Storms and Strawberries and the Art of Distracting

It's a quarter to 10 on this Thursday night. It's considerably cooler outside now than it was just a few hours ago. But a few hours ago we were anticipating what sounded like it was going to be the storm of the century... or at least the storm of the year.

The meteorologists were all a flurry with talk of tornadoes and hail, rain and wind, and severe weather safety tips. I continuously checked the local new stations for information regarding the threat for tonight, and my little kiddos soon caught on. To keep them distracted and the constant questions at bay, I decided to we should be productive.

We headed upstairs after naps today to pack a little safety box for the basement. I had the kiddos grab a pair of tennis shoes, diapers for the younger two, toilet paper for the rest of us... and I grabbed my keepsake box-- trading in the gathering of bottled water, canned goods, change of clothes and flashlight for time with my daughters reminiscing of days gone by. Days that I once thought were passing much, much too slowly, but now I realize slipped right through my fingers like fine sand.

I hold the contents of this keepsake box near and dear to my heart. I figure these are things that insurance money could never replace. These items include all 5 baby books, pregnancy journals and yearly journals I keep for my girls. It also has a thimble that belonged to my great-grandmother, one of the only pictures of my mom& dad & me, and cards from my husband, grandma, sister and mom. I think one of my college diplomas is in there as well. Yeah, I know I'm sounding like a bit of a pack-rat, but that's what happens when you don't have a good memory--you write down everything and you save Save! SAVE! Maybe a good tornado would cure me from my habit.

The wind blew through the bedroom window slamming the door shut. I was brought back to real time and decided we better close the lid on the keepsake box in order to get back to business.

Mommy, my five-year-old asks, is our fence going to blow over again? I looked out the window where it seemed a precarious situation was looming over the horizon to our west. I couldn't blame the little gal for her concern.

No, darling. The wind isn't nearly as strong as it was last week. It may rain some here, but that's just par for the course when you live in Kansas, I told her trying to believe the words myself. I admit that the weathermen had me a little on edge after all the talk about the day's weather. I was packing up the keepsake box after all; so it must have been serious in my mind.

Mommy, I don't like thunder and lightening. Is it going to thunder and lightening?

Probably, but thunder can't hurt you and if lightening strikes... well, we will go get a lottery ticket tonight. I knew my attempt at humor was lost on my four-year-old, but I can't help but make those attempts-- I've gotta keep up my sense of humor despite the fact that I'm often the only adult in the room, and therefore the only person who could understand the funny comments I like to practice in case my kids ever do grow up and I have to be funny around adults some day. Catching my breath...

About the time I remembered that I was supposed to be packing a safety box, we hear the garage door open--- Daddy's home!!

In case you don't know, my peeps live for this time of day. And, of course, I do too! They love it because it's a break FROM me. I love it because it's a break FOR me! Let's just say Daddy offers up a good dose of testosterone to our otherwise feminine household. He tries to balance it out, if only just a little.

Crap, I think silently. I lost track of time and now my safety box isn't packed, dinner isn't started, baths need to be had and the news in the sky is looking grimmer by the minute.

My husband walks in to save the day as he always does. Upon kissing me hello and accepting several hugs from all the shorties in the family, he whisks all 5 of them upstairs for baths before the weather gets any worse. Finding myself in mostly silence for the first time since waking, I focus on my recipe for Creamy Broccoli Soup and begin sauteing onions in 6 tablespoons of creamy, unsalted, organic butter.

Enter drool cue here!

It may be deemed wrong by psychologists, nutritionists, dietitians and society as a whole to let food be an escape from life, but sometimes I just can't help myself. Am I seriously in the wrong if life's stresses can be eased by simply smelling onions melting into butter? What if I think chopping broccoli serves as the perfect task--forcing me to focus on the knife's blade, my fingers and the fine, green specimen of a vegetable rather than who is screaming I don't wanna take a baf! upstairs?

So what if I'm a junkie. Cuz baby, if loving food in all its yummy, sense-awakening glory is wrong, I don't wanna be right.

As the all the liquids, some cream and some broth, are being added to the pot, the wind begins to pick up. I'm hovering over our kitchen sink rinsing broccoli, gazing at the newly reconstructed fence my father-in-law worked on last week. I'm facing the same two windows as last week when I witnessed our fence posts being ripped out of cement and snapping in half.

I try to will my soup to come to a simmer faster than possible, as I'm sure some wicked weather is just waiting to throw me completely off again. This is all new to me. Anytime before last week, a little wind was nothing I batted an eye at, but that's what it's like to be a prairie dweller. You can live your whole 28 years on this land and never deal with a tornado more than listening to sirens blow as a distant funnel cloud spins in they sky some 30 miles away. The physical distance of the storm is only equal to the distance for which I feel from the possibility of destruction---far, far away. And then one day, as I'm cradling my newborn child in my arms, the winds for which my state was named plow through my own back yard-- as if to warn me that just because I've lived here my whole life, it doesn't mean I'm immune from Mother Nature's wrath.

I watch the soup, because we all know a watched pot boils, right...

No, it doesn't. But it does continue to provide a mind-numbing comfort that I so desperately seek at the end of these sleep-deprived days. I get bored after a few minutes--I know, my attention span ranks right up there with the most patient of house flies--and I see the mail my husband placed on our counter.

One of the articles featured on a magazine that came in our mail today boasts Quick Desserts. Ah, that's just the fix for this day, I think as I thumb through looking for what will please our palates tonight. And then I remembered the red, plump strawberries I picked up at the store earlier today.

These were the first strawberries of the season since I wait until organic ones become available. I smile as I recall that I bought 3 cartons (they were only $2.99)--more than enough to feed my family of 6. My grin widens when I walk to the pantry to find a box of semi-sweet chocolate baking squares... you know where this is going right?

Yep! Chocolate dipped strawberries. In my book, this should be one of the first signs of spring--not the pesky storms that haunt my home when the atmosphere likes to shake things up a bit.

I can still hear screaming and crying from my children--okay, mostly just Boushka as that is her main way of communicating since Little K entered our family 6 weeks ago--and I know that the others are worried sick over their poor fence being shredded again. I decide to go against my better judgment about food, and escapes, and numbing minds, when thinking the kids and I will dip strawberries tonight to distract us from what may or may not happen with the weather.

They came downstairs all fresh and clean in their jammies looking snugglier by the minute. We eat dinner, several bowls of creamy broccoli soup over baked potatoes topped with cheddar, bacon and tomatoes, and then I suggested we start dipping strawberries.

And that's just what we did. We dipped our hearts out. Some we put nicely and neatly on the parchment paper. And others we moved straight from the chocolate into our mouths. And I hate to brag, but I was right. Not another mention of weather, or fences, or storms, or wind was had. We forgot about the weather-- and it forgot about us too! But I won't forget these memories!







And for your viewing pleasure, I'm adding Little K's thoughts about the night...

ME: Your sisters are getting chocolate and strawberries tonight, do you want some too?LITTLE K: Oh wow momma! Really???? Do you think they'll fit into this rather round belly I've seemed to develop?

ME: Just kidding, you have to wait a few years.
ME: Oh, but that pout just might work on your daddy...

Lotsa Randomness

I'm not above being totally random. In fact, I embrace it. On that note, try to follow along, please...

1) I love these! (Aden and Anais-- I got mine from Target)

These swaddle blankets are made of muslin and are perfect for swaddling a tiny newborn who may or may not try to stick her fists in her mouth when she is hungry and trying to nurse! And I finally found a solution to her little problema!

(Little K donning her muslin swaddler--by the way, this white one makes a great prop for photos)

These are made of cotton and are stretchy, therefore keeping the little hands tucked safely against her body. This is one blanket that actually stays tucked and keeps babe swaddled. It is also light and air moves through it quite nicely. They are rather large and the uses are endless. Had I known about these when I wrote my "Must Haves for Babies" post, this would've topped my list.

2) Smile! Say Cheese!

Yep, she does it all. She's been smiling (for real) for about 3 weeks now, but in the last week she's been adamant about getting social, face time with mommy. And she's spread it on to daddy now too. She'll fuss and fuss if you don't lock eyes with her when she wants you to! And it makes me laugh, not to mention I totally give in to her desire. How can I not?


So I had daddy take some pictures to mark the moment. I was simply looking at her, and she just loved it.

Her grins these days are full-on, sometimes open-mouthed with a little coo.


3) Somebody bathe this kid please.


I try. Her daddy tries. Even sisters try. But this kid can't stay clean. She's almost always covered in dirt, chocolate, banana goobers, or anything else that is sticky. Poor kid could star in one of those plays where little orphans peek in the windows of London homes. I love her dearly, clean or rugged and dirty!

4)We've been having gorgeous weather this week.
I mean, it's perfect spring weather--slight breeze, warm sun, temps in the 70's... so we've been dining on our grill-friendly meals. And tonight was no exception!

This is spicy turkey burgers (topped with some avocado), seasoned sweet potato fries, and fruit salad. The whole family agrees on this meal- and I LOVE that!

5)Clean Eating. Have you heard of this magazine?

I hadn't until a couple of weeks ago while the babes and I stopped unexpectedly at Barnes and Noble. I saw this magazine just sitting there beckoning me to come hither, and naturally I had to know what Clean Eating was. I had an idea, but I wanted to see what it was all about. And I do love this mag so far. This is one food read that doesn't include any recipes with a "cream of..." ingredient. And that's a nice change!

6) I've been going on one-on-one dates with each girl recently.
I took Brownie to Barnes and Noble (per her request when she realized listening to live Blues music was boring--guess she doesn't agree with mom and dad on music already) so she could browse the books.

I was browsing with her when I saw this...

I know what you're thinking---Somebody totally stole my idea! Remember this post about letting my kids draw "tattoos" on themselves? Yeah, so do I. Gosh darn, I guess I'm too late on this book idea.

7) I made this shirt for my Little K while she was still baking away in my belly.

I envisioned her wearing a cute and appropriately sized bow, leggings... you know, the works, while wearing her homemade shirt. Well, she's not a fan of posing so you can see her shirt, nor is she a fan of anything on her head (this pink band didn't last long). So we worked with her vision for this photo!

And that'll do it for the random post. I've gotta long day tomorrow that I'll spend making smoothies, driving the dented van past Starbucks 4 times without stopping, swaying a baby, folding laundry, watching for storms, and snuggling a certain little Peach whom I've got a promised snuggle date with during nap time. Yep, I love staying home!

Weekend Recap

Friday was kind of a dreary day around here. It was forcasted to be in the low 70's, so some mama friends and I decided we'd take the kids for a picnic lunch at our history museum. Well, it wasn't as warm as all thought it would be, but we ate outside and played nonetheless. We then went inside and continued our mama chit chat while the babes played.

We went home and I made a yummy chicken salad for dinner before we headed out to softball practice. I signed up to be assistant coach this season, and I'm excited to be involved. But really, most of the parents help out since the kiddos are so young. The more one-on-one we have it, the better off we all are!

Saturday morning was the first Farmer's Market for the season. We scored some of our fav jalapeno cheese bread, granola, and pumpkin bread from the Mennonite family that makes great versions of all of these. I needed to buy honey and we're lucky to have 3 or 4 vendors that offer local honey. YUM! And of course I stopped at my soy candle lady's booth, but I didn't get a candle. I got one of the smelly jars to put in our upstairs bathroom (I just hate lighting candles that can't be watched 24/7). And we found some locally grown asparagus on our way out.

Last but not least, we stopped by a new vendor called Kicks N Grins. They sell some cute tote bags, scarves, etc. They had a drawing for a Spring Giveaway...


AND I WON!!!

(The giveaway goodies)

WHAT? No Seriously. I won---and I never win anything! I seriously don't think I've ever won anything I've ever tried to win--or not tried to win, for that matter. Yeah, I'm a little excited!

After the Farmers Market, we headed right over the river to Peach's soccer game. She scored her first goal of the season--she's been playing really hard and taking the ball from one end of the field to the other. And yesterday, one of those triumphs equaled a goal. She was beaming-- heck, we were all beaming. So proud of my girl. Seeing her confidence build out there on the soccer field just filled my mama heart full!

We came home to take a rest, but we may have actually run to the mall to use Gymbucks--Ooops! But I love Gymbucks--such an awesome deal. My mom gets the Gymbucks and we get to use them--otherwise, my kids would never have Gymboree clothes. Peach walked outta there with about 12 new outfits; dang lucky kid. Brownie got a new outfit too, Bug got a new pair of sunglasses, and Boushka walked out with a cute shirt. Poor Little K got nada, but that's only because she got everything all about her today.

Today was her Welcome Party. After having 5 girls in 5 1/2 years, we choose not to have Showers. Those are nice to have, but they are more of a first baby or even a second baby thing. Instead, we wanted to officially Welcome her with some friends and family. And so we did :-)

(The picture and party favor table. Can you see the adorable rattle cookies?)

(Some Aunt and Gram snuggle time)

(We gave out her sweet birth announcements and the most delicious cookies as party favors)

(Divine Cake from Billy Vanilly--Yep, that's Zebra print)

My mom always helps me coordinate a party to honor our new baby. And we had a sweet celebration to welcome our sweet Little K! The food was awesome. Cake was delish and so cute! The weather was gorgeous. The company was great--lots of kids and lots of chit chat! I feel so blessed to have these people in our lives and in Little K's life!

(Perfect snuggle time with Grammy)

(My cutie Peach looking at me over all those sandwiches)

(All the cousins)

Yep, I thought it was appropriate to end with this cuteness!

This Week

This week my babies were perfect--

I'm not saying they were perfectly quiet, always did what they were told, or ate the food I provided them.

What I'm saying is that they were perfectly themselves.

Peach is perfectly goofy in the unique way only she is perfectly goofy. She enjoys pretend-play. She enjoys being active and playing sports. She's perfectly made into one sweet little girl---my first little girl. Who I guess isn't as little as she used to be. But she's not as big as she will be some day. And I know she'll always be my little girl! Even if she's going to Kindergarten soon--which I still can't believe she loved so much. So much that she cried begging to go back. All heart---this girl!

And Brownie. Oh, my sweet Brownie. She, too, is perfectly made into one awesome little girl. She's graceful and a bit delicate. She's silly. She's a ham! She's pretty original--you won't find her trying to fit in with the crowd. She'd rather stand out--at this point in life she does so with her headbands. And I love it! She enjoys dancing in her classes, and she truly loves showing her latest and greatest moves all over our house multiple time per week. She's a creative kid with a mind of her own.

My sweet, cuddly love Bug. The true middle child in this family of 5 girls. She's got a great appetite and can be very agreeable. She's learning her own limits, as well as those of her parents. She is excited to do big-girl things any chance she gets. And every night when I tuck her in, she tells me that I was her favorite part of her day. And I tell her she's mine. She's a pleaser, but not to a fault. She's perfectly cute and sweet and loved by me forever and always. And she loves her Daddy as any good Daddy's girl would. And he can't help but love her back.

And this perfectly ornery little gal--I just adore. She's feeling a little jealous these days, but that doesn't stop her from being the bubbly little girl I know and love. She likes to get dirty and stay that way all day. But this girl doesn't ever turn down a bath. I'm pretty sure if Mickey Mouse could come over, she'd make him her best friend in a minute. She requests songs to dance to several times throughout the day-- and "Hey Mickey" is by far number one in her book. And I love that she says she sees grandma's car in any parking lot we pull into. When I ask her to point it out she says "Ummm....." as she scans the cars. And then we continue on our way.

We can't forget the newest gal in our brood--Little K. She's perfect--she's just a baby. Nothing she does is out of anger or jealousy. Everything she does is done out of her innate desire to survive. And right now, she thinks I'm perfect because I give her everything she needs or wants--including but not limited to midnight feedings, midnight kisses, midnight diaper changes, and midnight snuggles. And I guess she's pretty intelligent if she's already figured out that the best time of day for her to get whatever she wants without being interrupted is midnight.

My kids will never be what society deems as perfect---but that's only because perfect is perfectly unattainable. They will be perfect in my eyes because I see them for the unique beings that they are. Not one of them is a carbon copy of anybody else in this world (although some may argue that all of my daughters are carbons of each other...). They are perfectly themselves. And this week was no exception. I love how they were this week-- sweet, innocent, kind, gentle, silly, creative, active, ornery little girls.

A Different List for Expecting Parents

When I was pregnant with my first child, I had no idea what was in store for me. Does anybody, though? Isn't that where the term, ignorance is bliss came from?

I think if any of us had a clue, we'd probably freak out and convince ourselves that having children was completely a terrible, horrible idea. And that would kinda go against the whole procreation thing mother nature instills in us, right?

I've never been a full-time nanny, but I can only assume that is the only job that may actually prepare you well enough for parenthood. I bet these nannies get thrown up on, awakened in the middle of the night, function on little sleep, drive kids around town, cook meals, clean up meals, pick out clothes before bath time, help brush teeth and tuck in the sweeties, just to name a few.

For the rest of us who never nannied (you're right, that's probably not a real word) a day in our life, we remain clueless. Well, listen up because I'm about to demystify the whole parenting thing. Here is a list of several things you can do in order to prepare yourself for parenthood. And please keep in mind, these are only the things that are off the top of my head. There are many other tasks you could do to ease the transition from childless to childfull (I don't know, that word just seemed right, and I use word here loosely).

~ Start throwing things around your house so that they land scattered about--like there's no rhyme or reason why a particular item is in a particular spot. Leave objects is random spots throughout house for days on end.

~Spend a good portion of your income on food. Prepare that food in yummy, deliciously creative ways. Serve several plates worth of yummy food you slaved over. Take two bites from each plate. Toss the remaining food in the trash.

~Make a new tradition for Friday night--skip happy hour at the bar. Instead, stay home and turn on Dora. For background noise, have a recording of a screaming baby and a few toddlers/preschoolers talking noisily.

~Stop vacationing NOW! Or better yet, get in any vacation while you still can. Even though you may still be able to travel when baby arrives, it'll be completely different. I suggest that after you dine on your noon meal, you head back to your room and sit around quietly, for several hours. This will give you an idea of what nap time on the road is like--well, sorta!

~Get rid of all clocks in your house-- in fact, don't look at anything that will tell you what time it is; just use the sky as your time guide. When you bring a newborn home, you will completely lose track of time because you are up every couple hours--that is when you're actually getting sleep.

~Start pushing a stroller around the mall, your neighborhood, or anywhere you choose to walk. There will probably be stares, but that's typical!

~When you reintroduce clocks into your life, make sure you set the alarm to wake you at least 2 times at night. Not all kiddos wake 2 times each night, but when you average the sleepers with the constant wakers, I think 2 times seems appropriate.

~Just buy that darn minivan. Most of you will end up with one anyway. Yep, I know they're not cool, but neither is cramming your family into a tiny car--that gets real annoying!

~ Ummm... there are plenty of ways I could tell you to get ready for being pooped, peed, thrown-up and spit up on... but I'm going to let your imaginations figure out how to simulate that one!

~ Next time you go out to eat, visit the restroom several times--as if your bladder were the size of a pea.

~ Have lots of food fights and make sure the food lands on your clothes. Get the stains rubbed in well and let them sit in your hamper for several days. Then curse the bloody, stubborn food stain that's set on your clothes all week while you were busy with all the other chores!

~Spend quality time at a number of parks, just sitting on a bench watching kids play. Hopefully, nobody will turn you in for loitering or creeping out little ones (or their parents). Make sure you do this even when its 96 or 56 degrees out.

That should cover several, though not all, areas of child-rearing. Of course there are many more things to look forward to with delight when you bring a little baby home and raise him or her, but those are all things we ALL think about.

Most of us try to imagine our baby's first words, first steps, first school day, graduation and possibly even their wedding day. But who tries to imagine the ins and outs of everyday life--the logistics, if you will?

I know I never sat around with my pregnant, swollen feet propped up wondering about all the real stuff taking place in homes where children live. And even if I would have tried to wrap my brain around it, I don't know how accurate it would be. I probably would have exaggerated any truth and made it worse than it would ever be. I can only assume this to be true!

And I'll end on and even more positive note...

all the things you do dream about whilst resting those sore, swollen feet---

things like his first smile, hearing her say 'mama' or 'dada' or 'I love you,' his eyes meeting yours for the first time, her first day of school--

those are the things you really remember. Those are the milestones that make a mark on your heart and make the rest of real life worth every moment.

Some of our Week In Reverse Review

Well, this has been yet another exciting week in Copeland family.

You wanna hear something funny? Earlier this week we found out that between Boushka's hospital stay in January, all the testing late in my pregnancy, our original or what I call our "fake" induction, the birth of Little K and my upcoming foot surgery we met our deductible. So, to be funny, I posted on facebook earlier this week

We met our deductible, now what...

And I immediately had a friend (Yes, you Traci) basically warn me that I'd opened Pandora's box... and apparently I did.

No, nothing medical is going on (thank God, seriously). But we had some stuff happen today that involves our home insurance... or should I say, it better involve our home insurance. We put a call in to our guy, but it's Sunday night so we obviously haven't heard anything yet. But this is some of the damage.

(That's our fence, totally blown down by a microburst)


I was standing at our kitchen window, which overlooks this part of our yard, when I heard and saw the wind really pick up! Having lived in Kansas my whole life, I'd never heard or seen anything like what I did tonight. All of a sudden the wind was insanely strong and it startled me enough to actually shut our windows.

(Pieces, that look oh so dangerous to be in a back yard that belongs to little kids, of our fence)


As I was closing the window above our sink, I saw our fence fall to the ground. I had Little K in my arms, and I have no idea how long my mouth was opened in shock. Next thing I know I'm screaming MATT! MATT! OUR FENCE!

(This is our fence, and it used to hold our dogs in our yard.)

You'd have to ask him, but I think my words didn't even make sense at first. I was yelling and the baby was crying, and our other kids began to cry, and our dogs were barking, and the wind was howling... so I don't even know if Matt hear me not make sense!

(Yep, it took our mailbox too!)

Luckily he ran outside and grabbed our two BIG DOGS as I struggled to grab our Bug and ever-defiant Boushka so we could head to the basement. The older two girls started for the basement upon hearing me scream and yell for Matt. And Little K remained in my arms. I think my mind was thinking Tornado, but I really couldn't tell you. I was most certainly on survival auto-pilot.

(You can see our mailbox down in the bottom right corner. And across the street you see a tree snapped in half)


Having been raised a Kansan, tornado drills are ingrained in my brain! I'm not sure the yelling and screaming was ever taught during a tornado drill... but I know the grab your loved ones and hit the basement routine certainly was!

(The view from our deck looking out at the damage caused by the microburst. Apparently there are lots of fences on our part of town that look similar. There's even rumor of a roof blown off a building just blocks from us)

By the time we made it to the basement, it was all over. The wind died down to a reasonable 40 mph and I headed upstairs to grab my camera. My curiosity definetly got the better of me and I was dying to take pictures. Then I remembered I was actually doing the smart thing since our adjuster would need to see this disaster! Again, I'm not so sure this is taught during tornado drills, but I know all tornado-alley dwellers love to photograph a good storm, or the aftermath. It's born in us!

Just minutes before this ugliness hit, my family and I were enjoying the sun while dining on our grilled chicken salad.

And just hours before, I was in our back yard snapping these photos.



You know, because at this point in the day it was 92 degrees. And now at 10pm its in the 50's and dropping.

On to other fun happenings...

We also had a soccer game yesterday. Peach is number 1!

My Peach sure does enjoy running the field and chasing that ball.
We tell her to be like Edie (our young, but BIG dog), translation: BE AGGRESSIVE! We don't mean to be aggressive with the other players, but we tell her to get after that ball. And she sure tries!

We also ventured out to Lowe's to see if there's some kind of solution for us to have a garden in a yard with two big dogs and not much sun. We did find some things that my husband began installing today, but I don't even know if it's still there after this microburst (that's what the meteorologist called it). Maybe I can snap some photos tomorrow and you all who know anything about gardening can give me some tips.

More fun...

On Friday we did Kindergarten round up. I still can't believe my sweet first-born babe is ready for Kindergarten.
I did have some tears form in the corner of my eyes, okay lots of times I had tears form in the corner of my eyes-- but the point is that I didn't let it all go.

I mean, I totally could have.

I could have made a mess out of myself that day.

I just kept picturing an actual picture I have of her lying on my shoulder when she wasn't even a day old yet. And I kept thinking, how did that tiny, helpless, perfect little girl grow up right before my eyes into a Kindergartner?

That thought right there---it's what made me want to turn my done up face into a HOT MESS!

In fact, it's turning my face right now (which is already showing the stress of the day) into a LUKE-WARM MESS! But that's okay, no one but the baby is around---and even she's asleep on my chest!

And on to our last topic of this post...

SHOES! Did you know that when you have 5 girls, some who like shoes and some who absolutely LOVE shoes, the shoes in your house pile up... or in this case


they pile across. Because I can't pile them up in a tower formation; they'd probably tumble. There are 60 some odd pairs here, and this is about 2/3 of the total amount of kid shoes we own. And I'm sure you guessed it-- the only boy in the house (DADDY) took this photo out of pure shock. He was a bit awe struck! By the way, just thought I'd add that I don't typically round up all of our shoes and photograph them. I knew we were in serious need of getting all shoes in one spot, matching them, and then giving them to the proper kiddos. This was the inventory I took in order to figure out what shoes we need for the upcoming season. Anyway...

And now that I've reviewed some of the past week in reverse, can we all just shout a little prayer (or as it turns out 4 little prayers) up to the heavens for me, please?

1. Pray I don't talk about deductibles anymore!

2. Pray that while my husband is out of town this week I don't completely poke my eyes out in one of my anxiety attacks... I think I'll need them so I can drive the kids around town and check my make up before leaving the house in the morning.

3. Pray that if I find anymore shoes, I don't just toss them out the window because I've given up. By the way, eyes would come in handy (see #2) here so I can sort shoes, of course!

And...

4. Pray that if I do poke my eyes out in an anxiety attack this week, I won't recall anymore pictures from my babies' newborn days or think about any of them leaving me EVER. Because we know I'll cry myself into a HOT MESS and I won't have the eyesight to re-do my make up.

Okay, so if you can shout those up to the blessed heavens, I'd be much appreciative--oh, and my kids would be too. They don't need a mommy with her eyes poked out-- at least not until their Daddy returns!

Guess Who is One Month Old

Happy One Month Birthday to my Sweet, Sweet Girl!

At this time in life you are just an amazing little person.

You are tiny.



You are sweet.

You smell like the fondest memory I'll ever keep.

You started smiling at 3.5 weeks old--yes, a real smile!!

You smiled at me first,

then at dad!

You wear a size 1 diaper.

You sleep off and on during the day.



You are fussy at night--usually some tummy troubles.

You fuss at night when we lay you down in your play yard for bed,

but you settle right down as soon as you are placed in daddy's arms.

You do not like hats!


Your sisters still adore holding you!

Little K, you are the perfect reminder of all the good in the world. Your mere presence in my arms lifts any sorrow, pain, or sadness I may feel. I adore our midnight time together since that seems to be the only time we are peacefully connecting--without distractions from chores, t.v., a (sweet) sister, the phone, the computer or any kind of a schedule.

Just like each one of your sisters, I have the biggest dreams for you--and I hope and pray that one day you too will have big dreams for yourself. This is a big world, and I know you will find your place in it. For now, I'm happy to have you as the baby in our world. And I wish (like I do every time there's a newborn in the house) that I could just keep you this way for much longer than is possible.

And I know that time will pass and you will grow, but I will still be your mom. And that is the best thing in the world-- to be your (and your sisters') mom!