Motherhood

Today had all the ingredients to be a very classic Monday… one of those days…  we got home at 1:30 AM after a 5 hr drive after losing in the first round of the playoffs after 1 play in overtime…seriously, who would want to wake up and start the week after a night like that? 

But, it was actually a WONDERFUL Monday… a truly great start to my first real week back in reality since Christmas break.  (last week we started back to home school but we didn’t meet at the tutorial… so we had no forced early wake ups… and we only had gymnastics one evening last week)  This week we’re back to the tutorial, back to gymnastics, cub scouts, business trips, dr appointments, MOPS meeting… and I was already dreading the realness of it last week. 

But it was actually a WONDERFUL MONDAY. 

Thanks to….

1.  Scott-  not only did Scott offer and willingly stay late at my parents last night so we could watch the game with them… he drove the whole way home AND THEN arranged things at work so he could take the oldest 2 to the tutorial for me this morning!  (Isn’t he the best EVER?)  Not only did I get to sleep in a little b/c I didn’t have to shower and get ready to be out the door, but I only had to get 2 kids out of bed and out the door instead of waking 4 kids up and hauling 4 grouchy kids to school this morning.  AND the 2 that were hauled out of bed weren’t all that grouchy b/c they got to ride with Daddy and that’s the best way ever to start the day!

2.  My momma-  she helped me wash all our clothes before we left her house last night which meant that I came home from the weekend with a  suitcase of CLEAN clothes… Scott dumped it on the bed for me this morning and combined with the basket of clothes I washed Friday before we left… all I had to do was fold and put away the clothes and we were set.  I was so set in fact that I went ahead and washed and put away the clothes we wore yesterday. 

3.  COFFEE

4.  My tutorial-  I had 6 hrs at home with just my 2 youngest and was able to take care of laundry, clean the bathrooms, clean the trashcans, unpack, AND put together a 100 piece puzzle with my 4 year old.  (FYI 100 piece puzzles mark the extent of puzzle putting together skills… I can not fathom attempt a puzzle with more pieces than that)

5.  SNOW- we were surprised with big white puffy flakes of snow this afternoon which STUCK and accumulated a whole whopping 1/2 inch of snow in our grass.  This of course delighted my big 3 to no end and in between reminding them at least 100 times to shut the door and take their shoes off before coming in, I was able to hunt down gloves and boots ands put gloves on at least 25 times per kid AND make bread rolls, hot chocolate, and cookies.  It made for a super fun, argument free afternoon for all. 

6.  NAPS-  Love, LOVE the fact that my lil man still naps twice a day.  Thank you sweet boy. 

7.  MOPS- I hadn’t been to MOPS in over a year but went back tonight to speak on a panel.  Great evening out and wonderful to reconnect with friends I hadn’t seen in awhile. 

Not sure what the rest of the week will bring, but today I am thankful for a surprisingly great day.

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When talking to my oldest daughter about things to look forward to in 2012, I mentioned to her that the Summer Olympics were going to happen in 2012.

“Oh,” she exclaimed, “I’ll be 6, can I be in the Olympics?”

I told her that when she was 6 she can try out for the gymnastics team at her gym, but she has to be 16 to try out for the Olympics.

“Well,” she said, “I’ll have the 6, I just need the teen!”

I opted to leave it at that and omitted details about the selection committee, the Károlyi’s and the slew of other things that would stand in the way of her and London this summer.  No need to dash a young girls dreams!

Even though she isn’t on the Olympic team… or any team for that matter, I am super proud of the skills she’s accomplished this past year.   A year ago she couldn’t yet do a pullover… now she can do a pullover, cast, back hip circle and is working on her dismount.   A year ago I couldn’t have told you what any of those things meant… I guess we’ve both learned a lot this past year!  Here’s a clip we snapped of her at practice a few weeks ago.

Visit here for more tiny talk.

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IMG_8241My four year old asked for a drink the other day.   I always pour the kids small amounts since we have a propensity to spill things round the circus.  When I handed her the glass she said to me, “Now Mom, that is what I call HALF FULL!”  I couldn’t help but chuckle, guess we know how she sees the world. 

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As my 4 yr old sat coloring in the waiting room this afternoon the mom beside me commented on her neat job of staying in the lines. 

Then we both did a double take and looked over at each other. 

belle

Don’t mind the fact that the dress is green and should “really” be yellow… I love the fact that my girl goes against the flow and colors it how she wants… sure give Belle purple hair and a green dress.  Why not?

But, what is up with that neck line?  Seems a bit low cut don’t ya think?  I am hoping that somehow the coloring book missed a line or something.  But it sure looks to me like she was coloring it in correctly…

Never expected that from Belle… Ariel maybe, but Belle… with her nose stuck in a book… ya gotta watch those good girls I suppose!

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On the wall in my bedroom, tucked away in the corner on my side of the bed is a shadow box in which I pressed some dried flowers from my wedding bouquet.   I’ll confess I don’t look at it often, but when I do I smile and remember that special day.

My children, however, don’t share my sentimentality.

The other day my 5 yr old and I were sitting on my bed and she said, “Mom, why do you have those old dead flowers hanging on your wall?”  I told her that Daddy had given me those flowers on our wedding day.   I of course thought this obviously answered her question.   But she looked up at me like I was crazy and said very matter of factly, “But now they’re dead.”    (as in so why do you have them hanging there now Mom?) It was then obvious to me that she thought her mom was crazy for hanging dead flowers on her wall.  I then remembered the conversation I had with her brother a few years ago when he asked me why I had poop hanging on my wall.  I told him it wasn’t poop, they were dried flowers from my wedding.  “Oh,” he replied, “they look like poop to me.” 

Something tells me 50 years from now when the kids are cleaning out our house and divvying up our our belongings, none of them are going to be fighting for the right to take mom’s dead flowers to their homes. 

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The other day I was driving my oldest two children home when they suggested I text their Nana to see if the younger two were asleep so we’d know if we needed to enter in the backdoor.

I told them I couldn’t text while driving, but maybe if I got a red light I could send her a quick txt.  (I know, I know….)

Well the light was green and as we got rather close to our street my 5 yr old daughter says, “Mom, you gotta send the text!”  “I can’t,” I replied, the light was green. 

“Well Mom, I’ll watch the road for you and tell you if your going to hit something.”

“Thanks, but it doesn’t work like that, I need to be watching the road myself.”

“Why Mom?  Don’t you know this road pretty well, you drive on it all the time?”

I then went on to tell her while I know the road, I don’t know what the other cars are going to do on the road.   And even though she promised to keep an eye for me, I think it would be better for me to watch.

Can you just imagine?  Well, officer, I know I wasn’t watching, but she was my lookout…yea… my 5 yr old in the back seat… she promised to keep an eye out for me….

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