me & bo

today was right of passage kind of day for me.

i mean it was a totally normal day:

i cooked, cleaned, wiped noses, wiped bums, folded laundry

 did school work with the kids and played at the park,

but i also 

sent charlee and bodhi through the till at Michael's with items and a 40% off coupon.

ta-da!

when it was bo's turn he kept giving me these hilarious big sideways glances and whispering, 

"what do i do next?"

*

my son make me laugh.

here are a few gems he came up with today

bo: mooom, my bone is saying i'm hungry

not my bottom bone,

my higher bone.

my up high bone is saying,

"feeeed meeeee"

(in a cranky, scratchy, hungry bone voice).

*

bo: mom, i want you to have a different name.

me: ok.

bo: how about "percy" or how about

"percy mommy"

(he wasn't kidding, i've been "percy mommy" all evening).

*

this photo is from last summer.

i think it says it all.

amen

image via.

on my mind

our homeschool co-op

"my class"

has officially begun.

there are 10 kids between

this momma, this momma, this momma

and me.

10 is a lot of kids, especially when the oldest is just 5 years old.

we have a lot of brainstorming and strategizing to do on how we are going to love, instruct and teach 

10 chilren.

we are really excited though.  

some of the units we will be covering include safety, healthy living, seasons and we are considering doing one on dino's.  

cause we are love'n dino's these days.

anyway, new topic...

i always thought that once my children started to get older,

i would have more time: 

time to do my chores,

time to read,

time to be creative.

it doesn't seem to be panning out that way.  

for one, naps are starting to fade out.  

and two i have relationships with these little people that require nurturing.

...

char sometimes get's weepy for no reason.  she tells me she misses me and that she needs cuddles. in which case, does it matter how much laundry needs to be done?

i draw her near and keep her close.  maybe she folds laundry with me and works with me in the kitchen.

...

jane needs me a lot.  she needs me to help keep her from her own folly.

she spends a lot of time on the counter where it's more difficult to cause strife.

...
and bo,

bo wants nothing more than a "partner" to play trains with.  

he asks me about one million times a day.  

i think it's cause i do an awesome "topham hat" voice.

and because we talk about everything while we are playing.

it's our connecting time.  after i play trains with him i know i have his heart.

he knows i love him and he loves me.

i'm starting to realize that these times are more important than keeping undies in his drawer or wiping his pee off the toilet seat or washing windows or weeding my garden.

they are important because they are how i am developing a relationship with him.

and some day, 

heaven forbid, he has a thing for the wrong girl or 

he has a bad attitude or he's putting off his chores, i'll say.

"let's go play trains legos hockey in the front yard and talk about it."  

so. there.  that is what's on my mind.
and that's why my house looks like cack.  

                   "diesel"                                        "salty"                                        "thomas"

gush

last week we went to osoyoos, which is eastern bc.

it was part gary's work and part a good excuse to make out with summer one last time.

it. was. awesome.

we swam in the pool

we swam in the lake

we played with friends

we rode bikes

we got ice cream 

and then we swam in the pool some more.

a highlight for me was quick trip to the Nk'Mip Desert Cultural Center.

there were snakes and teepees!

we had so much fun that i forgot to take photos. 

these are the only ones that made it home on my camera

and i didn't even take them.

so now that we are home and it is september and leaves are falling on my driveway, 

it's time to get back to real life. right?

we are starting home school, learning center, art class, piano lessons,

dentist appointments 

and shots.

(big gulp)

today was shots (as in 11 needles) day.

which meant it was also gum-suckers-shows-and-new-pumpkins day.

it was also
gary's first day of class.

i picked out his outfit.  well, not really.  i just questioned whether he should wear his 

slinky-ish golf shirt,
as we are talking "college" here, 

and not a product knowledge luncheon.

he was grateful for my help when he came home. ;)

i love it when he wears his purple t-shirt.   i wouldn't be surprised if the baby girls ask for his notes.  

i should really try and avoid these late night blog sessions.  

i say and do silly things.

- like this photo.

- it's my game shot day face. 

confession

 i like Eminem.  

i just don't have the you-know-what's to post one of his videos.

*lighters*

instead,

here is my official 

chicken-out video.

don't worry, 

it's a good, 

monday morning,

dance with your children

in your jammies, 

while you make your coffee

and wish it was still summer,

song.

uma and pa

saturday we rode the ferry boat to victoria to visit with our uma and "pa" davey. 

it was wonderful, as always, to see them and the kids loaded up on hugs 

and little bags of "papa rocks."  we sure love you guys.  

highlights from the day that i will treasure in my heart:

*watching all three of our big kids carry their backpacks on and off the ferry -

no diapers, no bottles and only one big tantrum.

*feeling kind of mum-bum-ish on the ferry boat -  

there were a lot of really cute college babies on the 10 am  

and for the record: gladiator sandals, converse, moccasins, size 2 and australian accents are in!  

*gary and his dad, crab tracking in the georgia straight.

*watching our daughter be one with the earth and the sea and everyone's dogs.

also having to say one million times

"don't climb on that!" or "don't hang on that!" or "don't swing on that!" 

*wishing i had a super power where i could melt into the floor 

when my beautiful son looked at a sweet little girl and

with his new and improved, grumpy dinosaur face,

half snarled - half growled (loudly)

"i'm not your brother!"

we were shuffling off the ferry boat when this happened and it was just not possible for me to address his behaviour / attitude / snaggletooth.

*tucking everyone in their beds, climbing into mine, closing my eyes 

and then laughing at the "i'm not your brother" incident for half an hour.

life is either a daring adventure or nothing.

                                         -helen keller  

the post of the week

i believe in kindness. also in mischief. 

also in singing, 

especially when singing is not necessarily prescribed.

- mary oliver

ok, i love this one.

(thanks to this lovely lady who posted this quote as her recent facebook status).

let me explain.

first, i believe in kindness, 

very much so!

i want the team kindness t-shirt!  kindness all the way, yo!

next, i am, by nature, mischievous.

i get it from my dad.  it's a twinkle in the eye sort of thing.  

and finally, i sing.

please note: i am not talking about performing/ take-myself-self-serious singing.

i do not have the stomach for it, let alone the ability.

i nearly had a puke/faint combo at my sister-in-law's bridal shower when, for a game, i had to sing some 80's tune into a microphone.  i cannot even remember what song it was.  

can you say repression!

in this house we why-come-unglued-when-you-can-just-sing.  

i'm talking about crazy people singing (like this).

i sing threats

 confessions.

it's like marry poppins in the looney bin.

i sing my way through the regular chaos of my life,

to the tunes from the little mermaid.

for example:

"look at this place, 

isn't it gross.

wouldn't you say my house stinks like butt

wouldn't you say i'm the girl

the girl that has everything (on my floor)!

i've got kids with rashes a-plenty

laundry and dishes galore

you want to clean my bathroom.

go ahead!

   but who cares

no big deal

it's just peeeeeeeeee!

you should try it sometimes. it's really fun.

apparently this whole singing thing runs in the family too 

because my children do it.  

bo, especially.

it's kind of weird and magical watching a little boy play trains- 

the musical.  

(reason #1,297 we plan on homeschooling for the first little bit)

the other day bo and i had this rich musical exchange.  

i just had to share:

me: bo, please go do teamwork with your sisters and clean up your tracks.  

bo: (to the tune of "teamwork" from the wonderpets)

i'm not gonna do it.

i'm not gonna clean up

i will not obey

no, i won't

me: (to my own tune)

well, then you will 

get  in trouble

very big trouble.  

bo: (still singing)

ok, i will clean up but i am

angry

very very angry.

me: (half singing half laughing)

not gonna work

you'll still get in trouble.

really big trouble.

bo: what's gonna work

teamwork!

teamwork!

(as he enthusiastically beging to clean up his track).

the end.

what bo says

bo:  hey mom, i'm not bodhi anymore.

me: really?

bo: yeah, my name is "foodle."

me: oh good.  i love that guy. 

bo: i'm not "foodle" anymore.  i'm bodhi.
...
me: hey guys, what kind of popsicles should i get?

char: chocolate!

bo: sour cream.
...
me: bo, did you brush your teeth?

bo: nope,
i love my sugar bugs now.

me: i'm not qualified for this.

lesson learned

here are a just a couple of reasons you never never send your 

husband to a garage sale with your children  

(even if the neighbor kids are selling lemonade for a quarter).

warning: items are really much much worse in real life.

photos do not do them justice.

just a little story

last night char and bo were in the tub.  

jane was out, dried and jammied.

i was putting away laundry probably checking pinterest

when i heard the water on. again. 

this is an issue sometimes.  

our tub is humongous and there is regular temptation 

to keep turning the water on

and fill the tub up 

so the kids can practice their back floats.
(i dont' really blame them, i just try to act like i do.
i have some pretty conscientious friends who would probably give me a
whooping if they new how much water we send down that drain.)     

so, i barged in there with my hand on my hip 

and my mom voice,

"i said no more water, y'hear!"

char and bo looked up at me 

from their plastic bowls and their bum-soup bath game (that's what i call it)

like i was crazy.

i turned, slowly, when i realized the running water, was in fact, not coming from the tub

and saw this:

jane looked at me with big exclaiming eyes

and squealed,

"i bath meeeEEEeeee, maw maw!"

...

and a little sidenote: 

lately jane has been referring to me as 

"maw maw"

like we live somewhere called bogalusa or ponchatoula or folsom

(no offense).  

if she is going to call me "maw maw," i'm going to start calling gary,

"squirrel."

hopefully it'll stick.