Paperwork

 Did you know when you become a parent you're signing up for a whole lot of paperwork? It starts at the hospital, where they won't let you leave until you fill out all the forms that prove you had a baby. And then it continues at every doctor appointment. How a parent could ever forget her child's birthday, I don't know, since it has to be written on three separate forms every two months (or more, if you're lucky enough to get a baby prone to ear infections). And then they start school. That's when wise parents should invest in a pallet of ballpoint pens. 

Paper

 One day my dad brought home an enormous roll of cardstock paper. As a kid it seemed unending, and we used it for anything we could think of, from school projects to giant paper dolls to race tracks. So when Lizzy and I found a big roll of paper at an estate sale for $3, it seemed like an obvious purchase. So far the kids have used it to make fantastical maps, trace each other, create a rainbow runway for a fashion show, and write out stories. I love, love, love when I can share a little piece of my childhood with my kids. 

Making time

 The funny thing about me and blogging is that when I have a lot of ideas to write about here, it's because there is a lot going on, which means I have very little time to write. But when I have plenty of time to write, there is nothing to say, because not a lot is going on. Right now, for instance, I find myself in a quiet house with one napping child and one husband in a zoom meeting in the other room. The laundry is mostly folded and put away, and the cleanliness of the house is probably a 7 out of 10. (Why bother trying to improve on a 7? Three elementary children will bust down the front door in about 10 minutes spreading chaos and crumpled papers in their wake. Really, what would be the point?)

And yet, the only thing I have to say for myself today is that I played dinosaurs with Gus this morning, and it wasn't even particularly interesting at the time. So here's a cute picture of Henry, because that will make this post worth something. 

Road Tripping 2019

If you ever need to drive 1,892 miles (one way) across the country, dragging six children through eleven states, I recommend finding someone like this guy:

He'll get you up well before what any sane person would consider morning, pack the car, and drive every single mile himself. He'll gas up the car and run into the convenience store to buy the kids a candy bar in order to keep them smiling. He'll pull over in the middle of nowhere to let a kid throw up (or pee) on the side of the road and not even complain about the smell they bring back into the car. He'll get you to the 4th of July parade of your childhood on time, and catch a pepperoni stick while he's there. He'll build sand castles on the beach with your sisters and teach your kids to body surf without losing a single one in the ocean. He'll take day trips to Mt Hood or Mt St Helens, leading kids through dark caves and starting snowball fights. When you say, "On the way home let's stop at Four Corners! Or Mesa Verde! Or Santa Fe! Or the Cadillac Ranch!" he'll drive hours out of the way to take you to those places and make those memories for your children. He'll make a month long road trip the Best Summer Ever. 

Did I say I recommend finding someone like this guy? 

Good luck. 

He's one of a kind.

Easter

I really thought I was going to do better this year and update my blog more often. I feel like I could use the writing practice, if nothing else (because I write very well thought out clever, elegant posts, right?)

Anyway, these are the pictures I should have posted at Easter. 

First Day of School

The two littlest are sleeping, and I really don't feel like climbing Mt Laundry right now, so instead of wasting time on YouTube, I thought I could do a little blogging. See where my priorities are?
School has been in session for two weeks now and it has been good.

Lizzy is in middle school this year, starting sixth grade. There are so many things that I could say about this, but I suspect they are the things that all parents say when their oldest child reaches this stage, so I will forbear. Did you notice how her glasses are taped together? She broke them two days before school started. 

Barak is in fifth grade, top of the school and cool as can be. 

Sebastian is in third grade. He is excited to enter the world of state testing.

Henry is in first grade. He does not love school so much. He tells me there is too much work involved. He would prefer to just play. Or watch TV.

Ivan started PreK. Again there are So Many Things to say about this. But regardless of how I am feeling, he is happy and loves school. He's so happy to be one of the big kids. 

Baby Gus and I spend the mornings ... actually, what do we do all morning? I feel like it's time to pick Ivan up before I've ever gotten anything done. Mostly I suppose we go grocery shopping or crawl around and eat things off the floor. Anyway, we stay busy.

Aren't they a handsome bunch?

Why yes, three of them did pick out the same shirt for the first day of school. I don't usually buy them all matching clothes, but this is what they each wanted to wear. Which I think is awesome. :)

He is cute, though.

Ivan and I were having an argument about whether or not he is cute. I could not convince him, so finally I asked him how he would describe himself. To which he responded, "Rich. And famous."
So here is my rich and famous boy:

Hot chocolate and peanut butter toast. Living the high life.

Admit it, you'd give yourself a fake beard, too, if you had bath paints. 

August Tain

On Monday morning I looked like this:

And then this happened at 2:15 ish. Except actually this picture was taken the next day, when all the bruising on his face was gone and he was a lot less puffy. I'll spare you the brand new, before-his-bath, newborn pictures. 

Finally we were able to go home on Tuesday evening. After getting him dressed in his first outfit, adjusting the car seat belts and strapping hm in, he decided to fill his diaper, and we had to start over. Babies have great comedic timing. 

The kids all love him and fight over whose turn it is to hold him. We are very happy to have our Baby Gus. :)

Oh, I almost forgot to add his stats:

10lbs 2oz

21 1/2 inches

Good, loud cry

First day of school

Since it's been a couple of months, it's probably time to post pictures of the first day of school.

 Four Washburns at one elementary school. 

Fifth grade is the top of the school! Neither of us can believe the day has finally arrived. 

 Fourth grade

Second grade

Kindergarten

He was so excited about the first day of school. And then he spent a couple of weeks tying to talk us into letting him stay home for various reasons, or flat out refusing to go. But things have settled down into more of a routine, and he loves his class and his teacher. He has already made amazing progress this year, and I am so proud of him. 

Ivan started a little preschool, too. Five of my friends and I rotate hosting once a week for a couple of hours. He wasn't too sure about it at first, but he loves having regular play time with his friends. He has started telling me, "I won't cry at preschool today," which is both a little sad and encouraging. 

We are off to a great start this year!

Christmas

It is August, and not at all the appropriate time to be thinking about Christmas, but I was uploading pictures from my camera, and I found some pictures from a couple of Christmases ago. They made me think of all the Christmas pictures we have taken over the past (almost) twelve years, and since this is my blog and I'm the only one who reads it anyway, I figured I would compile all those Christmases into one place. Even if it is August. And the first day of a new school year. And actually I should be posting those pictures instead.

2006

This is roughly our first Christmas together. We didn't actually own a camera until after Christmas had passed, but this is close enough. I think you can see the Christmas tree behind us if you squint, but don't let that fool you. We left that poor tree up until February.

 Also not really a Christmas picture, but it's in November 2007. This is actually the ONLY family picture I could find from that time period. We look awful, because we were brand new parents and didn't know how easy having only one child is. 

 2008

 2009

 We look tired, because we were tired.

2010

2011

 We had just moved into our first house, and since we went to Colorado for Christmas, we might not have even had a tree.

2012

2013

 I could not find a complete family Christmas picture from this year, but it's the year we moved halfway across the country, and I know I was pretty stressed at this time. That's not even our Christmas tree the kids are standing in front of. 

2014

2015

2016

I actually do have a family picture in front of our Christmas tree for this year, this one is just so much cuter.

2017

I thought I had a pretty consistent picture taking tradition, but looking through them all together, I can see it's pretty hit and miss. And we didn't even start taking these pictures until 2008. Oh well. It's still fun to see how our family has grown over the years. I can't wait to see what our 2018 picture will look like!

Henry, who is four, wanted to write a blog post with me. This is what he had to say:
"I love to play with my mom. I love my mom. Sebastian is my frenemy. My heart is beating when mom is here. I love mom."
He said he needed a picture to go with it, and this is what he chose. :)

Treasures

Today Ivan and I went for a walk. Normally I would say that Oklahoma fails at fall colors. Dismally. In fact this is the first autumn that we have been here that I have not felt like I completely missed the season. I'm not sure whether there really is something different about this year, or whether I've just gotten used to seeing a lot more brown, but I have loved every pop of color I've come across, and I'm convinced that this has been the best fall yet. Just look at this tree!

It was a beautiful morning, in a beautiful place. Recently I've really learned to appreciate the beauty of Oklahoma. It is rather different from where I grew up, but I really do like it here. There may not be mountains or tall trees, but you can't argue with that sky, and prairie grasses make a music of their own.



I was a little early to pick up Henry at school, and his class was outside on the playground. He saw me pull in and ran to the fence, jumping up and down, waving and shouting, "Hi, Mom! Hi!" Pretty soon there was a whole swarm of four-year-olds at the fence saying, "Hi, Henry's mom!" I said hello to them all and gave Henry a high five, but before I could walk away to wait on the bench by the school entrance, a little boy poked a piece of bark through the fence for me. "Here you go," he said. "It's school bark." Of course that meant I received several more treasures as other classmates joined in the gift giving. I was even given a tattered leaf.


This was probably the best moment of my whole week and made me so happy in ways I cannot express. I loved how happy Henry was to tell his friends, "That's my mom!" I loved the innocent generosity of children who were immediately ready to accept me as a friend.

Barak's baptism

Barak turned eight this month, and so he was baptized. :) I think he was excited about it, and I hope he felt how loved he is. Isaac's parents were able to visit us for a couple of days, and we took them to the science museum in OKC and the splash pad in town. I can't wait for our family reunion next summer, and now I'm trying to figure out another scheme so we can see them again sooner...

How we pretend we are:

                                 The real us:
    

The first day of school

School started a couple of weeks ago. I was not quite ready for summer to end, but also I was.

Lizzy started 4th grade

Barak is in 3rd grade

Sebastian is in 1st grade

Henry started Pre-K. 

And Ivan is my only friend home with me in the morning. We have a good time, just the two of us, but sometimes we miss the little crazies who are at school.