I absolutely HATE missing out on things: friend get-togethers, family dinners, even free lunch and CE credit for Dental Hygiene! This is surely at least one of the reasons I get teased in my family about my socialiality (is that a word meaning: a need for social gatherings?), and why my brother and sister are convinced I am Cortney Cox in Friends and in Cougar Town.
That said, I have lately been obsessing over the fact that Sidney will likely be my last child and I can't stand the thought that I am missing out on time I could be better savoring my kids' childhood. Now that may seem dramatic, but a church lesson on "Enjoying the Journey", really got me thinking that this is the only time my kids are going to be kids. I mean I know these years are formative, but when I am focused on folding a pile of laundry right out of the dryer so the wrinkles wont set in and make me add more clothes to my ironing pile, I truly don't enjoy the time I have to take to clean up lotion (literally) all over my Sidney's hair (which if I were a good mom, I would make a whole blog entry about Sidney's first mischief like I did for Jane).
Nor do I normally stop scrubbing the dried on Apple Jacks that Sidney spilled the night before (yes they had cold cereal for dinner while Ben and I went out to Ruby River with friends) to take a picture of Jane's crazy black eye before it fades. 
I am determined to turn over a new leaf! I am going to blog about my kids, play with them more, and make our Family nights a bigger priority once again, because I cannot stand missing out on this part of their lives!
Some stupid things I am now going to blog about:
1. Jane's constant need for food. "Mom, I'm so so so hungry!" With a very serious look on her face, "All I have had today is breakfast, a snack, lunch (which she called dinner) and dessert!" It's hard as I was just sitting down to write this blog, not to laugh. She is so unknowingly cute with her yellowing bruised eye and raised eyebrows to show the severity of her hunger.
Also, her fetish with dressing up to go to bed. Crowns, fluffy hair bows, layered matching clothes along with, of course, pajamas! 2. Sidney's potty trips and constant singing. She now wants to go potty in every store and neighbors house, whenever anyone else needs to go, or just when she is bored! She is extremely funny about doing everything herself! If I forget this, she has to undo then redo everything herself, when she is in a bad mood, she cries and gets very red in the face and tattles on me to Ben or whomever will listen, "Dad, mommy did it!" or "Daddy, mommy said no!"
3. Alex's creative Harry Potter playing at recess. No sports for him right now, no no!
Ben asked him what he has been playing at recess, and he shrugged his shoulders and said, "Harry Potter".
"Like reading the book at recess?" Ben asked alarmed.
"No, we play Harry Potter."
"How?" was all Ben could ask.
"We all get an un-sharpened pencil and run around the playground putting spells on each other."
"WHAT?!" Ben turns to me like I am going to explain more, but I suddenly remember when Alex was playing with Jane and Sidney, running around the family room yelling, "Stupify!" and then pushed Jane over when she didn't respond appropriately to the spell.
4. Finally, Ashlyn's funny stories of chasing boys at recess, and how upset she was when I said something to Ben about how she liked a boy in her class. I truly didn't think that was the bit of information she would be embarrassed about! I didn't say his name or use a teasing voice or anything, but when she stomped out of the room crying, I knew I was in BIG trouble!!!
(I will try and refrain from writing about our 12 year anniversary and how we spend most of the time in a very crowded Texas Roadhouse, finally giving up, we ate at Fuddruckers! 12 years! Really Fuddruckers!)
I am also going to write about the time Jane and I spend playing memory on the friend.lds.org website, and the time I spend with Sidney playing Polly Pockets and making up songs for everything we do: brushing her teeth, going to the bathroom, getting dressed, making her bed...everything! (Most songs have the words, "doodily doo" in them.) I will write about how fun Alex is with the girls, how well he plays made up games with his sisters and how he and Ashlyn are real-life best friends (which is a serious treat!) I will be writing about Ashlyn's want to do everything: student council, swim team, dance, piano, singing, gymnastics, sports.... And how I LOVE doing things with her. Last week we went shopping together with her cousin and an aunt. She and her cousin loved trying on clothes and just driving in the car with us! They said over and over, "This is so much fun! This is the best day ever!"
These are the important things in my life and I am committed more than ever to not miss out on anything they do!
