Successful?

Ellie has been showing the tell-tale signs of potty training readiness. She’s dry at nap time. She loves to sit on the potty and actually goes. She rips off her diaper the minute she wets it. I’ve always followed my kids lead. When they show an interest I think I better run with it before they decide they’re not interested after all. It’s worked so far…all the kids have been potty-trained around two years old. I count this as one of my greatest blessings.
And so I’ve been working with Ellie. Oh how I hope this is not a false alarm!

Today she was playing outside in the fort of our swingset. I watched her as she took the toy kitchen pot she was playing with (our little kitchen is up in the fort) and squatted over it. I knew immediately what she was doing. “Ellie!” I screamed. “Come down here and go in the potty!” I cajoled. But to no avail. She smiled and showed me her filled pot.

This isn’t the first time she’s done something like that. A couple days ago I found her sitting in a little mixing bowl in the middle of the kitchen. I will not disclose which bowl for fear of some family members (err, Scott) not being able to look past this happenstance and never being able to use the bowl again. I guess she couldn’t resist…it was just the right size for her little bum. Why not use it for a potty? I assure you it was disinfected properly.

Now obviously Ellie knew she needed to go each of these times; and it was never on the floor. So can I count these as successes?

Puh-lease Mom!

Sometimes the constant badgering and begging ("Puh-lease Mom! Puh-lease with cupcakes on top!") of the kids gets to me and I give in. A few weeks ago it was true spring-like weather (not the horrible cold, windy weather of late). I was outside working while the kids played. They claimed that it was just so horribly hot they were going to die (just wait kids...it will get that way soon!). Could they pul-lease go through the Elmo sprinkler?!

Now, the kids ask me this EVERY time it's a little tiny bit warm and I have to tell them that it is not as warm as they think and will freeze if they get wet. Besides that, it means changing clothes and bringing down four towels that will invariably get dirty enough to have to wash. It means slathering everyone down with sunscreen. It means little pieces of grass sticking on their legs and brought all over the house and wet bodies in and out of the house. It always seems like a lot of work when I can't guarantee they will make it worth my while by spending enough time out there. But this time...I relented. It was pretty hot, and surprisingly there was no wind at the time.

I'm glad I gave in. The kids had a blast, and I enjoyed watching their laughter. Ellie was not interested in getting wet, but LOVED laying in all the towels. (She also discovered the joy of her swimming suit and didn't want to take it off for a few days). The kids even stayed outside for an hour which was more than I expected.

Spot and Dot

I think Jared understands that I will never allow a dog. Taking matters into his own hands, he’s decided to be the family pet, “Spot” the big dog (never, never call him a “little” dog). He crawls on all fours, when he wants to be held he jumps up and pats his “paws” on your chest until you pick him up, he whimpers when he doesn’t get what he wants, barks to get our attention and wants to drink water from a bowl. The other day he licked me. Yuck! I told him to please never lick me again. “Bark, bark, but I’m Spot mom.” I explained to him that I don’t like real or pretend dogs to ever lick me. “But mom, I love it when dogs lick me!” Some people like it, some people don’t. Now he just licks Ellie. And Ellie has joined the bandwagon. She’s our new puppy “Little Dot.” She has picked up very quickly on all the dog mannerisms. It’s all a little too real for me!

Little Mommy

Scott wrote this account in his journal. I thought I'd share it especially since this seems to be a common theme in Ellie's life.

Today I offered to help out in the nursery during the second hour at church. I really enjoyed Ellie, although I must say I grew weary as I watched her taking care of her two favorite dolls from the nursery collection. All the other little kids were on the floor playing with balls, cars and other toys. Ellie didn’t really have time to play. She stood in the corner with her two dolls putting them in a cart and taking them out and then back in again. Later, she gave them bottles and held them—one in each arm—as she stood and bounced up and down. For a brief moment I saw her take a short break from her mothering to stoop down and move a dinosaur around on the floor—all while holding both dolls in her left arm. Soon she was back up and working to keep those babies happy by taking them over to the other side of the room and putting them to bed.


Then it was time for snack. She quickly put her dolls away only to pull one of them back to take with her. I proceeded to try to take the doll away and was wondering what to do with her stern mother-like protective look when I was informed about the “Ellie Exception.” Apparently all the kids are to put their toys away—which I noticed left a few upset little ones—but Ellie is allowed to have a doll at the snack table. It was at this time, exhausted as I was from watching her efforts that I had to go help with the Young Men. I think Ellie was pretty happy to be rid of me and the danger that I presented to her babies.

After church was over I met up with Sarah. She was holding Ellie. Ellie had tears on her face from all the crying. Sarah explained that she had to leave her dolls in the nursery. I couldn’t help but feel for the little girl who spent that past two hours toiling tirelessly to care for those babies only to put them up for adoption. What a traumatic experience—not to mention this process repeats itself every week. No wonder she sucks her thumb.

Love Multiplies

(If anyone has a good picture of mom email me it. I don't think she'd appreciate any of the pictures I have. )

Today is my mom’s birthday. My dad is exactly one week older than my mom. I’ve always thought that was so cute. I wanted to write a few things about my mom too. As I thought about her I thought maybe I could talk about her amazing artistic talents. She’s REALLY REALLY into quilting and does some amazing pieces. When I was a teenager she sewed most of our formal dresses, and she taught me how to sew.

Maybe I could talk about her fight with breast cancer while I was in high school. She tried to stay positive through all her treatments. I remember she went wig shopping and came home with a short-haired blonde wig and a long dark-haired wig, neither which resembled her normal styles. I was a bit surprised by her selections but she said, “Everyone will know I’m wearing a wig anyway so I thought I’d try some fun styles.” I liked that; she is fun. She is an amazing lady with a lot of talents, but I thought I’d share a doodle she drew that she titled “Love Multiplies” and the inscription she wrote. I think this sums up one of the things I love best about my mom.

“This doodle resembles the Indian sculptures of the storyteller. When I first saw one of those figures, I thought it was a mother with many children and was thrilled at the concept because of an experience I had when I was younger.

I was taking a Lamaze refresher course in preparation for the birth of my fourth child. The teacher was expecting her second. Her reaction upon hearing that I was expecting Number four was “We are only having two children. We don’t want to have to divide our love between more than two, it wouldn’t be fair to the children.”

I was literally speechless. Didn’t she know love multiplies? It doesn’t divide or subtract, it adds and multiplies. The more you give it away the more you have to give. So this piece is dedicated to my mother and all those she has taken in and loved, and all her children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She taught me that ‘Love Multiplies.”

My mom truly personifies this principle. She has a great talent of taking in and loving those who need it most. When I was a teen-ager we were a foster family for several sweet babies who were waiting for a permanent home. We even had two pregnant young girls live with us for awhile. My mom loved those girls like her own and still keeps in touch with them. She was a pediatric hospice nurse for quite some time. You have to be a special person for something like that. Now she gets to love a sweet little boy born with many disabilities.

I am grateful for my mother’s example of love. She is so fun to be around and helps make everyone feel a little better about them self. I wish she'd come visit me soon!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Lucky Leprechaun's!

Who knew St. Patrick’s Day was one of those holidays that keep you up late the night before in anticipation? When I was a kid you just wore green. It’s WAY bigger than that now!

Brynn had to build a leprechaun trap for school. She and Kaitlyn thought long and hard about what they wanted to do. They made a trap door in front of a pot of gold in a box. When the leprechaun fell in the trap he would fall to the dungeon (an aluminum cake pan). Compassionate Brynn felt bad for any leprechaun that had to be trapped so she built a little home in the dungeon for the leprechaun complete with a bed and pillow, food and of course some gold!

Thinking the whole leprechaun business was getting a little out of hand, and when Brynn asked, I told her that leprechauns were just for fun. But on St. Patrick’s day the toilet water was colored and a box of Lucky Charms was wrapped on the table. Brynn exclaimed, “Mom, you said leprechauns were just for fun, but you were wrong! Look what they did to us!” I guess I was wrong after all.

The kids were ecstatic for the box of Lucky Charms, and I had to inwardly laugh when no one could finish their bowl because it was so sweet. In fact, Jared asked if he could just eat the cheerios part because he didn’t like the other things (the marshmallows)! I remember ONLY wanting the marshmallows. I know it’s silly but at that moment I felt like I must be a good mom because my kids weren’t used to that much sugar in the morning. (Had it been cookies or cake it would have been a different story I’m sure). Scott, on the other hand, ate several bowls—of course always as dessert!

Getting into the St. Patty's excitement I made a green meal. I put food coloring in pasta and then made a creamy spinach sauce that Hannah’s family likes. I think I should have just made the sauce on regular colored noodles. The combination of the spinach sauce and the bright green noodles was a little too much. I was going to take a picture, but it looked disgusting! It didn’t taste bad, but the sight was shocking. Jared wouldn’t even try it, Brynn made a sickened face with every bite, and Kaitlyn had three helpings! Thank goodness Kaitlyn likes EVERYTHING!

A Birthday Tribute

Today is my dad’s birthday. He works at BYU as Associate Dean of the College of Life Sciences. Realizing the other day that my dad’s birthday was coming up, I started remembering a few things about him.

Before I turned 16 my dad took me to the school parking lot to teach me how to drive. I was learning on a car with a clutch and was having a difficult time. I couldn’t even get the car moving and it made a funny noise. My dad tried his hardest to figure out what I was doing wrong so he could help me learn, but to no avail. I remember him saying, “I’ve tried to make the car make the same noise you do, but I just can’t!” Getting desperate and thinking that if I understood the science of motion perhaps it would help me be a better driver he began a lesson on inertia. Obviously his brain and mine were not on the same wave length. I still do not know the specifics of inertia, but I can drive a car. My dad was very patient, and my next lesson was on a car without a stick shift. I knew immediately what my problem with the clutch was. I didn’t realize what little pressure you have to put on the gas pedal to get the car moving! I was practically flooring the gas as I tried to put the car in gear. We still laugh about inertia.

My dad came to almost every one of my field hockey games. He drove me to my friend’s houses even though they lived far away from us. When one of the cars was in the shop he took the city bus to work and let us drive the car to school. He played games with us almost every Sunday. I still love to play “Pig Mania” with my kids. He made pancakes every Saturday. I loved going into his office and talking to him and getting advice while I was a student at BYU. Last summer I got to run a half-marathon with him and my sisters and sister-in-law. He is an animal and has run many marathons (7?).

I'm so lucky to have him as my dad and the grandpa to my kids. Happy Birthday Dad! We love you!