sahm | laborofwonder

You Might Wanna Stand Back

by motherofwonder

Ever wake up and just feel so cranky that people just instinctually move away from you as quickly as possible? I’m pretty sure that happened this morning when hubbyman dared to wake me up. At least, I think that’s what happened, he moved away so quickly that I can’t really be sure. Today is the day of supposed tree trimmers. I had to get up before the sun this morning because they were going to be here early (I don’t understand why so early because they couldn’t start working that early, without my neighbors lining up with pitchforks -I wouldn’t blame them, if it was people in their yard when I was sleeping, I’d do the same.). It’s a half hour past when they said they’d be here and no sign so far. If they don’t show up before too long, they should be more afraid of me than hubbyman was this morning.

So they got here. Right after I posted that they’d better show up (maybe they knew their lives were in danger). And promptly began cutting trees in the front. Even though they said they’d start in the back. (I may be nit picking.) And it also promptly woke up Littlest. Who is not used to the sound of chain saws with his morning snooze. Have I mentioned I’m an absolute delight in the mornings? Or that Littlest woke up at 3 and demanded (and I mean demanded) a bottle. When I came back with a bottle, he had found a pacifier (a new discovery of his. that’s right, new, at 20 months.) and refused the bottle. And then laid there, just looking at me with his wide-awake, wide-open eyes for the next two hours. At least Littlest is enjoying watching the big truck they have parked in our driveway instead of whining.

I was going to write 2 reviews today (of some really lovely products- a facial moisturizer and some laundry detergent), but I can’t really think straight with all the whirring, and barking, oh, and the whining. But I’ll probably stop all my whining when the coffee kicks in. Which should be about noon. Crap. Here come Biggest and MissE, and from the sounds of it, they’re as pleased to be awake as I am. We’re off to a great start. Maybe I can convince them to climb back into bed with me and we can rewind this whole scenario. Or at least pretend like we’ve had a fresh start.

*New Addition*: If I was cranky before, I’m pretty livid right now. After hearing a huge thud of a big branch landing directly on my cute, vintage, irreplaceable patio table, I ran to the door and apparently said what I was thinking out loud. I know this, because my daughter ran to the window to say, who did you yell oh, hell-o to? I have found one thing to be thankful for this morning- my daughter’s hearing, or interpretation of my words.

Life According To Me

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Finding A Sense of Humor

by motherofwonder

With Monday being a holiday I keep thinking I’m a day behind. Well, I probably still am, but the week has continued without me! Which means that even though I keep thinking that today is Thursday… it is actually Friday! I’m not sure what to write today. Partly because I have about a million things that I could write about, partly because I have not been sleeping well lately (and am therefore completely exhausted), and partly because snuggling on the couch with my snugglers sounds a lot more appealing at the moment. So I’ll keep this short and sweet. For your sake as well as mine. (As tired as I am, who knows where these mumblings could lead us?!)

I am thankful for a hubby who put all of the kids to bed last night. Next time, I’d suggest changing baby before sleep so that he doesn’t pee all over his mama in the middle of the night.
I am thankful for a baby/little man who peed in my bed at 4am. I’ve meant to wash the bedding all week. Now I have to.
I am thankful for a little man who now carries anything he can, everywhere, to use as a stool so that he can spend a ridiculous amount of time turning lights on and off. Just because he finally can. This is waaay cheaper than a babysitter. And just as effective. Maybe I’ll have enough time to put those sheets in the wash.
I am thankful for observant children. They noticed right away that daddy had tracked in dirt and snow that melts and turns into a mud puddle all throughout the kitchen.
I am thankful hubbyman remembered his lunch. My observant children have deducted from the footprints, that it happened while daddy was making his lunch.
I am thankful for a dog who chewed up one of biggest’s favorite dinosaurs. Leaving just a body. He needed a reminder of why we always have to pick up our toys. I wish it weren’t such a tearful one, but I’ll take what I can get.
I am thankful the dog choked on and then threw up the dinosaur parts. Maybe not he’ll stop attempting to eat them.
I am thankful that hubbyman surprised us by coming home for a quick lunch. I enjoy practicing patience, and maybe needed the practice. I’ve been given the opportunity, since now everything I say is countered with I want my daddy! Why did you make him go back to work?
I am thankful it’s still morning. It’d be a shame for a day like this to fly by.
I am thankful for a sense of humor.

Happy Friday everyone! Remember- there’s always something to ~~drive you to drinking~~ be thankful for!

*An hour after posting this, I went to put Littlest down for a nap. I came back to find something amazing. So I have two more thankful entries for you:

I’m thankful for children giving each other hair cuts. They needed ones and now I don’t have to do it.
I am thankful I didn’t have to give or attend MissE’s first hair cut. I’d probably be emotional about it. Big E just did me a favor.

Family Life According To Me Thankful Fridays Things Kids Say

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Rocking Chair Bliss

by motherofwonder

Thankful Friday… today I am both thankful in general, and thankful it’s Friday. We are expecting some snow, starting this morning, this weekend and I’m looking forward to a weekend of snuggling in with my honeys and maybe some fun time outside. we haven’t had enough snow to really enjoy winter activities and my biggest boy has been so sad about that. Today he decided he misses warm weather since there’s nothing fun to do outside right now. Can’t say I blame him. We were looking forward to snowball fights, snowmen, sledding, and snowshoeing…but there just hasn’t been the snow for it. Hopefully this weekend will turn that around. So today, I am thankful for weather that feels like winter, and hoping it brings snow to make it look like winter as well.

I am also thankful for something else. Those that know me in real life, and probably those that have read along with me for a while now, know that I am a breastfeeding advocate (the daughter of a lactation consultant, I can’t help it!). Now if you know my feelings on breastfeeding and it’s importance you probably just think that I’m not one of the masses who has struggled with it. Unfortunately, that is simply not true. Now I am a go to person for questions, and have never minded the late at night phone calls fielding questions that I sometimes get. Sometimes my hubby even gets phone calls about breastfeeding to have him run by me. I don’t mind one bit. The truth is, a lot of the answers I have, is because I’ve been there. I’ve had a baby who only wanted to nurse all the time (and by all the time, I mean all the time. Truly.), I’ve had to figure out how to get newborns to latch correctly, I’ve had to figure out how to deal with nursing strikes and growth spurts, cluster feedings, thrush, and teething. With my oldest I lost my supply when he was only 9 months- when I was pregnant with his sister. With MissE she and I both battled a long, painful battle with thrush when she was 12 months old. And now with my youngest, after we passed the year mark I was thrilled. No major bumps (or bites). I thought that finally I might have one child that I could wean naturally, in our own time. And it seemed as if we were going rather smoothly along that road. Unfortunately, as his eye teeth have come in, he has developed some bad habits in his latch. My oldest was so adamant about nursing that even very, very little I could coach him in how to hold his mouth and he would do whatever it took to continue nursing. My youngest is more stubborn about doing things the way he wants. These teeth have been slowly easing their way in for months. Seriously- they first poked through about 2 months ago and they’re still maybe half in. Try as I may, and try with all my might I did, but have ended with pain and lots of tears. After the battle we went through with MissE, hubbyman was adamant that I not let it progress to infection and the battle that becomes. While it seems we may be headed down that road anyways, we’ve certainly been trying everything in our power. I pumped and pumped and pumped some more. I was not getting enough milk and my body was not healing fast enough to actually nurse him. Last week he and I were both sick, which made pumping more difficult. I mean, not only did I not feel well, but he didn’t either, therefore was always in arms. Pumping and holding a wiggly baby toddler is not so easy. Today is my 5th day of not pumping. It’s kind of heartbreaking and I feel disappointed and sad.Littlest is now 18 months old, and I know that I have gone above and beyond what a lot of moms do, but it was not how I had envisioned things. You’d think with 3 kids, at least one of them would be easy! (But I guess it just adds to my frame of reference for more breastfeeding questions.) Now I know this doesn’t sound like it fits into a thankfulness post, and if I’m honest, I’ll tell you- I am not thankful for this. At all. But what I am thankful for is the support I have always been given by my husband. He came to my defense when I called the failings of my body into question (between his pregnancy, his birth, and now this…). He has become a staunch advocate himself, and I find that something to be so thankful for.

We recently acquired a rocking chair that my parents had in the house I grew up in, which was wonderful because we didn’t have any furniture that rocked. And everyone with kids needs something that rocks! Between sick times and cuddle times- it’s just a necessity. At least to me. And over the holiday sales I found some suede microfiber fabric on major clearance that I snatched up to reupholster it with. I just about lived in this chair while we were all sick, rocking Littlest to sleep. And it became a miracle for while we were transitioning to bottles and milk not from the tap. We’d always nursed for nap time and bed time, and it was becoming a challenge to put him down without. In came the rocking chair. I mentioned to hubbyman how thankful I was for the rocking chair to rock and snuggle him in close, and how still having that time was helping to alleviate some of my disappointment. And so this week he took it upon himself and took apart the chair. He took the old upholstery off, he did some upkeep to the chair itself, and he spent a couple evenings in a row doing the actual reupholstering. I really missed being able to use it while it was a work in progress. But when I took Littlest upstairs to rock after an hour of unsuccessful bedtime attempts, I was overwhelmed with thankfulness. He put his chubby little hand around my neck, gave me a kiss (along with the sound- his kisses always include the sound mmmwah!), nestled in, and went right to sleep. It may not be the way I’d hoped, or the way I’d envisioned, but as I sat and rocked my sleeping baby, the disappointment and frustrations subsided and all I felt was thankful. For this old rocking chair turned into new and my sweet hubbyman who always seems to know my heart.

Life According To Me Marriage Thankful Fridays

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Here We Go Again

by motherofwonder

I didn’t plan on posting today, mainly because my house is a huuuge disaster. Not only was this last month ridiculously busy, but as soon as people walked out our door, the plague walked in. Littlest has had a fever for a few days, and has been unwilling to spend any time out of my arms. And Big E came down with it yesterday and spent most of yesterday vying for a spot in my arms. This morning, for the first time in almost 5 days, I woke up to the sounds of all three of them in the playroom- playing! Unfortunately, it didn’t last for littlest E, he still spent the majority of the morning in my arms, but as the day goes on he’s a little more willing to venture forward. So U got ambitious and decided I’d attempt the dishes. What did I get for that? I got sprayed by the water hose. For those of you who’ve read this for a while, probably can guess my reaction to being sprayed, yet again, by that stinkin’ sticky handle on the sprayer. Turns out once it’s been tied down, it likes to remain stuck down, or randomly stick down on its own accord. If you are new to my ~~life~~ blog, then you may not know the story. And even if you aren’t- maybe a reread is in order. So here you go:

This morning I got up and it was freezing! I’d been cold all night too- even with Big E snuggled into our bed (I don’t even know when that happened?!), and that boy’s a heater. So turns out the heat never got turned up before bed (I turn it way down during the day depending on if we’re spending our day upstairs or downstairs… no point in heating an area we’re not in!). So I was cold and a little cranky. And then I go upstairs. I have Littlest E on my hip, because he’s been up for quite some time playing and is starting to get a little cranky. I get my favorite coffee cup -because of it’s size- and turn on the water (yes, I admit it, I was going to make instant coffee. Please don’t judge. I know it’s bad. I’m just that desperate for coffee immediately.)… and then it happens. I get sprayed with water. And it takes me a moment to realize what’s going on (hello?! no coffee yet!?!), and to realize that the baby on my hip is being sprayed directly in his face. Great. So I turn the water off and look at the hose, figuring something had to have gone wrong. And then it hits me. It’s APRIL FIRST. Crap. And there’s the string tied around the hose. So I do a little growling and muttering as I cut the string off. I wipe Ethan down, change shirts. ….it might also be helpful to know this about me: I HATE when my clothes get wet. Like hate, hate. So much that a small spill even, will send me back into the house to change, no matter where I was heading, or how late I already am. Hate. It’s weird, don’t question it- it’s just how it is. Then Miss E (the 2 1/2 year old, nicknamed the dEva) starts asking for some water and she’s whining… so I pick her up and we go get her water. Turns out, the hose had been tied down so long, it wanted to stay in that position. You should also know something about Miss E: She’s dramatic, and she hates getting her clothes wet at least as much as I do. And still no coffee yet.

Breathe in….breathe out. Make enough coffee to feed an army. Drink and watch Ellen. Breathe. Try not to mutter about killing my husband in front of the children… aaahhh, coffee kicks in. As I posted in my facebook status: [Husband]- apparently you’ve forgotten who cooks your meals, washes your clothes, and raises your children… because you’d think you would know better than to pull a prank on her. But don’t worry, I’ll make dinner extra special as a reminder!

If you want to read more about this ridiculous story, you can read the original post in it’s entirety, my revenge post, and the post where the prank never ends, and obviously it never does because that was almost a year ago!

So may your pranks be epic, your coffee pot full, and your face stay dry.

I can’t wait until April.

Life According To Me Marriage

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Nativity on Safari

by motherofwonder

I debated writing a post at all today…I’m tired, yes. But that’s basically normal. I don’t know why I threw in the basically, it is normal. But I’m feeling determined and motivated (that is basically unnormal*) and wanting to finish up some things. And then I remembered how important it is to stay thankful in life. That can be a big attitude changer. Maybe you wonder why I always post a few blurbs (sometimes more) of things I’m thankful for every week. The answer is really very simple. I need to. I have a tendency towards melancholy and can so easily get lost in the life of a stay at home mom, with 3 still little ones. The very act of typing out even just three things I am thankful for, even when -maybe especially when- I’m feeling unthankful, can change my attitude, or at least my focus. It can take a morning where every toy in the house has been dumped out, yet again, and switch my focus back on to things to be thankful for: my little mess makers, and the fact that we are in a place where we can provide for them, and that they have family that loves them so much they’re always bestowing new and messier toys for them. These are real things to be thankful for. And I am. Sometimes I just need the reminder. Thankfulness shouldn’t just occur on Thanksgiving. It really should be a way of life.

*Yes, I know it should have read ABnormal… but as you can see, an italicized ab doesn’t have the same je ne sais quoi as the UN. 😉

And here they are-

health. We all had some virus or cold last week and it was sooo annoying. In the scheme of things, I am thankful that colds are the extent of our health worries.
Sometimes I get frustrated with all that comes with protecting my little Miss and her gluten allergy/Celiac disease. I am thankful that we discovered it when she was young so that these things are a way of life for her, and normal. And that we figured it out before it did permanent damage. I am also thankful this is our greatest health concern for her! As there are families with far bigger health concerns for their children.
I am thankful for girlfriends to unwind with, bitc…..um, complain to, and laugh with!
I am thankful for a husband who respects this time. And that he does things on his “honey do” list while I”m gone!
I am thankful for our families.
I am thankful for my monkeys. Who are currently behaving like children. I love them and the sound of their sweet laughter.
I cannot believe I’m saying this, but… I’m thankful for Christmas time. I am thankful for get togethers, and decorating (minimally), and seeing the magic in my children’s faces. And the fun crafts and baking you get to do!

Chocolate covered strawberries that are decorated so they look like Christmas lights! Except for the ones with roasted coconut- those are just because they're delicious!

The 2ft tree the kids got to decorate- complete with small stuffed animals and keychain toys.

No nativity is complete without a footless goose, a puppy bigger than the people, and a panther. Yesterday the nativity had gone on safari with a plethora of giraffes, hippos, and a rhino.

Happy Friday!!

Family Life According To Me Marriage Thankful Fridays Things Kids Say

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There Are No (Appropriate) Words

by motherofwonder

Today I’ve been feeling a little sub par, and it seemed like no matter how I tried to pretend I was feeling good and could be productive (we’ll have around 13 adults and 6 children under 5 in a week and a half in our home to celebrate Christmas!), every time I turned around, I’d run smack into something to remind me of how crappy I was feeling, along with unproductive. Like how I heard Littlest scamper down the stairs to join his siblings in play, and thought it would be a good time to throw some things in the laundry. By the time I’d switched out clothes from the dryer and the washer and reloaded the washer… I came upstairs to this pleasant surprise. We had girl cheese (as my MissE pronounces it) with tomato soup for lunch only minutes earlier, and the table had yet to be cleared. Littlest found a spoon and was feeding himself a slurp from every cup… unfortunately most of it ran down his front and onto the table, where he discovered he liked the feeling of it squishing between his toes. Needless to say, a bath ensued as he had tomato soup from head to toe and a plethora of places in between. And as this is just one example for the day (he also pulled over the Christmas tree…), these are all the words I care to say out loud. I hope you can understand, and maybe even sympathize. If you can babysit, that would even be better

Just in case you couldn't clearly see the mess

Family Life According To Me Things Kids Say

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Is Today Over Yet?

by motherofwonder

So this morning has been a little chaotic…and it’s not quite 9am. I rolled over in the nighttime to find that Big E had climbed into bed with us, which normally I actually don’t mind, but it was the 3rd night in a row. Once a month I’m totally ok with, once a week I could probably ignore, but three nights in a row is it for this mommy. Which, unfortunately for his daddy, means the next few nights if he gets up, his daddy is taking him back to bed. I should mention, Littlest E was already in there with us. So now there were 2 wiggley boys…one who likes the blankets on, and one who likes them off, and two that don’t sleep if anyone else is touching them. At least they got some sleep. So now you know how I slept, would you like to know how I woke up? No? Too bad, I’m telling you anyways! I woke up to Littlest E pulling my laptop down off the ledge (right above my bed) and onto my face. I still have the headache to prove it.

And I only had enough of my coffee to make one cup… which pretty much ensures that this will be a day where I ~~want~~ need more than one cup. I thought of mixing it with hubbyman’s dark french roast…but decided that would be wasting the one perfectly good cup. So I went ahead and made what I had. Only to have Littlest E pick up my freshly-poured cup and dump it. I was able to whisk the laptop out from under his wrath, but his sister did not fare so well. And was much more vocal. In frustration, and defeat, I bargained for some quiet by offering to turn on Strawberry Shortcake for her. Which is perhaps the best bargaining tool for my little girl. Only to not be able to get the wii going (to play netflix on). Next I moved onto our new logitech revue (basically a fancy-schmancy remote within a keyboard that turns your tv into a “smart tv”… which doesn’t seem to have any of the actual features I’d been duped with in order to purchase it). I’d beg to differ about the “smart” part because for the life of me I could not figure out how to get the remote to actually work to run. After trying to figure it out for over 30 minutes. I gave up. There goes my bargaining tool. The next 30 minutes were spent trying to convince my little red-head that Cat in The Hat was just as good as Strawberry Shortcake. She finally relented, or moved on to silent loathing, you can never be too sure which. Just in time for Big E to wake up, and request watching a certain show, that of course is also through Netflix. He was fairly certain that it would work and that I just didn’t want to stop cleaning the coffee out of the carpet. Now, I’m not big on cartoons, but I’m pretty sure that even I would rather watch his kids’ animation than to clean my one-cup-of-good-coffee stain out of the carpet.

And then I sat down, decided to write a brilliant, funny post and wouldn’t you know, as I wrote the last sentence. All but the first two sentences deleted. And while it normally saves every couple of minutes or however often it does that… this time, it of course saved after the deletion. Ok, I can’t promise that it was brilliant, or that there were more than a few moments of laughter-inducing words…but the rest of it is true. Good thing it’s Friday! I’m going to focus on the fact that we have a rather plan-free weekend ahead of us, instead of panicking over the plan-filled-holicraze that begins next week.

And in light of me trying to change my outlook on this day, here are some things that I actually am thankful for:

children. As crazy as they can make me feel, never a day goes by where I’m not struck by how blessed I am to have each one of them.
hubbyman cleaned out the dryer vent and it not dries waaaaay more efficiently. Like half the time, at least! It’s amazing.
That it’s boot season. I know that’s not life-changing, but I love my boots. And if that’s what gets me through how long winters here are, I’m ok with that.
That my children play so well with one another for so much of the day.
That I have not let the house get out of hand this week (it happens so fast sometimes!).
That this weeks meals were met with rave reviews (Big E requested that we have my meatloaf and “smashed ‘tatoes” every night.)
That we may have measurable snow this weekend! (Yes, I just complained about the length of winter, only to say I’m thankful for snow. I get the irony. Color me Minnesotan.)

Littlest through a blue vase

Family Life According To Me Thankful Fridays Things Kids Say

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The Importance of Being Unimportant

by motherofwonder

I recently read a facebook status of a fellow SAHM (stay at home mom), talking about the fight to remember what you’re doing actually is important, even when it feels like nothing you do really matters. I totally relate. Don’t worry, this doesn’t just apply to in-house-mamas, this is applicable for all walks of life. Don’t we all fall into ruts where we wonder if anyone would really notice if we just stopped showing up? Stopped doing the work? Stopped trying? Admit it. We’ve all had something like that roll across our minds at least once. Sometimes once a day. I’m not saying that all moms, or all people for that matter, feel this way indefinitely, but let’s be really honest– we are a people in constant need of validation and therefore feel that way at least every once in a blue moon.

I certainly get that way, where I feel invisible. Where I wonder what would happen if I stopped doing the dishes, the laundry, or even (*gasp*) cooking! And, honestly, sometimes I will let things slide, just kind of to see what happens… but that only creates more work, and a less-than-happy work environment. (Which would probably be the case for anyone in any job, if you started letting your normal day-to-day slide.) That’s not to say we don’t all deserve a break, because sometimes we need one. There’s just this feeling of no one knows just how much I do, or just how busy I really am. Someone once said, “You’re so lucky you can just eat anything you want.” Well, we really eat pretty healthy, and practice portion control, but also… I am always on the move! I have three children 4 and under! I don’t really have time to lay around!! It made me think of the old cliche, “I am a stay at home mom, therefore I lay around eating bon bons all day.” I think that anyone with children can agree that is not a possibility! First of all because your kids would be getting into major trouble if you were just laying around unaware of their goings-on, and secondly, if you keep bon bons in the house, the kids will have sniffed them out and eaten them while you were laying around, so you’d go to the box and it’d be empty.

Yes, there is pride in a job well done. At home, at work, or at play. There is satisfaction in knowing that I am the one raising my children, that I am the one witnessing all their firsts, that I am the one they come running to no matter who else is available, because Mommy has always been the one that has been there to take care of them. There is also validation in hearing friends and family say that when they have kids, they’re just going to send them to live with me. Because they know I love it, I enjoy it, and I work hard to raise them as best as I can. I really do strive to raise children who thrived because of their upbringing instead of just having survived it. But it’s a lot of work, and you don’t always see the affects until years down the road. At least not the full affect. So the little-in-the-moment-times can make you feel like it’s unimportant. (Maybe it’s that way in your job as well. Maybe you are responsible for an inch of a mile long project. But what would that mile be, without that one inch?) As a stay at home mom it can even feel as though you’re not making a “real” contribution to society. But in the end, what better contribution could I ever give, than a generation of thoughtful, caring, concerned, responsible, respectful, respectable, level headed (or as much as they can be- they are my children!) adults who will be leading the future?? That sounds pretty important to me.