It's not all bad . . .

I realized my posts have taken a slightly negative/cynical tone lately. Just for the record, as bad as my last post seemed, I actually consider that day a huge success because I handled it amazingly well. I just thought I'd take a moment to remind myself that there are good days and not matter what--I love and adore my family.

Yesterday was a good day. James played quietly making bead / pipe cleaner caterpillars all morning long. Even Kate and Clara tried their hand at beading. It was so sweet to see their tenacity as they tried and tried and tried to get those beads on!

When Justin had to go back to work after lunch James was so sweet. He said, "Don't go back to work daddy. Stay home. I like you. " This morning Kate and Clara gave so much love to Andrew. They greeted him with a serenade of bonks on the head with their balloons. And bless his soul, he slept right through it. It'll only be a few more years that my kids think, as my sister Jeny once said, "that I'm the Sun, the Moon, & the Stars." This year may be very trying, but I know we'll have lots of wonderful moments to fill in the gaps. I am a very blessed woman.

Calgon take me away . . .

6:28 am I awake 2 minutes before my alarm b/c I hear my husband changing Kate's diaper.
6:41 am I hear all 3 older kids awake--I say good bye for good to my plans to get up before my kids and work out/shower.
7:08 Clara in melt down mode b/c she's tired and hungry. (yesterday she had a temp of 102)
7:45 I shower blissfully ignorant and happy. Clara crying somewhere.
8:08 I realize James has totally filled his underwear with diarrhea. Clara crying somewhere.
8:50 Poop cleaned up. Heading to the dentist. Clara happy. Drugs must be working.
10:20 Leaving the dentist--small filling ends up being 2 huge fillings. Dentist warns I might have some sensitivity when the Novocain wears off.
10:30 Arrive home. Clara in bed. Grandma is pretty sure my 19 year old niece who babysat will never have kids after watching mine.

11:30 James off to school

12:00 Clara up & crying. Kate still sleeping in HER crib.

3:00 Clara still crying. I check on Kate who is now in her sister's crib? (there's 2 feet separating them) and has covered it in diarrhea. I let her sleep.

3:30 I try to put Clara down for a nap

4:00 start cleaning up Kate and poop. Clara awake.

4:15 Kate in shower. Clara splits her lip open somehow. Perfect boy Andrew starting to fuss, but not frantic yet.

4:40 Kate out of shower and in Andrew's crib. Clara in Andrew's crib crying because Kate's in it as well. James in Andrew's crib making Kate cry. James crying because Kate won't give him the laundry basket (the contents of which are now dumped all over the floor). I am frantically trying to finish cleaning the poop infested bathroom. Perfect boy Andrew getting frantic.

5:00 Roast over cooked. Potatoes not even started. Kids are getting mac n' cheese.

5:10 mac n' cheese now all over floor. James in time out. Kate is missing her diaper.

5:20 James asks to play on porch. I say ok.

5:30 I realize James as taken saplings soaking in muddy water and painted the front porch, door and windows with mud. James in time out. Kate is missing her diaper again.

5:35 Front porch washed off. James has taken his juice and poured it out on the window sill. James in time out.

5:45 Clara still crying. Kate missing her diaper again. James may never leave time out again. Novocain has worn off and Tooth is Killing me!

6:03 I go to check on James. He has fallen asleep on his bed in the laundry bag:

6:10 I let Clara & Kate play in the bathroom sink. Hey, at least they're not crying. Except Clara keeps trying to push Kate off the chair.

6:20 Clara alone in bathroom, crying. I take her (while holding Andrew) to the bench at the kitchen table and tell her I'll get her ice cream. I turn my back. She fall flat on her face. I lay Andrew on the floor (now crying) and pick up Clara (now hysterical).

6:30 I notice a suspicious yellow puddle under the chair where naked Kate had been standing.

6:40 Clara to bed.

6:48 Kate and I call Daddy to find out Where in the Heck is he?!?

6:53 Dad home. I survived.

On the positive note today: I spent ample time staring lovingly into Perfect Boy Andrew's eyes. I remembered tummy time for Andrew. I made pretty good Pad Thai from scratch for lunch. I got the Kitchen and a bathroom clean. I didn't cause bodily harm to any one of my children.

A few things I've learned . . .

So, lately I've been doing a lot of learning about being a mom. I thought I would record them for myself, so that someday when I'm sending #4 off to college I can laugh at how I was as a new mom.

Me and #4

1--It's ok to refer to my son as #4. It won't put him in therapy. I'm #4 and I refer to myself that way often. Ditto for letting #4 take naps in a swing, sleep through the night without a diaper change, and not spending every waking moment gazing lovingly into his eyes. (this is from the lady who once cut a onesie off #1 because of a blowout.) The point is, I've learned to stop stressing that every other thing I do with have long lasting negative consequences. Kids are pretty resilient.

#1, #2, & #3 hiding in the closet

2--No matter how hard I try to organize my day, my kids will unorganize it for me. The day I think I'm going to get them to bed a little bit early to get some things done in the evening is the night they'll all start throwing up soon after I put them down. Going with the flow and seizing the moment are going to have to become my mottos. Since I can't predict when I might actually be able to do something, I have to take any chance I can. Like how I should be sleeping right now, not blogging.

#1, #2, & #3 with the queen of "seize the moment" --Grandma Sarah.

How's the bird seed taste kids?

3--I'd probably be a lot happier if I quit trying to get stuff done--you know, like showering, eating, and brushing my teeth. Not exaggerating. If, when all four of my kids are awake, I attempted nothing but sitting on the floor and playing with them, my life would be much less stressful. I might by stinky and hungry, and my house a wreck, but at least I wouldn't be having breakdowns over spilled milk. I don't mean that in the cliche phrase way--I really mean spilled milk.

So, there are the lessons for this week. Don't worry--I'll forget them by Monday and have to relearn it all again. ;) Take care!

Andrew turns 2 months old!

Our sweet little Andrew turns 2 months old today! He's a very "good" baby. He plays for long periods of time in his play gym--when his siblings let him have it that is! He goes to sleep around midnight and sometimes sleeps straight till 6 am. He's started giving me lots of adorable smiles and giggles. All his siblings LOVE to snuggle with him--which involves a lot of defensive manuvers on my part to make sure he isn't over loved.

A hint of a smile:

Why we really need a 3rd bedroom.

How the bedroom should be. How I found it.

Yes, I did stop to take pictures before I fished her out. What kind of mom am I? Poor kids.

Kate and her new-found toys. Complement of James.

So the last few nights James has taken to throwing things in his sister Kate's crib. He has been in various kinds of trouble for this, and none of it seems to be working. The other night (after having gone in about 4 times already) I went into settle the kids down only to find Kate's crib filled with every moveable thing in the room--complements of her brother James. We really need to get his boy his OWN room!

james gives a play-by-play on the egg hunt

Easter 2010

Happy Easter everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful day remembering the Resurrection and life of our Savior. I'm still trying to figure out how to help 1 & 3 year olds understand the real reason for Easter . . . Maybe next year. ;)
Here we are on the Easter egg hunt. We missed a huge hail and rain storm by minutes. It was a ton of fun, even if they took awhile to get it!

Why clean the cabinets?

Many of you have responded to my last post wondering why I was cleaning kitchen cabinets at all. Well, it comes down to 2 things: 1) I don't want to be known as the daughter that moved in and trashed her mothers' house, and 2) after waking up from my pregnancy induced stupor I realized my children had "claimed their territory" in my mothers' house by gooifying the walls from about 2 feet on down. And doors. And cabinets. And windows. You get the idea.