you've got your hands full

It is my hope that anyone who reads this blog NEVER says those words to a mother. EVER. Chances are, if you think she looks like she "has her hands full" then she has already heard that said to her ten times that day (at least) already, so she certainly doesn't need to hear it again.

I hear it every single time I go anywhere with my boys -- and of course every single time I am anywhere with all 4 children. Every single time, without fail, it is said to me over and over again.

Little do people know that not only do I have my "hands full" but my head is so constantly full of all that I need to get done that I hardly think about my hands.

One of the things I have wanted to get done is update my blog with my summer activities with these guys:

Niels and Anders, 17 weeks old

Oh how they've grown since the last posting of them in these outfits, huh?

I was going to upload my latest blog entry last night with all of our summer activities, but then everything on the site went kerflooey and I got frustrated, so I shut it down.

I've had a rough week, to say the least.

Mostly because of this:

Yep, that's right. Pink Eye. And this was taken today when it was actually looking pretty good -- compared to the last SEVEN DAYS. Yes, seven days of itchy, sore, goopy, watery, irritated eyes. Really fun stuff. I've never had it before, I have no idea where I got it (none of my kids got it THANK HEAVENS. But wierdly enough, Jim got it while he was in Ireland for 6 days -- and I got it 4 days after he left.... Weird, huh?) and I have no idea when the hell it is going to go away. I am stinkin' mad about it at this point. I am so sick of itching my eyes, washing my hands, itching them again, washing again, putting goopy ointment in them to supposedly make them better (which it hasn't) and not being able to see. Everything has been blurry for the past SEVEN DAYS. Seven days is a long time to have itchy, irritated, goopy, sore eyes -- especially when you "have your hands full."

Oh and don't forget what time of year it is.

Beginning of school:

First day of 1st Grade (he had just lost his two front teeth!)

First day of preschool -- and she was SO EXCITED she did her signature arm flap when she's happy about something. She is FINALLY potty trained. Or so I thought. She had her first accident -- #2 yesterday and #1 today -- in three weeks. I hope it was just first-day-of-school jitters..... I hope......



With beginning of school comes homework, lots of driving to and from preschool every day, making lunches every night, and, worst of all, the morning frenzy. I don't need no morning exercise routine. I got myself my own lil marathon every morning. I break a sweat every single morning. No matter how much I get done the night before, or how early I wake up, it's still a morning frenzy. It hasn't helped that I can barely see. The Pink Eye definitely adds a rather large point of difficulty to my days.

(I also went to Anna Clara's Preschool Open House this week -- with sunglasses on. Indoors. Obnoxious movie star that I am, right? I just couldn't bear to show off my horridly bloodshot eyes. And...as I was putting the boys in the stroller before meeting her teachers and other parents -- for the first time -- both of my lil babes spit up their breakfast on my shoulder. I looked -- and smelled -- oh so lovely that day. I felt absolutely spectacular.)

Oh, and don't forget that it's also harvest time:

That means...LOTS of work for me. Cutting, canning, freezing, cooking, prepping, yada yada yada.

Yup, I have my hands full.

Today was not an especially good day. Not really at all. Hence the reason I am writing in this online journal o' mine because it helps me feel better after a long, yucky day. Nothing major happened, just lots of small, irritating stuff. Like the fact that my eyes are still irritated and itchy and goopy and ugly. After SEVEN DAYS (and counting!!) of non-stop irritation, itchiness and goopiness (not to mention that I look like I've aged 10 years -- and I feel like it too since everything I read is blurry).

Then tonight, after finally getting one whiny girl, two crying babies and one crying boy (who suddenly had become VERY upset that he had to go to school alllll day, every day) fed, bathed and ready for bed (While Mr. Incredible was still at work. Leaving at 4:30am this morning. And didn't get home until 10:30pm tonight. That man defines "work ethic".), I brought the babes up to their cribs only to find that I hadn't put the sheets on yet.

That's because I had completely forgotten about this:

One heapin' pile o' laundry to fold after a very long, very bad day.

But....in amongst the morning and evening frenzied activities, and in amongst all the things that keep "my hands full", there are moments like this:

 
The boys eating pureed butternut squash...from our garden of course!

And this:

As I was feeding the boys and getting dinner ready and washing dishes and setting the table, they were "chalking the world's largest hopscotch."

So...now you know why I haven't updated my blog in way too long. Yes, I do have my hands full. And my head is oh so full as well. All day, every day. But I do so love the breathtaking moments that make me want to take the time to pick up my camera and capture it.  Hopefully one of these days I will be able to upload those moments from this past summer -- because it was filled with so many.


ps: after spending four times as long as it should have to create this blog entry, I uploaded it and it went all kerflooey again with half of it missing -- so I had to redo half of it. Oh what fun that was. I can not figure out why it is all spacey and unlining up 'n stuff. So very very frustrating!! Like I have time for this????!!!! Perfect ending to an imperfect day.

Just one more lil moment to share..... 
Soren made this after school today with flowers from our front yard. He strung the flowers in a pattern (he's learning about patterns at school) on a green reed. I think it is so pretty, I just had to share.