and then there's HER

And Miriam? What has she been up to while her brothers are off getting educated?

 Oh she's keeping busy...

No one else around here gets to eat any strawberries.  If Miriam gets outside she eats any strawberry that looks remotely ripe, and then some that aren't ripe at all.  Such a sad waste!

What doesn't this girl eat? Not window markers. She eats those.

And gum.

And one bite of every fruit in the fruit bowl on the kitchen table.  Including avocados.  I finally let her finish a peach in the confinement of her high chair.  Suffice it to say, I don't keep the fruit on the kitchen table anymore.  Man you should have seen that avocado...

This is lemishine dishwashing detergent.  Not cheap, but keeps the dishes from getting coated in hard water. (Fortunately she wasn't eating this.)

While I unloaded the shopping cart she helped herself to a loaf of french bread.

Eli the scholar

Eli started preschool a few weeks ago.  I was a little nervous for him, he is definitely an introvert.  But he's doing well and really enjoying it.  Eli is small for his age and so I always think of him as my little boy.  Of course he is still a little boy, but I swear each time I turn around he is getting older. 

He is enjoying his new role of "oldest child" while Cameron is at school.  The other day I thought "I need to make Eli have quiet time at some point during the day."  Then it occurred to me that all-day is quiet time for Eli.  He is so low-maintenance and self-entertaining. 

pacifier warnings

I bought a couple new "binkies" today.  In three different places on the back of the pacifier packaging are written the following notes.

"Do not leave baby unattended while using a pacifier."   Really? If that is the case how do you explain the following note:

"May help reduce the risk of SIDS"  It can't help the baby if it isn't in his/her mouth, and according to the packaging it shouldn't be in his/her mouth if the parent isn't nearby.  But I'm stating the obvious...

The last one is my favorite: (Punctuation and grammatical errors are not mine.)

"In the event the pacifier becomes lodged in the mouth Do not panic.  Ventilation holes in the shield allow breathing. Carefully remove the pacifier from the mouth." 

Meet the Osmo

Rasputin is a favorite in our family as well.  Wouldn't you love to go to one of her parties?

Little Man on Campus

Cameron started first grade, a few weeks ago. 

He likes school, but mostly he likes eating "hot lunch" once a week and P.E. every third day.  He is careful about what clothes he wears on P.E. day to make sure he looks as athletic as possible.  The other day his only clean shirt was a collared shirt and that simply would not do for a P.E. day.  (Unfortunately for him, it had to do.)

His teacher is great, she and I went to high school together and I think we both agree how crazy it is that she is teaching my six-year-old.  We can't possibly be old enough for that?

If everything worked like the BCS

Ha! I love this.  It only has 5,503 views as I type this.  I have a feeling it's going BIG.

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big brother

Sometimes I feel bad for #3 and #4.  I talk about this often.  It just isn't physically possible for me to give them the attention I gave to #1 and #2. 

This is going to sound super cheesy, but it is sincere.  Although I sometimes feel bad for Simon and Miriam, I often feel so glad for them.  They are both so lucky to have Eli for a brother.  He is the most attentive and sweet brother to them, even when, or especially when, no one else is around.  He loves to sing to them and make them laugh.  He really cares about them in an unselfish way.  I know all my children love each other, but Eli is just a tender little fellow. 

Meet Tessa

If the last Mormon didn't get you choked up, this one will.  What a smile.


 

Goooooooooo Broncos!

In exchange for my trip to Florida, I agreed to let Richard go to Georgia for the BSU game. He bought plane tickets for himself and his brother last December. (Courtesy of frequent flyer miles.)He's more than earned it I suppose. Not only did I leave him with all the children for a few days in January, I have left him a few times this summer as well. He says he's burned out on the Mr. Mom gig.

But as long as we're counting, he's traveled so much for work he'll probably never catch up to me in number of nights alone with the kids. So I take that back, we're not counting.

Anyway, tomorrow he's headed to Georgia for the Chick-fil-A Kick Off Bowl. Earlier this week he had a business lunch at a Chinese restaurant. I wish all who read this blog could have seen the delight in his face when he showed me his fortune.

So even though they can't spell, I'm going to hope the Chinese are right. And for the sake of superstition, Richard is expecting them to lose.