The Sixth

Cooper turned six this month! He's our first child to have a birthday on a school day. He was so excited to take treats to school to share. And he told everyone that would listen that it was his birthday.

Birthday boy eating his birthday breakfast in his birthday chair.

We have a few birthday traditions, some intentional, some not. We always have the birthday person choose breakfast and dinner. Cooper asked for both pancakes and waffles. Since it was a school day I tried to mix up the batter the night before, but Sophie needed my attention and I ran out of time. Bryan came to the rescue and ran to the store for frozen waffles. I felt guilty that they weren't homemade, but he loved them. And it made the morning before school go smoothly.

As for dinner, Cooper wanted rice and beans. I would have happily obliged, but due to the way the afternoon went, we again ran out of time. So I convinced Cooper that pizza was a fine substitute and we had that instead.

Birthday bedroom finery

We also try to put up some kind of decorations, often streamers because that's just what we have on hand. About a week before his birthday Cooper asked for blue and green streamers. So, I guess that's now a tradition. We obliged with lots of blue and green streamers.

The day was gorgeous and warm, something that hasn't happened much here. We walked to get the boys from school and stopped at the park on our way back. We ended up staying longer than we had planned and one of Cooper's birthday treats became playing in the sunshine.

After dinner and presents that night we also played Lego Rock Band. I thought Cooper would enjoy the drums. Actually, he preferred being on vocals. Loud, loud, not-on-key vocals. At least he had fun.

Birthday blue baked goods

And chocolate cupcakes with blue frosting, that was his other request. I added half a bottle of blue food coloring to achieve this eye-popping color.

Birthday personal-sized cake

Because the cake was from scratch I had extra batter left over. I used it to make Cooper his very own little cake. He thought this was really cool. So did Phoebe. She's already requested one for her next birthday.

Birthday books

Cooper got some great gifts, including Legos and art supplies. Those are both always big hits at our house. Here he is, drawing superheroes from a how-to book from Nana Cris and Grandpa Marc.

I conducted our traditional birthday interview. Here are Cooper's favorite things as a newly minted six-year-old:

FAVORITE FOOD: strawberry pancakes

FAVORITE ANIMAL: cheetah

FAVORITE BOOK: Curious George's Halloween

FAVORITE COLOR: blue

FAVORITE SHOW: Phineas and Ferb

FAVORITE MOVIE: Escape from Planet Earth
FAVORITE SONG: Everything Is Awesome
FAVORITE BOARD GAME: Monopoly
FAVORITE VIDEO GAME: Lego Batman
FAVORITE THING TO DO: Watch movies, Family Home Evening
FAVORITE MEMORY FROM BEING 5: Going to school
FAVORITE PLACE: Disneyland
FAVORITE SUBJECT IN SCHOOL: Art

FRIENDS: Everyone I know, friends at school

Happy birthday Cooper!

On My Own

I did something amazing this week. Bryan spent the last five days in Chicago for work. That means that I was on my own with all four kids, THE WHOLE TIME. As I was counting down to his trip I was not just nervous, I was downright scared. How would I meet all of their needs and still make time to shower and sleep? And how would I not completely lose my mind?

Once, back when I was pregnant with Phoebe, Bryan went out of town. When he returned I wrote on the blog how grateful I was that he was back. Someone that I didn't know (but had linked to me through another blog) left a very unkind comment saying that my short time with Bryan away was nothing compared to those whose spouses are deployed with the military. (Yes, I'm being intentionally vague, and no, I'm not going to link to that post.) 

This comment hurt me deeply, and I thought quite a bit about it. I had not used that comparison, nor had I even thought it. I'm not doing that with this post either. His short absence is not the same, not at all. 

Why do I bring that up? Because being on my own with my four kids is not the same as another mom being with her kids. Each family is different, and all kids are different. I celebrate making it through the week because, as I've written about before, my kids can be hard. So hard that I can't really take them places that other families go. I dream of being able to go on a walk and not having one or two or three of them run off. Or taking them to Costco and not having anyone wander away. Or simply getting into the van without anyone jumping on the seats or climbing into the trunk. And I really dream of the day that arguing and yelling and general contention are not the party line at our house.

I paint a fun picture, no? It is not always that bad, but we see that kind of crazy more often than we don't. Some people might not even blink an eye over this stuff, but I have a hard time with it.

This last week had its rough spots, some rougher than others. But you know what? It also had some really good spots, much better than I thought we would have. We all slept every night. The house wasn't a disaster when Bryan got home. I even got to shower while he was gone. And I can only think of one night when I thought my head was going to explode. And really, for our house that's something worth celebrating.

So I can happily say that we all made it through the week in one piece. Bryan is home, back from a week that included working in a candy factory. I'm happy to know that I was able to take care of things and keep my sanity in his absence. And I'm even happier to know that since he's back, now I don't have to do it on my own.

Belted

After working hard for the last three months, Cooper had the opportunity to test for the next level in Kung Fu. He was nervous, but did a good job remembering the attacks and blocks. 

And here he is, the proud owner of a yellow belt!

Due to some self control issues, Peter did not get to take the test to advance. He didn't seem fazed by it until he saw Cooper receive his new belt. We're done with Kung Fu for now, but perhaps this taste of accomplishment (both achieved and missed) will help them have the desire to work hard on whatever the next activity is.

Well done Cooper!

Magic Morning

Mornings are not always smooth times at our house. People don't want to get dressed or get out of bed. Once we all make it downstairs there's usually more running and throwing than sitting and eating.

But today was different. I don't know what magic was cast, but as I ate my cereal I looked over and saw Cooper playing with and reading to Sophie. Then Peter decided to read to Phoebe. And there was peace and happiness for the rest of the morning.

It was lovely.

The Cop-Out Post 2.0

Nearly five years ago (wowzers!) I wrote about cop-out posts. They were easy posts, usually a picture of the boys (because this was in the days before I had girls) or weird and funny movies from the internet. They could be thrown onto the blog with little to no thought so I could continue with my goal to post something every weekday.

I realized recently that the blog is now almost exclusively cop-out posts. Between staying up to feed Sophie, taking a little time to prepare my house for the next day's chaos, and knowing that the big kids will be awake much earlier than I would like, my time to blog has been cut down to ten minutes a day, if I'm lucky. If I could master one handed typing perhaps I could spend more time on the writing, but I prefer using both hands.

Here's the other dilemma I face: I now have an abundance of cop-out material. And at the same time, it's not cop-out stuff at all. The funny things that the kids say and the cute pictures I take are things that I want to remember. Now that there are four kids, I have trouble narrowing down what I'm going to use. My own thoughts have been taking a backseat to the funnies that spill from the mouths of the small people that live at my house.

And given my current workload and my desire to make sleep a priority (because when mama's tired, everybody's unhappy), I don't see that changing much anytime soon.

Daddy's Girl

Look What I Did Today

Ah tummy time, my nemesis.

Wow, my legs are really kicking back there.

Whoa, what's going on? I'm moving...

I foiled you, tummy time! Now this is a totally different perspective. My toys! How did you guys get up there!?

Cozy

I took this picture of Phoebe tonight. Can you see the feet sticking out of the blanket? Don't worry, they're not Sophie's. It's Phoebe's ballerina doll that Nana Shari got her for her birthday. It's a lovely doll, but not at all soft or snuggly. And yet Phoebe has insisted on sleeping with it every night recently. I wondered how they both fit in her little bed. Now I know.

The Mane Event

Someday you might have a baby daughter. And perhaps your young offspring will develop cradle cap. Not to worry, you tell yourself, her older sister suffered this same malady and a simple shampoo cured it. So off to the local store you go. But that same simple shampoo is not available. That's fine, you think, I'm sure this brand that I'm not familiar with will be fine.

You'll get the product home, only to discover that it's not shampoo, but lotion. It does say that it will remove cradle cap, so you leave it in the bathroom, ready for the next time you wash your sweet girl's full head of hair.

That time may come on a Sunday morning, as you're hurrying to get ready for church. You'll follow the directions to rub the lotion into her hair, then use the soft brush the makers generously included in the box to slough off the dry scalp skin. Of course you'll follow it up with a good lather of your favorite-smelling baby shampoo. You'll see that the cradle cap is still there, however, and you'll resolve to find a better product.

Time might be running late, so perhaps you'll lay your freshly cleaned girl in her bed while you take a speedy shower. When you get out you'll check on her and wonder why her hair hasn't dried yet. You might reach out to touch it. Only then will you realize that her hair is not wet with water. No, the sheen is due to the lotion that didn't wash out. And, my goodness, it does have a strong smell.

It's almost time to leave for church now, but your spouse can hardly stand the pungent odor wafting from your normally sweet baby's scalp. Using teamwork, you may decide to wash her hair again, just to get rid of the smell.

It won't work.

After church you'll wash it twice more.

It still won't work.

The next day you'll decide that the scent has dissipated, or maybe your nose has merely become accustomed to the stench. It is only then that you notice the other outcome of using the lotion. You knew that it hadn't eradicated the cradle cap, but it has gotten rid of something else: your daughter's hair. Not all of it, mind you, but a significant thatch of hair has been evicted from the top of her head, right at the front.

And on that day, you will look at her, sigh, acknowledge that her hair now resembles the thin mane of her great-grandfather more than it did a few days before, and declare that she is still adorable to you.

Re-Cooper-ation

Today was another sick day, the big difference being that Bryan went to work while the boys stayed home. Cooper had the energy of a boy that is suddenly feeling much better and doesn't want to be stuck in his bed. Peter got sicker as the day progressed, but still had the energy to tattle on his siblings. And Phoebe was thrilled that her brothers were home and terribly grumpy that they were supposed to sit on their beds and rest rather than play with her. But really, the day went pretty well.

It wasn't until I was folding laundry around two this afternoon that I realized I had been on duty since I'd woken up the day before. Sure, I'd slept a little, but Sophie woke much more than usual last night, so my longest stretch of nighttime rest had been less than four hours. From the time I got out of bed, I'd been working. The only reason I was getting the luxury of time to fold clothes (yes, I said luxury) was that Sophie was taking her one long nap of the day and I was enforcing quiet time on the others.

I wonder how many jobs require you to be on duty for more than thirty hours straight? It's now eleven at night and sitting to type on the blog is the longest break I've taken all day. You want to know the craziest thing about that? I'm tired, but at the same time I'm kind of energized. I feel like I've worked hard and accomplished a lot without getting all crazy and stressed. Often by bedtime I'm frazzled. I just want to shut my door and wait while the kids finally nod off. But I didn't feel that same tension tonight.

The Luck o' the Irish

We celebrated St. Patrick's Day with green pancakes,

green apples,

and green eggs.

Oh, and with everyone staying home sick. Peter had a slight case of pink eye yesterday so we kept him home today. Cooper ran a fever on Saturday and therefore missed church yesterday. He seemed sniffly and his eyes were a little red when he woke up so I kept him home. Within a few hours he had developed the worst case of pink eye I've ever seen.

Bryan took him to the doctor and Cooper is now on antibiotics (for an ear infection, the likely source of the fever) and eye drops. He barely touched his dinner and was asleep on the couch by 6:30. He woke up at 9:40 feeling hungry and ready for some pain reliever. After some ibuprofen and a snack, he's feeling a little better. His eyes still look terrible and he won't be going to school tomorrow, but at least he feels better.

We Had A Good Day

Things That Phoebe Actually Said to Me Today

"I think you're getting old." Said after I told her my elbow felt funny.

"I wish I didn't have a mom and dad." When asked why she replied, "Because then there wouldn't be anybody to tell me what to do." I had just told her she had to stay in the stroller and couldn't play in a parking lot.

"I'm so glad you're my mom." Said while she was getting ready for bed.

"Do you want me to read this book to you?" Said while we were on our way to get the boys.

"I'm so sorry for the naughty things I did." Said after she was given a timeout for standing on the chair arms in the van instead of getting in her car seat. When asked what she did that was naughty, "I don't know."

"You're the prettiest mom in the whole wide world and I love you!" Said several times throughout the day, usually because she wants to be told she's pretty too, but also when she can tell I'm getting stressed.

Self Soothing

None of my kids have been thumb suckers. Sometimes I wish they were so they could calm themselves down. I've written that Sophie is doing a better job sleeping. Some nights are awesome, some nights not so much, but overall we're both getting more sleep.

I took a picture documenting one possible reason why she's sleeping longer than the others did.

She's not sucking her thumb, but she is sucking the palm of her hand. We've stopped swaddling her arms because she would struggle and work until her arms were out so she could get to her hand. She'll make waking-up sounds and then we hear her sucking and off she goes back to sleep.

Time's Up

I am a big fan of additional daylight. In fact, the period when our clocks are set to daylight savings is my favorite section of the year.

But the time change is messing with us.

That is all.

A Little Sketchy

Cooper got a how-to book on drawing for Christmas. He loves art and his current career aspiration is to be an illustrator. Sadly, the book was almost immediately lost. We've gotten some drawing books from the library but had been sad that we couldn't find the one from Christmas.

Guess what surfaced this week? That's right, the drawing book. Cooper found it, of all places, on the shelf in his room. Huh, I guess we do put stuff away sometimes.

Cooper left the book on the chest-of-drawers in his room. During an extended time-out, Peter found the book and decided to do a few sketches of his own.

These are better than anything I could draw. Seriously. Bryan wondered if Peter had traced them. I checked; he didn't. I know he was copying them from a book, but still, I'm impressed.

Anyone Can Cook

Earlier this week Phoebe asked if she and I could make cookies. She specifically requested chocolate mint pumpkin cookies. I told her that while chocolate and mint go well together and chocolate and pumpkin are a good pair, pumpkin and mint aren't a great combination. She settled for chocolate mint cookies.

I hesitated saying that we could make them. Sophie hasn't been feeling well ever since her shots last week and has needed to be fed much more frequently, like nearly every hour or so during the day. I wasn't sure that we would be able to find enough time when I wasn't holding Sophie to make cookies.

Bryan has also been feeling lousy; he has a cold that he can't seem to kick, and on Wednesday he worked from home. Sophie went down for a nap in the morning and with another adult there to listen for her and help if needed, I figured this was our chance for the cookies.

Phoebe was thrilled to be my only helper. She usually has to take turns with the boys when we bake, so she loved pouring all of the ingredients in instead of half or a third of them. I would measure and explain what we were doing and why and she would pour the ingredients into the bowl. At one point she looked at me and said, "Making cookies is special to us, huh?" I hope she remembers that as she gets older.

Towards the end of the mixing portion Phoebe looked straight ahead and said, "See what my mom's doing? She mixing in the chips."

Having dealt with imaginary friends in the past, I wondered if she had created one without my knowing, so I asked. "Who are you talking to?"

She looked at me out of the corner of her eye and said quietly, "It's a show."

And then she narrated the rest of my actions for the invisible home audience. She concluded with, "Thanks, I'll see you next week!" And she waved.

It was awesome.

Law Abiding Citizen

I recently attended a student-led conference with Cooper. The girls and I went to his classroom with him (while Peter was at a birthday party) and he proudly showed us some of what he's been working on. His teacher knew we were coming so she had prepared his desk with everything he would need. I was given a list of prompts to help Cooper as he went through his box of work.

He read to us from his easy reader. He told us some of their reading strategies. He made up a story problem based on an equation. He told us what he had learned about the classroom pets, some goldfish (that had recently "been sent back to the goldfish farm so another classroom could enjoy them," yes that's what his teacher really said) and a guppy. He read a how-to book that he had written and told me the steps of writing such a book. And he reviewed the class rules and showed his hand print next to the poster that held those rules.

Perhaps the best part was when I asked his teacher if there was anything I should know. She said that Cooper has been really well behaved! She said she thought he had finally gotten the hang of following the rules and was doing a great job. Huzzah!

The second best part was how excited Cooper was to show us everything. He was especially pumped to read to Phoebe in his classroom. She spent most of her time playing with the toy kitchen right next to Cooper's desk, but I think he still got to share enough with her to count.

Thank goodness for positive progress!

Can't Argue With That Logic

This morning Phoebe was singing her same old song about not needing to go to the bathroom. I was already feeling like a broken record with how many times I had asked her to use it when I decided to take a cue from the comment my grandma left on yesterday's post.

Me: Phoebe, princesses use the bathroom

Phoebe: (said in a grumpy voice) I'm not a princess! I'm just a sister.

Me: Sisters use the bathroom.

Phoebe: I'm not a sister anymore!

Me: Everybody uses the bathroom.

Phoebe: Zombies don't.

Touche.

Gotta Go

I haven't chronicled the potty training process with Phoebe the way I did with the boys. Perhaps it's because we never really labeled it. Before school started last year she asked if she could stop wearing diapers. I said yes, but waited until the boys were in school so I could focus my attention on her a little more. She got to pick out princess underwear (of course); she stays dry almost every night, and she is dry most days as well. She's had lots of success.

Mostly.

We've come to a problem recently. She refuses to use the bathroom. She swears up and down that she doesn't need to go, that she can hold it. And really she can hold it for many hours. But she thinks that being potty trained means you can hold it indefinitely. I can't seem to be able to convince her otherwise.

Everyday I remind her that she needs to go and each day she says she doesn't. I've also tried the tactic of not saying anything and letting her figure it out herself. Did I mention that I've cleaned up two accidents today? Yeah, that's not working too well either.

Phoebe is a strong willed girl, which will serve her well if she channels it the right way. But I'm afraid that this is not a good use of that character trait.

Blue Skies Smiling At Me

We were warned when we moved here that the rain would be unlike anything we had previously experienced. While I think that's an exaggeration, it definitely rains a lot. I looked at the ten day forecast last Friday and saw that it was expected to rain every day.

As we ate lunch today I noticed that the sky was clearing. I have the habit of opening all the blinds, no matter what the weather is like outside. It was a pleasant surprise to see some blue sky between the clouds. I decided that if the rain would stop long enough, we would walk to get the boys from school.

And we did.

We stopped at the park on the way back. Phoebe was wearing her Pacific Northwest-appropriate footwear, so I told her to go ahead and enjoy the puddle. If you look closely, you can see the boys in the background sitting and waiting for us.