There's A Mouse In the House!

So yesterday was a beautiful day. Temps in the 50's. Kids played outside, I cleaned out the car. I even opened up the windows in the house and opened up the sunroom!

After we got inside from playing, as I was walking down the hall, I saw this small "something" on the floor and dismissed it as a big leaf that one of the kids dragged in. My hands were full of laundry so I just walked past it. A few minutes later I was fixing dinner and noticed it in the kitchen. Rachael said, "What is that?" I said, "Oh it's just a leaf" and reached down and picked it up. It was not a leaf. It was a dead baby mouse. One of the cats must have found it in the sun room and dragged it in the house.

Now, typically I would have not freaked out. A few years ago, yes. But over the past few years I've had many animals to take care of, watched my hamster give birth and helped with baby hamsters (this mouse was about the size of a newborn hamster) and of course have given birth...twice. Not much scares me anymore. Anyway, I'm used to animals, so normally I would have just scooped it up (although probably not with my bare hands!) and thrown it out. But I totally freaked out! I think when you expect a leaf and it's this cold, damp, critter....I don't know. It was just funny ( looking back on it). Rachael sure thought it was funny. Teased me about it all night.

Of course then I had to wonder...where did it come from (although I'm sure it was the sunroom, there are boxes out there, etc) and are there more? If there are more I'm sure we will find them once the weather warms up and the sun room stays open most of the time.

In the meantime, the house is closed back up. We got a cold front through last night and the windchill is -5 right now. We are expecting 1-2 inches of snow, which would be fine except they are calling for "blizzard-like winds" and "snow drifts". It's days like this I hate to send Rae to school (although I did) because I hate the thought of what it will be like when school gets out!

Before I Was A Mom

I got this in my email today and thought it was great. And true....

Before I was a Mom
I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom -
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on. Chewed on. Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom
I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots. I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put her down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom -
I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom -
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache, the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a Mom.

Birthday Parties and Snow Play

We had a busy weekend, but as one of my friends says, "it's better to keep moving!" That tends to be especially true for me even though sometimes all I want to do is doze on the couch!

We went to a birthday party on Saturday for a friend of mine's daughter (that's GOT to be bad grammar, but oh well!). It was at the bowling alley and we had a really good time. Rachael and I had a chance to bowl a little together (Matthew was MUCH more interested in the arcade). I realized it had been a good 15 years since I had bowled! I had forgotten how much I enjoyed bowling, although I must admit I don't remember ever bowling (as an adult) without drinking beer! Seemed a little odd to be bowling with Orange soda! But such is the life of a Mommy!

After the party we were able to play outside for a while. It was in the upper 30's (the beginning of a heatwave!) and the kids enjoyed sledding down our hill. We did manage to get out again yesterday and do the same and the temperature was into the 40's! But never fear, it will be back into the teens by tonight with a snow forecast for tomorrow. Too good to last!

Yesterday at church the hand bell choir played for the first time under the direction of their new director...me! They were awesome. Who wouldn't want to direct a group as great as they are?! It was a bit hectic yesterday, I was directing and ushering but it always seems to come together.

So here we are, back to Monday. My day "off". I'm headed to take Matthew to school and then off to the gym. There will be housecleaning to be done (is that ever NOT the case?) but I'm taking it easy today.

One day and counting smoke free.....getting nervous. I realize how hard this will be, but I'm really dedicated to this. I've got friends keeping me accountable, along with Rachael and my Dad....what a cheering squad!

Good, Clean, Healthy Living

So as I had mentioned before, I joined a "Lighten Up Iowa" team to lose weight and get in shape. I logged in my first week and have lost 3 pounds. Yea me!! Of course that's only the beginning. But I've worked out quite a bit this week and worked HARD. I can't get to the gym as often as I like. I try to go MWF while Matthew is at school and I stay about an hour. I feel good about that.

HOWEVER, the real challenge begins now. As most of you know I am a smoker. Not a very heavy smoker, but a smoker none-the-less. I have been a smoker for a good (so to speak) 20 years, with the exception of both times I was pregnant when I did not smoke out all. Rachael has voiced her concerns about my smoking several times and although I knew she was right, I just stayed in denial. It was obvious she was embarrassed. If she saw a pack laying around somewhere, she would put something on top of them so they weren't out in plain view.

On Wednesday I did my usual weekly volunteering at Rachael's school. The kids have gotten to know me well and usually will hug me when I get there and again when I leave. After Rachael got home from school that day she told me that one of her classmates asked her if I smoked. Rachael told her no.

So, that's it. I told her when I finished what I have (about 1/2 pack left) I was buying no more. When I have quit before I've always done it cold turkey and done fine. Plus I've been known to go for days without when I was on a trip or something. So I know I can do it. But, losing weight and quitting smoking all at once. This WILL be a challenge.

I'll keep you updated.

Countdown Clock and Picture

Thanks, Kari for the idea of the countdown clock. I'm SO sick of snow and it's nice to watch the seconds tick away until spring. Although I don't feel much sympathy for you (as far as counting down until spring) considering you live WAY DOWN SOUTH! :)

Also, just a little picture her I took of Matthew last night. He was just so cute sitting there in his warmies, reading the dictionary. I'm truly blessed.

A Good Day

Today was a good day. Rachael was out of school today so we had to make some plans! Once we dropped Matthew off at preschool we went to the YMCA. She played in the playroom while I worked out. I've joined the "Lighten Up Iowa" group not only to drop a few pounds but to get in better shape. So this was a great chance to get some exercise in. Once I had worked out for a while I went and got her and we walked the track together for a while. We still had some time to kill so we went into one of the empty gyms to play basketball. We had a great time!

We picked up Matthew and headed to Subway for lunch. It's been snowing all day but that doesn't keep the lunch crowd away! The place was packed but we managed to get our food and visit with a few people from church that we ran into.

Then, we headed back to the Y for a few hours in the pool. They had a blast! Matthew gets to go to the pool occasionally with his preschool class, but it had been a while since Rachael had been able to go. It seemed funny to me, these kids playing in the pool and you could look outside and see the snow falling. I guess I haven't lived in Iowa long enough for that to not seem strange to me!

My plan worked....well, partially. Rachael was sound asleep by 8:30 (even though she slept in this morning). Matthew, however is still going strong, playing in his bed at 9:20pm.

My initial thought, when planning all the activities at the YMCA today was for the kids to have fun. To my surprise, I had just as much fun. :)

Report Cards

Well, today was report card day for Rachael. She got the equivalent of all A's (for a first grader). She really does well in school. I'm glad she likes it so much. On her oral reading test, the minimum benchmark score for reading aloud was 20 words per minute. Rachael scored 117 words per minute. Ya gotta be proud of that! I try not to make a HUGE deal out of it all because she's awfully young to worry about pressure and "scores" and such. But I'm just terribly proud. We did Taco Bell kids meals for a reward.

Matthew got his preschool report card a few weeks ago (boy they start early with the report cards these days!) and he also got the equivalent of all A's. He's one of only 4 kids (out of 21) who could write his name at the beginning of the school year. I could have been kinder and given him a shorter name, but I wasn't blessed with that, why should my kids be? :)

I hate to brag, but sometimes you just gotta. :)

Bedtime Blahs, Part II

How did it go last night, you may ask? Well, lemme tell ya.

Rae and I got in bed at 7:30 as planned, her nighttime "check-off list" completed. We read and I got up at 8pm and told her she could continue to read, but had to stay in bed. I went downstairs, Matthew was asleep on the couch. So I carried him up to bed and proceeded to fix myself a bite to eat (seems I missed out on dinner in all of this). I decided at 8:30 to peek in on Rae and see how she was doing. Big mistake! Seriously now, if she weren't fine she would have gotten up or called for me, right? Oh but that wasn't good enough for me. I peeked in on her and she had put her book down and was laying there, almost asleep. She saw me and reached for me, and asked where Matthew was. I told her he was asleep and she asked me to get in bed with her. When I told her no, she began to cry. So, of course, I got in bed with her and she was asleep within 15 minutes. So I guess all in all, it wasn't HORRIBLE for the first try, right? Needs improvement though.

Tonight, perhaps a different story. Rae and I didn't get home from dance until about 6:15pm, at which time I proceeded to fix dinner AND give her a bath at the same time. Start the food, run up the stairs, start the bathwater. Back down, stir stir, back up, wash wash Up, down, up down. You get the picture. (Note to self: Dance nights should be Pizza night!) I did manage to get her clean and didn't burn the dinner. A major accomplishment on my part I believe!

After dinner she had to do homework and get ready for bed. It's 8pm now and she missed out on "reading time together". She's in her bed reading by herself, Matthew's in his bed reading (although he's been up twice within the past 15 minutes, now he's singing, so who knows what's gonna happen there.)

To be continued....

(45 minutes later...) Well, well, well. Not only did Rachael turn her light out after 30 minutes, but she's asleep! Unbelievable. Matthew is still awake, but he hasn't gotten up again. I went to the door and could hear him "reading" out loud to himself, but I didn't DARE let him see me. This is amazing. I can't believe he's still awake, but it shouldn't be long now.

I know, it won't work out this way every night, but at least now I hope I can relax and know that they CAN do it.

Yea for them!

OK, so it's 9:14pm. Matthew had been back in his room for an HOUR by himself. That's got to be a record for him. So of course, I went in there. Bless his heart, he was sitting there on his little bunk bed, surrounded by stuffed animals, barely able to keep his eyes open. I cleared him a spot and he put his head on the pillow. I rubbed his back and I swear it took him 5 minutes to pass out. All I could think was how beautiful he was. His little eyes getting heavier and heavier, cuddling his little blue elephant. Such a baby still, but growing up so fast! Then, of course I snuck in to Rae's room. She was all cuddled up in bed, surrounded by the kitties. Such an angel.

So, I don't care what anyone says. I consider tonight a success. Now, I can go watch all those shows I won't turn on when the kids are awake! Thank goodness for DVR! :)

Goodnight.

Bedtime Blahs

I know, I know. It's my fault. And routines are SO hard to change! But here is my HORRIBLE bedtime routine (which by the way, I'm DETERMINED to begin to change, tonight!!)

8pm, Rae and I hop in to bed to read for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, Matthew is laying on the couch watching TV. After all, I can't put them BOTH to sleep at the same time! At 8:30 it's lights off and I lay in bed with her, rubbing her back listening to her as she occasionally pops up to tell me something that "just can't wait until tomorrow, it's important!". This goes on until about 9pm, which wouldn't be so bad I suppose, but I've still got one more to get to bed, plus I really think she should be asleep before 9pm.

Once she's SOUND asleep, I sneak out and head downstairs to Matthew. Unfortunately usually I'm wiped out and it's easier for me just to let him fall asleep on the couch and for me to carry him to bed. He's usually not asleep until 10pm so I KNOW he's not getting enough sleep! He's a challenge when it comes to bedtime. And he's going to be harder to change, simply because at least I've helped Rae get used to falling asleep in her bed.

Then there's the more than occasional "sneak" into my room. I wake up in the morning and they are in bed with me! Perhaps 2-3 nights a week they make it all night in their room so I know they can do it. But I should concentrate on GETTING to bed before I worry about STAYING in bed. (Besides, I hate to admit it, I kind of like those early morning cuddles. They won't want to do it forever!)

So tonight, a change is coming! Now, Rae LOVES lists and structure and routine so she might take to it, until I get out of her bed after the 30 minute reading for her to put herself to sleep. Then the battle with Matthew will begin. I know this will take time, I will TRY to be patient.

Wish me luck.

The Iowa Caucus

Well, I did it. I went to the caucus although I'm still confused. Is "caucus" a noun or a verb? Did I Caucus? Or did I go to the caucus? Ok, wait, let me see.....sooo, my question is not so silly. I looked it up "Caucus" is used as both a noun and a verb. That's according to the Legislative Glossary of Terms. OK. I've got that behind me now...sorry. Moving on....

I arrived about an hour early, not knowing what the crowd would be like. Good thing I did. It was cold and windy and I was able to find a parking spot close to the building. I went in, found my ward, signed in and had a seat. Immediately I ended up with a sticker on me and snacks in my hand.

It was such a friendly place to be. We were all there to vote, perhaps for different people, but all with the same thing in mind. This country needs change, a BIG change. I saw several people I knew from my neighborhood, the school, church. It was really fun. Then it was time. The moment we had all waited for. We got in our selective corners, cheering for our candidate and counted, once, twice, three times. Then we went after those who had less than 15%. Then again, with the counting. It took about an hour once the doors closed. I had never "caucused" before and I'm glad I did. And I will again. It's more complicated and chaotic than what I'm used to, going downtown, filling out the form, got all day to do it, but it was an experience to remember.

OK, so my candidate didn't win in Iowa. But it's just the beginning. One thing I was so impressed with tonight was when we were all visiting, several people mentioned that all 3 of the front runners were good so we weren't voting "against" anyone and no matter the outcome we could feel good about this.

I should mention, I'm NOT a crowd person. In no way, shape or form. They freak me out. So this was not an easy thing for me. Thanks, Daddy, for encouraging me to do this. I experienced history tonight. I'm glad I did it.