Wordless Wednesday

changing and organizing

On Thursday night Jeremy informed me that the solution to all my problems (and the start of a whole slew of new ones) was to move Tyler into Alexis' room, and therefore put him in a big kid bed. A wave of insanity overcame me and I readily agreed to the plan. I let Tyler pick out some sheets (that of course have basketballs, soccer balls, baseballs, and footballs on them) and he was so excited he couldn't even nap (in his crib) on Friday. All day I prepared him for the change by reciting the rules over and over:
1. No talking
2. No playing
3. No getting out of bed

So when bedtime came he had those rules down. After putting them both in their beds, turning off the light and leaving the room, we could hear them reciting the rules to each other for the next 20 minutes. "No talking, no getting out of bed, no playing, no talking, no playing, no getting out of bed, no talking, no talking, no talking". Clearly memorizing the rules and actually executing the rules are two very different things. But they only talked for a little while before they fell asleep, and it's been the same every night since then. However, Tyler didn't nap on Saturday, which drove me all kinds of crazy. And he didn't have a chance yesterday because of 1:00 church, so we'll see how today goes. So far he's still awake, just laying there. But the crib is still set up and I'm not afraid to use it, because naps are not falling by the wayside around here--Tyler's nap is how I get through the day.


So after the decision to move him into Alexis' room (which is very purple, by the way) was made, all the toys got moved to his old room, which also houses a full bookshelf and about a million of my books that had no space on the bookshelf. We decided to buy a new bookshelf and Jeremy found a monstrosity of a shelving unit on craigslist for a good price. We went and picked it up, but first we stopped by a coinstar machine because we had A LOT of coins to turn in. In fact, we started filling up these coin jars when we got married, which equals 6 1/2 years worth of coins. It could have been a lot more except that for most of our marriage we just used our debit cards. Want to know how many coins?

104 quarters
159 dimes
83 nickels
and
2458 pennies

Plus we found a twenty dollar bill hidden among the pennies, so our bookshelf was definitely free.

Other events of the weekend:
-Alexis used the word "absolutely" about 100 times, and it's absolutely better and cuter than hearing "no" all the time.
-I introduced the kids to the great taste of dry cake mix (dry, as in the powder stuff straight from the box before you mix it with anything)
-Jeremy went through the contents of my freezer (I warned him it was a bad idea) and read the expiration dates, and then was disgusted. I told him they are more like suggestions, but he presented strong evidence against that.
-Last night Jeremy and I went to bed at 9:45 like a bunch of old people, but it felt so good and was much needed!

Now my house is a mess (how come organizing things always makes more of a mess first??) but all I want to do is sew. Also, if you have any good stories to share about the transition from crib to bed, I'd love to hear them. All I've heard is that kids drop their naps shortly after the move, and I don't need to hear more of that. Alexis kept hers for awhile after we moved her (she was almost 3 when we did) but she's always been a better sleeper than Tyler. So I need some encouragement before I eat the rest of this apple cobbler. I am totally turning into an emotional eater.

aspiring to greatness

Lately Alexis has developed an Attitude. Notice the capitol A. She's been rude, grumpy and just downright mean. If you heard her you might be a bit confused and maybe think you've entered an all girls high school or something, that's how much attitude she's packing in that tiny little body. I've tried things to adjust it, but so far I don't seem to have even made a dent in the problem, so I finally concluded that I'm doing something wrong. Duh, right? I mean, kids don't just act like that for no reason. So while pondering on what I'm doing wrong, I've realized that lately I've only been a GOOD mom, which is not what I want to be. I want to be a GREAT mom (well really, a SUPERB mom but I think that takes a lot more practice). I used to be a GREAT mom, but I've gotten lazy lately. Sure, I feed my kids. I keep them clean. I play occasional games with them and read stories to them. I encourage them to play nicely together, and I take them to places they would enjoy. But really, anyone could do that. I haven't been going above and beyond like a GREAT mom would and doing the things only their mom can do. I haven't been fully present in all our conversations (have you met Alexis?? She talks A LOT!) I haven't been sympathetic enough to their complaints and sorrows. I haven't taught them something new in awhile, and I most definitely haven't praised them enough. And I really haven't snuggled with them before bed enough.

So I've made a mental list of things that I need to do to try and get back to that GREAT mom status. And I start TODAY. But also, I need to not be so hard on myself, so here's what GREAT mom things I've done today.

1. I did our 20 min. of reading so Alexis can earn a prize from the library. And, the real reason, so she can learn to LOVE reading like I do.
2. Instead of getting frustrated with Tyler for not eating all his lunch, I sat down and helped him eat it.

Also, I did the dishes, but that's not so much in the "mom" category as it is in the "housewife" category. But still, for me, it's awesome.

What GREAT mom things have you done lately? And if you aren't a mom, what GREAT dad/spouse/sister/brother/son/daughter/friend thing have you done lately? If you're too humble to toot your own horn, leave it anonymously.

Wordless Wednesday

Things I learned on the first day of the new year

1. Berkeley Breathed is definitely my most favorite children's author.

2. My kids are so lucky to have cousins to play with.

3. Staying up until 1 A.M. makes me hate myself.

4. My husband has an awesome family (I already knew this though).

5. Every single LDS film I've ever seen is pretty cheesy, and that bugs me.

6. I'm terrible at Boggle, and even worse at Scrabble.

7. My brother in law is awesome at both Boggle and Scrabble and therefore not very fun for me to play with.

8. In addition to black, I also love burgundy/wine colored nail polish.

9. I like it when people compliment the quilts I'm making. Maybe I'm a little prideful that way??


Things Jeremy learned:

1. How to build a wall.

Wordless Wednesday--The "Year in Review" Edition

Why Christmas of course

I guess I'll quit dragging my feet and tell you about our Christmas already. I've been a bit of a Grinch this year and was really ready for the holiday to be over, but we're just barely getting back to a routine and cleaning up the mess associated with Christmas.

We did have a really great Christmas despite my attitude. Now that Jeremy's parents live in the same state as us we got to spend Christmas with both of our families, which made it even more special.

This Christmas will be known as the Christmas of cheap and used toys. My kids were extremely inexpensive to shop for this year. We got Ty a basketball hoop for $3 from the classifieds and Alexis this old school Barbie set that came with a million things (including little toddler barbies!) for $10 from the classifieds. And they love them both. And I don't feel the tiniest bit bad about giving them used toys for Christmas. I may do it again next year. Maybe.


And in case you hadn't heard, Alexis asked Santa for a spider-man dress-up (we're not allowed to call it a costume). Which she got. And then hugged ever so sweetly. Then exclaimed: "I knew Santa would hear me!"


She told one of her little friends that she got a spider-man dress-up, to which the girl looked at me with concern in her face and asked, "Does she mean spider-woman?" No, she means spider-man.

Tyler also got this cheap truck/trailer/four wheeler set and was so excited about it we couldn't even get him to look at the camera. If you thought he was cute before you should see him play with this thing. And if you don't think he's cute with or without the truck I'm surprised you're still reading my blog considering how much I talk about his cuteness.


I think this is the only picture taken of Jeremy. He's opening a hydraulic jack from his parents. Which I suppose is exciting if you like those sorts of things. And he does.


This picture below is a true Christmas miracle. That's Ty-guy and his cousin Dallin who used to not want to have a thing to do with Tyler. And you know what Tyler does to people who don't want him around? He follows them around annoying them. But recently things have changed between Dallin and Tyler, and they are now best buds. They laugh at each other and chase each other and even WRESTLE. You really have to know Dallin to see why this is a miracle, but I'm very happy about it because now Tyler can spend a lot less time in time-out and I can spend a lot less time yelling at him.


Now on to New Year's, which really I'd prefer to sleep through, and then life will be normal again. Luckily for me Jeremy has the rest of the week off, starting Thursday. I really like having him around, he's pretty good company!

2

Does anyone else love two-year-olds like I love two-year-olds? Sure they can throw a fit for hours, but it is so worth it for everything else you get. I am of course talking about a specific two-year-old here, but any two-year-old you know is probably pretty great.


Here's what I love about two-year-olds:
-The way they know how to turn on the charm and the cute when they are up way past their bedtime.
-Their dimpled elbows and knuckles because they are still half baby (this is what I refer to as their "babyness").
-Their little diapered bums and protruding tummies.
-The imagination that has just emerged, and the way they can now talk to themselves for hours.
-The way they have no idea what's going on half the time but they've learned how to fake it. See below picture of Tyler taking a picture of someone else, but the lens of the camera is actually pointed at his eye.


-The way they can make a word like "sweatshirt" sound like "swashwarsh".
-The way they make you feel so loved by the reactions they give when you enter or leave a room.
-Their wet kisses and tight hugs.
-Their determination, their excitement, and the way you can see every emotion they feel.


Two-year-olds are really great!

*Christmas post to come, I've just been reminded over and over again how much I really love this stage Tyler is in, so I thought I'd share!

(Mostly) Wordless Wednesday

Tyler needs your help picking which shoes go best with his diaper. He's coordinating for our Christmas Eve festivities tonight.

a LOT of Christmas craziness

'Twas three days before Christmas
When all through the house,
Every creature was stirring, most especially the mouse.
The stockings were hung by the stairwell with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would know how to get in our house through the back door.

I wished the children were nestled all snug in their beds,
Because visions of chocolate and a bath dance in my head.

Finally Alexis in her kerchief and Tyler in his cap (??)
Settled down for a long (I hope) winter's nap!

When up in my room there arose such a clatter
Thankfully no one moved from their beds to see what was the matter.
Away to the bath I flew like a flash,
Turned on the water, and jumped in with a splash.

For the last 5 hours (and days!) there's been nothing but snow,
It's been enough to make my mind go.

When what to my hungry mouth should appear?
But a glass of soda and a giant sized Mr. Goodbar,
With calories and peanuts and chocolate,
I knew in a moment it would hit the spot.

More rapid than eagles the sugar rush came.
And I whistled and shouted, and wrote a poem, so LAME!
Now, Sugar! Now Peanuts! Now cocoa butter and palm shea!
On, chocolate! On, Milk! On Sunflower and Vegetable Oil!


Sorry, my creativity (if you want to call it that) ends there. I've concluded that the whole anticipation of Christmas is what's driving my kids batty--which in turn drives me extra batty (as you've just witnessed). So really, I'm ready for Christmas to be here and be done already (is that bad?), and then maybe we can all go back to normal. Or as normal as we get around here.

I know it's snowing everywhere, but it's now been snowing for the last 5 1/2 hours and we got probably 3 -4 inches of new snow outside. That's in addition to the snow we already had. I don't really mind it, but I know the longer it goes the harder it will be for Jeremy to get home tonight. And also, I do get slightly crazier when stuck in this house all day.

Because of the snow day I decided to make bean bags with the kids and let them help me on the sewing machine. Good idea, right? Well, kids have a way of making the best laid plans unravel. The stipulation was that their rooms had to be clean before we could make the bean bags, which really is not too hard or unreasonable. But you would have thought I'd just asked them to take down the Great Wall of China stone by stone and rebuild it 10 feet over, stone by stone. The instructions I gave Alexis for cleaning her room were: Pick up the first thing you see, decide where it goes, and put it in it's place. Then pick up the next thing you see and decide where it goes, and put it there. But in her mind it must have sounded like: Figure out how to get to the airport. From there figure out how to get to China. Once in China find the Great Wall. Then find some tools and figure out how to tear apart the wall. But make sure you remember which stones go next to each other, keep them in order or you'll never be able to rebuild the wall. Move everything over ten feet. Use a measuring tape if you don't know how much is ten feet. Now rebuild the wall. She simply could not do it.

Sometimes a little insight into the mind of a four year old would really be helpful. Maybe what I asked was too overwhelming. I mean, she does have the attention span of, well, a 4 year old, and every toy she picks up she seems to have a million ideas race through her head of how to play with it and what to do with it--but not one of those ideas is to put it away. Funny how her creativity can cause me to love her so much, yet also drive me to pull my hair out. I'm thinking the old phrase about women applies to kids too.
Children: You can't live with 'em, you can't live without 'em.

Alright, enough craziness for now.