Houston, we have a problem...

(she was up higher than this when Mr. Sleep-Deprived pointed it out - but the camera was in the other room). Need I repeat, "I didn't expect this from the girl..."

Can't a Girl Get Some Sleep Around Here? (Take 35)

From all these posts of Ms. Dimples falling asleep around the house you might get the wrong impression that I am a push-over and don't require naps. That is NOT the case. However, Ms. Dimples sometimes naps during her nap times, and sometimes she plays in her crib, and there's not a lot I can do when that happens. She surprised me yesterday because I thought she had napped more than she apparently did, and by 7:00 pm she was wiped out!

Sleep Rocking

The strange sleeping arrangements continue.

Trick Rider

Yes, she is actually rocking on the horse. I imagine it is only a matter of time before she tries this on Molly.

New Headache Remedy

I mentioned that I had a headache while I was making dinner. My three-year-old made the following diagnosis:

3YO: "Where in your head is it?"
Me: (I point to my temples and the top of my head)
3YO: "Maybe you could just reach in with your hand and pull it out."

The Moral of the Story (with a twist)

Our three-year-old really likes a book called Soft Child. It is a Native American Folk Story about how the Rattlesnake got it's fangs. The moral of the story is "If you don't bother him, he won't bother you."

After a week of walking around reminding us of the moral of the story, we over heard him say to his older brother (in a very John-Wayne sounding voice), "You boddered me, so now I'm gonna bodder you."

Maybe you had to hear it to appreciate it, but Mr. Sleep-Deprived and myself had to restrain ourselves from laughing out loud.

Puppy Love

Water Girl

This child is going to keep me on my toes!

Can't a Girl Get Some Sleep Around Here? (Take 2)

Apparently like the rest of us, she's still tired.

The Sucky Store

I was out with our almost 3-year-old for his "special day" (a day that I only go with one child). After throwing pennies in the fountain, eating lunch, playing in the play area, and buying a sucker at the candy shop, we walked to the coffee shop (for me). On the way, my son enjoyed his sucker. In the elevator, he showed it to another person and proudly announced, "I got a sucker!" Playing along, she said, "oh, I'd like a sucker, where did you get it?" To which he replied, "at the sucky store."

I didn't expect this from the GIRL ...

...and to top it off, she's thrilled about it.

Welcome Miss Molly

Not only did our oldest ride Molly everyday last week, he also cleaned and oiled his saddle, swept the hay out of Grandma's truck, and cleaned out Molly's pen each evening. By the end of the week, he was also able to mount and dismount unassisted, and ride well solo at the walk and trot.

More photos coming soon - a few special ones of each of the kids on Molly, and one suprise.

Is Jupiter Moving?

In another act of extraordinary spontaneity, we took the kids (at the suggestion of Mr. Sleep-Deprived) to the Devil's Punchbowl, to view the Aquarid Meteor Shower. The park is very scenic (note the family photo), with a nice short nature trail for little ones, a wonderful small recreation room with live (caged) snakes, a real beehive, scorpion, velvet ant, and ironclad beetle. Outside there are also three live owls (two great-horned owls, one barn owl).

The meteor shower started around 9 pm. We were able to see Jupiter (gas clouds clearly visible) and three of its moons through an 11 inch telescope set up for viewing.

After seeing the first two meteors, our 6-year-old noticed that Jupiter's position was different and asked, "is Jupiter moving?" I responded that we were actually moving (because of the earth's rotation) and that was what was making it seem like Jupiter was moving across the sky. He responded with a very sincere and convincing, "OH, I GET IT!" Both Mr. Sleep-Deprived and I were quite impressed with his "a-ha" moment, until we saw him running from one spot to another noticing how its position was changing. I guess that would be a lesson in perspective.

It was a fun evening, and for being out so late past bedtime, it was well worth it. Kudos to Mr. Sleep-Deprived for scouting out the location and event.

Good Golly, Miss Molly's Comin' to California!

It's a good thing the kids have been brushing up on their riding skills, because we finally found a pony and her name is Molly. I'm SURE there will be photos once she arrives!

Family Photo

In an act of extraordinary spontaneity on my part, we all headed to a picnic site in the Angeles National Forest for an early dinner at the suggestion of Mr. Sleep-Deprived (who also gets credit for packing all the stuff for the outing). It's not a perfect picture, but not bad for a camera on a tripod. I still haven't figured out how to get a one-year-old to smile at a tripod and flashing camera light. Of course even if Ms. Dimples had cooperated, our 4-year-old seems bent on goofing around (note the horse shoes), and our 2 1/2-year-old has his usual "canned-smile" that really isn't a good look for him. But hey, we're all there and accounted for - and I don't look particularly sleep-deprived!!!

The Gift That Keeps On Giving

One of the fringe-benefits of having four children is a gratifying sense that toys really earn their keep. In this instance, it is a gift from Grammy and Papa that has worn so well. The funny thing is that 3 out 4 of our kids (right about age one) have used it as a seat, when it is actually a table/busy box. Only our third-born (noticeably absent from all these photos) didn't sit in the table, but it may have been the chaos of our home addition that distracted him from the opportunity.

Where's Spucci?

At dinner tonight I was talking with the boys about the discovery of the New World and introducing them to Christopher Columbus and Amerigo Vespucci. A little later our 2 1/2-year old was doing some exploring of his own around the house asking "Where's Spucci?" (aka Vespucci).

Little Drummer Boy ... and Boy and Boy and Girl

A "Three Bunk Bed"

Maybe this is why our four-year-old (the bottom of the pile) has been asking when he gets to be in the top bunk.

"I Like Doing the Dirty Work"

...said our 4-year-old in the midst of shoveling...

And I believe him. I think it runs in the family.

See No Evil?

"If I were just a LITTLE taller"

3 out 4 Kids Are Sprouting New Teeth

It was no surprise that our 10 month old was teething... her lower incisors are coming in (she sprouted her four top front teeth all at the same time).

A couple weeks ago our almost 6 year old was complaining about his tooth while eating an apple. I took a closer look and noticed that his permanent tooth has already poked through the skin, and the baby tooth is a loose.

This morning brushing teeth I noticed that our 2 1/2 year old has his second set of molars poking through.

Considering all these eruptions, I'm surprised there hasn't been MORE whining going on around here.

How Time Flies

Amazing how quickly time flies. The top photo was taken five years ago (when our oldest son was our only child) when the poppies were in full bloom at my parents' house. The bottom photo was taken this year - my oldest (pictured in the first photo) is almost 6 years old, and our youngest is just 6 weeks shy of a year.

It Reads Like a Headline...

Our son was having some fun with the magnet letters when he came up with this little ditty.

For the record, Said dog is guilty as charged.

Only In The Car....

Why is it that the only time everyone naps at the same time is in the car, when Mom can't lay down and take a nap too? When we pulled into the garage and I started unloading the van following our Zoo-outing, I saw this sight. Oh to be able to join them for a few minutes of snooze-time...

Look at all those EYES!!!

Another zoo-observation from our four-year-old.

Look, He's Smiling

...or so thought our four-year-old.

Perspectives of a Homeschooled Child

Tonight my husband tried to show our 5 1/2-year-old the constellation Leo on National Geographic's Star Planetarium. Things did not go as he expected.

Dad: "You see, it's called 'Leo' because it looks like a lion."
Son: "No it doesn't, it looks like a trapezoid."

Follow the link and you might agree.

Safety First

What happened next?

There's not a picture of it, but APPARENTLY that mud was VERY slippery, and on the next shovel, our four-year-old went into the water head-first. I was reassured by his Uncle that our son had put his swimming lessons to good use. (Don't worry, Grandma, Uncle and Auntie were all there with them, and he was quickly rescued from the cold water). Why the large clothes? I was still up at the house getting a little extra sleep after a rough night and none of Grandma, Daddy, Uncle or Auntie knew where the kids' jackets were, so they improvised with some of Grandma's clothes.

By the way,that is the waterdog Taz himself taking a dip, no suprise there.

Remembering Grampa

In Loving Memory of Grampa

We all received very sad news two weeks ago Sunday; my dad passed away unexpectedly. This photo was the last photo taken of my dad. I was packing our van the week after Christmas and our two-year-old brought a book to him and said, "you read this book to me?" Then he climbed on his lap without waiting for an answer. Shortly thereafter the other boys climbed up too. I am so grateful my mom took this photo. That he will be missed doesn't even begin to describe it.

4-year-old sense of humor

4YO: "Mom, do you remember when we got a flat tire and you called triple-A?"

Me: (hmm let me think - full load of stuff from Target plus four kids ages five and under -all hungry for dinner) "yes, I remember."

4YO: "You thought triple-A was going to come to change your tire, but double-A came instead." (snickers heard in the background)

Can I get that in writing?

On the way home from swim last week our 5 1/2-year-old said from the backseat, "Mom, I'm not going to drive until I'm 30."

My response after laughing for several minutes, "Can I get that in writing?"

(I may actually ask him to write it out for me and date it, just so I can kid him about it when he's getting close to 16).

Mr. Sleep-Deprived

Can you see the family resemblance?

Anyone for a pony ride?

And I thought three was a crowd.