The Thieving Squirrel

The kids and I couldn't figure out why our bird feeder kept ending up tipped over and usually emptied out. I blamed it on rowdy birds and a cheap feeder.

Then a couple of days ago I looked out and saw this:

I called the little ones over to see this funny squirrel!


He was a clever critter and entertained us for quite some time.

When hanging upside down got old, he climbed down to the teeter totter and ate some he had spilled out.

And then he went up the tree again.

Sneaky squirrel.

They're in Cahoots!

Aulora recently clogged our bathroom sink drain with toilet paper. (Just suffice it to say that she has since been banned from wiping her own bottom after going big potty, which in turn means I spend half of my days cleaning baby bottoms. I suppose it's better than spending half my days unclogging toilets and sinks though.)

Anyway, the sink is very, very clogged. We have told all the kids it's off limits and we've just been using the other bathroom until we can have a plumber fix it (or until John finishes school and is able to figure it out - I'm not holding my breath).

This afternoon I kept hearing water running. I checked outside and inside before realizing that Joshua was not where I thought he was and the water sound was coming from the bathroom with the off limits sink. The door was closed (not a good sign!) and when I opened it I found him on the stool in front of the sink splishing and splashing, having the time of his life. He was soaking wet as was the bathroom since the water couldn't drain out of the sink and it was just flowing onto the floor.

Moments like these make me wish I carried my camera around my neck. A picture would have been so great.

(shhhhh.....you know what? I still haven't even cleaned it up. I wonder if it will just all dry up on it's own before Daddy goes in for a shower in the morning?)

Monday

Lunches made? check
Two big kids dressed and off to school? check
Take out the trash? check
Jog (mostly) a mile? check
Showered and dressed myself? check
Fed and dressed little ones? check
Beds made? check
Email and phone everyone helping with the teacher appreciation lunch? check
Harass Texas Department of Vital Statistics AGAIN? (mail my order already!!!) check

Now on to grocery shopping and the library. I'm a mom and house wife in full bloom.

Some say boring. I say beautiful.
Some say mundane. I say full of opportunity.

I was made for this......

He's Resourceful, That Man of Mine

A couple of weeks ago we had a quick dinner at Del Taco (we try to enjoy such fine dining every once in awhile at least) and the kids all got a frisbee type toy in their meals. When we were loading up in the car to leave, John David threw his up and it happened to land right on a light fixture.

At that point I was of the mindset - "I guess you learned your lesson. Now get in the car and let's go." In fact, I think that's what I told the boy.

Daddy, is more compassionate (and patient) though. He went back in the restaurant (if you can call Del Taco that), grabbed a handful of straws and got back in the car. He began opening the straws and methodically put them together to make a very long pole.

I didn't think it would work. But it did.

And Daddy was a hero.

New Pets

We got a pet.
More specifically, John David got a pet.
Two pets.
Of the amphibian variety.

I'm not really sure what I was thinking when I gave the okay for this purchase. He waited for months for the night time temperatures to be warm enough so he could get these two tadpoles in the mail. Do you know how creepy it is to know something in your mail is alive???

The tadpoles reside in their Star Wars frog habitat. You can't really see them in this picture but they're in the water part in the bottom. For awhile they lived on my kitchen counter (lovely) but Momma couldn't take it any longer. To the boy's bedroom they went.

They will, at some, point turn into "frog-lets". I can't wait for that day since that's when we get to start feeding them live crickets. Do I mention live ones? As in, we have to drive across town to the pet store and buy the smallest ones they have and then drive back home with them in the car hoping they don't get out and crawl up our legs.

Can't wait.

In the future I plan to think through these things a little more before saying okay.
What is it they say? Hindsight is 20/20?
Sigh....

Princess Milkshake Day

Saturday was a special day at Chickfila. I couldn't leave the boys with daddy and I knew John David would not think it was cool to go a princess event so we had to surprise him. I parked right by the sign and turned, waiting for him to see it.

This was his face when he saw the sign and figured out why the girls were wearing princess dresses. Mawahahahahaha! I'm such a mean mom!

Julia happily ate all her food so she could have a milkshake.

The girls both loved decorating their own princess crowns.

Joshua didn't really care one way or the other about princesses. He just wanted some "i-cream".

(John David did forgive me when he was given a milkshake too, even though he wasn't wearing princess attire. And I'm pretty sure he didn't really mind all the princesses who chased him around the play area either.)

Teacher Appreciation Dessert

A couple of weeks ago I made chocolate cookie cheesecake for the staff and teachers at the kids' school.

Spring had come and that seemed like a good enough reason to make some cheesecake! I plated it up and added a little bit of ribbon and a little bird on each one. The bird was some free art I found online - I just added the words and cut it out with my creative memories circle cutting tool thing-a-mabob. (I should totally be a consultant for that company because I sound very knowledgeable, don't you think?)

John asked if it was a peace offering because they had to take care of John David all day. Very funny, Daddy.

Playing Around

My Favorite New Corner

I have a new favorite little place in our front living room.

It started when I got an entry table with some of my birthday money. That meant the dresser that I had in the entry way had no place to go. It finally occurred to me that I just needed to rearrange a little.

Here's the dresser where my desk used to be.

I love having my desk in front of the window! (This desk, by the way, was left here in our basement by the previous owners. It wasn't in good condition. I painted it and put new knobs on it last summer.)

The kids' table and chairs are in the corner.

Only one window has curtains in this room so far, but this is what they will all look like. I made them with burlap and love them!

Here's a before picture of the dresser. Not the worst thing ever, but it needed some love.

I sprayed an old thrift store frame an ivory color and then hung a vintage plate inside.

On top of the dresser is John's grandfather's old tool box. I love this thing and the sentimental value it has! I left the paint exactly how it was.

I bought four little clay pots at Walmart and painted a limestone and water mixture on them to age them. Then I planted english ivy in them. Look at the handle on the tool box - isn't it great?

The dresser is great for storing our movies.

I love my new area. And all it took was some rearranging, some spray painting, and some little pots and ivy from Walmart.

Potowatomi Zoo Trip

Spring break is later here - I guess so the weather will be more enjoyable? Monday was in the 70's so we headed down the street to the zoo. Seriously, it's at the end of our street! By the time we found a parking place I realized we should have just walked.

We rode the train around the zoo.

John David showed off his bigness on this tree stump.

Joshua did not want to show off his bigness. He prefers the ground.

The girls stood still for a picture outside the entrance.

Sweet sisters on the train.

Julia is always ready for her picture to be taken. She loves it.

I tried hard to get a picture of all of them on that stupid turtle. The turtle was hot and there was a line of other camera toting parents waiting for us. And my kids could not get along long enough to be squished together on a steaming hot amphibian.

What's up with that? I finally gave up. My home will not be graced with the traditional "kids sitting on a sculpted animal" picture. Boo.

They thought the ground hogs were fun.
(Or were they prairie dogs? I can't remember.)

I personally loved the flamingos. They kept coming to this fence and walking along it. Then they would duck down and come back up as if to say "boo!". We were pretty sure one of them was going to peck John David's head!

John David was secretly plotting how he was going to pet one of them.

Up close.

Of course, the boy was much too cool to ride with the rest of us on the train. At first he sat alone near the back. I was able to talk him into coming up and sitting in front of us at least. Poor guy. It must be so bothersome to have a mom and brother and sisters who aren't as cool as you....