Teeny Tiny

Living in a place with five people and one bedroom requires... juggling. I mentioned it briefly here.

Every night at bedtime we put the kids in their pajamas, brush teeth, read scriptures, say prayers, and sing songs. (Add in lots of whining and complaining and fighting and maybe some screaming from the small people and you have an accurate picture.) Then I snuggle Phoebe and lay her down in the hotel-provided pack and play in the corner of the bedroom. We tuck the boys in on either side of the King-size bed and Bryan (or me if Bryan is working late) lies down between them until one or both boys are asleep. And sometimes that takes a while. Then, after Bryan and I are done with whatever we wanted to do in the living room, we unfold the bed from the couch, carry Cooper out to the living room, send Peter to the bathroom, then tuck the boys into their new bed. And we pray that everyone stays asleep/goes back to sleep quickly.

The last piece to the bedtime puzzle is making sure everyone is warm enough. Our room is either freezing or muggy. I would gladly take muggy any day, but Bryan isn't such a fan of humidity, so we walk a fine line between too cold and too warm. At night we bundle up (an odd feeling for the middle of July) and make sure the children have enough blankets.

A few nights ago Cooper was whimpering to himself as he tried to find a comfortable position on his side of the King. We asked him what was wrong.

Cooper: This bed is so big and I'm just so tiny and all I want to do is snuggle!

So while a King is good for holding all of us, I guess it's not so conducive to cuddling. Bryan solved the problem by scooting our mini-Cooper next to him and snuggling.

Sleepy Eyes

In order to get the boys to swim lessons (and me to my daily exercise session) we have to wake up early. Our kids are usually early risers, but occasionally they sleep late. Yesterday was one of these mornings. When I woke up I realized we were running late, so while I got dressed, Bryan woke up the kids. Apparently Peter wasn't quite ready.

Peter: Daddy you woke me up too early
Bryan: What do you mean Peter?
Peter: I don't like to get up when it's still blurry.

Putting On My Face

I've been playing around with darkening my eyebrows now and then over the last few months. My eyebrows are blond and it turns out I look slightly more human when they're visible. Go fig.

I was throwing on a little make-up before church yesterday when Phoebe walked in. She looked at me, looked at my hand, then let me know where she stood on the matter.

Phoebe: No Mommy! Don't draw on your forehead!

A Child's Prayer

Phoebe has been saying her own prayers. On Tuesday night she began her prayer and then said, "Please help me understand his words before it grows too late. Lead me, guide me, walk beside me. Help me find the way."

I then prompted her to finish her prayers.

It makes my heart sing to know that the doctrines in her bedtime song are leaving their mark.

Learn About the USA

Happy Independence Day!

Movie Day

Bryan was sick on Sunday and I got it today. That means that the kids and I spent the day in pajamas, watching movies. I must say, I'm glad we made it until Bryan got home.

Peter was pretty calm (Nana Shari sent some fun packages yesterday and Peter was focused on his new book of mazes), but there were a few times (and by a few, I mean several) that I had to hold Cooper down so he wouldn't jump off the couch. He insisted he wasn't jumping, he was "flying." And then I had to keep separating Cooper and Phoebe from wrestling. It was not the most relaxing day, but it did not involve going anywhere. Or getting anyone dressed, so that's something.

Thank goodness Bryan doesn't have to work tomorrow.

Thirty-Two

I turned thirty-two last week. We did a few special things to mark the day. The kids and I went to a new park that had a forest behind it. That's one thing that surprised me about Wisconsin; there are little islands of woods all over the place. This one had clearly marked trails and it was lovely and cool.

I handed Peter my phone and told him to take pictures. And the next day my phone died. I don't think there's a connection.

Peter liked taking pictures of trees

and leaves.

I insisted that he take a picture of us

and one of himself.

We found out later that sometimes bears show up in the woods around the Fox Cities, so we may not go hiking again for a while. It was fun though, and no one ran off, so that made the jaunt through the woods that much better.

Then we went to a friend's house for a birthday lunch. Along with delicious food and wonderful company, they stuck a candle into some watermelon and sang Happy Birthday to me. It was perfect.

Bryan surprised me with roses and a pair of cross-trainers to make my gym visits nicer for my feet. We ended the night with a baseball game. What was that? A baseball game sounds like an odd way for me to celebrate my birthday? True. It was an event for the interns at Bryan's work and we got the opportunity to tag along. We stayed a few hours, let the kids run and play on the playground until they were dripping with sweat (which wasn't hard considering how hot it was that day), then went home.

We actually kept celebrating throughout the week. Bryan and I got to have a date on Friday (we discovered a really good Italian food place), we had a family date (our annual trip to see Pixar's latest offering) and a few more gifts arrived via Amazon.

Thanks to all of you that sent me birthday wishes. I loved reading them throughout the day. I was glad that my phone lived long enough to read your birthday texts. It made me realize I need to be better about sending birthday wishes.

It was a good day.

P.S. Bryan worked his tech magic and I have a phone again. He ported my number to his phone which now gets calls for both of our numbers.

Cracked Rear View

Attention anyone who has my phone number and calls or texts me ever:

My phone is dead. Technically, my screen is dead. I can still receive calls, I just won't have any idea who's calling. I can neither send nor receive texts. We just discovered that I can make calls, but since I don't have access to my phone book, I can only call numbers I know by heart.

Which means I can call Bryan, my parents' home, and 911.

And that is all.

So if you need to contact me, please email me or call Bryan. We're working on a solution as I type, but I'm not sure how long it will take.

And to whoever has sent me texts tonight, will you call or email? Because I have no idea what you sent. Or who sent it.

Zoom In

There's nothing like an after-lunch, under-the-desk fort to get you in the reading mood.

Ever Wonder How Three Car Seats Fit Into a Toyota Camry?

Wonder no more my friends...