice. So, at 6:00 I called it quits on the attempts to sleep and just got up for the day. Going on only 3 1/2 hours of sleep while trying to homeschool one and maintain order with the other three wasn't an easy task, but we made it through. My only hope was that naptime would be beneficial and it definitely was! There's just never a dull moment around here. Sometimes I find myself wishing for just one or two dull moments just so I can catch my breath!

We are all growing very excited about our trip to NC. The girls are most excited about flying on an airplane again and I'm praying that flying with 4 little ones won't be the end of our time of flying, our ability to parent with sanity, and our marriage! I plan on stocking up on new crayons, a couple of new coloring books, some story books, snacks, and Benadryl, lots of Benadryl. I'm not sure if I'm going to drug the children or myself; only time will tell.

Off to catch up on some sleep. Praying that no one is up before at least 4:30 or 5:00 and then not again until 7:00. I never would have guessed when I was in high school that sleeping until 7:00 would be considered sleeping in!! How times do change!