Victims

While most ladies were waking up to flowers and chocolate on Valentine's Day, I woke up to lots of small, sparkly items!  

How exciting, right?  These shiny particles were not enclosed in a bracelet or necklace.  They weren't found inside a little jewelry box.  They were scattered around the driveway and in our van.  

We were the victims of vandalism early in the morning on Valentine's Day.   These shiny, sparkly items were glass, not diamonds.  

Saturday morning, I woke up at my brother's house and looked out the window.  The garage door across the way had yellow spray paint on it.  After a closer look I could see it was graffiti.  The image itself was quite vulgar with a message I couldn't decipher, (except one profane word).  My brother quickly went outside to see if there was any graffiti on his garage door and luckily there wasn't.  It was freezing in WI so we didn't go outside again until later in the morning.  

My brother decided to look around the house again and noticed a mountain bike sticking out of the rear view window of our van.  His initial thought was "why did they bring a bike?"  Another window had been smashed and he quickly realized what had happened.  He walked across the street to the neighbors who had also been vandalized, only to realize the bike was his sons and it had been sitting on their front porch the night before.

When the Madison Police came by a little later, we found out we weren't the only victims of vandalism.  There had been over 25 incidents, accounting for tens of thousands of dollars in damage.  Awesome!  

You can't help but feel violated when something like this happens.  This wasn't provoked and we weren't targeted.  (I'm hoping having out of state license plates had nothing to do with this).  It's simply a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.  You definitely feel on the edge, wondering if it could happen again.  Your emotions spiral from anger and sadness, to annoyance, irritation and "why me?"  We did have some valuables in the vehicle and luckily nothing was stolen.  Obviously the punks responsible will never get caught or receive punishment for what they did.  We'll never understand the thought process behind doing something like this, and I pray my children NEVER think this is OK.

Our story made the local news and my brother had his first on-camera interview :).  

http://www.nbc15.com/home/headlines/Madison-police-investigating-string-of--291962761.html

(click on the Madison Vandalism video to view)


Being 5 hours away, we had to come up with a solution to get back home for the school/work week.  Ironically my sister in law's parents are vacationing in Mexico so another vehicle was available.  We drove my brother's van back, while ours continues it's vacation in Madison at the repair shop.  

Yes, I know things could have been worse.  The punks could have spray painted our van or dented it with whatever supplies they could find.  My brother's house could have suffered damages.  We are so thankful these things didn't happen.

You still can't help but feel upset about the entire thing. It's been a rough month thus far-with expenses we weren't anticipating and a couple things that have been out of our control.  Hopefully we will start to have some positives soon!  

Little Problem, Big Problem?

When my oldest moved into the 3 year old room, the teachers started teaching the children about little problems and big problems.  It's a great concept and something that many of us can apply to real life.  It teaches the children to not report every little thing to the teachers and to know what things should be reported.  It helps them manage the little issues they may have between their friends, instead of making the teachers get involved.

It's crazy how things my 5 year old is learning in school can be useful for adults too.

When something surprising happens in life I often ask myself, is this a big problem or little problem?  

The girls are upstairs changing clothes multiple times on the weekend, throwing outfits on the floor:  Little problem or big problem?  Although I know this is a little problem, in my mind I'm thinking, "I'm going to have to put all those clothes away!"  

The laundry is piling up, C just dumped the Legos out for the 10th time, and the plates from breakfast are still on the dining room table.  All little problems but many times I don't realize it. 

There have been many instances where I get a little worked up about something and Justin will say "is this a little problem or a big problem?"  It's definitely a good perspective to think about life this way.  It forces you to take a break and look at the situation from a different view.  

Day in and day out, I feel like I am climbing up a mountain, trying to reach the top where everything is in order and completed.  Many days, I feel like I will never reach the top, other times I'm close but a set back pushes me back down the mountain. I'm thankful for campsites along the way that allow me to rest, regroup, and recover before making the push back up the mountain.  These campsites include exercising, reading, yoga, catching up with old friends.

My Little Yogi

I have always been a cup-half-empty type of girl and my husband often points that out to me.  Therefore, I feel like many things are big problems, when most things are really little problems.  I'm definitely working on changing my mindset and have been much better at realizing big problems are really that-BIG problems!

Hitting, biting, and bullying---Big problems

Out of milk---Big problem

A child going potty on the carpet?  ---REALLY big problem! 

Thankfully most of us don't have to experience too many of these in our every day lives.  So next time you feel yourself getting a little worked up about something, remember this little problem/big problem concept. It may just relieve you of some of your every day stress.    

TMNC!

Me Do!

Does anyone else have a little two year old who wants to do everything by herself?!

"Me do," and "I do it myself," are two of the most common phrases heard in my household over the past few weeks.  My oldest was independent also, but nothing like this!  I think my youngest daughter has acquired mommy's independent trait:

My two year old can dress herself, with the exception of getting her socks on correctly. She can also undress herself and likes to do this at random times during the day.

She can peel her own clementine.

She can turn the light on to the bathroom, pee pee in the potty, wash her hands and turn the light off all by herself. (We are still working on number 2-that's another post on it's own!).

This little one can climb into the van and buckle herself into her car seat, (or she thinks she can).

She can get her own ice water, (which usually ends with a puddle on the floor).

She likes to pick out her own clothes, along with her brother's clothes, and sometimes mommy's clothes.

Little Missy CANNOT open her own package of Belvita crackers, but she will try for many minutes before throwing a mini tantrum on the kitchen floor and then succumb to let mommy open the package for her.

She can put on her snow pants, coat and hat by herself. She will attempt to put on her mittens and boots before melting down in frustration.  On the other hand, we have received notes from her brother's teacher, telling us we need to have him work on trying to dress himself.  He has zero interest in doing this.

She can climb into her own high chair and buckle herself into place.

Where we are living now, she is able to open the fridge and get her sippy of milk all by herself. She will do this over and over and over again, taking one little drink each time before returning a minute later to enjoy this independence again.

Although I love this new found independence, it can definitely make you pull your hair out, especially on those days when you are in a hurry and just need to get the child dressed for school!  Hopefully some of this trait will rub off on her twin or mommy and daddy will be dressing him until he leaves for college!

Sell, Sell, Sell

Since we have a couple more months of living at my aunt and uncle's, (and probably a few months of living with my parents), before the house will be completed, I needed to find something to do. It's weird not having a house to decorate, paint, or do maintenance on. It's amazing how much time you have when it's not dedicated to making your home better.

I have drug my feet with regards to selling my little one's clothes.  I don't know why. Maybe there was still a thought that a 4th child would be on the horizon, or the memories that many of the clothes have, or just the thought of someone else's kid wearing the clothes I dressed my children in.  Whatever it was, I finally decided it is time to let go.  I have absolutely come to terms that our family is complete (see previous post:  How Do You Know?). I contemplated waiting and having another garage sale this Spring, but where would I have one? I don't want to be the new neighbor in this really nice neighborhood having a garage sale. Plus, I'm not sure this community is made of garage-sale-type-of-people, if you know what I mean.  My old neighborhood usually has a block sale every Spring and a couple neighbors offered their garages for me to use. However, dragging all my stuff to someone else's home and hanging out there for a couple days doesn't sound that appealing. Which is why I'm so glad swap sites are available.

They are perfect; an on-line garage sale where you can post items and arrange to meet people for pick up. I quickly decided to join a few different ones because with my work, I travel all over the city and can be flexible with meeting locations. I watched the sites for a few days to see how things were done, what prices people were putting on things and the lingo, (PPU, NWT, NWOT, etc). I posted a few things and quickly got responses. I also posted a couple things that did not get any response-I later realized I had overpriced some things. I know I could take my 15+ bins of clothes to a second hand store, but from what I've heard, you don't make too much. To test it out, I took a tub full to a store I won't mention and was disappointed in the return. They took the items I didn't think they would, and gave me back the ones I thought they would definitely take.

I started this process in the middle of December and am impressed with the profit, (which I am setting aside for window treatments :)).  I have sold something nearly every day since I started this a few weeks ago and have only had one no show, which I think is pretty good, considering all the people I have met.

There are definitely some interesting people out there. You never know who is going to meet up you. I refuse to meet at our home and usually find a busy location, like a gas station, Sam's Club, etc.  A couple ladies had to wait until they were paid to meet up, which really makes me feel guilty for selling them my clothes and not just giving them to them.  (Justin is always quick to say they are just telling me that because they want me to lower the prices. I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt :)).  I have a couple repeat buyers which has come in handy.  I message them first with clothes to see if they are interested before posting on the site.

Through this process I have also donated a lot of clothes, hoping to help those who are in need.  I've realized my kids had a LOT of clothes!  I am keeping a tub of "memorable" items that I hope to incorporate into a quilt for each little one. I am one of those people who can always recall what my kids wore for certain occasions:  Alena and Lauren's first Easter dress, the onesie Alena wore for her first thanksgiving, their going home outfits, a couple matching twin outfits, Caleb's favorite red fire truck shirt, the outfit AJ wore to the San Diego Zoo, etc.

I decided to create a new Facebook account where I do all of my swapping.  (I am rarely on Facebook anymore, except to check in with my twin moms a few times a week).  I have seen some bullying on these sites and more drama than you would think, so I like being able to stay anonymous.

Slowly, the number of items in each bin is being diminished and bins are being emptied, creating a little more storage room in the basement.  If only I was able to have easy access to the items in our storage unit. I'm sure there are some household items that need to go :)).

A Nice Little Saturday

Do you ever have those days where after the kids are in bed you look back at what you did over the last 12-18 hours and think "that was a fun day?"

Yesterday was one of those days.  We cherish our time together on the weekends and usually try to find at least one thing fun to do as a family. It's much easier to plan when it's nice outside but we have been so lucky this winter.  Many times, our adventures aren't extravagant, and may be as simple as an outing to Homemakers, Lowes or the grocery store.  If there are any free events around town, we often take advantage of them.

Saturday morning the kids wanted to make a fort.  I'm definitely not a skilled fort maker and don't recall doing this childhood activity often, (except in my cousin's basement when we would visit).  Justin claims to be an expert after making numerous forts growing up with his two brothers whenever his dad was out of town.  So he tackled this project, gathering all of the large blankets we could find, the dining room table and all the folding chairs in the house.  After completion, the kids played in the "motor home" reading, playing babies, and messing around on the ipads.  Alena and I even had a lengthy game of Go Fish, which was interrupted 148 times by her sister.

After enjoying the "motor home" we decided to head to the zoo.  The temperature was in the mid 40s and it was the perfect day to go to the zoo.  This is my second trip this winter and each time I have been closer to the animals than I ever had before.  We had a close up of the lions, watched the zoo keepers feed the penguins, and another zoo keeper was giving detailed information about each monkey in the monkey exhibit.  Even though we've been to the zoo countless times, we still enjoy going and spent nearly 2 hours there yesterday.

After naps, I made granola and we all played outside at the park across the street.  As the sun was sinking low, the regular 8 deer we have seen frequently by our place came through the park.

Our evening ended with a little take out, a bath and a movie, (for mom and dad-we watched Philomena, which I highly recommend).  It was a perfect little Saturday.

A Right of Passage

I think every child should go ice skating at least once during their childhood.  For many, that one trip may be all that they need and another experience on the ice isn't necessary.  Others may realize they had a great time and may want to give it another try.  I wasn't quite sure what my oldest would think but I decided it was time to find out.

I remember learning how to ice skate when I was little, spending time with my cousins on the ice.  It is just like riding a bike; even though it's been years since I have gone, it all came right back to me when I stepped onto the ice this past weekend.  My husband's first, and only, experience was when we were dating.  He must have decided he didn't want to try it again because we've never gone back!  

I was so excited to see that the weather was going to be warm this past weekend and thought it was the perfect time to take Alena on her first ice skating experience. I love the outdoor Brenton Skating Plaza so wanted to take advantage of having her first experience be outside.  There's something about feeling the hot sun on you, the cold ice beneath your skates and the glare on the ice when you skate.  She was up for the adventure when I mentioned going. Wearing just a long sleeve shirt and donned with gloves, we laced up our skates and joined the crowd on the ice. 

It took a little while for her to get used to the ice, and I attempted to teach her to glide on the ice rather than walk on it, (referring to Elsa many times).  We spent many laps hand in hand, me catching her when she began to fall. She did fall to the ice a few times but was quick to get right back up and try again.  

After a little bit, we decided to rent something she could skate behind to help work on her balance. Then when she would feel ready, she would let go and skate by herself while I skated with the skate aid beside her, just in case she needed to grab it.

I thought after 30-40 minutes of going round and around she would be ready to go but she wasn't.  We took a few breaks, munching on our popcorn and people watching, but after each break she would ask if we could go skate again.   

By the end of the 2 hours she was skating mostly by herself, even changing directions, and my toes ached because I was wearing skates a size too small!  

During this trip, I realized my oldest daughter has acquired two traits from me:  

1.  Competitiveness- I'm a little worried that she has acquired this trait but hopefully it will be to a lesser degree than what I have.  I knew she was competitive and her teachers have even mentioned it to me, but this activity helped me realize it. The entire time we were ice skating, she was looking around at other kids, sizing them up and watching them. Whenever she saw a little boy or girl about her age or older skating without any assistance, she would want to let go and skate by herself too.  A little bit of competitiveness is great, but sometimes it can get you in trouble.  Hopefully she can keep this trait scaled back.

2.  Determination - This is an excellent trait to have, and it's no doubt my little girl is determined. I couldn't believe how anxious she was to learn how to skate, how quickly she would get up after a fall, and how often she would let go of the skate aid so she could do it by herself.  I love her determination and hope it takes her far in life!

Overall, it was a very successful first trip.  During our trip home, she asked when we could go skating again; a definite sign that she's ready for another adventure on the ice!

Guilty Pleasures

That's such a weird term, but I've realized lately I have a few of my own guilty pleasures that I'm going to divulge right here:

1.  I've lost count how long we have been without cable but as the months go by, I miss it less and less.  I watch one TV show each week, (when it's on, and the series is ending so what am I going to do now!?).  I've also watched the last two seasons of Bachelor and am ashamed I am currently watching this season as well.  I NEVER wanted to get sucked into this show because it just seems silly to me-you can't meet your wife/husband on a show like this.  I know there have been a few success stories but they are rare and the episodes are so staged it drives me crazy.  Two seasons ago, I watched one episode and couldn't stop watching, not because of the bachelor, but one of the lady friends who was vying for his attention caught my eye. I loved her strong personality and humor and of course she ended up being the next Bachelorette so I was "forced" in to watch her season too.  I'm being loyal to Iowa and watching the current season, but I'm already ready to be done.  The bachelor seems awkward on the episodes, the girls are embarrassing, and the bachelor keeps giving a rose to the crazy lady!  Unfortunately, without cable or DVR, I have to watch live TV, which means my entire family is watching the Bachelor with me this season.  AJ saddles right up to the TV because a little screen time is rare in our house and she will take advantage of it, even if it isn't something she wants to watch. Thankfully, the kids are in bed after the first hour, leaving me alone to watch the rest by myself.  I'm so embarrassed that I am another victim to this reality show.

2.  I do a lot of driving throughout the month and my trip down to Southern Iowa can get pretty long, especially because I leave the house at 5:30 AM now and need something to help keep me awake.  I've been an off and on fan of Taylor Swift and remember when she released her first single, "Tim McGraw." I'm sure nobody expected her to be as big as she is now.  I love her newest song on the radio, "Blank Space," and lately found myself checking all the radio stations to see if they were playing it when I was in the car. Last week, I decided to just go and buy her album.

Now I can listen to this song whenever I want and the rest of her album is quite good also-enough so that I didn't want to dose off this week during my drive.  She really seems to have a good head on her shoulders despite the amount of money she is raking in.  She's a great role model for teens and it's impressive that she writes all of her music.  I hope she decides to do another country album as I think her song writing is much better in that style of music.  We were born in the same decade so I don't feel so old buying her CD, right?.

3.  Sometimes after a crazy, long day at work, I will run to the store quick before heading home to get a few things.  By this time, I am so exhausted and often starving as I routinely see patients through lunch and may not realize until 2:00 that I didn't eat.  There have been a few instances where I will grab a Kit-Kat or pack of peanut M and M's while standing in the check out line, and enjoy them in my car before I go home.  Definitely a guilty pleasure and I often regret this indulgence the next day!