Welcome to LOTS OF LITTLES ... a little blog about this and that.

Saturday, July 24, 2010

a little peer-pressure

I love to hear stories of my children resisting peer pressure! And I just heard a new one today!

About a month ago, a boy at church told Buddy and another boy to meet up with him at a certain place after the service. Planned meetings are exciting ... so they agreed and followed through. The boy, the first boy mentioned, then directed Buddy and the other boy to go up to the balcony with him and collect the communion cups. So ... they went and gathered up lots and lots of the small plastic cups. Buddy said he was wondering what the boy wanted them for. Next, this boy went to the side stairwell and proceeded to place a cup or two on each stair. Finally, he stomped down the stairs ... smashed all of the cups into pieces ... and made quite a mess. At some point during this, the boy told Buddy and the other boy to do this too. Buddy, however, knew it was wrong and thought he and the other boy might get in trouble for this. After all, Buddy and the other boy were left holding the cups ... lots of cups.

So ... Buddy said, "I started shouting commands to {my friend}. Run! Drop the cups! Run!" And they did just that.

Woo-Hoo, Buddy! Thumbs up!

Monday, July 12, 2010

a little camping

We camped and then we cabin-ed. Let me start by saying that cabin-ing at a nice lake home is a good debriefing of sorts after the camping is over and before returning to real life. One often needs to rest up after camping.

Yes ... well ... back to camping. This was, by the way, our second time camping. We arrived at the campsite with hopes for a grand time. Almost immediately upon hopping out of the van, I thought, I love camping ... and even though there is a LOT of preparation ... there is just something appealing about camping. A little bit later ... I love camping. Camping is just great, I was thinking as we roasted turkey franks, enjoyed baked beans, and gobbled up some delicious strawberries. I love camping ... I thought a few more times that evening. Camping ... outdoor living ... glorious and relaxing ... even with all those Daddy-long-legs on everything. Then ... when bedtime arrived ... after all of that wonderful "camping" and chilling by the campfire ... I angled my body into the tent, stepped over and around some of my children ... then crouched over to where my sleeping mat was laid ... getting around in a tent is sort-of like playing Twister ... and finally, plunked my thirty-four-year-old body down ... basically on the ground, as the mat was thin. Yes ... it was basically like I was laying on the ground ... and definitely NOT my precious sleep-number bed. Did I mention that the mat was t-h-i-n??? So ... I was no longer thinking that I love camping. Nope. I was thinking ...

I feel old! It seems like I can feel every single bone in my body! How many are there? 206??? And the ground ... is seriously hard ... there's no give in it ...

So I said to my husband, "Husband, people older than us do this ... how can they stand it?"
And he said, "Well, Abraham slept on the ground ..."
So that was that.

Yep. The first night was really bad. And I was cold. And Little Dude was waking up and fussing every hour or so. Oh ... and I saw a skunk when I was trekking back from the bathrooms in the middle of the night. And the second night? Not much better. So, as aforesaid, after two nights of this, Jeffster and I were quite happy to be sleeping in the rather comfy bed at the cabin. {The cabin time was great too ... I didn't take any pictures though.}

Back to the camping again ... aside from the sleeping, or lack thereof, we did have ourselves a grand time :)

I think I made about fifty pancakes ... not sure where they all went though ;)
A nice sandy beach ... fun for everyone :)
Our temporary address #33 ...
The baby backpack ... couldn't have managed without it ...
Mr. E. and the fire feeders ...
Daddy and his boys ...
These two are often in the same place {or chair} ...
Little Camper squealing out at the kids from inside the tent ...
It's getting late ...
One down ...
I'm so tired I must hold my eyes open ...I love staying up late!!!
Our second breakfast ... eggs, cantaloupe, and yogurt a la messy table ...
Behold, a new rock discovered ...

Sunday, July 4, 2010

a little sparkler

You might remember from my previous two Independence Day posts ... that the 4th of July is also Foofie's birthday. So ... ever since she's been around, the holiday has been kind-of a combo deal ... birthday party and Independence celebration.

Our little sparkler, aka Foofie ... and sometimes Foofie Sparkle, is FIVE! I can't believe it! The following is what I did five years ago today. I thought I should get it written down {for posterity, you know} before I forget anything. Here goes ...

I can't remember the morning too well ... I probably puttered around a bit. That afternoon, I squeezed in a workout ~ 2 miles of walking and 2 miles of running. Then, I probably showered. Next, I drove my in-laws to the airport ... I had contractions the entire drive, but then they tapered off. Around suppertime, Buddy and I went to a picnic at my parents' place ... hung out at church a bit {for years, but not THIS year, the city fireworks have been near our church and so our church would have some festivities going on as well} ... and finally, watched the fireworks. I was having some contractions during the fireworks ... but I had been having them for weeks ... maybe an hour or two each day. I'm not sure why ... but after the "grand finale", I told Buddy we were going to RUN for our car so we wouldn't get stuck in the traffic jam exiting the parking lot ... just in case we needed to get to the hospital. So ... we ran.

Once in the car, I called Hubby {he and Halo had stayed home} and said, "I kinda feel like I might have the baby tonight. Maybe I should go to the hospital." "No, you won't. It's still ten days early. Just come home." Obedient wife ;) that I am ... I drove home. En route, I called the nurse hotline to get a second opinion. Those nurses, it seems, always have to call you back. So ... by the time I got called back and they advised me to go to the hospital since I have fast labors ... I was nearly home. So, I continued on home to drop off Buddy.

I told Hubby they wanted me to go in and he said, "Well, Halo's sleeping. But you should be able to drive yourself." "Okay," I agreed, "The cell phone is almost dead though." Next, I went downstairs for my pillow and I don't remember what else ... "Wow, look at me!" I exclaimed, "I'm even going to bring stuff to the hospital!" {I'd never brought anything to the hospital for the previous two births. Husband had brought whatever was needed later.} My "packing", however, was very short lived because I promptly fell over and screeched, "It's time! YOU have to take me! Buddy get back in the car!"

Daddy wrapped Halo in a blanket and plopped her in the car ... and we were off. Getting to the hospital was slow and agonizing because there was so much traffic from various fireworks displays ... lights were out ... and the police were directing traffic at some intersections. I kept banging my fist against my car door ... and Buddy was copying me in the backseat ... he said he was helping me. When we arrived at the hospital, I had a little wait for the midwife to show up. Then, three pushes later, at 11:53 p.m., our little Foofie miracle was born ... with only seven minutes to spare :)

Here is how we celebrated this year ... we had a lot of fun!!!

My parents new neighbors gave the kids a ride in this little train of sorts ...


Lining up to get their sparklers lit ...
Sparkling ...

Ooohing Uncle's fireworks show :) Who was messing with Baby's hair???
Oh ... and Mom's green dish ... whatever she puts in here is sure to be yummy :) This would be her potato salad. I'll have to get the recipe from her and add it here. Generally I'm not a big potato salad eater ... but hers is delicious ... so much so that it's pretty much the only potato salad I'll eat. ♥ Thanks Mom ♥

Saturday, July 3, 2010

a little guessing game

And the winner of the cappuccino guessing contest is ... GIANNA! She guessed 150 boxes ... which was only 10 under. So yes ... I ordered 160 boxes! 160 x 6 = 960 individual packets ... enough for five months, we hope! Now, if only I could order an organic-milk-producing-cow from amazon.com ...
Gianna, I'll bring your prize to church :)

Friday, July 2, 2010

a little watermelon

Watermelon time ~ complete with quotes!

Halo: "Sometimes when I'm eating watermelon, I pretend it's sushi."
Buddy: "I could win a watermelon {eating} contest."
Foofie: "When I see inside a watermelon, it makes me happy."
Baby ... this is one heavy ball ...

It seems I had a little smudge on my lens :/ Oh well ...




Isn't watermelon beautiful??? Gotta love summer :)

Thursday, July 1, 2010

a little Foofese

A few recent Foofie~isms ...

"I want my nails painted," requested Foofie.
"Well, first they need to be clipped. They're long." I answered.
"I know. They're beaming high ... with ... glee," she agreed.
{I painted her nails ... orange.}
"Oooh ... they are gleaming with glitter and gold."

"I'm done with samwiches {aka sandwiches} for seven weeks."
"Well ... what are you hoping to eat?" I asked.
"Fruit."

After returning, a bit sweaty, from a bike ride ...
"My hair is gleaming wet."

Trying on some underwear ... "These are gulping big!"

After finding a penny on the ground ... "I found a little snick of money!"