Life as a Mother

*Why is it that my life and my children's (and most people I know) seem to be like the "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" books?  Think about it . . .

       For example, if you haven't heard, we got a Mac computer for Christmas, it is big and beautiful.  I absolutely adore it - probably why I have been blogging more.  As soon as we got it, I started making plans to move it upstairs.  BUT, there was no where to put it.  No room, no desk.  So, I started looking online for desks.  I looked at the stores in town, which if you are looking, there is very slim pickins'.  I think because most people just build them into their homes now.  Oh, and I wanted real wood, no press board AND very simple.  After looking for quite awhile I found one that I loved.  It was up in a furniture store up north and was a mere $1500.00.  Wowzer!  So, I came home and thought about and just couldn't justify spending that much.  A month or so later I found a much more reasonable one - around $200.00 so I bought it.  It has been in my living room, in a box for at least two months, maybe more.  Lucky, for me, last Saturday's baseball games were rained out!  I took that opportunity to gently nudge Jared into getting it put together.  And now, it is up, we moved a darling little love seat and put the desk and computer there.  :)  YAY!  So excited.  Back to my point: now I want a chair.  A nice comfy leather chair.  But, if you don't know, nice comfy leather chairs all have rollers, do I want rollers?  Only if I want my kids to push each other around on the chair.  Hmmm.  Any advice?  It doesn't stop there, I want more that just a chair.  I want a inkjet color printer to go with it.  And, now I need something to go on the side of the desk to put "stuff" in and on.  I am not sure what.  And, I wonder, when I get all that - 

what will I want next? (Good thing I know good things happen for those who wait).

*When I was at WalMart today with Josie, Jake & Jainie, we were trying to decide what to get my dad for Father's Day.  We were looking through the magazines when Jainie got a paper cut.  It started bleeding and she got upset and started crying and getting a bit hysterical because of the blood.  I was thumbing through a book, so simply told her to suck on it.  She looked at me horrified and said that would be disgusting, only boys do stuff like that.  So, I sucked on it for her.  Gross? A mom thing, I think.  Everything was fine until the ride home when she looked at me with BIG eyes and said "Mom, my scratch (aka paper cut in Jainie language) has a scratch!  How do I scratch it?"  Good point.  How do you scratch a scratch? Or in this case, a cut? :)

Yep, she really is this crazy.

*Jaxon had a friend over today and they decided to go down to the canal and catch crawdads.  I thought that seemed fine, they are both 12 and can swim so I said go ahead.  Jaxon ran around the house (which was a MESS because Josie and I were gone yesterday and the boys did nothing, so I was cleaning and not too happily) gathering supplies he would need; fishing line, hooks, swim suit, swim shoes, hot dogs, I have no idea what else.  Well, he kept asking me for things and I didn't have them and didn't know where they were so I finally told him if he didn't hurry and go, I would give him a job first.  Meanwhile, Jake had been non-stop complaining that he didn't have friend here and he wanted to go with Jaxon.  I didn't tell him no because I didn't want a full-scale tantrum on my hands.  I simply chose to ignore him.  Good mom, right?  Well, then  a friend came over and I got caught up visiting and realized awhile later, that there wasn't enough noise - meaning no boys were home.  And, I realized Jake must have gone after Jaxon.  Still, too tired to be too worried, I didn't think much about it.  My mom stopped by next so I visited with her for awhile, wondering if the boys were going to come home or not.  Joshua came home from Day Camp and I sent him to the canal to look for his brothers.  (Not very smart, I know.)  Luckily, Jared came home a bit later, so I sent him down to find the boys. (I love having a dad around to help me with the boys, I would be a nervous wreck and my boys would be afraid of everything.)   He came home with all the boys, who had been fighting for some reason and only later did I ask Jake where he had been.  As soon as I asked Jake, Jaxon yelled from his bedroom, "We just went crawdad fishing - that's ALL!"  Suspicious.  Luckily, Jake is only 6 and is still quite obvious about when he is trying to "trick" you - his words.   But, he was trying to catch on to Jaxon's not-so-subtle clues, so he just said "Yeah, we had to get hot dogs first though."  Which Jaxon yells, "Just hot dogs - that's all."  More suspicious.  It was then I decided I had to get more of the story.  Now, we have a rule that you cannot cross main street from our house unless you are with mom or dad.  It is much too busy where we live and there is not even a cross-walk.  It is a firm rule, one that we all know and follow. :)  So, Jake proceeds to tell me that Jaxon and his friend had to go to Lin's to get some hot dogs for the crawdads.  (Do crawdads even like hot dogs?)  Jaxon yells, "Just hot dogs".  Then, Jake says "And a treat for me."  Before I can lose my temper too much, Jaxon also yells, "Jake didn't come to the store with us - he didn't cross the street."  I know he wasn't here though, so where was he?  So, Jake then tells me that he was at dad's new office (Jared is building a new office on Main street - our side).  I wondered where in the office,  he then replied, "Oh, I didn't wait in the office, I just went in the porta-potty and locked myself in."  So proud of himself.  Keep in mind, it would take Jaxon at least 7ish minutes to get to Lin's, and then to buy the stuff, and then back.  Plus, he was with a friend, I am sure they weren't hurrying.  Boys!  (I am thinking at least 20 minutes).  Thus, Jaxon buying Jake a treat was a bribe to keep him quiet. (Good thing Jake didn't know that).  Jaxon yells again, "We only bought hot dogs."  I am really curious what else they bought.  Aren't you?  

Oh and by the way, an hour after the boys got home, this was tipped over by the horrendous wind that day.  Wouldn't that have been great if Jake had been in it.  When do they say boys brains fully develop?  100? lol 

I chalk it up to unknown blessings, only this time I found out.

*So Jake, who is 6, has once again decided to be his own barber.  This is how our conversation went:

Me:  Jake, what happened to your hair?

Jake: (looking completely shocked) What do you mean?

Me:  Someone has cut it.  Who cut it?

Jake:  (still keeping up the charade) Where?  (then he feels up where I show him) Oh, I don't know how that happened.  I think it just fell off.  (big eyes)

Me:  Jake, it didn't just fall off.  Someone has cut it, clear down to your skin!  You did it, didn't you?

Jake:  NO!  It was someone else.

Me:  Who?  I am going to go ask them.

Jake:  Fine, I did it.

Me:  Why?  You know you are NOT supposed to cut your own hair. (He has done this so many times - seriously, at least, 10.)

Jake:  Well, I think I was sleeping when it happened.  (thinks about it for a minute)  Yup, I was.

Me: No, I don't think you were.  Why did you cut your hair?

Jake:  Well, it was an accident.  I just had the scissors and then they ended up in my hair then somehow, I don't know how, they cut my hair!

Me:  No, I don't think that is it either.  You better tell me the truth.

Jake:  Okay, actually, I got this sticky candy stuff in it and I couldn't get it out.

Me:  Are you sure it wasn't gum?  (Background info: we don't allow Jake, Jainie, or Joshua to chew gum anymore for the simple reason that it is everywhere.  Really - on the floor, cement, hair, clothes, in the dryer, bathtub, minivan, plus many other places.  How hard is it to throw it in the garbage?  Jake knows this VERY well, he has been punished many times for chewing it anyway.)

Jake:  Well, it could have been, I can't see in that spot you know, so it was either gum or really sticky candy.  (with a BIG smile).

What is a parent to do?

The spot that looks bald, not just good editing, it IS bald.  Clear down to the skin.  The boys punishment for cutting their hair is to cut it down to the shortest spot.  Jared says we will have to "bic" him.

     Ah, the adventures of motherhood.  I wouldn't change it!