Abstract Crazy #1

I really want to title all of my blogs "crazy happenings of the day."

Today I was thinking about how those amazingly creative artists can run around giving their beautiful paintings boring names like Abstract in Blue #346.  Who knows maybe they wanted to make it tricky for art history exams.  But it was an appealing concept for me.


So why not title all my crazies Abstract #'s?

Just more action packed days around here that I want to document because I know that when I reflect back in time, years down the road, when the most exciting adventure in my life is a trip to the grocery store, I'll wonder what my days were filled with when I had all those kids underfoot.

So, Mark's out of town at Joshua Tree attending an amazing rope rescue course.  I'm really proud of him for taking such initiative for this.  He wrote a grant application and was awarded a grant to attend (so the City doesn't have to pay the $1200 or so for him to attend).  And we used airline miles for him to fly down and camp in the desert in 100 degree temps so that he can be even better at his job.

Pretty awesome in my book.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

Yesterday, desperate to get in an outside run and no one to keep the kids in sight (I've tapped all resources so that I can go to Palm Desert with Mark for 6 days) I talked with Sarina to see if she felt comfortable watching the kids while I went for a run.

She's such a responsible, nurturing girl (when she wants to be), and I knew that if she was on board it would be a-okay.  And she was!  I had an awesome run with some neighbor(ish) ladies.  It was beautiful outside, great company, and a nice and hilly 4 miles.  Felt SOO good to do.

Then all day the kids played outside with the neighbors.  Sarina and Carl went to the neighbors behind us for the afternoon.

I watched the next door neighbors catch and trim their pot belly pig's hoof (they could only get one done).  I was completely entertained by that process.

Come nightfall the crazies come out.

I think I was folding laundry (what a surprise, I know) when I hear wailing downstairs.

I know it might be a little jaded of me, but some days I figure that if it's bad enough they'll come find me.

Which they did.

Apparently, Elsa was too loud for Mr. Charlie, who happened to have a handy metal pole (from Elsa's bed guardrail) in his hand

which he jabbed at her mouth to quiet her down.

I don't think that worked because she amped up the volume significantly.

I would too if my front tooth was chipped and had a big cut on the inside of my top lip.

Poor baby girl.

But I couldn't get too mad at Charlie because while he was frantically trying to hug his sorry all over his baby sister he got the second biggest bloody nose he's ever had.

Once they were settled, bathed, and Elsa almost in bed, the big kids came home and the excitement rose right up.

But, again, settled the kids, got them into bed and guess who lost his first (unassisted) tooth!  Big (metal pole wielding) Charlie Bear!

He's sticking his tongue through the now even bigger space between his teeth.

Today was Ollie's big 3rd puppy check up.  She's growing nicely.  Went from 24 to 33 lbs.  All's good except her ear infection.

Not only do I get to forget my child's amoxicillin 2x day for 10 days, now I get to clean a puppy's ears 3 times each side two times a day plus ointment.

I really am not that much of an animal lover.

Totally sucks that now I have that added to my cup that's all ready overflowing.

Huge sigh.

Between puppy vet visits, shopping with my always generous mom, we squeezed in a playdate at the park on this beautiful day.  One shining moment was when the boys all started taking off their t-shirts and Elsa made her way to me to tell me she was hot.

I knew she was going to ask if she could take her shirt off too.

Which I'd let slide the day before when she was playing in the backyard with the neighbors- I admit I did tell her that girls don't run around with their shirts off.

Her response was instant,

"Well, I do."

All righty then.

So, I was in a quandary about no shirt in a public park.  With that long beautiful hair she couldn't pass as a boy in spite of the clothes, running, and general boy-type play.

But I let her.

That was a tough call for me.

Then, big news here, we picked the kids up from school and took the girls to get their hair cut.

Yup, I said girls.

Elsa had her very first hair cut.

I used to be able to say she was wearing every bit of hair God gave her.

Not anymore.

That's a little sad for me.

But she was awfully cute getting it done.

Here she's getting it washed.

Getting ready to trim.

Now she's telling the nice lady something about how awesome her big sister is.

She's really getting into it.  See her feet crossed?

I know I should have taken an after picture but I wanted to save it for when she was wearing something other than her brother's hand me down spiderman t-shirt and athletic shorts.

She's starting to blend a little girliness into her tom-boy persona.

I like it.

I hope those girls have many more beauty dates together.

And yes, the metal poles have been removed from reach, just for clarification.

Dinner Waste

I don't know why I thought I needed to order 3 orders of chicken teriyaki from Happy T.

For some silly reason, I thought that the kids might be hungry after eating like birds all day,

playing in the sunshine,

playing/watching baseball all day long.

I thought that might help them to work up an appetite.

Looks like $40 just went straight into the garbage.

Ugh.

There's a lot of other things I'd rather do with $40 than shovel it all into the garbage.

And when did Happy T get so expensive?!

And why in the world did I think polished black counter tops were a good idea?  

Do you see those smudges?!

Now here's a fun one for you after a big day in the sunshine.  

Everyone kept saying I was burning.

I know what you're thinking, 

and nope,

that's not a dickey.  

That's me.  

And my awesome sunburn lines. 

It's like a temporary tattoo.  

Yay me.

Since when do I burn?!  Where has that ozone gone?

No Grace At All

Wow.  

It's amazing I'm still shocked at the crazy things that happen around here...

Yesterday I managed to lock my keys in the running car.  I know it's hard to do these days with all that technology in these ridiculously expensive cars.  

But I managed to do it.

And since I had to zip all over the county gathering up my gaggle that had spread far and wide so I could attend the memorial service for my childhood priest (who performed our wedding ceremony for us) and time was of the essence, I was eternally grateful for OnStar- and that I remembered our numeric pass code.

I know I did other klutzy things yesterday too, but those escape me.

Today was a good one.

Charlie was Special Helper for the very last time at Gloria Dei Pre-School.  

And we all know how he loves all things living.

So for his show and tell he wanted to bring Bob.

Who is Bob you ask?

It's replacement fishy.

So, in anticipation of the big presentation (thank God) I washed his fishy bowl last night.  And left the water level low knowing that we'd be traveling together.

Apparently I didn't leave the water level low enough.

All I did was pull out of our driveway and into our neighbor's who is AWESOME about letting my kids hang out many mornings a week to catch the school bus so I can make it to pre-school on time.

This is what happened.

I wish you could see what I could feel on the back side.

Yuck.

Fishy water all over my crotch and butt.

Ugh.

But it was Charlie's big day and no need to waste time changing into pants that would likely get wet again anyway, on we went- after dumping out a significant amount of water.

It was worth it.

Charlie loves Bob so much, we even get to include him in nighttime prayers.

And he loved getting to show off his beautiful Bob.

The fishy water dried relatively quickly (and I was wearing a longish rain jacket so it covered up my wet crotch).

Sweet little special helper.

He may punch his big brother in the eye for kicking him in the wiener, but a co-worker of Mark's whose daughter is in Charlie's class, witnessed a super generous act by this little Charlie Bear.  At school the kids who wear some sort of pins get to play at a special table.  There was a run on the pins, and Charlie got one.  But he saw this little girl who didn't get one and really wanted to play at that table.  Without anyone saying anything to him, he took off his pin and offered it to her.

Who says chivalry is dead?

Love that little boy.

Damn Laundry

What ever you do, DON'T turn your back on the laundry monster.

It'll get you.

This is the culmination of regular laundry and all the camping laundry I'd been putting off.

Not pretty, is it?

Plus there's a load in the dryer, a load in the washer, and one waiting to go into the washer.

2 pairs of pants, sweatshirts, t-shirts, socks, undies and pjs is looking mighty appealing at this point in time.

The good news is it's daylight when I'm tacking this massive undertaking, so there's hope I'll have a decent evening.

If I can just keep the two little ones from hitting and scratching it'll work.

I would much rather be having lunch at a friend's today, as planned.

And if you were wondering, this is what's for dinner.  Cooking with Trader Joe's Taco Soup.

It won't make up for missing my friend's always yummy soup but maybe it'll be something the whole family will eat.

A girl can dream, can't she?

I live a charmed life, I live a charmed life, I live a charmed life...

I know it do.

But I also need to vent.  

Again.

This post is a bit like the last.

Last night Elsa was up yelling every hour on the hour (actually it was night two of every hour hollers, but who's counting?)

I slept with her as much as I could in the night to help her feel safe.

This is the way the day has gone, working off not enough sleep.

The puppy peed in her crate this morning.

The price we paid for tucking her in early and sleeping in.

So, up to puppy pee,

plus grumpy girl with an owie throat,

kids off to school (just 15 minutes late for pre-school- not bad considering)

silver bullet BACK to the autobody shop to tighten up a few things

back to cruising in the awesome red swagger wagon- which, to be honest is growing on me-

having a designated place for my purse really is nice.

Funny how they design cars for women versus men.

Also, the seat of the swagger wagon is more fitted for me, the suburban more for Mark.

Then errands, errands, and more errands (including swim suit shopping- which hasn't been fun since I was size 0 in high school) all before Elsa's 12:15 Dr. apt.

Wait in the waiting room for 45 minutes.

In the exam room with our Dr. (who is worth waiting 45 minutes for) when the call comes from the Griffin school nurse.  

Carl has an upset tummy.

Yay!

My scenario: puppy left at my mom's house, Charlie at a playdate at a buddy's house in Tumwater, Elsa waiting for the strep throat test results- a prescription certain to come, Mark on shift.  How the heck do I gather the gaggle of creatures back together?!

Find out Elsa has hand foot and mouth disease, yuck.  

That's why her mouth hurts, because the poor little girl has blisters on the back of her throat.

The good news- her fever is over so she's on the mend and won't be contagious tomorrow.  (Bad news is we exposed all our buddies over the weekend).

Then, as I pull in to Top Foods I get the call that Carl went back to class.

Phew.

I wonder if his upset tummy had anything to do with the girl who wants to play with him but who he doesn't want to play with.

There was a frantic little stretch of time trying to figure how the heck I would gather all my little ducklings.

But it all worked out.

And I have some narcotics to help little miss sleep through the night.

My fingers are crossed it's going to be a peaceful evening/night of tip toeing into bedrooms trying to quietly put 4 laundry baskets full of laundry away.  

I wish it was going to be sitting parked on the couch watching something deliciously mindless...

Soon, I'll be twiddling my thumbs for six whole days in Palm Desert thanks to an amazing teamwork of friends and family.

Eye on the prize, even if it means feeling like the worst parent in the world for missing my daughter's stage debut, and nightmarish re-entry into real world.  It will be nice to have a meal and conversation uninterrupted but demands for one thing or another.

But I know when I'm gone I'll miss all those demands, 

just a little.

You know what the kicker was tonight?

I raced to get the little kids in the tub and pjs before picking Sarina up from her friend's house after play practice.

And guess what was floating in the tub?

Yup.

A nice blob of poo.

There was a time when I'd freak out about that.

Snatch them out of the tub.

Scrub them from head to toe with the hottest water I could get away with.

Scrub the tub top to bottom multiple times with bleach.

I'm immune now.

Just a spray down with bleach cleaner.

Regular washing of the kids.

And they're good to go.

It was a nice finale, wasn't it?

Now, back to Palm Desert.  When we do go, here's a couple of the little mugs I'll be missing (they look clean, don't they?  hee hee):

Charlie's First T-Ball Game

The tower BEFORE Miss Elsa bumped the table in her eagerness to get a photo with the AWESOME tower too.

Easter Kisses 2012

Just Another Crazy Day

Note to the reader: I know I've said it before, but I'm going to say it again.  I'm truly using this blog to document the crazy days for future reference when my little gaggle of children are older and mild mannered and wonder what it was like for me raising this crowd.  As it is, I vaguely remember the days of just toddlers.

Now, for today's adventure...

So, I think I'm sooo on top of things this morning.

I wake up with Mark, before all the kids wake up (which is EXTREMELY rare).

I was able to unload the dishwasher (which didn't get done the night before -as I try to do- because of the busy evening last night, after which Miss Elsa fell asleep on the couch and I had to zip her to bed ASAP, which meant the dishwasher didn't get loaded and run before bedtime routines, which set me back hours...)

So, this morning- I unloaded the dishwasher, made lunches, took my shower and then the kids started waking up.

Great.

Still on top of it all.

Feeling good.

Then Sarina, Elsa, and Carl all wanted to bathe themselves before school.

Fine.

The morning was fresh, there was time.

But, the time eroded and before I knew it we were behind on the schedule.

Surprise?  I don't think so.

Then it's the typical morning frantic, "Coat on!  Shoes on!  In the car!"  While I rounded up the puppy, her food, the bag of skinny jeans for a friend's 4 year old, the picnic lunch I packed envisioning a lunch at the park while the kids played, baseball jerseys to dole out at practice this afternoon, baseball equipment for practice etc, etc, etc.

Apparently (while all that rounding up was being done) there was a brawl over the backseat- prime seat next to the dog crate.

I don't know what happened first but the gist of it is that Carl kicked Charlie in the wiener who then flew back into the metal dog crate and was howling at the top of his lungs.

Charlie punched Carl in the left eye which cut it on the eye bone both above and below his eye.

Carl was doing the silent sob.

Awesome.

I rush back inside, crush up some ice for poor buddy.

Finish making morning ovaltine and load them all in the car.

Again.

Moderately smooth morning.

Breakfast for a fun friend's birthday (and put up a school play poster), off to pick up my errand companion then buy the birthday gift I forgot to buy before fun friend's birthday, Costco for the dog food I forgot earlier in the week, pick up special shampoo order, drop mom off at her house, buy COFFEE to replenish house stock and have school play poster posted in Starbucks.

Home and thinking I'll work in the yard on this beautiful afternoon and plant the 3 azaleas I've been dreaming of buying to plant in my yard, that my sweet mom just bought for me.

First the call that the silver bullet is FINALLY repaired, of course that's after I gave up and filled the rental 1/2 way thinking I'd get to cruise in the swagger wagon all weekend.  It's only been in the repair shop for the past SEVEN weeks!!!

Ouch, picking up the silver bullet squeezes my time outside, but it's not too bad.

Then I see Elsa dart around the house to the unlocked back door

clutching her bum.

Guess who waited a little too long to go poop on the potty...

Then the puppy is chewing something.

I check and it's a stiff rodent.

Glancing at my garden gloved hands, I take a deep breath and decide try to wrestle it away  (that is HUGE for this germiphobe)

but sweet little cow-pie-gobbler-Ollie swallows it

whole.

I want to gag but I look up.

Elsa comes back outside completely naked,

poop on her bum

and hands,

lord knows what she's touched on the way out of the house...

Ugh.

Then it's try to grab Carl and his buddy off the school bus and into the car so we can get to the auto body shop in time to pick up the silver bullet in time to make it to practice on time (since we have the gear.)

Mid-route we see that there just isn't time.  Even if I could fly through the air like a bird in my awesome swagger wagon (hear the sarcasm?).  I wouldn't make it.

So, at least we're at practice early.

The bummer is that I get to break it to one of the parents that her kid's uniform isn't there.  And won't be in time for the first game.

I hate to pass on my bad juju.

But I do have sweet and wonderful babies (even if they kick wieners, punch eyes, yell "fat poopy head" and lock each other out bedrooms).

And it was a beautiful, beautiful day.

The show capped mountains were out.

It's a life that is full to exploding with excitement at every turn.

Literally.

I'm a lucky mama.

My big girl is about to make her debut on stage- which I'm going to MISS!!!:(  But she's doing such a great job putting her energy into her role, practicing her lines and music.  It's going to be wonderful.  And I can watch it over and over and over again (on DVD).

And it's baseball season again.

First games are tomorrow.

It's a blessed, messy, wonderful life.