Ok- I know, the blog has been neglected! But I've caught up on some things :) Here are some of the things that have been going on in the Hughes house the last few weeks! Hope everyone is doing great and enjoying spring!

Putting himself on time-out

     Yesterday afternoon I sat down at the computer to just chill for a few minutes.  The crazy part of my afternoon was over- kids had all been picked up from school, snacks had been given, homework folders gone through, and lunch boxes emptied out.
I had been brought up to date on who said what at recess, who got in trouble at circle time, and how interesting learning about fractions is. The neighbor girls had rung the door bell so I sent everyone outside to play. I knew 2 loads of laundry needed to be folded, but I also knew I should take advantage of the quiet. I sipped on my iced tea and got caught up on some news.
That’s when I heard it. I literally had only been sitting for 3.5 minutes when I heard a loud BANG. Hmmm. I glanced outside and all the kids seemed to be fine- laughing, playing, running around. I went and checked rooms, nothing was out of place. Weird. I went and sat back down.
Then, out of the corner of my eye I saw Ben pass by the front window on his way to the garage. He looked…….nervous. I heard the garage door open and reluctant footsteps shuffling my way. I turned as he came into the room, his head hung low and shoulders drooping. He walked right up to me. “What’s the matter?” I asked, almost afraid of the answer.
“Well,” he mumbled, “I am definitely going to have to go on time-out for this one.” Uh-oh.
  “What did you do?” I asked.
“I just got way too hyper and a rock accidentally broke the window. I am so s sorry.” He said.
A few seconds of silence as I tried to process the news. “I guess you need to go show me,” I said as I stood up.
“Okay, I’ll show you, but maybe we should hug first before we go out there.” He said back. The kid is always trying to butter me up.
We walked out front to the other side of the house and there it was- a very broken window, and one little rock laying underneath as evidence. Now my head drooped. I took some very deep breaths. I was about ready to lose my temper when an image suddenly popped into my head:
I’m 15 years old and I’m pretty into my own awesome self. I had been driving with a permit for almost a year and of course, I thought I was an amazing at it. My mom was sitting in the front seat, the music was on and I was feeling well, let’s face it- a little too hyper. I took the corner pretty tight as we pulled onto the main road and my mom yelled out, “Nikki, you just hit the mailbox!”
“I did not hit it!” I said back, “I didn’t even feel anything!”
“Yes, you did,” she said back. “It scraped the side of the car!”
“Did I hit the mailbox?” I glanced back at my two little sisters sitting in the back seat looking like deer caught in the headlights. Being very wise beyond their years, they both sided with my mom.
“Keep going because we don’t want to be late- we’ll check the car when we get there.” My mom said.
“Nothing’s going to be there.” I was absolutely positive I didn’t hit it. The rest of the car ride was eerily quiet.
When we pulled into the parking lot everyone got out. And there, scraped all down the side of the car was the evidence. And my mom’s head drooped. And I felt nauseous as I looked at her and saw the frustration in her face. But she didn’t yell.  She didn’t lose her temper. She was disappointed and that was enough for me. She hugged me and said, “you have got to be more careful!” We talked about not being too cocky- not letting your excitement overrule common sense. And I’m sure I paid my dues for that one- but I remember feeling loved even when I did something wrong.
I felt my anger drain away as I glanced from the window to a little boy with tears running down his cheeks. A little boy who was already promising to help dad fix it. A little boy who needs to learn from his mistakes. I knelt down and gave him a hug, and felt like I was going back in time 20 years as I said to him, “You have to be more careful.”
We talked about why it happened, and what he did wrong. The he said, “I’ll just go put myself on time-out now.” And he did.

A lesson learned

     I’m halfway down the frozen foods aisle intently trying to decide which popsicles to buy. The freezer door is open and Ben is begging for ice cream sandwiches and Katie is making handprints on the fogged up glass. I have NO IDEA what possessed Ben to do what I was about to witness. Out of the blue he decides to lick the shelf inside the freezer. I have no words. And of course, it got stuck. He froze in what I’m only assuming was instant panic and regret all rolled into one. A few seconds passed while I could only stare at him- did he just lick that frozen shelf? Before I even had time to think about what to do, he yanked himself off, leaving some of his poor skin behind (is it called skin if it’s on the tongue??-not sure).
     Some blood followed. Some screams followed. Some stares followed. I tried to paste on my stressed out mommy- smile that I’m sure freaks people out more than if I actually lost it. Luckily no frustrated words from me were even necessary. I actually never said anything until 2 more aisles over. He had stopped crying and finally said, “I’m not sure why I did that, but I’m never doing it again.” Lesson learned.
For some reason I’m thinking A Christmas Story needs to be watched in this house…

Easter and Spring break

We had a great time celebrating Easter at my mom's house in Dallas! Such a fun filled weekend with family, remembering the miracle of the empty grave, and of course, an awesome Easter egg hunt... The, we stayed a few more days to take a quick trip to the beach and get some much needed rest. It was a fun spring break!

Nana and the grandkids in their Easter best :)

Jackson, Ben, Austin and Charlie looking very handsome

Bodine ladies!

Emma and Katie picking daffodils for the cross

Hanging out in Depot Bay, Oregon

Me and my man :)

Dave and the kids

Emma loved riding the quad with Dave (and so did Ben and Katie- it was hit for all!)

Ready, set, go! It's a HUGE cousin egg hunt- thanks Uncle Randy for filling SO MANY eggs!

 Hughes fam!

Brutally honest

     We all know that kids are brutally honest. Not a day goes by that they keep their opinions to themselves- which I guess keeps me humble. I might have a day where I’m thinking, “Dang, I am looking pretty good right now”, only to be told 5 minutes later by my 3 year old that I’m “huge compared to her.” So good for my self esteem.
      Here’s a few of my absolute favorite ‘opinions’ my kids have felt necessary to tell me:
“You kinda still look like there’s a baby in there.”
“You smell.”
“Your hair looks like gross noodles.”
“If you sat on me I would die.”
“You should wear prettier shoes.”
“Maybe you should go running like that lady.”
“This chicken doesn’t taste at all like chicken.”
“Your breath is so gross.”
“You could take a cooking class.”
“Do you brush your teeth at all?”
     People, I could go on and on, but I think you get the idea- and if you’ve been around kids at all, you’ve been there too. So, the last couple days I’ve been trying to reinforce (AGAIN), the idea of a positive compliment. Now, I’m all for kids having their own opinions- but I’m also for teaching them to FILTER them a little better. For instance, if they’re at school and somebody stinks to high heaven, instead of saying, “You smell disgusting!” they could try and find something positive about that person that they DO like.
    Which brings me to today. I’ve been getting LOTS of compliments by all 3 kids. And that’s wonderful. But it’s led me to some sort of uneasy conclusion: either I am having a rockstar day as a mom and they just can’t control themselves with how amazing I am, OR-  they are still thinking the negative stuff and trying hard to come up with positive things to say. I’m actually a little more self-conscious NOW then I was before. Just do me a favor- if my kids pay you a compliment, just try and take it at face value, ok? I know that’s what I’m gonna tell myself anyway….

A couple of Katie stories

Katie: (Standing right by my feet as I was making her dinner) : “Are you thinking what I’m thinking mom?”
Me: “I don’t know, what are you thinking?”
Katie: “I’m thinking that I want candy corns for dinner.”
Me: “No, I wasn’t thinking that at all. Sorry.”
Katie: “Then I don’t want dinner.”


     Katie was helping me make homemade cookies today. I was measuring stuff and she was dumping it in the bowl. Simultaneously I was also making dinner, which I would highly NOT recommend EVER. So, I was a little distracted and frazzled, but we were having fun anyway.
     We had just dumped in the flour and turned on the mixer. I turned my back for a couple minutes to check dinner and that’s when I heard a thump-thump-thumping sound coming from the Kitchenade. I turned and Katie was looking at me with a panicked look and the bowl was doing it’s own little crazy dance.
     “What did you do?” I asked while I quickly turned off the mixer.
      She looked into the bowl, and then touched my face with her butter-covered hands and said, “Please don’t be mad at me, Mama Bird.”
      I wasn’t mad. How could I be mad when she calls me Mama Bird with flour streaks across her face and chocolate chip lips? I investigated the dough and fished out a plastic spoon and measuring cup. I think they’ve seen better days.
       That’s just how it goes when you choose to bake with a 3 year old- Never turn your back on them…