Wanted: One Magic Wand

If I had a magic wand then this mess wouldn't have taken me over 27 minutes to clean up.

Ramblings

Nathan has a very frustrating quirk right now. He insists on sitting so close to the table, with his chair so close behind him. It takes him more than a few moments to get situated before each meal. Sometimes we all just sit and stare at his insanities. We tried to tell him that he isn't supposed to have his back to the back of the chair. To which he replied, "then why is there a back?" What do you say to that?? It is more irritating than anything. As with any little quirk that our kids have had, I know that I am just supposed to ignore it and it will eventually disappear, but AGHH!


I love new recipes. Why is this? I am sure that I have accumulated enough really great recipes that I and my family could be happy forever with what we have. But, I love trying new things. Is it maybe because I get bored in the kitchen. I don't know. This above pizza looks great, but it wasn't anything special. I tossed the recipe. I am pretty picky. The recipe has to be something awesome, something that I couldn't just replicate on my own. Tonight I was going to try something new, but then I was looking over the recipe and there was just too much chopping of veggies. I opted for one of those tried and true recipes that I can just create without a recipe (shepherds pie and it was delicious). I don't think I will ever stop clipping new recipes, it is a challenge and an adventure to try something new.


Ahh, computers. My family is a bunch of computer nerds. What do you do? They love to cuddle up with dad and watch him play, or play with him, or have him watch them play. It is a nice break for me. I can always get away and read during these times. However, when it is just me at home, I am known to be a Nazi about it. Things have to be clean, chores have to be done, and i have to have everything my way before I allow it. Why? I am not sure. We don't have TV so computer and video games are my only friends when it comes to "baby-sitting" my kids. Sometimes I wonder why I don't rely on them more. The kids are quieter, and they mostly get along. I guess it is just principle. I want my kids to be well-rounded. Not focused on any one thing too much-sports, school, computers.

I mentioned the word Nazi and it reminded me of something else I have been thinking about. I just read a book that took place in Nazi Germany during WW2. It made me think about my children and what they will think when they learn about some of the atrocities humans have done. What did I think as I learned all of these things? Someone mentioned how they watched 9/11 footage the other day. What would my kids think if they saw that. When will they learn about that horrible event? I don't remember ever feeling scared or horrified about what I had learned, but in my mind, my kids would be terrified if they learned some of these things. I guess that is why we don't teach it for a while.


I have survived. These last three days I have had 6 children at my house (during working hours) and while it wasn't too hard, it wasn't too easy either. The hardest part was that the poor little guy (about 16 months or so) just didn't like me. Nothing I would do would make him happy. If I tried to give him a snack, he would cry, if I tried to give him Popsicle, he would cry. However if his brother was to offer him the same thing, he would most often take it happily. I tried everything. Songs, treats, bubbles. The bubbles worked a bit, but everything was just better coming from a big brother. I figured this out early on and just tried to stay away. But, if you know me well enough, you know I love kids and it was heartbreaking that this cute little guy just didn't like me. Luckily his dad told me this is a common reaction to other people, so I don't feel as bad anymore. The older two were awesome though at helping the little guy and they all played great with my kids. It was nice having built in playmates when everyone got home for school.

I treated my kids and I to ice cream after they all left. I think our house was a little louder and a little more crazy than usual. I wanted to let my three rugrats know that I loved them and I was happy it was just the three of them again. It was fun to go out with just my kids. I hadn't done that since this summer. We went to SubZero where they put a bunch of liquid into a bowl and then spray liquid nitrogen or something on it to freeze it. It all looked like a great chemistry experiment that I wish I could have explained to the kids. It was a fun little excursion to help unwind after a crazy three days.

Busy! Busy! Busy!

With school starting things have gotten busy. We have tried not to let homework, scouts, soccer, piano and earlier bedtimes drive us completely bonkers, but it is coming close. Saturdays are much more appreciated by me. No homework and Dad is home. It is amazing how much fun he is compared to me. Lucky for my kids he even built an awesome sand volcano and they were all mesmerized as they watched it erupt over and over.

Tuesdays are the crazy days so far. Like this week I taught preschool, then Ry came home and I had to go through his school stuff. Then Nate gets home at 3:45 and scouts start at 4. That ends at 5 and then soccer is at 5:30. It is no wonder that I took a nap somewhere in between lunch and scouts. I wouldn't have made it through the day. Nathan getting home so late is tough. I do LOVE that the kids leave at 9 instead of 8. We get so much done in the morning and I don't have to wake the kids up. But, 3:30 is SO late. I will really have to think before I choose next years schedule.

I have tried to fit some fun into our schedule. We headed to the splash park yesterday and had a lot of fun...until those 2 crazy boys were a little too crazy and Carter got hurt. I felt so bad for him. I could tell that he just wanted his mom, luckily I knew that a sonic drink could help cheer him up (and it did) before I took him home. Sometimes I wonder why I try fun things with crazy kids. I am thankful it is Friday and I get to have a couple days off of the school routine.

Seeing Clearly

Last spring Nathan told us that things were pretty blurry at school, and sometimes at home. But, since it was almost summer we put off the inevitable. Last week Greg took him in (since I know nothing about glasses) and found out that his vision is even worse than Greg's. All week Nathan's has been anxiously awaiting his glasses. He is excited to be able to see better but at the same time he is nervous that kids will make fun of him.
I couldn't decide which picture I liked the best. The first one has a glare but he looks older, more himself. The second picture I figured out the glare (something I will have to take into consideration from now on), but he looks so young, almost like Ry. Anyway. Here is my little man, growing up so fast I can't believe it.