The Perfect Storm

Between the hours of four and five-thirty each evening, something strange happens in our house. Yours too? It's the time when the baby suddenly gets fussy and needs to be held. She must know that a higher elevation is the safest place for her to be for what is about to unfold. At the same time I'm holding the baby in one arm (or have her strapped to my belly in a front-pack), I'm preparing dinner. I'm chopping onions with sharp knives, frying foods in hot grease and boiling pots of steaming pasta! It's dangerous work. As if this wasn't enough, my older kids seem to find it the perfect time to gang up on their mother and declare war. Last night was the perfect example. Events beyond my control all seemed to converge and descend upon us all at once. The perfect storm:

Last night we had a delicious dinner of wild rice, marinated salmon, green peas and the sauce of red delicious apples. :) I try to have dinner ready by 5:00. 5:30 at the latest, because my kids start to gnaw on the table legs and declare that they "will just have to hold their tummy" if they don't get food immediately. Last night I wasn't fast enough, and they stole a box of fruit snacks from the cupboard and ate the entire box between themselves in Yaks' room. What in the world? Have they forgotten every rule, every consequence, and taken leave of every ounce of their senses!? Does hunger do this to children, or is it simply at the between the hours of four and five-thirty?

While I'm preparing dinner, I'm also surveying the main floor of our house, while watching the clock. I'm like something straight out of an Iron Chef competition. Josh likes a clean house. It's important to him. It's important to me too, but it's difficult to do, especially when there is only one of me, and three of them. Each day I try to plan it just right so that things are at least picked up on the main floor, so that when he comes in the door it doesn't look like a bomb just went off in this place. Last night after I got the kitchen looking presentable and the table set, I went around the corner to find every jigsaw puzzle in our cupboard...dumped...mixed...on the floor...the main floor. Yaks was the culprit. I came unglued and left Boo to tend to the baby, while I barked directions and helped with the sorting because picking up all the pieces by himself made him "too tired". Tell me about it, kiddo. The baby screamed for the full 25 minutes that it took me to "help" Yaks clean up the floor. I could feel my blood pressure soaring!

Although Yaks doesn't seem to have much skill in the sorting department, he's a pro at knot-tying! I can't wait until he's in Scouts. He'll ace those knot-tying requirements for sure!

At least once a day, I get to untie one of these beauties. Usually around 5:15pm or so.

I'm not sure why the soldier had to be tied up with that branch. Perhaps he was making a grappeling hook like Bear Grylls does! One night as I was tucking Yaks into bed he said, "Look, Mom" and he showed me this zipline he had made by using his knots and the string of his blinds that were tied to the tower of his toy castle. Then he took on of his soldiers and I watched as this plastic soldier hitched a ride from the top, down to the bottom in two seconds. It was really something....to undo!

As I was madly trying to pick up the house, untie the knots, calm the baby, keep dinner from burning, and most importantly, keep my cool, I noticed this cigarette-looking object on the floor next to the contents of our kitchen first-aid kit. It was something rolled up.

I unrolled it and found this message.

So true. So true.

I'm happy to report that after Dad arrived home and dinner was eaten ("This fish is cooked perfectly!"), the dishes were done (thanks, Josh!), the kids were happily in bed, and Josh was off to a meeting, I crawled into bed with the remainder of the freezer-burned ice cream and ate every...last...bite.

Another storm weathered, and all was right with the world.

At-Home Primary

Josh got sustained today as the new Young Men's President. I know he'll do a great job. He loves to work with the boys, and they love him. Our kids both have coughs and colds, so I'm home with everyone today. I can't stand it when we go to church on Sunday and then the kids "magically" come down with some sickness on Tuesday and are out for a good week. I decided to do my part in not infecting the entire primary with our germs. You're welcome!

We had "At-Home Primary" today. Here was our little outline :

Opening Prayer: Yaks (he blessed the food, eventhough there wasn't any)
Opening Song: Nephi's Courage (with actions - don't get too close to us when the chorus is being sung, they'll accidentally put your eye out! "I will GO, I will DOOO!")
Article of Faith: Boo (#1) Boo was supposed to recite this in Primary today, so this was a nice way to let her do her part.
Scripture: Yaks (1 Nephi 3:8)
Lesson: Mom - The Wise Man, and the Foolish Man
We started with a coloring page, which the kids enjoyed a lot, especially since I discovered our misplaced ziplock bag of markers! Oh, happy day!



We watched a little Powerpoint presentation that some creative person put together to teach the song.

Then we cut out our little figures and retold the story/song.

Boo's Foolish man was also foolish in dressing in head-toe pink!
Note how the wise man is proudly modeling his coat of many colors.

Speaking of dress codes, we obviously didn't have much of one with our at-home Primary.
Yaks is shirtless, as usual.

We had a little object lesson by flooding this "house" with rocks and sand (sugar).

The kids were very impressed with the "science" demonstration.
Yaks did make a valid point that the "sand house sure tastes good!"

The kids loved it! It's definitely not the ideal, but it is possible to worship on Sunday (with kids), even though we're not physically at church. Here's hoping for a healthy week!

Everybody Sleeps

Everybody sleeps
Everybody sleeps
Every night we close our eyes
Until the morning creeps
Mountaineers on mountain tops
And divers in the deeps
They like to sleep
How do we know it's so
'Cause everybody, everybody sleeps

There are people who sleep lightly
There are people who sleep sound
There are folks who tuck themselves in bed
And some sleep on the ground
There are people who sleep nightly
There are people who sleep days
But it really doesn't matter
Don't you know, it's so
'Cause you can sleep in oh so many ways

'Cause everybody, everybody sleeps
Everybody sleeps

Remember this wonderful song on Sesame Street? I remember it as a kid, and watching all of the different people sleeping. (sigh)

We've been having some sleeping issues at our house for several months (since her first cold). Diddles can't quite seem to get the hang of staying asleep at night. Her schedule goes something like this: 12:00am, 2:30am, 4:00am, 5:15am, 6:30am. She's five months...c'mon now. She gags on a binkie, she refuses a bottle, and gags on the top as well, we're slowly working on giving her solids to hold her over a little longer. I don't know. Every child is different, this I DO KNOW. The easiest way to put her back to bed when she awakes wailing in the night is to nurse her back to sleep, and just keep her with me in bed. That's a WHOLE LOTTA nursing, people. But, I worry about letting her cry in the night for fear of waking the entire house (I'm already wide awake) and feel badly sending Josh to work with little sleep. The other struggle we have is not only does she cry, but she busts out of her swaddle (my only baby who hates sleeping on her tummy) and then proceeds to claw at her head and face with her fingernails, and no matter how much I trim them, she still ends up with little scratches all over.

Who me?
Hey guys! Party in my crib tonight!
Don't I look underfed?

Well, you can imagine what I feel and look like in the morning when at 7am, twokids are ready for their hot breakfast after a full night's sleep, and itching to play and have fun...all...day. With an average of four hours of sleep a night, I'm exhausted and cranky, running on empty (literally), and a nap is a very fuzzy, very distant memory. Dear naps, I miss you. Love, Amy

Josh took pity on me, and came up with a plan to be in charge of putting her back to sleep when she cries out at night. He's good at "tough love". He also has a special gift of being able to fall back to sleep seconds after his head hits the pillow (lucky lad). So, he sleeps in the "crash bed" in her room, which is also a firmer mattress for his bad back. I sleep in our bedroom and come get her when I feel like she's genuinely hungry. Dear Josh, I miss you. Someday we will sleep together again. Love, Amy. Boo sleeps in her bed, unless she had a "bad dream" and then she drags her bedding into the hallway. Yaks....well...he's a whole other story.

With this new arrangement, we've needed to break Yaks of a bad habit that creeps in and out since we broke him of his binkie habit - that of sneaking into bed with Josh in the middle of the night. One night I realized that Boo was the ONLY one who was actually in HER own bed, where she belongs! What is the matter with us? So, I instituted a little sticker chart for both kids (to make it fair and even) that each night they stay in their beds "all the night", they get a sticker. Once they make it to the lilypad, they get a trip to the dollar store for a prize. It's worked great, up until last night.

Josh informed me that Yaks crawled into bed with him in the early morning, and Josh said, "Yaks, you won't get a sticker on your chart if you sleep in my bed." Yaks paused, and sat very quietly for a good minute and then said, "Dad, you can just split your chart wiff me! So, you can have duh sticker tuday." Isn't that hilarious? I had a good laugh, just imagining his little brain coming up with that "compromise" so he would still get a sticker on his chart, but that it would be Dad's sticker. Little stinker.

Here's hoping for a good night's sleep for all of us. Someday. :)

What It Takes

Several weeks ago we were up late with Diddles, who had another cold. Josh turned on this Discovery Channel show called Two Weeks in H*##. It documents the selection process of the elite Army special forces unit - the Green Beret. I watched these poor men and boys withstanding physical, mental and emotional tests with each challenge and mission. As the narrator explained "what it takes," I got thinking about motherhood and WHAT IT TAKES.

Not to in any way demean the Green Berets and the work that they do (or any member of the armed forces), but I found myself almost empathizing with them! I could see similar requirements in things that I do day to day. Some days I am in awe of the things I'm somehow able to physically and emotionally accomplish day after day. It's hard work being a mom sometimes! I got thinking about what the motherhood try-out would look like, and this is what I came up with.

On no more than four hours of sleep each night for at least three weeks, complete the following. You may wish for this to end after two weeks, but don't worry.
It won't!

_________________________________________________

Plan an entire weeks-worth of meals for a family of four that picky children will eat and only spend $100. Your grocery list will be taken from you upon entry to the store, forcing you to shop from memory.

Drive to an unknown location in the dark, during a snowstorm with the directions "in your head", while three children are buckled behind you whining, screaming or demanding food. It gives a whole new meaning to psychological warfare!

Make lunches for two children while they inform you that they are "starving" every five seconds and threaten to "just get whatever we want" if you don't comply. Carry on a conversation with your husband over the phone while balancing your baby in your other arm. You must also use a knife, and a cheese slicer at the same time.

Carry a full basket of laundry down two flights of stairs (with a landing in between) with a baby in a front-pack. You are walking blind and building upper-body strength. A fall could maim you, injure your baby, not to mention spill your laundry!

Decode foreign languages (screaming tantrum) and execute a strategy which not only maintains your authority, but also dispels the incident. Do this in very open and public places - church, the library, grocery store, etc. No physical violence may be used on others...or on yourself.

Pick up, Nurse, burp, diaper, and dress a fussy baby on demand, night after night. Do so in pitch darkness in order to gain more than four hours of sleep each night. One can hope!

Serve a peace-keeping mission each day amongst often hostile forces (who have not napped), encouraging "friendly fire", open trade, and positive communication between nations.

Colds, Sicknesses and Viruses will seek you out and attempt to destroy you. You must press on.

Morning Sickness. It will show you no mercy.

What would be on YOUR list?
__________________________________________________

Today I was explaining to the kids that some mommies go to work and the kids go to the babysitter. This was a totally foreign concept for them. They were honestly having a hard time even processing it. Mommies going to work and not staying home with their kids? I'm grateful for the opportunity that I have to stay home with my kids and see the milestones, the smiles, the "wins". Despite the above tests, which are sometimes failed, the prize is far greater than an award, a green beret, or even a pay check. I get to see smiles on my kids' faces and know in my heart (sometimes deep in my heart) that I'm doing a "great work". "For out of small things, proceedeth that which is GREAT."

Blessing Diddles

Little Diddles was blessed on Sunday by her Daddy,
who hold the Melchizedek Priesthood.

The day was sunny and beautiful.


Papa was able to fly up for the weekend, and we enjoyed having him visit and be included in the circle. I wish we could have flown or teleported everyone here, but I know you were all here in spirit!

I thought a lot yesterday about our children and how much each one adds to our family. Diddles is the first time that I have ever experienced that feeling that someone was "missing" from our family. I remember several times herding Yaks and Boo out the door, only to feel a little pang in my heart that we were forgetting someone. Several times I would even turn my head as if to look for her! I knew that there was a baby girl anxiously waiting for her turn to come to earth. Although the circumstances in our family at the time were tight financially and stressful in many ways, we decided to welcome a new baby into our family with faith...a lot of faith that everything would work out.

I know it wasn't "luck" or "happenstance" that Josh was led to this new job. Not just a new job, but the opportunity he had been waiting for both personally and professionally. The interviews were all lined up and conducted weeks before Diddles was due to be born.

While we were in the hospital waiting for delivery, Josh was preoccupied that he hadn't heard back from them regarding his acceptance or rejection. Days passed and still no word.
The day we were released from the hospital, he got the call.

I don't think that was an accident either. My friend Shelese once said,
"We welcome children to our family, and Heavenly Father figures out how to pay for them."

With this new job and move, we've been able to grow so much as a couple and as a family. Things feel simpler here in a good way. And now we have this cute little Diddle-brains. She's gentle, and sweet, and patient with her siblings' loves (and her daddy's whiskers). As difficult as it is to have a newborn (and yes, it is difficult),

I'm so grateful she is a part of our family.
She fits. She belongs. She makes us all really happy.