Thursdays that feel like Fridays

This morning I went to meet someone in Greenwood to buy some used clothing items off of them, then stopped by Goodwill on the way home, and came home with several clothing items for Layla.  She loooooves clothes.  She tenderly laid them all out on the couch and chair in the living room and pored over them for a long time, with a hugely satisfied beaming smile on her face, and they made her happy all day long.

Something that is making me happy all day long is my chair.  It is green and it is soft and it is new to me even though it is old and sort of smells weird but hey that can be fixed and maybe Tim will quit stealing my couch cushions now because it has the most delightfully soft pillow on the back.  Happy sigh.  Reverent rub of velvety cushion arm.

Zion and Layla playing with bubbles today.

I took Israel and Zion to the doctor today for checkups.  Zion was 25% in weight percentile and 40% in height, and had 20/25 vision.  Israel was 95% in weight percentile and 99% in height and quite the little chatter.  He's very friendly and talks to people like he knows them.  I enjoy him very much.  I kept looking at Zion in the chair beside me in his massive blue gown with his hair that is starting to curl up at the ends because it's getting longer and his gorgeous green eyes and just marveling at how dear he is.  He's just still an innocent and so sweet.  They both got shots and then we went to get "shot prizes".  Zion chose a plastic piggy bank and a mug from Dollar Tree and a $2 bow and arrow set from Dollar General.  Israel had begged to go to Dollar General because he had his heart set on a toy gun he had seen there previously.  So that's what he got, after using a little money of his own to top it off.

Today was a Thursday but it felt like a Friday, for some reason.

It rained in the evening, a warm, humid rain that smelled lovely and so rainy.  :)  Made me want to stand around and sniff for a while, but instead I ran to the minivan and zoomed home because even though it wasn't Friday I had pizza on the brain, and Papa John's at that.  So we had pizza and watched screens like we do when pizza enters the house, and after that the very air seemed to be a hazy pink orange as the clouds left and the sun was setting.  We went on a walk.  Most of my pictures are blurry because I brought the wrong lens for the light, but I still like them anyways. :)

The cutie on the big wheel trike pedaling madly to catch up.

My people.

There is an osprey nest set up at the school next to us.

I realized I could see the clouds in the rain puddles left on the parking lot, and took a million pictures.

This one was one of my favorites, with the little puddle paddies.

And this one, where I got almost a full mirror effect.

Leaving my puddles and going to find my peoples.

The Miller Five.

Layla had to "do her exercises" while we were there.

Heading back home in the warm summer darkness to go to bed.

We made baby pull her wagon, because a baby has got to earn her keep, after all.  (Actually, it was LET her pull the wagon or listen to her opinions on the matter.)

Layla Grace.

The opinionated wagon puller and her posse.

 Our house was glowing brightly up ahead of us and being homey when we got home.

Now I'm eating garlic and pepper antipasto and stabbing the garlic cloves with a paring knife to eat them.  I'm very dainty like that.  The wee ankle biters are all snug in their beds and I think I will be too.  Good night!!

The Summer

The days fly by and the baby, she grows, and children laugh and play and their limbs lengthen and the days are long and full and the mama, she never gets around to writing any of it down and that's too bad because then she forgets it.  Due to her old age and her many many children. ;)

I read somewhere recently that it takes 7 years for your brain to return to all of it's former glory after having a baby.  So I still have a foggy 5 1/2 to find my way through.

Today I thought about blogging and my choices were between washing the dishes, blogging, and calling my mom.  I called my mom.  Because I like the mom the best.  :)

*********

This morning the munchkins were on a rampage.  I found them in a most delighted state of being busily shredding foam packaging into the millions of tiny round particles it returns to on my freshly vacuumed bedroom carpet.  I was not terribly delighted, myself, and sent the instigator on a Most Splendid adventure called "VACUUM ALL THE THINGS".  He doesn't mind to clean up his messes.  Besides...ain't no mama got time for that!! ;)

**********
Every child loves to get mail.  Even if it's mail addressed to their mother, sender name of "Junk".  It all warms a kiddie's heart.  

Warm red Pooh hats help keep a summer toasty and delightful, in case you're interested.

*********

I have recently discovered the joy that is warm toasted croissants slathered with Nutella.  My friends.  You must.

**********

The summer is zipping by.  It's so good and I love it.  This summer I have intentionally kept items stocked for sandwiches, cereal, and Ramen, because the Mama gots PROJECTS to get accomplished!!! I feel like I am still catching up from having Caroline, truthfully.

The kids have spent lots of time in our backyard "pool", I have hung plenty of loads of laundry out to dry in the sun.  The summer has been HOT and HUMID with plenty of rain, and the occasional stretch of really perfect, gorgeous, not too humid days with blue skies and soft breezes.  We've had two trips to VA and one big one to IN and then OH.  Have I recorded any of that for future memories?? No I have not.  Giving myself a stern shake of the head.

*********

Freakishly, I am almost completely caught up on both dishes AND laundry right now.  I'm looking around suspiciously to see what may fall out of the sky in another freak occurrence of nature.

********

Like all my other kids, Caroline has mostly dropped her afternoon nap already. She is 22 months.  I can get her to take one if I drive her around in the minivan, but then she is up at night past 9 PM for however long she slept.  Soooo...I vote for keeping her up in the afternoon and putting her to bed at 8 PM.  Often she will sleep in in the mornings and I think that sort of becomes her "nap".

*******

All of the rain this summer has made my garden grow nicely.  It makes my heart happy.