My mind (mindless mix)

This morning I woke up to Ian and John arguing about the bathroom light. It was too bright for Ian in the early morning darkness and he wanted to turn on the hall light instead. John (from bed) insisted that he turn on the bathroom light and close the door so as not to wake up JJ. Have you ever heard an arguement between a half-asleep man and a three-year-old who has to go to the bathroom? No actual logic involved.


Got Husband off to school. Called him 1 minute later to come back and get his lunch. Emptied the dishwasher between cereal bites. It is pouring outside, filling the house with a delicious scent and I'm already twitchy with the thought of being stuck inside all day. Start making notes on the chalkboard - ideas of things to do to keep us all sane.


The boys run up and down the hall while I do breakfast dishes. They jump on my bed while I put away the last of the clean clothes, folded neatly in a laundry basket. My stomach starts cramping again (note to self, ask the doctor about that at appointment next week).


Sitting on the floor in the hall to sort dirty laundry, I notice the fingerprints all over the bathroom doorjamb. How did it get so dirty? Ian climbs on the bathroom cupboard and begins "cleaning" the mirror with a medicine dropper and a washcloth. JJ overturns the laundry basket to make climbing on and off my bed easier.


With my trusty new weapon, Clorox disinfecting wipes, I tackle the doorjamb. (I love disinfecting wipes! I could write sonnets about those things.) Then I notice the bathroom door also needs some attention, and the door to the coat closet. I scrub off something sticky and unrecognizable, trying not to think about what it might have been. I admire my work. I had forgotten it was supposed to be white. Finally starting the first batch of laundry, I notice the washing machine is also coated with a fine layer of dirtiness. Back for more disinfecting wipes. Ahhh, that looks so much better, but the cracks are full of grime. Note to self: come back with more wipes and also q-tips. Is that normal? (Hmm, maybe that is what I should be talking to the doctor about.)


So you may have to pass the scrapbook stuff I left scattered over the table last night, trip over 50 some odd cars and trucks and wade through the piles of laundry, but next time you stop by, notice that my bathroom door is clean.

Things I said to my children this week

(I am not making any of this up)

• Take the caterpillar outside

• Don't kick, push, pull, splash, hit, jump on, throw things at your brother

• Don't suck on the pinecone

• Don't lick the floor, your shirt, the cement, Uncle Spencer

• Spit out the pinecone

• Ignore Daddy, he is just teasing

• Give Mommy the pinecone

• I love you

Whatever you say, Dear

The other night after brushing my teeth and the rest of my bedtime stuff I turned off the bathroom light and climbed into bed beside my husband, who was reading his scriptures and laughing to himself. "What is so funny?" I ask.
"Well," says he, "I was thinking of how how funny it would be if I turned off our bedroom light as you turned off the bathroom light and jumped out and scared you. But then I thought, no, I won't scare her. . . . I must be growing up. I'm so mature."

Boys

Boys are found everywhere. .

On top of,

underneath,

inside of,

climbing on,

swinging from,

running around,

or jumping to.

A boy is Truth with dirt on his nose,

Beauty with a cut on his finger,

Wisdom with bubblegum in his hair,

and the Hope of the Future with a frog in his pocket.

by Alan Marshall Beck

This is the poem and pictures I gave to "the mothers" for Mother's day this year. (Yes, I am one of those mothers who thinks her kids are the most adorable ever - but they are!)

Our Mother's day was pretty low key. No presents or breakfast in bed. I spent church trying not to cry while the speakers talked about how wonderful mothers are. All I could think was that all these mothers were able to carry their children and my body killed mine. Fortunately, keeping the kids quiet in church was pretty distracting, so I couldn't listen very well, and managed to control my irrational thoughts.

John and I are very lucky to have both our mothers and all but one grandmother still with us. We are also lucky that they live so close to us, but it meant that we had to visit FIVE grandmas this year. It was fun, but also exhausting and I felt like we didn't really get to visit with anyone because we were rushing off to visit someone else.

I have seen the future

I was making dinner and JJ started singing to Ian:
"Doo Doo Ian! Doo Doo Ian!" no real tune, just a little chant
"Doo Doo Ian! Doo Doo Ian!" and following him around.
The predictable reply came: "Don't say Ian! I don't want you to say my name!"
followed naturally by: "Doo Doo Eion!" and a lot of giggling on JJ's part.
It starts.

Memories

So last week while Ivan was out of town and I was still pretty drained from my recent hospital stay, my boys and I spent a couple of days at my parents' house. It was strange. Not my parents - they are great and it was wonderful to hand off the kids to my little brother and sister and let them all run around together. (Every toddler needs a teenager to hang out with and vice versa.) And we've spent nights at my parent's before, but this was the first time that we stayed in my old room.
So there I was, staring up at the same light fixture that I stared up at all through Jr. High and High School, with my children snoring lightly on a mattress on the floor. It was a little surreal. I never imagined then that I would be where I am now, but I know I never imagined anything better. I don't really feel like I am a different person now than I was then. If anything, I'm more me somehow. I was too worried about what other people would think of me to really be myself back then. And I keep saying "back then" like it was so long ago. It wasn't, but so much has happened, it feels like a long time. The last time I slept in that room was the night before my wedding. (Hmmm, I was missing John then too. I'm sensing a pattern.)
Part of me was waiting for my sister to come wake me up for scripture study and school. It brought back a lot of memories of what I felt when I lived there - not really any specific experiences, so it was a lot of things I hadn't thought about for a while.
It was interesting and I recommend trying it sometime; if you still can, and if the stay is only temporary.
And I'm wondering something I have not thought about in years: "What happened to my teddy bear?"