Owen's First Tea Party

Owen was invited to his first tea party the other day.

He was of course, beyond thrilled. And, if you look real close, you may notice some remnants of formula tea and pizza waiting to come back out. Oh the joys of acid reflux.

PS - Next time you're having company and don't have enough room at the table, break out the ironing board. I think it's a genius idea. I plan to use mine and leave some clothes on it in the hopes that one of my guests will get the hint and iron them.

3 Little Ethiopians Sitting on a Couch

Okay, technically it's just one Ethiopian, but you have to admit the other two look pretty dang cute as well. We cooked a huge Ethiopian meal last night and enjoyed eating, wearing our traditional clothes, and listening to the music. Uncle Kevin joined us and got his first taste of the cuisine. Our whole family loves Ethiopian food - even the diva (who usually turns her nose up at anything remotely spicy.) Maybe it's because each dish is rich in herbed butter. Yum.

This picture is blurry, but the boys crack me up.

Masters of Disguise

Bearded pirates invaded my bathroom the other day.
I was terrified, as I'm sure you would be too.

The many faces of Owen

I grabbed the camera to get some pictures of the older two having a blast in a bubble bath, but Owen was so cute watching them, he ended up being the subject matter. Owen is a delightful baby. When he feels well, he has a smile and laugh that light up a room, especially when his older siblings are involved. Enjoy.

The Informer

This has always been one of my favorite pictures of Emma Grace. This was about two weeks before her fourth birthday. Back then, at age three, she was known as "the boss."

Things changed when she turned four. She went through a rite of passage and is now known as "The Informer." We know a lot of 4 year olds and this seems to be a common profession amongst them. And one they take quite seriously.

Now, there are certain advantages to having an informer. For example: "Mom, Isaac is sitting on Owen again," or "Mom, Isaac is putting toys down the vent again," or "Mom, Owen just puked all over the couch again," or "Mom, quit watching tv - Isaac is dangling Owen over the balcony again." (The last example was a slight exaggeration.)

There are also obvious disadvantages to having an informer. For example: "Mom, Owen is crying." (I am usually well aware of the fact that Owen is crying.) or "Mom, Isaac touched my arm or leg or toy or book or doll, etc." You get the drift.

But she truly trumped herself the other day. I was upstairs and I hear, "Mom, Isaac won't stop throwing air at me!" ????? I go look and he is in fact throwing air fanning her with a book.

How to respond?
"Isaac, put that air down right now or it's mine."
"Isaac, if I see that air in your hand again, I'm throwing it away."
"Isaac, how many times do I have to ask you to STOP throwing air at your sister."

Or Hysterical Laughter?

The dictionary defines an informer as "One who reveals confidential information in return for monetary compensation."

So far, we get this service for free. We truly are blessed.

What are those kids doing?

I got done feeding Owen yesterday and walked downstairs to find this. You might be confused, but I knew exactly what was going on.

Care to guess?

Yesterday was stormy and rainy. Therefore, our first day of swimming lessons did not happen. As you can see, the children weren't disappointed for too long - they just took the lessons to the kitchen floor.

Not Me! Monday

Not Me! Monday

Click on MckMama's blog to get a better idea of what Not Me! Monday is, but I think it's hilarious. Basically you just admit to all the things you "would never dream of doing" (but did) the past week.

For example:

This week, while vacuuming out my van, I did not vacuum up tons of cheerios and curdled milk because I specifically remember (before having kids) saying that kids would never be allowed to eat in the car. If my kids are not allowed to eat in the car, where did the cheerios come from?

I definitely did not let my children watch the exact same Backyardigans video twice in a row because I was too tired to think of something more creative to do. (Evidently I was even too tired to pop in another video). That would be silly and a complete waste of time.

I would never lie to my daughter and tell her that ranch dressing was sour cream in an attempt to get her to eat some veggies. Lying is bad, and as a pastor's wife, I would never do that.

I definitely was not too lazy to go inside and grab a tissue to pick a dry, crusty out of Isaac's nose. That would be sick and gross. And after picking it, I certainly did not fling it across the front porch in an attempt to get it in the bushes. And after doing that, I most definitely did not help Isaac look for it because he wanted to see what was blocking his nasal passage. I mean, come on. Seriously, who does that?

(As for the last example - I would like to apologize to my mother. Really, she did teach me better than that.)