Every day normal

The boys decided to clean up the playroom on their own and when they were done Bubu came up to me and said, see mom I told you we were experts. ~While they were cleaning they did the team cheer where we all put our hands together and say Go Team R*****! I over heard Bubu telling Spike to put both his hands in and Spike said I have a booger on my hand, Bubu just said so do it anyways, and they did. That's some brotherly love right there... ha ha! ~Bubu keeps randomly saying, they poisoned the water hole, with a country twang and it's kinda creepy. (It's from one of the toy story movies.) ~I was making lunch and the boys were cleaning up the playroom{we clean up the playroom a lot around here} and over the hum of conversation I hear Maybe she will beat us. If anyone had been over they would have thought horrible things happen around here, but they just meant that I might get lunch done before they were done. Spike then said, she's not the fastest, to which Bubu replied, don't say that it might hurt her feelings. ~Bubu is obsessed with PB&J sandwiches or more like PB&H{honey} sandwiches. He asks if we are having them morning, noon, and night. They've had more lately then I'd like to admit. Finally I told Bubu that he can't have them all the time no matter how many fruits and veggies he has on the side. He came back later and said in a very serious tone, Mom some people have peanut butter sandwiches all the time. Every day! They do. I told him some people might but we don't. Not the response he was looking for. ~Lately Bubu's been telling me things starting with the phrase, some people do... or some boys do... and sometimes it's not very pleasant. Like the other day he told me, some boys hit their brothers. He was frustrated with his brothers and I guess he wanted to let me know that some boys hit. I usually follow this sort of conversation up with, yes but not in our family. So now he says, but not in our family. Usually before I can now. ~Atty was walking around the house today singing, wash, wash, wash your hands, wash the germs away, over and over again. Then he switched to, Twinkle bell, twinkle bell, twinkle all the way... It was cute. He loves singing and often makes up his own words. One of his favorites right now is The B.I.B.L.E. song. He was singing it so much that he got his sister singing it, which I have to say is super adorable. Her version sounds more like bub-bub-ba-lee and she just says that over and over again without the rest of the song. She loves to sing too and the both of them together when they get going is the cutest. ~Mom I have to find my spotted leopard, I love that guy, he's just so hugable! Banden is so funny. He's the hugger that boy. ~Atty loves the chicks, talks about them all the time. He told me today, we don't squeeze the chicks, only gentle and talking. Great advice mister! It's hard not to squeeze them because they do look so squeezable! ~When ever Bubu gets dressed up nice he always asks me, do I look like a genius? To which I reply, Absolutely! With no correction. It's just too adorable. ~The boys were discussing their muscles today at lunch, a hot topic around here lately. They will sit at the table eating their food talking about how it's making big muscles. Bubu flexed his muscle and asked me, do I look like daddy? I said, well yes of course. To which I heard a chorus of questions about who looked the most like daddy while they all flexed their muscles at the table. *This post is not posting the way I want it too... no matter how many times I switch it and repost it, so I must log off now before I scream!*

Adopted chicks~

I really had no idea that when we got the chicks it would bring up discussions about adoption from Atty, but it has, and it's been pretty consistent.

About a week or so before we got the chicks Bubu had asked me a question about Atty and his bio-brother that lives in another state {also adopted}. We were talking about Atty's brother as we often do, and reminiscing about their really fun visit to our state this last summer. All of a sudden Bubu asks me why Atty and his brother don't live together, because brothers live together. Then he said it was very sad. It was to the point and it scared me. It scared me because no matter how many times I rehearse what I will say when these questions come up it just doesn't seem to come out of my mouth as smoothly in the moment. I want our discussions to be honest and age appropriate and full of love. It's a hard topic to talk about. But questions need to be answered. We talked about it, Bubu and I, and I could tell Atty was listening but he didn't say anything.

Then we got the chicks and the questions started.

Where are the mommy chickens? Are they dead? Why aren't the babies with their mommy? Are they going back?

And on and on and on. I really felt like there was more to his questions then just concern over the chicks. It felt like it was a safe way for him to ask me his questions, although I don't know if he really thought that through or not. So when I answered I made it about adoption in a way. He asked the same questions over and over again and I continued to answer them, until he finally seemed to be satisfied. He never made a connection with himself by saying anything about him being adopted, but he seemed to be making a connection of some sort. This is the first time he has asked questions about adoption, always before it was someone else bringing it up, or myself mentioning something about adoption or his birth mom/dad. Even though we weren't talking about him, it felt great the he was finally opening that door a little and talking about it in a sense. It's only been recently that he has even started asking questions of any sort. I have a feeling it's going to get pretty intense with the questions around here pretty soon, he's got a bunch stored up in there somewhere.

How funny that little fluffy chicks opened the door for discussions about adoption with him.

I love you Dansen

I'm really worried about my brother. He's in Japan {he lives in Tokyo} and we have heard from him since the big earthquake and tsunami but only twice. I just read his blog and the last entry helped me feel a little better... but only a little. I wish he would come back to the States for a while, but knowing him as I do, unless he was forced, he won't be coming. He's lived there so long it's home to him. I keep watching this live news channel and it seems like everything is just getting worse and worse over there. Between after shocks, more earthquakes and threat of nuclear meltdowns. Being an older sister I just want to scoop him up and hid him away. I want to protect him and there is nothing I can do from here.

I love you Dansen. We are thinking about you, people are calling asking about you all the time, we miss you so much and we wish you were here. You are in big trouble if I find out you were able to email me and didn't. I am assuming that you can't for what ever reason.

These pictures are from the last time I saw my brother when he was visiting from Japan after years of not seeing him. He was meeting his nephews for the first time.

Chicks!

We have decided to do the farm thing, even though we live in town. In our town you can have as many chickens as you want {as long as there are no neighbor complains} but NO roosters. Not that I would want a rooster.... no thank you. We have been talking about getting chickens for a long time, we go through about 3 dozen eggs a week and we like to buy organic, so that gets expensive {for eggs anyways}. I have been trying to get us more and more self sustainable, with gardening, and learning how to preserve our own food. So we decided to take the next step. There is only so much we can do being as we still live in town and don't have a whole lot of property. I've already pushed the envelope on this one, turning our whole front yard into a garden, and I will be planting seeds up there this spring, so we will see how that goes. My husband is building the chicken coop behind our house, outside of the play yard. So they will be hidden away. My only concern is that they do get a little stinky, and their coop is going to be right by the walkway into the play yard, so that might not be very pleasant in the summer. But we will have fresh eggs... so I will focus on that.

{I told the kids they could name them... so their names are Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Mo, Catch-A (Catcha), Tiger, By-The (Bytha), and Toe. Ha, ha! That's what I get for telling the kids they could choose the names. I feel sorry for Toe...}

They are soooooooo cute! We are enjoying every minute of their cuteness, as they grow fast and it won't last long. We were going to get four, then six, and some how ended up with eight. Four Araucanas and four Black Sex-Links. {Yes that is there real name... but I've also seen them referred to as Black Stars and I will be calling them that from here on out.} I have to tell you when I googled the Black Sex-Links for more information I was a little nervous. They are suppose to be really great egg layers, so that's awesome. The Araucanas lay "Easter eggs" all different colors, which is why I ended up getting four of those as well. We were going to just get the Black stars, but after talking to the lady about the Araucanas I just had to have some.

The kids were so excited! Especially Atty as he has been really into birds of all kinds for a while now. They just can't get enough of these little fluff balls.

Baby sister reminding everyone to be quiet... ha ha!

Getting a chance to hold the little ladies. The boys were so gentle.

Atty was so extremely gentle and sweet that his fell asleep in his hands.

Lala wants to hold one so bad, but she's just too little to fully understand how gentle she needs to be. It's hard because she can see her brothers holding them and it drives her to tears that she can't. It's a little scary getting the chicks out around her because she tries to grab them and she pokes at them in here excitement. She calls them her babies, and just wants to squeeze 'em. I can't hardly blame her, the fluffy little chicks really do look squeezable. :)

Chicks in a basket, how adorable is that!

See Lala's hand sneaking in there? I'm telling you she is determined to get her hands on one!

It's just to much for my little lady, she wants to snuggle them up. How could mommy tell her no, no?

We are in love with these little babies. We want to get them use to us, with out scaring them, so that they will be friendlier when they are all grown up. We can't have them out for long right now though because they have to stay warm in their box so that they don't get sick. It's a little nerve racking taking care of these little ones, I don't want to lose one and I want to make sure I'm doing everything right. So far it's gone well, except I can't seem to get the box to stay the perfect temperature, it's either a tiny bit to warm or a tiny bit on the cool side. But they are staying active and seem healthy. It's actually fun to watch them running around and interacting. I'm afraid you all might be in for some more chicken post, as we are super excited about them!

Rambling is the only thing I'm good at...

It seems that pictures speak louder then words in my life right now. Though I don't often have time to sit and journal what we are doing I do pick up my camera and snap away as much as possible. I love looking back on pictures, seeing the children as they grow. Looking at all the different things we have done together, firsts caught on film, special moments frozen forever. When memory fades, I will still have my pictures. I have grand ideas of getting them all printed {for I am devastatingly behind in that} and doing all sorts of amazing crafts with them, putting them in photo albums and scrapbooks to treasure for ever. Someday I hope to get around to that... Some day. Atty was so proud of himself for going down this slide all by himself, he went down it before Spike would, which was pretty impressive I must say! He is doing so well it's hard to believe he has a serious seizure disorder. You would never know. He is almost completely caught up developmentally, it's amazing!! I didn't think about him having a seizure, or freak out even once about him climbing around, the whole time we were at the park. When he was having his seizures just the idea of him at the park would send me into panic mode.

This isn't the best quality of picture, but Bubu's smile is so sincere I just had to post it. Lately it is so hard to get a good picture of him, he is either seemingly glaring or has a cheesy smile on his face... or running from the camera. This picture I had to take with my camcorder because my camera died and I was with out one for weeks! My camcorder doesn't have a flash so every picture I took had to be outside in order to really be able to see anything. Being with out my camera made me realize how often I am pulling it out. I'd be lost with out it. ;)

This little boy is a ham, he is always trying to get a laugh. He also has the most amazing eyes! I just recently cut his hair really short because more then once he was mistaken for a girl. I really have no idea why, he seems like such a boy to me, but I think maybe it was because of his absolutely beautiful eyes. Now that his head is shaved, I've not had a single person get confused about his boyness. He looks remarkable like his father, a little mini me.

I got to see my J-bird on his 16th birthday! I can hardly believe he's sixteen, I was sixteen when he was born! I was taking care of him when his mom wasn't around {which was a lot} at that age, it seems so young now. Time gone in the blink of an eye. It's so hard to get a good picture of him, this is the only one he was sort of smiling in. Sigh. I made him home made tortillas, and home made re fried beans and brought him all the toppings for super yummy soft tacos. He was thrilled. It was worth the very long drive and crazy cook-a-thon to hear how excited and thankful he was. He's such a sweetheart {when he's not being an evil teenager that is}. He lives with his sister {my SIL} and she just had a baby so I made her a bunch of food too, for the freezer and a monkey themed diaper cake that turned out super cute. It was a great trip. J just called me and thanked me again for the food and asked me to come down once a month and make tortillas and beans for him, silly kid. He knows the way to my heart... compliment my cooking. ;)

I take way too many pictures of this girl, I can't help myself. She is so full of sass and big personality. And her clothes are always so cute.

This hat belonged to one of the little girls in my daycare and when she out grew it she {as in her mom} passed it on to Lala. I see my little daycare girl when Lala wears it. They recently moved away and I'm really going to miss her. The adorable hat hides Lala's bald head quite nicely.

Atty and his ducka-ducka... he still loves that duck. It even went to the hospital with him, and continues to sleep in his bed. I wonder for how much longer? I'll admit when he no longer needs his ducka-ducka I'll feel a little sad.

My girl fell in love with these Bob the Builder boots. Much to the dismay of a good friend of mine who is afraid I will infect Lala with my horrible sense of style when it comes to shoes. {I wear "guy" shoes a good majority of the time.} Lala really loves shoes and her favorite are still her red shoes so I'm sure that there is nothing to worry about. {Not that I'm worried, I'm rooting for the boots personally.} I took this picture to show said friend just to annoy her... because that's the kind of friend I am, ha ha!

I love this picture of my oldest at the top and my youngest clinging to the bottom. She so wants to be big like her brother{s}.

My husband found this awesome park with walking trails that has great views over where we live. It was beautiful. In the background of this picture it the town we live in. It was really cool looking at our town from this perspective and trying to spot landmarks and figure out where our street was. We were so high up over the trees that it was like flying.

They are getting so grown. I know I am going to look back at this picture when they are teenagers and think that they look so tiny... but right now in this moment, sigh. No more babies.

Yes that is marker all over my girl. She thought it was fantastic. Me, well I was just glad they were washable markers.

Lala is really into her baby dolls right now, it's so cute.

Twins! These guys are exactly four months apart. And they love wearing matching pjs, I just had to get a picture of that. I wonder if Atty will always be bigger then Spike... I can hardly imagine three teenage boys in my house, but when I try to I always picture Atty as the tallest.

Well I ended up blogging after all, a rambling mess at that. and it took me all day, and made me really behind in household chores at one point. Which is why I hardly ever blog these days. For some reason lately I feel {and am} constantly behind with everything, no matter how hard I try to catch up. Frustrating for someone who likes to have every thing under control. Now I am trying to find a good way to end this post... but I have a screaming, squirming baby girl on my lap, that wants "oobie" and can't have it and I need to make dinner.

So that's that. {And I'm sorry to the ones who stuck around to read it...}

Longing for April...

I was planning my garden last night, doing some more research on companion planting. Getting all excited. Then I woke up to... Snow! I am so done with the snow. It's beautiful out right now and normally I would be so excited but I can't take this winter any more. I need nice weather. I almost want to cry. Of course lately my hormones have been all over the place and just about anything with bring tears to my eyes. So crying over snow wouldn't be that hard for me to do. It's been along time since I've had to deal with the monthly hormonal ups and downs and I'm not dealing with it very well. Plus Lala is slowly nursing less and less and I always seem to go through a major hormonal upheavel during this time. If only spring would hurry up and show it's lovely self, I just know I'll feel better then. *sigh*

Getting it on paper, sort of...

There has been so much going on, and lots swirling around in my head. But I never seem to have the time to blog about it. I want to, I think up great posts... but they stay their unpublished in my head, and soon forgotten. Sad.

My girl is growing up so fast. I'm not doing a very good job with journaling that this time around. So it's not just the blogging, I can't seem to write in her journal either. Or get any scrap booking done... I haven't even started on her baby quilt! Shesh. I've written a little in her baby book, but I bet it's time to update that as well.
She is my fearless one. Climbing to the top of the boys bunk bed in the blink of an eye. Always trying to keep up with her brothers. She is talking up a storm, new words every day it seems. Singing. Love the singing. She will bust out with Ol' McDonald had a farm, and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star or the ABC's song and it's really super clear and absolutely adorable. She loves to beat box {her daddy taught her how} and dance. She hears music and she starts bopping. She can be nursing or half asleep but if music comes on she shoots up and starts moving and grooving. It's really funny. She's got some good moves too, dances better then her mommy already. {that's not really all that hard, ha ha!} She's only nursing a few times a day now... but she would still nurse all day if I let her. I have a feeling she is not going to be easy to wean. If I sit down to do any thing she assumes that it must be nursing time. I often read while nursing her, so now when she want to talk me into nursing her she will go grab a book and follow me around the house saying "Oobie, oobie, oobie". {All my kids have called nursing oobie, Lala did say Aboo instead for a short bit, not sure why.} She's sleeping on her own now for the most part, although she still wakes up way too much. I don't lay down with her anymore, but I often fall asleep at the foot of her bed, cause I'm so stinkin' tired! She can really pitch a fit. Really. And she's starting to do it a lot. She has also been hitting her brothers quite a bit. Some times the house will echo with "Baby sister hit me!" I've given her a few time outs, and she will sit there f0r her 1 minute and then go tell which ever brother it was {or all of them as was the case yesterday} that she is sorry. It's cute. The sorry part. Usually said with a kiss and then all is forgiven. I don't think her brothers can stay mad at her. She's taken up screaming when she has something one of her brothers want, that she most likely just grabbed away from them. She will run away on her chubby little legs as fast as she can, screaming like her life depends on it. It sounds as if she is a little terror {which she sort of it, but a cute one...ha ha!} but actually she has lots of shinning star moments where she just melts me. She's so sweet, and funny. So smart. She loves to cuddle her mommy, and follow me everywhere. She love to help me with everything. She loves shoes. Really loves shoes. Especially her red shoes, and now her new pink cowboy boots. She has one set of molars in, and that was a nightmare. Glad those are all the way in now. She puts them to good use too, as she loves to eat.

I've been working on putting together some gifts for my sister in law who just had a baby boy. I made her a really cute monkey themed diaper cake, don't have a picture yet as my camera is dead right now {so sad}. They didn't have much in the way of baby boy clothes as the last kid was a girl, and they weren't really planning on another. So I asked a bunch of my wonderful friends to find gently used clothes for me to gather up for her. They of course came through with some really cute stuff and so I have a ton of adorable little baby boy outfits for her now. All washed already so that she won't have to. I'm also making her a few dishes of food for the freezer so that she can skip on making a few meals. We are going to visit them next weekend {it's about a two hour drive} to see the baby for the first time and I am so excited! I also bought way to many outfits {all a deal of course, because I love sales} for her, and one of the cutest baby blankets I've ever seen! I love buying kids clothes, there just so cute. Way better then shopping for myself, which I hate to do.

My boys are growing so fast. I look at them and can't hardly believe it. How are they not babies any more? The things they say now, the games they play together, they all have such a good imagination. Love it. Atty has a harder time with imaginative play, but he goes along with the games his brothers come up with. His vocabulary is expanding rapidly, and he is starting to use more expressive words now which is great to hear. Spike is such a little brother. He loves to pester. It can get really frustrating. I mean he really loves it and has perfected it. He's the brother that does the whole, "I'm not touching you, I'm not touching you" with his hand hovering right there and the other child screaming, thing. With a smile on his face. He's so smart too and knows every ones weaknesses. He really seems to need constant attention, which is part of the reason why he pesters so much. He asks me for hugs all day long. I've been making a real effort to sit and snuggle him more. I have also been trying to remember to use more praise for him too, as he needs it. Well they all do of course, but he often gets in trouble a lot, which gets defeating for him, so I have to try and focus on what I can praise him for. Some days, I'll be honest, are a lot harder then others for that. He can be so sweet though, and really takes good care of his baby sister. They all do. You can see how much she adores them because of that. Bubu has been on a helping me roll. He loves feeling like a big kid, doing chores with me that the other kids can't do yet, like hand washing dishes. He's pretty good at it too. Because he's an oldest, he sometimes gets frustrated with his younger siblings, gets over whelmed by them when he's trying to do something and they keep getting in the way. So he's been asking for more alone time in his room, me time as we call it around here. He has always been one for playing on his own and being perfectly happy that way, so he will some times go into his room and build with blocks or what ever. He just needs that break. So far he's the only one who asks for it. I think because I am an oldest of four siblings I understand Bubu's need for alone time, and I sympathize and related to him more. I have a harder time understanding Spike, and probably Lala here pretty soon. I guess I will need to ask my little sister to interpret for them, ha ha!

Well I took a moment to ramble on about the kids, but that just scratches the surface of what I've been mulling over in this brain of mine. As always though, all the kids are up, daycare kids will be here any moment and breakfast needs to be made. Then the cleaning, the schooling, and everything else that takes up every spare moment of my day needs to be done. So I guess once again all those thoughts will stay in my head, and who knows maybe that's were they belong. Just thoughts in my head.