Mama Goes First!

My boys have the best dad.  He tries to teach them all kinds of wonderful things.  Lately he has taught them that "Mama goes first."  When we get home, Tyson opens the door and they all hold the door and wait for me to walk into the house first.  It is really sweet.

Part of me thinks it is unnecessary since it really just slows everyone down, but at the same time I recognize that it is important to teach our boys to be gentleman.  And they have no other girls in their life but me.  :)  Okay, okay, no one they are with a ton.

So the other day we went for a walk and as we started leaving the yard Josh grabs Caleb by the shirt and says in complete seriousness,

"Caleb, remember, when we get home, you let Mama go into the house first.  Okay?"

Caleb: "Okay, I know!"

It is really very sweet but started a few fights.  Josh is really serious about obeying this "rule."  And of course, being the little boss he is, makes sure his brothers obey it too.  So he will grab the little guys and yank them back away from the door so I can go first.

I am not sure if this is really promoting gentlemanly behavior or just giving them another way to beat each other up.  So hopefully they are learning the lesson Tyson wanted them too.  So once I walk through the door, I turn around and curtsy and say,

"Why thank you my little gentlemen!"  Which they get a kick out of.

So, thank you Tyson.  I not only get to actually be the first at something every once in awhile, but I also get to feel like a lady.  Hooray for that.  Even if a brawl does ensue.  :)

A Better Perspective

Sundays are not usually an easy day for me.  They are wonderful, because they are a change of pace from the normal every day, but still...if you are a Mormon mom, you might be able to understand why.  My husband, instead of getting the day off work, spends all morning going to meetings or visiting with other people and trying to help them.  I am so thankful he gets to, and that he cares enough to.  He sets a really good example for me and the boys.

But it leaves me getting myself and three little boys ready for church, by myself.  The Lord always really blesses me though and I don't miss Tyson as terribly as I used to and the kids are almost always really great, minus Caleb's millions of tiny meltdowns not wanting to get ready for church.  So once the youngest to take a nap, iron their little shirts, get them all dressed, ties (or bow ties as some of them prefer) on, black socks and church shoes found and on, diaper bag packed, quiet "toys" found and packed, and any prep I need done for myself and for my lesson if I am teaching, done, I am WORN out.  And church hasn't even begun.

Then there is walking our cute little brigade into church, herding them into a row and doing our best to keep them quiet and reverent for an hour or so, then send them off to their classes.  The little one is still adjusting to his class and won't go without crying, a lot, and usually ends back with me.  I don't know why it is so hard for that age to go to class.  Their class is the coolest, they have singing time, play time, snack time and then play time again.  Seriously, what is not to love?  Okay, maybe the other little kids stealing the toys you want to play with might be annoying, but other than that, I wish I could be in his class.  :)

But, the little guy, after the second try, actually stayed in class, HOORAY!  So I was able to stay in my class, which I love.  So really yesterday was not a bad day, plus I overheard (not difficult since he really isn't great at whispering in church) Josh (my oldest) tell Caleb (the middle) that he needed to be reverent and think about Jesus, because Jesus loves us.  It was a small, but proud moment of my day.

However, I have a hard time seeing beyond each Sunday.  It is just surviving rather than thriving.  My belly is huge, my legs have this horrible throbbing pain that makes me feel like they are slowly suffocating, or that they will explode any minute from too much blood pumping through them.  And after the hundredth time of saying "guys, be quiet," I guess I had begun to lose focus on why I was in church in the first place.

Then last night I went to a little meeting with the youth from my church and we had a speaker there talking about missionary work.  I remembered a line from a blessing I received once about the impact I would have to young men of the world.  I thought maybe I would write books for young boys, or that I would somehow work with lots of boys in a job I held.  It never occurred to me that I would raise so many boys.  So it was that moment, sitting there that I realized I have a wonderful chance and responsibility to teach truth to my little boys.  No one in the world spends more time with them than I do.  Probably ever in their lives.  For some reason, that little moment of someone talking about missionaries, reminded me of a phrase, and helped open my eyes to my life and how important the work is that I am doing.

So even though some days are rough, and growing a baby is no easy task, it is all worth it.  And I want my little ones to be thankful for the mom that I was and am.  So here is to being a little more patient, kind, teaching, teachable, fun and loving -- to being the mom I need to be and enjoying the moments I have with my little guys.

Self Portrait

 

Early this morning, my three year old brought me a black piece of construction paper with a drawing of what resembled some kind of demon or something (little body, big red ears/horns).

C: "I drew this for you Mama."
Me: "Oh that is awesome.  Who is this?"
C: "That is me."
Me: "Well you are getting really good at drawing, I can see your arms and legs and head, but you don't normally have big red horns do you?"
C: "Oh, no, those aren't horns.  Those are my ears.  But you cut them off so there is a lot of blood going everywhere."
Me: (trying not to show my horror) "Oh, that is interesting.  But you know I would never actually cut your ears, right?"
C: "Oh yeah." pause  "But if they got really big, wouldn't you cut them to make them normal?"
Me: "Um, no, cuz your ears are always perfect."
C: "Okay."

Then he walks off like he was totally cool with it either way. 

Why are boys so gruesome?

I Birth Blue

I have contemplated creating this new blog for awhile now.  There are so many funny little things that happen in my daily life, I want to write them down.  And I'm sure there are a few other people out there that are dying to read about the intricate details of being a mother of three, right?  Well, at least the grandmas.  Plus, let's do a little math. 

I am married to an incredibly handsome and wonderful guy.  We have one five year old boy, one three year old boy and yes, another boy that is roughly 19 months (You kind of lose track of the specific months the more kids you have).  Plus, I babysit another little boy (age 2) five days a week.  Not to mention I am six months pregnant, with yes, another boy.  So 1 husband + 3 sons + 1 babysat boy + 1 male in womb = 6 boys.  6 boys > 1 female.  So there are many times during the day that I feel a little outnumbered.  I'm pretty sure my coping mechanisms of eating any chocolate and sugary substance in the house is not good for me, especially being pregnant.

So thank you blog world for giving me the opportunity to write and cope with my wonderfully crazy life.  Hope you enjoy the random stories as much as I do.

Valentine's Videos - Take 1

Okay, so I thought it would be a super cute idea to film all the boys taking about love and what it means to them and then putting it together in a video to give to Tyson for Valentine's day or to put on his website.  Well, it didn't really work out, because of course, they are boys and have nothing to say ever but "I don't know."  I need some girls that will actually talk about emotions.  The boys and their answers (or lack or them) were pretty funny though.  So here for your enjoyment is some of the takes I took.

 

Vday Videos-Take 3

Take 5 - Caleb

Last one

Faces

These are all pictures the last few weeks before our trip.  I was a little surprised how many pictures I take of Matthew, I really need to be better about getting pictures of all the boys.  These kids are so cute and they grow up so fast, I've got to capture the looks before they outgrow them!

 Matthew learned how to climb up on chairs and so nothing is safe.  Caleb's sandwich that he left for a few minutes was no longer his...

 Josh doing his "work" on his laptop and letting Caleb watch.

 Matthew has also gotten super good at stacking cans.  Pretty cool if you ask me.

 Uncle Dallin's birthday!  I have pictures from my mom's birthday too but for some reason the camera was only making them SUPER blurry and you can't even tell what it is of.  So sad. 

 Matthew also loves to play t-ball.  See what I mean?  Tons of pictures of the little guy!

 This is Caleb's awesome face.  Seriously, I have to get a video up here of the way he talks right now.  Hilarious!!  He always has this face or his eyebrows pulled down and super grumpy saying stuff like "you ruining my life."  Notice the cell phone in his shirt pocket too.  Just love what kids think of.

 Crazy cute Logan.

 Poor little guy was pretty sick when I took this picture, so he doesn't look like his normal self.   But he is such a good, sweet little guy almost all the time.

 Baby Mozart

 Josh and Caleb created this cool "bridge" with leftover wood from the carport building.  I am still impressed with the design.

 Valentine's Day!

 Tyson left a tiny box of chocolate by my bed in the morning and then when he came home surprised me with this.  I just LOVE this guy!

 Such blue eyes!  It still mystifies me how two hazel eyed people got a chocolate brown eyed boy and two super blue eyed boys.  Makes me wonder what this next one will have.  Josh says he needs to have brown eyes so he won't be lonely anymore.  So he told me to eat lots of chocolate like I did when I was pregnant with him.  I don't know if that really works, but I'm willing to test the theory.  :)

 Graham cracker milk dipping with Daddy.  Tys is such an amazing dad.

 I know Logan isn't really my kid, but I sometimes feel like I have four boys already (at least in the morning).  It is so much fun, I know it will be crazy, but I'm excited to add one more boy to the crew.