I sneezed 4 times this morning and was informed by my son that it was funny because I had "three snore sneezes and only one 'Bless you!'". Funniness.

I was nursing Charlie this morning without covering myself, sitting at the computer in front of the window. A Dodge Charger drove past, stopped in front of our house, then drove off. Our house is on a hill off the road a bit, but now the question is- why did he/she stop??? And am I disillusioned in thinking people can't see in? Oh boy.

If you cover your face, no one can see you, right? Sterling thinks so.

Charlie weighed a whopping 12 lbs 2.25 oz yesterday and was 22.25 inches long. She's riding the 85% line on all and gained almost 3 pounds in 5 weeks. All I can say is I'm glad it was her and not me! Atleast if I've been unknowingly exposing myself to the passers-by all this time, someone can benefit. I mean, other than... oh nevermind. Covering up now!

The kids saw egg nog in the fridge and wanted to know what it was. They poured a glass, Liberty didn't like it. Eden didn't like it. Sterling tried it and started bawling, scraping his hands on his tongue, crying that it was gross and he couldn't get the taste out of his mouth. Oh, I cried, laughing so hard. Ruby wanted to try it, said it was "blech" and went back for more - over and over again. Thinking she really did like it, and was out for the attention Sterling received. Either way, egg nog isn't a real big hit around here, I guess. Would it be mean to give Sterling a bit more to videotape his reaction? Funniest Home Videos, here we come... or a great blog post at least!

*Photos from the week after Charlie was born. I'm so fast in posting them, I know. When I get more on the flash drive, I'll post more. No rush, you know. The bandaid on Sterling is from picking a bug bite open and me trying to get him to leave it alone. He wasn't hurt, that time. If I took a photo now, there'd be a big egg on his forehead from falling off the chair into the cupboard and then falling off the couch onto the floor, both hitting the same spot. It seems to be a pattern, poor boy.

Who done it?

The toilet won't flush; Blaine's getting something to fix it, and I gathered the kids together to find out who flushed something they weren't supposed to. Ruby was quiet, I asked her what she flushed, and finally admits it, scared and whispering. "My poopy." Oh, honey.

Thank you, my Dear.

As a bridal shower gift, my now sister-in-laws bought me a set of pans. A few years ago, Blaine found a matching saucepan, larger than I had, and added that to my collection. The littlest saucepan, once well-used, had gotten too small to be useful with meal prep for my crew. Today, we hit a new high. Or low. I'm still trying to decide. Blaine presented me with yet another pan for my collection. Or pot, rather. Stock pot, to be exact. Quite useful, I'm sure, particularly in soup prep around here, but I'm still trying to absorb the thought that this is where we're at. If he brings me a canner next, he might get hit over the head with it, I think. I am not making soup in a canner. Because, well, that would be excessive.

Oh, and he also bought me a chest freezer. You know, for all those leftovers a stock pot will allow me to make. Very, very cool. (No pun intended.) I'm still waiting for the chef he must have ordered to show up.

Can't win at losing.

1 cleared garden plot
+ 1 lawn mower to mulch up the, ahem, vegetable plants pulled
= 1 shattered pane in the double-paned sliding glass door

Now that must have been one rock hard cherry tomato. Or a rock - it is Missouri soil after all.

Just to be an optimist, it was the foggy side of the door - and it's foggy no more. So just now, when I do not know what it will cost monetarily or time-wise, I'm going to enjoy being able to see out that side too. And the garden plot looks better!

Calendar confusion and scared stripes - or something like that.

Ah, the busy-ness of this house has taken over. Between that and the internet seeming to only like Blaine, I'm finally getting this updated. And just for the record, first I wrote business. Because that should be busyness. And while business works there too, I fixed it. Because, well, "business" is something I have to clean up a lot of. You know.

Ran yesterday with a friend. What was I thinking? I have visions of being skinny and cute, but after yesterday, I'm thinking this baby belly might just be all right. My thighs doth protest too much.

Charlotte is 5.5 weeks old, quite the chunk, and mostly content - although she does love to be held. Blame her for me not getting on here - it's awfully hard to type one handed. Sleep is not bad; some nights she gives me 5-6 hours straight. I'll take it.

Last week the kids and I headed north to my parents' house in South Dakota for 5 days. Yes, it was cold, but tolerable most days. Yes, there is snow there - but only a little in the ditches. Sterling had to be reminded what snow was; Ruby didn't care what it was, she just dove in, bare hands and all. Those two are about as opposite as they come.

Sterling asked me this morning if Christmas is in first grade. He was looking at the calendar but I'm still a little confused as to what he meant by it. Later, he handed me a stack of plastic nuts all stacked up on one toy screw and told me it was a Christmas tree. Someone help me here; I'm confused still. Whatever it meant, he put it on the coffee table for decoration. Who needs knick knacks?

Last night I cooked 6 pounds of sweet potatoes, 2 pounds of ground beef, and 1 pound of green beans to feed these troops. There were enough sweet potatoes left for another meal, but the sheer numbers were staggering to me. We are going to need a really, really big garden in the coming years if we're not going to be eaten out of house and home. And really, these are mostly girls! That's looking to be a good thing when I start considering the grocery budget.

A work release crew just walked past, picking up trash. The kids were entirely curious about everything, from what the men had done (No idea. I've heard it's unwise to ask.) and if they had to ride in the trailer (Pretty sure the van was for the inmates, the trailer for the trash.) and why the men wore black and white stripes. (That was the only question I was entirely certain I had the right answer to. Although I didn't know stripes were still "in". All the old movies show stripes; the new movies show orange. Way to be retro, MO.) Brady, by the way, thought she was tougher than all the inmates walking past. Little dog, I hate to break it to you, but your 4 pound frame is looking a little scrappy... although I'm sure the term "Yorkie-Poo" would scare the stripes right off of them.

Charlotte was nursing the other day and pulled off for a minute. Sterling walked in just then and matter of factly informed me I'd forgotten to put my boob away. Thanks, little man. I appreciate the heads up.

The three youngest are down for naps, and since the only other stories I can think of are ones that I certainly wouldn't publish and incriminate myself (more), that's all I've got. Time to clean while I can.