would you believe!

Last year I resolved to do a few things...I blogged about it and then promptly forgot! Only after Emily blogged about it did I look back. Boy did God ever have different ideas!! Instead of me being 127lbs...(yeah yea yeah stop pointing out how unreasonable it is) I am comfortable being the same weight I have been since high school. Instead of starting up another mom group, I rejoined my old one and took a foster parenting class, instead of playing music with my dad during the week, we combined our lives to further the enjoyment of family. Lastly the house in ocean park only has one of its rooms painted...i just ran out of care. Some of the good things that came out of 2009 are a deeper appreciation for what a great husband I have, learning to enjoy being a home school parent (still learning), taking a trip with great friends, and slowing down to cherish the moments we have with our loved ones on earth. Whats in store for next year? I am a fan of making a plan even if the last one came out so differently sooo ....

1)Get my 38lb daughter to gain weight

2)take time out to read my Bible every day

3)Go camping!!!

4)run in a 5k or 10k

This years goals are a little more realistic, lets see if that changes anything?!

the stash

Today my youngest chose badly....first he chose to dump the vacuum container (which was full) onto the chair and then he chose to dump all of my daughters micro-beads on the bedroom floor. My first act was to stick him on his bed while I cleaned up mess #2. He hollered and screamed, " I don't want to be in trouble!" followed by the usual I hate this etc.etc. My discipline decision for today was a new one. I had Mr. naughty pants hold my hand and do my chores with me. We cleaned the fish tank, did the laundry, and deep cleaned their room. I stain spotted the floor and looked over to see my oldest child sucking on beads she had picked off the carpet....yes, she picked them up after they had been rolled in stain spotter. *aurgh* (hand hits head) It is defiantly heading toward being one of those days. Something humorous hit me while we scrubbed the Picasso and Michelangelo off of the wall. A smudged pile of hard snotty, better refered to as a booger stash. No dry heaving here, that only occurred when the kids were younger and would leave a little brown surprise underneath the bubbles in their baths. (full body cringe) You know what the stash reminded me of? Most likely I shouldn't say anything. I have a rule not to tell stories on anyone but myself but I will make an exception...

When we were younger we all had our methods for ridding ourselves of nasal drainage. There were a few of the usual tricks; nose to the sleeve, wipe on shoe, snot rocket, or pick and flick. My younger brother had a method all his own. He would pick and smear all this boogers under one particular chair in the house. All three of us kids knew about it. My parents were clueless until the day it was used for diversion purposes. I remember one of us ratting him out in order to distract the blame from another minor booger flicking infraction. The look on my parents faces was priceless when they turned the chair over and exposed a year long habbit. (evil grin *chuckling*) Something between utter disgust and revulsion gripped them as they watched Dan scrub the chair clean. I'm sure I got in trouble too....maybe. :)

rinse and repeat

No matter how you look at the glass, the fact will remain that it is a glass! Take my morning routine for instance. I don't necessarily make the same thing for breakfast, but every day is pretty much the same down to my morning sickness. This is no joke. Each AM a wave of nausea hits me and I have to rush over and eat the first piece of bread/cracker/banana I see, otherwise the inevitable happens. The key ingredient in this uncomfortable ritual is one tiny, minuscule, insignificant vitamin pill. A multi to be more precise. "oh mamagriffith, you just haven't tried the right kind" you say...several brands later, I beg to differ. This has been a thorn in my belly since high school. Bbback when I was in the baby having stage..Prenatal vitamins were by far the very WORST! If its not bad enough the pregnancy left me queasy throw a multi vite horse pill and whammo! Old Faithful. *sigh* Maybe this month I will try another brand. Quite possibly the gummy, fruit flavored, bear shaped variety!

whoops

Quite often mothering and blogging don't mix, like when you try to change your back round and there are two kids hollering not to mention that the other is "doing dishes" sooooooo pretty much I lost all the blogs off my reading list. If you don't see yourself on my sidebar please comment. That way I can zap you back where you belong, which is on my reading list! If you are reading this on facebook, please disregard.

had the urge to draw today.....

all those little things

Today brought a change in the weather. High cirrus clouds gave way to the gray, sky covering stratus clouds and though at the moment it is NOT raining it soon will be. At the moment I am alone sitting in the house.Excuse me, I'm sorry,... you must have just thought I said alone-separate, apart, or isolated from others. This is more like alone- chores are mostly done, kids are playing by themselves and all the adults are gone. Personally its one of my most enjoyed times of day. The thing that makes it best is my brain has finally slowed down enough to be able to reflect. This afternoon I made my three chicken noodle soup. I do it fairly often but you might think it never happens the way all three of them say..."your making soup,....with WHOLE MADE noodles?!!!!!" What silly kids. Ive had some friends come over to politely refuse these squishy delicacies. Perhaps its because when my kids do the rolling it looks more like a pot of hag fish delish! I cant claim to be the cook my mom was but I'm getting there. Here are a few things which were on my favorites list.

chicken noodle soup
bread
coffee cake (only made for potlucks)
Cinnamon rolls
peanut butter pop corn balls

That's just a few home cooked treats, whats on your list?

starbucks and things

Like every other Saturday we vegged out until elevensies, when my desire for all things fine and hot over ran my desire to avoid public appearances with three housebound kids. My mother was in the same mood so we drove to Freddies and walked around the store, I found nothing catching my attention and proceeded to buy good behavior in a box along with a large extra hot tea. I let my mom know where to find us. Several handfuls of cheese flavored squares bolstered my confidence in these two, currently well behaved, offspring of mine. The thought even occurred in my head that perhaps we had in fact out grown the roll-on-the-floor-and-have-a-tickle-fight-in-the-check-out-line stage. This thought popped into my head simultaneously with another less pleasant one. here is how it played out

Boys- happily munching crackers
me-hey this is nice
boys-cheese filled smiles as one begins his assault of my lap space
me-oh they are doing so we.....oh there is my steaming hot tea I should move it further...yes sweetie I do lov....this is not going to end we...ahhhh!!!
Burning hot tea sploshed like a wave over me, my boy, the floor, and my purse.

Normally, or at least when I was younger and not a mom, this sort of thing would have mortified me. I remember the feeling of wanting to run away and escape all the negative attention I would receive from such a clutzy accident (believe me there were quite a few) Surprisingly now that I am mom its different. We stood guard for about 10 minutes till someone found a mop. We then moved our soaked stuff to a different table where we chatted with a friend for a few more moments. This was nothing in comparison to our toy isle peeing..oh those potty training days...or the shopping cart flu vomiting (was I really driving it that fast?)

Thereafter we drove home, went to the beach and played with friends. One of whom not so intentionally shared a booger with me when I picked him up. Someday I will tell what exactly mortified me to absolute speechlessness in my youth......another post perhaps....perhaps....

new traditions

Forget to thaw turkey....go out to Chinese!

okay now Im done with christmas crafting.....seriously?

a dress for Hannah and some pajama pants for the Dante boys. PHEW finished just in time or am I????

mr. steel

oh my baby child....only you could make life this interesting. Thank you for the spaghetti sauce on my coat this evening and the enlightening talk about something itching your..... without you I think life might just be so dull I would die.

christmas flair

these are not my last projects by far....but they are the last to get done before Christmas! notice that Thomas did not appreciate wearing the nightgown but did it for me anyway.

I just love them!

Christmas time is drawing near and I find myself more thankful than ever for the opportunity to be with my three fantastic kids and wonderful husband. Its more than I deserve, to have so much love in my life. Lately in the evenings I have taken the time to play games with the three kids. Jenga is a new favorite as well as trouble. Over the past few months Big Greg has been working on a push-cart...looks more like a go-cart for the kids. Now that its finally done we push the kids around in it and watch their little faces fire up in amazement and imagination. Most of you know we are currently living with my parents. Five adults and three kids stuffed in the cracks. Am I going crazy? some days its hard to see the bottom of the laundry pile, but if this is the sacrifice I have to make..it is with a very glad heart I do it. The days that are rough and I am grumpy I remind myself of all the times my parents worked hard and sacrificed for my good. Perspective helps. I hope that I can give back just a little to them by making their lives easier by being the home mom who takes care of the boring stuff...I admit its fun to tell my mom to get out of the kitchen and sit down so her knees wont go out (chuckling) Or remind my dad he needs to come home for lunch and take a nap. Living with my parents was not on my life's to do list, but it was on Gods. He does have the best plans! What more can I say but this year is proving to be a very Merry Christmas! I hope yours is a blessed one too.

as some may know

An age ago I met a vibrant 15 year old with hope and promise in his future. He was a bunk mate to my brother and a new kid brother to me. More recently he is one of the two missing hikers on mt. hood. Its grief to us all, especially for his family. I cant even begin to hold up my grief to theirs. It is a shadow in comparison, and yet it is still there. So there you have it. I am one of the many people touched by the life of someone special who is no longer on earth. Tomorrow I will post pictures in memory of Anthony.

homeschooling

It comes as no surprise to me that my girl has a very short attention span. That's just who she is. I am comfortable with it, even if I roll my eyes at her activity level occasionally, and I have found some avenues where she excels beyond other kids her age. Sitting still is not one of those things. I find myself using one word over and over. FOCUS. focus. FOCUS!! Quite possibly God knew I needed a break between squirmy children and for that very reason he gave me Thomas. Recently I have taken the early morning to go over a phonics book with him. A homeschooling relative passed it on. Its called Adventures in Phonics by Florence Lindstrom. Not a book for the wiggly child but defiantly great for those kids who have the ability to sit still. It reminds me of the old school house primers. Large amounts of information is packed on one page. So I like it!
My girl is going through nouns, verbs, adjectives and pronouns. I'm glad, because when we started this unit in literature I couldn't remember what a verb was for the life of me! haha. I'm enjoying it as much as she is. Not to make this sound any more like a newsletter or anything but I came across a book from the library which was practically written about my youngest son. Its called The Wild Baby and is adapted from the Swedish by Jack Prelutsky. Its all about a little boy who is continually causing his mother stress by getting lost, cutting his hair with scissors and climbing over things. How is your homeschooling going? What is your favorite book?? My sister does this science book which is simply packed with information about the solar system, its is amazing. If you have a favorite subject let me know!

run run run

Yesterday my family of five made a flash and burn trip to the zoo, as well as the Baker family Christmas. We left at 5:30am in order to have that extra half an hour to hit up a couple of Starbucks.(mmmm) We reached the zoo with a good three hours of play time and so proceeded slowly. It wasn't hard, the air was freezing cold and moving fast was not as easily done. The Chilean flamingos were a bluish pink (jk) and we all felt a little sorry for the tropical animals suffering through north west winters. We met up with Kristen and her family after a bit and braved several other outdoor exhibits before the temperatures forced us to play inside. We left the zoo with just enough time to make it for dinner and desert at Dave and Judy's. The kids played with their cousins although the day was beginning to wear on them. I'm just glad we didn't reach maximum overdrive, the point all three of them run from room to room screaming and laughing. My mother-in-law made about a million pairs of pajamas and slippers, a convenient gift for the long drive home. We loaded them up at 4:10pm stopping only once for the bathroom.....and ahem more Starbucks. It was certainly a full day! This morning my boys are sitting on my lap playing with pop guns. poip! pip! poip! pip! poip! and pretending they are annihilating the duck and geese population. It was a good trip in all and a very fun day.

and then it happened

Once I was a girl, now I am a mom.
The change was best likened to the transformation a frog undergoes except it being more expedient. Picture this. One day you go to bed 4 ft tall. You wake up 6 ft. Shocking, yes, but true none the less.
It doesn't matter weather you have birthed 10 babies, adopted, fostered or obtained guardianship over a child, as long as you have been placed in the position of permanent responsible party you have felt a simular Oh Wow.

The change in thinking happened for me like this.The smells and colors aren't there any more (its the first thing to go in my memories) but the feeling remains intact, it happened on the second day of being a mom. I remembered sitting with this little smidgen of a girl, who was screaming, on my lap feeling scared, trapped, hindered, and overwhelmed. The fact I had romanticised the very moment much differently added to the shock and a realisation I made a permanent decision that was a living human being whom I was connected to forever altered the reality I thought was well...real. Nothing can prepare you for the day motherhood arrives. No books, no movies, no seminars(tho they do help). Its the day you come to light on many of the whys or why nots about other parents. For me it was the knowledge that this little bundle of love and hope might someday choose to hurt me, hate me, abuse me, and even reject me. The life I choose to live will ultimately effect her. The things I do will be seen by her. FOREVER.
I am no longer a girl, I am mom. My life is now more than me.
"How can I do this? What will I do? You didn't tell me about this part!" I prayed. The stress began to wear down. "I chose this, I will do my best." I put my fears away and relied on Christ. After all if he can love me when I hurt him, when I hate him, when I abuse him, and even reject him I can choose to so the same for my children knowing when I run out of love, all I have to do is ask for some of His...and believe me, I do.

booties for baby shower

What happens whe you stay up late knitting that final slipper?? it comes out a different size and you end up making another. Yup, thats what I did last night, but the results came out fantastic.