It’s our anniversary week! I’ll tell on us… 7 years ago today was the first time Kit said, “I love you.” It was April Fool’s that year (he likes to tease me) and I was trying to use my mental powers and “come hither” look to see if I could get him to cross the room and come give me a kiss. Instead, from across the room, I got “I love you” and that was an even better surprise.

As for the whole “week” thing - this is probably repeat info, but I like the story. Kit and I met in January 2000, and quickly became friends. I was fresh out of my long term relationship/engagement thing and going on various dates (and remembering how much dating stinks.) In February I went on a double date with this one guy I had been seeing and the other couple was Kit and the girl HE was seeing. Yep, we were on a double date with OTHER people. As the evening went by, I realized I was developing a crush but it wasn’t on my date! In March I admitted my crush on Kit to my sisters but admitted I was sure he had no feelings for me - I just hoped we could be good friends at least. His relationship was ending and I was free, but way too scared to admit anything to him about how I felt.

I went through the temple for the first time March 28th and didn’t tell anyone I was going except Kit. As I walked out afterwards, Kit walked up! He came to offer his support and I just remember this huge wave of happiness washing over me, and sadness because he was there as my friend - which was great, but I REALLY liked this guy and I hoped for more. Later that night after a meeting I went to see him and we started talking and talking and talking… and several hours later I confessed my crush and was truly stunned to learn he felt the same way! (Kit can tell his version later, this is my side of the story!) We had our first kiss. This was Tuesday…

We spent the next several days just talking and talking and talking (in between classes I was attending AND teaching and his work and classes.) Friday was our first “date” to go swing dancing. Saturday we met up with friends for lunch between General Conference sessions and that’s when he said “I love you.” Sunday we were writing each other notes back and forth and starting to realize where this was going (very quickly) and Sunday night we were talking some more and in the middle of the conversation he said, “Marry me.” Just like that, talking about something random and he said, “Marry me.” I said, “Yes.” Then we kept talking and after a minute I asked, “Did you really just ask me that?” and he said, “Yes.” And I kissed him.

Kit proposed every single day after that for two weeks straight. I think he wondered if I was going to change my answer. He was getting ready to go through the temple for the first time, too, and afterwards we were inside the temple talking and he proposed one more time - he warned me, it was going to be the last time he asked. “Will you marry me?” and I said, “YES!!”

So, five days from from first acknowledging our crush to proposal. We were engaged for 3 months. We had known each other for 6 months the week we got married… wow. That sounds insane, huh? And utterly wonderful. I never doubted for a moment that it was him, it felt more right and sane and reasonable and perfect than anything else in my life. From that first night we started talking, I felt completely at peace. Like I had just met my best friend, and I could tell him anything and everything, and he was going to love me no matter what I said or what I did - that he just loved me. And that he has loved me, every single day since - no matter how stressful or crazy our life is, no matter how cranky I am, no matter what happens. He’s always here, encouraging and challenging and supporting and spoiling me. Now he’s offering that same unconditional love to our children and every day I feel blessed beyond words to have this man as my partner forever.

Happy Anniversary, Kit. Thank you…

Things we use every week, some every day:

I am utterly hooked on my laptop and wireless internet access. And iChat. I do not know how I existed without them. Kit leaves for work and we are on instant messenger the entire time, I ask questions and we remind each other of stuff and I tell him cute things the kids are doing. If I have questions or need a recipe or the temperature, I look it up. I stay in touch with my little sisters on-line, I blog for the kids’ journals, I post pictures, I shop, I order pictures, I research, I learn from my homeschool, preemie, & apraxia groups. Kit is equally addicted for work, too.

Our bread maker and wheat grinder. We bake bread at least twice a week and grind wheat weekly.

Our backyard swing. The kids now play for hours in the backyard and I can sit on the swing with Emy and rock and read and chat on the phone. (That’s another addiction - portable phone. We take this technology for granted. DVD player & VCR & TV, too.)

My white noise machine that has sounds like waves, water fall, rain or crickets. I fall asleep to it, or my fan, every night.

My flip-flops (or as Christopher calls them - my “flappers”) which I wear 90% of the time and bought on clearance for $2 two years ago.

My stretchy soft pants. I own 6 pairs in varying lengths (pants/capris) and colors. All drawstring waist, all absolutely comfortable. Most days you will see me in thoses. They look a bit like these.

Camera. As is made abundently clear by the sheer number of pictures we take of our kids each day. And ditto the digital camera for movies. We keep the cameras out on the counter for quick capturing of cuteness. We bought them both when I was pregnant with Christoher and they have served us well over the last 6 years.

Chocolate. I’m not proud of it, but I am addicted and I consume chocolate every day. I have a 5 lb bag of chocolate chips in the top of my cabinet, and a box full of toffee almond chocolate bars, and a stash in my bag, and an easter basket of Cadbury Cream Eggs, and I even have some chocolates in my freezer. Yesterday a friend gave me a birthday present - yep, chocolates! She knows me well.

Baby carriers - we have so many varieties, a few I’ve made or we’ve bought or borrowed. If we leave the house, I’m usually slinging Emy. If we’re at home and she needs cuddles, I wear her while I read to the kids or do things around the house. At the store, at church, at the park, last night at my cooking club. Emy sits in her little seat and smiles and flirts and plays with toys in the sling and I have my hands free to get things done or to play with her while she’s safely tucked in - they are GREAT.

My friends. I need to talk with a good friend at least once a day, though I do have a couple friends I talk with every day. Sometimes multiple times a day. Either phone calls, emails, visits, IM, or actual snail mail letters. I have one dear friend that I’ve been writing real letters almost every month for the last 14 years. I love her, those letters (writing and receiving) are so good for me. Even with email and phone options, we go for those letters, there’s just something wonderful about sitting down and reading a 5 or 6 (or 10!) page letter from someone you love. But I also thrive on my IM chats with my little sisters, talking about big and little things. Kit sees the difference it makes in my outlook when I really talk with a friend, when I can recharge that way, so he encourages it. Moving so much growing up, my friends are scattered but there are some that we’ve really worked to stay close and visit when we can and that network of friendship and kindness and support is a life saver.

SO, what are you addicted to?

I forget how unusual our situation is sometimes, until people point it out. Recently I’ve had some surprised reactions from friends when I mention things, which got me thinking. We do not own:

a cell phone (unless you count the dead one we got while Ben was in the NICU, but we cancelled it once he was home) - Kit works down the street, we’re always on IM while he’s gone and he has no commute. No one needs to get in touch with us that badly, and they are convenient but we can’t justify the expense in our budget.

a hair dryer - there isn’t anywhere we need to go so quickly that I have to get my hair dry in a rush. I’m sure they are handy for styling hair, but I am utterly useless at hair styling.

an alarm clock (we own one, but it was under the bed last I saw it) - we have four children. I don’t WANT to go anywhere that would require me to wake up before they wake up.

cable or dish tv - we have PBS kids. There is one show I watch during the week, but we get that station with rabbit ears. We had cable as newlyweds and I must say, we are much more productive with our time when we don’t have that option! Because I was addicted to Food Network. It also makes our job of monitoring the kids’ tv videwing much easier.

mascara, eye shadow, blush - I saw a lipstick in my drawer the other day that my sister gave me. I have lip gloss, and I have a compact somewhere. I mostly gave up on make up in high school, I remember wearing it sometimes for dates in colleges. I’m lazy, it cost money, and it wasn’t a priority. Plus the two guys I was ever serious about preferred me to not wear it so I was happy to oblige. Kit teased me that if I wore make up for our wedding he wouldn’t recognize me. But I DO wear make up for pictures because I think that makes a big difference. Though I did not wear make up for the pictures of me in labor! Okay, now that I think about it, I’ve mostly given up on make up for pictures, too, since I only own lip gloss and powder. Someone once tried to explain something to Christopher by saying, “You know, like how your mom puts on make up?” and Christopher turned to me and said, “What’s that?” I burst out laughing.

a wrist watch - again, where do we need to be in a hurry? Maybe doctor appointments, but thankfully those are now rare. Therapy comes here for Bennett. Mo’s therapy is down the street, a quick walk.

Funny, huh? These are things some people use every day but we just don’t have a need for them - until someone points out they’re missing from our live, we forget they are gone. I remember live when we had them, when we needed an alarm clock to wake us up. I would say our life works at a much slower pace these days. On the flip side, I’m thinking now of some of the things I’m addicted to - another post.

Did you ever think about that, what things do you NOT have?

Nothing new to report on Emy, she just continues to cruise, climb, crawl, and be cute. Oh, she did devour some solids last night. We’ve been holding off, after reading a book that said food should be fun and don’t force it on kids. We’re in charge of what food is in the house (healthy) and offering consistent snack & meal times, and setting boundaries on where the food is consumed (at table, not in front of tv, etc) but that’s it - we’re in charge of what, where, when. They are in charge of what they want (within our guidelines) and how much. Offer it, but let them decide how much to eat and don’t attach value to food - don’t use dessert as a bribe if they finish their veggies because then veggies are “bad” and dessert is “good” and food shouldn’t be about punishment and reward. Still sorting out that whole food theory thing, not sure exactly what I think - but anyway, we kept offering and this time Emy was ready and went at it with gusto!

Bennett is watching a Baby Einstein movie and just signed ball (and said ‘ball’) and signed swing. Kit says, “Let’s hear it for too much tv!” Ben has also begun to resemble a cat, in the sense that he wants to be IN my lap at all times. Especially if something else is in my lap, like a baby or a laptop. Or if I’m doing something, like eating. Then he MUST BE IN MY LAP RIGHT NOW or the world will end. He’s never been this clingy, so I admit I’m enjoying it in a twisted way. This afternoon he fell asleep cuddled up in my lap and when I went to lay him down I tried to remove his glasses. He woke up, yelled at me and pulled the glasses back on then napped. Two hours, with his glasses on his cute little face.

This afternoon he was coloring at the table when a song came on tv - Bennett stood up, leapt into my arms then pointed to the tv. I brought him in and he jumped from my arms, grabbed my hand and started frantically dancing in place. It’s his new ritual with Kit, they dance together and it’s adorable to behold.

Moira has been begging us to get her hair cut. At first I thought it was because she gets a lollipop from the place, but she said she wanted short hair so I took her to a friend to do it. It’s ridiculously cute, I’ll post a picture later. Moira HATES getting her hair washed, brushed, pulled up, anything. This should make her life easier (and ours.) This evening she was sitting in my lap playing with my hair and said, “I like your hair. Your hair long, mine short. I want long hair like yours.” Deep sigh… Then she asked if she goes to bed if her hair will be long in the morning. A very happy side note is that she said that sentence so clearly!

Christopher and I were working on lessons and he read something he didn’t think he could do - but with a bit of prompting and some sounding out, he read it! He was so proud of himself and I told him I was proud of his hard work and he asks, “Did it give you goosebumps??” Apparently at church when the children sing, one of their leaders told them it was so beautiful it gave her goosebumps.

Then, by way of deep random questions from Christopher - over lunch he asked who made Heavenly Father. I remember being five years old, I don’t remember asking questions like that.

Good day. I sure love my family.

Bennett was six weeks old when I was first allowed to hold him. He had been too unstable, too sick, and too tiny until then. The first time we were able to kangaroo is a neat story. It was two years ago this month that we had this happy moment, so here are some “Then and Now” pictures. Bennett was less than 1000 grams when I first held him - about 2 lbs. He was hooked up to the ventilator, which you can see taped to my shoulder. Now Bennett is almost 23 lbs, and instead of being on a vent he’s stuffing his mouth with apples and giving his Mommy kisses before bed. There are just no words to describe my gratitude.

Bennett likes to prove me wrong. I just told his therapist that he isn’t using a lot of two word phrases yet. Stalling on bedtime, he just said, “More Blue’s Clues” very clearly. “Mo Boo Coo” And when we said no, he went over to his light box and said, “I wah paypoo” (which translates to “I want paper.”) I’m in shock! I don’t expect him to do it again anytime soon, but he used TWO three word phrases within minutes! I guess bedtime is enough of a threat that he’ll start speaking to avoid it.

Cookie Monster was gobbling cookies, quite piggishly, and I commented that would probably make him feel sick. Christopher responded, discretely whispering from behind his hand, “Mom, he’s a puppet. He can’t get sick.”

Christopher, discussing the differences between boys and girls, says, “And girls have breasts. That’s cool.” He now says “breasts” instead of “nurses” which makes me a little sad. I love when they have cute nicknames for things, sad when they outgrow them.

Watching a nature special on pearls, I ask Kit a question and then Christopher asks me to repeat myself and I say, “How do oysters breed?” Christopher says, “Oh. I don’t know.” I started laughing, because he seemed to think I was sincerely asking him to answer. Then after a pause he says, “Maybe Heavenly Father makes them and they grow?” (I still have no idea how oysters breed. If they can’t move, how exactly do they find a mate?)

I’ve been busy today.

I know that most of the readers of this blog don’t have any local interaction with us. Even for those who do, it’s so easy for these kids to grow up before you notice. That’s why I like to post these little movies. Here’s a brief glimpse of them just last week, moving, laughing, and otherwise being themselves.

A couple of stellar performances from Mo and Christopher. Christopher learned this song from Blues Clues. It’s an old Blues Clues video. Fun to watch history unfold before your eyes, isn’t it?

Emiline Vs. Wii. She loses.

Moira’s playing with her little sister. It’s certainly fun at first, but after a while, Mo gets a little excited, and Emy’s not quite sure what to make of it.

Some unedited footage of our little daredevil. About 1.5 minutes.

This morning was the Dallas Junior Chamber of Commerce sponsored beeping egg hunt for visually impaired kids. WOW, they all had fun! There were several rounds of egg hunts, with beeping eggs for the VI kids and regular eggs for the siblings. Yummy refreshments (the biggest bagel & cream cheese variety I have ever seen) and Krispy Kreme donuts and hot pink frosted sugar cookies and what more could some kids want?? It was at White Rock Lake Park (where the Walk America is, also known as “Bennett’s race”) and it was beautiful and overcast, breezy - great weather.

After the egg hunt and pictures with the Easter bunny (that had to bribe Mo with candy to get her to come near the scary costumed creature) there was a pinata. That looked like Dora. I wonder how Moira would handle clubbing Dora to death, but they loved it. Of course, more candy!

THEN we went back to the tent and there were kids’ books on cd, read by local Girl Scout troops! We found a couple Dr. Seuss titles the kids can listen to while looking along at the books. And there was this big table covered with toys, including an enormous Super Man bouncy ball. Christopher was about to explode with excitement so I asked for details and the table was toys for the kids. Every child could pick one. Wow! Christopher of course snatched up the ball, Moira chose a basket FULL of sand toys, Bennett chose a kick ball with crazy swirled colors - and then KICKED it! For the first time, a perfect kick, without tipping over! Emiline went with the squishy, soft, pink plush baby toy with rattles that hooks onto a stroller or carseat. They were all overjoyed.

The beeping eggs were turned into a table where you could swap them for candy filled eggs. Christopher thought he needed to turn in his egg filled basket as well, and went to go ask the people but I assured he that the goodies were to keep. He was so excited he ran over to tell the volunteers, “Thank you for letting me keep my basket!” Bennett thought the beeping eggs were a bit too overwhelming if you had more than one, and he started to go “hide” the ones he found and emptied his basket to start hunting over again. We showed him that he could switch off the noise (and they gave us instructions for how to make our own beeping eggs.)

Moira was a bit overwhelmed, too. The Easter bunny was scary, the beeping eggs were loud, but the cookies were yummy! There was a photographer there that got some pictures of Moira and asked for our info, we’ll see if the pictures get posted.

We talked beforehand with the kids about vision issues and how some of the kids will have canes, there were some seeing eye dogs, various disabilities. Christopher knew there were hunts for sighted kid and VI kids, so when he saw a volunteer he went up to him and said, “I can see well, and so can Moira, but not Bennett.” Which prompted another discussion about being sensitive, but the volunteer smiled and laughed. We’re still working on that…

Emy was a doll, sat in the baby sling and just smiled at everyone and chewed on her new toy. It was a great morning. We all loved it. But on some weird level, it felt like we didn’t really belong there - we joked about taking away Bennett’s glasses because it wasn’t fair for him to participate in the VI egg hunt with his vision. He’s in this weird limbo between a typical toddler and a kid with special needs. He needs the glasses, but with them he’s fine. Well, without them he’s fine, too. He doesn’t act significantly different without glasses (Kit inserts the proximity to television decreases when his glasses are off.)

Maybe other parents with special needs kids feel this way, too, that they don’t quite fit into any category? There’s a huge spectrum of abilties for ANY kid, not just a preemie. Moira’s on that somewhere, Bennett’s in another spot, even Christopher has roamed the spectrum a bit. It feels odd to be classified as “disabled” or “special needs” and when we attend these events - like the ECI carnival, or a Divison of Blind Services egg hunt - it feels (Kit insert: incredible to see these organizations putting so much effort and time into these activities for these kids so they can feel a part of these sorts of things.) Okay, I was going to say it feels odd to be on the receiving end. Like shouldn’t we be DONATING toys and such to these great organizations? Not RECEIVING the benefits. That’s what’s odd. I don’t feel like we’re “special needs” but we’re being really blessed by these groups all doing so much to help meet Bennett’s needs. And beyond Bennett, to help the siblings have fun and be around other kids with special needs and their siblings. Bennett’s young, he had fun but he doesn’t understand all of this. I really wanted to attend this for Christopher & Moira, so they would continue to meet other kids with special needs and to see all these kiddos with different abilities and not to think that Bennett is unique in this regard. Especially as we, and they, get more and more questions about Bennett’s vision.

GREAT day. We were overwhelmed by this groups’ kindness. I’m excited to take the kids again next year, and not just because I was able to raid their stuffed baskets and snitch chocolate.

The counselor from ECI came today to talk with us about Bennett’s behavior. Which has actually continued to improve even more since we increased the claritin. He goes down for bed and naps great, now that he can actually BREATHE when he falls asleep. Maybe he just hated the sense of suffocating and dreaded sleep because of it? Plus his molars are cutting through which means less pain. Last night he stayed in bed ALL NIGHT LONG. For the first time ever. So I’m sure this all contributes to the fewer rages during the day… however, he’s still being a bit “challenging” and we wanted the therapist to come assess a bit and give some tips. Mostly I just wanted to know if Bennett’s behavior really does count as “normal” and not as some serious issue from the DSM-IV that I’m just not thinking of…

The good news is that Bennett is, according to this therapist, clearly NOT autistic. He doesn’t have ADHD, in fact our guy proposes Bennett has the opposite problem and has a bit TOO much attention, when he wants something. We all agree he has frustration from speech skills lagging behind his congitive skills - I believe the phrase he used was that Bennett is so “cognitively advanced” that he has understandable frustration from his inability to communicate.

(Kit wants me to add the bit about what wonderful parents this guy thinks we are, and how the guy says he wishes he could take us around on his seminars.)

So, back to reality! Yes, the guy really said that but it was before I made my confessions…

We went over all the changes since we saw him last (when we saw him for Moira, shortly after Benentt came home from the NICU so Emy is a new addition.) Reviewed Bennett’s pregnancy complications, delivery, health issues, etc. Talked through the current issues.

The final conclusion is that Bennett has a very spirited personality - a high activity level, low distractability, high intensity, slow adaptability, etc. He’s one of our kids, and apparently we have spirited kids. The good news being if that’s all this is - he’s spirited - then we can TOTALLY handle that. I just haven’t yet had a kid with this level of persistence and insistence and focus and opinion! He makes Christopher look mellow… though we also discussed the comments from NICU staff about how much sedative it took to slow Bennett down, and how he would fight his swaddle even as a 1 lb baby that was allegedly sick and underdeveloped - yet he still had energy to kick his way out of his developmentally appropriate restraints.

I have a theory - I think micropreemies may have these strong temperaments in higher numbers than term kids because they NEED that drive to survive. What do you think?

SO, as Kit just said - Bennett is normal for us, but we hardly count as normal. Now that I know we’re not looking at a more serious mental health or behavioral issue, I’m thrilled. Not that you can diagnose much at this age, but he’s not OCD, he’s not bipolar, he’s not anywhere on the autism spectrum, he’s not ADD or ADHD. He’s just Bennett, and every day that he learns new coping skills he’s becoming a bigger charmer.

Now, my confessions. I told the counselor that I’m really stressing about how I am reacting to Bennett - I find myself angry and frustrated and in some ways resentful, which is all compounded by the guilt I feel knowing I had better not complain because we are so lucky he’s alive and SO LUCKY he’s this healthy and all these things that are making me bonkers are incredible because he’s doing them! He’s healthy! He’s alive! How dare I complain that my former preemie that fought to live is now making me INSANE with his antics. So, this guy (and we like him, he’s great) gently suggested that Bennett doesn’t need his help, but maybe I do. Which is how Bennett’s behavior landed Mommy in weekly therapy. At our place - he comes here, he’s written into Bennett’s plan and they cover the expense, and he’s a LCSW that works specifically with families dealing with kids that have developmental delays or disabilities. So he sure knows some of what I’m going through…

The theory is that if I can talk through this (and Kit will join, too) and get some counseling and tips and outside perspective, that I can let go of the issues associated with the whole preemie thing and go back to enjoying my Bennett. Or NOT enjoying him, because who enjoys a raging two year old - but at least I won’t feel guilty for NOT enjoying him! I will know that it’s okay for me to treat him like a regular toddler and I will find ways to not let the preemie thing unnecessarily alter my interactions with my children. I love them, I adore them, but I think talking through the bedrest/NICU will help me make peace with that bizarre experience, if that’s possible… or at least to put it in perspective. I’m strangely excited, because even sitting there and talking with him about how guilty I feel sometimes, it helped. Saying the words out loud, hearing him point out that for any parents in such a high stress situation, these feelings aren’t unusual. He said he would be MORE worried if I claimed everything was okay and was channeling the emotions in negative ways… I admitted to asking Kit, “Does the NICU have a return policy??”

HOW TERRIBLE AM I THAT I EVEN JOKED ABOUT THAT?? A return policy, I did specify that I only wanted them to take Bennett long enough for me to get a nap. But I seriously joked about sending him back there because they did such a great job taking care of him and I really, really needed some sleep. What a ridiculously ungrateful thing to say! It makes me wonder if I even deserve to keep him, though of COURSE I deserve him because I worked my butt off (or kept my butt in bed, as it were) to give this kid a chance. We’ve worked every day for over two years to try and deserve this boy. And it’s not about deserving kids, because you can’t possibly “deserve” another person - it’s a blessing, you don’t earn it, you just pray you can in some small way be worthy of the privilege of raising them. It’s such a strange flux between the guilt and the gratitude and the resentment. What a mess of emotions. Therapy will be good. Clearly I need it!

We started a new language program for Christopher. One assignment is to introduce them to some poetry and gradually work with them to memorize the poem. I read it to Christopher three times, as instructed, then I was suppose to wait and later in the day read it again (and repeat over the next week or so as he memorized bits.) You see where this is going, right? After I read it the third time Christopher interrupts to say, “Mommy, mommy, wait, let me do it this time.” And then he recites the poem. I think he got one word wrong. I hadn’t even memorized it yet, and he had!! So, here is Christopher presenting his poem:

“The Caterpillar,” by Christina G. Rosetti. Read by Christopher.

Then, a Heidi brag. You know how sometimes you accomplish something you just didn’t think you could handle? Maybe a physical feat, or something academic. You stretched your comfort zone and you pulled it off, maybe you beat the odds, and you DID IT. And you are so proud, you just want to pat yourself on the back? Giving birth to Emiline without drugs (the time with Mo I had no idea what I was getting but with Emy, I knew it was going to HURT and I still did it!) I felt such a rush. I did it! I’m such a wimp but I did it. Getting accepted to graduate school with an GTA position offer. Amazing, considering what a big slacker I am… Sometimes I surprise myself and I am proud.

Today, I did something that tops even the graduate school thing. (Doesn’t top drug free labor, because that experience is forever burned into my memory as excruciating but wonderful. That said, seriously considering the epidural for next baby…) Back to today - I LEFT THE HOUSE WITH ALL FOUR KIDS. WITHOUT KIT. I got them all buckled up, on my own, fully dressed including shoes (them AND me), remembered my car keys and my bag, and I drove to the grocery store and got them all out of the car and WENT GROCERY SHOPPING WITH FOUR KIDS, 5 YEARS OLD AND UNDER, BY MYSELF! I didn’t forget anything, I picked out good produce and meat, I didn’t lose any children, I was kind and gracious, I checked out and made polite talk with the cashiers (admiring the kids) and I got all the kids back out to the car, buckled in, unloaded my bags. I am so deeply impressed with myself!

This was AFTER I woke up early and went walking with my friend! I exercised!! This is my 5th time since my birthday, thus surpassing last year’s record of exercising.

However, the credit is not all mine because something got into my children and they were all perfect. Sweet, cute, holding hands, sharing, being polite & obedient, helping me. Normally they are incredible kids to begin with but I was truly stunned at their level of cooperation. Bennett only stood up in the seat of the cart twice, and sat down when asked. It may have helped that Sprouts is a cool store to begin with, and they had yummy samples everywhere that I bribed the kids with, including chocolate malt balls that were probably an inch across. That helped, keeping their mouths stuffed with chocolate.

After getting the kids all buckled in, I told them how proud I was and did a little happy dance in the parking lot - that made the kids laugh… and that driver in the car passing me. Coming home I felt so proud, so satisfied. See, set your standards low and you will feel such accomplishment when you meet them. I did it! Life is good.

Oh, but life would be just a smidge better if we hadn’t left my laptop with the Apple store for another repair, now upping Bennett’s bill to $450. An employee recognized us and said, “Wait, he didn’t break it again did he??” and we smiled and said yes, overhearing her share the story with a customer as we left. I make myself feel better by pointing out that it’s a small price to pay for such a boy, full of life and mischief. $450 is nothing - that’s not even one chest x-ray in the NICU! And Mommy should really figure out a better place to hide her laptop because Bennett’s figured out her secrets. What a blessing, to have a little boy with such great problem solving skills, right? He knows that the power cord is normally plugged into the laptop so if he follows the cable (and pulls on it) then usually the laptop will emerge from a hiding place! What a fun game! And, if you lay on your stomach and stretch really hard, your fingertips just may bump the edge of the laptop pushed way under the couch. PLUS, the new couch cushions come off SO, you can pull all of those off and reach down through the frame to the laptop under and push it out that way! Really, Mom, gotta work on those hiding skills… yes, we’ve considered hiding it in higher up locations but as his grandmother pointed out, do we really want to give him anymore incentive to climb?

(And what recitation would be complete without outtakes?)

Caught again!

We’ve captured some mid-march cuteness in the gallery. You can check it out here.

Here’s a sneak preview, though:

See, Heidi was walking a little too close to her birthday bouquet of daisies, and before Heidi knew it, little Miss Grabby Hands not only managed to get a fistful of flowers, she decided they looked mighty tasty. Always quick on her feet, Heidi grabbed the camera, snapped a quick picture while she was still holding Miss Grabby, and then got the flowers covered in who-knows-what kind of chemicals out of her mouth before any permanent damage could be caused.

Enjoy.