project 52, week 16

so a couple weeks ago, the hubs and i had not one, but TWO dates in one week!  who am i?  a very good friend graciously insisted on babysitting twice for us so that we could go out- once to celebrate both our birthdays (happy birthday, honey!) and again a couple days later as a bonus.  unfortunately, we got rained out of phil's original date plans.  but a nice little coffee date at the mall served as a more than satisfactory stand-in.  we also got to use the time to see a couple houses with our realtor.  one of which we are currently in escrow on.  so there's that.  apparently i was all smiles... enough for the starbucks barista to notice.  and apparently i was the only one to be giddy over two dates in one week cuz there weren't no smiley face on philster's cup.

her tooth

so after all the excitement of mikey's first lost tooth, i thought we'd have a nice, YEARS-long break before the next one would lose her first tooth.  *insert inward sigh of relief*  having had four kids now, i can deal with a lot of gross things.  and i mean a lot.  pee, poop, boogers, vomit, blood, you name it, i handle it.  but there is something about a jingly, jangly tooth that i simply cannot, CANNOT stomach.  i simply cannot look at a wiggly tooth without feeling instantly queasy and wanting to run far, far away from the offending tooth.

but i of course can't let my kids know of this weird quirk of mine.  so i always very carefully avoid looking directly at the tooth they want to show me and calmly tell them that it's still got a little ways to go and that we'll wait for daddy to come home before doing anything.

thank heaven for daddy is all i gotta say about that.

so yes, a looong break from falling out teeth was more than welcome in my book.

but it was not to be with mikey losing several more teeth with what can only be called alarming regularity and then...

my little allie went and lost her first tooth on leap year day!  she'd been rather... enthusiastic about wiggling it around for a few weeks and came up to show me that it was barely hanging on.  no sooner did i say my usual, "let's wait till daddy gets home" bit when suddenly she said, "mommy, look!  it came out!"  and there in her palm lay her little tooth.  she was so pleased and excited and not at all bothered by it (to my huge relief as i was anticipating our sensitive one to be more nervous and freaked out).  so i smothered my own grimaces and willingly took the pictures she wanted.  but i still can't look at the little hole in her gums without a cringe.

she was all aquiver with excitement over finally getting to use her special tooth fairy pillow (it's pink).

and no sooner did i recover from her first tooth falling out, then her second one fell out earlier this month!

she's so pleased about growing up while i keep trying to slow 'em all down.  what's their rush, anyway?

es ca row

sorry for the quiet around here lately.  it's been about all i can do to keep up with just living life lately and i honestly can't even remember the last time i picked up my camera.  or had a story to share.  actually, i currently cannot find my keys, jonah's baby carrier, or my ring.  i can't even muster the mental energy to backtrack to try to figure out where they might be. 

if i wasn't so tired lately, i think i'd be a lot more bothered by the missing items' whereabouts.  as it stands, it's kinda on my fuzzy radar of things to be taken care of... later.

but i do have one thing to share today.

do you remember the movie "my cousin vinny"?  i don't remember much of it aside from one small part where vinny (joe pesci) struts around a little bit and repeatedly announces, "i...  am in es-ca-row.  i... am in es-ca-row!"

remember that part? 

no?

well, i do and can fiiiiinally relate because

WE ARE IN ES-CA-ROW, BABY!!!

project 52, week 15

most of the time, i avoid the kids' playroom like the plague.  i can happily let many, many days slip by without ever stepping foot in there.  why?  because the kids' definitions of "clean" and "put away" are apparently very different from mine.  and it's very, very hard for me not to quickly lose my cool when i have to be in there for any amount of time and begin to see that every single surface in there needs to be reorganized, sorted through, put away properly, in essence completely cleaned out.  again.

and so my method of coping?  to simply shut the door and choose to look the other way.  and to shrug noncommittally when one of 'em come to me asking where such-and-such toy or piece of game or doll accessory went to. 

but one morning, before the girls woke up, i came downstairs to find this going on in the playroom.

two brothers quietly and contentedly digging through a drawer of the lego bin.

and enjoying the company of one another.

a scene that definitely warmed my heart.

but still not enough to make me step foot in there!  ;)

a walk

last weekend, we found ourselves with a rare day with all of us home with no place in particular to be and no thing in particular to do.  so when phil asked what i wanted to do with the day, my answer was simple.

a walk.

maybe it's because i've lately been going through some old pictures when mikey and allie were teeny tiny.

and i noticed that we used to do a whole lot more "nature-al" type stuff back in our minnesota days.

or maybe i've been feeling a bit too cooped up these days.

and thought a bit of fresh, open air would do us all good.

whatever the reason the idea the popped into my head...

i'm very glad it did.

even though there were complaints of tiredness, hunger, thirst, headaches, and overheating from the peanut gallery.  and even though this one spent most of her time in the stroller and actually only walked for all of two minutes...

and promptly hightailed it back to her waiting carriage...

it was still a nice way to spend a rare day off.  even if i was the only one who thought so.  :p

project 52, week 14

THANK YOU auntie jenny and uncle sam for jonah's new ride-on car.  he loves this thing.  loves riding on it.  loves pushing it back and forth.  loves seeing how the handlebars taste.  loves turning the wheels.  and the big kids love pushing him back and forth on it.  which i love very, very much.

 his little sticky-out ears.  his little feet.  his little toes.  this shot makes me happy.

and when jonah's not playing with it (like only when he's napping), why then the big kids love riding on it themselves!

but everyone still likes it best when jonah's up and ready to play!  :)

project 52, week 13

so march is a crazy month with celebrating two of the kids' birthdays, but not only that, it then goes and turns me another year older at end of it.  sheesh, talk about kicking ya when you're already down.  and this year, all four kids decided to get sick at the same time as a unique way of celebrating.  but at least i got a slice of red velvet cake out of it!  and spending the day with my dear hubby (who took the day off) and my four coughing monkeys wasn't a such a bad thing after all.  :)

queen for a day

so birthday season is in full swing around here and it's party year for the kids (we do parties every other year. mainly for the express purpose of keeping this mother sane and functional for the rest of the time).  so the day right after jonah's party came allie's party.

it was an intense birthday party weekend for us.  i am still recovering.

and because my daughter is in some ways very, very different from me, and because i love to celebrate those differences that make her so special, i chose a party for her that i knew she would love.  with every fiber of her being.  and that i knew would make me just a tad uncomfortable.  because it's so not me.

but it's so her.

and i love when she gets to do something she just loves.  because she gets a certain spark in her eyes and a big huge smile on her face that means she knows her mama knows her.  loves her.  thinks she's pretty darn special.  and i want her to know that feeling for the rest of her life.

and so, she got to celebrate turning six with her best little girl friends...

with a pink princess tea party!

upon arrival, each little girl got to wear a gown of her choosing.

and shoes to match.

then they got their hair done, princess style.

and nails painted, too.  (along with a bit of makeup.  gasp!)

with that, our little queen for the day was all ready.

she's a bit of a natural.  ;)

everyone getting all fancied up.

admiring their grown-up selves.

little sister chose blue eyeshadow and blue nail polish.  good heavens.

looking pleased as punch with herself, wouldn't you say?

little friend p slayed me with the shoe modeling.  goodness gracious.

the birthday girl asked her daddy to dress up too.  always happy to oblige...

check out her fancy pinky stickin' out.  where in the world did she learn that?!

then came the fashion show!

and finally time for tea.  each guest got her own mini teapot and teacup.

i believe she was pleased with her lunch selections.

a little silver bell to ring for service.  thankfully, she only rang it once.  (i'm sure glad she wasn't too comfortable with that idea!)

my little girl's dream birthday party.

practicing pouring her tea like a little lady.

and discussing the finer points of sticking one's pinky finger out while drinking tea.

and trying to practice said maneuver.

ok, so this might not exactly be my cup of tea (nyuk nyuk), but even i was loving all the little details of this party.

all the pretty little girly things to look at.

and the irresistibility of little miniature things.

there.  that's the look that makes it all worth it in my book.

then it was time to sing happy birthday to the brand new six year old!

the dessert plate for each guest filled with favorite things to eat.  and though all the other guests saved most of their goodies to eat later, the little sister managed to tuck away every last bit of her sweet treats.

and she clearly loved doing it.

blowing kisses.

crazy face!

being the awesomely sweet girls they really are.

ah, my allie.  another year has slipped by before i was ready for it to go.

i loved that you thoroughly enjoyed being queen for a day.

but i love even more that you returned back to your lovely and sweet-hearted little girl self right afterward. 

happiest of birthdays to you, allie-girl.  i am so very thankful for you, sweet daughter o' mine.