Acts of Futility

Fu-til-i-ty, n.: uselessness as a consequence of having no practical result

I have discovered that being a mother is often an exercise in futility. Often times each day I wonder why I even attempted to get anything done. Don't believe me? You are free to borrow one or both of my children at any time to attempt one or more of the following activities:

Clean your toilets. This is especially difficult with the smaller of the two.

Fold clothes. Folding any item less than three times before putting it away is rare, but should be counted as a major feat.

Make brownies without "help". This is a project that four-year-olds just can't get enough of.

Put toys away. Enough said.

Open the fridge and close it. Not a hard task, you say? You haven't ever done it with my son in the room.

Sweep, mop or vacuum. Take your pick. You will always have someone in the way (usually making a mess on your previously cleaned floor).

Keep your heat vent covers in place. I have resorted to taping mine down. Why are boys fascinated by these things?

My children are free at any time if you wish to attempt any item on the list above. I guarantee you will wonder why you set out to accomplish anything while they are within hearing distance. I am also available to deliver and pick-up said children at your earliest convenience.

We'd Never See This In The City...

We were having breakfast on Saturday morning when Mike looked out the window and then told us all to look too. So we all went out on the back deck and this is what we saw:
It took me a few minutes to put new batteries in the camera, so the balloon was actually closer to us than it is in this picture. We could hear the burner when they fired it up to go higher. It was really a fun surprise.

This one went right over the house.

Sharp Poke in the Eye

Crit's right eye has always been watery and was sometimes goopy in the morning, so I finally asked the doctor about it at his 9 month check-up. I had always heard that it would go away on its own, so I never really worried about it too much. She said it should get looked at so we went to Ally's ophthalmologist yesterday.

They said it would only take a few minutes and asked if I would like to stay in the room. Since I am a bit squeemish-- especially about eyes, I can't even watch someone put in contacts-- I opted to wait outside. I did leave him with his favorite striped blankie and pink slipper, though. The doctor said Crit would cry pretty loud because they'd have to hold him down so I should wait at the far side of the waiting room. It only took about 3 minutes before they brought him to me. His eye was bleeding a little bit (which really grossed me out), but he stopped crying when he saw me. He quit bleeding before we left the office and he hasn't complained at all since.

This is my happy guy this morning. Yes, still just the two teeth.

Happy Anniversary!

Mike and I celebrated our 6th anniversary on Sunday. I can't believe it's been that long already! Mike's twin sister still thanks me at least once a month for marrying him. We went out to dinner and a movie on Saturday (courtesy of Grammy's babysitting) and had a fantastic time. It had been a very long time since we had a date. After 6 years, 2 kids, 1 apartment, 2 houses, 2 back surgeries, 1 minivan, 3 job changes (all Mike's), 6 different wards, and only 1 new bike, we have had a fabulous time! I love you, Michael! Thanks for 6 fantastic years!

Easter 2009

My Baby's Walking!

My baby took his first steps at Mike's parents' house on Saturday the 9th. I've been trying to get it on video ever since, but everytime he sees the camera he drops and crawls to try to get it. Mike's mom was nice enough to film it last Saturday (her first camera video ever) and send us the card to post it. He's even gotten better the last few days. Last night he made it all the way across the living room! It won't be long before his dump truck days are over. So here's my baby on his own two feet:



And if you're wondering, yes, that is a pink fuzzy slipper he's holding. He takes it everywhere. Ally has been very nice to let him have it. Yes, it's weird that his favorite thing in the whole world is a pink princess slipper, but I just tell myself that he's Prince Charming.

Smarty Pants

I don't know what to do with my daughter. How do you raise a child who is smarter than you? Two examples of her "superior intellect:"

She asks questions I have no idea how to answer (and sometimes I just can't understand what she's asking), so sometimes I just say "I don't know." It must happen more than she likes because last week she said, "Mommy, why does... never mind. I'll ask Daddy. He'll know."

Last Christmas she really wanted some PixOs. They're the little plastic balls that you make into a pattern and spray with water to make them stick together. I had no desire to get them for her and Santa must be on the same page because he didn't bring them either. Last month she wanted to make a Christmas list, so I helped her write one. PixOs were at the top of the list. I told her Santa can't bring everything she asks for and he doesn't have very much room in his bag. No problem. My highly intelligent daughter has it all figured out. She said, "Then I will only ask for PixOs so he will have enough room for them. And I will help Crit make his Christmas list too. He only wants PixOs just like me so Santa will have room for them too. And Crit wants to give his PixOs to me anyway. So I will be sure to get them for Christmas, right?"

Green Thumbs?

We had great weather yesterday, so we spent most of our afternoon outside. I pulled weeds while the kids played.

I don't think either of them should plan on a career in horticulture. This is why:

Ally got out all of our gardening tools and picked a flower.

Then she attempted to plant the flower again.

Crit enjoyed the flowers too. He turned these flowers into this:

Yes, these used to be flowers.

And this is the face he made when I told him not to pull the petals off anymore.

I have fewer flowers, but the kids were happy, so I guess it's worth it.

Medical Update

So it's been a while since I've written about how sick any of us have been, so I'll catch you all up now.

We have all been visited by the phlegm monster the last couple of weeks. I kept Ally home from school last week on Tuesday and Wednesday and Mike stayed home from work on Wednesday too. We've gone through a whole lot of tissues. Also on Wednesday I took the baby to the doctor because he woke up that morning with boogies all over his face and in his hair. I know it's gross, but we've all been there, right? It was another ear infection. He's been on antibiotics all week and is feeling better now.

We felt good enough to go to all three hours of church on Sunday for the first time in a while.

Last night before I put Ally to bed I found some goop in her eyes. Then she woke up at 3:00 this morning yelling at us that she couldn't see. Yeah, they were glued shut. I called the doctor this morning and got her in. So now we are dealing with our first (and with any luck, our last) bout of pink eye. She's thrilled that it's called PINK eye, though, so it could be worse. Since she's still coughing up some junk, she's also on an antibiotic for a sinus infection.

I gave her some drops an hour and a half ago and I think it may already be helping.

At least we aren't the family that we saw at the doctor's office. The mom had two boys there and she told me she's got three girls at home. She has paid 7 copays in the last 7 days for her 5 kids. She joked that her family was single-handedly financing the doctor's summer vacation. Let's just hope we didn't send them home with pink eye too.

My Sisters' Blogs

I have two older sisters who have been wanting to blog for a while. I got them all set up, so we'll see how they do. Neither of them know how to add pictures, but there's always a chance they'll figure it out. Or maybe I'll have to give them a tutorial.

Lara and Aaron have 4 girls, Krista and Zack have 3 boys, and I have one of each. Weird, huh?

Anyway, my aunt wanted an easy way to read them, so I've added them to the side. (Just click where you see their names on the right, Aunt Tami.)