I've gotten into the habit of only posting the big things. The day-to-day occurrences have been falling by the wayside, which is unfortunate because my daily life is often hilarious. Mostly due to my kids.

Lately I've been reading a mommy blog where she recounts interesting conversations with her three year old and describes his creative playtime activities. It's been really fun.

So, in an effort to record the little things for future use in my woefully neglected Mommy Journal here are a few stories.

The kids have their sharing times and their contentious times.

This morning we were playing with Pumpkin's racetrack in his room. He wanted to run downstairs and get a drink from the fridge dispenser. Before he left the room he said to Princess:

"Now don't touch my racetrack or I will be very upset. Mommy, don't let Princess touch my racetrack or I will be very upset, Ok? "

I smiled and said "Sure". Princess smiled, walked over to the racetrack, put her hand on it and very clearly said "Touch it, touch it, touch it."

This produced howls from Pumpkin and squeals of delight from Princess as he chased her around the room. It was hilarious. I couldn't stop laughing.



Sure, there are contentious times, but there are also the happy times. Like yesterday after an impromptu trip to the grocery store they both got treats for being good. (See, I'm not above bribery...in moderation). They sat at the table together while I put away from the groceries. At one point I heard giggles and looked over. They each had their arm extended and were letting the other one taste their candy. Then they'd take a taste of their own. It was adorable. Sometimes the cosmos come together, the music swells and there is harmony in all things. Then someone decides they're done sharing and the harmony is ended. But for that brief moment they were happy together.


That last sentence makes it sound like they don't like each other most of the time. I think the opposite is true, though. Whenever we're heading out of the house Princess will find Pumpkin's shoes and bring them to him. Whenever Princess is sad Pumpkin will make up a song about her and sing it to her. He has her laughing in no time. If Pumpkin and I go out without Abby he sits in the backseat and sighs and says "I wish Princess was here." They may not always agree on how to play or what to do, but they love each other and they're happy together. I'm a lucky mom. And I know it.

Last week the weather was just beautiful. Gorgeous. We spent the first part of the week building the swingset and the last part of the week enjoying it. We were outside for most of the days, even eating meals on the patio. Awesome.

At one point we were enjoying a snack outside; the kids were at their little kiddie table. Princess had almost finished her Capri-Sun and pretzels while Pumpkin had just gotten the straw into his. He ran inside for a napkin. Princess saw the opportunity and grabbed it.

While he was inside she got up, went around the table, and took Pumpkin's full juice box. Then she went around to her side, got her nearly empty juice and placed it at Pumpkin's place. She looked over at me grinned and said "Heee!" and then sat down in her seat and proceeded to drink Pumpkin's Capri-Sun. Pumpkin came out none the wiser and took about 2 sips of his juice before he realized it was gone. It didn't occur to him that Princess had switched them, though. He was just sad that he'd finished his juice so quickly and asked for another.

Daddy thinks I was mean for not giving Pumpkin another juice box, but I didn't want to set up a precedent of second Capri-Suns. Pumpkin still doesn't know what happened and I'm not going to tell him.

I guess the moral of the story is this:

Never get involved in a land war in Asia. And never go against an Princess-cilian when DEATH is on the line!!!! Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha hahaha......

Somehow the other day Daddy and I got on the subject of sleeping. And somehow in the course of the conversation I made the comment that one of the biggest challenges of marriage to me was learning how to sleep next to another person. I'm a really light sleeper. Open a door in any room of the house and it wakes me up. If one of the kids whimpers in their sleep I'm suddenly wide awake.

Now couple that with Daddy's sleeping habits:
Firstly, he doesn't usually go to bed until much later than I do. That wakes me up.
Then he has nightmares almost every night, which causes thrashing and turning in bed. That wakes me up.
Then he has Positional Sleep Apnea, meaning if he rolls onto his back his snores get really loud and then he stops breathing for 10-15 seconds. That wakes me up.
Even his normal snoring wakes me up.
Smells coming from his body and mouth wake me up.
Daddy takes medications at night that basically work like industrial strength sleeping pills. It takes a lot to wake him up and roll him over.
It usually takes me 15-20 minutes to fall back asleep.

Sufficeth to say, nights are a challenging time for me. In the last 5 1/2 years I've learned to sleep a little deeper and fall asleep quicker. Since the kids have been born it's been a little more challenging, since I'm the only one who gets up with them at night/in the morning.

So, apparently by identifying our sleeping arrangements as challenging I hurt Daddy's feelings. Pretty badly. He slept in the guest bedroom for a week. He's never done that before. He finally forgave me and returned to our bed. I guess he sees one of the best things about marriage is reaching out in the middle of the night (after yet another nightmare) and finding someone there to tether him to reality. Oops. I can see how that would be comforting. And I didn't mean to make him feel bad with my comment, I was just being honest. I guess it was a little callous.

Some good has come of the situation, though. I went to the library and checked out a few books on male depression and how depressed men think and the best ways to talk to them. I've been learning a lot and identifying a lot of behaviors in Daddy that I thought were laziness or indifference to me and the kids that are actually depressive coping mechanisms. I'm starting to understand him more and I'm offering the kind of support that he reacts well to. We still have our ups and downs, but I've come to cherish the ups more and understand the downs better. It's a work in progress, but at least we're progressing.

I like to be in control of things. I think many homo sapiens are that way. I like to know what's coming, I like to be prepared. For anything. Anytime. Anywhere. A few days before school started every year I'd take my schedule and walk around to find all my classrooms. In order. I'd plan ways to get to each building and what I'd do in between so there wouldn't be any surprises. Inevitably, there would be a surprise like a closed hallway or an overly crowded sidewalk, but I had backup routes and I could easily adjust my path. Sure, I couldn't be prepared for everything, but I could prepare for everything I could think of.

I think this need to be in control of myself and my surroundings (not necessarily to control them, but to have a good grasp on what was going on and be able to prepare for future events) translated into my getting a driver's license late. I was nearly 23 and engaged to be married when I finally got my license. I only got it because my then-husband-to-be told me that it was important and I had to get one. Now, 6 years later, I still don't like to drive. I don't like the unpredictability of the road. I'm an excellent driver (said in my best Rainman voice), but not everyone else is. And that's what I don't like about it.

I don't like the thought of drunk drivers, impaired drivers, people who drive and: text, apply makeup, eat, chat on the phone, read the paper, mess with the radio, yell at their kids, change clothes, reach for things on the floor, scope out men/women or basically do anything else but focus on driving. Now, I'll admit, I'm as guilty as anyone at doing maybe one or two of those things, but that just goes to prove my point. I can control my car and my driving, but I have absolutely no control on the drivers around me. I've only gotten one ticket and I've never been in an accident (knock on wood), but that just means my odds aren't good. Every time I see an accident on the side of the road I thank my lucky stars (and my HF) that it wasn't me. My sister was just in an accident that wasn't her fault at all, but her car is a mess.

Today I overcame a fear. Today I drove a big truck. Ok, it was a pickup truck, but it was one of those big ones with a Hemi. Whenever we've needed to rent a car or a moving truck I always make one of the boys drive (either my brother or my husband). My craziness means I can barely back another person's car out of the driveway without my heart racing. Today I drove a U-Haul rental pickup truck to buy a wooden swingset from Wal-Mart. More on that later. Driving this truck I felt very tall and on edge, but powerful and invincible. Still, I was glad to get the thing back on the U-Haul lot in one piece without swiping any cyclists or taking any curbs. The price was good overall, especially since it would have cost me $110 more to have the swingset shipped to me.

Here's my new swingset:



It's still in pieces in on my back patio, but I'm taking before/during/after pictures, so stay tuned for that post. Pumpkin is really excited about it. He helped me separate out about 700 (I kid you not) bolts, screws, nuts, and washers tonight. The weather's supposed to be nice on Monday, so I think we're going to try and knock out a good hunk of the assembly. I'm looking forward to it. I like organizing, following directions, and creating something from pieces. That's why I like puzzles. This should be fun.

One more story about the swingset fiasco. After extensive online research about different types, models, price-ranges of swingsets I finally decided that Wal-Mart gave you the best bang for your buck. I found the one I wanted online, but the website said it'd cost $150 to ship. That was half the price of the whole thing. I tried to see if they had "ship to store" which, I believe, is free as long as you pick it up from the store. I couldn't find any info about it and no indication if they had the item in stock at my store. I called several times, but got the runaround in talking to different people. Apparently they keep all the swingsets locked in a trailer in the back, and they had to send people out to see if they had any of the one I wanted in stock.

After days of phone calls and mistakes made by the employees (throwing out the paper with my contact info, giving me inaccurate info, etc.) I finally decided to go in and talk to the toy department manager myself. I have this theory that it's harder to deny a customer in person. I found the manager and she went right to work for me. Finally we determined that they didn't have the one I had requested in stock, but they did have one left of a discontinued line that was about the same price. It had more to it, though, in the way of an additional ladder, a glider instead of hanging rings, and it had monkey bars across the swings' bar. It was like getting a free upgrade. I was thrilled and asked them to hold it for me until I could get back with a truck. The thing weighed about 180 pounds, so there was no way our little car could transport it.

I immediately called my "truck friend" but didn't get a reply (turns out they were camping) so I called a few rental places until I found a U-Haul with a truck rental. I got the truck and headed to Wal-Mart. The purchase went smoothly, but when I got to the trailer in the back of the store to pick up the swingset, one of the two boxes was destroyed. I couldn't tell if it had been intentionally opened and harvested for parts, or if the damage had happened in shipping. I told the guys to wait while I opened up the rest of the box and inspect the merchandise and they told me that if I found there was any damage I could come back and get the orphan box #1 that they happened to have. I patted the side of the truck and reminded them it was a rental. Then I asked if I could just have the extra box now, since they couldn't sell it without a #2 box and since the product had been discontinued. After a minute of consideration, the manager agreed. "You talked me into it" were his exact words. We loaded up the second #1 box and headed out of there before he could change his mind.

It turns out that it's a good thing we did get the second box because one of the slides is cracked and the instructions were missing from the original box. So, good things happen to those who go out and make their dreams come true. Now my kids can enjoy the good weather and big backyard. I'm thrilled. Now all I have to do is put it together.

Today is my sister's birthday, and since she lives all the way across the US from us, we made her some pictures to brighten her day. In this first one the kids are singing "Happy Birthday to You".



The second is just cheesy smiling. They are pretty cute, though, right? Can you believe my baby girl is old enough for Nursery (18 months!) already? I can't. We've been sick, and then had Stake Conference, so I haven't had a chance to enjoy church without her yet. It'll be an interesting day when I can actually sit and listen to a lesson without cleaning up spilled crayons and trying to keep a crazy little girl from playing jungle gym with the chairs.

Anyway, Happy birthday, Aunt Becky! We sure love thee and we were so glad to see thee in January! Hopefully we can get together this summer sometime.

LOTS of hugs and kisses.

It was beautiful outside today and we just couldn't stay inside any longer. It was probably 65 and partly sunny/partly cloudy. We played in the backyard in the morning, but since we don't really have any play equipment out there yet there wasn't much to do. Still, it felt good to soak up the rays of the sun. The kids got filthy muddy, but what can you expect when there's nothing good to do but pretend to plant seeds in the moist and rich earth. After a bath, nap, and lunch we decided to go to the park. We headed down to a new one I'd seen by the library but never been to. It looked like fun and the kids were game.

We ended up playing there for about two and a half hours. It was glorious. There was a good range of play equipment for younger kids and older kids. There were swings and actual baby swings (with the safety bar) for Princess. After about an hour Pumpkin told me he had to tinkle. Fine, no problem, the park designers had very wisely constructed restrooms not 20 feet from the playground. With Pumpkin doing a little dance and Princess in my arms we headed over that way. Only to find them locked. Seriously? When you have a large group of future-potty-users-in-training you need a bathroom closeby. I looked around, but the nearest building, the library, was about a block away. No way we were going to make it that far judging by the complexity of Pumpkin's potty dance. So, I quickly ushered him over to a huge pine tree with droopy branches that was a bit away from the playground. He dropped trou and made like an Italian cherub statue. Don't judge me. I really don't think it was a big deal. In a choice between Pumpkin peeing his pants and peeing behind a bush, I'll choose the bush any time.

Crisis averted, back to playing. Up the stairs, down the slide, up the stairs, down the slide. Nothing makes a kid happy like repetition. Occasionally I'd help another kid who was having trouble with the stairs or fell off the slide. That's just what moms do...we help anyone's kid who needs help. We offer wet wipes to the mom on the plane whose kid just threw up in her lap. We offer sympathetic smiles to the mom whose kid is throwing a temper tantrum in the grocery store. We help each others' kids go up the ladders and stairs at the park. I really don't mind, but after awhile I noticed that I was helping the same little 2 year old boy over and over. I started to look around for his mom. At one point he ran over and got a juice cup from her and I had her in my radar. She was sitting with a friend chatting. And chatting. And chatting. She didn't even look over at her kid for over 30 minutes. No matter that he was calling her to come help him or to look at what he could do.

I have ZERO tolerance for moms that ignore their kids at the park. You can't just leave your kid (especially a two year old) to his own devices at the park. She wasn't even offering the usual "Wait your turn, [child] !" or "Look out, [child] , that little girl is coming down the slide now!" She didn't acknowledge his presence for a full half hour. When the kid dropped his juice cup in the mud, I was the one to pick it up, wipe it off, and give it back. When a bigger kid took that same juice cup from him, I got it back and took it over to his mom.
"Another kid took this from your son," I said, hoping it would break into whatever conversation she was having so she could focus on her kid. Nope. She said "Oh, ok" and when right back on chatting like she was having lattes with friends and not taking her kid to the park.

Kids need supervision, whether they're small and can't work the equipment right or bigger and need to be careful of the smaller kids. Kids crave attention. I understand the moms who have to divide their attention between children. If you're pushing your 5 year old on the swing, you can't be with your 3 year old on the slide. But that doesn't mean you ignore the 3 year old. Smart moms keep an eye on each. With more than 2 kids it gets even harder to keep track of them all, which is why you count on the other moms to keep an eye on them for you. This mom was taking advantage of the Communal Mommy Eye without contributing her share. Later I found out she had another kid at the park who she was ignoring, too.

So after awhile we went to play on a different part of the playground, but I could still hear this little 2 year old boy calling for his mom. He was making big frustrated sounds from a 10 foot ledge attached to a slide. I just thought he was getting tired, or working up the nerve to go down the slide. Some bigger kids headed up to that same ledge and somehow, as I watched, this little boy got bumped off the open side of the ledge with a fireman's pole. He fell 10 feet down with a whump and started screaming. Moms rushed in from every side and the poor kid finally got his mom's attention. She ran over and picked him up making shushing sounds. He fell onto the softer woodchips, so I don't think he broke anything, but he cried for a full 10 minutes while his mom tried to comfort him.

I felt a little sympathy for her, but not much. Mostly I felt bad for the kid. It made me watch my kids a little more closely. I didn't even sigh when Pumpkin told me that now he had to poop and needed a bathroom right away. I draw the line at pooping in the woods, so I packed the kids in the car and drove down the block to the library. While we were there a mom lost her 2 year old girl and was frantically looking for her. The girl had wandered away while the mom was checking out, and I could sympathize since Princess did that the other day and was wandering around the parking lot dodging cars when I found her. The interesting thing was that the library staff wasn't doing much to help her. They informed her that they didn't have a PA system, so they couldn't page the kid (like that would help with a 2 year old) and asked if the mom was sure she checked the parking lot. They weren't locking down the library or even running around looking for the toddler, from what I could tell. I'm a little ashamed to say that I looked around for a bit and then we went back the park. Child hunting with two little ones of my own provides its own set of challenges. I don't know if she found her daughter or not, but I prayed she did.

So that was our eventful day at the park. We enjoyed the wind and sun for 2.5 hours and came home tired and happy. Just what spring is supposed to bring. Hooray for March!