Conversation with Myself

April 18th, 2012 | Posted by Bryn in Kids - (Comments Off on Conversation with Myself)

When I’m working, I tend to talk to myself. When I worked in an office, people would constantly be asking me, “what?” because they could hear me mumbling. Now I always know when I’m talking to myself even when I don’t initially realize it because my kids answer back.

Here’s an excerpt from a recent “conversation.”

Me: Now where is that file?

TT (4 and confused): I don’t know.

Me: Okay, here it is. Let’s change this font and add an image. Now what should I put in this section?

TT: MOM! I don’t know! Leave me alone!

Me: What? Who are you talking to?

There was a study done recently by some really smart people that says I’m not crazy, I’m just more efficient. Click here to check it out.

What do you think? Do you get more done when you talk to yourself?

Make-A-List Monday – Quotable Kids

March 26th, 2012 | Posted by Bryn in Kids | Make-A-List Monday - (Comments Off on Make-A-List Monday – Quotable Kids)

Our three maniacs, from left to right, TT(4 1/2), Vanilla(15 mo.), and Peach(2 1/2). And yes, the two big kids crawl themselves into Vanilla's crib almost every morning and all three jump... Don't judge me.

On my other, extremely neglected blog, I attempted to keep track of funny or insightful things my kids said because they are constantly coming up with new gems. However, I often hear them say something, laugh about it and tell their dad, then forget about it. Today is redemption for my other blog, Out of the Mouths of Maniacs.

Here are some glimpses from that website as well as some new stuff the maniacs have been telling me lately.

1. After we returned home from vacation – TT: Mom, I just want you to be home for one day then go on vacation again.

2. Dad: What do you want to be when you grow up, buddy?
TT (age 4): What do I want to be when I grow up? Hmmmm…. A husband!

3.  Peach, our two and a half year old, has several nicknames for her little sister, and we don’t know where any of them came from. They are: Cakes, Quakes, and Little You-ee-high.

4. Lately, our baby, who is now 15 months old, has been saying, “Hi Peach!” and “Hi Sase!” (talking to her brother).

5. TT (age 4): Mom, you know how I can fly like Superman?
Me: How?
TT: I can get a cape on my back and a stick on my crotch and fly away!
Me: A stick on your WHAT?
TT: On my crotch. You know, like Harry Potter.

6. Peach (age 2, after painting her toenails hot pink): Mom, can I take my pink toes to bed with me?

7. Then there’s this conversation between a plastic goat and a plastic horse (via my two-year-old):
Goat: I love you.
Horse: Well, I love you too. Let’s run away from the hyheenas!

8. TT: That grape was disgusting. It tasted like yard.
Me: How do you know what “yard” tastes like?
Crickets, crickets.

9. As I’m wiping my four-year-old’s butt – TT: Mommy, I think you are just gorgeous!

10. Peach: I can do whatever I want!
TT: (in a very calm tone) No, you cannot do whatever you want. You are a child.

Which is your favorite? What are some awesome things your kids have said lately (or ever)?

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Pledge to Wear Black on Fridays to End Abortion in America

March 25th, 2012 | Posted by Bryn in Faith | Kids - (Comments Off on Pledge to Wear Black on Fridays to End Abortion in America)

AbortionBlackout.com is turning into a movement in the United States. Their short video (click below to view) explains simple statistics regarding abortions. It’s heartbreaking to realize how many children we’ve lost to abortion just in the last 30+ years.

Even if you feel you can’t participate in the Abortion Blackout each Friday, please pray for the children lost to abortion, their mothers and fathers who are probably suffering, and the healthcare professionals that they may have a change of heart.

Thank you Father Daren for bringing this movement to my attention. Feel free to reblog, share on Facebook, Pin It, Tweet about it, just spread the news about the Abortion Blackout.

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Funny Friday – The Round-Up Kid

March 23rd, 2012 | Posted by Bryn in Funny Friday | Kids - (Comments Off on Funny Friday – The Round-Up Kid)

Last Friday my four-year-old son TT and I went to Kindergarten Round-Up. He’ll be attending our parish’s Catholic school, and he was pretty excited about the whole thing. My favorite quote: “Mom, you promised it was going to be so fun, and it was!” So now, even though I know I’ll be sad once August gets here, I know in my heart he’ll be well taken care of and happy when he’s at school ALL DAY next year.

Here are some shots of him after we got home from Kindergarten Round-Up:

My soon-to-be kindergartener with his new hat, handkerchief, necklace, and badge from the "Round-Up". Giddy-up partner!

Gram watched the girls while TT and I went to Kindergarten Round-Up, so she deserved a picture with the new cowboy hat.

TT sure loves his Gram. He cried when we figured out she was babysitting his sisters, but not him.

Me and V. She's still bald, but she ain't a baby. At 15 months, she's running all over the place and still cute as a button.

Okay, so this wasn’t the classic hilarious funny Friday, but a girl’s gotta show off her kids sometimes… right? 🙂

Have a great weekend everyone!

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Make-A-List Monday: Most Annoying TV Shows My Kids Love

February 13th, 2012 | Posted by Bryn in Kids | Make-A-List Monday - (Comments Off on Make-A-List Monday: Most Annoying TV Shows My Kids Love)

Have you ever noticed how irritating television programming made for children can be? I have trying to cut down on my kids TV viewing, but they still have some favorite PBS and DVD shows they enjoy.

The top five kids’ shows from hell are:

5. Sid the Science Kid – He only thinks he’s a science kid.

4. Spongebob Square Pants – Want to make your kids dumber? Let them watch this!

3. The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot about That – “Your mom will not mind at all if you do”? I just don’t think any parent would let their kid go on adventures with a strange giant cat. Just sayin’.

2. Go Diego Go/Dora the Explorer – Do you see the elephant? Um, yeah, it’s right there.

1. The Doodlebops – Three adults with flourescent colored skin sing on a bus. Just plain weird.

I also feel like Barney should be on there too… What kid shows annoy you the most? I’m sure there are more out there. Have a great Monday!

UPDATE: We only have basic cable, so I’ve never seen an actual episode of Yo Gabba Gabba, but my friend Barb says, “I’d rather have a root canal than watch that show!”

 

1a. Yo Gabba Gabba – Wow. Just wow.

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Make-A-List Monday – Before I Was Mama

January 30th, 2012 | Posted by Bryn in Faith | Kids | Make-A-List Monday - (Comments Off on Make-A-List Monday – Before I Was Mama)

Today’s Make-A-List Monday is things I never had to think about before I was the mama. Being a mom is one of the greatest gifts anyone can receive, but it also comes with major life changes. So here was me, before I was Mom:

  1. It took a half hour at most to get to the grocery store, shop, and get home.
  2. I peed alone.
    And the only butt I had to wipe was my own.
    And I didn’t stand up and announce, “I need to go potty!” every time I needed to go.
    And I had never had a toddler say (loudly), “Good job, Mommy!” after I finished “going potty” in a public restroom.
  3. My house was still unorganized, but I had no one to blame it on but myself.
  4. I had never planned an entire day around nap time. Oh, nap time, how I love thee.
  5. I never noticed how many f-bombs are in R rated movies.
  6. My favorite brands were NOT Graco, Osh Kosh B’Gosh, and Carter’s.
  7. I kept my make-up in the bathroom, not the van. These days, it’s either mascara at stop lights or nothing.
  8. I didn’t know it was possible to love my husband any more than right then.
  9. I relied more on myself than on God. My faith has grown 100 fold since I had children because most of the time, I have no idea what I’m doing and just have to rely on Him. I’d go crazy with worry if I didn’t have faith in God.
  10. I couldn’t function on less than 8 hours of sleep. Haha, that one just makes me laugh now.
  11. Lunch with my mom consisted of actually having a conversation with her and catching up on each other’s lives, not chasing or quieting or encouraging small children to eat more than just ketchup.
  12. Time went by more slowly.
  13. While driving, I actually listened to music or talk radio instead of babbling of babies and toddlers.
  14. I never knew how intensely my own parents loved me. Or how annoying and sad it was when I fought with my siblings.
  15. I had no idea how strong I am. Or how amazing the human body is. Or that labor pain wouldn’t kill me, but could actually bring another life into this world. I was much less confident about my body then.
  16. I didn’t know how much love my heart could hold. It’s like my heart grew bigger with the birth of each child, and I’ve grown to love my honey even more seeing him as a father. Oh, how He loves us!

My four loves at Rocky Mountain National Park last fall. I AM SO BLESSED!

 

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March for Life 2012 – Love is the Answer

January 25th, 2012 | Posted by Bryn in Faith | Kids - (Comments Off on March for Life 2012 – Love is the Answer)

You may or may not have heard, but the March for Life in Washington, D.C. took place again this year on Monday, January 23rd. The main stream media is not super interested in covering this because abortion is such a widely accepted practice in our country. Pro-lifers are almost seen as radicals in our day. Tim Muldoon, a blogger for Patheos.com, wrote an amazing post about the March for Life, calling it the “March for Love.” Here is an excerpt from that post (with parts I liked best in bold):

In our experience, the metanoia of loving has meant seeing orphans not as problems to be solved, but as beloved children who will gladden adoptive parents. If you are pro-choice, or if you are someone who has had an abortion, perhaps it may help to imagine what gives fire to the pro-life movement. Each pregnancy we see as a new opportunity for love, an irreplaceable gift that challenges us to love anew. We see abortion as an interruption of the potential for love, the opportunity for love, and so we hope to build a society in which those opportunities are welcomed. Our hope is both simple and profound: to treat human beings through the lens of love, rather than primarily through the lens of reason.

In the big picture, love is the far more powerful way of looking at the world. Love is the game-changer. People die for love; they stretch their energies and resources for love. They move to the farthest ends of the earth for love. They take on the greatest challenges for love. They fast, tighten their belts, work extra jobs, lose sleep for love. They imagine new possibilities. Reason is often a wet blanket: it tells us why we can’t do something (it’s too expensive; it will require too much work; it’s too hard…). Love, on the other hand, moves us to find the ways we can do something. It is the most deeply human dimension of our lives, because it is at the same time the most deeply rooted in the divine.

Wow, if we can all truly look at life through the lens of love, think of what our world could be. There are no “official” statistics out there, but it is estimated that between one and two million couples are waiting for a child to adopt, waiting to be able to show their love to a beautiful little child. So what is the right thing to do if you are experiencing an unplanned pregnancy? LOVE is always the answer.

I also found this video trying to help people understand the reasons behind the March for Life posted by The Bad Catholic. Check it out here:

And if you believe in the power of prayer, please pray for the victims of abortion, for their mothers who have been hurt emotionally, spiritually, and physically by abortion, for those pregnant women who are feeling alone and scared, and for a change of heart our country’s leaders.

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Make-A-List Monday: Revolutionary Discoveries

January 16th, 2012 | Posted by Bryn in Kids | Make-A-List Monday - (Comments Off on Make-A-List Monday: Revolutionary Discoveries)

Recently I have made some great discoveries. I feel like a scientist discovering a new plant species every time I try something new, but it’s just typical stuff that most people in the generation ahead of mine take for granted.

Prepare to be astonished:

1.  Tea kettles are awesome! My mom and dad gave me a tea kettle for Christmas, and it is one of the greatest inventions ever. At our daughter’s first birthday party, I heated up the tea kettle and everyone had a choice of various delicious green teas, hot chocolate, or… coffee! What?! But coffee must be made in a french press or a percolator or a coffee maker! No longer true, folks. You can buy coffee in individual tea bags! Genius!

Yum! And it's much healthier than microwave popcorn!

2.  Popcorn doesn’t always have to come out of the microwave. So I always knew that movie theatres had those big popcorn machines, and my mom had an air popper when we were growing up, but most of the time when I made popcorn, it came out of the microwave. No longer true! I made the recent amazing discovery that you can pop popcorn in a pan with a little oil on the stovetop. Genius! Here is the “recipe” I used… yes, I did have to look up instructions on how to do it. :/

3.  Flat cloth diapers are the most useful baby item I’ve had to date. Flat cloth diapers can be used as, well diapers, of course. I have a few that are reserved just for burp rags and snot rags, which is very useful this time of year. They are good as light blankets and nursing covers too. When I do use them as diapers, they wash up beautifully and are 100% cotton so they don’t retain any lingering stinks (a big plus because I’ve got the nose of a bloodhound). I’ve also heard that they are extremely useful for cleaning because they are lint-free. Whoever invented flat cloth diapers is a genius!

4.  Clothes come out looking cleaner if you separate lights from darks. Wow, my mom is smacking herself on the head right now, thinking, “Who raised this child?!” She always told me I should do this, but knowing and actually doing it are two different things. Anyway, when Peach was first born, she wore pink literally all the time, and all of a sudden her tiny pink baby clothes were looking dingy. I started separating, and voila, pretty pink jammies again!
5.  I can french braid my own hair… sort of. I spent a lot of my childhood french braiding doll hair, but I never tried it on myself until just a couple weeks ago. It doesn’t look great; it actually reminds me of the shake-out braid of the early 90’s (remember those?), but it gets a little better after each attempt.

Photo courtesy of allrecipes.com

6.  If you can read, you can cook. My wonderfully intelligent grandma always used to tell me this, and it is true. Sometimes you have to read and re-read (again and again sometimes in my case) to get the picture, but most of the time, my cooking turns out somewhere between okay to pretty darn good. Last week I made pulled pork cooked in the Crock Pot with root beer and it was a big hit with everyone in our little family. Click here for the recipe I found on Pinterest.

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Just because it's snowing doesn't mean it's Christmas again

January 12th, 2012 | Posted by Bryn in Kids | Our Crazy Life - (Comments Off on Just because it's snowing doesn't mean it's Christmas again)

Finally. A day with snow. I love living in the Midwest because we get such a wide variety of weather. This morning we woke up to a wintry wonderland, while yesterday–yes, literally yesterday–we were at the park with no coats.

So what to do on the first snowy day of 2012? My son TT decided it’s Christmas again and spent at least 15 minutes trying to convince me it really is. TT doesn’t have preschool on Thursdays, so we had planned to go to Bonkers (think McDonald’s playplace on steroids) but my friend who was supposed to go with us called to say her street wasn’t plowed yet. Bummer.

Peach and TT all ready to get out there and play!

So I got them all bundled up to go outside, which took at least a half hour. Notice the socks on TT’s hands – I couldn’t find any mittens for him, so I had that ingenious solution. To my credit, his hands were still warm when he came back inside.

Anyway, I was really feeling like the mom on A Christmas Story. Never seen it? Check out this video.

Peach lasted about ten minutes, but TT lasted a good twenty out in the windy cold. Now everyone’s back inside, baby’s napping, big kids are eating popcorn and watching Harry Potter wrestling like lions. (Have you seen the end of Lion King when Simba and Scar fight? That, only a two-year-old and a four-year-old. It’s super fun.)

So, no, it’s not Christmas, but it’s gearing up to be a fantastic snow day!

 

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Make-A-List Monday – Things I Never Knew I'd Have to Say to My Kids

October 3rd, 2011 | Posted by Bryn in Kids | Make-A-List Monday | Our Crazy Life - (Comments Off on Make-A-List Monday – Things I Never Knew I'd Have to Say to My Kids)

Before I became a parent, I “knew” my kids would always be well-behaved, never fight with each other, and not ask the same questions over and over. And over.

Here’s a list of things I never knew I’d have to tell my kids:

"That wall is not for climbing, Peach."

  1. “Because I said so.” Answering the incessant “why?” from both my big kids.
  2. “We don’t touch our poop, do we?” Changing a two-year-old’s diaper.
  3. “No wrestling at the library.” Peach just really likes to wrestle.
  4. “TT, get your fingers out of your mouth, get your fingers out of your mouth. Don’t bite your fingernails. Also, don’t pick your nose ’cause it’s really, really acky and I just don’t like it.” I made up a song to help him remember.
  5. “You’re four now. I’m not helping you put on your shoes.” And no more sippy cup either. He’s four, people.
  6. “Stop eating things off the floor!” Vanilla is really advanced when it comes to fine motor skills.
  7. “Our kids look homeless today. Sorry.” To my honey, after letting the kids play outside with juice-stained jammies on.
  8. “No more Family Guy!” Had to nip that in the bud once TT started repeating things.
  9. “If you potty on the potty chair, you can have some soda.” Yes I believe in bribery for potty training. It works. Don’t judge me…
  10. “You have to wear pants when you play outside. It’s the rule.” That is the rule. No pants, no going outside.
What are some things you never knew you’d say to your kids?

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