Day of Discovery

We spent the day in Charlotte with our good friends.  Lunch at a burger bar, and then a great afternoon at the Discovery Place Children's Museum.  The kids had a blast getting their hands on everything.  It was a nice way to spend a Sunday, and to have the kids use their brains and some of their muscle for several hours.

and the dvds got to enjoy a quiet house, while they remain on the table at the top of the stairs...still not away, day 6

Brady Bop-its

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We were on our way out the door to our friends' house for dinner and games.  Brady, who is quite competitive, was still practicing as we walked out..........too funny!

and the dvds..........now they are at the top of the front stairs.  picture is on my cell, and for some reason can not upload it....

Sleepovers

About 4 years ago, the kids started having sleepovers every Friday and Saturday night.  To qualify as a sleepover, at least two of them are in the same room and thats about it.  It is really cute, and more so that even at 6, 7 and 8, they still get excited about it.  On Friday during breakfast, one of them will say, "guys, sleepover!" 
The latest thing is to sleep in the family room with the two couches pushed together:

I hope that this is one of the things that they remember years from now, and laugh about how much fun this was, and how excited they were, and of course, what super cool parents they had!

As far as those dvds?   Lets just say, ssdd....same spot different day, still not away day 4.....

My Life Raising Pigs

Okay, so I may not be an official pig farmer, it sure feels like it lately.   It is so frustrating when rooms are wrecked.  I am not talking about a little messy, W R E C K E D!  Socks on the bookshelves is not my idea of decor.
I had high expectations this morning.  HIGH.  I actually got up before the kids alarms, and we had a smooth "get out the door"  morning.  I usually stay home on Thursdays to catch up on housework, and other tasks.  Oh, right, back to the pig farming.... Well, the kids rooms were beyond the "tidy"  and I had every intention to clean all three bedrooms today.  Remember that I said my expectations were high?
Well, I went into the room of my littlest piggy, and looked around..........

  

Anyway, it took me 4 hours just to do Delaney's room. Now the good news is that it is head to toe done, but now I have piggy #1 and piggy #2 to take care of. Other good news however, is that since her room was so bad, the worst is over.

I even made the bed for her American Girl doll for crying out loud!  The best part about it though, was when she came home.  I waited for her to go upstairs, and after a minute followed her.  She was standing facing her window and just looking all around.  She turned around, wide eyed and grinning.  When she saw me, she ran full speed and jumped into my arms.  She hugged me so tight and did not let go.  That was the best compensation I have ever received for 4 hours of work. 

As for the dvds, the made their way into my sitting room. Now today is the night that Don does a lot of cleaning around the house, so I am assuming that he picked them up.  Now lets see how long they stay in my sitting room.........dvd day 3

The End of Another Day

Here is a shot of the kings and queens enjoying a few bedtime stories.  We have gotten away from that ritual, and are working on bringing it back.  It is so important to have, not only the wind down time, but the chance to cuddle and talk about the day.  I wonder if they mentioned to each other anything about the dvds on the floor....   You will notice from yesterday, that they have moved to the side somewhat, so I am not sure if someone ran by them and the power of their movement shoved them aside, or what.  All I know is they are still on the floor............. day 2.

"Organizing"

We have been speaking to the kids about taking more responsibility around the house, and helping out in areas that they are capable of.  Of course, the first question "Will we get paid?"  was in unison, and for the umpteenth time, I recited all the reasons why they should help "just because".  We have accidentally trained these kids to expect a financial reward for doing things.  I went with the lame "it is just a nice feeling when your house is neat"  "it is easier to play when you can find what you are looking for"  "we always get you what you need, and sometimes extra things that you want"  "you shouldn't only help to get paid", and I think at that point, the Nintendos were back on......game over for me.
This morning after religion class, we stopped at the grocery store for some essentials.  Among them were some new toothbrushes and toothpaste.  I also decided to buy the mouth rinse that they make for kids that shows them where they really need to brush.  When I explained to the kids what it was, their eyes lit up like it was Christmas morning again.  Who knew?  They wanted to make sure that all moms were aware that such an amazing product existed, and I, slightly embarrased and feeling like a terrible mother, admitted that this has been around for years.  Oh well, better late than never.
We got home and when I pulled into the driveway, I reminded the kids that we were expecting them to start helping more, and that they were going to carry in groceries.  I did not get a single moan, or request for financial compensation!  One by one they made several trips to the car and in a flash everything was inside.  I was now expecting them to disappear.  Much to my surprise, Brady started unpacking!  He said, "Come on guys, lets help Mommy unpack."  I think I would have pinched myself, but I wanted to see where this dream was going to take me.
They put away some things that they could, and at that point, I thanked them profusely and encouraged them to scram while I finished up and then made lunch.  With that, some normalcy returned and the Nintendo DS's were brought back to life.  After lunch, I told the kids that they needed to work on picking up anything lying around that belonged to them, and to start taking care of their messes.  I began to fold laundry and shout friendly reminders about who left what on the back stairs.  Delaney noticed that there were some bathroom items and in a flash brought everything upstairs.  Brady came down quickly after that to retrieve some items that we keep in the pantry for the early morning grooming ritual.  He announced that they were all going to get ready by themselves in their bathroom from now on, and he was gone as quickly as he arrived.  I noticed that there was no fighting or crying, but could tell that all 3 kids were working on something together.  Brady then asked me if it was okay to open the Lysol wipes, because Rory was going to clean their bathroom counter!  Please don't wake up, I whispered to myself.
After several minutes I went upstairs to find these strangers that had taken over my children's bodies.  There they were, grinning, kneeling in the bathroom, organizing all of their toiletries.  They were so proud of their work, and I have to admit that I am proud of finally beginning to instill a sense of responsibility and ownership into them, or finally buying that exciting mouth rinse.  Better late than never, indeed!

Nighty Night

Sigh...It seems like only a few bedtime kisses ago we used to all curl up on the couch and watch a Baby Einstein video, change a few diapers, read Goodnight Moon and Tumble Bumble and send the kids off to sweet dreams.

The tv now holds "just one more Mario Kart race" and while we are cleaning up the kitchen, preparing snacks for tomorrow's lunches and organizing backpacks and classroom folders, (oh wait that's all me........ ha ha Don, if you ever read this) we shout up the stairs "Rory get out of the tub" "Don't forget your teeeeeeeeeth!" "I WILL look for your library book" and so on..... the kids continue on their race towards independence. Once I get to the kids hallway, I usually hear all sorts of bleeps and tweets, and usually some high energy music playing. Certainly very different from carrying 3 sleepy babies upstairs, sitting quietly and tucking them into cribs and car beds. Tonight the scene was truly very typical of the kids as of late- lifestyle, personality and all. Delaney is almost always the last man standing. She is a stubborn little firecracker, and throughly enjoys anything that is "not for babies". She received a Nintendo DS for her birthday on 12/9 and plays it before bed. Rory has always been our best sleeper. She never has to be told twice to come cuddle, or just hang and relax. One funny story of her was when she was about 3 and we were at an interactive museum. Don went to sit on a bench and watch the kids, and she sat next to him, hands behind her head and said "AHH, this is the life!" Brady who has always been the organizer, spends more time on his collections then figuring out how to keep them somewhere neatly. Tonight when I went to tuck him in, he was all the way at the end of his bed, because he had knocked over a cup of water. He decided that instead of getting a towel and drying it off, he would remove his lamp from the area and lay the lamp on his bed. He then scooted down so that he could still lay down and use the lamp to read. I did manage to praise his smarts in not leaving the lamp near water, but we discussed the best option, which would have been drying the shelf, returning the lamp, and THEN continuing to read. He was blown away by my intelligence and thanked me profusely for this insight. We then curled on the couch and watched Baby Einstein followed by a reading of Tumble Bumble.....OR he grumbled, got out of bed reluctantly, dried the shelf and put his lamp back. You decide the ending, I am busy with very important things to do.... Tumble bumble up the stairs, open doors and check for bears.......
We continue to make wonderful nighttime memories~