Tommy was a big help on Saturday–though he only made $3 towards his Lego fund…
Garage Sale
Feb 3rd, 2014 by ECM
Janie and Sam, and their naughty siblings
Jan 31st, 2014 by ECM
Ben and Sam came back over yesterday, and the babies were so cute together, just hanging out in the kitchen while I cleaned up from lunch.
As for the big kids…sigh… After I put all three littles down for naps, I settled down to organizing for tomorrow’s garage sale while the older three played in the backyard. I had the garage door open and could hear them playing nicely for about an hour. Then I happened to glance up to see all three covered in mud from head to toe. I had told Lizzie when she and Susie pulled that stunt a few days ago that I would have to hose them off outside if it happened again. Well, it was 57 degrees, but I could not have them traipse through my house covered in mud. So I warned my kids to brace themselves and turned on the hose. Tommy thought it was all funny until I got to his head. Ben was laughing uproariously while Lizzie whined under the cold water. When it was his turn, I tried to go as fast as I could and not spray as much as convince him to stand in the stream of the hose. All three were shivering with cold by the time it was through, so I peeled their clothes off and hustled them into the bathtub and turned up the shower as warm as they could handle. Note: I only shower close friends’ kids with my own. And only ages 4 and under. Their clothes weren’t out of the wash by the time Ginny arrived to take Ben to gymnastics class, but fortunately, Tommy’s bin of outgrown 5T clothes was right at hand in the garage, so I was able to provide him with shirt, pants, socks, and underwear.
Sheesh! It would have been a lot easier if I’d just let them watch a movie…
a little photo shoot preview
Jan 29th, 2014 by ECM
Last night, Ginny brought her boys over to do a Valentine’s Day photo shoot. We figured it would take two moms to handle the props and the babies. We both got some great pictures of our kiddos! I’m saving some of them for Valentines, but I couldn’t resist a little preview…
Moorpark Teaching Zoo
Jan 27th, 2014 by ECM
On Saturday, we met Jack and his parents at the Moorpark Teaching Zoo, just up the road! It’s pretty small, but we got to watch them feed the cougar. It was such a perfect, warm afternoon that we had to get a couple of photo shoot pictures, too.
Scrambled Eggs
Jan 24th, 2014 by ECM
I held off trying them with Janie until we were home with benadryl handy, but she seems to be just fine with them. Another allergy-free baby, praise the Lord!
Seventy degree weather changes are tough.
Jan 23rd, 2014 by ECM
I’d like to say that we’re getting back into the swing of things.
Janie is certainly back to her normal behavior. Well, tupperware is tupperware everywhere, and you don’t need to get out of your pajamas to spread it all over the kitchen.
The kids jumped back into playing and making messes before I’d unpacked all the suitcases (and just forget about getting everything put away!)…meet space boy, a princess, and a toddler waking up from a nap!
But they’re really underwhelmed by the 82 degree weather. No one has been outside for more than a few minutes, except at CBS. I had to cajole Susie out into the sunshine to get a close-up of her french braids.
Oh well, we’re trying to rehydrate, and I’m determined to finish putting away the Christmas decorations this afternoon. Maybe we’ll be okay with being back in summer then.
Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety-Jig
Jan 23rd, 2014 by ECM
We’re home, and we’re trying to adjust. I just cleared 600+ pictures off my camera card, and here are a few last ones from Michigan.
We celebrated Derek’s and Tommy’s birthdays with a Detroit Tigers cake!
In addition to his rugged good looks and keen wit, Uncle Matthew is also pretty good at feeding fussy babies…
The kids pretty much have their own Uncle Matthew Fan Club.
Janie at Ten Months
Jan 20th, 2014 by ECM
Time has flown since Janie’s last update, mostly because we’ve been on the road the whole time! It’s been fun for our families to watch her gain confidence in cruising, including against flat surfaces like the wall, and it’s been nice for me to have extra help keeping her out of trouble. As I type, she’s climbing up the stairs again!
She turns ten months today, and we’re celebrating by flying all day. Pray that she sleeps on both legs of the trip, if possible!
Janie has had all sorts of new foods this past month–mostly a lot of solids. She’s a fan of spaghetti, whole pieces of bread, homemade ravioli, apple slices, cheese sticks, strawberries, cake, and cookies.
She has zero interest in the bottle and seems to want to start weaning off the breast. With four opposing teeth, I’m thinking it’s time to start, too, though obviously not while we’re on the road. I’ve tried giving her a sippy cup, but she’s not really interested in that, either. She’s been pretty clingy to me and not super great the 4 or 5 times I’ve left her behind for several hours. Everyone notes how quiet she is–she’s barely making sounds, except screeches, but sometimes when all the other kids are elsewhere and she’s in a good mood, she’ll babble a bit. I’m not worried about her speech–I just think she can’t get a sound in edgewise. Perils of having two motormouth big sisters!
This trip has definitely been the hardest on Janie in terms of messing with routines and feeding and everything. She’s really done remarkably well, considering all of that.
The Whole Muller Family
Jan 19th, 2014 by ECM
Kaitlyn and Kelly’s Wedding
Jan 18th, 2014 by ECM
