In General

Little Man on "Fire Wheel." So named by the Little Man himself, last Christmas.

Note the pink on his stomach - Sister wet some sidewalk chalk and "painted" him.

She got his back, too. Only...with mud. He was great with that. He walked in the house to show off and with every movement chunks of dirt fell to the floor. One day he's going to realize he doesn't have to succumb to his Sister's wishes. It will happen. Soon. Very soon.

Little Man and two of his friends are getting to hang with the Boy Scouts! While too young to officially "join," they are getting to participate. They're "mascots."

To say he is excited and proud would be a terrible understatement! The Little Man is ecstatic!

The Engineer is an Eagle Scout, so he knows all about wearing the Boy Scout uniform. He's told Little Man he can only wear his uniform to Scout meetings and school. So yes, every morning, and I mean every morning, Little Man comes down ready for school, in his uniform. Preciousness? Oh, YES!

In fact, this Little Man is taking Scouting quite seriously. A few days ago we returned home to pouring rain - POURING - and I'd left the dogs out and the gate needed opening. I dreaded the inevitable. As I put the car in park and prepared to be soaked through and through and trampled upon by an excited and muddy great dane, I heard Little Man unbuckle and shout, "I got it Mom!" And he did. He went out there in the pouring rain and despite dogs twice his size, my four year old opened the gate, waited for me to drive through, and then closed the gate and joined us in the garage. Soaked. He is going to be one FINE catch!

I made PW's cinnamon rolls. Oh my. I omitted the maple flavoring (cause I didn't have any) and subbed with a double shot of decaf espresso. 

The Engineer and I might or might not have eaten most of a pan in one sitting...two nights in a row. (Like, a pan a night, twice.) One recipe made NINE round pans. Score!

And BIG news for Sister!!! She completed the first grade Sing, Spell, Read, & Write curriculum!!! 

Last Friday she took her last test! 

We are SO proud of her! And so...we begin afresh!

The Engineer and I were stoked when UPS delivered a 24 pound box. We knew the contents! Each of these books are part of the curriculum we began this past Monday with Sister and Little Man. I will definitely be sharing more about this in the near future. Suffice it to say, with all this newness, I am still very much figuring things out and trying to establish the best routine and order for our family. Even in the midst of that process, which can be really frustrating to me, we are LOVING what and how we are learning. LOVING IT!

Here is Sister's "to grow into box." The pickin's pretty slim. As I combed through the children's closets, putting away what they'd outgrown, boxing giveaway clothes, and sorting through clothing in our tubs of "to grow into" clothing, I was overwhelmed with God's perfect provision. We have been generously blessed with friends who, at just the right time, have showered us with clothing their children have outgrown. It's often in brand new condition. And because Sister's box held very little, we got to do a tiny bit of shopping. After looking over everything she has, we determined a pair of jeans would complete her wardrobe. JJ surprised her with brown clogs trimmed in fur - the perfect addition! Though, with the new hair cut, the jeans, and clogs...she's looking so grown!

As I worked through the great clothing switch-a-roo, Little Bit was my constant companion. A side-kick of sorts. Her specialties: knocking over perfectly folded stacks of clothes, "sorting" clothing that was already perfectly sorted, ramming her doll stroller into every stack and tub, and trying on anything that sparked her fancy...

Hence the bathing suit! Seconds later, she'd painted the front of it with blueberry yogurt. Clever girl.

I'd been visiting with a neighbor and upon stepping foot in our yard, heard the children calling me. Where, oh where did I find them? Uh huh. Sister up there in her cowboy boots with her purse. Little Man was a little too fearless for me. After climbing the ladder myself to say "hello," I went inside. I couldn't watch 'em climb down. 

Happy weekend, y'all!