Molly the Mom

Today I tried to be a fun Mom and do back to school shopping at the same time. I have never been a great multi-tasker, so I should have known this would not go very well. The day started out as most do, with bribery. If the boys were good while we did some of the boring back to school shopping I would take them to Toys R Us, one of their favorite places to spend time.

So, we headed off to one of my least favorite places Wal-mart. This went ok, but they were out of everything, and Spencer was being picky about his new shoes so I knew this was not going to be one stop shopping. I could not find one box of crayons or markers in the entire store. They did have about 10,000 glue sticks on hand, an entire aisle. Whatever, I didn't need those because I had leftovers from last year.

We then headed to the toy store because that is what I promised, but I had to let them know first that our day of shopping was not over. Off we go, and I was really applauding myself for being such a fun, cool, relaxed Mom. We wandered the store for over an hour, not kidding, and they just loved it. But, then they started to get all whiny and running away, and begging to buy things.

So, I lost it. There was counting and dragging naughty boys out of the store. So, then I felt horrible and guilty and mean. Next we head off to Target to try and finish the school shopping. I thought maybe a refreshment would help (at least with my guilt), so they each got to pick their very own drink. Of course they each wanted a blue icee and cheetos. Ok, great, whatever you want boys. I am so fun and casual, I would never think twice about the fact that those are the two messiest choices on the planet.

After Spencer spilled his bright blue icee TWICE and the boys were all covered in cheetos and fighting over the bag, that was it. Good-bye fun, casual Mom, it was time to lay down some rules. No, you cannot take your lids off your icees and give me those cheetos because if you can't share, then I will have to eat them all myself. We did manage to find Spencer some shoes that he wanted and magically found the white erasers on the floor of some random aisle, the last pack in the store.

Mission accomplished.

Start Saving for Juliard

Here is another awesome conversation with Sam

Sam: What is that building over there?

Me: That is the new high school. First you go to pre-school. Then you got to elementary school, then middle school, then high school. When you are 14 you will go to high school.

Sam: Or Dance school. I can go to Dance school and learn how to dance.

Sam: And I can play the guitar too.

Me: (Silence)

My Olympic Moment

I practiced for months, every day, sometimes for hours. I put my heart into getting my "routine" just right. I added difficulty to improve on the piece. In the end my nerves kicked in and I messed up on the easiest part. Not a gold medal performance. It may have qualified for a silver, at least a bronze. I was happy. There is always the next performance. I am talking of course about my first Sunday playing accompaniment for our Ward Choir. It was the most nerve wracking thing I have done in a very long time. No matter how many times you practice, when it comes to performance time those nerves kick in. Frustration!!!

End of Summer

Ok, it is too hot to go to the swimming pool. You know what I mean? Do you ever feel like that? The heat has fried my brain and I cannot figure out how to get three boys to the pool. The blow-up pool got ruined pretty much the minute I blew it up. There are not enough patches for all the holes. So, we are left with the hose. They love it.

Important Educational Tool

If you want to teach your two year old his colors, eat otter-pops all summer. By the end of the summer he will be able to identify each otter-pop by its color. So happy to check that off my list. Teach Matthew his colors, done! His favorite otter-pop color? Orange.

Olympics

I love the Olympics!! My favorite is the commentary. Those people say some of the most ridiculous things ever. I am absolutely riveted to hear what is going to come out of their mouths next. Another favorite, focusing solely on U.S. athletes even when they are doing completely terrible. For some reason NBC thinks we don't care about the winners if they are not from the U.S. This drives me nuts. I remember one year the men's gymnastic team was doing absolutely awful. Everybody was falling and making a mess of things. I think they were in last place. NBC just could not move away from it. They never even showed the medalists routines. Oh, and rhythmic gymnastics. Hilarious. The trampoline and the ribbon twirling. Love it because watching that makes you feel like you too can be an Olympian, which you can if you put in a good two weeks training on the neighbors trampoline. I love these two weeks every two years because Jeremy and I have an absolute blast together watching them. Besides the amazing athleticism, there is lots of good humor and fun. Enjoy everybody!

What have you been doing?

Yes, I am one of those people. I love this series. It is just plain fun and a really easy read. I didn't like this one as much as the first and third books, but it was still good. Also, it gives me something to talk to the babysitters about! We are going green here. I am so excited to finally be painting in our house. This time I am not going to wait until the month before we move to fix it up for the people who live here after me. No, I am painting this for us to enjoy. I have been wanting to do this for awhile, and I am in love with this color. You will just have to come over to see the finished product. The official name is Moss. Love it.

Spencer's favorite job

Vacuuming with the hose. Why? Because he tries to vacuum up anything and everything that should not be vacuumed. Apparently this is a real treat getting to use the hose, and I only let him on special occasions. I think "special occasion" usually means I am so fed up with the garbage all over my house I don't care what disappears. This time I actually caught him shoving the vacuum hose into his toy hoping to suction out something exciting. The best are the giggles I hear when he gets something big like a sock or something. I can't help it, the laughter is worth digging through the bag when he is done. So, if he vacuums his room properly, he gets to use the hose as a special treat. Pretty good rewards around here, huh? Come on over!