Life Lessons that Old Ladies Force on You in Grocery Stores

I've been a big supporter of NOT cherishing every moment of children's lives. Those well-meaning Grandmas in the grocery store must surely have amnesia. Nobody cherishes sleep-deprivation, baby vomit, potty training, endless messes, tantrums, or what happens when you absent-mindedly push the elevator button before your toddler has a chance to.

If you cherish those moments you are a crazy-person. 

But lately I have begun to see that tiny light at the end of the tunnel where your last baby is no longer a baby and, for the first time, you start to cherish the moments you are supposed to cherish.  Snuggles, funny songs with made-up lyrics, misspoken words like pasketti and meatbombs, crazy bedhead, limbless Barbies, twirls in a full-skirted dress, and sick figures sporting incredibly long arms and heads attached to a single, crooked, line for a body.

We'll have two more years together before she starts Kindergarten, but I know that those two years are faster than the same two years with my oldest daughter.  Those older siblings shrink the minutes in a day with homework assignments, theater practice, trips to the mall for the over-priced black tshirts at Hot Topic, crushes on boys, and Junior High choir concerts.

The baby is there, speaking too loudly, to try and be heard.  Missing out on snuggles because of Junior High power point presentations due tomorrow.  Dancing more wildly and twirling more enthusiastically to try and claim some of those shared minutes.

These are the moments that old ladies want us to cherish. They want us to stop and snuggle these final babies because there won't be any more after this. Once this baby is too old for the very sweet, sweet, moments that only babies and toddlers bring they become the one with recitals and concerts and field trips and crushes. 

I am going to finally listen to those old ladies.
I am going to cherish these final moments.
But not potty training. Never potty training.

1

Highway to Hell

I just remembered that I never documented our family's lovely return trip from St. George to Layton after Great-Grandpa Ahern's funeral.

We had a fun morning with family. We had lunch and visited Snow Canyon State Park. After a little shopping we were ready to hit the road around 3:00 pm, an hour or two later than we had hoped to leave, but no biggie.

I promised Ella a stop at the Dollar Tree for activities to do on the drive home. I bought Jude a calculator. Best dollar I ever spent. He loved pushing the buttons and once in a while he would hold it to his ear and have a phone conversation.

We had to make a quick stop at Target on the way out of St. George. We had to refill our snack container for the ride home and grab a DVD for the kids.  Matt waited in the car while Ella and I ran inside.  Ella and I needed to use the restroom before the trip started. The women's room was closed. We waited. And waited. And waited.  For 20 minutes.  Finally I asked when they would open it and they said 30 more minutes or I could use the restroom back by the pharmacy.  Done.  

We headed on our way again. Backseat buddies. I had to snap this photo early because soon enough the crying, fighting, and yelling will begin.

We finished our shopping and hopped in the car. We were off!  20 minutes into the drive I realized I had left my iPhone in the restroom of the Target. Blast! We turned around and headed back.  I found it easily, but we had now added an additional hour to our already late departure.  So frustrating.  As I was inside the second time Cecilia threw up all over herself.  She had thrown up in the middle of the night the night before, so clearly she was feeling sick.  Matt cleaner her up and we finally got going.

The kids were fighting like CRAZY. Way more than usual (and that's really saying something).  I was totally yelling and screaming at them.

Eventually we stopped for dinner in the smallest town ever: Scipio, Utah.  We went into a gas station and ate at the Subway inside. We load into the car to head home and Cecilia vomits all over her self...again.  We go into the gas station and grab napkins.  We strip her down and start to clean the seat.  While we're all waiting outside the car Bianca trips and skins her knee badly.  I go into the gas station and buy band aids.

We get her cleaned up and load everyone in the car. Matt goes back into the gas station to buy Gatorade to water down and make into PediaLyte for Cici's bottle.  While inside the kid working the register says, "You're back again?"  Seriously, kid. We wanna leave too.

As I was leaving for the last time the kid cheerily said, "Have a nice evening!" To which I responded, "Well, it couldn't get much shi@#ier!" Because I like to keep it classy...always.

One hour after we stop for a quick bite we are back on the road again.

We drove for about 40 minutes and then this happened. "Why is your OTHER baby naked?", you ask. Because he threw up all over himself. Natch.

We pulled over. By this time we had a system. Matt takes out the baby (whichever one had thrown up) and strip them naked while I open the back and get out the "vomit clothing bag" and clean clothes from the suitcase. By "clean clothes" I mean clothes our kids already wore once during the trip and had been put in the dirty clothes bag to be washed at home. Then the naked baby would get clothed by me while Matt cleaned off the car seat as well as he could with Clorox wipes (never travel without them). I would spray Fabreeze Air Freshener in the car (never travel without it) and we would reload the back of the car and be on our way again. This parenting routine will hereafter be known as the Circle of Hell.  At this point I thought to myself "I give up. We may just pull over, dig a shallow grave, and die here. You know, to honor the pioneers."

After one hour back on the road it happened.

Naked again? Why yes. Because he barfed again. He added a projectile element heretofore untried on this trip. The poor kid was then dressed in his sister's Peppa Pig shirt since he was out of even dirty clothes.  At this point Matt said, "I'm not exaggerating when I say this is the worst trip of my life."

SEVEN hours after we left we arrived home. This is usually a 4-1/2 hour trip. You guys, it was the WORST.  This is parenting. Oy.

0

The 9 Circles of Hell when Swimming in the Great Salt Lake

I am a good friend. 

Jenny Lemmons and her family came for an impromptu visit last weekend.  Jenny said she wanted this visit to be "100% Utah". We began laying plans.  Our Friday morning started of well.  We met at City Creek and shopped the great stores, walked by Temple Square, and ate at the Utah staple, "Kneaders".  It was all going so smoothly.  And then Jenny declared she wanted to swim in the Great Salt Lake. She even mentioned it being on her Bucket List.

I tried to reason with her. I told her that all I remember from my visit there as an 11 year old was stink and brine shrimp.  She wouldn't listen.

Reminder: I am a good friend. 

I begrudgingly planned a visit. I did some online research and found information about going to a swimming access beach on the nearby Antelope Island.  They had showers, covered picnic areas, what could go wrong? 

Answer: Everything.

So let me walk you through the 9 Circles of Hell when Swimming in the Great Salt Lake as experienced by myself, my innocent children, Jenny, and her innocent children last Friday.

CIRCLE 01 - NOT SEEING WILDLIFE

We paid to get into Antelope Island State Park and I promised the kids visions of Antelope and Buffalo and all sorts of majestic wildlife roaming the open plains.  Yeah, we saw nothing.  

CIRCLE 02 - THE TEMPERATURE

It was 100* F by noon when I began to unload my car of my FIVE children. I struggled to get sunscreen on all of them while I packed a bag with bottles of water, six towels, and three beach chairs.  

CIRCLE 03 - THE 2 MILE WALK TO THE WATER'S EDGE

We started down the small hill from the parking lot to the sandy edge.  I looked out towards the water's edge and realized that the very dry winter we had made the trek to the water a long, long, walk. PLEASE NOTE: This is the moment when I should have told Jenny I would have to sit this one out. I should have sat under that covered picnic table with my kids and watched her and her children fulfill her bucket list item, while fanning myself with a copy of People magazine.

But I didn't.  I am a good friend.

CIRCLE 04 - THE BOILING HOT, LOOSE, SAND

Mere moments after stepping foot into the sand I was in pain.  Our family was wearing flip-flops and the sand was tortuously hot and very loose.  I was basically Rocky Balboa training for the fight with Dolph Lundgren, but in sand instead of snow, carrying two babies, a beach bag, and a beach chair. Which I don't think Rocky could have handled for a second.  I am a good friend. 

CIRCLE 05 - THE SMELL OF DEATH

Oh my gosh, you guys. The Great Salt Lake smells like a stanky, wet dog's butt. It is awful.  The fumes assailed us immediately. 

(This photo represents maybe 1/3 of the length of the walk from the water to the parking lot.)

CIRCLE 06 - THE FLIES! OH HEAVENS, THE FLIES!!!!

All of the kids were starting to melt down, but the water's edge was finally in sight! The beach sand was almost black right by the shore.  It beckoned us with a promise of the end of this most torturous walk of my life.  

Remember the part in Start Wars:A New Hope when Obi-Wan says "That's no moon. That's a space station." as they approach the Death Star for the first time?  This is exactly how this part of our Hellish journey played out.  Ella, who had run ahead of me, returned with a terrified look on her face and said, "That's not wet sand. It's FLIES!" I have never seen anything like this in my life.  There was such a thick blanket of black flies that it looked like the ground until you walked through them, and then they attacked. They swarmed up, landing on every part of you. They blanketed everything. I set down the baby carrier with Cecilia inside and she was instantly covered with flies.

This is when the collective sobbing of all of the children began.  Jenny's two daughters climbed onto a beach chairs, shrieking and sobbing.  It didn't help. The flies followed. My own daughters began running and crying.  Like a Mother in an action movie who has just glanced over her shoulder to see the Godzilla/Aliens/Tidal-Wave heading towards them I screamed, "RUN!! RUN TO THE WATER!!"  I dropped our stuff, grabbed the baby carrier, and lifted it to my shoulder.  Then I grabbed Jenny's girls off their chair and helped them to the water's edge.

I am a good friend.

( Everything that is black in this photo is a GNAT!!! )

CIRCLE 07 - THE SALT WATER ON EVERY CUT YOU HAVE

Once in the water there was temporary relief from the flies before you realized that every cut, every hangnail, every scrape you have is being assaulted by the saltiest water you have ever experienced.  The sobbing intensified.  I was wading in the water, holding the baby in one arm and holding Jude's hand while all of the kids cried uncontrollably.  Jenny ran in just far enough to float in the water. Then I snapped some pictures of her kids and mine while she held my babies. Then we turned right around and get the hell out of there. NOTE: Don't let these photos fool you. They were staged as we were trying to trick these kids into thinking this was somehow fun and not the worst experience of their young lives so far.

CIRCLE 08 - THE 2 MILE WALK BACK TO THE CAR

As if the walk to the water wasn't bad enough. Now we headed back. But this time all the children were crying and hot and their cuts and there eyes were stinging.  We DID see a dead cat/squirrel carcass while walking back to the car. There's the majestic wildlife I promised my kids would see. Winning.  I almost started crying on the way back. I swear to you it was that bad.

CIRCLE 09 - THE SALT & DESPAIR IS STUCK TO YOU

Once we returned to the car we assessed the damage (emotional and physical) the trip had taken on us all.  Turns out that the salty sand destroys shoes.  Turns out that the water is so salty that it sticks to you like a hard crust. Turns out the stinging eyes don't feel better when flushed with fresh water.

Turns out I am a good friend. 

We all agreed, as a family, that we are NEVER going back there.  I may seek therapy for PTSD.  If you're reading this and you're considering taking a dip in the Great Salt Lake...DON'T DO IT! Save yourself! Please, learn from me! Only sadness and despair can come from such a journey.

#iblamejenny

11

Father's Day Quiz 2015

01. What is something Daddy always says to you?

Ella - "Guess what time it is?" (when it's bedtime)

Eva - "I love you."

Bianca - "Cutie Pie."

02. What makes Daddy happy?

Ella - Checking out fun BBQ stores.

Eva - When I behave.

Bianca - Cookies.

03. What makes Daddy sad?

Ella - When Jude starts mischief on Dad's stuff.

Eva - When I don't behave.

Bianca - No cookies.

04. How does Daddy make you laugh?

Ella - When he says something funny.

Eva - Tickling me.

Bianca - He hugs me and we play.

05. What is Daddy's favorite thing to watch on TV?

Ella - Sports.

Eva - Sports.

Bianca - Star Wars.

06. What does Daddy do when you're not around?

Ella - He talks with Mom on the phone.

Eva - Works.

Bianca - I don't know what he does.

07. What is Daddy really good at?

Ella - Musical instruments.

Eva - Making me happy.

Bianca - Making dinner.

08. What is Daddy not very good at?

Ella - Pep talks about my fears.

Eva - Doing girly stuff.

Bianca - He's great at everything, Mom!

09. What does Daddy do for his job?

Ella - He's a manager of other managers of doctors in the hospital.

Eva - Helps in the hospital.

Bianca - Write on papers.

10. What is Daddy's favorite food?

Ella - Spicy food with Sriracha on it.

Eva - Spicy stuff. Definitely.

Bianca - He loves ALL the foods.

11. What makes you proud of Daddy?

Ella - When he's doing something to make Jude laugh.

Eva - How good he does at work.

Bianca - He helps me to feel happy when I'm hurt.

12. What's your favorite thing to do with Daddy?

Ella - Go to stores and fun places.

Eva - Talk and snuggle.

Bianca - Hug him.

13. How are you and Daddy the same?

Ella - We both like music.

Eva - We both like sports.

Bianca - We love to talk together.

14. How are you and Daddy different?

Ella - He likes watching basketball.

Eva - He's a boy. I'm a girl.

Bianca - ???

15. How do you know Daddy loves you?

Ella - Because he does nice stuff.

Eva - He buys a lot of stuff for me.

Bianca - I don't know. He just loves me.

16. What one word describes Daddy?

Ella - Awesome.

Eva - Friendly.

Bianca - Love.

17. What does Daddy do to help you?

Ella - If I don't want to do something he'll help me do it.

Eva - If I need help with my homework he'll help me by giving me strategies.

Bianca - Makes me feel better when I'm hurt.

18. What makes Daddy the very best Daddy?

Ella - I just think he's the very best daddy.

Eva - He's really nice.

Bianca - Because he can cook very well.

2

Finding the JOY again...hopefully.

Last week Ella was saying the dinner prayer and she said,

"Please help Mom not to feel so stressed all of the time."

Oh dear. 

Afterwards I said to her, "Do you feel like I'm stressed all the time?"

To which she replied, "Well, every night when we talk about how are days were at dinner you say 'hard' or 'busy' or 'crazy'."

She's totally right, although I didn't realize it until she said it. If you know me at all you know I'm pretty wildly positive. What happened?! I have committed myself not only to being more positive, but also expressing that happiness to my family. I don't want my kids to think I hate being a wife/mother. And how do children understand the nuances of hard, but fulfilling work? They don't. 

This week as I am preparing dinner I'm going to reflect on the good of that day. This is tricky because that hour between 4:30-5:30 is always the most stressful and busiest of my day.  That lends itself to feelings of stress, impatience, and hurried-ness.  But I am going to try and use that hour to reflect and rejoice.

Then I will sit down to the dinner table with a heart filled with gratitude. And there is ALWAYS much to be grateful for. 

It's gunna look like this, but with way more kids and far fewer frilly aprons.

3

Lessons in the Grocery Isle

Ella: Mom, I know you're going to say no, but can we get this cereal?

Points to a box with some sort of pink explosion of cereal nestled in a bowl next to a slice of whole wheat toast (yeah, right).

Me: Nope.

Ella: Why not? You never let us get good cereal!

Me: That's right. I love you enough to get you healthy cereal even if it makes me unpopular.

Ella: How do you know it's unhealthy?!

Me: I can tell by the front of the box. It's filled with sugar and red dye no. 5.

Ella: What if it's not?

Me: It is.

Ella: How can we see if it is?

Me: I'll teach you how.  When a manufacturer makes food they have to list what ingredients they used. They list the ingredients starting with the ingredient there is the most of. So if you make bread, the first ingredient would be....

Ella: ...flour.

Me: Right! Great job.  And if there's just a tiny bit of salt in your bread that would be listed....

Ella: ...last!

Me: Perfect. You're a genius.  Now, take that box off the shelf, turn it to the ingredients list and let's read it together.  

Takes cereal box of shelf and finds the nutrition label.

( P.S. How horrifying is this cereal box? Thanks, Google Search. Now I'm having nightmares about breakfast cereal.)

Me: What's the very first ingredient?

Ella: Sugar.

Me: Really? I thought it would be some sort of grain! You're right.  That means this cereal is made of sugar more than any other ingredient.  And if you eat that cerreal it will taste good. Really, really good.  And right after you will feel happy.  And then 30 minutes later....

Ella: I will feel crappy.

Me: Yes, crappy and probably tired.

Ella: Alright, Mom. I get it.

Me: Anytime you aren't sure about a certain food you can always (and should always) read the label. You're smart and then you'll know what decision you want to make.

From a different isle next to us comes a thunderous clapping.  Then a woman in her late 50's appears from around the corner, pushing her grocery cart.

Woman: YOU are a good Mom (to me). And YOU are a smart girl (to Ella).  That's the greatest conversation I have heard in ages! Keep up the good work!

5

Scary World

Today my 7 year old, Evangeline, mentioned "Slender Man" in a casual conversation. Ella totally knew what she was referencing. And that's when I freaked out (internally)!

I then had a serious talk with BOTH redheads about

where they had seen clips of "Slender Man",

who showed it to them,

and that they are NEVER allowed to watch anything with him in it.

Do you know where Ella first saw it?

School.

SCHOOL!!!

WTH is going on in this world?!

5

Tomorrow is the Day

Tomorrow morning we will welcome our special, surprise, baby into the world. I thought it would be worth writing my thoughts down before the madness of a new baby and a cross-country move set in.

First, let me acknowledge some things that happened during the pregnancy.  When we first found out and told people SO MANY wonderful women reached out both publicly and privately to share their own experiences of a similar situation.  I really appreciated this more than you know.  Mostly because I think in our world where so many are facing the emotionally and physically exhausting reality of infertility that it's a bit taboo to be a Mom who has an unexpected pregnancy and feel you cannot express your thoughts and fears.  Babies are a gift and wonderful and a miracle...right? So many people would kill to be pregnant.  But the fact remains that life, your life, has taken a 180* turn that you didn't plan on and that is hard to deal with.  I was thankful to hear from other mothers who felt the same worries, embarrassment and fear that I did.

( Getting ready included the all-important Pre-Baby-Pedicure on Saturday )

As this pregnancy progressed women continually reassured me that we would be okay, that I could handle this, that it would turn into a blessing...eventually.  These words sustained me through morning-sickness that has continued through to the very end, hip dysplasia problems and (most importantly) my own feelings of inadequacy at my abilities to mother five children.

Right around 20 weeks I felt a bit better.  Like everything would be okay and I could do this.  As the weeks progressed, that hopeful feeling faded and the old fear came back.  Then, we learned of the cross-country move and the fear was replaced by feelings of being so overwhelmed that I felt I was constantly drowning.  I began to just focus on getting the baby here safely first and worry about the rest as it came.

In a lot of ways I feel I am still a bit in denial.  It doesn't seem at all real that we are bringing a baby girl home next week and that we will then be a family of SEVEN.  I feel certain this will be a hard time.  That does not mean it will be void of all happiness.  Life can be very happy while being difficult.

I have always felt that motherhood had a constant thread of life experiences you don't think are possible to do, but you do them because you have to and it all works out.  From the first time you find yourself in hard labor and you get to that point.  That point when you are so exhausted and it hurts so much that you think, "Well, that's it.  I just can't do this. It's over." and you DO do it because you have to and you make it through and you realize you are made of strong stuff.

And then your child is in the hospital or you move across country with a three-week old or you lose a child or you deal with your child having a disability of some sort and you think, "Well, that's it.  I just can't do this. It's over."  But you move forward because there's no other choice. You're the Mom.  You make it through and you realize you are made of stronger stuff than you thought.

This is where we are. I still don't know how I can do this all. I still have no idea how we will make it through the next month.  But we will. Because we have to. And we are made of strong stuff.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

LITTLE UPDATE: Tonight at dinner we had the family weigh-in on their predictions for Baby C's coloring.  For the record our current kids have Red Hair/Blue Eyes, Red Hair/Blue Eyes, Brown Hair/Brown Eyes, Blonde Hair/Blue Eyes.  Here are the predictions...

11

heaven help me...

in his defense, 

when he was finished 

he picked up the end on the pile 

and tried to put it back on the roll.

4

Pre-School Pricing Problems

When we lived in Lancaster our kids went to a fabulous pre-school that cost us $45/month. And then we moved to the Philly Burbs.  The cheapest pre-school I can find here is $150/month for 2, half-days per week.

The problem is...Bianca really NEEDS pre-school. Not educationally, per say, but socially.

She is a social butterfly and this past few months has been brutal for her as she spends every morning at home with a pregnant, sick, Mommy who is also caring for a baby. Almost every day she comes to me, crying, and says "Can I have a play date today?"

This coming fall will be even worse when the red-heads go off to school and I have a 1 year old and an infant. She needs a break from home, I need a break from her and she needs something that is all her own.

So, what can we do? We need to raise $1,305 to pay for the entire school year. I have been racking my brain.

I considered pretty much everything I can think of to drum up money. Today I even had the thought that I could make a poster that says "Funds For Childhood Education" and stand at stop light with a rain boot and collect money. Is that illegal? It technically IS funds for childhood education....right?  For $100 a pop I will call your voice-mail and sing bad karaoke. Anyone? Anyone?

I thought of a yard sale, having an auction, sewing quilts....all of these things require me to stretch myself even more thin that I already am. And I'm tired. Maybe a GoFundMe campaign? But people with real problems use those. My kid doesn't have cancer and we're not starving to death so it's hard to justify.  I checked with local schools and the only programs they have are for children with special needs...speech delays, autism, etc.  Yeah...that's not Bonka.

Ugh.

It's really hard to be a parent and observe a need in your child that you can't fill because of money.  It makes me feel like we live in a country where money = opportunity.

Any thoughts, my wonderful Bloggies?

15

You say "Good Mom", I say "Mom Fail"

I received an email from Evangeline's teacher this week.

I just wanted to let you know that Evangeline was upset this morning, crying. She was saying that she missed you and that school was too long. I asked if you were away and she said no, its just that she just wanted to spend time with you. I asked what I could do to help and she said "you can send me home early". I told her that I could not do that but that I could email you and let you know that she was upset. Please let me know if you there is anything I can do to help her feel better or if you have any questions.

Mrs. Seese

When I talked about it on Facebook everyone commented that it was sweet and shows Eva loves me. Not to be hard on myself, but I think this represents a Mommy Fail. This has never happened with my kids before. I raise them to be independent. This, to me, was a clear signal that I am neglecting time with my kids since I am busy and morning-sick.

Bianca has also been acting out lately; reverting to baby-talk and attempting to hit Matt and myself.  She is NOT this way on days when we have a Play Date.  I think poor Bonka is dying inside at being stuck in the house all day with a sick Mommy and a baby who takes two naps.

I know a lot of these problems will fix themselves when Summer vacation begins.
Just 8 more days.

4

Prelude to a Meltdown

FRIDAY

Friday I got the kids off to school. The day was filled with laundry and errands and other busy things. Ella has Spanish class on Fridays after school, so I got dinner going and then got her picked up at 5:15pm. Dinner time and then reading and the kids off to bed. Then I stayed up until midnight and made sugar cookies for Ella's upcoming Girl Scouts meeting. I had agreed to provide the cookies last month and, of course, I just had to purchase a vintage GSA cookie cutter from Etsy for the occasion.

While the cookies baked I finished up creating my hand-out for a class I was teaching the next morning. I fell into bed around 1am, exhausted.  I hardly slept since my nasty cold kept me up all night, coughing.

SATURDAY

I was up at 7:30am to get showered and ready to go. I managed to throw-up twice before leaving at 8am.  Score!...but not really. I arrived at our church at 8:30am with Bianca and Jude in tow.  I made copies of my handouts.  I then taught a class to the women in my church about using technology to record your personal history. I covered blogs, Facebook, Instagram, and apps for SmartPhones that make recording your life easy. I also went over methods of backing up your information (reliving the great photo loss of 2007). It was great, but by the end I was feeling pretty woozy.

Matt and the redheads were off to a Girl Scout mini-golfing morning. I thought it would be fun as a Daddy/Daughter date.  When I got home I put Jude for a nap, sat Bianca in front of the TV and fell into bed.  An hour later I was up and frosting the GSA cookies. Meanwhile, Matt and I helped Ella assemble her rocket for the night's event.

(Are you starting to sense the impending doom?)

We arrive at Ella's Girl Scouts Dinner and "Bridging Ceremony" at 4:30. I was assuming this would be a quick bite to eat, a small ceremony and we would be outta there.  Not so.  When we arrived the grill wasn't even turned on to make the hamburgers AND they had one, small, circular grill to make meat for the entire troop AND their families.  Oy.  The kids had a great time playing at the park and all got thoroughly filthy (in a good way).

There was dinner, games, a program, the bridging ceremony, more games, and awards.  The Bridging Ceremony was really cool.  Ella took off her old Brownie vest, walked across a bridge and her leader put on her new Juniors vest. She shook hands and everyone clapped.  I am proud of her hard work in Scouts this year.

  

Jude's bedtime is at 7:00 pm and at 8:30 pm I begged Ella's Troop Leader to start the rocket launch.  She did and let Ella go second.  Sadly, the first kid to go had a high motored rocket and it made a loud BOOM when it fired, causing Ella to dissolve into tears and refuse to launch her rocket.  I finally let Evangeline launch Ella's rocket for her while Ella plugged her ears and sobbed.  Good times.

We got home (with a sobbing Jude in tow) and got everyone to bed.  Then I fell into bed at 9 pm.  I slept and slept and slept.

SUNDAY

Meltdown Day.

I awoke Sunday morning in a fog.  I told Matt I could not go to church.  I got up and helped get all of the kids ready to go.  When Matt and the kids left I then fell straight back to sleep....not awaking until they returned home at 4:30 pm.  So, I had slept for almost 20 hours straight.

I finally got up and made dinner. After dinner Evangeline came to me and started complaining about me not filling her MP3 Player up with music.  And that's when I snapped.

That evening I sat down with my husband and sobbed and sobbed, begging him to help more so I can have some quality of life during this busy time. He asked how he could help me to which I replied,

"I don't even have the energy to spell anything out for you. Just make something happen."

And he did.  I went to bed and he went to work, doing dishes, folding laundry, etc.
He's a good one.

I am now trying to slow down and say NO.

5

Rites of Passage: The Last Minute

Last night at 7:48 pm (bedtime is at 8:00 pm) Ella informed us that her large, end-of-year project, presentation on Egypt was the next day.  After much prodding and verbal meandering we found out that she has known about said project for a MONTH. And even had a research outline grid she was supposed to have filled in as she prepared.  Well, of course, no grid, no plan, no time left.  She needed a written report, a poster and flash cards.  I freaked out.  There was much Mommy yelling.  Then, we buckled down.

Luckily, in her misdirected thought process, she had borrowed another child's research grid (who was done with HER project ages ago) and brought it home.  I was able to find the same grid online and print on off for Ella.  BUT, one of Ella's research sources had to be a physical book.  Now, you're thinking "Egypt?...Easy peasy? What did she choose? The pyramids? Mummification? Pharaoh?"  Nope. She chose Ma'at.  Mmmmmm.....yeah, I've never heard of her either.

I really debated letting Ella fry and get an F for this.  But then I reconsidered (more on WHY later) and headed to the library while Matt put the other kids to bed and started the online research with Ella.

Within the hour we had collected six library books, an on-hand blank poster board, and the Silhouette Cameo and had mostly finished up.  The good news is she had actually written some of this report on our computer earlier in the month and saved it.  Because I'm a Nazi-Mommy, I forced her to look up the spelling of every misspelled word in her document.

After she headed to bed (a bit more than an hour late) Matt and I sat at the table, mounting her hand-drawn pictures of a vulture and an Onk symbol onto black card stock, reminiscing about how many times this happened during our school years.  Matt's dad was the typist for his family and my Mom was for ours.  I told Matt about a time I was quietly sitting at our Dining Room table, working on a poster and my Mom walked in and went ca-raze-zee. "I can't believe you! Why does every - single - thing have to be left to the last minute?! Now I have to drop everything and help you for your deadline tomorrow and I have a lot to do! I am SO sick of this!!!" To which I replied, "But Mom, this report isn't due for three weeks."  We laughed and laughed because you can't blame her.  It was the first (and probably only) time I ever started a project on my own sooner than the night before its due date.

I guess, in the end, that driving to the Library after 8pm to scour the shelves for kid's books on Ancient Egyptian Goddesses is just karma for the many, many, MANY times my own mother bailed me out.  And for the many times that Matt's parents did the same for him.  It is a childhood rite of passage and a parental rite of passage that we have just dipped our toe into for the first of many times to come.

Ella headed out to the bus stop this morning with her finished poster tucked in between to pieces of cardboard and wrapped in a plastic bag.  She had screwed up, but we fixed it together. And that, in and of itself, is a lesson I want her to remember.

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It's Potty Time! It's Excellent!

Nothing like a Wayne's World reference to start off your potty blog post.

Something clicked in our little Bianca's mind this past week and suddenly she is rocking the potty.  So, I broke out the old Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood potty chart, but apparently that is SO last month.  I spent the whole freaking morning making this Mickey Mouse Clubhouse potty chart with matching stickers.  It seems like a lot of work, but not if you know how desperately I want this kid of mine to be potty trained.  I'll do pretty much anything.

Also, did you notice the potty-themed Toodle down at the bottom right. Yeah, I totally made that. Not because I had to, but because once I start a project I become rather obsessive.  Here's a close-up.

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Yesterday I was a ROCK STAR

- Got the girls off to school in the morning just as it began to snow. Yes, SNOW.

- Showered and dressed

- Finished designing spy labels for Girls Camp

- Printed 138 labels onto sticker paper and trimmed them by 4's

- Went to the grocery store.

- Went to a Kitchen Store and bought a new garlic press

- Hit the "Christmas Tree Shop" and bought a new container for my washi tape and 4 new tablecloths.

- Stopped at Chik-Fil-A for a large, sugar-free lemonade (okay, that's not so much an accomplishment as a reward. I deserved that lemonade MO-FOs)

- Home to meet the girls at the bus stop.

- Washed, dried and ironed fabric for PTO pillowcase.

- Did a load of laundry

- Answered emails

- Did graphic design work for an Etsy client.

- Sewed pillowcase for Disney-themed auction basket for the PTO Spring Fair.  I used this tutorial for a roll-it-up pillowcase. Seriously cool.  

- Tied pillowcase all up in a pretty package and sent it to school with Eva.

- Made homemade Cheese, Potato and Broccoli soup.

- Took Ella to Activity Days

- Placed 120 labels onto 120 manila envelopes while waiting at the church for Ella (with the help of Kirsten Slaugh...holla!)

- Talked with Ella about school/friend issues on the way home.

- Got Ella to bed and watched New Girl.  Then remembered the time when New Girl was a funny show. Those days are gone now. 

- Caught up on past episodes of The Mindy Project.  Liked that it's STILL a funny show.

- Fell asleep on the couch around 9:30 pm.

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