Somedays are just good.

Today while I was effortlessly feeding and dressing the cubbies, I realized "I can do this!"  I said it in an upbeat and manifesto type voice.  (Yeah.  Out loud.  There was a 2 year old and a baby present... talking to yourself out loud is productive.  Not cray cray.)  It's taken just over 7 months but I am in the swing of having 2 kids.  My next thought was "I AM doing this!"  So much for can!  I'm there!  In it to win it, bay-bee!
And then I cocked my head and looked way out on the horizon and thought These two are alright.

Moms complain more about their jobs than any one else.  You never hear a receptionist, or a waitress, or an engineer, or the president go on and on and on and on about how much their job stinks and how much it wears them out.  But ask a mom and she will let you know exactly how bad she's got it.  And I am capital "G" guilty.  I think it might be because Mom's can't get fired.  But is that because they are the boss?  Or is it because the boss is 7 months old and can't speak?  Hmmm.  Are Moms employees or employers? For me?  It depends on the time of day.  First thing in the morning, I am very much the boss.  I make Koley call me Sarge.  Sometimes he cheats and just calls me Mom.  We are on a timed schedule.  Everything is chip chop "this" and scrub the decks "that" and mind your p's and q's.  But... when we roll to around 5:00 pm.  It's all pretty loosey goosey and the kids can have their way with the house.  And rules.  And snacks.  (Just kidding on the snack part, Ken!)  If the topic is "Complain About Your Kids" I might take a while to chime in... but when I do... prepare for a concerto.

This is wrong.

So!

Kole is so stinking tender hearted.  I yelled at him.  Bad!  Last week and he didn't even react.  He just said, "Oh mom.  You're upset.  Come get a snuggle."  I hope he learned that from me!  And he's been a member of The Clean Plate Club at dinner more nights than I have lately.  He was eating broccoli a couple nights ago and saw I hadn't really eaten much of mine and said, "Try it, Mom.  It's not so bad!  It's kinda... good!"  He loves our daily craft time.  I lucked out there.  He doesn't even care if the craft is dumb.  Or unplanned.  Today I got construction paper and drew on it with a glue stick then poured glitter on top.  Wow.  Was he impressed.  So easy to make him happy.  But my very favorite thing about Koley-Q is that he is my cheerleader.  If I am doing dishes he'll pop his head in and say, "You're a hard worker, Mom!"  If I'm putting the vacuum away he'll say, "WOW!  That's better!  Good job, Mom!"   He's just a gem.

And my little Joey.  2 days ago Joey figured out that he can roll as a form of transportation.  Not just for exercise.  And it seems he finally considers himself part of the clan.  Now, when I walk to my room to get the next load of laundry and Koley-Bubby is following me... Joey sets off with a determined roll.  He struggles around corners.  But bless his heart for wanting to be close.  Joey also is a good eater.  No.  Joey is an over-eater.  Which the pediatrician said is okay and will fade.  No signs of that yet.  He eats four jars of baby food any time he sits in his high chair.  And then he wants a couple graham crackers and a 9 oz. bottle to slam it all down.  Porker.  Joey loves to get his head rubbed.  And he loves it if you sniff around his ears like a dog would.  Can't say I remember how I figured that one out.  Joey's best traits:  patient and long-suffering.  Typical little brother stuff I think... and hope. 

They are good good boys.  They are a lot of work.  But today I see it as enjoyable. 

Craft Catastrophe

It's winter.  Stillllllll. 
Still winter means we're still inside... still running out of things to do... still still still.

My sister, Andi, sent me an e-mail that listed 200 things to do with your kids inside.  Most of them were crafts and experiments.  Right up there in my alley.  I sorted through what I considered to be the duds and was left with about 75 winners.  Or... so I thought.
I showed Kole the list and he picked one with cotton balls.  The kid loves cotton balls.  What can I say?  I'm raising him right.
We got all set up.  Covered the table with newspaper, carefully mixed the flour and water, and added food coloring.  We dipped the cotton balls in and then placed them on a well-greased (old and nasty) cookie sheet.  We sat and watched them bake for 40 minutes. Yup.  We sat in front of the oven with the little light on and watched.  And "chit chatted."  Which is Kole's newest favorite word. 

And we made:

Um... They were....

They kinda were like.... rock hard cotton balls.

"What do I do with it, Mom?"

"Can we eat it?"  "No.  You can't eat it.  You can.... uhhhhh...."

"It's dinosaur poop." -Kole

I can't really say what we made.  Or what the purpose was.  It killed time.  We ended up sorting them by color.  Lining them up.  Throwing them at the baby. (Just kidding.)  (Not really.)  They turned out right... I just can't say as what.  And when I went back and re-read the article, it never really said what they were.  But they're kids called them dinosaur poop too.  Which is really pretty cool that dinosaurs poop in color.

So, in closing, if you're feeling the winter blues, if you've got a little cabin fever and you want to bust out of it by making so cotton ball rocks- Let me know!  I've got the recipe!

Doing Good

In church on Sunday (or maybe a couple a Sundays ago) we sang, "Have I Done Any Good?"  I learned this song in Primary and just laaaaaa-hove it.  Let's sing it together!  You can sing it in your head if you want.

Have I done any good in the world today?
Have I helped any one in need?
Have I cheered up the sad?
Or made someone feel glad?
If not, I have failed indeed.

Has anyone's burden been lighter today
Because I was willing to share?
Have the sick and the weary been helped on their way?
When they needed my help was I there

Then waaaaaaaaaake UP(!) and do something more
Than dream of your mansion above.
Doing good is a pleasure, 
a joy beyond measure
A blessing of duty and love. 

I added a little emphasis there on the chorus.  What?  That's how I sing it.  I normally straighten my posture right there too.  Right there on the "up" I just like to pop up.  I've been humming this song around the house.  There's been a lot of do-goodery towards me lately.

Lets start with my neighbor, Cloyd.  Cloyd lives all by himself and has Fallow Deer and a tractor.  (Just wanted to throw it in about the deer. They are unrelated to this story.)  Any time it snowed this year and he saw me out there breaking my back and sweating through my parka trying to shovel... he fired up the tractor.  Rolled down to my house and plowed the driveway in five minutes.  And he'd salute me and Kole then drive on home.

Another woman, Ruth, brought me warm bread.  She baked bread!  From... what?... yeast?  And flour!  And love.  Cheesy but true.

Then, a couple days ago on Facebook, I put that I wasn't ready for the day...the Kenster took the car... and I could really use a Coke.  And wouldn't you know it... just like rubbing a genie's lamp... my friend, Kristi brought a Coke over.  It was Diet... but I was overcome with love and was tearing up so didn't hold it against her.  She probably figured I must drink Diet to look as smoking good as I do.

I'm always getting straight out blessed for no reason.  These 3 all happened in the last week.  Maybe it's been a week since we've had snow but Cloyd's been around.   All these acts sure has made me think.... Have I cheered up the sad?  Have I made someone feel glad?

Meh. Doubt it.

My first reaction was oh HECK yeah.  My kids.  All day every day.  I'm getting them what they need, playing with them, feeding them, rubbing cream on their rash-y ashies.  But.  When I thought about it.  That probably doesn't count.  I'm their mom.  I'm supPOST to do that stuff.
I haven't really helped anyone.  Perhaps.  Perhaps that is why I have felt so bleh.
But my chance to turn things around happened.
I found my chance to make a burden lighter when I was a Walmart.  I stopped there after going to the gym (25,000 points to Patty!) to reload our milk supply.  I walked over to the very last cashier the one by the produce that's 20 items or less.  I had only the milk.  There was a kid in front of me who might have been 18.  He was buying 3 Totino's pizzas and a 1 liter bottle of generic Mt. Dew.  The checker girl rang up the 3 pizzas and the boy slid the Mountain Mayhem (or whatever it's called) off to the side.  Out of the line of purchase.  He paid for the pizzas with what was left on a gift card and some change.  I just felt for the kid.  He had this plan in his head to go home and eat pizza and drink Mt. Dew and probably play World of Warcraft.  He had his night planned.  He had stopped at Walmart... and his math was wrong.  And he didn't have enough money.  Isn't that the worse feeling in the world?  Well... when you're 18.  And have a party planned for yourself.  He was going to have to eat all those pizzas with plain old water.  Talk about the pits.
So, with my new-found zeal to do good I said, "Do you want this drink?"
"Uh. No.  I don't.  I don't know why I picked it up.  It was an accident."
"I'll buy it for you.  You can get it."
"Oh.  No.  Don't do that.  I don't need it.  I don't really even want it. I think I have the money for it really."
And he started looking in his (obviously) empty wallet.
I looked at the checker and told her I wanted to buy the pop.
The kid just kept staring at me.
The pop cost 78 cents.
I gave it to him and he said, "I didn't think there were nice people in the world any more."
I told him to have a Happy Groundhogs Day.  And patted his shoulder.  I felt like my mom.

It felt good to do that for him.  Really good.  Way more than 78 cents worth of good.  It was really a pleasure.  A joy beyond measure.

The last verse to the song has a line that says:
Do not let them pass by, saying, "Sometime I'll try,"
But go and do something today.

Do.  Go do something.  Today.  Especially if you are feeling blue about something.  Or are in a rut.  Or you've been thinking of doing it for awhile.  Go.  Do it.

I always thought that last line was
"If not I have failed in deed."
not "...failed indeed."

And I think "in deed" is more suiting.  So I'm gonna stick with it.
Unless we want to add to it and make it... "If not I have failed in deed, indeed."
Just hold out that same note.