Lifelines

Tomorrow is our snack day at preschool and I really try to a) remember and b) bring something a little homemade-y.  We only have snack once every two months or so, making it not a terrible stretch for me to spend some time on a special treat with Greer’s guidance and help.

While my boys sit beside me and school, often times while math problems are being solved, I hop around the Internet and I move FAST. Sometimes I stumble on a new blog that I love and sometimes I find a new (easy) craft I’d like to try and other times, I come across a food item that I stick in my mental folder and then hunt it down for later.

Last week, I found the mother-lode of all muffin recipes and today I picked the easiest one :)

Though this recipe will need to be tripled for both preschool and my family (we’re an easy two batches on our own), with a few substitutions (I’ll remove all butter and sub with applesauce, and where they call for regular applesauce, I’ll add chunky for some definition and I’ll also use spelt flour in place of their white as it’s just a more nutritional product, plus toss in a bit of flaxmeal as well), this recipe will hopefully make everyone happy tomorrow morning!

Who am I kidding–tomorrow morning?
Guess what we’ll be having for “dessert?” :)

Homebaked stuffs last about 35 seconds around here…

I am a pencil convert.
And maybe now a writing utensil snob.

I’d heard about Smencils for ages and never bothered checking them out.
They’re just pencils, after all.
I’d even held them in my hand once or twice, curious about the hype…what’s so great about these smelly writing sticks?

EVERYTHING.

They’re so scenty.
They sharpen like knives.
They’re environmentally friendly, made from recycled newspapers instead of wood.
They’re GUARANTEED scenty for two years. But they’ll never last that long. We’ve had ours since Christmas and some of them are near nubs.

Rhyse received a set of ten in his stocking from Santa at Christmas time.
And those are now the preferred pencils in this house.
You best believe that we have oodles to choose from but Smencils always wins and interestingly, no one seems particular about which scent, so long as it’s one of them.

Maybe the Easter Bunny will bring another pack.
For Mommy :)
Mommy saw that they also offer smelly pens. (”Smens”, which kind of reminds me of smelly men but I’m willing to over-look.)
For a fragrance-free nut, I’m sold.

(They’re at Target for about $12 for a set of ten.)

Creux has been going through a lot of changes lately:

He’s using the potty.
He’s dabbling in the big boy bed.
He’s been off to “school” (Montessori at co-op).
(He’s still my monster though. Don’t go thinking he’s suddenly sprouted wings and a halo–he hasn’t. He’s just getting bigger.)

I’ve noticed a lot of small things here and there leading up to the idea that maybe, just MAYBE, he might be ready for family movie night.
With tonight’s viewing of “Ice Age–Dawn of the Dinosaur”, I thought it would be the perfect time to test the waters. Plus I was feeling kind of bad about leaving him out of last night’s swimming fun. Not bad enough to vow to take him next time but sort of bad all the same :)
(REALLY cute movie, by the way! We all loved this one!)

In the end, he’s not totally ready but we didn’t have to stop and put him to bed in the middle of it, either.
He stayed put for awhile but started losing his mind a bit towards the end, running circles around those who were lounging on the floor and climbing all over those who were snuggled on the couch.
It went well. Shrug.
I’d say he’s on the montly viewing schedule–sort of like the Family Movie Night Probationary Period :)

It won’t be long though until he’s a permanent fixture on the couch on these nights (it really won’t be long I don’t think) and we’ll all have one more person to split the popcorn with…and by then likely one more person nestled up in bed, oblivious to all the big-kid fun being had in the family room.

Here he is! In mis-matched jammies (you know who did that and it wasn’t me!), his sister’s headband around his neck like a necklace, a smile as wide as a river, and a bowl of “touch it and die” popcorn in his lap.

Sometimes those dinosaurs were REALLY scary.

Maybe sitting with Daddy is a better idea. No one thinks Mommy can handle a spider, much less a carnitor. (And I CAN handle a spider but I have a husband and two capable sons to do that dirty work!)

No matter though because within seconds, his spot on the couch was filled! My lap is like a revolving door around these parts and I loooove every sweet visitor.

The competition for me is fierce though–this Mama is a lucky lady.
(This is Creux reclaiming Possession of Mommy from Rhyse by displaying his devotion via his hot little lips. Watch out for this one. He’s a charmer.)

Then he was off rummaging in things he’s not supposed to be rummaging in. He thinks he’s the cutest thing around town, doesn’t he? He totally knows he’s not to be climbing up the drawer knobs (he uses his toes as fingers, just like a monkey) to get up on the counter and be digging around in the cabinets.
He doesn’t much care about all that though.
He’s CREUX and he makes his own rules! (Sigh. Why me? Why??)

Joined by his partner in food stealage–apple thiefs!

Finally everyone is happy and apple-toting and settled back in.

It was a good night and we’re all looking forward to Creux’s next family night appearance!
(Though not as much as I would say HE is!)

As anyone with more than one observant child knows, they’re mentally tabulating “THEIRS” vs. “MINE.”

The last time we really worked in Chas’s room, which was when we hung his light and added his mirror a few months ago, I walked past Rhyse’s room to find him laying out things for me to hang in HIS room.
(Which I did not get around to at the time, other than sticking a few pushpins in the wall and attempting to pacify both of us with a quick fix until I could get around to properly squaring off more time for his stuff.)

So today, when I knew while Charlie was carefully measuring and hanging all of Chas’s new art works, I hunted around for some pieces of Rhyse’s that had also been waiting for a permanent home.
I found two that I thought would go wonderfully in their bathroom.

I ran it past him quickly, making sure he was okay with my idea (I had to snag the orange painting off the Wall of Temporary Pushpin in order to make this happen) and he seemed excited about it, only wanting me to make sure the nature shadowbox went on top so as to be far away from Calamity Creux’s calamity mitts.

When all was measured and hung, Rhyse happened to walk past Chas’s doorway.
And then he immediately turned and walked into the bathroom and beamed at his own art display.
I made a mental note to myself: things can’t always be even and equal and fair, but there’s no harm in making the effort when possible.
It makes a difference to them.

I’m loving all the new displayed pieces and only wish I’d done it sooner!
It’s important to me that this house be filled with bits of them everywhere they turn and lucky for us all, we have an amazing art teacher at our disposal!
I am forever indebted to her for digging out the “artist” in my boys, especially with Chas, who started with her at the tender age of six and claimed to hate art.
(I couldn’t even get him to color worksheets. I never made him, since most of it was “busy work” but it made me sad that it just wasn’t something he enjoyed. Now, he loves art with Miss Juli–they both do! And Greer will join the ranks this summer for a week-long art camp and then she’ll begin formal lessons in the fall.)

I’ve much, much, much more to sort through and gobs of wall space to cover between the schooling room, their bedrooms, and the playroom.
Instead of dreading the task of Home Finding, I’m rather looking forward to it.
These things deserve to be displayed and gosh darn it, I’m going to display them.
It may take me until they graduate from college but eventually, I’ll get there :)

(Tomorrow, I just want the lock fixed on my bathroom door. Charlie’s getting off easy!)

Here’s a closer look at his nature shadowbox–that’s a flower-printed cloth inside. Remember the days when flowers bloomed?

And the best thing I ever did was to make this small bathroom brightly-colored because I can use for both genders easily. I have to say, the mosaic mirror that we all made together is still my all-time favorite and adding Rhyse’s two pieces made it feel snug and cozier in there.

Of course, I’m now noticing that the new pieces need to be moved down just a smidge so that they’re level with the mirror.
That unevenness makes me nutty.
So Charlie ISN’T getting off so easy it turns out! HAHA!

(And do you think there’s something wrong with me? I mean, do other people even notice that type of crap? I can live with a certain amount of chaos and disorder in my home but once something is “done” it does have to be rather perfect or it will drive me crazy. And I, in turn, will drive HIM crazy until he fixes it. Am I a wackadoo?)

I know I’ve mentioned before my months-long Grit List.
I hate that stupid thing.
It runs through my head in the middle of the night, highlighting the things it just randomly feels like highlighting.
And suddenly I wake in the morning with that random task HAVING to be completed.

This random task was actually started back in August, I think.
It might have been September but the point isn’t really the month but just that it became one of those “had the best of intentions” type of things.

Chas had, over the course of last year’s art classes, accumulated a stash of gorgeous animal drawings done in oil pastels.
It took me awhile to realize what a set we actually had because they came home over the course of a six month period or so and ended up in a stack of artwork that I’m always meaning to display somewhere.
But once I sorted through everything I knew I had to make a “formal” arrangement of these art works.

One day late last summer, Chas and I browsed the framing department of Michael’s and agreed on the perfect frames for his room while the Littles ransacked the place.
(I remember like it was yesterday, they were THAT bad. I had a massive headache when we returned home and a fresh vow to keep Creux the youngest. Obviously, that was short-lived :))

I would have framed them right then and there but they needed to be mounted on some sort of paper first as they aren’t a perfect fit for the frames.
Being that I’d spent all my energy on actually GETTING the frames, the rest of the job was back-burnered.
And boy, was it back-burnered.
Chas came to me several times over the course of the last six months and asked if we could get his artwork up “this weekend?”
I had good intentions but for whatever reason, I just never made the time that I should have.

UNTIL TODAY!

Pregnancy has a way of taking a simple Grit List and turning it into the mother of all Mommy Guilt Organizers.
Plus, I sort of made a promise to myself to spend a little bit of time each weekend tackling at least ONE thing around the house that I’ve been meaning to do.
I know my crazy pregnant self far too well to let things just continue to fester in my head because come May, when we’re deep in the baby countdown and approaching lift-off, I will bring new meaning to the terms “shock and awe” around this house with several impressively passionate meltdown tantrums revolving around what still needs to be done.

But this, this is now checked off my list!
The frames and artworks that were hiding under his bed were hauled out, everything was annoyingly Type A-ishly mounted onto white paper (all perfectly spaced–I checked like 95 times) and now, they’re all hung in a row.
Welcoming Chas home :)

(One small step for organization, one huge leap for tempering pregnancy-induced psychosis.)

I did mention that Rhyse and Colin had a grand time annoying Chas and Adrienne, didn’t I?
Jenny and I witnessed many splashing fights from a distance and the ONLY time Chas came out in the open (notice that Adrienne is still off hiding from the camera) was to shake loose the barnacle boys that he had clinging to him.

Around these parts, whenever Rhyse and Colin get together, there is a massive wrestling fest between them and Chas, and this definitely translated into water-based fun! While Colin has an older sibling, I do not think she would well tolerate this type of behavior. So it’s really cute to see that Colin and Rhyse indulge in that “older brother take-down” stuff over here!

For his part, Chas is a very, very good sport. When I went over to check on him (I could see they were attempting to drown him at points, all in the name of fun!) I asked if he was cool with it or if he wanted me to tell them to beat it.
I’m always happy to regulate :)
But he said he was fine, he was having a great time with them, even with the random boys who had joined in climbing like monkeys all over his back.

In some of these photos, he looks less pleased than in others but he came home hoarse (whether from screaming and laughing or for holding a two hour long conversation with Miss James poolside, I’m not sure) but one thing’s a given and it’s that Rhyse and Colin had the best time EVER!

(I especially love Rhyse’s delight in the very last shot. Oh, what fun it must be to harrass endlessly one’s older sibling. It looks positively EXHILARATING!)

After two full days of playing around with friends, I thought we were maybe just going to settle in for the night and relax.
Rhyse and Colin had made plans for a sleepover but they’re so easy, it’s almost like we’ve LOST a child for the night instead of gaining one.

Jenny had a packed evening herself but due to the wicked weather (Gee, again? It’s like the never-ending winter!), her night opened up due to her obligations cancelling.
So, spur of the moment-y, we decided to leave our littlest boys home with their daddies and to take our older three to the indoor pool up here at our rec center!

It was the BEST decision ever!
No Littles meant no cold, wet Mamas in the pool!
For maybe the first time ever, we sat and just…watched them swim.
WOW.
All I can say is, when I’m 50 and all of my kids can swim ;), life is going to be so EASY!

We didn’t see Chas and Adrienne at all since they pulled a typical teen move and sequestered themselves off in an area where the Mamarazzi’s cameras could not reach.
WE could see them.
Our lenses could not ;)

Rhyse and Colin ventured out for a bit on the waterslides but seemed mostly happy to annoy Chas and Adrienne.
Emma bounced between the older kids and Greer.

And speaking of Greer, she LOVED the pool, played mostly by herself for two hours, and really got comfortable “swimming” underwater, finally putting her face in and realizing that she was not going to drown as a result. (Yea to that.) She went far deeper than I expected her to on her own and I was sort of happy to see her pushing her own limits a bit. We’ve got a beachy vacation looming and it’s my hope that Greer will be swimming by the time we return back home! I think she’s ready…

As for this activity, I think it’s a montly standing date!
Jenny, thanks for heading up our way and for donating Colin for the night!
He was a delight, as always…

Moments of wet, wild fun coming up now:

I’m just busy getting my butt kicked over here.

The last 48 hours have consisted of co-op, date night, a COSI playdate, and now we’re off swimming here in just about an hour followed by a super looked-forward-to sleepover for Rhyse with Colin and a movie night for us with Chas.

It’s all been fun but this Mama is dragging.

As it turns out, everyone has limits.
Who knew?
(Yawn. And that’s a POST-nap yawn. Listing all of that made me tired all over again!)

Lots of fun photos to share when I find the toothpicks to prop my eyelids open.

Sometimes I come across things that make me smack myself in the forehead and go, “How come I’ve never thought of that???”

Watermelon spears would be one of those things.

Check these out:

Now, I don’t normally buy pre-cut, pre-packaged fruits because they’re so expensive and they serve like half of one of my kids. And sure enough, this fun little cart toss-in that I picked up at Trader Joe’s over the weekend was exactly the case there as we ran out of these spears IMMEDIATELY.
Meaning, I took the top off of the container and every single one of them vanished.
I had to grab one back from Greer, with the promise of a prompt return WITHOUT a Mommy Bite missing, so I could at least photograph what was IN the container.

But this is a GENIUS way of cutting watermelon!
We were actually heading right back out the door after dropping off our groceries and everyone loaded into the car with a spear in both hands. I’m sure the whole back of the Yukon is sticky as hell but this was a great way for them to grab some fruit and be gone with their bad selves :)

We normally cube ours but I hate lots of hands digging into the bowl time and again (we take lots of food on the go and watermelon is one of those, and we don’t always have portable forks on-hand and my kids waste a lot if left with the rind intact).

I’ve already been notified that watermelon should magically appear in my fridge after my next shopping trip and you can bet that whenever I manage to get my hands on it, we’re going to be parading around some super cute spears.

Cubes are SO ‘09 ;)

It was Greer’s turn for sharing today at preschool and her assigned letter was ‘M’.
We went through the usual ‘M’ things…money, monster, muffin, monkey…but then standing in her room, I spied her framed birth photo.

“How about ‘me’?” I asked her. “Would you like to share your baby picture?”

And so that’s how it happened that Greer took herself to share day!
She was proud and excited to show everyone what a darling baby she had been, and she particularly loves that even at one day old, she had a bow stuck to her seven baby hairs.
(I told her, OF COURSE, she did–I’d been waiting years to do that to someone!)