small battles

two nights ago, ellie went to bed with not one but two diapers on.  don't judge.  friday, jack went all day with his jammie shorts on underneath his regular shorts. 

just one of the things that happens when you tell  your son "put on your shorts" but neglect to remind him to "take off your jammies". 

you know you've heard the phrase "pick your battles"?  i swear to you, i could battle ALL DAY with my mitchletts.  they both have a ferocious fire inside that will serve them well.... one day.  so i've learned to pick and choose which ones i will battle. 

"yes, you can have a corn dog for breakfast."

"no.  we cannot leave your sister at target.  she needs to come home with us and besides, she would destroy the store by nightfall."

"fine. you can wear your dad's shorts on your body and your own shorts on your head but you need to dress like a normal person when people come over."

there are battle i will fight and battles i will let slide.  but this one will not stand. 

ellie has this pair of sandals that STINK.  and i mean it's bad.  like a stench that could kill a man.  she took her shoes off at dinner the other night IN A RESTAURANT and i thought we would be asked to remove our disgusting stank baby.  this girl lives up to her nickname "The Stink" like no other.  anywho... she loves these sandals.  she loves that she can put them on all by herself and still run around like a maniac.  thank god feet grow though, right?  they're getting a little small.... and i may have hidden them in the garage so she couldn't find them yesterday....  you would have done it too.  don't judge.  i'm going to give them a run in the washer to see what happens and if they smell like normal shoes again, great.  if i can't get rid of the zombie morning breath smell, then so help me they WILL disappear for good. 

camping. and.... why i will never be naked in front of jack again.

go camping!  whew!  we just got back from a couple days up in yosemite!!  i say a couple with a twinge of sadness because really, i could spend a LOT more time up there but, alas, my sweet hubby is not the camping enthusiast i am and i also have two small mitchletts. i swear we would get up, ellie would take two steps out of the tent and immediately turn around with a huge dirt beard and several blacked out teeth.  ellie went on a hike in the ergo with matt and i to the bottom of yosemite falls while jack stayed with the rest of the group and headed up almost to the top!  jack and i did a little bike riding in a rental with a caboose.  we saw lots of deer and some ballsy squirrels.

so, if you have kids, they've probably seen you naked.  i know, shocker.  but if you think it's not true... it is.  in all fairness, you see them naked all the time.  it was bound to happen.  well, my kids see me naked on a regular basis but i was starting to feel bad about it and wondered, "when do i need to stop being naked in front of jack?"  i read a bunch of snobby insightful parenting blogs and articles and each one told me, "you'll know when it's time".

"but when?!"

saturday morning, june 22, 2013,  we were getting ready to head out for our day in yosemite.  jack and ellie were dressed, matt was in the bathroom, and i was trying to get dressed so we could get out of the tent together.  as i lift my shirt over my head i hear hysterical laughter (never a good sign).  i knew matt wasn't that dumb so i look up to see jack pointing at me, "what are THOSE!?!" he almost screams for all of the valley to hear.

ahhhh.....  when.  that was the time.  never again, son.  never.  again.

overall, i think i can safely say (write?) that the mitches had a great time and can't wait to go camping again this summer next summer sometime soon eventually!!  right, hubby?!? 

go camping!