The Vitamin Story

I had to run into the vitamin store today. My vitamins store is inside the mall so I have to bring all the kids with me.  I knew what I needed but there was someone else in front of me so I just wondered around waiting my turn. 

Meanwhile Melanie is grabbing bottle after bottle.  She grabbed one.  Dropped it.  It broke.  Glass bottle.  It is a tiny store so everyone heard and knew it was me, that crazy lady who just fed her kids donuts and brought their wiggly bodies into a tiny vitamin store with glass bottles!!

Since when did they start packaging vitamins in glass bottles?!

So the guy comes and takes the broken bottle and I go to the counter to checkout.  He is scanning my other items and I ask him if he needs me to pay for the broken bottle or heck, maybe it is a vitamin I need.

He says, "Well unless your husband is having troubles in the bedroom..." 

Ah.  Um.  Oh.  No.  Nope.  He's good.

He says, "Don't worry about it."

My goodness.  My children get me into some weird situations!

The kids and I are reading a book right now and it was talking about that in every family there is a "naughty one" and a "good one".  So Max says, "who's the naughty one in our family?"  To which both Max and Mallory say, "MELANIE!"

Week 11

All Three.

The only posed part of this picture is Mallory's pretending to take a giant bite.

Otherwise they all sat here together to eat apples.

Right now they are all at a stage of eating.  Eating non-stop.

This particular morning I was feeling very over whelmed.  Which lead me to just take pictures of what was overwhelming me.  

Melanie

She wants to be held.  A lot. She follows me around like this.  She was fresh from

the tub and so I put her in her underpants since we had a day at home and I thought

I would watch her and stay on top of it.  Well I got distracted and found myself 

doing laundry downstairs and when I came up she was sitting on my bed

trying to hack into the kindle to watch Doc McStuffin.  

Too late.  She peed.  On my bed.

Maxwell

Then I looked into Melanie's room where the big kids were playing and it looked like this.  Blood pressure is rising at a rapid rate.  Why?  Why do they have to destroy every room in my house?  Not only destroy but rearrange things.  Garbage on top of the dresser?  Eh!  

Mallory.

She is my creative child.  I am constantly chasing around art projects and (deep breath) throwing them away!!!  I would drown in paper if I kept everything. Right now she is saving her money to buy a pack of printer paper.  So she can have paper whenever she wants.  I am scared if she is successful in this because... the paper... every where!!  The other day (no lie) she was in the recycle bin digging out cardboard and cutting them up and doing Lawrd  knows what with it!!  I love a creative soul... don't get me wrong.  It is just the constant trail of creativity I find that leads me to another creative trail that leads me to another creative trail...  

This pile was just done in one afternoon.  I gathered it all into a pile, though, to get a picture.  Then scooped it right into the garbage careful to turn it all upside down so she doesn't see any of it peeking out when she looks in the garbage for cardboard.

So I have been taking lots of cleansing breaths and trying not to freak out over small things

. . For example: checking out Christmas books in March and then having to read them 7 times!!  Nooo!!!  Make it stop!!  

Week 10

Maxwell

We had beautiful weather this week.  We were getting so much sap we had to empty bags half way threw the day.  Max really liked helping me with this!

Melanie

After we collected all the sap we went out for our first bike ride of the season.

Maxwell was determined he heard the neighbors calling him up to play so we

stopped for a quick visit.  Melanie instantly spotted the baby doll and was carrying it

around.  I still had my camera with me and couldn't resist a picture of muddy spring

knees, windy pony tail, and a baby doll in her arms!

Mallory

I sent the kids out side after lunch one day to get wiggles out before school.

When I walked by the window there was Mallory in a tree.

They have been trying to climb this tree for awhile and it looks like this may be the year for

successful tree climbing.

Maple Syrup Season 1

Jesse and I can get real geeky and want to live off the land.  Well last weekend was one of our geek-out moments.  Jesse's mom came and got the kids to go see puppies and we had a few hours to ourselves.  So we went to a maple syrup supply store and got the low down on how to do this.  Not to mention that I read a few blogs the week before and felt like I was walking maple syrup expert!!   

We have six trees in our yard and we did two taps per tree.  It is a small amount - but I think (or I am hoping) it will turn out just perfect for us.  We don't eat a lot of syrup.  We are more honey people.  But when we want syrup - we will have some from our very own back yard!!  

Speaking of honey... we have already gone down that rabbit trail of getting our own hives and bees.  I took a test to see if I could be a bee keeper and NOPE!  Failed.  Highly afraid of getting stung!  Where Jesse is all about the challenge and thinks a little sting here and there is not a problem!  

Jesse and I got all the trees tapped and ready before we had to pick up the kids.  The maple syrup store threw in a hat for us for free and it didn't fit Jesse's head real well.  I made a silly comment like this could be the lucky hat and we need to wear this when we are doing our maple syrup work so I had to wear the hat because it didn't fit him.

After the trees were tapped we walked back out to our river... I mean where it floods on our land.  Jesse likes to joke that we have a house on the river!  The kids love it when it is frozen and they have their own skate pond!

We had the trees tapped by noon and the next morning we had 5 gallons of sap!!  We boiled it down to these two jars and will finish it off later.  We all tasted it this far and it is already sweet and tasting like syrup.

Anyone else find it totally amazing that trees give us a sweet syrup?  Mind blowing!

Did you want to see the kids with the puppies?  Be warned your heart will be melted!  You will want a puppy!  

I mean for real!  Crossed puppy paws and sleeping on Max's shoulder?!  Stop!

Mallory is the puppy whisperer!  She loves loves loves loves puppies!  Which is no surprise she has two fighting for her lap.

Well Melanie shocked me with this one.  I thought she would like them but nope.  She didn't.

Shopping my Closet

One of the ways I can stay content (remember my 2016 word) is to get out of mommy-land!  I spend so much time in mommy-land I can get consumed and forget who Lynn is.  So I read a few fashion blogs, perhaps daily while drinking my morning coffee... and hopefully before I hear little voices and feet coming!  I don't find myself as being a fashionista by any means!  Which is why I read them.  Plus!  I stay home all day, every day, and I do not want to become a frumpy house wife.  So I have to stay connected to the outside world by reading blogs.  I also don't get to stores to shop so I have no clue what is on point and what is out... insert blogs!

Flip side - because I read so many fashion blogs I tend to not be content with my clothing!  I want or even think I need new clothing.  Another "disorder" I have is I refuse to pay full price for anything!!!  I never shop current looks.  I shop clearance racks!  Or sales - I really have to get a good deal though.  So I feel like I am always a season behind.  Got great summer clothes to push me threw the winter and now I have winter clothes for the summer.  Great!

Anyway - I was reading a fashion blog and she was working a pair of mustard yellow pants!  I have mustard yellow pants!!!!  I bought them 3 years ago (for like $6 on clearance) to wear to an ugly sweater Christmas party.  I swore I would figure out how to wear them again.  I never could.  But I held on to them, three years and counting.  This blogger's mustard yellow pants inspired me to try them again and I am feeling content about my closet today!!  

My shirt was bought off the summer clearance rack last fall and I can't wait for warmer weather where I can wear short sleeves again.  I am still loving the aztec print so I don't care if this style has gone to the wayside.  I am still going to work it.  Ha!  

I can not take a selfie alone.  I need someone in it with me!  

Thanks for letting me take my blog out of mommy-land and talk girly!!

Here is the blog that inspired my look!

http://sheaffertoldmeto.com/

In case you want a pair of mustard yellow pants to join this party!!

Week 9

Another week where I only got out the camera one day and this time I got the two little kids and not Mallory.

Melanie!

She does not play real well... unless I set the stage for her then she will.  I brought out the bin of little people and her castle and she played and was giggling hard!  In her own little world!  

Melanie's vocabulary this week has taken off!  She talks none stop and says so many words and understands so much!  We were leaving one day to take Mallory to choir lessons and Max was not coming with and Melanie says, "Where's Ma?"  I told her that Max was staying with Daddy his belly hurt.  And she says, "Daddy.  Belly.  Ma.  Owie."

**She calls me "Mum" and Max is "Ma"**

Maxwell!

The kids wanted to have a pajama party on Monday night.  So we got in pajamas and played a board game and ate chocolate.  

Wednesday night when we were leaving AWANAS Max collided with another kid there and as we got out to the van he instantly started complaining of a headache and fell asleep on the way home.  (Max has been complaining of headaches for about 6 months - and I think I narrowed it down to exhaustion and over worked/stimulated.  If I get him to nap he doesn't get headaches.)  Well Thursday morning he woke up puking and still had his headache.  He was sick for half the day and couldn't eat.  I had him take a nap.  He woke up completely better.  He ate supper like a champ and has been back to normal again.  I sure hope this kid isn't going to battle headaches/migraines.  Seems so wrong for my little 4 year old to battle headaches.  We don't get a lot of headaches around here so it isn't something he hears us say.  Headaches do however, run in the Frey side... and his doctor said they can be hereditary.  So bummed.  But if I can keep rested he does great... just now to convince him to rest is the challenging part!

Mallory!

Brushing her teeth with Melanie.

Week 8

Confession Time!  I only had three pictures this week on my real camera!  And they were of Mallory.  Then I had to dig real deep for pictures on my phone of the rest of the kids!

Mallory!

She is devouring books!  This is one of the many that she finished.  

She finishes about 2 chapter books a week!!  

Melanie!

We had a beautiful week and we went for our first walk of the season and then came back and Melanie attempted to ride the trike.  Legs just aren't long enough yet.  So close.

Maxwell!

I started a mommy swap day with another homeschool mom who just happens to live 3 houses down the street!  So I had her kids this week for 4 hours.  Max couldn't wait to show them the hunting game on the wii.  So they all hunted and as you can tell the suspense was real!!