Daddy’s away… again. And finally:

One year and three days ago, I posted this post: http://balesf5.blogspot.com/2011/01/when-daddy-is-away-girls-will-find.html

Today, I can finally post this picture:

I love it.

And now, so I can place your talent admiration squarely where it belongs… in March, my mother offered to make the quilt. I declined. In July, she offered again. Still I dumbly declined. And this fall, I said something along the lines of “Moooooooooooooooommmmmmmmmmmmmm?”

And without batting an eye, she took my bags of fabric rectangles I hadn’t touched for many months and bailed me out.

So I made curtains to match.

Did I mention I love it? Thanks, Mom. I owe you one a million.

Hello, can you say distracted?

A friend from church volunteered to watch my kids for a few hours today.My kids love when she comes, I get a break, and it amazes me how many stores I can go to in a short time without dealing with so many kids and car seats. Thank you, Janie. So, so much appreciated. And those leftovers… I need the recipe. They were really good.

So I got home to find the goats out. This isn’t, unfortunately, the first time. A little chasing, stick throwing, a G-rated name calling later, the fence was fixed and the goats were captured. So I did the reasonable thing in such circumstances – I looked at my good shoes on my feet and decided they’d live. I put each of the four goats in the stanchion and trimmed their feet.

Blaine, you might not want to hurry too much. Eau de Goat permeates the house at the moment…

Never a dull moment.

Dear Blaine,

Hurry home.

They are in cahoots together. 2 against 1. I lose.

Love,

Adrienne

A truer measure, perhaps?

Friends keep asking how I’m doing with Blaine gone. I keep saying I’m fine. Blaine spent a lot of time getting things set up around here so this month would go smoothly.

This morning I started pouring Cheerios in my coffee.

Maybe I’m not doing as well as I thought.

What I walked into the kitchen to find just now…

Ruby liked it. Obviously. She even added a bit to her hair. You know, for color.

As did Charlotte.

And now that she’s soaked in the tub for a bit, I’m going to go see if I can chisel her cheeks free…

Your world, according to Ruby.

Ruby and Sterling were arguing. Sterling stated he didn’t like supper. Ruby insisted he did. That was an interesting conversation. (Amazingly enough, Sterling ate it anyway. Turns out, not eating lunch – because he didn’t like what I made – makes him very hungry!)

Why, when I leave the room because I cannot hear my phone conversation, do they follow me?

Charlotte sat in her chair, finished with her supper hollering, “Tee Tee! Tee Tee!” So glad she’s so dependent on Liberty. She didn’t yell for Momma.

I made popcorn last night. Usually Blaine makes popcorn on Sunday nights – it’s my night “off”. I was told my popcorn was better – it had more salt and butter. We all sat in the living room and ate it. This morning my hardwood floor had an impressive sheen. Thinking Daddy’s less-buttered popcorn does me a favor in the world of over-shined floors.

Sterling told me goodnight twice last night. “The second time I’m going to pretend you are Daddy.”

How does sleeping in one hour late put me three hours behind all day?

I found a whistle in the sandbox. Ruby found it later. Getting a mouth full of sand didn’t slow her down. I now have sand blown onto my freshly oiled floors… she must have thought a little grit was necessary to prevent slipping.

Can I saw how thankful I am for friends from church? A big crockpot of spaghetti was dropped off today – enough for leftovers for tomorrow too. It was wonderful. Even Sterling likes it. Ruby says so.

Pierce: 16 weeks

In honor of Pierce’s 3 month and one week birthday, some photos.

He’s 15 pounds, growing some impressive eyelashes (and eyebrows)

happy (part of the time) when he’s held or swinging

and far larger than any of my other babies at three months old.

It’s crazy.

He likes to sleep in my bed, and rarely cooperates with the “back to sleep in your own bed” plan. Because, after all, it’s really, really hard to nurse all night long from there.

He’s so not my first baby.

A long time ago, when I had just one, I was horrified when a father of nine told me that their ninth was sleeping in their bed. He said you just relax about these things. I thought never, never would I allow a baby to sleep in my bed. That’s not what the books say to do. It’s not what the pediatrician says to do. It’s just wrong.

I was wrong.