Kids and Laundry

My kids are starting to figure out that I don't check pockets when things go through the wash. Daddy Ringleader (DRL) also knows this. Usually it goes fine. Sometimes though I end up with a washer full of things like pea gravel or screws.
Well, now I will need to let the kids know that I also do not do a thorough inspection of the dirty clothes hamper. This just went through with M's laundry. Oops. I don't think Katniss had these problems.

Post Office + Toddler = Trouble

Here's a little story from a couple of weeks ago.
It was the Friday before Christmas and I needed to run to our little post office to get stamps for DRL's business. Not just regular stamps, postcard stamps. And I needed to buy 200. DRL was home and the girls had had an early release from school, so I picked Bubba up from daycare and headed to the post office.
As soon as we walked in the door Bubba started having a fit. Now being the Friday before Christmas, there's a line about 8 people deep, so this wouldn't be a quick in and out trip. But, I only had the one kid and I wasn't in a hurry, so really it wasn't anything to stress over. I pick Bubba up and try to console him. I point out the cute little girl in the red coat behind us. "No." I point to the reindeer display on the wall. "No." Just cry, cry, cry, and say no about any attempt at distraction.
One of the postal workers finishes up with the customer she is helping and asks the queue if anyone minds letting the crying baby go first. No one does. So up we go and I plop Bubba onto the counter. He immediately stops crying. He is all happy throughout the transaction and out the door and back into the car. Such a little stinker, but rather handy. He has already been requested by some friends for next year at Christmas time.

Meet Our Family Booklet

We have a new correspondence child. Shaeila from Kenya was added yesterday. Her paperwork says that she will be 6 next month, but she looks quite a bit older than that in this picture. I've asked Compassion to look into whether the age is correct or if perhaps the photos got mixed up. Either way, she will be getting a booklet of our family.

 

Shaeila



For Mawupemo, I cut each sheet in half and then everyone in the book got their own page. I taped our pictures in. Compassion actually advises against tape because some of the climates that the kids live in makes the tape not so happy and it isn't sticky anymore. This time, I was lazy and used PowerPoint to lay everything out and then just printed it directly to the card stock. This also shortened the book from 6 pages (I didn't have a page with information about our city) - which was difficult to get stapled together, to 4 pages.

Front cover

First page
Our birthday, favorite color, brief description of our jobs, and our favorite Bible verse

Second page
Birthdays, favorite colors, what they want to be when they grow up, and favorite Bible story

Final page
Birthday, favorite color, a few sentences about him and what he likes to do
The city information may change for the next revision. I may add a landscape picture

 

In addition to the booklet, I will also send Shaeila a few maps. I have been sending these to all of our kids, usually with just a few labels, but I found our Crayola stampers and they ended up being perfect. I like this USA map and this world map. The maps were just printed on regular copy paper because A) PowerPoint was getting cranky and B) Stapling through 6 cardstock papers does not agree with my stapler. Mostly A though.

 

Happy faces for where we live and where Shaeila lives which are connected with pink hearts. Areas where our other kids live (sponsored and correspondence) are shown with a blue squiggle.

Green exclamation mark to show where we live. Happy faces to show were my grandparents live, plus where DRL grew up, and where DRL and I were born.







A Reminder

Sometimes one little thing can stop you.
It doesn't happen often enough to me.
Last night was another round of bed times. Daddy Ringleader (DRL) was in charge of stories. I was probably messing around on the computer when I knew it was coming.
Another round of good night routines with Pudge. Every night after story time she has to get out of bed to go brush her teeth. It cannot be done before story time. I have already tried that. Once teeth are brushed it's back to her room where she needs a cup of cold water within arms reach. Lights off, dream light on. Cuddles, tuck in, and the first verse of Away in a Manger. Every night. Some nights I fall asleep while DRL is reading to them. Last night I didn't quite make it to bed.
Instead, little feet came paddling out. I  picked her up and made it halfway to her room when it hit me. That sweet, innocent, almost-5-year-old nestled against my neck. That love. That reminder that I prayed and waited for moments like these. It wasn't another night of bedtime routines. It was a chance to marvel that we had been blessed with this wonderful little girl. Thank you God for the reminder of the joy of raising little ones. That the effort is worth it. That tantrums and sibling bickering is not all of it. That one little girl with her head against my neck is mine.