Forgetfulness

I always thought being pregnant made you forgetful.  I think having 4 children has the same effect, even if you're not pregnant.  I can't even really blame it on sleep deprivation, as my baby sleeps from 8:15 pm until 5:30-6:30am. 

Someone looked at my baby the other day and asked me "What's your little boy's name?" My automatic reaction was "David".  Then I thought a second and said, "Wait. No it's not.  His name's John".  Besides not being used to telling people my baby's name, he's my "baby", not my "little boy".  My "little boy" is 3 years old.

I also now find myself counting children when I'm out and about.  I'm pretty sure it's just a matter of time before I leave one of them somewhere.  We've started having a roll call when we get in the car, to make sure they're all there.

So, if you ask me a question sometime and I just give you a blank stare, know that I've just forgotten whatever the answer is, or even that you just asked me a question.  Catch up with me in another 20 years or so, and I may start remembering things then.

Family traditions

I love having my very own family traditions.  I have plenty of family traditions that I've inherited from my family or that my husband has inherited from his family, but there's something special about family traditions that we've created ourselves. 

We went to the Orem Summerfest carnival one year out of curiosity and had fun.  The next year we decided we should try again.  Pretty soon it became something our children expected and looked forward to every year, asking when it was going to happen again. 

I think it helps in defining our families as we develop traditions that our truly and uniquely our own.

Laundry fun

I'm pretty sure no one has as much fun doing laundry as my kids.

How'd we get here?

This morning at breakfast I had one of those moments where you just look around you and think "How'd we get here?" I was sitting at my kitchen table eating a pancake breakfast.  My husband was seated across from me.  My 5 year old daughter was also across from me dipping her pancakes generously in syrup as it strung from her plate to her mouth.  My 3 year old son was next to me gobbling his pancakes down like he hadn't eaten for days.  My 2 year old daughter was under the table, incredibly sticky, saying "teeter totter, teeter totter" as she tried to balance on the table legs.  My 2 month old baby was sitting behind me on the counter in a bouncy chair crying because he wasn't being held while we were all sitting at the table eating.  The noise level was amazing, especially for 8:30 am. 

I looked around me and thought, "Wow.  How'd we get here?"  Seven years ago I would have been sitting at this same table by myself quietly reading the newspaper as I ate my Cheerios for breakfast.  Now, here I was sitting there with a husband and 4 children.  I assure you I know the mechanics of how I got to that point.  It was just one of those moments where you realize how blessed you are and how quickly time passes.