Happy New Year

Happy New Year to my readers.

It is New Year's Eve. Where has the year gone? I don't remember much. It's been a long year. I am ready to start new.

I am currently alone in my New Year celebrating. Splitcat has gone to his sister's to be with his family. I was also invited, but I would have no fun because I would spend the whole time chasing the twins and trying to avert meltdowns. So here I am, home, the kids all in bed. I've got the Morningstar New year's conference on God Tv playing and I've caught up on all my favorite blogs. I don;t know when Splitcat will be home.

We had a very nice Christmas. The girl got her American Girl Doll(Felicity). Then she also got a wardrobe for all her doll clothes from Grandma J, I also got her a tea table and chairs for her dolls, My mom and Grandmother gave her doll clothes, and my dad made all the girls beds for their dolls. My nieces got bunk beds and E. got a four poster with a trundle. He made them from the crib all 4 of my sister's children slept in. Splitcat got his little girl her first real jewelry-a necklace with her birthstone--it will live in my jewelry box to be worn on special occasions.

The boy got a camera. I looked at just about every camera out there. I wanted to spend about the same amount as I did for the girl. There were a few cameras in my price range, then when I went to the American Girl store to get the girl's doll, I wandered into Wolf Camera. They had a bunch of cameras on clearance, and I was able to get him a Canon Powershot. It is an older one, but is still selling online for quite a bit more than I paid. He loves it. I was a little worried. He really likes that he can take movies with it. I am hoping to start him a photo blog to encourage his creativity. It's been a rough school year for him. He also got some other random things.

The twins got a little kitchen set and their own vacuum cleaners (from grandma J) and some other toys from my family

Then, in a fit of madness, I bought a Wii. I shouldn't have. But I did. My mil got me the Wii fit. We all are enjoying it.

Since splitcat bought his camera and that was part of his Christmas, I bought him a few random things.

When he asked what I wanted I told him I didn't really need much. Some new striped knee hi socks would be nice. Or just some money so I could decide later(I want to get new dishes). And I wouldn't mind some diamond earrings. I have very sensitive ears, and I can't really wear earrings more than a few hours unless they are gold or silver. So I have always wanted a pair of simple diamond earrings I could wear all the time. I think I've been telling him this since we had our first Christmas 13 years ago. So I guess you know where I am going with this. He bought me diamond earrings. I was very surprised. They are princess cut(square) in white gold. And large enough that you can see them, but not too big. They are just right. He didn't know I bought the Wii(and a bunch of games). In a fit of buyer's remorse I offered up my earrings for return. After all, I was the one who overspent this Christmas. But I think I've changed my mind. I'm not giving them up :). For many various reasons they are nearly as meaningful to me as my engagement ring. But there's going to be a bit of belt-tightening around here for the next few months. Which is good, because I really need to stop eating out. Oh, and I also got a pack of Twizzlers, Fun-Dip, and Chocolate Covered Cherries(all my favorite candies). I got a little bit of cash from my mom and grandmother I am going to save for my dishes if I can ever find some we both like.

So that was Christmas

So what about this New Year. What are my hopes and dreams for me? In no particular order:

To have a clean house. All the time.
To leave the wilderness, or at least see the light at the end of the tunnel.
To attend the Blue Ridge Writer's Conference
To finish revising my novel
To spend more time with my daughter
To read and study my bible more consistently
To be a better wife
To be a better mother
To learn at least one new thing
To get new dishes(I really want these, but I've been told we are too old)

But what I want most is to be a Light.

I do not know what this new year holds. I know some struggles from the past year will roll forward with the clock tonight, but that's okay. But I am choosing to leave some of my own personal struggles behind. Some are not worth the attention and others can only be solved by letting them go. I choose to look forward at this new year with hope. I know that no matter what happens in the world this year, I can say, "It is well with my soul."

Edit: Splitcat came home around 11. When we went up to bed around 12:02, the girl came stumbling from her room wondering what all the noise was for. People were setting off fireworks in our neighborhood.

Singing Saturday

Because I have nothing better to do, I am starting a new tradition of posting new songs I like, thus, Singing Saturday. This may only happen once, since I have a terrible time remembering anything past 2 seconds ago.

So for the inaugural edition here is a new band from Sweden called First Aid Kit singing a cover of Tiger Mountain Peasant Song by Fleet Foxes. First Aid Kit is comprised of 2 sisters who are both still in their teens. I stumbled across this totally randomly one day and was struck by their voices and harmonies.

No Soliciting

Would it be rude to put a sign in my front window that said

NO SOLICITING
Please do not knock on my door or ring my doorbell unless I am personally acquainted with you. Chances are, someone in this house is asleep right now, and it won't make them very happy if you wake them up, especially if it's the lady of the house. I have no desire to buy a vacuum cleaner, or any magazine subscriptions. I really have no desire to become a Mormon or Jehovah's Witness. I don't need any free estimates or brochures about free estimates. Please, don't waste my time or yours.
Have a Nice Day.

Splitcat recently purchased photoshop elements. I feel like I have a new toy. Here is one of my first experiments. I changed the background, took out all the color, then colored parts of it. Don't look too close, it's a little messy. But it looks okay if you keep it small. :) I have always wanted to be able to colorize b/w photos. So I am experimenting alot.

Thanksgiving at my parent's house

Don't be fooled by the sad look. I was told that he was eavesdropping on his cousin's video game conversation. And yes, he needs a haircut, too.

And yes, his shirt is on backwards. He has some sensory issues(which is why I wait as long as possible between haircuts). I guess I should cut his tags out. Though I'm not sure why it bothers him less to have the tags in the front.

Hanging out in the fig tree



We had a nice Thanksgiving at my parent's house. I went Black Friday shopping with my M-i-l, then we went to their house last night for dinner. Except for needing to purchase a few gift cards, I am done Christmas Shopping. WooHoo. Most of it is even wrapped. Now I've got to clean up the living room so we can put the tree up. And I colored my hair. I was told I look 10 yrs younger. I guess if it makes my dh happy, I shouldn't complain.

Thanksgiving break is almost over. I am sad and glad. But Christmas break will be here before I know it.

We started working on Christmas photos today. Splitcat is still learning how to use his camera. Today was the girl and me. We got a few decentish shots.



The black and white really show off my gray hair. Those stripes are not highlights. Splitcat delicately suggested that perhaps I should think of coloring my hair or getting a different haircut. Apparently I am starting to really resemble my mother :).



Splitcat got a new filter that makes lights into stars. That's why the candles. In the picture below I had just asked her how she would feel if she got an American girl doll for Christmas. She was telling her Daddy which ones she wanted.



And just because they are so darn cute(W really needs a haircut)





Okay, so they both need haircuts.(and a hairwash would probably not be a bad thing)

My thoughts on Twilight-the books and the movie

First, I must say I am not a huge fan of books about vampires. It's been done to death lately. YA lit is awash in the supernatural right now thanks to Harry and the resurrection of LOTR and Narnia. I have avoided the Twilight series simply because it was about vampires. But I figured as a hopeful YA writer, I should see what the fuss was about. So I bought a cheap copy of Twilight at Walmart since the Library never had any copies available. (mild spoiler alert) When I finished I was thoroughly annoyed. It wasn't particularly well written. Bella was annoying, Edward was just weird, but Jacob Black had won me over. It was probably his character that kept me reading. Imagine my delight when the next installment was mostly about Jacob. The writing was a little better. Edward and Bella were still annoying in the same way Romeo and Juliet are annoying. For some reason I find love that takes itself so seriously to be annoying. But that's probably just me, I tend to see the absurd in everything. Eclipse was my favorite. There was more action, more of all the characters, and Jacob finally has his moment with Bella. I knew she would never be his, but I'm glad he got his chance. Breaking Dawn is one I need to read again. It was so oddly different from the other books. I guess because it moves from the real world mixing with the vampire/wolf world, to being largely about the vamp/wolf world. As a whole I found I liked them. But I never really could like Bella.

Then I realized that Bella is truly the "everygirl." What girl has not found herself utterly in unexplicable love. That all consuming can't eat, can't sleep, can't keep your eyes off him love. Obsessive, maddening, and then it turns out he feels the same way. The joy, the rapture, the awkwardness, the nervousness. You are afraid to believe it is true, that you might wake up from a dream.

And this, I think, is the appeal of the saga. It's not the vampires, it's the love story.

I watched the movie trailers on youtube. I was strongly reminded of an afterschool special. Do they do those anymore? Then my sister had the idea of going to the 12:01 showing. It seemed like a fun idea. We don't get out much :). We had a blast. They had 7 theatres open at the AMC. We went to no. 13. We got there around 10, and there were quite a few people there. It was fun to see everyone in their t-shirts taking pictures and generally making an event of the evening. My sister's 13 yr old son went with us. He was relieved to not be the only guy. He wanted to show his ticket stub to all the girls at school the next day.
The movie finally started, and thankfully there was only a small contingent of screamers in our theatre that were quickly hushed. My initial reaction of thinking of an afterschool special was dead-on. The beginning was hokey, awkward, and exactly what real high school is like. We're weren't sure(I'm still not) if they meant it to be so campy or if it just came across that way. Somehow I suspect it was supposed to be a bit campy. How can a teen melodrama not be campy? But as hokey as parts of it were, there were also brief moments of brilliance. Robert Pattinson had some perfect moments of Edwardness. He also had moments when he seemed to be channeling the character of "Roman" from Days of Our Lives(the dark brooding eyebrow lift look). Overall, once all the character introductions were over, the film settled into itself. With the actual film, I thought it needed some editing help, especially at the beginning. Some of the scenes and transitions were choppy and shot at strange angles. There were a lot of close-ups. It was strangely like the book. You were totally immersed in Edward and Bella's obsession with one another. I guess that was the point. There was a lot of giggling in the audience at some of the moments of intense "looking." You knew you shouldn't be giggling, but it was comical and endearing at the same time. Especially if you remember giving and receiving those looks. I'm still not sure about the casting of Jacob. Taylor Lautner is definitely cute, and has the sunny disposition of Jacob in the first book, but I wonder if he can handle the intense Jacob of the latter books--if he is recast in the role. Kristen Stewart was totally Bella.
I really wished they had made it a little longer. It could have used 30 more minutes. I suppose we'll get all the cut scenes on the DVD. It was certainly not a piece of artistic cinema, but the first Harry Potter was pretty bad, too. But it still drew us in and made us part of their world, hokey parts and all. I would see it again just because it was fun. They don't make enough fun movies anymore that aren't full of potty humor and swearing. It was so refreshing to see a movie with no swearing. And where the characters don't immediately fall into bed upon their first glance. I personally think the suspenseful sort of physical relationship is much more interesting to watch than people just jumping into bed. I hope they get a bigger budget for the next movie. I think it has a chance of being much better than this one.

oops, I almost forgot to add that once I read the excerpt of Midnight Sun(Twilight from Edward's perspective) on Stephenie Meyer's website, I liked Edward. Robert Pattinson's portrayal made me like him better, but reading from his perspective made me like him alot. I still think Bella is annoying.

Val tagged me for a meme to write seven random facts about books. Since she wrote about her personal experiences about books, I shall do the same.

1. I read the Twilight series in less than 4 days. I didn't think I would like them.
2. My best friend and I used to go to her house and spend hours reading. Her house had books stacked everywhere. I thought it was wonderful. We were in elementary school. My sister thought we were weird. My best friend is now a Librarian.
3. In high school, while everyone else was reading books like "Flowers in the Attic," I was reading Thomas Hardy, the Bronte's, Tennyson, and William Blake.
4. Splitcat and I had part of our first date at a used bookstore.
5. I read Gone With the Wind when I was twelve.
6. In high school, my AP English class was reading One Flew Over the Cuckoo's nest, but my mother wouldn't let me read it, so I did my project on Jane Eyre.
7. My favorite male characters in novels are Paul Atreides, Edward Rochester, Mr. Darcy, Arthur Dent, and Faramir. My favorite female characters are Jane Eyre, Elizabeth Bennett, Lirael, Sabriel, Tally Youngblood, and Harry Crewe.

I'm Back

From seeing Twilight. Only 3 hrs until it's time to get the kids up for school. I'll try to do a full review in the morning, but I had a great time. We got to the theatre around 10 and had a good time visiting and watching people. There were more guys than we expected, and we were not the oldest people there. A good time was had by all.

Sorry I haven't really been posting much. Life is mostly boring. I kind of vegged out after my retreat weekend was over.

So, what's been going on in our corner of the world?

The babies are talking pretty well. It is wonderful to be able to communicate with them. Baby M says "sa" for yes, and Baby W says "Okay," but it comes out okaaaaaaaaaay, with a definite southern accent. M's eyes light up when he has successfully communicated with you. W. stopped climbing out of his bed, thankfully. They are loving school.

I have been working 2 days a week. I am mostly enjoying it, but it makes me tired. I was loving tuesdays, because I only had one baby, now I have 3 on tues and 4 on thurs. They are 3 mos, 5 mos, 7 mos, and 13 mos. They are all pretty mellow. I've been attending a bible study on weds. It is a weight loss study. I have lost 9 lbs in 10 weeks. So I have almost lost all the weight I gained after the twins were born(I lost some last winter and kept most of it off). I think that some of my loss is due to the fact that I am getting more than 3 hrs of sleep every night. Two years of sleep deprivation was very unpleasant in many ways. I still have a ways to go to get back to my pre-baby(the first one) weight. But now that I am no longer insane, I think I can get there.

The big kids are doing well. The girl is learning to read, the boy reads voraciously.

Now I am trying to figure out what to get everyone for Christmas. I think I am going to get out some toys the twins have never played with and wrap them. I have a whole box of puzzles they have never seen. I am going to donate some to their classroom and then give them the rest for Christmas. I have so many toys, there is no reason to buy them more.

Oh, and my sister and I are going to the 12:01 showing of "Twilight." Her 13 yr old son is going with us. We will probably be the oldest people there, and he may be the only boy. But we thought it would be fun. We don't get out much.

Keith Green-Make My Life a Prayer

This pretty much sums up my life at this moment.

Just Because I feel like it

The title says "Wonderful Savior" but I think that is wrong. That's a different song. These guys are my favorite worship band. This is not my favorite song, but the only decent video on youtube. They are from the International House of Prayer in Kansas City.

What I Found

When I went to get the boys out of bed this afternoon. The drawer was already broken, but the rest of the mayhem was generated by that curly headed boy. He's holding a stack of wipes. I found a bunch of wipes wadded up in the clothes basket. I wondered why the monitor quit working. I never even thought it might be unplugged. Now what do I do? I guess it's time to empty the room and take the side off thier cribs.

Homecoming

here is a sneak preview of homecoming. Splitact will be posting more photos on his website sometime eventually.

Here is a bonus picture. I am not sure who built the really tall one. It was either splitcat or P.

Well, the pox have passed. I'm still watching the boys for any signs, but we are almost out of the danger zone. Thank you for all your prayers.

In other fun news, I almost got to take Baby W to the ER this week. I know, it's been awhile. When I first started this blog I spent alot of time in the ER. Here is what happened.

When: Thursday around 11:30
Where: Preschool--the younger 2's class
Who: Baby W, my sister, my mom

In an attempt to snatch a toy from his brother(who was actually no longer playing with aforementioned toy), Baby W made a grab and dashed

Right into the door.

Cue: Crying

Compassionate Aunt L picks up W to comfort him as he is crying.

As soon as she touches him, he stops crying.

And his eyes roll back in his head as his body stiffens and he appears to quit breathing. She shakes him gently, but it is a few moments before he comes to.

My mom brings him down to the infant room where I am working. It had been a really long day. There were 8 babies and most of them cried all day. She brings me W and he is completely white. She hands him to me, and he is completely limp, but beginning to show signs of returning to normalcy. Mom takes him back to class.

Near the end of the school day I go to check on him. I'm standing in the hallway holding him when he throws up.

Now we are all freaked out and assume he has a concussion. From running into a door from a distance of about 2 feet. It just doesn't make sense. After a call to the nurse hotline we decide to take him to the ER. But I have to stop by my house to get my new insurance card and someone has to go to my house to wait for the big kids to get off the bus.

But by the time we got home, W was perfectly normal. So I called his pediatrician(who had been closed for lunch earlier) and they said I could just bring him there(a savings of $75). My regular dr isn't there, but I see one I really like.

As soon as I begin describing what happened, he knows exactly what went wrong.

W is not concussed. He had a breath holding spell. Basically, he fainted. And it could happen any time he gets a blow to the head until he is 5 or 6. Woohoo.

Stupid Chickens

In case you are not on facebook, I just found out one of the twins(M-that blonde one) has the chicken pox. The dr. was kind enough to check and see if my older kids have had their booster vaccinations, and E is the only one who has. That means P and W are both at risk for getting it. Please pray that no one else gets it. Splitcat just left this morning to go on a school retreat and won't be back until Wednesday(he knew M had a rash, but we thought it was hand/foot/mouth) so he doesn't know that m has the chickens and unless he borrows a cell phone and calls me, he won't know. Meanwhile, we are in quarantine until Thursday or so.

God Bless the Portrait People

If you ever want the grandparents to know how your kids really act, take them with you to have portraits made. Five minutes in and I'm sweating. My poor m-i-l. She was a trooper. I won't bore you with the details, but I need a vacation. I was impressed with how nice the people at the place were, considering my children were rampaging through their studio. If I ever get the courage, I'd go back. The nice thing is we got a cd with all 83 pictures on it. The ones above are just a few. The big kids were there, too.

Boy, oh boy

Though I am well acquainted with the joys and woes of unrequited love, I was not quite yet prepared to have a conversation about it with my oldest child.

I noticed as he got off the bus on Monday that his cheeks looked really red. I assumed it was hot on the bus. Then, once everyone was off the bus, he said, Momma, are my cheeks red. I said yes, did someone slap you? No, he said. Are you blushing? I asked. No. I'm in loooove.
You are? Yes.

Then he tried to make me guess who. She sits across from him on the bus. He was acting all giddy and silly. Very much like someone in love. What he told me next was quite surprising. She doesn't love me, but that's okay. I'm still in love with her. How do you know? I asked. I asked her. (Wasn't expecting that). I also told her I wanted to kiss her. (Really wasn't expecting that). I tried to explain that it was okay to be in love, but you can't go around telling people you want to kiss them. I burst his bubble a little. But I don't want him to get in trouble. But I had this vision of him at 17, full of angst ridden unrequited love. He's so much like his daddy.

Then, on Wednesday, I drove to the bus stop on my way home from the mall. When we got home I asked the boy to wait outside with Baby M, who was asleep in the car, while I took W up to bed. Sure, he says. I take W up to bed and take his shoes and socks off, then head back outside. I don't see P. anywhere. Where are you? I yell. then I look around to the other side of the van and see a very white behind. Pull your pants up!! I yell. What?!! he says. I needed to go to the bathroom. That's when I realize that I had jokingly told him to use a tree at the bus stop the other day when he got off the bus and had to go really bad. He said no way! so I didn't really think about it again. He couldn't understand why I was so upset that he peed on the tree that's about 2 feet from the road. I was laughing so hard, I nearly didn't make it to the bathroom myself.

For your amusement

I somehow stumbled across the results of the annual Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest. Apparently Mr. Bulwer-Lytton is the man who first penned the words "It was a dark and stormy night." Therefore, the contest is to see who can come up with the worst first lines of a book. There are several categories. My favorite was from the romance category:

Bill swore the affair had ended, but Louise knew he was lying, after discovering Tupperware containers under the seat of his car, which were not the off-brand containers that she bought to save money, but authentic, burpable, lidded Tupperware; and she knew he would see that woman again, because unlike the flimsy, fake containers that should always be recycled responsibly, real Tupperware must be returned to its rightful owner.

Jeanne
Novato, CA

Have fun!


Meanwhile, back at the ranch,

It's a dark and stormy day here. It was pouring this morning at bus time. Then a while after I got back, I heard our storm sirens going, and we were under a tornado watch. fortunately the suspect cloud activity was south of us, but it has been raining off and on all day. I just hope it slacks off at afternoon bus time. This kind of weather makes my head feel weird. I think the babies are affected, too. They've not been in a good mood and have runny noses. My sewing machine stopped working right last night. I am going to go see if it is anything I can fix. It seems to be a bobbin problem. It's probably time for a tune up. I am glad work is starting nexr week, I could really use a paycheck.

WooHoo

My Converse have made it to the "featured project" category on Craftster! I feel so affirmed in my footwear choices. :)

We got to go see my in laws new house this weekend. We had our first family get together for the twin's birthday. We are all jealous of how beautiful their house is. Then, two deer came through the woods at the back and stood there quietly and ate while we all gawked at them. I saw another one a little later.

I've been sewing all week, but I keep forgetting to take pictures. I'll get around to it one day.

hope everyone is having a good day.

Peanuts

The boy has discovered the world of Charlie Brown. I had an old Peanuts book on the shelves in their room, and he discovered it the other night. Splitcat gave him a giant hardback treasury last night, and he is already nearly halfway through. I am so glad he likes it.


In other news, some of you may remember that I worked on a girl's retreat last spring. Well I will be working on the fall one, too. But this time I have to work hard. For those who know what I am talking about, I am going to be Head Cha. If you don't know what that means, basically I'll be doing a lot of administrative work(collecting permission forms, money) and making sure the weekend runs on schedule and everyone is doing their job so the director can concentrate on the girls attending the weekend. I am excited. But I am once again shamelessly soliciting your prayers. I know, I'm a demanding blogger. I don't know if you will be hearing a lot from me in September because I will probably be very busy, but I'll try to keep everyone udpated with pictures of the twins, since I know that is the main reason some of you read me.

Happy Birthday Boys!

My Boys are 2 today. It's hard to believe it has been 2 years. They continue to be delightful and wonderful, even with all the trouble they manage to get into. Their personalities keep growing more every day. Baby W is mischievious and loves to climb. Baby M is quiet, until he opens his mouth. They are fun and a challenge. I am looking forwrd to them talking to know what they are thinking. Habby Birthday Boys!

My in-laws closed on their old and new houses yesterday. When we went over to say goodbye to the old house and get a few things we had stored there, they brought down 2 quilts my f-i-l's mother had made. One was in fairly good condition, but the other was covered and seemed to have quite a bit of damage. Since my f-i-l wanted them to stay in the family, I, of course, took them both. So the other night I began the process of unwrapping the damaged quilt. It was quite fun, since I did not know what I was going to find.

It was tacked about every 2 inches. It took about an hour to snip all the knots.



It was probably a very brightly colored quilt when first made. This is the center portion of the quilt. There are 2 more panels that aren;t showing. The long strips are very badly damaged; the fabric has pretty much disintegrated. I am going to try to rescue the blocks that are in good shape. There was water damage done to it at some point, so I am going to try to take each block and clean it. Then I have plans I cannot share at this time. But it was really cool to unwrap this piece of my husband's family history.

First Day of School

Today is the first day of school. My baby girl got on the bus and headed off to kindergarten. I could tell she was nervous and excited. Two little boys from down the street are in her class. Her teacher seems nice, and one of the little boys' older sister had her, and liked her. I think the boy will be good, too. My only concern is that he is sitting next to the little boy who bullied him in kindergarten. So we'll see how it goes.

Babies are crying, must go. I'll update with photos later.

My dream shoes

Sometimes dreams do come true.

Some of you may remember my shoe post from my other blog long time ago. I mentioned that I really wanted the new Converse xx-hi tops. Well, with my birthday money I bought them. I thought they made a beautifully blank canvas and set out to embroider them by hand. It was a somewhat painful process. Then my mother shows me her newest machine embroidery cd, and the designs were exactly what I was looking for. So on Tuesday I went over to her house and we embroidered my shoes. We chose a phoenix and she altered the design to make it longer to fit more of the shoe. Then I added some small colored "jewels"(they were iron-ons) and it really gave the design some depth. I think I may have to be unfashionable and wear them even though it is still a little hot here. I looooooove them. I posted them at Craftster and have gotten a good response.

A few weeks ago I posted a Johnny Flynn video. I've been waiting for the album to come out, and lo and behold, when I went to Borders the other night it was somewhat prominently displayed(I thought I would have to order it through Amazon). What makes it even better is that it was on sale, and I had a gift card. I can't stop listening to it. So here's another video.






Not much else going on around here. One week of summer vacation left. I will be working again this year at a Mother's Morning Out program at a nearby church. My old boss is starting a new program. I will be the Infant room "teacher." Right now there is just one baby enrolled. I am really looking forward to taking care of babies again. My babies are about to turn two. I will just be working 2 days to start, but the boys are going to go three days. They need to be around people besides me. The girl is starting Kindergarten. I can't believe it. P. will be in 2nd grade. I am at that confusing point where I will miss everyone, but I can't wait for school to start. My sister's kids start tomorrow. Splitcat doesn't go back till the middle of next week. I am glad, so he can be here for the girl's first day of school. Now that I am getting normal amounts of sleep, I think I will be able to deal with school much better. The last two years were pretty hard, trying to keep up with very little sleep. Baby M has been sleeping well for the last couple of months. He still has random bad nights, but they are getting fewer and farther between. I almost feel sane.

A Perfect Day?

I think today has been a nearly perfect day. The kind of day I wish every day could be. I woke at 9:30(I know, I can't remember the last time I slept that late). Splitcat had already fed and watered the two big kids, so I just had to take care of the twins. Everyone played quietly all morning and thanks to last night's trip to the library, I read. Then lunch and the twins off to bed. I read some more. I go lay in bed to read, splitcat joins me with his book. So I was laying there reading, and suddenly I was overcome with, wait, what was that feeling? Could it be happiness? Even a moment of bliss? Sleeping babies, quietly playing children, and books. What more could I ask for? Then, just a few minutes ago, the twins playing quietly, splitcat playing some combination of Barbie and spiderman with the kids, rumbles of thunder and rain pouring outside my living room window, the feeling came again. Although the day is not yet through, and something could go wrong, it won't matter. It's been a lovely day.

Here are some pictures of the twins from this past weekend. My BIL and his wife got a new puppy and brought him with them to visit. Baby M( the one in my lap) has recently begun to be interested in dogs. He became quite possessive when some of the bigger kids tried to take the dog from him.

Below: W. found a ponytail holder on the floor and brought it to me. He knew it went in your hair, so I gave him a ponytail. He needs a haircut. people think he's a girl.

Prince Charming. My sister gave this costume to P. So when M. found it, he had to put it on. The boot covers go over his entire leg.

Nothing too exciting to blog about. But the other day as the kids were winding down for the night, someone decided to watch Blue's Clues. I was cross stitching and Baby M had cuddled up next to me with several stuffed animals and his blanket, when out of nowhere, he points to the tv and says, "goggie. blue." I had heard him say goggie a few times, but this was the first time he said Blue. We don't watch Blue much anymore, it used to be a staple around here. Looks Like we may be watching it again. The boys can also both say their older brother's name. They escape from the living room and run into splitcat's office where P is often playing video games or Lego and point at him and say his name. He gets a kick out of it. The girl's name is a bit more complex to say, so they don't call her anything. There is also a build-a-bear in the office that was given to splitcat by his student's a couple of years ago, so when no one is in there, and M escapes, he runs to the bookshelf the bear is on and points at it yelling, Mommy, mommy, beer. Beer. Then he giggles, then he cries when I tell him no and bring him back to where he belongs. He loves stuffed animals. W still mostly babbles. M is definitely leading the way when it comes to talking. When splitcat comes in the front door after being gone, M yells, Daddy, daddy. W. just giggles and tries to escape. I love it when they start talking. It is fun to know what goes on in those little minds.

Me and the girl have been sick this week, me with a cold, her with a random middle of the night throw up. SHe's feeling much better today. I feel a little better, I think my fever is gone. The babies have runny noses, but are mostly happy. the've taken to having screaming matches during their nap time. I usually give them a snack then put them to bed, and they will play for up to an hour or two. They get really loud, and I think about getting them up, but by the time I get up the gumption, they are asleep. My other children did not take naps at this age. I am so glad the twins do.

"Men at Work signs to disappear."

This story makes me so proud to be an Atlantan.

Random Randomness

I have not posted for a while so here are some random things for your entertainment

Fourth of July


My church is located very near the official fireworks display of the town. When the building was formerly a discount dept store, people would park in the lot to watch. So, now that it is a church, they want people to feel welcome to continue to do so. So what they do is open up the church building and have people available to give tours or directions to the bathroom. They also hand out bottled water(free) and have the coffee house open. They played videos in the lobby and in the sanctuary the whole night, and someone did music outside, too. We got there early because my bil was on parking duty, so we got a prime spot in the grass on the front sidewalk. We had an excellent time. Alas, splitcat volunteered for twin duty. They would have been miserable, so he let me go with the two older kids and spend the evening with my sister and her family.

This is from the bottom end of the sidewalk. At the very end is a sculpture of Jesus kneeling down with a smile and his arms held open. Scattered down the sidewalk are sculptures of various men, women, and kids. Every time we walked past Jesus on our way to the bathroom, the kids would give him a high five.

I would like to report that my kids absolutely loved the fireworks. They were both excited about seeing them. P promised he wouldn't cry. In the past, he has retreated indoors. He doesn't like loud noises. So I told him we'd try this year. He was sitting alone when it started. I quickly brought him to sit in my lap. He kept his ears covered and whimpered. I felt obligated to warn him that there would be a grand finale at the end. This caused him to burst into tears. I got him to calm down pretty quickly, though. I told him I was very proud of how brave he was. When it was over his first comment was...next year can we stay home and watch the fireworks on tv?

So what else is going on around here? Not much. We've had some very intense thunderstorms each evening. Last night we were hearing lots of sirens. But at least it has been raining.

I have some things I need to post on my blog of craftiness. I just haven't taken any pictures. I have lots of things brewing in my head that I want to make.

For a minute we'll pretend we're on Xanga and I let you in on what I am listening to.

I listen to this over and over and over. One day, perhaps, I'll buy the album. Until then, I just keep youtube up in a separate tab. Aside from this, I have also been listening to the soundtrack from the movie "Once." Good stuff. I've been trying to redefine my musical tastes, since I've pretty much had none for the past seven years. I seem to have emerged on this side of motherhood with a taste for various shades of folk music . Weird, huh. Here's another song for your viewing pleasure. Not sure if this album is out in the US yet. (Nope, not til the end of July)







I've been looking for that creative place I once inhabited. I sank briefly into that melancholic state that I once found productive, but that is no longer the place for me. When I am creating a garment I find inspiration in whimsy and absurdity. I have always been most comfortable with the absurd. I think at one point it may have been because I didn't think there was anything of me that was real. I suppose there is a fear somewhere deep inside that I am just a poseur. If I am afraid I am, does that mean I am? It's getting deep in here. Anywho. So anyway, I've fallen off this train of thought.



I finally saw some fireflies. They have been scarce these past few years. Or perhaps it is I who have been scarcely outdoors. Oh, for an hour in a swing on a spreading lawn while the fireflies frolic and we speak of other things than how we really feel. and love drifts between us on the wind until we breathe it in and words become mundane.


Can you tell I am writing mostly stream of consciousness? My sister got quite a kick out of it the last time. (and no, I am not pregnant, nor have I been drinking or taking sudafed). I think I am high on thunderstorms. I think I mentioned once a long time ago that I find them invigorating.


Yikes. It's after midnight. I'd better be off to bed. I am tired of having insomnia.

I'm back

from Florida. It was very very very hot. Thankfully the graveside service was in the morning and was family only, so it was brief. This was the first time in many years that the whole family was together. so we made sure to get pictures, because it is highly unlikely we will ever all be together again. Here is me with all my girl cousins(and my sister). We were standing on a hill so those on the left look shorter than they are. And if you don't know which one is me, I am not either of the blondes, those are my cousins Joy and Jena. When I was little, I was the only one who wasn't blonde. I didn't really know my older cousins, but we spent a lot of time with Joy and Jena. My sister used to be a blonde, too, but not anymore. It was good to see everyone.

Funerals, of course, are always a little sad, but I knew last summer that it was probably the last time I would see my grandmother. There were other things that made me sad.

I received an unexpected gift from my Uncle Jimmy. Jimmy never married or had kids(that we know of) and has lived with his mother for the last few years. He doesn't work, he fell off too many ladders when he was a house painter. He drinks alot. But after the grave side service he was still fairly coherent, and I was at his house with my parents while everyone changed clothes. He went back to his bedroom, then came back out to the living room and handed me a box. Don't say I never gave you anything, he said. I looked at it and it was an old box that said "Bible Promises." I looked at my dad, a little confused. That used to sit on our dining room table, and we read a verse every night at dinner, he said. I asked Jimmy if it was really for me. he said yes. It was his, he had brought it home from church when he was a kid. As far as I know, he has never given away anything. When we were kids he would tell us if we paid him a quarter we could sit in his lap. We never took him up on the offer. Then my sister stopped by to pick me up and he had a present for her. He said he had something for our cousin Dana, too. I told him thank you, and that I would sit it on my table for our family to read from at dinner. As we were leaving, I realized that he was giving away pretty much all his possessions. He doesn't have a use for any of these things in his life. But he didn't try to sell them or put them in the trash, he actually thought about who he could give them to. So I realized that my sister, cousin and I are his heirs. He gave us the things that once meant something to him. It may have been a long time ago when they meant something, but he remembered. I burst into tears as my mother, sister and I were walking out the door at this unexpected kindness from a man that has burned every one of his bridges. We don't know what is going to happen to Jimmy, now that his mom is gone. She took care of him until she couldn't even take care of herself. But I will say a prayer for him every time I see the small part of his life he gave to me.

Sad news

I will be out of town for the next few days. My grandmother passed away yesterday. It was my dad's mom, not the one who lives with my parents. She has been very ill for a very long time and was in her 80's. So it wasn't totally unexpected. I will be traveling to Pensacola, Florida with my sister and her family and my mom. Please pray for us to have a safe trip, and for everything to go well with splitcat who will be home with all my kids. The plan right now is to be back thursday night.

This is somewhat hard because tomorrow is my birthday(33). My grandfather, this grandmother's husband, passed away on my birthday 7 yrs ago. Today is my nephew's 13th birthday, and thursday is my parents 38th anniversary. (June is a busy month in my family. My sister's birthday was on the 14th and her anniv on the 20th. That is one reason I didn't get married in June). So it is hard when what should be a time of celebration becomes a time of mourning. Please keep my dad(his name is Eddie) in your prayers, too as he deals with his siblings in all the settling of the estate, etc. Thanks.

Another day, Another Blog

Well, because I don't already have enough blogs, I've added one more. This one is purely for my creative pursuits so that I don't clutter up my other blogs. You can find it here. I've been reposting some of my older projects as well as some new ones. Have fun!

Facebook

I joined. It took me forever to figure out. But it was worth it. Now I can see my cyberfriends lives, and most wonderful of all, found a long lost friend. She was my best friend in high school, but she moved to Australia when she got married. And we completely lost touch. I would hear about her from mutual friends, but that was all. We spent this morning chatting(well, it was late at night for her, even more mind boggling is that it is fall!). It was good to start catching up. I hope we get to communicate more now. I have really missed her. So if you know my real name, maybe I'll be your friend, too :).

We went to the park after dinner. It was really humid. The babies didn't like the swings like they used to. I thought M was going to have a heart atttack. His whole body tensed and turned red from holding his breath. Once he relaxed a little he almost liked it. I didn't know splitcat was filming this video, he was waiting for W to slide, but he got lost in thought at the top. That's me cackling in the background. He heard me laughing and that's what snapped him out of it. The longer we were there, the curlier W's hair got. I'm so glad I got one curly head out of 4. It's fascinating.

It's Ballet time! Tonight is rehearsal. I'm so glad they got to wear tutu's this year. Last year their main dance was tap, so they wore a jazzy red number with fringe and feathers. This year they are doing ballet as their main dance. It's hard to tell from the picture, but the top layer of her skirt is a pale lavender.

I always wanted to be a ballet dancer because the costumes were so beautiful.

Endings

School is out. The girl finished yesterday, the boy today, and Splitcat winds up post planning sometime next week. Our summer plans are currently non-existent. We are waiting to see if anyone signs up for summer school. If enough kids sign up, Splitcat will be teaching summer school. I'm torn between wanting him to teach and wanting him to stay home. Summer school is a fairly lucrative thing to do. But the thought of being alone with my kids most of the summer is a little daunting. The twins are very very very busy. The boy and girl are either having a great time together or screaming at each other like banshees. Taking everyone outside to play is nearly impossible when I am by myself. The girls next door left for Las Vegas as soon as they got home from school today, so I can't get them to help me. Is it sad to be scared to be left alone with your children? Actually, I'm not scared, it just makes me tired to even think about.





Anyhoo, P had a pretty successful year. He got his standardized test scores back--1=does not meet, 2=meets, 3= exceeds. He scored 3's on all 3 sections. The girl was really ready for school to be out. She did well this year, also. Next week is her ballet recital and then we are done with all our school year commitments.

We are all finally over our latest bout of gastroenteritis. Looking back on my blog, we all had one this same time last year. I had forgotten that P missed his last day of school last year because he was puking. I won't go into details, but twins with diarrhea is not pleasant.

Scoot Over

Baby M(below). He looks a lot like my dad. Maybe it's the hawaiian shirt.

Baby W. He looks like my Father-in-law's father. They both love to carry the bubble bottles around. I bought an automatic bubble blower so everyone can play in the bubbles.