Glimpses of the kidlets

I thought I'd let you in on how the kids are doing. It's amazing when I think about it how fast they are growing.

Sunshine is in first grade this year. She loves loves loves school. In fact, the girl *enjoys* tests. Can you believe that? Her reading level is wonderful. Tonight she brought the newspaper to me, pointing to an article she had gotten about a couple paragraphs into. And speed drills for math excite her. I love my little nerdy girl! (Made in her mama's own image. I was in Math Club in high school, where I voluntarily spent my Saturdays at math contests.) She's got a couple permanent teeth now and more on their way. I see braces in our future... Also, she has discovered that she loves sewing on my machine. She made a purse the other day for herself.

Sugar-n-Spice is doing preschool and loving school as well. So far, I show her things pretty much once, and she has it. I know it won't always be that way, but it is an encouraging beginning. No one wants the initial experience to be like pulling teeth. She is ever so much like her name, too. We go from sweet moments when she tells me that she loves me even more than she loves her friends (lol) but then we are disciplining her for telling one of said friends that if they don't share, she is going to kick their *ahem*. (I know everyone deals with their kids picking up a few unsavory phrases here and there, but I kinda hoped we'd avoid it for a couple more years.) A roller coaster ride with her for sure, but hey, let's all admit it: we love our rides, don't we?

Sweetheart is soooo enamored with Spiderman/Peter Parker. Mistakenly, some days I call him by his given name and am quickly chastized for not remembering to call him Spiderman/Peter Parker. And it has to be the entire name of "Peter Parker" if that is the day's alternate identity. I can't get away with a simple "Peter." Part of the obsession (or maybe the reason for the obsession) includes all 3 Spiderman movies. We are also still working potty training this little turkey. And just today I found out why it is going so slowly - he prefers the diaper route. He would rather just not be bothered with the toilet, thank you very much. Bribes of candy do not entice him. So we're off to try something he might be interested in: Spiderman stickers. Think it'll work?

Shortcake has become quite the singer. And it is so adorable!! Just today I heard her ask Squeaker if he wanted to hear the song "Fishers of Men." It came out something like, "See Fishuh Men? I may fishuh men, fishuh men, fishuh men..." etc. If you know the song and can figure out toddler-speak, then you totally just understood that! I also canNOT keep that girl out of the refridgerator. She has also found a stubborn streak when it comes to naps and bedtimes, as well as wanting to sit in a regular chair instead of her booster chair. She is two and wants to be seen as a twelve-year-old.

Squeaker is 5 months old now. He been rolling over for awhile, grabs anything within reach, growls in pleasure (hilarious), and loves to watch Shortcake. He is no longer breastfeeding and seems to miss it. He won't take a bottle from anyone else if I'm around - he only wants Mama to give him that bottle. I think he is also entering the separation anxiety phase. I admit sheepishly that I love that he wants me. Oh yes, and if you should elect to hold the kissable bundle, wear waterproof clothing; he drools.

Projects, projects

Don't know what is going on at your house, but ohsomuch is going on here.


I have a to-do list that I've been working on. It has 28 items on it. Oh yes. 28! And that doesn't include the big projects I'm working on slowly, either. Big projects like repainting the kitchen cabinets, taking down the wallpaper in my house, or trying to get ready to do a yard sale. None of those 3 will be accomplished this summer, I'm afraid.

Ooh. And I just thought of another two things to add to my list. LOL That wasn't a joke - I did!

It's self-inflicted. Brilliant.

Last night I started feeling icky. Then the nausea turned into stomach cramps that have wakened me off and on all night. I have spent many minutes wondering what is going on. I recounted how one of my kids had been barely sick on Friday. Thought about what we had for dinner. Should be no problem there - I pulled frozen meat from the freezer that was precooked.

Suddenly, it hit me. Oh no. Not good. Earlier in the day, I'd taken a drink of water from a bottle that had been used to feed a baby bird with a dropper. ACK. I kept thinking I needed to throw that bottle out. And forgot.

So what do I most likely have? Salmonella. From contaminated water. In other words: food poisoning. Yippee.

The good news is, no one else will get it. Not even the baby, as you can't pass salmonella through breastmilk. And the other good side is: hubby is on leave, so if I get it really badly, he is here to feed and tend to the kids whilst I languish on the couch. LOL

So far though, just cramps and nausea. The last time I had food poisoning was when I was preggy with Sunshine. I know what to do: keep from getting dehydrated (throwing up/diarrhea) and wait it out.

Guess what fun is going on at our house?

We are potty training!

I had tried it about 6 weeks ago (or so), and it was a total bust. I'm giving it another go after changing some things, plus Hubby is home for more than a week on leave. That makes a huge difference!

We are training both Sweetheart and Shortcake at the same time. They are 3.5 and 2 years old, respectively. So it is time. Especially for Sweetheart. Can I get an amen?

It is a funny little ritual. All 5 of us - the 4 older kids and myself - go into the bathroom. One of the trainees sit down. We sing two songs all the way through, then practice wiping. Then second trainee takes a turn. Repeat with two different songs. Repeat wiping practice. Then we all file out. So far, no one has successfully made it in the toilet. But as soon as they do, we'll be getting candy. Yay!

Anyway. Wish the kids luck. Pray for me. And my carpet.

Oy Vey

I told Sunshine tonight that her new name was gonna be Scissors.

Why? Oh because of the little matter of about 12 inches. That is roughly how much of her beautiful hair I'm gonna have to cut off to fix what she did today.

She has the most beautiful hair down to her rearend. It is just gorgeous. We get comments on her hair almost every outting. And now, it will be up to around her shoulder blades.

Not only that, but she took the same scissors to her sister's hair (Sugar-n-Spice) which has literally taken us YEARS to get to a decent length. S-n-S's hair doesn't grow. She still has a patch in the front of her head that is only ONE inch long (yes, that is correct). She will be 5 in a few months, and it still hasn't grown past an inch long. Her hair is finally to her shoulders, after 5 years of growing and growing. She has had two trims in her entire life! And Sunshine decided to cut it.

When I discovered it, I felt like laughing and crying at the same time. Still do.

Kids. What do you do with them? Take pictures first, then get angry, right?

Wallet World

Yet again, the van atmosphere leads to deep questions in the back seat.

Sugar-n-Spice: "Sunshine, do animals have wallets?"

Sunshine: "No. Everybody but God and animals have wallets. If they did, it would be a wallet world! Except China. They don't have purses in China."

The only thing we can assume is that since all she really has seen of Chinese pictures are the women in traditional garb, she thinks they don't carry purses.

But oh, how I laugh when I remember this conversation!

The most wonderful news!!

Yesterday, Sunshine got saved!!

She has prayed to accept Christ as her savior several times in the past, but I've always wondered which of them were sincere, since she could answer all sorts of questions about salvation and sin correctly, but something didn't feel right. However, only God can truly judge and know her heart, so I kept hoping that she was saved.

But this last week, she has expressed an interest in it several times, and finally yesterday she asked some really intuitive questions, especially for a 6 yr old. We had a GOOD talk, maybe 15 minutes long or so, and despite the many interruptions from her siblings, she kept focused on the topic. That tells me it was truly important to her.

So we prayed together, and afterward, I told her that she is God's child, and so that makes her and Mommy and Grandma all children of God, which would make us... "Sisters?" When I told her that was right, she got a real kick out of it. Then I pointed out that if God is the King of kings, then she would also be a... "Princess!!" Oh, the grin that spread across her face!! She couldn't stop smiling!

So I am thinking this time is real. Oh happy day!!!!! And I got the honor and priviledge of pryaing with her, leading her to Him. Can there be a greater honor for a mom?