The Best Part of Waking Up

A Tooth Story: TBT Edition

I just found this unpublished post from exactly five months ago. Phoebe lost all four of her front teeth in rapid succession. She had a little help from a brother's accidental elbow to her mouth that resulted in lots and lots of blood. But don't worry, that's not included in the pictures.

And, not to be outdone by his little sister, Peter lost two teeth that week as well. With all the talk of missing pearly whites, Sophie began telling anyone that would listen that her teeth were loose and would be falling out very soon.

The Gun Show

The hotly debated topic during dinner: who has the biggest muscles? Bryan wasn't home from work yet, otherwise he would have won. As it was, I took top honors, much to Peter's surprise. I also took this picture. 

Early Night

I am so tired. So tired I can't really think cohesive thoughts. So tired I have climbed into my bed, fully clothed and don't care if I sleep this way. So tired that my eyes are closing all on their own.

So for today, I leave you with a picture of the dining room. No, it is not done, but it isn't covered in boxes and papers and junk.

And that, my friends, is enough for tonight.

Magical Monday

The kids had today off from school (happy Columbus Day or Canadian Thanksgiving, whichever you choose to observe), and we spent our time working hard. I told the kids that if we accomplished the task list that we'd only dented on Saturday, we could watch movies when we finished. I also told them that I wasn't going to keep reminding them, they had to stay on the job.

The list was pretty extensive. It included bathrooms and bedrooms and mopping and vacuuming and organizing. Peter was amazing! He was highly motivated by the secondary screentime choice: Minecraft. He was responsible for a large portion of what got done today. Phoebe was somewhat less engaged, but she cleaned her room, vacuumed, and emptied the trash cans. Cooper was quickly banished to his room for some unkind words and spent most of the day not doing much. Sophie read lots of books and played and mostly avoided any major mess-making.

By 4 o'clock the house was in the best shape it's been in yet. It's so good that I finally unwrapped our paintings and have started placing them.

The kids celebrated by watching Sleeping Beauty (per Sophie's request) and playing Minecraft. Well, one of them did. When Cooper realized I was serious that he couldn't participate in the fun until he had cleaned his room and the upstairs bathroom, he got to work. He joined in the movie watching about halfway through.

Days off like this are so rare. Usually it goes one of two ways: either we laze about and have a fun day that leaves the house in ruins, or I become Taskmaster Mom and the house gets cleaned while we all feel completely miserable. I loved that today was neither.

And I really love that the unpacking is nearly done!

At the Park

Benched

Our library (my favorite room in the house) had a flaw: there was no place for the board books. We talked about getting a cubby unit from IKEA and turning it into a window seat, but that would be a little too big for the space. So I brainstormed and stared at the two boxes of board books sitting on the floor and searched Pinterest for ideas. It occurred to me that I really just wanted a bench that I could slide nice storage bins under.

And so I built one.

That's right, I built a bench.

I used a couple tutorials as inspiration, this one for the bench and this one for the padded cushion on top. Warning: the first link claims that the project will cost $10. It did not. It was closer to $60 plus an afternoon and evening of my time, and I used fabric I already had (a curtain that doesn't fit any of our windows) to cover it. However, that's not a terrible price for a bench that matches the picture I had in my head. The kids were uber excited about the project and Peter and Phoebe helped screw on the leg plates, which made them feel very handy. I plan to stain the legs at a later date. They are easily removed, so it won't be a big deal. 

After I built it, I tried it out, only to discover it wobbled.

Cue defeated moping.

Bryan looked at it and suggested I reinforce the main board that bent a bit whenever someone sat on it, thus causing it to move. Once we had added some support to the bottom, it was much sturdier.

The kids all like it and Bryan was appropriately impressed. I'm pleased with how it turned out.

Meditation Variation

When Sophie is overtired she gets zany. The zanier she gets, the harder it is to calm her down. Since she no longer takes naps everyday, she is a very tired girl when bedtime rolls around.

Recently I was having an evening snuggle with her, trying to help her relax enough to sleep. That's when the following exchange took place.

Me: (measured and hushed) Okay Sophie, I want you to breathe in slowly through your nose (I demonstrated) and slowly out your mouth (again, I demonstrated).

(She copied my breathing.)

Sophie: (slowly, in the same manner that I had spoken to her) Okay Mommy, I want you to breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. Now breathe in through your eyes and out through your hair. Now breathe in through your forehead and out through your knees.

Perhaps instead of helping her sleep I should be teaching her how the respiratory system works...

Sugar Daddy

Bryan works for a candy company. That's part of the reason he likes giving the kids treats. But really, I think he likes seeing their eyes light up when he hands them something scrumptious. It makes sense then that I would find this note that Phoebe made for Bryan.

In case you're not sure what it says:

Dad I love you Because you are so Fun Love❤Phoebe

And then she labeled the picture:

Candy, Dad, more candy

I think Phoebe's language of love is candy.

The Recap

This picture gives you a good idea how Conference went at our house. 

Bryan had to work one of the days, so while he listened to the talks and songs from his quiet desk in his quiet office in his quiet office building, I was at home continuously redirecting my band of dancers, artists, paper-airplane enthusiasts, costume builders, costume designers, question askers, and food throwers. 

Yup.

In spite of all the chaos, they did listen at least some of the time. Sophie loved that the final congregational hymn of the meeting was I Am a Child of God. She gasped when it was announced and then exclaimed, "This is Sophie's song!" She also loved hearing President Monson speak. When she heard his name she said, "Oh! I love him!"

Phoebe spent the majority of the Conference in this car/plane we made out of one of our many cardboard boxes. It proved quite a handy spot to keep her crayon box close by. She was the most reverent child that day. Maybe I'll have all of them sit in boxes next time.

There were many talks I missed and I'm already looking forward to listening to them again throughout the coming months. The talks that I did hear above the din, and that spoke to me on a personal level, were:

Elder Hales', Elder Uceda's,  President Nelson's, Elder Robbins', Elder Nattress', and Elder Renlund's.

I loved the emphasis on the Savior. This was of special significance to our family because we're practicing being more Christ-like. I had challenged the kids to watch Conference specifically for mentions of Jesus. We were all delighted to hear so many talks that helped us meet that challenge.

What spoke to your soul from General Conference this time?