cliff notes from the last two weeks

This little guy is such a ham. He constantly has snot and food all over his face despite my best efforts but that doesn't stop him from smiling at the camera!

Bohdan opening his very first birthday present EVER!! This noisy elephant came from Granny and Grumpy. I love Bohdan's face. Priceless.

He liked it.

Yuri rarely takes naps and he refuses to keep toys in his crib. So after he throws them all out and finishes crying, he will lean back in the corner of his crib, while standing, and make funny loud noises. Problem is that he and Bohdan share a room. Poor Bohdan rarely sleeps at nap time. This day was particularly bad so I put him in Caius' crib. They played and talked for a while and then conked out. They are such sweet brothers.

This was Bohdan's last day of therapy with ECI. These are all his therapist who just adore him (as you can tell). Bohdan is just soakin in the love like it is no big deal. I'm so happy that Caius has the same therapist so they still come over.

So I was trying to take a picture of Bohdan's cap and gown from his graduation from ECI. As I'm trying to get a good shot this stinker is on my right side doing this trying to get the attention.

It took over 20 shots but here is Bohdan's 3 year old graduation from ECI picture. He's just thrilled. Can you tell?

My sweet Bohdan had his first birthday last Tuesday. We aren't going to have his party till this weekend. I got him a cake but I'm sure he won't touch it. We are still going to celebrate though. Celebrate the first birthday he has ever had with his family. Celebrate the first birthday that someone cared what day it was. He such a snuggly muffin!

I think the theme of the last two weeks have been geckos. Live, dead, with tails, without tails, dried, squishy, squashed, big, little, on the floor, on the walls, in the pantry, in the shower, unscathed, traumatized, the dog's pet, the cat's play toy, behind the pictures, on the ceiling..... shall I go on or do you get the picture. I am thinking about doing a daily count of geckos and the unfortunate circumstances I find them in. We shall see.

So I was out with the kiddos and I went to this store and saw a little girl waiting in the car in the parking lot with the worst look on her face. I got the strangest feeling. I left and went down the road but couldn't stop thinking about her. So as all normal people do, I went back to find her and ask her if she was ok. I passed the car, she was in, driving the other direction than I was going. I pull a u-turn and start following. Problem with me tailing someone is that I am not at all inconspicuous. I have a huge SUV that the previous owner decked out in chrome. I think you could see my car from space. No matter! there might be a little girl's life on the line. (ok typing this I realize how ridiculous it is but I just kept thinking about all the stories you hear about people seeing a missing child but not acting on their gut feelings. I would hope if any of my children we ever in trouble that some crazy bling SUV driving momma would act on her instincts.) Anyway, so I tail them down to their next stop. They pull in and I drive past and go to turn around. All the while planning my moves. I figured I would pull up and ask her if she was ok. If she said no then I was trying to figure out what I would do. First I thought I would pull up behind the car making a T shape and call the police. But then I thought that wouldn't be very smart because I have my babies in the car and I wouldn't want them hurt if the bad guy tried to push us over. (top heavy SUV) So then I thought I would make good use of the 4x4 option that we paid extra for and just pull up behind the car, bumper to bumper and call the police. That way if he tried to leave he couldn't out power my shiny beast and I would just gently push his car into the building so he couldn't leave. As I pull back around the building, I see her get out of the car and I realize I was totally wrong and she was fine. The Mission Impossible theme music playing in my head quickly faded.

Previous to this I had gone to Target with the boys. The day before I had successfully gone to Costco with all four and I was feeling pretty confident. Oh silly me.... It ended with me pulling a basket and pushing a stroller with 4 screaming fussies down the main isle while everyone parted like the red seas and watched me go by with pity oozing from their faces. But that wasn't the worst part. As I was in the farthest corner of the store from the bathroom, I realize that I need to go and I need to go now. Asher is looking at the toys and protested leaving so quickly. I fight him into the cart and briskly walk to the restroom with my baby-train. I park the cart next to the wall move all the babies to the stroller. The twins are mad cuz they are 'too big' to sit in the same seat and Yuri, no doubt feeling my urgency, straightens his legs so I can't get him in the stroller. oi!! We finally get into the bathroom and not a moment to soon. And there is a whole line of stalls with open doors except the end stall. The handicap stall. The only stall that we can fit in has someone is in it. I'm dancing at this point, so I say to Asher, 'We need to wait for the big stall so we can go Tee Tee'. Hoping that my words translate to the woman occupying the stall as 'get out now'. But my words are lost in the chasm of open stalls. And she starts rummaging through her purse. With no other choice, I go to the first stall and pull the stoller into the opening. The babies lose site of me while I'm try to get Ash and myself in and they don't like this at all and start fussing. I open the door so they can see me and proceed to do the business that brought us to this awful place. Right about then another woman enters the bathroom and can see the whole thing. I just give her the look and shrug my shoulders as if to say, 'sorry your getting a show but I have no other choice'. About then the other women comes out of the stall and guess what. She wasn't handicap, she didn't have a baby or four, she didn't have a stroller, she had no reason to be in there. She proceeds to do her makeup in the mirror and then after a few minutes she leaves with not so much as a glance our way. I meanwhile am still in my open cramped stall trying to keep Asher off the floor. I don't think I have ever wanted to make a citizens arrest so badly. Problem is I'm not sure that using the handicap stall without probable cause would stand up in court. But it would make me feel better.

So here is my public service announcement of the day..... Please don't use the handicap stall of the restroom unless you are handicap, have young children, or a stroller (baby present of course).

On another note, last Thursday we were blessed by the youth from our church who came and mowed our grass, did the dishes, laundry, replaced the pet door, took down the bed in Yuri and Bohdan's room so they have more space. They cleaned and watered plants and played with the babies and loved on the babies. It was wonderful!! They got SO much done. I think I have found everything that we lost just due to having so many people in the house putting things away. The only thing I can't find is my wedding band. Please pray I can find it. I'm going to take my whole bedroom apart later.

Thank you to all you stalkers :0) who helped me find the family who had emailed me. I was able to reply to her and hopefully help.

Thank you to everyone who gave me advice on Yuri's thyroid meds. He is doing so much better about taking it. I crush it and put it on a spoonful of baby food or coconut yogurt and he takes it. then I give him his juice bottle which is mostly water and the last few days he has actually been drinking it all. Yippee!! Plus he has no side effects to the meds. Thank you Jesus!!!