Pudding, It's the New Hair Gel

Obed has learned a new hair styling technique... just smear vanilla pudding all over your hair, give it 2-3 minutes to dry, and voila, a wonderful, affordable and delicious-smelling hair product. Even after rest, his hair was still stiff and well styled.

Birthday Pie... Finally

Every year, for my birthday, Vince makes me some sort of birthday cake. This year, it was a birthday pie. The original plan was that Vince was going to take the morning of my birthday off and make the pie with the boys and we would celebrate that evening... then the stomach virus from the pit of Hades hit our house and the very idea of food was repulsive. So the pie idea was set aside. Then Vince and I had to make a trip... so the pie was put off yet again.

Finally, last weekend, Vince and the boys were able to make the Cherry Cheesecake Pie, 2 1/2 weeks after my birthday... but better late than never!

Obed is at the age where he wants to be in the mix in every and all things... so here he is "helping" by mixing the crust.
Both Ezra and Asher got to use the mixer to beat the cheesecake portion of the pie.

And then there's the required licking of the beaters.

The pie of deliciousness.

And then the blowing out of the candle (and yes, it's just that cold that I often wear my coat in the house in order to stay warm).

Silly Blogger

Sorry it's been a while since I posted... I'm having trouble with blogger - can't get it to upload any pictures... and it only posts about 50% of what I'm typing... hmmm. Just waiting for technology to work itself out.

12 Weeks

Great news from the Black family front... Black baby #4 is due to arrive around August 27th. Praise God! Ezra wanted me to tell the doctor that he'd like a sister this time "since we've never had a girl in our house before." I explained that God, not the doctor, decided what kind of baby we'd bring home. He still wanted me to ask the doctor to give us a girl.

Laughing At Yourself

Ezra is a thoughtful, sensitive little boy... it's one of the things that I love most about him! He's eager to serve and please and loves to be a helper. There are times that his sensitivity causes him to be a bit too sensitive and serious. He gets his feelers hurt easily and has a hard time laughing at himself. There are always many character qualities to work on in each of our lives! This being said, Vince and I have been working with Ezra on trying to learn to laugh at himself... that it's okay to feel silly and laugh about it.

This week, a friend of ours brought over some cupcakes for the boys. Vince asked Ezra if he could put frosting on his nose and Ezra quickly said "NO!" I then asked Ezra, "have you ever smelled sprinkles on chocolate cupcakes?" I know, it seems like a cruel trick... but my intent was neither cruel nor hard hearted... but rather, to help Ezra learn to lighten up a bit. Ezra was excited to "smell" the sprinkles and did just that... as Vince shoved the cupcake into Ezra's sniffer as he was sniffing.

At first, there was the verge of tears... but then Ezra realized, "Wait, this is funny!" And he started to laugh. I am proud of Ezra... he is working hard at learning to laugh at himself even when he feels silly and he's doing a great job!

A First

Obed has been, by far, the most difficult of the three boys when it comes to sleeping. The other "tricks" and techniques we used to woo the other two to sleep through the night seem lost on Obed. We have battled with Obed for about 6 months now on sleeping through the night. About 3 weeks ago, we finally seemed to have tasted sweet victory and had two full weeks of sleeping through the night... something we've not tasted for months! Then... the plague of last week hit our house, and after several nights of diaper explosions, throwing up in bed, etc., Obed seems to have regressed and gotten used to waking up early once again. This morning, he awoke at 4:00 and did not go back to sleep, but rather yelled, sang, screamed, cried and hollered until about 6:45, when I finally went in and got him up.

I've heard of children who have fallen asleep in their high chairs. I have even seen them on shows like Funniest Home Videos and such... but never have any of my boys done this. Today, as the boys were eating lunch, I was trying to get a few chores done. I looked over to check on Obed, and he was sitting, cracker in hand, asleep in his high chair.

The Funk

I've heard, for several months now, that the funk has been traveling around Nearly Canada. This funk being of the intestinal variety, causing illness to explode from both the north and south poles, respectively. I've been secretly dreading this funk, hoping and praying that somehow, this bout of illness would miraculously bypass the Black house... not the case.

Monday night we awoke to Ezra crying. Vince ran upstairs to discover a bed covered in dinner from earlier that evening. Obed woke up from nap on Tuesday, same scenario. Asher woke Tuesday night to the same tune. It's been a week of nastiness in the Black house for sure!

It's weeks like these that I try to be intentional about finding much to be thankful for, as I easily fall into a pity-party. It helped a lot this week that, in spite of his sickness, Asher was singing from sun-up to sun-down, "This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it." He was my walking reminder that I need to praise God, because He made these days - even when the funk is in the house!

So, today, I am thankful for a washing machine and dryer, to wash the funk-covered sheets; for a husband with a flexible schedule who can work from home and help me when three little ones are sick from both ends; for Clorox wipes; for flush, indoor toilets; for scented candles to help cover up the stench in the house; and for PBS, which kept Ezra and Asher entertained and confined for 2 days straight as they lay in the guest bed and watched television to their heart's content (which is something they've never gotten to do before).

Wrong Size

This picture shows what could happen if, say, a mother accidentally puts a size 4T t-shirt in her 16 month old son's drawer and then the 16 month old son feeds himself yogurt for lunch, creating a huge mess, so the father changes the 16 month old before rest, not realizing that the shirt he puts on the child is a size 4T rather than an 18 month (although in the father's defense, the shirt has a strange cut and the arms seem to fit a 4 year old, but the length is rather short). The child could possibly wake up after nap with one arm in and one arm out, screaming. It's not that it will happen... just saying it could.