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The other day was Walk To School Day.  Notice – it was walk TO school day.  Thank goodness, because after the walk TO school, I didn’t exactly have it in me to walk the kids home, too.

It was a decent enough morning, although the ground was wet because it had rained the night before.  We all managed to get out of the house fairly close together, but we spread out as we went along.  Maria and Sam were in a walking race to see who could get to school first.  Luke walked and talked alongside me and Cheerio, and Jack and Andrew poked along behind – walking in the wet grass.  Never mind that school was starting in 8 minutes… they had very important things to discuss.

Luke didn’t get much attention from me, as I was switching between yelling up to Maria and Sam to be careful crossing the streets and hollering back at Jack and Andrew to pick up the pace, stop talking so much and lift up the dragging blankie (which Drew insisted bringing, along with his doggie and a waffle for breakfast).

As time got shorter, I hollered louder, and everyone picked up the pace a bit.  Soon, the older kids were running way ahead while Andrew ran to catch up to me and Cheerio.  As I stood at the halfway mark, I looked to make sure the older kids were crossing with the guard in front of school, and then looked down just in time to see Andrew approach and Cheerio snatch the waffle from his hand.

I reprimanded the dog (who did NOT get to finish the waffle), dried Andrew’s tears, took over carrying the blankie and we headed back home – alternating between a foot-dragging crawl and a full out run.

11.5 days left in the school year…

I had attempted to squirrel myself away to write this, but the party moved right along with me. I guess that’s what happens when you have 5. You gotta do everything with a full lap, lots of noise and much jostling.

Anyhow, around 6 this morning a child moved in. Then came another. Dan abandoned me for more space while the two in bed with me faught over space. The first clear word heard this Mother’s Day? “Stupid!”

I continued to lie in bed and the littlest one came down to join the party while one of the older ones moved on to video games.

Dan appeared around 7:30 and quickly got to work on making a fabulous breakfast. One problem. He didn’t wake those that had insisted last night on helping. He did whisper call their names, but alas, they slept longer.

This caused immediate turmoil when said helpers woke to find their work already completed. I stepped in to soothe flared nerves and we all attempted to sit at the table for breakfast. It was a tight squeeze, as all wanted to sit right next to me. We did the best we could, but it was pretty difficult to maneuver a knife and fork. Andrew kept touching me with his syrup covered fork, while Luke quietly asked if he was my favorite and the others fought over passing the condiments.

Since French toast (yum!) was on the menu, there was powdered sugar on the table. A BIG bag of it. As I watched one of the kids dump spoonfuls onto his French toast, I repeatedly asked where the shaker was. (We have a nice shaker for delicately adding powdered sugar to things.) I would have gotten up myself for the shaker, but I was literally trapped among the kids. Dan found the shaker, which was clean and empty, so he went off to fill it and then brought it back to me.

As I attempted to delicately add a small amount of powdered sugar to my beautiful French toast, the top of the shaker popped off and my French toast could no longer be seen, having been hidden beneath a mountain of sugar. The kids, of course, thought this was HILARIOUS. (Dan, not so much.)

And that is how it has gone thus far…

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there! I hope yours is as sweet as mine!

We am so proud of Luke!  On Saturday, he made his First Communion.  Hiccups and all.  (He woke up with the hiccups and says they continued throughout the entire ceremony.  Then, they promptly left him as he exited the church.)

With good friend John

The boys (can’t wait to have another pic like this when they’re confirmed)

Receiving his first communion

Do you see the relief in his face?

Our motley crew

With Dad and Grandma and Grandpa

The new crucifix Gran and Maddog sent

The cake!  All ice cream, and all delicious!

Despite Jack having just had a birthday, and Luke’s First Communion on the horizon, life here has really been all about Drew lately.  Truly, he is something else!  When I picked him up from the Y babysitting room this morning (after having my *ss kicked in a spin class) the supervisors couldn’t resist commenting on how “expressive” and “vocal” Andrew was while playing.  He is all about the sound effects!  (Especially any that involve crashing or shooting.)

Lately, Andrew has been conflicted about his position in life.  On the one hand, he wants to stay in diapers.  On the other, no one better call him a baby!  “I’m not a baby!” Is his response.  “I’m Drew!”  And if I say, “You’re my big boy!”  He’ll say, “No!  I’m not a boy, I’m Drew!”  And if I say, “Yes, you are Drew, but you’re also a boy… you have a ‘pete’,” He’ll say, “No.  I’m Just Drew. With a pete.”  (Pete is our little nickname for the male body part.)

So, Just Drew With A Pete attended Jack’s track meet last night (as did the rest of the family).  Dan and Maria were late in coming, so I was there on my own for quite a while with Luke, Sam and Andrew.  Andrew, forever energetic, just wanted to run up and down and back and forth across the bleachers.  Which was fine for a while.  But, at one point, he disappeared on me to run down under the bleachers to where the snack stand was.  I begged (and bribed) Luke to look after him, but it wasn’t long before Luke was exhausted.  So, I forced Andrew to sit on my lap.  Which resulted in a screaming fit.

In front of and next to me sat a group of friends.  One of which told me I should “just let him run.”  She would stop him from going past her, she promised.  So, I relented.  (Give me a break – he’s the fifth out of five.  So far they’re all okay…)

Back and forth, back and forth, he ran across the length of the bleachers.  I tried to keep an eye on him, as well as Luke and Sam, as well as try to figure out what events Jack was doing on the field.

At one point, a bunch of the kids started lining up on the track – stacked 4 or 5 deep – and one of the moms said they were about to race.  It would be one race after the other.  My group of moms started paying attention, trying to figure out whose kid was in which race.

Suddenly, the crowd started cheering and clapping.  Assuming the first race had started, and anxious to see if Jack was involved, I went to the rail and looked over.

And found ANDREW racing down the track!!!

He did a great job.  Won his division.  Ha.

Really… I couldn’t believe it.  Thank God for the school we attend, and the families and coaches, that just take this kind of thing in stride – and enjoy it!

Jack, on the field, saw what was happening and stepped in.  He grabbed his brother and handed him back up and into the stands.

The rest of the evening?  Andrew told everyone:  “I won my race!”

Unbelievably, he’s 11 today.

Can’t resist posting some of my favorite baby pics:

Soooo disappointed that we lost our great shark hat! It was a favorite, as Andrew looked so cute in it, but also because it was different yet simple. Ball caps are a staple around here, but it’s hard to find any with personality.

So, I’m asking for suggestions. Where-oh-where’re can we find something as cool to replace it? I’ve scoured Internet, to no avail. Please help!

Despite not doing much over Spring Break (much to the frustration of my children), I somehow couldn’t find the time to keep my blog updated.  And then my parents came.  And there was school and track and soccer and hockey and Andrew’s birthday and physical therapy and…  Well, you get the idea.

As usual, it’s mostly about the baby (who is THREE now!)

The following is a quick review in pictures for you to enjoy.

Found an egg on Easter morning:

Threw a tantrum for Gran and Maddog:

Recovered nicely:

And had a dump truck cake, as requested:

Good Easter colors:

Bad Easter colors.

Have a wonderful Easter!

For the first time in his life, Sam’s head doesn’t look like a melon on a pencil. It actually looks on the small side here, doesn’t it?

Both Luke and Sam are getting ready for the Spring hockey league.

I have pads and skates and jerseys and helmets and cups (eww!) and sticks and mouth guards all over the place. But it’s worth it, right? Luke is taking it all very seriously.

Have you ever wanted to just wrap you kid(s) in duct tape?

Well, I actually did it!  Probably not for the reasons you think, though…

Last night, while Jack listened to a bunch of his obnoxious Minecraft parody songs, I wrapped him in duct tape.

This is THREE layers!

Why, you may ask, would I want to do this?  Because of Pinterest, of course!  I wanted to make this:

I think it turned out pretty well.  I did have a little trouble finding a stand…  During our town’s last Spring Cleanup, I threw out the old lamps we’d had collecting in the basement.  So, I went “shopping” in the garage.

I don’t know that Dan will be all that excited with my choice, but I think it works really well – especially for a boy’s room!  (Plus – thank goodness – we don’t have anyone playing t-ball right now anyway.)

I’m sure you’re still wondering why I wanted to make this.  I’m kind of wondering myself.  But, make it I did, and here’s what we did with it:

Maybe I should have given Pinterest up for Lent.