Wednesday, April 16, 2008
You know those 20 minutes a day that you leave your children unsupervised so that you can go and take a shower? Well, if you're any kind of mom at all - you know that you just do what you've got to do and clean it up later. At least that's my philosophy when it comes to a little mommy time. Once, when Max was 4 I got out of the shower and saw smoke billowing up the stairs. I was so scared, I ran downstairs to find Max obliviously sitting in a smoke filled room watching Aurthur. The source of the smoke was the toaster. Max had decided to make himself breakfast, turned the toaster up to 12 - put in the bread - and gotten distracted by the TV. So, last week when I got out of the shower and noticed a funny smell I knew that Max was up to something. I came downstairs and Max proudly said "Look what I made". He had cooked a potato in the microwave (hence the smell) and then shoved forks and pens and colored pencils and marshmellow chicks into the potato and created his very own "Potato Man". Ahhh, what a creative genius!
Josi's TV
It has been so nice outside this week! We've been eating dinner (well the kids look at dinner) and then run out to play. Of course that leaves me with clean-up duty. So, I turned Josi around in her highchair so she could have something to look at while I cleaned. I think she sat like that for an hour. She was so enthralled and entertained watching the kids run back and forth and jump on the trampoline. She would kick her feet and giggle. She is just so sweet! Her birthday is coming up and I'm having a hard time letting her grow up. I could keep her as my baby forever!
So, Sami couldn't find her jacket the other day. I gave her several ideas of where to look - she disappeared and then ran out the door. I assumed she had found. I looked out the window and just laughed out loud. Sami had squeezed her skinny self into Josi's size 6month jacket. Oh man, id there any other almost 5 year old out there that can fit into their baby sisters jacket?
The next day Sami can down in some cute little pink capris. The funny thing is - Sami doesn't have any pink capris. I thought maybe they had been left here by a little friend. But no - she couldn't find any of her own pants so she went to her sisters drawer and found some there. So, despite the fact that Sami insists on have 2 and sometimes 3 lunches a day - she is a skinny minny!
Sami knows she is a beauty queen. She really is naturally beautiful. She can bounce back and forth between star wars and princess in the blink of an eye. Here is a picture of her after she did her own makeup. She was so proud and moved around the house like a little lady - just believing she was the most beautiful thing in the world. Aren't childhood delusions wonderful?
Mom, can I wear this to preschool?
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Moments
So I really, really, really, enjoyed Elder Ballard's talk during conference to young mothers. He talked about the joy of motherhood coming in "moments". Boy is that true! So, amid the crying and the screaming and the fighting and the whining and the praying (on my part of course) sometimes there are MOMENTS. Here is one of ours. Every monday before Family Home Evening everyone has to take up their laundry basket and put their clothes away. You have to understand that most of my prayers include something to the point of hoping that Max and Sami can learn to be friends - there is some inevitable sibling rivalry junk that we are working on. Anyway, the kids were both having some trouble hauling their laundry baskets up the stairs when I heard Sami say "Max, let's use teamwork". I thought maybe it was a dream. I thought maybe it was a twisted lead into a fight. I thought maybe I had stepped onto the set of Barney. But no, my children really did work together AND IT WAS THEIR IDEA. Granted this sprit lasted until the opening song of Family Home Evening when the epic battle of who got to lead the song began. BUT, we had a moment. A bright shining moment in the season of young motherhood that helped me hope that all we are doing might be enough.
