Parenting 101

**I published some old drafts a while back because I thought the kids might enjoy them - i wish I had noted when they were from**

Last night Dwight and I had a good talk about where we want to be as parents, et cetera. So this morning I sat the kids down for a family meeting (ha!) and I explained to them that I want to be able to have more time doing stuff with them and I explained ways they could help make that happen (ha ha!). Then I asked them what things they like to do with me and their dad. This list about broke my heart because I realized they don't care, they just like to be with us. Here are some examples of the things they suggested:

do laundry
make beds
wash dishes
cook
build things with Daddy
pick up toys

Are you getting the idea? Of course they said other things too like "go to the playground" but yes, the majority of things they came up with were chores. *sigh* I guess we all know what my priorities have been.

My problem is that I'm just too A/R. I have a hard time enjoying myself when they're tearing things apart. I enjoy putting legos together with O but it drives me crazy that you can never find the pieces you need because he has way too many blooming legos! I wish we had some lego equivalent for A. There's no toy that will entertain her for hours quietly in her bedroom. Of course she doesn't do anything quietly so I shouldn't be surprised about that. O is usually very cooperative and agreeable. If I'm tidying up his bedroom, he'll cheerfully do the chores I assign him and just generally help out. When I'm tidying up A's room, she could care less and frequently refuses to help out. She could care less if I dispose of her things too. K is stubborn too but she's at that age where she likes to pick things up so if I start putting things into a container, she'll usually follow suit. She doesn't know that she's cleaning up. But she's very destructive right now. She keeps tearing up books. *grr* I would play more games with the other two but she wreaks havoc on it all.

Well, I had told myself I would go to bed early tonight and it's already 11:22...which is not early. So good night!

The Not So Very Hungry Caterpillar

**I published some old drafts a while back because I thought the kids might enjoy them - i wish I had noted when they were from**

The Not So Very Hungry Caterpillar, originally uploaded by hezro.

O found a caterpillar on him and showed it to his sisters. They loved it and A immediately started carrying it around. She and K plucked a leaf off a tree for it but were sad that it "wasn't hungry".

Apparently picking up creepy crawlies is the current "thing" in our household.

POTD 5/2

Candy Cane

**I published some old drafts a while back because I thought the kids might enjoy them - i wish I had noted when they were from**

Candy Cane, originally uploaded by hezro.

Before the holidays I had big plans to make little holiday candies for my neighbors. I bought the necessary ingredients, I bought mason jars to put them in, I bought candy canes to tie to the jars. And that's as far as I got. The holidays came and went and I still had a big bag full of supplies. So I decided to just go ahead and do it anyway. We made our first batch earlier this week and delivered them to all the neighbors who are home during the day. This evening we'll deliver the second batch to all the neighbors who aren't home during the day. I figure I'm just extending the holiday cheer for a few weeks. Maybe I'll do this again next year on purpose...because I want to extend the Season...yeah...that's it.

My hubby doin' his thing...

**I published some old drafts a while back because I thought the kids might enjoy them - i wish I had noted when they were from**

My hubby..., originally uploaded by hezro.

I love this photo of my husband because it's *so* him. He's my computer wizard. More times than I can count, I've asked him to come look at something on my computer only to have the computer work perfectly when he arrives. So I joke that the computer doesn't dare act up in his presence...only it's not really a joke.

Ski Vacation

**I published some old drafts a while back because I thought the kids might enjoy them - i wish I had noted when they were from**

P3030070, originally uploaded by hezro.

The hubby and I are on vacation for a week...sans children. I do miss my children but I'd by lying if I said I wasn't enjoying a break from Mommy Duties.

We're staying at Keystone ski resort in Colorado. We skied three days and now we're in the middle of a two-day break before we enjoy our last two days on the slope. It snowed on day two but otherwise, the weather has been glorious. And of course, even though it was cold while it was skiing, we certainly enjoyed the fresh snow.

SKI BIRTHDAY
For her birthday, KIERSTEN’s letters plan to sneak away and ski,
Watch the ENTRIES and the exits to the ski slopes—you will see.
(Let me here INSERT a warning—do not turn away your eyes
For each letter in her name can ski black diamonds if it TRIES.)
Oh, that birthday girl! Her letters now have all begun to STIR.
They won’t SIT still for a minute—they’re an awful lot like her!
They have made IT look so easy; things are worse than I had feared.
All those letters that I love so much have simply disappeared.
Yes, her letters all have gone, but wait, you heard it first from me,
They’ve been spotted on the ski slopes. Look for SKIERS, THEN you’ll see.
Look for SKIERS, TEN or twenty at the lodge when they arrive
And you’ll find that ski bum KIERSTEN celebrating birthday 5.


Annika and the Year of Birthdays
Annika had a birthday and from what I’ve heard folks tell,
The ice cream was delicious and the birthday cake as well.
The party was a big success, leading Annika to say,
This year I’m going to have a birthday each and every day!
The next day she turned 7 and the next day she turned 8,
And all her friends brought presents and came help her celebrate,
And everything was wonderful and all the parties fun.
Already, April Fool’s Day, she was turning 21.
On the 17^th of May, she celebrated 67.
By the 30^th of June, she turned a hundred and eleven.
The presents all piled up until, no matter how she tried
She couldn’t fit them in her room and had to sleep outside.
And so the parties go each day, and all the fun goes on
And there’ll be fun and games until the birthday year is gone.
And every day a birthday cake, and every cake a bean,
And every day a crown and every crown a king or queen.
So Happy Birthdays, Annika, I hope for next year, you
Can still blow all the candles out, when you’re 372!

Smokey Eyes Tutorial

The other day I flipped on the TV and happened to catch a segment on Rachel Ray's show with Tyra Banks.  I'm not sure why I had turned the TV because I only had a few minutes but it was long enough to watch Tyra Banks give a quick tutorial on smokey eyes.  The following day, I woke up, and feeling all inspired by having watching Tyra's tutorial, I actually put some make-up on.  But then I realized I had a rare opportunity to go for a quick mid-morning jog while my mom happened to be at the house and could watch my youngest, I switched to running clothes and went for a little 4 mile jaunt, pretty eye make-up and all.  When I got home I took a quick shower so I could drive my mom to the airport.  As I was headed out the door, I glanced in the mirror and realized that I now had smokey eyes, ala Heather.  My method took a little more time and effort than Tyra's but the end results were just as magnificent.

NeeNee

HPE_0726, originally uploaded by hezro.

Today we attended a graveside service for my husband's grandmother. It was a brief but very touching service. She was an amazing woman. She raised five children by herself AND put herself through college at the same time.

She was well loved and will be missed.