.collections & the good stuff.

When I was younger I got the idea to start a collection.  At first it was teddy bears.  I think I may have gotten up to 5 when I moved onto spoons.  Spoons, the collection of old women...yeah, I think that started and ended with a single spoon from Disneyland.  Needless to say, I'm not much for collecting.  In fact my natural tendency is to actually throw out anything that clutters, which you can imagine is hard with children.  Within the last two months Finn has discovered his stuffed animals.  He always slept with his little duckies, but now he insists on sleeping with ALL the animals.  2 bears, a dog, a sock monkey, a bunny, and a giraffe.   They have also ALL been given names, and he says goodnight to each of them every night.  In the morning, a select few get to make it out of the room for the day.

The mornings elect few...the duckies are always included in this group.

Meg has yet to really latch onto any toys, but she does sleep with 2 little dog blankets. (just like Finn's ducks).  She sucks and chews on the little knotted ends, and they smell like her sweet baby breath.  She chews on just about anything these days, and rarely eats baby food anymore.  

This morning she double fisted bits of french toast instead of applesauce, because she prefers the "good stuff".

.gates & bread.

It happened...little miss figured out how to move on all fours.  She is quicker then Finn was starting out, like she's been crawling for years.  I kept putting off the stair gates, but after a close call last night, the gates are up.  She has been up close and personal all morning with them trying to figure out this new element in her environment.  And even though I have to climb over and move around them, I have peace of mind that she can't get to the stairs.

 behind bars in her "striped pajamas" 

In Finn news...that kid...he wears.me.out!  He has decided that I'm not doing a good enough job as mom, and has taken on that role all too easily.  I often hear him directing Meg in what not to do or what not to touch.  "Meg no clapping" or "Meg no touch Sinn's books" (yes he calls himself Sinn because he can't quite say his f's).  He just can't seem to help himself, even after all my scolding and telling him that I'm the mom, not him.   

Despite his exasperating moments, he can also be a big help.  He often takes out the dirty diapers, or entertains the babies while I'm changing laundry, or getting ready.  One of his favorite things to help with is making bread.  He loves to pour the cups of flour into the bowl, and watch the wheat grind to flour.  But his absolute favorite thing about bread making is...

licking the bowl clean as if it were cake batter.

eating the raw dough. What a crazy kid!

.one of those.

It has been one of "those" days.  I'll spare the details of the emotional upheaval for perhaps a later date, but know that it was rough.   My poor kids must think I'm a crazy bucket, as I lost my temper on more then one occasion.  Everything hit the fan at about 5:45 when all 3 kids were crying, I got a phone call, Gavin's dad came for pick up, and the roux for the gravy was starting to burn.  It mellowed temporarily, but only long enough for Finn to dump about 4 tablespoons of flour into my cooked turkey...more screaming from the lunatic, and consequently more crying.
Roy found me sprawled on the bed in absolute silence when he came home, and I told him to keep it that way.  So we sat, cuddled on the bed, letting the silence permeate for a little longer.  I then indulged in a lime popsicle, that almost erased away the day's emotions...almost.
All I can do is try again tomorrow, to be a little better, and be a bit more patient with my children.  But for right now, I'm grateful for wonderful welcomed sleep!