some of the perks of being “mom”.

being home with my kids is what I have always wanted, ever since I was small.  there are days, when I know I have reached my limit, and kind of sort of want to run away, and I am then reminded that an event will more than likely transpire in my life within the next couple of days that will generally explain why I had a hormonal freak-out.

(hopefully it will also explain why that last sentence was a doosy.)

I told merrill the other night, after a really perfect day of being mom, that I really didn’t want to rub it in, but being mom is the best.

my day started out like any other, getting kids up, feeding them, policing the getting dressed routine, getting them off to school (on time), and so forth.  then it was my turn to get ready for the day.

if you are privy to the art of straightening hair, especially long-ish hair, you are aware that it can be a process.  I am used to this chore, and so is sweet peyton.

she knows that we will not be going anywhere or doing anything until it is taken care of, and she finds ways to entertain herself, and me too.

she got on a kick a while ago, a kick all about mammals.

it started with her asking what breastfeeding was, and eventually led to talk of other creatures that feed their young this way.

enter the mammal.

so we started listing animals, categorizing certain attributes (fur, hair, or feathers..), and would narrow them down to mammals.

as we drove around that day, that was the bulk of our communication.  as we shopped for our groceries, that was what got brought up.  it got downright silly. 

she sees a can of peas.

“do peas have feathers?”

(giggle giggle..)

so this fun child of mine remembered this activity as I started the process of straightening my hair the other day, and ran out of my bathroom.  when she returned, she had her bin of “little people” + animals in tow.

one by one, she brought out those animals, and we started naming attributes, and categorizing.

she is such a fun, bright child.  the fact that she remembers so much kind of scares me at times, but it will be a good thing someday.

it’s moments like these, small and what seem to be pretty unimportant, that make me so thankful that I get to be home with her.

how many ways can you say 4?

(indulge me here, k?)

today, peyton turned 4.

4 brings lots and lots of excitement to life around these parts.

today, we tried out various combinations with our fingers to get the number 4.

we based a whole day around a new obsession, “aladdin” and all things princess jasmine.

the other day, peyton finally wrote her name!!!

(and in “finally”, I mean she finally showed interest in writing anything more than a “p”.)

as she wrote the “p” there was a little excitement, cause you have to show it every time.  then she got to her “e”.

I teared-up.

after she wrote the rest of those all too cute letters in her name, my eyes were glassy.

she said, “let’s do it again mom..  and this time, don’t cry.  k?”

see, she’s 4 alright.

                       

and because my children want to challenge me in my cake decorating skills, peyton asked for a jasmine cake. 

(her eyes are too big, but what of it?  they are turning into poop even as I type.)

to aid me in my feat, we watched aladdin.

a lot.

the music is etched into my brain.

so, now she is 4.

church isn't just on sunday at our house.

while peyton might prefer to not stay in her primary class on sunday, it doesn't mean that she doesn't love church.

i have heard her many times, while playing house, bless the food with her babies or say a bedtime prayer.  she has played church with them as well.

after a mistake was made one sunday on the sacrament prayer, she asked me why they had to say two prayers on the water.  i explained that the sacrament is an ordinance and that there can be no mistakes in the prayer.  she seemed to accept that.  at dinner that night, she volunteered to say the blessing on the food.  well, she made a mistake, and then started her prayer all over again!

"i made a mistake!  i had to start all over."

then there was today.

we were getting ready to go over to the school to be the mystery reader for lynn's class, and needed to get shoes on peyton, so we went into her closet.  there were her little people, all lined up in rows, one up front, sitting on a trike, just a little higher than the rest.

"i made a church for my little people mommy!"

yes, she did.

oh how i wish i had gotten a picture of that..

a three year old's prayers.

we've talked about peyton's prayers in the past.  they only get better.
with all the "bad dreams" going on around this joint (i swear, it's contagious!) prayers at all times of the day refer to bedtime and what usually happens.
at breakfast, it isn't uncommon to hear one of the girls ask that they not have bad dreams that night (like 12 hours later).
bedtime, they are down to business though, even making suggestions for what they can be blessed to dream about.
tonight at dinner, peyton asked to dream about princesses.
a couple of nights ago, she prayed that she wouldn't have bad dreams so she wouldn't wake up and have to come and get in my bed.
"and bless that i won't have bad dreams so i won't have to get in mom's bed."
it was sweet, funny, and, well, it made me feel like a bad mom.  i guess i have been complaining a little bit too much about my sleep being interrupted.

a special moment with my "most special-est" middle child.

today was a fun day.
i had only two children for the bulk of the day instead of my usual three.
so it was just me, the youngest, and the middle.
during our day, ashley asked rather thoughtfully, "mom, is it true that the middle child is the most special-est?"
suppressing a laugh, i answered her in the affirmitive.
"you bet."
there was a little chorus of "yes-es" and fist-pumping from the middle seat (perfect for that  middle child, wouldn't you say?) at my response.
"i knew i was the most special-est!!!"
after a while, she came to me, rather somber again, and asked, "mom, even though i am your most special-est child, because i am the middle child, you still love us all equally, don't you?"
i had to answer yes again.
such a sweetie.  glad she is embracing her middle child role.

introducing skipperdee.

(still not sure of the spelling of his name.)

the other day, we went to visit good old dad at the hotel.  took him a treat.

(it wasn’t a very good day for him.)

while there, peyton ventured into the lost and found area of the back office.  she emerged with this little guy.

no one knows how long he’s been there, probably lonely and crying. 

lost toys like this sit there for a long time, in hopes that their owners will reclaim them, which rarely happens. 

if it’s something that merrill knows the girls will love, then it comes home, in a nice, plastic, shiny best western laundry bag.  otherwise, it gets sent to the d.i.

peyton was in love and asked merrill if this turtle, whose name was suddenly skipperdee (or maybe it was all along?!) could be her turtle.

well, obviously he said yes.

skipperdee is never far from peyton’s side.  if he is, then that means he is lost, and we all help to find him because it is pretty sad around here until he is safely by peyton’s side again.

he slept underneath her pillow last night, then was dragged into my bed, placed underneath my pillow before she snuggled up to me after having another “bad dweam”.

she even made him breakfast this morning.

reading habits of my eight year old girl.

this kid cracks me up!

she loves to read.  we have busted her many times reading as she walks home, nose completely buried in her book…

and she just can’t read one book at at time.

oh no!

she is usually reading at least three at a time.

everyday, she’ll read one chapter out of each book, or a certain amount of pages, and move on to the next one.  once she as read a little from each one, then her reading is done for the day.

what gets me, is that she remembers everything that has happened in each book, details of the characters and plotlines too.

i am afraid that my mind might just jumble all of those books up, and then there would be nothing but sheer confusion.

not with her.

this particular week there were four reads going on at once, and she read to me while i painted.  that was funner than boring old music. ;)

Ashley’s story.

At the beginning of the year, Ashley got this little book in primary, it’s intended use a scripture journal.

She did her own thing with it.

Almost every Sunday, she would get it out in Sacrament meeting, and start coloring away.

A couple of weeks ago, she revealed the book to me.

“This is the story of me and Brandon’s happy home…”

(Brandon is one of our favorite neighbor boys.  He and Ashley have already pretty much arranged their future marriage.)

“This is a picture frame with our wedding picture in it.”

“This is me cooking lunch for Brandon..  and here is Brandon at our table eating the lunch I cooked for him.”

“Here are pictures of us in our wedding clothes..”

“Here we are watching TV.  Brandon has the remote and he’s trying to find something for us to watch for a while.  I am crocheting.  We agreed to watch this for a while.”

“Here we are going to bed.  That is our fireplace and our TV.  We are sleeping under the blanket I crocheted.”

“We are watching the moon, and there is a shooting star!”

“Now we are flying kites…”

“And here’s pictures of us so you can see how we are different…”

“The end!!!”

I love it Ash!!

A conversation over laughing gas.

Yesterday, I took Lynnie-lou to the dentist for her little procedure.

She spent the days leading up to her appointment, worrying, and asking questions as to what was going to happen.  She also took every opportunity she could to pray and ask for comfort and help.

As we pulled up to the dentist’s office, I shut off the car and asked her if she wanted to say a prayer before we went in.  She answered, “Nope.  Something happened and I feel okay about it.  I am not scared anymore.”

I am still curious as to what happened, but she’ll tell me when she is ready.

We got in, and she was the picture of calm.

She followed directions, answered questions unhesitant, well, except for what she wanted to watch..  that took her a minute or two to decide on.

The dentist began prepping her for what was to come, and he kept commenting on how calm she was.

I had mentioned how we explained to her, step by step, what would happen, and how she had prayed, a lot.  Knowing our dentist pretty well, I knew he was religious and a conversation ensued.

While the girl was breathing in her strawberry laughing gas, we talked about what a blessing it is for our kids to know to go to their Heavenly Father in prayer whenever they have a concern.  We also talked about things that we have felt were important for us to do with our own families, how we are blessed when we follow-through and do them.

He shared an experience with me of how one of his children struggle with reading.  He felt very strongly, that they needed to study the scriptures with her.  They did, and sure enough, her grades and reading skills began to improve.  Then he laughed, saying that he usually doesn’t get this spiritual with patients in his office.

Kind of funny, we had such a discussion over laughing gas.

There was not one single problem during her time there.  He and his assistant kept commenting on how good she was doing, how calm she was.  She did so well that he got her a special prize when he was finished.

Later in the day, she came to me with the complaint that it hurt when she opened her mouth wide.  I explained to her that it would go away.  It was just where he gave her a shot to numb her up.

“He gave me a shot?!”

“Yes. You don’t remember?”

“No.  I just kept my mouth open, ignored what he was doing and watched the TV.”

Isn’t she awesome?

There were many prayers of thankfulness offered after our day there.

Peyton’s Prayer.

We have been working, trying to get Peyton to pray.

We have tried whispering it in her ear, which only results in giggles.

We have tried telling her to repeat us, and say it out loud.

We have tried to teach her by example.

The other day, while she was playing, the girls were at school, she began to pray all by herself!

It was a sweet little prayer. 

Cuter than that, she was teaching her doll.

This morning, it being an “odd day”, perfect for Peyton, I asked her if she wanted to say the morning prayer.

“I do!!  I do!!” was her answer.

I told her to say it.  “You remember how it starts?”

“Dear Fa-der..  we thank thee day.  Pllll-ease blll-ess day.  Plll-ease blll-ess be nice.  Plll-ease blll-ess be safe.  Pllll-ease blll-ess food.  Name Jesus Christ..  AMEN!!!”

She did it.

And I couldn’t be happier.

Her daddy’s finger.

Peyton has herself wrapped around it.

65% of the time, she isn’t very friendly to him.  When he greets her, it is usually met with a scowl, then turns her face into her shoulder.  It doesn’t boost his confidence in the fathering area.  So when she shows him affection, he eats it up, and she knows when she can continue to spoon feed him, and keep him doing whatever she wants.

The other night for example..

It was bedtime.  We have had some pretty fantastic bedtimes lately.  I have discovered that the key is consistency.  (Another DUH! moment.)  Well, that and being firm.  It took a couple of nights of taking little sweet P back to her bed and telling her it was bedtime.  No snuggling, no prolonged visiting or singing, just cutting to the chase.

It took those two nights of that routine until she would stay there and fall asleep.

All children in be by 8:30.

Hallelujah!!

That easy.  After family prayer, kisses, tuck-ins, bedtime tunes turned on oh, so quietly.  And she stayed there!!

Then there was the other night. 

Perhaps it was the long nap that got her going, perhaps she had figured out what to do to stay up just a little bit longer, either way, she wrapped her daddy around her finger just a bit tighter.

She came into our room, was immediately met by me, the bedtime police, with a, “Go back to bed Peyton.”. 

She responded by looking right at Merrill and said, “Tell you som-thin’ daddy?”  (Sideways glance at me.)

He began melting, a little too obviously.  “Suuure Pey!”

That was her invitation to climb up on the bed and snuggle in. 

(Going for the kill.)

“I a-wuv you daddy…”

(More melting.)

“Awwweee!!!  I love you too Pey!”

(Another glance that was more like a silent satisfied laugh from the wee one.)

She pulled his arm around her just a little bit tighter.

It went on like a TV show re-run, and I reminded him that we need to stay consistent with bedtime, especially with her.

“But I don’t get this that often!  I should take it while I can get it.”

She was winning.

All I could do was shake my head at the two of them.

She totally played him.

Cuuuute!

Peyton’s favorite new word lately is “cuuuute!” and she says it referring to just about EVERYTHING.

The other day, while she was showing me each of those dried-up dead worms, she would add, “Cute, huh mom.”

While I fix my hair or put on my make-up, she remarks, “Cuuute mom!”

As I was cleaning the toilets the other day with my trusty sidekick beside me, she told me how well I was doing cleaning the thing, “Cute mom!”

After Ashley gets dressed, Peyton informs her of how “cuuuuute” she is.

The other day, I was preparing a pork roast for our pulled pork dinner.  I got out the ingredients I needed for the rub, and she asked, “Mom?  Was dat?”

“This is spice rub.”

“Oh!  Cuuute mom..”

I got out foil and placed the pork roast on it.  She pointed to the roast and asked, “Was dat mom?”

“That is the pork roast that will be for dinner later.”

“Oh..  cuuute.”

As I began rubbing the spice rub all over the roast, she gasped, and exclaimed, “CUUUUTE MOM!!!”

She is so “cuuute!”

Why?

Do you have a two-year old?

I do.

Does your two-year old ask you “Why?” and other questions incessantly?

Mine sure does.

I think her inquisitive “Why?” follows just about everything I say to her in the course of the day.  I do try to be ever so patient with the girl.  I try to answer each one as honestly and sincerely as if it were her first “Why?” of all time.

Here’s just a sample conversation:

“Peyton, we need to get to bed.”

“Why mom?”

“Because tonight is a school night and it’s bedtime.”

“Why mom?”

“Because it is Monday.”

“Why mom?”

“Because yesterday was Sunday.”

“Why mom?”

“Because we went to Church.”

“Why mom?”

“Because we love Heavenly Father and we want to show Him, okay?”

“Oh..  okay mom!”

Every day, all day, and it really keeps me on my toes as to the answers to all of her questions.

Right now, I am thankful that they are simple.

They are mine.

Just a step away from yesterday’s hormonal explosion. :)

I am blessed daily with the knowledge that these three sweeties are mine..

There are days, I have to admit, that I wonder if they are really a part of me.

I was conscious for each pregnancy in it’s entirety.  There is no question about that.  It is just that they arrived looking JUST LIKE THEIR DAD.

Really.

Exhibit A:

They still heavily resemble him.

Exhibit B:

So I am thoroughly relieved  when moments like these present themselves:

This is Peyton’s newest found fun activity.

Just trying to get laughs (and generally be gross).

Just like me! :)

Lynn came home from school the other day so excited because she beat some boys while running on the track at school, she was wearing flip flops.

Sounds like someone else I know. ;)

I don’t think we have ever really questioned the fact that Ashley is part me, but she has been demonstrating it more frequently in her art projects.

Quite the life I live, and I am thankful for it!

AMEN!!

I love this girl..


She is pure joy, even when she's vomiting. ;)
She and I have both been having issues with this whole nursery thing. The first week she went, I stayed for maybe 10 minutes (I made it to RS in time for the "Good News Minute", that was my good news..) and she did great!!
Not so much the following Sunday..
She cried, and I did a little too.
Every Sunday that I can, I stay in there with her, hoping that she'll see how cool it is, how fun it is.
We got to the point where I could leave, she'd cry for a few minutes, but would be just fine.. until transition time.
As soon as they started to put toys away to move on to the lesson, Peyton would get upset..
Last week, I got to RS, enjoyed the lesson, then went to my Sunday School class.
It is right next to the nursery..
All I could hear, after the opening prayer was said, was Peyton.. so unhappy.
I waited a couple of minutes, then went to rescue the nursery leaders, and Peyton too.
This week, knowing what would most likely happen, and wanting to go to RS for a great lesson, I kept Pey with me, to avoid all the drama.
She sat quietly on my lap the whole time, even got a comment from my neighbor.
"My! She has been SO good this whole time. Sitting so quietly.."
The instructor finished her lesson and all agreed with an "Amen" and so did Peyton.
Loud and proud.
She got a few giggles from those Relief Society sisters.
It was also the Primary program today.
We have been working with the girls on their parts for a month now, and they both had them memorized.
But memorization alone doesn't make it so they will say it at the pulpit.
Ashley needed some serious bribing, and every week, she would get a new promised something if she would just say her part.
Lynn would say her part for her, then quote her own, just to prove her ability.
Ashley would stay silent.
Her part was: "I will prepare now to be a mother." At first she wouldn't say it because she was ticked, she wanted it to say, "I will prepare now to be a Princess."
Not quite what they have been learning in Primary this year, I am sure.
But when it all came down to it, the promised treats, dress-ups that I would make for her, and prodding because grandparents and aunts would be there, didn't compare to Sister Alexander's promise of "a pack of gum and five bucks".
She did try to get out of it, but was quickly wrangled in by Sister Cummings, who caught her attention quickly, diverting her attention from the large crowd staring at her, and told her to look at her mother and say her part..
"I will repair now to be a mother."
Yes, I cried!!
Just that part for one of my little girls.
Touched my heart... even with the repair in there..
Lynn, who was so confident, so sure of her part, all memorized, got up there and was a little overwhelmed.
Dad (also her teacher) helped her through it.
The program was so neat!! It was bittersweet, as I have been up there in it all for the past three years.. but it was nice to enjoy it with the rest of the congregation. :)

Living..

Trying to get to the point were I just live life again.. stop thinking and dreaming about the what if's and the what to do's or the many possibilities of what I can do, or can learn how to do. I have made myself take a break from the computer for the greater part of the day today, to get something done. To have something blog-worthy..
I feel in many ways I have run into a wall. My brain has had all that it can take as far as new information goes for awhile, and I just need to be still.. let things happen, and stop acting, doing things.
Yeah.. this might not make any sense, but I am talking about building the site. It is fun and sooo exciting, but I don't know much about what to do, and I am googling my heart out!! I just want it to be perfect..
See, I need to relax..
I have the guys here, tearing down old rain gutters and faschia.. putting up new, BLACK. :) Merrill is still doubtful of my color choice, but he was for the basement and the dining room.. he just needs to trust me.
Still having some bids come in on other things, just happy to be getting some projects DONE!!
Lynn is tormenting Ashley, calling her a "little girl wuss" and a "baby", because Ashley is afraid of a hornets nest (dead.. I sprayed it.) that Lynn wants to preserve in a ziploc baggie.. she is so fascinated. She should be in heaven once these guys get all of the trim down. There will be dozens of those babies laying around!
Ashley has been asking about "richness".
"Mom.. are we rich?"
"What does rich mean to you?
"Like the Jefferies are rich.." (Jefferies are friends of ours, they have six kids that are all too fun for words. We LOVE playing with them!)
"How do you think the Jefferies are rich?"
"Because they have a lot of kids."
"They are rich.. you are right Ash."
"We are POOR!"
She is so funny...
Peyton is a pro at waving "bye bye" and saying it too. She also loves to blow kisses, pat her bum, and say "haha!" That goes along with the diaper changing song we sing: "Feet up, pat her on the popo.. let's hear her laugh.. haha!" So fun that she is getting things now.

Big plans..

This post is taken from a conversation I had with Ashley the other day while she was seated atop this warm black inner tube..
"Mom.. I like Lake Powell.."
"I like Lake Powell too Ash.."
"Can we PLAN to go there sometime?"
"Sure.."
"Mom.. I like riding on the water wienie at Lake Powell.."
"It's fun isn't it?"
"Yeah.. can we PLAN on riding the water wienie when we go to Lake Powell?"
"We sure can.."
"I don't like falling off though.. we need to CANCEL the falling off part.. okay?"

Woo!! Woo!!

Peyton has a new little word, of sorts.. no better way to describe it.



This morning, while going about our daily task of emptying the dishwasher, remember that Peyton loves to help me with that chore :), she busted it out.
She was taking out the plates, one by one, examining the surface which food was once on, then handing it to me. I would say "Thank you!" after each one..
She got to our "little kid dishes" which are adorned with princesses and Cookie Monster, and such. Superman was among Ashley's prized collection until Peyton discovered the joy of throwing things from her seated position in the HIGH chair. Needless to say, the Superman plate is no longer with us. IKEA's kid plates are now our new standard issue plate.
As Peyton took out the first of the princess plates, she inspected it, and said, "Woo! Woo! Woo!" and then proceeded to hand it to me..
It was just too cute..

A remeberance..

Okay, more than one.. that's how I roll. ;)
Ashley had a remembrance when I told her to go and get her pajamas on.
"Mom! I remember that I used to have TWO nightgowns!! (As opposed to the one Hannah Montana nightgown she now owns..) One was purple with princesses and the other was blue with princesses.. I miss them! They were so beautiful and gorgeous.. I wish that when I growed, my beautiful and favorite clothes would grow too so I could always wear them!"
Oh, I would love it if they would shrink accordingly as well.. :)
Another remembrance, came to me as I watched a dear friend's daughter enter the waters of baptism this evening..
A flood of memories.. myself in white, hair braided, my dad standing on my toes to keep them from popping up.
What a wonderful memory!
I am so thankful..

DO!

Not "do" as in the Nike slogan, but "do" like in "do, re, mi.."
That is Peyton's newest word.
Our house is well adorned with "Simpson's" paraphernalia, as Merrill's love (and the girls acquired love) had aided us in collecting our treasures, we assumed Peyton's new word was associated with the fact, that that is what we say when we see anything with Homer's face on it.
- The clock in our basement, where Homer's eyes move, following the can of Duff on the second hand.
- Merrill's slippers, made of Homer's giant head, mouth wide open as a place for you to insert your foot (I know a lot of people who do that in real life!)
- The plastic figurine that stays in the tub.
- Or one of many "Simpson" themed games that line the shelves in our game closet.
She sees it a lot, and we thought it was cute to hear her saying, what we thought was, "Doh!"
Not so much.
We discovered what she was really saying one night after dinner. Merrill and I were still sitting at the table talking, Peyton was in her high chair, and Ashley was behind it, bugging Peyton.
Peyton was repeating her new word over and over again.
Then we made the connection. She was telling Ashley, "DON'T!!"
Kind of sad that one of our sweet daughter's first words had to be "Don't".
I have to admit, she probably got it from me.
She has heard, "Peyton, we DON'T pull hair.."
"Don't get hurt!"
"Peyton, we DON'T pull mommy's hair!"
"Don't turn off the TV." (A favorite during our family movie night..)
Or a panic filled "Dooon't!" when she reaches down during one of our smellier diaper changes.
I have tried to be the positive mom who says things in a sweet, kind, and patient tone. Instead of saying "don't" I have said, "Let's do this instead of that.." as a way of re-directing her interest or "Let's please not do this".
But on those days, when it is frantic, and Peyton is trying to decorate the floor of my bathroom with all the items in the hair necessity drawer (i.e. brushes, combs, hair elastics which are small and clear, various bobby pins.. you get what I am saying, right?) like they are confetti, "don't" seems to come quicker to my mouth and rolls off the tongue much easier than my other options.
So she's picked it up by habit.
It was quite comical this morning, to have her standing on the stool in the bathroom while I was drying my hair, her chubby, tanned little hands, slapping the forbidden drawer front and yelling "Do!" or slapping her hand at the collection of toothbrushes, with another yelled, "Do!" She would turn to me and laugh after every one.
I love the little trouble-maker...