Alis Volat Propriis

Through her eyes

2011-12-21T08:13:00.003-06:00

Copy this note, ask your kid(s) the questions and write down the answers exactly as they say them. I think this would be even better on video since it was pretty cute watching her come up with the answers.

1.What is something mom always says to you?

Skyla: I love you

2. What makes mom happy?

Skyla: Us being happy

3. What makes mom sad?

Skyla: When we’re sad

4. How does your mom make you laugh?

Skyla: Tickling

5. What was your mom like as a child?

Skyla: little

6. How old is your mom?

Skyla: 61

7. How tall is your mom?

Skyla: 14

8. What is her favorite thing to do?

Skyla: play with us

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?

Skyla: cooks, or be on the computer

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?

Skyla: looking good

11. What is your mom really good at?

Skyla: cooking

12. What is your mom not very good at?

Skyla: teaching the dog to not bite

13. What does your mom do for her job?

Skyla: taxes

14. What is mom's favorite food?

Skyla: vegetables

15. What makes you proud of your mom?

Skyla: dancing with us in my room to the radio

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?

Skyla: Karma Grow

17. What do you and your mom do together?

Skyla: go play at fun places and buy stuff for Christmas

18. How are you and your mom the same?

Skyla: we both like flowers

19. How are you and your mom different?

Skyla: she has darker hair

20. How do you know your mom loves you?

Skyla: she says it every day

21. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?

Skyla: costco

A Fitting Fate

2011-12-01T17:11:00.002-06:00

Dunked in a sink full of water. Such an appropriate destruction for a book about the life of a mother. Downright poetic.

Mission Impossible: The perfect Christmas picture with Jade

2011-11-27T15:16:00.013-06:00

Taking pictures of kids is soooo hard. Taking pictures of three young kids together is darn near impossible if you want them all still, smiling, and looking at the camera. Still, I try.

Over the years, I have managed to get some really cute Christmas picture of my kids, if I do say so myself. In 2008, I got this cute shot with my one and three year old. Isn't Preston's suit the cutest thing ever? I've spent the last three years trying to find another one just like it.

In 2009, I managed to get this little bit of adorableness, even with a six week old baby:

In 2010, it was a nightmare, but ultimately I trapped Jade (my little runner) by setting them up on the server where she couldn't get away, and managed to get a decent picture:

This year I was hoping it would be easier. When Preston was Jade's age (in the 2009 picture), not only did he cooperate reasonably well, he also held the new baby up for the picture as well! Surely, if he could do that, Jade could sit and smile for a fraction of a second, right?

Wrong. Here are some outtakes:

She played with her shoes.

She blinked (wait, is she rolling her eyes? Probably).

She did this. A lot.

Here's one that's kind of cute, at least Skyla and Preston are smiling at the camera while Jade looks tenderly at her brother.

Oh, wait, not what was happening.

She stuck out her tongue and spit raspberries.

She yawned.

She looked bored.

She ran off (with the stool she was sitting on) leaving her brother and sister still leaning over where she was supposed to be. (They were quite the troopers, I have to give them credit.)

She took her headband out.

She took her sister's bow out (look at Skyla's face :)).

Is it possible I got one? Jade looks a bit goofy and the shadow from the flash is pretty bad, but we might have to call it good enough....except, does it look like she's flipping me off? Yes, yes it does.

Suddenly, I realize that the very first picture I took and hated at the time for the terrible photography (and the fact that you can see Preston's white socks), is starting to look like a perfectly good picture...

At that point, I was running out of time and even my big kids were running out of patience. So what's your vote? White socks, Jade before she pushes Preston away, or flipping off the camera?

Hey, remember when I used to blog??

2011-08-02T22:34:00.007-05:00

This HUGE post is all about Skyla. This little smarty pants is heading to kindergarten in just two weeks. *sniffle* It's a good thing, too. Debating this kid takes my full attention and brain capacity and quite frankly, she often gets me exactly where she wants me...confused enough to give in. She is learning lots of other valuable skills (besides her highly developed skill of manipulation, which we like to call "future leadership abilities"). She is starting to sound out simple words and I think will pick up reading pretty easily this year in school.

Skyla has had some big events this year. She learned to ride a two-wheeler this spring, and is swimming well, also. She also started gymnastics this summer and is doing very well. Here she is mid cartwheel.

Her newest hobby is to make up random recipes and make them. She combines crackers and peanut butter with chocolate chips or sandwich with coconut and cheese...One day, I was allowing her to make some food around dinner time. I was doing a bit of manipulation of my own with available ingredients ("I don't have an extra container of frosting, but we have some corn...") And she ended up with salad with beans, corn, ground beef, tomatoes, cheese, chips, and sour cream. Coincidentally, we were having taco salad for dinner. She caught on at the end, and trumped my plan by putting sprinkles on it.

She has become quite the little mama to Jade, which is weird for the kid who almost didn't acknowledge her sister's existence for the first six months of her life. Yesterday Jade got hurt and went to Skyla, who was right there, for some TLC. Skyla took that cue and ran with it, and within five minutes had put Jade down for a nap and Preston into time out, which he willingly went to? I probably have to tell her an average of 10 times a day that she is not the mom here. She helps in other ways, too. Her standing chore is to empty the plastics out of the dishwasher. She usually does it quickly with little complaining. When that big attitude of hers earns her a little extra work around the house, she also is pretty good at mopping floors and folding laundry.

Skyla lost her second tooth today. After adamantly refusing to "sell" her tooth to the tooth fairy initially, she gave in last time. This time, however, she held her ground, deciding that she would sell one, keep one, sell one, keep one. I can't quite stand the thought of her having a collection of her baby teeth kicking around the house, so I went ahead and did the tooth-for-cash switcheroo even though it was on her dresser for safekeeping and not under her pillow. Does that make me a bad mother? Don't answer that. I believe that is why we invented the tooth fairy in the first place, so that we can get the baby tooth out of our sweet collection-prone kids' hands.

This kid keeps me laughing when I'm not banging my head on the wall. She has a natural knack for language, and picks up on idioms and other phrases easily. She will improvise on a chore and ask, "Is this going to cut it?" She notices me buying a certain brand and says, "I'm noticing that you are into that brand" or sees a baby at church who always has the big, cute, hairbows and says, "I think her mom (Hi, Jamie) has a thing for bows."

Skyla's passions are art and bugs. She can color and craft all.day.long. She has little interest in coloring books, but prefers to draw her own pictures and stories, filling a whole notebook with thoughtful drawings within a couple weeks. Her outfit selection is also reflection of that creativity. Sometimes I feel like I need a pin for her that says "I dressed myself" but ultimately, I choose not to fight that battle and allow her to use that as an outlet of self expression. Or maybe I'm just to lazy to argue with her about it. :) No matter where we are, the most interesting thing to her is what kind of bugs are there. The cicada invasion this summer was like a dream come true for her. I actually threatened to leave the pool one day if she didn't stop looking at all the bugs and start swimming. Don't judge...It becomes very tiresome to have to watch her look at bugs whenever we go somewhere.

Well, that is a glimpse into this petite little girl with the big attitude, who loves to be in charge and hates to have her hair done. Once when I asked her what was special about her (not the time she told me she was a super hero), she told me that she was the one who made me a mom. And she's quite right. And she is continually making me try to be a better mom. I feel so blessed to have this sweet and spunky child of God.

Done!!!...almost.

2011-05-26T07:51:00.011-05:00

Before:

Yep. That has been in my house, in use, for that better part of a year. Gross, I know. The thing is, it's a set. A kindel set. And mostly, I fell in love with the cabinets.

See the buffet here, under the pile-o-frou-frouness (from Skylas birthday party last year):

The set is 45 years old and was in almost perfect condition, except the icky chair seats, (and one of the eight chair frames that was slightly cracking) which I cheerfully decided I could recover the seats. Ha! Never mind the fact that these aren't the kind that staple on underneath, or the fact that I don't own the tools needed, and that I don't have a bit of experience with upholstery. Well, after taking one apart, and I realizing what the heck I had gotten myself into, it sat for many more months, while I hemmed and hawed over whether I should try it. Finally, I decide there was no other option, as having it done for me would run between $600-800 and my half-hearted attempt to sell it on craigslist had failed (half-hearted because I really wanted to keep this set together, since it's been together for four and half decades, and there was no way I parting with the buffet or server.) I bought the pneumatic stapler, and ordered my cushions...so that was the point of no return.

And so it began. After resealing my dud of a new air stapler, pulling thousands of staples out of a very hard wood (earning me many cuts, puncture wounds, and blisteres later), sweeping up what was left of the old cushions, and carrying my 200 pound air compressor to the basement and then up again to the dining room (200 pounds may be an exaggeration, but I could barely move it), I began the reupholstery.

This was not the first time (though probably the most panicky) I thought, "Oh, crap. this isn't going to work. I have no idea what I am doing."

After I got it all stapled on there, it did work. It looked...pretty good. Except you could see all the staples. Then I had to start the dreaded double piping to hide the staples. I don't know if anyone else dreads it, but I sure did! After a few failed attempts, I hit my stride and ta-da!

They turned out as good as I could have hoped.

But that isn't the end of the story. Micah got a promotion yesterday. A big one. (Yay, Micah!) We celebrate that kind of thing with food around here. I grabbed some Culvers custard(he wanted something a bit more extravagant, but I wasn't feeling well enough to go out). As he sat down (in the one newly reupholstered chair that the frame was not rock-solid due to some cracking) to enjoy his victory custard, we heard a loud crack, locked eyes across the room-not in a good way, and the chair collapsed , splintering the wood in several places. Funny and tragic.(He's fine...just some minor bumps on the way down.) I knew I should reinforce that chair when I was working on it, but I didn't and now it's too late. Luckily, I have a couple more chairs (I did six of the eight) that just need the cane fixed so I can still have an even six with the set. It just means I have to go through the whole thing again...and learn how to re-cane a chair back. I mean, how hard could it be?

Fun with dead christmas tree lights...

2011-05-14T20:51:00.010-05:00

Today was a rainy day so it was a good chance to get some chores done around the house. We are in full spring cleaning mode around here and I hardly recognize my laundry room, it looks so much better than the catch-all it had become. We did take the kids to see Rio, which was our bit of fun for the day. The rest of the day we spent cleaning out the garage (by "we" I mean mostly Micah) and gutters (that was all me, though.) I'm not sure I can recommend cleaning out gutters on a rainy day, but I'm only annoyed with the clogged gutters on rainy days, so I finally gave in today and just took care of it. The kids got a kick out of seeing me hanging out on the roof. Anyway, I got way off track here, the point is, Micah found some Christmas lights that were broken, and rather than throw them away (alright, in all fairness, we still threw away 99% of it) I cut off the pieces I needed to make the project that has been kicking around in the back of my mind. I cut off a light with a few inches coming out of it on either side, and some extra plain wire. I think I made this project in third grade to help me learn the states capitols or something. Anyway, I saw Christmas lights and figured I would make a game to help my kids match the capital letters with lower case letters. Here's how in case you feel like trying it out. First, I printed up the first half of the alphabet Capital on one side and lower case on the other in a random order, then punch out holes next to each letter.

Then I turned it over and ran a thin piece of aluminum foil between each of the matches punched out hole, COMPLETELY covering each piece with electrical tape and making sure that that the hole was completely filled with foil. This was a bit tedious.

Disclaimer: I have no idea how safe this is. I just figured it couldn't be that dangerous if I made it in school. However, being a good mom, I did try to get a shock out of it (thanks to my hero-husband for stepping up to be my guinea pig) but couldn't get shocked after I had it all put together. Anyway, if you're not too scared to proceed...Next, take a 9 volt battery, and your up-cycled Christmas lights. Basically, what you want to have happen is have your left handle connect to either your positive or negative bump thingy (I think that's the technical term) wrapped around and secured with more electrical tape. The other side of the battery will be connected to one of the two wires coming out of your Christmas light. The second wire coming out of your Christmas light will be connected to your other handle, of course any connection should be covered completely with more electrical tape.

Voila! Now, when you put the end of each handle on a match, it lights up! If your wrong, no light. I did make a couple other modifications after this picture. I taped a toothpick along the wire (more electrical tape!) to make a stiff handle to use to press on the letters and I printed the second half of the alphabet. I just lay it right over the first sheets letters so I didn't have to run the tape again. I figure, any kid who doesn't know their letter matches, probably won't bother memorizing the position of the matching points.

Neat Find

2011-05-06T15:18:00.008-05:00

Preston was being a boy again and climbed up the tree in my front yard. This kid can't stop stealing his sister's thunder. It's bad enough that he learned to ride his bike the day after Skyla did, but she has been trying to get up this tree for a year, and still hasn't managed it. I could tell there was a nest right where he was, so I told him to look out for it, since there might be eggs in it that we don't want to hurt or touch. Sure enough, he looked in and saw there were two brand new baby birds and one egg! They must have hatched in the last day or so since there is still one egg to go and they are so tiny without hardly any feathers. As soon as I climbed up to take a picture, we found out mom and dad were in the tree also and they were not happy about having visitors. We snapped a couple of pictures and left the new family alone. What a cool thing to see!

I'm baaaack...

2011-03-31T16:04:00.017-05:00

for now. With a boring project post. Sorry.

I needed something to do with the big empty wall behind my TV. I saw something online (check out the bottom picture here) that looked just like a giant plain canvas behind a TV, and figured I liked that more than anything else. So I decided to make it. I started watching tutorials on stretching canvas and building the frame, and figured, (you guessed it...) how hard could it be?

Hard. But definitely doable.

First I bought I huge roll of canvas, which kicked my butt into gear. I felt invested looking at that roll sitting there waiting for me do my project.

I started building my frame with 1x2's and then a quarter round on top of that. The purpose of the quarter round is so that the canvas basically doesn't touch frame except on the edge. Pretty clever. Also, very expensive. If I had skipped this step, which I'm not convinced was a real necessity, I could have shaved $25 off the cost. I think that is probably more important for artists, (you know, the people that usually use canvases to paint art, not solid colors)so that the surface of the picture doesn't perform differently around the edges.

That was all the frame building tutorial covered. Which would probably have been fine for 24" picture, but no so much for a 70" picture. I instantly realized I would need to put some supports in. Sadly, I hadn't bought enough wood for that since I was going off the online tutorials directions, so I had to make another trip to the Home Depot.

Incidentally, why is it every time I walk into the store, a prerecorded message comes over the loud speaker about keeping your kids safely buckled in the shopping cart within a minute? It's like someone sees me coming with three kids and pushes the button to tell me to buckle in my kids. I got news for you (well, them). a) I've been around the block (so to speak) with kids and carts and feel like I pretty much have it under control, and b)The straps don't even slow my kids down. In my opinion, they just create a false sense of security, since I am more likely to stand a couple feet away and turn for two seconds and find Jade standing in the top of the cart, the buckles hanging around her ankles.

Anyway...I got enough wood to put a support down the middle and a diagonal at each corner. I mitred each diagonal at a 45 degree angle and nailed them in. Very well. From both directions. That sucker was sturdy.

I then proceeded to start the canvas stretching process. It was hard. I got a blister on my wrist. Not really sure how, but I did. Finally, just before finishing the edges, I set it upright, and to my horror saw...a parallelogram. (I had a picture to show you, but most of my pictures magically went blank. Not deleted, just plain boxes :( ) Anyway, I couldn't figure it out. 45 degree angles and equal distances should have made perfect square corners, but it didn't. I called my dad to lament. Then I decided to take it apart, a pretty heart wrenching decision after all that work, but I knew I wouldn't be completely happy with it not-quite-square. I took each staple out of the canvas. Then I tried to take the supports out. Unfortunately, I had built it a bit too sturdy. I injured my leg and arm taking out the supports. I found a t-square and painstakingly put it back together, with perfect 90 degree corners. The t-square was absolutely imperative to getting this right (with my experience level, anyway...which is none...). For a smaller frame, you could probably get away without it, but due to sheer size on this big guy, a tiny error = a huge difference in the product. It was amazing how such a tiny difference could make such a huge difference in the whole frame. I stretched the canvas again. My hands felt like they were going to fall off from that little task.

Then the hardest task...choosing a paint color. I finally got a sample, which was almost enough, so I painted the parts that showed the best and did the part that would be hidden behind my TV stand last :)

Since I only spent $3 on paint, I won't feel bad when I change my mind and repaint it. I suppose I could change it with the seasons if I felt like it :)

It turned out pretty close to what I imagined. I wish I had done it a few inches wider. It's hard to tell, but comes out about three inches on each side of the TV stand, I would prefer it were more like 5-6". Sadly, that was a logistical problem since the wood came in 6' pieces and I would have had to buy the 10' pieces to go bigger which would mean a lot of wasted wood and money. I do think it adds something to what was a very, very boring wall. too bad the "before" picture is one of the blanks...you'll just have to imagine it. I may add a little decorative something (similar to this, perhaps) to it later...we'll see.

Anyway, here's the takeaway. This project was difficult (for someone who had never done something like this), but doable. And no matter what, don't try to do a 70" frame without a t square. Oh, yeah, and if you work at Home Depot stop pushing that button when I come in.

Another "My Day" Post

2010-11-22T12:45:00.006-06:00

I’m having a productive day. Gotta love that. I figured since it seems like the clock slowed down and I seem to have time for everything, I could squeeze in a blog because everything seems funny or entertaining today. It’s only noon and all this has happened already:

The Good:

I deep cleaned all my bathrooms. And I have four. That is no small feat by itself.

I got Amazon Prime membership for free. (It was a black friday type special for moms and students, go check it out.) Now I get free two day shipping on pretty much everything. I may never have to go to Walmart again. (That may be an exaggeration.)

I vacuumed my carpet. No matter how clean everything else is, it never seems clean until you have nice vacuum lines in the carpet.

It’s a gorgeous day and we spent part of the morning outside playing. There is absolutely nothing in this world better that watching your kids play in fallen leaves. Nothing.

All the bedrooms were clean at the same time. I say "were" because it’s been at least 20 minutes so I’m assuming the status of some—if not all—of the bedrooms have changed.

Oxyclean seems to have saved my favorite sweater after I tried to ruin it by leaning into raw beef. Oops. Good thing I have 15 pounds of that stuff. You thought I was exaggerating again? No. I shop at Costco. I actually have 15 pounds of oxyclean.

Preston was running in circles with his blanket/cape when Skyla said in a mother voice, “Be careful, Batman, you might trip on your cape and fall.” Is it just me, or is that really funny?

These videos made me laugh

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aE-I12IOb4g&feature=player_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZCoPhvf1f0&feature=player_embedded

The Bad:

I was planning to do Christmas pictures this week, but Jade fell off a ride-on toy and got a huuuge goose egg on her forehead.

Preston dumped his full lunch plate face down on the just cleaned floor.

I accidently hit the printer with my knee (now under the desk) and started 100 blank copies. The catcher tray wasn’t out so the paper was just flying out. It managed to spit a couple dozen at me while I attempted to stop it. I’m lucky I escaped without a bunch of paper cuts.

My computer power button is lit up bright blue when it’s on. To a one year old, this loudly screams, “Push me!!!” And she does. Often.

The Ugly:

I got distracted when we were outside and started looking for a certain paint on the garage shelves, I turned to see my baby sitting in the middle of the cul-de-sac. Yikes. Dang, she’s getting fast.

The baseboards in my bathroom. Wow. Gross.

Anyway, all things considered, it’s been a pretty awesome Monday and we still have half the day to look forward to, which mostly means laundry and more cleaning, since I try to get all the crap work done on Mondays. But we still have nap time ahead of us, too. :)

Busy and Bored

2010-11-15T23:00:00.005-06:00

Everyone else is asleep, and I'm sitting here waiting for some laundry to dry enough so I can take Micah's work shirts out and hang them so they don't wrinkle. As a rule, I don't iron.

I keep checking for updated blogs, wishing more people had posted a new blog so I would have something to read right now, and it occurred to me that I could update my blog. Except, I don't feel like I have anything interesting to say right now. So, I will just tell you what I did today, since I got a bunch of random projects done. Sorry. I'll try to think of something more interesting next time.

First, I organized the kids rooms. Skyla's dresser has had a pile of miscellaneous junk on it forever. I got it totally cleaned off. It's amazing how stuff piles up and it looks so much nicer now. I wish I had done it months ago.

Then, I scrubbed my oven and my kitchen sink. It was so shiny, I could see my reflection and I enjoyed it for about ten seconds, when I realized it was time to make lunch and had to get my newly polished sink wet again. Sadly, these kinds of feats are short lived, and I'm the only one who gets to appreciate them.

After that, I decided to tackle my room. I sorted through some random junk. Despite my inclination to throw everything away, I have learned it is wise to keep certain things, for instance, the extra buttons that come new shirts (I wish I had kept that giant, white, cloth-covered one for my skirt...lesson learned). I found a place for the pile that was accumulating on my dresser.

Next, I took down the old-school mounted tv in my bedroom. It was really an eye sore. We rarely use the TV, and when do, it is usually to let the kids watch a show while I have a baby shower or something where they can't be downstairs. So, I put the TV on Preston's dresser. I've never liked the idea of a TV in a kids room, but I don't think it will be used often since we don't watch much tv anyway. If it becomes a problem, I will just get rid of it.

Worse than the tv, was the computer which was on a hideous tall computer table in front of my only bedroom window. It had to be dealt with, so I am now typing this from the built in desk in my kitchen. It involved drilling a 2.5 inch hole through part of my cabinet, so I got to use the power drill, which I love. I even got the computer table downstairs by myself. I think I looked pretty ridiculous doing that, but it turned out OK. While I had the drill out, I remounted a rack in my closet that I hang accessories on. It kept falling out and I needed to screw it into studs. We have 2 stud finders, but I couldn't find either of them. I need a stud finder finder (man, it must be late). I managed to find the studs by sound (tapping and listening), with just two bad guesses. Now, it is super sturdy!

Then I decided to deal with that darn medicine cabinet. You know, the one I bought three months ago at the good will that is supposed to fit between your studs. Only, my studs weren't 16 inches apart like they were supposed to be, so the cabinet didn't fit. Sadly, I didn't realize that until I had cut a huge, gaping hole in my wall. Today, I took a skill saw, and cut out the 2X4 that was in my way. I'm reasonably sure that it's not a load bearing wall :) There was pretty minimal additional damage during the project. Now, the medicine cabinet is in! The best part is that it's on the wall opposite the big mirror, so if I open it a little, I can see the back of my head while I am flat-ironing my hair. Hopefully that will reduce the occurrence of injury while doing my hair :) I patched up all the holes from the TV mount, and the cabinet install, now I just need to touch up paint and I'm done.

Sadly, all these projects have taken their toll on my normal organization. I have stuff all over the counters (from the desk where the computer now is) that needs a new home. I guess I will have "move the mess" around some more tomorrow.

Well, that was my day. I was glad to get some of this stuff that has been bothering me out of the way, although it always makes me feel bad for neglecting the kids whenever I am so productive. They watched more TV than I would like admit today. Now, you have a blog to read if you are bored waiting for laundry. But mine is ready to be hung...A mother's work is never, ever, ever done.

Mysteries of Motherhood

2010-11-07T15:31:00.005-06:00

I don’t know why there is a pebble taped to the side of Skyla’s dresser. Although, if you asked her, I’m sure there is a perfectly reasonable and logical answer for it.

I don’t understand how the kids can notice, let alone care, what color the miniscule stripe on their straw is.

I don’t know why my son tries to get away without wearing underwear. When I ask him if he is wearing underwear, and to show me, he pulls down his pants and says “Yes. See. Spiderman underwear.” Only he isn’t wearing any. What am I supposed to do with that?

I don’t understand how the house can go from very clean to holy-cow-what-happened-in-here? In less than ten minutes. You’d think that kind of feat would take planning and preparation. In fact, this is probably further proof that my kids are conspiring against me.

I will never understand how the moment I lay down for bed, the baby wakes up, consistently. It must be the toilet flushing, the water running, or my electric toothbrush, but it has gotten to the point where I say “Cue the baby” when I lay down, and she starts crying. Truly baffling.

I don’t know why my kids will only eat split pea soup if I call it “Green Mush Soup” but I will continue to call it that.

Update: I asked Skyla about the pebble. It's taped to the dresser becuase it's a special rock and she wants to keep track of it. But, of course!

Interview with a one year old

2010-11-01T19:45:00.008-05:00

Interview with Jade:

So what is the best part of turning one year old?

Jade: The food gets way better. Now I can have all kinds of things that I wasn’t allowed to just a few days ago. Honey, peanut butter, and dairy! Yay!

What kinds of things can you do at one year old?

Jade: I am signing a lot more. I can sign more, all done, thank you, milk, and hurt. With words I can say mama, daddy, Skyla, thank you, kitty, all done, hot, among others. I am also walking like a pro, even on uneven ground now, and am running and climbing. I have mastered the stairs going up and down.

What do you do with your time?

Jade: I spend a lot of time getting into things. I love cupboards and can empty out the pots and pans cupboard in record time. Once in a while one of the big kids forgets to shut the toilet or the bathroom door, and I like putting things in the toilet. I’m always on the lookout for any opportunity to sneak in there. The dishwasher is lots of fun, too. I climb up on it and help mom by emptying it out for her. I don’t know why she always puts everything back in after I help her, though. I love to play with Skyla and Preston, but mostly, I just whine until mom picks me up and carriers me around. I'm really cute, so I get my way most of the time.

What are the similarities and differences between you and your siblings?

Jade: I am a phenomenal sleeper compared to them. I’m in a rough patch right now, so I wake mom up a few times a night just to tell her how much my mouth hurts, but I started sleeping through the night at just six months old all on my own, up until I started teething. I go to sleep all on my own, too. Mom says she saves hours every day not having to put me to sleep like she did with Skyla and Preston. I started walking younger than both of them, too (at just nine months). I have good gross motor skills like Preston but I don’t cause as much trouble as he did. I don’t talk as well as Skyla did when she was a baby, but hey, it’s hard to get a word in around here.

What are your most important things?

Jade: My pacifier and blankie. Mom didn’t let my siblings use a pacifier at this age, but she says as long as I go to sleep on my own without crying, that I can keep it. Although, she does makes me leave them both in the crib unless we are going in to the office to work, or to church, and then she lets me take the paci. I also love the plastic stacking cups. Best.Toy.Ever.

What is your favorite part of the day?

Jade: I love it when daddy comes home. I get very smiley and cute for him, even if I was cranky with mom all day long.

What are you looking forward to this year?

Jade: I’m thinking as I get a bit older, Skyla and Preston will let me play with them more without making me be the villain, although I am pretty good at it. It only takes me seconds to destroy the toys that took them hours to set up just right. I think this year I’m going to try to play more without mom. I think I might stop holding on to Mom’s legs and crying whenever she is cooking or cleaning in the kitchen. By next year, I plan to be a master of saying "NO!" and throwing some impressive tantrums, because as you know, that would be developmentally appropriate...But we’ll just wait and see how it plays out.

Best.Birthday.Ever.

2010-10-11T22:58:00.014-05:00

Birthdays stink when you’re a mom of young kids. Sorry. They just do. See, when I imagine what I want my birthday to be, I think of being pampered, sleeping in, or having someone else do all my work. I'd probably happily settle for a nap. But with a 1,3, and 5 year old, I don’t get any of those things. In fact, my husband has this annoying little habit of leaving town on my birthdays for a franchise annual meeting or work seminar or something like that, which made my birthdays an even bigger let down the last few years. Last year, he was here, but he got up, and we had a normal morning without him remembering it was my birthday. So, I sulked around the whole day feeling sorry for myself as I cleaned up potty accidents, cooked, cleaned, and did laundry like any other day without so much as a wish of a happy birthday(to his credit: he did remember later in the day, and brought home presents and flowers to redeem himself).

This year, Micah was out of town again and I was preparing to give myself the gift of feeling sorry for myself all day. Then, I stumbled on a blog of someone who spent their birthday doing Random Acts of Kindness. Huh. You mean I have a choice not to sit here and wait for someone else to try to make me feel good on my birthday? I could go out and try to make other people feel good? I wanted to do it as soon as I read it, but she didn’t have kids. She did things you couldn’t do with kids. It made me sad that I couldn’t do it for my birthday. Or could I? I had to ruminate on the idea for a while. Seriously. The idea of taking my kids to the grocery store is overwhelming most days. The thought of trying to do 27 things for other people seemed nearly impossible. The night before my birthday, I decided last minute that I would just have to suck it up and get out there, and be more creative to find things I could do with the kids.

Following the lead of the blog that I got the idea from, I posted on facebook asking anyone who was willing to do a RAOK, and I would attempt to do 27 for my 27th birthday. I spent the night before thinking of things I could do with the kids. I had to count the roses and balloons individually, even though we did several of both. They were to all separate people so I think it counts, especially since the kids were good sports about it (“let’s go do more nice things, mommy!”), but were wearing down through the day. Here is what we did:

1. Paid for the order behind me at McDonalds (for anyone who knows my loathing of that place, yes, I went through specifically for that purpose).
2. Collected some things that we didn’t need, and donated them to Good Will
3. Donated to the Knights of Columbus outside Walmart
4. bought donuts and gave them to the volunteers raising money outside Walmart
5. Filled the gumball machines at the dollar store with quarters and left them to be found by some lucky kid.
6. I had some free rental promo codes for Redbox which I taped to a Redbox with a note, asking the user to remove the note after using the codes.
7. Taped money and a note (Have a drink on me!) to a soda machine.
8. Got dog treats and took them to the dog park (the kids loved this one!)
9. Picked up litter at the playground
10– 16. Gave away 6 foil helium balloons in separate RAOK. This was a fun one for the kids. They loved giving other kids balloons. One mother told us that her daughter had had a balloon earlier in the day and had accidently let it go. What a great coincidence!
17. Put quarters in some carts at Aldi’s
18. Bought a cheap bouquet of flowers and gave it to a little grandma loading up her groceries.
19. At costco, you have to have cash to buy food from the café area. The lady in front of me made her order, but didn’t know that and didn't have any cash, so I bought her lunch. Would I have noticed or done that any other day? I don't know! I hope so.
20. Taped money and a note onto the massage chairs at the mall (have a massage!)
21. Gave a bottle of water to someone walking down the street (it was a hot day!)
22. Gave some police we happened to see in a parking lot a box of donuts and a note (Thanks for all you do!)
23–31. Bought a bouquet of roses, and my Mother in Law and Sister in Law met us at the mall and joined forces to hand out single roses to women at a bus stop and loading their cars in the parking lot.

31!!! I overshot by 4! It was exhausting but so much fun. I loved the surprised and happy look people got on their faces. When people asked why I did something, depending on the situation, I told them we were just trying to be nice, or trying to do as many nice things as we could that day, and wished them a happy day. Although I had mentally prepared myself for rejection of some kind, I didn’t have a single instance of someone refusing my kind gestures.

Instead of moping around feeling sorry for myself, I had a constant do-good-feel-good high through the day. It affected my whole attitude. Normally, I’m so focused on me and the traveling circus that accompanies me everywhere I go, that I don’t stop to think about what people around me might need as much as I should. That day, I smiled more. I talked to strangers more, even ones I didn’t do anything for. I was a nicer driver. It didn’t bother me at all when someone rushed ahead of me to get in line at a register. And I felt good the whole day. Several friends on facebook reported back that they had done a RAOK as I requested. It made me feel even happier. There isn’t anything anyone could have given me that would have produced that much good feeling.

The icing on the (birthday) cake was that evening when my Mother in Law, and two Sisters in Law took me out to dinner and then roller skating, (thanks, again!!!). What a memorable day. Thanks to everyone who participated and did a RAOK. If you think birthdays stink, this may be just the thing you need!

An Attitude of Gratitude

2010-09-17T21:55:00.002-05:00

Man, this kid is so lovable…when he isn’t making you want to pull your hair out. He can be so sweet. I feel like I constantly have to remind a certain other child to say “thank you,” but not this one! He says thank you for almost everything. Things I haven’t even prompted, like while I was putting his laundry away he said, “Thank you for my laundry!” Actually, he leaves out the word “for” but he is definitely getting better with the speech thing. He thanks me for basically everything I hand him, and any special event or treat. His birthday was a big one. After his birthday party he was surveying his loot and said, “I’m a lucky boy!” Boy if something makes you feel better about your kids getting spoiled, it’s those sweet words coming out of a just-three year old. The next morning he woke up smiling, sat up and gave me a big hug and said “Thank you [for] my party, mommy!” He has since said thank you during his prayers for his toys and that his “party came.” I’m so glad to have this sweet boy around because it really does brighten my day when he thanks me for his juice or helping him with his shoes. He’s a great example in gratitude to me. I, for one, am grateful for him!

My Little Five-Year-Old Marketing Genius

2010-09-17T21:37:00.004-05:00

This picture cracks me up, because Skyla walked in, picked up Micah’s security badge from work and clipped it on, took his keys in one hand and his wallet in the other, and in the deepest voice her little five year old mouth could muster said, “Hi. I’m Micah.” I think she will follow in her daddy’s footstepts. Skyla has shown some strong business acumen for a long time. Last year, when the playgroup was making ginger bread houses, rather than making hers with Christmas lights, she placed a Hershey’s bar horizontally above the door and said that it was her “signage” so people would know that she was a store. Then, I was blown away when she was pretend playing with Preston a few months ago. She started to play “restaurant” and came over to explain, “We’re opening a new restaurant, and we’re having a huge party so that everyone wants to come. Otherwise, no one would want to come to our restaurant because they wouldn’t know about it.” Not a bad little marketer. Today, Micah was watching Wheel of Fortune and one of the prizes was a gondola ride in Venice. She asked me if we could go on that ride. I told her that it was very far away and it cost too much money. She replied, “They should only charge a dollar, then everyone would go there!” I had to agree, it would drum up some more business.

The days are long but the years are short

2010-09-08T14:09:00.006-05:00

When for years, you spend nearly every moment of your kids little lives together, it's a weird feeling to leave them with strangers to learn their letters and numbers for the first time.

Skyla has had a year of preschool, but this was a new school, so it was a new experience for her, too. Preston begged to go to school last year when Skyla was going. I told him he had to be a big boy and go potty on the toilet all the time before he could go to school. He promptly potty trained himself, but still had to wait almost a year. Now, at almost three, he is the youngest in his class, but did great his first day! I think it will be great for him to start to learn classroom etiquette and all the preschool stuff.

Look at these little cutie pies on their firs day of school:

They only have class two days a week from 9:00am to 11:30am. Just enough time for me to do the errands that are darn near impossible with three kids in tow. Plus, with the "big kids" gone, I'll get to pay a bit more attention to Jade. She is getting so big so fast. She walks all the time now, and is signing and talking a little bit. Look at this sweet girl, we just love her to pieces:

It Takes Two

2010-08-23T14:32:00.007-05:00

“Hey, look at this little guy!” Micah is grinning holding up a mini spatula I bought from a pampered chef party several months ago. After rummaging through the utensil drawer, he seemed pleased to have his efforts rewarded by finding the perfect utensil (that he obviously had no idea we owned) to turn his tater tots. I feel the same way sometimes, especially in that drawer. The difference is, I know exactly what I am looking for, and he is just looking to see what is in there.

It made me laugh initially, but then I began wonder, what would it be like to be him? This man has demonstrated repeatedly that he hasn’t a clue where most things are kept in his own home. It must seem like Christmas every time he ventures into a new cupboard, except the surprises are all boring household items. It's not just little things, either.

One day I was cleaning some mess the kids made, and realized I was going to need the vacuum. Micah was standing in the kitchen, just steps away from the laundry room where I keep the vacuum. I asked him to bring it to me. “Sure…” he began to look around him as though it was going to magically appear next to him. “…and we keep it…?” We have lived in this house for four years and I have never kept the vacuum anywhere else.

It's not even that he's unhelpful. He'll help pick up, but I will inevitably end up with a pile of things he doesn't know what to do with. He can load the dishwasher, but I always empty it to avoid having my kitchen inadvertently rearranged.

Just to clarify, lest you get the wrong idea, we are talking about a smart man. This same man managed to get into the accounting program at BYU, which is pretty tough. He proceeded to pass all the sections of the CPA exam on his first attempt, which only about one in five people who try can do. It’s not just academics, either. He manages to run three tax offices in his spare time after his full time job. Yet, when he needs a stapler, you can be assured he will have to ask where it’s kept.

I would think that it would be very disconcerting to live in a place where you don’t know where anything is, but apparently that isn’t the case. He seems pretty comfortable with the fact that he doesn’t know or care what is in all the cupboards, drawers, and closets in the house. He knows what he needs will be somewhere the same way he knows that all the clothes he wears will be fresh and clean smelling, ready to be worn again without his having to give it a second thought.

In all fairness, I suppose it’s similar to the way I go to pay my bills and know there will be money in the account, without my having to think too much about how it got there. Luckily, at least one of us knows where we keep the checkbook.

101 Ways To Screen For Domestic Violence

2010-07-27T13:16:00.006-05:00

I did something dumb and hurt my foot. When I couldn’t move my toes or walk without extreme pain, I was concerned it might be broken. I toyed with the idea of waiting to see if it improved over the next day or so, or go in to the ER (it was a Saturday). I was scared that if it didn’t get better, I wouldn’t be able to get myself to the doctor on Monday so Micah dropped me off at the ER while he took the full circus out to dinner.

I checked myself in, and when they asked what happened, I told them I tripped over a stool. Which is true. She eyed me suspiciously. Probably not helping my case, were the facts that A) I was alone, and B) I am covered in bruises. I don’t know why. Lately, I have been bruising very easily and have some noticeable dark bruises on my arms and legs. She asked a few follow up questions, including the apparently standard “Do you feel safe in your home.” I laughed because it seemed funny at the time, what with me just being injured in my home by an inanimate object. A couple dozen snarky remarks ran through my mind (“not with all these stools out to get me!”). Luckily, I bit my tongue. She looked concerned and waited for an answer. I assured her I did feel safe at home.

After that, I think I had *POSSIBLE DOMESTIC ABUSE VICTIM* stamped in my file, but I didn’t realize it at the time. The next person who came into my room was a nurse. “What happened?” he sympathetically eyed my swollen, blue foot. “I ran into stool,” I told him. He checked my file. “Did you run into a stool, or did you trip over a stool?” He asked and then it all clicked and I heard the mental, Or did you your husband run over your foot with a car? he was thinking, or something along those lines. I was eager to clarify. “Both! I ran into it, before I tripped over it.” With the sudden realization of why everyone was acting weird, I became a bit flustered. I stumbled on trying to act casual “I don’t know why this kind of thing always happens on a weekend.” He tilted his head, “Do you get injured often on the weekend?” Again I heard the mental…when your husband is home? I tried again, “Oh! No…you know, sick kids or whatever...” this was getting weird. From then on, each person that entered the room asked how my injury happened, in detail. I went through the same strangely detailed questions with the registration lady, the x-ray technician, the medical assistant, and the doctor.

So for the record, please let me state: I hurt my foot running into, and then tripping over a stool.

BTW, my foot is NOT broken and should heal very quickly! Thanks for all the concern!

"Super Skyla"

2010-07-14T09:53:00.006-05:00

"Super Skyla", originally uploaded by KarmaJoy.

My latest project was to make something so display the abundance of fine art we are creating around here, since the one frame I had been using wasn't cutting it lately. Plus, with both Preston and Skyla starting preschool in the fall, we will have even more.

I happened to have the trim piece cut and painted in my basement left from when I built some shelves in the bathroom down there, so all I had to do was glue on the cute little clothes pins and mount it. I love the title of Skyla's drawing, "Super Skyla." She acutally believes she is a "Super."

*Please excuse the phone cord in the picure...I cannot figure out how to hide it! Thought I might be able to runb it over the art display, but it isn't long enough. I'm ready to move the phone to solve the problem!*

Ta-Da!!!

2010-06-29T19:50:00.005-05:00

Ta-Da!!!, originally uploaded by KarmaJoy.

I drove by a garage sale and saw a bunch of crappy dressers and bookshelves, which for some reason lured me in…probably because we are really short on dressers and bookcases around here. Jade doesn’t have a real dresser and I have stacks and boxes of books waiting for shelving. When the guy told me he just wanted it gone and I could have this dresser for $5, I decided it was worth a shot to make it nice, and I would try to paint it. I was so nervous that it was going to turn out horribly after all the time I spent on it, I am happy to say it turned out quite well. It took forever to sand it, probably about 7-8 hours total (with a power sander, even) because the varnish--or whatever it was--was extremely hard. I was dripping with sweat since Saturday was in the triple digits with the heat index but I was so focused on this thing that I didn't even care about the heat. Eventually, I succeed in getting to bare wood. I used an oil based primer, sanded again, and used this awesome Benjamin Moore enamel paint. It was kind of a splurge at $22 a quart, but I’m glad I went for it. I spray painted the hideous handles and it turns out, I love them. They were just ugly when they had a brass finish peeling off. I’m still debating if I will do a polycrylic coating on the top. I kind of just want to be done since my poor kids have been sadly neglected through the whole project. Anyway, for a first attempt at furniture painting, I am very satisfied and am pretty sure I will be looking for more opportunities to do it in the future!

Here is the pitiful "before" shot:

Editing my Self-Concept

2010-06-23T20:59:00.003-05:00

Book Sling, originally uploaded by KarmaJoy.

My whole life I have defined myself as "craft impaired." Apparently, I recently changed my mind and decided that I am a “crafty” person after all, and have been doing a lot of different projects. This one came about because Preston isn't very good at putting books away on the shelf the way they are supposed to go. I started looking for kid-friendly bookshelves and saw something similar to this on a blog. Curtain brackets, two dowels, and some sturdy fabric is the perfect solution!

Chocolate icecream bowl

2010-06-17T14:43:00.001-05:00

Chocolate icecream bowl, originally uploaded by KarmaJoy.

We saw this on a blog and had to try it for family home evening! You use balloons to dip in the melted chocolate and then pop them when it is hardened. We had a bunch of balloons that popped becuase the chocolate was too hot and splattered the hot chocolate all over the place. It was a fun activity, but very messy.

Almost right

2010-06-17T14:31:00.001-05:00

Almost right, originally uploaded by KarmaJoy.

I found a Liberty scarf on clearance at Target and thought it would make a cute dress for Skyla. As always, I made it too big, and had to try to adjust it. She will wear it, even if it isn't quite right. I think it will fit better next year.

Nightmare

2010-06-17T07:58:00.006-05:00

Yesterday I was trying to get a video of Jade crawling for my mom to see. Preston was “helping” me, and kept trying to get into the video the whole time. When you watch the video, you can hear his cute little commentary in the background, and then at the end, when I ask Jade to smile, she doesn’t, but you can kind of see Preston giving a big smile on the edge of the frame. When I saw this video after I filmed it, it bothered me that I didn’t move over to get this. Apparently it bothered me a lot because I had a nightmare about it.

I dreamed that Preston died tragically, and in my dream went to watch this video with him on the fringes where, for whatever reason, I didn’t pan over to see him. It was heartbreaking. I watched the video over and over and over again, each time, willing my past self to just slightly adjust the frame to get his sweet smile. When I woke up, the memory of my dream was haunting. So much so, that I woke Preston up this morning to see his smile, and get it on video. Unfortunately, I can't get the clip to upload, but he was pretty cute. Mommy guilt is a powerful thing.

What I do during "quiet time" (Does this ever happen to you?)

2010-06-02T22:32:00.001-05:00

After the considerable accomplishment of getting all the kids to go into their own separate rooms for quiet time, I go to the kitchen thinking about what I am going to make for my Mother in Law’s birthday the following day. I rummage through my food to see if inspiration strikes, and start to think about cake. I decide I want a really yummy recipe for a birthday cake I am making. I decide to go back upstairs to the computer and get online and find something. By the time that get to the computer, I have completely forgotten what I am there for, and automatically pull up facebook to see if anything interesting is going on. I read a “friend’s” status about doing laundry and think I should probably throw a load in. So I start to get a load of laundry together in a process that involves me sweeping through my bedroom picking up and tidying everything, and sorting through my "maybe I will wear again" pile. I get distracted and start sorting out the closet for clothes to give away that I don't wear anymore. I happen upon a shirt that needed a button sewn on that I had forgotten about. Since I already forgot once, I decide to do it immediately so I don’t forget again. This involves going downstairs to the basement where I keep my sewing things. While in the basement, decide to clean the litter box so that it won’t bother the missionaries from our church who are currently living in our basement. I take the garbage out to the trash and happen to see mailman drive by. I go inside and wash my hands, and then (habitually) get a fresh dishcloth and washcloth and throw the used ones in the laundry room. I go back out side to get the mail and begin sorting out the junk. I throw the junk in the recycle which is through the laundry room. While in the laundry room, I remember that I was trying to do a load of laundry, so I start the washer and head upstairs again to get the load I assembled earlier. While upstairs, I once again get on the computer and check facebook and my email. I check out a coupon for Oriental Trading Company and begin planning a birthday party still three months away. Thinking of birthdays, did I ever figure out what I was making for my Mother in Law tomorrow? No. And I still haven’t. Because I can keep up this ridiculous string of distracted busy work all.day.long.

When My Tooth is Falling Apart

2010-05-10T09:27:00.005-05:00

Normally (except regarding spiders), I consider myself a pretty rational, reasonable, well-balanced person. But not today. See, I had a crown come off my tooth, and I get pretty upset when I’m having dental problems.

Then there is the fact that it is Monday. Laundry and all deep cleaning get put off over the weekend and ads up to Monday being my heaviest cleaning and laundry day. I really can’t deal with that, when my tooth is falling apart.

The baby is crying and the kids are fighting, again, about nothing in particular, and I really can’t cope with that, on a Monday, when my tooth is falling apart.

My car is leaking coolant profusely, and even on a good day I can barely manage to think about taking my car in with three kids. And I can’t really worry about that anyway, on a Monday, when the baby is crying the kids are fighting, and my tooth is falling apart.

I’m out of milk, as well as most basic groceries, and really need to go shopping. Logistically, even the smallest errand is a daunting with three kids in car seats. But, I think I’d rather starve than go grocery shopping, on a Monday, with the baby crying, the kids fighting, coolant leaking, and my tooth falling apart.

100 Facts About Karma

2010-04-02T22:16:00.002-05:00

From my my Theme Group Blog, here is more than you ever wanted to know about me:

1. I have three kids. Skyla is 4, Preston is 2, Jade is 5 months, as of today.
2. I grew up in Oregon. When I see movies you can tell were filmed in the northwest, it makes me so homesick my stomach hurts. I’m fine the rest of the time.
3. I’m kind of a hippie. I’m into health food, natural living, homeopathic stuff, etc.
4. I do baby sign language with my babies.
5. I love wooden toys. They are so simple, rustic, and beautiful.
6. I love having book/movie/story endings “spoiled” for me. I just do.
7. I have as much of a power tool fetish as any guy I know.
8. I have a completely irrational and ridiculous fear of spiders. I know it, but it doesn’t change it.
9. Snakes don’t bother me.
10. My first car was an ancient red truck I bought for $500.
11. I once tore a large phone book in half.
12. I can lay tile, hang doors, make shelving, drywall, and am generally pretty “handy.”
13. I love to hide pureed veggies in food for my family. Broccoli in scrambled eggs, spinach in brownies or smoothies, and carrots in chili are just a few.
14. I’m not crafty generally speaking, but I have sewn a special stocking for everyone in my family.
15. Once upon a time, I knew the International Phonetic Alphabet.
16. My mom took her kids on a 5 week cross country vacation when I was 14. When we were in Washington D.C. I had a chance to go to church with Bill Clinton (President, at the time). So I did. We shook hands as he walked by me.
17. I have been bungee jumping and sky diving.
18. I was due with Preston on Skyla’s birthday.
19. I love to move. The longest we have lived anywhere is four years here in St. Louis, and I am itching to move. I would go anywhere, as unlikely as that is.
20. I love flip flops.
21. I remember “kindergarten round up”. I could easily do everything they asked me to do, except whistle. I still can’t.
22. Until recently I have never had a favorite color. Lately, I have decided it is purple.
23. I am the second of four kids.
24. I am the only one of my siblings with my own kids, but my oldest sister is due any day with her first!
25. I am not a vegetarian but don’t often eat or cook meat. My favorite meals at most the restaurants I eat at are vegetarian dishes, also. The Mediterranean Veggie sandwich at Panara is amazing and one of my all time favorite foods and I LOVE the vegetarian burrito at Qdoba. Now that we have both of those in Arnold right next to each other, I can never decide which I want.
26. I hate math.
27. I married a CPA, or rather an accounting major at the time.
28. I still have to handle all bills and financial stuff.
29. I like to paint my toenails bright colors, but never paint my fingernails.
30. I am pretty “lucky.” I often win drawings and contests. Micah is extremely lucky.
31. I was in the “Talented and Gifted” program in grade school. I know, what happened to me with such a promising childhood?
32. Despite weak math skills, I am a tax preparation professional. Kind of.
33. I can curl my tongue into three loops.
34. I have had about 8 years of piano lessons. Now, I play a beginner/intermediate level.
35. I once held my breath until I passed out.
36. I am a fidgeter. I fiddle with anything I’m holding.
37. I went to public school for elementary and high school (though I never graduated), and was homeschooled in middle school.
38. I got my GED at sixteen and went to college shortly after.
39. I graduated from college with a Bachelor’s degree at nineteen years old.
40. I am the President of a Corporation. I have no idea what that entails. Luckily, I hire Micah to do all the work.
41. My siblings and parents are some of my very best friends. I have the coolest family.
42. I am a ridiculously slow texter, on the very rare occasion I try it.
43. I get on facebook daily.
44. I love a good deal. I’m always looking for great deals, yet, I rarely use coupons.
45. Over time, I have become a bit compulsive about my kitchen being clean. I hate having stuff on the counters. I always do dishes immediately after eating, and change my washcloth at every meal.
46. I put brewer’s yeast on my popcorn.
47. Micah and I don’t share a bathroom.
48. I despise wall paper.
49. My view when I am doing dishes and/or laundry is a lake. Well, a subdivision pond to be precise, but it’s beautiful and I love it.
50. When I was seven, my family lived in a cabin with no running water or electricity for five months.
51. My OB missed both of my births (that he has been my doctor for) by two minutes.
52. I have a cat. Micah gave her to me for a Valentine’s present six years ago. He loves her. I can’t stand her.
53. I have never broken a bone.
54. I never believed in Santa Clause, the Easter Bunny, or the Tooth Fairy.
55. I love fruit and make a fruit (and perhaps spinach) smoothie almost daily.
56. If I wear makeup, I usually only wear mascara.
57. I had a haircut I loved when I was sixteen. Never since.
58. I have been pregnant, breastfeeding, or both for over the last five years solid.
59. I had an epidural for my first birth, and natural birth with other two.
60. I broke my tooth jumping out of the airplane while skydiving. It kind of ruined the whole experience for me.
61. I love books and reading. I’m not much of a critic. I enjoy most of what I read.
62. I want to write…something.
63. My first job was packing first aid kits.
64. I don’t like TV. My kids watch very little TV and I don’t watch it unless they are in bed.
65. I am very punctual.
66. As a rule, I don’t drink pop/soda, even if it comes with a meal.
67. I do most of my shopping at Costco.
68. I eat very healthy about 80% of the time. The rest of the time…not so much.
69. I rarely carry a purse or diaper bag. That’s what my car is for.
70. I have a small obsession with baby carriers. So much so, I rarely use a stroller. Jade just had her first stroller ride recently when we went to the zoo.
71. I rarely keep my kids art work. Micah’s mom is always trying to give me art projects he did when he was five and it really bothers her that I don’t want them.
72. I love to picnic with my kids on the back deck. We eat outside all the time when the weather is nice.
73. If I had gotten my first choice, my kids would be named Alexa (Lexy), Spencer, and Lily.
74. I want to be a photographer. I don’t know anything about photography.
75. I love craigslist. I buy and sell on it often.
76. I love to do Skyla’s hair, but she doesn’t let me very often.
77. I let my kids pick their own outfits. They look ridiculous a lot of the time, and occasionally I’m a little embarrassed by the chosen outfits, but rarely force them to wear what I want.
78. I have terrible teeth. I’m pretty sure they are more filling than teeth at this point.
79. I get “lost” during action sequences in movies. My mind just starts to wander if there is too much action.
80. I use cloth diapers.
81. Our first apartment was 317 square feet, with a slightly slanted floor. But it was cheap!
82. Air travel in general doesn’t bother me. Air travel alone with my kids gives me an anxiety attack. I haven’t attempted it with three kids…don’t know if I will.
83. It bothers me when my kids mix the play-doh colors.
84. I love listening to really.loud.music. In the interest of not damaging my kids hearing, I don’t get to very often. But, if I am alone in a car, I will max out the speakers.
85. “Princess” stuff drives me nuts.
86. You need to have three remote controls to turn on a movie at my house (down from four when we updated our TV). It took me years to learn how.
87. I am not techy. At all.
88. I don’t like all-you-can-eat buffets.
89. I have ticklish feet.
90. I am a terrible sleeper…no matter how tired I am, it can take me hours to fall asleep.
91. My parents didn’t believe in training wheels, so I learned to ride a two wheeler when I was three years old. It was a little difficult for me to reconcile myself to the fact that Skyla lacks both the interest and ability to do that.
92. Avocados are my favorite food.
93. I feel that regular exercise is very important. I do not regularly exercise.
94. I have a gift bag that I throw all my receipts into loose. There are probably thousands in there. It’s a terrible system.
95. Both of my sisters have lived with me at some point. My brother is coming to visit and might live with us for a while, too.
96. I was a “Big” for Big Brothers/Big Sisters.
97. Stumble upon is my favorite time killer.
98. I am fluent in “Horse Latin,” a highly useful skill.
99. Excessive packaging--particularly on food--bothers me.
100. I once won a hula hooping contest.

Out of the Mouth of Babes

2010-03-25T08:03:00.003-05:00

Skyla gets out of bed the other night, walks into my room to say, and I quote:

“I don’t want to sleep, but I don’t want to be tired tomorrow. This is a problem.”

Yes. Yes, it is. She stood there with her palms up at her sides, as if looking for a solution from me. I told her she could ponder that dilemma while she was in bed.

She later asked, “Can the Earth change our bodies so that we won’t need to sleep anymore?” Not sure where she’s picking up the new age attitude, what with her very Christian upbringing, but it was funny.

Preston is showing promise as a Kid’s Say the Darnedest Things star, also. We were invited to a dinner party the other night. The birthday girl's grandmother picked Preston up while in the kitchen, giving him a view of a sink with some dirty dishes in it. He pointed to the sink and said, again a direct quote, “Wash those!” This was after Skyla had taken our hostess around to show her some dirty spots on their (recently mopped) floor. *Blush* We had a talk about manners on the way home.

Luckily, Jade can't talk yet.

Always good for a laugh

2010-03-10T12:07:00.002-06:00

Being the gorgeous day that it is, I took the kids to the park to play and ride bikes. We went on the paved trails that wind through the woods.

Skyla was riding a bike and was much faster than Preston on the tricycle. So, she would ride ahead and then stop and wait for us to catch up. A quintessential little old lady (complete with a scarf over her hair) passed Skyla while she was stopped waiting. I saw Skyla say some thing to the lady who stopped, laughed, said something back, and continued walking.

When we caught up, I couldn’t contain my curiousity. What did she say to the little old lady?

“Wanna Race?”

Today I Was Mother

2010-03-08T15:17:00.002-06:00

Today I:

read the same book three times in succession

kissed and completely healed several owies

was caught sneaking into the snack cupboard for a treat

was offered a rock in exchange for the giver not having to take a nap. It worked.

was scolded for throwing away confetti sized pieces of paper (she was planning to “upcycle” them)

changed my clothes twice, but never showered

was begged by a four year old to let her pay the bills (I never let her do anything fun…)

spelled every word my preschooler could think of to ask how to spell

sneaked pureed veggies into my kids smoothies

allowed my pockets to be filled with all kinds of “treasures” for safe-keeping

pretended I didn’t know what happened to the rest of the cake

succeeded in teaching my preschooler to keep lids on the markers not in use-(this may be the crowning achievement of my day)

kept all my kids alive

All in a day's work ;)

Upcycling

2010-02-20T11:50:00.007-06:00

I have a t-shirt that is made from organic cotton and says “tree hugger” that I bought it because it was on clearance (who else around here would want that shirt?). I wear it as tongue-in-cheek references to the fact that people here (compared to the general Midwest lifestyle) think I am some kind of environmentalist, when in fact, being from Oregon, I can barely claim to be environmentally conscience (My readers who have lived there…you know what I am talking about).

I use cloth diapers—90% of the time. I use cloth napkins but keep a roll of paper towels up for occasional use (mostly for my friend who is over a lot, and can’t survive lunch without them ;) ). I have reusable grocery bags and even remember to use them, sometimes. I try to buy locally grown food. in the summer. when it’s convenient. and cheap. I don’t eat meat…very often. I recycle most of the things I can, except when my recycle bin is full and I just throw it in the trash…and peanut butter jars, becuase they are too hard to clean out. I use CFL’s in part of the house. I hang dry some of the laundry. I don’t even shower every day…although that comes down more to a crowd control issue than an environmental stance.

Anyway, my kids do have lots of obnoxious plastic toys like normal kids, but I wanted to share the latest “up cycling” project I did with my kids. They LOVE them. In case you can't tell what it's supposed to be, it's a worm...or a caterpillar...or a snake. :) I won’t insult your intelligence by giving step by step directions, but I will mention they were made with lonely socks stuffed with dryer lint. Note: it took a shocking amount of dryer lint to fill these.

Somewhere between novice and expert

2010-02-16T23:42:00.007-06:00

At just a week old, I have videos of Skyla smiling (not gas…real smiles). At 3 months, she could sit unsupported. The first time she said “Kitty,” she was 7 months old. I could have burst with pride over my child-genius. I scrupulously devoured every parenting book and magazine I could get my hands on, and knew every approaching new skill, and encourage the development of each. I would secretly thrill at all the milestones she could do from the advanced skill list “your child might even…” section from the the authoritative “first year” book.

I went to playgroups and more experienced moms would patiently listen to a detailed description of how it happened that my baby passed the rattle from her left to her right hand for the first time. They would patiently nod and say “that’s great!"

Fast forward four years and two more kids.

Now, I’ve become that mom. The one who can’t keep track of how old her baby is. The one who has no idea when her baby cut that tooth. The one who doesn’t seem to care that her kid is gnawing on the recalled toy with the button nose that can detach and become a choking hazard. (Where has she been? It was listed in last month’s American Baby.)

Here’s the thing. It’s not that it’s less exciting…scratch that. Who am I kidding? It is less exciting the third time around, but it’s not that I love my third baby any less than my first. It’s not that I am not concerned with her development. It just doesn’t seem to matter anymore whether she develops a strong pincer grasp at seven months, or at eleven months. Eventually, she will have a strong pincer grasp, and will probably even still get into college no matter when it happened.

I guess what I have learned during my parenting journey thus far, is to relax. I’m still proud of my kids. I still watch in wonder as Preston manages to escape a locked bedroom, dismantle my furniture, or consume an adult sized portion of food. I love it, because that is who he is. But, I don’t worry so much that he can’t say his own name clearly enough to be understood. I know he will talk eventually. And, I am almost certain that crayon he swallowed will pass without incident.

Give me sleepless nights, any day

2009-12-31T00:17:00.008-06:00

***I would like to dedicate this Blog to Melody and Susan, my sister and good friend, who are both pregnant ;p ***

I love not being pregnant. Don’t get me wrong—I adore the three wonderful results of my pregnancies, but I detest actually being pregnant. I have a hard time relating to the women who just love it. I managed to avoid any whiny pregnancy blogs during my most recent pregnancy, but I am now two months post partum and so thrilled to not be pregnant anymore that I wanted to touch on the subject. Think of it more as a “celebrating having completed pregnancy” sentiment than a “whiny pregnancy” sentiment. Though, let be honest, it’s all semantics.

I can’t quite decide which is the worst part of pregnancy. The first choice is the beginning. Let me review what pregnancy entails…if yours are anything like mine. You find out you are expecting and get to celebrate by spending the next three months puking up the only food that sounded palatable. For no discernable reason (with the baby being the size of a kidney bean), suddenly, you cannot sleep through the night without getting up to pee at least twice. Of course, you need the sleep more than ever. You’re.just.so.sleepy. How can it be so exhausting to rummage through your cupboards for some crackers that you have to sit down and rest for twenty minutes? If you have other children, they will soon recognize that you are a zombie and take advantage of it. You will respond in one of two ways. You will either A) snap at them for the slightest infraction, or B) let them get away with murder. Confusing to the children, you will probably alternate between A and B. And is it just me, or does everyone’s pants stop fitting comfortably the moment you tried to pull them up after peeing on the pregnancy test that would ultimately show positive? (Of course, you are still much too small for the same maternity clothes that will ultimately threaten to burst at the seams under the enormous stress of covering the expanse that will be your full-term belly). For several months, friends and strangers alike start staring at your belly with a “is she getting fat or is she pregnant” look. Of course, it’s probably best to get used to that, as it lasts for several months following the birth of the baby.

I won’t complain about the middle. Compared to the first and third, it’s definitely the least torture-like trimester. The end is the next choice for worst part of pregnancy, when you are humongous. You cannot comfortably do anything, least of all, sleep. You will avoid turning over in bed until you are worried the numbness may cause permanent damage. At which point, you will begin the effort that will last no less than 5 minutes, struggling to rotate yourself from one side to the other, strongly resembling a beetle on its back. This will be complicated by the fact that your pelvic bone is falling apart. That’s what it feels like anyway, it’s a seriously painful condition (cause by your body loosening up for delivery just a bit more and earlier than it ought to) which makes it nearly impossible to spread your legs apart. You have gotten so large that you have outgrown your tent-like maternity clothes. The last few weeks you only have one outfit left that fits. You keep wearing it hoping you won’t have to wash it. Again. And again. And again. And again. AND AGAIN…WON’T THIS @#($ PREGNANCY EVER END?!? By this point, you will be as uncomfortable as you have ever been in your life. You will have shut doors of all kinds on your belly. Car doors. Fridge doors. Cupboard doors. Door doors. You may have burned the underside of your belly on the edge of a frying pan reaching into the cupboards above the stove for spices. People say stupid things to you…all the time. Usually these comments are comparing you to a bubble about to burst. You will have to assure at least a dozen different people on each outing that you are absolutely certain you are not carrying multiples. If you have other children you will receive at least as many comments suggesting you may not understand “what causes that,” and asserting that you will “have your hands full,” as though it hadn’t yet occurred to you that kids are lot of work (despite the two you have with you having escaped the buckles of the shopping cart and attempting to dive onto the sample table at Costco during the course of the conversation). Some people try to say nice things like “you don’t even look pregnant from the back.” You might believe them...if it weren’t for the stretch marks—on your butt. Stretch marks don’t lie. Your “due date” will come, and go. If you were a food you would be moldy. For the record, each day of your life past your due date will feel like roughly three years. Three years of an irritable, uncomfortable, pointless existence. Time seems to stop as you sit watching the proverbial pot that never boils.

Now the “forth trimester” is a very trying time for many moms. That post partum period can be rough. By some miracle, you managed to go into labor and deliver that beautiful bundle of perfection. (In the interest of keeping this blog to under a 30 minute read, I will have to entirely skip the “joys of labor and birth” section). There is a wonderful euphoria that lasts a minute period of time where you just sit and wonder at the miracle of it all...then you try to put on your “going home from the hospital” outfit. It fit around the 5 month mark, but now, it won’t be able to button. You will continue to look pregnant for several weeks or months. You will be sent home with pads the size of a large diaper. And worse, you will actually need them. As your uterus slowly shrinks back to a normal size, you will get to relive natural labor each time you nurse with some serious afterpains (don’t worry…it only feels like labor for the first week or two). Of course, while you are nursing, you will want to avoid pain killers. Your nipples will begin to bleed. Your milk will come in and you will be so engorged your boobs will swell to a letter size that doesn’t exist on report cards. You won't sleep for weeks, since the baby was born “nocturnal,” as my insightful preschooler calls it. Worst of all, people will keep taking pictures of you in this horrific state (it's criminal, if you ask me).

Even with all that…I can’t say it’s not worth it. I will say this: I am so glad to not be pregnant.

Why I should stop using the word “crap.”

2009-12-26T09:37:00.003-06:00

At the risk of sounding like a bad mother, I'll share the following conversation that took place while decorating a ginger bread house, becuase it was pretty funny. Preston began eating colored sprinkles by the spoonful.

I muttered offhandedly, “don’t eat that crap.”

Skyla seeing his full mouth, in a nonchalant tone mimicking my own, asked, “what is that crap?”

Preston, not to be outdone and using the word as casually as he’d heard it, emphasized the possessive term in the phrase “my crap.”

Poop, Glitter, and Chocolate

2009-12-17T20:05:00.006-06:00

While sleeping deeply enough to miss hearing my husband getting ready for work, the word “poo poo” muffled through Preston’s door shocked me out of sleep and sent me flying into his room at record speed. But not fast enough. His right hand had a smelly brown goo squishing through his fingers as he flexed his hand. I blinked my eyes trying to clear then, and wishing I could make everything I was seeing disappear: the poop smeared comforter, wall, baby, and pillow. I exhaled a low “nooooooo” with all the air in my lungs as I grabbed Preston’s arm in what I hoped was the right spot to both avoid touching the poop all over his hand and to keep him from being able to wave it around and spread the mess. It was more resignation than denial. Sadly, I have dealt with this before. In fact, I have lost count how many times I have done this.

My sudden departure had disturbed Baby Jade, who was sleeping next to me when I jumped up. She began wailing. Even doing what I was, I felt my arms ache to pick her up, which was obviously not an option. The compulsion to drop what I was doing to go to her was strong and distracting but I continued wiping Preston down with a diaper wipe to remove the visible mess before we started on a deep scrub. My mom’s parting advice popped in my mind. As she left from coming to help me when the baby was born, she had suggested that I ask myself, “Can this task wait?” when the baby cried for me. No, this can’t wait! I mentally spit the words, my frustration was escalating in direct correlation to the baby’s cries. I continued trying to remove poop from Preston’s hair and stripping him down in preparation for a bath. Skyla, impeccably timed, walked in, and surveyed the mess. I could see her assessing my precarious mental state. Then, with the judgment or gumption only a four year old can muster said, “Mommy, can I have a snack?”

********

You know how sometimes something happens that just changes things for good, and it can never ever be the same again? It happened once to me in my freshmen year of college when I was visiting home and one of my best friends kissed me, effectively ending our friendship…and then it happened again today when Preston spilled a small vial of glitter all over the floor, tracking it from room to room before I noticed. Somehow I just know that my house will never, ever, be completely glitter free, no matter what.

********

Of all the things for the baby to be sensitive to! Come on! Chocolate!?! I’m still testing it out, but I have a feeling it’s the culprit that is making my sweet Baby Jade so fussy and miserable. And at Christmas time, too. Bummer. Of course, I’ll give it up for her if it makes a difference, but do I get to cry a little over my sacrifice?

Blowin in the wind

2009-12-07T23:46:00.004-06:00

I had some time to kill since Baby Jade didn't want to go to sleep. This is a variation on a great song:

How much sleep can I possibly miss
without really coming undone?
Yes and how many dishes do I have to do
before I can do something fun?
Yes and how many bottoms will I have to wipe
before they say I am done?
The answer my friends, is blowing in the wind
The answer is blowing in the wind

How many time can I answer "why?"
before I lose my mind?
Yes and how much laundry will I have to fold
before I get to unwind?
Yes and how many times will I pick up the toys
before the mess is confined?
The answer my friends, is blowing in the wind
The answer is blowing in the wind

How many times will I mop the floor
before they stop throwing food?
Yes and how many times will I have to nurse
before breast exposure is once again lewd?
Yes and how many showers will be interrupted
Before no one wants to intrude?
The answer my friends, is blowing in the wind
The answer is blowing in the wind

How many tantrums will I have to endure
before they learn that I mean what I say?
Yes and how many time outs will I have to give
before they start to obey?
Yes and how hugs can I get while they're here
before they all go away?
The answer my friends, is blowing in the wind
The answer is blowing in the wind

Baby Jade

2009-12-03T00:19:00.002-06:00

As promised here is an update about our new baby, Jade. For anyone interested in reading her birth story, send me a message and I would be happy to share it. For here, It will suffice to say it was my best birth experience yet. Labor was short and easy as these things go, although I am not sure that those terms should be used in reference to the most painful thing I have experienced in life. Jade is now one month old, and by any standards, a truly adorable baby and as sweet as can be. Her smile literally takes my breath away and it’s hard to imagine anything more precious.

Unfortunately, she is my “highest needs” baby. She seems to have reflux and is uncomfortable and very spitty a lot of the time. We use the sling a lot since she doesn’t like to be put down…ever. I can buy a few minutes in the swing if she is in the right mood but she really prefers being held, and who can blame her? Of course, we don’t hold any of that against her and I feel so lucky to have her and she is such a blessing. Keeping with tradition of my children, she is also a terrible sleeper. Micah has taken up residency in Skyla’s room, relegating her to a toddler mattress on the floor that we put in the closet during the day. He says he can’t work effectively when he is woken up by the baby every 90 minutes or so. Wimp. :) He does get up with the other kids if they wake up, though.

Jade is a fantastic nurser, and has been since birth when she latched on within minutes. Thank goodness because there have been times while I had to chase a certain two year old while nursing and it barely phases her. Besides just the craziness of the kids, the workload increase with #3 is incredible. The laundry seems to have doubled and getting even the simplest things done (think showering, eating, etc) is nearly impossible at times.

It seems like she is such a natural part of the family even though she has been here such a short time. Skyla will disagree with me there, however. Of couse, she was also willing to give up Preston as a newborn, as well as as recently as today. She seems to have had the hardest time adjusting, which surprised me. Today she said, “Why did you want three babies? I think you should just have had one baby.” I asked her which one and she said “me!” I think she had thought this through. I told her I loved all three of my babies and besides, it was too late since I already have three…at which point she suggested I give the other two away. She shared a similar sentiment when Preston was a week old and she told him, “Baby go home!” She seems to be struggling with the new addition evidenced with some behavior problems. Although, she still is a big help with running little errands in the house for me and Skyla affectionately dubbed the baby "Baby Jade" which is how we all reference her most of the time now. Preston, on the other hand has done much better than I expected. He started having nightmares after she was born and woke up panicked (thinking I was leaving as far as I can tell with his limited verbal skills) several times but that seems to be improving. He loves to hold the baby and occasionally tries to pick her up…yikes!!!He still needs to work on being gentle but overall has done much better than expected.

Overall, she is a great addition to our little (now kind of big) family. I wish I had more time to enjoy this stage because I love, love, love it. I have taken her to a couple meetings which I would normally have been bored out of my mind in, but having her in my arms makes it downright enjoyable. Each time I have had a baby, I am amazed at my capacity to love each one more than I could have imagined. She is truly a blessing.

Random snap shots of my life

2009-12-02T04:07:00.007-06:00

I have been meaning to catch up my blog but never seem to have time. I have a friend who manages to help keep me sane when something crazy happens. (You know who you are...and BTW,I don't know what I would do without your timely responses that keep me laughing on days like these). Anyway, She and I email back and forth a lot. So...here are some excerpts from emails I have sent her (and random, poor coverage of my life) from the last couple months. I will write more about my new, sweet, baby Jade in another one, but for now...here are some random moments:

********
I am very low on groceries and having to make some very creative meals. Tonight I made split pea soup, and shockingly, it was a big hit. Throw some cheese on it and call it green mush soup, and they gobbled it up. *shrug* Who knew?
********
I just finished cleaning up from lunch and decided I would be nice and give my kids a cookie. I gave them each about 1/4 cup of milk just to wash it down and came upstairs to work on the clothes sorting. He apparently dumped out his milk and proceeded to slosh it all of the table until spatters covered every inch of the table and floors, not to mention him and his hair and EVERYTHING....I did a deep mop YESTERDAY. Worst, while mopping again, I slipped and felt my ligaments pulling even further apart. I am beyond furious right now. It clearly wasn't an accident. I could strangle the little monster. So I decided it was probably best to come write you rather than punish him at all. WHY? WHY? WHY?????????
*********
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I went back to sorting clothes, and he comes up covered in chocolate. I couldn't imagine where he got chocolate. He dug an empty ice cream carton out of the garbage. NOW ITS ALL OVER THE FLOOR I JUST MOPPPED AGAIN. So, I cleaned that up and meanwhile, he poops and sticks his hand down his diaper. And proceeds to remove his diaper.

His life and my sanity are both in grave danger.
********
Actually, any other day I wouldn't turn you down, but I had my carpets cleaned this morning so my house is in upheaval with all the furniture and everything out of place. It's all I can do to keep my kids from wrecking everything and to (mostly) stay off the wet carpet. Unfortunately, I mostly finished the clothes but I had to empty the closet to pull out the 13 different bags and boxes I was storing clothes in to reorganize so Preston's room is even worse than the downstairs since I didn't get everything put back together yet. Basically, my house is completely torn apart. Mariah comes in tomorrow and you saw what my basement looks like right now...actually its worse since we cleaned out the file cabinets and the kids had free rein while we worked.

Anyway, I have a conference call today, too...but since there is no TV I don't really know what I am going to do with the kids. So, I guess that is a long way of saying I really appreciate the offer, but I am beyond help. Oddly, I don't even feel out of control though. I'll have it all done by the end of he day....assuming I don't go into labor. This is not the day for that.
********
Guess what Preston did during my conference call? Took his diaper off and peed all over my carpet (upstairs). while I am on the call and cleaning that...he goes and splashes in the toilet, so I had to bathe him while dealing with the conference call. This was a small conference call, too. So I actually had to talk.
********
Sing with me!

This is the pregnancy that never ends....
It just goes on and on my friends,
some people asked to see a baby, not knowing what it was
But, I'll continue pregnant, forever, just because,

This is the pregnancy that never ends...
********
Jade is adorable, although reverse cycled like Preston. I have seen every hour on the clock three nights in a row now, and expect tonight to be no different *Yawn*. It was a really short labor (thank you, red raspberry leaf tea...) and everything went great, except the OB didn't make it...again. He was two minutes two late. I felt very panicky because she was coming and I didn't even know if there was a doctor in the room when I was pushing so I wish he had a made it a few minutes earlier but overall it was the best hospital experience we have had. We left after 24 hours so it was a short stay. She is officially Jade Hannah born on 10/29 at 8:20pm and weighed 8 lbs and either 3 or 4 oz, depending where you reference. Technically it was 3.5 oz so it got rounded on some papers and not on others, but I had nursed her by the time she was weighed so it probably was a 3... I prefer 8 lbs 3 oz since my other two were 8lbs 1 oz, and 8 lbs 2 oz, so it would be more sequential if I go with 3 oz.

Anyway, #3 is crying so my milk is letting down and I better go! Have fun!
*********
I'm actually alone with all three kids for the first day...and at the moment, it seems to be a small miracle...no one is crying. Three kids is a lot. I don't know how you go anywhere. I went to church yesterday, but had to bail half way through Sacrament meeting when my milk flooded in and soaked me, my shirt, and the baby. :) Good times.
********
I couldn't figure out where all the little puddles were coming from. A drip here and there, a puddle there, a trail every so often. I thought I was going crazy since I checked Skyla's pants and she was fine and Preston was still dressed. I was relieved to find a cup of water in Skyla's room. That would explain it. Until it kept happening after I took the cup away. It was then that I realized that Preston decided he was a big boy and changed his diaper for underwear, and then dressed himself again. It was pee all over my carpet upstairs. I scrubbed down the entire carpet while the baby screamed off and on the whole time. I am just praying I got it all...I could just cry. The silver lining? On his own, he got up on the toilet and peed for the first time when I realized what was happening and sent him to the bathroom to undress. I think I am going to have to start potty training. *Holding back tears* :) Sigh.
********
Laundry day! How many loads will I do today?? I'm on the third with at least two to go.

Wise beyond her years

2009-09-20T08:41:00.001-05:00

Skyla looking at a halloween comstume:

"It doesn't look like a washable fabric."

Random moments

2009-09-18T16:07:00.000-05:00

S: Are we cute children?
K: The cutest.
S: I’m the cutest but Preston is cute, too.

Skyla trying to keep Preston from climbing a small bookshelf to get on another one, to get on the mantle-“Don’t climb on it! It will tip over like this...” and proceeds to tip it over knocking all the books onto the floor.
Good demonstration. At least he wasn’t on it, I guess.

When I picked Skyla up from Preschool on Thursday, Preston ran into her room as soon as he saw her and gave her a big hug.

I keep Preston’s piggy bank on a shelf I believe to be out of reach. When he finds money, I take it down and let him put it in. For months now, diaper changes have been very nearly impossible and involve me getting numerous kicks to the belly, and wrestling the squirming little stinker while he rolls and kicks for 10 minutes, or locks into positions which are impossible to take off/put on a diaper, all while trying to keep diaper contents from spreading all over. He had a quarter one day and I took it away every time he locked up so I couldn’t do the diaper change, and told him he could only put the quarter in his piggy bank if he cooperated. It worked well, and it only took once and he got the association. Now, whenever I need to change him, he asks for his money before he allows the diaper change to begin. It’s a good thing I cloth diaper, or diapering would get really expensive. I can’t decide who is manipulating who, but at least my life has gotten a lot easier with the new system.

S: Did you know everyone is getting older?

S: We are such silly children!

You might be a mother of small children if...

2009-09-16T11:28:00.001-05:00

you realize that there is a line of snot/puke across your chest, and opt to wait until after lunch to change

your idea of privacy while using the bathroom is having kids cry/yell/or bang from the outside of a locked door

you have more than a couple dozen children’s books committed to memory, but only vaguely recall what your hobbies are

you consider a shower a luxury, not a necessity

you find yourself “rocking” back and forth in the line at the bank, even when not holding a child

you spend the majority of your day “wiping” various surfaces, including (but not limited to) counters, dishes, floors, noses, and bottoms

you wish you could have a time-out in the corner

you point out any animal (“ooh, look! A bird”) even when only in the company of adults

you ever find the color, consistency, frequency, or texture of poop to come up in small talk with a stranger

you realize you actually can predict the future with remarkable success (e.i. “It’s going to break” “You’re going to fall” “It will get lost” etc.)

you spend most of the afternoon looking forward to bedtime

Feel free to add any of your own...

Glad I asked

2009-09-12T20:47:00.004-05:00

A couple days ago I fed the kids lunch and went upstairs. When I went back down, Skyla was pushing Preston in his high chair down the hall of the entry way. I asked her what she was doing.

"A mean Grinch is trying to get the birds! He has a map to where they are and he is chasing us becuase we were trying to stop him!"

Ah! But, of course.

Preston and a Ball...again.

2009-08-23T23:14:00.001-05:00

Preston and a Ball...again., originally uploaded by KarmaJoy.

Preston and the ball love affair continues.

Out of the mouth of babes

2009-08-12T07:58:00.003-05:00

Skyla woke up this morning, came into my room where Preston and I were playing and announced, “I didn’t sleep much during the night and I’m still tired.” Instead of telling her that I shared the sentiment and to get used to it, I told her she was welcome to go back to bed and sleep some more. Her immediate retort was “But I don’t want to miss the day!” Each day and the world is so interesting and fascinating for her. I am slightly envious that I don’t share her enthusiasm for each new day; in fact, one of my recurring fantasies is quite the opposite, pulling the blankets over my head and sleeping though the day (this fantasy comes in second to children who play together without fighting all day). I think I need to try to be more like Skyla, even if I am still tired.

Letter from my husband

2009-07-25T13:47:00.004-05:00

I thought I would share a touching (roll eyes) letter I received yesterday from my husband as our 7 year anniversary approaches in just a couple weeks:

Karma,

The attached file is what will be discussed in the meeting with Kevin Chronister on Tuesday, July 28th. We need to discuss its contents prior to the meeting. In addition, there are some additional steps that are not included in the spreadsheet. I have written them down on a piece of paper along with the instructions. I'll give it to you when we discuss.

Love you,

MICAH WATTERS, CPA
FRANCHISE OWNER
H&R Block

Did I say from my husband or my boss? I think I am due for love letter.

A confession

2009-07-16T20:24:00.002-05:00

I feel so behind that I don’t know where to begin blogging. We had a great trip to the Oregon Coast a few weeks ago and I kept meaning to blog about it but never did. Now it just seems too intimidating, too much forgotten, and too much time past.

So instead, a confession:

Today I gave my kids plain Cheerios to snack on, while I hid in my laundry room and ate Oreos. In my defense, I did get four loads of laundry done, too.

Hopefully, this will break the ice, so I can begin blogging about nothing again. Because, as it turns out, blogging about specific somethings is just too much work.

Here are some pictures from our trip though:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/karmajoy/

Overheard from the stairs:

2009-06-15T11:33:00.000-05:00

In a conspiratorial whisper, “Ooooh, mama is going upstairs to pay bills! What do you want to do?”

Nothing is Preston-proof

2009-06-08T07:52:00.003-05:00

We had a small tragedy in the middle of the night. Preston was waking up every 2 hours for some inexplicable reason (he’s been doing really well, lately, for the most part). Once he asked for a drink, another time for a diaper change (which is weird since he usually vehemently fights diapers changes). Anyway, I would go in, deal with drinks and diapers, and then tell him to go back to sleep and shut his door. We have one of those childproof doorknobs things on it so he can't get out of his room, theoretically. Anyway, after this little routine, he walked right out of his bedroom and into mine, hands me the doorknob thing in two pieces, and says, “owie!” which translated is, “I broke this.” I took him back and reassembled the thing on his doorknob and told him to go to sleep, which he did. Two hours later, he did it again. I don’t know how, I can’t even get those things off, but he can, very efficiently. *Sigh*

Update

2009-06-02T16:43:00.003-05:00

Here is some of Skyla's latest artwork. It is a lion. I was pretty impressed because normally her art is a bit more..."abstract."

Not much is changed with Preston. This is still what he is into. Any questions about why he is covered in bruises?

My keen hearing

2009-05-28T21:14:00.005-05:00

Things I can hear that Micah cannot:

•A dripping faucet
•Skyla turning on her light when she should be sleeping
•When the mailman goes by, and which side of the street he is on
•Which appliance is running a cycle (dishwasher vs. clothes washer)
•A TV on mute, even when the TV cabinet is closed
•The oven is on
•A buzzing noise when the lights are dimmed
•When the water is “hot” for a shower
And finally,
•A child crying at the top of his/her lungs in the middle of the night

Pass it on

2009-05-15T15:02:00.003-05:00

The first five people to comment on this post will get something made by me. My choice. For you.

Here's the deal:

I make no guarantees that you will like what I make.
What I make will be just for you.
It'll be done this year.
You have no clue what it's going to be. It may be a story. I may sew, stitch, bake, or paint something. Who knows?
Anyone can comment (as long as I know you), it doesn't matter how far away you are.

The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must re-post this on your own blog and offer the same deal to 5 of your own lucky blog readers.

So, the first 5 people to leave a comment telling me they are in, win a homemade gift by me!

Tag - 8 things

2009-05-12T20:29:00.000-05:00

8 of My Favorite Foods
1. Ice cream
2. Watermelon
3. Jamba Juice/Fruit smoothies…too bad I can’t get it here
4. Grapes
5. Blondie’s vegetarian lasagna…too bad I can only get it in Oregon
6. Guacamole
7. Pizza with pineapple (any other topping…not so much)
8. Tacos

8 Things I'm Looking Forward To
1. My kids playing nicely more than they fight
2. Taking the kids swimming
3. A summer vacation without kids
4. Finding out the sex of the baby so we can pick a name
5. The kids birthdays…all three of them
6. Wearing my skinny clothes again
7. Saturdays when we actually have time to do something fun as a family
8. All the holidays

8 Things I Did Yesterday
1. Cleaned my basement
2. Had Family Night
3. Danced in the living room with the kids
4. Ate left-overs
5. Went to Costco
6. Forgot about a VT appointment
7. Hung out on the deck
8. Started the book club book

8 Shows I Watch

1. The office
2. The King of Queens when I am up late enough
3. Lots of different shows occasionally, but none regularly
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

8 Ways in Which I Kill Time

1. Face book/email/blog
2. Stumble Upon…fascinating
3. Watching my kids play outside
4. Calling long distance friends and family
5. Cooking something more elaborate than usual
6. Reading
7. Organizing something
8. Newest time killer…jewelry making

Lucky Girls Getting Tagged!!!!

Anyone who needs something to blog about

Drinks at night, possessed toys, and a happy Mother's Day

2009-05-10T20:23:00.001-05:00

Last night started out really rough. I went to bed pretty early, around 9:30, but I don't fall asleep easily. I laid there awake until about 11pm which is very typical for me, and then the kids started waking up, which I am sorry to say isn’t exactly atypical, either. Preston had a coughing fit that made him wake up so I took some Vicks cream in to him (which he loves having put on).Then a few minutes later he asked for a drink, so I went to get him a drink. Skyla had been woken up by all the noise, and heard Preston get a drink, so then she wanted a drink, too. About an hour later Skyla needed to go to the bathroom (still before I fell asleep for the first time, despite having spent almost 3 hours in bed). Is it a bad idea to refuse to give children liquids at night? Anyway, as soon as I got her back to bed, I heard a strange phone ringing. It wasn't my home phone, or either of our cell phones. I didn't recognize the ring, but it was very faint, and driving me insane. Finally, I got up and started searching for the unfamiliar phone that rang intermittently…you know, just enough for me not to know where it was coming from. Finally, I remembered last week when Preston threw a toy phone in the toilet. I had taken it directly from the toilet and put it in the trash. Apparently, as it slowly dried out, it became possessed. Sure enough, my trash can was glowing red (a sure sign of containing a possessed toy, if it ever happens to you). I had to dig it out from under a weeks worth of trash (ew) and yes, it was still dripping toilet water (double ew). I think this was one of those toys designed by a non-parent. It has no off-switch and no volume…not that I am sure that would have helped with a possessed toy, but it still would have been nice to try. Being a toy, you can’t just pop open the battery compartment; you have to have a screwdriver. So I went to get a screw driver and finally took out the darn batteries. But by then it had dripped toilet water on my counter, the floor, and my screw driver. So then I had to go get some Clorox wipes to clean everything before I forgot and set my toothbrush there or something like that. Finally, I got everything wrapped up and hoped all of mother’s day wasn’t going to go like this. Well, I am happy to say from that point on it turned around. I finally got to go to sleep and the kids didn’t wake up until 6:45 (which is very, very, rare for them) at which point Micah got up with them and left me to sleep in. Ahhhh. It was wonderful; I stayed in bed until 8:30 and then got up to a delicious breakfast of potatoes and eggs. Then I took a shower and worried about myself while Micah got the kids ready for church. He only required help in a few small areas (Skyla’s hair, picking out church outfits for the kids, and cleaning poopy cloth diapers are the few things I have learned he is completely incapable or unwilling to handle). At church I got to go to Relief Society, have cookies, and even got a rose. Then, we came home and Micah made delicious steak barbeque dinner, and is doing the dinner dishes as we speak (or rather, as I write). I even got to talk to my little brother who is on a mission and I only get to talk to twice a year. Overall, this was my best Mother’s day to date. I am so grateful for my kids and wonderful husband who made today very special. Thanks honey! Tomorrow, I get to go buy my mother’s day present. Costco has a coupon (that doesn’t start until tomorrow) for a digital camera that I want. Mine is 4 years old and starting to have a few problems. I was so mad when I didn’t have single picture that focused from my sisters wedding that I told Micah we needed a new camera so he was off the hook for a mother’s day gift. So, look for pictures from my new camera soon to come!

Who's keeping score, anyway?

2009-05-07T19:49:00.000-05:00

Point for the kids:

The kids were playing with a friend out on the deck. Now, my tomato plant is missing half the leaves.

Point for mom:

This was the "best pasta I ever could have imagined!" Despite a half a pound spinach, a carrot puree, and flax seed meal.

Point for mom:

My pantry was getting raided entirely too often (as in once every quarter hour or so). This stumped one and slows down the other. I love the look on his face, he seems so wounded by it.

Point for the kids:

Skyla got a hold of the ball pump and managed to pump this ball (which actually popped soon after the picture) from the size of kiwi to the size of a large grapefruit.

Point for the kids:

A brand new book. It always happens but it always makes me sad. I should just throw the dust jackets away before I put them on the book shelf.

Point for mom:

This is the first day that she didn't take her shoes off the whole day! (It's bedtime and she is pretending to be a baby since we watched a baby today). It's kind of funny because now Preston wants to wear shoes all day since Skyla has to.

Point for the kids:

She was giving the cat a new water bowl...and watered half my kitchen while at it.

Point for mom:

5 kids! Skyla was the oldest by a year. They all survived without major incident.

Point for the kids:

"Look! I made a purse!!"...out of my irreplaceable home movies which I don't have a backup.

Point for mom:

Skyla is taking care of Preston becuase he didn't feel good! Awww. (I chose not to count the points against me where he bites either Skyla or me a dozen times a day).

What happens when I try to focus on something besides my kids

2009-04-28T16:14:00.000-05:00

We have had some not-fun stuff accumulating that we need to do lately. Micah and I divvied up the tasks and it went something like this. He has to refinance the house, set up 529 accounts for the kids, and deal with our merchant processing company which keeps overcharging us for credit card transactions. I had to deal with the bank accounts, call pest control, make invitations for our after tax season employee party, and order checks. I thought I got the easier list. I’m not so sure now.

Micah and I both recently set up new joint accounts at a small bank. This resulted in four new debit cards (one for each of us for each account) coming in the mail and then four different “easy pin reference numbers” that you have to match up to the debit cards to set up your pin and activate your card. Setting a pin and activating a card, by the way, cannot be done in the same phone call. I’m sure this isn’t a big problem with only one account but with two people and two new accounts it was chaos, as the debit cards do not specify which account they go with. It was a lot of trial and error to get them all figured out. After I set up all the pins, which was a separate phone call for each card, I had to call back and reenter all the account and verification information (like SSN, expiration date, and card number) again for each card to activate it, all in separate phone calls. Then I started on the ordering checks. I always find this task very nerve racking. I must check four times (per account) to make sure everything is perfect on the checks (can you imagine if you messed up the routing or account number, or your address).

I managed to get a lot done during Preston’s nap, although he woke up while I was still on the phone with card #4. I had told Skyla to play quietly and was just glad she was quiet. I knew she was playing in my bathroom but didn’t bother to check on her. This is the result, which isn’t really a surprise. This is just what happens when I try to focus on anything other than the kids. The real bummer is I have only scratched the surface of setting up the accounts. Now I have to start transferring all the online bill pay stuff. Maybe tomorrow. I wonder what she’ll get into then.

Botanical Gardens

2009-04-22T21:41:00.000-05:00

We spent the beautiful spring day today at the Botanical Gardens with a friend and her two children. Amazing, it is truly a wonderful outing for little kids. Aside from the fact that my kids are obsessed with flowers, the kids area is wonderful there. The only problem is that at home, I allow the kids to pick all the flowers they want so it was a little difficult communicating that we don’t pick flowers there. There were a couple small slip ups (a tulip lost a petal and one other tiny flower were the few casualties), but they did very good considering the free reign they are used to.

I tried to get some good shots of the kids, but for the life of me, I couldn’t get either one of them to look at the camera. So if it looks like I am trying to do something artistic with the looking-off shots, I’m not. They just wouldn’t look at me. Skyla also has something weird going on where when she does look at the camera she puts her hands on her neck or face and does these weird model-y strange poses. I don’t know what to do with her.

She is becoming quite the back seat driver, too. When we get close to a familiar destination, she is very “helpful” in directing me which way to go. In addition to directing, she has a running commentary on my driving, alerting me of any car she feels I need to be particularly wary of, and always noting my obedience of traffic lights. Should I run a yellow light, I know I will have to spend the next five minutes defending my decision to her. Yikes!

Preston on the other hand has decided his goal in life is to get lost, or fly. As soon as I let him out of any thing that may be restraining him, he bolts, generally into a large crowd (preschool field trip groups are ideal) with a giant grin on his face. He’s fast, too. Of course, that is when he isn’t jumping off tall structures or trying to dive into fountains. It is a miracle I have managed to keep track of these two and keep them alive their whole lives thus far. Here’s hoping I can keep it up!

This is so embarrassing (yet I blog it)

2009-04-17T18:20:00.000-05:00

Things I found de-cluttering my kitchen:

• Pretzels that expired in 2007
• An unopened veggie puff baby finger food which I haven’t purchased for nearly a year
• A huge stash of Halloween candy I forgot about
• A bottle of Motrin with one pill left
• 5 boxes of new crayons
• roughly 3,000 of Skyla’s hair ties and accessories
• About $10 in change
• an empty tide-to-go stain remover
• The expired and unopened can of formula I was given at the hospital when Preston was born
• A round table cloth (I have had a rectangle table for two years)
• 3 almost empty cans of roasted peanuts
• 4 open packs of gum
• Possibly hundreds of writing implements…(I am happy to say I tried them all and threw out all the bad ones)
• 9 tubes of chap stick
• 5 rolls (one of which was empty) of scotch tape…in one basket
• 2 garbage bags full of junk, expired food, phone books, and old magazines

Our Impromptu Easter Vacation--VERY LONG

2009-04-14T18:18:00.000-05:00

Tax season is almost over for us and although it was the last weekend of tax season, I couldn’t help complaining that Micah has been working every single Saturday. Our employees, however (except Melody), hadn’t worked a single weekend this season. I guess I was mostly upset because I really wanted to take the kids to the Easter Village at Purina Farms and he didn’t think that he would get off early enough. At about 11:30 he called and said that is was slow enough that Melody could handle it alone and he was coming home so we could go. I threw some shoes on the kids and we all loaded up for the 45 minute drive. We had a blast at the farm. The kids got to see the Easter bunny, pet real bunnies, chicks and chickens, goats, dogs, ducks, and pigs. Then we got to ride on trailer, reminiscent of a hayride, minus the hay.

The highlight of the day was the dog show. Skyla loved watching the dogs catch the Frisbees and jump really high. She was quite and enthusiastic observer, delighted as she was. I noticed several people around her watching her more than the show because she was so funny. It was really cute. After we had done all that we decided that we needed lunch. With tons of people, we lucked upon an empty table and took it as a sign that we should get lunch from the concession stand there. Bad decision…It was the worst concessions food I have ever had. All the activities were free, so we just tried to think of our lunch as a donation to the farm, but next time, I think that we will just buy something from the gift shop. After we finished up there, we just decided that since we were half way to the Meramec Caves anyway, and had never been before we would go there instead of home. It was probably one of the 31,000 billboards on the way out of St. Louis that piqued our interest. I have never seen any attraction with so many billboards. While driving we saw a flea market going on. We pulled over and scored a lawn seed spreader and a couple other odds and ends. Then we got to the caverns and bought tickets for the tour. It was at this point that I wished we had planned the trip. You see, you can’t take strollers on the tour. If I had planned the trip, I would have brought my carrier so Micah could carry Preston on his back. Unfortunately, we just had to pass him on and off to each other for the 1 mile underground tour. It wouldn’t have been so bad if it were just him, but Skyla got tired too (after all the walking around the farm and flea market, I should have expected that) so we both carried kids a good portion of the way. The 60 steps to the upper portion of the cave were killer because it was at the end of the tour, and I was trying to carry Skyla without slowing anyone down. The cavern was really neat, although the tour seemed really long given our circumstances. We loved the formations and totally recommend it if you haven’t done it, presuming you have a baby carrier if you have a baby. In the largest room of the cave there were hundreds of chairs set up for a sunrise Easter concert the following day. We decided that we wanted to stay to see it. We went to the KAO down the road and rented one the little cabins they have.

Luckily, Melody and Joseph decided to come up to "camp" and bring sleeping bags, pillows, and toothbrushes with them. We had a campfire, ate s’mores, and enjoyed the night. Skyla loved the little cabin. When she woke up at 5:45 am (who needs an alarm clock to make it to the sunrise show when you’ve got a Skyla?) it was completely dark she said “Are we sleeping in that little house?” It was very cute. Smelling like a campfire with no change of clothes, we then went to what we thought was an Easter concert but turned out to be more of a musical play of The Passion. It was interesting and well done, although a completely different religious climate than we are accustomed to. Then we hurried home to get ready for Stake Conference. We managed to get everyone cleaned up and in their Easter outfits.

At Stake Conference Skyla announced that she didn’t want to go to this chuch anymore. She wants to go to the chuch that sings, (presumably in a cave). Too bad. After conference we got to do all the Easter activities like egg hunts and baskets. It think Skyla understands the meaning of Easter. At the Magic house today, in the new legislative room where you can talk into a microphone, Skyla announce to the room that Jesus was resurrected in she loves him. That’s my girl. We had a wonderful Easter.

Preston and a ball...again

2009-04-03T20:12:00.000-05:00

What a lot of feet we meet

2009-03-31T21:06:00.000-05:00

Even after two different pediatricians told me not to worry about, I worried about it. Skyla’s ankles pronate to a pretty extreme degree, which I was told can be pretty normal for kids. It just kept nagging at me. I figured I would pay the specialist co-pay just to hear the same thing from a podiatrist, and then I could stop worrying about. It turns out, a mothers intuition is right again. After taking x-rays and examining her feet, the specialist started out the same…how pronated ankles can be totally normal in small children and can correct themselves, BUT…Skyla is a sever case and she needs to have some orthopedic inserts made with a rigid high arch to “mold” her foot as it grows. She will have to learn to wear shoes with them in as much as possible, which ought to be fun considering I can barely keep her in shoes when we are in a store, let alone at home. Long term, she has a much better chance of having “normal” feet if we treat it now. I feel good about finally doing something about it, even if it will be a pain. Hopefully when she is older she will be grateful for us forcing her to wear uncomfortable shoes all the time (the Dr. said that an adult could never tolerate them because they are so rigid). Incidently, Dada developed a “foot problem” as soon as we started talking about the appointment with the podiatrist. That’s my girl. 

ABC's and Puzzles

2009-03-14T12:57:00.000-05:00

Here is a clip of each of the kids. Preston's new big thing is puzzles. He he very good at them and loves to do them. They can keep him busy for quite a while...like 10 minutes, which is an eternity in Preston time. Skyla is learning the Alphabet. She recognizes most of the letters, and can even write a few letters. They are getting so big!

Catch!

2009-02-24T09:31:00.000-06:00

I am constantly amazed how by Preston's "boy" factor. Preston can actually catch better than Skyla. He rivals her climbing skills, which are pretty good. He makes a far better car sound than she or I do.

BTW, the funny faces he is making in the beginning is the response he gives everytime I get the camera out lately. But watch how his face lights up when he hears "ball."

Don't you hate it when this happens?

2009-02-17T20:34:00.000-06:00

Don't you hate it when you go to shut the fridge too quickly, and the door of the fridge smacks your nose (really, really hard) on the way to closing? Oh. That never happens to you? Yeah, well. Me neither. Okay, fine, it happened yesterday. And my nose is bruised. Yes, I feel quite dumb. There is really no excuse for that. I mean, I can’t count the number of times that I shut doors (car doors, fridge doors, cabinet doors, or just plain doors) on my belly when I am really pregnant. Anyone who has seen me when I am 9 months pregnant will understand that. I can barely reach across my belly at that point. But my nose? It has been roughly the same size for decades. It reminds me of an incident a couple weeks ago, actually. The details are fuzzy but I know I pulled something out of the oven with oven mitts, and then promptly tried to take the lid off it without oven mitts. The worst part is, I did that twice in a matter of weeks. I’m pretty sure it was even the same meal. Yes, I also felt dumb then (both times). It also reminds of me of an incident about a year ago. I have this vicious looking slicer that does amazing things with vegetables and, as I learned, fingers. I accidentally bumped it and it was going to fall off the counter. In stead of letting it fall like I should have, I reached for the falling slicer with 10 razor sharp blades sticking out of it and (not surprisingly) sliced my finger quite badly. Also dumb. A few years ago, I put something far, far, too hot in my mouth. In stead of spitting it out like I should have, I swallowed it. It burned all the way down my esophagus. Bad idea. So, next time you do something stupid, just think of me and you will feel better about yourself.

My cute little thief

2009-02-12T14:02:00.000-06:00

I figured this would happen eventually. It just stinks when I have to use Preston’s precious nap time to teach Skyla about not stealing. As we were just walking in the house, Skyla guiltily opens her fist and shows me the tiny, blue, rubber, purse she had obviously been hiding in her clutched fist since we left the party we were coming home from. What happened was, Preston started to fall apart and it was time to leave. I went to get Skyla and she had 3 toys in her hand that she said she wanted to “borrow.” I told her that we weren’t going to borrow any toys and that we had to leave them because they were not hers. Well, I saw her put the toys down. In hindsight, I’m guessing I only saw her put two of them down. As I took the purse away, I weighed my options. I looked at the sleeping baby in my arms, and really, really, just wanted make her apologize and give it back the next time we saw them. But, you know how important that whole “immediacy” thing is with three year olds, at least mine. I begrudgingly loaded up the minivan again, sleeping baby and all. I drove back to Barnhart, lecturing as we drove. “What are you going to say?” I asked her. “Sorry.” “Sorry what?” “Sorry I took that purse.” She sounds way too cavalier. It was kinda funny (but I didn’t laugh, despite really wanting to) since we were just having a discussion about her ever-ready, insincere apologies at the very party at which the crime was committed. I tried to make her feel guilty for taking it. “Would you like it if someone came to our house and took one of your toys?” “No!” “Don’t you feel bad that you took one of her toys?” “No.” We worked on that until she realized that the only way to get me to stop was to say “Yes,” although, I am pretty sure she didn’t mean it. When we got there, there were several moms still lingering. I think she apologized to three moms, before getting the right mom. She is now in her room having some time to ponder what it means to choose the right (but I'll be honest here, that isn't what it sounds like she is doing in there). I took a mug shot of her first official offense. Isn’t she a cute little thief?

Da-da the Boy-Girl

2009-01-25T21:29:00.000-06:00

There is a new presence in my home. As far as I can ascertain, Da-Da is about 3 inches tall, 2 years old, a boy, and very much “real,” though I cannot see him. I didn’t mind him so much in the beginning, as it seemed like harmless fun. At first, the most trouble he caused was popping up in peculiar places, like Preston’s hat, the moment I would try to put it on his head, or on the couch directly under where I tried to sit. Skyla would gasp in horror, and we would all try to cooperate as she would remove Da-da from danger. Normally, she managed to save him, but he does have a habit of dying, and then (too shortly) being resurrected on a regular basis. It was when Da-da started throwing things in the toilet, jumping into the fireplace (while lit), and falling out of moving vehicles that he really began to be a nuisance. When shopping, I cannot seem to avoid hitting him with my cart, try as I might. This is all very traumatic for Skyla. How dare I run into Da-da? She has no sympathy for me, looking crazy, swerving my cart like a mad-woman, all in an attempt to avoid hitting Da-da. It’s a futile effort, however, as I invariably hit him after such a warning. To reassure Micah, (and okay, maybe myself a little, too) I hit the parenting books, just to make sure this falls on the normal range of three year old behavior. Which, of course, it does (as everyone knows, until it’s your kid talking to her empty, cupped, hand). I have picked up a few tips. As far as I can tell, it’s kind of like the three year old version of an eating disorder. You know, it’s all about control. Apparently, many children invent a little being that they get to control, since so much in their little lives is not their decision. I learned this after I told my mother-in-law about Da-da, within Skyla’s hearing. Sue asked if Da-da was a boy or a girl, and I said that it was a boy, since that was what Skyla always said. She immediately protested, “No it’s not! It’s a boy-girl!” which almost send me scurrying for the parenting books again. As long as I let Skyla introduce Da-da it seems she is content to let him be a boy, and I am only too happy to comply, if for no other reason, than to avoid public discussions with her about boy-girls. Another thing I learned is that you should never use imaginary friends to manipulate your child. Although “Da-da wants you to go to sleep now” is tempting, the experts agree you should avoid it. That said, I’ll be honest with you. I haven’t used it yet, but I am keeping that card in my back pocket. I mean, if I have to dodge him with my shopping cart, and hold him while Skyla goes potty, and have public discussions about boy-girls who are both boy and girl, it seems like I should be entitled to a little help motivating Skyla to brush her teeth.

Our only problem with Preston...

2009-01-18T23:52:00.001-06:00

Preston isn’t quite old enough to go to Nursery at church; technically, it’s for babies 18 months to 3 years old. That said, Preston is a sheer terror if I take him with me to my class, especially if I am teaching. He can’t go with Micah, or Melody and Joseph, because of their callings. So, I am stuck with him as he runs around getting into everyone’s purses, or trying to eat dead bugs off the window sill, or sorting through trash cans. A nursery worker has been taking pity on me and has taken Preston with her to nursery the last couple weeks. It has been wonderful to have him there, other than the nagging guilt that he isn’t supposed to be in there yet. As we were leaving today, Brandy tried to reassure me that it was okay. Her only concern made me laugh, “He’s fine! He’s been great. The only problem we have with Preston is that that he eats coloring crayons.” I have that problem, too. He won’t touch a potato, but give the kid a crayon…

Tag...can anyone tell me why the formatting disappears when I publish this?

2009-01-08T21:33:00.000-06:00

Five names you go by:

1. Karma
2. Kimsie
3. Momma
4. Moooooooooooommmmmmmmaaaaaaa
5. Princess (my mom)

Three things you are wearing right now:

1. Vest
2. Jeans
3. Socks

Two things you want very badly at the moment:

1. More sleep (good one, Brandi!)
2. To be healthy

Two people who will probably fill this out:

1. No idea

Two things you did last night:

1. 8 loads of laundry...all the sheets, towels, plus regular laundry that built up while my family was here
2. Watches a movie

Two things you ate today:

1. Pasta
2. No-bake cookies

Two people you last talked to on the phone:

1. Melody
2. Kaitlin

Two things you are going to do tomorrow:

1. Finish mudding my bathroom, hopefully
2. Organize some stuff in my laundry room

Two longest car rides:

1. Oregon to New York
2. L.A. to St. louis

Two of your favorite beverages

1. Pineapple Orange Juice
2. Kiefer

Now, complete this list on your blog :)

For kicks and giggles

2009-01-07T19:24:00.000-06:00

Let me preface this by saying Melody is NOT pregnant. Anyway, A couple days ago, Melody was even clumsier than usual. I teased her that she might be pregnant and starting asking questions related to pregnancy. "Have you noticed..." All her answers failed to rule out pregnancy. When I went to a grocery store that night with both my little munchkins in tow, I noticed a pregnancy test next to the check out. I figured it would be funny if nothing else. I grabbed the test and threw it on the belt. When the cashier came to it, she eyed me, looking even more ragged than usual having dry-walled all day, with two small kids hanging off me. With a very concerned expression, she said empathetically, "Oh, no!" I laughed for at least an hour. I have to admit, if I needed a preganncy test right now, I would share the sentiment.

Update

2009-01-06T21:23:00.000-06:00

We are now officially in recovery from having all my family in town for the last two weeks. We had a total of 10 people here at the peak. It was pure craziness what with meal times, showers, air beds, and suit cases. It was great to see everyone and we had a wonderful Christmas and New Year, even though my parents flight was delayed and they didn't come in until late Christmas night. My dad was a huge help with putting in our new bathroom in the basement. We wouldn't have been able to do it without him! Thanks, Papa! While we were all tied up with that, my mom was awesome with taking on the kids and keeping the house somewhat livable. Thanks, Mom! Right now, I am working my tail off trying to get this bathroom done. We've learned a lot this project, everything from framing, to wiring, to running fan vents, to drywall. We didn't, however, learn anything about plumbing! My dad did all that. I am taping and mudding the drywall right now. I look ridiculous covered in white powder. My nose, eyelashes and hair get caked in dust, and have breathed in more mud dust than is healthy, but I love seeing it transform into a real room from raw materials. Thanks to all my family for coming and helping with everything and for a wonderful Holiday! Now, we are gearing up for tax season. It's a stressful time for us, especially Micah. The good news is that it only lasts a few months and then we will resume normal life for a while. Happy 2009!

BTW, the previous post was courtesy of Preston! I would delete it if I didn't think it was so funny that he managed to post that.

cx12 2higkg bfvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvffffffffffffffgbbbbbbbbbbbb10,.po'''.☻22222222222222222222'Whew!1

2009-01-06T11:16:00.001-06:00

The excitement of film vs. pictures that turn out

2008-12-18T19:44:00.000-06:00

As Skyla asked to see her picture on the camera immediately after being taken, I realized she will never know the excitement of picking up pictures that were developed from a roll of film, not quite remembering what pictures were on it. I am grateful, however, for digital cameras. Thanks to digital photography, I was able to get this adorable Christmas picture. I took about 60 shots and this was the one and only that they were both looking at me and smiling. If I were using film, I would probably have ended up with the shot with Preston showing his belly on the edge of the frame, while Skyla tried to drag him back into the shot. I guess every cloud has its silver lining.

All I Want For Christmas is...My Very Own Teeth

2008-12-10T21:14:00.000-06:00

Today Melody asked Skyla what the best part of her day was. It was going to the dentist! The dentist was probably the worst part of my day.

Skyla’s only concern when I told her she had to go see the tooth doctor, was whether they would give her a shot. As it turns out, she didn’t get any shots, but I got three. The dentist tried to go easy on the anesthetic since I am nursing, but when I could feel the grinding resonating in my bones, they gave me another shot, and another.

Let me set the record straight. I brush twice a day…I floss every night…I don’t drink soda except on very rare occasion…I don’t drink juice regularly…I don’t drink coffee…I am a water drinker…I don’t eat a lot of candy. These are all questions my dentist asked me.

My teeth are that bad. I am tired of my teeth falling apart and needing serious, extremely expensive work. I really would like to have my teeth for the rest of my life, but that isn’t looking very promising right now. I need to resign myself to the reality that I will probably be sporting full dentures in 50 years. *Sigh* I really am not sure I want to outlive my teeth. I did get a prescription tooth paste (who knew?) so hopefully it will help keep things under control.

I have had a string of bad dentists. The first one cracked my tooth and then charged me to repair it. In hindsight, I should have fought it, but why pick a fight with the guy drilling on your teeth? Plus, he gave me nitrous oxide (laughing gas) when he was working on my teeth so I probably was too loopy to care. The next one I liked. He had an archaic office and did his own clerical work. Despite my concern about a certain tooth, he assured me my teeth were fine. Flash forward a few months and that that same tooth needed a root canal. Then I didn’t like him so much. The next dentist did the root canal, overcharged me, and put on a crown which is now coming off less than a year later. The dentist I saw today was by far my favorite to date, but given my past experiences, I am still a little wary of dentists in general.

Although this whole thing is very frustrating, I am grateful to have access to dental care, insurance to help pay for it (somewhat), and teeth. I am grateful a friend was able to watch Preston while I went to my check up. Thanks, Jennifer! (I am pretty sure suicide would have crossed my mind if I'd had to deal with Preston and the dentist at the same time!) Mostly, I am grateful that Skyla is starting off on a good foot with dentists. She said afterwards, “That dentist was so cute. Let’s go see her again.” I assured her we would be going to see her again in six months.

Pumpkin Carving

2008-10-30T21:59:00.000-05:00

After learning the hard way (several times) that you cannot carve your jack-o-lanterns the week before Halloween, we saved pumpkin carving for Halloween eve this year. They turned out great. It translated into a late night for the kids because I had my final for my tax class tonight, too--but despite a few melt-downs, everyone had a good time.

Tagged- 7 Things About Me

2008-10-29T15:45:00.000-05:00

I want to be a photographer.

I can curl my tongue into three loops.

I have played hundreds of games of Scrabble.

I almost never use auto dial features-I have most numbers I call often memorized and if I know the phone number, I type it manually, even on a cell phone.

I have never had acrylic finger nails.

I have driven hundreds and hundreds of different cars.

My hair used to be a much lighter brown, and got darker and darker after each baby.

I tag Teisha and Mom

Dear Strange Stranger,

2008-10-27T11:55:00.001-05:00

Dear Strange Man who sat next to me on my flight,

I have composed a list of airplane etiquette which I hope you will follow in the future.

1) If you do choose to share pictures of you daughter, or scenery, or anything else with your neighbor, please limit it to one or two pictures. No one wants to watch an entire slide show with a running commentary on which stage of your divorce the pictures were taken in.

2) Please do not share details of your divorce and subsequent bachelorhood with neighbors. That is what your friends and/or therapist are for, not strangers.

3) Please do not drape your coat over the armrest between you and your neighbor, and leave it there. The seats are small enough; no one wants to make room for your coat, too.

4) Please be more careful with your drink in the future, to avoid spilling it on the person sitting next to you.

5) Should you decide to use your entire tray for your computer, and your neighbor’s tray is mostly empty, it is not an invitation to put your food and items on her tray. Really, it is downright rude.

6) Under no circumstances is it appropriate to tap you neighbor who appears to be sleeping, to wake her up and show her pictures of your daughter, twice. Your daughter may be cute, but this is not socially appropriate.

If you will follow these guidelines, I am confident it will be beneficial to everyone involved with your future air travel.

Sincerely,

Karma

Soap Box - Corn Refiners of America

2008-10-21T16:26:00.000-05:00

“My hairdresser says High Fructose Corn Syrup is bad for you.”

“You get you’re hair done by a Doctor?

This is one of a very large, costly campaign by….you guessed it, Corn Refiners of America. It says, don’t worry—you can eat HFCS (admittedly in “moderation”) and it is no worse for you than sugar.

They have a lot to protect. This stuff is in everything. Are you eating it in moderation? It’s probably in your pasta sauce, your whole wheat bread, and your kid’s yogurt and“fruit snacks” (another pet peeve I won’t go into), not to mention the stuff you know is junk food.

This campaign really annoys me for the following reasons:

The “science” behind it was paid for by…them. You know, the people who have stake in HFCS not being bad for you (think Pepsi, ABA, etc). Interesting. Certainly no bias there (roll eyes).
The FDA (back in April this year) stated that HFCS couldn’t be considered “natural” since it's produced using chemicals and enzymes that change its structure. Fast forward two months and suddenly the FDA has given approval for HFCS to be labeled “All Natural.” I hate to be a conspiracy theorist but…suspicious, no? Anyway, that’s one gigantic loophole. You couldn’t make HFCS in your kitchen. Because you don’t have a cinterfuge. Or the high dextrose equivalent corn starch hydrolysate. Natural. Ahh.
Doctors are notoriously undereducated in nutrition. If my hair dresser took 2 college courses on nutrition, there’s a good chance she is as (or more) qualified as my family doctor to dole out nutritional advice. Personally, I wouldn’t trust either on the topic of nutrition.
This is the big one. This is like the campaign decades ago about which cigarette was “doctor approved” or “better for you.” See any similarities? The point is SUGAR IS BAD FOR YOU. It’s kinda missing the point talking about how they are “equally bad for you.”

I still think HFCS is something you’re better off avoiding. There is a lot of science that is on the anti-HFCS side of the issue. I would go into detail but honestly just don’t feel qualified. I mean, I’m not your Doctor…or your hairdresser for that matter. Personally, I rarely eat (or at least I rarely buy) the stuff. I do choose sugar over HFCS. At least it really is natural. But…I also avoid sugar…because SUGAR IS BAD FOR YOU. Really, it is. OK…I’ll get off my soap box now.

My point is this:

A) I think this campaign is full of crap

B) It doesn’t really matter if it’s true or not. If you gave it up altogether you would be better off simply because you would have a hard time finding enough sugar to replace all the HFCS you are eating.

C) SUGAR IS BAD FOR YOU.

Funny things Skyla has said lately

2008-10-12T18:32:00.000-05:00

“I am a little bit big”

“We have ‘Happy Birthdays’ for you!” (using “happy birthdays” as a noun meaning cards and presents)

Realizing she can’t take her off dress which has a zipper up the back… “I don’t have a choice to take off my dress.”

“You’re the most beautiful girl I ever saw” (said to me…so sweet!)

“I love you in a beautiful world!”

“Can I have a bite of Halloween ?” (Asking Grandma for a candy corn)

Tagged

2008-10-09T22:37:00.000-05:00

8 Favorite shows:

1. The Office

2. The Biggest Loser

3. So You Think You Can Dance

4. America's Got Talent

5. The Antique Roadshow :) Hey...I only get net work. I am reaching already.

6. see above

Favorite Restaurants:

1. Panera

2. Johnny Carinos

3. Olive Garden

4. Outback

5. Casa Giardo (did I spell that right?) I just like Mexican and it's the only one around here I know

6. I guess I run out of favorites fast.

Things that happened yesterday:

1. It was my birthday

2. I got a card and present

3. I took the kids to the park

4. I went to the mall to buy lingerie for my sisters bridal shower

5. I went to Panera for lunch

6. I took the kids to Chuck E. Cheese

7. We went to Legends Bar and Grill for dinner

8. I went to mutual and did the "everyone's birthday" party and gift exchange

8 things I am looking forward to:

1. My sister's wedding and seeing all my friends and family in Oregon

2. My tax class ending....it feels like an eternity.

3. Melody (and new hubby) moving in with me

4. My kids being old enough to enjoy each other more than they annoy each other...when does that happen? Ever?

5. Beautiful Fall colors

6. Christmas music and decorations and food and the month of December

7. Halloween and Thanksgiving

8. Tax season...I almost hate to admit it--and I'm sure I'll change my mind when it comes-- but I am looking forward to working (at nights after Micah is home to be with the kids).

8 things on my wish list:

1. A king size bed

2. A new(er) car

3. A new camera

4. A bathroom in my basement

5. Living close to my family

6. New counter top (with bar seating)

7. To learn to throw pottery

8. For Skyla to be in a Montessori preschool

8 people that I tag:

1. Mom
2. Mel
3. Joseph
4. Micah
5. Riah
6. Heather
7. Tiffany A.
8. Tiffany B.

Apple Butter

2008-10-05T18:58:00.000-05:00

30 Apples...

$10

Spices, Other Ingredients, and Jars...

$10

12 hours, covering several large pots, utensils, food processor, crock pot, canner, and two children in a layer of apple goo…

A lot of work.

3 Pints of Apple Butter…

So not worth it.

2008-10-01T22:43:00.000-05:00

I stood in front of my closet for several minutes. The cliché, “I have nothing to wear” (despite the closet full of clothes) rang too true. I didn’t want to look too nice...or too sloppy. The dress code said no shorts, muscle shirts, or tees with offensive sayings. I deduced from that information that I would not be too casual in jeans, flip-flops, and a polo shirt. It was pretty typical attire for me, but it took more contemplation than usual to get there.

After dropping my kids off at a friend’s house, it started pouring. I could hardly see through the droves of rain. I was headed to a part of the county I was not very familiar with. It had been about two weeks before when I had opened the letter summoning me to jury duty. I was commanded to appear, or be held in contempt of court. That sounded bad. I decided to go.

I was pretty ambivalent over the whole thing. Part of me was excited to get to see and possibly be involved with the justice system up close. The other part of me just didn’t want to deal with it, or have someone else deal with my kids. With my youngest one just barely a year and still nursing, I find it difficult (and physically painful) to be away from him for too long.

I had cut it pretty close. I followed the yahoo maps directions, and discovered they are more reliable in the city than in rural Hillsboro. My reliance on the map cost me 10 minutes (I realized this by taking an alternate route home). I was rushed to get there in time. After all, I would hate to be held in contempt of the court. The parking lot was completely full and I had to find street parking that was no where near the county courthouse. For reasons I'll never understand, I had to turn down the radio to focus as I searched for a parking spot. As I stepped out of the car, I instantly regretted spending 10 minutes curling my hair that morning. Such a waste. I grabbed the jury summons, and a book I grabbed as an afterthought after remembering horror stories about people sitting in cramped little rooms for endless hours waiting to be questioned.

I entered the building and noted the sign telling me to go to the second floor. I passed through security and went up the elevator. As I stepped off, a man in uniform called “juror?” for what could only have been the umpteenth time that morning. I received a number “42” to clip to my top, and noted that the collared shirt had been a good call, as I watched a woman in a plain tee struggle to find somewhere to attach it.

I was directed down the hall where other perspective jurors were overflowing into the hall. I joined them, until another man in uniform instructed us to all sit in the small room. There were over 40 of us in a room that wouldn’t comfortably accommodate more than maybe a dozen (not coincidentally the number that sits on a jury, as it was a deliberation room). It was unpleasant, mildly speaking. Due to my barely-on-time arrival, I was mercifully seated near the door, mildly abating my claustrophobia, which I had been unaware of prior to entering the tiny room. This small comfort was soon taken as the man in uniform came and shut the door, nearly hitting three people with it in the process. I couldn’t stifle my laugh as he shut the door. It seemed such an absurd thing to do to us, cramped as we already were. My laugh earned me a few smiles and many of my fellow perspective jurors laughed back. One man commented, “Is this when they start the gas?” Most of us laughed again. A few glared at the obvious insensitivity to Jews actually killed that way. I looked around with sudden epiphany about the civic duty each of us was here to serve. Such a divers group gathered with the goal of assembling twelve unbiased jurors. We were about to be questioned, poked, and prodded to determine whose perspective, life experiences, and beliefs would allow him or her be such a juror. Things settled down in just a few seconds and we sat in uncomfortable proximity, and uncomfortable silence.

Eventually a few people opened newspapers and others made quiet comments about the time to no one in general.

“Come on!” It’s passed nine o’clock!”

“What is division fourteen?”

“Prob’ly traffic court.” Snickers followed.

“Hey, this beats workin’”

“Not when you aren’t getting’ paid”

“This is my third time in three years”

“How long does selection take?”

“Couple hours”

The door opened and the uniformed man began the process of having everyone line up according to their number. I was near the end of the line and followed as we filed into the court room. As I walked passed the lawyers, I avoided making eye contact, and tried not to look too poised, or too sloppy. By the time it was all over, I realized that was unnecessary.

***To Be Continued*** Maybe.

Wednesday

2008-09-28T21:47:00.000-05:00

Wednesday morning a friend called and asked in passing if I had completed my bedroom rearrangement plan that I had mentioned in my blog. It had been bugging me that I hadn't done it yet and although I had a busy morning, decided that was my project for the day. I had some errands to run and the Parents As Teachers three-year-old screening for Skyla. The teachers seemed impressed with both of my children--Skyla for her brilliance (Ok...maybe not the word they used but I can interpret however I want...It's my kid and my blog, ha ha) and Preston for his sheer strength, speed, lung capacity, determination, and willpower. At the screening, Preston decided his project for the day was to try attempt free falling from the highest point possible or die trying. I am proud to say he was unsuccessful on both counts, but there were a couple close calls. One of the teachers that was doing the screening even went so far as to invite us to come to some of the events they hold, but suggested I bring "extra help" since Preston is such an "active" child. The other one heartily agreed. That, by the way, is in context and not "interpreted." Oh, my. Anyway, we got home around lunch time so we had lunch. Finally, I was ready to start. I began by disassembling the crib. I have to say I will miss having somewhere to store all those stuffed animals, but I sure we will figure something out. Next, I started moving two 5 shelf bookcases with hundreds of books from "Melody's room" to my room. They books were everywhere and I barely had a path to get through with the bookcases, especially after Skyla decided to dump out the bucket of mega blocks in my path, but I got it done and the books back on the shelfs. Next, I started randomly moving whatever furniture I thought could fit in the room it was going. I moved a queen bed, a twin bed, a dresser, a changing table/dresser, and a night stand. The only thing that didn't move out of the kids rooms was a gigantic chair I was planning on putting in the basement. I moved it into Skyla's room two years ago with Melody's help. I vaguely remember how we got it in, and distinctly remember it being insanely hard. After a few attempts and nearly getting it so stuck I couldn't get it in or out of the door way, I managed to get it back into the room and decided the chair won. I rearranged around the chair, which is roughly half the size of a queen bed. It was an amazing amount of work and I was sweaty, hot, and tired at the end of the day. But, now it's done and I am feeling much happier with the arrangement. Micah is struggling with the fact the room colors aren't especially "gender appropriate" (by his standard, not mine) so I am going to work on making Preston's yellow room a bit more boyish and Skyla's brown room a bit more girlie. So far I have got some curtains for Skyla's room but there will be more to come. I am thinking of attempting of stenciling white star bursts on her walls. Maybe. By the way, this blog was brought to you by the "magic movers" without which, the moving of heavy furniture would have been impossible for one small person.

The best laid plans of mice and men...

2008-09-22T13:59:00.000-05:00

I had big plans for last week. Micah was going to be out of town and I was hoping to disassemble the crib since it's really just a huge prop taking up space--Preston now sleeps on the queen bed in the "Melody's (my sister) room" (which is really his room) and vehemently refuses to sleep in the crib. Since that would open up a lot of space in my room, I was going to move the two full bookcases out of his room into mine since books and a one year old (at least my one year old) are really a poor match. We have had two book casualties already. So...that got me thinking about how when Skyla was around his age and it occurred to me that his room should be closer to mine than the stairs. This requires that we switch his and Skyla's rooms. I was hoping to get all of this done while Micah was gone. In stead, I laid around wishing to die.

Micah flew out Sunday night for training in Atlanta. Of course, the splitting headache I had Sunday turned into the flu (or some other kind of horrible sickness) on Monday. I was completely debilitated and couldn't even stand up to make food for the kids. I am so grateful for all the help from neighbors, friends, and the ward. I am pretty sure my kids would have survived another few meals on goldfish and freeze dried apples but I am so glad they didn't have to. Thanks for all the help!

Hopefully I will get the musical bedroom thing going once I get day-to-day things under control again. We hadn't even recovered from the kids big family birthday party that weekend and then with this...It is amazing how far behind I got in a matter of a few days. I have done 5 loads of laundry already today and have more to go. My floor is appalling and the bathrooms need to be cleaned. Of course, I am out of food, too, so a grocery shopping trip is in order. It kinda feels like I was juggling all these things. When I was sick I dropped all the balls. It's hard to get ALL the balls juggling at the same time again, but I know I will pull it together soon.

A Big First

2008-09-11T01:28:00.001-05:00

A HUGE First happened last night. Both my kids slept through the night for the first time ever. So...being Skyla's birthday, that was the first time in exactly 3 years that I have not had to get up in the middle of the night (several times, usually).

So, how do I spend tonight? Reading Midnight Sun online into the wee hours of the morning. Ridiculous though it may be, that won't stop me from wasting a truly precious chance at sleep. I am too addicted.

Alis Volat Propriis

2008-09-05T14:55:00.000-05:00

I have a strong identity, attachment, and sense of belonging to my home state of Oregon. I didn’t know it until I left it, though. I miss the crystal clear rivers, majestic waterfalls, undeveloped caves, rock formations, and snow-capped peaks. But, there’s more to it than the stunning beauty of the state.

I have changed my blog name to Alis Volat Propriis which is the (Latin) motto for the state of Oregon. It means, “She flies with her own wings.” It was used to signify the independence of the state. After living in about half a dozen states, I have a great appreciation for the truth of this statement. Although I am happy here, and have many good friends here, I will always be an Oregonian at heart. Despite all the gung-ho tree huggers, green-peace fanatics, and crazy liberals, I find I fit in there much better than in the state I live, with all the traditional, conservative, religious people. It’s interesting when you consider that I am traditional, conservative, and religious.

The crunchy ways of the North West are deep rooted in me. It has become especially apparent since becoming a mom. When I visit Oregon, I look around the park and see lots of mom’s like me: breastfeeding a toddler, baby wearing, cloth diapering, and eating bread with seeds and small twigs in it.

This motto--the motto of Oregon--has significant personal meaning to me. In fact, if I were going to get a tattoo (which I am not!) this would probably be what it would say (which I realize is pretty pompous for someone who can't pronounce it). As time goes on, I am more and more comfortable with the fact that I do things my own way—and differently than most people around me.

But still, whenever I get strange looks or rude comments for one thing or another, I find comfort in the fact that I am totally normal...in Oregon.

Wobbly Walker

2008-08-21T09:46:00.000-05:00

I have been trying for weeks to get him to walk on camera, but walking takes a lot of concentration and the camera is sooooo much more interesting. He would always hurry and crawl over to it but finally I got this little clip. If you listen closely, he also has the hiccups. As always, clothing at our house is purely optional. I opt to wear it and my kids...don't.

Funny, kinda

2008-08-12T07:30:00.000-05:00

Despite the many ups and and downs of potty training we have been through, I just discovered a new aspect of this process. Skyla has been doing great and hadn't had an accident for over a week. Yesterday I went to the mall (which I normally avoid at all cost) to buy an outfit for Preston because I had a coupon too good to pass up. During this visit, Skyla decides she needs to go Potty. After lugging both kids up one level and half way across Penny's to go potty, we went back down stairs to where the baby clothes are. She then decides she needs to go again, really bad. As we approached the bathroom hurrying as much as I can carrying my tank-of-a-baby and a toddler in tow, I glance back when I hear her foot steps slow, but it's too late. Unbothered by the masses of people, including about five people directly behind her, her pants and underwear are around her ankles. I gasped. They gasped. I rushed to pull them up. I tried to flash an apologetic smile to the sixteen year old boy passing by, but he avoided eye contact, understandably. But come on, embarrassing? Definitely. But funny? Yes...it was kinda funny...since she didn't pee of the floor. That would probably be an event that took years to be funny.

Car Seats

2008-08-05T15:53:00.000-05:00

If you are reading this and live by me...car seats are 50% off at Target today and going fast.

Also from Target...have you tried the Debbie Meyers Green Bags? They really do extend the life of your produce. So worth the money if you eat and keep a lot of produce on hand. (Check out the purple bell pepper...isn't it pretty?)

90

2008-07-31T17:53:00.001-05:00

That is the number of items in the last load of kid laundry I did (it wasn't even a totally full load). At two (kid) loads per week that is 180 itty-bitty items each week I have to sort, decide which kid, category, and use it falls into. Does it hang or fold? Warm or cold weather pile? Does it still fit? Is it an outfit or a separate? Is it the 0-6 month pair of socks or the identical 12-24 month pair of socks? Is it clothing or pajamas? Where is the match to this sock (I have a whole bucket of single socks)? It's no wonder I hate folding laundry.

Why you should read childrens books before you buy them

2008-07-31T17:51:00.000-05:00

I picked these up (for free, thankfully) without reading them. I couldn't believe that they made these for kids! I thought they were so shocking/funny I had to share.

Squirrel Nutkin

Once upon a time there was a little red squirrel, and his name was Nutkin. Squirrel Nutkin, his brother Twinkle-berry, and their many cousins lived in the woods at the edge of a lake. In the middle of the lake was Owl Island, where Old Brown, the owl, lived.

The Nutkin family was always very kind to Mr. Brown, for they liked to fish and gather nuts on his island. They always asked his permission and also brought him offerings as gifts. All of them, that is, except for Squirrel Nutkin, who had no manners and was very rude to Old Brown. Nutkin teased him with ridiculous riddles, but old Mr. Brown simply ignored Squirrel Nutkin.

And Nutkin did not help Twinkle-berry or his cousins fish or gather nuts either. Instead, he went off on his own and got into mischief, usually tickling Old Brown and tormenting him with silly riddles.

After one full week of Squirrel Nutkin's constant teasing, Old Brown could not stand it any longer. Wham!—he knocked Nutkin out cold and took him to his owl home in the oak tree. He gave Squirrel Nutkin such a fright that when Nutkin came to, he was so glad to be alive that he promised never to be a naughty squirrel again.

And he wasn't.

A Fierce Bad Rabbit

There once was a fierce bad rabbit; he had savage whiskers, claws, and a turned-up tail. There was also a nice gentle rabbit, whose mother had given him a carrot.

The bad rabbit wanted the carrot, so he grabbed it from the good rabbit and scratched him badly. The good rabbit was very sad and crept away to hide in a hole.

Meanwhile, a man with a gun thought that he saw a very funny bird sitting on a bench. He crept up behind it and fired his gun. But when he got to the bench, all he found was a carrot, some whiskers, and a rabbit tail!

Just then, the good rabbit peeped out of his hole and saw the fierce bad rabbit running past – without any tail or whiskers!

Parental Rites of Passage

2008-07-31T17:22:00.000-05:00

I am sure I will come up with more as my kids get older but here's what I've got so far:

Getting puked on (bonus points if any gets in your mouth or you are dressed for a special occasion)
Getting pooped on
Having your child throw a temper tantrum in public (bonus points if child is on the floor rolling around)
Having a child bathe their toys/drink out of toilet
Have child overcome child safe medicine/cabinet lock/door knob device
Have the remote control mysteriously disappear and never return
Clean blue berry stains out of child’s best dress
Read one book at least 500 days in succession
Shrug it off when a stranger tells you your kid is eating sand…and tell them what you dug out of his mouth this morning
Showered in under a minute

Anecdotes

2008-07-05T22:03:00.000-05:00

Around 6am this morning (Saturday) I was laying in bed nursing Preston and all of a sudden I hear this shrill shrieking from Skylas room. I practically kicked Micah out of the bed asleep and threw Preston to the middle of the bed to follow Micah in to see what horror awaited us. Apparently, Skyla thought it was a good time to try out her slide whistle. Psych! (Thanks, Papa)

Months ago, we had been reading about owls when Skyla dazzled us by remembering that owls are "nocturnal". That night when we were putting her to bed and she didn't want to go to sleep, she said, "Big girl (what she called herself at the time) nocturnal!" So true. As it turns out, now she sleeps through the night but Preston has taken on her 'nocturnal' status.

I was getting dressed a few days ago and Skyla saw me putting on my bra. She said, "Mama, are you putting on your boobs?"

A few weeks ago she asked, "How do you get to be grown up?"

When I was cuddling her recently and telling her I loved her, she asked, "Do you love Daddy?" Yes...I love daddy, too. "Does Daddy love you?" she asked. Yes...daddy loves me, too. "I thought so."

She said she needed to go potty while we were on a walk tonight. Since holding was the only option at the time, I asked if she could hold it for a moment. In earnest, she replied, "I usually can hold it." So true. (She made it, btw)

Cloth diaper contest

2008-06-28T18:33:00.001-05:00

Enter to win a free cloth diaper set!

http://blog.thenatureschild.com/2008/06/beat-heat-summer-con-
test.html

Automatic Flush Toilets

2008-06-10T07:52:00.000-05:00

I remember when I first starting seeing public automatic flush toilets. I was mildly pleased to see them become popular as it kept me from having to use my foot to flush the toilet. However, now days, I long for the old-fashioned manual flush toilets.

You see, when you put a small child on an automatic flush toilet (abbreviated AFT in the future), and lean over to help her balance, the AFT believes that you are standing up, and flushes. The small child is then surprised/scared of the AFT and doesn't want to sit on it. She begins to move erratically as you try to hold her on the AFT, and the movement causes the AFT to flush, again. Now you realize the flushing has to stop, so you take toilet paper and try to cover the sensor of the AFT with one hand (while the other hand tries to steady the small child) so it will stop flushing and scarring the child. This, of course, causes the AFT to flush again. In this precarious position, the small child--startled by yet another flush--falls back into the toilet. You will then spend the next half hour calming the small child and using Purell to bathe her (and yourself) in the public restroom.

This is why I hate AFT's (also known as "scary toilets" at our house).

Things I have pondered today

2008-06-02T16:08:00.001-05:00

I am considering resurrecting this blog. So here it goes:

How can I possibly move so much and accomplish so little? I feel like I am constantly in motion, yet, my grand plans of organizing the laundry room and cleaning out closets have not even begun.

Why do I care if she mashes all the green playdoh in with the red playdoh? I mean it is hers and she likes it mashed together. Yet, I have to bite my tongue every time I open a new playdoh.

Isn’t it ironic that in trying to get her to act like an adult, I too often end up acting like a child. I often have to take a deep breath, and remind myself that I am the adult in the situation.

I constantly am thirsty and also constantly have to pee. Why can’t my body be more efficient that that?

Why is a napping child an absolute guarantee that someone will call? I go hours and hours without a phone call, but the minute I get the kid to sleep (he’s a light sleeper) the phone rings.

Why are baby hands so sticky? I don’t mean dirty, I mean clean little hands (at first) that are sticky. Preston pets the cat and then it looks like he is wearing fur mittens. I don’t get it.

Why does a two year old who can stack a chair, step stool, and large canister to reach the top shelf in the pantry, melt down screaming for help when she drops a carrot on the ground?

Why does a child who can go to sleep in the afternoon in broad daylight, complain that it is too light to sleep at night?

a diet of one still developing taste buds...with no teeth

2006-08-09T21:12:00.000-05:00

I don’t cook a lot, especially lately since Micah has been working out of town. While he is eating prime rib at the nicest restaurants in Omaha, I am scraping together leftovers and reheating the food I hope is edible in the Tupperware in the back of my fridge. I once read an article about someone who decided to eat only what she fed her baby. I thought, why not? I’ll give it a try. Well, here’s why not. Skyla doesn’t know that green bean mixed with cottage cheese is gross. Really gross. I sampled everything, but as you may have already guessed, I cheated often and made my own meal.

So far here is a sampling of what I have subjected myself to, aside from the green bean disaster.

• Whole grain toast with hummus on top. Quite dry. I really prefer butter.
• All natural plain yogurt blended with a peach. Nothing like peach yogurt I’m used to.
• The above yogurt, blended with cheerio’s trying to make it finger food. Miserable failure and not exactly delicious.
• Fruit smoothie from frozen fruit and plain yogurt. Delicious. My one real success.
• Refried bean, mixed with brown rice, cheddar cheese, and chopped fresh spinach mixed in. It was edible.
• Diced peaches and avocados, two of my favorite foods, not a great combination. Skyla didn’t seem to mind.
• Tofu cubes. Really, I like tofu…I cook with it. NOT GOOD PLAIN. Also Skyla didn’t seem to be able to eat them well. She chewed and chewed on the cubes and didn’t seem to be able to swallow them.
• Plain baked potato mixed with cooked, pureed carrots. Not good.
• Crumbled, unsalted crackers with apple sauce mixed in. One of the worst.

You may have noticed I don’t do pureed foods alone (i.e. baby food). You have to spoon feed those foods and we gave up on that around the 7 month mark once Skyla could pick up food and feed herself. I always crumble/mix it with something so it’s easier to pick up. We are both pretty happy with the arrangement, although I have this suspicion that this habit leads to the worst of the food combinations. Although this method is quite messy, I am just thankful she doesn’t have much hair. We are working on using a spoon. Today she dipped in her bean/rice/spinach stuff and actually got some on the spoon and into her mouth.

If you are feeling at all sorry for Skyla for the icky tasting foods I give her…don’t worry, she has had plenty of grandparents, uncles, aunts, and even her dad sneaking her milkshakes, chocolate, jello, and other equally inappropriate foods. I guess I just feel like I should take advantage of the fact that she will eat basically anything I put in front of her. I just don’t want to eat it.

Naps

2006-08-07T12:58:00.000-05:00

I have this bad habit of taking pictures-lots of pictures-and not developing them very often. This morning I was faced with the arduous task of sorting through what I have already developed, what I just want to keep on the computer and not develop, and the pictures that make the last cut to upload and develop online. While I am doing this on my computer in the basement, I let Skyla run loose, only containing her with a closet door I force to stay open, blocking the hall to the stairs. I know she is winding down as she crawls into her bouncy seat, but what happened next I never saw coming. She fell asleep. BY HERSELF. This hasn't happened since she learned to stand up, let alone while she has been teething.

A ripped off poem

2006-08-03T16:10:00.000-05:00

This poem was adapted without permission from the book "Tiny Turtle Race"

Which person will win the race? Which person can keep up the pace?Will it be the messy baby or is it mommy's day? Maybe the kitty will come into play.

One a tired day the race began. From the start of the race, one of them ran. Trying to pick up, she threw toys in a flurry, trying to keep up, she would have to hurry.

Baby was determined to get every book off the shelf. Luckily for mommy she distracted her self. In that moment of weakness mommy crept up ahead. Never so quickly had so many toys been picked up while she read.

It was getting close as her attention span lapsed; mommy looked as if she would collapes. Baby caught a break as she pulled ten books in one swipe. Mommy needed a distraction but what type?

In a moment of genius mommy called the cat. Baby couldn't resist and for once watched and sat. Mommy finished the job in no time at all, as she put up the ten books and the very last ball.

Chalk one up for the mommies!
by Karma Watters

Treasures, Trash, Pools, and Baths

2006-07-14T22:43:00.000-05:00

I was driving home from some errands Monday night, trash night. I noticed a neighbor who I have never before met, had a toddler picnic table and a baby pool out with their garbage. It just so happens that I have been wanting a baby pool and I love the toddler tables. I went and knocked on the door and sheepishly asked if I could have their garbage, which by the way was in excellent condition. I loaded it up, scrubbed it, and filled the pool. I have used it every day since. We love wading. She can crawl in and out of the pool which is very funny to watch.

We got the stinking cutest swim suit imaginable. It is pink with red polka dots. Its a one peice if you were wondering becuase now days it is easier to find a baby bikini than a good one-piece. Anyway, diapers and swimming aren’t the best combination. I have allowed Skyla to go commando a few times in the pool for short periods of time-no catastrophies yet. Today, she was naked in the pool beacuse the diaper had swelled so much and we didn't have the suit handy. I thought she could use a bath. I left her under my mom’s supervision and went and got Huggies disposable washcloths and gave her a good scrubbing on my back deck. It was the best view I have ever had while giving the baby a bath as I looked out over the lake. It is funny how I would have thought (pre-child) that I would be the kind of mom that bathes my baby every night before bed, but in reality I am the mom who bathes her kid on the back deck in a pool once a week and we (Skyla and I) are both happy with the arrangement.

Smart as a whip

2006-07-11T14:51:00.000-05:00

That's what my mom said about Skyla. I happen to agree.

Yesterday my mom bought a very fun toy for Skyla. She was playing with it and I said, "Skyla, can you say 'thank you' to Nonnie for your toy ?"

Well, I kid you not, she turned to look my mom in the eye, and said "Thankyou." We couldn't believe it. I have two other witnesses, it really happened. Granted, she has been saying thankyou for a while but the whole following instructions on cue...we were blown away.

Announcement:

2006-06-28T11:13:00.000-05:00

It is now official. Skyla is the cutest baby in town, recognized by popular vote.

Okay, fine, that isn't what the contest was for. It was a "get caught reading" photo contest. I entered an adorable picture of Skyla reading Zoo and she won. They are going to make a poster of her picture that has a caption, READ.

To be fair, my photography wasn't spectacular in this shot so it had to be her good looks that won it.