When all else fails...go shopping?

I think I'll be taking deep breaths a lot today...

- Since drop down sided cribs were outlawed what's a mom to do to put down her sleeping baby???? Drop them in the crib, you say?  That's right, DROP them in the crib.  Then they wake up and rarely go back to sleep!  (Who's child is this anyway?!?!)  It's ridiculous, and I can't stand it.  What are all you shorter people doing???!??!?  I keep saying I'm going to get a stool, but I haven't yet... 

- Jonah is hungry ALL DAY LONG.  It's getting on my nerves. 

"I'm hungry...  I'm hungry... I'm hungry... I'm hungry." 

He had a banana about thirty minutes ago.  He told me ten minutes ago he was hungry and wanted another banana....

AHHHHHH!!!!!

Not even kidding, he just said it again and my head almost exploded.

More protein for breakfast you say?  Doesn't work.  The boy has like five breakfasts.  I feel like I am feeding him all day long or telling him, "No, you just ate!"  

- Try letting a baby cry it out in their crib only to have your three year old go open the door constantly, because "He's crying.  Mom, he wants you!" Or putting your baby down for a nap only to have your three year old start banging buses together as loud as he possibly can.  I tried doing puzzles to keep him quiet, tried to turn on a movie he would like to watch.  You're guessing those must not have worked because I'm here venting on my blog.

- All my kitchen utensils are in the living room... I confiscated the rolling pin when Jonah was swinging it too close to Everett's head.  I also confiscated the cheese slicer... for obvious reasons...  I choose my battles and all the other battles today seem much greater.  However, I hate that I have to wash (or John or Trevan has to) wash all those extra things on days like this. 

- Also, Jonah seems to need to flush the toilet 500 times after he uses the bathroom.  And, I'm not talking about the double flush that my husband preaches about to help keep the stink out of the bathroom... My water bill has got to go up for all of these flushes.  So, now after every flush I hear my spare change swirling down the toilet. 

- Have I finally gotten the child that my mother said I was???  She said I never (or rarely) took naps.  Everett is my first child to wake up at the slightest noises, not transfer well, doesn't sleep in church, take cat naps.  I mean, he's still pleasant and not whiny (unless I put him in his crib when he doesn't want to take a nap), but oh my word go to sleep little stinker - mama's got stuff she wants to get done!

- Bonus! I just pulled a Lego out of Everett's mouth... 

My friends, I believe today is going to be a long day... 

Actually, I think I'm going to go shopping...  

Recently...

Trevan - I love this kid and he boggles my mind at the same time.  I love (or am I embarrassed?) that I never check his homework.  Someone asked me how much homework he has a night, and I couldn't tell them.  I was like, "Well, he reads for at least 20 minutes every night..."  I guess I know he will ask for help if he has a question, because he did that for the first time last Thursday.  I have glanced over his shoulder a few times and told him he would have to rewrite whatever it was he was writing because his handwriting was too sloppy.  I was getting tired of having to remind him to put away his shoes/lunchbox/backpack every day after school, so I made a chart for him to check after he does it and I haven't had to remind him once since them.  Realizing what helps make him tick is one less weight on my shoulder.  I'm a chart person too, so I get it.  He has been helping me do the dishwasher almost everyday without complaining and without payment.  I love him for that!!!!

Mallary - This girl is going to give us a run for our money... At back to school night you would have thought she was running for student body president running from kid to kid, not wanting to sit with us because she was too busy talking to everyone or saying hi to everyone.  She was the queen of the carpet while I sat in  her class and I overheard her telling kids what to do and where to go. Hmmm.... I wonder where she got that from??  Her teacher stopped me when I ate lunch with her last week and raved about how much she loved Mallary, what a good listener, helper and wonderful she was, and how she could go on forever talking about her.  Not even ten minutes later, the TA in Mallary's class stopped by and said, "I just want you to know I have to refrain from taking your daughter home with me everyday, she is so adorable."  She went on and on about her, while I listened dumbfounded.  Apparently, she could see it on my face, and said "Well, just be thankful that is how she is at school!" 

Jonah - I love having him home without the two oldest during the day.  He loves to tell me not to feed Everett when I'm feeding him.  He loves his reading time with Mom everyday.  He is potty trained and was a super fast about it.  At the beginning of August one day, I literally had no diapers left for him and decided I wouldn't buy anymore either.  He had one accident everyday for four days in a row.  He pooped in his pants two times. He hasn't peed in his bed once, I thought he had, but he made it out of bed just in time to pee in his pants!! So we had him potty trained with a total of about 8 accidents (to date...), and that included a lot of long drives!  Go Jonah!!  I never even bought a single pull-up!  He was 3 yrs. 4 months!  I'm a firm believer in waiting until your kid is ready then you don't have to worry about cleaning up messes.  For real, I'm just really lazy and don't want to clean up any messes!  We didn't use a little potty or do the let him go naked thing all day.  I gave him chocolate chips for peeing (and cheered really REALLY loud - to the point that he started doing it as soon as he got on the potty for a few days) and told him he could play on the DS when he pooped in the potty - and it worked!!  But, that first day I had to listen to him whining for me to let him wear a diaper because he just wanted to poop in his diaper.  He finally couldn't hold it anymore and the DS was calling his name I guess!!  Yay Jonah!!!  and thank you for making something in my life easy.

Everett - Homeboy is 9 months now and about 23 lbs.  He has only gained three pounds since he was four months!!  He is definitely thinning out.  He now has his first tooth (the earliest of any of my kids), and just started cruising (a few side steps holding on to the edge of something) this weekend.  We just can't keep that baby down.  Unfortunately, all of our traveling and him being sick has now made him think that it is always okay to sleep with mama.  So, now we have to work on training him back to sleeping in his crib all night again.  He started feeding himself Cheerios (broken in half) last week (AND they were FROSTED!)  That just goes to show how much you change as a parent.  I would have NEVER given Trevan frosted Cheerios.  He probably had them for the first time as a five year old or something (IF THAT!)  HA!  He also recently started not liking baby food that he has always eaten and then we started giving him a banana in tiny pieces instead and he was down with that.  So, our baby is growing up!  Fast!  Stop it!  He is so super smiley and during the day loves to follow Jonah around.  He gives you hugs and likes to scratch your arms and his face with his sharp nails!! 

Lately....

1.  Everett is crawling!  8 months.  He is also aware that barricades are being built around him to keep him from things like train tracks, and other toys.  He is not happy about it.

2.  My mother in law during her recent visit gave Jonah an appropriate nickname, "Blast."  Hmmm... It should be written like this I think, "BLAST!!"  Fitting for his one speed (full speed ahead) and his loud volume! 

3.  Mallary has started school.  Apparently, she won't sit next to Trevan on the bus.  She's too cool for that I guess.  I told her if she doesn't sit next to him she won't be riding the bus.  Guess where I saw her sit this morning???  Maybe I should compromise and say across the aisle from him...  She is such a stinker and she's only in Kindergarten! 

4. I've decided I need to put some locks on Mallary's dresser.  I have organized her drawers SOOOO many times - only to find that her drawers threw up a few hours later all over her room!  What is with that?!?!?!?! 

5.  I have yet to figure out what motivates my oldest.  He is a real piece of work.  Obviously, I count my blessings because he is the sweetest of boys.  He loves his little Everett and his teacher even gave me an A++++++ as a mom (after I gave myself an F because I didn't know his bus number) because he was such a good helper and nice kid and student on the first day of school.  I wish I could take the credit, but he is an A+ all of his own making.  I just can't figure out how to make him want to do his best in all he does.  AGH!  He is payback I guess for John and I not always doing our best growing up...  Why put forth effort when you can get by and do well with barely any?!?!?  Curses to the payback karma! 

6.  Four kids is...  that's right, it leaves me speechless.  Some people say three drove them over the edge, but four is mine.  I can't even explain... The lady in the check out line the other day was like, "I have four kids too...."  I responded, "Do ever feel crazy?"  She immediately smiled and seemed to look more relaxed knowing she was in the presence of a mother that understood a feeling she probably never could have imagined she'd ever feel!  We bonded in those few seconds. 

7.  Summer is gone.  It always makes me sad. 

8.  I cleaned my work room earlier this summer, it needs to be cleaned again...

9.  The past few weeks have been sprinkled with sleepless nights and nights going to bed at 2, 3, and 4 in the morning...  They are catching up to me.... Yawn!!!

10.  I'm hoping to get caught up on blogging and get some of my blog books printed off!!!!  One can dream, right????

Don't look at me!

I'm pretty sure my three year old understands that ignorance is bliss....

Thankfully, Jonah gives me a heads up sometimes when he is doing something he knows is wrong...

He'll come to me and tell me to stay where I am or he yells from the other room, 

"Mom, don't look at me!"  "Don't look at me, Mom!" 

Those words, of course make me look at him and I find him breaking a rule, or about to break a rule.  

Hopefully, he'll do the same thing when he's a teenager! 

"Mom, don't look but I'm taking the car keys and I'm going to sneak out of the house..."

"Don't look mom, my girlfriend and I are going to be making out down here." 

"Mom, don't look outside, but really, I mowed the lawn!"

Motherhood is...

Motherhood is forgiving your children over and over again...

             Forgiving them for picking ALL of your unripe apricots, peaches, and plums off of the tree  
             the first year they actually produce...  Every....  Single...  One... 

             Forgiving them for picking a pile of BLACKberries from your small blackberry patch while
             the berries are still RED...  (I honestly wanted to cry and trust me they had already been
                educated on what color the berries are supposed to be before you pick them!)

             Forgiving them for digging up the flowers in your flower beds... 

             Forgive them for picking the blooms off of my Vincas...

Between the rabbits, squirrels, and my children it's amazing we have anything growing in  
our garden and flower beds at all! 

Motherhood is...

 Motherhood is cleaning your kitchen floor 5 times in one day...
   
     I thought I would be productive and sweep the kitchen floor yesterday.

     An hour later while I had my back turned while talking on the phone for five minutes, Jonah   
     chewed and spit out watermelon all over the floor?! 

     I cleaned it up.

    About an hour later, he thought it would be (funny?) to pour his milk in the floor...

    I cleaned it up.

    That afternoon, I brought three boys the age of 4 and under home from the playground.  They got   
    inside before I did and took off their shoes in the kitchen (at least not in the living room) and 
    when I walked through the door I was greeted by PILES of sand on my floor.  The sand box at the
    park is about one pound short of sand now.

    I asked Trevan to clean it up.  He was doing a horrible job (ie: spreading it everywhere), so...

    I cleaned it up. 

    Just when I thought my shift was almost over (aka: bedtime) Jonah thought he should
    (experiment?) again by pouring milk all over the kitchen floor.

    I had to chase him to get the milk away from him, but before I could get it from him he sprayed 
    and shook it all over the living room floor as well.  ON PURPOSE.

    I lost my temper.

    Then,

    I cleaned it up. 

    Then,

    I turned off the movie they were watching and put them to bed. 

December 2011

We usually put up our Christmas tree the first Monday after Thanksgiving for Family Home Evening. We also give our kids a new ornament to open up and hang on the Christmas tree too, that is symbolic of the past year in someway.
 

Trevan got a baseball because he started playing that year. 

Mallary got gumball machine because she was (and still is) obsessed with gum.

Jonah got a sun, because he was my sunshine that year.  He was my natural anti depressant drug.  Really, before I got help he thankfully helped me keep it together somehow.  My little Jonah was my little sunshine, and since I am almost done blogging 2011, I can see that there were definitely more pictures of him taken.  I love this little boy.

My silly Jonah

Nov. 2011

My sister was visiting and I had an order sitting out to fill and she put a clip in his hair and he kept wanting more in there...

This was Jonah's favorite place to be, I'd turn around and he'd be on the table again

He also liked dumping out these drawers.  ugh!  I'm so glad he doesn't do this anymore!!

Jonah

There sure are a lot of pictures of my Jonah... Oct. 2011

You can see how crazy his teeth grew in - his back molars before more of his front teeth!! 

Halloween 2011

The above picture was at our church Halloween Party.  You know John, he always comes up with the weirdest Halloween costumes (remember the eye phone?).  Anyway, you can see the games I did for this church party HERE. 
 

My trick or treaters

This is the little neighbor girl I baby sat a few times a week (in 2011/2012)

You see the bowl in that picture?  By the end of the night someone had stolen it!!!!  It was so cute, and it made me so mad!

A worn out trick or treater!

October 2011

Trevan had his cousin spend the night for his birthday - Mallary passed out quick!

Conference Weekend:  Oh look, my whole family fell asleep!

I had this hanging up when I went to pick Trevan up from school!  :) I loved watching Trevan's face when he saw this!  It has now become a tradition.

Trevan's 7th Birthday:

I think he was excited to get these.  For the record, I hate legos.

He was excited to get golf clubs like daddy.  He has since tried to take them on vacations when he sees John pack his....

 

 

 

 

He said his coat made him look like a marshmallow or something... I don't remember.