Girls

When I was a kid, I remember our dog, Cookie, doing something naughty. I told her she was a "bad girl." My mom told me not to say that. Cookie was not a bad girl, she just made a poor choice. It was such a brief moment, but it really stuck with me. Never again did I say someone was a bad boy or girl. And I cringe when I hear someone else say it.

Fast forward many years. Now I am the mom. I am sitting in my room hoping my kids will eventually go to sleep when I hear Z tell W he is a bad boy. W is devastated. I go in to their room. I tell Z, W is not a bad boy. I then ask Z to say something he likes about W.

Z thinks for several moments, then retorts, "I like that he bees nice to me and not S (his older sister)."

Not exactly what I was thinking.

I bite my lip. I can't even remember what I said back. Hopefully it was something coming to S's rescue.

I'm not sure why, but W has decided that he does NOT like girls. Not only that, he has decided that everything is assigned a gender: movies, music, cups and plates, toys, even sides of the van and the accompanying door. Heaven forbid I turn on a "girl song' or have S get out on the "boy side" of the van. This is not okay with him. I am often telling him different things are for boys AND girls, not one or the other. I also have to often tell him to be nice to sisters.

Of course, it drives me crazy. But it also makes for funny anecdotes.

I was putting W to bed the other night and, while his arms are around my neck, he says, "I only like boys, I don't like girls."

I respond, "Do you like me?"

W: "Are you a girl?"

Me: "Yes."

W: ....

Me: ....

W: "Well, I almost like you."

Our Year in Maryland

Shame on me! It has been 11 months since we moved to Maryland, and 11 months since I wrote a blog post! I've been really missing writing lately, so here we go again. Ironically, we are moving in a month to Washington state. For that reason, I decided to keep this "catch up post" simply pictures of our time in Maryland. WARNING: Picture overload is about to happen.

 Visiting the Air and Space Museum our first trip into DC

Van and truck loaded to the gills with stuff and kids, headed to Maryland and our new house!

National Zoo

Florida Trip!!!

 First DC Temple trip

 Trip to Illinois to say goodbye to Grandma Robbins

  




First Metro ride and DC date night

Wizard of Oz park

First grade and home school!

CoCo Sala for our anniversary

Hershey, PA

Hill Camorah, The Whitmer farm, Palmyra, NY, and the Sacred Grove

We've seen so many sights and done so many things in past year. I'm so thankful we've had a year to live in such a historic place!

Making a Mess

Since we are moving next week, we have eaten out much more than normal that last week or so. That seems to happen every time we move. I pack up a few dishes that I think I don't need, I do a final shopping of only necessities, then I feel like I have nothing to cook and no dishes to cook in anyway. So, we go out to eat.

Last week we had one (or more) such days.

I had had a very long day. We had been trying to find renters to finish out the lease on our rental home, and I had shown the house multiple times that day. The kids have been on edge all week. I'm sure they can sense my stress. I had been cleaning and packing and hadn't even thought about dinner.

Michael came home and suggested that we go to the Chinese buffet in town. It is cheap. My kids can get what they want. And my kids actually eat their food since they picked it. It is a great compromise for all.

We load up and go!

At one point during the meal, I went back to get a bowl of soup and to help S get something. After helping S, I send her back to the table, fill a soup cup, and set it on my plate.

I look up and see a little blond boy running with his dirty plate and cottage cheese fingers right at me.

"I want another sugar roll!"

Okay.

I got Z a roll, and immediately he starts whipping his slimy plate around. I can just see the roll sliding right off his plate.

Pause a moment.

Rewind.

When I filled Z's first plate, I told him multiple times to hold it with two hands and be careful. Of course he is 4 years old and not very patient while I help get food for 4 children, so his plate of food ended up on the floor.

Fast forward.

I can see that he is about to lose his roll. This time I don't have 2 other kids in tow, so lunging to stop him from dropping it seems like a good option.

Wrong. It was just a roll. I should have let it go.

Unfortunately for me, my plate was placed more precariously on the counter than I thought. I save Z's plate, but I lose my own.

My cup of steaming hot soup spills all down the front of me and burns my hand.

Great!

"What happened?" comes an innocent chirp.

"I made a mess! Go sit down by Dad."

Z runs back to the table while yelling, "Mom made a mess!"

I go in to the bathroom where there are, of course, no paper towels. I use the 1-ply toilet paper as best I can to clean off my clothes. But at this point I may look like I peed my pants.

Oh, the joys of children.

I go back out, inform someone they need to mop up some soup, get a new bowl, and sit with my family.

Michael doesn't quite know what to say.

I'm fuming.

Z is cheerfully eating his "sugar roll."

After a little while I cool off.

We finish dinner and head to the car.

Once in the car, Michael finishes the story he was afraid to tell me while I was mad.

Z came running over to the table yelling, "Mom made a mess. But I didn't. I beed careful."

Orange Nail Polish

A couple of weeks ago, I was going through boxes of stuff, purging for our upcoming yard sale. I was "in the zone" you might say. I wasn't paying much attention to my boys while Baby B slept and S was at school. They are pretty good at entertaining themselves, plus they had control of the remote. Good parenting. Right?!?

While I was working, I got a whiff of nail polish. I had just taken a few bottles out of one of the boxes and put it aside to pack with bathroom stuff. I didn't think a thing of it.

A few minutes later I got another whiff and suddenly realized, if you can smell the nail polish, it is probably open.

Brilliant deduction. I know.

I turn around.

A foot away from me is W, painting one of his legs a vibrant shade of orange.

All I had to do was say his name, and he burst into tears.

I figured I'd clean it off him later when I had time to search for nail polish remover. It was going to be a chore, but he didn't get it on the carpet and we got some of it wiped up for now. The rest was dry.

Here's a picture of my cute little guy with his leg covered in orange nail polish.

Yes, I posted the right picture.

Yes, I said orange nail polish.

And yes, I did say one leg was covered.

You just can't see the orange nail polish because he decided to cover it up with a bottle of green paint.

Let's continue this story....

A few hours after the nail polish incident, I was in another room working on something else. I suddenly realize that W is nowhere to be found.  I wander into the room of boxes, and there on the far side is a cute, little, green monster.

Of course I was completely calm (if you believe that, I have a bridge I'd like to sell you).

Again, I say his name, and he bursts into tears.

He starts to walk towards me, which I realize immediately is a horrible idea unless I want green paint all over the house. I pick him up and carry him upstairs to the bathroom.

As soon as I set him down, I realize I saved the house but a ruined one of my favorite pairs of jeans! Of course they are the pair that make me feel skinny. Now they make me feel green.

I am ragging  mad, but before I put him in the shower (a bath would do no good with this much paint, much to his dismay) I think, "You may be angry now, but you will want to blog about this later."

Oh how right I was.

After a good scrubbing, I got the green monster mostly back to his normal color. Though one leg was still a bit orange.

Turbulence

It has been way too long since my last post, and I recently had an experience that is just too funny not to share.

If you have ever flown on an airplane before, then you know there are two kinds of passengers: Those with a kid and those without.

It isn't unusual to be sitting quietly at the gate when a mom with her baby approaches and sits down. One of two thoughts probably goes through your head, "Great a baby!" (thought with all enthusiasm because you just LOVE babies or are a parent yourself). Or "Great, a baby" (thought with all terror because you might end up sitting next to said baby while it screams because her ears just won't pop during take off, landing, nor any moment in between).

If you are a parent that has ever been on an airplane with your child, you know the facial expressions that go with these thoughts. The "don't-look-at-them-and-maybe-they'll-walk-to-the-next-gate" face. Sometimes it's the "I've-been-there-too,-good-luck!" face.

Well, when my posse arrived, I'm sure there was a "holy-cow-they-actually-leave-the-house-with-that-many-kids" face. I'm not actually certain because I was too busy yelling at Z to stop running away, telling W to stop putting his foot on the wheel of the stroller, keeping track of whatever shoe or sock B may have thrown, and making sure S didn't get too far behind.

We had two flights out and two flights back with a four hour drive on each end (8 hours total going out and 8 hours coming back). Needless to say, my kids got fidgety, tired, etc...

But, I was prepared! Snacks, Leadpads, toys, headphones, etc... Each kid would have enough to do that they wouldn't get too bored. Plus we woke up so dang early they should just sleep for at least one leg of the trip.

And they did.

Things went great out, and even back.

When I saw looks of terror as we sat by people, I assured them my kids are great travelers.

They've done this a lot.

Don't worry.

I almost believed it myself!

Then, as we started to descend on our first flight towards home, it happened.

I knew this trip couldn't be incident free.

That would be too good to be true.

The captain had warned us of turbulence when we first set out. It had been reported in the Denver area, where we had our layover. So we knew it was coming. We just didn't realize how bad it would be.

The flight attendants picked up all the trash for the last time, in preparation for the turbulence we would get. They had just finished up and were putting the bag in the can when it happened.

The plane moved left, right, up, and down all at the same time.

This was not just your run of the mill turbulence. It felt like the plane was picked up and shaken.

In the back of the plane, we hear the flight attendant fly across the little room in back.

Screams.

Gasps.

Maybe a little swearing (it wasn't me, promise)!

I look at the couple across the aisle. They have a little baby and the dad is wrapped around baby and mom.

This was the worst turbulence I'd ever experienced.

For the first time, I understand seat belts in air planes.

I keep telling myself, "Turbulence doesn't take planes down."

I'm not sure if I believe it at that moment.

BANG!!!

The plane shakes again.

My nerves are heightened, so I'm sure there is someone else completely freaking out on this plane.

There are multiple babies on this flight. I can't be the only mom stressed.

At that moment Z yells, "WE'RE GOING DOWN!!!"

Now, you would think that this would stress me out even more. Quite the contrary.

I started laughing so hard, I had a difficult time shushing my blunt little 4 year old while reassuring him we were not, in fact, going down.

Of course, we landed and everything was fine.

Now, I'm not sure if anyone heard Z's cry or not. But if you were on that plane, and you heard him scream, I hope you took it as I did and laughed like crazy. And next time you see a family with a ton of little kids, instead of putting on your "I-think-I'm-allergic-to-kids" face, pray you get to sit near enough to hear what will probably come out of at least one of their mouths during the trip. Because nothing can change your mind set in a stressful situation like a 4-year-old yelling, "We're going down!!!"

Fun Times Usually End in Tears

Why is it that whenever I think, "Oh, this will be so much fun!!!" by the end of the "fun" activity at least on kids is crying? I'll give you a few examples to illustrate my point.

The other day Michael and I were eating ice cream and watching a show after everyone except Baby B had gone to bed. Michael got a phone call, so we paused the show.

Then the noise starts.

B wants some ice cream!

She knows what is in the bowls.

Daddy let her taste his last time.

So, since Michael is trying to hear the person on the phone, I give B small bites of my ice cream to keep her quiet. It works great! Until I run out of ice cream.

I don't know that I have ever seen such a sad face on such a small person.

Her face scrunches up.

She looks at my with betrayal in her eyes.

Then she throws her face on to the blankets next to her and weeps.

Poor girl!

How dare I run out of ice cream!!!

Next example:

Every road trip we ever take (be it 2 hours or 24 hours), our kids do great! At least until the last 45 minutes.

We watch movies.

We sing songs.

We play games.

We eat food.

We even nap.

But come the last 45 minutes of any trip, an alarm goes off in at least one child's head and the start to scream. That usually starts another kids screaming. Which then makes Z start yelling, "Quiet!!! It's too loud! Stop crying!" Which sets of kid #4.

It doesn't really matter if we are going or coming, this seems to happen. But if we are returning from trip, around this time S realizes that we are almost home and cries uncontrollably about missing what ever family or friends we have just left.

Fun times!

Third example:

This past weekend we baby sat a friend of S's from school overnight. It was so fun! She was with us for about 24 hours. It was a Saturday and Sunday, so we had a "movie party" then went to church the next day. S LOVED it.

Then her friend's dad showed up.

Time to leave.

Never mind that S would be seeing her friend he next morning on the bus. She was going to miss this friend. So crying ensued.

I tried to explain that we can't cry every time a friend leaves or we leave his/her house. We all have families that would miss us if we didn't go home.

That really didn't help.

Now, why does this happen? Because my kids are still small yes. And because they are usually tired from staying up late on vacation and in the car and with their friends. And because they don't understand things like ice cream running out. But still.... It happens just about every time.

So you'd think I'd stop coming up with great plans thinking, "This will be so much fun!"

But I don't.

I have hope.

One day the crying will stop and I will finish an adventure thinking, "This was so much fun, right to the end."

For now, I'll just enjoy the middle.

A Day for Remembering

Veteran's day is a day for remembering. I think a lot about my Granddad who fought in World War II. I think about my Grandpa Averett who served in the Navy. I think about the family I married in to. Many of them, including my father and brother-in-law, have served in the military. What a blessing to have a rich heritage. I'm so thankful to them, and so many others who have served our country. What a blessing to live in The United States of America.

For my family, today is not just a day to remember our veterans. It is a day to remember my sweet niece, Ethne. Today would be Ethne's 5th birthday. When she was two years old, Ethne returned to live with a loving Heavenly Father. And today, instead of celebrating with her, we celebrate by remembering her.

My sister-in-law and brother have an amazing blog (I would highly recommend checking it out; this is a link to the challenge she posted: http://prayersforthefamily.blogspot.com/2014/11/ethnes-5th.html). Last week my sister-in-law issued a challenge to do 5 acts of service to remember Ethne on her 5th birthday. And that is just what I did! Now I want to share them with you; not to brag, but to show you how easy it is to love and serve others.

The first thing my family did was feed a set of missionaries from our church. These young men have given two years of their lives to serve the Lord. To help them with that, we try to feed them about once a week. What a blessing it is to have such a spiritual feast in our home every week!!! I think they bless us way more than we bless them.

The next act of service was giving a garbage bag of clothes away. It doesn't get any easier than that! I had so many boys clothes that I took what I needed from the hand-me-downs I got from family and friends. The left overs have sat in my closet for over a month now. So, with a push from my sister, I gave them away. It was easy and the family that took them couldn't be more grateful!

The third act of service was so fun I didn't feel like I was taking time away from anything more important. I volunteered in Z's preschool. I read the same book 9 times to all the kids in his school, and had a blast doing it. The book was called Roar of a Snore. Of course, talking to 3 and 4 year old kids about snoring was about as entertaining as it comes! I got to hear all about dads, brothers, and even a dog that snores.

Act number four was not something I had planned to do. This is an example of how just being a friend is an act of service. I went to pick up something from a friend today and could tell she was feeling a little down. I asked her what I could do for her. She said all she needed was a hug. So that's what a did. Of all the acts I did this week, this was the sweetest, and most simple of all. It also reminded me so much of my niece. She was always willing to hand out a hug, even if you could tell she wasn't in the mood. She never turned me down. So today, that hug was for my friend, but it was also for Ethne.

My final act of service was an opportunity that fell in my lap! I was on a Facebook yard sale page posting pictures of some hats I had made, hoping to make a little money for Christmas, when I came across a post asking for free/cheap toys to donate to the Children's Hospital NICU in Columbus, OH. I have kids, so I have toys! Way more toys than we could ever need. So I took S and we went through the toys and books and sent several to these kids who will be spending their Christmas in the hospital.

Even though Ethne isn't physically with us now, I know that she would be so happy to see the acts that so many people have done to remember her this past week. And I issue the challenge to you. Even if you didn't have the blessing of knowing my niece, I challenge you to look around. Open your eyes to the opportunities to serve. They will fall in your lap and you will be blessed. Then share your experience and inspire someone else.