Works-for-me Wednesday

Good morning all!! I'm back with another Works-for-me Wednesday. Last week, I talked about how I have a really, really hard time keeping my floors mopped. It doesn't help that I hate to mop. And that even after I mop, my floors still look dirty.

Let me show you real quick why I consider mopping my entire house at one fell swoop to be utterly pointless:


Yes, that would be an entire plate-full of seasoned flour, on my dishwasher and floor. And it didn't even click to me to take the picture until after I had cleaned up the broken plate and raw meat. And then John was cleaning out the fireplace, and as soon as he turned around, the baby (he's 17 months old ... when am I going to stop calling him 'the baby'? Eh, probably when there's another baby to take his status away, lol) grabbed the bag of ashes, dumped it upside down, and sat in it. Then he started scooting around on his butt, and made it halfway around the couch before John even noticed ... it was actually pretty funny.

I digress. Sorry.

Ok, ok!! I'll get on with my tip for this week. I thought it would be appropriate because it had to do with floors. So here's what works for me:


That's Sam, under the table, with the dust buster. No, I don't make him get under the table. He was just in a really silly mood last night. He's a goose. Every evening after supper, we all work together to clear the table (even David, who helps take things like salad dressing or ketchup, or anything that isn't liquid without a lid), and then John or I starts on the dishes. The older kids do their own dishes most of the time, too, we just do ours and the big stuff. At night, Sam is responsible for the floors. He's getting pretty good at it, too, and I usually don't even have to beat him into obeying me tell him to do it. But he goes and grabs the dust buster, and just starts getting the bigger stuff, or really anything he can get in there.



Of course, sometimes he gets distracted. And can we just talk about the baby David for a second? This is a child who was in the negative third percentile for weight when he was younger. He now has back rolls. Horizontal cleavage on his ribs. Love handles!!! He really porked up!! I'm just saying.

Anyway. Sometimes, when you're five years old and the best big brother ever, it's easy to neglect your task for a few minutes to chase around a very fat baby toddler with the dust buster.

And when he's done with the floor (or sometimes before), he starts on the table:


David is trying his hardest to help, and hitting Sam on the arm with the Swiffer. I mean, that little one really wants to help. Someone, just let the boy help!!!

I then grab a rag and wipe down anything that's left, then empty out the dust buster, so Sam can plug it back in. Evie does the same routine after lunch, and I start the day off by sweeping after breakfast.

Now, here's the cool part about all this: it teaches the kids, all three of them, that they are valued and needed members of my family. We can go read, or play outside, or whatever, after everything is done, but that includes moi being finished. The more efficient they are, the more quickly I can finish, and the faster we're all out of the kitchen, running around like Indians outside, or reading on the couch.

And since it's an everyday routine, they don't even question it anymore, let alone fight me on it. The groundwork is being set in place with the baby David, too. He's been responsible for taking his plate or bowl to the kitchen (even if he was holding holding the plate while we were carrying him, lol) since he was about a year old. He's so used to it now that he'll just stand beside his chair if we forget to hand him his plate or bowl. What a fun thing, to not have to remind one of your kids to clear their place!! It is good for kids to work, and even better for them to learn to enjoy work.

So that's what works for me!!! What works for you?

Oh, Evie

As I mentioned earlier, Evelyn decided to cut her hair last night. I think most of you know how well it turned out last time when one of the kids got a hold of scissors near that girl's hair. At least it was a little easier to fix this time. And a little cuter, too, I think. (click any of these to enlarge)

I present, Evie.

With short hair.

Again.

Here's the view from the front. Could her eyes be any bigger or bluer? She sure didn't get that from me!


From the side/back angle. Does that look red to anyone else?


She's starting to get ticked off at me ... we had taken about 20 pictures at this point, because she's the wiggliest little person alive.


Ok, we pulled the top back with a clip to get the hair out of her eyes ... and to make her look cuter. It worked on both accounts, I think.


And from the side. All in all, I think I did a pretty decent job, don't you??

Come on, give me your honest opinions. I can take it, I promise!!! :)

Where I've Been

I got an email from Lyndsey today (well, she sent it yesterday at noon, but I just opened it five minutes ago). I was excited, because someone hasn't been returning my phone calls, and I wasn't aware that we were fighting, but I've got three kids under six, ya know, so maybe we did have a fight and I just missed it? Because that happens sometimes. Well, that situation in particular has never happened, but I do tend to miss things that are right in front of my face. I'm just saying.

But we're not fighting. Her email was letting me know that she's been avoiding the phone in order to get things done, so no worries, but that's why I haven't been hearing from her. I laughed really hard when I read that, because I've totally been avoiding the computer for the same reasons. To get things done. (Um, and read. And play with my favorite new toy. But I digress.) I've also had a crazy week this week. Sorry for the absence. And lack of pictures. Mom, I promise they're coming soon!!

I spent last weekend and the beginning of the week getting ready for Wednesday. What happened Wednesday? Well, I went to the dentist. And I had a filling done. And two root canals. And a tooth extracted. And a deep, under-the-gum cleaning. It was awesome. For real.

No, it wasn't. I was in the dentist's chair for almost 6 hours. My mouth doesn't respond very well to pain killers, so I was given over 30 shots in total. In my gums. It sucked, big time. They wrote me scripts for pain meds and penicillin. I hate being on pain meds. When Evie was born in the hospital, and they gave me the pain meds to take home, I think I only took 6. Total. I've already taken more than that. It hasn't been fun.

Then on Thursday, instead of taking it easy like they told me to, we went to lunch (I had soup) and ran a bunch of errands. Then Sarah, my sweet and lovely friend who herself was in the hospital a week ago for a kidney infection, came to stay with me, and we went to a meeting with the ladies in my church.

And my older kids got sick on Friday. And I think now that David is over his cough, he decided to catch Sam and Evie's cold, which (of course!) includes a pretty wicked cough. Oy.

Things got better yesterday, though, when the weather turned nasty, we missed church because of above-mentioned cold, and John was at work for 13 hours. He got home after 7, made a fire, turned on the game, and we all snuggled up on the couch. We sent the kids to brush their teeth, which apparently, in Evie Language, means, 'Go ahead and dig around in the cabinet we didn't even know you could reach and find some scissors and cut a huge chunk out of the back of your hair.' Obviously.

All those things did happen, but it was actually a good week. I'm not kidding. I've spent some great time with my kids, and had some good talks with John, and while I'm not really crazy about pain medicine, I have been sleeping awfully well. I've been on top of my housework, and even though my dishwasher broke, I've been at least breaking even in the kitchen. At times, you might even have been able to call it clean! So now I'll make my mom happy and put up some pictures.

'Mom, are we almost done with the pictures?'

'Fine! If you're going to keep flashing that thing at me, I'm going to make faces. So there.'

'Mmm, I love eating pizza. And blue markers. And I love trying to grab the camera with a bunch of pizza grease on my fingers!!'

'I LOVE BUBBLES!!!'

'Hi. My name is Zsa-Zsa. I am a chicken. I like to eat bugs and lay eggs.'

You knew I wasn't going to let a chance to post a chicken picture pass by, right?!?!? :)

Hawai'i

I've been talking with an old friend of Facebook (HI MARY!!!), and she lives in Hawai'i. I'm just going to write Hawaii, because I'm just a tourist-y kind of person, and don't feel like being correct. Anywhooo ... After looking at some of her pictures, and realizing that I had pictures from the same places, I went through and looked at my honeymoon pictures. (No, not those pictures. Who says we even have those pictures? Like I'd post them here, even if we did. Get your mind out of the gutter, people!!)

Now, Hawaii was wonderful, as you'll see in a few seconds. I've never been anywhere more beautiful ... except maybe parts of the Hill Country, but that's another kind of beauty. And Hawaii doesn't have bluebonnets, but I digress. Here's the big problem I have with Hawaii. I don't like the ocean! (Shh, don't tell John. He might cry.) I mean, it's pretty and all, but since getting pregnant with Sam (which I was in Hawaii), I have horrible problems with motion. I can't be on a boat, airplane, or lay on the top of the water (snorkeling, etc), without wanting to show everyone around me the contents of my most recent meal. Honestly, I can't even be in the passenger seat in my car for 10 minutes without getting sick. It's bad.

So I loved all the tourist-y stuff we did, like going to the Dole Plantation, or Pearl Harbor, etc. There was this wonderful little bay called Hanauma Bay (I think it's pronounced 'WHY-a-ME-a'), and we went there a few times. The snorkeling was great while I could do it, and i loved laying out on the beach while John was off chasing the turtles we weren't supposed to chase. (He almost got bit by one of them. I wasn't sympathetic. I laughed.) So here's some of our pictures, and for me, a little walk down memory lane, because this was almost 6 years ago.



Here's Hanauma Bay. This picture doesn't even come close to justifying the beauty.
Ditto location. And ditto the thing about the beauty.

This was the view from our hotel room. I know, I know. It was hard to be there. More difficult that you can believe. But somehow, we made it through, and we're that much stronger for it. :)

I don't remember if this was Hanauma Bay, or Waikiki Beach in front of the hotel. Who cares, really? Look at my legs!! I had probably even shaved them. I used to have time to do things like that. Pretend my face isn't puffy, and that my hair is lovely and combed. And that I'm not five months pregnant. But that's a story for another time ...

Just a thought: could my husband's trunks be any LOUDER??? And could we be any more PALE?? Goodness. I know I've always tried to avoid the sun (I'd still like to get carded for beer when I'm 35, thankyouverymuch!), but that's just sad. In our defense, it was February, and while you can go to the beach in Hawaii in February, you can absolutely not go to the creek in Austin in February. I'm just saying.

But seriously, those swim shorts!! My goodness! My retinas!! (Just be glad I'm not posting the picture where he's wearing those shorts and a blue, I repeat: a very, very blue floral shirt. You have no idea the things I have to deal with, people!!)

a few pictures

I don't really have anything worth saying this morning ... afternoon ... so I thought I'd let my family do the talking for me!


Here, we've got a small hungry person in his PJ's, stealing bread of the counter. Yes, that's store bread. I'm so ashamed. This was the day after Thanksgiving, ok! I hadn't had time to make bread. Stop judging me!! :)

Here's my wonderful husband that I am so very in love with, and that cute little baby again. They both love being outside, and David loves to be tall. Because he's not. Kind of like his mother.


Awww, look who's walking!! It's David!! This has just really started in the last week or so, and it's too funny. He's just gotten good enough that he can walk in the grass without falling. He has surprisingly good balance, as opposed to Evie, who can not even be walking and lose her balance and fall down. Kind of like her mother.


Speaking of Evie ... She might have on the cutest skirt you've ever seen, and she might be wearing a crown, necklace, earrings, and a hugh pink ring, and she might even have her hair pulled back in the most feminine style ever, but she'll still hit you really hard in the head with her huge stick. You've been warned, Uncle Kevin and Uncle Wesley. Kind of like ... well, you know.


Look at that! It's a flock of turkeys in a hammock. I think right after this picture was taken, David crawled on top of Sam, which made him laugh so hard (he's raaawther ticklish!) that he kicked Evie, which made her completely freak out, and they all went tumbling out onto the ground. Luckily, that hammock isn't very high off the ground ... and Sam and Evie are used to falling out of it ... and David only looked a little confused about the whole crazy situation before he got distracted by a chicken and went off chasing it.


Oh, and while John was at work Sunday night, someone got a little too close to his car while leaving the parking lot. And when I say 'got a little too close,' what I really mean is 'smashed into the back of.' Isn't that nice? So I've been dealing with our insurance company for the last few days, which would be a chore for most people. Not us, because we've got USAA, and I love them so much that I want to marry them and have their babies. (Just kidding.) (But only a little.)


David is cutting his eight tooth. It's been a real barrel of monkeys, let me tell you. He woke up last night around 9:30, when I had just finished cleaning the kitchen and had settled down on the couch with the book I'm reading. I was just really getting into the book, when I heard the wailing. Poor baby. I waited to see if he would settle down, but he didn't so I went and got him. He didn't want milk at first, though he finally took some later. John made me a fire before he left for his meeting, and that did help calm David down; he just loves to stare at the fire.

But you know what finally did it? I started reading aloud to him from my book. I've always read aloud to my kids before they could/can even talk, and they seem to enjoy it. But this was different. I've never been able to calm a baby down this fast by reading, but I guess he just found the subject fascinating; I know I do. I mean, isn't everyone fascinated by the life of the people of Crete, before the time of king Minos? I mean, this is a really good book!!

I know. I'm a nerd. Don't tell anyone. :)

Peaceful

Well, almost. Evie has fallen asleep in my bed, David is down, and Sam is watching Animal Planet. Something about wildebeests, I think, but I don't care, because I know nothing about the wildebeest. Maybe we'll do a unit study one day on the wildebeest migration (ok, I know they migrate. But that's it!), and Sam can teach the class. Hey, someone should know what they're doing, right??

I have been very spoiled lately. Or spoilt, as my kids say. You see, I've become used to my wonderful handsome husband being at church with us, and he had to work this morning, so I took all three by myself. I can do that, right? I'm bigger, stronger, smarter, and faster than all of them. Their behavior has been wonderful lately, as the result of some strategic 'practicing' and we're all set. No one has cried about bedtime in a week. We've been practicing church. (Want to know how? Ask me, because I now know!! I want to share all my fabulous and timely knowledge, people!!) Fighting has reached an all time low. This should be a piece of cake, right??

Uh, huh. Right, Brea.

I'm about to start my period. Like most women, that gives me an extra ounce of kindness and patience. (And did I mention that it's opposite day?) So even though I had everything ready for church, clothes laid out and Bibles, diaper bag and purse in the car last night, I was still totally stressed by the time we left. David woke up three or four times last night, so he was sleepy and I was sleepy. Good combination, that one. I changed my clothes three times because I couldn't figure out what I wanted to wear. Did I say three? Ok, I'll be honest. Four. Ok, ok!! It was five. No, really. Five. But I changed my shoes three times with the outfit I picked.

We've decided we want the kids with us in Sunday School, too, not just church. Sam and Evie did wonderfully, for a change. David is usually the innocent bystander to the three-hour squabble that is The Sam and Evie Show, but not this morning. Sam and Evie colored and listened during Sunday school. They were great!! David was a pain in butt the whole time. Sam pushed the stroller around in the back for a while, and that seemed to calm David down.

(I should explain that we meet in an elementary school right now, so we meet in the front half of their gym/cafeteria and leave the back half for nursing moms and for walking around with babies and younger kids in strollers. It gives parents the opportunity to start training their kids to sit still when they need to, without being too much of a distraction to everyone else.)

Then all hell broke loose. David was sitting there, playing with his little train, and suddenly started screaming. I'm not talking a little 'I'm so tired' baby cry. I'm talking 'my arm fell off, and I ate a habenero pepper, and a dog bit me, and then I got punched in the head' kind of cry. I took him out of the stroller and just held him in the back. Then, while he was crying, I saw something in his mouth.

It was a new tooth. Poor baby. Well, the last few days with him make a little more sense, now.

Evie sat with Mrs Erdman during the service, and David was still cranky. Sam walked around with him a little, but I finally caved and let them all to to Children's Church. I'm ok with that. We'll keep working on behavior during service, and I'm going to have to accept the face that Sundays without John are certainly different than Sundays with John. Rome wasn't built in a day, people!!

Then we went to WalMart, came home, had lunch, went to Travis' birthday party (which was awesome!!), picked up Chili's on the way home, and that brings us up to now. No one napped today, which is why the younger two are asleep so early. I'm going to lay down on the couch with Sam, probably fall asleep, have half of a coherent conversation with John when he gets home, and stumble my way to bed.

And start it all over tomorrow.




You know what? I'm ok with that.

Man, I love my life. I wouldn't want it any other way. God has been so very, very good to me. :)

In Retrospect ...

I was looking for some pictures to upload onto eBay this morning, and I accidentally opened a picture folder from spring of 2005. And then I decided to go through a bunch of old pictures, so I'm going to share some of my favorite kid memories with you.

Here, we were trying to get bluebonnet pictures of the kids. This was one of only two pictures we didn't delete, after about 45 minutes of taking pictures. And it's very typical, seeing how Sam is trying to kiss Evie, and Evie is eating a bluebonnet.

This is the oldest one of all the pictures, from April 2005. Look how cute they are!!!

Sam only ate about 20 tomatoes this afternoon at my dad's house. He loves to eat cherry tomatoes right out of the garden (to the point where he's just not allowed to pick tomatoes when they're in our garden. They never make it to the house, because he eats them all en rout). Late April 2005.


If ever a picture captured Evie being Evie, this is it. This was the wallpaper on my mom's computer for a long time. May 2005.


You know, little girls aren't supposed to wear firetruck underwear. They should be girly, and have cute pink or purple underwear. And they really should wear shirts. But sometimes, you just have to break all the rules, and go topless in firetruck underwear. We're all had days like that, haven't we? June 2005.


We were at my mom's for this one, and the kids had been playing in the sprinkler. And then Sam found a gecko and caught it, cause he's like the Steve Irwin of gecko, lizard, and skink catching. And then he put it on Evie, but she was just confused and wanted to play in the sprinkler some more. Poor Sam, he ended up with a sister who likes all the creepy-crawlies he catches!! June 2005.


Baby got back! I like big butts, and I cannot like. You other brothers can't deny ... I could keep going, but I won't. May 2005.


So, did you read in the paper or see on CNN about those college students at UT that got trapped in some caves in Austin and had to be rescued after being in there for 32 hours? Click here, and check out picture #5. (Don't worry, it's a safe site.)

I told him this morning thanks for not getting lost, because once they had been found, and I knew everyone was safe, I would have had to smack him in the head.

And here's something strange: I never realized how many nekkid pictures we've taken of Evie. Seriously, there were way too many pictures of that child when she had on no clothes!!

And don't suggest that I love her more than I love the older one. No, I don't. Really. She just photographs better. I love them both the same. Yes, I do. Stop suggesting things.

Babies ... Oh, how I want to eat them!

Really, is it any wonder that I want about 6 more kids? Just look at the most recent addition to our family.

He's musically gifted, and loves the piano.

And he can really jam, too. He's got soul, man!!

He's concerned with his health. He makes sure to eat a balanced diet, consisting of grains, veggies, and fruit. And sometimes some cheese, but only when I drop it on my kitchen floor and he gets to it before I can clean it up. But he makes sure he eats his recommended daily allowance of fruit. See?

And he takes pride in it, too. See how happy he is? (And no, he didn't slaughter anything, regardless of how it looks.)

But more important than all those things, he's a family man. Family comes first, and he makes sure to show love to each member of our household every opportunity he gets. This can include kisses, big smiles, waving and saying 'BYE' as we enter the room, licking our faces and arms, but of course, lots and lots of hugs.

Isn't he just the greatest?? And he can clean up Wedgits and books after he plays with them, too!

My Slow and Special Chicken (revised)

When we decided to buy chickens, we went ahead and bought 11 total, over the space of about a week. One died, so we now have ten. We didn't want any roosters, but and a really funny twist of fate, both of the Hilton Sisters have turned out to be boys. So instead of Paris and Nicky, we've got Man Paris and Nicholas. We still call them Paris and Nicky, though.

Here's Man Paris.

Funny things happen when you have kids, especially when you've got boys. And some things are pretty funny in retrospect, but but so much at the actual time.

A while back, Evie and Sam were playing outside, and I gave them permission to play with the chickens. They had been outside for a while, and I was just thinking to myself, 'Hmm, they've been out there for a while now. And it's awfully quiet. No good will come of this,' when Evie came running into the house, shrieking at the top of her lungs. 'Mom, mom, Sam threw Nicky into the side of the coop and she's just dead and she's not moving and there are bubbles coming out of her nose and SAM KILLED NICKY and I didn't do anything and MOM NICKY ISN'T MOVING!!!!' (Yes, she said it all one sentence like that, and actually there were no spaces between the words.)

Was the chicken's welfare my first thought? Was I concerned about the psychological state of my son? Sadly enough, no. The first thing that came into my head was, 'Aw, crap. I'm going to have to explain to John how his favorite chicken died on my watch!'

So I went out to check on the chicken. Sam was standing there crying, partly our of guilt and partly out of fear. (As it turns out, he just wanted to see the chicken fly, which is admittedly very very funny, and ended up pulling a Lenny; he just didn't realize his own strength.) Nicky was indeed lying on the ground, with bubbles coming out of his nose, not moving. I picked him up and he started to move a few seconds later; in a few minutes he seemed fine, if not a little shell shocked. We had a long talk with Sam about having respect for all of God's creatures We really didn't give it much thought after that.

About a week ago, my handsome husband came up to me and said, 'Babe, I think there's something wrong with Nicky. He acts really strange!' He went on to tell me some of the peculiar things Nicky does. He likes to run off on his own, which chickens don't do, and he gets left behind by the rest of the flock on a regular basis. It isn't uncommon to walk out on the porch and find Nicky perched on the doormat, making little squawking noises because he's lost the rest of the chickens. When we go out to feed the flock some raisins (it's like chicken crack, I'm telling you!! They love it, and that's what we've used to train them to come when we call them), Nicky will often just sit there and look at the raisin, and one of the girls will swoop in under him and eat it before he can. He's easier to catch, and just gets confused. Sometimes he'll stand just outside the chicken yard, squawking at the other chickens who are inside the yard eating all the food, while he's standing two feet from the open gate and is perfectly capable of flying over the very low fence. And sometimes, when all the others are eating birdseed that's spilled on the ground, Nicky just plops down in the middle of it all and stretches out. And he's never crowed!

We think he suffered some brain trauma when he got knocked out, and now he's retarded. Slow and special, mentally disabled, stoopid, whatever you want to call it. He's very, very sweet, though. Very gentle, not at all like a normal rooster. We may be able to keep both of them!!

Ladies and gentlemen, my retarded chicken, Nicky:


That's Nicky eating raisins out of my hand. He loves me. Now, he runs up to me and jumps on my toes.

And here's Sam and his very blond cousin, Mary Jane, harassing ... er, I mean holding some of the chickens.

Sam has Zsa Zsa and Thelma, and Mary Jane has Louise. Thelma is a little bit hateful. She comes up and pecks on my toes if I stand too close to her for too long. Eh, whatcha gonna do?

The Coop is Done!! and other pictures ...

My chickens have a home! It is secure, it is cute, they have plenty of room, and it can be completely operated by the kids. But most importantly ... it is FINISHED!!!! This is a big deal. John started the coop over 4 months ago, and just hasn't had the motivation to get it finished out. So I figured out a way to fix that. I just bought chickens anyway, and they lived inside the house in a box until they had a home. :) Talk about motivation!!

Aww, look, here they are! How cute!! (Yes, that is a light saber in the chicken yard. We find light sabers to be surprisingly effective herding tools when the occasional jailbreak is discovered.)


David would really, really, really like to get into the chicken yard and play with 'the girls,' as we usually refer to them.


John had just finished patching a few holes in the wire when David crawled over to him, and they were too sweet together not to take a picture!! I tell you, this man still makes my tummy do flip flops and my knees a little weak!!


And speaking of making my tummy jump, this is a whole different ball game!! I cringe and have to walk away when I see how high John swings the kids ... I just can't watch most of the time.


Evie, always the little lady, doesn't swing quite as high yet, luckily.


What's that? You'd like another picture of that adorable baby you saw earlier? Well, ok. Since you're being so persuasive and all ...


(Notice how green the front of my back yard is?? All the plants around here have been loving all the rain we got this spring and summer after that awful drought we just came out of. But I digress.)

Now, you have to be careful with that cute little ball of energy. One minute, he's sitting there and grinning at you. The next thing you know, he's trying to attack you and lick your cheek!


With a giant booger in his nose.

Tell you what, people. I've done been bit by the Baby Bug. Although we're not planning or trying right now(like we've planned or tried to have any kids yet!!), I wouldn't be sad if I was able to make an announcement in the next five or six months. I'm just sayin.'

But don't tell my mom. She'll freak out.