Happy Life

The photo was taken this past week when I decided to honor Olivia's request to ride in the stroller during our three-mile walk instead of walk. Henry is almost 30 pounds. Olivia wore my Hotsling with Vivian nestled safely inside. The three of them total nearly 80 pounds. I got quite a workout that morning! The baby never went to sleep. She just looked at the trees as they passed overhead. Henry patted me on the back a few times and rode quietly. The girls were good, and it was very enjoyable.

I just nursed 3 month old Vivian in a dim room while lullabies played. Lovely. One of the many joys of nursing is the way it forces me to stop, sit down, and simply enjoy looking at my newborn baby. This is a luxury with three other small children in the family mix. Now, others may be able to boast places where they have done all sorts of crazy activities. However, I don't always get to nurse in peace and quiet. I have nourished my babies in a fair share of out of the ordinary places or while doing not so relaxing things. A few to amuse you...I've nursed while wiping a potty-training toddler's poopy tush. Yucky, but true. I've nursed in planes, on several boats, on Alcatraz Island, during a medical school graduation, in an airport terminal while walking to baggage claim, inside a slowly moving vehicle facing backwards in a bumper to bumper construction zone, while riding a horse (just kidding), and on goes the list. This evening was very nice, though, and I treasure the times when sweet songs like You Are So Beautiful play, and I get to look at the sweet babe who grew in my belly a few months ago. What a miracle.

Vivian has been laughing so much lately. The sound is like music mixed with a wonderful drug. I attack her sometimes sour neck with kisses to hear more giggles. She smiles and coos and just begs us to fall in love with her over and over again. Babies are so wonderful. I can't kiss her fat cheeks enough. Henry says daily, "Chubby cheeks," and pushes a stout finger into Vivian's cheeks. I squeeze her fat leg rolls, and I'm in Heaven. Those eyelashes. That sweet chin, I mean double chin. She's a doll.

Vivian is an angel, but today she complicated mass for me. Robbie was out in the back with Henry. The baby started squawking a bit, so I took her out of the infant carrier. I thought I smelled something, but my focus was on making her quiet down. I kept positioning her this way and that to find the spot that would help make her feel better. As Communion began I felt something warm and slick on my forearm and wrist. I didn't have to look down and find brown to know it was baby poop. I turned to Olivia and said, "Look!" She saw the mess all over Vivian's bloomers and let out a, "Yuck!!" I rushed her to the restroom, changed her diaper like the wind, washed myself, and re-entered the church. The line for Communion was shortening by the second, and I had to bust a move to make it to the only side where people were still in line. I threw my diaper bag on a random seat and walked fast. Honestly, just as I made my way to the front of the church on a side aisle, the last two people holding the hosts turned and went back up to the main altar. A man with wine stood looking at me. He and I were in front of the congregation all alone, I stood there holding Vivian with no hope. I felt like all eyes were upon me, and I was very uncomfortable. He thought fast, went up to the priest, obtained one more host, blessed the baby in my arms, and gave me Holy Communion. What a helpful man. Good grief what a mess baby poop can make.

Henry was active during mass too. He amused us, and likely annoyed those within earshot, with his creative use of the misselette. He held it up high to the side of his head palm up, and said, "Pizza! Pizza!" He put it to his ear and said, "Telephone!!" He threw it into the seats in front of us. I guess that was ball play. The funniest thing that he did was keep his right hand in the position he had it in when he first dipped it into holy water upon entering the church. Robbie said, "He won't close his hand. Ask him what he has in there, and he'll make the sign of the cross." It was true. I tested the situation. Henry performed as Daddy said he would, and I thought it was hilarious. All that you just read led to his removal from our pew before the poop incident. Again, we left the service very tired, and we were already tired when we arrived due to a late night.

Last night we had a date to the movies and saw Sex and the City 2. It was sillier than the last one and not written as well. However, it was still fun to see those gals on screen and enjoy their friendship once again. My favorite scene was between Charlotte and Miranda. They sat sipping cocktails and had a heart to heart about the realities and struggles of mothering. It was honest and funny. Both women have full-time nannies to help them, and they said, "How do those women without help do it?!" They had no idea, and they said, "Hats off to them." I thought of my friendship with Emily and the blessing she adds to my life. I always joke that she and I save Mike and Robbie a lot of air time. I think all successful mothers have a relationship, whether with a friend or relative, that allows them to call a spade a spade and speak frankly about the black moments in some parenting days. We love our children, but we don't always like to be around them in their worst moments. The most patient can have her patience tried, and a person can only take so much whining or crying without flipping out. We moms need a person in our life who will listen without judgement or criticism. It makes all the difference in the world. I feel so validated when I talk to Emily and learn that thirty minutes ago her child did exactly what my child is doing now (that is making me crazy with frustration). It is nice to hear that we are not alone.

Lately, Henry has been saying, "Mommy, I hold baby sis?" He really likes her, which I love, of course. He seems to want to hold Vivian when I sit down to feed her. I explain this to him, and he comes back each time with, "Henry nurse baby sis. Henry have warm milk right here," as he lifts his shirt. He's so cute, that little man. He can make Vivian smile and giggle so well (see video clip below), and it warms my heart. Our little son is a blessing for all of us Overlease girls. In our full van the other day he said over and over again, "Mommy pretty. Baby sis pretty." The big girls asked if they were pretty, but he wouldn't give. He just repeated his line. Olivia got very upset with Henry over this situation. Henry is funny the way he goes from full speed play to a calm and sweet, "How are you?" to Vivian (see last video below). He never forgets to ask to kiss each of his sisters goodnight, and he touches the baby softly.

The other day as Evelyn and I walked our route, I started talking about Daddy and the work he does to help people keep their sight. For her my words converted to, "Daddy saves people", and she told me, "Jack saves people on the playground when they are in trouble." He's one of her big sister's classmates, and he's a very friendly little boy. Evelyn is enamored.

She had her end of dance class program on Friday, and Robbie cleared his schedule to attend. I explained the magnitude of that to her, and the look of appreciation and love for her father was aglow on her face. She threw her arms around Robbie's neck and squeezed him hard. He looked very happy. Evelyn danced beautifully, and Henry managed to sit still on Mrs. Scarboro's lap for over an hour. Miracles never cease. Olivia was out of school for the year, so she attended too.

She has been helping her father landscape the side of our garage with flowers that will draw butterflies. Robbie planned this out months ago, and despite back breaking work from rock and clay in the ground, I think he has enjoyed his work. He also built a magnificent salsa garden plot for me, and he lined it with the largest and prettiest Marigolds I've ever seen. Olivia really had fun planting the flowers with him, and she's in charge of watering. I'm so happy to have her home with us. I no longer have to wake babies from their afternoon naps to pick her up from school, and she's great at being Mother Hen to the little ones during outdoor playtime as I make meals.

Today we enjoyed a waffle and sausage breakfast. The Scarboros then brought kites to the children. We all took a nap, except Olivia. We raced in the backyard. Robbie and I played HORSE. He won. Big surprise. We went to the grade school down the street and tried to fly kites, but there was just sun, no wind. It was a really nice day.

All is well in the land of us. Grandparents, I hope you enjoyed the weekly update. Finally, a friend of mine shared her blog, and she uses it almost totally to share video clips of her firstborn with her out-of-town family. I decided to copy, so here's some recent footage.

Wild Man Henry

Henry has been a total tornado since he got out of bed. While we were getting everyone ready for mass he climbed onto the toilet lid, opened the cabinet, found the toothpaste, and started sucking it from the tube. He proceeded to find a tube of pink drink mix that can be added to a bottle of water. He bit it open, poured it on the furniture, rubbed his hands into it, and started licking. After he got into trouble for that we then found him in the trash going back for more. He lost a shoe seconds before we needed to put him in the van. He also tried to take off his pants.

Mass was a disaster. Henry kept talking and moving and talking some more. He really liked the high school girl behind us, and he wanted to be as close to her as possible. He also wanted to say, "Chubby cheeks," and poke his baby sister. This wasn't okay with us, so we tried to hold him. By "try" I mean wrestle. After he pulled Olivia's hair and hit Robbie, they made their exit. Just imagine more of the same for over an hour. Henry being loud. Us telling him to be quiet. Parents taking turns struggling to hold an almost 30 pounder outside the main doors to the church. We don't let him down because then he'll actually want to go out there. It was all I could do to hold him for the extended period of time it took for him to settle down enough to enter the church again. He kept trying to kiss me with his tongue. He bit my diamond necklace and wouldn't stop pulling on it. At one point he announced, "I bad boy." He learned that from his sisters, not from me. Behavior is bad, not children. I know. Once back in our pew he said loudly, "I want waffles. I want warm milk." This is such a hard age for mass. Olivia did it too, so I know this too shall pass. I really need to check out Children's Church again.

After the service ended we saw friends of ours who are expecting their fifth baby any day. Their oldest is the age of our oldest. We then saw friends whose oldest is younger than our oldest, and they are now expecting number five. The fourth and fifth children will be 18 months apart, which is their biggest spread thus far. The father said he is almost giddy with excitement. He kept smiling and talking about how cute Henry is. "I bet you can never get mad at that face, can you?" he asked. I thought to myself, "This has to be the nicest guy in the world, and he is either nuts or medicated." I'm joking, but his joyful attitude toward so many little kids in so few years made me feel like a cranky parent in comparison.

Once we fed the children at home, Robbie headed out with the big girls to Home Depot for parts to build a protective meshwork for the salsa garden he's building as my birthday gift. Fun, huh? I must water my plants this year, or I'm going to be in big trouble after Robbie puts forth so much effort.

I decided to do the weekly shopping since I made my meal plan for the week last night. For those of you who need some inspiration, here's my plan. You can always Google the topic for some recipes if something sounds good. I have no time to provide them.
Baked Deli Focaccia Sandwiches
Poppyseed Chicken with Mango, Pineapple, and Blueberry Green Leaf Salad
Sloppy Joes with Cucumber, Snap Pea and Mint Salad
Grilled Chicken with Lemon and Oregano
Spicy Tuna Melts

The shopping trip began well. Henry climbed into the van in our garage and went straight to his carseat. This is almost unheard of these days. He goes everywhere except his seat, and his seat is in the middle of the back row. That means I always have to climb somewhere to grab him and then fight him into his seat. Today I put Vivian into her Hotsling and unfastened Henry. He climbed immediately into the passenger side front seat. I went around to get him, and he climbed into the driver seat. He did this back and forth once more before I caught him. I was laughing at his smarts. He is such a little stinker. His sandal then fell off, so that had to be corrected.

I decided to put him in the huge semi-truck length car cart. It was right next to the store phone, and he pushed the intercom button and opened up the store mike before I could stop him. You should have seen me frantically pushing buttons and hanging up the receiver in an attempt to cancel the intercom. The trip proceeded Henry fashion. He was caught getting into the carton of eggs. He tried to open the bag of pretzels. He managed to get his free chocolate cookie from the bakery all over his face and hands. "I need a wipe!" he announced. At the checkout he pulled ten magazines onto the floor. And yes, once back in the van he climbed into the front seat of the car, again. God love him.

Henry is a totally normal and active 2-year-old boy. He's amazingly cute. His verbal abilities have us laughing several times daily. He has chubby cheeks and gives big kisses and exhausts his mother. He's sleeping right now. He'll wake up this afternoon fully recharged, and our family will experience exciting moments with Henry once again.

Grandparents beware. Robbie brought up the topic of his ophthalmology conference being held in Chicago in October. I said, "I can't see anyone being willing to keep all four, but you can always hope."

Swearing in German

Today was a first for me. I swore at a man on the street in German. Now, granted, I swore at him in my head, and he deserved it. The funny part is that I don't speak German. I have my little brother to thank for this recent addition to my vocabulary. You see, he loaned me The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. A very unhappy mother in the book spews German profanity as insults to her family regularly, and I suppose my newly acquired word is proof of the power and influence of what we read.

Robbie bought flowers for our front beds, and he wanted the girls to help him plant. Henry can't be trusted in the front yard. Without Robbie's full attention he could easily end up in the street. I suggested I take Henry and Vivian for a walk, and that would solve the problem. Henry sat in front, and Vivian was positioned flat on her back in the lower portion of the Phil and Ted's E3 stroller that I love. She looked up at me and watched the trees go by until she finally fell asleep. I listened to my iPod, the sun shone, my heart rate increased as I walked faster, and I felt very, very content.

I noticed a man mowing up ahead on my side of the street. As we approached he didn't stop. He looked at us and kept blowing grass clippings all over the place. I have a strong mama bear instinct when I feel my little ones are not being treated properly, and that inconsiderate mower became the victim of my inner voice sneering, "Arschloch," at him. After I said it in my head I thought, "What in the world? You just swore in German?" I then began laughing out loud as we moved past the man. I may not have been very nice, but at least I managed to amuse myself.

Olivia the Little Mermaid Birthday Cake Photos

Here are photos of May 14th that are visuals to the post that started this blog. I hope you find Olivia's cake as interesting as we did. Her friends thought it was pretty cool. The girls kept asking for the piece with her face on it, which I found weird.

Robbie says that Vivian has a mohawk, and I guess this photo (taken today) supports his statement. However, I look at her litte smile, and I am in absolute love. You should see her thighs. They are fat and amazingly cute. Robbie has threatened to turn Evelyn lose on her sister with the scissors. I object.

Evelyn has been amazing me with her whips on our walks lately. She recently said, "God is absolutely not fat." I have no idea how that thought formed in her head, but I found it interesting. She also asked me if dogs get married. I think she recalled Lady and the Tramp or something and decided to follow up on the matter with Mom. I told her they do not get married, and she dropped it. However, a few days later, she said, "So Mom, if dogs don't get married, then how do they have kids?" I didn't have an answer. I went with the safe, "We'll have to ask Daddy." He told her at the dinner table that some dogs get married, and she was satisfied with that.

Last night when I started to place sleeping Vivian into her little Pack-n-Play where she shares a room with big brother Henry, I felt something as I placed her head down. The room was totally dark. I pulled a silver fairy wand out of the spot where Vivian's head was going to lie. Can you imagine the discomfort my poor baby girl would have suffered had I not managed to figure that one out in time? Who knows who put it there.

We played Wii Just Dance tonight. This is the only Wii game I have ever played because I really dislike video games. However, I have an absolute blast trying to beat my husband's dance moves. The man always wins, and I KNOW my moves match the on screen dancer better than his. What am I supposed to do, push A or something? Even Olivia beats me. Somebody throw me a bone and give me an extra points tip. Please. I beg of you. Watching Henry play this game makes me laugh so hard that I can barely take it. I think You Tube needs some of our living room footage. His moves are hilarious. Cotton-Eye Joe was the song that made him dance the funniest. Imagine that.

Finally, as I put Vivian down for the night this evening I realized Henry was still awake when I heard the sound of a kiss coming from his crib. I flipped the room light on dim and found him with his little mouth pressed up to the area between two slats, happily waiting for a kiss from Mommy. How lucky am I?

Our Sunday

I am extremely thankful for Robbie. Today, for instance, he made us a wonderful waffle, sausage, and egg breakfast, and he took the initiative to pick up corn on the cob and pork tenderloin to grill for our dinner. It was delicious, and I didn't have to cook today. He does so much to enrich my life, and I take opportunities to express this to my children. I want to teach them to seek out good people for friends and later for a life partner. The other day during a family meal I made a comment about Robbie being intelligent. I told the girls that someday they might meet boys who would be fun and cute, but if they weren't too smart, then that wasn't good. "Your daddy is very intelligent, and that's one of the things that I really liked about him when we first met." Evelyn immediately said, "Jack is intelligent. He's nice too. He makes homes for ladybugs, and he adds ice to keep them cool." Robbie and I exchanged smiles across the table. Evelyn is four. Jack is in first grade with Olivia, and he is the only little boy who speaks to her on the playground after school. What girl doesn't enjoy some attention?

This morning as I nursed Vivian before 7 am Robbie gave all three kids a bath before mass. After they finished Evelyn entered my bathroom to report that Henry had pooped in the tub after the girls got out. I said, "You know. Someday it will be really important for you to make sure the man in your life is helpful." Ev said, "I could ask him." "Ask him what?" I responded. "Ask him if he'd clean poop out of the bathtub." Now that's a thought. I may have to remind her of that somewhere down the line. Robbie just took it in stride.

We have family moments that exemplify the meaning of family joy. Everyone sits around the dinner table and eats their broccoli happily. They praise me on my cooking. We tell stories and everyone gets along. Today's mass was not like that. Henry is at such a hard age, newly two. He is busy every waking moment, and sitting still in a pew for an hour is a major struggle. Today Robbie and I traded him back and forth and had to exit the sanctuary multiple times. The baby woke up crying, and she had to be bounced and pacified. It was really, really hard to keep everyone quiet. Evelyn kept sticking her hand up the back of my sweater. She was moving and whispering and not meeting my church behavior expectations. I was seriously about to tell God I was sorry and tell Robbie that we had to get the hell out of there pronto. Thankfully, Olivia earned the gold star. She was an angel, and we were thankful for excellent behavior from someone. At the end of the extra long mass Robbie said, "I don't know how we're going to survive three more years of this." Olivia turned 7 on Friday, so I know how fast my babies turn into big kids. The years go fast, but the hard moments drag. I just feel so very terribly tired sometimes. The sleep deprivation is killer. Last night Henry cried out to be covered. Olivia entered our room and asked to sleep with me. "No." Evelyn woke up crying because her blanket fell into the crack between the wall and bed, and she couldn't find it in the dark. The baby woke up to nurse, as expected. By 2:30 pm today I could barely keep my eyes open, yet Henry woke up from his nap at the very moment I was about to stop folding laundry and relax for a time. It is hard to parent well while exhausted.

A friend from church who also has children close in ages to mine recently talked about how she asks God to help her see the joy in motherhood during the daily grind. Her goal is to never make her children feel that caring for them is a burden. That's my new mental mantra. It is very important. They are not a burden, but when it is 8:04 pm and the stalling starts after we have tucked them in for the night....I WANT THEM TO JUST STAY IN BED AND GO TO SLEEP. I have to try to see the joy in the fact that they want one more kiss. I need to focus on how lucky I am to have four little children who love me best.

Evelyn tells me I am beautiful more than any other person in my life. She's very tender hearted. She also has a fiesty streak. My father always says with a twinkle in his eye, "I wonder where she gets that from?" From what I remember, I never took scissors to anyone. I took Ev to the salon to get some help with her hair. The stylist blended the cut sides, but Robbie thinks it looks like a mullet. Poor little thing. There just isn't a lot that can be done. Luckily, every now and then her hair curls and flips just right, and she goes from mullet ridden to Taylor Swift-ish with her long bangs and layered sides. It could be worse. She could have a mohawk like baby Vivian. Robbie thinks she looks like Donald Trump on a windy day, and he threatened tonight to turn Evelyn loose on her baby head. That made me laugh. Robbie makes me laugh every day, and laughing every day is a good good thing.

Little Girls Play Salon and Hair is Lost

This is the haircut that Evelyn gave to the little girl. It is very short on the right. She took off a lot of hair.

Do you see how long her hair WAS? I was mortified.

Four

When Ev was a small baby I started doing a lot of writing. I really loved it, and I think yesterday sparked something in me again. If nothing else, then my parents and in-laws will get a peek into my life and understand my lack of phone calls. Those who do phone us and receive a "no matter what" answer to the ring, like Emily and my brother, often hear a whole lot of crying on my end....from the kids, not me. Usually. Yesterday, I did a fair amount of crying.

As an effort to save my sanity on a very stormy evening when Robbie had to stay at work for a meeting, I loaded up my four and headed to see my college friend, Nada, at her house. She has four girls from 12 years to 9 months. I think that having four small children creates a certain craziness in the best of moms. I can count on two hands the families I know with that many children, and there's a crazy element in the chemistry of family life. I choose to embrace this craziness. When people see me out and comment, "Wow, you have your hands full!" my answer is always, "Happily so."

So Nada heard all about Evelyn the Stylist. She had a similar story from years back. Even a mother of one of my former 7th and 8th grade science students from Houston who is now a teacher (I've somehow gotten old.), sent a 3-year-old pic of Jessica with a "bangs trim". We've all been there, but it is not fun. My neighbor's little sometimes wild daughter cut her babysitter's long, long hair right in the middle of the back of her head. Can you imagine that horror? Well, Ev found more scissors. Yes, she did. She found more scissors, and she cut a stand up horse's mane. He was the big kind that can walk. Granted, it was a tiny cut with virtually no damage, but REALLY??!! Have you seen that Saturday Night Live skit? Really?! REALLY? God gave me a wink by making Henry say, "The horse will get me!" He was not too sure about a plush horse that could walk and neigh all by itself.

Little buddy just spilled Kix all over the floor, and he came over and said, "Hold you." He said that about 199 times yesterday during my workout. Robbie suggested I load him up in the backpack and get after it. Robbie also suggested during my last two pregnancies that I do chin ups. He said that my increase in body weight over nine months would make me end up with incredible upper body strength by the time I delivered. He was serious too. I think he's nuts. I can't even do one chin up. Honestly, it is raining terribly today, and I may just put Henry on my back and walk on the treadmill for exercise that Henry can't interrupt.

So last night the baby went down around 8 pm. She slept until 2:30 am. She nursed and went right back down. As I was gliding away in the dark with her warm bundle in my arms I felt so much love. I love those quiet moments with my babies. However, my mind raced. Having four children has taken a toll on certain aspects of my life. Laundry has beaten me. I admit it. At 3 am I had to start a load of darks so that Olivia would have a clean plaid jumper for her Catholic school uniform. Who does laundry at 3 am? Apparently, I do. I then started thinking about the upcoming birthday party on Friday. We're having a pseudo sleepover from 3:30 to 8:30 pm with pizza, Olivia the Ariel big boob cake, Wii dancing, movie night with popcorn, and lots of silliness. It should be fun and crazy and exhausting. She'll love it. I'll love 8:31 pm.

So in my mind at around 2:45 am I thought, "Okay, so I need sugar cookie dough. Do I take all three little ones to the store or use an online recipe for homemade dough? What will we use to decorate? Shoot. I forgot to buy icing for the tiara cookies. Oh, and I need to tie tulle around hair bands for the party favors. I need to sort out the letters of each girl's name for the bracelets they will make." My mind kept going and going. I finally crawled into bed and fell asleep.

3:30 am "MOMMY! MOMMY!! MOMMY!!!" coming from Henry's room (which is where Vivian now resides at night). I went in to check on him. "Cover me, please, Mommy. You help Henry." "You can cover yourself. You're a big boy. Remember, Henry, no yelling in the night because you'll wake baby sister." "Otay, Mommy." He got down and covered himself, but I was awake...again.

6 am The baby cried. I went into her room and quickly scooped her into my arms to nurse her again. She was calmed, but Henry woke up at 6:07 am. "Mommy, you cover me, please? You help Henry? Warm milk. I eat. I eat Cheerio-oes. I hold you. Change diaper." Oh, my goodness. "Really?!" After I convinced him to be quiet I changed his diaper and covered him. Then came the recent highlight of my life. As I turned to leave the dark room I heard the sound of a big smooch. It was my little Henry wanting me to lean down between the slats of his crib to kiss him. He loves this, and I love it too. He's darling. I am holding him on my lap as I type again, and to keep him quiet I am reading aloud the words I type. He just said, "I love you, Mommy." What a joy.

Evelyn made my morning wonderful by crawling into my bed at 6:45 am to snuggle up to my warmth. Her little body is so cute and soft and warm. I love those quiet moments with her in the morning. I think it is one way she can make sure she gets solo Mommy time. It works for me. Of course, I was tired when she got in my bed. I knew I should really get up to bathe Olivia since we were at Nada's until after 7 pm, but I was TIRED. Imagine my pleasure when I heard Robbie turn on the bathtub faucet. I felt so much love for my helpful husband. When I rolled out of bed Olivia was dressed, and her hair was done. Beautiful. She brushed her teeth without issue, and I had time to rub her back while she practiced her spelling test words for me before her ride arrived at 7:40 am.

Baby Vivian is still sleeping, and we have a busy day ahead. I know I won't be bored.

Speaking of not being bored, while proofing this piece I was just alerted by Evelyn that Henry put an alphabet letter into his mouth. She was sorting them for the birthday party bracelets, and Henry thought they looked like candy. How wonderful. I scooped three out of his mouth. Never dull.

My First Entry

I am way too sleep deprived and have too many chores for writing, but I need a nice and healthy outlet right now. Plus, one of my friends from college, Kara, once said she loves my crazy emails about my kids, and she'd read my blog if I had one. Kara, be careful what you wish for, my dear.

Today my just turned four-year-old daughter, Evelyn, decided it would be a fun and good idea to play salon with her little friend Lucy during a play date at our house. I had a baby three months ago, and I have a two-year-old son. Exercise gives me energy to get through long days with small children. After four children my body will not reset to pre-pregnancy without some effort, so I put forth effort. Today the girls were playing in various areas of the house. They were getting along, and I kept on with my weights and lunges and squats. I heard the girls in the bathroom, so I paused the DVD and went to check on them. Evelyn said, "Our hair is wet because we were playing salon." "What?!" was the word that I gasped. I then took notice of their jagged, no longer long, blonde locks. Evelyn had cut her hair on both sides so that her once movie star hair was turned into the look of an 80s rocker with a bad hair day. It looks awful. The other little girl had the most gorgeous long hair of anyone I've ever known for her age. Had, I said. No more. Her hair was basically layered, but not in a good way. No pony tails this summer. No braids. It was all chopped in jagged chunks here and there with blunt edged kids' scissors. I started crying right there in front of them. The little girls weren't even sorry or sad. Lucy had been asking her mother for a short haircut, and when I got on Evelyn's case and told her, "You have ruined your HAIR!" her reply was, "Won't it grow?" "IT WILL TAKE A VERY LONG TIME TO GROW. YOU KNOW BETTER THAN TO CUT YOUR HAIR. WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!!!" Terrible, terrible, terrible. I was mortified that I was exercising away while my child cut off my friend's child's hair unsupervised. They were in the basement playing alone. That's not uncommon. We have normal things like Barbies, a play kitchen, washable Crayons, and stuffed animals down there. I never dreamed they'd play salon. My goodness.

Luckily, my friend, Heather, was very kind about the whole thing. She has a very calm demeanor, and she's incredibly sweet by nature. Thank God. I know she was not expecting my call to her to begin with, "Something has happened!" Her son said, "Is Lucy bleeding?" when his mom got off the phone. I guess it sounded bad from his end. He's five. My friend looked pretty shocked despite my efforts to prepare her over the phone once she saw the hair live.

Evelyn got a spanking for not saying she was sorry. She had to sit in her room alone in time-out to think about what she did, then she wrote a letter of apology. She's also going to have to do chores to earn money to pay for Lucy's haircut.

The good news is that Lucy is so cute that she looks darling with her new bob. She likes it. Her mom likes it. However, Evelyn also likes it. She has requested a haircut like Lucy's. What will we do?
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I just got a call from the grocery store baker. Yesterday I took all four kids to the supermarket to give the cake decorator my daughter's photo so that I could make her 7th birthday wish come true. She said, "Mommy, this year for my cake I'd like to have my face as an edible image on a mermaid's body." What? Where do they come up with these things? Now I pride myself on making homemade and pretty special birthday cakes for my children, but this request was out of my league. You should have seen us with Olivia's 1st grade photo head cut out and the pages of Ariel The Little Mermaid coloring pages. Now, if you know Ariel, then you know that she wears shells for her bikini top. The Disney princesses have pretty nice figures. My plan was to have Olivia's photo face on an icing body. Robbie and I discussed asking the decorator to give her a little tankini with no cleavage. Cake decorating doesn't work that way. They scan the images and merge them together. This means that Olivia is going to have Ariel's teen body. I'm not sure how I feel about this. Part of me thinks it will be hilarious, and the other part thinks, "Oh my goodness, my daughter is going to have big boobs on her cake, and she's only 7." You know, there are things that come up with parenting that you just can't make up. I can't wait to see the cake.
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My son, Henry doesn't want to wear pants. Inside I have given in to a shirt and a diaper. He often adds shoes to the mix. Sometimes this winter I'd find him in pink snow boots with a diaper and shirt. Today he put on Lucy's new pink shoes. He wore my old gray Land's End all weather crocs this morning and clonked along. Who would have guessed this about Master Henry?

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This brings me to the point of mentioning my baby. Vivian was born in early February, and she's a newborn. SHE IS THE EASIEST ONE OF ALL! She's a newborn baby, and she's the easiest. Is something wrong here? Can this be right? She nurses in the middle of every night and poops her diaper regularly, yet she's the easiest. She doesn't leave her clothes or toys on the floor, and she never sassy talks. She's awesome.

Okay, I feel better now. The full dishwasher calls. There is laundry that must find a home in drawers and closets.

I love my family. My life is never dull. My husband is helpful and handsome and fabulous. My children are healthy and smart and beautiful. However, I am one tired mama. Luckily, they are all asleep right now. Life is good.