What's in your drain?

Here's what was in mine.

Really.

$7 and some change, a rubber band, a lollipop stick, a band-aid, a baby sock, copious amounts of lint, an assortment of nails, screws, nuts and bolts...

Gross.

Really, really gross.

It all started with a flashing F21 on the display of the glorious piece of mechanical engineering that is my Kenmore He5t. (Shout out!) Then me going, 'well, F%$#!' and then turning to the magic of google to figure out WTH to do. If you are curious...

#1 Take the soaking wet clothes out of the machine #2 Manage to get the excess water out of the drum (fun times here) #3 Find the right tool to take off the front panel. FYI- it was not a phillips head but some wierd 6 sided thing that was not an allen wrench. #4 Manhandle the front off of the thing #5 Prepare for the "small gush of water" that will come when you unsccrew the cover. There was no exaggeration there. Perhaps they should have said "the gallons of water that will spew forth." Just a suggestion. #6 Clean it out (I hear that often thongs are found in it. he-he) #7 Put it all back together and pray it doesn't leak.

Mischief managed. It sounds like a jet taking off when it spins again. I forgot that it used to do this. I think this may become a 2ce a yer chore. Great.

However, I fear that I may have shot myself in the foot. In the last month I have also taken apart the drain under the kitchen sick to resolve a drainage issue. I have been much too handy. I am certain that I have forfieted all honey-dos for a while. Damn.

mommy guilt

I have been struggling with 'mommy guilt' lately.

I am sad that I have to work outside of my home. How I wish I could stay home with my babies. Unfortunately, working is something I must do. Insurance and a pay check are a must, but still... I just have a deep desire to be home. Probably it is one of those classic cases of 'you always want what you can't have.'

I came to this realization about a month ago. Someone asked my why in the world I do some of the things that I do. (I mostly use cloth diapers on Baby Boy, and I make all of his baby food.) I really think that it is because I can't be home. I have the need to do things for him beacuse I can't be there.

The guilt really started with JT. I knew he needed to be home with me. Dang, he really still does. Don't get me wrong; I adore his preschool. However, we had issues with his infant caregiver. I think part of the reason his gross motor skills were delayed was that he was allowed no freedom to move around. I am pretty sure he was cooped up in a playppen/bouncy seat/excersaucer except when I picked him up. I knew he needed to be somewhere else, but there was nowhere else for him to go. I had to choose the lesser of evils. Childcare is one of the horrible things about living somewhere rural. His preschool is wonderful. You know somewhere is good by the amount of teachers' kids there. I hazard to guess that 85% of the kis there are teachers' kids. We are a picky lot about our level of care, so that percentage says a lot about the place.

Baby Boy has the best care situation. My best friend watches him. He is her baby. He adores her and she adores him. Her kids dote on him. I just am sad because I am missing so much of his life. He spends more time with her than he does with me, and that just sucks.

Just had a melancholy mommy moment. Such is life.

The Crispness of Fall...Not

Aaaahhhhh... Halloween. The colorful leaves, the crisp air...the 84 degree high on Halloween. So goes the interesting southern Ga weather. The kids were mostly miserable, but it ended up being ok. The above picture is the whole crew before we headed out. The breeze was nice on the island, the bugs weren't bad. We had a great evening.

Baby boy was supossed to be a pea pod. However he would have been encapsulated in fleece. Not happening, unless we wanted a 10 month old with a heat stroke. Target to the rescue with a skeleton made out of thin cotton. Here he his, happy as a clam chewing on my Diet Coke.

and here he is when I tried to take it from him to get picture of his costume.

JT was an adorable Clifford. This was not the planned costume. We were going to borrow a hand-me-down costume from our friends. I ran into the children's consignment store to look for some jeans for The Wild Indian and they had all of their Halloween stuff on sale for 50% off. I grabbed it, thinking it would be fantastic for Storybook Character Day next year. $2.75!!!! It is at least a $50 costume. So here I am, feeling all proud of myself for finding something cool for a couple of years from now, and JT sees it... and wants it...now. After some cajoling that it is going to be too big, too hot, I finally break down and let him try it on. The damn thing fit... so he was Clifford.

The Wild Indian was costumed up as Horton. It took some serious bribery to convince him that he really did not want to be Mater from Cars for the third year in a row. He was Horton for Storybook Character Day, but was flat out refusing (and I mean stomping of feet, jumping up and down refusing) to be Horton for 'real' Halloween. At the above mentioned consignment store, I found a recycled Horton bag. I got it with a friend's daughter who loves elephants in mind. Jeez, it was $1. He saw it, and said, "Oh, is that for my Horton costme?" In my infinite wisdom, I said, "Why of course it is." So ... he was Horton. Sometimes things just work out the way you want them to... even though it wasn't your intention.

2 shoes does not = one pair

I knew it was gonna be a very BAAAADDDD day when The Wild Indian showed up at school with one navy and one black croc on. Let's just say the note wouldn't fit in the agenda space. it started with HE WAS OUT OF CONTROL TODAY and ended with ...making farting noises during afternoon storytime. Shoot me now.

But you have to admit that farting noises were hysterical when you were 5.

Well, they sort of still are. :)

Fall is officially here. Football and sand gnats herald the season. They were so bad at The Wild Indian's last game that you could see them in the pictures. After each play, the coach would spray bug spray down the line. There is my #3 getting the 'treatment.' Aaaaaahhhhh, spring and fall in the south. It's summer, gnat season, and freezing-ass cold.

Baby Boy has progressed from the army crawl to the all out crawl. Cue whacking his head on a chair rung. He was under the table after something petrified in .02 seconds and gave himself a shiner. Cute, huh?

3 sick kids at one time=1 mom losing her mind

2 phone calls from 2 different carecare providers in 1 day is a very bad thing. On Wednesday, Baby Boy woke up from morning nap with a fever and cough. JT woke up from afternoon nap with a fever and a cough. then The Wild Indian woke up from his afternoon nap in the truck on the way home with a fever. Fun times! At least they are all sick at once and it's a long weekend. 3 screaming, blubbering, hot mess of kids at the doctor's office at one time was enough to make me want to go to work.

Well, I decided to see if a cup would make him happy, and the answer was yes. WTH? Can't you just stay a baby?

Then JT wanted "picture too" so here it is.

Today, everyone but JT is feeling a lot better. Baby Boy is sitting by himself finally. He is crawling all over the place, but still can't get into a sitting position by himself. Backwards boy.

pick up your crayons

It's time to start picking up the crayons. Baby boy is mobile. Crap.

Peanut Butter

People often ask me how I feed 5 boys. Sams and Costco. Please see the above example of a normal family's jar of peanut butter and the B's monthly jar of of the gooey, delightful, greasy tub of fun. I especially love how it states that this size is great for day cares, schools, and restaurants. I guess our house really is all 3. No wonder I am exhausted all the time. It's all the damn peanut butter and jelly making.

Oompa Loompa on the Loose

Hey Mom, I'm turning orange. I love sweet potatoes. I love butternut squash. I LOOOVE peaches, but I am thinking I might need a little more green in my diet. How about lentils?

Oh, and guess what? I have decided to start grabbing the spoon every.single.time. it comes near me. Just a heads up.

And I think I am too big for the baby bathtub. May I try the sink?

And JT really loves it when his me-me is warm from the dryer. Is there a clean one in the dryer?

Love, Baby Boy

long time no see...

The first month of school has officially kicked my ass.

The first month of school has kicked The Wild Indian's ass too.

My favorite note in the agenga was something like this

-not bieng nice to others

-not bieng nice to to teacher

-running in classroom

-swordfighting with pencils

followed closely behind

-called someone an idiot and was not honest about it

-screaming at top of lungs in cafeteria

Oh Sweet Mother of God, pray for my sanity.

Now this past week he got all smilies!!!!!!!!!!!!! His treasure box pick? A blow up sword. Crap.

On a better note, the older boys (including the Dad) have been enjoying the river. They went fly fishing a couple of weeks ago and had a blast. Thanks Greg! http://www.georgiacharterfishing.com/ Dad thought it was the coolest thing ever.

Followed by some shark fishing last weekend. David was about to give up, but Dad wouldn't let him. So after some gnashing of teeth and much grunting...

he landed a pretty fun catch.

Kindergarten Here He Comes

Thursday was The Wild Indian's first day of Kindergarten!

I was proud. He didn't cry, so I didn't cry.

The Kindergaten classes always read the story, The Kissing Hand, on the first day of school. It is a sweet story about a racoon named Chester who starts Kindergarten. His Mama gives him a kiss on his hand to help him not feel so scared and lonely. The kids have the story read to them, get their own red heart kiss stamp on their hand, and low and behold, follow the raccon tracks around the school. The teachers put Raccoon tracks everywhere and the students follw the tracks to try and find Chester, while really learning their way around the school. well, chester is really a fantastic raccoon puppet that resides in the Library. Jamie insisted that the puppet was not Chester. Um, hello. That was not a real raccoon. He told his new teacher that Chester must be 'out back somewhere.'

Baby Einstein

Do you think that if I let Baby Boy watch Baby Einstein for as long as he wants, he will turn into a genius? Seriously, the kid would watch it all. day. long. If I let him. t the rate he is going, genius status can not be far away.

I discovered at a very early age he is TV addicted. The first thing he wiggled his little body around to pay attention to was not my attentive, smiling, baby-talking self, but the TV.

TV-1 Mom-0

At the tender age of 3 months, he managed to rotate his little body around in a circle, a la The 3 Stooges, to peer inquistively at Dora instead of forming synapses from the stimulation of the infant activity mat that I painstakingly chose from it's, ahem, educational value.

TV-2 Mom-0

Now today I am cleaning like a woman possessed because school starts in 2 days and I know my house won't be cleaned again until Christmas break. Well, maybe Thanksgiving break. Let's think positively. :) I decide to put Baby DaVinci in, even though it clearly states 9 months and up. Hello, Baby Boy is an advanced TV watcher. I have now proceeded to let him watch it 3 times. He is bouncing away in his bouncy seat, contently talking to the Einstein puppets. Meanwhile, I have

1- folded 2 loads of clothes

2-matched up a basketful of socks

3-directed the pressure washing of the back porch

4-kept The Wild Indian from 'working out' on the big boys' Soloflex

5-washed the dishes

6-changed the sheets in the big boys' room

7-kept The Wild Indian from using the pressure washer to 'dig for worms'

8-swept and mopped the kitchen and dining room

9-posted this entry

TV-2 Mom-10 (for using said TV to it's full potential)

Believe it or not, ALL the little boys like Baby Wordsworth. Don't believe me? I have proof, see below.

6 months old

I guess when he can do this...

...it's time to stop sleeping in the bassinet. C'mon kid, slow down. One minute you are swaddled in the thing and the next minute you are actively chewing on the side. So, it's officially the crib for you from now on.

It puts me in a melancholy mood to know the last baby has left my bedroom.

Red Kool Aid

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you spilled a packet of red Kool-Aid in the floor? You don't want to know!

The Wild Indian cut open a package of Cherry KoolAid to 'make himself' and spilled in all in the kitchen floor. In his attempt to to cover up his little problem, he tried to wipe it up with the dish sponge.

very.
bad.
idea.

Between the 6 sinkfuls of mop water that turned red and the boxful of CheezeIts JT dumped on the living room and practiced jumping in while I was in the midst of the 6 sinkfulls of mop water, I have accomplished nothing today. The good news? JT has flying, two-footed jumping down pat. sigh.



The only little boy I am not ready to give away today would be this one.



Baby Boy had his 6 month check up yesterday. He already weighs 18 pounds! I can't believe he is growing up so fast.

Birthdays

July is a birthday month in our household. Daddy's birthday comes first, rapidly followed by D's.
I set aside my anxiety and let the Wild Indian decorate his Dad's cake. It makes me shudder!!! We also HAD to decorate the house. So in lieu of the very interesting idea's the Wild Indian had for decorations, I pulled out the Happy Birthday pennants and we came to an agreement.

D's only request was blue crabs for his birthday dinner. Of course, there were none to be found on his actual birthday, so we had them a different day. Something about blue crabs that were caught that morning and watermelon for dessert just says SUMMER.

Crack Kills....but it's cute when you're 2!

While playing in the backyard yesterday, JT couldn't manage to keep his britches up. I kept yelling, "Pull your pants up, man!" and he would promptly yank up on the sides, leaving his cheeks hanging out. Hey, at least he was trying.

Where to Begin

I have been thinking for a while that I wanted to start a family blog. We have so many family members, spread out all over that I thought it would be nice for there to be a way for everyone to keep up with the goings on at our house.

I kept thinking that I needed to start with an awesomely interesting first post, but nothing has really come up that has been the epitome of awesomeness in a showy fashion. Just our daily life, giving us as much joy as possible.

Today the little boys and I just had a fun day. We goofed around and did much of nothing. They played Play-doh, painted with watercolors, and wrapped up the day playing in the yard. They had a ball running around in the sprinkler. Of course they found the only patch of dirt in the yard and filled it up bucketful by bucketful with water and proceeded to play in the resulting mire. Baby boy and I watched on the porch from a safe distance.

Today I put the Jump-a-roo together for Baby Boy. He likes it....a lot. Something about bouncing around delights him. However, he didn't like J putting a hat on him and sticking an improvised sock puppet made with J's dirty sock in his face.