Outhouse

As of late, I feel this blog is becoming all about Finn. My life is not really that way, but maybe the alone time he and I are sharing is shining much needed light on his awesome-ness.

The other day, I looked outside to see Finn and a pal in our side yard looking very suspicious. I poked my head out the window to ask what they were doing.

Finn answered in his ultra-matter-of-fact tone, “We are going potty in the open lot!” (His tone implied a loud “You dummy” at the end.)

“No you’re not!” I yelled and then explained that their plans did not demonstrate what I believe to be appropriate behavior.

“Okay,” he said, and shrugged it off, his little mind onto something else.

The independent five year old he was with would have none of my interference. He snuck around the other side of his house with Finn watching, whipped “it” out and got caught by his babysitter. Not to mention the fact that in his determination to do what he wanted, he peed all over his own shirt.

It makes a mom’s job easy when your child gets to see blind determination go awry in terms of a friend’s peer pressure. Thanks neighbor-kid. I think our outdoor bathroom habit has expired.

Then Comes a Cousin - finally!

It is with utter excitement that this first-time aunt announces the arrival of

Elizabeth Grace Logan

We are pretty excited over here, that's for sure. Congrats to Tom, Michelle and big sister Emily!

Marbles

It’s funny how much trouble a couple marbles can cause. The other day, Finn and a neighbor were outside throwing a silver marble around. Somehow, Riley got into the mix and took the marble to try it out. The neighbor, proud marble owner, became instantly angry and proceeded to start calling Riley names like “dummy” and “meany”. His dad jumped right on it and told him to stop, but he persisted in his argument that Riley was a dummy.

All of a sudden, Finn turned sixteen before my eyes and hurdled to Riley’s defense. From his tiny three-year old body he belted out, “NO SHE IS NOT! RILEY IS NOT A DUMMY!”

It was so cute that the dad and I couldn’t help but chuckle as I told Finn it was okay and that we were handling it.

“No it’s not okay! He is saying my sister is a dummy and meany and she is NOT!” He exclaimed.

I think the shock of Finn’s involvement was the catalyst to ending the whole minor offense and everyone quickly went back to playing, as kids do.

Ten minutes later, Finn chucked our neighbor’s silver marble over the fence and into the brush, never to be found again.

Fast forward about five hours. Just as we are ready to leave to pick up the girls from school, Finn emerges from upstairs saying something about the marble in his tummy.

Ugh.

This is another marble that has been showing up in odd places around the house for the last week and apparently, it seemed like a good idea to put it in his mouth. And swish it around. And he sucked it right in.

After a quick call to the doctor and realizing that there was no imminent danger, we settled into the fact that we will now be scoping out bathroom visits for the emergence of a turquoise blue flattened out glass marble, you know, the kind you put in the bottom of vases. Ugh again.

So for as much as I thought my little man had grown up early that morning, I’m thinking not so much.

Still, here are the pictures from yesterday - the day I brought my last baby to the first day of preschool. He loved it.

Finnism

I just went to the bathroom and Finn followed me in.

He said, "Do you want privacy, or me?"

I couldn't say I didn't want him, so I said, "Oh either way is fine."

He closed the door behind him, turned and said, "Hmmm, now where can I sit?"

Will I ever have the bathroom to myself again? Is this too much to ask??

Farmer Finn

Here are a couple shots of my sidekick working in the garden. He seems to enjoy it as much as I do!

Fall Forward

It was a great summer, but school is back in session now and fall routines are underway. As I scope out crock pot recipes (the only option other than frozen pizzas due to afterschool activities) and purchase white boards and three-tiered wall filers to try and keep myself organized, I wonder how people do this with any more kids. To top it off, my feast or famine career is in feast mode. This is, of course, what I’ve been working for, but with my sitter back to school, there’s just no time and other plans will have to be made. Soon.

In the midst of it all, I’ve so enjoyed my solo time with Finn. His ultra-cute three-ness was lost a bit in the shuffle of his sisters and the thirty-some other neighborhood kids this summer. I’d forgotten how great it is to just have one little pal to bum around, jump on the trampoline and run errands with. It truly seems like utter simplicity.

So, as the girls move up and on and hit the books, Finn and I will enjoy our two hours of slow-it-down living each day, until school starts for him next Wednesday. And I’ll run around like a chicken with my head cut off for the other twenty-two.

Here are some shots of the girls’ soaking wet first days of school.