Ellie's Birthday

Just a couple pictures of Ellie's birthday. I made her tutu based on a tutorial online. I just ironed-on the sequin cupcake.

The cupcakes are a Williams-Sonoma recipe... Vanilla cake (more like a pound cake) and a buttercream frosting.

The Bath.

There are things in life that are optional. Others are not. The bath, for instance. In a house with four kids under 9, baths are a frequent necessity.

I had a brief meeting Sunday evening. John was fending for himself with the kids after dinner for an hour. He is so kind and helpful, that he started cleaning up the kitchen for me. Apparently, no more than a couple minutes into cleaning he noticed how quiet the house was. I call that the 'child-induced eerie silence'. It's rarely a good thing. He ventured out to the porch to find Ellie and Bo playing in the charcoal ashes from the kettle grill. They had taken the lid and grate off and were having a party. Yes, a bath was a necessity.

Drew (our oldest) started football practice yesterday and I thought it would be a fine idea to bring the other kids and let them run around and play during the practice. Never trust my fine ideas... Besides giving all the other parents heart attacks by jumping up and down the bleachers, Ellie decided to jump off the side. Then she hit the concrete - with her knee and chin. Halfway through practice, we have a dirty mess that is now bleeding as well. Yes, a bath was a necessity.

I decided to have a moment to myself and take a bubble bath when John was home. What a treat. I relaxed and it was so nice to have no disturbances for that moment. Yes, at that moment, the bath was a necessity. When I got out of the tub, the questions began. I don't just take a bath like that in the middle of the day. Bo was confused. His face showed the confusion and he asked, "Did you play with my toys?"

All in all, you have to love a bath. All in all, anything that makes children clean is a good thing. I'm glad I took time for myself too... Even if I didn't play with Bo's toys.

My Little Girl

We were so surprised at Thanksgiving a couple years ago to find out we were expecting again. Then to be expecting a girl - I was in a little denial. I was sure she would come out and end up being a surprise 'he'. But she didn't. She arrived a girl and so tiny that my first thought was that she was too small.

A couple years later, we are celebrating her birthday. Wow. Each day she surprises me. She is fearless. As in, if we go to the pool, she will jump right in. The other day we were there with neighbors and she was standing at the side of the pool. I turned to do my headcount and she jumped onto my head/shoulder. No fear. Now, the other people in the pool who caught the resulting quick 'swimsuit malfunction' were probably afraid, but it was corrected quite quickly.

She is a girl's girl. Most folks made the same statement when we found out she was a girl. "She'll be such a tomboy with all those brothers." She is tough. She can swat Bo to defend her things so fast... But she loves shoes. She loves pink things. And she adores her dolls. Don't get me wrong, I am glad she is tough, but it is fun to have someone so different - no trains, no cars...

Today, we will watch Dora, we will make a cake, she will wear her feather boa play shoes and we will indulge her whims all day... It's a good day.

Bo.

Many of you know him. He's a mess. I was telling a story about him to a neighbor and she suggested I post this here.

We have a dog. She is still somewhat of a puppy - 8 months old. Bo loves her. He loves to feed her. He loves to pet her. He even loves to hug her. I don't think she appreciates the hugs, but she puts up with it.

After the dog's breakfast, Bo will often try to take her out on her leash. I don't usually allow just him to do that. I like someone to be with him. A couple days ago, I heard the door slam in the morning. I hurried to follow him out and then I saw it. He did have the dog out to go to the bathroom, but he was also going to the bathroom. His pants were around his knees and he was going to the bathroom IN THE FRONT OF THE HOUSE. I asked what he was doing and he calmly replied, "Well, I had to go too!"

We have since discussed that we use the restroom INSIDE the house. In the bathroom.

I'll try anything again...

I know - I've blogged in the past. I am working on ideas for a blog I started in January with table discussion topics - this is not a replacement for that.

These are true stories about our family. Sometimes, it's a perfect picture of family bliss. More often than not, we're just a mess.

Today, my son was contemplating a second helping of cheese balls. In his own wisdom, he told me, "This will be all, mom. I won't have anymore, even though I want some more. I am sacrificing. You know, like Jesus." We are Catholic. The kids are in Catholic School. I love that he is aware of the sacrifices of Christ, but to compare his sacrifice to not having more cheese balls? Still pondering that one.

I took all the kids to Target for groceries. We spent a small fortune it seemed, but finished successfully. As we are walking out. I am so confident that no one has had a meltdown. No one threw a fit. We had no tears. Success. Then I ran over my four-year-old with the shopping cart in front of the customer service desk. Sounds terrible, but he bounced up quickly and was fine. I had to remind myself that too much confidence in my new role as a stay at home mom can quickly turn. Very quickly.

Finally, as my friends, you all know that we didn't arrive at the decision for me to stay home lightly. However imperfect my house still is, however forgetful and crazy busy I can be still, I am so lucky to be home with these four little ones.

That's why I named this blog Raising Four Kids and Myself. I have as much to learn as the kids do.