A little bit of blue country

Coming up from our 5.5 lbs of blueberries: lots of snacking, a frozen gallon bag, and COBBLER.

Really, they're Mark's 5.5 lbs; I contributed 6 handfuls, Simon 10 berries, and Allianna 3 berries. Mark could reach all the topmost berries that all the shorter humans had left behind--big and smoky blue and delicious!

It's going to be a day well-seized

TOMORROW:

early a.m.

blueberry picking

i figure the kids won't need breakfast, just gorge on all they can pick berries

THEN

an afternoon matinee with

Wall - E

Bodily harm

Tonight when putting all the kids to bed by myself, not feeling particularly sweet or spiritual I said: "Stay in your beds or risk . . . . . . . . danger, bodily harm!"

As I go out the doorway, "Mama, what's moddily farm???"

Really takes all the oomphf out of the threat.

You don't really feel like you can keep your word and throttle them, when they didn't get the vocabulary.

So maybe I knew they wouldn't get what I was saying, but said it nonetheless because it felt good. Guess I didn't really want to have to keep my word if they were to follow me out of the room (which they did!!! grrr)--you know, the whole "don't threaten a punishment unless you're going to follow through."

So I'm still the mellow mom you thought me to be.

Ask me sometime how I unsnarl Alli and Simon when they're all tangled up in a mutual attack while I'm nursing; it involves a foot.

The living is easy

Happy ZOOBILEE to you! We are ever trying to teach them how to smile for a pic.

My new genius million-dollar idea is a fun at-home kid-styled mister to replace running through a sprinkler--conserve water, eh? It's probably already out there, but I'm thinking of it cause even here in H* (finish that as you will) we seem to be in a drought!

Now there are smiles! I guess I just have to expect a smile hiatus between ages 1-4.

This guy was going around saying "Mom???? Mooo-oom?" Ha ha. Alli was quite concerned, but she still gave him five.

You can notice how he becomes less impressive standing next to Mark. ;)

But I still liked all his jokes.

These are frogs! a monkey would have a rounded forehead, i tell you! Happy Year of the FROG.

So back to the smiling topic, I'm not quite sure why I'm smiling like I have mis-aligned dentures . . . and for further anatomy fun, all those who are curious can see my scar in this pic.

AUGGGHHHH!!!!!!

My kids haven't used crayons for weeks. I asked them both if they had any in their pockets. But still, two not-back-to-back loads of laundry have been ruined by a crayon phantom. First, a red one; now an orange and blue one. It's like they were hiding in the aggitator and just managed to wriggle their way out!!!! augh! you try to keep your kids from looking like ragamuffins, and . . . grrr. i'm off to inspect the full damage. i don't care as much about the clothes i got for a few bucks (a lot of them), but mary tessa's new baby clothes particularly get to me. and to replace simon's $3 shorts is a new challenge: taking three kids (read: Allianna) to the store.

i soaked the last ruined load in oxyclean for two days . . . i think that it helped, but that's too much laundry zealousy for me to maintain!