Highs and Lows

I am convinced that parenting is all extreme highs and extreme lows.

That there are moments of intense joy that I will remember forever and wish I could get back. When I look at a baby picture of Ella, I wish for just one more minute that I could hold her and give her a little kiss behind her ear. Or when I see Will's Moses basket that he slept in when he came home from the hospital...so tiny...so mine.

But let us not forget the lows and they are extreme. When Ella threw a tantrum to the point of vomiting and I thought "I am done. You can run the house. I have no idea how to parent." Or when Will stood up in the tub only to slip and fall...head completely under the water and two little scared eyes just looking at me. So I get him out and put his diaper on him....only to have him crawl back to the bathtub and fall in from the other direction.

That's parenting...extreme highs and extreme lows. Usually these moments are spread out a little but today I experienced the high and low all within seconds...

William took his first steps. He was so proud of himself that he could hardly contain it. I, of course, went to clap my hands but before I got to the celebration... Ella peed her pants.

And I thought "That's parenting."

Big Pet Pig

First of all, I do it out of love...really, I do.

I remember learning in a parenting course at BYU that it is a good idea to take songs and insert your kids name into them when you sing it to them. Somehow I latched on to that idea and then took it to a whole new level.

With Ella it was pretty harmless...She has two songs; one is called "Pretty Baby" and I sing "Pretty Ella". The other is "What Heaven Sees in You". One song is more fun and one is more of a lullaby.

Will's lullaby is called "Hourglass" (I will be posting it later). It is a sweet song about how your baby boy grows up too fast. And now that I have you all thinking that I am such a sweet mommy it is time to confess to you all his fun song.

It's called "Big Pet Pig" and yes..I have inserted his name into the lyrics. I know what you are thinking, he is pretty skinny...but if you have ever seen Will with a box of Cheez Its, mouth stuffed to the brim, both hands full, and screaming while I try to pry the box from his grip... You will understand. Seriously, this kid starts eating dinner while I am making it and doesn't finish until about an hour after everyone else. If you are looking to win him over, just feed him and he will love you for life.

And so...here's to our Big Pet Big just a few days before his first birthday:

Making Memories

I am the youngest out of 6 children. My Mom and Dad were the age of most of my friends Grandparents.

I remember learning how to ride a bike but it wasn't my Mom or Dad that taught me. It was my babysitter.

Now this has always been a funny memory to me, I would ask......Did they pay someone to teach me to ride a bike.......Were they that tired?

It all makes sense now.

So who is up for the challenge???

Say It With Me:

"It's Mother's Day and I am a good Mom."




Countless people have asked me, "Did you have a good Mother's Day?"

Well...I would have to say "well..maybe...kind of, a little" but I have decided to embrace a new kind of Mother's Day. I like to think of it more as a Mother's Day Challenge and man...did I rock the challenge this year....

Let me start with Exhibit A: Ella's Mother's Day Card

Now my little girl has got some mad art skills. She draws things way beyond her level and loves, loves, loves to make cards. So of course, she was so excited to make cards for Mother's Day. She made two beautiful cards for her Grandmas. She folded the paper so it opened just like a card,
wrote their names on the front and then drew them each a picture of herself (complete with princess crown).

Then there was my card. I am not sure what happened but I ended up with a piece of yellow paper with the bottom cut up, a small scribble, and big hole cut in the middle with a ribbon coming out of it (I tried to take a picture but it didn't turn out). I asked her what it was and she said she didn't really know.

Now on to Exhibit B: A Mother's Day Greeting

Now, I am sure you can picture with me all the kind things you would like your children to say to you on Mother's Day so you will know in your heart how much you are appreciated.

Here is how Ella chose to greet me on Mother's Day morning, "Mommy, I just love Daddy so much. I wish it was Father's Day."

Bringing us to Exhibit C and D: Mother's Day Sacrament Meeting

Ahhh, I little time to listen to speakers talk about how mothers are awesome. And this year, for the first time, I get to have my little girl go up with the primary and sing "Mother Dear, I Love You So." (a proud moment for any mother)

But wait, somewhere between Will deciding he did not want to be in the pew and Ella peeing her pants...I missed the part about me rocking because I choose to stay at home with the kids. And when the Primary sang, Ella refused to go up front and sing because in her words, "I only sing this song in Primary!"

But don't worry...I am not throwing in the towel on Mother's Day. I am just embracing a new tradition of the Mother's Day Challenge. Because afterall, Mother's Day isn't a day when the children wake-up and think "It's Mother's Day. I am going to play it cool." No, it is a day for me to prove that I do rock as a mother. That when my kid uses my new shirt as his Kleenex, I'm not going to get upset...no way, It's Mother's Day and I am a good Mom. And when my skirt is colored on, you won't see me frown because, "It's Mother's Day and I am a good Mom." And when the goldfish spill and the song isn't song or the "I love you" said...you won't see yelling at the kids...no not on this day, because "It's Mother's Day and I am a good Mom!"

Because I Don't Want to Forget...

Ella: "Mommy, smell my hair."
Me: smelling
Ella: "Does it smell like something?"
Me: "I'm not sure. Is it supposed to smell like something?"
Ella: "Yeah. What does it smell like?"
Me: "What is it supposed to smell like?"
Ella: "I can't tell you because I don't want to get in trouble."
Me: "Did you put something in your hair?"
Ella: "I can't tell you because I don't want you to be frustrated at me. But what does it smell like?"

fyi- It smelled like Chris's cologne.

Little Liar

Ella has learned to lie.

And since it is Ella I am talking about this is no little lie but an elaborate story.

You see, Chris always keeps his wedding ring on his night stand while he sleeps but a few days ago when he went to put it on before heading to school, it was gone. He looked for it for awhile and then went to find Ella. He asked her if she had taken his ring and she looked from me to Chris and back again before saying "No, I didn't take it."

Later that day Chris found the ring laying back on the night stand. Suspicious?? We thought so. So off we went to find Ella.

Chris asked her. "Did you put my ring back on my night stand?" She then looked from me to Chris and back again before saying, "No?" Chris then said, "It would make me really happy if you found it." So she said, "Oh, I did find it and put it back on your night stand. Actually, Mommy and I looked and looked all over the house for it and then I found it under my bed."

I was stunned and shocked and desperately trying not to laugh because that did not happen. We didn't go looking for the ring. And I know I am slowly losing my mind kid but it's not so bad that you can start making up stories with me in them and I will be caught unaware. Also, why do you get to be the hero???

Teaching the Kids about Conference

I am sure most readers of my blog know all about General Conference but for those who are unaware, this weekend members of our church all gathered around TVs, computers, radios, and more to listen to our Prophet (Pres. Monson) and Apostles speak. It is a busy weekend that consists of 4 Conference Sessions that are each 2 hours long. So we spent our Saturday and Sunday watching church on our TV.

I am always grateful for the opportunity to listen to the Prophet speak and because of this I work really hard to try to teach my kids about the Prophet and how important he is to us.

For Will this doesn't require much...basically whenever the Prophet spoke I would point to him and say, "Look Will, that's our Prophet". And he would politely smile at me as if to say, "If I smile can I get back to playing with my ball?"

There was a time when this is all I did with Ella too and I was so excited when she learned to recognize the Prophet and call him by name. Every Conference I try to up our expectations a little for her but realize that no 4 year old is going to sit through 8 hours of Conference.

So, this year she just had to sit still and listen during Pres. Monson's talk. She drew a picture of the prophet (she drew a cute little tie on him and everything) and then listened for something he said that I could write next to the picture. Since he spoke about temples that is what she chose for me to write down. Then Chris and I had her choose her favorite temple so we can hang that picture up on her bedroom wall (she chose the one is Sweden so it is going to be an expensive wedding).

We made some great Conference memories this year but I can't conclude this entry without leaving out the other side of Conference. You see, Ella did not seem to understand what was happening at all...with quotes like:

"Is this that movie about the Prophet?"

"Why is the Prophet wearing a purple tie?"

"Purple is a girl color."

"Why are we praying during a movie?"

"Why is the prayer so long?"

"Why are we watching this movie over and over again?"


It would seem clear that Ella thought we were watching a movie and every Session was the same movie again and again. I tried to explain but she just didn't get it. It did provide some great comic relief though.