Overheard Tonight...

...coming from Sam's room just before he fell asleep (in a sing-songy voice):

"I am the sun. I am a burning ball of fire.
I am very very hot. Life on Earth depends on me."
"I am Venus. I'm the same size as the Earth.
But I spin the other way and much more slowly.
I am so hot. I have lots of gas."
"I am Sammy. I am a rockstar. I live on the Earth.
I am Sammy."

Hearing this is certainly better than hearing Caroline the other night in Rochester. She sat up from a sound sleep, sang a verse of "Do You Think I"m Sexy?" and then laid down and went back to sleep. I was there and saw it with my eyes or else I would not have believed it.

Where do they come up with this stuff?

Speaking of weird things, I have been trying to keep track of things that I say that I never thought I would ever have to say. Like:

"Nate, we do not stand in the dishwasher to empty it."
"Nate, there is no reason to lick all my cooking utensils and then place them back in the jar."
"Nate, we do not put Mommy's car keys in Smokey's butt hole."
"Nate, to pick your nose there is no need to shove in your finger to the second knuckle."
"Nate, please do not tackle your sister/brother/cat."
"Nate, please do not hang off the cabinets and swing like a monkey."
"Nate, there is no need to climb the shelves of the refrigerator."
"Nate, please do not put you finger up your butt."
"Nate, please do not put your finger up your brother's butt."

And I wonder why I'm a nut case.
Sheesh.

In Case You Were Wondering...

YES.
We still are picking up styrofoam peanuts from Caroline's old beanbag chair.

I'm playing the bad mother right now and letting the boys watch a new episode of "The Backyardigans" (or The Backyardigardigans as Sam calls them) while I'm on the computer. There are a lot of other things I should be doing...getting clothes together, folding laundry, sweeping, mopping, picking up. But frankly, it just feels so good to sit.
And so I will.
At least for a few minutes.

We had an hour and a half or so of intense thunderstorms last night from about 3-4:30, so no one got a decent night of sleep. Caroline did go to school today - wild horses couldn't keep her away. The boys and I made apple walnut muffins this afternoon. But Sam won't touch them, even when I call them "apple cupcakes". Apparently it is simply too much nutrition in one place for him - you know, with the apples and everything in them. Dinner is set for the oven, I just need to boil the potatoes. He probably won't touch that, either - so he can eat himself a bowl of Cheerios and some carrots. Some battles are worth fighting and some are not.

It was Opposite Day yesterday for Sam at school. He went as a "Delivery Agent" on top and a "Boy" on the bottom. That was a good as it got. But I'll take it. =-) He was cute.

Seriously?

Really?
Come on.
Caroline came down with the Noro Virus again this morning.
This is Round 3 for us.
So we're hanging around the house today waiting for the other chips to fall. Caroline is curled up on the couch clutching her ginger ale and watching "Annie". I'm feeling a bit nauseous, but I'm not sure if it's psychosomatic or not. Nate should be next. He keeps stealing Caroline's sippy cup and the puke bucket (it's empty) and running around the house with them.
Ugh.

Thanks to my wonderful Mother-in-Law for reminding me to take St Patrick's Day pictures!! I had completely forgotten...
Caroline was a total trooper and sat through the pics this morning, in spite of the pukies. Nate and Sam were a little less cooperative. It was a bit bittersweet. Our seventh annual installation of pictures, but our first not in Worcester. I cheered up a bit (and was more than overwhelmed) thinking that there will be another little one in the pictures next year. =-) I think we've got more than our money out of the shamrock Red Sox shirt!
The shamrock deely-boppers did not survive the move. But we had Sam's Spock...ummm....I mean leprechaun ears to take their place.
Here is the good, the bad and the ugly from the photo shoot...not our best pictures, but they have to do for now.
PS - can you tell which picture I told Sam, "You better smile RIGHT NOW or else I'm putting you in time out!"?

Happy St Patrick's Day!

Nate is sleeping and the other kids are entertaining themselves playing Backyard Baseball, so I have some time to blog.
The weather has been gorgeous here recently. Sunny and 80 degrees. Great for playing outdoors. Bad for blogging. By the time the kids go down at 7:30, I put in about an hour or so of reading and cross stitching and then I'm toast. I'm working on a blanket I started when pregnant with Caroline. I HAVE to get it done - this is my last chance!
It's so good to feel like myself again. I finally have energy to do the things that I need/want to do. Like chasing the kids, laundry, cooking, cleaning, reading, stitching and walking. This has really been the most challenging pregnancy so far. I am so grateful the baby looked healthy at our last ultrasound and looking forward to finding out the gender and catching another glimpse of this urchin at our next one. I'm thinking I may be feeling little flutters of movement, but nothing definite yet. That's the next milestone. It's a lot different being pregnant at 34 than it is at 28. Or maybe it's not the extra years, but chasing the extra kids that is making the difference. Whatever it is, I'm very happy to be feeling human again after 16 weeks.
Caroline and Sam have started their first attempt into the world of organized sports. We are trying a 5 week soccer clinic for them. The first week didn't go so well. Sam was Iron Man / Super Man / Spider Man and flying down the field much of the time. He got very upset because there were 8 kids and only 1 ball during the game. So much for sharing. There are a couple of kids that were really good and had control of the ball and Sam finally got so pissed that he fell and laid on the ball while cackling in his most evil voice, "HAHAHAHA! The ball is MINE!"
Jim and I both facepalmed simultaneously.
Caroline ended up crying herself to sleep after her first soccer day. Being not quite of this world, focusing on the game was quite difficult for her. The whole coordination thing wasn't exactly her forte, either. She struggled to keep up. The problem with being six years old and perceptive beyond your years is that is being keenly aware of "ranking" among other kids. And she is used to being the best at school, even with older kids. When put in a situation where she is not, she has a difficult time.
I know that allowing my child to learn from failure is one of the most important things I can do. The MamaBear in me is still very much figuring out how to do this.
I'll get it, though.
This week went better for her. She was able to use her perceptions to her advantage and put herself in goal - where she didn't have to run to keep up. Other than yelling at the kid that kicked a ball at her ("Mom, he kicked the ball right at me! It hit my legs! That wasn't nice.") and doing her newly learned yoga moves in the goal box while the ball was on the other side of the field - things went much more smoothly.

Nate is Nate. He ate an ant this week. And liked it. He is such a boy.

Picture taking has been sorely lacking recently, as well...

Yup.

That's how we roll.
That's just how we roll.

Sunday Night

Jim just told me that the kids are ready for bed.
But I KNOW Caroline is still in the tub and she can be a bear to get out, so Nate and I are going to dawdle downstairs for a wee bit more.
And yes, the eraser is up Nate's nose. Just so you know.
I WILL write about the happenings at church today - more entertainment provided by the Watson children. This time Sam.
But now it's time for bed.
I figured the time wouldn't be wasted if I could get these pictures up...