It was time

Beneath the mop of this "Cousin It"- like creature...

...I began to uncover the strangest thing...

 

 Behold, a charming little girl with a beautiful smile!

 

 This little hair cut was long over due...

 

What have I to fear?

 I am surrounded by super heroes!

Our Little Dude

Tomorrow, Dan turns 4 years old. Some days, I can believe he's survived that long...

The boy is a riot. Seriously. The stuff he comes out with is typically ridiculous, bordering on the bizarre, so that we can't help but laugh. Fortunately, he always seems to know that we're laughing with him, rather than at him.

 

He's such a ball of energy: always talking, moving, playing; never, ever still...until he sleeps.

 

 

 He's so affectionate, snuggling on laps, giving hugs and kisses, interrupting Daddy's study time just to let him know how much he loves Daddy. And if anyone in this family would be considered the outgoing one, it's Dan. As soon as he meets someone, he introduces himself and makes sure that they know when his birthday is. So, everyone who knows Dan can celebrate his big day with him.

Happy birthday, little dude. You crack me up.

A few things about cornhole

• Did you know there really is a game people actually play, called "cornhole"? The object of the game is to throw your corn-filled bags (your corn bags, if you will) through a hole cut into an inclined board. Corn. Hole. Corn Hole.
• Did you know that to be regulation weight, each corn bag must be one pound in weight?
• Did you know that when you've been using a corn hole bag over a number of years, the corn within begins to break down and turns to dust, which means your corn bag gets lighter and lighter?
• Did you know that when players are playing with bags that are not of equal weight, they will begin to fret, and even consider that they're not winning because there is something wrong with their bags?
• Did you know that when one man happens to mention that he'd be happy to bring the corn bags up to spec, the other players would get rather excited?
• Did you know that if you can run a sewing machine and mentioned that it should be no trouble to open a seem, refill the bags and close them up again, that you'd be doing that very thing within 48 hours (like, during the Super Bowl, for instance)?
• Did you know that once you began this little project, it would instantly become the most interesting thing your children have ever seen and they absolutely must help, until they've covered everything in corn dust?
• Did you know that when the job was done and the "one man" who began this project takes the corn hole bags back to the office, other men would drop everything (including a lesson, for instance) to come and try them out?
• Did you know that they would be so happy with their "new and improved" bags, it would be a little concerning?

These are just some of the things I've learned about corn hole. I can only assume more lessons will come in due time... 

This week

This past week was busy - evening meetings, full school schedule, places to go, people to see.
This week is also going to be busy, but a rather different kind of busy. Toby and I will be attending the Sovereign Grace Pastor's Conference in Orlando. Just to be clear, we will not be visiting the Magic Kingdom, but I suspect it will certainly be magical to spend a couple of days among adults, hearing some good teaching and relaxing in the sun. My children will be having a magical time with their grandmother, who's chief aim is to love on them and spoil them stupid.

A word about my mom...

I heard this story about my mom (from my mom) a while back. Apparently some neighbors had a squirrel problem in their attic, and the cost to have a guy come and "deal with it" was exorbitant. I'm not fully sure how my mom got called in, but it didn't take much to get her climbing up into a tight space with a hand gun. It seems there were no working lights in the attic, but there was a busted vent that she could tell was the squirrel's main entrance, which was also the only source of light. As soon as one of the little stinkers' silhouettes filled the hole, she fired.

When they found the squirrel later, they found one shot - right between the eyes. My mother shot a small, moving target in the dark, right in the head. She laughs this off, amazed at such a lucky shot, but I know better - I know my mom!

So when people ask me who's watching my children while we're out of town and if she'll be okay, I smile and nod. Six kids might be overwhelming for a lot of folks and she'll be tired by Friday, but I know she's got this under control. Clearly, there's not much they can do that I haven't already done, and there's not much she can't handle. She (and they) will do just fine.

Learning the humble

It was kind of a rough week, last week. You ever have one of  those weeks, the kind that seem to be a big dose of humility fertilizer? For instance:

• I did something to my back - not really bad, but bad enough to bring me up short when I twist or bend, enough to be a regular niggle.
• We've had teething kids, and with teething kids comes clinginess and horrible diaper experiences. Fun for the whole family.
• One night, I started to walk down to the basement, but somehow manage to slide halfway down on my butt, gaining a few colorful new bruises along the way. It was mainly funny, but rather painful. Every time I thought about the painful, I could just picture how funny I must have looked, surfing down the stairs, and I got the giggles again. It was so loud, too, that Abi came running downstairs to see what had happened. It's a rather humbling to have your 11-year-old escort you to bed.
• I somehow manage to overfill the reservoir in the coffee pot, not a few drops, but so that it overflows all over the counter. At this point, there was nothing else for it but to laugh. And mop up.

It's good to be reminded that I am I finite person with questionable depth perception and a tendency toward colorful bruises; it helps keep my tendency toward smugness in check. Here's hoping some of my ongoing lessons in humility are a little less painful this week.

Location, location, location

After I hung up a load of laundry outside, I noticed a wren flitting around with nesting material in his beak. I assumed he was building a nest in our canoe. Again.

 When I pulled the laundry off the line, I realized my mistake as soon as I put my hand in the peg bag...

 That poor bird must have worked awfully hard to stuff all that material into my peg bag in just one afternoon!

 

Thankfully, there were no eggs, but I still think the local house wren population needs a better realtor.

The Piano Man

I see greatness in this kid...

A Birthday

Sunday was my sweet husband's 38th birthday. I remember when I was growing up and thinking that 36 sounded really...not old, exactly, but very adult. While he is very much a man, I wouldn't always describe him as (ahem) an "adult".
In honor of my "always-manly-but-sometimes-less-than-adult" husband, I'd like to share a few little tidbits about the man I married:

1. He shares his birthday with Queen Elizabeth II.
2. He was born early and had a hernia at 6 weeks old.
3. He has a very strange affinity for bananas. He likes them any which way - on cereal, in ice cream, on pizza, covered in garlic, herbs and cheese. He also likes their price. On that front, at least, I see his point.
4. He loves cardinals. The flash of a brilliant, red bird across the yard is enough to make his day.
5. He grew up in a seaside town, but doesn't much care for the beach.
6. He writes left-handed but does pretty much everything else right-handed.
7. He's one of those annoyingly clever people that can do almost anything he tries. Never played baseball - hits 2 home runs. Doesn't play an instrument - can tap out tunes he hears on the piano. No plumbing experience - guts and refits a bathroom. Annoying, but a great guy to know.
8. There's little he wouldn't do to help someone. He's been known to move furniture, meet a friend in need at any hour, give generously, rescue stray/injured animals, and generally bend over backwards for folks. And he does it cheerfully, knowing that doing so honors the Lord.
9. He owned a Milli Vanilli tape in high school. (He continues to wear the mark of Shame.)
10. He might be the most safety conscious man I know. Hats, safety specs, ear protection - we've got it all, folks. He even brought home a gas mask for the kids to try on once. (I think a bad diaper might have been involved.)
11. He's a very "creative" dancer. Kind of like Homer Simpson - he is all white boy.

What happened to spring?!

These photos are roughly 2 or so weeks old:

Today, the high is 91. Um, what's up with that?

Everyday Madness

I took all 6 kids food shopping last week. It's not as crazy as it sounds, though I wouldn't exactly call it a sane decision, either. First we went to Aldi, and we did fairly well. With one shopping cart for Dan, Ellie and Caleb in his car seat, all the food went into a second cart. There were a couple of hang ups at first, with taking up room and getting in other shoppers' way, and of course the spilling of sour cream on the floor, but we got into a pretty good groove. We were in and out in less than an hour. Not too shabby.
We had another stop to make at Giant, though, and this proved to be just that bit too much for them. No crying, screaming or temper tantrums - that's not our style. No, my kids go the other way - they make everything into a game, and not just a normal, don't-step-on-the-cracks kind of game, but a let's-race-down-the-aisles-and-hurdle-the-displays kind of game. Today, there was hiding in the shopping cart (not a successful game, as it happens), running and sliding down the aisle, and shooting boxes of sandwich bags into the cart (okay, so that was me).
Of course, once these games begin, it's hard to know where they end, so there was also climbing through the van, under and over the bench seats, not to mention a small biting episode (and not the child you'd think, either).
All that said, this crew of mine can really work well together. We got the shopping done, van unloaded and groceries put away with no bloodshed! Plus, fun was had. How often do I get to say that about a shopping trip? I call that a win.

My littlest boys

They are both terribly cute, though they wear "cute" differently...

 

Sometimes the cute is as plain as day...

 ...and sometimes you have to work to see it (like when the two year old climbs out of the tub and covers himself with toothpaste).

But it's there, all the same.

My Crew

Our recent trip to the thrift store netted us some good finds, and some less promising options. I can't tell if they look like rock stars or something...less savory.

 

Ellie's ensemble, on the other hand, is totally innocent, and totally her. Who else would put vertical stripes with horizontal and then say with total confidence, "Don't I look pretty?"

 

 

 

 I know it's blurry, but I love baby sneezes. Somethings must be documented...

Lest you think I have it all together...

• Daniel ate hand sanitizer the other day and declared it "tasty".
• One night, Toby found little black floaty things in the water jug. The next day, there were plastic sea toys in there.
• There has been smoothie spots on my dining room wall for more than a week, with no sign of them coming off soon.
• More than once, Dan has poured powdered laundry detergent into various containers in the laundry room. I'm thankful it wasn't liquid.
• My children love to climb everything, including up the hallway walls and out their bedroom windows.
• They also pull out winter hats and gloves as soon as the temperature drops below 75F.
• Usually, if Ellie dresses herself, it looks like she lost a bet.
• One of Abi's history questions was "Name a country that one of Prince Henry the Navigator's expeditions reached." Her answer was "Las Vegas".
• It has been so long since I've ironed, Toby was struggling to find a subtle way to ask me to iron a shirt or two. What he came up with was, "So, how do you feel about ironing?"
• I have an upholstery project to tackle that I am so under-inspired and overwhelmed by that I'd rather get rid of the piece of furniture itself than make the needed repairs. However, I've already bought the material, so repair it I must.

I can't be the only one who has yet to get her act together. Any fun tales to share?

9 things about Caleb

1. He is my third (yes, third) due date baby - my water broke just after midnight on August 30th, and he finally arrived at 1:01pm. For most of the world, only 2% of babies come on their due dates, but at my house, it's 50%.
2. He's very laid back, a must for a sixth child.
3. He has a lot of hair. We like to comb it into a "faux-hawk".
4. He has kind of a large nose. Not massive or anything, but he kinda needs to grow into it a little. Eleanor said he has "a piggy nose", and I confess, I must agree.
5. He is the only baby of mine not to have even the slightest bit of jaundice. I put it down to all the pooping he did his first 24 hours. 8 bowel movements the first day of life will get things moving!
6. He has a short frenulum. I had never heard of this before, but it's basically a slight tongue-tie. It's not bad, and he nurses well, so will not need to have it clipped (eek!).
7. His breath smells like peaches and cream, but his diapers do not.
8. He has done two real, proper, reaches-the-eyes smiles. The first one brought tears to my eyes, it was beautiful.
9. He is amazing and marvellous and beautiful and everyone who meets him falls in love. He has this affect on people.  We shall watch him very carefully when he's 16.

Where I Live...

...or "Weird Stuff My Kids Do":

• Coming into the kitchen mid-morning, I discover that Abigail forgot to put the oatmeal canister away after she made herself breakfast, because Daniel is sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor, eating raw oatmeal by the handful. Blech.
• I'm on the phone while the kids play with play dough at the kitchen table. I look over to find Daniel jamming play dough into Eleanor's cup full of water. While dealing with that mess, I see Ellie jamming a teeny-tiny Lego hammer into an electrical socket. I needed pliers to put it out.
• At dinner that night, Ellie kept complaining that her water tasted bad. We paid little attention, since it looked fine and was the same water as everyone else's. Toby finally tasted it to convince her that it was okay, but it backfired - it really did taste bad. Apparently, her cup wasn't washed well enough after the play dough-defilement. Toby's dismay was palpable: "Wait - I just drank play dough-water?"
• We are trying to leave swim class. I instruct Abigail to help Ellie with her shoes. I turn around to lead Noah, Anna and Dan to the van to find that Noah has vanished. I look around, calling for him, until I finally find him back in the main viewing room. Me: "What are you doing here?" Him: "I don't know." Me: "Did you not get that we are headed toward the van, trying to leave?" Him: "No..." Me: "No?? What did you think we were doing, then?" Him: "I don't know..."
• Abi is doing her Bible study, answering a question about the Pharisees. The question reads something like "What were the Pharisees thinking about Jesus?" Her answer: "He visits with sinners and eats them." I had to remind her that good grammar can save lives.

I wonder what they are up to now...?

An 8th Birthday

Anna's 8th birthday was Saturday. We spent her day:

Making a fuss of her and enjoying her goofy faces

 Playing at the beach

 Eating cake - she approved

There were also presents and a wedding (without power!) thrown in for good measure.

By all accounts, a good day.

Sparkly Flats

I never thought I'd see the day, but it's here - I used Mod Podge and glitter together and I actually enjoyed it!

 Using this tutorial as a reference, Abigail and I pulled out a pair of our most scuffed and sad looking shoes and gave them a makeover. It was easy, not very messy and though Abi's shoes came out better than mine, they both look much better than they used to.

I suppose the days of me being able to glare, squinty-eyed, at a "crafty" mom with the accusation "I'll bet you have glitter in your house, don't you?" are over. Perhaps I have crossed over to the dark side, but it's not so bad. Abi did look at me sideways and question my true identity, but it was worth it for the smiles I got when we were done.

Make your own...laundry detergent?

I've been making my laundry detergent off and on for a couple years now. I like how cheap it is, how well it cleans our clothes (and believe me, we put it through its paces!) and how little we need to throw away. Those big plastic jugs take up some room!
For a long time, I've been using SouleMama's detergent recipe and been very content. It's simple, inexpensive, the ingredients are easy to find and does what it's supposed to. I wanted to have a go at a liquid detergent, however - I generally prefer how it dissolves in the machine. So, off to handy dandy Pinterest to see if some clever soul out there has figured out how to do it. I was not disappointed.

This is the first recipe I found and liked - after all, I had half the ingredients already. It looked pretty straight forward. I also stumbled upon this recipe, which included oxyclean. I've never used oxyclean before, but it sounded pretty good, though the detergent was a powder. So, when it came time to make my detergent one quiet Saturday morning, I decided to try for the best of both worlds and make the liquid with the addition of oxyclean. Now if you're a chemical person (which I am not, but my husband is), you can probably guess what happened. I melted the soap - fine. Added the powders - no problem. Brought the mixture to a boil - and that's when it happened. Evidently, one of the things oxyclean does is fizz. A lot. As the mixture began to boil over, I lifted the pot, hoping that the absence of heat would allow it to stop bubbling all over the place. No such luck. This stuff went everywhere - all over the stove, into the oven, over the counter. In trying to get it to the sink to try to control the mess, it made it's way to the floor and splattered all over several cabinets. It took longer to clean up the mess than to make the stuff to begin with (isn't that always the way?).
Once my chemistry lab/kitchen was cleaned up and under control, I was able to contain and use the detergent, and you know what? I like it. It was worth the mess and fuss to reuse the plastic containers with something that works well without costing loads. I definitely plan on using it again when we run out.
One suggestion, though: Follow the ingredients carefully and don't get clever trying to mix and match recipes on your first try. Not unless you like cleaning splatters on your kitchen cabinets for the week to come. That's not really my idea of a party, but hey - whatever floats your boat, right?

The Conference Cowl

This is it (I think) - the last completed project update!

It was a great project. I had a ball of Malabrigo Rios left over from my Estelle and I needed a project that was interesting but not too involved to take along to the Sovereign Grace Pastor's Conference. This pattern and this yarn made for a beautiful pair.

I began on the car-ride down to Gaithersburg and finished the day we came home. Perfect.

Plus, I learned two things:

1. Blocking is so important. I already knew this, but the reminder was helpful. When it was first finished and I put it on, it looked like a large, blue caterpillar was attacking me. It was more than a little snug around my neck, and I was preparing to give it away. But once home and suitably blocked, the fibers really r  e  l  a  x  e  d, and there was a lovely drape to it. No more(wo)man-eating caterpillars here.

2. When you drop your yarn in the middle of a meeting and the ball rolls under the dozen or so rows in front of you, several things will happen: the yarn will pick up dust and fluff, people will turn and look at you, you will want the floor to open up and swallow you whole, you will have to ask a patient man to throw that ball of yarn back behind his feet so you can get to it, he will look at you like you have 3 heads as you scrabble about on the floor, you will feel like an utter moron, and you may never live it down. I'll get back to you on the last one.

For real.