Welcome To The Lena Booth Series

This series of videos was taken a couple of months ago while Lena and Simon were alone in their shared bedroom with my lap top. I did a quick edit of some highlights and laid the song they were actually dancing to over top. 
Mumford & Sons makes me want to Irish Step Dance (and do the Macarena?) too, so I get it. Everyone needs an outlet.



You can find others in this series here and here and here.

The Five Bedroom Yacht

This morning was business as usual. It began as it does most weekdays by coaxing Lena out of bed (because she stayed up too late fixated on that second front tooth that has been dangling). Immediately followed by desperate pleading with her to eat more breakfast and quickly (always in a rush) get her on her bus, change some diapers, feed the baby, feed the boys, put a bra on, watch the snow fall outside against another gray Rochester winter day and then the first of many kitchen/dish clean-ups. Then, usually it's followed by trains, cartoons, dressing the 3 boys, nursing and getting the baby down for a nap. 
It's become our morning routine this year and it's almost the same every weekday. There is nothing specific about it that makes me unhappy yet something about it lately has left me feeling sorry for myself (can you imagine!?). All of the sudden I found myself complaining about another mess, another meal, another diaper, more laundry, exhaustion, not enough time for romance, or stimulating brain activity, or sleep (sleep!).  Just flat out ultra doses of self pity over the staleness of life day after day.
But this morning, it hit me quietly and mightily like a slap to the face. 

I was on the kitchen floor assisting Calvin with a 26-train long megatrain (normal stuff) and like a wave I was reminded (except more like reprimanded) not that my problems/ complaints weren't there or justified, or that they are magically going to disappear, but that the sort of problems I am currently and presently living and whining about every day right now are actually the BEST kind of problems to have (...said this mightily quiet reprimand slap-to-the-face). It's like as if I were a millionaire deciding between which two beautiful yachts to buy. 

Poor sad, frustrated millionaire, he is having such a hard time deciding!

HA! No, no no! That is ludicrous! Because today, it seems that poor sad Kelly is having to feed 4 beautiful, healthy children (one of which is a sweet drooling BABY), dress them in clean clothes, having to feed them good food from a stocked fridge again, having to bundle them up in warm coats and hats from our warm home and send them to schools where they are loved and their minds are nurtured. All with the support of a devoted father and loving extended family. Can you imagine such problems?! Can you? Do you have the same ones? I am humbly put in my place by my amazing ungratefulness today. So here I am, coming here to write it all down before my self pity hits the fan once again.
Because, I'll need more reminders later (this afternoon?), and I'll feel sheepish later.
And if I may third person the situation:
Truthfully Kelly, you lucky son of a B, TODAY you have some pretty fantastic problems. 

You should be so lucky, you're a millionaire vacationing on a 5 bedroom yacht! (SLAP!)

p.s. Is anyone out there? Do you read if there are no pictures? Do you want pictures? Did you miss me?

George Thaxton!

(hours old on June 18th)

George Thaxton Vaisey

Born June 18, 2012 @9:20 a.m.

8 # 7 oz

Lots of you know him by now, but he needs a formal introduction here I suppose.

He's the first baby I cried over while still in labor because I COULD NOT wait to finally meet him. I was so overwhelmed and so anxious to begin the next stage, with a newborn. I have never felt so desperate to have a baby in my arms than hours before his birth.

He was named after a Vaisey family corner stone, Jeff's grandmother, Dorothy Ann Thaxton Vaisey and he has simply been the sweetest baby and addition to our family and we are all completely smitten by him. No surprise there.

He was born right before the end of the school year so we got an entire lazy summer to get to know him and love on him all day. He has large cheeks and a sweet little round head and fat squishy pink lips I enjoy kissing 50 times a day.

I feel like I owe the success of my transition from 3 children to 4 to my mom (who cleaned, organized, watched children, spoiled me), babajuje (sleepovers!) and many friends who took Lena and Simon for play dates, brought treats and meals and neighbors who let my children run ramped at their house for hours on end. 
Honestly, I'm waiting for the out of control crazies to set in, but they just haven't. They appear in moments for sure, like that one time I took them all to Target(!!), and dinner time (I definitely know I have four children around dinner time!) but nothing like I had imagined. Life is unbelievably good right now. Just so so good.

When George was about 10 days old my good friend, Jeannette came over to the house with her camera goodness and did a quick little session:

(baby in a bowl!)

I look back at these photos and already wonder where my tinyish baby went.

Because he's bigger now. A lot bigger.
You'll see;)

If The Kitchen Table Could Talk

We had an impromptu sundae party last week to start off Simon's preschool year and Jeff set up the tripod and filmed it. I fully realize this may be much more hilarious to us because they are our children, but if you have children, you can at the very least appreciate the shenanigans that often (always) conspires at the kitchen table. You won't be surprised at all to learn that Lena steals the show around minute 3:38 and on. This is my life people.

We're thinking about making this a dinner time series. We've got a stock pile of dinner time's past to work with now.

And when one day I'm locked away inside an insane asylum, I'll have legit video to back up my story while I'm tuckered in the corner staring blankly rocking back and forth back and forth.

It's a Wrap Get It?

I'm totally getting one of these...for the new baby...that I had...two months ago:

I Got My Snow Cone Right Here

It went:
a hot day in may

daddy home

ice and syrup

front porch 

sticky blue and red 

baths and bed

the end.

A Day In May Before We Become Six

Last week Calvin turned 2 and BabaJuje brought over a cozy coupe and treats.

The late golden light lit up his red mane and we enjoyed an evening with him as the baby in the family.

It's anyone's guess as to how he will handle the birth of this new baby brother- will he take on Lena's baby brother hostility or Simon's sweet meaty-pawed affection? Maybe he'll show us a dose of something we haven't seen yet.

I don't ever feel sorry for kicking the baby out of the baby spot to make room for another. I say, lucky them! More laughs, more fun, more helpers, more built-in playmates, more people to dote over you,

more mess, more loudness, more chaos, one more mouth to wipe red vine stains off of.

Maybe I should feel a little bit sorry for me...

But maybe not.

Cute babies are better than clean houses.

Happy laughing children are way cooler than getting to places on time.

And four small peacefully sleeping bodies beat pretty much everything.

This will be good. We can do this.

It's Never Very Far From My Sweaty Palm

My mom's not on instagram. My dad's not on instagram. I think it's safe to assume Jeff's grandparents aren't on instagram. A lot of you aren't. But a lot of you are.
So many ares and aren'ts, so little time.
I'm not making any sense at all.
What I am doing is taking a lot of pictures on my iphone.
Oh, here's some:

A  friend of mine once said in the comment section of this very blog, and I quote,
 "Basically instagram is a gateway drug to total mediocrity. I get it. "
-The Wise One and Mother of Four


I get it too.
Do you got it?

From North Carolina From Last Month From My Phone

Did I just catch you rolling your eyes?!! ;)(why yes, that IS Mrs. Dr. Gooch herself, blogger and yard extraordinaire- we dined and she is as lovely in person as she is on the world wide web!)

 ...and that concludes the last pictures from the last trip our family will be taking for a long time.


Four kids, know what I mean?

Also While We Were In North Carolina Last Month

We went to the butterfly garden at the Science Museum,

where the sweet North Carolina sun edited all our pictures for us

and the children man handled handfuls of beautiful butterflies in the controlled temperature and stunning lighting of their fabricated ecosystem.

A welcomed fresh-from-Rochester-winter treat!

We hit the lush green mother load.

 And in case you were wondering, I ate Calvin for dessert that night.

Easter 2012: Oh No She Didn't, Oh Yes I Am!

This Easter the same traditional trip to Target the night before was made except this time it was scouring the empty shelves with Rebekah in Chapel Hill and lasted something like 2 hours. Which is better than a quick traditional trip to Target pre Easter alone in Rochester. You follow?
There were baskets and grass (that special kind that you find all over your house months after Easter) candy, chocolate, jammies, and trinkets times 7. We ate a bag of baked sour cream and cheddar chips in the check out line while we nervously made small talk to our check out employees to avoid the embarrassment of absolute overindulgence.  Nailed it!

And around some time like the break of dawn the next morning-7 children were up and the hunt was on:

 This picture is special to me because in the store that night Rebekah kept telling me her kids all hated peeps yet here they are all with a peep in hand devouring them for the Easter goodness that they are(you can't tell, but the subsequent pictures I took show their sugary remains on their lips).Just when you think you know your kids...When Bek and I get together, we have a weakness for high quality jammies we know our girls will love. Just look at them! Ha! Twin cousie tacky matchy heaven.

And no Easter is complete without a lala in hand and a lala in mouth and new lalas in a bucket.
The annoying aunt (who me?) made all the children sit on the porch in the sun for a group shot after church. Why does everyone hate the group shot? I don't get it? 

And then If my memory serves me correctly, we preceded to eat all the leftover candy in the duration of the 3 remaining days we were there. I think we calculated like a gallon of red bull consumed by the professional brothers used to stay up late doing professional things like playing video games.
And there's your overindulgence right there kiddos;)
The end.