5 on friday ~ take 6

1.  

We went to a local OU watch party.  Here is how I spent the first quarter of the game...

2.

I still wash Baby's clothes separately in Dreft. I may or may not stop when this container is used.

3.

A failed attempt at a family picture. We tried to gather around George...

4.

FAQ: does Brent help around the house?

No, he does not. Nor does he babysit. To call it helping or babysitting gives the wrong impression and implies he is less responsible than I am for these tasks.  Yes, I am the stay at home parent so the house and children are my primary responsibility. But when he is home it becomes his primary responsibility as well. If there is a task to be done either one of us does it. We do have a general division of labor. I cook and do laundry. He does dishes and takes out the trash. Neither of us sits down until the chores are complete. He never leaves his socks on the floor - ever.

When Mary Kate was a newborn I was hesitant to leave her with him. He quickly set me straight by informing me he loves her as much I do. Since he put it that way I said "see ya"!  I find it a shame all husbands and fathers are not this way. It is ridiculous the number of men who can not or will not put their children to bed. Also ridiculous are the comments: Oh your husband is okay putting all four kids to bed? What did you do to get him to watch all four kids for the weekend? He has traveled for 14 days and never fretted over how I was managing at home. He is able to carry on for a few hours or days without me.

I wish I had great words of wisdom on how to train a husband. He just knows how to act right. He says it is not that difficult.  

5.

Mary Kate's first dance...

5 on friday(ish) ~ take 5

1.

I've wanted to learn how to create mood boards and downloaded Photoshop months ago, but never to took the time to try it. Next Friday, Mary Kate has her first middle school dance.  The package man brought the following selections...

Nordstrom

2.

When in Oklahoma City last weekend we went to an amazing restaurant...Kitchen No. 324, located downtown at 324 N Robinson. I ordered the Bacon and Monterey Jack Strata...

Kitchen 324

I am a bacon fanatic and they possibly have the best bacon in the universe. They call it small batch bacon. They cure and smoke bacon and salmon on-site. It is exciting to see OKC join the local food movement and this food was top notch. If you are ever OKC I highly recommend this place.

3.

Caroline made this card for Brent...

4.

Bathroom selfie...was in a hurry before I was caught...

5.

Baby riding Nana's deer...

5 on friday/sunday ~ take 4

1. College football is back!  And the icing on the cake: all four children looking at the camera, smiling and being relatively cooperative... 

2. The Littles had their checkups last week.  Both are growing and in good health. Praise be!  Both are in the 90th for height, but Baby is only 20th for weight. She is her father's daughter. She is a little piggy but a busy girl - her secret to keeping a trim figure.  The appointment ended with high drama - immunizations.  We all needed CFA for lunch to recover. 

3. We FINALLY painted the girls room...

Revel pictures to follow...

4. FAQ of the week...how do you keep your children's hair looking so nice? 

I am happy to share my top tips:

I use a brush and water.  I am surprised by the number of children who go to school without brushing their hair.  I have two with curly hair and two with straight. Curly hair needs a bit of water to arrange the curls.  Straight hair needs a bit of water to smooth cowlicks and help under turn the ends after sleeping on the locks. 

I insist they keep it out of their face.  I want to see their lovely faces not stringy hair.  Also they like to be in the kitchen so they have to pull their hair back and wash their hands to help. We use hairspray and clips to help.  

Finally, I am not afraid to cut their hair.  Rarely does a child walk around with long, beautiful hair - this especially goes for toddlers.  It might look like "curls" but it is really a mullet. I prefer to keep toddler girl hair in a bob. A cute cut is noticed, a mullet is noticed as well but for all the wrong reasons. Also the texture and thickness of their hair determines if it should be shorter or longer.  Caroline's hair does best shorter and Mary Kate's longer. Their hair is really easy to style and never tangles. 

5. The 2013-14 school year is off to a much better start than the 2012-13 school year. Last year the morning routine fell into place quickly but the afternoons were a struggle the.entire.year. We picked up were we left off and did not miss a beat. There is still running around with activities but the Littles are better in the car and the witching hour(s) are letting up since they are older.