Mini Vacation

My brother was in the general Florida area for a journalisim confrence and Gary was scheduled to be working in the same area earlier this week. So I got all crazy and decided the kids and I would drive down separately and enjoy Gary's hotel with him and go play while he was at work. That evening after arriving we picked up Uncle and went to the beach.

The next day we rode a trolley, went to the pier, an aquarium and a down town tour. Then met up with Gary and Cim to go to the beach and eat dinner. 4 kids by myself, I'm just not used to handling them all to myself in public yet. And sadly they weren't on their best behavior... It was crazy at times, okay most of the time.

We were in a restaurant that had a bunch of ceramic hand painted items in baskets and bins all over. Right at kid height. I couldn't get Zurich to listen to me and he kept touching them. While we were waiting for a table a stand of them crashed to the ground... The ceramic tile floor. I just covered my face and took deep breaths. We were blessed. The top bin that spilled out and made all the clatter was just a bunch of key chains, which were unharmed. Zurich was holding a painted ceramic thermometer, the bottom bin had them in it. The restaurant host that was leading us in put the stand back together and said, "we're okay, Ma'am." I have my suspicions that particular stand was not locked in right. But either way it was not the place for us which I more fully realized when I saw the tables were just as big a land mine for my bouncy, obedience impaired little boy. I hauled my four lethal weapons out and we ate somewhere else.

As we were getting ready to leave the pier Nev decided she was ready for her nap and just dropped right where she was and laid down, right in the middle of the walkway. I tried to encourage her to come on her own the old fashioned way, by just saying good bye and walking away. I was carting Giddy on my chest the diaper bag and the bag of souveniers.... Didn't much want to carry a child who could walk. Zurich started crying and freaking out because Nevy wasn't coming. In fact she just looked at us and rolled over so she couldn't see us. So I went back and told her that if she would at least put out her hand that I would carry her. We just barely made it on the trolley.

2 am reflections

Here I am again, awake at 2 am for no good reason listening to the sounds of sleep and night... Which for the record isn't all that quiet.

But tonight, unlike last night, I am grateful and optimistic. Last night I was irritated and pessimistic. I tried to calm my mind last night by thinking of things I was grateful for. It didn't go so well, whenever I came up with something I would find myself digressing into the negative.

Finally I gave up and took a quarter of a melatonin. As it was kicking in I flipped over to see a head silhouetted against the window which was lit by the light of the moon. Startled as I was I didn't have enough umph left in me to send the child back to bed and I let him crawl in next to me and listen to him tell me how he was afraid of the dark (this is new) and he had a bad dream about an alien with glowy green eyes that wanted to shake him and take him away. I soothed him and as we both drifted off to sleep a thought struck me as my husband, in sleep, reached out to hold my hand.

I have it.

It's amazing how stuck we can get in the negative energy, how hard it is to shake. Life is hard, if you don't think so, you aren't living it. But it's not bad. Sometimes we just need that little boy, who is closer to heaven, who needs us, or that touch that reminds us. Sometimes all we need is some good old fashioned hard work.

Today I had a happier start to my day but also a thought that my sister had shared with me from the night before. "Why is it so easy to be pessimistic? Because it is SO easy."

We set things up for a morphed ward party: which was more work than you'd think. And Hot and bug bitey and I wasn't even out there the whole time. But we also got some other work done that needed doing and that is so therapeutic to me. I love having little check marks ticking away in my brain's list. Some of the most pleasing things to me today were: the ward party turned out well all considered. The kids played in the back yard by choice, they seem to just need a little distraction and fuel to their imaginations. We got our porch swing hung up and Gary and I got to swing out there for a bit and enjoy the noisy night and a little reflection. I also used a frame from the house and some matting from a previous framing project to frame the ink drawing I did for valentine's day and hang it up in our bedroom. I am liking the house more as I get things put together.

It is starting to feel like home.

Thomas Clock

Zurich was helping me un-pack stuff earlier this week and saw this clock. (Which was never hung in my house but kept for the works for projects such as follows).

He said, "I want a Thomas clock, Mom."
"Ok son."
He wanted Thomas, not James, I checked a few times.
So I painted the red part blue. It would have been smoother and easier with spray paint, but I don't have any so I used the acrylic paint I had. Two coats.

This face all ready existed on the internet, just waiting for me.
Found here, super cute costume idea.

So I printed it out to the right size and poked a hole for the clock works. Lined up the face and stuck it on.

Re-assemblage of the clock. Make sure when you do so that you line up the hands straight up at 12. So as to have the clock tell appropriate time when setting it. (You guessed it, I skipped this step and hand to take it apart to fix it.)
Simple enough. I thought about adding a little more detail stuff, but he was just happy as can be at it the way it was, so I figured I would leave well enough alone.


Three of his favorite things, clocks, Thomas and Cars. Life is pretty good.

When you are two...

Nothing is quite as disgusting to you as it should be. In May while we were prepping the pool, cleaning it out and repairing things, Nev found this a great place to play. She is such a water baby. She often changes into her swim suit in hopes that we will go out.


Now that we have the pool running, she loves it and has to be very carefully watched.

Seven Years

Olea is Seven
It happened just like that.
Newborn

1 year

2 years

3 years

4 years

5 years

6 years

7 years


For Olea's Seventh birthday, I removed the gum that had been in her hair for about two days (I was only informed of that being the reason she hadn't brushed her hair for a few days, the night before). She lost a tooth earlier in the day, her front tooth. So with her hair un-brushed, wet, and oily (for gum removal), and a missing tooth we celebrated. This real life folks. At least my real life and hers.

We had, at her request, cheese cake that had been decorated by her dad. After pulling out the candles Nev wanted to lick one off like the other kids were doing, later Gary found her candle half eaten on top of the ice cream bucket.


She opened her presents and seemed in good spirits.


Nev on the other hand could not understand why the princess dolls and lip gloss were not for her, this was devastating to her.


It was a rough day. I felt bad, I'd had a bad day too, but it ended with presents and cheese cake... that's good isn't it? While she was talking to Gary and I right before bed we started laughing at all of it. She burst into tears. After feeding the baby I went in to say good night to her and I was informed that this was her worst birthday ever. I wanted to say, welcome to growing up... but I told her to just think about the good things of the day, and not all the stuff that was sad. I helped her discover some good things and laid with her for a while.

Sit ups

He can't roll over any father than his side, but he can do crunches. :)

we're going on an aligator hunt

What?! you didn't see any? We sure did!

It's a Party!

I've been threatening it for years.
This year I figured it was time to get serious.

Earlier in the day I was trying to get the kids to clean up one of their messes and said, "I try to do something fun for you guys, but I need your help to get things cleaned up so we have space to do it." Olea commented, "It's not fun, it's CRAZY."
"It is crazy, but it will be fun too."

We needed to celebrate.
So I delegated the picking up of the party favors to Gary on his way home Friday night. I had dried a bunch of bananas the day before.

I made a cake and arranged and frosted it to look like a bunch of bananas. I am no cake artist, but I was pretty proud of this project.


After dinner we got started making party hats. We had unpacked a bunch of studio boxes and I found a German craft book that showed how to make party hats. Not like it is super complex but it was laid out in pictures and there is something super cool about seeing something in a book and then being able to make it. And due to time and resource constraints: making it your own.

During this time the missionaries came by and Gary answered the door, they asked what we were doing.
Gary said, "We're having a birthday party." "For who?" they asked.
Why Surgery Monkey of course!

The kids and I made hats while Gary and the missionaries looked through his mission pictures and stuff. Olea made hats for the missionaries. They had to be back in their apartment by a certain time so they missed cake and ice cream with us, but humored me with this picture.

(This will probably be one of the crazy things they write to their families about.)

Of course I can't yet find the spool of elastic appropriate for hat string. Zurich did complain that he needed a string but handled it well when I explained I couldn't find it. So we had some hat mayhem as they kept falling off.

We sang happy birthday and had cake and root beer floats.

I love that Gary put the candle on backwards for the pictures, but right ways for the stuffed Monkey. Gary had set the party favors out on the table and the kids kept asking who they were for. Our response (repeatedly), "It's Surgery Monkey's birthday."
Zurich was so cute saying, "Happy Birthday Surgery Monkey," while he enjoyed his cake and ice cream.

After Finishing up with the sweets, I explained that while it was Surgery Monkey's Birthday, he couldn't play with his hula hoops because he is just a stuffed monkey so they each would get one. This was very favorable to them.

The Hula hoops were inspiration from Olea who had asked for one after playing at friend's with one. She was pretty good right from the start.

Nev needed some help.