Four and Fabulous

It is B's birthday today. What can I say? She is so incredible. Funny, sweet, so articulate, stubborn, smart, goofy, gorgeous. As my MIL says, "with three kids someone has to be the middle child, but it sure isn't going to be her!" She amazes me every day. She loves to talk (and does so CONSTANTLY), and even when she has misbehaved, is very practical about it - "Mommy, I had to miss having ice cream because I wasn't a good listener. I hope I listen better next time." (preceeded by a 30 minute screaming/crying fit, but at least she gets it!) She is also very photogenic, as you can see! Happy Birthday, big girl!

Typhoid Family

So we had two parties this weekend for B's birthday (which is tomorrow). This morning I brought B and Big Man to the Dr and both were diagnosed with strep throat. In my defense - they didn't have symptoms!!! Sam just woke up this morning with a 101-degree fever. B has yet to have a fever, but did have a rash on her torso that we assumed was due to either the heat, suntan lotion, or the pool. Apparently, no. They both have strep and we exposed nearly everyone we know to them. Including two pregnant women and a 7-week old infant. Oh yea, we are that family. Can't wait til K gets it.

Big Man also has an ear infection, and apparently the constant draining of his ears (with the tubes) is not normal. He is now on drop 2x a day and has to go back to the dr every two weeks until it stops. Oh yay.

My adorable children.

Last weekend we went to a gorgeous park in Northern Virginia for a photo shoot. The photographer was Jennifer from fingerstotoes.com. Meadowlark Park was a great location and we all had fun. The kids got bags of food to feed the fish, geese, turtle, and ducks at the ponds. They had a blast trying to feed them. Lots of flowers were blooming- it was really beautiful.

The pics are amazing. The first few are previewed here, but we will soon get a disk with a bunch more - I can't wait. My favorite is this one. But Jen's work is great. She does only natural-light photography. If you are looking for some family photos, I suggest you check her out!

A Little One-on-One Time

Usually being a family of 5 is fun. But for the kids, it means they get very little one-on-one time with mom or dad. So..we have started a new program to fix that. Every week it will be someone's day (K and Dad, or B and Mom, etc)..and that person will get to have one activity on their own. It may be going out for ice cream with mom, or going to the library with dad, or for a bike ride, or a museum, movie, etc. We aren't doing it for Big Man yet, as I don't think he would even get it. But we started it last week (K and Dad) and the girls love it.

K and Daddy went out to breakfast and then took her bike to get fixed. It's now me and B's turn. She wants to go out for ice cream, and maybe to the library to pick out a book or movie.

They are very excited. I am too, there are some things that are just too complicated to do with all of us, but one-on-one will be fun!

Works for Me Wednesday - Activities for the Kids

So this week, Rocks in My Dryer is having a themed "Works for me Wednesday". It is the ""Mom, I'm Bored" edition. So, I contribute, first my post from the other day on walking bingo. Anyone who wants the cards can email me and I will share the file.

But my second suggestion is for the parents of geeks in the group. My daughter is really taken with math. She loves it. I think it was last summer that she initiated the "plus game" - where we give her numbers and she adds them in her head. A few weeks ago she asked for some math worksheets to practice during extended day. (seriously, this is my kid??!!) So, of course, I googled it, and found some great sites. The first is superkids.com. This site has TONS of educational worksheets - math, logic, vocabulary, etc. It is really great and all FREE! You don't even have to register! Other great ones include: http://themathworksheetsite.com/ and http://www.kidzone.ws/math/.

So there you go - there is what works for me!

I L-O-V-E I-T

Did you watch the Scripps National Spelling Bee last weekend? I am a total bee-geek. It is the best reality television going. Those kids are so cute - and they all have their own little stories. I love watching their little idiosyncrasies and nervous tics and tells. There was this one girl - I think she was from Chicago - and when she knew the word she would totally light up and practically start jumping and would be breathing really heavy. It was so sad when I saw the first word she didn't know and she got it wrong. You could so tell she had no idea.

And the two boys that were the final two - they were so great. Both so composed, but the kid who won was also really funny. He got a word at one point- "numnah" - like I have any idea what the heck that is - but he thought it was "numbnut" - so did the whole audience - and he was like "WHAT???!!" and then COMPLETELY relieved to discover the word is "numnah" - he actually said, "well, that's a relief". Cuz, you know, numnah is easy to spell. (for the record it is some kind of sheepskin pad or something) The words that they get in the last few rounds are not only difficult to spell - they are beyond SAT words. They are impossible things I have never even heard of, much less could begin to spell. I just love watching it - they are all so impressive!

(ok, for the record, Blogger is convinced that numnah is not a word - see! they spell impossible things!)

Overheard...

Driving home from the pool on Sunday.

"I was good momma. I only whined when I was drowning."

Yes, she had a life jacket on. No, she wasn't actually drowning, but had decided to forgo the noodle for a bit, and wanted some help. Yes, I did jump in the really cold water to help her.

K had been whining and I was reprimanding her, when B popped up with this. Made me totally crack up and lightening the situation immensely!

Ahhh..the things they say....