tidbits

Whenever I put piggies in May's hair, the boys beg me to make May's hair into "two big pokes," or "poke hairs."  It only lasts for a minute or two before the pokes give way to the curls, but it is worth the excitement they get out of it.

Not much makes Aimee more happy than a loose tooth.  It is a complete distraction, and she struggles to do anything until she can get it out of her mouth and under her pillow.  She wanted nothing more than to pull this one using the door slamming trick.  I made sure it was loose enough to work since it had previously failed, and set her up.  Who knew having a tooth ripped out of your mouth from slamming a door could be so exhilarating!

There is no real significance to this picture, I just thought May looked super cute with her new hair style.

And not much makes me happier than a little girl with braided piggies!

One afternoon when school was canceled, I was trying to fill the time with something fun.  I always want a surprise day at home with mom, to be a happy thing.  A pan full of baking soda and muffin tins with different colors of vinegar and a few droppers did the trick!  Time well wasted!

This is a photo of the first time I turned Pratt loose to write words on his own.  He was still three at the time.  I was blown away!  This kid...is smart!

It was actually on Pratt's birthday that we decided to bite the bullet and put May in her big girl bed.  She loved it, and did great...for a little while.  Then Aimee begged us to take her out of the room because she was so tired at school because May kept her up all night.  We agreed, but started over as soon as school was over.  None of the other kids have had such a hard time staying in bed!

When I go to the grocery store with all of the kids I never manage to leave without someone using at least one or more of the following phrases:  "Are all of those kids yours?" "You sure have your hands full," or "I could never deal with so many,""You must stay very busy," or my personal favorite that usually comes from an older woman, "Enjoy them while they are little, it goes so fast."  I usually just smile as say, "I absolutely love it!"  Not everyone appreciates that answer, sadly.  But even more than the small talk phrases, I get a variety of looks.  I am fairly certain I know what they are thinking by the look on their face.  I'd say most people are thinking something along the lines of, "that woman is crazy!"  I really don't mind.  In fact I think it is kinda funny how clearly that expression can come across.  I got more than the normal amount of those "crazy lady" looks one afternoon while in Kroger.  I agreed to let all three big kids push their own cart, as I tried to herd them in the correct general direction without running into anyone, or anything .  It didn't help that by the time we were ready to check out, one cart was full of normal groceries, one had about 60 pounds of butter, and the other cart had a toddler in it and was being pushed by a Little Cindy Lou-Who impersonator who had dressed up for Dr. Seuss day.  I just thought to myself, "If only you knew what you are missing out on, you'd jump at the chance to be the 'crazy lady' too!"

One Saturday night we time-hopped to my childhood and put Aimee's hair in braids and curlers.  The crimped curls were very old school, and I realized why not more people did this anymore.  Just before I snapped this picture Aimee told me she thought she looks just like Aunt Tubbs!  It was a great moment.  We managed to pile the curls and make it look very cute.

We have a way of accumulating hand me downs.  I love it!  One day at church a big boy brought Porter his old Loony Toons tie that h had grown out of.  He then proceeded to try to teach Porter how to correctly tie a Windsor Knot.  Porter now wears that tie every week, but Chad or me do the tie tying.

Friday night camp-in!  It is, after all, the next best thing to actually camping out (in the backyard).

As one might imagine, there are many things that May does that irritate Pratt.  It can be rough having a little sister!  This is the solution Pratt came up with for when May tries to mess with the buttons on the television.  I thought it was a better idea than pushing or hitting!