Adventures of Kit and Ruthie

Haley and Morgan love, love, love American Girl dolls.  They are aching to have Kit and Ruthie, but I'm not buying them each a $100 doll (yes, that's how much they are) until I know for sure they can take good care of them!  So, to help pass the time until they get the real deal, they have the mini versions of Kit and Ruthie and oh my goodness...how they love those dolls!

Every night after we put the girls to bed, Haley and Morgan stay up (too late most nights) and play Kit and Ruthie in their room.  It's become their night time ritual.  Sometimes it goes well, and they play quietly for a while and then go to sleep on their own.  But then, sometimes it goes bad, and they play way too loud, or they start to bicker which leads to full on arguments.  This results in Ryan or me shutting it down and forcing them to bed, which leads to more arguing, which leads to us taking the dolls away, which leads to massive amounts of tears from the girls.  Seriously, you take one of those dolls away from them and their whole world falls apart!

So every night we just hope they play nicely...it's just so much easier that way.

In other news, I came down with the fever Tuesday night.  I had a miserable, no good nights sleep.  And Wednesday I relied on Ibuprofen to get me through the day.  This morning I feel much better, thank goodness!

Weekend Review

Okay, I know a lot of people have already seen these "Baby sleep positions".  But I can't help but laugh every time because it's just so dang true!  After dealing with a few sick kids we have experienced quite a few of these in just the last couple of nights.

"Booby Trap" and "H is for Hell" have been our most recent...ahh, good times.  Kids are so fun.

So yeah, the weekend...Saturday Ryan raced in Salt Lake and I stayed home with the sickies.  It made for a very exhausting and slow day.  I don't think Morgan left the couch ALL day...she was absolutely miserable.  Haley was a trooper and didn't complain once about staying home, and with Morg and Pipes under the weather she didn't have any playmates.  But she entertained herself which was a big help to me!  And sadly, by that night Rory also came down with a fever as well.

Sunday morning I went on a ride up the canyon...it was beautiful and refreshing to get out on my own!  Later Haley and I hit up church.  It was actually quite nice to walk with her over there...just her and me, hand in hand.  I need to try to have one on one time with each of my kids every so often!  It makes them feel uber special because they get all of my attention...and unfortunately that just rarely happens with three other kids hanging off me.  

That night Rory was the only one left with a fever and we were all in need to get out of the house!  So, since she was doing pretty good and the fever was pretty low grade, we hit up Sundance after dinner.  

She doesn't look too sick to me!

Of course the kids got their traditional Sundance suckers and then ran amuck.

It was beautiful!

Those are three of my kids waaaaay out there.

The girls were heaven chasing the marmots all over the place.

Me with my Pipes.

Summer Woes Part II

To add to my summer woes, Piper came down with a fever and yucky cold symptoms yesterday afternoon (and a bit of diarrhea, which wasn't too fun with the whole potty training thing).  Sorry to bring up gross stuff, but it's the facts of life.  Anyway, this led to a very unpleasant night of sleep.

Haley and Morgan didn't fall asleep until around 10 last night...they were actually in "bed" by 8:15, but they play the night away and then crash together in one or the other's bed.  It's kinda cute really.

Piper kept waking up throughout the night, which woke up Rory.  And this went back and forth for some time.  At one point during the night I was sitting on the rocker in their room, each one crying in their beds on either side of me...I felt like crying myself...I was so tired.

And then Morgan started up...crying too.  Sure enough, she was getting a fever as well.  Luckily, Ryan and I make a good pair and tag teamed the whole night.  By morning we were all sprawled out everywhere.  Ryan and Morgan in the spare room...Piper and I were in our bed.  Haley was the only one who woke up refreshed with a good nights sleep.

So today it looks like I'll be chilling here with my sickies.  Woe is me.

Summer woes.

This week has not been the best for me.  I feel behind on everything...a bit scattered...and really discouraged with potty training.

Piper has had a lot of accidents this week.  All of them were at home (thank goodness), mostly outside (double thank goodness!).  I keep telling myself that this is very normal!  I've seen it before where kids will revert back to their old ways.  Sometimes I think it's because the novelty of the potty has worn off...or maybe they're just trying to test their limits.  "How long can I play before I have an accident?" type of attitude.  But whatever it is, I sure hope it doesn't last too long!

Also, summer (that is really hard for me to leave that lower case by the way)...summer is just plain hard to keep the house clean.  I feel like my days are just filled with picking up, cleaning, and laundry.  I'm tired of it.  The girls help with their summer chores.  And Haley is really good at taking care of the dogs everyday, which is very helpful!  But bottom line, there is just a ton to do around here...and I haven't been motivated to do it.  I think I'm going through a sort of slump right now.  I think I need some outings to look forward to...but even that sounds exhausting right now.  Not sure what I need.

Hopefully things will perk up for me soon.

The Jeepers

After a long winter of sitting on the driveway with a dead battery, looking very sad, we finally got the Jeep up and running again!  And it didn't even cost us a cent to do it!  In fact, we made about 30 dollars!  Turns out the battery was under warranty, and the one we replaced it with was cheaper...go us!  Actually, go Ryan.  He's the one who actually handled it.

I took the girls to their swim lesson in it today.  Oh, how I love that car...it's been way too long since I drove it last.  It's so fun to zip around in.  Today we drove with Gotye's "Somebody That I Used to Know" blaring on the radio and girls singing to it at the top of their lungs.  Good times.

And I got to watch the girls swim without having to take Piper to the bathroom every five minutes!  I tell ya, she's like the Boy Who Cried Wolf!  She says she has to go...I take her, but she doesn't go!  And I know that the one time I don't take her she'll have a major accident!  So, I'll keep taking her every five minutes.  But today, I was free!  Thanks Ryan for watching the babies!

And speaking of Ryan...I was just about to publish this post when he looked over my shoulder and told me that winter should not be capitalized.  I totally disagreed!  We finally had to look it up because I would not back down.  He was right.  Winter should not be capitalized.  Damn.  And to think...I have been capitalizing seasons my whole life.  I guess that's why I'm not the English major.  Note to self:  Do not argue about capitalization, grammar or punctuation with an English major...since I pretty much suck at it.

Weekend Review

                                                                       

Saturday: Ryan went on a morning ride while I went grocery shopping, Haley's friend had a birthday party, Morgan had a friend over, I painted, and then we all went to Pizza Pie for dinner with friends.  Whew.

Sunday: Happy Fathers Day!  Big morning breakfast of sausage and eggs, complete with a cheese danish.  Clean the house, church, and Father's Day dinner with Matt and Carrie.

In other news:  It's HOT.  My garden isn't growing.  We're eating lots of ice cream.  The girls are staying up way too late playing Kit and Ruthie (post on that sometime soon).  Piper got up in the middle of the night to pee.  Go Pipes!

Ice Cream Anyone?

Is this a girl enjoying her ice cream or what?

Piper had a couple of poopy accidents this week.  It happens when she's outside playing...she tries to come in, but she's just not fast enough.  I'll say, "Oh no!!  You POOPED in your panties?!  Now they're all dirty...that's too bad!!"  And she always says back, "I arry Mommy...I arry."  (sorry)  

How can I be upset when she does that?

Such a heart breaker.

Potty Training

I've been asked how I potty train my kids.  I am by NO means an expert on this...but I can share what works for me.  However, let me just add that some kids are just plain ol' better at it!  Every kid comes with a different personality...some are stubborn, like Haley, and fight the whole way making the process seem like it will never end.  Some are easy going, like Piper, and take to it very well.  

My system is very simple.  I plan ahead buying cutesy panties and an incentive (I used M&M's for Piper).  I have the little potty sitting around the house so they're used to seeing it by the time we start.  First thing in the morning I start the process by reading them a few potty books we have laying around and then show them their new panties.  I try to get them as psyched as I possibly can...you know, using that super high pitch voice, "Aren't these panties CUTE!!  Let's try to keep them clean!!!"  Although, a lot of the time they are just running around bare bottom. 

Now here's where your life ends as you know it.  My philosophy is "All or Nothing!".  Once the diaper comes off there is NO turning back for me.  I seriously do not leave the house...it's all about the potty people!  It's so easy to say, "Well, I'll work on potty training in the morning and then just put a diaper on them in the afternoon while I get some errands done."  But, I have to hold my ground or the process will take FOREVER.  I find that it gets really ugly before it gets better...but it does get better...eventually.

So yeah, I basically watch them like a hawk ALL day for several days.  We read on the potty, watch TV on the potty, the potty is always right there in their face.  I don't like to use Pull-Ups because I think it's important for kids to know what it feels like to be wet and yucky.  To me Pull-Ups prolong the process.  I do use Pull-Ups for naps, night time and when we're at someones' house and I don't want an icky accident on their beautiful white sofa.  But remember, I don't have them leave the house for at least a week first!

I gave Piper 4 M&M's after each time she went on the potty (8 for a poop)!  Oh, and I have a very special potty dance that I do after they go!  They think it's great...who wouldn't love to see their mom jumping all over dancing and being silly?  The sillier the dance, the better!

And that's it.  I think the main thing is consistency.  You can't potty train one day and not the next...I think that just confuses them.  But, that's just my opinion.

And just remember, we all hate this process!  I have not met one mother that enjoys this part of parenthood! It's really really really hard!  With Haley, I thought if I saw one more pair of poopy panties I might just go insane...really.  She nearly broke me...nearly, but not quite.  I survived...and more importantly, so did she.  

FHE

For people out of the know...FHE stands for Family Home Evening and Ryan and I have been trying really hard to stay consistent and do it every week.  This can prove to be a very difficult task with four small children.  Often times I prepare what I think will be a great lesson and unfortunately it goes badly almost immediately.  "Morgan STOP irritating Haley!!"  "PIPER GET OUT OF THE PANTRY!!"  "Haley, would you put that down!!"  "STOP touching each other!!!"  "Girls, sit still and listen please!!"  By the end I'm just so flustered and frustrated I just want to throw my scriptures across the room and be done with it!  

But, the truth is, the girls are listening...even when I think they aren't.  And they love doing it...even when I'm at my wits end...they still love it. 

But we do have those nights when everything falls perfectly into place...I love those nights.  They're the nights that keep us going.  And last night was one of those times.  Haley was in charge of the lesson and she chose to teach us about Nephi.  She even sang the song for us...it was beautiful!  

Here is the picture she used for her scripture story.

 

 Haley decided that we should all draw our own version of the picture.

Haley's.

Morgan's...I like the added unicorn at the bottom.  Nice touch.

Now let me add here that all of us were in complete hysterics while we drew...mostly laughing at Ryan and I in our complete agony trying to create something that resembled the painting.  I also want to add that I was trying really hard...honest, I was.  I dedicate this drawing to my brother, Andrew...the artist.  Remember Andrew, you are truly gifted!

And Ryan's...not sure why the guy on the bottom is wearing flippers on his feet though.

And last but not least, Piper's.

We ended the evening it with ice cream sundae's.  Perfect.  It was a good night...why can't they all be like?!

Weekend Review

Sheesh...I can't even remember what I did on Saturday!  Most likely it was centered around Piper and the whole potty training thing.  Which I might add that she is doing super!  I may even go as far as saying that she is fully trained!  We still may have an accident here and there...but when kid comes back into the house to pee in the potty when she's been outside playing in the pool...well, that's a good sign!  Or when she asks to go potty when she's in the bath!  Yeah, that's pretty good!  So I'm pretty proud of her...and me (can't I have some of the credit too?!)

Sunday, Haley was a busy one.  Out of the blue, she wanted to set the table for Sunday dinner.  So, for about an hour Sunday morning she wouldn't allow anyone into the dining room while she set it all up.  I was so impressed with what she did...all on her own!

 Inside everyones' glass was a little note to that person...mine said, "I love you."  She also put everyones' initials attached to a pencil, so we would know where to sit.  How creative...I loved it!

After our very special dinner we headed over to our good friends, Jen and Steve's for some dessert.

Piper scootering over there.  She has become quite good at it!

Not much else to report.  This week Ryan will be LA for a couple of days...we will continue swim lessons...maybe a trip to library...and who knows what else.  

The Job Jar

The girls riding around in the cul-du-sac...a favorite Summer past time.

The other week the girls helped create a Job Jar consisting of various simple jobs that they can do on their OWN (very important part of it).  Jobs such as, vacuuming, cleaning windows, dusting, folding laundry, sweeping the porch, etc.  Each morning they pick a job from the jar and it is their responsibility to have it (as well their journal and workbook) done by noon.  They earn one sticker for the job and another sticker for getting workbook/journal done...they can earn stickers for other various things as well (playing nice with each other, extra jobs, etc.)  I think there's around 30 spaces on their sticker chart to fill, and every chart is worth $5.00!  Both girls are always ready to spend the $5.00 immediately as soon as they fill a chart.  They are finally grasping the idea of saving the charts up to have more money to play around with.  By the way...I came up with this system (it works for us) from piecing together the ideas from Power of Moms.

Anyway, I often wonder if the jobs are actually helping me...as they can sometimes lead to disaster.  Like when Haley had "Pull weeds in the garden."...she accidentally pulled the new baby corn.  She felt so bad.  Needless to say I was pretty upset, as the corn and pumpkins are the only things coming up!  Now, we just have pumpkins. She has since replanted and we'll see what we get. Or when Morgan used half a bottle of Windex for one mirror.  Grumble, grumble.  Or when Haley was spraying Pledge inside my kitchen drawers to "dust" them.  I asked her what she was doing and she said, "Well, you told me to dust all flat wood surfaces...so this is wood, and it's flat."  Okay...I did say that, so she has point. 

Bottom line...this is a learning experience for us all!  I am super proud of them though because they are complaining very little (right now) about doing them.  In fact, they are pretty excited to see what they get each morning.  And they do enjoy helping with "grown-up" type chores.  Anything other than cleaning their room, or cleaning the playroom they are usually more willing to do!

I know I still need to update on swim lessons (they better know how to swim at the end of this month with the amount of money I putting into this!).  

Solid foods for Rory: She's eating like a champ!  Too bad she doesn't sleep as well as she eats!

Potty training: I'm hitting it hard...Piper and I do not leave the house.  She's doing pretty good, but the process is exhausting me! I will succeed though...I will!!

Lockdown

Potty training officially started this morning...just in case anyone was wondering.

And right after I started I immediately thought, "What have I gotten myself into?!"

But, there is no turning back now...I will see this through!!

This week I've also started Rory on solid foods and Haley and Morgan started swim lessons.

More on that later.

6 Months

My little Rory is 6 months!  This morning during her check-up we discovered that she grew over 2 inches in the last two months!  She's 27 inches long, putting her in the 88%tile for length.  But she's still a skinny thing though...13 lbs, so she's in the 6%tile for weight.  I'm not really surprised, that's how all my kids are it seems.  Something different about Rory...there is a spot on her forehead near her hairline that does not have any pigment.  So as she gets older and grows more hair she will have a very glamorous white streak of hair.  I've known about it since she was born.  The doctor was a little stumped because it's usually hereditary, but Ryan and I don't have any family history of it.  So she's a very special case.  My blue eyed girl, how we love her!

Happy Feet

My friend and I walked over to the nail place and got pedicures this afternoon!

Confession: The last time I had a pedicure was right before my sis-in-law's wedding...about 11 years ago!

I need to do it more often...seriously, it's so refreshing!  Plus, I get to read trashy gossip magazines!

I'm really stalling on potty training Piper.  I told myself I was NOT going to buy another box of diapers...well, the basket is nearly empty now.  Uh-oh.  What to do?  What to do?

Summer is here!  Late nights are now upon us.  Last night we had a couple of  Ryan's cycling bros over for some cake and ice cream and we didn't get the kids to bed until nearly 10!  Oops!

That won't be the last time I'm sure.  

Happy Birthday my love!

Happy Birthday to my Ryan.

I stole this photo off his computer.  This picture was taken 8 years ago...pre-kids.

Wow, I can't even imagine what that was like...probably a lot quieter.

Happy Birthday to you babe!  Love ya!

Now I'm off to make you your homemade tacos...hopefully I don't burn myself.

Hello June

Piper at Pizza Pie Cafe a few weeks ago.  This is our new favorite place to take the kids...although we only go if we have a coupon.  Seriously, a buffet is just a waste of money for me...I just don't eat enough food to make it worth it.  But in any case...yeah, this place is great with kids.

1. You can start eating as soon as you walk in the door.

2. Haley and Morgan are completely self sufficient.  Plus, they think they're big stuff because they can get up when ever they want to get more food.  No one is saying, "Stay in your seat!" every 10 seconds to them.

3. This place is as family friendly as you can get.  I feel completely at ease.

4. All our kids can sit at their own table.  Then Ryan and I can pretend we don't know them and can imagine we're on a romantic date in a really fancy restaurant.  Okay, maybe not.

5. It's the only place I know of that serves cookies and cream dessert pizza.  Creeped me out at first, but it's actually kinda good.

If you're wondering, that's Morgan's bestie, Campbelle in the picture.

So, I made it...Ryan gets back tonight, or I should say early in the morning.  We all get to wake up with him home!  Thank goodness!!  I was at the end of my rope today.  It was one of those days that I wish I could start over...a do over.  But that's not happening so I'll get some sleep and start fresh tomorrow.