Perfectly Normal Behaviour!!

The flu struck our house.  The little boys were the worst.  Not because they had it any worse than others but because until today Whittaker has managed to never actually throw up.  He simply refused to.  He would rather gag and swallow again then let that foul stuff travel through his mouth.  This bug came with such force that he was unable to contain it.   We were all applauding him for using a bucket and letting it out of his mouth.  Strange but in our house perfectly normal to applaud a child's ability to produce vomit in a bucket!

Secondly, the baby was sick.  Of course it struck at 1am.  Aware of the others with the flu I knew instantly what noises I was hearing.  He lived up to his reputation of being the BEST baby ever!  Although he instantly rolled over into his own vomit covering his darling curly locks in nastiness, he allowed himself to be held over a bucket and didn't play in it much.  After three episodes of vomiting and cleaning up he lie in his now stripped bed with a towel for sheets and fell promptly to sleep.  He awoke happily six hours later.  This is his perfectly normal behaviour.... to be the most awesome baby. 

The night before as boys were all lounging in the living room hugging their respective bowls and wrapped in their blankets, we watched a little TV..  Not so perfectly normal around here... BUT, what struck me as peculiar as I emptied buckets and fetched cool damp cloths and threw yet another load of sick laundry on, was what I saw them watching.  SEVEN boys in age from 8 months to almost 18 years, and Patrick were all watching Dream Wedding Episodes.  They were telling each other which their favourite dress was and which floral arrangements would be the better choices.  The 2 girls were no where to be seen!  They had gone down to Sarah's room to draw in the little activity book they were making. 

Maybe I can raise a bunch of boys, and maybe I can't but as long as they are content to believe that what they do when the chips are down is perfectly normal behaviour.... who am I to argue. 

Picnic time for little boys

Sometimes the weather doesn't cooperate with desires for a picnic.  At these times it is important to be flexible and work with what you have.  An indoor picnic was just what these boys needed on a cold (-12 F), winter's day!

Fowl Play

Lately, the thing to do has been to corral the ladies in the trampoline enclosure and hold them.  It's the 'in' thing to do.  I enjoy watching the ladies, but I don't think I'm very cool.. I don't have any desire to sit around the yard snuggling up to a hen.

Derek took to the fun easily and enjoys it.  Duncan often suggests this 'fowl play' whenever his friends come over and I've been bewildered by the excited friends who all seem to want to go play with the ladies.

Cooper was being initiated into the cool club.   Apparently this lady, (a lovely buff Orpington) is a gentle and good first time hen snuggling candidate. 

Cooper's initial reaction:  "cough, cough, sputter, sputter...  We need to tame your chickens?"  He held the hen only 5 seconds before it flew into the air briefly and landed on the ground and waddled away.

~"Is everything ok Cooper?  Don't you like the hen?"

 "Apparently the hens are dusty and when they flap their wings it shakes the dust in my face.  I should be more careful when holding the ladies."

Dust doesn't sway everyone.  Duncan may be the president of the chicken love club.  Can't you see the adoration in their eyes? 

The Honeymoon is Over

You know the honeymoon period is over when your spouse who used to say things like,
"I'm not picky. 
I eat everything. 
That was delicious is there more?
Every meal you make is great!",

now says things like...

"Did you lose track of time?  Where's the beef.... dear?"


sigh...at least it was almost 20 years before the honeymoon ended. 

(I confess and admit nothing.... thoughts running through my head at that moment were...
"And what exactly have you prepared for dinner?  dear? 
then... There's nothing wrong with a veggie platter! 
and then... Eat it or don't... there's nothing else tonight!  (It's what I tell the kids)

EduCATion

~"Please can we stop the chemistry, advanced calculus, trigonometry, and historical background checks of Socrates, Euclid, Plato and Gallileo.  I have a mouse to catch, a few naps to make up and some sun rays to soak.  I really don't understand how all this EduCATion is going to help." 

New tricks = New problems

 "I hope you don't mind.... I woke up and decided to stand in the crib.."

"I'm delighted to see how pleased you are with my standing." 

"um... how exactly do I stop.... pulling up is easy but I tend to fall down.  I'm sure there has to be a better way."

Fleeting

Some moments are touching and sweet.
(It has taken Whittaker 8 months to be willing to sit beside Emerson for more than a moment.  He does adore and love his baby brother.... but he prefers to do it from a distance!)

Of course... some moments are still fleeting. 


I expect that soon they will be buddies keeping me on my toes. 

Cankers, Whining and Nightmares. Oh My!

It has been brought to my attention that my blog is being neglected.  WELL!!!

Better that I neglect my blog than my children.  

One child in particular is taking up much of my time with his not so unreasonable demands.  Since Saturday he has had a high temperature and been very irritable.  He hasn't slept well at nights and not had much of an appetite.  He is terrified of vomiting and tends to swallow anything that might make it's way ... back up ...  

Since Monday he essentially declared every item of food or drink that was offered to him to be in his own words....

" that's NASTY!" 

He then refuses to eat anything further.  I have been desperately trying to convince him to eat something and definitely needing him to drink.  He drinks just enough to keep from dehydrating but it takes much effort on both Sarah's and my part to often hold him down and force the liquid into his mouth.  

Why am I not more concerned?  The Dr.'s say it isn't contagious and that it will pass with time.  The only concern is his lack of eating and drinking.  Although I wouldn't mind him sleeping more than 2 hours at a time through the night!!!  I'm a walking zombie mother! 

The reason for the NASTY comments and dislike for life in general.....

At last count.... 60 small cankers throughout the inside of his poor little mouth and along his tongue!  And if truth be told...



.....  it's his breath that is NASTY!!!

Welcome Home

After four long months working out of town, we decided it was worthy of a homecoming banner!  Now the agonizing wait for his arrival!  Driving home instead of flying isn't as exact an arrival time.

Tea Time

 How to transform the dining room into a tea room.  (or... how to clean the house!  have a daughter decide to throw a pretty tea party!)

 Finally the side board being used appropriately.  We definitely had more menu options than we needed for our little tea.  Fortunately we also had some willing young men to polish off what was left over!  (cucumber and sprout wraps, chocolate covered strawberries, grapes, deviled eggs, pound cake, trifle, and the closest thing we could find to Peek Freans... assorted Milano cookies.  Also, of course .. herbal teas.   Oh.. how could I forget!  Dinner mints were in sweet little mini cupcake holders in the shape of tulips!

We remembered at the last minute that we didn't own a teapot so a mad dash teapot hunt was on.  We found one that we loved for a little more than we wanted to pay so we tried one more store.  No luck.  We returned to the first store and well.. you snooze you lose!  AHHH  We had to settle for a mini teapot that served two at a time.

Our butler in training did very well. 

He received a lot of on the job training, especially in having to refill our mini teapot! 

 Our ladies had too many tea choices.  Next time we might choose the tea flavour ahead of time.  We had a box of herbal tea samplers.  16 different flavours I believe.  

Our lovely serviettes were folded by our talented butler in training Miles.  Also our centerpieces were provided by the local thrift store (picked up by Grandma) and our dishes were none other than the fondly remembered fancy dinner dishes of my youth!