The store

Going to the store is always an interesting experience for us. For the kids it seems it is a HUGE adventure even if we are just there to get bread and milk. The other thing I have noticed about my kids (and maybe this is just true in large families) is that they like to stake out their own little place in the world or become attached to something. For my girls it is their desks. For John it is either his trains, cars, or animals depending on his mood. Most of the time they are pretty good about sharing, but when they are staking out their place or things, if you cross into their area or mess with their stuff, you will pay. I'm sure some psychologist could tell me why this occurs, my guess is that they are just kids. Anyway, Nathan has recently picked out his place in this world and it only happens at the store. It is the front half of the grocery cart. When he is in it, he has determined that no one else will touch it, be near it or even look at it. It is his and his alone. As you can imagine, this makes the trip to the store even more interesting and I'm sure very entertaining for any on-lookers. Well, either entertaining or extremely annoying. Typically we have a rule that when you are at the store you only touch the cart or mommy. Everything else is off limits. So, since Nathan has claimed the front half of the cart and if they are by the back half I tend to run over them because I'm not paying attention, the rest of them have attached themselves to me. Now, fortunately, I usually only go to the store with three of them, not four so Ashley and John each get a pocket to hold onto. Let's just say that keeping my pants up in the store has made our trips even more interesting then usual. I didn't really realize it until yesterday when I noticed a strange look from a fellow shopper when I said (and I don't think I was whispering) "John, stop pulling down my pants!" If you had followed me around the store you would have been able to put the comment in context. However, obviously this lady had better things to do with her time then follow me around, so she had no context whatsoever to place it in. The look on her face was priceless. So the next time you are in a store and see a mom surround by children you can just remember that I count it a successful trip to the store if I leave fully dressed.

Who knew orange juice could taste so good?

Ahhhh, nothing like cold orange juice on a warm sunny day.

Now, I must perfect my sweet and innocent look. I was just really thirsty mom!

As a footnote: No, my children are not typically allowed to drink directly from the carton. However, this has never been an issue before and I'm not sure I've ever communicated that rule. It was something that a girl never thinks of doing. The rule has now been communicated and there will not be pictures taken the next time it happens. And the poor kid was just desperate. He had begged me for a drink several times, but I was mowing and so was extremely delayed in getting him one. At least he is resourceful!

Laughter is the best medicine

We've been dealing with allergies at my house. I haven't been able to talk for the last couple of days. If you've never had allergies, imagine a horrible cold with extreme itching in your ears, throat, nose, and eyes. The biggest problem I have with them though is that they completely drain any energy I may have. With four kids I really don't need any other energy drainer in my life. So it has been a long couple of days as we have been couped up inside. Yesterday I decided to end the quarantine and let everyone go outside. They always love to have me push them on the swing, but I have one unspoken requirement if they want me to push them. If they don't have shoes on, I get to tickle their feet while pushing them. As I was pushing Ashley on the swing her giggles filled the whole backyard. Then she paused from the laughter and said "Mommy, my laugh is my favorite thing about me". I would have to agree and it certainly did make me feel better.

Thought for the day

Behind every successful person...is a substantial amount of coffee!

How great is this?!

My girls were fighting yesterday afternoon. Now I usually make it a very strict policy not to air my children's dirty laundry in public. I wouldn't want them to air mine out in public and so I offer them the same respect. However, this time what they were fighting over doesn't really put them in a bad light, so I decided to bend my rule a little. They were fighting over who was going to sweep the dining room floor. Isn't that awesome? Once again though my pessimism is setting in. How long will this last? And what can I do to encourage this behavior so that it lasts a very long time? Well, a step I took last night was having them sweep as much as they wanted. I'm wondering though if I limit the sweeping if it will make it even more appealing to them? Hmmmm.... in any case, I think my floors became very clean last night (or as clean as a 5 & 6 year old can get them!)

the longing for summer vacation

My eldest returned from school this afternoon very excited--only 7 more days of school until she's a 1st grader. She is also very excited about summer break. Most of this year we've been battling tears whenever school is out whether it is because she is sick, the weather is bad or just one of those numerous in-service days. Now I was very pleased with this attitude. It is much easier to deal with tears about not going to school then to deal with tears because she has to go to school. But I wondered about it most of the year. She HATED snow days. (and not because she knew she would have to go longer at the end of the year!) I can remember LOVING getting out of school at every opportunity I had. I wondered when the attitude I had would kick in. (I guess I was a pessimist and assumed it would kick in at some point.) Evidently that time (at least for my child) is when there are 9 days left in the school year. Every morning since then we deal with "Do I have to go to school? I don't waaaaaant tooooooo." Fortunately there have been no tears. Maybe its the heat, the lack of air conditioning, the sunshine, the call of the local parks and swimming pools or just something inherent in all of us that longs for summer vacation.

My two thumbs up

I got a new CD in the mail this afternoon. It was a very good afternoon as I don't get new CDs very often. This was Jars of Clay new one Good Monsters. I'm listening to it right now. For what it's worth, I give it two thumbs up. They've returned to some of their rock roots which I definitely appreciate. I'm not much of a music critic. I think it is at this point that normal ones would go on about the acoustic (or non-acoustic sound), deep lyrical breadth, growth in their vocals, etc. but I won't because in most cases I have no idea what all that stuff means. I'll just say that I like it and give it two thumbs up (although they may be ignorant thumbs).

happy child, clean child?

I had to clean up a mess this morning. Actually I'm not even sure mess can accurately describe what I cleaned up. Let's just say I've have four kids and this is by far the worst mess I've ever cleaned up. It was also a very clear reminder that a happy, quiet child does not necessarily mean a happy, quiet, clean child. Trust me--you definitely want the rest left to your imagination.

Nothing like starting the day with Chopin

I seem to have started a music trend. But that is really not surprising since I love music. It is rare that there isn't some form of music playing in our house at all times. And I think I am somewhat unusual in that I have a very, very wide spectrum of music that I listen to. I enjoy pretty much anything but rap and hard core rock and really old twangy country music (sorry Joe!). Anyway, this morning I was in a classical mood so I put in a Chopin CD for breakfast. John came downstairs and began eating his donut (our Sunday morning tradition). He looked at me with a confused look and said "Are you playing the piano Mommy?" "No, John, I put a CD in the stereo." John: "So you played the piano last night and taped it." (Oh, do I wish I could play Chopin. One of the things I want to do before I die is learn how to play, but I digress) "No John it is someone on the CD playing it." Still not convinced he walked into the living room and checked out the piano. Evidently my stereo has better sound quality then I thought. Eventually he gave into the confusion and just decided to enjoy Chopin. He even decided that he would like to learn how to play it someday.