Showing posts with label Motherhood. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Motherhood. Show all posts

Sunday, February 09, 2014

Kids Really Do Come Different

 A Can of play-doh surrounded by play-doh tools and a child in the background.

Having two kids the exact same age has taught me that kids really do just come different.  I think any parent with more than one child probably knows this, but when the kids are at the exact same stage developmentally, it really is exaggerated. 

For example (and I could list a million), Lilly is a night owl and Maya is a morning person.  It's funny, more than once at night, coming from the twins bedroom I'll hear Lilly say (in a very perky, playful voice) "Maya, are you awake?"  To which a groggy, sleep-filled voice responds, "Lilly, I'm tired! Go to sleep!"  Don't get me wrong, Maya has taken part in her share of after-bedtime exploits....this in particular comes to mind...but for the most part, Maya is asleep well before Lilly.

As you can imagine, Maya also wakes up before Lilly.  Poor Addison is very aware of this.  Lately Maya has been going into Addison's room probably 15-20 minutes before I wake them up in the morning to ask her sister if it's time to get up, if they can play, or if Addison can help her with some problem she's having (such as no more toilet paper on the roll).  Addison, being the saint-of-a-child that she is always helps her sister when needed, or gently sends her back to bed.  But 15-20 minutes before a wake up call is that awful time when you just can't really get back into a deep sleep, especially if you've gotten out of bed.  On a regular basis lately, when I come to get the older girls up, I'm met with a groan from Addison with an exclamation of, "Why Maya, Why???"  Poor kid.  I am going to have a talk with Maya about not walking her sisters up before it's light outside.

Usually Naps are no exception to the late-to-fall-asleep and early-to-get-up pattern that the twins fall into, but this day was an exception.

A Child playing with Play-Doh

Hannah woke up well before I expected the twins to wake up, and asked if she could play with her play-doh that she got for Christmas.  Now, my husband is a ceramic artist.  I try to encourage 3D play whenever possible.  But I have to say, I am SICK of this play-doh.   Part of the problem is that the table where they play with it (and really the only place to play with it in the house) is in this awkward place that is mostly on hardwood floor, but partially on carpet.  Which means play-doh ALWAYS gets on the carpet, and is seriously a huge pain in the rear-end to clean up.  Especially when I'm feeling like this

But, like I said, I didn't expect the twins to be up for a while, and Hannah isn't too bad about keeping it clean, so I said yes.  Unfortunately, as soon as she had actually pulled everything out and started playing, I saw a hesitant Lilly peeking through the railing on the stairs.  I couldn't tell Hannah she had to clean it up now.  She had just barely gotten it out.  So I accepted the fact that I would have to do some serious clean up and told Lilly she could play too...wondering why on earth she woke up before Maya.

I also figured I had better take some pictures because I really wasn't sure that the play-doh would ever come out again.

Two Children playing with Play-doh
A Child putting playdoh into a cookie cutter

A Child Holding a broken heart made out of Play-Doh

Two children playing with playdoh, one looking suspiciously at the camera.

In the end it wasn't so bad.  And I realized just how genius the idea of getting the twins brooms for their birthday was.  By the time Maya came up, the play-doh was put away, but when I told them to grab the brooms and sweep up the mess, even she was excited to join in.  The play-doh may see another day after all. 

And as I later pondered the discrepancy in the sleep-wake pattern on this particular day, I realized that, most likely, the reason Lilly was so hesitant to come up stairs was that she hadn't fallen asleep at all, but rather saw her sister quietly exit her bedroom, and moments later, followed suit. 

Friday, June 01, 2012

The Way I View - Motherhood

The theme this month for our "The Way I View" blog circle is Motherhood.

TheWayIViewMotherhood01

I hand very grandiose plans for my pictures this month.  They were going to be tender, loving, happy, wonderful.  Yeah, you all were going to cry...and then motherhood happened.  Things got busy, kids were crazy, schedules were full, the house was dirty, etc.

I originally wanted the pictures done by Mother's Day, then I figured it'd be fine if they were done the week after Mother's Day, then as long as they were done before our Moab trip, then I knew I'd have more time this week to get them done, and lo and behold, tonight as I'm putting the older girls down for bed I realize, "Oh my gosh, it's the last day of the month and I haven't done the motherhood pictures."  And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the way I view motherhood. Te he he.

I thought about copping out and just pulling together some pictures I got this month of my kids doing the crazy things that I absolutely love about them, but then I thought, "NO! If I don't get pictures of me with my kids now, when will I do it next?!?"  So I grabbed my camera, tripod and shutter release and took them upstairs to get some pictures with my older girls before all the evening light disappeared.  This was the result:

TheWayIViewMotherhood02

TheWayIViewMotherhood03

Oh how I wish life could be about blankies and barbies forever.

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TheWayIViewMotherhood04

So there you go, that's the way I view motherhood.  Mostly improvised, not quite perfect, rough around the edges, but a whole lot of fun.

TheWayIViewMotherhood06

I've included links to my other "The Way I View..." posts in the footer down below if you want to check them all out. Now go check out Candice's post about motherhood.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

I'm a mean mom

In a recent email to a dear friend I sent this picture with the following message...I have attached a picture I took today of my youngest having a rather hard time filling her diaper. I fully intend on including this in her wedding video montage one day.

His response: Motherhood has made you twisted and dark.

New Year's

On New Year's Eve, we had our friends Tabitha and Jonathan (who were in town from Georgia) and Bart's brother and sister-in-law, Sam & Holly over. There were appetizers that seemed more like a meal, yummy drinks, literal music videos, and laughter for all. And, the best part about the whole night was that Bart FINALLY found an AWESOME hot wing recipe...okay, maybe that wasn't the best part of the whole night, but it was a huge highlight for me. I've had to endure plenty of nasty wing recipes. This one's a keeper. :o)

Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures.

Fortunately, I remembered the next day when Eric and Addison built a snowman.
Ooooh, mean uncle!
Ahh, there's my snow baby.That's right, sculpt that snow body. I wish it was that easy to sculpt my body.

What are you doing to that snowman bro? Man, you need to go on a date.The finished product. I was impressed. It's definitely better than any snowman I've ever made. Although mine did have more bling. ;o)And the proud snowman builders with their masterpiece.