You're a Mom.

I LOVE this and had to share it with you all....

So.....Do you know who Elmo's fish is?

Qualities of the Youngest Sibling

Being the youngest sibling myself, I know it isn't a job that just any Average Joe can do.  You have to have special qualities to be able to deal with your older sibling.  

The youngest sibling will naturally be patient. 

The older sibling will most likely have to be taught this quality.  (As Mommy and Daddy are pulling their hair out!!!....They need to be patient too!)

It starts from the time of conception.  

Mom is tired during her 1st pregnancy, she naps or goes to bed early.

1st baby of the family is crying, he/she is quickly comforted.

There isn't another sibling to steal toys.

The world simply revolves around him/her!

The youngest sibling.....

Mom doesn't take naps during pregnancy.  Focus is still on 1st baby.

2nd baby will learn to self soothe as Mom tends to oldest child who is in need.

2nd child's toys are stolen from day 1. 

2nd child's world depends on their older sibling's current mood.....because that is what's going to determine Mommy and Daddy's mood, too!

They learn to be patient.

Sometimes they have to just wait for their moment.

Find joy in playing with the little toy....

Understand that when the older sibling asks you to become involved, it is probably to benefit them in some way....

When they see their older sibling is in need, they will help....

They enjoy seeing their older sibling happy....

But they can't always figure out their older sibling.  Sometimes they may THINK their brother or sister wants their help, but there are moments when the oldest wants to PROVE that he/she doesn't need help!

The youngest will want to scream.....

But, the youngest has a sense of humor.

The youngest just sits quietly, waits, and thinks.....

Missing Shoes Update.

I spent many moments of my day shoe searching.  Search.  Sit.  Think.  Retrace steps. Search.  Give up for awhile in order to prevent frustration.  Repeat. 

Everyone I talked to today told me to check the same places, which were places I had already checked and were no success. 

I started thinking maybe I didn’t really see the shoes in the bathroom after Jackson’s bath Sunday night.  Maybe I was thinking about another night.  Aaron, the boys, and I had to run by Kristin’s house Sunday night, so maybe Jackson left them there?  I called her just to be sure they were not in a toy box there or in her living room and she said no because she KNOWS he had them on when they walked us out to the car.  She remembered looking at them. 

This just confirmed even more that they had to be at our house since we came straight home from Kristin’s. 

I dumped out toy boxes today, emptied closets, checked drawers, checked clothes hampers, checked all cabinets, couch cushions, front porch, back porch, garage, any toys that had storage compartments, Rigley’s cage….I checked it all. 

Truth be told, Aaron was actually out of town last night with work, but I didn’t want to write that on my blog.  Today was trash day, but I didn’t put our trash can out because if Aaron got home and we still couldn’t find the shoes….we Aaron would be searching the trash.  No matter the condition of the shoes, we wanted to know where in the world they were. 

Tonight I had given up.  I knew Aaron would be home soon and he would have fresh eyes to search with.  As I was sitting in the bathroom while the boys took a bath, I looked at their frog trash can.    

I did look in here yesterday, but I guess when I saw this -

I decided not to continue digging.  However, when I saw this toilet paper tonight, it reminded me that Garrett got in trouble Monday morning for pulling all the toilet paper off of the roll.  Therefore, this toilet paper was clean and Garrett had some “playtime” in the bathroom Monday morning.  I removed the toilet paper…… 

FOUND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

I did LOOK in the trash can yesterday, but I didn’t SEARCH this trash.  Can you believe Aaron would put these shoes in the trash?!?!?!?!  hahaha!!!  I think we only have one suspect in this case……his name starts with a G.  :)

Mystery Solved.

The Missing….

Before becoming a mom I really didn’t care what our house looked like. I cared about my classroom and everything had a spot, but when I got home from work I was done. I was done because home was basically a place to relax.

Now, three years later, my views have changed. Our house is far from a place where we just relax. We have 2 young, active boys. There are certain things that have a particular spot and they need to be in that particular spot in order to make it through our day and be able to function at our house. The adults in the house must be on top of things, because if it were up to our kids….. many things would be misplaced.

Yes, I tend to drive my husband nuts with my organization obsession.

This brings me to this morning. I had plans to meet my friend Kristin at Super Target. We wanted to go a little earlier in the morning so that the kids would be easier to shop with, so I told Kristin I just had to get myself dressed and the boys and we would be out the door.

I get ready really fast, straighten up the house incase it is shown while I am gone (yeah, right!), pack a little bag for the boys, throw Jackson his clothes to put on, tell Jackson 952 times to try to go potty before we leave, chase Garrett, get Garrett dressed, take Rigley out, put Rigley in his cage, assist Jackson in getting dressed and inform him like I do daily that even though he may think his underwear are on correctly, they are on backwards and he needs to turn them around, battle with Garrett to get his shoes and socks on, realized by the smell of Garrett, he needed his diaper changed again, brushed their teeth, go in Jackson’s room to grab his shoes and socks…………………………………………….no shoes.

Me: "JACKSON!!! WHERE ARE YOUR SHOES????”

Jackson: At the top of my closet Mommy!” (Yes, Jackson knows that’s where they go, however I don’t think every member of the household has caught on to that….)

Me: “No they’re not. Did Daddy put your shoes on you yesterday?”

Jackson: “Ummmmmmm…….”

Me: “Do you know where Daddy likes to put your shoes?”

Jackson: “He puts his shoes in his closet and his dirty shoes in the garage. Daddy needs to clean his dirty shoes”

Me: “No Jackson, do you know where YOUR shoes are?”

Jackson: “Ummmmm…..maybe they just blew away!!!”

……….And I realized that conversation was not going anywhere.

• Call my husband, right? Would be easy IF he was allowed to talk on the phone while driving a train. Not that that stopped me from calling him 1,000 times in hopes of him answering. Although I debated it, I didn’t think calling the Union Pacific family emergency 1-800 number that could get a hold of Aaron would be appropriate. “Your wife has a missing shoe emergency.”
• Put on a different pair of shoes. Let’s face it….he’s a boy…..there are not 100 cute pairs of shoes I see that he must have. It is one per season!!

I called Kristin and said I was going to take longer than I thought……..I have looked in every spot of our house and cannot find his shoes ANYWHERE…..I am sweating……..I am mad at Aaron right now (It’s always easier to blame your husband than to blame you kids or yourself)……..and I can’t let Jackson wear his Crocs in November!

After she informed me that the weather was actually warm today, I settled down some and put Jackson in his Crocs. However, wearing Crocs with jeans would be a fashion no-no, so I had to change his whole outfit. Then once Garrett saw that Jackson was wearing his Crocs, Garrett threw a huge fit because he wanted to wear his Crocs too. “Shooooooooz, Shoooooooz!!”

So…..I changed Garrett’s whole outfit, picked back up the mess that I created while trying to find the shoes, made Jackson go potty again, and finally left……..a really really long time after planned.

As of tonight, Aaron is still at work and the shoes are still missing. I have talked to Aaron but he doesn’t remember putting them anywhere……We will spend Wednesday searching for shoes!

I will probably regret typing this blog, because the shoes will probably end up being in a spot that I am overlooking and Aaron will laugh and say “Ohhhhhh……but you ALWAYS put his shoes on his closet shelf, huh?!” But for now, the mystery of the missing shoes continues and this is why everything must have a spot at our house in order to function properly. :) I do find it odd that both shoes are missing. If I could only find one shoe, I would blame one of the kids. But, both???

Notes:

**I know for a fact the shoes are at our house. I remember seeing them in the bathroom Sunday night after his bath and we didn’t leave the house on Monday.

**Mom, yes I know I am the world’s worst about leaving my own shoes in random places around the house. I can do this with my own shoes since I have many other pairs! So….don’t even start with the “Like Mother, Like Son” or would you say “Like Wife, Like Husband” in this situation? haha!! :)

**If you read this whole blog about missing shoes, THANKS! It was long and all about shoes….

MISSING