Have You Ever Purposely Locked Yourself In the Bathroom?

Today I locked myself in the bathroom for a few minutes. In essence I sent myself to “time out” to avoid turning into a crazed screaming lunatic. As I sat in the bathroom by myself, I wondered how it was possible that someone so small and cute could drive a grown woman to what she thought was the edge of her sanity. Then I began to laugh as I thought how each of my kids had pushed me to this edge and all for different reasons. At one time I thought I was pretty patient, but now I’m realizing I probably only thought I was patient because my patience hadn’t really been put to the test.

Looking back, Samuel was my easiest with this phase. (Even though I now know the terrible twos in our house start WAY before two!) He was just breaking me in for what was to come. My biggest issue was that he could talk and express himself very well at such an early age that I found myself having arguments with a two year old who was sure he was smarter than his mommy. Then along came Bella who was so delightful, but a whirlwind of disaster. She could literally tear a room apart in seconds. But it wasn’t the messes that almost broke me, it was her changing her own dirty diapers that almost did it. The little green carpet cleaner became my best friend! Then the answer came in the form of zip-up pajamas turned inside out. Such an easy solution. Along came Isaac who was such a happy little guy, until it came time to get in the car. Then a monster emerged every day. And so to save my sanity we traded in a perfectly great SUV we’d only owned for 18 months for the mini-van. Once again a mental crisis was avoided.

But now it’s Jenna’s turn and I’m not sure how much money we’re going to need to avoid this crisis. I tearfully told Chuck today I needed a maid, a cook or a nanny because this little girl demands every second of my time or she’s screaming at the top of her lungs. When I laid out the issues, Chuck told me I needed to slow down. This made me laugh, “slow down,” I’m moving at a SLUGS pace these days. And that he said is my problem. I want to run and it’s just not possible right now. True, Very True!

This afternoon as that spit fire little girl of mine woke up in a full scream I looked at the clock and thought how can I make it 4 more hours until daddy gets home. Then I picked her up and she laid her little head on my shoulder while I rocked her and I realized we had something to learn from each other.

And tonight I know what that lesson is. I thought I had already learned this lesson years ago as we struggled to have our first baby. The lesson of surrendering my will – what I want, when I want it. Obviously I didn’t learn all I needed to because I know that’s what is required of me again.

So my new quest is for balance. And I found a perfect place to start quite by accident tonight. I was on the values parenting website trying to get both Bella and Isaac’s Joy School schedules put together when I saw a tab marked Lifebalance. I clicked on it and I couldn’t believe what I read.

“Time-management experts and positive-thinking gurus tell us we can do it all, have it all, be it all, but we're tired and stressed, and we sense that what is getting short-changed is the most important things of all --our families, our relationships, and our inner peace.

Lifebalance is a series of articles and an interactive course designed to help us restore our highest priorities to true prominence in our lives. Lifebalance may not help you get more things done, but it will help you choose more wisely where to spend your time and your mental effort and will give you the power of saying no to things that don't matter and the peace of giving yourself more fully to the things that do.”

And now I’m off on a new journey. I’m doing this program – at a SLUGS pace of course!

Exploding Lunch Sack!

Samuel loves going to school each day, but the rest of us have been experiencing the drag of our summer partying coming to a halt. The other night at bedtime Isaac said, “Mom, we just did nothing today!” and Bella has been begging to do experiments. So everyone was excited when our “Fun Friday” rolled around this week.

 

Don’t let their faces fool you, they really were excited. But after mom almost catches the kitchen on fire they tend to be a little more reserved when I tell them we’re going to do an experiment called the “Exploding Lunch Sack”. I love this picture because Bella is wearing some crazy dress-up and Isaac has no shorts on, I just can’t keep that kid dressed these days. I also love the picture because I kept telling them to come closer. They started out peeking out of the playhouse door. They weren’t sure how close they dared get!

No change in expression! Love it!

Here’s to our school year Fun Friday traditions beginning again!

Tick Tock Tick Tock ….

(No this is not a staged picture – Samuel really was watching the minutes tick away on his new clock)

I think I’ve passed on my punctuality phobia on to Samuel. I absolutely can’t stand to be late – if I’m late somewhere it’s usually because I’ve decided I’m going to be late or something very crazy has happened. I set our microwave timer whenever I know I’ve got to be somewhere giving myself plenty of time to find shoes, get kids in the van, etc. Then I don’t worry about watching the clock or forgetting I need to be somewhere. When the timer beeps the kids know to drop what they’re doing, get their shoes and get in the van. It works great! The only problem – I also use the timer for time outs and cooking. So now they hear the beep when the food is done and think it’s time to go somewhere.

Samuel has wanted his own clock  in his room for awhile but I’ve resisted because I also can’t stand to have a clock in my bedroom. When I was pregnant and would literally lay awake for hours every single night for months on end the clock in the bedroom became the enemy. Once I removed the clock, I felt so much more peaceful. Even if I couldn’t sleep at least I didn’t know just how much sleep I was missing! But after Samuel woke me up two separate nights last week at 3:30 a.m. wondering if it was time to get up and practice the piano I decided maybe having his own clock wasn’t such a bad idea.

The first night he was so excited about having his own clock he just wanted to watch the numbers change. About an hour after bedtime he came downstairs and said he just couldn’t fall asleep. I told him that he could no longer take his nap in Sacrament Meeting (yes, he has trained himself to fall asleep every week in Sacrament Meeting) if he wasn’t going to be able to go to sleep at night. Then he said, “It’s not that mom. It’s the clock! I just can’t stop watching it!” I knew it! So now we cover the clock up with the blanket each night so I’m not sure why we really have it, but he hasn’t tried to wake me up at 3:30 in the morning lately!

Bella Girl

This little girl makes me smile every day! She is seriously the sweetest thing ever! The kids all go through their stages where sometimes you just pray you make it through (and you buy a mini-van just to try and keep your sanity) and sometimes you just can’t believe how wonderful they are. Bella is so kind and helpful. The other day I went out to the van and she had already strapped Jenna in her car seat! She’s only 4 so it didn’t even cross my mind to ask her to help get Jenna in her seat, but she just did it and now every day she gets Jenna in her seat. Wonderful!  

The other day when I went to pick up the kids from tumbling, Bella’s teacher asked if I could stay a few minutes after class. She wanted to show me how Bella could do a one-handed cartwheel but then she voiced her main concern that Bella was going to kill herself so I needed to remind her to stick out her hips before she did a back bend by herself. This girl has no fear, so she pretty much taught herself to do a back bend and yes, occasionally she had fallen on her head and scared me to death, but she just jumps right up and goes at it again. But after reminding her to stick her hips out a few times she’s a pro and won’t kill herself until she decides to try some new trick on her own.

 

And my little mermaid can now swim across the pool on her back. I’m not sure what she’s going to do when we have to drain the pool in a few weeks.

Bella also started piano this week.

Love this sweet heart!

Yellow Belt

Samuel had Karate promotions this week. The little ninjas that were promoting to the Junior Class had to preform Star Block as a group and Mr. Wilson asked Samuel to lead them. As you can see from the picture he is pretty intense.

Samuel is now a solid Yellow Belt and pretty serious about this rank advancement.

Made Me Smile

Don’t you love the sleeping Superman! This is the scene every day when we pick Samuel up from school (well, minus the costume). Isaac somehow manages to fall asleep on our short drive to the school every day.

Saturday morning Chuck took the kids on all sorts of adventures so I could finish my mom’s big birthday present (don’t worry I’m not ruining the surprise she asked for this particular present – you can do that when you’re turning 60!)

When he returned he told me what a great time he’d had with the kids and how good they all were. I could hardly believe that they had ALL been good because really that NEVER happens to me. Then when I was downloading pictures I saw this – and there were a lot more pictures of this same face just with her body in different positions. I KNEW they couldn’t have all been good for him!

1st Grade

I needed some school pictures of Samuel for my August Back to School display on my front entry table. So several weeks ago I took these fun pictures of my guy.

I love the Magic Tree House chapter books. Samuel’s been reading them all summer and it’s no surprise that his favorite is Night of the Ninjas.

I Survived!

Well, I survived Samuel’s first week of 1st Grade!

Notice how I didn’t say he survived. I was thinking maybe he would be tired the first couple of days after spending all day at school especially since he gets up pretty early (I help him practice the piano each morning from 6:30 a.m. to 7:00 – crazy mom I know!) But he was full of energy each day, so excited to tell us all about school and excited to hear what we’d been up to all day. So yes, he loves school again this year.

 

Chuck actually took Samuel to school his first day. I really wanted to, but could just see in my mind the chaos that would take place with me hauling all the kids and 3 big bags of supplies into school. It is really wonderful that Chuck can drop Samuel off at school on his way to work. It makes my life easier for sure!

I did make Chuck take the camera to snap a few shots. I called Chuck after I knew he had dropped Samuel off and wanted all the details. I was a little disappointed when all the information he could come up with was that he had dropped the supplies off to the right teachers (I told him several times to make sure he looked at the sticky notes, don’t get the two Clark teachers mixed up etc. – driving him crazy I know!) and then he’d taken Samuel to his first class of the day. That’s it! Did Samuel seem excited, what did he think of the teachers etc. Chuck always reminds me this is my first child and it so shows!

 

While Samuel was away at school, the kids and I were working hard on what is now our traditional 1st day of school snack. I made a cute pencil brownie last year and Samuel kept reminding for days that he hoped he got another pencil brownie – the kid remembers everything.

Let’s just say that this year’s brownie pencil has now taken the place of Isaac’s 2 year old Dinosaur birthday cake as my ugliest creation! Note to myself: mint powder sugar frosting may taste super yummy, but it is not pretty for decorating! Just look at that frosting oozing down the sides.

   

  No one cared that it looked bad because he sure tasted wonderful! (As always, love your brownie recipe Audrey)

I make Samuel’s lunch for him each day and the first day I made a little note like this, taped a piece of candy to it and then stuck it in his brown paper bag. The first thing he said to me when he got in the van after school was I got your note mom and it said, “Love You! Have a great day at school!” I was only going to do this the first day, but that night as I was getting part of his lunch ready he said, “Oh, I can’t wait to see what note you write me tomorrow!” Each day he has come home and told me he got my note and then tells me what it said. So I guess I will be writing lots of lunch time notes this year! Chuck laughs and says there’s no way I’ll be doing this by the time Jenna rolls around to 1st grade – he’s probably right!

Other Weekly Happenings

Bella got her first pair of ballet shoes and took her first dance class this week!

As I sat and watched her during class, I had the biggest smile on my face the entire time. It was just too cute to see her leap, twirl and spin around on her tiptoes with such gusto. It also reminded me of my ballet dancing days and I felt like jumping up and joining her, except for the fact that I’d probably tear a muscle if I tried to leap or twirl these days.

 

When Chuck got home from work, Bella turned on the music and wanted to show him all the new dance moves she’d learned in class. Isaac was cracking us up because he kept saying, “Boys dance with girls” and was insisting that Bella or Jenna dance with him. Jenna finally gave in and twirled around the front room with him. Bella was happy as could be to have Chuck as her dance partner. Samuel wanted nothing to do with this dance fest and I was just the happy photographer/video mom.

After ballet class, Bella takes a gymnastics class from the same teacher. The class was getting ready to start and on a whim I asked Isaac if he wanted to try the class. He flashed the biggest smile and excitedly nodded yes. I asked the teacher if he join them and she happily agreed. I then left with Jenna thinking he would do better if I wasn’t watching. I returned after class and the teacher said he got a little pouty lip when I walked out, but he quickly recovered and did really well paying attention and participating. He was so excited when I picked him up to tell me all about his class. This little guy spends lots of time each week watching karate, gymnastics, music and now dance class. I think he was overjoyed to finally be able to participate in something himself!

Chuck’s sister Julie and cousins Maddie and Lacey stayed with us a few days this week. Jenna, who is pretty hard to win over, loved Maddie. It was so fun to stay up late visiting and my kids loved having their cousins play with them. Maddie and Lacey both have such beautiful red hair, I hope baby Jenna keeps her red hair!

As soon as Julie and family left, Trina and her kids arrived to spend a few days. The kids spent HOURS in the pool. This little redneck pool has proved to be a big hit in our house. Bella has turned into a little mermaid (she doesn’t like when I call her a fish).

A Heavy Heart

Bags of folders, notebooks, pencils, glue sticks and disinfectant wipes (do you ever wonder how growing up we managed to survive without disinfectant wipes and hand sanitizer – it’s amazing the germs didn’t just kill us!). All these supplies can only mean one thing – summer vacation is officially over and it’s time for another school year.

So it is that I have had an extremely heavy heart all week. Samuel and I went to the school open house on Thursday to meet all of his new teachers and I left the building with a big lump in my throat. That lump later turned into tears as I thought about my little guy being gone for 7 hours each day. Sending Samuel to Kindergarten was hard, but at least I knew it was only for a few hours. Now he will be gone all day and I can hardly stand the thought without tears forming! I’ve decided I’ll probably just be a blubbering mess each year as school starts and I need to make sure I have at least a gallon of my favorite ice cream on hand to drown my sorrows!

One thing I’m really going to miss is all of us spending lunchtime together. At one point of my life this was the worst part of the day, but the past few years it’s been wonderful. The kids and I have all sat down together and I read to them from the Friend Magazine as they eat. I have really been distraught about losing this time with Samuel and then all too quickly each of the kids will follow. As I lay in bed the other night, not able to sleep, I had a thought pop into my mind and it has eased my worries. I realized that I could replace our lunchtime spiritual nourishment with an after school snack and story from the Friend. Maybe I will survive this new phase!

I’m gonna miss this guy hanging around the house all day!

Last Monday I asked Samuel what he wanted to do this last week before school started. He gave me his list and somehow we managed to squeeze it all in. We’ve had such a fun summer I’m going to miss those carefree action packed days!

As we bounced around from activity to activity all summer long I had the words of the song “Live Like You Were Dying” by Tim McGraw streaming through my mind. We didn’t go sky diving, rocky mountain climbing or 2.7 seconds on a bull named Fu man chu (words from the song and just in case you’re wondering I have actually seen Chuck go about 2.7 seconds on a little bull – it was very entertaining and a story for another day) but we sure did make the most of our summer!

A little snippet of this weeks activities.

We went to our favorite, Marv’s for lunch, a shake and little ninjas.

We had a picnic and swam with friends in our pool.

We went to the library and found a book on drawing fantasy creatures. Samuel’s favorite was the alien and if you look closely you can see my rendition of a fairy. Who knew I could draw anything but stick figures – certainly not me!

We made and flew all sorts of paper airplanes with information from another book we found at the library.

 

We spent time with friends at the river.

We did a little nature walk.

And fed the very aggressive ducks!

We played at the park

And had another picnic

We ate popcorn and watched the cartoon version of the Hobbit. Now Isaac is obsessed with drawing giant spiders!

Samuel and Bella wore out the slide at Sand Hollow.

We went to the Washington County Fair Parade on Saturday morning. We’ve never been to this parade before and I only knew about it because Samuel’s school had an entry and I received an email from the school.

There weren’t very many people along the parade route so the kids got LOTS of candy.

And to top the week off we took a long drive with Aunt Trina and Wes for a picture taking extravaganza. Their car broke down and we squished way too many people in the van. Our husbands sure are good sports! The pictures were adorable, but will have to wait for weeks to be edited I’m sure!

Good Bye Carefree Days We Will Miss You!!!

Oh What Do You Do In the Summertime

So what do we do in the summertime - a quick summary of our last months adventure. We managed to cross everything off our activity list that the kids wanted to do this summer. Okay, all except one, I just couldn’t bring myself to stay in pajamas and watch movies all day. Honestly, that much inactivity would have caused mush brain for sure!

Mommy proved she was the master fisherman in our little household.

We visited one of our favorite summertime spots – Pine Valley.

We hiked and built stronger bonds along the way.

The summer wasn’t all fun and games – we went to the library, studied, read and practiced the piano. I loved this Magic Tree House book on the Revolution. We will be reading it each July for sure.

 

We went swimming.

Tried new adventures.

Spent time with family.

Enjoyed a great year with our garden – Chuck canned 12 jars of salsa with all of our tomatoes! We’ll be pro desert gardeners one of these years for sure!

 

We caught frogs.

We went to the 4th of July Parade EARLY in the morning.

Yep, we wore out the swimsuits this year – the kids even wore them to the parade.

It was our first year doing fireworks in the dark – we’ve always done them when it was still light because the kids went to bed early.

We spent lots of time at the river.

And bought our first boogie board.

Mommy was bound and determined to get Isaac to float down the river.

Jenna ate way too much dirt and drank way too much nasty water, but she survived.

The kids loved the waterfall.

We went to the 24th parade.

Samuel perfected the art of drawing attention and begging for candy.

We ate way too many parade treats!

More fireworks and the first year that no one cried when the explosions began!

We worked on our sparkler dance Aunt Trina taught us years ago.

We went 4-wheeling.

Thanks to Aunt Julie, Chuck and I went on adventure all by ourselves!

We spent time at Chuck’s families cabin in Midway.

More hiking to beautiful destinations

I had to sneak in a few picture opportunities!

We tackled rock climbing and other fun activities at Park City Mountain Resort.

We went to the Gateway Children’s Museum and spent hours playing.

We played at the park.

Ate way too much pizza.

But not too much ice cream – at least in my book!

We scrounged food off from everyone’s plate at BBQ’s.

The kids played with friends.

And we spent time with friends.

It was a busy fun filled month!