Cuckoo

One careless blink.



A turn of the head.



And today she's five!
Happy birthday to our lovely, odd, delightful, little Bird!

How does one learn to live without blinking?

Real Time

Three seconds ago, out of the murky blue, Annie asked me what zombies are.

Since she's in the middle of her spelling work, and I didn't want to rabbit off into that trail, I answered simply, "Zombies are dead people who come back to life."

All was well and good until Annika started guffawing at the thought of zombies, as she does at any mention of vampires, monsters, and the like, and I heard Susannah thoughtfully respond, "Weeell, that's not so funny. WE'RE gonna be zombies someday."

Great.
Just when I thought I was teaching sound Biblical truth around here...

I'll Just Leave You Here for a Minute While I Wash a Few Dishes...

This won't convince anyone that she's been clothed through the winter, but I stand my ground. This occurred right before I dressed her for bed. (And I maintain that washing dishes was a wise choice.)

New Parents Never Do This

Millie's first birthday cake was made of whole wheat flour, wheat germ, carrots, applesauce, butter, and spices. Its only redeeming feature was a thick layer of cream cheese frosting, and it was small enough for her and her alone, because of course none of the adult guests would want to eat the thing! We had a triple-layer devil's food cake with cream filling.

No wonder she looks disappointed.



As the fifth daughter, Luci does not eat a wheat-germ cake.

She eats a kryptonite gnome, instead.




And likes it.


***To soften the concerns of mothers who give even their eight-year olds wheat germ cakes, three cheers for wheat germ! We blend it in our breakfast shakes! We stir it into muffin batter! We truly do. We no longer, however, eat wheat germ cakes.

Pomp Unfurled

As is becoming tradition for the first birthday, the older sisters dictated the cake's shape. Annie thought it should be "a Dorf cake, 'cause dorves are really cute like Luci." Millie suggested a gnome.

I turned that cake into a Dorf-gnome in about half an hour, which included making and tinting the frosting. Don't snicker.


Luci was amused by all the fuss.



She watched as we sang and blew out her candle.




I added a flower to her tray to improve the aesthetics.



Stupid me.



Rule #1. After eating kryptonite, always cleanse the palate with a sprig of vegetation.



Before bed, she opened her pillow from Millie. (Luci's parents did not give her anything because they are grinches.)

Able

We usually make between 50-75 valentines each year, and..psst...I don't have the best time of my life helping out. Therefore, I'm happy to announce that, this year, the tide has turned. The older girls whip them out like champs, and I only had to lift a finger for Pip's. Here's to lazy mothers!

And while we're at it, here's to plump lips and thick eyelashes!





And, Sarah J., I took a picture of Millie's Crispy Heart for you. She kept that frog a secret until she plopped him on top, and I think he's become part of the Owen family because we packed him away for next year.

V-Day Round-up

John and I usually don't observe Hallmark Day with much hooplah (though this year he gave me a fish!), but the girls love a good celebration, so I planned to make them pink oatmeal for breakfast.

Yup. Pink oatmeal.
Top that, Martha.

Millie requested pancakes instead, so in the space of five minutes, pink oatmeal turned into pink shakes, pink heart pancakes, rose petals from a rose John had given me two weeks ago, candlelight, cloth napkins, and a rumpled tablecloth.

I guess I'm a sucker for spontaneous celebrations.




The best part of the above pictures is that they don't show

#1. The dishes from the night before




OR
#2. the cleanest spot in the living room.

I'm SO glad you don't know about those.

For the McGamma

On Valentine's morning, we discovered your package that had languished on the porch through the weekend. (Luci loves her gift, and Susannah can't wait to open hers. The girls...ahem...are enjoying the candy.)



The package made me think of thank you notes, and thank you notes, for some reason, made me think of my promise to give you a picture of the girls.

CARPE DIEM!




At least I tried.
(What's Latin for "I tried to seize the day?")



I'll try again...another day.

Distraction

I know all of these pictures are of low artistic quality, but think of the "awww" factor!

Pip's love is worth a blurry picture.

We'll Need a Bigger Couch

For Luci's birthday, Millie began sewing a nearly-completed pillow my Mom had found, and suddenly everybody wanted to sew.



Except me. I just took lousy pictures.

So there, productivity!

Exception

Most days, I'd rather be human.

As you notice where his paws rest, however,



while also noticing my buried kneecap,



surely you can forgive me the fleeting wish.


Also, just the week before, researchers documented the ability of dogs to chew gloves stolen from those stupid enough to take them off (in order to operate a camera, no less).