Wednesday Night

 

Tonight was a “lock your children outside while you blast Dreamgirls’ soundtrack and clean up the kitchen while regrouping your patience” kind of night.

It was the kind of night where Joseph wanted to go to a new neighbor friend’s house, and I said okay (reluctantly, because I don’t know this kid well yet), but to be home by 3:45, and it rolled around to 4 and still no Joseph and I was thinking that he was for sure kidnapped or missing and I was angry-because-I-was-scared.  And then I found him (at the friends house still obviously) and he thought it was 4 he needed to be home and I was still mad, and we hugged and he said, “Can we drop it, because it was really only 15 minutes.”  Ha!

 

The kind of night where fighting and crying ensued every 30 minutes (seconds) like clockwork and you find yourself yelling, “Don’t you guys remember our memory verse?!  ‘A SOFT ANSWER TURNS AWAY WRATH!!’”  And you realize the irony of you yelling this at your kids, but you are too tired for irony!  Too tired!  And your children don’t understand irony anyway.

 

(Isaac in time-out…with company)

 

 

It was the night of what-do-you-know, I am RIGHT THIS MINUTE painting the baseboard in the bathroom mint green, because I am sooo sick of seeing the peeling/cracking/stained old one, so SURPRISE BRIAN!!  Yet another thing in our home that is now mint! (Pictures of more mint things I’ve painted to come)  

BEFORE:

 

AFTER:

And I’m hoping that the satisfaction of this job well done will make up for the fact that the rest of my house is fairly disastrous. 

Tonight was an early bedtime for the boys, a mint ice cream cone for me (I’m in a mint stage), and some thoughts of “Rats, I could have done better…” and then an early bedtime for me too.

And a quick prayer thanking the Lord for a fresh start tomorrow.

(and some help with the soft answers)

LOVE!

 

I know that Brian loves me, because he spent the better part of last weekend building and installing a second garden box.  Just for me!

For me and my greenish-brownish-blackish thumb!  But, to my credit, I do have something positively thriving in that box right now…wild and potentially poisonous mushrooms!  Lovely!

But that’s for another post. 

THIS post is about his love for me, and how he didn’t even mind forgoing his plans, donning his best work shoes (kidding), and making my planter box.  Thanks Brian!

I show him that I love him by not letting this little guy go “help Dada with the shovel!!”

And by bringing him hot meals and coffee day after day.  Except when I don’t feel like it, and then I show him I love him by keeping his children alive.

Also, clean socks (sometimes).

 

We love each other!

In other news, Samuel loves touching/picking up/ petting bugs!

So if you could all say a little prayer that he never ever does this to a bee this summer, that would be great.

 

Preschool Graduation

 

Well folks, he did it!  Isaac graduated from preschool! (they all did, but shh! don’t tell him!)

For those of you who didn’t know, I enrolled Isaac in a little in-home daycare in the spring.  With full-day kinder looming ahead of us, I thought it might be good for him to become a little acclimated to the school setting.

 

You might think that this is code for “it might be good for him to stop talking to Mommy for one little minute”, but its not!  It’s ACTUALLY code for “it might be good for him to stop wrestling with everyone he sees all the time, because its not socially acceptable in the public school system.”

In any case, he LOVED IT and absolutely LIT UP every time I took him there.  He only had to sit in the “thinking chair” once, and it was on his very first day when he “didn’t know that he couldn’t karate chop people at school”  (See?! SEE??!)

(Above: This was his proud face when he saw Brian sitting in the crowd)

We didn’t feel too sad about him leaving his teacher behind because- good news!  She is doing some summer camps!  And you can bet that his adorable little behind is going. (This time its for the  quit-talking-to-mommy-thing.)  (I mean socialization)

Lets take a minute to observe a few things about the picture above.  First of all, I’m sorry for blacking-out the other kids faces, it just felt weird to put them on the internet.  And I know I could have done a cute little heart or smiley face stamp on their faces instead but I DON’T KNOW HOW!

Anywhoo, what I want you to observe is

1) How very very much taller Isaac is than all of his classmates.  He truly is a giant!  Some of the kids are still four, but 5 of them are his same age (or older!)

2) There were all boys in his class, except one little girl who joined a month or two before the class ended.  His teacher is clearly a SAINT!

3)  He is the only kid not looking at the teacher.

I am so happy that Isaac got to have this experience.  He is such a kind friend, and so enthusiastic.  Truly an adorable child (even if he does stand in the toilet and flush to see if it spins him around) (NOT. JOKING.) and that little sparkle in his eyes melts my heart.

Waaaah!  I’m going to miss him in the faaaall!!

 

In any case, here are some videos for your viewing pleasure…

I was going to say that these may be tedious if you are not a relative, but no!  He is so adorable and cheerful and heart-achingly earnest.  I declare them worth watching for everyone!  Or maybe I’m just biased?  But for posterity at least- behold!  Isaac’s graduation!:

 

Thank goodness for my zoom lens

 

Zoomed in

Zoomed out

I’m working to find the beauty in both views!

 

 

But I must say, there is GREAT beauty in Chipotle for lunch.

There is one 6 minutes from home (yes, we timed it) and I’m not going to say that I go there a lot…but I spent more on Chipotle last month than I did on GAS!  For the entire month!

 

Also, the last time we were headed there, Samuel kept saying something that I couldn’t quite understand…until it came to me.  He was saying “mild and corn salsa” which are the salsa options I always select.  He also correctly identified whether I would want black or pinto beans, and white or brown rice!  Ha! 

But I’m rambling!

 

 

PS Its black and brown obviously.  I’m a health nut!

PPS The opposite of health nut actually because I just made this recipe for the first time since that day and yuuuuuuum!

Late Spring at My House

 

Preschool is over, and just two more weeks of school left for Joseph, until we are home free!  I am READY!

Wait, am I ready?  I think I’m ready?

I’m READY to be done packing lunches and getting Joseph out the door by 7:15, I am NOT READY to be hot and sweaty and yelling at all of my three children to “stop touching each other!”  and “Poop is NOT FUNNY TO ME!” all day every day. 

 

I am READY for more BBQs and crock pot meals, and “oh my goodness! Where did the time go? We spent all morning at the park!” kind of days. 

I’m ready for slow mornings where my children won’t only be fed cereal every day for breakfast.  Or maybe they will and that’s okay because they love it! (also because sprayed-on-vitamins!)

And more days when a trip to Target is an unhurried event, with a list that looks like this:

(In case you can’t read that, it says “Pokemon, Bubbles, Cereal”  which was all that we “needed”)

And when I’m not rushed, its easier for this charmer to convince me to get things like this

because WHY NOT?!?  I won’t regret those $30 in ten years…LOOK HOW HAPPY HE IS!!

I’m loving the longer daylight, the turning off of electronics, the popsicles filling my whole freezer. (We have lots of neighbor kids!)

I’m loving the fans in the window, the shaving of my legs…oh wait, not that one!…the flowers and strawberries and green and Oh! Oregon in June is so beautiful!

And I can’t forget the telltale sign that summer is coming to our house- my laundry pile FULL OF STRIPEY SHORTS!

Six summers running I’ve been getting these shorts, and some of them are on their 4th year (and 5th boy!) so they are extra sentimental.

Yes, I am joyfully anticipating this next season, and the change of pace it brings to us.  So, BRING IT ON SUMMER!!

(Until August) 

(August is my nemesis)

(My other nemesis is Samuel at a grocery store today.  Three words for you:  Screaming, flailing, and chips-ahoy-display-smashing.)