Random Schmattering: Single Parent Edition

Caution: this post contains a lot of potty-talk. If poop and pee bother you, click away, quick!

• Hubby is out for the week, helping with some disaster relief projects in another city. I am so proud of my husband, and I love his genuine desire to serve others, but y'all-- this single parenting thing is not for the faint of heart! Seriously. I don't think there's enough coffee in the entire world for this job solo.
• On a related note: my children are sinners. Amen. (Of course, they get it from they mama...)
• Tonight (a mere five hours after purchasing a Congrats-you're-really-potty-trained present for Stinkbug) he pooped in his underwear. And not a nice, clean poop either. Blame the single parenting gig, or my gag reflexes, or just plain laziness, but I threw the poopy underwear into a grocery bag, tied it off, and threw it away. (I've also been known to do the same for Tupperware I find in the fridge and just can't stomach tackling.) Don't judge.
• Speaking of the potty... the other night I found Doodlebug playing in a toilet full of pee that his brother did not flush. I fished this toy out of the potty:

After I gagged and washed it thoroughly and then washed it again. I just had to laugh. Did you get it? "Piston"... and it was literally "pissed on". Hahahahahahahahaha. I need coffee.

• Also speaking of the potty, I found this in Doodlebug's diaper the other day:

I'm not really sure how that happened. And I choose to believe that it somehow just got in his diaper without traveling the entire length of his digestive tract... it might take the cake for the weirdest item I've ever found in a diaper. 

• I am tired and ready for my husband to come home. And I can't wait to go out by myself once he's home and drink a coffee (or seven) and just exist in silence alone for awhile... but really, I do love my kids. Sometimes I happen upon a moment of sibling endearment and I just stop and wonder at the gift that is these three precious little souls in my care...

Of course, ten minutes later they're snatching and snitching and hanging on my legs crying while I cook dinner, and then refusing to eat the dinner I make because it's "yucky"... But really, I do love them. Really. (And what would my blog be without their antics????)

Random Schmattering: Tired Mommy Edition

• Um, life these days... Being sick. Disciplining kids. Enjoying hot drinks for fall. Wearing jackets. Doing laundry. Cooking soup, chili, and beans. Cleaning up barf. Crying over life. Laughing with loved ones. Arguing about little things. Giving tylenol to kiddos for fevers. Reading, praying, and seeking the Lord. Planning a Halloween party. Dressing up my kids. Wondering why people are the way they are. Falling into bed exhausted from it all. Getting up the next day to do it again.
• It's 7:25pm and my kids have all been in bed for 15 minutes. Amen.
• The kids dressed up for a Halloween party we had on Sunday:

• Have I ever expounded upon the insanity that is trying to get three small kids to look and smile at a camera at the same time? No? Well, INSANITY. Except look-y what I happened to get two weeks ago:

• It only took a bribe of three lollipops, 2GB of memory, and a very quick shutter finger. 

Random Schmattering: Doodlebug Edition

• I think Doodlebug has Go Go Gadget Arms. For real. I will put something (glass bowl, utensils, tortillas, ketchup bottle, drinks, etc) on the table purposefully making sure it's OUT OF HIS REACH and by the time I've turned back around, he's got it in hand. I need to find a way to make money off this kid- he's got super powers...
• Like not sleeping all night. Can that be considered a super power? It's like an evil kind of super power- zapping the life and energy from your parents, so you can control their minds. I'm thinking I need to find his kryptonite. Any ideas?
• I've found the perfect babysitter for Doodlebug: the vacuum. I kid you not. When I need 15 minutes (or more!) to get stuff done, I pull out the vacuum and let him go to town. He pushes it all over the floor, stands beside it, pulls the hose around... It's magical for mommy.

• It's hard to believe we'll be celebrating Doodlebug's birthday in less than two months. Holy cow! Where does the time go? I thought Ladybug and Stinkbug flew through infant-hood, but there isn't a word to describe how quickly Doodlebug is becoming a little boy. 
• Do you think Doodle looks like Lady or Stink?!

Doodlebug at 10 months old (August 2011)

Stinkbug at 10 months old (September 2009)

Ladybug at 10 months old (April 2008)

Random Schmattering

• I think my iPod nano might be dead. This is a tragedy. (You know, if you're first world and have way more than you ever need and consider luxuries to be necessities, and never worry about things like where your next meal is coming from or if your water source is clean...) But I do like to listen to my tunes in the kitchen...
• Father's Day is coming. Can I get a whoop whoop for all the baby daddies out there who help their baby mamas out? Hubby is super dad, and I could not do what I do (raise the kids, keep the house, cook the food) without his help. (I would tell you I'll blog more about him being a great dad this weekend, but I probably won't, so I won't. Just know he's super.)
• I just went into the kitchen after laying all the Bugs down for nap and LADYBUG AND STINKBUG CLEARED THEIR PLATES FROM THE TABLE WITHOUT BEING ASKED. Oh my word. What a good feeling- they are getting it! (If you're not a mom, you're probably all who cares, and I care! Because small victories like the kids cleaning up their own mess is huge in a mommy's day!)
• We went to the park this morning. There were all sorts of things I could complain about (it was H-O-T even at 10am, the grass was wet and it was hard to find shade to sit in, the kids didn't want to play on the playground, the kids were afraid of bugs and dogs and kept complaining) but I'm still reading one thousand gifts and  instead I'll just say I love city-living where I can walk all three kiddies to a fabulous park and lay out a blanket and relax? This park trip (as well as any outing with three kids by myself) is brought to you by the Ergo Baby Carrier. Thank you Ergo.  
• And here are some more of my one thousand gifts...

45. grass squishing between toes

46. loving my little Bugs

47. shade to sit in

48. awesome playground close to our house

49. a baby so cute Mommy can hardly stand it

Brain Dump & Link Love

• We're skipping life tomorrow. Taking a day off and going away. It's much-needed and much-anticipated and will be much-appreciated. These words from Charles Spurgeon and the springy weather have lured us away from our daily responsibilities tomorrow:

He who forgets the humming of the bees among the heather, the cooing of the wood-pigeons in the forest, the song of birds in the woods, the rippling of rills among the rushes, and the sighing of the wind among the pines, needs not wonder if his heart forgets to sing and his soul grows heavy. A day's breathing of fresh air upon the hills, or a few hours, ramble in the beech woods’ umbrageous calm, would sweep the cobwebs out of the brain of scores of our toiling ministers who are now but half alive. A mouthful of sea air, or a stiff walk in the wind's face, would not give grace to the soul, but it would yield oxygen to the body, which is next best.

• The Bugs have a plastic play kitchen and they've been playing with it so much lately, so I decided that Hubby and I are going to make them a play kitchen! I'm also wanting to toss their plastic food/utensils bit by bit and replace them with felt and wood.

Inspirations:

Vintage Songbird

Bug Bites Play Food

Ohdeedoh

Melissa & Doug Play Food

Play Food on Etsy

• I recently read Adopted for Life by Russell Moore. Ah-mazing. My heart burns. Really, I can't do it justice, just get it and read it.


• A friend sent me this Laura Story song, Blessings, today. It's on repeat. What a great song for my season of life right now. Thank God for good friends and the good music they pass along!

Laura Story - "Blessings" Lyrics

We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things

‘Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plea
But long that we'd have the faith to believe

‘Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
And what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know the pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home, is not our home

‘Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy
And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are your mercies in disguise

Random Schmattering

• I'm sick.  I'm tired of being sick.  As a family, we're starting week three of someone being sick.  Ugh.  Come quickly spring!


• My favorite part of being sick?  Guiltless TV.  This week I've watched all of Gilmore Girls season one and started season two yesterday.  The whole Luke and Lorelai thing is killing me (I never watched the show when it was on TV...) so last night I Googled "when do Luke and Lorelai get together".  I'm not sure I'll have the patience to wait until the end of season four!  Goodness!  Hubby said I spoiled it for myself, but I'd rather know than have this thing drag on and on and drive me crazy.  Can I get an amen?!


• Hubby brought me these huge, gorgeous Gerber daisys... daisies.  They are breathtaking.  I love that he brings me flowers just because I like flowers.  He's a keeper.


• Someone found my blog this week by Googling "my kid pooped out a lady bug" and that, folks, is one for the record books.


• Why does spell checker still think "google" is not a verb.  I use it as a verb almost everyday.  I think it is officially part of the vernacular and spell checker should accept it as such.  Hmph.


• Did you know a "google" is a one with a bunch of zeros after it?  I think it's a hundred zeros... hang on let me Google it... Yes, here it is from answers.com:

Googol has 100 zeros, and is usually written as 10^100.

• Man, I am glad the brains at Google decided to spell "Google" instead of "Googol".  Ack, can you even imagine?  What an ugly word!


• Did I mention I married a keeper?!

Random Schmattering

• Someone found my blog this week by searching for "glycerin suppositories"... Just made me giggle.  I hope you found what you needed, friend.


• Doodlebug is (mostly) back to his regularly scheduled pooping regimen.  Everyone in the Momfessions' house is relieved.  We don't need any extra poop-drama.


• Speaking of poop-drama... one of my children came up to Hubs and I the other day with POOP on his hand.  While the mess was being sorted out by one parent and the other parent giggled uncontrollably in the bathroom and offered minimal assistance (I'll let you guess who was who...), this child (who shall remain nameless...) put his hand in his mouth.  As gross as that is, I still love him enough to kiss him.  A mother's love, for sure.  Yes, folks, we certainly have enough poop drama to keep us busy.


• Onto other important things... we've been battling "the crud" this week.  It's an official diagnosis.  (One I self-diagnosed because that's cheaper than paying someone else to tell me.)


• I won a Kelly Moore camera bag on Twitter! Seriously, how fun is winning free stuff?! (And I apologize to any of my followers who I might have ticked off by my retweets, but hey I WON!)  Which Kelly Moore bag would you have picked if you had won?


• Sometimes I amuse myself with how many () and ... I can use in one post.  You're welcome.


• I've been thinking about Valentine's Day.  It's not a super important day to us, but it'd be fun to have some fun traditions associated with the day... what do you do to celebrate Valentine's Day?


• And finally, to make this post worth it, here they are, the stars of my life, my three snuggly little valentines:

Random Shmattering

• I administered my first glycerin suppository to an infant today.  It worked, and oh my word, THE POOP. That's about all I have to say about that.


• Today Ladybug was disciplined for lying to me.  She came out of her room crying with her hands folded and asked in her huffiest voice, "Are you ready to say you're sorry now?"  I told her that she was the one who needed to be sorry for telling me a lie.  She stomped off down the hallway while saying, "Fine!  I'm not gonna be your kid anymore!"


• Speaking of poop and Ladybug... tonight she had diarrhea and called it "coffee poop".  Haha!  Kids say the funniest things sometimes.


• I cut Ladybug's hair this week.  It started out traumatic for her... She thought a "hair cut" would hurt.  When she stopped crying and saying, "Mommy please don't cut my back with those scissors," everything went very smoothly.  Not a shabby first attempt, if I do say so myself!


• Dinner plans have been all sorts of re-arranged this week.  That's one thing about meal planning... it doesn't always go as planned.  It kinda irritates me.  And anyways... holy expensive groceries!  I feel like I either need to choose to cook for and feed my kids now or send them to college later because we certainly don't have enough money for both!


• Middle children.  How do you keep them from acting like... well, you know, middle children?Is that blurry?  Despite the blurry, doesn't that face just scream trouble middle child?  I've got to keep my eye on this one...


• Skinny jeans.  Not just for skinny people.  I actually own a pair now.  To go with my high boots.  It's a whole new me, people!


• And lastly, look at your web address bar thingy (go ahead, I'll wait...)  YES, I AM MOMFESSIONS.NET.  Wow!  It finally happened.  I carved out (and paid for) my own little corner on the web.  It's mine, all mine.  (She spins 'round and 'round with arms spread wide in an open field of high grass and wildflowers.)  Go ahead and change me in your reader, so you won't miss anymore of these exciting random schmattering posts!  (And I'll try to not have so many random thoughts about poop next time, I promise!)