Movin' and Shakin'

D: I want tomato on my sandwich (PBJ). I don't like tomatoes. Tomatoes are too spicy and yummy.

D: I want peanut butter, jam, and toast, and jelly!

D: I want fuzzy pants!
Me: It's too hot out for pants.  Let's try shorts.
D: Because they're too hot and nice and cold!

D: Where's S?
Me: She went to live with her grandma.
D: And Granddad is out shopping!
Wrong grandma, but sure.

C: And definitely no poops on the couch because it would be camouflaged.
(little potty training humor!)



(6/23) Work day for me and Dad had the kiddos. Dad took the boys out to look at houses today.  They were crazy excited.  A whole new place to destroy!

(6/24) Work day for Dad, and I had the kids.  I ran C's bike (Goodwill find) out to the bike store to get the tires looked at, and when we got home, we discovered the rear brakes were broken.  He just used his little bike to buzz around the neighborhood, but then happened to mention that his 'new' bike was broken to a neighborhood dad, and this dad fixed his bike right up.  Happy day!  I had all the kiddos out riding their bikes on the side street and then we played in the sprinkler (or water bucket) to cool off.


(6/25) Work day for Dad & me, and Sarah had the kiddos.  I had to get the boys up super early today, and poor D was a sobbing, blabbering mess.  We had Sarah keep the littles' naps short so they would hopefully go to sleep relatively quickly... HA.  I got my office all packed up today, and will come back to a brand new cube in another part of the building next week.

(6/26) I took today off, and got to enjoy the day with the kiddos.  I took the boys to Zumba and then we went to the tie-dye party supporting the preschool they will attend/have attended.  The boys played and played, and were predictably exhausted.  J fell asleep on a five minute car ride when I went to take the teenager to a friend's house after all that.  Dad took the bigs out to a movie tonight (Inside Out) and I stayed home with the littles while they played the get-out-of-bed game a bazillion times. This phase is getting so old!


(6/27) I took the boys to Zumba this morning, but really didn't need to bother since I would be doing plenty of stairs this afternoon loading up the teenager's stuff for her big move.  After a year with us, she is leaving us to go live with her grandmother.  We hope to still see her often and will miss her like crazy!  This move is very bittersweet - we're thrilled for her, but at the same time... sniff, sniff.   After Zumba and a few "popcorn" (hardware) store runs, we went home to give the teenager more boxes, and I got cleaned up to go to book club.  It was a very small book club, but it was the perfect afternoon to sit outside, drink mimosas, and not discuss the book.  Once I got back, I packed the van full of the teenager's stuff.  After we had said our goodbyes, I then hauled all of C's things into her old room and broke down his bunk bed in the twins' room, while Dad drove the teenager to her new home. Busy, busy day.

(6/28) Today we met with a realtor to view a home and then have her take a peek at ours and see what we were up against in terms of prepping ours for sale. Since I'm in moving mode, I knocked out most of the boys' bedrooms and got the bulk of the upstairs ready.  Dad made multiple runs to the dump and Value Village and we made a big dent. I feel pretty optimistic that we can get ours done before the week is out.


(6/29) More cleaning, sorting, and sweating today.  It's too dang hot!  Shew!  I had vacation planned for today, which was super convenient since my office moved suites and the actual move took place today and we didn't have to be there for it.  We met up with Oma & Opa this afternoon and Opa brought his famous cookies along with stuff we forgot the last time we visited.  The littles spied the cookies and asked for one about every five seconds.  And then wanted seconds.  Since we were in the area earlier, Dad & I stopped at Spuds sans kiddos.  Shh, don't tell!  We looked at another property this evening that we like even better than the one we viewed yesterday.  I'm starting to get excited about moving!

Hot Potato

D: Mama? Whatcha doing?
Me: Cooking.  What are you doing?
D: Uhm.  Potato.

D: Moose is hitting me! Hit me, Moose!  Hit me!
(with his tail)

Me: Do you guys want to go ride the horses?
D: No, we want to ride the Moose!

Jordan: Can we be done now?
Sarah: We're almost there.  I don't know how you'd get back to the car if we stopped here though.
Jordan: I'd activate my transpotato!

Me: I'm making Monkey Bread for the monkeys!
D: NO!  IT'S FOR THE LITTLE BOYS!

Me: Are ya warm now, D?
D: It's too hot and nice!


(6/16) Day off for Dad and me.  Granddad & Grandma came over and we worked, and worked, and worked on the chipping up the big piles of ivy we cut up last week. I am so grateful for their help - they're always willing to do fun & exciting things like that.  Love them!   Dad took C fish shopping after school and restocked our big tank.  C got a little beta tank to replace the bowl he had.  His new tank has a light that he can read by at night.  With some creative rigging, I *think* it's safe from the twins now?

(6/17) Last day of school for the bigs! I did the responsible adult thing this morning and paid bills while the littles played and got into everything.in.sight. I took them to the gym to be someone else's problem for a bit before we grabbed C and came home. We had a picnic lunch and then to celebrate the end of the school year and the anniversary of the teenager coming to live with us, we went to the buffet.

New THIRD grader!

(6/18) Work day for Dad, and play day for the rest of us.  Sarah and I took all five boys to Green Lake today. We made it all the way around and didn't lose or kill any of them. Yay us!  I put the littles down late and they took forever to fall asleep, but when they did, they slept hard and for too long.

(6/19)  I made my early birdies breakfast and then hauled them to the gym.  We went for coffee after class, and then to Sarah's house to enjoy while the kids played.  Sarah kept C during the twins' "nap," which I gave up on after an hour and sent the littles out to the yard to play.   The teenager asked to go to a friend's house this evening, so Dad ran her over and then hit the gym, while I played the "GET BACK IN BED" game with the twins, because they had now caught their second and third winds, and their little over-tired selves refused to settle.


(6/20) We hit the gym this morning, mostly because the boys were on a royal tear and I couldn't take it anymore. Afterward, we stopped to get more mulch for the flower beds out front.  I spread it during "nap time," and just hoped the littles would stay put.  C was inside while I worked and reported that they were banging on the door and running around... so yeah, they "napped."  We met up with Granddad and Grandma for an early Father's Day dinner this afternoon.  We went to the buffet again, which has a great assortment of sushi and other good eats.  Love that place!  I took the boys to the park to burn off some of the sugar they inhaled, and then came home to put them in bed.

(6/21) Happy Father's Day! We took the boys down to Emerald Downs to watch the horse races today.  C and J had opportunities to pet the escort ponies, but J got scared and backed away before he had a chance.  Then, of course, he wanted to try again, but the horse had already gone on.  We had a really nice time, and Dad won back his parking money. We came back home for a nice dinner and Slurpees to cap off a warm day.  The teenager reappeared this evening and got started packing.  She'll be leaving to move in with her grandma soon.  Sigh... It's going to be so different.


(6/22) Back to work me with today, and Dad has the kiddos. It was a good week, but I'm definitely ready to be back to routine.

Emerald Downs!

J says his bed is full of "stinkies"

Tippy-toe Powers Activate!

C: When I am swimming, I can just activate my tippy toes and touch!

D: JJ, come screw with me!
(They were using screw drivers)

D: I have an owie on my arm.
Me: I'm sorry, how'd you get that?
D: I went running with Sarah.  And Dad.  And Mama.

Me: And soon you boys will get to go to preschool.
D: No, I want to go play in the yard.
C: See Mom? I think we should home school for the rest of the year then.

C: Do you want me to make a fart?
J: Yeah!  FAAAARTTTT!
Yay, boys!

(6/9) Work day for me, and Dad had the kids.  I'm liking his schedule, and the bigs just have one week left. I'm looking forward to a busy summer.

(6/10) Work for Dad today and I had the kiddos.  Granddad and Grandma brought over the chipper and we tore all the ivy down off the back fence.  It's been there since before we moved here over 7 years ago, so it was well entrenched, and we worked HARD!  Hopefully now I can keep it under control.  Nasty stuff.  I like how my yard is shaping up though!

(6/11) Work day for Dad and me.  Sarah met me at the gym with the kids and we got to Zumba before coming home.  The only bad part about doing that is that we get home late, and it's pretty much bedtime as soon as we walk in the door.

(6/12) Work day for Dad & me, and Sarah had the kids. I had to wake the boys and have them at Sarah's by 6:45a, and they were so tired D kept yelling random things like "That is not a toy because it's too loud!" The littles have taken to calling Sarah "Mom" when they're tired like that.  They've been pretty clingy, but also very cuddly. The teenager rode the bus home with a friend today, and the rest of us had a movie night.

(6/13) Work day for Dad, and I had the kiddos.  I wanted to take the kids to Zumba, but discovered Dad had the car seats.  Called Sarah and she ran one by and we got to Zumba only a few minutes late.  After class, we headed over to the boys' last swim lesson.  At the start of the lesson, 3/4 swimmers were sobbing, and JJ was bouncing up and down, happy as can be. D was sympathy crying with the others.  Swim was very fun and the boys really did great.  We went over to Grandma's for lunch and C stayed to go bday shopping and I brought the littles home to nap while I worked in the yard.  We went and played out in the yard later and got the boys nice and filthy before bath time.

(6/14) Fun day for me!  I ran to coffee with Sarah in the morning and then met up with another foster mom for a walk on the Centennial Trail, with more coffee! She was wearing a familiar race shirt, so we talked shop and running.  My mom (Nanan) requested 24 hours of my time, and didn't tell me where we were headed. Not being in charge of the plans is hard for me, but she offered no-kid time and wine, so I said I was in! We ended up staying at the Inn at Barnum Point which had a beautiful waterfront view and a great deck. We sat out, watched the eagles, and visited all afternoon. Very relaxing!  Dad held down the fort while I was away.

(6/15) Mom and I sat out on the deck and had cinnamon rolls and coffee and watched four bald eagles getting buzzed by smaller birds, or just hanging out at the beach.  Unfortuntately, my phone camera didn't get great pics, but it was still a treat!  We went for lunch and then watched a movie before I came back to reality.  I missed my kiddos!  I am out on vacation this week and it was a great way to kick it off!

The Early Bird Gets the Worm

D: We didn't get a pink smoothie.
Dad had a Slurpee yesterday and didn't share. D threw him under the bus.

D: We need to go to hockey, in the stroller, and have a fruit cup.
Cuz that's how you do hockey practice.

J: Mama? I need coffee.
Oh heck to the no!

D: Colton! Mouth closed!
Me: He is.  Are you chewing with your mouth closed too?
D: Yeah, I'm doing it three!

D: I need to eat the worm!
J: No!  It's my turn! *shove*

Sarah: D? Are you hot?
D: No, I am windy!

D: It's too windy for the hair!
Sarah: You have no hair!


(6/2) Work day for me, and Dad had the kids. The teen is working on a song for the talent show, so stayed after school for that.  She admitted she will miss school once it's over and that she doesn't hate it all.  ← There, it's in writing.  Can't deny it now!


(6/3) National Running Day. I'm glad it was misty and blah outside, so I didn't feel bad trekking to the gym and reading my book while I got in my miles.  I made the littles lunch after we got done and then I put them down for a nap.  I didn't have to be anywhere, so I fell asleep too. Nanan popped in to say hi and woke me up, and we visited and laughed at the shenanigans happening in the place of napping upstairs.  The boys never did nap, and I gave up and got them up when it was time to get C from school.  I told Dad they had earned themselves and early bedtime, and they were *out* when I got back from taking the teen to her appointment.  'Course then a certain older brother decided to talk to them a few hours later, and they bounced up thinking they had had a nap, and didn't go back to sleep until almost 10p.


(6/4) Work day for Dad & me, and Sarah had the monsters.  I went in late today so that I could drop C at school.  It was nice to sleep in, even if what follows is a chaotic dash to get all the kids out the door on-time, dressed, and fed. Dad picked up the kids after work and I went straight to the gym and got to Zumba all by myself, so my zen didn't wear off this time until after I got home!

(6/5) Work day for Dad & me, and Sarah had the kiddos. The bigs had an early release from school today, and C started hockey camp tonight. Some friends from hockey generously ferried him down and back. C wore a hockey jersey to school today, because it was Hawaiian shirt day, obviously.  Methinks somebody is a little bit excited about camp.  The teenager and I went to go see her school's play, Guys and Dolls. I was impressed ~ bravo, great performance!  We even beat C back.  The camp videoed his skating and then went over the vids with the kiddos to help them strengthen their skills.


(6/6) C got picked up for hockey camp bright and early today.  The littles and I bummed around for a bit, then loaded up to go to the gym.  I made the mistake of buying Goldfish for after the gym on the way, and D was a D-saster when we got there, sobbing about his crackers.  After my class, I picked him up, and then he didn't want to go to swim because he wanted to take his crackers home to eat at the Treehouse (our house).  I took the boys to swim anyway, and he was just all out of sorts. They got to wear life jackets today, which made J pretty brave.  D clung to the instructor and fake cried through most of the lesson.  Poor bubba.  They're so off their schedule right now.  After swim, we ran home to meet C, have lunch, and play more outside before nap.  They slept until after Dad got off from work, and I had a chance to run out and grab dinner and bring it back before getting them up.


(6/7) C had hockey camp first thing this morning, and the teen had to leave for her visit. The littles asked to play Playdoh and I thought that would keep them occupied for five minutes while I was seeing the teen off, but I came back to D saying that he had put salt in the pepper. Because that's just what we always needed. Hmph. After we got all the groceries put away, and the Playdoh cleaned up, I took the littles out to play in the back yard while we waited for C to come home.  We stayed out until they were crowing for food.  I brought them in for lunch and ran around and did some other things while they ate.  After C came home, our plan was to load up, and take the dogs to the park. I looked over and D is flat out on the floor, almost asleep.  We bagged our plans and I put the boys down for a nap instead.  The bigs spent the rest of the day with their friends, and I made a very small dent in my book for book club.


(6/8) Monday, Monday... la la, la la la.  Work for me, school for the bigs, and Dad has the kids.  One more Monday left for the kids and it's break time!  Yay, we survived!