The Waffle and the Polka Dots

Last night, as I was going through the daily routine of vacuuming up the Cheerios, I spied a waffle behind the living room chair. It had a few nibbles taken out of it. I picked it up and finished vacuuming and then tossed it in the trash. I could not figure out how to feel about this waffle. It feels almost normal to find a waffle behind a chair in my house.

Calvin has the polka dots. Mike took him outside last night for no more than ten minutes and the poor little guy got bombarded with bites! I counted at least a dozen. And since he was dressed in a long sleeved shirt and pants, ALL the bites are in his face, wrists and hands!! I was telling the kids today about Josh's first day of preschool. All the kids and parents were sitting in a circle while the teacher read a Raggedy Ann and Andy book. She turned to a page of Andy sick in bed, covered in red spots and when she asked the class what sickness he had, Josh shot his hand straight up in the air: He has the polka dots!! :)

Enjoying children

This baby has his first ear infection. He was awake an entire night screaming and restless. It was miserable and we thought he was just teething. But the next morning, I touched his ear and he winced. We had already decided to take the kids to the lake for the day, so while the big kids swam, we took turns holding Cal. He is such a great baby! Then home and the doctors and off to get meds filled. That's when I encountered the annoying woman at the grocery store.
Her, yelling at her son and daughter to move so I could squeeze by with my cart: Get out of the way! She's trying to get by! (looking at my baby) Oh, enjoy this stage while you can!
Me: oh, I am. I have four.
Her: wow. You're brave.
Her kids were good! She just had two! She didn't have to say that in front of them, implying that their ages were hard and they were being a bother. She also made me think of my own kids and how often they find things to argue over. But when I'm out with my kids, people comment on how well behaved they are. I love every stage of parenting these kids. It gets harder, the older they get, the more you have and the more busy their schedules become...like, soccer starting today.....sigh....until November!!
But, enjoy every bit of it. Not just when they sit quietly in a shopping cart. Enjoy the six year old jumping up and down in the living room yelling: Gnomes! Gnomes! Gnomes! Until mike asks him to stop. :)
Enjoy the eleven year old, coming home from soccer with sweaty hair and a flushed face, asking to play on this iPad that I'm currently using! Enjoy the eight month old who is as happy as a clam despite refusing to sleep today, and the eight year old who was overjoyed at unlocking some character called Wolf on smash brothers brawl this morning.