When you don't have anything nice to say,
blog blog another day. Today I'm in a mood... Sorry, no blog. I just wanted to let those of you who read my blog know that Carl started one.
Postsecret Mental Note:
Be mean in line for ice cream for the kids.... Or be nice, depending on whether they really need the bigger scoop! I think it goes without saying that I'm a huge Postsecret fan!
Happy Fives
This is a selfish blog. I have a bad case of the blahs, so today I am writing my happy fives to make myself feel better...
Five awesome things from this week:
1. I danced with my kids to worship music. I love being thankful for them while they're having fun.
2. I snuggled with Riley on the couch for an hour last night. He makes my heart happy.
3. Tomorrow is Give Parents a Break day, so the kids are going to the CDC (that's Child Development Center, not Center for Disease Control) from 9am to 3pm. The plan is to clean out closets and bake all day.
4. Grace got the sweetest card in the mail from Trishiekoh. Thank you so much! It is DARLING! Will frame it and add pictures next month when I buy a new camera. Carl took ours to Iraq.
5. I bought this new duvet cover in honey for our bed since Riley ruined our other (expensive) one with puke...
Five awesome things from this week:
1. I danced with my kids to worship music. I love being thankful for them while they're having fun.
2. I snuggled with Riley on the couch for an hour last night. He makes my heart happy.
3. Tomorrow is Give Parents a Break day, so the kids are going to the CDC (that's Child Development Center, not Center for Disease Control) from 9am to 3pm. The plan is to clean out closets and bake all day.
4. Grace got the sweetest card in the mail from Trishiekoh. Thank you so much! It is DARLING! Will frame it and add pictures next month when I buy a new camera. Carl took ours to Iraq.
5. I bought this new duvet cover in honey for our bed since Riley ruined our other (expensive) one with puke...
Top 10 for a Top 10
OK, so these are the top ten reasons I LOVE being a Mom:
10. Who doesn't want a mini-me? Exhibit A. Grace.
9. Baking is WAY more fun with an assistant!
8. Kids clothes are way cheaper than driving to the strip in Lubbock for booze.
7. Halloween candy: There's no way on earth a kid can eat all that candy... Mom to the rescue!
6. Birthday parties: Late night binge drinking parties have nothing on one of my themed birthday parties... Yes, I am that woman.
5. I love when my kids learn something new, and across their face, comes an, "OH! I get it!" look.
4. Christmas morning: Giving is WAY better than receiving!
3. Kids say the darnedest things! Like today, Riley was trying to convince me to give him cereal for dinner tonight, and he says, "Come on Mom, the blue Trix swirls have mouthwatering flavor!"
2. I'm in charge! Amusement parks are way more fun when you're an adult deciding where to go and what to do. Also, I choose the hair, the clothes the home decor... I get to play house all day long, and dress my dollies!
1. HUGS AND KISSES! How could the love of a child NOT be number 1??
And these are the top ten reasons I have to make a list to remind myself of why I love being a mom:
10. Feet dragging in the stroller! Come on- it ruins your shoes, hurts your feet, and slows us down.. Seriously? Seriously...
9. Little ears are always listening, so my language must be clean and sober. It's not always easy to do!
8. Clabbered milk sippy cups... Anyone who has ever forgotten one when it slid under the front seat of the car knows what I mean... And the price of sippy cups has steadily climbed over the past 6 years, so throwing them away isn't an option anymore.
7. Dirty hand grime is everywhere! Remote controls, Xbox 360 controllers, Doorknobs, brush handles, my macbook... You name it, I've found hand grime on it.
6. Poopy diapers. Enough said.
5. Filling our forms for EVERYTHING. I'm considering making a stamp with my address on it. Every silly form that the kids are involved in has to have a TON of repeat information. I would guess I spend about 2 hours a week on forms.
4. Dora, Dora, Dora, Diego, Kai-lan, or whoever else they come up with... Hannah Montana, and all of the other kid idols. I like iCarly though. She's cool.
3. The "Can I have" and "OOOH I want" in the grocery store... Can we just get out please??
2. "Mom can I have this (imagine random food item)" just to find it discarded half eaten ten minutes later.
1. Cleaning up messes and rooms that I didn't make dirty.
10. Who doesn't want a mini-me? Exhibit A. Grace.
9. Baking is WAY more fun with an assistant!
8. Kids clothes are way cheaper than driving to the strip in Lubbock for booze.
7. Halloween candy: There's no way on earth a kid can eat all that candy... Mom to the rescue!
6. Birthday parties: Late night binge drinking parties have nothing on one of my themed birthday parties... Yes, I am that woman.
5. I love when my kids learn something new, and across their face, comes an, "OH! I get it!" look.
4. Christmas morning: Giving is WAY better than receiving!
3. Kids say the darnedest things! Like today, Riley was trying to convince me to give him cereal for dinner tonight, and he says, "Come on Mom, the blue Trix swirls have mouthwatering flavor!"
2. I'm in charge! Amusement parks are way more fun when you're an adult deciding where to go and what to do. Also, I choose the hair, the clothes the home decor... I get to play house all day long, and dress my dollies!
1. HUGS AND KISSES! How could the love of a child NOT be number 1??
And these are the top ten reasons I have to make a list to remind myself of why I love being a mom:
10. Feet dragging in the stroller! Come on- it ruins your shoes, hurts your feet, and slows us down.. Seriously? Seriously...
9. Little ears are always listening, so my language must be clean and sober. It's not always easy to do!
8. Clabbered milk sippy cups... Anyone who has ever forgotten one when it slid under the front seat of the car knows what I mean... And the price of sippy cups has steadily climbed over the past 6 years, so throwing them away isn't an option anymore.
7. Dirty hand grime is everywhere! Remote controls, Xbox 360 controllers, Doorknobs, brush handles, my macbook... You name it, I've found hand grime on it.
6. Poopy diapers. Enough said.
5. Filling our forms for EVERYTHING. I'm considering making a stamp with my address on it. Every silly form that the kids are involved in has to have a TON of repeat information. I would guess I spend about 2 hours a week on forms.
4. Dora, Dora, Dora, Diego, Kai-lan, or whoever else they come up with... Hannah Montana, and all of the other kid idols. I like iCarly though. She's cool.
3. The "Can I have" and "OOOH I want" in the grocery store... Can we just get out please??
2. "Mom can I have this (imagine random food item)" just to find it discarded half eaten ten minutes later.
1. Cleaning up messes and rooms that I didn't make dirty.
This post's gone to the toilet, since nothing else did
Yesterday I became a brand new person. I have heard other military wives talk about how they change when their husband leaves, about how they go from scared of daddy longlegs, to wrestling tarantulas. I always took it with a grain of salt until now. I'm going to go a bit further, though. I'm going to include all single moms in the post, because they don't get a break when their husbands come home.
So most people know that Carl left for Iraq. It's not a secret that being the only ringleader of my circus is not one of my favorite things to do, but nevertheless, I find reasons to look forward to it, and make it exciting and positive for the kids. Since Carl has been gone, I've been praying for things to keep me busy, so I don't stop and get sad in front of my kids- keeping up my best poker face.
Yesterday was a busy day. I cleaned all day, while watching 6 children, cooking, finishing up some work for class, completing paperwork for my business, and washing all the dirty clothes. I neatly stacked all of the clothes in my room on my bed to put them away after my daycare kids left, and my kids got up from their naps. Instead, during my kids naps, I sat down to do some homework, and realized my computer was dead, and the dog had chewed through the cord to my charger. Not only could I not finish my homework or access the internet, but I couldn't communicate with Carl, since he's beyond phone reception at this point, and relying solely on email.
So I did what any mom of 3 would do: throw all three of my kids into the car, and run to the Apple store 45 minutes away. Spending 75 dollars on a charger is a scary thing to do when you aren't sure how much money your husband may need on his journey around the world. But I managed to run through Burger King for the kids, and make it to the mall (where the Apple store is located) by 6. After finding the store, I walked in, and began to search for my device. I couldn't find it anywhere. Then a little Asian girl approached me (18ish, cute as can be), and helped me out. The employees at the Apple store check you out right then and there with little scanner things, and email you the receipt. I did not have the time to marvel over their innovation, but being the knowledgeable retail consumer and former manager that I am, I would have otherwise. It was pretty awesome. I vaguely remember Riley mentioning that he had to pee inside the store, but let's be honest, I was thinking about getting in and out, and not stopping anywhere else, especially this cute little children's boutique called Janie and Jack- too cute. SO we get to the car, and everyone piles in, except Riley, who I notice is still standing by the car with his hand on his crotch- pinching it to hold in the pee. OH MY GOSH! I totally forgot that he had to go pee! This is why we have to LISTEN to our kids, and not just "uh huh, uh huh" our way through life! Ok, so I just loaded all three kids, and I'm in way too much of a hurry to unload them all again and fight an unusually crowded mall on a Tuesday evening, but he says he can't hold it until the grocery store... I immediately begin looking around for a tree or something- but the mall is new construction, so no such luck. Suddenly I remember my mom joking with my brother about making him pee in a bottle when were kids... Hmmm...... Can I really get away with that? Do I even have a bottle in my car? Wait, yes. I got Riley a cream soda yesterday, and he finished it. Surely this isn't the first time he's removed his own trash from the car... And through the back of my Pacifica, I see the clear bottle, label removed, lid intact, sitting in the cup holder. I think it had a beam of light shining down on it, and a few musical notes filled the air, but I'm not sure that anyone else experience that but me. I looked at Riley with the straightest face I could muster, and told him that sometimes we have to do things that are unconventional in desperate situations, then shared my plan- fill that bottle with urine. He looked at me like I had lost it for a moment, and most likely, he was right... Then the look of mischievousness flooded his face, and he got too it. One trucker bomb later, we were on our way. I think it's the only time in his life that Riley thought, "My mom is cool."
Anyway, back to praying for busy work... I guess God took my request literally, because Asher woke up in the middle of the night at about 1:15. Then at 1:30, I heard that distinct coughing-puking combo sound coming from Riley's room. To my shock hand horror, he's puked all over his bed, sheets, floor, and remote control. Let's just all take a minute to savor and remember the smell of 2 am puke. Yummo. Oh, I forgot to mention that by the time we got home, I bathed the kids and dog, I was too tired to put up all of that clean laundry so I stacked it up on the floor on Carl's side of the bed, since he's not going to need that walkway clear tonight, or for the next six months for that matter. Anyhow, I let Riley climb into bed and snuggle up while I cleaned up his room enough to go back to bed. An hour later, he leaned over Carl's side of the bed, and puked again- all over that whole pile of clean clothes. I cleaned up all of that mess, took the laundry back in the laundry room to be rewashed, and climbed into bed just in time to hear Asher cry again. So I got him a bottle, and went back to bed. Another hour later, Riley pukes again, this time only into the bowl that I've place on the floor, so I clean up the puke, and him, and go back to sleep. Five o'clock came really early this morning. Poor Riley is still puking, but God gave me plenty to do didn't He? I was thinking more along the lines of new recipes, or random emails from old friends, but I guess I should have been more specific! So today I have a TON of laundry to wash, a sick kid to tend to, and I'm sitting her blogging! I better get started!
Postsecret, Love
I'm a huge fan of Postsecret.com and I occasionally post one that really appeals to me, but this week, to my delight, there were 2 that I LOVED!
This reminds me of my mom, only not so old! I'm proud of you too Mom!
And this one is just inspirational. Thanks Postsecret, for brightening up my food-poisoned Sunday morning!
This reminds me of my mom, only not so old! I'm proud of you too Mom!
And this one is just inspirational. Thanks Postsecret, for brightening up my food-poisoned Sunday morning!
Summertime Fun, In the Key of Pink and Messy
This week has been a trying one, to say the least, but I've got something to share for each kid:
Riley: He LOVES watermelon. I mean, like every time we go to the grocery store, he asks if watermelon is in season, and if I will buy some. Usually he eats it until he can't eat anymore, then the rest gets thrown away. Carl and Grace don't eat watermelon, and Asher and I like it, but don't eat a ton like Riley. Anyway, for a couple of days, every time Riley ate watermelon, he covered his hair in the juice. I tried everything I could to make him stop the dirtiness. I even told him sugar ants would attack him if he didn't stop putting the juice in his hair. Then finally it dawned on me that he was, "styling his hair with water(melon)." Oh my goodness... I had to explain that while watermelon has a high water content, the liquid is sugary juice, not actually H2O. I'm hoping he doesn't do it again now...
Grace: She got a new book called "Pinkalicious" from Aunt Rhiannon when we were in Oregon. Grace LOVES pink- anything pink. The little girl in the book eats so much pink that she turns pink all over. While the book is ADORABLE, using such words as "Pinkerella" and "Pinkerbell" I didn't think she would take to it so much. The story goes on to say the little girl has to go to the doctor, and eat nothing but green stuff to get rid of her pinkititis. Grace is now convinced (by no fault of mine) that she MUST eat her green vegetables to avoid turning pink. Last dinner time, she ate her green beans, and Riley's green beans too! Even better than the fact that she's eating green beans, she is such a delightful little girl :o).
Asher: He is growing into his own. Every day he surprised me with new accomplishments. Yesterday he threw trash away, picking up the trash can lid and everything. He also helps me load the washer and dryer, can climb up and down the stairs pretty well (with close supervision), closes doors that are open, and holds his own against the big kids. However, he regressed in one respect: Asher has never been a pacifier baby, but lately, he picked up the pacifier! I have to admit, it's incredibly cute- I just hope he doesn't get too attached!
Riley: He LOVES watermelon. I mean, like every time we go to the grocery store, he asks if watermelon is in season, and if I will buy some. Usually he eats it until he can't eat anymore, then the rest gets thrown away. Carl and Grace don't eat watermelon, and Asher and I like it, but don't eat a ton like Riley. Anyway, for a couple of days, every time Riley ate watermelon, he covered his hair in the juice. I tried everything I could to make him stop the dirtiness. I even told him sugar ants would attack him if he didn't stop putting the juice in his hair. Then finally it dawned on me that he was, "styling his hair with water(melon)." Oh my goodness... I had to explain that while watermelon has a high water content, the liquid is sugary juice, not actually H2O. I'm hoping he doesn't do it again now...
Grace: She got a new book called "Pinkalicious" from Aunt Rhiannon when we were in Oregon. Grace LOVES pink- anything pink. The little girl in the book eats so much pink that she turns pink all over. While the book is ADORABLE, using such words as "Pinkerella" and "Pinkerbell" I didn't think she would take to it so much. The story goes on to say the little girl has to go to the doctor, and eat nothing but green stuff to get rid of her pinkititis. Grace is now convinced (by no fault of mine) that she MUST eat her green vegetables to avoid turning pink. Last dinner time, she ate her green beans, and Riley's green beans too! Even better than the fact that she's eating green beans, she is such a delightful little girl :o).
Asher: He is growing into his own. Every day he surprised me with new accomplishments. Yesterday he threw trash away, picking up the trash can lid and everything. He also helps me load the washer and dryer, can climb up and down the stairs pretty well (with close supervision), closes doors that are open, and holds his own against the big kids. However, he regressed in one respect: Asher has never been a pacifier baby, but lately, he picked up the pacifier! I have to admit, it's incredibly cute- I just hope he doesn't get too attached!
