Odds and Ends

On Saturday I finally made the kids help me go through the catch-all toy box in the living room. Technically, nothing really belongs in that bin. It's there for quick clean ups only. Eventually, however, it gets filled to overflowing and we have to dump it out and put everything back in its proper home (blocks with the blocks, books with the books, LEGO with the LEGO, and so on).

Benjamin was thrilled to find so many lost treasures. He popped a soother into his mouth (a soother that, for the record, I don't think any of my children have ever used), grabbed a toy cell phone, slapped a wood-bead bracelet on his wrist, walked over to me and mumbled around the soother, "Me—baby." Then he crawled onto my lap and insisted on laying down (like a baby) while "texting" on his phone.

While we were cleaning, Andrew was off collecting another Craigslist find. Rachel's teacher wanted some bean bag chairs for her reading corner (I feel like I recently explained this...was it here on the blog? Am I repeating myself? Bear with me...because there are pictures...or at least a picture) but apparently bean bag chairs are ridiculously expensive. She also requested that they not be "cloth" but instead be pleather or plastic or some sort of wipe-clean material, unfit for louse habitation (and I'm totally with her on that). After seeing how much they were listed on Amazon.com and Target (also .com because who actually goes to stores nowadays when they could just as easily never leave their house, especially when you don't know the store even carries what you're looking for?) I decided to check out Craigslist and found just the thing (for an I-want-this-out-of-my-house price)!

We enjoyed it Saturday through yesterday when I finally managed to get it to the school.

On Monday we went to the Life and Science Museum with some friends. We spent a long time at the KEVA planks, where Miriam and L. built a very tall tower.

Here is Miriam telling someone (probably Benjamin) to stay away:

And here is the moment when little A's tower toppled:

It was fun to spend the late morning/early afternoon with our friends, but they were all laden with baby brothers so went home long before we did. My kids wanted to do some adventuring outside, so that's what we did. We found this little hut that I didn't know existed, but apparently they knew it existed:

Miriam would not go inside because she said that once she went in and there was a big spider inside of it. In fact, when we came across it she said, "Oh, it's the Spider House." This is her asking Benjamin what he's doing inside such a dreadful place. I don't see her ever going all Leah Price on me any time soon.

Also, her outfit is spectacular, and she knows it. And, yes, she chose it herself.

She can be a bit of a diva sometimes—like when she spends the entire afternoon plunking out random tunes on the piano, clicking a castanet, shaking a tambourine, and singing made up lyrics at the top of her lungs. All while wearing a spunky outfit.