Ah! There's the rub!

Okay, so as a sorta new parent, I'm still learning and figuring things out, right?! My latest dilemna--what do you when your child does something really sweet and cute for his sibling or something you've asked him to do a MILLION times, but honestly, it's still not okay.

Scenario 1:

Kate goes to time out in her bedroom for dumping food out on the floor AGAIN. After a few minutes, James comes charging up the stairs, fist in the air, Kate in the other hand, yelling "Wonder Pets to the Rescue!" I mean can you get any cuter than that? But, really Kate was still supposed to be in time out. Do you let it slide? I did.

Scenario 2:

James has decided that it is now HIS responsibility to keep the family room clean. So he goes around saying (and I quote) "Who made this mess? I just cleaned up this mess! What are you guys doing?! Stop making messes I said!" I have NO IDEA where he's heard all this before! ;p But the only problem is, he's ripping toys out of his sister's hands trying to clean up. And it's the middle of the afternoon--not exactly pick up time yet. While I want to foster his newborn desire to keep the house clean--goodness knows I need the help--I really want to avoid the fights and tears it causes when his sister's start crying. Sigh...How do I win both battles???

A few funny photos

Ok, so these are just a few random funny photos to remember. The first two are of Clara feeding Andrew. She was so sweet. She climbed into my lap and then told me to move. She just kept shoving the food in his mouth! Poor guy, a few times he got jabbed in the back of the throat. He looked like a jar of peas had exploded on him by the time she was done!

Let's just call this one "When Grandma Babysits"

That's all chocolate.

Huckleberry picking 2010

Ok, so how do you pick Huckleberries with a 4 yr old, two 2 yr olds & a 6 month old in tote? Well, a) very slowly b) without much hope of actually collecting berries as most will end up in their mouths! Justin and I determined that this year, and for the next few, huckleberry picking is a fun family experience, not an a opportunity to actually get enough berries to make anything. So that's what we did! We picked a few berries, hid from mountain lions (not really, just a favorite game of James' right now), had berry wars with the cousins, and took a very nice nap in the sunny side of the car (mom). The girls loved picking berries and playing hide-n-seek--which scared me to death when I realized that at their height they are amost impossible to see in the brush!