Gross (with a Capital G!) potions

Warning: if you suffer from germaphobia - you might just want to skip reading this post.

The kids love playing in our junkyard back yard, and they have a way of finding a use for everything...and I mean everything. One thing they little boys like to do is to make "potions." They usually borrow heavily from the compost pile for this so they never smell good. Well, yesterday's potion topped them all.

Frankie peed in a bucket that was in the backyard (this is not something we encourage or allow, but it happened...) Anyway, I think this gave Charlie and Reed the idea to do the same, and they decided that was a great starter for a new potion. I don't know what else went in there, but at some point Reed had to go #2. So he went in a cup and - you guessed it - into the potion it went. They were out there stirring it up when the older kids came in to tell us.

We immediately made them discard of the potion - they were indignant: "What???? Why do we have to dump out our potion??!!" - and go to their respective homes to change and shower. We had to hose Charlie off before even letting him in because he spilled it on himself when he was dumping it out.

Once Charlie was done bathing and changing, he came out making a face and spitting like he had eaten something terrible - and before your imagination runs away with you, he did not get the potion into his mouth so rest assured.  I asked why he was doing that and he said he had put a bar of soap in his mouth. "Why did you do that?" I asked. "To punish myself." (Maybe he got the idea from A Christmas Story?) At any rate, I think (hope!) they've learned not to do that again.

Roomie

We have a new roommate! The preschool teacher at St. Ed's was living with an elderly couple in Marshall, but we decided with coronavirus it would be safer for them if she was not living there. Plus, she is closer to work this way. And we have an attic with plenty of room so here she is.
We are doing our best not to drive her crazy - moving from a house with 0 kids to 5 kids is a major change.
She has been mystified by such odd behaviors as kids dropping things on the floor and not picking them up - "Who drops a pen and then just walks away??" "I'll give you 4 guesses." and siblings fighting with each other. "Why are they fighting? Can't you just tell them to work it out calmly." "Oh! Huh...I never thought of that :)" I should mention she also didn't grow up with siblings. At any rate, it's going very well and she fits in nicely. She's good at rolling with the punches, and gets along well with everyone.
Bonus: one more person in the house who cleans up after herself without being asked!!

Around here

The saddest part of staying at home during this pandemic is not getting to bring the kids to see their grandparents regularly.

Olivia in particular is growing by leaps and bounds. She is making lots of new sounds; she says Dada, Mama (not as often), kitty and tickle (both of which sound pretty similar to Daddy).

She is getting around pretty quickly, shoving everything in her mouth(which had been so much harder to monitor with all the kids home and schooling all day), and standing on her own for 10 seconds at a time or so. She doesn't pull herself up so think walking is a few months off, but she is pretty dang proud of her ability to balance on her feet.

Poor Frankie has been lost in the shuffle as we all race to get schoolwork done every day (which usually isn't completely finished until almost supper time). He could go to daycare, but he doesn't like leaving when he knows we are all staying home. Given the option of going to daycare (which he loves!) he had said, "No, I will just be bored at home."

And here's another quote.

Frankie: Are Russians all bad guys?
Me: No, they just kind of sound like that...

We then realized he has only ever heard Russian accents on movies where they play the villians, triggering that question.

And to sign off, I will leave you with a few unedited photos that look like they were made with filters but were not. 

We have a teenager in the house!

Elena turned 13 smack dab in the middle of our state Stay-At-Home-Order....well, maybe not the middle. This could be just the beginning, but either way, it sure dampened our plans for her birthday. No friends over to share cake, no going out anywhere.

She took it all in stride and wasn't too upset. In the end, there were lots of friends and family who made it a point to make her day special.

The day started with "April Fools" caramel rolls. These were rolls that I set out to rise the night before only to find in the morning that they had been in the freezer a bit too long so they didn't rise. April Fools! Have a crappy breakfast.

Fortunately, we didn't need the rolls after all. Elena's former 3rd grade teacher, Ms. Delmonico came to the rescue with her kids, bringing donuts from the Canby Bakery. (For those who aren't local, those are as good as it gets!) They stayed in the car for the visit & we stayed several feet from the car. It was wonderful to visit with them, but so sad the kids couldn't get out to play!

This was followed by a visit from my parents who brought her roses along with an Easter hat and a mermaid snuggie. They got out of the car, but we stayed outside and kept our 6 foot distance (as you can see) during their short visit.

In the afternoon, we had visits from 2 more of Elena's friends/cousins (Ana and Maddy) from the Marshall area, bringing cookies and gifts. More social distancing was had by all. I was bummed not to get a picture of Ana who came appropriately dressed for the occasion with a mask and gloves.

The evening brought a visit from Seth's mom, followed by a bonfire with Seth's sister's family out back.

And I can't forget to mention all the cards!! At the time I took this picture she had gotten 21, but she has since received several more.

All in all, I'd say it was a pretty special day. And a birthday she likely will never forget!!