Global warming in the eyes of a 4-year-old

One part of being a mom that I love the most is seeing the world from a kid's perspective.  Sometimes the things they say are so sweet and innocent and sometimes they are just downright hilarious.  For me, this is the stuff that keeps me going day after day after day.  Yesterday, we drove to Indiana from Wisconsin on our way back from visiting my family (about 9 hours in the car by myself with my two kids....fun times!)  We drove thru some crazy rush hour traffic in Chicago and then proceeded thru what I like to call the "armpit of the world", otherwise known as Gary, IN.  It just smells bad and there are factories and smog and smokestacks for miles around.  I'm pretty sure my chances of getting cancer double every time I drive through.  Anyway, as we were passing by all the smokestacks, Miles pipes up and asks "Mom, are those cloudmakers?".  I couldn't help but crack up.  It never occurred to me that he wouldn't know what they were...it was so cute.  I almost wish I would have lied to him and told him he was right, but I explained what they were and he seemed satisfied with my answer.  Wouldn't it be nice if they were just cloudmakers?  

I need to get a life

People who know me may think that I'm busy and I guess I am.  I'm not really one to sit around and relax during the day when I'm at home with the kids (unless I'm on vacation or have company at my house) cause there's always something to do.  I like to take my kids to playgroups and the library and whatever other free activities I can find in the area.  If we have nothing going on, I'm usually picking up around the house or paying the bills or checking email or whatever else on the computer.  I'll admit my night life could use a little pick me up....and here's how I know that.  Maizy likes to pack up all her purses and bags and baby stuff like she's a mommy that's getting ready to go somewhere.  When she's all ready, she says "Okay, I'm going to my meeting!"  Funny girl!  Then this evening, I was putting away the last of the snowman decorations that we have up around the house.  I have this set of three snowmen that are of varying sizes.  So Maizy was helping me put them away and she tells me the littlest one is the "baby smowman" and the medium one is the "kid snowman" and the biggest one is the "daddy snowman".  She proceeds to say that there isn't a mommy snowman so I ask her where she thinks the mommy snowman went and yep, you guessed it, she says "She went to a meeting".  Needless to say, I'm pretty sure she thinks this is the only time I get out of the house, which is mostly true I guess.  I'd love to get out more on the weeknights (and weekends for that matter) but seriously, how do you do that as a stay-at-home mom?  By the end of the day I'm exhausted, not to mention my husband travels so that leaves little opportunity to get out anyway.   I just thought it was a funny observation from my almost 3 year old daughter.  Maybe she's telling me I need to get a life!  Thanks Maiz!

I'm not meant to be a single mom

I'm in the middle of making dinner and just thinking about how grateful I am to have Mike home tonight.  This is the first weeknight that he's been home since January 8th so it's been a while since I've had some relief at the end of the day.  He was home thru the weekend and will head back to SD on Wednesday night.  I'll be heading to Wisconsin to visit my family and then he'll catch up with us there over the weekend.  Anyway, I was thinking about how you adapt so easily to changes in life.  Like, for instance, Mike leaving for work in the morning....when he kissed me and said good-bye this morning, it freaked me out for a second (I was in a deep sleep so that could have had something to do with it).  And then when he walked through the door this afternoon, it took me a second to realize that he was actually home.  The kids were really excited to see him home after work.  I think they figured if he was at work, then that must mean South Dakota.  I've realized over the past few weeks that I'm really not meant to be a single mom and I know why Heavenly Father designed marriage like he did.  I seriously don't know how single moms do it....I would be even crazier than I am!

I also had the opportunity to get away for the weekend with my wonderful sister-in-laws. Nina, Heather, Kate, Dana and I got together Friday night until Sunday to scrapbook and hang out.  We had such a great time together!  I'm so lucky to have a wonderful sister-in-laws!  It was so nice to have a completely stress-free kid-free weekend and to have the chance to just talk about our kids and husbands and life.  We are all married to brothers so we all understand what it's like to be married to an Aeschliman and we can all offer up advice or just vent our frustrations.  I love it!  Sometimes there can be drama with a big family, but fortunately, we have lucked out and all of us sister-in-laws get along great for the most part!  I'm looking forward to the next time we can all hang out! 

Week 4....and I'm just barely hanging on

I haven't posted anything in a while because, well, I just haven't had the time.  Mike is out of town for the 4th week in a row and I feel like I'm getting close to the end of my rope.  Luckily, he's been able to come home on the weekends, so I've had a little break so I can't complain too much.  The first week, the kids were really good, but since then they have definitely mastered the art of pushing my buttons.  Here are some of the things that I've had the joy of dealing with in the past few weeks:

• Maizy colored on the walls all the way up the stairs...thank goodness she used cheap dollar store markers that came off easily with rubbing alcohol.  Unfortunately, it brought to my attention the fact that my walls need a serious bath cause now there's a definite white streak through the middle.  Thanks Maiz, that's just wanted I wanted to do!
• Next day, Maizy colored on herself. This time it was with a dry erase marker....could have been a sharpie so I'm grateful it wasn't!
• I came downstairs to this:
• What may you ask is Maizy holding onto in this picture? Well, that would be our Macintosh computer! Isn't that fabulous?!   I was upstairs for like a minute changing the laundry or something and I walked downstairs to see the computer inches away from falling off the desk and Maizy crying and holding onto it for dear life.  And the kicker is, I didn't take this picture.  Miles was insightful enough to realize that I'd want to document our $1400 computer smashing into a million pieces, so instead of helping Maizy sit the computer back up, he grabs the camera and snaps not one, but three pictures.  When I came down, I helped Maizy get the computer upright and then a few days later discovered the photographic evidence.  The kids were in big trouble for this....let's just say they won't be making that mistake again! 
• Last Thursday, I met a friend of mine and her kids at Castaway Cafe in Howell so the kids could play and we could relax in their comfy chairs and talk.  Well, I don't know if you've ever been to one of those indoor jungle gym places, but there's not much relaxation going on for the parents (maybe for some, but not if your kids are like my kids).  First, they needed me to show them how to go down the slide after climbing up to the top of the tallest one and sitting there until I climbed up after them.  Then, my friend left her two year old with me for about 15 minutes so she could run to the outlet mall to exchange something.  I thought, sure, no big deal.  Here's what happened:  As she was walking out, I was scanning the jungle gym trying to spot my two kids and her little boy, Cooper.  I found mine but could not see Cooper anywhere  and I started to panic.  I climbed up to the big slide thinking maybe he was stuck at the top...no luck!  I was just about to go to the desk and ask them to help me look for him when I see him sitting in one of the party rooms they have on the side happy as can be playing with a pile of straws!  You little turkey!  Then about a minute later, I hear a blood curtling scream but I can't see where it's coming from but I think it's in the general direction of my kids.  So I climb up to find a little boy pretty much attacking Maizy and biting her arm.  Poor little thing!  I climbed down with her and as soon as she calms down, Cooper realizes his mom is gone and starts to freak out.  So I'm trying to tell him his mom will be right back but he heads for the bathroom thinking she might be in there.  He's walking toward the bathroom, looking back at me while I'm chasing him and BAM! walks right into a table and his mouth starts gushing blood.  Great!  I look like a terrible babysitter, but I swear I was watching them!  I think I just got confirmation that I shouldn't have any more kids! 
• Our cat, Rico, jumped up on my lap today and I noticed that his whiskers had been trimmed.  Not just a little bit either....he's got about 1 inch of whiskers on either side!  He's an outdoor cat so I thought maybe some kid grabbed him and cut his whiskers as a practical joke or something, but then I remembered my friend who watched my kids yesterday for a couple hours mentioned that Miles came down with a pair of scissors and said something about the cat.  When she told me that I figured it wasn't a big deal cause Rico's really fluffy and has fur to spare.  Now I realize what really happened.  Miles is at school right now, but you can bet we are going to have a little discussion when he gets home!....The cat's fine, but seriously what was he thinking? I'm grateful it wasn't Maizy's hair....I'd be crying if it was. 

Okay so can you maybe understand why I'm ready for Mike to be home?  I'm going scrapbooking with my sister-in-laws this weekend and, man, am I looking forward to it. It will be just the break I need!