Why We Ate Pizza Tonight

Have you ever had one of those days that you just wish you could rewind and start over?
Or maybe just one of those afternoons?
I have those a lot.
Probably too much.
Had another one today.

A few days ago I asked my mother-in-law to give me a recipe for quick and easy potato soup.  She sent it immediately, and I wrote down all three ingredients.  When I made my trip to the grocery store I picked up the items with little incident*.

*Side Story: While in the grocery store, I had to call the mother-in-law to verify the size of the can of chicken broth.  Old lady on motorized chair with cart did not like the fact that I was bending down discussing sizes of cans on the phone.  Apparently I was in her way.   Said old lady kept inching towards me on her motorized vehicle in an attempt to run me over.  After narrowly escaping an unfortunate incident with a senior adult, I got my stuff and got out.

I have been looking forward to this soup for about three days.  Tonight, it finally came time to make it.
I got the can of chicken broth out and tried to open it.  The electric can opener that we have had since we got married decided today was the day it would quit.  I kept trying and trying.  I swear the can opener was laughing at me.   Fail.

Normally, this would not be a huge deal.  A girl like me always has a back-up.  Except our back-up is sitting in a pile of boxes in the garage.  I only unpacked the bare minimum of stuff because we knew we would not be in this rental house long.  I even remember thinking, "I never use that manual can opener.  I think I can do without it for three months."  Fail.

My husband suggested we open the can with a hammer and nail.  Umm, no.  I finally managed to pry the can open and pour out the broth only to discover little shavings of aluminum in the broth.  Kenneth could see I was frustrated and volunteered to go to the store and get a new can opener and can of broth.

He was gone forever.  At least 35 minutes.  Apparently all the Wal-mart workers decided to take a break the minute he walked into the store.  Subsequently he spent about 20 minutes walking the aisles trying to find an electric can opener.  To no avail.

He came home and told me that he just bought me a manual one.  Except not.  He pulled the appliance out of the bag, and I realized he had bought a garlic press.  Those are great for garlic.  Not for opening cans.  Fail.

After an hour since my first attempt, I managed to get the can open, pour in the broth and start the soup.  I poured in the frozen potatoes and the gravy, which was the next step.  It didn't look right.  I checked the recipe again.  Awesome.  I poured in brown gravy mix instead of country gravy.  There was no salvaging this one.

Dinner=ruined.
Again.
Fail.

I looked around and there was nothing in the house that I could just whip up.
Not even a good "dinner" cereal.
Fail.  Yet again.

...And this is why we ate pizza tonight.

It's Potty Time...Maybe

In the last week Asa has told us a few times
that he needed to potty.  

I would normally be pretty thankful, but it has left me frustrated.

Now that I know he knows when he is about to potty,
it just frustrates me that he won't tell me consistently. 
So he knows, and he knows what to do, but he just won't. 
Except maybe once per day. 
Maybe.

And if I tell him that he needs to sit on the potty he just screams and kicks and hits me. 
Fun times.

I know that I am terrible because I just keep thinking,
"Well, now that you know, can we just do this so that I don't have to buy diapers all the time? 
And I am sick of smelling your poo.  K.  Thanks."  

So selfish.

I don't want to turn the potty into a battleground.

I fight plenty of battles each day,
and I refuse to engage in one over the toilet.

But, oh, how wonderful it would be to have only one in diapers.

I'm going to go daydream about that.

And We Rested

Today was awesome. 
Seriously awesome.
We did something today that we have never done before.
We stayed in our Pjs almost the entire day. 

I started the day off by going to early morning Bible study while Kenneth stayed home with the boys.  On Saturdays they usually wake up and have breakfast together before I get home.   Today was no different except that we didn't make plans for the day after I got back from Bible study.  I got to change back into my Pjs and we just lounged around all day long.

I felt like such a lazy bum.  I have to be moving and do all the time.  I can rarely sit on the couch and watch TV in the evening without also working on Sudoku, or writing something, or checking facebook.  Kenneth and I literally have never stayed at home an entire day with no plans since before Noah was born.  Although we felt so lazy we really enjoyed our time of rest. 

Noah and I did go out tonight to get a movie and brownie mix and that was it.  We had a nice family movie night (Little Mermaid) and just spent time together on the couch.  It was such a nice break and I really thank the Lord for such a time of rest. 

A Dream Realized

Our way of saying "Thank You" to God for giving Martin Luther King Jr. 

a dream that paved the way
to make our family possible.

Cat in the Hat...Nope, Cat in the House

This morning went surprisingly well.  Kenneth had all the boys fed by the time I was out of the shower, and when he left for church I managed to get all the boys clothed, teeth brushed, bags packed and ready to leave at least 30 minutes before we needed to head out the door.  I even thought to myself, "Wow.  I can't believe we are actually going to make it incident-free this morning.  I think we are going to make it to church on time, and probably be pretty early." 
Why in the world do I do that?  Why?
Have I not learned? 
I must be a glutton for punishment. 
I cursed myself.

I was thinking good thoughts and remaining calm as I got the boys ready to leave.  This in and of itself is a major victory around our house on Sunday mornings.  Why, O, Why does it seem like the gates of Hades just open up and try to swallow our house on the Lord's Day?  Spiritual warfare is alive and well here, for sure. 

Anyways, I even had a great moment as a parent.  I watched Noah lovingly teach and encourage Nathan how to get on his bottom and go down the stairs carefully.  He was very patient and slowly scooted down the steps with Nathan to guide him where he needed to go.  My heart was melting, and then Aiden jumped in to help too.  This was totally of their own volition, and I could not have been more proud.

As the boys got into the van, again without incident, I should have known something was going to happen.  I was strapping Asa in and I started to hear an animal.  I assumed that it was one of the toys that we keep in the van.

And then it happened. 
I turned just in time to see a cat run into our garage.  I started freaking out.  I hate cats.  I yelled.  The cat ran deeper into the garage, which is full of boxes.  I looked up and to my horror the boys had forgotten to shut the door leading up to the rest of the house.  I could not find the cat anywhere.

So much for being on time to church.

I asked Noah and Aiden to get out of the van and help.  They looked at me like I was nuts.  Well, I will give them that one. 

After pulling them out of the van I told them to help me find the cat.  They refused.  I told Noah to man the garage door to watch and see if the cat came out.  Aiden went upstairs with me to try to look for it.  We searched and searched, and could not find it.  When we came back to the garage I noticed Noah back in the van with the doors all shut.  When I asked him what he was doing he yelled, "Well, you don't want the cat to come in here and hurt my brothers, do you?!"  Goodness.

So after about 20 minutes of looking for this cat, I gave up.  On to church we went. 
I have NO idea where that cat is. 
I hope it doesn't decide to climb into bed tonight. 

Aiden Rides a Bike

We had a huge milestone in the family!

On Thursday, Aiden told me that he wanted to help him with "cartwheels" for his bike.  It took me a while to figure out what he as trying to say.  I finally realized that he wanted me to take the training wheels off of his bike.  Off they went.

Aiden hopped up on the bike, ready to go.  I gave him a little push.  He did about 3-4 peddles and fell.  He did that over and over and over.  He kept getting up and asking me to help him.  He didn't quit.  He is one tough and determined little boy.

Finally...
He did it!
He went about half way across the backyard peddling away before he fell over.
I went crazy!
He got up grinning ear to ear.
So proud of himself!

I was so proud of him.
And so happy for him.
My heart was bursting with joy.

Of course we have been practicing ever since.

*Don't mind the reprimand of Asa toward the end of the video.  He was just trying to escape when he thought I was otherwise occupied.  Think again, buddy.  Can't wait for that 6 ft privacy fence at the new house.  Have fun climbing that one.