Life as a Yowler

I think there should be a rule against mom’s getting sick. It’s the worst. It’s hard enough trying to take care of everyone and stay on top of housework on a regular day. Throw in there two sick days, and it feels impossible to catch up. Brandon kept the children alive. But.that.is.it. And now here comes healthy mom again, to catch up on everything that was missed. I really am thankful for good health. I usually get sick about once a year, and each time I am reminded not to take health for granted.

One of the nice things about having a reader, is I can put him in charge of story time. I’ve learned to have him read after meals. It gives me a chance to clean up the mess and it keeps the monsters from running everywhere.

Towards evening yesterday, I was feeling almost back to myself and we decided to take a little outing. Our kids have been really into walking around malls lately. It’s a perfect Winter activity. I don’t take a stroller other than for Isla. That way everyone can burn some energy. Here the kids are looking at fish at Bass Pro.

Caed pointing to those big fish with his famous pointer finger.

Isla kept trying to escape the stroller and go touch the “bulb blubs.”

We also walked around and checked out equipment at Bass Pro.

We kept climbing up in boats and dreaming about Summer. Joah insisted on being the captain.

We walked around the Disney Store.

I ended up needing to strap grumpy pants. She was so angry and she learned to pull my hair…hard. So I switched her to the front of me. She then scratched my face. Considering her scratching abililities to my eyes, I had no choice but to discipline her. It’s like kids know when you’re in public and they can get away with murder. I am praying she gets through this violent stage soon.

This morning(Monday morning) we set up a sensory bin workshop, on top of our regular schoolwork.

We made water beads, which are our favorite.

One of our favorite things to do, is put the clear water beads in water and watch them disappear. A very wise teacher friend taught me about the importance of keeping kids busy, and involving them in all ways possible. It keeps them out of trouble. It teaches them the process of getting a job done. It teaches them life skills. Plus it’s very helpful to have extra hands to get things done. Brielle is constantly moving and squirming around these days. At any down moment she has she’s touching, pestering, and occasionally shoving food down her screaming little sister. But put her in charge of chopping fruit or veggies(with our pampered chef kid safe knife) and she’s calm, still, and working hard.

On a different note, I used to really strongly hate daylight savings time. I have a new perspective about it these days. It’s just one hour. I immediately start treating the new time as it is. It’s pretty simple actually. I resist the urge to tell myself “well, it’s really only 7am for what their bodies are used to.” I immediately treat it as the new 8am and allow them to wake up. By the way, I don’t let my kids get up before 8am. Who wants to deal with children before 8am? I have no idea. Obviously if we went to school, this would not be an option. Young kids are also not an option, as they can’t tell time. The rule around here is you have to quietly stay in your bed until 8. They are allowed to turn on their adventures in odyssey, but they have to lay in their beds and listen. I have caught odyssey playing a few times at 4am thanks to my oldest. Nothing is more alarming then hearing male voices at 4am. As soon as I calm down and remember I just have a terrible sleeper who is listening to his radio program, I go right back to sleep.