quick not-dead post

Hello there!

We’re Not Dead!

We (me and the biggest two kids) went to a party four hours away from us for little LB’s party this weekend. There were real horses and stick-horses were made and silly balloon hats were worn. Afterwards we went to Chick-Fil-A, where we had a surreal moment in which I identified a family based solely on photos I’d seen of their kids on the internet (not in that creepy I’m-a-stalker sort of way. More in that wow-what-a-surprise-nice-to-meet-you sort of way). Our kids played beautifully with their kids and all was well. Then we drove four hours back home and I didn’t fall asleep or drive off the road.
Today we moved more stuff back into the house and I lovingly put away books. By which I mean that in addition to alphabetizing them and wondering how they got so out-of-order and placing them on the shelves, I read bits and pieces here and there. Something that I think Nick suspected, as it took me all afternoon to finish the shelving. Oh well. I’m ecstatic to have them all back and I’m not ashamed to admit it.

In other news, of my latest two close friends here in my town, one’s husband just had a job interview out of state, and the other will be moving several states away in a month (though only for three months, then they’ll be back). I can’t catch a break. (E, you’re not ever going to move, right? Cause I’d be heartbroken.)

That’s it for now. Photos are, of course, up on flickr.

FOUND IT!

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I’ve been looking everywhere for my phone for four days now. EVERYWHERE. Including, but not limited to: under the couch, in the couch, in the chairs, in the freezer, in the fridge, in boxes in the garage, in boxes in the house, every toy bin we own. Where did I find it? My mom’s house. (On the edge of the couch, where I set it to pick up some kid stuff I needed to take home with me when I ran back over to check her thermostat.)

*sigh*

Most annoying part of the whole situation: out of 20 missed calls, only two messages were left.

Three times a day, every day


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Originally uploaded by awamiba.

Gregory is getting to that age where he doesn’t want to eat in the highchair much anymore. He’d rather sit at the table. Half-way through every meal, he starts to leap out of his chair (his feet on the tray), diving straight at me, food on his every limb. I attack back with wipe in hand, trying to cover as much ground as possible before he actually lands in my arms. Lately he’s taken to growling and roaring as loud as he can when he’s getting ready to leap. It’s really cute.

Things I need

  • another chair for the dining room
  • a new camera
  • child-free time to paint walls & baseboards
  • Ben to sleep in his own bed (scared of dark)*
  • David to sleep in his own bed (scared of heights)**
  • Greg to sleep in his own bed (scared without Mommy)***

*sleeps in my bed

**sleeps on the floor in his room

***sleeps on the couch in my arms while I’m upright

Family Anniversary Dinner

Originally published at tigersquirrels.net. You can comment here or there.


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Originally uploaded by awamiba.

Nick’s parents finally had their anniversary dinner (a month late) tonight. We all got together and had a thanksgiving-style dinner at his parents house. The kids, of their own accord, all sat together (well, McKinley sat with her mom, but the mobile kids all chose to sit together). It was really cute. After dinner we had the family picture and played Cranium. I thought it was funny how the teams divided up and what our various strengths were (my team: me, Nick, Nick’s mom; our strength: data & words. their team: Mandy, her husband, and Matt; their strength: acting & drawing).

Anyways, a very good evening.

snow!

I went outside to take out the diaper trash (it was somehow missed this morning) and while outside I could hear this crackling sound.  At first I thought maybe it was my hairspray (it’s been a while since I’ve used it, can you tell?), but then I realized what the sound was: SNOW!  There are the littlest, tiniest snowflakes you can imagine outside right now!  I took the kids out and we danced around and tried to find some spots where they were accumulating.  It’s not much, but it’s exciting!

Best spot in the house


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Originally uploaded by awamiba.

Gregory doesn’t really like Thursdays. Those are the days that everyone else gets to leave the house and he’s stuck home alone with his momma. He spends quite a bit of the day hanging out by the door, waiting for time to go get his brothers.

Even when he’s not waiting for a brother to come home, he loves the front door. There’re all the trees to look at and sometimes people with dogs go by. Frequently we have little dust-n-leave twisters right outside the front door (at least a couple times a day, actually).

Personally, I’m not really fond of our entryway. It has the old wallpaper from the former residents. It’s always messy with papers and backpacks and jackets. It’s drafty this time of year and hot in the summer. The doorway isn’t big enough to really see a lot that’s going on out front of the house.

But Gregory loves it. So do the other kids. They like to set up their bowling pins there and dig through my shoes (from the shoe cupboard–to wear, of course!).

The Land of No Sleep


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Originally uploaded by awamiba.

These two boys haven’t been sleeping lately. Oh, sure, they’ll sleep and hour here or there during the night, usually at opposite times, but for me, that is Not Sleeping. I haven’t had a full nights or even a half nights sleep in over two weeks.

So this morning I made an executive decision (Nick’s not available, so it’s up to me. woo hoo!) to forgo the Workroom for now and to turn that room back into the Nursery. I think the two boys are feeding off of each others inability to sleep and us constantly having to go into that one same room twelve times a night is keeping them up even more than they would have been on their own.

I’ve already moved Greg’s toys. He’s sooo excited! Some of them I don’t think he’s even seen before (they were on the shelves in the boys room, but the way it was set up, you couldn’t really easily get to them). Of course, he has a few toys that aren’t his that he’s trying to drag over there. It’s kinda funny, actually.

Anyways, I hope this helps fix the problem.