Things I really LOVE

I love when we get the twins up in the morning - and Mini P grabs her covers and throws herself to the other side of her bed in complete protest of greeting the day happy.


I love that Agent P waves happily to me when he gets on the school bus each day. It warms my soul.


I love that each morning with Monkey is a walk on egg shells, always a fine line between a good mood and a total and complete meltdown.


I love that Mini P likes to sit and do dot-to-dot books...so much we had to have Grandma find us a source :)


I love that A-Dog attempted to remove the child locks as Dad asked him to - but with the mini-set of screwdrivers (the size of my pinky).

I love that Agent P throws with his right hand and bats lefty. Just something to mess with many coaches in his future.

I love that Monkey sticks his little toe out so you can hardly get his socks or shoes on without bending it backwards.


I love that when I tell A-Dog he needs to change his bad attitude, he barks back furiously "I don't HAVE a bad attitude!!!!!" Yes, point taken A-Dog....bad is an understatement.

GOOD attitude ;)

I love that Hank lets the kids do absolutely anything to him without complaining.


I love that my sweet husband does the dishes every night and never assumes I will start the dishwasher. Ever. Even if I was the last one to touch it.


I love that the twins play together, sometimes nicely, and use strange voices.

I love that my family indulges my need to eat Mexican Food once a week - just to keep my salsa balance in check.


I love that if Agent P gets up in the middle of the night, he walks to his daddy's side of the bed and says all a matter of fact "dad, I had a bad dream", then climbs in our bed.

While this pic is not related to what I said, but I couldn't resist adding it.

I love Mochas, that seems so obvious, but a nice one to end with.

Hank.

Hank saw me get my running shoes on and stretch. I can't stretch outside...


Watch. 'Nuff said.

Smooth as pie!!!

That is my answer if you were to ask me how things run at MY house. 


Because I would never want you to think that it is hard work to balance the lives of 4 kids, a husband and a dog. Not to mention ME. I am high maintenance you know.


And really, sometimes the dog IS a lot of work...like when he wants to go for a walk. Or you accidentally say "walk".  There is no recovering from that one. Plus, Hank does NOT like Monkey's pace. Monkey walks soooo ssslllloooowwww. He has no "hurry" speed on walks. Sorry, that was totally off subject and not related to anything.


Anyway. Things here are Smooth as PIE! Or I wish I was eating pie. It's one or the other. You decide :)


We are enjoying a wonderful spring after that shocking day of Winter that we had. Ya know, the snow. This is how Agent P feels about snow:

Obviously he knows me all to well. See the sad faces on the Mom? That's me. I am a fair weathered Mama and he knows I would rather be inside with him watching others play in the snow. But really, we did have that time recently where it was winter for like 4 days straight. It was ri-dic-u-lous!


So, a 10 highlights from the weeks past:


1. Monkey got a cough then a fever for 3-4 days then Monkey got Walking Pneumonia. I asked if it was contagious, cuz that is what a Mama of more than one child says. Pediatrician said "No". Thank goodness.


2. Got home from Pediatrician's office (literally) to Mini P running fever with her cough. 3 days of 102 fever later off to Urgent Care because it was of course Sunday - she had Walking Pneumonia. Thank goodness it is not contagious. That would have been unfortunate.


3. Agent P has started Tball. Oh the joys of going from watching a 13 year old playing to an almost 6 year old (and his teammates of ages 4-6). Wow, so glad that is not one of the biggest challenges of my life. What a relief. Since my sweet husband and I help with the team.


4. Of the 12 Tball games Agent P plays - 6 conflict with A-Dogs. Nice. That will be interesting.

5. We started cleaning out the garage. I know, you are in shock. It's not done....it's an ongoing project. But we did start. It's a mess.


6. I lost a critical part of my small stick vacuum (the part that holds the little filter thing on). This has led to some unreasonably dirty parts of my house and an uprising of the dust bunnies. Yes, it is true I could use other vacuuming tools (such as the large vacuum or heck, even a broom in the kitchen). But I don't wanna. So, things are going downhill in that area. Plus, the part is on back order because apparently lots of other people lost that part too.


7. My twins have discovered the game closet. Connect 4, Upwords, Scrabble, Clue -they are taken out every single day. That has increased our clean up time significantly.


8. It is Spring Break! It will be full of Spring Cleaning, fun field trips, lazy days and wearing PJs. Likely I will only get to participate in Spring Cleaning and fun field trips.


9. The Pool. Not done.  Here is where it stands: waiting on fence guy. Once that is up, they can clean out the trash that they keep putting at the bottom of the pool (gross water, pieces of tile, paper, cigarette butts...) and prepare for plaster. After plaster - in goes water.  Wonder how long it will take to hose fill a huge pool. Don't worry, I will time it for you! I will not spare you that detail I assure you.


10. I've got nothing. Shock I know.

Cheers!

Snow in the Desert!

After reading the title you may be thinking to yourself...wasn't that like...almost 2 weeks ago? Not quite friends, it was merely 10 days ago. I am not THAT far behind. But, each year here in the desert, we get 1 snow fall without fail. Sometimes it is December and once it was even mid-March.  So, here it is. Our 1.5-2.0 inch snow fall extravaganza. 

Yes. In PJs and rain boots. It's all we have. :)

I cannot explain this. In shorts and sandals. I promise, he owns clothes.

Mini P hitting ADog with a snowball

And yes, even Hank enjoyed it!

If you are wondering about the orange fencing and random construction - remember, the pool? I will get you an update soon. It is getting closer, but seems to be taking longer than it should :)

He gets it!

Last night I drove A-Dog to baseball practice...just the 2 of us.


When we pulled up I said:


"I'm going to get a beverage at Starbucks, I'll be right back"


He says:


"You think because you drove me to practice, you should get a reward?"


Yup.


Yup I do.


It was not an easy task to leave a couple of sick kids home with daddy (1 is not)...all needing a shower, dirty dishes all over the counter, toys all over the floor....


But I DID IT! 


And I should be rewarded :)...or something. 


Plus, it was going to be like 48 degrees with a bit of wind at practice...and if I was going to make it until 8pm, I needed a warm drink.


(Hey, come on - my sweet husband did the EXACT same thing to me Sunday night(left me with the house in total shambles....but I'm pretty sure he didn't get a reward...but the practice HE went to got moved indoors, that is reward enough!)

Less is more?

If less is more, is it OK to have less more often? I suppose more or less it could be...


Thanks to Starbucks' price increase, I've had to either go longer in between drinks or buy a smaller size.  My Mocha is a reward for my survival. Raising 4 kids can be very stressful (and even when it isn't, I still reward myself). 


Honestly I only get 1-2 a week, so it's  not like I over indulge. It IS 10 miles to Starbucks and no where near my neighborhood, so I make up reasons to go to Target (which houses a Starbucks) or run errands near one with a drive thru.


So, what started out as a wonderful Valentine's Day filled with candy, cards, Valentine's hugs and a trip to Target - came crashing down on me as soon as we got home.


Agent P spent his $1 on a new Hot Wheel.


Which he dropped in the potty.


While he was pooping. (please don't ask me how this could possibly happen. I really don't know. I've tried imagining it and it is too much for this mama to handle)


And I had to retrieve it.


With poop in the potty.


Thank goodness I have gloves.


Did I mention there was poop in the potty?


I hope you were not eating lunch or anything while you read this...


I have no photos of the event.


Again, you are welcome.


And I may have to drive back to Starbucks. And reward myself. Again.

Dodged a bucket

After a couple puke sessions over night on Monday - yesterday did NOT bring more stomach flu.


It brought one more kid with Strep Throat.


YAY! 


It is sad that I am very happy about that, but I am.


I don't appreciate that Strep often brings a bit of puke, but it is easier to manage than every 30 minutes of vomit!


So, 2 out of 4 kids with Strep - and enough antibiotic between the 2 bottles to treat 3 kids. How sweet is that?


Now, if we can get thru it quickly, so we can leave the house again.....