The Brown Family...

Any chance I get I sit outside on the deck and soak up the Vitamin D....does wonders for being semi cooped up with a newborn and no hopes of going to the beach this year. The boys LIVE outside. Fortunately, summers in Michigan are quite lovely most of the time with little humidity, a nice breeze coming off of the Great Lakes, plus the golden sun!!

Yesterday, Thatcher and I were sitting on the floor watching Margaret who was gurgling and smiling. Thatcher was sitting quietly for awhile and then asked me "Why are you changing into a different family?" I said "What?" and again he asked "Why are you changing into a different family?" I thought...here it is...not being the baby anymore is finally getting to him...I need to be sensitive to his needs and emotions and delve into his inner circle....so I asked "What do you mean?"

He proceeded to point to my leg and said "look...you're turning brown..."

I had to think about it a minute and then I thought....a different family....a BROWN family....

I didn't think I was THAT tan, but I guess enough for him to notice my color change.

I then explained about the reason for sunSCREAM (as he calls it) and what the sun does to the epidermis (didn't use that term, just makes me feel smarter to type it) and how it doesn't change your race, just your skin color....(:^0)

I'd love to get into his mind for a moment and see his pondering process!! I wish I could still be as simple with my thinking and let all the other junk go! I could probably write a whole blog on "Thatcherisms" alone!

Update from Chris

If y'all have been like me, you have checked this blog faithfully, waiting for the next update from Amy and been deeply saddened by her absence. Never fear she is still here and is as clever and witty as before. Parenthood is exhausting. We are both so tired of tending to our charges and there are two of us. Bravo to those who have gone it alone.

Margaret is doing very well. We are still trying to get her on a somewhat normal cycle, she likes to eat a bunch one day and stay up all day and the next she doesn't want as much and prefers to sleep. I had the pleasure of attention for quite some time at 2:40AM. She ate like a champ and then wanted to stay up with her Dad. I am so grateful for Amy taking her from me so I could sleep a little more.

Jack is squirrelling away any knick-knacks he can find so that he can build a robot. I noticed Thatcher only had one nut holding on his front wheel and Jack told me he took it off to use on his robot. He is waiting for me to help him build it so it will fly and change into a ship. He believes I can do anything.

Thatcher is growing up faster. He took his training wheels off, jumped on his bike, and hasn't looked back. He didn't need any help. I have already busted him for riding down the street when he wasn't supposed to. He makes me smile so much because of how much he loves his sister. He is always staring and smiling at her and touching her head and face. He has run around with the "Groucho" face for the past week. Outside. Bathtub. In bed while he is sleeping. When he whips out the cigar, I will draw the line.

Thanks for your attention . . . and now the hijack of the blog is done.

Good Fences Make Good Neighbors...

but not good for sound proofing....
Well, they don't allow fences up here because Michiganders think they are ugly and take away from the scenery. You can fence in a pool and you can put up a small fence on the side of your house for a garbage can. People with pets have to get an invisible fence installed or take them out on a leash in below zero temperatures.

We LOVE our neighbors on the right...the one on the left...well...he'll take up a whole new post on the blog in the future. So, again we LOVE our neighbors on the right! He's a K-9 officer and they have a 2 year old little girl the boys adore as if she was their sister. The mom is super nice and she is pregnant and due in August. Let me chase THAT rabbit for a minute...She is carrying her unborn child in a TEENY TINY pouch on the front of her body...I, HOWEVER, carried mine BEHIND ME.... Never could figure out what God wanted me to learn from that....

Okay, so I mentioned he's a K-9 officer which obviously means he has a German Shepard that lives with them and goes to work with him everyday. The dog can't live IN the house with them, so he's partly in the garage and can go out a door to a fenced in area on the side of their house. The fenced in area is RIGHT under the window to our master bedroom.

A few blogs back I mentioned that we live in Animal Kingdom. Well, the nocturnal ones like to harrass this dog at night which causes him to......BARK & BARK & BARK & BARK & BARK & BARK SOME MORE. It had BETTER not be the chipmunks cause I thought we had a little deal worked out with the almonds...

I guess in the winter he stays in the garage, but in the summer he's outside. We dealt with it all last summer and now this one. You can hear the barking in Margaret's room which makes it worse. Since sleep is such a precious commodity these days, we need every second we can get of UNINTERRUPTED sleep!

We think they either don't hear it, or are just simply used to it. I considered anonymously calling the PD and sharing my concern, but I could just hear the conversation "Some lady in your neighborhood with a thick southern accent called to complain about the dog barking at night." There goes the anonymous part....

Something has to give....I nominate Chris! He's diplomatic and kind....I'd probably burst into tears and blame it on the hormones.... ;^)

Well, this is a to be continued post and perhaps a prayer request to shut the mouth of the "lion" next door!! I'll keep you posted...;)