Molly, Molly, Molly

 Just a collection of random pictures of Molly.

 The first swimming pool session of the season.  I really need to find a suit for Molly.  (editors note:  I have found not 1, but 2 swimming suits for Molly, I'll get some pictures up pronto...which means sometime before the end of summer)

 I loved this picture of Molly.  It is pretty much how I feel in the morning.  But, I don't believe I'm quite as cute sucking my thumb...

 Look at those eyelashes!  Here's looking at you Maybelline.

 This is the result of some quality time with Dad.  Seems like a good idea, but she is able to escape...

 My attempts at getting a picture of the hand prints on the mirror.  They are so clear as you walk down the hall.  I seldom clean this mirror anyhow, but I really don't want to wash those prints away.

 Why is Molly so happy?

 Because she is on the top bunk and there is nothing you can do about it!!

 Our little daredevil.  The blur indicates the speed at which she was rocking back and forth.  She knows no fear.

Eric and I have had multiple discussions on the topic of how different Molly is from the boys.  Yesterday I think I realized the key difference.  She is much more persistent than the boys.  With Dom and Will I could generally distract them and redirect them to an activity that was more appropriate and generally less dangerous ("Here, jump from the couch instead of the top bunk").  Molly always has her goal in mind.  Even if something else grabs her attention briefly, she will nearly always return to the original thing that she was focused on.  Most recently, she is always intent on taking one of our chairs outside for her own.  Often in order to climb on to the table to retrieve whatever item we had previously confiscated.

Marble Works

 For Christmas William received "Marble Works" and Dom received "Gear Factory".  I am partial to marble works because of the complexity of the set up.  However, as my sage neighbor pointed out, the kids are able to play with the gears completely on their own, so I may very well re-evaluate my feelings in the near future.  However, for now, it sticks.  I thoroughly enjoy setting up the marble runs.  And I also love watching William play with it.

 Will and I set up this particular run one afternoon when Dom and Molly were napping.  Between soccer twice a week and waking up at 6 for the day, Dom has to catch up on rest occasionally.  Will, apparently, does not.  As nice as it would be to have all three kids asleep in the middle of the afternoon, I try to use these rare times to get to know my second son a little better as an individual.  He is incredibly independent and very clever.  The way he is putting the marbles in the run was entirely his idea.  And I have to say, seeing all of the marbles go through at once is a lot more fun than just one at a time.

 He started out by putting them in one at a time and halting them at a certain point with his finger before letting them all roll at once.  I helped him modify this a bit with a small stamp that could be used in place of his finger.  I left him to his innovations and came back to discover he'd put them all in some spare piping like a test tube.  At first I didn't see them and started lecturing him about not losing the marbles, especially when Molly is around.  He kept telling me they were "right there", and then he finally lifted up the "test tube" at which point all of the marbles rolled in opposite directions. But, Molly helped us retrieve all of them.

So often, I think of Dom and Will as playmates and Molly as a baby.  But, lately, Molly is definitely more of a playmate than a baby....  30 months is not a huge separation, and it is neat to see Will and Molly interact.  Which, obviously I have to watch whenever marbles are in use.  Molly does a pretty good job of only putting them through the run and not in her mouth, but sometimes the temptation is just too great...Heck, I even catch Will with them in his mouth on occasion

 And finally, a random picture of my bread.  Will took this picture and I figured I would crop it.  In the background you can see a picture of a clown that Dom drew using a step-by-step guide.  You ought to see mine!  It looks awesome...but then again, I am 31...Ok, just be impressed by the bread.  I will not tell you how simple it is to make.

Quilts

Since the spring of 2004, my mom has been steadily working on alphabet quilts for her grandchildren.  Now most grandmothers probably have at least months if not years between grandchildren to attempt to stay on top of such a feat.  My mom had 3 days.  She did not quite make it.  But, I'm pretty sure she finished my niece's (who was born first, but was not the first one announced which is a lesson for all of us that as soon as you know you are expecting, get on the wait list), before we announced the fact we were expecting Dom shortly after Mary Ann's first birthday.  Luckily for us we have been on the quick side of the announcing as Dom was born 2 weeks before his next cousin, Rose.

Will was born 8 weeks before his cousin, Wiley.

And Molly would have been perfect as she was the only grand child born in 2011 (with an off year in 2010), but due to an unfortunate accident with a bottle of water, Mom had to restart her quilt shortly before Molly was born in January.  As such, we didn't receive her quilt until this past March.  The more observant will spot that my mom is trying to cover up her delinquency by putting the wrong birth year for Molly's quilt...we are on to you, lady!

Though, I will cut Mom a little slack as she finished Molly's and immediately had orders for three more...we thought 3 days was a short turnaround time, try one minute!  (Twins born via c-section)

The blankets are lovely, though, and always worth the wait.  To put a little perspective on this, in the same time that mom has completed 8 (perhaps 9) of these quilts, the only thing I have done with a needle and thread is to sloppily repair minor holes in a pillow, a teddy bear, and a sock.  But, I'm very proud of all three of those accomplishments as well.  And since my kids don't know better, they are about as impressed with my needlework as I am with my mom's.

Another quilt that gets a lot of use especially now that the weather is so nice is the t-shirt quilt Eric's mom made him using his t-shirts acquired during high school.  Nearly every day I spread it out and bring out a bunch of pillows and read books under the blazing sun.  The kids are excited for about 10 minutes, and then complain that it is too hot.  I need to start setting it up in the shade, but I just can't wrap my mind around the fact it is nearly summer.  The above picture is of Will doing mazes intelligently in the shade.  I didn't want to leave him out of the post.

Pictures I should have had for my post about Mother's Day

 William:  Little Man with a Big Personality.  Currently his favorite movie is "Cars 2" which visits several countries during a World Grand Prix.  Yours truly is quite the celebrity in the house as I have visited all of the countries in the movie and even have pictorial proof.  Will loves to look at the pictures and excitedly exclaim:  "Mom was in Japan like Lightning McQueen!"...Yeah, I'm a pretty big deal.  Though, Will just doesn't quite understand why I have so many pictures of Ireland.  There are no races in Ireland, so why would one spend so much time there?  Ann, clearly we weren't thinking far enough ahead on how our itinerary would affect my second child.  I'm just glad we hit England, France, and Italy.  All of which happen to be the home countries of Will's favorite race cars.

 Molly:  Sweet outer appearance with a mischievous side that has been becoming more and more prominent. (Please be impressed with my accessorizing with scarf)

Eric and Dom:  A couple of cool guys just waiting to head to church.  Dressed to impress.  Actually,  I call Dom a "cool guy" quite a bit as when he gets dressed for church he prefers that as a compliment to "Oh!  How Handsome!!"  The other day when I neglected to say anything, he alerted me to the omission and I quickly corrected my mistake.

Some thoughts on Mother's Day

I love being a mom.  Naturally, I don't love it every second of the day.  But, on the whole, I love it.  One hears the phrase "I can't believe someone pays me to do this" in reference to jobs that are so wonderful people would do them for free.  I will slightly change this phrase to "Why would I ever pay someone to do this?" since I am not given a monetary amount for the time spent with my children.  Though, I can't think of another job that has a higher return on its investment.  As a poet once said "The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return."

 I would like to share with you a list that I have compiled of things that help me to be a better mom.

1. God
2. Eric
3. Dominic, William, and Molly
4. A sense of humor
5  Keen Sandals
6.Coffee with Swiss Miss
7. Pancakes with nutella and strawberries
8. Sunny Days
9. Free Long Distance
10. Naptime

A couple of honorable mentions would be PBS Kids and a great library system.

I hope that everyone has a wonderful Mother's Day.  Especially a certain mom in Kansas who I find myself repeating as I grow older...

**I would like to add a story so that I can remember it in years to come.  Dom has been talking about Mother's Day since our story time at the library had it as its theme.  The look in his eyes as he reminds me it is coming is gift enough.  Eric told me that as they were wrapping presents the boys kept talking about all of the kisses I will give them when I open my presents.  And this evening as I was reading the story "Little Bear, Who Do You Love?", when I got to the page that said "I love my mom" Dom turned to me and said "Like I love you!".  Who needs gifts?  Now excuse me while I go get a tissue.