She Can WALK!

It's official. Baby Girl FINALLY walks more than she crawls!! It's still not 100% of the time, but it's more than 50, so I'm calling it. She's officially a toddler! WOOHOO! And she's just 1 week shy of being 18 months old. Not too shabby, I guess. Rumor has it that she's got her daddy beat! He didn't walk before 18 months himself, so he's never really been too concerned. She looks absolutely hilarious. She teeters around and every time she falls down she says, "Whoa." She says it like it should be followed by, "Dude, did you see that?"

And do you know what's missing? The monkey arms! Both boys walked for about a week with their arms up over their heads, kind of like little chimpanzees! Baby Girl didn't do that because someone actually told us how to help her walk by keeping her hands held in front or next to her. I guess maybe I should have gotten a degree in child development before I decided to have babies...

And finally, the quote of the week:

Oldest Boy (out of the blue): "Mommy, when you have your yellow dress on, you're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

Youngest Boy: "Mommy, you're the biggest thing I've ever loved!"

How? What? Why?

Warning: This post may make you cry, especially if you're my mom.

How did this happen? It just hit me yesterday that in just over three weeks, my baby boy is starting school! Not preschool either. The big K. Kindergarten. He'll be gone all day, 5 days a week, just like his daddy. How did my baby, the one who changed my world, who can make me cry just because he's crying, grow up? I know it's supposed to happen. I knew it was going to happen. But how did it happen so fast? Wasn't I looking? Watching? Planning for it? Even occasionally looking forward to it?

What can I do about it? I guess I'll try to enjoy the "extra" time that I'll have with Youngest Boy and Baby Girl. I'll give them more attention while he's gone and then pay extra attention to him while he's home. I'll try to look on the bright side: He'll be making friends (Please, God, let him have great friends), he'll be learning and experiencing new things, he'll learn to respect other authority figures, he'll grow and learn...without me. That's what sticks in my craw. I've been with him nearly all day, every day, since he was born. Yes, he went to preschool last year but let's face it, that was kid's stuff. He wasn't gone more than a couple of hours before I was planning to go and get him. What am I going to do without him all day? My little helper. The kid who makes me giggle just because he told me a funny joke (even if it wasn't really funny).

Why didn't anyone tell me what this would be like? Why is this bothering me so much? Is it because I'm losing control? Is it because I think I'm losing my purpose? I'm not, right? He'll still need me to be his mommy, just not every second of every minute of every day. {SIGH} Life moves on. I just wish it would slow down a little. I'm not ready for this.

From this...

...to this in just under 5 years? Where'd the baby go?

Top 10

I'm really too exhausted to write much about the kids. Baby Girl has decided that she can only sleep if I'm on her floor. This happened after Operation: Binky Removal with the boys as well, so I was half expecting it. So, in lieu of a post here's a top ten list:

Top 10 Things I Say All Day Long that I Wish Someone Would Say to Me:

10. Do you want another time-out?

9. What would you like for breakfast?

8. What would you like for a snack?

7. What would you like for lunch?

6. What would you like for dinner? (you get the idea...)

5. Would you like me to read to you?

4. Can I brush your hair, please?

3. Do you want me to do that for you?

2. What would you like to watch?

1. Are you ready for a nap?

Ice Cream In A Bag

Yesterday, for the very first time, we made homemade ice cream. We followed this recipe from one of my favorite cooking-related websites. The boys loved it. My parents, Grandma-Grandma and Papa, loved it. I thought it tasted fantastic and, obviously, so did the boys (see pictures at the end). Youngest Boy wasn't thrilled with the "making" of the ice cream, but Oldest Boy had a blast shaking his bag with Papa. Youngest Boy let Grandma and Mommy do most of the work. I'm pretty sure that our neighbors already think I'm nuts, so seeing my boys with shorts on and mittens (in 85 degree weather) probably didn't surprise them...

Shake it up, baby!

OK, Papa, you're turn!

Notice there's no child in this picture...but doesn't the yard look FANTASTIC!

It may have taken just a bit longer than 5 minutes...

Mommy, my hands are hot!

Delish!

Yep, table-lickin' good! UGH!

TMJ or God's way of saying, "SHUT UP, already!"

It's official. I yell at my kids too much. In my defense, sometimes I have to yell just to be heard over the din in our house. Just yesterday, a friend of mine called and before we could even begin a conversation, she said, "Is that just YOUR kids I hear in the background?!" It was. {SIGH}

But, I digress. Thursday, just after Horseback Riding, I had a doctor's appointment. I've been having pain in my right jaw for something like two months. It hurts to chew; it hurts to yawn; it especially hurts if I yell full out. And it seems lately I've been doing more-than-my-share of yelling. I knew the doctor was going to give me a TMJ (Temporomandibular joint disorder)diagnosis, but I went and the blew the $20 on an official diagnosis because I am a worrier (I know, you're shocked) and I wanted to know it wasn't something worse. But it's not. And now I have a diagnosis for something that doesn't have a cure. Yippee. I have a prescription for pain medication that I refuse to take (I'm a glutton for punishment like that) and I'm going to try all other avenues first. Here's what I've got so far:

Talk less (like that's going to happen - it's genetic, I swear!)
Jaw exercises (when I told my friend this she said, "Do you really think you need those?" Does everyone think I talk too much?)
Eat soft food
Warm compresses for half an hour, twice a day (these feel wonderful but half an hour? Are you kidding? I can't sit for 30 seconds without someone needing me!)
Relaxation - Could someone please tell me what this means? I don't think I'm very good at it...
And finally, less yelling - I'm trying. Honest!


Moral of the story: When God tell you to hush up, listen!

Youngest Boy's Big Day!

For a couple of months now we've been trying to get Youngest Boy on a horse. At first, I told him he had to be five years old to ride, but we amended that after I spoke to someone who often lets her younger children ride (as little as 18 months old!). Youngest Boy mainly wanted to know what color his horse would be. We finally settled on maybe brown (vs. Green - his favorite color - or purple) Well, today was the day!

When we pulled into the ranch, we saw two ponies (aka Miniature Horses) in a paddock. I assumed this is what he would get to ride. Nope.

After we got a look at all of the horses, our trainer put Youngest Boy in the stall with a small-ish horse named Tango. He had to learn how to groom and tack a horse. He's 3, so his interest was limited in this area. He wanted to A) Ride or B) Play with the horses (or maybe the farm dog, Dixie, or the plethora of kittens).

After brushing and combing Tango, we heard a horse neighing in the next stall. YB wanted to take a look at this one, too, so we did. Our trainer (who, by the way, was pretty young herself but could not have been any nicer or more competent) started telling us all about Aquilla. She was a blue roan and was originally a wild horse from North Dakota. And, by comparison, she was HUGE! Yep, you guessed it. THIS is the only one he wanted to ride. Come on, now. She was BLUE! And Bethany (our trainer) made the mistake of saying she looked purple sometimes, too! So, Aquilla it was.

And the boy is fearless! Fearless! He walked right into the stalls and hopped right up onto the horse (with help - because she was HUGE!). He helped to put the saddle blanket on but the saddle itself was just way too heavy - although he did try!
Did I mention she was HUGE? I was a little nervous to begin with, but when he picked this horse, I started praying hard...However, he sat in that saddle like he was born to ride. I'm afraid he'll be a star of a country and western song before I know it...

When we got home we showed the video to Oldest Boy and my mom. While we were watching, I asked Youngest Boy if he remembered what you had to put under the saddle before you could ride. Oldest Boy chimed in, "A HORSE!" {sigh} Out of the mouths of babes...

Psycho Weather

Last night we had a bevy of storms blow through our area. I'll admit, I'm just about the biggest chicken there is when it comes to stormy weather. Except that my brother is a bigger chicken than me, no matter what he says. I was just getting ready to put the kids in the tub (and Mr. MOTH was going to give Oldest Boy a shower) when I looked out the window and noticed the sky was green. GREEN, folks. Not good.

I threw the two littlest ones in the tub and speed-washed just as the thunder started. I could hear the shower in the other bathroom so I knew they'd be done soon as well. Dried them off as fast as I could and then the phone rang. I missed the house phone but saw on caller ID that it was my youngest brother. Tried calling back just as my cell rang. Dang. Missed that one, too, but it was my brother. Again. Not good. When we finally connected he told me there was a tornado warning for our county and his county (right next to each other).

At this point, I may have said the word "tornado" out loud so that Mr. MOTH knew why I was freaking out. And I KNOW I freak. I can't help it. Did I mention that I'm (almost) the biggest chicken there is? Needless to say, Mr. MOTH knows that I tend to over-react just a tad when it comes to storms. Oldest Boy kept saying,"Is there a tornado? Because you said there's only a warning if they SEE one..."

During this tornado-inducing storm, I'm trying to brush the kids' teeth (again, as fast as humanly possible). Oldest Boy - Done! Youngest Boy - Whoops! That's when this happened:























What? Can't see it? That's because I'm a picture-taker, not a photographer. Needless to say, as only a child of mine could do, he fell off of the potty and bounced his face off of the bathtub. HARD! At least he was only sitting on the lid and not actually using it!

Immediately after this, Mr. MOTH says, "Let's take the kids downstairs...just in case." THIS is when I went from freaking out to completely calm. I was intently listening for the sound of a freight train. At which point (in my head) I have mapped out the fastest route to the basement and what supplies I can grab in just under 3.2 seconds. Nope. I'm not psycho. Really. Just a chicken s@*&! I hope it's not genetic...

And by the way, there was a tornado nearby (less than 10 miles), just not close enough for me to hear it. And it never actually touched down. But still.