The end

It is with great sadness that I announce the end of 2TRDMOMS blog. It's been a good run and I've so enjoyed blogging with Annie and reading all your comments. See, Annie and I got in this huge fight over the background color on 2TRDMOMS and we just decided we can't work together anymore because of our artistic differences. Okay, that's totally a joke. If you'll notice our blog background has been white for a long long time and both of us have more important things to worry about. You can catch me on my new blog at:

http://erardfam.blogspot.com/

Please join me there, change you blogroll links for me, and you can catch Annie on Facebook.

Milestones

Emma has hit some big milestones this year that I keep meaning to write about. She is so excited about them. She has learned to blow a bubble with bubble gum, tie her own shoes (I'll admit this is the first year I've bought her shoes with laces, that's called lazy parenting), whistle, and is almost riding a bike. Most of the time she is challenged at doing them by her little brothers so I know she could have done many of them earlier since they are doing them but that's what she gets for being the oldest :). She'll be riding a bike at six and Ben will be riding one at 3 I can guarantee it. Anyway, it is so fun to see kids hit milestones and celebrate along with them as they feel so accomplished.

I had a fabulous weekend in San Fransisco with a old high school girlfriend. We hung around the city all day shopping and reminiscing (SF used to be my old stomping grounds in high school, it was the nearest big city to me and we used to go there all the time) and then we finished up the night with a night at the theatre and saw Wicked which was a fabulous play. I couldn't even believe the nice break it was to be away from the kids for a couple of days. I love my job of being a full time mom but whew is it tiring :). Just sitting on the airplane for an hour by myself was a luxury. I had so much time to sit and think and relax. Every time I have a night away I remember that I need to do it more often but don't seem to get around to it.

I have summer on my mind and can't get it off. I feel like it's Christmas Eve. Yesterday Emma's teacher sent out and email saying there was no more homework for the rest of the year. Emma started dancing a jig and yip-eeing all over the living room and I felt like jumping up and joining her. With all of our summer plans I can already tell that it's going to fly by though and I'll be sitting her next year at this same time before I know it looking forward to summer again. Awww, the circle of life.

Looks like another Friday...

This was our only Easter picture this year!

I got the garden started. So far we have tomatoes, beans, sunflowers and lots of strawberries. I still have a long way to go but I'm so excited for my summer harvest again. It was so wonderful eating fresh veggies last summer.

Last night was bliss...I took dinner over to a friend and on the way home around 6:00 both boys fell asleep in the car. Jacob woke up when we got home and then fell asleep on the couch so I put him in bed. Ben I had put in bed and then he got up and came and laid on me on the couch and we both fell asleep. Poor Emma was stuck watching T.V. all night (I'm sure she was just heartbroken) until dad got home at 9:00. He put Ben back into his bed, covered me on the couch and I slept the rest of the night! Of course Dave got up at 5:00 to go to work so it was an early morning but I got a really good nights sleep!

Ben decided my bedroom carpet needed watering this week so he stood at my sliding glass door with the hose on and the door open. I'm not sure how long he was there before I found him but my floor was sopping wet! I'm sure my entire neighborhood heard me scream "NOOOOOOO" when I caught him doing it. Luckily I had my MIL carpet clean and I spent a good hour sucking up water! That kid is going to be the death of me. Once day I'll walk in and have a heart attack when I see what he's doing I'm sure of it.

Painting birdhouses for grandma for Mother's day.

Jacob had a mother's day tea at his school this week. His class reenacted the story of Moses and then fed us lemonade with muffins. I can't believe he'll be in kindergarten next year! He's so ready for it though. He's already starting to read a little bit and our summer goal is for him to be reading by the time he starts kindergarten. Anybody know a good website for teaching? I'm looking for the site words so I can make flash cards.

Jacob and mom at Mother's Day Tea

Tball season is coming to a close on Saturday. Jacob loved every moment of it. I foresee many future Saturdays of mine sitting in a folding chair on the sidelines.

There is a little bird at the top of my chimney right now chirping and it's so melodic it doesn't even sound real. I wish you all could hear it. They sit on my chimney and chirp and you can hear it in my living room. What a great way to start the weekend. Although it seems our weekends are so packed lately they don't feel much like weekends. Summer is just around the corner! We had a water balloon fight yesterday and then swam in the pool and next week we are starting up with swim lessons again. Can't wait!

Friday

Yeah! It's Friday. After a week like this one I need to celebrate something so I'm celebrating Friday. We are all feeling the end of school year blues around here. The weather is warming up, the pool is beckoning, and we are ready to be done. Only another month and a half that will hopefully fly by. The summer plans are pretty much set and I'm getting excited at the thoughts of lazy summer days.

On a different note, I have a heavy heart this week as a good friend of mine just discovered she has colon cancer that has spread to her liver and ovaries. She is just 35 and has two small children at home and the news was absolutely devastating. She's in the hospital now and we'll find out soon what the prognosis is but it's not looking too good at the moment. Please keep her family in your prayers her name is Vann. I'm praying daily, no hourly, for my lovely friend. She is one of the finest, just a sweet, sweet lady and deserves a miracle in her life. Learning news like this really puts into perspective the little things in life. I've snuggled a little more with my children this week, been a little nicer, and tried to slow down a bit and remember the purpose of my life and what's important.

Trying to keep track

Today at church Ben took off his socks and shoes. I was trying to convince him to put his socks back and because we needed to wear them at church. He said "mom, God didn't make socks". What do I say to that?

Yesterday Emma asked me if she could have "a buck" for garage sailing.

Jacob asks me every night "mom, do you like how I behaved today?" He really is such a good kid and so eager to please.

Every day my kids say things I want to have recorded forever but it seems the next day they have fleeted from my already overwhelmed brain. I never want to forget the feel of smushy toddler cheeks and giant squeezey hugs. The triumph of NO MORE DIAPERS....YEAH. All three fully potty trained now and it feels like such a milestone. I think I've been changing diapers for 7 years now. I know many have gone a lot more years than that but boy it seems like forever. Jacob's determined face when he runs the bases in Tball. He takes his sports very seriously. He told me this week he wants to be a hockey player when he grows up. Yikes.

I don't keep a daily journal as I ought. I always think I'll do it on her to record every precious moment of motherhood but tired eyes always seem to trump recording the days events. I love the daily failures and successes of motherhood. It's just hard to try and keep track of it all sometimes. Hopefully its stored somewhere of that brain of mine and I'll always be able to remember.

Back from Vacation

We spent Spring Break in Sacramento visiting family. My baby sister is getting married - MARRIED- in August. He's a great guy so it's okay but my baby sister is not supposed to be old enough to get married because that makes me really old!

Today has not been a good day. I woke up this morning to flooded carpet from my bathroom shower broken pipe. And my cat of 11 years is gone :( Winston come home. Plus I was tired from driving all day yesterday home from Sacramento. And I had to leave my family there :( And my now potty trained 3 year old has peed twice on the carpet. And my feet are cold but my warm boots got all wet as I was ripping up wet carpet. Which I had to cut and rip up all by myself because my husband is at work. Which I'm really grateful that he has a job but not when I have to rip up the wet carpet by myself. Especially since it was his shower that flooded the floor. Boo hoo. Pity party for me.

But life is good. I'm glad to be home. Only 2 months left until summer. And no more diapers! Yeah!

Hello Again

Can any 80's music lovers tell me who wrote the title of that song? I'll give you a hint - Pennylover.
So much has gone on since I last wrote! I've been bad. It's hard not having a comrade inspiring me to write but alas I think I'm giving up on Annie (sorry, I still love you). Are you coming back old friend or do I need to change the title of the blog to 1 Trdmom?

Yesterday was General Conference for our church which is when our church leaders address us with inspiring and uplifting messages and counsel that always help me re-evaluate my path and things I can do to be better. USAToday had an article about it here which I was pleasantly surprised to see on my yahoo homepage this morning. One of the topics that seemed to be revisited several times was the importance of motherhood and parenting which really touched me and made me more resolute to do a better job at my job - being a mom. It scares me to think of the world as it is out there for my children as they get older. I sometimes think we should just hunker down in the house - I'll homeschool them, and I can keep them away from all the bad influences that exist. But then I realize that by doing that I wouldn't be teaching them anything, instead I need to arm them with the tools they will need to withstand the temptations they will encounter and teach them to be strong, independent thinkers with loving and accepting hearts. That's so hard. Teaching children to hate the sin but love the sinner. Our greatest example of that is of course our Savior Jesus Christ so I hold fast to his example and try to teach them about Him and the things He did for us. But often I find it difficult to explain to them how there are bad things that go on in the world but we love everyone no matter what they do. How do you teach them to Love all but to watch out for strangers who want to sneak you in their car at the same time. Anyway, I was reminded yesterday of how important my job really is and that there really isn't time to waste when raising young kids.

Ben is still wheezing. He got lots of allergy tests done but they all came up negative. I have some pictures of his tests I'll have to post when I get home. Right now we are up in Sacramento spending Spring Break with family! So fun to be here and see everyone.

Jacob is having a blast playing Tball and is so cute! Again, I'll have to post pictures when I get home. And Emma is almost always found with a book in her hand. I have to take away her books at night or she'll stay up all night reading.

I'm going to be better about blogging. I listened to a message yesterday about keeping a journal of our children's life and felt a little guilt because I've been so bad at writing down the things my kids do and say each day. Honestly with the technology we have today I have no excuse. So you can hold me to it - I'll be on here more.


postedit: I have no problem with homeschooling and would actually love to do it if I had the organizational skills and patience to do it and I admire those out there that do. My reference was more to the effect that I would love to lock my doors to the world and protect my kids from everything but know that I can't do that.

Happenings

This is an old post I just found that was never published. Luckily everyone is healthy right now :) but wanted to get this on my blog so I don't forget

Ben has a cough - a bad cough - a very naughty cough that has woken me up at 3:18, 3:38, and 2:45 am respectively for the past three nights. And the cough doesn't let me or him go back to sleep. We end up laying down together with him coughing in my face until the sun comes up. Saturday night Dave took him to the ER because it was the first night the cough lasted 2 hours and I was very concerned. The next two nights we knew all we could do is ride it out with steamy bathrooms and humidifiers. I feel so bad for the poor little guy and right now I"m feeling pretty sad for myself as well. I'm not a good mama when I don't get much sleep. I'm either very grumpy and wake up shouting or I'm very relenting and let kids do whatever they want. It's either "Yes you can have Hershey kisses for breakfast - whatever - just shut my bedroom door on your way out" or "GET DRESSED FOR SCHOOL RIGHT NOW OR YOU'LL BE GROUNDED FOR A WEEK!". It's not pretty. I'm headed to the pharmacy to add Benedryl to the list of medications he's taking right now. I'm hoping it will win me an afternoon nap. We need a small miracle at our house today.

Emma bought a Pay Per View Movie this morning. That's what kids can figure out when left to their own devices I guess. I didn't even think you could do that on our T.V. so I guess I'm going to need to do a little research on how the parental controls work. Luckily it was Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and not one of those other titles like Babes Gone Wild or something.

Yesterday Jacob told me he can look forward with his eyes while pointing his feet out to the side. "I'm very talented to be able to do this" he said. "I have two talents - I can also run very fast".
He's such a funny kid.

Dreams

Every morning when my kids crawl under my covers at the wee hours of the morning I say the same thing. "morning ______(insert child's name)" "what did you dream about last night?" Sometimes it's good dreams and sometimes bad dreams. They never want to retell the bad dreams. If you have never done this with your child I highly recommend it. It is amusing, endearing, and a great morning conversation starter. I'm hoping that one day it will be such a habit the kids will just come in and tell me what they dreamt about without even asking! I love the answers I get every morning.

Emma is especially creative in her dreams. (or at least her retelling of them) Last night she had a dream that a huge tidal wave was coming and God told us to run behind a big dirt mountain. Then he said we could eat the dirt mountain so we all started eating it and it turned out to be chocolate chip cookie dough! She said it was an awesome dream. I didn't know she knew what a tidal wave was?

Jacob's answer used to always be the same:
Mom: what did you dream about Jacob
Jacob: Disneyland and Legoland
Then, if he is at all talkative, (which he very often is not) I could get him to tell me about some of the rides he went on at Disneyland or Legoland.

This morning however, he had a different answer. "Did you have nice dreams last night Jacob?" I asked. "nope" he said, "there was nothing in my brain last night". Ha,ha...I laughed at that one. He has a great knowledge of body parts and uses it often. Like last week he told me our stomach reaches all the way up to our brains. When I questioned him about it he said he just meant in dogs, not in humans.

Ben has never really answered my question before but this morning he told me he dreamt about taking pictures of roses. At least that's what I interpreted him to be saying... We KNOW what he dreams about though because he quite often wakes us up in the middle of the night to tell us about it. Like a few weeks ago when we heard the front door open and Ben running out of the house screaming...at 3:00am. Dave ran after him and brought him into our room because he was convinced I was leaving and had run out to my car to stop me. It took us awhile to convince him I was in bed and he needed to be in his! Or last week when he came in our room screaming that Emma had come in and hit him (again at 3:00am and Emma was sound asleep). We tried and tried to convince him Emma was asleep and he would have nothing of it so I finally told him she was on timeout for hitting and that seemed to appease him. He finally went back to bed.

So last night I had a pretty weird dream. I had a dream that an old friend posted a high school video of us doing some funky dancing to Ice Ice Baby. (who doesn't love Vanilla Ice?) I looked like a total dork with 80's bangs (much like I looked in high school) and my dance looked something like the Elaine dance from Seinfield. The only thought in my head (my dream head that is) was "wow, look at my skin, I have no wrinkles, ohhh I wish I had skin like that again". Do you think I have some angst about aging? I never really worry about it but I think my subconscious must be!

So what do you dream about?

Friends Where are you?

I know you are there - see what my blog says - you visit but you don't comment! Who are you? Where are you? London, Virginia, California, Utah....I know you are out there. Feed my curiosity and leave me a comment - just one time - so I know I'm not alone. Los Angeles, CA, United States	Sat, 23 Jan 2010 11:51:04 -0600
Alexandria, VA, United States	Sat, 23 Jan 2010 11:29:13 -0600
Burke, VA, United States	Sat, 23 Jan 2010 08:25:43 -0600
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Saint Neots, United Kingdom	Sat, 23 Jan 2010 04:05:13 -0600
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Chicago, IL, United States	Fri, 22 Jan 2010 16:29:42 -0600
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Jefferson City, TN, United States	Fri, 22 Jan 2010 12:09:45 -0600
Provo, UT, United States	Fri, 22 Jan 2010 12:09:28 -0600

Reflections

I'm dropping Ben off at a friends house today for a bit while I go to a dr's appt. I was mentally thinking of what I needed to drop of with him and the thought came to mind (sorry this is gross but it's real life friends) "well, he won't need any diapers since he pooped 10 times yesterday so at least she shouldn't have to change any poopy diapers". He's one of those that poops 10 times in one day and then doesn't go for a few days. Aaaannnyway....I was chuckling to myself thinking how when Emma was a toddler and I dropped her off somewhere to be watched for awhile I'd pack a whole diaper bag full of stuff - 10 diapers, wipes, extra pair of clothes, snacks, medical card etc. etc. Now kid number three I practically throw out the van door as I drive by the sitters house. No wonder birth order makes such a difference in behavior (or so they say).

We've been having awesome storms here this week. Lots of heavy rain, a little thunder (not enough for my liking but at least a little) wind. Some people had flooding, mudslides etc. Today however the sun peeked out from behind the clouds for a bit and it was brilliantly sunny out. As I drove up to my house there was a huge beautiful rainbow across the sky that took my breath away for a moment. Now if that isn't the most symbolic thing - a beautiful rainbow after the storm. God is so marvelous. It just reminded me of how things always come out better after we weather life's storms.

Back when Emma was a baby and before we had to live on a school schedule I used to drive up to Sacramento to visit family more. My little sister and I used to play super Mario Bros 3 on her Nintendo for hours! We were addicted, we wanted to conquer the game...and we did. My mom has pictures of me breastfeeding Emma with a Nintendo controller in my hands. I got pretty good at it. Well if you have a WII you might know they just came out with Super Mario Bros 3 for the WII and my video game addiction has reared it's ugly head. My little sister was here after the New Year and she, Dave, and I spent a good many hours on it until we conquered the game! It was fun.

I'm afraid to say however I've passed my love of Super Mario on to my middle child. Jacob is completely addicted. I usually only let them play WII on Saturdays but with the rainy weather I've been a little more lenient. Especially after he was sitting on the couch every morning reading the instruction book that came with the game for like two weeks. One morning he said to me "mom, do you know why I like reading this book...it makes me feel like I'm actually playing the game". The reason I usually only let them play Saturday's is because there is so much wailing and gnashing of teeth when I tell them it's time to turn off the game and I don't feel like dealing with it every day. Jacob especially has a meltdown when it's time to turn it off. He told me a couple of days ago though it's not his fault. His body just cries when the game goes off and he can't control it. It's not him doing it - it's his body. Last night he again cried as I turned off the game and after I told him to go to his room until he was done he said "mom, it's my body, it's doing it again. It's just crying and I can't control it". It's so hard not to laugh.

A few of my Favorites

Two of my favorite quotes that I read recently.

"Think about your particular assignment at this time in your life. It may be to get an education, it may be to rear children, it may be to be a grandparent, it may be to care for and relieve the suffering of someone you love, it may be to do a job in the most excellent way possible, it may be to support someone who has a difficult assignment of their own. Our assignments are varied and they change from time to time. Don't take them lightly. Give them your full heart and energy. Do them with enthusiasm. Do whatever you have to do this week with your whole heart and soul. To do less than this will leave you with an empty feeling." Marjorie Hinckley


"People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway. If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway. If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway. What you spend years creating and building, others could destroy overnight. Create and build anyway. If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway. The good you do today, will often be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway. Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough. Give the world the best you have anyway. You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway." Mother Teresa

Aren't those inspiring. I know they make me want to do better.

Yesterday Emma's homework was to make a list of her favorite things and then ask a parent about theirs. Then she had to write a paragraph about it. Her is her list word for word. I'll translate for you after -see how many you can guess:

Choclit
wayles
cupcakes
cakes
birthdays
love
kindnes
freenis
doll's
macup
nachr
happynis
singing
writing
math
speling
scool
crch

Did you get them all?

Here is the translation:
Chocolate
whales
cupcakes
cakes
birthdays
love
kindness
freenis (she said it meant being free to do what you want, I tried to explain it is freedom but she insisted it is freenis (freeness) like kindness)
dolls
makeup
nature
happiness
singing
writing
math
spelling
school ( I have to hang on to this list so I can remind her every time she tells me she hates school)
church

My favorites were: Emma, Jacob, Benji, Daddy, chocolate, church, watching movies, and shopping.

My kids have me in Stitches

If there is one thing motherhood does is bring out all of your emotions - pretty much on a daily basis. The last couple of days I've been getting a lot of laughter from the things my kids have been saying. It's hard to relay how funny the conversations are when you can't see the expressions on their faces or be in the moment but I'll attempt to do my best.

Last night the kids and I were watching American Idol together. They were super into it and loved seeing people sing. Every time someone got through to Hollywood they would cheer and jump up and down right along with the contestant. When Simon Cowell rolled his eyes and one of the other judges made a big deal about it, they tried to roll their eyes too - I wish I had it captured on video. Emma rolls her eyes side to side somewhat like and owl and Jacob just raises his eyebrows up and down. I'm sure in another couple of years they will have the eye rolling down to a tee so I'm in no hurry for that one. Anyway, towards then end of the show this long haired rocker type dude came on who could barely mumble out his words when he spoke so you know his singing was going to be bad. The judges asked him what he was going to sing. He said "Every Time We Touch" by Ascada. I guess Jacob didn't hear what he said because he asked "what did he say he was going to sing?" and Emma belts out in dead seriousness "Everytime I Get Touched by a Mosquito!" "ohhhh" Jacob replied. Oh my, I lost it then. I was already giggling with the eye rolling competition but that sent me over the edge laughing. The kids looked at me strangely and couldn't figure out what I was laughing about. I didn't have the heart to tell them he wasn't singing about mosquitoes.

Yesterday Jacob was playing this High School Musical dance mat game we have and he pointed to the blond girl and asked "what's her name again?" I couldn't remember her name either and then he said "I think it's Sharptooth". Then I remember her name was Charpe. I think he's watched one too many dinosaur movies.

This morning Ben didn't like the shirt I put on him. I found him going through his shirt drawer looking for another one. I said "can I help you find a new shirt?" He agreed. The conversation went something like this:

Mom: this one?
Ben: Actually, no that one is Jacob's
Mom: Oh, okay, how about this one?
Ben: No, that one doesn't have a picture on it
Mom: This one?
Ben: No, that one has a pocket on it.
Mom: Okay...How about this one?
Ben: No, that on belongs to peoples
Mom: Well Ben, what shirt do you want to wear?
Ben looks thoughtfully through the discarded pile of shirts "how about this one?" as he pulls out the one with the pocket.
Mom: okay, and I start pulling it over his head only to be met with fierce resistance
Ben : No! that one has a pocket!
Finally we settle on one with trucks on it that he originally claimed to be Jacobs. I have to say I was quite impressed with his vocabulary after the conversation but even more impressed by his sense of style. Dump trucks way outshine a silly pocket.