Category: Motherhood Moments

International Womens Day!

Saturday March 8th was International Womens Day and I got to spend it with some of my favorite women in the world!

My niece Kim just returned from an eighteen month mission to Russia for our church. She spent two winters in Siberia and returned to family and friends this last weekend. She said her face froze on a daily basis. I’m proud of her and wish her a hearty welcome home.

Her hard work is inspiring, as is the hard work of so many wonderful women in the world.  So if you have a special woman in your life, someone who inspires you, let me know about it by leaving a comment.

International Women’s Day is not supposed to be a second mothers day, but I can’t help but think about my mom when I think of influential women in my life. Thanks for all you do mom!

http://www.internationalwomensday.com/

Motherhood Moments: Don’t Pee in the Oatmeal

There are times when things come out of my mouth that I never expected to say to another human. These are some favorites from the last week:


“Close the door when you’re peeing in public!” 
“You have to have clothes on to play with friends.” 
“Don’t put toys in your vagina!” 
“That’s not chocolate, it’s your poo.” 
“Don’t crawl under the bathroom stall, someone else is in there!” 

I don’t think I’m being unreasonable when I say I that I NEVER thought those words would leave my mouth. Seriously. But my most aggravating bit of unexpected shared wisdom was yesterday when I said the following to BIG E:
“Why don’t you have any clothes on?”

“Did you dump ALL the oatmeal on the floor?”
“WHY DID YOU PEE IN THE OATMEAL? THERE’S A BATHROOM RIGHT THERE!”
I can expect a little logic from a five year old. He’s old enough to realize that dumping breakfast food all over the carpet while mom is hurriedly making dinner is not a good idea. We’ve cleaned up so many messes, he should be able to expect my reaction to oatmeal bits ground into his floor. 
And yet, when he had happily bounced out of his room, naked, excitedly exclaiming “I peed in the oatmeal!” he didn’t seem to consider what would come next.
Things went downhill from there. Yelling, crying, vacuuming, sweeping, time outs, silent treatment, cold dinner. Big E and his accomplice little g were lucky that Mountain Dad came home from work right then. My furious mood could’ve seen them locked in their rooms for the rest of the night.
As a parent, I’m constantly surprised by my kids. I just wish they would surprise me in less messy and embarrassing ways.

January is Birthday Month!

 
January is a big birthday month in our mountain home. Not only did I turn 31 earlier this month, but Big E turns 5 in just a few weeks. I always get excited about birthdays, so much so that I celebrate a birthday week (or longer). That way I can do all the fun things I want to do and not have to cram them into one day.
 
Have a party? Sure. Go snowboarding. Of course. Fancy dinner with Mountain Dad. Yes, please. Birthdays are a time for joy and celebration and I’d love to share our special month with all of you. Please leave a comment with any fun birthday traditions you have in your home. Here are a few of ours:
 

1. Special Birthday Meals – Ever since I was a girl, the Birthday Boy or Girl chooses what the family eats for breakfast, lunch and dinner. As a kid that meant Lucky Charms and chicken nuggets. Now it’s more likely to involve anything I don’t have to prepare myself.
 
2. Favorite Memories – During the Birthday Dinner everyone at the table says a favorite positive memory of the Birthday Boy or Girl. Good times.
 
3. Heavy Heavy Hang Over – When opening presents, the Birthday Boy or Girl gets bumped on the head with the gift in time to this little rhyme:
 Heavy, Heavy, hangover, thy poor head. What do you wish with a BUMP on your head?
 
I’m not sure how this rhyme came to be, or why it was used in my family growing up (especially since my parents didn’t drink and therefore never had hangovers) but now it’s a tradition.
 
4. Cookies, Candles and Ice Cream – Of course the Birthday Boy or Girl chooses what flavor of dessert they want, but in our house we rarely have cake for a birthday. I prefer Mrs. Fields’ decorated cookie cakes, Mountain Dad is an ice cream fiend and Big E is allergic to wheat so he usually gets rice krispie treats. Little G doesn’t have an opinion yet.
 
5. Parties – I love parties, so every month I convince our extended family to get together and celebrate something. Among my two parents, eight siblings, their spouses and my twenty two (soon to be twenty five) nieces and nephews, there’s always someone’s birthday to celebrate. 
 
Whatever your family birthday traditions are, I hope they make your day something special. Happy Birthday!