Dancin' Fool

It is "tax-free" day at Best Buy today. Derrell was so excited that he just couldn't stay still. Look what they caught on their security camera! Don't be fooled by the mustache and receding hairline--this really is Derrell... hee. hee.

Spring Soccer

ED and AM just finished their soccer season. They had a lot of fun! ED ended up playing goalie most of the time. He was quite good, making saves in the midst of kicking feet. It made me nervous to watch. The last playoff game was in the rain at 9am--very windy and cold. ED had extra layers since he was in the goal, but poor AM was freezing. She had a smile on her face, though! So, here are some "after-game" photos. Be glad you can't touch or smell them... I'm sure you can imagine the sweat and dirt well enough. :-) I've decided to throw in a picture of ED grabbing a ball. You can barely see it through all the other players, but look closely. (You can click on the photo to enlarge it.)

Ambidextrous Baby

AE chose two spoons instead of just one, and I just had to record it. Shortly after I put the camera away, she abandoned one of the spoons and started scooping up the yogurt with her hand. Needless to say, the end result required a good scrubbing of the baby, highchair, floor, and wall!

Haircut Pictures

So, here are the pictures I promised to post. N.E.'s hair looked so long when it was combed straight!

Haircuts

While the boys were gone on a father/son outing last Saturday, the girls and I had one of our own. NE got her first haircut! Can you believe an almost-three-year-old has never even gotten a trim? What's more amazing is that this almost-three-year-old has never taken scissors to her own hair! I haven't wanted to cut off all those curls just in case they never came back, but the beautician showed me how to tell that it's coming out curly at the roots. (In my defense, the hair isn't that curly. I'm sure I could tell all by myself that she still has natural curl if the curls were like a perm instead of big and soft and flowy...)

The hair salon has a little animal seat that reminds me of those old rides outside of grocery & department stores: straddle it, put a quarter in, and it goes back and forth. This one doesn't move, of course, but my girls were thrilled. Much more fun to ride a panda than sit in a chair that is too big. LL hopped right up. NE took her turn next after she saw that it was safe for LL. AM wasn't too sure if she was too grown up for the kiddy chair, and tried to stifle a smile. I was going to post pictures here, too, but can't seem to locate the cord to hook up the camera to the computer. Might just be that the almost-three-year-old has walked away with it...

Derrell's Crazy Schedule

Prepare to be amazed. My husband is the hardest working person I know. He has had this dream of getting his PhD since he was in the seventh grade, and--by gum--he's going to get it! His schedule has been all over the place these past three years. Some semesters harder than others, of course. But I must say, his present schedule takes the cake.

This semester Derrell only has one class. On the surface that sounds marvelous, but here's the nitty gritty: the class is SEVEN hours long on Wednesdays. 9am-4pm! Now that wouldn't be the worst thing to deal with if he wasn't also preparing for the comprehensive exams, doing an internship, and working full-time--all 1-2 hours away from home! So, Wednesdays tend to look somewhat like this: 2am alarm goes off, work from 3:15-8:45am, school from 9am-4pm, study group from 4-7:30pm, crash into bed around 9pm. A 19-hour day? Who could survive that? Derrell Small, that's who. He still has to go in to his internship on Thursdays, so by the time he gets home Thursday afternoon, the bed is screaming out his name.

This present craziness will let up in a month when the internship ends, then more in July when the class ends. But then he'll just replace some of the class time with study time. Comprehensive exams are in August. Anything from the previous three years is fair game on these tests. They sufficiently terrify all the students by promising to kick you out if you don't pass. Derrell has been getting very good grades this whole time, so I'm not concerned one bit. He'll do well. He doesn't know how to fail. But, of course, he feels the need to study until his eyes bleed. (And, that's probably why he'll do so well!)

Needless to say, we are on a countdown to graduation. My cousin's husband just finished his doctorate. It would be nice to be at that point. But our brother-in-law just started. Glad we're not at that point! There is some fairness in the world...

Least Favorite Pediatrician

I took my baby in to the pediatrician for her 12 month check-up this morning. The fact that she is actually 13 months need not be mentioned... I found out that the last time she was seen was seven months ago. I was surprised--didn't realize it had been that long, but oh well. The Dr. tried to give me a guilt trip, but I wouldn't take it this time. "So, what happened?", she asks. Looking her straight in the eye, (and with a sweet smile) I reply, "Oh, I have five children." I'm quite certain this isn't the response she was looking for. I'm sure she would have been more pleased if I said, "I'm an incompetent mother." As she is going down the list of milestones my child should have reached, she seemed to be begging me to reveal a delay or problem of some sort. "So, no concerns or illnesses to speak of?" I just couldn't resist: "Nope! That's why I haven't brought her in. If I thought there was a problem, I would have made an appointment earlier." Needless to say, this is my least favorite doctor of the three in the office.

It turns out my child is healthy and normal. But I didn't need a Dr. to figure that out. I do need a Dr. to give shots, though, and since we've decided to immunize, I really should have taken my child in sooner. Now I get to take her back next week to get the rest of the shots that she has missed. So, even though I put off taking my baby to the doctor, it can be fixed, and I refuse to believe that I'm an incompetent mother. There's my "stick-out-my-tongue" moment for the century. Usually I try to be nice and positive and give people the benefit of the doubt. But not when you accuse me of neglecting my children. Now I'll descend the soap box. Have a good day! :-)

Squirrels

We have a family of squirrels living in our attic. Well, to be more accurate, I should say that we had a family of squirrels living in our attic. There is only one of the four left (that we know of!). Today we caught two at once! Lovin' this Havahart trap! I called Animal Control to see if they would trap the squirrels. After a lengthy list of all the services they provide, they dropped in the price: $269!! Whereas we might pay out the nose for some services for convenience sake--though off hand I can't think of what--, we opted for the do-it-yourself route in this case. Derrell is getting quite a thrill out of trapping and disposing of them. He's a real mountain man at heart. It's a bit scary initially retrieving the trap because you never know how the squirrel is going to react. Wouldn't want to get bitten! For fear of traumatizing the girls, he does it all behind their backs. But E.D. really wants to be a part of the whole process. There's just something special about a man and his son ridding the cave of unwanted varmints... :-)

Unhappy Baby

Today my baby hasn't been herself. She has been hit by allergies, and now she has a fever! Unfortunately, no matter what I do, she remains miserable. I had to just let her cry it out in her crib tonight. It breaks my heart to see her so sad because she is usually such a pleasant little girl.

L.L. is also having a not-so-great day: accidentally tripped by her older sister when they were outside, put down for a (once in a blue moon) nap by mom, accidentally scratched by her brother while he was swinging his arms around, allowed to run through the sprinkler then complained that it was too cold. The life of a four-year-old.

On a brighter note, today was a "stayed completely dry" day for N.E.!! Even when we ran errands and had to use THREE different public bathrooms. There's a story all in itself. Imagine, if you will, a small--the shopping cart doesn't fit in--bathroom that doesn't have a baby changing station. What to do with the baby while assisting the 2 yo on the huge toilet? Leave her in the cart outside the bathroom? Yeah, right. Hold her so she doesn't get close to the absolutely disgusting floor? If I was an octopus. The solution is not too difficult, actually. The 4yo gets to hold the door open, so I can help with the potty and keep the baby in the cart and see all the children at once. What 2yo wants privacy, anyway? It gets better though when I have to use the bathroom myself. When I was younger, I honestly never thought about praying for the safety of my children while using a public bathroom.

Caterpillars Beware

L.L. is fascinated with the hundreds of caterpillars that are in our yard. Here she decided to collect as many as possible. She gathered almost thirty! I figured it was pretty benign until she tried to smuggle them inside the house in her pockets. Thirty fewer moths...

Mean Greens

While making lunch today, N.E. commandeered the half-full can of green beans. With a mouthful, she proclaimed, "MMMmmm! I love these mean greens!"

Can you guess what our 2 yr old is learning to do?

Skittles work! I am not above bribing my children to get desired results. N.E. is so proud. She got to pick out new panties ("Dee-Dee-Dora"), and when we are home she keeps those panties dry 90% of the time!

Happy May Day!

The kids are excited to take fresh flowers to our neighbors for May Day. I love the spring from a distance. Yesterday I did some yard work, and ended up paying for it all night. Eight sneezes in a row isn't normal or comfortable! But the yard looks better, so I guess it's worth it...

A shot of our cute little baby--OK, so maybe she's not so little anymore.

Here's Our One-Year-Old

Granna, Grandma & Granddad were all able to be here to help A.E. celebrate her first birthday!

Here's Sally Ride (and her toady). For a school project, A.M. was part of a living wax museum. When someone came up to her, she came alive and told about herself. I didn't know that Sally Ride was a nationally-ranked tennis player at one time, did you? For being the first woman in space, I did expect the PhD in physics, though. We have a friend who works at NASA in Washington, D.C. He was kind enough to pick us up this costume.

Coat of Arms

E.D. made up his own coat of arms at school. Fire and arrowheads; two necessary elements. Notice the tatoo on his forehead. This was taken on a Saturday. He had to do a lot of scrubbing to remove said tatoo before Sunday. Ended up with a very red forehead...

Some recent snapshots

This is four-year-old L, who was so pleased with herself after putting in these curlers.