Taxidermy

I have to admit that taxidermy is really kind of interesting. We have a museum where we live that has tons of taxidermied (I know that's not a real verb probably, but it's the best I could come up with) animals and my kids love to go there during the summer when it's just too hot to go to the zoo. Their insect room is phenomenal, in a as-long-as-it's-here-and-not-in-my-house sort of way. You wouldn't believe the size of some things that are technically considered insects. I would term them as small rodents myself. They have a live tarantula that is every bit as frightening as I thought it would be seeing it in real life. They also have hissing cockroaches - as if they needed anything else to make them more loathsome than they already are - from Madagascar that are easily 2-3 inches long. May I NEVER find one of them in my house. Anyway, I have to just say that it's awesome to finally live in a town long enough to find some of these hidden gems.

Potty Training (the First of Many Posts, I'm Sure)

I have to admit I am not good at potty training. My son was SO easy to potty train. The first time I put him on the potty, he went. And he went every time thereafter. That's not to say that we didn't have accidents, because those were plentiful, but I really didn't have to sit with him hoping that he'd go. He understood the idea that the potty was where we do our business, so that's what he did.

Fast forward two years and here I am trying to potty train two girls. Everyone always says potty training girls is easier. But the people who say that didn't have my son, nor do they have my daughters. I have sat there with my girls for HOURS waiting for them to finally go. The first time, I sat with them for 2 1/2 hours letting them stand up and stretch every so often so that they didn't get stiff and totally uncomfortable. (You wouldn't believe the amount of singing and book reading you can do in 2 1/2 hours!) When I was giving them one such break, one of them took the opportunity to relieve herself all over the floor, very adeptly keeping her potty completely dry. Needless to say, potty training came to a dead halt that day. Who has the energy to keep going after something like that? Certainly not me.

About 2 weeks later, I was ready to try again. (This was 1 week ago). I sat there with them for 3 1/2 hours until my one daughter finally went. Then I sat for another hour and when my other daughter finally let 3 drops out (literally), I called it good and put them down for a nap. That was exhausting! So today I sat with them for 2 1/2 hours before they went (about 10 minutes apart thank goodness!). After such a success, I knew I needed a new tactic. I opted to just leave them bare naked to see it they would continue to hold it. The last time I put undies on them immediately after they went, and we had about 4 different accidents in about 10 minutes. How is that possible when they just went on the potty? I'm not sure. Anyway, all went well until I turned around about 1/2 hour later to see my daughter going on the floor. When I let out a yelp, she stopped and actually held it until I got her on the potty, where she finished. I would call today a success, but I have this sneaking suspicion that with such a victory today tomorrow is going to be...trying again.

Please let me know, am I missing something in potty training? Or was I just totally spoiled the first time and I'm now simply experiencing reality for everyone else? What tricks are there out there? Help!

Handy Man

I have to admit I am the man! The handy man. I totally figured out how to take apart the pool filter system today, clean it, put it all back together and now it works better than before I started messing with it. You can just call me Mrs. Handy Man. There are still so many things that I have no idea how to do, but day by day and year by year I am getting more handy. Like the other day I patched up some cracks in the stucco. All I need to do is paint it and we're good to go. My goal is to one day know how to literally build my own house...not that I'll actually build it, but wouldn't it be awesome if you knew how? That would mean that you could probably fix pretty much anything that went wrong in your house. Or what about knowing about cars? I would love to not have to spend any money (particularly because I don't ever want to be charged too much) on car repairs, house repairs, etc. I know it's totally nerdy, but there you have it.

Today

I have to admit today is not a super day for me. Do you ever have those days where nothing huge went wrong, but in general you woke up and from the get-go you knew it was going to be one of those days? That's today for me. My kids cry and whine at some point every day, so why is it today that I just can't deal with it very well? My kids talk back to me nearly every day, so why am I taking it so personally today? My house is never super clean, so why does it seem that it has to be especially dirty today? Like I said, nothing horrible, but today seems just a bit BLAH!

Time

I have to admit I'm amazed when I think of how long I've been married. Getting married at the ripe old age of 19, it shouldn't strike me with such force that it's been 9 years since we got married. There have been so many good memories with which those years have been filled. We were married 5 years before we had any kids. Somehow those 5 years of marriage zoomed by much faster than any set of 5 years prior to that. There are two years between my son and my twin girls. How did those two years fly by so quickly? And yet, I think about the fact that my girls are over 2 now and I'm amazed at how quickly time has passed. Yet in the same thought, it feels that they've been part of the family forever. When I was a teenager, time could not go quickly enough. Grade school seemed to take forever. Then middle school. Finally high school. I was ready to begin life and really start living. And I have, I just didn't know that life starts going double-time after you reach about 18 years old. My mom insists that it only gets worse, that in a blink of an eye my babies will be teenagers. Blink again and they'll have their own kids. My task now is to find joy in each moment because it does pass all too quickly. Although day to day, sometimes I find myself thinking, "I can't wait until..." But here I am looking back on life wishing I could go back to younger me and say, "Don't live in the future. Live in the present, doing all you can each moment to make the most of it". If I want to say that to the younger me, then it follows that the current me needs to hear it too. So here's to living for each moment before they are all to quickly gone.

Home Decor

I have to admit I have a very tailored taste in home decor. Whenever I go out with my sweet mother in-law, we will each point out the things that we like and inevitably they are polar opposites. Actually that's not true, sometimes we find things we both like and we are both extremely surprised. Usually when I point out something I like, she says, "It's very tailored" which says everything. I like stripes. I like straight lines. I like things with big patterns. Things with little patterns are extremely distracting to me. Everything in the room has to match (that's not to say that my house is currently that way, but I really would love it if it was). I don't like sofas that have patterns (unless they are very subtle). I don't like the ornate bedspreads (unless their patterns are big of course). I don't like oriental rugs (they're too distracting with all the different things to look at). I do like symmetry. I do like geometric designs. Having said all this, I do go into people's houses that do have non-tailored houses and really like them. Many of them are extremely beautiful and I could live in them comfortably. But somehow when I'm out and about picking out things for my own home, I gravitate to the very tailored.

Disney

I have to admit I really enjoy watching some of the Disney shows with my kids. I get a real kick out of watching my son laugh hysterically when he gets the jokes. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is one of the kids' favorites and the best part for my son is when Goofy says "Mouska Tools" wrong; it always makes him crack up. We have been enjoying the old Duck Tales show too and they have some great one liners. I won't bore you with them, but let's just say that I don't find myself completely bored when I watch something with my kids. Thank goodness that they have realized that parents usually have to tune in with the kids so they give at least a little comic relief to the parents. I have seen some kids shows that I just couldn't even stand to watch, so thanks Disney for being considerate of the parents too!

Painting Nails

I have to admit I'm terrible at painting my nails. I don't even attempt my fingernails because it's just hopeless. And when I paint my toenails, I just hope they're far enough away from everybody's eyes that they won't be able to see how amateur I am. I let my 4 year-old boy help me paint my nails today and I hate to admit that it didn't really look much different than it usually does. And I don't think that's because I have a particularly talented nail-painting son. Oh well, hopefully over the years it will get better. It hasn't so far, but here's the hope. Any tips?

Education

I have to admit I love numbers. When I think about what I graduated in, I wish I hadn't gone that route. I know that right now it doesn't make much difference what I graduated in because I wouldn't exactly be imparting that sort of knowledge to my little ones, but I can't help thinking about how much I enjoyed my first two years of classes in college. I started out doing all I could to get my MAcc (Masters of Accounting). I loved all the classes I took and (if I do say so myself) I was good at them. I was a shoe in for the BYU accounting program because I was a girl and because I had a super GPA. What, then, could cause me to stop that and pursue something else? The what is actually a who. Yep that's right, I met my husband and the dreams that had been mine had to be combined with his to be our dreams. I shouldn't make it sound like he wasn't completely supportive; he was, absolutely. But I knew that we both had a lot of schooling ahead of us and I figured life would be just that much easier for us financially if I could get a full time job, shoot for a quicker graduation date and put him through school. That's what I decided to do, and we've been able to stay free of student loans thanks to some sweet jobs I was able to get before and after graduation (and of course, help from parents).

I thought that would be the end of it, but I still find myself counting things all the time and thinking about how much I love numbers. Nerdy, right? But I can't help it. I commented to my husband one time about how often I find myself counting things. I know how many strokes I need to take in my pool to swim 20 minutes. I know how many steps it took to walk around the mall once when I would walk there before the shops open (incidentally you wouldn't believe how many people walk around the mall for exercise before the stores all open). When I feel like quitting on my runs, I just count out 100 steps and usually I've slowed down my breathing enough to keep going. I thought all these things were normal and everyone did them. Until I mentioned some of these things to Paul, and then I realized I truly have OCD of some sort. Or a love? Can you love numbers? Is it like loving art and design and music? In any case, there's my secret. I admitted it: I love numbers.

Father's Day

I have to admit that I have an amazing husband. People (including my husband) have asked me before what it is that I love most about him, and up to this day I haven't exactly been able to pinpoint one thing that means the most to me. But today he actually voiced it himself. He said, "I'm always wanting to know how I can be better". That opitomizes him. He wants to be better. A better Dad, a better husband, a better cyclist, better at work, a better son. (The list goes on, but I'll stop there). I know that I can trust someone who is always striving to be better. I know that I can feel comfort in knowing that any problems that may arise between us will eventually be resolved because we're always working to be better. How can there be someone better for me? I don't think there is. In fact, there isn't. He is perfect for me. Cliche, right? True nonetheless. I am blessed to have married the man of my dreams. Happy Father's Day, honey!

Company

I have to admit one of my worst fears is that anyone will come over to my house when it is a wreck and see how it really looks most of the time. The other fear that I have, though, is that after I make the effort to clean it up that I'll somehow overlook something that my company will find disgusting. Do you ever feel that you've seen your house so much and have overlooked certain things for so long that you don't even notice them anymore? I'm having people over for Father's Day tonight and I'm going through these emotions right now. Have I gotten all the kid's finger prints off the walls? Did I clean up the toilet after my son's last visit there? Is there a wet diaper in any of the bathroom trash cans that is making the room stink? But worst of all, is there anything that they'll not that I haven't done that I'm not even aware I should be doing? That would be bad. But I'm feeding them right? Hopefully that will distract them if there is anything I've missed. But what if my food is bad? Oh well, that's another topic for another time. Happy hosting!

My Name is Mom

I have to admit some days I don't want my name to be Mom. This is one of those days and unfortunately, it's not even because of antics from my kids. I woke up today very restless and decided that today my name needed to be Heather, not Mom. But as everyone knows, Mom doesn't always get to hang up her hat when she wants. So instead of indulging in the books, crafts, piano, singing and shopping that I really wanted to do, I cleaned my house instead. I know that's just crazy sounding to some, but it was a way for me to still be able to do the Mom thing without lashing out at my kids and I was able to do something for me. Many days I just feel guilty spending the time it really takes to get my house clean (is everyone like that or is it just me?) because it takes away from my kids. But today I got into the toy bins and cleaned them out. I got into the closets and pulled out all the clothes that are too small for the kids. I dusted, I vacuumed (sad to say but the dusting hasn't really been done much since we moved in) and now after 4 exhausting hours, my upstairs is officially clean. Now I can move on to my main floor and the lower level... But today I was able to get passed the Mom blues by putting on the housewife hat. And you know what? My kids were no worse for the wear. They actually played together quite a bit today (which does NOT usually happen when I choose to clean). I think Heavenly Father knew I needed that. Hopefully after I get them in bed tonight I can sit down to do one of the other activities that I really wanted to do....

Art

I have to admit I was not blessed with any ability at all in the artistic realm when it comes to drawing, coloring, painting, etc. I feel that I can be "crafty" but my hands were not meant to portray things on paper in any way but completely elementary. After reading my sister's blog tonight it was completely confirmed when I saw that her sons had not only surpassed me at their ripe ages of 10 and 12, but that their understanding of all things artistic is in a realm that I haven't even begun to get to. What children that age innately understand the idea of shadowing? Or the concept of putting two characters together into one body? I guess it may come naturally to some, but I am not one of those. I like to sit back and enjoy the creativity and talent of others, especially when I find that I have no particular talent in that area. So artists of the world, keep creating for those of us who can enjoy the end products but have not a lick of talent to create them ourselves.

Funny or not?

I have to admit sometimes when I should be disciplining (or maybe just stopping) my kids, I sit there and laugh instead. Take yesterday as an example, I specifically told James it was quiet time and he needed to stay in his room. If he came out, there were going to be privileges taken away.  After about 3 minutes, I heard him scurry downstairs, climb up on the counter in the kitchen and get a package of fruit snacks. I positioned myself at the foot of the stairs and waited for him to round the corner from the kitchen. When he saw me, he kind of jumped, then not missing a beat said, " I was getting you a snack, Mom." While I knew it was TOTALLY a lie, I couldn't keep a straight face. As quickly as I could, I wiped the grin away and told him he could have them if he took a nap. Surprisingly enough, he actually did take a nap. I guess somtimes it pays to be nice to get something you want.