SJ and the Bathroom

I adore afternoon napping;however, I rarely get to indulge in a little afternoon shuteye. Today was one of those rare special days when everyone cooperated and I was catnapping on the sofa. Sabrina got up a little early and came to sleep with me. So sweet. She then said, "I need to go potty." Sleepily I say, "OK, honey. Do you need help?" She leaves and I fall back asleep. About 15 minutes later, I wake up to the sound of running water. I hop up and sprint to the bathroom.

***Warning***
this gets pretty gross to the uninitiated into the ways of parenting

SJ is in the sink with her clothes all off. She has the water running and is trying to clean herself up in the sink.
"I'm taking a bath. I needed to get clean."
"Why?"
"I pooped a little"
Oh yes, there are nice bits of poop floating around her in our little bathroom sink. Also so poop smeared on the toilet seat. Wet, streaked TP on the floor and the vanity. The bathroom was a poopy mess!

While cleaning everything up, I get the story from her that she went in the toilet, but couldn't get clean with the TP, so washed her body in the sink. Turns out she wasn't finished pooping, and couldn't get out of the sink!

What is up with this girl and bathrooms? Thanksgiving was another crazy bathroom time.

Now, my hands are little raw from the bleach, but at least things are clean! (I didn't use the bleach on SJ)

Not me! Monday

During Christmas Week, we are all, of course, perfect and would never have been involved in any stories mentioned below. I'm sure no one else at MckMama's site have done anything imperfect either.

I DID NOT forget to link last weeks Not me! Monday to MckMama's. I was NOT so sick that I could hardly press publish post and shocked that I could type anything.

SA's skin was very dry, but I WOULD NEVER put Absolue night cream on his face to help.

I only purchased a new car seat for SJ because it expired this month. The seat has been in constant use for 6 years and had the foam sticking out. I DID NOT purchase the new car seat because I didn't want to clean the vomit off of it. That DID NOT even enter my decision making process. So I was, of course, NOT annoyed in the least when SJ threw up on the new one the first time she traveled in it.

I DID NOT allow my children to watch more TV this week than they've watched in the last month.

I DID NOT pack more than 40 boxes over 2 days. I would never do that when we are putting our house on the market in 2 months. I also DID NOT spend a couple hours looking at possible houses we could move to. I am NOT that excited at the possibility of more than 1100 square feet.

With all the rain, C DID NOT walk walk around saying "Yep, there is definitely going to be a flash flood."

I DID NOT throw away a ton of paper that I've found around the house that were "special" to my boys. I DID NOT do that secretly.

I DID NOT drink the rest of my water from a glass that I knew the cat had drunk from. I was NOT that lazy.


Have a great week and a wonder New Year!

Solo Christmas

This year is our first year to be on our own for Christmas and I have to say, it has been wonderful. Last night we had "animal food"—pigs in a blanket, ants on a long, carrot sticks—and read lovely poems and stories about Christmas. We read the story of Wenceslas, The Spider's Web, and The Shepherd's Tale; then we sang our favorite carols before letting them open one present (PJs!) and then piled the kids into Sabrina's room to read 'Twas the night before Christmas and Christmas in the Stable. (All the kids sleep in her room because Santa comes through the boys' windows!) I think this is their favorite Christmas eve tradition.

This morning we had hot chocolate and read Luke 2 and Matthew 2 before opening our stockings and Christmas crackers with jokes. Then ate yummy cinnamon rolls before opening the rest of the gifts. We've never been able to open things at such a leisurely pace; the kids could actually see their presents! It was great. Then they went into see what Santa got them which was also so exciting. The boys got the Batcave; Sabrina, a stroller, high chair, and playpen for her dolls. We had our breakfast strata and played every game they got and read all the books and we've just played and played. We did watch a Charlie Brown Christmas. While we were watching Stuart's epiphany:"Mom! It's Christmas and we're watching a Christmas movie!" He's so clever!

Everyone is now napping and lasagna is ready to go in the oven and canolli are ready to be filled. Such a happy Christmas.

Not me! Monday

Oh, it's Monday! If you hear I've had involvement any of the following behaviors and situations, it is vicious slander and could not be further from the truth. Others will tell you the same at MckMama's blog.

I did not, again, have my competitive nature cut when I saw on Monday morning that MckMama's Not Me was posted while I was still awake on Sunday night. I did not bemoan the fact that I was #5o-something. I do not have a fascination with being in the top 5. I would never behave in such a childish manner.

I did not have important necessary errands to run on Monday. School was not canceled on Monday because of the ice. This ice did not freeze the sliding doors of my van closed, so my children were not climbing in and out of the front seat on all these errands.

My children always wear their own clean clothing. Stuart DID NOT wear Chase's shirt the day after Chase wore that shirt. I of course noticed and made him change. I was not so worn out from Michael being out of town that I did not care.

I have not feed my daughter lunch in the car everyday for the past week because we've been so busy.

I DID NOT have a mild meltdown on Thursday when we had a dinner guest who arrived early while I was still not dressed and blow drying my hair. I was completely calm.

We did not spend the weekend out of town with 4 of the 5 us us vomiting and diarrhea. (Scratch that! 5 of 5!)

Not me! Monday

The freedom of not being perfect, not living up to every expectation, and confessing it to others. Ah...must be Not Me! Monday! More imperfect fun at MckMama's site.

I would never, I mean never stay up until 12:15AM on Sunday night, hoping MckMama would post her Not Me Monday at 12:01 like she did the previous week. Because I am NOT at all competitive, I DID NOT get annoyed when she hadn't posted it before I had to leave for carpool. I was not at all miffed that I was 92 when I was prepared at 12 AM. I would never put that much stock into a list. Ever.

I DID NOT leave the room where my 6 year old was giving a monologue about something inane. I DID NOT enter my bedroom, close the door, and say "Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up. You do not have to use all 10,000 vocabulary words in one afternoon," and then go back to the other room where my child, still talking, had not noticed my absence.

I DID NOT decide to take a shortcut while putting away the entire alphabet and numbers cookie cutters by not using the step stool. I DID NOT toss the cookie cutters up into the cabinet, unaware the bag of 40 cookie cutters was still open. They DID NOT rain down on my head and into the sink full of draining dirty dishwater.

While preparing to leave and pick up Sabrina, I DID NOT put down her lunch box. So I then, of course, DID NOT spend 10 minutes searching my house for said lunch box. I DID NOT find the pink camo lunch box on the top bunk of my sons' beds. I DID NOT put it there because I got distracted by quickly remaking Stuart's bed.

After an afternoon double play date, I DID NOT go to the YMCA to work off some frustration. I DID NOT burn off 726 calories of frustration in 55 minutes on a cross trainer. I DID NOT decide that was too little time away from my darling children, so I of course had no reason to take the 25 minute hot shower after the cross trainer.

When I caught my boys not following directions to clean their room, I DID NOT simply laugh at them because they were so darned cute, they looked like a cartoon pair. I would never be that silly.

I would never laugh at my husband's job. I didn't laugh at all when Friday he called to say he was leaving on Sunday morning at 6AM to fly to DC for 4 days to sit in the back while a delegation of Vietnamese lobbied the US government for the definition of catfish. I would NEVER laugh that his company would send my husband, who works in marketing, on this assignment.

Have a great week, everyone!

Car Conversations

Chase: What are the Christmas colors?
Me: Red & green
Chase: Why?
Me: You know, I don't know why. We should investigate that.
Chase: I think it's red because of the blood of Jesus and green because that's Jesus' favorite color.
(Guess we don't need to investigate that!)

Chase: How old are Papa and Grandma Dellario
Me: They are 57 and 55.
Stuart: How old is Daddy?
Chase: He's 32.
Brief silence
Stuart: When you turn 30 you start to die.
(Lord help us!)

Stuart and Chase were hitting one another in the back of the van on the way home from school while each had a friend in the van.
Me: (after correcting them) I'm sure your friends are really surprised by how you're treating each other. You are being very unkind.
Stu's friend, Stewart G: I, for one, am not surprised.
(I'm not sure what that says about my kids, but I'm just gonna think it's because Stewart is the youngest of 4)

As I was getting Sabrina out of the car after the boys (again) being mean to one another,
Sabrina: I'm being kind, right, Mom?
(I guess the pleasing begins early)

What should we get Daddy?

Me: Boys, what do you think we should get Daddy for Christmas?
Stuart: (without hesitation) A bucket a paint!
Me: (suppressing laughter) Ok. Uh, anything else?
Stuart: A sofa!
Me: He already has a sofa
Chase: What about a chair?
Me: He already has a chair as well.
Stuart: We could get him a set of chairs.
Me: Where would we put a set of chairs?
Stuart: Right there, in the corner behind the green chair. (A place with about 12 inches of space)
Chase: What about putting the chairs in your room?
Me: Any other ideas?
Chase: (with serious angst) Ah, it's so hard because all I can think about are things I want for me!
(conversation continues with some decent ideas that I won't post because we may actually get him these things)
Me: You're going to use a little of your spend money and I'll add some too.
Chase: (still very concerned and whiny) But I want to use all my spend money to buy something for myself!

Ah, teaching the joy of gift giving and present purchasing!

Not me! Monday

This week has been crazy! Enjoy all the things that DID NOT happen this week. More Not me! fun at MckMama.

I DID NOT get very frustrated at Shutterfly and Target for making it confusing to pick up prints and order them. I DID NOT make Michael figure it out and then get re-frustrated the next day when I got an email from the help desk explaining you have to use the co-branded site blah, blah, blah! I DID NOT get even more annoyed that I paid twice as much for the Christmas Cards because I didn't use the co-branded site. I DID NOT think of boycotting Target until I remembered I hate WalMart.

I DID NOT eat so much of my own Christmas Candy that I had to go the YMCA an extra day this week. I DID NOT spend extra time on the cross trainer so I could finish watching Gilmore Girls and rationalize it by saying, "I don't have cable and this is good for me."

I DID NOT spend many nights/early mornings this week annoyed with my daughter for getting up in the middle of the night and going into her brothers' room. This has not been going on for three weeks. I DID NOT contemplate putting some Frangelico in her hot chocolate before bed. (We opted for the baby gate at the door instead)

I DID NOT watch Michel Buble sing on PBS and get totally distracted by the fact that his feet are really big, even though I've got a little crush on him.

I DID NOT get so unbelievably excited when I started using TweetDeck that I clapped. It has truly saved me from Twitter insanity!

I DID NOT find a load of towels in the washer that had been there about 5 days. I had NOT been wondering where those clothes were.

The True Savior

I was in Wal-Mart this past week overheard this quick exchange between two employees that sparked my thoughts.

Lady 1: You wanna put this bumper sticker on your car? (Toys for Tots sticker)
Lady 2: Oh, no way! If I'm gonna put something on my car it's gonna say "Jesus" or "Obama".

Now I have to say, I've been really excited that our nation has been able to elect an minority to our highest office. It is really a wonderful thing. He personifies the American Dream, the pull yourself up from the humblest of beginnings, the most difficult circumstances, and work hard to thrive and achieve everything. That is truly exciting to me.

Nevertheless, President-Elect Obama, and the rest of our governmental system, is not our savior. Much of the hype and excitement surrounding Obama and the coming inauguration is misplaced. January 20, 2009 doesn't change our individual lives. Money isn't going to rain down and a chauffeur isn't going to appear to do carpool at my house. Washington doesn't provide for us; God does; and he always provides what's best. (I wish the chauffeur, but probably not the best!) There was something about the Wal-Mart employee's speech that seemed to equate Jesus and Obama that simply grated on me. The President-Elect cannot solve our biggest problem: sin.

Is Obama a great leader? Unquestionably. Can he inspire a nation? Absolutely. Did he die for us? Certainly not! Does he make the sun rise and the stars to shine? Never! My savior is the God of all creation, who will protect me from evil and keep my soul!

As we approach this new adventure in our nation's history, keep in mind who is in control, who provides for you, and who solves the real problem in your life.

Friday Favorites & A Contest!

UPDATED: THE CONTEST WILL END THURSDAY AT MIDNIGHT.

These are some pictures of the fun this week. Watch for a little more fun at the end!


Chase & Stuart getting the Christmas tree.
Sabrina's favorite hideout. It's between the wall and the dresser in the boys' room. Thursday night I caught her there at 2:30 in the morning! Ah!


I walked into the living room to see Stuart cleaning like this.


My new favorite picture of us!



Ok, now for the contest!
Write a comment on this post with your caption for this photo of Sabrina. We'll choose the favorite and I'll send you some of the Italian cookies or some other sweet treat.


NOTE: If you don't have a blogger account, you can still post a comment. Click the "Comment" section by the little envelope. With the pull down menu, select "Name/URL" or "Anonymous" and you can leave your comment. Please include your email if you don't have a blogger account or how will you get your goodies?

Not me! Monday

Oh, the best part about Mondays is here! Enjoy the reality of my life and the others on MckMama's site.

I DID NOT get really excited that I was number 42 last week on MckMama's Not Me!

I DID NOT start packing the first boxes for preparing the house for sale...in March. I DID NOT make a master packing list. I AM NOT scared at my own organization that it's difference from my natural personality.

I DID NOT eat the small serving of ice cream left in the carton, right from the carton. I DID NOT throw in some cashews and call it a "protein snack".

I DID NOT pick up bits of dried peas and Cheerios off the floor and put them in my jacket pocket because I didn't want to walk the 7 steps to the kitchen trash can. I DID NOT wear that jacket to the YMCA. I DID NOT find the same bits in my jacket the next day. I am NOT questioning whether or not they're still there.

After actually remembering the camera for the Junior Kindergarten Thanksgiving Feast, I DID NOT want to say bad words, when the batteries went dead after two pictures.

I DID NOT pour my last two tablespoons of coffee beans straight into my mug. After noticing that and putting them into the grinder, I DID NOT pour the ground coffee beans straight into my mug. After pouring the ground coffee into the french press, I DID NOT forget to rinse the mug before putting my half and half into it. I DID NOT still drink the coffee with floating grinds because I wasn't going to waste the half and half. I AM NOT that cheap.

I DID NOT get extremely excited to go to Dierberg's by myself on Sunday. I DID NOT wear my sticky name tag from church throughout the store. I DID NOT not notice this until I was home.

I DID NOT find my two year old daughter with a peri bottle in her mouth. (See previous post for the full story)