Easily amused

My children are easily amused.  I wish you could better hear the sound in this video.  Did you know that if you attempt to inflate your belly button with a bike pump it makes a fart sound? How do they think of these things?

 I love this link http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2011/01/the-5-best-toys-of-all-time/ that really explains how easily children are entertained. Once again, who needs video games or TV?

Words of the week

The current words of the week in my home are "naked bum" and "chicken hawk".  Use these words around my children and you will invoke instant laughter.  If you can use these words in the same sentence, you will really be their hero.  Who needs video games for entertainment?

Who will I marry?

"When I'm married..." This is a frequent statement at our house by our 5 year old daughter.  Usually it's accompanied by a statement about how when she and her 4 year old brother are married, and what their children will be named.  I've tried several times to explain to her that she can't marry her brother but she doesn't quite understand why.  I've had to just tell her it's because it's against the law.  I've also tried to explain to her that she can't marry her Dad, because he's already married to me. One time I tried to explain this by asking if I could be married to one of my brothers.  She thought that was pretty funny and then stated that she didn't want to marry my brothers either.

We tried to go through a list of who she or her brother could marry.  Apparently the thought of marrying any of her friends was pretty funny.  So, we concluded that she would probably marry someone that she hadn't met yet.  It's important to have these things figured out at the ripe old age of 5.  Gotta start planning that wedding now I guess!

Time to change the diaper?

Oops. Perhaps I should have changed the diaper a little earlier.

5 minutes of chaos

We have periods of time in our home that are complete chaos and mayhem.  These usually occur right before another event such as dinner, bedtime, getting in the car, etc.  Granted, there's plenty of chaos around our house on a regular basis, but these time periods are like the buildup of a storm where the yelling, noise, fighting, etc. just seem to spiral out of control. 

I've come to mostly expect and accept this.  Knowing that it only lasts 5 minutes or so helps me to keep under control myself.  I can tell myself "You can handle 5 minutes of this.  It will stop." I wish I could attach a video that shows what it looks and sounds like around my house at these times but I'm fairly occupied at those times trying to keep the chaos from turning into a total meltdown.  If you try to call my house or stop by 5 minutes for a meal, you're sure to see it for yourself.

Kid Swap

One of the best things I ever did as a mom was to setup a babysitting exchange with a friend.  We started this about 4 years ago, amazingly enough, and we're still doing it.  Every Monday morning, my friend's kids come to my house and play with my kids for an hour.  Every Wednesday morning, my kids go to my friend's house and play with her kids for an hour.  Best. Thing. Ever. 

Thanks to my sister for suggesting this kid swapping idea.  It's amazing how much I can accomplish in one hour with no kids.  I keep a list in my mind of things to do while my kids are gone, such as: go to the post office, run into a store where you only need one item, exchange/return something, go to the OB/GYN, mop the floor, and definitely make client phone calls. 

We have our times where kids are sick so we don't send them over, and when there's a new little one, they stay home until they're old enough to be gone for an hour without being a burden on someone else, but what an amazing blessing in my life.  Our kids have been playing together for so long now, it's like second family (thanks for all the dirty diapers you've changed, Rachel!).  With 4 kids now, it's not so easy to find someplace you can send your kids without feeling like you're completely overwhelming them. 

Things will change this year, as we're using our switching time to volunteer in the kindergarten class for the hour.  Seriously, though, if you do not have a friend that you can set something like this up with, find someone.  It may seem a little more difficult at first when your kids are little and you feel like you're entertaining twins, but the benefits are worth it.  Thanks Rachel for being such a lifesaver!

Nap math

This post is to go right along with my sleep deprivation math post.  I decided that one night of bad sleep equals 2 nights of good sleep to make up for it.  I'm wondering why 15 minutes of napping equals a bedtime that occurs one hour later.  You would think if my older toddlers took a 15 minute nap, perhaps they would go to sleep 15 minutes later, but that never seems to happen.  Their energy seems to grow exponentially.  What I'm really wondering, though, is why 15 minutes of napping for me doesn't seem to equal an hour more of energy at bedtime.  Anyone want to figure the math for me there?