ye elusive time

yes, i haven't posted in a while. most of the things on my mind these days are too tricky to try to hash out into words. or not very positive. or we're too busy having fun and living to stop and write about it. you know-life.

so let's see...what have we been up to?

:: outside time!! sandbox. water time. the pirate ship. the park. picking mulberries. it doesn't matter what it is. the day is always better when we get outside time. i'm sure the vitamin D helps a bit.


:: chickens. we got a new batch of chickens last week and so far, they're all still alive. we haven't had the best track record with remembering to lock them up at night to protect them from predators. i'm determined to keep these ladies alive, so here's hoping. the boys think they're pretty interesting-max especially likes them. he calls them the "stister chickies" (because he thinks they're all sisters).

:: garden. i had hoped to have a big garden this year since i didn't have a nursling or baby demanding my attention and energy, but that just didn't happen. now i'm glad i didn't waste my energy because the whole thing got smashed by the crazy storm we had last week. i also cleaned out our front flower bed that had gotten hideously overgrown and mulched it-such a sense of accomplishment every time i come home.


i don't understand how the hail made the rest of the plant vaporize. apparently an hour of hail will do that.

:: kiddos. in addition to my own two beautiful little beasties, i've been watching a few extra little cuties two mornings a week.


it certainly gets a little hectic at times having five very strong willed cousins under my care, but it also provides a few moments of great beauty and bonding.



mr. j man is the perfect bridge between ben and max and really adds to their imaginary play. he can be pretty shy, so it's really nice getting to know his personality and listen to his stories.


little miss is so fun to have around and it's so sweet watching my boys with her. whenever she gets upset ben is quick to jump in and cheer her up. and as much as i never would have thought i'd hear myself say this...it's kinda fun having a toddler on my hip to chat with, especially since everything she says is sooooooo adorable.


the five year old crocodile (or is she an alligator?) is definitely the most challenging, i think because she's the most hard-headed and is so independent. but man, when i can get her to laugh or when she belts out a song while swinging, it's pretty awesome.

:: not sleeping : (
max migrates into our bed almost every night. i would be fine with it, except he's a really wild sleeper and likes to turn sideways and start kicking in his sleep into my back. if he would climb in on tim's side that would also be okay, since tim sleeps like a big, furry log. but no, only on my side. most nights i don't even wake up when he comes in, so it's hard to break him of the habit. some nights, like last, i put him back in his bed after i was woken up by his flailing, only to be woken up again early this morning to more flailing. i would love to have a night vision video camera to catch all the sleepless nonsense.

max is also at the stage where he's up way late if he gets a nap, but a total mess if he doesn't get a nap. i NEED the break of his nap so then i just put the boys to bed later. unfortunately, ben really needs to go to bed earlier, otherwise, after a few days of staying up too late, he has meltdowns galore. plus, their late bedtimes cut into my precious quiet me-time.

to top off the sleep issues, tim's work schedule is always changing and he rarely gets off when he's supposed to, so he's up really, really late and then sleeps out really late. sometimes, right as i'm getting ready for bed, he comes home, and since that's our only time to chat, i stay up late, without the luxury of a later wake-up time. i, like ben, have been known to have meltdowns galore when i'm exhausted. i fantasize about going to my parents' house every night to sleep, uninterrupted, ALL NIGHT LONG!!!

oh sleep. how i miss you.

honestly, i think messed up sleep is one of the hardest things about parenting, and the thing i was least prepared for.

hope your summer (although technically it's still spring-HA!!) is off to a good start.