Temporary Mom day 7

May 9 9:12am
First off, I feel a lot better this morning!  Yay!  So I can have a good day :)
Sammy is in the bath again.  He loves baths so much haha
Another funny thing that I've noticed this week is that I find myself talking to everyone in a bit of a mommy accent.  You know.. Oh heyy! How ARE you? Oh WOWWW! That's so cool!   I bet other people understand when they see my entourage.

5:31pm
The kids are getting piano lessons downstairs.  I feel kind of awkward because Sammy's asleep on the couch and I was just reading in the kitchen feeling useless and awkward around the teacher..  So I'm pretending to be busy or something now.  Ha.
So today's been pretty normal.  The kids went off to school and then Sammy had another bath.  Then we went to the YMCA and he got to play outside with a bunch of kids while I sat on the bike for 20 minutes and lifted and stretched.  It felt amazing!  I promised him that he could pick out a toy car at Target after the YMCA because he didn't get up and bug David and stayed in bed all night!  So we went to Target and he got another car from the movie Cars.  We also got more candy prizes for the other kids because they were so nice this morning and they could definitely earn a prize by the end of the day.  Then Sammy and I had lunch and played PlayDoh until we had to get David.  Then we played PlayDoh some more and some more and some more and they just couldn't get enough today!  But then Sammy got bored after McKay and Natalie got home and started to play along too.  So we put in a movie and he fell right asleep.  Now I'm playing guitar and trying to write a song.  Songwriting can be really frustrating sometimes.  I feel like I have a lot to say, but nothing's coming out right.  Ah man..  I guess putting the computer away and playing would help.

10:17pm
I just did a victory lap around the house.  Partly because I had to turn out the lights, but mostly because I'm awesome.
Sammy slept through dinner.
After dinner, Natalie and David went outside to play with the neighbors.  McKay was playing games on my iPhone, so I pulled out my art supplies and started messing around in my sketchbook.  Eventually, McKay got curious.  So he came over and started collaging with me.  His turned out really cool!  Then David and Natalie came in and they got into it too!  I love when kids get into crafts :)  We only had one pair of scissors though so that was an issue.  But it worked out and everything turned out well.  Natalie didn't let me take a picture of hers though because she says it isn't finished.  But here are McKay's and David's!

Close up!  I really like how this turned out.  I'm impressed.

He wants to frame it.

Front side

Those things are bunnies.  While he was drawing he kept saying "bunnies are falling from the sky!"

Oh!  So why did I do a victory lap around the house?  I'll tell you!
Sammy was still asleep on the couch by the time I was herding the others off to bed.  So while they were getting ready, I called my mom.  I needed motherly advice.
"Mom. Sammy's been asleep on the couch since 5 and I don't know what to do!"
"What do you mean?"
"Do I move him or let him sleep there?"
"Move him now!  Or he'll freak out in the morning.  Either way he'll be up early.  Do it after the other kids are in bed and the house is dark."
Good advice.
So I sang and read to the kids.  We prayed and did a little "Sure love ya" cheer (which is a super cute thing their family does every night) and I got everyone settled.
Then I got in my pajamas and headed cautiously over to where Sammy was sleeping.  I gently slid my hands under him and cradled him upstairs.  I had left his door and his covers open and ready so I just walked in, laid him down and..
It worked!  He didn't even open his eyes!  I actually checked to make sure he was still breathing I was so surprised.  I didn't wake him at all!
Then I did the well deserved victory lap.

Temporary Mom Section C

May 8 7:17pm
I'm so tired....
I thought it'd be a good idea to go to the yoga class at the YMCA today while Sammy was at preschool.  But now I wish I had taken a nap.  It was a good class, but the kids are running wild, I feel sick and I haven't had a quiet moment all day.  I got home after I ran to get a few groceries after yoga with just enough time to shower and wash the morning dishes (I made pancakes).  Then Sammy was brought home from his lunch out with Erin's friend, Kim.  Then Sammy and I played trains for a long time.  Then I got up and went to the bathroom and when I came back, he was mad at me.  So he started throwing trains and destroyed the really cool track we had made the other day.  So I decided that it was time to get in the car.  I got him to sleep faster than I thought I would so I got to read while we were waiting in the car for David to get out of school.  Then I ran inside and picked him up.  Sammy stayed asleep until we got home.  But he woke up when I got him out of his seat.  I thought he was wide awake, but he headed up to his room.  I tucked him in and told David to do some school work.  I thought I'd .e free to sit and play my guitar for a little bit but then David said he was done and asked if he could watch a some cartoons.  So I some in (they don't have TV. Just movies. Which is pretty cool) and almost as soon as I went back upstairs, I heard little foot steps running down the stairs.  So I went back downstairs and asked Sammy if he was tired.  He said no.  They finished watching a couple cartoons and then we decided to go to the pond.  At first we were feeling the fish happily but then they stared to fight over sticks and threw fits and I was kind of finished.  So I continued to feed the fish until the bread and cold french fries were gone.  Then when they asked for stuff to lure the fish in (they thought they'd lure them in and kill them with their sticks), I showed them that it was all gone.  They decided it was time to go home.  So we walked once around the pond and left, the little boys fighting the whole way home.
Then we got out PlayDoh.  They played alright but still fought, as they always do with PlayDoh.  Oh well.  I sat near by and read my book.  I didn't feel like I could do anything about it but make sure fists weren't thrown.  Then the other kids got home.  I was hoping they'd play with David and Sammy and I could get a little break, but Natalie played outside with her friend Emily and McKay played Legos in his room.  He's pretty to himself and I get that.
Then I got everyone to play outside and we got a lot of neighbor kids playing too.  Sammy scraped his knees a few times, made a fuss, got some attention and was right back to normal.   They were all playing pretty nicely.  And I just sat and watched.  I wasn't feeling up for much so I was happy to watch.  They looked happy :)
We ate our dinner outside.  They asked why I wasn't eating and I told them I felt sick.  They said that I might just need to eat but I assured them that pizza wasn't the answer haha
Then we went inside.  Sammy went back to PlayDoh and so did David and Natalie.  They were being so loud and yelling and fighting and I finally asked David and Natalie to leave.  They asked what they could do.
"Anything."
"Anything?"
"Yes.  Anything outside of this kitchen."
"Take someone's toys?"
"Why not?"
"Burn a house down?"
"Just not this one."
"Murder someone?'
"Sure. Just not someone I know."
"Rob a bank?"
"I'd be impressed if you did."
By now they were laughing like crazy.  They kept spitting out the craziest ideas and trying to one up each other.  After that game was done, I told them to keep an eye on Sammy.  I had to at least lay down for a little while.  So here I am.  Head pounding and will broken.  It doesn't sound like a hard day, but it just was for some reason.  I've learned a few things today though-

Mental health is strongly tied to physical well being- if I hadn't felt awful all day, I could have made the kids happier today.  Or at least been able to handle it better.

Boys are born with one idea in their head: Capture and destroy.



9:17pm
I had a few more funny things to say about today but I forget them now.  After I wrote that last part I decided to actually lay down.  When the kids finished the movie they put on, I helped them all get in bed.  They went to bed really easily because they could see I didn't feel well.  Thank goodness.
Today was a boring post.
But then again, it's just friends who read this.  Hi friends!

Sammy wanted Mickey Mouse and a bear.  He had already eaten the bear's arm by the time I got out my phone.

Natalie got a heart (..Take a bite of my heart tonight.. oh oh..)

A picture of McKay! Yay!  I made him a swirl.  It looked cool and I with I had thought to take a picture of it.

Here's David's face.  He kept changing it up but he finally decided on a smilie with a handlebar mustache.

We looked at the bird's nest again today to see if anything had changed. No birds yet!

Temporary Mom pt 2

May 7  8:38am
Sunday went on pretty well.  Did I mention yesterday that I got them to church 10 minutes early?  The guy sitting behind us asked if I was the baby sitter.  I said I was.  He asked how old I was and if I was still in college.  I said I was.  He was really impressed that I had all the kids there early and dressed.  If only he had seen what amazing effort it took and knew that we were only early because I thought it took longer to get to their church. haha
But yes.  Sunday went on pretty well.  I bribed the kids with the bag of treats Erin left.  We made pizza for dinner and the kids have never eaten so much food!  They love that pizza!  Natalie even taught Sammy how to drink out of his little tea cup with his pinkie out (he stuck the pinkie out on the hand he wasn't using, but it was close enough).  They were being so good and nice that they all got to pick one prize from the bag of treats.  Then I noticed that no one picked up the Lion King DVD.  Erin had told me that she bought it and that she didn't think any of the kids had seen it.  So I decided that I got a prize too.  I was good in church too!  So we opened that and ate our Sunday ice cream and sat down to watch my favorite Disney movie.  Sammy was the only one who got kind of bored.  But he just went off and played with his prize (one of those little vibrating bugs that runs around.  He loves them).  Then it was time for bed.  I still have a hard time putting them in bed.  I feel like a jerk every time I tell Sammy that if he's not good he won't get a treat the next day.  I know it's silly.. But I feel mean!  I don't yell, but I feel bad every time I'm the smallest bit mean to him.  Then when they were all in bed, we called their parents.  They passed the phone around and all got a chance to talk to them.  Then it was lights out.  It was the earliest I had gotten them to bed yet!  I was so proud.

The kids just left for school and Sammy is in the bath again.  His mom said that he only really needs one once a week, but he asked for another one.  They keep him entertained and I found the bubble bath soap.  So he's basically drowning in bubbles right now and having a blast :)
But I had to just type something down really quick.
While the tub was filling up, I was reading Sammy "Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse".  When she said that she wanted to be a teacher when she grew up, I asked Sammy what he wanted to be.
"Uh.. A fish!"
"Oh really?"
"Yeah. A BAD fish!"
"Well ok but-"
"With pointy teeth!"
Then when Lilly said she wanted to be a suba diver, he asked me what that was.
"It's someone who goes under water and looks at fish."
"Ohhh.. Fish like me?"
"Yes Sammy. Fish just like you"

9:31am
The bath is finally winding down.  We're letting the water drain for a bit so we can wash the bubbles off.  Apparently the bath got cold because Sammy just said "I'm like a popsicle in here!" He's a funny kid.

3:30pm
After his bath, we played trains and ate lunch.  Then I went to a yoga class at the YMCA at noon and Sammy went to the day care.  I came back and he was having a grand old time.  So I went and ran for 10 minutes.  Then I picked him up, he asked if he could play at McDonalds.  So we went there and he got a little snack of chicken nuggets, or what they claimed were chicken nuggets (ok ok no soap box. I promise).  He played there for a good half hour.  There were a few more kids there that he made friends with.  And there were two high school boys playing really nicely with their little brother.  It was cute.  But one kept looking at me.  Then his little brother asked Sammy to play hide and go seek with them.  Then the older brother asked if I wanted to play.  I felt weird, but I said yes so I could kind of keep an eye on him.  Then we started playing, the older boy was counting down.  Then he started seeking.  He was calling out for his little brother but I ran almost head first into him around a little corner.  He said "Nope! Not Tommy. I just spy a cute girl." winked, and crawled on.  SO AWKWARD.  Did he not hear Sammy calling me mommy?  I thought that would scare him off.  (Sammy has started calling me mommy when he's happy.  When he's mad at me he just calls me poopy pants.)  Then we had to go get David from school anyway so I had an excuse to leave.
As we were walking out the door I asked Sammy if he made some new friends.
"Yeah! And besides- we're friends."
Yes! I reached a new level :)

While we were all driving home, my CD was playing, as usual.  When the first song started playing again (you know... "I Don't Want To Be Your Girlfriend), Sammy asked me
"Are you a girlfriend?"
I laughed "Noooo."
"Well.... Are you a girl?"
"Yeah."
"Are you a friend?"
"Yeah! We're friends!"
"Well then you're a girl friend!"
He's one smart kid!

Now we're home.  We were outside on the swing and David noticed a blue egg on the porch.  So we went to investigate.  It was smooshed and broken and Sammy said it made him sad.  I figured that it must have come from one of the hanging plants above.  I got a stool and we looked.  There was a nest f! So I brought the plant down and we all looked at it.  They loved it!  They want to check on it every day to see if there's baby birds.  I hope they hatch while I'm here!  Oh I'd love that as much as them.

9:09pm
Oh boy.  Bed time is still a charmer.  David and Sammy came in as soon as I pulled out my computer.  Maybe ignoring them until they go back to there room will work...

So after the bird's nest, I made vegan cookies (but with real chocolate chips).  That's so we could eat a lot of the cookie dough and make about half of the cookies.  haha They loved them!  Score!  Sammy was asleep the while time I made cookies.  The mixer didn't wake him up.  The other kids were even running around the house and screaming and he stayed asleep.  He's a very hard sleeper.  Then I made dinner: Macaroni and a fruit smoothie.  The blender woke Sammy up.  But they all loved the smoothies!  It was great!  But the smoothie was the brightest color of pink/purple that I have ever seen.

Ignoring didn't work.  Sammy is lecturing me on how I can't sleep in mommy's bed.  Oop.  Now I'm not allowed to his birthday party anymore.  He's been telling me all week how I'm invited to his birthday party.  "Everyone is invited to my party.  Even the twin girls.  But NO babies.  Babies are not allowed to my party."

So anyway the bright colored smoothie!  I knew it'd be trouble.  The thought turned out to be foreshadowing of events to come.

Sammy and David just came in again.

As I was saying it-

And again.

9:45pm
So Sammy and David decided that I had to sleep in their room with them.  I promised that I'd stay for a bit and we'd have a sleep over soon.  I just barely escaped.

So!  The smoothie!  The kids were all at the table and making Sammy laugh.  After he said the prayer, they all gave him high fives and I told them to be careful of their smoothies anddd... Sammy's got knocked onto the white carpet.  They all jumped up and ran to "help".  Sammy started wailing because he thought it was his fault.  David and Natalie ran to get rags while I shouted at McKay to get stain remover and diverted his path.  He came back with some while the other kids seemed to be just rubbing the bright purple color into the floor.  I finally got their attention and told them to back away.  I had this.  Just go eat your food PLEASE.  They all wanted to be helpful.  (They really just wanted their prize.)  But too many little hands being helpful is quite the oposite.  So they sat down and I started spraying away.  Only after I coated the purple carpet in the spray did I look at the label- laundry stain remover.  Shoot.  So I ran to get another wet rag and started scrubbing at it furiously because my biggest nightmare would be that laundry stain remover ruins carpets or something.  Luckily, the stain came right out.  Add that to the list of helpful things I've learned this week.

Then Sammy decided he wasn't hungry and wanted to play trains.  I just wanted him happy.  So I took my salad into the room where his trains were.  He sat on my lap and played while my salad hovered over his head and I shoveled it all in.  After that, the kids put on Cars and I did the dishes.  Then the fight for bedtime and I read a book and sang to them and blah blah blah...  Here are some more pictures from the week with them so far!

Thursday lunch with Sammy

Thursday PlayDoh

Found out about the "car trick"

Finishing his nap on the couch

Helping David on his math homework

Friday piano recital

I felt like one of the parents at the recital..

Painting Saturday afternoon

I just realized that I didn't get any pictures of the birds nest!  Or of McKay!  I'll make sure that happens.  They're such cute kids.
Good night!

Temporary Mom

So on May 2nd, I flew to Saint Louis to babysit my cousins while their parents are in Hawaii. I've decided to keep a journal for the 10 days that I am their temporary mom.  I wasn't going to share these with anyone but I bet they're going to be pretty interesting.  I already feel like I'm learning something important.


May 3  10:52am
I just got a shower after dropping Sammy and David off at their schools.  Sammy only has preschool on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  I don't know when I'll shower during his stay at home days.  It's only the first day and I've already forgotten Sammy's backpack.  Mom's telling me that it's hard to be a stay at home mom.  I'm already feeling shaky.  I want to be good at this.  But jumping into being a mom of 4 is kind of overwhelming.
Natalie and McKay are old enough to handle themselves but the younger two have a bit of a harder time.  They already fought this morning.  David won a lady bug board game and Sammy threw a fit.  I wish I could get in David's head and make his realize that it'd be easier for all of us if we just let Sammy win all the time.
It's kind of funny- to calm him down on the way to school, David told me to put my CD on during the car ride.  After a couple songs, Sammy stopped crying.  I have a feeling I'll be listening to my own album a lot the next week and a half.
Oh man.  Now it's time to just sit and read.


May 4  12:17pm
After Sammy got back from preschool yesterday, he was happier (thank goodness).  We played PlayDoh for a really long time and ate lunch and then we got in the car to pick up David from school at 2.  That's when I discovered that car rides are the key!  He fell right asleep!  It was amazing!  Then he slept on the couch while David did his home school homework, ate a snack and played with the PlayDoh.  Then Sammy started to wake up and David decided to play video games.  Sammy just sat on the couch where he was sleeping and watched.  It was wonderful.  But then Sammy discovered that David had made a ship out of "his" PlayDoh.  He claimed ownership out of it because he had mixed so many colors that it was a whole new color.  But David said it was everyone's PlayDoh but HIS ship and he wanted it to harden so he could sail it.  So there was quite a fuss over that.  Until David got annoyed and agreed to let Sammy play with it.
The older two kids got home at 4:30.  School goes so late now!  I don't know when that happened.
Then all the kids played outside with the neighbor kids while I cooked dinner.  Tacos.  Yum.  Apparently I can make decent ground beef even without tasting it (I'm a vegetarian.  I promised mom that I wouldn't let the kids notice or I might convert them).  Then I dropped Natalie and McKay at the church for scouts and activity day.  I entertained the youngest two for a while until they demanded a movie.  So we put on UP.  When we got back from picking up the oldest, it was already 8:45.  So I told them we needed to all go to bed.  But they wanted to watch a little bit more of the movie.  I'm such a sucker.  I just want everybody happy.  So I said ok.  After the house gets through the storm.  Then we all went to bed.  I got everyone's teeth brushed, pajamas on, and read to before 9:30.  But then the phone rang.  Natalie shot up and ran to go get it.  My first thought was "Shoot. It's probably her parents.  They'll think I'm awful and letting them stay up way past bed time."  It was their parents.  She talked with them for a while and then she let me.  Erin says it's hard to get them to bed, but setting a timer and bribing them with a song or story works.  I'll have to be better about that tonight...

So today!  I set my alarm for 6:30 am.  The kids are supposed to wake up at 7 so I thought that'd be enough time to shower before I had to take care of Sammy.  Wrong.  My alarm went off and I squirmed in bed for a few minutes.  Then Sammy came sneaking in and jumped up in bed with me.  He was talking and talking and just as happy as can be.  How could I be upset?  Then he asked me to read him a book so I did.  Then I asked Natalie to watch him while I showered really quickly.  I took the fastest shower known to man.  Then, while I was drying my hair, there was a persistent thundering at the door.  I ran to the door and Natalie had Sammy.  She said "Show her!"  First he showed me his hand with PlayDoh all under his nails.  Then he lifted his other hand and showed me how clean they were.  Natalie was doing his nails.  And you could tell he was super pleased with it.  So while I was finishing my hair, Natalie and Sammy sat behind me and finished his nails.  Then we all ran downstairs to make waffles.  (I was going to yesterday morning but I couldn't find the oil.  I found it this morning.  I'm moving up as a temp!)  Now the kids are all at school and Sammy and I are watching Scooby-Doo meets Batman.  He got a really long bath after the kids left.  Then we played trains.  Then he got pizza for lunch!  Isn't he just a spoiled little kid?

May 5 1:54pm
Yesterday after Scooby-Doo and trains, Sammy and I went and picked up David at 2.  Then, as soon as we got home, the boys were picked up by a friend of Erin's.  Then I got to go back to the elementary school just in time for "Tea with Mom" with Natalie.  It was weird being mom for a mothers' day thing.  I could see why being a mom is so cool :)  It was so cute!  I felt bad that Erin couldn't be there, but I video taped all of the program and I saved all of the cute things Natalie made.  Then we went hom at 4. Sammy and David got dropped back off soon after we got home.  Then McKay arrived via school bus.  Then I helped him finish packing for his scout camp and he got picked up for that by a friend's mom.  Then I made David and Natalie practice their piano songs as Sammy's baby sitter arrived.  She was a little bit late so we had to run like mad to David and Natalie's piano recital.  It was half an hour away but we got there just a few minutes early.  Phew!  After their recital (yes I recorded that too) all of the kids from the recital went to Pizza Street (I wonder if strangers think I was a teen mom...) so we went there too.  Before we went home, we stopped a Michael's.  I decided that today could be craft day.  So they each picked out some little wood thing to paint and we picked Sammy and McKay each something too.  When we got home, the babysitter said that Sammy had been asleep since 6.  Ahhhh man.  That means he'll wake up early. Great.  Then I found out that I had to drive her home.  So I left Natalie with sleeping Sammy, put David in the car and drove her home.  When we got back, I played Natalie and David a song, David read me a book, and I read them one.  Then I finally got them to bed a little after 9.  Geez.  I need to get them to sleep earlier.

At 4am this morning, I heard something.  It wasn't just the thunder outside.  So I turned over and saw someone standing inches from my face.  I screamed a little and realized it was just Natalie.  She said she was scared.  So I let her get in bed with me.  Then at 5am I heard something else.  It was David, followed closely by a very awake Sammy.  David said, very sleepily, that Sammy had woken him up. Sammy denied it and they both got in bed.  While the rest of us were trying to sleep, Sammy kept crawling on everyone.  So Natalie was the first to leave.  Then I told David that if we pretended to be asleep, Sammy might fall asleep.  So we tried.  Sammy got bored of us ignoring him and left.  Then a few minutes later, I felt like I should check on Sammy so I got up and saw that he was just outside the door, waiting for me.  So I let David sleep and went to play with Sammy.  We decided to watch Tom and Jerry downstairs.  I put the movie on and David came down.  Then I curled up on the couch and slept while they watched.
When Natalie came down, we ate cereal.  Then after playing with trains and attempting to play a few games, we got the paint out.  Sammy was so excited to paint his fish.  David said that he loved painting, but kept getting frustrated and leaving the room only to come back as excited as ever to paint.
When our things were painted, we decided to go to the pond with a picnic.  They wanted Lunchables.  I made a vegetarian sandwich for myself.  When we got outside, we realized it was super hot and sunny.  And this is Missouri.  It HOT.  And the air is made of water.  Ug.  I felt like I was swimming.  But we found a shady spot to eat and feed the ducks and turtles.  Then Sammy fell on the way home.  He scraped up his knees but nothing else.  When he was sitting on the potty, he claimed that he couldn't walk anymore.  So I had to help him off the toilet and then watch as he dramatically limped to the table to play Sorry with David.  After a game of Sorry, I put Sammy in the car and he fell asleep in a matter of minutes.  It was great!  I love that!  And the other kids are watching Singing in the Rain.  It's been a nice little Saturday after all.


May 6 10:38am
Sammy woke up in a panic.  He was sobbing and calling out for his mom.  I ran into his room and tried to help but it just made him cry harder.  So we decided to face time his mom.  She tried to calm him down and got him to talk to her for a little bit.  But as soon as she said good bye, he started to bawl all over again.  So we decided to play outside with Natalie.  Then they went inside and played trains while I made dinner.  Tilapia with brown rice for Natalie and McKay (oh yeah. McKay got hom from scouts dripping wet because he jumped in the lake), quinoa and blueberries for David, chicken nuggets for Sammy and a huge spinach salad and the left over quinoa for me.  I got them to eat kind of healthy for one meal!  Then they played video games for a bit while I washed the dishes.  Then we all piled in the car and went to get ice cream at Fritz's or something like that.  When we came home, we watched Horton Hears a Who.  Sammy started to fall asleep by the end of the movie.  I thought that would make for an easy bed time.  But when it ended, David got him all riled up again.  So it was a struggle to put them down for the night.  I keep getting them to bed late.  Bed time is 8.  But I keep getting them in around 9.  It's such a bummer..

Sammy crawled into bed with me at 6 again this morning.  I keep thinking that he'll sleep in since he gets to bed so late.  Oh well.  Today we've already played trains, had breakfast, painted some more of our wooden things and they're watching a few cartoons.  David is supposed to be getting in the showed (he told me he can do it all by himself) but I think I just heard him run back downstairs.

12:25pm
Getting out the door for church is such a breeze.    hahaha

5:53pm
In church today, Sammy turned to me and stared.  Then he desperately started tearing at my shirt.  I laughed and pulled up my shirt but he kept trying to pull it down.  I asked him what he was doing.  Then he looked at me and pointed to my chest.  "What are those big things?"  I don't think I've hard to stifle a laugh that hard in the middle of sacrament meeting before.  Kids are so funny!