Redirecting

I've started taking a parenting class titled, "redirecting children's behavior" and I LOVE it! You see, THIS is what I've always wanted. What I didn't learn in college and why I always feel like I have NO clue whatsoever at being a Mom. People always shush me if I say that--but it's true. I know everything about singing a role on stage or developing a character or how to choreograph a show, etc....But never learned how to raise children. It's all by trial and error so far. I am learning so much and getting wonderful gems to use at home. I have also learned that Nate and I are doing a few things right. Woohoo!

Emmy and I were in a disagreement about something and Jake uttered, "this isn't a democracy Emmy it's a Matriarchy". I said, "What? That isn't true I don't rule the roost" He said, "it's not like I said it was a dictatorship. It is a Matriarchy." OK, so I'm going to have to work on that a little and let my kids make more decisions on their own.

Aunt Emily comes this week! Yeah! Goals: take down the Christmas tree upstairs before she gets here. Yes. I said the Christmas tree.

San Francisco

Nate and I went away for the weekend. The first in three years--that I can recall anyway. And, no I don't count when we had to go house-hunting last spring. That is NEVER a vacation. Anyway,... We had a wonderful time!!!! We met up Friday afternoon with my friend Juliet and husband, Pat for her 40th birthday dinner. We had a lovely time visiting with them and touring a bit of the city. We ate at the greatest places...mmm....went to the King tut exhibit on Saturday, waited in line to get Wicked tickets for $25 bucks (Danae your crumpling of the ticket theory failed me!)--we still got in, though. They gave all of us that waited discounted tickets (although, not for $25). The theatre had a ton of empty seats. Sunday we stopped in to hear a lively methodist choir singing Jesus' praises complete with live band and HUGE choir, walked around golden gate park (even though it's winter it was still beautiful!), raced back to our hotel, checked out and flew back home.

Oh, and I almost forgot--we got to see a guy peeing on the sidewalk...some woman yell at me "get away from me you f.... b...!" while standing at a bus stop not 5 feet from me...Oh, and one guy, high as a kite, broke into a conversation with Nate and proceeded to follow us for 15 minutes until we finally had to walk back to our hotel to shake him off. Pat and Juliet shared with us the cardinal rule up there, "Do NOT engage! Do NOT engage!" Woops! Didn't know that one. Ah... SF!

The kids were so excited to see us--as we were them. Three days is the perfect get away. I miss them too much after that.

Weirdest day ever in So Cal

Emily decided she wanted us to all go to the beach. When we got up I noticed it was raining--doesn't usually do that here. I called her up and said are you sure you want to go to the beach? Yep! So we left. They're plane was leaving out of Long Beach so we decided to make the trek up there so they wouldn't have to travel so far on vacation (it's about an hour away). When we got up to Long Beach the wind picked up the second we got to the bay and then it started to rain. Sheets and sheets of rain. Vivian wanted to go to the car. We stood there for a while all huddled under a blanket while Molly and Abby played in the sand and at the waters edge. Eventually, Abby came over to us with blue shaking lips and said, "Mom can we go?" We packed it all up and headed to "Open Sesame". A Delightful mediteranean place.

After lunch it seemed we were in a monsoon. The trees were all leaning sideways in the wind and it was cold and rainy. Emily wanted to go to the mall so she could go to a store called H & M. We were hoping the kids could find a playplace as most malls have-- to play together before Molly and Ethan had to fly back home. Nope! All they had was a costly carousel. Jake went in the bathroom and came out and said "Dad, look at the water on the floor".....then, it started gushing out of the bathroom door. The entire lower level at South Coast plaza (a HUGE mall) was starting to flood. All the lower level stores were beginning to close. Nate and Pete were advised to go get their cars out of the parking garage as it was also flooding and leaking. We all stepped outside and cars in the parking lot had water almost up to their door handles. It was crazy. When we drove on the freeway every now and again a brilliant driver would go whizzing by us-- dousing us with a wall of water so that you couldn't see a thing for a few seconds. After the mall we decided it best to part ways and go home. I don't think I can recall a day like this EVER in sunny southern california, but I guess they do happen occasionally!

The rain reminded me of storms in North Carolina--hurricane weather really. I still remember vividly trying to escape a hurricane and driving in it the entire 7 hour drive to stay with MJ when Jake was just three and Emmy a newborn. We got so drenched every time we stopped the car and had to get out.

Glad to be home safe and sound in my warm and cozy bed :)

While I was sleeping...

Today was a horrible, no good, very bad day! I decided to sleep in (always a mistake in my house) and it just happened to be the one and only morning Vivian pooped in her diaper upon waking up and tried to clean it up herself. Yes, she's potty trained, but wears a diaper at night and NEVER poops in it, except this morning. There was poop all over my beautiful blue throw rug in a trail to the diaper box from the bathroom, in the sink, on the counter, etc. Nice :) If you want to put me in the best of moods for the day make me clean up poop first thing. You know this was why I would never go into the medical profession--gross things are GROSS and I don't like having any part of them.

Then I let the girls wear two darling, matching "baby lulu" outfits I had just bought the day before. Abby ripped hers within the hour and Vivian managed to sneak out of her bed at nap time and find the green silly putty. It is now embedded in the fabric. ANYONE know HOW to get silly putty out of mesh fabric? Oh, and did I mention she pee'd on the carpet as well this afternoon? As I was sopping up the pee with a rag and cursing under my breath I thought, "This is it! I am done! I don't want to do this anymore! When will the pee and poop EVER END?!!!!" I didn't send out any Christmas messages this year because THIS is my life-- day in and day out--doesn't make for very sweet tidings.

After dinner, we all watched Evan Almighty--pretty funny, by the way. Afterwards, Viv and Abby wanted to dance to the music. The credits ended with a slow song and Viv squeezed me tight with her head resting on my shoulder while Abby held on at my hip as we danced together and suddenly all was right with the world again. What a roller coaster motherhood is! Or...maybe it's just me.

My not-so perfect day

Ah! I give up. I thought I would post a new pic, but don't have time to figure out why it only covers half the page....Whatever....

It all started out pretty well. Nate gone, of course on the Sunday we were slotted to sing as a family in church. That's OK, right? I just have to get everyone ready, warmed up, fed, practice a few times and to church by nine. Well, we made it there on time--after a few tears were shed in the car "Jake's singing too loud--he's messing up my part!" Once I get in there they each decide to sit in a different pew. And Vivian decides to duck under one and every time I walk around to get her she crawls to the other side and giggles--boy, must that have been funny to watch! We sang without incident. Church is over. Phew! Go to choir practice, go home, make everyone lunch, read stories, put Viv down for a nap, take a nap myself, wake-up, make dinner, make muffins for choir, burn muffins, race to choir (after a 15 minute search for the car keys), and make it to the choir concert by the skin of our teeth.

The concert went amazingly well. A few gliches here and there, but all in all a beautiful concert. Afterwards, one of the children tells me Abby pinched them and poked them while on stage (yeah...um...what do I say?...she's 5 with a mind of her own) then she decides to go get lost. After searching for nearly 20 minutes I start to panic--as I do. Finally, find her handing out candy canes to people. Aurgh! Get home by 10pm. Luckily, hubbies home and he puts the little ones to bed.

My friends tell me I'm too busy...I think they're right. Ah! bed......

The birthday party!

Phew! The only way to describe how I feel is complete and utter exhaustion. I can barely lift my arms they are sooo tired. Nate left yesterday morning--but all was OK, because Aunt Katie (poor unsuspecting Katie!) was coming for a visit and would be there to help with the birthday festivities. All I had to do was make two butterfly cakes (because after all we were having a party for TWO birthday girls), wrap the party favors, pick-up balloons and get everyone to our party destination. That doesn't sound too difficult does it?

Well, backtrack two days to when we decided to hire a painter. Our conversation went something like this, "We'd like to use you how soon can you do the job?" Jesus, "Probably next week sometime, if it's not raining. I will call you when it looks good." The very next morning the children yell up to me in my room, "why is that strange man in our backyard?" I run downstairs and who should be starting to water pressure clean our siding, but Jesus! "I thought you were going to call me next week?" I say. "Oh, well, it's not raining tomorrow so we'll start today". OK, I think, but I have no idea what color to pick--between the birthday party, the renters who want to fill out a non-existent application and then sign a non-existent lease, not to mention see the house, as well as company visiting--I can find the time to pick out colors.

The next morning he was there and I'm thinking I don't have any idea what color. I quickly looked at his color swatches (with Nate just before he left) and just picked the color most like what we had and was done with it! That evening I looked at one of the pillars on the front porch and I could stick my finger right through it. I pushed on the wood and it felt like a sponge--oozing with water. I talked to the painter about it and he said, he would just caulk it really well. I got to thinking--this is not a good solution. So, I decided I would attempt the repair myself. After using my great big non-existent muscles I managed to pull the thing apart and go buy wood to replace it with all by 10:30pm. At which time I decided I'd better draw up that lease so the new tenants can sign it and I can take the house off the market and stop showing it and answering tons of phone calls and emails about it. At 12:30 I went to bed. I wasn't able to make the cakes, but I could do it in the morning. I woke up at 6am and hit the groung running--to make the cakes and start on the project on my house before the painters were back to finish. Aurgh! At 10:30am I was finished with the project and I couldn't even nail in the last 4 nails because my arms hurt so bad from hammering. What little strength I had was gone.

Thank heaven for Katie! The poor thing looked at me in horror when she saw the state I was in upon her arrival. "What is going on?" she asked. She bathed the girls for me, made the 2nd cake, helped decorate it, changed poopy pants and took photos of my birthday girls because I had to miss most of the party due to my forgetting to bring drinks. After running around exercising at the gymnastics center I knew those little bodies would be thirsty so I had to run back home for them. I swear I don't know how I function from day to day!

All in all, the girls were thrilled! 16 of their friends came and I think they all enjoyed it. Vivian was elated to get to go down on the gym floor. She usually has to stand behind the railing and watch. The party leader couldn't believe how fearless she was! Katie said she walked across the beam with her arms up totally confident and she has never even been on a beam before. She loves gymnastics! As do the other girls. I will be so bummed when we leave this place as they have made a lot of improvement. Emmy and Abby have more muscle definition than me and Jake put together!

Next weekend I get to do it all over again for Emmy's party at the gymnastics center. I was thinking we would have a garage sale that morning too. OR, maybe not....

Signing off for now. If ever there was an evening to do nothing but watch TV it would be tonight. I still have a mountain of clean-up to do in the kitchen, however, and tomorrow being mother's day I don't want to have to tackle it then!

Le Piece de Resistance!!!!

After 4 long weeks I finally have a toilet again in my bathroom! It took Nate every weekend and every spare minute he had (as well, as several hours of our neighbors help) to complete it, but IT IS FINALLY DONE! The toilet leaks now where it never did before, but I don't care the floor is georgeous! And I don't have to share with the kids anymore--and let me tell you, those late night potty trips were NO PICNIC? Do you know what it's like to enter a kids bathroom in the middle of the night when you're half asleep? You never know what you will find. Ick! Now, I just feel like we need to redo the rest, but I will resist the urge. That took WAY too much time and money :) Glad it's done.