Kid Quote(s)

We've been taking temperatures around here like crazy (I might be a little obsessive - even though I don't medicate for fevers). Our thermometer lights up with green, yellow, or red as it shows the temperature so if you 're four years old? you can see how bad it is.

This morning I asked Jack how he was feeling. He immediately grabs the thermometer, takes his temperature, looks back at me and simply says, "I'm yellow."

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This afternoon, while taking a bath, Carter dunks his whole body under the water and exclaims, "Look, Mom! I'm getting bath-tized!!!"

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And yesterday (when taking a 30 minute drive one way to pick up some movies so my kids would stop fighting for the love of their mother's sanity! lay still and allow their bodies to rest and get better) Natalie was drinking a hot chocolate from (as the kids call it) "Dutch Bra's" she says, "This is soooo good! It's like Santa made it or something!"

Thursday Thoughts

**I do not have a coherent thought pattern today - just letting you know up front that this will be random and possibly not make any sense as a whole whatsoever.**

I've been feeling really good lately. Well, that's not completely true. I felt good yesterday and so far so good this morning. The past week has been interesting, both emotionally and physically. I've just been.... off.

I've been taking really good care of myself (although from the looks of my body, you'd think I've eaten nothing but IHOP and Olive Garden the past 5 1/2 months) working out, eating right and drinking plenty of water - so for that I feel... strong. However, my body has also been having a little mind of it's own. More than one night this past week I was up most hours with intense cramping in my stomach and lower back (so much that one night I threw up 4 different times) which was totally unexpected (and unlike any of my other pregnancies). I guess I'm making up for not throwing up at all in the first trimester?

Anyway, that has not been fun. I hate not knowing when it's going to hit (type-A, anyone?) and I do not take feeling well for granted these days.

Baby Boy is doing so well, even if Mommy is hit and miss. He's moving like crazy and I love that (already!) when I'm laying up next to Jeff, he can feel him kicking (and Jeff has taken to laying in bed at night with his hand laying gently on my tummy while his son tosses and turns and reacts to the gentle nudges of his Daddy while my heart melts). Natalie has gotten to feel him kick around in there as well and I love (love, LOVE) the constant (seriously, does he ever sleep!?) movement.

I feel like the theme song to this pregnancy is the same from... what's that kid show again??? You know, the one with the song, "There's a party in my tummy! So yummy! So Yummy!" Oh, yeah, YO GABBA GABBA (I hate that show, by the way) but that song is constantly stuck in my head because every time baby boy moves, I hear, "There's a party in my tummy!" now. I know. Nice. (And I warned you about the randomness, so if you're still reading, you can't blame me for the confusion.)

So, tomorrow night Jeff and I get to have a date night and I'm really looking forward to that. I LOVE being a parent, but sometimes it's nice to go a few hours without being called, "Mom" - ya know? A night to remember that I am indeed someone apart from the lunch packer, the chore chart maker, the band-aid hand-er out-er, the clothes folder ha! who am I kidding, the taxi driver, and the chef double- ha!. So, anyway, there's that.

The weather has been beautiful these days and Jack and I are going to go for a LONG  walk today (I'm trying to cut back on the working out a little bit and see if it helps calm down the cramping, which could be contractions, but I wouldn't know because I've never had one). I'm really looking forward to enjoying some sunshine this afternoon!

Okay, I'll be done for now. Hope you guys have a fantastic weekend and that wherever you are, you get a bit of the sunshine we're enjoying as well!

**Randomness concluded.**

One might think that after being flooded in for 4 days (hoping to get out either this evening or tomorrow) our house would look spotless... Notsomuch.

I saw a thing on Pinterest that said something like, "The only thing that motivates me to clean my house is watching 'Hoarders: Buried Alive'" and that about sums it up. It's ridiculous.

Jeff is still not home.

He couldn't make it through the water last night so he went the back roads over the mountain (the highway was closed due to landslides) to his parents house to help them clean up the monstrosity of a mess that their property has become. It's sad. And a LOT of work. So, even though I miss him TERRIBLY (and that's an understatement) it is what it is and I'm glad he can help them out.

The kids are Crazy today. And yes, I mean capital-C-Crazy. They are getting on each other's nerves and I think I broke up 3-4 arguments/fights before I was even fully conscious and at least 10 before my first cup of coffee was in my system. I might just end up putting life jackets on them, drifting them down the road at the end of our driveway, and have Jeff try to catch them on the other side (and wish them all the best of luck while I continue my home-stay in silence).

Really, I have nothing to complain about and I know it. We have food. Our home and property are not damaged (just really, REALLY soaked) and everyone is safe.

But honestly, I'm over this housebound stuff.

I miss Target.

And peppermint mochas.

And having a reason to put on "real clothes."

Enough of that, though (it's just depressing), I'm off to take some deep breaths and clean this mess before we actually do end up on some sort of TLC reality show.

*Might Have* Monday

I might have taken my kids out to Chinese food for lunch yesterday after church knowing that they'd get extra sleepy, hoping that they would take a nap all the way home so I could enjoy my coffee (and my music!) on the way home in peace...

I might have realized this weekend that Christmas is only two weeks away (did you know that, you guys? TWO WEEKS AWAY) and I'm no where near ready. All the presents we've purchased are still piled in the back of the closet where we've been tossing them as we've brought them home. I really have no recollection of what's in there, much less what we might still need to get. (But for the love of Dave Ramsey, don't tell anyone how bad I was this year with making things such as Christmas lists... and a budget. Ahem.)


I might have a pile of laundry that's bigger than my car (and it's a big car) waiting to be washed, but since I was up all night coughing and my throat and chest hurt pretty bad today, I'm choosing not to care. And I might have set up the DVD player so Jack could watch his favorite DVDs over and over again while I attempt to make up for some of the sleep I lost last night.
And last but not least:

I might have felt the baby move. You know, the baby that's residing inside me? Yeah, I can feel it in there. I forgot how amazing that is. So right now I don't really care that we're unprepared for Christmas, or that I could get a full-on workout just by climbing my mountain of laundry because the little person that I've been having a hard time grasping the concept of  kicks me. And I like it. A lot.

It's sharing day.

It's my birthday today, but because I'm feeling generous I've decided to share something with you for my birthday. (You're welcome.)

We're due the beginning of June.

And no matter how shocked you think you are right now, I guarantee it can't top our shock (and we've known for a couple of months!).

*Might Have* Monday

I might have fallen so in love with my new gadget (the BodyBugg) I got this past week that I would totally marry it (you know, if I weren't already married. Minor details.).

I might have dyed my hair ala "box method" a couple of days ago. Carter looked at me (right when I was getting started) then back at the box and says, "Um, Mom... Even if your hair ends up the exact color as this girl's, you're still not going to look anything like her." Thank you very much, son.

I might have fed my kids cereal for breakfast before church yesterday (sans milk - what? we were out...). Followed by McDonalds after church for lunch. Followed by pizza for dinner. I know. Not winning.

I might have been a little disappointed when I woke up this morning and realized that it was a weekday... beings that I forgot to pack lunches or even get backpacks and lunch boxes out from under the pile of crap in the back of the suburban from last Thursday when I threw them all back there but since the weather is FINALLY showing signs of fall, I'm still happy - on a Monday! Monumental, I tell you!

What might you guys have done lately???

Honesty is the *best* policy? Really?

We've always taught our kids the importance of being honest. Even if it means there are consequences (the consequences for lying will ALWAYS be harsher than being honest about something you've done wrong) - but can I be honest? Sometimes I wish we didn't stress this quite so much... For example:

When I was working out to a circuit training video, Jack looks at the people on the video and then back at me and says, "Are you doing what they're doing, Mommy?"

While trying to see the computer screen through the sweat dripping in my eyes I reply, "Yup."

"Well, it sure doesn't look the same..."

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And then this morning while I was painting my toenails:

"It's okay, Mommy, you just need a little more practice... then they will look good."

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Now that I think about it, I'm wondering if we should just change our "Honesty Policy" to:

 "Silence. Give it a shot once in a while."

Getting Nailed

You know how sometimes the things your kids say can knock you over faster than if you got hit by a bus?

Yeah.

That.

The conversation looked a little (or exactly) like this:

Carter (completely out of the blue): "So, Mom, did it hurt the first time you got nailed?"

{I'll just give you a minute to collect yourself - although I was not granted such a gift...}

Me: "I'm not sure I know what you mean..."

{I surprised myself at how good I apparently am at pretending to be calm... and also at how fast I can start sweating...}

Carter: "No, I think you do. So... did it hurt? I heard it does."

Me (wondering if I taught them how to use my cell phone lest they have to call an ambulance after my heart attack): "Son, I really don't know what you're talking about."

{If I deny it convincingly enough will the fact that I do know go away???}

Carter: "Just tell me, Mom - does it hurt when you get nailed?! I know you've done it! ...You've used the hammer and missed the nail and hit your finger - so does it hurt?!?"

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I need therapy.

If you've been a reader of Family of Five for any amount of time at all you probably already know how much I despise doing laundry. 

However, you might not know (and I'm not even joking) that I love to vacuum.

I thought for a while it was because I love the lines it makes in the carpet - making the huge rug in the living room look crisp and clean when someone walks in our home (and it is about that a little, I'll be honest). I also thought for a while it was because I hate dog hair so much and vacuuming the whole house (the wood floors and the carpeted bedrooms) on a daily basis keeps it at bay.

Today I realized the real reason I love to vacuum.

When the vacuum is going, it's so loud that I can't hear my kids arguing, yelling, and screaming at each other because it's summer and we all have a tendency to get overtired and cranky. It drowns out the, "BUT MOM, HE SAID HE WAS GOING TO KEEP MY TOY FOREVER AND NOT EVER GIVE IT BACK!"

I mean, come on. Forever? Really!? You share a bedroom, for the love of Jack Johnson, where is he going to keep it from you!?

So, for my sanity's sake, I'm doing vacuuming therapy over the summer.

For especially nice days, when we're outside and the screaming is louder, I'll move straight on to mowing-the-lawn therapy. A louder, longer, more therapeutic version of vacuuming.

It just makes life a little more pleasant for a while. Lines in the carpet lawn and all.

The "rules" no one writes down.

So I saw a post on FaceBook this morning that was titled, "25 Manners Every Kid Should Know By Age Nine". I agreed with the article, but it got me thinking, too.

We've always tried hard to instill in our children a gratefulness and appreciation for the things they have. We've worked at teaching them manners to be used both at home and in public (not that they readily remember them when the time comes). But there are a few things (rules, per se) that weren't on the list so I thought I'd add a few...

1. Don't try to wipe your boogers on your siblings. Use a tissue and wash your hands.
2. Don't lick the dog. I don't want to have to pull the hair out of your mouth... again.
3. When I'm on the phone with a doctor, a grandparent, a social services employee, or anyone from your school please refrain from acting like a herd of monkeys - or at least be quiet monkeys until I'm off the phone.
4. For the love of Mark Ruffalo flush the toilet!
5. Don't smear your banana covered fingers on the sliding glass door. The dog licks it off and it makes me want to throw up.
6. If, during bedtime story, you find that I'm skipping pages or only reading the first and last sentences of each paragraph, just go with it. It's for my your own good.
7. Sidewalk chalk is for the sidewalk. Not the carpet in your bedroom, the bumper of the suburban, or snack.
8. When you're flossing your teeth and you find something in there, feel free to not show everyone.
9. Announcing "number 1" or "number two" is not necessary when you're heading to the bathroom. No one wants to know.
10. House-plants drink water. Not juice or chocolate milk.

I can think of MANY more, but this is a good start. What are some of your house rules?

Wordless Wednesday

::::  "Krista" is my younger (24 yr. old) sister.  ::::

{Could this be any sweeter? I think not.}

Is he really sick? (Or am I?)

I know this is going to sound terrible, but I love it when my little guy (Jack) is sick.

I know, it's terrible.

But seriously - I do (don't tell).

When he's sick, I'm the only one he wants - and honestly? I love that.

When he's not feeling well, my little three year old actually slows down long enough to snuggle and I have a good excuse to not do the dishes and just sit on the couch under a blanket and hold my "baby."

He also wants to wear his footy pajamas all day and as you guys know, those pj's are freaking adorable. And I'm afraid he's going to outgrow the "footy pj" stage before I even finish writing this sentence.

I think it's adorable how he drags his blanket around the house behind him and the way his eyebrows are constantly furrowed making it look like he's always concentrating on something.

No one else likes it when he's sick (because they have a heart?). He won't go to Jeff for anything. Natalie and Carter are annoyed that he's so whiny... because obviously they never struggle with being whiny. {Ahem.} But I'm enjoying every minute.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not some sick person who likes it when my kid is suffering. I am, however, a Mommy who is terribly sad that her "baby" is three and a half already. It's hard enough that most of the time I feel like all Natalie and Carter need me for is for reading cursive, making french braids, and paying for stuff - the least Jack can do is stay little. Seriously, is it too much to ask?

Okay, I don't really love it when he's sick (obviously, I'm not completely demented). But I do love getting to coddle cuddle him without having to bribe him for it.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a sick child who might need some attention.

The one with all the Easter confusion.

So this morning as I was driving the kids to the bus stop we started discussing Easter. Natalie was asking questions about Jesus dying on the cross. I started to explain to them how after Jesus died while he was hanging on the cross they brought his dead body to a cave (tomb) and put a big rock in front of it and guards stood watch so no one would try to steal the body. And that Jesus laid there for three days and then...

"...and then they sent him to a lion's den!" (Carter)

"No, buddy. That was Daniel, not Jesus..."

"Oh, right."

"So, like I said, after three days--"

"... and then after the three days Jesus ended up in a BIG fish's mouth in the ocean and God saved him!"

"Uh, that was Jonah, buddy."

So, after noting that we need to have a major Bible story review with Carter, ASAP  I continued on to explain to them how after the three days Jesus became alive again and went to heaven and will one day come back to take all the people who love him to heaven with him. I talked to them about what a gift it was for Jesus to die on the cross so that we can go to heaven when we die even though we do things that make him very sad sometimes. He loves us so much that he chose to die so we can be forgiven.

After the long explanation Natalie states simply, "I don't know if I want to go to heaven."

"Really? How come?"

"Well, you said that Jesus will come back for all the people on earth and we'll get to live in heaven - but I think I'll just stay here."

"Why do you want to stay here if everyone is gone?"

"Well someone needs to stay here to take care of all the animals!"

Wordless Wednesday

"We're digging for gold, Mom!"

Kid Quote

From December 15, 2009:

Natalie: "Mom! When I went to teach Jack how to play this game, he already knew how to play!"

Me: "Yeah, I play it with him when you guys are at school."

Natalie: "That's amazing! He's actually learning something from you!"

{Not} Wordless {At All} Wednesday

The kids and I have been really struggling in the evenings (you know, getting through them... ahem) on school nights. The kids are tired. I'm tired. They have an afternoon chart to follow to help guide them through the transition from "school mode" to "home mode" but as soon as they're done with the chart, more often than not it becomes melt-down central around here.

Yesterday I decided that something needs to change. Before Jack and I left to go get the kids from the bus stop, I made a list (it's what I do. I make lists...). I wrote down what the kids were going to make for dinner. Yes, they were going to make dinner. All of it. I assigned each kid a food group and made a list of what they would be doing (including every detail so they felt like each task was a HUGE deal to accomplish). Then I set out everything on the counter that they would need to set the table so that they could keep busy doing that while I was prepping for them to get started with their cooking.

Can I just say TOTAL SUCCESS?! The evening went great! They were so excited to cook (they usually only help with baking) and they were each even more excited to taste what the others made - they even wanted to take the leftovers to school today in their lunches (WIN!)!

Carter cleared the table after dinner and Natalie loaded the dishwasher while Jack, uh... supervised. No attitudes, no whining, no melt downs and no time-outs the whole evening. It was amazing! However, since I'm really good at procrastinating and generally not planning ahead, I'm going to have to make a few a lot of changes if I want to keep this up (which I do!).

So, there you have it. I officially have my kids making dinner and cleaning up afterwards. HOLLA!

{Jack's job was the green beans. He claimed it was the best part of the meal.}

{Carter was on "baked potato duty." I'm pretty sure our water bill will be doubled this month, but the potatoes were definitely clean...}

{Natalie did the lightly breaded baked chicken breasts. She LOVED it!}

{If you could kindly look past my disastrous kitchen to simply take in how adorable these kids are working together it would be much appreciated, mmkay? Thanks.} ;)

Kid Quote

From May 23, 2010:

(As I was praying with Carter before bed) Me: "Dear Jesus, thank you for the great day we had today. Thank you for being w/Carter as he did such a good job at the music program. Please help him to not pick his nose while Mommy's praying. Amen."

Carter: "My turn! Dear Jesus, please be with Mommy and help her to not be such a tattle-tale. Amen."

Weekend WIN!

After barely making it through Friday We had a remarkable weekend!
Saturday morning we got up WAY before the sun (which I'm pretty sure is illegal in most states - no?). Jeff and I woke up at 4:30am to get dressed quickly and pack the Suburban because we were taking the kids CLAMMING (a first for us all)! Jeff's brother John met us at our house at 5:20am and after getting the kids up and all bundled and ready for a (possibly rainy) day at the beach we grabbed some coffee and headed out.

Can I just say it was perfect? Because it really was. It was so much fun! It wasn't windy, it didn't rain, there wasn't anyone else around, and we all had a blast.

{Our gear's all ready to go!}

{Uncle John, Carter and Jack}

{Natalie}

{Uncle John and Carter}

{Jeff and Jackson}

{See? I was there!}

Immediately after clamming and hitting Dutch Bro's for some hot cocoa we headed to Jeff's parent's house for some cards, March Madness, a long walk, and a warm fire. It was a great day!

Sunday we slept in (oops) and my brother Zach came over with a friend of his while they were down in Eugene visiting from Portland. It was so nea to see the kids get so excited to see him (and by "see him" I mean "clobber him"). After their visit, we took the kids to town to see their (our) first 3D movie at he $1.50 theater - again, major hit! On the way home, my husband (who must love me more than anything) drove us to a thrift store where we browsed for about 45 minutes (I.love.thrifting!) and each found at least one thing we considered a treasure (a pair of name brand jeans that fit perfectly for $4? Holla!).

After thrifting our little hearts out, we stopped and grabbed a RedBox movie to watch after the kids were in bed.

Jeff took today (Monday) and tomorrow off of work for an extended weekend and the kids will be spending the night tonight with my parents (again - HOLLA!) so we'll get a date night (yay!).

Seriously - SUCH a good (much needed) weekend. Apparently the kids enjoyed it too, because on the way home last night Natalie could hardly contain her excitement as she said, "Wow! I have so much to write about for my 'Spring Break' entry in my journal at school next week! This is awesome!"

Win!

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday