🙂 🙂 🙂

I am not gonna lie.
I will be glad to say adios to May.

It is just busy and school is still going … and we will keep plugging away but as the pool at Papa’s House gets warmer … we’ll be motivated to get it done by lunch.

I am also not gonna lie.
I spoke too soon when I {might have} bragged that our new little 2-year-old didn’t bother anything or do any typical 2-year-old toddling and tooling about.
In things like school supplies, scissors {oh my}, food cabinets and bags of cheez-its ALL OVER THE FLOOR.

Ahem.
So. She is obviously getting quite comfortable around here.
Seriously. She struts around like she owns the place. I know I’ve said that, but she does.
Cracks us all up.
If someone doesn’t do/say/act the way she thinks they should, she calls them “Bad [brother’s name]” or “Bad Sissy” or insert someone’s name here.
Again, we might sometimes crack up.

Yes, she is spoiled. Yes, she is most definitely the caboose.
Seriously, I will NOT be putting together another dossier. Seriously.
🙂 🙂 🙂

I can now say with complete confidence our family is complete.
I know, I know.
But really, I never felt that before. But now I do.
Now, there are certain circumstances that would obviously change my stance on that, but they would be so RARE and near impossible.

Have I mentioned how B-U-S-Y I am these days?
Laundry is ALWAYS behind.
Meals with more than 1 entree are becoming a novelty.
Sigh.
I am planning to get some more freezer meals done. I got spoiled with those, and so did the family.
I also joined emeals.com after getting a living social deal on it. For less than $3 a month, I can print out a shopping list to the grocery store of my choice for 7 dinner meals a week! They also plan them according to the weekly specials and will give you coupon tips as well. Can’t wait to get started with that.

As for my title, like I said, just busy and seems like no time to post. Also a certain little someone just needs so much attention. And then some other little someones need a bit more of Mommy’s attention lately too. Not a bad thing and to be expected, but if anyone figures out how to duplicate one’s self (no I’m not advocating cloning), but really, I could see some real benefits. Just think of it …

Honey, I have a headache. Oh, wait, the other Me is feeling just fine!
Mommy, the internet is down again. Oh, just ask my other self to help you get back on-line.
I don’t have any clean underwear … or socks … or shirts. Really? Well, I just know Mommy is already working on that. Did you look for her in the laundry room?

I am cracking myself up. It is really late, and I am quite possibly not making any sense at this point.
So … I think I’ll just put in some photos now with brief captions. 🙂

This video will speak for herself.
{In case you can’t see when I zoom in on the time, it was filmed at 9:54 p.m. when a certain little someone SHOULD HAVE been fast asleep. About one night a week or so, she decides she wants to stay up with Mommy and have play time with me all to herself.}

[flickr video=7231427176 secret=180e95ca2e w=400 h=225]

All of you I think have been reading a long while, so you know we have critters of the wild variety who just show up. This next one though takes the cake as far as closeness to our DOOR. We came home from swimming at Papa’s Pool and Mo told me as I came out of the van with Li’l Bit: “Mom, you HAVE to come see THIS.”

OK. Deep breath. Because one just never knows.

The photo quality is horrible because I might have been standing as far away as possible and still be in our garage, but this is most definitely a groundhog IN Li’l Bro’s shoe cabinet in the garage. Did I mention we just left the garage door cracked so the cats could come and go?

Here is a different angle that is less grainy.

He stayed this way for the next 2 hours awaiting the Prez’s arrival home from work. I was not about to let Mo and Larry get the creature out, though they volunteered. I could just see a trip to the ER in my near future if I went along with their plans.

The creature is wild, but honestly he lives under our neighbor’s shed and we see him often. Still he is NOT welcome in our garage. The Prez was determined to get him out without incident to either himself or the creature, and he succeeded by donning very long and very thick gloves (which were not needed as the creature acted kind while being removed) and bagging him in a large fishing net of all things.

I’m not sure who was happier: the groundhog or me once the release was successful. I suspect a certain dog who shall remain nameless chased the poor creature, who must have thought the garage was a safe escape … except same nameless dog could access it by crawling under the door. Oh well. It provided needed entertainment for the 2 hours and was much more educational than the Wii or Scooby Doo.

Speaking of hanging at Papa’s pool, we have been doing our fair share. Some of our dear children are crazy enough to swim in the 65 degree water. And I suspect the little peanut will be in there soon enough. She is already standing on the steps.

See I would try this, but then I just KNOW I would get dunked in the pool. In a matter of … oh … probably 3 minutes or less. It would just “accidentally” happen. I am smarter than they think!

Grammy has a snow cone machine, and before the summer is out she’ll have a NEW snow cone machine. Papa knows it; she knows it; we all know it.
And she might have accused me of creating covetousness in her by emailing her a photo of the above-linked machine while the kids and I were in Sam’s last week. But according to Papa, she had already seen it anyway.

Anywho, Grammy is a snow-cone making machine herself! And to her defense, making Snow Cones for 6 children (plus 2 more if her other grandchildren are there) is no easy feet, and I’m certain the free-standing model with wheels will be so much more efficient.

I think it is safe to say Li’l Bit loves her snow cones. {She might have eaten 4 the first time she tried them. According to Grammy she came back 3 times, but who was counting? Certainly not me, and now I’m wondering if this was the same day the above video was captured later in the evening? I think it might have been actually.}

And her siblings enjoyed quite a few refills themselves, well except for Li’l Bro who opted for a rice krispie treat instead. This child doesn’t even like soda! I know, great, but how in the world can you not like a Snow Cone??? He doesn’t like strawberries either, just so you’ll know why he isn’t doing much of the picking in the pictures below …though he was a great bucket holder. 😉

Earlier that same day the children and I headed South to a strawberry patch at a local farm. We had gone last year and the kids had been begging me to go back. After checking the FB page to see the berry patch was open, I decided this past Monday was as good a day as any and that we’d leave bright and early. That was a good move as there were no crowds and it wasn’t 90 degrees yet. Just 75.

Funny story. The lady who is the matriarch of this multi-generational farm, still owned and operated by the same family, took one look at us with Li’l Bit strapped on my back and me holding two other little hands … and said, “Are you the supervisor of all of these children?”

Now, she wasn’t rude in the least. She was being serious. I told her, “Well, yes, I am. I am their mother.”

She said, “Oh, OK. Well can you keep them in line? I’ve had some unruly children this year trampling my plants and causing all kinds of trouble.”

I assured her, “Yes, they will be in line or we’ll be leaving. Promptly. Period.”

Well, I was not made to be a liar, and they did great. We picked about 10 lbs. of berries and they are ALL GONE already. They were delicious. I asked her what they put on them (knowing not anything except maybe water b/c the weeds growing around them are obvious and the berries are not real large), and she said: “Honey, we put a little bit of water the last few days as it has gotten hot, and then we have put nothing else … well except what the good Lord has sent! That is all!”

I told her what He sends is all the berries or we need, and she agreed. As we walked up to pay, she complimented our children, which I really appreciated since she had put the fear in them LOL!, and she asked me to come back “anytime.” I told her we thought the invitation to come to her farm is a PRIVILEGE not a given, and we wanted to be able to come back so we could do nothing but follow her rules and respect her far. She said sadly a lot of parents don’t feel the same way and have been offended that she would even try to give their children rules to follow.

I find that so strange. And sad. Why can’t a farm owner express concerns about behavior if done in a kind way? And why can’t she express certain expectations? I think she should be able to and like I said, she was kind in her approach but straightforward, which I really appreciated.

Well onto the photos I snapped with my phone. Remember I had to mind the children and also make sure the one on my back stayed there!

And one last moment I want to put in this post is a few photos from Mother’s Day.

In 2009, The Prez helped our 3 children create a heart for our front “flower” beds (not really any flowers in them).

In 2011, they made me a new one with all of our children’s handprints. {We didn’t travel until AFTER Mother’s Day in 2010, so this was the first Mother’s Day with all 5.}

And then came 2012. And another set of little fingers to remember.

The Prez decided to do both of her hands but only one of our other 5 children. He doesn’t know why; he just did it {in case anyone else like me wonders :)}.

We also met The Prez’s sister and her family for dinner as well as both of our parents … and I managed to only snap a photo of faces so not putting it here. 🙂

Hope to be back sooner next time because I have some more photos I’d like to post, and with my long lull even the Prez was starting to wonder if I’d ever blog again. I will!