Rolling Through Looneyville, One Wave at a Time

A Gift That Needs No Re-Gifting

2012-02-05T09:35:00.001-05:00

My 2.5 year old is a super sweet kid. He's the one who will snuggle up to me and say, "Mama? You're my best fwiend!"

Yeah, he gets whatever he wants when he does that. It's distinctly possible he's working the system but I don't care.

Anyway, while we were in TX last week, Sayer wasn't feeling well and woke up rather crankily one morning WELL before the sun rose. I asked him to come and snuggle next to me so we wouldn't wake everyone up and he obliged. After a few minutes he told me, "Mama? I wuv you. You're my best fwiend."

(Here, kid... here are the keys to my car and the deed to the house. Powerless, I tell you).

Then he patted my arm and said, "Mama? I have sumpin for you!"

"Yeah? What is it?" I reached my hand towards his.

He scraped his finger across my palm and proudly said, "It's a BOOGER!"

Gee, thanks kid.

Hey, at least he's generous!

Motherhood: You're Never Truly Alone

2012-01-20T11:07:00.002-05:00

I'm something of an introvert and in the past, I generally relished the quiet moments I would get to spend by myself. Before I had children, I had many of these moments. For a time I worked in an office where it was only me and my boss. He would frequently be in court or working with his door closed. I loved it.

Then I had children. And my quiet moments began diminishing. However, nap time usually provided me ample opportunity to recharge and get ready for the rest of the day.

Then? I had two children. The youngest was happiest when velcroed to my body and the oldest stopped napping. To cope, I learned the time-tested method of hiding in the bathroom for a few moments of quiet when I got overwhelmed. Well, sort of quiet. The kids would often sit outside the door and yell at me or push their fingers under the crack. I figured, if I could hear them or see their tiny digits, they weren't getting into mischief.

Then I had three kids... then four. I love all of my kids, but sometimes, when they're testing my patience, it's safer to retreat somewhere to count to 10 so I don't end up yelling at everyone like a banshee.

So, I've continued my bathroom coping techniques. However, at this point, the oldest has learned to unlock the bathroom door from the outside, and she's been instructed not to enter if it's locked unless there's an emergency.

Unfortunately, we have very different definitions of "Emergency"

I'm in the shower and suddenly a rush of cold air enters the bathroom as my oldest barrels through the door. (I hate that rush of cold air).

"MOOOOOOOOOOOOM! There's a bee in the living room! A BIG BEE!"

(It's January, there's no bee, I can guarantee it). I question, "Are you sure there's a bee?"

"Well, it COULD be a bee. I mean, we didn't SEE the bee. We just heard a buzz. Maybe it was your phone?"

"Lex, go out and please shut the door and wait. I'll be out in a second."

She does as I request. But I neglect to request that she lock the door. Seconds later, the third walks in and starts chatting,

"Mama? So, I saw a crayon on the table and so I put it on the floor and so, Zoen ate it." (He likes the word so). I panic a bit before I remember that Z is not in fact on the floor and realize that Sayer is regaling me with a tale from yesterday. (My kids like to eat crayons, what can I say). Before I can ask him to join his siblings in the living room, I hear a peculiar thunk and realize that in the name of being "helpful," my dear oldest has removed the wee one from his exersaucer and is herding him towards the bathroom. He has just pushed open the door with his head.

"Mom? Zoen wanted you." Lex is standing at the entry of the bathroom with the door wide open. I'm cold. Zoen crawls to the tub and resumes his favorite pastime of throwing back the shower curtain and tossing random objects into the tub. Caly enters the bathroom and declares she needs to take care of some... business. Sayer pops his head behind the curtain and asks over and over, "Whatchu doing Mama?! Whatchu doing?"

I give up the notion of a relaxing shower and exit. The kids perch onto the edge of the bathtub and provide lively commentary on my getting ready process.

I look over at the four little people hanging out near the bathtub and begin to formulate a plan to retreat to the tool shed to uh, "fix" something. Like my sanity.

(This is a fairly accurate portrayal of my view any time I enter the bathroom. For anything.)

Then again, they're pretty good company. And they give me a great reason to narrate my treks through the grocery store. You should see the looks I get when I go by myself and end up talking to thin air.

See? Even when they're not actually with you, they're still there.

I'm pretty sure I wouldn't change a thing. But if someone offered me a chance to shower in complete silence with no rogue gusts of icy air? I wouldn't say no.

Motherhood. Where you're never, ever truly alone.

The Dirty Kid In Class? Yeah, He's Mine

2012-01-18T10:09:00.001-05:00

So, way back when I only had one kid, my friends, (who generally only had one kid as well), and I used to use the phrase, "Hey, at least she's not the dirty kid in class!" as a joking way to cope with times when we weren't exactly the most stellar of parents.

Baby fell down and busted their lip? Hey, at least she's not the dirty kid in class.

You gave your kid pop rocks for breakfast? Sad, but hey! At least they're not the dirty kid in class!

You get the drift. It was a surefire way to make each other laugh when one was having a rough day.

Fast forward a few kids. Throughout the past 6 years of parenting, I generally have managed to make sure my kids were clean when in public. And by clean, I mean, at least the parts that show... hands, faces, etc.

Sometimes someone would finish their breakfast on the way out the door and need a meeting with a baby wipe to get rid of the milk mustache before we got to our destination.

But generally, I've done quite well at making sure my kids were never the "dirty kid in class."

Until yesterday.

Once a week, I join a bunch of other women for a bible study at our old church. They provide awesome childcare and a homeschool class for Lex. The kids practically dissolve into tears when we have to leave. Good stuff.

Yesterday I got them dressed, brushed the girls' hair, brushed teeth, put shoes on, fed the baby and rushed out the door. I checked them each into their classrooms and settled into my seat and chatted with my group. About halfway through our session, the child care coordinator slipped into the room and knelt down next to my chair. I glanced at my silent pager, thinking that perhaps it malfunctioned and she was there to tell me that the little one needed me.

But instead she asked, "Did... did Sayer have jelly for breakfast today?" Puzzled, I told her he hadn't. She continued, "Because he has something on the top of his head that looks like jelly... his teacher wasn't sure if it was jelly or blood and didn't want to wipe it too much in case it was blood and it would dislodge a scab or something." I sat there with my mouth half open for a few seconds.

And all at once, it hit me. The day before, I had some friends come over with their mostly school-aged munchkins to surprise Lex for an impromptu playdate. (And, not going to lie, some momma hang time). Anyway, someone brought donut holes. Sayer managed to finagle hmself a couple, of course.

Later that night, we were hustling out the door for a birthday dinner and I noticed something red and sticky on the back of Sayer's head. Jelly. I tried to wipe it off as best as I could, but we were in a rush, and it was, you know, jelly. So I left it and told myself that I'd toss him in the tub in the morning before bible study.

Of course, in the morning, Sayer was the last one up. He woke up, I threw clothes on him, and he ate his breakfast on the way. No time for a bath. Admittedly, I didn't even think of it.

So... I tried to explain, "See... yesterday (wince), he had a jelly donut, and um, it got in his hair? And well, we were on our way out when I noticed... and... um... I was going to give him a bath this morning but... we were running late?" I stopped because no matter how I explained it... the truth was still there,

I had the dirty kid in class.

So I did what any mother would do in the throes of absolute mortification. I laughed. And laughed and laughed. Because really, he might have been the dirty kid in class, but at least he wasn't the SMELLY kid in class.

For now.

I should probably stop saying that, shouldn't I?

Barnacle Baby

2012-01-04T10:26:00.001-05:00

I don't remember which friend coined the term "barnacle baby" (Holly?) but ever since I heard it, it's been my favorite way to describe when the baby is in a phase of DON'T-PUT-ME-DOWN-BECAUSE-I-AM-ALLERGIC-TO-THE-FLOOR/CHAIR/BED!

Today, the baby is stuck to me. Like a barnacle.

So, I'm going to blog. Because I can generally blog while I fend off tiny hands and redirect them into attacking a snack. But loading the dishwasher when the kid is trying to dive bomb into said dishwasher from my arms, (and then crying when I put him down), is near impossible.

And really, the kid LOVES the dishwasher. Here's photographic evidence taken with my phone yesterday:

I'm fairly sure the blurry factor is due to a drool film over the lens of my phone. Z manages to get his hands, (and drooly little mouth), all over my phone more often than should be possible. I'm convinced that the big kids think it's funny to hand the phone to him. Either that or he developed go-go-gadget arms. You never know.

When he's not doing dishes, the baby is doing any number of things, most of which involve him getting messy. He loves getting messy. See?

The kid likes blackberries. Blackberries are not exactly the least messy fruit on earth. But who can deny that face?

Perhaps he's why my kitchen looks like the Keebler elves had a frat party and forgot to clean up.

And the living room...

And... the basement?

Ah, no... can't blame that kid directly... but seriously, when the question is whether to put away the laundry or snuggle that smiley little barnacle baby, I think the right choice is fairly obvious.

(And yes Shaun, I promise I'm really putting the laundry away... eventually)

Happy New Year! A Year in Review

2012-01-02T11:02:00.001-05:00

Here we are again, thrust headlong into a new year where I'm sure I'll be making great use of my erasers as I continue to write 2011 until somewhere in mid-February.

I was looking back through my friend Amy's blog via her year-in-review post and got inspired to write one of my own. However, because I'm clearly not as patient as she is, I'm going to accent the re-cap with pictures instead of links.

January

Lexi was on the cusp of turning five. She anticipated that birthday more than any in the past, citing the fact that five was her FAVORITE. NUMBER. EVER. We got her a camera for Christmas and she decided that she would document every mundane detail she came across. Her memory card cried.

The relationship between Caly, 2.5, and Sayer, 18 months, was beginning to change significantly, namely due to Sayer learning to express his strong opinions. These opinions were expressed with help from the fact that he was beginning to outweigh his older sister.

February

I started off the month being hugely pregnant. I ended the month gigantically pregnant. Shaun tried to take the kids places to burn off energy on a regular basis so they would stop trying to use my enormous belly as a jungle gym. I usually waddled along with them.

March

Halfway through this month I stopped being pregnant. Zoen was born on March 14th and immediately started off his reign as overachiever. He scored 10s on his Apgar evaluation and impressed everyone by handily popping his own thumb into his mouth shortly after he was delivered.

His siblings adored him as soon as they met him, especially his oldest sister.

I loved watching Shaun with the little guy... one so big... one sooooooo little.

April

Caly turned three! And for her birthday month, the weather turned from frigid into balmy and we spent countless hours outside. We also took a ridiculous number of pictures of Zoen that looked exactly like this:

Of course, he was the most beautiful baby in the world! But man, in hindsight, new babies sure are funny looking.

I decided it would be a good idea to host a million kids and moms here for a playgroup since the weather was lovely. Surprisingly, it went swimmingly. I'm guessing it's due to the chocolate.

May

I was cleared to resume normal life after my surgery and we decided to jump in with both feet. Science center, zoo, and the kids' favorite, the faerie festival

June

I celebrated my 29th birthday and continued to take every opportunity to tease my husband about being an old fart in his 30s.

The three big kids started learning to swim this year and made quick progress. Surprisingly, Sayer took to the water the best and I spent more time trying not to let him drown. His confidence level soared well above his actual ability to swim.

The kids learned that baby powder made sand removal super easy. Apparently, I neglected to mention that it applied mostly to skin, so they tried to wash the deck.

July

Sayer turned 2! We went to Texas! And we saw our beloved roommate get married in TN. The girls were delighted to be in the wedding.

Shaun and Z and I went to Alexandria for his staff conference and Z proved himself well as the easiest baby on the planet.

August

The kids discovered one of the countless toads that live on our property. This year, they were brave enough to touch it. Well, some of them.

We traveled to visit grandparents and Caly explored her daredevil side.

September

Shaun turned... thirty something? Hehe. We attempted family kid pictures. It was amusing as it always is, but we got a keeper or two.

Zoen continued to master the completely surprised expression that he wore at birth.

Sayer and Caly snuggled... with each other... an act unprecedented in this house. I caught it on film, just in case.

October

We have photographic evidence that Zoen makes the best pouty face in the world.

The kids spent countless hours playing in the backyard and giggling together. Generally, they were deeply involved in a gigantic game of "House" or "Fairy Castle" or "Super Hero"

Generally, the rest of the month was jam packed with pumpkin farms, science center trips, parks, and more. Then?

Halloween! We actually did the Trick-or-Treat thing this year and the kids had a ball.

November

The kids played outside more due to an abnormally warm November and discovered the joy of jumping into leaf piles.

We got ready for Thanksgiving and ate an inordinate amount of mashed potatoes. Ok, maybe that was just me.

December

At the beginning of this month, I had kidney stone surgery and most of the month was kind of a wash on my end. The kids got to do all sorts of fun stuff with Daddy so that was definitely a win. A little over halfway through the month and I started feeling well enough to panic about Christmas preparations.

However, we had a ton of fun doing some traditional things with the kids to teach them about Christmas and giving. I loved seeing the girls embrace tradition and bring their brother along on the way. One of their highlights, (and to be honest, my nightmare), was their Lego advent calendar. I think I stepped on more renegade Lego pieces through the course of the month than all other months combined.

We received sobering news regarding my sister-in-law's health, and were continually amazed by her grace, strength, and faith. Before she started her treatments, we went out to have some insanely good food.

Then? Christmas. Beautiful as always. The kids were ecstatic and enjoyed sharing their handmade presents with family and friends.

And of course, because the month was insane, I don't have a single picture until Christmas day from this month, and they're still on my camera.

So, that's it! If you're still with me, I'm amazed. This little review makes me grin as I read through all that happened this year.

Here's to 2012! May it be full of family, fun, and friends!

And Just Like That, a Month Flies By...

2011-12-28T07:06:00.001-05:00

Greetings loyal blog readers. Because at this point, you're the only ones left!

Right before Thanksgiving, time sort of went into hyper-speed. And life? Well, life happened. Some good, some bad:

1. Thanksgiving happened and it was fabulous. If you know me, you know I'm always a fan of food. And family.

2. My sister-in-law had major surgery. The results of the doctors' findings wouldn't come for another week.

3. I had surgery to remove a 10mm kidney stone that had been plaguing me for over 2 years. The recovery was far, far worse than I expected, which I guess isn't hard when you're expecting it'll be a piece of cake. I'll blog more on this later, but thankfully, I'm 100% fine now.

4. Michelle, my sister-in-law, got the results of her surgery. The doctors revealed that she had stage 3a ovarian cancer. Unexpected and scary. (However, prognosis is very good, thank God). Michelle is pretty much my hero at this point. Tough stuff yet she has been incredibly faithful and strong through it all. Follow her journey here: http://blessedfamilychaos.blogspot.com You'll be blessed just through reading).

5. I got the stent removed from the surgery and after a few days, I felt much better. So long stupid kidney stone! Good riddance.

6. I got a notion to do a handmade Christmas this year and started crafting in my spare moments. I apparently forgot I had 4 kids and craziness happening around me.

7. Michelle started her chemo which was ROUGH for the first several days. She's feeling a lot better, thankfully.

8. Christmas happened! It was a wonderful celebration this year.

So yes... There's been a lot going on. Some of it good, some not so good. But even in the rotten stuff, I'm learning to find the good.

And one of the things that I know is good is my family, so I'll be back, writing it all down once again.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a baby biting me on the toe and another clamoring for breakfast.

Christmas Card Outtakes 2011 - Part 1

2011-11-29T09:42:00.001-05:00

Yes, it's that time of year again! The time where I attempt to wrangle multiple children into a semi-presentable picture that I can send to far-flung relatives and friends in our annual Christmas card.

It's gotten to a point where I think my kids can inherently sense that I'm attempting to catch them with their cuteness in sync. So they take turns doing things like this:

Quick! Everyone glower! And look down!

Yeah, no.

Or there's this:

EAT IT! EAT IT!

Or, sometimes, they smile fantastically!

In the wrong direction.

But alas! I sense I'm coming closer to capturing my goal. Or at least, losing the last vestige of my sanity. Because at that point? I'll be too crazy to care!

We're a Pile of Nuts... and Sloths?

2011-11-28T11:21:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, Shaun and I were attempting to discuss the day's plans but kept being drowned out by the din of 3 children expressing their opinions on what to do for the day. Generally, it's fine for the kids to tell us what they want to do... the first time. And maybe the second. But after the 56th time I heard that my oldest really, REALLY wanted to get this year's tree ornaments and 87 times about how my middle HAD to go to jumping place, I thought my brain might explode. So Shaun lightly asked them to go into the living room for a few minutes so we could talk.

"Why Daddy?" Someone asked. I don't know who because that question is asked 9345 times a day by each verbal child. (I swear that will be Zoen's first real word).

He teasingly said,

"Because we need to make a decision without hearing from the peanut gallery."

Then he tickled Sayer and said, "Go ahead in the other room, you peanut!"

Sayer looked very serious and said, "I am NOT a peanut!"

Of course, we had to know what he was if not a peanut... so Shaun asked.

Sayer was quick to respond, "I'm a DONUT!"

Definitely my favorite kind of nut, right there.

Oh, and not to be outdone as the catalyst to our laughter, Lex piped up, "AND I'M A FLAPJACK!"

Yes, she's as random as her mother... and anyway, who says FLAPJACK?!

She's the same kid who felt the need to act out the habits of her current animal obsession a few weeks ago at the park.

She hung from the diagonal bar and stayed very still.

Like... a sloth.

So then I told her it was time to leave and she needed to come up to the steps towards the car.

She listened right away. Except, instead of walking, she was crawling to me. Ve-r-r-r-r-ry slowly. When questioned, she matter-of-factly stated, "I'm a sloth. We are very slow."

And then, she would periodically drop to the ground to catch a nap.

Oh, that kid.

They keep me busy... but they keep me laughing, that's a constant.

Falling Into Fall

2011-11-18T10:17:00.001-05:00

I love a good cliche.

I also love a deliciously warm fall afternoon.

The kids were inclined to agree

(She's just sassy. Like her Mama).

He had remarkably good aim.

But the girls didn't seem to mind at all.

I let the kids bury themselves in leaves and I stayed with Z, (who I don't think would have appreciated getting a pile of leaves in the face quite as much as his older siblings seemed to).

Today the weather is 32 degrees and breezy... which kind of makes me feel like this:

Good day. One that we're anxious to repeat if the weather cooperates.

Germs

2011-11-12T15:52:00.001-05:00

You know what I hate more than the scuzzies that get into the drain catch in the sink?

Germs.

The cold and flu season has barely started and we've been through a wicked bout of croup, a couple of colds, a stomach virus, and now, a nasty double ear infection for S.

EW.

Anyway, we've wiped down the house from ceiling to floor and we're hopefully on the mend.

So, share with me... best cold and flu prevention tips. AND! Best home remedies for when you or your little people are under the weather.

We're currently taking vitamins, (multi, vitamin D, acidophilus and DHA), eating tons of fresh fruit and veggies, washing hands when we can, playing outside often as my kids will let me push them out the door, and staying away from sugar as much as possible.

As for when we've gotten sick, we've found that humidifiers are golden, the shower is a lovely anti-croup chamber, (though mildew can flare up, so vent well when done), and honey makes a decent cough calmer.

What'cha got, people? I'm all about upping my arsenal against the wiley, beastly germs.

Halloween Fun

2011-11-01T14:47:00.000-04:00

Halloween has been a low-key holiday in the past. But this year, my kids were all about actually doing some sort of trick-or-treating.

After a considerable amount of debate, (and lots of "NO, I do NOT want to be a ladybug/fairy/princess/lion/monster/robot/chicken!"), the kids decided to be:

A barista! (Lexi - 5) She was enticed by being able to match me, (that's what I was too).

She donned the costume, tipped the cup in my direction, and asked if I'd like a pumpkin latte. She's hired.

Caly (3), decided to be a chef. This was an odd pick, namely because the child has professed the desire to be a ladybug since April. Then, randomly, she wanted to be a fairy. But she landed on this outfit after I pulled it out of the dress-up box. Score for no money spent! Also, she was insanely cute, despite blatant refusal to smile for me.

At one point, she got a pack of skittles and grabbed them out of her bag and walked to Shaun, "Daddy! These are for you!" Cute, right? Then she walked right back up to the lady handing out the candy and got herself another one, muttering, "And this one's for me!" The lady didn't notice. The guy handing out full sized chocolate bars did. But she smiled disarmingly and said, "I gave the other one to my Mommy! They're her favorite." I made a (half-hearted) motion (they were peanut butter cups!) to put mine back but he waved us on with a smile.

She's a stinker. But she scored me some chocolate. Win!

Sayer (2), was a firefighter. I had intended to put him into the chicken costume his sisters had worn before him, but apparently, with the age of 2 comes an opinion. Thankfully, he was swayed by the firefighter suit from our dress-up bin and rocked it, even without the helmet after awhile.

He was enthralled by this strange practice and kept saying, "OH!" and showing me EVERY. SINGLE. PIECE of candy he received. It was cute. Slow-going, but cute. Today, he's insisted on sleeping with his candy bucket and he snuck it into the car with him earlier. Thankfully, he still thinks he needs Momma to open them so I don't worry too much about leaving him alone with his stash.

His 3 year old sister is a different story. (Remember this?)

Zoen was a chicken. Partially because I already had the costume, partially because it's an unbearably cute get-up, and partially because it was toasty warm beneath his furry feathers. He was charming. Of course.

Here's a group shot! (Which I'm remarkably a part of!) The light started to get low, but this picture makes me happy whenever I see it, so here it is :)

It was indeed a happy, happy Halloween!

The Apple Doesn't Fall Far

2011-10-26T21:54:00.001-04:00

There are members of this family who walk to the beat of their own drums. If you've been reading this blog for any amount of time, you know that I'm certainly not one of them.

(OK, if you've known me for awhile, particularly in high school and college, you're laughing and saying, "um, yeah, RIGHT.")

However, I married someone with a slightly larger penchant for procedural deviance than myself.

Case in point: When Shaun was just a wee lad in kindergarten, his very sweet kindergarten teacher asked the class to draw a picture of an animal.

Shaun didn't much like the constraints of this particular assignment.

But he did it anyway.

Sort of.

The teacher received a piece of paper with nothing on it but a giant black circle, completely filled in with black crayon.

Knowing kindergartners were capable of more than just giant blobs, (and frankly, probably curious as to what the heck this thing was), the teacher asked Shaun to explain himself.

And explain he did, "It's a black bear. In a cave."

Yeah.

So, of course, one of our children was bound to end up following in her father's footsteps.

Today, Lex and I were working through some phonics stuff on the floor in her room. Not to be left out, Caly clamored for her own book so I set her up with a book of random preschool activities. The first page she turned to had a maze on it.

This particular maze had a pirate at the top and various pirate-y things surrounding it, (a ship, a parrot, etc), and a giant treasure chest at the bottom. I showed Caly how to start at the top and made a vague path through the maze and told her that her job was to find a way down to the treasure.

She bent her head over the book and put her crayon on the pirate, concentrating. I turned back towards Lex, thankful that this would probably keep C busy enough that we could finish our phonics review.

Ten seconds later, C pipes up, "Mama! I'm done!"

I glanced over at her book, about to congratulate her on finding the correct path so quickly when I noticed something odd. Her path started at the pirate...

But then it was a straight, bold line directly down to the treasure. The maze borders were obviously just a suggestion.

I looked up at Caly and attempted to reexplain the directions, "Uh, kiddo, you have to follow a path down to the treasure... you know, you have to see if there's an open way to go..." I traced my finger on the paper, showing her potential routes through the printed borders.

She stared at me and flatly said, "Momma, the pirate reached the treasure."

I tried again, "But Caly... the edges of the maze are like... walls. You have to go around them..."

She was totally nonplussed, "No. The pirate went through the walls. He got to his treasure. I'm done." And with that, she turned the page.

I applaud the kid's creativity. But she's going to wreck havoc on my sanity, isn't she?

Laughter is the Best Medicine

2011-10-20T10:51:00.000-04:00

The kids have been quite sick for the past week but that hasn't stopped them from making me giggle. Sometimes out loud, sometimes behind my hands.

Why is it that they're the funniest when I'm not allowed to laugh because it will encourage them into more mischief?

Yesterday, I set the kids up with lunch at the kitchen table and told them that I was going back to my room to feed the {highly distractable} baby. I implored them to be good, put Lex in charge of telling me if there was a need for me to address, and told them to eat their food and hang tight.

Not two minutes passed before Lexi came trotting in,

"MooooooOOOOOOmmmmm!"

(How can they take a one syllable word and drag it into 11? How?!)

"What's the matter, Lex?"

She put her hands on her hips and in a very disapproving voice, she said, "Mom. Sayer dumped out his yogurt drink all over the table."

It had been one heck of a week. I closed my eyes, took 3 deep breaths and instead of freaking out, (clap for me, please), I told Lex to go to the cabinet under my table and get some napkins to help him clean it up.

Rational solution, right?

Yeah.

She shrugged her shoulders and chirped, "Oh! I don't need to do that!"

"Um, why?"

"Because Sayer is licking it up with his tongue!" And she trotted back into the kitchen without another word.

Well, I suppose that's another solution.

Later yesterday, I had to take Sayer back to the doctor's office and he capitalized on having Mommy's undivided attention. Despite being quite sick, he was singing me songs, "Uh oh, oh no, things are kinda tricky!" and "Yo ho, let's GO!" (Name those kids' shows for 1 million... points!)

Then he was messing with the hood on his shirt and said, "Oh Mama, LOOK! I have big giant ears!"

"You have big giant ears?"

"Yes, I have big giant ears!" He put his fingers behind them and made them stand out. I grinned and asked, "Do you have a little tiny nose?"

He very seriously said, "No. I have a big giant nose. And big giant ears."

So I asked, "Do you have a little tiny head?" I couldn't help it.

And of course, he replied, "NO! I have a big giant head!" And after a pause, "And I wear big giant hats."

I guess I should stop talking about the kid and his big giant cranium while in his presence.

But look! It fills out a fire hat!

Before the plague visited our house, we went to lunch with Shaun's mom and dad. Caly was looking through pictures on someone's phone as we waited for our food and she suddenly piped up,

"OH! That's my gorgeous face!" and after scrolling through a few more, "Oh there's MORE of my gorgeous face!"

Well, I guess all of my fears about her self-esteem being wounded from being a sandwiched middle child are unfounded.

And finally, I'll leave you with this picture. I think it speaks for itself.

No, he's not really for sale. Priceless, I say :)

Froggy Fun

2011-10-19T11:36:00.001-04:00

Not too long ago it was hot enough to bake cookies on the driveway.

(No, we didn't try... but trust me, it was HOT).

Anyway, what better fun than letting the kids run wild with the hose? Of course, they ended up soaked and happy, and then one day... they found a friend.

"MOOOOOM! WE FOUND A FROOOOOG!" (Yes, I know he's a toad).

Lexi would not pick the thing up until she was assured that the creature wouldn't pee on her. (And maybe it would have? But I was dying to see her pick it up... so I told her that the frog/toad probably wouldn't)

Sayer and Caly would run up to Lexi while she held the frog and reach to touch it... then it would move. And they would shriek, giggle, and run away.

It was cracking me up. Sayer would look at then turn to me and say, "Mama! The fwog! He's LOOKIN' AT ME!"

The poor toad. Caly and Sayer eventually said they wanted to hold it. Well, sort of. They SAID they wanted to hold it, but whenever Lex would try to deposit the toad into their hands, they'd fling their hands backwards out of the reach of his toadiness, and the poor creature flopped onto the deck and tried to escape.

I could hear him wishing for a cat or something to come and eat him to put him out of his misery.

But instead, Lex chased him down over and over.

And then she would shove it towards her sister's face

And C would shriek and cringe and back away.

Mr. Toady provided a good hour of entertainment before they set him free with shouts of, "BE GOOD, MR. FROGGY!" (Lexi)

And "Go see your froggy MAMA!" (Caly)

And "I WANT DA FWOGGY TO COME SLEEP IN MY BED!" (Sayer)

Um, NO.

Because it's a toad, silly. And EW.

I'm Still Here! Just Check For Me Under the Pile of Children

2011-10-14T22:49:00.000-04:00

Miss me?

You didn't?

Fine, I'll pout.

OK, that's not me, but isn't that the best pouty face ever?

Only temporary, anyway.

Just like my blog absence.

Things are good around here, just busy. Let's see... a recap of sorts... Um... Oh! I have a kindergartner! She's as sassy and hilarious and ridiculous as ever.

We're well under way with our homeschool year and it's going quite well. Our biggest challenge has been figuring out how to teach the 5 year old while the 3 year old is demanding that she be homeschooled too. And by homeschooled, she means that I need to pay her undivided attention. But it's coming along.

Said 3 year old is coming out of a long phase of being completely impossible. I'm thankful. She's far more commonly irresistible, which I most certainly prefer. As always, she has loads of personality and exudes it at every opportunity. I'm thankful for her perpetual comedy relief.

Sayer, the resident 2 year old, is one part Mr. Independent Temper Tantrum MUST DO IT HIMSELF and one part utterly adorable snuggle bug. We're learning to balance the two. For now, the first part of him is often diffused easily with a "do you want to help me?" or a chocolate chip. Coping methods, I haz them.

The baby has me firmly wrapped around his little 7 month old finger. He's quite possibly the happiest baby on the planet. Almost crawling, eating everything he's close to, (including his siblings' appendages), and constantly grinning and squealing. He's a delight, which probably is why I haven't been around much. Too busy nomming on his cheeks and letting him climb all over me.

But we're settling into a nice little groove for the fall, so I'm hoping to blog this laundry list of stories and silly things that I have stored. For now? Attempting a good night of sleep. Yeah, fat chance. I am a mother of small children, after all.

Sleep or no sleep, it's so worth it.

Space Cadet

2011-10-08T09:46:00.001-04:00

If Shaun isn't home and I have to feed the kids, I generally get them set up and eat later when he gets home. I hang out in the kitchen with them though. But since I'm not usually sitting at the table with them, they tend to go running with their own conversation.

Lex started talking about who was in my belly and when. Caly, of course, was fascinated. "We all lived in THERE?" Then Lex talked about how Shaun and I took her and Caly to a baseball game the night before I had Sayer. "So, Sayer was still in your belly!"

Not to be left out, Caly had her own story to contribute. Her face got serious and she started, "Mom. When I was in your belly? You know, when I was a little baby in your belly? Well, when I was in your belly, Daddy took Lexi and Sayer. He took them to outer space."

Wait, um, what?

I decided to go with it. "Oh really? Um, how did they get there?"

"Oh, Mom. They totally borrowed a space ship."

I was having trouble keeping my face as straight as hers was. She was totally serious.

Lex, my literalist, piped up next. I assumed she'd give Caly a bit of a lesson on the finer points of space travel. You know, like how we can't just borrow a spaceship and pop through the stratosphere for a spot o' tea.

Not quite.

"Caaaallllyyy... when you were in Mommy's belly, Sayer totally wasn't born yet."

And that was it.

Caly, "Oh. Well, then he didn't get to go to space."

And... nothing.

Either Shaun took Lex on one heck of a trip before Caly was born or Lex has an awesome dreamworld.

These kids. Sheesh.

Car Craziness

2011-10-01T10:21:00.003-04:00

Driving in the car with these kids is never a quiet experience. More often than not, there's a little humor mixed in. Why is it that kids say some of the most hilarious stuff when they're strapped into car seats? Kind of makes me want to bring the car seats into the house.

Kidding.

Sort of.

Lexi, at 5 years and three quarters, (and don't you forget it), is very big into "teaching" her younger sister. Yesterday, this involved peppering her with random questions. I was actually surprised that Caly(3) was getting most of them correct. "What makes a rainbow?" "How do plants grow?" "What time of day does the sun come up?" When Caly would get stumped on a question of when Lex didn't really know the answer, she'd ask me. I'd answer and she'd move to the next.

Then she asked Caly, "Where do babies come from?"

Caly was silent for a minute and I held my breath. I'm not scared of that conversation, but I really didn't want to chat it up about how babies were made while driving 70mph down the interstate with a squealing baby and rambunctious toddler in tow.

Inevitably, they asked me, "Mama? Where do babies come from?"

"Uhhhhh..."

Then Lex saved the day, "OH! I know! They come from bellies! Of course!"

Of course indeed. I was 2 seconds away from saying, "Let's ask Daddy when we get home!" Shaun can thank me later.
_____________________________________________________

Later, as we drove through my parent's neighborhood, Lexi commented at how all of the houses were made of brick. Caly agreed, then said,

"Yeah. And that's good. Because, you know, then the Big Bad Wolf can't blow them down."

Forget tornadoes and hurricanes, Big Bad Wolf prevention ranks as number 1 importance. I think she has a future in national security.
______________________________________________________

Driving home from places around bedtime usually means that I'm hoping, praying, and trying to get those kids to just STOP. TALKING. FOR. ONE. STINKING. SECOND. AND. GOTOSLEEP.

Because they will talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and keep themselves awake. It's like a ninja skill.

The car had settled into a relative silence and I peered back into the rear view mirror to see who was asleep. No one, but hey... oh well. Soon.

Then Sayer spotted Shaun driving in front of us and exclaimed, "MOMMY! Dat's Daddy's car! Dat's Daddy! Let's go TACKLE HIM!"

I said, "OK, um, maybe when we get home? We're driving!"

Of course, when you're 2, that is so not a problem, "No, Mama! Let's go tackle him! WIT OUR CAR!"

Yeah, he's totally not allowed to drive.

Who's On First? Er, What?

2011-09-20T20:45:00.002-04:00

Sometimes, conversing with my children is a bit like living inside of an Abbott and Costello sketch.

Particularly the 3rd born. At just over 2 years old, he's rather verbal. Generally, he can make it known precisely what he wants, though on occasion, especially when he's exhausted, he's been known to lapse into mumbling and garbled speech. (I've only myself to blame for the mumbles).

The other night, we were snuggling in his bed as he settled for sleep. I asked him if he wanted me to sing a song. Yes, believe it or not, my kids actually dig when I sing.

He mumbled something so I asked him to repeat,

"Put some socks on."

Weird, but ok. "Sayer, you want me to put your socks on?"

"Put some SOCKS on."

"You want me to go get your socks?"

"Mama, PUT SOME SOCKS ON."

"Uh, ok... can you wait here a second while I go get you some socks?" The night promised to be a chilly one, so really, why not?

"NO!"

"No?"

"NO, mama!"

I was a bit baffled. "Sayer, do you want socks or no socks?"

"Socks on!" His face was turned into his pillow so I asked him to say it again.

"Socks or no socks, buddy?"

"Sockson!"

"What?"

"SONGSON!"

"What?"

"Songsong! SONGSONG!"

I had a feeling I was missing something... so I asked again,

"What?"

He turned his head to look me dead in the eye, "Sing. A. Song!"

Oh. Um, ok. "You want me to sing a song?"

"Yes."

What the heck, dude? Wasn't that where we started this melee?

"Ok, um, so what do you want me to sing a song about?" (He likes to pick his topics... most notable are trucks, trains and pickles).

I swear the kid looked at me as if I had just forgotten my own name. "Mama. Put socks on."

I kid you not.

Then, it hit me.

"Sayer, do you want me to sing a song about putting your socks on?"

He beamed, "YES!"

And then he rolled over, sighed and started to close his eyes.

And I sang a song about putting on a pair of socks.

Ah, parenthood.

Caly-Isms: Episode Eleventy Billion

2011-09-13T16:02:00.003-04:00

I've decided that my second daughter was born to make me laugh at least twice for every time she completely exasperates me.

It's a survival method. Trust me.

Anyway, here's a few of her latest.

A couple of mornings ago, we had a firetruck visit our little house. (Long story short: malfunctioning CO detector). The firefighters were sweet enough to let the three big kids clamber around on the truck. (They're now officially in love with fire trucks... and firefighters).

Later, Shaun mentioned that his uncle had posted a picture of Shaun and his cousin on a fire truck from when they were young. Then Shaun said, "Oh, and Michelle was in the picture too, but she's irrelevant." Caly, who was snuggled up next to me and listening more than I thought she was, piped up,

"Aunt Michelle is NOT an ELEPHANT!"

Indeed she's not!

This past weekend, Lexi started golf lessons through First Tee which leaves the boys here to nap and Caly here to have one on one time with Mommy. She was messing around with Legos and I decided to finish watching the final episode of the shall-not-be-named teen drama show that I got completely sucked into. (I know, I KNOW). She came over and nuzzled up during the final 3 minutes. The only thing that was left to watch was the final gymnastics meet, full of the fun camera angles and dramatic music so when she asked if she could watch too, I agreed.

Each time the gymnasts flipped across the screen, Caly would fling her arms and legs in the air and proclaim that her move was just like their move. "See, Mama? See? I have cool moves too!"

The show ended with a glowing victory for the main characters and I turned it off. Caly proceeded to jump on top the ottoman. I asked what she was up to and she said, "I'm gonna do my own gymnastics show!"

So I started to gather the laundry to put away. But then I stopped when I heard her start talking.

She flung her hands in the air and said, "I just don't think I can do it! I don't know if I can be good enough!" Then she tipped her head to what I could only assume was her imaginary coach and said, "Do you believe in me? You do?! Then I can do it!" And she shoved her hands back in the air, jumped and contorted her legs in some weird shape and fell on her stomach. Immediately, she shot up and puffed her chest out, saying, "I did my move! I knew I could do it if you believed in me!"

Uh.

Someone isn't allowed to watch teenage dramas ever with that stellar recall.

(The imitation was uncanny).

We got home from some miscellaneous errand and after I parked on the gravel portion of our driveway, I realized that she didn't have her shoes on so I told her to wait so I could carry her over the rocks. Except, when I placed her on the paved part, I inadvertently plopped her heel right onto a sharp rock.

Tears ensued.

I felt horrible. I picked her up and told her I was sorry and then I said, "Oh Caly, I'm a bad Momma!" She stopped crying and looked up at me and said, "No you're not!!"

That'll carry me through more than a few rough days with that.

She's my girl.

No Matter How Much Water, Flowers Won't Grow There

2011-09-01T15:28:00.001-04:00

My kids are fascinated by the hose.

Or obsessed.

Of course, the hose is a fun way to stay cool in the summer. But it got to a point where I would leave the room and my middle two would beeline out the front door and turn on the hose. And then I'd find them and lose my mind at having to get them completely dressed again, (because inevitably, I would have just finished getting them dressed and ready to leave the house).

So I decided to indulge them while I unloaded the car after a recent vacation. The three big kids used the hose to create some elaborate waterfall/river system up on the front deck and steps. I unloaded the insane amount of luggage that 6 people take on a road trip for 3 days and started on getting the car clean. I filled one bag with trash, and filled a laundry basket with the miscellaneous nonsense that the kids accumulate in the car with every trip.

(SIDENOTE: Do all kids insist on taking their "Oh-but-mommy-it's-my-favorite-thing-ever," item into the car only to leave it there later? And then, obviously, they absolutely have to take the next must have toy into the car the next day? And then, you end up with a veritable toy store in your back seat. Am I the only one? Really?)

Anyway, I digress. So, I had actually found the mythical carpet on one side of the car and moved to the other. The kids were happily spashing through their water trails on the steps. As I stacked and sorted books in the basket from the back of the car, I heard Caly giddily exclaim, "Sayer is watering the car!" since my kids are obsess with car washing, I figured he was spraying the outside and continued my sorting.

(When will I ever learn not to assume?)

Moments later, Lexi yelled, "Mama! Sayer is watering IN your car!" I shot upright and peered in through the open sliding door on the drivers side of my van to catch sight of my 2 year old calmly holding the water hose In through his open sliding door over the carpet in front of his seat as water poured out.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!" I yelled. I didn't know what to do first. So I made motions to get Sayer while exclaiming, "No, no, NO SAYER!" Confused, he lifted the hose and started backing up. Every step he made bounced the water further into the car. Finally, my brain turned on and I shouted to Lex to run and turn the hose off while I attempted to grab the renegade hose or its wielder.

She managed to turn it off and I tried to explain to my middle two that you're NEVER allowed to put water into your car. "I was a-washin' it, mama!" my 2 year old kept joyfully exclaiming, convinced he had helped. I still don't think we're on the same page.

But you can bet that I'm going to keep the hose obsession contained to the back yard while my car is open.

(After airing out for 3 days in 90 degree heat, the car dried for the most part. But it smelled like old gym socks. So I sprinkled baking soda all over the carpet, which drew out the moisture and most of the odor, but definitely hasn't come out of the carpet completely. My poor blue van will never be the same).

Good Advice... Not What I Was Thinking Though

2011-08-18T10:41:00.001-04:00

I'm sure every parent of a child who is over the age of 1 is familiar with the phrase, "are you listening to me right now?"

Caly and Lex, at 3 and 5, are in a phase where they've learned how to diligently stare at me while I talk to them about some misbehavior and when I'm done talking, they chirp, "Ok Mommy!" and trot off only to repeat the transgression 30 seconds later.

Cue the "What did I say a minute ago? No hitting/spitting/throwing/screeching/punching/etc.!"

The other day, Caly was having a particularly difficult time with doing the same things over and over. Nothing seemed to be getting through to her. So I changed tactics and brought her over to my lap. I asked her to look into my eyes and I spoke veeeeeery slooooooowly,

"Caly. You can not hit your brother. Ever. Do you understand?"

She stared at me and nodded, "Yes Mommy!"

"Hitting is not kind. Do NOT hit your brother." I started to sense that she wasn't necessarily looking at me but rather... looking straight through me. Miss Caly was on some other planet.

"CALY! Did you hear what I just said?"

Of course, she had her answer down pat, "Yes Mommy, I did!"

But something told me to follow up, "Caly, what did Mommy just say?"

Without a moment's hesitation, she shouted, "DON'T BITE YOUR FRIENDS!"

Worthy advice... but um, NO.

She got the selective hearing from her father.

(Hehe)

It's When They're in Cahoots that Scares Me

2011-07-29T09:59:00.001-04:00

My kids are not gigantic mischief-makers as a general rule. Yes, they get into trouble. And yes, they occasionally think up wild ways to make messes, but not too often. (THANK GOODNESS)

At least... when they're working alone.

I've noticed a trend lately. When two or more of them are together, the mischief making compounds exponentially. (Do you like that math talk that I'm throwing around? Because I remember all sorts of stuff from 12th grade calculus. Or not).

The other night, Zoen was freaking out due to a combination of teething, tiredness, and over stimulation. He needed to be jammied and put to sleep, but keeping him somewhat calm was proving to be difficult, so I asked Caly to go into my room and get his pj's.

Now, awhile back, we inherited a large wooden bookcase and placed it in our room. Because Z still bunks with us and because there's limited storage in the boys' room, I decided to put Z's blankets, clothes and the like on the shelves. It's turned out to be a nice little system.

So, I sent her in there with the instructions as to where the jammies were, (shelf on the bottom closest to the door). She was gone for a long time.

Then she came back empty handed. "I can't find them!" She's my finder kid, so I tried describing the shelf again. And she trotted off saying, "I'll get them now!" Of course, Sayer heard her and started yelling, "NO! I WILL FIND DEM!" and the two raced into my room.

I focused my attention on the 4 legged octopus that was still fussing in my arms. I finally got him settled and realized that the two middle kids had been gone... and quiet... for way, way too long.

I asked Lexi... "Hey, so um, where are your sister and brother?"

She cheerily responded, "They're in your room!"

Uh oh.

She ran off to investigate. Thirty seconds later, "Mooooooooooooooooooom! They took all of the clothes off the shelf!"

I sighed, knowing that I'd have reorganize the shelf they took apart. But no biggie.

Then I got up and walked into the room.

And this is what I found:

Of course, that meant the floor looked like this:

Every shelf emptied. They were even innovative enough to get a stool for the top few shelves. And it included dumping a bag full of recently outgrown clothes into the pile and MIXING THEM UP. "We stirred them! It's like soup!"

I dug through the pile, found some jammies, and got everyone in bed.

Then I collapsed on the couch and turned a movie on. And my gaze traveled downward and landed on this:

Those would be the pj's I sent C in to find. The ones I put aside earlier in the evening. The ones that were totally not on the shelf. Any of the shelves, for that matter.

Of course. (Murphey's Law of Parenting: Episode 1289)

Zoen - The Fourth at Four Months

2011-07-26T09:33:00.000-04:00

Hey, remember how I used to do monthly updates from pregnancy onward of my first born? Then remember how it was almost as frequent with my second? And then, remember how I periodically did it with my third?

Oh, and remember how I have a fourth kid?

And he's four months old? Well, better late than never, I'm thinking.

Zoen is 4.5 months old. So far in his short life he has:

- Rolled over front to back and back to front.
- Erupted in belly laughs, (and does so often)

- Smiled at me, daddy, his sisters.... um, everyone.
- Sprouted a tooth, (I know, RIGHT?!)
- Gotten a cold, (at 2 weeks old, sad baby).

- Grown to 17.5 pounds, (oy)
- Developed a preference for being held under my chin
- Sucked his thumb... then a pacifier... then both
- Been sat on by his brother

- Been dressed up by his sisters

- Progressed to a nap longer than 45 minutes
- Learned to grab and eat anything within reach, (including my face)

Busy, right?

He's a lovable, squishable, easy-going little monkey. He prefers to be carried on my left side or in a sling. He gets excited and all four limbs start kicking and flailing. He can squeal when happy and does the best pouty lip ever when he's sad. He still looks perpetually surprised and often reminds me of a little old man.

I love him. Of course! But could he stop growing up so fast? Geez!

Bedtime Prayers

2011-07-19T16:25:00.001-04:00

Our usual bedtime routine with the kids goes something like this:

1. Girls in bed.
2. One of us (and sometimes Sayer too), will go in there to sing and chat with them for a few minutes. Then we leave them to chat together until they fall asleep.
3. One of us, (and the baby too if Shaun isn't home), heads to Sayer's room to hang with him til he drifts off.
4. Baby either put to sleep or put down if he's sleeping.

This only takes about 6 hours.

Not really.

Most nights.

Anyway, the other night, Sayer had finally nodded off as did Z, so I slipped out of his room to put Z down and snuggle up with my gigantic bowl of ice cream. But walking by the girls' room, I still heard talking. No one was screaming and it sounded remarkably amicable, so I decided to eavesdrop via the baby monitor.

They were chattering about baby dolls and the next day's plans. Finally, Lex said, "Ok Caly, I'm tired. Let's go to sleep."

Of course, ~~Contrary Mary~~ Caly wasn't having much of that so she started to sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." Loudly. I started to head in to tell them to pipe down when Lex said excitedly, "Oh! Caly, let's PRAY!"

Caly said OK and immediately launched into the sing-song "Thank you Jesus, thank you Jesus... for our FOOOD... for our FOOOOOOOD. And our many blessings, and our many blessings... AAAAAAH-MEN. Ahhhhhh-MEN!" that they learned in church. Lex waited patiently for her to finish and then said, "Ok, my turn!"

I turned the monitor up to catch her words, thinking she'd probably have something sweet to pray about.

"Dear God... Please make Caly be quiet. Amen."

There was actually a beat of silence.

And then, inevitably, a small voice started again, "Thank you Jesus..." and was quickly followed by, "Oh, CALY!"

(Sometimes I wonder if even God has the power to quiet that small ball of mischief).

A Battle of Wits, Won

2011-07-15T08:04:00.004-04:00

Sayer has finally reached the level of verbal communication which allows him to argue somewhat effectively. Combine that with two older sisters who, at times, delight in the ability to needle their brother and you often have some hilarious arguments taking place between the almost-2-year-old and his siblings.

I gave him a spoon this morning with the words "Animal Baby" on it. I have no idea where we got it, but it tends to be a highly requested spoon, probably because it was requested once by one kid, and thus, it MUST be an amazing spoon that all must fight over. Of course.

Anyway, I tossed that spoon into his cereal bowl and served the other kids. Inevitably, the conversation turned to what spoons each kid had chosen or were given. Lex turned to Sayer and said, "Look buddy, you have the animal baby one!"

Sayer looked at his spoon, frowned and quickly said back,

"IT NOT ANIMAL BABY!"

And of course, because she's my kid and she's never one to shy away from an argument when she knows she's right, Lex had to engage,

"Yes it is, Sayer, it's the animal baby one!"

"IT. NOT. ANIMAL BABY!"

"It is the animal baby one!" I shot her a warning glance. She looked at me and whispered, "But is IS, Mama!"

Sayer still wasn't buying it. "NO! IT. NOT!" At this point, he was standing in his chair with the spoon hoisted into the air.

"Yes it is, it says "animal baby!"

"NOOOOOO. IT. NOT. ANIMAL BABY... IT A SPOON!" He poked it towards his sister as if to say, "SEEEE?"

Ah. He had her there.

(He totally gets those brains from his Mama... hehe)

Silly Sayer

2011-07-14T17:27:00.002-04:00

Yesterday, Sayer fell asleep at nap time wearing:

1. Backwards shorts (having insisted "do it mah-sef!"
2. A flowered rain boot
3. A white girls' dress shoe, size 12

He was holding

1. A small rainbow bouncy ball
2. His beloved Mickey Mouse phone.

And he slept for 2 hours.

Whatever works! (Love this silly kid)

Don't Mess With Us or We'll Mess With You

2011-07-11T10:32:00.002-04:00

Generally, when Zoen wakes up to nurse in the middle of the night, it's a quiet affair... usually wrapped up within 10 minutes or so. If I bring him in to bed, it's as fast as it takes me to close my eyes again.

So, when I blearily glanced at the clock the other night and saw that it said 4:02am, I was even more confused at the weird flapping, grinding, scraping sound coming from outside. I rocked in the glider for a minute, feeding the baby. Then, I carefully walked with him over to the window. I balanced his bottom on my knee and used my free hand to slowly lift the shade.

I was temporarily blinded by the bright light shining in my window.

What the heck?!

My first thought was whether or not the aliens would have dr. pepper... because, man, it was early.

But then my eyes adjusted and I saw that the light, (which had moved to sweeping our yard), was coming from a police helicopter. You know, the police helicopter that was shining its spotlight all over our yard. Searching for something. Or SOMEONE.

I slammed the shade down and froze. I listened for a minute, convinced that someone was sneaking around our house. Then I looked at the dogs, both sound asleep... one had her paws in the air and was snoring. Worthless creatures. Didn't they know a killer was on the loose?!

So I followed the next logical step and put my face near Shaun's, "HONEY! HONEY! WAKE UP!" I whispered.

You all know how he reacts when he's woken out of a sound sleep. (See here and here).

I shook him again and whispered, "SHAUN YOU HAVE TO GET UP RIGHT NOW! THERE'S A HELICOPTER AND I THINK IT'S SEARCHING FOR A FELON IN OUR YARD!"

He opened his eyes and stared at me. "What?" Then he closed his eyes again. I repeated my frantic whispers and told him to go and make sure that the doors were locked. Especially since our two furry security systems were kind of ineffective at the moment.

So, Shaun tiptoed out of the bedroom and made his rounds. After he had been gone for a few seconds, I started to worry that the killer had gotten him and started to prepare the roux to saute his brains. (I used to watch way too many gruesome crime shows).

Then I heard something dragging across the floor. The killer had gotten my husband! I looked frantically around for some sort of weapon and found my kid's twirling baton on the floor. (Because I'd be a fearsome enemy with that! BACK, INTRUDER, or I'll beat you with a plastic stick full of glitter water!)

But before I could pick it up, Shaun walked back through the door. "Did anyone get you?!" He looked at me weirdly and then told me the doors were securely locked and the house was good.

Phew.

I looked outside to see the helicopter searchlight still panning over our street and a new addition: squad cars driving slowly up and down our road... sirens off, lights on. Creeeeeeepy, y'all.

I sat down on the floor. Because that's obviously going to protect me from sinister people intent on harm.

Shaun figured he should place a call to the local police to make sure there wasn't anything we could do or needed to know. Their helpful advice?

"Stay inside and lock the doors. Do not go outside." Nothing like vague instructions to avoid the outdoors in your own yard to reassure. No further information eased our minds even further.

Or not.

The helicopter and squad cars eventually moved onto the neighboring roads and I drifted off into a restless sleep, peppered with dreams of large shady characters holding pom poms and trying to rob my house.

The next morning arrived without incident and Shaun called the police again. This time, they had this to say, "The issue has been resolved." No more.

So we went on our merry way, wondering how the killer was captured and what the story surrounding the late night chase was.

Two days later, the local online paper posted details. I clicked on the article eagerly, glad for some impending closure.

Turns out, there was more than one criminal at large that night. There were TWO. And they were on a hellbent mission to...

Vandalize.

Yes. Our county called a search helicopter out to hunt for two vandals who went on a destructive streak on some neighborhood cars.

So watch out. If we catch wind of you starting mischief with a can of spray paint, we'll call a helicopter on your ass.

What? We're totally hardcore... with our cows and horses and hay bales.

HARDCORE.

Fuzzy Tacos... And Uh... Hi?

2011-07-05T09:04:00.000-04:00

Hey there, remember me? Yup, I'm still alive.

And despite my absence in the blog world, my kids have still been doing ridiculous and funny things, so I've got my work cut out for me in catching up.

Most recently, we traveled to the LARGE state of Texas for a little family reunion action, long overdue friend time, and of course, copious amounts of good food.

Towards the end of our trip, we visted a place called Fuzzy's Tacos. The kids, being taco fans, were excited. I, being a food fan, was elated. Shaun, being a Mexican food fan, was hungry.

Caly (3), ususally our picky kid, was being oddly enthusiastic about this outing, "Mommy! Mommy! Are we at the fuzzy taco place? Are we at Fuzzy's?" Over and over.

She asked to use the bathroom when we got there, (a habit that drives me bananas... what is it with kids needing to see every public restroom we visit? Because she sure as heck didn't need to pee that bad). While she was stalling, (haha, no pun intended. I crack myself up), I said, "Ok Caly, we need to hurry up so you can eat your dinner."

"Yeah! I'm gonna eat my taco! And then I'm going to pet it!"

"What?" Yes, I know I talk to my food and my kids occassionally follow suit, but we never um, pet it... Caly looked up and said,

"My fuzzy taco!"

Ohhhhh...

"Er, Caly... the tacos aren't going to BE fuzzy... they're regular (delicious) tacos. Fuzzy's is just the name of the place."

She stared at me for a second while hiking up her drawers... then she said, "OHHHHHHHHHH!" rolled her eyes to the ceiling, grinned, shook her head and exclaimed, "Oh Mama, that's SO silly!"

Yes... yes it is. But oh my, so is she.

By the way... Fuzzy's Tacos? DELICIOUS. Feta cheese on a taco! Best idea ever.

When Presented With Options...

2011-06-17T09:49:00.000-04:00

I'm coming off of a week of solo parenting the munchkins while Shaun was away on a trip and whoooo boy, I have some stories to tell. The kids were great, for the most part, but apparently reserved their most priceless moments for while Shaun was gone.
Take Caly, my beloved second born. At 3, she's starting to test limits. OK, she's always tested limits. But she's starting to get a bit more creative in her choices.

Shaun re-potted one of our plants in a large floor pot as a last ditch effort to save it from my black thumb. While we've had a couple of smaller plants on the table and on the window sill, this was the first time we had one on the floor and it appeared that the giant pot of black dirt was slightly irresistible to small fingers. So, naturally, we had a few conversations that culminated with, "DO NOT PLAY IN THE DIRT."

Of course, it was only a matter of time before we ended up catching someone doing exactly that. After loading the dishwasher, I noticed that the house was remarkably quiet. I rounded the corner into the living room and stopped short when I saw black dirt sprinkled across the floor. My gaze traveled the path of the dirt and landed on a very small, very guilty looking 3 year old. As I met her eyes, she slowly put her dirty hands behind her back.

"Caly, were you playing in the dirt?"

She waited for a beat and studied my face. Then... "Yes."

"Oh Caly, why? You know that you're not supposed to do that. So now, I guess we need to figure out what your punishment will be. What do you think should happen now?"

Her face grew very serious and she focused her big green eyes on me without saying anything. I waited patiently before prodding her again, "Caly, what do you think should happen now?"

And without a trace of guile, she quietly said, "I think you should clean this up."

I swallowed hard to keep from breaking into peels of laughter. It was a long moment before I could say anything at all. Then, I asked, "Caly, I mean what should be the consequences? Because you didn't listen when Mommy said not to play in the plant? What should your punishment be?"

Sensing that she was close to having the upper hand, she took advantage.... grinning her very Caly grin, she reached her hands to me and said, "I think you should snuggle me up!"

I couldn't help it. I cracked up and gathered her into my lap.

And you know? She hasn't been back into the plant since.

Knock Knock...

2011-05-31T08:40:00.000-04:00

Sayer's favorite (self-created) knock-knock joke of the moment:

"Knock-knock!"

"Who's there?"

"Ba-nana BUTT!"

And then he giggles.

Then?

"Knock Knock!"

"Uh, who's there?"

"BA-NANA BUTT!"

And so on... and so on... and so on...

Who needs an actual punchline when you can crack yourself up?

Wordage

2011-05-23T07:49:00.000-04:00

I have an insanely verbal 22 month old. Instead of focusing on two word sentences, the kid is speaking in paragraphs. I take little credit for this... it's just how he is. (At the current moment, he's over at the sink, grinning at me and saying, "I needa wash my hands! Dey are dirty!") I love that he's verbal... especially when the sky is falling and all heck is breaking loose here. He's yet to master the art of guile, so I generally get a decent retelling of events:

"Cow-ee hit me!" or "I bonked Zoen!"

And it's handy when he's screaming for something:

"Sayer, what is it that you want?"

"I waaaaaaaant fench fies!"

I didn't have french fries, but at least I knew why he was shrieking.

I think he asked for french fries about 38 times in the course of that 30 minute car trip. And then he fell asleep. The next morning, he was all smiles. I asked if he'd like breakfast, "Yeah!" and then I said, "How about cereal?" He grinned, waited a beat, and said, "How bout.... fench fies!"

The kid is funny. And apparently, thoroughly in touch with his emotions. We were hanging out at my parents' house for dinner the other night and Zoen had just fallen asleep. Caly started drumming on the kid table and Zoen startled awake. I quickly shushed her and she stopped. But because he thinks his sister hung the moon, Sayer had to start drumming too.

I had gone to check on the baby so my mom said, "Sayer, stop drumming on the table please."

He stopped. But then he stuck his lip out, glared, and flung his arm onto the table. Then he dropped his head onto his arm with a huff.

When we questioned, he lifted his head and said with perfect empasis, "I. Am. MAD!" And then he dropped his head again.

We cracked up. He looked up, grinned at our laughter, then replaced his smile with his mad face before flopping back onto his arm.

Oy.

Getting in the Groove

2011-05-18T09:19:00.000-04:00

So, my house is clean and the children aren't trying to eat each other... thus? I shall blog!

OK, so now, since writing that first sentence, it's two hours later. Why?

I have four kids.

That should answer everything, but in case you're really morbidly curious?

Lex brings in a blank notebook and wants me to help her write a song. This involves spelling out the words she wants to use.

"Y-O-U"

Sayer and Caly get into a screaming match. Lex screams to be heard over them, "HOW DO YOU SPELL YOU!?"

Sayer bonks Caly on the head. More shouting commences. I try anyway,

"Y-O-U!"

Lex glares at her sister. "MOMMY! I CAN'T HEAR YOU! HOW DO YOU SPELL YOOOOOOU!?"

I break up the fighting duo and send them to different corners.

Baby starts fussing. I sneak in his room to replace the pacifier. My sneaking was for naught... I have three little people in my wake, all seemingly uncomprehending the furtive "SHHHHHHHHHH's" that I'm doing. Baby's awake.

I bounce the baby a bit to get gas bubble out. He's cranky. Cries. Caly taunts Sayer with a book and then holds it over her head and says, "YOU CAN'T HAVE IT!" Sayer lunges towards her. She shrieks and runs. He's faster, catches her, and when he can't reach the book, wacks her in the head again.

Once I sort out that mess, I turn back towards the computer. I can type one handed, right?

I turn to ask Lexi a question in time to see Sayer lean on his bowl of cereal that he insisted he wasn't finished and send it careening onto the floor. Being that it's dry cereal, it skitters all across the kitchen.

I change two poopy diapers.

The baby spits up on my otherwise clean shirt.

The 3 big kids and I take turns making the baby smile. Caly totally wins at this.

There's a brief scuffle over the rocking chair. You know, the one that no one wants to use until someone else uses it.

(Why doesn't that work for eating veggies?)

We have an impromptu dance party.

I sneak away and eat a brownie.

When I turn around, Lex is in the doorway with her hands on her hips, "Mooooooooommmmy? What are you doing?" Caly appears and cuts to the chase, "Gimme a brownie." I raise my eyebrows.

"Please." She grins.

I share.

The kids hug my legs, inhale the brownies, and are off to some magical land of imagination involving Bobo the dog, a cheese farm, dance class and a baby gym.

And here I am again. Hiding in the bathtub with the door locked.

Kidding!

(Maybe)

Brothers In Cahoots

2011-05-11T09:15:00.001-04:00

It's no secret that Sayer is enamored with his baby brother. He can't walk by the baby without giving him a kiss or tipping his head to the side and asking, "I hold Zoen, Mama, I hold Zoen?"

Half the time, he'll "hold" the baby and say, "He's laughing, Mama, he's LAUGHING!" Sometimes, I'll peer down and Z will be grinning away, other times? Zoen is fully asleep. But hey, whatever encourages a good sibling relationship!

Yesterday, Sayer was sitting next to me on the floor as I changed Zoen's diaper. I got distracted by something shiny, (the more tired I am, the easier it is... we've had a lot of half finished tasks around here lately), and the next thing I knew, I felt something on my leg... that unmistakable wet warmth. I shrieked and jumped backwards before covering Z's er, bits, with a diaper.

Sayer looked at me and dissolved into giggles. Then he got down next to Zoen's face, grinned at him, and said, "Do it again, brudder, do it again!"

Thank goodness Z doesn't have the control to follow Sayer's commands yet, because I have no doubt that little one will do exactly what his big brother asks. (Which, combined with Sayer doing near everything his sisters ask? Um, might be dangerous).

Silly Kidlets

2011-04-27T20:51:00.000-04:00

I'm having trouble forming coherent thoughts in the last few days... post Easter weekend exhaustion. But my kids? Yeah, they're not tired. And they're full of funny.

Two nights ago, I was snuggling with Sayer trying to wind him down for bed. (As an aside: a friend said that the secret to getting her husband to sleep when he was a kid was to get him to stay still and stop talking. That is SO my kid). Anyway, he would lay still for a few seconds at a time then start to wiggle and sing. At one point, he rolled towards me, veeeeeeeerrrrrry slowly and reached towards my face. I pretended to be resting to see what he was going to do. He gently pinched my cheek, then he brought his hand to his mouth and pretended to chew,

"Mmmm, more chicken? Yup!" Then he did it again. And again. And then? He rolled over and went to sleep. My sides hurt from trying not to laugh out loud. But hey, whatever works to get him to sleep!
_____________________________________________

Right around Easter, the kids asked questions about the story and one of them requested the entire story of the life of Jesus, from Christmas, (his birthday), onward. The kids spontaneously decided to act it out.

Caly decided she wanted to play the part of baby Jesus. Which, of course, meant that baby Jesus needed... um, care...

"Maaaamaaa! I'm dirty! I need a diaper change!"

Lexi was horrified, "Caly! Baby Jesus did NOT poop in his pants!"

Heh. They make me giggle.

A Few Moments in the Life of Four Kids

2011-04-19T15:09:00.000-04:00

I get the question, "What's it like having four kids?" quite a bit. Most often, it's asked with a genuine tone of curiosity, but sometimes, (to my amusement), the person sounds like they're referring to a circus sideshow.

Which, I guess, it can be at times.

Shaun and I have exactly enough arms for four kids. So, when he's home, we can run the roost with relative efficiency. It's when he's gone and I'm severely outnumbered that the fun starts. The very first day he went back to work and left me ~~in the clutches of the wild things~~ alone to care for the 4 kidlets we call our own, things started well enough. I managed to feed, entertain, change, and dress all of them.

And then, my beloved sister-in-law arrived with my nephew and niece to offer help with the transition.

So I sent the 3 biggest kids off to play in our basement playroom with their cousin and we stayed upstairs to hang out with the babies.

Oh, I guess here's a good moment to mention that we used to have a sandbox in our basement. With sand. LOTS of sand. (Yes, that's thanks to my slightly insane, but uber creative husband. He figured, what fun is a beach party without sand? And since you can't have a beach party outside in mid-January, he decided he'd bring the sand in for my 5 year old. She was delighted. Of course).

So yes. We had a sandbox. In the basement. But because the sand had a tendency to travel EVERYWHERE and kick up a ton of dust, I banned the kids from playing in it. They really did remarkably well listening over the course of weeks following the party, though occasionally, I'd have to fish Sayer out and redirect him.

Anyway, after 30 minutes or so of the kids playing awesomely together, Lex and her 5yo cousin, T, came racing upstairs and yelled in the same breath, "CALY AND SAYER ARE THROWING SAND AT US!!"

And then they giggled.

I was wrapping up a feeding session with my little guy and and was decidedly not as amused.

Then? Then Caly came upstairs. Covered. Head to toe. With sand. And? She was smiling.

"Caly. Were you throwing sand?"

"Yes" She grinned widely.

The urge to crack up was competing furiously with the urge to yell at her.

So I hid behind a pillow.

Then? Sayer came up. I thought Caly was covered... yeah, Sayer was COVERED.

"I DROW SAND, MAMA! I DROW SAND!"

I stayed behind my pillow, now shaking with insane giggles.

Lex piped up a few seconds later,

"Oh, Mama? You might get mad... they threw sand all over the bed in the spare room."

Oy.

I hauled myself off of the couch and went down to investigate.

If a crime of passion occurred between a starfish and a hermit crab, I think there would have been less sand strewn. It was EVERYWHERE. In between the sheets of the spare bed. On the bookshelves. In the closet. Sand exploded everywhere.

It was insanity.

Thankfully, Michelle was there to help me corral the kids into a bath and bed. A short time later, the basement was cleaned and the sand relocated to our deck, (by my handy hubs).

So yes, life with 4... you were wondering? Now? Now you know.

Someone pass me some coffee. I've a feeling I'm going to need it from here on out.

The One Where I Pun on Star Wars and Reveal My Inner Nerd

2011-04-18T13:15:00.000-04:00

The other day, I had this exchange with Amy via text:

Amy: How are you holding up?

Me: I've decided that instead of alcohol, I need a beer helmet to administer caffeine. But it needs a catchy name.

Amy: Haha!! My phone autocorrected haha to Java. Did my phone just name your invention?

Me: Java the Helmutt!*

Amy: HAHAH!

We're brilliant. Oh, and we're totally up for investing partners, so if you're interested, you know who to contact. :)

Zoen - One Month! And 5 Days

2011-04-18T08:07:00.001-04:00

So, my sweet, snuggly youngest is already a month old.

I'm flat out in denial of this.

Thankfully, he still curls up over my shoulder to sleep and I don't plan on forcing that whole "sleep in his bed" thing anytime soon.

He perpetually looks surprised when he's really awake. Either that or cross-eyed. He'll figure it out eventually. In the mean time, it CRACKS us up.

This kid is a lot like his oldest sister was as a baby... sweet, easy, mellow, relaxed.

But he's LOUD. My goodness, he's loud. I'll settle down in bed and be right about to drift off to sleep when I hear, *Snarfle snarfle, grunt grunt* "EHHHHHHH. EHHHHHHHHH." *Grunt, grunt* And inevitably, when I haul myself over to his bassinet to check on him, he's sound asleep. Of course.

He's loud when he nurses, too. I settle down to nurse him and his grunts and sighs turn heads from clear across the room. He totally reminds me of a piglet. (Don't worry, I think they're irresistibly cute, too).

And truly, at the rate he's growing? That's apt. We left the hospital with him at 7 lbs, 14 oz. He's now 11 lbs, 8 oz. Ginormous.

When he's up on my shoulder, he has a way of wrapping one of his arms around my arm in a half-hug.

Not terribly clear, but the only pic I have of him doing this.

He's still a thumb sucker on occasion, something I'm encouraging, despite raised eyebrows from others. Hey, he's my fourth kid. I've had a pacifier user, a finger sucker, and a kid for whom NOTHING but me would suffice. I'll go on record saying that the kid who sucked her fingers was by far the easiest in the middle of the night. So, we'll keep hoping for the thumb to become a nice, self-soothing habit.

He sleeps best when he's belly-to-belly with me, holding his head tipped back and his hands under his chin. I'm not complaining. He's nice and warm. And the snuggles! I'm drinking in all of the delicious baby snuggles I can handle.

I usually write my updates to the kid I'm talking about, but this time? That would have gotten dreadfully sentimental... all the same, I will, for a second.

So, Z? You're 100% adorable, completely sweet, and your belly button is totally shaped like a cinnamon roll. Never doubt for a second how loved and cherished you are.

Love,

Mama

Mr. Mischief - Also Known As Sayer

2011-04-06T18:49:00.000-04:00

Where a newborn is delightful in his simplicity and ease, a toddler, full of complications and contradictions, is a source of smiles too.

I say smiles, because really, sometimes? I could yell, cry, and gnash teeth. But it's more fun to laugh, so... that's where I land.

Yesterday, I took Zoen back to my room to change him and decided to rock him for a bit in the relative quiet to see if he'd settle to sleep. The girls came tearing back into my room, "MOM! MOM! Come quick! Sayer is putting water in one of the cups!" I took my time getting up, (because really, how much damage can water do? Yeah, go ahead and laugh at me now), and reached my doorway to intercept the girls racing towards me again. "MOOOOOM! YOU HAVE TO COME RIGHT NOW!" Then I heard Sayer shrieking. I ran into the kitchen, fearing that he accidentally turned on the hot water.

Nope. This is what I found instead, (and yes, I took pictures before I got him down).

I'm still not 100% sure I know how he got up there. I'm just thankful that I had done the dishes that day.

He's a mess. But a cute mess. Just a few minutes ago, he was ~~pestering~~ loving his baby brother when I came over to redirect him. (His love is a little... rough). When he tipped his head back to look at me, I commented on the chocolate on his chin. He grinned, pointed to it and said,

"Lick it!"

The boy knows I like me some chocolate... but um, not that much. (Gooey chocolate drool isn't exactly my taste).

Last night, he was in Shaun's lap, alternately noggin-ing* Shaun and loving on his brother. (He loves his brother a lot, it seems). Suddenly he started bouncing his belly against the baby, sumo-style, and saying, "I GET ZOEN!" and giggling.

Poor Zoen. I suppose it's a good thing he's packing on the pounds already. Padding.

*Noggin-ing - a la Finding Nemo where the turtles run through their "handshake" - "FIN! Noggin! DUDE!" Noggin-ing is basically headbutting someone. Thank you to Shaun for teaching the kids that one.

Personal Space

2011-03-31T09:03:00.000-04:00

Those of you with small children are quietly asking, "Um, personal space? What's that?"

Exactly.

The mind has a funny way of forgetting just how intensely close and touchy a newborn baby is. (And really, if you have to be clung to by any variety of human, isn't the tiniest and most snuggly the best choice?)

Before he was born, my personal space violations often had to do with not being able to pee in peace or having boogers wiped on my shoulder. Not too bad. But now? Things are a bit different. Now, I've got a frequently nursing snuggly little new baby on my person more often than not. Which is manageable, until the rest follow suit.

Because, you see, they LOVE their brother. And that LOVE is trumped by no other, including love of their mom or dad. They want to be where he is. Right where he is. In fact, it seems that the closer they can get, the happier they are.

Which is why I often find myself nursing the baby with a toddler "hugging" him, (or rather, it's laying on him and saying, "awwwwwww." It's like double-decker boys). Meanwhile, Caly parks herself on my shoulders and Lex wiggles her way under one of my arms.

This wouldn't be that bad if they would JUST stay STILL. But instead, I'm a Mom trapped beneath a squirming, squealing, poking, bouncing mass of children.

I know it won't last forever. And there's something special about having all of my little ones snuggled up to me at the same time.

But someone might need to remind me of that while I'm fending off small toes from my poking into my ears and dodging flying limbs to the head. And if that person can arrange for me to pee without tiny "helpers?" Bonus!

Things I'm Learning

2011-03-28T19:31:00.001-04:00

Apparently, it's super fun for my 1 year old to interact with his 2 week old brother.

At least that's what I gathered from the giggles I kept hearing.

Then I rounded the corner and witnessed the cause.

Sayer would bop the sleeping Zoen on the stomach. Zoen would startle and all of his limbs would splay outwards. Sayer would crack up. Zoen would relax and let his eyes close again. And, repeat. Over and over again.

Sayer and I had a bit of a chat about how bonking your younger brother was NOT a good idea, regardless of how funny the reaction was.

Seeing as how I caught him doing it again 30 minutes later, I think I'm going to have to up the bodyguard patrol.

Sheesh.

Hey, Remember Me?

2011-03-23T13:34:00.001-04:00

*Fixed to show the picture :)

Right, so last time you checked here, I was griping and moaning about being like, 11 months pregnant. And now?

I've got the cutie on the outside.

We're currently dealing with our personal episode of the plague, (go figure that their second illness of the season happens to be the week the new baby comes home), but I can at least introduce the little man to you until we're all on the mend.

Zoen Nathanael (rhymes with Owen)
8 lbs. 12 oz.
Born March 14th, 8:20am

He's mellow and darling and decidedly handsome, (according to his mother).

I'm going to steal a picture that I've already posted elsewhere for his intro, just because it's so blissfully cute and well, to be honest, I've done NOTHING in the way of photographing this kid with an actual camera.

(I know, I KNOW. Give me a day or two, I'll get back to it).

So here's a flash to the future with baby Z... lots of these grins to come. (And yes, I know it's blurry... but it's a smile! Who can resist?)

So there he is, our little fourth born munchkin in all his adorable glory. I'll have lots more in the days to come... story of his name, reactions of the kids, (they're a hoot!), and yes, pictures.

For now, checking in.

Conversations With Lex

2011-03-03T18:05:00.000-05:00

Tonight it's just my oldest and me... hanging out while Shaun takes the other two on a double-ish date. It's been a bit of a long day, and well, I'm ginormously pregnant. So, while eating dinner, I remarked to the 5 year old,

"Man, I'm tired."

She grinned, pushed a chair towards me and said, "Would you like to put your feet up?"

Man, the kid knows me well. But I continued,

"Nah, I'm just going to sleep here. I'm going to put my head down and go to sleep. At the table. OK?"

"No, no mama, you can't sleep until Daddy gets home. You need to watch me."

(Leave it to the first born to feel that way. Caly would have been like, "OK!" and as soon as my eyes were closed, she'd have beelined for the chocolate).

I lifted my head and said, "Nah, you're a big girl, right? You can watch yourself."

She gave me a look and flatly said, "Mama. I can't see myself. Not unless I look in the mirror, mostly. So... wake up."

Well. Alrighty then.

(Is she my mini-me, or what!?)

For A VERY Pregnant Woman, This Could Incite a Tantrum

2011-03-02T09:55:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago, Shaun came home from work as usual and went back to change into comfy clothes to be a more effective child wrestler. I heard him start snickering from the bathroom and raised my eyebrows.

I don't know about you, but generally, my bathroom experiences don't involve giggles.

Then he called me in there.

Um, my friends, in case you're not well-versed... being invited into the bathroom by your husband generally is not because he wants you to open the toothpaste. And if he's giggling? It's probably not because he's out of toilet paper, either.

But, I was brave. So I ambled over and tentatively opened the door. Nothing seemed amiss. He was standing by the tub in his jeans and a white t-shirt. Cracking up.

"Notice anything?" He pointed at himself.

Nope. He looked as normal as he does every single day. "Uh, no?"

"Are you sure?"

I stared harder. Then I noticed that his white t-shirt had a tiny pocket. A decidedly feminine pocket.

"Hey... hey! Is that-- IS THAT MY SHIRT!?"

He cracked up. Apparently, my maternity shirts work delightfully well as men's undershirts. He wore it almost all day before he got frustrated that it was a smidge too short and then realized it was mine. Unfortunately for him, he didn't have a more masculine substitute so he finished out the day wearing Liz Lange Maternity.

And weirdly... it looked good on him.

Now, let's not even talk about how it makes the 5 foot tall, 9 month pregnant woman feel when she realizes her 6 foot tall, broad shouldered hubs shared a shirt with her. A shirt that fits her well right now. Let's not mention that at all.

At least when the laundry runs low, he has an adequate substitute. Right? RIGHT!?

*Ahem*

Now, someone pass me some cookies. If I'm going to wear the shirt, I'm going to fill it out, darn it.

Things To Remember

2011-02-25T12:50:00.000-05:00

Today has been a difficult day with the 18 month old. I think it's a wicked combination of my being 2 weeks away from delivering another kid, him being 18 months old and discovering that he can have an opinion, and perhaps his little body fighting off some germ or another. Who knows. What I DO know is that he's sleeping soundly in his bed right now, and for the first time since he was quite little, I'm going to let him nap til he wakes up.

(Yeah, that's a weird thing... I wake him up almost daily from his naps because if he naps too long? Nights are miserable. I missed the memo on that whole "never wake a sleeping baby" thing).

Anyway, as he was sitting across his room from me shouting "NO WAY, NO WAY, NO WAY!" and not wanting anything to do with me, (or the nap I knew he most desperately needed), I started thinking that I better write down all of the cute things he says before the proverbial "Terrible 2's" arrive. Because judging from today's tantrum? I'm going to need some reminding.

So, excuse my sentimentality for a bit while I note my little guy's sweeter moments.

1. I'll often tell him, "I love you [insert random nickname]!" And he started saying, "I wuv you too." My favorite is when I say, "I love you, little man-man!" and he tells me, "I wuv you too, mama mama."

2. He likes to play patty-cake with me lately and has been doing all of the motions. Except that his rolling motion for "rooooooolllll it" is more like he's shaking maracas up and down. Then he throws his arms up and shouts, "B!" Best is when he's standing up while doing it and does his maracas dance while running in place as fast as he can.

3. He's a champion mimic. I realized this today when I heard him lay the verbal smackdown on his sister who was tormenting him with a toy. "Ca-wee! STOP IT!" It was precisely the tone I use when trying to get the kids to leave each other alone.

4. First thing in the morning, as he's usually the first one up, he calls for me from his crib. And every morning, when I go in there, we have this exchange, with very little variation:
M: "Good morning Sunshine!"
S: *Grins and grins* "Hi Mama!"
M: "How are you?"
S: "Good!"
M: "How'd you sleep?"
S: "Good! Hug?"
I scoop him up, he wraps his arms around my neck, puts his head on my shoulder and rubs my back. Then he pops up, smiles and says, "Snack? Watch a movie?" and clambers down and out into the living room where I get him a little snack and we snuggle while watching Curious George and waiting for the girls to come out. It's a delightful little way to start the morning... especially considering that I am NOT a morning person. He charms me into grinning pretty easily.

Just a few things, but things that are particularly close to my heart as these kids fly through the childhood. I might remember snuggles, but I want to remember these specifics too. Because, dude... at the rate this kid is going? He's going to be way taller than me and requesting third or fourth helpings for dinner. (Ok, he does the latter fairly frequently).

Yup, that's my little guy.

A Big Doctor DO and Some Updating

2011-02-23T11:58:00.001-05:00

So, I took the kids to the pediatrician last week for a well visit for the big kid and the little kid. The middle kid just clambered along for the ride. (I toyed with the idea of leaving her home, but there's that whole thing about not wanting the house to burn down in my absence that kind of held me back).

Anyway, this was our second visit to this particular office, first with this doctor. We switched mostly due to location and our first visit went well enough, but I left the office, (again with three kids), completely frazzled. The kids were typical kids and I had trouble getting to have more than 3 words in edgewise over their noise.

This time? Quite different. So, if you're in the pediatric profession, take note. This particular Dr. had the magic.

We were ushered into the exam room quickly and the super sweet nurse took the basic stats from the kids. She helped corral the littlest as I herded the big two into the bathroom. I was kind of overwhelmed, but since that's sort of the status quo with three kids in public, that's not unusual.

Then there was the licking the exam table incident involving the kid who shall not be named. But we won't speak of that. (And thankfully, we've been plague free since... either she has an immune system of steel or they do a good job wiping things down between visits).

Then, the doctor came in. Immediately, he stopped, pulled some gymboree bubbles, (those things are so much better than regular bubbles), out of his pocket and filled the room with tiny bubbles. The kids were entranced. They spent at least 15 minutes gleefully popping bubbles. And you know what I did with those 15 minutes? I talked to the doctor. UNINTERRUPTED.

Genius.

The rest of the visit continued in the awesome vein, but that little trick was far too good not to share. If your doc doesn't do the bubble thing, maybe you could bring your own? (I'd advise checking first). But there's something to be said for being able to share you concerns and questions with the doctor and actually be able to conduct a two-sided, un-distracted conversation.

As for stats, here's what we ended up with for the oldest and youngest, (I was going to say biggest and littlest, but that's no longer true, as you'll see):

S(18 months): 28 lbs. and 14 oz. Yeah, he's a big kid. This is around the 85th percentile. As for his height, I forget what it actually was, (and dang it, can't find the sheets), but he's actually somewhere around the 75th percentile. The doctor figures that he was mis-measured last time. So basketball is again on the table. Maybe. And his head? It's off the charts. But everyone who's seen my melon headed baby boy could have guessed that. Lots of brains.

L(5): She was in the 50th percentile for weight and the 70th(!) for height. The doc said that if she continues along this growth track, she's possible looking at being somewhere around 5 feet, 5 inches. In other words, that's another kid that's going to dwarf her mother.

Both kids met their developmental milestones with no problem and the doctor remarked that he was sort of shocked at how many words S knew and how clearly he spoke. This was a relief as at his 15month appointment, the kid knew a handful of words and rarely used them. Seems he realized that he has to keep up with his sisters somehow. Now I can't get the kid to be quiet. So there are three perpetual chatterboxes in our midst.

Anyway, they're happy, healthy kids and as much as we loved the doctor, we're really hoping we don't see him again until the next well visits.

And now, a completely gratuitous picture of my little (sort of) big-headed munchkin.

Mom Secrets

2011-02-17T20:59:00.000-05:00

So, my friend Amy at Flexible Dreams and another awesome blogger, Bella from Bella Before and After, are starting a movement to bring those little secrets of motherhood out from under the rug, (or from in the non-working microwave, or from that room in your house where you cram everything you can't find a place for).

So, in honor of the Real Moms, Real Laughs party, here's my list:

1. I told my child today that if she asked me again for a band aid, I was going to find and eat the entire box. And leave none for her. Or the tiny cut on her foot.

2. I managed to keep my children from doing anything ridiculously germy at the doc's office yesterday. That is, until I caught my second born licking the exam table from one end to the other. Goodbye health, hello plagues.

3. I don't shower every day. Granted, my skin gets totally dry and gross if I do, but I have found on more than one occasion that I couldn't remember when my last shower actually was. On one occasion, my oldest told me that I was a bit... smelly. I try to go for every other day. I try. In the winter, my kids bathe less than I do. Sorry if you meet us in person. We're the smelly kids.

4. I have mastered the art of sleeping with children climbing all over me. I am not ashamed of this. In fact, I'm quite proud of the fact that I can completely keep tabs on all of my kids and catch a nap at the same time.

There you have it. My first list. I say first, because I'm positive there are others. But I need to go shower and prepare for the onslaught of germs that are going to befall our house due to wayward toddler licks.

Ew.

"I'm Awake!" Has Two Meanings in This House

2011-02-16T13:50:00.000-05:00

I married a great guy. He's a wonderful husband. He's a hilarious and awesome dad to our kidlets. And he's darn good lookin'.

But trying to wake the man up in the middle of the night is like trying to lick your own elbow.

A few nights ago, Sayer(18months), woke up around midnight screaming at the top of his little lungs. Accordingly, I woke up gasping. One glance over to Shaun confirmed my guess: He was still sound asleep. After a second of trying not to keel over from the epic heartburn, I decided to tap Shaun to see if he'd go get the little man back to sleep.

*tap, tap*

Nothing.

Slightly harder, *TAP, TAP* "Shaun!" I hissed.

"What?! What!? He leaned up on his elbows and stared at me in the dark. One of those really creepy unblinking stares.

"Shaun, can you go see what's up with Sayer?"

He kept staring.

"Shaun, go check on Sayer!"

He squinted at me and then said, "Why?"

I paused to listen to Sayer for a second. He was still yelling.

"Um, do you not HEAR him!?"

Shaun grunted and hoisted himself out of bed. I heard shuffling around but Sayer kept hollering. At this point, he'd shifted to, "NO! NO!" because the kid has gained opinions and apparently? Shaun wasn't doing what Sayer was demanding.

Then, quiet. Shaun came back in and fell into bed. Sweet! Mission accomplished.

Until 1 am. Then, little man turned the pipes on again. Still feeling gross and having just gotten back to sleep, I poked Shaun again.

"What?"

"Go deal with Sayer."

Silence.

"Shaun." *Poke, poke* "Shaun!"

He sat halfway up, gasped in shock, and said, "WHAT?!"

"Go deal with Sayer!"

"Ok." And then, he put his head back on the pillow and picked up his cell phone and began scrolling through his facebook stream.

"SHAUN!" I snapped.

"Why are you YELLING at me?!" He sat up and looked totally confused. I pointed at the monitor and he finally got out of bed and tended to sleep-opposed Sayer.

He's not being a punk. And he's genuinely helpful. But how that man sleeps through the siren like wail of his kid, I'll never know. It's a darn good thing they keep me around.

Best part? When asked in the morning, he has a vague recollection of Sayer waking a couple of times, but that's about it. I'm thinking about pawning off all night wakings on him. After all, if he doesn't remember, he doesn't know how tired he's supposed to be. Right?

Dear Children

2011-02-10T11:02:00.000-05:00

My Dear, Sweet, Rambunctious Children,

I am writing this note to inform you of the proper roles of certain adult members of this household. If you could kindly adhere to these guidelines, a harmony so great will descend upon our household that angels will sing.

Henceforth, these are roles to be fulfilled by the man of the house, also known as DADDY:

1. Jungle Gym
2. Climbing Wall
3. Trampoline
4. Pitcher/Catcher
5. Boogie Man Getter
6. Bug Killer/Remover
7. Retriever of Things on High Shelves
8. Landing Pad

In accordance, these are the roles to be fulfilled by the crazy lady in residence, also known as MOMMY:

1. Lost Things Finder
2. Boogie Getter (Note, this is distinctly different than the above #5)
3. Vegetable Pusher
4. Midnight Snuggler
5. Hair Styler
6. Laundry Doer
7. Tear Wiper
8. Matching Outfit Clothier

Please refer to this list in times of doubt... or when you think seat dropping your 26 pound frame on your Mama's pregnant belly is a good idea. (For reference, it's not. See DADDY LIST #8). Or for when you lose your shoes and are trying to get Daddy to help find them, (See MOMMY LIST #1).

All things unlisted are to be equally carried out by both the MOMMY and DADDY, (See 1. Hugs, 2. Kisses, 3. Snuggles, 4. Diaper Changes)

With love,

S Household Management.

OP

2011-02-09T10:29:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite books chronicles the (mis)adventures of the U.S. Ski team through a few years during the 90's. AJ Kitt, one of the better skiers, (arguably the best of the bunch), was a bit of a rogue to the traditional ways of doing things. Everybody was going to run a few miles and lift weights? He'd use the elliptical and do some push-ups.

His team took to calling him O.P. This stood for Own Program. But he got the desired results, so no one fussed too much.

Now, I have three kids, almost four. My first is a compliant, easy-going kid who, while she's a typical kid and balks at the conventional when it doesn't suit her, generally does what she's told.

Then there's my second born. You're all familiar with Miss Caly (2) and her tendency to be... um... high spirited? Yeah.

I sometimes find myself looking at her as she's in the throes of some antic or another and saying, "What. The. HECK."

She's something else.

A few weeks ago, we went to dinner where we ordered a family special. I figured there was something there to appease everyone... a pizza, breadsticks, a salad and some lasagna. Caly had recently been making her intense dislike of "Sauce NOODLES" known but I figured she'd eat some salad and bread or pizza crust.

Of course, (OF COURSE), when the meal arrived, she got her plate, looked at it, and said, "But... but Mama, I don't LIKE sauce noodles." I told her to eat the other stuff on her plate. And true to her nature, she ate nothing. But to her credit, she sat somewhat quietly. After awhile, I tried to encourage her to eat again, but she was having none of it. So she got Shaun's attention. "Daddy? Daddy? DADDY!? I don't like sauce noodles!" He was trying to have another conversation* and took her lasagna noodle and absentmindedly wiped the sauce off with his fork. He handed it over to Caly who speared it with her fork, looked at it skeptically, and said,

"There is still sauce on my noodle." And then she put it down. Shaun tossed her a napkin and told her to wipe it off. She did for a minute before getting completely frustrated. "MAMA! DAAAADDY! 'SCUZE ME! DADDY!! I can't get the sauce off of my noodle!"

Shaun was finally exasperated enough to say, "Caly, I don't care what you do with the noodle. If you don't want it, fine. If you want to eat it, I don't know.... why don't you lick the sauce off?" And with that, he started to turn back around.

What did Caly do? Take a wild guess.

She sat there for a full five minutes and licked every tiny speck of sauce off of that noodle. When she was done, she gleefully lifted her forked noodle in the air for all to see before declaring,

"NOW my noodle doesn't have anymore sauce!"

And then she ate every bite.

Own. Program.

*(we're working on the interrupting factor. She's 2. We have three kids. We'll get there one day).

You Know She's My Daughter...

2011-02-02T21:05:00.000-05:00

Those of you who've known me for a long time will especially appreciate this one. Last Sunday, Caly joined the big kids in their class at church, (namely because the child is as stubborn as six hundred mules and charming as a thousand snuggly bunnies and managed to talk her way in to Miss Clare's class). But by all accounts, she behaved, so no big deal there.

They played charades after a bit and she adapted the rules to suit herself. When it came time for her to act her animal out, she started mooing. So Clare guessed, "You're a cow!"

Caly grinned, leaned over with her mouth open and said, "I'm a man eating cow!" and proceeded to gnaw on Clare's arm.

Yes, yes... that's my kid.

A Ball of Wild, a Pile of Mischief

2011-01-31T12:26:00.000-05:00

I blogged a week or two ago about how my formerly do-no-wrong toddler son had jumped ship from sweet and innocent to wild and crazy. Now? He's added mischief to the mix. With a dash of humor for good measure.

It started a few days ago when I was making dinner. The kids were playing in the other room, generally doing a decent job mediating squabbles and as usual, making a grand mess. I stopped mid-stir when I heard this weird clattering sound coming from the living room. The sound was accompanied from the (decidedly delightful) eruption of my son's giggles.

So.... weird sound + laughter = well, I'm a quasi-experienced parent... and I'm fairly good at deductive reasoning so I'll clue you in just in case you're not following yet. It equals trouble. It's one step from hearing a loud bang followed by silence or generally, any long stretch of silence at all that does not involve sleeping children. (Funny how the absence of sound can be more telling than a pile of noise).

Anyway, I put the spoon down and peeked around the corner into the living room. My son was standing on the art table, sans pants. His arms were in the air and he was CRACKING up. Moments later, I discovered what the weird noise was AND what was tickling his funny bone.

He was reaching in the color box with both hands, pulling out handfuls of crayons, and throwing them straight up into the air with wild abandon.

Oy.

I stood there in a sort of dumbfounded awe for a few seconds which was exactly enough time for Caly to shoot a sidelong glance around the room, and, seeing no one, to climb onto the table and gleefully join Sayer in the chaos.

Apparently, there's a new ringleader in town. He's cute, he's pants-less, and he's ready to rumble. I'm so not ready for this.

(And for the record, I am STILL finding crayons in weird places).

Five Years and Some Change

2011-01-29T21:38:00.000-05:00

My oldest turned FIVE on Thursday. FIVE, people. Which means that not only is my kid halfway to double digits, but that I've been doing this mothering thing for five years. And I've blogged 'em all. Dang!

My delightful first born is less likely to be the subject of my blog posts as she ages, most notably because she's actually developed a decent brain to mouth filter and doesn't say things like, "MY MOMMY MADE A GIANT POOP!" to ladies in the grocery store at this point.

Thank goodness.

So, I hopped back to read through blog posts from the beginning. Here's the first where we introduced her to my humble little following.

They start out so, so small, don't they?

Her cheeks grew faster than the rest of her:

She grew to explore local gangs and got her first cold:

She turned one...

She started walking... and running

She became quite the little mommy, explored alternative bath places, developed a preference for a football team, and then she turned two...

She had questionable conversations on the phone with boys, she became a great big sister, almost had a throwdown with mommy, and developed quite a fashion sense

She learned to be thankful for EVERYTHING, refined her Beanisms, and turned three:

Then, she tortured my sleep and developed a penchant for dress-up

This was followed by her becoming an expert at procrastination, further refined her Beanisms, and became cousin to Joe Cool,

And faster than I was ready, she turned four...

Four brought an attempt at a foreign language, her looking WAY too old in my wedding veil,

A passion for dance, and nature,

And a host of other things that have me looking at her sometimes and wondering who took my baby and left this tiny girl with the huge personality.

And now? Now she's five.

A pretty little, big-hearted, smart as a whip, silly, passionate and compassionate, lover of animals, friend of anyone, thoughtful, laid-back, easy-to-please, decidedly more little girl than baby, delightful burst of five.

Happy birthday, sweet girl. You made me a mama.

Skype-tacular!

2011-01-25T21:37:00.000-05:00

I admit it, I'm kind of behind the times on the whole Skype technology thing. Which is sort of embarrassing. I like technology. I'm interested in new technology. I like gadgets. Right, so anyway, with Shaun traveling randomly, or even working weird hours, we decided to start using Skype as a good way for the kids to get some face time with Daddy before bed. The other night, we had our first test.

The kids, as expected, were completely awestruck. Our biggest problem was their fight to be the person in front. You know that game you played as a kid where you alternate your hands in a stack and take turns pulling your hand out of the bottom and smacking it on top of the pile? Yeah, it was like that. With heads.

But I gradually convinced them that they all could, in fact, fit on the screen view if they would just back the heck up and sit nicely. They backed up. They were still climbing over each other like spider monkeys. They'll get to the sitting nicely thing. When they're in their 30s.

So, they had their fun chatting with Daddy and we said goodnight and closed my laptop.

Sayer promptly flipped right on out. "DAAAAAAAADDDDDDDYYYY! DAAAAAAADDDDYYY!" The boy was royally peeved that his beloved Daddy dared disappear before he was ready.

So, I did what any sane mother would do before bedtime. I opened the laptop again and called Shaun back. He was surprised to hear from me. Sayer practically fell over with delight when Shaun came back on the screen, "DADDY!! HI DADDY!" So Shaun made small talk for a minute, said goodnight and then he quickly brought his hand up to the camera so the screen went dark. Sayer said, "Daddy?" Caly was silent and Lexi... well, you can't fool Lexi. After a beat, she shouted,

"Daddddddy! Move your big old hand! We can't see you!"

Shaun started laughing, which made Sayer yell for him again, and so we had to start over. But eventually, goodnights were said, we let Sayer shut the lid, (because letting him have a modicum of control works major miracles), and I hustled three giddy kids off to dreamland.

Ah, technology. Not sure what I'm going to do when Sayer tries to dive through the screen, but for now? Works just fine.

And Now For Something Gloriously Self-Indulgent: Stream of Conscious Monday

2011-01-24T14:34:00.000-05:00

So. It's been awhile. I'm chalking it up to this weird plague I'm fighting. I'm not exactly sick, in the lay-in-your-bed-and-moan-for-a-day-or-two sense, but I have this stupid hacking cough and feel like I could sleep for about 27 hours a day. Other than that? Peachy keen. Or something.

The kids have been remarkably well up til this point, too. Shaun and Lexi(4), haven't gotten sick at all. Caly(2), had a runny nose, got better, and then got a runny nose again. But aside from last night, she's as perky as usual. Sayer(1) got a runny nose and also acquired the same cough I have, but isn't remotely bothered and has more energy than the rest of us combined.

I seem to be the only one who feels moderately flattened. As such, my waking hours sans children have been generally spent in a half-asleep stupor or bundled under the covers.

It's cold here. 7 degrees when I woke this morning. I've completely commandeered Shaun's new fuzzy blanket. I have no remorse. It's fuzzy. It's big. It's warm. And I'm pregnant and sort of sick. Dibs.

Caly took over the bed last night and got a nosebleed on my flannel sheets. She's lucky I have a spare pair. Not that she can help the nose bleeds, but I NEED MY FLANNEL SHEETS.

I use them year round. I'm weird. I don't care.

We have entered the season of preschool birthday parties. I'm not sure what wasn't happening in the world in the spring of 2005, but we sure know a lot of new 5 year olds with birthdays in the next few weeks. What was that word in Bambi? Twitterpated? Uh huh.

I'm still trying to figure out what the epic preschool birthday present would be. I suppose it'd differ from kid to kid, but there's always those things that all kids just love. Anyone have input? I like giving fun presents.

Speaking of birthdays, my first baby is going to be FIVE on Thursday. FIVE! Eegads. I remember things about being five. I guess this means I have to start operating on the "she's going to remember this in therapy" side of parenting.

She's the only kid in this house with a birthday before the baby comes. That means that for a short time, I'll have a five year old, a two year old, a one year old, and a newborn. I'm going to throw a poopy diaper at the first person to make a smart alec remark to me about how my hands are full.

I'm ridiculously excited about this new little man. Oh! And we're very, very close to finalizing his name. (I don't suppose we'll be 100% until he's born, but we're close). The current choice is unusual like Sayer and was chosen for meaning. We'll see. Take a guess if you wish :)

Remarkably, Shaun and I have been able to keep our house at a level above chaos. That's an accomplishment. Of course, considering that we've reached this milestone, we'll have the baby and possibly descend back into the world of laundry piles and dishes in the sink. Then, in 2 years, we might have our act together again.

(But that does NOT mean another baby. At least that's what Shaun says. OK, I'm thinking that too).

Lex wants these for her birthday breakfast.

She's gotta twist my arm.

And now that I've dumped my brain onto the screen, I'm going to close my eyes for a few minutes. That'll pretty much ensure Sayer wakes promptly from his nap. Exactly as I planned.

When Did My Ball of Snuggles Turn into a Ball of Wild?

2011-01-17T14:04:00.000-05:00

Sayer's almost 18 months old. Which, in and of itself, is a bit hard for me to grasp. I don't know whether it was his personality or the fact he was a boy or even that he was the third child... but he has always, always been the kid to fully embrace being the baby.

But now? Now he's a TODDLER. And being a TODDLER does not warrant being treated like a BABY.

The high chair has been utterly scorned in favor of the elevated kid chair. (Which works out fine so long as his peanut butter and jelly painted face doesn't decide to go on a rogue mission in the midst of lunch). The sippy cup is eschewed any time he catches sight of an open cup without a lid. (This does NOT go over well as he's still mastering the cup arts and tends to dump the contents all over his shirt and lap). Don't even think about carrying him when the opportunity arises for him to possibly walk. Never mind that he likes to walk in the opposite direction of his sister. In parking lots. Where people DRIVE LARGE METAL CARS.

Yeah. He turned 1.5, (well, almost), and suddenly he acquired some seriously strong opinions.

But I can handle all of that. It happened in varying degrees to the girls. It'll happen to his little brother.

But here's where I'm polishing off my crash helmet and asking, "what the HECK?!"

He's changed into the Jekyll and Hyde of snuggles/attacks. He'll climb up into my lap and ask, "Hug?" (Yeah, try denying that). So we'll hug and he'll be resting his head on my shoulder when all of the sudden, he moves his head slightly, opens his mouth, and BITES me. Of course, I screech, pry him off of my shoulder, and push his head away from my body while saying, "NO BITING! NO!"

And he giggles, says, "BITE!" and dives in again. So I fend him off with my hands. When he realizes he can't bite me, he settles for repeatedly head-butting me instead. While laughing his pumpkin head off. Eventually, I peel him off of my lap, stand up, and walk away. Non-plussed, he'll go to play.

And then he comes back. "Hug? Kiss?" And we'll snuggle for a minute until he gets that gleam in his eye... "biiiiiiiite.... BITE!" And comes headlong at my skin for a nibble.

Wash. Rinse. Repeat. Sometimes we pass up the bites for head-butts. If I'm on the ground in any fashion, he passes up both for full layout tackles. "TACKLE!" (Which he tends to confuse with "tickle" so he's often covering both bases by tackling and then tickling).

If I'm reading something / using a computer or a phone / trying to eat a snack, he's generally climbing on my head or shoulders.

Granted, the kid definitely still likes his snuggles. But being that I can't ever tell when he's going to get all feisty, I can't relax... He's like a little ninja. A ninja with big dimples and a totally disarming smile. I'm never going to win.

(Hmmm, wonder where he gets that look from... and the mischievous streak? Yeah, thought so).

(And yes, we're obviously working on teaching him not to bite, etc.)

The "Lovey" Conundrum

2011-01-12T20:58:00.000-05:00

I'm a big believer in the "lovey"... You know, the random object that your kid latches onto and then can't be without during sleeping hours, (and some awake hours!) for most of their early childhood years? Yeah, that.

(Though when I put it that way...)

Anyway, I love that my kids love me, but I've always wanted them to have an object of comfort that they could cuddle also. Lex, now almost 5, has had the same little blanket since she was born... Remarkably, we've never lost it for more than a few hours, (which is good since they stopped making it by the time she latched onto it... and have you SEEN the price for those out of circulation blanket things on Ebay?! Craziness! But I'd have paid). She's since added a second, similar blanket and sleeps with them both. Normal, you know?

So, seeing the success of Lex and her "night-night," we decided to introduce one for Caly when she was a baby. This time, knowing how random the attachments could be, we guided the process a bit. We chose one of these cute blankets and added another just in case. In the course of her life, we've purchased 4, lost 3, and found 2... so the kid now has FIVE of these blankets. And insists on using ALL of them every night. (And they're all different animals). Bedtime is easy, so long as Monkey, Giraffe, Bear, Duck and Bunny are in bed with her. Slightly weird, but again, not bad.

Now, Sayer. Oh man. I TRIED to get that kid to take a lovey. I gave him his choice like we did with Lex... I held soft blankets while nursing like I did with Caly... But apparently, *I* was his lovey. And he was quite content with that. Considering that I most often nursed him to sleep, that worked out fine for the most part. But then when he weaned, things got a little strange. He was old enough to ask for things or to run and get them, and would frequently climb into my lap to be rocked with weird objects. Balls... plastic figurines... nasal aspirators, (yes, that happened... for like a week, he wanted to fall asleep with one in each hand).

Weird.

As he got older, he got way more vocal about what he wanted. For a time, he had this strange looking baby doll, ("BABY!") that he demanded. Then he moved onto stuffed animals. Occasionally, he'd want to snuggle with a book. Or a sippy cup. Sometimes it'd be an article of clothing, like a sock. It was generally whatever happened to be in his hands before bedtime. But it was always something.

But yesterday, things got a little hairy. He had somehow procured the sound pad from one of those Play-A-Sound books... an Elmo one. And every single time Shaun tried to get it away from him, he screamed like someone was pinching him. So Shaun shrugged his shoulders and picked Sayer up to rock him, the sound pad clutched in one chubby toddler fist and a sippy cup of water in the other.

Now, not a big deal, you'd think. But it's amazing how utterly obnoxious Elmo can be when he's cackling in YOUR SLEEPING CHILD'S EAR and causing him to WAKE UP. Yeah. So we had a predicament. Take it away, and pretty much guarantee a big wake up and a screaming fit or take the chance that he would sleep through any rogue Elmo mutterings and slip it out of his hands when he lay soundly asleep.

We opted for the latter, but not without penalty... Elmo and his ~~evil~~ energetic chatter roused the toddler twice but he was quickly settled. Before we went to bed, I snuck in and slipped the offending sound pad from under his arm.

Now... now I'm sure to steer him towards softer and quieter items before bedtime... and though I'm still hoping for a conventional lovey... I'm not holding my breath.

Snippets from the 'Ville

2011-01-10T09:55:00.000-05:00

Lex (4) woke up yesterday, tiptoed into the living room where Shaun was hanging with Sayer (1) and exclaimed,

"Daddy! Last night I actually slept! I mean, normally, I just close my eyes and pretend to sleep, but last night, I actually slept! I don't know what happened!"

Hmm, maybe the Monday crankies are due to all of that pretend sleeping she does.

__________________________________________________

Caly (2) has been fighting off a little cold that's making her nose run. No other real symptoms, but the snot bugs her. Generally, she asks for a tissue and wipes her nose herself. Before bed the other night, I went to pick her up to take her to bed and she wrapped her arms around my legs and gave me a hug. I smiled at how sweet it was. Then she let go, looked seriously at my stomach and said,

"Mama, I put boogers on your baby."

Then she walked away.

___________________________________________________

Sayer (1) has learned a new word. Well, he's known the word for awhile, but he uses it with a vengeance lately. I'm becoming impressed with the versatility of his uses

"No!" "NO." NOOOOOOO." "No?" "Nononononono!"

But my favorite, (yes, there is a favorite way to use the word), is when I ask him where my kisses are. Instead of leaning towards me with a smooch, he tucks his chin inward, turns his head away, and with a smirk on his face, he says, "Noooooooooo..." I pretend to be sad and he plants one right on my cheek. Then he asks to do it again.

Cuteness.

_____________________________________________________

"Mommy. Mommy. MOOOMMMMY!" I vaguely registered Caly's whisper near my ear. Bleary eyed, I peered at her in the darkness and wondered what dark hour of the night she had wiggled her way in between us. "MOMMY! Are you s'eeping?"

I gave her a raised eyebrow and said, "Well, I WAS. What's the matter?" She wiggled closer to me, got her blanket and closed her eyes. "Caly, what's the matter?"

"Mama. I am S'EEPING!" And then she refused to say another word.

I am SO paying her back when she's a teenager.

New Year's Resolutions

2011-01-03T11:27:00.000-05:00

Everyone's doing it... who am I to run away from the bandwagon?

So here's my resolutions, in true Looneyville style:

1. I will say yes more often. My kids are kids. They ask for things. They ask to do things. They ask to eat things. Sometimes I say yes but many times I say no. I'm going to say yes more. But I still reserve my right to say no when they're asking to paint their room with chocolate sauce. Lex, if you're reading this? NO. It's still not going to happen.

2. I will get rid of stuff. My kids have more toys than a dang toy store. I have a fairly good system of rotation which gives them "new" things to play with every couple of months, but then there are those things that they hold up with two fingers and an upturned nose and say, "Momma? What IS this?!" I don't know. But I do know it can go away. Far away. I could probably stand to lose a few pairs of shoes and about 16 thousand pounds of paper.

3. We will go outside more often. Because fresh air is quite good for little bodies. And when they're outside, they're not destroying the inside of my house. Preservation: it's what's cool for the new year.

4. I will help the girls do more crafts. They love crafts. I mostly hate them, (at least for the preschool set). But we'll do more. And then? I'll have them gift the completed projects to relatives. You can thank me now. Or later. You're welcome. (And I won't be drowning in 17 macaroni sculptures, countless finger-paintings, piles of coloring pages and various cotton ball creations. Self, you're welcome too).

I'm sure I'll think of more. But I think with the new baby boy coming in March, it's smart to leave off things like, "I will get out of my PJ's at least 3 days a week" and "I won't pretend not to notice when the kids are emptying the kitchen cabinets." I'll stick with these for now.

Happy New Year, friends! What's your resolution?

I'd resolve for more snow and icicles, but I'm afraid that's beyond my control, sadly. Sorry teacher (and student!) friends!

Surrender

2010-12-29T10:27:00.000-05:00

I think when you're handed your kid for the first time, you inadvertently sign a contract that waives your rights to certain privileges for all occasions in the foreseeable future.

1. Personal Space - From the beginning, small children thrive when invading your personal space. Your baby wants to be held? He or she has NO qualms squealing until you pick them up and snuggle them. This is why babies are cute. So we don't mind the invasion so much. Then they get bigger and gain this weird need to try to climb back into your body. Or at least that's what you assume they're doing as they jockey for space on your head.

2. Your Right to be Alone in the Bathroom - You will rarely, if ever, go to the bathroom without a little person "keeping you compa-dee" or at the very least, pounding on the door and little fingers sticking things under the cracks. Efforts to instill a barrier with the lock will result in at least one of your children becoming a stellar locksmith.

3. Regular Showers - Remember the days when you showered every morning or every evening? Remember when you didn't feel the need to lean your face down for a covert sniff to see if you're passable for public interaction? Yeah, me neither. Also, if you manage to get a shower, don't expect to complete it without a little face snatching back the curtain, peering in, and saying, "Mama? Whatcho doing?"

4. Eating Your Whole Plate of Food, By YOURSELF - You can serve the exact same dinner on two plates, giving one to your child and keeping one for yourself and every single time, you'll find your child eying your plate up and saying, "Mommy? I want a bite of YOUR food!" It's even worse when you try to eat something different than what they have. Never mind that they have formerly professed their undying hatred of broccoli. If it's on your plate, it's suddenly as appetizing as a candy bar. But obviously, forget using this to get your kids to eat vegetables. They'll see through your plan in a hot second.

5. White Clothing Items/Dressy Clothes- I think this is a no-brainer. You can only fend off sticky fingers for so long. And if you manage to get dressed to go out, you'll lean down to give your kid a hug and they'll do one of the following: a) Throw-up on you. b) Wipe boogers on you. c) Have a marker in hand when they hug you. Etc.

"But I wanna HUG, Mama!"

It's a darn good thing they're so cute.

12 Days of Christmas - Parent Style

2010-12-23T10:32:00.002-05:00

I'm sure this has been done many times over, but it was too fun to think up, so I'm continuing the trend... And hereeeeee weeeee gooooooo! Sing along!

On the first day of Christmas, my children gave to me... a lego embedded in my knee...

On the second day of Christmas, my children gave to me... 2 naked kidlets and a lego embedded in my knee...

On the third day of Christmas, my children gave to me... 3 slobbery kisses, 2 naked kidlets and a lego embedded in my knee...

On the fourth day of Christmas, my children gave to me... 4 missing cookies, 3 slobbery kisses, 2 naked kidlets and a lego embedded in my knee...

On the fifth day of Christmas, my children gave to me... 5! Mismatched Socks! (Ba Dum Dum Dum) 4 missing cookies, 3 slobbery kisses, 2 naked kidlets and a lego embedded in my knee...

On the sixth day of Christmas, my children gave to me... 6 temper tantrums, 5! Mismatched Socks! (Ba Dum Dum Dum) 4 missing cookies, 3 slobbery kisses, 2 naked kidlets and a lego embedded in my knee...

On the seventh day of Christmas, my children gave to me... 7 brand new wall marks, 6 temper tantrums, 5! Mismatched Socks! (Ba Dum Dum Dum) 4 missing cookies, 3 slobbery kisses, 2 naked kidlets and a lego embedded in my knee...

On the eighth day of Christmas, my children gave to me... 8 scorned veggies, 7 brand new wall marks, 6 temper tantrums, 5! Mismatched Socks! (Ba Dum Dum Dum) 4 missing cookies, 3 slobbery kisses, 2 naked kidlets and a lego embedded in my knee...

On the ninth day of Christmas, my children gave to me... 9 calls for "DORA!" 8 scorned veggies, 7 brand new wall marks, 6 temper tantrums, 5! Mismatched Socks! (Ba Dum Dum Dum) 4 missing cookies, 3 slobbery kisses, 2 naked kidlets and a lego embedded in my knee...

On the tenth day of Christmas, my children gave to me... 10 snow day layers, 9 calls for "DORA!" 8 scorned veggies, 7 brand new wall marks, 6 temper tantrums, 5! Mismatched Socks! (Ba Dum Dum Dum) 4 missing cookies, 3 slobbery kisses, 2 naked kidlets and a lego embedded in my knee...

On the 11th day of Christmas, my children gave to me... 11 rolling giggles, 10 snow day layers, 9 calls for "DORA!" 8 scorned veggies, 7 brand new wall marks, 6 temper tantrums, 5! Mismatched Socks! (Ba Dum Dum Dum) 4 missing cookies, 3 slobbery kisses, 2 naked kidlets and a lego embedded in my knee...

On the 12th day of Christmas, my children gave to me... 12 funny stories, 11 rolling giggles, 10 snow day layers, 9 calls for "DORA!" 8 scorned veggies, 7 brand new wall marks, 6 temper tantrums, 5! Mismatched Socks! (Ba Dum Dum Dum) 4 missing cookies, 3 slobbery kisses, 2 naked kidlets and a... lego embedded in my kneeeeeeee...

Merry, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!

(This year's money shot. Way worth it :)

That Dreaded Day

2010-12-20T21:45:00.001-05:00

It came. The day I was dreading.

The day that the two year old started to drop her naps.

To be fair, she still naps most days, but oy, she makes a big, fat, hairy deal about it. Or she makes a big, fat, hairy deal about bedtime later. So I'm left treading the precarious balance between getting her to take a nap, but not a long nap, and then, making sure that she runs enough energy off to snuggle down easily for bedtime later.

It doesn't help that she is FULLY her mother's daughter in the lack of sleep = complete crankiness department. So skipping naps, while easier in the short term, is most certainly not easy at 6pm. (Her sister has my genes in the lack of food = complete crankiness department... what can I say? I like to sleep. And eat).

Sometime around 4 am, she's also been having bad dreams. So she sounds hysterical, one of us runs to get her, and generally, she snuggles in between us and crashes again. (I really don't mind... she's VERY warm and VERY still, unlike her spider monkey sister who ends up with her toes in my ears on the rare occasions she ends up in our room).

So yes, the child is a sleeping mystery lately.

Two nights ago, I was trying rather unsuccessfully to convince her that she was NOT coming into my bed at bedtime like she demanded to do and that she was going to lie down under her blankets, snuggle her night-nights, and go. to. sleep.

She wasn't buying it. There was much weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Shaun and I alternated to see what we could do to get the kid to calm down, (and conversely, quiet down enough to let her sister fall asleep), and finally I started asking questions. The first one I asked proved to start a rather interesting conversation,

"Caly, honey... what's the matter?"

"I had a bad dream, Mama... a bad dream!" Nevermind that she hadn't actually fallen asleep yet... I was on to her but I figured I'd let her finish...

"Alright kiddo... well, tell me about it. What was the dream about?"

She sniffled, looked up, and flatly said, "You."

Um, excuse me?! I know I can get scary when I don't have my dinner, but geez, I'm not THAT scary!

"Um, Caly? Me?"

"Yup."

WHAT THE HECK DO I SAY TO THAT, PEOPLE!?

I chose complete avoidance.

"Oooook. So, um, let's talk about some good things to dream about... What do you think?"

She thought for a second, and then... "I think... I think that I could maybe dream about... froggies. And you, and Daddy and Lexi and Sayer."

So there you have it... I can be scary enough for a fake bad dream... but I come in as a very close second behind froggies as the top good dream, too. I'll take it. I think.

(And it's worth noting? Right after that, she rolled over and went to sleep without a peep).

Quite a Sniffer

2010-12-14T09:57:00.000-05:00

My 2 year old daughter has a remarkable sense of smell. There are days when she's the first to notice her brother's um... odor, "Moooooooooooommmy! I smell poopy! Sayer has a stinky bottom!" And alas, she's right, every time.

I chalked it up to her head being closer to the source of said smell.

Then she started commenting on other smells. While she played with her sister in their room, I heated up the oven and made a quick pizza. Ten minutes into baking, she wandered in, "Mommy? I smell pizza." I assumed she had seen my prep or heard me talking about it.

But she kept it up, often at times that I was 100% certain she couldn't have known about the source ahead of time... like this morning, when I hid in the kitchen and stuffed a chocolate cookie in my mouth. I finished, washed it down with some milk and rejoined the kids in the living room. Caly walked by my seat on the sofa, paused, turned back, sniffed and said, "Mommy. I smell chocolate. Where's my chocolate? Can I have some chocolate?"

She's like a bloodhound. Who calls me out when I sneak off for a treat.

But then there are times when she gets kind of bizzare... two days ago we were in the car, quietly listening to Christmas music when she pipes up from the back, "Moooooomy... I smell... I smell... I smell elephants."

Even a bloodhound misses the trail sometimes.

But I'm still totally going to hide a bottle of mouthwash next to my cookie stash.

TweetThanks! And The TweetThanks Challenge

2010-12-13T13:39:00.000-05:00

A simple tweet suggesting people join me in starting the day with thanks has snowballed into something worth being thankful for. One by one, my friends started posting things ranging from the mundane to the magnificent. The tone of my twitter stream started to change... complaints decreased and people were taking time to count their blessings.

This caught the eye of a friend who took the idea and ran with it. http://www.tweetthanks.com/ was born. Now, TweetThanks is no longer a random collection of thankful thoughts, it's the beginning of a movement.

If you go to the site, you can post your own thankful thought, regardless of whether you're generally on twitter, facebook, neither... whatever. Because really... starting the day with a thankful thought, or even just focusing on the good things in your day, makes a difference in the day as a whole. And if you're feeling uninspired, I totally invite you to stop by and read the thoughts of others. It'll brighten your day, I promise.

And now? We're starting another initiative. Instead of simply collecting thanks we are trying to give others something to be thankful for. Here's the deal:

For the next 7 days, TweetThanks, through the generosity of a donor, will give $.50 to http://www.feedamerica.com/ for every person who either:

1. Newly follows @TweetThanks on twitter and posts a #tweetthanks or @tweetthanks tweet.
or
2. Joins the http://www.tweetthanks.com/ and creates a post with a sentence of thanks.

(Maximum total donation for this portion: $250). Best part? This doesn't cost you a dime, just a moment or two of your time, (and a thankful thought of course).

And, if you're feeling particularly giving, consider making your own donation to http://www.feedamerica.com/. Every donation will be matched by TweetThanks through a donor. Please forward your donation confirmation email to t@tweetthanks.com so we can keep track of donation totals for matching purposes. (Maximum total donation match for this portion: $250).

So conceiveably, the people of TweetThanks could donate a total of $750 to http://www.feedamerica.com/. How cool is that? Almost as cool as this: Every donation made to Feed America is currently being matched through a grant. So our $750 could become $1500. According to their site, $25 feeds a family for a week. $1500 could feed that family for over a year. That's pretty awesome.

Kindly post a comment on this blog letting me know which you did so we can tally up at the end of the 7 days.

So here we go, people... let's take our gratitude and use it to help others. Spread the word!

Giveaway Winners!

2010-12-13T13:30:00.000-05:00

The winner for the Yoplait Smoothies and blender is Grace! Yay Grace!

The winner for the FiberOne Bars is Emilie! Woot Emilie!

Just a reminder, please leave a way to contact you when you comment. Due to the time sensitive nature of these giveaways, I can't post a winner's name and hope they'll contact me at some point. Next giveaway, I'll post a reminder!

Mornings By the Numbers

2010-12-10T10:48:00.001-05:00

Right now, only two out of my three kids are dressed for the day. One is in bright pink footie PJ's and considering that I'm not dressed in real clothes either, I'm counting it a win that no one is naked.

The two littlest kids are putting a puzzle together. Together. Zero kids are fighting. That's worth noting.

Well... The no fighting streak lasted 17.9 seconds.

One kid is stationed under the kitchen table. Why? I don't know. But she's quiet and entertained. I learned never to bother a happy kid.

They watched 1 hour of TV this morning.

I got 10 minutes of cleaning done. The other 50 minutes were spent procratinating. I'm very, very good at that. I've had 28 years of practice.

I'm not going to mention how many stinky bottoms I've wiped.

I've had at least 30 minutes of toasty snuggles.

The thermostat is set on 65. We snuggle to stay warm.

There are 86 puzzle pieces on the floor. Combine that with 105 acorns and you've got a veritable minefield.

(Don't ask about the acorns).

We own about 15 baby dolls. All of the kids love them. However, they usually all love the same baby doll at the same time. One coveted baby doll + 3 kids = 1 smile, 2 crankypants.

Three kids make a ridiculous amount of noise. But right now, it's happy noise.

We've been through a pound of cheerios, 3 bananas, 2 apples, 1 giant mug of tea, 4 chocolate chip cookies (for me), 4 cups of milk and/or almond milk, some animal crackers, and 198 raisins. It's 10:35am.

Two kids are jumping off of the couch. One kid is bound to get hurt. He doesn't actually know how to jump... it's controlled falling.

I'm praying for 5 inches of snow.

I will run the dishwasher twice today.

There are at least 5 silly bands floating around that look vaguely obscene. My daughter assures me that they're princesses. Right.

At the end of the day, I'll have: 12 books read, 11 presents bought, 10 socks matched, 9 snuggles given, 8 emails replied to, 7 thoughts blogged, 6 meals made, 5 coats hung, 4 shoes found, 3 kids hugged, 2 dogs run, 1 house cleaned and a partridge in a pear tree! (If I'm lucky!)

Yoplait Frozen Smoothie Review and Giveaway!

2010-12-08T11:51:00.000-05:00

I'm on a roll lately, people. Here's another review and giveaway for you. Consider it an early Christmas present.

This time up, Yoplait's new frozen smoothies. These are bags with different varieties of frozen fruit and frozen yogurt chips. Pop them in the blender with some milk, almond milk, or whatever your preference, and you have a snack that's far better than that candy you were looking at. (What, that's just me?)

The smoothies come in the following varieties: Blueberry Pomegranate, Triple Triple Berry, Strawberry Banana, and Mango Pineapple. We did the Strawberry Banana, (my favorite flavor in any smoothie), and Triple Triple Berry, (which still cracks me up... shouldn't it be Triple Triple Triple Berry?)

I popped the strawberry banana flavor into the blender as soon as Shaun brought it in and divvyed it up between the three kids with a taste for Shaun and I. Everyone was a fan, of course. It's fruit and yogurt... what not to love? I think the biggest fan was Caly, actually, which was fun since she's the pickiest.

So as with the last, here's my list of pros and cons:

Pros: Love the ease of being able to toss the ingredients into the blender with minimal prep. Also, I loved the probiotics added. I have yogurt on hand most days, but for some reason, when we get a hankerin' for a smoothie, I'm often out. I like that it can blend with most any liquid. I suspect using orange juice would be fantastic.

Cons: They use sucralose, (i.e. Splenda). I didn't notice this til I had made and handed out the second bag. Huge deal in this household. For one, I think the fruit and yogurt would be sweet enough to stand on their own. Second, I just don't use artificial sweeteners, especially for my kids. I wish they would have used sugar, (well, I wish for nothing at all, but I do understand making it sweet). So for us, it's probably not ideal, but if you're not sucralose opposed or if you're looking for a way to add more fruit and probiotics in your diet without too many added calories, I think this would be a great solution.

Anyway, I love the concept and hope that there's an unsweetened version on the horizon soon!

For you lovely readers of mine: Comment on this blog post with your favorite fruit in a smoothie. One commenter will win a VIP coupon to try the smoothies for free and a pretty dang awesome KitchenAid smoothie blender to whip it up! (The blender is awesome, dude). Giveaway will close on Saturday, December 11th at 10am! Good luck!

*For purpose of this review and giveaway, I was provided with coupons to try the Yoplait frozen smoothies by Yoplait through MyBlogSpark and a new KitchenAid blender courtesy of KitchenAid through MyBlogSpark

Fiber One Review and Giveaway

2010-12-06T09:33:00.000-05:00

Recently, we got an opportunity from MyBlogSpark to check out Fiber One's cereals or granola bars. Since one of my kids, (not mentioning names), would benefit from more fiber in his or her diet, I thought this one would be perfect to try.

Shaun actually got to do the picking and came home from the store with the oats and apple streusel variety of granola bars and the raisin bran variety of the cereal. (The first shouldn't surprise me, as my huband and children are apple obsessed).

Verdict? Everyone loved the cereal. I liked the fact that my kids THOUGHT they were eating carbs, but were instead ingesting MORE FIBER! Muahahahaha. The granola bars were an equal hit with everyone except for me, (I thought they were too sweet), and Lex, (she hates all granola bars equally).

So: What I liked - They tasted good and were an easy fix to the sometimes difficult problem of getting more fiber into my kid. What I didn't like - Not a fan of the high fructose corn syrup. I really wish more companies would get on board with phasing that out.

Anyway, if you're interested in trying some FOR FREE, (you know you are, admit it), comment on this blog post telling me your favorite snack to stuff in a purse or diaper bag for a chance to win a coupon for both a free box of FiberOne cereal and a free box of the granola bars AND, (best part), a $25 gift card to Safeway, (or an affiliate grocery store in your area). Woot, right?

Giveaway closes Thursday morning at 10am.

**Through MyBlogSpark, FiberOne provided me with the VIP coupons, Safeway giftcard and identical prize pack to giveaway. I was not otherwise compensated for this review. All views are my own honest assesment of the product provided.

Christmas Card Outtakes - Episode 2

2010-12-05T13:58:00.000-05:00

What do you get if you take three kids to the mall to possibly hope for a few good shots against the Christmas decorated backdrop?

Chaos.

I think we were a trifle optimistic to think that these highly distractable kids were going to sit pretty and smile at the same time when LOOK! There's something SHINY!

Combine that with crap lighting and bad camera settings and hey, at least you get some outtakes!

(I will send out a Christmas card if it kills me. I will).

Hey C! Put your head on Sissy's shoulder and then smile! Hey um, Lex? You LIKE your sister. I promise. You might want to pretend at least. Or not.

Smile with your WHOLE face! Not just your lips! Those, yes THOSE, they're cheeks!

Smile Caly! Or um, do that. Right. OK, nevermind.

Round 3 to resume post nap. Send flurries and hot chocolate.

Essence of 2

2010-12-01T19:36:00.000-05:00

Caly got some new-to-her underoos from the hand-me-downs and they happened to have a favorite cartoon character on them. Excited, I showed her the first pair and asked, "Hey! Who's here on this pair?"

She grinned and shouted, "ME!"

It was a picture of Curious George.
_________________________________________________

Later, I pulled her into my lap to do the regular nail trimmings that can cause much wailing and gnashing of teeth. She's usually pretty good about it, thankfully. I told her I was about to begin and she pulled her hands away from me, "Wait, Mama!" a pause... "You can cut this one, and this one, and this one, and this one... but not dis one." She tapped the index finger on her right hand and gave me a serious look. "Nope Mommy, not dis one."

"Why?"

"Because I eated it."

(Ew)

"Um, what?"

"I eated dat fingernail. It's in my belly.

Ok then.
____________________________________________________

Sometimes she calls upon her junior medical degree to survey an injured person or one in need of medical attention. I'm thankful that junior medical degree is most certainly not real. (Though when she offers to give me kisses to make my kidneys feel better, that's pretty dang sweet).

She sat on my lap the other day and pat my belly and said, "Mama? Does the baby need to come out?"

"No babe, not for awhile."
"I take it out? I take the baby out, Mama?"

"Um, no?"

"I take it out Mama. I need a spoon."

Oh my word, NO.
_____________________________________________

She's 2. And at times, pretty much impossible. But she's hilarious. And that pretty much keeps my sanity intact.

At the halloween festival we attended, they had face painting. Lex got a butterfly. When asked what she wanted, Caly requested a purple chicken beak. I think she stumped the artist.

That's my girl

Christmas Card Rejects - Episode 1

2010-11-29T21:53:00.000-05:00

Ah, tis the season, yet again. And of course, we have our Christmas card rejects piling up like unwanted but hilarious mountains of snow.

Last year's struggle was so bad that I actually didn't send cards at all. The year before, I had adorable cards ordered and purchased but never got my act together to get them out to everyone. This year? This year I'll send a card, come hell, high water, or a booger hanging out a kid's nose. Yes. It will happen.

Here's some samplings of the Christmas cards that weren't meant to be...

Caly looks bored... Sayer's alright... Lex looks completely disgruntled. I'm almost tempted to send this to give a taste of what these kids can be like. But Caly's not smacking anyone, so it's not quite true enough.

Sayer's the only one who looks normal in this picture. Aside from the fact that he's holding a tiny, naked baby doll with an obscenely large head. Oh, and then there's Shaun's reflection in the doorway... maybe's that's the way we'll make it into this year's shot?

And there it is... the money shot. That is, if I were 9 feet tall and shooting from above.

Alas, we'll attempt again tomorrow. If these kids don't cooperate, I'm sending out the one where they all look goofy. Hey, it's payback!

Knock-Knock! Who's There? Pregnant Dog! Er, What?

2010-11-23T21:09:00.001-05:00

My kids have obviously inherited my sense of humor. Random and completely unintentional with a penchant for the corny. (I tried to deny the last part, but I married Shaun and he makes me laugh. Enough said).

Lex has learned the art of the knock-knock joke. Sort of. To me? This is torture. I hate knock-knock jokes with a fierce passion. But I indulge her and give the required chuckle at each nonsensical (at worst) or cheesy (at best) punch line.

Unlike me, Shaun has welcomed the knock-knock phase with open arms. Those of you who know him, know that his capacity for the cheesy knows no bounds. He's been teaching her new ones whenever he gets a chance. Some go right over her head, but she's wise enough to understand that even when not completely understood, a good joke will endear her to a crowd. So she delivers the jokes with the proper pauses and basks in the giggles.

She decided to test out my parents the other night with a joke that she learned while spending the earlier portion of the day with Shaun.

"Knock-knock!"

My family answered readily, "Who's there?"

"PREGNANT DOG!"

"Pregnant do--" They didn't get a chance to finish before she jumped in,

"WOOF WOOF WOOF WOOF WOOF WOOF WOOF!" Then she dissolved into giggles.

Silence. Puzzled silence and then a few polite laughs. I raised my eyebrows at Shaun who was lost in his own round of guffaws. When he paused to breath, he choked out, "Interrupting cow, Lex, interrupting cow!"

She stopped and exclaimed, "Oh YEAH! Knock-knock!"

"Who's there?"

"Interrupting cow!"

"Interrupting co--"

"MOOOOO MOOOOO MOOOOO MOOOOOOOOOO!"

By this point, we were all cracking up, though I suspect most were laughing over the interrupting pregnant dog instead of the 3rd oldest knock-knock joke in history.

Pick Your Battles

2010-11-19T14:05:00.001-05:00

Kids are quirky. My oldest has been seen in public with one gigantic, dangly plastic earring in her ear. My nephew used to wear one fingerless glove just about everywhere he went. Caly has to have a babydoll in her hand and some various toy in the other every time we leave the house.

Sayer? Well... he's showing an early propensity for the quirky. I was settling him down for a nap today and having little success. You see, he came into his room wearing a plush block on his head for a hat and carrying a light up magic wand from his sisters' dress-up box. Try settling that down to sleep.

He most certainly thought he was funny stuff, evidenced by him putting his open mouth on my shoulder, gumming it, and pulling back while yelling, "BAP!" And then he'd crack up.

Nap time wasn't exactly forthcoming.

But I needed him to go down at some point. So I gently wrestled the wand from his grasp. Tears. He calmed down after a second and eyed me. I eyed his hat. He grinned and whispered, "bap!"

And then he put his head on my shoulder and patted me.

The hat stayed on his head.

Now sound asleep, that's where the hat remains.

A wise person once advised: Choose your battles. And so? I let this one go. (I also obviously let the battle of getting a good photo go as well... after those bedtime antics, I wasn't about to risk waking the kid up).

They Should Make Armor For This

2010-11-17T13:35:00.001-05:00

Once upon a time, I used to be able to lay on the floor while the kids played with and around me and occasionally, they'd wander behind my back or I'd close my eyes while playing "Baby." No worries.

I realized that changed when, under coercion from the girls, I stretched out on the floor. The girls wanted me to be the baby. And part of being the baby involves me going to sleep. This game is generally AWESOME... a warm blanket? Pillow? Little hands patting me on the head? Sweet! But as I lowered myself to the floor, I warily eyed my son. Then as I closed my eyes, I curled my body into a fetal position and put my arms over my head and face as if I were bracing for an earthquake.

Why? The answer came about 15 seconds later when all 26 pounds of my hilarious little son landed on my head.

He apparently thinks it's funny to dive bomb my face. Over. And over. And over.

So, I've adapted. I now brace for onslaughts of toddler affection.

No one warned me about this. Or about being poked in the face with eating utensils. Or about being used as a human jungle gym. Or about having to catch your toddler as they dive-bomb out of your arms to reach something forbidden. No one mentioned that playing pretend could sometimes be hazardous to your health. Or that most parental injuries are gifts from your children.

These kids and their exuberant affection are dangerous.

I seriously think there's a market for a good protective suit for parents. Heck, it could be made with built in footholds. Because really, they're going to try to climb up your body anyway... might as well make it less painful.

(taken right before he tried to dive down to you know, eat the goat or something).

Well, Hello Tuesday

2010-11-16T14:36:00.000-05:00

Apparently, when I go on vacation, I go on vacation from everything, blogging included. Maybe because this last vacation was without the munchkins and well, let's be honest, they do provide the ample fodder that keeps this blog trucking along.

Without kids, you say? Why yes. Shaun was his usual sweet self and schemed a way to get me on a little 4 day getaway BY. MYSELF. And he kept the kidlets for most of the time, which kept me relaxed, (except when I called at 11pm and thought I heard them running around and yelling in the background... that was a bit of a moment). It was awesome.

And I came back and dove right into the motherhood/wifey/me that I had left. And it was just as awesome. (Shaun actually brought the kids into the airport to surprise me when I got off the plane. Hearing them screech "MOOOOOMMMMY!" and run at me was just about the most awesome thing ever. I had told Shaun that my only requirement for the trip was that when I came back, they had to greet me with as much enthusiasm as they greet him EVERY. DAY. (I know, right?) They delivered with great gusto. I was pleased.

Anyway, here we are, getting back into the swing of things just in time for us to get all out of the swing with the holidays. Craziness. But that's how we like it 'round here.

Who's on First?

2010-11-04T13:23:00.000-04:00

I generally give the kids a rundown of what we're headed off to do for the day. It usually gives them something to look forward to doing or at least helps them know what to expect. However, sometimes that goes hilariously awry.

"Alright everybody, let's get your shoes and sock on your feet so we can go to the doctor's office and then you can come with Mommy to vote."

Lex perked up and exclaimed, "Sissy! We're going on a boat!" I quickly tried to quell that rumor before I found myself dealing with missed expectations, (i.e. temper tantrums and limp limbs),

"No, no, not a boat... we're going to VOTE."

Caly piped in, "A boat! Like da pirate boat? They were scare-wee!"

"No, honey... not a boat. Vote! Can you say V-V-V-VOTE?"

Too late. The girls were off and running with their little boat dreams,

"Ohhh, maybe it'll be a big boat with LOTS of pirates!"

"I don't yike pirates! But I yike boats!"

"Maybe it'll be a boat without pirates! And we'll sail to Hawaii!"

"I want to go there! Momma, where's da boat? I want to get on da boat!"

"Yeah, Momma! Do we need our bathing suits?"

They peered at me expectantly.

"Um... girls? We're not going on a BOAT. We're going to VOTE! Voting is when you tell what you--" One of the girls interrupted,

"Momma? Do you vote on a BOAT? I wanna go on a boat!"

Cue the two of them dancing around and chanting, "A boat! Vote on a boat!"

Imagine their surprise when the voting happened in a high school gymnasium. Yeah, talk about underwhelmed.

(Thankfully, some skillfully produced lollipops assuaged any residual disappointments over the missed boat. But now that I think about it... maybe we should have a family vote about boating to Hawaii. I think that's a cause I could get wholeheartedly behind).

Weighty Stats

2010-11-02T21:13:00.000-04:00

Took the two littlest kids in for very, very overdue well visits. I was interested to see how the kids measured up against each other. My suspicions? I thought Sayer would at least weigh as much as Caly.

Um, he's got a half a pound on her. I have two 26 pound children.

With her 26 pounds and however many inches tall she is, Caly remains firmly snuggled in the 20th percentile. She's her mother's daughter, through and through.

Sayer and his 26 pounds obvious tip the 95th percentile for weight. Daddy's sturdy little man. But... his height? He's just over the 18th percentile. Kid is a fire hydrant.

Before we had kids, I joked about how Shaun and I were destined to have short boys and tall girls. Looks more like we're having short kids. Sorry, honey... gotta kiss those basketball dreams goodbye. (Then again, there's always Muggsy Bogues).

Lex gets her checkup in a few months. I'm not holding my breath that she'll be on the tall side of things.

Hey, short kids find the best hiding places.

Punny! Uh, Sorta...

2010-11-01T14:56:00.002-04:00

A few days ago, we were driving to visit family with two sleeping little people and the biggest of the little people quietly reading in the back seat. Shaun and I were taking advantage of the quiet to actually have an uninterrupted conversation. Suddenly, Lex piped up from the back seat,

"Hey Daddy! Do you know what Goofy likes to eat?"

He replied that he didn't know and she chirped, "Bologna sandwiches!"

A few minutes later, Shaun asked Lex, "Hey Lex... do you know what ghosts like to eat?" She shook her head and he delivered the punchline, "BOO-logna sandwiches!"

Silence. I glanced back and Lex was smiling a bit but didn't say anything. I whispered to Shaun, "Does she get it?" He peeked at her in the rearview mirror and shrugged.

We picked up our conversation after a few more moments of silence.

Several minutes later, she exclaimed, "HEY DAD!"

"Hey what?"

"Do you know what vampires like to eat?!" I whispered to Shaun, "SHE GETS IT!" I started grinning, proud that my kid actually got Shaun's joke well enough to make her own. Then, he answered her,

"Nope, what do they like to eat?" We waited, totally expecting to hear an appropriate punchline to finish our train of jokes. And then... she spoke, completely deadpan,

"Blood. They like blood. And they sleep all day and stay up at night."

Yeah, not exactly what were expecting. I CRACKED up, sputtering and wheezing. There was something overwhelmingly funny about the complete miss of a joke that she delivered when were expecting something completely different. Apparently, we have some work to do on the jokes. Ah, 4 year olds.

[I was laughing so hard at one point that Shaun started tossing out lines from the previous week's episode of Community to keep me going, (I'm apparently a spectacle when I'm cracking up), and when he got to this scene, I thought I was going to pee my pants. It's completely unrelated, but I still can't watch this scene without breaking into guffaws of laughter]

My Boys

2010-10-28T14:11:00.000-04:00

Shaun teases me and says I spoil that little one. But Shaun can't resist him either. While there's something unique about a Mom's relationship with her boy... there's something spectacular about watching a boy with his Dad.

And in March, I get to see that start all over again with this next munchkin. I think he's going to need bigger arms.

(Yes, that's Caly too... and I know she's not a boy, but that picture was too sweet to resist. So, my boys and my littlest girlie).

Runs in the Family

2010-10-27T15:14:00.000-04:00

Today we went in for the super fun 20 week sonogram. I say super fun now because I've been given the "Everything looks perfect!" all clear that I stressed over for the last 20 weeks. (I always get that way before the big sonogram). Anyway, the sonographer spent a good amount of time measuring this part and that part, commenting periodically about cute movements the baby would do.

(The other kids thought it was pretty cool. Lex really could make out what parts of the baby were which... Caly? Well, she saw a lot of movement and decided to make friends with our sonographer and sit on her lap and ask questions instead. Sayer was completely enthralled when we listened to the heartbeat, "WOOOOAH!")

At one point, the baby stuck his finger up their nose. I knew at that point exactly what gender this kid would be.

When you ask Sayer where his nose is, he knows right away. And sticks his index finger so far up his nostril that you worry slightly that he's poking his brain. Better yet? He's never satisfied until he finds YOUR nose, too. Using the same methods. Ew, right?

Seems the little one is following in Big Brother's footsteps.

It's a boy!

Is Dat Funny? Momma? Is Dat Funny?

2010-10-26T21:50:00.000-04:00

Caly is refining her sense of humor. She'll say something and out of the blue, she'll ask, "Momma? Is dat funny?" and giggle at me. This evening, she and Lex were hiding from Shaun in their pile of stuffed animals under a big pink blanket. They were silent for about 30 seconds when Caly chirped, "I TOOTED!" I started snickering under my breath. Three seconds later, "Momma? Is dat funny?" And over Lex's indignant yelps, ("SHE TOOTED ON ME!"), we cracked up.

But then... other times? It drives. me. nuts.

She's taken to waiting until she's completely tucked in before telling me or Shaun that she absolutely has to go erm, take care of some heavy business. With her recent past of having difficulties in that realm, we're not comfortable refusing, so we march her into the potty and sit her up on the seat. She takes so long, that we generally leave her in there to do her thing so that she doesn't get the satisfaction of chatting our ears off in the meantime. (Yes, she's mostly stalling, but she ALWAYS produces, so...) Anyway, after 15 minutes, I start getting exasperated and ask her, "Caly, are you finished yet?" She always, always, ALWAYS says no. And I always get frustrated and say, "You NEED to finish. YOU NEED to go to sleep. YOU NEED YOUR REST." And lately, she'll look at me at that point and said, "Momma? Is dat funny?"

AHHH! No, little punky one!

Tonight, she pulled a new one. Either Shaun or I sing to the girls before bed and tonight was my night. Caly kept interrupting, (which is the fastest way for me to quit singing), and when I reminded her to quit, she paused and said, "Momma? IS DAT FUNNY? DAT'S FUNNY!" and then she giggled while saying, "dat's funny!" under her breath. I have to admit... I couldn't help chuckling. And she heard.

"Momma? Are you laughing? You laughing! DAT'S FUNNY!"

She's driving me crazy... but at least we're laughing on the way.

Ferocious

2010-10-18T12:48:00.000-04:00

Certain things that my kids do drive me nuts. For instance, my oldest freaks out when I have to cut her toenails. For the record, I've never once, not even when she was a baby, cut her or made her bleed. (Now, the other kids... )

Anyway, she'll reluctantly give me her foot and then freak out and jerk it away right before I clip the toenail. It's worse when she's tired. (Which is when I always get the notion to cut her nails... Apparently, I like a challenge).

The other day, I called her into the bathroom, having noticed that her toes were beginning to resemble talons instead of sweet little girl feet. She slunk into the room and gave me a look as she ever-so-slowly brought her foot up to my lap. I held onto it, grabbed the clippers, and made a motion to go toward clipping her big toenail. Just as the clipper touched her toe, she jerked her whole foot back and started whimpering. "I don't WANNNNA have you cut my toooooenaaaaails!" I gave her a look and told her to give me her foot.

And repeat.

After 3 or 4 more times, I was completely exasperated. I dropped my voice to a fierce whisper, looked at her and said, "LEXI. GIVE. ME. YOUR. FOOT. RIGHT. NOW! If you keep jerking it away, I'm going to end up cutting your toe off! NOW GIVE ME YOUR FOOT!"

We stared at each other for a split second before she dropped into a crouch, balled her hands into fists and hissed, "NEVER!" at me while punching a hand into the air. She totally looked like William Wallace, "You can take my toenails, but you'll never TAKE MY FREEDOM!"

The whole effect was so ridiculous that I burst into peels of laughter.

So did she.

The nail cutting went slightly more smoothly after that. Slightly. At the very least, she found a way to diffuse my temper and get herself out of trouble. Because I laugh every single time.

The One Where I Teach My Son the Art of the Gnaw (aka, don't read this if you're a particularly squeamish variety of vegetarian)

2010-10-17T11:16:00.000-04:00

I'm not much of a meat eater anymore. Never was. Not a vegetarian though, as sometimes I feel a little... carnivorous.

When I was a little girl, my dad would take me to the Renaissance Festival. Food, face painting, knights, princesses, fairies, jousting, crafts, swords, and more. What more could a kid love?

But the highlight was always the turkey leg. It's exactly what it sounds like. A leg of a turkey, brined and roasted to perfection. (Is it fried? Not sure, don't care. It tastes awesome). I rarely eat chicken on a bone, but I'll tear one of these up. This year? I taught the kids. The only one who really took to it was Sayer. At almost 15 months, I think he has the art of the gnaw down pat. See for yourself:

He's giving it a once over. Think you're going to mess with me, Turkey Leg? THINK AGAIN! He said that. Really. Ok, he didn't. Because he doesn't quite speak with complex sentence structure. But he THOUGHT it. Totally.

He looks fierce, (channeling his red-haired Viking roots? Perhaps). And rightfully so. That's the only way to attack a turkey leg. I think he did quite well for his first year. Right Dad?

Plate Spinning

2010-10-17T10:45:00.000-04:00

I don't know where I first heard the analogy, but it's a good one. Walking through life is a lot like being a plate spinner.

Each of those plates represent a different piece of your life that you have to pay a certain amount of attention. Kids? Plate. Husband? Plate. Housework? Plate. Cooking? Plate. Friends? Plates. Exercise? Plate. Sleep? Plate.

If you start frantically spinning at one that might be slipping, it's not long before you find 5 other ones slipping.

So you have to take a deep breath and give what you can to all the plates. And if you have more plates than you can handle? You have to let 'em go. (Personally, I'm all for dropping the housework plate...)

Anyway, my plates were flying all over the place for awhile there and I was having a crazy time trying to scrape by with the bare minimum to keep them all from crashing down, (which would have resulted in me taking a very long nap... so... win for the sleep plate?) And blogging? Blogging became one of those little cup saucers and I shoved it into my back pocket. Somehow, I thought that some things, like, you know, feeding these little people were more important. (True. They get very cranky when hungry). But I got a day to myself and got some things in order that were otherwise neglected. And now? I feel sane(r). Plates might get shaky, but they're up!

Anyway, I have a litany of blog posts in my head and I'm slowly starting to write them out. So I'm working on it. If you've stuck around? Thanks. I do appreciate your comments, both in real life and on here. I don't know that I've mentioned that. But yes, I'm ~~a sucker for attention~~ a fan of feedback, so thanks again :)

Stealth Stealer

2010-10-07T21:34:00.000-04:00

Man, I am a BAD blogger. (My button loving son won't let me near a computer without obsessively whispering, "buuuuutton... BUTTTTTON" and pushing whatever ones he gets his hands on... so, yes).

Anyway, I check on when I can. And this story? This one is too good not to share.

The other day we had a friend over for a playdate and lunch. She sat at the table while I puttered around the kitchen after lunch, putting dishes away and the like. The kids ran around like monkeys, clamoring for attention and getting into everything. Caly quietly stood next to Heather's seat at the table and after a few minutes, pointed to my not-so-hidden, reserved and coveted halloween themed reeses peanut butter cup and said, "I have that candy?"

I raised my eyebrows and told her no. No, especially since she ate no lunch at all. No.

She stared me down and said, "Yes."

I said no.

She said yes.

I said no. No, NO. And she got quiet. So Heather and I went back to chatting and I turned to finish the dishes. About 10 minutes later, Caly walked back into the kitchen. Chewing. She had a mouthful of something and was making a peculiar face. Concerned, I hurried towards her, thinking she was going to barf, (we have a history now), and got down to her level. Then I smelled it.

Peanut butter.

My eyes flew towards the table where my peanut butter cup used to rest. Gone. I jumped up and ran into the living room. The slobbery, shredded, empty wrapper lay on the chair. My head swiveled back to my daughter who was unconcernedly attempting the chew the rest of her forbidden treat.

"Caly."

"Wut, mama?"

"Is that my treat?"

"Yeds."

"What did mama say when you asked to have it?"

"Mama say no." She paused to swallow. "Mama said no treat."

"Ooook, so... why did you take it and eat it?"

She gave me a look and said, "Because I wanted it."

Oh. Um. Ok.

"Caly, go sit in time-out until I figure out what to do with you."

She stuck her lower lip out and trotted to the living room and planted herself in her rocking chair. Thirty seconds later, she started calling me, "Mammmmma? Mammma? I sorry! I say I sorry for eating your treat!" I told her to sit there a bit longer. When I ~~got a straight face~~ finished the dishes, I went into talk to her and she said, "Mommy, I sorry I ate your treat." I told her that while I was sad it was gone, she was forgiven and she could get up.

Then she leaned towards me and whispered, "It was lummy!"

Little stinker.

Kids and Caterpillars

2010-09-24T20:12:00.000-04:00

After driving back from Lex's dance class today, the girls pleaded to stay outside and play. The thought of having to go inside to referee fights, listen to whining and hungry kids, and prepare dinner was making me cranky so I thought about it. Since the stupid heat was no longer burning my eyelids, I agreed. When I was getting Sayer out of the car, some movement by my foot caught my eye. It was the furriest, fastest caterpillar I've seen in our yard since we moved in. Of course I called the girls over to investigate.

The two littles spent a good amount of time squealing and pointing while Lex tried to coax the caterpillar onto a leaf. Sayer was particularly interested in where the bug went and followed his sister everywhere, trying to see.

At one point, it fell into the garden and I truly thought he was going to go headfirst in after it.

After awhile, Lex got brave... sort of. She'd let the caterpillar crawl on her hand or arm and then she'd start giggling uncontrollably.

And every time she giggled, the caterpillar would slip off onto the ground again, she'd squeal, and Sayer and Caly would crack up.

They did it over and over and over, cracking up every. single. time.

Lex was pretty proud of herself for finally picking up the caterpillar and by the end of the day, she was letting it crawl all over her arm, still giggling, but not flailing anymore.

I just loved watching my three play together without fighting, arguing, crying, whining, and best of all? Watching their faces light up like this:

I'm a blessed Mama... no doubt.

10 Things

2010-09-23T21:43:00.000-04:00

1. My fridge is full but I can't find anything I want to eat. Rather, I don't want to cook. So I ate pretzels and hummus for dinner and I'm about to dish out a gigantic bowl of homemade peanut butter chocolate ice cream. This is the part of being pregnant that I looooove.

2. In the course of 12 hours the other day, I was coughed on, peed on, snotted on, pooped on, and thrown up on. And I don't even have a newborn anymore. I consider that the day I truly became a Real Mother. I think I could have raised my kids to adulthood without wanting to know what that was like.

3. Caly dumped two entire sample sized bottles of shampoo on her head tonight. In my bed. Then she rubbed her eyes. That chaos was unmet in recent history. But now? She's fine, sleeping, and bonus? She smells fantastic.

4. While I was trying to rinse the ridiculous amount of suds out of Caly's hair, Sayer got into the cabinet and into a box of cereal. Rather, he got the cereal out of the box and onto the floor. He was very, very pleased with himself when he presented me with the box. Upside-down. And empty.

5. I *think* I'm starting to feel this baby move, which I'm splendidly excited about. (That's another part of pregnancy I love so much). Of course, those flutters may be the bean burrito I ate, too.

6. This might be the funniest blog post I've read in recent memory. I had to read it out loud to Shaun, (which I rarely, rarely do), and he laughed out loud. The end is the best part.

7. I'm fully addicted to Wordfued, (an app on the Android market, similar to Scrabble). My user name is monsterchew. Go ahead, challenge me to a game... I dare you. :)

8. Tonight, Caly asked me for a pretzel after we had already brushed her teeth and gotten completely ready for bed. I said no. She looked and me and started walking away. I asked her where she was going and she poked her head back in the room and said, "I go get a pretzel." Um, no, kid. NO. So she said ok, walked out, and the next thing I know, she's walking back in the room with her mouth and both fists stuffed with cereal. Apparently, I said no pretzels and neglected to tell her no snacks at all. Stinker.

9. I would like a pet chinchilla. But I want someone else to take care of it. I just want to pet it and play with it and tell people that we have a chinchilla. Because it's just fun to say.

10. Lex, my normally pacifistic 4 year old, had a stretch of violence today. She told Caly in a perfectly teacher-like sing-song voice, "If you don't get off of my puzzle board, I'm going to flick you." Caly, of course, refused to move, and Lexi followed through. I sent her to the kitchen to sit in time-out while I comforted the indignant Caly, (who really got what was coming to her, considering the amount she tortures her sister on a regular basis). I asked her why she flicked Caly, (not having completely heard the exchange), and she said, "I told her that if she wouldn't get up, I would be mad and then if she would, I would hug her." I looked straight at her and said, "No, that's not what you said. That's a lie." Her eyes got huge and she said, "How did you KNOW?" And I restored myself as the master of knowledge in this household,

"Because I'm the Mommy, I know everything."

Unlike last time, today, she didn't question that at all. Momma's back, Jack... Momma's back.

Taken Down a Notch

2010-09-20T15:16:00.001-04:00

Lex and I were chatting this afternoon while the little ones slept. She asked me a question, I answered, and she marveled, "How did you KNOW that!?"

Of course, I replied, "Because I'm the Mama... I know everything!"

Flatly, she retorted, "No you don't."

"I don't?"

"No, you don't know everything.... But Daddy does!"

Well, hmph.

(taken with my phone)

Next To High Maintenence In the Dictionary...

2010-09-17T12:50:00.001-04:00

Shaun was putting Caly to bed a few nights ago and she held up her water cup, shook it slightly and said, "Daddy, can you freshen this up for me?"

She's 2.5. I'm beginning to wonder if we should start stockpiling a substantial dowry for the man that's going to marry that girl.

Love that kid. Love 'em all.

Sayer (i.e. The Poor Neglected Third Born)

2010-09-15T13:25:00.000-04:00

So, in the course of my summer of sporadic blogging, my little guy turned one. I just scanned back through his 11 month entry and man, the kid is different. Amazing what a few months will do. Because I'm snarfly and don't have the energy for a craftily worded post, I'm going to list out a few things that I want to remember about the little dude at this time in his life. (Because honestly, people... if I wait until I have the energy to craftily post something, he's going to be 17 before it happens). And? Pictures! (Keeps the family happy)

Thanks Amy for this shot!

The little dude is starting to communicate beyond shrieking like a maniac. His current list of clear as day words are "ball," "up," "down," "go," "mama," "pa-pa," "dada," and "button." He also says "a!" "eight," "silly," "more," "dog," "woof," and "night-night." He'll repeat most things back in a somewhat clear fashion and says some garbled syllables consistently for certain objects so that I know what he means, but to the rest of the world? Not so much yet. He's definitely not the talker that his sisters were/are but he does most things on his own program, so... I'm not surprised.

He loves shoes. Any shoes. All shoes. I have to hide shoes. Why? Because the kid is walking. And albeit more of a walk than a toddle at this point, he's still not that sturdy. So when he's trying to walk while wearing one of Shaun's shoes? Yeah, LOTS of tumbles. You'd think I could solve that by putting him in his own shoes. But he's never satisfied with one pair. He wants as many on as he can fit on his fat little feet. The funniest/sort of saddest part? He cries like he has a broken heart when I take his shoes off. Every. Time.

One other word he's mastered is "OW!" Not only is it clear as day, but he's figured out how to yell "OW! OW! OWWWW!" at the top of his lungs when one of the girls comes by and he doesn't want them near his coveted toy of the moment. For awhile, poor C got the brunt of, "Stop trying to take your brother's things!" until I finally witnessed his little scheme. (Though she does her share of tormenting). I have Lex to thank for teaching him this through her daily yelling during her hair brushing.

He still loves his sisters and regularly doses them with slobbery hugs and kisses. But he and Caly fight. A lot. And with physical intensity. And the mere half pound of weight difference between them is no longer enough to allow Caly to emerge the victor anymore. (Translation? She tends to get her behind kicked). Poor girl... it's just going to get worse from here.

He eats most things, but balks at new foods... if I can manage to get him to open his mouth for a bite, he'll generally try more in his own. He loves fruit above all things and could eat strawberries and blueberries until he dropped. He's the first kid I've had that can take carbs or leave them. I don't know whose kid he is in those moments.

He adores his Daddy and loves his Mommy. He's huggable and sweet and snuggles easily. He's got an epic temper but doesn't often haul off and scream. He hates being told no and makes the most adorable pouty face I've ever seen. (It's really hard not to laugh at him because he works it for a minute or two before letting loose).

14 months old (almost) and on the fast track to big brotherhood. And... his hair's getting long. Shaun wants to cut it... I say no. (The CURLS! The red! The sweet baby-ness! The surfer look!)

Anyway, there you have it. Sayer's 14 month self in a little ole blog entry. Merry merry :)

Hey Dr. Sears! I've Got a Question For You!

2010-09-13T14:59:00.000-04:00

The littlest one has been having a bit of a rough time as of late. If you peer into his mouth, (which would involve you having to either make him scream, laugh, or cry as he won't willingly open it for anything), you'd notice the halves of three molars poking through, a swollen red lump of a fourth and the tiny white dots that mark the beginning of four eye teeth.

Eight teeth, dude. EIGHT.

I can usually distract him during the day with munchies and noise and general chaos. Nights are a tad bit of a different story.

I can time his wakings with the wearing off of his Motrin doses. When he wakes, he sticks both hands in his mouth, screams, and says "nananannanananan" over and over, (this loosely translates to "PICK ME UP NOW, WOMAN AND COMFORT ME! But do NOT think of sitting down, rocking me, or otherwise doing anything that I might deem undesirable at that exact moment and time. Those things are subject to change without notice. NOW ON WITH THE COMFORTING!"

Ahem. Yes. Anyway, some days I can get him back to sleep fairly easily. Others, it's a long wait until the next dose of ibuprophen kicks in. I hate seeing the kid so miserable.

But we're plowing along and trying to keep him comfortable as possibly while also trying to catch snatches of sleep. It's quite the dance.

It's funny... with Sayer especially, we've been a lot more attachment parenting minded. It's what works with us, and more importantly, it's what worked for Sayer, (a definitively more high needs baby than the girls). A friend lent me Dr. Sears' The Attachment Parenting Book and as I was reading through it, one line stuck out to me:

"If you resent it, change it!"

I resent it all right. I resent the heck out teething. Hear that? I RESENT YOU, TEETHING!

So, Dr. Sears... if you manage to come up with a solution to help me change that, I'm all ears.

In the meantime, I'm off to buy stock in teething tablets, motrin and frozen bagels.

Sick Days - A Comparative View

2010-09-09T14:10:00.000-04:00

Sick Days When You're a Sick Kid - Cartoons for you for as long as you can stay awake
Sick Days When You're a Sick Parent - Cartoons for the kids as long as they'll stay still.

Sick Days When You're a Sick Kid - Naps under your favorite blanket while Mom or Dad brings you cool drinks for when you wake up.
Sick Days When You're a Sick Adult -Flopping on the couch trying to close your eyes while little people pester you to get them a drink.

Sick Days When You're a Sick Kid - A possible trip to the doctor to be sure it's nothing serious.
Sick Days When You're a Sick Parent - You gauge whether you're urge to keel over and die is greater than the hassle of finding a babysitter so you can go to the doctor's.

Sick Days When You're a Sick Kid - Sympathy, comfort, and some doctoring from Mom and Dad.
Sick Days When You're a Sick Parent -Being "doctored" by your concerned kids. Generally involves being poked in the eyes, ears and mouth, being stepped on, crawled over, and smooshed.

I think the greatest thing Obamacare should have included was a sick day plan for parents.

Here and There and Everywhere

2010-09-09T13:56:00.000-04:00

I'm here! And there. Two places where I've shown up recently that you might want to check out:

Learning a Latte - I guest posted here yesterday about how we incorporate Montessori concepts in our daily play/homeschooling. It was fun to write! She has had guest posts all week with a different style highlighted each day, so be sure to head over if you're interested in homeschooling at all. Fun reads.

Just Make it a Double - We're baaaaaack! Remember how Amy and I posted a picture a day and then we fell off of the planet during the summer and you had to look at the same picture every day since June 22nd? *and inhaaaaale!* Well, we're back! And we'll be posting every day barring loss of limb or internet service ;)

And of course, I'm back here on a sporadic basis. Check out the giveaway from Tuesday and enter already. Otherwise, gear up for a fall full of fun. (Check out that alliteration! uh huh!) 'Cause fun is my middle name. Or not. But my kids are funny, so I'll write about that.

Sparklehearts Girls' Natural Beauty Products Review and Giveaway!

2010-09-07T21:10:00.000-04:00

Ecomom generously provided me another product to review and the means for a great giveaway on their site! This time around, we received Sparklehearts Sweet Hearts Sparkly Body Lotion. Do you even need to read further than the product name to know it was a hit with my uber-girly 4 year old? Nope. But I'll elaborate anyway!

As soon as I opened the package, Lex spotted the lotion and made a grab for it. Seems the packaging did exactly what it intended to do and grabbed our girl's eye immediately. I read her the label and she asked if she could use it right away. Why not?

So I spread some on her arms and was delighted by the faint shimmer and the fruity smell. (What little girl doesn't like glimmer?) I was delighted in knowing that the product was natural and didn't have a bunch of questionable ingredients like many other products on the market. No artificial anything, no parabens, sulfates, or phlatelets. And made here in the USA!

The scent is a little cloying for me to use it personally, but it's a great, kid-friendly scent and my daughters both say it smells like candy. I love how the scent doesn't remain strong on the skin after it's applied, much like the faint shimmer. I don't exactly want my daughter going out to play every day looking like she's headed to a Lady Gaga show, so this was a perfect, subtle amount.

I loved the lotion so much that I purchased the Sparklehearts Soft Conditioner and my expectations have been easily met. I'm totally in love with the packaging and what's inside doesn't disappoint. My oldest has long, thick hair and this softens and conditions it enough that I can comb out tangles without tears. Like their other products, it's packaged in a pump bottle, which makes doling out the right amount easy for me and my daughter alike.

We're obviously Sparkleheart fans and look forward to trying their whole gamut of products. And since we've had such great experiences, we'll definitely be purchasing through the EcoMom site. Specializing in Eco-Friendly Baby Products, EcoMom offers products that run from food, toys, baby care products, clothing and more. The site is certainly more than just a retail site.

Ecomom is still running their EcoPass program. For $99, you can purchase an annual membership which gives you 15% off of every order and free shipping with no minimum order requirement. If you're going to purchase frequently, I can imagine this would pay for itself quickly.

And now, the part you've been waiting for... the giveaway! EcoMom has graciously offered to give away $20 towards any product in the Ecomom store!

To enter, comment on this post by September 12, 2010 at 10pm EST.

For additional entries, you can do the following. Please comment separately for each additional thing you do.

Like EcoMom on Facebook.
Follow EcoMom on Twitter.
Subscribe to their Newsletter.
Visit the EcoMom page and pick out one non-food product that you'd be interested in buying.
Visit my page on Twitter and retweet this giveaway. (Post link of your retweet).

Good luck everyone! This was totally a review and giveaway that I loved doing. Thanks for the opportunity, EcoMom!

**The Nitty Gritty: The owner(s) of this blog is not compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the blog owners. If we claim or appear to be experts on a certain topic or product or service area, we will only endorse products or services that we believe, based on our expertise, are worthy of such endorsement. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. The sample of the Sparklehearts Lotion mentioned above was provided by EcoMom. The Sparklehearts Conditioner was purchased by me, soley because the product is so darn awesome.