If you were able to enunciate the title of this post without 'missing a beat' and pure confidence of heart; I solute you! If not however, then... don't feel bad. It sounded smooth in my head before I actually took the time to read it out-loud.
Moving on!
This is the first time I have been able to freely and guiltlessly blog since January. I am caught up on all the house chores, dinner this evening will be extremely quick to prepare... the two youngest minions are napping, and the eldest is away being publicly educated by a rock-star of a teacher down the road!
I have had so many thoughts to which I dreamed of expressing in the written word, but sadly time and the exhaustion of corralling them into a singularly formed thought process has caused me to just not be able to.
Seriously, though! I am constantly doing something; and as of late; its been the house work! I even had to 'hire' a friend of mine to come help me out because I just didnt have enough hands... she was so sweet to give me two days of her life to sweep my floors and help me scrape some spilled wax off a lamp and the wall... her little brother came too and helped dig a fire pit ... paint some furniture! And now, I am actually all caught up... It's such a freeing feeling to wake up, place your feet on the floor and not trip and fall to your almost inevitable doom amongst a mountain of clean laundry needing to be put away. I can actually see my floors now. Oh, and see how they need to be vacuumed... so, that's a plus? Maybe I should put all the clothes back and then I can ignore the carpets? Ironically that exact scenario will probably happen in a day or two when the laundry needs doing again... *LEH SIGH*
(yes, I did purposefully put "leh sigh")
My children have been keeping me quite busy too; not so much my oldest because he is at school half the day... but my younger two are home with me and they are QUITE the combo! My daughter is 4... opinionated, stubborn, loud, obsessed with her LeapPad2 (her "tablet").... But she is also hilarious, smart, and just so darn joyful! My second son, is 2.... He has finally discovered how to play pretend... and is constantly ... "helping" me whenever he can (or when I don't want him to)... He wasn't speaking very much because he is the youngest and would cry and his siblings just gave him whatever he wanted. All he had to do was grunt and point... and if that didnt work, cry bloody murder; either way "SUCCESS" (from his point of view at least)! He is also getting all four of his molars at the same time. Quadruple joy for Mommy! *sarcastic jazz hands* So, in an attempt to get him to broaden his speech; we began playing with flashcards! "What is this a picture of?" - "A house!" ... "What is this?" - "A tree!" .... Now we have moved from flashcards to nature walks and everything at the store, gas station... "What is this?" - "Water Pump Blade!" (just kidding, but seriously trying to expand his vocabulary as much as possible)... When we do use the flashcards, on the back side is a three - four letter word of what the picture is... so for my 4 year old, I ask her to tell me what each letter is, what sounds they make.... and she has finally figured out that letter sounds, when put together make... *drum roll* WORDS! She is reading (at least grasping the concept and can read "bug", "sun", "milk" etc....) She is also obsessed with watching 'My Little Pony'.. "Wild Kratts"... and "Arthur" (some kid movie - ANYWAYS) ... I am also trying to limit TV to about 1 show or 1 family movie a day...
Now this stroke of genius means that I have to find other creative means of entertaining them and still not get my house TOO dirty (or not so dirty/messy that I can't clean it up in under 5min)... and keep a getter eye on them so they aren't left alone while I do the dishes... so... how do I DO this you ask?
Simple.
I make them do chores.
Yes, I make my 2 year old and 4 year old do chores. Right. Along. Beside me. When I make bread... guess who helps? Yep, that's right... my kids! When I sweep, guess who sweeps too? Yep, my kids! For my 4 year old, I sweep the room first... getting almost everything... and then I will take some painter's tape and make a square on the floor. Her broom is her weapon. The rice and raisins and bread crumbs are her foes.... The square; is the prison cell to which she must corral the enemy at any cost! If she accepts this mission, she is handsomly rewarded with a mini marshmallow. If she refuses; her brother gets a marshmallow just because she refused! And speaking of her brother... what does HE do? He gets an old broom that has an uber short handle (dubbed 'the baby broom') and he gets to "sweep" the room after we're done (he is only 2 after all). When I wash dishes, he gets one side of the sink with an inch or so of water and bubbles... and gets to "clean" the cookie cutters and measuring cups.... and when water gets spilled all over the floor (which is an inevitability) I mop the kitchen. and he follows me behind with a broken Swiffer that his little heart believes is in pristine condition...
Its a win-win.
I am going to try and take more time to carve out of my day, or evening, so I can blog more. Empty out the constantly collecting thoughts and ideas. I actually have quite a few good ones, but if I dont write it down... I forget... or get distracted and then forget... or suddenly remember at 3a.m. and have to make the grueling life decision of more sleep... or write it down?
9 out of 10 it will be sleep. Just sayin'.
Enough rambling for the moment. I have dinner to prep and a child to pick up from school... and taxes to file... and one more load of laundry to put away... and a dishwasher to unload and load.... and... wait.
I guess I am not all caught up. *leh sigh* It just never ends... Oh well.
