Dinner Table Conversation

I posted a while back about a tradition that our family has called Happy, Sad, or Mad. While eating together at the dinner table, we each go around and say what made us happy, sad, and mad that day. It has proved to be a great routine that the girls look forward to.

We have since started adding a new aspect to the dinner conversation. We are beginning to ask the girls to go around the table and say something nice about each member of the family.

Let me tell you, we get some comical answers and some loooong drawn out pauses. I am wondering what this will look like when the girls are teenagers. :)

Family bonding time. I love it.

Who's the Boss?

It is frustrating when the girls listen to their dad more than me. There will be times when the girls try to boss ME around, talk harshly to me, and demand me to do things for them, until... dad walks in the room, then they stop! Argh!

The other day I had to raise my voice and let them know who is boss. I don't enjoy those moments.

Swear Words

With little ears around the house, I had to make up my own creative swear words.

This list is as follows:

*Crud

*Sugar jets

*Buster

*Buster Brown

Any of the above mentioned can be used by themselves or combined with any other word on the list at any given time...and usually followed by an exclamation mark.

Kid Toys (Another Confession)

With Christmas not too far away, I am starting to gather toy ideas for the girls. "Fun" for me is walking up and down the toy aisles--just looking.

Fun? Yes!

Is this a symptom of motherhood? Yup.

Not only do I look for toys that I think each child will enjoy, I also look for toys that I will enjoy playing alongside with the girls. I am not a huge fan of playing Barbies and My Little Ponies with the girls, but there are actually a few toys in the past that we have bought for the girls specifically because I enjoy playing them too. (another confession)

Two toys that we have gotten, probably more for ME than the girls:

1. Wooden train with lots of track

2. Marble run

I will never pass up an opportunity to create an intricate train track or make an awesome marble run for the girls.

Sleep Envy

It is never a good sign when I yawn during the opening credits of a movie. (There is some good foreshadowing for ya).

This is how most of my evenings go:

I finally get to relax on the couch with my sweet hubby after the three girls go to bed. I sit down, I make an audible sigh, and get cozy under a warm blanket as we start to watch some of our favorite tv shows and/or a movie.

Yawn. Yawn.

It isn't rare to see a person crawl into bed to go to sleep during a tv show or movie, and what do I do?!

I get ENVIOUS of that character "sleeping!"

"Ooo, that looks so warm and comfortable. Ooo, sleep."

**Oh, crud, it is only 8:00pm. Try to stay awake. Try to stay awake. Keep those eye lids open, oh no, they are getting heavy! Deny that I am tired. Turn my head slowly away so my husband doesn't think I am falling asleep already. Boom. Asleep.**

It seems that I repeat this process almost every night. :)

A Long Road (An Update on Ashlyn)

We are a little emotionally drained at our house.

We are grateful that Ashlyn was able to get an appointment with the specialist this week, considering the waiting list is 5 months long!

To make a long story short, after a long day of of appointments and blood tests, the specialist confirmed that Ashlyn is developmentally 6 months behind. At this point, the doctor is unsure of the reason for this delay so he is trying to get some answers through blood tests.

Ashlyn will start 4 sessions of therapy, two at the children's hospital, and two at our home.

We might have a long road ahead of us and probably many ups and downs along the way. Obviously, our hope is that the therapy will help close the gap in her delays.

We are still feeling a little uneasy and overwhelmed, but we are just trying to take things one day at a time for now.

Thanks for your continued prayers.

Refrigerator Artwork Policy

I have a small confession. I am not very sentimental when it comes to the girls' artwork and school papers. I like to SEE the front of my refrigerator! I also don't want to keep unlimited boxes of old school papers and spelling lists.

This dream of a plain white refrigerator never happens because it gets plastered with papers of all shapes, sizes, and colors on a daily basis. (AND Ashlyn can reach almost all the art on the fridge, she pulls it down, rips it, eats it, and attempts to sneak the magnets into her mouth).

Beautiful art? Yes.

Unique? Yes

Cluttered? Yes.

So, my "Refrigerator Artwork Policy:" I keep artwork on the fridge for one week then dispose of it. Yes, I actually throw it out. Pretty much everything. Trash.

Ok, ok, before you think I am REALLY unsentimental: I DO keep the drawings and artwork that I think records the girls at the stage they are in; like when the girls write their name for the first time, draw a face and a house for the first time, etc. I also keep school report cards.

I also have a clothes line in another room for the girls' artwork and they can choose to pin up the art of their choosing. This helps with some clutter and the girls enjoy choosing what they want to display and it personalizes the playroom.

Confession is over.

Heavy Heart

My heart is a little heavy today. Ashlyn went to the doctor for her 15-month well child check-up and the doctor feels that she is about 6 months behind developmentally. 6 months! Ashlyn has now been referred to a team of specialists to evaluate her delays.
I cannot help but wonder if I did something wrong. What did I NOT do, or what did I do? I guess this is just how a mother thinks sometimes.

My heart is aching.

Please join me in praying for Ashlyn as she is in the Hands of the Great Physician.

The Mom Song

What is "The Mom Song?"

Oh, you know, those random made up songs that you sing throughout the day that have no meaning, no rhythm, and are usually off key.

There is no specific tune to "The Mom Song," just whatever comes to mind at the moment...

**"I am washing the dishes, I hate doing the dishes, la la la..."
**"Oh you girls are so beautiful, and funny, and I love you..."
**"Please stop yelling, please stop crying, please stop stop stop..."

OR "The Mom Song" is a song where you make up words to an already well-known tune.

Sing to the tune of Old McDonald:
Little Ashlyn is crabby today, e i e i o.
And in this house, she won't stop crying, e i e i o.
With a wa wa here,
and a wa wa there,
here a wa,
there a wa,
everywhere a wa wa.

I am usually guilty of singing "The Mom Song" on a daily basis in the privacy of my own home. Have you sung "The Mom Song?"

Short and Sweet

My blog posts aren't too long and drawn out.
I usually don't have much time to blog due to three girls that remain nameless.
My guess is that you, my reader, don't have too much time to read long blog posts either... if you are anything like me.

Thanks for stopping by in the midst of your busy day!

Still Loving My ERGO

I am still in love with my ERGO carrier...but of course I love the cargo even more! :)

I Love My Family

Today was one of those picture perfect Fall days and we wanted to take advantage of the beautiful sunshine so we decided to take a hike up the mountain behind our house.

We stood in awe of the mountains in the distance as we felt like we could reach the blue sky. We observed nature, smelled the flowers, and looked for bear. We took a rest in the grass and watched the neighbor's horses gallop below. We breathed the fresh Fall air and savored the moment.
We savored the moment.

Cool Mom

I strive to be a Cool Mom, but I have a few strikes against me...

1. I drive a mini van.
2. I drive a mini van with the windows rolled down blasting a Barney CD.
3. I drive a mini van with the windows rolled down blasting a Barney CD and I am singing along.
4. All of the above can be a little embarrassing as I drive through the college campus in our town.

(Added note: When I realized the volume of the my voice and the genre of music while driving through the college campus with the students walking about, I turned down the tunes and stopped pumping my fists).

(Another added note: At least the kids were in the van, and I wasn't doing these activities solo, you can at least give me credit for that).

Do Not Eat

We have all seen them, you know, those little packets of mysterious substance that say "Do Not Eat" that are inside of random things like shoe boxes, medicine bottles, and bags of beef jerky.

I usually laugh when I see these little packets and think something sarcastic like, "Ok, I won't eat you," or "I'm not THAT hungry," or "I knew there would be something good to eat inside this old shoe box."

Yes, I can read and I will NOT eat the silica gel.

BUT my 15 month old CANNOT read! I guess this is where I intercede and tell her what the little white packet says. Nice try Ashlyn.

Lessons in Losing

Mariah had her first cheer leading competition this past weekend, and unfortunately, her team did not place in the top 4.

Going into the competition, Mariah truly thought that her team could win the event. I love and admire her confidence! (By all means, they DID practice very hard, and the team put hours and hours into learning cheers). I told Mariah that it would be great if her team could win but I also gently warned Mariah that it is "ok" if her team doesn't get first place.

After the team realized they did not place, the emotions were running very high. Big tears streamed down Mariah's glittery face. She wasn't satisfied with a shiny trophy, a big medal, and a red rose...she wanted the glory!

Here comes mom to the rescue with a shoulder to cry on and I pull out of my pocket "the lessons in losing." This is one of the parts of parenting that isn't so glorious as you want your child to succeed in everything they do. And then yada, yada, yada, the old cliche of "having fun is the important thing," and "you did great," and other "lessons" that don't seem to have instant gratification and go in one ear and out the other. I heard all these cliches when I was a kid, and now I have the "honor" of passing them on.

Mariah's emotions subsided after a while and then she was very proud of her accomplishments...as was I.