I Need a Sponsor!

Dear Land of Nod,

Do you need a mommy blogger to help you with your advertising? I would be so happy to have you as a sponsor. It would be easy for me to go on and on about your quality children's furniture, your cute little names for things, and your stylish new baby gifts and gear. But the real reason I want some free swag in exchange for my endorsement? I want oodles of your toys under our Christmas tree this year.

The only thing I can't gush about is your prices, which could be a bit more budget-friendly for this mother to five. And yet, unlike so many toys in the big box stores, these aren't made of poisonous, lead-laden plastic and paint. They don't light up or make arcade noises. These toys don't talk back to your kids, allowing them to use their own (gasp) imaginations and to invent their own dialogue. They don't have any heavily merchandised characters that induce my children to swear their loyalty to a movie or brand. And that may save me some money in the long run!

So, just in case you had me in mind for such a gig, I'm attaching my wish list for Christmas. If Santa could come early in the form of a gigantic gift card from your lovely store, I would really appreciate it. Until then, I will try to be content with a few of the less budget-killing items and watch for a sale.

For my boys:

"Do you hear what I hear?" is just the kind of eavesdropping device my little Harriet-the-Spy wannabe would flip over!

And it coordinates perfectly with this "Secret Agent kit", an item which happens to be on Kimball's rather extensive wish list this year. (I wonder where he gets it?)

My little nephews would be over the moon to get this fire engine or "If I had a hammer and workbench" from Aunt Michal.

For my Girls:

"Thank heaven for little girl dolls" and coordinating pillow pals are sweet, indestructible, modest, and don't push my girls into the teeny-bopper stage too soon. Can I just grumble for a moment about how much I hate most of the dolls out there for little girls? Grumble grumble.


Cutest little "Starter house perfect for first time owners". Love it. Too bad the family and all the furniture are sold separately. This Santa's helper wants them all.

One of the many accessories that I love to go with the kitchen at the top. We might end up with the cookie set, but sadly, we'll have to make do with our plastic hand-me-down kitchen without an LON sponsorship.:)


This stylish stacker is perfect for the baby who already inherited everything from her older sibs. As is the vanilla flavored teething ring (not pictured). What a great idea.

These adorable blocks almost make me want to sit down and stack them up. And there were several other equally beautiful block sets.

These are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to educational toys and games for all ages. I think Bronwen may get a few of these under the tree to keep her busier during "school time".

In short, please have your people call my people. On second thought, you'd better email me. The background noise of my life is too chaotic for any official phone calls! I'm sure that we can arrange a mutually satisfactory situation! I'll brag all about your wonderful toys and furniture, and you'll send me one of everything! Deal?

Perspective

Do you get a lump in your throat when you check on your kids at night after they've fallen asleep? I am always over- whelmed with feelings of love and gratitude. Here are our kids crashed out at the hotel last weekend.

A wise person once said, "Don't sweat the small stuff". I am convinced that this is much easier said than done.

I know how to handle the big stuff without losing my cool. My son may have an autistic meltdown in a very public place, and I can be soothing and resourceful. My husband or I are asked to do something overwhelming for church and I handle it with aplomb (and lots of prayer). Financial trials? Not worth freaking out over.

If I can handle these tough situations and more, why is it that finding my daughter digging through my purse with an entire pack of gum in her mouth threatens to send me over the edge? Everyone simultaneously shouting out their "order" for "more milk, please," "can I have a sandwich?" "I don't like cheese!" and "I need to go tinkle NOW" feels like more than I can bear. And if you ever see on the six o'clock news that I have gone postal, it will probably be because I tripped on my kids' shoes in the middle of the floor one too many times!

I know that I need to just relax and not let the little, everyday annoyances get to me. I envy people who seem to have such a zen-like quality to their mothering. And I pray many times a day for patience and clarity of thought as I care for these precious little ones. If I can just remember that my kids are my priority over a clean house, personal space, and peace & quiet, then we will all be better off. (Although please tell me that there is a way to have both! At least sometimes!)

Recently, my friend, Morgan from One More Moore, shared a quote on her blog:

"Above all else, children need to know and feel they are loved, wanted, and appreciated. They need to be assured of that often. Obviously, this is a role parents should fill, and most often the mother can do it best.--Ezra Taft Benson

I loved the quote, but even more, I loved what Morgan said: "On the most challenging of days, I am most certain that if all I have to give is that, I can do it."

That gave me food for thought. I think that on my most challeng -ing of days, my children's sense of love and well-being is not on my mind at all. I'm all about survival, about getting through all the things that have to be done. If anything, I find myself resenting when they need me ("Don't they realize how much I have to do today?") I want a paradigm shift so that I truly have the sense that the most important thing I can do each day is to make sure that my kids know that they are loved, wanted, and appreciated. Let everything else fall where it may, and don't sweat the small stuff.

How do you keep the right perspective in your mothering? Please share with me!!!!

Wordless Wednesday-- Doheny Beach

Look closely-- a wave just took off someone's trunks!

Superhuman Smeller

Recently it has come to my attention that Bronwen has the nose of a blood-hound. She complains about smells before I even notice them (like the over-scented air freshener in a public bathroom or the needs-an-air-freshener scent of her brothers' bedroom.) If I approach her while eating something or immediately after, she always notices and usually is dead-on in her assumption of what I've been eating: "I smell peanut M&Ms!" Busted.

I've been researching (again) Sensory Processing Disorder lately in regards to a couple of my kids. (I'll write a post all about it soon, as so many people have sensory issues these days and don't even recognize it. But that's for another day.)

Last weekend we took a family road trip to Southern California and while Jared was driving, I was filling out a checklist on my kids, determining which areas of sensory input are issues for them. Perhaps this made me more aware of it, but Bronwen's superhuman smeller was cracking us up the entire way to Dana Point.

We were driving along, talking to each other, while the kids were watching Pinocchio, headphones glued to their ears, not making a peep. All of a sudden, Bronwen starts screaming as if she's in agony. After about a minute, her shrieks were finally intelligible. She was saying, "somebody goed stinky in the car!" (No, her grammar isn't perfect yet:) We realized that we were passing a huge cattle farm and indeed, there was a strong smell. But she noticed it before most of us and reacted strongly.

Later, we had to rearrange bodies in the car so that I could sit by Margaret and calm her down when she was THROUGH with being in the carseat. This put one of her brothers directly next to Bronwen, and her complaint? "He's smelling me with his breath!" This wasn't just the typical case of "he's breathing my air" or "she's looking out my window," Bronwen didn't want him near her because she could smell his breath from the next seat over (no one else noticed it at all.)

As the ride wore on and on, she began exhibiting signs that she would benefit from a nap. We pulled out her blanket and encouraged her to go to sleep. Bronwen insisted (by crying and whining) that she couldn't sleep with her shoes on, so I helped her get them off. Instead of this rectifying the situation, she now had something new to cry about: her feet were stinky and how could she sleep with such smelly feet? Sigh. She finally overcame her hardship and drifted off, much to the relief of everyone else in the car.

I foresee her father using this to his advantage when Bronwen is old enough to date. His meet-the-date "interview" with her beaus will involve feeding them raw onions or better yet, he may tell them that she loves cologne! They won't last the evening!

This ultra-sensitive smelling power could be crippling in some situations (like in the fragrances section of the department store,) but I intend to find a way for it to be an advantage to her. Perhaps she has a future as a truffle-hunter. Maybe she can check airplanes for otherwise undetectable peanut fragments before those with heinous allergies board. Or check for poison by smelling all the food and drink of the president or royalty or paranoid celebrity before they eat it. I'm sure that pays well.

Do your kids have any super-human abilities?

Halloween Wrap-Up

I know that by now everyone is OVER Halloween, but I just haven't been able to come up for air until now and I wanted to post.


My kids' adorable costumes are courtesy of their amazing Nana. She made Ian's a couple of years ago for Kimball and all the others she made in the two weeks before Halloween. (She made two other grandkids' costumes and hunted down the desired Batman for another as well.)

This little angel just got passed around at our party until she finally conked out on my friend, Sandy, for about an hour. (And no, I didn't wear a costume. I wear orange and black on Halloween. I have too many other costumes to worry about that night!)

The boys made their "spook alley" this year into Snape's dungeon office, with potions and spooky ingredients everywhere and something brewing in the big black cauldron. Aunt Becky showed up dressed as Ginny Weasley, so she fit right in!

Our party was lots of fun and benefited greatly from our new backyard. We did have a few too many kids on the trampoline all night long, but I haven't been contacted by anyone's attorney about it, so all's well. There was plenty of chili, hot dogs, rootbeer, and chocolate. I wish that I'd had my camera out more, but here are a few shots of those who haunted our house that night:

This little witch didn't make it over that night-- we missed you, Livvy!
If you had stayed till the end, you would have seen Jared pull out his bag of hairpieces and try them out on some of our guests. (Did anyone get a picture of Jared's costume? Because I'm a bad wife and didn't take one. Oops!)


If only Rich (on the right, above,) had worn the puffy pumpkin costume with green tights (like he did to the church trunk-or-treat), the party would have been perfect. Oh well, maybe next year!

Fabulous Five!

Our Ian turned five years old this week. Between being the third boy (read: always trying to keep up with his older brothers) and having a late-in-the-year birthday, by the time he has his glorious day I can't believe that he's not a year older. Hasn't he been five in my mind for ages?

Here are my favorite growing older quotes from Ian today:

"Mom, this underwear is too small for me now. 'Cuz I'm five. I think we need to sell it."

and,

"Mom, I love you! And even when I'm a big-year-old, I'll still love you."

Ian, we love you, now, and even when you're a big-year-old. Thanks for being our fun-loving, energetic, enthusiastic little boy.

Excuses, Excuses

I have had posts aplenty stewing in my head lately, but all of them require the use of a camera--and sadly, mine has decided to be uncooperative. If I can just get Jared's camera from the office long enough to take some photos and actually upload them, I'll be back soon with musings and updates. Don't give up on me.:)

Giveaway Winner

I wish I had more of these tickets to Disney on Ice to give away, but I only get to choose one winner this time. Our winner was chosen randomly with the help of my husband-- I wrote down your names once for each entry (I came up with 30 total entries) and then randomly assigned numbers to each entry--for instance, if you left a comment and follow me on twitter, you had two entries and could have been assigned the numbers 7 and 23. Then I had my husband choose a number between 1 and 30.

And the winner is Staci from from nickandstaci! Send me an email ASAP (sleepymumATgmailDOTcom) letting me know which night you'd prefer to see the show (Thursday or Friday)-- I'll be there on Thursday with Bronwen.

And if you didn't win, remember that you can use the code MOM when you buy tickets to get 4 for $44 (with each additional ticket being $11 each). At that price, I hope you can all take your little princesses to see the show!

Thanks to Mom Central Consulting for providing the tickets.

Overheard At Our House

Ah, the 2-year-old. Is there another creature on earth more a paradox than a 2-year-old? One moment hysterically funny, the next, hysterically crying. One moment you want to give her away to a passing stranger and the next you want to hug her tight and never let go. One moment she clings to your legs or asks to be picked up, the next she is pushing you away as she decides she is "a big kid". One moment she thinks something harmless is "too carey" (scarey), the next she is cheating death.

Here are a few recent quotes from our little paradox that had us cracking up.

The scene: Bronwen is dressed like a prim little girl, wearing a pink sweater with ballet shoes on the front, a hot pink skort, tights and t-strap shoes with a big bow in her hair. She runs into the house from the backyard, where she's been playing with "her kids" (the brothers).

Me: (observing that she is determined to do SOMETHING based on her demeanor,) What are you doing, Bronwen?

Bronwen: (seriously) I NEED to find a gun, Mama!

After a few moments of tearing apart the toy closet, she emerges with a clone trooper laser gun and a big grin on her face. She runs out to join the fray in the backyard and I am left shaking my head at my little girl.

Episode II

• 1:30 pm Daddy puts Bronwen down for a nap with hugs and kisses all around.
• 2:00 pm Mama enters Bronwen's room to check out the "carey bug" that Bronwen insists is lurking in the corners, preventing her sleep.
• 2:15 pm Pathetic sobbing begins from Bronwen's room--something about how she didn't kiss and hug every single member of the family befor her nap. (You know, just in case she didn't survive the experience and it was her last earthly chance to see them.)
• 2:30 pm Pathetic sobbing ends. Bronwen begins singing all her favorite songs at the top of her lungs: "Tomorrow", "The Family is of God", the theme song from Penguins of Madagascar (there are no words to this song, but that doesn't stop her), and "I Like to Move it, Move it" (also from PoM).
• 3:15 pm Singing ends. Bronwen begins kicking her door methodically while calling for "her boys" to get her up.
• 3:30 pm Her frustrated mother decides to let her up from her nap and opens the door.

Bronwen: (brightly) Good morning, Mama!
Me: (wryly) Good morning, sweetie!
Bronwen: (sweetly and animatedly) That was a great nap, Mama. Thank you for putting me to a nap. It was a great nap!

Just whom is she trying to kid? I know perfectly well that she didn't sleep a wink, nor did she like most of it.

What paradoxes have you seen in your toddler?

Brownie Love

I adore brownies. Cakey, fudgy, chewy, crackly-topped, the edges, the middle, with icing, powdered sugar, or plain . . . what's not to love about a good brownie?

My favorite recipe for brownies changes every six months or so. Probably because I like all kinds. My newest favorite recipe is from Alton Brown, star of Good Eats. If you've never watched his Food Network show, you really should. We love how he uses scientific principles to explain cooking and baking, and he has many unconventional (yet brilliant) ways of doing things.

I discovered this recipe late one night when I remembered that I needed treats for Ian's soccer team the next day. My go-to brownie recipe for the past year has been Prudence Pennywise's (and it remains fabulous) but I didn't have enough baking chocolate on hand to make the ginormous pan needed--so I went to the internet in search of a good cocoa brownie recipe. These whipped up quickly, consisted of ingredients that I had on hand without planning ahead, and turned out to be so yummy I wondered if they were too good for five year old soccer players!:) Needless to say, even though I discovered this recipe just over a week ago, I've already made it twice.

You need these brownies, too. They don't take much longer to whip up than a box and are soooo much yummier--I promise.

This makes an 8x8 pan, about 16 small or 9 large brownies. Double it for a 9x13 pan or triple if you're using a jelly roll pan. These are rich and chocolatey enough to stand alone without icing.

If my camera wasn't on the fritz, I'd have an enticing picture here. Sigh.

Cocoa Brownies from Alton Brown's Good Eats

• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup granulated sugar, sifted
• 1 cup brown sugar, sifted
• 1 cup butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cups cocoa, sifted
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/2 cup flour, sifted
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt

Butter and flour your pan and preheat the oven to 300 degrees (F).Use an electric mixer or stand mixer with whisk attachment to beat the eggs until they are fluffy and light yellow. Add both sugars and mix. Add remaining ingredients and mix to combine.

Pour into your prepared pan and bake for about 45 minutes (you may need to adjust this depending on pan size-- but check it after 45 minutes.) When they are finished, a toothpick will come out clean.

Eat them as soon as they don't burn your tongue, or hold off till they cool. I sent some to my brother and he said they were delicious five days later--but they don't last that long at my house.