thank goodness poison control's open 24/7

It's not yet 9 am and I've already made my first call to Poison Control.

Usually  he's eating toothpaste or squirting room spray into his eyes at Marshall's while my back's turned.  He's a very sneaky kid who can find a way to get into anything, no matter how high.  His middle name should be stealth.

This time Lincoln got into the Azalea Food that I bought to try to bring my new little shrub back to life.  It hasn't survived the planting process, I'm afraid.  Maybe it doesn't like our soil.  Our gardenia looks to be kicking the bucket, too.  But on the upside our Mandevilla and Jasmine are doing well, it seems.

Brent is off taking some ACLS (?or something like that?) test that he's been studying for all spring.  Something about emergency heart stuff in case a patient comes into the hospital having a heart attack.  He's very happy to no longer be a dentist.  Technically, he'll always be a dentist, but he won't be performing dental work anymore.  Not so long ago it was his dream to be a dentist, but his dream has changed.  Now his dream is to be a surgeon.  I just hope that once he's a surgeon his dream won't be something else.

I'm on the lookout for a new dream, too.  Once upon a time my dreams were to: marry a wonderful man, have babies and get to stay at home with them, have my very own house.  Those have come true.  Now what?  I'm just living them.  But it's always good to have something bigger to reach for.  Not that living the dream isn't super-fantastical.

In other news, Coop is now a "two-wheeler"!  I'll post pictures soon.  Brent thought that he should take the training wheels off before the residency begins.  He didn't think that I would ever do it, and he's not expecting to have time for such things come July.  Coop's fallen once, on a family bike ride where his scraped up his ankle, but otherwise he's a pro.
He's very proud of himself, as he should be.  He got the hang of it right away.

my (not so) little brothers

rainy sick day

I don't think that the rain has taken a break since it began last night.  I went to bed at 5pm and the rain comforted me through the night.  The flu has hit - again.  Hopefully I'll be it's only victim this time.
I went to church just long enough to teach a primary lesson on faith and obedience (I did my best to stay away from people, and I was armed with sanitizer).  Now I am in my bed, trying to distract myself from the pain.

Here's a snapshot of my week:

This is what I found on Thursday afternoon, when I came downstairs after doing some cleaning and vacuuming.  These brothers love each other, isn't it wonderful?  Neither of them will nap in a bed, but sometimes in the afternoons one or both will fall asleep either in the car or while watching Nick Jr.  They're up and moving at full-speed by 5:30 or 6 am, so if they have a few quiet moments in the afternoon, this is what inevitably happens:

In other news, Brent was so sick of traffic jams in our laundry room / hallway to the garage, that he came up with a solution yesterday.

The fourteen inch high table affords plenty of room to store the baskets under.  It's just too bad that the washing machine isn't front loading.  Mercedes was very proud of herself for helping.  She had the job of drilling holes.

On friday we cleaned and reorganized the garage, which included getting rid of some stored clutter.  It took Brent two hours to take almost everything out of the garage and place it in the driveway.  Thank goodness it was a sunny day!  The four more hours we spent cleaning and organizing was time well-spent.  Now each time I see the garage I feel light and happy, rather than depressed and discouraged - it was such a mess.

Now if only the whole house could be so clean and organized... or at least stay clean for five whole minutes...

spring is here

 spring is here

spring is here

it's my favorite 

time of year!

Anyone heard "Little Bill" sing that one?  

It's playing on my internal stereo system right now. 

 I like it better than the "Lemonade Mouth" song that I couldn't get out of my head yesterday (something about determinate?).  

Mercedes told me to sing "Popcorn," so that would be in my head instead.  I promptly told her that I wasn't in the mood to have "the popcorn song" playing just then.  Aside from "bubble guppies," popcorn is the kids' fave song to sing together.

On Wednesday the boys and I took a fun trip to Home Depot, which only included one trip to the public potty (Lincoln wanted to participate - perhaps it's his turn to be trained?), and where we purchased some fun plants for the front yard.

Last fall we ripped out all but two plants from our front yard.  It felt quite overgrown to us.  Here's a pic of what it looked like before we moved in:

Before

We kept the beautiful Japanese Maple, which Brent thinned and shaped, and one of the front bushes.  Out came the huge pine-something-or-other that was almost as tall as the house.  We ripped out the huge flower bed shown on the left as well as some gi-nor-mous shrubs.  It was pretty, but overgrown.  In fact, we didn't realize just how big the yard was until we ripped everything out.

Once we started on the yard we didn't know what to do - it was so very overgrown that I just wanted to start over.

So we did.

We soded the flower bed to the left, and now the kids have a fun little hill to roll down (which they love).

Eventually I'll put a current picture up, but we still have some work to do.

So far we've planted a Mandevilla, which will climb the (stage) right porch column.  Brent's not too excited about that - he despises vines.  We also added: some tall grasses (one red and one green), a gardenia, a pink azalea that is bursting with blossoms, two hydrangeas, a weeping lavender redbud tree (an online purchase, so it's bare and just looks like a stick in the ground right now), some beautiful vinca (ground-cover) and just two annuals - a yellow begonia and something else I don't remember the name of.

I didn't expect to enjoy yard work, but it's very fulfilling.

I love to make things pretty.  It's nice to have some color in front of the house.  We have a long way to go, which includes planting some annuals on Saturday, and finding a dwarf cherry or apple tree.  I'm excited to finish the planting phase and add some kind of border to the beds and then mulch them.

I dreamed about having our very own home for so very long and it's as great as I'd hoped.  So much fun to put my own footprint on it.

azalea

begonia

mandevilla - I think I'd like to get a white one, as well

periwinkle vinca minor

the hydrangeas will probably turn blue

weeping redbud - I'm sure it will take years to get this big.
Maybe by the time we move...?

Thanks, Dad for answering all of my questions each time I call.  I don't really know what I'm doing, but I'm having fun!  Here's to hoping everything lives...

happy kids

As a family, we've been talking about gratitude this week.  For family night on Monday, Brent taught a lesson about gratitude - what it is and why we need it - and then made a gratitude chart.  After dinner we talk about what we're grateful for that day, and make a "tally" of each for the day.

Mercedes is really getting into it.  Last night after our "charting," Mercedes said "I feel really happy."  This morning she said to me, "Mommy, thank you for making pancakes.  I've been thinking about gratitude a lot so I wanted you to know that I'm grateful."  And a few minutes later, "I love you mommy."

Since before our family began, I've worried about my kids.  Of course I've worried that they might develop some disease, or get hurt in an accident, etc, but most of my worry concerns their spirits rather than their bodies.  I've worried that they might forget who they are, how much they are loved, that they are children of the Divine King.  I've pondered ways to help them to remember - always.

This morning I had an epiphany, for which I am grateful.

Habits.

Instilling habits.  It's important.

We try to read the scriptures and pray together each day.  We go to church each week.  We try to have Family Night every Monday evening.  We spend time together as a family.  I encourage the children to be friends to each other, to look out for each other and cheer for one another.  We hug and cuddle and kiss.  We express love often.  We try to have family prayer each morning before Mercedes leaves for school, but some days are just crazy and we forget.

This morning was one of those forgetful times.  I was making breakfast and then making lunch and then doing Mercedes hair... and suddenly it was time for Mercedes to be out the door.  So I walked her to the door and we took a minute to pray together before she left for the day.  I said, "Would you like to say it or would you like me to say it?"

She wanted to say it and as she began I thought: this is not JUST about asking for her safety and protection before she leaves this house.  We are creating a life-long (hopefully) HABIT of prayer.  She will eventually be so used to doing this each morning that it will be automatic.  She will naturally reach out to her Father in Heaven in prayer.  AHA!  I can help to instill habits within my children that will strengthen them, that will stay with them!  What a wonderful tool, and blessing.

I am grateful that our kids like to kiss each other.

I am grateful that our children (in most cases) come to us as helpless babies, that we have time to learn how to parent them.  Because I sure need the time.  I am... how do you say... a SLOW learner.  But I am grateful for the opportunity to learn and strive and try, and I am grateful for a Father in Heaven who does not leave me to do it alone.

he's lost it

He lost his first on Sunday right as we were leaving for church.

He wiggled and wiggled it all morning and then asked daddy to just take it out, "because it's bothering me."

I can't get over how different he looks to me.  

I don't want my little Cooper to grow up yet!