Maybe they DO listen after all.

This morning my son came down stairs, gave me a big hug, and said "Mom, you are the BEST mom ever!"  I gave him a hug and poured him a bowl of the cereal of his choosing and went back to cleaning the kitchen. After a crazy morning of getting Seth out the door to work after an early morning "Can you come in NOW???" call I was trying to hurry and get the house straightened up before some company comes over.  Wyatt then asks me "Hey Mom? Are the dishes in the dishwasher clean?"  I said yes and went back to what I was doing.  I stopped what I was doing because I heard all this clinking and cabinets being opened and closed and I turned around and saw Wyatt un loading the dishwasher!!!  Wyatt is always a good helper when i ask him to do something but to see him do something on his own, with out being asked was amazing!  Not too mention he usually puts the dishes in neat little stacks on the counter because it is hard to reach and I actually put them away i the cupboard but today he was getting kitchen chairs and using them to help reach to actually put the dishes away!
I wish I knew what was going through his little mind this morning.  What was it that this time made him think to do that.  I feel like a broken record most days trying to teach my kids to be kind, to help others without being asked, and all the little things you try and teach your kids to do to help them be a kind and thoughtful person.  I drag my kids to church by myself each and every Sunday and wrestle with two toddlers while trying to keep them quiet and still so that hopefully they will learn something and feel that church is a special, happy place where they want to be. 
Yesterday the speaker spoke about serving others and he gave specific ways each member of a family could serve other members of their family.  While I was wrestling to wiggly squirmy girls I saw Wyatt listening intently to the speaker.  I could see he was making a mental check list of things that He could try and do.  Perhaps it was hearing this brilliant idea from someone else that made him want to come home and try it out for himself but I could tell how proud he was on his little face that he un-loaded the dishwasher all by himself without any one asking him to.
After I thanked him, and gave him a hug I saw him pump his fist and say "Yes! I did awesome!" quietly under his breath.  YEP!  He did awesome. And it made my day.

I need a new strategy!!!

I am a woman that likes her house clean.  I do not like toys and random objects strewn all over my house and I CERTAINLY do not like a messy kitchen and dirty dishes in the sink.  I find it very difficult to relax and think of anything else when I look around and see chaos and clutter all around.  That is why Wyatt is every Mom like me's dream child.  As soon as Wyatt is done doing something or playing something he quickly puts it away.  If there ever was a time when I had to ask Wyatt to clean up something I do not recall it.  The kid even clears his place from the table, granted there are crumbs and spills left behind but hey it's pretty impressive for a 7 year old.  Even as I type this he is lecturing Annie about putting things away where they go and telling her to clean up her messes.  He loves to organize his room and to go through his things telling me what he no loner uses and how we need to get rid of it.  He is a complete mini me!  I love it!

Now my little Annie is a completely different story.  She is an absolute force of chaos and destruction.  She has no interest in playing with toys.  Her idea of fun is to take the toy bins and to dump the toys all over the floor, spread them out all over the house and then go find something else to get into.  She loves lotion, chap stick, baby diaper ointment and any other cream and salve because apparently it is so much fun to rub and smear all over everything and anything she can think of.  Her idea of coloring is to take all the crayons out of the box, peel the wrappers off the crayons and then go scribble on anything BUT paper.  I figured play dough would be a fun idea for her. Surely squishing the dough between her hands and making fun things out of it should definitely keep her busy.  Well again Annie has a different idea.  Crumbling it all over the floor and making the biggest mess possible must be more fun then using it the proper way.

Seems baby Penelope is following in her big sisters foot steps.  This week she has figured out how to open all the doors in the house.  This has unlocked hours of fun in the form of mess making and destruction for Annie and Penelope. DOUBLE TROUBLE!  I came out of the bathroom the other day to find two delighted toddlers who had gotten into the pantry and opened at least one box of pasta and threw it all over the kitchen floor and were having the time of their lives throwing it all over the place.  While I was cleaning it up they proceeded to smear chap stick all over the coffee table. While I was cleaning THAT up I came around the corner to find them unrolling and shredding a whole roll of perfectly good toilet paper.  Now Annie spent a nice long time in the time out corner for those messes while Penelope stood beside her the entire time hugging her and laughing. What a pair!

Now you would think that this could easily be solved by making Annie clean up her own messes and toys.  Brilliant! Why didn't I think of that????!!!!  Oh wait... I did!  SO anytime Annie makes one of her messes, which is at least 6 times a day, she goes right to time out.  Then I spend the next hour with her making her clean it up which usually involves her telling me no, followed by her going back to time out over and over again until she finally gives in and takes another hour to as slowly as humanly possible clean up the mess.  You may be thinking, why aren't you watching her.  Yeah....  A girl's gotta use the bathroom once and awhile, or change Penelope's diaper, or take a load of laundry out.  that's all the time it takes, sometimes less than 2 minutes, for Annie to unleash her force of destruction! This is NOT fun and not exactly how I want to spend my days but that's the drill around here. Not too mention I am driving myself insane trying to keep some order and things picked up around here.

So I have been contemplating a different strategy for dealing with the messes around here.  What if I just wait until the end of the day to have one big massive clean up?  No cleaning up the same mess 5 times a day, no more spending an hour to get Annie to clean up her toys every time she gets something out.  Just deal with it once a day.  Is that possible?  How bad would it get if I waited until the very end of the day?  I don't know if I could handle it mentally. I might loose my mind having to see the chaos and messes all over the place.  But maybe, just maybe, I might enjoy my days better if I only had to deal with this once at the end of the day.  I'm not too sure, but it MIGHT be worth a week test run to see what happens.

Don't forget the police!

Being home alone with the kids on Holidays is nothing new for me.  It is my life and part of being married to a Police Officer.  I try and make the best of it but to be honest, it stinks!  Today as I was home I could see the cars slowly lining the streets and people getting out of their cars and going to join family and loved ones for barbeques and swimming.  Meanwhile I sat home with the kids wishing I was anywhere but home without Seth.  As the kids and I went for a drive to pick up something for dinner ( I refused to be home alone all day AND cook dinner) Wyatt asked why there was no one out and about and why no one else was picking up dinner. I explained that today was a Holiday and people were home having parties with their friends and families.  He said "That's not fair! Why does Daddy have to work then."  I explained that Daddy needed to be at work in case someone needed help and that seemed to suffice for the moment.

Then I started to get a bit irritated. We are celebrating Memorial day and all the Men and Women who serve our country and protect our freedom and for them I am ever so grateful.  Then I started to wonder why the same thanks and gratitude isn't extended to the Men and Women of Law enforcement.  They too serve and protect the communities and their families also make sacrifices for the safety and well being of citizens in local communities.  I know that in the eyes of many it is not the same.  BUT coming from someone who sees the sacrifices that Men and Woman in law enforcement make along with their families it certainly would be nice to feel as though they too are appreciated and recognized.

Instead all I hear is people complain about being treated unfairly and cops who screw up and give the rest of them a bad name.  Then I listen to politicians get up in their expensive suits in city council meetings and explain how they are going to balance the budgets by once again cutting cops pay and benefits and not wanting to pay them overtime for the hours they stayed past the end of their 10 hour shift dealing with someone who has lost their life and having to tell a family that their loved one has passed away. Or perhaps working the scene of an accident in a hot, black uniform, heavy vest and belt in 110 degree heat for hours on end. Or maybe being screamed at and spit on by a naked, smelly, person high on drugs that pees, poops, and throws up all over them selves that they must grab a hold of and haul off to jail so they don't hurt themselves or someone else. They complain about the cost of paying Police and the benefits they receive for doing what they make out to be a "regular" civil service job.  As if these guys work Mon -Fri 9-5 driving in an air conditioned car all day doing nothing.  It infuriates me!  They do this job because they love to help, protect, and serve the community.  They do this job despite being unrecognized and grossly under compensated for the risk factors, and sacrifices they and their families make every day they go to work.

SO today along with being thankful and grateful for those who serve our Country, I am also remembering and thanking those who serve and protect us locally.

Thanksgiving and whats REALLY important.

As I was doing some cleaning today while Wyatt was at school and Annalee was taking her nap I decided to turn on the TV for some background noise as well as distraction from cleaning. I just so happened to turn it on to some celebrity news show that I usually can not stand to watch and it was all about what celebrities want and are giving people for Christmas along with all the "IT" gifts this season. I paid somewhat attention as I cleaned and found myself feeling quite sorry for these people and the priorities and "stuff" they spend their days chasing! At that moment I saw how empty and sad their lives must really be if they place that kind of importance on things. At that moment my worries of paying the bills, and not having what I thought was "enough" seemed like such a blessing! I may not have much as far as the world is concerned, my clothes may not be in style and my home is far from glamorous, and I could sure use a makeover as far as my hair and makeup are concerned but I am blessed beyond measure because I know what my priorities are and what is the "IT" things in my life and I can assure you none of it can be found in a store or in some magazine.

I spend my days caring for everyone BUT myself. I feed, clothe, and care for two tiny people that can not do it on their own while at the same time trying to teach them to do it themselves. I wipe noses and bottoms and dry tears and get screamed at, spilled on, climbed on, and even sometimes hit by a screaming toddler. I get the honor of hearing my son read a book for the first time and tell me minute after minute what time it is because he finally gets it. I get to play interpreter to a toddler who repeats herself over and over again until I finally understand what she is saying. I pick up the same toys 20 or more times a day and sweep up the same messes over and over again.

I have a husband who loves me even when I loose it and when I complain about how tired, fat, pregnant, hungry, hot, sore, sick, moody I am. We don't fight and if we have a disagreement we can talk about things and come to some sort of peaceful resolution. Not too mention he is pretty darned handsome and manly too.

You see I don't have stuff. I don't need stuff. I don't want stuff! I am happy with my life and it's pretty monotonous routine. I am glad I know what is really important and that I have all the "IT" things I could possibly desire.

My life is pretty simple and plain and I would not have it any other way.

Me and Wyatt's bedtime tradition.

A while back Wyatt and I came up with a fun bed time tradition. First we read books together, then we say prayers, and then we think of something really cool we can go and do together in our dreams. Let me tell you we have had many adventures in our dreams! We have gone to Disneyland, the beach, nascar, football games, ice cream parlors, camping, skiing, and the list goes on and on. Wyatt is usually the one that comes up with these ideas and we usually spend a few minutes planning out our excursions. We talk about how we will get there, what we will eat, who else may be invited, who we are going to see there. It really is quite amusing. Then when it is all planned I wrap things up by saying "OK Wyatt, I'll see you there" to which he replies "Don't be late!" and that is how we say goodnight!

I had better get going because tonight Wyatt and I are going camping in the backyard and I am in charge of building the fire and making us smores and I had better not be late!!! :)

Feeling under the weather

It seems despite my best efforts the crud has made its way to my house. Last week was bad as I had to go to the ER for some mystery pain that was nothing short of excruciating and along with I could not stop throwing up. Nice huh! Shortly after that Wyatt came down with a runny nose, cough, sore throat, and a low fever. I kept him home from school for a few days and home from his soccer game this morning which he was not happy about. Poor kido! Well last night my nose started running and the sore throat started last night as well and this morning I feel like I got hit by a bus. I just want to go to bed but we all know that is not even an option when you have little ones at home. I just to feel better so I can do my mom and lady of the house duties without wanting to crawl in a bed and go into a coma.

OK now that I have gotten that off my chest I want to talk about my little Monkey Annie. She is a CLIMBER!!! It is quite frightening! She has discovered two new places she likes to climb. The first being my computer hutch! She drags a kitchen chair over to the computer hutch and climbs up onto the part that folds down when you open the hutch and then she climbs over the laptop and into the hutch!!! It is terrifying! It is in no way built to hold a child. Then as if that wasn't bad enough last night as I was cooking dinner I heard Wyatt scream MOM!!! I turned around to see Annie standing on top of the kitchen table holding a pair of scissors that were left on the kitchen table supposedly out of her reach! HA! She found a way to climb on the table and get them. The thing that makes this so odd is how tiny Annie is. She is 19 pounds, 20 on a good day, is 18 months old and is still wearing size 12 month clothes. She is itty bitty and the fact that she has the strength and agility to climb like that amazes me! Wyatt was a tank of a kid and never was a climber. He was more of a bulldozer so this whole climbing thing is freaking me out! I can't let her out of my sight for a minute or she may end up breaking something.

Now onto Boston! Seems my dog has a thing for sippy cups! I keep catching her stealing Annie's sippy cups. Then she lays down on the ground and kinda milks the sippy cup nozzle with her paws to get the juice or milk out! It is hysterical to watch! My dog is nuts!

Well I think it would be wise of my to at least try and get dressed out of my pajamas and try to get some things done around here even though I feel rotten.

Wish me luck.....

Oh me oh my....

OK I really need to get crack-a-lackin and write in this poor old neglected BLOG! It has been a year since I have written anything. I used to be so good and writing faithfully nearly everyday and then I just got tired of it I suppose. I know it will most likely take me a while to get back into the of things but at least I can try right?

It is nearly 5pm, Seth is at work, Wyatt is enjoying some playtime after school and homework has been done and I am trying to keep my eyes open! I am tried all the time! But hey I managed to get some vacuuming done, laundry in the wash, and bathrooms cleaned oh and a quick trip to the store for milk so it hasn't been a total waste of a day!

This is the first week of Seth's new schedule and I am hoping that I will like it. Seems like there is no great schedules in his line of work, so you take the good with the bad and make it work I suppose. Mon-Fri 8-5????? Yeah now what would THAT be like! HA!

Still have no idea what to name this little baby girl of ours. The names came so easily with Wyatt and Annalee but I am at a loss this time. I am hoping that her name will come to me so I can have some time to get used to the idea. It is such a big responsibility to give someone a name, one that I do not take lightly. After all they will have that name forever so you want to make sure it fits and that they like it!

Well as I write this little Miss Annalee is hanging on my shoulders saying "melmo!!! melmo!!!" and trying to grab the mouse away from me. Her Daddy introduced her to the oh so wonderful world of Youtube and showed her videos of ELMO! Now all day long she climbs up to the laptop and slams all the buttons shouting "LaLaLa MELMO!!!" My laptop may never be the same. What is it about Elmo anyway? Wyatt was fascinated with him too haha!

Well I think that is about all from me for now!
Until next time... Kara