Mother's Day Weekend

 {One of my Mother's Day gifts, new running shoes}

We had a great weekend here at the Dodson household. Friday afternoon Morgan and I went to the doctor, got some prescriptions that would help us feel better, and Friday night I got knocked out and slept the best I had in weeks. My body needed a serious reprieve from all the coughing I'd been doing and I felt so much better Saturday morning after getting a full nights sleep. Saturday morning we all got to work cleaning the house and working outside. Riley took down our poor play set that was falling apart and got that area all cleaned up and Morgan and Kendle hauled the scraps and the wood to his truck to be taken to the dump. After that the twins went down for a nap, Kendle and Morgan went to my mother-in-laws for the afternoon and Riley went to go scout a game to see who they would be playing this week. I was really tempted to go rest up and take a nap while it was quiet, but I put on some work gloves and decided to go do some weeding instead. I got all of the front weeding done and most of the back. There is something so satisfying about pulling weeds and seeing an instant effect of everything looking nice and clean. Later that afternoon we got to work on our new "fire pit" area, which was really pretty simple. We just raked all the peagravel to smooth everything back out and clean out the debri, assembled the fire pit, and I planted some cute little trees in some bright green pots to put around it. I'm still looking for some better chairs, but anything is an improvement from what it looked like before, trust me. Now all that's left to do is to frame the edges out with some wood to contain the pea gravel better. This is definitely everyone's new favorite spot. I'm trying to convince Riley to try and make us some cute benches to go there.

Sunday I woke up to Riley making me a delicious breakfast. Granted the kitchen was a mess and the whole house smelled like a diner, but the food was really good. He had gotten up extra early to make me bacon, scrambled eggs, country hash browns, english muffins and orange juice. It was delicious. At the table were also some beautiful roses and some cute gifts from the kids. It was a great way to start Mother's Day. I wanted to take a picture with all the kids before church and of course at least one of the kids has to start crying. Don't ask me why this always happens, but it does. This time Morgan had a whole bunch of stuff in his hands and in his shirt pockets and I made him take them out (because he couldn't take them to church anyways), so then he totally started crying and he was the only one NOT smiling for the picture, but I love him anyways and it keeps it real I suppose.

And here is one of the funny out takes.....



So as you can see, we took what we could get in the two minutes we had to spare to snap a few pictures.

Church was wonderful, there were so many good speakers and inspiring thoughts that were shared (not to mention the chocolates and cheesecake we were treated to). It made me remember more than ever to be grateful for the opportunity to be a mother and that this is what I wanted in my life so I need to choose to be happy and make the best of whatever comes along, and also I need to be the type of mother my children deserve to have. It was one of my most enjoyable Mother's Day Sundays I've had in a long time.

Last night after putting the twins to bed, we gave in to Kendle and Morgan's begging and tried out the new fire pit. We sat around and watched the sparks fly into the dark sky and listened to the crackling fire. We watched Riley stoke the flames and add more wood.  We stayed there until it was way past bedtime and my feet in my flip-flops got cold. It was one of those rare moments in time where you could just soak in the contentment and see it mirrored in your children's faces. It was the perfect way to end such a wonderful day. I'm grateful to my little family for making me feel so loved.

The Hard

Today was just one of those weird emotional days for me. It was a just a strange day. Riley has been coaching the last month or so and has been out of town almost every weekend so I've been either taking the kids to church by myself while he's gone or having friends and family help me watch the twins so that I can get to church and make sure Kendle and Morgan can be there. It has been really, really tough. It takes a lot of effort to make arrangements and figure things out just to get there. Today was the second week in a row that I was the recipient of some big time selfless service from friends who offered their help. It has been very humbling for me to receive so many acts of service over the last year or more since the twins were born. I know they don't view it as a big deal to help me, but it really means a lot to me and I don't take it for granted.

I realized over the last week that there is a season and time for everything and this is just a really, really challenging one for me. I've been fighting it and fighting it, and feeling that I can handle anything that comes along, but it was a losing battle. So I've finally given myself some permission to just let those feelings go. I feel like a little of the stress is gone.

It is NOT my season to be the person that volunteers to help out for everything that comes along.

It is NOT my time to try and keep up and worry about what everyone else is doing and what fun things I might be missing out on.

It IS my season to like going to bed early and be more of a home body because I'm really needing all the sleep I can get.

It IS my time to be home with my children every day and try my best to make their childhood wonderful and they are the only ones I care to impress with my time and devotion.

It IS my season to have an imperfect home with toys left all over the house and messes being constantly made, because four little children live in this "cozy" little house of ours.

I don't know why the simplest conclusions are the hardest to come by sometimes, because I feel like this was kind of a "duh" moment for me. I wish I could push rewind and go back before the twins were born and tell myself that the next few years were going to push me and challenge me and mold me in ways I never thought possible and that it would be emotionally, physically, and mentally exhausting - every single day. That basically no matter how hard I tried to imagine what it was going to be like, there was no way to prepare for it. That I would simultaneously wish every day for a vacation, yet also dread leaving my little ones behind. That every day would be a roller coaster of emotions and ups and downs. That those two adorable little boys would be SO DARN BUSY. AND CLEVER. AND FAST!!!

But I found while offering a friend some advice the other day, that it was exactly the advice I needed to be listening to myself. (Why is that?)  I said something along the lines of "that from the hardest challenges come the greatest blessings" or "sometimes the hardest things are the most worth it". Something like that. And then I remembered one of my most favorite lines from the movie A League of Their Own where Geena Davis tells Tom Hanks that she was quitting and going home "because it just got too hard." And then he replies to her, "It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard everyone would do it. The hard, is what makes it great." Gah! I love that movie.

Well, it is late and I am starting to ramble so I need to go to bed, but I just felt like I really needed to write these feelings down. I want my children to know how much I love them though, and how every single thing I do for them is worth it and I couldn't imagine life without each and every one of them.

Some Things That Are Helping Me

I thought I would share a few things that have been working for me and my family. Three of my least favorite things used to be laundry, meal time/planning, and bed time. I decided I needed to make some changes, because feeling frustrated, disorganized, and tired all of the time was just not making me a happy person or the person I wanted to feel like everyday. Here's what is helping me with each of those now:

Since the beginning of the year I have been trying to stay more on top of the laundry. When the twins were first born, I did at least a load of laundry a day to keep up because they were going through so many outfits in a day. As they got a little older, I went back to just doing laundry whenever I had time (or when everyone ran out of clothes.) What was happening with that, is that my kids have tons of clothes so they would just wear everything they had until I had the hugest mile high pile of laundry to tackle. Same with Riley, because he could wear two or three outfits a day between his day job and coaching. And you know what's not fun? Having to spend a whole day or consecutive days trying to get everything done and caught up. I would dread it and it was pretty overwhelming. I recently went back to doing at least one load a day and it has helped enormously. I start a load as soon as I get a chance in the morning and hopefully can get it folded and put away before lunch. I've found that if I just do a load of whatever clothes everyone wore the day before, it doesn't pile up and no one has to ask where such and such item is because it's always back in their drawer the next day. There might be a load of towels or sheets to throw in one or two days a week, but it has really simplified and paired down the process. Sometimes I can't get to it right away, but I've  noticed a huge difference that doing that one thing does in keeping my laundry room from being out of control with the floor clean and free and everything ready and clean for my family to wear again. And I've come to the conclusion that we all just have way too many clothes. When laundry is done every day, you realize the excess that is really there and how little you really need.  I've started making sure to put the clean clothes on the bottom so they all get rotated through. Probably a no brainer for most people - but something that is making a difference and then my kids are wearing those shirts and things that before were never quite making their way to the top of the drawer. I hear the most complaints from friends about hating laundry but I am getting to the point now where it is no longer a source of stress and sucking up all my time. Riley and I also recently organized our closet and paired down and got rid of lots of things that were just "hanging" out and taking up space.

Another thing that has really helped is the process of doing a two-week meal plan. I got hooked on The Food Nanny on the BYU channel and loved her method and style of cooking. I bought her cook book which is filled with the best family friendly recipes and ideas and tips for how to get back to having good family dinners {which was something our family needed to work on with everyone's crazy schedules}. It makes a big difference to have meals planned out for two weeks, I usually do a shopping trip for one week's worth of meals unless I am feeling really energetic and brave to get it all done at once. It is the best thing not to have to go to the store all of the time {except for diapers and milk which we go through like crazy}. I love having a theme night for every day of the week and it's helped me get out of my cooking rut and plan meals everyone is going to love. I try to make sure that in every meal there is at least one thing that everyone will like, {not an easy task}.

 Here is what our's looks like:

Sunday:
Family Traditions  (pot roast, roast chicken, mashed potatoes, ham and potato casserole, fried chicken, etc.) All those good things that make coming home after church and walking into a house that smells terrific worth it.

Monday:
Comfort Food ( stews, soups and rolls, french dip sandwiches, chicken and gravy, chicken pot pie, casseroles, meatloaf, etc.)

Tuesday:
Italian ( spaghetti, lasagna, tortellini soup and french bread, meatballs, bow tie pasta, chicken piccata, fettuccine, etc.)

Wednesday:
Breakfast/Meatless/Fish (french toast, pancakes, waffles, eggs and bacon, breakfast burritos, German pancakes, biscuits and gravy, baked or grilled salmon, fish tacos, tuna melts, etc.)

Thursday:
Mexican ( tacos, enchiladas, taco soup, fajitas, quesadillas, beans and rice, taco salad, fiesta chicken and rice)

Friday:
Pizza ( We do home made pizza unless we're going out for dinner or getting the kids a babysitter. Some of our favorite's to make are: bbq chicken pizza, pepperoni and olives, canadian bacon, hamburger and cheese, and we like to do build your own topping pizzas which the kids love. We'll also make bread sticks if there's time)

Saturday:
Grill Night/Quick and Easy (hamburgers, Frito banditos, sloppy Joe's, bbq chicken drumsticks, grilled steak, potato bar, build your own grilled hot dogs or sandwiches, ribs, etc.)

What a difference it has made in helping to simplify my life. The kids really enjoy having the theme nights and looking up on the menu board to see what is for dinner that night. It is a big money saver as well, and I find we don't really eat out AT ALL when we stick to it. I'm not scrambling at the last minute to think of something and I can prepare earlier in the day for things I know are going to take a bit longer. We have been sitting down eating all together on the nights that we can and dare I say, it is actually fun!

The last thing that has been helping around these parts is putting all of the kids to bed at the same time. I have to admit, bed time is my LEAST favorite time of the day. I'm just usually wiped out by that time. We used to let Kendle stay up later, but then Morgan would cry and ho hum around and then it was disruptive {since they share a room}. We were also keeping the babies up later to help them sleep in longer in the mornings, but now that they are sleeping longer stretches usually that's not an issue any more. We decided we needed a change and a better solution, so when 8:00 rolls around, it's time for bed and lights out for all the kids. We say "ok, it's night-night time" and the babies go running to their rooms to be tucked in. We bought the older kids head lamps for Christmas so they can read in bed, but they have to stay in bed. Sometimes I will find little toys and things Morgan has been playing with up in his bunk, but it's fine because as long as they stay quiet with the lights off I don't mind. Surprisingly there are few complaints from Kendle about the earlier bed time {she loves to read at night} and it has been working out great to have everyone in bed at the same time and the house fairly quiet that early. If I'm really feeling organized, I will have everyone get in their jammies and ready for bed by 7:30 and then they can just hang out until it's time.That means I usually have two hours before I go to bed to just relax and spend time with Riley {unless he's still at practice, and then I am just glad I got everyone to bed by myself without losing my temper 50 times}.  We definitely need that down time to regroup, talk about our day, plan for the next day, and get a breather. *And lest you are all thinking there is no way things can work out that perfectly every night, let me assure you we still have our nights where we get home late from visiting family or sporting events where we do a whirlwind pajama change/throw all the kids in bed method. And that works great sometimes too. :)

So laundry, meal planning, and bed time have gotten much better and less stressful around here. Three things that used to cause me a lot of frustration are now not so bad.

What are some things that are helping you lately?

Real Life

Do you ever have one of those weeks where nothing seems to be going right? Well, that was my week last week and on through the weekend. I'm hoping that ends today. I have been pretty exhausted lately and last night was another sleepless night up and down with Cooper from about 2:30 in the morning until 6:00 or so. I just feel like I've got absolutely nothing left on mornings like this. No energy to be "fun mom" or "happy mom" or "productive mom". The only thing that keeps me moving is the fact that it would be way more work to let things go for a day and then have to do damage control than to just stay with it and do what needs to be done today. So why am I so tired you ask? I think it has something to do with these two.

Busy doesn't even begin to describe these guys. I think this picture speaks for itself. Look at those mischievous little grins. They are learning to climb up on everything now. 14 months and they've figured out how to stand on other things to get up on the bench. They can pull themselves up on the couch. They can maneuver toys or other things to reach up and turn off light switches. They can stand on their tip-toes and reach the door knob on the front door. Yikes! They are also both teething again, slobbery, and cranky. They haven't been sleeping good at night like they have been and it's taking it's toll. Kale is usually my go-to easy sleeper, but even he has been waking up and crying.

Riley has to go overnight to Seattle for work again this week and those days are always hard. Especially when we have another day off from school this Friday. I really enjoyed the beautiful weather we had this weekend where I could send the kids outside and give myself somewhat of a break.

It's going to be a long week, but I'm hoping to make it a better week than the last! Those babies just need to let me get some sleep!

Dirty Jobs

There is nothing quite like starting your day out with a baby that pooped in the bathtub the moment you left them to their own devices while you threw a load of laundry in to wash.  Even worse is when you have two babies in the tub and you aren't sure which one did it, (although you have your suspicions).

It's moments like this, that as a mother warrior you have to:

A.) Pray neither baby ingested said disgustingness.

B.) Try to extract both babies out of the gross bath water without letting any of that toxic goo touch your hands.

C.) Try to figure out the most sanitary and least gag worthy way to clean the tub and restore it to it's clean and bathe worthy state.

This is definitely one of the least glamorous moments of being a mom. No one is there to give you a big pat on the back for the fact that you didn't dry heave your way through the extraction process. There's no high fives for the way you got both sopping wet naked babies dried and dressed in record time so they didn't pee or have another accident all over the floor after you literally had to run, slide across the wood floors in your socks, and chase them down as they sprinted away leaving little wet footprints everywhere.

I would say by 9:00 this morning, I accomplished a feat way above my pay grade. I deserve a raise.

Daily Schedule

Do you ever wonder what someone else's typical day looks like? Well, here's the way mine usually goes:

7:00 - Wake up, get Kendle up and going for school
7:30 - Make breakfast for the two older kids, pack Kendle's lunch, do Kendle's hair
7:55 - Send Kendle out the door for the bus
8:00 - 8:30 Get babies up and feed them breakfast
8:30 or so - Put babies in the tub and get them cleaned up and dressed
9:00 - do a quick pick up and tidy up the house, start a load of laundry, think about dinner prep
9:30 - have a bit of down time, check blogs, email or facebook while I eat some toast or whatever I can grab for breakfast
10:00 - give the kids a little snack
10:30 - fold laundry if it's done and put it away
11:00 - put babies down for a nap and go work out while they sleep
11:45 or 12:00 - eat lunch with the Morgster
After lunch - any deep cleaning or other projects that need to be done
                  - try to relax for a bit until the babies wake up
2:00 or so - Babies wake up from nap, get them fed and Morgan a snack and have some playtime for a while.
3:45 - Kendle gets home from school and feed her a snack and get her started on homework, piano, or whatever else she needs to do
4:30 or so - start dinner prep and try not to let the kids drive me crazy
5:30 or 6:00 - Dinner Time
After dinner - quiet time (or not so quiet time usually) Kids usually watch a movie, read books, or just play for a while. There are usually footballs and baseballs and soccer balls whizzing around.
8:00 - Bed time. We put all the kids to bed and by the time everything is said and done it is usually around 8:30. Kendle usually reads in bed for a while.
8:30 - Quick pick up of the house, putting things away and getting ready for the next day. Me and Riley finally get some quiet time to ourselves to talk, watch TV, and just relax.
10:00 - Bed time for me.

Now when I say that is a typical day, I guess that isn't entirely right. That's if I don't have to leave and go anywhere all day. Tuesdays and Thursdays Morgan has preschool so we have to adjust nap times and things like that a little bit those days. And when Kendle has sports practices, Activity Days, or piano lessons in the afternoons/evenings and Riley is coaching that moves things around as well.  But basically it just illustrates that as a mom, my days are usually entirely filled to the brim. Sometimes it can feel like a rat race. Other times it can feel like a great accomplishment.

There are some days where I don't feel like doing anything and a lot of stuff besides taking care of the kids gets thrown out of the window. I would have to say my least favorite time of day is while I'm trying to make dinner and the kids are complaining their starving and everyone's tired and it is really, really loud in our house. Like I'm sure everyone on the block can hear the noise coming from inside our home. My favorite time of day is when I get done working out, Morgan is watching cartoons or a movie, and the babies are still sleeping and the house is just quiet and Morgan and I can just eat lunch and relax for a bit together. I do love some quiet time to myself. I do love the occasional loud crazy fun family times too.

Well, I guess it's time to go sweep up the crumbs from snack time...............

Come back little brain cells, I need you

There is always that old joke that once you start having kids they literally suck the smarts right out of you. Your once quick mind starts getting reduced to mush and you experience agonizingly slow moments of trying to remember things.

Why did I walk into this room?

What is that woman's last name?

Where did I put that random miscellaneous household item?


We try to cram so much into our brains in so many different compartments and are expected to analyze and withdraw that information at lightning speed whenever needed. At any given moment I can find myself multi-tasking five different things and only paying semi-attention to any of them. My brain is exhausted! Here is evidence of that:

On Sunday I wore two different earrings to church. I didn't even realize it until about mid-way through sacrament meeting. Luckily I have long hair that kind of hides things like that or it would have been really embarrassing. I think I was trying two different ones on to see which looked better and then got pulled away to do something else and then just never remembered to go back and change earings. I don't think anyone noticed, but I seriously felt like I was losing it a little.

Then last night I decided to make some hot chocolate for Riley who had been out working in the cold and the wind getting all of their soccer gear cleaned out down at the high school field. I plugged in my little cocoa maker, added the ingredients, and listened to it whirl away. I thought Kendle was just being her usual picky self when she said she didn't like it. Then when Riley got home and I poured him a big mug full, I could tell by his face something was wrong. He asked, "Was there still soap in this mug or something?" I took a big sip and my lips curled back in disgust. Then I realized instead of just adding 5 teaspoons of cocoa powder, I added 5 tablespoons. Yuck! When I was adding the ingredients I was also getting kids snacks, fending off babies that pulled the baby gate down and got in the kitchen and probably five other things. That is what happens when you are not paying full attention to what you are doing!

So today I am literally going to be trying to gather my wits about me. HA!

Wednesday, my least favorite day of the week (and other ramblings)

Ok, so basically, the title of this post should say it all. I kind of loathe early release days and how it throws my usual schedule off kilter. Kendle comes home from school early and is very loud. She usually rings the doorbell 10 or 12 times even though I've told her repeatedly NOT to do it. This usually wakes up the babies from their naps earlier than  I would like and you know nothing gets us mom's ticked off more than having what little quiet time we get during the day cut short. Then it all just snowballs from there. It is always a weird day and feels EXTRA EXTRA long. Like right now it is only 3:30 and it feels like it should be at least 5:30.

Today has been one of those days where I was committed to being lazy and taking it easy. My shins have been hurting so I took a day off of running. {I might be pushing myself a little too hard, but I've shaved off another ten seconds on my timed mile and now I'm only 35 seconds away from my goal. That is crazy for me to believe that in the last two and a half months I have improved a 1:25 on my time. I know distance runners look at the over all time not just the short distance, but I guess I just wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. I want to try and reach my goal by Christmas. I think that will be a good present for myself.} I stayed in my pj's all morning and did Christmas shopping online. But I think having lazy days are overrated because my floor that desperately needs to be swept for the sixth time is driving me crazy and I just can't seem to relax with dishes needing to be done and sitting in the sink. So there you have it. I guess my need for order trumps my need to relax.

On another note though, I will mention that my baby gate I bought is the best ten bucks I've spent in a long time. I don't even mind throwing my leg over the side and climbing over it to get inside the kitchen because it has made my life so much easier. Now I'm not constantly picking up all the mixing bowls, sippy cups and kids plates and bowls that the twins would pull out fifty times a day.  Who knew such an otherwise boring purchase could make me so happy. The twins on the other hand hate it! They stand and shake it and cry when I am in there doing dishes or cooking. They look like little jail birds and it is quite the hilarious sight. Poor babies, but at least we won't have any more dish soap episodes any time soon.

It is crazy to see Cooper and Kale walking around the house. Kale has actually almost ran a few times. He really gets going and then has a hard time stopping. I love it though. They look so cute shuffling along with their little arms out for balance. They get more and more brave every day. I can't believe their birthday is fast approaching and then I will have 1 year old twins! I remember other parents of twins telling us that if we could just make it through that first year things would get so much better. I think that's pretty much true. I'm loving the stage they are in right now.  Never in my life have I felt like a year has past more quickly however. I feel cheated of not having better memories of when they were newborns. It makes me sad that those times have come and gone and the last of the Dodson babies are growing up. I haven't even thought of what to do for their birthday. I guess I need to start cracking on that!

Morgan's Prayers

Morgan is such a cool little boy. He can go from being a little turkey to a sweetheart in two seconds flat. Tonight while we tucked the kids in and helped them say their prayers, I got kind of choked up to hear the words coming out of his little mouth that were so clear, humble, and sincere.

"Bless us that we won't be snarky to each other." (one of the words I use for being cranky, had to stifle a laugh on that one.)

"Help us that we can be good and kind to each other and do the right thing."

"Help me to be a good boy."

"I'm thankful for our home."

"I'm so thankful for my family."


I think I'd like him to stay a three year old for a long time. I love this age. Moments like this help me to forget how mad and "snarky" during sacrament meeting I was when he wouldn't sit still and kept talking really loudly. It makes me remember that he no longer has a lap to sit on during church or a free pair of hands to look at a picture book with him. It makes me feel so sad for all of the moments I lose my patience or don't take the opportunities to stop and play and pay attention to him.

I needed to hear that little prayer tonight to remind me of what is most important. 

I read something this week that has been eating away at me. On a certain semi-famous  LDS blogger's blog this week there was some controversial discussions going on. Many commenters strayed off topic and used it as an open forum to bash the LDS church, it's members and lifestyle. They seemed to have just been laying in wait for this perfect opportunity to jump on their hateful bandwagon and spew out line after line of ridiculous commentary. I was frustrated that the blogger allowed the hateful comments and mud slinging to go on, and I was also disgusted with the commenters who felt that the only way to champion their cause was to tear down and cast stones against the very people they were demanding tolerance and respect from.

One comment in particular really, really bothered me and it really had nothing to do with the topic at hand, it was more their own personal rant about Mormon women (yes grouping us all in one large category indicating that we are all exactly the same) and how we only get married so we can have tons and tons of children and then basically do nothing with our lives and how she would like to hear at least one LDS woman speak out and say that she chose to do something more important with her life than become a mother. I sat there and read the comment over and over again. What would that be I thought? How do you rate the importance of one thing over the other? I have read so many quotes from successful men and women that attribute everything they've done to their  mothers and in turn consider their own children some of their life's greatest accomplishments. And should we be worried about what the world feels is important or holds more value?

Anyway, I've had a hard week of mothering my own children and trying not to be crabby even though I am exhausted and frustrated with the type of week it's turned out to be. Even so, that never makes me wish I would have chosen a different path. Otherwise there would be no Kendle or Morgan or Cooper or Kale. And I think that would make this world a little less awesome.

Rainy Kind of Day

The rainy and overcast weather I woke up to this morning was the perfect
encore to the night I had. I don't know what it is, but our kids always get sick when Riley has to go out of town for work. My night was spent cuddling Kale back to sleep because he was stuffed up and needed some extra loves, and getting up with Morgan as he coughed and hacked his little heart out on his little bed I made on the floor next to me so he wouldn't keep the other kids awake. Those are the type of nights where I am afraid to even close my eyes and get comfortable as I settle back into bed because I know I'll be awakened at any moment and it will just be that much more torturous to once again haul myself out of bed. I called Riley around 11:00 last night to tell him about all of the fun he was missing out on. He tried not to rub it in that he had been treated to a fancy steak dinner by their corporate office and then enjoyed a nice quiet evening catching up with everything on Sports Center and was about to enjoy an uninterrupted night of peaceful sleep.

My morning started off with a bang when I went in to get the twins up and their room was full of the worst stench ever. Ugh......both of them had total blow outs, and so two clothing changes, diaper changes, bedding changes, and baths later we were finally able to get on with our day. I opened the window in their room all the way to air it out with some fresh rainy air and it was better in no time. I put Morgan in a hot steamy shower and he is breathing a little better, ate some pancakes, and is now laying on the couch watching Monsters Inc. for the one millionth time. Don't think I'm going to get a workout in today, but I think I've already burned enough calories to at least count for something. I'm thinking it's going to be a lazy type of day.

Today I am:

::Glad I worked out::

::Craving Kung Pao Chicken::

::Turning a blind eye to my messy house and concentrating on folding

10 loads of laundry instead::

::Trying to be patient with my three year old who goes outside and sprays

the house with the hose every five minutes::

::Loving the sunny weather::

::Planning something fun for FHE::

::Trying to think of something yummy for dinner.........hmmm,

Kung Pao Chicken?::

::Going to soak up some of the sunshine while relaxing

and reading my new book::

::Glad that it's Monday which is our least busy day of the week::

::Going to kick butt - at nothing in particular, just at whatever comes my way, laundry, making snacks, changing diapers - yes I am that hardcore::

Big Things Happening

It has been a busy couple of weeks around the Dodson house. We are back in full swing with soccer, school, piano, and coaching. It can definitely be challenging to keep up with everyone's different schedules and make sure we don't forget anything.

Sometimes Morgan gets pushed aside a bit and can be the child that's always along for the ride. He's a good sport most of the time. So I was excited this week for him to start his first year of preschool and have something that is just for him and to make new friends. He goes two mornings a week from 9-11:30. He has been really excited the last week or so to finally get to go. His teacher is fantastic and really tries hard to reach out to each of the kids and make them feel welcome.

Here he is getting ready to go yesterday morning for his first day:

{Can you tell he was excited?!}

{His super scary dinosaur backpack, don't think we'll be getting it confused with anyone else's. Ha.}

Morgan is a little more nervous sometimes about things like this than Kendle was. Kendle wanted me to always just drop her off and leave quickly. Morgan kept asking me if I was going to stay with him. I felt a twinge of momma worry for him until we got there, walked in the front door, and his teacher was there to greet him and he got whisked away to do something fun. After picking him up to go home he had lots to tell me about his day. They read the Rainbow Fish story and painted their own fish. They also had a yummy snack, got to do show and tell, and played outside. He can't wait to go back next week. I can't believe what a big boy he is getting to be!

Another new and exciting development around our house is this:

I know a lot of people can get their babies to hold their bottles a lot earlier, but I was trying to enjoy every last minute of cuddle time I could. To be honest though, it can be really difficult to handle the crying of one baby while you are trying to feed the other. So the day had to come. I let them both get really, really hungry, laid them on a blanket, and without any difficulty this is what happened. To most moms this is not that big of a deal, but let me tell you how much better and easier this makes my life. I can lay them down for a nap together now, they can eat at the same time, they are sleeping better than ever, and on so much of a better and more consistent schedule.

Life is getting better! Yesterday I took Morgan to preschool, came home and fed the twins breakfast and let them play for a bit, put them down for a nap, I got a really good run in on the treadmill without any interruptions, got showered and dressed for the day in a quiet house with no one crying at my feet, got the babies up and dressed to go pick Morgan up and everyone was happy! It was a great thing.

A Day In The Life of Me

Today has been a very productive day. If I could consistently have one or two days a week like this I would be in good shape. I baked a huge batch of cookies, made 4 loaves of zucchini bread, shredded and stored the rest of the leftover zucchini, folded and put away 3 baskets of laundry, sent off Morgan's pre-school info., got dinner prepped, and swept the floor approximately five times. (That last part is a joke, I sweep the floor at least that many times every day and it still looks like a tornado rolled through.)

It is hard working in the kitchen when the twins are awake. If they are in their walkers they are constantly slamming into the back of my ankles as I expertly attempt to push them out of harms way with one leg as I open the hot oven or load the dishwasher. They pull on my pant legs begging for snacks like little puppies. They are so tickled when I look down and give them a little smile and a pat on the head. Although it can make doing things hard sometimes, it fills me with joy when I see how much they want to tag along with me wherever I go, they're smiles so big and hands flapping with excitement.

Kendle and Morgan circled the kitchen until I was done making the cookies and then swooped in to claim who got to lick the batter bowl, the beaters and spoon. Then it was back to circling like vultures until the timer beeped for the first batch of warm cookies to come out of the oven. After eating their cookies I shooed them outside to play and give me some peace while I tidied up a bit. Of course Morgan came inside soaking wet yet again from playing in some spot of water or another. Today it is a bucket that must have been left where the sprinkler could hit it last night. Second outfit of the day for Morgan - check.

The babies have been following Morgan around and he thinks he finally has some play buddies. He will hand them a car or two or some blocks and explain what they need to do with them and then he basically plays around them on the floor. Lucky for him they are growing immune to his loud talking in their faces and sudden urges to wrestle them. My daily routine has started to include keeping Morgan from doing stunts off of their walkers.

Kendle was excited to go get the mail for me again today. She has been waiting for her check to come from singing at the Watermelon Festival. The lady in charge was so nice and wanted to send her a little money. Today was the day she got her check for $25 with a nice little note attached. She was so excited! Her first paid gig. Now if she can just get some more singing jobs....................

At least the weather has been cooler today and made my baking possible without heating up the house too much. That was a nice bonus to wake up to. It was a little preview of the approaching fall weather.

Well, babies are hungry so I'm off to go feed the little darlings.

Sunday's

It's finally quiet in our house and I have a moment of peace to myself. The kitchen's clean, the toys are picked up, and all the little ones are tucked snugly into their beds for the night. I'm letting out a big sigh and shaking off the weight of another day conquered. Sunday's are usually really hard days for me. They start really early (as most days do around here unfortunately, but on Sundays there's no chance of catching a few more winks after the babies early morning feedings.) Church is at 8:30 and if I'm being honest, it takes everything in me to have a good attitude while I'm racing around trying to get everyone ready and out the door and we usually still have to end up sitting in the back overflow seats once we arrive - 1.) because we usually get there 1 minute before church starts, and 2.) because if I'm being practical, it just isn't easy to fit two car seats and baby stuff into the bench seats. The kids fight on the way to church, my diaper bag weighs 20 pounds, I never have time to eat breakfast.....yada, yada the list goes on. I always start getting as much as I can ready the night before so I am prepared (you know Saturday is a special day it's the day we get ready for Sunday) everyone is bathed and clothes are laid out for the morning, diaper bag packed, I even do my hair (yes people, for all those wondering, that is the only way I have time to style my hair for Sunday mornings) - yet it is still so crazy and chaotic and I feel exhausted before we even leave the house. I am always so tired after church and just want to come home and sleep if I am lucky enough to catch a nap.

This morning however, I wanted to prove myself wrong that I could enjoy my day. I did not want to stress about the little things and make myself miserable. I told myself the night before as I was going to bed that today was going to be a good day and I would embrace the early church time. [ To be fair, I really have a love hate relationship with the 8:30 time. It's horrible getting there, but I LOVE that we are home before noon. It is a wonderful schedule during the warm summer months especially. I'll just say it has been mighty hard to get going that early some days when we've been up all night with the babies and not gotten any sleep.] Thankfully the babies slept good all night and woke up at 6:00 to be fed. That worked out great as I needed to be up and start getting ready by 6:30 anyways. By 6:30 they were back asleep and I had time to start getting ready and get everyone up and going. Everyone had a good attitude and we were ready in good time. The babies were great during church. They hardly fussed at all. I didn't let Morgan's rolling around on the floor or 20 bathroom breaks get to me. During relief society a good friend held and fed Kale for me so I could listen to the wonderful lesson (everyone needs a friend like Natallie, she's a gem). I felt spiritually fed. I was able to feel so much happiness for a friend who recently adopted a beautiful baby boy and see the joy in her eyes. I didn't feel exhausted when I gathered up all my children and exited the building to head home. It was good. I had all the energy I required to do the things I needed to do the whole day.

The ironic thing? We found out today that we will be changing to a new building and church time of 11:00 (even if temporarily) starting next week. I guess the jokes on me. Just when I was starting to embrace the early time (and it only took me seven months). I don't know why, but I keep thinking of the movie "Holes", a family favorite of ours, when they keep telling the boys that digging all those holes builds character, and they won't learn their lesson if someone else digs their holes for them.

I feel like I've been digging lots of holes lately..................

Good Morning?

Have you ever wondered what it's like to have a husband who coaches soccer and is gone overnight sometimes while you are up and down during the wee hours with twins who decide they want to party instead of sleep?

Well, I'll just put your curiosity to rest. It's not fun. Actually, it's probably one of the most hard and frustrating things ever to be by yourself in situations like that.

Let me just say I'm drinking a Mountain Dew on the way to 8:45 swim lessons and not feeling one bit guilty about it.

Not. One. Bit.

If a nap in any way, shape, or form presents itself today I am wrapping my arms around it and calling it my new best friend.

From a Small and Simple Thought

{I never got to write anything about my mom for Mother's Day about why she is so wonderful, but I'll recount what happened last night and let that speak for itself.}

Last evening we attended Kendle's softball game in Richland. It was a hot but beautiful day. Cooper had been dealing with a little bit of a temperature all day due to teething issues and I wasn't too keen on the idea of taking him out in that weather, but was determined to not miss another game and have our whole family there to support Kendle. We loaded up all the kids, the huge double stroller, and all of our gear and supplies we needed to take with us. We had to take two separate cars so Riley could leave straight from the game to soccer practice. When we got to the field I found a nice shady spot for the twins to hang out in their cool stroller and they seemed pretty content. As luck would have it they needed an ump, so Riley ended up having to fill that job and I was left with the three little ones. My mother-in-law and my mom showed up a bit later to help a bit and watch the game. In between chasing Morgan, getting him out of the mud, shooing him away from the water fountain and the puddles, and taking him to the bathroom I was only able to watch a little of the game. The babies soon got fussy and tired of their stroller and we ended up having to hold them most of the time as well. The little patience I had had upon arriving at the game was completely zapped.

As mentioned, right after the game Riley had to jet off to practice so my mom helped me round up kids, pack up our stuff and head back to the car where it took a good ten minutes to get everyone back in the car and figure out how to squash the huge stroller back in it's original space in the car so I could get the door shut. Kendle wanted a treat, Morgan wanted to play on the toys, the babies were crying and I wanted to go drive myself off a cliff. So much noise, so much chaos, everyone was unhappy. I quickly said my thanks and goodbyes to my mom and mother-in-law, hopped in the car and raced back to Pasco telling kids to be quiet and calm down the whole way. I didn't have time to make anything for dinner, nor was I in the mood to make something, so I tried to be the fun cool mom for a moment and drove the kids through Sonic to get some food and a little ice cream. After getting the food and pulling into our driveway, once again chaos errupted. "Help take things inside" I say to the kids as I grab big armfuls of stuff to pack back inside which pretty much fell on deaf ears. I unlock the front door and the kids immediately rush to the counter to start eating (and fighting) while I go back to get the rest of the stuff and the babies out of the car. I plop everything in a big pile by the door, and set about getting the babies out of their car seats..

As I start to get Cooper out of his car seat I realize he is more than just fussy he is super hot and really sad. I take his temperature and sure enough he has a fever. I start applying cool washcloths and trying to soothe him. I had one of those out of body moments were you look around and you feel like you're in the eye of a storm. Kids fighting, babies crying, you can't think a coherent thought without being interrupted by noise. I was so exhausted and frustrated and I only have two arms -not enough in times like these. I still had kids to bathe and put to bed, Kale needed to be fed and changed, the house needed tidying up and I was worried about poor little Cooper and what to do. It was about 7:30 or so at this point. At the exact moment I thought I had completely and officially gone insane and felt totally discouraged, I heard someone trying to open the front door and then knocking on it. I had no idea who it could be. I opened the door and there was my mom.

She told me she got as far as the freeway heading back to Oregon and had a thought that she should turn around and come back and help me.

I couldn't have been more thankful she was there. I instantly felt a huge wave of relief wash over me the minute she walked through the door and I knew everything would be ok. Even though she had to get up early for work the next day and still had a 45 minute drive ahead of her, she stayed until Riley got home at 9:30. She helped get the older kids to bed, rocked and soothed babies, and gave a listening ear to my frustrations. It's acts of kindness like this that personify my mother. She always puts others before herself and constantly serves her family. She never seeks accolades, glory, or public acknowledgment for her good works. She is a quiet miracle worker with a humble and loving attitude. There is no better example I could have for what kind of mother I want to be like and what kind of grandmother I hope to be someday.

Double Trouble

What is more fun than one baby teething? Two babies teething at the same time. Holy moly has it been crazy around here lately. Cooper and Kale literally do everything together. Cooper's first tooth started pushing through on Sunday and Kale's pushed through last night. I've been up to my eyeballs in blow out diapers, soggy drooled on clothes, and spit up. Not to mention that at any point in the day there is usually at least one baby that is unhappy and crying. Last night I was up until after 1:00 in the morning consoling fussy babies, one of which threw up all over me. I had changed my clothes and Kale's clothes and had him propped up in my bed with me as I was trying to soothe him and trying even harder to valiantly stay awake hoping Riley would get home soon from the game. Finally I heard the front door open and felt a sigh of relief. I know Riley was exhausted too, but thankfully came and got Kale and took him to try and rock him to sleep. I think I was literally falling asleep before he even got out of our room. I'm glad they are both seeming a little happier this morning. If I can get them both back to sleep soon, I'm going down for a rest myself. I do not do good on a tiny amount of sleep. My brain is fried.

Keeping It Real At the Moment

Wish I could say I had some great things to write about being a mom with Mother's day approaching, but very little comes to mind at the moment. It's been a rough couple of weeks. Parenting has been down right hard lately and I'm exhausted. I think there was a moment in the shower this morning that I almost fell asleep, but thanks to Kale screaming at me from his walker that was squashed. Nothing is worse than all of your children feeling moody and grumpy and you're feeling down right grumpy right along with them. I hope they understand that as a mom I'm far from perfect, but I still try really hard every day to do the best I can. I know there are good days ahead, it's just that right now there are more hard days than easy days and so that is my hill to climb. {This too shall pass.} It's not that I want these babies and children to hurry and grow up and I can be done with these precious child rearing years; quite the opposite. I just wish that the exhaustion, crankiness, and the overwhelmingness could go live somewhere else for a while or better yet leave forever. I am not a whiny person, in fact it really bothers me to hear people who constantly complain - so now I'm even annoying myself. I draw comfort from the fact that I know my Heavenly Father would not have entrusted me with these children and this situation if he did not think me strong enough and capable enough to see it through. The only positive that comes from feeling defeated, is the strengthened resolve and determination it gives me to have a victory, even if it's just a small fleeting one.

No words.......

There are no words to describe these pictures:

*Reaching out to hold hands.*

I had to race and get the camera to capture this moment. They hold hands all of the time and act like little partners in crime already. At five months! That is amazing. After a hard day, seeing them smile and talk to each other reminds me its all worth it in the end. They are such wonderful baby boys. It is seriously something, to witness their little bond they have already with each other.