while i’m posting every post that i’ve had in my head for 3 days now, i might as well catch you up on everybody.
no, the princess had not just kicked the middlest, she actually was just fixin’ to pull him by the collar as you can see. good grief. those two, i’m about ready to turn ‘em loose on each other in a padded room and see who comes out alive.
schooling has come to screeching holiday halt. and i felt guilty until i remembered that i started back with table time 1 week after my youngest was born. one week, people. so that 6 week break i had planned to take, but didn’t, i’m taking now. and since it would appear that i’m becoming more and more of an unschooler anyway, i know that learning is still happening all over the place. remember the toots?
theoldest: is, like, forever tall. how did that happen? and when? other than that, pretty much same as always. loves to be in charge. needs to be needed. loves all things science. and his younger siblings. loves being read to from chapter books. and loves watching the little house series. is growing his hair out again. wants to play all sports. i’m celebrating his bigness.
themiddlest: is still so loving it’s unreal. and still says the cutest things on the planet. and is going through a tough time. it’s hard to be the middlest. and that turbulent age of 4. since he never hit that turbulent age of 2 or 3. but we’re gonna make it.
theprincess: is growing by leaps and bounds everyday. and still so 2 it’s ridiculous. a dancing paradox of sweetness and meanness. as we say around here, “she’s all girl. a little more spice than sugar some of the time.”
thebabyest: of course has the most to update. turns 9 months on the 16th. has 3 teeth. and has broken through 2 more. in the exact snaggle tooth pattern that his oldest brother has right now. it is too funny. i’ve never seen such. crawls faster than i can run. knows when you’re going after him – laughs out loud and takes off away from us. pulls up on everything. has started cruising. bebops to music, but only when he thinks no one is looking. still doesn’t want to go to anyone but me. but likes his daddy much more than he used to. is so happy and laughs all the time with his siblings. he’s one of ‘em now. chases them down and would rather be with them than with me. plays in the big bath tub with his sister. eats everything. all the time. all table food, excepting meat as of right now. has never had jar food and we’re both completely happy with this. he’s eating all veggies that we eat. most fruits. breads. rice, and i don’t mean cereal, i mean the real deal. and yesterday i even gave him alfredo fettucine noodles cut up and then chased it with the cheesecake i was eating. he loves it all. and eats all meals with us that we eat at the table together. which eaquals one or two a day. is drinking from regular sippy cups and is drinking water, highly diluted apple juice and white grape juice. is still nursing on demand. and he demands it about every 2 hours. except during the night when i only indulge him 2 or 3 times between 7pm and 6am. and with all that you’d think he would be a cow, but is right on target at 17 pounds. he still sleeps in the same bed as me and naps mostly in my arms. it’s not that i’ve turned into a push over with the 4th, i’ve gotten wiser. if i’d been half as wise, i’d have done this from the beginning with all of them.
they all talk and ask questions nonstop. nonstop. most of the time i think my head’s gonna explode if i hear “mama” one more time. except for the youngest who refuses to even say mama and dada now. once again, i know he has the ability – he’s just focusing on trying to walk more. at least, that’s what i’m telling myself. :)
the only pic of the two of us together, fuzzy because it was taken by one of the boys. but sweet nonetheless.
my honey: still holding out hope on a certain job. please keep praying. it would be life-changing for our family. he’s still the funniest thing in my life. i love him ridiculously and miss him when he has to go to work. this is amplified during this season when he’s off a little more and then he has to go away to work again. i miss him more than the kids miss him and that’s saying something.
me: why, yes, becky s., and anyone else, i would love to come organize your entire house. for a nice fee. give me a call! i’m also putting on the holiday pounds by the day. but resolving somewhere in the recesses of my mind to do something about it come january. still lovin’ my zoloft. i’m still growing my hair out, by default. i just don’t care enough, nor do i have enough money to go get it cut. and, whatd’ya know i kinda like it. i didn’t realize it had gotten so long for me until i have gotten so many comments from mandy and others close to me! still lovin’ being home with all the kiddos. still lovin’ homeschooling. more everyday, in fact. also, in the recesses of my mind, considering finshing my bachelor’s (online, if i can, and only with grants). i’ve had a passion for a while to be a lactation consultant. i don’t want to be a nurse, just a consultant. i even checked out how to make that happen the other day. it’s not a right now, desperate monetary move, just a, “huh, i think i would like to do that someday, far away, when my children aren’t tiny and i want to think about work again.” so pray for me. i’m so goal-oriented that it’s kinda fun to think in that direction.
daisy the cat is still alive. and that’s sayin’ somethin’. she will be 9 years old this spring and is kinda startin’ to show her age. we’re letting her stay in at night when it’s so cold. which means i have one more little warm body against me while i’m attempting to sleep. and that’s okay. g has quit trying to kill her and generally just doesn’t want her to be near her now. odd. and j2 has now taken g’s “i’m gonna try to kill the cat” place by chasing her down, pulling her tail, and generally making her life miserable. but he’ll come out of it, i’m sure, like they all have.
i killed the hermit crabs. also by default. i think that i didn’t take very good care of them and kinda forgot about them for too long the last time. poor things. and the day that i discovered their demise, the verse we were studying was about taking care of your animals. good grief. talk about guilt. and to make myself feel better, i did manage to keep one of them alive for more than a year. needless to say, we won’t be replacing them anytime soon, who needs hermit crab guilt?
so that’s us. how’re you doin’?
