Lately...

Friday night the big girls (Ginger and Paprika) had a little slumber party. They stayed up ALL night, I think! ;-) Okay, well probably just until 3am! They read books, sang songs, and snuggled together in Paprika's top bunk. I could hear their conversation through the door - it was so precious. At about 2am, I decided that some sleep was in order. I had a library copy of Swan Lake by Maestro Classics, so I put that on and they eventually fell asleep listening to it (even though I think Paprika chatted through the whole thing!)





When they woke up the next morning, they said it was the BEST night ever! Ha!




Saturday night...DATE NIGHT = GREAT NIGHT!

Mr. M and I went down to the beach at sunset and went for a long walk.  I never get tired of that!  Afterwards, we went for Thai Food and I ordered TWO Thai Iced Teas. Living on the edge!  ;-)





There was hardly anyone at the beach - I love how calm and peaceful it is after everyone goes home for the day!  :-)





Little tickle-fest with Baby Violet.  She is so much fun at this age - exhausting (yes!) - but so much fun!




One of my favorite sights - her napping!  Haha.  I love to sit next to her and watch her sleep.  Never gets old...





On Sunday, Mr. M had to work and Paprika wanted to go with him - just like last week.  So, she got to go - and she watched him edit the show (the appropriate parts), and even got to help choose music cues.  Does it get any better than that?!  The only downside was that they didn't get home until about 2am on Monday morning, so Paprika was a little tired on Monday.  But she was fine - she had piano lessons and did great.  I don't know how she gets her energy!





Monday we spent the afternoon at the park.  Ginger was my sidekick and stayed by my side the whole time.  Violet ran everywhere (the park is totally fenced, thank goodness).  The whole time, I was counting children:  1, 2, 3.  Check!  1, 2, 3.  Check!




Paprika made lots of sandcastles and moats.  She transported water on her head like this (I had to giggle):





And that's what we've been up to lately!

Oh What A Week! Part Two!

***This is Part Two.  Read Part One Here! *****


Wednesday trip to the park.  Sister love!




Violet loves putting in hair bows and posing.  Seriously - posing!  She cracks me up - where in the world does she get this?  I did not teach her...promise!




Ginger dancing while Paprika plays piano:





Nothing cooler than mom's sunglasses!





Thursday we stayed home all day long.  I kept trying to get out of the house, but every time I tried to leave, I was thwarted!  It was a comedy of errors.

Anyhoo - the girls had a great time playing in the backyard and didn't seem to mind staying home one bit!




Best friends and sisters - these two always make me smile!




My favorite moment of the whole week is this moment right here!  The girls were playing in the backyard with their shoes on - and Ginger was wearing these pseudo-Crocs (not really Crocs, but I got them because they are cute - but I didn't realize they'd make her feet bleed!)

So, Ginger came in the house crying because her feet were bleeding (they really were - it looked so painful).  And before I could do anything (I was taking care of Violet at the moment!)- Paprika swooped in and did her magic.

She got an icepack out of the freezer, a wet paper towel, a washcloth, some neosporin from the high medicine cabinet (she stood on a chair and climbed to the top of the dryer), and also some bandaids.  Before I could turn around, I walked into this scene.  Miss Florence Nightingale herself!  ;-)




After a few moments, everything was all better!



As if nothing had happened!



Don't you just love that about childhood?




Then, today (Friday) - we went to the Wilderness Park.



I know it doesn't look like anyone else was there because I artfully framed everyone out of the picture who was not related to me.  But let me tell you, it was a ZOO.  We arrived seconds after a daycamp of probably 150 kids (and three counselors - ha!) showed up.    There was also some kind of family reunion of 50 or so people - who literally followed us through the park.  I kept trying to go the opposite way, and yet YET - they were always magically there!  And then, there were the regular summer park-goers, too.  I was like:  I'm ready for y'all to go back to school now because 'come Fall when I'm homeschooling, this park is MINE! ;-)

Anyhoo- Paprika picked up this yellow leaf and actually said:  This yellow leaf represents peace and tranquility. Be still, says the leaf.

She started meditating right there - and was so Zen about the whole thing.




We pressed on and saw all sorts of things.  But at one point, we came upon a hive of bees and they literally started swarming my head!  I had Violet on my back in the Ergo and started running and swatting my head and in general looking like a mad-worman.  They would not leave!  We got down to the pond, and finally I got them off of me, but then there were like ninety people just hanging out down at the pond and I couldn't find Ginger or Paprika!












So, anyhoo- after I found everyone, I said:  Let's get back in the van and go home and eat ice cream.  ;-)

And everyone shouted:  Horray!

So, we went back to the van and I closed the doors and put the air-conditioning on high and turned the music up for the girls and I was like:  THIS is the peace and quiet I was seeking at the wilderness park!

All's Well That Ends Well, right?!

Have A Great Weekend! 

The End!

Oh What A Week! Part One!

Sometimes - okay, many times - I feel like all I do is the same thing every single day...clean up, feed people, change diapers, bathe people, get people to sleep, and did I mention clean up?  Hahahaha.

But, then I look back at the week - and I am reminded of all the living we did in between those moments of survival.  It encourages me that what I am doing has meaning...and that hopefully we are making some great memories together.






These snapshots make me happy and encourage me to keep focusing on the big picture.  I hope they encourage you, too!

Paprika barefoot in the park!  I remember not too long ago when she wouldn't even let grass touch her feet. Little victory!  ;-)




Mr. M got a phone call to work on a big budget studio feature film on Saturday.  He couldn't say no - so he left early on Saturday and I was hoping he would be home in time for our date night (I had already reserved Miss Christina to babysit).

He texted me at 7:30 (about half an hour before Miss Christina was set to arrive) saying he wouldn't be home until 1am or later.  By then, it was too late to cancel Christina (plus the girls were so excited to see her).  It was also too late for me to make plans with anyone else.  So, I went to the beach by myself!




There was hardly anyone there - it was so peaceful and serene!




I loved walking and looking at all the beachfront houses and listening to the waves crash on the shore.





Then, I went to Chipotle and it was a real lonely hearts club there!  Man!  I got my food and found a sweet little spot in the corner and read books on the Kindle app on my phone.  I also brought earplugs so I wouldn't have to listen to anyone else's chatter.  It was bliss!


The next day (Sunday), we went in search of Jessie from Toy Story.  Violet loves the Woody and Jessie dolls, and she searched low and high for this little dollie (who I'm so glad I didn't donate to Goodwill!)

So, anyway- this was a big moment! Ha!




Girls dancing in the living room - daily scene in our house:




Trip to the Seahorse Park (as Ginger calls it).  Always a good time!





Mr. M had to work on Sunday and he took Paprika to work with him.  She was so excited to go - but she didn't realize that she'd be there until 3am!  So - yea, she was a little tired when she got home.  And I actually do mean - just a little tired!  She still asked if she could read a few books before she fell asleep.  Ha!




Monday night piano lesson with Paprika's new teacher.



Paprika fooling around after the lesson:




Quick pic of Daisy - who is the best and smartest dog ever!  Seriously.  I let her sit next to me on the couch - Mr. M says NO dogs on the couch! - but I am trying to win Daisy over because no matter what I do, she likes Mr. M just a little bit more than me.  I think it's some alpha-male thing...but anyway, I will win her over to my side...one couch privilege at a time.  ;-)




Tuesday - girls at the park (again!)  They all dressed themselves!  Love that!





And that gets me through Tuesday!  Haha.  I'm going to break this up into two posts because it's getting SO LONG with pictures.  More to come, soon!  :-)

Make Way For Some Motherless Ducklings!

I took the girls to The Wilderness Park today, and we got more adventure than we bargained for!

As soon as we got out of the van, we saw a gaggle of ducklings - no wait - that's geese.  We saw a brood of ducklings in the parking lot, headed straight for the very busy road!  The ducklings were waddling straight towards traffic, and I looked around and no one else was there! Just me and my little ducklings...er, I mean children!

This is one instance when it pays to have a huge pile of crushed goldfish crackers on the floor of your van.  I'm just sayin'!

Anyhoo- we were able to lure the ducklings back inside the gate of the park and over to the "upper pond" - which is generally not where the ducks hang out (they prefer the lower pond) - not ideal, but it was much better than the road!




The upper pond is very close to the entrance of the park and the road, so I knew we could not leave the ducklings there for long.  There was no mother duck in sight - we were sure she was down at the lower pond.

I went to buy some "fish food" from the park kiosk (I brought my quarters!) and talk to the park ranger.  Paprika and Ginger guarded the ducklings by the pond. 



I went to find the park ranger - while keeping Ginger and Paprika (and the ducklings!) in view.  All I found was a very surly teenage boy who was playing Minecraft and said he had no idea what to do about the ducks. 

Mmmmmkay....




So, we decided to lead the ducklings down to the lower pond - which is generally a much safer, insulated area of the park - and it is where the ducks generally make their home.

But herding ducklings all the way across the universe...I mean, park...turned out to be harder than expected.  We went one way, they went the other.  We tried to get them to cross the meadow, they hightailed it back to the parking lot.




Eventually, I gave Paprika the duck food and the task of taking them down to the lower pond because everytime I turned around, Ginger was off on her own exploring.  I was chasing after Ginger, but Paprika was absolutely under no circumstances leaving the ducklings.



After a very long time, we got the all the ducklings down to the lower pond.  But then we could not find the mother.  Not one female duck in the whole place!  I decided to fib:  Oh, look, there's the mom!

And Paprika said:  No, Nana Nancy told me that the male mallards have bright green heads and the females have brown heads.  And all of these adult ducks have bright green heads, so these are all males.  No mommy here.  I'm not leaving these ducklings until we find their mommy...even if it takes days!

No amount of reasoning was going to shake her on that one.  Has anything changed in five years?!

At this point, I was dealing with Ginger who really wanted to go home and Violet who was trying to jump into the pond. 

Also, Ginger (who wanted nothing to do with the ducks by now) could not walk.  She laid down on the ground and said her feet hurt so badly she wanted to sleep in the park forever.

So, I looked down and her shoes were on the wrong feet.  I said:  Ginger, your shoes are on the wrong feet!  Let's put them on the correct feet, and I promise you'll feel better.

But...no.  That was not to be.  She said, "I like my shoes on these feet!  I am not going to change them!" 

And nothing I did would convince Ginger otherwise.

But then, I'd try to convince Paprika to leave, and she'd start bawling about the ducks being motherless and remind me of her oath to stay until the mother returned:




So, I convinced Paprika that we'd go search for the mother and then once we found the mother, we'd get that very helpful park ranger at the front gate of the park to bring the mother duck back to the ducklings.  ;-)

And, it worked!  I carried Violet on my front in the Ergo and hoisted Ginger over my shoulder and carried them through the woods up to the Minecraft teenager's gate house and wink wink told him to be on the lookout for that mother duck.

I am not sure he heard me what with his headphones on and all!  But in a few minutes we were back in the van...on the way home, and on to new adventures.





So, when anyone asks me:  What do you do all day as a stay at home mom?  Don't you get bored?

I really don't have the time to answer them because I am literally doing things like this all day long, every moment of the day from the time I wake up until I go to bed at night, and then many times during the wee hours, too.

It's not always ducklings, of course.  But it's juggling a million different things all at once, and holding it all together...

It's climbing up a mountain with a toddler and a preschooler strapped to my body while keeping a very sensitive six year old from the edge of a nervous breakdown.   And all the while making sure they are fed, clothed, bathed, rested, and safe...and teaching them about the world we live in - from manners to stranger danger to plant species.

And then I wonder why I don't have time to write that book series I've been wanting to write - or call the umpteen million friends I used to talk to - or you know, just shower. 





And would I ever change it?  No!   Of course not.  But goodness gracious, life is never ever boring with kids!   Or ducklings!  ;-)


The End!