Babies, Brownies and Blessings

*Lest you are considering skipping this post due to the last few days of overly-dramatic reactions to life's little challenges, I assure you there is NO whining and fussing this time!* :) Last weekend we spent 48 fun-filled hours with my whole family. They made the 7-8 hour trek from Roseau, Badger, TRF area in 3 vehicles with 7 adults and 5 children under 7. I was delighted to be on the "receiving" end of their presence instead of the "driving and riding" end. The boys woke that morning asking to see their cousins and grandparents. They just couldn't get here quickly enough! "When are my friends going to be here, Mom?" "I bery miss them and can't wait to see them." Finally the caravan arrived and the fun began! It's amazing how quickly everyone settles in with the bigger kids heading downstairs, the little ones up with the family. It's starting to get easier as our kids are growing up a bit. No longer needing th...

It has been years since this has happened. It's as rare as a lunar eclipse. And I'm so excited! My WHOLE family is coming down this weekend! Well, almost whole. My nephew, Bry, won't be here but the rest of the clan will. I actually don't know the last time the entire Melby crew graced the Cities. It's been many years since my older sister has been down. And her husband has NEVER been here (to "da Cities")! I feel a bit compelled to impress since Danny's a newbie but after all these years, I still don't know what would constitute a great time down here. Oh, did I mention that there will also be 8 kids under 7 years old? So a good time is going to be a bit relative. :) We've made a few plans, though, and I think it's going to be a blast. Sledding, skiing (for my brothers), Children's Museum (for us parents and kids), Aquarium at MOA (for all of us!). Then there's the "non-events" which happen to be my favor...

It's one of those days where I'm wondering what my kids did to deserve me. Not a good kind of deserving. The "I'm going to freak out on you if you so much as think about saying *enter naughty word here* again" kind of deserving. My attitude towards them is poor and I know it. I'm wondering if by putting it in writing I will realize the pettyness of it all. 1 full cup of water spilled. 1 full cup of chocolate milk spilled. Disobedience. No naps for big kids. Little naps for BabyGirl. Not listening. Constantly asking for food. Hot sauce for naughty words. Disobedience. I said disobedience twice and that's not a typo. It's a very disobedient day around here today. This too shall pass. One day I will miss this. I know I will. But today... God needs to give me an attitude adjustment since it is blaringly apparent today that I can only change mine. All the time I've spent trying to force encourage a change in my children's att...

BabyGirl is changing her sleeping pattern. More specifically, her sleeping position. She has taken to sleeping on her tummy but there's a little glitch. Once there, she's not sure that she wants to go right to sleep. This results in a very wet, drooly sheet where she eventually lays her head to rest. We've had a few rough nights as she's adapting, too. She doesn't know how to flip back over onto her back but flips right back to belly if I offer a helping hand. I find myself monitor-watching... I must confess, I'd rather be sleeping. In attempt to discourage this behavior I have swaddled her tightly and snugged another blanket around her. As quickly as Houdini she has her arms out and she's flopped to her belly. So for now we'll just embrace the change and appreciate the value of video monitors!