End of Month Report

It's time for my End of Month Report.  I forgot to write one for February but it basically would have said that I did great except for one day when I went to Little Rock with my sister, sister-in-law, and a good friend from Tennessee.

This month was basically the same. And, if I had written it this morning instead of waiting until bed time, I could have said that I made it a full month without buying something new. But today, after dressing Eily in what can only be described as white-trash-hand-me-downs, I broke down and bought her a few items that are fresh, clean, and crisp looking.  And she will look adorable. (She did get a few new tops from her Bebe but they were dirty and she needed at least enough tops and bottoms to get through a whole week.)(Just to clarify, they weren't dirty when Bebe gave them to her.)

Tomorrow starts another month. April! Can you believe it? Nora turns three in two weeks and I think my heart is breaking just a little bit. It just goes by so, so fast. The other day I came across this picture of Eily when she was two years old.

Seriously, my heart can't take it.

Green Family Day 2014

This past weekend was our annual Green Family Day. This is pretty much my favorite weekend of the entire year. I kind of super, duper love my family and love just watching them all interact.

Nora and I stopped by early on Friday afternoon to see if there were any groceries that needed to be bought and Nora slipped in a quick piano duet with Grandpa. Sometimes, she'll come up to me, wrap her arms around my leg and sigh, "I just love Grandpa."

Family Day is filled with a lot of visiting, a lot of playing, and a whole lot of yummy food.

Ryan, Luke, Kaity, Nora, and Eily

I'm guessing this is the last year Eily will want to hang out at the "baby" table. (Also, Nora's face here is hilarious.)

Love, love, love these boys.

Only Aunt Rachel can make a walker look this classy. 

Isra's eyes are crystal clear blue. I've never seen anything like it.

I found Dan's first gray hair! (You may have to zoom in to see it. There was only the one.)

I claim these two for next year's company. Although, I really should say I claim these  THREE. :)

Uncle Evan gives the best hugs - And also the best lemon drops.

Jessica and Anna

Dalton, Davis, and half of Roy.

Orange you glad he came? 

Eli

Shafer, who is looking more and more like Daddy and Uncle Robert.

If I'm sneaky and very far away, I can get a picture of Michael. (And Jack)

I'm pretty sure this is what Grandpa did all day long.

And they played guns all day long. 

This was the first year that we didn't do a  gift exchange, so for just a few minutes, we all gathered around and sang a few hymns and had a family prayer.

Singing hymns

Gathered Together

Huggin' and Kissin'

Evannah

This year, we hosted Dan and Caitlin (and baby B), and Stephanie(and the other baby B) and Evelyn. We missed having Andrew in the mix, though.

She's giving me the evil eye.

Saturday evening/night was very pleasant. We cleaned up the girls and put them to bed, and then several of the older generation females came over and we visited and made and ate caramel popcorn. I think I'm still digging caramel out of my molars.

Bathing Beauties
Nora, Evelyn, and Eily

Nora, sporting her foam ear plugs.

Evelyn, sporting her amber necklace.

While the babies were bathing, the older two girls read books and visited with Molly, Eleanor, and Caitlin.

Claire thinks Caitlin is the coolest.

She's half grown up already.

It was a lovely weekend. I'm always sad to see everyone leave but at the same time, I'm glad to be able to catch up on laundry. :)

Well, truth-be-told, the laundry is still behind but that's just because I've been lazy about it. 

It's just shameful

Two disclaimers:

1. I am too tired to put all these pictures at the bottom of the post which is where I really want them to be. 

2. I cannot find any recent pictures of Elaina to add to the mix. I am going to make a point to snap several of her this weekend and have a post just about her. 

I took Nora to the park one afternoon.

Valentine's Day Date

Dentist Appointment Date

Sometimes I just look at her face and marvel at the beauty. And also at the amount of food and snot smeared everywhere.

I mean, shameful. But it's been really relaxing to think about what what was going on in my daily life, but not think about it in a "posting" kind of way. Because, to be honest, I normally do that a lot. I walk around the house writing blog posts in my head. I fold laundry and write blog posts. I do dishes and write a killer post that would make you double over in laughter. And, also to be honest, I almost never write those posts. I did realize the other day that I could just get some sort of recording contraption but then, would my posts lose some of their organic-ness? I don't know.

Also, do I overuse commas?

I feel that I do.

There were a few things going on lately that I wanted to end before I got back to regular posting. And they have ended so I really have no excuse now. I quit working on a regular schedule. I get to just show up if I have a day that I want to work. That's pretty fun. Also, I changed my hair back to dark brown. And then I gave a sigh of relief. I've always liked my original hair color and it was fun to try something new and different but the fun ended rather quickly. My skin was a strange color with blonde hair.

So I'm back to looking like me and that's comforting. 

My boss came up to me the other day and asked me if I was happy. I said, "Do you mean working here or with life in general? Because I'm happy with both situations." And he said he meant in general. He said I didn't appear to be very happy. And that made me think. A lot. I truly feel happy so why don't I give off a happiness vibe? My mouth naturally turns down at the corners so if I'm just staring straight ahead, I probably do look a little disgruntled, but I'm not. Most likely, I'm thinking about something interesting I read the other day or what food I want to cook. I do feel tired, though. Not like a sleepy tired but a complete from-the-top-of-my-head-to-the-bottom-of-my-toes kind of exhausted. I start thinking about how many meals I have left to cook in my life time and how many loads of laundry are still before me and how much physical activity is required of me even just in the next few days. And I crave rest. But then, if I get the rest, I'm craving home and life with four active girls and a hungry husband and a jumping, chewing, most-adorable looking puppy. So it's like I'm floating in this middle ground of needing a break from life and yet wanting to be right in the thick of my life- both at the same time. I'm guessing it's pretty normal to feel this way when a person is in a situation similar to mine. I'm guessing all the seasoned moms would read this post and nod their heads and think to themselves, "Yup. Been there, my friend." At least, I hope that's what they would think. It gives me hope to think that's what they would think.  But I'm also determined to change my vibe, even just a little bit. I've started my very own happiness project. (I've really no idea what that book is about, I just assume it's about how to be happy.) There's really no steps to my happiness project. I'm just making an effort to appear happier. To smile more. To lift my eyebrows when listening to someone.  (Not in a creepy way.) To recount the good times. To stop and enjoy my kids more. That's the main thing I'm focusing on doing. I'm so bad to just focus on my cleaning and let them play their games. I don't necessarily jump in and play the dad or anything like that, but I do stop and watch for a minute. Smile at them. Give them a hug as they run by. This morning, I took about three minutes and rolled a ball back and forth down our hallway with Nora. She giggled until she almost made herself sick. It was beautiful. 

So, that's what I've been doing. 

That's where my thoughts have been. 

That's where my time and energy have been placed. 

What have you been up to?

This was the only photo I had the gumption to move to the bottom of the post. Peach was building a wooden game at Lowe's.

I'm still here. Just so very tired. Very, very tired.

The Darkest Hour

There's that hour and a half in the evening, that time after supper but before bed preparations, that time slot that seems to drive you crazy but is also exciting because it means sleep is near. That time is hard when you are parents of small children. For me, it's the time that I dream of a cleaning my kitchen, and then having a quiet moment where all my little angles are quietly sitting and reading and the house is spotless and I feel great because I spent the entire day being productive and now I am entitled to rest. But that is not usually the scenario of that time slot. No, not at all. Some days I've been productive, but some days I've just managed to keep my head above the water. Most of the time, I'm so exhausted from the after school rush, the homework, and the supper prep that I just stack the dirty dishes in the sink and remind myself that they can always be cleaned in the morning. Then I just try not to lose my cool as the girls have obviously been injected with the adrenaline rush that all children seem to get right after they've finished supper. Who is supplying this stuff and why didn't they give some to me?
Honestly though, I remember finishing supper and then running off to play something with the other kids. It was a really fun hour of the day and as a child, it never occurred to me that I might be driving my parents crazy; that they might be wishing I would just sit and stare and just be.  But they never said anything, not that I can remember, and we played with so much enthusiasm and energy until it was time to get ready for bed. And these nights, when the girls get up from the table and start their games of hide-and-seek or coloring contests or whatever it may be, I just take a deep breath, remember how my parents treated me, and keep my mouth shut. And sometimes, I even muster up enough energy to join in their games. (Tonight is not one of those nights, but it does happen every now and then.)

After I wrote this post, I came in the living room and found the three older girls lined up on the couch reading books. And I smiled and thought, "Finally!" And now, five minutes later, we have one on the ground crying, one on the couch crying, one standing on a chair, singing in her loudest voice while she waves a swimming noodle in the air, and one trying to sword fight her sister with the remaining noodle. Well, it was nice while it lasted. :) 

Saturday

 This past Saturday was my father's annual open trip to the Trojan game in Little Rock. He goes to support the team often, but once a year he buys tickets for anyone that will show up for the game. It usually a good crowd of friends and family that show come and it's a really fun time of visiting, cheering, and dancing crazy so the camera will put us on the big screen.  

This is one of my nephews, Ryan. We have a special relationship.

I was trying to get a good picture of these two. 

It was a little difficult. 

Eily was taking a break from dancing.

And Claire never misses a chance to pose for the camera.

Just four blondes, cheering on the Trojans.

Eily and Aunt Kat chowed down on some free popcorn.

And they realized they had on matching pants! 

It was a really fun night even though our team lost in the last .03 second of the game. I'm already looking forward to next year's game. 

Sickness, Snow, and Staying Busy

I've been reunited with my desk top and I think that's going to mean steadier posting. It's just so much easier to post from here and also, when I sit at this desk, I'm on a mission and I don't get distracted. (Excuse me for a moment while I go check Facbook.) 

Apparently this is The Winter of All Sicknesses Known to Man. I'm ready for some fresh spring breezes so I can air out this place and feel clean again. We have been trying to stay busy despite the hacking coughs and fevers and this is some of what we've been doing. 

Nora plays with Samson every chance she gets.

Eily has been practicing her pull-ups. She's very impressive.

Nora has slept- a lot. 

A lot, a lot, a lot

I finally took these two to the dr. They had fun with the coughing masks the front desk provided.

I've been taping hearts every night on the wall in the girls' room since February 1st. They LOVE it.

Other than that, we've watched a lot of I Love Lucy, 

 danced, did a biology lesson , 

and I built this sucker. Let me tell you, it was no easy task. 

Look at that toilet. It took me over thirty minutes to figure out how that thing went together.

And this cabinetry? Don't even ask.

Dining Room

Living Room

Front of House
This took two days to build. I'm pretty sure I now qualify for a Master's in All Things Involving Paper Tabs.