Because I'm a nerd.

Most know that I was the copy editor for BYU-Idaho's newspaper and that for some weird reason I take pleasure in finding obvious grammatical errors. But don't read this blog too closely because I know I make my own mistakes! Nevertheless, I enjoy discovering (and sometimes pointing out) misused words, punctuation errors, etc. Jake loves this, especially when I do it to him.

So, when Callie had an ear infection recently, I had to laugh at the label on the prescription bottle.

Feel free to laugh at the picture... and at me.

Mom versus

As Callie learns how to play more and more, Jenna seems to tattle more and more.

"Mom! She hit me with that book!"

"Mooooom! Callie is playing with my backpack!"

"MOM! That is mine!"

"Mommmmmmmmm. She is not playing right!"

You get the idea.

My response to this is, "Jenna. Play with your sister. Not against her."

The last week or so, I've been annoyed (ok, let's be real here. I've been annoyed for a lot longer than just the last week but the last week has been especially annoying).

It seemed like every time I showered, used the bathroom, sat down to eat, read, check e-mail, talk to Jake or breathe, I was interrupted. Every time I tried to help someone do something, I felt annoyed because they weren't doing it right, i.e. helping Jenna get dressed. "No, Jenna! Wrong foot!"

Then I realized this is how Jenna feels with Callie. I was whining just as much as Jenna.

So today, I took my own advice. I did not do dishes all day. I did not check my e-mail during lunchtime. I did not get upset when Callie only slept one hour and then woke up with a poop and wouldn't go back to sleep. I didn't try to clean up when the girls were awake. Instead, we walked to the mailbox around the corner and took our sweet time getting there. We raked some leaves into a huge pile and jumped in them. Jenna was cracking up and I'm pretty sure that's the best feeling in the world - getting your kids to really laugh because they're having fun playing with you. We made leaf sandwiches and cooked them in the "cooker." Jenna and I took our strollers for a walk and had a baby in each one. Callie in mine, a bear in hers. Today was the first day in more days than I care to admit that I did not once raise my voice.

Will every day be like today? Uh.... no. But it sure did feel good to play with my kids today. They're actually pretty nice girls and I think sometimes I forget that when I'm trying to control them so much and it's not going the way I want.

I have one regret today and that is that I thought I sent the camera with Jake so he could document "Ugly Sweater Day" at school. Turns out he forgot it, but I didn't know it so I have no pictures of our nice afternoon. But maybe it's not such a bad thing that I didn't have the camera to distract me?

And to further illustrate how cool my little preschooler is, here are some funnies from a few nights ago.

During bath:

Me: Jenna, your foot is all red! Why is it red?

Jenna: Oh! It's because I'm siiiiiiiiick.

Me: You are?

Jenna: Yeah. My cough just like went down to my feet!

After bath:

Jenna: I'm like a daddy.

Me: Oh yeah? Why's that?

Jenna: 'Cause I have a hair on my tummy.

And she did. But it was actually mine. Gross.

More Halloween.

Jenna could not stop thinking about trunk-or-treating at the church on Saturday. She set out her costume at about 3pm.

This little girl had no idea. Isn't she cute in her tutu?

Almost time to go!

Checkin' out the loot.

Our city only allows trick-or-treaters on the streets from 6pm-8pm. I like this rule. It eliminates teenage stragglers. Anyway, at 6:45, we couldn't figure out why people were walking past our house! Our porch light was on! Our bowl of candy was full! Then we realized other neighbors out on the porch. As soon as we did the same, the kids started coming up. It was like something straight from the movies to see people on their porch, kids giggling and crunching through leaves and the street lights illuminating all the fun. It was a good time.