My Camera's Last Moments

It's ironic that those last few moments of my camera's life captured the face of it's killer. Yes... only moments after the following adorable video clip, my camera was finally put out of it's suffering. We were eating dinner when we heard the loud thumping sounds and realized that Owen had snuck down from his highchair and was happily playing some form of raquetball with my camera. Actually...the wall has seen better days too...but unfortunately I cannot show you in pictures neither the banged up wall, or what is left of my camera. I didn't realize cameras could bend into those shapes! I'm guessing Best Buy will not consider this covered by warranty...(sigh)...

Anyway, here are a few of my cameras last glorious moments filming the very one who would so unexpectedly turn violent... I don't know...maybe I had finally crossed the line by filming such a private moment for him?

It was a Date that will live in Infamy...

(...in more infamous ways than I had anticipated. )

For friday Dec. 7th Pearl Harbor Day, I had a great homeschool day planned. (yes, this is a very late post due to technichal difficulties.) I really wanted to recognize and remember Pearl Harbor Day as a very significant day in American history so I had planned to read to the kids about the history of it, Roosevelt's famous quote, watch some of the very well done battle scenes in the recent Pearl Harbor movie, and whatever else I could fit in. I had a big day planned.
I awoke and just couldn't resist running out back to snap a photo of these beautiful deer munching our rose bushes in the glorious morning sunrise. Apparently my two year old Owen couldn't resist locking his barefoot mother outside to scamper around in her pajamas on the icy ground trying to get back in. But fortunately...
...the four year old Essie had awoken to rescue me. Brian had been gone all week in Virginia on business and at this point I was hanging on by a thread, missing him, wanting to get in a good day of school and have the house looking and smelling very nice for him when he got home. First there was getting locked out, then there was that clogged toilet flooding... but fortunately for me again...
The little man of the house had a few good tricks up his sleeves. ;) Well...then there was this... and it was cute and funny with the sugar...but no, not today...
So why do I stand around taking pictures of these catastrophes, you ask? Well, it is a good way to let the frustration deflate and to see the future humor in what feels overwhelming at the time.
There was no cute name for it today...only messes...and messed up schedules...
Why do I even pretend to follow the Super Baby food diet. I don't. (said in Eeyore voice)
Sigh...more baths...more baths...always...baths...

And laundry...I had almost managed to have it all done by the time he got home...hmmm...I'm remembering Brian's last business trip and remembering this could be worse. No one is in the ER... yet...
RASCAL BABIES!!!!
I was in a hurry... I gave her an extra dose of water for the mischief...
But she LOOOOOOVES WATER as much as sugar and cocoa mix!

Mmmmmmm....
Is that a little look of remorse watching Gemma deal with the aftermath?
(sigh)...sometimes my Gemma makes Cinderella herself seem dowdy This was the real trouble maker so I made her take over the job instead of Gemma. Too bad it was such a fun punishment...
So at this point, dinner is VERY late, there have been NUMEROUS unanticipated interruptions throughout the day, hardly any schoolwork has been done, there is MORE laundry instead of less, the smells and appearance throughout the house (not to mention Mommy!) are not what I imagined my hard working husband coming home to... I am at this point doing mere "damage control".....when... I smell smoke. I run downstairs and the most acrid, cancerous smelling smoke you can imagine is billowing out of my kitchen. Essie... (yes, Essie again...) has decided to nuke some almonds in a plastic bowl in the microwave (none of which, btw, she is ever allowed to do. Not the microwave, not the almonds, not the plastic bowl....). The plastic bowl is now melting and full of blackened almonds. I stop the microwave, rush the kids outside out of the terrible fumes and run back in to get the smoking microwave mess out of my house.

How could one little bowl of nuts make such a big mess?

Long story short, we ended up having to open up every door and window, leave for several hours because of the smell, and get whoppers for dinner. I knew by the smell of my sweater that we had our work cut out for us. We came home, wiped down walls, cupboards, lit candles, made brownies and anything else we could do to get rid of the smell. The microwave was too far gone to salvage. (sigh)

Brian's flight was delayed (which actually helped) and we somehow managed to have clean kids (and wife), a beautiful house, a little time to watch the battle scenes in Pearl Harbor and remember with thankfulness all the brave men who died serving our country are still doing so.

By the sheer miraculous mercies of God, by the time Brian got home, somehow there were brownies right out of the oven and a very happy homecoming (with only the faintest smell of burnt plastic).

The Real McSteamy...
This is my McSteamy...saturday morning, making lattes for all his little ladies...snow falling in the background. ...... Boy does he ever steam my milk.

Gingerbread Knocked Me Out Too...

I have a confession to make. I had been dreading this gingerbread thing. It's not that I don't like these warm fuzzy seasonal rights of passages... but well, in all honesty, for me it is so very sanctifying whenever I include my little ones in the cooking. I'm not one of those gals who just love to cook...but someone's gotta. Also, I do currently have a two year old son. Generally, (yes, this is a generalization), but generally when you put buckets of candy in front of two year old boys, they want to grab fist fulls of it and eat it as fast as they can. All of it. I don't blame him. It is very difficult to learn the restraint to decorate with something you so desperately want to digest. These are the finished products here, and six kids way too hopped up on sugar to seriously pose for a picture. Owen is yes, crying because as I explained, he wants to devour the house and we're not letting him. Essie...cracks me up. Her sense of humor is something only those few people enjoying this song can fully appreciate. (Yeah, you know who you are...you're entranced by her face...and the bizarre boxing man turned singer in the background.)Yeah, I hit pay dirt when I searched "gingerbread" for a cute christmas song, and I think the last time I was truly this fascinated with a song was when my brother introduced me to Wayne and Liz. (Notice Owen struggling with the depth of his depravity below...)If he can't have the house he'll steal Silas' cookie... My day started off with a bang when Owen got up for his usual 5 AM banana. Argghghgh...and I hadn't exactly gotten to bed at a decent hour.
Oh, but my children had! And they all woke up with PLENTY OF ENERGY!

Gemma giving her babies "Sleigh Rides" in the house...

But the day was much improving by the time Gemma made these amazing cookies...And brought them to me at my desk.This is Daddy cheering Essie up on the phone after a bit of a traumatic bath. (Yes, contrary to popular opinion, we Kirkmans do occasionally bathe.)
I could've been upset at this desecration of the Disneyland souvenir...but then I realized I should be proud. She wrote her name all by herself! And now her hat won't get mixed up with Hannah's ANYMORE! Rascal. Look at that face... ("I've got evwything under contwol, Mom")
These were the sweet, hair combed, obedient children...before the sugar was pumping through their veins.She really was actually drooling.Juliet trying to get a piece of the action...

Owen up from his nap and doing some decorating...The experts at work...
The experts being interrupted by a sugary momma...

Letting them take a few licks before the gingerbread houses get put high up on the book shelf for display...when we realize....wait...where? Where is the baby?!?!? Kids!!! Find the baby!!!

(Doh. They found me!)
Under the table, feasting on her first candy cane. (Also not in the Super Baby Food diet). Ah well. What? You'd look like this too if Gingerbread knocked you out...with intent to kill. ???

SOME VERY IMPORTANT FIRSTS...

Owen makes Dinner!

Gemma gets her own "teenager soap"! (sniffle, sniffle..my baby...)

And....

DRUM ROLL...

Drooliet meet Rudolph!!!

WHEN MOTHER READS ALOUD...

When Mother reads aloud, the past
Seems real as every day;
I hear the tramp of armies vast,
I see the spears and lances cast,
I join the trilling fray;
Brave knigts and ladies fair and proud
I meet when Mother reads aloud.
When Mother reads aloud, far lands
Seem very near and true;
I cross the desert's gleaming sands,
Or hunt the jungle's prowling bands,
Or sail the ocean blue.
Far heights, whose peaks the cold mists shroud,
I scale, when Mother reads aloud.
When Mother reads aloud, I long
For noble deeds to do--
To help the right, redress the wrong;
It seems so easy to be strong,
So simple to be true.
Oh, thick and fast the visions crowd
My eyes, when Mother reads aloud.

My Book of Poetry didn't say who wrote that, but I came across it recently and loved it. I like this picture because that's my own Momma peeking over my shoulder.My little lunch cook has been testing her work! Unfortunately the homemade loin cloth didn't make him any more coordinated in the heelies. My little Essie is planning out the day
Thinking was particularly painful for my son today.He loves geography so much he asked for it for Christmas! You can't really see it but he said he made a teeny tiny line for the Strait of Magellan.

Sugar Plum Babies & Snowy Fun

Sugar Plum Babies...

You've never really known sticky until you've had two babies rolling around your kitchen in sugar and drool for un-known lengths of time.

He was actually spooning it onto her head. She was like a frosty little fairy!
She totally knew this was not an authorized food. The reason I discovered them was because the smacking sounds coming out of the kitchen were so noisy.

And sometimes I think they make messes because the baths are equally as fun as the messes themselves!

SHEER MISCHIEF!!!Snuggling with big sisters after baths and new clean jammies. (Owen's crashing down from Sugar Mountain)Snowy Winter Days & One Crappy Camera!

Yeah, I realize none of my pictures are in focus anymore. My camera is pretty much toast. It won't focus anymore and only holds a charge for approximately 8 or so pictures... I'm struggling to come to terms with it.Scrounging up snow clothes for the growing kids always proves to be exciting.Decorating the Christmas Tree...

These fake trees are extremely underrated. We got that sucker up in just minutes...stood back and said "yup, it looks straight!" We looked at each other like ...Why did we not do that sooner?Somewhere along the line, I was totally and completely seduced by this kid. I usually tend to despise little cartoon character, trendy-ish, over marketed stuff and would never think of allowing it on my tree. But... who could say no to that face? Now...how to break it to him that he needs to release it to the tree...hmmm...?He's still in utter disbelief that Mom caved. He is officially obsessed.We listened to Christmas music and drank peppermint hot chocolate while decorating the tree. Essie was still not feeling well and cuddled up on the couch with her barf bowl enjoying the moment when I heard her shout "No Owen--not da boff bowl!" I turned just in time to see him retrieving back his lost candy cane out of the barf bowl. It had sunk to the bottom of his cup...until he cleverly dumped it in the big convenient bowl sitting right there handy and was able to get it back! How convenient! Hey, it coulda been worse I guess... it could've been toilet water. (snicker snicker...) Eewww...my kids would never do that! ;)And yes, he was barfing the next day.

Somebody licked Owen's cup clean!Owen tried desperately to convince Gemma to refill his cup. It was a desperate speech...Juliet hangs her first ornament...Eli picked out these little ice skate booties for her. He said "Oh Mom, let's get these. I'll look at these every year and always just picture our little baby Juliet perfectly in my memory." And uh....who could say "no" to that kid either???Essie felt good enough to hang her new mailbox ornament...

Eli's ornament: He always has REALLY good taste.

Gemma's angel

Utter bliss...Hannah's bird...And the finished product.

Prayer Request: Please say a prayer for my Uncle Ken who had a heart attack today, as well as for peace for my Dad who is very worried about his brother. Thank you.