Last night when I asked Babe-o’s to help pick up the toys she said she would help me “on tuesday,” as if she even knows when that is!   And it happens with my older kids too…sure they’re happy to help after they complete a long list of important things they have to do.  My sister-in-law jokes that they might as well reply, “sure mom, I’ll help you right about never!”

I am always looking for a way to encourage them to pitch in, although I have to say sometimes it is just easier to do it yourself. So I just came up with the idea of a “job jar,”  where everyone has to pick a piece of paper that has a chore written on it.  It went well the first and only time so I think I’ll stick with it for awhile ’cause mommy’s getting tired!

I recently made a trip to the dentist and while I was getting my teeth cleaned I had babe-o’s in my lap and Ham next to me on a stool. I had booked the first appointment of the day in hopes that my husband could go to work a little bit late. No such luck; he was on an early train. It all ended up okay.

Sure, I would rather sit their happily reading People magazine, but I don’t mind dragging them along to various appointments if it helps them learn that there’s nothing to be afraid of. I’ve taken them to my eye doctor and endocrinologist.  They’ve seen me get my blood drawn and have even been to beauty appointments and watched me get my eyebrows waxed.  But I do draw the line at the yearly visit to the gynaecologist!

The weatherman said the “F” word this morning! “F” as in flurries.  And it always seems to happen that while it is still snowing you are supposed to decide what you’ll be doing all summer.  I heard from a mom at church today, that if you were thinking about signing up for the playhouse camp thingy, it’s too late.

I’ve been collecting park district brochures and ballet class schedules for weeks now. But I just can’t seem to wrap my brain around what our summer will look like. Sign up for too much and end up wondering why it is called “summer break.” On the other hand, sign up for too little and you will be held hostage in your air-conditioned house watching “Sponge Bob, Squarepants.” What’s a girl to do?

We were blessed with beautiful weather for Easter and made it outside for an egg hunt. It was nearly a perfect day.

We had candy for breakfast and made it to the 9am church service.  The girls looked so cute in their Easter dresses and bonnets but babe-o’s was ticked that everyone else had on “high heels.”  She was crying when we got there so we opted to sit in the balcony, something we never do when my mother-in-law is there.   It was kind of nice to look down at all the flowers and the brass band until we stood for a hymn and Babe-o’s decided to lift up the back of my dress so everyone could see my underwear.

I should have given up Target for Lent. I nearly had a break-down in there today and I was not alone. The Easter aisle, or aisles, look like they’re on steroids. All I wanted was some peeps and I couldn’t find them. And this was my second trip there..I walked out on Saturday because it was too bananas. So there I am scouring the shelves for peeps, and I made the comment that I didn’t know we now buy full-on gifts for the baskets. A mom next to me replied, “didn’t you get the memo?” At least it was a friendly crowd. One hundred-sixty-seven dollars later I left with my peeps.

When my nine-year-old told me the other day that he wanted the “Bedtime Stories” dvd in his basket. I told him to go tell the bunny. When I was a kid, we were usually in Florida and I was happy to receive a sand bucket and shovel.

Thankfully there is a dollar store here, or penny store as babe-o’s likes to call it, so we can reward whoever manages to sleep through the night! The two oldest were the first to do it so they got to pick something out while babe-o’s got something for being brave when a mousetrap went off on her hand.

We’ve almost made it through our vacation wish list and have had some surprises along the way. The rain we’ve had has made for some fun arts and crafts except nearly slicing my finger off today with the scissors. I never did excel in home economics in high school. Guess it’s time to go..