Busy Home Days

It's been a busy couple of weeks, but the good kind of busy.  Not the have-to-run-a-million errands busy, just steady work.  I would far rather do laundry all day, cook a bunch of meals, sweep floors, and pick up toys than have to go somewhere with the little kids during the day.  I don't know if I'm lazy, or anti-social, or just content in my housewife role.  Anyway, pictures of the last few weeks!

Cheyenne at Winter Fun Day.  It's such a pathetic winter, they had to stay inside to play instead of playing in the snow.  The PTA president sent me this picture of Cheyenne (because I'm the kind of mommy who stays home instead of volunteering with two kids in tow), and it looks like she's enjoying herself.

Here's another picture from the energetic PTA president, when I went into school to eat lunch with Cheyenne this Monday.  It is Take Your Family to School Week this week.  Maybe when I don't have toddlers home with me, it will feel a little less like Fill Your Life With Stress Week.  (see: above, about leaving the house with kids).  I went and ate lunch with Elliott today, too.  It is nice to see the kids during the day, but trying to carry lunch trays and coats and purse and navigate Lincoln and Marilla through the halls was a little exhausting.

We had a puzzle day a couple of Sundays ago.  Cheyenne got out her 100 piece puzzle...

(think those braids are long enough?)

while Daddy worked on a 2000 piece puzzle. 

Cute puzzle observers.

Sweet little friends.

Rilla looking proud, as she checked herself out in the mirror.  I had given into pleading, and done an "Aunt Bet Braid."

It took a little longer than her normal hairdo, but it was certainly worth it when she caught a glimpse of it in the mirror.

This isn't a great picture, but you start by dividing the hair down the middle.  French braid one side, but don't bother braiding very far down.  Put an elastic in, or have the kid hold it.  French braid the other side, then put the two braids together by taking the two strands that touch in the middle and making them the middle strand for the new single braid.  I'm not a technical writer, as you can tell by reading that, but that's the gist of it.

Lincoln, in his favorite place (brushing his teeth or creating water havoc), with one of his favorite things-- a book!

We got a Valentine's package from Auntie, and there was much rejoicing.

Rilla and her loot...

Elliott with his...

And Cheyenne helping Lincoln open his candy.

I took the kids out to play the other day, despite the fact there was very little snow out.  I usually just let Rilla play outside by herself, but Lincoln was so very excited, coat in hand, that I couldn't refuse him.

This girl plays outside at LEAST once a day.  Thankfully, she is getting better and better at dressing herself.  So grown-up!

In this picture, they are watching the fascinating garbage truck pick up the neighbor's garbage!

Then, saluting the garbage man!  She was probably waving, but it's funnier to think of saluting.  We don't have cool tractors in our suburban life, so we get by with school bus and garbage truck sightings.

One mitten off already...

Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dum.  Especially Lincoln with his bulging pants.

 

The reading kids.  Tintin is HUGE here.  Rilla makes her dollhouse people be Tintin, Snowy, Thompson and Thompson, and Blistering Blue Barnacles.

Bop-It is another thing that's big right now.  It calls out commands, and you have to bop it, or twist it, or pull it, or spin it, or flick it.  Once you get 100 commands in a row, it unlocks the next level (where the commands might be colors, or sounds, or combinations).  Anyway, Elliott is seriously good at this.  It is full-body exercise when he plays.  He walks around the house, bopping and flicking away, his little body contorting all over the place.  Hilarious.  The other day, the batteries died, and after putting new batteries in, Evan set about beating the levels to unlock them.  Elliott sidled up to me and whispered (so as not to interrupt Daddy's concentration) "Daddy is saving the day!"

Elliott's other exercise is playing Magnet-Shoot.  He lays on the floor, moving the magnets on the fridge in an intricate pattern.  Despite the fact he calls this game Magnet-Shoot, it never sounds violent.  I find it hilarious that he has named this activity, not that he just "plays with magnets."

It's probably because the poor boy can't get his computer fix in the half-hour a week his cruel mother allots him.  On Sunday, Evan caught him hitting his head with his hand.  When Evan asked why he was doing this, Elliott said, "My brain keeps telling me to play computer, but it's not my computer day, so I'm telling my brain to stop!"  Evan thinks he might need more time on the computer...  :-)

And now, for the art show.  Elliott was REALLY into valentines.  He's also into exploring nicknames, which explains this card from "Ell" to "Ev".

I was magnanimous the other day and let him have a whole poster board for coloring.  Then Rilla colored the bottom paper.  I love how the entire paper is full of color.

This was Rilla's latest.  She tells me it is a picture of the sun coming up.  So smart.

My hilarious cousin-in-law, Sheena, wrote a post the other day about her diaper bag, and it made me remember I had never put up pictures off my first "purse" since I ditched a diaper bag.  Bethaney is disgusted with me, since I bought a lunch bag, but I love shape of it, and the pattern.  I hate the way purses bump on your hip, and swing forward and bonk your child's head the second you lean over to help the child.  I may find an actual purse I can hold in my hand someday, but for now, this works splendidly.

I don't think I ever put up a picture of this, either-- my birthday present from Lisa!  A table runner that doubles as a hot pad!  It dresses up the table so nicely, and saves me scrambling to try and arrange a hot pad with one hand while holding a piping hot 13x9 pan with the other one.

And, Miss Take-A-Picture-of-Me!  She's wearing the most disreputable shirt.  Cheyenne wore it as often as I would allow her when she was little, and now Rilla has discovered it.  I did make her see the light about warmth, and put a turtleneck underneath.  I love hearing Rilla's thoughts these days.  We were in the car last week, and somehow the topic got onto sharks.  Rilla said, "If the shark KNOWS me, the shark won't eat me.  So if a shark comes, I will say 'Shark, I am Marilla, and this is Lincoln, and Elliott, and Cheyenne, and Clover, and Evan.' "  Elliott piped up with, "Rilla, animals don't understand!" and Rilla shot right back, "I will tell them LOUDLY!"

This evening, Elliott and Cheyenne had their first piano lesson!  I've been wanting to get them lessons for ages, but I could never find anyone locally.  We put an ad on Craigslist, contacted all the school music teachers, Googled every search term I could think of-- nothing.  Finally started calling music stores, and found a place in the mall about 20 minutes away.  It's not ideal-- we would love to have someone come to the house, or at least have someone in our town, but it's a start.  I will have the mall available so we can go on stroller walks to keep the little kids occupied.  We had a trial lesson with another teacher that we really liked, but there was nowhere for me to hang out with the little kids while the big kids had their lessons.  Since the two different teachers were identical in price, location (just across the road from each other), and the music books they use, we decided to go with the place that made it easier to corral the Littles.  Cheyenne and Elliott are excited, and it's made me want to practice the piano more!

Busy weeks ahead of us-- this unseasonable weather means sap is running, so sugaring might be happening a lot earlier this year!