Mirrors are a good thing

Yesterday...

Susan came over to work with Kp...
Went to the Post Office...
Went to the Court House...
Did some shopping at Martins...
Went to my parents for dinner...
Then came home...
Then realized that I had my shirt on backwards...all day.

Yep, that's my life.

I am going to try really hard from now on to actually look in the mirror before I leave the house!

Just how God Works

I was reading "Don't Make Me Count to Three!" by Ginger Plowman last night and here is what stuck out in my mind about pride in parenting:

It is a little long, but worth the read...

"One particular lesson stands out. I learned humility well one Friday afternoon in the Winn Dixie Grocery Store about three years ago.

Normally, I do my grocery shopping in the morning while the store is not so crowded. But for whatever reason, I found myself waiting in the checkout line at 6:00 pm on Friday with my two children. The place was packed. There were cashiers at all 10 registers and six or seven carts in every line. In the line next to me, the very last line, waited a mother and her two small children. They were about the same ages as my children, three and five. Mini refrigerators filled with various drinks were strategically located at the end of each checkout counter.

The five-year-old began to beg mom for a coke (Let the games begin!).

Mom gave a firm, "No." The boy began to walk over to the refrigerator.

Mom said (loudly), "You'd better not open that door!" The boy opened the door.

"You better not pull a drink out of there, mister!" The boy grabbed a coke.

"If you open that coke you are going to get it!" The boy unscrewed the cap, tossed it on the floor, and took a big swig.

Mom was screaming now, having completely lost it. "You just wait until we get home and your daddy hears about this! You kids never listen to me. I've had it up to here with you both!"

No one was able to decipher the exact location of "here" but we kept listening anyway. It's not that we were being nosy. It's just that there is nothing else to do while waiting in line, so this scene had the full attention of every customer. Now, in order for all theses people to watch the scene unfold, they had to look past me and my children, who on this particular day were behaving well. Enter pride. Rather than having compassion for this poor mom and the struggles she was having with her children, I smugly thought, "You won't see my kids acting like that."

And then it happened. My three-year-old daughter, Alex, was standing right behind me when all of the sudden she blurted out the most horrible three words imaginable. It was as if she had grabbed on of the microphones from a checkout counter and yelled into it with all her might. Waving her hands frantically in front of her face, in a BOOMING voice, she screams, "Mama! You Pooted!" My entire body froze. Time stood still. To this day, I do not know which was worse - the second she blurted it out or the minute it took for everyone to realize it was true."

So last night, I was dying of laughter when I read this. Then today when I got up, I realized 3 of my kiddos had to see the dentist at 9:20 (why on earth did I schedule something so early???). So off we all went. I rarely take all four of them to the store, but I figured that since we were already out, I would get a couple of things I was out of at Wal-Mart. For once, my kids were behaving well...so much so that some old lady came up to me and said how well behaved they were. This has NEVER happened to me...EVER. Just before I allowed myself to feel good about the comment...the story came rushing to my mind. The rest of the trip, I just kept thinking, "don't poot!" Heehee :-)

Proverbs 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.
Proverbs 11:2a When pride comes, then comes disgrace...

Inside chores...

Last Sunday, I took the girls to my cousins house. Her little one was turning 1 and she was having a party. During the course of our stay, Kp had to go the bathroom (at least she asked where the bathroom was...). When we were in her bathroom, Kp said, "Wow, Mama it is clean in here!" Hummmm...maybe I should add cleaning the bathroom to my priority list. SO, today I cleaned the bathroom - top to bottom. Kb was in there helping me the whole time. It took over 2 hours! Now we only have one full bathroom in our house and it is about 3 ft x 4ft...not very big, so it should not have taken that long. However, everything is dusted, wiped down and disinfected...let's see if Kp says anything!

Addie did a great job on her first birthday cake!!!

Hershey

Overall, taking the kids to Hershey while Brian had a conference was not all that bad. Overall, they were good and we had lots of fun while Daddy was busy...

Gabby met us on her way back home at Chocolate World.Kd in the water - he only had about 5 total time outs - which is really good for 3 days in a pool - unfortunately one was for pushing Kb's head underwater!

Kb and Kp - although Kp can touch, when I have this many kiddos to watch - I'd rather be safe. The first day Kb couldn't work the belt, so Mama had to get in (not my favorite past time)...but the second day he understood to keep his butt down so he wouldn't go face first into the water.
An old friend of ours moved to Lancaster years ago, we usually get together with some of his kids when we come for the week. This time he brought over two of his girls, Hannah and Grace.

This day...well...I counted to 6, a lot. I tried really hard to count in my head so no one thought that I was crazy!

but there were those moments...

See how it looks like a nice picture, but notice Ky hands around Kb's neck! It is usually Kd doing this, but not today :-)

The picture below is the disastrous Kiss Making adventure. At one point, Kd dropped his container of Kisses during the little dance they do, and Kisses went everywhere. Kb, not being the bright one, saw his brother throw his down and assumed that is what was to be done, and "chunked" his on the ground - Kisses were everywhere. After a clean-up, they finished the little dance, kissed their Kisses good bye and off we went. But before we left, he informed us that we could purchase the box of Kisses for $4.99. Sure...the candy that was all over the floor, I'll get right on that!

One final note: Kb had NO issues when we were away telling me if he had to pee. He didn't have one accident...yet as soon as we got home...we've had accident after accident after accident! He is driving me crazy and I believe he knows what button to push...how else can you describe it?

Hershey Diet

I will post more about our trip to Hershey, but I thought some of you would get a kick out of what I ate the last day there. And I wish I was kidding...here it goes:
Breakfast: Coffee, and a chocolate crossiant (also dipped in chocolate)
Lunch: 2 bites of a sheetz sandwich (I didn't like it) and a Skor bar
Dinner: Kit Kat bar
...and I seriously wondered why I was feeling so ill that night!

And those of you who know some of my health issues, know that I am not to eat any chocolate OR coffee...guess it didn't kill me...this time ;-)

Boys!

Ok...so, I anticipated the boys coming home with Kd saying he wanted to be a pilot. No. It was my hubby. He wants to be a pilot now. Nice. A child at heart, but he is serious. I told him, "sure" once he finished all his other jobs he started outside...THEN he can start a new hobby! Maybe I will try daily to start new hobbies...and see how he reacts!

This is the plane that they were in...it was circling our house and we were outside waving. It was just before Kd fell asleep! (the plane is almost in the center of the frame)

Happy Birthday Kd!

Surprisingly enough, Kd has made it to his 4th birthday! There were many times along the way that I thought it would be impossible for him to make it this far. He seemed determined to seriously injure himself. But here he is! He is just one of those kids that is a lot of work, but at the same time he is a lot of fun :-)
He is going in a small plane around our town today. I am listening as I write this to hear the plane overhead, so we can all run out and wave. He was excited. There was space for 3, but Mommy wasn't going. As many of you know, planes are not my thing...especially one that only holds 4 people! No, thank-you! I hope Kd is enjoying his birthday present!
The girls and Kb are working on making him a birthday cake and one of his favorite dinners.
Happy Birthday, Boo!

Summer Fun

Well Ky's recital is over and her class did a really good job for being so little! I promised the girls that we could go out for ice cream when it was over. However, it was after 11 by that time and the only thing that was open was Eat N Park. Needless to say it was after midnight by the time the girls finally got into bed!

Ky's schooling is also over for the year! The dear girl made it to second grade...however I am not looking forward to the challenge of homeschooling her next year. Our prayer is that throughout the summer, she will have a change of heart - that next year, school won't have the subject "discipline" every day (or several times a day). She will have more subjects, so hopefully the diversity will be better for her!

Kp will continue with schooling throughout the summer. She is also meeting with her ESL teacher at least once a week. Last time, she took Kp to the grocery store to see what fruits she could identify and to learn what fruits and veggies she needs to know. I gave her 5 dollars, and she came back with a lemon, baby bananas, a kiwi, a pear and a bag of grumpies (peanuts).

Kd - well I am just glad it is summertime and he can get rid of some of that energy outside! He came inside screaming the other day...really screaming...which he never does because this kid really doesn't feel pain. Apparently he found a tick crawling on him. For those keeping track, that makes 3 this year. Anyway he was freaking out, and it was really hard to catch because when you go to get them, they flatten and it is hard to squish them. If Kd hadn't got me so flustered with all his screaming, I would've just took him outside and flicked it back into the wild. But being in an alternate state, I chased this spider-like creature all over my son (and they are fast little buggers, if you've never encountered them!).

Kb is still following me around wherever I go. He is like one of those little dogs you forget is at your feet, and step on all the time! I feel terrible, but I end up bumping into him all the time, just forgetting that he is under my feet. Re-potty training is not going so well. I never used pull ups during the day with my other kids, but I chose to use them with Kb. I thought since he was fully trained before, it would be different. No luck. For any moms out there that want to get potty training over quickly...don't transition into pull ups during the day. The kids have no clue that there is a difference between them and a diaper. Anyhow, Kb is back in underwear during the day, and if he pees - he looses out on something fun. He is older and understands...I wasn't able to do that with my others, but then again, I never had to retrain any of my others! All that to say, he is finally doing a little better. He still is refusing to tell us when he has to go...ok, that is a lie, he tells us he has to go if we go to a restaurant or at church - basically anywhere we go that he becomes bored and wants a change of scenery - then magically, he says he has to pee!

I had playgroup at my house on Monday and we took out the slip n slide. The kids loved it, even though it was really cold! The slip n slide did not make it though. We used it last year for Kd's birthday and it took a beating...now it is done. I think it has something to do with the fact that we put it going down our slight hill, and the kids get a running start and fly down the hill - crashing into the "pool" at the end! To see them have the fun is worth the $8 to buy a new one!

I took the kids mini golfing yesterday with another dad and his 2 kids. Six kids, two of which had never even seen a golf club or ball, and one that thinks it is a hockey stick and puck, makes for an interesting afternoon. Last year, we met to do the same thing. We only made it to the 14th hole. It was 90 degrees out, and Kd kept throwing his ball and pulling out all the freshly planted flowers. Jeff and I decided to quit before anyone noticed. This year, we decided to brave it and try again. We made it the whole way through this time and Kp and Kb were finally getting it by the end. Most of the time Kb hit the ball and would go and pick it up. Kp forgot that she was left handed and tried to go on the side the other kids were on and hit it backwards (off the green)???? Ky really liked it and Kd - well, he only hit 2 balls into the adjacent parking lots...and didn't touch the flowers! Success!

My week in review...

Life around here is the typical crazy days. I have been running Ky to endless rehearsals and finally on Saturday will be the Recital...then we have the summer off! We tried to get a family picture on Sunday. I have found that getting pictures taken is one of the most trying times of Motherhood. I hate it. I know my kids are cute, but when they get in front of the camera, they seem to choose to make the most horrific faces possible. AND they somehow loose all ability to follow even the simplest of directions! Oh, the pictures that are taken with me screaming, "SMILE!" in the background...no wonder they don't generally turn out!

My brother also graduated from high school on Monday (yes, there is a big age difference!). We were really hoping that he would make it - and he did! He will be going to a state college in the fall...man, I am starting to feel old :-)

All of the kids are finished with this round of swimming lessons. All but little Kb went on to the next level. I think he was only held back because of his size. I should have taken a picture, but they actually put the lifeguard's life saving device around him and told him to pull in the instructor. OK - let's think here...Kb would never even be able to reach where this life saving device is...let alone put the strap around him, throw it into the water...or, the best one...pull someone in. Yeah, all 28 pounds of him...I see what they are trying to do, but come on...their like 3 years old!

Oh, last night Kd decided to cut his hair...He did not care at all. Brian tried to get him to care by shaving his head...no luck. Actually, he started by giving him a reverse Mohawk...Kd's only response was, "cool" - as he rubbed the middle of his head. I truly don't think that he cared or cares...he is a boy, I can't say I care either...I don't particularly care for the buzz cut, but it is summer!

We called Sa last night, it was sad. He seems to be doing well, but really misses everyone here. He must have said he loved and missed us over a dozen times. I know he is doing well, but we miss him. I forgot how much I missed, "Hey Auntie Erica, guess what?" He said it over and over the other night. I can't wait to see him this fall! The kids also got a chance to talk with him on the phone, I think they really liked that. They are making endless "cards" for him that I need to send. Unfortunately, I didn't know that the price of stamps went up again (and I just sent a group of them in the mail the other day!)...and I will probably never get to the post office to get 1 cent stamps, so until I get to the store to get more, they just pile up on my desk...

And to those of you keeping track: Fred was hibernating for about 5 days, but he is now back. I can say that I am getting quite tired of him...I am going to try some "herbal" remedies now. Current prescriptions are having no effect!