Easter 2010

First, the Easter Bunny came bringing stereotypical gender fun!









Later, we got dressed up and had an egg hunt in GG's yard!
Grant ran around seriously looking for eggs!








Brianna could not be bothered with her adorable headband due to the serious competitive streak!











Cooperation was often achieved too!










At the end, everyone had more eggs then they had basket space!








Chase stayed safely out of the way in the arms of Aunt Jamie with and blew raspberries at Grandpa Phil.


After the festivities were over, Silly mommy insisted on a picture with GG... clearly Grant was pleased over this interruption into the candy eating time!

Bits and Pieces

AT WORK things have really relaxed and my work load dropped significantly... SO I decided to take on 2 new projects! Yaha... I'm an idiot!

CHASE is either teething or starting separation anxiety. Either way, my gentle little, go with the flow guy, is cranky! But it's odd- he's fine as I leave the room, if he sees me come back he melts down! Its like he didn't really realize I was gone until he sees me enter the room.

GRANT is so aware of the things around him. It's like I can see his little brain growing everyday. He asks what words mean and why things work and a zillion other thoughtful questions. Then 5 minutes later he throws a temper tantrum because he can't have exactly what he wants, exactly when/where he wants it, and I know my baby is still in the big boy shell.

BRIANNA is 6 going on 17. She has friend issues and emotional breakdowns and wants to wear dresses/skirts everyday. Except that she's still a kid because the friend issues are short lived, the emotional breakdowns can still be healed with hugs, and the clothes never match the shoes.

ME... well, I blogged about weight over at Changing our Weighs. I desperately need to clean my house and organize things... probably should have done that over spring break instead of sitting on my hiney... but my hiney and I had a nice relaxing time.

ADAM- who cares about him! It's all about me, right? :-)

Heaven help me!

Yesterday was Easter. (Happy Easter to all of you who celebrate it!)

We drove up to my grandma's house to meet up with the whole family for a nice lunch. It was wonderful to see everyone, especially my spit-fire grandma who will be 97 this June!

On the way up in the car, we were listening to the radio ( country as usual!) and the kids wanted to know the title to every. single. song.... !!! But that is not the point right now. The song "God Bless the Broken Road" by Rascal Flatts came on. I LOVE Rascal Flatts and (after giving the title) starting singing lightly and off key as a usually do. I was interrupted by a thoughtful Grant who asked, "What does Bless mean mommy?" On Easter of all days, that question brought me to tears.
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You need to know about me... I was raised Protestant Christan but always questioned my own faith and the beliefs of the church. As a teacher of ancient history and religion, I find my questions even greater as an adult. To complicate matters further, my husband was raised Jewish. Although his family doesn't really practice their faith on a regular basis, his parents especially still have strong ties to the faith.

To this date, I have done nothing in the way of religious education for my children. We celebrate various holidays of both faiths with the appropriate family. We go to church at Christmas. We've talked about God and how he created all things. We've explained to the kids that our family who've died have gone to heaven.

I won't choose any faith that tells the children that other faiths are wrong. That biased view not only alienates part of our family but goes against one of the beliefs I feel strongly about. I also don't want to give up my Sunday mornings but I suppose I might have to bite that bullet. I have found a local Unitarian Church that seems to fit our needs but it's a bit loose even for me. Although I don't know if I have another option.
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So back to the point...
My 4 year old brought me to tears because he didn't know what Bless meant! And I couldn't explain it to him. I felt like the most awful mother in that moment. I want my children to have the freedom to question faith but first they need to know about it. I only hope its not too late, and I hope that the Sunday school teachers don't think I am awful when my kids finally do start religious education and know nothing! Oh the questions that will bring up...

It was totally for him...

Today, I took Grant on a play date to one of his best friend's house. There were 3 other little friends there and he had a BLAST!

Happy side benefits:
- Adult conversation with people who I like and have things in common with.
- People with whom I can gossip a bit.
- Nice people who admire the baby and tell me how cute he is.
- Fun for all!

Lets be honest, I have a great kid in Grant and I'm glad people want him to be friends with their kids...But I'm most happy that they want me to tag along! I think kids were invented to help adults socialize!

9 days of Freedom

AH, the light at the end of a horrible, no good, awful month! Spring Break has arrived!
At 1:30 today I am going drinking with my friends to celebrate. I will stumble home around 4:30 to have dinner with the most adorable 3 children on the planet and one very supportive husband.

Then... nothing.... for 9 days!

Well, nothing that requires too much work. We have a play date on Thursday and are visiting Grandma in the big city on Friday. I plan on buying the kids some spring/summer clothes, buying myself some clothes and shoes, sleeping in as much as the kids let me, it sounds like paradise!

(how do I type an extended sigh?)

I am being attacked at work. I can't really say much but I am being personally and professionally attacked.

This is my 10th year teaching. I've dealt with difficulties before. I've dealt with lots of things... This is a new area and I don't like it at all.

I am not happy.

Interrupting the silence

I suppose I should explain why I've been away so long... except that most of you who read this actually know me and probably weren't surprised... but for prosperity...

• I'm still working on this list, minus a few things but plus a few more things!
• I had my gallbladder out... as discussed here. That went fine but necessitated several days of sitting slightly reclined as to not anger incisions... which meant no sitting up at computer.
• This baby, who I really need more pictures of, turned 6 months old!! He's an amazing little man and we are so blessed to have him. He hates cereal but if you hide it in the baby food, he doesn't mind that. He loves eating little bits of bread but isn't a huge fan of Cheerios. He like the baby puff things but can't quite get them in his mouth with out some help. He is technically sleeping through the night since he goes 7-8 hours without food but when your last meal is around 7:30pm- that still means mommy or daddy is up between 2-4 to feed him again. We are looking forward to when we can make it 5am! Hear me Chaser... 5am?!?
  
• We bought this mini-van. OK- not that exact one but it looks like that if you add some salt/dirt and a tiny scratch on the passenger mirror that I got the first time I pulled it in to the garage.

I suppose in reality, each of those could be their own series of posts but I don't have time. By the end of this month, my work will let up and I hope to be back far more often... posting the usual drivel that no one really needs to know! All my best in the meantime-- Jo

Of course I had better things to do!

But this was more fun....

Yes, somewhere under all that, is my actual face!

Dear Mother Nature,

I thought this dumb snow was supposed to end by 10am! Don't you know yet... if it's going to snow hard, it has to be between 1 and 5 am. Dump all the snow on us as fast as possible so that school is cancelled! Then clear up by mid-morning so I can go have some fun with the kids!

This snow is falling while I'm at work, with ruins all the fun and makes my new shiny car look dirty! UNACCEPTABLE!

Sincerely,
The crazy lady with the beautiful new van!
(pictures to come)

9 months is enough!

When we decided to have a third baby, I knew that meant full nights of sleep were not going to be an option for a while. Starting with the last 2-3 months of the pregnancy- no sleep then due to comfort issues and need to pee! Then the baby is born and he needs feeding a couple times a night. Eventually that tapers off to once a night. And then, the child is supposed to grow enough to sleep through the night.

Opinions differ on when that glorious regular sleep pattern will occur. Maybe when he doubles his birth weight. Maybe when he is eating solid foods on a regular basis. Maybe when he stops napping so much during the day.

Check. CHECK. CHECK!

Why won't he sleep through the night????? He teased me with full nights of sleep around 2 months old but around 3 months old he started getting up again. No problem, I thought! I can handle this! Really, it's only once a night- he drinks his bottle and goes right back to sleep most of the time- I can do this.

I'm done! I don't want to do it anymore! He will be 6 months old soon and I want to sleep through the night! We have tried everything we could think of.... upping the amount he drinks during daytime feedings... waking him to feed him right before I go to bed... adding cereal to the bottle for more calories...

Still- up- every night-
Help me someone please!

Things that should have been done by now....

but just aren't:

• 90 research papers graded
• 90 worksheets graded
• 90 posters graded
• 180 assignments recorded
• 90 maps started
• copies for tomorrow made
• test for next week finalized and sent to print
• baby book updated
• hair cut and colored
• blog updated

At least I can now cross one off the list! I guess I better get my substantial tush in gear!

My darling...

Adam, My dearest, who left me at home last night with the 3 children so you could go play poker, and then needed to sleep in this morning because you were up so late... please do not volunteer to start the laundry, to give me a break, if you DO NOT KNOW HOW! Somehow my "break" is less than effective if I am constantly answering your questions about what goes in, what setting to put it on, and which is the detergent now that I've switched brands!

A special smile!

Written Friday, Jan. 15 and found in my drafts...

This week, Brianna is very focused on losing her first baby tooth! Her 2 front, bottom, teeth are quite loose and the adult teeth are already visible behind them. Wednesday, she came home from school and informed me that her friend said that if I used a washcloth and pulled on her tooth it would come out. (Why does EVERY comment lately start with "My friend said..."?) We tried to no avail. I must admit I wasn't pulling very hard. She has her regularly scheduled dentist appt on Monday so hopefully they will take care of it!

And now...

The dentist wouldn't pull it for us- with good reason. They said that if they start pulling teeth, the kids learn to rely on that and expect it for every tooth. Instead, she showed Brianna how to wiggle her tooth in different ways and gave her "homework" to wiggle the tooth after brushing her teeth 2x a day!

A few days later- It worked! The tooth finally came out after working on it for over 5 weeks.

The Tooth Fairy made her first nocturnal visit to our house Friday, January 29th! She brought Brianna a coloring page with a tiny little note in the corner, and left a $2 bill as well. Brianna was thrilled!

There are no excuses for me!

Obviously, I've missed a few days blogging lately. I honestly can't tell you what I've been doing.

It wasn't grading papers- I still have TONS of those to grade.
It wasn't cleaning- My classroom and house both look like a clutter volcano erupted!
I guess I did something.... clearly something memorable...

Today I'm blogging over at Changing our Weighs and answering stupid questions at school. Yes- there is such a thing as a stupid question- someone just asked me if the mountains should be placed on the land!

Maybe I'll be back tomorrow.

A Wild and Crazy Guy!

Grant is, at best, goofy. Someday, some teacher will tell me that he is the class clown and does things to make his friends laugh. If you've met his father, this won't come as a surprise.

Monday Night, he topped himself.

On a normal night, we put the kids to bed around 8 and after the routine is done, we're back downstairs by 8:30ish. Somewhere through the years, we've stopped going back up to check on them. They are good kids; they stay in their beds...even if they need something from us, they yell from their bed instead of getting out to come find us.

Monday was no different. Kids in bed by 8, adults watching TV and on computer by 8:30. Around 10:15 we stumbled upstairs to bed for ourselves. Here is where Monday took a detour!

Who do I find laying in my bed, eating my midnight snack? Grant!
We are still not sure if he had fallen asleep and got up thinking it was morning, or if he was just feeling mischievous. He certainly had been up for a while. He had:
- played in the tub (without water) as evidenced by the tub toys all lined up on the bottom of the tub
- Attempted to turn on the TV- he'd dragged in the step stool and left it sitting there. (He later reported that he wanted to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse- thus maybe thinking it was morning?)
- He was eating the dry cereal I keep by my bed (in case I get hungry when up feeding Chase in the middle of the night). He'd made quite a dent in that!
- Several of his favorite stuffed animals were all lined up on the bed resting with him...enough animals that he must have made several trips!

We could barely contain the laughter as we put all the pieces together! What a stinker.
When I asked him why he was in our room he said he'd "snuck in like a burglar".
When I wondered aloud how long he'd been there, he smugly announced "just 10 hours".

Silly man! I guess we'll have to go back to checking for a while, but I'll be checking with a smile!

Phoning it in...

Chase is still sickish but I am at work. There is nothing I can do to help him and they will call me if they really need me right...

I'm a bit tired from the whole sick baby-up all night- must be held thing... and I've exhausted myself with truth over at Changing our Weighs.

Tomorrow- a confusing and funny story about Grant. Today, hopefully a nap later.

I made it through the day!

Today, I was the stereotypical working mom who everyone doesn't want to be...

I sent my sick kids to school! I know, I shouldn't but it really couldn't be helped. (Daddy couldn't stay home either since he had been subpoenaed as a witness for court and Grandma was unavailable too.)

Chase has had a cold for almost a week and although it is winding down, he's still coughing. Sometimes the coughing triggers gagging and the gagging triggers vomit. I spent all day working as fast as I could just *knowing* that the call would come any minute... "Chase's mom, you have to come pick him up now..." But it didn't come.

Brianna was up until nearly 11:00 last night because she "just couldn't keep her eyes closed". I know- weird! But I think it had something to do with her cough, and her persistent fear of throwing up. She wouldn't admit it, but I'm sure she was laying there stressing over every little throat/stomach tickle.

If anyone is sick tomorrow, I can be a good mommy and stay home. SO- Murphy's law of parenting states that everyone will start improving tonight and be fine tomorrow.

Because thinking hurts my brain

Grant showing off a new sweatshirt!

The kids first "driving" lesson!

Brianna LOVES holding "baby Chase".

Cutie girl...

Big kids by the Christmas Tree.

Out of her mind!

Hello,

Jo is out of her mind today. She will be blogging over at Changing our Weighs. If you'd like to leave a message, please wait for the beep.


BEEEEEEPPPPPPPPP

From the mouths of babes!

Brianna doesn't really say funny things too often anymore but she definitely does funny things-

She has noticed that sometimes when I mix a bottle for the baby, after I've given it a good long shake, I hold it up above my head and stare at the bottom of the bottle. She has started doing this when she "feeds" her babies. It so cute how she mimics me. She walks around the house, bouncing the baby gently in one hand while shaking the bottle with the other. Finally, she lifts the bottle, stares at it, and finally pronounces it ready.

She's been doing this for several weeks and it never fails to make me smile. This week, I couldn't help but laugh with she finally asked me WHY I do that! :-) Sadly, now that she knows why, it doesn't seem as interesting to her anymore.

Grant is SUCH a character! When I picked him up from school Tuesday, his teacher couldn't wait to tell me this one-

While doing their "stations" that morning in preschool, the teachers had some music playing. They do that everyday... On this day, Ms. Mary had picked the latest album by Taylor Swift. Grant likes Taylor Swift, we listen to country on a regular basis in our house. Apparently, at one point, he just stopped coloring, looked up at his teacher, and said, "What's the big deal about being 15? I don't get it." Ms. Kim and Ms. Mary couldn't help themselves, they said they were crying from laughing so hard. Of course, with a reaction like that, now he repeats his famous statement every time the song comes on.

Chase... well, Chase doesn't say much of anything yet. But he laughs a lot! Especially when Brianna plays full body peekaboo with him. This basically means that Chase sits in someones lap on the couch, Brianna squats down in front of the couch so that she is almost out of site, and then pops up and says Peek-a-boo in a style slightly reminiscent of Molly Shannon's SNL- "Superstar!" character. Oh, the hysteria!!!! .... I should work on getting that one on video...

American Idol: Pants On The Ground

TOO, Too funny! Made my day....

The teacher side of me is screaming AMEN!

i-Tunes, Take me Away!

In an effort to escape to a happy place in the middle of the day... I turned on my i-Tunes and let it pick some songs for me.

The first 5 to show up were:
Spice Up Your Live- The Spice Girls
Speed of Life- Sugarland
The Right Kind of Wrong- LeAnn Rimes
Crazy Dreams- Carrie Underwood
Goodbye Earl- The Dixie Chicks

Other than the obvious pattern of country songs, I'm not sure what to think of these selections. Not bad at the concept of cheering me up, although the next few songs were all tear-jerkers!
Maybe some hidden message about my job or my life?

As usual, I'm probably over thinking things. :-)

Adventures in Accountability

I have been thinking about (knowing I should) lose weight for quite some time. That time is NOW! Why?

1. I am done having children so there won't be any more pregnant feasting.
2. We have a family wedding in Mexico this July and I'd like to feel slightly more comfortable in shorts and a bathing suit.
3. I want to live longer for my children.
4. I'm tired of being 2 people. (2 x's on the tops, digits starting with 2 on the pants).

I am lucky (and cursed) to have my husband along with me on the journey this time but I thought I needed more accountability. SOOOO, I volunteered to be a contributor on a new blog~ Changing our Weighs. You can see what I'm thinking every Tuesday over there.

Just Because

I feel my other blog entry for today was lame at best. Here are some pictures to help spice things up!



Chase at 4 months... he started "talking" that day and didn't stop for 2 weeks!













Chase on our faux-Christmas Morning. (Santa visited us a few days early so we could head on vacation).












Chase at my parents Christmas party/gathering. Every child MUST get a picture in this chair! :-)

The weekend of nothing!

This weekend, I barely ventured out of the house, Heck!, I barely ventured out of my house clothes! (You know, the ones that are warmer and less revealing than your pajamas but that you wouldn't actually wear in public.)

Friday- our school district had a SNOW DAY! That most glorious of all unplanned days off that does not involve a sick person or an emergency. And better still- it really was a fine day. The snow ended by 8ish and the roads were clear by mid-morning. I think they were just being "safe". On that day- I threw on some jeans to hit the grocery store mid-afternoon. Who knew that would be the last time I got dressed all weekend!

Saturday and Sunday- I don't know what I did all day! Cleaned, did laundry, fussed around the house, kept the family fed, watched a lot of NCIS and NCIS, LA that I was behind on. I think it was the perfect weekend!

Busy Days

Not that it is anything new, but I am unbelievably busy this week.

I am finishing up some committee projects this week while starting a new, HUGE, project with my students. And did I mention that I have a life, 3 kids, and a husband who expect things of me.

That being said, I have a new sticky note on my computer. It is my calming mantra for the new year....

"Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense." -- Emerson

Bored, what's that?

When we were kids, we used to complain to my mom that we were "bored". She really hated that! Of course that was before home computers and video games and DVD players... but still.

Every once in a while, my kids tell me they are bored... that they have nothing to do. I think I may kill them the next time I hear that!

After this Christmas/Hanukkah they have between them:

• 2 personal DVD players
• A Nintendo DS
• 2 different Leapster/Leap pad reading systems
• More computer games than they can play in a year
• More movies than I've seen in a long time
• TOYS coming out the yahoo!
• Books, puzzles, games.
• OUTSIDE! (When it's not freezing)

Besides all that, I think I am jealous. I would love to have the luxury of being bored. Without laundry, cleaning, cooking, diapers, children to entertain, work to do, papers to grade... to sit in silence and genuinely say I have nothing to do. HA!

Lists

Things I brought on vacation that we didn't actually need:

• Shorts
• T-shirts
• lots of light weight pajamas

Things I left at home but ended up needing hence many trips to Target:

• Light weight coats
• sweatshirts
• hats/mittens
• fleece sleepers for the baby

Fun things we did in Florida:

• Hang out with the family
• Drink
• Japanese Steak House
• Date Night at Universal Studios
• Pedicures
• Go-Kart Racing (who knew!)

Things that should have been fun, or were sort of fun, but were dampened by the dang crowds:

• Universal Studios- Islands of Adventure
• Disney World- Animal Kingdom
• Disney World- Magic Kingdom (Which they actually CLOSED because it was FULL!)

Lessons learned:

• Target is everywhere and it's more fun to buy new stuff anyway.
• The cheaper entertainment that is less well known will be more fun than the big guys.
• Alone time and couple time is priceless... Thanks Grandparents!
• Family time is what really makes any vacation.

Va-Cay... here we come!

The whole fam-damily is celebrating Christmas in Florida this year! We head out tomorrow, on my BIRTHDAY! And come back New Years Day...

SOOO many things still to do before we leave the house tomorrow afternoon...

One thing NOT left to do... Santa! Santa made a special stop at our house last night so we wouldn't have to ship much back and forth. The kids were adorable this morning taking turns opening presents and ooohing and ahhing over most stuff. The clothes were barely looked at while the big hits seemed to be the "Touch-n-brush" and the Snuggies. Who knew!

Now- on to marathon cleaning and laundry and packing...
We are on the plane in 23 hrs....

Me Time!

There used to be a time when if you were a mom, that is all you were. Now we are so many other things that our lives can become endlessly confused and hectic. The current solution for that, which I heartily agree with, is Me Time.

We are even teaching our kids about Me Time. When they've played together too much and the last nerve is frayed, the whole family will take Me Time. Brianna often plays babies, or now her DS, in her room. Grant takes his cars and picture books to his room. Adam usually watches TV. Me, I facebook.

I believe I may have an addiction forming to facebook. I could be on there for hours everyday if time permitted. It started during my maternity leave and I actually did have hours to spend. First I love reading the live feed and looking at all my friends posts and pictures. Then, I MUST care for my Farmville farm. I make a point to help all my other friends farms too so I can get more coins and points to move ahead and get better stuff. Usually, my next act is to care for my fish tank in Happy Aquarium. I can't leave them alone too long, they get sick! If I still have time before the family melds together again, I play the free games like Bejeweled and others. I admit, sometimes I facebook multiple times in one evening.

I'm working hard at stepping away from the computer! I have a book I'm reading... this used to be my Me Time... before "The Book". I don't want to spend money for Me Time... manicures and pedicures are just not in the budget right now. I would love to bake more but I might as well just apply the dough to my hips and butt at this point.

What do you do for Me Time?

Today I loathe my job!

Yesterday, my administration, took a project I had worked hard at, a project where I'd worked out all the foreseeable details, a project in which I had great pride and sense that I had done something good for the students of this school, and they changed it.

I suppose that is their right. I am, as my husband informed me, "only a teacher". But! I go above and beyond for this school. I work my butt off trying to help this school. And they didn't even tell me. I found out when an uninvolved person told me about the project. (They didn't know it was MY project.) And the details were all wrong. I can appreciate that they are the bosses and might see things I don't see. I can appreciate that they are at least following through on the ideas even if they've changed portions of it.

I do NOT appreciate that I didn't even get the courtesy of a phone call or email explaining to me that they'd made changes and why. I can not, will not, understand the lack of return communication. Don't give me the freedom to create a project, and then take it apart with out at least telling me why! Today, I will be spending a portion of my day looking for new jobs. It will be pointless this time of year but it feels like an action I can control.

I'm officially old

I had the B.E.S.T time Saturday night!

My parents took the big kids for a sleepover, we got an over-qualified babysitter for Chase, and we went out! to a Bar! with Friends!!!!!!!! I don't remember the last time I did that. But I digress...

During our evening out, here are the reasons I decided that I am officially old now.

1. Everyone was texting during dinner. Although I have full texting and Internet abilities on my phone, there was no one left to text and no reason to be texting. All my friends were either there, or busy doing other things.
2. I lost count of my drinks after 4... I can't really recall if I had 4 or 5 drinks.
   
3. I had to go home when I spilled my last drink. I didn't just spill it... I spilled it without even realizing I'd touched it. Then I sat there staring at the mess too devastated about losing my yummy drink to even realize that it was creeping across the table towards my purse and my lap!
4. I was in bed by midnight!
   

Hi, How are you?

I believe I've mentioned a few dozen times that I am a teacher. This means that for a small but significant part of my day, I "wander" around the halls... to the copier, to the lounge, to the office, etc. In a school- there are ALWAYS people in the halls. Common courtesy dictates that you acknowledge them.

If you don't know them well, a nod of the head or a simple "Hi" will do. If you know them by name, most people politely ask... "How are you?". I don't ask this and I'll tell you why...

If I really wanted to know how you were, I would have called, emailed, or actually sought you out for this purpose. In the 15 seconds I see you in the hallway, you can not actually tell me how you are.

When people ask me, I usually say "fine". (Don't we all just say "fine"?) What would that other person do if I told them how I really was... "Well, I stayed up too late last night and I think a cold is coming on because my throat feels like I've swallowed nails but we've got a babysitter for this weekend so unless I'm hospitalized I'm thrilled that we're going out drinking on Saturday." What would my mere acquaintance think of that!?!

Min has another interesting answer... "It's Friday". I may borrow that...

So disappointing

We went to our favorite photo studio on Monday. It was past time to get Chase's 3 month shots, and Grant and Brianna haven't had a professional picture since this time last year.

It was N.O.T. good. If Chase was happy, Grant was making funny faces. When we tried to get Grant to stop, he started crying. Several of Brianna's shots look like she's grimacing in pain! The family shots- oh geez! Not one decent one of all of us.

AND THEN- the prices! We were just there 3 months ago for some newborn pics and the prices were somewhat reasonable... now- Through the ROOF! Adam wanted to walk away, not purchase anything. However, I'd already paid $30 to get my hair done and I'd gotten the whole fam-damily in coordinating dress-up outfits. There was no way in frozen hell that I was walking out with out something for my efforts.

So we got our holiday cards, and decent pictures of each child individually. We ordered NO family shots, save the one on the card, and NO shots of the kids together. And I am never going back to that place again... or not without one doozie of a coupon. And maybe with one kid at a time!

I'm not sure what to say

On a daily basis, someone asks me what it's like to have 3 kids. I don't want to complain, I fought hard to have 3 children and I love each one of them more than I could ever describe. I also don't want to give a false impression to my well-meaning inquirer. It's HARD to have 3 kids. Just mornings alone would probably kill me if not for my incredible husband and very understanding day-care.

Just yesterday... I was running late getting out of the house. I had to take the 2 boys to daycare, Adam had Brianna. Grant had decided to pretend that his car seat was playing music... He instructed me not to turn on the car until he started his music first. I must have responded with an "OK" or something, then I promptly forgot. I started the car and he started crying and yelling at me because I didn't wait for him to tell me to start the car. I (unfortunately) yelled back about being late and frustrated. A moment or two later, we both calmed down. I apologized for yelling at him. I explained that even when I was angry or frustrated I still loved him and I would try to listen better the next time. He was quiet for a few seconds before he sternly responded, "Mommy, saying sorry doesn't always get you what you want. But thank you for using your words".

That moment actually made my whole day better and I smiled all morning.
Just when things are looking the worst, one of my kids will do something funny (usually unintentionally) and turn my whole day around.

That's what it's like with 3 kids.

Almost Wordless Wednesday

I had been saving this outfit for after a Bears win... but since that will NEVER happen...

From the mouths of babes!

This morning, I was distracted trying to get everything ready...
So I wasn't fully listening until I heard Grant say, "Mommy, I don't know that type of candy, can I have one?" My brain still didn't register anything other than the fact that it was 6:30am and my son was asking for candy. I somewhat disgustedly replied that No, he could not have candy at breakfast. He again harped on it... "Mommy, can I just see that new candy, I've never seen it before."

There was no candy in sight...
I couldn't figure out what he was talking about...
Until I really paid attention and saw that he was focused on...
The tampons I had just dropped next to my purse!

Candy! HA! I've been laughing to myself for hours!

Thought provoking

A new article from Time Magazine
This article has me happily thinking that the world may not be doomed after all!

Before I was a parent, I was a teacher. Now, I am both! This article should be mandatory reading for every parent of a school age child. I already see "mistakes" I made in my 6 year old... things I wish I'd handled differently so she learned a different lesson than the one I unintentionally taught. I am learning everyday what kind of parent I want to be.

Ask yourself- What kind of parent do you want to be? Is that who you already are?

SO overwhelmed!

So I am writing my first blog entry from work! I seriously need to focus my thoughts and get my self together! (SO how is blogging going to help? It's not but I get to relax for a minute!)

Somehow, getting to know 95 students always seems easier in August when no one knows them. But now- I am trying to learn names, accommodations, quirks, special needs, behavior triggers... all from someones notes. I don't have time to wait and see like I would have been able to in August! UGH. AND- This week is conferences- so I get to meet all the parents of the kids I don't know!

On the plus side-- Chase is loving daycare (as much as a 3 month old loves anything). Morning patterns are working pretty well... mommy just has to get her lazy butt out of bed 15 minutes earlier! :-)

Done!

My maternity leave is done.
Tomorrow, I resume working for a living.
I am not happy, but I am also not too upset.
I will miss having Chase all to my self, and having LOTS of free time.
I will not miss feeling unproductive and lonely.

It all goes by so fast....
12 weeks in a blink!

What about the kids?

It's actually been a while since I talked about my kids!

Chase is sick. :-(
My poor little baby has his first cold. He is sniffling and sneezing and sleepy. I wasn't too concerned until he had a "fit" this morning.... 40 minutes of unstoppable crying/screaming. THAT is not at all like my mellow little man! As soon as I got him to sleep, I called the doctor. Of course they don't need to see him but I feel better knowing I checked. Also, inevitably, he got much better after I called. I should call the doctor sooner, even when they don't do anything, simply the call seems to make my kids better!

A great Grant-ism:
When I asked him what he'd had for lunch at school he said, "We had the green beans that are rectangles with circle ends, not the ones shaped like little balls".
I seriously had to replay that sentence in my head a couple times!

And Brianna?
I don't know... Bri is fine. She is super excited to go to the bookstore tonight where her principal is reading a story. She is getting better at her reading and math everyday. She's still stubborn about her clothes but we are learning to compromise with each other.

They are great kids and I can't imagine life with out them!

Notes from the home

I am not normally a stay-at-home mom... however, I am enjoying this maternity leave thing quite a bit! But that is beside the point. Having stayed at home the past 11 weeks, I am starting to notice things I never did before.

1. Why are there SO many loads of "dark" laundry? Do the dark clothes infect the lighter colors in the hamper? Is it because it's fall/winter? Do I just gravitate towards those colors when shopping and if so, what does that say about me?
2. The dust bunnies in the corners of the family room do not bother me at all. Seriously, I could stare at them for days if no one is coming over, but the minute I know I might have company, I scramble to pick them all up.
3. It is hot in the office of our home. It has a lot of windows and apparently receives LOTS of daily sunshine. I never noticed before... I may or may not have to blog while dressed inappropriately to compensate.
4. I could spend all day on the Internet if necessary. Seriously- If the TV died and the kids wouldn't bother me, and I could make money, I could spend all dang day on the Internet. I will have to seriously cut back on this soon and it is distressing me slightly!

Ahh, the enlightenment! :-)

It's not about me... for a change.

Today, as I sit around the house in my sweats, with the kids running around and my husband home....

Thank you to all the men and women of the armed forces who made this perfect life possible. America has so much to thank you for!

In the words of an old country song... "All gave some, some gave all".
God Bless!

Oh Behave!

I am heading out the the store today to buy something special... Something I hear is the greatest gimmick ever to be invented by parents and the great all-knowing Hallmark.


It is called... The Elf on the Shelf! Have you heard of it, do you know?

The elf comes to your home the day after Thanksgiving. He sits on a shelf in the house all day long. At night, he leaves to report back to Santa in the north pole. When he returns in the morning, he is in a new place in the house! Sometimes he brings a little treat for the kiddies... AND you can't touch him because if you do, he loses his magic and he can't go back and tell Santa how good you are.

There is a book that comes with so if the kids don't believe you, the book confirms everything!
I am excited to try it.

6 is the new 16?

I had planned to write about something else today BUT- I have a frustration to share instead!

My in-laws informed us today that they purchased a Nintendo DS lite for my 6 year old for the holidays. They did not ask us first, they just informed us when it was done. (They thought we might want to buy her more games for it). I'm a little dismayed by this! I think 6 is too young to be playing hand held games. She needs to be working on learning how to read and write and add, not how to get Tinkerbell through the forest!

My husband and I were already struggling with my parents purchase of an inexpensive mp3 player for her. At least this, I rationalized in my head, could be used sparingly and I could control what music went on it. It seemed like a good first step into the technological world in which kids live today. She already knows how to use my husbands and would not need much help with this...

It just occurred to me... am I going to have to teach her how to use the DS? I'd rather be teaching her not to reverse her S's and 7's!!!!! Not to mention that the DS is $130!!!! I just don't think a 6 year old, at least not MY 6 year old, is capable of taking care of something that is over $100! She loses everything... EVERYTHING!

Am I over-reacting?
Do you know a child of this age that does well with it?
Should I tell my in-laws no?!?!?!?!?!!!! (I've never been good at that!)

Lord knows- once she has it in her hand, she will love it (for a time) and there will be no going back....

10 days

I have 10 working days at home with baby Chase! When did a 3 month long maternity leave suddenly become 10 days?!?!?!?!?!?!?! I want more time!

Day one

I have decided that I don't want to be a size 18 anymore. OK- lets be real, I never wanted to be a size 18, I never planned it, it just happened. I have 3 kids who need a better role model. I have trip to the beautiful beaches of Mexico to plan for (July 2010!). I want to stop shopping in the "Women's" department!

At my smallest (that I can recall), I was a 12 in the months immediately before getting pregnant with my oldest. I want to wear that dress again. Yes, I have a size 12 dress that I bought in that wonderful time and I am holding it in my closet so I can wear it again someday. It's nothing special, definitely not an "investment piece". I think I bought it at Target. But I remember how I felt in it!

Yesterday I did the Jillian Michael's "30 day Shred, level 1". I plan on doing something like this 5 days a week. I know that I need to make it a habit so I picked a time that I will be able to continue even after I return to work in a mere 17 days.

If your looking for me at 3:oo, I'll be in the family room, sweating!

Halloween "recipe"

Do you love s'mores? Really- who doesn't?
But in our house we just don't have the time to make a fire and sit in the cold while roasting marshmallows. (Read- we are lazy and it is raining.)

Therefore... S'mores Shortcuts!
The principle is the same, 2 graham crackers, chocolate, marshmallow.

• Lay one-half of graham cracker on paper plate.
• Top with one-fourth of Hershey bar. (Or tiny "individual" chocolate bar that you stole from the kids Halloween candy) (also excellent with dark chocolate!)
• Top that with one marshmallow.
• Microwave about 15-20 seconds; just until the marshmallow starts to puff up, but watch them because if you leave it alone, it will explode!
• Take out of microwave and immediately cover with remaining half of cracker. Push gently to "smoosh".
• Enjoy!

Halloween Parade

Today was the Halloween Parade at Grant's daycare center. I haven't missed one since Brianna started there at the age of 2. I was a little sad that Brianna was no longer there today, I always loved seeing them together. Next year, it will be Grant and Chase!

Here is Superman getting ready to fly! Notice how my excellent photo skills caught him with both feet off the ground! (or it could have been dumb luck!)

















Here Superman is scratching his head wondering where he left his belt and cape. (Well, apparently he left them in the classroom because at 4, the rules say you must refuse to wear at least part of your costume!)




























Here is Superman running away from his kryptonite, the dreaded mommy hug!


















Superman needs a hair cut!

3rd time really is the charm.

When you have your first baby, you are stressed. ALL the time! Stressed about food and diapers and clothes and blankets and bottles and Binky's and sleep and... well... everything really. There is no time to enjoy the baby because you don't know that nothing is wrong, that there is no reason to worry. You don't love the first baby less, you just worry yourself into a state of panic about the little things, and then the big things feel like mountains.

With the second child, you are overwhelmed. It is a real challenge to learn how to accommodate a new human being while still providing all the love and attention that the first child needs. You don't worry quite as much, but probably only because you don't have time to. The adjustment to child number 2 is one of the hardest things you will ever do, and still you love them endlessly.

Child 3 is bliss. You have worked out all of the worry and stress on the first child. You already know how to multi-task thanks to child #2. You've been "there" before and been through everything along this road. Or maybe you hit a rough patch but you know how to get the help you need and still deal. With child 3 you can finally enjoy every minute. Not just the perfect minutes, but all the minutes. You might even enjoy the crying minutes and the smelly minutes and the messy minutes, because you know that you will make it through and this little person will be a blessing in your life for a long time. And that makes you love the ride more than you ever imagined you could.

Or at least that's how it is for me.

Happy Birthday Grant!

The blogger in me missed it, but on Sunday, Grant turned 4!

We had a lovely party the night before, just family and some close friends. On his actual birthday, we pretty much ignored it. I actually just let him believe that his party day was his actual birthday. When your only 4, it's easier that way.

This coming weekend, we have a Chuck E Cheese party for his classmates from school. I think I might be insane to voluntarily put myself in the mouse house BUT- it was cheaper than the bouncy place that every 3rd kid has their party at! AND- I don't have to clean up afterwards!

Pictures to come... maybe... if I get around to it.

Everything's Amazing and Nobody's Happy.

If you'll pardon my low-tech-ness today... I don't have time to figure out how to post this better...

This was posted on my facebook today by an old friend and it really spoke to me. If you haven't seen it, check it out and tell me what you think. Let me just say, it made me think and I AM happy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8r1CZTLk-Gk

I think when I go back to work, I will share this with my students and see what they think. I'm sure the responses of the 11 and 12 year olds will be priceless!

I dare you not to laugh!

This morning in the grocery store...

Brianna says, "Mommy, I know how to spell tight! T- I- T!"


HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Her dad and I just about died!

I must be REALLY crazy

I'm thinking of going back to school... again.

I have a Bachelors in Education. I have a Masters in Administration.
Someday, I might get my doctorate.... but not now.

Now I am thinking of going for a second masters in Technology. Or maybe not a masters... maybe just enough classes to get a teaching certification in tech.

Adam thinks I'm crazy in a nutty/incomprehensible way. I only plan on teaching for another 2-3 years before trying to be an administrator. However- If I have to keep teaching exactly what I teach now- I will go crazy in the loony bin/straight jacket/padded room way.

What better in this day and age to become an expert in than in technology?!?
I'm looking at online classes.... Hmmmm....
What working mom of 3 wouldn't love to go back to writing papers and completing projects?
What kind of crazy do YOU think I am?

Who needs this?

Does a 4 year old need his friends at a birthday party?

We are obviously having all our family and close friends over to celebrate Grant's birthday. We always do, for both kids. That will be a dinner at the house "thing".

He wants a friend party too. I don't remember if Brianna had a friend party at 4... 5- yes, 4- I don't think so. However, Grant has attended birthday parties for about 6 of his friends, and more invites came this week for the upcoming month or so.

• I feel like he will notice, and feel shafted, if he attends birthday parties of friends but doesn't host one.
• Will the friends, or more accurately, parents of friends notice and think I don't like them?
• Is the expense worth it? The last thing the kid needs are cheap toys...
• Where to go? What to do? Is it too late?

Mommy is a bit of a wreck over this. It should be easy but, it's not. I need to decide FAST. If I'm going to do this, I have to get it booked and get the invites out by next Monday. UGH.

Randomness v.1

- My husband got his wallet back, minus the cash, but we had already cancelled the cards. Now we wait for the new cards to arrive. All the hassle, less reason!

- Chase has been sleeping nights in his bouncy seat next to my bed. I need to get him sleeping in a crib but I'm too lazy to walk to him when all he really needs is the paci shoved back in his mouth... Maybe soon.

- Grant is adorable! He is always saying funny things that I just can't believe are coming out of his almost 4 year old mouth. They are less funny by the 50th time he says them.

- Grant really should have a "kid" party for his birthday but I just can't seem to get my s**t pulled together. Maybe more on that another day.

- Brianna is a fashion girl and it's driving me nuts. Only certain items of clothing are good enough, and some of those only get worn once before being deemed not good. I can't even buy clothes with out her, or she won't wear them. She's 6!!! not 16!!!! UGH.

- I am determined to be busy this week! Today I tackled both Target and the grocery store. Tomorrow- I'm thinking projects around the house. Later in the week, topics include shower grout, toilets, and taking outgrown clothes out of closets.

What fun my life is!

An open letter to the man who stole my husbands wallet

Dear Sir,

You SUCK! I can't believe that of all the locked lockers at the health club, you chose my husbands to break into! What were you thinking???? Clearly, you weren't thinking. I mean, who takes a hammer to a gym locker, pulling the door off, in the middle of the day? Did you think this was a smart idea? Why that locker? Why my husband?

What you don't know is that we will get you! Well, the police will, if they haven't already. The club employee who was using the bathroom peeked around the corner and saw you. He recognized you, and gave the police your name. The police know where you live. We are looking forward to seeing you in court! Obviously you are not a bright man.

I suppose I should thank you for not taking his clothes or car keys. Especially the car keys. However, if you had taken the car keys, you might have gotten away with more. Because you left the keys, the club was able to find my husband in the club and alert him immediately to your stupidity. He then was able to alert the police and get things rolling quickly. After calling the police, he called me. I was able to cancel or freeze every credit/debit card before you could do any damage! HA! I hope you enjoyed the $45 cash. I hope jail/prison is worth it for $45!! The club is pressing charges for the damage and the police say the combination of offenses is a felony! HA!!! HA, HA, HA!

Next time watch Law and Order first! You could learn something! Or get the psychiatric help you need. We won't miss you.

Sincerely,
Pissed!

Survey says...

At one month old... Chase is 21 inches long and 9 pounds even. This is a full inch growth in length and 1 lb, 5 oz in weight.

Scarier-- This puts my son firmly in the 50% for weight and height. I have never had a child top the 25%!! Chase is our family giant! We hope we will continue and someday be a whopping- normal! :-)

(If you've met my husband, you'd know that normal height is an excellent achievement for one of our children.)

One Month Old!

Professional photographer, I am not!

Out of the mouth of babes...

At dinner tonight, Adam and I were talking about seasonal allergies.
Grant asked me "Mommy, what are allergies?"
I said, "You know what allergies are."
He replied..."No I don't, I'm only a kid!"

When did my "kid" get so smart???

4 weeks in a blink

It is absolutely unbelievable to me that 4 weeks have passed since Chase was born. It has been the longest and fastest 4 weeks in memory. He is such a wonderful baby and I really feel that our family is so blessed every time I see his beautiful little face. I am beyond even that joy when I see him with the rest of the family... he is so loved.

+ Brianna and Grant can not get enough of him. We've actually had to make rules and limitations on the frequency and placement of all the kisses! They love holding him (with help) and feeding him (with help) and fetching his things (mostly).

+ He sleeps! I've worried about jinxing myself by saying this too much, but I am going to get over it. Chase actually sleeps at night. (Parents of small children- please don't hate me.) He falls asleep after his 10:00ish feeding, and wakes only to eat again as needed. After each subsequent night feeding, he goes right back to sleep mostly. AND- he is not sleeping ON me. He sleeps in his bouncy seat just next to my bed. We hope to switch to sleeping flat soon but...

- He spits up, a LOT. and sometimes with minimum projection force. We are working on this and in the meantime, the kid LIVES in a bib.

- He is a formula baby. (I type this with regret and resignation.) I breastfed my first two children exclusively for some months before introducing bottles and formula. I enjoyed breastfeeding and know that medical science has proven that it is the best nourishment for an infant. (ie- please don't lecture me) However, in the first 3 weeks of his life, I endured 3 bouts of cracked and bleeding nipples. I had to watch my son vomit my blood instead of the food he should have been getting. I tried to heal... I pumped... my supply decreased... I increased pumping... I cracked and bled more. Finally, with much tears and stress and concern, I gave up. Chase is happy on the formula. I feel I did my best.

I love this little man endlessly. It is still amazing to me how much love the human heart can hold.

So much....

I have SOOO much to say about my wonderful new son and how much he has already enriched our lives.... except that every time I sit at the computer I am holding a sleeping baby and typing one handed... including now.

I will try and get back to y'all when I have 2 hands!
In the meantime...

Fair of Face

Hi all, this is Jo's sister Jamie with an important message from our family.

Baby Chase was born a little early this morning - around 3am, mere hours prior to his scheduled c-section date. This makes him, officially, the only person in our line of the family currently running early for ANYTHING. 7 pounds, 11 ounces, and 20 inches long. Mom is out of recovery and doing well. We are, of course, very excited.

Just wanted to let you know, per the request of Jo. I'm not sure when she'll get her hands on a computer, but I'm sure details will be posted here just as soon as she does. Happy Monday, everyone!

WHAT a day!

*My day started around midnight.... heartburn yet again! No big news there.
*Around 1:30, I began vomiting profusely. (Do you know what sucks most about that? When your a grown up- you have to clean up after yourself, there is no magic mommy to help!)
*Around 2:00, I began having contractions every 8 minutes or so. This actually sort of thrilled me but they didn't seem to getting any stronger.
*By 4:00, I was worried and called the doctor. He agreed that we should head to the hospital to be checked out.
-- after that things get a bit blurry for a while--
*By 6:00 it had been determined that I was not in labor, I was dehydrated and have the flu.
I'M DAYS AWAY FROM MY DUE DATE AND NOW I CATCH THE FLU!!!???!!!

The rest of the day was spent with IV fluids, sleeping at home in bed, and a big decision.

This baby is probably big... He might even be stuck already... We will have a cesarean section on Monday morning. I can't say I'm happy about that, but I'm not unhappy either. I'm understandably concerned about the whole major surgery aspect and the recovery, etc. I am sort of thrilled to know that the end is in sight.... not some generic end where you wait around for mother nature to flip a switch.... a real end. The end to the heartburn and back pain and cramping and puffiness. And back on the other hand, this is my last pregnancy, I never imagined that it would end this way. At least I have lots of time this weekend to hang out in bed and relax. Never let it be said I can't find the bright side!

No News

I worked myself up so much last night that I didn't fall asleep for a long time thinking about if I was going into labor or not! Here I am... 24 hours later... no baby, no labor, no progress.

I think I may have entered a phase where I just want it so bad, I'm willing to believe any twinge that supports my wishes. Tonight again, I just feel sore and icky and hopeful all at the same time. I won't keep myself up worrying about it though.

I actually have a VERY busy day tomorrow that I would like to make it through without labor. HA! Like I have a choice... we shall see...

Knock on wood?

I hope I don't jinx things but I am feeling very good about tonight being a labor kind of night...
(Jamie- don't tell mom!)

I am feeling very uncomfortable with lots of .... I don't know what to call them.... sort-of, almost, contractions? I'm ready!

I will probably log in tomorrow with no progress made... that's ok though. The 3 of you who read this will forgive me right?

I did it!

I finished the book! It got a little better as I got further in but overall- very forgettable.

I just couldn't let myself start another one 'till that one was done. I had a lot of quiet time this weekend and reading was my activity of choice. Even a not-so-great book was better than nothing!

What say you?

I started a book... nothing important, I picked it out randomly at the library just because it had the little green "Mystery" sticker on the spine. I'm in chapter 4 now but it is going really slow. I am considering just not finishing it. I have to return it to the library on Monday.

When you start a book, do you have to finish it?
(A literal book, not the figurative kind!)

When you get everything you wanted...

When you were a child, what did you want?
More toys? Be a ballerina? All the candy you can eat?
As you grew, how did it change?

I always wanted to be.... a mom of 3, a wife to a great man, a teacher, successful, have a house, enough money to not worry, have friends to rely on, freedom and love.

What do you do when you have everything you want? Is it what you always thought it would be?

As we wait for baby number 3 to make his debut, I find myself questioning my life a bit. Don't get me wrong, I'm not sorry or regretful for a single thing, BUT- what is next? and why am I not content with my own dream come true?

Life- Confirmed!

On Thursday and Friday of this week, I attended a conference to help improve a newish initiative my school took on. I attended the same conference last year, and have been to several other training's on the program. I think, because I've heard so much of it before, the conference was not only boring but only marginally helpful.

HOWEVER- Returning to a "normal" work type schedule was lovely! I can't believe I'm saying it but I genuinely enjoyed getting up and looking nice for the day... talking to adults about engaging topics... learning new ideas and challenging my mind. Most of all, I enjoyed coming home to the best family on earth.

BUT- I enjoyed coming home to them because I'd been away. I loved hearing about their days and snuggling on the couch. I needed to be AWAY so that I could enjoy them more in the time we had.

THEREFORE- I am destined to be a working mom. Even if you gave me a couple million dollars (anyone, anyone?) I would still work for a living. I am a better mom because I go away during the day. If I stayed home all day everyday, I would only disappoint myself and grow frustrated. I am not the crafty, activity, field trip mom. I learned that definitively this summer.

I hope someday my children make their own choices about which life style is better for them. If Brianna, or Grant for that matter, want to stay at home with their children I will fully understand and support them in that choice. I only hope they will understand my choice as well.

I'm not sure I was right...

I have a standing policy to NEVER turn down a night out! I don't get that many opportunities and constantly wish I did, so when a friend asks if I can go out, I go. I don't care what the plan is- I'm there if at all possible.

In about an hour I need to be a couple of towns over to meet up with the ladies for dinner and a movie. Dinner, a necessity... Julie & Julia, not my choice but looks interesting. Going out- not really caring!

After sitting at the conference the last 2 days- I missed my kids and being at home. I'd like a quiet night at home in my sweatpants to reconnect with them and my hubby. However- it's girls night out tonight.

Oh Well, of course I'll make the best of it. Or at least the best I can do without liquor!

Modesty is over-rated

I don't mind tooting my own horn! I've been SO good about posting this week!

However- today I spent my ENTIRE day driving to, attending, and driving home from the world's most boring conference. And GUESS WHAT???? I get to do it all again tomorrow!

Why do I volunteer for this crap? Oh I know... I'm a wonderful person who is willing to go the extra mile when no one else will do it! Just ask me!

A day of torture and bliss!

After many, many days with the rambunctious children at home and mommy getting frustrated that they just can't seem to entertain themselves, the kids went to camp today! (Bliss).

The first item on my agenda for the day was a 3 hour glucose tolerance test. This is a more advanced test they give to preggo ladies if they fear you are showing signs of gestational diabetes.
- First you have to fast for 12 hours (torture)
- Then you have to have blood drawn (torture)
- Then you have to drink this VERY sugary drink, something similar to flat Sprite with extra sugar added to make your teeth ache. (torture)
- Then you can have nothing but water for the next 3 hours while you sit around the hospital. (torture)
- During that time they make you pee in a cup AND take blood every hour. (torture)

After the Oh-SO-FUN glucose test, I drove myself straight to my favorite restaurant for a lunch that was way to expensive for a normal day, alone. But after not eating a single thing for over 16 hours now, I figured I deserved something special, not drive-thru crap! (Bliss)

I followed that up by one of the best massages I've ever had. (BLISS!) If you ever go in for a pregnancy or maternity massage, you have to call around and find someplace that has the special pregnant/belly cushions. It is this great series of cushions they put on top of the normal massage table and it has a lovely cut-out/dent for the big-ole belly! It was the first time I've laid on my front in probably 5-6 months and even without the wonderful massage, I could have just laid there and enjoyed the weightlessness of the belly for the whole hour! Baby liked it too, he was kicking up a storm!

The moral of the story is... Who cares? I am relaxed...

Since turning 6 years old...

Brianna has perfected the following skills:
- teenage attitude
- yelling at her mother
- stomping off to her room to pout
- flipping out over "nothing"
- being stubborn
- doing things before asking if she can

She has taught herself these new skills and is working on perfecting them too... as long as she can do EVERYTHING by herself:
- Getting breakfast
- Pouring drinks (milk and juice, not THAT kind of drink people)
- using a chair to get down dishes she needs
- cooking anything that can be cooked in a toaster
- using the interactive cable guide to select shows on the TV (and turn to them herself)
- getting dressed, usually in clothes far to dressy for the day's activities


Mommy is FRUSTRATED!!!! Growing children are tough! especially without the aid of liquor!

Tender Topics

One of our favorite restaurants, the kind we go to AT LEAST once a week, is over the highway and past a very large cemetery. Sometime last spring, the focus of conversation in the car stopped being all the cars racing under the bridge and became the dead people sleeping in the cemetery. (These are the kids words, not mine.)

I have tried and can't pinpoint when or why this transformation happened... no one we know has passed, not even a pet. It just suddenly seems that we can't drive past this, or any significantly sized cemetery, without one of my children commenting about the dead people. That's what they call them... the dead people.

It wouldn't be such a big deal if we just were able to comment quickly and move past it. Each and every time is followed by a few questions about the people resting there. "Why are they dead? Who put them there? Why do we bury dead people? What will happen when we die? Where will the bodies go?" And so on....

Brianna handles all this well, she is able to conceptualize things without seeing them so seems to understand more and isn't scared by it. Grant on the other hand often ends the questioning session with a question or two vocalized in a shaky, fearful voice. "What will happen to me when you die Mommy?" was the one I had to face yesterday. Can you hear my heart breaking?

I think I put him off a bit by telling him that Mommy wouldn't die for a very (x30) long time. (Grant likes it when we repeat one word over and over to stress something.... it's a phase.) Then we played the "I love you more" game and he was on to a new topic.

One of these days I won't be able to distract him. The thought brings tears to my eyes.

This is normal...

This summer, our plan was to get all these big projects done.
- Redecorate guest room (floor to ceiling) and move Brianna into that room.
- Redecorate Brianna's old room for new baby.
- Sort through a dozen (more really) bins of clothes to get rid of girl stuff we won't need and get boy stuff ready for new baby.
- FIND all the baby stuff I know we've kept, and need, but didn't label well in the many, many bins.
- find time to have fun with kids and not just be TV/auto pilot parents.

I can say we've done really well on the first two and I LOVE the kids rooms!
I'm still working on the many bins but still have quite a bit to do.

The one thing I am getting increasingly disappointed with myself is the last one. My kids are watching far too much TV and not getting out to do enough fun stuff. We've done a couple fun things, and Adam is pretty good about finding ways to entertain them outside or in the basement, but we don't GO anywhere or DO anything. Movies, the Zoo, Splash Parks, the Pool, that kind of thing, the stuff we NEVER do during the school year, it should be the stuff summer memories are made of... and we suck at it!

Sure there are excuses aplenty.... pregnant, tired, projects, cost, etc. Bull****! I need to do better at this! I'm going to work on it!... just not today. :-)

Pet Peeve!!!

Don't make plans with your friends on facebook wall! UGH!

Several of my work friends keep making plans to go out or have mommy playdates at the pool. They do this by posting openly on each other's "wall". Is it too sensitive if I feel excluded when 2 people I know, and am friends with, have plans and I see they didn't think to invite me? AND no- they don't know each other better, or for longer, or in other friendship ways...

Lost... Reward offered!

LOST- Mommy's patience! Resembles the ability to deal with 2 children and/or husband without yelling, getting frustrated, and holding head in hands. Was last seen at home but may have run away due to advanced state of pregnancy.

REWARD- Advice leading to even partial return of maternal patience will be rewarded with hugs, heartfelt thanks, and possibly tears. (Do not fear the tears, they come whether we want them or not.)

TIMELINE- Family would like to see Patience returned home prior to birth of baby (about 5 weeks from now). If Patience is still lost then, we fear it will never return willingly! HELP!

Productivity is overrated!

This week was VERY productive around our house.

Monday we primed "The barn room" with 2 coats of low-odor primer. We could still see some of the darker details through the primer but we hope a colored paint will take care of that. While Adam and I did that, the kids watched a movie and/or sat in the doorway watching us work. (This was their choice, not ours!)

Tuesday we were exhausted and shopped instead of worked. We bought the paint for the walls and ceiling. We also bought 2 clearance mattresses so we will have a functional guest room and Grant will get a real mattress instead of the crib mattress in his toddler bed.

Wednesday my parents came to help us! I LOVE my parents and they are great helpers. We rented a truck and moved a full room's worth of furniture into mom and dad's basement. We had planned to paint more after that but underestimated the energy and time it would take.

Thursday mom and dad came back to help again because they felt bad that they couldn't help more on Wednesday. Mom, Dad- we love you! You are allowed to feel tired! Anyway- they came back. Dad and Adam painted the ceiling and then walls of the Barn room, now to be known as the green room or Brianna's room. Mom and I cleaned out my large closet. This will be the temporary home of bb2b when he comes in August. (Our room is not quite big enough to host the pack-n-play but the closet has more than enough space.) The closet transformation is almost as drastic as the newly painted room. I don't have pictures of that, but it was BAD before.

Today is Friday. I hoped to do nothing all day but that is never a reality. We have plans to grocery shop. Adam and Brianna might finish some painting trim in her new room. We will pick up the mattresses we bought and maybe get them put on the beds.

I can't believe all we did this week. And for the record- the kids are NEVER allowed to change their minds about which rooms they want or what color it should be. Or they better save up the money to hire someone to paint! I am EXHAUSTED.

Next week- prime and paint bb2b's room, formerly known as Brianna's room. It's bright pink!

Where does the time go?

I can't believe how long it has been since I posted! Actually, that's not true. I totally believe it, I am on the computer everyday but since I don't need to escape from work, I don't think about updating my blog. Just look at every summer since I've started this turkey! Very, VERY few entries. Oh well...

Here is an update.

I have been sleeping late and napping a lot! This is good because baby-boy-to-be (bb2b) does not let me sleep much at night. What with the heartburn, crazy dreams, itchy skin, and sore belly, who can sleep? Other than that, I am feeling fine. bb2b is still full breech, his head is up under my ribs and his adorable little tush is down. We hope he will turn in the next 4-6 weeks but my Dr is taking a "better safe than sorry" route. We have a c-section scheduled for a couple days before my due date if he stays turned around. I am nervous, scared, apprehensive about the C but am trying to look on the bright side- no middle of the night rush to the hospital in pain! 8 weeks to go...

We took the kiddo's to Key Lime Cove. What a fabulous 24 hours! We stayed in a lovely room, swam as much as mommy and daddy could handle, ate decent food, it was great! Thanks mom and dad for the gift certificate, we love you! This is part of my master summer plan where we will do one special event each week, a field trip or mini-trip of sorts. We did it one week and not the next. Week 3 is TBD.

Brianna had a lovely 6th birthday. She started the night before with a sleepover with cousin Hannah and a visit to Chuck-E-Cheese. She had a blast on her sleep over and reportedly only got a little homesick at bedtime. (Mommy missed her a lot and even though I got a lot of cleaning and prep work done with her gone, I don't think I ever want to miss a minute of her birthday again!) Later on her birthday we arranged a gymnastics party for her and 14 of her little friends at the local gym. She LOVED that! Afterwards we had our family and closest friends back to the house for dinner from Moe's. Moe's is Brianna's favorite restaurant and is on the family's top 10 list. I highly recommend their catering!

Both kids are taking gymnastics on Mondays and swimming lessons on Tuesdays. They go to "camp" twice a week so mommy and daddy can get stuff done. We are ready to prime and paint "the barn room" so Brianna can move in there. Then we will prime and paint Brianna's pink room into something more appropriate for bb2b.

Be prepared for cop-out photo entries of all this for a while!

School's...out... for... summer!

AH! Finally I have made it to the end of the year. To the end of the craziness. To June 11!

Summer finally beckons full of painting the house, gymnastics and swimming lessons, naps, family day's, and maybe more naps. :-) The end of the summer will be marked by our last addition to the family. I couldn't be more excited for the next 10 weeks.

Now if only the weather would cooperate...

Holy Cow! Look at the time!

I just spent the better part of 2 hours reading my own blog archives!

I started looking at spring and summer of 2005 to see if I'd written down anything about my pregnancy with Grant. That would have been about the stage I'm at now and I wanted to compare.

I kept reading...
Every Post...
though spring of 2008.

At that point, I actually remembered the things that happened and they weren't as funny anymore. I should have been working... oh well.
I LOVED my trip down memory lane!