No new pics...

I don't have any new pictures to post, but by popular demand I will write about our boring lives...

I got a new dishwasher for my birthday after handwashing dishes for six months. The new dishwasher rocks! We have been testing it to see how dirty a dish can be without coming out clean. So far the only thing that hasn't come out spotless it oatmeal that has been scorched and left to dry for an entire day. I love this dishwasher! As Child #2 (who has dish duty three nights a week) says, "Doing the dishes is now fun."

Child #3 had ear infections over the weekend. He suffered with ear pain for two days before it became to unbearable. For those two days he mentioned that his ear hurt when he woke up and when he went to sleep, but never during the day. He played, ran around, went to Taekwondo, did school work, and never said a word. By the time the infection was "nasty"-as described by the doctor, he finally started to cry about it. The doctor also said that Child #3 had a high tolerance to pain. No kidding. He is the one that will play outside in 28 degree weather for an hour.

I was very tired last week due to the baby's growth spurt. I swear, my belly doubled in size in just one week! I finally got around to processing our Halloween pumpkin that we never carved. I kept telling the kids that we would make a pie out of it. I had the kids help me clean the gunk out of the inside of the pumpkin, which was very fun for us all! They donned their Pampered Chef aprons and hats and busily pulled out the slime. When they were done with the fun part, but were still infected with the chef's spirit, they went and watched Ratatouille while I finished the job. It took me four days to cut, cook, puree, and store it because I was so tired. I still haven't made the pie. But I did make some tasty pumpkin pie oatmeal! So, at the rate I'm working, considering I'm doing October projects in January... I'll get the salt dough Christmas ornaments done in March and our Valentine's day cookies done in May... but at least we are getting our school work done.

Who said Two Year Olds are Terrible?

Look at all the fun things Child #5 is doing! And all of these pics came from one file!







Stilt walking! This take a lot of balance and coordination!


















Somersaults! Oh, she is a pro already!













Who can forget Taekwondo? Here she is with Child #3's yellow belt saying "Hi-yah!"











And this is one of my favorites. Last night she took my jar tong thingies for canning out of the drawer and picked up every single thing in the living room. She transported all the toys, shoes, and clothes into one pile...on top of My Pathetic Doberman! Yes, there is a dog under all of that!

And check out those Pippi Longstocking braids! Aren't they cute? Girls are so fun, especially when they are two years old!




Our little school room is working out so well! We come downstairs every morning where I finish drinking my coffee and check my email. Then we get started on our language arts and math and we are almost always done by the time the elementary school bus goes by.

Child #4 is now on the letter b. Giggling about feet last week was one thing, now we have b words to giggle about. How about belly button (that is how he gets away with saying a word I don't want him to say)? And bottom? And bad boy? And booger? He is such a class clown. I actually have to go to Taekwondo early today to speak to the Master about keeping his clowning around under control. Purposely bending over during sparring so your opponent kicks you in the head is not funny.

Child #3 is counting down the days until Valentines Day (28), the first day of spring (64), and the day his new baby sister is born (98- approximately). He just remembers these three numbers and subtracts one from each every morning and informs me before I've finished my morning coffee. I have a hard time keeping up with smart little brains so early in the morning.

The Baby-soon to be Child #6- is kicking and dancing like crazy! She is starting to make me uncomfortable at night and when I want to curl up in a chair and knit. I only have 98 days left! Yikes!

Back in the Saddle Again!

Now that Christmas is happily over, I can get back to real life. School officially started again for all the kids and my DH had to go back to work as well. And I get my morning computer time back without anyone looking over my shoulder and asking if I am done yet. Okay, that isn't exactly true. I still have three little kids asking when I'll be done.

The picture to the left was taken yesterday. Here is the approximate scene and dialog between DH and I:

I glance out the window to check on the kids in the backyard. I see Child #3 running toward the back door at full speed to alert me to the danger his younger sister is in. I look to see where the other two are and to my horror see Child #5 perched at the top of the bush we call The Mountain. The mountain is about six feet tall.

Me (yelling downstairs): Honey??? Before I go running out the back door in a panic, is Child #5 to young to be climbing to the top of the mountain?

DH: What??? Yes! But don't run out there, or you will scare her and she will fall. Just stay in the house, I will take care of it! Or you can go out, but don't say anything! I'll be right there!

Me: Should I bring the camera?

We have had an experience like this before, involving a very tall tree and a little boy who was pretending to be a squirrel.

This poorly lit picture is of my birthday present, my very own little homeschool room! I spent the time between Christmas and New Years building shelves and moving books. Today we had our very first official day of school. I'm thinking about adding a divider on the table so my two sweet boys stop looking at each other and giggling when they hear the word "feet." Child #4 has started a new language arts program and the first letter he is writing and sounding out is f. We hear the word "feet" a lot, so I hear a lot of giggling. But I can think of plenty of other f words that would bug me more than "feet." We were done with school by 9:30 this morning and now we are off to go buy some dog food for My Pathetic Doberman!

Girl Power!

Yes, we are having another girl! Power in numbers!

A Knitter's Paradise

Snow Days aren't just good for public schooled kids...Knitters love 'em too. Just look at these pictures of my family...

I made the hats on the Snowman (made by Child #3 and myself) and on the Child himself (the blue hat is the first item I ever knitted. I keep it as a reminder of how far I have come in my knitting skills... it's so ugly!). I didn't make the scarf though. That is a relic from the 80's.

Our Snowman (with his carrot nose and button eyes) caused My Pathetic Doberman to enter into a guarding frenzy when she came outside and saw the intruder. Yes, this is a vicious snowman.


Child #4, pictured on the stairs on the right, is in time-out for playing in the pond again. He is wearing some bright red hand-knit socks. Child #5, not on time-out, is wearing the first sweater I ever made under her snowsuit. This sweater is full of mistakes, but it is sturdy and has been worn as warm play clothes by both boys.

On the left, My Pathetic Doberman is not wearing anything that I knit. But I am wearing an alpaca scarf that I splurged on and finished just in time for the snow. And I also made the mittens.

After all the play (and knitting), Child #5 and I needed a nap. Now you can see the sweater. And I also knit that blanket around my shoulders. As a matter of fact, I just finished it right before I fell asleep.


After dinner, I cast on for my first pair of 8-stitches-to-the-inch, adult-sized, cable knit socks. Like, hello, this is going to be my hardest project yet! My DH said (while in a funk because Child #2 was on the computer when he wanted to be), "Exactly how much time have you spent knitting today?" Some days I just can't keep track. Like Sundays and Snow Days. But now it is Monday and I have work to do...

Snow Angel Found in Backyard

We have snow today! As you can see from the picture, we don't have very much snow. But even a slight powdering will inspire Child #3 to make snow angels- or should we call them dirt angels? The temperature is terribly chilly, especially with the wind, so I am so glad that I finished my alpaca scarf this morning.

In other news... I have become a hopeless addict of C.S.I. You know we don't have cable, so no televisions stations, so I haven't seen any episodes until a friend of Child #1 lent us the first season of C.S.I. on DVD. My DH and I stayed up late last night and watched three episodes in a row. Is it the kids' bedtime yet?

And... in anticipation of the snow, we got our Christmas tree yesterday! For years we have been tree snobs. Only Noble Firs would do for us. But this year we got a Doug, saved $30, and absolutely love it! It is the prettiest tree yet! We spilled only one bucketfull of water in the kitchen and so far no one has knocked the tree over or chewed on the branches (like last year-or was it the year before?). We are going to hang decorations on the tree as soon as the kids and I declutter all the surfaces in the living room. This may take a year or more.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to our little 2 year old! The picture to the left is what a two year old girl looks like when she opens her first baby doll that cries when you poke it in the stomach. Now, this Child has a few baby dolls lying around the house that she has never ever paid any attention to, except to throw across the room. I wasn't going to get her any baby doll type presents for her birthday or Christmas because of this. But as we (myself and three youngest) were slowly walking up and down each toy aisle at Target (what kind of a parent am I?), she spotted it. She reached for it. She started poking the baby's tummy and making her cry. And she loved it. So I bought it and wrapped it up for her birthday.

After this sweet little girl opened her presents, we had cake. Normally I don't buy store bought cakes. Why should I? I can make the same thing from a box for $.99! But I was short on time since I decided to have a birthday party just hours before and managed to squeeze a trip to the grocery store in between Taekwondo and swim lessons. The boys picked out a blue and green cake because those are their favorite colors. At least they were thinking of their sister. They did however pick out a sweet little card with My Little Ponies on the front to go along with their gift of My Little Ponies-which she loves.

And to celebrate her being two... Child #5 dressed in her prettiest pink princess dress that her grandma bought for Easter. She ran around as fast as she could, climbed up on the horse and rode it at breakneck speeds, jumped off the horse yelling, " 'uper 'an!" (that means Superman in her language), and turned somersaults on the floor. And of course, by the time I could catch her again, she had ripped a delicate piece of the material of the dress. Darn. I will post the picture of her in the dress with her loving brothers some other time...