Disconcerting

I took the kids to the store today. I normally don't that because it is hard to deal with both of them by myself. We needed an outing though and Mariska has done fairly well the last couple trips the store. Jack was sitting in the front seat of the cart and Riska was riding on the end. She has this bad habit of jumping off and on the cart. I asked her twice to stop and just as the words were coming out of my mouth the second time she fell and I almost ran over her leg with the cart. Then the tears started to flow. I explained to her that this was the exact reason I didn't like her playing on the cart like that. I told her she had lost her privilege of walking and had to sit in the cart for the rest of the trip. This started more than tears it started full on yelling and the beginnings of a tantrum. I know I am not the first one to have kids that do this but it throws me every time it happens. This was the first time it happened without John being there. I thought I was getting a handle on it by telling her that if she didn't stop we would leave and go home and I would come back after John got home from work. Then some creep came up to us and, I kid you not, said this, "You better do what your mommy says little girl or I can take you. Do you want to come with me?"
I wish that my brain had been working better at the time because I have come up with a lot of things to say to him but my main concern at the moment was Mariska. I grabbed her face and told her to look at me and ignore the man. As he is walking away he says "It's no problem my daughter is in the next aisle and she always acts like this."
Who in there right mind does that? John said I did the right thing but I am not so sure. I have things planned out to say when I hear of things like this happening to other people and then it happens and my mind goes blank. In my defense I was worried about getting my kids away from him and the situation.

Mommy Moment #9 Something Right

I don't know about you but sometimes I wonder if the things I teach Mariska ever sink in. Yesterday I had an aha moment at church. Her primary teacher came up to me and said that she held up a picture of President Monson and asked the kids in her class if they knew who he was. Riska was the only one that could tell her it was the prophet. I may be a little biased but my little girl is so smart. It really made me feel like we have done something right. Silly I know. We have probably done more than one thing right but it sure feels good to see or hear the positive things that a child has done because of something you taught her. My experience has been that you really only hear about the negative things that your child does and if you are like me wonder where in the heck she learned that. :)

Mommy Moment #8 Forget your fears

I used to be a really big wuss. The thought of touching animals like cows and horses freaked me out. I had bizarre images of these animals biting my hand off. (Don't ask. I am not sure where it comes from.) Well people I am proud to say I am over my fear. Since we have lived in a place that has a county fair every year I made it a point with Mariska to not be scared of animals the way her mother is. She isn't for the most part and loves to pet any animal that will let her (except chickens she just likes to chase those.) We have been to the fair every year and she loves to see the cows and the horses. She has ridden a horse before at a friends birthday party and loved it. A good friend of ours has horses and when we were celebrating his birthday a few weeks ago we got to ride the horses. Riska is a pro. I on the other hand had to have someone guide the horse for the first little bit I was on it. Eventually I took the reigns and although I was a little intimidated at first I had a blast and cannot wait to do it again. I can see why people do this for fun.
I was a little nervous. Held on really tight to the saddle horn.

Mommy Moment #7 Oh the Power!!!!!

I think the vindictive side of me started to show yesterday. I had a really hard time getting out of bed due to a late night and a son who felt it was necessary to eat every couple of hours. I put in a movie for Mariska then Jack and I fell asleep while she was watching. I woke up to Riska asking me to open a Easter Peanut Butter Egg. I told her no that we needed to eat breakfast first. As she left the room I could hear her trying to open the packaging which she succeeded in doing. By the time I got to her she had literally stuffed more than half the egg in her mouth. I was really irritated that she disobeyed so as punishment she was not allowed to have any candy for the rest of the day. Now this is going to sound bad but I think about it and I think it is funny I felt this way yesterday because I have never felt like this before. There was something almost satisfying about eating a piece of candy in front of her and telling her she wasn't able to have one because she disobeyed. I know!!! I am terrible! I think I was mostly irritated because she would not listen to anything I said yesterday. So what did I learn in this experience? Sometimes having power feels good! :)

Mommy Moment #6

It took some time for me to come to this conclusion but I have been feeling really stressed out and I have not known why. Well after a conversation with my hubby it downed on me where the stress was coming from. John is finishing school next quarter and will graduate in June. He has been applying for jobs all over the place, not just in Washington. He has people doing some networking for him down in Vegas and Utah. So we are in a state of the unknown. I have no idea where we will be in 6 months and this is a little scary for me. I know that if we keep living the way we are supposed to the Lord will provide. It felt good pinpointing what I was stressing about because I have been able to get a handle on it.

Mommy Moment #5

I have a sister and a sister-in-law who are (along with my mother) extremely talented seamstresses and I am envious. I really struggle with the sewing machine. I wish I could just sit down and whip up a pair of jammie pants, but I cant. I know if I practiced I would get better but there is always something on my list that is more important. As I grew up my mom made almost all of my high school dance dresses. She made all of our Easter Dresses and I knew that someday I was going to have a little girl and would want to do the same thing. Easter is just around the corner and I find myself torn between buying Mariska a dress or sitting down and trying to figure out how to make one. This has been a cause of stress for me in past years. So mommy moment for today is.... I will continue to try and make things with the sewing machine, but I am going to buy the Easter outfits and save myself from the tears of them not turning out the way I want them to. I will not stress out about it and I will not regret the time crunch of finding a dress for my daughter (like I did last year when I remembered a week before Easter that I had not made Mariska an Easter dress.)

Mommy Moment #4

We splurged and got Wii fit. I talked john into it by telling him that in the long run it would cost less then a gym membership that we might not even use. I promised him that I was committed to an exercise routine. I have worked out every morning except for Sunday since we got it. Some workouts have been more strenuous than others but this is the first time I have rally followed through when it comes to exercise. We have company coming for the next two weeks, I hope I can stick to it.

Mommy Moment #3

I knew this one already, I am such a boob! Today was Riska's first day as a sunbeam. I was so excited for her and she was so excited to go to primary. It wasn't until we got to the primary room that I realized my baby is not a baby anymore. I am not the type of parent who hates to see her children grow up. Each stage Mariska has hit has brought different experiences and new levels of fun. I just think it is funny that I cried over her going to primary.

Mommy Moment #2

I already knew this but it has been reaffirmed over and over latley. Anything I say to my kids could eventually come back and bite me in the butt. I pulled out my clarinet earlier this week to practice and Riska was fascinated with the instrument. She asked to play it and of course I said no. She looked at me with a sad face and said "Mommy you have to share." It really doesn't seem to matter what I say it gets repeated by my daughter sooner or later.

Mommy Moment #1

We watched Julie and Julia last night. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It got me thinking about what I do with my blog. Most the time I only write about my kids never about what I am thinking or my experiences. So I have decided that once a week I will look for what I like to call mommy moments. When they happen I will write about them. It will of course involve the kids and my husband but it will be my thoughts and things that I have come to know through the experiences I have.
I did the laundry on Friday and since we live in an apartment without a washer and dryer I had to take it to the little laundry room next door. I had just finished and had all the stuff in the entryway next to the couch. Riska unscrewd the lid to the laundry detergent and then i think she used the bottle as a step stool to the arm of the couch. When I caught it we had already lost half of the bottle, which was nearly full, into our carpet. I now understand the meaning of seeing red. I have never been that angry with my daughter. Even though I was angry I reigned in my temper and did not yell at her which would have been my first reaction. My sister in law took the kids that evening so I could take John out to dinner and that is when it happened. Pulling myself away from the situation gave me new eyes. It occurred to me that it was an accident. I am sure that Mariska doesn't go around all day looking for ways to make life harder. Then I thought yes it is a mess and it will take a little time to clean up but at least it can be cleaned up. Plus it was my fault in the first place for not putting the bottle away. So here is my mommy moment. I have complete control over my temper, or I should say I have the ability to have complete control over my temper. Glad it only took me 27 years to figure it out.