Let the party begin...

It seems like every year I help out at my kids' preschool Halloween party and this year was no exception.  I got to go hang with my favorite 3 year old at school and play games, eat pizza, get candy AND I did all this while dressed up as Cinderella.  You should have seen ALL the little girls with their big grins when they saw me.  One little girl could not keep her eyes off of me and she would sit by me or walk by me all that she could.  It was sooooo cute.  I think it made Lolo proud to have her momma there, too.  Miss Lori and Miss Melanie do a superb job when it comes to class parties, and I have so much fun being apart of it.  Lucky for me I have the opportunity to do this three more times, before this era is over me-kinda sad, actually.  That just means my kids are growing up. 

Cinderella and the cutest cowgirl EVER!

Check out the Easter Basket....

 I was in charge of Pin the Wart on the Witch

Group picture...

Miss Melanie and Miss Lori

Instead of losing a glass slipper (which I do own courtesy of a pageant I got talked into entering years ago), Cinderella lost her gloves.....

Now off to the BOO BLAST at the elementary school.  The Boo Blast was a HUGE success.  Let's just say the PTA raised much more money than we had anticipated.


 

CRAZY...

This week is Red Ribbon Week-a week where schools talk about being and staying drug and alcohol free.  Each day the kids get to do something fun or wear something fun-yesterday was crazy socks day, today is crazy hair day.  Sporty wore two different baseball socks pulled up to his knees with shorts (the temps were in the 40's) and Diva wore funky striped tights.  Today, I got to gel, wax, spray, tease, and spray again both of their coifs til my heart was content.  Here is the finished product:

Sporty looks like Pauly D from the Jersey Shore-I don't know what is worse: that he looks like Pauly D or that I know who Pauly D is....I DO NOT watch Jersey Shore.  FILTH

Sporty was not in a very chipper mood and Diva's chipper mood is ruining it all.

I didn't say it was pretty-only CRAZY!

What to do...

What do you do when your child or children ABSOLUTELY refuse to cooperate in some form or another?  Better yet, what about when they conspire against the parents?  That is EXACTLY how I am feeling right now about my adorable children.  Sometimes I think my little monkeys get together in the night and make a plan on how to make me go beserk.  It usually starts in the morning-they get up, get ready for school, and as they are leaving I ask, "Is your bed made?  Did you put your pj's away?" which is followed by a unanimous, "OH MOM!  WE ARE GOING TO BE LATE TO SCHOOL!  CAN'T THAT WAIT TIL WE GET HOME?"  Hmph.  Mind you, it's 8:07 am, school does not start until 8:30 and we live 2 minutes away-literally 2 minutes away, walking.  I stand my ground and point out that they were all up by 7am, so they have plenty of time and HAD plenty of time to complete this task.  They begrudgingly stomp back inside and make their beds and then they are off by 8:11.

So, during school hours I tidy up, sweep my kitchen floor for the first time of about 40 times throughout the day, and try to keep Hurricane Z-man from destroying my house, as well as deter tornado Lolo.  I swear, I can leave one room and come back in 2 minutes and it's been devasted by a 16 month old.  In an ealier post I alluded to the fact that Z-man has discovered my cupboards.  Not only has he discovered them, but all of a sudden it's a carnival game of "Who can clear out the cupboards as fast and as loud as you can".  I can hear crash, boom, thump, sometimes a wimper when he drops a pot on his foot, bang and slam.  So as I am teaching Z-man to "clean up, clean up, everybody everywhere...."  Lolo is somewhere else in the house, plotting my next break down.  Tag team.

Flash forward to after school...I am sprawled on the floor, my hair is a mess, my makeup probably isn't on (unless I had a PTA meeting which forced me to get ready), I may or may not be in my Juicy Sweats (after all, they are the comfiest), toilet paper is hanging from the rafters, balls are being thrown across the floor, paper is being scattered, children are running around squeling with delight or with fear, can't tell anymore, food is spilled on the counter, the bathroom water has been left on, the baby is playing with boats in the toilet, etc, etc, etc.

So this scenario is OBVIOUSLY exaggerated, but the feelings of being overwhelmed are not.  Sometimes I do feel helpless, sometimes I am totally on top of my game.  Each day is different, but all days are counted a blessing, even when I can't even think straight.  I truly am blessed:  blessed to have been able to carry four wonderful, crazy, beautiful children; blessed that every single one of them is healthy; blessed that they have a father who loves them AND me; blessed that we have a roof over our heads and an income to keep it there; blessed to have family close by that can help alleviate some of my stresses; blessed to have a father who told me I started out life as a BIG STINKER but turned into a wonderful mother (although I don't always feel that way); blessed to have a mother who informed me that she too felt like a failure, felt stressed, felt inadequate, that I am normal and she is there to support me; blessed to have in-laws who offer encouragement as well.

I didn't really intend for this to turn into a pity party, but I needed to get some of these feelings off my chest.  I will admit that I am not Superwoman.  I think I try to be at times-who doesn't.  I am not crafty, I am not always organized, but sometimes I totally am organized (I like lists), I always have the laundry completed, but not the ironing.  I HATE IRONING!  My bed is always made, but my bathroom could use some help after I have been in there getting ready.  I am not perfect, and I can admit it.

So, back to my original question now that I have gone off on a mental tangent, what to do??  Love them.  They grow up too fast.

Look what I found

Z-man has discovered the oven drawer and EVERY OTHER cupboard as well.

COME ON DOWN...

I wish I was the next contestant on the Price is Right.  I don't know if I am squeely enough to actually get on the game show.  I am definitely spazzy enough...ANYWAY, we have taken the advice of Bob Barker..."Help control the pet population.  Have your pet spayed or neutered."  We will, we have, it's finito.  Our cat, Miss Callie, underwent that  procedure yesterday.  She is about 16 weeks old and I have noticed all the pimp daddy Tom Cats hangin' around my corner and I am not liking that...SO, ring, ring, Hello, Vet, I need to get my kitty spayed, IMMEDIATELY!  His answer: Sure thing.  Bring her in with your first born child and a credit card and we can get it taken care of...

Okay, bad scenario, but BASED on a true story.  All went well, there will be no kittens in our household.  Just a drunk kitten with a bong on her head.  It's actually really funny to watch her walk around-especially as the anesthesia was wearing off.  Even now she doesn't have peripheral vision with the cone on so she mis-judges her food dish and falls over it, or steps in her water and freaks out, or just runs into the downstairs fridge.  I am really going to get punished for laughing at her misfortune.  In all seriousness, though, I did stay up til 11pm to make sure she got her pain meds and then I held her while I watched "The Misfits" starring Marylin Monroe and Clark Gable.  She purred and slept on my lap for another half hour or so, then I gently laid her on her bed in the storage room and said good night.  Seriously, motherly instinct just never leaves.

First time in a pet porter and she did not like it.

She looks kind of like a dranged Bo Peep

This happens everytime she eats...

Watch out Napoleon...

This summer my kids saw "Napoleon Dynamite" for the first time and I have never seen them laugh so hard at a movie. Now my girls are constantly reciting lines from it. Here is Lolo with her impression of Napoleon...

Beautiful Fall

Today I took my kids up to Snowbasin Ski Resort for the day...It was sooooo beautiful.  Fall is my FAVORITE time of year-the crisp air, the sun, and of course, THE COLORS!!!  I actually FORGOT my camera and then I left my cell phone in the car and we were all ready at the top of the Gondola, so I couldn't just run back down-no matter how much in running shape I am (bwah hah hah).  My mom and I brought the kids' bikes and we let them ride around the little obstacle course for some time, then we went to the top of the mountain and went on a walk.  There is a very easy trail that even my baby could walk on without help.  He did the whole thing too!  We played on the rocks, threw rocks, peed on the rocks (Sporty had to go!) and just had a fantastic family moment.  We even got to see a wedding take place out on the patio-the bride was beautiful! 
The whole thing was orchestrated by my mom for the entire family to come-my brothers, sister, dad, etc.  However, Tad and his family all came down with the crud we all had last week, Ty went to Moab, Lyndi got a date, and my dad was called into work.  So it was Sandi, me and the kiddos.  It just dawned on me that you are probably wondering where Trevor was through this entire thing....He had baseball games and then he went to the Priesthood Session of conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  He always attends with his dad.  Here is a clip of one of the talks from the April 2010 session
So anyway, it was a pleasant day which will lead into a pleasant tomorrow when we get to watch conference on TV.  I love conference Sunday and listening to our Prophet speak.  Here is one of his talks.  President Thomas S. Monson is a very prolific speaker.  AMAZING!
I love my family!