Normal Day

So the boys had haircuts recently.  We did EVERYBODY.  Even baby Sprout.  Here are some candid shots of us during our days.  Notice extensive clutter, dirty faces, and weird angles.  This is what I get when I don't do any prep...clean hands and faces, staging, and body placement!

One day Little Dude called to me from the kitchen, "Mom!  I need a little help here!"  :)  Did he ever!

 A different evening I heard the boys moving around when they were supposed to be in bed.  Then Little Dude came down to tell me he'd made a bad decision, "super bad" in his words and that I needed to come see.  He came and showed me Munchkin decorated with the Mr. Sketch green marker (you know, the markers that smell yummy-fortunately they wash off easily too...or they did the next day), they had decided that Munchkin would be Robin to Little Dude's Batman...this meant he needed to be green.  LOTS of him was green.

 I do mean LOTS.

 We went skating (and got kicked off early because we'd forgotten our helmets) and so came home and did playdoh!

 I told them to smile, Sprout looks a bit shocked.

 I asked for Munchkin's biggest smile and this is what I get.  Not exactly the sparkling smile I was looking for.

 Serious Sprout.

 Now THERE'S a big smile.

Visits

 After Christmas we just chilled at home.  Notice something?  ALL the boys have fingers in their mouths (or almost in their mouths).

 Then we went visiting.  Sprout made new friends...he just LOVED the kitties.

 We vegged a bit at their house too. 

 Then we drove several more hours to do some more visiting and again Sprout was making friends.

 Not to mention the joys of someone else's toys!

 The older kids all played together a fair bit.  Little Dude really wanted to hang out with Big B...figuring that since they were both the oldest boys they shared a bond in common?  He followed him around as much as possible for 4 days!

 These two were either happy as clams or busy bugging each other!

 More hanging out...literally this time!

 Bed head!

 Sprouts new friend, baby L.  She has LOVELY thick hair that has really gotten long since I last saw her.

 You can see how they felt about hanging out.  All too soon it was time to hit the road for a days drive back home.

 It was the second week of January and these are the scenes I saw (and took pictures from) my car window.

 Lots of horses!

 Prairie icons.

 It was WINDY.  What happens in the wind?  Well, your signs blow off.

 More Icons.

Want to visit Spock?  I know where he lives!

 A new Prairie icon.

 In our city they have something called Community Leagues.  Each league usually has its own park, maybe a rec hall (we do) and we also have a couple of outdoor skating rinks.  You sign up at the beginning of the year and they give you a free family pass to either the amusement park or the water park just about 5 minutes away from us.

 So the boys could ride as many rides as they wanted.

 Can you find Munchkin??

We had so much fun.  Wish we could do something like that more often...but we'll enjoy it for now.

musings

I'm up late, and procrastinating my jobs before bed.  (I get the first part from my mother, the second is a skill I've developed on my own!)  While looking back on my last post I realized that I've got pictures of Sprout without any pants on.  Why is this important?  Well since you asked, his eczema has always been so bad that as soon as he had pants off he would scratch with a vengeance....draw blood!  Diaper changes were a bit of a speed event with obstacles tossed in (me trying to keep his little scratchy fingers out of the way) and his pants would go back on ASAP.  And then socks because he would sit and just scratch away at his ankles.  Can I share with you how GLAD we are that it has cleared up and seems to stay cleared unless he gets into something on his allergy list (milk, eggs, peanuts, almonds, laundry detergent)?  SO nice to be able to play and tickle a bit while changing his diaper and let him play in the bath without worrying about him scratching his testicles off.  Sounds extreme eh?  THAT'S how bad it was.  Look at those lovely bare legs...share my joy.  More pictures to come....but I'm WAY busy with work and the new leaf I've turned over (it's only been a couple of days) I'll fill you in later.