Tinker-isms and Other Oddities

Tinker-tot

Tinker has been talking a lot lately.  And some of what she says is pretty darn cute.

She has decided that if you give her several things, like 5 jelly beans, she says, "Thanks."  But if you give her one thing, like a cup, she says, "Thank."

If you help her a lot, or she wants something a lot, she will "Thank you too much."   However, if you help her to something she doesn't really want, like hand her a cup of milk or put her in the high chair she says, "Thank you little bit."

If she doesn't want something, she says "I can't want it.

She always wants Pepper to do her "ponytails."  That's "toenails" to you and me!

Tinker Post Makeover

"Boo-boos" are "boom-booms."  Boom-booms are apparently contagious because now everyone gets them.  Grandpa taught us that in Czek, a belly button is a "Pupek."  So all of us have pretty much started calling that strange bit of humanity, "pupek."  But Tinker contends that they are actually "Belly butts."

Today The Captain -- who has recently learned to put words to his personal authority -- kept saying, "Tink, I don't like that."  I finally said, "Tinker.  What are you doing to your brother?"
"I tantrum him, Mom, sorry!"

All the kids love cabbage.  Too bad they think it's "babbage."

The Captain is definitely getting better command of language.  He cannot process "Why," "Who" or "what" questions much of the time, however.  Therefore, you never know if his answers to such questions are true.  Yesterday I told him that his teacher had called me.  (She told me that recently when he loses control, they go for a walk outside.) He looked sad and said, "Yes.  I have fit at school."
"Why did you have a fit, son?"
"I want to go for walk."

It's impossible to tell if this is truly the reason or it's just that the question stymied him.

Puddin' has a new, extended nickname -- you have to say it with a little beat.  I call her "K-K-my-puddin'-pop."  It's really sweet -- whenever she feels insecure, she says "I your K-K-Pop, Mama"

One day we got in a conversation that went like this: "Mama, You funny!"
"You're funny, Puddin'"
"You funny, Mama."
To which, I said, "Well, I'm funny looking!"

This conversation has now morphed into a silly ritual:
"Mama, You funny!"
"You're funny, Puddin."
"Well, you funny 'yookin' Mama!"

The Blitz

The Blitz is using lots of words -- about half of them to tattle!  Yesterday when he woke up at 3:45, I put him on the sofa and insisted he go back to sleep.   He actually talked in his sleep and said, "No, mama, I need (blah-blah)."  I didn't catch the last word but am so impressed he talks in his sleep.

He has recently decided that I am "Honey."  This reminds me so much of Pepper who, at his age, called Daddy and I "Honey" more than anything else.  Her famous saying is when she noticed it was a very gray winter day said, "It's a gloomy day, honey."

Sunshine showing off her Mother's Day tooth accident - Age 2

Sunshine, at two, thought all 3 syllable words began with the syllable "to" as in, "to-bana" (banana) and "to-bony" (bologna) and my all time favorite "to-betty" (spaghetti.).  I often wish I'd had blogs when the "bigs" were little as I'm sure so much of their sweetness has been forgotten, although I swore I'd never forget.

Pepper at 4

When the "bigs" were little, I was very careful about germs.  I never would let the girls play with toys at the doctor's office because I was sure they were covered in yuckiness.  One day when Pepper was 4, I was signing in at the desk.  She pulled on my shirt to get my attention and said, "Mom, can you not look at me while I play with the dirty toys please?"



Hope this gave you a smile!

Egg-Stravaganza

Egg work

On Easter Saturday, the Littles' godparents took the Littles--while Dear Hubby and Pepper kept Puddin'-- so the Easter Bunny could get organized.  What a blessing!  When I returned home, Pepper had started the egg dying and when Sunshine came in from a night away, she finished the job.  I have really great kids, don't I?

And it gets better!  On Easter Monday, both girls got out to clean off and rearrange the back patio.  It looks really great.   They did this totally on their own, folks, I swear.   I feel so happy when I look out there.  They even used SOAP!

Evidence of the Easter Bunny

We had a wonderful dinner at Grandmas.  It is so nice to know I don't have to cook in the midst of all the festivities.  We missed my niece and sister though.

All the kids had fun Easter-egg hunting.  The Blitz was uncharacteristically laid back about it.  Good thing we gave him a head start.  He wandered slowly out, picked up an egg, examined it, exclaimed over it, opened it, and then talked about it.  Funny!  Puddin' was the egg collecting star.  She just flew out there and scooped them up like her shoes were on fire.  But she is extraordinarily fond of candy.

Speaking of Puddin', we finally filled her up.  Yesterday for the first time since she's been here, she said, "I'm full," and handed me back a couple of chips.  She and The Captain are getting very attached -- there is going to be grieving when she leaves.  I would venture to say they are best friends.

I don't have a lot of pictures I can post because a certain little blonde is in a lot of them, but here are a couple shots of the fun. Dear Hubby was so busy trying to get clear shots of the Littles, he somehow missed the Bigs.  We'll all wear our Easter finest to church this week and see if we can get a family shot.  

4:00 AM Free-for-All

It doesn't sound true, but I swear it is.  At 4:00 a.m., Dear Hubby thought he hard talking.  And "Hoo-rahing."  So he went to the Littles room and there they all were.  4:00 AM and they were all on The Blitz's bed -- including Puddin' -- lights on, a free-for-all. And it looked like The Blitz had hit; every toy they own was in the middle of their floor.

He was so shocked, he yelled at them. "Get back in your beds!! It's the middle of the night!!"

Puddin' - who cries if you even look at her crossly -- started wailing and headed for bed.  We actually suspect she was the instigator as I cannot imagine the others waking her up without waking up Sunshine.  She has had quite a few adventures of wandering around the house in the middle of the night, but this tops all.

Of course, it didn't end there.  A few minutes later I heard the Tink talking.  The good (and bad) thing about her is that she never does anything without talking so she gives herself away.  Sure enough, she was in the pitch dark room in the middle of the toys, playing.  By now I have given up and gone to work on my blogs.  20 minutes later, I hear their door opening and closing.  It's the Blitz.  Goodness gracious.  They finally all went back to sleep. They'd better sleep in!

I realize I haven't posted any photos of The Blitz's birthday so here are a couple for you.  He thoroughly enjoyed being the center of attention.  I have a cute video of him opening Gram and Grandpa's gift but can't post it here because Puddin' is in it.  I totally missed the blowing out of candles -- thought I was recording and wasn't.  Drat.

Clothes from Mamaw and Papa

Present from Grandma

You know he loves cake - had to edit out the little blonde!

Who's Your Mama?

Yesterday I shoveled up and moved 13 wheelbarrows full of dirt by myself.  Dear Hubby estimates it was about 6-1/2 cubic yards.  It is a big pile of dirt.  I have absolutely no idea how I am going to keep the Littles out of it!  I think I had better buy some more fencing today.

The new sidewalk is working out great.  As I moved all that dirt, the Littles rode their various toys back and forth from the patio about 50 times.  The Captain needed a job, so I put him in charge of sweeping. He swept the sidewalk after me and got pretty good at it.  I remembered why I did so much yard work when the "bigs" were little.  It forces them to play outside and make their own fun.

One time Dad told me that boredom is good for kids.  The "bigs" will tell you that I have fully embraced that theory.  As a result, we don't have a DVD player in the van, although we have taken trips as long as 10,000 miles!  Our kids are allowed limited access to TV and video games and toys that make noise have the sound removed before use.  Kids need to make the noise for the bouncy horse and the trucks.  On that 10,000 mile trip, our daughters discovered that there are at least 5 kinds of desert between central Texas and California; I myself began to see the desert as a thing of beauty.

Yesterday Tinker, who is becoming a fantastic communicator, said, "Mom.  I got nothin to do."  I smiled.

"Well, think of something to do!  Look at all this yard to play in!"

Within minutes she had engaged Puddin' in a game of tag and soon both boys were in the fray.  Kids really do need to be bored.  And they need to  get dirty.  The boys, in particular, are enjoying the opportunity to dig in the dirt.

Both the "bigs" have been helping in the landscaping.  Sunshine gave me about 45 minutes yesterday of raking the dirt into a pile so I could more easily shovel it up.  Both she and Pepper helped me with planting before the sidewalk and I am happy to say with all the extra dirt moved, I could get back to the job today.  Ah, earth.

Home Improvement

A couple of weeks ago, Dear Hubby and I decided we needed to re-do our side yards.  We have re-sodded these areas twice and grass just doesn't grow in shade, I don't care WHAT anyone tells you.  So I came up with a garden diagram (to scale, mind you!) and then we had about a week-long discussion on what kind of path to make through it.  Finally, we decided a sidewalk was the way to go.

This is along the back of the house from the patio

The workers started at 7:00 a.m. and it has entertained us all day.  We have the dogs and the kids locked in the house and the kids have spent the balance of the day standing at the kitchen windows watching.  Here is the mostly done work.

Along the side of house -- workers by the gate.

We decided to have the kids do their hand-prints.  It's a little hard to see since I shot it at noon, but if you squint just right you can make them out.  The little stones are ones we picked up on the beach in Positano, Italy!

Pepper and Tink on the left

The Blitz, the Captain and Sunshine on the RIght.  So fun

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We are putting in Big Blue Liriope along the house and fence and Purple Wintercreeper between the Liriope adn the sidewalk.  Fun, huh?  We are going to continue a similar theme on the other side of the house, sans the sidewalk.  So far I have put about 15 hours of labor into this project and Paul about 7.  It's hard work but so satisfying.  I figure it will take me 10-15 more hours to finish the planting.  I am loving every minute.

Dear God

Dear God.

Thank you for blessing me with good health, a loving and caring husband, 5 beautiful children and a bounty of friends and family.  I am truly blessed.

But may I trouble you for just one more thing?  I know with You, all things are possible, so may I humbly request that we do a little quantum leap through time and skip my upcoming birthday?  As You (of course) know, birthdays have been a little challenging this year.  You'll recall we held Grandma Simmel's Rosary on The Captain's birthday and the funeral on Dear Hubby's birthday.

But today, oh, gracious.  Just in case you missed any part of the baby's birthday let me remind you.  

6:30 PM - We were  50 miles from home when The Blitz started vomiting.  And he did it twice more before we actually got home.    I did get a bit nervous when I had to swerve off the interstate right in front of that police officer. 


8: 30 PM Once we finally got home and the baby stopped vomiting, The Captain managed to get every bit of his deposit on my new living room carpet.   And how come in the midst of all the vomiting I have to assign an able-bodied "big" to guard the mess so the dog doesn't eat it?


9:30 PM -- re-jammy both boys and try to get 4 little kids to sleep in the same room because if it's going to get thrown up in, it  might as well be thrown up on by all of them, right?   I give them a probably pointless little speech about going into the bathroom if their tum-tum hurts.

Dear Hubby comes in and I warn him he might want to steer clear of ALL of us.  

11:00 PM -- Suspicious sounds over the monitor.  Oh, how the mighty have fallen.  Tink has soaked her pillow, her beds, her pjs, all of it.  Clean her up, put her on the living room floor, and wash my hands for the 50th time. 

Sunshine notices the Captain has done it in his sleep.  It's not much.  I wipe him up and he doesn't even wake.  I throw a cloth diaper on the spot on his bed.  

 And even though I've changed my clothes (twice now), washed everything I could pull lose from the car, cleaned the carpet and Lysol-ed the entire house, I still stink a little; some kinds of stink just doesn't wash out.  


11:30 PM -- uh, oh, I know that sound.  The Captain, God bless him, is sitting on the little stool next to the commode -- you guessed it. Although I'm proud of him for getting there, it is inexplicably all over his back and in his hair.  


Only our little "puddin' pop" -- our foster friend -- is unscathed.  Dear Lord let her please have one of those iron tummies that you have blessed me with.


And that's the baby's birthday -- so far.


But I digress.  So you see, oh Almighty One,I have a little fear and trepidation approaching the next family birthday which happens to be mine.  May I just go on record as saying that if either dog or the cat throw up or look like they might die, they are out.  I mean it.  I'll do anything for the people but those animals are on my last nerve.


Humbly,
Beleaguered mother

Photo Catch-Up

I got behind on downloading my photos so today you get a little scrapbook!

Movie Night!

The Tink gets a new pony!

The Blitz discovers the funeral desserts.  Yum German Chocolate Cake!  Yes, I let him have it.

Birthday boy and new bike

Pepper's Sculpy Dragon

Pepper Sculpey Owl

Sculpey baby elephant.  She is so talented!

Speaking of creative, she decided to make Berry Chantilly cake like we had at Juliet's shower.  The cake is sold at Whole Foods but the real fun is trying to make it yourself.

It turned out great.

This is why we decided to wait a few days before putting his big boy bed on the frame!

Makeover time.