Early Morning Donut Rules

Today was great. Finally a day where there wasn't anything that HAD to be done and we could just relax. This began at 5:15am when Rusty woke up. One of my favorite things to do right now is open the windows in the bedroom and just lay wide awake in bed enjoying that fresh morning air, which you have plenty of time to do when your son wakes you up at 5:15. So we had family snuggling time, when I had this great idea (Blynn would call this a "great nidea"), we should go get donuts. Now this probably happens 3 times a year when we go straight from waking up to donuts and eat them there. And there are some rules to this, adults may wear pseudo pajamas or secondary pajamas, whatever you call them. Children may wear the pajamas they slept in. Nobody may brush their teeth or shower. Hats are mandatory. And Blynn made a new rule that everyone had to wear flip flops. I love that the four of us agree on these rules, because I know that some of you reading this wouldn't be caught dead leaving the house with your flip flops on.

Now, I do note that I said we relaxed today, and by relax I mean, make Todd help me with a major project. I'm posting that one next.

First Week of School!

Blynn is tired of the million questions I ask her on the way home from school. I just find it very strange that she has 3 1/2 hours of her day that I have no idea what she is doing. Another strange thing is that she is eating lunch there too, so I have no idea what she is eating or how much she is eating. I know it is healthy food, but since the day she was handed to me in the hospital that has been my priority, that she is eating plenty and that it is healthy (for the most part-considering we did just have ice cream for dinner!) She did come home with her work that she has done for the first week of school, and one of the things was this little book. I already have known the title for awhile now because I too think that God made Blynn special. I think her single dimple on her left cheek is special and her 3,ooo cowlicks on the back of her head are special (sarcasm inserted here). I also find her desire to obey very special and how outgoing she is, as I was definitely not that girl. In fact, I used to be slightly annoyed by the outgoing girls. Hmm!

I'm not sure if you caught that, so I am zooming in for you. Favorite food: green beans, really!? Well, I guess we have made a good impression with her teachers but this is definitely not Blynn's favorite food. She does like green beans, but I'm not sure it is numero uno. I'd also like you to note that she weighs 38.7 lbs. That is funny because Sam's (her cousin) said the exact same thing, which is even more funny since 3 months ago Luke, Sam, and Blynn all weighed 37.4 pounds. Not something we are trying to maintain, but it seems to be sticking.

I like polka dots.
A picture of herself complete with a 'B' on the shirt and black shoes, what she happened to be wearing that day. I also like quizzing her about the classroom rules, secretly trying to implement them here at home. She is very consumed by the fact that if you break the rules, your name gets written on the board. So the other day, when she was being crazy, I wrote her name on the board (since we have a chalkboard) and she was devastated. This might come in handy!

First Day of Preschool

Today was Blynn's first day of preschool. 5 mornings a week preschool. It is really fun for me because she is in the exact same classroom I was in and hanging her backpack on the same hooks I hung mine on. One of her teachers is a friend of mine that I graduated high school with and some of her friends in class are children of friends I had in school. Some adjustments for me have been thinking when I'm dressing her, up until this point I haven't really. Getting used to a dress code is a little tough for me. I think I would actually rather do uniforms.

Rusty adjusted well. We didn't know what to expect with him when Luke, Sam, and Blynn all got out of the car and got to go to class and he had to go back to the car with boring old mom and dad. But he did great and as soon as we got home he quickly made a new friend.

Coffee Mugs and Sippy Cups

I had a great weekend this last weekend. Three of my closest friends came to visit me with their girls which means Blynn actually had girls to play with. I am so blessed to have these awesome Christian friends and God truly gave them as a gift to me when I was in college. I think you can gage the greatness of a weekend by the amount of coffee mugs and sippy cups that are dirty and lying around.

Click on the picture below for a slide show.

Summer's Harvest

One of my favorite things about the summer and living in the San Joaquin Valley is that we have access to some of the greatest summer fruits and vegetables.

The above pictures are from a self pick berry place just one block up from us. Below is a peach booth on the side of the road based on the honor system where you put $5.00 into the mail box and take a whole box of peaches.

This Little Red House

Some of the reasons why I love this house!

Without Being Asked!!!

Let me tell you what occured in our household today. I was folding Blynn and Rusty's laundry on our bed while they were laying on the bed watching me. I finished folding the laundry and went to reload the washing machine and when I came back there were no children and no clothes folded nicely on the bed. So I looked in Rusty's room and he was putting his clothes away, and I ran to Blynn's room and she was doing the same thing. WITHOUT BEING ASKED! I was screaming and clapping with approval. So we rewarded them with a trip to ice cream for dinner.

104.5 F

That number always freaks me out! We had a very sick girl yesterday with whatever bug Luke, Sam, and Rusty had. But she seemed to get it the worst. She is sleeping here at 11:00 am. Poor thing!

This, however, is what I would like to note. I do not tell Todd how to fly an airplane or things he should do differently when he is flying, but yet he felt the need to challenge me on all of my medical decisions yesterday. And with that I say: Leave the specialties to the specialists!

A Series of Unfortunate Events

Blame it on the a-a-a-a-a-apple juice

These children of Todd's have been crazy lately. And by crazy I mean C-R-A-Z-Y. I don't know if it is the ages they are at right now or because they do not have any common interests (except for the common goal to drive me crazy), but they argue non-stop all day long. This stage is so much easier physically compared to a newborn or toddling walker. But this stage challenges my will and my confidence in my mothering skills more than any other. And when I am alone with them all day, I frequently reflect back on my day and feel like a failure. I am not a yeller or a voice raiser for that matter, but boy can these kids get a good voice raising out of me.

I do need to say that Rusty is one of the best children at saying 'thank you' and Blynn did tell me spontaneously today that she loved me and that I will always be her favorite mommy. Felt like I needed to end this post on a positive note.