Mental Catch-Up

I often find that my mind is much farther behind where my kids are in age.  I told the church nursery that Heidi couldn't have "Puffs." The next week with different workers I forgot to tell them and when I picked her up they told me she loved eating "Puffs." I wondered if they hand fed them to her? I mean she can't pick them up yet...she is only...wait a minute...she is almost 8 months old! I fed her some Puffs at home and the baby picks 'em up and shovels them in!

Molly is almost half way through her 8th year. I helped in her classroom and some of the girls were playing "MASH." (I was relieved my child wasn't one of them...not ready to see who her husband would be!) Molly was making a list of who she was inviting over to a sleepover, what movie they would watch..it was being written with boxes on the top and info listed under each heading. When did this happen? When did my little boy start to feel more like a big boy when I hug him? When did my toddler learn how to sing "Twinkle Little Star?"

 My mind can't wrap itself around the fact my oldest is a dancer.

The Dance is "I Can Be Anything."
Yes, she can Be Anything she wants to be!!!

It is our second year as a Jumpstart Dancer with NE Dance. It is our second year with a crazy weekend filled with preparation for January Showcase at the Music Hall!
Last year it was all a touch surreal. I mean I have 2 left feet, I can't keep up in exercise class at the gym, then performing in front of a big audience, let alone "judges," terrifying!!! So, the fact my daughter can hear the beat, remember the moves to multiple routines, and performing for an audience brings out a crazy level of energy in her...well I can't wrap my head around it!

I didn't grow up dancing, playing sports, singing, or really doing anything for that matter! I was apart of a couple clubs in High School and would tell you "talking" would be my extracurricular activity! (yes, I was a cheerleader, but it was very brief and not at all an experience I like to reflect on!)

If your child leaves with a smile, can't wait to go back for more, cries if she is a minute late to class...then it isn't a bad thing if she complains her stomach muscles hurt, she knows what her "core" means, and she is covered in sweat after practice.

The "Ladybugs"

I am a happy momma...what mother doesn't hope their child finds something they love, somewhere they want to be all the time that is esteem building, energy burning, and fun! I must mention it melts my mother's heart to get to dress my little girl in these SUPER cute costumes and put on makeup and we get to do it all while listening to fun music!
I must mention that as mother's we have a responsibility to be aware of the people who are pouring into our kids. When we drop them off for their activities do you know the character and beliefs of the person "teaching" them. I am at complete peace with who Molly has "pouring" into her at dance. The teachers at our studio build them up, encourage teamwork, and being happy for one another, respect, and most of all an atmosphere that acknowledges who they each are as individuals and loves them!

Ms Missy is a mom to one of these girls and has patience that AMAZES me!
I would need earplugs for this group of girls!

Ms Kathy is her tap teacher. She is one of those girls who is "cool" without trying...then you talk to her and you realize she is also very "cool" to talk with...which makes me get why Molly loves her class!
I want to be around Ms Kathy too!

My head hasn't caught up with the fact my daughter has a childhood happening that I is exactly what I want for her. I pray often her innocence and joy will be protected for many more years to come. For now I sit in an audience watching her dance and sharing her smile!

January Showcase 2013

Never a Dull Moment

I gave up on Potty training after 4 days. I was hoping to make it 7 days, but instead I took away some positive points and quit! Austin did learn how to "hold it" a REALLY long time, but was too scared to sit, stand, squat, straddle, or really be near the potty (unless he was eating a sweet tart!).  Unfortunately he also learned to be more aware of his excretions. He tells me when he pees. He has also taken to sticking his hand down his diaper and saying, "ewwww." Poop makes me dry heave.  So when the hand goes down the back of diaper and something comes out on his hand...well I sorta get this frantic, "panic attack," like feeling that makes me forget about anything else around me.  It happened at the dance studio the other night and he had it all over his hand and shirt sleeve. Austin loves the dance studio and the response to "lets go, this is disgusting," was met with him going limp noodle. I felt my body exit itself and everything around me, except my foul smelling toddler, go fuzzy. I spotted a mom I have met but don't really know, asked her to hold my baby who wasn't strapped in her carseat and was sitting straight up. When I pulled carseat over with one hand while holding Austin's arm with the other, Heidi fell backwards in the seat and the whole thing went back to the floor. I commented, "she's a 4th child," and said I'd be right back...I need to go change a diaper in the car! As I said, it was an out of body experience. Poop makes my head spin!

Hard to imagine this boy being difficult!?! He painted his booster chair after he got bored with paper!

We decided to take the kids to KC to Great Wolf Lodge. We only had enough bravery for 1 night! With my sis in law/brother in law and their 4 girls and another niece coming we thought it would be a great way to spend some quality family time! It went remarkably well....

Austin had a BLAST! I swear he grew when we were there...he looks about 4 years old!

Cousin Aubrey is Austin's favorite

4 Adults and 9 Kids...that's how the Zeleny's do it...Lots of kids=FUN

Heidi didn't enjoy the water park! We were reminded of how "prissy" our "baby" is!

Time away is always a good idea. It is alot of work and your exhausted when you get home, but when your there all you have to do it just "soak up" your kids and relish in the Family you are blessed to have..

The fact my kids have about 30 cousins AND they enjoy being with them...priceless

Mallory and Molly
2nd Graders

We didn't see these girls most of the time. They were having so much fun together! 

Baby Fat Rolls

Our sweet boy hung out with the girls and then would come hang out with the little people
 then he would sit next to his Mom!!!

Austin is at the age where the world really revolves around them...good thing toddlers are cute and funny and...you get to watch how they figure out the world around them...so cool!

Did I mention Austin had fun?!?!

What always happens with any trip you take...you must return to reality! Over-tired children and laundry and having to cook a meal. A mother's job is very monotonous, but there is never a dull moment!
As this blog is for my children, and to encourage the few mother's who read it, I took some pics of reality in my house...some of you will feel better about yourself and other's worse!!!  :)

Kitchen table always covered in cars/legos. Crayons have been moved to another small table in kitchen!

Groceries sit for hours and dinner mess all over counter and sink full of dirties and dishwasher full of clean

6 loads of CLEAN laundry on an unmade bed

I feel good because I got dinner figured out and started...so the rest of the task...I'd rather avoid and go write a post on my blog!!!

The responsibility that comes with "a mother being the heart of the home" is exhausting. It might have been some saying on a wooden wall hanging with a goose below it in 1988, but it is very true.
I know potty training is hard work. I forgot that most of the work is mental. My head feels like I've got one of those big baskets on it that I'm trying to balance. I'm physically tired, but all I've done is stay home and run to the bathroom every 30 minutes and eat candy sweet tarts with Austin as we sit in the bathroom.
Today is Day 4 of Potty Training Austin. I'm in a bad mood and, lucky for me, Austin is in a bad mood. I'm grasping onto all the little "steps forward" in the potty department. Like...he is aware of when it is going to exit and he is "holding it" for long periods of time. His night time diaper has been dry all week, after 11 hours in it. So, problem now...nothing in diaper and nothing in toilet. Hmmm, what do we do now?! Thankfully I have friends. Thankfully I have friends with kids who can give you some different strategies. Thankfully I am not alone in this endeavor as a friend who read this blog called me cause she started on Monday too! I know another mother is suffering this week as well!

I think it would be hard to be a toddler. I mean all the new things they have to learn and changes. It might also be called "terrible twos" in their social circle. Poor things....they have to try and communicate when they can't talk very well, deal with emotions when they have no idea what it is they are feeling and do it all while Momma giant makes them try something new! (I have some sarcasm here with sympathy mixed in!)

This is...Life

Molly got out all the necessary breakfast items for a bowl of cereal. Came time to get the milk and she looks in the fridge, goes back to the table, stands there, gets this very annoyed look on her face and says, "where is the milk?"
It is 7am and I am not a morning person. I've become more accustomed to awaking at 6am without bitterness, but a happy heart each morning is still a lot for me to muster up. I still try and stay up until 11:30 with a quiet house and late night television, but the morning attitude after a night like that makes me feel terrible about myself. So, when I get attitude from my 8 year old that makes me feel bad about myself at 7am I don't respond well!
I didn't go to the Grocery store to buy milk, because I decided to stop saying, "I need to potty train Austin," and I just decided this would be a good week to potty train Austin! If there is one motherhood duty that can make you question the job your doing as a mother it is potty training. I think it is in the Top 3 with sleep training and restaurant behavior! How many times do you see an out of control child in a restaurant and you feel a little better about your own child!!?

I've dropped down my trips to the "Beanery" which means more stops at my Keurig!
Thank God I grew a taste for coffee with my early rising family!

 I've successfully potty trained 2 children. My philosophy is to keep the diapers off of them and let them figure out how the urination process works, move to them figuring out when the urge hits to "run" to the potty, then move to getting there before it exits. So, when Day 1 is here and Gymnastics class has to be attended by Molly, then off we go with no diaper on Austin, a ziploc bag of clean undies and pants and a roll of paper towels! (Don thinks I'm crazy). Yes, Austin peed on the floor while playing at Gymnastics. Fortunately, to save me too much embarrassment he was sitting on the floor and the look on his face said it all...paper towels to the rescue and off to the bathroom to change! Thank goodness for women you know who you can pass your easy going baby off to!

Molly would be mortified if her little brother peed his pants in front of her dance friends!
Austin loves his big sister and her dance studio!

Day 2 of Potty Training Austin...I start my morning off with Molly giving me attitude we have no milk, Heidi so crabby I can't set her down, Grant trying to practice piano (cause they have lessons today and never practiced) and Austin pees on the floor. Unfortunately for Grant he didn't know this and when he was putting shoes on for school he commented that his sock was wet! "Ooops sweety, throw it in the washer with all the other "pee" items!" Wish I could have gotten his face on film!

Got a break from Potty Training to watch Grant at wrestling practice. I had to emphasize to Don that he COULD NOT get upset, raise his voice, or have any hint of frustration towards Austin if he peed his pants! I was still concerned when I left...Don and Austin have a history of things going sour very fast in the communication department! Just for my own memory..."sit down" in bathtub...Austin wouldn't come near bathroom for days!

I will not let the attitudes and behaviors of my children be the basis on which I determine "how I am doing as a mom." But more how my own attitude and behavior is towards my children and my home!
For instance, I have taken a very different approach to a messy house since having my first 2 babies. I embrace the mess now as recognition for a day spent being a mom. Not a housewife, but a mother...laundry unfolded on the bed, sippy cups filled with milk in every room, puzzles strewn over the entry, chocolate chip cookie mess all over the counter, cookies for lunch, coffee cup half filled on end of kitchen table, tub of clothes in middle of kitchen to go through, camera sitting on floor, computer open to my blog, kids still in their pajamas, and me...still in mine too...nope haven't brushed my teeth yet...milk?..nope...I haven't had time! I'm too busy being a mom!

Yep Austin, that is where your pee and poop goes!

Minivan Momma

I think as mother's we need to carefully consider the words we speak in regards to things we "would never do." I give myself grace for the words said after "I would never do..." in my pre-mommy years. I was naive, young, and clueless as to what was ahead for me. I'm not sure my sister-in-laws had grace for me, although most of the words weren't spoken out loud, but more in my head! I had 5 sister in laws all making/having/raising babies at the same time.  I was sitting back married with no kids, observing! I remember seeing one of them changing the shirt on her baby every time baby spit up, sometimes it would be 3 different shirts on Easter Sunday. One of them had kids that always had very dirty faces, hands, and messy hair. I remember tantrums over presents they didn't like at Christmas, and nephews found on the roof of Grandpa's shed. Don and I would drive home talking about what we would do differently. I remember when one of them mentioned they didn't think I ever wanted children! We were married 6 years before I got pregnant, back then I thought they were all crazy baby brains, but now...well, I find myself asking after 18 months of a couple being married, "when she going to have a baby?"
When the first of the sister in laws got a minivan I heard the conversation around the table. I remember saying, "I'd never want one, BUT if it's the best thing at the time then I'd do it!"
I'm glad I never uttered the words, "I will never drive a minivan." Now, when I'm driving the minivan, I don't have to think about "eating my words!" Today, we bought our 2nd minivan! I broke myself in for 2 years with what I thought might just be a very "temporary" vehicle with my 1st minivan. It was well loved when we got it. We did not take good care of it as we ate donuts, drank milk, spilled coffee, and had french fries all over the floor. The salesmen at the dealership thought it would take me a hour to unload the thing as it was FULL of c-r-a-p. They even brought me two boxes to help transport stuff from the old to the new! Embarrassing how much stuff I pulled out of there. Of course, I wasn't expecting the new purchase when I dropped it off to be serviced. So, it was still full of all my Goodwill items after I "organized" after Christmas! Crazy the things we do when we become a mother...I think we get crazier with each child we add, cause I'm full on looney now!

stumbled upon this old picture..pretty accurate depiction of how I feel about driving a minivan!

 I never thought I would... 

~Run the dishwasher more than 1x/day. 

          It could run a minimum of 2x/day

~Go to the Pediatricians 1x week.

          Some weeks it's 2x and that doesn't count the phone calls!

~Consider Homeschooling.

          The monotony of the School routine takes it's toll!

~Send them to their rooms for punishment.

          I use to roll my eyes when people did that...how is that punishment?!!!

~Talk on the Phone for over a hour to my friend 2 miles away.

         I hate the timer on the phone...when you hang up and it tells you just how long you blabbed!

~Have a house that looks like a tornado hit it.

         Schwan's Man asked if I had a Daycare?! "Nope!"

...and the list could go on and on and on....I never thought I would...

~have 4 kids~enjoy staying home~love my kids so much it hurts~not want to be around my kids so bad I'd rather sit on the toilet for sanity~be proud of my body that looks as if I survived a trauma (I sorta did!)~run at 5:30am cause it brings me peace~go days without eye contact with my spouse~wake up at 5am and not need a nap~say "I'm running errands!"~drive a minivan~go 3 days without washing my hair~take kids to school in my pajamas~forget what was just said to me 5 minutes before~enjoy going to kid movies~crying and laughing and feeling the weight of the world on my shoulders all at the same time with the birth of each of my babies...

I'm proud to be a Minivan Momma. Someday my kids won't think I'm cool, but right now they think I'm something really special. One reason,  cause "Momma's got an awesome new van!"