Lost Key

We keep a locking doorknob on our pantry.  We started this when Tyler was little in a effort to keep him from getting into food that isn't safe for him.  This morning Claire and Matthew found the key and removed it from its holder, then locked it into the pantry.  I'm no dummy, I keep a spare key so that situations like this don't occur.  Unfortunately, the little container that holds the spare keys is hidden away somewhere.  Could be in a random box somewhere or maybe even still in the cabinet at our old house (we brought the doorknob from the old house - we're cheapskates like that).  Now Claire and Matthew are in big trouble for their sneaky behavior.  I told them we can't go to Grandma's house until we get the pantry opened.  Claire really wants to get to Grandma's house so she's tearfully trying to find a solution.  One of her best solutions was that we need an ax and then we can buy a new pantry door!  But the winner is that we need to buy a new doorknob.  I told her that a new doorknob would cost $22 and she would need to get the money from her piggy bank.  She said ok and ran off to get the money.  I laughed and told her that she doesn't need to use her money to buy a doorknob.  She said, "Mommy, kids don't care about money!  We don't spend it."  Now her Rapunzel piggy bank is sitting next to my keyboard and she is begging me to just use her money to buy a new doorknob so we can go to Grandma's house.  I think I will have to give in and agree to look for the key when we get home from Grandma's house.  I hope all of the tears will make her remember that we do not lock the key in the pantry!!!!

Gotta Laugh

A good sense of humor is definitely a necessary character trait to survive as a mother of 4.  So far today I have a few things that had to make me laugh....

Tyler:  Mommmmmyyyyy!  Kate is covered in something yellow.  It's even on her arm.  I think it's poo!
*And it was definitely a big poo mess!  So fun!

Claire's behavior calendar from school was yellow today.  (Green is best.  Then it goes yellow, orange, red.)  Claire tried to scribble out her teacher's note explaining why she was yellow.  Lucky I'm skilled in reading messed up writing from my years as a teacher, so I could make out "Making inappropriate noises."  When I asked Claire to demonstrate what noises she was making, she put her forearm up to her mouth and made a nice loud fart sound.
*Yes that would be my adorable little 5 year old girl making  noisy fart sounds in 1st grade!

Matthew:  Mommy, check.  Did I get all the poo off my bum? (As he bends his full moon over for me to inspect his wiping skills.)

*This brings me great happiness because it sure beats wiping the poo myself.  :)

Me to Kate:  We don't eat dirty diapers.
*Don't need to say any more.

Matthew jumped into the air, pulled his arms in to his chest and made a full spin before he landed.
Then Matthew asked me:  Do you know what that was?
Me:  No
Matthew:  A tornado!
*That one made me laugh so hard.  :)

And the very best moment of my day goes to Claire.  We were watching a movie tonight.  Claire climbed up in my chair with me and ever so seriously and compassionately looked at me and said, "I'm sorry about your fat tummy."
*Gotta love her sincerity!

I'm sure there will be plenty more funny things.  But these were my favorite.  

Youth in a Pill :)

Today Tyler told me that when he grows up he wants to be a scientist.  His plan is to invent a pill that people can take so that they won't get old.  The pill will make them young again.  And my favorite part.... Tyler said that the pill will make me just like I am now!  What a sweetie - he thinks his Mommy is just right the way she is, so much so that he wants to invent a pill to keep me this way!  :)

Waiting for Karma

My sanity is being stretched to its limit.  Just got home from Target with 4 kids.  All I had to do was grab some pictures from the 1 hr photo and let Claire pick a couple scrapbook items for her homework scrapbook page.  We were almost there when Claire noticed she was wearing her Hello Kitty Slippers instead of shoes.  Too bad - not turning around.  She just rode in the seat in the cart.  Kate rode in the basket.  Tyler & Matthew had to walk.  They were HORRIBLE!!!!  Tyler and Matthew just kept nagging each other.  I put them on opposite sides of the cart so they'd leave each other alone.  Matthew kept running in front of the cart and over to Tyler's side to bug him and I'd have to put him back on his side.  While looking at the scrapbook stuff, Matthew and Tyler were out of control loud and bothering each other.  The final straw was when Tyler pinched Matthew.  So then I had Matthew crying and trying to hit Tyler for pinching him and Kate screaming because someone took the pacifier off of the hookie thing in her car seat - AGAIN!  While we were at the check-out stand, I dug a spare pacifier out of the car seat.  What should have been a 5 minute trip into Target turned into a horrible experience and Tyler is now grounded.  I don't understand why my oldest child who is 8 years old is always the WORST when we go shopping.  I hope the Priesthood Preview does not last very long tonight because I really need Jeff to come home and help me with these children who are driving me insane.  Someday when I am a Grandma and my children complain to me about their naughty children I will laugh and laugh and laugh and say one word.....  "Karma!"  :)

Clean Colleen

Ever since I was a kid, no one could pronounce my name correctly.  I don't think it's that difficult... Co-lleen, with long o & long e.  As a kid, my friends would call me Chlorine, or C-leen (leaving out the long o).  Many people call me the more traditional Irish pronunciation of my name that sounds more like Call-een.  One of my teachers in Elementary School called me Corinne.  My gymnastics teacher called me Nicole all the time.  She said it was because she was reversing my name in her head.  I still don't quite understand that one because my name backward is Neelloc.  I guess if you reverse the end of my name to be "ne" and then add the beginning of my name "colle," my name could be "Necolle."  And some of my closest friends call me "Colleenie."  And the ones I truly love the most sometimes tease me with, "Colleenie-wienie."  But those are more nicknames than mispronunciations.

Now my children find it funny that Jeff and I have real names, not just Mommy and Daddy.  And of course they can't quite pronounce my name correctly.  The other night Matthew and I had this conversation:

Matthew:  Yours name is C-leen and Daddy is Jweff.

Me:  Yup my name is Colleen.

Matthew:  Ha-ha!  Yours name is C-lean!  You have to Clean!

Me:  Are you making fun of my name?

Matthew:  Uh-huh!  Clean, Clean,Clean!  

What a stinker!  3 years old and he's making fun of my name!

Late Night Blankies

The past few nights we've been putting Matthew to bed in underwear instead of Pull-ups. And the past few nights we've been up changing Matthew's sheets. Tuesday morning we woke to find wet sheets, so I washed & changed his sheets. Wednesday night, he had wet sheets during the night, so in the middle of the night I bathed Matthew while Jeff changed Matthew's sheets. Then again in the morning, I found Matthew was wet but it only wet the cute doggie blanket I made for him. That blanket was in the washer when we put everyone to bed. A little after 2 am, I finished nursing Kate, put her down in her cradle and went to check on my 3 sleeping kiddos. As soon as I walked into their bedroom, I was greeted by that all too familiar scent... Matthew needed another bath and a new set of sheets. Jeff was so nice to get out of bed when I woke him to ask for his help. Just like last night, he changed Matthew's sheets while I bathed Matthew. Poor Matthew, he's just not a fan of being pulled from his bed for a 2 am bath. He was so sad about it. And to make things worse, this nighttime accident put Matthew's dinosaur quilt out of commission, and his doggie blanket was clean, but still wet and sitting in the washer. After I switched the blanket to the dryer and got his sheets into the washer I went to find a solution to the no blanket problem. Tyler had his old Sesame Street quilt folded at the foot of his bed, so I offered it to Matthew. I told him I was pretty sure Tyler would want to share it with him. I wrapped him all up in the quilt and he kept saying something that I couldn't quite make out because his sad little voice was so quiet. I leaned down to hear him better and found that he was saying, "but now Tyler will be cold." That sweet little boy was concerned that I had just taken the blanket off of Tyler for him! I reassured him that Tyler still had a blanket and would be fine. Matthew nodded his head in understanding and closed his eyes to go to sleep. It's moments like these that bring joy to my heart. Matthew is a kind-hearted little boy and I will remember this peaceful late night experience with him the next time he's running wild, bouncing on the furniture, spilling Kool-Aid on the floor, or fighting with his brother and sister to remind me what an amazing little guy he is.

Please????

Just had this exchange with Matthew...

Matthew:  Mommy, wipe my bum!
Me:  Wipe my bum, what? (Trying to get him to say "please.")
Matthew:  Wipe my bum because I went poo and pee!

Is it bad that his response mad me laugh?