Random happenings

We've been busy around here, but every once in awhile I remember to snap a picture with my phone.. Here here some random things that have been happening around here...

I have been putting to use child labor, luckily they think it's fun right now.. we'll see how they feel about washing dishes when they're teenagers...

One of Kate's favorite things to do is go eat lunch with Emma at school. She feels like such a big girl, and of course, everyone thinks she's adorable, so she feels like a queen when we go there...

And....drumroll please......... we FINALLY moved the girls into a room together! It's been a long time coming, and Emma and Ben were troopers sharing a room for over two years! Ben is VERY happy to have a room that "doesn't smell like a girl anymore" (his words..). Thanks to Ikea and their supercheap beds, the bedroom is finished! Now, if we could just get Kate to leave Emma alone at night, that would be a plus!

That's all folks!

Bad day

So Ben had a ROUGH day yesterday..I think he spent 1/4 of the day in time out and maybe the other waking hours very close to going in time-out.. As I was putting him to bed as patiently as I could, I said, "Buddy, go to sleep and let's start all over tommorrow, and try to be nice, ok?" He didn't say anything. I didn't think he was listening. I was frustrated.
This morning as I was puttering around the kitchen he came out all crazy haired carrying his puppy and wrapped his arms around my legs. I lifted him up and he put his hands on my face and said, "Mom, when I'm all grown up I will still come and sit on the couch with you and watch whatever movies you want."
Well, I don't pretend to understand his train of thought, but I'll take it. The boy gives me gray hairs but I know without a doubt he'll always be there for me...

Bewilderment

Bewilder: to confuse utterly; puzzle.
    Sometimes I feel like I am in a constant state of bewilderment as a mom. For example, the day after giving birth to Emma, they actually sent us home! What? We're supposed to take care of this baby all by ourselves? You're not sending someone with us? I was confused.
    Or when I change a diaper and think to myself, "What in the world is that? What could you have possibly eaten to create THAT?" Or last month when I was cleaning Ben's room and noticed his box of tissues were gone. That in itself is not a mystery, but the snot wiped down the wall by his bed truly is. Apparently the wall works great if the tissues are gone.
   Or how my car always smells funky when I first get in. Or why on EARTH the kids seem to get in a fight the minute I answer the phone! I just don’t know…
   Two days ago I once again experienced this bewilderment. At 9:15 pm all 3 kids were sound asleep in their OWN beds. At 11pm, Dave and I went to bed in our OWN bed. But at 7:30AM I woke up to, you guessed it, bewilderment. I was on the couch with daughter #1. Daughter #2 was sprawled out across a queen size bed that hubby was clinging to the side of. The boy was halfway on the floor, with 30 more stuffed animals than he went to bed with. The sheets were pulled off of the top bunk, and thrown by the washing machine. I don't remember doing this.
    Just as I start piecing the nights events together, the alarm goes off. There's no time to think. Another day has started and I don't even understand the day before. I need coffee....

Entrepreneur

   About a year ago Ben became pretty intrigued by the concept of money. He realized that money bought things, and he likes things. Over the next few months he became our budding entrepreneur, and even purchased his first velcro wallet at Goodwill for .99. The boy has style. He has tried many tactics: He tried to convince us that there is a book fairy, that will leave you money if you put one of your books under your pillow at night. He used Elmers glue to paste together pieces of scrap wood to sell to the neighbors (that's another story). He painted pictures I thought were for the refrigerator but turns out he thought they might sell on Craigslist (he's not lacking in self-confidence).
    That brings me to a couple months ago. He helped Dave in the garage using the shop-vac for about 2 hours. He worked hard, and never complained. So Dave paid him a couple dollars. Cha-Ching! All the sudden, he wanted to help with everything. Hmmmm.... So, I gave him the talk about normal chores we do every day, and extra ones that come along every now and then. You don't get paid for picking up your toys, dude. He seemed a little bummed out by this slap in the face of reality, but I was pretty sure he understood.
   A couple nights ago I asked him to help me unload the dishwasher. About halfway through he said, "Don't worry mom, I'm not gonna charge you for this because this is just part of being in a family." Whew, glad he let me off the hook on that one.....

Astoria trip

For the long weekend we loaded up the car and headed to Astoria! And of course, the northwest weather did not disappoint. We had a mix of heavy rain, strong wind, sun breaks and hail. It wouldn't be a trip to the Oregon coast without that! We didn't care though, it was so fun and relaxing. We shopped, checked out the sights, swam in the pool and even braved the beach for a few hours!

Here's my four favorite people!

Kate insisted on wearing her fancy glasses while we shopped in Cannon Beach

This is a marvelous sight to see at 10pm- kids exhausted!

Astoria Column- even though it was freezing cold, Dave and Emma made it to the top (no picture of that because I was with the other two in the gift shop-haha!

Happy Valentines Day!

Here's a conversation I had with Ben today- seems fitting to post on Valentines Day :)

Ben: "Mom, Kylah kept trying to kiss me all day at school."
Me: "Did you kiss her?" (holding my breath)
Ben: "No way- i just kept running away just in time. I think her lips touched my arm once, but I rubbed it right off." (said this VERY seriously)
Me: "Was she trying to kiss anybody else?"
Ben: "No, just me. She had to get a long talking to by the teacher. Kissing is gross."
Me: "You won't think so one day. You'll fall in love and then it won't seem so gross."
Ben: "Like I can kiss when I get married?"
Long pause....
Me: "Yes, as a matter of fact, that's exactly right." (lets hope he thinks this way when he's 16.....

Nurses Office

So yesterday we got a letter in the mail from Emma’s school. It was to inform us that she has visited the nurses office 15 times this year.  Hmmm…. Upon closer inspection I see a list of every date and what the complaint was. Some were totally legit- fell on the playground, bloody nose, scraped knee. Some not so legit - tiny tiny bit of blood on finger, shoulder a little itchy, ankle feels funny. But my personal favorite had to be this one- “Your child complained of a stomach ache. While talking to me she passed gas and then said she felt better.” I am so proud right now. I’m thinking two things: 1- We need to inform Emma of what constitutes a trip to the office and 2- maybe I will be sending  some cookies to the school nurse very soon…..

Extra Coffee Required

Sometimes when I wake up in the morning I can’t help but notice how my house resembles some kind of college frat party gone wrong.  Instead of beer bottles and pizza crusts littering the floor, I stumble down the hall dodging sippy cups,  dress-up shoes and army guys.  Last night’s granola bar wrappers and stray pieces of popcorn are scattered on the living room floor. True, I don’t have passed out college co-eds, but I do have one kid sprawled out on the floor , one with his butt hanging off the bed precariously, and one lying next to a cute pile of drool. I glance in another room to see about 50 baby wipes pulled out of the pack, and seems like the dog got in the garbage.  Kate must have had an inkling to read last night, all the books are pulled off the bookshelf.  These are the mornings that require extra coffee…