Andersen came into the office with his lightsaber. John was at the computer. With lots of drama, he pulled out the lightsaber and wacked John on the back. No response. So he did it again, this time with more enthusiasm and more drama. No response. John kept typing, deep in thought.
After a few more tries, each time getting more dramatic, Andersen said, "Dad, say OUCH!"
So John imitated Andersen's tone and yelled, "OUCH".
Andersen said, "No, not now. Yell 'ouch' when I hit you on the back"
John said, "OK". So Andersen pulled out his lightsaber again and wacked him on the back. John immediately yelled, "ouch".
Andersen said, "yea dad. You did it! You're awesome."
Then he walked away, satisfied with the response. John and I both cracked up!
Thursday, July 29, 2010
I was sitting down on the couch nursing the baby and saw EmmaClaire climbing up on the counter with a pair of scissors in her hand. "What are you doing?" I asked.
EmmaClaire- I'm doing Hop Scotch
Me-What did you say? No, what are you doing up there?
EmmaClaire-I'm doing Hop Scotch
Me-No really. Why are you sitting on the counter with scissors?
EmmaClaire, this time yelling-HOP SCOTCH
Me-can you put the scissors down and "hop scotch" down from the counter?
EmmaClaire-No, I need the scissors to do hop scotch
So after finishing nursing the baby, I got up and went over to see what she was really doing. She picked up a Box Top that she had cut out of a cereal box and said, "see Mom, I'm doing hop scotch." Oh, of course! Hop scotch, box tops-it's all the same.
I love 4-year-olds!
EmmaClaire- I'm doing Hop Scotch
Me-What did you say? No, what are you doing up there?
EmmaClaire-I'm doing Hop Scotch
Me-No really. Why are you sitting on the counter with scissors?
EmmaClaire, this time yelling-HOP SCOTCH
Me-can you put the scissors down and "hop scotch" down from the counter?
EmmaClaire-No, I need the scissors to do hop scotch
So after finishing nursing the baby, I got up and went over to see what she was really doing. She picked up a Box Top that she had cut out of a cereal box and said, "see Mom, I'm doing hop scotch." Oh, of course! Hop scotch, box tops-it's all the same.
I love 4-year-olds!
A Night to Remember
Last night was pretty comical:
11 PM-I finally got the baby to sleep and hit the sack shortly thereafter.
12:30 AM-Andersen starts crying from his crib. He's freezing with no covers, he has snot all over his face, and wants a drink. I get him a drink, wipe his nose, cover him up, and go back to sleep.
1:13 AM-Abby comes into our bed in tears and tells me she can't sleep because of scary dreams. I calm the nerves, wipe away the tears, give hugs and a drink, and tuck her back into bed.
2:27 AM-Andersen comes to our bed (he must have climbed out of his crib) saying there were spiders and snakes in his bed, and he doesn't like the scary dreams. I carry him back to bed, turn on the light to show that the snakes and spiders have all gone home, give him a drink, and tuck him back in.
3:16-Baby wakes up to be fed, diaper changed, burped, and put back to bed. Takes about 45 minutes.
4:32 AM-Mason comes into my room and says he's been having scary dreams and can't sleep. By this time, I'm ready to laugh out loud. I give him a hug, tell him to say a prayer and climb back into bed.
5:18 AM-Andersen comes back into our room, scared again of the dream about the snake and spider. I tell him to wake up dad. So John puts him in bed with us, which means I don't sleep at all. But I try.
5:57 AM-Baby wakes up again to get fed. This time she gets the hick-ups that don't go away. The sun is up, and the kids are getting up for school, and my day is starting.
I'm starting to think something is in the water that causes scary dreams, or was it the stir fry we had for dinner last night?
Someday, when I'm sleeping a good 8 hours each night I'll look back on this night with fondness. Or was it a scary dream I was having that lasted the entire night?
John worked from home this morning until after lunch so I could sleep. He's awesome!
11 PM-I finally got the baby to sleep and hit the sack shortly thereafter.
12:30 AM-Andersen starts crying from his crib. He's freezing with no covers, he has snot all over his face, and wants a drink. I get him a drink, wipe his nose, cover him up, and go back to sleep.
1:13 AM-Abby comes into our bed in tears and tells me she can't sleep because of scary dreams. I calm the nerves, wipe away the tears, give hugs and a drink, and tuck her back into bed.
2:27 AM-Andersen comes to our bed (he must have climbed out of his crib) saying there were spiders and snakes in his bed, and he doesn't like the scary dreams. I carry him back to bed, turn on the light to show that the snakes and spiders have all gone home, give him a drink, and tuck him back in.
3:16-Baby wakes up to be fed, diaper changed, burped, and put back to bed. Takes about 45 minutes.
4:32 AM-Mason comes into my room and says he's been having scary dreams and can't sleep. By this time, I'm ready to laugh out loud. I give him a hug, tell him to say a prayer and climb back into bed.
5:18 AM-Andersen comes back into our room, scared again of the dream about the snake and spider. I tell him to wake up dad. So John puts him in bed with us, which means I don't sleep at all. But I try.
5:57 AM-Baby wakes up again to get fed. This time she gets the hick-ups that don't go away. The sun is up, and the kids are getting up for school, and my day is starting.
I'm starting to think something is in the water that causes scary dreams, or was it the stir fry we had for dinner last night?
Someday, when I'm sleeping a good 8 hours each night I'll look back on this night with fondness. Or was it a scary dream I was having that lasted the entire night?
John worked from home this morning until after lunch so I could sleep. He's awesome!
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Multi-Tasking
Yesterday was kind of a crazy day. I found myself doing the following, all at the same time:
helping a child practice the piano who didn't want anything to do with the piano, nursing a newborn, changing a toddler's diaper on the floor right next to the piano, helping a 5th grader do his first school project and calming his "stress" nerves, dealing with a 4-year-old who was having a meltdown on the kitchen floor, stirring the soup for dinner on the stove, and monitoring the cookies in the oven.
This all happened within about 2 minutes, and the rest of the afternoon was pretty much one thing after another: a new bottle of ranch dressing spilled all over the floor as Andersen tried to drink it, a glass bowl broke, another glass jar broke, nail polish spilled on the new wood table, which lead to more meltdowns from the 4-year-old, throw-up from the baby, screaming and chasing around the kitchen island that lead to children slipping on the water that was leaking out of the freezer door, another dislocated elbow from the toddler, a blow-out diaper from the baby.
All living on about 5 hours of sleep for the past new nights. Which means my patience is limited, to say the least.
And I thought college was busy.
Why do we women put ourselves through that craziness?
I found myself thinking of yesterday early this morning at 4 AM while tending to the new baby. Now it seems totally humorous! What a crazy day, and I'm glad these types of days are not all that often.
For me, the only reason that keeps me going as a mother is LOVE. Love for my children, love for my Heavenly Father who has trusted me with his children, love for my husband who has helped bring these children, and feelings of love from my Heavenly Father which provides me confidence in my abilities-as limited as they are. He will somehow make up the difference.
Here's a great quote from President Hinckley, a past prophet of my church (see http://www.mormon.org/). "You have nothing in this world more precious than your children. When you grow old, when your hair turns white and your body grows weary, when you are prone to sit in a rocker and meditate on the things of your life, nothing will be so important as the question of how your children have turned out. It will not be the money you have made. It will not be the cars you have owned. It will not be the large house in which you live. The searing question that will cross your mind again and again will be, How well have my children done?"
So I keep going, always waking up each day with a renewed desire to do my best at this mothering thing, to love these children the way I know I should, and to lead them in truth. Hopefully some day, as I sit in my rocking chair with gray hair, I'll look back with fondness on these busy mothering years.
helping a child practice the piano who didn't want anything to do with the piano, nursing a newborn, changing a toddler's diaper on the floor right next to the piano, helping a 5th grader do his first school project and calming his "stress" nerves, dealing with a 4-year-old who was having a meltdown on the kitchen floor, stirring the soup for dinner on the stove, and monitoring the cookies in the oven.
This all happened within about 2 minutes, and the rest of the afternoon was pretty much one thing after another: a new bottle of ranch dressing spilled all over the floor as Andersen tried to drink it, a glass bowl broke, another glass jar broke, nail polish spilled on the new wood table, which lead to more meltdowns from the 4-year-old, throw-up from the baby, screaming and chasing around the kitchen island that lead to children slipping on the water that was leaking out of the freezer door, another dislocated elbow from the toddler, a blow-out diaper from the baby.
All living on about 5 hours of sleep for the past new nights. Which means my patience is limited, to say the least.
And I thought college was busy.
Why do we women put ourselves through that craziness?
I found myself thinking of yesterday early this morning at 4 AM while tending to the new baby. Now it seems totally humorous! What a crazy day, and I'm glad these types of days are not all that often.
For me, the only reason that keeps me going as a mother is LOVE. Love for my children, love for my Heavenly Father who has trusted me with his children, love for my husband who has helped bring these children, and feelings of love from my Heavenly Father which provides me confidence in my abilities-as limited as they are. He will somehow make up the difference.
Here's a great quote from President Hinckley, a past prophet of my church (see http://www.mormon.org/). "You have nothing in this world more precious than your children. When you grow old, when your hair turns white and your body grows weary, when you are prone to sit in a rocker and meditate on the things of your life, nothing will be so important as the question of how your children have turned out. It will not be the money you have made. It will not be the cars you have owned. It will not be the large house in which you live. The searing question that will cross your mind again and again will be, How well have my children done?"
So I keep going, always waking up each day with a renewed desire to do my best at this mothering thing, to love these children the way I know I should, and to lead them in truth. Hopefully some day, as I sit in my rocking chair with gray hair, I'll look back with fondness on these busy mothering years.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Ice Cream, Ice Cream--We all Scream for. . .
Oh wait--I can't have any!
After a few weeks of dealing with a very fussy and uncomfortable baby, we found out that baby Kate has a milk allergy.
Which means--no dairy products for the mama cow. No ice cream, butter, cheese, yoguart, milk, sour cream, cream cheese, and anything else that might taste good. (That might not sound too tough, but think of all the foods that have these ingredients: pizza, pasta with white sauce or cheese, muffins, cookies, a lot of breads, pancakes. . . just to name a few).
But within a few days of changing my diet, I noticed a more content and comfortable baby. So I guess my sacrifice is paying off. Although last weekend at a family party, passing up the homemade ice cream was REALLY TOUGH! Talk about will power. I guess, maybe this excess baby weight will fall off sooner than later. . .
My neighbor is an awesome photographer and took a few newborn pics of Kate. Click on the link to the right to view her first photo shoot. You'll need to enter our email address. (If you don't know it, mention it in a comment and I'll send it to you).
After a few weeks of dealing with a very fussy and uncomfortable baby, we found out that baby Kate has a milk allergy.
Which means--no dairy products for the mama cow. No ice cream, butter, cheese, yoguart, milk, sour cream, cream cheese, and anything else that might taste good. (That might not sound too tough, but think of all the foods that have these ingredients: pizza, pasta with white sauce or cheese, muffins, cookies, a lot of breads, pancakes. . . just to name a few).
But within a few days of changing my diet, I noticed a more content and comfortable baby. So I guess my sacrifice is paying off. Although last weekend at a family party, passing up the homemade ice cream was REALLY TOUGH! Talk about will power. I guess, maybe this excess baby weight will fall off sooner than later. . .
My neighbor is an awesome photographer and took a few newborn pics of Kate. Click on the link to the right to view her first photo shoot. You'll need to enter our email address. (If you don't know it, mention it in a comment and I'll send it to you).
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