A Week at a time

TUESDAY, May 4th
I'm an aunt again and I'm just as excited as I was the first time! ... and it would have been a happy day just because it was book club girls night. We have chosen the next six months of books. In case you want to read along with us: May - Where Angels Fear to Tread (E.M. Forster), June - Beneath a Marble Sky (John Shors), July - People of the Book (Geraldine Brooks), August - The Thirteenth Tale (Setterfield), September - The Measure of a Man (Sidney Poitier), October - Little Lord Fauntleroy (Frances Hodgson Burnett ). And as for the aunt part, Jason and Jenn had a little boy tonight just after 8 pm. Jenn and Beckham are doing well!

THURSDAY, May 6th
Maddie had a day out with me today and we enjoyed it. We found a plant nursery I hadn't been to, went to the bookstore for a princess book, went to CVS to pick a new color of nail polish, grabbed lunch at Chick-Fil-A, ate outside since she wanted a picnic, read her new books, came home to paint our toes and take a nap. When we got the little guys, they group hugged her like they hadn't seen her in a week. That always makes me smile. :D

FRIDAY, May 7th
Of the three little kiddos, one refuses to take off PJs, the other two are outside in nothing but a diaper. If this keeps up through the summer, I may actually get caught up on laundry. Will's was coloring and writing after school. He wrote: "Dear, God I Love you more then anethaing." I was smiling really big -- at what he meant and that he writes his Texan accent.

SATURDAY, May 8th
What a busy day! My parents came so they could see Will playing baseball. He had two games today, and, like always, we found plenty to keep us chuckling. Balls bounce off heads, kids run to the wrong base, others play in the dirt while the balls rolls by them. Meanwhile, Ben, Maddie, and Jon were attending a birthday party, and they had a lot of fun playing with another little girl and the birthday boy. After baseball and birthday party, Mom and I went to several plant nurseries (shopping is so much easier when I'm not trying to keep up with little kids while I carry plants.)

SUNDAY, May 9th
I had a great mother's day. I got to sleep late and Allen made pancakes for breakfast. We had a very laid back day and I read a bunch. In the evening, we all played outside. Jon has been determined to figure out how to throw the frisbee. Each afternoon this week, he would practice, and finally tonight, everything clicked. He can now throw it as well as I can; which is to say, he can make it soar, but not necessarily in the direction he intended. Allen and I were talking about how much more he seems to like sports than the other three, so we tried a little experiment. . . .I handed Jon a bat and told him to get ready. He has been paying attention to Will, because he immediately got the stance right. Allen tossed him the ball. He missed, but not by much. Allen tossed it again, strike two. Allen tossed it, and that three-year-old hit the ball right over Allen's shoulder! Then we had to let everyone else try, too. We all had a good time together!

MONDAY, May 10th
The three little ones are outside playing... Ben's attire for the day: diaper, orange construction vest, yellow hard hat (from the birthday party.) It's really hard NOT to laugh, so I decided I would just laugh all day. I laughed until I had my second cup of coffee (just after lunch). We've had a big fly buzzing around our house the last few days. The good news is it's now dead. The bad news is he ended up in my coffee and I didn't know it until I pulled the crunchy thing out of my mouth. There is nothing like squished fly parts to start a diet.

TUESDAY, MAY 11th
When I came into the kitchen this morning, the kids said, "Good Morning!" Jon added, "Today is a HAPPY day -- it's sunny today." I asked if he said it was a happy day, he nodded, and Maddie said, "...and I'll make sure of it." They can say the sweetest things! Ben was grouchy most of the day. Maddie nicely reminded him that it was a happy day. Ben frowned and grumbled, "YOU have a happy day with Jon, I want to have a angry day!" He frowned for a long time.

WEDNESDAY, May 12th
The diaper bag was packed, shopping list was made, dinner was cooking in the crock pot, lunch was planned with friend, book packed just in case . . . . I love Mother's day out. I enjoyed my day and realized it is kind of my last one until fall. I still have another day in two weeks when the little ones will be at the church, but Will and I have dentist appointments.

THURSDAY, May 13th
Jon had a day with me. We had a few errands to run, then he got to visit the dentist for his first teeth-cleaning and check-up. Several months ago, he was introduced to the dentist, hygienist, and equipment, but this was his appointment. He was the perfect patient and got a new toothbrush, a pencil, a blue bouncy ball, and he got to choose a small toy. I was a little confused that he picked a purple jelly bracelet, but only because there was a green lizard next to it that I thought he would go for. He held onto his baggie of prizes the rest of the day as we went to Chick-Fil-A, the playground, and the cupcake bakery. When we went to get Maddie and Ben, Jon explained it to me: "I'm gonna give Ben the blue ball and give the bracelet to Maddie." He melted my heart and I asked what he was going to keep. "I'll keep the teethbrush, Mama! I'm good at sharing and I want to make Ben and Maddie happy!"

Sometimes you discover good with the bad... Jon's dirty clothes have been disappearing. Turns out he can fold clothes so well, I can't tell which ones he folded and which were the clean ones I folded and put away. Now we have a drawer of perfectly folded dirty clothes that I need to clean, but I am really excited about this!!!!

FRIDAY, May 14th
Somehow I made it through this week. The kids seem to bounce off the walls when they are inside, so I try to get the out into the yard as much as possible. Today I tried that, but it didn't work out too well. First of all, Ben, Maddie, and Jon are all coughing a lot and just cranky. I sent them out to play but they cried and whined and opened the door and slammed the door and locked each other out and opened the door and shut the door and let the cat out and locked the cat out and hit each other with sticks and poked each other with sticks and that just starts the crying and whining and opening and slamming all over again. That wears on this Mama's nerves, especially since I wasn't feeling great either. Tonight I'm planning to go to bed early to see about stopping the headache that I've had most of the day. The windows are open a little bit to let the fresh clean air in, and the rain is watering the garden. This is the way I like to sleep, so I'm heading that way now. I just wanted to get all the sweet and silly things written before I forgot.