This is for what, exactly?

A long time ago I had a post about infant formula that the directions specified was not to be used for infants...  But I had a moment today that reminded me very much of that time.  I was washing dishes with this:

 

Dawn Antibacterial - "cleans up to 2x more greasy dishes!" and "orange scent dishwashing liquid"

 

But while I was washing dishes with the dish detergent I noticed the intended use is "for handwashing to decrease bacteria on the skin," and the directions are "wet hands and forearms. Apply 5 ml or a palmful to hands and forearms. Scrub thoroughly for 30 seconds and rinse." Hmmm, no mention of dishes ANYWHERE. Nor was there any mention of andwashing on the front of the bottle. What is this product intended for, exactly?

Not ready! Not ready!

Caroline took it upon herself to potty train this week!  The boys often close themselves up in the bathroom while one or the other does their business, and Caroline feels SO left out. Weird, but true. So one day she asked me to hold her on the potty so she could join in the "fun"; seizing the opportunity I brought out our training potty instead.

SUCCESS! The first time! I'm calling it beginners luck, but it's been a few mostly-successful days, so maybe it's more... While SHE seems very happy at this turn of events, I feel like I'm not ready for this!  It's been so long since I've had to worry about accidents, about remembering to ask if someone needed to go so they wouldn't forget, about doing extra laundry when accidents happen anyway... so I have a bit of a mental block, anticipating that potty training will be TORTURE. Training Patrick went well, Eli was a BREEZE, so I'm not entirely sure WHY the mental block, but there it is. We'll see how this goes.

Singing, caught on camera!

We love Caroline's singing, but it's hard to get on video - as soon as you get out the camera, singing is over and it's time to be bashful!  So I've been doing my best to be sneaky; all these were with the camera in my lap.

 

I thought she knew the lyrics to Twinkle Twinkle... apparantly not!

 

 

She knows all three verses to Twinkle Twinkle (yep, there are more verses!) but only the first to I Am a Child of God... unfortunately, I don't want to remedy that because then we'd have to sing all four verses of THAT at night, too. Bedtime singing already lasts long enough, in my opinion.

 

I caught her singing as she woke up from her nap - it's such a pleasant way to be informed that she's woken up and is ready to start the second half of her day, I wish all kids were like that. Then again, she can whine like a puppy during a thunderstorm when she can't find her sippy cup, so I'm SO glad all kids are not like that... 

Steamboat

Part of my semi-long hiatus in posts was a very long vacation! Wonderful! We haven't taken a decent vacation since Caroline was about 6 months old and Joe and I camped and duck hunted. By decent I mean going anywhere a) without the kids, or b) somewhere besides Craig of Grand Junction to visit family, so this was double-decent - we left 3 of our kids in Craig and Joe and I went to Steamboat Springs for 3 days/2 nights!  Rented a nice little condo with a kitchen, cooked most of our meals in (though we did go out to a nice dinner one night), walked around the town during the day and rented movies at night. SO exciting, I know, but it WAS exciting to not have kids interrupting the movie for their favorite stuffed animal, a glass of water, or a bad dream.  While we were there it snowed like MAD, 41" in 72 hours, but it was beautiful and certainly didn't dampen our good time!

 It did seem a bit of a pity to be in Steamboat during such amazing snow and NOT SKI (or snowboard), but we had Ethan, so we think maybe we'll try the trip again next year, leave 3 kids in Craig, and take Patrick with us instead of Ethan so he can get some ski lessons.

I'm walkin', yes indeed...

It's been so mild this winter we've hardly had to change our daily routine! I'm not actually pleased about it, I'm concerned about the drought and bummed the kids have had so little snow to play in, but we're making the best of the situation. So our afternoons are still lunch, naps or quiet time, then play outside. Normally the kids bike on the driveway and nearby sidewalk, but yesterday I got motivated and took them for a nice long walk around the entire neighborhood!  Usually that backfires - kids accidentally ride into the street and I freak out, they get too far ahead and can't hear me shout (and then I'm the awful neighbor shouting at her kids at the top of her lungs), kids get tired and I end up hauling everyone in the wagon and carrying bikes (it is RIDICULOUS), or last time Patrick volunteered to pull the wagon and took off before Eli sat down, langing Eli on his butt on the sidewalk. Patrick ran away from us the rest of the way home after THAT talking-to, and Eli cried the rest of the way.  Wait, WHY do I ever get motivated to do "fun" things like take walks around the neighborhood?! Well, anyway, I did it (must have had amnesia) and we had a GREAT time, I even hauled my camera along for some snaps.

The boys impatiently waiting for me

 

Caroline and Ethan rode in the wagon. Not my biggest kids, but still quite a heavy load! Ethan sat in the Bumbo.

 

His cute hat from Steamboat Springs...

wait, have I forgotten to blog about Steamboat?

Here we go...

 

Not your average Valentine's Day

FIRST of all, Joe and I watched movies and stayed up til midnight, so he gave my my Valentine's gifts about 11 minutes into February 14th - some cute earrings and a gift certificate to the nail salon for pedicures! Best husband ever.

THEN, even MORE exciting, I got a new neice on Valentine's day! Sweet Avery Phelps.

I was so excited to be there again for Kari's delivery (that's 3 for 3!) and got to whip out my camera for a few special moments (while Kari was a little occupied). I'm sure she's got the whole story for you, since it's her story and all... I just got to be on the side of the bed and do none of the hard work :)  Just how I like it!

Immediately after delivery, still a bit goopy and a bit purple. Kari was freaking out at the color of her hands, which were quite purple, but the nurse calmed her down and sure enough, she went home with a peach-colored baby.  

Footprints

 Quiet down, little lady :)

 

Getting her weight

 She's a 7-pounder! Not too shabby! Now let's see how long she maintains that weight... I guess 2 months.

 

Measuring

 

I believe her actual length was 20-1/2 inches,  I'll have to double-check. I just liked the picture. Maybe worth faking some stats for just to scrapbook the photo, eh Kari?

 

A terrible picture, but the only proof I was there. It's really hard to take pictures of yourself at that angle.

After delivery, getting stitched up, and the baby taken care of, Kari got quite cold - down to 95 degrees (so I heard the next day). So she got all mummified in warm blankets and snuggled Avery in with her (waaaay down there in the little hat)

We visited the hospital the next day before she was released. The kids ADORE her, of course. What's not to adore? She's perfect.

 

 See that perfection wailing in my ear? She loves me :)