Bleach Mishaps?

I started the load of white linen one final time in hopes that this new bleach would eradicate the chocolate stains that were all over the Relief Society's white tablecloths. This was my last chance as my last few tries had left the chocolate as one with the tablecloth, a brown smudge dotting the cloths. Not experienced in the usage of bleach in a washing machine I read the directions and decided to double the amount called for per load. It couldn't hurt, I thought.

After half and hour the house was filled with the smell of bleach as sweet thoughts of once again white linen that I could in good faith return to the Relief Society filled my mind. Thus finishing making family night treats with my daughter I went to check on the load. It was wonderful. Everything was bright white. I was musing on whether I should rinse the load once more as it smelled strongly of chlorine when I looked down at my feet and noticed a long puddle of water. No! I thought. There's no way. I quickly threw down a nice green kitchen towel to clean up the water and to my utter amazement the nice green towel quickly gained huge white splotches as it soaked up the "water". Apparently the one time that my washer decided to leak was the time that I had it filled with brand new and quite volatile bleach. "Who cares about the smell of the tablecloths I thought as I threw them in the dryer. I just hope there's not enough bleach left to eat holes in them."

It just so happened that at that exact moment my baby started screaming from his swing, my daughter needed me to move things for her, the oven timer was beeping and I was tracking bleach everywhere. In a triage situation you quickly determine what needs action most urgently and act accordingly. Obviously the bleach won, to an extent. I grabbed the laundry baskets off the floor, moved the boxes of food that were right by the washing machine as well as the big tupperware container, quickly mopped the bleach that I could see with my sad little "once green" towel, then ran to the bathtub to rinse my shoes. I didn't want to risk holes in them as they were my favorite pair. Lacking the luxury of time, I just stood in the bathtub in an inch of water then quickly dried them on the floor mat by stomping a couple of times and ran to put our family night treat in the oven, comfort the baby and look up in time to see a squirrel trying to get into my bird cage. Aaaa! I ran outside clapping at the little rodent until he finally got the point and ran. Then I ran back inside took the treat out of the oven, decided that the bleach water under the washing would just have to dry on its own (hopefully leaving no further stains), sat down for a second to breathe and hoped that on top of everything else I hadn't fumigated our quaker parrot. Ah yes, the typical day of a mother of young children, a wonderful day sprinkled with moments of madness throughout. The slightly ironic thing is that I had just looked at my washroom today and thought that I really needed to clean it out. Be very, very careful of the things you hope for. :)

Things a Mom Does to Accomplish

Some days are better than others. Today was well, a day. I put my two oldest in quiet time for an hour and my baby in his swing in front of a window with a view of a tree because he is mesmerized by the leaves. And then what did I do? I went and cleaned my bathroom for an hour, something I haven't been able to do for a few months.

After this I asked the kids if they wanted birthday cake for lunch which they joyfully accepted. Feeling slightly guilty since I normally feed them very healthy food I also gave them fresh veges and fruit. Desperate times call for desperate measures. I know this time will pass quickly but sometimes I feel the length of the days and the demands on the mom. I don't know if I earn the amusing mom or bad mom award today but I hope to get a chuckle from this someday.

Shoes

Tonight I mourned the passage of youth in four little pairs of shoes. Earlier today my sweet little five year old brought me these well worn shoes informing me that she had outgrown them all. I believe it as some she’s had for over two years which is eons in a young child’s life. As I look at these shoes tonight, though, they bring me back to her little world, pink sparkly princess “ballerina” shoes, brown hello kitty loafers, pink satin "dress up" shoes I bought in Chinatown, and white princess sandals that survived the Houston summers. Each a great part of the make-up I view of her life. Why is it that shoes play such an integral part in the memory of a young child’s life? Is it because of the countless times we as mothers are asked if the shoe has been put on the “right foot” and so we look down and see and unknowingly mark in our heart that piece of our child’s life? I wonder.

What I do know as I sit looking at those shoes is that my little girl is growing up so fast. It seems just yesterday that she was running in those shoes playing for hours with her own imagination and her brothers. She still plays but now she is reading and writing. She is growing. I rejoice in that! But I also realize that the pendulum of time is constantly moving and I am not sure that I have done enough. I am so grateful for the Lord’s Atonement which can make up for this and realize that I had better get back on the ball.

A New Kind of Easter

I've been trying to incorporate Christ into the holidays in which He rightly belongs. I love the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus. I did as a child and to this day still do. My parents did a wonderful job of separating and celebrating each and then incorporated our furry friend and jolly old man into the ideals they wanted to espouse in us. For example, Santa was giving and did things out of love, and as long as he didn't get caught, out of sight, never for attention. And his example was Christ. I wanted to pass this onto my children-the joy of childhood and the true meaning of the season. And so this year the Easter Bunny brought something a little different.

To begin with Saturday we had a fun Easter egg hunt.

Then Sunday morning the kids awoke to a trail leading from their door to their respective basket

which was filled with

potted flowers, a different kind for each of my beautiful, unique children. This represented life and living things. Each child also found a framed picture of Christ and children.

and a puzzle of Christ and a child

Of course there was a chocolate Easter Bunny and Easter eggs filled with treats. Boy did the kids love it! And I am so glad.

Happy Easter!

There was a little man who said catch me if you can

Someone came to visit us but didn't stay for long
We set a trap and didn't look back
For how could we go wrong

Well that tricky little man
He got away from us again
But startled as he ran
He left his treasure under the bin

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Cute little side note: The kids were so sure that they'd caught the leprechaun that it took about fifteen minutes for them to gain the courage to check under the green bin to see if he was there. They thought they could see his red beard sticking out. When I walked in the door one child was hiding in the hallway niche and the other under the kitchen table, both giggling in anticipation. They would peek out and then run for cover again. When they realized I wasn't going to lift the bin my sweet three year old decided that he'd brave it out. (Wish I had that picture. His face was priceless.) Isn't it so fun to have kids?

Check out this link!

http://academicearth.org

It's incredible!