Who had a birthday Friday?

This guy- Andrew Paul.

Seriously.  After posing for 100+ self-timer pictures to commemorate Andrew's big day, these are the best of the collection (good, not great).  My hubs is a cute guy, okay?  And that little dude, Oliver, isn't so bad, either.  So why do they look scared/scary in pictures?  Ya got me.  Not that I can really talk (my hair looks like a wig...I didn't want it to look flat.  It doesn't.  Mission [sort of] accomplished).  I guess G and M tie for the win.

Oh Andrew.  He's quite the guy.  Since you already know we don't have it all together and there are no perfect people in this world, I'll tell you one of the things I admire most about his character, and you won't judge me for bragging or being annoying, deal?

He's crazy about our kids.  Andrew is willing- even eager- to do any and all activities with these children.  Working in the kitchen?  Sure, he'll just put one on his hip, one on the counter, and one leaning over the boiling pot of whatever on the stove.  It's dangerous fun with Anj for a dad, did I mention that?  Like when they come back from an 'adventure' that meant hiking through snow up to daddyo's knees and thick underbrush, and half of the team has war wounds- Andrew wet up to his underwear from stepping through the ice on the creek, G with scratches across her face from thorns or brush or bear claws (uncertain, mixed stories).  He runs errands with these people- as in taking them to the grocery store.  Two of my worst nightmares come together in that sentence...my children in public and grocery stores.  That's practically a super power.  He's also not afraid to behave like a chimpanzee with the kids...or mountain lion or tyrannosaurus or whatever wild beast Oliver has seen on TV recently.  Then at bedtime, when I'm pooped and it hits the fan for 1, 2, or all 3 kids, he helps brush their teeth (oh, and the girls aren't super into dental hygiene, so there's usually a throw down show down between dad and daughter/s at this point), reads them a story, prays over them (not like praying over them with a hand raised, but praying over them with a voice raised...so God can hear over the noise of the little people) and tucks them in. 

I am crazy about Andrew (he'd tell you I'm just plain crazy).  I'm so grateful God put us together.

Business News

My darling Andrew finally launched his website yesterday!  Can I get a WHOOP!  Traditional Cabinetry can now be found on the interwebs, people.  And that's exciting stuff.

traditional-cabinetry.com

Q: Why doesn't Georgi nap?

A: She is too big.  She hasn't outgrown nappies, but her Nana bought her some panties.  During naptime she had to try on all seven pairs at once (and separately) and show Betty (her dolly), and probably Merida and Barbie- this is much more important than sleep, people.  G isn't interested in potty training, she's interested in underwear.  Homegirl is almost 3 and has never officially gone anywhere besides her diaper (excluding the myriad of places she left her mark while she was an infant).  There have been a couple "quick!  Get her to the potty!" flukes, but that's just what they were...pure coincidence in which the stars aligned in order for everything to happen in the right order.  I don't have the patience to ask her every 5 minutes if she has to go, nor the patience to clean up a million and one accidents every day.  I realize that patience is a virtue we can ask God for, but I need His grace in far more substantial subjects and measure than potty training.  For example, Gigi spilled her milk twice at breakfast (technically Marg climbed up on the table while I was loading the dishwasher and spilled it for her once).  Do you know what my voice or my face did after that second spill?  Eek.  Earlier today Oliver told me he had thought about playing a game on my phone, but then he imagined what I would look like if he did that without asking, so he decided not to.  I don't know if that's good or bad.  My mad face puts enough fear in my kids to make them do the right thing?  That seems wrong...but it's working for right now.  We're still trying to train the heart instead of the head on our little charges, but when it can, a frightful mad face wins.


A year ago, the babies and the weather looked like this.



This year-- Yes, those are different people.  The weather is also different.

 

"Mommy, watch Merida dance!"

Gigi's space.

Oh, these sweet and simple stripes.  Let's just say if you had talked to me during this process (the 3-4 days that I heaved the mattress off the bed, stressed about the children either hurting themselves while jumping on said mattress after a long run down the hallway or just starting their very own 'Color Run', in which everyone ends up covered in the stuff, and me trying to do math in order to make it all come out right), the words sweet and simple would not have entered my mind.  Chaotic about sums it up.  But if I hadn't told you the secret, you never would have known, right?  You would think it was a simple project that could easily be done in a day.  And the result would be sweet.  Well, hopefully the second part is right...and now I just revealed my secret.  Most of my projects hit the chaos mark before I'm done.  There.  I'd never make a good magician.  Not only can I not fool a chump, I'm so surprised if something actually turns out, I have to tell everyone how frightful the process was.