First Day of a Very Long Summer Break

Well, after 12:00 p.m. yesterday, I had to confront my fears of having all four kids at home. ALL summer. And, surprisingly enough, my biggest fear - that they would tear each other's hair out and maul one another. No, they were actually, surprisingly, nearly, pleasant.

My biggest adventure happened around the time andy was arriving home and I was just about to nurse Cole. The kids, who had been outside, suddenly showed up, one at a time, each reporting the EXACT same thing: they were bleeding from the bottom of their foot. They EACH proceeded to walk over to my white carpet after that (much to Andy's shock and dismay). Curious as to how such a feat could be accomplished (3 identical injuries in 5 minutes), I went outside to find my Corelle plate in the driveway. Remember those? They stay true to the claims that they don't break. What they ACTUALLY do is shatter into thousands of infinitesimal pieces. Ashton had apparently thrown the plate on the driveway (with much glee I imagine), and then all three barefooted kids decided that they must then walk on the shards.

A few bandaids and a thorough sweep later, all was fine, but I'm wondering how in the world I'm to survive the next three months!

It's 7 a.m.

And I've already:

• finished a set of letters and photographed/emailed them
  
• varnished another set
• folded a load of laundry
  
• rebooted another two loads
  
• partially unloaded the dishwasher
  
• made my coffee
  
• gotten wesley's lunch ready
  
• served breakfast to three people
  
• nursed the other person
  
• checked and responded to e-mails
  
• broken up at least one fight
  
• listened to crying and whining from my 3yo for 1 hour (so far)
  
• changed a nasty stinky diaper

And now I've written in my blog.

So, how many hours until bedtime?

Happy Birthday Ashton!

My little sweetheart is THREE! He got lots and lots of airplanes for his birthday (and a couple Veggie Tales CDs - he loves the Hairbrush song...or as he sings is "Oh Where is my Toothbrush?"). It was a big day. Cole was dedicated at church and my sister and her three kids were visiting as well (7 kids under 6yo in one house, can we say S.T.R.E.S.S.?). Ashton had a good time with it all. He's talking more every day and is, as always, my big goofball. So fond of all his sound effects. Singing. High Fives. Trying very hard to keep up with big brother and sister, who have a slight tendency to steamroll. Now if only I could rip that binky out of his mouth (and put it back in Cole's) and get him to consider a trip to a potty one of these days...he'd be a veritable grown-up!

Speaking of steamrolling, that's Cole's method of choice. He's a rolling maniac. He can't sit up and he can't crawl but he can roll like a pro. Currently he's in the jumperoo and discovering the joys of bouncing. He's a live wire. Don't let his inability to sit up fool you. God is just giving me a grace period, because I have a feeling that when this kid IS crawling and/or walking, I'm in big, big trouble. That means that my other three kids are going to have to miraculously transform into clean people, or I will have to spend 75% of my days walking around behind my little Pigpens and cleaning up all the little things and doodads and dangerous choking hazards that they leave in their wake.

So, anyway, I'll leave you with a family picture. Us, in all our glory. Ciao.