The Fullness of My Heart

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Rants N Raves

Things that bug me over the past while...things that I LOVE (sadly, some of this is old news, but I've been stewing)

RANTS
Wauwatosa garbage collectors -- taking the week after Christmas off, are you kidding? We pay so much in property taxes here. Couldn't they choose another un-garbagey week?

The ugly hair shack at the mall -- I don't know exactly what kind of styling tool they are selling, but almost every time I go to the mall, one of their salespeople (who are usually foreign and I can't understand) stops me and asks me how I do my hair (okay, admittedly, I'm usually sporting a pony and could use some hair help). The worst part is that they use their little styling doohickey and my only thought when I see their hair is 'I dunno how I do my hair, but are you selling something that will ensure that it NEVER looks like yours?'

Mayfair mall taking out the play area and replacing it with lame, expensive kiddie rides

Blogger taking away my option to create bulleted list
Spending any amount of time in a hospital, even one that claims to be #3 in the nation

People making lame comments about my kids (I love my friend's idea)

RAVES
Parking blessings -- Honestly, I am the queen of good parking. It rarely fails me that I find a great parking spot. They're just there for me. Jake is always amazed. And hey, I'm a jerk. I have three little kids, I'll take out people with canes to get my spot, cuz I totally deserve it!

Bayshore Mall's new play area

Lake FM -- this radio station in Milwaukee is my new favorite (94.5) They play everything...I've heard everything from The Beatles, The Doors, Bryan Adams, Pearl Jam, Alanis Morissette, The Cure, Jack Johnson...I'm hearing songs from high school that I haven't hear for years and they actually sound good.

Spending time at a hospital that is doing renovations and has a HUGE excavator in an area where my kids who weren't sick could watch through the window; so close you could almost touch it!

Sunday, January 18, 2009

We're Home

Sadie was discharged from the hospital this afternoon. I'm grateful that we had a great place to get her back to her spunky self...it was so hard to watch such a spitfire get to the point of absolute exhaustion and sickness. After making it through the ER and admitting, she was still awake at about 11:00pm when they were getting her into her room. While usually Sadie puts up quite the fight, Jake said she laid in the bed completely motionless and speechless while they checked her vitals etc...so sad to see her lose her 'tude and have her not pushing docs away and telling them, 'all done'. She is much, much better after her time there. She's eating and drinking again and pretty much back to her old self, as are we. Whew! You know that old wives tales about these kind of bad things coming in threes? Sure hoping it's not true after this and my miscarriage...hospitals are not a fun place to hang out!

Friday, January 16, 2009

Poor Little Sadie Lou

So, it's almost 11:00pm and I'm blogging. We ended up with a not so great day today. This week, Sadie has had a stomach bug. It hasn't seemed to serious...we've been treating it with all the 'normal' stuff (ie: extra TV time, extra cuddling time, Gatorade, crackers, etc) She seemed to be recovering, then got really, really sick tonight. We ditched our date night, left the sitters with Ty and Brooklyn and headed to the ER at Childrens' Hospital. After lots of waiting and questions and more waiting and questions...the doctor decided to admit her for a few days. She's such a little girl as it is, losing 2 lbs. when you only weigh 19 is a pretty big deal. Fortunately, they agree with me (I should have a PhD) that she just has a run of the mill stomach virus. Our other kids haven't even picked it up, so it isn't serious. Unfortunately, little Sadie just doesn't have it to lose, and so they want her to spend a few days in the hospital to get her feeling better so that she can absorb nutrients and get healthy again. In the meantime...I'm going crazy. Jake wanted me to come home and sleep tonight, but I'm so sad about my baby. So, here I am, blogging and checking my email. I could do something worthwhile, like read a book, but I'm just not there right now...I'm feeling okay...the on call pediatrician that I had to speak to before taking her to the ER was a huge jerkface, he'll be hearing from a mean mama bear on Monday. However, the care at the local Childrens' Hospital is great; it's one of the best hospitals in that nation. Rather than the dope from the peditricians office that chewed me out, they could see that we had done everything we could to nurse our little girl back to health. I'm discouraged, it's such a setback with everything we've done with her weight. But I'm hoping she'll put it back on faster this time...

So Appropriate...

We had a lousy day today, this was emailed from a friend and make me smile...

Cold Weather Behavior…
60 above zero: Floridians turn on the heat. Wisconsinites plant gardens.
50 above zero: Californians shiver uncontrollably. People are sunbathing in Superior.
40 above zero: Import cars won't start. Wisconsinites drive with the sunroof open.
32 above zero: Distilled water freezes. The water in Lac du Flambeau gets thicker.
20 above zero: New Mexicans don long johns, parkas and wool hats & mittens. Wisconsinites throw on a flannel shirt.
15 above zero: New York landlords finally turn on the heat. People in Wisconsin have one last cookout before it gets cold.
Zero: People in Miami all die. Wisconsinites close the windows.
10 below zero: Californians fly away to Mexico Wisconsinites dig their winter coats out of storage.
25 below zero: Hollywood disintegrates. Girl Scouts in Wisconsin still selling cookies door to door.
40 below zero: Washington, D.C. finally runs out of hot air. People in Wisconsin let their dogs sleep indoors.
100 below zero: Santa Claus abandons the North Pole. Wisconsinites get upset because the Mini-Van won't start.
460 below zero: ALL atomic motion stops (absolute zero on the Kelvin scale). People in Wisconsin can be heard to say, "Cold 'nuff fer ya?"
500 below zero: Hell freezes over. Wisconsin public schools open 2 hours late

Why do I live here again?

I've said it before, I'm finding myself saying it again, anyone who has lived in the upper Midwest knows that hell has nothing to to with fire and brimstone. It's all about wind chills, blowing snow, and sub-zero temps. I would love a timeshare somewhere with fire and brimstone today. This week, it's been far below zero all week. So cold, that really, it's advised that you avoid going out at all. For the past two days, most of the schools have been closed. There is frost on the inside and outside of my windows. Frost collects on the metal plate at the bottom of my door (on the inside). There are all kinds of tragic stories out there about people and pets literally freezing to death. Jake told me last night, when he was coming home from work and walking to his car, it was so cold it made his eyes hurt. Honestly! It's so stinking cold. I've been trying to 'stick it out' and I just checked the weather online to see if we could get out and 'enjoy' winter this weekend, and take the kiddos sledding or something. I don't think anytime over the next 10 days it's supposed to get above 10 (without the windchills, I don't think we're breaking zero with that awful northern wind). So much for that! My kids would never enjoy it. We're supposedly setting all kinds of records, with the cold and snowfall, but watching the weather to me right now is about as enjoyable as reading obituaries. Really, you're talking about something that's so depressing and so outside of your control.

Current headlines here include:

'Residents stock up on essentials ahead of winter chill'

'Thousands lose power early Thursday morning'

'Hayward man froze while sleepwalking'

'Cold may force extension of schoolyear'

'We've reached plus degrees!'

'Garbage collection suspended in Milwaukee' (due to frigid conditions)

On the homepage of the Chicago Sun-Times, the header shows the weather at currently -2...it is desribed as 'unspeakable' (vs. sunny, partly cloudy, etc.)

Need I say more?

Thursday, January 15, 2009

More December Pictures

December Pictures

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Our Family

As a mother of four beautiful children, I feel like I am often lost in the day to day shuffle of life; while missing the beautiful moments of parenting. I try to remember that even when life isn't easy, life is fleeting. Every "stage" of my children's lives are my favorite. Life is sweet because today will never come again. Although some days, I just want the day to end; I struggle as I realize how quickly time passes and that "babies don't keep". I hope my blog can help me keep this perspective, and help me remember to not take the daily things for granted.

Kids Say...

I was trying to get Jack to go to sleep downstairs for a sleepover with the other kids. We were lying on the floor together, when he'd pull out blanket up over his face. If I ignored it and pretended to sleep, he'd poke me and say "Mama, where's Jack"? I'd then say, "oh, where's Jack?", to which he would scream, "peek a boo!" or "here he is!" and throw off the blanket.

Sadie: "They don't kill girl cows, because they make milk. They just kill boy cows, because they make hamburgers."

Ty: "Mom and Dads have a very important job. They have to make life interesting for their kids. Like scientists."

Ty: "If girl cows make milk, what do boy cows do?"

Our family does a weekly family night. Our church calls it "Family Home Evening". Ty calls it "Family Home Eating". For obvious reasons, he's upset if we don't have a treat as part of our night together.

It bothers Ty that Sadie prefers chocolate milk to plain milk. He told her this morning, "but don't you know, regular milk is just chocolate milk without the ______". He wanted her to guess. She is no more amused with missing out on chocolate opportunities than her mother and refused to answer.

Brooklyn: "Heavenly Father still loves us, even though He makes it cold, right?"

Ty: "Mom, I want to have a Christmas party."

Mom: "Okay, what do we do for a Christmas party?"

Ty: "You know how we usually eat healthy foods? Well, at a party we only eat foods from the sweets and oils group. So, can we eat carrots at a party? No, because they are from the vegetables group. Can we eat cake? Yes, because it's in the oils group...."

Ty: "Daddy, can I come lay in your bed?"

Dad: "Why do you want to lay in my bed?"

Ty: "Because mine is really wet"

I was trying to get Ty to eat some soup before indulging in honey butter laden cornbread for dinner. He looked at me and said matter of factly: "Nope". I went crazy. "You don't tell me NO!" He said, "but Mom, I didn't say 'no', I said 'nope', nope has a 'p' on the end".

Ty: "Mom, do you know what I am SO afraid of? Beautiful girls."

Mom: "Really Ty? Why are you afraid of beautiful girls?"

Ty: "I dunno Mom. They just make me feel...(muttering, stammering, embarrassed)...I don't know, they're just scary."

On cheating: Brooklyn keeps reminding me (as if I'm some crazy huge flirt) that Mom and/or Dad can't kiss someone else, "or else the 'spell' will be broken"

Sadie (my very backseat driver) was frustrated that I was going too slow. I explained that someone was in front of me, I couldn't go faster. She said "Just push him out of the way!"

Sadie: Her explanation as to why we were taking Jackson to the doctor "We need to shot him" (give him his vaccines)

Brooklyn: "Mommy, why do you go the bank? Is it because you don't have a piggy bank?"

Sadie loves Jackson. Mommy loves Jackson to take naps. Sadie keeps going into Jack's room when he is napping and waking him up. Every time I get after her, she sweetly says, "but I was just looking at him".

On $200+ drinks: This past trip to Utah, my kids were very excited about the plane ride. Best part? Having a layover meant we rode on four different planes...and got to choose four different drinks. They all had it mapped out before we ever took off and knew what they would have when.

Brooklyn noticed a black and white TV that was in the movie "Toy Story 2". I explained that a long time ago, before color TV's, all they had were black and white. She thoughtfully asked, "so how old will our TV be when it turns black and white?"

Tyler got into a little scuffle with another boy at the library (who happened to be African-American). As I was explaining sharing and being kind to Ty (in earshot of the child's father), Brooklyn loudly added to the lecture: "Yeah, and we also need to always be nice to people who have a different color of skin".

When we were last visiting St. George, we got into a very hot car after church. The A/C immediately kicked on when I started the car. Before I could even think about shutting off the hot air, Brooklyn said "Mom, are you SERIOUSLY turning on the heater?!" Smart mouth. I'm dead when she's 16.

Ty told both Grandmas when they came to visit: "Grandmas and Grandpas are bigger than Mommies and Daddies" ("bigger" for Ty = older)

On living in the Midwest

Brooklyn: "Mommy, what are those?"

Mommy: "Sprinklers"

Brooklyn: "But why are they just going right there?" (Watering your lawn here is rare; sprinklers are solely for entertainment)

Brooklyn: "Mommy, can we go to the ocean, I want..."
Me: "We can go there on a vacation someday"
Brooklyn: "Why do we have to wait for a vacation?"
Me: "Because it's so far away"
Brooklyn: "Further than the car store?" (about 20 min from home)

Brooklyn got mad at Ty for eating before we said a prayer: "No Ty! If you eat before we say a blessing your food is going to be GROSS!"

Jack HATES baths. After a rare bath when he didn't scream the entire time, I said to him: "see Jack, that wasn't so bad". He proceeded to pee all over me.

Brooklyn came home from church with a paper entitled "I Can Choose the Right By:". Her response (and illustration) was "not screaming when my mom combs my hair".

Jake and I had to switch vehicles for the day, and I gained immense gratitude for my mini-van. Ty sat in the back of Jake's Civic and whined "Mom, my bum is too big; Dad's car is too small!"

I was trying to talk Ty out of wearing a pair of sweat pants today. He just didn't get it, "But Mommy, these pants aren't wet!"

Ty's penchant for waking up early reached a new level. Jake heard him walking around upstairs at about 9:30pm. He went upstairs and told him it was time to go back to bed. Ty had taken off his PJ's and dressed himself for they day, and was very upset, saying: "But I'm already dressed!"

Ty's prayer: "Please bless that we won't be weird ("wee-wud")

Ty saw a cow relieving herself during the fair and shouted, "look Mom, the cow's making milk!"

Ty was having a bad day and came unglued when I pulled out the sunscreen, "NO MOMMY! The sun is not screaming. I don't need sunscream unless the sun is screaming!"

Egotistical? Sadie loves to sing her ABC's, she thinks it says, "A,B, Sadie"...she repeats that a few times, mutters through "next time won't you sing with" then screams "ME!"

After Jake had to leave a lunch date to head back to work, I was trying to explain to Brooklyn why he has to go to work. She asked, "can't we just have someone come to our house and make money for us?". I asked, "who?" Quickly she replied "one of Daddies work friends!". We're still recruiting.

While visiting a friend, Ty saw a buck mounted on the wall. He was so excited and asked, "Can I hold it?"

After a fun Easter Egg hunt on Saturday, with eggs filled with stickers, candy, and prizes; my kids were sorely disappointed to find out what was inside the real eggs that we had dyed.
Ty refuses to give up a fight, and when he is trying to talk back, always screams: "I'm just ASKING!"

Ty is so not potty ready and won't admit even when he needs to be changed. I knew he needed to be changed this past weekend and asked him. He replied, "I'm not sayin' nuthin 'bout that!" I'm blaming his father for the backtalk and the slaughter of the English language.

Ty was being naughty and hit me. Jake saw it and said, "don't hit your mother". Ty laughed at him and said, "she's not 'mudder', she's mommy!"

We were driving in the car and the person behind me wasn't letting me change lanes. I said (kindly), "please, c'mon, let me in". Brooklyn said, "Mommy, who are you talking to?" Me: "The car behind me" B: "Can they hear you?" Me: "Nope." B: "Then why are you talking to them?"

Good thing I don't cuss. We were driving and someone made a crazy move and almost got creamed. I said "good grief!" The entire way home, Sadie sat in the back and repeated, "good gweef, good gweef"

Ty got Easter bunny ears from the big EB at the mall. He was proud to wear them home. When we got home, I told him that Daddy would be excited to see his ears. Ty playfully tugged on his real ears and said, "these ears, or my bunny ears?"

Ty was supposed to be helping clean up some toys, but was doing much more playing than working. He looked up at me and agonizingly asked, "is it time for me to rest yet?". I told him to join a union for more rights...until then, no breaks.

Brooklyn and I were talking about the fact that her daddy and Uncle Jared are brothers. She was quiet for a minute and then said, "but I thought they were daddies".

Of my casserole tonight, Brooklyn said:
"There are potatos in there, I can tell! I don't like potatos" (there were NO pototos)...also, we were talking about chicken again and she reminded me that the chicken we eat is not an animal...the chicken we eat is shaped like dinosaurs and comes from the store.

Sadie is so cute...we all love to dance and tonight she refused to dance with anyone but Ty (who of course, wasn't interested)

Last time we went to the mall, Brooklyn brought several random coins, most of which she lost on the way, and was adamant about 'paying' for herself and her siblings to ride the kiddie rides, she had it all figured out when she left with 9 coins, everyone could ride 3 times...too bad she doesn't understand the differing values of coinage and the fact that each ride costs 3 quarters. It was still so thoughtful!

Brooklyn asked me after church last Sunday. 'We love Jesus, do you know what he did for us? He paid our taxes.' Sweet!

Tonight at dinner, Ty demanded more ketchup. Expecting him to say please, I said, 'what do you need to do if you want more?'. Quickly, he pushed aside all of the food on his plate to make room for the ketchup and looked up at me and smiled.

Ty: "When I turn into a Daddy, then I'm going to go to work"
Mom: "What are you going to do at work?"
Ty: "Play with Thomas (the train). Daddy, do you have Thomas at work? Say 'yes'"

As we were shoveling snow today, Brooklyn said "mommy, we have to hurry and shovel all this snow, cuz we want summer to come and the snow just keeps coming down!"

Ty got in trouble with Daddy last night and exclaimed "you are ruining my whole life!"

Sadie's first sentence..."I want more chicken"...we're contacting Chick Filet.

Ty went to see Grandpa Johnson's trucks when we went to St. George. As he stepped out of the car, the first words he said upon seeing the truck was "it's beautiful".

Brooklyn has a book with a "magic marker" than makes new pictures appear when it is used. Today, the marker failed to work as it ran out of ink. Brooklyn was torn up as I triend to explain she said, "but Mommy! Magic markers don't break!"

Sadie's siblings have her trained. When they ask her "what is your name?" she always says "Cocoa" and they all three erupt into laughter. I'm just concerned cuz the nickname sounds like an exotic dancer's name...

Brooklyn: "Please downzip my pants."

Ty screams "excuse me" anytime I'm not listening to him.

Brooklyn: "Ty is going to ruin my whole life, and I was just going to get a life!"

Ty was throwing a tantrum and I was trying to console him. He sobbed, "mommy, I'm happy now!"

Ty asks me to "move those monkeys" anytime my hair is on my shoulders and he wants to give me a love. He just doesn't like my hair at all and won't touch it.

Brooklyn: "Guess what Mommy? There are two kinds of chickens. The kind at the zoo and the kind you eat!"

Trying to explain, "why church?" to Brooklyn, I told her that church helps mommy be good. She asked me immediately, "maybe church will make you be a good mommy and not put your kids in time out anymore, maybe?" I'm sure there is something in the scriptures about that!

Brooklyn was trying to play "Mommy and Daddy" with Ty yesterday. With a belt wrapped around Ty's waist (so he could be "Daddy", of course); she was insistant that she wear my bra, "cuz that's ALL that mommies wear". I finally talked her into a dress! Whew!

Brooklyn asked me today, "Mommy, why does Ty say why so much just like me?"

We were walking to the mall and passed a Radisson Hotel. Brooklyn had been excited about the big walk from Walgreens to Mayfair mall and was asking me about all the buildings. When we saw the Radisson, she asked, "what is that". I told her it was a hotel. She then asked, "is that where the sun sleeps?". Hmmm...dunno.

While I was dressing Ty, he was showing some resistance. Brooklyn told him, "you have to get dressed, you're naked!". After the incident, Ty came to me a few minutes later and asked, "Mommy, where's my naked?"

We're starting to think about potty training for Ty. Last week, I told him that if he went to the potty, he could have a treat. He asked me "how 'bout the living room?". Guess he's not ready?

Brooklyn was confused this morning when a headache put me on the couch and said: "Moms don't take naps, they just clean!" I'm glad she clarified my purpose in life!

Brooklyn prayed: "Please help Mommy be more nice, so she doesn't put us in time-outs"

"I'm having a hard day! I'm just trying to get all the drama out now so that there is no more drama!" (Brooklyn was in meltdown mode at the end of going to the zoo and not seeing the zebras)

"These shoes, no socks!" (what Ty says every time we put on his sandals)

Brooklyn was upset at Ty again this morning, for some reason or another. I heard her scream "Tyler Jake! You are not T-Bone anymore ("T-Bone" is Ty's favorite nickname...he sometimes refuses to be called anything else)

Brooklyn: "Daddy told me that piggies make forks"
Mom: "Silly Daddy."
Brooklyn: "No, piggies make forks"
Mom: "OK, how do piggies make forks"
Brooklyn: "They just take spoons and use their little piggy hands to make forks"
--After some thought into this conversation, I tried to think where she got confused; I realized that pork rhymes with fork.

Brooklyn: "How did Heavenly Father put on our heads?"
Mom: "I don't know. What do you think?"
Brooklyn: "I think He used a big mixing bowl"
Mom: "Hmmm..."
Brooklyn: "How do you think he made my little head?"

Brooklyn: "How did Heavenly Father make the crocodiles without having the crocodiles bite him?"
Mom: "What do you think?"
Brooklyn: "I think He just made them really small and then put them down on the ground and watched them grow"

Kids say...and do...Sadie cries hysterically when I blow bubbles for the kids. She loves to try to get them and becomes very upset by the fact that as soon as she catches one that it disappears!

Brooklyn has a tendency to hang on the stroller/cart when we're shopping and often gets in the way. I try to be polite and kind to her about it; but I think I'm failing...Jake was talking to her about a trip to the store and asked, "What can you do to help Mommy at the store?" She quickly answered, "Get out of the way!" Rude Mommy!

Rather than saying "NO!" like most two-year-olds, Ty says "NO THANK YOU!" (with just as much vim and vigor)

On a recent trip through Vegas, Brooklyn was anxious to get to the Las Vegas airport after a long drive from St. George. When we were entering the airport, we went through a tunnel and Brooklyn asked, "Mommy, is this Las Vegas? Wow! It's dark here!"

Grandpa Johnson was driving and saw a cop and Brooklyn overheard talk about tickets and driving etc. She LOVES to get "tickets" (receipts) when we go shopping; so she asked Grandpa if she could have his ticket when the cop gave him one. Luckily, we never had to find out if he would give it to her!

On the way to the airport, Brooklyn wanted something loud to "wake up" the airplane. I asked what she wanted to use and she said "don't you have a horn or a drum or something in your bag?"

Brooklyn was praying for family home evening. During the prayer, Ty turned on the TV. Brooklyn ran over to him with her arms folded, hit him and said "NO!", then resumed her prayer in her sweet "prayer voice", completely as if it were uninterrupted and nothing had happened.

Ty kept tugging on his ears and coming to me..."Help Mommy, stuck...help Mommy, stuck". Sorry little man.

Too much emhasis on potty training? Brooklyn uses the word "poop" instead of "pout" when she sings "Santa Claus is Coming to Town".

Brooklyn was splashing in the tub and said, "Look Mom! I'm making the water wiggle!"

Ty is dramatic about eating. Whethers it's something delicious, or a piece of Wonderbread, he smacks his lips and says "mmmmm"...even in the middle of church.

While talking with Brooklyn about Christmas and Jesus'
"birthday" I thought we were getting somewhere until she excitedly said, "Mom, Jesus wants a Mickey Mouse birthday, we need to go to WalMart and get him a cake!..." From then on, we were lost on the Christmas thing with planning Jesus' party.

Ty has a book with mom and baby animals. The first page is a pig/piglet. So, everytime we read that book, he opens it, points to the pig on the first page and says "Mommy!". Gee, thanks Ty.

We talk a lot about the hazards of parking lots. While walking into Target, Brooklyn turned to me and said, "Mommy, if you don't get smashed by a car, I'll give you a smartie!"

"Look Mommy! It's Jesus and the prophet!" (Brooklyn was screaming from the backseat while driving; on my way back I realized she saw statues of Christ and Mary)

Brooklyn and I often have "tea parties" and make "hot cocoa" (Mormon approved, right?). It's been awhile, and yesterday she wanted to have a tea party and make "Diet Coke-O"

Jake likes to "race" Brooklyn as we get from point A to B; she enjoys it and it keeps her moving. They were "racing" out of church today and Brooklyn didn't slow down enough and ran straight into the side of the van and fell back from the impact. It wouldn't have been funny, except before either of us could get to her, she jumped up and yelled "I WON!"

After trick or treating at the ward Halloween party, at the church, Brooklyn said "I like THAT church!...We go to that church again in TWO days."

Brooklyn had something that was too large to carry in her pocket and announced to me "Mommy, I need BIG Mommy pants with BIG Mommy pockets."

Brooklyn came running out of the potty to annouce that we were out of TP. When Jake went in to help, it was obvious she had wasted a lot. He asked, "How much toilet paper did you use?" she said, "Too much!"

After I got dressed in my Halloween costume, a clown with red hair and all, I was lamenting whether or not I really wanted to be dressed up. Brooklyn came up and exclaimed, "Mommy, you look BEAUTIFUL!"

While driving in the car on Sunday, we passed a McDonald's. Brooklyn, of course, wanted to go. We explained, "no, we don't go to McDonald's on Sunday". Simple explanation, right? After some careful thought, Brooklyn asked, "How 'bout Wendy's?"