David's prophecy

Tonight, just before he dropped off to the Land of Nod, David, who is 4 now, said to me, "Mommy, this baby you're having, I just know it's going to be a girl. I just know it." I guess we'll find out in January!

He was so young when his little brothers were born that I never got to experience his anticipation before. It's very cute. He will make a wonderful big brother again.

---Coming out of the terrible twos---

I am all smiles.

I think the twins have turned a corner--from the hall of temper tantrums and miscommunication into the corridor of giggles and glee. Since November, there have been entire weeks when the only sound coming from Tobias was screaming--the WHOLE time! Today, we laughed, we played ball, we took a bath (okay, they took a bath, I got splashed), we read stories, and we talked. I asked Tobias to get a cup of water for David for breakfast, and he did! With pleasure. I smiled all day long!

Yesterday, the older kids decided to play hide-and-seek. Tobias, not one to be left out, stood in front of Chris with his eyes shut, counted to 20, and then opened his eyes. I watched to see how much of the game he understood. Turns out, not much! He took off like a shot around the table into the hall and back to the couch, in a well-worn circle that provides much entertainment in our house, giggling and squealing the whole time. Then he circled again, and again, and a fourth time, before he came to rest in front of his daddy, grinning a toothy, open-mouthed grin, asking with a sparkle in his eye to be chased.

I think the other kids may still be hiding. =D

But we had a blast playing the "Close-your-eyes-and-count-to-20-then-run-like-mad-in-circles" game with our newly-not-so-terrible-2's twins. =D

That sentence had a lot of hyphens.

Tyler has learned to kiss properly, finally. I must admit, I was none-too-thrilled (<--more hyphens!) to continue receiving slobbery open-mouthed kisses. Now he sucks in his cheeks and puckers his lips like a fish. I'll take it over tongue any day!

Last night, Tobias, lying in bed for his stories, said, "Daddy, mmmm?" and puckered his lips. I called Chris in, and Tobias repeated himself and then kissed his daddy. What a cute way to request affection!

And you should hear them bust Swiper on Dora the Explorer. Every time that sneaky fox shows himself on screen, Tyler yells, "Dider!" (which also, by the way, means "diaper," but usually not yelled at the top of his lungs at the t.v.) He also correctly identified the yellow steering wheel for Tito to continue his voyage after Swiper swiped it, despite Tyler's best preventative efforts. I was one proud mama.

Full of fish-kisses, bath-splashes, hide-and-seek-chase, and something-that-makes-me-want-to-use-hyphens-all-the-time, I am all smiles.

My life is a comic strip

This week has been the least normal week I have ever experienced, but considering that I've been a mother for 6 years, I suppose it's long overdue.

I don't have time to adequately describe the events of this week, so I'll give you the condensed version here, and go back and fill in the gaps with descriptive words and lots of ellipses when the kids are asleep... which means, for the most part, safe.

First, Chris, my nurse-husband, went to Knoxville on Tuesday. That's when David decided to slam the toilet seat down on--ahem--himself and leave a nice purple mark--"there."

Second, Tobias locked himself in the girls' bedroom, and I had to get on the roof in hopes of rescuing him. But I couldn't get in. He got out before I got off the roof!

Third, David fell two feet off the couch onto the hardwood floor and lacerated his head. We waited 5 hours in the emergency room for three stitches.

Today, David pushed his butt against the window in an effort to move the bunk beds, and broke the windowpane clear out. Thank Jesus he didn't follow, because the drop is 10 feet or more!

Doesn't it sound like a comic strip? Like one more event for the next panel? Like hyperbole? My life is a comic strip, and I am hyperbole. But with the peace of Jesus, we will make it through happy, and we will make it through sane.

Bedtime terror

Saja and Kora discovered that their new angel dolls say bedtime prayers when they push their bellies. One says the Lord's Prayer, and one says something that's NOT in the Bible, nor is it the common, but terrifying, bedtime prayer we learned as children about dying in our sleep. However, they both sound sweet and gentle, and the girls had fun pressing the buttons over and over tonight.

David, however, did not want to be left out, so he looked around the room and eyed another doll that makes noise. So amidst the sweet, gentle prayers of the plush dolls comes a terrifying roar of a dinosaur! (How apt.)

It was like watching Godzilla--Bedtime.

Honesty

Tonight, Kora was massaging my feet while I read her bedtime story. She raised her hand and asked very politely, "Momma, when I'm done rubbing your feet, my I please go wash my hands because they are going to stink very much."

I, of course, allowed it.

What kind of restaurant is that, exactly?

So... we're driving down the road today, when David bursts out excitedly, "Nutcracker! I see Nutcracker!"

I had no idea what he meant. We do actually own the movie, The Nutcracker, but it wasn't playing. So...

Kora asked, with much verve, the question on everybody's mind, "Where, David, where?!"

David matched her excitement when he pointed out the window and said, "Right over there, Kora!"

We were all confused until he sheepishly added, "Oh, I mean Cracker Barrel."

Ooooohhhhhh. Right.

Anybody want to join us for a down-home meal from Nutcracker? =D

Rat news

We've had mice before, and we survived. But last week, we saw a R-A-T. I'm talkin' a big, honkin', furry, long-toothed, gnawin' rat with a tail that doubled his body size. The thing was bold, too, coming into the kitchen for a bite to eat while I was standing there doing dishes. He found a hole where the cabinet doesn't quite reach the floor, but it wasn't quite big enough to drag the WHOLE APPLE back through. So, one morning, I found a half-gnawed apple surrounded by tiny apple-peel scraps sitting in front of his escape hole.

We saw him four times today, each time in the dining room, like a little pet dog coming to clean up after our dinner. Only it wasn't a dog. It was a RAT. Gross.

Chris bought a snap trap and a glue trap, and I told him he would have to take care of it all, because a) I was scared I would break my hand on the snap trap, because I'm that clumsy, and b) I did NOT want to deal with the death of a warm, furry creature on my kitchen floor. I don't even like stomping on spiders (but I'm warming up to it!)

The first night that he set the trap, he smeared peanut butter all over it. After 45 minutes, he checked the trap, and the smart, brave rat had licked the trap clean without tripping it! Shees. I told Chris he should paste a hunk of cheese on top of the peanut butter, and put the snap trap adjacent to a glue trap to ensure success next time.

Well, next time, no luck. I guess the rat was sleeping. Or making rat babies. Let's hope not.

Tonight, however, Chris set the trap with peanut butter again in the kitchen, in front of his favorite hole. I went down the kitchen stairs to start the laundry, and, incidentally, found a cell phone in the washer. I was fooling with the battery as I topped the staircase, entering the kitchen, when I heard the sound of death--the snap of the snap trap. This is not a soprano snap, like a teeny mousetrap. This is a booming snare drum that demands your attention, and without thinking, I gave it my attention.

And I saw the rat breathe it's last. It quivered. It affected me terribly.

I hid behind the door and yelled for Chris. "Chris! Chris! CHRI-I-I-I-IS!!!"

He came running, thinking I had tripped the trap! "Are you okay?!" he yelled.

I asked him kindly to please take care of that, and then it happened. I broke down in tears.

I suppose it's one thing to see a dead rat in a trap you set for him. But it's another thing entirely to see the thing die.

I know, I know, most of you guys out there are thinking, "That is SO cool! I wish I were there!" And I admit, I am such a girl. But that's how God made me. Emotional and whiny.

And while I feel quite traumatized at the moment, I am glad that I don't have to share any more apples.

(PS Thanks to my very sweet, darling, and loving husband for taking care of the remains. I hope it's not all I get for Valentine's Day.)

Nothin' like it

Chris and I spent the evening in a hotel in Gatlinburg, which was wonderful, and when we returned home, all the children ran up to us, yelling, "Mommy!" and "Daddy!" and giving us big leg-hugs. What a beautiful, fantastic, enthusiastic love. Down the road, I hope we continue to share this type of love, and that those short-people leg-hugs turn into full-bodied bear hugs.

The Rat in the House

It's a new Dr. Seuss series. You don't want to miss it.

I've dealt with mice before. They are a minor inconvenience, excused because they are just so darn cute.

Not so with a rat.

He's ugly. He's scary. And he looks like he can gnaw my finger off if I look at him the wrong way.

I don't even know how to trap a rat... humanely... "tidily"... successfully.

He has the audacity to come out in broad daylight and scurry--make that lumber--over my feet in the kitchen.

He chewed a hole the size of Lake Eerie in my bag of pancake mix and went for a swim in there. Then, as an afterthought, showered off in my rice.

A rat.

Ick.

I shiver.

and I will not sleep well tonight.

Exciting news!

Saja, 6, asked to be baptized last night. Our church will be licensing Chris on Feb. 7, so they're going to let him baptize her on the 14th! Daddy baptizing daughter on Valentine's Day!!! Isn't that sweet?!

Goodnight kisses

My boys are so affectionate. Tyler and Tobias have begun to play a goodnight game with me--when I get ready to leave their room for the night, I turn and say, "I love you! Night-night!" They either reply in kind, "Ly-lay-loo, Nite-nite!" or give me the flirty-eye. The flirty-eye looks like this: chin turned toward shoulder, slight smile on the face, and fluttering eyelashes. Then I say, "No crying when I leave!" They always giggle, because they know they're going to cry when I leave just to get me to return! When I close the door, they cry the worst fake cry you've ever heard. So I open the door quickly and say, "Hey, there's no crying when I leave!" And they both giggle. I'll lay my whole body on top of theirs so our faces are touching and say through puckered lips, "Gimme goodnight kiss." Sometimes they do, but most times they turn their cheeks and make me chase down their lips... which, of course, I do with glee. Bedtime can be fun, but it sure takes a long time!

THEN... I run upstairs to start bedtime for the older kids. I always kiss them on their cheeks after I read their stories, and sometimes, they'll throw their arms around my neck and yank me down, keeping my chiropractor in business. Tonight, David took my face in both hands, turned my lips toward his, and fish-kissed my lips ten times in a row! I left the room with a smile on my face and a light heart.

The most hilarious van adventure yet

So...

Praise God we're all safe and sound and tucked into bed tonight... and we didn't even have to call AAA Auto Services.

The girls wanted to swing on a friend's tree swing, so I took them over there at about 4pm. Tobias and Tyler had not napped, but I figured they wouldn't be too cranky with the outdoors calling their names.

Wrong.

Tobias fussed so much that I put him back into the car. Tyler thought that would be grand fun, so he joined him. They pushed the button on the van that automatically closes the door.

I knew that Tobias had a habit of plugging in our DVD player, which, when activated before cranking the car, will drain the battery. I also knew it doesn't happen ALL the time, and that I was parked conveniently for a quick jump, were it to happen today, so I let them play in the car for about 15 minutes while I kept an eye on them and the other children in the yard. I also chit-chatted with the Mommy-friend, Missy Rhodes.

Then it hit me.

Tobias has my keys. If he locks the door, I will not be able to get into the van. And I'm not so sure he'll be able to unlock the door on command.

I raced to the van, and sure enough...

It was locked!

I yelled through the window to Tobias. "Where are my keys?"
He went right to them... hanging out of the ignition.
"Can you push the button to unlock the door?"
He, in fact, did push a button. The LOCK button.
"No, no, baby, the other one. The UNLOCK button."
The lock button again. Sigh.
The he climbed to the door and manually pushed the button on the door--to lock it!
I suggested that he go back to the key fob and try again, and this time, he got it right, much to my joy and salvation from panic.

So, naturally, I tried to crank the car. D-E-A-D.
Missy offered to have her husband jump it if we had jumper cables, which I promptly located. Eddie, her husband, did NOT appreciate the fact that the red alligator clips were missing the rubber grips. Watching him try to attach the clips to the battery while thinking his risk of shock was high was like watching a little boy sneaking into the cookie jar. He jumped and squirmed and squealed, and finally asked, "Are you confident that this isn't going to shock me?" to which I, of course, replied, "Yes, I've seen Chris do this fourteen times." (Then I looked at Missy and mouthed the word, "No.") I offered to do it myself, but Eddie's ego would have none of that. He did settle down after I threatened his manhood. I missed a real opportunity with America's Funniest Home Videos having left my camera at home. Sigh.

Eddie, you could have won me $10,000. If I won, I would buy new jumper cables... with proper grips. =)

As soon as it cranked, Tobias turned the ignition back off. That boy.

Chris told me one time that driving four blocks doesn't do squat to recharge your battery, so if you have a dead battery, you should drive around 15 minutes or so. Our fifteen minutes led us to Little Caesar's, where I bought dinner for $5.46, and Kora fell asleep, and I nearly rear-ended someone while my attention was on opening the back windows for Saja.

But we made it home, safe and sound, and full. What could have been a tiresome, stressful evening turned out to be fun and injury-free. Thank you, Jesus!

Mary Kay Miracle Set really works

I started using the Mary Kay miracle set for my facial skin care two weeks ago. Last night, lying in bed with Saja, she caressed my face and then asked, "Mommy, why is your skin so soft?!"

Embarrassing moment of the day

Tobias stripped at basketball practice today. It was embarrassing. I'm sure I'll look back on it and laugh some day, but not now.

Learning new languages

Today at the Y, Saja squealed in excitement when she heard a young boy, about age 3, speak. "Mom, he's Spanish!"

I said, "I know. Did you say, 'Hola?'"

She looked at me puzzled and said, "He doesn't speak Spanish! He speaks... baby!"

Exercise and eating

We have to stop exercising to save our grocery bill.

The kids practiced basketball tonight, and when they came home, they had two helpings of dinner (which was really leftover lunch that they had refused at that time), two clementines, a half-cup of almonds, two bananas, and a third of a pint of blueberries--EACH. My eyes grew wider every time someone came out of the kitchen with another vittle in hand.

On the plus side, they ate my cooking. That's new.

So, I guess we'll keep basketball on the docket for now.

Reading with David

Disclaimer: I admit it--I push my kids academically. Not all 3-year-olds should have to learn to read.

David is almost 4. I went through Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons (which uses the Distar method) with Kora and Saja at age 3, so of course, David must follow suit. No options.

We stopped at lesson 50 before Christmas. He was being stubborn about it, so I decided to read colorful, easy Scholastic books with him to revitalize his enthusiasm.

Today, I reinstituted the EZ Lessons book, but we reviewed lesson 37. Here's how it went.

David read, "I am a log."

Then he said, "Ah, that's so funny. Logs can't talk!"

Then... the text said, "I can not sit on an ant."

... which he read perfectly.

"But an ant can sit on me."

David decided the story would sound better if he said, "But a tiger can sit on me."

... so that's how he read it.

I could NOT get him to sound out A-N-T if my life depended on it. I think EVERYTHING is a tiger to him. Heck, he's a tiger most days! So I'll laugh it off. I think it's still pretty good for a three-year-old.

Bedtime, anyone?

Tonight, I read Bible stories to the twins, prayed with them, lay down with them for a moment, then said, "Nite, nite, I love you!" and closed the door behind me. I always hope for a "Nite, nite, I love you," in return, but none was forthcoming this evening.

Then, as I usually do, I continued bedtime upstairs with the older children, reading stories and praying with them. However, half-way through, I heard crying from the twins' room. I let it continue 15 minutes before I intervened. When I opened the door, there sat Tyler, sans pajamas, complaining about, "Potty."

I quickly zipped him up and lay down with Tyler and Tobias for another moment to soothe them before I left again. Things got pretty silly! Tobias started playing peekaboo and the snoring game with me. Tyler kept crawling face-to-face with me and then giggling. Their favorite bedtime song? "I love Tobias, oh yes I do. I love Tyler, and will be true. When you're not with me, I'm blue-ooo-hoo-hoo. Oh, Tobias (or Tyler), I love you!"

I think I hear them dribbling the basketball now.

Oh, well. I'm going to bed. At least SOMEONE will be sleeping.

Ice cream in the winter

So... after naptime today, the kids received a treat--ice cream in a real sugar cone! Yippee!

Of course, it's 17 degrees outside, and about 65 degrees inside... not the best conditions for ice cream.

David knew this, being the smart fellow that he is, so he took his ice cream cone and stood in front of the space heater... facing it.

Drip, drip, drip.

Today's highlight

We had the twin's speech and language screened last week, and we were told they appear to be developmentally delayed. Neither one really speaks clearly, and definitely not in sentences. Imagine my surprise tonight when I asked Tobias, "Do you want some juice?" and he replied by holding up his cup and saying, "Just a little bit."

Tyler and Tobias both enjoyed Chuck E. Cheese this morning more than ever before. I gave them a cup with 10 tokens in it each. Tyler put all his tokens in the Clifford ride one after the other. Tobias figured out how to climb into the Monster Truck all by himself and enjoyed many minutes up there. Saja, Kora, and David plucked all the tickets off all the machines left from the early-morning test run, so we ended up with more prizes than ever before! We had the place to ourselves because of the light dusting of snow that shut down the world, and it was pretty awesome. I can see myself having a basement like that some day... minus the freaky robotic mouse and teeny-bopper music. Chuck E. Cheese- the place where a kid can be a kid--and a mom can have a break. We love you, freaky mouse!