Little Tidbits

I have a ton of pictures and videos eagerly waiting on my camera to be uploaded and shared, but there are so many small precious moments that pass during the day that I just wanted to take a moment and reflect on those. Especially today, after a 6 hour drive home from Arizona...let's just say that 6 hours buckled in a car is too long for 4 of the 4 Murry girls! The other day Kate ran into the house literally right after I had just vacuumed and she was covered - I mean COVERED - in sand. I asked her to go back outside and shake off the sand to which she replied, "Ah, man" (in the sweet Kate voice with the elongated Ahhhh that makes me smile every time) but she went outside and said, "Shakey-doodle, shakey-doodle" then she started giggled because she was so tickled by her own joke. And I was laughing of course too because shakey-doodling is quite funny!

Pigeon Party!!

Hannah just finished studying one of my all time favorite authors: Mo Willems. If you don't know his writing you HAVE to check something out from the library...he is just hi-lar-i-ous! We love the Piggie and Elephant series, and if you are looking for a good book try, Can I Play Too? We thought we would celebrate by having some friends over for a Pigeon party, since Pigeon is also one of a beloved character that Mo Willems writes about. Hannah sent out her first Evite and the party was a hit with her friends! We asked kids to bring a book to read to everyone, then Hannah led the crew in two games and Kate gave an art lesson on how to draw Pigeon. We then ate hot dogs inspired from, Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog, and ate cookies inspired by Duckling Gets a Cookie. Hannah and Rachel Lee helping me make cookies for the party. Kate was still sleeping...see earlier post "Plum Worn Out." Hailey reading... Caleb talking about his book... Noah reading... and Hannah reading, Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! Kate took the art lesson seriously and everyone loved being able to emulate Mo Willems' art! (He purposefully draws simple pictures so that kids can sit down and draw and write stories based on his characters. I love that he thinks of his audience when he is drawing and writing!) Kate with her Pigeon art. At the end of the party Noah asked if we could do this again, and Hannah said, "Oh yes. We love having parties!" And she right. We do.

More Baseball

Hannah is loving softball. Or baseball...I don't really know which one it is. But it's fun, and that's what is important. This last week the coach had the kids practice hitting with a "T" or maybe it's "tee"...and Hannah seemed to enjoy playing outfield quite a bit. It was a little reminiscent of soccer where everyone runs for the ball and the coach encouraged them to stay in their positions, at which point no one moved towards the ball and it rolled right through the maze of kids until he designated one kid to get the ball and throw it back. It made me laugh quite a bit. Jeff and I had a funny conversation that night about her practice, which just shows how little I know about softball: S: Hannah did a great job getting grounders today, so the coach made her centerpiece. J: Centerpiece? S: The position in the middle. J: The middle of the outfield? Like center field? S: No, right in the middle of the diamond. J: Oh, pitcher... S: No, she never pitched the ball. J: Well that's because they used a T. (possible spelling: tee?) There was no pitching. S: Right, there was no pitcher. She was centerpiece. J: There is no centerpiece in baseball. Don't say that anymore. Centerpiece goes on the table, not in baseball. S: Well, she wasn't pitcher because she never threw the ball except to the coach after she caught it. Maybe she was catcher? J: Catcher is behind home base, not in the center of the diamond. S: Maybe she was center catcher? J: That's not a position either. She was the pitcher position without pitching. S: Doesn't sound like she was a pitcher if she didn't do what the position says she should do...PITCH. J: Trust me. She was the pitcher. I still don't get it. WHY would you be called a pitcher when you don't pitch? Plus, she makes a lovely centerpiece in her floral dress, don't you agree?

Plum Worn Out

Wednesdays are our go, go, go days! We drop off Hannah (and Hailey, the girl we carpool with) at 8am, which means leaving the house at 7:15. We then run an errand or two while we are out, go to the park to get wiggles out and have a snack, then head to Women's Bible study. We then zoom home, have lunch and head back up to get Hannah. We have softball practice, zip home, make dinner and then head to our community group. By Thursdays my girls are just worn out and ready to crash...and sometimes they do!

I Got It

Rachel Lee has adapted the phrase, "I got it," for just about anything. "Want help getting dressed?" I ask. "No, I got it," she responds. When I saw her climbing on the back part of the toilet to reach something in the medicine cabnient I said, "Rachel Lee, you need to ask for help!" And she looks at me and said, "No, I got it." She thinks she can do more than she can, and at other times I'm surprised by how much she really can do. Here she is, after getting dressed by herself. She got the clothes out of her draws, took her jammies off, and put on her own clothes. When I asked her if I could turn her shirt around she said, "I got it." Of course you do, sweetie! Her other favorite phrase is, "I a big girl" which sounds more like, "I a bit dirl." She also follows it with, "Ellie baby. She get paci. I a bit girl. I potty in toilet." And to me, that sums her life up perfectly. She's a big girl and does big girl things, but really she's still my baby and would like to get a paci. Rachel Lee is both my baby and my big girl all in one and I love her to pieces!!

Helping a Sick Mama Heal

I, unfortunately, am sick. It started a week ago when I mentioned to Jeff that I might be developing a cold. Fast forward to Friday and I had bronchitis and had completely lost my voice. I had chills and hot flashes (is that what it's called when you are sick or only in menopause?) and was just achy all over. On Thursday night after I placed a desperate call to Jeff saying, "Please skip basketball and come home," Hannah spent some time reading to me and Kate sang to me and stroked my hair gently. Rachel Lee, totally oblivious that I was sick or that the girls were taking care of me, was content to have free rein with all the toys. It was a sweet moment when I realized that Kate and Hannah are beginning to think of others, and care for others. My girls are growing up, and are really a blessing to me when I am healthy as well as sick. I often commiserate with other sick moms saying, "Mama's don't get days off" and we don't. I am still sick today and I have packed Hannah's lunch, built blocks, played kitchen, played dolls, negotiated fights, killed 2 brown widows (don't get me started there!), served lunch, cleaned up lunch...you all get the idea...it's not a day off to sit on the couch, read a book sip coffee and fall asleep hoping that when I wake I will be healthy again, but it's not what it used to be when I had three girls who thought only of themselves. My girls are a comfort to me and in their reading, singing, dancing and playing they are actually helping me heal and are a delight to me while I am sick. Here are my girls, performing for me as I lay on the couch. Rachel Lee is on the chair in the corner playing with the mirror...you can hear her laughing which also helps me heal:

Good-bye February

the last day of February was beautiful, sunny and warm. It was too nice to stay inside so I pulled our inflatable pool out for RL and had Hannah work at the outside table. For recess she was able to join in on the action and it may have been an extended recess time since Mama is sick... It's a great way to kick off a new month! And in case you missed that...yes, that's Hannah's kicking Rachel Lee into the pool. When I talked to her about it she said she was just trying to help her go fast. Looks like she's helping her sister, right? Right...

And more Sea World...

Baseball Season

Baseball season has started at Hannah's school and she has had two practices. The first was geared at throwing, this past week was catching. I think if she finishes the season learning either it's a win! Waiting in line for her turn...she's so cute playing with her frilly skirt one! Too short Too long Just missed But what form she has when she threw the ball back!

Park Time with the Girls*

*Although there are three girls in this blog post, only two are mine, and one of my girls is missing because of school.