Crazy days!

Boy, what a week!  I'd like to say that I'm so glad it's finally Friday, but tomorrow brings soccer pictures at 9:15 at one field, then a soccer game at 11:15 at another field, then Joe at a class all afternoon, so I guess I'll hold out for Sunday!  All of us have had a cold this past week, since starting back into our fall activities, indoors, with lots of other kids!  Isaiah's been waking up multiple times at night because I just don't think he feels that great, which leaves me exhausted.  Poor, sweet Hannah came down with a stomach flu on Wednesday, right on the tail end of her cold.  Thank goodness, she only threw up twice that day and then spent Thursday on the couch.  Right now, Eliza and Isaiah are taking peaceful naps, and Clara and Hannah have been playing together in the backyard for the past hour.  So, even when things get bad, they do get better!!  Life feels crazy all of a sudden.  I am really needing to get more of a routine during the day to get through Clara's schoolwork, the housework, and still have some energy to play.  I need to remember it's just a time of transition and figuring out new routines.  Here's our current week:

Joe and I are still sharing the work day on Monday, so I usually run in the door by 2:15, so that he can rush to work by 2:30.  He often will call me on his cell phone on the way into work, so we can catch up on how the morning went!  Tuesdays have bible study in the morning, speech therapy for Clara at 2(trying to correct her tongue positioning with swallowing so we don't mess up orthodontics down the road), and then soccer practice at 4.  On Tuesday this week, after loading the kids into the car, I hopped in and backed up over our stroller!  Then our babysitter arrived at 1:30, while I was just getting lunch out for the kids, and I couldn't remember why she was there.....Oh, the speech appointment!!  I woke Isaiah up from a short nap to get to soccer on time, and while there, had to pick up Eliza's poop from the grass field with a paper bag, as there was no bathroom.  Wednesdays are our homeschool co-op day.  I have to get all four kids fed, dressed, lunches packed, school books packed, and into the car by 8:15 am.  When we get there, Hannah, Eliza, Isaiah, and I spend 2 1/2 hours in the nursery volunteering.  It is exhausting!!  Clara LOVES the co-op, though, and she has made a few great friends who she looks forward to seeing.  Thursday and Friday are free days.  Days for grocery shopping, laundry, and uninterrupted naps for the younger two!

Face painting:

A game of 101 Dalmations...I think they found 57 stuffed dogs in our house!

 Playing music together

 Ah, ha!  He got his hands on the big kid piano!

 Having a snack in the basket...

 Sweet smile!

 I just love how they look right when they wake up!  His sisters threw a couple of toys in the crib to keep him happy for just a couple minutes so I could finish something.  They are convinced that this is Isaiah's special dog, "Robin"....he does seem to really like this dog....

And a couple self-portraits of Clara :)