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.