What They Love Now

• LittleMissMatched clothes (thanks, Gramma!)
• PB Teen backpacks and accessories (on birthday lists already)
• books, books, and more books
• Netflix on the iPad: "Mom, it's almost like we have cable!" (Thanks, Papa!)
• iTunes - current fav song "Dynamite," followed by all things TobyMac
• Webkinz - they got into this craze late I think but hey, the younger one is playing the typing game and making some progress
• audio books - right now listening to the Chronicles of Prydain

Glimpses

Bits and Pieces
(Anything to post something fun - I heard from a few who thought I had gone off the deep end).

Remember Heat of the Moment by Asia? My four year old loves it. Big dancing in this here kitchen tonight while we made fettucine alfredo. I also rocked out to it a bit on the treadmill today. Memories.

TWO of my best high school buddies got in touch randomly last week. So fun! One to tell me she posted a not so flattering picture of us on Facebook. Thanks. You know who you are and I won't mention you or people will go look it up. The other is blogging now; I'm so privileged to get a glimpse into her life and thoughts.

I think I've posted before that once a month my girlfriends and I go out: dinner, wine, staying out late. Very late in fact, so much so that our men were getting a wee bit annoyed. So we brought them along this month to sort of keep the peace. (Not to mention we're headed out of town this weekend on a girls getaway.) A great night.

One vote for the Tiger Mom (Or, why are people sending Amy Chua death threats?)

I gotta tell ya, I couldn't put Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mom down. Why is everyone going crazy and writing Amy Chua hate mail? So much of it is obviously tongue in cheek; she has a refreshingly intelligent way of at once poking fun of herself and also bringing to light some ne'er talked about important issues in education regarding race and parental involvement.  (Don't forget that Asian Americans rocked the PISA, other American students didn't do so well).

I'm not saying I would ever employ some of her "extreme" parenting methods, but it did make me think twice about some of my own expectations and practices. I also secretly wonder now if our violin teacher thinks I'm a typical slacker "Western mom." She's a very accomplished teacher (to say the least) and almost all of her other students are Asian. It may be time to hit that one a little harder...

Death Defying Moments...

...and other days with Dad

We took the troops to our favorite science museum on Friday. Hubby took the girls to ride the tight-rope unicycle. I'm not exactly sure if that's its real name, but you get the idea.

Check out the pictures I found on my camera recently: 

Hubby, arriving upon the scene from afar, decided to unplug the toaster and get the camera, rather than remove the many sharp knives from the hands of his not yet two year old.  Just thought you should know...

Because there's no time to post more...

Go Bucks!

Tweens.

It's been one big Camp Rock 2 fest this week. One of their best buddies hosted a Camp Rock 2 Premier Party last Friday night for their whole girl gaggle. When I picked them up I saw right away we had entered new territory: The Tween Zone. Screaming, giggly, silly girls belting out, "We can't, we can't, we can't back down. Not right now. We can't back down."

I was told by the host mom that my oldest said, "We're NEVER allowed to scream like this at home!"

Not sure I'm ready for this...

Keeping Our Children In A Bubble

You thought this would be about sheltering our little people from the evils of the world? It's summer! I haven't written a serious post in far too long for that. Sometime soon, though, because the wheels are starting to spin with fall lesson planning...

Crockett looking on in wonder

Elbow managed to stay on her feet for quite some time

Little Miss Matched

Ever since their grandma and great aunt bought them just about every piece of clothing from Little Miss Matched last year, the girls have been dreaming of redecorating their room in these fun - albeit bright - patterns. They've been ready for a change for quite some time; their current purple flowers have seen them through two bedrooms and almost six years.

They've picked out the bedding

Bobo:

Elbow:

I've made the valances:

Now we're waiting for our painter to come tomorrow and transform their room into an "electric lime" and "dragon fruit" oasis.  (This room is a headache waiting to happen, according to Hubby.) After that we'll shop for loft beds with desks underneath. They're in desperate need of some quieter study space.

This car...

• was a graduation gift almost fifteen years ago
• took Hubby and me over 7000 miles on a cross country trip following our graduation from Yale Div
• has lived with us in five different states
• has ushered all five of my babies home from the hospital 
• now belongs to a ministry at Ohio State University

Not bad, Ruby, we wish you well in your new life!

Careful What You Wish For

Guess who scrubbed baseboards, cleaned the top of the refrigerator, and put away all our completed school work (which required climbing into our crawl space on all fours)?

Yep. Nesting has arrived. Bring it on.

I should mention that Hubby preached a great sermon on the importance of a Sabbath rest this morning. Sorry, Love, you moved me but maternal instinct is something altogether different.

MOTT

I can't believe I've never posted about MOTT. When I moved to Fargo, I was invited to a dinner group (Moms Out Third Thursday) that had already been in existence for some time. It's such a brilliant concept: the third Thursday of every month is reserved for a girls night out. What's not to love? 

We take turns picking a restaurant and then simply making a reservation under the name MOTT. It's a standing date and you come when you can. It's such a great night. No cooking, cleaning, or even tending to little ones. 

When I moved to Ohio I definitely missed my friends, but also my night out.  So I got the ball rolling for another chapter of MOTT right here. We meet on Tuesdays, so we didn't even need to change the acronym. Another of the moms from the Fargo group moved to Virginia and has a chapter going there too.  Start one where you are and we'll be on our way to a national organization!

Last night my new MOTT friends surprised me with a diaper and wipes shower. I'm stocked with an assortment of sizes for long, long time. How sweet!

Heard and Seen

With everyone buzzing about the Inauguration, it's hard not to join the chatter. I'm trying to be hopeful and stay out of the loop a little bit. So instead I'll just pass on a few things too good to miss.

Great Jon Stewart Clip. HT: Alice.

Beautiful words at Love2Learn.

And, of course, the ever insightful Jenn.

Not Good.

I need a Mister Misty. Somewhere around this time in every pregnancy, I start dreaming of DQ's sugary, slushy treat. I also start chomping on ice if the baby happens to be a boy. 

Big problem. Dairy Queen doesn't do them anymore. What? It's now the Artic Rush and they are SO.NOT.THE.SAME.

I've tried twice now, just hoping some disgruntled teenage worker got the recipe wrong the first time around. Nope. 

If any DQ people are listening, bring back the Mister Misty!

Do I Know You?

Making overdue dental appointments for my oldest three yesterday, the receptionist - after hearing their ages - said "what were you thinking?"

I proceeded to tell her their was another one too young to get his teeth checked. She changed her tune when she found out he was about the age of her grandson, whom she adores - obviously. I guess one is adorable but four - not so much.

I became her "new best friend" though when I mentioned we were home schoolers and were very flexible with our schedule.

Alrighty, then. I went from deranged mother to best friend in a matter of about thirty seconds. Not bad, considering I hadn't even had my second cup of coffee.

Long Summer Days

Hubs was not altogether pleased that I let the boys dig under the front patio pavers. It did occupy them for a good 2 hours. On a day that Hubs pulled a twelve hour stint at work. I'm definitely not letting that become a habit. (The work thing; we'll see about the digging).

Anyway, the days have seemed extra long because I've been battling it out with my coffeemaker for a good three weeks. It works when it wants to. Some mornings I awake to freshly brewed coffee (oh happy day!), some days I have to pour boiling water in there to heat up the element enough to get a seriously weak cup o' joe. Some days nothing works and mama's grumpy. Just when I begin to cave and declare tomorrow the day to ditch it, it pops back to life as if nothing ever happened. UUggghhh...

I bit the bullet and threw her out today. Goodbye highly expensive and beautiful Cuisinart carafe-less friend; we've been through a lot together. Hello reliable old Mr. Coffee - welcome to our world.

So, like, true. Duh!

In honor of Hubby, who graduates this weekend with a doctorate in biblical preaching, and who knows how to speak well. Well done, good and faithful servant. We love you.