Here at chez scoville we have to hide the handle that turns on the hose. We even have to hide the pliers because the boys have figured out how to turn it on with those. We have the hose under tight lock and key. But at least once a week the children get creative and figure out a way to turn the water on. And then they make their favorite thing: mud. Mud is the bane of my existence. I feel like a very significant portion of my adult life has been spent washing mud off of clothes and children.
Ava LOVES being outside. She loves playing in the mud and "working" in the garden. And by working I mean picking everything. Our baby zucchini plants have been among the saddest fatalities. And ironically, she doesn't like to be dirty. She spends her five minutes in the dirt, and then comes running to find me. "Mama!!!! Dirt-eeeee...wash!" Throughout the day she will discover little scabs and scrapes on her legs. She immediately points them out and says "dirt-eeee! wash!".
Max is really into writing lately. It's his favorite thing to do. He used to fill pages with random letters, but now he is more interested in making words. He will grab a paper and say "mom! how do you spell________?" A few days ago I found a card that he had written the names of all the people in our family in. I couldn't help but laugh that he had included his favorite stuffed animal "burrito" as part of our family. This morning I found him cutting out little papers, writing the alphabet on them, and then taping them together. "I'm working on an art project mom...these are clues to a treasure hunt." This afternoon I asked him if he wanted to run to the store with me. He said "yes!, but let me make the list!" He grabbed a paper and started writing down (with a little help) all of the things he thought we needed. This is what he told me the list said: "maple syrup, carrots, chicken, bananas, frosting, fish".
When I picked him up from preschool earlier he was rattling off about how they are going to celebrate his birthday in May (because it's a summer birthday). "Mom, I have to bring cupcakes, ok? Because that's what you eat when it's your birthday. Do you know what a cupcake is? It's kinda like a muffin, except a cupcake has frosting and a muffin doesn't. We need to get some frosting, ok?" We'll see if his friends eat the wheat-free, dairy-free, soy-free cupcakes I send. And I probably won't mention the fact that I use duck eggs. I figure his "birthday" is the one time a year that he shouldn't have to eat something different than the other kids. It makes me sad that he never gets to eat their birthday treats.
Things have been crazy around here lately. We have been in survival mode for a few weeks. Easter snuck up on me. Luckily I bought Easter outfits last year (on clearance), or my children would have had nothing to wear yesterday. We did not dye eggs, we did not have a fancy egg hunt, or plant wheat grass for our traditional Easter centerpiece...but we had clothes. And despite not having a working fridge, we managed to throw together Easter dinner for J-P's mom and sisters.
J-P had his back surgery last week and is still in recovery mode, despite seeing gradual improvements each day. Luckily his mom came down to help, because I am quite positive I would not have survived without her. I have had a lot on my plate, and having an extra person around made things bearable.
As usual, we didn't get any perfect pictures. Mostly blurry. Ava's shoes were off, the pretty handmade flower ripped out of her hair, and the boys were wiggling and belting out "cheeeeeeese" (while making funny faces) for the duration of the shoot. I meant to put their clothes back on and take some more pictures outside when the lighting was better. But that didn't happen.
