Enough is Enough (Update)

I'm used to having people stop and comment on how cute my kids are when I run errands with Sophie and Topher. And I'm used to exclamations of surprise when people find out we have five kids.

On Monday, while Peter was at an engineering camp at school, I took the four younger kids to the grocery store. As we stood in the produce section, a white-haired couple came over and the following conversation took place:

Woman: (with a smile) Are all these yours?

Cooper: We're missing one.

Phoebe: There's actually one more.

Woman: (speaking slowly and looking between the children, still smiling) I think...

At this point I was smiling and wondering what the end of her sentence would be. I think you have your hands full? I think you must be busy? I think you must be tired?

But she didn't say any of those things. Nope, instead she said:

Woman: I think...you have enough.

Here are some things I wanted to say in return: I think it's none of your business. I think that's really rude. I think you don't have a say in that particular decision. But what did I actually do?

I laughed, and I'm afraid it wasn't a delighted laugh. It was one of shock.

Just a word of advice, even if you think someone has enough children, don't tell them.

Update: Instead, I recommend the approach of the Walmart employee we walked by today. He saw us, his eyes got big, then he said, "Wow! What a beautiful family you have!"

Room for All

After several years of searching and pricing and debating, we have a new addition to our house.

 

I love this couch. We bought it from Costco and in the three weeks we've had it I haven't experienced any buyers remorse. It's so comfortable and our entire family fits on it with room to spare.

I feel just a little more like a grownup now.

Give Me All the Words

Topher has entered a new stage of adorable. He's been sitting and looking at books for a long time, but in the last few days he's discovered that those books have words. He'll pick up a favorite book, carry it to me, then hand me the book as he tilts his head to the side and raises his voice in question. When I ask if he wants me to read to him, he'll nod yes, smile, then turn around and sit on my lap. I love it.

Here are his current favorite books:

Long Summer Days

School starts two weeks from today. I'm not counting down, not really. I still love summer and I'm still glad the kids are all home.

But.

I'm tired.

Really tired.

The mornings start early, someone needs me in some capacity all day long, there are no breaks, and the big kids stay up late and want to hang out. I like spending time with them, it's a highlight of the day, but burning the candle at both ends is wearing me thin.

Yeah. That's all.

Sister Selfie

"I wanna take a selfie with Sophie."

Into the Woods

I took the kids hiking today. Some of the paths were paved. Some were so full of tree roots and rocks that Peter had to lift the front of the stroller while I held up the back in order to pass the obstructions. Some of the walkways were wide. Some were narrow and bordered by poison ivy. The kids alternated between being terrified by the bugs and possibly dangerous plant life to being in awe of the beauty all around them.

It was a good two hours.

Can you find all five kids (or their mode of transportation) in this picture?

Just Hangin' Around

Happee Birthdae

Harry Potter turned thirty-nine last Wednesday, did you know? We celebrated by having a cake inspired by the cake Hagrid made for Harry in the first book. It was nice making a cake that was supposed to be lopsided and sloppy.

Do What You Gotta Do

Our family was all in the van today, travelling home from watching Phoebe's dance class. Sophie, Peter, and Cooper were sitting on the back bench. I was half-listening to their conversation when a kerfuffle erupted. Bryan and I called back to find out what had happened.

Me: Guys! What's going on?

Cooper: (mixture of fake and real crying)

Me: Is Cooper crying? Cooper, are you really crying? Peter, what happened?

Peter: Sophie keeps elbowing us in the face.

Me: Sophie?

Sophie: I'm just beat-boxing, doin' what I need to do.

On Her Own

On Wednesday morning, while I was in the shower and out of hearing range, Bryan heard Phoebe scream. He jumped out of bed and ran to see what was going on. Phoebe told him she had screamed because Sophie had opened the outside garage door. Why had she done that? Because she was trying to run away.

This is the picture he took of Sophie, ready to head out on her own.

What was the impetus for her journey? She, Phoebe, and Cooper were playing Uno and she got mad about...something, none of us are quite sure what. I asked her later about it and she didn't have a solid answer either. During that talk I hugged her and told her how sad I would be if she ran away and how we're so thankful that she's part of our family. She nodded and got a little misty eyed and hugged me back.

Then we talked about why we don't open the garage door. Hopefully she understood the importance of that too.