Energy and Where It's Been Lately

The space from my last post to this one was filled with much fun for my two boys, including but not limited to:

• Toys in the toilet. Plunger stuck to the wall.
• Finding the boys covered head to foot in ashes from the fireplace (the family room generously sprinkled as well).
• Toothpaste on the door and in the tub (a whole tube full).
• Flooding of the bathroom while Michael was "getting a drink"
• Marker on the floors, tables, walls from the one and only time I felt inspired to let them color on paper. (Mom wonders why we don't have any paint in the house. *shudder*shudder*)
• 2 large tubs of Vaseline & 1 bottle of hand lotion distributed in thick layers in my bedroom, on the tv, and in Jacob's hair.
• Opening the linen closet and climbing the shelves in search of chemicals (or toothpaste)
• Multiple breaking into and entering the room with guitars and amps and starting their own concert.
• Into the fridge (getting past the newly installed fridge kids proof lock) to discover if the eggs are hardboiled and how it feels to taste a bite of butter.

All the results of mommy not having enough energy to play with them as much as before. And all accomplished quicker than you'd think. This month has included lots and lots of prayer for patience and disciplining with love. My boys are really great and fun, just need all of that energy channeled somewhere or you pay the price :-) Nicole is really stepping up to help me- she folds her own laundry, clears the table after breakfast and dinner, makes her bed, and give me little back massages "to help the baby be happy." She is an angel!! (And so are the boys, right? I'm too distracted cleaning up messes to worry about how sick I feel from pregnancy :-) We've made some changes with how we use our time and where we place door and window locks (don't ask about the windows) and have seen great strides in their behavior. We were so happy when on Sunday for the first time when I dropped off Michael he didn't lay on the floor sprawled in all directions in front of the Primary motionless and unwilling to move unless you put him in a chair whereupon his previously stiff limbs turned to Jello and propelled him back on the floor. Bribing with lollipops didn't work in weeks previous, but I've figured out how to get him to stay in his chair: "If you get out of your chair, someone else might take it. Oh no, better stay in it!" hehe What a fun phase of life!

We had a fun time constructing this climber in the rain on Saturday :-) and the kids absolutely LOVE it!Nicole pretends she is a pirate with a patch over one eye. Arghh!Michael loves the physical challenge and all of the acrobatics he can perform while hanging/falling off.What I love is that this is pretty big and there are so many different activities and fun to have with it- but it doesn't kill the grass :-) Combine this with the plastic play climber we got a few months back, and the kids are really having a blast. Now if we could get this rain to stop! Tomorrow is supposed to be 67 so that should dry the ground.

Daniel sent a package to us from the Ukraine where he is serving his mission. Knowing me very well, he reserved to bars of chocolate for me. :-) We all enjoyed sampling some of the local treats that differ from anything we'd find in the United States.

If you give a three year old a cookie...

Okay my camera disappeared for the last few weeks so I have no pictures to show. We had a fun New Years with some friends and had pizza, cinnamon rolls, fondue and various other treats. When I asked Michael what he wanted to drink and listed 7up, root beer, lemonade, etc. He just said "soda!" We had the kids get balloons and stand on the balcony overlooking the family room and then did a countdown around 7:00 and they "dropped the ball" at zero and made noise with the noisemakers and fun toys. Jim and I also made a bunch of New Years resolutions and it has been so fun implementing the goals we have for the kids. My singing time with Michael has been a treasure (anyone seen "Barney and the Choir"?) and Nicole loves her personal scripture study time (gets to stay up after the boys go to bed!) and she loves the highlighter we gave her to mark words that are special and give her a good feeling in her heart. So cute! She went through 70 pages of the Old Testament last night and I told her she could stop anytime, but she just kept going! Jacob loves my storytime with him after family scripture study, and Michael and Jim were having a blast making towers in their one on one time after scripture study at night.

Today has been interesting so far.

This morning Nicole was doing a piano worksheet when Michael came over and was distracting her. She said, "Don't play by here, I'm consecrating!"

After lunch, Michael needed to completely change his outfit. He disrobed, but then ran up to his room for quiet time without getting dressed again! So I went up to the other bedroom where his clothes are (Jacob's room where he was having quiet time). That room has the door handle switched so the lock is on the outside. I unlocked the door and went in, closing it behind me so Jacob would think he couldn't go back out. After retrieving some clothes, I went to open the door but it was locked! I banged on the door calling for Michael in the room next door. After yelling his name and banging the door- nothing. I went to the wall connecting the rooms and banged on the wall, yelling to Michael that I was locked in Jacob's room and needed help. Again and again and again. And the worst part was I could hear him joyfully playing-completely naked-with his cars and airplane. "whoosh, wheee, oh wow" and all kinds of other sound effects. And nothing I did could get him to come or even acknowledge me. Nicole was downstairs watching a movie and had no way of hearing me at all. I called Jim only to get voice mail. And just when I thought this was going to be a long afternoon, inspiration hit. I went back to the wall and knocked again telling Michael I would give him a cookie. Seconds later he came out of his room to unlock my door. I am not kidding. What a three year old I have!