As if I were still in the running . . .

I officially lost the "Mother of the Year" Award today.  When the friend that we carpool with pulled up in front of the house to drop off Hope I anxiously rushed out the door to greet my daughter, as any good mother would.  Or I could have been rushing out to chat with the other mom.  Little did I know that EJ was right behind me.  I figured it out several seconds later when it clicked that she was crying. I assumed it was because she wanted to come outside with me.  When I turned around, I realized the real reason for her tears.  I had let the door close on her finger - not the normal "close your finger in the door" part of the door, but the other side.  The same side that the hinges are on.  The door was closed, and until my brain was able to process what was going on, her finger was stuck in there, and she was looking up at me with her sad little eyes, crying in pain, wondering why I was letting this continue!  I finally figured it out, opened the door as quickly as I could and scooped her sad little self into my arms.  Here's the damage and the pictures really don't do it justice . . .

Poor thing.  She cried for 20 minutes straight and then off and on for an hour. And this is the girl who fell all the way down the basement stairs and barely shed a tear maybe that's the day I lost the award.  This one must have hurt!

And in other news . . .

Thanksgiving was fun, fun, fun!  We spent the day at Mom's with aunts, uncles, grandparents, brothers, sisters, cousins (1st, 2nd, and 3rd) and dogs.  We ate a lot and enjoyed spending time with everybody.  I can honestly say we do not have one of those "let's make it through the holidays so we don't have to spend time with these people anymore" families.Thank goodness!  It was a fantastic day!  Somehow I ended up with no pictures.

Hope had the entire week off school.  We enjoyed not having to get up early and rush out of the house in the mornings.  A few of the activities that kept us busy . . .

We made pies.

Justin slept over . . .

. . . and we ate turkey shaped pancakes for breakfast.

Hope took pictures of herself . . .

and of Ellis.

We put up lights . . .

. . . and Christmas decorations.

We "built" bears . . .

. . . and visited Santa.

Now we'll try to rest for the next few weeks before Christmas Break!

Is Ketchup a Vegetable?

And if a 25 pound child eats close to half a cup, does it count as her 5 servings for the day?

Calgon, take me away!

Remember those old commercials?  It's the first thing that popped into my head this afternoon as I was trying to help Hope figure out a song on the keyboard she was getting VERY frustrated as she tried to pick out all the right notes and trying to help Ellis use the potty.  I mentioned in my last post that Ellis might be ready to potty train, but me, not so much.  She still just enjoys the novelty of it - and the M&M she gets when something "comes out".  Anytime we're at home, she wants to be naked.  Quicker access to the M&M, I guess.  She gets very upset when I try to put a diaper on her, unless we're leaving the house or she's going to bed.  Anyway, I digress.   It went something like this:

Hope: You already showed me that part, Mom!  I need the next part!
"Do Do Do Do Do Do Do Do Do" - Ellis' potty singing to her because she's "done something".
EJ: I go potty, Mommy!
Me: Good job EJ, hold on.  I'll come dump it out in just a minute.
Hope: Mom!  What's next?
EJ (walking into the room where Hope and I are at the piano, carrying the potty seat): My dump it out, Mommy!
Me: No, EJ.  Give that to Mommy.  Pee running out the potty seat and down her legs.  Only Mommy and Daddy can clean out the potty.
EJ: No,Mommy!  My dump it out! No! No! (crying screaming) My dump it out! more crying, more screaming
Hope: Ugh! (laying upside on the keyboard bench)

A few minutes later after the potty seat is cleaned out, Hope and I are at the keyboard and Ellis is wiped down and supposedly looking at books in the other room . . .

Hope (still very frustrated and has now turned the keyboard up very loud because she can't "hear myself play over Ellis' screaming!"): I can't do it right! 
Me: Try just this part.
EJ: Mommy, come 'ere.
Me: Hold on EJ.  I'm helping Hope right now.
EJ (loudly, crying screaming): No!  Mommy help EJ!
Me: What do you need help with?
Hope: Mom!
EJ: Mommy, come 'ere!!!!!
Me: Go back to the family room and get a book, I'll come in there in just a minute. EJ slowly walks into the other room, crying.
Okay, Hope, try this part.
"Do Do Do Do Do Do Do Do Do" - potty seat again
EJ (running back to Hope and I): I go potty one more time!
Me: Good job, EJ!  Stay right here, I'll go get it cleaned out!
Hope: MOM!
Me: Okay, let me show you real quick . . ."
Hope: EJ, no!  Mom - EJ has her potty seat again!
Me: Okay, hold on Hope.  Ellis, only mommy and daddy can empty out the - EJ! NO! pee all over the bathroom floor.
Hope: Ugh! (upside down on the keyboard bench again. Now with the keyboard playing some "demo" song turned up as LOUD as it could go)
Me: Hope - turn that down!
Hope: Come help me then!
Me: I need to clean this up - I'll be there in a minute!  Just try it on your own.
Hope: I need you to help with that part again.
Me: Try ANOTHER part.
Hope: I already KNOW the other parts.  I need help with the NEW part!
Me: Okay, hold on.  I've got the potty seat clean, I just need to clean up the bathroom floor.
EJ: Mommy, come 'ere!
Me: Just a minute EJ, I need to clean up the bathroom floor.
"Do Do Do Do Do Do Do Do Do"

Some form of the last 2 scenarios literally played out 3 MORE TIMES within the next twenty minutes.  I was about ready to throw that d*$# potty seat away!  Seriously, how can anyone pee 6 times in a 30 minute period?  What did I give that child to drink?

Chaos takes many different forms in my house on a day to day basis.  In the midst of it, I wish there was something that could just "take me away".  But in reality, I wouldn't trade it for anything.  I know this precious time with my babies is short.  The heartwarming, funny, memorable times outweigh the bad most days.  And I just try to remind myself that all of our experiences serve a purpose - we're learning.  I'm learning to be a better parent, a better wife, a better person.  They're learning about themselves, and how to find their place in a great big world. 

Usually the chaos is short lived. Sometimes we learn something from it. Today the lesson was patience . . . for all of us.  The girls were reminded that they can't always get what they want, right when they want it.  I was reminded that I do have the ability to pull out the patience when I need it. At least sometimes.  

I was also reminded that I am not ready for potty training.

Maybe I take too many pictures . . .

This morning EJ spent about 5 minutes getting her blanket spread out and getting her "things" piled on just so.  As soon as it was all to her liking, she sat right down and said, "Awwight ewrybody, tate my pitcha!" Translation: "Allright everybody, take my picture!"  Well, I couldn't say "no" to that:

To top it off, she was completely naked -she thinks she's ready for potty training.  I'm not so sure I'm ready.

H - A- double L - O - W - double E - N . . .

. . . spells Halloween! 

Am I the only one that remeber this song?  This is one of the only songs I remember learning in elementary school music class. I still love to sing it every Halloween!  When I do, however, people just look at me funny!  Nobody else seems to have heard of it.  I taught it to all my kids when I was teaching kindergarten, so hopefully it will never die out completely! :)

Here are some pics from our Halloween!