Confession #22 I Love Hearing The National Anthem

I don't know about you guys, but there is just something about The Star Spangled Banner that makes me tingle inside. I love hearing it sung. It makes me feel this incredible pride in being an American.

I don't come from a family deeply involved in the military. Frankly, I've always been a bit scared of it because of the possibility of death. I have always had a deep admiration for those people who voluntarily give of their time and some their lives for keeping alive the freedoms that we enjoy. When I hear the Star Spangled Banner it always makes me just a bit more optimistic about those men and women in the military keeping us safe for at least one more day.

The following is a fantastic group called the Cactus Cuties singing the National Anthem at a basketball game at Texas Tech University. Amazing! Hope you enjoy it, too!

Follow Up to Confession #2

Way back when I started this blog, I had written a post about having an updated 72 hour kit. I thought that too often my posts might sound like I'm not good at anything...when really I am. I just thought I'd give you a bit of an update on how I have remedied one of my very first confessions.

I am happy to report that now I have an updated 72 hour kit. I have the right size of diapers and I also have underwear for Piglet. There are two pairs of clothes for everyone...one for warm weather and one for cool weather. I have all the food groups represented and I even have a can opener to open the tuna. I have whistles for everyone and enough glow sticks to last for awhile. I have first aid basics and at least two flashlights in it. There is cash broken up into smaller bills and we even have colored pencils and coloring books for the kids. I'm sure that we don't have everything that could go into a 72 hour kit, but at least we have it.

Ya wanna see?!?!

I got the idea to put it into a (clean) rolling trash can from a friend. It's not too heavy for me to lift into the trunk of my van and it has a handle that makes it easy to roll. I used to keep it in duffel bags. I found those to be hard to carry because you had to carry about 4 of them each. This has turned out to be the best solution for us. I also keep a case of water bottles in the van under the seats in the stow-and-go storage.

Anyway, this time I can say that I've fixed one of my confessions!

Confession #21 My Kids Don't Brush Their Teeth in the Mornings

I know. Isn't it terrible?!?!

I would describe myself as having average dental habits. I brush my teeth twice a day...morning and night. I don't floss unless I'm trying to get something out from between my teeth. I don't use any kind of mouthwash. I also don't drink soft drinks or suck on hard candy.

I would also describe myself as having good genes and a fair amount of luck when it comes to my teeth. I never wore braces or retainers. I have naturally straight teeth. I think I've only had one cavity in my whole life. I have one wisdom tooth that is so far up, it will never come down and the other three just never existed, therefore, no wisdom teeth removal. I once didn't go to the dentist for 5 years (you know...after college, before I had insurance, when I was a poor newlywed, etc.) and when I finally went back, my teeth were still perfect. Not even much tartar build up.

I would also describe myself as "routine-less" in the mornings. This is the main reason why my kids don't brush their teeth. We get the important things done every day: getting dressed, eating breakfast together, and out the door with shoes and socks in tow even if they aren't actually on the feet yet. We even mostly get some of the "not-so-important" things done: making the beds, putting the pajamas away, the kitchen table cleared and wiped from any breakfast residue. These things just don't happen in any sort of predetermined order. This means that even though I have a mental list of what needs to be done, no one else knows what to do next, let alone if it is all done or not.

I can't wait for the fall. Piglet will be in kindergarten. This means that he will have to be in the same place at the same time every day. I'm really hoping this helps us have a better routine. I've tried making charts for the kids with pictures of the things that need to get done in the morning, but quite unsuccessfully. And it's not my kids' fault, either. It's totally 100% mine.

Believe it or not, I really do want to teach my kids good dental health. Gum disease is often a sign of other things. We diligently brush their teeth every night. They each get a turn and then we do it after them to make sure we get everything. Besides being a sign of good health, nasty teeth and bad breath have social consequences, too. I mean, have you ever tried to talk to someone with bad, greying teeth? It's like you can't even look at them because it's so disgusting.

Anyway, now I'm curious. How do you guys teach your kids about oral health? And really, am I like the ONLY person who doesn't floss?

Try This

Try saying this 10 times as fast as you can:



TOY BOAT





Yeah...that's what I thought.

My little angel

There are just some moments when, as a mom, you look at your children and you can't believe how lucky you are. Yesterday and today, I had one of those moments.

Yesterday afternoon I had an awful headache. Even with medication, it wasn't going away...it would just change locations in my head. By the time we were getting kids ready for bed, I was literally dragging. As I reached up to the top bunk bed to give Piglet a kiss goodnight, it was evident that he knew something was wrong. He asked me if I was okay. I told him that I had a headache and that maybe one of his kisses would make it better. He leaned over and said, "I'll give you lots of kisses then." He gave me LOTS of kisses. And even about 5 minutes after I had left their room, he called me back in to give me LOTS more kisses. I absolutely love that kid!

This morning the wonderfulness of being a mom continued. Piglet woke up first, got down from the bed, and went potty. Then he came in my room and the first thing he said is, "Is your headache gone?" When I told him it was, he started giving me LOTS of kisses again. It was one of those moments when you look at your child and you realize that they are worth 100% of what they put you through.

I love you, Piglet!

What goes on at our house

Well, my blogging has been put on the back burner lately. There are a few reasons, one of which is POOP! At this point, if you're sensitive to the aforementioned word, you should stop reading because from here on out, you're going to hear a lot about it!

I think it is my lot in life to deal with poop. My children both suffer with HUGE constipation issues. Believe me, we have tried all the tricks in the book. At least I think we have. We've tried fruit juice. I've tried being EXTREMELY attentive to their diets...but really, can you force a two year old to eat more veggies. HHmmm??? Nope. They just chew...and chew...and chew...and then throw up every thing else they have eaten because of their extreme gag reflex.

I've tried even homemade remedies made from things such as raisins, senna tea leaves, figs, etc. It even tasted like jam when I was done. Did that work? Nope. And we've even tried the suppositories when it's been really bad. After trying all these things, I FINALLY got a prescription for some wonderful stuff (the Miralax that's over the counter now) that really cleans them out. We started on a large dose and have been working our way down. It has really worked well for the constipation part, but it makes my job much more work.

For Tigger, it just means changing a LOT more soiled diapers. I think I'm on the 5th poopy one for just today. I feel so bad for him. He actually tries to hold it in. So much that when he has to go he stands there, shaking, crying, and working so hard to HOLD IT IN!! Good grief! When I see him doing this, I have to have extreme positive reinforcement for pushing it out. I've heard of the psychological phenomenon of kids thinking that they are loosing a part of them when they go, but it still doesn't make the whole thing any easier.

For Piglet, it means much, much, much more. You see...he is actually potty trained. This constipation thing isn't all the time for him, but when it is happening (like right now) it doesn't matter that he used to do it on the potty. This means cleaning underwear. The medicine makes it so soft that the poor kid actually has NO control when it comes out. And of course, because he's potty trained, it makes him really upset. And without being too graphic (this entry IS about poop...) the medicine makes it terrible to clean up...if you get my drift.

In the last 24 hours, I have cleaned about 8 poopy diapers, 8 poopy pairs of underwear, 3 pairs of poopy pants, 1 pair of poopy pajamas, and the bathroom sink 8 times and (pun intended) I AM POOPED OUT!

Confession #20 -- I Procrastinate

I may not be THE QUEEN of procrastinating, but I'm pretty good at it. And this is one of those things that I've just accepted about myself. I have a slight desire to change it, but not big enough to actually do it. I just have other things to worry about right now...and always.



Some of the things I procrastinate doing:

1. Making doctor's appointments for me and my kids. It's usually for the well child visits and the regular appointments. For some reason, I just can't pick up the phone. Whenever I think about making the appointments, I am either not by a phone or not by my calendar. Two very important things.
   
2. Making Visiting Teaching appointments. Don't know why...I always like going. I probably procrastinate doing this because of some of the same reasons as the doctors appointments. I have lately started making appointments by email. I can send an email at 11pm whereas, I cannot call at 11pm. And they can respond at their leisure, too.
   
3. Preparing Sharing Times. I should know better. I'm the President and therefore will teach sharing time the 1st Sunday of each month. I know this. But somehow, the first Sunday always sneaks up on me. It's always the Saturday before when I start thinking about it and realizing that it's my turn to teach the next day. Of all the things I procrastinate, this is one that I shouldn't.
   
4. Packing for a trip. I love going on trips just as much as the next person. I also love coming home to a clean and organized house. This means that I spend the majority of the time before a trip cleaning and not packing. This one drives my husband crazy. He starts packing about 24 hours before he leaves on a trip. I start maybe a couple of hours before. It always reminds me of when I was in college one summer. I had the opportunity to go on a fantastic Alaskan Cruise. I had so much to do before I left (classes, my calling, cleaning, etc.) that I literally started packing 30 minutes before I left the house. I didn't forget anything then and I haven't forgotten anything since. I am TRULY okay with this procrastination.
   
5. Cleaning the Bathrooms. Enough said.
   
6. Going to bed. As I have said before on this blog, Peter and I go to bed way too late. This one gets procrastinated because basically, it's too much work to get ready for bed. It's too much work to get in my jammies, brush my teeth, wash my face, read scriptures, say prayers, etc. It's so much work that I put off doing it in the hopes that it becomes less work. It never does.

I've always been a procrastinator. In high school and college I was always up late the night before a big paper or project was due. There is something about a high pressure situation (like papers and projects due) that make me concentrate better. I wouldn't go so far as to say that it is better work, mostly because I don't have anything to compare it to. I've never done something early. Why do today what I can put off until tomorrow?!?!