can it be so?

Eva’s working on her walking skills. She’s 11 1/2 months old now. She reminds me of Jonah in so many ways– nearly the same birth weight (8 lbs. 4 oz. for him, 8 lbs. 5 oz. for her), super blonde, a big space between their two front teeth, and waiting until 1 year to walk. Jonah took his first really independent steps on his first birthday. Eva’s taken one here or there, but she’s not ready to be on her own yet. She just likes to push her little wagon until she bumps into something. Making enough noise does what is needed to get someone to turn it around for her.

the difference between messy and dirty

Today Barry and I had a conversation about the difference between messy and dirty. You see– I have these voices in my mind that tell me that in order to be the “true mom” my house needs to be clean and orderly at all times.

This is a problem.

For starters, being tidy is not natural to me, never has been. Also I like to make things. Actually, to put that better I need to make things. Making things makes a mess. And then there are the children– the SIX children that live here and NEVER LEAVE. They read books and leave them places. They build legos and leave them places. They make block towers, and take off socks, and draw pictures and cut paper, and heaven forbid– they EAT, which leads to dirty dishes.

Orderly at all times in this house is completely unrealistic– and unnecessary. DUH! Messy is one thing. Blocks don’t take long to pick up, dishes get washed and used again, books get reshelved. Neat and orderly can only be a reality around 10 pm when kids are in bed. As long as our house isn’t DIRTY, as long as bathrooms are sanitary, dust is kept reasonably at bay and floors are unstickified on a regular basis it’s all okay.

TAKE THAT NASTY VOICES OF PERFECTIONISM! Dirty = bad, but a little mess never hurt anyone. (Well, not permanently. Stepping on a lego is pretty painful.)

It does take a little effort to keep on top of the dirtiness, though. Here’s what works for me: The house is divided into 6 zones (not a new concept, but such a good one) and we work on a different one each day of the week. I have the Home Routines app on my iPhone, but I never use it. I just make a list in the morning of what I want done in the day’s zone on some random piece of paper I find, have each of the 3 older kids pick 2 chores, do 2 chores myself with little kid help, and that’s it. We don’t live in pristine conditions, but nothing is gross.

Today the entryway got freshened up. The stairs vacuumed, the front porch swept, etc. etc. Logan got the chore everyone wanted. He got to freshen up the entryway chalkboard.

YMCA of the Rockies

While Barry’s mom was here we also spent a weekend up at the YMCA of the Rockies. We stayed for 2 nights in one of the hotel-like lodges (sans air conditioning and TV or course), and ate all our meals in the camp cafeteria. That’s a pretty easy get away– no food to plan or pack. My very favorite thing there is the Craft and Design center. Maybe when I’m old I’ll get to stay there all day a weave a basket or something. We also drove around Rocky Mountain National Park. It never gets old.

I love this picture or Eva and I with our squinty eyed smiles.

Do you hear the ECHO… echo… echo… echo?

There was mini golfing.

Soooo big!

Elk in the middle of it all.

Crafting.

From squatting

to standing!

Cafeteria food with a view.

At the playground.

a train ride up Pikes Peak

Barry’s mom came and stayed from July 4th until the 30th and we packed a lot into that month. One day she treated us to a ride on the Pikes Peak cog railroad.

I spent most of the trip snuggling one feverish little person or another so I handed the camera to Brenna (I think Barry took a photo or 2 too). Hunter and Eva slept most of the train ride, partly because they didn’t feel well, but also because of the elevation, I think.

This place above is called Inspiration Point.

It was a fitting trip for that month of patriotism because it was up on top of that mountain that Katharine Lee Bates penned the lyrics to America the Beautiful. On a clear day you can see 5 states– Kansas, Wyoming, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and of course Colorado.