The Mighty Stuber Brood

Happy Birthday Grandpa

2012-01-28T05:00:00.000-06:00

Princess Photo Shoot

2012-01-27T05:00:00.000-06:00

Elaine knows how to curtsy?

And Alida poses next to her hero.

So precious.

So tomboyish...

Warrior Photo Shoot

2012-01-26T05:00:00.000-06:00

The Moon in My Room

2012-01-25T05:00:00.000-06:00

Over the house in my room.

Um, stable in my room.

January 2012

2012-01-24T05:00:00.000-06:00

The first ever request that I come and take a picture of them together.

Awesome.

The Dinosaur Museum

2012-01-20T05:00:00.000-06:00

How December got away without us posting this one, I have no idea.

Wonder what she is thinking.

Chef

2012-01-19T05:00:00.000-06:00

All of the kids join me in the kitchen often these days,

but Nicholas the most. We've got egg cracking, mixing, scrambled egg making down.

His newest skills are grating cheese and cutting vegetables while I'm putting things together.

It's kind of nice that he can work with me these days.

You would think the guy would put on a pound or two however.

He didn't finish that bowl of cereal.

He will always, however, finish a carrot or tomato though.

Gilrs

2012-01-18T05:00:00.000-06:00

Already they are such girls.

The Economist

2012-01-16T05:00:00.000-06:00

Me: "Your Uncle Brian has a job where he counts money. That's his job! He's an accountant."

Nicholas: "What?! How can that be?!!!! I do that at home for fun!"

He tells me now he's saving for college and to buy his own home.

Brothers

2012-01-13T05:00:00.000-06:00

Memories

2012-01-12T05:00:00.000-06:00

First Christmas meal in our Houston home.

There was a fire.

I put the three requested sides in the oven just in time to be ready on time.

When it started getting close, I opened the door, just to peak--corn pudding, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes...

Instead my face was hit with smoke.

Door slammed shut quickly.

Hmmm.

Opened it again, and that's when the fire flared up.

Close the door again.

Yikes.

The alarms blew.

And man, they've got everyone covered with alarms in new homes, everywhere.

Windows up, smoke fanned, children evacuated.

Notice my dad eating in his coat while the windows are open to air out the house.

Dinner was a little infused with a certain fire-roasted flavor.

But man, the sticky rolls I made for breakfast that morning--that had spilled over into the bottom of the oven--those were darn good.

Things I Find

2012-01-11T05:00:00.000-06:00

Were we so clean and organized with all our things.

Aging Gracefully

2012-01-10T05:00:00.000-06:00

Co-worker: "Oh, I see you got some highlights. They look nice!"

Me: "Um, no. Those are my grey hairs."

New Year's Day 2012

2012-01-09T05:00:00.000-06:00

Whew, caught up now.

New Year's 2011

2012-01-06T05:00:00.000-06:00

Christmas 2011

2012-01-05T05:00:00.000-06:00

Christmasy

2011-12-21T05:00:00.000-06:00

Pre-K Christmas Program

(in which the boys were in the audience and Elaine is suddenly shy)

(And video up when I can get blogger to respond...)

Before the program.

Live Nativity at the neighborhood train station.

Dinner with friends.

Cookie making.

(Alida can knead dough like a pro!)

Um, decorating

(the wreaths into Lego cities)

Impromptu iPhone family pictures taken by the kindness of strangers.

All I Want for Christmas

2011-12-20T05:00:00.000-06:00

From the boy who asked to go to Red Lobster for his birthday dinner, I get the following:

"Mommy, can I have a DSi with Legos Batman for Christmas? Please, please, please, mommy?!"

"Well, Nicholas. Santa is coming. Let's see what he brings."

Hedging his bets, he replies: "Yeah mom, but you and dad get us presents too. You could get it for me. Pleeeeeease?"

(big smile for effect)

And so is the first year of real wants in the Stuber household, along with lawyerly arguments for such wants.

Happiness

2011-12-19T05:00:00.000-06:00

Almost time!

Our Wandering Weekend

2011-12-13T05:00:00.000-06:00

Saturday it rained as we rolled into San Antonio for the weekend.

It was dreary, and we wound up in the mall.

When we saw no line in the break in the rain with this most beautiful Santa on the river, we took it.

Alida was the only one that would go to him.

Nicholas asked if he couldn't just write Santa a letter?

And later, when I had snuck away to a few stores and came back, the kids, tired and kind of cooped up, were acting crazy at the play area in the mall.

Patric was on the phone.

Everything had just been off.

"My grandfather died today," he mouthed.

And we felt appropriately heavy on our dreary day.

Later we went to dinner, and we had a nice meal. We did. We had a nice meal with these folks who were tired from our wandering and lost sort of day.

And we headed to the hotel, and we let the kids roam as we were quiet.

And it seemed like the right end to the day to be forced into quiet in the hotel with the kids tucked in.

And we sat quietly with our view and remembered grandpa with no housework to finish and no tasks overwhelming us.

We will miss you Great-grandpa Stuber.

Major Schmajor

2011-12-09T05:00:00.000-06:00

Grandpa Airplane was here for the promotion ceremony, but I think the kids were a little more interested in thumb wrestling,

And bike riding,

And pre-flight checking.

It's always too quick, but always a big time when they have Grandpa Airplane around.

Alida even popped out of vomiting pretty quickly so she could play.

Happy Sixth Birthday Boys!

2011-12-08T05:00:00.001-06:00

Six years ago today, there was Benjamin.

And a short two minutes before that was Nicholas.

We had no idea what a charming boy you would become within our short, and sometimes long, six years together.

And we never knew that the boy who refused to crawl until eight months and then stood up and walked one day after turning one, would then refuse to stop--ever--for the next five years.

And we are so pleased to be chartering you through your childhood and cannot imagine what life would be like without the Stuber brothers.

Happy birthday boys.

We love you.

Major Changes

2011-12-07T05:00:00.000-06:00

Congratulations Major Stuber.

We're proud of you.

Ah Girl

2011-12-05T05:00:00.000-06:00

Friday, when I picked you up at school, you had recently thrown up all over the place.

When you got home, you threw up all over the couch.

Before bed, you threw up in a bucket.

Saturday morning, you ate some cereal, went back to bed until 1:00 in the afternoon, and then woke up and asked for potato chips.

I always want potato chips when I'm feeling better too.

Thankful

2011-12-02T05:30:00.000-06:00

Thanksgiving was all about family this year.

We're a fortunate group, we are.

Oh Grandma Airplane, how is it that there are pictures of me but not of you from the past weekend?

Happy Birthday Patric

2011-12-01T06:00:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday old man.

42 looks pretty good on you.

That's How We Roll

2011-12-01T05:30:00.000-06:00

The interesting thing about hotels and the Stubers.

We have to lie.

We have yet to find a hotel that will allow us to book six in one room.

They may have enough sleeping capacity for us to very comfortably fit six in one room, but they can't let us do it. So on these days, we just have three kids.

The morning fog made me nervous for the rest of the day, but about an hour later it was as if we drove straight out of a wall.

There was open-mouthed un-abashed napping.

and overall, road tripping was pretty fun.

But, we'll leave it at that. There are no pictures of the return trip with a van and a moving truck and a very long day.

Road Trip

2011-11-30T05:30:00.000-06:00

We had our first ever experience with Buckee's on our trip.

Where the kids chose...carrots for dinner.

And cheese,

And carrots.

Well Ben at least embraced the idea of road trip food and had a hot dog.

And happiness reigned for the first leg of the trip.

While We Roadtrip

2011-11-23T05:30:00.000-06:00

Extreme randomness found on my phone.

2011-11-22T05:30:00.000-06:00

We're off.

We hope for many hours of this.

Perry, Thrust, Or Well, Whatever

2011-11-21T05:30:00.000-06:00

No Candy or treats, please,

They went straight for the weapons at the Renaissance Festival.

And so as we waited for the joust, we became the pre-show.

Amazing that he wonders why he would be ganged up on when he announces he will take them all on.

And a good gentlemanly battle.

And it was the best show there.

In Our Midst

2011-11-19T05:30:00.000-06:00

It was with great interest that I watched Nicholas pretend to punch in the code that he can barely reach to the daycare classrooms the other day. When the door opened, I figured he had caught one of the moments that the thing had not hooked all the way closed.

They rushed in.

Then, when he did it again the next day, I asked.

"Nicholas, how do you know the code?"

"I watch. I'm like a spy."

But of course.

Superhero City

2011-11-18T06:30:00.000-06:00

Horse Play

2011-11-17T06:30:00.000-06:00

"We're Cowgirls Mommy!"

"Um, are you putting makeup on the horses?"

"Yessss!
"Yes, we're making them so pretty."

And the cowgirls, dressed as a Mermaid and Tinkerbell were off.

The Mermaid had a bit of trouble mounting.

Conversations with Alida

2011-11-16T07:30:00.000-06:00

Elaine: "Mommy? Did God make everything?"

Me: "Yes, God made everything."

Alida: "Yeah, Elaine! He even made the bumps in the road that make us go ahahahahah when we go over them. That's so fun. We couldn't do that if God didn't make them."

Houston Zoo

2011-11-15T08:00:00.000-06:00

Go ahead children, stick your head in the lion's mouth.

We remember doing this as kids too.

But this was the real reason for going,

Alida found her zebra again on the carousel.

And Patric a turtle.

And we pet some really fat goats.

No, not pregnant, confirmed with the keeper.

Just really over-fed.

Nicholas's favorite.

Not so much mine.

We did see some real animals.

But, we're not kidding ourselves, this is why we paid admission.

Veteran's Day 2011

2011-11-11T20:05:00.001-06:00

A few of us got together at the local elementary school today.

That is a Marine Helicopter Pilot who served in Vietnam sitting next to Patric's hat; his kids live in our neighborhood and their grandson was singing in the choir.

He and his wife were the most charming people.

Likewise, Patric and I were escorted to our seats by a very charming fifth-grader.

And the program this school put on was pretty darn impressive--from an honor guard to raise the flag, 2 minutes of silence for the fallen, history, music, and so many flags.

But the boys had eyes on daddy right after the show.

And they were quick to find us in the throng.

And then we were treated to lunch with the boys.

During which we had this bright observation from my eldest child:

Nicholas: "Mommy, what are you doing here? You're not a Veteran."

I didn't go straight across the table at him, although the scene played out in my head.

And after the boys were tucked back in their classrooms for the day, Patric and I got a chance to look at all of the posters from the families here honoring their loved-ones who have served.

But this may be the most sweet gift of all from the neighbor kids.

Unpacking Uncovered

2011-11-10T07:27:00.000-06:00

Some unknown foam crafting paper.

Paper?

The boys quickly decided what it would be good for.

Battle of course.

And their daddy was quick to assist.

HAHAHAHA--No

2011-11-09T07:19:00.000-06:00

Not on the Christmas list: the My Twin doll.

It's Over

2011-11-08T07:16:00.000-06:00

The week long candy free-for-all is over.

Seems like you guys hardly put a dent in it, even with all of the time you spent around that bowl.

Reserve Weekend

2011-11-07T07:24:00.000-06:00

Replacing National Guard Weekend

It's still a mess.

However, this one included unpacking the last box and sifting through the last of the crazy.

We're moved.

It's official.

Safety First

2011-11-04T08:00:00.000-05:00

Conversations With Alida

2011-11-03T08:07:00.000-05:00

Grandpa: "Alida, I'd really like you to show me your backyard."

Alida: "Yeah! We have two! One out there (pointing to the backyard), and one out there (pointing to the front door)!

Before Halloween, There Were Grands

2011-11-02T08:04:00.000-05:00

The weekend before Halloween, we had a great weekend with Grandma and Grandpa airplane. We celebrated Grandma Airplane's birthday,

And Nicholas learned a little chess,

And grandma got schooled on Angry Birds.

And there was pumpkin carving (ahem, in the living room).

And on top of Veteran's Day crafts for school, we spent most of our time riding bicycles, going to a birthday party, and enjoying the company.

They might not think so, but it was a very relaxing weekend for us!

Halloween

2011-11-01T19:55:00.000-05:00

Three families, hot dogs for the kids, and plenty of candy.

Big Smiles

This year Elaine decided to be the vampire.

18 kids between seven houses on our block.

This is two houses worth.

The neighbors from down the street came out to play.

Big Smiles.

A Witch!

And a candy coma by the end.

Gravediggers

2011-10-28T08:00:00.000-05:00

Alida

2011-10-27T08:00:00.000-05:00

We've been holding onto this outfit from Grandma Montana until it fit just right.

This is what I'm used to looking at instead of the posed picture up there.

You've been sick this week.

Sunday morning at Brian and Lori's you quietlly leaned over and threw up in my coffee cup.

Your resilience is amazing.

You're on the mend.

We look forward to having this little girl back.

It's Coming

2011-10-26T07:50:00.000-05:00

The Salt Lick, Austin, TX

2011-10-25T07:59:00.000-05:00

With Aunt Brian, Aunt Lori, and cousin Noah

Perfection.

Benjamin Goes to Kindergarten

2011-10-21T08:00:00.000-05:00

And my little guys took off for Kindergarten a short 9 weeks ago.

And immediately, like the first day, they were bringing home warning notes--yellow, red, "W" on the calendar. We became quickly acquainted.

But Ben's didn't relent.

And the notes said things like, "Ben is twirling in line."

And after about the third, baddest of the bad red notes saying Ben twirled in line, I started to ignore them.

But then they started to say that Ben twirled in line AND he put the teacher's aide in danger with his twirling and it was "witnessed".

When that happened, well, then it got interesting.

I responded in the daily note home, or was it the "Behavior Documentation Chart," or maybe it was straight on the red note, perhaps the weekly report, that Ben would now have strict consequences at home for these notes, so please help us know what is being done to help him stop the blasted twirling in line.

So the teacher called the principal.
And I started meetings with the principal.
And the principal seemed quite normal.

And then the neighbor girl started giving us daily reports on how awful Benjamin was.

And so we had parent/teacher conferences, which were really parent/teacher/principal conferences.
And I expressed that I hoped the smiles Ben had that week on his daily report didn't have to do with this conference coming.
And we expressed that we didn't appreciate getting reports on Ben from the other students.
And we expressed that the whole note system made no sense, and was over the top.
And we expressed that until she gave us an indication that there was anything said to help Ben get better, I would continue to tell him how to get better, and I would continue to write her a note every day telling her my expectations for Ben since none were being provided that we could back up.
And we expressed that the "Behavior Documentation Chart" that she didn't tell Patric about in orientation should have been explained to Ben's father when he asked about it. That was just a lie.
And as the egg timer beat down its 15 minutes, we got in our last words.
And we expressed all sorts of things in a very calm way.

And he seems to be coming to an understanding with the teacher, which is good, becauseI don't think putting him a different class would be an option.

And yesterday, Ben brought home his very first report card.
He is failing 5 of 7 categories.

But, I feel encouraged because it turns out that the neighbor girl is failing all the same things.

And so I remain convinced that this is not all a Ben problem.
Maybe Ben and neighbor girl and our girls will all go to Kindergarten together next year.

Oddly enough, I have every intention of siding with the teachers throughout my children's education. But I also learned quickly that sometimes the quivering chin and the huge tears over twirling in line are worth taking a stand for.

It's So Cold

2011-10-20T08:00:00.000-05:00

Accepting that the weather would never dip below 80 here, I dressed them in their shorts and t-shirts for school the other day.

When they hit the chilly 74 degrees outside, I heard:

"Moooooom!"

"It's SO cold! I'm freezing to death."

"We need jackets!"

and my favorite

"You should have never put us in shorts mom!"

Brother.

Elaine is in a 2T jacket there because it was all I could dig up on such short notice.

They are adjusting a little better than I.

Brazos Bend State Park

2011-10-19T08:00:00.000-05:00

We didn't see the promised flocks of alligators. We hear that when our neighborhood river dwellers get to about 7 feet, they are taken out here and released. Um, never mind that the park is about 10 minutes as the crow flies from our neighborhood...

We did love it, and we got our Texas State Parks Pass.

We can't wait to start taking advantage of the milder weather.

It Was Time

2011-10-18T07:57:00.000-05:00

Sunday morning, they were here, waiting, dressed at 7:30 in the morning.

Because we finally got the maniacs bikes on Saturday.

It started a week earlier, when the neighbor kids had let them borrow their bikes.

Then we became a nuisance.

And every time there was kid with a bike in the neighborhood, they would attack like a pack of bike zombies, asking if they could ride.

Seriously.

We live across the street from a park, it was a problem.

There were the neighbor kids, and then there were the kids that had just come to the park with their families.

We were terrorists.

And there is no place they would rather be at all.

And with the weather in the lower 80s, I can tolerate it.

Which is good, because it's hard to say no to these smiles.

I have yet to get a picture of Nicholas not riding away.

He got on and took off like he'd been riding his entire life.

Two days into it, I think we need to take off the training wheels to give him a challenge.

Happiness.

At one point last weekend there were 12 kids from 4 houses on our street swarming the place.

Thankfully, we weren't just attacking their stuff this time.

Time Is Flying

2011-10-17T19:41:00.003-05:00

They've grown about 5 years in the past 5 months.

Secret Agent

2011-10-07T08:08:00.000-05:00

New favorite game at the park these days: Secret Agent.

They run all over the place hiding from each other. Other than that, I'm not entirely sure what all the rules of the game are.

Randomness

2011-10-06T07:55:00.000-05:00

We have been randomly randomless lately.

Probably because Benjamin's new favorite place is in front of the computer.

The girls are currently in LOVE with Hello Kitty.

I have really no clue how they were introduced to Hello Kitty.

Football season has returned.

By the time Alida finishes, she will have eaten all the ketchup, none of the eggs.

Generally, she'll dunk her fingers in and then wave her hand around looking like ET before it's over.

We found a new playground a few blocks away. Good for a change, but nothing beats being able to run back to the house to use the facilities without wrecking the whole party.

National Guard, which is now Federal Reserves, has begun again.
We've enjoyed the break.

Nicholas has been wearing the Cabbage Patch's headband around to "workout."

Benjamin

2011-10-05T07:49:00.000-05:00

Your pirate shirt states all of our frustration at beginning Kindergarten.

We'll get there.

Our first parent/teacher conferences, where the principal will be a special guest at yours, are tomorrow. I think for the first time, I'm not ready for you to grow up because it seems so harsh already. We'll live to tell the tale. We will, and we'll all be better for it. But for right now, we are going to muddle through for awhile.

October

2011-10-04T07:44:00.001-05:00

Time to get the graveyard ready.

Nicholas: "It looks they are worshiping the tree mommy."

And drag out the get-ups.

All of them.

Critters

2011-10-03T07:51:00.000-05:00

What you don't see in this picture are the two baby raccoons just hanging out at our front door.

They scattered as the kids came thankfully.

We also have an armadillo that resides nightly in our backyard. He digs holes. Lots of holes.

Patric doesn't believe my tale of the rabbit as big as a donkey that I saw back there one day. But I swear I saw him.

You have seen the alligator; he turned out to be at least three alligators.

And the duck that acts like a domesticated house cat.

And, squirrels, squirrels everywhere that no one can catch.

I wasn't prepared for such manner of wildlife.

And Patric thinks we need to get a dog.

I'm starting to believe him, if for nothing more than to defend our yard.

Elaine

2011-09-30T07:45:00.000-05:00

Little close girl.

Although this is the most accurate depiction of you. You are always near and helping and seeking me out and finding me even when I'm in the bathroom.

Yes, even when I'm in the bathroom.

Goofy lady.

That's it sweetheart.

Sunday Afternoon

2011-09-29T07:43:00.000-05:00

Laundry done.

We Can't Stay Away

2011-09-27T09:11:00.002-05:00

From

The Good Stuff Guide

They are going on our Friends and Family list.

Our Character

2011-09-23T07:49:00.000-05:00

Still eating tomatoes straight out of the fridge.

And drawing grenades on his calves.

Saturdays

2011-09-22T07:45:00.000-05:00

When the sun comes up, we begin fresh.

When the sun goes down, we leave a mess

It's Hot Here

2011-09-21T07:40:00.000-05:00

So we headed to Bass Pro on a free afternoon to amuse ourselves.

We looked at tents, and then we laughed--alligators and hundred degree temperatures. Perhaps we'll re-think that later in the year.

We'd like to put cousin Noah next to that bear.

The 4-Year Stats Are (finally) In

2011-09-20T07:35:00.000-05:00

This photo before 4 shots each and a nasal flu mist.

Alida: 38 1/2 inches, 30 pounds, failed the hearing screen, cleaned out a gob of ear wax, and found an ear infection.

Elaine: 38 inches, 29 pounds, failed the hearing screen, hated the shots.

Two days later they passed the hearing screen at pre-K. Onward.

Doctor read our paperwork as he walked in,

"Am I reading this right? You have two that are 5 and two that are 4?"

"Yes."

"I feel like I need to give you a hug."

"I would just cry."

And he laughed.

We like him.

Well, Not Quite Right

2011-09-19T07:30:00.000-05:00

We've been wanting to get some rockers for the front porch, so we can sit and sip lemonade while they run in the park across the street.

More good parenting skills shown here when we were out and saw the rockers we wanted, and so we made do with the room we had in the car.

Unbelievable

2011-09-14T13:45:00.003-05:00

This came home from school with Nicholas yesterday.

This came to me in an e-mail last Friday. Nicholas also brought home a his first red note from school regarding the described "incident."

Hi Mrs. Stuber,

I wanted to let you know that Nicholas kissed a student on the hand this afternoon. He also attempted to do this earlier today and I spoke to him about keeping his hands, feet, and etc. to himself. Please speak with Nicholas regarding this incident. Feel free to contact me if you have any further questions or concerns. Have a great weekend!

Best regards,

Ms. Bluntson

When I got this e-mail last Friday, I laughed and laughed and laughed.

When I saw that picture last night, I got mad. Still mad almost a full day later.

We'll talk about Benjamin's "Behavior Docmentation Chart" later...

Hmmm

2011-09-12T08:00:00.002-05:00

Now this is interesting.

School starts and the paper starts rolling in.

You are instructed in one sheet that you can refer your own child to the gifted and talented program.

Do you do it?

Is your kid really that smart?

Do you really want to find out?

Or do you wait and see how much trouble he gets in once he has the hang of the rules and gets bored?

Do you think maybe this is a crazy system?

What parent doesn't think their child is gifted and talented?

How low does the threshold go for gifted and talented?

Aren't the teachers supposed to have some input here?

And the real question, do I really have time for/want to deal with all of the extra homework?

Do I really want to deal with any standardized difference in their education?

And the real heart of the matter, aren't they in Kindergarten? Can't we all just enjoy Kindergarten?
Bleck.

Works For Now

2011-09-10T08:08:00.000-05:00

On the rare occasion that I just have to take them to the store with me, in this instance to shop for school supplies,

I get rid of the "I wants" by making our Christmas list.

Now I take a picture of them by the things they really seem to want.

It keeps them happy to get to pick out something special,

and I might even remember in the end what they really said they wanted for Christmas.

Tangled

2011-09-09T08:03:00.000-05:00

The plastic trailing out behind her headband, which I had to tape on there after she came up with the idea but it just wouldn't stick is her Rapunzel hair. It would help if she would just stop clopping big chunks of hair off of her head. While a little trim seems to stimulate a little growth, Elaine just can't keep herself from taking big chunks out of her hair with the scissors. She currently looks like she stuck her head in the lawnmower.

Then, she just puts plastic on her head and flies away in a cardboard airplane.

Oh, to be four.

Picture By Ben

2011-09-08T07:57:00.000-05:00

Found on my phone.

When we re-organized/expanded the movie holder to put all of their movies in one place last weekend, Ben re-discovered Star Wars.

Seeing the movie, he exclaimed. And then, he knelt down and kissed the movie about ten times in a row. You can bet that if he is first up on Saturday morning, that is the movie that goes in the DVD player. Alas, poor guy is usually last out of bed these days.

My Toys

2011-09-07T07:55:00.000-05:00

Now their toys.

Kindergarten, And Now

2011-09-02T08:00:00.001-05:00

Our first loose tooth.

Nicholas has his feelings hurt that Ben was first for this milestone. He claims when it comes out he will fake sleep all night long so that he can see what the tooth fairy looks like. Then when Ben wakes up in the morning, he'll tell Ben all about her.

"But Nick, she won't come if you don't go to sleep."

"No Ben, she won't come if you don't go to sleep, right mom?"

Crap, I don't know.

Years Ago

2011-09-01T08:02:00.000-05:00

This piano was on sale somewhere.

Literally, years ago (I know the boys were not yet three, which was why we didn't put it together).

We finally put it together.

It sounds a little like it's more than three years out of tune, but I suspect it may have started out that way.

And yes, we went to the movies this weekend in the skeleton pajamas. I love watching people watch us when we're out. They don't really know what to do with what is in front of them.

Saturday Mornings

2011-08-31T07:56:00.000-05:00

Well, they aren't so disasterous when we crawl out of bed and see what they're up to now days.

Kind of constructive, really.

Already Waiting

2011-08-30T08:00:00.001-05:00

For next year, when we can escape the heat again.

How Was School Boys?

2011-08-29T07:47:00.000-05:00

Nicholas: "Mom, can we just ask Sienna Kids (the pre-school) if we can go back?"

What?

"There are so many rules!"

Benjamin: "Yeah mom, there are thousands and thousands of rules!"
Well good Ben, glad to hear that you are already learning your math.

Gone are the good old days.

Me with my doc at my first post-op appointment after the girls were born, who were asleep in their car seats during this photo op.

School Days

2011-08-22T09:21:00.004-05:00

And so the boys were off today to Kindergarten.

Nicholas took off into the crowd when we arrived.

Benjamin held back and held on to our hands until we got him to his room.

His question, "Where do I put my backpack, mom?"

I don't know. But we'll figure it out together.

And the remarkable to me part, the girls were very nervous to not have their brothers there with them this morning and didn't want me to leave.

Traveling

2011-08-18T08:00:00.000-05:00

Six on a plane.

Six in a car.

We six stand out when we go.

A Little Weaponry

2011-08-17T08:00:00.000-05:00

Pausing

2011-08-16T08:00:00.000-05:00

To grab a picture of Elaine.

And Alida

And the sisters

And even Ben showed up to give a smile.

Hit It

2011-08-15T08:08:00.000-05:00

First there was the saddling up.

And then a bit of convincing Ben that this was a good idea.

And when it started to go, he just sunk down like a turtle.

But it didn't take long,

until he was just showing off.

With Uncle Curt at the helm, all was well.

For Alida even.

And I dare say, even Elaine enjoyed.

And Nicholas, the King of the World.

Over Casting

2011-08-12T08:00:00.000-05:00

Right after Nicholas cast himself off the dock along with his pole.

Low Tech

2011-08-11T08:00:00.000-05:00

rides are best.

Anything Goes

2011-08-10T08:00:00.000-05:00

Even hours with the iPhone

Summer Evenings

2011-08-09T08:00:00.000-05:00

Gone Fishin'

2011-08-08T08:57:00.000-05:00

Ghostrider

2011-08-05T08:00:00.000-05:00

Can't you tell?

Pictures of Me

2011-08-04T08:05:00.001-05:00

I might show up as a consequence of some other activity.

You can almost bet that if I am there, it is Saturday, and there is no make-up, an over-sized T-Shirt, and a pony-tail.

And generally speaking the perspective is off.

Really off.

And that is why you don't often see me here.

Face Off

2011-08-03T08:00:00.000-05:00

8, 5, 5, 4, 4, 4, 1

2011-08-02T07:47:00.000-05:00

And so we had seven kids in the house over the weekend.

And the five-year-olds adored the eight-year-old, and

the four-year-olds adored each other, and

everyone adored the one-year-old.

You have a little donut there on your face little buddy.

There was baking.

And piles.

And swimming of course.

And there's nothing like a game of hide-n-seek in high humidity.

I was outside long enough to snap this picture, then I melted.

Help

2011-07-29T08:13:00.001-05:00

They started out helping me fold the laundry.

Lessons Learned

2011-07-28T08:10:00.000-05:00

Adults are not allowed to go down the frog slide.

Alas.

Still had fun.

And by the end of the afternoon, I think three of my kids were actually swimming in the big pool.

We kept marveling at how we basically had the pool to ourselves with four life guards watching over.

Nice.

Happy Birthday Ladies

2011-07-27T07:56:00.001-05:00

We had a smallish party for the girls last Saturday with Aunt Brian and Aunt Lori and Noah.

I was so against ever letting one of these cakes into my kitchen with all of the things stuck on the top, that I gave in entirely and let Elaine decorate the whole thing.
She loved it; I shook my head.

Alida took a nap.

We were all set to head across the street to have a pizza party with cake and gifts.

Then a whole other party rolled into the pavilion with a bouncy house, face painting, a carousel (yes, a carousel), a popcorn machine, and a picnic table full of gifts.

So we opted to keep in low-key and inside. It was so hot anyway....

Happy Fourth ladies.

Rapunzel, any princess garb, and lip gloss made you happy.

And the debate continues whether these ladies are identical or not.

A Whole Other Level of Creepy

2011-07-26T07:51:00.001-05:00

Um, no words here.

The over-friendly bird has nothing on this guy.

No one will be running down by the riverside any time soon.

So Fast

2011-07-25T07:47:00.001-05:00

When I saw Noah at the end of January, we watched him roll himself around.

When we saw him a month ago, we watched him crawl around.

Last weekend, we all went on a walk, and little man hung in there pretty good!

Well, That Lasted

2011-07-22T07:37:00.000-05:00

All of

five minutes
before I was stepping on little butterfly hairclips and not saying nice things.

The USS Texas: Lessons for the Stuber Home

2011-07-21T07:19:00.000-05:00

We visited the USS Texas a couple of weekends ago.

Lesson 1: We don't belong anywhere without air-conditioning in Texas in July. We look forward to visiting again in the Fall.

Lesson 2: Don't let harsh conditions cramp your princess style.

Lesson3: Even in rough conditions, everyone can sit down and have a civilized meal together.

Lesson 4: Stock up on the things you need.

Lesson 5: Stack 'em

Lesson 6: Cage the things you don't want messed up.

Lesson 7: Defense

Lesson 8: Even in harsh environments, you can find beauty every time.

And Then You Were 4 Alida!

2011-07-19T08:00:00.002-05:00

Our bonus child, July 19, 2007

And then we turned around and you were 1.

Then all of the sudden you were 2.

And we were amazed by 3.

Suddenly you are 4, and I really can't believe it lady.

You are full of energy.

You've always hung right in there with the boys.

You are fearless.

You are smart.

And you can already tell some pretty tall tales.

I can't wait for more.

Happy Birthday Alida