September Field Trip

I'm teaching preschool this year with two other moms and three adorable little boys. Septembers field trip was to an apple orchard to pick apples. Here are some pictures of the trip

Negligent

I was reminded that I have been incredible negligent in posting pictures of our youngest trouble maker. And sadly enough I don't really have time to write captions, so here they are:

Inspiration

I read something today that inspired me to be a better mother:

The way we talk to our children becomes their inner voice. - Peggy O'Mara

Indeed.

The dieting woman

I feel like a dieting woman at Christmas time. A food lover who restricts her diet and allows herself nothing but fruits, veggies, and whole grains all year long, and then tells herself she can have birthday cake on her birthday, and pie at Thanksgiving, and thats it. Do you know what I would do if I were that woman? I would eat an ENTIRE cake on my birthday, and an ENTIRE pie at Thanksgiving.

I try to be frugal. I do not spoil my children, my husband, or myself. we buy what we need, and generally nothing else all year long. Then at Christmas or Birthdays my mind goes wild with all the possiblities of gifts that I could make and/or give. So many things I want to give my children and my husband. I want to eat the ENTIRE cake.

But I can't. And I shouldn't.

What is my purpse in giving gifts? As much as I would like to fulfill every dream of each person on my list, my purpose is to show my loved ones that I know them, that I pay attention, and that I care.

Fulfilling those purposes has little to do with money, or tags, or wrapping, but it has to do with the message that the gift sends.

I want to teach this to my children. Teach them that giving a gift is like sending a message without words (or sometimes WITH words).

Would one gift be enough to do that? Can I really shape my childrens perceptions of Christmas while the whole world is telling them that Christmas is about how many and how big? Is it fair to only give my children one meaningful gift? rather than 15 gifts that will impress their friends and fill up the recycle bin with wrapping?

I'm still working on my own answer to that question. If you have any thoughts or comments I'd love to hear them.

Sometimes we do things we don't want to do

(Leah, asleep in her birthday suit)

Potty Training, its the one thing I wish someone else would do for my children and would relieve me of my responsibility. I hate it, and just wish it would be done and over with. I would probably consider paying someone else to potty train my children. (any takers?)

Since birth Leah has had nudest tendencies. For a while I couldn't put her to bed in footie-jammies because she would unzip them, take them off, and then pull off her diaper. I thought this was a phase, but it turns out there was just a delay in her learning how to take off regular pj's and clothes. She started up again, and since she is no longer in a crib, she proceeded to remove her clothes, and her diaper, then fall asleep either before or after peeing all over the carpet. AWESOME.

If I have to clean up pee, I'd better be getting a potty trained child out of it.

PS: Is it weird to read posts about me potty training my children and such? It might be. I just realized that it might be the kind of thing that only I think is significant.... hmmm.... Anyway, we're a week in and had a delay because of vacation, but she's been doing well, with the exception of #2.... we're having issues not wanting to do that in the toilet. :(

Follow the Trail

(Jeremiah posing with Colette)

This morning was crazy. I was recovering from a trip this weekend, meaning cleaning everything, unpacking, doing laundry, etc. The kids were playing well together, although being super sneaky and got into our candy bowl from Halloween (is it too early to throw the rest out?)
Of course Jeremiah, being the higein concious child that he is, insisted on brushing his teeth afterward. A little while later I started upstairs to see what they were up to. I found one handprint after another going up the stairs and into the bathroom. What were these clearly intentional handprints made of? bright blue Colegate toothpaste.

I found Jeremiah washing his hands in the bathroom, a small dab of toothpaste still on his toothbrush sitting next to the sink. Clearly he had become distracted with a brilliant plan. He turned and looked at me

"Mom, did you follow my trail?"

Yes, yes I did.

What happens when mom gets busy

(Leah being goofy, and Jeremiah in his undies in the background)

You know there is some mischief being made when you hear one child whisper to the other "HIDE!" and then little feet scampering about.

Stay tuned for our Halloween costume reveal! (as though i haven't already told all of you what we're going to be)

One thing I'm doing Right

I am not the mother I always imagined that I'd be. I have little patience, I DREAM of silence, I don't like dirt, or messes. BUT, I have managed to get over myself just enough to let my kids get a little dirty. We have grass, but our backyard neighboors don't yet, so my kids play in their "yard" (sorry Kelly). It's their favorite thing next to Ice Cream.

Whats my secret for not letting the dirt overcome my sanity? Proper Equipment. Which means plenty of crappy clothes that I don't care about getting dirt stained, and rain boots. Sturdy ones that can withstand plenty of hosing downs, not those cutesy ones at Target (although I looked at those too, and I'll admit, I wanted them). Anyway, some rain boots, and dirty clothes and they are SET. And when they come back inside i strip them down to their skivveys and trot them right upstairs for a bath. Clothes go in the wash, and boots get dumped in a bucket to get a hosedown if the dirt has become mud with rain or sprinklers. Its Awesome. I don't have whiney children, they get to discover and explore Dirt (one of the 7 wonders when you're a kid), and I get a break.

Dear Anonymous

Dear Inconsiderate person who keeps letting their dog do its business on my lawn each night:

I highly dislike you.

The End.

Hirschi Cuisine

On Tuesday night I went to a fabulous Relief Society meeting on freezer meals. I'll admit, I was a skeptic, but the great thing was that all the ingredients were combined raw (even the meat) and then frozen, and either stuck in a crock pot, or casserole dish for a few hours to cook. It was great.

It inspired me. I CAN DO THAT! I should do that! So I started searched the web (did you know google is my best friend?), but here is my problem..... I prefer cooking from fresh ingredients, like from the vine/bush/tree/whatever. So how do I make that easier? I could probably take a lot of recipes and alter them for freezer meals, but the prep work for it, if you don't work from a can, a box, or a jar, increases exponentially. Do any of you have this problem? Cooking from fresh takes a lot of work, particularly fresh produce. Any reccomendations? Please Help.