i'm really tired today, i just don't have anything clever to say! i'll just post some pics. when in doubt, show your kids!

(the princess is showing me her new dance in this pic! i think it's a toddler version of the "robot") notice that the baby is wearing a shirt that says "i still live with my parents". that cracks me up!

so i mopped the kitchen floor today, and i've decided i'd like to strangle the person who thought white would be a good color for a floor. i'm pretty sure i swept up enough cheerios to feed all the kids breakfast for a week. we're hoping to install a new floor in the kitchen this summer, i think i'll pick something dirt colored. and possibly with a design that resembles cheerios. then i would never have to sweep or mop. that would be fantastic! i was trying to get the house clean from the weekend. for some reason the house is a complete disaster on mondays. i think because everyone is home and we tend to be off the normal routine. i try to clean up on sunday nights, so i don't wake up to a mess. but this week it just didn't happen. i was too tired to even think about it. i found out today that a friend of mine is pregnant with her second child. for a moment i thought how exciting it is to be having a new baby and thought i should have another. and then i came to my senses! i remembered that when i go to bed at night i can sleep until morning. i can leave all four of my kids with a sitter now. i can take a shower if my oldest is home to watch the baby (not a long shower, but a shower none the less). you forget about all those things when you see a newborn baby. you miss that smell and their little hands and the way they just stare at you. you forget about the stretch marks, sleep deprivation, eating a meal while breastfeeding (and trying not to drip food on the baby's head) and all the other things that go along with having a baby. but i do love a new baby! thankfully, my sister in law is having her own so i can get my "fix" there. and not gain 70lbs in the process.

so i got up today, on time for a change, and the house is quiet. this is heaven to wake up to a quiet house, no one asking for juice or arguing over dragon tales vs. mickey mouse. i make my coffee and put on my soft, fuzzy socks (because i live in a 107 year old house which is ALWAYS cold) and get the paper. i'm going to sit in my favorite chair and read and drink an entire cup of coffee before i get the kids up for school. i walk into the living room and step right on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. that's right, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. why this sandwich is on my living room floor i cannot tell you. somehow in my late night clean up i have overlooked this. i now have creamy peanut butter and grape jelly all over my fuzzy socks. ok, i'm not going to let this ruin my plan, i'll simply remove the socks. and then i hear a noise. it's that much written about pitter patter of little feet. although it's not so romantic at 6:30 in the morning. and along comes my son. fully dressed in his school uniform, coat and hat. i ask him why he's wearing all that and he replies that i had told him if he gets up early to go ahead and get ready for school. apparently i didn't specify that the coat and hat weren't necessary. who can be irritated at a five year old standing there ready for winter at 6:30 in the morning? then i hear noises signifying the baby is awake. i go to get him up and he's sittting with his little legs hanging out of the slats of his crib. he has a plastic teacup (disney princess of course) and he's banging it on the side of the crib. he looks like a tiny prisoner! no matter what kind of morning person you are (and i am not much of one) you cannot help but smile at someone who is that happy to see you in the morning! that big, silly grin with only 5 teeth, usually drool on his chin, and his hair that is always sticking up. maybe the morning didn't quite go as i planned, but i'd say it turned out just fine.

snow day

so it's the last day of christmas vacation, can we say hallelujeh?? all together now.... don't get me wrong, i love my kids. but i am so ready for all these people to go back to where they belong! i need to get back into a routine. have you ever noticed how we work so hard to get our kids on a solid routine, and then we plan activities that break the routine and expect them not to act crazy!~ i mean, really, we created this monster. my kids do not handle breaks from the schedule well. which of course means neither do i. my husband is off today, due to the weather, which means most likely i'll get nothing done! when he gets an unexpected day off, we like to put the kids down for nap and lay on the couch and watch tv all afternoon. right now we're on a "deadliest catch" marathon. not normally the type of show i'd watch but i'm totally addicted. i love those guys. that's our version of a snow day. kids sleeping, watching alot of tv. we just recently got cable which is not good for us. we love tv entirely too much to have 300 channels. most people claim they hate tv, but we're pretty open about the fact that we love it. (by the way, the pic has nothing to do with this post, other than to make the point that they are so cute when they sleep. then they wake up.)