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.

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Halloween in September?

Before I became the mom to four boys, I didn't think about what I would be for Halloween until about October 30th. Now, however, I have to start worrying about getting four "perfect" costumes by about mid-September. If not, they have begun to sell out and the obscene bidding wars on Ebay begin. For those of you doubting this happens, let me tell you about my Star Wars experience a couple years ago. Back then, there were just three Jedi's in the house. The oldest wanted to be Luke and I found a costume for Anakin that doubled as old school Luke. Not too spendy (translation: under $30) and the first problem solved. The second-born decided to lean more toward the dark side and requested Darth Vader. At first all that could be found were "deluxe" Vader suits running around $50. There was NO WAY I was going to dish out that much money on something that would end up under the bed and stepped on within a couple days. After more searching - which takes HOURS thanks to dial-up Internet connections - I discovered a more reasonable Vader costume for, once again, under $30. Then there was the issue of the baby. At just 5 months old, he wasn't old enough for a light saber but had a VERY thoughtful look on his face most of the time that reminded me of Yoda. Ta-da, a Yoda costume was found and an order placed. I was so pleased with myself that by mid-September, all three costumes were ordered and on their way. Or so I thought. The Yoda costume became the must have for babies that year and as the days turned into over a week without a shipping confirmation in my in-box, I became a bit concerned. Finally, an email appeared and, with gleeful anticipation, I opened it. Shock and horror filled me as I read that the costume which was in stock when I ordered was suddenly on back-order now with little to no hope of arrival by Halloween. I frantically looked everywhere on the web and called stores within a four hour range of home only to find out they were all on back order now! What to do? What to do? Finally there was a hit on Ebay. I put in a bid and even went as high as $45. The final bid was well over $100. I thought to myself, what kind of person spends over $100 for an infant costume for Halloween? Back to square one, I decided to sew a bear like costume and turn him into an Ewok. Worked like a charm but the stress was more than I needed. This year I have a baby costume of a horse all ready and now need to find just three more for the older boys. I think the days of matching costumes or family themes are coming to an end just like me sewing all the costumes did a year or so ago. I learned the stress of finding a pattern, material and getting them to fit and be done in time where SO not worth it in the long run. I hope to have the boys settled on a costume that I can find by the end of the week but we'll see once friends, TV, and school come into the mix how many times they change their minds. Who would have thought a holiday where you take candy from strangers could be stressful?

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Prayers

I am sitting downstairs in the office with the baby monitor next to me listening to Ethan not-napping. I just heard him say a prayer for who knows what. Maybe he's praying nap time will be over or that there will be M&M's for dinner or that his best buddy Tom will come home from school soon or Dad will wrestle tonight. All I know for sure is his "Amen" comes through loud and clear! Two-year olds.

Potty training - YIKES!

So Ethan was pretty much potty trained before Dylan was born three months ago. He had just decided it was what he wanted to do and was doing great. Then the baby was born. It never failed that Ethan would need my help with the bathroom right as Dylan had latched on and was feeding like a champ, so we reverted to pull-ups again. Yesterday I finally thought we had it together enough to give it another shot and it looks like he'll be back in his "big boy underwear" full time in a week or so. He's doing great but boy is it a lot of work to remember that he needs me to remind him to go. Our relatives are getting those great phone calls with Ethan proclaiming, "I went poop in the potty!" Before you have kids, they may seem a bit strange but believe me, they are what make potty training fun for a two-year-old. Wish us luck as we continue down the no-diaper road!

Monday, September 24, 2007

Does 2 gross ingredients equal something delicious to kids?

Kids are so funny. My three boys will not eat onions. Only the two-year-old will get near a tomato. But, give them a bowl of salsa and it will disappear in a matter of minutes. The other day, Gary (my husband) and I made a HUGE batch of fresh salsa. The boys even watched us make it from skinning and seeding the tomatoes from the garden, to chopping the onions and peppers. There were a bazillion - technical term - questions along the way and then finally, it was ready. They chowed down on it. I turned to Gary and said, "Tomatoes and onions." He smiled and said, "I was just thinking if we had added mushrooms (another detested ingredient in their minds) that they would have thought it was even better." Gotta love kids.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

exercise?

I'm always being asked if I work out. Not that I look like I work out necessarily, but people like my doctor, husband, ob-gyn, you know, people who want to know about my general state of well-being. The answer has always been, "I have four little boys to chase after so I think that is exercise enough!" Not many people want to debate that point further. Well, the competitive edge in me has decided that I need to run in a 5k with my in-laws. When I challenged everyone after my brother and sister-in-law ran one in under 30 minutes and reported it on the family website, I hadn't stepped foot on the treadmill in well over a year. Thirty minutes sounded like TONS of time to run a 5k. How far was a 5k anyway? It didn't sound like a challenge that I couldn't handle with a few extra minutes to train every day. That was before I took my first practice session on the dreaded treadmill. 16 1/2 minutes and a very out of breath, red-faced, body hurting session later, I had completed my first mile. No, I didn't run the whole thing but at least I finished without having a heart attack. It's been about three weeks now and I am down to a 13 minute mile (I know they averaged less than a 10 minute mile and if I'm going to win I need to pick it up!) and today I am proud to say I added another lap to my workout. So only 7 more laps to go until I can say I've just about completed a 5k. The problem is the race is on the 27 of October. Not much time left but hopefully I'll pull it together and get it done. I've almost resigned myself to the fact I won't be running the entire length of the 5k and I'm no longer "in it to win it." I'm just going to be happy if I can finish in a respectable time and not have to all the EMT's to bring the oxygen. Wish me luck. And yes, chasing after four little boys IS exercise enough! I think the added exercise is literally going to KILL me but until it does, I can't admit defeat.

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Tucking in Ethan

What do you do when you go into your two-year old's room to check on him at night and find him with his light on? I told Ethan, it was time to go to bed and turn off the light. He looked at me with very serious look on his face and said, "The light's not on, Mom!" Somehow, I managed to keep from laughing at him and told him, that it was indeed on and he needed to turn it off. The logic of a two-year-old. Gotta love it!