I hate laundry

Here's what happens if I don't do laundry every day:

Yuck. I need a maid.

Thoughts

I've been in a funk the last couple days. I get in a funk sometimes, and its kind of hard to get out of. I've been going through some decorating magazines that I have and ripping out some things I'd like to have or ideas for decorating. I want to put them in a book and organize them so I can actually view them. I think this is why I am in my funk. The more material stuff I look at, the more discontent I am with what I've got. Yesterday's sermon also added to my funk(but in a good, growing and learning sort of way). It was sort of about giving and the economy and having deep relationships with others around us. I always hate hearing about giving b/c I always think, "What do I have to give??!?!" We are not wealthy, we have had a tough financial year with our vehicle, so I really can't give a lot until I'm out of the red with our van repairs. I don't have much time b/c I have three kids, and any sort of volunteering would require me to have childcare. Brent and I were talking about it last night b/c I was feeling so discouraged about it. I know that God accepts whatever we have to give, but I'd sure like to give MORE! I'm really trying to use whatever resources I have, and one thing I feel strongly about is encouragement. I think I can be an encouragement to people, it doesn't necessarily take money or a lot of time. Brent and I decided to start having people over for supper more, as a way we can give while still having our kids around. I know in a few years it'll get easier to give of our time and finances(hopefully!!) I just want to be satisfied with what I've got and feel like I matter eternally. I take this funk that I'm in as a good sign that I'm not too comfortable here on earth, but its still hard to be in. I read a great post on simple mom today that went along with what I was thinking. I need to remain content with what I've got, be more intentional about some things, and know that this earth is not my home.

In another direction completely, here are some pictures of the last couple days:(Brent and Hunter were "sumo wrestling" in the one:

Word to the wise...

...when your steps look like this...
...and you try to walk down them carrying a laundry basket full of clothes while trying to talk to your mom on the phone...YOU WILL FALL DOWN THE STAIRS. And it will hurt. Bad. Lesson learned!

Another reason you can tell I live with boys...

They use your attachment hose spot on your vacuum as a good place to store a gun. I mean, you never know what kind of characters you'll run into while vacuuming!

A Renewed Perspective

After I got done posting on the blog I went upstairs to read my Bible and a chapter in this book and it was JUST what I needed to hear. Everyone always says that the years that your kids are young are the best years of your life, and to be quite honest, most days I don't feel like these are the best years. I cannot WAIT to be able to sit down and enjoy a meal or read a book after supper and take a trip without packing the entire house and spending most of it sideways getting things for the kids. Selfishly, I just want to take care of ME. Motherhood is great for me b/c it most certainly is not about me. Anyway, back to being the best years of your life.... the chapter I just read was about how quickly time goes and about not having regrets about the time you spent with your kids. I could say that mostly, aside from the demands of potty training, most of why I've been so crabby today has been b/c I've felt like the kids are getting in the way of my job, cleaning the house, getting it back in order after being gone, making the menu for the month, etc. I realize there has to be balance, but I'm missing the forest for the trees. The kids are only going to be at home with me for a short time, so what if Brent comes home tonight and I don't have everything done and put away. The author of the book, Lysa Terkeurst, talked about seeing a rainbow with her kids and how fast the rainbow disappeared, and she related it to their years with us...

Our children are like that rainbow. They burst on the scene of our lives in such a way that you feel as though they'll be there forever. Their colorful personalities and bright expressions are shining reminders of God's promises and miracles. They dance through their childhood, making lasting impressions on our hearts and then the time comes for them t pull away. The colors of childhood swirl and mix and change and fade into the realities of adulthood. It will happen. There will come a day when the door to childhood will open or the last time, and that night as surely as that child closes her eyes to sleep, he door will close. All the curious questions that drive you crazy today will cease. All the fingerprints and smudges will go away. All the childhood fantasies and dreams will fade. And her mother will wake the next morning to peer into the sky and wonder were the rainbow has gone.

She goes on to talk about letting go of "mommy stress" and focus more on enjoying motherhood and building a strong family, one that knows their children's souls.

I skipped ahead to the next chapter and found another page that encouraged me...

It sounds so dreamlike to dress your little darlings in clothes that match, hear them say that you are the best mom in the world, bake cookies together in the afternoon, and relish their sweet spirits while listening to their bedtime prayers. Yes, those moments are there. But woven all around ideal moments are whiny voices, childish attitudes, sibling fights, strong wills, messy accidents, snotty noses, stained clothes, and strained nerves. It all comes down to choosing what to focus on. Wherever you put your focus, that will become bigger and more magnified.

I want to focus on what matters. I write this for a reminder to myself that the years are fleeting, that time is precious and to remember to stay positive.

Time

Warning: Negative post ahead...not all days are good. You don't have to read this.

It's been a bad day at our house today. I think we're all a little tired from the weekend, and things are not fun today. I'm working on potty training Tate, who is doing really well, but potty training is still a LOT OF WORK. So, here is a little estimation of how I've spent my day today:
-the amount of time I've spent in the bathroom with Tate:2 hours
-the amount of time between said potty training "bathroom breaks":15 minutes
-the amount of underwear and outfits Tate's gone through this morning(and yes, he IS doing good):6
-the amount of times I've answered the question "Why?": four hundred million times
-the amount of time Callie slept for her morning nap:0 hours,0 minutes, 0 seconds
-the amount of laundry I have to do b/c of said accidents:3 loads
-the amount of times I've thought this job is too hard for me today:5
-the amount of times I've cried of had to apologize for crabbiness:lots

I'm tired.

Never Forget

Some days the mornings go so nicely. I've been getting up a little bit before all the kids are awake and reading my Bible and making coffee. It's a great way to start the day. This morning Callie was particularly cuddly(which is a rarity, unfortunately) and I never want to forget the way my little baby smells, they way it feels to have her soft head under mine.
The feeling of how tiny she really is. This time is starting to fly by and I just know that soon I'll wake up and have another toddler on my hands! Then the boys woke up and came to sit by me(which they usually do). I don't want to forget the way they come out of their room half asleep still, and how cheerfully they tell me good morning. They actually fight over who gets to sit by me on the couch. They are usually happy when I tell them to sit on either side of me. They cuddle up next to me under the blanket for awhile and drink their milk. I totally cherish these times. I often picture how our lives would be like if I had to rush off to work in the morning and rush them off to daycare. I would be missing out on this!
I'm so thankful for the opportunity to be home with them and to make these memories. I know that soon enough I'll be having to send Hunter off to school, and then there will be the teenage years(which I'm pretty sure will end the whole cuddling thing!)

Call me Mrs Crabby

Ooi! I am having one of those days today. I can feel my hormones racing through my tired body. Tate and Callie have come down with a cold. Callie had a small fever last night. I think she's teething, but I don't think she got the cold b/c of that. Tate tends to be on the drooly side normally, so add in a cold and you've got one big snotty, drooly mess on your hands. I've been following him around with tissues today, as well as Callie.

Why can't I just do ONE THING at a time??????? Why do I always have to be doing a bizillion things at once. Its so easy for me to get forty things going at once and then get really stressed about it. This morning was no exception as I started making a batch of pizza dough(for a play date that may or may not take place tomorrow...I've got to warn the mommies of the cold my kids have first) AND the boys and I were making oatmeal raisin cookies(also for the play date). When I needed to knead the dough I gave the boys a couple crackers and they managed to crush them all over my clean floors. Can I just say HOW TIRED I am of sweeping my floor?!? I can't have one crumb on the floor b/c Callie loves to crawl under the table and I don't want her eating anything she finds. So, when I tried to sweep the cracker crumbs up Callie was right under my feet, trying as hard as she could to help herself to what I was sweeping up. This happens quiet often. Mostly I just put her in her Johny or excersuacer, but she wasn't happy with that today. Thankfully, Hunter is big enough to pick her up and after I asked him to come get her, he kept her company so I could finish the floor. And then there is the laundry that will not only quit, I'm pretty sure it multiplies while it is waiting to go in. I've done three loads so far today and I've got one more waiting to be put in. And its not like I wait till there is a lot there, no, I do laundry every day! The boys broke a stand up mirror I had for them in their playroom this morning, so I had to get out my trusty broom for that mess, also. Then, when dropping Hunter off at school, Tate got so upset that he couldn't stay that I had to carry him(while he was screaming) and Callie to the van. It was quiet a spectacle. Basically, I'm just having one of those, "all I do is pick up messes and wipe things" days. Sigh.

It's so hard to find that balance between keeping your house clean and tidy(an almost impossible task if you ask me) and making sure you spend enough time with your kids, reading and playing and interacting with them. I don't know how to figure out the balance. I'm sure I could let a few things go with the house, but it does need to be cleaned....but the kids need to be given attention to also. I try to read to them at least 30 mins each day, I try to get on the floor and play with them, we bake together, sometimes clean together and we pretend together. I just feel like its still not enough. And I feel like the house is not getting cleaned enough. What to do! And don't even get me started on one on one time....

At least Auntie Anna is up to save the day by watching the kids while I go to get my hair cut!

I'm going to go try to get out of my funk.

Superpowers

Dear Hunter and Tate,

I love it that you think my kisses magically make your owies better. When you fall or get a scratch, you immediately come over and have me kiss it and the crying stops. It makes me feel like a superhero. I will mourn the day that you no longer have me kiss your owies. Please don't grow up too fast!

Love you bunches,
Mommy

Things I liked about Thursday...

-a cup of coffee in the morning. I love coffee!
-getting to MAC on time.
-driving to MAC in our newly fixed van...that actually runs and doesn't overheat after seconds(although it shouldn't for $1300!)
-holding a sleeping Callie at MAC. She never is still anymore, so I cherish the times when I can cuddle with her.
-racing Tate in the gym at MAC. He would say, "Ready, go!"
-the BEAUTIFUL weather! It was 65 degrees and sunny out!
-the picnic the kids and I had outside on the porch.
-playing in the leaves with the boys after lunch.
-having a meeting with our grant guy about our house repairs. It IS going to happen!!
-baking chocolate chip cookies with Hunter.
-EATING chocolate chip cookies with Hunter while we read books.
-taking pictures of the kids outside, like this one:(Tate was still napping)

-watching Callie get her first Jeep ride. She LOVED it!

-having the boys come inside while I was making supper and giving me little flowers they picked. Hunter told me "Here are some flowers for you b/c you love us."
-going out with my friend after supper.
-finding the best stocking stuffer gift for the boys....magnetic dress up Lightning McQueens! I love the Target dollar isle! The boys will love them!
-coming home and finding that Brent doesn't have to go to work tonight!

It was a good day.

I thought this was great...

I was reading a post at Simple Mom and this just really struck a chord with me. I very often say some of the things she has listed and have never thought about it the way she writes. A good reminder of how powerful words are!

Where to begin?

Well, I haven't been able to get away much to blog this week. The kids have either not been napping at all or napping in such a way that I never have a moment to myself. This week is another of those weeks which I do not enjoy. Brent has been working LONG hours, nights and days. I feel like we haven't seen much of each other at all, and that makes for a long week. Also making this week long is my lovely daughter, who is as I type crying in the monitor. She has woken up crying THREE times in the last 40 mins since I put her to bed. She only took one hour long nap today and that is ALL the sleep she's had all day. Also, she was up numerous times in the night crying and this means that I was up numerous times in the night. I don't know why this is. I'm assuming its teething since she popped ANOTHER two teeth this past weekend while we were in Iowa. I'm SO ready for the teething phase to be done with. She has eight teeth now, so we have to be getting close to being done. I wish there was something I could do to help her.

As I went down to comfort her I heard the boys talking in their room(after I tucked them in) and so I put my ear to the door and I heard Hunter tell Tate, "I don't have the energy to talk anymore. Goodnight." So cute! They have been interacting nicely lately. This morning Hunter told Tate that he loved him "five hundred" which I take to mean a lot. Then they hugged it out, it was very cute.

I think this will be a long post.

We had a great time in Iowa. It was so much fun getting away and seeing my fam. The weather was gorgeous, so we had fun being outdoors. Dad took me on a couple motorcycle rides, which I find to be very fun. It was fun to ride, but also fun to go through neighborhoods that I haven't been in for several years. We saw my gma and Laci came down for a day. I got to eat some Jaarsma and Breadiux Pizza, so that was grand. On Saturday mom found some of my old dresses she had made me when I was a baby, so we tried them on Callie. It was fun seeing her in them(although she doesn't really look like me....all the kids take more after Brent I think...not that I'm saying Brent looks like a girl) Here are some pictures of that:


Brent worked his hieny off on the van while we were gone. He took the whole front end apart and replaced the expensive parts that needed fixing. He is such a hard working man and very handy to have around! I'm sure he could have found more fun ways to spend his free time, but I really appreciated him doing that.

I've been feeling really tired lately. I think tiredness is the root of a lot of my emotions. I will probably feel tired for the next couple years at least, but for some reason this week I really figured out what my problem is. I would feel like I've died and gone to heaven if I were able to sleep ALL night long without being woken up and able to sleep in as late as I want. Next year that is what I want for my birthday. Sleep. All day.

Hunter came home from his Kid's Together class with a picture. An actual picture of something that he drew. Now I'm sure a lot of kids his age have been coloring pictures of things for awhile now, but Hunter has NEVER been into coloring. He'd much rather play with his trucks and tractors or play a game with me. But I think seeing other kids coloring has made him more interested. I actually thought maybe another kid drew it on his paper for him, so yesterday I had him draw me a picture like the one he brought home. He did and here it is, his first ever picture! I think it is adorable.


I did a little photo session today with Callie when she woke up and was being smiley, so here are some (more) pictures of her:




We have my parents coming the next two weekends! This weekend they are coming up and bringing my sister with, and she is staying for the whole week while Alex is gone! They'll be back to pick her up the next weekend. I always LOVE having her here, so I know I will enjoy next week.

The Party

Well, I think Hunter's party was a success. Hunter really liked the cake. When I showed it to him after school he screamed. He got to have all his good kid friends around, so that was special for him. Here are some pictures:






The boys were all sitting around taking apart the tractor. I got some funny pictures of that:




Playing in the gym:


I can't believe I'll have a four year old tomorrow!

What a week!

Its been a week that I would call not so fun. Brent has been working nights, days and trying to sleep in between. He worked all day yesterday so we really haven't had any weekend. I really really hate these weeks. There are few of them, but they seem to drag on forever. To top it off, all three kids have head colds, so that has added extra unfunness to the week. I'm beginning to feel a little claustrophobic in the house and in this small town. I would love to get out for the day, but that is difficult. Also, the weather has been gloomy, not helping my attitude. So, now that I've got the grumpy stuff out of the way, here's what I did like about the week:

-Hunter had a great time at "school" on Tuesday. He went right in the class and told the teacher he was going to be brave. I couldn't really get anything that he did at school out of him when we got home...but he did say he had fun and wants to go back "this many times" and held up both of his hands.

-I kept Callie up the whole morning before Hunter went to school so she would sleep while Tate was asleep so I could get something done. I ended up helping Brent stain the deck. He did pretty much all the work, but I helped while I could. I'm not sure why we haven't done this sooner, it turned out really nice!
We're still waiting on a call from the lead inspector. He was supposed to call this week, so I'll have to call the guy in charge again tomorrow. Let's get a move on it people!

-We got to see our nephew Matty(and bro and sis-in-law) on Friday. It was nice to see Matty and how he's changed since we saw him last. I had planned on going over to see them more yesterday, but didn't want to get him sick, so we stayed here.

That's about all the blog worthy things that happened this week. Like I said, its been "one of those weeks". I'm hoping next week is more fun. We have Hunter's birthday party on Tuesday, so I'll be trying my hand at making this cake.

Something I want to remember:
-Hunter and I were sitting on the couch the other day and he said, "Mom, you're the best mom in the whole entire world!"

Some changes

Well, I'm sure you've noticed the first change is the blog layout. It seems fallish, and that is most certainly the direction the weather is headed here. I also added a Flikr link and signed myself up for an account there so that you don't have to see a billion pictures of the kids if you don't want. Today's are from the park.

Some not so visible changes; I decided we aren't doing MOPS this year. It's been an expensive summer(read: lots of car repairs) and I just can't justify the cost and gas money at this time. I think I'll be alright without it. We instead are trying something new. Starting this Monday we are going to Early Childhood Family Education(ECFE) class. Its called Family Mornings and I'm taking all the kids. I'm hoping it goes alright. For those kids who are over 3 and potty trained there is a Kid's Together class JUST FOR THEM on Tuesday afternoons for three hours, so Hunter will be going to that by himself while I sit at home and nervously wonder what he's doing. It should be OK, I know the people who run it and it is just here in town, but I haven't done anything like this before. He skips naps most of the time nowadays anyway, and he's so social I think he'll enjoy it. We're also starting Kid's Stuff at church. We're no longer doing youth group, which is kind of weird b/c we've done it mostly since moving here five years ago. We're excited to be taking the boys where all their friends are and to learn some more about Jesus!

I wish I could say that another one of the changes is our new house remodel, but that seems to be going SO SLOOOOOW! I sure hope things start progressing at a faster pace so that it is done before the s word starts(snow).

Another change is that I have been making baby food for Callie. I didn't do this with either of the boys and I kind of wish I had now that I've done it. I'm not a big "outside the box" thinker and it never crossed my mind. So far(thanks to my wonderful gardening friends and family) I've done green beans and squash straight from the garden. I've also done carrots, peas, pears and plums. I usually just mash a banana right before I'm feeding her, but I've been using ice cube trays to freeze it and it is working out wonderfully. For some reason I'm kind of grossed out by normal baby food, but this is so much more real tasting. I even sampled some of the squash as I made it the other day. Callie seems to really enjoy it also!

This hour has been a doozy.

The last hour at the Norman residence has been quiet exhausting. I'm now ready for bed. Here's what the last hour has looked like for me:

-came home from a day at camp with my friend, the kids had no naps and lots of fresh air.

-was wrestling around with the boys while waiting for Brent to come home(briefly b/c he had to leave again for another job) and Hunter playfully said he was going to punch me in the face. I said, "Oh no you're not!" just as he cocked back and punched me RATHER HARD in the face. I now have a swollen bleeding sore bottom lip. My three year old gave me a fat lip. He was very sorry and will not be doing that again. Brent walked in within 30 seconds of this happening and took care of Hunter while I tried to stop it from bleeding and put an ice pack on it. I can't talk very well right now.


-then Hunter starts having diarrhea(again, he also had it yesterday at the park. It wasn't pretty then either and I have some mental images that will never be forgotten;) He makes it to the toilet all the times, but manages to get it on his legs, the rug, me.

-Then Tate has his third(and I must say nastiest) poop of the day. Something must be going on here, b/c these boys do not do this normally.

-While making waffles(yes, I don't cook exciting things when Brent is going to be gone for supper) Tate gets into the egg shells.

-cut up waffles for the boys, get a new batch going and talk to my mom on the phone, all the while nursing Callie.

-Give boys bananas after the waffles and Tate immediately smashes his ALL over.

-Give up and decide that its movie time. Can't find the movie they want to watch ANYWHERE! I seriously looked everywhere. Finally decide on one and put it in, only to have to go downstairs while typing this to see why Tate is crying. Turns out Hunter punched him b/c he got ahold of the remote and shut the movie off. So...Hunter is now in his room for the rest of the movie after being punished again.

I was going to give them hair cuts tonight. Methinks that would put me over the edge, I think we'll be waiting till tomorrow.

I am so ready for bed.

Tate's Party

Well, Tate's party was a success. The weather was really nice and we had enough food and the kids all enjoyed playing. I'm so glad it wasn't rainy. The snake cake turned out really well(special thanks to Laci)

Here are some pictures:

Summer is ending soon

...or so I feel. Its starting to get darker earlier and lighter later in the morning. I'm starting to brace myself for the week of fall we get and then winter.

Anyway, I feel like I haven't been blogging as much lately. There are several reasons why:

-I've had company. My family was up over the weekend, and my sister has been here all week, so we've been hanging out.

-I've been reading instead of being on the Internet. I've really enjoyed this book Lots of great things to say.

-I just got hooked on the TV series "Lost". Laci brought season one up with her and I watched three episodes from underneath a blanket. Its intense, but I really like it.

-I had a bday. I'm now 26.

-I've had to deal with Terrible Teething Baby. She now has TWO teeth! Here is a picture of her:



-She is also up on all fours pretty much all the time now:

-I'm also getting ready for Tate's big birthday bash tomorrow night. Pray that it doesn't rain, as it is at a park. Laci and I are making a cake that looks like a snake. (He turns TWO on Sunday!)

This weekend is our big fun trip to the cities. We'll be camping in my bro and sis- in-laws backyard with some friends and we are planning on going the zoo and a block party and the children's museum. We are also having a pool party with Brent's family, so pray for more nice weather.

Well, I'm off to make homemade pretzels with Laci. Should be great for my diet.

Another glimpse into my day...

Wow its been a difficult week with the little ones. I sure do love them, but I'm heading to check for some gray hair after I get done typing this. A friend came and watched the kids for an hour and a half or so today(she wanted to do something nice for me and it was MUCH appreciated). I got up and did some vacuuming and other various clean up tasks to get the house looking nice so I could relax while she watched them. I washed and dried and put the kids sheets on their beds also. I really wanted to exercise before she came over, so even though I didn't have much time I decided that it was going to happen anyway, so I started my Pilates. Callie was in her excersaucer watching me, but started to get fussy and I took her out and put her on the floor with me. I smelled that familiar poop smell, so I checked her and she had blown out the back and now there was poop on the floor. I got her cleaned up, the floor cleaned up and began exercising again. The boys were jumping all over me while I was trying to exercise, and I was getting a little frustrated but I was very determined to get to the end of the workout(it is 36 mins long). Callie still was fussy so I went upstairs to lay her in her room for a nap. As I was doing that I heard a loud banging/shattering sound. I bolted downstairs and found that the boys had shattered the glass portion of our coffee table. We for the longest time had the glass out, but the boys never play on it and we thought it'd be ok and had put it back in awhile ago. Thankfully neither of them was hurt, but they wouldn't tell me how they did it. I sent them upstairs to sit on the couch while I cleaned up the mess. I sobbed the entire time I cleaned the glass up b/c I am SO sick of cleaning up messes! I couldn't handle it very well today I guess. So...after the glass was cleaned up I decided that exercising just wasn't going to happen after all and went to shower. I told the boys to please be nice to each other while I shower and took a really quick one. As soon as I got out I peeked my head out and called for them, and they were upstairs(they aren't allowed upstairs b/c of the computer, my scrapbook stuff, the books, etc..) I went up and found that they had taken my king sized sheets off the bed. They were certainly busy beavers today! So, now I'm washing MY sheets and am hoping that there aren't any more messes for the day. I did get up to the bank while my friend was here watching the kids, so that is something I don't have to do with them tomorrow. I'm already excited for bedtime! I want to be clear that I have a lot to be thankful for, I'm just having one of those weeks.

Here is a picture I took at the end of our bike ride last night. Hunter hasn't been taking naps, but still needs them, so he fell asleep on our ride:

One of Callie trying to crawl:

And silly Taters: