maybe i am mary poppins.....i have the right bag

So I cleaned out my purse yesterday.... 

Contents of my purse:

1 Wallet

2 Mini wallets

4 Notepads

3 Packs of gum

1 Hand sanitizer

3 Packs of wipes

2 Diapers

1 Toy mirror

1 Matchbox car

1 Set of teething keys

1 Baby book

1 Bible

1 Cell phone box

3 Tootsie Rolls

13 Suckers

45 Crayon pieces

1 Whole crayon

2 Pens

1 Rock

2 Lip balms

Hair clip

Aquaphor

Chris’ W2s

Lipstick

Headband

Stickers

Tags that I am supposed to relinquish in order to check my kids out of the church

                                                                                nursery

1 plastic knife

2 uneaten but destroyed granola bars

1 bag of Christmas sugar cookie crumbs (my personal favorite)

4 sucker wrappers

31 receipts, the oldest one dates 11.15.2010

3 church bulletins

15 grocery shopping list

1 list of stores to visit on Black Friday 2010

And a small handful of Chex cereal crumbs

remember when

"Mommy, maybe when I'm 4-years-old I will get big and get MARRIED!!!  First I will be a flower girl and then I will get big and be the princess in a white gown!!!"

Wow, I was SO not ready for that one!!  Especially coming from Scout.....haha--just kidding--it was Flora, of course.  According to the experts, she will be getting married before we know it so it's probably good that she's already planning her wedding.  I think I'll focus more on the here and now.....like making sure she doesn't run with her toothbrush in her mouth or put her shoes on the wrong feet.  Weddings and marriage is WAY beyond my scope at this point!

Flora and Scout love to play the "coyote" game.  It's Scout's favorite so he's usually the one to start the game by saying in a hushed voice, "Oh no, the coyote's coming!" (It sounds more like "Oh no, duh ty-otees tuh-min!").  Then they yell and jump and run and hide and strategize and finally defend themselves from the "ty-otee" using various weapons and/or evasive maneuvers.  I love it.  It is pretend-play at its finest.  And they have SO much fun!!
I was folding laundry in my room this evening and listening to Flora and Scout play with Barbies in Scout's room (poor Scout.....it's a good thing we're growing a brother for him).  Timber was also sitting in the room with them so he could learn how to play Barbies too.  I knew they were done playing Barbies when I heard Scout announce, "Oh no, duh ty-otees tuh-min!" followed by running and giggling.  A minute later I realized that the voices I was now hearing were coming from Flora's room so I went to see what was going on.  Poor Timber was still in Scout's room with the door now shut and Flora and Scout were huddled in Flora's room discussing how to evade/defeat the coyote.  I asked why they had left Timber all alone and Flora replied, "Well, because the coyote was in there and that's just how we do it."  So apparently it's every man for himself when the coyote shows up!

Timber had his 6-month check-up last week and he is now in the 50th percentile for height, weight, and head circumference.  Mr. Pork Chop is now Mr. Average.  The doctor says he has some teeth that are thisclose to popping through but I've yet to see any evidence of that.  I've been expecting teeth "any day now" since he was 2-months-old so I've basically given up on any teeth ever appearing.  I will be completely shocked and surprised when/if he sprouts a tooth.

Toof. 
Some words are just more fun to say in toddlerese.
Toof.  Ty-otee.  Four-a.  Sout.  Timmer.  :-)

what's in YOUR fortune cookie?

Flora's new thing is to make up a word if she doesn't know the answer to a question.  Yesterday, she and Chris went on a little Daddy/Daughter date to the local Chinese restaurant and she got her own fortune cookie.  Chris wanted her to tell me about it once they arrived home so he asked her, "Flora, what was in your cookie at the restaurant?"  She thought for a second and then replied, "A doobie." 

the borkert blood runs strong in that one

Flora jumps.  If you are part of the Borkert family you probably know what I'm talking about.  I won't go into great detail to protect the other "jumpers" out there, but I will say that her jumping style is eerily similar to that of another Borkert I know.  It's even more uncanny since she's never witnessed him, or anyone else, "jumping".  But that's all I'll say about that.  I am going to try to video it sometime and post it privately for the people who would truly appreciate it.  We need to find her a better stick first.....

his mother's keeper

Scout:  What you doin', Mom?

Me:  I'm going to the bathroom.

Scout:  Oh-tay!  [runs into the other room]  Flora, Mommy is going to the bathroom!!

Scout:  [running back to the bathroom]  Now what you doin', Mom?

Me:  I'm all done going to the bathroom.

Scout:  Ok, Mommy, you can come out now 'cause you all done.  [running into the other room]  Flora, Mommy is all done!

take it with a grain of salt.....

Sick again.....but I'm hoping that all of this winter's illnesses will mean less next winter.  C'mon, Immune Systems!!  Woohoo!  Maybe they just needed a little encouragement???  Did you know that a temp in the upper 103s is only considered a moderate fever?  I learned a lot about fevers from a phone conversation with a very nice nurse practitioner yesterday.  Flora kinda freaked me out last night when her fever was up near 104 degrees.  She was clutching her pillow and yelling "Whoa!" like the room was spinning or something.  Maybe it was spinning for her.....but, in true kid fashion, she was over it quickly and is fever-free and chipper this morning.  I was glad to learn from the nice nurse practitioner that the medical world has decided that fevers are not as evil and dangerous as they were once thought to be.  I've always wondered about the practice of forcibly breaking a fever since it is obviously the body's method of combating viruses, but no one ever told me not to.  I've always let the fever run for a while before giving medicine but always felt like I should keep that practice a secret -- like I was doing something that other people wouldn't approve of.  I was glad to learn that doctors agree with my methods and I no longer need to feel ashamed about not immediately treating a fever.  It only makes sense that fevers are beneficial -- I mean God designed our bodies to fight illnesses and infections with fevers so why not let the body do its thing? 
Ok, now that I've said so much about fevers I feel like I should add the rest of the information I learned from the nice nurse practitioner yesterday -- 1. If you are really concerned about your child's condition you should always take him/her to the doctor whether the temp is 98 or 104 degrees;  2. A child with a temp of 105 degrees should be seen by a doctor because there is a greater chance that a bacterial infection is the cause and antibiotics could quickly kick it;  3. A fever caused by a virus will typically last 72 hours and a moderate fever that lasts longer than that should be evaluated by a doctor; and,  4. I'm not a doctor, or a nurse, or qualified in any way to give medical advice!  (The nice nurse practitioner didn't say that last part.)  When in doubt, call the doctor or nurse. 

In other news.....
Today I attempted to do a toy rotation while all the kids were awake.  It went much smoother than I even hoped!  They were so distracted by the "new" toys that they didn't even notice me packing up all their old ones! 

Flora woke up coughing and feverish last night and rejected the water and honey and juice I offered her.  When I finally asked her what she wanted to make her feel better, she said, "I just want you."  "You just want me to what?" I asked.  "I just want YOU, Mommy," she replied.  Of course, I got my pillow and blanket and slept in her bed all night.  This is trickier than it sounds since Timber still nurses during the night.  Poor Chris had to come get me every time Timber woke up so I could go feed him and then return to Flora's room.  And Scout woke up in the night with a fever.....maybe I should say poor me instead of poor Chris!  Although he is the one who really needed his sleep since he is preaching today. 

Oh, wow!  I just realized that it is almost noon!  I haven't set the kitchen clocks yet for Daylight Savings Time so I thought it was only 10:45am.  I guess I'd better get these kids some food! 

There is an end in sight with this particular illness!  Hoping and praying that this will be our last for a long long long long long long looooooooong time!

copycat

Flora: Mommy, we need to get out of this house!
Me: What? Why?
Flora: We just need to get out of this house. Maybe we should go to the store or something.

Hmm.....I wonder where she's heard that before??

that's right.....a parachute

"Mommy, look! Flowers on my bum!" ~ Flora

"You can be best friends without touching each other." ~ Me

"Jesus doesn't like Flora." ~ Scout

"The toothpaste is invisible." ~ Me

"What's that?" "It's a salmon patty."
"What's that?" "It's a salmon patty."
"What's that?" "It's a salmon patty."
"What's that?" "It's a salmon patty."
"What's that?" "It's a salmon patty."
"What's that?" "It's a salmon patty." ~ Flora/Scout and Me

"Who are we?" ~ Flora

"I don't want to look up high!" ~ Scout

"Is that a whale?" "No, it's a duck." ~ Scout and Me

"What says 'uh'?" asks Flora. Scout, from the other room, shouts, "U say 'uh'!"

"That big poo-poo hurt my bum. It's like a parachute." ~ Flora

"Mommy, how do I spell thedoctorsayswecanhaveonemorevitamintoday?" ~ Flora

"Stop running and I'll give you a calculator." ~Me

"Mommy, my heart is broken!" ~Scout (after tearing his play-doh heart)

on balance.....or the lack of balance

Something's gotta give when your husband doesn't have any clean pants to wear.

I've finally started exercising again and am back on track with my Bible reading, but the laundry is piling up and the house is always dirty.

So today I will skip the running and exercise my folding skills instead.....and tomorrow Chris won't have to dig through the dirty laundry to find a pair of pants.

Being a grown up stinks sometimes.