Playing outside

Summer Days

Chillin' out with Tanner (yes, we stay in pajamas a lot)

P's sandbox - Jace's legs are getting loong

This was a fun activity....Playing catch with a glass full of water. I think it was 100 degrees that day.

Jace sharing his Ipad with P

These deer were across the street and 2 houses down from us.

4th of July! Penelope and her friend Grant

Waiting for the parade

Unfortunately the parade never came....apparently it only went about 5 blocks, so we missed the entire thing. Woops!

Seriously watching the screen in the backseat of the car. Yep we are all about safety.

Penelope helping mix muffins!

Playing with trains

Hurried Morning

Remember I said we were supposed to get 4-8 inches? Well, we got about six. Wayne left early for work, but couldn't get out of the drive with the car, so he took the four wheel drive that I normally use. Unfortunately I can't blame anything on him, because he then texted me that he took it.

By the time I and other sane people had risen, I had forgotten all about it. The boys I babysit came and I had gotten everyone breakfast. Penelope completely coated herself with Cream of Wheat, and that stuff doesn't just wipe off. So I thought the boys could finish their breakfast and I could give Penelope a quick bath. While Penelope was in the bath, I realized that I didn't have a vehicle to take the boys to the bus, and we would have to walk. Which is no big deal, other than it was 18 degrees, we had 6 inches of fresh snow, and we would need to leave 10 minutes earlier. Plus the pressure of knowing if we missed the bus, I had no way to get the boys to school. So for the next 10 minutes the boys heard me yell from different parts of the house: "J are you finished eating? T put your dishes in the sink. J are you dressed yet? Hurry! Get your boots on!" I was going to put Penelope in the backpack carrier, but then realized that it was in the vehicle that Wayne took. So the boys and I dug out the stroller, but I dreaded pushing it through the snow. We finally pushed our way out the door with the stroller, while the entire neighborhood cat population attempted to get in the house. (For some reason there are now four cats that seem to think this is their home.) I'm sure it looked like a Norman Rockwell painting, with scarves flying and mouths hanging wide.

We made it to the bus stop in plenty of time. Penelope and I came back to the house for a cozy day in. We're out of milk and could use some groceries, but that all pales when I can spend a nice quiet day with my little bear.

Equality, complaints and war with the pediatrician

Teaching children the value of human equality

When we lived in Rapid City, I babysat these two lovely kids. One day I was coloring with Ezra, who was about 2 1/2 years old. He dropped a crayon and without much thought, said, "Sheena, pick that up for me." I looked at him and said, "You can get it; I'm not your slave!" Then with even less thought, he quipped back, "No: You're my wife!"

Yesterday, the boys I watch after school were playing the board game Life. It's the game with the little cars and tiny pink and blue people that sit in the cars. I was minding my own business, when I looked up to see the game had stalled, and they were pushing a tiny pink person back and forth across the table to each other. It was then that I heard, "Haha! Let's play 'Flick the woman!'"

The 'Flick the woman' game was thought up by the same boy who, when I was pregnant, told me the baby would be born out of my mouth, because it was the only 'opening' for the baby to get out. I told him I better have a very big mouth and if he had any questions to ask his dad.

Seeing things differently

I always hated all of the 'When you have kids, you'll know/learn/do/say..." And I am happy to say I have not copied those words to anyone, but I have had some thoughts on the matter. And not only to childless individuals. It's hard to hear things like, "I'm soo tired," or "I'm soo bored." Or "I'm so busy..." It's not that I'm so tired or busy (at this moment...) but when I hear things like that, I think - Really? You're so stressed out because you had to get up this morning, get dressed AND go to work - all in ONE day?!? Yes, you better go get a massage and take a weekend getaway. When you come back, try doing all that with one - or more - children. What's that? Oh, you have a headache? Awww, let me play My Heart Bleeds For You on the worlds smallest violin of my fingers. Actually, You'll have to play it yourself because I am holding a screaming child, cooking supper, and doing a magic trick - all at the same time. But I do feel bad, really. I'm glad you can go to bed tonight and only have to worry about yourself while you sleep, uninhibited, until you have to wake up and repeat the difficult process of getting up, dressed AND going to work.

Ok, I'm done complaining, that is until I have four or five more munchkins and have a WHOLE lot more to say about things, including whiney mothers of only one child.

But then again, on the other side of the coin, just because you have children doesn't give you carte blanche for anything and everything. Your house isn't clean? Well, you do have children. You haven't bathed in two weeks? How should you be able to do anything like that with kids? Don't bother with making dinner or exercising - just grab some fast food and let yourself go, mama...

Baby class

At one of our baby classes recently, some mothers were discussing pediatricians. I don't really spend a whole lot of time dwelling on the subject. I generally take little P to the pediatrician whenever they schedule an appointment. We are in, out, and on our happy way. Not so, apparently for some mothers.

"I go to Dr. So-and-so....we've been battling over nursing baby X to sleep," one mother said, with a roll of her eyes. She proceeded to tell the other ladies about her 'battles.' I wasn't sure how you have a 'battle' with your pediatrician. Our appointments go something like this:

Dr: "Does Little P sit up by herself?"

Me: "Yes."

Dr: "Really! Wow, I guess she's normal!"

Occasionally the doctor will suggest something I'm not sold on, like giving her some special kind of water so many times a week, and I nod my head and say, "Oh...Ok!" and promptly forget about it.

At another class, I was talking to a mom about real estate. She was concerned about the cost of propane for heat, and I suggested she just look for houses with wood stoves or pellet stoves in them.

Mom: "Oh, well I don't agree with wood stoves...I'm a bit of a tree-hugger."

Me: "Oh, I see. So you probably don't want a pellet stove either then."

Mom: "Hmm, well I guess I could do a pellet stove...I don't know." (looks confused)

I guess the mom never thought about where pellets come from. Or maybe as long as the pellets don't look like a tree it is ok.

What I've learned about boys

Recently I decided to babysit two boys occasionally. And even though I grew up in between two boys, I am learning and re-learning a lot of things about boys.

For starters, boys aren't afraid of getting dirty. This is pretty much a no-brainer, but I am discovering all of the things around the boys that also get dirty. Carpet and toilets now need cleaned twice as much as they used to.

Boys love bugs. They were occupied most of yesterday with catching grasshoppers and other things that move. For some reason, last night I dreamed of lizards, skunks and chickens in my house.

Some things you just pretend you didn't hear. "Hey guess what's on my tongue? A Booger!" and "Hey, I wonder what's going to happen when I spray this grasshopper with sunscreen!"

One favorite toy has been the baby nose bulb. You know those blue ones that I haven't been able to bring myself to use because of my aversion to nose excrement. One of the boys found one and started playing with them. When brother found out, it was war until I told them I had another one. They even played with them for quite a while before they figured out that the bulbs could indeed be stuck up inside of the nose and other unique uses. Let me just say, even if I ever get used to the idea of sucking snot out of Penelope's nose, I will not be using the same bulbs that the boys played with.

These boys also think I'm Domestic Debbie, which I guess maybe I am. I do make a lot of things 'from scratch' like syrup and bread. However, I don't think my skills are THAT impressive. After making un-microwave popcorn, eating applesauce not from individual cups, and boiling water for Jello, I was a hero. One of the boys wanted ice, and I told him the ice cube maker on the front of the refrigerator didn't work, but that he could have some from the ice cube tray I had gotten out. "Whoaaaa..." he said softly in awe, "You even make your own ice cubes!" Now whenever I tell them we are out of something, they ask if I can just make it. It must have been a disappointment when they realized that I can't actually make milk and dynamite.

So the next time an eight-year-old boy asks you if you want to know what he just ate or what he did with the cat, just find something to make from scratch and see if he wants to help.