Happy Halloween...

from Sara, Ella Jane and Matthew...

or

Bumblebee, princess, and ballerina

Seriously?...

Seriously.

At least they didn't spread honey all over the t.v. and walls (oh yes, they did and do not ask me what possesed them to do that while I was napping with a newborn), or dump every little game piece known to man all over the living room floor.  Don't ask me why I didn't stop that fun little one.  I believe I was even in the kitchen at the time.

But, seriously, yes my kids did this.  My FIVE and SEVEN year old kids this.  And perhaps that's just normal five and seven year old behavior.  It's not to me.  As an adult I came down (only part way b/c at the onset I knew I wouldn't be able to handle the initial stress of it all) and wondered what would make them drag all of our boxes from storage into the play area of the basement and proceed to DUMP all of our stored popcorn (we live far from family and you just never know when you're going to need to send a pkg.~no judgement please for storing popcorn)...and I'm laughing now when I look at the picture, that's a lot of popcorn!

but anyways, ...proceed to DUMP all of our stored popcorn all over the basement floor. 

I asked. 

 Do you want to know the answer?

"Because we made a boat out of the boxes and we were pretending that the popcorn was the water!"

And that was said in the most whineyist voice you can imagine. 

It all started with three chairs.  I ordered three chairs for our learning center and they of course came in big boxes with styrofoam.  The styrofoam was in fun, big rectangular shapes and I literally thought the kids might enjoy building with something different than just blocks.  I even saved a box for each child; big enough for them to sit in and play if they wanted.  I guess I was thinking that all of my children were little two year olds.  What seven year old is going to be content just sitting in a box?

So, with my grand idea in place, I put the boxes and the fun, big styrofoam "blocks" downstairs for a later time.

And then the big kids went down to play.  By themselves.  Oh heavens.  Do you know what rubbing together two pieces of styrofoam will create?  Itty bitty pieces of more styrofoam that will stick to your hair, clothes and walls.

Needless to say, the clean-up took a lot of people and a couple of days.  And, it you'll notice the boxes are stacked nice and neat.  Those were cubbies that held books and movies.

**sidenote; is it weird to store boxes?  We've moved so many times I almost feel insecure if we don't have boxes stored somewhere in our house.  I'll go down to get a box for a pkg. and think, "no, I can't use that box, it's a good one for books."  I actually have that thought sometimes.  That's a little crazy isn't it?

**another sidenote; my mom is supposed to be going home from the hospital tonight.  She's been recovering well, so we hope that nothing unforseen pops up again.

Something tangible...

About a month ago my mom had surgery to remove a benign tumor in her head.  But, being more than just a few states away there wasn't much I could do but offer support over the phone and pray for her recovery.  We sent a care package but never took part in her imediate care.  My siblings were the ones to organize meals, transportation, and support while she was in the hospital.  It's a weird thing to hear about your mother undergoing such a surgery and seeing pictures of it but never seeing it happen in person.

My mom went home and went on in her recovery.

Except she didn't fully recover and last night had to have a second surgery in the hopes that she can fully recover.  And it is expected that she will.  But, again, my siblings are there round the clock, taking in what the doctors have to say etc.  I'm here.  So how do I still be a daughter even though I'm not actually helping her in some way?

Well, you make the night she has surgery to be the night you will decorate Halloween cookies with your kids just like you used to do when you were a kid.

That's how.

In this moment...

I miss my kids.

I'm listening to a beautiful song while I do some work on the computer and I miss my kids.  They are all upstairs in bed sleeping away, but I miss them.  That ever happen to you?  Can you miss someone when they are still right in front of you?

The last few weeks feel like such a blur of activity.  Jobs, housework, school and what feels like little time for play.  We've just come off a gorgeous weekend of sunshine.  I'm thankful for soccer to get us out of the house and outside for a couple of hours on Saturday mornings.  We had steak for dinner last night and Matthew (or was it Ella Jane)? asked me why it is that whenever we have steak we always eat outside.  It's just better enjoyed outside don't ya think?  You know how I feel about summer, and that meal screams summer to me.  So we had it.  Outside.

We're fortunate to have a houseguest this week.  Whenever we have a visitor we make cinamon rolls.  We even have orange juice.   Ahhh, breakfast will be a fun treat for us all.

We've got pictures of the kids up in the house but I miss seeing them here in this space.  When life gets crazy I like to check-in here just to see some of our more fun moments and the stories that go with them.  So without further ado.

My kids.



Over the summer we had a week where our theme was ART.  We spent a few days imitating famous artists and that is what our kids are doing here.  I love Sara's rendition on the bottom. 

 

Need I say more?  He's usually one of the two; superhero or spy.  I love this guy.



ahhhh, that's better.