And Then There Are Those Times

I said recently that sometimes things are not that great (I don't get along with some kids while other kids are making messes).  Sometimes I feel like I just don't know how to parent.  What is wrong with me?
And then there are those times when I don't feel like a failure.  Tonight, for example.

Nichole had her "Utah" program at the school this evening.  Jeremy was working so I took the kids over by myself.  I didn't want to have to deal with the stroller so Lucky walked (and ran) with the rest of us.  He had a lot of fun with that.
To make a long story short, Nichole did a terrific job with the program and the boys did a great job watching the program.  And I was prepared.  I had bags of crackers in my pockets to hand to Lucky to snack on while he was sitting on a chair (Thanks, Jr., for opening them for Lucky).  When Lucky was done and dumped his crackers on the floor, Jr. picked them up and handed them to me.  I also had a toy car in my pocket to hand to Lucky when he started moving around.  This was all while I was filming the program on our camcorder so Jeremy could watch it later.
Jr. was a big help chasing Lucky and bringing him back when he did start to wander.  Jr. Jr. didn't go too crazy for a 4-year old, either.  Jr. also helped me by filming the end of the program when Lucky needed to be held by me.
It went well and I am so pleased.
And now I have this blog post to remind me that sometimes things do go well even if a few days before they don't.  YES! 

Nichole got to pick a county in Utah to do a report on.  She picked San Juan because we usually make an annual trip there.  She even mentioned in her report about her hat blowing off one time when we were at Arches National Park.

A Good Day

Today has been a good day.  Some things that made it enjoyable:

I got some cleaning in. 

Jr. Jr. and I had some bonding time. 

I was able to have the window open in the kitchen while I was working on things.  Ah, fresh air.


Jiffy muffin mixes can be made into pancake batter to help celebrate National Blueberry Pancake Day, January 28.

I found instructions online for making easy homemade kazoos for National Kazoo Day, also January 28.

Jeremy did a lot of shopping and got a whole bunch of stuff.  Some of it is to help us celebrate upcoming holidays- National Corn Chip Day on January 29, Chinese New Year on January 31, and Groundhog Day on February 2.

It was a good day.

National Garlic Day 2013

Today was a good day.  Some highlights-
Jr. Jr. and I went for a walk around Manila Creek Pond.  We went to see the ducks and we saw ducks, swallows, fish jumping, Canadian geese, a killdeer, deer, a type of hawk, and another bird flying around that we didn't get the best look at.  We also saw some people fishing.  But it was cold so we could only make it once around the pond before we had to get back to the car to warm up and go home.

For dinner we had spaghetti and garlic bread since April 19th is National Garlic Day.  The kids helped make the garlic bread.  Jr. Jr. put the bread on the cookie sheet, Jr. spread the butter, and Nichole sprinkled the garlic salt.

We had Family Home Evening tonight and for the treat and activity, we opened a package of Bubblicious to teach the older kids how to blow bubbles.  It took a while, but by the end both kids were able to sort of blow a few bubbles.  We let them know it will take practice.  We'll get another of those good bubble blowing bubble gums sometime and do it again.  This one was strawberry flavored, but my husband and I both have fond memories of our childhood chewing grape flavored bubble gum.  Unfortunately, I cannot find any anywhere.  I can find strawberry, watermelon, and bubble gum flavors, but not grape.  Ack.  Does anybody know where I can find grape flavored Bubblicous/Bubble Yum/any of those good bubble blowing bubble gums?

Oh well.  It was a good day.

One of Those Days

You know those days when everything is just difficult? The kids are disobedient and disrespectful, when you ask them to do something, they whine, "I can't," or just flat out refuse. You don't feel like you can get anything done. A million people are asking you to do something, you can't even get a minute to breathe. By the time dinner is done, you're so exhausted you can't even think of doing anything else and you just want to send the kids to bed, but of course they refuse again so you take what little energy you have to wrestle their pajamas on them and shove a toothbrush in their mouth, drag them to their beds, all the while feeling like running to your room to hide in a closet until they stop calling for you and fighting with each other. You know those days?

Today was not one of those days.

Nichole was very good about doing her homework after school. Jr. helped with dinner and cleaning and setting the table, as well as playing a game with Nichole that was part of her homework. Both kids ate dinner without complaining (much). Both kids cleaned up their dishes, Jr. helped with Jeremy's and mine. I had energy after dinner, thanks to the kids, so Nichole and Jr. Jr. played in the living room while Jr. and I started making brownies. After a while Nichole and Jr. Jr. joined us, Jr. Jr. hanging out in his high chair/booster seat while Nichole finished her homework and Jr. and I finished making brownies.

I'll admit the kids did get a little too silly while we tried to do scripture study and eat brownies at the same time. We had to cut it short, but we still did some and consistency is important. I just had to remind myself they're little kids, they have energy (and sugar), they had been very helpful so far, and they just needed time to be silly and have fun.

I gave them time to run around after scripture study then they did pretty well getting ready for bed. They still had energy and were being silly when it was time to get them settled down for sleeping, but I had a good attitude about it and that made a difference. Nobody went to sleep in tears and that is something to be grateful for.
The kids were very helpful this afternoon/evening and I chose to enjoy their silliness later on instead of being annoyed and frustrated by it.
It was a good family afternoon/evening (even though Jeremy was at work for most of it- though he did take care of the baby while I was making dinner and Nichole and Jr. were doing Nichole's homework).

P.S. Jr. Jr. tried to be really helpful at one point. Right after I finished unloading the dryer, he grabbed some clothes from the dirty clothes basket and started putting them in the dryer. Tee Hee. I love my kids.

It Was a Good Day

Most of the time when I say, "It was a good day," it has nothing to do with how much housework I got done nor is about accomplishing those things that I "needed" to do. Those are "productive" days. Most of the time, having a good day means that it was a good day with my family. As was today. Jeremy was out most of the day helping my brother celebrate his birthday. They went out to eat then out to film in the snow for my brother's YouTube videos.


While Jeremy was gone, the kids and I did a lot together. Once again, I love those days when I don't worry about what I'm not getting done, because I'm enjoying more important things- my children (and of course my husband when he's there, too).


We danced, we played games, Nichole practiced writing letters, we drew pictures, we played with dominoes, we ate, we actually did get some dishes done. It helps when the kids are willing to put their dishes in the sink after meals, which also gave us more table space for activities.


My favorite part was when the three of us were at the table drawing and coloring pictures, and the kids decided to contribute to the picture I was doing. It was fun. We were all coloring on the same piece of paper at the same time.

And amazingly, after spending a whole day giving my children a lot of attention, I've got a lot of energy still. Time to be "productive."

It was a good day.