Yay.

I am so annoyed right now that I can hardly think straight. Not that I could think straight anyway, since I am now a mother of four. I seriously think that having Jedidiah has pushed me over the edge. Not that he's a lot of trouble, exactly. He's the sweetest, most content little cutie I've just about ever seen (in addition to my girls, that is), but just the sheer magnitude of being resposible for four other people is taking its toll on me. I literally look like I've aged 10 years in the past 2 years. People keep telling me that it will reverse and I'll start looking better in a year or so, but I'm geting a little concerned. When someone says that I look like my mom now, I don't know whether to take it as a compliment (she's a beautiful woman) or an insult (she is 57). I think maybe they think I look as old as her, too.

So let's take all of this - four little kids at home, two of them trying to homeschool, which is a huge project in and of itself, a two year old who talks INCESSANTLY and who is also trying to get herself potty-trained, a three month old who is nursing (which I love, but which also takes up a good 4 hours of my day), and a house that is in perpetual need of cleaning, endless mountains of dirty clothes that tower to the roof of my laundry room, a body that feels like it's been hit by a truck - wait, maybe I should say 'filled with jelly' and THEN hit by a truck - debilitating headaches caused by post-partum hypertension, and generally a life that is pretty much off the rails right now - let's take all that, and how about, let's say, how about we add a BRAND NEW PUPPY? Doesn't that sound like a great idea?

I couldn't actually come out and say NO like I wanted to, because that would make MOMMY the bad guy, now wouldn't it? He had already told the girls about the puppy... already put a deposit down on the puppy... you get the picture. I was counting on him "reading between the lines" but apparently he is illiterate in that sense.

That's it

I asked the girls what they would do if they had a million dollars. Josie had lots of ideas at the ready: "Playdoh, tools - real ones to work with Dad, a giant trampoline... oh, and a unicorn, but they're not real." Sadie followed this list up with "A flying fairy dress. That's it."

Adelaide's Top 10 (well, 18)

-I just alweady had a good nap!
-I a big guwuhl!
-Good mornin to you!
-I want to nurse! Can I nurse?
-Can I hava snack?
-Can I hold he?
-You stinker!
-I no like you/it!
-Don't talk to me!
-I just wittle.
-I Dorofee!
-No I not. I Adewaide! Adewaide Wansing!
-You you you tired?
-Do it vewy gentiwee.
-You do it evewy time!
-Cause I do! Cause I did!
-I just alweady did!
-She just, she just hurt myself.

Funny Things

I heard my oldest child say to her sister, "Josie, I will get that from you! By the Great Horn Spoon I will!" I did not even know what this meant... as a matter of fact, I'd never even HEARD this saying before. Sadie explained to me that this was something that Pa Ingalls used to say when he was mad. I looked it up - she's right! It was "a common American oath used in the 1800s." She was right on target, but it was certainly funny to hear it coming from her!

Adelaide has learned the ever-popular game of "Guess Which Hand It's In?" except she holds "it" in plain view and then says "Guess which hand is in? Guess which hand is in?"

Josie's dialogue to herself after we talked about getting a dog (but I was in earshot, and she always talks to herself out loud... keep in mind that she is the world's biggest rambler): "Well, I will take care of it, though I've never taken care of a dog before so someone will have to teach me. I wonder what its name will be... what will I name it? I don't know. But I will walk it and feed it and brush it and play with it and it can sleep with me... but who will clean up the poop? I guess for that I will have to call for my mom." Ah hah! Just as I suspected!

Last night as I was tucking the girls in bed, after I sang to them, rubbed their backs, and said prayers, Sadie said, "You're the best Mommy in the whole world...(sigh). I wish Mommy was... Mommy." There was a pause, then Josie said, "Um...she is."

Here Comes Trouble

Jedidiah is already over two months old... and I love the cute little chubbiness he's turning into. Every morning I hold him close and nurse him and snuggle his warm fuzzy baby cuteness and I think to myself... this is the last time I'll have this kind of newborn love! This realization, of course, always brings tears to my eyes. I have to pretty much force myself to LIVE IN THE MOMENT instead of worrying about the NEXT moment. It's a problem I've dealt with my entire life.

Today I dressed him in a 3-6 month outfit (a red and black plaid flannel fleece :)for the first time and it fit perfectly, which means (gasp) that he is no longer a newborn. Then he proceeded to smile at me a dozen times... those brilliant, light-up-the-room, toothless smiles that take up his whole little face - and my heart just melts for him. Maybe it's because after three others before him, I know just how fast this time will fly by. Or maybe it's because God implanted something in my genetic make-up to force me to bond with (and be enchanted by) his every little "goo" and "booo" and "thhhppt." Whatever it is, the love I feel in my heart - in my entire being - for this little boy is somewhat overwhelming. I don't know what to do with it all! It keeps spilling over from my eyes somehow.