Mommy's little helper?

It's book club tonight at my house. That means it's brownie baking time. Nathan showed a lot of interest in the proceedings. He pulled up a sponge block to stand on and decided to hinder help me. I'm such a lucky girl!

Gummy grin

Tonight, one of Spencer's two front teeth popped out at teeth brushing time. This is always cause for celebration as the Tooth Fairy has been known to be quite generous when at our house! Spencer kindly posed for a photo for me and then as the kids were ushered to bed, Leia wanted to whisper something in my ear. She said "I know the Tooth Fairy isn't real. You and Dad give the money". I was quite pleased that she is finally mature enough to have a clear understanding of myth versus reality. But I still found myself saying, "Don't be ridiculous, of course the Tooth Fairy is real." There's no need to rush these things after all.


What a cutie pie. I really like a gummy grin and it took me a while to get used to Leia's two new tombstones!


I can't possibly take out my camera without Leia being in a picture. What was I thinking?

Today and Father/Son campout

Today has flown by so quickly. My anxious feelings surprised me as I watched the kids get on the school bus. I think it's a throw back to my own feelings on the first day of school. Fortunately the kids were beyond excited and so after the first pang watching them drive off I was able to go about my day quite happily. After dropping the kids off at the bus stop I spent the morning doing some overdue cleaning in the kid's bathroom and the kitchen. I decided on the week's menu and I am going to be doing some more real cooking. Nate played on his smart cycle and followed me around. He's so adorable and when we went shopping he walked so nicely by the cart that I didn't have to put him in the seat. After putting away groceries and getting started on dinner, Gary got home so I could hurry to my OB appointment. I got another listen to the baby's heartbeat. After looking at my stomach, the nurse asked me if this was my first baby. When I said it was my fourth she looked surprised. That certainly didn't hurt my mood. I got home from the appointment and the kids were so excited to tell me about the first day of school. Spencer is straight into Spanish and had a word he needed to practise. Leia did some sort of experiment that I couldn't quite get the gist of but she was in a group with two friends which is of course the most important thing. And a boy she likes is in her class this year. JOY!
We had a nice family dinner and FHE and the kids were so tired they went straight off to sleep. I'm starting to plan tomorrow, something I haven't done in weeks.

So here for your viewing pleasure are pictures from the father/son campout which was the last hurrah of summer.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Girl time!

It's been a lovely afternoon and evening. Gary got home from work about 1pm and he and the boys packed up the car. I had already put clothing together for the boys and made foil dinners for them. I tried not to appear too anxious to get them out the door but the boys had been bouncing off the walls all morning and I needed some peace and quiet. Fortunately Gary had already pre-planned and most things like tent, sleeping bags, lawn chairs etc were ready to go. We took the obligatory picture of them all standing by the car grinning from ear to ear and then Leia and I waved them off. BIG SIGH OF RELIEF!
I actually got to take a shower at 2 in the afternoon without worrying about the house crashing down around my ears. Leia watched icarly (which by the way I worry may affect her permanently) and I got dressed. We both squirted ourselves with some Bath and Body Works goodies and then we headed out the door.
We wandered around Borders and picked out a few things. Leia got a diary that locks, one of those things you just HAVE to have when you're 8 because your pesky brothers might be able to read it although they can't actually read at least not well enough to decipher Leia's handwriting. There was not one complaint as we wandered around the mall. I even got to check out the maternity clothes in Old Navy which I just have to say have the WORST selection I've ever seen. Totally not inspired by a single piece of clothing.
On the way out we popped into one of those cheesy photo booths and had a pretend charcoal drawing of ourselves done.
Then it was off to Olive Garden for dinner. I ended up regretting my decision. I usually go for a dish which has gorgonzola cheese in it. Well it's on the no no list for pregos so I decided to be good. I chose something new which wasn't half as good as what my usual would have been. I don't know why I did that. I haven't given up sushi and I know I often exceed my weekly allowance of tuna. Next time I'll throw caution to the wind. It was just fab to sit there with Leia and talk about such momentous things as who she's sitting next to at school this year and how she's going to be a little nervous this year because I won't be walking her in on her first day like last year. (This year we know the drill ahead of time and she's taking the bus.)
We ordered a dessert to go and came home to cuddle up on the couch and watch "The Secret Garden". I've been looking forward to sharing movies with her that don't involve animation of any kind and that I can enjoy too. I used to love The Secret Garden when I was a kid. She's also started getting into other books I used to enjoy as a kid too. I don't know why that tickles me but I LOVE it!
After the movie and dessert she went happily off to bed. I know she's busily writing about her day in her diary and then hiding it so the boys won't be able to find it.
Each of my children satisfy a part of me that the others can't. Spending time with Leia is just something else. She's such good company. She appreciates every aspect of life and expresses it. I can guarantee that she will send me thankyou notes for today and maybe she'll even attempt to make me something.
Well it's not over yet. We still have a special breakfast planned before the three stinking filthy mounntain men come back through the front door!


Aside from the glare on my glasses, I think this is a close to perfect pic of the two of us.

Brown? Perhaps not!

Lately I've been wondering what the new resident of Crazy Town will look like when he/she gets here. I found a great website that can give you the probabilities of your children having either blue, brown, or green eyes.

http://museum.thetech.org/ugenetics/eyeCalc/eyecalculator.html

My sister and I were chatting about this topic the other day. There was me idly dreaming that there were so many possibilities. The website informed me that the chances of any children we might produce having green or brown eyes is 0% and that the chances of us having blue eyed offspring is 100%. I guess that settles that and the small fact that all three of our children have blue eyes. I guess I wasn't listening in biology.
Well even if he/she has blue eyes, they MAY have a different color than blonde hair??? Perhaps I better go look that up too. It hasn't escaped my notice that all my children also have blonde hair.