Mud Balls

The other day Em and Luke went outside to play. Little did we know they had found the hose and used it to fill the flower pot full of water. Nice. Ry tried to keep me from looking outside and with good reason. He made me promise not to get mad. So of course I had to see what they were doing. And then I grabbed the camera.

Luke's favorite cartoon is Diego and he loves to make Mud Balls which is something he learned from the Dinosaur adventure. Did the writers even think about what they were teaching when they made that stupid part? Not only did they show them how to make mud balls, they taught them how to use mud balls as baseballs and they made it look fun! Of course any 2 year old kid is going to want to try it. Now we can't keep him out of the mud.

Not only that, Em loves it too so they are always in the dirt and turning it to mud. This was the turning point though. Ry went out and hosed them off with the freezing water so we could bring them in the house without the mess. The neighbor thought we were killing our kids. It's true. He is in Ry's 6th hour and told the whole class about it.

The biggest problem with this is the photos. You have to document the silly messes they make, but you can't laugh. The only thing that keeps me sane is laughing about it so I don't cry. But when I am laughing and the camera comes out they start posing and then it makes it really hard to punish them. Mostly because they don't take it seriously. So this is why my house is a mess and my kids are crazy.
At least I am not uptight!

I feel Inactive

Today is Stake Conference and right about now it is ending (Kansas time is an hour later) and they are preparing to eat the feast of BBQ sandwiches (which the congregation had to smell cooking the entire 2 hour meeting) chips and cookies. Yes that is all. One year our Bishop encouraged our ward to bring fresh fruits and vegetables so we did. You could barely find them amongst the bags of chips and mountains of cookies. We haven't done it again.

Obviously I am not there. Ryan had to go to Denver for the week and will not be home until this evening. So I opted out. 2 hour drive + 2 hour meeting + 1 Messy meal + 2 hour drive + 3 small very active kids. You do the math. It adds up to 1 insane and extremely frazzled mom in my book.

But here is the worst part. Due to extensive travel and meetings beyond our control (General Conference) we have not been to a regular meeting of church for a month! Luke was begging me the other day to please take him to primary. Please can I go to church? Please mom? I feel horrible. Last night I almost considered driving to La Junta (an hour the other direction) to find a ward there. Again, the driving without the husband-support. Then I considered calling a friend and attending her church with her. But the reality of Mom this isn't our church. Mom this isn't how we do it at our church. Why are they singing those weird songs? Why don't they wear dresses to church? Set in and I decided against it.

So here we sit, in our favorite princess outfits (Luke is a football player) watching our most recent addition to our Book of Mormon Stories videos. They are working really hard to build that ship.

A day in the life...

Being a mom is nothing you can ever be prepared for. I knew how to do most of the stuff I thought I needed long before I ever became one. I can cook, iron, sweep, mop, drive, read, make a bed, do laundry, do dishes, scrub a toilet, play, change a diaper, and give hugs. I have lots of sisters and brothers to practice on. But there is something about being in charge of someone elses life that is a little overwhelming. And now 3 someones' lives. But I never seem to know everything. There is a new something to add to my list everyday.

For instance, Ally has a cold and has for about 4 days now. She stayed home from school Tuesday because she just was not feeling well. That was the responsible thing to do right? I don't want her to spread it around. Wednesday was better so she went to school but she is still super congested. So this morning I gave her some decongestant/cough medicine before she left for school. Being the kind of thinker I am, I gave her another little strip to take after lunch time was over. This way she would have the next dose in 4 hours. We went over when she was to take it 4 times so she knew exactly the right moment and not too soon.

About 8:30 I get a call from the school secretary. Ally has brought medicine to school and does not have a signed permission note from her Dr. for her to take it, so we have put it here in the office for you to pick up. You can come down here and give it to her, but she cannot take it herself. What in the world? That is a new one. I understand why and they are just trying to protect themselves, but this is just another example of the little things you can never be prepared for.

So of course I go down to her school at noon, the appointed time to take her medicine, after I drop Emma off at her preschool, so I can open the little foil packet and stick the strip on her tongue. Because as a 5 year old she is unable to do this for herself. It is about as difficult as eating a piece of gum. Something she has done a million times in her short life, but still too hard.

So next time I will have to plan ahead by calling the Dr. to get a signed permission form, go out to his office and pick it up, but after I drop Ally off at school because they are not open that early, and drop if by her school secretary with the medication so they can give it to her to take herself because they are not medical personnel to dispense it to her.
OR I can just take it the 4 blocks and give it to her myself.

Scotty

This is my big brother Scotty. He is awwesome! I am pretty proud of this picture because I took it. Not Ryan. Me. We went boogie boarding at Pounders Beach one day cause we were looking for waves for Carson to surf on (pu-huh) and we found these. Not surfable because they were too close to the beach, but good none the less. The wind was strong and it was a little cold so they were getting pounded hard. Hence the name. The water is super salty as you know and his eyes were really red. This is his impression of a Maori Warrior. I like it. Thought it turned out nice. He hates it. Big surprise.

Times they are a changin'

Okay so I feel like I am pretty smart when it comes to "modern technology". (Does the fact that I just put that in quotes totally negate everything I just said??) Having said that, I have yet to venture into the world of the blog. The time has arrived. As I type I am holding my cranky-because-I-was-prematurely-roused-from-my-nap 2 year old Luke while his I-just-bugged-my sleeping-brother older sister Emma, 4, teases him with his juice. Meanwhile, the 5 year old tap dancer Ally entertains us in the other room. Well, technically it is the same room because lets face it we have 5 people living in a tiny 800 square foot 2 bedroom house. Super cute but we are busting the seams on this place.

But that is all about to change. This summer will be a Change-o-Rama season for us. We have been the victims of bureaucracy in action and we will be moving from our tiny house in this tiny town in the middle of nowhere Colorado for bigger and better things. New town, new house, new job, new school, new friends. Just not sure where and when that will all take place yet. One thing we do know is that we are here until the final yearbook deadline. (possibly the final yearbook if they have their way) After that we are still up in the air and grasping at the straws that seem to be just out of reach for the moment.

Until then I will wait in Limbo, my least favorite place to visit, and try not to be stressed out about being here. One of these days I will start the packing process so we don't have to do it in a few days of fury. Thanks to new friends I have the boxes waiting to be filled. They sit expectantly waiting in a daunting pile just inside the garage that houses everything but the car. I try to ignore them whenever I go out there--which seems to be more and more lately. Maybe if I don't acknowledge they are there I won't have to fill them up. I hate to pack but love to move new places. I don't want to leave friends but can't wait to make new ones. In 7 years we have moved 5 times, this summer will be 6. It seems to get more and more difficult the more things (and children) we accumulate. The piles in the garage are divided into 4 categories. Yard sale items, children's clothing, holiday decorations and everything else. The yard sale pile is continuing to grow, but not as quickly as the everything else pile. Amazingly, the children's clothing pile is shrinking. Probably because they have all officially reached the point where hand-me-downs no longer exist. I have narrowed this down to 3 main reasons. 1)Everyone keeps having more children they need to keep them for 2)We live too far away for people to want to actually spend money to have them shipped and 3)They don't so much grow out of their clothes as they do wear through them.

The singing children have distracted me to the point of nothing more to say. Until next time.