Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Being a mom isn't always bon bons and manicures

So today I am in full housewife/mom mode today. Laundry in the washer and dryer, two bathrooms cleaned, first of two batches of dishes done, pantry cleaned out, storage room cleaned out, and it's only one thirty. I have to admit though that my two year old has watched more tv than usual this morning and he is in his bed for a nap with his pajama shirt still on but hey, mom's can only do so much right? There aren't enough hours in the day any more it seems like. we have Wal-mart to go to and homework to do and piano to practice and dinner to make and showers and scriptures and prayers and so much left on our to do list that we won't even be able to get it done tomorrow but some days things run more smoothly than others and the list gets mostly acomplished. Today is one of those days for me I hope. I am still behind though because in my rush to get the laundry changed to stay on track, I forgot to put in the dirty clothes in the washer for one load so when the dryer was done, i opened the washer lid to find an empty but clean washer. I had put the soap and fabric softener in but somehow forgot to add the dirty clothes. HONESTLY! How could I forget the clothes?!? Being a mom isn't glamourous but it sure is rewarding at times.

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Where I've been for two weeks

Actually, I've just been home ever since our FABULOUS trip to the beautiful Tamarack Resort near McCall, Idaho. Life, however, has seemed to take over and I haven't had time to update my blog. Gary's folks came to visit for a weekend. It was fun having them here to watch the boys play soccer. They haven't been to Idaho in over two years so it was exciting for the boys to see their grandparents on their "turf" instead of traveling to Utah.

After all the traveling and visitors, I decided it was time to potty train full time with Ethan. Boy, is that a commitment! This week has been pretty good. Monday and Tuesday he went the whole day without a single accident. By Tuesday, he had figured out that he could go by himself and even wash his hands with the soap by himself. All I needed to do was remind him and then put the pants back on. I think he was more than ready to be "big." We went Visiting Teaching today and he had a bit of an accident but I am still calling it a successful day because he stopped peeing and told me so he was just slightly wet and then went to the bathroom to finish. Too much information I know, but if you have ever potty trained, any little step forward is worth celebrating in my book. I am so proud of my little man!

The baby is also taking GIANT steps forward. He was starving all week it seemed like so yesterday, I finally did it. I pulled out the baby cereal and gave it a shot. He ate like a champ and didn't even have a hard time figuring out how to swallow it instead of spitting it out. Now I can add that to my list of things to do at lunch but if it makes him happier, I'm all for it. I thought he'd wait until about 6 months but a boy has to eat I guess and at four months, he was more than ready for real food.

One last little funny thing Ethan did yesterday. Mind you, I have four boys. Two are in school now and never have I had to take one in for a foreign object stuck where it shouldn't be but.......Ethan came up the stairs yesterday from playing and was holding his ears. He looked at me and said, "See what's in my ears, Mom?" I looked just in time to see a small Styrofoam bead fall out of one of his ears. Then, the thought hit me that he said ears, not ear, so I asked him if he put some in both ears. Sure enough, by pulling the ear just so I could barely see a Styrofoam bead lodged in the ear canal. When Gary came home, he got the tweezers and very gently pulled it out and we had the discussion about not putting things in places in our bodies. Kids. What will they think of next?

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

the day before vacations

So today is the day. The dreaded day before a vacation. Today is the day that the house needs to be cleaned (a feat in an of itself lately with four boys) and the boys need to be packed for a variety of weather and possible activities. My lists have been started and hopefully I won't forget most of the stuff like the last trip. It may be sunny or snow or rain or just be so cold we don't want to leave the comfort of the cabin. And then there is sleeping in a strange place so I better have the "snuggies" and the stuffed animals and books to make it feel like home. Then there is the baby that is fussy unless he has his swing and I just got him a new chair so he can sit up after eating. The two-year-old is potty training so I'm not sure if I should pack underwear or pull-ups and revert back to no potty training for the vacation period. Then the there is the medicines that you have to have just in case and the special lactose free food for Ethan and games in case we do end up inside for four days and snacks and movies and............Vacations sure are fun and I am really excited to be there but it is just the getting there with a family of six that is EXHAUSTING! Oh, and by the way, we need to fit this all in 2/3 of the back of a Honda Pilot. Can space bags compress a baby swing?

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Glue

So the other day, "crafty mom" came out and I decided that my almost six-year-old could sit at the table with foam craft shapes, glue sticks, and a tin box that dishwasher tablets came in, and be artistic. A little creative time is great for kids, right? Well, I proceeded to use the quiet time while he was busy and the little two were napping to check email. About 30 minutes later he left for a friends house and about and hour after that I was cleaning up foam shapes when I noticed blue glue stick all over the floor. Not a little bit here and there but actually about four major spots where it was obvious that he intentionally put glue stick on the floor. What was he thinking? Well, when I retrieved him from his friends and had him cleaning the floor I asked him that very question. His response?

"I wanted my chair to quit moving around so I tried to glue it to the floor."

Perfectly logical to a six-year-old! Trying not to laugh, I suggested that next time he sit still on the chair and then it wouldn't move around so much. The thought had never occurred to him that he was why the chair was moving in the first place. Kids.