The Backseat Strikes Again

On our way home from swimming lessons this morning, I overheard this interesting conversation, taking place in the back seat. My ears perked up, when I heard Princess#1, say to Princess #2, that "Daddy isn't your real Daddy."

Princess #2 agrees and says," That's right, God is our Father."

I interject, "Daddy is your real Dad." . . .

Then Princess #1 quickly says, "Yah, but God is our different father."

Princess #2 says, "He's our sky father."

I say, "Our Heavenly Father."

Princess #1 (in very patronizing tone, if she knew how to use the word "duh", she would have!), "Mama, heaven means sky."

Sometimes it's just better to let them have their own terminology!

Devotion Confusion

I bought a little preschoolers devotion book from the MOPS shop before Christmas and have been reading it at breakfast to the princesses. They love it, even the oldest, who is "probably too old" (her quote) for such things!

Well there was a little confusion this morning, on my part. Princess #2 kept yelling about a "commotion", so I come trucking in the dining room and find out out that the problem is that I forgot to read the "devotion" book. Princess #3 took up the chant yelling "Zoe, Pahker, Kate-LIN" (the characters in said book). I'm glad that I have them to remind me! And I'm glad that they are interested in learning more about God.

So tomorrow I won't have to panic when I hear there's a "commotion" . . .

Potty Training Woes . . . A Soon to Be Miniseries!

Brace yourselves for a flurry of blogging on the same subject! Potty training has begun in semi-earnest at the castle. The tiniest princess is being prepped and prodded to accomplish this feat! She is loving the sticker rewards and the "special" candy as it is dubbed in our home. It's just mommy that needs to be reminded to take her. We had a great day Sunday, she stayed dry for most of the day (except nap), so I was set for Monday! We didn't have the distraction of the baby to watch, so I was ready. But somehow the little one didn't get the memo. She kicked, screamed, generally made taking her to the potty so horrible that I let her win.

Yesterday was a good day. I managed to remember to take her to the bathroom(okay I set the timer, but I had to remember what the timer was for!), and she was agreeable. But today I keep forgetting to take her--too much with school and babysitting, life in general. I hate to say it, but we may have to do "commando" training (just for my sake!). Maybe a few puddles on the floor will remind me to take her! Of course this time of year isn't so great for that style of potty-training, but after talking to a gal at Bunco, who is training her daughter this way, it sounds like I just need to purchase some leg warmers!

So That's Why

While doing schoolwork this morning, the eldest princess wonders aloud, "Why is Sunday called Sunday?" Then answers her own question, "Because Jesus shines!"

I couldn't have answered it better myself.

Decompress Time

Well after a fun-filled two weeks off, reality has once again taken over! Back to school! Back to babysitting! Back to non-holiday eating habits! And really, it hasn't been as bad as I was anticipating.

I had A start up with school yesterday, just to kind of ease into it again since M was home to back me up with the little ones. And I started doing what we're calling "special" seatwork. This is seatwork that she does on her own, she gets to read it off the whiteboard and complete it by lunch time. She is over the moon about this plan for some reason. I don't think that she has realized that it really is extra work-nothing much special about it. But that will just be our little secret!!

And on another positive homeschooling note, G recognized some letters today and the sounds that went with! This is huge. She normally makes stuff up or acts like she didn't hear me, so I was really excited.

Little Miss R is enjoying her nail "polash" that I put on when she finished up her oatmeal this morning. She keeps stopping mid-sentence and admiring her nails.

So we're surviving post-Christmas fall-out for which I am grateful.

One Moment

If you live near the Princess' house, you might want to try and see the "Living Nativity" put on by Cathedral of Joy. We don't go every year, and you do have to sit through some weird little Christmas plays before getting out to see the nativity, but it is worth it.

We took the princesses out Sunday night to see it, and they were in awe of seeing Mary riding on a real donkey with Joseph along side her, watching the shepherds tending real sheep and donkeys, watching the wisemen come with their camels and gifts, gasping as Herod's soldiers came looking for the baby King. Even the tiniest princess was silent for a moment as we watched how it may have been. I think what moved me the most was thinking on what one gal shared at MOPS last week combined with seeing visually what Jesus' birth night may have been like. She shared how she had been thinking about Mary, and how Mary was just a teenager, and that she may have been mocked and made to feel ashamed because she became pregnant before she was married. Anyway, seeing "Mary" riding that donkey and thinking about how my back aches at the end of the day during pregnancy/labor without cross-country donkey rides, made me ache for her and what she must have felt like that night physically, not to mention emotionally.

For me it was very moving, a welcome reminder in this last frenzied week to contemplate the very real sacrifices that a young girl and her young husband made so that our Lord could be born as it was foretold in Isaiah.

Like I said, if you can, you might try and go, if nothing else for those last 15 minutes out in the cold remembering what Christmas is all about. . .

Pay Back

Every second Tuesday I get to look forward to not only MOPS, but Bunco that evening. So Tuesday came and went, had a great MOPS, very inspiring, had a great Bunco, lots of laughs and great fellowship, and then woke up Wednesday morning to my real life. . .

Why or maybe How is a better way to start this question. How do kids know when their moms have had a wonderful time or are totally relaxed before mom has even risen from slumber? Mine do anyway, and then like to take full advantage by either ruining my mood by being difficult and testing every boundary or by just plain being crabby. Hmmm. (Might be worth some tax dollars Uncle Sam.) Anyway, you can read where this is going, we had a rough day Wednesday. Even the unemotional, uncomplaining baby I watch was crabby. So when the baby's father came to get her just as I had taken off my referee shirt AGAIN and holding his cranky baby, and asked how the day had been, I was honest. (Not that I am not normally honest, I was just blunt, the day had been a day from "you know where".)

Well I must say that my honesty paid off somewhat. Long story short, but due to a surgery the baby's mom is unable to care for baby which is why I have her even though the mom is at home. Anyway, their housekeeper will now be "helping" me out by taking the baby Monday and Friday. Maybe I should press my luck and see if she wants three more to really "help" me out!

Christmas Fun

We got our tree on Friday afternoon and got it up that evening. It is our biggest ever . . . and smells so wonderful! The whole house just smells like Christmas, it's been such a treat. The girls had fun putting up their ornaments and "reminiscing" about when they got each one. R has been enjoying hanging and rehanging which ever ornament or candy cane is handiest. I have gotten a kick out of how sneaky she can be! Her new phrase is "Merry Cismas TO YOU". She yells the "to you"-very funny.


A and G are getting practice time in for their Christmas program which is coming up in a couple weeks. Some of them are sung correctly others not. And it has been hard to correct when they are being sung so earnestly.

LET IT SNOW!!

It snowed today. No more than an inch or two, but it was the wonderful wet, easily packed variety. Perfect for snowman building!! The girls and I had a great time making three snowmen. A and G have been in and out all day. And Murray is a real snow-loving dog. He has been having fun shoveling it with his nose and rolling around it.

M has just about got all the trim up in the living room and dining room! Yay! We're just under the one year mark. Now if we can just get time to paint the stairwell, we'll be done with that project officially.

Got a couple of the Christmas goodies done today. However one entire batch of candy cane cookies took a dive off the counter (with a little help) and was a total loss. I am over it now, but for about an hour I was ready to call off Christmas--at least the goodie making part of it. Oh well. Guess we'll try a different kind tomorrow.

One Day Overdue

M and I have been having conversations over the past, well, really month about how hectic and crazy things are and what we can/should do about it. So we decided that we should try to list out all the weekly chores and daily activities and see if we can figure out where the time is escaping to. Well, after he got all the stuff that we HAVE to do daily (like get dressed, fix meals, homeschool, etc.) he showed me that if we really manage our time well I would have an hour free in the morning and then possibly two hours before it was time to start dinner! Wow--three whole unused hours in the day (please feel free to read in your own sarcastic tone. . .)

Actually hearing that put things in perspective. No wonder I feel like my days melt into a heap of "got nothing done again". Because in reality how many days actually go according to plan. That spare hour in the morning gets sucks into cajoling the oldest to do school or changing diapers or getting snacks or (gasp!) checking email.

So we listed all the chores that we (read Princess Diaries) would like to get done weekly and set it up in Outlook. Yesterday I managed to knock two things off the list and make some Yule Kakka and was feeling kind of heady. Today when I check the email a list of chores pops up each with the caption of "one day overdue"! I need to change that setting right quick. I wonder what happens if I don't get to any of them this week. Hopefully it recycles weekly--so that by the time I finally clean my bathroom it won't say 90 days overdue!

R's Christmas List

Well our littlest sweetie, who has no idea what Christmas is or why her older sisters are so excited about it, has a list of her own! I asked her (after asking her older sister) what she wanted for Christmas and she answered without hesitation, "NEW SHOES"! Not only new shoes, but pretty new shoes! Very cute. So we will be finding a pair of pretty new shoes for our youngest . . .

Today R succombed to the stomach bug that has been plaguing our family for the past couple of weeks. I was hoping that she was going to avoid it, since G had recovered by Wednesday, but no such luck. Looks like I'll be missing church . . . again!

And to go back to Christmas again, after a shopping trip Friday, we just have one gift left to purchase for M's family. What a relief to be done with half of the shopping. My goal was to have the gifts done for his side and ready to ship by Thanksgiving and it is looking promising.

I am trying to pare down my Christmas goodie list to something a bit more realistic. But I must say I like my old stand-bys too much to let very many go in order to try some new recipes out. Hopefully I can include the older girls in the goodie making more this year and that it will keep their interest so we can get more done!

So It Begins

"Sues at?"(who's that?) "Why mommy?" are two new phrases that Miss R has perfected over the past week. You know the phrases that are so cute to start out with that you answer them carefully, making eye contact, really looking at what the kid is pointing at. . . then after the second day you glance and then just pick a name that will satisfy her curiosity. However this third one of mine is one sharp cookie I must brag. I glanced quickly at what she was showing me, saw it was a picture with Disney princesses on it, so I just randomly picked one to answer "sues at Mommy?" while wrist deep in raw chicken. And she starts yelling "no Mommy" "Riel, not no white" (Ariel not Snow White). I didn't know she knew the Disney princesses by sight! I knew she recognized "Cinderawla", but not the others. I guess the Disney indoctrination starts earlier with each subsequent daughter! So it begins . . .

Snaggletooth No More

A's Christmas list has a new #1: her two front teeth! The first tooth hung in there a LONG time, until finally she let me give it a gentle tug and out it came. (Her poor gums are still in recovery from that one!) And then after eating an apple just a few days later, her second front tooth went from kinda-sorta loose to snaggle tooth! It was hanging in there at the funniest angle, but she wouldn't let us take it out. We were calling her "snaggletooth", "snag", and any other deviations of it that we could come up with. She finally decided on Saturday night that I could help it out--whew.

She looks so cute with them missing. A bit vampire-ish at times, but still cute! Here are some pictures of her and Halloween, if you run your mouse over them you will see captions:

Get Your Own! | View Slideshow

Can't We All Just Get Along?

As some of you know, I babysit my neighbor's daughter pretty much full time. And most days here lately, it has just been overwhelming. Not that this baby is such a pain, it's just one more drain on me and my time and my time with my kids. Trying to balance homeschooling, other activities, three kids, not to mention attempting to keep a clean (okay, the appearance of clean) house has been frustrating.

However in the past week I have noticed that my older two are picking up on my negative vibes toward the whole babysitting-thing. It's taken me a few days to feel convicted about this, but I do now. We've had a few days off from having the baby and it has been so nice.

But today we had her back and I was determined to set the attitude off for the day in the right direction. When the kids responded with a chorus of "oh not J" when I told them she would be over right away, I reminded them that baby doesn't get the chance to learn much about Jesus at her house and that this was a chance we had to share Jesus' love with her. Immediately after my little sermon-ette, I got tested. The phone rings it's the baby's mom, apparently she over-slept and is now running late. I felt my blood beginning to boil, all of my kids slept in today, but because I knew that she'd be over right away, I forced my tired body out of bed and got going much earlier than I wanted to! After a stern self-talk and a quick sarcastic "must be nice" to myself I moved on!

So now as I type, I can hear a chorus of "love your neighbor" (from Veggie tales) being sung to our little guest. God is good. He can even work through a sleep-deprived, frustrated mama!

Best Friends Are We . . .

. . . my sisters and me!
Here are some sweet sister photos.
Enjoy!

Get Your Own! | View Slideshow

A Day of Firsts

Today has been a day of firsts. A and G went to ECHO (a homeschool co-op) today for the first time. Both of them loved their classes! G had a great time in the preschool class and A had fun in Music, Science, Sign Language and PE. I am excited for them and for this opportunity.

M and I took R to Lowe's and met with a kitchen designer. She will come up with a design and cabinet suggestions for us hopefully as soon as next week. We'll see how that goes. I hope she can come up with a good design.

R and I were snuggling on the couch watching "people" as she puts it ("Little People" video), when she put her head on my lap and said "I wuff you". It took a second for me to recognize the words--she's never said them before. So of course I gave her a big hug and told her I loved her. What a sweet and special first!

Spelling Lessons

So, A is really into spelling and is really pretty good at it too. She is figuring out though, that English is full of pesky rules that contradict themselves. She is learning when to use "ck" or "ke" at the ends of words at school and then gets frustrated when she tries to apply the basic rules to other words! Thankfully she has a good sense of humor about it all and usually comments on why do we have to speak this language?

Today on our way home from Target, she asked me what a "chev-ro-LET" is. And of course kept repeating it until I notice that the truck that just passed me has "chevrolay" (phonetically speaking), spelled out on the tailgate. Ah-ha! Mommy has the answer. I tell her the correct pronunciation and she proceeds to question why cars have names, etc. So I tell her that our van aka "big blue Stu", is also aka "Pontiac Montana". After we get home and parked (AND DON'T YOU DARE TELL HER I TOLD YOU THIS--I WILL DENY ANY & ALL KNOWLEDGE OF IT!!), I overheard her ask "big blue Stu", if she could call him "Montana" sometimes! How cute is that?!

I have hope, maybe she's not 13 after-all!

Sew Fun

Well today has been great! We didn't plan anything, don't have to go anywhere, and we're taking advantage of it! The girls have been outside most of the day, M has been out in the shop and I've been sewing.

I don't think that I have sewed this much since G was about the age R is now. It stopped being fun, so I stopped doing it--mostly because of the extra help, and of course a new baby doesn't make finding extra time very easy, and of course once you do find it, you use it for sleeping.

Today however, I finished a dress in bright purple with lime polka-dots for G, a ruffled skirt with froggy fabric for G, and a dress for A out of a pretty plaid flannel (that I cut out a long time ago--maybe two years ago) and it still fits!! Behold the power of making something yourself, you can fudge the seam allowances and make it fit! Now that I'm heady with success, I think I will cut out some bloomers for R and two of her little friends. And with all hope they will be done in time for the girls to get some wear out of them!

Here is a picture of the finished knitting project, R's dress. I finshed it a week or more ago. It has a cute (well I think it's cute), gingham ribbon around the empire waist.Thankfully it's on the big side, 'cause this kid will be wearing it non-stop once it fits a tiny bit better! :)

One of those days

Well, it has been one of those days, I'd say weeks but it's only Tuesday and I better not tempt fate to make it into "one of those weeks".

The day started off normal enough, a little bickering from the older girls, a relatively peaceful breakfast until G realized that Janelle was coming over on Daddy's birthday (oh the horror). She continued to give plenty of vocal complaining, bad-mouthing, that she is so good at until Janelle arrived. I managed to get breakfast dishes in the dishwasher and check email before school-time all with peace. I gave up keeping the dogs separated because Murray would not leave the screen door alone (he is systematically shredding the screen), but would soon regret this decision.

Got A started with school, good. Got G started with "school", good. R happy with sweet streets, Janelle down for nap, good good. Phone rings, it's a friend from MOPS, while chatting with her, I glance out the window to see the dogs excavating the Aspen tree! Argh! Yell at them, they feign innocence. Check on the girls with school, they are fighting and A has done one part of one page of seatwork. ARGH! Then R decides she is no longer happy and must scream and cry. Hang up call, look out the window and there are the dogs digging up another part of the yard. Double Argh! I yelled at them, got R a banana, and then squared my shoulders and marched to the school room. A had done one page of 4 pages of seatwork, and very poorly at that. Triple ARGH!! Steam is beginning to shoot out of my ears uncontrollably, however for once I ignore it and get the baby up from her nap.

Went back to the school room to find A happily finishing her last page of school work. (The following to be read with dripping sarcasm please!) Wow! Only one hour to do four pages and the final three done in 10 minutes. It is a miracle!

We take a sanity break since it is now just about time for lunch. Look out the window (when will I stop doing that!) in time to see Murray make off with Jackson's radio collar. I race out, grab the collar, see it is beyond repair and almost give into the violent thoughts that are raging through my mind. I stopped only when I look up and see my princesses on the deck watching the scene unfold!

So I get lunch on the table for my girls. Janelle doesn't want to stop playing, so I decide to eat mine while it's warm. The girls are all happy, pleasant (not burping), we are enjoying a good conversation. I decide to try and coax Janelle to come and eat, just as I get to her she starts throwing up. Not just a bit of spit up, but an honest to goodness mess! Yuck!! It's bad enough to clean up when it's your own kid, but trust me, about ten times worse when it's not. Thankfully her mom was working from home and rushed over. Now I am praying that it was cold-related and not a stomach flu. . .

Now you know all about my morning, I can only hope that this afternoon will be better. Thankfully there is ice cream cake to look forward to for dessert and I didn't put all the carmel brownies out at small group last night, so I have a little stash to get me through til dessert time!

Anniversary

Well, not only does today mark the terrible anniversary of 9-11-01, but it also marks the anniversary of the day I first attended MOPS. This morning as I was getting ready to head to church to set-up for MOPS, I was hit with the realization that 9-11-01, was the first time I ever went to MOPS!

I remember debating if I should even go, would I even need to go, would there even be MOPS, after all these tragedies were happening right now! But I'm so glad that I followed God's prompting and went. That I swallowed my pride and came out of my shell a bit to meet some new people. I have been blessed by this ministry ever since! I met people that attended First Baptist, and I think those relationships encouraged my husband and I to end our church hunt and settle in there. Thru MOPS I have made dear friends, one especially stands out, as God gave her to me just when we needed eachother most, I think.

Anyway, feeling nostalgic and glad that I have a positive memory of 9-11-01, when there are so many other sad ones tied with this date.