Once More, My Kid Are Cute!

Every once in awhile, you have to stop and smell the roses. Or bask in the cuteness of your kids in my case.

They were all dressed up for something or another, I can't really remember what at this point. I just love when they are together. Maximum cuteness factor achieved!
Miss Mayhem takes many cuddle breaks from her busy schedule of tearing apart the house. This cuddle duck is one of her favs!
Miss Mayhem hates shoes, and socks, so she is often bundled up but with bare feet. We get strange looks sometimes, but I feel like saying, "what? She's not wearing gloves why should she wear socks?" (Also, don't you just love the poodle skirt?)
Kid Catastrophe came out the Kindergarten doors after school around Thanksgiving with just the word "lover" on a headband. Tired Mom had to ask about that one! She had picked out "Princess Lover" as her American Indian name, but they could only fit "lover" on the headband.

In case you can't tell, Miss Mayhem is doing that toddler things where she is upside down and looking out from between her legs. She thought it was hilarious when I started taking pics of her.

I will take a million pics of my kids hugging because kids hugging is one of my absolute favorite things in the universe! The only thing better is when they are hugging me.
Danger Boy is on a big Bakugan kick lately. He is pretty obsessed with Yugi Oh cards and Bakugan toys.

Please God, Don't Let Me Forget

The little jackets, on the little silver hooks
A cluttered pile of toys next to a shelf of children's books
Children's crayon drawn pictures scattered all around the floor
Scribbles and doodles cover the walls and back door

Children chattering excitedly in the play room corners
Toddler hugs and sweet soft snuggles on my shoulder
Panda and monkey footy pajamas padding along the hard floor
The way the baby jabbers and signs with pudgy hands for more

The television is always on and seems to be singing
I try to catch up with everything when I hear the phone ringing
I chatter and laugh about how hectic my life has become
But, please God don't let me forget, not even some

Bring all the joy of this part to my remembrance
All the clutter, all the chaos, especially all the mess
Even the jarring awake moment of the baby crying some nights
Or the sound of the older children's petty little school age fights.

I never want to forget this magical time
I want to remember more than this rhyme
I want to imagine all the detail forever more
Leave it there always, a gift to restore.

Baptism Day!

What? This is only a week late ;)

Below is a copy of the actual program from the baptism with Tired Mom's commentaries in parenthesis.

The Baptism of
(Danger Boy!)
Sunday, November 20, 2011 3:00 PM
(was awesome!)

Presiding Edwardsville Ward Bishopric
Conducting Edwardsville Ward Bishopric

Pianist Sister Renae E
(who played all the music and picked out the arrangement for the version of I am a Child of God Tired Mom, Grandma, and Kid Catastrophe sang)

Chorister Sister Beth P (who also made some wonderful white chocolate and macadamia nut cookies we all enjoyed after the baptism!)

Opening Song: “Praise to the Man” Hymn# 27 (song chosen by Danger Boy as one of his favorites!)

Invocation Sister (Kid Catastrophe)

Talk about Baptism Sister (Granny)
(Granny talked about her baptism and how she came to find the church. It was funny because the person who Grandpa Tim's sister worked with, who sent the missionaries to our door, was sitting right in the audience!)

Talk about the Holy Ghost Sister (Grandma)
(This was a very Danger Boy oriented talk about the most wonderful gift of all. DB even got a red bow from Grandma to remember the most special gift of all)


Special Musical Number...”I am a Child of God”
Sisters (Grandma, Tired Mom & Kid Catastrophe). Accompanied by Sister Renae (who also picked out the beautiful version of the song for us! It was a special song for Danger Boy, that he picked out. I'm not sure who planted the seed that Tired Mom should sing, but Danger Boy seemed pretty intent on it. Tired Mom was so glad when Grandma wanted to join in the singing!)

Baptismal Ordinance Brother (Paranoid Dad)
(Paranoid Dad performed the baptism, while a group of children gathered around the top of the baptismal fount. Tired Mom sat back and watched Danger Boy getting baptized in the big mirror put there for that purpose. It was very special and wonderful to watch and be take a part in this happy occasion.)


Video presentation on baptism
(which Tired Mom missed because she was changing the poopy diaper of Miss Mayhem. Incidentally Miss Mayhem walked around the people sitting for the whole service, but she was very quiet about it and caused very little actual mayhem).

Primary Welcome Sister Laura B
(who also helped by holding Miss Mayhem on several occasions!)

Welcome to the Ward
Edwardsville Ward Bishopric

Closing Song: “I Stand All Amazed” Hymn# 193
(Tired Mom actually picked this song because it seems to show up in Tired Mom's family for special occasions, and it deserved another showing!)

Benediction Brother (Grandpa) (who was also a witness to the baptism).

I leaned over and told Danger Boy, "This is one of the happiest days of my life!" and it was.

Paranoid Dad & Kid Catastrophe's Much Belated Pumpkin Farm Trip

Earlier in October, Paranoid Dad dutifully switched out a day off on 10/31 to take a trip w/dear Kid Catastrophe to Rhodes Family Farm for the class field trip.

We were teamed up with S. A good sport and good pal for KC.


There was potato sack slide. (Potato sack optional.)


Sophisticated height determining apparatus.


Hay bales to climb on.


Water barrels made into a train.


101 uses for old farm equipment!


Pumps, troughs and plastic ducks!

There were animals!

"Don't feed the donkey!" we were told. Whatever you do, "Don't feed the donkey!"

Chickens!


Piggies!

Silliness!


Educational facts about pumpkins!


And of course: PUMPKINS!

Fun, fun for all!

Rhodes Family Farm with a Worden address, but I think that's just the closest zip code. Really fun, but you would never be found if you got on their bad side. ;)

Paranoid Dad signing off for another 6 mos.

My Bright Sunshiney Days

Some of my favorite pictures are of the kids when they are outside playing. The kids would go to the park everyday after school if I let them, but usually it is just 1-2 days a week even when it is really nice. Between Paranoid Dad teaching the kids martial arts once a week, Tired Mom teaching the kids swimming once a week, and going to see Granny once a week, we are pretty busy during the week as it is!

These pictures were taken a week ago because we were having a nice summery fall there for awhile ;)
I love how the kids can all play together and still enjoy the park in so many ways as well. Kid Catastrophe and Danger Boy are only about 5 lbs apart in weight right now so they are at a good age to do the seesaw type rides together.
I love the way sunshine reflects off the kid's hair, and how they smile when they run.
I love how Kid Catastrophe was much more willing to smile for the camera than Danger Boy.
I love how they ask me to push the merry go round, and still need me to push them on the swings.
I love how both older kids were fighting over who got to push Miss Mayhem on the baby swing.
I love watching Sorsha toddle around the park exploring every weird thing she can possibly find. She always tries to escape when she's outside which is funny since I can't leave the room without her crying when we are inside the house.And who can resist this ruffle bottom?

Super Fun Halloween!

Whew! Anyone else a little glad Halloween is over? We had so much fun, but we were so busy for three days. We had a small Halloween Parade go in front of our house Thursday, we did the church Trunk or Treat and chili supper Saturday, went Trick or Treating Sunday, and then went to the BIG Halloween Parade on Monday night.

Getting three kids dressed up four times was a chore in itself!
Danger Boy chose to be a dragon, and Kid Catastrophe chose to be Princess Rapunzel (after she got her hair cut short in Tangled).
Miss Mayhem was Darth Vader (and Tired Mom dressed like Princess Leia on Hoth, the ice planet to match her).
For trick or treating Sunday night, Danger Boy insisted Miss Mayhem be a dinosaur like him (he took off the dragon's wings to be dinosaur). Miss Mayhem kept trying to pull the hood off, so the Darth Vader costume went back on for the Halloween Parade. All in all, it was a crazy but fun time with the Super Kids!
Trick or Treating Sunday

The BIG Halloween Parade on Monday night with good friends!