Happy Mother's Day!

One of my friends recently blogged some of her thoughts on motherhood. I loved what she wrote, so here is a link to her post so you can read it too! I really liked when she mentioned having some days where she feels like crawling under a rock, and having other days where it seems like she's got this figured out. Most days seem to have moments of both for me. She mentioned so many other things that I could relate to. Great post, Tiffani.

I hope you had a great Mother's Day. I enjoyed mine. After church and lunch, Michael brought in presents for me and asked if I was ready to open them. The cake wasn't made yet, the kids were finishing up their lunch, the counters were messy, and there didn't seem to be a single place in our home to take pictures without clutter in the background. I said, "Wait, where's the fanfare?" Michael immediately made a trumpet with his hands and blurted out a long loud regal fanfare for me, followed by his booming voice "Gather one and all for the opening of the Mother's Day presents!" with more fanfare after that. The kids thought it was hilarious. When he finished, they said, "Do it again! Do it again!"

Now that I had my fanfare, we proceeded with opening the presents and cards. I figured, this is life. This is my life. I need to just live in the moments of it and not worry about how clean my house is or whether everything is done in a proper order. Who sets up the order of things, anyway? Cake is not necessary to open presents.

Honestly, to me the best part of the whole day was seeing the cards McKenzie and Thomas had made for me, and reading what they wrote. They were precious. McKenzie thought she was capturing the entire moment on the camcorder, but either the record button didn't get pushed at all until the end, or it got pushed twice in the beginning. So, this is another one just for the books. At least I have the cards, which I sincerely promised to keep forever and plan to scrapbook at this month's craft night.

We tried to get a Mother's Day picture with all the children and me, but Megan was past due for her nap. She refused to smile and soon pitched a fit. The moment was so typical for me that we just laughed. Then I comforted her and took her to her room for a nap. She fell asleep in my arms. That was a sweet Mother's Day moment. It's been quite a while since I've had a child fall asleep in my arms.

Here we are finding the humor as Megan screams "NOOOO!" to being prompted to smile.

And here is Megan being comforted.

What a sweetie.

Note to Future Self

We took the kids to A&W/KFC today for 90cent rootbeer floats, and overpriced overcooked chicken. There was a long line, so the kids and I went to wait at a table. McKenzie and her friend were awesome. They are almost 8 and just turned 8. Thomas was pretty good. He is almost 5. Mason (3.5) and Megan (2) were all over the place. I was able to keep them occupied for a short while, but soon they wanted to run around the restaurant and climb on other tables and chairs, and scream. (Of course I didn't let them run all willy nilly, but it was difficult to keep them in check. I was tied up with Thomas, Mason and Megan while Michael stood in line and ordered the food.) When the food came, Megan poured half of her rootbeer float on herself. She got very upset about it and cried loudly. Mason kept tilting his glass too much, and spooning out his drink, spilling it all over him. Neither one wanted to eat much. Thomas and McKenzie weren't too impressed with the food, either.

So, my note to my future self is this: DO NOT TAKE CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF 5 TO A RESTAURANT WITHOUT A PLAY AREA. And in case I've blocked out my young motherhood when I am older, may I remind myself to have compassion on families with young children. Believe that the parents are doing the best they know how, and offer kind smiles and support where possible. Kids are kids, not little adults.

Planting Seeds

Michael and the kids finally planted seeds for our garden. Yay!

We look forward to homegrown roma tomatoes, grape tomatoes, surprise tomatoes from last year, bell peppers, lettuce, squash, broccoli, peas, zucchini, anaheim peppers, and strawberries.

McKenzie's Recital

McKenzie had her first piano recital on April 19th. I made sure I had the camera and camcorder batteries fully charged, and I put a brand new disc in the camcorder on our way to the recital. Unfortunately, somehow I also turned on the camcorder and recorded the interior of the bag, filling the entire disc. So, I have no video recording of our daughter's very first piano recital. But I do have some pictures!

Here she is playing Cuckoo.

And here is the lovely pianist by her instrument and with some wonderful friends who came to listen and offer moral support.

{It meant so much to McKenzie that her friends came to see her play. Thanks, girls!}

Mystery Solved

I went out to meet Brenda when she brought McKenzie home from school. Mason soon joined us outside. He was covered from head to toe in mystery powder. He didn't want to show me where he made the mess. After the kitchen and his bathroom were ruled out, we went to my bathroom. I had been very tired that day and had taken a break from cleaning to sit on the couch and do some digital scrapbooking. Thomas and Mason had both been quietly occupied downstairs with me. But then Mason had disappeared, and I hadn't given it much thought until I saw him covered in powder. We went to my bathroom and he showed me his mess.

As I thought of what the best way to respond would be, I considered that a) he is 3 years old, not 4 or 7, b)Comet actually feels pretty good under your feet - maybe what sand feels like at really nice beach, c)I was somewhat responsible for the mess, since I left the Comet out (I had intended to clean the bathroom) and the door unlocked, and d)these messes won't last forever -- maybe someday I'll miss them. I attempted to have him help clean up, but it just made things worse, so I sent him to his room until I finished. So Brenda, now you know what the mystery powder was.

Easter 2009

Easter is my favorite holiday because I love celebrating the Atonement and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. I think about it all week long, starting on Palm Sunday, considering what the Savior might have been doing as each day passes until Resurrection morning. I love the blessing and the promise of the Resurrection. It is so comforting to know that I truly will see my mom, my grandpa and grandpa, and my mother-in-law again, and it's exciting to know that I'll finally have a chance to meet so many relatives that I've heard so much about. It is another testament to me of the overwhelming love that our Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ have for every single one of us. It makes my heart swell to think of it.

Our Easter isn't as spiritual as I would like it to be. I try to get the kids to consider Palm Sunday, and the events leading up to the Garden of Gethsemane, the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection, but only McKenzie seems to grasp it a little bit. I can understand. I was a kid once, too.

This year, we started off Saturday morning by participating in a friends' fun run. The Easter Bunny was there handing out candy for the kids. We won some gift certificates in a drawing. As soon as we finished, we went over to the church to help set up for the Easter Egg Hunt. The kids and I went inside and worked on kids crafts while Michael helped disperse candy all over the field. Soon, the kids lined up and were released by age groups onto the grass. Mason was in heaven. Easter Egg Hunting is definitely his sport! Candy-filled eggs, regular candy, pudding cups, fruit snacks, and cans of rootbeer were strewn all over the lawn. All the kids had to do was pick them up. Mason needed no guidance; he filled his basket to capacity. Michael helped Megan, and Thomas and McKenzie knew the routine.

Here is Mason with his favorite thing: candy.

Megan loves this game.

Thomas trying out the candy.

I think the kids made out better than at Halloween!

We have 9am church, so the kids didn't really get to see their baskets until after church. Each of them received a pair of flip-flops and what I consider to be true Easter candy (Cadbury eggs, peeps, chocolate covered marshmallow eggs, robin's eggs). Fortunately for me, they didn't really like the fancy candy. They kept going for the loot they had scored the day before.

Hope you had a Happy Easter, too!

Three Stories about Mason

4/1 Michael was gone at Mutual. It had been a long day and I was ready to punch my timecard. So, instead of sitting by the boys' door to make sure they stayed in bed, I went downstairs to clean the kitchen with the TV on. When Michael came home, he went upstairs to check on the boys and found Mason with two fistfuls of licorice, and Thomas chewing on some licorice, as well (thanks to Mason's thoughtfulness). I had hidden the licorice in our bathroom because of previous break-ins to the container when it was in the pantry, but then I left our bedroom door unlocked and Mason got to them again. So, Mason got in big trouble and was sent to bed on threat of further discipline if he got out.

A little while later, Michael and I were amazed to hear the pitter-patter of little feet coming down the stairs. Sure enough, it was Mason. Michael asked him what he was doing out of bed. Mason said, "Thomas' head hurts. He needs some medicine." Michael said, "Okay, Mason. I'll take care of it. Go back to bed." Mason responded, "Okay. Thanks for talking to me, Daddy. Good night!" and went back to bed! Thomas knew they had reached their limit that night, and didn't want to risk the consequences of getting out of bed even if his head did hurt. Mason knew he would probably get spanked for getting out of bed, but was willing to risk it to help his brother feel better. Michael let him off the hook for his compassion, and Mason stayed in bed the rest of the night!

4/4 Mason and Megan were playing in our square foot garden, which we haven't still planted for this year. They were having a great time pouring dirt on each other's heads. Lovely. I pulled them out and brushed off the dirt. Mason was wearing his newer shirt and jeans. He dropped to the ground and started squirming around. I thought he was doing a worm impersonation. I asked "What are you doing?" He said, "I'm cleaning myself." I pictured the dirt and grass stains being deeply rubbed into the fibers of his clothing. Then he got up and said "Now I'm all clean!" I need to get that sign that reads: BOY: Noise with dirt on it. It's so true!

4/5 Our boys are in to all things Star Wars. We recently bought some lightsabers for Thomas' upcoming birthday party. Mason was standing on the patio outside and started fake-crying. Michael looked over to see what his problem was and saw that he was standing a few feet away from his lightsaber with his hand stretched out to it. He was upset because it wouldn't go to his hand. Michael said, "Mason, you don't have the Force. You have to pick it up." I thought it was funny that he thought he could just will his lightsaber to himself with the Force.