surviving the flu, a bathroom renovation, and two-year-old antics

Linking up at This Ain't the Lyceum for 7 quick takes

1. Last week we survived the flu, and I was the biggest baby of the bunch. I think that Tamiflu might be the greatest drug ever, but apparently the kid's liquid tamiflu tastes horrible... or so my children told me about 800 times twice a day for 5 days. They usually love medicine, but they definitely did NOT like "the white kind". After the second day the Officer and I somehow convinced them that it was super cool to be like a grown-up and just drink the nasty medicine with no complaints and no more spitting it in Mommy's face, so that was good. If you ever have to get your kids Tamiflu see if they can flavor it.

Luckily Lettie actually didn't get the flu. This is an old picture, but this is how pathetic our house felt last week.

2. Last week the Officer also laid the bathroom tile in our master bathroom... yay for progress! In October he demolished the bathroom, but then I went back to work for a while, and the renovation got put on hold. So, he laid the tile and is going to do the grout on Monday, and then he's taking a few days off work, so hopefully he'll get most of the bathroom done next week! (No pressure my love!)

3.  I'm excited to get the bathroom done, but it means I need to make some decisions on shower tile, vanity, paint color.... everything. I hate making decisions. The Officer and I have a deal with all of our house renovations- he will do all of the work, but I have to make all of the decisions. That might sound nice, but did you know that I hate making decisions?!

I think we are going to use this for the shower tile.... I'm making decisions.... almost.

4. Yesterday my SIL and I took 6 of our kids to the Children's Museum. It was awesome, and it was so nice to finally get the kids out of the house after our flu week. Our Children's Museum has kids' admission on sale for 15 cents on the 15th of each month,  so we will be making frequent trips to the museum.

5. I've been having a really hard time keeping my patience with a certain 2-year-old in my house. I have a million excuses of why I sometimes yell at my daughter, but no excuse is acceptable. She is 2 and often irrational and whiney, but she's my beautiful daughter.  Plus poor girl just got over the flu and has barely made it out of the house in the last 2 weeks. She deserves better. She deserves a kind mother. I'm really working on being more patient with my awesome kid, so prayers for more patience would be appreciated.

Look how cool my Bug is. I love the heck outta that girl.

6. Next week I'm bringing the girls to the March for Life. We live close enough that we can make the trip and stay with some family, and hopefully it won't be too cold. It is always such an incredible and  hopeful day.

7.  Then when we get home from the March we get to celebrate Belle's 4th birthday!!!! 4 is such a fun age. I'm so excited for next week with some beautiful January weather, the March for Life, having the Officer home, and a 4th birthday!

Back to School

This is the first year since I was in Kindergarten that I haven't gone back to school as a student or a teacher. I definitely have some mixed emotions about it, but overall it's been a very enjoyable "back to school" season in the Mik house. I have loved seeing all of the first day of school pictures people are posting of their kids, and almost everyone captions the pictures with "where has the time gone?" I am aware of how fast these years will fly by, so today I relished the fact that I didn't have to send any children off to a first day of school yet. Instead we stayed home and made a cardboard house and baked cookies.... of course there were many moments of whining that made me think maybe sending them to school in a few years won't be all that bad ;)

No, the baby didn't get any of the cookies. Those cheeks are just because she has been neglecting exercise

I loved teaching, and I miss parts of it, but sleeping in a little later is nice and spending more time with the girls is priceless. Of course I couldn't resist all the adorable teaching preschool ideas on pinterest, so this happened in our house yesterday....

Just a little alphabet parking lot for their cars

Good thing my skills as a teacher can be put to good use as a SAHM.... too bad I don't have such expertise in other necessary areas for my SAHM career (you know like cooking, budgeting, grocery shopping, organizing, cleaning, and the other million things Moms do every day).  Happy new school year!

Cleaning with children

Cleaning. I have never really enjoyed cleaning, but now the thought of a nice Saturday morning spent deep cleaning my house all ALONE sounds pretty nice. You know that popular meme about cleaning your house with kids???

So so true. I'm living with two toddlers and a newborn, so I'm looking around my house wondering if it will ever be clean again. I've cleaned the house as a Mom of babies, and I've cleaned the house as the Mom of toddlers- each of those are sort of challenging, but cleaning as the Mom of a baby AND toddlers is pretty much impossible. My only cleaning goals in the last few weeks have been doing dishes, vacuuming, and wiping down the bathrooms. That's it. Last week I spent 2 days trying to vacuum and mop the teeny tiny main floor of our house. My first attempt was never finished, and my second attempt took most of the day. Here's what my morning looked like:

9:00am- The toddlers have just finished breakfast and the house is already a mess, so I begin telling them to put away all of their toys so that we can vacuum while the baby is awake.

9:30am- remind them to stop playing with the toys and actually put them away while I nurse the baby

10:00am- "pleeeeeeaaaaase stop dancing and put those blankets back in your room while I burp the baby."

10:20am- I hurry and get the vacuum out while the floor is clear for the next 45 seconds

10:30am- the kitchen is vacuumed, but the baby needs her poopy diaper changed IMMEDIATELY

10:40am- resume vacuuming

11:00am- dining room is vacuumed, but now the toddlers want to do a craft since I'm forbidding them from taking out a single toy until I finish vacuuming. "No, you may not use playdoh because I just vacuumed there! Yes, I will get the crayons out for you."

11:10am- resume vacuuming

11:20am- stop vacuuming to help the recently potty-trained 2-year-old use the bathroom. AT LEAST she didn't pee on the floor- that really would have slowed down my vacuuming. 

11:30am- resume vacuuming

11:35am- stop vacuuming to pick up the crap... I mean toys... I found under the couch 

11:40- resume vacuuming. so close to being done.

11:50- stop vacuuming to make lunch for the toddlers.

12:00- use the hose to vacuum along the floor boards, under cabinets, in the corners.... it needs to be done, because I skipped it last time.

12:10- give crying baby a pacifier and beg her to just wait 2 more minutes and then I will feed her.

12:15- done with vacuuming! just in time to nurse the baby while the girls eat pb&j

12:45- Baby is fed, burped, and content, but now the toddlers are done eating lunch and I need to vacuum under the table again (and wipe jelly off of everything that was within reach of the 2-year-old)

1:00- downstairs is vacuumed, and I guess I will spend their naptime mopping (or I'll probably collapse on the couch and mop another day when my kids are adults). Nobody will eat food or wear shoes ever again in this house! 

Just in case this post was making anyone think they didn't want (more) children.  They are definitely worth a messy house.

It only took me 4 hours to vacuum three tiny rooms.... good thing I have a small house. At what age can my children start vacuuming?? 

A little perspective

Yesterday was the Feast of the Assumption, and like a good practicing Catholic, I completely forgot about it when I woke up in the morning. After one of my sisters reminded me, I got on my laptop and in under 5 minutes had found the Mass times for 4 different Churches in my area. You know, I needed to find the perfect time to go to Mass that wouldn't interfere with dinner or bedtime. Definitely can't mess with bedtime. Then I fed the baby and successfully got two toddlers to go potty before heading out the door. Everyone who could walk was wearing reasonably clean clothes and matching shoes. The Officer was going to Mass at work, so I was flying solo with the girls- scary stuff at Mass.  We climbed in our minivan to drive 5 miles down the road to attend noon Mass in a Church with air conditioning and nice padded kneelers. We were early. Not just on time.... early. We sat through the entire Mass with perfect behavior from all 3 of the usual troublemakers (well maybe only 2 of them are troublemakers so far).  I didn't have to give any of my usual threats about timeouts or losing your donut. After Mass everyone who eats solid food was rewarded with a chocolate chip cookie (that includes Mommy), and I was feeling like I had just accomplished some remarkable feat!

It's a tough life I have

I had successfully kept my obligation (you know there are 6 entire Holy Days of Obligation that I have to attend) and nobody shed a single tear (including me!). Then I got on the computer and saw the following headline: People are dying for Christ- Go to Mass on Friday, and I got slapped in the face with a huge dose of perspective. It is 2014 and still Christians are dying for their faith every single day. The biggest sacrifices I have to make are battling a whiny child during the Homily or having a toddler put the pew down on my toes. Meanwhile there are people who are making real sacrifices for their faith. Sacrificing their lives for this wonderful faith. Oh I have so much to learn. Please Lord, never let me forget how fortunate I am to be able to practice my faith. Please Lord, protect these incredible people suffering for their faith.

the best years of my life

They are trying to hold hands while eating breakfast.... if only they were always this sweet to each other :)

I'm currently deep in the toddler trenches.  We have temper tantrums, whining, dirty diapers, dinnertime battles, meltdowns over peanut butter and jelly :).... all the usual toddler fun. Sometimes it is tiring to refill sippy cups 22 times a day, make those peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and cut them just right for the sixth day in a row, wipe the kitchen table, kiss boo boos, wipe noses, make dinner with "helpers" nearby, fix socks that the two-year-old just can't seem to get on quite right by herself, wipe the kitchen table again.... all while I wish I could just sit on the couch for a while. Last week was especially tough with the Officer working crazy hours, a 3-year-old who seemed to be testing me with her every action, and two little girls who have been sick for almost 2 months straight (hello ear infections that never go away). So after a few of my own cry sessions (what will I do when I can't blame those on hormones anymore!?), I needed a little perspective.

 

Sometimes I catch myself thinking "oh I can't wait for someday when they can make their own sandwiches" or "I can't wait until they can put themselves to bed" or "Will there ever be a day without timeouts?!" Then I remind myself to slow down. That "someday" will come way too fast, and I know I won't be ready for it. That "someday" will mean girls who go off to school; girls who are busy with sports; girls who don't think their Mommy is the greatest thing in the whole world; girls who don't need me all the time and don't ask for hugs and snuggles.

Yes, I will happily kiss those cheeks 1000 times a day

These are the best years of my life. A kind woman at school whose children are all grown reminded me of that a few weeks ago. I think raising teenagers is going to be so tough. Not knowing what my girls are doing every second of the day, protecting them while giving them independence, dating rules (which will be fun with the Officer and his girls ha).  No, I don't want to rush to that part of parenting..... instead I'm going to soak up these toddler years. Sure these years can be physically tiring, but they are wonderful. These are the years I get to spend playing and being loved by my girls. Yesterday I got home from school, and before I could take my shoes off Bug demanded, "Dance with me Mommy". Moments like that make these the best years of my life. Right now I treasure morning snuggles with Belle, dancing with them, being part of their little imaginary worlds, and finding trucks and school buses when we're driving ("I think that one is magic" says Bug every time). When I was in college I thought those were the best years of my life. Those carefree years were nice..... but these years are way better. It seems to get better and better..... who knows maybe those teenage years will surprise me with their own joys =)

She is so fun... most of the time ;)