But This is France!

Young kids are always eager to figure out who's in charge and test boundaries. It's universal. So it came as no surprise that when we vacationed with the cousins, the little ones weren't quite sure who was in charge since both sets of parentals were around. Easton and Lizzie scientifically figured it came down to who was oldest and they discussed it many times. Lizzie was quite proud that her parents were older and it was pretty cute. However, our favorite saying/inside joke that emerged from the trip came courtesy of my nephew, Miles, who is 4.

He was playing in the living room on our side of the villa and Ryan told him to stop doing something.

Miles tested out, "You're not the boss of me!"

Ryan rebutted saying he was indeed the boss of him and that Miles needed to stop what he was doing.

After a short contemplative pause, Miles replied incredulously, "But . . . but, this is FRANCE!"

It was confusing - he wasn't at his house and he wasn't at our house! What a conundrum! Ryan likes to holler, "Vive la France!" anytime we laugh over the incident.

The squat workout I gave away

I paid Easton 2euro this afternoon to sweep and scrub my kitchen floor this afternoon. Was it worth it? Heck yes!

Just in case you too aren't counting down the weeks until our new arrival, I'm approaching 33 weeks pregnant. I'm writing this post for two reasons - but more may pop up like the fact that I should document that I made a multi-course meal AND that it occurred on one of our hottest days so far (85+ with no AC)+(cravings are obeyed 'round these parts). But first, I'm proud of Easton and his willingness to learn new chores and stick with it until it is done lately. He regularly asks how he's doing as well and recently (if there's NO time constraint on him), he's fun to chat with as he works near me. And secondly, as I joked on Facebook to my brother Luke who was excited about doing the best leg workout his weight-lifting bulk could muster, I had to laugh that I paid money to get out of doing 15 minutes of squatting uncomfortably and precariously on a wet floor. And I'm proud of myself for my ingenuity to boot!

On the way home from school today, I asked Easton if he'd be willing to do this chore for me if I paid him. With a field trip to the pool tomorrow with his class, he was more than game to have some cash on hand! Yes, he's still in school but it ends on Thursday thank goodness! I can't wait for the break and not having to make lunches!!! I really need to delegate that one but supervising it sounds almost worse still.

{I have the cutest memory of my brother Luke who was in kindergarten or first grade one time I was home from college. One morning, he was making his lunch at the table while my mom and I were chatting. He was making himself a sandwich with mayo, cheese and pickles. He had taken a table knife and was cutting randomly, odd-sized pickle chunks out of a large pickle rather than slicing it - doing the best his little self could and pretty pleased with himself. I want to say he'd done the same hack job on the cheese but the pickle is crystalized in my memory.}

Back to this evening . . . While I began mixing up hamburger with seasonings for good ol' grilling burgers, Easton was rinsing out his rag and told me he fell in love again today. I asked what she looked like, wondering if it would be another blue-eyed blonde like his first crush. Nope, it was a girl and a boy from India who had visited his class for a bit today checking out the school. Apparently she was beautiful, an exotic knockout I'll bet and I had to smile that his taste is not bound by pale faces. How fun! He doesn't remember her name but thinks she might be in his class next year and then he'll find it out. Then while I peeled and sliced peaches at the table, Morgan and McKay salivated while we sang ABCs and the "I'm Peanut Butter, and you are Jelly" song as Easton sang along from his scrubbing detail. I got to teach Easton how to get the corners and sweep up crumbs with a rag to dump in the trash. Funny how you forget kids don't come programmed to know how to do chores!

Ryan got home and wanted to go on a run so I pleaded with him to take Sasha, the doberman we're dog-sitting across the street, with him. And thankfully he didn't mind us eating without him because I was starving and if I had to endure one more hunger meltdown from McKay in that state it would not have been pretty. Morgan and McKay always approach me as I'm a good ten minutes from finishing dinner crying for food that instant or they're sure they'll die. It drives me insane, particularly because of it's timing and how it delays the whole shebang.

An hour after Easton started on the floor and I started on dinner, the kids and I sat down. Correction, the laborer was paid for job well done and then we sat down to eat. He asked to be paid in dollars, not euro which is good for me but not going to work for him tomorrow at the pool. Hmmm . . .

So once a lady gets the meal made, serving it up in front of a hungry crowd scrutinizing every item placed on their plate makes one seriously second guess every straying from a one pot meal. Too many options for disagreement and meltdowns at a crucial moment when mom just wants to eat a bite while it's still warm, preferably without having to order someone to their room. Here's how it went tonight with minimum input allowed for burger fixings:

Easton - plain bun and burger, decided he loved the peaches with or w/o the yogurt and is not an onion dip fan but please pass more chips. And thanks but no thanks to the pina colada.

McKay - plain burger with ketchup on bun but he added lettuce later, didn't like the peaches with yogurt at all, loved the chips, dip and pina colada.

Morgan - She gets the works on her burger until she can demand otherwise and since I knew I'd be eating at least half of hers that she'd leave uneaten, I made it the way I like it. She threw a fit when I put a little yogurt on her peaches and had to be threatened with bedtime if she didn't stop for us to say the dinner prayer. Liked the chips but turned down the dip to my shock, and sipped on her pina colada indifferently.

We're big on smoothies lately and I'm loving the peaches but not their other admirers who've taken up residence in my kitchen - fruit flies. Ryan and I loved the plain greek yogurt I sweetened with vanilla and a little powdered sugar to top them off and you can't have burgers with out chips and onion dip can you? We actually haven't grabbed a gas tank for our grill yet so I just broiled the burgers in the oven and it worked out real well. I have to admit I really only cook two real meals per week right now but usually one is a new recipe, usually to Ryan's chagrin. Last week I did well on a white chili experiment though and this week it was the burgers and hopefully a successful go at our favorite Vapiano rucola parmesan ravioli recipe I haven't quite mastered yet.

And now I'm off to bed with a happy tummy and a clean kitchen! Nothin' beats that unless you say you're coming over to be me for our morning get-them-out-the-door routine!

Chuckles

After Morgan and I pick McKay up from school, we have a little lunch and then it's quiet time. I put Morgan down and then McKay and I do something together before it's his quiet time. I used to lay down with him and sometimes still do if I need a nap, but lately I've had too much to do so I just tell him it's quiet time or he tells me. Then he typically ends up in his room playing with a couple cars or legos because I'm no fun while doing chores. Almost every time he sacks out right where he's playing. Last week it was on the floor where the sun was coming in through his big windows. He'd spread out a blanket with a collection of legos and he was curled up in a ball. Too cute.

Today I knew he hadn't been asleep long so I was going to pick him up and carry him to the van so we could go get Easton from school. I'd already put Morgan in the van and was cutting it close on time because I'd wanted to finish a couple chores like starting the dishwasher and swapping laundry loads. I went to pick McKay up and he was swaddled in a sheet.

As I picked him up I saw a bare shoulder and realized he had stripped down to his underwear before sacking out. What?! Why?! I didn't have time to wake and dress him and knew the drama that would ensue if I tried, so I just scooped him up in the sheet and put him in the van - laughing all the way! My laughter woke him up a bit and he just gave a sleepy, sly grin. I probably should have grabbed his clothes but I didn't want to make the extra trip and he was a heavy enough load all wrapped up. Do I carry him over the belly or under? There seemed to be no good answer.

Tonight as we snuggled and read books on my bed (which actually got made today!) McKay was snuggled up close to my belly side. When we were done he said, "Mom, I like rubbing your belly button." I hadn't even noticed he'd been rubbing my tummy the whole time! If you've watched McKay nurse that thumb of his, you know the other hand is busy caressing his ear or forearm. The boys get a big kick out of my spreading button. If I need to change their mood I ask if they want to compare belly buttons!

Ryan made cookies tonight and as I was walking toward the table I totally ran into one of the chairs with my belly and hollered, "Ouch!" It hurt real good. Ryan asked what I'd done and I told him I'd run into the chair because my belly was sticking out farther than I thought. Everyone started laughing at me and what can you do? I've already begun having the wet shirt around the belly look anytime I'm at the sink doing dishes. How embarrassing! Gotta start doing the belly check before leaving the house!

The OB visit

Morgan accompanied me to my OB appointment this morning. We ended up having to wait over an hour because the nurse at the front desk forgot to put me in the doctor's que. Morgan was a trooper and at minute 45 when I knew I should be close to next in line, she needed a serious diaper change and of course the diapers were in the van. Thinking I'd be next, I tortured the others in the small waiting room. When two more ladies went before me, I couldn't wait any longer. I took her out to the van - which reminded the nurse of her mistake - and we returned fresh as daisies and were seen shortly thereafter. The doc apologized profusely over and over which I appreciated very much.

There's nothing graceful about OB appointments, right? Here in Germany, it's just a tad bit worse because they give you nothing to cover up with - no paper sheet to drape over you. Just you with nothing on from the waist down, the stirrup "chair", and your doc. Awkward. Between being a woman whose born children and having ulcerative colitis, there's not much dignity this soul could have at this point in a doctor's office. So I pretend like I don't care and just get it over with. Ten minutes, I can handle that. I heard the greatest helpful hint from a friend the other day who said she always wears a flowy skirt that she can hike up. Genius! But I forgot that wisdom when getting dressed in a hurry this morning since I'm still excited about my Old Navy maternity shipment stuffs that just arrived. Cute, comfy jeans - HALLELUJAH!!! That and McKay was having serious Fasching Power Ranger costume angst this morning since he couldn't find, didn't like, or I zipped too high certain parts of his get up. Drama!

I think I gained serious points in Morgan's eyes today by taking her with me to the doctor. She saw me get my blood drawn. This alone was big since she has just finished her infant immunizations on a one year delayed schedule (not for any moral reasoning, just that moving here did a number on the number of things my brain allowed itself to handle). Morgan knows what doctors do - they give shots, but she's never seen Mommy get a shot until today. I think it was good for her and she was super sweet to me. "A Mommy a shot?" "A Mommy a ouchie?" But I was brave and showed her it's not a big deal. Yeah me.

The minute we sat down with the doctor, Morgan (who is well-acquainted with office visits) began demanding a toy or treat. She'd already raided my bag in the waiting area and come up dry, so she'd been waiting for this moment. Doc had nothing to offer and I was at a loss so we just talked over her and got on with things. Once up in the chair, however, she stood by my side as the chair was elevated. She looked a bit uncertain and I was glad she was there to take my mind off the fact that I was half naked. As the doctor did the ultrasound, Morgan kept asking if I was getting a shot or had an ouchie from the magic wand. She patted or held my hand and it was seriously so sweet! I told her to look at the screen to see the baby in Mommy's tummy which she did, but obviously didn't quite understand.

As we were leaving the doctor's office, in fact right outside his office door and in the reception area she had a melt down. She kept saying, "A baby!" She wanted the baby since we'd just "seen" it! Our wait had made me late to meet a friend so I wasn't as patient with the funny situation in the moment but have been laughing over it all day since. Poor girl thought she'd get candy, a toy or at the very least a baby out of this appointment and she got nothin' and was letting the world know!

Oh by the way, baby Carter #4 is going to be a boy! When told, Easton and McKay both gave me big grins and then the boy/girl ratio of the family. We're very excited! Dinner conversation tonight was all about names. McKay likes Kip - from Easton's class readers. Easton likes Michael James. Ryan and I each have a favorite of the moment but don't agree. And so it begins!

Toy Shopping and Captain Underpants

I don't frequent toy aisles if I can avoid it since discovering Amazon and Dr. Toy's websites. It sure simplifies my gift giving a great deal. But today I had to do some necessary browsing to make sure I hadn't missed anything special. I only had Morgan with me so if worst came to worst, I could still carry her out kicking and screaming if need be. It's when I'm out-manned that it gets dicey!

When we entered the toy section Morgan got sucked into the first toy she saw in the center aisle so I began to browse and adjacent side aisle. No more than a step in and I was startled so much I jumped! An entire row of baby dolls on each shelf was greeting me with peek-a-boos, jumping in their cribs, giggling psychotically, and who knows what else! It was the moment nightmares are made of! I had ventured down the aisle in search of a nice soft babydoll for Morgan to snuggle and squeeze and love on. All these have hard plastic battery cases. So sad and disappointing!

As I finished my browsing, I got Morgan to leave the first toy without a scene. But then she discovered the aisle of plush stuffed animals, particularly a grand looking white long-haired cat. Morgan was in love and I had to groan! White and hairy toys weren't meant to be kept in my home. She then started greeting all the animals on the shelf like long lost pals. The best was when I made her say goodbye. She walked to the far end of the aisle and gave each fluffy toy a tender kiss and parting goodbye! As we turned the corner, she paused to blow a kiss and say one last "bye-bye." It was so adorable!

Over Thanksgiving, Easton had checked out a new book from school. Ever heard of the Captain Underpants series? Easton has devoured the two in the series he can get his hands on at school. Not our favorite choice since they have purposeful incorrect spelling of words and is founded on potty mouth humor, but Easton can't put them down! Each time he takes a shower, he dons his tighty whities and red cape until I ask him to put on warmer clothes!

Tonight, Easton said something about something making him want to barf. Ryan and I started talking to him about the books and the words used. He meekly said he still wanted to read the rest of the series and began to read their titles off the back of his book:

• Captain Underpants and the Perilous Plot of Professor Poopy Pants
• Captain Underpants and the Attack of the Talking Toilets
• Captain Underpants and the Wrath of the Wicked Wedgie Woman
• Captain Underpants and the Preposterous Plight of the Purple Potty People
• Captain Underpants and the Invasion of the Incredibly Naughty Cafeteria Ladies from Outer Space

Reading these titles does not induce giggles for me, but hearing my son plead to read these ridiculous titles sure did! We were so caught off guard by the titles that we found ourselves trying to stifle hysterical fits of giggles! Good grief! Talk about a battle lost! And Easton was trying not to laugh because he was trying to plead his point but soon had to surrender too. So silly! They sure hooked Easton! I gotta do my homework and find some good books again!

More Wind Humor

Ya know, it's the one that keeps on giving. So back in September, Easton learned that when he asked his dad to roll down the window and "make wind" could have a funny alternative meaning, he stored that away.

The other day, Ryan was having the boys pick up the toy room and tried to motivate them with, "Fly like the wind!"

Easton's pout instantly changed to a giggle as he said, "You mean fly like a toot?!" So funny to see his sense of humor!

We've recently found Easton is showing his true self at school. Last year his fantastic teacher had to be gone for half of the year to care for her mother who passed away. With many strong personalities in his class and a string of subs, Easton was a model student and flew under the radar. Last week, Easton's teacher had to speak to me after school. Apparently she tells me he's Awakening!

He has two buddies who are also new to the school and the oldest of three children too. These two friends are very active and boisterous and now Easton's bringing his game to the table. His teachers really enjoy him and have to stifle laughs as they redirect his distracted energy when he stops working on a project and wrestles a buddy to the ground. His teachers and us are so happy to see him really settling in and to know what that looks like for him. He's such a good kid and doing really well in all his subjects, just has to know when to focus and when to play. We're so proud of him! Cute kid!

Fruits and Veggies

Here's something that's had me chuckling every time I think of it. On Sunday afternoon, the kids wanted a movie and the parentals really wanted naps.

Ryan: You guys want Fruit of the Looms, right?


Me: Ya mean Veggie Tales?


Boys: What's Fruit of the Looms? I want to see it!

Recent goings on that have shaved years off my life:

• Morgan refusing with glee to not come when called for in stores, for diaper changes, to be dressed, to have her hair done, teeth brushed, to get in the van . . . terrible twos are here! Boys were so much easier - mine don't care what they wear and often don't need their hair done!
• Easton's school is worth it but the commute can be a bear, especially the 30 minutes there in the morning. The silver lining has been audio books like Roald Dahl's "The BFG" and Scripture Scouts, but the two hour commitment each day of driving, finding parking, unloading kids and walking in, chit chatting with other moms while corralling my kids, and driving back home is a lot for this girl who hadn't had a car for most of the past three years! It's a real shock to the system but will be better when the school moves closer and into their new building during Christmas break.
• The van's automatic sliding door has decided it likes to play Morgan's game and not always close on request. Sometimes over 10 attempts later it's still faking me out. Oh yes, and Ryan's got the only remote so my immediate presence is required. Morgan thinks this is a hilarious game and laughs it up, sometimes stretching her arm out to help the door sensor kick in. I'm sure it was a fun show for the old guys enjoying their coffee and croissants at OBI (a German version of Home Depot) this morning. That one was over 20 attempts with my two yr. old playing in a parking lot. Frazzled nerves by 9am is not a good start to a Monday. {Post edit: We finally put the van remote on my key ring this morning. It wasn't a power struggle, just something I'd forget to do each day until wishing I had it on the go.}
• The bewitching hours between 4-6 when dinner, children and my patience collide.
• Coat shopping for Morgan - she refuses to wear coats because she's so little she can't move in all that fluff.
• Snow boot shopping with all three children at 4pm. Bewitching hours in full swing. One foot measurer. Three kids. Two special kid chairs for trying on shoes. Three kids. Hair raising shrieking and foot stomping tantrums common. Special kid chairs make a great loud hollow noise when kicked. Happy and tantrum throwing feet find this very amusing during check out time. No future trips back planned. Ever again.
• Talking Easton out of wearing the Mr. Incredible costume he loves because it's made for a 4 yr old, not an almost 7 yr old. It's not a pretty sight! Hurray for a cool, cheap skeleton costume saving the day!
• Finding out we are eligible for a local tax exemption on our utilities that we just paid in August. Tax was between 28-32% of the $2,000 or so we paid. Overview: Here we pay a lump sum each month and the account is settled once a year. Americans routinely use more than our European counterparts so settlement is never pretty. Applying for that tax break just sounds like the funnest thing ever, doesn't it? Gathering papers, filling out forms, appointments, working with a gov't office, communicating with utility companies where English is not their first language . . . I just can't wait! It'd be hard enough in the States. Bring it.
• Doing catch-up homework with Easton. He doesn't mind a little homework, it's like a status symbol around here. Now McKay declares he has homework too and practices tracing and writing his name while Easton does homework. That part is really cute. However, when we recently went out of town, Easton had to catch up on some work missed. Three one-sided worksheets took an hour and a half one evening. He'd get the giggles and be in play mode each evening while it took every ounce of self-control I possessed to grin and bear it with the voice of a loving Snow White princess. I think Ryan heard me swear off traveling ever again many times last week if it involved Easton missing school.
• Laundry. Soccer practice on fields where each kick of the ball sprays mud in every direction is my favorite. Scrubbing that mud out of 4 peoples' coats, clothing and shoes was a pure joy. I hope to repeat it this week and next. November 6 can't come soon enough!
• But you thought I loved coaching? I do really enjoy it, but there's a season for all things. I'm feeling it's time for me to be my kids' cheerleader and not have a whistle on my lips, a needy baby on my hip, a 4 yr old crying on my leg, while my free arm is waving down my 6 yr old who's raiding the bag for any scrap of snacks instead of participating in his practice that I'm trying to orchestrate for his 11 teammates. Half way through most practices, my boys are off on another field playing because soccer practice doesn't hold a candle to wide open space, a brother who's your best friend, and a pre-occupied mom.

On the other hand, Ryan has discovered he really loves being the coach and he's made for it! We held practice too early to be a good mix for his new contract so sometimes he can't make it. But the kids love him! Parents and other coaches express appreciation for how he handles tough situations. He may coach next spring and I'd happily be his admin and cheerleader but not co-coach.

So as you can see, life keeps rolling right along for us. There have been plenty of sweet moments too. The kids all pounce on Ryan the moment he gets home from work. Reminds me so much of the rough housing us kids did with my dad growing up! In the past week, Morgan has once again taken to wanting to snuggle/play with her momma for a while in the evenings. Her favorite is if I'm laying in my bed, she wants to lay right next to my face to be tickled, smooched, sung to or whatever. I've been trying to keep sneaky colds at bay for a few weeks now, so there's been more snuggle time available around here lately. Morgan's language is really exploding lately which is a lot of fun!

McKay has taken advantage of my down time too. On Saturday, I was laying on my bed browsing online while he sat right next to me singing the Peanut Butter Jelly song right in my ear as his tunes played. Have you ever tried to read while a 4 year old tries to sing all the words to a clever little ditty, completely tickling your ear? He had me in a fit of giggling tears! Then Morgan joined in on my other ear trying to sing too. For the record, McKay's favorite song is Gwen Stefani's "The Sweet Escape." He requests it anytime we get in the car, arrive home, or otherwise. Loves the "Wooo-Hooos", he does!

We had Easton's first parent/teacher/child conference at his new school. Having that makeup work was actually good to watch how he works on things and where he is. Then at the conference, it was fantastic to hear how well he's doing! His teacher had the children fill out a rubric matrix sheet showing where they felt their performance, interest, and understanding level was for reading, math, writing and specials (drama, choir, music, and P.E.). Easton had filled that out and then we discussed it, often with his teacher talking him into moving his assessment over to the "excellent" column which he was more than pleased to do. His writing and asking for clarification on work assigned by his German teacher were the things he could improve on but even those were good. She said he is a good example to his peers, respectful, engaged and well liked by everyone. I'm happy to see him gaining more confidence and being more chatty, asking tons more questions. I'm glad we tried this school even if today I had serious withdrawals from the simplicity my life had last year with the school bus.

Always a mixed bag!

Got Wind?

When we got into the van after church today it was a little warm from sitting in the sun. From the back, Easton hollered, "Dad, make wind!" As in, "Roll down the windows, it's hot in here!" He's still pretty innocent.

But Ryan and I shared a quick laugh before explaining what "making wind" could also mean. Oh boy! Easton laughed his head off for the next ten minutes! It's the gift that keeps on giving today. Nothin' better than seeing your kid throwing his head back for a good gut laugh!

Easton crossed another childhood milestone this past month. He's begun losing teeth. The first one was a casualty of rough housing in the bath. McKay bopped Easton in the face and it really loosened up an already wiggly tooth. Easton was a bit panicky, we all know that uncomfortable really loose tooth feel. Ryan told Easton he needed to take a look and then just plucked it out! Easton's face perfectly captures how he felt.

The boys are now in agreement that the tooth fairy is a cool dude.

Tonight at dinner, Easton's fork hit another loose bottom tooth in front. This time Ryan just asked if he could take it out. We were all surprised that Easton thought that was a good idea. Still a little alarmed, he was much less scared by it.

McKay was dying to be the one to put the tooth under the pillow for the tooth fairy. I overheard some covert negotiations about splitting the tooth fairy proceeds. McKay's no dummy! He remembers that last time Easton was able to buy his brother a piece of candy too.

A Little History and the Tantrum of Vienna

After the beautiful lake country around Salzburg, we drove on to Vienna. It was on this trip that I started to really grasp European history better, putting the pieces together. Charlemagne, ruling nobles and electors, the Holy Roman Empire, the Hapsburgs . . . it's nice when things start to click! Vienna is known for its rich classical musical heritage, but that was because of the royal Hapsburg's patronage. Let's put it together, I promise I won't be long with the history! The treat will come in the end when I divulge one of my weaker moments of the trip - a full blown tantrum by yours truly.

Alright, so around 800, the Christian (pre-Protestant Reformation) Charlemagne defined the Middle Ages and ruled all of Western Europe with Austria as his empire's eastern border. Seeing this portrait of him wearing the Holy Roman Emperor crown next to the actual crown in Vienna was a highlight for me. Remember that crown!

In 1273, an Austrian noble from the Hapsburg family was elected as the Holy Roman Emperor. His election had him ruling over Austria, Germany and Northern Italy. "Holy" = Catholic, "Roman" = claiming the vastness and grandeur of the world's greatest empire to their knowledge, and "Emperor" = leader of many nations. The Hapsburg's gained influence and power in Europe for the next 600 years by strategically arranging marriages of their children rather than making war, although they did plenty of that too. WWI anyone? That was the demise of the Hapsburg empire. Those marriages though, that's what's had me reeling throughout European history!

The Hapsburg heyday was in 1500s when they also ruled the Low Countries ("Low" refering to elevation - Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg), Spain with its New World territories, and much of today's Eastern European countries. As the eastern Christian empire of western Europe, the Hapsburgs were kept quite busy fending off the encroachment of the Muslim Ottoman Empire for centuries. The Hapsburgs were staunchly Catholic as the Reformation swept through Europe and that too shaped their empire and many of its wars and tensions.

On the far left, there's the Holy Roman Emperor Crown Charlemagne wore!

The other crowns are for different territories she ruled, the one on her head for Hungary.

One of the most famous Hapsburgs was Empress Maria Theresa (1717-1780). She was the only female ruler of the Hapsburgs, had 16 children in 20 years and famously arranged many strategic marriages such as Marie Antionette to France's Louis XVI. While bearing all those children, she ruled the empire and fought successive wars. She had a lot to live up to since no sons were born in her generation to be heir to the throne and her husband didn't want to rule as she saw need be.

Here's one of her royal family portraits. The proportions drive me crazy!

The Hapsburgs ruled from Vienna and made it a beautiful city that rivals other grand old empire cities of Europe. Say hello to Mr. Clooney hanging on the Hofburg Palace plugging his favorite expresso! Ryan and I really loved Vienna and the very laid back vibe. We'd love to return without the kids to explore so much more.

I was often reminded by the passers by how east we were in western Europe. I don't know how to describe that since Europe is such a melting pot or salad bowl (whatever the PC term is now), but we did see more Eastern European people and many Muslim women wearing their long robes and head covering, called the hijab. I think that rocked my world because the last time I saw such numbers of Muslim women clothed like this was while living in the Holy Land. But I was in the heart of Vienna now and so were they. Does that make sense?

I've found it very interesting how European countries have their own immigration politics, issues, and prejudices just like the US. Parties and elections tote this issue just like in the States. In Germany and Austria, Turkish immigration is the equivalent issue to Mexican immigration in the States from what I gather. It's so fascinating!

Now to the good stuff. To Easton who is old enough to remember such events, Vienna will go down as the place where mom threw her tantrum. And by recording it here, the kids will enjoy it years from now. And so . . .

After two long days of seeing sites with little kids and all the fun that is, I just wanted to lay in my bed and read myself to sleep. The boys were happily absorbed watching Ryan play Plants vs Aliens on his ipad. I just needed to shower and then get Morgan to bed. Easy enough.

Just as I was ready to start on Morgan, she and Easton got on "my side" of the bed with the near empty package of animal crackers. As if in slow motion, Morgan decided to get comfy and multi-tasked laying down with reaching into the bag. A day's worth of crumbs showered her and my precious resting place. It was my last straw. It wasn't intentional or belligerent, just life with a baby so I couldn't justifiably punish anyone. But I was just done.

I roared loudly through a clenched jaw and actually stomped my feet like a toddler, ready to cry. I'm not proud, but there it was. My last straw. Broken. I was immobilized in my tantrum not even knowing how to clean it up. The thought of sleeping in crumbs, crunching escaped crumbs underfoot in the morning was overwhelming and I had checked out for the night.

Ryan stepped in as the peacemaker, cleaned it up and offered to sleep on that side. I'm positive he was laughing on the inside. They all were the next day and it continues today as one of Easton and McKay's favorite stories - when mom threw a tantrum at the hotel.

Elbow Heroism

Ever heard of Nursemaid's Elbow? We hadn't til last Sunday.

We woke up late after getting back from our Austria trip and were getting ready to go to a friend's birthday party. I was exasperated while trying to get a very uncooperative Morgan dressed. I had hold of her wrist and was pulling on her hand to get it through the armhole at the very moment she decided to stop standing on her own legs. The force of her sagging and my pulling dislocated her elbow apparently. I didn't realize it in the moment because although her screaming increased, she was already pretty unhappy with me. A minute or so later though, the cry was a hurt cry and then I felt bad because she was holding her limp wrist. Hello Guilt, take a seat on my shoulders please. Fantastic, thanks.

We wrapped her wrist and forearm in an ace bandage and headed to the party thinking we'd keep our eye on it. Our friend who has a great deal of emergency medical training took a look at it and gave me all sorts of worse case scenarios relating to her growth plates and such while being a laid back wait-and-see type of guy. What do you do?!

On a side note, when we got home from the party and were getting out of the van, I was admiring one of McKay's German classmates riding his bike with no training wheels. McKay said hi to his friend and was starting to walk inside. The little guy stopped his bike and began talking to me, of course, in German. I was unloading the car and the little guy kept repeating himself to me so I could understand but there was just no hope. I've been a complete slacker on the language front.

Then I hear McKay holler, "My mom doesn't speak German yet." His voice was apologetic and matter of fact. Across the street, the other boy's mother burst into spontaneous uproarious laughter! She couldn't help herself, it was a gut laugh! She quickly translated what McKay said into German for her husband and they were still laughing out loud minutes later as I sheepishly chuckled to myself walking into the house with all our pool gear. It was just too classic. I really wish I'd stuck to learning German last fall and hope I do better this year as Easton starts at the bilingual international school here. I better start practicing!

Back to Morgan's arm . . . After a rather sleepless night, she was still obviously not willing to put weight on that arm or even move it. Later that evening after we'd gotten our crew plus two young visiting cousins to bed, we hit the internet to see if we could figure out what to do with her. We immediately found descriptions of Nursemaid's Elbow and boy did it fit! The name bugs me. It does nothing for my guilt. But would you be surprised to find there were youtube videos showing doctors in their offices and mothers at home resetting arms?! Holy Cow!

Ryan was all excited to go try the simple procedure right then but I couldn't bear the idea of how Morgan would cry in pain, not to mention wake up the other four kids we'd just gotten to sleep and who would have to be settled down again. So he tried it first thing the next morning and WALAH! It worked!!! Within an hour she was back to climbing up to the kitchen table and grazing everyone's leftover cereal. Only this time she had five bowls to graze instead of three! Gross. But it sure makes her happy and feel independent. I knew she was cured and that did wonders for assuaging my guilt and the anxiety welling up in me of taking five kids between 1 and 6 to a doctor's office!

Ryan, you are my Mr. Incredible!

Chores or Hunt for Treasure?

The other day while McKay was at German kindergarten and Morgan was napping, Easton and I sat down to count all the accumulated coinage in the house. I wanted him to practice naming the coins, counting them, adding them up and such. [Wanna practice self-mastery, try to teach your own child to do something!] We spent over an hour and I told Easton he could keep what he could count. I asked what he thought he might want to buy.

"Super Mario Galaxy 2!!!" he hollered with the power of a thought which errupted after smoldering somewhere deep within for centuries. Sheesh, he was excited!

Heaven help me. I'd been nonchalantly mentioning walks to the shop to buy ice cream, a new Lego vehicle . . . no, he went for the whopper. This couldn't end well.

We sorted, stacked, counted, added and then there were tears. These weren't just tears though, these were heartbroken waterworks that could only be stopped by watching the game trailer snuggled in mom's lap. I reminded him of the commission chore list that he could pick from to earn money, save, and buy the game. He was in despair. It'd take forever. We compromised. If he wanted to be motivated, I'd let him watch the trailer once a day. It was a deal.

We went and got McKay, had lunch, and then Easton was ready to wash some windows. He did a great job, loved being paid! I had to sigh when by the time he was done, Morgan and McKay had pretty much undone what he'd worked so hard to do. Easton didn't even notice.

I recently finished listening to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, wonderfully narrated by Patrick Fraley with different voices for every character. I had it on in the car so the boys heard quite a bit of it now and then. Really loved it! What a great storyteller that ol' Mark Twain was! My dad is a great one too, wish I was! I'm excited to hear Mr. Fraley read about Huck Finn now.

With the window washing, I was half expecting Easton to pull a Tom Sawyer and whitewashing the fence scene with McKay who begged to give it a try. But the allure of the spray bottle was all too new and Easton's goal still so fresh.

Tonight I weeded a neglected spot in our yard and got distracted, leaving my little trowel and weed digger out. The kids were outside playing characters from Sponge Bob, Power Rangers, or Phineas & Ferb. I heard a lot about jellyfish, Gary and Patrick. Anyhow, I got into my favorite show, that PBS "Faces of America," and the boys sauntered over to the shovels and began digging. Dirt was scattering and we heard snippets about buried treasure.

After the show while sweeping up their fun, I asked Easton what they'd been doing. He said they were digging for treasure [like Tom and Huck]. I asked what he hoped the treasure was.

"Cupcakes!"

HA! I told him buried cupcakes probably wouldn't be so good so he opted for, "Gold! . . . uh . . . Money!"

And then the light went on.

"MONEY TO BUY SUPER MARIO GALAXY 2!!! We'll dig more tomorrow, right?!"

I foresee much digging in our future rather than chores being done. Yet I'm almost overwhelmed by an urge to bury some money for them to find, just to see their reaction!

Stockholm II

Aren't lazy mornings great?! We took advantage of ours Saturday and still caught everything we wanted to that day. It did require a bit of extra exertion but with the nice weather it wasn't so bad.

What I mean to say is that we sprinted to a few sites. Since the marathon was later that day, one guy we came across joked to me as I ran by that the course wasn't in this area. When we arrived at the first stop of the day, Ryan commented, "I haven't seen you run like that in a long time! We should plan a 2-3 day backpacking trip in the Alps!"

I said, "Wha?! . . . What are you saying [not knowing whether to laugh, cry, or bemoan my lack of discipline and loss of athleticism in recent years] . . . and How does my running equate to a backpacking trip?!!" He was very careful to not say much other than grin at me on this subject. I'm just a bit sensitive right now on that subject.

Our first sprint was to catch the 11:30 guided English tour at Stockholm's Town Hall, the Stadshuset. This is where the Nobel Prize banquet is held each December, in the big room pictured below. Overhauled in the 1920s after the job was bid out as a contest, the building looks old and new at the same time and is a mix of many different types of architecture and decor. Do you see the raised relief of this brick work? I really liked this!

Up in the council room, the exposed roof beams are really beautiful. The architect loved the look and decided to have the beams and interior ceiling painted to look like it was ancient and planned that way.

Rick Steves says the exposed beam roof is meant to hearken back to when the vikings held their councils under an upside-down boat, but the docent said recent historians reject that as the reason. The docent rolled her eyes at us when we asked this. So Rick doesn't know it all, he's fallible. What?! After trying to plan trips without his guides' helps for a year though, I'm not giving up on them anytime soon.

We barely missed the noon boat to Drottningham Palace so we ventured, or more accurately RAN over to Gamla stan, the historic heart of Stockholm to pass the time before the next boat. The picture below is as we entered the island and our view up the street toward the clock tower of Storkyrkan, the oldest church in Gamla stan.

The changing of the guard happens every day at noon with a rousing marching band parade - hence our sprint to catch the show! Loved the helmets!!! All the guards looked so young!

Next we stopped inside Storkyrkan next door, remember that clock tower? The cathedral is mentioned as early as 1279 and was Catholic until it became Lutheran in 1527. The princess will be married in that church in two weeks. It's just a block from the Royal Palace.

Sorry, I'm always succeptable to distractions by chocolate and these official "wedding chocolates" are funny to me. But back to inside Storkyrkan -- we were surprised to see this dramatic huge wood statue depicting Saint George and the Dragon from 1481 to commemorate a famous battle.

Reading a little bit about the story this depicts could have turned into a day's diversion but sufficed to say, it is very interesting to see the transfusion of cultures and their mythology throughout our travels. This story of Saint George and the Dragon is very similar to some Roman, Greek and other mythological stories predating Christianity. I'd sure love to take a class or at least get a great reading list on cross-cultural mythology since I know relatively nothing on the subject!

Next we were on the boat to see Drottningham Palace, where the royal family lives. I love being on the water! The water must have been pretty cold but that didn't seem to stop lots of people from enjoying the little swimming areas, kayaking, boating, or just sunbathing on rock outcroppings with picnics.

After fifty minutes and feeling permanently goosebumped, we reached our destination - the palace, a very pretty mix of many classical Baroque and Roccoco styles.

There were beautiful grounds that we would have stayed to enjoy but we were getting hungry and the food festival was calling us back. We obeyed our hunger!

At the food festival, we chowed down on the Barilla bolognese, a horribly overcooked beef shish kebob, and some tasty pork and beef tenderloin cooked on a BBQ grill with different dipping sauces. For dessert, we tried the chocolate strawberry crepes while wondering why Europeans have such an affinity for the song "Are we Human" by the Killers?! A live band that was quite good dove into the song and locals loved it. I don't think I'd ever heard the song before moving here but it's played constantly in Europe. Go figure.

After we enjoyed the live entertainment and tasty food and treats, we rolled ourselves over to another movie theater . . . because we could! We would have taken a boat ride but Ryan was still a bit chilled from the previous ride.

We saw Ghost Writer with Ewan McGregor and Pierce Brosnan. It's rated PG-13 but that rating was given much too generously. While we both liked the film alright, I won't recommend it because of the brief-but-too-often-dropped swear word and the "brief nudity/sexuality" scene. Times have changed and ratings sure do get more permissive with time in the quest after the all-mighty dollar. Grrrr! It really aggravates me that by lowering the rating to PG-13, movie makers make their product much more accessible to a younger, more impressionable audience to increase their revenue. ARGH. How 'bout just dropping the unnecessary vulgarities?! It'd be so much easier than having to lobby for the lower rating, in my humble opinion and quite limited knowledge of that industry.

Stepping off my soapbox now. On our evening walks back to our hotel, we always crossed in front of this beautiful building.

It reminds me of a similar building in NYC on Broadway, but this one seems prettier, more castle-esque. And this concludes part II of our Stockholm adventure. Are ya up for part III? A bit more colorful Nordic history and culture?

"A friendly suggestion," he said.

"What were you thinking for dinner?" He said.

"I wasn't," she said.

Rummaging commences in the fridge and freezers.

"What about . . .???" The name of one of his all time favorites escapes him.

She waits and enjoys seeing him struggle because she's usually the one who can't remember the item name on the top of her tongue. Finally, she surrenders,"Chicken alfredo?"

"Yeah!" he grins.

Having spent two hours that morning cleaning up the weekend's delicious baking and cooking, the last place she wants to be is in the kitchen! She arrives in the kitchen a few minutes later to find all the ingredients laid out on the counter. Hmmm, apparently he's serious. She peaks out to give him a hard time and he just smiles over his book from his comfy Man Chair and says, "A friendly suggestion?"

Good thing it's one of our easiest fast meals! The bowling alley pizza is still digesting, how can anyone be hungry yet?! Happy Columbus Day!

Group Science Experiment

Have you ever tried to cook while talking to a friend? How'd it turn out? My experiences tell me it's usually a comedy of errors. I will relate my latest because my mom told me to, and because it was just one of those classics.

My friend Dawn recently had a nice round cherub she named Sophia. Her and I are a lot alike in my opinion, because we commit ourselves to projects early post-partum when common sense might counsel us otherwise. She signed up for a dinner swap where you pull together six full meals and swap with others who've done the same. I told her she was crazy and then offered to help her out while my boys were in school one morning. Mind you, we didn't really know each other well yet so this was more like a "tell your life story in an hour" session. We really had a lot of fun with it even though the baking sometimes got in the way.

I was really impressed that when I arrived that morning, she was ready to go! First I watched the kids while she ran to the store for all her ingredients. See, I was actually helpful, just remember that for later! Then she got out all the supplies to mix up 6 batches of oatmeal cookies for me before she sat to nurse her cherub. I began to mix ingredients while attempting to tell my life story and answer questions with varying success. It was akin to cooking on a first date. You're trying to make a good impression but can't focus on two things requiring your focus at the same time.

Baking is an exact science, right? Hmmm. . . ya know how you're supposed to mix the dry ingredients separate from the wet? Well, we were also trying to wait for the butter to thaw which really seemed to overcomplicate things for me! I never seem to be able to thaw butter in the microwave well so I didn't want to mess it up for someone else. And why don't recipes list ingredients in the order they are to be mixed? We're chatting away and I notice I had the sugars in with the flour mixture. Oh dear! We both caught my mistake and luckily she shrugged it off as I tried to correct it. Good thing our friendship wasn't built upon my simultaneous ability to bake and chat!

Since we were making six batches, we just made three double batches. Simple enough, or so we thought. I forgot the salt and vanilla on the first batch. For the next two, I or we forgot the vanilla, baking soda, eggs, half the butter, or flour in some combination. By the end, we had all three double batches mixed and "rolled" for easy baking. As I was leaving to go pick up my boys, it dawned on Dawn that she'd forgotten flour in one of them I think. Or all the extra butter still thawing on the tray could have been our clue. Either way, we realized what each batch was missing and she jotted it down to fix after I'd left. Who knew two college grads would find following a simple recipe would be so difficult!

She called recently to tell me that everyone in her dinner group ordered her oatmeal cookies again! And I asked, "So when do you want my help?!" Oh how fun it is to laugh at ourselves!

Interesting things about my buddy:

- Her dream job would be to modify and package common items to make them more user-friendly. She really gave my new mop a thorough once over and now my mop makes me think of her. Puts a smile on my face every time. Too bad it doesn't inspire me to mop.

- She fell in love with her husband over an egg sandwich he made her. That may be stretching it, but it did eventually lead to her conversion to the church. Alright, so that might be a stretch too, but I really love her story!

- She began home schooling their oldest son when he had a teacher who was over-extended professionally and personally. Now it's hard to give up because they both love it at alternating times! I think their co-ops sound fabulous and it tempts me. She's got some great resources here!

- Her husband became an Army chaplain which means they are actually set apart as an LDS missionary couple. One time I saw her husband in the PX right after she had her baby. We began chatting and then he saw a member of his congregation. All of a sudden, it was like I could feel the mantle of his calling so visibly and it was awesome! Ever had that happen to you?

Thrown Outta School!

Tonight we went to Easton's German kindergarten's graduation ceremony. German children go to kindergarten until they are six. All the German schools begin their summer vacation this week and then the new school year begins in September. Because Easton will be going to the American elementary school on base in September, his kindergarten teacher wanted to include him in tonight's celebration.

Frau Wenig's daughter came and was our translator tonight. The ceremony began with a few words of congratulations from the teachers. The kids were declared graduated and officially big kids on vacation. The teachers made them these cute 4 leaf good luck necklaces and a certificate and then threw them out of the school. The dragged a big mat the size of a mattress and each teacher took an arm or leg as they sang and swung each child before tossing them out the door onto the mattress.

Then we all had cake and a lil' bubbly - sparkling soda for the kids and champagne for the adults. By the end of the evening, there was a 3 yr old little boy named Felix who apparently had been sippin' a bit of the wrong bubbly! He was being real silly and bumping into things.

What's 20 Minutes?

The boys love to be read to every afternoon. They prefer it to watching movies or cartoons so that's saying something! Easton is getting the hang of reading which is a lot of fun. It's such a cozy feeling to have my lil guys by my side, hanging on my every word. I love how the corners of their mouths turn up in a grin when I dramatize the story. My only problem is that sitting to read to them puts me to sleep without fail! Yesterday, we had to be at their German kindergarten for a family BBQ at 4pm so at 2:30 I figured I could catch a mini-snooze.

I set my trusty timer for 20 minutes to catch a power nap. I'd used the day to bake and clean, but just needed to put the finishing touches on my basket of goods. But 20 minutes could be spared I figured and I'd be the better for it. All was well in my little plan until a friend called to chat while her new baby finally took a nap unattached to mom. I love this new friend. She thinks I'm funny and I LOVE her sense of humor! We like to swap our stellar mothering moments and such instances of sharing our trenches buoy me up every time! I need a good laugh daily and a chance to put this season of life in perspective.

My favorite story of hers thus far is when we were relating recent tantrum stories. Her four year old was hollering at her for something and descending into a full-on tantrum. At her wits end and standing against the dining table, she forcefully hollered back, "We [pounds fist on the table] Do Not [pound] Throw [pound] Tantrums [pound]!" Lesson learned by toddler? He who hollers loudest wins the tantrum war. Yup, she's my kind of gal! But we keep trying.

I was relating the previous day's mishaps to her. I had taken the kids to the Sindelfingen pool all by myself. I think I've mentioned this fact before - Germans do pools really well!!! But, WHAT was I thinking taking all three kids by myself on what looked like the busiest day? I swear the entire country must have descended on the pool on what I'm finding to be the few sunny, hot days of summer. I really should have had reinforcements! The little pool at home in Leesburg suited us well and would have been enough of an adventure for me. This was a kiddie pool on crack! The kids had a great time, but I felt a bit anxious trying to keep my eye on all three in a crowded multi-level kiddie pool. If I hadn't been going slightly insane or had an extra four arms, I would have taken out my camera to snap some shots.

Easton swam in the deeper kiddie pool with a new buddy who lended him an inflatable tummy tube. McKay wanted to be with Easton but the water was chest high for him in there so he wandered to the lower kiddie pool. He tried to be patient for his turn on the slide until he couldn't stand it anymore and pushed his way to the top of those other pansy, wannabe sliders. I really should google how to say "I'm sooo sorry!" and "Excuse Me" in German! Morgan had a great time at my feet as she squealed with glee splashing in the water and attempting to drink the pool. I tried to carry on a conversation with two moms from church that I'd really like to get to know, but . . . I was trying to also be a vigilant mom and the two often don't coincide. My friend on the phone lamented with me. Good friends do that well.

I didn't get a chance to tell her about going from the pool to Easton's first Tai Kwon Do class and wrangling hungry, tired Morgan and McKay. I hated to cut our conversation short as we were having such a good time, but I had to go finish my BBQ prep.

Remember the disaster that ensued the last time I tried to go to a kindergarten event? Tried, being the operative word because I didn't make it there. I'd been warily watching the dark clouds all day hoping the rain would at least wait until my crew had dryly arrived at the school. We started our trek with the stroller loaded down with a pasta salad, chocolate chip cookies, our mess kit and other baby-toddler survival kit necessities. Not 50 feet from our door, I'm watching, cheering, and fearing as McKay takes off in a sprint to show us how fast he can run. His arms are pumping back and forth and just as he's admiring his own body's wonderful mechanics - SMACK! He trips and falls hard on the sidewalk! With a small breeze kicking up as a fresh wave of rain is about to descend upon me and my three un-rain clad munchkins, I scoop up McKay and run . . . while pushing the stroller and trying to make it sound like a fun game to Easton.

We arrived 20 minutes late for the kindergarten BBQ. 20 minutes. And apparently there was a little program we interrupted in all our arriving glory. I swear my German neighbors think I'm the most incompetent mother on the planet! So much is lost in translation!

Attending a kindergarten BBQ by one's self with three kids under age six is unadvisable. Arriving late is also unadvisable. Easton joined in the program while I sat on the now muddy floor with Morgan who desperately wanted to get down and crawl among all the active, singing legs and McKay who was still nursing his wounds and sucking every ounce of motherly patience and love from this disheveled, now profusely sweating mom. WHY DON'T they have air-conditioning in this country?!

After the program, everyone headed outside to put their meats on the grill, let the kids play on the playground and hover over the kids roasting bread on sticks over smoldering wood coals. They called that delicious bread "schtuck-bough" and many stopped to try and explain it to me in their broken English. They are really nice and really must have thought I was crazy to come by myself. My German friend and her kids that I know were gone for the weekend to visit her mom, so this time I was really on my own. One of the teachers helped the boys with their bread and I weathered the rain as best I could under the big canopy umbrella covering the BBQ area.

Once inside, another teacher took Morgan so I could get the food plates ready. McKay kept descending into fits of tears or ear-piercing screams if he didn't get what he wanted when he wanted it OR it seemed if someone even dared look at him, let alone play with him. Yup, that was fun! I tried chatting with one of the other mothers in between but eventually hit that wall of exasperation due to managing McKay's fits and Morgan's desire to be underfoot eating who knows what on a muddy floor in her cute strawberry dress. Oh let's not forget that I was sitting at one end of a long bench and when the final other person on the other end got up, it was like Morgan I were on the heavy end of a see saw! Up went the other end and we just about ended up on the floor! All eyes on me and my now filthy baby and tearful three year old. Where's my cave when I need it?

Needless to say, it was soon time to go home. I kept hoping Ryan would pick up on my exasperated telepathy and come to our rescue in the van. Work days are long for him and I know this event was the last thing he wanted to do after a tiring week at work. With the rain coming down in buckets, I gathered my brood having McKay hold Morgan in the stroller and we ran for home. McKay LOVED this fast ride and I know I will forever be begged to duplicate it. I don't know that I will brave another one of these outings by myself again with this sort of track record. Or at least until my memory fails me and, like childbirth, it sounds like a good idea again.

Pea Bowling

I made a particularly horrible chicken curry recipe tonight. We still tried to get the boys to eat a full meal. I had left the table and had been hounding Easton to finish his dinner. Once again, I heard the boys playing around the table and the words caught in my throat because of the game they had invented with Morgan's leftovers on the floor.


Sorry for the horrible picture, I didn't want to interrupt and alter their game. Easton was directing McKay's stacking pea-to-Cheerio efforts. When all available peas and Cheerios were stacked, they went "bowling." McKay would swing his arm and knock those peas off their perches to the both of them cheering! I should note that we took the boys bowling two weeks ago on a rainy Saturday. I got a real kick out of each of us hollering for the one who was up. Nothing like hearing your kids cheer for you or for each other!

Ugh! Now they are eating their creations! Ewwwww! And Easton is back to eating what's on his plate, sitting in his chair like the nice young man I'm working to mold. Boys are weird! And the moment is over. Easton is feeding McKay his leftover peas and McKay is eating them like a puppy right from the table. I should intervene, but no mess is being created so GO FOR IT! Eat them peas! Play-doh is more of a mess than this!

She's 8 months today . . .

with a new skill!

I went to pick her up from her afternoon nap and she was STANDING there, holding on for dear life to the railing! She's been pulling up for about a week now, but this was the first time in her bed which means she's also mastered rolling from her back to front, something she's pretty lazy about. I was so excited for her that I tried to call Ryan at work. I would have run to grab the camera but I know that'd induce an abandoned screaming fit and McKay was still napping so we couldn't have that! Instead, I caught her later when Ryan was home to witness it and fear of waking McKay was no longer an issue.
Many tears have been shed this past week. It's been a rough week of tough love around here as she practices her new skill. If I try to protect her from every fall, every tight spot, or even try to console her after each bump, I'd go crazy . . . er, I mean, she'd never learn to be confident and self sufficient. See, I'm all about teaching life skills. But seriously, she scares herself good sometimes and makes my heart stop many times a day with all these hard floors.

I've had many thoughts lately relating to how different each of the kids' lives as babies has been. With Easton I was working full-time and he spent his first year in the office at my feet and many of my loving coworkers doting on him. McKay enjoyed the idyllic days of us being home until I had to go back to work when he was four months old. He too learned to crawl and be spoiled at NRLC. I've always felt a little sad that the boys didn't get my undivided attention, but they seem none the worse for the experience. Now Morgan has survived our crazy move and has the perfect baby life with mom and brothers home to see to her every need. Her plight is these hard floors. I've pondered a couple different metaphors related to this. How each of us comes into the world in different circumstances with unique relationships with our parents and our Father in heaven. How our abilities to communicate our wants and needs evolves.

As Morgan has become more mobile, each time she comes to find me I have a flood of thoughts. Sometimes she crawls all the way to me, whining, especially if I appear to be waiting for her. I love how grateful she is when I come to her rescue and even gives kisses now. I can think of so many instances in my life when I've felt like I was crawling to my Savior seeking relief from a trial, probably a bit whiney. Sometimes I am the approacher and other times He is. Either way, I always know He is there.

Tonight we made a poster for FHE about the Plan of Salvation. Ryan gave this lesson yesterday in Sunday School so I thought it was perfect timing to make it into an art project for the boys. I know I'm a visual learner and this might hold their attention longer. At the end as we were reviewing it with the boys, Easton said, "Well, I want to make good choices so I end up in the golden place." We've seen a lot of beautiful, ornate palaces lately. Our celestial kingdom was a yellow circle he'd cut out to be a sun. His words have stuck with me and I'm glad we have our poster on the wall to keep the discussion and reminder fresh for a bit. In the end, I'm just so grateful for my understanding of eternal progression, repentance and mercy, and eternal families! Now if I could just get these kids to stop growing up so quickly!

Woolly

I'm a little off my game lately. I think Ryan's tired of walking on egg shells around me and these past couple days I've just really been on edge. But then I read an old post on Confessions of a Pioneer Woman. I couldn't stop laughing myself to tears! Click on it and enjoy a good laugh or maybe you'll just be wierded out.

I've heard many weird roommate stories over the years, but tonight this one took the cake. Enjoy the read and if you're new to this lady's site, you'll likely be hooked before you know it!

"In Everything Around Me"

Sorry, this is a real long one.

It’s 10:45am on Friday. We’ve got two cute little boys here (Thomas 3, and Zachary 2) for a playdate while their mom subs at the high school. It’s a much needed relief after a week of rain and being quarantined with Easton's pink eye.

McKay is in hog heaven. He began his day the usual way – waking up before all of us around 6:15. I could see his trail. He’d taken a gander around the kitchen, finger prints now present in the bread dough I thawed overnight. He’d opened this laptop to see what he could see – note to self, put up higher to charge overnight. Then he headed to the toy room to begin his day with a proper hello to his train friends - which is where I found him. He greeted me with his daily, “Mom, it’s morning time.” I think he wants to affirm I won’t send him back to bed.

Our friends got here a little after 7am and after the toy and train room tour, they all headed to the bedroom’s top bunk to see the sights and read some books. McKay was a little unsure of sharing his precious perch but it passed quickly as long as he got to sit closest to the ladder. Morgan had just woken up and watched the show from the safety of her crib all wide eyed and amazed. Yup dear, boys are noisy!

Easton downed three bowls of Rice Krispies to the one bowl each of the others had. Morgan couldn’t quite concentrate on her bottle so her lil tummy gave her fits, thereby raising the decibel level higher than my morning ears were prepared for as we got everyone ready to walk Easton to school.

I hoisted a fussy Morgan into the BabyBjorn and we were off. (Ryan is taking me to Prague next weekend and so I’ve got to get used to hefting my gal around again.) I figured the baby carrier would be easier than the fight over who would get to sit in the stroller. I hope the neighbors didn’t mind me hollering FREEZE and GO all the way there and back every 30 seconds! With four boys all wanting to be the leader and lots of blind entry apartment garages and a street to cross together, a game was the only safe way to do it!

McKay decided to throw the mother of all running and screaming tantrums as we left the kindergarten because he thought it was his time to stay. We’re heading to a BBQ there later today so he was thoroughly confused and MAD!!! Don’t you just love disciplining your children in public? Boy I do! Right up there with having a root canal!

We got home in one piece and I had a serious case of LowBloodSugarCrankyPants. Remedied by a new favorite. I really like hot meals but I don’t really like to cook, especially first thing in the morning when hunger rules. Luckily I’d branched out yesterday and tried my hand at making these sausage, pepper, swiss and onion quiches which never made it to the oven so it was more of a scramble with lots of leftovers. I LOVE leftovers!!! I slapped some of that scramble in a warmed corn tortilla and was in HEAVEN!!! Angels may have been singing it was so good! I think we have a winner here folks! Between that and some brownie nibbles, I’m one satisfied customer!

The boys continue to play their hearts out with firetrucks, Rescue Heroes, GeoTrax trains and a smackling of Buzz and Woody wars and fighting bad guys. Life is good on this homefront while Morgan gets her much needed morning snooze. Now I’ll go tackle my laundry room and hope to get in a shower sometime before getting Easton from school, baking goodies for the school BBQ, and waiting on the repairman to arrive. Life is good, much better than yesterday at this time when I called Ryan and pleaded we trade lives for the day!

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You can’t make this stuff up! I thought what I wrote above was a decent real post, but the best is yet to come, in my humble opinion.

1:30pm Put movie on for boys so I can finally take that shower and hoping the repairman doesn't arrive in that interval. BBQ is at 4pm and I still need to finish chopping veggies for the pasta salad and bake cookies. Seems very doable.

3:00pm I’ve now burnt two batches of cookies and the other batch was flat. You’d think I was a first time baker, but there were just too many distractions even for my trusty watch timer! I finally got around to blow-drying hair when Easton runs frantically into the bathroom. One of the kids had unzipped one of the bean bags and teeny, static Styrofoam balls were spreading everywhere and some were even being eaten. ARGH!!! One hour left to go till the BBQ, kids to change and feed, pasta salad to finish – still got time.

4:00pm Our playmates were picked up late due to traffic and I figured I could get us out the door by 4:30 even though Morgan had woken up and was hungry. Easton is hounding me to get us out the door. Thanks buddy, take a chill pill!

Chop veggies, throw together eating kits, pack food stuffs and a few diaper bag items, change the kids – oh wait, Morgan pooped through everything. Great! Morgan’s screaming unless held, still distressed from a little too much TLC and noise with a house full today. Looks like it’s going to rain again so I grab two umbrellas on the way out – it’s just a stroll around the corner after all.

Not even twenty yards from our door it starts to pour. I hunch over with my umbrella to cover me, Morgan and the precariously food-packed stroller. I handed the other umbrella to Easton which provokes a complete meltdown from McKay who sits on the puddled curb and wails “I never get one” because he wants to hold the umbrella and have it to himself (He's been eyeing those umbrellas in the drawer waiting for a chance to use them for months now!). Morgan is screaming because she’s hungry, Easton is mad that there hadn’t been time to play his video game today and walking slow as molasses.

I decide to turn this train wreck around and head back home because we're all soaked and that does NOT make any event fun. Even though I feel like every group encounter I have with the school is something like this for me – when it rains it pours, but this time it’s LITERAL! In this moment, McKay is so mad and wanting to go to the school that he decides to bolt – straight for the busier street we have to cross to the school! Oh he is sooooo busted!!!

I plop his behind in the stroller, we’re all soaking wet still in a down pour and I’d had to move some of the food stuffs below. We make quite the racket on our way down the street, each of us furious for our own reasons. Well, I think Easton might be overjoyed actually to be returning to that blessed xBox, I don't remember having to remind him to get a move on.

We get inside, strip McKay down and get him into dry pjs. I sit him by me on the couch with Morgan who is just about to pop a vein from crazed hunger, start to feed her and try to “love” my three year old to calm us all down. In that very moment of silence, I hear MoTab sweetly serenade, “I feel my Savior’s love, in everything around me.” Laugh out loud, my genius iTunes! Not even two minutes later, all the world is right for my munchkins and once again I wonder why I ever bother venturing out my front door. Today felt like one of those quintessential mom rights of passage, only today there was a soundtrack! I don't know that the first toddler stomach flu could have had one - Anyone? I'd love to hear it! Was it sung by MoTab?

This has been a long day, but a real good day in the end. My boys had a lot of fun playing, I ate really good food, had some great laughs at my own expense, shared ‘em with my Love and a fave gal pal and will sleep well tonight! And it’s true, His love truly is in everything around me and I’m storing up for another rainy day.