Trucks, apple cores and hugs.

Tiger logic: "Bundle, eat your food." "I can't eat because I'm thinking." "I need you to eat." "Okay, then I'll NEVER think again." Bummer.
"Mommy, please drive over the hill." "No, Bundle, because I just drove past the turn to go up the hill and it will be too hard to turn around in this traffic." "Okay, then, Christmas is NEVER coming again. We'll not be able to have a tree, and I'm going to be so unhappy." Understandable. ?
"Bundle, how many apples have you eaten today?" "I had one. See, this is one, and this is one, and this is one, and this is one." (Obviously) Snacking doesn't count (literally).

Paugieland: "Mommy, look how beautiful it is outside!" "I know, Paugie, this day is wonderful!" "It's perfect! Mommy, it's purple!" All things great are... purple.
"Paugie, you need to put your pants on." "I don't think so. I'm praying." Got it.
"Paugie, are you running water again?" "No Mommy, I'm playing in the pond (bathroom sink). It's the purple pond." Of course.
"Mommy, I'm tired." "Oh, Paugie, do you want to take a little rest?" "No, Mommy, I want to snuggle and I need a morning mug, and my blanket." Cure for many an ill.
"Daddy, give me a hug and a kiss. Give Lochlan a hug and a kiss. Give Bundo a hug and a kiss. Give Kelto a hug and a kiss. Daddy, Daddy, don't go (commence weeping and hysteria)... you have to kiss Mommy and give her a hug too!" He hadn't seen that Mommy was first in line. :-) He's always insistent that the love be complete and thoroughly given in this household.

The babies? Just being awesome, like always. Jevy swaggers about with a smile, throwing himself jovially into any welcoming arms. This morning, Jevy reached his paws around Kelto who had awkwardly climbed upon him and said in his toddler speak, "I wuv you." Kelto is crawling from room to room, eating all things gross and inedible, smiling at everyone he encounters, and trying to keep tabs on Mommy (impossible mission, even for a really, really determined baby).

Team WORK. 

It's always a good time for a hug.

Always. 

Hide and seek in the woods. "Run, Mommy, hide!" 

"Come on, lil bro." 

I'm counting

Last week: 7 days, 4 sick boys, 2 weary parents, 34 loads of laundry, 32 diarrhea diapers, 1 (very) sick dog, 1 very large vet bill, 4 bitterly cold days.

As if to spite the challenges, the sun has risen every day, the little people in my life are filled with enthusiasm each morning to see what the day holds for them, and I have only to sit down and marvel and what I've been given. The boy I married 13 years ago is such a wonderful father to this pack of happy boys and yet still has capacity (energy) to love me heartily. I am surrounded by 5 wonderful men, 1 delightful Cray-Cray, 1 determined Scottish Terrier, and 2 beautiful horses - I am thankful.

The ever-talented Gumbum (see her website!) snapped this gallery when she visited a couple weeks ago.

Warm days

elude us now, but a very short time ago, these fall days were splendid to absorb! Our dear friends, Mark and Renae, came to visit and we cajoled them into taking a little hike. I'm not sure if the boys or the adults were more tired, upon our return, but the adventure was a success to be sure!

The Great White (dog) = Cray Cray

No caption necessary. But... Yummy! 

Hiking with these critters = happy times

Practicing his yoga pose. 

JPH. Just plain handsome. 

Love. So. Much. 

Off-roading adventures! 

Baristas and Cowboys

I'm Mommy, but I'm a barista, too. As I crawl out of bed each day, the hammering question is invariably whether priority #1 is as it should be: the preparation of the morning mugs. Never mind the wet diapers, soiled sheets, starving baby, dogs awaiting their outdoor routine, teeth brushing, contacts in eyeballs... morning mugs claim the foremost spot in our itinerary (my hot tea is right at the top of the barista list, so consider this a confession). Our list of options is nearly as extensive as that of our favorite coffee shop.

• Steamed (cow) milk with honey
• Steamed (cow) milk with maple syrup
• Hot tea with a little sugar and (cow) milk
• Hot tea with honey and (cow) milk
• Cappuccino mix with hot water and steamed (cow) milk
• Cappuccino mix with hot water and steamed (cow) cream
• Steamed (goat) milk with honey
• Steamed (goat) milk with unsweetened coconut milk and honey
• Steamed (goat) milk with flavored coconut milk 
• Coffee with cappuccino mix and steamed (cow) milk
• Coffee with Steamed (cow) milk
• Coffee with whipping cream (for the totally decadent)

This is not an exhaustive list, but it gives you an idea of your options, if you are considering a visit.

Some of the better parts of my (every) day: 
"Mommy, I need a morning mug."
"Mommy, Mommy!!! You've got to hurry! Shmelty Caleb just smiled at me. Oh, Mommy, our baby is soooooo cute."
"Paugie, where are your pants? Please put your pants on." (We have this on auto-repeat, so it accounts for the majority of the words I speak in each day).
"I wuf you."
Uncontrollable giggling as dinner is tossed overboard to the delighted canines who keep our house so immensely spotless - something about their lively motion puts the third born into fits of delight.
"Come, Mommy! The train is leaving. Let's sit on this bench [the couch] and watch the beautiful countryside whoosh by." The world of make-believe is such a bountiful one; we should live there.
The happy sigh and smile of the baby who has so valiantly sought out (and successfully procured) the presence of his mommy, amidst a vast, unexplored world we call the "whole house".
The pile of boys I find myself lost in when I lie on the floor to stretch out my weary legs. They're magnets for a good snuggle-fest.
"Mommy, Daddy's home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Can't get enough of that. All our hearts skip a beat when we discover he is finally home with us.
The enthusiastic kitchen assistant, attired in nothing (and I do mean nothing) but an apron.
"Mommy, can I have a taste of your tea? Mmmm, that's DEWICIOUS!"
The 47 "Mommy, Guess how much I love you?"s each day.

The loneliness of this season has no freedom to leave voids within my heart - the wealth of my life gives it no room to do so.

Barista-ville.

Tools of enchantment (each morning). 

I mean, how can you not love that? That tiny person is Incredible.

Say, "Ankie Tae!" The cowboy in our midst. 

Rain Ride

As I stood in the kitchen preparing my tea a few mornings ago, I glanced out to see two little men sporting their "rain gear" and careening about the porch. Nothing holds them back. The enthusiasm for life and the infectious desire to live it fully, experience it wholly, to savor rain drops on a rainy day - Ah, to be witness to these treasures. The sweetest part of what I behold each day is their desire to share the moments (of life and the living of it) with one another. Every part is richer when they're side by side - being a twin, I understand this importance intrinsically. 

Engaged in "Crawl"itics

This dear person is rapidly developing into the little man he is meant to be. He is all baby in so many (wonderful) ways, but every day I see glimpses of that grown up self that is (far too) soon to be and he is riding this maturity train with success and accomplishment. The boy had no choice but to master the crawl in order to keep proper tabs on Mommy, who seems to flit from one room to the next (faster than could possibly be necessary). He is now quite efficient at keeping up with this household of busy critters! 

7 Month old Mr. Incredible - just livin' up to his name. :-) 

"I'm not sure..." 

"You think I can? Okay, let's do this!" 

"Oh yeah, rockin' the house!" 

"That's why they call me the Crawl Master!" 

"Admit it... I'm crawl-tastic."

"Watch out, here I come!" 

Mission Accomplished.