July 22, 2011

• Summer

  

  It has been searingly hot here, as it is everywhere else.  Yesterday the heat index was 120 degrees in Dover, which is about 30 miles north of us.  The other day while I was hanging out clothes, I remarked to Tim that I would like to get an outside thermometer and rain gauge.  ”That’s how you know we’re getting old,” he informed me.  ”Old people care about those things.”  Lol.  

  The excessively energetic boys in this household have been spending extra time inside because of the heat  which seems to make extra work for the mother around here.  Zion is still an INCREDIBLY BUSY child.  He can be very industrious in one room while I am being industrious in the other.  

  

  FOR THE RECORD, Tim cleaned this specific industriousness up.  He is so good at doing all the distasteful tasks around here.  I love him very much.  :)

  Speaking of industriousness, can I just say that it feels like the large portion of my life is spent in the kitchen??      

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  When they’re not inside, the boys have been building with sand and water, or splashing around in their pool.  We have a smaller hard plastic pool set up beside their inflatable one for Zion, who has shown no interest in getting into the bigger pool.  He splashes away happily beside them as they play, only checking in now and then to see what he should be doing next.

  Here were the boys playing the sandbox the other day.  And yes, my child is n@ked.  The child is always n@ked. 

  

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  Things that are frequently “misplaced” at my house:

  1. The “sword-like” wand pieces of the vacuum cleaner.

  2. My measuring cups, which are VERY handy for water scooping.

  3. My big spoons, which are very handy for stirring things.

  4.  My egg beater, because, logically.

  5.  My tongs, which are just handy all around, see.

  6. Table knives, useful for “cutting” sand, or for an impromptu sword fight.

  This is a boy house, see.

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  With the hustle and bustle of four wee chillun’s, sometimes time individually can get lost in the shuffle.  To remedy this on my part, I have set up a rotating schedule to take one child by himself (sometimes with Layla) when I run certain errands, like going to Walmart.  They all really enjoy this.  Today I had Israel along with me – he has been excitedly asking about his turn for days.  Here were my reward sentences, for having a little guy by himself: “Mom”, he asked as we were leaving Walmart, “Why are you beautiful??”  ”What?” I asked, startled. “What did you say?” “Why do you look beautiful??” he asks with great interest to his mommy whose frazzle-ly looking hair is pulled back into a pony tail, behind a face glistening with sweat in the million-degree heat.  Welllllll.   The boy knows his way to his mommy’s heart. What a sweetheart.  As we pulled up in front of our house he said, “Mommy, I love being with you.”  I love being with you, too, Israel.  

  Taking a child along does result in some unscheduled purchases.  Because one must make one’s time with Mommy memorable. Today it was a four pack of chocolate pudding, a six pack of chocolate milk (he wanted to get some for his brothers too), and a 99-cent activity pack (Phineas and Ferb for the older boys, Toy Story for Zion) located by the checkout register to take along on our trip to Maryland next weekend.  Not too bad of damages, altogether.

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  The boys have been playing with two neighbor boys occasionally in the evening.  Sometimes they go over the fence to play in the empty lot diagonal from our yard.  This yard has some dirt tracks which Zion gravitates to.  Here he is after coming in the other evening.  

  

  Little squirt Bert.  

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  Layla, ie. Pretty Patty, ie. Crabby Abby, has been sort of a skunk in regards to her sleeping habits lately.  The PROBLEM is that when she awakens from a nap or, say, middle of the night sleep, she cranks her neck on upward and looks all around and can not be convinced to go back to sleep.  The other night she woke up at 11 PM, and was up (happily) until 2:20 AM.  WRONG.  Then last night, I couldn’t lay her back down after trying twice – she would just fuss and fuss, even if she had been basically sleeping before I laid her down, so I ended up bringing her back to bed and she fell asleep right away, laying over my stomach with her face toward the ceiling and her feet in the middle of the bed.  So those hours of sleep were mite less stellar than they could have been for myself.  I feel very weary today.

  Incidentally, my beloved baby leg warmers have arrived in the mail.  Let me show you their wonderfulness:

   

  It’s hard to get more precious than that.

  • 5:29 pm
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