An October in photos

Hello blog reading friends!

No, I didn't take any Halloween photos last night.

Bad mom award.

The little three didn't dress up or go out  begging for candy at strangers houses  Trick-or-Treating since they are typically really afraid of any type of costume or stuff designed to scare them. The bigger four went out with Dad (1 was a Titans football player, 2 was a baby, 3 was a fairy and 4 was Mario- from Super Mario Brothers). 

I do, however, have OTHER October photos 

proving that we made it out of the house 

on more than one occasion! 

Woo hoo! Yay us!

So... here goes!

We played with chalk!

 We even got some on the sidewalk!

 #5 thinks she's funny leaving chalky hand prints everywhere!

 We tried our hardest to get pictures of #2... who HATES having her photo taken!

 See??

 We learned to swing!

 See?!!

 Even the little guy! (Who isn't always THIS dirty...)

 But he IS normally this happy!

 We learned that the slide is not the root of all evil!

We sometimes wore shoes.

We were given some GORGEOUS dresses for the girls!

They love them!

 We sat on daddy's lap and snuggled in the gorgeous fall weather!

 We LOVE this guy!

 We were often SHOCKED by what we saw!!

 We were not super excited about THIS swing.

 Some of us less excited than others.

 These swings were better.

The cheesy smile #5 learned to do, was not.

 We met our friend, Yishak, at the park to play!

We were at the care center at the same time and love to see him!

The girls say "Mommy! Yishak so CUUUUUTE!"

 Some of us got BRAVE.

Others.... not so much.

We got this cool new wagon! We love it!

 We went to a pumpkin patch!

 Deceptively innocent looking, isn't she?? ;)

 Awww.....

Big sunflower was a fun toy! 

 #6 - She was so happy about her pumpkin!

 I think #5 was wondering what it was for.

 We did heed this warning.

 But there was no such notice posted on the big trailer.

 75% of the boys in our family:

And the missing boy...#1... playing with the littlest! 

Pushing him in the swings... 

which he THOUGHT would be fun. 

 #4 - who I never have to BEG for a photo!

Isn't he adorable?? 

Re-thinking the "slides are not the root of all evil" statement.

They ARE, however, the root of all static electricity.

They were having much more fun than it looks like. 

Really.

They were.

Promise. 

I mean it. Fun times. 

I love this man:

Another sneaky pic of #2! Mwoo Hooo Hooo Haaa Haa! 

And another one! Isn't she gorgeous?

I discovered Baby Boy doesn't like the bull-riding tires.

I also discovered I had multi-colored hair and have since rectified that. 

 Baby Boy DOES like it when Mommy pushes him on the swings!

Hee!! Another one! This time a SMILE! 

#1 saying "I don't know WHY he's crying!!"

Make that screaming. 

Found a way to make him laugh!

Pretend to be knocked unconscious by his swinging feet! 

What's fun for one child is not necessarily fun for another. 

Case in point: 

#3 takes after her big sister.

What's wrong with my girls and photos?? 

Thankful for telephoto lenses.

 Then we thought it would be good to try to take a group picture on this ramp.

 Almost... 5/7 smiling!

Ok... not sure what's going on here...

 Baby Boy trying to escape, #6 looking somewhere else, #5 done with standing on the ramp, #3 acting like she's in pain, #2 clearly irritated, and #1 can't believe he has to participate.

 It didn't get much better. I never got one usable shot. I took 14.

But I got some good individual ones!

#5 is a doll!

Here's #7 being cute...

And #6 decided the camera was her friend! 

All in all... 

We had a busy, fun, memorable and otherwise very nice October!

I said I wouldn't.

But I broke down.
It was an emergency, really.

But who am I kidding.

I mean, most of the time when (as a mom) you make a statement to yourself like:

"I will NEVER allow my children to...."

or

"MY baby will NEVER...."

or

"My child certainly won't....."

You deserve whatever you get.

But this time...

I felt like I had this all under control.

I had made a promise to myself.

But in desperation, in one of those ill-prepared moments of haste...

I broke down.

And purchased these:

In my defense...

I was at the grocery store

without my diaper bag (I know... stupidity)

without diapers or wipes...

and baby boy was OOZING out of every seam.

So I was desperate. 

And they were on clearance.

For cheaper than the store brand.

So I caved.

They were pretty cute though.

The least I could do

The other day I had thanked someone, and their reply was

"It's the least I could do!"

And I thought...

I know what they MEAN by that,
I know it's just a phrase,
but do we realize what those words actually imply?

This was the absolute LEAST I could do.
I could do more... but I didn't.
That's all you are worth to me.
The LEAST thing I could POSSIBLY do for you.

This got me thinking.

How many times have we done this?

The LEAST we could do?

What exactly IS the LEAST I can do?

• Throw a $10 bill in the plate at church?

• Listen to a friend or neighbor pour her heart out and then offer a simple, "I'll pray for you." 

• Look at the tremendous need for adoptive families and say "oh, those poor little souls. More people should adopt children."

Maybe doing the "least we can do" just keeps us safe.

We don't get any of their junk on us if we keep a safe distance.

We don't get all uncomfortable in someone else's mess if we toss out a quick "I'll pray for you!" and then walk away. 

We don't lose our normal, happy lives when we brush off our sympathies for the poor, orphaned, sick or widowed with that head-tilt-tsk-tsk.

So, what's the least I can do? I have so much on my heart from our days in Ethiopia.

I have so many more children in my head, haunting my dreams and asking... 

what's the least you can do?

Can we do more?

Can our family do more?

I don't know.

I don't know what more we are supposed to do, or what the thoughts and ideas in my head are pointing towards...

but I know this...

doing nothing - well, THAT is the LEAST I can do.

awards, bread and hair

No, I can't think of a more creative title.

Awards:
Today and tomorrow I get to pack up the littles (5, 6, &7) and head on over to the middle school where I watch the two biggest get an award for the first semester of school accomplishments! Today was 1's award day. I was so proud of him! It may not be for straight A's or even all A's and B's... but he was recognized today by his teachers for his compassion in and out of school! I mean, come ON! Grades, schmades! I want my kiddos to be compassionate and others-focused and the public school recognized this in my son! Awesome.
Tomorrow is 2's awards day. She has informed me that she gets THREE awards, one of which is the Honor Roll certificate! Not sure what the other two are, but I am almost afraid to hope for another awesome character trait award... but a momma can dream!

Bread:
I've been baking bread like a crazy person! I think I am up to nearly 50 loaves (not including what I made for breakfast one day for the kids). I am baking for my parents' dental office. They take bread (or some other gift) to their referring doctors once or twice a month and since I am currently not employed... I get the job!

Pumpkin bread with butterscotch chips, white chocolate chips and craisins... with the Starbucks two-tone scone icing! I wish I could eat gluten... these look yummy!

And we have been doing more hair experimentation! I had 6's hair in little puffs this past 4 or 5 days and when I took it out, I was amazed at how long it had become with the stretching/drying of the puffs!
Check it out!

Here are the "twins"...

Aww... all matchy-matchy!

I think I "get" these little twists now!

It turned out cute!

Other side view.

I wasn't going for the spider-web part pattern, but since it's late October... 

I will just go with "oh yeah, it was totally intentional!"

(side note... see that stack of newspapers? Yeah, that's my ghetto booster seat, baby!

I can't stand the idea of buying another booster seat and our kitchen won't fit another high chair... so I saran-wrapped a stack of 5 papers together and VOILA! Booster Seat! The plastic wrap keeps it from sliding off the chair like a phone book, and its fully disposable when it starts looking yucky! LOL!)

As for Baby Boy, #7...

He is still fully embracing his Two-ness.

Today I said:

"No! No scissors!"

"Please don't put that in the toilet!"

"We don't eat leaves!"

"Do NOT pull that tree out of the pot!"

"No putting mommy's phone in the garbage!"

and...

"NO swinging from the balcony!!" 

(by a sheet, tied to a rail, by an older brother)

Whew.

He's two.

Not recently three.

I don't know that I need a bone-scan to verify that.

But he's really stinking cute!

50 ways to stay awake - by Baby Boy, #7

Since I am currently forced to sit in 

Baby Boy's room with him while he 

tries to go to sleep plays for an hour  ...

Here is a list of suggestions for those of you 

out there who need help staying awake.

You know, just in case you HATE how easily you fall asleep!

1. Demand that a very bright light stays on.

2. Demand that all stuffed animals are put on your shelf.

3. Pull all stuffed animals back off of the shelf.

4. Scream when you find the stuffed velvet frog.

5. Bite on your blanket and then pull it from your still-clenched teeth.

6. Kick all blankets off.

7. Get annoyed because you can't fix the blankets back.

8. Pull the elastic on your pajama bottom waist straight out... then let go.

9. Laugh.

10. Repeat 8 and 9 until told to stop.

11. Cry when told to stop.

12. Lay on your left side.

13. Switch to your right side.

14. Lay in an "S" shape.

15. Playfully throw limbs into the air and let them fall lifelessly onto the bed and make a plopping sound.

16. lay on tummy.

17. Kick covers off again.

18. Yawn.

19. OH, CRAP! NO YAWNING!!

20. Sit up in bed! 

21. Find non-scary, non-offensive stuffed animal.

22. Demand your mom tells you the name of all of the bear's body parts.

23. Find same body part on yourself AND your mom.

24. Laugh at poking mom in the eye while labeling "eye!!"

25. Cry when mom won't let you poke her eye again.

26. Mental note, when you can't pass biology - it's all Mom's fault.

27. Pout.

28. Stick out lip.

29. Demand labels for "bed", "blanket" and "bottle".

30. Get angry with mom for incorrect interpretation of "water" instead of "bottle".

31. Ask for a book.

32. Close the book mid-story.

33. Cry when mom sits in the rocking chair instead of on your bed.

34. Refuse to lay down.

35. Agree to hold teddy bear and make him go to sleep.

36. Feel tricked into laying down.

37. Throw teddy bear.

38. Try fake crying again.

39. Realize it does not work.

40. Agree to be covered up.

41. Toss and turn.

42. Turn and toss.

43. Flop onto your back.

44. Flop onto your tummy.

45. Make strange growling noises.

46. Make clicking noises with your tongue.

47. Finally sit quietly.

48. Think about kicking blankets off again.

49. Consider asking to play the "name that object" game again...

50. Decide to lay quietly instead.

AND FINALLY...

He's asleep.