Well, I feel that way about my mop. Not like MOPS (Mother’s of Preschoolers), though I do love my MOPS group too. I’m actually and seriously talking about a mop…you know, that you clean with.

I’ve searched high and low for YEARS for a mop I could love. Sound dumb? Yup, it probably is. I just like things a certain way…and I can’t stand dipping my mop in dirty water over and over again, throwing the head away and trying to find a stupid replacement (and then when the dang thing doesn’t fit? ARGH!) only to find that the one I need has been discontinued and I have to buy a whole new mop!!!

So when I saw this mop in a magazine, I MAY have drooled…just a little. The mop is similar to the wet jet swiffer, but sooooo much better! Can I tell you why I love it? Of course I can, it’s my blog.

This mop has a refillable water container. You put your own water, your own cleaning solution in the tank, snap it on and voila! Whatever smell and whatever brand you like. You can make the water SUPER hot even. And the cleaning pad on it? It’s washable. Yup. In the washing machine. No kidding.

It has a great swivel head and the sprayer is in the smartest place! You can adjust whether you want to spray a large area (pull the handle towards you) or just one concentrated blast in one spot (push the handle towards the spot). Sigh.

I love my mop.

Wanna see some action shots? Of course you do.

WAPOW!

I shall call her Red Bud and I shall love her forever

KACHOW!

Extreme close up!

I know I’m a dork.

I also love that it only puts juuuuuust enough water on the floor to clean up without leaving a bunch left over. It dries so fast!

Now the microfiber head/pad is washable as I said…for up to 100 washes in the washing machine. No…I won’t be counting. But I think that’s “manufactorese” for “buy a new one when this one starts to look nasty”.

Every time I mop my floors, I sigh a little sigh and say “I love my mop”. And when I’m done? I wash that pad so that next time I want to mop, it is clean and fresh.

There is one thing I wish though…I wish that the handle were a scoochie-schooch longer. I’m a shortie (5’4 respectively) and I have to bend a little more than my prego-back appreciates.

Anyway, you should go buy this mop. It’s $20.00 and worth every single penny. Oh and should you say have a really icky mess to clean up, they do sell pads that you can dispose of if you don’t want to get your microfiber one all icky.

Don’t you think O-Cedar should pay me for this? Yup…I do too. Sadly, they didn’t. It’s still worth it. RUN! Go buy it! Now!

Ok, I played basketball in fifth grade because my best friend made me. Pssst….my best friends  have always made me do the best things

I remember really wanting to play violin too, but the school didn’t have rental instruments at that time and my parents couldn’t afford to buy me one. So sad.

Now-a-days, because you know I’m sooo old, it seems like it is a complete necessity for kids to play sports. I agree too. I think that involving kids in sports has so many benefits:

It teaches them good sportsmanship
It teaches teamwork
It teaches delegation
It teaches them how to lose with grace
It teaches them how to fail and then try, try again
It builds their muscles and agility
It provides an outlet for all.that.energy

But something that has been hard for my husband and I is figuring out the whole world of kids sports. The leagues and the fees, where the parks are and what kind of time committment each sport necessitates.

We are sticklers about our kids getting the right amount of sleep, especially during the school year. So anything that happens on a school night is not just an energy sucker for us as parents (as we race home, race to eat, race to get wherever it is we need to go and then race to get home and get cleaned up so we can race the kids to bed) it’s an energy sucker for the kids. Energy we think they need for school.

Then there’s the whole missing things like church. Oh my nellie do I have a soap box about THAT. Bottom line, we don’t want to teach our kids to put anything before God. God should come first SO THAT everything else falls into place. It isn’t a big deal to miss church Sunday morning. But it IS a big deal to communicate to your kids that something else in life gets put before your priority to Him.

Stepping down now.

Big C at T-ball late last summer...it was glorious fun!

Anyway, with CeCe on the way right as T-ball would be starting, we decided to pass on enrolling Coop in it until the fall/late summer t-ball starts. But I can’t help feeling this nagging thing that I’m putting Cooper at a disadvantage by not enrolling him in some sort of extracurricular activity. Even though I’m not super eager to run around like MORE of a chicken with my headcutoff.

I want to have a balanced approach to the world of sports with our kids. I want them to do it IF they want to, and I want them to get everything they can out of it. But does that mean I have to start when they’re 2? Is waiting until their 8 or even 10 so bad?

Big C's team lining up to say "good game" to the opposing team was one of my favorite parts!

There is sooo much out there for Cooper to do. But what I really desire is for him to revel in being a kid. I want him to soak up every inch of it. I want him to roll around in it like a pig in the mud. I don’t want him to have to think about anything else until he needs to. I want him to rest and I want him to play. So far, he seems to be achieving that!

If Cooper ever told us he really wanted to do a certain sport, we’d be all over it. But for now, as a 6-year-old kid, I figure there is plenty of time for all that. The balance is leaning towards the Less is More side right now. I am sure that this next year will change that as he hits 7 in full swing.

P.S. This is my disclaimer statement: if you have a bunch of kids and they are all in sports, don’t let this hurt your feelings. I’m talking about what works/is right for our family and our personalities. I may not have it all right, (in fact, I probably don’t) but for now it works!

Our big kid Chase, enjoying some honey comb and his favorite shirt.

It all started Monday morning. Cooper had the day off school and we were relaxing at home, enjoying our day. I didn’t have to work and we all had absolutely no where to be. It was glorious! Both the kids slept in quite late…9 am, probably due to our insane weekend. It was weird waking up and knowing they were both still asleep.

Side note: Sunday night, Cooper was up from 1 am-4 am in a disastrous night of bad thoughts, night mares/bad dreams. I don’t think they were night terrors…the symptoms weren’t like that.  But it was not fun and we were all exhausted the next morning.

We finally got moving for the day and Chase decided he wanted to take a bath. This is a normal thing to take morning baths in our house. It occupies the kids for 30 minutes or so and lets me clean the kitchen, make beds, etc. I ran the bath for him and I was doing some things in my room when I heard him calling me. He was telling me he had to go POTTY! What? Yeah, he told me he had to go “pee-pee SUPER bad”. I pulled him out of the tub thinking, “yeah right” and placed him on the potty….and…he WENT!

Whoa. How could I ignore that? We have been telling him that soon his diapers would go away and he would wear big-kid under pants like brother. We’ve let him play in his under pants. We’ve let him put them in his dresser drawer. We’ve practiced on the potty for months with little to no success. But this, this was undeniable. He was ready.

DANG IT! I usually start this process on a Friday or Saturday…that way both parents are home to tag team and we can just stay home bound before the week gets started. This threw a wrench in my P.T. (potty training) strategy!

I knew I couldn’t go back though. I had to seize the opportunity no matter how much it interfered with MY schedule for the week. So we began PT Bootcamp, Nevil style.

The underpants went on, the diapers went up in the closet (on the top shelf), we pulled out the potty chart and the stickers, we showed him all the candy and we began.

Day 1…he actually did pretty good. He had a lot of accidents in the morning and afternoon, but by the evening he was catching it before he had to go and making it to the potty dry. He had already done #2 in his diaper prior to his bath that day, so it would have to wait for day 2. UGH.

Day 2…not too bad. I quickly learned that he had #1 down pat. He was making it to the potty of his own volition and was staying dry in between. My faux pas came when I let him go downstairs to the basement to play in the playroom while I did some things all over the house. He did his #2 business in the playroom while I changed over the laundry. So I missed that chance. Then he did it again upstairs hiding out in a bedroom (I was unloading the dishwasher) and then a whopping third time in another room when he was playing. Not good. We had a long talk and he was just scared.

Day 3…I kept telling myself that day 2 and 3 are the worst, but it didn’t exactly comfort me. And truely, it was mostly rough because I had a doctor appointment that day. My BF watched Chase and had GREAT success with him making it to the potty while I was gone. (That is once he told her he did NOT like her pink toilet and wanted to go to the bathroom in a white potty…) But when I got back and we were chatting, he went and hid downstairs and did his #2 business in his pants. Nellie. The rest of the day was perfect. No other accidents. I reminded myself that this was still progress.

Day 4…Ok, this HAD to be it. I needed success. I was so exhausted and anxious about trying to get him to do #2 in the potty. I know this is the key. That all you really need is one time and then everything else is just practice. But I had MOPS…and he usually does his business in the morning. This little man can totally hold his bowels and his bladder though. It’s quite impressive. He had one accident while at MOPS but I blame myself for that and don’t think it counts. It was #1. No biggie. We washed that one off and regrouped. The day before I had called my friend with almost 6 children (the sixth is about to join them in a few weeks) and asked for help on my strategy. She gave me a great idea!

Take him to Target, let him pick out a few toys (or one big toy with lots of accessories in it like a tool belt etc.) and then bring them home. Place them in his view and tell him he cannot open the toy/play with it/etc. until he puts his poops in the potty. Then display it. Let him see it all the time and remind him every time he admires it how he can achieve it.

This TOTALLY worked! I took him to Target, let him pick out 4 hot wheels cars (his choice) and we displayed them and let him know he could have them…as soon as his poops went in the potty. We discussed where they do NOT go often. And we told him we knew he could do it because he is a big boy!

That day, at nap time, I was sitting on the couch praying he would get it, no joke. It may seem dumb to pray about PT, but I did it. 5 minutes later he walked out proudly and told me he had just done #2 in the potty all.by.him.self. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! HURRAY! EUREKA! SUCCESS!

The rest of the day was a gleaming success and day 5 has been the same. He’s doing more and more by himself, no help in the least. And I am so relieved!

I’m so glad that I took the opportunity he presented me with on Monday, even though it wasn’t what I had planned for the week. And now? I have 3 months of blissful diaper-freeness. It’s my blog. I can make up words like freeness.

___________________________________________

When you decide to become a stay-at-home parent, you enter into a different realm — one ruled by illogical two-year-old dictators, school schedules, and choosing the correct color yogurt. As much as I can explain this to my husband, I don’t know that I’m getting through. Now I’ve done the next best thing: creating a list of questions that will help him and other office-bound parents gauge how (cough, cough) similar their days are to ours.

1. When you walked into work this morning and pleasantly greeted your co-worker Jim, was his first reaction to scream “NO! WANT JASON!” followed by an office supply being thrown at you?
2. Has a colleague ever climbed up on your lap while you were using your computer and slammed the keyboard with both fists until the up arrow no longer worked?
3. Do you have to lock yourself in the supply closet or bathroom on a regular basis in order to make phone calls?
4. Did you finish a complete thought at any time during the day?
5. When you went out to lunch with your fellow workers, did you have to pack a diaper/juice/extra outfit for them? Did you have to wipe their faces? Smile an apology and leave an extra tip for the waiter on their behalf?
6. When a co-worker needed you for something, did she sit at her desk with her head tilted back toward the ceiling and repeatedly scream “SEAN! SEEEEANNNN! SEAAAAAAN!” until you came to find him?
7. When you needed a specific colleague, did you search all over for him, only to finally find him giggling in the cabinet under the sink? Did you also find six pairs of your church shoes under there with him?
8. Have you had to come to an associate’s aid because she fell off her desk after trying to climb on top of it using a rolling chair?
9. When you reached for the report a co-worker was handing you, did he snatch them away at the last second and scream “MINE!” while shoving you backwards?
10. Does your colleague lift up her shirt and pick things out of her belly button every time she comes over to ask a question?
11. While you are using the restroom, do various co-workers come in the stall and ask you to settle a disagreement or open a packet of fruit snacks?
12. During a board meeting when everyone is present, do you notice a smell and then have to check all your colleagues’ pants to locate it? In fact, at ANY point in your day do you have to deal with another person’s feces?

If the answer to most of these questions is no, it’s a safe bet to assume you’re in an office. That said, if your answer to most of these questions is yes, and you know you’re in an office, it’s safe to assume you might need a new job.

potty time

There’s a good story that goes a long with it, promise. But for now I’m chasing a little Chase around the house, trying to keep up with the 17 month old I’m watching, getting kids out the door for school, planning retreats and managing conflict in my own life. Never a dull moment around here.

So tomorrow I will post for Wordless Wednesday and then I will try to be back for a Friday post. Stay tuned for some bathroom humor!

All morning long, my boys have been begging me to go out in the frigid temps to “play” in the little bit of snow that’s out there. I told them they could definitely play in it, but not until I was better ready for the day. My eldest son (Cooper, 6) asked me what I needed to get done so that could happen and I told him. A little while later, when I was doing my hair, he asked me what was left on the list.

“I need to finish my hair and unload the dishwasher and then you guys can go out.”

He looked at me with his big brown eyes and sweetly said, “I’ll unload the dishwasher for you!”

I cracked up laughing, “Ok! You can try! Do your best”.

A few minutes later, I walked into the kitchen, tickled pink to see the boys working together to get the job done. The youngest, (Chase, 2) had offered his assistance. The eldest told him to take things out of the dishwasher and put them on the counters and then he would put them away. Teamwork.

Sigh. My heart was flooded with love at their sweetness. Sure, they wanted something. But they helped me with happy hearts, they worked together joyfully and they beamed with pride at their work when I walked into the room.

I gave them some money, (just because I wanted to) and thanked them for their help.

Did they do it all right? Nope. My silverware drawer is totally messed up. I’m sure I’ll continue to find things that were misplaced. But they didn’t break anything!

I don’t think that I would always have let the boys do this with such a playful and whimsical heart. Something in me would be worried that they would hurt themselves on a knife, break a glass and step on it, or fall off the counter top/chair pushed up to the counter.

But someone once told me, a mom of eight children in fact, that your children SHOULD help you. That one of the best marks of a good mom is that she has the skill and wisdom of delegation. And not only the ability to delegate, but the ability to correct what was done incorrectly with love and kindness rather than shame and condescension. (Which I should do later about the silverware drawer.)

I am so grateful for the lessons I’ve learned from others.  I don’t have it all together and I know I’ll still mess up and do something hurtful they’ll remember forever. But the things I’ve been told make me a better mom and they give me an opportunity to have moments like I had today with my boys.

So you tell me now, what has someone once told you that impacted your parenting?

Evidence of our fun snow day

At least I can still see my toes a little...right?

Ahh…Monday. Hi there.

This morning at roughly 4 am I was awoken by the shrill voice of an almost-three-year old crying out in the night “MY NOSE IS RUNNING! MY NOSE IS RUNNING! MY NOSE IS RUNNING!”

By the third time he said it, I had catapulted my six-months pregnant body out of bed, to the bathroom to get a tissue and into his room. I handed him the tissue and decided I needed to go to the bathroom. As I walked out and turned off the lights, there he was, standing there (in a very children-of-the-corn way) and scared me half to death. He told me in his sleepy, squeaky voice “I scared, I sweep in bed wif you guys”. I comply because frankly, I’m still half asleep.

Then, the baby inside my womb decides she’s awake! It’s party time! And she begins doing Lord-knows-what inside my womb as I try relentlessly to go back to sleep sandwiched in our ever-shrinking bed between The Man and the little man. Sigh.

The Man wakes up and says, “what’s this on his face? it looks red.” Who can see colors in the dark? Apparently he can. I turn on a light to discover dried blood all over the little man’s face. It wasn’t a runny nose, it was a bloody nose. Clean up begins.

Finally done with the commotion, I laid back down in an attempt to fall back to sleep. I laid there for one-hour with my mind racing.

And the baby having a dance party.

And the almost three-year-old flopping around.

I got up and got some milk and tried to go back to sleep again.

Finally, around 5 or 5:30 am, I think I fell back to sleep.

The problem is that it’s Monday. As I fell back into a deep sleep early in the morning, waking up at 6:30 am seemed impossible. Apparently it was. My hubby woke me up at 7:15 am to say he was leaving! AH! I hadn’t even heard him wake up!

We all managed to get up and get out of the house without rushing. Cooper was off to school and Chase and I came back to the house to get our morning started.

Only now, I want to take a nap.

Ahh….Monday.

When Cooper, our eldest was born, I started a little journal for him. I did the same when Chase came along. I don’t write in them nearly as often as I used to or still want to in my heart and in my head. I keep them by my bed just in case though. This blog has taken a lot of that away, but it’s all right with me. I still enjoy looking up past stories in both places.

Lately, Cooper’s compassion and thoughtfulness has especially begun to blossom.  Two days ago, Cooper alerted me to the carpet in his bedroom and how dirty it was. I don’t hang out in there often so I hadn’t noticed all the dried mud (courtesy of the lovely spring-like weather we’re having) speckling the floor. I told him that I would be happy to get in there and vacuum if he would kindly put his toys away so I could get to the dirt. It was late when we had that original conversation. It wasn’t actually until the next afternoon after school that he reminded me of the mess and I reminded him what needed to be done so I could fix it. He happily complied and even brought me in to show me how great he had done.  I thanked him and told him he could go do whatever it was he had asked to do next and I let him know I would clean the carpet. The next thing I know I hear grunting and a chunking-sort-of sound on the stairs. I walk over to see Cooper, in all his 6-year-old strength, wrestling the big vacuum cleaner up the stairs from the basement for me. I didn’t ask him to get it, he just thought he would do it for me.

Of course, my heart completely melted at that point. I kissed and hugged him and thanked him for such thoughtfulness. (It is a pain to hike up those stairs 6 months pregnant carrying a vacuum!)

While I deeply enjoy reaping the rewards of such a sweet heart, the best part is that Chase, his little brother, is watching and imitating his brother. Hallelujah, praise the Lord! For a while I was beginning to think he’d be permanently crabby. He has begun to show compassion for others when they are hurt or sick, he is beginning to celebrate other people’s accomplishments and encourage them when something is difficult. He is even beginning to apologize when he sees me very upset with him. It’s  hard to stay mad at giant downcast brown eyes, chubby cheeks, fluffy, perfect curls and little lips puckered in an apology.

Chase has been notorious for withholding kisses and hugs. He’s not one to hand them out freely. But lately, he has been hugging and kissing us and telling us he loves us completely of his own volition. It’s down right melty when he’s been so stingy about them in the past!

Best of all, the boys have been very kind and loving towards one another. Jeremy and I believe that the only way to have children who have good relationships with their siblings is to teach them HOW to do that. Meaning, in our home it is not ok to be mean to one another, it is not ok to yell at each other, it is not ok to call each other names, absolutely under no circumstances do we hit one another, we stick up for one another, we look out for one another, we give, we share, we love!

I think those traits are just graven in Cooper’s heart. But Chase has had a rough go with that sort of stuff. It’s finally turning around and the result is making Jeremy and I so crazy in love with them! Chase eagerly awaits his brother’s return from school each day. But at the beginning of the school year he couldn’t wait to get rid of him and was awful to him when he got home. Now he talks about his brother all day long and follows him like a shadow for the remainder of the night. Chase insists on sitting next to his brother at dinner and has a huge fit if we don’t allow it.

All of these things make my mommy heart glow. I’m so excited to welcome a little girl into a place where love and fun are present. I think her brothers will love her madly. I know it’ll change our family dynamics, but I think it’ll make us all the more loving and fun.

Sometimes, being a grown up really stinks. But watching children grow and being a part of this family make me feel like my home is a sanctuary, like our family is something very special and like God has really blessed us. It’s just easier to go out into the world when you have a place like that to call home and to always come back to for refreshment.

I like the blue for the whole room paint color and the others as accents

I like the blue for the whole room on this color swatch too

So, I need someone who can sew...

Just the dandelions