temple, tantrum, and... circus.

Whew! What a busy week! And by busy, I mean poor time management. Have you ever done that? Just got caught in a rut of going to bed too late, being tired the next day so you end up not doing any of the things that you need to do... ugh! Every day I try to be better at the whole "early to bed, early to rise" thing, but for some reason I have a really hard time winding down at night and I get caught in front of the tv, or worse, the Internet. And then I'm too tired to wake up early and work out and shower, and I have to hit the ground running when the kids wake up. Anyway, let's see, what have we been up to? Okay, here we go....
1. We went to the Circus last Saturday night. And as you read that, you're probably thinking, "oh, what fun!" But no, you'd be wrong. It was terribly, horribly boring. Let me give you a recap: We sit down. We are very excited. Dorky ringmasters come out and do the whole "greatest show on earth" schpiel. The horse trainer lady comes out, and both Addy and Liam are totally impressed, with Addy squealing happily the whole time the horses are visible. Horses and lady exit. Boring, boring, boring act on the rings (or whatever those are called) that lasts ENTIRELY too long. Commencing of the squirmy children. Clown act that is, thankfully, funny and entertaining, but which Addy cant understand and so becomes even squirmier. High wire act that is both fascinating and hard to appreciate because, you know, Addy doesn't get the whole gravity thing. So she starts doing the arch-the-back squirm to get out of my lap. Liam, meanwhile, is entertaining himself by doing his own trapeze-like act on the stairway rail that divides the bleacher walkway. I am starting to feel that it would be more entertaining if the spotlight was turned on me and everyone could watch me convince two small, bored children that this circus really is fun (I was by myself- Shawn had to work). The next 3 or 4 acts are totally unimpressive, there are no animals, bad timing, stupid jokes and un-interesting anecdotes from the ringmasters. One act was performers actually dressed up as cheerleaders doing a bad jump rope routine. I have never been to a circus so boring and poorly performed in my life! We left during intermission with not a single protest from Liam.

2. Last Saturday day we went to the temple. My friend who was going to watch the kids for us called early that morning and told us that her kids were coughing and hacking, so we decided to just take the kids with us and trade off watching them. (but it should be noted here that my friend was still more than willing to watch my kids, and for that I think she's awesome!) So Shawn went in first(we didn't do sessions) while I watched the kiddos, and then he came out and watched them for me. I had alot of fun walking with the kids around the temple grounds, and Liam got to see a bride and groom taking pictures, which sparked a lot of questions from him. "Is this where people get married? Did you and Daddy get married here? Will I get married here? Can I marry you mommy? Why not? Can I marry Aunt Tonya?...." and on and on. The coolest thing he did though was as soon as we started walking around the temple, he folded his arms and walked very reverently and quietly. Of course, if I'm being honest, that lasted about 3 minutes, but he never got rowdy or unruly. It just showed me how perceptive children are to the Spirit, and how they instinctively know how to act when in a reverent setting like that. All in all it was a great day, and Shawn and I both agreed it was one of the best days we had ever had.

3. I am often struck by how you can soar the heights and plunge the depths of parent/mother-hood in a very short amount of time. Last night Liam threw a wall-eyed fit at dinner about how the bowl he picked to eat from wasn't the bowl he wanted to eat from, after I had already put his pasta in it. He does this kind of thing often, and I am getting fed up with the extra clothes and dishes I am having to wash, not to mention the food that goes to waste when he decides that it's not really what he wanted, after all. And if you know me, the food-wasting doesn't sit well. So last night I made him eat from the bowl he picked, and for about 10-15 minutes he screamed at me like I was beating him. When he does this, the best thing is to just flat out ignore it. It works every single time, but for some reason, I doubt myself when I do this. Thoughts like "should I just give him the stinkin bowl? Maybe he'll scream all night. What would I do then? Am I not choosing my battles right? Could it be unhealthy for him to do this?" Just when those thoughts reach a crescendo, his self-control activates again and he goes on his merry little way like nothing ever happened at all. Actual quote from Liam after tantrum: "I love this bowl I picked mom!" Go figure. And then in the quiet aftermath of the screaming, I examined his teary eyelashes, his sweaty blond hair and was once again struck by the wonder of the thought that "I made this boy". Does it ever come on you like that? When you least expect it, you will be awe-struck by the reverence you feel for having had a part in creating someone's life. And that is what I mean by the highs and lows of parenthood. What a ride we take everyday, huh?

We are busy getting the house ready to put on the market, and Shawn needs me to keep the kids corralled and away from the project he's working on, so I will have to get for now. More exciting updates to come! haha, love, ashley