Stay At Home Mom

Keep it up, moms! You're doing great! On the bright side, I can honestly say that even on the roughest of days, it's not quite this bad at our house!

A man came home from work and found his three children outside, still in their pajamas, playing in the mud, with empty food boxes and wrappers strewn all around the front yard. The door of his wife's car was open, as was the front door to the house and there was no sign of the dog.

Proceeding into the entry, he found an even bigger mess. A lamp had been knocked over, and the throw rug was wadded against one wall. In the front room the TV was loudly blaring a Cartoon channel, and the family room was strewn with toys and various items of clothing.

In the kitchen, dishes filled the sink, breakfast food was spilled on the counter, the fridge door was open wide, dog food was spilled on the floor, a broken glass lay under the table, and a small pile of sand was spread by the back door.

He quickly headed up the stairs, stepping over toys and more piles ofclothes, looking for his wife. He was worried she might be ill, orthat something serious had happened. He was met with a small trickle of water as it made its way out the bathroom door.

As he peered inside he found wet towels, scummy soap and more toys strewn over the floor. Miles of toilet paper lay in a heap and toothpaste had been smeared over the mirror and walls.

As he rushed to the bedroom, he found his wife still curled up in the bed in her pajamas, reading a novel. She looked up at him, smiled, and asked how his day went.

He looked at her bewildered and asked, "What happened here today?"
She again smiled and answered, "You know every day when you come home from work and you ask me what in the world I do all day?"
"Yes," was his incredulous reply.
She answered, "Well, today I didn't do it."

Toilet Paper

I thought this story deserved its own post.

Somehow, Morgan got this idea in her head that when she goes potty, she can only use "one square." She delicately pulls of one sheet of toilet paper from the roll, wipes, gets "one squirt" of hand sanitizer and is on her way.
Recently, she mistakenly pulled off two squares and was quite disturbed until she figured out what to do to rememdy the situation. She separated the two squares, used her allotted "one", and tenderly placed the second sheet on the roll "for next time," as she says. So, for days now, she's used the sheet already torn off and then, after doing her business, torn off another sheet while saying, "This one's for next time. Just one square, okay?"
I think the greatest part about this whole thing is that she is always surprised to see her "one square" ready for her each time she goes potty. Well, Morgan, you did leave it there last time and it didn't walk away.


So, if you're ever at our house and use the red bathroom, you'll likely see a single sheet of toilet paper already torn off for you. Just make sure you "pay it forward" and leave one for Morgan.

Being 2 1/2...

Today, we ran some errands. Morgan asked where we were going and I told her Old Navy. She responded with, "We're going to Old Maybe." I tried to correct her, but she kept asking when we would get to "Old Maybe."

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At dinner tonight, Sadie and I were serenaded with the Monkey Song. I've posted the words so you know the part that she's whispering (and you thought Morgan didn't know how to be quiet!).

Two little monkeys swinging in a tree,
Teasing Mr. Alligator, "Can't catch me! No, you can't catch me!"
Along comes Mr. Alligator, quiet as can be and...
SNAPS that monkey right out of that tree!

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This is one of my favorite pictures of Morgan. The other day, she was insistent that she wasn't tired. So, Brian suggested we go for a walk instead. Needless to say, she didn't make it.

Life as an almost 7 month old...

Don't we all wish we could go back to the simple life? Consider the daily routine of Sadie.

She gets fed breakfast by her big sister, Morgan:


They play "music" together. Well, Sadie basically just waves her arms and ends up hitting herself on the head (gently) with the recorder:

Somebody carries you to the car. Now, this one is getting a bit rough. She's 20 lbs, plus the carrier! But, Sadie obviously enjoys it:

And, finally, as an almost 7-month old, you can end your day splashing in the bathtub, and not get in trouble for getting water everywhere:

Oh, the life!

Slippers

The other night, Sadie discovered Daddy's slippers. She sat and played with them for about 10 minutes...completely entertained. She'd turn them over in her hands, hit them on the floor--all the usual baby sensory stuff to figure out what they were. At best, I think she decided they are soft on the inside and the perfect size to hold.

Yoga Class

Our Relief Society has a yoga class (very informal) every week and I've been attending. Morgan is aspiring to be the next instructor, so she's been giving her daddy private lessons at home.

Her classes even include somersault instruction--something I've never learned in yoga!

She Was So Mad!!!

Morgan, like any 2-year old, is still trying to win the bedtime battle. While most nights are problem-free, there are those nights that aren't. So, we thought we had a solution. Key word here: "thought".

Morgan screamed at Brian when he put the door handle cover on the inside of her door. "No! Don't lock my bedroom!" Thirty seconds later, she popped it off, threw it out of her bedroom, shut the door (thank heavens she can't slam it yet!), and cried on her bed.

Oh, did I mention that I'm currently reading a book titled, "The New Strong Willed Child"? Think Morgan fits in that category???

SICK

That's how we spent Valentine's Day at our house. Well, the girls, at least. We've been to the doctor both Thursday and Friday, with temperatures of 104+, only to find out they don't have strep (yay!), ear infections (yay!), or even the flu bug (yay!). As the doctor said, "It'll be 3 days coming, 3 days here, and 3 days going." Oh boy, that's what I wanted to hear. Nine days of sick, whiney, kids. Yippee.

Sadie just wanted to be held--sitting upright so she could breathe. Morgan just wanted her water bottle and daddy. So, hopefully, Morgan is turning the corner to the "3 days going" and improving and Sadie has made it through day one of the "3 days here" part. That means only 5 more days of sick kids! My poor girls!

A Day in the Life...

I'm beginning to appreciate more and more why the prophets have always told us to keep a journal. If I don't write something down right now, then, life takes over and I forget. So, here's my "journal" of our daily lives. Nothing too exciting, but, this is it!

If the sun is shining, we go for a walk:
Morgan's baby inevitably gets fussy and she has to carry her:

We sweep the floor several times each week. Bunny helped on this particular day. Morgan seems to be getting good at multi-tasking:

We mop the floor. Morgan never forgets under the table:

Sadie smiles for us and brightens our day. Then, she drools all over her shirt and I get to do laundry:

And, of course, we play. I tried several times to get a picture of Sadie playing, but each time I took the camera out, she looked up and smiled:

So, there you have it. A typical day for us.

The Man in the Red Suit

Santa made a surprise visit at Alie and Tyler's wedding reception.

Here are the reactions from each of the girls.

Elaena (age 3 1/2):

Afton (age 2 1/2):

Madelyn (age 11 months):

Alie (age 20 1/2):

Morgan (age 2 1/2):

Brian and I concur with Tyler. We're not sure whose face is better--Alie or Morgan's!

It's been over a month and Morgan still talks about Santa. "I don't want Santa to talk to me. Santa can't talk to me because I don't want him to. Santa can't come in mine bedroom." Needless to say, Morgan would be just fine if the man in the red suit never made another debut!