Yesterday was one of those really long days. You know--it's 8:00 at night and I'm still helping one practice spelling, cleaning up dinner, baking bread, making a pie for Eva's YW the next day, practicing, ..... In the middle of everything...

Ivy calls out, "MOOOOOOMMM, Nathan wrote on his dresser with a maaaaaaarrrrrrrrkerrrr!"

I just sighed and said to Ethan, "Please go get the marker." I didn't have the energy to do that much more at the time and I was really busy. He cheerfully went to collect it saying, "Don't worry Mom. I'll just paint that dresser for you!"

Right. I feel better now. Because that sounds like a great idea--the 10 year old painting the furniture!

On second thought, maybe it would be a good Saturday OUTSIDE project for him!!

I also love this morning's conversation. I had run almost 6 miles at the gym and came home with just an hour to get all four kids dressed, fed, lunches packed, etc and be at the school for choir practice. Everything was going great and I really needed a shower so I gave everyone an assignment. Eva's was to tell Ivy that she could get dressed in the next 5 minutes and come upstairs that her lunch would be packed for her. (Eva was upset about that until I told her it was already packed anyway.) She was then to direct Ivy to her breakfast and finish her own lunch. Ethan was supposed to help Nathan get his wet bedding into the washer and help him pack his bag. Eva immediately complains, "Why do IIII have to do that?" I just looked at her and then got in the shower. 30 seconds later I hear Ethan call down to Ivy and Eva yell at him, "That's MY JOB!"

The Law of the Vomit

IF the child downstairs with no toilet makes it all the way upstairs to the toilet--twice--then the child next door to the toilet cannot.

The child who initially cannot get to the toilet must stop immediately and finish wherever he/she is standing, particularly if he/she is standing on carpet.

If the child's room was JUST cleaned and all laundry picked up, garbage thrown away, etc. then that would be the perfect time for a vomit accident. The ideal target is the carpet.

Wait for it.... Wait for it........ The perfect time is when the stomach is full because a dinner was served that was appreciated by everyone (i.e. pizza and cookies). Remember--patience is a virtue!

If there is a clear and present target and the belly is full you can have the perfect storm!

If there are targets on the floor protecting the carpet (i.e. rug that could be put in an AUTOMATIC washer, towel, etc.) these must always be avoided.

In the event all targets cannot be avoided aim for the smallest one. (Thank you elementary school handbook for protecting your little square!)

When possible, splatter is nice.

Splatter is particularly effective in the little crevices on baseboards. Also nice on the furniture. This would be perfect if dresser drawers are left open a bit (thankfully ours were closed!)

Uncertainty is desirable. It is best to always leave the individual cleaning up the vomit wondering if all splatter spots have been found and cleaned up.

All action should take place between 11:00 PM and 3:30 AM. This is for two reasons: (1) All the toilet "cheerleaders" are MIA. You know--the people who yell, "RUN to the bathroom! DON'T stop! GO GO GO GO!!" (2) Vomit incidents must cause disruption--getting people out of bed is perfect!

Greatness means the need for more cleaning tools, chemicals, etc. To be superior a carpet cleaner or rental of some sort will be required in addition to the obligatory air freshener, rags, towels, soap, water, etc.

Persistence pays. Regarding the downstairs child, the third time is the charm!! (Vince woke up and I read him this post and he informed me that I slept through the one he cleaned up)

Always remember: "Any job worth doing is worth doing well!"

Congratulations Eva!!

Once a month our school district gives a school an opportunity to recognize one student, parent, and teacher at the board meeting. Our elementary school's opportunity was this Tuesday and Eva was recognized as the outstanding student. The principal and superintendent read great things about her (some quotes from her teachers) and presented her with a great certificate, bookmark, and a $20 gift certificate to the local bookstore. We were very proud of her!!! It was a little embarrassing for me because the principal chose to recognize me as the parent volunteer and I prefer being the proud parent. Go Eva!!

Reason #334 Why I Love Adult Conversation

We're driving to school and Nathan is putting his shoes and socks on in the car (because after I located a match of socks out of the basket of clean stuff I haven't folded we had no time to put them on) and says "I dropped my sock!"

I stop the car, pull over, reach back and hand him his sock.
Nathan: "Why did we stop?"
Me: "So I could get your sock."
Nathan: "But WHY did we stop?"
Me: "Because I couldn't get your sock without stopping the car--it wouldn't be safe."
Nathan: "Mom. Why did WE stop?"
Me: "We stopped so you would have a sock."
Nathan: "OK so why did we stop the CAR?"
Me (voice raised a bit): "Nathan. Why did we stop the car? So I could hand you your sock that fell on the floor!!!"
Nathan: "Oh."

Halloween

Halloween is fun and I'm glad it's over!

Eva wore her poodle skirt, Ethan was a pirate one night and a vampire the next, Nathan was batman and Ivy was a witch. We recycled old costumes this year and that was nice. Between last Tuesday and Saturday Eva had 6 parties! Crazy! We all had a family party at the school on Wednesday--it was a great time! All four kids were invited to a party on Thursday at the neighbor's and Eva had 3 others (One was with the Utah Symphony which she got to see for free!). Poor Ethan didn't get to go trick-or-treating because he had a fever (Vince was sick too) but Nathan and Ivy came through for him. Eva took them trick-or-treating for a while and then I took them a few places. I cannot believe how much candy is in our house! My favorite stop that night was when a man answered the door and while looking over his shoulder the whole time, dumped handfuls of candy in their buckets, saying "I don't want to do this all night. Just take this. And this. GO! Quick, Run! Go!" The door then shut quickly. He hardly looked at them he was so distracted by someone seeing/noticing what he was doing. Hilarious!

I had a good time taking Ivy and Nathan trick-or-treating. I drove them around town to a few places I knew. They went to a haunted house by their aunt's house and I was a little nervous because I could hear them screaming and I was afraid they would be freaked out. Nathan got to the car looking pensive, and said to me, "That was fun! I want to go again!" Ivy looked nervous until he said that and then said she had fun too. After a while they got in the car and said they were ready to go home and asked if they were sure. They looked at me and said, "Can we go again?" I said, "Sure!" A few minutes later they got in the car and Nathan said, "My legs hurt. I'm done." Ivy agreed so I said I would take them home. A minute later I said, "What about that house?" and they became very excited "YES! We want to go there! Thanks mom!" This went on for quite a while. I got a kick out of it. It reminded me of when I once took just Eva and Ethan trick-or-treating when Ivy was little. It was really fun to spend time with just Ivy and Nathan.

I was pondering the other day about how excited I was to have a couple of pumpkins the kids brought home from school to decorate our house with. It seemed so homey and festive to put them out. I was thinking about it because I was so GLAD to throw them out finally! How odd that something so sweet so quickly becomes annoying clutter! This is probably why I have no Thanksgiving decorations. Then I will be ready to think Christmas decorations will be fun!

Abolish Perfect Attendance Awards?

I was reading the local newspaper last night that the school board is considering canceling all future perfect attendance awards. I blame H1N1. It's been pretty bad here and everyone's a little freaked out about it. People argue that perfect attendance awards encourage students to come to school sick. Some people argue that parents push their kids to have perfect attendance because the parents want them to have the award. (I think it's more likely that parents push their kids to go to school because it takes care of a daycare problem.) In any case, I started thinking about my oldest two, Eva and Ethan, who had perfect attendance last year and are perfect so far this year. How come they haven't been sick? When half the kids in their classes are out with sickness how come they are still there? One good friend suggested it must be because my house is so clean and I laughed. Seriously. That can't be the reason.

Then I took a second look at my house and things started making sense. The kitchen, for example. It's always cluttered with lots of dishes, especially cups. Because they get a new cup every time they need a drink. They also use lots of silverware. At our house, sometimes it takes 3 spoons to finish one bowl of oatmeal. And I know we go through lots of fresh towels because 2 days after I finish the laundry I'm out of dish towels and rags. Then there's the bathroom. No one flushes the toilet, thereby eliminating the possibility of sharing germs on the toilet handle. Toothbrushes (if used) are left all over the counter, not touching each other, and having plenty of room to air out. I've also noticed that the older they get the more space we use up during scripture reading. Everyone has a whole corner of the room to themselves, so they won't accidentally be touched by anyone. On one hand, I'm grateful that Ivy was the ONLY one to have a fever and miss four days of school this week and on the other hand I think they should CLEAN UP after themselves and just be sick already!

A few weeks ago we celebrated Ethan's birthday. We're so proud of him and he is excited to be a Webelos!!! I always make a special cake for the kids and Ethan wanted a Patrick (sponge bob) cake. So Friday night I put a cake in the oven and when I went to take it out it had fallen. This has never happened to us in this house before and Ethan, Ivy, and Nathan asked what was wrong with it. I told them that it had fallen and they asked how that happens and so I told them that people running and jumping and bouncing around the kitchen would do it. There was immediate feedback: Ivy--"It wasn't me! I was just sitting at the table! I did not make the cake fall....." Nathan--"It wasn't me!" Ethan, looking down at the floor--"Sorry, mom. Are you going to bake another one?" I was so proud of him for being responsible that the next morning when I woke up I decided to bake another one. He realized what was happening and then "hung around" the whole time it was baking. Every time someone would come in the living room, kitchen, or even the house he would say "There's a cake in the oven so no jumping around! We don't want the cake to fall!" And it didn't! I've noticed that if I want them to tread lightly and not rough house then I just have to put something in the oven and I get immediate results!

The other week Nathan and Ivy were running errands with Vince and I and Ivy was driving us nuts. She was being such a tattletale! One thing after another. Over and over. I was trying to be very patient and I kept saying to Ivy, "What's YOUR name?" She would sigh, say "Ivy." and then there would be peace for the next 5-10 minutes. Eventually she tried a new tactic: "Mom, Nathan and Ethan came in my room this morning and they were looking out my window and they wouldn't leave,... And my name is Ivy. I knew you were going to ask!"

Our ward is moving to a new building. A newer bigger building and the kids are really excited. Sunday they were asking, "Is the gym bigger? Is the chapel bigger? Are there more classrooms? Are they bigger?..." We kept saying Yes. Nathan was BURSTING to say something so we hushed everyone and listened to him ask "Is the bathroom bigger?" We chuckled and said yes. He gave a very enthusiastic fist pump!

In the past few weeks we have also learned from various children of ours (don't ask how we know these things or who taught us!):
--How mattresses are put together
--Storing things in the walls is not a great idea
--Mom and Dad are grouchy about holes in the wall--particularly big ones you might want to store things in!
--You can use the sun and a stupid dollar store magnifying glass to burn holes in paper, sticks, and mailboxes! (The mailbox thing was shocking to us too) We no longer own a magnifying glass of any kind!
--How to make pie crust--this is a money saver and I needed something positive!
--Mom gets grouchy about holes dug in the front flower beds and dirt all over the porch
--When you empty the trash you should make sure everything gets IN the can and if it doesn't you should CLEAN it up right away!
--If you carve a pumpkin when Mom says no she will find out anyway because the pumpkin will rot

My blood pressure is still recovering from a sudden dip this morning from when Ethan prayed that Eva would have no trouble babysitting tonight and Mom and Dad would have a great time at the temple. It made me feel so much better about everything else that I felt like blogging!!!

How Come...

when Vince makes up some new recipe the kids say "Dad, you should make a cookbook!"
and when I make up some new recipe the kids say, "Who taught you that?"