Left to Their Own Devices….

Mama: Alright, girls, I’m going to change Wesley’s diaper. You can play outside until I come back and then it’s naptime, okay?

Kyla: Okay, Mama.

Piper: ‘Kay.

Wesley thinks: Really?! Mama believes them?

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Five minutes later, I am back. I open up the door leading into the garage and spy first this shoe.

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Another step reveals the other shoe, one pair of socks, shirts,…and a diaper?

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Wait, there’s more clothes! But where are the girls?

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Uh, oh, I spy one!

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And another….

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Hi, my children.

(Hi, our mother!")

I Thought I Married a Soccer Guy

Dwayne’s taking better to having a son than he thought. The secret is UFC, a mixed martial arts “sport” he has gotten into these last few years. (Note to brides-t0-be: there was no hint of this great interest before marriage or even the first few years of wedded bliss.)

Dwayne is excited to share this interest with Wesley and decided, after dinner, that Wesley was just the right age to learn a few moves.

Fighting in this corner, undefeated, is Wes! Over here is the underdog, Classic Pooh.

Wesley: Uh, Dad, I think I am going to be sick. Nope, it’s just spit up. Sorry, I just ate.

Dwayne: Okay, Son, start by getting control of Pooh's back, like this.

Dwayne: Now go for a rear naked choke. That’s it, my boy!

Dwayne: If he slips out, use your legs to control his movement, roll him over into a leg bar and pull back...

Dwayne: ... and he taps!

Wesley: Hey, Mom, is this lesson over yet?

Wesley: Pooh, will you forgive me? I didn’t mean to hurt you. It was my dad, you see…

Wesley: Zzzzzz.

A Sunny Afternoon…

…means bubbles, hide-n-seek (with and without the cat), playing chase (again, with and without the cat), and time in the sandbox (hopefully without the cat).

The End.
(Do you like how Kyla pairs her best “Sunday” coat with her stained sweats?)

How We Take Care of of Baby Brother

Wesley, if I might brag, falls asleep before 9 every night and wakes up about 9:30 in the morning, with only one feeding in the wee hours. That’s when we bring him back to bed with us and where Kyla likes to find him after she’s had her breakfast. Wesley seems pretty happy with his morning cuddle.

Piper watched Wesley for me while I started a load of laundry. When I returned, she had gotten out a Winnie the Pooh book to read to him. She can’t read yet and he doesn’t listen yet—it’s providence!

PS: Why do we even have that cat?!?

I did forget that Smokey has been useful at least once during this past year. Just a few months ago, she brought a grandaddy-of-them-all size mole into our garage, dead. She’s a good hunter, so we give her credit for killing it herself, which swells Dwayne’s heart with pride. The only time the kids have heard us say the word “hate” has been in reference to Dwayne’s feeling towards moles and molehills in his yard. However, the fact Smokey killed one doesn’t help us too much as we pay The Mole Guy either 1) a mere pittance (Dwayne) or 2) and exorbitant amount (Denise) to kill moles for us.

Mother’s Day Comes Early

The only thing I really want for Mother’s Day is our annual portrait session.  What I would really, really like is all the poses I want (and the correct layout and size) without the trouble of getting all the kids to the studio fairly clean, fed, and happy.  Ha! 

Today was more hectic that the previous 3 years, with Wesley peeing during his naked shots, Kyla and Piper choosing that moment to decide they were potty trained and both had to go RIGHT NOW, well, as soon as they dropped, picked up, dropped again, then ate another goldfish cracker. But those are not the moments recorded for posterity. Instead, I present to you our finest, at their best...Kyla, Piper, and Wesley. ( To see the slide show, just double-click on the first picture, and it will go from there.)

The best part about getting this done early? I can now enjoy Mother’s Day.

Why do we even have that cat?!?

[A Love Letter to my husband]

Dear Dwayne,

It is increasingly clear to me why you are the breadwinner in this family.  It’s not just because you make 3 times what I used to make as a teacher or you are really enjoy your job.  No.  We both know it’s so you can leave the house for a long stretch everyday and not deal with the dead rodent the cat brought in and tore to pieces underneath the slide today.   You go to work so that you don’t have to hear Kyla come up the stairs and tell you matter-of-factly that there’s “something dead” downstairs again while you are settling a crying infant.  You bring home enormous bonuses and benefits so that you don’t have to clean up the intestines of---was that a chipmunk??—that are stuck to the beige carpet.  Do you know what happens when the intestines stick to the carpet?  Well, let’s just say it gets very messy and the pet soiling cleaner must be brought out.  And so must the vacuum to clean up all the hair tufts strewn around the basement. 

Of course you miss me muttering about our bad cat and Kyla saying, “That’s right.  Bad cat.  We should call him Bad Cat.  That’s his new name.  Bad Cat.”  She’s a sympathetic listener, that one.

Anyway, I just wanted you to know that I understand and that I love you.  At least as much as you love me.

Your wife,

Denise

To the Zoo!

Grandma and Grandpa K took the girls for a few days and made a day trip to Pt. Defiance Zoo. The girls had a great time and had been asking for such an adventure for weeks now. The weather was good, the graham crackers were excellent, the animals were out….and Piper zonked. Kyla played in the kid area while Piper took an extra long nap in the stroller.

Celebrate!

Coco was born exactly two months after Piper, so she turned two last week. That and her dedication called for a celebration! It was so fun—many from the old Poiema crowd gathered, most with their own kids now. The backyard was just the right size for pint-size play. Thanks, Coco, for the fun!

April Showers

Wesley

 

Wesley will be 3 months old tomorrow.  He’s smiling a lot, and more importantly, sleeping great.  This little genius started rolling over before he was 10 weeks old!  Right now, he is sleeping on my lap with his little bottom up in the air.  Mama is so in love.

 

Stain Removal: A User’s Guide

I’ve never had OxyClean fail me before, but when a particular child possessed by an evil spirit (could there be another explanation?) used a dry erase marker on my dining room chairs that I had re-upholstered myself, my best tricks failed to remove the stains. Finally, I “Binged” the problem (thank you Microsoft, and my apologies to Google), and found other frustrated mothers had decent luck with Murphy’s oil soap and an old toothbrush. Eventually, most stains came out or faded enough so that only I notice. And I only had to spend about an hour and half working on it.

This incident begs the questions:

1. How did I find 90 minutes to work on this?
2. How can one find a good exorcist?

Hail and Happiness

Yesterday, we woke up to hail and it didn’t melt until afternoon. We didn’t have snow at all this winter, and we get hail in April. At least it didn’t harm any of the flowers that started to bloom early because of the unseasonably warm weather we had before this!

But today erased the memory of the previous cold. First we woke up and the girls wanted to be in the crib with Wesley.

Later, since it was spring break, I took the kids down to the school yard to play. Kyla rode her scooter all the way there except the steepest hill. Piper is still mama-powered, instead of foot-powered, on the scooter.

Kyla likes to play pretend basketball—she scores every time!