It's beginning to smell a lot like Christmas

My friend, Heidi, is really into doTerra essential oils. A few weeks ago she sent me some samples after hearing my whining about my boys and their inability to sleep. It didn't take long for me to be converted to lavender oil. It's amazing in it's ability to help Monkey calm down. It's been helpful at night, but the true miracle is on Sundays for church. We've gone from full blown tantrums in sacrament meeting to rarely having to remind him to quiet down.



So... when Heidi suggested I try the OnGuard (a blend of cinnamon, clove and orange to help boost your immune system) to help us all stay healthier this winter, I was all for it. This weekend my samples came in the mail and I've been putting it on the boys' feet when they get dressed.

This was the plan until Bug grabbed the sample and tried to get the cap off with his teeth, while getting his diaper changed.

Now he smells like Christmas...

Success?

I made it one month into the school year before dropping Monkey off for school in my pjs. I'm counting this one as a success.

Somebody in our house loves to play Rockband....

Labor Day on the "Root Canal"

The boys love to take their trikes to the C&O Canal to ride on the towpath. A few weeks ago, Monkey overheard Wil and I talking about his need for a root canal. Now whenever we drive over the bridge above the canal... you can hear two little boys yell, "ROOT CANAL!"

Speed Racer

Wil checking our location and pushing Bug's trike.

 

 

Ode to Sleep

This is where I would write my "Ode to Sleep".

Extoll the virtues of a full night's rest,
Wax poetic on how I wish the monster would sleep past dawn,
But, alas, I am too tired.

*the monster, my inspiration for this post

Africa

For months now Monkey has talked about going to Africa. (I have no idea where he got this idea, but it's stuck in his head for a long time.) Since my parents had come up on Saturday to celebrate my Dad's birthday, we decided this would be the perfect time to visit Africa (aka Wilson's Wild Animal Park).

When we pulled in, it was a bit questionable (part wild animal park/part junkyard)... but once we headed inside. The boys loved it (so much so that we couldn't get them to stop long enough to take a picture, unless it was the back of their heads).

Checking out the tortoises -"Hey, Mom!!! There's THREE!!"

Bug kept yelling at the rooster to "Be kiet, da yions are leeping!"

Billy Goat Gruff - this guy was mean

Why, hello, emu...

Feeding the fallow deer

What's next?

The Tortoise and the Hare

Check out my new look

Just in case you read the blog through Google Reader, you should click on over and check out the new look. My sister put it all together and I think it's fabulous.

Create your own Monster in 7 easy steps

Things you will need:
a happy healthy 18 month old
a pacifier
a sippy cup

1. Pack up all your earthly belongings and move.
2. Take your happy healthy boy and move him to a big boy bed in the new house
3. Let him sleep in your bed when he wakes up in the middle of the night, placating him with alternating pacifiers and sippy cups of milk.
4. Drag this on for almost a year.
5. Decide you've had enough.
6. Begin excruciating steps to remove child from your bed, wean him from pacifier and then the 4am milk sippy.
7. Realize that you have made this decision just as your happy healthy boy has hit his terrible two's with full force.

Ta da! You too will have your very own sleep deprived 2 year old. But watch out... cause they bite.

ps. Don't let this adorable face fool you.

righteous desires

You know how there are things in life that you struggle with for a while because they seem like really good things but it just isn't working and then you come to terms with whatever it is and then you are ok with it for a while and then you come really close to resolving the problem/attaining the goal and you realize that you can't resolve the problem/reach the goal after all and that thing you were fine with yesterday becomes a HUGE deal all over again and you feel like you have to start all over...

Yeah.

It's only taken 20 years to learn this lesson

I remember clearly my mom's frequent requests to clean my room and make my bed as I was growing up. More often than not they went unheeded and resulted in me being stuck in my room until it was clean (usually missing out on something else I had really wanted to do). I'm sure I'm not the only one who spent parts of their childhood/teenage years in the same situation.

Fast forward 20 (plus) years. Now I get it. I love my bedroom. The little details are all coming together. I'm in love with that color. I've been slowly sneaking more pillows on the bed over the last 5 years and Wil has even stopped complaining about them (he's a champ). BUT... our bedroom is the dumping place for everything without a place, along with all of the unfolded laundry. Slowly I've been able to get this more under control (except, of course, the laundry, which might always be a step ahead of me*), but it's still the last room in the house to get cleaned.

Except for the bed... it's the one thing I can accomplish quickly, without having to go in search of cleaning supplies or missing parts. And especially when it's been a no good, horrible day - walking in the room and seeing that the bed is made, makes me feel like I've accomplished something.

I'm coming to terms with the fact that my room may not ever be uncluttered beyond the time it took to take those pictures, but you can bet the the bed will be made.

*I was complaining about my plight to my mother the other day and in her wisdom she said, "Do you remember growing up and going to the M's and the G's and C's and the W's? Can you think of a time when there wasn't a pile of laundry waiting to be sorted, washed, folded or put away? Probably not, because once you have kids... it just doesn't happen. Thanks, Mom, for keeping it real.