Serendipity

A week or so ago I bought Zoey a pair of fairy wings and a little fairy tutu. They were at the dollar store and she really wanted them and I thought hey why not.

They sat in the closet until last Saturday when she saw then and asked to put them on.

She's been wearing them non-stop since. She wakes up and immediately wants to put them on. And cries when I tell her she has to take them to go to bed. She insists that I call her fairy, not Zoey. And she walks around the house turning everybody and everything into frogs.

So, last night for the first time I put Peter Pan in for my kids. We've had it for quite some time but they have never been interested in watching it. But I told Zoey it had a fairy in it and she got all excited.

She watched for a while and then came to me, very distraught, because Tinkerbell didn't ever talk. And she wanted to see a movie where Tinkerbell talked.

And here's where the Serendipity comes in. Because just yesterday while running errands and listening to Radio Disney in the car I heard that the direct to DVD Tinkerbell movie was set for release today! Seriously, could that have been better timing?

Zoey's so obsessed about it that she came wandering into my room this morning around 6:30 and typically the first thing out of her mouth is "I want a sippie of milk." But this morning she peeks up over the side of my bed and says in her best whiny voice "Mom, I really want to watch a movie with Tinkerbell talking."

And so, being the softie that I am I have promised that as soon as I'm out of the shower we'll go to Target and buy the Tinkerbell movie. And it will be a cheap made for DVD movie probably with no plot. But Tinkerbell will talk in it and that will make my 2 year old insanely happy for at least a week or two. Which is proof that sometimes money can buy happiness...at least temporarily.

It's my blog and I'll brag if I want to

I know you're all getting weary of the way I go on and on and on about how smart my kids are. But I'm really crappy about keeping a journal of all the funny things they say and do and somebody they may want to know and I know by then I'll have forgotten, so if I don't blog about it then it will be lost forever and then how will they know how smart they were? The point is, if you're tired of hearing about how smart my kids are then you'll just have to stop reading my blog because I'll likely just keep writing about it.

But don't really stop reading my blog. Because well, then I'd be sad. And I'd miss you. And you may not admit it now but you'd miss reading it, too. Because my kids are so cute and smart and funny. And I have a charming writing style to capture their antics. And it's the highlight of your day to read it. Or maybe it's not. But could you pretend it is? Okay, thanks.

So, where was I? Oh yes, my smart kids.

This morning Adam was playing with the letter magnets on the fridge. He asked me to help him spell Lion. Then he told me he was going to spell Lamb. So he sounded out the L and the A and the M. And then said "Look mom, I spelled lam." I told him he needed to put a B on the end of it to spell lamb. "No, mom, it's just l-a-m. There is no B." I tried to explain to him that some words were kind of silly and weren't spelled exactly the way they sounded. But he wasn't convinced. After about 4 attempts I gave up. At our house Lamb is now spelled lam because the 4 year old knows best.

This evening I had some vinyl letters that the kids were playing with. I was sticking them to their shirts and spelling words with them. I didn't have an entire alphabet. Just some random letters.

So Adam tells me he wants me to spell car on his shirt. I look over the letter and then tell him I don't have an R. He looks at the letters I do have, thinks about it for a minute and then says, "Okay, just spell vehicle then." And, surprisingly enough I had all the right letters to spell vehicle.

Seriously, where does he come up with this stuff?

Will the wonder never cease?

This morning Adam was telling me all about his day at Grandma's house yesterday. He's talking along, telling me about this and that, and then he says "And eventually grandpa put his socks and sweater on."

I know that it shouldn't surprise me anymore. Adam is always using big words, and using them correctly. But it still catches me off guard and makes me giggle just a little. Because until you've heard a 4 year old use the word eventually, well, you just really haven't lived.

There's no June Cleaver here!

I think Zoey must get up in the middle of the night, sneak downstairs, turn on the TV and watch old re-runs on Leave it to Beaver on TV-Land. I don't know where else she gets her ideas about how mothers act, because she certainly doesn't get such crazy notions from me!

Let me back track just a moment. See, for a very long time Zoey didn't play with girl toys. Like at all. She had a doll or two but they stayed on her shelf most the time because she preferred to play cars and trains.

But in the past few months she's been playing with her "girl toys" more frequently.

Here's where it gets funny though. She goes through a very specific ritual each time the "girl toys" are out. First she has to get all prettied up. She puts on her princess crown and her high heel princess shoes and all the princess jewelry. I mean all of it. Necklaces, rings, earrings, the works. And then, and only then, does she pick up her doll and feed it a bottle, or put it in the stroller to go for a walk.

And I seriously don't know where she has gotten the impression that she has to dress to the nines to take care of her baby. Because it certainly wasn't from me! Most days I wear sweats around the house, and my hair is in a ponytail, if I even bother to comb it. I'm really about as low maintenance as the come! In fact on Sunday I put on eye makeup and Zoey is so unaccustomed to seeing me wear makeup she actually asked me what was wrong with my eyes. I told her I was wearing makeup and asked her if she thought it was pretty. She pulled a funny face and told me no.

So you see, it's not from my stellar example that she gets the impression that mothers dress up in heels and crowns to take care of the baby. Which brings me back to my original assumption. She has a closet addiction to Leave it to Beaver. That, or she's just trying to overcompensate for my lack. I better start saving money now, she may need therapy someday.

Simply Amazing

Right now everything is amazing to Adam. He finds ways to throw the word amazing into just about every sentence.

"Mom, I ate all my carrots. Isn't that amazing?"

"Zoey, it's snowing outside! Isn't that amazing?"

"Wow! Look how big the moon is! It's amazing!"

"I built a tall tower of blocks. Do you think it's amazing?"

Yes Adam, it's amazing. And so are you!

Would you like a hug with your fries?

We went to Iceberg for for dinner last night.

I was sitting in the booth with the kids, Adam sitting by my side. He slides across the booth bench and puts his arms around me and says "I love you so much mom."

I said, "Really? For how long have you loved me?"

He says, "Oh, for a day or a two."

"Well," I told him, "that makes it the best day or two of my life!"

Guess that Costume

Several of you have asked what my kids are going to be for Halloween this year. I haven't responded yet because it's top secret. Okay, not really. I just haven't responded yet because I just plain haven't gotten around to it.

But as I was working on costumes this afternoon while the baby slept I thought that instead of telling you it would much more fun if I made you guess. I will give you a few clues.

Clue 1: Harrison's costume, thus far.



Clue 2: The fabric (which is a thick upholstery-like fabric) I will be using for Zoey's costume, assuming I actually make it that far. The sewing is coming along painfully slow.



Clue 3: Ha, there is no clue 3! Because Adam's costume is already finished! (I'm borrowing it from my sister-in-law.) So I can't show it to you, that would be too easy!

But you should be able to infer what Adam's is if you guess what the other two are going to be because, and here is your real clue 3, all three costumes go together in a theme.

Have you guessed yet?

Didn't see that coming

As if i needed more proof, a few minutes ago Zoey and Adam were eating fruit snacks together. Adam was sitting on the bottom stair and Zoey went over and plopped herself next to him and said "Adam, you're my best friend." Seriously. And it was so sweet I was grinning from ear to ear.

In fact, I thought it was SO cute that a minute or so later I said "Zoey, who's your best friend?" Without stopping to think she smiled very big and said "Adam."

So then I turned to Adam and said "Adam, who's your best friend?" He sighed deeply and rolled his eyes at me. I waited a couple beats and then asked him again. "Adam, who's your best friend?" Again he sighed and then looked at me and said, "I'll just have to think about it first."

Smile pretty for the camera

I have hundreds of snapshots of my children. But the above portrait is the one currently hanging on my front room wall. Because it's the most current one I have. And this particular photo session was over a year ago. So, I thought it was time to update my wall portraits.

And then I remembered why it had been a year since we last attempted portraits. Because you know that old adage they use in Hollywood, never work with kids or animals? Well, it's because of kids like mine!

Because I pick out cute clothes and try to make sure they are napped and fed and I have brilliant ideas in my mind of how they are going to turn out. But inevitably they always turn out something like this:



I can still hear Zoey screaming as Adam tries to climb out of the picture.

or this:



What is up with that look on Zoey's face? And apparently Adam was concerned about being included in the picture.

Or my personal favorite:



Don't they just look tortured?

Why I can't I have a nice portrait like this to hang on my wall. I would order a HUGE canvas of that print.

Or one like this, because they may not smiling, but it still looks great! Because at least nobody is crying.

These girls sat in a truck. So why wouldn't mine sit in a wheel barrow? Why? Why?

Of course there are a few gems. See, we were trying to get Zoey to lean against the fence all coy like.



And, as you can see, she just wasn't getting it.

So of course, the older sibling felt it was his responsibility to show her how.



And he did a great job, too bad he's still holding that stinking train that I kept begging him to put down!

Oh well. Now you'll all understand when I don't send out Christmas cards with a family portrait on it.

Don't count your chickens before they hatch

Okay, this really has nothing to do with chickens. I just didn't know what else to title this post. It could've just as easily been called knock on wood.

Because, you see, Harrison has now slept the entire night in his own bed for two nights in a row now! And he slept in his own bed for his nap yesterday and he is in his own bed taking a nap right now.

It's a beautiful thing. And sad, too. Mostly good. But he is my last baby. And there is something really sweet about a sleeping baby and I'm sure at times I'll miss his sweet sleeping self next to me in bed. Yea, call me crazy. I actually enjoy (most the time) my baby sleeping next to me.

But they hit a certain stage when they turn into wiggle worms when the sleep. And then it's time to ship them off to their own beds.

And that time has arrived. Is it always so bitter sweet when your kids grow up? And if I'm this sentimental about Harrison sleeping in his own bed what on earth am I going to do when Adam starts kindergarten next year?

Genius times 3

Adam (who, remember, is only 4) asked me the other day "Hey mom, what does 2 plus 2 plus 2 equal?"

I said, "Why don't you think about it and see if you can figure it out."

He ponders a moment and then says, "I think that it equals 6. And mom! That is what 2 three times is."

The kid is doing multiplication and he's never even gone to preschool! I'm convinced that he gets his brains from me.

Can't see the forest for the trees

Tonight while trying to get the kids into pajamas Zoey told me "Mom, we're pretending your bedroom is a forest."

I said, "Yea? What's in a forest?"

I was not sure she knew what a forest is, and so I was testing to see if she would say trees. Instead she said "A scary monster."

Yea, I guess forests might have those, too. Perhaps they've been reading too much fantasy fiction.

It's rhyming time

You know how sometimes you get songs stuck in your head. Some repeating line and melody over and over and over and over again. Until you're so sick of that song you want to scream.

Since I have kids I get Dr. Seuss stuck in my head. Can't help it. The rhyme and rhythm glue themselves to the inside of my cranium, beating around inside my already crowded thoughts.

A classic that is often found bumping around my grey matter is "Bid D, little d. David Donald Doo. Dreamed a Dozen Doughnuts and a duck-dog, too."

Over and over and over with the ducks and the doughnuts until I'm not sure I should quack or bark or run down to my nearest Krispy Kreme.

Fox in Socks is bad, too. Because even in my head my tongue trips all over the words. "When Beetles battle Beetles in a puddle paddle battle and the battles in a bottle and the bottles on a poodle and the poodles eating noodles. This is a Tweedle beetle puddle battle muddle fuddled wuddle."

I won't ask you to say that 5 times fast because I'm pretty sure my older brother actually can. I think he just may have the entire book memorized, too. "Who sews Sue's socks? Sue sews Sue's socks."

And those Who's down in Whoville. You know how they are.

Don't misunderstand me, I actually really love Dr. Seuss. My daughter's bedroom is decorated all in Dr. Seuss. My kids were even Seuss characters for Halloween last year.



I just wish those catchy rhymes weren't so, well, catchy sometimes!

So sweet dreams all my readers. I wish you pleasant dreams free from a dozen doughnuts and duck-dogs, too.

Are two yolks better than one?

The kids wanted eggs for breakfast this morning. Boy was I surprised to crack the egg and find it had to yolks! I thought it was the coolest thing ever!

Apparently it tasted like a normal one yolk egg, seeing as I threw just as much egg away this morning as I normally do.

croupy kids blues

Last week Harrison was sick. Diarrhea, croupy cough, runny nose. It was a fun filled week full of being cooped up in the house and long, sleepless nights.

I was see the light at the end of the tunnel around Friday. He was starting to sound better and be happier. I rejoiced greatly.

Yesterday morning Adam woke up sounding croupy and by noon Zoey was sounding just as bad. And if last night was any indication of how the rest of the week will go, it's going to be a long week. Fevers, croupy coughs, runny noses. I spent the night running back and forth between the two-I'd get one comforted and back to sleep just in time for the other to wake up crying. I spent the night rubbing vicks vapor rub on chests and feet, re-dosing them with tylenol, refilling water bottles, sticking heads in the freezer to help them breath easier.

So it looks like week 2 of being cooped up in the house and long, sleepless nights.

I know it could be worse. They don't have chronic or life-threatening diseases. For that I'm thankful. But a nice LONG nap sure would be nice.

Unfortunately I have to teach at church today so Mike will be staying home with the sick kids and he'll probably get that long nap instead.

And who says motherhood isn't glamourous?

Joe Jr.

Remember that scene in While You were Sleeping when Sandra Bullock opens her closet and Joe Jr. is sitting on the floor trying on her shoes? Remember?

Well, today I realized that it was quiet. Too quiet. So I went looking for my two oldest children. I looked in all the normal spots only to come up empty handed. But then I realized there were some quiet noises come from my bedroom closet.

So, I walk into my room, open the closet door, and am greeted by this:

baby steps

Harrison is starting to take his first unsteady steps. Beginning to venture out on his own. It's exciting because maybe in the future I won't have to carry him everywhere. Yet a little sad because it means he is growing up and will soon be a toddler, leaving his "baby" traits far behind.

BFF

From the day we brought Zoey home from the hospital her and Adam were destined to be best friends! My whole pregnancy I worried and agonized about how Adam was going to react to having a sibling. Because not only was he our first child but he was also the first grandchild on my side of the family and a boy grandchild born to the son in a family full of sisters. This was the grandchild that would carry on the family name. So, needless to say, he was kind of a golden child that first year.

But all my worrying was in vain because Adam loved his baby sister from day one. And she loved him, too. He was always kind and gentle and sweet to her. He never seemed to get even a tab bit jealous of how much of my time she took. And was very protective of her when she cried. And I'm convinced they somehow communicated with each other and had this conspiracy to take over my bed.



When Adam was old enough to move out of the nursery at church and into the 3 year old Sunday School class he cried for weeks and weeks about Zoey not coming with him. It was quite traumatic for him to be separated from her!

Even now it never ceases to amaze me how well they play together. Of course there are disagreements and arguments. But for the most part they are like two peas in a pod. There are days that they will disappear into Adam's room together for hours on end, content just to be playing with each other. The bond they have is truly special. And it's just between them. As far as they are concerned, 3 is a crowd.

A few months ago Zoey was sick, and spending a lot of time in bed. But that didn't deter Adam. He hopped right up on the end of her bed and "read" her books all day. (He's only 4 so he doesn't really read, he quotes books he has memorized. It's really cute.) He even wanted to have his lunch with her, to keep her company.



And this is how I often find them when they are watching movies together.



And the kicker....the other night Zoey woke up crying. She said she had a bad dream. I tried to console her for a few minutes but no matter what I did she just kept crying and couldn't calm back down. I even offered to rock her for a few minutes. But what she really wanted was Adam. I kept telling her he was asleep but she kept asking for him. So finally I asked her if she wanted to go lay in his bed with him. At that suggestion she finally stopped crying. So I took her into his room, slid him over, and laid her down next to him. She settled in immediately and went right back to sleep!



I love that they love each other. Here's to the start of a beautiful relationship.

No, I'm 2!

Whenever Mike or I have finished changing Zoey's diaper, or when I have finished combing her hair her we typically tell her that she is free. Meaning no longer contained, free to go play. She always misunderstands though, and every time, without fail, when we say "Zoey, you're free." she says, "No I'm not, I'm two!"

Jealousy

Adam has an intersting way of dealing with jealousy issues. One that he came up with all on his own.

Adam has always loved to snuggle. So sometimes he still gets jealous when I am holding or rocking his baby brother. Or he gets jealous when daddy is throwing the baby up high in the air, because at 4 years old he is getting too big for some of those types of games.

So whenever one of the younger kids is getting some kind of attention that he thinks he would like to be getting he says, "you did that to me when I was a baby, too." I always assure him that yes, I most defiantly did do that to him when he was a baby, and the affirmation makes him happy enough that he doesn't cry or pout over the thing making him jealous.

Now if I could just get him to act so mature when it comes to sharing toys with his sister.....

Movie Makers

I apologize for a post with SO MANY movies of my kids. Oh, wait, no I don't. They all make me laugh (because they are my kids, after all) and if you don't like them, just don't watch them. But you'll like them. Because, well, my kids are stinking funny!

At age 4 Adam already wants to be a movie maker. It's in his blood, he can't help it. My older brother made his first movie, The Time Machine, years ago with my parent's old 8mm camera.

And then there's the Snow White remake that my cousin and I made. Of course I was Snow White. And my younger brother had a cameo as the Dread Pirate Roberts. Yes, he was in this version of Snow White. (She'll laugh when she reads this, and say "Oh my gosh! I had forgotten all about that!")

After his cameo in my Hollywood blockbuster my younger brother later came into his own as a movie maker, too.

My college degree is in broadcasting.

So, it really comes as no surprise that my son has a desire to make movies himself.

A few nights ago I had my Canon point and shoot out that also has the ability to take short movie clips. I also had a purchased a new tripod (my bargain of the day that I found on a clearance table for 2 bucks after an otherwise unsuccessful day of shopping.)

They SO wanted to see what the tripod did. So I showed them. And the rest is history.

Below are movies taken BY my children. Adam would tell Zoey to go in front of the camera and he'd turn it on and tell her action! So, I apologize for the horrible lighting and the somewhat bouncy camera work. But I've been trying unsuccessfully for weeks to get Zoey to sing me a few songs and with one word Zoey would do it for Adam.

Hopefully you enjoy them a bit....because I find them tremendously hilarious!


How's it gonna take the picture?




Monkeys swinging in a tree




Itsy Bitsy Spider




Adam ABC




Popcorn Popping




Pop Goes my heart

Food Theif Strikes Again!

Some of you who have been reading awhile may remember when I told you all about how Zoey steals the baby's food.

She's been at it pretty consistently, always getting busted for taking whatever I happen to put on the baby's tray. Apparently his food tastes better than hers, which is strange since I mostly feed them the exact same thing! Whenever she gets busted she tries to tell me that the baby didn't want it anymore.

Today for lunch I gave the baby a cereal bar. Not 2 minutes later I turn around to see the ENTIRE thing in Zoey's hand, with a big bite taken out of it. I say "Zoey, give that back to the baby!" So she sets the remaining cereal bar down on the highchair tray and then starts to spit out the half chewed stuff already in her mouth.

GROSS! So I had to quickly explain to her that she could KEEP what was in her mouth and just had to give back the un-masticated portion.

Sudden Obsession

My 4 year old apparently is very obsessed with death lately. First came talk of the baby dying then today I walk upstairs and Adam says to me "Zoey and I are pretending to be dead."

I say "Why don't you pretend to be asleep instead, because I would be SO sad if you were dead."

He says "Well, we're just PRETENDING to be dead."

I'm not concerned so much as just really curious as to where all this is coming from. Can't say we've really had too many talks about death at our house so I'm not sure where he has picked it up. Guess I need to keep closer tabs on what they are teaching on PBS Kids.....

One step forward, two steps back

My children have all been late walkers. I was sure Harrison was going to walk sooner than the first two. But he's 13 months old now and not walking yet.

But is starting to stand up ALL the time these days. (Of course every time I grab the camera to document it he sits down and laughs at me!)

I did catch a couple of him pushing Zoey's doll stroller.





And, totally unrelated to him walking at all, enjoy a movie of him playing with the ball shooter. Because I enjoy it.

What?

Where does the 4 year old come up with this stuff?

Conversation at the breakfast table yesterday.

Adam: "Mom, why don't you want to have any more babies?"

Me: "Well, don't you think there are enough kids at this house?"

Adam: shrugs shoulders

Me: "Where would another baby sleep? We're out of room."

Adam: "Well, but if the baby dies you could have another baby."

Yea, I was pretty much speechless. And then I secretly prayed that he wasn't like psychic or anything and it was merely the ramblings of a 4 year old because I 1-don't want the baby to die anytime soon and 2-don't want to be pregnant or have another baby anytime soon.

A 4 year old's version of entitlement

I never used to buy kids meals for my kids. Typically when we ate fast food they would each get an order of 99 cent crispy chicken nuggets from Wendy's. And if they were really luck an order of 99 cents fries to share. No soda. No toy inside. Just deep fried breaded chicken. And life was good.

Then, about 2 months ago, for some reason I still don't understand we went to McDonald's. (or, as my children like to call it, Old McDonald's) And I got them each a Happy Meal. With fries. And a drink. And a toy inside.

So tonight we grabbed some fast food for dinner because I was on a cooking strike and Adam ended up with an order of crispy chicken nuggets.

When we got home and I placed his nuggets in front of him the first thing he said to me was "Where is my drink that came with my nuggets?"

"We didn't get drinks tonight. Just the nuggets."

"Well, did I get a game or a toy with my nuggets?"

"Um, no toy either. Just the nuggets tonight."

"Well, I like when I get a toy."

How did I let it come to this? And how do we get back to where we were before?

Future rock climber

Harrison is my climber. He still doesn't walk yet, but he climbs EVERYTHING. He curls his little toes around anything and everything and scales it like he's the most experienced rock climber around.

Last night he sat and watched the older kids playing on the slide until he just couldn't take it anymore at which point he wriggled out of my lap and went to join in on the fun.




This was the first time he had tried climbing the slide, and you see how easily and quickly he was able to do it. I'm telling you, future rock climber! Is that an Olympic sport?

A pig? Really?

Adam was playing with this huge plastic ant outside this morning. Which is ironic, considering he is terrified of teeny tiny ants. He brings it over to where I am sitting in the swing with the baby and says "Hey mom, there are some ants this big and they could eat a pig. Isn't that amazing?"

Where does he come up with these things?

Just bodies

I love to read the Shutter Sisters blog because I am really trying to learn more about photography and there are so many good tips and great ideas there!

One feature they have is the Superhero photo challenge. And, just like it sounds, it is a challenge to take a picture in a way that is out of the ordinary. The last challenge was to take a picture of just bodies. So I gave it a try. Here are some of my favorites from my mini photo session with my kids.



Okay, so I don't know enough about photoshop quite yet to clone out the outlet. But, other than that I really like this one.





So, take some just bodies pictures yourself. Then post them on your blog on put them on your flickr page and link to it here in the comments section. I'd love to see what you come up with!!!!

Through a child's eyes

A 4 year old's version of a tow truck





Not quite Tow Mater....but it will do.

Paper, rock, scissors

The conversation my husband had with my two oldest children tonight. (while I sat in the other room giggling.)

splash, splash, splash (did I mention the kids were in the tub?)

Dad: "Okay, who's ready to get cleaned?"

Adam: "Zoey first!!!"

Zoey: "No, Adam first!!!!"

Dad: "Okay, pick a number between 1 and 10."

Zoey: "10"

Adam: "Um, um, um, I pick 10 like Zoey."

Dad: "You can't pick 10 like Zoey."

Adam: "Why? I want 10 like Zoey."

Dad: "Because you have to pick a different number than Zoey picks."

Adam: "But I want 10 just like Zoey."

Dad: "But that messes up the game we're trying to play."

Adam: "Well, we want to mess up the game."

Dad: "Okay, okay. Let's do this then. Can you do this?"

shows them how to to rock, paper, scissors.

the kids mimic what he is doing.

Dad: "Okay, now on the count of 3 you have to pick one of those things to do. Ready? 1....2....3"

Dad throws rock, so do both kids.

Dad: "Let's try again. You don't have to do just rock. You can do any one of the three. Ready to try again? 1....2.....3"

Dad throws paper, so do both kids.

Dad: "No, no, no. Don't just do what I do. Pick a different one to do."

Adam: "But we like doing the one you do."

Dad: "But that messes up the game again. You each have to do something different."

Adam: "Okay. Daddy this time you do the rock and I'll do the paper and Zoey will do the scissors.:

Dad: "Oh never mind. Zoey, you're first. Let's wash your hair."

Boys will be boys

This is the scene at my house when I put the boys in charge of doing the laundry

breakfast conversation

Here is the scene at my breakfast table this morning.

Zoey: Eating a dinner roll for breakfast

Adam: "Zoey, that roll looks like a mouse for a computer."

Zoey: "Yea."

Adam: "Hey Zoey, hold your roll like a mouse and I'll take a picture." shapes left hand into a circle (because he has a pop tart in his right hand) and puts it up to his eye. "click-click. Wow, that was a great picture."

Zoey: "I wanna see!"

Adam: turns a flat palm towards his sister as if showing her the LCD screen on some invisible camera.

And I just have to ask, do I really say stuff like that?

The 3 amigos

The baby sat up to the big kid table tonight, and ate a happy meal. Just like the big kids.



And he thought he WAS a big kid.

Don't tell him that he's really still the baby. What he doesn't know won't hurt him

Future Blogger

"Blue-eyed blond, with shoes on wrong 'cause she likes to dress herself."

Lonestar
My Front Porch Looking In

Webster's Child

Yesterday my 4 year old said to me "Mom, I have a brilliant idea."

Yes, my 4 year old used the word brilliant. And he even used it correctly! How brilliant is that?

Where is Mary Poppins when you need her?

The baby is in his room crying. He has been for nearly two hours now. I'm not usually the "let them cry themselves to sleep" kind of mom but today everything has been all wrong.

The movie I put in for the older two has ended and the DVD has a really annoying repeating menu that just keeps playing over and over and over and over and over. And they are fighting about something.

But I'm sitting in my room, on the floor, in the corner, crying. A good mom would go pick up the baby. A good mom would go turn off the DVD. A good mom would put an end to the crying. But I'm still just sitting in the corner, wondering when the good mom will show up and fix everything.

I need to go change the laundry over and put a new load in. I need to get dinner put in the crock pot or else there won't be time for the slow cooker to do it's magic by dinnertime. And I think the milk is still on the table from breakfast. But I can't find the will to move. So still I sit, on the floor, in the corner, crying.

Plus my head hurts. And my toe hurts. I hate that I broke my toe!!!

The kids and I were supposed to go horse back riding yesterday at my cousin's place. But I broke my dang toe and so I couldn't take them.

The neighborhood playgroup is going to the swimming pool today. But I'm short on cash, and I can't drive, and I can't get in the pool (thanks again to the stupid toe!!!) so we didn't go. I hate that we didn't go.

I hate that the combination of my hurt toe and soaring gas prices that we never go anywhere anymore. I'm stir crazy, the kids are stir crazy. And summer is slowly slipping through my fingers.....

A good mom would find a way to make lemonade out of so many lemons. A good mom would fill up the kiddie pool in the front yard. Or pull out scissors and paper and glue and do an art project. Or a science experiment. Or, at the very least, go play candy land!!!! But today I'm not a good mom, so still I sit on the floor, in the corner, crying.

I woke up to find I only had 1 diaper left for Zoey. Because I haven't been shopping, again thanks to the toe. I thought it would be a good opportunity to encourage her to use the potty. So we put on princess panties. And within 10 minutes she had peed through two pairs, meaning now I had more laundry to do AND carpet to clean. So I called my husband (who was already half way to work) and told him he had to turn around and go buy me some more diapers. My nerves couldn't handle that many puddles in one day.

How did I get here? When did I become this crumpled crying mess on the floor? I feel like I don't even recognize me anymore.

365 Days ago

Yup, the baby is 1 year old today. A year! 365 days! Well, actually 366, it was a leap year. It took him a whole extra day to make it to his first birthday.

I thought for sure since he had that extra day and all that he would be my first child to be walking by his first birthday. For MONTHS now he's been pulling himself up to everything and standing up for seconds at time when he's too busy playing to realize he's standing. And I keep saying "he'll be walking any time now...." But no, he's officially 1 now and officially not walking.

But he does go up and down the stairs by himself, climb up onto and slide down off of beds by himself, and has 3 teeth. Well, he has two on the bottom and two on the top. But the two on the top are both only about half grown in, so they are only half teeth. So 2 full teeth and 2 half teeth equal 3 teeth, right?

Which is less teeth than either of his siblings on their first birthday. And less hair, too.

Here's the side by side by side comparison



Yes, just one year ago today Harrison first arrived on the scene. The smallest of my 3 babies, coming in at just 7 lbs. 8 oz. He was also the first of my children to come early, by exactly 1 week. He still put me through nearly 24 hours of labor though.

I started having contractions first thing in the morning on the 27th. In fact I asked Mike not to go to work that day because I was sure we'd have a baby in the next few hours.

He went to work anyway. And worked a full 8 hour day. And still no baby. But the contractions were still steady (although not close enough together to rush to the hospital) so we made packed a bag for the older kids and dropped them off at Grandma's. Then we went to Shopko to buy a car seat. Because even though my due date was only a week away we still hadn't bought a car seat. The contractions were getting closer and more uncomfortable at this point so here I am, walking around Shopko, and every 7-9 minutes I brace the shopping cart for a minute or so, and then go on with my shopping. We even stood at the discount movie rack for nearly half an hour picking out funny movies to watch the rest of the night to keep our minds off our impending doom.

But soon Shopko was closing and they were kicking us out. And the contractions still weren't QUITE close enough. Plus I had made the mistake twice before of going to the hospital too early so we turned and went home, much to my dismay.

So we sat in bed and watched two episodes of Scrubs (well, Mike watched Scrubs, I spent most the time in the bathroom or pacing the room because I couldn't get comfortable) and then half way through Becker I told him I couldn't stand it anymore and we HAD to go to the hospital now. (He really wanted to at least watch the end of Becker, but I said no.)

So on our way to the hospital at 11:30 pm I was pretty sure we wouldn't have a baby that day, but likely soon. Little did I know that it was still 9 hours away!!!! 9 LONG nothing on TV (no VCR in our room!!!!) late at night, really tired, shaking, puking, frustrating hours later.

But those hours did pass, and by 9:00 we had our new baby boy.



My how time flies!



The good news is that despite my earlier fears there were indeed presents, thanks to a combination of my own stupidity and my sister's extreme willingness to be my personal concierge.



Of course, most of them where small boxes of cereal...but a present is a present, right?

He even got a cake!



And decorations!



So now he can't ever complain about being the neglected 3rd child.

Happy Birthday, my baby! No matter how old you get, you will always be my baby.

Almost better than Disneyland

My kids have had front row seats to the greatest show on earth! And I'm not talking about the circus. My kids have seen trailers and bobcats and cement trucks and pumper trucks up close and personal this week. To a 4 year old who LOVES big trucks and his little sister who LOVES anything her big brother loves it was the most exciting week of their lives!

Adam was excited for DAYS before renting the trailer. He kept asking if it was Saturday yet. And he would tell everybody he saw that on Saturday we were pulling a trailer with mom's car. And on Thursday he had the following conversation with Zoey. "Zoey, you need to go to bed. Then tomorrow will be Friday. And then when you go to bed on Friday and wake up it will be Saturday, and on Saturday mom will pull a trailer with her car.



When you're 4 being in the back of a U-haul trailer is almost as much fun as "It's a Small World" but without the annoying song and there are no lines to wait in!



Zoey even got to practice her parade princess wave. (much to her brother's embarrassment)



"Zoey, this is a serious work trailer, not a princess float!"

The day the bobcat arrived I was constantly being corrected by the 4 year old.



I lost count how many times he said to me "mom, it's not a bobcat, it's a skid steer." Pardon me, I stand corrected.

And well, the cement pump, going up and over our house to pour cement, well that was just something!





As far as this 4 year old is concerned this was WAY better than Disneyland, because he cries when he sees grown adults wearing cartoon character costumes and won't even ride the merry-go-round at the dentist's office.

Too bad, really. Disneyland would've been a lot cheaper.

The neglected 3rd child

The worst part about yesterday's mishap is that Monday is the baby's 1st birthday and I have yet to go out and find him a present. And I don't really think a big day of shopping is the best idea for my foot just yet.

Yes, I know he's only 1 and doesn't know the difference. But it's the mommy guilt kicking in. The mommy guilt that says "you have pictures of the first two with a stack of gifts for their birthday, so you must have the same for him, too. Lest he grows up thinking he is the neglected 3rd child."

Thank goodness for Aunt Natalie, once again. She is out doing some birthday shopping for me. But I feel terrible about missing out on doing it myself. He's my last baby and he only has his first birthday once....*sniff, sniff*

Things I love about my kids

Just a short list of the things my kids are doing right now that someday I'll want to remember.

Adam: I love that when I'm sad or having a bad day he offers me his teddy bear to make me feel better. I love that he is figuring stuff out so much each day. His little mind really is at work. I love how he "narrates" when he plays. Especially the trains. He's pushing trains around the tracks saying stuff like "and then Gordon chuffs up the hill. At the top of the hill he sees Thomas. 'Hello Thomas' says Gordon." I am not making that up...he really does that when he plays! I love how he calls Construction Trucks "instruction trucks"

Zoey: She is really into wearing mismatch pj's right now. She always brings me a shirt from one set and pants or shorts from a different set. (reminds me of when Adam used to wear mismatched socks.) I love that she wants to wear princess shoes but still picks the boy toys in her McDonald's Happy Meal. (she really does...she wants the transformers!)

Harrison: He has this cute little elbow crawl that he uses when he has something in his hand. It cracks me up. I love that when you say "yay!" he'll start clapping. I love his little baby giggle.

And I love most when the go to bed at night and I get just a few hours to myself!

Please tell me it isn't true!

Last night we took the kids to get free slurpees. Well, okay they weren't really free. I mean they were giving away free slurpess to commemorate 7-Eleven's birthday. But when we arrived a little after 7:00 pm there was a handwritten sign on the door that said "no more free slurpees."

But we were already there, AND we happened to be at a 7-11 with Pina -Colada Slurpees so we had to get some anyway.

So I hand Adam his very own Pina-Colada Slurpee, he takes one sip and hands it back and says "I don't like this."

What??? What did you say?!?!?!?!? Doesn't he understand that he is genetically pre-disposed to liking Pina-Colada Slurpees?

The only thing I can figure is that I drank WAY too many of them while I was pregnant with him, giving him an aversion to them. You know, like when pregnant women eat too much peanut butter and the child ends up being born with peanut allergies. (or something crazy like that)

Fortnualty Zoey will eat anything and she was happy to take it off his hands for him.

to further prove my point

My previous post was all about how I must not feed Zoey enough. I try, honest I do. But apparently she is a growing girl. (or she just likes the goldfish crackers I give the baby better than the carrots and apples on her own plate.)

This morning I watch her pick up a tiny crumb off her bedroom floor. (I had let them eat a snack in there while I took my shower) She came to me and said "mom, what's this."

I told her "it's yucky garbage. go throw it away."

She says "okay" turns around and as she is walking away from me I see her put it in her mouth and eat it.

I just can't win.

Don't I feed you enough?

Zoey is constantly eating the food off the baby's tray. But she tries to pretend that she's not. And then she tries to pretend that she's just being helpful when she tells me "the baby is out of goldfish. He needs more goldfish mom." Well yea, because you ate them all you little goldfish thief.

I caught her red-handed last night.





And as if that weren't enough, she also eats the food he drops on the floor.







I feed her. I put food on the table for her and everything. On a plate even. I swear!


UPDATE:

I ran upstairs to put some clothes away and things got quiet downstairs, so of course I went to see what was going on. Guess Zoey was hungry again.

"What? I'm not eating before dinner mom, honest!"