The Life of a Sippy Cup

I have just recently come to realize that a sippy cup has various stages in it's life as a cup. I'd like to share my revelation with you.


Stage 1- Brand new
This is the stage I like the best. A brand new sippy cup just brimming (excuse the pun) with possibilities and new commitments to keep it clean and found (this will make sense as you read further along)


Stage 2- Filled with liquid (juice, milk, take your pick)
This would be my second favorite. What crying toddler doesn't retreat into silence when you hand them a sippy cup full of their favorite drink? Ahh, sweet sanity.


Stage 3- Lost
We all know this stage. Toddler wonders around with sippy cup, becomes distracted with something else, and drops sippy cup. If it's out in the open, it is either discovered by Mom and re-offered to toddler or washed, refilled and then re-offered. Such madness. If it's not out in the open, the searching begins.


Stage 4- Really Lost
Now, don't pretend you don't know this stage all too well. This is the stage where the sippy cup is LOST. No amount of looking or sending your child to find it helps. It's not under, behind, in or on any furniture. Not in any room. It's disappeared to the land of lost socks and keys.


Stage 5- What the Heck Is This?!? Oh My Gosh, It's The Sippy Cup
Oh no, don't lie. If you have a kid, you've said this at least once. More kids= more times you've said this. This is the stage where the sippy cup actually jumps out of it's hiding place and walks itself to the sink. It's got some sort of nasty, soild toxic waste growing inside and you can swear you hear it talking. This is also the end of the life of the sippy cup. Because when you find a sippy cup in this stage you run to the kitchen, pull out the tongs, very carefully clasp the cup between them and then haul booty to the trash before it escapes.

But then of course, you are down one sippy cup. So back to the store you go and thus begins stage one all over again. Ahh yes, the life of a sippy cup, explained.

Please Help Stop This Reign of Terror

We have recently received reports of a small bandit, who runs around leaving destruction in her wake. Please review the following pictures and help us stop this reign of terror.


As you can see, this bandit is quite destructive. Nothing is safe. She loves to snatch and raid purses of all size and color. If I were you, I'd go check to make sure mine was safe. No, really. You should check.


Yet another gruesome scene we have captured. This shows that no place is safe from this destructive force. She can and will conquer every defense with ease.



Here is a picture of the bandit fleeing the scene. The photographer took this at great peril to her life. When cornered, this bandit is vicious. (see next pic)




Please do not attempt to stop this bandit. She takes no prisoners. She is easily agitated and lets out a high pitched screech when someone gets in her way. (No evidence yet on if this screech is lethal, although eye-witnesses have been known to cover ears and run in terror)


Caught in the act yet police were not able to apprehend the suspect. They were too busy cleaning up the mess.


And while they were distracted, the bandit moved to her next victim; a pile of freshly folded laundry. It doesn't look freshly folded you say? Well, it was.

And while this report was being written, yet another incident was reported. A container of beads was discovered, opened and strewn across an entire room. No photos are available at this time.

If you see this suspect, give her what she demands and leave the scene immediately (if it's safe to do so). Also, please take great care in protecting your laundry piles, shoes, purses, plastic garbage bags, beads, and diapers. These are the most likely of victims and scenes of crime. She also likes cats and anything else she senses she isn't suppose to play with.

Together we can stop this.

God's Little Princess

So I just had to blog about this. At the end of the day I am usually tired and worn out and have listened to loads of whining and crying, kissed many boo-boos, wiped a lot of tears and bottoms. I've cooked three meals and cleaned up after them (if I'm lucky). I've done laundry, dishes, swept, played games, done school and read many stories. By the end of the night I am a little low on patience. Actually if truth be told, by the time 7 rolls around, you better not mess with me. So tonight was bath night which adds an extra element of stress to an already dragging Mommy. I am getting Rayelle out of the shower and trying to be patient. She is taking her time, as little girls often do and I was getting angry. As I am just about to start snapping at her to hurry up, she pulls on her pj shirt and it says, "God's Little Princess." At that moment I stop. I almost started crying. A feeling of great love washed over me that I was entrusted with one of God's little princesses (actually 2). He loves her and is always patient with her no matter how much she pokes around. Just like He's patient with me when I am slow to do things He has told me to do. It's just funny how God sometimes gives us little hints and sometimes He gives us huge signs. I hope I will always remember that my kids are God's little princesses and prince and I should treat them with care.

My Greatest Accomplishments

So I decided to make a list of all of my greatest accomplishments. Some are serious but don't worry, most aren't. However, I have accomplished all of these at least once. I promise.

1. Got dressed before noon. (I know! Noon! Can you believe it!)

2. Had 3 kids naturally. (ouch)

3. Made it through the day in only one change of clothes (no vomit, pee, or poop!)

4. Told a kid , NO! and they actually listened!

5. Only changed 6 diapers in one day (I swear. I'm not lying)

6. Had an adult conversation without using the words potty, boo-boo, or poopy

7. Slept in until 7:30 am (I thought I was in heaven)

8. Slept through the night (and you thought it was only an accomplishment for babies!)

9. Went major shopping with 3 kids in under 3 hours without any catastrophes, accidents, apocalypses, or natural/unnatural disasters taking place.

10. Heard the word "Mommy" less than 10,000 times in an hour

11. Kept one baby and two kids entertained for an hour in the waiting room without adding any gray hair!

12. Went pee without someone walking in or standing at the door saying, "Mommy, what are you doing in there? Are you done yet?"

13. Played Candy Land 12 times in a row (and never won).

And the finale....

14. Bathed three kids, got them ready for bed, with stories, kisses and prayers in under 10 minutes.

Thank you thank you! No please, no more applause. I know it's astonishing but every word I said was true. I promise.

A Baby's Essential Guide to Living

Lately I've been thinking about something. It seems like babies are hardwired with certain information from birth. Where do they get this info? I think that somewhere there is a "Baby's Guide to The First Years of Life" book out there and that somehow every baby is exposed to this how-to manual in the first week of life. If this were true, I think that it would read something like this:

Read, study, memorize and then burn.

Chapter 1- Essential Words
- "No"-Learn this word as soon as possible. It drives them crazy. Also if they tell it to you, ignore it. They are just kidding.
- "Mama"- learn this next. It will get you out of a LOT of trouble. If you get caught getting into trouble, just cock your head to the side, open your eyes up really big, and say this word. You're immediately forgiven.
- "Uh-oh"- Use this word any time you drop something (on purpose or accident). It will instantly be retrieved for you again and again.

Chapter 2- Poop
Rule 1- The best time to poop is after you have been bathed, dressed for church and placed in your car seat.
Rule 2- Poop in public places when everything is quiet (like church), it's hilarious and people love it!
Rule 3- Don't poop all at once, space your poops apart, about every 20 minutes is good.

Chapter 3- Car seats
This is a torture device used for one purpose- to confine you and supress your God-given right to freedom. Resist this device at all times.
See Chapter 2 about how to get out of this device effectively

Chapter 4- Words of Wisdom
-if it's on the floor, it's yours to eat, whether it's food or not
-if you can reach it, it's yours to play with (or eat)
-it's really fun to pull the cat's (or dog's) tail and watch them run away (do this as much as possible)

Chapter 5- Sleeping
Rule 1- Never go to sleep at the same time two nights in a row
Rule 2- Wake up to play at night, this is the best time
Rule 3- Sleeping through the night is a health hazard. Avoid this as long as possible. To maintain good health you must wake up every two hours.
Rule 4- Do not fall asleep if you are by yourself. Always make sure Mommy or Daddy is in the room, rocking you and singing to you. Nursing to sleep is a bonus. If you are not COMPLETELY comfortable, don't fall asleep- cry instead.

Chapter 6- Crying
-Do this at odd times (just to keep them on their toes)
-If they make silly faces, you are obligated to stop crying for a moment but you can start again as soon as they stop
-You must cry as loud as you can or they might not here you in the next county
-Cry if you're sad, mad, hungry, uncomfortable, poopy, wet, too cold, too hot, over stimulated, tired, teething, bored, or when you want attention. This is the only way to communicate your needs so perfect THE CRY.

Chapter 7- Eating
You may eat anywhere and everywhere, for as long as you want. Don't worry about where you are or if your mommy is in a dress (she knows better). If you're hungry she should feed you (read Chapter 6 titled Crying for tips on attention getting). You should never have to wait for a meal. It is always ready and the perfect temperature it's just that sometimes mommy has to hide the food. People aren't as thrilled about seeing "them" as you are. Just scream really loud and your food will magically appear.

Above all else remember this one very important thing. When all else fails, when nothing above is working and you are truly desperate, there is one last trick you can use that will always work- say "Da-da", This single word has the power to call Daddy from whatever corner of the house he was in, pick you up and dote all the attention on you that you could ever want. Use this word wisely (however the effect it has rarely wears off).

Now that you've read this manual, please eat it, slobber on it, flush it down the toilet, tear it to shreds or whatever it is you do to destroy things. It must not fall into the parents' hands. Good luck babies! We will eventually rule the world...but for now, let's work on ruling our households.

Am I Raising A Pig or A Daughter?!?

So Kaiya went in today for her 9 month check up. I can't believe she is three months away from being one. Since she was born she's been dropping in her growth percentile. If you don't know how they measure their growth, I'll explain really quick. The doctor has a chart and on it is a bunch of curves. They measure height and weight and age and plot it on this chart. They do this at each visit and as long as your baby stays pretty consistent there is usually no worry. So when Kaiya was born, she was normal. I think she was in the 25th percentile, meaning 75% of babies in the US were larger than her. Finally a small baby since the other two were in the 80th percentile (I blame the formula). Well since her first visit, she's been dropping. 15th percentile, then 10th, now she's in the bottom 5th. This is a concern because she keeps dropping, she's not staying on a consistent curve. So her doctor (whom I love) told me I need to be feeding her more. Basically three meals, three snacks a day plus nursing. I also need to just keep feeding her until she is done, not stop when I think she should be full. Makes sense. So dinner tonight was pretty interesting. It took 10 minutes of nursing, 1/2 a banana, 2 small zucchini, 1 piece of bread, 1 mango, and 5 spoonfuls of oatmeal to fill this girl up. It also took 35 minutes to feed her because I would make her something and it wouldn't fill her up so I would have to make her something else. And this was one meal. I think my grocery bill just doubled.

A Sad Moment

This is my battle (one of many)- how protective is too protective? Where is the line? You see stories everyday in the news about kids being hurt, kidnapped, molested, killed and you think, could that have been my kid? But even on a smaller scale, you see a kid get hurt and think, that could have been my kid. How do you know when to step in and redirect an activity (like playing too rough) and when do you just let things go? How do you know what things will lead to them getting hurt and what won't? I have a friend who's little girl fell off of some playground equipment, broke her arms and had to have surgery and three pins put in. Just a simple fall from somewhere where our kids are very frequently. Sometimes I feel like wrapping my kids up in plastic bubble wrap and foam so they won't ever get hurt. Would life be better for them if they never got hurt? I don't think it would but it sure would be a lot easier on me. I know that I hurt just as much as they do. They may hurt on the outside but long after they have healed, I still feel the pain. Even now, after my little boy's in bed, all bandaged up and asleep, I feel the pain of him falling down. I can see it happening over and over and I hurt every time. If only I had told him to stop or slow down. If only I had trusted my gut and redirected the activites. If only I had just been a little more protective, maybe he wouldn't be hurting. I think as a mom we feel our childs pain more deeply than even they do. They are an extension of ourselves. We carried them for nine months, fed them, held them when they cried at 2am. How could we not feel deeply when they are sad or happy or angry? So where's the line? When should I step in and be the overprotective mama bear and when should I just let kids be kids? I don't know if I'll ever know.

The Truth About Cloth Diapers

I am here to tell you something no one else will, the real truth about cloth diapers. Get on any cloth diaper site and you'll see tons of positive reasons to do cloth. Save the environment, save money. These sounded like such great reasons so I decided to CD (cloth diaper). So I got on the internet and started researching different kinds of cloth diapers. There are at least 4 different kinds of CD. I decided to go with prefolds and covers because anything else was over $300 for a days worth of diapers. So I got the prefolds in the mail. I washed them 4 times in hot water just like they told me to. As I go to put them on my newborn I find that not only does the prefold swallow her entire bottom half but the cover I bought won't fit over it. And then there's this clever little thing called the snappi. Yeah, I'm not even going there. Safe to say, it didn't work how the cute little tutorial said it would. After all this trouble I went ahead and left her in it (after trying dozens of different ways of putting it on her) and surprise suprise...it leaked. So I washed it and left in the back of the closet with the rest of them. Fast forward a few months and I was telling someone I still wanted to do cloth diapering but I didn't know which ones to spend her college fund on and she said that her little girl had outgrown her pocket diapers (basically a cover with a pocket for an insert) and I could have them. Free is an excellent price so I took them. Three months later I'm standing over the toilet, scraping the gunkiest poop I've ever seen off the inside of the diaper with a plastic knife (b/c someone told me this was a good way to get it off) cursing the day I got the idea in my head that cloth diapers were anything but the biggest headache ever. As if I don't have enough to do with breast-feeding, homeschooling, caring for 3 kids, running a house, I also have to do an extra load of diapers everyday. And it's not just as simple as throwing them in the washer. First you have to dump off any solid stuff in the toilet. Sounds easy enough unless it's not solid but a little goopey. Then you scrape it off with lots of toilet paper (and a plastic knife). And if that doesn't work you soak them in a bucket of water which you then have to dump out somewhere and then disinfect the bucket and then make sure that the kids don't think it's a water toy and proceed to use it to fill their pool with...yeah, that happened. Secondly, you have to pull out the insert which if I didn't do this when I changed the diaper, is now cold and smells even worse. I didn't know this before but when pee dries it has the ability to knock over a grown man with just one whiff, no joke. Then I have to count to make sure I have all of them, if not, I have to run all over the house searching for that one diapers that I changed and left. Then that room stinks for hours after. Then if you don't use the exact amount of soap (which no website can tell you what it is) or the right kind of soap (which again varies greatly between websites) your diapers are liable to get a build up of stuff that not only decreases the absorption but also makes it smell like you just dried out the diapers and used them again skipping the washing step altogether. So if this happens you are suppose to run them through hot washes until they don't smell anymore which I have to tell you is more than 6 times because that's when I finally decided that it was not more cost effecient if my electricity and water bill equalled a house payment. Then to get the maximum benifit you have to hang them outside on the line to sun-dry. Not only does it have to be sunny to do this but it helps if there isn't a fire somewhere off in the distance b/c anything within a 20 miles radius is going to be absorbed into those diapers and you'll smell it for the next three washes. Then you have to actually remember that the diapers are outside otherwise you go to change the baby and after you've already taken off the dirty diaper realize that the clean ones are still outside. So with lightening quick speed you pick up the half naked baby, run outside, grab a diaper and quickly wrap it around her. But if you don't do this fast enough she's liable to pee on herself and you in which case she then needs a bath, a change of clothes and another diaper. So all this to tell you that, cloth diapering is not easier, it's not less smelly, it's not less work. In fact, you will spend most of your free time doing something that involves a diaper. However I have to say the feeling of pride I get when I wash my diapers instead of throwing them away to sit in a landfill for hundreds of years, well that almost makes it worth it......almost. Oh, that and statistically cloth diapered babies potty train at least 6 months before disposable diaper babies. So just remember, if you're thinking of cloth diapering, take a good inventory or your sanity. If you have enough, give cloth diapers a try and just think how cute those cushioned little tooshes look in a cloth diaper. :)

I Am Woman Hear Me Roar!!!

So this was just too funny to not blog about. And I don't mean like funny-haha. I mean like funny-shoot-something-when-you're-done. So, ever looked at something you needed to do and thought, "Yeah, I can do this. No sweat." Well that's how this started. I am barbequing tomorrow without Andy's help. No sweat. However, we don't have a grill so I had to buy one. I bought one of the cheap $35 grills from WalMart because well, it looked easy to assemble and it was cheap. I bought it yesterday hoping Andy would be able to put it together before he left today (he has something at the church tonight til late and all day tomorrow). However as Andy left this afternoon, the grill was still in the box. Well, that meant I had to do it. I looked at the box and thought, "If he could do it, so can I." That was my first mistake, cockiness. Andy is a handy-man, jack-of-all-trades, including grill putting togethering. I am not. So I open the box, reach in and cut myself on the instructions. It was not pleasant but hey, it's a papercut. I should have taken it as a warning. So I read the instructions. 8 steps, no problem. Pull out all the parts. As an added bonus they labeled every part with a letter so that dummies like me wouldn't screw it up. Step 1- return policy-blah blah blah. Step 2- Attach handle and air vent. Easy as pie (however I won't find out til later but I forgot to put washers on the screws before putting them in) Time- 7 minutes. Step 3- attach bottom air vents. First, I screwed them in the wrong holes, then found the right holes and put them on backwards. In all- 10 minutes. Step 4- Attach legs, wheels, and bottom grid. This is where the cussing started. I won't go into detail (because we'd be here a loooong time) but it's safe to say that screwing four legs to the the bottom grid, then positioning the bottom of the grill on them and screwing that in place is a two maybe three person job. I did it by myself. Time- at least 20 minutes. Step 5- Attach side shelf. This is one of the reasons I got this grill. It has a handy little shelf beside it to put stuff on. Very handy. Had I known that it was an evil shelf who's only purpose was to make you wonder why you even bought the darn grill in the first place, I would have thrown the shelf over the fence and skipped this step. Time it took me to attach this handy little piece of crap with Terhan's help- 20 minutes (thank goodness for Terhan. He actually did help me). Step 6- attach lid (which I cut myself on when I grabbed for it) and step 7- insert warming rack. I read these two steps backwards and for 5 minutes was trying to hold the lid with my hand and my head and attach the warming rack with my other hand and then get it all to stay while I put the tiny screws in the tiny holes (which by the way, they put a little bit of oil on the screws to lube them up and I figured this out when I put them in my mouth to hold them). So when I finally figured out the lid screws on first THEN the warming tray goes in, it all came together. Time (including the 5 I wasted) 15 minutes. Step 8- Insert charcoal tray and cooking grid. Yeah this took all of about 1 minute. This is where I found out I had forgotten the washers to the handle. Fixing that mistake- another 5 minutes. And all this is happening while the sun in going down, Kaiya is fussing to go to bed, the kids are playing in the water, then getting cold and wanting to go inside and eat a snack. BUT I got it put together. One hour and 27 minutes, 3 broken nails, two cuts, 8 mosquito bites, an oily mouth, itchy arms and legs(from sitting in the grass), 18 cuss words and 18 forgive-me-Lords later, I conquered the grill. All I have to say is those burgers better taste pretty darn good otherwise that grill's gonna learn how to fly.

I May Not Be A Perfect Mom but I'm THE Perfect Mom For My Kids

I can't believe it's been almost 2 months since I've blogged! I've been on an up and down hill journey. I've had really good days where I feel like a supermom but also an even amount of bad days where I feel like a failure. I had started this blog so I could write the good, the bad and the ugly of my life as a struggling supermom wannabe but along the way got lost and have only written the funny things. I've decided to write the struggles too because someone out there needs to hear that I fall short of the "supermom" everyday. So, here it is. Today I had four cookies when I should have stopped at one. I read my magazine instead of vacuuming my floor. And I've let my nice clean kitchen go back to be piled with dirty dishes. I haven't brushed my hair (it's 8:30 PM) and I told my kids to play outside because they were bugging me. However, I did do school with my daughter, played with my baby, and read at least 6 stories at the pleading of my children (when all I wanted to do was read MY book).
I've been struggling with feeling overwhelmed lately. I mean really struggling. I would look around my house and want to cry. Every room seemed cluttered and messy. I'd feel utterly hopeless. But little by little, I've gotten the main living areas livable! I actually want to stay home instead of trying to find things to do to be away from the mess. Little by little I'm learning to do the things I can but to accept that I have a baby and I homeschool, my house will be disorganized and my dishes undone. I need to concentrate on loving my kids every moment I can.
On Mother's Day at church, someone got up and shared this word. "You may not be A perfect mother, but you are THE perfect mother for your kids." He said that the devil likes to twist one word to make this mean something totally different. I cried, it touched me so much. I spend so much time trying to be A perfect mother that I've forgotten that God made me THE perfect mother for my kids. So all you moms out there please remember- You don't have to be a perfect mother. God already made you the perfect mother for your kids.

I'm A Magician

I've come to realize that I am a magician. I have one trick that I can do fantastically. Sometimes I still amaze myself when I do it. It takes talent too and lots and lots of practice. Wanna know what my super duper amazing trick is? I can make things disappear just by thinking about them! I swear. No abracadabra, no magic wand. I simply think of the thing that I need...er, want to make disappear and poof, it's gone! And usually it's VERY gone. I'll even try looking for it, in all the places it's suppose to be, anywhere I might have seen it or set it down. Anywhere the kids might have taken it, everywhere it shouldn't be but noooooo. It is gone. Now you might think, Wow this should work in my favor sometimes. I could just think about the kids and bam, they'd be gone, peace and quiet. But no. Actually quite the opposite happens with my kids. Anytime I think about my kids, one suddenly appears attatched to my leg, the another whining right in front of me and the third one mysteriously wakes up from her nap, as if...she knows. Although, I'm sure that in just a few short years whenever I need help I will magically make everyone disappear and have to do everything by myself! So what does one do with such an annoying..I mean awesome trick? Stop thinking. Hey, it works for me :)

"Daddy Killed A Frog Today"

This was so funny, I had to blog it. Today I went to a b-day party for one of my friends. Andy was awesome enough to watch all 3 kids. He just took the time to get some stuff done around the house. One of those things was our mailbox post. It's been majorly wiggly since we moved in. He dug out the post and set it in concrete. In the process Andy found a hibernating frog. He dug it up and it jumped around a little without showing too much energy. He thought it was just waking up. So a few hours later I come home and they were telling me about this frog so we decided to go out and see how it was doing. Well it died. Andy had accidentally clipped it with the shovel and it died. Andy got to it before the kids and one of our friends distracted the kids while Andy buried it. Now, I am not one to shield my kids from death. I don't want them to think it's scary or bad so I told Andy we should just tell them what happened. So he did. I told them the frog was in heaven and it was okay that he died. The kids just kinda thought it was funny that he was in heaven and away we went on with our day. Fast forward a few hours later. Terhan is sitting on the couch telling a story. He had found a song sheet of Andy's and was pretending that it was a story of all the things he had done today. And guess what the beginning of the story was? "Today, Daddy killed a frog." I laughed and laughed! He didn't say it sad just very matter-of-factly. Kids, they are sooooo funny!

Read This

Any mom suffering from stress and fear go to this link and read this blog post. I thought it was awesome. http://www.conversiondiary.com/2009/02/stress-and-fear.html Just highlight the address, hold down your Ctrl key and hit the "c" key. This will copy it, then click in the web address windown and push Ctrl "V". This will paste it. This post was very eye-opening. I think I'm going to follow this person's blog. Hope it encourages you :)

Motherhood- The Loss of Sanity

So I have been thinking about all the things you gain and all the things you lose once you become a mother. The gains are obvious. You gain kids and the joy that comes with them. You gain 10-20 pounds that never goes away. I think it's called the "mommy figure", it's curvy in all the wrong places. You gain a lot more stuff, like cribs, toddler beds, extra laundry, training wheels, strollers, bouncy seats, potty seats, more pee on the bathroom floor, carseats, toys, peanut butter and jelly for every meal, and all the colds your kid brings home and you catch. However I think it's the things we lose that are more substantial. We lose all our free time because now we have more mouths to feed, diapers to change, messes to clean up. We lose our hair. We literally lose our hair after each and every baby leading us to think that we will bald way before our husbands. We also lose our hair because at least once a day we want to pull it out from frustation. But the thing I think I miss the most, is my sanity. You know the old saying, of all the things I lost, I miss my mind the most? Yeah, a mom wrote that. I'm sure of it. I can imagine her standing in the middle of her living room, holding a screaming baby, two kids running circles around her, loads of laundry piled on the couch, toys hanging from the celiing fan (or wait...is that a kid?!), phone ringing, and last of all a pet throwing up on the carpet. Of course if you think of all the things us moms have rattling around in our heads, it's a wonder we remember our own names (I have, however, forgotten the date of my birth and my phone number before!). I find myself walking upstairs for the fourth time and on the way up forget why I've gone up only to remember at the bottom, then forget on the way up again. I do however get lots of exercise this way. I find myself taking a piece of tupperware out of the shelf, putting the leftovers in it, then putting back in the tupperware shelf instead of the fridge. I can't even count the times I've been talking to my husband only to find him staring at me and realizing that I trailed off in the middle of a sentence and went into a trance, then of course can't remember what I was even saying. A mom friend of mine discovered hours after she took a shower that instead of shaving both legs, she shaved the same one twice. At least she has time to shave. I get a shower maybe 3 times a week (fine, I admit it. It's more like twice a week). There have been a few times when my husband will hug me when he comes home then ask me when I last took a shower. Now that's bad! I think though the most frustrating thing about losing your mind is you're so painfully aware of the fact that it's gone and the only way it will ever come back is to get rid of your kids. That happens when they're all 18 and go to college. So for at least 18 years (way longer for moms who have more than one) we walk around, very aware of the fact that we are wearing two different shoes (because a kid hid one shoe to every pair), the same shirt as yesterday (who has time to change everyday?), our hair pulled back in a ponytail (out of reach of graby little hands), and a huge diaper bag that we could probably smuggle a body in (who knows when you might need that pipe wrench or month old ham sandwich). As sad (or hilarious) as this picture is, if you ever see one of us walking out of the bathroom with toilet paper on our shoe, let us know. The last little thread of our sanity (and dignity) will thank you.

I'm Joining a Nudist Colony

That's right, you heard me...a nudist colony. I had this epiphany this afternoon as I was sorting, folding, hanging up and putting away my sixth load of laundry with another five loads waiting to be washed. Nudist colonies are not made up of people wanting to be free from restrictions of clothes. Nudist colonies are made up of moms, who after doing the millionth load of laundry said, "THAT'S IT! I quit! I'm not doing another load of laundry....EVER." And thus a nudist colony is born. See, I told you. It makes sense. So, there you have it. The next time you drive by a nudist colony (because you know they're everywhere) don't think to yourself that they are freaks or nutjobs. Think to yourself, "Oh but for the grace of God (and a few more loads of laundry), go I." :)

Binky Haikus

These haikus were inspired when I took these pictures. Kaiya had taken her binky out of her mouth and was talking to it. I thought it was funny and was wondering what she was saying to it. So I thought these up. Hope you like. I think they're funny. Haha :)






It's Pink and plastic
All Slimy and wet from drool
fell on floor EWW!

How I so love thee
Quieting so many tears
Pop in mouth silence

Oh how I loathe you
Boiled million times over
when we have thrush Ugh!

Where art though Binky
3 a.m. screaming baby
lost under crib Dang!

My Baby Lost Her First Tooth (and I learned to Ripstik)

So Rayelle lost her first tooth today. We lost it at Golden Corral eating, then Daddy found it in the seat. Yeah! All of a sudden it hit me that my baby just lost her first tooth. I'm happy and sad at the same time. How big she's gotten in such a short time. So that was quite an adventure. Then earlier today Andy got out his Ripstik and went outside to practice. We all went out with him because it was such a beautiful day. So of course I had to try. I loved it! It's kinda like snowboarding but on concrete. Love it! So now I'm getting one too! Haha. The things we do to stay young! I had a lot of fun. It's a great workout too. So those are the pics. I hope you like them. All in all we've had a great few days spending time together. Our church has a thing going on now, Read the Bible in 90 Days. I started doing it and have actually enjoyed it. It's 13 chapters everyday. I have been a Christian all my life and never read the whole Bible. We'll be done by Easter. So some of my blogs may be about what God has been speaking to me through the reading. Anyway, expect more pics of me on the Ripstik as I embark on an adventure to master it...or at least do it well and maybe a few tricks. The pics more than likely will be hilarious! Lots of love.

My First Depressing Post

I've come to realize that motherhood and maybe adulthood in general comes with a lot of guilt. Or maybe it's just me. I find that in little everyday things and in the big things, it all has guilt attached to it. For instance, when you're younger you don't think twice about eating half a pepperoni pizza by yourself followed by a pint of your favorite ice cream and soda of your choice. Now the thought of pizza makes me feel guilty. I also use to never feel guilty about spending lots of money on clothes, shoes, accessories, etc. If I wanted it I bought it. Now I feel guilty buying myself a much needed package on underwear. WHY?!?! I feel guilty about everything. If my kids have hot dogs and koolaid for lunch, I have a huge serving of guilt. If I can't make it to the gym, guilt. If I am angry at my kids and yell, guilt. If my house isn't in perfect working order, guilt. If I am not the perfect wife and mother, lots of guilt. It seems there are few times in my week that I am not riddled with guilt over one thing or another. That's actually what made me start this blog. I needed a place to write down my guilt so maybe I could make sense of it. Will my kids really grow into fat lazy adults if we eat McDonald's two (okay three) times this week? Will my daughter flunk high school because we haven't been as diligent with kindergarden this year as we should have? Will I lose all my friends because when they come over there are things on the floor and almost every flat surface? Will I lose my husband if I don't look like every super skinny supermodel on tv? No. So why do I feel so guilty when I don't so everything perfect. This is one of my biggest confessions. I hate myself when I am not perfect and feel guilty and unworthy when I am not super mom. How do I work through this? How do I see myself with the eyes that God sees me through? I am worthy even when my house and life are in chaos, when I yell at my kids, don't do laundry or dishes, eat too much junk and go months without exercising. So why don't I feel it?

Happy New Year!

So this new year started out pretty okay. Any was gone on New Year's Eve for a youth thing so I went to bed early. Yeah! I actually don't see the big deal baout staying up til midnight. It's not like anything really huge happens at midnight. Now if something really cool happened, maybe I'd stay up. Then, two days later, I turned 25 and Raye turned 6. Talk about feeling older! My baby is 6 and she's got the attitude to prove it. She starting to get a little sassy (in a good way) and have a girls personality instead of a kid's. I'm so sad but happy at the same time. It's wonderful to see her growing up. Terhan will be 4 at the end of this month. I really can't believe that. He acts more and more like Andy everyday. He's is such a boy. It is amazing the differences between girls and boys. I don't think you can really appreciate it until you have one of each and you see their totally different reactions to the same situation. In fact, my next blog is going to be about the differences between girls and boys. Very funny, I assure you! Anyway, as I've looked back on this last year, I can't help but praise God. He's blessed up beyond belief. As I look forward to this new year, I am filled with a sense of peace and joy. No matter what I know God will take care of us. He always has. Anyway, hope you like the pics. Love to all. :)