Sometimes I Wonder....

About these kids of mine.





They really are intelligent.
I promise.

I think.


But, they do have their moments.

Moments that leave me scratching my head.

And, wondering whose genes these are?

Because, I never cooked with my goggles on!

What you've all been waiting for...

No, we haven't finished the kitchen yet.

No, we aren't adopting again.......yet.

But, after much paint flingin'....

Un-Extreme Home Makeover: Phase III, Part 2

Whew!

Even the boys got roped into helping!

They were thrilled with this opportunity.
Can't you just see it on their faces.

We finished the girls room and furniture!
Then the boys ran down to get the bunk beds....some assembly required.
Of course.




Claire supervised!

'Cause she was the only one that could read the directions, you know!

And, I pretty much let the kids put the beds together.

That's safe, right?

Right?

RIGHT?

RIGHT?

Say right!

Because, they totally did put it together themselves!

Awwww, isn't that sweet looking!

It's very fresh looking and....ummmm, colorful!

But, then you all know that Isabel is a colorful kinda girl.

Remember Our Own Personal Rainbow? Remember?

Yeah. Colorful.

So

We have

a finished project!

Well.....
(insert sound of screeching halt)

almost.

Daddy has spent the last two weekends

building a beautiful bookcase,

on which most of this junk pile will be organized.

One day I will have a finished project in this house.

One day.

Pretending!

Yesterday, I went into Claire's room to get her out of bed. She had slept, for the first time, in her new "big girl bunk bed". On the bottom, of course! I was worried that she might fall out, but we are not able to put her toddler rails on this bed, because it would just make it too hard to get her in and out. So, we put her to bed and hoped for the best. She did not fall out! When I went to get her in the morning, I made a big deal about what a big girl she was and how she stayed in her bed. She lapped up the praise! A few minutes later, while I cathed her and changed her diaper, I make the comment that if she would learn to go potty* now, she would be a real big girl.

Claire contemplated this. Then she looked right at me and said, "I just want to be a pretend big girl!"

Alrighty then!

*By going potty, I don't mean tinkle. We know that she can not do that and has no control over it. However, there is evidence that she does know when she needs to poo and it is possible that she could be potty trained for that. But, she is reluctant because she has fear of the potty. I haven't pushed it yet.

Painting and Saying Goodbye.

Yeah, this would be:

Un-Extreme Home Makeover:

Phase III Part 1

**sigh**

I am perfectly and painfully aware that Phase II is not yet complete.

But, there were teenagers, and teenager = help. However, I learned a very important lesson here..... teenager is not synonymous with painter.

As a matter of fact, teenagers+paint+ladder=mess! And, teenagers+8 year old+3year old+paint= bigger mess! Please do not attempt this at home folks!

Unless you have anti-anxiety medication at your disposal.

I am blissfully, one of the those few people, it seems, in this world that just don't know how to sweat the small stuff. Some of you don't classify painting a bedroom "small stuff". I do. I know, I know. I need a different medication at my disposal. Obviously. Haven't you read my summer posts? Don't you know what goes on around here?

Isabel chose an aqua color from her new comforter sets, so two wall are aqua.

Claire needed pink for her two walls!

Boy, that turned out to be a loud combination!

They were four of the cutest painters to ever wield a paint brush! And, they got the job done...quickly, I might add. Good thing I'm not a perfectionist. **sigh** Poor Brianna is though, and she had a rough time, what with all the other "painters" painting away with abandon. Let's just say that she spent more time going behind them....trying to ummmm, revise several areas. Mostly the places where the "Pink Frenzy" met "Rapids". Or, where either color met trim.....or ceiling. Ahem. Let's just admit that Darling Daughter and Isabel paint with a flourish and leave it at that! Okay? And, Brianna. Well, she got her mother's genes. She needed a xanax that day. And I found it strangely fascinating to watch her spiral into her perfectionist hysteria! That doesn't make me a bad Aunt, does it?

Does it?

I enjoyed the whole ordeal. Ordeal isn't always a bad word, you know.

Best of all, they had fun, Isabel has great memories of getting to paint her own room with the coolest teenagers in town, and I got photos of the experience!

Sadly, the next day, we had to say goodbye to our teenage invasion. They heading back to their homes and the families that I know missed them. After all, it is illegal to keep kids that aren't your own for longer than their families let you. **sigh**

Claire has a new bestest friend

Goodbye, girls. It was fun. **sniff sniff**

Come back soon!

Sometimes It's The Little Things...

You know, I took the time and spent the energy to make this week fun for all. I feel that I succeeded, so I have no regrets. But, it cracks me up that the things that seemed to thrill the teenagers most were....ummmm, the things that make the least sense! The little things. Like finding out that I had a contraption in my sunroom that I use to dangle unruly children upside down!

No, seriously.


See? And, guess who got to be first!

Actually, this is an inverter. It was bought to help my compressed disks....and it does, when I find the time to use it. Okay, name a mother of five, that homeschools AND has time to dangle by their ankles upside down several times a day!!! But, I promise that as soon as this last group of campers leaves for the summer I am going to carve out time for the treadmill and the inverter. If for no other reason than so I can say I use them and therefore they were not a waste of money. Like say, hubby's bowflex knock-off or the punching bag that hung in the garage for years! HA!

For some strange reason, the act of hanging upside down really tickled this kid!

Guess what else entertained DD?

The fact that our air conditioner broke down one evening and we realized this around 9pm! This fact alone did not do it for her. It was the idea that we might walk across the street and sleep with Meme and Papa, Paul's parents! That inspired these two teen girls to jump up and shout "adventure" and then pack their bags, grab their pillows and run across the street! HELLO? Houston, we have a problem here. Air Conditioner broken=Adventure??? Who knew!

Of course the fact that Meme has cola in her house fired them up beyond belief and they proceeded to drown themselves in high fructose corn syrup!

And, stayed up all night playing cards and making shadow puppets that ate my child's face in her sleep.... during their caffeine and sugar induced stupor!! Yes, ate my child's face. Thankfully, she was blissfully unaware of said trauma, as she did not ingest chemically enhanced drinks and was able to sleep like a baby.

As was Claire, who opted to sleep with Meme and Papa rather than take a spot on the floor with many of the other kiddos!

Like Christian, who drew the straw to sleep on the floor with Parker, while Noah, got the couch!

Isabel got a smaller sofa in the sunroom with Brianna and Darling Daughter. Their seniority scored them an air mattress!

And Claire chose to sleep with her blanket over her face...

because, this is a little bit scary y'all!