(More than) Fourinarow.net

My little jailbird.

This morning:

Luke:  Thanks for buying us Poptarts, Mom!

Me:  Don’t thank me, thank Jack.  It was his idea.

Luke:  Thanks, Jack!

Jack:  Give me a buck, then.

Luke:  I don’t have a buck.

Jack:  Give me a quarter, then.

Luke:  I can give you a bucktooth!

Today was a busy one for us.  First, there was the “company family picnic”.

Andrew was too pooped from rolling over for the first time to participate much:

But, Jack held a snake (and now wants one, to which Dan says, “NO WAY!”):

And there was, of course, face painting (because what else is there at a company picnic?):

The picnic was followed by Scout Camp Family Night.  Fun was had by all (well, the kids, anyway) and money wasted on food not eaten.

Jack demonstrated his skill with a BB gun while Maria tried her hand at it:

And Sam caught his first fish!!!

Apropos of nothing, Maria announced in the car today:  They say, “A rolling stone gathers moss.”

Me:  Umm, no.  It’s ‘A rolling stone gathers NO moss.’

Maria:  Are you sure?

I answered her that, yes, I was sure and I explained the reason why a rolling stone gathers no moss.

Me:  Moss grows in shady places, on things that don’t move, like trees and stones and stuff.  In the forest.

Maria:  But what if the stone is rolling?

Me:  *Big sigh* Then it doesn’t grow moss.  It’s rolling.  Moss doesn’t have a chance to grow on it.

Luke:  What if it’s a really big stone?

Me:  It doesn’t matter.  If it’s moving, moss won’t grow on it.  Moss only grows on things that DON’T MOVE.

Jack:  Then what if it stops moving?  Will the stone grow moss?

Me:  *Bigger sigh* Yes.  Then it might grow moss.

Maria:  But then what if it starts rolling again?  What if it rolls for a while then stops.  Like for 5 years.  Will it grow moss?

Me:  I don’t know.

Maria:  Then what if it starts rolling again.  Will the moss get knocked off?

Me:  Forget about it.  I’m done talking about stones and moss.

Photo: Moss And Stones by Petr Kratochvil

It’s funny…  with Baby #1 and maybe #2, you tend to be a bit paranoid.  For instance, I remember worrying about another child holding my baby (even with a hovering adult). Probably because I was afraid of breaking my baby, I assumed that a child would definitely break my baby.

Obviously, with Baby #5, comes a lot less paranoia.

So, on Friday I wanted to shoot myself after making the huge mistake of going to Walmart with the kids.  I needed 4 things, 3 of which they didn’t have.  Add to that the cart tipping disaster before we could get through the register lane and I was ready to belly up to the bar.  (I think Walmart would make a killing if they had an on-site bar.  A shot before shopping with the kids, several afterward and everyone would be a lot happier.)

Despite times like those, I still have to say that I am happy to be the mom of five children.  What better gift to give a child than another sibling?

Simcha says it perfectly here.

What can I say?  Look how big he is already!!!

Our baby has been baptized!

At first, I was disappointed that none of our family members could make it here for the baptism of our fifth child.

Then, I realized, our family did make it!

The Remicks were able to come a few days early, so we managed to spend some quality time together.

Bergen and Luke

Jack and Keegan

Maria and Zoe

Carsten and Andrew

Sam and Bergen

Luke was not left out. He's behind the pillar.

(More pictures can be seen by clicking the Flickr badge in the left hand column of this page.)

We are so thankful to have such wonderful friends and that they were able to make the long trip to be with us.  Kyle, Troy, Keegan, Bergen, Carsten, Zoë – we miss you already!!!

We’ve really had a great time hosting visitors this summer.  We have plenty of room, so if you haven’t yet, call today for a reservation!

With all the recent body fluid disasters, I haven’t had the chance to post the pics from our last visit to Missouri.  We had a good time introducing Andrew to everyone, watching fireworks and swimming.  Andrew got his first pool experience, which wore him out, as you can see.

Whooped

The Ham

Popcicles

This morning started on a sad note, as our dear friends packed up their things.  They were off to the next stop on a long trip across the country.  They’ll eventually end up in Hawaii, where they’ll live for the next 6 years or so.  Good for them, bad for us, as they couldn’t be moving further away.

Early morning discussions ran the gauntlet, from travel routes to why Lotsa didn’t get strapped to the grill to which is grosser to clean – barf or poop.  Katey and I agreed that barf topped the list, especially when it covers the room, as it did last night when Lukie got sick.  Seriously, it looked like something exploded.  I’m sure being on the top bunk didn’t make things easier.

So, Dan and I cleaned the boys’ room – quite literally – from top to bottom today.  I don’t think we’ll be having s’mores for dessert again anytime soon.

Yep, I thought, barf is the worst to clean up.

Thankfully, Luke stopped puking around 11 this morning.  Ah… the worst was over.  (Learned from experience last weekend when Jack was sick.  At Grandma’s.  And in the car on the trip home.)

Later this evening, while Dan was out Rug Doctoring the cars (we wanted to get our money’s worth out of the rental), I picked Andrew up and discovered that some poop had leaked up his back.  No biggie – just a little poop.  Way better than sick-kid barf.

As I started running water in the sink for his bath, I called Lukie to get started on his shower.  I figured he needed to wash off any remaining barf before heading to bed.

But before I could get Andrew undressed for his bath, Luke tearfully emerged from the bathroom.

“Mom…*snif* I have to tell you something.”

“What, Sweetie?” I replied.

“I was going pee before my bath [standing like usual] and this just came out of my butt without me even knowing it.  *snif*”

I dared to look.

Projectile poop, people.  Among other things, he shot the shower curtain.

I think I changed my mind on the clean up detail.  Poop is worse.  Or, at the very least, just as gross.

P.S. To the Remicks:  Please don’t be scared.  I promise to have everything clean and disinfected before your visit next week!