Home From Camp

I love this camper.  We don't get to use it as much as I'd like, but whenever we do it is so much fun.

  

Camping was fun for everybody until about late Tuesday.  That's when Joshua started itching and swelling up.  Apparently he made friends with some poison ivy/poison oak/something.  

And don't let his smile fool ya.  He was/is miserable.  We took him to the doctor and he got a shot.  I can't tell that it did him any good.  In fact it got worse and started oozing.  Ewwwww!!  The itching was terrible and keeping him up at night.....and waking me up too. 

Next thing we knew, this girl had it too.  So we took her in for a shot and the doctor also gave Joshua something else.  We are hoping for a better day for both of them tomorrow.  

Yesterday, we were shopping in town when I got a call from a friend in my bee club.  Someone had called him about a swarm at the Charleston court house and he wanted to know if I wanted it.  

OF COURSE!!  But I wasn't home!  And swarms are finicky and would most likely be gone by the time we got there.  So I called Laney and asked if she and Jesse would go get it.  

She didn't even hesitate.  Laney hasn't had as much opportunity to work the bees but she acted quickly, followed my instructions, made good decisions and CAUGHT IT.  

Look at what a perfect and low swarm!  Easy Peasy.  We left right away and got there as they were finishing up.  They had an audience as well as the newspaper man there because small towns are adorable. 

I peeked at them this morning and they look happy.  Since the weather is supposed to almost freeze tonight, we moved them to the garage.  Tomorrow Mr. Hardin is coming to work bees with me and I can't wait to show him what my kids did! 

 And look what happened today. 

A couple of cuties made their appearance in our incubator.  

This has been an eventful Spring Break. 

Then And Now

Just look at his baby-ness! 

And who knows what on earth he was so upset about. 

But at least he had his Meg to love him.  

And even after 8 years, some things just don't change.

Some Camping Fun

Today was my first full day of camping.  And when I say full, I really mean from 10am-5:30pm.  Once I got the babies dropped off and settled, I headed to camp with my people.



A hammock burrito!

I'll just say that hammock business takes skills I don't have.  It's not as easy as it looks on Gilligan's Island.  The first time I attempted it I flipped all the way over and landed on the ground.  And I can't tell you how disappointed my kids were that they missed it.  The next time, I had Christian help me.  I didn't flip out, but I wasn't good at it.  You have to balance and adjust and .... just whatever.  I'll take a lawn chair thank you very much. 

We walked down to the lake where my kids scared me half to death climbing rickety trees and jumping on unsteady boulders.

And look at his new braces!  Isn't he just adorable?  I love him.

We did a lot of sitting around the camp fire and eating camp food.  I also did a lot of sitting in the camper and talking with my man or playing cards with my girly.

The best part of this trip is having all my big kids with us.  Laney works a lot these days so it's especially great to have her here.....even if she is a goofball with oreos.

We took a hike and followed some trails.



We also fixed the camper door that wasn't working quite right.


Meanwhile, the babies were having fun and doing great at my friends' houses.  There were a few times I did miss BlueEyes because I know there were lots of things he would've loved.  Maybe we can take him for the day another time.  But this time it was awesome to only have potty trained kids.  

Goodbye Jay, Spring Break Plans, And A Push For FFSS

You should see my living room.  It is littered with chunky plastic toys of primary colors.  But today there are a few less because our sweet Jay went to live with his brothers and grandmother yesterday.
He was one of our easiest and friendliest babies.  So easy to love, and like.

I'm proud of his grandmother for stepping up and taking her grand kids.  No doubt it will be super hard.  Single grandma.  Full time job.  6 kids and the oldest is only 10.  I hope she will do well.  And I hope his parents do well.  This morning I am praying for them all.  And praying for his day care workers to see how special he is and show him favor and extra attention.

So now we are back to two and the life of twins is over.  I see now why God never gave me real twins of my own.  Because OH MY GOODNESS!!

This is Spring Break for us.  This year that means camping!!
The weather so far has been very cold but no rain so my campers are not complaining.  We are camping close to home and I've been going back and forth with babies.  But today everything changes.

I have 2 friends heroes that are taking the babies for 3 days.  I'll drop them off after breakfast and pick them up before bed.  3 days in a row!!  We will all be camping together.  Just us.  No diapers. And even though they deserve a million dollars, they will not accept any money.  So I'm baking muffins and dinners when we get home and taking things to them in the morning.  They are awesome.

This is a part of foster care that you don't hear much about.  It's called Foster Family Support System (FFSS) and each foster family is supposed to have at least 2.  They are allowed to watch the kids for up to 72 hours.   It's easy to get approved....just background checks and one walk-through.   They are very important, sorely needed, and hard to come by.  And they are a huge blessing to every foster family.  So when I hear someone say they would love to help but they can't foster, I'm quick to tell them they could be a FFSS.

Anyway.

Today I will enjoy lots of campsite fun with my kids.  Everybody is off work and school for the whole week, except Meg.  And she will come and join us after work.  I'm so excited!!

A Little Bit Of Lately Because My People Haven't Noticed I Slipped Away

Alrighty.  Can I just say that 3 babies is just a little over-the-top?  I have always admired Michelle Duggar, but at this point she is my hero.  Because how on earth?  She's had so many babies and 2 sets of twins.  My youngest two are 4 months apart but developmentally they are exactly the same.  It's what I imagine having twins would be like.  And Oh My Goodness.  

Now and then I just need to escape.  Except that it's never long enough and rarely uninterrupted.  

So this.  

We've had a ton of rain.  Most days I don't go anywhere and we can just enjoy it all.  

We have been so blessed with gifts lately.  Lots of folks sharing their hand-me-downs and a new bunk bed set for the boys.  The bunk bed they had before was the metal kind.  Soooo squeaky and wobbly.  But this is a nice sturdy wood set with drawers underneath.  We love it.  

In addition to putting together a new bed, my guys also worked on some of the small engines that have been giving them trouble.  They've been taking an engine repair class and learning all kinds of ways to trouble shoot.  They even got the neighbor's lawn mower and fixed it.  I can't even tell you the excitement when it actually started!!  My neighbor didn't want it back and told us to sell it.  And we already have a buyer! 

Not The Same

We were dangerously low on dish soap so I texted Honey and asked if he'd grab some LIQUID dish soap on the way home from work. And I was sure to say LIQUID to differentiate between the kind you use at the sink and the kind to put into the dishwasher.

He came home with this.

2 different kinds to make sure to cover his bases.

So I called Laney and asked her to pick up some LIQUID dish soap.

Me: "The blue stuff that you use at the sink. Like Dawn. Not the kind you put in the dishwasher.

Her: "Yeah Mom, I know. I got it."

This is what she came home with.

So I went to the store myself.