Laugh

I have the funniest kids.  Well, maybe not the funniest.  That honor probably goes to my sister-in-law, whose children are constantly saying the most hilarious things.  But we have some pretty funny things going on here, too.  And the laughter that my children create helps to balance out the wild and stressful and not-so-funny times.

Yesterday, the twins came home from the nursery at church wearing spider hats.  I think they talked about the creation/Halloween.  Creative mix.  Georgie was running around the house and Angel and her little friend were running from him, screaming.  He wasn't chasing them; he just wanted to play with them.  As he ran through the living room, he yelled at them, "Don't run!  The Georgie-spider is nice!"

Angle got tired and spent half an hour telling me all that was wrong with the world as I held and quieted her.  In the middle of a sentence, she interrupted herself to pose the question, "What if we ate a bus?"  He abrupt shift of topics led to her telling me about stone-and-marshmallow sandwiches.  A few minutes later, after gesturing to show how big something was, she exclaimed, "Hey!  I wish I didn't have a thumb!"

Georgie was growling, pretending to be a hungry lion.  Calmly, Freddie asked, "Are you mad?"  Pause.  Renewed growling.  "Yes!"  Still calm, Freddie replied, "Don't be mad so I can look at you."

Freddie fell down and got a minor hurt.  He came running for me and climbed on my lap.  Stroking his hair, I told him that I loved him, then asked, "You are getting so big!  What will you do when you can't fit on my lap anymore?"  He thought for a while before answering, "Um... eat spicy sauce."

This quote is from Marjorie Hinckley, one of my mothering heroes, and it's literally true for me.  Many are the times I've made a feeble joke in the hopes it would ward off tears.  It almost always works.

Just for today, find something funny or even ridiculous and laugh.  It helps happy.

Be Patient With Yourself

I had a million things going on.  And at least half of them were things going wrong.

I had to make emergency runs (yes, plural) to the big box store and to the grocery store.

We got all out-of-whack about out meal schedule, which ends up meaning that we have kids at random times who get hungry or grouchy when they didn't eat at the last meal because they were still too full from the meal before.  I can be more flexible with meal times when there are fewer people around, but with everybody home, on a Saturday, it turned out to be not pretty.

I doled out normal Saturday chores at the beginning of the day, but I didn't follow up.  So some chores got done and others didn't.  Evidently, I also promised (did I?) to help a child or two with their chores (did I really?), so they spent the day waiting for me to come and help.

I was supposed to be working on Halloween costumes, but couldn't get around to it.

The cat stunk up the basement.  I've been warning the boys about leaving blankets or clothing on the floor.  I'll have to find the source of the stink, and get it cleaned up.

I had to give a couple of haircuts.  That's always a mess.  And the twins dragged themselves through the hair clippings, so there was twice the mess.

I stayed up late helping a boy finish his English paper.  All the commas in the essay had to be perfect, the teacher said.  I now know more about comma rules.  But it took much longer than we thought it would.

I chauffeured a  boy to a dance, then forgot to pick him up.

At 11:30 pm, I was finally able to start working on my Relief Society lesson.  I had to start over because I had lost the original text I had been working on.

You've had days like this.  Not necessarily with the same activities, but with the same level of too-much-to-do-and-not-enough-time-and-too-much-stress.  They happen, and we need to just accept that.  We can't always avoid them - although I could probably have planned my time and allocated my resources better.

So when a really wild, stressful day comes around, be nice to yourself.  Do the best you can.  Breathe occasionally.  You will get through.

Just for today, be patient with yourself.  This will pass.

Be Patient

It's true.  We love our chickens.  They make good pets, and they make us breakfast, too.  And my man loves having a good, hearty breakfast of eggs.  Me?  I'm a syrup kind of gal.  Pancakes, waffles, French toast.  Yum.  Give me sugar first thing in the morning, and I'm happy.  But even so, we need to have eggs.

That's why it's been upsetting lately that our chickens have gone on strike.  The ladies refuse to lay.  I;m not exactly sure what is going on, but I suspect it is a combination of issues: the watering-boy took a break from getting the birds clean water daily, we ran out of official feed and gave them whole grains, the days are getting shorter, and one hen went broody.  She sits in the nesting box all day, trying to hatch two golf balls, and clucks at anyone else who disturbs her.

Gotta fix this problem.  Trent actually had to buy eggs from the store.  No space for freeloaders here!  So we changed the water-boy.  Got more feed for laying hens.  Partitioned off the broody hen (with a chicken noodle soup box - subliminal messages) so the others have access to the nesting box.  And we sprinkled cayenne pepper in their food.  Some say it will kick-start their systems.

Man.  It would sure kick-start something in me, too.  But they really liked it.

And now we wait.  One egg yesterday.  Three eggs today.  Things are looking up.  Maybe it was good that we didn't make a giant pot of chicken soup back when we first got frustrated with the girls.

Just for today, be patient when things aren't going your way.  Do everything you can to improve the situation, then wait with hope.  The sun will come out... (bonus if you are singing!)

Grin Like You Mean It

Just had to share this photo my boy posted.

Alec and his buddy just got their airborne patches.  Is he excited to jump out of airplanes, or what?  Me, not so much.  But I love this smile.  I love the enthusiasm.  I love being his mom.

Oh, and I love that smile.  I'm gonna work on getting a smile on my face again.  I know I already wrote about smiling, but it really makes such a difference!

Just for today, smile like you mean it.  With your whole face.

Dressing the Part

Ben went to a girl's choice dance with one of the nicest girls I've met.  He's had such good, good friends throughout his high school year.  For that, I am very grateful.  The dance was Disney, so they went as Mary Poppins and Bert.  What is Bert's last name, anyway?  I digress.  Aren't they cute?  Cute isn't the right word for high school seniors, I'm afraid.  But what fun that they really got into this and dressed up all the way to the chimney brush.

I think I am a bit too shy to go all-out like this.  I wonder what other things my hesitations have held me back from?

Just for today, don't be afraid to try something a little bit beyond the boundaries of your comfort zone.  I'll have to laugh at my own awkwardness, but laughing is good for us!

A Scout Is

My mom was a scout leader when I was growing up.  She was a natural.  She worked so well with the "Blazer Boys" who were 11 years old.  She knew what made a boy tick - she had four of them herself!  I watched as she cooked tin foil dinners with her scouts in the backyard fire pit she dug for that purpose.  I watched her sit down with the boys and go over requirements.  She was patient and fun.  I wished I were a boy so I could be in scouts.  I even begged to join Girl Scouts, but to no avail.  In retrospect, that wouldn't have been good for me.

But I have always loved the boy scouting program.  I think it did great things for my brothers, and I can see the ways it has helped my boys grow and learn good things.

Chris and David have been working on some of their scout requirements.  Chris only has a few merit badges left - and his Eagle project - before he can join the ranks of Eagle Scout like his brother Alec.  Ben has his project done and is finishing up his last merit badges.  David is just beginning, but full of enthusiasm.

I think there are lots of good things I can learn from these my scouts boys.  First off, maybe I should learn the Scout Law.

See that "cheerful" in there?  That's happy.  And "clean" makes me happy too.

Just for today, pick a virtue and pursue it.  Maybe it will even lead to more happy.

We've Been Hit!

Our doorbell rang the other night during dinner.  I used to answer the door, but I don't anymore.  NowI just wait for the kids to rush the door and I come if they call for me.  Saves time.  It's rarely for me anyway.  But this time, there was (insert spooky Halloween music) no one there.

Just a plate of goodies on the doorstep, with a note.  We are supposed to make two more plates of goodies and deliver them, with a copy of the note, to other neighbors.  And put the ghost up in our window so others will know we've already been hit.  It's like a grown-up chain letter with cookies.

We don't have a copier to copy off the page our secret friends gave us, but we found another one here.

So tonight Chris is making chocolate chip cookies (can I make them without oatmeal in them please, Mom?), and we'll package them up.  The kids love the knocking and running.  I think David will put on his black morph suit for the adventure.  So fun

Just for today, bake some cookies and spread the fun with your neighborhood.  Oh, and make a third plate for you, too!