You knew I couldn't really do it, didn't you?

Take a blogging break, that is. 4 days with no posts is not really a full blown break...but it's a start.

We had a good weekend. I learned things. I witnessed things I've heard before, but never fully experienced. I loved on my nephew (who has ceased to be a baby & has sadly turned into a little boy). I visited with many, many, many members of both sides of my family. I was loved. I loved.

Things I learned/witnessed:

• My nephew (H.T., Heir to the Throne) calls his mother (Princess, my sister) 'Bum.' Not really sure why, but it's a riot to hear him yell 'BUM!' across a crowded room & see her head pop up.
• H.T. calls my mother, his grandmother 'Deem.' It's H.T. for 'Grammy.' He likes to kiss Deem with his eyes cut back at Pa waiting for Pa to tell him to, "Quit that. Don't kiss my Grammy!"
• H.T. (although an only child) can hold his own with my brood. They're like a pack of wolves, fighting over pecking order at times, but they had a blast.
• Bitsy will have absolutely nothing to do with her Uncle Axl, but then he repels small children. He just doesn't have the kid magnet gene & she knows it. But he can draw and that fascinates BabyGirl who wants to be an Army Nurse & an Artist when she grows up.
• My brother-in-law & I can spend most of the weekend arguing tastes in music & movies.
• My kids aren't sure if Inkling's mom is Aunt D (yes, she is), or Aunt Anita (no, she is not). One calls her Aunt D, one calls her Aunt Anita, and a third will combine the two names to call her Aunt Die'nita. She answers to all three.
• I can prepare dinner for 10 adults & 5 small children without burning down the house, breaking the bank, or running out of food....with some help from my mom.
• 198 Easter Eggs take about 10 minute for 5 small children to find. But when they're counted up later, there will be 199 eggs making Husband say, "I guess we have to put one back."
• There's enough candy in 172 eggs (my kids' share) to fill a cookie jar with chocolate...and QM gets the good stuff.
• B.B. couldn't wait to get to church on Sunday morning so he could see H.T. The following is a direct, out-of-the-blue, quote from my 4 year old in the van on the way to church:

"Mommy, I can't wait to see H.T. at church 'cause I really like his penis."
Uh, what?!
"Yeah, it's a funny penis & I like it."
Um....What's so funny about it? (At this point I am at a serious loss as to how to deal with this conversation or where it came from.)
"It's just big & it's funny to me. I like H.T."
OK, well, I think maybe we should quit talking about penises now. We're on the way to church, and penises are private things. OK, B.B.?
"OK. But I still like it."
Oy.

• If you have a cousin that lives in Canada & you talk to her very often, you will pick up phrases not indigenous to your region. You'll realize this when your four year old starts saying, "Hokey Dinah!"
• I can read a 563 page book in 24 hours with 4 kids home from school, a dentist appointment an hour away, and 7 1/2 hours of sleep thrown in for good measure. I've started my second read through of New Moon already & am desperate for a copy of Eclipse. Wal-Mart was sold out yesterday. Grrr.
• B.B. knows "what those smoking sticks are that people throw on the ground at Wal-Mart," even if he doesn't know the name. He also knows that they are "yucky" and Bitsy agrees with him....but then Bitsy loves to say "yucky."
• If a four year old makes a cross magnet in Sunday School out of tongue depressors & foam stickers, it won't be just any old cross magnet...it will be "The Cross of Coronado! Dum-dah-dum-dum. Dum-dah-dum. Dum-dah-dum-dum. Dum-dah-dum-dum-dum." (Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade reference for anyone not in the know.)
• The Cross of Coronado will remind everyone of the time the four year old's Uncle Bubba was coloring a picture of the men on the road to Emmaus & told everyone they were going to Pizza Hut.
• The weekend was much too short.