Pre-parenting Statement Retraction #54

Before I was a parent and knew everything- and I especially knew everything about children because I was a school teacher and had been educated about children. And really how much more could having a child teach you than could be learned in a book! I mean I had a college degree and to quote my sister-in-law, "Stupid people have babies all the time!" Anyway in this enlightened phase of mine I had seen parents at various places with young children on "leashes." I was shocked to see this. "How inhumane." "They are treating their children like an animal." "I would never be caught dead with a child of mine on a leash." These were some of my self- righteous thoughts. And I held fast to this position for a long time. Enter child number four and baseball season. Guess what you would see if you came to the baseball diamond on Monday or Wednesday nights during April, May and into June. This:

Okay- so I have had to eat a little bit of humble pie, but it wouldn't be the first time and I can guarantee it won't be the last. But please don't judge me! I was desperate to be able to sit and watch my 9 year old bat at least once during a game. Otherwise I spend the whole game chasing Suzie in and out of all the dug-outs scattered across the fields. Deciding to purchase this "leash" was definitely a battle between my pride and my desire to keep my sanity and as you can see my sanity won out. I was a little self-concious when I walked through the ball park holding onto the tether of the harness that attached to Suzie's backpack, but after watching other mothers struggle with their little ones I came out looking like a genius! And if someone does judge me I have decided one of three things:

a. They don't have any children.

or

b. They only have 1 or 2 children.

or

c. They aren't on their 3rd red-headed, willful, stubborn, active, independent girl- who by the way keep getting worse with each subsequent girl. Ummm- could someone please pass me the birth control!

But really I have decided this is a great purchase. She can be self-sustaining by carrying her own treats, sippy cup and diaper in her backpack. Finn even suggested attaching it to a pole like they do dogs. Brilliant! - Just teasing- I tried that and Suzie figured out how to shimmy the tether off the pole. She ain't no dumb bunny! It is funny to observe and hear people's reactions to her. They either smile knowingly or look a bit puzzled or disgusted. Either way-as my sister and I like to say- "They don't have to drive it." The only problem so far is when Katie takes the reins. Katie wants Suzie to come wherever she tries to take her, and funny enough Suzie doesn't always want to go. Welcome to my world, Katie!

Book Tag

I've been tagged by Julie and this one is a bit different- a Book Tag. Here are the rules:
1. Pick up the nearest book (at least 123 pages.)
2. Turn to page 123
3. Find the 5th sentence.
4. Post the 5th sentence on your blog.
5. tag 5 people.

The closest book I have to me is "These is my words" by Nancy E. Turner. I have been reading it for Book Club. I was hoping to find a really profound sentence but unfortunately this is what I found:
"Jimmy went to town."

That sentence does not do the book justice. I really like this book. It is just the kind of book I enjoy. It takes a little while to get into and to become attached to the characters, but once you do it is awesome. You have to put in a bit of work to get rewarded. Kind of like a monkey opening a coconut. Where did that analogy come from?!? Anyway here is another quote from the book that really does do the book justice:
"Taking up marriage is a good excuse for taking up cursing, I think."

People tagged:- Michelle, Natalie and J.J., Finn and Amber, Kate and Amy

Order out of chaos

This past week I had a few days where I wasn't feeling so well, so my mom felt sorry for me and came over to help. She even helped with my spring cleaning and detoxed the fridge. I have mentioned this before, but my mom is honestly amazing when it comes to cleaning. My sister and I talk about this often because when she comes over to watch our children she will frequently have the house all spic and span by the time we get home. It is usually more sparkly clean than I seem to be able to make it. (And this has rubbed off on my dad as well. When he watches our kids, he will also do the dishes or straighten up. Impressive!) Anyway my sister and I have discussed whether my mom can make the house so clean because she doesn't have other things to think about while at our houses -like what to get at the store or what her next post will be on her blog- or if this is truly one of her talents. I believe it is the latter. When I watch her clean, I am in awe at what she accomplishes. She really should teach classes. Even as a child, I don't remember our house being dirty or even cluttered which is quite a feat with 5 kids in 10 years.

A few months ago I was talking with a dear friend who I have known since I was 6 years old, so she grew up around my family. She has wonderful, warm memories of being in my home when she was child. She remembered things that I couldn't even recall. Many of these things were centered around something my mom had done to recognize each of us kids. Things like us all being members of the "Smarty Pants Club" when we got good report cards and having a special dinner to celebrate this. Or whenever we had been away for awhile, there would always be a sign on the garage welcoming us home. Or getting the "Sunshine Room Award" to hang on our doorknob when our room was the cleaniest, which I must admit I got alot! I could go on and on about all the things my mom did for us to make us feel special, but the point I want to make is that as I have become an adult I have realized that not everyone had a mom who did these things for them. Now my mom wasn't perfect, and I know there are many ways to nurture a child and every mom does it differently. But I am so grateful that my mom chose to nurture us in ways that were true to her. I haven't truly come to appreciate the healthy childhood my mom- and dad created for me until recently. Being a mom now, I have come to the conclusion that one of the jobs that a mom has is to create order out of chaos for their children. And unfortunately there is a lot of chaos out in the world. I am constantly trying to do this for my children and I still rely on my mom to do this for me. My mom can especially do this with a messy house and she can do it with a messy heart. And that is a great blessing for me. My only hope is that I can do the same for my children. Because someone did it for me, I have the ability to do it for someone else. So thank you mom. I love you.

This is one of my favorite pictures of me and my mom. It is at my college graduation. If you look closely you can see my dad in between our faces. It is like my dad is saying, "Look at me! I'm pretty too!"

Spring Cleaning

This week I have been trying to get a little spring cleaning done. You know things that only get done once or twice a year - like cleaning blinds, organizing the pantry, detoxing the fridge, etc. I was cleaning out our pantry and I found this:

I know you may be thinking that this has to do with my children's snacking habits, but not this time. There are about 10 pieces of pasta left in this package and I know that I am the one who left them there. Why? Why would I leave just a few pieces of pasta in the package instead of putting them all into whatever I was making? I tend to do this a lot and I don't know why. There will be a little bit of ketchup in the bottle and I will put it back in the fridge because there is just enough for one more hot dog. I will milk every last bit of toothpaste out of the tube before opening a new one. I will transfer the itty bit of hairspray left in the bottle that the sprayer can't reach into a new bottle so it doesn't go to waste. I know this drives my husband crazy. "Just throw it away!", he says. But what he doesn't understand is that "Waste not, want not." has been cemented in my brain and is most likely part of my DNA. I must confess to another weird compulsion. I absolutely cannot run the dishwasher unless it is completely full. If it is close to being full but not quite, I will scoure the house looking for any dishes that can be put in. I will search under couches for sour sippy cups. I will check the bedroom nightstand for the remnants of a midnight snack. I have even risked waking a sleeping baby to check her room for cups. Crazy I know, but it just doesn't seem right to not have it be full. Of course my husband has no problem running it no matter how few dishes are in it. And if you can believe it, he will start a load of wash with like 4 items in it. Come on- with 6 people living in our house you know there are always enough clothes to make a full load. It honestly almost feels like blasphemy to me!

My kind of challenge-

The Self Portrait Truthiness Project.A bunch of women, bloggers, mothers, professionals and friends taking pictures of themselves right as they roll out of bed. No makeup.No combs.No makeup.No toothbrushes.(Yes "No makeup" is on there twice...some women I know need to be told twice.)Being honest and real in a way that we rarely are even with our closest girlfriends who live just down the street. Why as women do we care so deeply if someone sees us without our makeup? Why do we base how well our day goes on how good our hair looks rather than how bright the sun is shining?

I copied this from Julie's blog and thought it was great. Since I have already put out a picture of me at 13 years old, this is a piece of cake.

The best thing about this picture is that is wasn't even taken first thing in the morning- it was 11:45am! I know I look like I am yawning, but I am opening my mouth to try to keep my eyes open. The flash on my camera makes me close my eyes and this was the best I could do after several takes. Don't hate me because I'm beautiful.

Now I just want to see what the rest of you have got!

Drinking from a fire hydrant

Have you ever felt like your life is like drinking from a fire hydrant? Well, that is how this week was for me. Which is part of the reason I haven't blogged in a long time. Here is a list of the major events I had this week along with any corresponding pictures I may have been able to take:

*My sister Natalie and J.J. got married.

*Annie had her 1st grade clown program that we had to make a life-size paper clown of her for. And I played the piano for it.

*Had my 11th wedding anniversary.

*Visit from some out of town friends that we haven't seen in over a year.

*Celebrated Finn's 9th birthday

*Easter egg hunts, BBQs, baskets and planned Easter sharing time for Primary.

Really could I have any more major life events in one week! And that list doesn't include all the laundry to be done and meals to be fixed and the occasional toilet that needs to be scrubbed. Plus I threw in 2 doctors appointments, had 2 sisters-in-law's birthdays to remember and nursed 2 major migraines. As fun as this week has been- I'm glad its over. I was feeling quite proud of all I had accomplished until I went to my aunt's house tonight for a family easter dinner and scavenger hunt. Here I found out that my cousin and his wife had hosted a neighborhood easter egg hunt yesterday where they hid 1200 eggs in 15 yards in their neighborhood. They also had special prizes for certain eggs and organized a breakfast after the hunt. Then my cousin-in-law still had time to make herself a darling easter skirt- that's right I said MAKE. It really looked like it could have come right off the rack from Nordstrom's. And then today this same couple created an incredibly complex scavenger hunt for the adults at the family Easter dinner. (Its a long story, but my family always does an adult scavenger hunt on easter that my cousin makes. There are no prizes if your team wins- just bragging rights. They always involve the ability to use both halves of your brain - like being able to understand trajectory and knowing the names of broadway musicals. Last year's involved a number of Sudoku puzzles that he made up. Seriously- this cousin is brilliant. I felt quite guilty about using my Sunday to take a nap when he uses his to think of ways to help his family members create new pathways in their brains by making them think so much.) Anyway I came away from that dinner with a thought that my sister says all the time- "Hey, where are my talents?!?" :) I think I'm going to stop now- I feel another migraine coming on....

When snacks go bad...

When it comes to having snacks in my house, I try to buy healthy ones that my kids will still enjoy. I'm not a snack nazi or anything, but I figure they get enough candy and crap everywhere else they go- so I have things like yogurt, cheese, nuts, popcorn, etc. I even will have chips, pudding and cookies. I just don't stock up on a lot of soda and candy. Anyway-I came home the other day, after being gone in the evening, and this is what I found:

Yes, that is a spoon in a can of uncooked Stove Top Stuffing. My detective skills tell me someone has been enjoying a very dry, very crunchy, very savory snack. Maybe it was because someone's dad didn't fix dinner. But I wasn't right about that. It really was a snack that Annie found in the cupboard and thought was tasty. Ewww- why don't you have some dry pasta and bread dough to go with it?!? Or any of the other crackers or cookies or even cereal that fill the cupboard! This is another "snack" that I often find my kids enjoying:

So weird! And here is my favorite snack remnant I also found that evening when I returned home:

Katie had some how managed to eat the middle of the bread without breaking the crust and thought it would make a nice door hangar. If I've said it before, I've said it a thousand times- It's a good thing my children have a mother. Then at least they can have a little jam on their bread or enjoy some cooked stuffing!