breakthrough

All of my kids are sleeping and all I want to do is wake them up.  Generally, I have a rule that nappers must wake up at 4pm in order to preserve our precious 8pm bedtime, but today is different.  Today we had a naptime breakthrough.  Flora and Scout became roommates on Saturday and have giggled their way through naptime every day since without ever closing their eyes for a midday slumber.  But today the talking, giggling, and playing noises mysteriously subsided at about 3:50pm.  At 4:10, I opened their bedroom door to find Scout and Flora both asleep in Flora's bed.....and a trashed room, of course. 

 I have to give them credit though -- they have emptied Scout's closet several times but after watching me put everything neatly back into the closet today and being sternly warned not to mess it up again, they managed to make it through naptime without taking a single item of clothing out of the closet.....although the closet door was open when I went check on them after 4pm.  I can just imagine the temptation they must have felt staring at that closet full of clothes just asking to be ransacked.  Bravo, kids!  Way to be responsible nappers. 

So now I am trying to decide how long to let this nap last.  Timber is awake now and, OH! now Flora is awake too.  Good.....I'll send her in to wake up Scout and let her face his post-nap wrath.  Funny story -- Flora came into the living room, looked around, and then asked me where Scout was, even though she had to have crawled over him to get out of bed. 

 
Another funny story -- Flora was sitting next to me on the couch just crying for no reason (well, the "reason" was because she wanted to watch tv and I said no and she's just grumpy after she wakes up sometimes).  During a particularly long wail, Timber let out a loud burp and Flora's cry turned into uncontrollable giggling.  She then tried to resume crying and couldn't keep it up without crossing over to giggling.  Good to remember if you've got an unreasonable wailer.....a loud burp goes a long way.

Everyone is awake now!  Hooray!  

Haha...Timber is the only one who really looks happy to be awake.

 

be afraid.....be very afraid

Public restrooms scare me. 

Not because of the germs or the smells or the weird people who may frequent public restrooms.....public restrooms scare me because I never know what my kids will say.  One time Flora embarrassed me by giving a loud play-by-play of what she heard the woman in the stall next to us doing. 

"Mommy, what is that noise?  Is that lady going pee-pee?  Why is she going pee-pee over there?  She has lots of pee-pees, Mommy.  Mommy, but who IS that lady?  Does she live here?  Who will wipe her, Mommy?  She flushed!  Is she all done, Mommy?" 

Of course, then I have to answer these questions about the lady next to us because if I don't answer the questions they will just get louder and more urgent sounding. 

"Those are bathroom noises.  Yes, she is going pee-pee just like you are.  She is going pee-pee over there because there is another toilet over there.  Hmm.  I don't know her but I'm sure she doesn't live here.  Grown-ups wipe themselves.  Yep, um, probably." 

*sigh* 

I try to answer as quietly as possible but I'm sure "that lady" heard enough to be amused. 

We only use public restrooms as a last resort.  Fortunately, we haven't had too many public restroom experiences.  However, Flora HAD to go today at Sam's Club so she and I left the boys to do the shopping and headed for the bathroom.  Besides a few comments upon entering the bathroom ("Mommy, what's that stuff in the toilet? It's kinda dirty in here, Mommy. Why is that girl laying down up there? (The girl was getting her diaper changed.)) Flora was fairly quiet....until the end.  She finished 'going' and waited in the stall while I went too.  Flora chose that moment in a restroom full of people to announce, "Mommy, I'm kinda scared of your bum!"  

I can't say that I was shocked.  And I also can't say that I was particularly embarrassed.  It's just the stage of life that I'm in right now -- it won't last forever....and when it's over I won't have nearly as many funny stories to tell.

Also, I've heard that when I was Flora's age I would wait until my aunt was undressed in a changing room and then I would crawl under the door and run away.  So, yeah, it could be worse!  Not reaping any of that yet, thankfully!!

poultry

Flora:  What's that?
Me:   A chicken nugget.
Flora:   But I want chicken.
Me:   There's chicken inside the nugget.
Flora:   That's IMPOSTABLE!

Which reminds me of a time when Flora was just barely two-years-old.....
She saw a chicken out the car window and yelled, "Chicken nugget!!"

bffs

We were all shopping for Scout's ring bearer suit in Dillards when it became apparent that Scout was afraid of escalators.  The plan was for Chris to take Timber downstairs in the elevator (since Timber was riding in the stroller) while I took Scout and Flora for a fun ride on the escalator.  However, Scout took one look at the escalator and declared that he would not go down "that thing."  So he went to find the elevator with Chris and Timber while Flora and I had a fun ride on the escalator.  We had to wait a while for the boys since the elevator was on the other side of the store.  When they finally came into view Scout and Flora walked quickly toward each other with arms outstretched and hugged for a few seconds before continuing on like nothing had happened. 

I asked Flora about the hug later and she told me that she had thought Scout and Timber were lost.  It made me realize how little they are ever separated.  Except for the occasional trip out with Mommy or Daddy, Flora and Scout are only apart during naptime and bedtime.  Even that is about to change though.....the new plan is to move Scout and Flora into the same room for a while until Timber is old enough to share a room with Scout.  I think that move will happen sometime this week!!  I'm certain that I will have two very sleep deprived kiddos for a couple weeks until they learn to actually sleep in the same room instead of playing all night.

We ate at a pizza place last week and the kids were given a small bowl of applesauce to eat with their mini pizza.  Since we had only ordered one mini pizza for them to share we only got one bowl of applesauce.  I told them to share and they started out by taking turns eating the applesauce.  Soon it moved to taking turns feeding each other applesauce!  Each of them would very carefully get applesauce on the spoon and gently place it in the other's wide open mouth.  They've obviously been paying attention to how I feed Timber! 

While watching them feed each other applesauce I asked, "Flora, who is your best friend?"  She cut her eyes toward Scout and jerked a thumb in his direction.  Then I asked Scout who his best friend was and he pointed over his shoulder at Flora without ever turning to look at her.  Neither said anything out loud in response to my question -- it was as if they didn't want the other to know! 

I'm glad they're best friends.....and kind of sad because I know that they probably won't stay best friends forever.  I can't imagine brothers and sisters having much in common past the elementary stage.....but maybe.  And then there's Timber who I assume will eventually steal Scout away from Flora.  Poor Flora.  Maybe she needs a sister.......
Nah, she'll be fine.

midterms

Since March 31st marked the halfway point for my 30x30 list I decided I should post a little update on how things are going.  I've only marked off 9 items but I think I'm still on track to finish before I turn 30 on October 1st.  Of the 21 items left, 11 are goals that can be completed in one day, and 6 are goals that are at least halfway finished.  So I think I'm doing okay.  Here is my official progress report:

30 x 30 Progress Report

1. Re-read Pride and Prejudice -- DONE
2. Dye pink streak in hair -- DONE
3. Teach Flora & Scout to do somersaults -- DONE
4. Lose 20 lbs -- Um.....yeah......about that......I guess there is a slight chance that this may still happen but every time I diet Timber goes on a diet too and that's no good.  If it doesn't work out this year then I can definitely start some serious calorie cutting after September!
5. Learn how to wear eye shadow --I just haven't done this yet.  But I will.
6. Give crochet a try -- Gosh, I have all the supplies and instruction books but can't seem to find the time!  I have too many reading goals on this list.  All of my "free" time is consumed with reading.
7. Get caught up on all the pictures that I haven’t printed -- DONE (thanks to a Christmas gift card from Deb and lots of holiday sales from Snapfish!)
8. Go to JCP outlet store -- Nope.  I'm really excited about this one though!
9. Write down Flora’s and Scout’s birth stories and print all three -- DONE
10. Re-read through the New Testament -- Halfway DONE!
11. Organize toy rotation -- DONE
12. Repaint hallway -- Haven't really thought about this one much besides picking up a few paint color swatches.
13. Go back to Nelson-Atkins museum -- Again, not done, but I'm really looking forward to it!  This will probably be a summertime thing.  Perhaps with Sara???
14. Watch Casablanca -- DONE (I didn't realize how many famous quotes were from that movie!)
15. Successfully give up something for Lent -- So far so good!  This one will be DONE in 2 1/2 weeks!  I gave up carbonation.  There is a Mountain Dew tempting me in the fridge. 
16. Eat at Golden Corral -- Nope.
17. See Tiffany -- Not yet but I warned her that I would resort to chasing her down this summer if I have to!  She can run but she can't hide!
18. Run a 5k -- TECHNICALLY I could say this is DONE because I ran 5k on the treadmill a few weeks ago but the spirit of this goal was to run IN a 5k.  That is scheduled to happen either April 16th or May 21st.  Stay tuned. 
19. Get a massage -- I'm waiting to book my massage the day after my 5k.  :-)
20. Complete the 30-Day Shred -- This is a goal that I might choose not to complete.  I started it, got to day 7, then got sick and had to stop.  During the time that I was doing it I remembered that I didn't quit on the program in the past because I couldn't handle it but because it's super boring.  Also, the only time I can do it is during naptime or after the kids go to bed or else they're crawling all over me and getting in the way of my jumping jacks.  So, I decided that I am going to allow myself to scratch this one.  It's MY list.  Don't judge me. 
21. Read 6 fiction books & 6 nonfiction books -- My goodness, that's kind of a lot of reading.  It's the nonfiction books that are slowing me down.  It doesn't help that the one I am reading right now is 451 pages of small type.  Interesting though!  I've read 3 fiction and 2 1/2 nonfiction so far.  Add my New Testament reading and Pride and Prejudice to that and it's a lot more reading than I realized it would be.  I like reading but I don't like feeling like I need to fill all my free time with reading in order to meet my goals. 
22. Make a new friend -- I think I'm going to call this one DONE.  I haven't made a new close friend but I have made several new friends that could potentially become close friends.  Good enough!
23. Get baby books up-to-date & add pictures -- No.  Shoot.....I need to do that.
24. Sew something -- This is a summer goal.  I'll be spending a lot of time in Arkansas where I know sewing machines and sewing instructors and fabric abound.
25. Invite [specific people] over for dinner -- DONE
26. Take each child to a library program for one-on-one time -- I took Flora to a Fancy Nancy musical (I decided that I shouldn't limit myself to library programs only) but I'm still waiting for something to come up that Scout would really enjoy.  And I'm kind of waiting for Timber to get a bit older.  So this one is 1/3 DONE.
27. Stay off the computer for 30 (non-consecutive) days -- 18 days DONE, 12 days to go!
28. Make a “special box” for each kid -- I just need to do this.  I have it all figured out in my head and it would take less than an hour to do it.....  Maybe tomorrow.
29. Join a playgroup -- DONE  and I love it!  I joined a MOMS Club group.  Fun fun fun.
30. Go to a movie by myself again -- I have the AMC gift card thanks to Chris.  Now I just need to pick a movie and go!  He even put enough on there for me to get a yummy snack! 

 

come back in 11 hours

As I've mentioned before, Flora takes FOR.EV.ER to go potty.  Yesterday she had been on the toilet for a while when I finally asked her when she would be done.  "Hmm," she said, tapping her finger against her cheek, "I think I will be done at 6 o'clock." 

Too bad it was 7:05.

two pennies and three squirrels

 

These are the baby squirrels we found in the tree we cut down this weekend.  See how tiny they are compared to someone's hand??!!  They were so cute but they made me so so SO sad.  I knew I couldn't take care of them and I didn't think anyone would accept rescued squirrels because, let's be honest, squirrels are kind of a pest.  So I assumed they would die.  It made my heart hurt to think about them starving or freezing to death when they had previously had such a cozy life in their little nest with their Mommy.  Baby animals remind me of my own babies.....I think that is why I was so sad about it.  It made me think about baby Timber being hungry or cold.

ANYWAY, now that we're all sad.....

I didn't think there was anything I could do.  We left them in a box with all their nest bedding overnight because we really didn't know what else to do with them.  That night, I prayed for the little squirrels while also apologizing to God for praying about something so silly when there are so many big important problems in the world.  

The next day, Chris suggested I try looking into wildlife rescue organizations in Kansas City to see if they might take the baby squirrels.  They were still alive after 24 hours but we knew they couldn't make it on their own since their eyes were still shut and they didn't have teeth.  While searching online, I read that the best thing to do when you find baby squirrels is to leave them in a box by the tree for the mom to come find.  We had done that without even realizing we were doing the "right" thing!  Finally, I found a wildlife rescue organization that would take baby squirrels but it was located about 35 minutes from our house and we had small group that night.  I called and left a message that I would be bringing the squirrels by first thing on Monday morning but secretly wondered if they would still be alive by then.  A few minutes later, I received a call back from one of the wildlife rescue volunteers who said she lived near me and could meet me to pick up the baby squirrels in a couple hours if that would be more convenient for me!  Um, YES!  She met me at a location only 10 minutes from my house and had all the equipment and supplies to start feeding the babies right away.  I was so happy.

"Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God.  Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows." Luke 12:6-7

Things just seemed to fall into place for these baby squirrels after I prayed about the situation.  I don't think God had an overwhelming interest in my squirrels but maybe He was trying to get a message across to me.  He was so faithful and so good to take care of my baby squirrels who have very little value, so maybe I should trust that he will be faithful and good to take care of me -- a child that He loves.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?"  Matthew 6:25-27
   

shocking

Flora and Scout both stuck their finger into a live socket and shocked themselves.....within a minute of each other.  I'm pretty sure this puts me out of the running for Super Mom of the Year. 

flora's first haircut

Flora Nell (the long-haired version)

Flora got to create her own shampoo scent.  We combined strawberry, cupcake, and vanilla scents to make a super yummy shampoo.  She was a little bit nervous about the shampooing part.

She made this face during most of the shampoo.  I think she was afraid of water getting in her face.

Drying her long hair and preparing for a cut!

She picked the pink car seat, of course.  Dora was on the TV in front of her and she was given a pink bubble gum sucker.  She'll probably never have a haircut this cool again! 

Making the cut!

Bangs?  Why not?

She thinks her new hair looks like Dora's hair!

One happy little girl.

Flora Nell (the short-haired version)