Sprinkler Surprise

Again the children played outside as I made their lunches today. Henry and Evelyn raked some leaves into a pile, and baby Vivian pushed a big black truck around the yard. This morning the children spotted inside a yogurt package some tongue tattoos (which I was going to toss), and they remembered them after they ate their picnic lunch. We were inside applying bunnies to their tongues when we heard a distress cry from Vivian. I went running, and she stood on the paved area outside our patio with her arms outstretched, "ALL wet!!" she uttered sadly. She was drenched. Robbie changed the program on the sprinkler system, and it went off on her as she played in the grass. She was soaked to the bone. "Oh, poor baby girl," I said as I rescued her. Evelyn sweetly offered to undress, dry, and change her. Bad daddy. Noon is not a good sprinkler setting.

Henry's Super Cape

This weekend we went to Oklahoma to spend some time with Great-grandma Gloria and Grandpa Overlease. Robbie took us down Highway 71, then we drove 540 and 112 through the mountains in Arkansas. The scenery was spectacular. The leaves on the trees were still green, so the view often looked like bunches of broccoli. It was very pretty. The bridges were terrifyingly high. No joke. I felt like I was on an outdoors amusement park ride. I was pretty scared. I can also attest to the fact that I can't recall a location where we were surrounded by more fast and crazy drivers than on that stretch of road. My friend from Arkansas said they were U of A college kids.

We went hiking at Robber's Cave State Park. This was Henry's first trip to the caves, and he loved it. He tried hard to climb the rocks as well as his sisters, and he gave it his best effort. The girls really, really enjoy their trips to Robber's Cave. They used to insist it was called Robert's Cave. Some of the climbing was quite dangerous, and we really had to hold onto our kids. At one point we all sat down together with our legs hanging over the side of a cliff. The rocks, cliffs, and an expanse of trees on various elevations spread around us. The sky was a brilliant shade of blue, and gorgeous clouds hung in the sky. We had a memorable family moment. Robbie and I looked at each other and commented on the blessing of our little children. Grandpa Overlease was atop another ledge higher than us not too far away, and I prayed he wouldn't fall.

My little Henry was tucked under my arm, and he uttered some words that will surely go down in the Overlease book of history. I think he said something which when we look back on it years from now, may summarize this little guy's childhood. All of the sudden, it was as though a light bulb went off inside Henry's head. His little voice registered what I can best describe as an, "Oh, Man!! Why didn't I think of that?" tone. He said, "Ohhh! I should have brought my super cape." I burst out laughing, hugged him, then said, "Henry, look at my face. You can't really fly with your super cape on, Buddy. It is just pretend, so don't jump off of anything high, okay?" I held his hand extra tight after that.

Again, I will note that I feel lucky my children have two parents. Kids need balance. I am the cautious one, and Robbie is the one who took the girls to the top of a cliff and tried to help them climb down what is called Devil's Slide. A light layer of sand made the steep sheet of rock incredibly slick, and they did not have good footing. "Crab walk! Crab walk!!" I yelled from way down below. Robbie almost always crosses the line between exciting and unsafe, but the girls survived. I kept Henry with me for that one.

We had a nice visit in Wilburton, and the grandparents seemed to really enjoy the children. It was a good weekend.

Pickle-icious

Vivian is very little for her age. Today, I think she had the first experience of ever exerting dominance over another living creature. She certainly doesn't have that luxury at home with her older siblings. Henry bowls over the poor baby at least once a day. She's resilient. This morning was another sunny, but brisk, morning. Such days are my favorite, and I almost can't stand not getting outside. We've been taking long walks, and I LOVE this weather. Vivian loves the great outdoors too. She often says, "OutSIDE!!" After we dropped off Henry at gymnastics, (which, by the way, he keeps calling "ballet class") I drove Evelyn and baby Vivian to a park with a large pond and playground. Vivian was in Heaven. She kept saying, "Honk! Honk!" I think my child would have picked up a goose had I let her get close enough. As it was, she kept following them, and they kept honking and moving away from her. She controlled the show, and she was very happy about it. One of my favorite things Vivian does these days is express her joy. Sometimes when I hand her "night-night" (her blanket) or give her warm milk, the angel will smile and say, "Happy." At the dentist's office today the women kept coming to the waiting area from the back to check out Vivian's cheeks and blue eyes. She was a hit with the ladies.

I asked Henry during a recent walk what I do that makes him happy. He said, "Play cars with me. Make me warm milk. Make me oatmeal with cinnamon." I have three Henry stories to share before I hit the sack. First, he said, "I'm going to marry you when I grow up, and when I grow up, Daddy's going to grow little." Next, he copies his big sisters and sings his version of a funny song to me. It goes, "Mommy and Daddy, sitting in a tree, K-I-S (pause) T-U-V." Just typing that made me laugh out loud. He thinks he's so clever with that one. I about ended his cleverness when I found him standing inside the lowest drawer of his highboy dresser just as he jumped out of it. My girls were never so dangerous. Finally, yesterday the children played in the yard as I made lunch, then I let them have a picnic. The baby dropped her pear slice in the rubber mulch of the playset. Henry's hands were a mess, and he told me, "Mom, we're digging for coconuts." He held a jar of acorns.

Okay, this one needs prep. There is a children's storybook with the title Pinkilicious. It is about a youngster who sneaks too many pink cupcakes and....(yes...you guessed it) she turns pink. All of my kids like the story. The little girl tells it, and the voice is great. Evelyn is our art girl. She is constantly, and that is no stretch, CONSTANTLY making projects. She lives to create things with paper and glue and tape and anything else she can find...trash, scrap ribbon, feathers, rocks. The list is long. Well, during one recent endeavor she managed to turn her foot green. It stayed green after the shower she gave herself. Robbie was teasing her about it, and he said, "I think Evelyn must be Pickle-icious." Olivia and I LOVED Daddy's joke. Man, did we laugh hard. I love Robbie's humor, and that was his best quick thinking line in ages. Evelyn found no humor in it. She got mad about her green feet and the pickle comment. I think Pickle-icious may stick. If she's sour, then I'm going to bring it out again.

Olivia has now had two piano lessons. Robbie wanted her to practice more this evening, and she was mad about it. She left the room in a huff and then sat down to play her songs some more. I told Robbie that it was ironic that we knew she was mad, yet she couldn't sit down and bang out some low down tune. Instead, the little song was light and sweet and high. It didn't match her attitude one bit. That was a blessing for us.

God's Gifts

My children and I share High Points and Low Points about each day after school. Evelyn almost always says that her high point is when I pick her up after school. I have a special high point to share. If something tops this one yet today, then I have more blessings than one mom deserves.

On the drive to my first bible study, Henry was entertaining Vivian in the van. She kept giggling, and they were laughing together. I said, "I love your friendship." Henry asked what I meant, and I explained that when they play together and laugh and enjoy each other, it makes me very happy as a mom. My guy said, "Mom, did God give me to you?" I told him yes, and he said with the sweetest voice, "Oooohhhh!" as though he was really touched by this blessing. He then said, "God loves you, Mom. God loves me, and God loves baby Vivian." Amen.

H Man is upstairs talking, talking, talking nonstop in his bed at nap time. However, he stays in his room, so I am not going near him. Mom and Ant got a big kick out of Henry while I was away recently on a trip. Apparently, he was the tired one, and baby was talking incessantly. He started saying, "Be quiet, Baby. I'm TRYING to sleep. Vivian, STOP talking! Be QUIET, Vivian." His requests didn't work. I think that was payback to Henry for all of his shenanigans.

A Turtle Bite and Baby Jail

Apparently I can't read the very long (and wonderful) book The Invisible Bridge while also reading War and Peace, and still find time to parent, maintain domestic order, and exercise. Sorry for the delay in my blog.

Few things bring out the drama in the Overlease children like open wounds. We just returned from eating in the neighbor's backyard. He smoked some great brisket, and the kids ran around and played. Evelyn got bitten by the pet turtle that lives in a large boxed area of the yard. The bite drew blood, and she has a big flap of loose skin. Henry was very concerned, then he commented in a very positive manner, "But her finger is still there!" Yes, luckily for Ev, he's right. Robbie found some remaining dirt in it after her bath, and screaming from fear followed. I tried all kinds of tricks to distract her. Nothing worked well. Finally I said, "Evelyn, your daddy is a doctor, and he is trying to help you." "He is NOT a finger doctor!!" I burst out laughing. Robbie did an amazing job of staying calm. Evelyn had Henry very concerned due to all of her yelling.

Robbie and I returned from a trip to Martha's Vineyard for a friend's wedding (Thanks for staying with the kids Mom and Mike!), and the baby turned into a Little Miss Mischief Girl while we were away. Her latest trick is to use kitchen table chairs to access the top of the kitchen table. I keep finding her sitting in the center of it. Henry came to us this morning as we prepared for church, and he said, "Mommy, Mommy. Baby has scissors." Ev is our craft diva, so various supplies are often on the table. The baby has poured glue this week, colored her face with black marker, wrapped tape every which way, and shred construction paper. I think there is a window of sweet baby state in which people decide to have another baby. It appears we've just passed that mark with baby Vivian. She's a mess. Olivia got scolded for saying, "Bad baby," to Vivian, so she's changed it up to spell, "B-A-D baby B-A-D baby!!" Vivian is going to learn to spell "bad" pretty quickly, if you know what I mean. Robbie acted devastated this morning when I told him that the start of Children's Church (a.k.a. Baby Jail) was delayed until next Sunday. He spent the entire mass outside the sanctuary with wild Vivian. She was loud before the priest even walked to the altar. When Henry heard us talking about baby jail, he got very upset. "I don't want Vivian to go to jail. I LOVE my sister." The big girls got a big kick out of his misunderstanding.

I'll try not to let so much time pass before I write again.

"You don't need a rainbow pony right now!!!"

Oh, the woes of a mother. Although not a hard and fast rule in our household, I have set the general tone with my four children that if they choose to get out of bed in the middle of the night, then they may return independently to that bed. Henry showed up at my bedside almost an hour ago. I've been trying to go back to sleep without success, and it is 4:20 am. He said, "I can't find my little rainbow pony." My closest friend let him borrow a My Little Pony miniature toy yesterday, and he went to sleep with it. He got Lightning McQueen Striderite Cars shoes that we let him put under his sheets to sleep with too. I try to say, "Yes," when I can. Usually if he wakes up in the night he is pretty quiet (for a 3-year-old boy) and calm. He'll snuggle me for a minute or two until I tell him it is time to go back to his big boy bed. However, he would not rest the issue of the missing pony. My reasoning got me nowhere. Whispered insistence that he be quiet and go to bed failed, and I snapped. Raising one's voice in the vicinity of 3 am in the dark to a distressed child is not very productive. There is a very adult book that has picture storybook illustrations called Go the (blank) to Sleep. Robbie heard about it on talk radio. Part of it has rhymes and depicts our parental love and adoration. The next verses include some well placed profanity which mimics the inner voice of a parent who has reached the limits of patience. I obviously do not swear at my children, but I made it quite clear that I was not going to go on a pony search in the dark, and I conveyed that making a fuss over it was unacceptable.

Henry's latest phrase is, "Can I please be your girl dog, Violet?" She's the neighbor's old dog next door, and Henry goes around on all fours pretending to be my dog. At first he asked to be called Woofy Woof Woof. That is his favorite game right now. He'll then ask, "Am I still your girl dog?" "Do you want to still be my girl dog, Henry?" "Yes, mom." "Okay, then, Violet. You're still my girl dog." This exchange happens something like 87 times a day. Luckily, he has not posed the question in the night, and he only pees in the potty. My typical phrase when Henry shows up next to the bed is, "Go potty." He goes, then he returns. Well, Olivia recently came into my room in the night. I sleep without contacts, so I'm quite blind. I didn't even open my eyes. I just felt an arm and said, "Go potty." Olivia later told me that she thought to herself, "That's odd. Mommy doesn't usually tell me to go potty when I need her in the night, but okay, I'll go." She used the restroom, returned to me, I held her and was so tired that I thought she was Henry the whole time. I can't explain that one, but it is true. She and I laughed to death when we discovered my mistake about her identity.

We watched the Beezus and Ramona movie as a family recently, and a woman married a couple. Evelyn asked why the priest was a girl, and Olivia said, "She's not a priest. She's a weddinger." Love it.

As Robbie and I went to bed one night close to 11 pm, we noticed a light coming from under Henry and Vivian's door. Buddy was responsible for it, and the baby never made a peep. Robbie carefully opened the door, and he said over his shoulder in a frightened whisper, "The baby's not in her bed!" Ha, ha. He gets a thrill out of messing with me, but when I got to the doorway I too saw no baby Vivian. Her crib was devoid of a baby. Robbie crept over the squeaky wooden floorboards to examine the bed. He wondered where Henry had put the baby. She was sleeping horizontal as close to the far end of the bed as possible, and our view of her from the doorway was blocked by a dresser. We breathed sighs of relief, then we tried to control our giggles. I think she was trying to escape the light.

Henry has a dance move that he calls his booty shake. I can't watch it without laughing my head off. He gets his bent arms into it, and he drops lower and moves that tush side to side. This is an original dance move on his part. He has been asked to perform it in various venues, and it always delights the onlookers. Yesterday we finally took a walk outside, and I let Henry run. He saw an approaching elderly lady, and just as she passed us he transitioned from a full run to a sideways stance. He gave three booty shakes, then he was off again at a dead run. She missed it, but I got another good laugh.

Evelyn starts kindergarten next week. How is this possible? She has a new embroidered backpack, and she has worn it all over God's creation to show friends and other shoppers her little owls and does. The "pack-pack" as Vivian calls it, is precious. Evelyn LOVES Vivian, and she keeps picking up the baby. This makes Vivian scream. While out yesterday, Henry said to me, "Mommy, I'm so happy we have our baby." The kids really love her.

Vivian's vocabulary is exploding. She turned 18 months on the 8th, and I am in disbelief that my youngest is one and a half. I don't feel "done" having babies, but with my age and our house logistics, we are likely finished. At a meeting at school last night I saw numerous newborns. I got that baby fever wave of emotion. It was just awful. Anyhow, Vivian's most adorable word is cupcake. She says it like this, "cuh-CAAAke." Her term defines anything sweet, from a healthy morning muffin to a cookie or ice cream. She says it like she's from Georgia, Robbie says. She is so cute I could scream.

Well, folks. That's all I've got. Maybe now my racing mind can rest.

Michigan

Everything is a contest, and all of my moves are measured by the big girls. A few minutes ago, Evelyn said, "If I was covered with ants, and Olivia was covered with worms, who would you kiss first?" I said, "Henry."

We recently took a 788 mile road trip with the kids to Michigan. We spent one night in a hotel, and Robbie suggested we rearrange the pillows, sheets and blankets so that the kids could sleep sideways on the bed. It was plenty wide to accommodate the length of our children, and they looked precious.

The next afternoon we stopped at the Wojo's place, and Henry was in heaven with all of the boys' toys. Brecken and Tanner made Henry's day by giving him some Lightning McQueen blue PJs (which he wore each night of vacation), a Cars pillowcase and wallet, and a Mater toy. We had fun with our friend, but stopping at their house instead of going to Dad's in Springfield made the Saturday drive to Michigan much longer. What should have taken 8 hours of driving plus stops ended up taking over 11 hours. The ridiculous part is that we went 4 hours before we ever stopped the first time, then we only made two short stops. The time change resulted in us arriving at the condo at 8:15 pm. Grandpa Tom and Uncle Anthony were waiting for us in the parking lot, and Grandma Jane had managed to keep dinner waiting for us for several hours. That ready-to-go meal was a blessing.

Henry has some Stride Rite open, strappy, tennis shoe style sandals that have developed a terrible odor this summer. Whenever he removed his shoes in the van, Robbie and I would catch a whiff, start frowning, then realize we were smelling Henry's stinky feet. It was terrible. At one point when baby wipes did nothing to touch the stench in the van, I doused little guy's feet in Midnight Pomegranate hand gel. Later, when we came upon a horse trailer on I-80, which was stop and go for way too long, Henry said, "I wish we had a horse in our trunk."

We experienced absolutely glorious weather during our entire vacation. The temp was only as high as the low 80s, and the skies were beautiful. We spent a lot of time at the beach with cousins and other relatives, and Robbie buried Olivia in the sand again. Henry was not paying attention, and he walked right on top of the sand that was over her chest. Vivian looked very worried when only Olivia's head was visible above the sand. She was afraid to be put down on the sand at first, but before long she enjoyed walking along the water's edge with Mommy and digging with a bucket and shovel in wet sand. She's so cute.

We went to the annual July 4th parade in the pretty Victorian port city of Manistee, Michigan, and Henry made a few mad dashes into the street for candy that wasn't thrown far enough to reach him. The girls made a haul, and the baby just chilled out in her stroller during the whole parade.

Evelyn amazed my brother and dad with her wild girl strength and speed on the beach playground's monkey bars. Lightning McQueen says, "I am speed." Evelyn was speed. I think Olivia's high point may have been our canoe trip. She rode with Grandpa Tom and Uncle Anthony, and they stopped to switch positions at one point so she could paddle. Our little Olivia looked like such a big shot. Henry and Evelyn were in a canoe with Robbie and me, and they spoke barely five words. I think they were afraid we would tip our canoe. I guess my warnings registered. Robbie and I don't get along too well while in a canoe. The river was jam packed with hundreds of people in kayaks, some floating on tubes, and there were many other canoes. It felt as though my husband was aiming for the other watercraft, and I wanted to smack him with my oar. I actually did splash him a time or two. We saw a black bear warning sign that suggested parents use caution and keep their children close. At one point Robbie said, "Look! It's a black bear." It was a little black poodle, and I laughed hard. When Ev said, "That's a bear? It looks like a little dog," I laughed even harder. Grandma Jane kept Vivian from 10:45 am until almost 8 pm, and we had a great day because of her willingness to stay home with baby.

After the canoe trip we went to Sleeping Bear Dunes and did a dune climb. The first part was 110 feet, and it was a hard climb if we tried to take it very fast. The kids ran up, then once I was up to Robbie's level, they turned without permission and ran down partway. Robbie said, "Go get them, and make them come back. I want us to go up higher." I did it, but I found the children in three different states. Once told to come back up, Evelyn collapsed into the sandy hill, and burst into exhausted tears in a hot temper tantrum. Olivia did a U-turn and started after her daddy. Henry took off in a third direction over a grassy hill. I sent Evelyn back to Aunt Jean. I took the other two back to where we left Robbie. The re-climb was extra tiring, and I became upset when I discovered that my husband was gone. He had continued to climb without waiting for us. I let Olivia run ahead only as far as I could see her, and I helped Henry. He got really, really red in the face. At one point he said, "Mama, I sooo tired. Can I take a nap?" We were in the middle of a hill. I laughed and held his hand. Up we went until we found Robbie, Uncle Ant, and Uncle Dave. The view was very nice, and the shade was even better. The most hilarious part of our vacation came next. Henry started running down the hills at breakneck speed. His legs moved fast, but he lost control and faceplanted when he was almost to the bottom. Sand clung to his eyelashes, and some got inside his mouth. His sweaty face was covered in sand, and he just didn't know what hit him.

We played Farkle with Ant, my step-sister, Melissa, her husband, Jonah, and cousin Ed with wife Jeni until almost 1 am one night. Jane stayed with the kids who had been put to bed, and my dad looked really tired when we returned to our condo. It was so much fun to have a chance to hang out without kiddos, and we appreciated the late night babysitting. When we told the big girls about the dice game, they started making up nicknames for everyone. Farkle Junior. Farkle Breath. We laughed a lot about the Farkle names.

We always walked to the beach, and one day I got to run on the pier, around the lighthouse, through the marina, and down the road by the lake with my little brother. It was a beautiful day, and I said a prayer of thanks for Anthony's health and presence in my life and the lives of my children. I think he really enjoys Miss Evelyn. He recorded her as she spotted a small fish on the pier. That little girl picked up the struggling fish and flung it back into the lake (surely against the wishes of the fisherman who had left it there to keep it from eating the eggs of other "good" fish). We told her that she saved the fish's life, and she looked very pleased with herself. She found two more fish left to die on the pier, and she helped them. Olivia may have the heart to help a gross fish, but only Evelyn has the nerve to pick one up.

To avoid the terrible traffic, Robbie got us up at 4 am the day we had to depart. We left the condo parking lot at 5:11 am. Not too far down the road, Henry said, "Do you smell what I smell? I don't want to smell poop." There was something disgusting outside the van in the air, and it got to poor Henry. He made us laugh even though everyone was tired.

We enjoyed our time with Daddy away from work. It was a pleasure to enjoy evening meals with 16 of us together. The children had such fun with their cousins. On the final evening of our trip, my cousin, Paul, brought his young chickens to my uncle's house. I wish I had video of Evelyn trying to catch them. Vivian kept yelling, "Bird!" Olivia held one briefly, then Henry took a turn. The chickens were really small and cute, and it was wild that my kids were chasing chickens around a yard. What fun memories we made.