It Was a Dark and Hairy Night

 The fair damsel and her mother, the queen were sick of being left behind while the six princes went on dangerous quests with the king into lands unknown. Bored with the monotony of trying to maintain their lustrous locks and porcelain skin day in and day out, they were desperate for some adventure to come rushing in. Well, excitement waited just around the corner...a dark and hairy beast prowled the corridors. The queen pulled an aged sword from a long forgotten trunk and told her daughter they would vanquish the beast this night, or die trying. Pretty romantic, huh?

The queen and her daughter, crept up on the beast. The queen threw the sword to her daughter while she distracted the hairy one. When the beast turned on the queen, the fair damsel tossed the sword back to her mother and together they fought in turns, jumping in for a swipe then darting out again while the other took her turn. Just when they thought all was lost, the beast becoming more ferocious than ever, they devised a plan to use their feminine wiles on him. Using their melodious voices,they lulled him into a dreamy, contented bliss while they finished him off! 

When the men returned, the women proudly displayed their conquered foe, proving once and for all...a pair of women with determined hearts can conquer the most formidable of creatures.

Or you could say...Hannah and Jen decided to cut the dog's hair with scissors. It was an interesting adventure. The boys laughed to see such a sight and the girls...probably won't be trying that again any time soon.

A Sweet Smile and a Pretty Posy

Eli was up at 6:45 a.m. and smiling at me across my pillow. He had been waiting since Wednesday night to present me with the present he made for me in cub scouts. He was tortured for four days wanting to show it to me, but he diligently watered it and kept the secret until this morning. Boy was it worth the wait! If only all mothers could have this darling face smiling up at them on their special day, wouldn't the world be a better place? It would, trust me. 

So, my Mother's Day present to all of you is a taste of my sweet life. May you all be so blessed and feel so loved!

(Eli suggested the perfect caption for this picture: "Who said kids can't plant flowers for their moms on Mother's Day?")

Kindergarten Math

Guess what I got to do today? Kindergarten homework! Gideon's assignment was to write the math problem and then I got to solve the problem. Lucky me! Unfortunately, Gid was somewhat resistant to doing any work, so we had to get a bit silly in order to motivate him. The following is the fruit of our collective labor. Do you think his teacher will appreciate it?

Random Twin Adoration Post

When Jonah and Cody were newborns sixteen years ago, the nighttime feeding was almost more than I could handle. I adored those little babies, but boy was it hard to get up every two hours (alternating with Ren who did it too) and feed them both! When they were about six weeks old, we were hanging out in the wee hours of the morning together, just my little boys and me. I had them propped up next to each other on my pillow and I was feeding each of them a bottle. I could hardly keep my eyes open, and truthfully, the sleep deprivation was really getting to me. I remember feeling teary and overwhelmed as I struggled just to keep my arms up and hold the bottles in their mouths. After a few minutes, one baby stopped eating and I pulled out the bottle, then the other. As I prepared to start the baby burp fest (and power barfing that happened with every feeding) I looked at their little faces and made a connection. They both focused right in on my face and then...it was all worth it...they smiled up at me at the same time. Oh my! Those twinkly eyes and scrunchy little faces were darling! My heart grew ten sizes that night as I learned the joys of mothering twins. They are the embodiment of Dickens' statement, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." As hard as the hard times are, the joy and fun and sweetness of the good times are also magnified.

I dropped them off at school this morning after our morning banter and as I wished them a happy day studying fungi and other random stuff, they looked at me at exactly the same moment, just before they closed their respective car doors and grinned those incredible, boyish smiles. I was transported back to that night sixteen years ago when I discovered the treasure of twins, and my heart is again doing a little happy dance. I just love those boys! 

Monkey Boy

Gid's latest obsession is climbing trees. I wholeheartedly support this because I have wanted to live in a tree since I was seven and saw The Swiss Family Robinson. I've climbed a LOT of trees since then and maybe someday I will have a tree house! I figure if I want my family to join me, they probably better be trained in monkey skills 101. So, I'm thrilled to find Gid's been climbing every tree in the neighborhood, looking to find the perfect tree. It's such an important milestone in his life, I decided to document the meticulous process. By the way, this tree was not a keeper, so the adventure continues...

P.S. Do you like his tree-climbing shoes?
P.S.S. You should also see his arms and legs, they're literally covered in the battle scars of tree bark on skin. I think he's proud of them. I know I am. :D

Valentine's Day is So Pinteresting

Pinterest came through for me in an easily accomplished way this Valentine's Day, so how could I not post it on my blog so someone else could repin this cute idea? And well, if you're the mother of six boys, good ideas for Valentine's Day, that aren't too schmaltzy of course, are sometimes hard to come by. So kudos to Pinterest and whoever came up with this cute idea that inspired me to wake up at 3:30 am to put it together (don't worry, I'm not insane, just getting old and not sleeping through the night anymore).

** And to my big stud muffin Zach, I wish you were here to give me one of your awesome hugs! Hope you enjoy the sweetness that's coming your way.

Tortoise Love

Gideon's current obsession is tortoises, so you can imagine the excitement that ensued when his fieldtrip to the Wildlife Park brought him into close contact with several different varieties. I was actually on top of things enough to take some video. Enjoy Gid's encounter with the tortoises!