Painting, Quilting, and Decluttering, Oh My!

Colin is out of town this week. It doesn't happen often, so when it does hit us it is weird. Now, I do get quite a lot of work done. So far I have finished Philip's quilt and painted our master bedroom. I have been using this fabulous book to get the junk out of our cozy abode. (You should see the piles of stuff leaving our house! It is awesome!) I don't feel obliged to cook a big dinner for the boys as they are thus far content with eating chicken nuggets and frozen pizza. So the kitchen even stays clean!


But despite our productiveness, we cannot wait for Dad to be home again! We cannot wait for life to be a bit more normal!

And pictures of the quilt and rooms are coming, as soon as the camera battery is charged again. Ah...some things never change! :)

Every Problem has a Solution

Nicholas: Mom, can I ride my bike.

Me: No. It's raining, cold, and besides it is getting dark.

Nicholas: Oh, okay. So I just need a coat, an umbrella, and a flashlight?

This looks like fun...

...And after reading Celeste's, I am motivated.

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Not my first name. Mt middle name, Elizabeth, was also my Mom's, Grandma's, and Great-Grandma's middle name. Time will tell if we will have a daughter of our own to pass it on to.

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Last night.

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Not at all. I got all A's in school until third grade where we were first graded on handwriting. I received a C- and cried and cried and cried. Now I sort of accept the fact that my writing is horrid.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Oven roasted turkey breast.

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? Four.

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Yes.

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Absolutely.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? No way!

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? I am not really a cereal person. I do like Post's Blueberry morning, but is expensive.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? I hate shoes. When I do wear them, I kick then off with my feet. And I slip them back on without untying them. Lazy, huh!

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Yes.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Blue Bell Rocky Road!

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Their eyes.

15. RED OR PINK? Pink.

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF? I also worry obsessively.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? Colin definitely. Fortunately he only travels once a year.

18. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Black pants and no shoes (of course).

19. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? Sausage Egg English Muffin and my coffee of course!

20. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? He-man.

21. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Purple.

22. FAVORITE SMELLS? A fire in the fireplace. Pumpkin spice candles. Anything baking in the oven.

23. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Colin.

24. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? Football, Basketball, Baseball, Tennis. If we had cable, I would probably have ESPN on all day long. Which is a good reason for us NOT to have cable.

25. HAIR COLOR? Black.

26. EYE COLOR? Dark Brown.

27. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Yes. Oh, I am blind!

28. FAVORITE FOOD? Turkey dinner with all of the fixings.

29. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy endings.

30. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Bourne Identity.

31. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Grey sweatshirt.

32. SUMMER OR WINTER? Fall.

33. HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs.

34. FAVORITE DESSERT? Chocolate Cheesecake with a raspberry sauce.

35. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? In This House of Brede.

36. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? The mouse pad was carried off by a little boy long long ago.

37. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT? American Idol.

38. FAVORITE SOUNDS? A baby's belly laugh. That one will cheer you up every single time.

39. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Beatles.

40. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Hawaii

41. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? Not sure. I am sort of a "jack of all trades master of none".

42. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Carlisle, Pennsylvania

Grocery Shopping with 4 Boys

Step one: Plan your attack. I cannot emphasize this enough. Write down exactly what you are going after, preferably in the order that you will approach each item in the store if you start at the produce and work your way aisle by aisle.

Step two: Deep breath. Hustle all 4 across the parking lot, telling 7 year old to slow down, 5 year old to hurry up, and hang on to other two. This may not be easy as the 3 year old will most likely be trying to wrestle his hand out of yours so he can race through the cars.

Step three: Buckle all four boys down in the special car buggy. Proceed to go aisle by aisle, gathering items on list. Just throw in the basket and go. Exchange knowing smiles with other moms wrestling their own children in the carts (strangely enough, their children are boys as well).

Step four: Reach the foil trays. Realize that these are a little pricey, and that there is no generic brand. Pause to think if you really want to spend that much on something that will be thrown away. Boys realize that the cart has been still for 30 seconds. Boys start to tussle. Realize that you don't have time - just pay for them this time and start moving again.

Step five: This is it! Get all of the items onto the checkout stand. Warn 5 year old that he is getting a bit too loud - use that inside voice! Retrieve 3 year old's discarded shoe. Pick up 1 year old who is now fussing.

Load the car and drive. Hustle everyone into the house. Exhale.


Side note: Rainy days, where boys have been cooped in all day are not good errand days. At all.

Zoo Quotables

Our trips to the zoo always leave me with the most hilarious collection of "obviously boy" quotes. Today's additions:

Nicholas: "I want to see some lions. I want to see ones who are eating zebras."

Me to Brennan: "See those long grizzly bear claws. Those help him climb and dig."
Brennan: "Yea. They help him kill people too!"

It might be obvious to you by now that we have seen several National Geographic videos as of late. The oldest two are enthralled by them. One might believe that seeing wild animals viciously attack (and eat) each other might be disturbing to a 7 and 5 year old. But apparently not boys. It looks like our next rabbit trail will be learning about the food chain.

And of course Philip continues to stomp through the zoo, making his best impression of an elephant!

Jonathan liked the pigs. The big black farm pigs. The pigs were quite vocal today, walking right up to the fence and oinking loudly. Jonathan found this absolutely hysterical! This pig thing might even be genetic. When Brennan was 4, I found him with the garden hose on, making a big mud pile. When I asked him why he was doing that, he very nonchalantly replied "I am making a mud hole, so that I can get a pig. A real one."

Maybe a puppy isn't looking so bad after all!

First Sentence

Jonathan did it! He put together his first, unmistakable sentence this morning!

As it is a regular part of our routine these days, I was wrestling Jonathan in order to get that pesky shirt over his head. He clearly said "I don't want it!" as he fought getting dressed with all his might.

"I don't want it!". The perfect first sentence for a toddler. I cannot believe the other three boys didn't say this one first either!

Rave Reviews

From the "things that only a boy would say" files:

Brennan, after finishing his dinner last night (which was not one of his favorite meals): "Mom, I finished all my dinner. And I didn't even throw up!"

It's our turn now

I remember reading a little while back about another blogger's little boy who smeared Vaseline in his hair. I read the suggestions about how to get the stuff out of his hair with amusement, but silly, naive me, I made a mistake. I didn't copy them for myself!

Jonathan smeared Vicks vapor rub in his hair last night. I am thankful that it did not get in his eyes! I cannot, for the life of me, get it out of his hair!

On the plus side, just snuggling my sweet little boy also provides me with relief from allergy congestion. Awesome!

Well Trained Child

I have been using the buzzer on the oven lately to help me be more consistent. My hope is that now when I tell the boys that they have 5 more minutes, it really will mean 5 minutes and not thirty because I'm incredibly absentminded these days.

So this morning I set the buzzer for the boys to get dressed. Setting that buzzer really works. Knowing that the buzzer was set jump started the older boys into gear (at least today). They were finished way before the buzzer sounded.

And of course, I had forgotten that I had set it. So as I rushed to shut it down, I was greeted with a hilarious sight. Little Jonathan had my oven mitts on and was opening the bottom oven, looking for whatever it was that he was supposed to be getting. And saying one of his favorite words "Hot" and blowing "whoo, whoo).

I am grateful that this absent minded mom has some really great help around here.