So we are trying to raise a boy....

There is a lovely book my mom gave me on raising boys....So You Want to Raise a Boy by W. Cleon Skousen. It is full of valuable information on boys and different developmental stages they go through so you can check to see if you have ruined your boy or if they are completely normal. I am happy to report, my oldest is completely normal according to the book. :)

...his reactions often seem to be out of focus. He seems to be perpetually launching some kind of crash program to obscure his problems instead of methodically working them out. His parents observe that his emotions continually run to extremes.

Sometimes he will get so mad at me for the smallest thing that he'll open our garage door and slam it shut just to show how angry he is, and when it's not a loud enough slam, he'll do it again until it satisfies his point....(this is just to point out the extremes of the emotions of the 6 year old).

In review of the last week or so - I will begin this post with the afore quote in mind....

STORY NUMBER 1:
Hunter was asked to go gather Ziplock bags full of leaves for caterpillars...I think to myself...okay harmless, gather leaves be outside love life, etc. In a while he comes back - bag full and some of the leaves gorgeous - like from nice plants....so the questions begin:

Mom: Where did you get those nice big leaves?
Hunter: Over there.
Mom: Well, they look like they might be from someone's yard.
Hunter: No, they are from a plant.
Mom: Okay.

So I drop it and proceed to chase my other boy around the block while he rides his bike...On my venture with that boy, I see in the neighbor's yard the very leaves that I saw in Hunter's bag....It was an AH-HA moment. So, I get home and ask him if they are the same leaves off the plant in Lois' yard....

Hunter: How did you know?
Mom: I saw them.
Hunter: Yeah...friend name told me to pick them.
Mom: Do you think that was a happy choice?
Hunter: No, but she told me to pick them and keep them.
Mom: Well, now we have to go talk to Lois and tell her you picked her plant leaves.

So, upset as he was for listening to his friend...he walked over to Lois' house and told her he picked some leaves off of her plant. She was very sweet about it. He came home and saw the friend and asked her if she went and apologized....and her reply and unsurprising - No, why would I? Hunter was so mad. I was proud of him for stepping up and taking care of his mistake.

STORY NUMBER 2:
Hunter was helping mop the floor and spilled two bowls of cereal off the counter onto the newly scrubbed floor...when I asked him to clean it up he said No. I told him he could clean it up or go spend an hour in his room. Keep in mind this was after about 15 minutes of arguing with the 6 year old and being yelled at by the little dude. Finally, at his witts end...he says to me, "Mom, you never clean up any of my messes...." WHAT!? So, he spent the next hour in his room.

AND FINALLY ...

STORY NUMBER 3:
Travis was out of town. I was bathing the kids because it was time - they were stinky. Hunter is old enough that he can shower or bathe himself without my help. It's lovely. I asked him to shower while I bathed the other two...and he proceeded to literally lay on the floor and throw a huge fit rolling around and everything....nice....anyway, after about 10 minutes of that and begging to take a bath rather than a shower I finally told him to just go to bed (on brand new clean sheets changed that day) and do it in the morning- it was a hard thing for me to do putting a dirty kid to bed on clean sheets....but he was still mad....and chanted at me "mommy hates me, daddy loves me...."etc.etc. over and over. I am used to this because I know he does the opposite to Travis when he makes him mad and I'm not home. He ended up showering in the morning and all was fine and forgotten.

BUT ALAS...
We love the boy - we try every day to do our best as parents. He reminds me so much of a caterpillar trying to escape the cocoon and become a butterfly independent of any help. He wants to break free. Yesterday was his Kindergarten celebration and he did a fantastically cute job! We love HUNTER!

This is marching into the gym....they were supposed to be dancing.

This is their signs during "What a Wonderful World" Hunter is bottom row left, with a world.

Dancing during another one of their songs...on the risers.

My camera took blurry pictures...not sure why....maybe because I was in the back....

Latest adventure...

First of all here is a picture of the neweest addition to our "room of death." Travis says it's his favorite of all of them. Not so much mine.



This is a picture of Travis and Matthew's adventure last night...

Speed Racer

Tyler has mastered the art of using his legs to move his little plastic bike down the street, so well in fact, that he can make it about half way around the entire block before his pregnant mother can catch him to turn him around. Here is a little video clip of the speed racer. You hear Hunter crying in the background about how unfair his life is. Kinda funny.



Hunter and Travis went to Father and Son's and had a blast...Hunter was able to swim in a lake, throw paper plates into the fire, and get super dirty. He loved every minute. Travis enjoyed good company and hanging out with Hunter as well. I don't think they took the camera, or I would have some pictures. oh well.

Gwendalin has adopted a female attitude. Yes, yes, she has turned very sassy. She thinks she's a teenager or something. I will ask her to do something and she'll put her hand on her hip and glare at me like I am so crazy slave driver. When I threaten with vinegar (we use vinegar for language or back talking) she threatens me back: "So, go ahead, I'll spank you." Yeah, like I'm really afraid of the 3 year old...however, it's the attitude that's disturbing. Still, watching her be so sassy is really very funny and hard to keep a strait face when she's in the middle of it. Although you may get a laugh out of this...she is determined to wear her "bra" and here she is bra over the shirt....lovely. just lovely.


We made a family work day out of Saturday morning. We walked over to my parent's house and pulled weeds for about 45 minutes. The kids were so proud of their full grocery bags when we were done. Hunter and Gwendalin kept bragging about how good of weed pullers they were. I hope they always remember fun activities like that. I know Travis and I do from our childhood. We had issues keeping Tyler right with us, as he was exploring all of the other elements of the area away from us. Do you think that's a 3rd child trait....wandering being a loner doing his own thing....I don't think I was like that, but he sure is and my other two never were.

Our sink has a leak. All I can say is gross. I have no idea how long it leaked for, but we went to paint Gwendalin's finger nails and the paint was under the sink....which had completely filled with water (a drip at a time) and had begun to mold...yes, that's right mold. Here are some disgusting pictures. I cleaned it all out and threw nearly everything underneath away. It is still dripping, I think it needs re-sealed or something....just goes to show it only takes a little of something bad to grow into something horrid and out of control...we didn't even know there was a problem until it was too bad to save anything. It probably dripped for about a month before I discovered it.

Motherhood...

Every year since I have had children, mother's day has taken on new meaning. I will be brutally honest...it (motherhood) was not an easy transition for me. I would go so far as to say I didn't even enjoy it for a few years. I still think about the birth of my oldest and have fond memories but wonder why the Lord would let mothers bond with their children (while in the womb) and then have post pardom depression the initial "blow" of motherhood takes you over and you as a person disappear forever and are now known to these little ones as Mom....you are never again - Marie. It was a difficult adjustment for me...lots of ups and downs (still even). However, in looking at it now (only 6 years later) I wouldn't trade any of it. Even the emotional aftermath of each child. I don't have dinner on the table every night at the same time - sometimes there is no dinner, I don't get them bathed every night, sometimes they smell and I am too tired, I don't keep my house as clean as I did before they entered my life, but it's still a home where they are safe and loved, some days I get nothing done except for holding a sick child for the better part of the day - and then I think - I didn't get "nothing" done - I held a small child that won't be so small for very long - so I regroup my thoughts and cherish that moment. I love being a mom it has been quite the road and will still be a long road - but there is nothing I would rather be doing with my time.

This is how I feel on a daily basis- fly by the seat of my pants because I have no clue what I am doing....

I love to watch my children: Tyler goes to the garage every night and gets Aggie's food bowl (one of the dogs) he brings it to Travis willing and ready to help feel both animals.... Gwendalin gets so excited she can hardly stand herself when she is trying to make up her latest serenade (she gets that from Travis), and Hunter is so full of energy for life it's contagious and sometimes hard for him to contain...I hope their enthusiasm never diminishes.

Now for a small tribute to two mothers in my life who have blessed me beyond measure. First my mother in law -

Now here is a woman wise beyond me (as are most) but she was put into a situation after having two of her own children and made a family consisting of biologically 4 different sets of parents work - each child loves their parents and they love each other...none refer to each other as "step" but rather as brother or sister...they have testimonies and strong background of love for the gospel. I was so fortunate to get one of these sweet people as my husband and I appreciate so much her hard work and dedication in raising such a wonderful man who I get to call mine. I love this woman like my own mother!

Now - my mom -

What do you say to a person who has raised you to the state at which you now find yourself? Bounds and bounds of gratitude I feel towards my mom now more than ever since I have embarked on this journey called motherhood. She was always willing and ready to jump into any occasion that we were interested in. She gave me a foundation on which to build my testimony, set a very Christlike example of love and service through her whole life...suffered much trial and tribulation and yet managed to come out on top of it all. I can think of no one more suited for the role of a mother than my own. I strive every day to take on my task like she took on hers! Thanks mom!

Happy mother's day to all moms - this includes my dearest friend Marie who is also a mother figure to my kids!

A little of everything...

So, much has happened since my last post. Hunter had a field trip to the zoo and as a result was doing a report on Bobcats before they left. Each child had a different animal to research and present. Lucky for Hunter his father knows a taxidermist and called in a favor to get a mount of a bobcat for him to use during his report. Good thing for good friends. I was there for the report so I took it in and out of the school. It was a huge hit and Hunter was beaming with pride.

His latest issue is his obsession with girls and love notes. Apparently, there are 3 girls in his class who "love" him - - - and he "loves" them back. :) During our group work (while I was there at class) last week, he came out to sit down and made the verbal announcement that he should have sat by so and so because he has a huge crush on her. She just blushed and grinned and everyone at the table giggled. He has since taken the love notes received by these admirers and hung them on his wall.

Gwendalin has been sick a few days (stomach flu) and has been a real gem about it. Very proud that she can puke in a bowl and not get it in her hair. :) Oh the things to be thrilled about when you're 3! She also got a new 3 wheeled scooter to keep up with her older brother and the neighbors on their scooters. We did her hair kinda funky this week - she likes to sit still for a longer time on one day to get it done with lots of pony tails rather than doing it every day. We did that twice this week.


Tyler also had the stomach flu for a longer amount of time than Gwendalin did. He did it in the car a few times (gross) and I thought I had the car seat clean until I realized the smell was not leaving...so I had to take the seat apart to wash the thing and see if I could kill it....happily I was successful. He has also taken on climbing...the kid is a monkey. He loves to help feed the dogs in the evenings and plays in their part of the yard - this is a picture of him getting stuck on part of the fence that's back there - the other picture is of him playing in their kennels in the garage...gross!



I have been able (because of nice weather - hurrah!) to start walking with my kids again. I made it to the post office twice last week (about 3 miles round trip). It doesn't sound like a lot but it's a good hour to go there and back with the stops for drinks and world gazing on the way. Tyler and Gwendalin love it- I love it too because it's refreshing for me....although it wipes me out for the rest of the day. I have also made it a goal to start doing better at my scripture reading, so I have put my scriptures in the bathroom and I am happy to say - I am reading daily at least a chapter or more. Cheezy as it may sound I feel like I have more patience and peace since I have started that....amazing how that happens.