Round Two of Not Me! Monday

Thank you to MckMama for this wonderful form for free therapy. Check her out here.

Just another Monday in my house. I did have a trip to the Ped/FP today with Lil' D, who has jumped mountains in his growth. Because of nursing / suck issues he had a rough start, and this caused a rather significant amount of stress. I am SO HAPPY to announce that he is in the 31st percentile for weight, and 65th for height. That is compared to 3rd and 15th at his 2 month appt. ahh... (sigh of relief). Great leaps in 2 months. Go D!

Well, I don't think this week will be nearly as exciting as last week, one - because I don't have 2 weeks worth of stuff saved up, and two - I think for the most part it really wasn't that crazy of a week. Wait... maybe I'm just losing my memory. Anyway. Here goes.

1. I did not, upon hearing that I had been sick, have my mother ask me if I was pregnant. Because everyone in the entire universe knows that's what I want. Apparently diarrhea is a new symptom of pregnancy. I am not still puzzled as to why she would deem my very effective form of bc not good enough, when statistically it is actually more effective than a tubal. I think she's losing her noodles. And I did not just say that to the world, knowing full well she could actually read this. Love you, mom!
2. I did not yell out the word "diarrhea" way too loud during a church function last night as I was recounting the aforementioned story.
3. I did not do nothing for an entire day (at least one :D), until minutes before Hubba Hubba got home, when I quickly cleaned the living room so it looked like I had done something, when in fact, I had not, surely, sat on the computer ALL DAY LONG. Because as an appreciative housewife, I spend my days laboring away, just as he does, making sure our family is taken care of.
4. I did not go shopping twice this week (and that, ladies, IS miraculous as I really don't ever go shopping)(and with all kids in tow, because honestly, when am I ever without them?) and buy myself some things, so close to Christmas. And they were not semi-ridiculous things like a $63 knife and 2 $18 towels (not that I paid that much, mind you. I'm not that out of control.) No, instead I used the extra funds wisely and paid extra on medical bills and such. Because I am always responsible with money.
5. I did not fully enjoy my laissez-faire attitude regarding spending this pay period.
6. I did not wrap up a diaper so tightly that it squirted out poop from the side. I did not end up spreading it all over my pants and the new rug because I didn't notice. I then did not threaten my Hubba Hubba that he had better call his friend and demand our carpet cleaner to be returned by the end of the weekend, or else... Because I am always patient and gracious, and I love cleaning poop up with my bare hands, only to have the scent remain in the carpet anyway and linger in the living room for days. This would not be the second poop (#9) incident on our rug in 2 weeks.
7. I do not feel as though I am becoming obsessed with blogs and blogging, staying up WAY TOO LATE reading and creating, then to wake up in the middle of the night still thinking about blogs. This did not lead to me putting off prep of the Sunday school lesson until 11:30 pm Saturday night, which led to a great Sunday morning where I did not scream at and beat (well, not really) my children before church. We are always fully composed, pious, and holy, especially on Sundays.
8. I did not laugh hysterically (though silently) when B-boy repeated a certain choice phrase from Friends. Read more here.
9. I did not just google YouTube videos of Hannah Ma'tanna (as she says if) for KJ, who's 3, because I am not insane in the membrane, fully realizing that this will only get worse. I do not find it cute that she tries to sing like a rock star and put on shows for me while standing on top of the table. And I would never allow her to stand on top of the table, because that would be dangerous.

Ok. That's enough for now. Lil' D's awake, anyway, so I can not ignore that mommy duty. The older ones can entertain themselves. He cannot. Oh, but wait. My almost 5 yr old son did not just bring him all the way downstairs from his crib. Well, at least he was holding him properly, unlike KJ who scared the daylights out of her mother by standing at the top of the stairs holding her little sister by the head. But that was yrs ago.

Have a great week!

ARG! Updated

I am trying SO STINKIN' HARD to get some pics up, and am having MAJOR problemos getting my slideshow to load. I have lost sleep, overcooked chicken wings for a church function, yelled at my children way too much during all of this, and arrived late (by 1/2 and hr) twice.

We are working to correct this problem. Please try again later. Thank you for you patience.

UPDATE: Well I finally got one, though it's not perfect but it's a start. I'll keep working on it. This is a page under construction / in progress. Just like me, I guess. Thanks for stopping by.

MckStellar Ideas

There's this blog I have recently started reading. I'm a sucker for great photography, as I aspire to someday do that myself. She's a Christian mama, so those are some qualities we share, as well as having 4 kids. I read a bunch of old blogs of hers the other day. It's interesting to see how ppl arrived at the place they did. But I digress. Anyway, she has some really great ideas, blogging traditions, if you will, that she has started, like Not Me Monday. Where do I get my own MckStellar/n Ideas??? Gotta dig me up some cree-a-TIV-itAY!

So check out her Small Fryday contest at My Charming Kids. Cuz, man, I would love my own custom made header. She's got a pretty cool one!

Also, with kleenex box nearby, check out this other very special link. String of Pearls. I am ever so thankful to God that I never had to deal with that. A tragedy too great for words. But it also speaks to the fact that each life has it's purpose. Life is always a blessing, no matter how short.

Ciao!

Child Uncensored

There is a certain amount of time, while your children are little, that you can get away with A LOT in terms of your conversations, things on tv, even possible expletives (which of coarse I never say). As they get older, developing their own verbal skills, you need to be more careful of what you say and what they hear. This is usually learned when a line has been crossed and you hear something come out of your child's mouth that just plain shouldn't. The trick is to not react. Because then you draw attention to an unsavory behavior or catch phrase that you'd rather they not mimic in church or at preschool. And once they realize that what they just did made mom and dad laugh, or they got in big trouble, then they will be more likely to repeat it for such an effect.

We have done pretty well in keeping our children from such delicate language experiences, and have done really well in handling them when they have come. We are, however, experiencing new levels of awareness on the part of our almost 5 year old. Conversations, of late, about topics you don't want the whole of Walmart to know about (like guns, and guns, and hunting, and guns...) have been listened to by a certain child, and repeated... in Walmart. Or the gun store. And of coarse, children don't tend to talk quietly.

At least this one was at home. (And just to preface this, why in the dickens do they have this show on at the dinner hour?) My hubby and I were sitting in our living room this evening. The girls were playing, the baby was snoozing, B-boy was sitting next to daddy, the tv was on, but we were mostly spacing out. Friends was on. I love that show. Even when I've seen an episode 4 times, it's still usually good enough for a giggle or two. I have noticed, though, that they really do talk about a lot of adult topics. Well, my kids don't really pay attention to that. ha. ha. So we thought.

As the story goes, Rachel is mad that Ross is flirting with the gal at the baby furniture store. This attractive female comes to their apartment to "pick up" Ross. Rachel overhears and (not quietly) mutters (and sorry for this, close your ears, any tender readers) "horny bitch." Well, my darling oh-so-much-more-observant-than-we-realize son starts saying "mommy, you're a h.b." "Daddy, you're a h.b." "(sister)'s a h.b." But of coarse, little kids never get it right, which made it that much more hilarious to me, and he's actually saying hardy b. I happened to be folding laundry during this episode, and was incredibly thankful that I was able to hold up a t-shirt I was folding, to shield my face, because I could NOT stop laughing. Hubby did pretty well keeping his laughter disguised and to a minimum. I was not. I even had tears rolling down my face. Oh, wait, did I say I was laughing? OH, no, I meant crying in utter shame and disbelief that my son would actually have those words coming out of his mouth, because that is what any God-fearing responsible parent would do, right? Ok. Whatever.

I imagine we have heard the last of that phrase. We also, by the way, have seen the last of Friends, while our children are present.

"Not Me" Monday

We mothers of 4 seem to need extra outlets. One mother of 4 came up with a great blog idea called "Not Me" Monday. In this, you tell what you "didn't do" that week. It's about being brutally honest. I don't usually have a problem with that, it's very theraputic (both reading and writing). It's also nice to know the things that other moms would normally never admit they do, just so you know you're not alone in this crazy life of motherhood. For a good laugh, or a sense of relief, you can find more on her blog.

So... here goes. My very first, and surely not the last, Not Me Monday.

1. I did not spend all night last Monday reading “Not Me” blogs until it was too late to write my own.
2. I did not check the washer to make sure there was a load in there that might rot after reading about so many other moms who did this. Because this has NEVER happened to me before. And of coarse, there was most certainly not a load in there.
3. I did not then spend all night awake in bed thinking about what I could write for my Not Me post, and was not thinking about actually getting up at 3am to go write one. No, that would be ridiculous.
4. I did not then create a Word doc the next morning so that I wouldn’t forget all my “not me’s”. Because I never forget anything, especially what I did, ate, or where I went the previous day. Or that day, for that matter. No, I am an elephant (and that means great memory, no fat pun intended.)
5. I did not yell out to my children in Walmart, “good, run off, then you can get lost and cry and I can laugh.” No cuz that would be REALLY mean and unloving. And of course, there were not people looking at me like I was unfit.
6. I did not get the Sunday lunch buffet at Green Mill just so I could get all my children’s meals for free. No, that would be a form of free loading. Especially since I love buffet’s. Not!
7. I did not find my children scrubbing the window sill with my toothbrush while I was distracted with an online chat on FB. No, because I am always conscious of my children’s activities.
8. I did not bust out the Halloween candy to distract my children so I could finish said FB chat. No way, not a good example.
9. I did not allow my youngest daughter to run around diaperless, and I was not enjoying watching her cute chubby little butt cheeks jiggle, only to have her poop (diarrhea) on my rug. No. That would be irresponsible, all together too dangerous, and gross.
10. I did not take a nap while I was sick, though my my children were awake, because that would mean they were unattended, and I would never do that.
11. I did not find my house covered in raisins after this nap I did not take. And I did not save some of the raisins that didn’t have too much hair or dirt on them, because I can’t help myself in being not wasteful.
12. I did not make the mistake of having a cup of coffee at 9pm, only to be still awake at 5:30 am when my husband left for deer hunting.
13. I did not have a family acquaintance rub my belly, and ask if I was pregnant again. Then, after my embarrassed but adamant reply that “NO I was not having any more kids, this is just post-baby leftovers,” he most certainly did not reply with “well, a few thousand sit-ups should take care of that.” I did not turn a few shades of red like my face hasn’t seen in decades.

I hope you have all enjoyed this, perhaps gained some perspective on what motherhood is really like. I hope to make Not Me Monday a habit. Again, if any of you feels that I am not qualified to be a mother, I encourage you to spend a day at my house, and then call DHS if you still feel the need to do so.

Evil bed

Why is it that kids don't get it when you say you are sick and they just need to behave really well that day? And since mommies don't get a day off, what is a person to do? I don't even have a couch to plant myself on (only love seats). This combination leads to very bad things.

Yesterday I was sick. Yuck. It may be easier if everyone is sick at the same time. maybe. Anyway. I took Lil' D upstairs for a nap and was attacked by my bed, with it's beautifully soft microplush blanket, and the wonderful warmth it offered. I just couldn't help it, and I was powerless to fight back. I mean, anyway, I could hear my other 3 monkeys downstairs, and they were being really noisy, but not like someone died noisy, so at least I knew they were still in the house. After about 20? 30? minutes (who can really keep time when you are sick? It's an abstract concept anyway, right?) they came upstairs, so I continued to allow myself to be enveloped in my bed. Trapped really. And so wanting sleep. But I am on duty. Can. not. sleep. No sleep. s.i.g.h. Ok ok, I'm awake! ... sorta. Unfortunately, now Lil' D is too. Crud. Ok, everyone downstairs. herd, herd. Oh, geez, what's that?? Raisins?? greeeaaaatttt. There are raisins all over everything, in every room except the bathroom. On the couch, behind the couch, in the window sill, in the ottoman boxes, on the blanket, under the blanket, in the kitchen, by the computer, and pretty much everywhere else you can think of.

I found enough energy to yell loud enough to get them to stay on the couch for 30+ minutes while I cleaned them up, because raisins are not something you can leave for later.

I was tempted to make them eat just raisins for lunch. Instead I called my neighbor and asked if she could feed them lunch. Who can say no to tears? They came back an hour and a half later trumpeting their fun times and asking if I was happy now.

Well... no, but it's naptime. I'll be happy very soon!

Guess I won't be making oatmeal raisin cookies for that public function thing. That would be just waaaay too yucky.

Lessons

I learned a great lesson today.

Friends come in all shapes and sizes and ages. In different forms, at different times, and for different purposes. I have had many friends that were older than me, who were at times, like parents. And I have felt that I have had friends, that at times, needed my motherly love. Today I got a chance to be a friend, offering hospitality, advice and encouragement, a shoulder, and some prayer.

My lesson today was "don't sweat the small stuff." There is a much bigger picture. If we fixate on things that are of no importance, for example habits that bug us, or ways people can disappoint us, then we miss the opportunity to create a friend, or to be a good friend. It's too easy to focus on something other than the opportunity to laugh with, or pray for, someone who is in our life for a reason. (This was not the first time I have had this lesson, but it was a little different this time.) We need to see as God sees. We need to look at what they ARE offering, or what WE can offer them.

This "don't sweat the small stuff" thing can be translated into a "pick your battles" theme in relation to parenting. So I'm trying to do that today. What's more important, a cleaner house, or a hour spent reading stories to a lapful of my babies . Lying may be wrong, but it provides a great opportunity to look at why we should tell the truth, instead of punishing the deed, hopefully with a better result. Learning how to obey, and pick up your toys when mommy asks is important, but so is the fact that mommy can have fun and play and encourage creativity. The rod of discipline can come another time. There are plenty of opportunities for that! :D

So though this was more serious than lighthearted, I hope that today I was a good friend and a good mommy.

Lord, help me to be patient, and trustworthy, and loving every day. Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him." The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; Lam 3:22-25

Diapers required

Note to self: Do not let un-potty-trained children run around naked.

My dear Abigail likes to take off her diaper. I probably should attempt potty training her, but I'm not ready for that headache just quite yet. Anyway, she does this in streaks ( :D no pun intended). She hasn't done this in a few weeks, and now yesterday and today we're seeing a lot more cheek. (And they're oh so cute as they jiggle when she walks. hehehe)

Last night, as I was cleaning in prep for company, I kept smelling pee. I couldn't see any, didn't step in it, so I figured she whizzed on the floor. Whatever. It's linoleum and I had plans to mop the floor anyway. Not that it was much of an option.

Fast forward to this morning. I'm still smelling pee! Where the heck is it coming from??? Could it possible be bad laundry? No, just not really coming from there. Hmmm... and then, ha ha haaaaa, I get a whiff of her... what.. chair??? Well, she apparently peed while sitting on her booster, leaving the urine to ever so conveniently soak into the nylon straps. Yuck. Pee at the breakfast table. Wonderful. Parenting is not for the sqeamish.

At least I found it. And at it wasn't on my couch!

To Begin Again

I had a blog before, but it was a secret blog, sharing the joys of my marital bliss. (Insert sarcasm here.) Thus the reason it was secret. It was more like a journal, but I couldn't find any paper so I created a blog. This new blog I will share. So...to begin again.

Having been inspired by a mom-friend who also has 4 children, I have decided to create a blog of my own parenting adventures. With 4 children under 5, there are plenty of "adventures", funny moments, ones that make you cry in good ways, and in bad ways, and lots and lots of trial and error times. So... to all my joyous tales of childrearing.

Just to clarify, I breed monkeys, or so I have been told. They love to climb and get into everything. I'm sure if they could hang from the rafters, or the chandelier, or the ceiling fan, they probably would. (Please don't demonstrate or tell them that's an option, or else they just might!) Hopefully that will help to explain my title. Not that it needs explaining.

"Beginning again" is a concept not unfamiliar to parenting, as our lives includes LOTS of repetition, plenty of getting off track, or lots of other obstacles that require us to begin a task again. sigh. Like the pile of laundry that WAS folded but is no longer, because you waited too long to put it away (like, say, 30 seconds). Or the behavior chart that you harldy began. Or the concerted effort to be more consistent in discipline, but just got tired because it's a minute by minute task. Or making the main course of your meal that got burned while you were also trying to change a diaper, make a salad, do laundry, put out an argument, deal with a crying, clingy child, and sweep the floor all at the same time.

Disclaimer: I try very hard to be a good parent. Some days are successful. Others aren't. So I would ask one thing... please don't judge or bash or go running to call CPS. You have NO IDEA what it is like to raise my 4 children. If you are appalled, sorry. This is my reality, and I just have the guts to tell the all the gory details, the REAL story (sorta ;D).

Oh, and I ramble. A Lot!

I also love comments. (Be nice.) Advice, commiseration, laughs, an "oh yeah". Ya know. Whatever. So don't be shy.