Still not a real post...

I know, I know...  But my back is killing me (well, really my tailbone) so I can't do the laundry that needs to be done and everyone is safely confined in their rooms soooooo here's a bunch of random to throw at you!

- You might as well skip this and go read my sister's latest post if you haven't already: How to Pray: Start Shallow

- I still have WIWS pictures from like, 3 weeks ago that I haven't managed to post...  And I haven't bothered taking pictures since then because I already have pictures I haven't used.  Whoops.

But here's a preview:

Yes, Cecilia wore her Christmas dress from 1.5 years ago.  We realized after we got to Mass that it had food on it.  Cool.

- Elizabeth is so SO very blonde compared to the other kids.  

And she loves books just as much as the others.  We're at that stage right now where any time I happen to be sitting down, they demand that I read to them.  And if I'm standing up, they demand that I pick them up.

"TWO BABIES!" They cry, begging me to pick them both up.  Well, at least it's balanced?

We went to a baptism yesterday and Mary Claire immediately ran to the end of the pew and started chanting, "U-S-A!  U-S-A!!!"

Really good Catholic there.

But Elizabeth may have been worse - "Do you reject Satan and all his empty promises?" "NO!"

Luckily her godfather reminded us that those vows have been made for her, considering the fact that she hasn't reached the age of reason.

- Sometimes I can rope the big kids into reading to the babies instead of me...  But Cecilia can't read and John Paul doesn't like reading aloud because it's so much slower, soooo mostly they still come running to me.

 One of these days, right?

- Elizabeth and Mary Claire can now both climb up into the little clubhouse in our swing set AND slide down the slide without help.  And they don't even look like they're going to die when it happens!  I don't think I trust them in the yard on their own yet (even with the older kids), but next summer is gonna be the BEST!

- John Paul signed up for the summer reading program at the library.  15 books by the end of the summer.  Maybe they meant 15 books by the end of the day?  Last summer I made him read aloud to me, so I'll probably do that again this summer, although he's reading books that are a LOT longer, so I'll probably just get a few "Easy Reader" books and make him read those aloud and give him a break for the rest that he's reading to himself...

- We're brainstorming for a playroom makeover - the twins have stopped trying to consume drawing materials and want to color ALL the time.  But they can't really fit at the table together with art supplies, and John Paul needs space to spread out all his materials when he's doing his various experiments and research projects...  

So the plan is to get an old craigslist dining set to put in there, and maybe a bookshelf or hutch to organize all the school/craft materials.  And maybe replace the futon with a real couch?  I mean, I've had it since sophomore year of college so...  9 years?  You can definitely tell.

And the minions have started fleeing their jail cells soooo I'll leave you with this:

We're trying to get the babies to nap in their cribs together in their room.  As you can imagine, it's going horribly.  They sing to each other, yell at each other, trade toys back and forth, yell at each other for not sharing, and every time I free them, Elizabeth's crib is pushed as far away from the wall as she can possibly get it.  We're having a lot. of. fun.

#sarcasm