We've got a... dog?

Cosette has discovered the toilet. It seems to me that she should be past this by now, but apparently she's just beginning. I'm getting worried that she's going to get seriously sick because she's just not learning to keep out of the toilet water!! First she discovered that it's really fun to stick your hand in the water and splash around, then she discovered that she can dip her food in it and then eat it, and tonight she snuck in behind me as I was rinsing off the older kids toothbrushes and was dipping her toothbrush in the toilet and then sticking it back in her mouth! It is SO GROSS! We really do try to keep her out of the bathroom but she's pretty sneaky and very quick. And slapping her hands doesn't faze her in the least. It makes me want to vomit just thinking about it.

Hopefully she gets over this soon...

Dentist Visit

We took the kids to the dentist this morning for the first time. I wasn't sure how it was going to go and I was having anxiety about it ever since I made the appointment (I'm sure there's a name for dentist phobia...), but the kids did pretty good. Debbie was seriously AWESOME! She was so happy and listened to them and did everything they asked her to do and wasn't even scared, I'm so proud of her! Isaac and Cosette were scared and were screaming during the x-rays and the exam, but the dentist and hygenist were really good and we were able to get it done quickly. And the best part is that they don't have any cavities!!! But, we still need to be better at brushing and flossing. They brush their teeth every night but I don't know just how clean we're really getting them and we only floss occasionally. So, I'm going to start giving them fluoride and hope that we can keep their teeth strong. I took a picture with my phone of Debbie in the chair while she was getting her teeth cleaned. Thanks for helping figure out how to get the picture Kelli!

I'm So Thankful

I am so grateful for the life that I've been blessed with. I realize that I'm mediocre at best as a human being, wife and mom (please, no comments, I'm not saying this for pity, it's really how it is and I'm okay with it [for the most part, I really do try to change and be what I should be.]) but for some reason I have been blessed with wonderful and amazing people in my life. I feel that I am living a fairy-tale life right now. I have the gospel in my life, I have a truly amazing and awesome husband, I have been blessed with three beautiful and healthy children, I have a great family and family-in-law, and I have many kind, wonderful, and fun friends. Could I be more blessed? I even love my cramped (and by cramped I mean cramped!) little student-housing apartment with only the basic amenities. I am amazed at how happy I am. I still have my days, everyone does, but at my core, I am the happiest I've ever been. I really owe it all to the fact that Heavenly Father saw fit to bless me with a wonderful husband. Chad has changed my life and has made me happier than I ever imagined I could be. I am so grateful that the man I married turned out to be a good man. I feel that you'll never really know someone until you've been through trials with them so when you decide to marry someone you're really taking a bit of a gamble. The Chad that I'm married to now is so much more than the Chad that I thought I was marrying. I had no idea he was going to be so wonderful. I love him so much more now than I did on the day we got married and I know that our love is only going to grow. He's obviously not perfect (I wouldn't deserve him if was, now would I?) but one of the best things about Chad is that he has faults I can live with (yes, I even love his faults, hows that for mushy!). I was wary of writing all this but I needed to post this because I want to acknowledge to Heavenly Father that I'm aware how much he's blessed me and I'm grateful for it. And, it's my blog so I can write what I want, right? :)

The best decision I ever made.

My Stolen Time

A mother's time (and life for that matter) is not her own. I happened to glance at a calendar this morning and the quote on the picture read, "Oh for a book and a shady nook." And I had the realization that those days are LONG GONE for me. My thoughts were along these lines,

"Wow, I remember when I was able to choose to read a book and then just sit down and read it. I had forgotten that there was ever a time when I could find a book and take time to lose myself in it. Hmm, I remember those days... before I had children..."

I love my children so much and I'm so grateful for them. They make my life worthwhile and they make all the sacrifices that I have to make seem nonconsequential. However, I occasionally have moments when my eyes are opened to the sacrifices that I do make and today was one such day. I realized that any time I take for myself is "stolen" time. If I take time for myself it comes at the expense of others, whether those people are my kids or the people who end up taking care of my kids. For example, right now, as I am blogging, the kids are having to entertain themselves as I put off their needs (for food, or drink, or attention...) so I can take some time to post my thoughts. I don't begrudge the children because of this, I chose them and I am well aware of how blessed I am that I was able to have them. They fill a void in my life that no amount of books and "shady nook[s]" could ever come close to filling. So, while I occasionally miss the quiet time I might have had if I didn't have these noisy, demanding little people in my life, I'd miss them a WHOLE lot more than I ever miss my "me" time.

Well, I'm being hit in the head with a ball 2and 5 .2+a helpful 33363 17 mo9th8 5old i96s help4ing me t56ype3. I guess I'll stop +-"sl+ealing" time!

Messy

I can't for the life of me keep Cosette clean.