Almost All The Truth

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Almost All The Truth

Jamie Oliver is Awesome!

Jamie Oliver is on a mission to make school lunches healthier! I am 100% on board with supporting his cause. If you are too, sign the petition.

Jamie Oliver is Awesome!

More A-isms

July 2009, Age 4

*Alyson's favorite word of the day: Onceamadoodle.

*Aly on dinner tonight: "Momma, this is your victory."

*Bonus C-ism (age 8): Collin was just trying to say rocket ship and his mouth-brain connection got scrambled and he said "rocket $hit" his eyes bugged out he thought he was going to be in huge trouble.

*Bonus C-ism (age 8):Collin told me today at tennis he was pretty sure my racket had a hole in it.

*"Smmet spells full. That's me, Fullie" Alyson said after cleaning her plate tonight.

*Aly busted into the bathroom with a Hannah Montana wig on shouting, "Hannah Montana is in da house."

August 2009: Age 4

*All Kids: Kids are cracking me up! Sebastian: Hey Collin, You've got Mrs. ___, right? Collin: Ya, why? Sebastian: Dude, don't get on her back. She's strict. She's a good teacher, don't get me wrong but she's strict. Madison: I went into her classroom once, she's fine. Collin: Well, strict is okay because someone needs to keep m...e on task. Alyson: *singing* I got Miss ___ la la lee lee

*Aly's first words to me after school today: "Oh Mom, I had the best Kindergarten day ever!"

September 2009, Age 5

* Alyson walked up to me in the kitchen and said, "We are the champions my friends, right momma?"

*Upon finding a sesame seed on her bun, Alyson said she wanted to plant it and grow hamburgers.

November 2009, Age 5

*To quote Alyson, "Now that I have cleaned up the living room, everyone will appreciate me. Because basically I cleaned the entire thing All. By. Myself!"

*Alyson has learned what googol means so of course, everything is measured by it now. "I want a googol of ice cream!"

*Aly's argument to convince me to let her pierce her ears, "It's not like I'll get my lip pierced."

*Alyson on closing one eye but not the other? "It's not winking, it's magic!"

*Alyson to Collin: How can you be my brother if you don't like roast?

*Alyson: Something is wrong with my eye. When I blink it goes blank.

*On moving the refrigerator: Collin, "Maybe you should get a dolly to move it, dad." Alyson, "WHAT kind of dolly can move a refrigerator?"

*Thanksgiving thoughts from Aly: Her memories are locked up safely in her brain cage. Liquor stores sell licorice. And it's only 37 weeks until Christmas.

December 2009 Age 5

*Aly: Taking a bath at grandma's is super fun because she has a rubber ducky and we don't.

*Aly issued Collin a ticket for "breaking the style of her bed."

*Joke Aly told us today: How do you make Lady Gaga mad? Puh-puh-puh-puh-poker face.

*Aly: "This book is off lemons. I don't want anyone else to read it."

*Alyson: My brain lock is where I keep my crazy.

*Two Christmas thoughts from Alyson: "I can't stop smiling." & "I can pull my hair off."

*Aly: "Salad sandwiches are really good."

January 2010, Age 5

*Alyson when playing Mario Olympics: "Peach will now show you how its done...with style...tra-la-la..."

*Aly on opening a little bag of potato chips: "I don't even know how to pop so I never, never do it."

*Bonus M-ism:Madison: "Oh my gosh, Harrison Ford does not look as good now as he did in Star Wars."

*Sebastian to Maddi: "The 28th I'm coming to your school." Maddi to Sebastian: "The 8th I'm coming to your school." Aly to everyone: "The 3rd I'm coming to noone's school."

*Bonus C-ism: We had a reading event at the kids' school. Jeff took Aly to her K group and I took Collin to his group. The lady asked the kids, "What are you reading?" Collin puts his hand up and says, "Stephen King!" EVERY adult in the room gasped and all eyes were on me as I meekly explained, "He wrote a story for a younger kids."

More A-isms

I'm Live! I'm Live!

Here's my first article as the Kansas City Family Examiner:

http://www.examiner.com/x-22063-Kansas-City-Family-Examiner~y2009m8d30-Scavenger-hunt-at-the-NelsonAtkins-Museum-of-Art

I'm Live! I'm Live!

Swamped

I feel like life just went on and left me in the dust. I am swamped. I wish there were about ten more hours each day because I just cannot seem to find enough time to accomplish everything I need to do! I need to get to sleep so I will just make a quick list to purge all of my to-dos...maybe that will help me feel less overwhelmed.

1)Homework. I am falling behind. My doctor's appointments and just flat out not feeling well have made focusing on classwork almost impossible. I will be spending most of tomorrow on homework.

2)Deadline. I received my first deadline for the Kansas City Examiner. It is Monday. So, as soon as I am finished with homework...or at least caught up enough to stop...I need to get busy on my article. My editor is waiting to approve it so I can go live. (It was super cool to say all of that!)

3)Party prep. A's birthday party is Sunday. I have a lot of preparation to get finished so Sunday morning is not crazy. I need to prepare some food and clean up a bit. So I guess between my homework and article I will squeeze that in somehow. Thankfully Jeff and the kids will help out a lot with that one.

4)Pros/Cons. Our company is trying something new and stumbled on something really awesome. It is great, I will blog about it another day because I am excited to share it. I am product testing and need to sit down and make a pros vs. cons list to make sure our product is worthy of competing with the other stuff. It will not take long, but I am running out of minutes to spare.

5)Labels. This is related to #4, but is more involved and will take quite a bit of time.

6)Homework. Did I mention my classes are overwhelming? Everything is due Sunday. I have no time. I wish I could freeze time so I could get some things finished while the world around me pauses.

7)Kids. I have four kids...they need my attention and I cannot give it to them right now. The guilt from that is pretty sad. They understand but I still feel like it is unfair to them.

And lastly, but it's not exactly a list item but more of a handicap, my shoulder/arm/hand is still messed up. Today I was finally told a diagnosis after one heck of an interesting test involving electricity and needles (more another day). I have a pinched nerve in my wrist. I will explain it more...only 10% of pinched nerves are in the wrist. I like to be different. It is kind of my specialty. Needless to say, movement has been difficult to put it mildly. I am pretty loopy with Vicodin making it even more difficult to focus. At least, thankfully, the Vicodin gives me energy...it is just unfocused and jittery.

Okay, so writing it all out did not help me feel less overwhelmed. In fact, I just sacrificed seven minutes I could have been reading my Philosophy textbook.

Oh, who am I kidding? I would be in bed reading The Likeness.

Please forgive typos, grammar and other oddities in this post. Blame The Din! (Special thanks to @OpinionatedGift for vicodin's new moniker!)

Swamped

I *Heart* Give-Aways!

Guess what everyone? One Hip Mom is giving away one of her very cute, handmade pillowcase dresses!



Visit her Etsy Boutique and check out all of her awesome designs!



Seriously, RUN and visit One Hip Mom! And don't forget to tell her who sent you!

I *Heart* Give-Aways!

Reflecting

Twelve years.

It does not feel like twelve years. It feels more like five years. But even if the time flew by, it does feel like the end of an era.

As noted yesterday my baby goes off to Kindergarten tomorrow. Less than 24 hours from now. I do feel happy. But mostly, right now, I am feeling a bit pensive.

I am not usually sappy or emotional but an ending requires some reflection. I've been thinking a lot about the last twelve years. What they have meant to me as a mom, a woman, a wife. Wondering what they have meant to my children, my husband, my family.

The years have not been easy. In fact, I'm pretty sure some days were very near impossible. And there have been some days, a lot of them, that were simply amazing. I have had massive breakthroughs and massive failures.

The years have not been without sacrifice. We placed our plans for owning a home and family vacations on hold to just get by with one income. I am thankful that Jeff understood how important I felt it was to be an at-home mom. To be as hands-on as possible. But, if I am honest, it has been difficult watching everyone move, seemingly, blissfully forward while we felt stuck in neutral. It is not a regret though, because I cannot sit here today and say I regret staying home with my kids. If I were going to do it again, I would. Without hesitation.

For the longest time it felt like being a full-time mom was all I was good for...was all I was capable of. I do feel like I did it well, not perfectly, but well. I know I am biased, but my kids are awesome. They each have wonderfully unique personalities. They are kind and generous. They love each other and they love the world around them. Not to mention they are always good for a laugh. Today though, today I know I am much more than Mom. I have a lot to offer the world...whatever it is or however I may figure it out. I love going to school and I am excited to see what this next year is going to bring. It is just so new it is a little scary right now.

The last twelve years have provided some of my happiest and saddest moments...and some of my most frustrating moments. I did the math on diapering four kids...I did not, however, own up to the environmental cost. (I'm sorry, Mother Earth. I will make it up to you.) I know that unless you are or were a full-time stay-at-home mom for a long period of time you may not believe me but it is hard. Really hard. Harder than any job I have had before. There are no sick days. There are no holidays. Stay-at-home moms sleep and wake by their children. Eat and potty by their children. Showers are dictated by the children. And we have the privilege of teaching them every single thing they need to know. We mess up sometimes in moments of exhaustion and sometimes the tiniest thing is a major triumph that reduces us to tears.

Perhaps, the best part of this ending is my husband, Jeff. He's been waiting patiently for his wife this entire time. I have been, until now, run over and dog tired. Then if being a full-time, over-touched, over-nagged, over-whined mom was not enough, I started school and pushed myself even further away. Not on purpose, but life just kind of takes over and before you know it twelve years are gone and your head is spinning and you have to find yourself again.

My job as Mom is not finished. I know that. It has, though, shifted. I can feel it. A tidal shift on an epic scale...or that's what it feels like today. And probably tomorrow.

And...I was wrong above. This is not an ending. It is a beginning.

Reflecting

Fair Warning

This is the blog post where I give you warning that in just a short time, I will be reduced to a blubbering bag of emotion.

My baby will be going off to Kindergarten. And as happy I am that she is such a wonderful baby girl...little girl...I am heartbroken that my time with my babies at home with me is coming to a close.

This is hard. I am thoroughly excited and saddened at the same time.

More later.


And PS...

I am sorry I missed Monday's Super Mom...stay tuned though. Next Monday's mom is pretty cool!

Fair Warning

New Series! Super Mom Mondays

I have a lot of really great, really spectacular friends and most of them are moms. They challenge me daily to be my best and I, suffering from impossible shyness, never tell them how they inspire me. I am changing that starting today. I hope to 'spotlight' a fellow mommy-blogger every Monday. I will only be posting fellow mom-bloggers with public blogs and only addressing them by the names they use for themselves on their blogs because I don't want to breech anyone's privacy. Later, I'll also 'showcase' bloggers who I don't necessarily know but who are as equally inspiring. (If you do NOT want to be included let me know.)

Now...without further ado...


Today's Super Mom Monday mom-blogger is...



Michelle over at Simply Blessed.

Michelle never fails to make me laugh daily. She is smart, witty and creative. But more than that, she understands what it is like to have a house full of kids because she has one more than I do! She's willing to share all of the ups and downs and crazy that goes along with having a big family and she does it with grace and humor.

Many times I feel like I stalk her blog because sometimes I read and then reread her posts thinking, "She totally gets it." A lot of her experiences are things I go through here...and she's providing a glimpse of things to come since her oldest is a bit older than my oldest.

Thank you for your blogging, Michelle! It truly is great to know someone out there can relate and is willing to share the good, bad and the ugly so honestly!

New Series! Super Mom Mondays

A Cry in the Dark

Late last night just as Jeff and I were settling down in bed we heard a frantic shout, "Mommy!"

We ran into the girls' room and found both girls awake. A had crawled up in bed with M. Though neither of them looked like they just shouted a panicked "Mommy" we got them settled back down in their bed.

"Mommy!"

The boys' room! I left Jeff in the girls' room and ran into see what was up with C. I opened the door and he was up in his bed crying, "My head just started hurting out of nowhere. It hurts really bad. It woke me up it's so bad."

I slowly began to go into panic mode. Now I should stop here and explain: I am not one to panic about illnesses. I fully understand kids get sick and not everything, in fact most things, are not cause for concern or even a doctor's appointment. Somehow, society has gotten really dependent on doctors and diagnoses and we've started going to them for simple things like colds or to see if the flu we have has an over-hyped name. But something about his voice, the way he was holding his head and rocking, the redness of his eyes, our family history of migraine headaches, and the fact that I was tired so things weren't registering properly set off alarm bells in my head.

I brought C to the living room and began taking his temperature though I already knew he had no fever. While I sat there with C waiting for the thermometer to beep my head began to clear. I realized he was not in the dire straights he pretended just minutes before.

"C, are you sure your head hurts really badly or did you wake up scared?" I ask.

C can't take the guilt and cracks, "I woke up and was all alone and the girls' have my nightlight because A needs it because of Thriller and my head only hurts a little bit and I'm sorry Mommy."

We had a long discussion about pretending to be sick rather than just being honest and telling us he was scared. We reminded him that because he told his his head hurt so badly we thought it was an emergency and we were scared for him. And that we are always here for him and he can call for us anytime but to be honest when he does it.

We tucked C safely into bed and then tucked ourselves in baffled by C's need to feign an illness to get our attention. (I will ask C about that today.)

Jeff fell asleep and I read for a little while to clear my head.

Just as I was about to flip off my lamp, Aly came running into my room...

It was a long night...my eyes finally closed at 4:00AM.

A Cry in the Dark

It's My Summer and I'll be Lazy if I Want To

I do not take classes in the summer for two reasons.

Reason #1: All four kids are home and they make studying really difficult.

Reason #2: I want to be lazy!

Yes, lazy. I know in most of today's society "lazy" is a dirty word. No one wants to admit to being unproductive so we all multitask trying to optimize our time and energy. And I do optimize with the best of them...nine months out of the year.

During the school year, I study while doing just about every other household and parenting task possible. I spread myself thin every day making sure the kids are fed, bathed, have their homework completed, entertained, loved, and safe add in making sure the house is cleaned, organized and safe, not to mention: volunteering at their schools, working on homework, keeping up with friends and family, throwing birthday parties, hosting holiday gatherings, and figuring out how to take a minute every day to shower and eat. And I do most of these simultaneously while trying to remember to be a supportive, loving and affectionate wife because really, doing everything else would be impossible without Hubs.

So by the time summer rolls around I am really ready for some lazy. Don't get me wrong, the house and children are still clean and safe but I do not live by the calendar. The summer is my time to recharge and relax. And by the time the school year rolls around I am reluctantly ready to begin again knowing the chaos is coming. But for now, it's my summer and I'll be lazy if I want to.

It's My Summer and I'll be Lazy if I Want To

Inside Her Head

I have put a lot of A's funny, sometimes strange comments on Facebook. I got to thinking that I really wanted to save them instead of let them fall away into internet garbage. So here they are most recent to oldest:

Age 4, July 2009

A insists that Candace on Finneus and Ferb is actually named Kansas.

A's compliment about dinner tonight: "Oooh! That paprika kicks the spot!"

On her dad giving her brother, C, a haircut: "This is way more exiting than tennising today because C might actually be bald!"

Explaining to A why newborns can't eat spaghetti. She said they don't need teeth and can just "swallow it down whole."

I asked why they don't call the "real" Jesus "Jesus" (with the H sound)...it was kind of a random thought spoken aloud because Jeff goes, "What?" And A repeated, "Why don't they call Jesus the real juice?"

A had a great time "whackin' balls" at the driving range today. She said she was "smokin'".

A picked out a brown dress and brown shoes to wear today. She came to me and pointed to her dress and said, "Brown." Then pointed to her shoes, "Brown," and said..."Matchin'."

#1 thing A wants MJ to know..."Always go potty before a bath...or else you would go potty in the bath...and that's bad." and "One more thing, if you are laying down and rinsing your hair in the bath and you accidentally peed then you would get your hair dirty and have to start all over again." In her own words, of course.

A's life goal today...in her own words: "I am trying to cross my fingers for thirty or fifteen minutes but my thumbs are in the way."

Age 4, June 2009

A is discussing the comedic downfall of only having 10 fingers. She said she wants 11 because it "would be more funny". (channeling Spinal Tap makes me proud!)

A just said to me, "Mommy, you need to take me to the eye doctor because when I wake up stuff comes from behind my ear."

Watching the kids play golf on the Wii...after each stroke that A makes she shouts, "Chimichangas!"

A just woke up (at midnight) to ask me if she could "stay up for a couple more hours". I said, "No, Sweetie." She gave me a hug and a kiss and ran back to bed where she zonked right back to sleep.

A is wearing olive green pj pants with Tigger on them, a pink princess night gown and a (1) bunny slipper...this was her choice for today.

While watching Journey to the Center of the Earth with the kids. A said she wasn't watching the "lolly pop smooching" during the kissing scenes.

Age 4, May 2009

A is singing, "I am cleaning my best. Doing at very good job. Cleaning the table, I'm doing my best." to the tune of "Here Comes the Bride".

A just accidentally pants-ed M.

After telling A to be careful because her food may be hot. To that she replied, "Oh you know us girls mom...our science education is just fine. April Fool's."


I'll close this installment of Inside Her Head with this:

A's cuteness is my Kryptonite. Anytime she is in trouble she turns on the cute...it's all downhill from there.

Inside Her Head

A-isms

A, my fabulously funny four year old, comes up with some hilarious snippets of wisdom. My Facebook friends may remember most of these little gems.

While discussing fun things she could do alone while I work on my homework, A announced, "I am too young to have an imagination."

This morning she was working a word search but instead of finding the words in the word list (the letters next to each other) she goes through each word and finds and circles each individual letter randomly, only crossing off the word after she's found all of the letters.

The other day she announced she is "bald without her glasses". (She does not wear glasses and was talking about her sunglasses.)

She loves to play fetch with one of our cats. (Yes our cats like to play fetch.) Except for A's method is to pick the cat up and toss her at the toy...oddly enough the cat enjoys this game. (I swear!)

That's just a very, very small look into her little mind. She is a hoot!

A-isms

Transformers

Today an odd thing happened when a transformer blew and knocked out the power to our neighborhood. The power surged about 10 times and A and I heard the explosion and arcing so we called the electric company to tell them about the problem. It was freaky but not why I'm sharing this with you.

I am sharing for this little gem:

When I was explaining what happened I said, "A transformer blew" and suddenly A started bawling, "Momma you said transformers weren't real!"

I love the minds of 4-yr olds!

Transformers

Read This 3/16

Buddha at Bedtime: Tales of Love and Wisdom for You to Read with Your Child to Enchant, Enlighten and Inspire by Dharmachari Nagaraja

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is a wonderful book full of stories that help teach the basic Buddhist principles to children. The short stories are filled with examples of compassion and patience. The author also included basic instructions for teaching children the art of meditation. The artwork throughout is vivid and whimsical.


View all my reviews.

Read This 3/16

My "Rockin" 2nd Grader

It's the little things that sometimes make my day--today it was a letter from M's teacher from second grade. It read:

Dear -A- Family,
It truly made my day!... This morning I heard a student say, "Oh, no! I lost my dollar." In the blink of an eye... C -A- pulled a quarter out of his pocket and handed it to her. Wow! What a "Rockin" kind of person C is!

FYI~Mrs. -O-


He's a good boy. The "rockin" reference is how he's known at the school--apparently he's always singing and playing air-drums, air-guitar and singing songs with the teachers at recess and stuff. Thankfully he's only broken out in song at the wrong time once.

My "Rockin" 2nd Grader

Here Here!

Click the image to fully view it. It's worth reading!



I'm so sick of hearing this from people!

Here Here!

Hear that?

It's the beautiful sound of a quiet house! The kids went back to school this morning after almost three weeks for winter break. We all had a lovely time while they were home from school but we all need some space.

They were all looking forward to getting back to school. S begins choir this semester and he is very excited. M and C also wanted to get back to their friends and see their teachers. A is glad to have the house--and toys--to herself all day long and I am, well, just glad to get back to our normal routine.

Back-to-school time for the kids is also back-to-school time for me. My semester begins next week. I have a heavy course load so that means late night studying (that's the only time it's quiet enough to focus without interruption) and loads of homework. We are leaving for FL next week, too, so all my textbooks are coming with me so I won't miss any work.

For now, I'll enjoy the quiet and rest my brain before life begins to get hectic again!

Hear that?

The Sheffard and his Pie

Today A asked me what we were having for dinner. I said, "Sheppard's pie". She said, "Oh I love Sheffard's pie!"

So all day A told everyone who would listen that we were having "Sheffard's" pie for dinner.

J asked her before dinner what we were going to have and she proudly announced, "Sheffard's pie". J said, "Do you mean Sheppard's pie?" She said, "No, Sheffard's Pie".

She watched us saute the onions, garlic, mushrooms, and green bell peppers. She handed dad potatoes to peel. She watched us brown the ground beef. She stood on the chair chattering all about "Sheffard's" pie as we put it in the crust, topped it with the mashed potatoes with the rest of the veggies and stuck it in the oven.

She sat down at the table and we put her Sheppard's pie in front of her and she said, "Hey, this isn't Sheffard's pie!"

J said, "What is Sheffard's pie supposed to be?"

A answered, "Chocolate!"

Of course...

The Sheffard and his Pie

Surgery Day

C's surgery is tomorrow (Tuesday) and I'm starting to freak out a little. Thankfully he sleeping peacefully in bed and not witnessing my moments of weakness. =) It isn't the surgery exactly that's got me a bit freaked out. I know he will benefit greatly from the surgery. He will sleep better, his sleep apnea will likely go away. He will overall be healthier without the troubles of sore throats and strange croupy coughs for no apparent reason.

But it is the moment when my little guy will be wheeled away from me to the surgery room that has me beside myself. The anticipation of that goodbye scene when J and I give hugs and kisses to our little man and he walks on into the operating room. Will he cry? Will he go bravely? Will he have a panicked meltdown? Can I hold it together long enough for the doors to close?

I already know C is dreading that moment more than the actual surgery because he told us as much the night of the surgery party. The hospital showed a video of a child leaving his parents to go off to surgery and that was the point that C got upset and said, "I'll have to do that to you Tuesday". It was heartbreaking except I had to pretend it was perfectly normal to send your child away to be put to sleep and operated on.

Of course when it comes to the dramatic plights of parents a tonsillectomy is pretty simple stuff compared to some of the fright and heartbreak of traumatic cancers and illnesses. I am trying to keep some perspective as I think about tomorrow. But I just can't shake that "my poor baby boy" feeling I'm getting.

He'll be fine and the end is well worth it. But anticipating that moment of saying a brief "goodbye" breaks my heart.

Surgery Day