How Can A Mommy Say No?

Lizzy has returned to school and Ben has lost his best friend - or has he?

  Starting next week, I will begin teaching preschool again at the Treehouse. Ben himself will start preschool the first week of September and my church calling has been less demanding  the past couple of weeks but that will change soon. These three things, as well as my painful realization that this is my last year with Ben before he starts kindergarten, has given me incentive to forget the house work, forget the blogs, forget the email and give Ben my undivided attention.

Ben loves to put puzzles together. We tried to put together different puzzles each day.

A VAST majority of our time is spent in his room playing with his Geotrax train set. He loves to create new track configurations, play for a few minutes then tear it apart and start all over. He is pretty clever at this and he loves it. (Ben and Lizzy no longer share a room. Ben's room is currently being transformed into a Star Wars room - Ben and Troy are both excited about the possibilities!)

We practiced his swing - inside of course. It is much, much too hot outside! He is a pretty good hitter - now if his mommy could just be a better pitcher!

We also went swimming together several times - just the two of us. We read stories, played some computer games together, made cookies, he helped me with some organizing projects and he was even happy about doing some speech therapy with me each day.

I have loved my time alone with Ben. Yes, the dishes did scream my name all day and the laundry whined for some attention. But when I would stop to do these chores, I would hear Ben's little voice, "Mommy will you pay wif me please?" and then I would hear another voice, President Monson's voice, say:

"If you have children who are grown and gone, in all likelihood you have occasionally felt pangs of loss and the recognition that you didn’t appreciate that time of life as much as you should have. Of course, there is no going back, but only forward. Rather than dwelling on the past, we should make the most of today, of the here and now, doing all we can to provide pleasant memories for the future.

"If you are still in the process of raising children, be aware that the tiny fingerprints that show up on almost every newly cleaned surface, the toys scattered about the house, the piles and piles of laundry to be tackled will disappear all too soon and that you will—to your surprise—miss them profoundly." "Finding Joy In The Journey"

He's going to grow up and teenage boys don't usually say, "Mommy will you pay wif me please?" Now is the time for me to form the bond I want to have with him forever. That bond doesn't form while I'm doing the dishes and he is watching a movie.

One night last week, while tucking Ben in bed I laid down beside him just to snuggle for a sec. He can be the sweetest, sweetest boy...he turned to me and said, "Mommy I wuv Mommy Ben days. Can we pay again tomorrow?" and then he kissed me on the nose.

How can a mommy say no to that?!

Our Summer of Love (I just have fun playing with my last name!)

This was our first official "Summer Vacation". It was really only 6 weeks but it has been nice and now school is starting again on Monday, Aug. 8th. I have loved having my two kiddos together all summer. Both Ben and I will be sad to see Lizzy leave us on Monday morning for a whole day. Somehow we'll survive.

We packed our 6 weeks full of fun stuff. It is kind of my blistering-summer-heat -survival-technique - be way too busy to notice how hot it is. 

Here are a few pics from our adventures... 

Swimming lessons with Mary. Ben (who swims every day!) was reluctant to get in the pool and do what Mary asked. By the end, though, he was having fun. Lizzy learned some strokes and Mary worked on diving with her. Lizzy is a great swimmer and she picked up on the strokes very quickly. Thanks Mary!!

Lizzy had a couple of summer goals. One goal was to stay up all night long one night. Here she is at 7:30 pm in her jammies and ready to watch a movie. She was determined that she would not fall asleep.

Here she is about an hour and a half later...asleep. She never attempted to accomplish this goal again.

I am a schedule girl - kinda. I like to know what is going to happen and when it is going to happen. I like to prioritize my day. I like to make sure we get where we need to go when we need to go with time to spare. But sometimes I just go a little crazy. Like this day...

We were driving past one of the water parks on a very hot afternoon on our way home from something, I forget. I suddenly turned into the parking lot and told the kids to jump out. They didn't know what was going on but they obeyed without complaining. The next thing they knew, we were all (me included) running through the sprinkling animals, laughing and having a great time - not to mention cooling off. Lizzy LOVES when I do crazy spontaneous things. She wants them all the time - but then they wouldn't be crazy and spontaneous would they? :)

Ben, Lizzy and I joined some of Lizzy's school friends to see "Winnie the Pooh". It is such a delightful movie! we loved it and the kids had fun catching up and having fun together. Lucky for them, there was a firetruck parked outside of the movie theater when the movie was over. That just made their time more fun.

I called Sears one day to see if I could have a refrigerator box. The kids had fun with it for a few days. Ben slept in it one night. Cardboard boxes are great (and they are free!)

 I signed Lizzy up for some fun classes through the Yuma Parks and Recreation. Each class was just two days a week for two weeks and lasted only an hour and a half but it was a great diversion for her each day. I look forward to Ben being old enough to take these fun classes.

She and her two cousins, Jacob and Porter, took an art class, a kitchen science class and a rocket building class. The above picture is of Lizzy and Porter just after they launched their little baking soda, alka-seltzer, lemon juice rockets.

Here are Porter and Lizzy in class working on a project and below they are gathered by their fun teachers. The cute college kid in the middle - his name is Josh and Lizzy couldn't see straight when he was around. She thought he was fun and smart and soooo cute. (I think I'm getting used to Lizzy liking boys - what's a mom to do?)

Ben assisted Troy as he fixed the air conditioner. I am so glad to have a handy guy in the house and I hope Ben learns the same handymanness from his dad. I was super happy Troy knew how to fix the air conditioner. We may be able to endure 115* during the summer but it is because we have air conditioners!

We played with lots of friends

And our SUMMER SURPRISE...Lizzy loves basketball!! At the last minute I signed Lizzy up for a two week basketball camp with her cousins. She had such a great time. In the beginning she was just shooting granny shots but the amazing thing is that she would make almost every single shot that way. Her coaches were impressed but they weren't teaching her the right way to shoot. On the third day I actually asked if they would stop encouraging her to keep up the granny shots. They just kept saying, "but she makes them!" I know, I know but she needs to learn the proper way to shoot a ball. It was hard for her to make the switch but by the end she was doing well. They kept joking that she will be in the WNBA someday with her signature granny shots! :)

 They did about 10 minutes of good stretching exercises and 10 minutes of dribbling and running relay drills across the court. That was actually Lizzy's favorite part. Maybe she'll like track when she gets older.

By the end they were playing games and having lots of fun. Way to go Lizzy!

We were pretty packed this summer. I think we'll keep it a bit more calm next summer. I didn't get to do any of the projects I had planned because our days were full of so much fun stuff. Next summer I want to leave more time for doing NOTHING!!

Troy's Harry Potter Father's Day

I have a hard time buying gifts for Troy. He is probably like most men, the presents he wants are all waaaaaayyyy out of our budget. It has become easier to think of presents if I choose a theme. The kids and I sat down to figure out a theme for Father's Day. Our plans evolved from sending Troy on a treasure hunt for his gifts, to doing a Pirate theme to a full fledged Harry Potter Father's Day complete with a Maurader's Map treasure hunt, pumpkin juice, a sorting hat, Quidditch robes, butter beer and two cute house elves giggling as they went in to wake-up Troy for the festivities.

Troy searched high and low for his gifts using a Maurader's map. He found some of his presents in the Herbology classroom gardens. Yes, Troy is wearing a Quidditch robe Lizzy proudly handed to him as she woke him up that morning. (We did let him sleep in until about 9 - just so you all know)

 This is such a terrible picture but it is the only one I have. :( My friend Becky Crookston has created a "Harry Potter Party In A Box" which she willingly let me borrow. You can barely see the decorations on the table. But you can see the easy schmeasy floating candles Becky made out of paper and fishing line. (they are still,  7-18-2011,  hanging above our table.)

One of the presents the kids and I bought for Troy was this book called "Geek Dad" (How appropriate for a Harry Potter Father's Day! Hee! Hee!) It is full of fun science projects dad's can do with their kids. They have already had a lot of fun with the activities suggested in this book.

The most fun of all this day was how excited the kids were. Troy wouldn't have minded a bit if his only present was sleeping in but Ben and Lizzy had a blast. We created fun memories and the two little hosue elves showed their Harry Potter loving dad how much they love him.

Super Summer Store

This is another brilliant idea from my seester Wendy...

As a way to help the Summer not be a total brain sucking mass of tv watching or computer game playing, I opened the Love's Super Summer Store the Monday after Lizzy's last day of school. Lizzy made our sign and the Open/Close sign.

You can click on the picture to see it up close.

 I created a list of jobs or activities they can do to earn "money" (monopoly money). I chose activities that would help them learn but not necessarily jobs like cleaning. I kind of think helping to keep the house clean is just part of living in a family so I decided to not put those activities on the list. As they do each job they put their money in their "bank" - a cute box I let them decorate before we started. We went to the $1 store where I gave each of them $10 to pick out 10 different items they would want to "purchase" during the summer.

I wrote a price on each item - nothing was under $5, most were $10 or $15. With the money they earn, they can also purchase time watching a movie, playing a game on Nickjr.com or pbskids.com, or buying a popsicle.

Each day, before the store can be opened or before they can even earn any money, their beds have to be made, room cleaned, scripture study must to be over, teeth brushed and dressed for the day. Once those things are taken care of, the store is officially open and the earning of money, and the spending of money, begins.

Here is a picture of Ben and Lizzy putting together a puzzle. Because they did it together they split the $10 they earned from doing the puzzle.

This has been a fun summer activity. Both Ben and Lizzy are in the habit now of checking their "bank accounts" to see if they can afford a certain activity. If they can't, they choose a way to earn some money. If they do have enough, they carefully choose how they spend their money. It is amazing to me how often they are willing to do the $20 earning opportunities. It has made getting them to do brain building type of activities so much easier on me. I'm sure a much more creative mom than I would have made everything all cutsie and crafty. Oh well, I did my best. :)

Yay for the Love's Super Summer Store!

The Balloon Secret

Are your kids bored?

Are they whining that they have nothing to do?

Do you feel like their brains will go to mush if you let them watch tv
or play computer games for one more second?

Do they need some physical activity but it is way too hot outside?
(like 115*!)

Do you need an inexpensive solution to your woes?

Well have I got a secret for you...

BALLOONS!!

My smart sister shared this secret with me a couple of years ago and it has saved the day on many occasions.

Each time I go to a dollar store, I buy a couple packages of balloons. When times are desperate, I push back the couch, put on some fun music and blow up the whole package of balloons.

We all have so much fun playing balloon volleyball, or balloon boxing or whatever game the kids can come up with. Even more, as long as there is still a couple of balloons floating around your house, they will continue to have fun until they are gone,

That is if they can survive the popping contests!

So the next time you go to a dollar store, pick up a package (or 5) of balloons. You'll be so glad you did. :)

(Not sure at what age this grows old, but I have fun with them too so I'm thinking older kids might still have fun as well.)

Ben's Cookies

Troy helped Ben pick out this cookie press to give to me for my birthday last March. We tried it out the next day and Ben was in love! What little boy wouldn't like a "gun" that creates fun-shaped cookies? He would be happy if we made these cookies every single day.

So here is how it works...

Mix the cookie dough. This specific recipe must be followed (but I've added my own twists.)

Mix together:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

2 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract (I add 2 tsp lemon flavoring and 1/2 tsp vanilla. YUMMY!)

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

(I decided to try some food coloring this time, even though the instructions say that shouldn't be done because the dough needs to be very firm so any extra liquid might change that. I just added a teensy bit)

Fill the cookie press barrel with cookie dough.

Choose a shape. Ben loves the snowman, the dinosaur and the star.

Place the shape disc on the cookie press and...

Show your muscles!

The dough comes out better if the cookie sheet is not already hot but it still works either way.

The recipe says to bake the cookies for 10 - 12 minutes but then they turn out like the one in the middle, crispy. I like soft cookies so I only bake them for 8 - 9 minutes and let them cool on a cookie rack. Since taking this picture I've learned to smooth down the ridges caused by the cookie press to make a more attractive cookie. :)

Ben gobbles them up!

Mommy likes them too.

These pictures were taken back in May BEFORE I decided I am allergic to gluten and now I'm thinking sugar does bad things to my system as well so no more cookies for mommy. However, I am confidant we could make these cookies without me needing to gobble them up. I am realizing more each day that if I want my body to  feel better then I am going to have to cut out some things that really only my taste buds enjoy.

How I Survived Kindergarten

I'm a little worried this post is going to come off as self-righteous. That is completely not my intent. I am aware, sometimes painfully aware, of my imperfections and short comings. I simply want to show what worked for me in hopes it can help someone else and by writing it down, it actually helps me keep it up...

I thought I would write a quick list of the ways I survived Lizzy's first year of school. It can be a bit tough some days watching her walk into school at 7:45am and then picking her up again at 3:00pm knowing that I will never know every single thing that happened to her as she spent those hours away from home each day. Who said something mean to her? Who said something inappropriate to her? Was she nice to others? Did she goof off in class? Did something break her heart? Is her teacher able to give her the attention she needs? Does she have friends?

Don't get me wrong, most days are fine and I do trust her and know that she is a good girl but some days, I had to go down my check list to make sure I had done all I could:

1. Did we have family prayer before school?
2. Did we have family scripture study before school?
3.  Did we have Family Home Evening this week?
4. Did I let her know enough that I love her and adore her and that nothing she ever does, or doesn't do, will ever, ever, ever change that?
5. Did she eat a good breakfast and get some vitamins so that her brain will work well?
6. Did I express my complete confidence in her ability to learn and grow and understand?

Now, before you start thinking, "No one is that perfect!", let me assure you that you are correct! :) Not all of these things happened each morning or each week and most of the time I was on the verge of just forgetting all of it. But somehow I found the strength to accomplish all of this despite the tremendous opposition of stressful school mornings. Let me explain...

1. Family Prayer: Most mornings Troy and I are doing our best to corral Ben and Lizzy together long enough for a prayer. Sometimes this corralling included yelling and sometimes the corralling continued to take place even during the prayer. Our prayers were short and sometimes hurried and sometimes I would think, "We don't have time for this! She's going to be late!" But then the Holy Ghost would say, "Let her be late then. Prayer is more important." Thank goodness he was able to get through my stressed out mommy brain on those mornings. (BTW - she was never late, never. Prayer works miracles!) Prayer is VITAL!! Armor on? Shields up? Check.

2.  Family scripture study: This would take place around the kitchen table while we quickly shoved food into our mouths. It consisted of Troy reading MAYBE 5 verses each day and me saying, "Lizzy and Ben did you hear what Daddy said?" (usually because it seemed that they weren't paying attention at all) Lizzy was then usually able to tell us one thing that Daddy said and so I didn't push it. My fear is that if I expect too much out of this time, it will stop all together and that would be a tragedy. Maybe this is the wrong philosophy but for now, it works and so I'm not going to push it. Armor on? Helment of Salvation in place? Belt of Truth secure? Sword of the spirit ready? Check.

3. Family Home Evening: Refer to my post "Onion Tears? I Don't Think So." and know that this is by far the activity I struggle with the most. Even so, it happens most of the time but I'm getting better. Armor on? Breastplate of Righteousness secure? Feet shod with the Gospel of truth? Check.

4. Good breakfast with Vitamins: I've done a lot of studying about our brains and how to help them function at their best. A good breakfast (not a lot of sugary cereal) with a children's multi-vitamin is my way of doing what I can to help her have an easier time learning in school each day. I do want to mention, however, that Ben's pediatrician said that even cereal for breakfast is better than no breakfast and that carried me through on the mornings cold cereal was the only plan that worked (which happened more often than I had hoped). Physical body taken care of? Armor on? Check.

5. Confidence and Unconditional Love: I don't know any other way to say this, as I've said it before, but I have grown to view unconditional love for your children as a vitamin, antibiotic and/or vaccine helping us to protect ourselves against the fiery darts of the adversary. My husband sees people in his office all day, every day, who did not get this vaccine as a child. I do not say that lightly. The only knowledge we can give our children that is of greater import than knowing and trusting our love is teaching them to know and trust the love of our Savior and our Father in Heaven. I cannot be with Lizzy and Ben wherever they go, but our Father CAN and WILL. Our children must know this to their very core. Armor on? Check!


If I could go down my check list, checking each item off as "done", then I knew I had done all I could and the rest was in our Father's very capable hands. I could rest easy and trust Him to take care of her - after all He was her parent long before she was sent to me.

Now I have written here that this is what I did for Elizabeth, but, naturally, Benjamin received the same treatment. I still have one more school year before I send him off to kindergarten. I am determined to not waste that year. All too soon my babies will both be gone for a great amount of the day. I must prepare Benjamin the same as I have worked to prepare Elizabeth.

One more action that made all the difference for me this year...I volunteered in Lizzy's classroom once a week. This may not always be possible but as long as I am able, I will do this for both of my children. The benefits were unexpected. I grew to know and love her teacher more as I watched her work with 32 5-year-olds each day. Her teacher knew she had my support. I was able to do the teacher's menial tasks so that she could spend more time with her students (my daughter). I also grew to know and love the other students in Lizzy's class. When talked about "so and so", I knew exactly whom she was talking about. I had a good relationship with the other students, which in turn helped them also know Lizzy better. I was also able to interact with the other teachers and staff who have a direct influence on my daughter on a daily basis. Plus, Lizzy loved me being there. Her favorite day of the week was Tuesday because that was my volunteering day. I'll take that for as long as I can get it!

I grew to view public education like this: Elizabeth's most important and most influential teacher is me. Her education is MY responsibility, no one else. I am choosing to put her in a public school as part of that education. In a sense, the school faculty and staff, are like private contractors whom I have hired to help me with my responsibility. Notice I wrote "help me." They are not in charge of her education, I am. Therefore, by being involved at the school, I am making sure MY responsibility is being met. That could sound a bit harsh but I don't mean it that way. I fully support the administration of Ronald Regan School. They are doing a fabulous job and I want to do all I can to help them keep up the good work!

Wowsers! This post has been a whole lot longer than I meant for it to be! I guess I feel this pretty strongly. I meant every word and I am doing all I can to live up to what I have written here. As I've been typing this I keep hearing the words, "Mother's Who Know" run through my mind. It is from an amazing talk given by LDS General Relief Society president Julie B. Beck. She said:

"The responsibility mothers have today has never required more vigilance. More than at any time in the history of the world, we need mothers who know. Children are being born into a world where they “wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12). ¹ However, mothers need not fear. When mothers know who they are and who God is and have made covenants with Him, they will have great power and influence for good on their children" President Julie B. Beck

Partners in Crime

Ben and his cousin Ethan are two months apart. When they are together they can make the most glorious messes and get in the most massive trouble ever! Some of the messes they have created together have rendered me speechless. I couldn't even yell, I was so astonished at what they had done! I won't take pictures of those events because I don't want to encourage them so you are just going to have to trust me - they are the destructo twins!

Sometimes though, they are just silly. These pictures are perfect examples...

I don't have anything clever to say here! :)

On Easter Sunday, they wouldn't look for their Easter eggs until they had their superhero costumes on.

They were both at my house playing just fine when I realized that it was too quiet. Because of past experiences, I grabbed the camera just in case and ran, literally ran to find them. (I was hoping to salvage whatever it was they were destroying!) Luckily they were just playing in the bathtub.

A Quiet Mother's Day

Mother's Day was just how I like things...quiet. My favorite activities were the delicious breakfast Troy and the kids made for me and just playing games together as a family.

I hinted to Troy how fun I thought it would be for Lizzy to also receive a Mother's Day corsage because she is a future mother. Besides, she mothers others every day.  

A million points for Troy. He picked up on the hint!!! Lizzy was soooo excited when daddy pinned the corsage on her dress. How fun!!

His reward! :)