It’s been a while, and now I’ve got kids moving out on me..

So, I grew up, had a few more kids.

Mochi says he’s gonna have the build that’s going up near our home. I said, “Right across the street?”

Princess X said:

I was gonna have a new plan [for Mochi]. I was gonna bring a car like dada’s car, but I didn’t bring some.

I’m trying to be sad with her..

“I was gonna get a tiny house but I didn’t get it.”

She thinks she needs a tiny car now. She’s ready to spread her wings!

Preschool On Our Own

Today the two girls that do our coop preschool with us were both sick and so we did the whole routine alone. And it worked really well! It surprised me, I thought I could only teach an organized, well-run preschool class if I had some type of outside pressure making sure I stuck to the plan.

But it turned out soo cute. Even with the fact that Memo would not take his normal nap and I had to step out of class for 20+ minutes. Good thing there were no witnesses! Hehe, but my favorite part by far and away was that while I was trying to tame the bucking bronco my boys were making me a late Mother's Day gift, or teacher's appreciation gift, take your pick. We were playing with buttons before I left. For every question they answered right I would put a button in a baby jar for them. Each boy chose a number of buttons to reach as their goal. :) Well, what would you expect from two boys left with a bunch of buttons and mom's sewing kit still out on the table?

This is the necklace they made me, after I took it off. It is all twisted now but I think as long as I remember the pattern, "purple, yellow, purple, yellow.. and a few others," I should be able to remake it before they notice ;). Seriously, Levi was just gushing over his creation and was really excited to give it to me. "I used the big people scissors and I didn't get an ouchie!" Hmm. But he also said, "We liked all the days of preschool and you are a good teacher. And it's another gift for Mother's Day. And you can put it on you when you go to the temple, your beautiful necklace that we made you. And.. that's why we love you!"

How about that? All-purpose and they love me now because they made me a necklace! Unless I misunderstood somehow..? Plus, they each earned the amount of buttons they needed to win the prize! Which was a coupon to Jamba Juice and so, we went straightaway to celebrate!

This shot is not what I was going for, but it does show that I was a disgruntled customer who still ended up paying $9.49 even with two coupons and even though I bought one of the smoothies on sale! We enjoyed them, of course. But when you drink the Berry Blast followed by the Peanut Butter Moo'd, it can't help tasting like a sandwich. And they have PB &J shakes for half-off at Sonic, if you go at the right time. Me to the store manager, "Are you saying you didn't give me the special because you did the free upgrade?" and thinking, "And didn't even give me the whole blender full when you divided it into three cups?" But I didn't let on to the boys, and I call that a success!

The Boys are in Charge / Los niños a cargo

Un mundo izquierdaaaaaal, A whole new woooorld! This is what life looks like when I upload the photos all at once like the boys ask me too. Así se ven las fotos cuando las subo tal y como están, como me piden los hijos.

levi4 ezra\\\\\\\\\\\3

Los niños limpiaron su cuarto y están muy felices quieren enseñarlo a todo mundo. (Pero en serio que no a todo mundo porque alguien todavía no lleva puesta su ropa de día.) The boys cleaned their room and were really happy and want the whole world to see. (But please don't show the world because someone still doesn't have their day clothes on.)

Así ayuda Memo con la limpieza. This is how Memo helps clean.

Bed made. Cama tendida.

Hasta el piso está recogido! Even the floor is all picked up.

Ta-dah! Ta-dan!

Cut the excuses

I got called out by a dear friend today. She asked me what has been stopping me from staying on top of my responsibilities. I was ready for her with my standard answers, I need more time alone and less distractions.. But the look she gave me was so penetrating I had to stop defending myself. It was embarrassing to admit my real reasons. But I needed to know how ridiculous it really was to be so behind on things. Unacceptable.

Suggestions:
Kids clean ten things and put them away
Ten minutes completely focused on them, playing. Love bank, ten minutes to clean alone
Give them an activity to do
Put away one toy before taking another out
Be playful, get on their level often, but be firm when you have to be

Use your heart more not your head, solution to depression as well as cleaning, responsible time v. Intellectual time
Go biking while the weather's nice!

Talked about exercising the kids, park time for instance, but it's not enough
Intellectual time and attention and playtime

They knelt down to pray facing each other this morning, mom and daughter

This lady is a powerful force for good, no wonder she's restless at the end of the day! So much energy to share :)

Check out fly lady, so funny she says

Routinely Rodriguez

I took my DeLorean back in time a year.. and I discovered something unfathomable. I used to do morning routines with the kids. This was back in March and from what I can tell the kids took really well to routinely making their bed and putting on day clothes before breakfast. Scripture study was a must too, just after we'd eat breakfast.

Well, then what happened? Ahem, Uncle Frito changed Job's work schedule. In April if I'm not mistaken. For whatever reason I fell off the schedule and took the kids down with me, LOL.

But today we decided to be responsible again. We ALL put on day clothes, brushed our teeth and made our bed. I started breakfast only to have Job finish it while I put Memo to bed, then after eating we read scriptures! Brilliant! And we're starting to do bath time at nights, instead of whenever the mood hits me, leading me to seriously cut the current night time routine down to bare bones.

Let's see.. now we do our *favorite part of the day* in the morning (favorite part of yesterday?) and we do our tooth brushing as a family in the morning (all the other times they're on their own). Even our pajama dance is, you guessed it, done in the morning! Before we put on boring day clothes :)

And that's where we're at right now. Thank you for reading my disjointed account of what we do with our lives! All in no particular order =D


**UPDATE**
 Routine is as routine does. And my routines are ALWAYS changing. Poor boys, I hardly know how to stick to our bedtime routine and daily routine! We're still doing the morning routine of day clothes, brushed teeth and bed made . But the early morning pajama dance fizzled out and however ideal it is to bathe the boys at night, I also really like when Job steps in to wash 'em before he heads out for work!

My crazy, over-stimulated life

Dear door-to-door salesman, friend stopping by to chat, family member who expects my house to be clean, and girlfriends during craft night,

I am sorry that you have been at my door for 45 minutes trying to sell me household cleaning products, and that my silence leads you to believe that I will. My mind is as empty as my fridge because I haven't been grocery shopping nigh on a month. To my friend who wants me to go with her to Zumba this week... ah yes. It was my idea that we go to that. Sorry I forgot. Sorry I will probably forget again.

The truth is I am overwhelmed. And I have the results, or rather the lack of results to prove it.

My house is in a state of unrest, the toys and clothes are competing guerrilla forces and there is only all-out civil war in sight. Or more accurately, the real insurgents are battle-crying three- and four-year-olds that will only cease fire if Mom drops the iPad and brings out the blocks. Or gummy snacks. Or.. **breathing into a paper bag** the watercolors..

Did you know the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no more than two hours of screen time for older toddlers and preschool kids? Any more than that over-stimulates the little tykes, and leaves parents with turnips for children. "Tubers and the tube". Couch potatoes.

Weeelll, with the squash I painted orange at pumpkin-painting night as my witness, I too am easily over-stimulated.

There's so much I want to cram into each day, so many newspapers to read and daily deals to check in my inbox. By the way, the Thanksgiving week newspaper delivery was out of control. It got to be so many that I stopped bringing them inside. That and toys + clothes piled knee-high really drains a person.

And so I crawl under my stack of to-dos and hide, it's too much I tell myself. Total mental shutdown.

But when your little ones surprise you with catapults and castles they've fashioned out of blocks, or your mini-Monet actually paints something recognizable, it hits home. Even the non-verbal baby shows his love for you in a full, if toothless, grin. My boys dress me as a princess and give me bouquets of the flowers that are supposed to go on the Christmas tree. These little guys not only keep me on my toes but they often have a solution where my creative consciousness falls short. They rely on me and Job to meet their physical and emotional needs and in return things are so much more fun with them around. I love my crazy, over-stimulated life!

"In raising my children, I have lost my mind but found my soul." *

Me at craft night with my homegirls: "Oh, I'm just painting the squash the color it should be," I told the group. And that was orange. Go figure.

*Lisa T. Shepherd

Summer of Baby Love

It's summertime Manly v-neck sleepers
And the livin' is easy. Seriously, Ezra loves showing off his panza, otherwise known as tummy!

The cool comfort of underwear
And the more t-shirts the merrier! Leví is wearing 5 at once. :)

Playing in water

Piñatas

The candy from the piñatas
And lollipops especially, many which come from piñatas but also from the doctor and the bishop at church and many other well-meaning souls who slip them one when you're not looking...