Oh, Honey. We Need to Talk!

Today in the van Amelia said, "It's so weird that Aunt Allie had kitties in her belly, Mom."

Um, what?

It took me a minute to process what she was talking about, and then I started to chuckle.

The other day we had talked with Aunt Allie (who got married in July) and Amelia asked if she had any kids yet. Aunt Allie said no, but she did have kitties.

If you're five apparently that conversation translates to Aunt Allie actually having kitties.

So we had a baby birds and bees conversation about how people have people babies and cats have kittens and so on.

"Oh, I get it," said Amelia. "People are people and animals are animals. So people can't have animals in their bellies or they will die."

Yep, let's just go with that.

© Trippin' Mama 2012

I was busy going back and forth getting chores done as the kids ate lunch today. From the other room I heard Amelia start lecturing her brothers. (Really, there's no other word for it.)

"You know," she said wisely, "there are four boys in this family and only two girls."

Sam said, "No, there are THREE boys."

"Daddy's a boy, too, so FOUR boys," said Amelia.

She continued, "And I really wish I had two sisters who were the same age as me."

My heart twinged a little. It's not the first time Amelia has wished for a sister or three. 

Then Isaac said, incredulously, "Two more just like YOU?"

I had to smother my laugh as I fled the room.

© Trippin' Mama 2012

Politics Starts Early

Last week Amelia learned about various presidents in school in celebration of President's Day. That night when I was tucking her in, I asked her what she was grateful for.

She replied, "President Obama."

Ahem. Her mother spent three years working for the Republicans, and while her father has never been on the Republicans' payroll, that's where his votes go, too.

"Did you learn about him in school?" I asked.

"Yes. He's in charge of the whole country. That's a really hard job," Amelia replied.

Well, she's right there, and we respect the office of the President, no matter what.

"What else are you grateful for?" I asked, assuming we'd move off the topic of presidents.

She answered, "President Ruth."

"President Ruth?" I thought for a minute. "Do you mean President Roosevelt?"

"Yeah, that's it," Amelia said.

"Teddy or Franklin?" I asked. Amelia looked at me quizzically. I tried again, "The Roughrider or the wheelchair?"

I held my breath. She had a shot here.

"The one in the wheelchair," Amelia answered.

I broke the news to her Daddy a short while later. He looked at me and said very seriously. "We are clearly doing something wrong."

Let the indoctrination begin!

© Trippin' Mama 2012

Wordful Wednesday: A Princess Party

Last week Amelia was invited to the birthday party of a classmate.

It was a princess party, so all the little girls got to dress up. We borrowed this amazing Belle dress from our friend Sarah, and Amelia was so excited to wear it for the party.

The birthday party was a tea, so the table was set with a pretty tablecloths, real china (brave mama!), and all kinds of tea sandwiches and little cakes.

The birthday girl's daddy and uncle even acted the part of waiters, in jacket and tie, serving tea to all of the princesses.

After a couple quick pictures, I scooted, because this was a big girl party, no moms required. And she certainly looked like a big girl!

Play along with Wordful Wednesday over at Seven Clown Circus.

© Trippin' Mama 2012

The Real Truth About The Chicken Limo

We have a novelty limo company in the area. Among other things, they have a limo with a large chicken on the top. We often drive by it on the street and from the first time Amelia saw it when she was about three, she called it the Chicken Coop Car and insisted that it was only used to transport chickens.

Well today we saw it on the move, and Amelia restated her position that it is only used to move chickens.

"Honey," I said. "I'm pretty sure that people ride in that car."

"No, Mom!" she insisted. "It moves chickens. Only chickens."

"Tell me why you think it moves chickens," I said, curious to hear her theory on the subject. She's never been willing to elaborate, but today she gave me the whole scoop.

"Well, Mom, it's like this." (I was already grinning and trying not to smile as she oh-so-seriously explained it to me.) "Say we lived on a farm. And say we had 100 chickens. But we didn't want 100 chickens. We only wanted 10, but we got 100."

By this point in her word problem, I was trying not to laugh.

"So we would have, like, all these extra chickens," Amelia said. 

"Yes, we would have 90 extra chickens," I replied.

"Right, 90 chickens. And we didn't want those chickens. We only wanted 10. So we would call the Chicken Coop Car and they would come and get the 90 chickens we don't want and take them to another farm," Amelia finished. 

I was trying so hard not to laugh at this point that I am pretty sure I popped something internally.

So there you have it folks. The real truth about the Chicken Coop Car, and today's word problem courtesy of my five-year-old. 

Next time I'm going to ask her about the Hippo Bus...

© Trippin' Mama 2012

Liquid Nails To The Rescue

Today I had to get out the Liquid Nails to reattach the front of the false drawer in the top of the vanity in the kids' bathroom.

Now I've complained more than once about the damage my boys can do and have done, but this came courtesy of sweet Amelia.

I was on the phone, of course, and she came out of the bathroom and handed me the drawer front.

"Here," she said, matter-of-factly. "I forgot this wasn't a real drawer."

Then she turned around and walked away while I stood there dumbfounded. Really? You forgot it wasn't a drawer? And you pulled hard enough to break it?

*sigh* 

I may be an expert handyperson by the time I get these kids raised!

© Trippin' Mama 2011

The Things They Learn At School

The other evening Jeff and I were having a rather serious conversation with Amelia.

At the end I said, "Got it?"

The usual response to that in our house is, "Got it!"

But Amelia looked up at both of us and said, "Capice."

Jeff and I looked at each other and burst out laughing.

After a round of "Did you teach her that? I didn't teach her that," Amelia piped up. "You know 'capice.' It means "Got it."

Thanks, child. We know that. We want to know where you learned it!

So I asked her, wondering if I should pay more attention to the occasional kids' show she watches.

"I learned it at school," she said matter-of-factly.

Well OK. Apparently we were unaware of the heavy Italian influence at her school. Maybe she'll also learn to make a decent lasagne.

© Trippin' Mama 2011

Boots!

The big sale was a success. We sold most of what we took, and got some bargains, too.

My favorite bargain is this pair of green, black and white suede boots for Amelia. Very mod and so cute!

I really bought them because I wish they had been in my size.

I was afraid that Amelia would refuse to wear them, but figured it would only be a $2 mistake. (And the boys would probably wear them around the house.)

Turns out, Amelia loved them!

So I had to find something to go with them. I lucked out and found the perfect skirt at the children's consignment store for $6, and the black and white fleece at Kohl's for $8.

So my $2 bargain cost me another $14, but it was worth it!

© Trippin' Mama 2011

No Boys Allowed

Amelia and I thoroughly enjoyed a little girl time with Aunt Judy over the long weekend.

We took in the local children's museum, the zoo, and the lake. Amelia swam in the hot tub and we spent a rainy afternoon using copious amount of glitter glue to make sparkly cards. She stayed up past bedtime and was probably far too much the center of attention.

In other words, it was heaven for Amelia.

As for me, I didn't have to persuade anyone to use the potty, change a single pair of soiled pants, make a meal or wrestle anyone into submission for naptime or nighttime.

Instead I got to indulge Amelia a bit, read part of a good book, introduce my sister to my newest addiction - Pinterest, shower every day without interruption, talk to adults, and even sleep in one morning.

So it was heaven for me, too.

Except for the fact that we both missed Daddy and the boys terribly. 

As much as we enjoyed our time away as just the two of us, Amelia and I were both glad to be greeted by a full-scale assault by nearly three-year-old boys and a more restrained, and slightly relieved, "Welcome home," from Daddy.

Not that he was afraid we wouldn't come home. It's just that I got this text from him almost the minute Amelia and I arrived at Aunt Judy's: "Nothing like hot dog puke."

Thankfully his weekend started out rough, but the illness was shortlived and contained to just one child.

And I will admit that while I felt bad I wasn't there to help and to comfort my sick child, I was also a little glad I was missing out!

© Trippin' Mama 2011

Hello, Bus 52? I'd Like My Child Back, Please

Apparently if I want comments I need to write about testicles. Not that I get tons of comments here, but six is double my usual two or three. I'm afraid my boys will give me more opportunities to write about testicles than I care to have, but feel free to throw me a comment even when I'm writing about other subject.

Like, oh, I don't know, not having the bus show up to drop off my child today.

That's right. I walked out to the bus stop with Sam and Alex a couple minutes before Amelia's drop off time. The bus didn't come and didn't come and didn't come. At 20 minutes late, I decided it was time to worry. We live less than a mile from the school and she's the first child off the bus.

I called her teacher, who confirmed that she had put her on bus 52. Jeff called the Transportation Department, and they radioed the bus and confirmed she was on board and would be dropped on in five minutes.

It wasn't five minutes.

Amelia's bus finally arrived a full 30 minutes late, and she was the only child left on the bus.

First, I was relieved she was there. Then I was annoyed, but willing to accept that she is on an alternate day schedule and mistakes happen. So I said to the bus driver, "Was there a problem?

"No, no problem," he replied. "She's an alternate day kid and I just forgot to make the turn."

WHAT? No problem? Believe me IT IS a problem.

No apology, no concern, just a laissez-faire attitude that it was no big deal that I didn't know where my five-year-old was for a good 20 minutes.

Then he said, "She wasn't upset or anything."

Gosh, that makes it all better then. So what that she's not upset? Her mama IS!

As he pulled away Amelia looked up at me and said, "Mom, I got on the right bus!" She was very concerned, and while she wasn't crying she was upset. When the other kids were all getting off she started to wonder if she was on the wrong bus.

Next call for me was to Transportation. After I explained the problem to the dispatcher, I told her I wanted to know how they were going to address the issue with the bus driver.

She said, "I guess I could talk to him."

You GUESS? Really? Apparently no one responsible for transporting our children to and from school really cares whether they get where they are going at all, let alone on time.

I took a pass on Ms. "I Guess I Could Talk to Him" and left a message for the District Superintendent instead. I asked him to call me back and let me know how this issue had been handled and to answer my questions about the policies that are in place to prevent this. We'll see if I get that call.

On the complete opposite end of the scale was Amelia's teacher, who called me back an hour after we spoke to make sure Amelia had gotten home safely. Mrs. M. asked if Amelia was upset, and assured me that from now on she would remind the bus driver that he had an alternate schedule child on board and she was the first stop. And she said she'd report the problem to the principal.

For her to even call me back was incredibly kind and very reassuring. Mrs. M. shouldn't have to remind the bus driver that he needs to drop Amelia off, but I'm grateful she's willing to do so.

Because apparently I can't count on the Transportation Department to do their jobs.

© Trippin' Mama 2011

How To Make Foaming Hand Soap

Fridays are usually recipe days around here so here's a recipe, but this one isn't not edible. Unless, of course, you are talking back to mama or screaming like a banshee. Then you might just get a taste.

I recently learned how to make my own foaming hand soap. My Google search showed me lots of people do this because it's inexpensive, and I'm all about that. But, I must confess that the reason I did it was because I wasn't paying attention and bought a regular hand soap refill and then realized that it wouldn't work in my foaming soap dispensers. It's almost impossible to pump!

So, off to the Internet to see if I could salvage my twin pack bargain hand soap purchase.

Turns out that I can make tons and tons of foaming soap much cheaper than buying an actual foaming soap refill. Score!

Here's how you do it.

Foaming Hand Soap

1 Tbsp. regular (non-foaming) hand soap

Warm water

1 princess to shake the mixture

Pour 1 tablespoon of regular hand soap into your empty foaming hand soap dispenser.

Add warm water to fill, allowing room for the pump.

Insert pump and close, then have a princess shake to her heart's content or until combined.

If you don't happen to have a princess handy, I guess you'll have to do it yourself. Luckily for me, Cinderella stopped by my house today. She's very good at household chores!

Pump a few times to get the foaming action started, then congratulate yourself.

I figure I'll be able to make 320 refills from the 5 quarts of soap I bought. Not bad for about $10, and a mistaken purchase to boot!

You can bet this is the only way I'll refill my foaming dispensers from now on. Thrifty, easy, and fun. Heloise would approve.

© Trippin' Mama 2011

First Day Success!

This morning Amelia headed off for her first day of kindergarten. She was beyond excited, and thanks to a two-mile hike and no downtime yesterday, she started out with a great night's sleep.

We ALL joined her at the bus stop.

Sam woke up crying, "I want to go with Ame-ya! I want to ride the 'chool bus!"

But, when the time came, Amelia bounded up the steps and the boys waved goodbye with a minimum of tears. 

Tearing up never really occurred to me. She was excited, and I was excited for her. Yes, I can't believe my baby girl is already getting on the school bus, but it was a happy event for all of us. (Except maybe Sam!) Maybe I'll feel differently when the boys head off to school and the house is quiet.

Amelia came home just as excited as when she left, so I'd say her first day of school was a success. She told me the best part was riding the school bus. "Oh, and recess!"

The worst part: lunch. I encouraged her to eat school lunch, and she wasn't thrilled with the "corn stick" (also known as a corn dog). She was even less thrilled that she didn't get to sit next to her friend, which led to a few tears. In the end, she didn't eat a bite of lunch, but if you know Amelia, you know that missing a meal doesn't really mean much to her.

She went to bed tonight asking when she gets to go back to school, so all in all, it was a great day.

© Trippin' Mama 2011

School Days!

Tomorrow is a big day in our house.

This little girl starts kindergarten!

Although I would swear she was just born yesterday.

Where the heck did five years go? (OK, at least one disappeared into a triplet-babyhood-induced fog, but the other four? Who knows?!)

So here we are, five years later and ready for school.

And yes, we are ready.

Amelia's excited to go, and she's so ready and excited that I'm ready and excited, too.

At least until tomorrow when I put her on the bus and wave goodbye.

© Trippin' Mama 2011

Breakfast Is Served!

We enjoyed summer's bounty for breakfast this morning.

Now when you think of summer's bounty and breakfast, you probably think of blueberry pancakes or waffles with fresh strawberries on top. Or maybe a delicious fruit salad and muffins.

Amelia thinks of homemade tomato soup.

That's right, tomato soup for breakfast.

Ever since we put our tomato plants in the ground, Amelia's been waiting for homemade tomato soup. When the first tiny tomatoes appeared she started asking daily when we'd be able to make some. And when the tomatoes finally started to ripen she asked if she could have tomato soup for breakfast.

How could I say no to that?

Today was finally the day. And when she sat down to eat her soup, we all decided to join her.

It may have been a little unusual, but it was delicious!

© Trippin' Mama 2011

The Wedding: Let Them Eat Cake!

As much as Amelia was excited about being a flower girl and the boys were tickled to wear their handsome man clothes, the highlight of the wedding for them was the reception. Specifically, the sugar -- in the form of cupcakes AND cake pops.

When the kids laid eyes on the table full of goodies, I thought their heads were going to explode. Of course, they didn't want to eat anything else, and the bride, God bless her, told them they could have a cupcake right away.

So my kids ate sugar for supper and little else. What the heck. It was a special occasion, and they were happy!

First there were cupcakes:

Amelia

Sam

 Isaac

Alex

(You can see that we are big fans of frosting.)

And then there were cake pops!

 Sam

Isaac

 Alex & Mommy

The sugar high ended around 11 p.m. for the boys. And Alex woke up at 3:30 a.m. asking for breakfast We tried to persuade him that he didn't need to eat in the middle of the night, but nothing doing. I guess it's no surprise he was starving. I fed him a granola bar and a glass of milk and he went right back to sleep.

Cupcakes and cake pops. It just doesn't get any better than that!

© Trippin' Mama 2011

The Wedding: Amelia the Flower Girl

Amelia has been waiting and waiting and waiting for months now to be a flower girl. She even gave up her paci for it!

She finally got to don the beautiful flower girl dress and walk down the aisle last weekend.

Trying on the dress in March 

We started the day by getting her hair done along with the bride and the bridesmaids, and after it was all curled she was clearly upset. "Mom, I just want to look like myself!" she told me. Well, no problem. Baby fine little girl hair won't hold a curl for anything, so within an hour she was back to her usual self.

Aunt Allie and Amelia before...

...and after.

Amelia did a great job for pictures and had a blast playing with her cousin Taylor while they waited for the wedding. When the big moment came, she sashayed down the aisle like she's done it a million times.

Then she saw Jeff singing and started to cry because she wanted to be with him. Luckily, the boys had left the church by then and I was sitting right behind her. She spent most of the service in my lap, but was all smiles and ready to march back down the aisle when the time came.

We all had a blast at the reception. The kids ate cupcakes AND cake pops, and very little else. The sugar high was epic. And then Amelia and Taylor danced and played and played and danced.

Daddy got a chance to take her for a spin on the dance floor, too. Literally!

Amelia tells me she can't wait for the next wedding! 

© Trippin' Mama 2011

What Color Is Your Poodle?

Amelia and I were running errands the other day when we saw a lady walking her toy apricot poodle across the parking lot.

"Mom!" Amelia cried. "That's the kind of dog I want! A poodle just like that!"

She was so excited that I had to laugh. The dog looked just like the one I had growing up, though Amelia's never seen a picture of Taffy.

"Do you want a white one like that?" I asked.

"Yes!" she responded.

Then there was a long pause before she asked, "Wait! Do they come in pink?"

Is that the perfect little girl question or what?

© Trippin' Mama 2011

A Little Bit of Random

We are in the midst of a major fruit fly infestation. I think the homemade traps are finally doing their job. I Googled "fruit fly infestation," because really, that's the kind of thing the Internet does best.

I found a whole bunch of suggestions, including homemade traps that involve a piece of banana, a plastic cup a rubber band, and plastic wrap with tiny holes poked in it. Jeff was a little skeptical, and I did help the process along with a lot of swatting, but I think we're finally almost fruit fly free.

****

After much searching, I finally found something for the boys to wear to the big wedding in a few weeks. It was so frustrating! I didn't want to spend a fortune, and every place I looked didn't have the right sizes for all three boys. Even online I couldn't find three pairs of black pants and three white dress shirts in the right sizes for anything less than a small fortune.

Then I wound up at Sears.com. They had four-piece vest sets: vest, dress pants, dress shirt and tie on clearance for $14 with free shipping. And they had the sizes I needed. Yay, yay and yay! Thank heavens when everything arrived, it fit.

The boys were very excited to try on their "handsome man" clothes, and disappointed that it wasn't time to go to the wedding yet. I hope they are that excited on the wedding day when it's time for pictures.

****

Recently I was snuggling with Amelia at bedtime when she gave me a big hug and said, "I wish you were my twin, Mom." So sweet!

****

The other day I took the kids to the park for some playtime and a picnic.

When I mentioned the picnic Amelia told me, "We're having a party, Mom!"

I smiled. And then she added, "You can come along, since you're the one who drives."

*sigh*

Still not one of the cool kids. They just keep me around for my driver's license. Good thing she was so sweet about the twin thing!

****

The other day one of the boys had a little issue with his winky when he was sitting on the potty. (Just think about it, you know what I mean.) He looked down in surprise, then said, "My winky is broken!" Then he added, very matter-of-factly, "I need a new one."

****

The other day Sam asked for "Santa crackers." Jeff and I looked at each other. What? He insisted on "Santa crackers." Turns out he was talking about the Keebler elf on the graham cracker box. Ohhhh! Santa crackers! Of course!

****

And now I'm off to bed to see if another good night's sleep can squelch this cold and cough. I'm on Day 9 and I'd sure like to be healthy for the Fourth!

© Trippin' Mama 2011

The Our Father

The other night Amelia was saying her prayers before bedtime. As always she said, "The our Father who aren't in heaven."

She's been saying the Our Father like that for a while, and I have just let it go as she's worked out all the other words, but I decided it was time to correct her.

I said, "Amelia, I know it's a strange word, but we say 'Our Father who art in heaven.' That means our Father who is in heaven."

Amelia said, "But Mom, He's not in heaven. He's here with us."

How could I argue with that? "Aren't" it is.

© Trippin' Mama 2011

I'm Blaming Vacation Bible School

Wow! I really neglected ye olde blog this week. You know it's bad when someone texts you and says, "I think your blog is broken." Nope. Just the blogger.

Amelia had Vacation Bible School all week, and it just about did me in. Load four kids up by 8:30 a.m. every morning to drive 15 minutes to the church. Unload everyone to walk Amelia into her classroom. (Hey, at least this year we got to ditch the stroller -- one less load and unload each way!) Load the boys back up and then repeat the process 2 1/2 hours later. Whew! The boys ate lunch in the van more than once. 

Next year I'll volunteer every day and put the boys in the nursery so they can go to school too. They begged to stay with Amelia this year. Of course, Sam and Isaac both had pink eye this week, so I couldn't volunteer the one day I had signed up for anyway.

Amelia had a blast learning songs, listening to Bible stories, snacking and making crafts every morning. On the last day they had a program, which I had to miss for a board meeting. I hated to miss, but she performed for me the night before, and when I only have four board meetings a year, it's pretty tough to skip one.

The day before the performance they sent home shirts for the kids to wear. Last year she got a youth small, which was huge, but it fits pretty well this year. So I figured we'd be in good shape this time around. Instead they sent home a youth large.

Seriously, two of her would have fit in this thing. When we tried it on Amelia said, "It's a dress!"

I thought that was a great idea. A couple buttonholes and a piece of ribbon later, and it was.

Not too bad for a late-night effort after we finally got the boys in bed. That drama is ongoing, though I think we are seeing a little progress.

Stay tuned, more to come!

© Trippin' Mama 2011