The Soundtrack of My Life

Today after getting a little behind in my morning routine I got to the breakfast dishes a little later than usual. Rolling up my sleeves I tackled the breakfast dishes, wiped off the counters, table and chairs, swept the floor, and then noticed it was time to start lunch. After making and serving lunch (complete with the numerous ups and downs of retrieving, and refilling so common in meals with small children), I found myself faced once again with a sink full of dirty dishes, crumby counters, and messy floors. With a HUGE sigh I got to work again. Snow White whistles while she works and I had a song from my younger days come to mind. I took the tune and tweaked the lyrics a bit. Singing it made my family and I laugh and suddenly several songs started coming to mind which easily fit some of the circumstances of my day. They brought a smile to my face so I thought I would share a few.

Here it is the Soundtrack of My Life...


(Set to the tune of The Song That Never Ends)

These are the chores that never end.
Yes, they go on and on my friend.
As long as people are eating food and wearing lots of clothes,
then I will be doing chores, wherever I may go.

Yes, these are the chores that never end.
Yes, they go on and on my friend...
(repeat endlessly)


(To the tune of Where Oh Where Has my Little Dog Gone)

Mommy where has my little toy gone?
The one the size of a pea.
I really need it to go to bed.
Oh where oh where can it be?


(To the tune of Polly Put the Kettle on)

Mommy is it dinner time?
Mommy is it dinner time?
Mommy is it dinner time, I'm so hungry!

Eww! I don't like that to eat!
Eww! I don't like that to eat!
Eww! I don't like that to eat it is so gross!!

(you should all know this tune)

This is the way I brush your teeth,
brush your teeth, brush your teeth.
This is the way I brush your teeth every single night.
(times 2. Also interchangeable with brush hair, get in pajamas, get dressed, etc.)


Although despite it all, at the end of the day there is always this...


(To the tune of We are a Happy Family)

I love Katelyn, she loves me.
We love Rebekah and Joshy.
We love Benjamin and Daddy.
We are a happy family.


I hope you all enjoyed my rendition of some classic children's songs. Feel free to use them or make up your own throughout the course of your day. A little silly song can perk you right up and give you a good laugh. And I have to say, I'm pretty happy with my soundtrack.

Good Times Were Had by All

A few weeks back we had a great weekend. Lance deemed the boys old enough to go on their first ever Father -Son camp out. For days all we heard was, "is it camping night yet?" School was still in session and all of Joshua's little classmates knew he was going camping, just the boys. Lance had that Friday off so he was able to get everything prepared and they left right after school was out for the day. The weather was perfect, Joshua's best friend from church had the site right next to them, and Boyd (Lance's brother) had the site across from them. There were sticks to hit each other with, a lake to throw rocks in, a campfire to roast things in and lots of goodies to eat. A little boy's paradise.


Matching outfits so they were easier to spot


I asked Joshua about the trip the next morning and he told me he loved it all "except for the really long hike and the chicken rock, but Mom, it didn't look anything like a chicken, I don't know why they called it that."
I asked Lance about it and he said the "long hike" was following the level road about a quarter of a mile and the "chicken rock" was the local, jump into the lake from this high point i.e. you're a chicken if you don't, spot.
All went well until about four in the morning when some amazingly bright lightening woke Lance up. Thanks to modern technology he was able to check the incoming storm from his phone and chose to just come home early rather than try to ride it out.

What did the girls and I do with all of our boy free time? We weighed our various options, places to go, things to do and unfortunately one of the girls started feeling a little under the weather. With that in mind we opted to stay home, "camp out" in the living room, watch movies all night and eat tons of junk food. Mission accomplished, well mostly. Around 9:30 in the evening we all kind of crashed. We had finished a movie, looked at each other and realized we would never make it through another one, so we turned in. Which was a good thing considering the boys were back around 6 am. In came these little wiggly boys all wound up from their exciting trip, stomping on their sleepy sisters laying on the floor. I'm sure not the nicest way to wake up but everyone was so excited to share their adventures it didn't seem to matter.

Later that afternoon we had a unique opportunity to go explore a hidden treasure in Springfield. There is a railroad museum inside an actual train. Open Saturday afternoons from 2-4 pm during the summer months and no admission. The neatest thing for the kids. The public is able to explore all of the cars, ring the bell on the engine, and look around the caboose (I always wondered what the inside looked like). There were informative and friendly volunteers ready to answer questions or show you around. I have always enjoyed going to museums and historical sites, unfortunately my children do not seem to share that enthusiasm, so this was right up their alley.
I asked how they were able to transport the train to it's current location as I saw no evidence of train tracks having ever been there. They told me it progressed under it's own power over I guess you would call them rolling tracks. Railroad tracks were moved from behind the train to the front where the train would move forward uncovering another section of track which would then be placed at the front of the train and so on. Unfortunately my memory is unreliable on specifics anymore so I am unable to recall the distance the train travelled in that manner, but it was impressive and must have been an amazing site to see.


The wheels were huge!! We were inside that engine messing with levers and such; so hands on and kid friendly.




Benjamin's only complaint, the caboose wasn't red (I didn't know that was a requirement).


We had a great weekend and look forward to more fun this summer with school being out.

Sometimes Your Only Choice is to Laugh

I had an experience the other day that if I hadn't laughed I probably would have just cried, or worse yet, lost my temper with one of my sweet little ones.

There are a few phrases (and strange sounds) that every mother knows she doesn't ever want to hear emanating from the bathroom. I learned a new one the other day. I guess what made the whole incident so funny was the conversation he had with himself before he alerted me to the problem. This is what I heard:

Josh: "What?! Are you kidding me! That is just great, now I have to change my pajamas!"
(Strange mumblings and shuffling; I am all ears)
Josh: "Um, Mom? Could you come help me? I had a wee accident."
(Wee? are we Scottish now?)

Well if he meant wee as in small he was sadly mistaken. Perhaps he meant the other wee?

What I found: a very large puddle all over my newly mopped floor, a very confused little boy and soaking wet clothing. Did I also mention I had just finished putting away the last of the laundry and was actually all caught up?

Not to worry we mom's are pretty ingenious at finding laundry where you previously may have thought there was none. We cleaned everything and everybody up, started a new load of laundry, then I found Lance and had a really good laugh.

Poor Josh, he was one very surprised little boy, and I'm glad I was able to laugh it off, keep my cool and help him when he needed it. He is a good boy and I love him more than freshly mopped floors, but I am glad this little surprise is not the norm.

How Time Flies!

The birthday boy

We happily celebrated Benjamin's third birthday this past week. It is very hard to believe that my youngest could possibly have gotten so big. He came charging into our bedroom at 6:30 in the morning and announced, "Today is my birthday!" After birthday greetings by all the siblings the festivities began. Well, at least a little bit, we still had older sisters to get off to school.
We started with one present; a ride on motorcycle. Benjamin loved it, everyone else began to experience those good old pangs of jealousy that always accompany another's birthday.

"Where are the pedals?"


On to breakfast, Apple Jacks specially requested by the birthday boy. Then the poor kid had to wait for the rest of his celebration until after everyone else came home from school. He thought it was great to wake up from his nap and find the house decked out with streamers and balloons.

Lance was busy all day (he took the day off work) making the cake. He was so excited to try something new. He made a four layer cake, half chocolate, half vanilla. Slathered in between the layers was pudding, chocolate for the chocolate side and butterscotch for the vanilla side. It was so tall Benjamin could barely see over the top to blow out the candles.



Of course after came more presents. Lance and I always try to find gifts throughout the year for the kids. Normally not a problem but this year with the move we had a couple of vital items lost somewhere out in the garage. He and I braved the labyrinth of boxes and were able to find the missing gifts, not a task for the faint of heart. Each of the kids had made him a card and gave him a gift. He was thrilled about each one. How our little Benjamin is loved! Hugs and excitement for him all day.



Benjamin we love you so much. You have added such a flare of excitement to our family. We love your tenacity, your exuberance and the love you have for each of us. We feel blessed to have you as a part of our family. Happy Birthday my sweet little boy!!

Immagination

We have had quite a few imaginary friends travel through our home over the years. Rebekah with Noodle the alien was the first. He showed up after I encouraged her to eat her carrots one day explaining carrots are good for your eyes. Immediately after lunch the then three year old informed me there was an alien sleeping on the couch and the rest is history. Rebekah and Noodle had many lively adventures and there were times when her conversations with him were so lifelike it was as though he was really there.
Katelyn followed up Noodle with Petunia, a very large "boy lion with a big mane" (think Aslan big for those of you who have seen the recent Narnia movies). Katelyn was also around three and Petunia showed up to explain the strange noise she heard while playing by herself one afternoon. He helped her with the transition as we moved to Missouri bounding up the stairs and leaping onto her bed to cuddle with her at night. A couple of times I even caught her feeding him under the table at dinner (evidently lions don't like beans either as they were still there). Petunia has ridden on the top of the van to church and accompanied her on many outings.
Joshua had a very brief visit from an imaginary ghost named Curtains who bore an uncanny resemblance to Casper. Curtains was his companion when needing to venture anywhere in the house by himself. Putting his clothes away, cleaning up his toys, or moving from one floor to another without a sibling or parent. Curtains also explained any noises or shadows that might make him nervous. Joshua's Curtains was here just long enough to give him confidence in himself and then left.
Benjamin has now inherited Curtains. His Curtains is a person whether ghost or not we're not sure. Curtains #2 has fingers for tickling, he also has hair, feet, and a face, sometimes he is bigger than Benjamin and sometimes smaller. Now for all the imaginary friend conversations I have heard in my day I've never heard arguing, until now, "Curtains, it's your fault I dropped that rock! Why did you make me drop it?" and "Curtains don't do that!" And yes I have checked in on them to make sure they were getting along.
Why all the information about my children's imaginary friends? Because Benjamin passed along a Curtains story that only he could come up with. I thought I would share it with all of you.

Benjamin: "Mom Curtains went to church on Sunday."
Me: "Oh, what did he do at church?"
B: "He sat on the bench and ate some bread and drank some water."
Me: "Then what happened?"
B: "Those guys up there called his name and he got to go up and talk in the microphone!"
Me: "That's exciting! What did he say?"
B: "He said, 'OOH ME BUM!!'"
Boy that lucky Curtains, I bet they never ask him to speak in church again.

I love this age with their vivid imaginations. It's a little sad as they get older and their imaginary friends are replaced with real ones. However they served their purpose at the time they were needed. Thank you Noodle, Petunia, and Curtains (even though it sounds like #2 you need to stop picking on Benjamin), you've been great friends and well loved and you can live with me forever!

Fall Fun

We are loving the cooler weather here in Missouri. The summer is so unbelievably hot and then here comes fall with mild temperatures and beautiful colors. We love being outside then, unfortunately I usually forget to take any pictures. We did have the opportunity to visit the local corn maze. Everyone had a great time, and each child had a chance to "lead the way" through the maze. Some of them were a little better at it than others. We definitely had a couple of times where we were going in circles. It was a long maze with two parts, after a while the boys were getting very tired. We tried the piggyback thing and discovered that Benjamin must be afraid of heights because he didn't stay up on anyone's shoulders for long. We went early enough that it wasn't "haunted"yet. However that didn't stop Lance from jumping out and scaring the kids a few times. We were even challenged to compose our own special poem about corn. Here is ours, "Corn, corn, good for the heart, the more you eat, the more you want more corn." We were supposed to recite our poem at the ticket desk for a goody. Imagine our children's surprise when they had to recite it for none other than our bishop. They suddenly clammed right up. Rebekah and Katelyn were eventually coaxed into performing and each received a sucker (Rebekah hates suckers). Lost in the corn maze

"I've always wanted to be an animal"

As we got a little closer to Halloween Lance came home from the store with little pumpkins for the kids to decorate. We all sat down for Family home evening and the kids colored their pumpkins with markers. Everyone's design was as individual as they are. Rebekah covered hers with a family of dragons. Katelyn drew double faces, one on each side. Lance drew a face for Benjamin to color in. Joshua, Just drew with all the colors, all over the entire pumpkin. Then added a tiny face for fun. Unfortunately we aren't sure which had more marker on it, the pumpkin or Josh.


Despite the coloring fun everyone claimed they wanted to actually carve a pumpkin too. After a lot of persuasion Lance brought home a big pumpkin. We waited until the day of our ward Halloween party to carve it. We discussed what type of design we should put on it and everyone agreed it should be a dragon (the previous night's viewing of "How to Train Your Dragon" I'm sure had nothing to do with it Ha Ha). With the design in mind we got to work. Lance cut the top off and we informed the kids they now had to "gut" the pumpkin. All their exuberance quickly wore off as they realized what that would mean. Their fearless leader Rebekah volunteered to go last. After a lot of "not Me's" Benjamin stepped up and loved it, for three whole handfuls. Joshua was next, "It feels like wet grass" he informed us all. Evidently handling wet grass leaves much to be desired because he also only took out about three handfuls. Next up, Rebekah, two dainty pinches with the loveliest expression on her face. She will still argue that she took out handfuls but we have the pictures to prove otherwise. Last but not least Katelyn, she took out a couple of good sized handfuls with slightly less complaining than her sister. Unfortunately that still left a good portion for yours truly to scoop out. Lance then did the carving with only the captive audience of Joshua who really seemed to find it intriguing. The finished product was quite impressive, but I don't think we'll be carving our own again anytime soon. Maybe they'll grow out of their squeamish stage (I really was surprised by the boys lack of enthusiasm).

The Finished Product

Following the thrill of pumpkin carving we had everyone get dressed up in their costumes. I know some people spend weeks planning and creating the perfect costume. We are not those people. We are the buy the costumes for $1.00 on clearance after Halloween the year before and break it out for this year kind of people. Then after our day of fun we add it to the dress up rotation. Next year they can choose from a dress up costume or any new ones we may have. The system seems to work for the most part. Unfortunately Rebekah grows so tall so quickly she often has very little selection of things that will actually fit. This years line up; a bride, a sorceress, Wolverine (humorous as he doesn't even know who that is, he just likes the claws) and Superman.
With everyone dressed up and our pumpkin in tow we headed off to the ward trunk-or-treat. After our kids went through the line once, we dug through their bags and gave away half of their candy to the other children still coming through (yes we re-gift too). Our guys still end up with more than they know what to do with. We lucked out this year that our ward activity was the day before Halloween so on Halloween proper, we turned off all our outside lights and sat in the basement as a family hanging out until bedtime. That way we didn't have to worry about trick-or-treating/ers on Sunday. Everyone had a great time. We still have plenty of Autumn left to enjoy and are looking forward to the Holidays that so quickly approach.

Thoughts from my children

A story by Katelyn;

I see a cow.
I see a big cow.
I see a big, fat cow.
I see a big, fat, brown cow.
I see a big, fat, brown and black cow.
I see a big, fat, brown and black cow on my lap, OUCH!
I do not like that cow!

The End

P.S. Did I mention that I hate that cow?


A profound thought from Joshua;

"My shoes are white, and bird poop is white, so if a bird poops on my shoes no one will know."


And for those of you who are wondering Benjamin woke up Lance from his nap the other day with this;

"Dad, when I'm 19 I'm going to be a missionary! I'm going to get baptized! I'm going on a mission. Then I'll be a football player and the ball goes in the net and comes out the teeny, tiny hole."

Just a few of the fun little things said at our house during the past week. Their little brains are always turning, always working and I don't always understand where this stuff comes from, but it sure can make my day.