Drive Thru Daycare?

So I am listening to the local Christian radio station and hear the DJ say:" A recent survey was taken to answer this question: Life would be more convenient if only there was a drive thru _______. "

I am thinking a drive thru laundry might be nice.
1st window you dump off your dirty laundry, 2nd window you pick up clean folded laundry.

Some time goes by and the DJ says the most popular response was a drive thru daycare.

Literally my mouth drops open. This country is full of spoiled brats!~ If it isn't bad enough we don't have to actually raise our kids during the day now we can't even give them 3 minutes to say goodby or hello? And we wonder why our kids are so over medicated and messed up. UHMMM HELLO?!?!?

Let's see drive thru food - hmm cheap, nutritionless and you regret it a few hours later.
Now drive thru daycare - hmmm convenient, cheap, you regret if for your lifetime with the added bonus of an angry, resentful generation of kids (boys especially). Good idea.

Good idea folks... drive thru daycare. You people need a spanking.

If I was in charge of this country, it would be a lot different. There would be lots of lazy, spoiled people with handguns lined up to shoot me.

I am going to be present and raise my kids while dreaming of a drive thru laundry.

Catching up

It has been awhile since I posted.

For those of you who have asked: No. My toilet is no longer in my yard. My bathroom is functioning.

John has returned from his trip to Texas. Things are returning to normal.
Caleb and Nathan have some sort of mystery poop thing going on. No virus or cold symptoms. Both of them are on a "CLEANSE" of some kind. It makes me wonder if some sicko nursery worker didn't serve them cookies made with exlax?

If it was you - may you turn to stone this instant! The have (no exaggeration) gone 5 - 7 times (not diarrhea either) daily for the last few days.

Because I really did not believe Caleb that he had to go AGAIN - I told him to go to the bathroom and take off his pants and underwear and get on the toilet himself. Now, before you think I am a total meaner, you should know that he can actually do this. He just cannot do so in a hurry. I did after all see all his previous trips and was positive there was nothing left to come out for goodness sake.

Well, I was wrong. He gets undressed and gets on the toilet in such haste he falls in butt first. I tell you I need to put a video camera in our bathroom I could make a fortune on Americas Funniest Videos if I just caught one of these things on tape! Problem is, I don't get to be in the bathroom alone and I sure don't need it filmed when I am in there.

Caleb thinks this is funny. Because he is a boy and everything horribly gross is so darn funny when you are a boy. He proceeds to convince me he does not need a bath. "I fell in before the poop was there. The water is clean!" Hmm nice try mister.

Nathan is not walking yet. But, he can run in that walker.
When you stand him up and hold his hands he will walk well too. Probably he will be running free in 3 - 4 weeks. His favorite thing is to walk with your hands holding him up and kick a ball. He laughs so loud when he kicks the ball. It is great.

David is adjusting to school well. Right now, he is showing me his Mexican jumping bean. So far, his school experience has been positive for him and the rest of us.

Nathan's 1st Birthday

Happy Birthday to you.

We live in a zoo.

You finished year one.

We're sure glad it's done.

Here is the cake made with no eggs. (Nathan is allergic)

I made it in the logo for Baby Einstein's Mozart and Beethovan videos.

David Goes to School

So here it is - the very 1st day David goes off to school.

When I woke him up this morning, he shot up out of a deep sleep and exclaimed "1st day of school. I don't want to be late - where are my clothes?"

Last night,he asked God to help him remember all the things he needed to remember. Then, as I turned and asked if he wanted to talk about anything else before going to bed he said no, then briefly got teary eyed and said he would miss me tomorrow. I will miss him too.

There he goes - my first born - off into the world. Surprisingly, I felt no anxiety. (I spent most of the wee hours this morning pleading the Lord's protection over him)

A gradual letting go of my baby bird. Fly little one. Fly.

Let them eat CAKE!

Good friends is one of lives best blessings.

Us Baierls are truly blessed. We have just the best time with the Hionis'. Over the years we have created quite the brood of offspring. I marveled over this fact yesterday on Labor Day when we had a cookout with them. Chris and Amy have 4 kids and we have 3. Even if all the adults are present, we are still outnumbered.

Thru the years I have the Hionis' kids present in most of the pictures of the milestones in my kids lives. Fortunately, they have had a baby about the same time we have had each of ours, so each of my children has a Hionis contemporary. This is so great.

So it was only natural for us to spend the last day of summer break together in yet one more photo opportunity. (the 2 babies are playing together in the living room and not pictured)

This is so cute! I hope you enjoy watching this clip of us decorating our American flag cake.

Out to eat in a small town

After the school open house, my friend and her family decide to join us for a meal out.

She has 4 kids and I have 3. We have 3 adults (John, Jenny, Amy) and 7 kids. Kids that know eachother real well and are in a rowdy mood.

The local fare is limited so we decide to go to the sub shop on Main street. It is 6:45 pm on a Thursday night and guess what - they are out of bread. That is Evansville for you folks. You can run a sub sandwich shop and on a regular business night at dinner time you can run out of bread. Are you kidding me? So we go to the local restaurant next door.

We blow in like hurricane Katrina. (we left about that much damage when we exited too)
They have 1 hour 'till they close.

There is one other family at a table and a single senior citizen grandpa at another.

We take up 2 booths next to grandpa. Who informs me he has shut off his hearing aid upon our arrival.

Our waitress must have had a brood of kids because she in neither flustered nor fazed by our entrance.

The old man however cannot help himself to comment (AKA criticize) on his way out.

He asks me: " Do you plan to buy these kids that food? I tell you when I had my kids in a restaurant I expected them to behave....... If they didn't they did not get to eat...... I was strict with them."

I reply: "Oh hmmm how that work out for ya?"

This was quite mild considering what I could have said. I just smiled and thought to myself. "Yes and I will be just as annoyed when I am driving behind you tomorrow as you are to eat behind my family today. "

But thanks for the unasked for advice (criticism) you go home and pat yourself on the back for raising perfect children.

Meet the Teacher

Today, we met David's 2nd grade teacher. She is young and pretty. David noticed.

He told John that she was A LOT different then what he expected. He said he thought his teacher was going to be like 900 years old.

He is sitting in the front row, 1st seat, wobbly legged desk. She is going to regret that. But, that is what you get when your last name starts with a B. I smile thinking about how many opportunities she will have that David is in the wobbly legged seat. (imagine a small chuckle escaping my lips - oh ok you're right, it is a down right out loud laugh)

David already found 2 library books on Bionicles at the school library. Yay! This kid is ready for school.

I took a quick glance at his books in the desk. She better enlist this boy as a helper right away or she will be doomed. The math and reading are below his level and when he gets bored he TALKS!

I can't wait for the 1st parent/teacher conference.