Toothie Ruthie

Ruthie is getting some new mouth accessories. She has had these little beauties for a couple of weeks but this is the first chance I have had to get a good shot of them. She had the whole drooling, snotty, crying, awake at night, painful experience, but at least she got two for the price of one. Three weeks later (8 1/2 months) it is happening again. I hope two pop through this time too, for her sake and ours. Poor little girl, she is usually so happy. Maybe she will be happy when she can eat better. I tease Gabe sometimes that he is losing teeth and Ruthie is finding them. 

Fun Machine

Instead of quarters all we put in is food and love and out comes fun. 

Shout Hurrah!!!

When Mac saw the cake he asked if I had made a giant doughnut. Alas, no, I just made a plain-Jane chocolate birthday cake for Aunt Tina. Last night we played some Family Feud on the iPad with Tina acting as family captin. She's always the life of the party.We love her. Happy Birthday Tina.  

Crime and Punishment

The Crime. And yes, that is permanent marker.

The accused. When I came to the breakfast table and asked who had done it, Mac tried to point to David and tell me it was him until I spotted the evidence marked on his forearm. Case closed.  

The punishment. He had to help me try and scrub it off for ten minutes till the paint began to peel and lost his TV that day. He's been losing a lot of TV recently.  

Mr. Too-cute for his own britches here has become a little naughty lately. Not tantrum naughty, thank goodness, just pushing the envelope to see what he can get away with before there is a consequence. It is not always a good thing when mom is wrapped around your little finger. I am slowly becoming unwrapped though. Firm yet loving. It's a tricky balance. He was having the terrific-two's up until about two and a half, but there is something to be said for the terrible twos. Mac is definitely not terrible, but he's not always terrific either. He still knows how to make me smile almost always. Like the other night when I caught him red handed. I found Mac sitting on the table eating Ruthie's poofies (rice puff baby snacks). It was very hard to keep a straight face when I saw him, but I made  him get down and apologize to Ruth for eating her food. I know I'll be sad when he's too big to do stuff like that any more. Heck, I'm already sad he's not one anymore. No more drawing on the doors though Kenneth MacLeod! That is NOT cool.

Sending Smiles

"Here, let me help you with your teeth. They are crooked"

Candy plus scary looking teeth- Genius.  Who thought of these things?
 They must have a small boy at home or be a small boy at heart. 

I know these don't look like smiles, but really there are smiles underneath. They are suckers attached to monster teeth that Zach's sister sent from back home. They came with some baby clothes I left behind at her house. She is so awesome like that.  Every once in a while we will get a package from her that just brightens up our day and usually it's not for any special occasion. Something I aspire to do but am not too good at yet. Someday. Thanks Jen. 

My Afternoon Buddy

(Notice how we have had to replace a few of the clear and cloudy pieces for some odd reason)

 This is my afternoon buddy. Now that Gabe is in school for a full day, when the my two youngest are napping David and I have some alone time together. It is wonderful. He is a great companion for an game of checkers or a leisurely baking session. It is also a good time for him to practice reading to me. David even likes to help me mop the floor. I treasure this unexpected time that I have with him that I haven't had for a while. I hope I remember it always.

Most of the time David wins, with a little help from mom of course.

Hey Mom, Can I...?

Isn't that the eternal question- Hey mom, Can I have a candy bar before dinner, can I watch T.V., Can I go play at Simon's house, Can I dump out the Legos, Can I wear shorts, Can I play in the sprinkler? 

All questions that aren't necessarily bad activities, but still need parental approval before proceeding to fun. Yellow light activities let's say. If it is good, a green light, they don't even have to ask, like "Can I help my brother clean up his toys?" If it is bad, a red light, they already know the answer.They are either not going to do it or they are going to do it anyway but certainly not tell you about it before hand. 

We have a prime example of a yellow light activity here. David asked before hand about wading in the one-foot deep water hoping I would say yes. I consented, but he still had a little accident. Bless his heart, he is such a trooper. 

Hey Mom, can I play in the pond?

Mom, I fell in. 

Do you want to go home David?

No.That's OK, I don't want to leave yet. 

(As a side note, David went on his first "move" with Zach tonight and carried boxes like a champ. Word is he was anxiously engaged the whole time carrying things that were very heavy for him. That's my boy.)

Faux -hawk

The other night my six year old was pulling up on his hair during dinner. I didn't think much about it but Zach asked him if that is how the kids at school wore their hair. Gabe responded that all the boys at school wore their hair this way. Really? All the boys?  Gabe asked if he could wear his hair like that to school and we agreed. It is so rare that he wants to do his hair in any style, but perhaps things are about to change. We like to call this beauty the faux-hawk. I told him while he was styling it in the morning that it looked a little silly. That made him self conscience, but he still wore it just the same. I suppose if everyone is looking silly together I'm just the old mom who doesn't know anything, which is probably true. By the time he got off the bus his style was completely flattened from recess playing. Looking good Gabe, always do. 

P90X

You may have heard about the P90X workout program to make your body physically stronger and more fit in 90 days, well this is a different kind of exercise program. Exercising your spiritual muscle. A 90 day summer Book of Mormon reading challenge, or about six pages a day. We celebrated at the temple last week. It was a good experience and a different way to read the scriptures.  Now back to our regularly scheduled reading program. Aren't these ladies just shining? 

Just Hanging Out

Just hanging out with Uncle Aaron at Family Home Evening

Louisa May Alcott House

While I was in Massachusetts last month, Zach's mom took me on a lovely field trip to the Louisa May Alcott house. She is the the author of the classic semi-autobiographical book, Little Women. Louisa was one of four daughters who grew up in this house. Her father, Bronson, was a very forward thinking philosopher  and teacher who believed in educating women, which was unusual at the time. Bronson and his family were actually brought to the area by Ralph Waldo Emerson who wanted to gather like minded people around himself. (Henry David Thoreau was also in the the 'neighborhood')

 One of my favorite things about the family and the house is that each of the girls got a separate spot of garden to do what they wanted with- grow herbs, or flowers, or vegetables etc. The other thing I loved was the paintings on the walls. Not paintings that hung on the walls, sketches and paintings that were done on the walls by artist sister May (Amy   in the book with her letters inverted).  The only rule her father had was that she could keep drawing on the walls as long as she improved. With the proceeds of Little Women, Louisa (Jo in the book ) actually sent her sister to Paris to study art and you can compare the before and after paintings in the house. In the background is the lecture hall/school house where Bronson tried to eek out a living with his ideas. Although a very smart man, he did not make a lot of money and some times the family didn't have a lot to eat. 

If you are ever up that way, I would highly recommend you take the tour. (And take my mother-in-law along with you. She knew more about the house and family than the tour guide!)

Ringing in the New Year

As of this week it is official, all my boys are back in school, including the biggest one. Only the girls in our house are out of the loop, and Ruth doesn't even realize it. Instead of a new calendar year, it is a new school year and Zach always welcomes it in with his yellow suit coat. It is like bringing the sunshine into the classroom with you. The students love it, and him. Can't you just feel the energy when school starts again?

(It only comes out on the first day though. Students can't be expected to stare into the sun all semester long.)