June Tidbits

I've found a whole-foods friendly treat that makes my mouth hop-up-and-down happy: fried or grilled pineapple!  Don't need any oil, just slap some fresh pineapple slices in a hot non-stick pan and wait until the edges are brown and toasty and caramelized.  Don't burn your tongue but you will want to because it's horrible having to wait until they cool off enough to eat safely.

Georgie and I were talking about one of his little friends who lives nearby.  They have a multi-racial family (white parents with kids in various shades of black and brown) and are some of the nicest people you'd ever meet.  I mentioned that the kids were all adopted, and Georgie turned to me with dinner-plate eyes.  "What??  How can you tell??"

Freddie and Georgie have taken to wrestling.  Or maybe it's ninja mixed with parkour.  And a little bit of hip hop dancing with vocal sound effects.  It often ends in one or the other getting hurt, and sometimes both.  I have been trying to teach them to be more aware of when it stops being play and starts getting hurtful.  The other day, they were doing karate-type moves in my room, kicking their legs out at each other in all odd angles.  Georgie suddenly stopped and demanded, "Fred!  Are we having fun?"  Without missing a single awkward kick, Freddie responded, "Um... probably."

David got a construction job for the summer.  He literally digs ditches.  And other spots where big machinery is too bulky.  He is getting tan (very appealing farmer's tan) and strong.  And he makes double minimum wage!  For a seventeen-year-old, that is better than fast food any day.  We'll see how he likes it when the weather gets blazing hot.

Eddie has been working for $25 a day at a local cub scout camp.  It's not an awful lot of money, but a fifteen-year old has a hard time finding a regular job, so it's a good thing.  He is in charge of "aeronautics" so they fold and fly paper airplanes.  I think we have about seven hundred and thirty paper airplanes in various states of abandoned around out house right now.  Many of them are in a cardboard box in the kitchen that we call the airport.  We trip over it daily.

We got the end-of-the-year report cards, and all the children did very well.  The only less-than-super grade was one of Angel's.  It was in the "can find the main point" section.  Er... that's true.  To her, ALL the details are important, and she has to tell me about EVERY little bit of things.  Sometimes it takes her longer to tell me about a happening than it took to actually transpire.  She is the sweetest little chatterbox you ever did see, though.  That she can even talk is one of my biggest blessings after her fall and brain injury.  I am grateful for her.

With Alec married, and Ben and Chris both away at college, I feel like our home is nearly empty.  Someone asked me the other day, "How many kids do you have at home now?"  I mournfully responded, "Only five."  Only five!  How ridiculous that must sound to most people!  But there is a little spot in my heart where each of my children go, and I love seeing them and  hearing what they have been up to.  "Only five" does come with a smaller food bill, though...

Hope your summer is going well and delightful!

The Zero Problem

I have a zero problem.  No, not zero problems - although that might be nice to try!  It happens when I am thinking about large numbers that have lots of zeros.  I know how much a house is worth, but I'm just as apt to say, "thirty thousand dollars" instead of "three hundred thousand."  That last zero makes a huge difference!  Some people are quite confused when I talk about numbers.  My husband has learned about this little quirk of mine, and doesn't bat an eye when I rattle off a number that is off by a magnitude of ten.  He calmly corrects the number and we laugh about my zero problem.

The other day, Trent was given cash as a payment.  He brought home the large bills and showed them to the kids.  Little Georgie's eyes got big as he looked at the money.  "Hey Mom!" he excitedly piped up, "Can I have 6 of those?"

Um, what?  That's an awful lot of money!  When I asked him to tell me more about why he needed money, he explained, "I need sixty cents right now."  Sixty cents... six hundred dollars... I guess I've passed on my zero problem and then some.  Yikes!

Dirty Dishes

Oh, I have a lot to say about last week's DesignMom feature!  I still can't believe that they really wanted to feature my house - my family.  I'm pinching myself.

I had so much fun with the photo shoot.  A friend came over and helped me scoot chairs and plump pillows and remove clutter and laugh.  Mostly, it's laughing that what is normally an every-day scene can be dolled up into a fancy-pants fashion photo.  It was so satisfying to see the inherent wonderfulness in my life - the beauty that I'm usually too busy to acknowledge.

A night or two later, I was headed to bed, trying my best to ignore the whisperings of the dirty dishes on the counter.  I really shouldn't leave them until morning, I know.  Not just because of flies and the health department, but mostly because my sweet husband does breakfast and a messy kitchen makes him crazy.  I appreciate that he takes the morning shift and I don't want him to have angst that early!

I was so tired, though!  I walked back to the bedroom with the image of the stack of soup bowls and piles of dirty spoons still flitting around in my head.  I'm grateful for those dishes.  It's a testimony that my family was well-fed tonight.  Before I could climb into bed, I just had to grab my camera and head back to the kitchen.  It only took a moment or two to grab the shot (and then I went to bed anyway).

The next day, I was looking through the raw files, getting ready to crop and edit the pictures to the format DesignMom wanted.  There, with all the pretty pictures was the shot of the dirty dishes, awkwardly hanging around the cheerleaders like a seventh grader with braces.  Oh yeah, that was me.

I don't know why I included that late-night picture.  I was sure they wouldn't use it in the article.  It wasn't prepped, it wasn't pretty, no natural light...who wants to see my dirty dinner dishes?

It's part of our life, and they included the picture in the home feature.  I gasped when I saw it, then bubbled up with giggles.  Really??

I guess we don't need to look that hard to find beauty in our lives.  Dirty dishes and all.

Family Funnies

Even though I haven't been blogging, I have been collecting little snippets of our family life.  Some are funny, some are sweet, and some are just happy family moments that I'd like to snuggle up in and enjoy for a long time.  As much as I'd like to remember them forever, I know myself better than that.  If I don't write it down, it is lost and gone.  End of story.

We went to a family reunion recently, and they talked about having a family talent show.  At dinner, we discussed what talents are, and what we could do for the show.  Angel was more than excited with all sorts of ideas.  "Ooh!" she squealed, "I'm going to draw some pictures!"  Freddie pondered for a few minutes before somberly announcing, "My talent is reading."   Georgie didn't have to think long before he let us know what he planned, "I'm going to hoop a hula.  I like hooping."

Angel loves watching all kinds of animals and birds.  She told us she wanted a bird to make a nest in her lower lip and lay and egg there.  "When it hatches, I can raise it for my very own.  It would be glorious!"

Trent took Freddie on an errand in the car.  After a few minutes, Freddie innocently asked, "Dad, why didn't you use the [tongue clicking]?"  Thinking.  You mean the blinkers?  Yes, that.  Busted by the six-year-old back seat driver!

Georgie had been in the car too long.  In desperation, he demanded, "I want to walk home for the last block!"  When the answer was in the negative, he insisted, "Then I will cry all the way home!"  Freddie muttered under his breath, "Oh, just let him walk!"

Freddie let us know an important upcoming event.  "I'm gonna change my name when I grow up.  I'm gonna change my name to... (thinking)... Hot Sauce."  Not to be outdone, Georgie will also change his name.  When asked what his new name will be, he replied matter-of-factly, "I'm Batman!"

Snippets

After the twins told me two good things and one bad thing about their day,  Freddie asked if he could tell me one more bad thing.  "Sure," I responded,  "as long as you tell me another good thing, too. "

He told me the bad thing (Georgie had poked him with a pencil), and for the good thing, announced that today was library day.  Their kindergarten class went to the library and got to listen to the librarian tell them stories.   "I love hearing stories!  It's just like bedtime except we get to wear shoes!"

***

Angel was telling me about how Grandma Susie had a bad diet and that she died from it.  "And now she's in Heaven, so that's a good thing."  She paused.  "You know what the good thing is about when Opa dies?"  She plunged on enthusiastically.   "He'll be with his wife again!"  She was so happy and sighed in rapture.    "I just want to kill him right now!"

***

Crummy!

Trent got home from work late, and walked in while the twins were finishing up a bowl of tortilla chips.  Amidst cries of "Daddy's home!", he got clobbered by four little arms and two little boys who love their daddy fiercely and hug him tightly.  When he let them go, they returned to their chips.  Guiltily, they looked at the nearly- empty bowl and back at Trent.

After only a slight hesitation, they grabbed the last big chips in unison and offered the bowl of crumbs to their beloved father.  From their loving expressions, it was clear that the salty crumbs were the most delicious, but Freddie and Georgie were willing to part with them.

It was a tender moment with a side order of funny.  That's how we live in this family.

No Pictures

I took the kids to the zoo today.  We.  Had.  A.  Blast.

We have a couple of days off school and Trent took the big boys camping.  The small fry were feeling left out as they watched Chris load up the four wheelers and David pack the tents and Eddie haul out sleeping bags.  They watched forlornly as the campers headed to the mountains.

Me, not so much.  I'm happy that they get to go four-wheeling and camp out in the mountains.  I'm happy they get to spend some good guy-time together.  And I'm glad I get to sleep in my own warm bed because it's gonna be cold up in them thar mountains tonight!

It's only fair, though, that we do something fun while the big boys are gone.  So we went to the zoo.  We grabbed a neighbor girl and headed out, playing "I spy" and the alphabet game all the way there.  They played at the splash pad and drenched themselves, then ran from one exhibit to another, laughing and giggling constantly.  It was so fun to see them have uninhibited fun.  If their older siblings had been around, there would have been plenty of shushing and telling them to grow up.  But not this time.  We were delightedly little kids.  We barked at the seals and growled at the bears and chirped at the birds.  And we ran and skipped and hopped and acted like a bunch of little kids, which we were... or most of us were.

At the beginning of the trip, I wished I had brought my camera to capture the look of terror on Freddie's face when he thought the water was going to splash on his dry tummy.  I wished I could catch the excitement of three little human eaglets perched in a nest.  I wished I could forever keep the long shadows following four children skipping along the path.  But then I remembered that when I spend my time taking pictures to save memories, I often forget to make them.  I don't have the time left over to do the doing when I'm doing the shooting.  I'm glad I left the camera at home so we could just play and enjoy... and be in the middle of the living.

On the way home, they kept busy in rush hour traffic by mimicking different animal sounds.  After they ran out of animals, Margaret piped up with, "Let's hear your very best singing voice!"  She began to serenade us with an impressively clear vibrato, and Angel joined in with her favorite operatic warble.  Freddy nearly broke down, crying that he couldn't think of anything to sing.  From the back-est backseat, Georgie joined in with an enthusiastic... pterodactyl.  It was anything but melodic, but so unexpectedly funny.  After a moment, when they changed to new sounds, he protested, "I haven't had my singing turn!"  As soon as he had our full attention, he began... beat boxing.

Never a dull moment with these children.  I'm so glad I have them and the smiles they constantly give me.  All's right in the world when you are in the middle of a child's hug - or two or three or four.  It makes me fell like I'm in the middle of the Lord's embrace.

We didn't get a single picture, and that's just fine by me.

Bread Helpers

This morning, I found a great new bread recipe.  My bread has been turning out really well lately, but I have no idea what the recipe is.  I just start adding things and have anxiety about what else should go in it, add some more things.  Maybe I should just go with it, since the bread is good, but it stresses me out to not know what I am doing.  Especially since it occasionally bombs.  The boys take sandwiches from home every day for their lunch, so I need to have reliable bread (or Trent might go to the used bread store and buy some.  What?  I haven't written about that?  I should.).

So here is the new recipe, from Deals to Meals.  I will add in my modifications.  Doesn't it look good?  Hopefully this will work.

Step 1.  Grind flour.  Lug the wheat grinder out of the laundry room, then go back and lug the mixer into the kitchen as well.  Be smart this time, since you are wearing dark clothing and you are about to work with flour.  Grab your apron.  Pour in wheat and grind.  While it is about as noisy as a large airport in the kitchen, go in the back room and get out Alton Brown's baking book (no affiliate link - I just love the book because I like to know the why behind the what) because you remembered something about using the sponge method to make better bread.

Step 2.  Measure 7 cups of flour into mixer.  Pour the rest of the flour into the empty bread canister.  Let Twin 2 brush the spilled flour into a little pile on the counter, knowing that he will play in it and then eat it.  Justify the mess by thinking there wasn't much spilled.  Notice that you don't have enough flour to finish the recipe, and make a not to grind more flour in a bit.  Hold Twin 1 when he realizes (like he couldn't hear the grinder?) that you ground wheat without him and he wanted to see the kernels get sucked down into the machine.

Step 2A.  Grind more flour.  Mollify the little guy.  Fill up the grinder with more wheat and start grinding.  While it is going, put 4 cups of water in the microwave to warm up because your hot water is soft water and you can't use it in recipes.  Measure temperature of warmed water and decide it needs a bit more heat, so microwave it again.  While closing the microwave door, hear the spilling sound of several cups of wheat hitting the floor.  Chastise self for not keeping a better eye on them while muttering bad words.  Scoop wheat kernels off counter and add them back into the grinder.  Sweep floor and discard that wheat because it is really dirty.  Get out the water and mop up all the water that spilled all over the microwave when it boiled over while you were cleaning up the wheat.

Step 3. Measure 2 1/2 tablespoons of yeast - or approximate with a scoop and a half - into the mixer and blend into the flour.  Forget to put the lid on and fluff flour all over the place.  Wipe counters.  Sweep floor (floury floors are slippery!).  Pour in warm water and mix.  While it is mixing, get out another cup of water, warm it up in the now clean microwave, and add because your measuring cup only goes to 4 and you need 5 cups of warm water.  Mix.  But the new water won't mix with the dough, so it just sloshes around in the bottom of the mixer.  Turn mixer up higher.  And higher.  Watch with bad words as pasty water starts to squirt out to top of your mixer and dribble onto the counter.  Even though you remembered to put on the lid.  Hold the lid on tighter and turn the mixer down a little.  Give children popcorn to keep them busy while you wipe down the mixer and the counter.

Step 4. Refer to recipe.  Refer to alternate cookbook.  Get mixed up between the two.  Decide to do a full sponge step instead of just letting the flour soak.  Add 1 cup sugar and 2/3 cup oil and mix well.  Or just pour some oil into the mixing bowl while it is going and hope that was about the right amount.  Maybe a little more.  Should we add an egg?  No, you should stick to the original recipe when trying something new.  Too late.  But no egg.  Sweep floor again, because you gave the twins popcorn.

Step 5. Let the sponge rise until double. It is already covered, with the lid you jammed on in step 3, but forget that it will rise higher than the capacity of the mixing bowl.  Go put your feet up for a while.  On second thought, look at the time and run to the school in a panic to pick up the girl from kindergarten.

Step 6.  Pry lid off mixer and despair at the mess it made.  Knead in 5 more cups of flour and 2 tablespoons salt.  Oh!  There was supposed to be 2 1/2 tablespoons of lemon juice, too!  Add that first, and hope it will be ok.  Measure out salt by dumping it in your hand and pretending to know the volume of your palm.  Out of curiosity, measure an actual tablespoon of salt and pour it into your hand.  Then add more salt to the bowl because a tablespoon is waaaay more than you thought it was.  Proceed with the flour.  Only add 4 out of the 5 cups because the dough is getting firm enough.  Dough should be soft.

Step 7. Turn out onto counter, cover, and let raise until double.  Make ham and cheese sandwiches for the kids.  Warm up and eat some leftover jambalaya, topped with Super Bowl 7 layer dip.  Clean up lunch.  Send the kids to clean their room, knowing that they will clean up three things and then get distracted and play with the fourth thing they pick up and you will have a short period of quiet.  Be disappointed that you weren't the only one who knew about that last piece of pie hiding on the bottom shelf of the fridge.  Hope that the man enjoyed it.  Placate your sweet tooth with an old Sara Lee snack cake.  A few minutes later, regret eating it.  Feel a little bit panicky when you can't remember how long the bread has been sitting there. Try not to let the children snitch and eat pieces of bread dough.

Step 8. Flatten and fold dough to redistribute gas bubbles.  Lest rest for a few minutes.  Shape dough into 4 loaves and place in oiled pans in a warm oven.  Let rise in oven until dough reaches the top of the pan.

Step 9. (optional) Forget about bread in oven and let it continue to rise until it threatens to take over your oven and ooze out to rule the world.

Step 10. Turn on oven to 350 and bake 30 minutes.  Die and float off to Heaven due to the wonderful smells wafting from your kitchen.  Remove from pans about the time the boys get home from school and cool on racks.  Blink and two loaves will somehow reduce to bread crumbs and butter smears across the counter.  Get out the sourdough starter and feed it, because we'll need more bread day after tomorrow.

Baby Monitor

I was doing some cleaning (and purging - yay!) today, when I found an old baby monitor.  Actually, I found two.  One was a little monitor we had purchased years ago, and the other was a hand-me-down from even more years ago.  Neither of them looked anywhere near as sleek as these models, but it was the same idea.  Little sender unit goes in the baby's room and the bigger receiver unit goes with the parental units.

A few months after our marriage, Jay and I went to visit his sister.  She was married and had two little ones already.  She threw a mattress down on the floor in her little girl's room for us to sleep on, and graciously got all the bedding we would need.  Just before we turned out the light, she popped her head back in.  Aware that we were still newlyweds, she cautiously mentioned that there was a baby monitor next to the little girl's bed, and that she and her husband would be able to hear... everything that went on through the night.

She left and Jay and I erupted into silent laughter.  We may or may not have made various comedic impersonations and sound effects to amuse them.  It all turned out fine, though - our niece slept through the whole night.

I never used a baby monitor much.  We usually lived in small enough homes that I could hear the baby when he started to holler.  Except for our first baby, or course.  I didn't know that I would hear him.  I didn't know much at all.  We lived in a tiny little two bedroom trailer, but I was terrified that the baby would cry and I wouldn't hear him.  I would wheel Alec's bassinet into the bathroom and park him in there while I tried to sneak in a shower during his nap.  I remember peeking around the shower curtain a few times, sure that he was whimpering while I washed my hair.  He wasn't.  He was fine.  And I slowly learned how to be a mother.

Interesting how finding a few old things bring back so many thoughts.  The funny thing was that I found both of the parent models, but neither of the baby sender parts.  Does that mean that I'm still trying to listen, but the kids aren't wanting to talk to me anymore?

Find the Happy Face

Yesterday, I wrote about counting the happy things you come across.  There are so many good things to find... when we will just start looking.

Yeah, that's the kind of things we are looking for.  That comes from a list of things I believe, and it's the 13th item, if you are wondering why it has the 13 in the background.  You can find the entire list here, and it is chock-full of things that make me happy.

My neighbor brought her bubbly little daughter over for a tea party.  Angel figured out that she didn't get the birthday party she wanted because we were on vacation for her birthday, so I've been placating her with a few low-key tea parties.  Problem solved.  Anyway, as I was chatting with my neighbor, the house got a trifle too quiet.  You know what that means.

I found Georgie in my bathroom, stripped naked to the waist.  He was coating his chest with deodorant (the room smelled yummy of Old Spice, but that's beside the point).  Oh, and he used a bottle of my lotion to finger-paint all over the mirror.  His accomplice, Freddie, had already fled the scene.  I laughed.  And laughed (but not in front of the perpetrator).  This is how I can tell I am getting to be an older mother, because I laugh first and dole out punishments later.  I'm getting soft that way, but more fun!

So I haven't had the use of my bathroom mirror for a few days.  There was too much going on, and I didn't remember about it until I was too tired and going to bed.  Trent got tired of it sooner than I did and scraped and cleaned (and cleaned and cleaned) off the mirror.  I walked into the bathroom and it sparkled!  What a Sweetheart he is.  I looked in the mirror and saw - for the first time in a week - a big smile on my face.  

It looked good.  And it felt good.  The smile, not the mirror.  The clean reflection just showed me what my own smile looked like.  Trent tells me that my smile is one of his favorite things about mt.

So for today, I'm smiling.  At everything I can.  My goal is to have sore face muscles tomorrow.

Yup.  Each one of those areas is affected by a big, genuine smile.  Try it with me?  Maybe 'll even count smiles.  Where's that clicker?  I know I set it down somewhere around here...

Just for today...smile!

Learning

Today I learned how to use a jig saw.  I bought us one, to cut out the windows of the chicken coop.  So I did.  It was kind of fun - makes a big difference, really quickly.  And now the chicks have windows.

And I have sawdust... all over.  I also learned that when one is using a jigsaw chest-high or higher, one must be wearing a turtleneck shirt to avoid getting sawdust... all over and in.

That's all.  And I'm headed to the shower.

Hanky Panky

We woke up too early.  Either that, or the morning started too early.  Doesn't matter - it feels the same.  Don't want to get up.  I rolled over into Trent.  And smile.

Within roughly three seconds, a little person's head appeared at my side of the bed.  Georgie, grinning, climbed into the bed.  I pulled up the covers to let him in, and he snuggled into me.  Moments later, another little head appeared at Trent's side of the bed.  Freddie scrambled up and snuggled into his daddy.

The bed was getting cozy (realtor-speak for "crowded"), but I wasn't ready to get up just yet.  Trent wrapped his other arm around me and pulled me closer.  He stroked my hair, and kissed the nape of my neck.  I sighed.  He nibbled a little more.  No way was I getting up.  It wouldn't go much further with young 'us around, but it was so nice...

Suddenly, Georgie sat up.  "Daddy!" he yelled.  In my grogginess, it was startling.  Trent also sat right up when he heard the next thing out of the little guy's mouth.  "Have you sex?"

That was the end of snuggling for the morning.  "Do you think they know... do they understand...?"  Trent was worried as he hurried his clothes on.

I laughed, because I heard, "Daddy!  Are you six?"  And the next thing Georgie said, that Trent didn't hear in his quick escape from the bed, was "You are six and I am fwee."

Funny how things sound differently when you aren't quite awake.

Family Funnies

It must be spring.  The snow has melted, the weather is getting nicer, and green things are starting to poke out of the ground.  As we were climbing out of the van, Georgie stopped and sighed.  Closing his eyes against the sunshine, he smiled and said, "Oh!  It is so nice and comfy warm!"

Trent is our resident breakfast person.  He loves to get up early and cook up a big morning meal.  Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and it requires protein.  Preferably eggs and meat.  The other morning, he got up to find that I had used the last eggs making rice pudding (Alec's favorite).  Trent wanted eggs.  I don't get cold cereal as a general rule because it isn't filling enough, doesn't count as real food for him, is quite expensive per serving, and we could inhale several boxes of the stuff at a single meal.  So instead of making oatmeal or something otherwise carb-y (and quick so the kids could get to school on time), Trent ran to the store to get eggs.  The drugstore which is rumored to have the cheapest eggs was out.  Pressing forward, he went to the super-mega-mart, where eggs were two dollars a dozen.  Too expensive.  Instead, he bought $10 worth of cold cereal.  And an expensive carton of eggs.  Yay!  Trent has eggs for breakfast!  And then he ate cold cereal.  He survived.

Ben is of a similar opinion that cold cereal is not the best breakfast in the universe.  He doesn't mind having a bowl of it for a snack, or after he has eaten an otherwise good breakfast.  He explained, "Cereal is like packing peanuts.  It's good for filling in all the empty spots."

We bought the twins new unders.  Georgie was so excited about getting to wear his "great big gi-nant big boy unders-wears." and promises to keep them dry.  Freddie, after putting on his first pair of unders with a fly, kept checking his hips, looking for his pockets.

Family Funnies

The kids are already getting older and already I miss all these times.  Love these children of mine!

---

Freddie: little pig, little pig, let me in, not by chinny chinny

---

Angel: please help us to dream about good cats and good dogs that they won't get run over by the bad cars and please bless that we will not dream about bad dogs and bad cats so they would get run over by vehicles.  We will send vehicles to all the bad cats and bad dogs.

---

Mom: (late in the evening) Sorry we locked that door.  We thought you were coming in the other door.
Alec: I can get in anywhere.  That is the power of my keys!

---

Ben, explaining why he wasn't going to tease his older brother, even though he would dearly love to:  but I probably shouldn't, because it would make him really mad.  (pause) But he's already mad anyway, (brightening) so I might as well!

---

Georgie has a stutter now because his mind comes up with ideas so quickly that he can't come up with words fast enough.  Always saying Mom mom mom mom mom while his words try to catch up

Looking for Lotion

I finally felt well enough to get out and do a few errands today.  I hope I am slowly slinking away from the flu.  I've been over the sickness for a week, but still just tired.  It helps when I can sleep!

I took Freddie and Georgie to pick up a few things at the pharmacy today.  Our home remedies have been quite depleted.  We were looking for lotion, to soothe our winter-chapped hands.  Georgie was singing, "Lotion!  Lotion!  Where are you?"  Freddie suddenly stood up in the cart (highly discouraged) and pointed. "There it is!" he crowed.

I looked over and saw... um, personal lubricants.  Not the right kind of lotion.  :-)

I finally got our vacation food post up.  Look back at December 29th to see it.  I have recipes and everything!  Now I'm hungry.  Must go make dinner.

Don't Ask

Yeah, I know.  Don't ask what the next thing coming is.

For us, it was stomach flu.  First Trent had it, and was doubled up all night.  The next night he felt mostly better, but I was up all night with Angel and Freddie.  Throwing up, diarrhea, the works.  There was one funny - Freddy threw up in bed right next to George.  Within minutes, and before I could get Freddie cleaned up in the bathroom, Angel threw up on the other side of George - and all over his blanket.  Didn't seem to bother him.

After I got the two sickies cleaned up, I pulled out fresh bedding.  I unhooked the sheets from the corners on one side of the bed, and rolled them up - with all their nasties - until I got to Georgie.  Then I pulled on the clean sheets and smoothed them out to where Sleeping Beauty was still sleeping.  I gently lifted him over the dirty sheets, rolled him onto the clean part... and he stayed asleep the whole time.  I finishued rolling off the dirty sheets and blankets, threw them in the wash, and finished pulling on the clean sheets.  I tucked everyone back in bed, and Georgie was still sleeping.  He snores.  It's adorable.

Next time, I won't ask.  Really.  (But we're all feeling much better, thank you.)

A Baby Cow...

While I was getting the Angel ready for bed tonight, she stopped and had to ask me a Very Important Question.  I understand that these things take time to formulate and consider.

"Mom?"  she asked, her brow furrowing in thought.  I paused and gave her my full attention.

"What if we saw..."  I waited.

"A... baby cow's... butt?"

Well.  I told her I supposed it would look different from hers, but something similar to a big cow's behind.

"I think it would be cute," she grinned.