As life passes by...

Life seems to fly by in a blur. I thought that as we age life seems speeds up. Now I've come to the conclusion there are more and more things to keep us busy and that's the reason for life accelerating up to death defying speeds.
I believe this is particularly true when one has small children in the home. My hat is off to any and all parents of multiples. Taking care of my own two little ones now seems like a piece of cake compared to throwing a very congenial 3 month old into the mix. Josephine is and of herself isn't difficult to take care, especially since she's been switched to a formula that doesn't upset her tummy so. It just when my little munchkins ages are 3, 13 months, and 3 months they simply keep me on my toes. Someone needs a diaper change or bottom wiped or clothes changed or a bath or breast feeding or a snack or a bottle ALL THE TIME! That is where the majority of my time is spent.

I'm very grateful for the gorgeous weather of late. This has slowed my days down a bit and decreased stress at the same time. We had - until today when the poor thing burst open- a lovely sprinkler ring ( thanks Laura) that Lucas received as a birthday gift last year. It has provided hours of cheap entertainment for the older two. We can turn it on low, where there is only about an 8 inch high spray. This isn't quite as wasteful with water and low enough Abrianna can drink out of it and splash without being afraid. Toss in a couple of plastic cups and the watering can it we easily have an hours worth of entertainment. They both play so nicely with that sprinkler.
Josephine happily resides in the bouncy seat while I either read, or pull weeds, or water the garden. The added bonus here is that my kids are worn out and ready for naps while my house didn't have two little tornadoes swirling through leaving much in a disarray.

Speaking of disarray... I'm doing much better with keeping up on my house as a whole. Several simply rules, such as you may not get out another set of toys until you pick up the ones you are playing with, and we pick up toys in the living room and bed room as part of the bedtime routine has helped tremendously. Couple that with my ruthless de-junking efforts and pay off is some reasonably nice results. Persistence is the key in this endeavor. I just need to keep plugging away at it.

On managing three while out and about...
I know I've posted my adventures to gymnastics. I've since remedied that situation by holding Josephine, if she's awake and needing it, with having Abrianna seated between my feet while I verbally direct Lucas.
Lucas obeys relatively well after summarily being taken out of class early by his mommy for repeated disobedience. He screamed and shrieked for a good 10-15 minutes after that. Now all it takes is the threat of having to leave to bring him back into line. (Sometimes I believe the shock of a discipline that was unexpected pays off big dividends later.)
A question for all you other moms... How can you reasonably enforce what you say to your older child when your arms are full of two squirming babies? Lucas has been very beligerent of late and I'm frustrated.
Just before Tacos this evening, I yelled I'd had enough and stormed out into the back yard for a mommy time out. Thankfully Rick talked to Lucas and got every thing done and the kids ready to go. Otherwise we woudn't have gone. I was prepared to spend a VERY long time out there simmering down and praying myself through my horrible frustrations and feeling like what I do is a hopeless cause!
Enough of my ramblings... Hope it wasn't too boring. This has been my life this week. There have been several funny things. Like when Rick was up in Spokane for his test and had called to visit. Lucas came trooping in to the living room telling me this is what he was having for supper. He had gotten into the fridge and filled and entire 8 oz. mug full of KETCHUP! to the brim!
I was able to salavage most of it. He settled for two slices of bread smeared in the stuff. My life isn't all hardship.

Hot Spring Day

The finished product

Before






After






Ahhh the few moments my living room is CLEAN and ORGANIZED. And will stay that way until 7:00 or 8:00 tomorrow morning. By 11:00 it will be trashed after Rick has taken care of all three kids while I do a massage. At least my pictures will preserve in my mind that I CAN CLEAN MY HOUSE!!

The kids book corner

The Kids' book corner

After Before

( Made you think, huh?)

Spring Cleaning part 1

I've been following The Simple Mom 's blog lately.
Her challenge is to declutter and spring clean.
The following pictures are partially documentation that I really do do something other than just feed and clean kids! Maybe also a little bit of
encouragement for myself too. Before After

Cheeping friends

"Momma take a picture", called my boy. He was "helping" Abrianna ride the ATV. She was not happy with the help. She's big enough now to push it along at a good pace on her own.

Here's one of the newest of the 7 additions to our family. We've talked about getting chickens for several years and finally decided to - as Nike says- "just do it!" The idea is that these little chicks will be Lucas' project as he gets older to take care of and eventually earn some money.
He says he wants to make his motorcycle big. Interpretation, he wants a big motorcycle with an engine that he can ride. One like daddy's.
On a side note... Lucas has been telling me that older people have skin on their chins and that he doesn't. Well, that's a now three-year-olds way of saying that someone has a sagging double chin :)

The Candles say he's three years old!

The morning began with several presents. This first being a pair of sunglasses and a "talking" Lightening McQueen t-shirt. Mrs. Doreen gave him the Engineers hat and train whistle.




I packed all three kids into the van for gymnastics. My back "slipped" yesterday pretty much incapacitating me, thus I had little or no tolerance for disobedience. So, we left gymnastics early because Lucas wasn't listening or minding. Then with all three still in tow, we stopped at Wal-mart to pick up pizza for tonight. Lucas was so disappointed and angry to have been forcibly removed from gymnastics that he screamed angrily demanding that we go back "RIGHT NOW" Oh NO you don't my son! So he cried all the way to Wal-mart and half way through the shopping trip. That is so out of character for him that one of the regular cashiers mentioned how she was surprised to see those noises coming from my usually very happy little boy. Can't say the day went much better. He's been having a very hard time adjusting to having Josephine around. He has been telling me that he is Josephine and needs to be given a bottle of milk and rocked in the chair. I've obliged him a time or two. I never knew how hard it was to love your child when they're being a brat. Sorry to say this is the hardest time I've ever had loving him. He did much better and had a blast at his party tonight.
We had pizza and salad. Followed by chocolate muffins and home made ice cream. The following pictures show the kids decorating them and then Lucas opening presents. So much fun. Thanks to all who helped make his day special.

Balloon

Here's Abrianna trying out the word "balloon".

Vignette's from my life....

Sleeping Beauties.
Both girls fell asleep on our walk, heads both dipping to the same side. Precious.

To you it may look like Lucas is just holding a bunch of random weeds... To an almost three-year-old ( next Tuesday!) it is much more. As we walked Lucas jumped off his bicycle and plucked some weeds, declaring" Here Mom! Here's some peanut butter and strawberry jam for later!" A couple minutes later "mushrooms, vegetables, and fruit" were added.
He is so generous! I guess I won't starve.

Earlier Josephine was hungry and Abrianna woke up from her nap and wanting to nurse. What to do? I only have two hands. I've discovered bottling feeding requires two hands- so much for reading while I do it. So, my solution... Use the boppy pillow to prop both of them up. Tuck a pillow behind me to keep from squashing my daughter. Hook my finger through the loop on the boppy to better prop my arm. Success! Both girls fell to sleep and I got a very need and forced rest. I wasn't able to reach any books of remote or anything else for that matter.
Taking care of three is a tremendous amount of work and and a tremendous joy!

Grandma Fisher's

Grammie reading a book to Abrianna on Sabbath afternoon.

Rick's Grandma Fisher has never met Abrianna.

Last June she was planning to come and meet her, but while at the store buying Abrianna a present, she slipped on a wet spot in the bathroom and fell breaking her knee- badly enough she had to have surgery to repair it.

So this weekend we trekked north to her beautiful home in the country to give both her and her great grandkids an opportunity to get aquanted.

Mommy and Abrianna riding Shoney.

We were welcomed with a good home cooked supper of lasagna, mashed potatoes, gravy, salad, bread, homemade raspberry jam, and juice topped off with apple-raspberry cobbler and vanilla ice cream. Out tummies were ready to burst with the bounty of it all.

Lucas and Abrianna... she wasn't appreciating her horizons being expanded.


The idea was to sleep in a bit Sabbath morning. That was NOT to happen. Grammie has an exhuberant 1/2 black lab 1/2 pitbull dog named Sammy. Needless to say, my children didn't appreciate him. How would YOU like to have a dog, big enough to look you in the eye, licking you in the face and jumping on you?
Rick had slipped out of bed to the bathroom just before 6:00 AM leaving the door ajar. Lucas popped awake and started chattering. Sammy, hearing Lucas, bounded up the stairs, through the door, and began smothering my terrified child in doggy kisses. His shrieks awoke the entire household! I shooed Sammy out but Lucas never did go back to sleep. My attempts at keeping his chattering quiet failed miserably. I gave up and finally took a book and both my my blessings down the stairs to read in the living room and let daddy sleep.

Lucas braving riding by himself."Faster!" he pleaded.
Grammie thrilled Lucas by taking him out to feed the horses and on a walk with the infamous Sammy. Lucas had reconciled himself to the fact that Sammy just licks people in the face upon returning. At least the terrified screams stopped.

Batter UP!
After Sabbath School, Church, and Potluck we returned home. Grammie had gifts for both kids. Lucas received an age appropriate foam bat and ball set. He had more fun hitting the ball like you would a golf club. Rick did get him to pose "correctly" for this shot.

Picking flowers.
Abrianna amused herself by toddling about the yard picking dandelions and trying to get into the slimy pond ( there was a dead rat floating in it, gross!). I wasn't paying attention and she got a hold of a daffodile too.
The rest of the days activites included horse riding and a walk. All in all a beautiful day.
Sunday morning, the plan was to try to be back in Spokane in time to watch Reggie and Andrea cross the finish line. Didn't happen. We couldn't find parking so we simply headed home.
The rest of the day, I spent trying to finish the housework I'd left on Friday to be able to get up to Grammies at a decent time. Pretty much was able to too.