The Leaning Tower of Dishes

It has been a tough week. Well, to be honest, no week is easy with five boys, but when Mom's out of commission, things get really wild. We grow a leaning tower of dishes. And laundry. And...you name it. No doubt, our house is never clean, but usually resides in a state of orderly chaos. This week, there was simply no order to be had.

I had to laugh when my sister called this past weekend to see if I knew of any good cleaning services. You see, she says she needs help, but there is not one speck of dust to be found anywhere in her house! I used to have some ladies come clean our house on occasion, but I quit calling them because I had to pick up before they came. I guess with each new child, I learned to lower my expectations of what is good enough, and I'm trying to balance Mommy time with housekeeper time. There's just more Mommy time required these days. I suppose that's what Mary is doing... she wants to give her son more Mommy time and leave the dust to the experts. So if anyone can recommend a good cleaning service in Wichita, please help my sister out and leave a comment.

The leaning tower of dishes, then, I will attribute to last week's cold, which for me developed into a sinus infection. Once I started on my antibiotics, another virus attacked and left me with terrible fatigue and body aches. It also left Zachary and Sammy with a few more boogers and a BAD MOOD.

I think we're feeling a little better today. We better recuperate in full by next week, because heaven help us, WE'RE GOING ON VACATION!!! As you may recall from our last little getaway to Kansas City, the road trip was a lot of work. Now Zachary is a little older and I should be able to toss crackers back to him and maybe get him to watch some DVD's. I'm also prepared to bring along some Benadryl so I can drug the older boys into submission, if required (what great parenting skills, huh?) The boys have off school on Thursday and Friday for parent teacher conferences, so we're taking a long weekend and a long (7 hour) drive for a much-needed getaway. We're renting a cabin (above) in the beautiful Ozark Mountains, along the Buffalo National River. This area holds lots of memories for me, as it was the first place Steve and I vacationed, even before we started dating. Now we're bringing back a van load of little boys and I can only hope that we'll make even more beautiful memories there as a family. Here's just a glimpse of what I hope to rediscover next week:



Then once we return home, Zachary goes back to see his cardiologist, Dr. Battiste. It has been three months since his last check-up shortly after his surgery. We pray he will get another good report, and request that you keep him in your intentions.

I'm so proud of my little blessings! They are growing up, and here's the latest news to prove it:

Alex's fourth grade class went on a field trip to learn about Kansas agriculture (city kids...) He crawled aboard a big fancy tractor with a computer docking station, and figures he may someday be the first to play X-Box while harvesting wheat.

David was recently promoted to pre-team in swimming, and swims lap after lap for a solid straight hour! Ugh... I get tired just watching him!

Joseph learned how to tie shoes, and insists on doing it by himself every morning. Quite agile little fingers!

Sammy is taking his time, but learning to use the potty. It's so hard being 2!

Zachary now pushes from lying on the floor to a sitting position. He tries to crawl, but still ends up on his face. It won't be long before he's into everything!

Enough ranting and raving. Now it's time to tackle that leaning tower of dishes...