Wordless Wednesday: Bed Head

Hazel's New Chore

I am a believer in starting kids early on helping out around the house. Hazel and Amelia started helping clean up toys around 9 months.

Abiah was three when he came to live with us and he was able to pick up his toys already. Shortly after he moved in he was making his bed and using our compact vacuum to vacuum his room and the hallway.

Now he uses the big vacuum and is responsible for his room, the front room, the hallway, and the kitchen. Hazel now uses the compact vacuum and her job is to vacuum the living room. Which she's pretty good at. When she want to be.

Abiah has also recently started learning to fold towels. While he does do a good job, He. Takes. FOREVER.

Hazel and Amelia have always shown an interest in the laundry. But that usually looks like them spreading it all over the living room and kitchen.

Or using towels for Dolly blankets.

Or wearing our underwear on their heads.




A few weeks back I came into the living room to find Hazel into the laundry. Again. She told me she was "foding lawndwy." And indeed, she was.

She had a lopsided pile of folded clothes sitting next to her.

A few days later she folded her t-shirt. Perfectly.

So I decided to have her fold the kitchen towels and dish rags.

Without any instruction she grabbed to dish rags and started folding. I was so impressed I grabbed my camera and got this video.




Did you see those kids in the background? Who's kids are they anyways?!?

Wordless Wednesday: Daddy's Ice Cream

Princess Talk And A Breakdown In Communication

In the van the other morning Hazel informed me that, "Daddy said dammit."

Stifling laughter I said, "Yes, but Hazel, you are a princess and princesses don't talk that way. If you say that word you'll get in trouble."

She agreed that, "Yes, princesses don't talk dammit."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Me: Hazel, eat your salad.

Hazel (while chopping her pizza with her fork): You eat your thalad, too.

Me: I did eat my salad.

Abiah: Yeah, and I am eating my salad.

Hazel: Oh! Goo dob, Biah! Eat your thalad and I give you dis cookie I making.

Me: Let me take a picture of your cookie.

Hazel: My poopie?



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Every morning when I go to lay Amelia down for her morning nap, Hazel lets me know, "Not boff of me." Meaning, not me too.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

While I was doing Hazel's hair she pointed to the back of her head and said, "I want a tony pail wight here."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Hazel wakes up in the morning she cries. And wines. And cries some more.

Amelia. She bounces in her bed and giggles.

On most mornings when I go in to get them Hazel informs me that, "Moowee hert my feewings."

The other day she told me, "I need ice fo my hert feewings."

My-Saults

My older sister is Summer. Growing up I wanted to do everything she did. Except for one thing. While she did Summer-saults, I wanted to do Shiree-saults. It was my way of being my own person, you know.

So when my mom was over the other day she taught Hazel to do Hazel-saults and Amelia to do Amelia-saults. Abiah already knew how to do Abiah-saults.






When I tried to take a picture of Hazel doing a Hazel-sault she insisted on a new "Me-sault."






I guess she feels the need to be her own person, too.

Hazel's Fear

Hazel has been waking up in the night screaming from nightmares about dogs licking her face and trying to get her. We can't think of a specific reason she would be afraid of dogs but she is really bothered by these dreams.

While trying to reassure her that she is safe, Nathan has told her that if there really was a dog getting her he would beat it up and shoot it. Some how that comforts her.

A few weeks ago Nathan was coming back from a Men's Advance with the guys from our church. We knew he would pass our house on his way to take some friends home so my mom and I took the kids to the end of our yard to wave as he drove by.

While we were waiting Hazel spotted our neighbor's dog laying in their driveway and said, "Oh, is a goggy. Oh, I scawed."

Abiah asked her, "Hazel, are you a scaredy-cat?"

She nervously replied, "No. I a scawed of gogs."

Mostly Wordless Wednesday: Small Town Parade

Waiting for the parade to start.



Momma and Hazel.


Amelia's first parade.


Cowboy Abiah!


Nathan's first Molalla parade.











Yes. That is a port-a-potty. On wheels. The best part of the Molalla Buckaroo Parade!


Candy snatchers.


Dancing in the streets!

Hazel's New Friend

Sometimes I wish we had cameras video taping everything the kids say and do. Other times I just think it would be freaky. Today I wanted the cameras though.

Hazel came into the family room holding something small between her thumb and pointer finger. She was talking to it and calling it her friend.

"Hi, fwend. Oh, how aw you fwend? Mom, dis my fwend."

It was a tiny piece of onion peel. The dry flaky part.

She laid it carefully on the couch and then started yelling, "Fwend! Talk to me, fwend! Talk to me!" Then looking at me, "Mom! Fwend not talking to me!"

Oh, to have that on video!

She dropped "fwend" into the couch on accident when she was trying to hand it to me. Afterward she just walked away. Apparently they weren't that close.

Rolling Pin Revisited

So the other day I shared these pictures with you:





Any time I see a rolling pin I am instantly transported back to seventh grade in Mr. B's class. I had a crush on this guy, Shane, for like a week. Being the seventh grade girl that I was supposed to be, I tried to make him aware of this fact by hitting him all the time. He deserved it, I'm sure.

P.S. Why do girls do this? I am embarrassed to think back on those days of my adolescence and I feel embarrassed for young girls who acts this way. If you have the answer let me know.

Back to the story.

So, Shane came to school one day and told me he had had a dream about me the night before. I got all giddy thinking this was a good sign for me and my crush. He told me that in his dream we were married. My heart started beating faster and I'm sure I turned all shades of red.

Then he told me that in his dream about us being married, every time he came home from work I would beat him with a rolling pin for no reason. I died a thousand deaths and melted to the floor. Figuratively speaking (Dad).

I think that this is the point in the story where it's completely normal for you to feel sorry for my seventh grade self.

I do.

How I managed to scrape myself up off the floor, I'll never know. Every time I see a rolling pin I'm reminded of that moment in my awkward adolescence.

And Shane, I don't beat my husband with a rolling pin at all. I do hit him once in a while though. He doesn't like it.

Oh, when will I grow up!?!

Twenty-four Hours

That's all it took for my tupperware cupboards to go from this:



To this:



The ring leader:



"It wasn't me, Momma!"



Yes, she did do that to her shirt by herself. No, I did not fix it.

Me: "Your gonna get stuck!"

Her: "No I not."



Me: "I told you so."



Her: "Help, Momma!"

Me: "First admit that you were wrong and that I am always right."



Just kidding. I didn't say that. Kind of.

Leg massage:



Facial massage:

The Best Smell

It just started raining for the first time in about a week. I know that doesn't sound like a long time to most people. But those people don't live in Oregon. And their summer weather probably didn't just start one week ago.

As much as I would love for the clouds to roll away and the blue sky to reappear, I want to take this moment to appreciate one of my favorite smells. Rain. After it's been dry for awhile and then it rains it smells so good.

I could just stand outside for awhile and enjoy the smell. But my kids would tear up the house and that would ruin my rain smell vibe.

Does anyone else remember when Target carried a line of perfumes made from natural scents like fresh cut grass and rain? I loved those. I was going to purchase one of the rain perfumes but I kept forgetting.

I'm good with follow through like that.

If you remember those perfumes, and/or if you ever purchased one, was it everything I dreamed it would be?

Nathan's Enemy

My husband has been on a rampage the last few weeks. Gophers have taken over our yard and made it into a sink pit. Seriously. They've dug so many burrows and holes that when you walk on it you sink into it a little.

So Nathan did what any hunter would. He fought back. With his bb gun. (Is that how you spell it? I have no idea.)













His kill total is now 6. And we think there are more. When Nathan gets home from work he asks me if I've seen any gophers in the yard. My response is usually something serious like, "Right. Because I have so much time during the day to sit and stare out the window watching the yard."

I'm helpful like that.