Not again!

Oh no! A redneck has escaped from the trailer park!!

Denial

Mom: You need to finish your spaghetti Nathan or you won't get a brownie.

Nathan thinks: Maybe if I close my eyes while I chew, I won't really be eating it.

A different kind of tired

You wouldn't think that spending a whole day in the house could be exhausting. I think there's something about snow that makes my children especially energetic. From morning to evening I was busy cleaning up poop, serving drinks and other food, getting kids ready for snow play and picking up the discarded clothes afterwards, switching out DVDs, disciplining, keeping the peace, and various other tasks. It was so nice to have a friend come over and scrapbook with me (I managed to fit in a page amongst the chaos) and bring her child so the kiddos had a new face to distract them. It's not as if I did anything physical or strenuous as such but I'm sitting here now the kids are finally in bed, and I feel pretty wiped out. I love to be "Moma" but tonight I don't want to hear anyone call me that even once. And I doubt I will move from this exact spot on the couch all evening!

A quiet moment from a couple of days ago. I meant to put this picture out there before now. Nathan has recently been getting into puzzles and I always love to see the boys playing so well together.

Teeth, teeth, and more teeth

I woke this morning to the sounds of weeping, wailing, and gnashing of remaining teeth. Since the tooth fairy doesn't work on Sunday, she was supposed to visit Leia last night. The naughty girl must have been busy watching American Gladiator or something! Anyway, it seemed on further examination that she didn't actually forget, the bad weather must have prevented her from venturing out.



Then the talk inevitably turned back around to money. Money, money, money. Spencer must have been feeling a little left out of the action as he told me he had a loose tooth. Yeah right I thought. He's four and the first one was a fluke. But no, out popped yet another tooth. I hope the tooth fairy brings her A game tonight!!

A tip from Sarah

Pull loose teeth out during Sacrament Meeting. The child will be conscious of remaining reverant and the screaming/whining/struggling or any other superfluous behavior will be at a minimum. Or maybe you could just promise them double the money and then remember you don't actually have any on hand!

Dinnertime conversation

Spencer: I gots three girlfriends at school
Daddy: What are their names?
Spencer: I can't remember
Daddy: Way to go Spencer

Mommy is thinking that if a guy had ever treated her that way then there would have been consequences!

My morning

I attend a spinning class at the YMCA on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. I enjoy it very much and try not to miss it if at all possible. Occasionally I will have various things to do such as take my son to the doctor for a check-up and a booster shot. This eventuality cropped up a week or so ago and so I phoned the doctor to make an appointment. They had an appointment this morning at 9.15. As you are aware, today is Thursday so I had my spinning class pencilled in at 10.15. But I thought to myself that I could easily make the class. If I'm in at 9.15, a check-up and shot could only realistically take 45 minutes to an hour. Afterall, I had a root canal done in less than an hour the other day.

At this point I can hear faint echoes of laughter. I am after all a mother of three who should know better. Sure enough I arrived at the doctor and they apparently took one look at me and decided that what I actually wanted to do this morning was spend two hours in a room that measured about 10ft by 10ft with no windows with my two and four year olds who had recently woken up and were full of energy. For my express comfort they provided a stool with wheels on which we discovered was capable of crashing into walls at high speed. There was also a wonderful cupboard and two drawers filled with all sorts of exciting and dangerous medical equipment. I'm sure I don't need to elaborate on how fun that was for me.

Of course by the time we were seen, a couple of lollipops promptly soothed the boys but unfortunately by that point I had somehow already promised Spencer that if he behaved then he could decide what we did for lunch. That's why I'm now enjoying a 7 layer burrito from Taco Bell. And in the end, who wants to burn 500 calories in the gym when you can consume them in front of the computer instead?

Blue eyes

I've been feeling really reflective today. About my children especially and our family. I think sometimes I get very caught up in wordly concerns and all of that. To start the day off, it was grey and raining yet again. It's hard not to be inward when there is no sunshine. When the sun is shining away, I tend towards carelessness but in a good way. I mean that I don't worry or assess myself to a large degree. I just go through the day enjoying things for what they are. Living in the moment I suppose. But today I was a bit grumpy when I woke and the grey skies threw me into excessive thought. Like concerns such as whether I am truly committed to motherhood and what it takes. Why do I get upset over the children making noise when they play? That's what children do. Am I prepared to sit down every evening in the ever fast approaching future and help three kids with three sets of homework? Do we really need a fifth bedroom and basement for our ever expanding household? I know families of bigger than ours live in smaller spaces but sometimes I feel like we are outgrowing this house. I wonder if I have sent Leia off to school feeling positive. I literally see her for about 40 minutes in which all she hears from me is "get dressed, eat your breakfast, settle down, brush your teeth, put your shoes on," and all that.

But in the end, the conclusion I've come to is that it is good to take stock of where we are and where we want to be, but not to let it discourage us. These are days where we make goals and move forward. It would be nice to have bedrooms for four children plus a guest room and a playroom in a basement but I think while we work towards our material wishlist, we shouldn't put our eternal wishlist on hold.

One thing which makes me smile anytime are the darling faces of my children. In particular the deep blue eyes they are all blessed with. Here are pictures of those peepers. I'm sure they could chase away the cynic in anyone!

Leia age 2.

Spencer age 9 months.

Nathan age 3 months.