I'd Like to Add Another Word to the Dictionary

spuke- [spyook] noun. verb, spuked. slang.

-noun
1. spit up, as a result of older sister pushing on baby's belly after eating.

-verb
1. to spit out forcefully. Eww! Kimberly spuked!

-slang
1. a toddler's combination of "spit up" and "puke"

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Do you think I would get paid if this word actually made it into Webster's? Do you think it would be enough to cover Ellie's college education? Since, you know, she was the one to come up with the word.

On Bugs and God

While Makayla watched a bug climb up the car window she asked, " Mom, who made bugs?"

"God did."

"Why?"

"I'm not sure."

She pondered this for a moment and then asked, "Who's God?"

"It's Heavenly Father."

"Oh. . . is God his last name?"

I couldn't answer because I was laughing too hard.

Daddy's Little Girl

Sadly, Kasey has been working out of town more than he has been home in Kimberly's short 6 months of life. Every night when he calls to talk to us, I put the phone up to Kimberly's ear so she can hear her Daddy's voice. I was a little worried, though, that when he came home she would recognize his voice but not his face.

How silly of me! Yesterday after Kasey got home, Kimberly sat on his lap and hugged his arm like this for a good 30 minutes. It was so sweet, and I was so happy that she knew her daddy.

The Countdown Continues

Kasey just called, and he is only 13 hours away from home. Hooray! We can't wait to see him!

Two Hours Later

I wrote that last post while everyone was in time out, myself included. Makayla and Ellie were fighting, Kimberly was screaming, and I was at the end of my rope. So I assigned everyone a different room for 5 minutes of alone time. While in my self-imposed time out, I tried to think of what I could do to ease the tension in the house. My idea?

Swimming in the bathtub with swim suits. Laughter is pretty much always the best antidote to a bad situation, in my opinion. And there was lots of laughing! Afterwards, I was a happy mom with three very happy children.

Maybe we should swim in the tub a little more often!

Losing My Mind or What Was Left of It

Only 38 hours (give or take) until Kasey comes home. I hope my girls are alive when he gets here!

Random Stuff

I've had a lot of thoughts floating around in my head lately. I can't collect those thoughts enough to make a coherent post about each, so here's a list of random stuff.

1. Every parent and pediatrician has his/her own ideas about what babies should eat and when. I found it interesting that on the same day, only mere hours apart, I had one mom friend who was shocked to learn that Kimberly (at 5-1/2 months) is eating stage 1 baby food. And another mom friend was flabbergasted that I was only feeding Kimberly solid foods one time a day, not 3 like she thought was appropriate at this age. It's just interesting to me, and makes me realize how important it is not to judge other mothers. We are all doing the best we can.

2. In March or April I started exercising by walking several times a week for an hour or more. I felt good, but could tell that I needed just a little bit more. So this week, I started alternating walking and jogging. And let me tell you, my body hates me for it. All you runners out there, does that feeling ever go away? The feeling that with one more step you're going to fall over dead in your tracks? Because if it doesn't, I'll settle for being overweight.

3. I'm reading a book called Financial Peace by Dave Ramsey, and it has changed my life! The power of cash is amazing, and I have hardly used my debit/credit cards at all in the past month. If you have not read this book, you owe it to yourself to do so. Seriously. Life. Changing.

4. I can't wait for Kasey to get home so I can start sleeping again. His absence is the reason for my recent insomnia, I'm sure of it!

5. My older girls have been on a spitting (raspberry blowing) kick lately. It drives me crazy! Several times a day I threaten to staple their tongues to the wall or tape their mouths shut, but obviously don't. It's so frustrating that I don't know how to stop this behavior. Today when we were driving home, the sun was right in Ellie's eyes. She got so angry and finally looked up and said, "Grrr! Sun, I hate you!" And then spit at the sun. I have to admit that I could not contain my laughter.

6. The phrases that I say repeatedly every day are "Hurry up! We're late!" "Stop fighting!" "Stop spitting" (see #5) "Are your ears broken?" The answer to the last question is apparently yes, because I continue to say these same things over and over.

What they must hear (because they repeat it to each other constantly) is "I just can't handle you right now!" and "You're making me crazy!"

7. I was a little depressed looking at pictures from my sister's wedding. Because do I really look that fat? Until I saw the pictures, I was feeling pretty good about myself. I'm only about 10 pounds away from what I weighed when I got married, and I thought I looked good then. I think I should probably invest in a full length mirror so I can get a reality check every once in a while. On the other hand, I was really happy in my ignorance. Maybe I should continue to believe that I look better than I actually do.

8. Last one. Why is it that when my children are awake, stomping all over my patience, time seems to slowly creep along? But after they are in bed, I wash some dishes, read a book, and suddenly it's after midnight. It's so irritating!