The Bathroom Is Clean!

Not blog-worthy for most people, but a big accomplishment for me. Even though I'm surrounded by great cleaners and organizers (my parents, in-laws, and son), none of it has rubbed off on me. This morning I put the kids in the tub with shaving cream, squirt bottles, and food coloring and let them make a huge mess so that I would be forced to clean it afterwards. Just one of the little tricks I have to play on myself to get motivated to clean the bathroom.

Update

Well, I didn't achieve all my goals for the day. We made tortillas, shoveled snow, went sledding, and cleaned one bathroom, but the other bathroom remains. It's supposed to get cleaned on Mondays, but I can usually find some reason to put it off. Have to do it tomorrow for sure. I do have a pretty good excuse today though. We were very cold and walking home from sledding, and I promised a warm bath and hot chocolate to the kids. Got home and discovered that we were locked out. That's a long story, but suffice it to say that Noah made an error. Sarah started crying pitifully, and by the time we got to the neighbor's house to use the phone, she was wailing, "I want to go home! I want to go home!" The wonderful neighbor let us in, and while I was calling Mike, she made popcorn for the kids and turned on something for them to watch on TV. Sarah was too upset to eat, so you KNOW she was really upset. Noah wasn't bothered at all and seemed to be enjoying himself. Mike confirmed my fear that we didn't even have a key to this particular door, because we never lock it. The neighbor's husband came in then, and I asked him if he had any lock picking tools. He was able to get the door unlocked, and we were very thankful to be home, but alas, no time to clean the bathroom.

Dreams, Goals, and Acrostics

I had two great dreams last night. I dreamed I was eating a big, cheesy pizza. Then I dreamed I was pregnant, and I got to see a sonogram picture of my son. I woke up with my hands on my belly and a smile on my face.
My goals for the remainder of the day are for us to make tortillas, clean the bathrooms, and play in the snow.
The kids made acrostics this morning. Sarah did this one about Noah:

Noodle lover
Opens doors
Always loves Sarah
Happy

Noah made this one about Papa Marty:

Mike's dad
Aunt Kathy's dad
Reads a lot
Tickles us
Yucky coffee drinker

They did lots more of those too.

Korean Americans

Sarah was in the tub playing with shaving cream. She mixed some shaving cream with water in a cup and said, "This is how Koreans make milk." Then she put the cup on her head and said, "This is how Africans carry Korean milk." She was pretending she was pregnant. She rubbed her stomach and said, "My baby is still in my tomb, but it's coming soon." I explained to her the difference between a tomb and a womb, but I don't think she was listening, because she went right back to talking about Koreans. She said, "I'm Korean because I'm brown. You're American because you're white." I told her that she's Korean because she was born in Korea to Korean birthparents and that she will always be one hundred percent Korean. I told her that she's also one hundred percent American, because when we adopted her she became a legal citizen of America. I told her that she's Korean-American. She went to find Noah and told him excitedly, "Noah, we're Korean-Americans!" I'm sure heritage and adoption issues will get more difficult as they get older, but for now, she's thrilled to be a Korean American.

Personalities

We were in Peoria today and decided to visit Mike at work. He had a meeting after work and wouldn't be home until after the kids were in bed, so they needed a Daddy fix. The kids each took a Webkinz animal in with them. We ran into one of those guys who likes to tease and joke around all the time, and he was messing with the kids. He asked Noah why he was carrying around a rat. Noah politely told him it was a mouse. Actually, I was surprised that he talked at all. Then the teaser asked Sarah why she had a bat. She was immediately indignant, and told him loudly and firmly that it was a NOT a bat but a bird. Typical Sarah response. On our way out, we saw the same guy again, and he asked Noah what he had. Noah said quietly, "It's a rat." Teaser didn't know what to say to that, so he turned to Sarah asked her what she had, and she declared, "A BIRD!" He asked her how she knew it wasn't a bat, and she explained loudly and slowly (as if he were the dumbest person she'd ever met), "Because it is a BIRD!" When we got home, Noah said, "I wish I would have shown that funny guy the tag on my mouse. It says right on there, 'white mouse'." The whole incident so clearly represents the differences in their personalities. Noah is easy-going, agreeable, and will say whatever he thinks you want to hear. He's a thinker and a people-pleaser who cows to peer pressure. And then there's Sarah. She's a strong, forceful, opinionated, independent woman, and she'll tell it like it is, no matter who you are or what you think. They each have their own strengths and weaknesses, and it's so interesting to watch them develop.

Ears

Sarah is completely healed this morning, and she is HUNGRY! In fact, she woke up in the middle of the night saying she wanted spaghetti. That didn't happen, but when she got up in the morning, she wanted a bagel, cantaloupe, and tea. (The only thing she asked for yesterday was tea, but she went to sleep while I was making it). She was very demanding and the things she wanted weren't appearing on the timetable she wanted, so she said, "I SAID give me some cantaloupe! I asked nicely." I told her that she didn't ask nicely but I was working on it anyway. She argued that she had said "please", and I said I didn't hear it. Mike and Noah agreed that they didn't hear it either. I said, "Apparently, you're the only one who heard yourself say please." She said, "Of course, because my ears are closest to my mouth."

Lepers

Sarah is very sick today. She didn't eat all day, just laid around in misery and slept a lot. She's been alive for almost 5 years, and this is the first time she's ever puked. It was a good one though, because somehow she puked on her hair and I had to give her a shower. She had a fever and the shakes, and she cried all through the shower. She fell asleep on the bathroom floor after I got her dried and dressed. Noah covered her with his special fleece blanket that he named Brownie. He said she could keep it until she was well again, and then we'd have to wash it. As he was making her a get-well card (and carefully choosing her favorite colors), he said, "I hope she will enjoy this." I told him that she might not appear to enjoy it because she's so miserable, but I was sure that she would appreciate it deep inside. He said, "Sometimes I do that too. If somebody does something for me, I might not think to thank them right away, but later when I think about how nice it was, then I say thank you." I told him he's like the tenth leper in Luke 17, when Jesus heals ten lepers, but only one comes back to thank Him. Noah said, "And Sarah is like the fourth leper."