Highlights

My Relief Society president asked me a few weeks ago if I was able to find joy in my life. Yes, of course I can. And it usually comes in one of four forms: Carter, Anderson, Christian or Ella. It's funny how our children can be the source of so much joy and on the other hand bring us some of our darkest moments, too. Don't you think? Here are some recent highlights:

Literally minutes ago, Carter stepped through the front door and announced he has a new kid in his class: Matthew from San Antonio. In his very next breath he said he had already asked the new kid if he had ever been to a Spurs game. Sometimes his passion for basketball drives me crazy like when he tirelessly writes out every. single. team on a piece of paper daily and then leaves said paper in some random spot throughout the house. I find them everywhere. I say tirelessly because I asked him yesterday if he ever gets bored or tired of writing out the teams. Nope. I'm not sure what purpose it serves but on the bright side, he's practicing his writing, right? Love that boy of mine.

Two days after Christmas, Anderson was mad at me. He had been in time out for breaking one of Christian's new toys. And he wasn't allowed to eat lunch until he talked to me about that incident but he had moved to the table anyway. When I told him his choices were between talking to me and eating or sitting in time out longer until he was ready for a chat, he got really worked up and ended up hitting me when I tried to remove him from the table. I sent him directly to his room and told him to come talk to me when he was ready. It took him a while but he approached me in my bedroom a little later. We plopped on the bed, had a good chat and he ran off to play. I commenced with cleaning up the basement a little and came across his brand new Christmas present broken to pieces, and in some places shreds. I went from calm and loving to raging in 2 seconds flat. Seriously. He spent the rest of the day in his bed and lost all of his stuffed animals including his brand new pillow pet and 2 angry birds. He was devastated! This animal lover of mine had a serious broken heart but I wasn't going to relent so easily. Being a parent was hard that day. He has since begun the long process of doing any chore when asked without question. If he does this he can earn each gift back by the end of the month--1 per week. Last week he got his pillow pet back and he's currently working on one of the angry birds. Next the cage and then the last angry bird. I feel like we successfully navigated that difficult situation and I'm hoping he won't be so destructive in the future. There's almost nothing I tolerate less than destructive behavior. This mama has 0-patience for that sort of thing.

Christian is the funniest 20 month old I know (but I should qualify that and say he's the only one I'm around much!) On Christmas Eve as the boys, my in laws, Marc and I toasted over our dinner of clam chowder and rolls, Christian learned to toast as well, with his sippy cup full of milk. As we went around the table giving thanks Christian would not be left out--he wasn't satisfied until everyone had clinked his cup, too. And I wish I had a picture of his satisfied grin each time.

On Saturday night we mopped the floor (why does that always come up in my blog posts?) as a family. We had finished the living room and moved into the kitchen when we noticed that Christian had grabbed a drying rag and joined the big boys in drying behind Marc's mopping and my rinsing. Seriously, he does the cutest things EVER!

I spent a lot of time in the kitchen today. On my list of things to make was a batch of baby food for Ella. I know I mentioned it last year but I gain so much satisfaction from making her food. Especially now that I don't nurse her anymore. Today's batch was a recipe of potatoes and spinach. When I tasted it, it made me think of scalloped potatoes. All I have to say is girlfriend better like it...we have to balance out all the squash and sweet potatoes that are giving her that baby orange glow.

And even though this has nothing to do with the children, one of the brightest spots of my day was this morning at 5 am when in the dim light of the bathroom I stepped on the scale before heading to the gym. And the number said I'm down 3-4 pounds. Woot!

Escapade

***Interrupting my current blog hiatus to report the boys' latest escapade***

Today was a little crazy; the older boys who are typically pretty well behaved...above average for their age, I would say...were not that great. Was it overstimulation because of a completely booked Saturday? Was it because they are so excited to have nearly 3 weeks off of school for the holidays? I don't know! They just wouldn't listen to any instruction or direction from Marc or me. At one point in the evening Marc sat them down on Ella's blanket and told them in frustration that everything he was saying was going "in one ear and out the other." Not moments later Carter told us that something we said had finally gone in one ear and stayed. And we thought the humor would end there. Nope.

At around 9:45, after they had been tucked into their beds in their basement bedroom for almost 2 hours, Marc and I finished watching the latest episode of The Mentalist. Marc noticed the red light on our DVR box indicating something was recording on the TV in the basement. Curious, we checked to see what was being recorded. Sports Center. But then Marc noticed that Wild Kratts was playing downstairs, too. Hmmmmm.

I snuck downstairs to see if in fact the boys were up. I snuck back upstairs giggling. Yep, the TV was on. I didn't know if I could handle this without laughing but Marc was busy doing paperwork he's behind on for work so I snuck back down and watched the boys for a few minutes. They had no idea I was watching them.

Me: Do you know what time it is?

Them: No.

Me: You are in so much trouble (stiffling a laugh). Go upstairs and see your dad. Let's go...March!

Once upstairs, I wondered what Marc would do. He was so calm. Here are the highlights:

Marc: Why aren't you in bed like you are supposed to be.

After a bunch of I don't knows:

Anderson: I wasn't tired.

Carter: It was Anderson's idea. He wanted to watch cartoons and went out first but after a few minutes I did too. I didn't want him to be alone.

Me: You didn't want your brother to get in trouble by himself?

Carter: Yah.

Marc: (at Anderson)Why didn't you just come talk to us?

Carter: He was being a problem solver!

After a few outbursts of laughter, Marc gave them high 5s for being problem solvers and sent them back downstairs to continue to be problem solvers since Anderson "still wasn't tired." Cool dad, yes? Well, punishment comes in tomorrow.

Nursing Matters

Two weeks ago, I realized my milk was drying up. It was such a complicated (because Ella refuses a bottle) and emotional situation (because I don't think I'll ever live down the guilt I feel about those sad two months last year when I was starving Christian and I didn't realize it). The only option I saw was to increase my supply so I started pumping after EVERY feeding and taking Fenugreek and thankfully, things are looking up at this point. Last Friday, I found Christian holding the motor to my pump. He was looking at the on switch and the frequency wheel and then, what did he do? Yep, he pulled up his shirt and placed the motor on his belly button. What a smart boy.

In other nursing matters, Ella has started biting, or rather pinching me since she doesn't have teeth yet. I flick her, just like I did the boys when they would do the same thing. Since she is still so young, I started out giving light flicks. But she would giggle at me, clearly not getting the point. So last time she "bit" me I really flicked her. Guess what, she still laughed at me. I truly am so grateful for such a good natured baby, but really?

And by the way, Christian started walking last week...just days before his 18 month birthday. It was a joyous day.

Mopping

I just finished mopping the floor...I haven't done that since the last time I posted. Yikes! It needed it so badly and I always have lofty goals of doing it more than once a month but let me tell you what my floor takes: Section by section of the entire main level of my house, I spray with a vinegar/water mixture, mop using a microfiber pad, then on my hands and knees I rinse it with water and dry with a clean rag. It's the only way to get a streak free shine. Now you know why I only mop once a month! The first time I ever mopped my floor it took 3 hours. I've whittled the time down to an hour but I usually have a little help. When I was pregnant, Marc and the boys would help. Today, Anderson was my little helper. I bribed him with a McDonald's lunch but I spun it a little differently for him and he became a willing helper. Boy, I love that boy of mine.

I had music playing and when we were just about done, Taylor Swift's Never Grow Up came on.



Anderson loves that song and he began talking about how no one wants him to grow up but that he wants to. I began wondering why I always tell the boys to stop growing but I sadly look forward to simpler days. I know the day will come when my house will be quiet and the kids will have grown up and gone. As Anderson babbled on about growing up and not breaking hearts, I envisioned myself in 20 years mopping my floor by myself with only Marc's and my needs to tend to and I told him he will break my heart...when he is no longer my little guy I can take to lunch and who will help me mop my floor. Usually (and sadly) I look forward to those quiet days of the future but today I don't. It was such a pleasant afternoon.

**What is equally as satisfying is that Anderson learned a lesson in work today and genuinely seemed pleased in his efforts and accomplishments.

8/22/11

It's been so long since I've had a day like today I had forgotten what it felt like--it's been one of those superwoman sort of days and it feels GOOD! I woke up with plans to get back on a gym routine but since Carter woke up sick, that plan was scratched pretty quickly. As sad as I was about skipping the gym, I was productive just the same:

90 minutes of vacuuming and mopping
2 rugs rotated (to ensure even wear)
2 walks to the school to drop off and pick up Anderson from kindergarten
6 loads of laundry, washed and dried (folding will happen tomorrow)
5 lists made (of fall shopping needs for the boys, home improvement projects to do, decorating projects to do, cleaning jobs, and birthday gifts to buy for Anderson)
1 doctor appointment made
1 trip to Sonic for drinks for the boys and me
more than 5 poppy diapers changed and more wet ones, too (to be honest, I lose count of exactly how many diapers I change a day)

Obviously, that doesn't include any meals I've prepared or cleaned up.

And it's only 5 o'clock. More to come before bed time, too. But for now, I have a crying baby to attend to.

Pretty Pretty Princess

My little girl is nearly 3 months. I can hardly believe it. As much as I am loving everything about this little girl, I'll be honest, somedays are tough and I look forward to when she gets a little older and things get a little easier on the kid front. Because let's be real, life in general never actually gets easier. A few days ago my amazingly talented friend, Chelsea of ShutterBliss Photography came over and took a few shots of the pretty princess. And I'm seriously thrilled with them. When I look at Ella each day, I am always so amazed at how pretty she is. After having three boys, I guess it's just surreal. And these photos really capture her beauty and her personality.

If you live in the Colorado Springs area and need a photographer or know someone who does, send them to her: shutterblissphoto.com.

And So It Begins...

Yesterday on our way into church, I accidentally caught Ella's finger on her car seat buckle and scratched it...OUCH! She cried her loud, hurt cry for 10 minutes. Okay, it probably wasn't 10 minutes, it was probably 2 or 3 but it sure seemed like 10 minutes compared to the time it would have taken the boys to calm down after a similar incident. As she was crying inconsolably, she seemed to say, Mom, you hurt my feelings! Whaa! (how do you spell that crying sound?)And so it begins...girl drama. But I wouldn't trade it for the whole world...I love my little lady.

...

Christian was a dream baby by all accounts. He accompanied the big boys on a trip to Idaho a few weeks ago and was a dream baby there, too. But when he came home, oh my! I kind of want to send him back. All of a sudden he's a monster toddler. He's into everything he shouldn't be and gets cranky often. He's even actually screamed at me and hit me a time or two. I'm hoping it's only teething but since he just cut his 6th tooth we've got a long road of that ahead of us. And so it begins...toddlerhood. (even though at 15 months, he's still not walking) Sigh.

...

Carter got invited to a birthday party on Saturday. It's the second one in a month and when he got the invitation in the mail, I could tell Anderson was feeling jipped. Anderson considers all of Carter's friends his own so he doesn't understand why he can't tag along to a birthday party. So to make sure he didn't feel too bad I planned a date with him. He wanted to go to a pet store but instead I planned to walk a friend's dog and go get a treat. I thought he'd love one on one time with his favorite animal. He didn't love it as much as I thought but that's beside the point. This friend of mine who let us walk her dog has two teenage boys that are close in age like Christian and Ella. I asked her what her boys were up to and she explained that one was on a boating trip with a friend and the other was moping because he hadn't gotten invited to go. She was pretty much in the same predicament I was in. And so it begins...the struggle of wanting to be a tag along brother. And I thought we'd grow out of that soon!