Valentine's Day

Tonight I was supposed to go to a wedding reception, and I was looking forward to it.  But instead I am home, with one child who has the stomach flu and four children who do not.  Poor buddy feels pretty lousy and has spent a lot of the day just laying quietly or sleeping.  I miss him when he disappears like this. I like my Zion commentary on the day.  Fortunately, this is the only child who is going to get sick - the rest are not on the schedule to vomit for this month, so there's that to be happy about!

So Tim is gone and the rest of us are home - the boys are playing video games on the Nintendo 64, which they joyfully unearthed the other day.  Layla,age 3 1/2,  has been camped out in the room we call the office, which also houses our warm, cozy pellet stove, and has been chattering almost non-stop for over an hour.  I can't hear her very well while I am working in the kitchen, and keep saying, "What, Layla?  Come into the kitchen if you want to talk to me, because I can't hear you!", to which she says "Mom! Mom!" and then continues her monologue.  Ok.

I really like how she doesn't pronounce her "l's" right now.  So she is telling me about things she "yikes" or talks about "yaffing".   Or she needs help turning on a yight. :D  She likes to tell me about made-up events that involve her "fwiends" - either her girlfwiends or her boyfwiends.  (She only means boys that are friends.)  She definitely has a good imagination - she and Zion will play together for HOURS happily and a lot of what they do is pretend and imagine.

Look at this pair.  Can you SEE the industriousness just seeping out of them??!  (Her room is currently a disaster area as a result of this playing and I really need to get in there and sort it out.  Roll of eyes.)

"Mom, I wish we had an awesome car...with lots of colors on it...and I wish it had a dragon on it." She cocks her head and stares at the top of my head.  "Mom, you need to wash - Mom, your hair yooks - i think you need to make your hair yook gooder."

I keep occasionally saying, "Mmmmhmmm..."  She also continues to talk a constant stream while I talk on the phone.

Baby is wandering around with a pair of Layla's fuzzy pink pants draped around her neck, ever so self-consciously pleased with herself.  Tim said today that she is his winter antidepressant, because she is such a mood-lifter. :)

I baked some inexpensive, pre-made dough Valentine's cookies to celebrate the holiday and they are sitting ever so crispily on the table.  I always overbake bought cookie dough!! I can never "read" it right when it's cooking.

It's very cold tonight.  It's supposed to feel like it's -20 tonight with wind chill.

Oldest Daughter is still going strong over here.  Almost two hours of nonstop talking.  "One day Caroline tried to take herself apart.  And Kitzi tried to take herself apart.  And brothers and dad were so mad.  And me and you and Caroline were so happy."  ????  Tuning back out now.

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Last night we made homemade pizza.  Actually, it was most Tim, to give credit where credit is due.  He also got a little help from Israel.

Israel loves projects like these.  He shows a lot of initiative in things.  Yesterday he wanted to get the baby dressed, and did his best - but this is a hard project indeed.

Then this morning he wanted Layla to come outside with him to play laser tag, so he went and found her shoes and a coat and helped her put them on.  :)  Just makes me smile.

The pizza was DELICIOUS and we felt very proud of ourselves.  Routinely making homemade pizza has been "on my list"...the infamous list of things I aspire to "someday".  Someday...when the babies sleep better and I'm not so tired and I have more of the energy to do more of the things.  Things like a successful garden are on this list.  Or landscaping.  Or canning beans.  Or making bread.  Or granola.  Or establishing a successful chore routine for the kids. Or selling extra items and make money.  Today I made my own chicken broth and I feel like a virtual Helen Housewife.  Which I am.  A virtual. Helen. housewife.  (quiet cough)

But it's seriously exciting to get anything on my list accomplished.

Now it's snowing, which is about the best Valentine's Day present I could get.  Aside from help cleaning the house, which I also got.  So I'm set, ya'll. Happy Valentine's Day!!! :)