Pee, Mud, and Selfishness: Ever Had one of those Days?

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Yesterday was one of those days. You know when your kid wakes up cranky and has a total meltdown over video game time and how totally unfair we are as parents since we limit his screen time? Fact (from our son): all other parents across America allow limitless screen time. (What are your screen time rules?) And then your dog gets let in the house with mud all over her feet tracking it all throughout the house. So you vacuum and mop those hardwood floors. And then later in the day all three of your children are fighting about the Secret Club. You know the one between the bushes and the fence where each child has his/her own house? Well, that's MY bucket, and that's MY lacrosse stick, and that's MINE, MINE, MINE. So I am taking it from your house. Which of course, ruins said house because that "was all my decorations for my house. AND you made all my flowers fall off (fall on ground and cry) my shower."And after 20 minutes of talk about selfishness and what not . . . no resolution. Mom just lays head in lap and asks God for wisdom and for selfishness to go away and for hard hearts to be soft and sweet.

Then things get better for a few moments. Son realizes the error of his ways and genuinely apologizes and it feels so good. All is well in the world for a bit. Kids play outside. Jordis comes in the house to pee . . . all over the floor. A big 'ol puddle as well as a pee trail in case anyone is tracking her. Time to mop the floor again. And our washing machine has been broken for weeks. That's a whole other story . . .
And then it is time to come inside for bed. Kids falling on the floor. They are starving. They can't even walk into the house even though moments before they were happily scooting/skating around. And Shiloh had to work late, which is actually a praise because he is killing it in real estate which is means we have food to feed our starving children. But, he is not here to help with the bedtime dramas.

I am leaving out 42 other incidents, but you get the drift. Some days. Some days you think Does time really fly when you have young children because I can't wait 'til they are all in bed? Asleep. No leg aches. No dying of thirst. No starvation. No itchy eyeballs. No too hot, too cold. No philosophical questions about puppy machines. Asleep.

Good news - at the end of the day I looked as awesome as this. Sweats rolled up on account of Jordis pee getting on them. Still wearing my fancier tops from the day's journey. And now noting that that blue Target sweater looks really lame buttoned over the ruffle shirt. Whatever. I'm alive and my dog got walked. Do you feel me? Can you relate to any or ALL of this action? Ever had one of those days?

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Why Kids Are Awesome

Pin It Now! ***Disclaimer - I am so thankful for post like these. Ones that I wrote months ago and not today. Because today was a mental breakdown day for me. Wanted to scream at the top of my lungs and put my kids on ebay (it's a joke people-relax. Don't call the blogging CPS on me). From whining, complaining, disobeying to slamming sister's fingers in doors, having hands down your pants while eating dinner, having temper tantrums about sippy cup preferences, and the like. Have you been there?

Now read on about happy thoughts:
Here are just a few things that my kids do or say right now that make me smile.
1. Elijah made this sign and posted it on his door. He clarified that it is $3 to enter his room if you are not a parent. And I just found out that he actually collected $3 from Lydia. I didn't even know she had $3, but apparently when we were on our marriage retreat the kids got some cash from Grandma. They're storing it in their rooms in tupperware. Thanks Grandma--Elijah's now a bookie and Lydia's getting taken advantage of. Her tupperware is now empty. For real. I love kids for their creativity.


2. I asked Jordis to help me take of my shoes the other day. She was so excited she could hardly function in her shoe removal skills. Now when I walk through the door she points to my shoes and with a huge smile says "Uh! Uh! Uh!' It's like a dog when you say, "Do you want to go on a walk?" I love kids for finding the joy in the simple things.

3. Lydia is always asking me to print out pictures for her on the computer so she can color them. Actually, it's as if she is pulling up to a drive-thru window and giving her order. It usually goes something like this "Mommy, can you print out 2 Snow Whites, 2 ponies, 1 Jasmine, 2 Belles, 1 Tiana, 1 Sleeping Beauty, 2 Cinderellas and that's it! And she expects me to remember precisely which ones she wants and how many. I love kids for mistakingly thinking that mom has a memory.

And I love kids. Most days.

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How to get a Good Family Photo

Pin It Now! Want to know how to get a good family photo? I have no idea. Any pointers would be appreciated. Here was our last attempt.

Here is the best shot we could get. Seriously.

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Welcome Back to Work

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Have you ever had one of those days where you want to scream at the top of your lungs? Consider this my SCREAM!!! Oh, that felt good. Kind of. I really would like to go out into the middle of the street and scream, but I have neighbors am more mature than that.

After a wonderful day off yesterday, I went back to work today feeling refreshed, renewed and ready to face another day of motherhood. Until I woke up. Or rather, the kids woke me up. The good news about daylight savings is that I no longer have to set my alarm to wake Elijah up for school. Now he wakes me up even earlier than my alarm would have.

Before I was even out the door with the kids for school, I discovered Lydia had peed her pants. (Lydia who has been technically "potty training" for four months - on her own initiative. She had been doing pretty well for the last few weeks.) Outfit change #1.

After listening to Lydia whine about not wanting to eat the cream of wheat that Daddy made her for breakfast and hearing Jordis scream because she wanted more cheerios we headed out the door. Upon strapping Jordis into her carseat I realized she had junk in her trunk. No time to change it because our 3 mile drive to Elijah's school usually takes about 15 minutes because of traffic. We got there in time for me to change Jordis' ... blowout pooper. Down the leg, all over the pants, etc. Different child, but still: Outfit change #2.

Dropped Elijah off and stopped at the grocery store to pick up a few items. Fortunately, this grocery trip produced no bloggable activity. We left the store and headed back home. Lydia peed her pants again. Outfit change #3. I had one goal today (besides feeding the kids and keeping them alive and stuff like that): vacuum the whole house. While I was vacuuming the living room I stepped on a sewing needle that happened to be sticking straight up out of the carpet. The eye of the needle end was sticking up. It went into the bottom of my foot. A Scooby Doo bandaid was used for blood management. I don't usually use my living room floor for a pin cushion. I have no idea how that needle got there. Probably from when I was sewing Lydia's Halloween costume. Oh wait, I have mistaken myself for somebody else. I don't sew. Perhaps we picked it up at McDonald's while playing in one of their ball houses. Despite the hole in my foot, I am thankful that one of my kids did not step on it or eat it or pick their nose with it.

All the while Lydia was whining about how hungry she was ... because she didn't eat breakfast. I told her she could eat from her snack pack (pre washed and cut veggies), but she wasn't hungry for that. I believe it was while I was vacuuming the stairs (one of my faves) when Lydia went into her room and then emerged with a bewildered look on her face, "Mommy, I want to be a baby."

"Why? Did you pee your pants again?"

"No. Poo."

UGH! Outfit change #4.

Into the bath she went. All this awesome action and it was only 10am.

Shiloh came home at 10:30am to watch the girls so I could volunteer in Elijah's class for 40 minutes (that's all they want). Came home. Fed the kids. Put Jordis down for a nap. Put a movie on for the big kids. Lydia peed her pants again. Outfit change #5.

Elijah didn't seem quite himself at school and had to blow his nose a lot. I think he is getting sick and will be staying home tomorrow. At 3:30 I packed all the kids in the car to go for a drive. Sometimes I just need to have my kids strapped down for a while, you know? Nevermind that Elijah was playing with his snot in his car seat and I could see a two foot long strand of loogie dangling - about to hit the floor of my precious ... dirty minivan. I about lost it on him. Or maybe I did. "ELIJAH! THAT IS GROSS! STOP THAT! GET A KLEENEX!"

Enough bodily fluids for the day!

We picked up dry cleaning and stopped at Shiloh's office for a few minutes. When we got home I got dinner going and looked at the clock every 42 seconds to see how much longer until I could put my kids in bed. Is that so wrong?

Just before bed, I put some water in a sippy cup so Elijah could keep it in his bed. Jordis hovered while I gave it to him and did her "I want that" grunt. I told Elijah to keep it away from her. He had a few sips and two seconds later it was in her mouth. "Sorry mom. She just grabbed it from me." And with that, I fell face down on the couch and laid there for a few minutes. While Jordis came over to me and shouted "MAMA! MAMA! MAMA!" for no apparent reason. Maybe she knows she is now going to get sick in a few days thanks to Elijah's poor "keep away" skills. Although if the sippy cup was candy I can guarantee that he would not have let her get within three feet of it.

All that being said, does anyone else find motherhood to be hard? Thankfully, not all days are like this, but even still ... hard. Tomorrow is a new day. And I am praying it is a better one. Praying for strength from God. Praying for laughter and enjoyment. I really am thankful for being able to stay at home with my kids. It's just days like these where I entertain thoughts of being a janitor in a prison cause I think it would be a lot easier and a little more fun. Can I please get an "amen?"

P.S. I got the downstairs vacuumed, but the vacuum currently sits mid stairs on the landing. I'm guessing it will remain there for at least three days.

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Mac and Cheese and Markers

Pin It Now! Jordis decided to accessorize herself with her lunch.

While I was bathing away her accessories Lydia decide to accessorize herself with a marker. Never a dull moment in the hoopla and lots of baths.

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I heart San Francisco

Pin It Now! Shiloh and I had a date in San Francisco!!! Actually, it was someone else's date (their wedding), but we got to participate. Shiloh performed the ceremony and did an excellent job. People kept telling him he could "do weddings" for a side job. If the real estate market doesn't pick up here soon... anyone want a hot guy to marry them?

Ava and Ari stayed with the kids. Yesterday's post featured the drama leading up to our departure to the city. Once we made our escape we had a wonderful, kid-free time at the wedding. We sat next to my parents and cupcakes. Cupcakes that stared us and called out for us for 4 hours until we were able to finally rescue them.



I could hardly sleep days before the wedding. Not just because Jordis woke up because of her fever or because my cats use the litter box in the middle of the night and it sounds like someone is trying to break through a wall. No, I was restless because I was so excited to freely boogie on the dance floor at that wedding. And freely boogie I did.


Shiloh loves to dance watch me dance at weddings. Because he thinks I am so awesome ridiculous. Free entertainment - it's what I do.

Thanks to the parents of the groom, we got to spend the night in the Monaco hotel. They even paid for the $50 parking. The next morning we slept in until 8am, had breakfast with my parents and walked to The Coffee Bean. Even though it was 40 degrees outside, I loved my ice blended mocha.

We returned home to "I still have a fever" Jordis and "I now have a fever" Lydia. Elijah remained unfevered and greeted us in his Michael Jordan get up for the 20th day in a row.

I love my life. It's full of twists and turns and nearly unbreakable glass. I have a husband who thinks I am hotter today than I was yesterday (early onset of dementia?) and children who like to cuddle with me when they are sick.

Today embarks a new phase of my life. As of today, I have a kindergartner.

They say that time flies when you have little kids. I think that's a lie. But I'm sure when my kids go off to college, get body piercings in Mexico or decide they want to go into full time bird watching, I too will perpetuate that myth. I will see a vulnerable, desperate young Mom who has changed her fifth blow out diaper of the day, cleaned up cat throw up, spent 4 hours trying to get a child to nap, spent 45 minutes encouraging her kids to get their shoes on, made two trips to the doctors office and gotten 5 hours of interrupted sleep. And then I will say to her with a sweet smile,

"Enjoy every minute of it because it sure goes by fast."

Until then - the days go by slow and the years go by fast. And I'm lovin' it. Even when it sucks

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In the last few weeks...

Pin It Now! In the past few weeks we...

went to a birthday party

had playdates



made chocolate chip ice cream



went to swim lessons

met our friends at Trader Joe's

played ring around the Rosie in front of Trader's

walked from Trader's to the Farmer's Market.

got lots of fruit at the Market


went to Elijah's first basketball class

went to Lydia's first ballet class



and the kids tried new foods.

Lydia ate part of a fly... after the kids broke it into pieces. Here are the leftovers.

Elijah ate chocolate chip ice cream with a pickle on top like Scooby Doo.

All the while we learned of one of our friend is embarking on an unwanted nasty divorce. One of my best friend's from growing up - her Dad recently learned he has aggressive prostrate cancer and is already pretty much bedridden. Additionally, her husband just lost his job. And then her son had a bad reaction to his kindergarten vaccines. We learned that some of our other friends both lost their jobs within days of each other. Fortunately, she was rehired last week. They have a one year old. And it goes on ...

Life is good and hard and sweet and funny and tragic and hilarious and painful and peaceful and dynamic.

These are some of my favorite verse in the Bible. I love verse 26 because it reminds me that God is in control. Somehow in the midst of all the crud, the triumph, the hardship, the joy, the love and the sorrow... God is in control. He has a plan and it is better than mine.

Acts 17:24-28

²⁴"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. ²⁵And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. ²⁶From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. ²⁷God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. ²⁸'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'

P.S. I didn't mean to get all heavy on you. I was planning to just put up all the fun pictures and activities. But I feel like God wanted me to go there. So there I went.

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A Weekend in the Life

Pin It Now! It is going to take me some time to organize all the clutter for the MCP contest. I will post the finalists some time this week so you can vote! 

In the meantime, here is a weekend (counting Friday because I want to) recap of our lives. Because I know it is really important to all (three) of you. The rest (two) of you are going to just scroll and look at the photos (Mom and Shiloh). And that's totally fine. Just be sure to click on the ads (but you'll have to really search for them because they are invisible) so I can make some cash off this.

Friday:

I slept in ... kind of. I was up at 6am feeding Jordis. She went back to bed (or is that called a nap?) at 8:15am at which point me and the kids got back into bed and watched cartoons. Okay, so they watched cartoons and I went back to bed (or is that called a nap?) for about an hour of delight. 

Then we got ourselves fed and ready and whatever else and got out the door by 12:30pm. Me, my Dad and the kids picked up Elijah's buddy, Kaiden, and headed to the Lindsay Wildlife Museum in Walnut Creek. The kids were just as excited about seeing a pile of mountain lion poo (brilliantly on display) as they were about petting a snake.


Took Kaiden home and then headed over to the Deckers (been friends with Mr. Ben Decker since 4th grade) for some grub and fun. Shiloh left us to go to our friend's 40th surprise bday party (Happy Bday Pat Spica) and I went home to throw the kids into bed.

Saturday:

We hustled hard and got out the door by 9:15am to head for a birthday party at Pump it Up (where Elijah said he wants to move to). The kids and I pumped it up (Shiloh had to work) and then headed to our temporary home.

Did I mention our house is on the market and we are staying at my parents' house? Talk about hoopla... we are bringin' it. I've got stories... actually I think my Mom and Dad have the stories. Dad, wanna write a "guest post" about the real Hagen Hoopla (since I tend to downplay things and act all fake and stuff)?

 Elijah and Lyds played outside while the poor third child napped in her crib (we let her nap there every once in a while). Elijah made up a sweet game. He threw all the plastic Easter eggs on the driveway and then rode over them to hear them go "Pop!" Way to recycle, reuse bud.

We caught our breaths and headed out the door to church, which starts at 6pm. Grabbed dinner on the way where Elijah spilled syrup (yes we feed our kids pancakes for dinner and then drop them off in childcare - very UnChristian of us) all over himself. Church was great - apparently our pastor had syrup for dinner too because he was extra wacky. 

Sunday:

The kids and I got out the door at a reasonable hour (11:30am) to go to another birthday party at a local park. By the way, I have NO IDEA how I will get out the door to take Elijah to kindergarten next year by 8am. I think he will have to walk to the BART station and get there himself or something.

Shiloh had to work again (he has been working like a mad dog) so I was once again the single Mom. 

Here's a shout out to all the Moms whose hubby's work weekends and/or nights and so you often find yourself lone star at many gatherings... wives of law enforcement, athletes, realtors, coaches, pastors, rock stars (Hi Bono - I know you are reading this), zookeepers (can't even count how many of those I know), military, pilots, etc (feel free to add to the list). And a shout out to the real single Moms. 

On the way home from the party, Shiloh called and asked if we could bring him some lunch at his open house because he did not have time to get food (it was 2:15pm). I was not planning on stopping so I had stripped Lydia of her pants (it was hot). People at Jamba Juice really enjoyed staring at me and my entourage. 

After that party the kids partied outside in the cul-de-sac with the neighbor kids. Elijah decided to try his luck at a steep driveway on his skateboard. What's that move called? Oh yeah, a face plant. He nailed that one. So I ran to console him and handed the baby to a random guy standing in the street. I tried to get him to do a reenactment for a photo, but it was a no go. Okay, it wasn't a random guy, it was neighbor Dave.

Check out these matching big wheels. They are both old and worn - in exactly the same way. Different parents, but they look like identical twins separated at birth. Total X-Files.

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