paper towel fashion and tiny frogs

Not much has changed around here. We bought Monopoly so the girls could practice their math skills and I'm sure it teaches them other valuable things. I was hesitant to play because I am not the best loser and I would hate to teach the kids poor sportsmanship. But so far we've played twice and I won both games so that worked out pretty well. Mya and Winter love it. They played from the time they woke up yesterday until bedtime.

The playroom (living room) is a nonstop wreck these days. These two are always in there making a mess. It takes two seconds to empty the boxes out but it takes them over an hour to clean it up every night. If anyone has any kid cleaning life hacks I'm totally open. I used to go through their toys when they were at school and get rid of stuff but they are always here these days so that's tricky.

We've been using our table for ongoing monopoly games and puzzles so this is often the dinner spot. 

We don't leave the house too much but when we do, it's exhausting. We went to church for the first time in 3 months. The kids did so great. They all wore their masks happily and sat still for the most part. Angus crashed out afterward, even though it was a short service. 

I guess my body wasn't used to getting ready in a hurry because I somehow injured my neck getting dressed. I'll be okay.

 Angus still takes naps about once a week. Usually, he falls asleep watching TV in the afternoon. 

I caught him snuggling with a Barbie baby.

I've been trying to read a short devotion (biblical thought for the day) to my kids when I think about it, and now that we've been home together all day, I've been making it happen more. Meals are always a good time because their mouths are full and they are sitting down. They don't always listen though. After I finished the last two-minute reading, I asked, "What do you guys think about that?" Angus replied. "I love you." Winter commented, "I just put 10 grapes in my mouth."

It's fine.

And in case you were wondering, the baby dolls in our house believe in Jesus too.

Ready.

Angus is either torturing this barbie or saving her... who can tell? Winter made her outfit with paper towels and a green marker.

These two still love being twinsies.

We haven't done much with other families but Dan took the big girls camping with their cousins last week. They had a blast and I was happy to have two kids for a change.

Mya is afraid of most things that are alive that are not human. That's like all animals and bugs and even some plants haha. But she forced herself to hold this tiny frog after trying to touch it a bunch of times and then chickening out. She's pretty good at facing her fears. It's amazing, actually. I think that's a great life skill to have. Go Mya.

I took the two littles to the park and we ate Chick-Fil-A under a shady tree. It was really lovely. They're playing "owner and doggie" here.

And we went exploring with Otter.

And we put in a pool! A small one but totally worth the money. They've been in it non-stop.

"Why'd you tell Mya I was going in the jacuzzi??! I wanted my alone time! And I DON'T like bubbles. #DIVA

Trying to wink, obviously.

Dan is still working on the pizza oven project. He's doing an amazing job as always.

I bought these almonds thinking I would love them since I love lime and I love chili flavor. Well, I kind of hated them at first. But for some reason, I kept eating them and then I couldn't stop. I paired them with the dried mangos below and something magical happened.

I love any dried mangos. They have some at Trader Joe's but we go through them way too fast so I buy them in bulk at Costco. These are the brand they sell at Costco. They are so good. I'm not even really a dried fruit person.

These egg rolls taste exactly like the ones from the Chinese place we order take out from. We bake them up in the toaster oven. Two thumbs up. 👍👍

Happy Sunday! 

And HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to all the awesome dads out there! Dan's at work today so we'll celebrate when he gets back home.

ticks and stuff

Okay, I may have been a little dramatic last week. I see that now. I am still not putting social media on my phone because I'm just so much happier when I don't scroll through it all day. But also, not having it readily available at my fingertips keeps me from being on my phone when I could be doing more productive things. I see no need to keep the blog off of Facebook, however. So here it is.

Some new things we're doing are:

Winter and I have been taking guitar lessons together. I have an old guitar I've had for about 15 years and never really played. It came with a book that teaches you tablature. So now we both know how to play Jingle Bells. Super appropriate in June. Mya is still definitely the most musically inclined person in our house. She can play the violin, the cello, and the piano. She's also a great singer. Go Mya. But Winter and I are loving the guitar. I'm trying to bond with each of my kids separately which has proven to be a bit of a challenge because there are so many of them. 

I've also very recently implemented quiet time. I've heard that it is REALLY beneficial for kids to play by themselves quietly with no screens for an hour a day. I was skeptical at first because I didn't think they would do it without a giant fight. But I think they are liking the time to themselves. I've had to get creative since we don't have four bedrooms to put each of them in but we worked it out and I'm loving it. I recommend it. That hour flies by, for me at least haha.

I also started the big girls on a typing practice schedule along with reading and multiplication flash cards. Addie is reading and practicing math too. I know. I don't even recognize myself right now. I'm super proud of how I'm actually following through with a plan. That hasn't ever happened in the history of summer at the Wags I think.

Another new thing is that I'm working. Like actual work that I get paid for. I am basically a remote assistant I think. We haven't really defined my position. But it's fun and exciting and challenging and stressful at times because I haven't really worked since Mya was in my tummy. It's also a challenge because the office in our house is an open loft that overlooks the playroom where all the noise lives. So it's pretty impossible to do anything that requires thinking. Quiet time also helps with that.

That's it for new stuff I think. And now for random pics and anecdotes.

Angus and Addie are old enough to play some games with Winter which is nice. I always secretly hope that Angus wins. When he loses, it takes him a while to recover. He ALWAYS cries. He looks up at the ceiling and opens his mouth and wails. But I have to say that the volume and duration of his crying has gone down, so he's making progress. I'll take it.

We signed up for online VBS. Mya agreed to be in charge of it at our house. They had a drive-through pick up your t-shirt and craft supplies etc and a photo opp. I didn't read the email so we came unprepared. I only had two kids with me and Addie was in PJs and Angus's shirt was on backward. But such a cute pic. 

I love the cool weather days that are sprinkled in with our June heat waves. Winter loves to go on exploring walks. Sometimes we take Otter.

And sometimes we take Angus.

We explored the golf course by our house since it's closed these days. For such a rule breaker, Winter wasn't very excited to go somewhere with yellow tape blocking the entrance. I convinced her that it wasn't that big of a deal. But then she heard sirens near-by and started panicking, thinking the cops were coming to arrest her. Thankfully we did not get arrested.

And if you rat me out, I'll deny everything.

Of all my kids, Addie is the biggest homebody. We force her to leave the house and step outside every day. She probably would never leave the playroom (our living room) if she had the choice. So that makes it even crazier that she's the one that had a tick feasting on her scalp. Yep, she had a tick. I don't even know how, really. Winter and Angus were the ones rolling around in the grass. Maybe they brought it home and it jumped on Addie... 

It was a pretty traumatic experience for Mya. She was doing Addie's hair in bed after they showered and came across what she thought was a watermelon seed stuck to Addie's scalp. Makes perfect sense since we had watermelon the day before. It was seedless but whatever. That was one stubborn watermelon seed because it was really hard to pull off. Once she was able to get it off, it started moving. And that's when Mya freaked the freak out. She's afraid of all bugs and would never in a million years touch one on purpose. 

In tears, she explained to me that Addie had bugs in her hair. I looked at the tick and wasn't really sure what it was but I thought it might be one. I told Mya to go get Dan out of the jacuzzi because he's the expert on bugs and animals and things of that nature. Meanwhile, I was trying to check Addie's head for more bugs. She was fighting me, not wanting me to find anything else. So I explained that the bug could be a tick and if it had friends and we didn't get them out of her hair she could get Lyme disease. That's when she burst into tears and asked, "Am I going to die?!" I assured her that she would live a long healthy life and she let me check her head. Dan confirmed that it was a tick but it was not missing its head and it was small which is good. Dan also informed me that Lyme disease exists mostly in Colorado so that's good news too. (Well not for people in Colorado) My husband is seriously so knowledgeable about so many things.

When Mya dropped the tick the second she realized it wasn't a watermelon seed, it landed in her bed so she refused to get back in there until everything was disinfected. "Why couldn't Winter find the tick?" Mya asked through giant tears. "She loves bugs!" I'm not sure I've ever seen Mya that upset so I let her watch a movie in my bed to calm down. Of course, that started a giant protest form the other kids who didn't get to watch TV in my bed. "It's just a bug!" commented Winter. Winter didn't really understand what the big deal was. Mya looked up her fear the next day. "I have entomophobia!" She told me excitedly. Now we know. 

And that's our tick story.

The kids are going to have to wear masks to church and probably to school in the fall. So I bought some from Etsy. Addie loves hers.

Angus does not.

I'm still having trouble with the size thing while making online purchases. I bought some red "platters" on Amazon and it turned out they were mini platters. They even look big in the pic below but they have the same surface area as a plate. What's the point of buying a platter no bigger than a plate? Ugh, I have to return them and try again. That Rachel Ray is a trickster.

Here are my recommendations! Am I too excited? Maybe.

I love the smell of this soap. It's so good I want to eat it.

This is something fun you can do with your daughter. Or son? I know for sure Angus would hate a peel-off mask. Winter is super into putting cucumbers on her eyes so she's really excited to do this with me. And it was less than $5. I'm not really a skincare gal. Normally I use a make-up remover wipe as my "nighttime skin care regime." So this mask will probably be the best thing my face has seen all year.

My TV show recommendation for the week is Married at First Sight, season 9,  available on Netflix. Basically, the premise of this show, if you've never heard of it, is a bunch of single people who are fed up with the dating scene and ready to settle down just put their fate in the hands of experts to try to make a love match for them. Hundreds of people are tested and interviewed and they hand pick four couples to get married without even meeting. They meet on their wedding day. So the show follows them from the pre-wedding plans, to the wedding, honeymoon, and to normal life after that. It's super fascinating and I'm totally hooked. Shows like this always make me feel super thankful for Dan. I found him the conventional way. Thanks to Annie, my dear friend, who had a dinner party where we met and Dan fell madly in love with me immediately of course. He may have a different story but I know the truth.

Normally, I'm not a reality show person. I cannot stand those annoying people they always throw in for entertainment and shock value. It's too uncomfortably painful to watch. This show is lovely because everyone is good and sweet and I can see myself hanging out with them. If you like romantic comedies or even reality shows, you'd probably like it.

Well that wraps it up! Happy Tuesday friends! Stay cool if you're in SoCal. Goodness gracious, the heat is going to eat us up. Thank the Lord for AC.

Does this have a happy ending?!

The girls were watching a movie the other day (something we do A LOT of right now) and it started getting to that point in all kid movies where it looks like things aren't going to work out. Addie asked worriedly, "Does this have a happy ending?!" I walked by and assured her that all kid movies have happy endings. I hadn't really thought about that until I said it out loud. I'm holding out for the happy ending to this nightmare of a year. At least as a believer of Jesus, I know that eventually, we will be with Him. The ultimate happy ending.

After several days of reading posts and comments and opposing posts and comments, posts about peace and posts about hate, I went to bed one night completely exhausted and defeated. That probably has a lot to do with my inner peacemaker enneagram-9-ness. But that's a whole other story.

I deleted my FaceBook and Instagram apps on my phone around midnight after not being able to sleep. 

The negative feelings social media is bringing with it right now are too much to carry. My first and most important priority should always be my family. It helps to just focus on that right now. Sorry to be such a Debbie Downer. I'm actually feeling much better after a few days free of social media. I highly recommend it (these days).

So for now, I'm continuing to write this blog because I still enjoy writing and keeping a running account of our lives in pictures. But in the future, I probably won't share it on FaceBook for a while. If you want to get an email, subscribe to Wagmommy. I believe that's how it works. Otherwise, you can just save wagmommy.blogspot.com to your home screen on your phone or search the link every week or so to see new posts. 

On to pics from the last couple weeks. 

Winter can put down food like a grown man. I know I've mentioned that before but I'm continually awestruck by the amount of food my skinny 9-year-old consumes every single day. It's just amazing.

I almost deleted the pic below because it shows a little too unashamedly Angus's dirty croc wearing feet and his ripped pjs he was probably wearing the previous night and all day that day. My dirty kids. In case you are worried about their hygiene, they do bathe. And normally if I see feet like this, I make them wash them before bed. But not this night obviously.

The reason I took this pic, though, was because I wanted to point out that they are sleeping in the same bed. All of my kids would share beds every night if I let them. I limit them to slumber parties once a week because they don't sleep as soundly and always wake up earlier with another body in the bed. But it's amazing that they are spending SO VERY MUCH time together and they still want to spend their nights sleeping next to each other.

They are getting along pretty well these days.

Last week, Dan and I went out on a date for the first time since February. We hired a very healthy COVID free babysitter to watch the kids and went down to the beach for dinner followed by a walk on the beach, then sitting down to watch the sunset. We grabbed a picnic mat out of the car for warmth because we forgot how cold it gets around sunset. It was more lovely than I could say with words. I loved it so much that I took the kids back there yesterday. More on that below.

Dan worked the day we had to go to school to return everything and collect the kids' belongings. So I took all four. I knew it probably wouldn't go well considering it was the first time they wore masks. Angus dropped to the floor as soon as I put a mask on him. He burst into tears and said it smelled. So I found a bandana and put that on him and told him he was a robber for the day. The novelty quickly wore off.

But the day got better when a neighbor brought us cupcakes.

How much does Angus look like a miniature teenager here?

Big sis letting her little bro play dominoes with her. So sweet. Also, most of the kids don't wear shirts these days.

I took the kids to Newport yesterday. It was predicted to be almost 100 degrees in my neck of the woods so I figured it would be a good day for it. I mean despite the risk of getting a killer virus and the danger of angry people both protesting and not. I figured if we got there early enough we could get out of there before the beach got crowded and the protests got out of hand. So I said a prayer for protection and drove down there. 

I was nervous about the crowds and the parking and the angry people, so I was on edge the whole drive down even though we sang loudly to Disney songs which always seems to cheer me up. After driving around for a while I found a miracle spot on the street and thanks to my back up camera I was able to squeeze in. 

This is the poop bucket. I'm so sorry to gross you out but I wanted you to have this idea in your back pocket for camping or something. I wanted to park way down by the less busy side of Newport farthest away from the pier because it would be less crowded and finding parking would be easier. The only problem is that the bathrooms are at the pier. And half the time, someone has to poop as soon as we get out on the beach. So I took a 5-gallon bucket and lined it with two plastic bags.  I also brought baby wipes and extra bags. I left it in the trunk. I didn't take it to the beach in case that's what you were thinking. There's no way I'd use this thing but I was pretty sure my littles would in a pinch. Thankfully no one needed to use it. I did tell them about it to encourage holding it till we got home.

On our walk from the car to the beach, there was an angry guy yelling profanities at someone and the kids all stopped and stared. He apologized and sheepishly waved to us and I told the kids to keep walking as my anxiety grew.

But as soon as we got out to the water, I instantly felt all the tension leave my shoulders and just sat there and breathed and watched the ocean (and my kids). I don't have a lot of pics of Winter and Mya because we borrowed boogie boards from our lovely neighbors and they were in the ocean for 3 hours straight coming back every once in a while for a snack or water.

We got to the beach around 9:30 and left around 1:00. It was getting really crowded and hot by then so it was the perfect time to go. Before we left, a surfer was taken away in a lifeguard truck because he was stung by a stingray. He was surfing pretty close to my girls. I felt really bad for him but thanked God for answering my prayer of protection against stingrays. 

I also learned later that an angry anti-protester drove his car through a crowd of Newport protesters (on the street I was parked on) which was mixed with people on bikes including children. Thankfully no one was hurt. Crazy times just doesn't begin to describe these days does it? There are really no words but also so many words. 

Well friends, one day at a time. Happy Thursday.