A Little Bit

I don't normally have time to post two days in a row, but this was too good to pass up....

This morning I was in Liz’s room changing her and getting her ready for the day. I carried her to the toy room to nurse when suddenly I smelt something off.

Katie, did you poop?

“Yep!” I look over at her, and she’s naked from the waist down.

In the potty?

“Nope!”

Where is it?

“I flushed it.”

All of it? If you didn't poop in the potty then how did the poop get into the potty?

“I couldn’t get my night time pants off fast enough and I had to poop.”

I understand that but, how did it get to the potty?

“I picked it up and put it there.” This kid must be thinking her mother is crazy.

Please tell me you used toilet paper or something when you picked it up.

“Mommy, I used toilet paper when I picked it up” Katie has a huge grin on her face at this point.

Let me see your hands are they dirty?

Katie runs past me waving her hands over her head and says…. “a little bit!”

For the Crafty Moms

I’ve learned that staying home equals finding ways to exhaust your children so they will take a nap and you can nap yourself, look at Facebook, or wash a few dishes. I wake up in the morning wondering to myself, “What the heck are we going to do today?” I can’t very well let them watch TV all day.

Most summer days are easy, swim. Swimming wears the crap out of my kids so it’s ALWAYS a viable option. Unless of course the weather sucks. Today was beautiful, beautiful and 70. Not swimming weather. This morning we hit up story time at the library and then went to Chick-fil-A for some play time.

Upon arriving home, I laid the girls down and thought, SUCCESS! I totally earned those naps. I sat down at the computer to do some research for a little project, but did not accomplish much as Josie got out of bed every 10 minutes. Forget the dishes. Within an hour, Katie was up too, so I decided to let them stay up and play.

It wasn’t long before I realized I was going to have to entertain them. Unfortunately, I still had a napping child so the park, a walk, and all of the other fun ideas I came up with were out of the question. Bake cookies? Too messy, and I’ll eat most of them. Not a good idea. Popcorn, sweet, lets string up some popcorn and make a bird feeder.

In my mind this would be the perfect way to kill an hour or so. We’ll pop some corn, sit out at the picnic table, and string it up for the birds. In the process we’ll giggle, snack on the popcorn, and enjoy some quality time together. I'd snap a few pictures, blog about it, and win mother of the year because of all the people who pinned this post on Pinterest.

In reality, Katie poked her finger on the first piece of popcorn she touched and didn’t want to help anymore. I convinced her to push it down the string for a while, but realized she was eating it as quickly as I put it on.

Then Josie took a turn, but she was too hot. We moved to the shade. Then she needed sunglasses. Then a drink. Then …. Needless to say she didn’t last too long either.

My lovely children and helping me with the bird feeder.

Josie and Katie holding their finished bird feeder. 

Our finished bird feeder hanging in the tree.

Anyhow, for those pinning moms looking for an awesome project you can do with your kids. Here are the directions. I promise you won't be tagging yourself on the Pinterest fails page. It's super easy, but be sure to read ALL directions before starting or you might make a mistake.

1. Pop some popcorn

2. Get a long thread (I used embroidery thread because I have a ton and it's stronger. Any kind should work.) and thread it into a needle. Don't forget to tie a knot on the end. 

3. Take the popcorn, thread, children, and the father outside.

4. Tell the father that his children saw this lovely craft while you were looking at Pinterest the other day and really want him to help them with it. 

5. Go inside and lock the doors.

6. Take a nap, browse Facebook, wash a few dishes.

Enjoy your lovely bird feeder all summer long!

ADH Pee

I remember at some point in my education that someone said the average attention span of a child is equal to his or her age. Meaning my two year old can focus on something for about two minutes before becoming distracted. I see it all the time with her. We’ll be on a walk and she will ask me about a flower or tell me a story then completely change the subject in the middle of a sentence. Unfortunately for me, bathrooming is no exception to this. She'll say she needs to go, but sees something she would rather do on the way to the restroom and forget to go. 

As the mother of three, I try to remember to TAKE her to the bathroom, pull down her pants, and set her on the toilet. I figure from this point she can probably handle the rest. I mean, seriously, we sing about wiping, flushing (I can’t tell you how many times I find a toilet full of poop), and washing your hands about a thousand times a day. At least get the pee in the toilet.

Sometimes, I’m busy (remember three kids) and only TELL her to go to the restroom. I’ll be taking care of the baby and in the next room. Surely I can simply watch the bathrooming from afar and ensure that it happens. This morning, I did just this as I was wanting to prepare lunch. After reassuring myself that I had sent her to potty, all was right with the world.

We were eating a lovely lunch of grilled cheese and tomato soup (great idea daddy!). The girls were thanking me for cooking, and I’m feeling like mom of the year. Suddenly a loud dripping sound, like heavy rain falling on plastic, comes from across the table. I get up to look out the window; is it raining? Why are my feet wet? Where is the water coming from? I look under the table.

Katie, did you pee? She ignores me and continues eating her lunch. Then Josie looks under the table and sees Katie has peed on the balloon she got from a clown the other day (hence the sound). “My balloon! Katie, you peed on my balloon!” Katie simply smiles smugly, ignores Josie, and continues eating her lunch. Seeing the quantity of urine on the floor, I decide to finish my lunch. I mean Katie is acting like it didn’t happen. Why not finish my soup while it’s hot then get covered in pee.

I sit back down and finish eating, it took me maybe all of three minutes. As I’m swallowing the last bit of my soup, I hear that sound again. WHAT, AGAIN, SERIOUSLY! Katie, did you pee? “Mommy, I like my soup!” Did you pee? “Thank you for making me yummy soup. It’s DELICIOUS!” AHHHH! More pee to clean.

I pick Katie up, take her to the bathroom and set her in the tub. “My soup! My soup!” Oh what the heck, I get her soup and take it to the bathroom. She can eat it while I clean the kitchen. So I take her booster seat and chair outside, I’ll hose them down later, and  begin to scrub the floor. Once the floor is done, I figure I should go clean my daughter. I go into the bathroom, and she hands me an empty cup. “I ate ALL of my YUMMY soup!” Good, now let’s clean your pee pee.  “Okay mommy, I pee peed in my pants because I wanted to eat all of my soup. You make yummy soup mommy!” I love you too Katie.

I guess that statement about attention spans depends on what the child is doing, because we all know peeing in the potty is not nearly as exciting as eating soup!

Five Reasons I Let My Kids Watch Frozen

This may be a little late to post considering all the hype is over and the movie has been on DVD for a couple of months now, but since it’s still the only movie my kids want to watch, here are five reasons I don’t mind my kids watching Frozen three times a week.

There are two princesses. This is the shallowest reason, but as a younger sister, I played all of the supporting roles. I was Gus, Chip, Raj, Flounder, and so on every time my sister and I played princess movie characters. Strangely enough, my oldest daughter reminds me far too much of my older sister, so I’m glad my second child gets to be a princess too.

The message of forgiveness. Elsa almost kills Ana twice, ignores her, and basically treats her like crap. However, it doesn’t stop Ana from trying to have a relationship with her sister. She doesn’t even understand why Elsa won’t play with her, but continues to express her desire to spend time with her. She sees that something is hurting Elsa, and forgives her for the hurt she has caused.

They don’t need a man to save them. Ana gives up the opportunity to save her own life by going to Elsa when she is about to be killed. This results in her saving both Elsa and herself. As the mother of three girls, I want to teach them to be confident and independent women. I want them to understand that they are good because God created them to be, not because they are beautiful and have men chasing after them. While I don’t necessarily think having a man around is a bad thing, I simply don’t want their self-esteem based on a man. I want them to feel good about themselves because they are themselves. I want them to realize they can be happy and successful on their own before they are attached to a man.

Beware of the man who says all the right things. Hans is attractive, smart, outgoing, and more. He woos Ana so he can use her to get what he wants. He builds her up, makes her feel good about herself, and then dumps her after he’s gotten what he wants. The father of my children is NOT suave, he rarely says the right thing, and has never had women throw themselves at his feet (thank goodness!). He does however cherish me and the girls above everything else and provides for our family. In today’s society that is becoming a rare find (sad, I know). Our culture as created men who put themselves first, to the point where they don’t even want to take care of their wives and children. Either they abandon them, or they rely on their wives to take care of them. Rather than being her partner, they become like another child for their wives to care for. Ana discovers that perhaps the man with all the right words isn’t necessarily the right man.

Love is not a feeling. From the beginning of the film, Hans is the man Ana has been waiting her entire life for. He gives her butterflies, and she is certain he is her true love. When on the brink of death she thinks his kiss will save him. However, she quickly discovers he is not who she thinks he is. Ana despairs and wonders what true love is, when Olaf comes to her rescue. He says “Love is putting someone else’s needs before your own” (Refer back to the previous reason). Ana demonstrates her understanding of this when she runs to save Elsa rather than saving herself.

BONUS! I promised five reasons for why I don’t mind my children watching Frozen, but there is a bonus reason for why I don’t mind watching Frozen myself. The song “Let It Go” is a powerful reminder that as parents we need to value our children for who they are. Elsa sings “Don’t let them in, don’t let them see, be the good girl you always have to be, conceal don’t feel don’t let them know.” I think that perhaps if Elsa’s parents would have opened her up to the possibility of failure rather than teaching her to hide those things that make her special from the world we might have had an entirely different story. Perhaps she would have hurt Ana again, maybe even killed her, or perhaps she would have learned to control her powers and seen them as valuable. Therefore, as parents, we need to help our children develop those “personality quirks” rather than teaching them to hide them from the world. Maybe that is the secret to raising happy and successful adults.

My Imperfect Self

Things have been insane lately, as I'm sure many of you can imagine. I've got 3 kids and the oldest is 3. I struggle everyday to be patient and loving. This morning, after being awakened 3 times last night I am simply out of patience. In fact, I called Daniel and asked him to remind me why I do this. He gave me several of the same reasons he gives me everyday when I feel stressed out and frustrated and flat out exhausted. Then as he was wrapping up his pep talk, Katie came and snuggled in next to me with a book. "Read it to me mommy?" My heart melted and all my worries about my imperfections melted away. I can do this. Later I saw this video, all mom's should see this. Perhaps it will help to know that while all we see is our imperfection and inadequacy our kids see beauty. I'm so glad that my kids don't see me the way that I see me.

http://www.faithit.com/moms-kids-video-confession-touching/

Have a wonderful Wednesday.

Four Favorite Things for October: What I've Been Up To

My goodness, when did it become October? The Forbes family has been BUSY! I thought I'd just share a four favorite things that we've been up to lately since I've been away (I have written another  post about moms at the park, but it's kind of mean so I need to do some serious editing before sharing. I might get hate mail if I don't! I'll do my best to get it up soon.).

Number 1: We have a new cousin/niece. My beautiful sister Hannah gave birth to her second child: Naomi, and let me tell you she is absolutely beautiful. Since she isn't my baby, I won't share pictures of the little cutie, but if you're my Facebook friend you can check her out on my page if you dig a little.

Number 2: The pumpkin patch! Our friends invited us to go to Walter's Pumpkin Patch in Burns last week, and we had a blast! We went on the trailer ride out to the actual pumpkin patch where, after a short lesson about types of pumpkins and how they grow, the girls got to choose their own pumpkins. We enjoyed a picnic lunch in their covered picnicking area, followed by lots of activity. I was amazed at how many activities they had including, playgrounds, jumping pillows, a petting zoo, race tracks, paddle boats, and so much more! I'm putting a link on here because I had a great time and would recommend this pumpkin patch over the others I have visited.

http://www.walterspumpkinpatch.com/

Here's a picture of the pumpkins my girls chose. I love that they ended up being equal to their sizes (J picked the biggest, K the medium sized one, and I got the little one for E). Being the good mother that I am, didn't bring the camera the pumpkin patch so this is all you get.

Number 3: We've been working our way out of debt (or at least reworking our plan). Dan and I needed a little motivational boost (because we are SO FLIPPING BROKE), so we went to see Dave Ramsey in Tulsa last weekend. Nothing  like a little DR to kick you into high gear and remind you that debt is lame. Here's a link to Dave for those of you who aren't familiar with him (no I'm not an affiliate with him or Walter's for that matter, just check him out).
 http://www.daveramsey.com/home/

Anyhow, part of our plan is for me to find ways to make some dough while being home with the kids (If you follow me, you'll remember I sucked it up majorly in my job interviews so I've got to work on plan B). This has been the main result of my posting hiatus (been hunting like a fool). Anyhow, I think I've established a plan so maybe you can help me :). I've found a contract job placing international students with host families. I've got 15 kids who need good homes. Let me know if you or someone you know is interested even slightly. Secondly, I'm tutoring elementary school aged children and hoping to find a few older people who need help with writing and editing. Again, let me know if you or someone you know is remotely interested. Finally, I'm hoping to get a gig with a professional blogging site. This means I may be posting here less often, but you'll be able to follow me there. Keep me in your prayers because getting paid to do something I love (writing) would be way too awesome!

Number 4: Cooking, and lots of it. We had a friend who had a baby recently, so I dabbled in quiche. I learned a few things for example, don't fill a quiche to the top with the egg and milk mixture. It will overflow.

 

My poor oven!

 

Luckily for us (and our friend) they turned out okay, and tasted even better. Nom nom nom!

 

Then we had Dan's birthday, for which he suggested I try my hand at a calzone. Check out this beauty that I made FROM SCRATCH, without a recipe. Yeah, I'm that awesome.

 

 

And, what's a birthday without a cake? The girls had tons of fun helping me mix the cake and make the whipped cream. They are quite good at decorating too! I'm not sure why Josie felt Dan needed a smurf girl in the middle of his cake.





Does anybody know how to make this rotate?

Daniel loved it!



Some Things Just Aren't Meant To Be

So I was told once by a former boss that I interview like a rock star, and quite frankly, I believe it. I don't know why, but when I get into that situation, particularly when there are several interviewers, I become just nervous enough to be awesome. Anyhow, last week I got an email for THE job I've been hoping to get. The reason I waited to look for a teaching job, and the reason I am now unemployed.

My ideal working situation is working from home. There are a lot of different things you can do from home, but few of them are desirable (so if you're reading this and know about something I don't take pity on me and hook me up). However, there is a beautiful thing known as a virtual school where teachers work with their students via the internet. It's a full time gig and it's AWESOME for someone like me who wants to be with their kids, but can't afford to not work (stupid student loans...angry face). I would still have to have our wonderful sitter around, but I'd be able to see a little more of my kids (and I wouldn't have to pump!).

Anyways, I had an interview last week for one of these jobs, and sadly it went from bad to worse. First off, I had interviewed with a different virtual school the week before (I thought it actually went well, but I never heard from them...lame) and the principal had an uncommon name and it was spelled in a less common way. Then, I got an email about an interview later in the week and I didn't read it very carefully. I saw the first name of the guy and assumed I was being invited for a second interview. (WAHOOOOO!) I emailed him back and thanked him for  inviting me to do a second interview (mistake number 1). So then he emailed me and asked me why I thanked him for inviting me to a second interview (uh cause we talked a couple of days ago, duh!). So I replied that we'd spoken before (mistake number 2). Then Daniel, and I were talking about it later and he pointed out that I was invited to interview at a different school than the other one (oh poo! same stinkin first name as the other guy...totally threw me off).

So the interview rolls around and I'm as nervous as heck and waiting for the phone call, which I receive a few minutes late (no biggie right). It was his secretary asking if I was going to call into the conference line (huh?). Apparently there was a number on the email and I was supposed to call it, but didn't (mistake number 3). Seriously dude, you should explain that, not just send a phone number.

So I call the number and apologize for the confusion, and about thinking it was a second interview blah, blah, blah... (mistake numbers 4 & 5) He didn't remember I was the airhead who couldn't read emails carefully, but I kindly pointed it out. You're welcome!

Then the questions began....Tell me about a time you multitasked. "I'm a mom, so I have to multi-task all the time. Like the other day, one of my kids was puking, and one was playing in the toilet...(Shut up Danielle), and I was trying to breastfeed (SHUT UP DANIELLE),  and I was cooking dinner and the pot was boiling over (SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!!!!!!)..."

What I should have said (maybe that principal will come across this and realize I'm not an airhead, just mother brain dead), "When I was teaching kindergarten, I always had several projects going at a time. In order to stay organized I kept a paper at my desk so I could jot down notes of things I needed to accomplish. Throughout the day I would add to it whenever I thought of something so I wouldn't forget. Then when my plan time or a recess break came along I would look at my list, add things I hadn't forgotten, and then number them by highest priority. Taking a couple of minutes to do this made me far more productive during this time and I was usually able to finish everything on my list before going home."

That's just one example of how stupid I was, I think I blocked out much of the rest of the interview because it was super traumatic.

Anyhow, when Dan was on his job search he was told to ask at the end of an interview if he said anything that they had questions about so he could clear it up. The kiss of death is always the following response (which I got) "No, (chuckle) you did great!". (I'll call that BS!)

So now that it's been about a week I can almost laugh at myself, although I'm terribly disappointed that I did not get the job. However, I know that I asked the Holy Spirit to help me find the right words at the interview. Apparently, this is not God's plan for me at this time, because I am a rock star in an interview, and I most certainly was not at that one. I guess I'll just be a rock star mom for now!