Thirst

Have you ever been soooo thirsty, and you look around, and all that can be found is this???......

Oh yes, I have been there.
Yes, I have drank out of my kids' sippy cups.  

So what.  :)

Cool Mom

I've accepted the fact that I drive a mini van. It's ok. It is convenient for our family of five and the various road trips that we take each year. I've accepted this and I can't be THAT cool because of this vehicle.

So, the other day, I was driving in my rockin' mini van, listening to some tunes on the radio. (Give me credit, at least I wasn't listening to a Barney CD). The DJ came on and said something like, "thanks for listening to our LIGHT ROCK radio station."

Hold it right there!

LIGHT ROCK??!!

Crap, my mom listens to light rock. What does that make me??!!

I will succumbe to this strike against my coolness, but I did immediately change the radio station.

What Do You Want to Be?

A common question that parents will ask their children is "what would you like to be when you grow up?" When children are younger, the answers to this question can be quite comical and random. It also isn't unusual for kids to change their answer to this question...they can change their minds every minute, hour, day, week...

Ambria, our 5 year old middle child, has been pretty consistent in her answer to this question and hasn't changed her mind in months.

Her answer:

A MUSKETEER

Home

We have been home from the hospital for a few days now. It is great being with the older girls and getting little more back to our normal routine. I took some time off work while Ashlyn recovers, so we have been enjoying some extra family time.

(For details on Ashlyn's progress, you can check the Chiari Hope blog).

Ashlyn's Surgery Day

Ashlyn had her brain surgery today. You can read all about it on my other blog Chiari Hope. It was a long day and we are all hoping to get some rest tonight.

The Sunday Morning Battle

I don't think I am alone in saying that getting ready for church on Sunday morning can be more than a challenge. I have heard many parents say how difficult getting ready for church can be, as the whole family is trying to get fed, dressed, and out the door in a peaceful and orderly manner.

We are not exempt from this.

The IDEAL Sunday morning preparations...

**I can take a shower in peace and quiet, get dressed, hair done, make up done, in an orderly fashion

**Girls eat breakfast peacefully

**Girls get dressed without a fight

**I can do the girls' hair without them screaming about tangles

**Shoes on, into the car with ease

**Calm car ride

ACTUAL Sunday morning experience...

**Girls bust into the bathroom while I am getting ready because they need something or I need to break up a fight

**Girls take half hour to decide what to wear, putting us behind schedule

**Girls scream when I try to do their hair and end up running away altogether

**At this point, I may or may not raise my voice

**Girls take another half hour trying to decide which shoes to wear (REALLY putting us behind schedule and now I am REALLY starting to get upset)

**Baby has poop explosion two minutes before walking out the door

**I realize I forgot to feed the kids and throw them some sort of "take in the car and hurry up snack/breakfast"

**I realize I forgot to finish putting make up on and only have eye liner on ONE eye.

**Running to the car

**Not a peaceful car ride because someone is too hot, too cold, music is too loud, bad music, someone needs a tissue, someone needs a drink, etc...........

So, by the time we arrive at church, we are in a hurry/flurry disaster. Nice.

Of course this doesn't ALWAYS happen, and when we have an IDEAL Sunday morning, we all celebrate!!

(Side note: Then there are special occasions, like Easter, when you want to take pictures before leaving for church. Five words: Good Luck With That One...that is a whole new blog entry).

An Emotional Job

Ambria had kindergarten registration today. Oh my goodness, I am not ready for this! She passed the assessment with flying colors (that's my girl!!) but they said she was soft spoken (no surprise there).

This parenting thing is such an emotional job! I can't believe I will have TWO kids in school!