Back To School

The older kids are all in school now.  I cried.  Because that's what I do.  I just wear sunglasses and try not to talk to anyone.

Anna's in fourth grade this year.  That means she'll be leaving for law school (the girl knows how to argue) in just a couple of minutes.  I think I'm going to throw up.

Grant is in first.  He's going to be starting medical school the day after tomorrow (he's very curious about how things work).  I'm just going to assume the fetal position now.

Jennie slid into first.  She's going to dominate the ballet stage any second now (she really can dance).  My heart just stopped.

Nathan is in preschool.  That means he'll be on his way to college after lunch (future still undetermined).  I need suggestions on how exactly you stop your kids from growing...

Yeah, yeah I know your children are supposed to grow up and take over the world but does that mean that they really have to leave the nest?  I mean, that's hard for this momma to deal with.  I don't think I'm cut out for the goodbye part of parenting.  It's rough.

Oh and if none of my children actually become what I've decided they should be I'll get over it, probably.  After all what child really does what their parent tells them...

Sibs, beds and many, many toys!

We moved the three older kids into the same room while we've/I've been working on the latest project.

That means that every night there is lots of laughing from them that leads to me yelling down the stairs "get back on your bed, NOW!". 

When it's time to clean I hear "that's not my mess, I shouldn't have to clean it up". 

In the mornings someone usually screams "don't look at me!" and "get back on your side of the room!"

There are now 3 twin beds, 3 dressers, 3 toy bins and mucho grande messes.

Please notice how my children make their beds in a perfect military fashion.  Also notice the humidifier box that my son uses to keep his cars corralled (who needs a toy box).

One unexpected advantage that possibly outweighs the late night slumber parties is that there is only one room to clean.  I might "forget" to move my boy back to his room when the project is over. 

Happy Monday!

Kristen

Top 8: things that aren't really related, at all.

1.  It finally snowed here.  Like real sledding snow, yes it is March but I guess Utah didn't get that memo.

2.  There's a new museum in the valley, super cool, so much fun.

3.  Obviously I only take pictures of my youngest child.  I do have three others, they are photogenic but, well, I don't have an excuse.  The following picture is not one of my offspring.

Although they do resemble that at dinner time.

4.  I bought these earrings at the museum gift shop.  I'm a sucker for shiny, slightly strange things (sorry, you have to click to see them, the screaming in the background is not conducive to technical maneuverings).

5.  Check out this blog for an eye- opening look at the world and how you view things.  It's written by one of my best friends and one of the most tolerant and loving people you'll ever know.

6.  My sister and her husband are getting ready to adopt a baby.  Their story is beautiful and real.

7.  My other sister is visiting this week.  She's a nice little addition to our family.  Here's why: she plays Tickle Monster with the kids while I do, well, whatever it is I do all day long.

8.  While she was posing for this picture we were standing off to the side heckling her.  It's possible that she retaliated by stuffing snow down my shirt.  I threw some back but unfortunately, and this is a secret so don't tell, I'm worthless in a fight.  There might have been rude remarks made about my throwing arm.

Have a good weekend!

Kristen

Family, it's kind of a weird place...

My aunt and I have hands that look the same.

My older daughter, sister and I all rub one of our feet against the sheet while we're drifting off to sleep.

My dad and I figure that if we don't know how to fix something, we'll just figure it out along the way (that's why my neighbor's outside light isn't perfectly level, I ain't an electrician).

My mom and I make freakishly good bread.

My younger daughter and I are both pros at the silent "I'm not mad but really I am but I don't want to talk about it but I want you to figure out what you did wrong but I don't want you to think that I'm going to forgive you any time soon but I'm not mad" routine.

And now I've used the words "and I" nine million times. 

You're welcome.

and I* am done

*nine million and one

Little brothers.

If you've ever watched Max and Ruby you recognize my title.  Of course you need to say it with bit of a sigh.  I have a little brother, actually two.  And they're not so little, they're both taller than me and despite their freakish height they're pretty awesome.  I was texting the bro that's 3 years younger than me and I was chastising him for the usual stuff like why he never calls/ visits/ consults me for every decision he's ever made when he said something that made me think.  He told that me that because I have a blog that more than one person reads (I hope) I need to be more aware of social and political issues and write about how they affect my life.  And as much as it hurts to admit this, I think he's right.  But here's the problem, I'm not a news junkie, I don't follow politics, that's just not me.  Is that wrong?  I admit I do need to be more aware of issues that affect my life but I don't have any desire to turn this forum into a political site. 

I'm a mom.  I write about my kids, the weird stuff they say and what it's like trying to raise a family in this crazy world we live in.  I don't dwell on the negative and believe me when I say that there's A LOT of negative because, well, I don't like to.  I would rather talk and write about the good things in my life and what we're doing to make them good.  That's who I am.

But....

I do want to be more involved in the world around me so I am going to figure out a way to learn about some of the issues that my communitiy is facing and discover how to involve my family in changing things for the better.  Does anyone have any suggestions?  What do you do to involve your family in the world around you?  How do you use your voice for good?

I guess punk brothers are useful. 

Love, Kristen

Then and Now

When this picture was taken The Knot Princess hadn't started tying knots yet, she was an only child and imagined her books were her playground friends.  She also let me comb her hair.  Ahh, those were the days.

Here we have two tiny babies.  They were so little that I could carry them in one arm.  They slept in the same bed and were just happy to have a full tummy and a binky.  They also took naps.  I miss that.

I could put this baby down and he would stay, right where I left him.  He rarely cried and his teeth weren't in yet, we didn't know how good we had it.

This girl is almost 7.  She still likes books except now she reads them.  She empties the dishwasher on Saturdays.  She won't let me comb her hair anymore.  Or choose her clothes.  Or make any sort of suggestion about her wardrobe.  I guess that's the trade off.

These two rarely sit like this.  They're usually doing their own thing which may or may not involve dirt, Barbies, water and/ or kitchen utensils.  They don't share a room anymore, they rarely take naps and then if they do they're up till later than human children should be awake.  The last time I carried them together I swore I would never do it again.  I'm pretty sure they were smuggling rocks in their pockets.

This boy, he's a handful.  I would hear people say that about their children and I never really understood.  I get it now.  He's fast, he's determined and he's smart.  Not a good combination, at least not for his mother's sanity.

I like my babies.  They make me happy.  Their laundry does not make me happy but they do.  I guess you can't have one without the other, thank goodness for Tide.

Kristen

2 years and 2 months doesn't mean much when you're bestest friends

I'm grateful my girls have a sister.

 

Someone to share a room with.

 

A built in friend.

Someone to talk to at night after the lights go out.

Someone to learn how to fight, umm, I mean negotiate with.

Another set of drawers with clothes to share.

A friend that loves you no matter how you act or look. 


I need to go call my sisters.


Kristen

The state of my girls' hair has nothing to do with this post.

 

When the whining and tears and cries of "I'm bored" start, the cure is to start reading.  The best place to get books is at our local library.  We're pretty consistent about going but our order of operations while there has changed over the years.  When it was just the oldest and me, we would go to story time, then we'd leisurely wander through the books, taking our time choosing the perfect books.  Then we'd head over to the reading area and settle in to read through a few more books all before checking out.  Oh and did I mention that we always walked to the library.  We had time, it worked.

Then the twins came along.  Story time was out because the babies were just too noisy.  That's okay because we could still take our time choosing before moving on to a little bit of reading time before checkout.  We also stopped walking there because a mile there and a mile back with a double stroller, a bag of books and a toddler that walked really, really slow was just too much.

(It looks like my boy is picking his nose, he's not.  I hope.)

These days after throwing the kids in the van, I lecture them the whole way there about not running/ yelling/ throwing books.  Once there, we walk through the doors and the three oldest take off running in different directions.  The oldest heads straight for the magazines, my boy goes for the drinking fountain and Pinky heads for the Princess books.  The only reason the baby doesn't take off is because he's contained in the stroller.  Story time is definitely out.  We hurry and grab our books, the kids ask if they can sit and read, I say no, not today.  I drag them disappointed and crying over to the checkout where they each insist on doing their own books.  Thirty exhausting minutes later we drag ourselves home where I swear that I will never take them, ever again, until they're 25, at least.

I don't think it matters what you read to your kids as long as you read to them every day.  It's also cool when they start getting old enough to read to each other.  Those are the times when you're a bit more grateful for the library trips.

Read a good book today!

Kristen

This post needs a title

This is our dog, Kate.  She was supposed to be a hunting dog but she makes a better kid toy.  She also likes to eat paint off the walls.  Like dried paint, she chews it off.  It's special.

One of the joys of being a parent is forcing your children to do family bonding activities that involve them wearing things that will humiliate them.  It's good to be the grown-up.

Hi.  I'm sitting on a moose.  Why?  Duh, because it was there.

Ignore the trucks and the road, look at that sky.  So pretty.

Safety first, especially while swimming.

My boy needs a tractor.  Too bad we live in the middle of the city.

He also needs a helicopter.

I went to school with a set of fraternal twins but didn't know it until graduation.  I thought they were either good friends or dating because they always drove in the same car.  I guess the fact that they had the same last name never clicked.  No I wasn't too observant, why do you ask?

This is our most recent family picture.  My baby's not that little anymore.  It might be time to schedule a new one, this time I might try to comb my girls' hair.  We'll see.

Record your life.  It will make you smile.

Kristen

Enjoy the ride!

 I've been thinking about life and the way we go through it.  You know, the way our attitude affects things.  Sometimes we're stuck in a car and we're tired and hungry and just bored, metaphorically speaking of course.  So in this car called life we have a few choices.  We can scream and cry and complain when the driver won't stop the car.  Hi #4, you have a set of lungs.

Hmm... the screaming didn't help now, did it?  So what are our options?  I guess you can just get through it, trying to stay as unaffected as possible.  You know just doing the basics, skimming through life.  I've actually been there before, sometimes it's all you can do just to survive.  I'll probably be there again but it's not my favorite way to live.  Hi #1, sorry about the screaming.  He'll go to sleep soon.  I hope.

Next option, you take advantage of the situation.  The car isn't stopping anytime soon (5 states, 9 days, 3000 miles), you can't get out of your seat and you get carsick if you try to read a book so just relax.  Hi #3, I like your blanket.  

Another option, just have fun.  Life is full of things out of your control, things that you just can't change so make the most of it.  Enjoy yourself and laugh.  Or smile your cheesy smile, hi #2.

Have a good time in this car ride called life!


Love you guys!

Kristen

ps- I ain't no philosopher, I just wanted to show you a picture of the screamer.