I asked for pictures, and she provided them.  I drooled.  And then I spent every spare moment of my next day sorting Lego.  By color.

Awesome, isn’t it?  The one bin on the top left that isn’t sorted by color holds all the Lego guys and girls, their weapons and accessories.

The boys are thrilled, as it makes it much easier for them to find the pieces they’re looking for.  But… will they be able to keep it this way?  Or, will the “baby” be able to resist dumping and mixing?  I guess we’ll have to see…

**********

This morning was absolutely gorgeous.  Really.  It would have been tough to beat our weather no matter where you live.  So, after walking the kids to school, I decided that Andrew and I would take Cheerio to the park across the street.  After seeing our neighbor with one, I had recently bought a Chuckit! and was eager to try it out.  I wasn’t sure how it would go, though, as Cheerio loves to chase balls, but isn’t that great about giving them back.  Plus, she likes to run off.

I filled my pockets with treats, grabbed AP (who grabbed the new toy), and leashed up Cheerio.

Wow!  That Chuckit! can make the ball FLY and Cheerio was all about going after it.  And, she brought it back!  Andrew and I had a blast watching her run.  After just 4 or 5 throws, she was done and we headed home.

Not wanting to go indoors, we all hung out in the backyard and I finally finished a project I had had in the works for a little bit.

I had seen this on Pinterest, and while I didn’t think I wanted to do all of that, I knew I could do the slide.  Problem was, I didn’t want to spend a bunch of money on a slide (they’re not cheap).  Then… lo and behold, some neighbors put TWO slides (and what was left of their play system) out on the curb for trash pick up.  Whooo hooooo!  What a score!  I sent my boys down the street to collect the better looking of the two and then it sat in our garage (much to my husband’s annoyance) for several weeks.

Until today:

I did manage to make this the other day, and only for the cost of glue, as I had the other materials on hand:

Now Lukie can display his Lego creations securely.

When he saw his new shelf, he was THRILLED.  Until he found out I cut up his base plates to make it.  Then there were tears.

Story of my life.

I had asked him a few weeks back what type of cake he’d like (when will I learn?!?) and he said he wanted a Captain Rex head.  Terrific.

It wasn’t too hard to find 3-D (’cause it HAS to be 3-D) Captain Rex cakes, but almost all of them used fondant.  No way am I going there.  I dug a little deeper and managed to find someone who made one with butter cream frosting.  It really looked pretty good, and not too hard, so I set out to copy it.

Jack, thankfully, was thrilled with my efforts:

He was equally thrilled with his gifts:

As were his siblings:

The fish’s name – a Betta – is aptly named… Captain Rex.

As is typical, I tried to get a decent family photo and failed…  But, at least this year wasn’t as “colorful” as in years past.  (Sorry, Kristina, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention it.)

Here are some of the terrible takes, before I finally gave up (much to the delight of my husband and kids):

Notice Cheerio trying to get in on the action?

One's run off!

The best of the worst

Last year when Luke was learning to ride his bike, he’d get frustrated and VERY angry.  Every. Single. Time. He’d try and fall, he’d rip off his helmet and throw it down the sidewalk in anger.  Sam, having clearly learned this trick from his brother, has done the same thing a few times this spring while trying to learn to ride his bike.  While it’s been quite entertaining for the neighbors, it has been frustrating for him.

Until now!!!

So, I thought I’d teach the kiddos a little lesson.  Mother Nature cooperated, as we had a good rain last night.  As a result, there was plenty of breakfast to go around:

Worms!!!

Unfortunately, my plan backfired, as the kids thought worms for breakfast was a GREAT idea!

Except for Sam…  he was SO MAD he knocked the bowl out of my hands in tearful anger and took off for his room.

Happy April Fool’s Day everyone!

It seemed to work pretty well.  Occasionally he’d come down, but not nearly as often.

So, when I found myself at the Catholic bookstore a few days later, I picked him up a medal and prayer card for St. Michael.  You’d have thought I’d given him a brick of gold!  We put the medal on a hip necklace I made for him and he proudly showed it off to everyone he encountered.

Then, a few nights later, when struggling in the dark to read him the prayer, he suddenly took over and simply recited it himself.  I couldn’t believe it!  In only a few nights, he had memorized the prayer.  And, it’s not a little kid’s prayer – with all the thees and thous!

Here it is:

St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle;
be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,
and do thou, O prince of the heavenly host,
by the power of God,
thrust into hell Satan and all the other evil spirits
who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen.

And, here is Sam, praying it:

I’m so proud!

So when I heard the musical beeping noises of Andrew playing with my washing machine (which had already been loaded and set to a wash cycle), while on hold with the doctor’s office, I looked at it as entertainment that would allow me to make my call, and figured I could reset it when I finished.

Unfortunately, when you’re on a call in which you have to pay attention, you fail to notice the lack of continued musical beeping noises that occurs when the baby finds something else to do. (By the way, we’re talking – literally, I checked – about a TWO MINUTE call.)  As I hung up the phone and turned to look down at my sweet little Andrew, I noticed that he was happily keeping himself busy by making a trail of 3-in-1 shower soap/shampoo/conditioner.

I grabbed the container from him and we followed the trail (him, happily, me, in dismay) and discovered that it led down the hall and into the bathroom.  Fortunately or unfortunately, I buy the clear kind of this stuff.  Which means that on the bathroom tile floor, it is very hard to see.  Walking gingerly through the bathroom, I tried to find the point of origin.  Which I did… in my wicker clothes hamper.  It became very clear that he had started with the hamper and when he discovered that he couldn’t fill it all the way up, he’d make a trail instead.

As an aside, I was recently told that you should look through these situations and try to see God behind them.  That way, although you might initially feel anger or frustration, you will more quickly get past it.  I’m certainly trying, but in my opinion, it is often much easier to see the devil behind these things!

Andrew and I grabbed some rags and got to cleaning up the mess.  Do you have any idea how hard it is to clean up soap?  Wipe, rinse, repeat.  Wipe, rinse, repeat.  Wipe, rinse and become enthralled with the massive bubbles filling up your sink.  Try to drain bubbles.  Too many bubbles. Soldier on.

We did the best we could, but kind of like doing a tick check on a camp out, you wonder what you missed.  I guess I’ll find out soon enough… as soon as dirt collects on those areas of the carpet, or someone slips on the tile floor.

I guess for now all I can do is try to enjoy the very intense scent of Berry Berry Strawberry wafting throughout the upstairs.

All of the children have (forcefully) given up TV for four days a week.  I let them choose the days, so from Monday through Thursday there is no TV watching.

Here are some of our other Lenten sacrifices this year:

JB is going to listen to his parents and is giving up his favorite video game

MG is giving up iPhone games and complaining when she’s asked to do something

LH has given up chocolate and will help his family with a happy heart when asked

SP has given up playing with his dinosaurs (at school and home!) and has quit saying “no” when asked to do something

I have given up beer and, heaven help me, DIET DR.PEPPER.  Yes, I have been DDP-free now for 7+ days.  And, amazingly, I am still alive.

I’m not quite sure on what Dan’s given up… I think he said he was going to to abstain from beer 3.5 days per week, when it’s over 50 degrees and raining.  Or something like that.  Oh, and he’s given up yelling at the kids.

So far, we’re all doing pretty well with our Lenten resolutions.  Of course, we do have 5 more weeks to go.

I’m pretty proud of the kids with the TV thing.  They’re finding lots of other things to do.  Like, turning over all the furniture in the basement to make forts.

And using the computer for educational purposes.  Like this:

I can’t wait until they start making money with this photography thing, so they can put it away for school.

Maria insisted on keeping the dress hidden away until last night.  When she got home from school, she showered and then I painted her nails and did her hair.  We put in some side knots and then curled it all over.

Dan showed up with a gorgeous corsage that matched her outfit perfectly.

Of course, Andrew couldn’t resist being involved, if only a bit (see his hand at the bottom of the pic below?)

And the Ham had to inject himself, too:

She’s beautiful, no?

Heaven help us when the dances don’t include the Daddies anymore.