It is the weekend

Happy Easter!

Our Grandma Jen is here, and my sanity has returned to nearly normal levels.

Turns out some Pack Rats are here too... but that is another post for another day.

We have been enjoying Easter and the single digit count down until Dad comes home (5 more days!!)

Humpty Dumpty Egg-  "Have a nice ride in the BLOOD MACHINE!"  (red dye, of course)

 "Bood Massseeeene, blood massseeeeen!" Sung in chorus for the next few minutes

Thank You to my dear friend L for the bunny masks and accompanying care package! The Lord blesses us with dear people in our lives, and I am lucky enough to still count this delight of a girl as my friend, more than 10 years later. The masks and mustaches were a HIT. 

So were the chocolate covered peanut butter pretzels, but my kids don't know that part.

This morning we had our egg hunt and basket joy. (We have the Easter Bunny come on Saturday so that Sunday can be about Jesus and his life, death, and resurrection)

"This Eater was AWESOME! But not really awesome because I wanted a toy." --Sock

This is the egg hiding in the time-out corner. Pencil thought it was hilarious to have a 'time-out egg'.

Of course we watched the grow-capsules while we ate a breakfast of chocolate and jelly beans and eggs.

Sock noticed that his blood machine egg was red on the inside! Like Chicken Pox. 

(don't ask how he knows about those. We haven't had any at our house!)

We are thankful for Easter, and candy and eggs (so many eggs...) and we hope your weekend was just as great as ours.

Some days are better...

A few days ago I decided that having our dad away STINKS.
(I know... shocker!)

It was a day when the living room and family room were coated evenly with a think layer of toys and general childhood rubble. The dishes were also staging a revolt and crowding every surface of the kitchen. (sorry, no pictures...)

 Pencil had been through FOUR complete changes of clothes for various messes. (including a mud puddle incident at the park)

Grapes and Sock had been having screaming matches. (match-S  plural!)

I had been trying to complete some paint. (Painting takes forever!)

And then, after dinner, Pencil decided to show off his new-found talent.

Gigantic Man-burps on demand. I know you know the kind. I'm not a fan, but my bigger kids think it is hilarious. And so it continues...

But that night, he was good enough to accidentally puke while man-burping.

"Ooops," He said as he walked away, "Puke bope that time."

And so, as I knelt to scrub my carpet, with fresh tears in my eyes, I decided having Dad away stinks.

ALSO

I saw that my little boy had, some time in the recent past, 

also located a marker and decorated my kitchen bins. 

That was when I decided it was time to be done.
We all just climbed into bed with a vow to try again in the morning.
Two weeks left, people. Two whole weeks.

Absence makes the heart...

Whiting Family- Reporting in. While the Dad is away the kids shall play. (And maybe even pick up?!?)

Since last we met, we have:

Helped Dad pack

Blown through some pants. (Sock had another knee on his pants go as well)

Possibly bitten off more than is chewable in the random project department....

Attended a third grade concert (my Grapes is in gray in the back row)

Dropped an egg- and then NOT cleaned a mess!

Begun our Spring Break in STYLE!

This is my friend J, walking with the kids while I drove my car to her house. How's that for nearly 90 degrees?!? Who needs spring, I ask you?
Not us, apparently. Nope- straight from snowy winter to summer it is!

 I LOVE Pencil's body in this cross the road one. SO cartoon-esqe and true to life!!  (and yes, I was totally parked in the middle of the road to get these shots)  Moms rule the world.

In other words...

Hi- welcome to the crazy house.

Watching Dad play Zelda

We're currently pretending that the Doctor is not headed to a Caribbean country in  less than 48 hours. Because He might not be. But he might be. We don't know yet.
I know! Crazy.

So instead of talking about it (because too many swears might leap from my mouth... fingers...)
I present:

Crazy.

As a side note:
Pencil had me in stitches a few nights ago. He decided that his friends all needed to schnuggle him to bed. He tried to carry all of them (I think I counted 9 or 10) into his room. He was squatted down with his arms around as many as possible, trying to stand and then walk, and it was not happening. So he dropped them and said to himself, "I can't handle this."

After I died, I carried his friends to his room so he could tuck them in. (I also grabbed my camera)

no pictures, please!

Wait! Are they all here?! Un-tuck and recount.

 Last kisses, and then goodnight!

LULLsville

We are officially in the weirdest place of our lives right now. (I don't mean Arizona... I mean time place, not place place. Milwaukee was definitely weirder as far as place goes.... but I digress)

We are waiting. Not the "what will happen?!?" kind of waiting. Just the "what can we do until it's time to DO something?" kind of waiting.

And life is good while we wait. It is slow and uneventful and I feel like it is the lull before the storm.  So I guess this is us, battening down the hatches...


...while being blanket tail mer-people.

...while sharing/fighting over the i-pad. (OH- these faces!)

...while enjoying MORE snow. really?!

...while napping near Legos. (I like the foot propped up. He woke up with his foot asleep)

...AND while celebrating a ninth anniversary of birth. Nine years?!

...while enjoying banana cream pie. Mmmmm.... Pie.....