“babe”raham lincoln.

so lynnie-lou-hoo had a biography study that we worked on for the better part of february.  they cold choose pretty much anyone, and lynn chose abraham lincoln.

I was a little surprised to say the least.

she went with it though, and enjoyed it, for the most part.  there was a bit of drama during the process, she was really worried about her speech.  but she did great.

last night there was a wax museum for all the third graders.  grandmas came, they brought cousins and even great-aunt doreen came.  it was nice to have such a great show of support for lynn.

(and she was so happy when the night was over!)

ashley had to get in on the action too.

the kid cracks me up!

Parental Supervision

It is spring break around here.

(Don’t let the un-springlike weather fool you.  We just reside in Utah, that’s all.)

So what does a momma who rarely gets the chance to sleep in do on spring break?

Sleep in!

There is a slight hazard in that though.

The smallish children.

The things they can do while mother hen is sleeping in…

Take for example our first day of spring break:

The older two were having a sleep over with grandma, Peyton was my only charge.  She wakes up at the butt crack of dawn regardless of what day it is, vacations are not part of her little mindset as of yet.

(I say as of yet, because one day, they will be, and they will be priceless to her!)

So Peyton rose with the sun, needing her Trix and chocolate milk.  I got up, groggily, got the cereal and milk for her, turned on PBS kids (Curious George to be exact), and dragged myself back to bed, hoping for a few more minutes of sleeeeep.

I woke up a little after 8.  It was all too quiet.  I thought to myself: “Self.  When things are this quiet, something is a muck.  You should get your lazy self out of bed and go see about that little one.”

But as soon as my inner monologue ended, that sweet, most darling three year old came into my room, skipping into my room, and climbed into bed with me.  I kept my eyes closed, hoping that that little sprite would want to snuggle with me for a minute.  As she cozied-up to me underneath my down comforter, she said, “Mommy..  I got an owie on my face.”

(But when she says “face” it sounds more like “bace”.  Those three year-olds and that “f” sound..)

As I opened my eyes is slight alarm (knew I should have checked on her!!) and turned to see her face, this is what I saw:

 

Scary and funny all at once..  I know.

But there were no real “owies” underneath. 

Upon further investigation, I found this:

But the smart kid threw away all of the garbage! 

Guess I won’t be buying the character band aids for a while.

We’ll stick to plain old boring skin color.

Ashley McSplashley

Our middle child (who most of the time is the poster child for middle child syndrome) is also the ham of the family.

Really.  There are times when the things she says leave me and her father shaking our heads, wondering how that all got put together in her head.

She is quite witty that one.

Like the time at the craft store when she grabbed this thought could and put it above her little head, put her finger to her mouth and said, “Hmmm..  I’m thinking of something..”

Or when she puts on her best “preacher-man” voice to marry Lynn and an imaginary prince saying: “Will you take this man to be your AWFULLY married husband?”

(She tried to re-marry Merrill and I that way as well.)

She was hamming it up at the pool the other evening.  With grandpa and grandma as her audience, she couldn’t resist.  She would run and jump into the pool repeatedly, laughing and loving it.  Grandma made the comment that she was a fish, to which she replied, “No!  I am Ashley McSplashley!!  Get it?  because I splash?!”  (Giggle giggle…)

She is quick on her feet, always using props to help in her hilarity…

But of all her recent antics, Sunday’s little show takes the cake.

I was teaching her primary class about being thankful, saying “thank you”.  She is not an obnoxious kid  outside of the comfort of her own home, she is quite shy really, so getting her to answer questions during the lesson wasn’t so easy.  I got to the part, where I went to each child individually to ask them about a time when they told someone “thank you”.  Answers came and then I got to Ashley.  She just hammed-up her face with quite the quizzical expression, and I started to prod her little memory.  Suddenly, the look on her face changed, she put a knowing finger to her mouth, and answering my question in a voice just barely above a whisper, said:

“Remember this morning, when you picked out this stupid dress for me to wear, and said if I wore it and didn’t complain, then you would give me gum?  Well, I am going to say “thank you” after you give me my gum.” 

It was hard to keep a straight face after that.

It was the best answer.

This might be the reason.

Peyton keeps coming into our bed.

It is quite an old routine now.

I think I discovered the reason why….

They keep hogging her bed.

Spring, almost summer.

Signs that summer is nearing:

Busy.

Busy.

Busy.

End of the school year.

The rain has that smell to it..  it smells good.

Windows are open more often than not.

Kids are spending a lot of time outside.

Grill gets fired-up.

Smell of fresh cut grass.

Farmer tan started.

Otter pops in freezer.

Sidewalk chalk is being used..

And not just on the sidewalk..

The going rate.

This is an indicator of the going rate for Jell-O Pudding cups in the trading market of our local elementary school lunch room.

She traded her chocolate Jell-O pudding..  is she crazy?!  Chocolate..  helloooo!

Apparently she had a friend who made these glasses because she was having issues with her sight at recess.  She kept running into trees, or so she told Lynn.

But once she saw the pudding cup (she was able to see it), the “glasses” were suddenly game for trades. 

Interesting trades if you ask me.

Lynn has since made a laptop to use while wearing her new eyewear.

It is of equal quality and craftsmanship.

Treasure Hunting.

Peyton moseyed on outside today for a little treasure-hunting adventure.

She came back inside with a Darth Vader toy, a lava rock, and a bunch of….

Dead..

Dried-up…

Worms.

(I LOVE the look on her face in this one!)

See?

And that is exactly what she said to me over and over..

“See mom?!  WORMS!!”

I guess our little adventure last week as the snow was melting, finding worms that were stranded on the driveway, picking them up and then sending them into the safety of the lawn, kind of got her a bit too comfortable with them.

(I have spared you from the picture of her attempting to eat one.  Can you guess which one she was ready to down?)

I love this girl!

A taste of green..

It seems to all come and go so quickly.  I thought I should capture it before the Easter/Spring stuff goes up.

So much for this year’s goal (well, one of them at least..) to be ahead by a month.

I was up until 4 in the am sewing.

I wanted them each to have something special for the day, and I was trying to improve upon last year.  I had plans for skirts for each of them, but then dreamed up the idea for piecing together the pillowcase dress for Peyton.  I saw fabric at JoAnn’s that was so cute but couldn’t get into spending $12.99 a yard on the stuff.  After piecing it all together, I might just find me a coupon and go get the other stuff.  That was some work I tell ya.

I wanted it to be so imperfect that it was perfect, and I like the way it turned out.

I had to even consult a tutorial on my own blog, composed by myself when it came to the arms of that pillowcase dress…

I was really tired..

Oh, wait..  I still am! ;)

It’s all worth it though.

 

I am excited for all the spring stuff..  the girls love it too.

I also have this framed and hung on the wall in honor of April Fool’s day. 

When I picked it up from Costco, Ash wasn’t very happy.  She wanted to know who did that to her picture.  When I told her I had, she chilled-out, but just a little.  When I fully explained the situation, she was cool with it.  Love that kid!

Makes me laugh every time..

Every time I walk into Merrill’s bathroom down at the hotel, I have to laugh!

Now you don’t have to wonder what happens to all of the “little rolls” of toilet paper left behind at hotels.

(Yeah,I know that you ALWAYS think about that..)

New holster..

Ashley found a new place to hold her gun..

A holster if you will..

They are clean, just in case you were concerned. ;)

Table manners: Peyton edition..

Sharing mealtime with Peyton is always entertaining, and sometimes a bit scary.
Thought I would share what she thinks is important at mealtime.

Listen politely to dinner conversation..

Take your time, enjoy all the flavors a dish has to offer.

Immediately let your dinner companions know what you think of particular fare.

Utensils are overrated.

It's okay to crack a few jokes..

Did I already mention that utensils are overrated?

Last but not least, here is her favorite way to use a cup:

A monster is born..

So I need to let Christie know, that by creating me into a hair monster, it has set off a chain of events that have led to irreparable consequences..
Ashley is now a hair-obsessor too..
I have photographic evidence(s)..
This is what I found during bedtime preparations..I found this one, already put to bed in the corner, beautified as well..
As you can see, no baby or creature is left out.. their "FurReal" pets get posh treatment as well.

Meet Lucinda and other fun things..

Meet Lucinda.. or "Lucy".. as I call her :)She is our new, awesome computer.. she is fast, has a whole lotta memory, and best of all, functions at full capacity.
She will also find herself with a new child in a couple of days (hopefully sooner rather than later..) and that would be my PhotoShop program... (cheers!!!)
Right now, the only other broken/non-functioning item in my home is my dishwasher..Note: NEVER take your dishwasher for granted!! This malfunction has blessed me with some nice quiet time though... :)
So...
Lately..We have had Ashley needing to use a "cane" because she has "old lady smell".. (?) Is that why canes are utilized?
She also channels "Word Girl".She continues to note the items of her costume that are missing, but necessary. She has found other items that will serve as "temporary substitutes"..
- Purple Dora gardening glove (notice the absence of the plural "s"?..) in place of the standard red..
- Hot pink shoes in lieu of the red boots..
She also noted that a red belt is necessary, as well as the red helmet..
I guess I have some shopping to do..
Lynnie-Lou, on the other hand...
Had a heart breaking experience the other night..
We were at Pack Meeting (it was "Dino-riffic!!!..) and she missed-out on the opportunity to play a game in which she could win some most coveted and valuable prizes.. her younger sister, did not miss this chance, and thus, Lynnie-Lou was heartbroken.
She left me a note, to convey her grief...I do believe that a translation of sorts is necessary..
"I am extremely sad cause I didn't get a slinky and I didn't get a glow stick. That's why. Love Lynn (heart). If there's any problems fix them all by yourself."
(Did you get that from reading the original note? It took me a while.. so cute though!!)
I am enjoying the phonetically spelled notes I get all day long..
Look at what a cutie she is!Lastly...
Peyton's tag..
Kimmy, our cute little friend, tagged us..
So here are 5 of Peyton's essential items:

1- Her Horse.. it goes just about everywhere inside our house and outside..2- Books.. she loves them!! Mostly looking at them at her own pace right now.. she's yet to sit still through a whole story.. well, besides her Barney and Elmo board books...
3- Cars and trucks... she makes the sounds of the engines too :)
4- Balls. She especially loves her big, bouncy, blue ball. I am also happy to note that she is over her fear of the exercise ball!! :D
5- It's a tie for this one.. me and her fingers...

That's what happens..

This is what a 9 year-old slotted spoon looks like... when it has been well-loved.
I realize that most everything we own, is nine years old now..
Do I have more of this to look forward to, or what?

A Flashback.. of sorts..

We have been gearing up for Easter around here the past week..
Had a special Easter Family Home Evening lesson on Monday.. got out the old plastic eggs for the object lesson part of the evening.
They have been played with all week long.
I began to remember, when I was young and flatter-chested, how I would utilize these objects..
My mom would buy "Leggs" pantyhose.. the kind that came in a large, plastic egg. I would beg for the empties, then go to the privacy of my room, rig my legwarmer to be a bra of sorts, then, stuff it with the egg halves.
I learned quickly, that it was best if I saved eggs, so I would have two same-sized halves, and not be lopsided..
So it was funny that I was remembering this about myself (and thinking I might have to utilize this tactic soon ;)..) when my dear sweet 4 year-old comes to me, asking if I like her shirt..
"Of course.." I think, as I recall what she is wearing that day.. I did make it :)
Nope.. not quite what she meant...
You see....
Like mother, like daughter...
But she figured out the same-sized half part...