Sisters, Sisters, Never Were There Such Devoted Sisters

Yesterday Eli dumped out half a container of red pepper flakes. I didn't have time to clean it up before swimming lessons, and after swimming lessons everyone was "starving" so I didn't clean it up the minute I got home.

The result: Emeline went over and played in the stuff when I was in the kitchen making sandwiches. She then proceeded to touch her face and eyes. First I knew about it was when she came into the kitchen and said her face hurt. I thought maybe it was the chlorine (duh) and told her to rinse her face with cool water.

A minute later I heard ear-piercing screams coming from the bathroom. Kami, on the phone, said it was probably the pepper flakes (again, duh, on my part). I rushed to the bathroom. Emeline's face was a terrible purply - red all over. I hung up the phone and washed her face with soap. When I rinsed off the soap her face slowly started to turn back to its normal color.

Then, thinking that bread makes your tongue feel better, I made a past of coarse-ground oatmeal flour and put that on her. After a minute of the oatmeal she said her face felt better. Plus, she thought she looked so funny.
I had oatmeal flour on hand because my face went crazy when I tried Mary Kay mineral face make-up. Now I've learned that people with sensitive skin shouldn't use mineral anything, but I didn't know that. Point is, when I was trying to fix the damage done I found a website whose author insisted that using plain oatmeal is the cure to every skin problem. I'm a convert. And a disciple. My skin hasn't looked and felt this nice since I was a child. I take oatmeal and blend it in my blender and store it in a container. Then, at night when I wash my face, I dump about a teaspoon full into a little container, add a little water, and let it sit while I brush my teeth. It forms a paste. I love it. Try it.

You might be wondering about the title of my post. Well, let me clarify. Yesterday was a rough, hormone charged day, and I called Lindsay to come babysit me but she was babysitting Megan's kids so she couldn't come. That was okay. I muddled through the day, more or less. But this morning I woke up with a terrible headache. I got the kids bathed and fed and Harriet down for her nap and then I went back to bed and hoped my kids wouldn't burn the house down.

A few hours later Lindsay knocked on my bedroom door (which woke me up, which is a good thing). She had come over to bring me two Symphony chocolate bars--the kind with the toffee, yum, because she wanted to cheer me up after my morose hormonal day. Seeing that I was still walking rather gingerly, Lindsay fed my kids lunch and cleaned up a little bit--for which I was very, very grateful.

Then Lindsay left and I tried to get the kids to help me pull the house back together. About 30 minutes later, I got a call from Lindsay. She was on her way back to my house to pick up my four oldest and take them back to her house for dinner and a movie.

Saint. Seriously, it was the nicest thing ever.

And so I stand by the statement I have made to Timothy numerous times: we have to have more children because my girls only have two sisters, and that is not enough sisters in a crisis. I need all five of my amazing sisters. Couldn't manage without them.

Thanks again, Louisa Lou.

Cowen had a birthday!!--almost

As some of you might know, Cowen's 7th birthday is actually tomorrow, March 1. However, I teach Thursday nights so the lucky kid got to celebrate a day early. (I let him pick between a day early or a day late--duh, Mom.)

I know this "fort" birthday cake isn't one of my greatest but we're doing a Star Wars cake for his party (my kids get parties when they turn 7 and 11) so I was looking for something simple. And no, I didn't think it was a fort when I made it but Cowen did when he saw it, so a fort it must be.

Look at Harriet's face. Awesome.

I have pointed out numerous times on this blog that Timothy is the better present-picker-outer of the two of us. However, this birthday I get full credit for picking a present that Cowen is in love with and that all the kids instantly and vocally and, for one, tearfully, wanted for their own.

An Uncle Milty Explorer Vest.

The thing is LOADED with pockets--which is pretty much its entire appeal. Timothy and I put something in each one of the pockets. One pocket had a flashlight, another a multi-tool, another a penny, etc.. The cooler things were contributed by Timothy. I thought of the idea, though.

Cowen spent a good 30 minutes looking through each pocket, oohing and aahing, and thinking out loud about other things that could go in each pocket. The other kids were riveted. They all loved the vest.

Except Harriet--she was at the table working on her first sugar high. She didn't want the cake. Swatted my hand away when I tried. No, she was all about the Kit Kats and Reese's Pieces. At one point she had the other children in a laughing fit because she kept trying to pick up a Reese's but she wouldn't put down her Kit Kat to do it, so she just kept bumping the candy around the table. Her other hand was already full of Reese's. So was her mouth. It was pretty hilarious.

All of Cowen's presents (except the penny and a few other items Cowen found in the pockets) came from . . . Smith and Edwards. Where else do you go to find presents for a 7 year old boy other than the Country Boy Store??

The binoculars were $10. We'll see how well they hold up.

The vest seems extremely durable and well-made--not a "kids" item in the Toys-R-Us vein. (Not knocking Toys-R-Us, they sell Schleich, after all. Just not your go-to spot for well-made explorer vests.)

Speaking of Schleich, my mom gave Cowen a Schleich figurine--a woodsy looking fellow with an elk familiar. It. is. awesome. Good pick, Mom. Good pick.

Grandma Rasmussen spent the day with us. She held Harriet while I swam with the four older kids for an hour before their swimming lessons. Then she helped with lunch, watched the kids while I took Miriam to Liberty Girls, helped me with my cupboard and mending and Relief Society birthday party, and basically just made me feel a little less stressed.

My kids heard me talking on the phone when I asked Mom to help me out one day. When I got off the phone they wanted to know who I was talking to. I said, "When you really need help, who do you call?"

They all said, without hesitation, "Your mom."

"Yep," I said, "That's who I called."

Thank heaven for moms.

PS Someday I am going to write a poem about swimming with young children. Basically the poem will go like this:

Watch me!
WALK!
Watch me!
WALK!
Watch me!!
WALK!!!!!!!!!!!

The end.

Things I Like

Boys with sticks.

How boys move and stand like boys.

Patsy trying to see what is going on in the house.

Eli's smile when he notices the camera.

That dog food dishes are an important part of my children's toy arsenal.

Patsy's floppy ears.

That Patsy carries around a stick in the hopes that someone will throw it for her.

Boys.

Little boy kung-fu faces.

That Wilson had been ignoring everyone until he saw Miriam. He knows who will pet him.

My children outside.

That my kids have dogs. It makes me feel like I've done something right for their childhoods, even if it's the only right thing.

This face.

Say her name, see the smiles, hear the laughing and growling and you'll be hooked on her for life.

Emeline, who spent much of today drawing monsters.

I also like that my children are in swimming lessons right now. Another good thing I've done as a mom. The oldest three are in the same class because I decided to hold Miriam back even though she passed her level last year, just to get more practice in. Saying that the girl squeaked out a pass would be understating it.

Then Emeline's class was canceled because not enough children registered. Fortunately, the three of them have the best teacher at the aquatic center. She said that Emeline has perfect form (Emeline's teacher raved about her last year too--guess she's got good form or something), and just lacks confidence and asked me to let her keep her because she thinks that she can improve Emeline's swimming more than putting her in the right class would improve Em's swimming.

So, the three of them are delighted to be together. Emeline's made a "new best friend" named Emily and Miriam has gotten in trouble several times for not being where she's supposed to be and Cowen is determined to "work harder" to master the mermaid stroke. So . . . all children are behaving exactly as expected and having a great time.

As for Eli, he is currently sitting on the top step and kicking his legs but refuses to do more than that. I'm sure he'll warm up to lessons as they progress.

Cowen got ahold of the camera

Self-portrait.

Nose.

Dog.

Another dog.

Question: If you got your mom's camera and took pictures, which is strictly not allowed, would you be clever enough to not give yourself away by taking pictures of yourself? Your nose, maybe, but your actual face? Just wondering.

Things Going On Around Here

Miriam made her first cake--Raggedy Ann. She learned a lot about paying attention to details in the recipe. Hard for a daydreamer. Still, the cake turned out pretty tasty!

Why???

Eli cut his chin open the other night. I drove him to Megan's and she super-glued and butterfly bandaged him. He probably should have gotten a stitch or two just because his bandages didn't stay on well (chins are pointy and bony) and I think the blood decreased the super glue's effectiveness. Good thing the scar will be under his chin where nobody will see it. Also good that he is tough.

Lady Harriet is One . . . and in Trouble

You can always tell when a one-year-old has been in the vicinity.

The mess combined with the wreckage. I've had three books ripped apart just this week. Timothy's thinking about solutions to the baby + book problem. I wasn't very vehement about him finding a solution until Harriet got her tiny, adorable, starfish hands on Quest for a Maid. Lady Harriet is darling, but there are limits.

I followed the path of mess to the kitchen looking for the culprit.

There she is.

I said, "Harriet!" with a bit of asperity, and she turned around.

Then she smiled, waved, and growled--her special way of expressing happiness.
No, she didn't stay in trouble.
Yes, she did get kissed and hugged and squeezed.

However, we are putting in childproofing in the kitchen for the first time in our married life. I usually like my baby having access to the container of lids. It is good, cheap entertainment. Unfortunately, my kitchen floor is so filthy (hey, I mopped this past Saturday--I have five small children) that I felt compelled to wash everything Harriet strew about. I don't have time to wash everything in the cupboard every day.

I'm sure she'll find something else to pull out, chew on, get into, and destroy. It's what one-year-olds do.

And as long as she keeps growling at me, she won't get into a speck of trouble for it.

Lady Harriet Turned One!!

Remember when Harriet was super teeny tiny?

A mere 5 lbs.

A little speck of a person.

Today that little speck turned one.

Because Lady Harriet is very fancy, she needed a fancy cake. It makes sense. The cake also needed to be yellow because, let's face it, Harriet is our sunshine. I've never been around a happier little person.

To meet those requirements I made a lemon mousse cake. My first ever. It was delightful.

We put up our birthday sign and some crepe paper and balloons at our house, but we took the gifts and cake to Timothy's parents house.

Harriet's great-grandparents Young were there. (Lady Harriet Franceszka is named after her great-grandma Franceszka Young).

Miriam was there.

Eli was there. He was a lot more interested in the candle than was Harriet.

I was there.

Lady Harriet attended the party. Gracious of her, I thought, as her social calendar is so demanding. Then again, a party in your honor does take precedence over most other obligations.

Lady Harriet also demonstrated extreme tolerance during the opening of the presents in which she was supposed to be the star, but instead was relegated to a periphery position as her older siblings took over. And commandeered her presents.

After the presents were opened, Lady Harriet was tired and mostly wanted to hug her mom. I was okay with that. The other kids found people to read to them. They were in heaven.

Emeline found great-grandma Frances.

Cowen and Eli found Grandpa.

I snuggled with my lady.

Happy Birthday, Harriet!! We love you so!!

Some things about Lady Harriet:

Favorite foods: green beans, honey sandwiches, and potatoes and gravy

Favorite word: Da-da.

Favorite person: Me (followed by a tie for second place between Timothy and Eli)

Favorite thing to do: play with Eli, smile, laugh

Favorite toy: her Baby Einstein Take-Along Tunes -- she loves that thing.

Weight: 23 lbs.