whatever

This is a scene I see out my kitchen window almost everyday.
I love it.
I wish this had audio with it . . . all the giggling.
It may be different kids in different numbers but they are always out there.
Craig bought that trampoline the day we moved to Kansas – before our boxes were even here on the truck. It has been used more than we ever thought.
Annie loves it as much as any of them. And don’t worry I didn’t let her jump with the sucker in her mouth . . . she held it and kept saying “no mouth.”
The bottom picture is Annie’s impression of the hippo at the zoo!

This Friday was all about relaxing.
The little girls and I made chocolate chip cookies because I was craving them soooo badly. They were very good.
During Talby’s preschool I laid down with Annie to get her nap in and I got almost an hour before waking up . . . very nice. I enjoyed the quiet in the craft room sorting my art box.
What is an art box you say?
It’s a big cardboard box where I started throwing Lauren’s art into 8 years ago. Since then it has 4 other children’s art on top of it. It’s actually very fun to go through. Two years ago i bought these boxes with labels. I put everyone name on the boxes and there they sat for the past two years . . . empty. Some of the things were cracking me up. And it’s so cool to see how much they progress in their handwriting and drawing skills.
During Lauren and Scott’s piano lessons I have to keep the other kiddos quiet. Usually a challenge but not today. Their teacher comes here because she is so great. Annie painted watercolors and Sean & Talby played play-doh – for 2 hours! They were even upset when they had clean it up for dinner. I love days like that!
And my 2 oldest are OLD enough to ride their bikes to soccer practice! That’s awesome.
The only bummer of the day is that we drove to see the Hillsboro high school basketball game in Halstead and the game was over (tournament). We had the wrong time. But a blessing in disguise . . . movie night with popcorn on the couch instead was very relaxing.

Now I am not a squeemish girl about the pets we have but I don’t particularly enjoy touching them when i don’t have to. Three weeks ago I let the kids get a DEGU. That is like a hamster/rat/squirrel? mix. It’s cute for a rodent. They love it. They named it Hammy after the crazy squirrel on Over the Hedge. It looks like a squirrel in the face. The gross thing is the tail . . . it’s long like a rat but has some fur. Yuck.
So on to the words I dread . . .
I forced Sean off the computer to take some toys to his room (why is my kitchen island a magnet for toys?) He was mad and stomping. One second later I hear the panic “HAMMY”S OUT OF THE CAGE!!! HAMMY”S OUT OF THE CAGE!! MOM HELP!!!!” This is where I always get Lauren. I knocked loudly and waving franticly on the window to get her attention outside on the trampoline. She and Scott came running inside. Scott says “Mom, do you have a big surprise for us?” He thought that’s what my waving and excitement was. I put my hand to my mouth to say to be quiet and pointed to the corner where the trembling squirrel/rat/hamster was. Lauren quickly had him in her hands again. She swears she put the lid on the tank. . . and scott backs her up (which means nothing). It could have been Annie I guess or Talby (she’s done it before with Luke Skywalker Scott’s first hamster) But my mother’s intuition tells me it was Lauren.
If they hadn’t been home I don’t know that I could have caught him. Remember on “Christmas Vacation” when they try to catch the squirrel that was in their Christmas tree but whenever it moves they all scream and run. That’s what I do.
Here is the famous Degu . . . HAMMY. (Hamsquirat or Squiratster or Ramsquriell?)

Yesterday Spiderman (Sean) showed up in the middle of a friendly neighborhood soccer game! It was quite funny. Then Talby set up her chair, one for her baby and a chair for me and sat on the sidelines. She was shouting “GO SEAN! GO SCOTT!” She said to me, “This is like a real game”
Annie played in driveway in her cozy coupe car.
.

A new family favorite game . . . Annie makes it worth watching.
She is pretty clueless but sure loves to copy everyone.
Lauren thinks she is way too cool for it but after they play a few times she can’t stand it anymore and must prove that she is smarter than they all are.
And Daddy always gets to be Simon.
Somehow they believe me when I say I don’t know how to do it.

Busy weekend.
Friday was full of “stuff” – school, groceries, doctors, soccer, packing, cleaning, piano, etc.
But then Friday night I took Lauren and her two friends out for her birthday (yes – 3 weeks late). We went to dinner and bowling in Wichita. 12 year old girls are very funny.
Saturday after JAM basketball we headed to Lawrence to see my parents. One of our Christmas gifts was 2 tickets to a KU game. My parents watched the kids while Craig and I went by ourselves! It’s always fun to be out alone. I decided that KU basketball needs to move way up on our priority list! From now on we will watch it as a family (the last 2 games and tournament). We’ll see how that goes.
We made it home this afternoon and our bible study ended up being cancelled so we are working on house projects tonight. I should say HE because I don’t think I will actually get around to doing mine. He is stripping wallpaper if you can’t tell. Go Craig!

If I could . . . if it was acceptable for a mother of five . . . or any adult . . . to have pink hair I would. I wish we could have hair like the Barbies with a button in their backs to make it longer or shorter whenever you want. But in real life this bright pink wig is as close as we get. It’s even the same style as Talby’s real hair.
Just added my photo album to the blog and it has my scrapbook vacation album that I just finished . . . very fun.