Just Like Daddy

Recently Anna (8) told Matt, "I hope I marry a husband like you."  When pressed for what exactly she meant, she explained that she hopes her husband is goofy and funny and makes her laugh, just like her daddy.

Be still my freaking beating heart. That is the reason I married this man. It's what keeps me madly in love with him. He makes me laugh. And the kids too, apparently. He is constantly ribbing them; giving them a hard time. The works. 

Which is why it comes as no surprise to me that he continues to enjoy the same "childish" things he always has. Like Calvin & Hobbes. Recently, I emerged from alone time in my bedroom to discover this:

What can I say? We've bred a gaggle of nerds. We're pretty proud.

Toofless

And there goes another one. He lost this one on the bus, claims he almost swallowed it. 

Try not to get lost in those dreamy eyes. He's a charmer, this one.

Clean

I can be an honest mother when I admit that the time my children spend doing chores is one of my favorite parts of the day.

I know that when I was growing up, my parents tried so many times to get a regular cleaning schedule down.  It never really worked. Chore wheels, etc. Nada.

Here's what we've been doing for the last several months. Each of my older three children is assigned a job (for April, Miles has the Dining Room). After their homework is done and before they are permitted to do anything "fun", they need to do their job. This is the job for the entire month. The hope is that it encourages them to NOT make a mess in that room because they know they're going to have to clean it up later. Also, it helps them to know exactly what is expected of them in that room by having to do the same thing every day. So, even though Miles is only six, he has become quite good at wiping down the table, sweeping (or vacuuming the floor) and wiping down the chairs.

By the time the next month rolls around, my kids are sick of cleaning that particular job and more than happy to take on the next chore.

Lucas helps out wherever I can think of: emptying the dishwasher, laundry, helping with a very specific job or two. Libby mostly just runs around and undoes everything.

Now, I just need 5 or 6 more kids... one for each of the other rooms that I still have to clean.

Spontaneity reigns.

Around 6pm on the Saturday before Easter, I begged the husband for the chance to run to Target to maybe find something new to wear to church on Sunday. The girls all had new dresses (courtesy of my awesome Mother-In-Law) and I wanted to be cute too!

Unfortunately, Target was a fail. Seriously. I'm sure there are a lot of people who appreciate dresses that hang like frumpy sacks. I am not one of them.

The husband headed off to a movie with some friends and I sat down at the computer. But I was still motivated. At 9pm I grabbed this fabric (from a failed attempt at a maxi dress - hint: hideous frumpy sack), and cut it up into this fabulous skirt. The colors are perfect for me. Especially since I had these new red flats!

By the time Matt arrived home from his movie, I was hemming the skirt. Yay me! Sometimes you need to do a little "I am so awesome" dance!

Boys. Sheesh.

Recently, I found this lovely flyer designed by Miles.

Best Burp Contest 

Do you burp a lot? Why not go win 1st or 2nd place in the contest? Then what are you waiting for? Lets go!

I'm not sure whether to be completely disturbed... or overwhelmingly proud. Not a single misspelling. And I did NOT help him with this. 

I'm going to go with mildly troubled.

Talking bout the...

YMCA. Back in November-ish, we joined the Y. We're done having kids which means I finally have my body back. For good (In theory).

I'd been going pretty consistently: three times a week or so. Until the last month. I'm there pretty much every day. And guess what? I do not set foot on a treadmill. I really hate running. I find it to be unbelievably boring. Even with good music. It is an absolute last resort.

I've taken pretty much every one of their classes. And I can honestly say that they're all great! I love Zumba, Cardio Interval, Hip Hop, Yoga and my most recent find: Spin.

I will admit that even though I'm at the gym every day, I haven't actually lost any weight (not that I need to) nor can I see a difference in my toning. But I feel great. There's just something about sweating your butt off that makes you feel like a million bucks. Plus, cute gym clothes can't hurt.

Lucas Adam, 4

In commemoration of Lucas's fourth trip around the Sun, I decided to celebrate with a photo shoot. But not a proper one with nice clothes, no. I'm way too lazy for that (I should change this blog's name to "I'm Too Lazy For That"). It was more of a "Hey, you have an unstained shirt on. Let's comb your hair and go outside!" Expectations are low here, folks.

 But don't worry, I did not fail to capture his charm.

He's one devilishly cute little boy, no?

 Yes, yes he is. 

I fear I'm in for some girl trouble. That is, if he ever breaks 100 pounds, which I sortof doubt.

 But don't worry. It wasn't all seriousness. We managed to capture the real Lucas too.

And some of this too. 

With some waterbending (a la Avatar: The Last Airbender) thrown in for good measure. 

Did I mention that this photoshoot lasted all of four minutes. Because it was 90 degrees outside. In April. Screw you La Nina. 

At any rate, we celebrated his birthday in the proper fashion. With "rainbow cupcakes with orange frosting". And I'm writing this down here so I won't forget. Lucas was SO cute. He sang to himself. So cute.

 His only other birthday request, "A glowing red light saber so that I can be a bad guy like Darth Vader."

Thank goodness Target had his weapon of doom on sale for $10!

 We've already had to replace the batteries twice. Heaven help me. 

Fostering Creativity

 Our children LOVE to create. Most children do. Left to their own devices, they will hide away in their makeshift craft room (read: upstairs bathroom) and create all manner of posters, advertisements and whatever else their mammoth sized imaginations catch upon. Three times in the last three weeks, it was a puppet/play.

(Pardon the horrible photography, it was very dark.)

Please note that it is only acceptable that I took these pictures because the play was free to attend. I am strict about my copyright violations. The small post script advises one to sit on the couch. My favorite part, however, is the opportunity they took to practice their ampersand.

It was actually quite good and I was really surprised at the level of detail they remembered from the story.
Since then, we have enjoyed "Nephi Builds a Boat" and "The Three Little Pigs". I'm really glad to know that my children still enjoy the simple things.

Innocent

Sure. Right. This kid is almost always up to no good. I heard once that toddler boys who were particularly difficult turned out to be easy teenagers. This MUST be true. It's what keeps me going. It's a good thing he's so darned cute.

He is four today. May age four be a turning point in our relationship. Please.