Family Alive

You can tell from my most recent blogs that I’m a bit pensive, with a lot of deep thoughts on my heart.  So many things on my "to do" list lately, and most never seem to get crossed off.  I’ve got loads of things I want to post for sale on Ebay, tons of outgrown clothes in both Analise and Josiah’s dressers and closets, many of which I’d like to put for sale at the upcoming consignment sale, bookshelves to put in order, and my kitchen needs a deep clean.  

I’m really struggling with being "productive" lately, but on the other hand, I’m trying to remember how "productive" spending good time with my kids really is.  What’s really important?  The laundry will get folded eventually, but each day that passes, my little ones are one day older.  Ebay is always there, but Analise is not going to be asking me to read books forever, and before I know it, my giggly little boy will be too busy for pushing trains and cars down the hallway.  

Analise’s first day of preschool this week.

I’ve had a lot of other things I wanted to blog, lighter things and photos, but the busy moments of life around here keep me from getting the uninterrupted hour I need.  Every time I turn around there’s a mess to be cleaned up, a brewing brother-sister battle to intercede with, or a snack to get.  Here’s some of the highlights from this week…

My little messy man.

Yesterday I set up the wading pool on the backporch with the Little Tykes slide in it for some added fun.  I even set up the baby gate so they couldn’t leave the porch.  I set myself up right inside the door and stole some moments to myself, trying my hand a making bows for Analise’s hair (I made 4!  They’re cute!).  Analise and Josiah entertained themselves while I watched them out of the corner of my eye for nearly an hour.  Analise even noticed my tomato plants needed watering… and I didn’t notice her "helping" until she’d put the 5th or 6th bucket on them!  Josiah played in the dirt a little, but I don’t think he ate too much.  But the fun had to end when Analise poured a container of sunflower bird seed into the pool.  It looked like an oil spill.  They were most unhappy to have the fun ended so abruptly, but we’ll try it again tomorrow.  And I can look forward to sunflowers all around my porch next year.

Josiah’s learned to climb up on the step stool in my kitchen, and he wants whatever is on the counter or kitchen table.  As I was doing dishes Tuesday, I didn’t notice him climb up to the kitchen table and start splashing in my cup of cold coffee.  I found him covered in milky, sugary coffee, with a pool at his feet, and coffee splashed everywhere.  I gated him in the den and cleaned things up.  This was the first time I’ve used the baby gate, and I thought how nice it was to have him confined in a pretty-childproof  area.  He played happily, and I went back to my dishes.  Then I heard a noise that didn’t sound like it came from the den.  Sure enough, the door to the hallway was open, and Josiah was down the hall in Analise’s room.  Talk about a false sense of security!  We’ve now got to slide his heavy little chair over in front of the door to keep him from prying it open.  

We *HAVE* had 2 excellent nights of sleep in a row, though, and I’m hoping for another one tonight. We’re hosting Brian’s cycling team for dinner tomorrow evening, so I’ve got a lot of little things to do to get ready.  Notably, stop stressing out that my house isn’t going to be perfect, and trust that people don’t mind the "lived-in-with-kids" look.  It’s the atmosphere that counts, anyway, right?  Saturday is a big hometown cycling race here in Birmingham, and we’ve got a big crowd of friends that are coming to cheering with me.  I’m really looking forward to it, and Brian’s feeling good and hoping for a great result.  Sunday, we’re going to early church and then heading to Atlanta for an afternoon bike race.  Just another quiet weekend around here!

A few more glimpses of the busybodies…

Saturday, Analise and I made muffins (notice hers with sprinkles, below),
and while they were baking, I let her "bake" with a bowl of flour, sugar,
water, sprinkles and raisins.  She told me she made "pitcher of milk soup".  Yum! 
She had so much fun!  Our muffins were tasty, too, Golden Chocolate Chip Muffins from King Arthur Flour.

One of Analise’s favorite pre-bedtime activities is playing with a new game of ours, Blokus. 
Brian and I have probably only played it the real way twice since we got it this summer,
but Analise loves to sit down with us and create pretty geometric designs.  

The other evening, she wanted to build a church for her "guys".  So we built one, and she set them all up to sing. 
Notice Leo the Little Einstein leading the group with his baton in the air.

Lastly, a couple weeks ago, we went to a bouncy-play place called Pump It Up with Analise’s best friend, Jacob. 
They bounced all over, but spent most of their time on the huge slide.

Josiah enjoyed bouncing, but he got all bounced-out really quick!