Oh my stars, I have ignored my poor little blog so badly that I think there’s dust blowing around the URL. Poor little bloggy. I wish I had a super excuse, like I was off saving orphans or discovering a cure for cancer or potty training my toddler or even doing laundry, but the truth is I have had a big old patch of LAZY for the last week or so. And before that, we were crazy around here with activities for the kids and also someone’s birthday party.
So now I have like two weeks’ worth of backlogged pictures and stories and fabulously witty insights, which I am going to attempt to cram into one post that I hope won’t make you cry. Because of all the random, I am going to post in list form. Who doesn’t like a list? I mean, other than my children when they see their daily lists of schoolwork. I think it’s a given that they are not fans of those lists.
Anyway.
1. Squeezy’s second birthday was two weeks and one day ago. This is a picture of her with her traditional birthday muffins.
Okay. So birthday muffins is not really a family tradition. However, Squeezy’s birthday happened to fall on the last night of AWANA at church, so we had a dinner and awards ceremony that night and no time to party. But I think a girl should at least get to blow out candles on her birthday, don’t you? She was so cute. She got a look of sheer delight on her face when we started singing and has been occasionally bursting out into “Happy bewtday to you” ever since.
2. The boys did awesome in AWANA this year, and both got the awards to show for their hard work.
Don’t ask me about Stinky’s facial expression. I have given up on getting my kids, especially the boys, to look normal for pictures. Anyway, this was Bubs’ last year of Sparks, which is why he got that shiny fancy plaque. Next year he goes to the older group, which is divided into girls and boys so that the boys can practice tooting and giving each other wedgies and the girls can giggle and paint each other’s fingernails. This is to prepare them to enter youth group.
3. While I had the boys on the couch to take their picture with their awards, I noticed that Someone thought she should be in the picture too.
It was her birthday. Who was I to refuse? Even Bear got to join the picture. Bear is Squeezy’s best friend.
4. Last week I had a spontaneous desire to prove my awesomeness to the children, so I made them play dough. Play dough is one of the few things that will amuse three kids, ages 2, 6, and 8, for a reasonably long time. Unfortunately I used up all my salt to make the play dough. The good news is that kosher salt actually does work in both play dough and also in a variety of other recipes. You know. In case you ever run out of table salt and then forget to buy it for a week. Theoretically.
5. I took these pictures out back last week. We have a couple of these trees that just blossom beautifully in the spring. The flowers are gone now but I loved having them back there while they lasted. So did Miss Squeezy.
Fortunately, she is not a flower snob and is just as happy with the plethora of dandelions out back. Every time the boys go out to play, she stands at the back door and says “fowehs? Say pwease?” until one of them takes pity on her and brings her a handful of dandelions.
6. Speaking of the cute things Squeezy says, she has also taken to yelling at the boys when she thinks they’re being too loud or silly. “Boys! Dat’s eNOUGH!” She’s such a little terror. Imagine what a whole year of being two will do to her.
7. Last Friday night the boys had their last homeschool choir concert of the year. My parents were supposed to come out Friday so we could celebrate Squeezy’s birthday and attend the concert together, but my dad got sick. So in the end it was only Grandma who could come watch the little darlings.
For a bit, I really thought Mom was going to get Squeezy to go to sleep. But in the end we had to take her out. Sitting still and quiet isn’t really her thing.
But before Squeezy had to be escorted out, we all got to enjoy some of this:
Stinky stood on the stage looking pretty much like that the entire time. The spotlights were really bothering him, I guess. I got the worst fit of giggles while they sang because they were singing this song about having joy from head to toe, and Stinky looked like he had about as much joy as Ebeneezer Scrooge before the ghosts visited him. He seriously looked so grouchy. But he knew all the words to all the songs and did a great job watching his director. He just looked like a grump.
And Bubs got to play the hand drum for one of the songs.
He had a pretty complicated part and he did an awesome job. It’s possible my mom and I were both crying by the end. Because that’s how we roll.
8. So since Mom was here, we celebrated Squeezy’s birthday on Saturday, a whole week and a half late. It was worth it though, because I didn’t have to make the cake.
I have to tell you that my mom is as embarrassed by this cake as I would be proud of it. She is so talented at cake decorating, but she didn’t have any supplies at all and all I had was canned icing. So I think she rocked it. And Squeezy loved it. She’s all about the butterflies.
9. The boys and my mom spent Saturday morning cutting out butterflies to decorate the dining room with. I haven’t taken them all down yet because they’re so pretty.
I did take the streamers and balloons down, though, because Iowa decided to skip spring and go straight to 95 and humid this week. So we needed the fan.
10. After dinner and cake we video chatted with my dad while Squeezy opened her presents.
11. Squeezy’s favorite present came from my parents. Meet Lucy. Or, as Squeezy pronounces it, “Yuesee.”
When I asked her what she wanted to name her new baby, I suggested several names, including the name the doll came with, which was Jenna. Every name I said she said “No!” until I suggested Lucy. Then she said, “Say pwease?” So Lucy it is. Apparently she likes the name. And really, I think she has good taste, because nothing is quite as cute as her asking where Yuesee and her “stinky” are. Her stinky is the binky. She could say binky, but she prefers to call it a stinky.
12. It’s not good when you catch yourself telling your daughter to “put the stinky in the baby’s mouth.” I’m just sayin’.
13. Squeezy has recently started speaking with a random southern accent for some words. “Stinky” is actually “StAYNkee,” and “Daddy” has become “Dayuddy.” I have no idea where this comes from. But it’s cute.
14. I discovered today that we have completed 141 days of school this year. Iowa law requires us to do 140 days, so we are now going above and beyond! Woot woot us. We’re planning to go till Memorial Day, most likely. After that the summer gets busy. But I imagine there will be many learning experiences to be had over the summer.
15. On Sunday when we got home from church I asked Art to take a picture of me with the kids. In honor of Mother’s Day, you know? Yeah. The kids were not really excited about that, since they were ready to get out of their church clothes and chow down on our Mother’s Day special of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. However, when I posted this picture on facebook my friends agreed that it was probably the most accurate picture of motherhood we could have gotten anyway.
I actually was being strangled by my middle child in that shot. I think the next one I was making a gaggy face.
16. Mother’s Day was kind of weird this year. I know I am so very blessed. But I was missing the round belly and baby kicks I should have been experiencing, you know? Still, it’s hard to be mopey when you’re being choked to death by a six-year-old.
17. I cannot believe it’s already the middle of May. I feel like I lost a week somewhere. Maybe two.
18. This guy and I are celebrating our eleventh anniversary in eight days.
19. Yes, I know that’s a terrible picture. I don’t have any good ones of the two of us recently. Anyway, it could have been worse. I could have posted this picture:
And we certainly wouldn’t have wanted that.
20. I think I’ve tortured you long enough. So I’m going to leave now. Although, if you made it this far you deserve a prize.
Yup. That should do it.
Have a great day, y’all.
