Shannon Yee

I imagined that when I had more than one child in school, things would slow down. I would be able to get so much done around the house and provide great meals for our family. I figured that with only one kid, we would be able to have fun and get our work done and also have time for naps or relaxing each day. I don’t know what I was thinking!

As I write this, I’ve just realized that I only have 5 hours of time between the dropping off and picking up times instead of the 8 that I imagined I had. This might explain some of why I’m not as productive and fun as I thought I’d be. In reality, after playing with Josiah until he has to leave for school, Thad and I usually get the grocery shopping done, have one fun outing (like the zoo or park), help out a school (go to a playdate for TJ) and make a few meals each week. Each afternoon, he naps while I work on Bible study or ESL lesson plans or connect with people or maybe do a bit of a house project. Then I wake him up to go get Eila and we go, go, go until bedtime. Each evening is different, but they are all the same too: eating, playing, working, talking, laughing, crying, cleaning, reading, sleeping.

Fall is here and I don’t want to miss it, but it is tricky taking time to enjoy and experience life as we live it. If you have any tips, please share!

It seems like everywhere I look, people (and blogs and other blogs) are suggesting that listing what you’re thankful for is a really good idea. So, I think I will.

Here are some things I’m thankful for today:
-Naps all together in a warm bed on a cold afternoon
-Eila getting her stride circle: success after lots of hard work
-Brian being well last night and not complaining about the clean-up he did
-Boxes full of books to read and time to read some
-Quiet in the evening; time to myself

Not too long ago, I cleaned the windows – inside and out. I know, I know, this isn’t really blogworthy info, but I’ve never actually cleaned all the windows before, so this is big news. And, I didn’t even do most of it. I had my kids do it. Well, actually they were begging me to clean them, so I finally gave in.

They sprayed my mixture of white vinegar and water in a dollar store spray bottle all over and mostly rubbed it clean. It only took about 30 minutes and now we’re all set for the next eight years.

“Mommy, come see the funniest thing ever. Hurry!”
I rush outside to see a cherry pits and stems and a plum pit thrown about the deck. This was so not the funniest thing ever, but I did at least produce a mild grin.

Today I’ve only had all three kids for a short while and yet still I’m thinking that three is two too many. I’ll keep #3 and lend out the others to any adventurous and brave soul who will take them… ;p

In just three hours, #2 has succeeded in clogging the toilet with an entire roll of toilet paper – unrolled and shoved in, throwing a ball and racket at #3, smothering #3 with a blanket, waking #3 from a sound sleep by screaming as loudly as possible over and over, spitting all over #1 and the table, breaking a doll house and making #1 cry, taking over everything that #1 has and infuriating her. He has also eaten, read books, jumped on the couch and laughed a lot.

Child #1 has screamed and yelled at everyone, smashed her head into the wall, fallen off a chair AND table, tried to twist #2’s arm backwards, and kissed #3 more times than I can count. She has also sang and danced the entire time and changed clothes about six times. She did clean up her room too.

Edit (10 minutes later): The boys are sleeping and the girls are both calm and so glad that those boys are finally sleeping. They needed it!

Being thankful should be so easy. I know all the things I have to be thankful for, and yet I find myself wanting to complain all the time and having a hard time not being cranky all the time. This week I have been especially irritated at everything, pretty much all the time.

I was/am irritated that my B-H contractions turned to real contractions and then no baby. I’m irritated that Eila and Josiah aren’t perfect and that my house is constantly in need of cleaning and we always need to eat. I should be thankful that we have a really nice house and lots of toys and art projects to make messes with and plenty of food to eat. I should also be thankful that baby boy is developing perfectly and that my body is getting ready for labor. I should be thankful, and I’m trying… sort of.

For Christmas, Brian got me the book Clean House, Clean Planet and while we were vacationing in AZ, I read most of it and then started to make some products when we returned. I had already been using my own versions sporadically, but found that these recipes are much better than my own. I especially like her disinfectant spray, which is simply water, liquid soap and tea tree oil. I’ve been using the peppermint Dr. Bronner’s soap and love the smell. I also found that her Earth Scrub recipe works wonderfully. It is the replacement for Soft Scrub and was great at cleaning my bathroom and kitchen. The kids sort of helped and everything smelled really good (like peppermint again!).

For my birthday (which isn’t until next week…), I got myself a few months of someone coming to clean my house. She did a great job cleaning my house, but it smelled so strongly of bleach in the bathroom that I had to open all the windows in the house and turn on all the fans for a long while after she left. So, I think that I’ll give her my new homemade cleaners for the next time. Making the cleaners takes a few minutes at most and is really easy, so it shouldn’t take away from the pampering of having someone else clean my house at all!

I am a little embarrassed at how excited I am about the new look of our playroom/office. Last night, Brian and I spent about 3-1/2 hours cleaning out the toys and organizing them (and taking most of them to the basement for now while they await a new home!) We have our art supplies, books, blocks, cars, puzzles, school stuff, balls, doll house, and a few other toys each with a lovely, well-labeled home. After our orientation and tour to the new playroom this morning, Eila seems to enjoy it as much as I do. Josiah, on the other hand, likes to dump out the bins and climb in them and then leave the mess for Eila or I to clean up while he moves on to another box to dump.

This re-organization has been a long-time coming and I’m hoping that it will last and work for us. I will begin homeschooling with Eila tomorrow and wanted to have everything ready as well as needed to get the clutter under control. We have far too much stuff! If you are lacking in toys for kids under 4 years of age, I have plenty and will gladly give you a truckload or more.

Being on vacation and with family away from home for several weeks in the past two months has been exhausting. It has also been more fun than I can express, but apparently I am truly an introvert and refresh by being alone. I have always known this, but often doubt because I love hanging out with my family and close friends so much.

Having two little ones who are not living according to the “normal” routine and being with people all the time was an adventure – tiring and fabulous all in one.

I am very thankful to be home and getting settled back into whatever normal is. I just wish it didn’t involve so much laundry, dishes, and whining (from me or the kids!)…

I am ready to start purging all of the toys in our house. With a three year-old girl and a one year-old boy, we have more kids’ stuff than I ever imagined possible. Our modest ranch can only hold so much and it has reached it’s limit. The playroom/office is no longer able to be walked in or through due to the large volume of toys strewn about. It cannot even be cleaned up because of the large mess. We’ll have to start somewhere and I’m thinking it will be with a large garbage bag and a few trips to the local donation drop off point. If we can get the amount of toys under control, we might be able to play with some of them!