MMA Morning Wake up Call

Excuse the following series of blurry, abstract photographs. They represent an attempt in capturing what I endure every morning as consequence of both sharing a bed with my husband and giving birth to three boys.  One by one those boys make their way to our bedroom, and give us a play by play of how their last night's sleep went. Johnny is typically chipper and usually let's us know he's been awake at least three hours already (usually not true.) William is always pretty proud of himself and happy that the sleeping portion of his 24 hour routine is now completed, "I 'WAKE!" He'll then curl up in a ball next to me so I can hug him and rub his back.  Matthew is a bit of a wild card. Sometimes he comes bolting into our bedroom all squeals and excitement, other days he is pretty livid with the world and just yells "Nooooooo!" while gathering his bearings.  No matter Matthew's mood, his requests are typically the same: that he weasel his way between John and me, and that I go warm up some milk for him.  While I am away serving that two foot tall tyrant, he excitedly arranges his blankie around him and nuzzles into dad. He'll then take a deep breath of anticipation as if he is saying, "All systems go! Momma, bring me my milk!" Then, I'm pretty sure fireworks go off around him spelling, "Youngest Child Right Here!"
These mornings are all fine and dandy for the brief moments that the five of us peacefuly enjoy each other's company.  There is chatter and joking and cuddling...then IT happens.  What is IT, you ask?
The wrestling. The crawling. The throwing. The growling. The swinging. The clamoring. The hitting. The pulling. The pushing. The creeping. The jumping. The landing. The legs in the air.
Our bed quickly transforms to a wrestling arena.
What was once a cheerful, quiet morning turns into a mixed martial arts display of their mother's nightmare and their dad's dream come true. They're animals. And their father relishes in it. To be fair, I do find it rather endearing in the early stages of their morning wrestling match, it just escalates so quickly!
Cue the pictures:

Today as I watched their brawl, introspective thoughts cascaded my mind. First, what a great dad. I am so grateful they have these moments with him every day.  Second, I have THREE boys; three dirty, mischievous, tender-hearted boys. Third, in ten years, I will have three TEENAGE boys; I will have stinky, hungry, taller-than-me boys, that probably won't want to cuddle and tell me all about the best and worst parts of their day. They will probably just want pizza rolls and more Axe Body Spray or something like that.
I guess I don't really know.
What I do know is that this phase of little blond boys clamoring for their mama's attention has an expiration, and it is quickly creeping upon me. I am excited for their lives ahead of them, those boys have magnificant spirits. It is my role as their mother to stengthen them for the mountains they will be called to move.  This morning, my heart swelled with gratitude that I get to be a nurturing influence on their journey.
Then I got kicked in the face, and everyone got kicked out of the bed.  The get-ready-fast-because-we're-going-to-be-late-again morning routine throttled into high gear.
I thank God for the moment of perspective that inspired me to squeeze my boys a little tighter, and laugh with them over something silly a little longer.  I am grateful for the realization as we knelt down for morning prayer, that no matter what lies ahead; I am not alone in my work and God is watching over His boys.

My Visit to The Legsters Store

I decided to spend the lag between lunch and dinner shopping at "The Legsters (where you can get towers of legos.)" I must say I was impressed with this quaint shop. The owners were courteous and understanding when my baby accidently knocked down one of their towers. I found every thing necessary to make a mega-cool-awesome-lego-castle. With help from one of the owners- I made this dream creation a reality. When I did have a product that broke, the management was more than accommodating in replacing the product and apologizing profusely- assuring me that in all their hours of operation, they have never had an upset customer. They even threw in pink and yellow lego camera and a red and green lego hand gun.

This store typically opens in the afternoon about 3 days a week, when the owners' mom tells them they need to spend time together not fighting. Though their hours are sporadic, it is well worth accommodating your day to fit a visit to this store in. (It doesn't hurt that the owners are so cute as well!) It was fantastic experience, they have found a loyal customer in me! 

*I was asked to shop at Legsters for an honest review, the opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.

Three Boys and a Mom

With John starting work on Monday and Caity starting back at school, I am the mom exclusively of three boys for seven hours a day. It is strange how much it affects the dynamics of my daily life. Yesterday it was punching and transformers, today it was throwing snowballs and jumping head first into the snowbanks on campus while I was running errands. While I was trying to find books for class, William and Johnny found a Superman comic book that they read on their bellies with thier snow boots in the air saying "Oh cool, look William!" or "O coo! Wook Nonny!" (William kind of reminds me of the little brother off of Sandlot that copies everything his brother says.)  I feel like as I walk with them, they just ricochet off me in every direction, they come back and bounce off me again. Johnny always holds the door open for everyone and William always insists on opening the door himself, and Matthew who seriously weighs a ton these days- is lugged around by me. The favorite show is Ninja Turtles and the favorite book is Spiderman Adventures. Opposed to Caity, the boys don't get in baths so they can get clean and cuddly after. They get in baths so they splash and dunk and soak my bath rug in addition to three towels. I love watching Johnny run down the hall, and Will toddle/run right after him mimicking his big brother in every action.  I also am so impressed at how good those older boys are with their little brother. Being a mom to three boys for a few hours a day has been a blast.

An Evening Walk

Yesterday right before bedtime, we went on a walk. John stayed home to get caught up on some work; I grabbed Wills and the stroller, Caity grabbed her jump rope and Johnny grabbed his sword.  Halfway through the walk, William reached up and insisted on holding my hand the whole way home.  Johnny challenged about a dozen hedges and bushes to battle (after being told repeatedly to stop attacking his sister.)  Caity got twenty five jump ropes in a row.  At one point, Caity harnessed Johnny with her rope under his arms and across his chest, and said, "Giddy up Rudolph!" Johnny took off with Caity flying behind him in a fit of giggles. William looked on from the stroller with an amused grin on his face. Him and I have quite the view from behind.
We walked to Caity's school. I paced the track while Johnny and Caity practiced timing themselves on the slides so they would reach the bottom at the exact same moment.  Did I mention Johnny was wearing his cowboy boots? He was. There is just something about a child in cowboy boots that makes me happy.  On the way home we picked some fragrant blossoms and William would pretend to smell them and sneeze because I sneezed for real when I smelt them a few days ago.
Spring air is nectar for my soul.  It just felt good to be outside and to be alive.  I am excited for more frequent evening walks with John and the kids.

;

Johnny's Christmas Bucket List

Johnny has quite the idea of needs to happen before we wake up Christmas morning.  He was listing everything off for me, so I ran quick to grab a camera.  He makes me smile, that boy.  I know, I am probably the only person who will watch this....then watch it again...and again...then make John watch it again, but I just love capturing his thought process.

I know it sounds like I told him to say it, but in the bucket list before I started videoing Johnny said, "And number four- we have to have Christmas Spirits."  That made me laugh. I wasn't sure if he meant alcohol, the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future, or if we just needed to have the spirit of Christmas. 

I mentioned it before, but Johnny's new "swear word" is Bah Humbug! If he is stuck or he falls he'll make sure to exclaim, "BAH HumBUG!" 

In other news, not a night goes by that I don't find Johnny sneaking into Caity's room for story time.  I kind of want to be like, "Get in bed you crazies!" but I am mostly just so excited that a)they are getting along and b)Caity is reading, and to her brother.

This moment is one of my happy places.

(this Charlie Brown book is read by my brother, Matt. Johnny just likes listening to the front page over and over because it says "Read by Uncle Matt." and he says, "HAHA! Uncle MATT!" It is the favorite at our house this year.)

Sappy, Happy, and Sally.

Feeling sappy these days, and it is the most random things that set me off: Johnny sleeping, William laughing as I push him on the swing, Caity skip-running from my car to the school play ground, listening to the voicemails John leaves me, even the messes the kids create playing together.  It is just these weird little moments that make me smile from the inside.

I don't really know how to describe it, but lately I am just getting all emotional over these every-day quiet moments.

Speaking of sappy, we sold Sally on Monday.  Everyone was pretty devastated. This was our last family picture.  At Family Night later, I was telling Johnny that our family was going to be together forever and he corrected me and said, "No, because Sally is gone. She is a part of our family." Oh, the memories we created driving that Land Cruiser.  We are still in mourning, if only rent came free. 

7/11: That's Just How We Roll!

The kids said their favorite part of the day was getting "Suh-werpies" from 7-11.

Of course, I can thank Dad for that one. As soon as he came home he took us on a "surprise walk."  The mystery was killing us, but was well worth the wait. That John is always full of surprises! 

John always pays special attention that Wills gets in on the action.  I am pretty sure William felt immediate gratitude. :)

 Johnny and Cate were so into it, they had trouble keeping up with us. I kept having to stop for Johnny, after the third time he said, "You always wait for me, Mom."  For whatever reason that melted my heart made my day. I thought it was sweet. I'm not a huge Slurpie fan, but I got the Sprite flavor and it was pretty good- slightly reminded me of my nausea days of pregnancy, but tasty all the same.

Today I overheard Caity and Johnny having a conversation in the back of the van. It went like this:

Johnny: Caity talk to me about that food what you don't like.

Caity: I hate beans.

Johnny: Really, why?

Caity: Just because they have no flavor and they are just yucky.

Johnny: Oh. OK. Soooo, tell me about your seat-belt.

Caity: What do you want to know about my seat-belt?

Johnny: Do you like it, or do you hate it?

Caity: Like it. It keeps me safe. 

Johnny: Oh. I hate my seat-belt.

Caity: I used to hate my seat belt when I was a three year old too.

I know, I know, I am the only person who finds this conversation worth reading...and then re-reading.  I just love their little conversations they have with each other.  It's like they this relationship completely separate of me or anyone else, and I think it is so cool.

 Caity and I just started reading Pollyanna.  I've seen the movie, but haven't read the book. Loved the movie, and so far I am not really loving the book- but I do like the time I get to spend with Caity and I think the message is a good one- about looking on the bright side of things.  It gives us something new to talk about which is fun.

 Johnny bit William yesterday.  I entered the room and William was screaming and Johnny was hiding under a blanket peeking out.  I asked what happened. And all Johnny said was "He was just SO cute."  He then slithered under the covers again. I was so confused and looked over William.  It was then I found the teeth marks embedded on his arm. I got it: William was just SO cute that Johnny just HAD to bite him. Oh dear me. What am I going to do with that boy.  As I type this they are giggling together in their room while Caity is asleep. Boys.

Today I did Caity's hair in a ballerina bun.  She said, "Mom, you don't do like anyone else, but you do it the best!" haha. It made me laugh.  William soon saw it as a desired target though, and despite hairspray's best efforts, this girl's hair was in her eyes all day! That William.

The kids were marching around the house attached to each other saying "Choo choo, here comes the baby train!"  Will just laughed and would clap his hands when Johnny wasn't tugging too hard on his little arms. These days are busy and sometimes stressful, but definitely worth it.

(Don't you love that Raphael is hitching a ride on the Hulk?  Spiderman is teaching preschool today...)

"King Solomom's Wisdum"

Today after a little lesson about King Solomon, Caity decided it would be fun to make a skit for dad.  She was so excited and spent all of her free time getting ready for it.  There was decorations to think about, plus costumes, not to mention we all had to practice our parts.

 She wanted to make a "triangle vine, like the kind you see at birthday parties" to decorate Solomon's palace, she also made a lot of pictures depicting things about Solomon.

 I loved all her attention to details!  I also thought it was funny she kept calling him "Solomom" and Johnny kept calling him King Sultan. Part of our lesson, I made them crowns and they wore them all day.  There were five main pictures in Solomon's court.  One was a picture of a happy man and sad man (because Solomon discern good vs. bad), a picture of King Solomon himself, a picture of the temple, a picture of his palace, and a picture of two women with a baby in front of King Solomon (what our play was about.)  During our mini lesson today we learned that an understanding heart + knowing good from bad = Wisdom of God, which Solomon had. So I particularly love this picture:

It say "WIS DUM"  With a "good face" and a "bad face" and a "heart." It made me laugh.  Her little set turned out so cute, and I was honestly impressed! 

When John got home from work, we sat him in his reserved seating and headed "backstage."  Caity gave us our costumes (Johnny was Solomon, I was the dishonest mother, Caity was the true mother, and William was the baby we were fighting over.)  It was so fun.

We clumsily stumbled through the story of the two woman fighting over a baby in which to determine the true mother, Solomon says he will cut the baby in half.  The false mother reveals herself by not caring if that would happen and the true mother says she would rather save the baby- therefore proving herself the rightful mother.

It went great. Until the end, when Johnny just couldn't help it anymore and decided he needed to cut William in half anyway. He said, "I don't care anymore, I'm just going to do it."  Caity was pretty distraught until she saw us all laughing, and then we could get her to stop.

I am just looking over at her little corner and am so proud of her, she is just the perfect little girl for this family and we all just adore her.  I am so grateful for her sweet little spirit.

Awkward Turtle

Yesterday after the missionaries left, I asked John, "Was I awkward?" and immediately started laughing- because I already knew the answer. I was totally awkward. Ha ha.
Then John gave me "the look" and I laughed even harder and I said, "Why? Why do I have to be so awkward all the time?"
With out missing a beat, John smiled and said, "It's not that you were awkward, you were just playing socially hard to get." Ha ha.

Oh dear me...

People are always complaining about post pregnancy  bodies, meanwhile...I'm over here listening to myself talk and I am like, "Who IS this person?" It just hasn't been the same, you know?  (Not saying my post prego body is all fine and dandy...)
It's like all this dramatic emotional growth and change at a rapid pace, and I just don't know how to catch up with it all- does that make sense?  If not, good thing this is a blog, because if we were real life, it would get awkward. Again.
I mean sure, when I blog I sound like myself...but blogging is basically the grown-up lady version of talking to imaginary friends, if you know what I mean.
But besides that.. if you are over the age of say---five or six, our conversations will probably contain a few "ahems" and a couple, "sooooo, yeah....um, so you're having a good day then?...Good."

I need to get out more. Like, f'real.
But until then....I'll just hang out around here. With these little rascals.

Caity has been Miss Photographer lately.  It is fun seeing the world through her eyes. Not to mention viewing the 101 selfies she manages to take of herself.  Here are some of my favorites