Life At The Circus

I was shopping at BJ’s the other day with the kids when we passed the jewelry counter.

My son asked, "Why is there jewelry at BJ’s?"

I responded, "So people can buy it."

He then said, "Yea… I guess if they were getting married and didn’t have a ring they could come here."

Hmmm…. clearly this Mommy doesn’t wear much jewelry, since my son thinks wedding rings are the only kind of jewelry one wears. It’s not that I don’t appreciate jewelry. I do . But my morning routine is typically a race. I put the baby down for her morning nap and the "big kids" get to watch one show from our TiVo while I take my shower. I’m racing the clock to get showered and dressed because once the show ends they wonder down the hall and my time is up. I’m happy to shave my legs and put on deodorant, let alone “accessorize”…

How about you? Do you wear jewelry everyday or just on special occasions?

Its Thursday again and time for me to go into that box in the closet under the stairs and find another picture that didn’t make it into a photo album. I found a classic that is truly timely. This is a picture of me opening gifts on my 13th birthday (I think, might be 12). Can’t tell what I am unwrapping, but my brother behind me is definitely interested. Like my dangling shell earrings? How about those bangs? They were a work of art don’t you think? There was something else of note about my 13th birthday. It was the year that I got my first phone for my room. Yep, it was a memorable moment - I was a teenager and yes I was the stereotypical type that monopolized the phone all day long. I guess you could say it was a coming of age of sorts.

Here is another picture I have and this one shows the phone. Wow, to think of the hours I have logged on that phone. The girlfriends and boyfriends I spent hours talking to (and my brother will tell you they were always, “very important things”). Ahh the memories.

This is the phone that keeps on giving too because there is something else noteworthy about that phone picture. It was taken this afternoon as it sat as the only working phone in our circus of a house. Yep, it was only two days ago that one of our two portable phones made their blogging debut in this post involving my youngest daughter and her new friends at the police department. But alas, they have been claimed by the circus. I looked away for a moment and tuned back to see my middle child “wash” both of our portable phones in a basin on the deck. I found her holding them up, with water dripping out the bottom. Nice, huh? These were the only phones we used in our house. I knew when I had two girls with my genes that we would have our share of issues over the phone but I had no idea it would start so soon!

I was temporairily left with no land line at my house. Then I remembered my old faithful phone from middle and high school. I remember when I got this phone over 15 years ago, I thought it was “so cool” because it was clear and you could see all the wires and bells and stuff but now, after using nothing but portable phones for 4 years, this hand held one felt so huge! I didn’t realize how often I used caller ID until I didn’t have it. How strange to pick up the phone and have no idea who was on the other end! I thought talking on the phone with three kids awake and clamoring for my attention was difficult, but not being able to walk around (or out of the room) with the phone made it even more of a challenge!

This week I flashed back to the days of nothing but land lines with no call waiting, and no caller ID. For more musings of days gone by, check out Sincerely Fro Me To You at We are THAT Family.

I just couldn’t resist sharing these pics from our recent trip to the beach.

For more Wordless Wednesday’s, visit 5 Minutes for Mom.

When my oldest daughter was born my son wanted to get her this musical turtle he saw at Target for her crib. Every time we went to Target he would push the buttons to make it play music and he would ask if he could get it for his sister. We didn’t think it was necessary.

He was still insistent about it when our third child was born so we decided to let him get it for his sister for Christmas.

He was right, we were wrong. She loved it instantly. She’d play with it when she woke up or as she was falling asleep.

I always played a cd of lullaby music for my other two kids as they fell asleep. This can sometimes be a pain when we are away from home, especially camping, and we don’t have access to a cd player. With the baby we lay her down in her crib, push play on Mr Turtle, and it plays a little song for approx 15-20 seconds. If she wants more music she hits it once or twice more. It is portable, so we have brought it with us camping or on other over night trips. It’s easy for her to use so if she wakes up in the morning and can’t fall back asleep she can push the button herself. (Doesn’t need Mom to get out of bed and come hit play on the cd player). This fact alone makes it worth the $20 we spent on the toy. I often hear the music playing in her room before it’s time for her to wake up. (Now that the crib is lowered and Mr Turtle rests on on the bottom, she sometimes rolls into it while sleeping and once we heard it playing continuously because her head was against it. Didn’t seem to bother her a bit though).

Mr Turtle has provided a simple way for my baby to listen to music as she falls asleep, self sooth when she wakes up in the middle of the night, and easily provide the continuity of her normal routine when we are away from home. It works for me!! If your looking for more helpful tips, visit Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer.

Kids like buttons. At least ours do. Our son was the first addict. We could keep him happy quiet for long periods of time by giving him the TV remote (with the TV off) and letting him just pound away. Him being the first, we were always careful when he got the phone. Wouldn’t want him to call someone unintentionally and have someone listening to uncensored Life at the Circus. He never really called anyone though, because life with one isn’t quite a circus, he just hit buttons. Naturally, when it came to baby number two we got a little more lax with the phone. Our daughter was a less enamored by the buttons, but she knew that the shiny one in the center made it light up and bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. We’d just periodically hit the off button. By child number three, we are quite a bit more lax. We’d just give her the phone and go back to our business. It’s not like she’s really going to call someone anyway, right?

Thursday morning we received a call from the police. Seems little miss figured out how to dial 9-1-1. (I wonder how long we were “on the air” and what circus noise they heard during that time) Ooops! Mommy’s going to be a little more careful now.

Isn’t this a great picture?

It’s just a down to earth action shot of us all eating dinner. It’s me and my one, two, three, four?, five?…. wait a minute, that’s too many. Your right, I only have three kids but we gained two new members to our circus cast this weekend as we watched the children of our very good friends while they went away for their anniversary. I got to experience life with 5 under 4 for a day and overnight! It was a ton of fun. There was one moment when I had everyone melting down at once, but I have moments like that with 3 and it was only a moment. It’s really true what they say, once you get used to having 3, adding more isn’t that much different. You (and your kids) are already accustomed to the fact that you can’t meet everyone’s needs immediately. Also, having friends for the kids to play with actually makes things easier in many ways rather than harder. I will say I had way more poopy diapers than I am used to. In addition to having two extra kids to change, my baby decided to go 3 times what she normally does in one day. I wonder what I fed her? Also, I didn’t attempt any errands or trips out of the house with the little ones. I wasn’t quite ready for the stares I knew I’d get at the store. (yea… that’s why I didn’t go to the store with 5 small children… not because I was outnumbered 5 to one, or because I couldn’t fit them all in the cart or because I knew it would take 30 min just to get them into the car…not at all) Instead I saved my milk run for after Scott got home from work.

It’s was a delight to have our friends here and we were sad to see them go.

(Ok - you know who you are and I know what your thinking. Scott and I are not pregnant nor are we thinking about it. We are happy with the three we have - at least for now

You know I’ve complained before about having nothing to eat. I posted a picture of my fridge and said it was “the end of the world as we know it.” But the truth is, I know nothing about going hungry. When I look at my fridge and complain about making dinner, there are millions of mothers who would look at the contents and shout with joy. I can’t even begin to imagine the heartache of watching my baby go hungry. Watching my children suffer as they literally waste away, while I am helpless to do anything is something beyond my comprehension. If my kids go to bed hungry, it is because they decided the food I prepared for them wasn’t to their liking.

Millions of children in the world are going to bed hungry tonight. According to the Compassion International website, “The higher prices are forcing people who survive on just $1 a day to spend upwards of 80 percent of their budgets just on food.” I’m sure we’ve all noticed and felt the toll the rising food costs have taken on our family budget. But while many of us are having to give up some of our luxuries, readjust our vacation plans, or think about how we’re going to “make our trips count” so many in the world don’t get to enjoy these options. Instead they are making choices such as which meal to skip, or even worse, deciding who in their family will go hungry.

On June 25th, Compassion International is having a day of fasting and prayer for the victims of the Global Food Crisis. I confess I am too often self absorbed and I typically focus on my day and my family. Lately though, God has been placing the poor and impoverished on my heart. As I reach in the fridge to fill up a sippy cup with milk, I think about the moms who have nothing to reach for when her baby cries for food. It breaks my heart and humbles me. These poor moms did no more to deserve their situation than I did to deserve mine. Please join me and others in praying for these individuals on June 25th and remember when you sit down and say grace before your meal, to truly thank God for that food and not just mumble the words we’ve been saying since we were children.

Weekend Thoughts:
My posts typically relate funny anecdotes about the happenings of a stay at home wife and mom with three kids. While my days are seldom “normal” enough to leave me without a “post worthy” moment (i.e. read here), I intend to take some time on the weekend to highlight something from my week that’s a little more “thoughtful” and significant. If you had a post from this week, or choose to make a specific “Weekend Thought” post, please feel free to add a link to your post in the comments section. I’d love to hear what others are learning.

My son really took an interest in golfing this weekend while watching my husband follow the U.S. Open. My husband rarely golfs but does have a set of clubs and after very persistent requests, my husband let my son use his clubs in the back yard. He taught him the different types of clubs (drivers, putters, irons) and when they are used. My son had a blast hitting the ball with the putter (which was almost as long as him) in the back yard and then running over to putt it into the pretend hole (between my husband’s legs).

At one point he really started just randomly swinging at the ball and not really being intentional about it so Scott slowed him down and said,  “you really need to focus on the ball before you swing”. Here is a clip of what my son did as a result. I had a hard time not laughing while taking this video clip. Note the intensity my son displays.

That boy makes me laugh.

Besides playing very focused golf, my son is also quite the critic.  While watching the U.S. Open on Father’s Day, I overheard the following conversation.

“Dad, is that Tiger Woods?”

“Yup”

Tiger then makes a huge drive to get the ball onto the green.

My son sees that the ball is near the hole, but it didn’t go into the hole.

“Dad, I thought you said Tiger Woods was good. He didn’t get it into the hole.”

Well son, he is good. You aren’t always able to hit it right into the hole. It was good that he drove the ball 300 yards to get it near the hole. Then, he’ll hit it in.

“Oh,” - my son wasn’t as impressed with this talent.

On Monday my son had the following conversation with me.

“Mom, is Tiger Woods real?”

“Yea, why?”

“Because I saw him on TV”

I realized then that most of watch he has seen on TV has been cartoons and we have been very careful to make sure he knows they are not real.

“Yes, Tiger Woods is real, you were watching pictures of him golfing in real life.”

“Oh, does Daddy golf with Tiger Woods.”

chuckle

“No, Daddy’s never golfed with Tiger.”

“Has he golfed at the same grass?”

another chuckle

“No, Daddy golfed at a different course.”

I love the innocence of youth.

Our pastor has been talking a lot lately about being transparent. As a Christian I too often present the world with a false squeaky clean image that gives the appearance that I think am perfect. Of course, everyone knows that no one is perfect so, when they see me ACTING perfect they know it is a false charade. What kind of credibility does that bring? No, I am far from perfect. I fall short of God’s standard every day and it is only by God’s grace that the consequences for those shortcomings have been paid by someone else - Jesus. Grace is a gift and no charade of perfection will do anything to justify this gift. As a Christian I do strive for holiness but I do it as a way of saying thank you to the God who loves me. NOT in an attempt to earn his love.

Why do I say all this now? Because this blog (and particularly this post) is a way in which I try to keep things very real and transparent. Far from perfect, I could never even achieve the worldly standard of the ideal homemaker. Don’t get me wrong, I like a clean house and I truly wish my house was cleaner then it is. But stuff happens, kids don’t nap as long as I think they will, friends invite us over for an impromptu cookout, sometime I just feel lazy. In the end, those good intentions so often fall to the way side. I want people to feel comfortable enough around me, an imperfect mom, that they can be themselves. I love the kind of friends that you can invite over and not stress all day about cleaning every last corner of the house first.

When Jessica announced a “keeping it real” carnival on her blog I knew right away that I wanted to play along. She has posted a list of things to take pictures of around our house AS IS, no primping or touching it up first, she wants Real Life.

So, here’s are the pictures from her list… This is the real me.

My fridge

Closet

I decided to keep it REAL, real and show you my baby’s closet. It’s been on my to do list for quite a few weeks now, but as you can see it keeps getting pushed off…

My Kitchen Sink

Toilet

Lid up, can you tell my son went potty last? He also left behind his pants and his teddy… nice, huh? (The list did not stipulate that we had to show the inside of the toilet and I just couldn’t bring myself to be that real. Let’s just say that my son does not always flush so there is a bit of a ring)

Favorite Shoes

Ok, I really don’t have that many shoes… running sneakers, high heels (not even close to my favorite), clogs for winter, and my crocs for summer. I desperately need to go shoe shopping and find some cute sandals. For now, these are the most comfortable and the ones you are most likely to see me wearing, so I guess you can call them my favorite.

Favorite Room

My favorite room in our house is our guest room. We have it decorated with pictures we’ve taken on our National Park trips. The pack-n-play is set up because my 2 year old naps here every day.

What your kids are doing

OK, technically right now while I am typing this, they are all asleep because I write my blog posts after they go to bed at night, but when I was running around the house taking pictures for this post, this is what they were doing.

And just one more of that… do they have a cool Daddy or what? And don’t you love how my little super hero is protecting himself instead of his baby sister? Yea, Daddy had a talk with him about chivalry after this incident.

Laundry

If you’re a faithful reader, then you know laundry is not my high point. But I was so excited to take this picture, because I just have one basket waiting to be folded (ok and one batch in the dryer and one basket waiting to be washed) But still, it is MUCH better than this day.

Here’s my self portrait

(I followed the rules and took it as is, didn’t even look in the mirror first)

So, there you have it, my real life.

I sometimes wonder why it is easier for me to “keep it real” with the whole blogosphere, but when it comes to people I know it is a lot harder. I’ve posted some pics of my sink and fridge that I’d never show face to face to someone, but in the “anonymity” of the blogosphere, it somehow feels safer. The ironic thing about that is that my extended family on both sides all read the blog pretty regularly and a few weeks ago I had a man come up to me at church saying, “I’ve been reading your blog…” so much for that anonymos blogoshphere.

My Sincerely Fro Me to You post this week doesn’t go back quite as far as my others… it’s actually not even a month old. We went on multi family camping trip. There were 8 kids 4 and under between the 3 families. Friday night we had a blast. The kids enjoyed playing with tent poles in the dirt while we set up camp. Then they went looking for sticks to roast their marshmallows.

We woke Saturday morning at around 4 am. Believe it or not, we got more sleep than we had expected with 3 kids in our tent and 2 kid filled tents nearby. By 5:30 we ventured out of our tent when we heard our friend’s kids talking. By 7 am we were all up eating pancakes with kids running circles around the tents.

And then the rain came…

Why is it that ALL of my memories of camping growing up involve rain? It seems they go hand in hand. And yet, I love camping and continue to go back. It is hard to explain.

We expected to get wet. But this wasn’t just wet. This was hours of torrential down pouring. My husband and son went fishing for several hours in the rain. My son really wanted to fish, there was nothing else to do, and they were completely soaked anyway so they just stood exposed in the rain and fished (didn’t catch anything). I stayed at the site with the girls. Here is what our camp site looked like by mid day. My arms were tired and my back was killing me because, as you can see, there wasn’t really a place for me to sit my baby down. By lunch we were standing in ankle deep water and it was time to evaluate the situation. One of the tents had been flooded already and the forecast was telling us it was going to rain the rest of the day with thunderstorms that night. We rather reluctantly decided to pack up and try again another time. Could we have stuck it out? Sure… but, if people weren’t having fun, then pride alone seemed like a bad motivation.

We noticed a break in the rain and decided it was a good time to pack up our tents. After quickly packing up and loading our wet stuff into our van, we are on the road. As we drove away, this is what the sky looked like.

Yup… a clear blue sky the whole way to my brother’s house .

So much for that weather forecast.

To see my other Sincerely Fro Me to You posts click here , or, in celebration of my latest blogging milestone, check out my 100th post.