Every so often one will hear the phrase..."being stretched by x amount of children". I have 3 and I welcome more, BUT  I always thought this phrase was figurative. I should have know better!

Elijah was in the booster seat finishing lunch and not happy!! He kept trying to stand up! Then I hear it from Isaiah in the bathroom in the  hallway: "Mama! I have poop!" so what do you do when you have to choose between rescuing a houdini toddler and a potty training preschooler who missed the moment???!!!"

Wouldn't you like to know??? I'm not telling...hahaha!!!!

But I did literally stand there for a few moments with one foot in the hallway and one in the kitchen and I realized that I was being stretched ... for real!

Today is Faith's last day EVER of being 4. We had a small, yet sufficiently noisy party complete with a castle cake made by yours truly...therefore, there were crumbs in the frosting! But hey, the frosting was homemade and I even pulled out my cake decorating kit...now that the kids are getting older, I can put it to use more often!!

We also had lime sherbet because she had never tasted it before. It is good that we don't have cable TV and 24hr. access to Food Network, or else she might have requested something like escargot for the same reason!

We ( I should say they--the kiddos) played Twister and most of us did the Chicken Dance.

All is quiet now except for the TV upstairs.. I am letting them both watch Mrs. Lawson (Kindergarten video) while they wind down.

I wore flats today and my feet are killing me. Does Zappos sell new feet too?
 

 My next post will have pics.

Here's some tips for a birthday of small children:
  1,  make cake out of an 8x8 and then a second of a smaller pan or use the left over batter for cupcakes. You can freeze those and pull out a few as needed for awhile...

I am actually going to make some cupcakes tonight and we'll take them to church with us.

2. Keep the winter birthdays short and sweet. Don't worry about serving every one a meal like I have in the past. We don't do "drop-off parties", where parents just drop their kids off and take a free afternoon. Nope! We keep everyone here... the more grownup eyes scanning the mess ( I mean pary), the better! This year, we did cake/ice cream. That's it!

3. Do your party before naptime... you'll likely get yourself a good hour or two quietness after the guests go home for their own naps!

hmmm... sounds like some separation needs to happen upstairs...keep your eyes out for pics!

ISAIAH IS THREE!
(Click above to see slideshow)

Just wanted everyone to know that my first little man is the big three! My goodness! Last year, he wasn't even talking and now is full blast--which actually just happened about 6 months ago.

So, do I laugh, cry, what??? Whatever I do, I am making sure that I love on him "extra much" (yes, I did just now make up that phrase!)!!!

 Just taking a break from homeschool prep to make sure I get these written down!  I don't believe in embarrasing my children, but hey...they're young, they won't know to be embarrassed until much later!!! Right now, we'll just put under "quips and quotes" and just be glad we didn't have company when these were overheard at our home! ( all words are spelled as phonetically as they were uttered!)     

Faith (4.5 yo)--when watching me put a drip tray under an indoor grill machine: 
"Yesterday, a long time ago when I was 3, the doctor gave me one of those at the hopsital when I threw up."     

Isaiah (2.5yo)- a directive to Papa when eating a hard boiled egg this past Saturday morning.
 "Don't wake up my baby bird."
"What baby bird?"
"This one."( showing the yolk to Papa!)   

 ------------- YES, THESE ARE MY CHILDREN!!! -----------------------  
 I suggested to Pat that maybe we could hold off on science after the bird comment     
I AM curious though...  Is there a test to know if there is a baby bird in an egg, if you don't know where the egg came from?? If it came from a store, not a friend's chicken coop?

 I AM PLANNING TO RESUME MY THURSDAY'S THOUGHTS AFTER I FINISH A SPECIFIC PREP TASK!
Hopefully, it will take not more than a week! I'm creating the DVD covers for our Kindergarten classes!
                                                                               
oh... and if that isn't enough... the following is a list of things I have actually said in conversation with the little scholars! ( forget context!!! I can't even remember what we were talking about!) I had to stop after the first one and thought-- gee, that would make a great book title for a how-to in parenting preschoolers! Don't steal it though-- I think it's copyrighted by virtue of me typing it, but if you do want to write that book, I'll sell ya the title so I can buy a grilling machine without a removable drip tray!

1. Stuffed animals don't drink iced-tea,
2. Dead moths don't like kisses
3. Dead people don't eat peanut butter spoons

Of course these could all just be chapter titles and the book could be called...
 Herding Cats From Your Own Private Corner of the Bathroom ... and other preschool parenting how-to tricks"

 Hey Nancy M!! You have to know that I am thinking of you as I write this!! It's your fault! You did say to write EVERYTHING down!

with all those studies about babies and depth perception! Either he has NO depth perception or he has just no fear! He was crawling near the edge of the porch today and I was right there to catch him... I thought he'd hesitate and look to me for guidance or something, but no.. just went off the porch onto the concrete slab. ..oooh ouch! I felt sooo bad!! I really was going to catch him but I guess I wasn't prepared for him to NOT stop first!

So yep! He started this two days ago and he now knows where every electrical cord is ( I think he smells them!!!) You CANNOT turn your back on this kid for 2 seconds! He is everywhere! and he's fast!!! He had been working on it for some time and was getting into postion, but then splatting down on his tummy. Some days he does get moving but is actually using only one leg and just sort of dragging the other behind...looks funny but it still gets him to his his favorite places : the cords and the plants!

Quips From My Quiver
Faith wants to know

• Why do we need tongues?
• What do giraffes sound like?

Isaiah tattles on big sister and is whining alot!! Please help ! Anyone!

Homeschool Happens
  Oh,  hmmmm.... Just still organizing for this coming year and hoping that the baby will be sharing room with big brother by then...so I suppose part of the prep is going to involve some schedule changes to ensure same bedtime and oh ...( rolling my eyes in ridiculous despair) by the time I get that down, Isaiah could possibly be needing to use the potty in the middle of the night which will only wake the baby! Would love some help from folks who have kids this little sharing rooms.

how utterly charming our baby is!!! And to report that as adorable and fun as he can be, I was able to lay down the line and make him go night-night! Can you believe he went from smiley, happy, charming, sweet to completed monster in about 5 seconds??? ( and it lasted only about 3-5 minutes with a few good " let's give that mommy-heart-wrenching scream" again interspersed). Gotta tell ya something else about this kid that I've already learned---if I go in there to rescue him even though I know he's fed, I know he's dry, and I know that he got a good amount of silly playtime with snuggles, his tears quickly evaporate and he turns into mr. charm once more...until I put him down again.... hmmmm.....gotta love him and I look foreward to seeing him in the morning ( hopefully about 8 and not 4:30!!) I've got another pic of all 3 coming Thursday!! ============================================= OH! I HAVE TO ADD THIS FROM FAITH OR I MIGHT FORGET! "How does God make our mouth open without seeing all the blood?" I am assuming that she is concerned about all the blood flowing around down there in our innards and that if our mouth is a hole, why doesn't it just flow out the hole (???) She's 4. Is it EVER safe to just assume we understand how they think? I could be waaaay waaaay off on this!

Just for something to write....

In the last five minutes
   I needed to use the restroom so toddler joined me (uninvited, I must add). He wanted me to pull down the peel of his banana, which revealed a brown spot. This inspired him to say "eew..." and then continue eating it. He wasn't finished yet though! He continued to say "eew" in the form of his most recent favorite catch phrase (caught from big sister): "eewww..toes". Upon finishing my restroom visit, he watched me flush and as he watched the water do it's action, he calmly bid, "bye".

He's here! Elijah Joel Baker 6lbs and 15 oz. He was born on Sept. 13 at 7:15 am after a little over 5 hours of labor.



Please pray for him as he lost a whole pound whcih would not be too alarming if he had been an 8 or 9 lb baby, but since he was little to start with, we were all ( his Dr., Pat, and I) concerned and he has been on formula in addition to nursing for about a week now.

We are hoping to drop the formula but not until he reaches his birthweight and we find out why my milk production is low. I  thank God for the internet and being able to research this without having to drag three kids to the library constantly!  I have began to pump. Could it be that God is teaching me another lesson in mercy towards others who can't always live up to the ideals of life. Yes, breastfeeding is best and it is the ideal, but we must not deify it--we cannot worship breastfeeding or let us allow ourselves to think that those who need to use a bottle or even worse (oh my!) put formula in it are somehow rebellious or love their children less or "doing it wrong".

God has been showing Pat and I many areas in which we have deified some ideals and is turning our hearts around to seek just him and not bowing down to all the ideals that we think we are "supposed" to have...
blah, blah, blah... okay ... I am rambling....

The main point is: Please pray for little Elijah to continue to gain weight, whatever it takes!

Oh--here's all three of them!

Here's pics of our other sweet cherubs---

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b31/pat_jen1us/IM000343.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b31/pat_jen1us/IM000360.jpg

Well, lately everytime we pass a Mormon church, Faith would ask if we could go and we said no. We told her that they have the wrong doctrine.

The other day, we drove past another one and there were some machines out there doing some sort of work, and so the conversation went like this:

FAITH: What are they building, Mama?
ME: I don't know what they are building, honey.
FAITH: Maybe they're building a new doctrine!!!

So, I have to wonder what Faith thinks about communion---I mean, I let her eat white crackers at home, so why not at church?? She didn't really ask this, but the other day when we came home from church, she asked if she could have a white cracker and I said, "sure" and gave her a saltine.

Then she asked if she could have a white cracker at church and I told her no because it was for people who are trusting Jesus Christ and remember his owies on the cross and that he rose again, so she says,
"oh, I remember Him."

So, that's my little blog for today--can't wait to read the comments on this!!!

Oh, I also need to add that a couple of weeks ago, she looked at the wine in my communion cup and asked, "is that grownup juice?"

Faith isn't really a toddler anymore! She's a running, somersault turning, balancing, hopping...little girl! She just turned three and I have got to remember to write her funnies down, so here are a few from the last month or so: I don't remember the dates or the order in which they happened, so ooops! #1 She has a Little Golden Book of Hymns. The cover has a picture of 3 medievalish-looking children: two girls and a boy. She held it up and asked, "Are these 'HIMS' or 'HERS'??" #2 She found the cover to a pair of Nylons in the garbage. There was no torso-just the leg part and she asked "Where is this mommy's head" A big thank you to my darling husband who let me figure out how to answer that one!!! These are going to be so much better when I learn how to add colored text and other neat "extras" to emphasize the good parts!

She's growing up so fast! This is the catagory where I'll put her funny little sayings, etc... As I write this, she is "omost two" in her words! She'll be two in February. I sometimes have to remember how old she ISN'T because she does stuff that I'd never expect out of a kid until about age 3 or 4. I'm not necessarily bragging because these things could be completely normal for her age and render me absolutely clueless!