This is the life: March 2009

Monday, March 30, 2009

Accident Free

(click the picture for a close-up of his pants)
Jackson used to tell me he would start using the potty when he was as big as Oscar (a 7-yr-old he knows). Just when I was starting to believe him, somehow we found success. So he's in underwear, and after a man-to-man talk with Dad, he decided to start wearing them the right way instead of backwards so he could see the transformers on them.
It's big news around here. The latest argument I hear from the backseat of the van is whether it's harder to hold poop or pee in. And our bathroom will never be the same again!

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Honesty

Jackson, as he walks past Katelyn: Ohhhh, Kate. I wish I was Olivia.
Me: Why?
J: Because I want to wuv Katelyn, too.
Olivia: But Jackson, you do love Kate.
J: But I don't love her very much.

Olivia: Mom, why do you always make gross dinners that we hate?

Even though Jackson's nose was a little runny, I let him put his face against mine because he doesn't often give out kisses. Me: Thanks for the kiss, Jackson.
Jackson: No, I snotted you!

Olivia (to me, as I come out of my room after putting a new shirt on): Well I've never seen that ugly shirt before.

Monday, March 16, 2009

Mediocrity Tag

This post is in response to this challenge from my friend Jodi:

"Enough already! I sit down for a walk down acquaintance lane, and while perusing through the blogs of friends and family I'm accosted with massive amounts of over-achieving. It's not a true example of historic accuracy. Where are the TV watching, preservative eating, unvacuumed lives of my peeps? So TAG!!!! I challenge all who read this plea, to put down their craft projects, and t-ball trophies---just for a few hours, and let me see the human side of your lives. I'm not asking for a video account of you losing your temper after one of your 45 sons pees in the garbage can. Maybe just a picture of an unmade bed, or a mole with hair growing out of it. ---Am I the only one who occasionally feels a little green with envy after a half-hour of blog surfing?"

Below is the pile of laundry not being folded as I blog instead, and the pile of books behind it that should be the contents of that shelf.

Here's the "normal" state of our living room. Slip-cover pulled down again, fingerprints on window, rocking chair reclined and arm-rests open, courtesy of Jackson, who makes it his job to keep the chair in this position, even when someone is sitting in it, like the hometeachers. Or hometeacher, I should say, since they don't usually both sit there at once.

This (unwinding an entire spool of curling ribbon throughout the house, "to trap Katelyn"),

and this (ramming stroller-that's currently kept behind the rocking chair because we don't have any storage space in garage - into a box):

are examples of what my kids do when I'm on the phone.

Here's dinner on paper plates with dirty dishes in the background - two pizza slices robbed of their toppings and put back on the pan for someone else to eat).

I wore pajamas until lunchtime today, my kids sometimes eat pop-tarts for breakfast (while every other mom in Seattle serves up organic mixed greens), and this week my kids went 3 days between baths. I didn't have any sons pee in the garbage can today, just one who peed ALL OVER the kitchen floor. How can he have so much liquid left in him after having 4 other accidents during the hour before?

I could go on about imperfections at our house, but instead of close-ups of our shower grout and my overgrown eyebrows, I'm extending this tag on to you who didn't see Jodi's blog. Let's see some imperfection, if you can dig any up, and help boost any homemaking/mothering self-esteem lost through reading clean, crafty, super-mom blogs.

Jackson

Our ward has a "reverence child" each week, who stands up on the stage with arms folded to remind everyone to be reverent as they enter the chapel. Last Sunday, it was Jackson's turn. I was afraid he wouldn't do it - when it was Olivia's turn last year, she stood up there moaning "Mommy, Mommy," and when they excused her to go sit down, she instead waited there with arms out, calling me, until I walked up to the front to rescue her from all the eyes watching her so-reverent example. Back to Jackson.
He did it, with only a few breaks in the arm-folding to wave and make faces. I was proud of my big boy up there in his tie. Then, his Primary teacher (who also taught him in nursery) was one of the speakers. In his talk, he told about how once in nursery, during the lesson they asked, "Who lives with Heavenly Father?" Jackson said, "Jesus, and the Great-Grandma that died, and President Hinckley." He does listen once in a while!
(And no one, except maybe grandparents to this guy, probably wanted to know).

Friday, March 13, 2009

Name that baby

I went to a baby shower this week, and we did the "guess that baby" game using everyone's baby picture. No one's ever fooled with my picture when they see it. I was "the easiest one up there" and "haven't even changed!" Well, probably a little.

(Just tried the color auto-fix. I probably wasn't so red).

I think this one looks a little like me?

But maybe it's just that she's wearing a dress from the same era.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Katelyn's First Birthday

We celebrated in AZ with lots of cousins. Thanks for letting us use your house, Kerri! With a Feb. 13th birthdate, and cheap Valentine stuff at every store, I went with the heart theme. She may not like it if I do that for her birthday every year.

Party people - Jackson and his cousins Wyatt and Ethan.

Wall-o-Kate. I copied this idea from my friend Cailean. For each of her kid's birthdays, she prints a bunch of pictures of them and hangs them on the wall for their big day (and throws really cute parties). Since we did this party away from home, I stole her idea and used this for my easy decorations.

She opened a couple presents and we did cake and ice cream on her real birthday, before we went on our trip. ( John couldn't miss all the celebrations, right)?

Going after the presents in front of our make-shift fireplace trap.

Happy Birthday Katelyn! Never grow out of that happiness!

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Arizona Trip

We went to Arizona during Olivia's "mid-winter break." It had been almost 1 1/2 years since we'd been down there, and I got to meet 7-month-old Levi and 10-day-old Sadie for the first time, and Katelyn made her grand appearance, too. Grandnana and Grandpapa came down to join the fun, too. So with the new and the old and everyone in between, we had to take lots of group pictures - piled up on the great-grandparents, at the park, at the zoo, on the trampoline, playing in the dirt, playing in the desert, and having birthday parties.

Sunday, March 1, 2009

I used to think I was pretty good at french braiding. Back in like 8th grade or something. My little sister Michelle used to always ask me to braid her hair for school. "Uhhhhhhh, I just braided it like two days ago," I'd have to say, since she was my little sister. But maybe I'd do it if I felt like being nice that day. Then one day a boy at school told her she looked like a dinosaur. Then she didn't want me to do her hair anymore. (Can I help it if my braids are a little bumpy)?

Last week, Olivia didn't want to get her hair done (just like every other day), but my Mom said, "Come here, let me put a French braid in your hair." Olivia, "No." My mom, "It's a really fancy braid, from a country far away." Olivia, "Okay."

So Olivia got her hair braided, picked some pink hair clips to go with it, and got mad at Jackson anytime he touched her hair for the rest of the day.

She had Nana braid her hair the next two days, then it was time for us to go home, and she wondered how she could ever have pretty hair again. "Guess what Olivia, I know how to do French braids, too."

So we did a French braid before church this morning. And this is what I got:

"Mom why don't you do it as good as Nana?"

"Nana does French braids way, way, way better than you, huh?"

"Why is this taking so long? Nana would have been done like 15 minutes ago."

Shush, my little stegosaurus.