Where'd that binky go?!?!

How many times have I hunted desperately for 1 of the several binks that we have, only to come up empty handed.  Later when I'm not looking I will inevitably come up with 3or 4. So, awhile back I decided that every time I happened upon a binky in one of their many sneaky hiding spots, I would take a picture. Please excuse my strangeness. Just trying to find some amusement in my irritations. :)

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How'd you fare?  Did you find them all? :) Sometimes its just all about the angle, and you can't change that in a photo. However, you do have the advantage of knowing it is in the picture somewhere. :)
Enjoy! :)

 P.S. No, I am not ashamed of these pictures. Yes, my house is clean sometimes. Usually its spotless for the last 10 minutes before company walks through the door. :D  If you are one of those people whose house is always spotless, I do appologize if it bothers you that my priorities may differ from yours. :)  Here's a photo of the SAME house when we got the carpets cleaned, just to clear your mind. :P
 

School and Breaks + A Birthday

Our Miss Kate has had the experience of going to first grade this year.  She also got glasses in December, much to her great excitement. She is only required to wear them for school and generally doesn't wear them around the house, in spite of her initial excitement.  :)

She asked me to curl her hair with sponge rollers.

It lasted through the following day.

 This girl loves to write and I often find her thoughts and notes lying around on various writing surfaces. Even a bit of venting of upset feelings have been found on scrap papers (as well as encouraging or otherwise notes on her Brother's school papers). I discovered this gem and had to document since it is erasable. :D

 Reading is not her favorite because she cannot yet read 200 words per minute. (she is getting closer)  :D She sets the bar high for herself and sometimes gets discouraged at how long it takes for her to get there.

 Getting in her reading requirements on a sick day while mom does laundry .

 And then its his turn. He is reading over my shoulder as we speak, correcting my mistakes. :)

Kate loves to be the teacher and begs the kids to play school. I loved this note I found on the fridge after a school session.

The "teacher" teaching Jax how to write.

On MLK day we had a warmish and beautiful sunny day, which is something that has been much more rare this winter than usual.  With Kate home from school we decided to take advantage of the sunshine and go for a walk and stop in at the park. Our outdoor experiences have been very minimal this winter with all the sickness and such.

 This " Cat About Town" Kitty scurried right over to the park for a bit of excitment when we showed up. :D  It lives on the edge of the park and is VERY friendly and fun to watch.

 It ran straight over and jumped into the bottom basket of our Bob Stroller.

 Then it proceeded to show us how to use the playground equipment... much to the delight of the kiddos.

When it got bored it played a game of chasing its own shadow before wandering off. So funny to watch.

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This should have been in the last post but its here instead.

Way back in the month of December, this kiddo turned 1! I know I skipped all the other kids Birthdays this year and they are somewhere in an unfinished post, but for now I will just squeeze Jax in here. After all, it was quite a simple affair.  Various ones were sick and we barely managed to squeeze in a little cake. Presents didn't happen. :D  He's a 4th child. We don't need anymore toys. He didn't care. :D

 He DID enjoy the cake!  Maybe a bit too much! :D And then he collapsed over in a heap of exhaustion.

  He loves to play peekaboo or hide n seek games.

 Eats people food in spite of the fact that he barely has 4 teeth. However 2 more have broke through in the past week and there are 6 fiery red spots and 4 bulging molars.  That also = one rather cranky toddler. :)

 He is still fine tuning his walking skills, but it is happening. :)

He does his best to keep up with his siblings and they are learning how to be patient and include him when they can. :) His jabber right now probably more interesting than conversation and his actual words are few. Dah Dah Dah= Daddy.  Nah Nah Nah= no no.  Gaw gaw gaw = go go go. He has attempted a few all-dones after meals accompanied with the sign but it sounds more like ah-dah. Mostly he uses noise instead of words though. Loud screechy noise.  We are working on that. :D