. . . .our pets' HEADS are falling off!

It's been quiet around here with Adri and Juliet off to school.  Luke is still finds Charlotte to be more a nuisance than a friend to play with (it's true) so he is constantly begging me to play with him.  I have given up entire mornings to him where we read and play together.  I think I've done him quite a good turn but he still manages to make me feel guilty the minute I decide it's time for me to stop and clean up a little.  He is pretty good at playing on his own but loves to help me cook and is always looking for someone who wants to play trains or cars or Legos with him, and if not will you please let him watch the Chuggington DVD we got at the library?

Luke insists on wearing his chef hat when we cook

 

The girls are doing well in school but the new schedule has finally caught up with Juliet.  One morning I found her asleep on the bathroom floor with the light still on.  When I woke her up and asked what she was doing there she said she had gone to the bathroom but "my head was too heavy so I just went to sleep here."  Odd that.  She continued to show other signs of fatigue so I was encouraged to move her bedtime up a little and she seems to be doing much better now.  Our only other hiccup is that I nearly poisoned her.  So my girls decided the day before school started that pb and j was super good.  So for nearly two weeks that is what Juliet ate for lunch.  Until Wednesday of her second week she came home covered in splotches and the next day they had advanced to hives.  Our neighbor just happens to be the nurse at her school so I took her over to see what was going on.  Turns out Juliet is allergic to peanut butter.  It's not something we're real worried about but it could have turned out a lot worse so, for now, she's only getting jam sandwiches for lunch.

 

I finished up some curtains I had been working on, finally filled in our fire pit with dirt and managed to give Charlotte her first haircut.  Mostly I just trimmed her mullet but I was relieved that it wasn't entirely bad.  Oh yes, and I also bought a bunch of fabric I thought would make an excellent quilt for my sister's wedding present.  Although, upon buying said fabric I remembered that I have no idea how to make a quilt.  Loni was nice enough to come over and lend me a hand in the design category and Nancy was happy to help me finish the rest once I got to Utah for the wedding.  I was happy enough with the results that I may make a second quilt one day.

Charlotte continues to hate most foods and will even refuse foods that I thought she liked.  It is very frustrating to me but she doesn't seem to mind.  I remember Adrienne going days without eating more than a chicken nugget, a nilla wafer and milk.  It drove me nuts but I tried to sooth myself with the advice I was given from a friend: she'll eat when she's hungry.

Jason took Adrienne, Juliet and Luke on a trip to Dutch Wonderland.  It is about the weirdest thing I have ever heard of but everyone had about the best day ever.  Jason even convinced a few other friends to come along with their kids and they spent all day at the kingdom for kids.  I figured a bunch of dads with a bunch of kids at a giant park was not the best setting for Jason to have the camera so there are no pictures of the even but I'm pretty sure that website will fill in any gaps in your imagination.

Charlotte helps with the dishes

Possibly the weirdest thing that happened in September was that we had another attack on our mailbox.  Usually it gets smashed.  Then I got a super strong box that someone tried to wreck but it was too tough. So this time they played a different trick.  Saturday evening I went to get the mail only to find . . . wait for it . . . a big, black, dead snake.  How do I know it was dead, you ask?  Well, its head and tail were both cut off.  So. Gross.  I'll give them an A for effort though.  You've got to hate someone a whole heap to go through all that.  I called the police who came out and told me they'd "get 'em." (Phew!)  Mostly I'm glad that Jason happened to be standing right there when I found the snake so I could make him clean it up.  I still feel bad for our mail carrier who probably wet her pants when she opened our mailbox that afternoon.  As far as pictures go, Jason DOES have a picture of this one but you'll have to email him if you're that interested in seeing a dead snake.

Charlotte never stops helping with the dishes

Lastly, in case any of you have new babies that need to be held I can totally do it now.  I got my pertussis shot this month and so my germs will not kill babies anymore.  And they'd better not after I what I went through.  The shot doesn't hurt at first but after a few hours it feels like your arm is going to fall off.  It was a rough weekend.

It was a rough weekend for Luke, too.  Playing with cars can be so exhausting.

Quotes

 

Luke:  I screamed off my head!

 

Annie: What do you want for breakfast?

Luke:  Bacon and eggs and some kind of chocolate.

 

Annie:  Luke, don't kick the baby.

Luke:  I'm not!  I'm just loving her with my legs.

 

Annie:  Luke, you're the best!

Luke:  No, I'm handsome.

 

Luke:  Mom, I hate you!

Annie:  No, you don't.

Luke:  Yes I do because I love you.

 

Annie:  You finished first!
Luke:  I won the yogurt eating!  I'm a champion.


Here are some goofy birthday interview videos that didn't get posted, probably because they're super long but also probably because I'm lazy.



(Previous quote:  Finding Nemo)