On the road

Evan had a little accident on the road to Sleeping Lady this weekend. While I was waiting for Zig to find his bag, I had to take a picture of this him in all his chubby glory. Again. I just can't get enough of this little Michelin man.

Come to the Races!

It's amazing how creative and happy the kids become right before bedtime. Rollin and Nina totally worked up a sweat galloping their way around the house and over the bowling pin "jumps." I was the official timer and they kept this going for over an hour...delaying their bedtimes, of course. Even Sela couldn't remain a bystander and had to take a lap or two around the "arena."

Mothering...it's no cakewalk

Evan really wants to crawl. You can see it in his eyes. But the only thing he can do to make his little body move at all is roll. It does get him places. But it's not super accurate and he often ends up further away from the desired destination because he rolls the opposite direction. Sometimes I put a toy a few inches in front of him and he gets all excited, starts breathing heavily and then up go the legs and arms. He moves about as far as a turtle on its back. It can be frustrating for the little guy, but he keeps trying.



















And boy do I know how you feel, little buddy. I wake up in the morning with big plans for the day. Plans for peace and harmony and no sibling bickering. For calmness with Rollin when he doesn't listen for the fiftieth time. And composure when I spend all morning getting the girls' Reflections entries matted at two separate frame shops only to have Rollin bolt into the car and step on Sela's most prized piece, in an attempt to hide the Pez dispenser he just STOLE from the craft store (we took it back).

I also make plans for carving out time to prepare simple healthy meals. Plans to find a chunk of time to catch up on emails, projects, and a school program I'm in charge of. Time to think about birthdays and Christmas. I have this goal to have everything ordered and done by December 1. I want to enjoy and experience the Christmas season. Just the thought of running to the mall or Target or any store in December to get some lame last minute gift makes me cringe. But I have made little headway on my goals. The kids are nuts. We are eating a rotation of our three go-to meals (salmon burgers, fish tacos, and homemade pizzas) so much that even I'm sick of them. And I'm tired. So tired.

I go to bed defeated every night. I know it's only Tuesday, but I'm exhausted. My kids have humbled me so much, it's almost laughable. It's so interesting how one day or week I can feel like things are going incredibly well, like I'm the mother I want to be. And then the next I'm ready tho throw in the towel.

Thankfully I have tennis tonight. I'm going to wack the heck out of that ball :)

My Baby

Evan, little sweetie, you're six months old and I can't imagine life without you. I love you with every ounce of my being. In just a few short months, you have brought me enough joy for a lifetime. Now please don't grow so quick. Please don't lose your chubby, squishy little body. Never stop snuggling Mama and trying to suck on my chin. Keep your sweet disposition and keep those belly laughs coming. I love you. I love you. I LOVE YOU.



And I'm not the only one!

Here Comes the SUN!

And I say YEA!!!! Never go away!

I'm a believer!

Mom came down with the flu (presumably the swine flu) a couple days after she arrived...which is no suprise since she had been on planes back and forth to Florida the week before they were here. It was bound to happen. And actually, it was kind of a relief. I almost can't take the paranoia anymore. Seriously, people are going nuts! Anyway, Mom was pretty much down for three days and then Nina caught it. I was more on top of it than I have ever been. From the very first sign of sickness, I put her in bed and started with all the natural medicine, tons of Emergen-C, juice, and herbal teas. It felt very, very good to be prepared. I thought we were in for a long sickness by the second day. She was feeling terrible with a high fever, blurry vision, headache, cough. And no energy. Nina has the weakest constitution of all the kids and usually stays sick the longest. Sela has only been sick for more than one day once in her life.

Anyway, long story short, she recovered almost completely after two days. I kept her home all week and she rested, hung out with Mom and Dad, and watched movies. But other than some occasional coughing she bounced back fast. We kept going with the Elderberry and Vit-C and all I can say is I'm a huge believer in natural medicine. Several ground-breaking scientific studies have come out this year touting the benefits of Elderberry in fighting the flu. And also one saying Pro-Biotics shorten the duration and severity of most sickness by 60%. I just wish more people would give it a try. I am so tired of the ridiculous panic frenzy associated with the flu this year. It's just too much.

They're here!

And these pictures capture exactly why we love them!