Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells

I couldn't help it. I put up half of my Christmas decorations yesterday. One of the reasons for this was because every year I try to do it all in one day. Half way through I lose steam and the fun starts to slowly wear off. By the end of the day I am through and usually everything is up but the house isn't clean. I thought maybe if I broke it up it wouldn't be so bad and the days I decorated I could still do other things. So far I think this was a great plan.

Disclaimer: I did find the Christmas CDs, but I have not started to play them yet.

Book Suggestions

I need something good to read over the Thanksgiving holiday. I am placing myself on vacation that week and I love to read on vacation. Any suggestions?

Appalling Events

Yesterday at the gym I was watching a little of the morning talk shows, the ones after the shows like the Today Show and Good Morning America. Anyways, I was in shock at a comment made. They were talking about a survey done of 2800 Shape magazine readers (too small a group for any serious scientific finding). They found out that 42% of the men have cheated on a significant other and that 41% of the women admit to cheating. Now this did not shock me as much as the comment that was made after sharing this news with us. One of the comments of made by the people on TV was along the lines of "I am glad that women are finally starting to stand up for themselves and not remain faithful since men don't." What? What is this person thinking? Dishonesty and infidelity are okay just because the opposite sex does it a lot more. That is such backward thinking. I don't think this person even equates cheating with dishonesty.

Then today I went and got my flu shot. I decided since I was getting on an airplane, I had better help my chances of not getting sick for the holidays. So I did my research I found a place to go. I went to my favorite urgent care (which is quickly dropping on the list because today it took me 50 minutes for the vaccine and there was only one person in front of me). They were $5 less than my co-pay would be if I went to my doctors and they are in the same shopping area as my gym. So I get there and of course the family that is in front of me is in because 2 of the kids are throwing up. There goes my plan to stay healthy. Kelsey is with me and in my mind I am praying that she doesn't try to play with the kids. Well the mom pulls out suckers for her kids and then trying to be nice she asks if Kelsey can have one. What do I say? She is trying to be nice but all I can think about is the germs that are all over her hand that is holding the sucker and then Kelsey putting it close to her mouth and touching the stick. I am sure she didn't even think through what she was doing. So I did what any mother would do (okay what I would do). I replied, "She is okay she just had a sucker." Which was completely true. It was the last piece of Halloween candy and I was glad it was gone. But the lady just looked at me. I am not sure if she didn't hear me (I was kind of quiet) or if she couldn't believe I was saying no. So I accepted the sucker. Kelsey better not get sick.

Starving, Do You Know What that Means?

Macy is so proud of her new word. She uses it all the time and I mean all of the time. She really starts to use it around 4 PM.

It usually starts out like this: "Mom, I'm starrrving. Do you know what that means?"

Me: "What does it mean?"

Macy: "It means really hungry so I am starrrving."

She will continue to tell me she is starving until dinner.

One day I changed up my answer. When she got finished with the "I'm starving" I said "I know you are hungry and I will get dinner in a minute." In a shocked expression she replied "You do know what it means." I am one smart mom.

The Top 3 Worst Items to Shop For

I have been doing a little shopping lately and have realized there are 3 things I usually hate to buy. In no particular order (because they all tie for first in my book) they are: swim suit shopping, bra shopping, and maternity shopping.

For most women spring brings the dreaded start of swimsuit shopping season. It seems that no matter what the scale says or the tape measure reads, many feel inadequate. Maybe it is because there is less and less cloth to the swimsuit each year.

And bra shopping. Every time I have to go shopping for this item I end up trying on millions of these. I have a general idea of my size, so I start with that. Each one fits a little different so besides my standard size, I usually have to try on the same style but one band size up and one cup size larger or go the opposite direction. I end up trying on more bras to get to the final purchase than I try on shirts to get to one I like. And a bra is worn underneath the clothes so no one sees it anyways. The last complaint about this is what if I don't like it any more after I have worn it for 12 straight hours, then I am back to the drawing board. I did get around this for a time by buying the same exact bra for a year or two until it was discontinued.

I hate maternity shopping. It reminds me that I am getting larger around the middle (and yes I know it is for a good purpose, but still no one enjoys extra poundage). It is hard to find affordable, good looking clothes. Right now everything feels like a tent, but wearing normal clothes produces bulges that make it look like my clothes are too tight in the mid-section. It is also a difficult purchase because you wear them for such a short time. I would rather spend my money on clothes I can wear when I am back to my normal size and get good use out of them. Just the other day I went out for the purpose of finding clothes and I spent the majority of the time gazing in store windows and longing to buy the cute normal clothes. Such is the dilemma. I think I will go with some plain long sleeve t-shirts and a couple of sweaters/jackets that can be thrown over the top when I step out of my house. And if you notice me wearing something out of style or over and over again, just know it is because I am saving up for an after party shopping spree.

Now some may say jeans could be another difficult category, but on my list it makes the number 2 spot.

The Kind of Mother I am

Yesterday afternoon as I was walking into the gym I noticed these are the outfits my girls are wearing. They picked out their own attire. Macy's is fine except for the fact that she wore that same shirt the day before and we had visited the gym the day before too. Kelsey started out the day with a pair of jeans, but an hour after dressing she found her favorite skirt and changed. I was a little embarrassed as I walked through the doors but quickly got over it and just chuckled because that is the type of mother I am.

This picture also shows you a little about my kids. Macy is goofy for pictures and Kelsey won't smile. She will say cheese but no grin.

*Warning the next part is not funny and is only for those who want to know me as a mom. You might even find it appalling and not worth reading. So you can make a choice to stop reading here or continue on. It won't hurt my feelings one bit. Just remember this is for my posterity so don't judge too harshly.*

It is often that my kids pick out their own clothes and I try to persuade them to be a little more fashionable, but really it doesn't matter to me (most of the time). I have also been known to take my kids places with food all over their mouth. I usually notice this after we are get somewhere and I don't carry wipes anymore so that is how it has to be. (I don't use my own spit to clean their faces. If I use spit it is their own.) Their hair isn't ever really fancy, but then take a look at mine not always the latest and greatest. And who has time for bows, besides my girls don't ever leave them in. To be honest I know their have been a couple of times that we ended up at the gym and I had forgotten to at least comb their hair. Since I am being so honest, I am grateful that Macy hardly ever wants her hair done all cutsy. Baths are every other day and sometimes every 2 days so we hit bath time on a Saturday because that is the day to get ready for Sunday. My kids will sometimes strip down after dinner and be in a shirt and underwear or pants and underwear. I am just happy they are not getting another article of clothing dirty. My kids also don't have a set bedtime. It is a general time frame and depends on several factors including my mood and how they are acting. I didn't work with Macy on knowing her alphabet or writing her name before going to preschool. She has learned that all at school. I also don't do regular play dates or take them to the park on a regular basis. I get too busy worrying about all that I have to do to schedule that stuff in (which is not a good trait, but I am working on it because I understand that time goes by too fast). I don't mind leaving my kids for vacations or to go on a date night, I never have. But I am always happy to come back to them. All these things add up to the type of mother that I am.

There are some things I feel that I am good at. They brush their teeth morning and night. They get stories and scriptures every night. I try to feed them whole grains on most days, throw in fruits at breakfast and lunch, and serve vegetables for lunch and dinner (this has been slipping lately but I try). I am not opposed to treats, anyone who has seen my sweet tooth can attest to that, but I try to limit their treats, including fruit snacks, during the day (Halloween has thrown this out the window). It doesn't really bother me when someone else gives them treats. My main reasons for not serving treats are: 1. I hope they don't become addicted like me. 2. They get plenty of sugar in their diet. 3. I don't like to spend my grocery budget on them. They can get expensive because Brian loves treats and helps reduce supplies. 4. I am the biggest culprit at reducing treat supplies. There is very little that I won't eat and I am so bad that when I buy candy I hide it and eat it all without their knowledge. I am a bad example of limiting sugar. I also try to be careful of sodium and fast food restaurants. I try to limit their TV/movie watching. But again I am not real picky about things such as this. I may seem a little healthy extreme, but really I am pretty laid back about everything and it doesn't bother me if things are not done the same way I do them. So I have no problem having other people watch my kids and never get upset if they do things differently with my kids. I would call myself more laid back than strict. These different attitudes also make up who I am.

There are times when I look at other moms and wish that I dressed my kids as cute or knew how to do hair like that. Sometimes I wish that I would take more time to spend with my kids (remember I am working on that) and do the regular park thing. But I am also coming to the reality that every woman is different and has her own ideas and attitudes about things and that doesn't make me wrong or right. In my mind I may not seem like the perfect mom, but I am doing my best and so is everyone else. Every mom needs to pick and choose the things that are needful, what are wantful, and what is worth the time. Hopefully I will choose wisely and make adjustments where necessary and laugh off anything that doesn't fit the idea of perfect.

PS I mainly wrote this so one day my kids will have an idea of the kind of mother I was at this time in my life.

PPS I also wrote it so that I would feel better when people saw my kids in crazy outfits and dirty faces.

The Placebo Effect

Well Macy was sick for a bit this weekend. After the temple we came home and Macy started to complain slightly that she didn't feel good. Of course I took it with a grain of salt and payed little attention. She was still playing for heaven's sake. I took off for the afternoon and got home just before I had to pick up the babysitter. Macy was worse, but still was not so bad that I didn't get the babysitter. Luckily our date was an early night. Macy wasn't the best for the babysitter and did some crying. The kids told me that the babysitter even gave her a bath to help her feel better.

Brian and I arrived home and put the kids to bed and started to watch a movie. Macy then started really moaning. She was even moaning in her sleep. Then she started waking up every ten minutes. We couldn't watch a movie like this and I didn't know what to do. It was her stomach and as far as I know there is no kid medication for upset stomach. She did have a slight fever so I thought ibuprofen (thinking this might help with the aches too). Five seconds after she drank it, Macy responds "I feel better now. My tummy doesn't hurt." She lays down and is out and we were able to finish our movie.

Brian had a bet that she would throw up before midnight. He lost. It was 2 AM. Luckily she is old enough that we had placed a bucket by her. She hit it several times. I felt bad because most of it was dry heaving. One time she didn't grab the bucket in time, but that is okay because I only had to change the sheets once. She was also so much better than how she used to be when she would wake up sick in the middle of the night. Some of the drama has gone away and she is a little more pleasant and understands a bit more.

The stomach sickness lasted until 5 AM. Church was out of the question so the girls and I slept in. When Macy woke up, she was completely better. She even wanted to go to church. You would never have guessed she had been sick that night. I was very grateful.