Quick 5

April showers bring May flowers!

1.  No seriously.  Can you see it?

Look closely and maybe you'll see a tiny spot of orange, right near the middle of our unkempt, seemingly useless hill.

A perfect, yellow and orange striped tulip.  "Why on earth would you plant ONE tulip in the middle of your unkempt, seemingly useless hill?" you may ask.  Well, we didn't.  It just showed up.  Now, I know wildflowers can just show up, but I also know that a tulips are NOT wildflowers.  They involve a big ol' bulb that has to be planted in the fall.  I think.  Anyway, we did not plant that tulip and have no idea how it got there.  Our best explanation so far has been that a squirrel, which there are a lot of around here, buried what he thought would be a nice snack.  My favorite explanation involves the Tulip Fairy, but since no one has ever heard of her, then that's probably not what happened.  But we have a tulip, and I'm now feeling inspired to plant a row in the front of our house.

2.  In other garden news, one of our apple tress is in full bloom.  It's the one right outside our bedroom window, and seeing a tree full of flowers  makes me happy.  Until I realize that those blossoms are going to turn into apples.  Which will then fall all over the place.  Which makes terrible noise in the fall, banging on the room above our bedroom at all hours of the night.  We didn't have any apples last year (because of the late freeze?) but I did enjoy not having to deal with all the apples.  This year we'll have to deal with them.

3.  Since the weather is getting warmer, I think beard hat season may be over.  So I've moved on to a fun little girls hat, thanks to my crocheting friends at church.  It's taken a few tries to get the sizing right, but my poor nieces can now expect yet another crocheted present from Crazy Aunt Tori this year.  My first attempt fit Bria just perfectly:

Shades of Cabbage Patch

4.  Speaking of Bria, I've hardly seen her crawl the past couple of days.  She will if she has a long distance to go, but mostly now she is truly toddling.  C U T E.

5.  There are just four weeks of school left.  We almost made it.  But suddenly, in the past week, all three of Alaina's school pants busted open at the knees.  I tried mending them, but to no avail.  I just can't bring myself to buy her new pants for four weeks.  I'm afraid I'll get the sizing wrong, since there is a good chance she'll have a growth spurt this summer.  So she has to wear her school skirts, which she doesn't like quite as much.  But thankfully it's getting warmer.  And that's what we've got.

My baby bro turns 20 this weekend.  He's practically a full grown man!  Happy Birthday Ben!

Quick 5

{Witty opener}

1.  Usually I throw away Alaina's old schoolwork and artwork when she's not around so she doesn't know.  But she had made a beautiful rainbow with Froot Loops, and I knew she would miss it, so I told her she could show Grammy and Grandad and then we'd throw it away.  She was less than thrilled with that idea because she worked so hard  on it, but I told her we'd take a picture.  So now it's immortalized via the interwebs, and I don't have to deal with old, crusty Froot Loops and glue.

2.  Houston, we have a walker.  Bria started taking hardcore, purposeful steps last Saturday. She's probably taken 8 or 9 in a row.  Her preferred mode of transportation is still crawling, but she practices every day.  If my memory serves me correctly (and we all know that a mommy's memory is IRONCLAD) then Bria is about a month or two ahead of her sisters in the walking department.  She may be the baby of the family, but she can always say that she walked sooner than her sisters.

3.  Like most of America, we are now the proud owners of Frozen.  Gramma and Grampa Kimble sent it in their Easter package, and the girls were totally excited.  I rank it up there with Tangled.  I'm also looking forward to maybe learning some of the other songs besides "Let It Go" and "Do You Want To Build A Snowman."

4.  I completed a Pinterest project.  It was my first one dealing with re-purposing clothes and I even got to use a setting on the sewing machine that I have never used before.  I'm always looking for peasant tops because I feel like it hides my mommy muffin better than fitted things.  Now I can make my own.  Thanks to a well-timed beard hat sale I was able to go to the thrift store and score a few more shirts that I can remake.  Summer wardrobe.  Done.

Before.  An old shirt of Lee's that we both loved, but that has some bleach spots around the collar.

Now it's mine.

5. Heard at our house:
Scene: Alaina and Joya were playing outside in the backyard. The windows were open.  Lee was working from home at the kitchen table.

Alaina: Joya!  Joya!  Don't hurt nature!  Nature is good! 

Lee: Uh oh.  That's hippie talk.


He is Risen!  We pray you are filled with joy as we celebrate Christ's saving work on the cross this weekend!

Quick 5

It's nice to see everyone's lily white arms again.

1.  Apparently yesterday was National Sibling Day.  I'm not convinced it's actually a real thing, but whatever.  Here is my tribute to my siblings:

Disneyland, 2002

2.  This beautiful weather definitely has my girls fooled.  Every day they ask if they can wear tank tops or sandals or swimsuits.  Every day I try to explain to them that they need to wear jackets and shoes first thing in the morning because it's still chilly and that it is going to snow on Sunday so it's not time to get out the pool yet.  Spring can be tricky.

3.  I know this is a totally uncool thing to admit, but I'm not an outdoor person.  I'm just not.  I wish I were, but I'm not.  And I think I may have passed on that trait to my daughters.  At first I thought they were going to be outside people, because they ask to go outside all the time, but they have NO stamina.  They last about 15 minutes before they want to come back inside.  I finally set a timer outside and told them they could come in when it went off and not to ask me again.  Just know that every time you mention how your kids LOVE outside and just LIVE out there all summer, I feel like you're saying it AT me.  Even though I know you aren't.

4.  Joya is three and talks the way a three-year-old talks.  But her daddy does a good job of trying to teach her how to say words correctly.  Sometimes it's futile, though.  Example: Joya LOVES peanut butter and "schwaberry" (strawberry jelly) sandwiches.  So Lee was trying to teach her how to say "strawberry."  She kept getting caught up on the "straw" part.  Thinking he had a stroke of brilliance, he went and got a straw and held it up for her to see.

"What's this?" he asked.
"A schwa," Joya insisted. 

In her defense, the STR sound really is kind of tricky.

5.  I'm starting to stress out about Alaina's birthday.  You know her; the girl loves to party.  And she thinks that the whole world will be invited.  And you know me; I could do without parties.  So how do I balance her expectations (the world is NOT coming) with mine (I really do want to celebrate her somehow)?  I don't know what to do.  I feel like we need to do more than we usually do, or at least something different, but we're also a low budget family.  Entertaining small children is not my strong point, nor is it my idea of fun.  I have about four weeks to figure it out, especially if we are going to be inviting people over.

Happy Friday!

Quick 5

I thought it was Spring.  But then it snowed.  But today might be Spring again.

1.  Maybe I'm just tired of winter or maybe I'm just tired of the large loads of heavy winter clothes.  But this week I hunted and gathered all the warm weather clothing we need.  Mostly that involves buying sandals for the girls (because those girls wear their shoes into the ground so there will be no sharing) and hunting down warm weather clothes for Alaina.  Then it snowed yesterday and I feel a bit foolish.  But then they *say* it'll be up in the 70s next week so maybe my preparations will come in handy.

2.  We still hold to our prediction that Bria will be walking soon.  She's taken two steps in a row several times before dropping to her knees, but the point is she tries it all the time.  She's also sleeping better, thanks for asking.  On Sunday afternoon when she was fussing and crying, like she did all last week, I got a good peek inside her mouth.  At least one molar has broken through.  It's nice to know why she was so difficult all last week.  And it's nice to have my happy baby back.

3.  It turns out that Bria is a hitter.  Lately when things don't go her way she'll look directly at you and hit something.  It may be you or a table or a toy nearby, but this development has disturbed me.  I don't want her to be That Kid.  The hits don't hurt at this point, but that's not the point.  I suppose I should have seen this coming.  I should have known the third kid was going to find a way to express her frustration.  Just add it to the list of things that need Parenting Skills.

4.  A couple of weeks ago I went to a local nursery and took a class on soil prep.  I've always wanted to WANT to garden, but could never muster the motivation.  I wondered if knowledge would change things, because who can get excited about growing things that will probably die?  Well, I was right.  I learned some stuff and now I'm pretty pumped to get my gardens growing.  I've got plans and ideas for both the veggie garden (nothing crazy, just tomatoes and zucchini) and the flowers that need to go in the front of the house.  Hopefully they will all look like the pictures in my head.

5.  Obviously the snow has killed my inspiration today.  So let's all dream of the days when we don't have to wear coats outside, like this:

Peace out.

Quick 5

Do I really see leaf buds on the trees, or are my new contacts messing with my brain?

1.  This Spring Break has been lovely.  Not remarkable, but quite lovely.  Lee has been able to work from home most of the week, so we've all been together.  I love the slower pace and not having to get a lot done.  On Monday we went to MOPS and I had to stay for a meeting afterward, so I brought lunch for the girls to eat.  Eating at the church may have been the highlight of Alaina's week.  Or life.  She was pretty excited, so it's hard to tell which. 

2.  I suppose another highlight was our time at the park.  The girls love the park so much.  Even Bria grinned in her Stink Face the whole time.  It was the first time Bria had been to the park when she was able to be out of her stroller.  As soon as she gets the walking thing down I'll let her toddle all over the place.  She'll love it even more then.

3. I've learned that if one of the girls asks "Do you want to take a picture of me?" then then answer should always be "Yes!"  Here is one such occasion:

She was pretty proud of the tower she made

4. Things I thought I wouldn't have to say to Bria until she was at least two years old:  "Bria, please don't rub hot dog in your hair!"  Speaking of Bria, that girl will probably be walking within the next two weeks.  She's taking tons of risks that we've never seen before, like standing freestyle in the middle of the room (it only lasts about 20 seconds, but she's trying!) and taking one step before chickening out and dropping to the floor.  But she's doing it on her own, so we give her two weeks before she takes many steps. 

Look Ma, no hands!  (Yes she IS leaning against the fence.)

5. Perhaps the biggest news of the household is the fact that we are now the proud owners of an unlimited texting plan.  I don't really want to talk about how or why it took us so long to make this change.  The point is we can now text without fear of the 20 cent charge each time AND we can communicate with the world in the way that most people feel the most comfortable.  Apparently we may need to learn texting lingo, but I'm hoping that it comes with time.  (I still don't know what LFTBIT means, Becky.  Believe me, I've googled.)

Good bye March!  We send you on your way with many smiles.

Quick 5

The idea that winter is over and spring has begun does wonders for the soul.  (Even if it does snow tonight.)

1.  Last weekend was the annual Missions Fair at church.  It was the best Missions Fair I had ever been to.  The format was excellent.  I wish you all could have been there.  Alaina and Joya were able to help out too, by  handing out programs and kid bags.  The kid bags were full of coloring books, crayons, maracas, and snacks because the service was a family service and all kids over the age of 3 were in the service with the adults.  Alaina did her job well, even chasing down kids who didn't make it to the table to pick up their bag.  I believe her exact words were "There's a kid!  I'm gonna get em!"

The Russian Twins

Alaina and the beloved Gillett girls

Clearly these two are from China

2.  I got to volunteer in Alaina's class on Monday.  It was my second time volunteering, but my first time with Alaina actually in the class, since the first time I went she stayed home sick.  I went with the class to PE and watched them play a game of Space Tag.  It was fascinating.  Basically the coach set up a couple dozen "space stations" (hula hoops) in a large circle around the gym, and put mats in the middle.  Then two kids became the "aliens" and had to tag the other kids with their "alien fingers" (foam noodles.)  The kids then run from space station to space station, trying not to get tagged.  Once they're tagged, they have to go stand on the mat in the middle until someone else rescues them.  Alaina, it turns out, likes to play it safe.  She would just hop from station to station, or jump outside the hoop, taunt the alien and jump back in at the slightest concern that the alien may or may not be headed her way.  Most other kids just ran around like crazy people, because it really was no big deal to get tagged.  They'd stand on the mat for about a minute before someone came to get them off.  But Alaina didn't want to risk it.  That's probably exactly how I would have played too.

3.  Bria had a rough few nights of sleep for some unknown reason.  Maybe she's teething or growing.  I don't know.  All I know is I would put her to bed at 6:40 (like usual) and then I'd hear her start to talk around 7:30.  And then she'd chat with herself until about 10:00.  Then she'd get bored and start to yell.  Then she'd get mad and start to scream.  And I've trained her in such a way that she doesn't fall asleep on me, so if I went in to rock her, it would just prolong the falling asleep.  So I'd have to let her scream it out.  And that usually took an hour and a half or so.  So for two nights in a row we were finally getting to sleep around 1:30.  It was fine and all for her; she still gets to take her 4 hours worth of naps during the day.  But this momma was a bit cranky.  Thankfully last night was back to normal.

4.  Next week is Spring Break.  And I have zero plans.  MOPS on Monday.  Alaina seems to have her heart set on going to Target.  That's it.  Part of me feels like I should make the week amazing, and part of me is just looking forward to getting up at 5:50 every day instead of 5:30.  Maybe it's the poor sleep talking, but I feel like I just want the week to be a week of rest.

5.  Once again, this seems to be a quick 4.  So I'll let Joya see you out:

Welcome Spring!

Quick 5

Question: does having pizza (pie) count as a valid celebration of Pi Day?  Does anyone actually celebrate Pi Day?

1.  The name of the game this week has been Sort and Throw.  We've been talking forever about getting our basement in order and planning a garage sale this summer.  For some unexplained reason both Lee and I were extremely motivated this past weekend and we knocked out our basement.  It helped to come up with a plan (and don't ask me why it took almost TWO YEARS to come up with this plan.)  The plan was to move all the stuff we wanted to keep into a room and move all the stuff we wanted to sell into the great room.  Simple right?  Just the act of finally separating it all was so awesome.  Also, it helped to set aside boxes of memories and all my craft stuff boxes to go through at a later date, because you can get bogged down for days on stuff like that.  Anyway, our basement now has the look that our places always got when we were moving, because it is cleaned up and boxes are stacked nicely.  I don't know where this motivation came from, but I'm trying to ride this wave as far as it will go.

2.  In other home improvement news I finally got curtains for our bedroom.  Our bedroom has had ONE thing on its walls for these past 21 months: the Chick-fil-a Cow Calendar.  But I found curtains that I liked.  And now we love having curtains.  How did we live so long without them?  First, it blocks out the lights that shine from the apartments behind our house right into our bedroom.  Second, I believe it's made our room so much quieter, again since there is a parking lot behind our house and whatnot.  It's the little things.

I never really envisioned having a purple room, but that's the way it seems to be going.

3.  Slowly but surely I'm adding chores to Alaina's repertoire.  Her newest is drying the dishes after they've been washed.  She's tall enough and responsible enough not to drop them.  And I love having her help out.  For some reason she's in a honeymoon phase with it, and if she hears me at the sink she runs over and grabs the towel.  Mostly I love having a completely empty sink at the end of the night.  I knew having kids would pay off eventually.

4.  These days of late winter/early spring are sure moody.  The temps will climb up to a pleasant height, only to be dropped the next day by cold wind and snow.  So we're trying to take advantage of the warmth as we can.  Lee got home from work yesterday and asked me if the girls would want to go for a walk.  The answer is OF COURSE.  And he took all three, so I had an hour of peace and quiet to cook dinner and do whatever I felt like.  AND it got their wiggles out.  I know, we're slow learners, but maybe this should be a regular thing.

5.  Looks like today's Quick 5 is a Quick 4.  I'll let Bria see you out:

Thanks for stopping by!