Four Smiles

Because it is still yet to happen, I started out Independence Day determined to get a good picture of all four of my beauties. As soon as I had everyone dressed, I started to snap away. Here is the first picture I captured of the girls.

Next, we added Isaac to the mix.

While pictures with his sisters isn't on Isaac's list, there are many other things that make my children smile, as the rest of our day clearly demonstrated. Here is what made my girls grin ear to ear this July fourth:

Manicures at a local spa for little girls,

a picture with mommy,

and daddy too,

and eating pretzels from Auntie Anne's.

So what makes my sweet little boy smile? Obviously not getting a picture taken with his sisters, as he has clearly demonstrated over and over. Instead, we can get a grin from him while sitting on a tractor,

drinking lemonade,

and spending time with daddy.

We ended the day at my parents' house watching fireworks on their back deck- some of us, that is. My dad held Lydia inside the house, and Isaac went in and out of the house, unsure how he felt about all that noise. Madeline asked if the fireworks would break the sky after Brooke made a joke about Chicken Little. She then fell asleep before the finale. All in all, we had a great day celebrating our independence, and giving thanks to those who have sacrificed their lives for our freedom. I am way more blessed than any girl ever should be, and am excited to see what the rest of this year will bring. 

Goodbye Kitty

Ever since Madeline had her Hello Kitty birthday party last year, she has talked about her next Hello Kitty party. At first I gently tried to change her mind, but then I got used to the idea. I thought it was pretty cute that she loved Hello Kitty so much she would want the same theme two years running. (Ok, so maybe a small part of my liking the idea had something to do with the fact that I already had leftover decorations from last year.) Then, last week, she hit us with a bombshell. While reassuring Bill and I that she still loved Hello Kitty, Madeline informed us that next month she wants a My Little Pony party. In her own words: "I've already had a Hello Kitty party, and I love Hello Kitty, but I've never had a pony party and I love ponies and so I want a pony party, not a Hello Kitty party."

So, while Hello Kitty still has a prominent place in the house- which is a good thing since I'd already ordered a bathing suit, t-shirt, and dress online in her honor- next month I will be planning a My Little Pony party. Meanwhile, here are some recent pics of Madeline with her beloved Hello Kitty.

Nursing Hello Kitty in the car after church.

I should make her a nursing cover.

Hello Kitty gets her own waffle in the morning.

She will be such a good mommy one day.

Madeline makes clothes for her. Here she is displaying a bow she made for Hello Kitty out of construction paper.

I know that one day Hello Kitty won't ride with us buckled up in the car and join us at bedtime prayer. I'm enjoying this stage in my little Madeline's life, and her little feline friend will always be welcome in our home.

What I Learned This Week

As a mother of four small children, there is always a learning curve. It seemed to be an extra big curve this past week. In a nutshell, here is what I've learned:

1. If you and a friend decide to take six small children to the local swimming pool, call ahead first to make sure they are open. Otherwise you may waste nearly an hour getting kids ready, only to arrive and realize it's closed for a swim meet. I mean, really? The one time out of the entire summer I am brave enough to attempt the pool with the kids??

2. You should make sure that all your children's toys are put away in the garage when parking the SUV. This will avoid the catastrophe of running over a beautiful pink tricycle that you had envisioned your third daughter riding next summer.

3. Make sure the battery in your children's Barbie Jeep is well charged, unless you want it to die midway on the walk through the neighborhood. At the bottom of a hill.

4. Make sure your three year old uses the bathroom before taking a walk past the neighborhood's new home construction. Otherwise you may find yourself explaining that a stinky porta-potty is not an option while she is crossing her legs ready to pee her pants.

5. Pack diapers for all non-potty trained children so that your six month old does not end up wearing a size 4 diaper.

6. Don't expect watching fireworks with four small children who are up two hours past bedtime to go exactly how you planned. Of course, that should go without saying.

7. Before spending several hours weeding your yard, make sure that's exactly what you and your hubby both concluded would be the best way to spend your time.

8. Don't get too excited over an iced mocha from McD's. Chances are you will spill it all over the laundry room as you trip over preschoolers super excited over their happy meals.

9. Ending lists in an unrounded number bugs my sis-in-law blogger Julie. You can find out more about her OCD tendencies at her blog, From Inmates to Playdates.

I Can Do Anything

I have the privilege of knowing that I can do ANYTHING. I gained this sense of empowerment after delivering four babies into this world -two with pain medication, and two without so much as a Tylenol. Let me tell you- though each experience was exhilarating, beautiful, and a moment I occasionally wish I could relive- having a human being exit your body through an ever tiny space is excruciating. Even if you have an epidural, the recovery after is enough to make you take pause and have some not-so-favorable thoughts about Eve eating that fruit. I've never had a C section, but from what I hear from friends, it too is a massively painful recovery. Why do I bring all this up? Because I have to remind myself from time to time that if I can go through all that pregnancies and deliveries have to offer, I can do anything. Anything. Including changing a massively explosive poopy diaper on a tiny changing table in a gross public restroom. Without vomiting.

I have many poop stories of which I gracefully will spare you. Let's just say one of the worst ones was dished up by my beautiful girl Madeline at 9 months old on vacation, and she can now legitimately say, "That tastes worse than poop!" Or, "My hair looks better with poop in it!" My most recent experience was with my darling girl Lydia. Bill and I were able to get out for a rare date night, even if it was with our youngest alongside us. She is still nursing and not yet old enough for overnights at Grandma and Pap pap's. We were at a local restaurant having a great time talking about future vacation plans when I smelled something that didn't exactly remind me of the yummy enchiladas I had just ordered.

I whisked Lydia away to the bathroom, locked myself in the handicapped stall with the changing table, and then (not exagerrating in the least) swallowed back vomit. The smell combination of the restroom and her diaper was just about more than I could handle. I took her clothes off, and realized a new entire outfit was going to be necessary. As well as washing my arms up to the elbows. After going through every baby wipe I had, I placed the diaper out of her kicking reach. Good idea, I thought. Until it rolled. Onto the only spare outfit I had for her. It was at this point, with a naked baby, my messy arms, and no clothes for my child, I had to recite to myself: " You've given birth. Four times. You can do anything. Including this." Because all I wanted to do was to relax at the table with my love, eating enchiladas and talking about anything other than poop. So I looked into the sweet eyes admiring me, clueless to the havoc she was causing, and inspected the clothes. Thankfully her shirt was spared of the poop, and I so I dressed her without pants. I did my best to clean up the mess behind me, washing each arm one handedly (still not sure how I accomplished that while holding a baby) and then joined Bill for the rest of the dinner- knowing that yes, once again- I can do anything.

Painful Miscommunication

Over the past few weeks, flowering weeds have overtaken our front yard. Bill is usually in charge of the "outside things", but lately his time has been consumed with building our backyard deck. So, last night we had a discussion in which I told him that  it really bothered me that the front yard didn't look as nice as it could, and I asked what we could do about it. After a 2 minute discussion, I walked away with this conclusion: that there was some expensive yard feed we could buy, but his preferred method would be to hand-weed the yard.

Waking up motivated this morning, I took all four kids outside at 8am so I could get started. In nearly five hours I only stopped to feed Lydia and lay her down for a nap. Brooke would make quick runs inside the house for snacks and drinks. Ironically, during this time the neighbor's lawn service came to maintain a beautiful picture perfect yard. I came very close to walking across the driveway and hiring him on the spot, but instead I buckled down and kept right on, one weed at a time. I finally had to quit for a break and feed my hungry children at 12:45pm. Here is what I was able to accomplish in that amount of time.

Not too bad, right? Especially considering the lawn is less than a year old.

Now here is what is left untouched thus far in the front yard:

According to my own estimates, this leaves about, oh...another 10 hours of physical labor. Though patience is something I struggle with, I tried not to be frustrated, and instead happy with the progress I'd made while simulaneously entertaining four children. I even sucked up the fact that my fingers were red,swollen, and throbbing, and that I had small cuts and a painful rash all over my forearms. Yes, I had worked hard and should be proud of myself. Then, I had a conversation with my love. And I tiredly told him what I did this morning. And his response? "Oh, did you not want to buy the lawn feed?" what did he just SAY?? Seriously? Did I just waste nearly five hours outside for nothing? Apparently, even after nearly twelve years together, and seven wonderful years of marriage, we had two completely different conversations yesterday. He re-explained that he was actually fine with buying lawn feed, but that he had just made a comment that if I wanted immediate results (he knows me well) that the only solution was to hand weed. Bill reassured me that my work wasn't necessarily for nothing, but my balloon of motivation was already leaking air. Fast.

I don't know if this job will be completed or not. I'm all for some good exercise, but back-breaking outdoor work isn't usually my preferred way of spending my time. At any rate- we are on our way to a good-looking lawn, sooner or later. Now it's time for a hot shower before one of my angels wakes up from a peaceful napping slumber. Does anyone have any Icy Hot by chance?

Capturing a Miracle

With the addition of each new child of mine, taking a family picture over the past five years has become increasingly difficult. I've come to the point that if there are four warm bodies in the shot, whether there's one or more turned completely around, or crying, or picking a nose, or making a pirate face, it is considered a success. Which is why, during a visit with my close friend Stephanie, we were shocked when I managed to take this beautiful photograph of all six of our children- on the first try.

Have you ever seen any more beautiful children than these cuties?

Stephanie is most likely coming to visit me next week, so I'm excited for another day to spend with her and watch our kids play together. There seems to a budding romance between our two eldest children- it was so cute to watch. Take a peak here on Stephanie's blog to see what I mean.

Oh, and this is completely off the subject, but another thing that happened that day- Stephanie got me thinking about converting to organic milk. I made my first switch purchase this evening, but want some more solid scientific evidence before I permanently adjust to the new milk price tag.

Love you Steph!! You are an amazing friend and even more amazing mother. Plus- you can bake a pretty awesome cupcake. Can't wait to see you next week!

Sports Fanatics

Amy and I have a long history together. We've talked on the phone for approximately 1/5 of our lives, passed fascinating notes back and forth between classes, giggled until we've peed our pants (seriously; it just happened again today), and shared a strong passion for sports. It all started one year at the beach when we were teenagers. Amy didn't know how to swim, and though not professionally trained, I thought I would try to teach her. By the end of the week, she was able to stand in the four foot deep section without drowning. Here's my favorite picture of all that we accomplished that week.

Notice the quick reflexes to block any water from touching her face.

After high school, I decided to expand my love of sports to cross country. Not only did I find my future husband from the team, I was also able to earn $1000 in an athletic scholarship that year.

 

Look at that long, graceful stride. I'm so fast that those women in the background look like they are standing still.

After the season was over, I decided to take a well deserved break from sports for the next several years. Then this past March, while on a visit to Amy's house in Alabama, the two of us rediscovered our love of all things athletic. We were having so much fun, we had her husband Stephen document our skills.

We started the night with a little baseball.

I think I could have been a star quarterback if girls were allowed to play in school.

Amy has a dunk shot like no one else I know.

Wearing flip flops adds to the challenge. Seriously, try kicking a soccer ball in those shoes. It takes skills.

 I can't remember if there was any peeing in the pants in this moment. Safe guess says there was.

I love you, Amy. (Hopefully after this post, you still love me too.) I can't wait until next month when we get to share our love of all things athletic again. Let's hit up the local swimming pool; maybe we can find a professional to share his skills with us.