Sunday, March 29, 2009

A couple funny things

The first one is about the Wacom tablet again. (Yeah, I must be obsessed.)

Once I found the box--and got to look at it for more than 15 seconds--I realized what lead McKay to take it.

I got a Wacom Bamboo Fun. So smart Rachel left a bright green box labelled FUN out on the kitchen counter (while I put Ella and Garrett down for a nap) and asked the kids not to touch it. Hmmm.

Not so smart Rachel.

Now, to counteract the above, I just wanted to share Garrett's latest cute thing. We were discussing the story "The Frog Prince" and Garrett turned to me and said, "Mom, you're a genius!"

So, despite my leaving a box labelled FUN on the counter and expecting it to be there when I got back...I AM a genius.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Update

Yay!

I offered a reward if the kids would help me find the Wacom. Hannah was motivated and found it!

It was wedged between the top of the TV and the top of the entertainment center. It slopes back, so it was quite hidden (and that is one random spot, no?), but it has been found! Yay.

Now, to learn to not be so awkward with it.

Oh and my monitor is calibrated. Cool.

Sometimes being the mom is hard

I finally ordered a Wacom tablet for doing editing on my pictures. I was SO excited. It arrived about the time the kids got home from school. I opened it and got ready to set it up (but it was still in the box) and I got out my calibration software...when Ella and Garrett got very grumpy.

I spent the next hour or so getting them down for a nap. Aparantly during this time, McKay took the Wacom tablet box and put it....somewhere. I've looked high and low. When he gets back from piano, I'll ask, but I don't have high hopes.

Sigh. So I HAD a Wacom tablet...in a box...for about an hour.

Monday, March 23, 2009

Overheard

McKay was playing Candyland with his speech tutor. He loves Candyland, especially when he wins--which he did during the story I am relaying.

McKay, upon winning, begins to do a funky little dance.

Kendra (the speech tutor): What are you doing McKay?

McKay: I'm doing the McKay Shuffle. It's a special dance only for winners.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!

Hannah just informed me she kissed a boy at school. A boy that she talks about all the time.

She's 5! My life is flashing before my eyes. *hyperventilates into a bag....*

Overheard

I was having a moment of snarky frusteration. (I am blushing.)

Michael was struggling with tying his shoes. We work on it, but it is pretty fine-motor, which can be a struggle. Plus, it was early in the morning and he was not very motivated.

So I asked, "Michael, am I going to have to come by your apartment when you're older and tie your shoes each day?"

And he replied, "Oh no. I'll live in a manor."

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Can someone explain this to me?



I do between 4-6 loads of laundry everyday. And yet...my laundry pile looks like this? Hmmm. (There's even a load in the washer AND dryer.)

S.O.S!

Friday, March 13, 2009

My cute toys...

Oh, ok. I'll share. But honestly, I just think these toys are SO cute. I rarely get all silly and emotional over toys, but these just take me back to my childhood. My kids have all loved the Little People toys, and I just thought it was too fun of an opportunity to pass up to introduce my kids to the toys I grew up with.
They're just reproductions (with some changes, they're not exact replicas), but they are really fun.
The little peg people are a lot bigger, so they're not choking hazards.

Which is good, since Ella likes to hug and kiss them.
And she's really adept at putting the little peg people into the chairs.

They are little carrying cases, rather than the bigger versions where the doors opened, etc.

Aren't they sooo cute?

Frog and Toad

On Tuesday, McKay's class went to see the play Frog and Toad at the Jr. High School. (I don't know which school, exactly.)

Since then, McKay has been completely mesmerized by the idea of school plays. He wants to be in a play. He wants to go see plays. He wants to wear his costume (a Superman cape and a jester hat) to school and everywhere.

McKay has, aparantly, been bitten by the theater bug.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

It's official

Ella is my itty-bittiest baby.

Garrett and Ella had their well-child check-ups today and both are doing well.

Garrett is 35 lbs. and 40 inches. So he's 97th percentile for height and 90th for weight. He on-track for development and doing great.

Ella is 19 lbs. and 29 inches. So she's in the 50th percentile for height, but the 25th for weight. Although her head fits the profile of our other kids. 70th percentile. ;) She is the size Garrett and Hannah were at 5 months. Michael and McKay were about 6ish months when they hit 20 lbs.

I'm not worried over her. She eats well and is incredibly active, so I don't think there is anything up. Each child does their own growth thing. But I just never thought I'd see the day when I could have a baby of mine in their infant carrier past 1 year.

Monday, March 9, 2009

Overheard

I had been finishing an assignment for a photography class I am taking and I put my camera on the piano, where my 2 SLRs were along with my smaller point and shoot. Garrett stood on the piano bench and surveyed the scene.

"This one is mommy's camera." (He pointed at one of my SLRs.)

"This one is mommy's camera." (He pointed at the other.)

"This one is....daddy's!" (He pointed at the smaller point and shoot.)

"Mommies have big cameras."

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Home Sweet Home

Pictures will be coming soon. I'm just sayin'.

We got the little wooden playhouse at Costco this afternoon for the kids. Darwin has been assembling it and there has been an air of barely contained euphoria amongst the kids today.

Lots and lots of, "I love you SOOOO much mom!" or "Dad's the best builder ever!" or "We have a playhouse! We have a playhouse!"

Kinda fun.

They also have been big helpers, assisting in the construction when allowed, and backing off and finding something else to play with when asked. We just need to move it to the other side of the backyard and put the roof on.

Michael's been asking for a clubhouse since he was about 3, so we're long overdue. Lucky for us, he seems about as excited at 9.5 as he did about the idea at 3.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Ella's 1st Birthday Slideshow

(McKay kind of picked this song for Ella. And really, I like it. It works.)

This song is called Le Festin (The Feast).

It is from Ratatouille and the basic premise of the song is the singer is not content to do what everyone expects or to do the ordinary (like Remy didn't want to just be a food thief), but she longs to be extraordinary and soar above everyone's expectations.

That's my girl. :D

Happy Birthday, big girl!

(Look how tidy she is...she HAD to have a spoon.)

Ella is one-year-old today.

She's seemed so big for awhile though. She's been a quick crawler and very curious. She loves to get right in there with the big kids and play, so it's been hard to think of her as a little baby for at least a few months now.

I think it's safe to say she's pretty much the apple of the family's eye. I think sometimes that title can be a little daunting for her though. Imagine 7 people vying for the chance to dote on you and carry you around?

Still, she has such a funny, easygoing demeanor. In fact, poor monkey has another ear infection today. But she's generally happy and giggly still. She knows she needs this attitude to live in this house, I guess.

Actually, McKay had JUST started his running when we found out we were *surprise* expecting her. We'd even had the police bring McKay home once, a couple days earlier, so it seemed like impossibly bad timing to be expecting another baby.

And then all of the fear and drama that had popped up during Garrett's birth resurfaced. (He was 10 lbs 6 oz, born at 39 weeks gestation and no one realized that until after he was born...after having gotten VERY stuck. It was quite the dramatic few moments and he was born not breathing and needed to be recussitated. Needless to say, the thought of that kind of dangerous situation happening again scared me to death.) So I spent most of the pregnancy trying to figure out how to make sure that didn't happen again.

When I was about 36 weeks by blood pressure started to go up and the doctor's figured it would be a good time to induce anyway, since size might be an issue (all of our kids have been big for their gestational ages) so we did an amnio and induced the next day. I felt so much worry over things I had no control over that I started to cry in the middle of labor...mostly reliving Garrett's birth.

Even with all of my fear, things went pretty smoothly, with the exception that Ella kind of hung out and stalled all day and I barely progressed all day and then once my midwife decided it would be safe to go in and help out with a c-section, she decided she was coming at THAT moment. The midwife barely had her gloves on before Ella was born.

But once she was here safely, all of MY stress and fear was gone. She was such a peaceful baby. She slept well, but even when she was awake, she just looked around and took everything in peacefully. Certainly, life kept being busy, but Ella just added a much-needed peaceful feeling.

She's such a fun kid.

Happy Birthday baby!

Monday, March 2, 2009

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Spring Beauty

I've been meaning to post this for a bit.
The crocus are in bloom!
I planted crocus just for this reason. They bring me so much joy each spring. Seeing them is like an early omen of warmer weather and the end of the bleakness of winter. (I do like winter...for the first few months.) By this point in the year, I am itching for new growth and fresh green colors, and the crocus just make me sigh with contentment.
(I thought it was funny though, if you click to look close, you can also see one of the first bugs of spring in the flower.)