Summer Madness

Summer has been crazy busy for me as I'm sure it has and will be for most of you too.  While I wish it was a nice time to sit in the sun and sip lemonade and watch the kids play in the sprinklers that is not the case.  We have started swimming lessons. And while I am ecstatic that my kids enjoy it and that they are learning to swim it seems that when we get home the day is almost over.  Between this and the many projects that I have started (story of my life), and all the other projects we have planned this summer, my new obbsession, and my kids being naughty, my time is extremely limited.  And my time is very valuable to me. 

So if my posts seem few and far between as of late, this is the very reason. 

The boys room is right next to the storage room.  The man recently told me that we need to watch him a little closer.  The man went into his room the other night, and whilst retrieving something from under the bed found an open box of cereal.  Sneaky Sneaky!

And the other day the boy was playing in the kiddie pool with some friends.  The man found them carting sand/mud in to the water.  Well the man told the boy to stop that and keep the dirt out of the water.  About an hour later he looked out and saw 3 buckets sitting in the kiddie pool and when he went out to investigate found they were filled with dirt.  He began to get after the boy, who calmly replied, "but dad, the dirt is in the buckets, not the water!"  I had to chuckle at this one.

See! These are the kind of boy things I can deal with! At any rate... here is the highly anticipated summer plan! I can't take credit for the idea, but I did modify it to fit my needs. My good friend and neighbor from Idaho, whom I miss dearly, first posted her plan here. My kids just turned into little monsters who wouldn't listen to a thing I said. And I don't really feel like they respond well to any discipline. So I decided to try some positive reinforcement. Maybe if I rewarded them when they did the things I wanted them to do, they would do them more often. I bought a roll of raffle tickets from Walmart. Then had each of my kids paint their own jar. Now when they do great things, they may get a ticket. Some things they may earn tickets for are:
making bed in morning
picking up toys without being asked
following instructions the FIRST time
sharing/being kind to siblings
finishing daily chores
doing "homework" I have planned for them
ect.

I also bought a bunch of toys that I knew my kids would want and set up a little store. I put "prices" on the toys of how many tickets it would cost to buy that item. They have really had to work hard, but I can see a difference in their attitudes. I really think they like it. So it's been working out pretty good for us. I really try not to threaten to take tickets away, because I don't want it to be another way to discipline. Also I think I would probably end up taking more tickets away then what they earn. So I decided that was not the way I wanted to go with that. I swear I took pictures of my "store" and what-not but I can't find them anywhere. So here are just a few random pictures from recently. I'll also throw a few in there of my new hobby(obsession) of before and after furniture redo's that I have been busy with.

Anyway, there is a long update for you. Sorry for the long drawn out post. Sorry also for the absence. We have some exciting events coming up so stay tuned, but don't expect it soon.

Happy swimming/sunning/biking/hiking/camping/whatever-you-do-in-the-summer!

Random Cuteness

So the girl is really started to like writing letters.  But she doesn't know all of them that well yet.  So the man and I help her to spell things.  Sometimes we have to write the letter on a separate piece of paper so that she can see what it looks like.  The man had to do this with the letter "d".  As you can imagine, his handwriting is a little different from mine.  So he writes a "d" so she can see what it looks like, and she starts crying and says, "Dad, you wrote that in Spanish.  I am writing in English!"

The boy is really into this cartoon of a superdog (much the same idea as superman just as a dog).  The dog's name is Krypto.  So the boy wakes up one morning and the first question he asks me is this, "Mom, do 4-leaf clovers work if you make them?"
Me- "Uh- what do you mean"
Him- "Like if you make a 4-leaf clover will it still grant you your wish?"
Me- "oh- I don't know, maybe."
Him- "Mom, will you make me a 4-leaf clover?"

So I grabbed a magazine and shuffled through it till I found a page that was green and cut a 4-leaf clover from it, and gave it to him.  He rubbed it with his thumbs with his eyes closed.  When he opened them, he said dejectedly, "Oh, I guess home-made ones don't work."
"How do you know," I said.  "What did you wish for?"
"Not telling"
Me- "Well how do you know the thing you wished for is not in your room,"
His eyes lit up and he ran downstairs to check.  Then he came back up, disappointed again.  I wished for a super-dog like Krypto and I didn't get one.  I told the boy that he needed to talk to his dad to convince him to let us get another dog.  He said, "well it needs to be SUPER- you know like able to fly and stuff"
I think this is one thing I just won't be able to get him. 

Sure love them though.

Stay tuned for the summer plan I have cooked up for the kids...

Boys and Trials

So I am totally in love with the idea of having three boys and a girl.  Don't get me wrong, I love my girl- but there is a lot of drama with girls.  Boys are just usually more laid back and generally easier to get along with.  So I got my estrogen fill with just one girl. 

And I got three boys!

I have been anticipating how life will go when they get a little older.  3 boys to mow lawns.  3 boys to collect anything creepy/slimy/crawly.  3boys to cause trouble.  Now don't get me wrong I am not asking for spiders/frogs/worms/what-not to be unleashed in my home, but I just think it is so darn BOY.  How darling is all the little boy stuff???   Mud, bikes, bugs, sports- I am excited for the whole nine yards with the boys. 

I have also been imagining the trouble they may find themselves in, and (again) while I am not asking for it, I can't help but anticipate all the boyish messes they may get themselves into.  These are the types of scenarios I have been looking forward to:
-tracking mud all over the house
-accidentally unleashing wild creatures in the house (bugs, lizards, toads, whatever)
-breaking a window with a baseball
-chipping the neighbors siding with their BB guns whilst trying to play target practice with a couple of soda cans (my bro's)
-lighting a wheat feild on fire while trying to light fire crackers (my dad)
These are all the darling albeit naughty BOYISH things I have been thinking about. 

I am not prepared, however for my boys doing things like this:
-calling some overweight girls that are twice their age "fatties" and telling little kids to throw rocks at them
-trying to cause a cute little puppy physical harm by kicking or using some other weapon of mass destruction
-hitting girls with sticks
-grabbing a boy half his age round the neck and pushing him down

I can handle the mess and destruction that boys can cause, but I don't know about physical and emotional pain.  I never expected them to be cruel. 
Troublemakers- yes. 
But never cruel. 
And I didn't want to be the one with the bullies.  I have done all I know how to try and teach them values and morals.  I love them and show them love and attention.  I want them to have high self-esteem.  But I don't know what else I can do.  It breaks my heart to know that the boys are just being mean just to be mean.  And that the younger boy want to be just like his big brother. Tell me how to deal with this???  Any good suggestions?  How can I teach my kids to make good choices simply because it is the right thing to do, and not because they will "earn" something. 

Has anyone else struggled with this?  Obviously talking with my children about these things is getting me nowhere.  So as I'm writing this post the boy was falling asleep.  I just went in to check on him and he looks so darling and innocent just clutching his stuffed dinosaur.  P-I-T-A when he is awake, but ANGEL when he sleeps.  (PITA is an acronym -think about it). 


 Here is my BEAUT of a girl!

Anyway sorry it has been so long.  My life is so crazy busy.  It is hard to squeeze in a few minutes, but I still will try.  I'm sure the summer will fly by wicked fast.  So we will enjoy the sunshine and warm weather while it lasts.  You should too.  In fact let's enjoy it together.  Come over anytime!  Peace out.

He is my Sunshine

This kid is great.  He is my one respite.  I started potty-training him (even though I was trying to resist it)the middle part of April.  He has done better than either one of the others.  He rarely has accidents now.  He is doing sooooooo good.  I am so proud and happy that he actually caught on!  Now we'll just work on him so that he does not regress.  So anyway, I just thought that I'd share my ONE success story with you!  Here are some pics for your viewing pleasure.

 

Birthday Boy

This last month my BABY turned one!  I can hardly believe it.  It seems like yesterday he came barreling out- ALL NATURAL and turned my life upside down.  We all just love him.  He is so smiley.  He is almost always in a good mood. 
He can speed crawl, and the man and I have discussed putting him on the diaper racing track, but since it is outlawed in 49 states, we figured it just might not be that safe.  But there is no doubt our money would be on this guy- he is fast. 
He can stand and walk very wobbly, but he prefers to crawl.  He can get into LOTS of mischief.  I have found that apparently the most interesting thing in my house is, by far, the toilet brush!  He certainly is a curious and inquisitive little guy who has to do and have everything the older brothers and sis has.  Happy Birthday to my baby boy! How I love this guy!

Daily Quips

The boy says to me today (as a jeep was passing us), "Mom, jeeps are fast!"
"Yes," I replied, "they can be."
"Ya- if they're racing jeeps"


And a little earlier today, the girl noticed a thread dangling from the smallish boy's sleeve.  Rather than ripping it off (obviously the adult thing to do), she touched it and then jealously said, "you've got a string to play with!"

And the smallish boy said something so funny, but I cannot post it since it involves loads of names, and wouldn't really be funny without them. 

Cute kiddos!

April Fools

We just love April Fools Day around here.  We're all little pranksters anyway- and it's great to have a day set aside to do just that.  I made a great joke- meal for the kids. 
It was a "cup-cake" meal I told them.  The main dish actually looked like dessert, and the dessert looked like mashed potatoes.  The main dish was meatloaf with sweet-mashed potatoe "frosting".  I told the kids they were chocolate cupcakes with orange frosting.  I don't think they bought this one so much.

  

The mashed potatoe cupcakes were real cupcakes with white frosting and caramel sauce with a yellow squished starburst.  They looked real, right?  And I think my favorite part was the drink.  I have made jello and put it in cups earlier so it would set. 

I gave them their "juice" and it was funny to see the smaller boy put the cup to his lips and tip his head back.  Then again and again.  My bro and sis-in-law had joined us for dinner and she finally said, "Hey, smaller boy, put your finger in it.  Then we all had a good laugh.  Well anyway it was fun for us.  I thought I was pretty clever.  Here are some pics.

Artists, Swimmers, and Cleaners

Because these pics are so awesome I will caption each one!

 

                                                         
                                                         

This is a darling pic. my little artists drew of giraffes.  So cute.

 Smaller boy telling me (right after I gave him his goldfish "snack"), "They're whimming mommy.  Whimming- see?"

                          Here's a close-up of the fishies "whimming"

This is the cutest little cleaner that loudly proclaims to me one afternoon (whilst I am sitting on my toosh reading a book during "quiet-time"), "Mom, I love you so much I am going to clean the whole house for you today.

She proceeds to clean the front room. 

Table pushed up by couches----check. Things off floor----check. Front room cleaned-----check.

Smaller boy's bed made----check.

 Smaller boy's belongings off the floor (just gander at the dresser)-----check.  Smaller boy's room clean---check.

The girl's bed made------check.  Girl's belongings off the floor (look at the shelf)-----check.

Once again- girl's belongings off the floor-----check.

The boy's belongings all off the floor-----check. 

House cleaned--------check.

Cutest girl in the world------check.

I refinished this dresser a while ago for the boy.  It is obviously chalkboard paint.  I go into his room the other day and he has "labled" what goes in each drawer.  This is the cutest thing.  I'm pretty sure that top middle drawer is supposed to say "toys". 

I love the ages they are right now.  I am hating/loving that they are growing up too fast.  They are growing up too fast/not fast enough.  Does this make sense to anyone else out there?  I love the kids and how cute they are right now, but there are some pretty rough moments when they are all screaming all at the same time for something different from me . 
I am really just trying to sit back and cherish the little things though because, come on... look how cute they are!  Seriously.  I just love it. 
"We remember moments, not days"  I am just totally loving and living in the moments they create.   

Birthday Girl

Today was my birthday.
 It was fantastic.
 Here are 10 pictures to help you understand why it was so great:

And here are 10 completely unrelated reasons why it was fantastic:

1. The boy came in to wake me up today singing, "Guess who's birthday it is,"  and I had to "guess".  How darling is that!
2. Tradition in my family is when you don't live with the person and it's thier birthday you call and sing to them.  So I got sung to a lot.
3. My kids were just as excited for the day as I was.
4. The man gave me a nice long hug right after he put on his cologne, so I was smelling him on me all day after he left for work. :)
5. Seriously.  Did you SEE that pile of presents.  I'm just saying...
6. Peaking out of the shower this morning, I see my darling 2 year old's bare bum as he stood on his tippy-toes as he chose to "peep-peep" in the toilet!
7. My sister brought me lunch, and a plate full of goodies for me and the kids. Then we hung out and played scrabble.
8. My brother and sis-in-law came over and we totally binged on all the sweet things around the house. (Well I did anyway)
9. All the awesome birthday wishes from facebook.  Makes me feel like a million bucks!
10. The snow (from last night) MELTED.

I couldn't have dreamed up a better birthday!  Thanks family and friends.  You guys are all great and I feel so lucky to have each of you in my life! You very nearly made me forget how old I am turning today.  (I must be getting old- I like scrabble)

The Potty Train

The girl has done wonderfully with no potty accidents for a few weeks.  The last three days, though, she has had a few accidents.  After her second accident today, I went into the bathroom to help her out and inquire about what was going on. 

"So, honey, what is going on with you lately?" I asked.

She got very somber and her voice was a little shaky when she replied, "Mom, I just think it is (the boy's)(she obviously says the boys name) fault.  He just took it from me and I just want it back, because it was his problem but now it's mine and I just want it back..."

Whoa.
Random rambling.
What the heck is this girl saying?
I tried to clarify- "Honey, what are you talking about.  What do you want back?"

"He took it and I just want it back so I don't have accidents anymore, mom. The 'POTTY TRAIN'."

Oh, thanks for clarifying there hon.

I thought about buying her her very own toy train so that we wouldn't be worried about accidents with her anymore.  But maybe she oughtta figure this one out on her own?
 
I just love my little angel girl.