Eight
weeks or so of having 5 ex-utero kids, when all the various aunts
flew back to their respective homes, I was feeling especially
out-manned and under-gunned that morning. Jenny wanted me to
take them to Sam's club to get blueberries, and get them all
icecream.
“I
can't take you guys to Sam's club, because Mommy's on her own today”
I said.
Jenny
said (her voice deep with emotion) “God wiwl be wiv you. God wiwl
be wiv you at Sam's club, God wiwl be wiv all of us”
In
the last four months since then, we've figured this out. I wear the
baby and toss the other kids in the cart, willfully ignoring the
warning pictograms and muttering dire warnings at any child that
dares to stand up. I have discovered wearing a baby + 1 kid in the
car seat + 2 kids in the cart basket +1 kid helping push the cart
gets a lot of friendly comments/teasing from strangers :) I'm kind of
enjoying it at this point...because you may as well :)
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Keziah, 3 years later, in the
monster towel the Fireman wrapped her in, after her precipitous
entry into the world
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Isaiah's
been trying to get other people to wear his birthday present Templar
helmet. Often it catches me off guard, I will be picking up toys, or
trying to read a book, when suddenly the Templar helmet is being
carefully lowered over my face. Today, I was trying to grab a defiant
2 yr old nudist when suddenly my head was plunged into the darkness
of the Templar Helmet, as Isaiah patiently and insistently put it on
me every time I got it off. I finally gave up and continued my war
against public nudity as a knight.
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Grandpa wearing the helmet, on
Isaiah's request
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Later
that day, I walked into the room and found Isaiah lovingly sticking
the Templar helmet onto Sarah. She was being a good sport about it
too. He was trying to get her to wave a little brush as well,
probably a weapon in his imagination. He kept patiently putting her
little fingers on it, trying to get her to hold it.
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Sarah is a good sport. This is her,
seconds after she managed to get it off
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I was trying to
do math with the kids. First I attempted fractions with Isaiah.
“Isaiah,
if I had one cookie, and both Jenny and Keziah wanted it, what should
I do?”
Isaiah
said, “Give it to me”
I
tried division with Jenny. “If Isaiah, Jenny, Keziah, and Mariam
wanted cookies, and I had 8 cookies, what should I do?”
“Give
everyone one cookie. If you gave more den one cookie [perperson] dat
would be dangerous. Dey could die of diabetes”
I
bought a large pack of bulk pork for the time, scrutinizing price per
pound in the meat aisle. Jenny, curious, asked what it was “Pork
Butt” I read off the label. Jenny burst out, distressed “But
mommy! Animals do not wipe demselves!”
Of family discussion lately was how you can make the
rules in your own house, but can't make other people follow your
rules in their own houses. Later, Jenny came up to Josh and announced
Jenny
“When I gwow up, I wiww wive in an apartment with Keziah”
Keziah
“No, I wiww wive wiv Mariam”
Jenny
“I wiww wiv in an apartment wiv Keziah and Mariam”
But
Keziah was firm, “No, I wiww wive wiv Mariam, and we wiww visit
you”
Josh's
commentary to me, afterwards, “Apparently, Keziah chafes under the
yoke” Also, of Jenny, You can almost hear the wheels turning, [in
her head] she's trying to construct her own little fiefdom.”
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And then sometimes...I walk into a
room and they're sitting like this. I grabbed my camera ans
surreptitiously snapped a photo on zoom from the corner.
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So
this happened a while ago, but I had more pictures I didn't share
before.
Mariam
singlehandedly willed the Penguins to victory, I think by her
insistence on wearing her "Pen-whins Shut" and her ecstatic
joy when anyone else wore one too.
(I
did a lot of freezer-paper stenciling, After cutting 4 stencils, I
can now cut out a t-shirt sized penguins stencil in 20 minutes. The
penguins-logo is one of my skills in life. A practical one as the
Sadar household isn't going to change hockey loyalties probably for
at least a hundred years, given Josh's father and his father before
him have been Penguins fans, and Josh has been rooting for them since
4. Train up a child in the way he should go....)
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What a great Playoffs beard you
have, grandpa!
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the 2nd and 4th generation of fan
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Jenny said to me
“Mommy, I do not want you to die before I'm grown up” I agreed
heartily with that. A few minutes later, she added “If you die, ven
Daddy wiwl have to stay home to take care of us, and we wiwl have no
money.”
She is, ever
practical.
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| Jenny always likes figuring things out |
She told me, "I em glad You mawwied Daddy."
I am too, Jenny <3
I'm always highlighting the visiting
relatives, so I thought I ought to put up a few pictures of the
relatives who currently reside in AZ.
Hearing about Phoenix's amazing summers, Aunt
Leah moved to the valley of the sun in time for the uniquely
characteristic weather. She is now being rewarded with the fall. The
kids love flipping through my picture album, extorting childhood
memories from Leah's precise memory. They now know more about my
childhood than I do, and correct me when I get the details wrong.
Mariam will plead for "Doh-wies 'bout when you wuh uh gil"
Aunt Cathy and Josh in deep political discussion.
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I hope all my kids get beautiful
Sadar eyebrows...
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With Grandma
A friend at church gave us flowers, and this is the
girls idea of posing with flowers. Mariam could not contain her
excitement.
The little girls were in the room playing
dolls. I realized I had left the sleeping baby on the bed. I ran in,
to find this.
Mariam, I think, determined Sarah Grace needed a baby
doll.
Keziah continues to fight entropy, restoring order to
the galaxy.
At least there weren't stuck in a row on the toilet
seat this time.
Sarah continues to win hearts and minds with her
sweet and stubborn ways.
Jenny, in a prototype of a photoshoot for our space
western animated show.
I read this book "These are the Generations" written by some people that have
escaped, and have been thinking of/praying for my ancestral home of
North Korea a lot lately. (my clonesums up my feelings)
Jenny, I think overhearing some of my conversations,
announced, with shining eyes. “Mom, I have an idea. I
wiww go to Souf Korea and dig a tunnel, and let all the goodguys
escape. And when all the goodguys escaped, I wiww put the dirt back
in.”
I was psychoanalyzing my
wardrobe choices wondering if I should stick with a more feminine
classy look, or go for a more rugged look that makes me feel kind of
strong, but then, was that foolish of me? I was rambling all this to
Josh while he was at his computer. When I finally finished, I asked
if he had any opinion on the matter, and he said “sorry, I'm locked
in combat on the Deathstar”.
Mariam
was standing on her bed at bedtime, holding a doll. Josh reminded her
to lie down. “But I nursing duh baby” she said.
“You
can nurse while lying down” he pointed out.
“I
burping duh baby” she said.
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turning two, with her penguins
themed table
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While it was just family at Mariam's
party, a Pteradactyl also made an appearance.
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I
was feeling down worrying about something after dinner, I was sitting
at the table, so I put my head down, resting my forehead on the edge
of the table as I prayed. All of a sudden, thrust into my view (of
looking into my lap) was Mariam's jubilant face saying triumphantly
“I found you!!!” she had climbed under the table, and surprised
cute-attacked me. I think I will call it “Ambushed by Hope”
She
added more thoughtfully “Mom, why you sad?”
When
she laughs, its impossible to be sad. Mariam Hope is so much joy and
personality packaged into a gangly golden-headed toddler.
If
I accidentally call another kid “my pumpkin,” Mariam appears out
of the floorboards. “No, I your punk'n angel”
The
kids love skyping their aunt Sarah, and showing her their newest toys
& art projects.
Jenny (like her mother) voiced a desire to look
like "Pwincess Kate." Since the Duchess of Cambridge seems
to wear a lot of classy dresses and pillbox hats, here is our
attempt.
Isaiah gets along really well with the baby. Perhaps
it is her tolerance of Templar Helmets, or her easy going nature and
her laughing over his antics. Or perhaps it is is his gentleness for
babies. Anyways, they are becoming good friends.
Sarah is such a little sweetheart.
Jenny and I can ram heads a lot. But she did
make me this card one evening, and interpreted it for me. "It
says SORRY FOR DOING BAD FINGS. Dat's what duh F is for"
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SRREF=Sorry for doing bad Fings
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A few
nights ago, I was singing 'Jesus loves me' at night “We are weak,
but He is strong”, Jenny interrupted me. “We are not aww weak. It
means compared to God
we are weak” then she added, just so we knew which side of the line
she fell on, “I am not weak, I am stwong.” But conceded, for
right theology's sake “But compared
to God I am weak”
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This picture says a lot about Jenny
and Isaiah's relationship
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Daddy is good at multitasking
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Mariam
is very free with confessions, referring to herself in the third
person.
“Who
spilled water all over the floor?”
“Mawiam”
she announces cheerfully.
“Who
got into the graham crackers?”
“Mawiam!”
“Who
drew marker all over the mirror?”
“MAWIAM!”
Only
there seems to be a little too much pride in it, as if she is signing
her name to her work.
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Mariam is devoted mommy to her
dolls. She keeps adopting pillows and corn bags and transforming
them into her "babies"
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As
a fresh-faced parent, I critiqued my beloved Donut man's “O B E Y,
Obey your mom and dad!” as a little too heavy on the
[brainwashing/obedience] elements. Now, as 4 kids happily bunjee jump
off the couch, my attitude is completely changed to enthusiastic
approval of that wonderful song. Which is great, because Mariam, who
loves loves all things Donut man, and has latched with particular
enthusiasm onto that song. She gets all the words perfectly, as she
belts out “O! B! E! Y! Odey yo' mom an' dad!” punctuating each
syllable with a jubliant jump on the couch or bed. I think she's
being secretly ironic.
Here they are in a wagon pulled by their ponies.
Keziah loves ordering their vast tribe of ponies in
all their "beds." She has been expanding the family wither
her little eagle eyes in thrift stores, and is my own little pony
radar, sighting them hidden under lots of other things at Goodwill.
Keziah also has a more militant side, and
frequently tries to look like Sabine Wren from Rebels Season One
(haven't seen the other seasons yet), with her fearsome double
blasters.
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She is very pleased with herself,
and how terrifying she looks.
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There's been a desire to be more Korean lately.
Jenny has been voicing her desire to become a Korean when she grows
up, and we have been going to Korean class together.
Kuzzles
came up to me and showed me the cover of “Love you forever”
(quite a blood-freezing portrayal of plausible toddler badness).
“Dis
is wike somefing Mawiam would do” she said, loftily.
After
a quick glance to ascertain Mariam wasn't in the room, I agreed,
“Yes,” feeling guilty that I was ritually denouncing the
newly-minted two-year-old in an effort to convince Keziah that such
badness was 'so last year,' and completely beneath her cool
three-year-old self.
She
skipped off into the next room (where Mariam was), book still in
hand. Then I overheard Keziah's gleeful voice emanating from the
room,
“Mawiam,
do you want to do vis?"
Me: “OK,
there's iced tea on the floor, someone was trying to get some out of
the fridge...”
Isaiah
piped up “A boy accidentally spilled some” (as the only possessor
of a Y chromosome in the house during work-hours, this was a
sufficient confession)
Isaiah has been enjoying his lego time and (on
wednesdays and saturdays) his LORD OF DUH RINGS COMPUTER GAME time
with Daddy. When we were engaged I tried to convince Josh to toss the
LOTR-inspired game as I found computer games inherently...unpoetic?
But on this side of Wings of Liberty I guess Josh won that debate.
Anyways, he's only playing Battle for Middle
Earth II, so its not giving away any of the plot of the book, beyond
who the goodguys and the badguys are. I never thought my kid's first
ideas of Middle Earth would be from a computer game. But at least it
is while sitting in Daddy's lap. And now he thinks Glorfindel is
really cool :)
This is what happens late at night with a camera and
a baby.
Jenny and Keziah watching RWBY's red trailer, in
which a girl defeats a horde of wolves. I could watch it 100 times,
it feels like all that is good vs the darkness. I noticed when
Keziah's a little scared, Jenny will put her arm around her.
“When
I gwow up, if I don't get mawwied, you can sleep wiv me”
“Mommy
will still need to sleep with Daddy”
“It's
going to be a bunkbed.....its going to be a triplet bed. There wiwl
be me, and two old people. Because you wiwl be old when I gwow up.”
~ Jenny
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Jenny walked in, just somehow
nailing the 20s look---shapeless dropped waist dress, long
necklece, headband, even the pose....I have no idea how, as I
don't have anything remotely 20s in the book/movie/clothes
department
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Puzz
being a fairy.
Me showing off my Winter Soldier make-up job (a.k.a.
what happens if you put on mascara and get in a waterfight), while
Keziah drinks some contraband soda in the background.
Jenny
climbed up the wall after watching America Ninja Warrior. It ate
Kuzzles up that she couldn't do it, but I explained once she gains a
couple inches she can too. She is so excited when Jenny does it,
dancing about in admiration.
I also found
Isaiah being his own commentator, as he repeatedly fell off the rail
of the bed saying “I couldn't hold on to the sammander! [sic Salmon
Ladder] I fell into the water!”
Lately, we've had a new photographer in the
house. I am a little less protective of my pocket camera, now that I
have the DSLR, thus enabling this budding artist.
A sampling of her work
She really likes to experiment with the macro
setting, and the flash is a big favorite
I call this sampling "Entropy in the early
21st century."
The photographer in action.
These pictures were taken in May. I never got
round to posting them before. It is what my ideal childhood for my
children is....
