This girl

Yesterday I was talking to A and she was being her usual crazy self. Having learned from past experience that if I do not blog something quickly, I will forget it, I'm typing up these two now.

A: Mom, Kyler became my friend today!
Me: Oh, really? That's neat.
A: Yeah, my heart's not broken anymore.

Sigh. Everything breaks this girl's heart, but it usually pretty easy to mend. Another quote from her, from sometime last week:

"Tyler, when you say mean things to me, it breaks off a little piece of my heart each time."

That one happened in the bathroom while they were trying to fix the toilet.

On the way to the open house at school last night:

"Oh! The sky is pink and purple! *long pause* *sigh* That's my favorite part of life."

Now, I looked at the sky and I all I could see was blue, but hey, if that's her favorite part of life, then I'm not going to tell her otherwise.

*vomit*

Tyler woke up this morning and then went and laid down on the stairs for an hour and a half while I helped everyone else get ready for school. Eventually I convinced him to come upstairs and I got him dressed and then started getting Miranda ready. Tyler had mentioned that his tummy didn't feel good, but he didn't think he was going to puke. Yeah. I was midway through changing Miranda's diaper when I hear gagging and look up to see Tyler staring into his hands. I asked if he was going to puke and he just nodded, so I grabbed the nearest toy bucket and dumped out the toys and handed the mostly empty bucket to him, noticed that there were still 2 wooden blocks in the bottom and then had to reach in twice (!!) to pull them out. Then he emptied his hands into the bucket and threw up some more. Poor kid had tried to catch all the nastiness in his hands so it didn't get all over his clothes and the carpet; that's almost as bad as the time that he was standing in front of me and started gagging, so I pulled out the bottom of my t-shirt to form a makeshift bowl for him to throw up in-- worked just fine until I had to figure out how to take my shirt off... Anyway, Tyler's been fine since then and eating like a champ, which is great since he's going on his first camping trip tomorrow night.

Tooth #5

Joseph lost tooth #5 last night and stuck it under his pillow. The tooth fairy finally showed up at 3:30 AM and left him 2 quarters. This morning I woke up to find Joseph writing a letter to the tooth fairy to let her know that next time he loses a tooth, he wants her to leave him 43 Nascars instead of money. He's downstairs making her a list of what numbers he needs. :-S

MooShee giveaway

Over here. I love this one and it would be so adorable in my living room after I paint and get my new couch. I love the colors and it would give my design-challenged self a palette to work with AND it would give me a piece of artwork for my extremely barren walls.

This one would look great in a little boy's room and if your kids all share a room like mine do, you could get this one for the girls.

Check out the rest of Keri's store and then go enter to win one on Andrea's blog.

From the mouths of babes

T: Mama, I want an ice-pickle.
Me: A what?
T: An ice-pickle. I'll grab a patchig of ice-pickles and take dem upstairs.
Me: Okay...
Then he hands me a package of popsicles. :)

He has never once referred to popsicles by anything other than "popsicle," so I was caught off guard by this one. Miss A said something really cute this morning, too, but I can't remember what it was, only that my immediate thought was "I need to blog that." Parenting fail.

Joining the ranks...

...of Honda Odyssey owners. We've been in the market for one for quite some time, but never had the funds when one we liked was available, but today we found one and managed to make the money work. It's a 2007 with about 45K miles on it and it has an 8th seat, which was a huge selling point for me. HUGE. I will probably be reconfiguring carseats all week to find the best fit, but it will be worth it, I'm sure. This means that we'll even have enough room for Kyler, the little boy who I will be watching after school this year, on the days that we need to drive.

It seems nice so far, but I haven't driven it and I've only ridden in it for about 5 minutes on the way home from the dealership. I'll let you all know my thoughts on it after a week or so. :)

Off to a weird start

I woke up today at like 5:46 AM because I heard something about a Backstreet Boys concert up in Broomfield. Yeah, it's in a week and it's the first I've heard of it. I'm like the worst obsessed fan ever lately. I had a 20-minute silent discussion with myself about whether or not I should go do the budget and check ticket prices. I eventually decided against it because I didn't want to accidentally wake up the kids. I wish I could go, but the logistics of taking a nursling and then having to find a babysitter for the other 3 (or hauling them all to a hotel up there so Tom could watch them or something) and then possibly having to find someone to dog/catsit for the other 4, are just more than I can handle right now. I managed to go back to sleep eventually.

Now, here's the weird part (yeah, sorry, I don't consider that whole BSB obsession weird) since all my kids are normally up around 6:00 AM, no matter what time they go to bed:

Miranda was up at about 6:40 and I grabbed her by the ankles about 6 inches before she crawled off the edge of the bed. Amelia was awake, too, and possibly standing outside my door in the hallway, which is just a bit creepy for a 5 year old. Joseph finally rolled out of bed around 8:00. And he took a nap yesterday, too. I won't be surprised if he's throwing up by the end of the day. It's 9:00 AM and Tyler is still asleep. I guess that's what happens when you're 3.5 and you decide to stay up until 9:45 PM. I'm sure he'll smell the cereal that Joseph and Amelia are eating and he'll come running out any minute.

I'm not sure how this day is going to play out now. Maybe it will give me something to blog about though. ;)

Go away, hormones!

I teared up at the end of Glee tonight. It wasn't even at a part that should have caused me to tear up. It's been 6 months since I gave birth and those pregnancy hormones should be long gone. They were fine when I needed them, but now I need a little break.

I promise I will start blogging something interesting soon. I need sleep first though.

What's happening?

Not much to be honest. I'm trying to remind myself to blog more often and it hasn't been working lately. 4 kids actually keeps me kind of busy. Who'd have thought? Oh, yeah, I said "4 kids" since we've added another to the brood. There's another dog now, too. It's a houseful, but we're done adding life forms for now. Maybe I can't get a little motivation and I'll play a little catch up after the kids are in bed sometime this week. ;)

Sunday Education

I was asked to help out in nursery at church today and it taught me a few things.

1. Having lots of boys and not so many girls isn't terrible. It certainly makes the girls look nice and calm.

2. Kids clean up fairly quickly when asked by people who are not related to them.

3. Kids learn at a very young age to lick all the Handi-Snack cheese out of the container after the little breadsticks are gone.

4. I'm not sure I could handle triplets. Twins, maybe. Triplets, no. I can't grow any more arms.

5. Twins should always wear nametags. On their foreheads.

Overall, I think I actually *gasp* liked being in there today.

One Headlight

Guidelines:
1. Put your iTunes on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your next answer.
3. You must write that song name down no matter how outrageous it sounds!
4. Tag 10 friends who might enjoy doing the game as well as the person you got the note from.

IF SOMEONE SAYS, “IS THIS OKAY” YOU SAY?
I've Got You (McFly) Sure.

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
I Go Blind (Hootie & the Blowfish) Um. Neat?

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Beautiful Day (U2) Again....sure....

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE’S PURPOSE?
Absolutely (Story of a Girl) (Nine Days) Definitely.

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
Hey Leonardo (Blessid Union of Souls) DiCaprio or DaVinci?

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Get Down (Backstreet Boys) I hope not all of them think this.

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT OFTEN?
The Rockefeller Skank (Fatboy Slim) Because, seriously, who doesn't?

WHAT IS 2+2?
Canned Heat (Jamiroquai) This math makes more sense than most.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Cantaloop (US3) Um.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Buddy Holly (Weezer) As in a big nerd? Then, yes. Sorry, dear. You are one though.

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Grade 9 (Barenaked Ladies) Considering my inability to actually complete my college education, I suppose thatbeing a perpetual freshman isn't totally off base.

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Only Wanna Be With You (Hootie & the Blowfish) Well, that's just sweet.

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
To the Moon & Back (Savage Garden) Yes. Some days I would like to send him to the moon. Some days I would allow him to come back.

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Closing Time (Semisonic) Dang.

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Broadway (Goo Goo Dolls) And it will be sung live by My Johnny.

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Kung Fu Fighting (Carl Weathers) Because that's how I'm going down!

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Drowning (Backstreet Boys) Wow. That's so not nice. Maybe it's supposed to mean that my hobby/interest is the Backstreet Boys, which is entirely possible.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Son of a Preacher Man (Dusty Springfield) No.

WHAT’S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
One Week (Barenaked Ladies) Nope. Two weeks would be twice as bad. Although barenaked ladies wouldn't exactly be stellar...

HOW WILL YOU DIE?
Meet Virginia (Train) I just won't introduce myself.

WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
The Impression That I Get (Mighty Mighty Bosstones) I'm not sure which impression it was, but I'm sure that's right!

WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
Mandy (Jonas Brothers) I did know a couple girls named Mandy in high school and they were pretty funny! Could be referring to the Jonas Brothers' pants, too, but that's more of a gag reflex than a laugh.

WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
Dirty Little Secret (All American Rejects) In a way, yes.

WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?
Letters (Stroke 9) I'm totally stumped on this one.

WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?
Sweet Caroline (Neil Diamond) When I think about how much Fast Eddie loved this song, yes, it was a little scary.

DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
Sadie Hawkins Dance (Relient K) Is this referring to the fact that I have never been asked to a dance? Ouch.

IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
I Want You (Savage Garden) This must be referring to the Savage Garden concert where I should have thrown myself at Darren's feet.

WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
Praise You (Fatboy Slim) Jen and I were doing the lame dance to this (yeah, from the video) at the pool once in college and then we looked over and realized that there was an entire room full of wrestlers and football players watching us. That hurt our pride just a little. If you've seen the video, you'll know why. Just in case someone hasn't seen the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ULVQOneeZE

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
One Headlight (The Wallflowers)

I don't tag people. Do it if you want. Or you can use this as an excuse to bulk up your playlist and avoid housework. :P

This year needs to be better

Seriously. I can't handle another year like last year. I came to the realization today that I still haven't really dealt with a lot of the stuff from last year and things probably won't get better until I get all of that under control. There you have it- today's epiphany. :)

Puppy Love

This morning we took the kids to Petsmart as a surprise. They thought we were just going to look around at all the fish and lizards and stuff. They were completely shocked to find out about the adoption fair in the back of the store. :P

After much deliberation, the family agreed on a sweet brown German shepherd border collie mix puppy. So far, so good. He sat patiently in the parking lot while we put together his kennel and then walked right in for the trip home. He didn't make a peep the whole ride home and just laid in his kennel very happily. We're going to need a new kennel in like a month though and it will probably have to be the big one!

He's more comfortable around Tom and me, but he loves the kids and all the attention they give him. He lets Amelia hug him every 5 minutes (minimum) and he's just very gentle with them all. We spent lots of time in the backyard when we got home and he's happy to run around with someone or just sit next to them quietly.

After about 2 hours of going through dog naming websites and picking our brains, everyone finally agreed on "Jasper" for the little guy. Who knew it was so hard to name a dog? We spent less time picking out names for the kids! Wait. That's not totally true. It took us about 3 hours to name Tyler after he was born. ;) Tyler calls him "Dappers." Jasper doesn't seem to mind.

Amelia has already told me she's staying up all night with the dog and she has thanked us at least 10 times for the big surprise. Joseph has offered to walk the dog no less than 50 times and he's constantly checking to make sure Jasper has water. Tyler is just exhausted by the whole thing and is on his second nap of the evening, on the couch. He'll be headed for bed in a few minutes.

Ramsey and Luna (the feline kiddos) aren't thrilled with the new addition. They'll get over it eventually I'm sure. Or they won't. Whatever.

Yes, pics will be coming soon, but not tonight. I took a few, but Jasper is camera shy, so I'll need to take a few more so you can see what he actually looks like.

Today...

..we've had tons of excitement, including, but not limited to:

-Tyler pushed the cat into the bathtub. Yes, there was still water in the tub. The cat ran out of the bathroom so quickly that I didn't even see her run past me.

-Amelia decided to play some invented game that resulted in Joseph getting kicked in the mouth and knocking his head into the coffee table. Tears followed.

-Tyler decided to climb the tall baby gate, where he proceeded to get stuck- perched at the very top. He didn't call for help, just sat there and cried.

-Joseph stood next to me while I was blogging and repeatedly asked me what I was writing and why I was doing this.

-Amelia locked Tyler out of the bedroom while she was in timeout for kicking Joseph.

See? Exciting!

Christmas Countdown

Two more days. Yeah. I haven't wrapped a single present; in fact, I'm not sure where I even put all of the presents that need to be wrapped. My plan was to make most of the presents for the kids this year. Yup. Didn't happen. I'm making (yes, still) some felt food for T to open on Christmas and then the kids will get the rest as I finish it, um, in my spare time.

Walmart is not a fun place to go 3 days before Christmas, especially when the cart is laden with children that you need to buy for. Next year, I will plan better. Just like I will blog more. Honest.

J just woke up and he's asking for breakfast, so thus ends this riveting blog session. You're sad. I can tell. Come over for cinnamon rolls in about 20 minutes. :)

And he's off...

...to school today. Joseph is feeling better and was super excited to get to school today. I think he missed the playground. :P Amelia is watching Curious George right now and Tyler finally went down for a nap.

In M&B news, I finished one pair of longies and they're headed for the lanolin bath in about 5 minutes. The next pair should be done later today and then I have 2 more surprise pairs to knit and I'll be through that part of my list. We won't discuss what's left on my list yet. Yikes. I think I'll be spending a lot of time at the post office in the coming weeks.

In other crafty news, I'm trying to plan out what I'm making for everyone for Christmas. Wow. I need to start the planning much earlier next year. I have to make a birthday gift for Joseph this week, one for Tyler immediately after that, and then Christmas gifts for each of the kids. Ideally, I'd love to make them each a pair of socks and a pair or two for myself, but since I have yet to actually knit a sock of any size, I don't see it happening. Maybe they'll get socks for Valentine's Day.

And to Little Miss Lindsay, happy birthday, sweetie! You'll love being six!

A mother's conundrum

Why won't a sick child lay down on the couch and just watch movies, but when said child is prefectly healthy, he is perfectly happy to be a couch potato?

Joseph is sick today. He told me he didn't feel well last night, so I fed him dinner and he went to bed. This morning his tummy still hurt, so I told him he could stay home. 10 minutes before we normally leave for school, he decides he's fine and then goes off to get dressed for school. Nope, getting dressed was too much work for him, so he just laid on the floor instead and decided that staying home would be better. That turned out to be the right choice because the school would have called me to come get him as soon as I pulled back into the driveway from dropping him off.

In totally unrelated news, blueberry oatmeal is not fun to clean out the carpet. Just sayin'.

In Munkit & Blue news, I have a pile of stuff to finish, wash, and mail this weekend. I may even be ambitious and post some pics of it on here since my commitment to blog more this year than last is dangerously close to becoming a thing of the past.

Sondheim Saturday

No, this has nothing to do with Sondheim, but it's what I could come up with at the moment.

It's officially Spring, which explains the snow that has been falling for the majority of the day and the indoor Easter egg hunt that we took the kids to today. There are pictures. They are not on the computer yet; I'm waiting until I have the plethora of pictures from our Easter morning excitement until I bother.

I bought some blank DVDs today, too, so hopefully I can actually save all the pictures to discs and send them to family members instead of having 800 million pictures saved on my memory card. I'm giving myself until the end of May to accomplish this.

On the house front, things are looking good. We have a house that has been inspected and we're waiting to hear from our realtor if the sellers are willing to fix a couple things. If everything works out, we'll close mid-April and slowly transfer our apartment into the house. Slowly=over the course of a week and then getting help with the furniture on a Saturday. The kids are excited to move into a house with a backyard. Joseph says his favorite thing about the new house is that it comes with two squirrels.

Business is going okay. I made my first knitted item sale to a stranger. I've sold plenty of knitted stuff to friends online, and also crocheted items and stitch markers to strangers, but no knitted to a stranger. Until yesterday. I still have tons of other little knitting and dyeing projects to catch up on and another stocking to prepare for on April 16th, so this will be a busy month and a half. Don't expect much blogwise. Of course, if you've been following my blog at all since it's inception, you probably don't expect much from me blogwise anyway. :P

March Madness

It's March already. I swear it was just November. We're doing well, kids are doing well, etc. I've decided that I need to blog more often. Really it shouldn't be that difficult since I only blogged 8 times in the last year.

Here's a few semi-recent pics of the kiddos...

Tyler showing us how to clap



















Amelia showing off her new capris that we are borrowing from Sarah. Joseph, on his 5th birthday.

Menu planning

During the week, I love having the menu all planned out. Planning the menu, not so much. I've been sitting for an hour trying to come up with a good menu plan and I'm stuck. I should be cooking dinner or getting things ready for the stocking tomorrow, but I can't walk away till the menu is done.

And the kids just finished off a gallon of mint chocolate chip ice cream straight out of the container. They are so my children.

Tyler found a bag of mini marshmallows this morning. Apparently, the other kids had hidden it next to the couch. Tyler figure out how to open it and shove a handful of marshmallows in his mouth before I could get the bag away from him. He's his father's kid.

Back to the menu, then dinner, then little ghosties.