Mommy Thoughts

Today Rylee took a nap during the time I could actually take one as well. This made me very happy. Then the kids came home from school and I lay in bed debating whether or not I should get up. I ran through all the things I could be doing instead of sleeping: making sure Delaney woke up, starting on dinner, blogging, making the doctor's appointments I've been delaying, paying the bills, balancing the checkbook, cleaning the house, folding laundry, washing the blankets Delaney peed on last night, exercising....

I realized that I have too many things I NEED to do and too many things I WANT to do, and that means the things I OUGHT to do don't get done. For example, the kids need to be fed and dressed every day, although for some of them the dressed part my be optional. I need to do laundry on occasion, but the folding sometimes is in the ought to category.

There are lots of things I want to do, and I definitely would rather do them than the things I ought to do. For example, I ought to clean the counters, but I'm blogging. I can justify it because I am also nursing Rylee right now. So yes, I am writing this with one hand! Anyway, the problem is that if I have a free moment, I'd rather spend it doing something for me. I have a book that normally would take me 2-3 hours to read if I were to sit down and read it through. I've had it for 5 days and I have 20 pages to go. That means in 5 days I have spent less than 2 hours solely on myself (because given time to do whatever I want, I choose to read.)

As I thought about it, I realized that house cleaning is in the ought to category. The problem with that is, if I were to only do the needs and ought to things, I'd still never get it all done. There is just too much. And who wants to be the mom who never had time to play with her kids because she was too busy scrubbing the floor? If there are no roaches and I'd pass a health inspector visit, is a messy kitchen really that bad? If the kids pick their laundry up from the pile of clean clothes, its better than grabbing them from a pile of dirty clothes, right? I decided I am okay with not being perfect. I can live without having all the things done that I'd like to be done. I have a more important job here. I am a mother. My most important job is making sure my children are loved, taught and tended.

.... And speaking of the children, I have pictures!

Delaney is wearing Callie's footie pjs and is in Rylee's bouncy seat.

Callieis making silly faces for the camera.

One of the very few pix of Marian looking cute and herself. She loves to hold Rylee and does a really good job.

My adorable girls being sweet sisters. (And I love that color on her!)

Its Joshua's first Pinewood Derby and he finished his car last night. He calls it "The Golden Blur". I don't have high hopes since it pulls to the right.... excessively.

He is pleased with it and I think he did a good job. Plus, there aren't a lot of scouts, so he could still win! (And I love his Logo Man's goggles!)

Blogs and Blogging

Let us begin with a gratuitous picture of the girls. I left them in the bath too long unattended and they poured half a bottle of shampoo in there with them.

And now, my thoughts on blogs and blogging....

Dan doesn't really get the whole blogging thing. I'm not sure I do either, but I have this compulsion to do it, and an even bigger compulsion to read them. I love reading about other people's lives. Its really that simple. That's why I love to watch "Survivor" and "The Amazing Race". I am always surprised to see people thinking and doing things differently than I would.

I know in my head that people are different, but it still amazes me to see them reacting differently or thinking in a different way than I would. I feel like I must investigate further to try to understand. I, naturally, feel that my way is the best, most efficient, most logical way to do things, and I can't understand why someone would do it another way. In addition, I am fascinated by other people's lives. The people who are similar to me, I like to read about because their life may be like mine. There are people who may have some similarities, but they have very different challenges in their lives, and I am compelled to read about how they deal with things. And then there are people who are so very different from me that I must read because I do not get them at all. Of course, there are some blogs I read because they are so darn entertaining, or educational. Egocentric as I am, I think maybe some of them are equally interested in my life.

You may notice on my blogroll that I have my family's blogs. I read those because I love them and I am always interested to read about their lives. Plus, I love to see their pictures. I have friends who I like to read about as well. Being in the military, I meet a lot of people. Some of them I really like and I want to know what they are up to without having to actually pick up the phone and call them. Thus, the blog is a wonderful thing. Its like people-watching, without having to leave your house!

There are also blogs that I stalk, or lurk on. Some are great for information- The Pioneer Woman and My Food Storage Deals are great for that. Some are entertaining- Cake Wrecks makes me laugh and Mormon Bachelor Pad is amusing. (But don't read the comments. Ug. Some people need more of a life and I refuse to stoop to such a level as blog bullying.) Good News is great for a spiritual pick-me-up or for good insights. Other blogs I read because I find their life fascinating, amazing, sad, challenging and/or gripping and I want to know how it is going. Some I visit regularly, but do not list on my blog because I may not want you to know I go there!

So, this is my confession as to why I am semi-addicted to reading blogs, both by those I know and those I do not! Why do I, myself, bog? Well, I do it mostly for me. I know that my life is not that interesting to anyone other than my family, and maybe some friends. Since my family is so far away, I mainly blog to keep in touch with them and to post pictures so they can see my lovely little ones grow up. I also blog because I need to put my thoughts on paper sometimes to sort them out. Sometimes I'm not sure how I feel about something till I write it down, and apparently I have to feel like someone else may read it as well. Okay, I admit that occasionally I use it as a venting medium. I have to spew it out somewhere and I figure no one is being forced to read this. So if they are bored, they'll go away. I am really just writing for me. And my mom. And my sisters. And my brothers who may actually pop in every now and then. And my in laws who might come to see pictures of the children.....

And now I am just rambling for no reason other than Dan is holding the baby and if I quit blogging, he'll give her back to me!

She is so my child!

Before we get to the real reason for this post, I wanted to share some other pictures:

Joshua set this up and took this picture. The children were all giggling hysterically and I came to see why. They thought Rylee in sunglasses was soooooo funny!

This is Delaney 5 minutes ago. She is suppose to be in bed. She is not. Right now she is crying because I closed her door and locked it. (Thank you Kirsten for locks on the outside of the bedroom doors!)

This was Callie in her bed, but not sleeping. She's mad because I just sent her back to her bed. with dire (and aparently ineffective) threats.

This one is teething and cranky. She's also sopping wet from all the drool. And now onto why this is so my child....

Kid quotes

It seems like other people's kids say much funnier things than my own. Then I thought perhaps their parents just pay better attention than I do. So I've tried harder to listen to them (when they are not talking to me!) and I have actually gotten out a notebook to write things down the second they are said, so I do not forget them. I know Delaney said the funniest thing in the car about her favorite color no longer being pink (it's now blue), but I can't recall what was so hilarious about it because I didn't write it down and now its gone. Here are my current favorite comments from the kids:

Joshua: "I didn't know Daddy was a captain. It would be cooler if he was, like, a Bazooka Trooper!"

Marian (talking to Rylee): Rylee Pants, you have a big head. That's why you are not cute. You have a big brain in there."

Callie: "I just tooted, but I didn't lift my butt up to do it!" (potty talk is quite popular in our house... not with me, just with the kids!)

Delaney (looking in the mirror): "Its me! I'm beautiful. I have hair!"

Road Trip with my girls!

I took a road trip with my girls. Okay, with half my girls. There was a wedding reception in Havelock, where we use to live, and I wanted to go. Dan said I should, so he stayed home with the other kids and sent me off. I took Callie, because she is the most needy right now, and I took Rylee, because well, Dan lacks the means to feed her. It was fun to spend time with Callie without having to break up fights or monitor teasing. She is a funny kid and she makes up the funniest songs.

Here we are, after a nearly 7 hour drive. It went shockingly well, by the way. We stayed on the base quarters, which were fantastic. Rylee was cooperative and slept well for me both nights.

Here are my girls, all dressed and ready to go out Saturday morning! Callie got to choose where we ate. I'm going to say now that McDonald's should not be eaten twice in a 24 hour period!

Callie wanted to go bowling. So we went. Here is her sad face when I told her that there was no arcade area at this bowling alley.

She still had fun bowling, although I bowled half her sets when she got tired of it.

Callie wanted Rylee to bowl too!

Our scores.... I am a dreadful bowler. Callie beat me with only one bumper (the other wouldn't come up!).

Saturday night was the wedding reception. This is what Callie ate. Since it was also dinner, you can see that she had a nutritiously balanced meal last night.

Rylee was very popular and I didn't hold her at all! I was happy with that, but Callie was quite concerned that other people were going to steal "her" baby. All my reassurances were for naught, when Bro M was holding Rylee and informed Callie that he was going to keep the baby.

Oops, out of order. This was the peaceful 3 hours that Rylee slept on the drive home. It came before the 2 hours of screaming. (Which were twice as awful when coupled with Callie's singing.)

This was why I took my trip. And yes, 6 hours of driving each way, to go to a wedding reception, and to see old friends.... totally worth it! To see one of my YW, married in the right place, at the right time, to the right guy, was a wonderful thing. Coming home to a clean house and a sweet husband who spent the next hour holding Rylee was also a wonderful thing! Life is good.