Silly Kidlets

I'm having trouble forming coherent thoughts in the last few days... post Easter weekend exhaustion. But my kids? Yeah, they're not tired. And they're full of funny.

Two nights ago, I was snuggling with Sayer trying to wind him down for bed.  (As an aside: a friend said that the secret to getting her husband to sleep when he was a kid was to get him to stay still and stop talking. That is SO my kid).  Anyway, he would lay still for a few seconds at a time then start to wiggle and sing. At one point, he rolled towards me, veeeeeeeerrrrrry slowly and reached towards my face. I pretended to be resting to see what he was going to do. He gently pinched my cheek, then he brought his hand to his mouth and pretended to chew,

"Mmmm, more chicken?  Yup!"  Then he did it again. And again.  And then?  He rolled over and went to sleep. My sides hurt from trying not to laugh out loud. But hey, whatever works to get him to sleep!
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Right around Easter, the kids asked questions about the story and one of them requested the entire story of the life of Jesus, from Christmas, (his birthday), onward. The kids spontaneously decided to act it out.

Caly decided she wanted to play the part of baby Jesus. Which, of course, meant that baby Jesus needed... um, care...

"Maaaamaaa! I'm dirty! I need a diaper change!"

Lexi was horrified, "Caly! Baby Jesus did NOT poop in his pants!"

Heh.  They make me giggle.

A Few Moments in the Life of Four Kids

I get the question, "What's it like having four kids?" quite a bit. Most often, it's asked with a genuine tone of curiosity, but sometimes, (to my amusement), the person sounds like they're referring to a circus sideshow.

Which, I guess, it can be at times.

Shaun and I have exactly enough arms for four kids. So, when he's home, we can run the roost with relative efficiency.  It's when he's gone and I'm severely outnumbered that the fun starts.  The very first day he went back to work and left me in the clutches of the wild things alone to care for the 4 kidlets we call our own, things started well enough.  I managed to feed, entertain, change, and dress all of them.

And then, my beloved sister-in-law arrived with my nephew and niece to offer help with the transition.

So I sent the 3 biggest kids off to play in our basement playroom with their cousin and we stayed upstairs to hang out with the babies.

Oh, I guess here's a good moment to mention that we used to have a sandbox in our basement.  With sand. LOTS of sand.  (Yes, that's thanks to my slightly insane, but uber creative husband. He figured, what fun is a beach party without sand? And since you can't have a beach party outside in mid-January, he decided he'd bring the sand in for my 5 year old.  She was delighted. Of course).

So yes. We had a sandbox.  In the basement. But because the sand had a tendency to travel EVERYWHERE and kick up a ton of dust, I banned the kids from playing in it. They really did remarkably well listening over the course of weeks following the party, though occasionally, I'd have to fish Sayer out and redirect him.

Anyway, after 30 minutes or so of the kids playing awesomely together, Lex and her 5yo cousin, T, came racing upstairs and yelled in the same breath, "CALY AND SAYER ARE THROWING SAND AT US!!"

And then they giggled.

I was wrapping up a feeding session with my little guy and and was decidedly not as amused.

Then?  Then Caly came upstairs. Covered. Head to toe. With sand. And? She was smiling.

"Caly. Were you throwing sand?"

"Yes" She grinned widely.

The urge to crack up was competing furiously with the urge to yell at her.

So I hid behind a pillow.

Then?  Sayer came up.  I thought Caly was covered...  yeah, Sayer was COVERED.

"I DROW SAND, MAMA! I DROW SAND!"

I stayed behind my pillow, now shaking with insane giggles.

Lex piped up a few seconds later,

"Oh, Mama?  You might get mad...  they threw sand all over the bed in the spare room."

Oy.

I hauled myself off of the couch and went down to investigate.

If a crime of passion occurred between a starfish and a hermit crab, I think there would have been less sand strewn.  It was EVERYWHERE. In between the sheets of the spare bed. On the bookshelves. In the closet.  Sand exploded everywhere.

It was insanity.

Thankfully, Michelle was there to help me corral the kids into a bath and bed. A short time later, the basement was cleaned and the sand relocated to our deck, (by my handy hubs).

So yes, life with 4...  you were wondering?  Now?  Now you know.

Someone pass me some coffee.  I've a feeling I'm going to need it from here on out.

The One Where I Pun on Star Wars and Reveal My Inner Nerd

The other day, I had this exchange with Amy via text:

Amy: How are you holding up?

Me: I've decided that instead of alcohol, I need a beer helmet to administer caffeine.  But it needs a catchy name.

Amy:  Haha!! My phone autocorrected haha to Java.  Did my phone just name your invention?

Me: Java the Helmutt!*

Amy: HAHAH!

We're brilliant.  Oh, and we're totally up for investing partners, so if you're interested, you know who to contact. :)

Zoen - One Month! And 5 Days

So, my sweet, snuggly youngest is already a month old.

I'm flat out in denial of this.

Thankfully, he still curls up over my shoulder to sleep and I don't plan on forcing that whole "sleep in his bed" thing anytime soon.

He perpetually looks surprised when he's really awake.  Either that or cross-eyed.  He'll figure it out eventually.  In the mean time, it CRACKS us up.

This kid is a lot like his oldest sister was as a baby... sweet, easy, mellow, relaxed.

But he's LOUD.  My goodness, he's loud.  I'll settle down in bed and be right about to drift off to sleep when I hear, *Snarfle snarfle, grunt grunt* "EHHHHHHH.  EHHHHHHHHH." *Grunt, grunt*  And inevitably, when I haul myself over to his bassinet to check on him, he's sound asleep. Of course.

He's loud when he nurses, too.  I settle down to nurse him and his grunts and sighs turn heads from clear across the room.  He totally reminds me of a piglet. (Don't worry, I think they're irresistibly cute, too).

And truly, at the rate he's growing?  That's apt.  We left the hospital with him at 7 lbs, 14 oz.  He's now 11 lbs, 8 oz. Ginormous.

When he's up on my shoulder, he has a way of wrapping one of his arms around my arm in a half-hug.

Not terribly clear, but the only pic I have of him doing this.

He's still a thumb sucker on occasion, something I'm encouraging, despite raised eyebrows from others.  Hey, he's my fourth kid. I've had a pacifier user, a finger sucker, and a kid for whom NOTHING but me would suffice.  I'll go on record saying that the kid who sucked her fingers was by far the easiest in the middle of the night.  So, we'll keep hoping for the thumb to become a nice, self-soothing habit.

He sleeps best when he's belly-to-belly with me, holding his head tipped back and his hands under his chin.  I'm not complaining. He's nice and warm. And the snuggles! I'm drinking in all of the delicious baby snuggles I can handle.

I usually write my updates to the kid I'm talking about, but this time? That would have gotten dreadfully sentimental... all the same, I will, for a second.

So, Z?  You're 100% adorable, completely sweet, and your belly button is totally shaped like a cinnamon roll.   Never doubt for a second how loved and cherished you are.

Love,

Mama

Mr. Mischief - Also Known As Sayer

Where a newborn is delightful in his simplicity and ease, a toddler, full of complications and contradictions, is a source of smiles too.

I say smiles, because really, sometimes?  I could yell, cry, and gnash teeth.  But it's more fun to laugh, so... that's where I land.

Yesterday, I took Zoen back to my room to change him and decided to rock him for a bit in the relative quiet to see if he'd settle to sleep.  The girls came tearing back into my room, "MOM! MOM! Come quick! Sayer is putting water in one of the cups!"  I took my time getting up, (because really, how much damage can water do?  Yeah, go ahead and laugh at me now), and reached my doorway to intercept the girls racing towards me again.  "MOOOOOM!  YOU HAVE TO COME RIGHT NOW!"  Then I heard Sayer shrieking.  I ran into the kitchen, fearing that he accidentally turned on the hot water.

Nope.  This is what I found instead, (and yes, I took pictures before I got him down).

I'm still not 100% sure I know how he got up there.  I'm just thankful that I had done the dishes that day.

He's a mess.  But a cute mess.  Just a few minutes ago, he was pestering loving his baby brother when I came over to redirect him.  (His love is a little... rough).  When he tipped his head back to look at me, I commented on the chocolate on his chin.  He grinned, pointed to it and said,

"Lick it!"

The boy knows I like me some chocolate... but um, not that much.  (Gooey chocolate drool isn't exactly my taste).

Last night, he was in Shaun's lap, alternately noggin-ing* Shaun and loving on his brother.  (He loves his brother a lot, it seems).  Suddenly he started bouncing his belly against the baby, sumo-style, and saying, "I GET ZOEN!" and giggling.

Poor Zoen.  I suppose it's a good thing he's packing on the pounds already.  Padding.

*Noggin-ing - a la Finding Nemo where the turtles run through their "handshake" - "FIN! Noggin! DUDE!"  Noggin-ing is basically headbutting someone.  Thank you to Shaun for teaching the kids that one.