Tab (neighbor across the street) and I scratched each other's back today: she took my boys while I had a dentist appointment...and then we swapped and I had her two younger kids while she worked until early afternoon. Everyone should have a neighbor like Tab. A good old-fashioned do-you-have-a-cup-of-sugar neighbor.
It was so fun to have Eli and Anya here!! Anya is always asking if there's something she can do for me. Something she can clean, organize, help with...if you know Tab, well.....tree, behold thine apple. ;) I've had a few random things that I've been wanting to do that aren't terribly time-consuming but always get tabled - so she did them for me. She hot-glued magnets onto fuzzy poms, and googly eyes onto little foam shapes I had cut out. Little things for me to tuck away for school this fall. Then she helped me make dinner. I didn't have a recipe, just a list of ingredients from a cooking genius friend who made the most amazing pork and beans ever when we stayed with them last month. So we kind of guessed here, dumped in a few things there, and hoped for the best. And oh, it turned out almost as good as Koets' version.
This was an excellent study in the behavior of boys vs. girls. Behold:
Eli and Levi took their tools and measuring tapes, "built" an imaginary jail, and arrested Luke for the egregious act of eating pretzels and dried cranberries on the love seat. Luke thought it was hysterical to be in jail. You can't really tell, but he's smooshing his face against the door.
It wasn't a super nice morning, but Anya really wanted us to pack a picnic and go to the park. And I thought, why not? She helped me cut fruit and pack a lunch (seriously, this girl is NINE - she could give a few lessons on having a servant's heart!) and helped me shepherd the boys to the park. We had it all to ourselves and we had a lot of fun.
After we got home I put Luke to bed and the older kids went down to the school room to play school. No joke, I'm cleaning upstairs and it was totally quiet downstairs save for some contented talking and counting I could hear thru the laundry chute. I head down and they are playing school and Anya is teaching them a counting game! Girl, you're HIRED. :) Thanks for a fun morning.
Yesterday I bought Levi a notebook and a pack of colored pencils just to have whenever he feels like scribbling. Interestingly, he started "writing" (scribbling) notes to God and Jesus. And he started asking me about death. A few times lately he's popped out a question about when we die or how we die. Yesterday he asked when do we die. I'm sure there are books with age-appropriate, sweet little answers in them, but thankfully, Levi does really well with matter-of-fact answers. I told him people usually die when they get old and their bodies wear out like a car breaks down when it's really old. Some people die when they're younger and they get really, really sick. And other people die because they get very badly hurt, like in an accident. He said, "Like in that car accident we saw by the gas station." I said well yeah, sometimes, but most people who are in a car accident actually don't die...Mama and Papa have both been in car accidents and we're fine. Whatever the case may be, the Bible tells us that God already knows the number of days we have before we're even born, and we don't need to be afraid of how or when it'll happen. With that, the conversation was over, and Levi flipped his notebook to the next page, made a very colorful picture and said it was for God and all the people who are with Him, and he wanted to give his notes to the mail man to give to God. I squirreled them away and told him I would make sure God got them. This morning he asked, 'Did God get my notes?' I told him yes - and He loves them and they're hanging on His fridge in Heaven. Because somehow, I'm certain they are.
On a far less serious note: fudgesicles. Levi was introduced to the awesomeness of popsicles at Aunt Mary's, so we have this new tradish each day of enjoying a popsicle together in the front yard before Luke wakes up from his nap. This week I bought fudgsicles. Partly because, well, FUDGEsicles, and I am discovering the hilarity of how messy a fudgsicle in the hands of a little kid can really be. Good thing I nailed that awesome stain-remover recipe.
What you don't see is where it all dripped on his pants and legs. On our walk after dinner I kept calling him "Fudgesicle" and he finally got fed up and yelled from his bike, "I. Am not. A FUDGESICLE!!!" It was enormously hilarious.
A dichotomy: Luke, happily eating...a fudgesicle.
And now, quite possibly the best picture I've ever taken -
(This happens every time, by the way)
Luke, when the top of the fudgesicle falls off and plops on the driveway:
Yes, I am THAT mom. I roll with laughter while my kid screams. Sometimes, there is little else you can do.
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