Cute Swing Photos

(Apparently Meg doesn't swing)

At the Park

Bald baby getting swung by sister:

Boy with a stick:

Funniest face ever, even if it is fuzzy:

Check out that hair.  We've got to get this kid some Rogaine!

It's true, GQ is pretty much always whining these days.  But we still love him.

Hello!

I am a cute, fat, balding baby.

And if you get too close, I will eat you!

M's Fashion Statement

Justin took this picture of M.  He really enjoyed her outfit.  Although this clothing is rare enough.  Usually M wears leotards and tights at our house.  I always think we're running out, but when I tell her the current set is dirty she quickly finds another dance outfit to wear.

Of course, once she was in a picture the other kiddoes had to be in some pictures too.

Omaha

It was the week before the performance, and I was feeling a little stir crazy.  Or just crazy.  Anyway, we had been planning on "sometime" in the summer going to either Omaha, St. Louis, or Chicago (yes, we are exactly in the middle of nowhere) with some funds we had earned swabbing our throats for staph.

So, at about 3:00 pm on Friday we decided to go to Omaha for the weekend.  It was such a fun trip because I did not have to plan or prepare.  We just escaped.  And if I forgot to pack something... oh well, of course I forgot to pack something when I had to get five people's stuff together in 30 minutes.

The kids loved the car ride because they got to watch movie after movie after movie....

Justin drove the whole way because I am a slacker.

And I took a picture of myself to prove I was there.

Driving into Omaha we saw that at least some of us were expected:

Waiting in the lobby of the fancy smancy hotel - we decided to go to a little nicer hotel so we could enjoy the pool.  The kids thought this might actually be a pool.  I said it wasn't, but when Justin came to fetch us after checking in - he told them it was.  I told him to watch out or GQ might jump in.

M is in fact wearing a leotard.  She wears them every day.  If I tell her to get dressed in real clothes she puts the real clothes on top.  This is a nightmare when it comes to pottying in an emergency, and we have consequently had several accidents lately.  Now she can only wear a leotard if she was accident-free the day before.

Sleeping on the bed.... How many times can you say "don't touch me"????  Several.  GQ was the last to fall asleep and spent about 30 minutes kicking the headboard.  I'm sure you wish you were our hotel neighbors.

Don't forget the mummy:

We went swimming early Saturday morning since my kids enjoy waking up at the crack of dawn.  It was really nice though, because we had the pool to ourselves. (Except for the lap-swimmer who we scared away).  In the pool:

Unfortunately, my children are very much related to me.  They were quite frightened of the water.  M preferred the hot tub - no surprise there.

The next day we went to the zoo. 

I don't have very many pictures there because I was running out of batteries in my camera.  Hey, I didn't know I was going on vacation, remember?

I think Justin thought he was going to be in this picture:

Thinking of Cousin Samson on his mission.  Do you see a resemblance?

And, finally, we visited the Mormon Trail Center (thanks Elisa for guiding us all the way from Utah).

Luckily they had free cookies, because we were starving by then. 

What a fun family trip!  From now on I think I'll save money and then wait for the trip-bug to bite me.  It was much more fun this way.

Missing

I have definitely been missing in action.  This last week was performance week for the little dance program I run here in Iowa.  I was lucky enough to have my friend Trisha come out and help me - so it went great.  I, of course, took no pictures at all.  But I will be getting pictures soon from the photographer, and then I will post them.

*****

Last weekend we randomly traveled to Omaha.  It was very fun.  We've been doing a study for the University where we swab our throats every week.  This exciting experiment funded our Omaha fun.  I will post pictures of that in the future.

*****

GQ has the normal 3 year old drawl. 

This means when he says "I brought" it sounds like "I drunk".
When he says "Bear" it sounds like "Be-er".
When he says "Buzz Lightyear" it sounds like "Bud Light".

As in:  "I drunk Be-er and Bud Light - year".

Yup.

*****

Baby S is losing all his hair.  It is tragic, tragic, tragic.

Lately...

... Justin and I had our 8th Wedding Anniversary.  I took advantage of this moment to buy a cake that my friend Donna forced me to become addicted to.  It is all her fault.

We had the kids blow out candles, which they definitely enjoyed.  (This, however, is when I told them to pretend to blow the candles out so that I could take a picture.  Only M really looks like she's taking it seriously.)

********

This morning we walked to school despite threats of rain.  I hate putting Baby S in in his carseat, and avoid it if at all possible.  GQ steals Baby S's bear if at all possible.

And just look at those humidity curls...  I love the humidity, which most people find insane.  But I just feel so warm and wrapped up.  It's nice.  Plus, M's hair gets curly.

*******

Yesterday, E decided that she and M were running for President.  When I told her that I would not be voting (I can already hear the wails, regardless of who I voted for) she told me I was being mean to both of them.  Then she made M the President.  I assure you, it was in name only.  There was a real boss running things behind the scenes.

(This is the wall under the counter where E is allowed to tape things up.  She also has two drawers upstairs for projects, and two bins downstairs.  Two nights ago when I informed her that the bins were getting full and she might need to go through them and throw things away she became traumatized.)

I particularly like the oath of office pictured below.  If only. 

"I will be a good President my whole President days.  I will not give up.  I will be very honest."

*********

E's teacher Mrs. S. saved this for us:

True that, my friend, true that.

************

And below, an illustration of the many pirate swords being drawn around our house lately.  If you look closely you'll notice they come complete with blood on the ends.

These pirate swords are displayed on what GQ refers to as the "table mable." 

As in "Get off the table, Mable, the dollar's for the beer."  This is because in true Andersen fashion I always say: "Get off the table, Mable" when the kids are on it.  Justin has picked up this habit despite himself.  GQ obviously thinks tables are called "table mables"

He He.

Things I do to my kids.

Mental Problems

After I picked up E at school today, I was feeling a little guilty.  Like I had not accomplished anything.  So, I thought about it.  Today I had: scheduled summer swimming lessons, deposited some checks, gone to the library, read my scriptures, fed my children repeatedly (oh, if only they didn't have to eat!), cleaned up the house, orchestrated naps, did M's reading lesson, written my "one page a day", changed several diapers, and delivered and picked up from school.  And, honestly, that's a pretty good list.

So, why did I feel guilty?

Because of what I had not done, which included: catch-up on laundry, emptying the dishwasher, cleaning any bathrooms, cleaning the kitchen, thinking about dinner, bathing the children (a task I undertake a little less than often), catching up on the blog, writing "thank you" notes for gifts for S, and any other hundreds of myriad tasks which I promptly remember and forget at all times of the day. Sometimes I wonder about these forgotten tasks... what happens to them? where do they go? does something horrible happen that I either don't know about or don't connect to them?

This, to me, is one of the most difficult things about motherhood.  This constant battle of "What should I do today?"  This constant question of which tasks are going to make it to the top of my list.  The measuring of repeated tasks like laundry and cooking, with timeless tasks like reading to your children, and tasks that others require of you for callings, work, service, or friendships. 

What is supposed to get done each day?
And who decides?

I can tell you this much... it is good that newborns cry, or I might forget that nursing thing.  It is good that E runs out of underwear, or I might forget that laundry thing.  And it is good that M and GQ start fighting like banshees when they are hungry, or I might forget to feed them too.

Speaking of nursing... S is not so happy with my current prioritizing of tasks.  So, off I go.

Meanwhile, downstairs the other children are drawing swords with blood on them and discussing how if you stab someone in the heart they will die.  This is because I made the decision to read "Treasure Island" to them at night.

Obviously I have several mental problems.