Phone Photo Cache

I realize it's been awhile since I've really updated the blog.  In effort to catch up on the daily events around here I'm posting a bunch of pictures from my phone.

Here's Jillian, in her pajama set that matches her doll.  I told her I was taking a picture and she needed to smile and be cute.  All on her own she put her hand up to her face.  No idea where she got that idea, but it is cute.

The first braid I did in her hair!!  

I've actually got a shot at this mom-of-a-girl thing!  

I told her I needed to take a picture of her pretty hair.  She refused to take her hands off her face.  Being stubborn.  Apparently the hair was all I was allowed to photograph.

While walking through my room I found this.  

"Baby Tiny" laying (or is it lying?) on a throw pillow covered with Jillian's favorite blanket.  I love discovering these little pieces of their day, these little pieces of their world.

Well, I love discovering the little pieces of their play time, unless it's this.  

This puppet that looks like a dog.  

And when left on the floor looks like a dead animal out of the corner of your eye.  I walked past it like five times and was startled every time.  I finally put it back in the playroom where it belongs.

They're really into their costumes these days.  

Landon is dressed as an Astronaut.  Jillian as a dinosaur.  

Mind you it was 85 degrees that day so the costumes didn't last long.....long sleeves/pants/synthetic material make children really hot apparently.

She found the Cinderella costume one morning.  Before I was even out of bed she had put the top on and came to tell me "Look!  It's my princess shirt!  So pretty!"  She requested the headband to make her hair pretty.  Mind you a day or two later the headband was thrown over the upstairs' railing and is now hung on our chandelier....thank you big brother.

We went up to our friend's lake house for Memorial Day weekend.  

We went to church Saturday night and I had to get a picture of Jillian in the shirt that she always refuses to wear.  

Landon sporting the clown wig GiGi got him for his birthday.  

He loves dressing up with costumes and hats so much.  

I think this one is the best though!

This is her "mean face."  

So if you ever see this expression, know that it is NOT a big smile.  

You can see how you might be confused.  

To Remember #12

1. During potty training Jillian gets upset when I clean up the pee on the floor.  I was told by a friend that Jillian is "reverse psychologizing my reverse psychology."
2. The kids are finally old enough for us to attempt to let them have "sleep overs" in each others rooms.  Landon loves to cuddle but often gets annoyed at how much Jillian moves around when falling asleep.
3. Jillian's answer for many questions is "aDooga" which is her made up word.  She is also a fan of the word "donk."
4. We often let Landon lead prayers at dinners.  Lately he's been saying "Thank you for this property."  Not sure where he heard this or if he even know what it means, but it's darn cute.
5. Jillian struggles to say her "p" sound, replacing it with the "f" sound.  "Pumpkin" often sounds like a cuss word.  So now me and Josh and a few friends often say "Pumpkin bread!" instead of a cuss word.
6. Landon will eat just about any vegetable (raw) if I let him dip it in vinegar.
7. Just this week it started clicking in Landon's head that I "go to work with" other kids.  He doesn't understand how I can work with kids since kids don't work, they play.  He still seemed skeptical when I explained I help them learn things.
8. Jillian is currently preferring comfort items of Bunny Lovie, Sheep Lovie, and/or Baby Lion.  But, still has minimal preference or loyalty for one over the other.
9. Landon is still obsessed with the fact that he is now four-years-old.  He often asks if he's bigger, or taller, or looks different, because he is now four.  He also makes reference to his age at least once a day, in attempt to justify why he can do things and Jillian can't, or in attempt to explain why should be able to do something I have said "no" to.
10.  A man approached us at church a few weeks ago.  He was in his 60s.  He was an immigrant from Mexico.  Spoke very good English.  He told us that he moved to the US not for money, but for his kids to have the opportunity to get a good education.  He said he is "still fairly poor," but one daughter is a lawyer and the other is an accountant.  He said "God created everyone in His image, with His intelligence, and anyone can learn if given the opportunity at good education."  With all that's going on in debates about immigration and education and taxes and scandals, etc. I was reminded that America is GREAT among countries and in the history of the world because of the opportunities that are here, and the people willing to sacrifice to just have access to the opportunities.  And how thankful I am that somewhere down the line my ancestors immigrated from other countries for the chance at American Opportunity.

Thoughts I Frequently Have

I frequently have the following thoughts pass through my mind as I walk through my day....

1. I see a bunch of pictures on Pinterest of decorated LAUNDRY rooms.  Nice lighting, pictures, coordinated colors.  Painted walls, stenciled walls, cute signs, candles, etc.  WTH?!  Seriously?!  My laundry room is covered in dust and lint, and I try to spend as little time as possible in that tiny torture room.  Why the hell would I try to make it look a I hired an interior designer to decorate a room I equate with torture?!  I can think of a thousand (or more) things to spend money on, other than decorating a laundry room with mood lighting.
2. I hope any would-be burglar considers whether or not children, especially preschool children, live in a house he's planning to break-into.  My kids leave so many toys on the floor and furniture out of place that it's like a mine-field trying to make it to the bathroom in the dark.  Plus, I have baby/safety gates everywhere and man are those things noisy when you swing them open.  You'd never get past one without waking someone.
3. It'd be nice to have a pet around the house.  But then I'd either be cleaning a litter box out or picking up poop in plastic bags from the yard.  I'm so tired of cleaning other people's poop, I'm not inviting animal feces into the mix too.
4. It's 5'o'clock somewhere...... but unfortunately not here.
5. Frick!  Where'd I put my phone?!
6. So glad we don't have cable tv.  I don't have to watch a bunch of commercials every 5 seconds.  And my kids don't either.  And I'm in complete control of what and when my children watch on tv.  No relying on some network's odd scheduling of shows, etc.  No scrolling thru DVR and yelling about how someone erased what I saved.  Netflix has it all, and now our ROKU has a PBS station too.
7. When was the last time I brushed my teeth?
8. Do I look as frazzled and chaotic as I feel?
9. What do tribal people do with infants?  I mean, they don't have diapers.  Do the babies just pee wherever on whatever?  At what age are they "potty trained;" as in, when do the toddlers know they have to go to "the specific spot" to poop and pee?  
10. If we lived "back in the day" when most families were farmers and the kids were at home more than they were at school/away, then Landon would be sent off with Josh into the fields ALL day.  He'd be so stinkin' exhausted at the end of the day!  And learning skills and building a relationship with his dad and other adult males.  But instead, our society is now built on families being separated all day and kids learning being focused on information rather than skills.  I wonder how things would be different if we had a society structured where families were together more than they were apart during the day.