Life At The Circus

Ever had one of those days where you take one step forward only to take two steps back? That's what my days felt like this week... the good news is that my older two have been playing very well together, so well that I haven't felt the need to go to playgroup or find a play date to get us all out of the house. They've enjoyed playing their various pretend games in one section of the house, while I was able to work on something productive in a different part. My feeling of success was often short lived as I would later discover the mess involved in their pretend games... One day I was able to clean the upstairs while they played nicely downstairs. Turns out they had invented a game they call "junk". Playing junk kept them occupied for a good 30-40 min while they took toys from the toy room and hid them under the table in our entry way. Seems innocent enough, till I go downstairs to take a look under that table. It took over an hour of my undivided attention ...

Have you or someone you know ever gone on a short term missions trip with the desire to make a difference in the world at large? Not sure exactly what you can do but hoping that the Lord will use you to help however He can? Well, when I was 15 years old I went on a 2 week missions trip with MTW to Mexico City, Mexico. We were there to help with building a church addition. On my second day at the site, I had an accident. We had been working on the third story of the building. There were no stairs leading up to the third story yet. To get down you either had to go on a ladder or climb down to the adjacent building. I was afraid of heights so I opted out of the ladder. I had straddled over the wall and was standing on a ledge. I only had to jump about 6 inches to the next roof, but I was still a bit nervous. One of the guys I was walking down with jokingly suggested I jump on what we didn't realize at the time was a sky window and then down to the roof. (I am sure you ...

This weekend my girls demonstrated a newly acquired skill for our circus act ... Meet my Sword Swallowers For more Wordless Wednesdays, visit 5 Minutes for Mom . Click here to check out more of my Life Under the Big Top.

Today my son spontaneously came up to my 2 year old and gave her a kiss. Afterwards the following discussion took place. Daughter: "No kiss, Only Daddy Kiss." Mommy: "But he's your brother and he was being nice." Daughter: "No, only Daddy kiss." Mommy: "So, the only boy that can kiss you is Daddy?" Daughter: "Yes" Daddy was a happy man when I shared this anecdote.

With three children under 4, it isn't always easy to get out for a date night. Sometimes we do date nights at home. We feed the kids a simple dinner... chicken nuggets or hot dogs. While I am getting the kids ready for bed, my husband grills us steak for dinner. We light a candle and enjoy a leisurely dinner together. We get to talk, uninterrupted and enjoy our food while it is still warm. I have found that steaks typically go on sale at least once a month. We can do the entire steak dinner for two with under $15 which is way cheaper then anything but fast food out on the town. While we still enjoy going out for an occasional date night, our home date nights allow us to have a special evening together more often. Sometimes we want to top the evening off with a movie, so we'll head to our local Red Box . If you haven't tried Red Box yet, I highly recommend it. It is basically a movie vending machine, most often they are in front of McDonald's (I have seen some...

Last night we were walking along the beach in our neighborhood and someone walked by with her two dogs. One big dog passed to our right, the other between my son and I to our left. As this was happening she asked if the kids were ok with dogs. It was then that I realized how I've taken this fact for granted. I am not a dog person. When I go to other dog owners homes, you won't see me sitting on the floor playing with the dog or cuddling them on my lap. BUT, I am incredibly thankful that my kids are growing up in a house with a dog. When we are out at the park or taking a walk and someone walks by with a dog, my kids don't shriek with fear. They don't really even think twice of it. Having a dog around the house, who is known to bark from time to time (ok every time someone walks their dog in front of our home), gets them used to a certain noise level. My kids don't frighten easily. They rarely flinch at loud noises (aka the Blue Angels air show, the Circus...

Driving home the other day my 2 year old, called from the back of the van, "Excuse me mom, where's baby?" I would have panicked had I not just heard her babbling moments before. Since, it was obvious she was there, I answered with something silly like, "Driving the car." She erupted in giggles and thus began our newest comedy routine. This was our conversation all the way to church this morning, in the parking lot after church while we were waiting for Daddy to finish talking, on the way out to lunch, on the way home.... "Excuse me Mom, where's baby?" "On the roof" hahahahahahahahaha "Excuse me Mom, where's baby?" "On the floor" hahahahahahahahaha "Excuse me Mom, where's baby?" "In the back" hahahahahahahahaha "Excuse me Mom, where's baby?" "At the fire station"' hahahahahahahahaha Just for fun, I stuck in "in her car seat" or "right there" ...

This weekend we are celebrating my husband's 29th birthday. As I look back at some of his baby pictures, (isn't he such a cutie) I am so thankful for the man he is today and feel incredibly blessed to call him my husband. There are many things I respect about him, but at the top of the list would be his integrity, his perseverance, and his wisdom. We've been married almost 7 years now and since I get to live with him day in and day out, I truly get to see all sides of him and I can honestly say that he is consistent and that he genuinely strives each day to glorify God in all he does. As the head of our household, he models love and devotion. He is also a ton of fun. He makes up songs about me and the kids and belts them out for us. He sword fights and plays hide and seek and makes us all laugh. He leaves us with no room to doubt his commitment and love for his family. I am incredibly thankful to my in laws for raising such a man of honor. Being a parent now mys...

Last September we sadly and suddenly had to put our puppy Claire to sleep. She was only 2.5 yrs old, but she got really sick and after numerous tests and watching her health dramatically decline in a matter of a week, we were left with no other options. My husband was heartbroken. He is an animal lover through and through. The kids took the news pretty well. The girls really didn't notice because we had two dogs and so it wasn't like suddenly they were left without a dog to play with. Our son took the news very matter of factly. He told everyone we saw that, "Claire died" (SS teachers, supermarket cashiers, librarians, anyone that came over for a visit). He'd just abruptly announce, "We used to have two dogs, but Claire died." Every time we pass by the Animal Hospital that we took her to he still says, "That's where Claire died," or "I miss Claire." He's gentile when talking with "daddy" about it because he...

4 years ago today my sister in law got married. My son was exactly one month old. I went dress shopping so I could find something to hide the 50 pounds of baby fat I gained. Hard to find a dress flattering enough to do that, but somehow I managed to find one that I was happy with. Until I got to the church. I was a new mom and new at the whole nursing thing. I never thought about the difficulties of nursing with a dress on until we pulled into the church parking lot and I said, "Ok, I'll go feed the baby..." It was then that I realized a skirt and top would have been a better choice. Since I had no other clothes with me and my husband was an usher and thus had to go and get ready, I was in a real bind. I couldn't leave and go back to the hotel (not enough time) so I had to find a place to discreetly sit with my dress off and nurse the baby. Hmmm, how many places like that are there in the world? The church was not very big and I couldn't find any small ...

Finally, our baby can get in on the fun at the playground. For more Wordless Wednesdays, check out 5 Minutes for Mom.

The other day I discovered a way to occupy my kids for a good 15-20 min, which many of you know is an eternity in Mommy time. Wanna know the secret? I let them play with my clock radio. I plugged it in and placed it on the floor in the living room. They had a blast taking turns turning it off and on and changing radio stations. It was more fun then Mommy turning on the stereo, because they had control of turning it on and off as well the fun of switching the music from station to station. While they danced, I was able to clean the kitchen and pack our clothes (I could have done more, but I got distracted watching them and had to get it on video). Check out the music video below from my productive morning. I know everyone thinks their own home movies are funny, but since I peed my pants when I saw son do his fancy footwork in front of the TV, I knew I had to share. I think you'll enjoy it too. Let me just answer a few questions now. Yes, it is noon and my son is still in h...

Last week my two year old wanted desperatly to hold my 9 month old. This is a practice I don't generally encourage, unless I am trying to take a picture of the kids together, then it's used as a bribe. Let Mommy take your picture and you can hold your sister ! This time however, it went the other way around... Mommy you can take a picture if you let me hold my sister. Don't they look so cute all lined up in a row? Do you see the look of pride in big sister's face?

Since Christmas my 4 year old son has built up quite a weapons arsenal. A few days before Christmas my sister in law called to ask if it was OK for our son to have a toy gun for Christmas. Since we had just been to the store looking for one, I think our answer was pretty obvious. In January my husband built wooden swords for him and my son to practice sword fighting. Since they were made of wood, they had to stay out of reach and could only be brought down when he was playing with Daddy. From day one my husband has taught him that swords are not for hitting together, the goal is to go for the body . Not quite the approach I would have taken but I must admit that he's gotten pretty good. My husband and I purchased soft swords to replace the wooden swords as his birthday gift. These ones are safe enough for everyone to play with (important when aiming for the torso). A few days before my sons birthday, a friend called to see what if it was OK for our son to have a Nerf gun. Hmmm...

Last night the power went out for 3 hours. My 2 year old woke up in pitch darkness and obviously was scared. I fumbled my way to her room using the glow from our glow in the dark stars to guide my way. I then slept on her floor to help her fall back asleep. Occasionally she'd wake up scared and I would reach my hand up to let her know I was still there. When the power came back on, I went back to my bed. When my husband got up later he found her asleep in our doorway. I guess she followed me back. First I slept on her floor, then she came and slept on ours. I guess the reassurance that we were nearby gave her comfort. How cool is it that God has chosen to use a parental analogy, "Our Heavenly Father" when describing his relationship with us. Through the work of his Son I can call out to Him anytime, anywhere and He is always there. His presence alone can bring comfort just as being my our side comforted my daughter last night. How often during scary nights do I reach...

The other day our two year old had a really bad diaper rash. Her poor bottom was BRIGHT RED and she screamed out in pain when we had to change her diaper. My son looked at her bottom and exclaimed, "Diaper rash is my favorite color!" That boy makes me laugh.

Looking at this picture one would assume I was preparing to dive into the swimming pool. Don't be fooled. Despite being on the swim team for 5 summers and having literally every adult I knew work with me one on one, I never learned to dive. This is me looking the part before I belly flopped into the swimming pool. Starting in about 3rd grade and going through the end of middle school, I spent every summer on the swim team. I actually enjoyed it even though I was not very good. I could swim all of the strokes and I loved practice because you really only had to get in the pool once, then you just swam lap after lap. Swimming laps I could handle. Diving and doing the flip turns was another story. My flip turns were more like flip half turns. I really liked the back stroke because I could start in the water. My first year I was great at back stroke because you only had to do one lap of the pool. I never really excelled in swimming because despite how fast I could go down the...

Last weekend my husband picked my daughter up and noticed she was incredibly wet. He commented that someone must have put her diaper on wrong (Since I was the grownup home at last diaper change, the blame obviously fell to me). I muttered something about those stupid diapers not absorbing properly. Check out her look of disappointment. (MOM, you let me down)! My husband called me in to check out what went wrong with the diaper... It was then that I remembered the two older kids fighting and one screaming bloody murder while I was changing the diaper. I grabbed the baby and ran to check on the situation. Guess I neglected to finish... the odd thing is I did go back and button all 12 buttons on her pants, never noticing the fact that the diaper wasn't on. So, this one wasn't exactly Wordless but it does verify that, generally speaking, diapers Work for Me . Not that it was intentional but if you were contemplating potty training at 9 months - that didn't work work for ...

Yesterday I posted about how similar our life is to the real circus we visited last week. I would now like to point out two unfortunate differences. At the circus they have these men dressed in all black that come into the ring between acts and clean up. They remove equipment, clean up poop, and set up for the next act. I need these men at my house. Imagine if after the meal (act 1) these men just instantly appeared and quietly, miraculously, cleaned up the mess when we move on to playtime (act 2). Then, when suddenly it is time for act 3 (get out the door to go to wherever we're going) these men appear again to clean up the mess we left in our wake (ie, the pjs, toys, oh and don't forget the poop)!! I want that. The other unfortunate difference has to do with safety. I pointed out yesterday that we have acrobats and tumblers at our house, just like at the circus. Their performers enjoyed a network of safety nets (assembled by the men in black) which insure their shen...

Last week we took our kids to the circus. We couldn't help but notice the many similarities between life at our house and life under the big top. At the circus, they had people who could stand on their hands. We've got that. There were wild animals which had been tamed. Yup, we've got that too. There were also people hanging upside down from their legs. We've got that too. And let's not forget those darling clowns... The circus was incredibly loud. We sat by the entrance where the performers came into the ring. Three motor cycles raced right beside us and into a cage where they raced around in circles. My husband and I were prepared for the kids to scream and cry at the loud noises... to startle... to react in some way. Instead, here is a picture of our baby in her classic "putting herself to sleep pose" (sucking her left two fingers while stroking her right ear) while the action is taking place only feet in front of us. Hmm... do you think she...

It's Monday again and time to post this weeks meal plan. Be sure to click on the link above if you want to see what other people are serving their families this week. I have discovered many fun new recipes from participating in this carnival. Monday : Tonight is my last MOPS meeting of the year. Since I arrive early for set up, I skip dinner and eat at the meeting. Daddy will be serving fish to the kids tonight. (Perfect plan for me b/c I hate fish (the smell, sight, and taste) so I don't have to cook it, eat it or clean up after it, BUT my hubby and the kids get to enjoy the healthy change of pace. I got frozen cod fillets for them. They liked them last week, so here it goes again!! Tuesday : I didn't have all the ingredients on hand last week to make the Mexican Tortilla Soup , so I plan to get the necessary cans of Cream of Chicken Soup and serve it up tonight. The kids aren't big soup fans, so I'll just serve them the corn bread and save out the ...

Two months ago, my mom came across some of my old school papers and she passed this one along to me. I wrote it in first grade. I have no recollection of writing this, but I have to think that God smiled as I wrote it, thinking, "You have no idea Crystal that your dream will come true exactly as you wish for." Today I thank God for allowing me to be the mom to 3 wonderful children, one son and two daughters. Is that cool or what? I really am living my dream!

Since Mother's Day is this weekend, I thought I'd make my thoughtful post about my mother. Growing up my mom was my best friend. She was approachable and always willing to listen. I could ask her about anything and she never made me feel awkward or silly. Mom knew how to make things special. She decorated the house for the seasons and holidays and made our birthdays into something we looked forward to all year. I try to do the same at my home with my family. She is an excellent cook and would make many things from scratch. Some of my favorites are her potato salad, zucchini bread, nut rolls, mashed potatoes and gravy (I still haven't learned how to make gravy), apple pie, and her strawberry jam. I loved helping her in the kitchen. Every year when I bake Christmas cookies I think of her. I remember we'd spend the whole day baking cookies, all kinds of cookies, and listening to Christmas carols. Mom is a talented seamstress. She made all of my costumes for...

My kids and I have truly enjoyed our local library. We go to to story time, baby story time, special events, and we go just to check out books. The kids LOVE it! It's a happy place, a fun place, a place where a kid can be a kid... until today. I took the kids to the library earlier this week to pick out books. I know my kids can be loud. Sometimes my sons talks at a volume level that is literally shouting. My baby has a cry so shrill sometimes I look for shattered glass... but I promise, this time we weren't being that loud... really. I was sitting on the floor with the baby while my older two were picking books off the shelf. The library was pretty empty. I think mine were the only kids there. It was a beautiful sunny morning. Only 2 or 3 adults were there perusing the shelves. We weren't whispering. I didn't think it was necessary b/c we weren't that loud and I didn't see anyone we were interrupting. A librarian was in the aisle behind ours. She...

Week End Thoughts... I decided to move my Thoughtful Thursday since I am participating in We Are THAT Family's Sincerely Fro' Me to You carnival on Thursdays. Since "Thoughtful Thursday" is something I made up, it seems trivial to move the day... same theme, only we'll call it Week End Thoughts... Week End Thoughts: My posts typically relate funny anecdotes about the happenings of a stay at home wife and mom with three kids. While my days are seldom “normal” enough to leave me without a “post worthy” moment (i.e. read here) , I intend to take some time on Fridays to highlight something from my week that’s a little more “thoughtful” and significant. If you had a post from this week that was reflective in nature, please feel free to add a link in the comments section. I’d love to hear what others are learning.

As I mentioned last Thursday , I attended a small Christian High School with only 44 students in my graduating class. The school was small enough that you could play a Varsity sport without actually being good at the sport (granted I sat the bench, but still I earned a letter warming that bench) and the majority of the school was in the marching band. Seriously, you were cool if you were in the marching band. I know what you're thinking... I was not a band geek and I am not in denial... believe me the cool place to be on a Saturday night was at a band competition (We didn't have a football team so we played in band competitions each Sat from the end of Sept until early Nov). That's me with my Flugal horn (it was like a marching French Horn) to the left of the girl in all white (our drum major). Come on, just look at that hat, can't you tell we were all the rage? When I tell people today about my days in the marching band, no one believes me. At their school it wa...

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Last fall my husband and I took our three kids on a plane ride to CA to visit my husband's grandparents and to take in some National Parks. The trip itself is worthy of a post, someday, but for now I'll just share about our flight out there.... It seems obvious that when flying with three kids under 3 you bring a lot of stuff. We knew we would have to change flights half way so we tried to keep things to a minimum. The hardest part was maneuvering through the airports with our hands full of kids, toys, car seats, food.... We got quite a few stares as we were standing in line at security. I am sure people were thinking, "Please let them not be on my flight!!" Going through security was a bit stressful (had to wake the sleeping baby) and I was really glad we had not brought any more junk. Getting onto the flight wasn't too bad. The flight itself, really wasn't that bad either. The kids were pretty well behaved. Except... About an hour into our 5 hr flight...

My son is very smart (every mother says this about her children so I might as well enjoy my entitlement). He is only 4 but he has always had a knack for asking good questions and is satisfied by only believable answers. We pride ourselves on honesty so that "believable answer" always contains the truth but not necessarily more truth then is absolutely required. Case in point: For a year we got away with calling a certain, frequent and noticeable neighborhood visitor, "the music truck". It's pretty incredible how long this worked... Until, late last season when our then three year old son said, "Hey mom, did you know the music truck sells ice cream?" The secret was out. It is the start of the new season and this weekend we bought our kids their first ice cream from the ice cream man. We had wanted to get it on our son's birthday, but that was the one day the ice cream man didn't appear. The next day he came, but Daddy wasn't home an...

I thought I'd share my 4 year olds favorite lunch sandwich with you all this week. Those of you feeling a bit adventurous might want to give it a try. You put peanut butter on one slice of bread, grape jelly on the other (nothing new here) and in the middle you place a slice of cheese and a few slices of ham. He invented it, he LOVES it and has eaten it every day for lunch for the past few weeks. If any of you give it a try, please comment and let me know what you think! As for myself, I think I will pass. For those less daring, here's our dinner plan for the week...