Let Me Smell!

This is a memory Kandice will not let me forget...

Before I was married we were down at the Washington Park (now the Veteran's Memorial Park) and I can't really remember what we were doing. Anyway a couple little boys came out of the bathrooms and we didn't know them but that didn't stop me from talking to them. I asked them if they flushed the toilets and they both said, "yeah." Then I asked if they washed their hands and they both said, "yeah" and then I said, "Let me Smell them" not really planning on smelling two little boys hands that just came out of the bathroom. They turned around and went back into the bathroom grinning because they had lied to some stranger about washing their hands.

That story has come back to me time and again as a mother. My boys are always trying to convince me they've done something when they really haven't and I have to use my nose for my detective work. (you know the usual things....washing their hands, brushing their teeth, washing their hair etc.)

Well, tonight I heard Payton turn the shower off and Porter was in the tub and I hear Porter say, "Payton, did you wash your hair?" and Payton of course said yes. Then Porter said, "Let me smell!" I just had a smile on my face listening to the whole conversation. Of course this is just something I needed to write down for myself and only a few will find it funny. But that's kinda' how all my blogs are.

Must have been the previous blog

So we had a much better night last night. Actually caught sleep at 4 hours at a time instead of 2!! YIPEE! and Porter stayed in his bed until 5am this time. Making improvement--thanks for your advice everyone. I was temped to take Shannon up on her offer but thought I should send my kids to her house instead of me. They love being over there so much.

I just wanted to blog about one sentence today. It was said during the breakfast blessing by none other than my best prayer giver Payton. I'm not sure where this word came from unless he's recalling it from the HeMan DVD's we rented from the library.

He blessed the food and thanked Heavenly Father for the beautiful day. Then he said, "And bless President Monson's.... "(there was a pause here and I wondered what we were getting at) "...Universes..." Universes? Like Masters of the Universe? Don't know but thought it was cute. Shows me he's thinking and trying to make his prayers different every time :)

Bad Habits worth breaking....but how?

Our family has gotten into some bad habits lately and I'm not talking about chewing our fingernails here. That one just belongs to me. I'm talking about our night activity. It should involve deep breathing, drooling and a possible snore now and then but it doesn't seem to be that way right now. Todd's allergies have been so bad this year that he is constantly blowing his nose, coughing or some other respiratory activity that is not quiet enough for me to keep my eyes closed. It wouldn't be a problem but Julia still sleeps in our room and it seems to wake her up too. Even though I know she doesn't need it I end up feeding her just to get her to go back to sleep--it's just easier? Lazy I know but easier.
Well, as if that wasn't enough, down he hall where the boys are sleeping only one knows how to stay in his bed. Porter always wakes up crying for mom or needing the hall light on or his primary music has stopped. Last night I turned his music on at 1am and 4am--not my idea of fun!
I remember reading Angie's blogs about not getting enough sleep and thinking how that could be possible? NOW I KNOW! I just get tired of being tired!
So, this blog is a vent as well as a cry for help. Any of you have suggestions besides me moving to the garage in a sleeping bag--because it might just come to that :)
On a good note though, Payton has been staying in his bed without a problem and he's finally getting to the point that he can stay dry at night...FINALLY! Darn those small bladders!

The Phone Call

We got a phone call this morning from some telemarketing place but I chose not to answer the phone--I thought it was nicer than total rejection for the person on the other end. Well, although I was avoiding the call Payton was not. He knew it must be someone important. Come to find out later, it was WAY more important than I thought. Here's Payton telling about the phone call...

So the moral of the story is....for any of you who might be avoiding telemarketers like me, DON'T! It could be the prophet (or it could be the profit for the person on the other line).

In other News:

Julia is now 4 months old! She is sooo much fun! I love dancing and singing in the kitchen with her little smiley self! She can't do any "tricks" yet but she likes to rock back and forth while she's laying on ther back. Her roll coach, Aunt Tiff, is helping her and has been successful (twice) with having her roll from her tummy to her back. I'm not in any hurry to get her rolling because I know what eventually becomes of those babies who like to move. I've decided I'm not going to let Julia grow up because I just like her the way she is (We teach our kids to use their imagination so why not set an example. I can imagine having Julia stay little forever if I want to :)

Some of Julia's favorites: Loves to have her clothes off. Loves to have baths or showers. Likes the squeeker on one of her squeeky toys. Loves her Aunt Tiff (at least she always smiles at her). Likes to play peek-a-boo with mom while I'm cooking dinner.

Happy B-day Cheri

Today is my sister Cheri's Birthday. Here's some things that I love about Cheri...

--I remember when I was young she did my hair in ringlets...all of my hair. It took a long time and a lot of hairspray but I loved it. I wanted her to do it again the next day even though she tried to talk me out of it because I had a dentist appointment later that day. Who knows, maybe it was because of that hair do so long ago that made Dr. H think about hiring me and keeping me all these years...(logically it was the hair do because it wasn't due to Trudi or Tiffani working for him before)

--After Cheri got married and moved to Vegas I loved going to her house. One time she even let me bring Brenda (my best friend) with me and we bought Funions (remember those?) and Whatchamacallit's. I loved the children's clothing store she worked at too. I always thought it would be soooo cool to choose from all those dresses to dress my little girl in someday.

--Cheri is a very light packer....That was sarcastic. Everytime they would come to Utah Shane, her hubby, would carry bag after bag into the house. I gotta admit that she was always prepared and very organized but it must take her a long time to get the bathroom sink into those bags.

--Cheri is an AWESOME pianist. She can play anything & everything. I'm sad that I'm not as good as she is because we could have some awesome duets.

--Cheri is so fun to play sports with. She can laugh at herself & it makes it fun for everyone...especially us sister's on girl's weekend :)

--Cheri is a great mom. Who else would pack a 20 lb. boy around the house day after day even if it causes her back problems.

Cheri we love you (not just for your swimming pool) and hope you had a great 29th b-day!!

Oh, Cheri! I thought you'd like to know I met a checker at WalMart the other day who's name was also Cheri and she spelled it the same way...and she said people are always calling her Sherry...sound familiar?

Story Problem

Remember those story problems in school that the teacher swore we would use later in life in "real life situations?" Well, here's one they should teach every girl in school who plans on becoming a mother someday...

There is one mother taking care of six children under the age of five on a rainy Monday. After 7 blankets are unfolded, two pillows are left in a room with no bed, 20 cars are put back into their place for the third time, 24 crayons are left on the table after a coloring session, 10 crayons are taken away from the table and had the paper peeled off them, the garage doors have been opened and closed 5 times, three movies have played, three toilets have been unflushed, one doctor kit has been scattered around the house, one load of clean laundry has been thrown on the tile floor, four boys have wrestled, one game of froggy in the middle played, a 50 piece set of play-doh left out, one recipe box dumped out (so much for being organized), and a two minute argument with a four year old over whether the toilet was really flushed earlier.... (I almost forgot the question)....how long does it take the mother to get her house back in order and her sanity back??

I think you mothers out there already know the right answer. Mother's in training may have a longer time answering that one!
Just in case you're wondering what my answer was, it just took one dad taking three kids home, one boy and one baby to go to sleep, two boys pitching in to clean up and a chance for this mother to blog about it for things to improve :)

Manic Monday Upgrade

Growing up with four other sisters was soooo fun! We all shared the same bathroom in the mornings when we were trying to get ready for school and we were the best at making up dances in the front room. You would think with five girls in the family one of us would have ended up being a dancer....but....NOPE! The closest anyone got was Cheri doing cheer in High School. I don't know if my older sisters thought it was fun or not but every once in a while (if my memory is right it was usually on Sundays) we would find one of our favorite songs and make up a dance to it--choreography and all. "Manic Monday" was one of the most memorable although to this day I don't remember the moves as much as I remember how cool I felt to be doing a dance with all my sisters in the front room TOGETHER!
It's good to know that time can't change us. Tonight we were together because Tiff's oldest boy was baptised and tonight we made up the greatest dance possible while we wrestled with babies and kids. We each got 8 counts worth of music to make up the dance and add to it. That's where the real fun is....making up the dance. We missed our oldest sister, Trudi, being there but added a few extras (three of my nieces) for more of the fun. You should have seen our kick line! We are just sooo amazing and I still don't know how our husbands got so fortunate to have the beautiful and talented dancing wives they have.
Thanks girls for a fun evening and a quick flashback in time. (that makes me think about the movie flashdance--we should rent that and get some moves from it! I'm sure we can still move our feet that fast!!)