Do I Cry or Get the Camera!

It was Memorial Day weekend and we were all getting in and out of the pool waiting for it to warm up to just that right temperature. I look over and one of my boys has escaped, scaled the steps in my parents back yard and was on the grass overlooking a rock wall. I exclaim, "You and your darn obsession with stairs!"

Then I grabbed the camera and took a picture. My sis-in-law laughed and said, "My oldest says, 'You laughed mom that means I'm not in trouble.' Your boys are going to say,'You got the camera mom that means we're not in trouble!'"

Sadly it's true, but I've found it has become a great way to cope with a situation, not get overly stressed or loose my temper. Granted I can't always sigh, smile then say, "If I take a picture what a fun blog post this will be!" But it does tend to help in certain situations. So there you have it. The reason I post so much is because it's a stress relieving coping mechanism for me as a mother. I'm glad I've made this discovery!

So here is my stress relieving post of the day. My moments of "Do I cry or get the camera!"

While driving around Salt Lake my children were crying off and on because of the darn sun. I finally had it when it woke one of them up after they had finally fallen asleep. I started to search for a solution. Luckily I was wearing a two shirts to try and stay modest and keep from showing off my bra. Voila! We have a sun shade. Don't worry the shirt meant to keep me modest was the one I was able to leave on :)



We stopped for for lunch and decided to rearrange the car so that the night stand we just bought cold now block out the sun. This was not a popular decision.



For some reason they did not like that night stand being next to them Oh! and we discovered why it is our children have a middle seat to separate them. Because when they are placed together like this they fight and steal things from each other.



Now that we've mastered finger foods I've decided to try and introduce silverware. These pictures do not properly capture the mess we had.




*And speaking of changes in eating utinsels I was told by the lovely people at WIC that when switching to regular milk, instead of formula, I should put it in a cup instead of a bottle. This makes the transition easier. Oh but it can't be a sippy cup because you still have the same problems with those as you do with bottles. Well sorry, but I'm not going to sit and help my children drink from an un-lidded cup for their meals. But their straw cups came to mind. We have some that don't leak and that they can't pull the straw out of. And though I don't feel like we have to get rid of our bottles ASAP I thought maybe this suggestion would help my boys take cold milk. Well it didn't, and a whole cup of milk ended up spilled all over the floor. I turned to my husband and said, "We're sticking with bottles!" I'll still give it a try here and there and just put less milk in. But I really don't feel that my boys are ready for the transition and I think sometimes a mother can make those decisions on her own.*

Bath time has become exhausting. For some reason one, or both, of my children start screaming the moment we put them in the tub. The only solution is to play a game of peek-a-boo or to stay out of sight until they get interested in the toys. But once you pop back into sight the crying usually begins again.

Last night was OK. They cried but stopped and they were playing really well. Bed time was near so I got my little boy out and started to lotion and dress him- he dislikes baths the most. I got him all ready for bed and I decided to give my big boy more tub time since he likes baths. I went out to change the sprinkler and I hear some weird splashing and a cry. This totally freaked me out and I ran into the house expecting to find my big boy bawling in the tub. Instead I find this.



At least his diaper was spared. I would have been more upset had a brand new diaper been wasted on the tub splash. If you have water in the tub make sure the bathroom door is shut. It's a lesson I've had to learn the hard, totally freak you out, way.