June

Yeah, yeah, yeah it's half past July. June was kinda out of hand around here and I perhaps was in a bit over my head. I may or may not have had 4 children last month, it's all a bit blurry now. But there definitely was camping.
The end of year school camping trip fell on the one perfect weekend of the year, perfectly sunny and warm. And wrapped up with church around the campfire and a little swing on the tire by Pastor Tom. Do you think the kids enjoyed that or what?


Someone around here graduated from Kindergarten (for the first time) ...
And someone else continues to keep the rest of us on our toes...
At some point in there I told Heather I would run a half marathon with her this summer. I made the mistake of saying that out loud and now I'm actually going to have to do it. Funny thing is, it's not all that easy for me to go running without hiring a babysitter. So I bought a treadmill. If you can think anything more depressing than running on a treadmill in your garage for an hour, listening to the only CD you own on a boombox you stole from your kid while gazing out the garage door as your perky neighbors stroll by enjoying the evening air...please let me know. I can't think of a single thing right now.

And at this point I'll be able to post the July recap in like 10 more days. Maybe you shouldn't hold your breath.

May

May came in with a bang, or at least I felt banged upside the head. Christian's school fundraiser was on the 6th, and I was burning the midnight oil way too many nights running up to it. After a ridiculously long (and fantastically successful) night, Christian and I took my friend Eric out to close down the Starbucks at Barnes and Noble to celebrate.
This is Christian high on rootbeer, pizza rolls, and staying up way too late!

The next day we ran down to Seattle to check out a new Ethiopian restaurant with the entire crew (including Auntie B and Keith, yay!). It was super yummy!

Can you tell?

Then the Littles got to go on a ride. Carrot Top finally got permission to ride the ponies, so we took both out for a stroll. Man that baby of mine is looking big up there!
We are so very lucky that Heather is a Derby Rat because it brings her to town on a pretty regular schedule and if we play our cards right that means we get a few extra hours with these little boogers. Of course it's pretty clear she's just using me for free babysitting because even with dessert in the oven she and Mike were high tailing it outta here the minute they walked in. There was some business about getting home by eight and stuffing the children in bed, blah! Next time I'm loading those kids up with Jolt Cola and Pop Rocks when their parents pull into the driveway. That'll teach 'em.

And let this be a lesson to all of you. Until you have confiscated and destroyed the final pair of "hook and loop closure" (aka lazy ass velcro) shoes, DO NOT tell your son you won't be buying them anymore. Lest you wish to hear "but Mo-oom, they're fine!" for weeks. Yeah bud, those are supposed to be sandals, right?

April Showers (killing my flowers)

This is what we woke up to Thursday morning. Big sloppy snowflakes. You have GOT to be kidding me. Thank God sanity reigns and schools ran on time. By Saturday the sun was shining again and I had two little boys frolicking in their finery before heading off to the African Caribbean Club (ACC) Culture Night at WWU. We actually had outfits for all the boys, but Christian opted for the shirt and tie look (no complaints from me, that's one handsome boy I didn't photograph). As usual, that kid is just a rockstar at the ACC. He was really turning on the charm too. Giving Salome kisses on both cheeks, getting all kinds of lovin' from every lady in the room, and high fives from the young men. He gets more "that child is so handsome"s in three hours, than through the rest of the year. And if I had a nickel for every hair compliment, I could pay for his products! Ashi just soaks it all up, he's in heaven! Oh boy was he excited! He was telling us all day long how he was GOING TO DANCE ON THE STAGE! He was going to dance with Mulu (who cooks Ethiopian at the market). And when will it be MY turn to dance!?! Once the show started the chatter only amped up. A: "WHEN can I dance?" Me: You have to wait, everyone is taking turns. You can dance when the Ethiopians have their turn. A: Why do we have to take turns? Me: The stage can only hold so many people, there are too many to all dance together. A: No we can all dance. Look, the stage is really WIDE. When the time finally came, and as Ashi calls it the "Dance Party" started. All the Ethiopians come spilling out of the audience onto the stage. Some young adults come off the stage and scoop up Ashi, who suddenly is not so sure about it. He had the deer in the headlights look on his face the whole time. When he came back to me I asked him why he got so shy when it was his turn to dance. And he set me straight. "I didn't WANT to dance with the girls, I want to dance with THE DADS! (the men). Poor kid. Too many ladies, he better get used to it.

Today was Easter Eggs.

And soccer. These bad boys won 8 zip today, wahoo! They don't usually play on Sunday, it was a make-up for flooded fields last week.

Meanwhile the Littles went Dumpster Diving. Ahh, the things that fascinate three-year-olds Then just as things were winding down before bed, we heard the sickening thud of Springtime. A bird against glass. What do I find as I peer out the front window. These two fighting to the death. I couldn't pull the kids away. One of those suckers was MEAN too (he won BTW). Ashi was sure he was going to rip the head off his victim. Christian was banging on the window and throwing sticks trying to stop them. And I was dry heaving. It was awful! Now the kids are hatching plans for all the things they will do to that mean bird when they see him again. There will be water guns I am told.

Marching Along

Ugh, where did I go? A little recap on the past month. A karate graduation for Bub, swimming lessons for the Littles and some sweet story time. Somewhere along the way Ashi decided the his pillow "talks and says scary things" at bedtime, Christian relented in the color battle and their room was painted green (little bro gets a win once in a while), and I found a hot young lawn boy that makes me love my yard again.

What does it mean when mid way through February I'm still posting photos from Christmas? That's pretty bad isn't it? Part of it is probably that I have zero photo shopping skillz (as you can see from the one at right), because other that that I have no excuses really.

These are from our family photos right after Christmas. My children do not smile like normal people when you take their photos. With any luck that will change in, oh, 20 years? right? Now that I look at these I think we all three look half deranged, but that's probably just how we look.

Wouldn't this fine family look cute with a few more little people? Y'all have to agree with me because my nose is still slightly out of joint after overhearing that hanging out with me and the kids is great birth control. Which in itself is a pretty hilarious comment since I only gave birth to one of the little rascals. I guess Christian is just THAT BAD! Funny, I usually think he's the easy one.

At the moment we have a 4th boy for weekend, we'll call him Dubya. He's 10, so I honestly haven't even noticed the addition. Christian and Dubya have had their noses in the Gameboy all evening, with short breaks to wrestle down the Littles and keep them in their place. I managed to give Ashi a complete comb-out in the tub before the Littles went to bed. That was over an hour ago and Ashi is still calling to me from the end of the hall (Carrot Top on the other hand falls asleep faster than you can say "snoring like a frieght train"). I should send these big kids to bed just so I don't have to listen to Ash whine anymore. Then he can just climb in with Bub and drive him bonkers (at least until HE falls asleep). That kid...

Peace

Every once in a while peace reigns, and big boys can focus on their projects.Because little boys are occupying themselves elsewhere.

Reason #483 to Love Summer

The sprinkler at sunset.

Tidbits of July

In no particular order, or with any relevant connections...just like the photos.
4th of July- What a dismal day. Every year since Christian was born we've gone to the neighborhood parade with our bikes all decorated and stayed for the picnic and games. This year I just didn't have it in me. The weather was so grey and drizzly. Ugh. We did head off for the fireworks and had a wonderful (and mostly dry) view. Unfortunately I had forgotten that Ashi was less than impressed with Fireworks. He spent the whole time holding the blanket in two clenched fists over his face (while I covered his ears). He wasn't visibly upset or anything. just, "I doan yike it". It was kind of sad. We did manage to get him to look at a few, "look at the big one, do you see the pretty Ashi?" "I no yike the pretty."
Then on the drive home he sat in a strange almost catatonic state, mumbling in monotone, "Yook at the big one mom. Yook at the big one." Over and over and over. I think he's scarred for life. He's sometimes very insistent, "I do it myself!" Somehow he consistently gets everything on backward. How does that work exactly?
The other day driving home I was struck by how well he's speaking these days. For being 2 1/2 with only 16 months of English exposure, he has no delays- that's for sure. From the backseat he told me, "There is a bird up on the hill." Not only a bona fide sentence, but a very detailed thought too. When I ask him things like, if he wants me to put him in the backpack, instead of simply "no", he'll say "I don't want you to put me in the back pack." Some days I find so much sand in Ashi's hair I have to drain the tub half way through the bath. Hence the new doo rag. Luckily the last month or so his hair has been easy as pie to comb. It's finally long enough to hang onto. See? Grammy was asking him if he wanted it cut, "No, doan cut my hair." We have a new routine. I have given up ever combing that whole head at once. Now we do 5-10 handfuls each bath. He gets to point to the next place on his head I comb, and we count them until we're done. It's so healthy it's combing through smooth as butter. Well, very tightly curled sand filled butter at least.
I now own a minivan. Yes, I have crossed over to the dark side. I blame it entirely on my friends and all those kids they have. I can't drive a carpool in the Accord anymore. Now if I can just get my hands on another set of flames for it, it might be easier to swallow. Nah, my life is over now. Good thing I'm not trying to cruise the

strip on Friday nights.
Ever since Christian could talk he has called Grammy and Papa's house simply Grammy's house. For some reason Ashi calls it Papa's house. Since Papa has been gone at work he has told me several times, "Papa is in Ayaska on his tugboat. Go get him mom." Wouldn't it be nice if we could buddy.

The other night Christian asked me about Santa, yes in July. Apparently one of the kids at school told him about where the presents come from at their house. Honestly I thought Christian knew. I'd been avoiding his questions about Santa for a few years now. Always turning it around, asking him what he thought, telling him how fun it is to think about Santa bringing him surprises, yada yada. Well, I flat out am not gonna lie to him- so I told him. And I think he was a little bummed. Understandably.

We've been going to a different church this summer. Cornwall is doing their kids camp with a focus on Ethiopia. The kids are learning about Ethiopia, learning some Amharic, raising money for a project... Christian of course is cool because his brother is Ethiopian, which is equivalent to being a rockstar at the moment. He's getting really competitive about their fundraising efforts. The boys are competing against the girls and I won't be surprised if he completely empties his piggy bank over the summer trying to "win". I'm starting to wonder if he has a little girlfriend there he's trying to impress.
Two weeks ago when Christian brought his Bible to church Ashi insisted on bringing his too. The next week when he'd forgotten his he had such a fit. He whined all the way and came unglued several times, "I want my Bible, I need my Bible." It was pretty cute. He didn't believe me that we'd be able to find another in his classroom. At least one of my kids still thinks I know a thing or two. This one's going to be fun at 13.
My mom keeps stealing Christian from me, or trying to at least. One time she made the mistake of trying to justify it with some lame comment about how I could get some stuff done without him underfoot. Ha! You want to be helpful you can take the Tornado for a night, not my sweet, helpful, compliant boy. Christian actually contributes around the house. So that little conversation guilted her into a night with the Ashi boy. I think Christian told me at least 15 times how nice it was to have a night "off" from his little brother. It was just...peaceful. And now it's his turn to head down to Grammy's house for some horseback riding and another night "off". And Ashi and I will have a very wonderful evening tomorrow without that stinky big brother getting in the way :)