Ending the drought...

So last month I was this crazy-good blogger and had a ton of posts. Now that July has arrived (o.k., almost ended, for that matter...it's whatever...),

NOTHING.

I think the time has come to play catch-up and end the drought. So hopefully by the end of the week, I will be ready for August. Since it's coming, whether I'm ready or not.

I remember being so busy during the school year and being so excited to get this long list of things done once summer came...painting rooms/redecorating, scrap booking, blogging, crafting. What a joke!

Don't get me wrong--it's been a really fun summer--perhaps the first one in a long time that I didn't dread coming. The kids are old enough now that it's not quite as hard to have them out of school as it used to be. It just takes a lot of time and energy keeping them busy and entertained and still keeping up with the housework, etc.

We have done a lot of fun stuff the last month or so, and I hope to post something each day for the rest of this week and catch up...that's the goal, at least...

Vacuum Treasures

I love my central vacuum. Really. What I don't love is that Jake loves to stuff things in the wall-suction-socket-thingy. I've caught him more than once trying to do that. Obviously, though, I haven't caught him in time sometimes. Last week, my vacuum wasn't sucking so well. I kept hoping it would get better on its own, since I just had to have a new garage door opener installed and get my satellite TV repaired. I wasn't exactly anxious to pay yet a third person to come fix something. But alas, I couldn't take the dirty carpet anymore, so we had a guy come out this morning. Here is the collection of things he found:

THREE (yes, 3!!!) mini glasses that go to Sydney's old tea set
One huge rock
A toy hay bale
A toy rake
A bouncy ball
A child's-sized spoon (it's about 4 inches long...)

SERIOUSLY?!?!? Nice!

So, after paying the nice man $73.24 (could that amount be any more random?), I now have a vacuum that is in tip-top shape. :)

Guess what I'll be doing the rest of the day...

Random mommy memories...

Last week, I found Jake cleaning the toilet with my toothbrush--seriously. Nice. It just made me laugh...one of those "mommy" moments that I don't think I'll ever forget. It got me thinking of favorite memories that the other kids have given me over the years. And in an effort to never forget any of these in particular, I'm including them in my blog so they'll "live forever."

Two from Brandon come to mind instantly.

#1 "I have sad eyes." and "Look at me: I'm sad!!!" He said this all the time when he was about 2 or 2 1/2. Just so cute! He wanted to make sure you knew just how sad you had made him...haha!!!

#2 When he was about 2 1/2 (he was potty-trained at this point), we started making him have time-out in his room when he was naughty. We were very clear that he was not to come out until we came and got him. Once when we were just implementing this new punishment, he cried really loudly when we put him in his room. Whatever... Then after a couple of minutes, the crying seemed to change and intensify. I finally went to calm him down, and he was standing right behind the door, all wet. He had needed to go to the bathroom, but was too scared to come out. Poor kid...sometimes Mom can be really scary...

Here are 2 from Ryan:

#1 When he was big enough to start sleeping in a "big boy" bed, I would try to tuck him in with the blankets, but he wouldn't have it. He threw off the blanket, pulled up his pajama shirt, and said, "My belly is hot." He has always been naturally hot and still wears shorts in the winter. Maybe we're not really related...I'm always freezing!

#2 When Sydney was a baby, he was 4. One day he noticed I was nursing the baby and asked what I was doing. I tried to explain that I was feeding the baby. "What is she eating?" he asked. I then tried to explain that mommies' bodies make milk for their babies. Then his eyes got huge and just lit up. "I LIKE MILK!" he exclaimed...haha!

Now for a couple of Sydney memories:

#1 One of my favorite things about her is how she talks. There are so many words that she couldn't say correctly for a long time. One classic is "cub scouts." She said "SCUB scouts" for a long time. Gosh, was it cute! Then the boys had to go ruin everything by teaching her the right way to say it...rude! Plus, I like how she says, "Hey, chow-duh," but that's another story for another time... At least she still has a challenge saying her R's and I can enjoy some funny words a little longer.

#2 We used to have to lock her in her room at night. Once she got a "big girl" bed, she loved being able to come in our room all through the night. We tried more conventional methods, but they never worked. So we put a doorknob lock on her room. It worked. :) The really funny part was in the morning, when she was ready to wake up, she'd have to yell for us to come let her out. "Mom, I'm awake!!!"

This mom thing is hard sometimes, but man is it funny sometimes, too! I can't believe I am the mother of 4 now and that Brandon is going to be 12 in a few days. When did this happen?? I can't wait to see what other funny Jake memories there will be to add to this list. For now, I think the toothbrush in the toilet is enough...haha!!!

P.S. I love how "scub scouts" just showed up on my spell-check.

That made me laugh. :)