Time

Have you noticed that kids take up a lot of time? For instance, mealtimes. Preparing food for kids, making sure they eat an adequate amount, cleaning up the food that didn't make it into their little tummies, eating food yourself, and then the dishes....well, it's all quite time consuming. I don't really need to mention all the other things, like getting them all bathed, dressed, teeth brushed, and out the door....then it's another thing just getting them all buckled in the car....then we've got activities, sports, lessons, playtime....and have you ever noticed how long it can take to clean up after a good long day of playing? 

Blanket forts, Legos, blocks, play-doh, Barbies, cars and trucks, doll houses, dress-up, coloring, scissors and paper snowflakes, dinosaurs, tea parties...

Time. It all becomes about time. 

And maybe sometimes, we start wondering about our own time, you know, like when do we, as parents, get time for ourselves? Often we get very little, or we have to lock ourselves in the bathroom to get a bit of time to ourselves on one of "those days"....if you know what I mean! 

But the thing is, it's always been about time and it always will be about time. But instead of us focusing  on the amount of time we do or most often don't get for ourselves, we need to remember that:

Kids take up a lot of our time, because they truly NEED our time. They really, really do. 

So, as much as us parents DO need time for ourselves, because it's so vital in helping us be great parents, let us try to remember to not be bitter about how much we actually get....just take what we can with a full and grateful heart, and carry on. 

And on days when the older kids are in school, and the busy baby goes down for a nap, and all you have left is your toddler, who doesn't nap anymore, but very well could take one, and that would leave you with a possible BLISSFUL two hours of free time to do what you've been dying to do for weeks...well....on days like that, when there is fresh snow on the ground, and that little toddler is running around the house in a pajama shirt, underwear, and snowboots ready to head out the door and make a "sandcastle", you just get that moment of clarity....

My free time Is WITH HER. And all those other times, my free time was with my children, making lunch together, examining the floor for the missing Lego piece, brushing hair and fixing lopsided ponytails, playing monopoly with a one year old climbing on my lap, fussing and crying trying to get the cards and money, folding the twelve blankets from the "cave" or the "secret hideout"....

It's all time well spent. So don't be made when there isn't much time left....I'm going to try not to be mad either.

My three year old convinced me to build a sandcastle out of snow. That's better than anything I could've come up with had I made her take a nap. I hope that she remembers our sandcastle we built together, I hope she remembers all the times I got it right vs. those times when I forgot how much time my kids need, when I got impatient, or felt bitter, annoyed, or acted like a big fat grump! 

Time. How will you spend yours?

Yup....ah, that's where my heart is.....right there with that little person.....with all of my littles!

Who said kids need toys? All you need is a pantry....

Sometimes, kids are perfectly happy with the simplest of things.....well, not sometimes, usually always. 

This is what I found Brennen and Kya doing this morning...

Any items will do....the non-glass, durable kind...

Stack them up, very carefully....

But remember that the heavy items, like peanut butter, should not go on the very top, unless you get pure joy, satisfaction, and amazement with things crashing to the floor!

Then do it all over again....

And again....

And again!!!

Pure happiness, right?

Growing up

What happened??? I was looking at these pictures today and just thinking, "My babies are all grown up!!" It's bittersweet. I want them little and I want them big, I love that they depend so much on me and yet I LOVE it when they discover their own sense of independence. I love the baby jabber and yet I love it when they use words like "otherwise", "ridiculous", "lame" and "sperm whale". 

There is so much to love, hate, fear and be totally stoked for when it comes to babies. Same with when they get older. I LOVE cuddling a swaddled newborn. Love kissing chubby cheeks, baby wearing, the loud gas bubbles or burps that escape right during the most spiritual part of a lesson at church, miniature shoes, the smell of baby lotion, the smiles during sleep and the coos when awake. Babies are awesome! Having babies is awesome! I get so stoked when I go into labor! It is just so stinking exciting and I love it! 

...okay, so maybe I didn't love it so much when I was in labor with Kya, who was posterior....it was actually quite awful and I honestly didn't think I could get her out of me....and I am filled with nightmarish scenarios when I think about what it would've been like WITHOUT an epidural!

Back to babies being awesome....they rock! Seriously.

Engorgement. You don't rock. Sorry. And tar poop, same with you. Also, lack of sleep, RSV, circumsicions, and colic.....none of you are cool. At all. 

And then your babies get older. They feed themselves. Yes! And go pee and poo by themselves. Double yes! And they can make it to the toilet BEFORE the puke goes spewing out of their little cute mouths. 

Parenthood is amazing. It's amazing, and awful at times, chaotic, scary, and everything you expected and yet totally not what you signed up for! I love the conversations I have been able to have that only involve gurgling and wierd facial expressions with my newborns, the ones with my toddlers about everything imaginary where nothing makes sense AT ALL, the ones with kids in school where they tell you that you are always wrong, conversations about religion and being good examples at school, bullying, science, worms, reading, and everything else from A to Z. 

*sigh* 

Kids grow up. My kids are growing up. I love it and I hate it. We still have the teenage years to fear....uh....look forward to, haha, and then we have to let them make their own really important decisions that we would REALLY, REALLY like to make for them but can't. 

It's gonna be great.

And right now, I am just trying to take it all in, the good and bad, the awesome moments when I have just totally absolutely and completely loved being a mom and the times when I just wanted to get in the car and drive away and not come back for a few hours. Whatever day I might have tomorrow and regardless of what my kids do and say, I will forever LOVE my kids, my husband, and feel so grateful for the life I have been given.

....and if all else fails, well, just tickle your nose with a pencil. This tactic has been in the Meredith family for generations. It might not solve all your problems, but you'll feel better afterwards, as long as you don't sneeze while the pencil is still in your nostril. 

*if the pictures posted are still appearing cut off, well, it's super annoying, but if you want to see the whole picture just click on it. Someday I'll figure out a way to remedy the problem...

Snowflakes, booby traps, and a virus or two...

A few weeks ago Anna and her friend Halle decided to make snowflakes for the neighbors and included special notes to each person they hand delivered them to.

What I LOVE about what they did is #1. It was so sweet and kind. #2. Quite creative. #3. Shows me how awesome little children are because of their innocence and honesty....and these pictures will show you why.

Russ was so excited to get his special note from Halle, especially when he read the first part about how nice and funny she thought he was....

Just stroking the ego....and then...BAM! Reality.

It's not love. He's stuck in the friend zone. 

We just love all the laughs we got and still get over these girls and their blunt honesty. We also love the kinds of lessons they constantly teach us too, about being selfless, thinking of others before themselves, and they are always trying to find ways to help, please, or bring happiness to others. 

We are so lucky to be in the midst of children.

Speaking of being in the midst of awesome kids, let's talk about Kya. She is always doing funny things, but lately, oh boy, the funny is just getting better and better. One thing she has been doing is making booby traps to catch monsters, crocodiles, galloping ghosts, and yes, even an occasional aardvark. Yes, she really does pretend like there are aardvarks in her room....and she talks to them, bosses them around, and tries to catch them.

Last week I heard strange sounds coming from her room. As I entered, I found her sitting proudly on the floor and she exclaimed excitedly, "Look mom! I made a booby trap!" She found the tape, which I swear I've put somewhere she can't get to it and yet she always manages to find a way to get into all the things she's supposed to stay out of, and then she wrapped the tape from her bed to her little table, wrapped it many times around the table legs and then to her play kitchen, and then from there to her baby high chair, and back to her table.

The best part about the whole thing was a few minutes after she made trap, she tripped over it all, proving how excellent she really is at this new talent!

Hope she caught that pesky aardvark....they can be SO bothersome!

Over the past few months we've had lots of viruses around here too. If one gets it, they all get it, so from the first child thru the fourth, we end up taking care of sick kiddos for weeks on end! It's kinda a winter tradition in our family....we start to get super suspicious if kids are healthy for too long.

Carter had been on medicine for strep throat for a week when he came down with another virus we suspect was Fifths Disease, aka "slapped cheek" virus because of the bright red cheeks.

It's pretty harmless and we had no idea he was even sick again until his cheeks looked like they did. They are apparently not contagious after the rash occurs, but he went to school all week and then the rash appeared over the weekend. A good majority of his classmates can probably thank him for sharing his sick germs.

Not too long before this, poor Brennen was sick with a nasty cold virus. He had goopy, red eyes, major runny nose with green mucus, and cough. That all led to a double ear infection. After a week of being on amoxicillin and his ears were still not improving, he got a shot of a different kind of antibiotic. 24 hrs. later be started breaking out in little red bumps, which looked like chicken pox at first. By then end of the day, the little red bumps had spread all over his arms, legs, back, tummy, groin, and even a few on his face. They were no longer little, but turned into big splotches, and his joints started swelling in his wrists, fingers, ankles and feet. When I noticed he wasn't walking because of the swelling, I decided to take him to the ER. What the doctors figured out was he had a reaction to the antibiotic, not an allergic reaction, I guess there a different types, but anyways, we were glad it wasn't anything more serious!

Kya has also had her fun when it comes to viruses too. She has issues with shortness of breath and wheezing and we have a special little contraption that we put an inhaler device in that contains albuterol, as we release the albuterol, it goes into a chamber and then we put the end over her mouth and nose and she can take a few breaths to get the albuterol into her system. It's a lot faster than a nebulizer and it works great for her! We are to the point with her pediatrician of considering asthma, but we won't know for awhile and just have to keep track of her episodes, symptoms etc. 

We've also found that dogs cannot lick her. If they do, she has an allergic reaction. Twice now, she was licked by dogs on her face, and within minutes she broke out in hives on the side she was licked, her eye got red and puffy as well as her cheek! I haven't noticed any problems when she pets dogs. 

Fun times!

We joke constantly that our goal this winter is to have one sick child every weekend! For weeks now, Russ and I have not been able to attend church with our whole family, together! This week, we are finally breaking our good luck streak because I think all of us will actually make it in the morning! I have been dealing with some clogged milk ducts for the past few months and am pretty sure today I was fighting some side effects from mastitis, but by the time we got the kids in bed I was feeling much better, so a high five for better health over here!

That's my update for this week. We are happy despite it all, and so grateful we have each other. As each year goes by, I realize more and more that there is nothing more important than my husband and children. As long as we have each other, our faith, and work harder to perfect our own imperfections, I think we will just keep being happy!

Good deal? Ummm.....yeah!

Is it too late to be Thankful?

So, this year I didn't participate in the fun trend of posting what I am thankful for each day on Facebook but reading so many other friends and family members posts about what they are thankful for has been refreshing and helpful for me to keep an "Attitude of Gratitdude". I know I am 18 days late, but I'm gonna give a go anyhow and do a few posts of what I have been so thankful for this year, in hopes that my children will someday be able to look back, re-read, and remember the life stories of our family.

This year I overcame a huge obstacle. It started quite a few months ago as I was re-reading some old letters of mine I had saved from friends and family. I found old emails and cards from Russ before we got married, in which he was too embarrassed to let me read them to him outloud! Some were hilarious and all were awesome! I have emails and letters from dear friends, Missy Stubbs and her mom Jan Stubbs, and it brought me back to the teenage years when I struggled so much with my parents drug addiction and the cost we had to pay because of it. Those letters from them reminded me that there are still amazing devoted people out there who stuck with me as I weathered the storms of my life at that time. Then I found a letter from my mom. She sent it months after Russ and I were married, October 23rd, 2004, just over 9 years ago. She expressed regret for missing our wedding day and told me about her efforts of being more responsible and wanting to be a part of our life and our soon to be baby girl's life. It was 6 pages of words....words that should've healed at that time, but all they did was hurt. Words like that filled me with fear, and with the fear came the anger. It's hard to explain such a complicated thing, but I struggled for my next 8 years of marriage trying to work through the turmoil I felt when it came to my mom. 

This time around, as I read the letter again, I didn't feel anger anymore, but I felt compassion. Maybe it was all the life experiences I had been thorough since I had been married, the four amazing births I experienced as we brought each child into our family, it was probably years and years of conference talks and Relief Society lessons, testimony meetings, and Sunday school lessons that slowly helped my heart to heal and overcome the fear of forgiving. It was probably all those moments since marriage when Russ and I struggled, prayed, and were guided and directed by the Spirit to make the decisions we were faced with, the moments when we had to humble ourselves, moments when we were tried by fire, so much of what we experienced together as a couple and family I think helped us come closer to God and our Savior and taught us how to become better. All of the life experiences combined, I guess, came to my aid that day a few months ago, and with the help of a very loving and patient Savior, He helped me in that moment finally, truly, and completely forgive my mom. And as I realized what was happening, all I could feel was this overwhelming feeling of love for her, and it wasn't a kind of love that I personally felt for her, but a love I knew my Savior felt for her. 

The happiest day of my life, she spent alone and facing one of her darkest moments. I was surrounded by light and love and family and friends, and she had no where to go, no one to help her, and I felt complete and total compassion for her and everything she had been through. And finally, in that moment, I felt the peace I had been searching for, the peace that takes away the remainder of fear, anger, and hurt that I couldn't fully dispel on my own. 

I am thankful for peace in my heart. I am thankful I have been able to finally forgive, 19 years after I came to the realization that my parents were drug addicts and that my life was falling apart, 19 years of dealing with the demons of horrible experiences, trying to overcome and forget and repress and runaway from it all....and I am so thankful for a loving Heavenly Father and devout Savior, who stood by me through the ups and downs and gently helped me along the way. We are nothing without them and there is not one thing man can do except through God and Christ's power, love, and grace.

Right now my mom is doing better than she ever has. She is trying to stay clean and sober, going to weekly rehab meetings, holding a steady job, paying back child support owed, paying off her fines, being a more responsible parent to my two youngest brothers, finally being honest with all of us about the past, and trying to be there for her kids and grandkids. It's scary business dealing with an addict. There is always that fear that the drugs will win, but for now, we are giving hope and faith and prayer our best shot and that it won't be the case in our family.

To end I want to quote President Dieter F. Uchtdorf in his address to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in April 2012 General Conference titled "The Merciful Obtain Mercy"

" In a world of accusations and unfriendliness, it is easy to gather and cast stones. But before we do so, let us remember the words of the One who is our Master and model. 'He that is without sin among you, let him cast a stone.' 

...Let us put down our stones.

Let us be kind.

Let us forgive.

Let us talk peacefully with each other.

Let the love of God fill our hearts.

Let us do good unto all men.

The Savior promised, 'Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over...For with the same measure that (you use) it shall be measured to you again.' 

Shouldn't this promise be enough to always focus our efforts on acts of kindness, forgiveness, and charity instead of any negative behavior? Let us, as disciples of Jesus Christ, return good for evil. Let us not seek revenge or allow our wrath to overcome us." 

If we take heed to this counsel, I know each of us will find a greater peace, and I am so thankful for the peace I have been given.

John 14:27 " Peace I leave you, my peace I give unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."

Confessions of a now 30 year old momma!

Yup. I am 30. It's cool though. I feel great and even though I'm no super model, continue to fight blemishes, consider my nose to be too round for it to be attractive at all, I think I look pretty good for 30 too.....especially being 30 with four kids! Take that Cover Girl!

So, being 30 and all, and oh so wise now, I figured I'd let all you 20-somethings in on a few secrets:

1. Chocolate is still vital to your happiness. Don't wait until your 30's to experience the loveliness of dark-covered chocolate blueberries and pomegranates. Seriously, don't wait. Oh, and chocolate is BEST when consumed less often. Heresy? No. Don't let it become part of the everyday, monotonous, humdrum routine. Chocolate deserves better than that. 

2. Marriage. It still requires a lot of work. A lot of patience. A lot of communication. A lot of forgiveness. A lot of holding your tongue and "sorry's" for when you didn't. For many of us, our 30's bring about that 10 year wedding anniversary. 10 years goes by so fast and yet so slow! 10 years brings a kid or three....or four, surprise! Everyone has a surprise kid, right? And with kids, lots of kids, comes the sleep deprivation, stress, mess, and lack of romance. So yes, after age 30, women are still like a slow cooker and men are still like a microwave....it's just that at 30, the slow cooker seems to get slooooower, and that darn microwave is too fast! Date nights are still a must at 30. Go dancing. You will realize how much fun it is to act young again! Line dancing is a must too! You will probably look like a fool, but at least by 30 you will know you look like a fool compared to those 20 somethings who just look ridiculous but think they look really cool! At 30 your spouse will still be leaving the toilet seat up, squeezing the toothpaste the wrong way....or right way, still telling stories with incorrect facts or exaggerated facts that get more and more exaggerated every 5 years, still snoring, acting obnoxious, and will still be your best friend.

3. You still don't know jack! Ok, so maybe you mature a bit by 30, and know a little something, but it's best to just tuck the pride and ego away now and live life as not such a "know-it-all"! By 30 you realize that most people don't want your advice unless they ask you. Most people still care more about themselves, still think their kids are cuter, smarter, talented and the most awesome. Sorry, but it's kinda the truth. By 30 you still don't know how to rotate your food storage before it expires or how to cook dried beans. You still don't know what the heck you are doing when it comes to parenting, but having multiple kids just gives you the appearance that you do. Bonus! 

All joking aside, being 30 is awesome. I'm 30 and still married to the man I fell in love with raising 4 beautiful, amazing, talented, smart, creative, spunky, sassy, sweet, mischievous kiddos. ( Yes, I still view my kids in a brighter light than yours....re-read #3) My kids might drive me crazy, and my husband's snoring and mouth noises still drive me NUTS when I stay up late trying to blog and I fantasize about what would happen if I smacked him in the face with a pillow....

Hahahaha....

No....it wouldn't be good.....

And being the smart 30 year old that I am now, I have the better judgement to not try it out and instead end this blogging session with my final confession:

Life isn't rainbows and unicorns. People still have bad breath no matter how white their teeth are. Your grass has green spots and dead spots and weird poky longish spots that look like a different species of grass all together....just find the soft, spongy, lush green spots and plant your blanket there for the picnic, because the sun will still feel warm on your face, the clouds will remain white and fluffy, the breeze will still carry with it the fragrance of blossoms, and life will still be good. *gasp! 

Meh.....*shrug*......I think I got it mostly right......if not, hopefully some more pictures will make you forget about what I got wrong!

Did it work? Yup.....that's what I thought! Until next time, folks......

*sorry for the cut off pictures....trying to fix that.....I posted from my iPad so obviously I've still got to figure some things out.

Changing the way we do birthdays...

Last year, after Anna's birthday, I was really bothered. She had developed an expectation for her yearly birthday, and it wasn't met that year. To sum it up, she pretty much felt like it was all about presents and the quantity. The more, the merrier! As she opened presents for her 7th birthday, I sensed in her a lack of appreciation for what she had received. Common issue for that age. Younger kids can also struggle with selfishness and be very egocentric. "It's all about me" syndrome, right? 

Well, there was just something about her attitude that day that did not sit well with me.....So for the past year, I have been thinking a lot about birthdays, the way we (meaning Russ and I) do birthdays, and what it's teaching our kids. Somewhere along the way, Anna seemed to get the idea that a "happy" birthday was one that brought her lots of guests and lots of presents. That's not what I had intended her to learn. After her 7th birthday, I got to have a little talk with her about it all, after she grumpily complained that night before bed. We've had little talks on similar subjects many times since then. Talks about how toys don't bring happiness, talks about choosing to be thankful for what we have instead of seeing all the things others have that we don't, talks about children around the world and what their lives might be like compared to ours....

Of all the many hopes I have for my children, one of them would be that they develop self confidence in themselves, that they see their own value NOT because of what they might look like or because of what things they have attained in life, but realize how wonderful they are because of their character. What will they choose to do when no one is looking, what kinds of words will they choose to speak, how will they decide to spend their time and talents, and will they be able to, if need be, choose to have less things knowing that there is greater happiness to be found with time spent with loved ones, helping, serving, laughing, creating, giving, problem solving, working together and thinking about one another before oneself. 

A year ago, I wanted Anna to understand how much we loved her and will always love her....I wanted her to feel joy because of the securities of family and home and all the love that surrounds her. I wanted her to realize that a room full of all the toys her heart desired could never bring her contentment, satisfaction, peace, and happiness like she can gain by choosing to be grateful, hard working, generous, compassionate, helping and teaching others even when she might not gain much in return, always learning and finding ways to grow and develop into the person she wants to be.

So, birthdays are becoming something different for us. On our kids birthdays, we want them to feel special and loved and valued as a member of our family.....we don't want them to be disgruntled because they didn't get enough presents. Of course, there are many ways to have birthday parties, and just because someone does it differently doesn't make them more right, or better because of it...and it doesn't mean they are doing it all wrong either. We all get to choose what we feel is best according to our circumstances and beliefs. 

We just celebrated Carter's 6th birthday on the 24th of July. He is such a sweet boy, so kind and giving and fun loving. We decided as a family that the week of our birthday we get to choose an activity to do together as a family...anything we want to do...and on the actual day, we get to have a special birthday dinner of our choosing and then open presents from mom and dad and siblings. And of course grandma and grandpa, since they wouldn't be here if it wasn't for them, right? We also get to choose what birthday treat we want, like a traditional cake and ice cream, or something totally different! For us, we don't feel the need to stress out and spend additional money throwing a huge fancy party....honestly, as the mom, I really can't enjoy my kids birthdays when I feel like I have to do it BIG. Russ and I are just simple folk anyways. 

So mister Carter chose chicken salad sandwiches and watermelon for his dinner. Yum! And he had a fabulous brownie pudding whipped cream kinda "cake" for his dessert. He chose to go to Blast Off in Idaho Falls for our family activity. He got a real bow with arrows (that he LOVES), baseball glove, Superman toy, transformer toy, and a few treats that he was so sweet to share with his sisters....now that's love. And the best part was he was happy and gracious and a joy to be with. The day before his birthday I was talking with Anna and Carter about how we were going to do birthdays and they wouldn't be getting lots of presents. It made me so happy to hear Anna's reply, "Mom, what's important is having fun and getting to spend time with each other, so it doesn't matter how many presents we get." I know it's going to be hard sometimes for them. It was hard for me, as a kid and teenager and even adult at times, to want more than what I had. Any human being will feel that way at times. But as my life goes on, I learn from experience that as fun as it is to get new things here and there, the happiness wanes.....but the happiness I feel when I am surrounded by my husband and children only grows stronger with time. And I know that as Russ and I put more emphasis on spending quality time with our children, they will learn it too.....because they already are. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Carter bug!!! We're gonna love you forever!!!!

Of things imperfect, flawed and oh so wonderful!

Dimples....facial dimples that is....
Did you know that they are a facial muscle deformity? Yup.

But seriously, who doesn't love a smile with dimples??? Deformities CAN be wonderful!

 This hottie has dimples.

 Brennen has a dimple, but it's right in the crease of his smile so it is harder to notice.

Same with Kya. Her dimples are in the crease of her smile too

Anna and Carter have a very dominant one on the right cheek...it almost looks like someone poked a finger into their squishy cheeks and left an indent that never went back!

My facial muscles are NOT deformed...no dimples for me...at least of the facial kind....so I am LOVING seeing them everyday when my kids smile.

Thinking about the concept of genetic deformities and how a dimple, a flaw, should be seen as a bad thing is actually seen in most cultures as a "sign of attractiveness and veracity", well, it got me thinking about other things we, as women and mothers, might see as imperfect or flawed and how we can come to notice the good in the things we are often most critical about.

I don't know about you, but there are all kinds of little things I can get worked up over: 

Whining.
Whining and Crying.
Whining, Crying, and Rolling around on the floor.

Fighting and Arguing.

Messes and Clutter. Cleaning up other's messes and clutter.

Sweeping...multiple times a day. And even after I just swept, stepping on crumbs....gah!
And if it isn't sweeping, it's mopping. It seems pointless that we work so hard to clean a floor that will only get dirty again...but there is some little voice in my head telling me that I can't feel completely satisfied until everything is completely spotless.

Hahahaha.....spotless??? Anyone else find the humor in that?

Also, you know what else gets me?

Dust. And Sticky finger prints on windows, chairs, cupboards...well, pretty much any surface.

Never-ending laundry.

Cleaning out the Refrigerator!!!

Poop in panties....
Poop that for the 100th time I've explained needs to go in the potty! Poop goes IN the POTTY!!!

Pushing, pinching, hitting, running around like wild monkeys, jumping on the couches, throwing pillows, bouncing basketballs inside, begging for candy at the store, not using your words, refusing to eat dinner, coloring on anything other than paper, begging for a bike helmet and then crying because it has to be worn, making non-stop weird noises, potty talk....


Over the past few years, I have been working really hard at trying to ignore the bubbling hot steam that occurs in my chest cavity when dealing with raising kids, and dealing with household order and cleanliness.

I look at myself in the mirror and I often allow myself to see an imperfect and flawed wife and parent. I look around our house somedays and let myself only see the flawed and imperfect. And I even look at my kids at moments and let myself see only the difficulties that come with being a stay-at-home-mom.

BUT....

There's so much more, and those dimples help remind me. A deformity everyone loves! And what hits me even harder is the cute little faces with those adorable dimples on them, those cutie pies who spill milk and dig in the garden, cute faces that can transform into the most pathetic grimaces, cute mouths that produce the best kinds of giggles and the worst kinds of wails, cute little pudgy fingers that rip pages in books and throw spaghetti all over the floor, well.... they all belong to me. My kids. Mine. I grew them and brought them to this world...I earned saggy boobs and stretch marks....bags under my eyes, varicose veins and protruding tissue in places you never thought possible, hemorrhoids, headaches, heart breaks, and most importantly....I earned a little bit of Heaven from those cute little dimpled faces.

And you know what?

My toilet needs to be scrubbed. My bed isn't made. There is lipstick all over my girl's bedroom carpet. I might not be patient all the time and there will be nights when everyone goes to bed without a story, or a drink of water, or another hug and a kiss because if I have to walk through that door one more time my head will likely EXPLODE! And that's okay. Because all things imperfect and flawed in life can still be wonderful because of the lives we share the imperfections with. They are what's most important. So, let's all just cut the pity parties, the criticism, the frowns and foot-stomping and start finding the wonderful moments that will be gone before we know it.

That's advice I am going to take with me this week....while I scrub my toilet and sweep and mop and make peanut butter sandwiches, break up fights, apply Band-Aids and help clean up messes and do time-outs and bike rides, story time, searching the house from top to bottom for that missing library book, giving lectures, doing laundry and creating the best blanket forts, giving hugs and kisses and dessert before dinner, ranting and raving, tickling tummies and even ignoring some tasks like dusting and window washing and that pile of clutter collecting on my dresser.

My life really IS wonderful...flawed and imperfect, and oh, so wonderful! 

The End.

A gazillion things...

Hello there people...well.....mostly silence (is anyone out there???)....and a little hello to the crickets...

Since I had Kya, my ability to find time to blog has diminished. If you knew Kya, you would understand. I think she was supposed to be twins...after all, I couldn't go a day of pregnancy past the first trimester without people asking if there were "twins in there?" Somehow, I only pushed out one baby, yup....just one. But since she was born I feel like I have been taking care of twins when it comes to her. Just follow me on Facebook. You get all the details there.

Kya can get into mischief right under your nose, two feet behind you, or in 30 seconds she can disappear and then reappear and hours later we come across disaster!!! Broken mirrors that belonged to great grandmothers, ripped books, water overflowing in sinks, pepper plants drying up in the sun, lying next to their pots, sewing needles hiding in the carpet, granola bars crumbled to pieces all over the house, poo on the carpet...on the love seat...oh and on the back of the love seat...heaven help me, POO on the big couch...oh crud... are you flippin kidding me, poo on the couch cushions and just let me die, there's even poo on the ottoman!

Hahahaha. Yeah...we can laugh about it now...

My mother-in-law goes into hysterics when it comes to Kya. We want to rip our hair out and she sits there on the couch LAUGHING at us!

Meet Kya. She is now 2 years and 6 1/2 months old.

We love her. We really do. She is too smart for her own good. She uses really big words, has impeccable grammar, and is our only two year old who decided to go to the park. She went out the backyard gate and headed down the street. No adults knew of her plans. I happened to find her on my way back home from a run. She was already down our street and around the corner!

For this cutie, "No" means grab the brownie anyways, shove it into your mouth and run to the bedroom. "Please give that back" means run away as fast as you can, try and hide, and then throw the car at your brother's head when he finds you. Nap time is for climbing, coloring on oneself, and playing with toys. If there is water, she will soak herself in it. If there are flowers, she will pull every last petal off. Shoes and socks are only for church, older brothers and sisters are for tormenting, even if you are a foot shorter...and baby brothers mouths are excellent places to put things because they are always conveniently open.

Please don't turn us into Nanny 911! Ha ha!

I really do have so much to blog about, and I figured our little Kya deserved to be the one I started out with since she is probably....yeah...most likely the main reason why I hardly ever do it anymore! The second I sit down at the computer, she will cover herself in lotion, or walk through the freshly planted and watered garden and ruin her nice white tights, or maybe, just maybe I might get a blog post in because she is now sleeping!

So for all you crickets out there, I have a new goal to get back to blogging....don't act so excited. Maybe a few people might be happy about that too.