Hind sight is always 20/20.

This morning I took the kids to a local museum that had an awesome kids section with various interactive rooms. Ashlynn's favorite was, ofcourse, the theatre room. She spent time choosing her costume, deciding on her performance and what it would entail. As I kept an eye on the others, she said would let me know when she was ready so I could watch. The time came and as she tried to open the velvet curtains a little girl came up and began yanking them closed. Ashlynn, in a very sweet voice said, "no, no, leave them open". To which the girl completely ignored and kept pulling them closed. Ashlynn kept trying to open them and was getting nowhere. Now mind you, I was holding Addie and trying to keep an eye on the boys while watching Ashlynn so I wasn't realizing the trouble she was having. All of a sudden this girl's mom very rudely tells Ashlynn that her daughter can touch anything she wants and she has every right to play with the curtains if she wants and Ashlynn had no right to tell her not to close them or let them go!

I was speechless. Poor Ashlynn just looked at me in utter terror and all I could do was muster, "It's ok, Ashlynn, you're ok Ashlynn". She ran off the stage to the dressing area, took off her costume, quietly walked out of the area and began sobbing. She was so embarrassed and had no idea what she had done wrong for this women to talk to her the way she did.

Seriously, I was so shocked at the way the woman reacted I had no idea what to do. My friend that was with me (who also has four children) could see the distress Ashlynn was in and just tried to comfort her by finding something else for her to play with. The rude lady vanished by the time I went back to the theatre, which upset me even more. There I stood, my daughter looking me in the eyes for some reassurance and all I could get out was "it's ok"???

Now that I have been stewing on it all afternoon, I could think of a million things to tell this person who completely crossed the line with my child (or any other child for that matter). Did it make you feel good to humiliate a six year old girl in front of others? Do you realize in the least that your daughter was ruining their show they had been working on? Do you know how rude you sounded?

Why can't I think of these things at the moment? I am so non-confrontational it drives me crazy sometimes. All I can do is take the lesson from this and never again not stand up for my child in the face of total rudeness. Trust me, I am not one of those parents that thinks their child is perfect and can do no wrong. If anything, I err on the side of asking them if they did anything to instigate the conflict first. This crossed the line and it has just been eating me up today, so here I am getting it off my chest.

What would you have done?

Crust, it's whats for lunch.

One of the joys of motherhood: lunchtime. A time when you give your kids a few options and try to move as quickly as possible before the hungry mob erupts. By the time I am finished feeding four little mouths, including seconds and thirds, I have little energy or ambition to make anything for myself. Now, don't take this as a "poor me, never any time for a real lunch". This is more like a "I really don't care and the crust is already there and....", you get the idea. So, here is what my lunch often looks like (gotta love PB&J):


Though I don't think they actually ate any, here is what the kids made themselves for "lunch" the other day (I think theirs looks more appealing than the crust!):

This one sort of looks like burnt couscous or a pilaf.

Salad anyone?

The table is set.

Ashlynn is a very talented food arranger!

In Ryder's Words.....

Here are Ryder's answers:

This is a cool idea. Copy this note, ask your child the questions and write them down exactly how they respond.

1. What is something mom always says to you?
"Stop doing that."

2. What makes mommy happy?
"If I clean the house with you, if I do that or clean the basement."

3. What makes mommy sad?
"If I don't clean the basement."

4. How does your mommy make you laugh?
"By tickling me under my neck."

5. What was your mommy like as a child?
"Like a little girl that was a little mean when she was a child, like Gage, when you were two."

6. How old is your mom?
"8."

7. How tall is your mom?
"I'd say, uhhhh, nine inches."

8. What is your moms favorite thing to do?
"Uhhhhhh, do school work with us."

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
"Clean the house."

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
"Ride a motorcycle and jump over a high cliff. And go zoom, zoom (lots of other sound effects I can't spell)"

11. What is your mom really good at?
"Hmmmm, you, uhhh, I going to say good at drawing designs."

12. What is your mom not very good at?
"Uhhhh, lifting really heavy stuff that daddy could lift."

13. What does your mom do for her job?
"I would say, watch the kids while everybody, adults are gone."

14. What's your moms favorite food?
"I'd say go to Sammy's Pizza and get a vegetable pizza."

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
"Clean the basement without us."

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
"Oh, I'd say Wonder Girl on Justice League."

17. What do you and your mom do together?
"Kiss together."

18. How are you and your mom the same?
"We both like flowers."

19. How are you and your mom different?
"That I have three watches and you have none."

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
"When you get the school work box down for me. My math stuff and I give you a hug."

21. Where is your moms favorite place to go?
"I'd say Sammy's Pizza."

A note about my mom, by Ashlynn

A friend of mine on facebook did this and I thought I would post it here. I'll start with Ashlynn and try it with the other kids each week.

This is a cool idea. Copy this note, ask your child the questions and write them down exactly how they respond.

1. What is something mom always says to you?
"No."

2. What makes mommy happy?
"Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh, to clean the house or the basement."

3. What makes mommy sad?
"When someone is being naughty and you give them a ....."

4. How does your mommy make you laugh?
"Tickle me."

5. What was your mommy like as a child?
"Pretty."

6. How old is your mom?
"29."

7. How tall is your mom?
"Ten inches."

8. What is your moms favorite thing to do?
"To play with us."

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
"Clean the house."

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
"The first cleaning record."

11. What is your mom really good at?
"Watching Adysen."

12. What is your mom not very good at?
"Uhhhhhh, hmmmmm. (long silence) I can't think of anything"

13. What does your mom do for her job?
"Stay home and watch the kids."

14. What's your moms favorite food?
"Homemade pizza."

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
"To help us and be a good mother."

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
"I would say Jerry."

17. What do you and your mom do together?
"Make bracelets."

18. How are you and your mom the same?
" 'Cause We both have curly hair."

19. How are you and your different?
" 'Cause you have brown hair and I have blonde hair."

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
" 'Cause you give me a hug and kiss."

21. Where is your moms favorite place to go?
"Shopping."

They are going to last FOREVER.

In my ongoing effort to prove frugality trumps "going green" I bought some of those 'special' light bulbs. Actually, I was at Costco and had the traditional incandescents in my cart when I read the side of the box and saw that hour for hour, I would get more time out of the CFLs. So in my frugality I traded boxes. More hours for less money? I'm there.

Let me just say, have you used them yet? The color is hideous. I mean hid. e. ous. It's like the worst dressing room lighting of the century. All of a sudden I get all panicky with flashbacks of trying on swimsuits and various other items that cause you to gasp, while the salesperson inquires if you're all right. Breathe, just breathe. Ok, oh yes, I'm just sitting in the family room trying to read....it's just that pesky lighting.

Sorry to repeat here, but have you used them yet? Let's just say the hall is not the best place for these things. Every time I go to grab something out of the closet and flip on the light for two seconds to see what I'm grabbing, I'm met with darkness. They take, like, fifteen minutes to actually light up and be useful. so, ofcourse they have a longer life, I NEVER turn it on. Seriously, never. I just use my bedroom light to cast enough light into the closet so I can see.

Then I heard there is mercury in them, so if you break one you are supposed to call the EPA. Hello, I have four kids under six, I'm sure my entire house is a walking EPA violation. I can hear Ashlynn speaking to the EPA rep now, "Oh, a broken light isn't so bad, you should see when we clean out the refrigerator. And Mommy is always telling Gage to take things out his mouth. Chemicals Gage. No, no."

I know there are all different types of CFLs now and I'm sure I just bought the really lame ones, but they ARE really lame. For now, I'll stick with the traditional incandescent and rely on my obsession with making sure they are off until needed.

What's that buddy?

Me to Gage as we were outside swinging: "Look at the birdie Gage. That's a robin. That robin is looking for worms!" (Always looking for those teachable moments)

Gage: "It's not superman?"

Me, not really getting it: "Uh, what's that buddy?"

Gage: It's robin not superman, momma?"

Me: "Yeah, sure buddy. It's Robin not Superman."

What two year old needs to know a robin from a blue-jay anyway?

What's worse?

Randy was in the basement and noticed what looked like mice droppings. Yuck. Double yuck. Quickly, I made a mental rundown of our house and how I would clean every nook and cranny, including pulling the fridge and stove out, to make sure they never came back.

Anyone knows, when you see a mouse, you automatically assume your house must be the slums. It suddenly becomes "infested" and just plain gross. Randy kept reassuring me our house was not "a pit" and this sort of thing just happens.

With clorox wipes in hand I began wiping up the evidence. Then I panicked. These were too big for a mouse, could it be, oh no, please. Not a rat. With a big swipe of the wipe, I took a close look. Suddenly I saw little legs and shriveled up bodies. These were not turds, they were simply large ants.

Whew. That was close.

Laughing I called Colie to tell her about my usual, er, crazy overreaction. My relief was short lived when she made it all too clear that yes, they weren't mouse dropping, but no, they weren't large ants.

They were termites. And finding a large dead pile of them meant they were "active in the structure". Great, just what we needed. Little creatures eating away at our investment. Though, ok, secretly I was still glad it wasn't mice, even if you only have to set a trap and bam, they're gone. Termites....not so easy. So, if anyone knows how to get rid of the pesky, little, wood chewing creatures.....let me know.

San Diego '09!-Part 2

Here are some more photos from our trip. We miss you guys so much!

All of the grandkids with mom and dad.

Mike and Casey :-)

Johnny and Lindsey!

Cole and Aaron :-O

Chris and Bekah ;-)

Addie playing in her sand heart.

Addie and I enjoying the beach!!

Gage with daddy-he did NOT want to go near the water on his own!

Sorry to James and Stef, I tried to get your picture but James encouraged me to wait for "better light", so if you could send me something for my fridge....that would be great :-)!! Otherwise I will just look here :-).

It's not that bad, really.

Ryder, holding up a half-empty bottle of water, from the way back seat of the car: "Mom, can I drink this?"

Me (trying to drive. at night): "I don't know buddy, is there something wrong with it?"

Ryder: "I'm just wondering if I can drink it."

Me: "Ashlynn, does it look ok to you, I mean is there something growing in it?"

Ashlynn (in a very motherly tone, using hand gestures and rolling her eyes): "Oh, it's fine Ryder, yeah sure, go ahead. I mean what's the worst that could happen to you? Like, you might get a cough or something, but it's no big deal. There could be some germs on it. Or not. I mean germs are sometimes everywhere and you might get a few, but it won't be that bad."

This germ talk when on for, like, five minutes. Honestly, I don't know where she gets if from, er, ok, maybe I do. Anyway, I think he took a swig of it, we'll see if he's coughing in the morning since evidently it's "the worst that could happen".

San Diego '09!

We had a great time in San Diego and were sad to leave. It was so awesome having all of my siblings and family home for the first time in several years! Here are some pictures, I'll add more later.....

Gotta have In-n-Out!

The girls in Julian.

The girls at Janet's. Mmmmm!

The fam at the zoo.

Uncle Mike teaching Gage how to play ping pong.

Uncle Johnny goofing around with Ryde.

Cousin Reilly climbing the tree.

Tallon posing for Aunite Lizzie.

The new Charlie's Angels.

Rock Band anyone?

Coronado!

Walking with Daddy.

Cousins collecting shells!

Playing at the beach.

Gage wasn't so sure about it.

Addie loved the sand!