My daily question

A woman saw me walking into the grocery store with the kids the other day and commented, "Oh, what beautiful children you have."

I said thank you, and started to say That's so much nicer than the "Are they all yours?" that I usually get. But I just smiled instead, deciding to respond with grace instead of my typical sarcastic humor.

I reached down to lift Luke into the cart as she added, "Are they all yours?"

I couldn't help but laugh as I replied, "They sure are."

Birthday outfits

Pinterest strikes again!!!  

I saw the idea for a dress on Pinterest, and, although I intended to "pin it and come back to it some day I had more time," I couldn't stop thinking about it.  Is there a Pinteresters Anonymous program?  Hello, my name is Kristal, and I'm a Pinaholic.  

Anyway, I decided the dress would make the perfect birthday dress for Ally (and the perfect first day of school dresses for Kate and Anna, but that's for another day's confession).

But, then I thought, if I were going to make Ally a birthday dress, I had to do something for Luke, which reminded me of a pin I saw about making pajama pants.  I figured I could apply the same idea to making Luke a simple pair of shorts.  And, then there were those cute appliqués I'd seen...

So, I stayed up late making Ally's dress last night, but I managed to appliqué Luke's shirt and sew his little shorts just during nap time today.  

Ally loves that she has "Doras" on her dress, of which Luke was a little jealous, but he's pretty happy with his "Choo Choo."

And now I present Luke and Ally's birthday outfits:

Another one off the list...

Blow up a balloon using baking soda and vinegar.

So simple, yet so much fun!

You will understand shortly (note #1 below) why Anna is watching this experiment with such caution.

Anna's interested now, but still leery.

Warning:  Don't try this at home unless you use your brain on a more regular basis than the author.

Note #1 - It took me until the second try to realize I couldn't dump the vinegar in the baking soda and then quickly attach the balloon.  No human is that quick.

It works much better if you put the vinegar in the bottle and the baking soda in the balloon, letting the baking soda fall in the bottle after the balloon is attached.  My first try, therefore, was an experiment in how long it takes to wipe a combination of baking soda and vinegar off everything in sight.

Note #2 - Even though the resulting balloons are so novel that your preschooler may want to nap with it, it is in fact filled with a thin paste of baking soda and vinegar that will splatter EVERYWHERE if/when the balloon pops.  This is an especially bad thing if "everywhere" includes your bedspread, headboard, pillow, books, shirt, face, hair, daughter's shirt, daughter's face, daughter's hair, wall, floor, son's face, son's shirt, son's hair... I will stop, but please don't assume I finished the list.

Note #3 - If you do this activity with the only bottle you can find and that bottle happens to be a beer bottle, and then you post the pictures on your family-friendly blog, make sure the brand of beer is at least a good brand, like Leinenkugel's, perhaps.

Home decor

Artists, clockwise from top left: Kate, Ally, Anna, Luke

My home will never appear on the HGTV network.  Never, ever.  But, I love it.  And I love that it's the home my kids' get to grow up in.  I try to make it comfortable and useful for each of us and something that seems to belong to each of us.  Even if I had an impeccable sense of fashion (which I so obviously don't), I would still chose to decorate mostly in photographs and kids' art, because I want the things we see day in and day out to have meaning to us.

On that note, I saw some canvases at Michaels the other day, a day that I had both a "40 percent off one item" and a "20 percent off entire purchase" coupon.  So I bought the canvases, a pack of new brushes, and six 29 cent bottles of acrylic paints.  Then Monday after nap, I coated the table in old contact paper and paper bags, stripped the kids nude below their paint shirts, and let them go to work.

Fabric rosette headbands

Pinterest got me again, but it was really good.  Kate has been asking for another headband from Target, the ones with the flowers that are about seven dollars and only last a couple wearings... if you're lucky.

So, when I found this tutorial, I thought Perfect!  I bought a pack of 10 headbands for $5, grabbed my fabric scraps and glue gun, and within a half hour, the girls had some new headbands!

The rose on the right is made with a slightly different technique that I actually like better.  Instead of starting with the knot like suggested in the tutorial, start by rolling (and gluing) a base for the flower.

 Ally put one of the headbands on and modeled up a storm.

Luke put one of the headbands, but did not want to be captured on film.  He yelled at me, "Mommy, no cheese!"

What little boys are made of

There's definitely something special about a little boy.  Before I had kids, I always wanted a boy, and then I had my girls and thought, What was I thinking?  There's nothing better than a girl. And, it's true that boys are not better than girls, but they are different.  I love my boy.

When I was pregnant with Luke, one of my friends told me, "Little boys just love their moms."  I thought, so do little girls...  But, she was right.  Luke loves me so... well, so intensely.  He loves me like I can do no wrong, like I'm the best person in the world.  It makes me want to be the best person in the world.

All right.  In full disclosure, he doesn't ALWAYS love me like that.  He has lately been under the impression that I kiss him too much.  He tries to control me by telling me, "No Mmah!"  But, I don't always stop.  He'll rub the "Mmah" off and put his hands up to prevent additional unwanted advances.

As I was getting ready to write this post, I was thinking of that poem.  The one that says girls are made of sugar and spice and everything nice.  (Whoever wrote that has not met my Ally.  She certainly has spice... and some sugar... but there's definitely vinegar in the recipe somewhere.)

I couldn't remember what boys were made of.  I looked it up, and it's snips and snails and puppy dog tails.  I was going to research what a snip was, but I thought I'd skip it.  It couldn't be accurate anyway.  If Luke were composed of snips, I think I'd know what they are.

Here's what my boy is made of:

Love, and...

Fun, and...

A dash of silliness.

Understanding

Sometimes I hate it when I come to really understand something, like truly know it.  You hear things, but they don't mean anything until you live them.

Today, I was sitting on my bed at the end of the day and I thought, "There are not enough hours in the day."  Then I thought, hmmm, I guess that's why the saying goes, "There are not enough hours in the day."

And I thought of all the other things I didn't really understand.  Like, before I was pregnant, morning sickness seemed so innocuous, almost cute, maybe even exciting to experience.  And then one day I found myself holding onto the toilet, trying to catch my breath, thinking how I've done this for five weeks already and I probably have three weeks (It was more!) of it to go, and suddenly I understood morning sickness.

I also remember watching those commercials for Rolaids or something, where they showed the stomach burning and the medicine putting out the fire.  It wasn't until I had reflux with a pregnancy that I realized that the fire isn't a cute graphic on television, but a horrible feeling, like the burning might come through your chest.

I could tell you more things I've come to understand as an adult, like constipation, but I'll spare you that.    Suffice it to say,

Ignorance really is bliss.

See what I did there?  One more thing you hear but don't really understand... until you do.

Two's company

Sometimes "Team Luke and Ally" can be unbeatably adorable, and other times they're a curious mixture of frustrating and funny.

Yesterday, Ally handed Luke his shoes and began to search her bin for her own.  Luke looked at his shoes and without any prompting told Ally, "Than u!"

I said, "Lukey, good job!  You remembered your manners!"

Hearing me praise him, Ally came back over, put out her little hand out in front of Luke, and requested, "Five!"

It really doesn't get much sweeter than that.

On the other hand, today the kids were coated in sand from playing at the Audubon.  I stripped the babies down outside, then hauled them upstairs, one in each arm, and set them down beside the tub while I got the water temperature right.  All of the sudden, I felt a warm stream hitting my foot, which stopped just as Ally said, "Uh, oh..."

I said, "That's okay, honey.  Next time we'll try to put your potty in the toilet."

I went to grab a handful of toilet paper, and before I knew it, Lukey stomped his foot into the puddle, giggling like crazy at the huge splash he made!

Sometimes, like when Ally gets Luke his lovey when he's upset or when Luke cries at the door because "Baby ni-ni" and he wants her, my heart is just about to melt.  But before it can melt completely, they are both screaming at the top of their lungs because the other has the same toy they wanted.  Or I find Luke sitting in the center of the table demonstrating how one can use yogurt as shampoo while Ally roots him on with her laughter.  Or I find both of them both with tools in each of their hands, attempting to "fix" the paint job on the VW Bug.  And, I remember there's a price to pay for those heart melting moments.  But, the price... it's a true bargain.

Except barrettes

I'd told Anna she couldn't wear any hair bands this weekend ("except barrettes to hold your bangs back") because she'd refused to help put the box of hair stuff away on Friday.

"It's so sad," I'd told her calling on my Love and Logic training, "because I know how you love to look fancy.  I bet next time you'll want to put away the hair box."

Here's how she and Kate did her hair yesterday.

Boy, did I show her.

Unforgettable?

In the past, when our children were in a stage that was too adorable to forget, I was sure we would always remember it.  What I've learned, though, is that we do forget... maybe not completely, but mostly... and the longest it's possibly been for us is a mere 6 1/2 years!  A topic will come up, like, Dave will hand me a lemon and call it a "yemon."  Then we'll look at each other and say, "Was that Anna who said that?"

So, I decided I better jot down a couple things that Luke and Ally are doing now.

About a month ago, Luke started to answer in the affirmative with a "Jep!" trying to say Yep!  I thought it was pretty cute, but then he altered it.  He loves to add a y-ending to many of his words, like calling chips "chippies," and he turned his affirmative answers into a big, happy "Jeppy!"  "Luke, do you want to read your train book?"  "Jeppy!"  "Luke, do you want help going down the slide?"  "Jeppy!"

Luke also makes a thinking sound before answering a question.  "Lukey, which shirt do you want to wear?"  "Ummmmm... Speed."  That's his favorite talking Lightning McQueen shirt.  "Where did Daddy go?"  "Ummmmmm... Buh bye."

Ally's cutest thing is her impeccable manners.  For a kid who can be so stubborn, she sure has her thank yous down.   It first started when I was prompting Anna, "What do you say?" and Ally chimed in, "Ank oo!"  Now she's just the sweetest thing.  When I finish changing her diaper or getting her dressed, she'll pipe up, "Ank oo, Mama."  If Dave gets her a cup of milk, she'll say, "Ank oo, Daddy."  Completely adorable.

While we're on the topic of cute things they say, Luke really made me laugh last week.  I was going to put sunscreen on his face.  He usually doesn't mind this, but this particular day, he said, "No!"  I laughed, pulling him toward me, and said, "Sorry, Bug, this is non-negotiable."  He stopped struggling, like he understood, and repeated, "Nanagogogo."

Both twins love a If You're Happy and You Know It book we have.  They'll both participate with the clapping and foot stomping, but Luke's absolute favorite page is turn around.  He'll find the page and just spin and spin until he falls over.

Luke loves to push Ally in her swing, although she doesn't always love that, since he pushes her about 6 inches.  And they very sweetly help each other get their bubbas, especially when the other twin is sad.

There's also A LOT of arguing, sometimes seemingly endless arguing, but I won't write about that, because I'm kind of hoping I forget that stage...and I'm praying it is a stage!

Drips

We went to the pool today for Float Swim, where you're allowed to use floating toys.  The big girls and Ally were swimming near me and Dave was holding Luke while I tried to find the hole in Luke's floaty so I could patch it and put him in it.

Anna got out of the pool and watched her life jacket drip water down between her legs.  She laughed and said, "I'm peeing!"  I smiled.  She got back in the pool to get a little wetter so she could do it again. "I'm peeing!"

One of the life guards did a quick two-whistle signal, the reason for which I had no idea.  I saw her raise her hand and another life guard aim his hand in her direction.  I thought, "We've gone here three years and I don't understand their signals."

I patched the floaty and put Luke in it.  Dave dove in the deep end then swam under the lane to join us. One of the life guards yelled at him for it.  Kate asked, "What did Daddy do?"  I looked at Anna and joked that he peed in the pool before telling Kate the real reason.

I got in the pool and two life guards came to the edge where we had been, their arms loaded with cleaning supplies.  They asked the life guard who had blown her whistle, "Here?"  She nodded.  They began dumping various cleaners on the pool deck and scrubbing with big brushes.

"Oh, my goodness!"  I said to Dave, piecing everything  together, "They think Anna peed on the edge...  They think Anna really peed there!"

I swam over to the two lifeguards cleaning the deck and asked, "Did you think she really peed there?  No!  She was just pretending.  Her life jacket drips a lot of water... She was just joking."

I yelled over to the lifeguard who'd blown her whistle and told her, "She was pretending.  It was water from her life jacket."  She just looked at me.  She didn't say anything, not even nod.

How horrible!  What did they think?  That I was just going to sit there and let my kid urinate all over the pool deck?  And, that joke I made about Dave.  Can you imagine?  They had already summoned a clean up crew!

Walking advertisement

When I got home, I texted Dave, "I was every bit a walking advertisement for birth control at Bayshore today."

Here's how it all went down:

Kate has read 18 chapter books this summer so far.  (For the record, I have read one.)  But, anyway, this maxed out the main library summer reading program, so she moved on to a challenge level where she's required to read books from certain categories.  She also had two free books coming from Barnes and Noble for completing their program twice, and one of those free books happened to fit into one of her categories. (To make a long story unbearably long.)

Anyway, she just had to go to the bookstore to get this book.  I had told her we'd go yesterday or today.  We didn't make it there yesterday or this morning.  So, I made the poor choice to take all the kids to the bookstore after Kate's gymnastics this evening when the kids were hungry and antsy and much less likely to cooperate.

Because we can't bring our bags of toys and clothes to The Joy House (homeless charity) until Saturday, they're sitting in my trunk and the stroller isn't.  I didn't remember this until we got to the mall, but I thought, how bad can it be?

We got into the bookstore and were told we had to go upstairs to get the free books.  Kate and Anna enthusiastically asked if they could go on the escalator and I said it was fine.  Both babies were holding my hands as we approached the escalator.  I paused a split second to consider who to pick up and who to have walk when I realized Luke had stepped on the escalator and was rising up and away from Ally and me!

(Would this be a good time to mention I have had a completely unreasonable fear of escalators since childhood?  When I have to get on one, just me, no kids, it still takes me a good three seconds to find just the right place to put my foot.)

Anyway, I had no idea what to do.  Both my hands were clasped tightly by babies' hands, one baby who was moving up, quickly, and one baby who was firmly planted on the ground.  I couldn't get Luke back down, but I couldn't let him zoom up alone.  I couldn't jump on and get Ally on quickly enough, either.

So I made the split second decision to pry my hand from Ally's and go up with Luke, not sure what to do after that.  When I looked down, I saw Ally standing alone at the bottom of the escalator, about to try to step on.  Oh, God!

I told Luke to stand still, that I'd be right back, and I started running full speed down the upward moving escalator toward Ally, knowing I had to try to get back to Luke.  I leaped off the last couple steps onto the floor, grabbed Ally and began running back up toward Luke who was yelling, "Mommy, Mommy."  He was approaching the top, and the older girls were now out of sight up there.  He wouldn't know how to get off.  I began to bellow, "Kate!  Get Luke!  Kate!  Anna!  Help Luke off the escalator!"  Yeah, just like a real lunatic.

The girls grabbed Luke, and it all turned out fine.  (Except I may never be the same.)

We walked around and found the end-cap of free books.  The book we wanted for Kate's reading program was already gone, so we had to go through the process of picking another free book and looking around for one that would fit her required category, all while Luke and Ally were running off.

And, of course, we had to have a bathroom trip, during which Ally discovered for the first time, she can crawl under the walls and pop into different stalls, even locked ones.  And, this trick was something Luke definitely had to try, too.

As we were leaving the bathroom, Ally decided it would be hilarious to run as fast as she could down the rows of bookshelves.  And, I learned an interesting fact:  Ally can now run nearly the exact speed I can run while carrying another toddler.

Despite all four kids' requests ("Ehgato! Ehgato!"), I refused to take the escalator down.  Kate and Anna whined slightly, but I stopped that in less than a second with my Now is NOT the time to mess with mommy look.  Unfortunately, Luke and Ally haven't yet come understand that look, so they both began to tantrum.

Luke's been working hard on perfecting his tantrums this week, and this particular tantrum was one of his best yet.  I give a 9 out of 10 for loudness, and an 8 1/2 for flailing.  Ally's was just average for her, but the combination of an average tantrum with a pretty upscale tantrum... definitely a potent combination.  So, the girls went up to check out their books while I held first one, then two, screaming toddlers.

By the time we left the store, I was physically unable to carry them both anymore, so I tried to get them to walk to the car.  But, really, I partially dragged the two screaming babies to the car.  People stared at me.  Some did so subtly, so I could pretend they weren't, but one man just sat on a bench and watched me the entire time.

All that came to my exhausted mind was what I later texted Dave.

When I finally got both screaming, back arching toddlers strapped in their carseats, Anna said, "I lost my hat."

I remembered seeing her wearing it in the book store, so I knew she'd lost it in there. But, I was not going back in. I may make dumb choices at times, but even I am not that stupid.

So I called the bookstore as we sat in the parking spot. I began to explain, loudly enough to be heard over the screaming from the back seat, "I'm the one who was just in there with the two screaming toddlers and two other children. I just realized my four-year-old lost her rain hat in there... never mind why she was wearing a rain hat in this draught... but, I was wondering if someone could possibly find it and hold it for us, and maybe my husband could get it after work. I mean, we just can not come back in there, but she loves that hat..."

And that's when I also became a birth control telemarketer.

Cars

From the backseat, Anna asked, "How many cars are there in the world? A google?"

I said, "Maybe not quite a google. Maybe a billion. There are a lot, but a google is just SO many. I can see if I can find out."

Anna replied, "Yeah! Find out. I counted 12 so far."

Miss Manners

Anna and Kate spent several days at their Grandma's with her aunt and cousins.  We'd gone to visit them there on Thursday and while we were there, I'd noticed Anna wasn't saying please when she asked for things, so before I left, I told her, "Anna, you need to remember your manners, even if Grandma doesn't remind you."

When she got home today, she was lying up on my bed to take a nap.  I came in to cuddle her before she fell asleep.  I asked, "Did you take naps at Grandma's?"

"No," she told me, "never.  I'm zausted."

Then I asked, "Did you remember your manners when you were at Grandma's?"  She said she had, but she looked obviously sheepish.   I asked, "No?  Did you forget?"

She explained, "Well, Grandma said it's polite not to use manners."

I suppressed a laugh and said, "Ohhhh, she did?"

So, Anna continued, "And she said it's not polite to use manners...  And Aunt Jen said, 'Sometimes we use manners, but that's not polite.'"

The times have changed

Dave and I bought the bug (our 1979 Volkswagen Beetle) about nine years ago.  We'd been struggling to get pregnant for years.  It wasn't happening.  We were depressed and wanted to do something fun, something we wouldn't do if we had a kid.

Little could we have guessed that years later, we'd have so many kids we could only go for a ride in the bug if someone else had half of them!

Little could we have imagined someday seeing this in the back seat of that car.

It's been hot

I don't like "hot."

Nothing from a list

Yeah, I love my summer list.  People may shake their heads behind my back.  Dave may tease me about it outright.  But, I love my list.  I'm a list girl.  And it helps me remember things I want to do with the kids.  If I ever think, "Ugh, what now?" We pick something to check of the list.

But, I need to remember that sometimes the most fun times are those you don't plan for, the ones you couldn't have planned.  

The other day, Kate said, "Can we go climb that tree by the skating rink?"  It's a skating rink in the winter, but it's a big field with grassy hills surrounding it in the summer.

I never realized (or maybe I forgot) how much fun a big field and some grassy hills can be.

Ally laughed so hard running down the hill she couldn't even stand back up!

Up on my knees.

Up on my feet!

I'm really going to miss pushing all four kids in one stroller when they're too big for it... like tomorrow. 

Oh, and we did climb the tree.

Checking more off our summer list

We've added to our list, because there are just so many fun ideas out there.  I'll have to stop soon, though, or we'll never get through them all!

Spend a day in Chicago with Daddy.
Dave took the girls to Chicago on the train last week for a "Daddy and olders" day at Navy Pier.

Have a lemonade stand.

This was a wonderful experience!

Kate and I spent last Wednesday afternoon planning out the lemonade stand.  We covered a huge piece of cardboard (that I'd been saving for something) with contact paper.  I did the lettering and Kate decorated, coloring each letter, drawing lemons, and making the sign look super cool.  We had figured out what we spent on lemons, lemon juice, sugar, and cups to come up with a price that would give us a profit without being too expensive to attract customers.  

Kate's concept of money has come along way since last winter when we'd first discussed the idea of a lemonade stand.  At the time, she'd said, "What do you think we should charge for a cup of lemonade?  Ten dollars?"  I'd told her that was really expensive and I didn't think anyone would pay that for a cup of lemonade.  I went on to explain that you can usually buy a can of soda for about 50 cents.  She'd thought about what I said and then suggested, "Ten bucks?"

We decided our lemonade would be 25 cents.  Kate was clear that this was 25 cents per cup.  I guess she was concerned people would think they could have all the lemonade for 25 cents.  

When I asked Kate what she wanted to buy with the money she made, she said, "I want to give it to charity."  I asked, "All of it?"  She said, "I think so.  I don't really need anything."  I have to admit, my first reaction was going to be to say, "Well, not all of it!"  I'm so glad my daughter is a better person than I am!

We discussed what charity we could give it to and decided to buy ice cream as a summer treat for children of homeless women at The Joy House.  Kate also wanted to give them some of her toys and books.  I figured she'd meant she would give them things she didn't want anymore, but as we were choosing what to give, I found her in the play room.  She had taken a sandwich bag and put one of her Polly Pocket dolls in it, along with a couple sets of doll shirts, shorts and shoes.  I watched her as she took a permanent marker and wrote "Play set" on the bag.  She just knew some little girl would love to dress her doll in different outfits.  She then took a bigger bag and put in a notebook and crayons.  Kate loves to draw; now some little kid without a home or anything of his own could draw too.  My heart swells with pride for my sweet, generous little girl.

The next day, we set up the stand.  With the heat in the high 90's it was a good day to buy lemonade, if not to sit out and sell it.  Kate and her adorable little assistant Anna spent almost four hours working hard to sell that lemonade (see the picture of Kate flagging down cars).  They took in almost $16, which left an impressive $11 profit.  Not bad for two girls who've not yet finished, or even spent a day in, first grade!

We were able to buy a giant box of ice cream treats from Costco which we'll deliver along with four bags of toys and clothes on Monday.  I think a lot of little kids who really need some happiness in their lives will have a few pleasant moments next week, thanks to a little six-year-old with a big heart.

It was SO hot the camera steamed up when I tried to take this picture.

Kate wasn't content to passively watch cars drive past her lemonade stand.  She practiced "active selling."

This satisfied customer whom we met at the lemonade stand is going to be in Anna's K4 class next year!
Photo credit:  Anna

Make bubble snakes.

These were a big hit!  The older kids loved to blow them.  The younger kids loved to play with the bubbles  (and try to blow them).

You simply cut the bottom off of a plastic bottle and stretch a fuzzy sock (who's missing a partner) over the hole.  Secure it with a rubber band or some duct tape.  Then put a little water and a lot of Dawn dish soap in a pie pan to dip the sock-end of the bottle in.

Look at Grant, not yet 3, blow!

Bubble hat!

What's better than a bowl of bubbles?

Go to the Farmer's Market
(no pictures)

Make our own cartoons

We have a felt board that I won for commenting on the Simply Fun blog.  I thought it would be fun for Kate and Anna to use it to make up a story and make their own "cartoon."  They just took a series of pictures, moving the pieces just a bit each time, and we put them on the computer and flipped from picture to picture really fast.  Now that they've seen how it works, I think they're going to do it again and move the pictures a little less each picture.


I remember doing this by drawing pictures as a kid.  That was pretty cool, but this is just SO FUN!

Swim at the Fox Point Pool
(no pictures)


Bonus: Water slides, Take 2
We've been perfecting our "slide into water slide" conversion.  We tucked the slip and slide under the end of the slide to create an extra few feet of sliding space which ends in nice splash!