Natural born big brother

I have pictures to post...which I'll hopefully do later today. But I had to share this story of Andrew...because I don't want to forget them.

My MIL made Lily a photo book from their trip this fall to Sesame Place (a theme park about 15 minutes from our house). She is very good about these photo books...it seems whenever she takes my kids places, she does a very good job taking pictures and then presenting us with a momento at the next visit. My children are lucky to have her. When Andrew was 2, she went to the zoo with him, and took lots of pictures of animals. Now he has his very own personalized zoo book.

Lily's Sesame Book came in a photo album that is furry like Elmo, with Elmo's face on the front. Very fancy. Lily was THRILLED. She excitedly showed Andrew, and he said,

"Wow! It looks like they killed Elmo and took his skin to make that. Cool, Lily."

Ugh. Is that a big brother thing to say, or what? Yet, it makes me laugh every time I think of it...because inside I'm still a little bit evil big sister. ;)

Also, yesterday marked the beginning of the back of the car wars. You know...the sibling hold a finger out...almost touching, but not quite. The other sibling has a FIT...but technically nothing is wrong. Again, the annoying sibling in me was chuckling. But the mom in me was groaning, because I know I have at least 15 more years of this in my future. Where, oh where is my invention???

Don't screw it up...

I almost forgot to blog today. On the 29th day of November. When I've been doing so well. Must. not. screw. it. up. Not that it REALLY matters. It is just so rare that I actually finish something that I start.

We've been having a great weekend with my MIL and FIL. It is so nice to have other people around to share the children with...and by share, I mean others to pay attention to the them so I don't have to so much. ;) The only problem is the whole sleeping arrangement thing. We have always had a guest room for our visitors, complete with a queen sized bed. Until Michael came along. Now we are in a waiting period for Michael to get old enough to sleep in bunk beds with Andrew. That will be a while. In the meantime, we haven't found a good system yet. We've tried splitting the grandparents up, so one sleeps with Lily and one sleeps in the basement. The problem with that is someone has to sleep with Lily and someone has to sleep in our basically unfinished basement that would become a trap during a fire. We have tried Andrew sleeping with Lily and giving his bedroom to the guests. The problem with that is, there is only a twin in Andrew's room, so if there is more than one guest, someone has to sleep on the floor. If we were to put the queen up in Andrew's room, we would have to remove his toy box, bookshelf, and possibly his dresser(aka all the rest of his furniture)...and we still might not be able to get to his closet very easily. Have I ever mentioned how small our bedrooms are? And Andrew has the big bedroom. This weekend we have given Paul and Linda our king sized bed while Jeff sleeps with Lily and I sleep on the floor of either Andrew or Michael's room. This is not a bad solution, but it only works if Jeff doesn't have to go to work...which doesn't work for 95% of family visits. When he goes to work, he would wake Lily by showering in the kids' bathroom since our pipes are so loud.

-sigh- I feel so bad for our visitors. But I figure it's only 3 years or so until Mike moves in with Andrew...and that's not so long in the long run.

Nursing=Lots of reading

I keep a log of all the books that I read. Mostly this is because I have a terrible time remembering all that I've read, and I have found myself starting a book and thinking, "Gosh this seems familiar" and then I start predicting what is going to happen and then I realize that I must have read it before.

Today I wrote down another title. I just write the title, the author, and a smiley face or a frowny face. I'm starting to wish that I would write a one line description...just to help me when I make a recommendation. Because I have a lot for 2008...44 books so far. Want to see? (if you want actual book recommendations and book lists, I'm sure this list pales in comparison to my older sister's list. You can find what she is currently reading on the side bar of her blog. She is good at setting impossible standards for her little sister... ;) )

Pillars of the Earth, Ken Follett
World Without End, Ken Follett
The Birth Order Book, Kevin Leman
The Quickie, James Patterson
I've Heard That Song Before, Mary Higgens Clark
Water For Elephants, Sara Green
The Pact, Jodi Picoult
The Secret Life of Bees, Sue Monk Kidd
Misery, Stephen King
Sea Glass, Anita Shreve
The Other Boleyn Girl, Philippa Gregory
A December Wedding, Anita Shreve
Left Behind, Tim LaHaye
and I read all the other books in the Left Behind Series:
The Tribulation Force
Nicolae
Soul Harvest
Apollyon
Assassins
The Indwelling
The Mark
Desecration
The Remnant
Armegeddon
Glorious Appearing
The Rising
The Regime
The Rapture

Simple Genius, David Baldacci
The Sixth Target, James Patterson
Lean Mean Thirteen, Janet Evanovich
In the Woods, Tana French
Breaking Dawn, Stephenie Meyer
Atonement, Ian McEwan
Change of Heart, Jodi Picoult
The DaVinci Code, Dan Brown
Cellophane, Marie Arana
Ridiculous Race, Steve Hely
The Likeness, Tana French
Lucky, Alice Sedaris
At First Sight, Nicholas Sparks
Breaking Charity, Ann Rinaldi
Mirror, Mirror, Gregory Maguire
Alas, Babylon, Pat Frank
Lord John and the Private Matter, Diana Gabaldon

2 of these are re-reads...but I hadn't read them in over 5 years, so it was like reading them for the first time. And I'm out of books...time to go to the library again! (do you see why I don't bother buying books? I'd be bankrupt!)

5

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

My baby is 5 today. FIVE. Half a decade.

I had written a post with my 5 favorite Andrew things. But it seemed forced and not to capture my true sentiments. All 5 things boiled down to one main thing. I am proud of Andrew. I am proud of his kind, caring spirit. I am proud of his responsible loving attitude. I am proud of his brain power. I am proud of his sense of humor and his ability to be a wonderful friend and big brother.

I am proud to be your mother, Andrew. The world is a better place since you have joined it. And I am proud to have been a part of bringing you here. And I feel incredibly lucky to get to enjoy you every day.

Happy birthday, Andrew! I'm so glad you are mine!

And here are some of the stories I'd written in my original post about Andrew...

The other day we were in a grocery parking lot and Lily saw a helicopter. While we were watching it, I saw a sea gull. And Andrew said, "Ahhhh. A helicopter and a seagull...together again!" Very silly, and of course he's repeated it 100 times since then because I laughed so hard.

And yesterday, I was groaning because he wasn't listening, and he shrugged and said, "Sorry, Mom. I don't have very good earsight today."

Andrew has a friend that broke his femur at school (but has a walking cast?!?). That little boy's mother came up to me in the parking lot last week and gave Andrew a big hug. She said, "Andrew is the sweetest boy. Carter tells me that Andrew watches out for him. And the teachers say he makes sure Carter isn't alone and always has what he needs."

Our Thanksgivings

This will be Jeff and my 9th Thanksgiving together...we have spent 2 with family in Ohio. It has never been worth it to us to go hundreds of miles for a few days, when Christmas comes so close afterwards. This has resulted in one of our favorite past times...remembering Thanksgivings past. Our Thanksgivings serve as mile markers in our married life, and each reminds us of a different stage. Come with me on a trip through Thanksgivings Past...

Thanksgiving 1999: A kindly 2nd grade teacher a few doors down from my classroom invited us over to her house for Thanksgiving. I was all geared up to be in depression hell because I'd be away from family for a holiday. Flossie (that was her name...I kid you not) probably saw me crying in my classroom every day (unrelated to the holidays) and took pity on me. It ended up being Flossie, her husband, her 2 teenage boys, and their grandpa. Jeff and I were MUCH closer in age to her kids, but we had a good time talking to everyone there. I made my mom's mushrooms for the first time. We were educated on OC Thanksgivings...Flossie's sons always spent Thanksgiving Day surfing, making sure to be home in time for dinner.

Thanksgiving 2000: I was working for University of Phoenix, so there would be no going home for Thanksgiving or Christmas. We ended up planning a trip to Julian, CA...a little mountain town, for Friday and Saturday...a way to experience a little fall. For Thanksgiving, we went to Jeff's boss's house. We call this our Asian Thanksgiving, because Bob's wife was Taiwanese. It ended up being us, Bob and Jo-chi, and a ton of her Taiwanese and Korean friends from ESL classes. Turkey is considered dirty to eat, so Bob, Jeff, and I huddled at one end of a long table eating our rotisserie chicken while the others noshed on squid and raw fish and Korean BBQ and noodles and Asian veggies. The meal was actually delicious...but didn't feel much like Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving 2001: This year we decided to spend it with my old family friends in San Diego, the McDonald's. And I don't mean that we went to a McDonald's fast food restaurant in San Diego, you fools. But the McDonald's are Australian, so having the feast on the actual day is less important. So we had it on Friday or Saturday...I can't remember now. Jeff and I spent the day at San Diego Wildlife Park (we bought season's passes) and probably some time in San Diego. It was fun.

Thanksgiving 2002: We had finally started to get some good friends of our own in SoCal, so we went to my good friend Pamela's MIL's house this year. They lived in a GORGEOUS house up in the hills. I remember good food and Pamela's 1 year old walking on the table during dinner. A satisfying night with good friends.

Thanksgiving 2003: Andrew made his grand appearance at 2:16 pm on Thanksgiving Day. Quite a memorable Thanksgiving that year. Some of my fondest memories are calling our families as they were all about to sit down for dinner to tell them their first grandchild had arrived. Still makes me tear up just thinking about it.

Thanksgiving 2004: This was our first year hosting Thanksgiving at our house. Which means my first year cooking the turkey (yikes!). My friend Pamela and her 2 kids came and Uncle Chad was there visiting from Texas (I think...or was in Louisiana?). I don't remember much else about this one...everyone came to visit a day or two later for Andrew's 1st birthday...now THAT I remember.

Thanksgiving 2005: Thanksgiving in Ohio! We had moved to Kentucky, so it was an easy drive up to Jeff's parents. I remember feeling so strange that we were doing Thanksgiving the "traditional" way. It was lovely. My mushrooms were a hit, the french stuffing not so much. But we got to eat Aunt Bonnie's pies....mmmmmmmmm.

Thanksgiving 2006: Thanksgiving in PA! Lily's first Thanksgiving. My parents came to our new house to help us celebrate. It was kind of a sad year...we had just moved 3 weeks before and I had a newborn so I wasn't sleeping very well. I was lonely and sad to have left Louisville. I remember crying at Andrew's birthday a few days later because he had no friends to celebrate with. Whatev-

Thanksgiving 2007: Sara's wedding! We were surprised to go back to Ohio for Thanksgiving last year...it was not part of the plan. But Sara and Colum surprised us last summer by planning a wedding for Turkey weekend...so off to Ohio we went. I had just found out that surprise baby was a boy and looking forward to looking fat but not pregnant at the wedding. We had a lovely meal with Colum's Irish relatives...I fondly remember Andrew explaining the pilgrims and Indians to the Irishmen.

So those are our Thanksgivings. This year will mark Michael's first with the family. And it is Andrew's 5th birthday tomorrow. Jeff's parents are driving in late tonight (weather permitting) and I am going to attempt to make some food today with the 3 children dragging at my legs. Ha! My only priority is the birthday cake. ;)

Happy Thanksgiving all!

(Oh, and one other thing. What kind of sick, sad people are you? I get 5 comments about my menstruation, but only 2 about my cute cute baby? Your priorities are skewed my friends ;) )

Betrothal Offers Now Being Accepted

Line up, girls. Michael is still available!

Friendly. Pleasant. Combs his hair occasionally.

Sleeps peacefully...only slightly drooly

Not bothered by a little mess

Did I mention the cute sleeping pose?

Even when sick, likes to look thoughtfully out the window

Seriously...cute.

Cleans up well
Loves shredding paper.

On second thought....

HE'S ALL MINE!

IT's Baaaaa-ck

Boy readers, if there are any of you, please feel free to read another day.

For the first time in 16 months, IT is back. I have not had to deal with IT for a very long time, since I only had IT 3 times in between Lily and Michael. That means this is the only the 4th "IT" since December 2005. IT is a pain in the neck. I have to remember to bring supplies for IT. And then figure out how to keep my curious 5 year old out of the bathroom while I take care of IT, lest I have to explain the whole indoor plumbing phenomenon. And all the while I am getting the supplies out, I just keep thinking, "Really? Body? You think you can handle another pregnancy already? REALLY? How is this good planning by mother nature? If she knew what she was doing, IT wouldn't come back for about 5 years...when the first one is able to forage for food on its own."

(And for those of you without children, who are thinking how lucky I am to have not had IT for so long...those 6 weeks after you give birth are like having IT times 10...so it's all even. ) ;)

Things I learned today

I went to a movie today without any children (or my husband). My first movie in 2 years.

I know. I know.

I nursed the baby, sped to the theatre, watched the movie with my bookclub, and sped home just in time to feed the baby again.

It was lovely.

And here's what I learned today:

1) I want a vampire boyfriend.

2) I don't ever want to go back to high school again.

The party

If I had been smart, today could have been Andrew's birthday. My OB offered to induce me on the 22nd, but I was all, "Oh, noooo. I want the baby to come naturally, on his own schedule, and weigh 9 1/2 pounds...". Frickin' know-it-all first time mom.

Today, we celebrated Andrew's birthday because his actual birthday is on Thanksgiving. I decided to buck the local norm and just have 5 little boys over for an old-fashioned party.

Ugh. I hate parties. But Andrew was sooooo excited. He jumped around all morning, driving Jeff and I INSANE. Lily was whiny and needy...which didn't speed up the party prep. But everything was ready for the boys when 11:00 came around.

I had everything planned out. Down to the minute almost. And it all went well until the last half-hour or so. Present opening lasted about 14 minutes shorter than I had planned (I had planned about 15 minutes for it). The boys had a blast trashing our house, making their individual Boboli pizzas, playing "Pin the Football in the Goalpost", and trashing our house. Andrew spent half the time enjoying his friends and the other half crying in a chair. He just can't handle it when things don't go exactly as he wants. All his friends started playing with the Matchbox cars, and they just started...without even asking Andrew if he wanted to join in. Scandal!

Some other highlights:

Thomas put everything on his pizza...sauce, cheese, pepperoni, mushrooms, green peppers, and olives. I was so impressed that he liked all those things and felt a little sheepish about my own parenting which has resulted in such a picky eater. When the pizzas were done cooking and served up, Thomas politely asked Jeff to please pick off all the toppings on his pizza...except for the cheese and pepperoni. Apparently he appreciates the appearance of the toppings, just not the flavor.

Lily's pizza had to be cooked after the boys, since we could only fit 6 in the oven at a time. She was screaming at the top of her lungs, "PLEEEEEEEEEEEASE", for the entire 10 minute cooking time. Somehow it doesn't see as polite when yelled.

We played duck duck goose (in an attempt to pass the last 30 minutes without injury). Lily quickly got into it, and followed the boys around patting their heads saying "Duck duck". To the boys' credit, they humored her and didn't get bothered.

Andrew was crying as the parents started arriving to pick up their kids. I think he cried about 3 times during the 2 hour party. I reassured the parents that nothing was wrong...it was just sensitive Andrew coping with a crowd of people. When the last boy left, I asked Andrew how his party was. He got a big smile on his face and said, "It was the best party ever!"

?

The conference

Andrew's preschool does conferences very late in the year...for my tastes anyway. I had my scheduled meeting with one of Andrew's teachers today at 10:20. Not to complain, but I drop him off at school at 9:15 and have to be back to get him at 11:45. I don't think there could be a less convenient conference time than 10:20.

So here's how the morning went. Just count how many times poor Michael had to get in and out of the car seat. I got all the kids in the car and went to the drive thru Duncan Donuts...I think I passed 2 other Duncan Donuts on the way there...but you just can't beat the drive thru. Andrew was bringing in donuts to celebrate his birthday. We drive back to his school and I unload all three kids out of carseats, put Lily and Andrew's coats on, and trek through the construction to take Andrew into school. After kissing Andrew goodbye, I half drag Lily (she wants to walk, and holding my hand means she is NOT walking, but I insist she hold my hand in the parking lot, so she screams and goes limp, but I can't pick her up with her huge winter coat on, etc etc) and Michael back to the car. Take off Lily's coat and strap her in. Strap in Michael. Drive back to our town to go to playgroup. Unstrap Michael and Lily and put Lily's coat on. Get inside and take off coats. Spend a half hour acclimating Lily to playgroup. Leave Lily with playgroup, strap Michael back into carseat and drive all the way back to Andrew's school. Take Michael back out of carseat and go back into school. Talk to Andrew's teacher for 5 minutes. Go back out to car and strap Michael in. Drive all the way back to playgroup, to find Lily sobbing uncontrollably and a poopie diaper on the front stoop that those poor women had to change for me. I leave Michael asleep in the car, and go in and out of the house checking on him every 10 minutes. After 30 minutes, strap Lily in and head back to Andrew's school. Get there too early, so take Michael out and nurse him in the car while Lily watches a movie. Put Lily in a stroller this time and Michael in the Bjorn and go in to get Andrew. Lily releases herself from the stroller and takes off running. I whack Michael's head as I try to haul her back into the stroller. Talk to Andrew about his day as the two little ones scream in hysterics on the way through the parking lot. Strap them all back into the car for the 10 minute drive back home. And then we start our crazy lunch/nap prep rushed routine as usual.

5 minute conference. 5 minutes. She showed me the worksheets they have all the kids do kind of sheepishly. "Andrew recognized all these shapes. But I'm sure you knew that. And he knows all his letters. Again, I'm sure you knew that." etc etc. He is doing sooooo much better with his fine motor skills...they aren't worried about him at all. Socially he is doing great, nice to all the kids, never has fits when things don't go his way, follows directions, etc. She basically summed it up at the end saying, "We just have no issues with Andrew. He is a delight. You are very lucky to have him."

Ah. So nice to hear. But as much as I enjoyed my 5 minute compliment of Andrew, I kind of wish they could have pulled me aside in the morning and just told me very quickly. No, I shouldn't complain. Good conference. Be grateful.

Making memories

Ah...the holiday season. I have so many wonderful childhood memories of this time of year. Little traditions that made each year special. I used to be weird about these traditions...and I'm sure my family is chuckling at the "used to" reference. I'm sure that if I had stayed in Ohio, I would still be going to my folks' house on Christmas Eve, expecting all the same things to happen. But moving far away and having a quarter of a dozen children has hindered my ability to be home at Christmas. (doesn't that sound more impressive? Not 3 kids...a quarter of a dozen). Or, rather, it has forced me to make my own home instead.

I worry that my kids won't have the same types of hallowed traditions. How does one START a tradition? Will they remember their childhoods fondly or will it just seem like a generic Christmas...nothing unique and special about the way our family does it. Do the parents have to do it consciously, or do they naturally develop from seemingly random events? Will I ever be able to spell consciously without spell check? So many questions this morning.

Here are some of my favorite holiday memories and traditions from childhood:

1) Santa always came to our house on Christmas Eve. How special were we that he came to us first!?!?! We would go to church, look at lights on the way home, and then stay up all night opening gifts. Or probably until 11-12... I loved coming home on those cold evenings and finding our house all filled up with presents. And then the delicious torture of having to change out of our church clothes before opening all those gifts. And then Dad would take FOREVER getting a garbage bag for the wrapping paper and setting up chairs...I swear it was torturous. And then we would open gifts as slowly as possible...each person opening a gift at a time, while we all ooohhhed and aahhhhed. Even as very young kids we took patient turns.

2) My mother told me about Santa when I was in 3rd grade. I think she was embarrassed that I still believed. But I KNEW he existed. In 2nd grade, I made sure I was the last person out of the house on the way to church. And then I was the very first person back in the house...and all the presents had been laid out. My parents were sitting next to me in church the whole time...so there MUST be a Santa.

3) My older sister Kate and I had a great time making our little sister Andrea believe in Santa. We were desperate for her to continue to believe, because we knew that Christmas wouldn't be the same after she stopped believing. I remember her saying finally, "You guys, I KNOW there isn't a Santa." and we were all, "Okay, okay. But just make Mom and Dad THINK you still believe."

4) My parents would take us for long drives after church Christmas Eve night. Serious torture. We would beg to go home and Mom would say, "Oh, let's just go down this street." and Dad would turn down. And we would always see Santa up in the sky (aka helicopters).

5) After the gluttonous opening of gifts (my parents always spoiled us rotten), we would sadly sit back and realize it was over for another year. But then...STOCKINGS! Our tree was in a different room than the fireplace, so out of sight out of mind. And I swear, the toothbrushes and pens and little trinkets were just as exciting (if not more) than the gifts under the tree. While we were really excited about getting presents, I remember really enjoying watching other people open their gifts. One of my earliest memories is picking out a beret for my sister...I was so excited for her to open it. And the year my dad got my mom a ton of perfume samples for Christmas. And how every year my parents would chide each other for spending too much money on each other...but it happened every year.

Oh, I could go on and on. I love all that family time at Christmas Eve...and it was almost always just us 5, with maybe a grandparent thrown in there occasionally. A few years of my childhood, we spent Christmas away from home...and it was always a disappointment. Ironically, those are the years my older sister enjoyed the most. I guess you never know what your kids will like.

So far our traditions are not putting up the tree until after Andrew's birthday and our whole ornament putting up tradition (Giselle makes fun of Jeff's ornaments, Giselle gets tickled, Andrew defends Daddy's crappy ornaments, Giselle tries to hide them on the back of the tree, gets tickled some more, etc etc). Those aren't very exciting. I miss the Christmas Eve tradition...we are doing Christmas morning with our kids. Hopefully our own fun things will develop...

Stuck

-sigh- I think I'm ready to go back to work full-time. Do you know anyone hiring a full-time position for the next week? No, make that 2 weeks...Andrew has a week off school starting next Tuesday.

Positives for today: Andrew had school. Book club was taken from my house by my friend, so I don't have to worry about cleaning and prepping food for tonight. Michael only got up twice last night. My house still smells like the gyros I made for dinner last night. That's right, I made gyros. Honey Homemaker, here.

Negatives for today: I am wearing a rut in my floor from walking Michael around a circle in my house. Lily's eyes are so watery and puffy that she has been crying all morning, poor baby. I have to get ready for this stinkin' birthday party in 3 days. I'm bored. Andrew is bored.

Okay, enough wah-me. Lordy...I'm just too bored to write in this today. Baby's crying again. I've got to go rock him...poor little pitiful thing.

Thank heavens for frequent posters

This whole November posting challenge has been both a blessing and a curse. (I refuse to call it the NaBloPoMoDoToReallyLongLongerThanMostTitlesInFact... because I find it more confusing and irritating than an abbreviation should be).

A curse because I probably wouldn't have written about this little thing that happened last week. And then none of you would be any the wiser...except for my mother, and it's really fun to make her crazy, so that would still be okay.

A blessing because I have been trapped in my house since last Thursday with 3 children...and it doesn't look like it will be changing anytime soon. And since all of you have been blogging so faithfully, I feel like I'm still talking with adults and socializing and all of that. So thank heavens!

Michael slept better last night. I think I was only up rocking him every 3 hours instead of every 2 like the night before. Lily woke up and CUDDLED with me...so I'm thinking she must feel like death warmed over. Andrew is feeling great and hyper and cooped up...a great mix with the other 2 draggers. Jeff and I are healthy...although I can't imagine I won't catch this bug, what with all the sleep I'm getting and the snot drying in my hair etc etc. Oh, the glamour of being a mother.

And now a Public Service Announcement. I did call a doctor yesterday. What you all need to understand is, I am NOT being difficult about going to the doctor. I don't HAVE a doctor. I haven't seen anyone other than an OB/GYN since college. If you move as much as we do, and need doctors as infrequently as we do...there is just little motivation to get a doctor. So I needed a recommendation, and my friend that has raved about her doc's was in jury duty last Friday. So I didn't even have the name of a practice until late Friday afternoon. I called first thing Monday morning, and was told that they would "get back to me in a week" with an appointment (a new patient thing). So I WILL get a doctor...hopefully in the next week...and then I will tell them about this whole thing. There are no urgent cares in this part of the world (a fact I still don't understand), so it's not like I could have zipped in there to see a doctor. And I am NOT waiting 10 hours in an ER for a headache that happened last week. I promise I am symptom free and have been since Friday. It's all good. Thank you for your concerns.

Open bar

When my kids are sick, the rules kind of go out the window. Want juice 5 times a day? OK! Want Popsicles and fruit snacks and applesauce for dinner? OK! Want to watch tv for most of the day? Oh, wait...that's normal.

For Michael this means an open bar at the milk cafe. I HATE sick babies...they are so pathetic and sad...and you can't explain to them why they feel so uncomfortable...and you just can't do much to help them. It's horrible. Michael is just miserable...can't sleep and be left alone for one solitary minute. He just looks at you with those watery eyes pleading for some relief. And the one thing that I can do that always makes him feel better is nurse him. And it really works for him this time around...he is instantly comforted and content. This makes my leash even shorter than usual, but I'm glad I can give him even a little contentedness.

I slept from 11-2 last night. That's it. Lily woke up coughing and grouchy this morning. Michael can not seem to nap...except for 15 minute spurts in my arms now and then. Andrew is doing markedly better...so at least he'll get to go to school. I'm supposed to have book club at my house Wednesday night. Yea, we'll see if the house is clean or not. I literally can't put Michael down for more than 5 minutes (he is sitting on my lap whining at the moment), so that floor just ain't going to get vacuumed...

Anyhoo, enough complaining...this is par for the course with children, so it's just what we do. I'm blessed to have mostly healthy children, so I really should just keep my mouth shut.

So here's question for all of you... Which do you think is better, everyone getting sick at once, or passing it around one at a time? I can see benefits (and lots of detriments) for each, but I'm curious what you think?

Play house

Some of you may not have known me 2 1/2 years ago, but I was...um...less than stoked about having a little girl. Frightened. Feeling inadequate. I quickly got over that once Lily made her grand appearance, although I still often feel like she really has gotten the short end of the stick when it comes to mothers. I went out with some ladies, and they were discussing all the cute dresses and dress coats their daughter have (and the price tag on those items). I love looking at Lily in dresses, but I honestly would rather she be comfortable. I wouldn't want to freeze my bottom in tights when I could be wearing thick warm sweatpants. Why would I make my daughter? Other than the fact she is deliciously cute in tights.



Anyhoo, I digress. I am really really enjoying the toys and play style of a little girl. It makes me realize how annoying it is that playing pretend with a little boy ALWAYS ends up in violence. Here's an example of playing with the dollhouse (Lily's favorite thing to do).



Lily: Mommy be mommy, Eee-ee be baby.



Andrew grabs the Mommy. Lily screams: No! No! No!



Giselle: It's okay, Lily. I'll be the daddy and Andrew can be the mommy. We all have to share..blah blah blah (you know the drill)



Lily: Wah wah. Baby eat oatmeal.



G: Here's your breakfast, baby. Daddy has to go to work.



A: (Throws mommy doll into the air) Mommy just jumped out the window! Let's pretend she's dead!



G: No, Andrew. We don't pretend that people are dead. How about we all have a dance party?



Lily excitedly starts making her doll dance. I less excitedly make my doll dance. Andrew makes his doll hit her head repeatedly on the roof of the house making screaming noises.





Do you get idea? -sigh- I fear that soon Lily and I will be outnumbered.

Call off the dogs...

I need an audience, did you guess that? Thanks to my little sister's rather late appearance when I was 7, I am a quirky mix of a youngest and a middle child. I like to think that I don't like attention...I hate parties for me, didn't really want a wedding, can't stand even Christmas parties where everyone will be watching me open a gift. Yet...I like to make people laugh and entertain them.

I know I need an audience for a journal. Evidence is in the blank pages of my written journal, that I knew would have an audience of 1 versus my blog...which has 590 entries in the last 3 years. I like to think I don't care that people are reading this...it is for my future self. Which is true, except that I try my hardest to make you laugh or wince or shake your head at me...even if I don't know you're reading.

If I were a true blue middle child, I probably wouldn't have written that last post. I wouldn't have wanted to worry you about it. Writing it out was very much a youngest child thing to do. Youngest children tend to need validation for their every move in life...everything is a little more dramatic. Who could blame them...they're at the tail end of a family...you gotta do what you gotta do to get attention. ;) I think that I needed validation in this little episode. I think that deep down I'm worried about what happened, and I kind of wanted to get your reaction, to justify my own reaction. Make sense?

Anyway, your reaction has been duly noted. For the record, I have gotten the name of a doctor's practice, and I will be calling them on Monday. If I can remember. Definitely by Tuesday. See, that's the darned middle child coming out again. ;)

Holy crap...I think I had a stroke

Let me start off by saying that I am an annoyingly healthy person. I haven't had a doctor for 10 years, because I honestly haven't needed one. I think 2-3 times in 10 years I've needed to go to urgent care for a bladder infection. I don't wear glasses. I live strictly by the code, "Wait a week. If it is still bugging you, go to the doctor." And -so far- nothing has lasted a week.

Yesterday was one of the scariest moments of my life. I was happily whining the day away with a sick almost-5 year old male (we all know that gender distinction makes a difference) and a bipolar 2 year old girl (again...gender) and a happy-go-lucky perfect baby. We were at the grocery by 8 am to stock up on Popsicles and juice and cough syrup and donuts and other sick foods...well maybe not the donuts, but did I mention the bipolar 2 year old? We played house a million and one times, I made dinner in the crock pot, Michael went down for a nap, and I called my friend Annie while I made lunch for the crew. I had a lovely conversation with her, and by the end of it I had noticed this little nagging ear/behind the left eye pain. I got off the phone with her and ate my lunch, hoping I was just hungry.

15 minutes later, I was reeling. Nauseous, dizzy, the works. I decided this felt like a migraine...I've never had one, but the eye distortion and stabbing head pain made me assume this. I decided to call Jeff to moan to him, but I couldn't remember his phone number. You know, the one that I call numerous times a day. Then I almost threw up. I didn't, for some reason, but now I was feeling tingly numbness in my extremities. I literally thought maybe I was having a stroke. I couldn't get full sentences out when speaking to the children. Lily's nap time came and I said something like, "Lily say goodbye goodnight good to you Mi to your And to go to bed" and stumbled upstairs with her, seeing spots the whole time. I grabbed the phone again and literally had to punch in the numbers while using my other finger to follow along Jeff's business card. I left some kind of rambling message, because, again, I wasn't able to complete sentences. I corralled Andrew upstairs for his sick-day nap. Thank God the children went down without a fuss. Michael had just woken from his nap, so I put him in the swing and sat in front of the toilet. Jeff came home, I went upstairs, threw up my lunch and tried to will the pain away. While I "slept", Jeff apparently looked up my symptoms and decided it was weird for me to have a migraine, since I've never had one before...perhaps I had meningitis. I must have freaked him out good, since he came home from work without question and then was ready to take me to the emergency room.

I did fall asleep for a little while and got out of bed after a few hours to feed Michael (boy's still got to eat!). My head and ear ached all the rest of the day, but I never felt that tingly feeling or the disorientation again. Thank heavens. Unpleasant. Scary. This morning I have a haunting ache threatening behind my ear and eye. It doesn't even really hurt...it's just threatening to.

Ugh. So I think this was a migraine. I was shocked at the speed it hit me and the complete body collapse it caused. I cannot imagine how people with chronic migraines function in normal society. I was not able to take care of my children. What would I do if this happened frequently. Which makes me worry why this has happened now. What if that last pregnancy just through my hormones into a place where THIS is my new PMS symptom. I still haven't gotten my period back, but perhaps this is the sign it is coming.

AAAACCCCHHHH! Maybe I should be putting in a call to my primary care physician. ;)

Andrew's worst nightmare

Today he can't speak! Can you imagine!?!?! The poor kid has come down with a terrible chest cold...and it's just sitting on his vocal chords. I feel so bad for him...he doesn't have a runny nose or anything. He just can't talk and when he tries to cough it is a bark...just not loosened up yet. Oh, and he has a fever if I don't give him Tylenol. But the not talking is driving him MAD. We can't even play neighbor... (I grin evilly). Hopefully tomorrow it will loosen up a bit so he can at least get my attention. And hopefully tonight he will be able to sleep....last night was a long one.

So a day of TV! How unusual for my kids...


BTW...I took all 3 kids for flu shots yesterday afternoon. It went amazingly well, thanks to gummy bears and the fact that Michael didn't react at all to the shot. Kind of guilted Andrew into not crying. Now I'm the only one who hasn't gotten one. I saw a sign at Target last week that they were giving flu shots Oct 16-19. Gee. Thanks. Maybe someday I should actually get a doctor so that I can take care of things like this. -sigh- Like I can even imagine going to the doctor with 3 kids tagging along. Or even 2. Or 1.

Why I don't do crafts

Scene: My kitchen, around 10am, yesterday.
Players: Andrew, Lily, and me...Michael was taking a morning nap, after protesting it for 45 minutes

Michael decided to be especially difficult, so I neglected the other 2 children horribly. Also, I was frantically cleaning for some friends coming over that night because her youngest just learned to crawl...and my house is a stewing pit of choking hazards. Once Michael finally decided to sleep, I wanted to be a good mommy for once and break out the painting supplies. I set up the easel, put up paper and squirted paint into paper cups. I had wet paper towels ready for spills. I had different tools to paint with...to promote experimenting with the materials, toothpicks, sponges, brushes, plastic letters, etc. I was up for the Super Mom election! Or at least the Do What is Expected Mom election!

Lily- "Yay! Paint! Me paint!"

She runs over to the cup of red paint and starts vigorously painting a bloody scene.

Andrew stands blankly in front of his plain canvas.

Lily begins screaming, "Wash Ands! Wash Ands!". As I rush to her, there is a dime sized amount of paint on her hands.
Mommy says (foolishly), "It's okay, Lily. Get all messy and we'll wash up at the end."

"NOOOOOOOOOO! Wash Ands! NOW! Wash Ands!" She drops to the ground (with a full paint brush in hand) and starts flailing in a full-on tantrum.

Mommy pries the paint brush from her fingers and drags her to the bathroom.

"Wash Ands, Mommy. Myself. Bubbles. Wash bubbles." Mommy tries to squirt soap into Lily's hands. "No, Mommy. Bubbles myself!" Lily grabs the soap dispenser and futilely tries to squirt the soap out. It doesn't work. "Mommy, BUBBLES! Wash Ands!" Mommy quickly squirts some soap on Lily's hands before the tantrum ensues. Lily refuses to leave the bubbles and water, so Mommy goes to check on Andrew.

Andrew is still staring blankly at his canvas.

Lily coming out of the bathroom and slips on a wet puddle left over from washing hands. Screaming pain cry (over exaggerated). Boo-boo bunny needed.

Andrew is still staring blankly at his canvas. He starts to cry quietly.

Lily wants to paint again. She picks up the red paintbrush again. Mommy suggests another color, which makes Lily start to breathe heavily again...Mommy backs off.

Mommy checks in with Andrew. He begins crying hysterically that he can't think of anything to paint. Mommy pleads that it is just supposed to be fun...he can paint a design or a picture or he can just play with the colors and paint. "No, I need something to paint."

Lily begins screaming, "Wash Ands! Yucky paint! Wash ands!"

Repeat the bathroom scenario of above.

Andrew starts painting a lovely picture of the beach.

Lily comes out of the bathroom to find a fresh piece of paper waiting for her. She goes into her blue period, after a brief tantrum because Andrew is using her red paint. Soon...you guessed it...we are back in the bathroom fighting over who controls the soap.

I decide to pack up the paints during this bathroom interval. I've had enough of the schitzo. Andrew starts to cry again as I pack up the paints, because he has finally found inspiration.

Lily throws a huge tantrum (joining Andrew's cries) as she realizes we aren't going to paint anymore.



So, my dearest children, if you are reading this someday, YOU are the reason we didn't do anything creative.


And I'll leave you with a sweet story. This morning I was dressing Lily and I heard Andrew singing something to Michael. I peeked into the room where Michael was on the floor. Andrew was stroking Michael's chin singing a tuneless kind of made up song, "Oh, thank you God, thank you God for sweet cute little Mikey. Thank you God for Mikey." Michael was just gazing up in adoration as Andrew crooned to him. Oh, help my heart...it just about died from the sweetness.

The mini-van

Because Erin asked, and because I don't have any great ideas for a post today, I will proceed to tell you the scintillating details of our mini-van set-up.

Last February, we traded in our faithful Ford Escape for a Honda Odyssey. We just couldn't fit 3 car seats in the Escape. Other than being depressed to have to find my gold mini-van amongst the sea of others in every parking lot, I am thrilled with this purchase. I highly highly recommend this particular car, for its ease in maneuvering, it's quiet ride, and all the fun little features it comes with. (Honda, you may send me a free mini-van any time for this free advertising).

So, seating arrangements. We have a middle set of captain's chairs and a back bench. We have taken out one of the captain's chairs. Andrew and Lily are on the back bench together. Michael is facing backwards in the remaining captain's chairs. This is why we do it this way:

1) No one is alone. With a sensitive little soul like Andrew, it was devastating to be back in the back alone. So Lily keeps him company, and Michael can watch them both.

2) I can load all the kids through one door. This is particularly wonderful during rainy weather, busy parking lots, or in our garage (which barely fits the van).

3) Where the missing captain's chair was, I am left with a large flat space. This is an excellent space for changing diapers, placing groceries, and occasionally even having a picnic.

4) When we suddenly need another seat for an adult, it is really easy to just pop in the captain's chair, and no body has to climb in the back.

5) With the missing chair, it is very simple for me to reach the back seats to buckle everybody in...I just climb in the car.

6) I can't reach Lily or Andrew to give them stuff. This was only a problem for about a week, and now they know that once the car is moving, I can't hand them stuff. Oh, how I love not being harassed for books, toys, snacks as we are driving.

So there you have it. The perfect set-up for our family.

Remember what they look like?

Michael is a big thumb sucker now. Have I mentioned that he is napping well? It is all due to this thumb.

Seriously can't get pictures of this girl. My sister can attest to it. Impossible.

Is there anything cuter than a baby wrapped in a towel? I think not.

Andrew climbed a tree! With Aunt Sara! And Lily! Way back a month ago!

The boys.

They have a real love affair.

No bib has even been more accurate.

Michael with a death grib on Shadow's collar. Since sitting up, he has become aware of her, and now loves her like his siblings.

Poor Uncle Jeff.

Halloween pictures

Finally! Some pictures!



My little Cookie Monster. Please don't notice the horribly disgusting mini-van in the background.

The 3 little munchkins.

Eating popsicles on the swing. If not for the poor lighting, this may have been our holiday card. I don't know if I'll be able to do better...

Andrew drew a face on his pumpkin. I went upstairs to feed Michael. I came down to find that Jeff had carved the pumpkin EXACTLY as Andrew had drawn it. I would have been too lazy to try and carve out those tiny eye and ear holes on that giant pumpkin...but good old Jeff did it. So we have a 4-year old's Jack-O-Lantern:

More on the swing:

Andrew at his class party. 2 other boys were football players (because their "real" costumes were too scary/violent for the party. Andrew was not able to wear his ninja costume for that reason)

I've included this one so you can see how much bigger Andrew is than his classmates. It's pretty shocking, really. Kind of looked like Andrew had gotten in the wrong class line.

Forced materialism

Andrew has a birthday coming up (5!?!?). And then exactly 4 weeks after that is Christmas. Which is a whole lot of presents in a short period of time. And he wants nothing. With a capital N.

We have scoured catalogs. We have wandered through toy stores. All I can get from him is a disinterested shrug or a unenthusiastic point at a random toy when pressured. We saw Santa at the mall yesterday (already?), and Andrew eagerly ran up to him to say hello. But he just wanted to chat and ask Santa how he was and introduce him to Lily and Michael. When Santa asked him what he wanted for Christmas, Andrew just shrugged and smiled nervously. So this wise Santa asked Andrew what he was going to get me for Christmas. And my sweet little boy instantly got talkative, telling Santa what he got me last year and what he thought Michael and Lily would like. I don't think Andrew could remember one thing HE himself received, but he can recount almost every gift he gave last year.

So how hard do I press him? How far down his throat do I really shove the greedy spirit of modern Christmas? It is so fun to go shopping for kids, but I'm spending a lot of money on children who don't even really want a lot of gifts. How dumb is that? I think this year I will try and play into his enjoyment of Christmas, and spend time with him choosing gifts for others rather than pouring over catalogs trying to pick things for him. I still have to talk to Jeff about it, but I think we will limit gifts to 5 for each kid this year...1)big gift from Santa 2) something small from Santa or what they ask Santa for 3)toy from us 4) book(s) from us 5) something small from us, like pjs or a movie or coupon book (see below).

So now some ideas from you. Do you limit your Christmas spending? How do you make it "fair" for your children (comparing gifts to each other)

One thing I've decided to make for him is a little coupon book...I think he'd get real kick out of it. I've already thought of "date with Dad" and "date with Mom" and "ice cream for dinner" and "PJ day" and "good for one gift shop item" (since we never get anything from museum, etc. gift shops). Any other ideas?

Baby babbles

So Mikey is at the cutest stage ever. Seriously. I have always maintained that every age and stage with kids comes with a balance of good and bad. Like Lily is completely and totally psychotic and bipolar, but with that comes a budding sense of humor and her adorable emerging language skills. Andrew is super fun to play with and have real conversations with, but he also likes to talk about eyeballs and tuna fish sandwiches and today cocker spaniels. As in, "What do you want for lunch?" "Cocker Spaniels..." (insert out of control giggles here).

But I am at a loss to find the bad about 7 months old. Michael is sleeping AWESOMELY, with an hour or 2 of napping during the day and 11 hour stretches at night. He is suddenly loving his solid foods, and does that fantastic baby bird mouth. He is squealing and cooing and babbling to his heart's content. He can sit up. He is not mobile AT ALL. All it takes to make him happy is someone talking to him or something he can bang.

I love this stage. And I love it the most this time around because I really am not worried that he isn't rolling over, etc etc. I can tell there is nothing wrong with his muscles...he's just not into physical movement right now. He is very busy advancing verbally. Lily said her first syllable at about 7 months. I remember it well, because it was while we were visiting Texas, and it was one of the sweetest moments I've ever had with my brother-in-law (big tough bachelor was sooooo excited to hear her utter those first sounds). Michael will be 7 months tomorrow, and he is saying Muhmuhmuh and Dahdahdah and Dihdih and A-ta and Tihtihtih and Guh and Buhbuhbuh, and squeals... So he'll get there with the movement. One thing at a time.

I am also the most sad this time around. Michael is my last baby. I know I will always love holding babies, but there will never be another that looks at me with those adoring, "You are my mommy" eyes. Oh, my heart is breaking a little even writing that. I love babies. I love my kids, and despite my complaining, I really have tried to relish my time with them. I also know I don't want a 4th. I really want to enjoy each of my special wonderful kids, and already with 3 I feel stretched. I worry that I wouldn't enjoy them the same way if I added another. And I know that in any case I can't keep having babies. There will always be a last baby.

So don't grow up so fast, kiddo. Just take your time and let Mommy memorize every moment. I'll need it to last me for a long while.

Not lost

So my friend Annie noticed that two of my posts this week were titled Lost. Very creative, Giselle.

Oh, and the library books are STILL lost. Andrew is not lost anymore. I'm pretty sure I have lost my mind. I have not lost any weight. I like to watch the show Lost.

Okay, now I am not inspired today...not particularly so. So I'll bring up a question someone else asked:

How did you find the transition from 2 to 3 children in terms of finance. I don't need your 1040 form or anything too personal, just a general idea of how it worked with your budget. My kids are 2 and 1...I personally would LOVE to have one more but finances are not in prime condition to say the least. Did you guys feel the pinch financially or were you able to work it out?

Well, let's first point out that Jeff and I didn't plan this 3rd one exactly. So there was no forethought about finances. It is what it is. And so far, we have been lucky...it hasn't impacted us too much. No new childcare costs, since I was already a stay at home mom, I am exclusively breastfeeding, I have lots of hand-me-down clothes, we already had a 4 bedroom house, and we have good insurance, so the birth only cost us $15. But I anticipate quite a bit of budgeting and tightening of the belt as we approach a 3rd set of braces, 3rd set of extracurricular activities, and -gulp-, a 3rd college tuition to help with. But we'll get there someday.

As far as just general difficulty adjusting, I think everyone's experience is different. So so much depends on the personality of the children that you get. For us, I think that the transition from 0 children to 1 has been the most challenging. I had to adjust to not working and being isolated from the rest of the world and the fact that the kid NEVER.GOES.AWAY, and not sleeping in, and trying to plan outings around a child, etc etc etc. For us, the easiest transition was from 1 to 2 kids. We still could do the "man-to-man defense" (not that I know what that means exactly...I've just heard it said before), I was already immersed in the mommy lifestyle, etc. The hardest thing was moving to a new state...having a new baby paled in comparison. The transition from 2 to 3 has been quite difficult. Again, I was already in mommy mode, but suddenly we are outnumbered, and I can't stress enough what an adjustment this was for me. Taking 2 kids out alone is challenging but manageable, 3 children out alone is daunting...although manageable. I imagine that the transition to 4 kids would be easier (just adding to the chaos), but the outings alone must be quite rare. I just can't imagine. And of course the spacing of my first 2 kids versus the second 2 kids contributes to my difficulties.

Of course, all this is different from family to family. Perhaps you worked full-time with the first child, or perhaps you had the 3rd child much much later than the 2nd, or perhaps you had 2 at the same time, or perhaps your 2nd child was colicky and angry...you get the idea. Which is why when people ask me if it is hard to have 3...because they are thinking of having 3...my response is always, "I can't even pretend to know anything about it. You kind of just have to try it and find out." Which is a terrible response.

Lost

I am missing 2 library books.

It is driving me CRAZY.

I teeter on the edge of chaos every day. But I am so busy holding onto sanity, that I don't notice how close to the edge I actually am. I fool myself into believing that I am juggling everything very well.

And then I can't find 2 library books. And I suddenly see how many holes are in my net.

I am making too many analogies. Too many metaphors. This isn't going to make any sense.

Back to the library books. Seriously. My only thought is that Lily threw them away.

Why would she throw books away? She loves books. It would be like throwing her night-night away. Inconceivable.

What the heck? I always check out exactly 10 books. I keep them in the computer room, away from all our other books. We have a special library bag so that I can keep them separate.

I looked in the car.

Under all the furniture.

Oh. Dear. God. I think I'm cracking.

I can see the news article now:

Mother Sent to Mental Hospital
A 31 year old Pennsylvania woman was carted away from her home this afternoon after losing her mind. She was found by her husband wandering around the house looking inside teacups and fishbowls muttering, "Maybe they are in here?" Her 3 children were screaming to be fed while sitting on an impossibly dirty and sticky floor. Authorities suspect her mental demise began with a lost library book. Due to the state of the house, it is assumed that she lost the library books months ago, a figure estimated from Dust-dating (a process similar to carbon dating).

Ugh. At least I have to start cleaning for playgroup tomorrow...that should distract me a bit.

So long, Colin and Aunt Cake

Today we went back to normal. Kind of. It was time to take Kate, "Aunt Cake", and cousin Colin to the airport. It was such a good week. The cousins had a great time with lots of fighting spread right in. Colin did so well...it was quite a week of changes for him...new house, no daddy around, suddenly having to share and compromise with 2 other little needy beings. I thought the most telling example was when we were driving somewhere and Lily wanted to listen to the Elmo CD...again. Colin kept asking us to turn it to the Cars CD (right on, Colin G), but we did make the boys take turns picking the music with Lily. Colin reacted with shocked outrage, and I thought, of course! He doesn't have to listen to crappy Elmo music in his car. Poor kid...he'll go home thanking his lucky stars he doesn't have a little sister so he has to listen to that crap. ;) Or watch the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse instead of his favorite show. Really, he did so so well. I'm proud of you, Colin!

I think he was ready to go home, but I also think he had a great time while he was here. It just makes me wish that we were closer so we could get together for the afternoon or the weekend, and then go back to our safe comfortable routines quickly. But since this is the way it is for our family, I am very very grateful that Kate brought herself and Colin to us. We had a terrific time! We miss you already!

Lost

We went to this museum yesterday with the whole crew. It was awesome. Kate will have the full story with pictures and everything as soon as she's home. I am overwhelmed by the 140 pictures now downloaded, so it will be a little while until I get pictures up on this thing. So I will tell you a quick Andrew story from the trip.

We got to the museum, and quickly divvied up the kids. Kate was in charge of Colin, I was in charge of Lily, and Andrew was in charge of staying near either Kate or me. I pulled Andrew aside and reminded him that if he couldn't find one of us, he should ask one of the employees, and I pointed out the purple-shirted people walking around. We have had many discussions about getting lost, and who to ask for help. Andrew knows to try and find an employee, but if that isn't working, he should find someone with kids. I figure they are more likely to help a lost child if they have children of their own...you know...they like kids.

So at one point, Andrew couldn't find us. I had gone to the bathroom and was changing Michael's diaper, and while Kate was watching the other 3, Lily went and banged her head or something, and Colin tipped over a shopping cart of pretend food, etc etc. Anyway, he looked up and neither of us was around. So he calmly asked a purple-shirted employee to help him. Aunt Cake (as Lily has named her) found Andrew just at that moment, so crisis was averted.

I was praising Andrew for keeping his cool and doing just what we have always talked about. This is huge for Andrew, because he can be a nervous kid. He was telling me (very earnestly) about how he had found an "owner" of the museum because he just couldn't find any grownups with kids.

Huh? At a children's museum?

If he can't find any adults with kids at the Please Touch Museum, perhaps I need to come up with a better option for him. If he can't find them when 100% of the adults had kids, what will he do when only 50% have kids?

Oh, and thank you for all the comments on my last blog entry. Whining DOES work, no matter what they say ;) Actually, I'm quite content with the amount of commenting on this blog...I don't feel it is too shabby normally. I just know that my questions to the unknown masses usually go unanswered. Which is why I will continue to steal from Kelsey. Stay tuned tomorrow for my favorite color. I know, it's going to be hard...but I think you can do wait!

When I grow up.

Kelsey asked her readers for ideas about what to write during this November challenge (write every day in the month of November). I would ask you all, my patient readers, but you are always completely SILENT when I ask questions. I don't know if you don't know about the comment button, or don't want to admit that you read my retarded blather, or you just don't care, or nobody is actually reading it. I don't really care to know the answer to that last one, by the way ;) Anyhoo, I'm just going to steal ideas off of Kelsey's readers...so if you happen to read both of our blogs...sorry for you. ;)

This question is: What do you plan to do when the kids grow up? And how grown up do you intend for them to be before you do it? How does that prospect make you feel?

I haven't entirely decided what to do when the kids grow up. I have to stop having kids so that they have an opportunity to grow up first :) Seriously, though, my mother didn't have a job outside of the home for my entire life. Selfishly, I loved it. It was like having your own personal valet/chef/house cleaner/counselor/confidante all the time. Now that I'm an adult, I wonder how personally fulfilling it was to her...did she get lonely for adult time? Did she feel she was wasting her brain? Maybe these feelings get better as the kids get older? Anyway, I would love to stay at home forever with my kids. But there are several problems I see with this:

1) Stay-at-home mom is a dying breed. I feel like MOST people go back to work at some point because of the financial aspect of raising children. So let's say I didn't go back to work. Who would I hang out with? Would I get stuck always being the room mother? Or the one taking care of the other 14 latch-key kids in the neighborhood.

2) I am a social beast. I need interaction. Right now I get a limited amount through playgroups (which are TOTALLY for the moms, not the kids), but what happens when the kids go to school and the moms go back to school? Yikes, I think I will need to work just so I have friends

3) We had our kids young. When Michael graduates from high school, Jeff and I will be just 48. That's almost 20 years of childless years before Jeff retires. I think I would like to have a career...something that interests me, etc.

4) Jeff's mom worked during his childhood. Which makes Jeff just assume I will go back. Because that's all he knows.

5) I don't like to clean house. Or cook. Or do crafty projects. Or any of the other things I would be expected to do if I was at home while the kids were at school. I need some excuse for a dirty house...working would fulfill that!

So our plan right now is to wait until Michael is in 1st grade. Then I will look for a part-time position in a school district, so I can have similar hours and holidays as the kids. If nothing is available, I think I will probably go back and get my master's degree in library science. I really loved being a school librarian...I'd like to be able to do it for real. I would like to work part time until the kids graduate, and then move into full time.

And I feel pretty good about this plan because it's not really a plan yet. We just have a flexible wait and see kind of attitude.

Roll on, my friend...

Michael is officially rolling over. He doesn't quite know how to get it done, but he does it. Make sense? Last night I heard him screaming in bed at 2:15. He does not do this, so I gave him 20 minutes to cry it out before I would go into him. After 15 minutes he was quiet, so I fell back asleep without checking on him. At 4:30, he woke up crying again, and I figured that 10 hours of sleep deserved a milk fill-up. I reached to get him, and realized he was on his tummy, desperately trying to flip back over to his back... Poor guy probably got himself into that predicament back at 2 am. He sure is lucky to have such a caring mommy. ;)

So, yay! He's rolling. And he ate a whole bowl of cereal/banana mixture today...no choking or spitting! Yay, Michael.

And I don't want to write more...I have 29 more days to fill...yikes.

Halloween

We had one of the best Halloween's in my life last night. And the few days leading up to it were pretty fun too. My sister Kate is visiting, and she LOVES Halloween. So it has been like a Halloween fairy has visited, bringing lots of holiday cheer with her. She carved pumpkins, made mummy hotdog wraps, played hours of zombie with the boys, and just generally made it all fun.

Last night was a mad rush for the door. We were eating dinner and the neighbors kicked on their loud Halloween mood music. The boys (Colin and Andrew) went INSANE. Unfortunately, I still needed to feed Michael and lay him down so that I could go walking around with them. So while I was upstairs, Jeff and Kate somehow managed to wrangle the 3 kids into their costumes. In the midst of this, neighbors began coming for candy. Which Jeff had hidden from me...and since I was upstairs, I missed the grand reveal of his hiding place. DARN!

I rushed downstairs and we began the walk. Lily had been prepped earlier in the day, but there's no way she comprehended what was about to happen. She followed Andrew and Colin to the first house, and said her "Trick or treat"...which didn't quite sound like that, but I can't figure out a way to type it the way she said it. After receiving her mini bag of M&M's, she was finished. So I put her in the stroller and we went to the next house. She said trick or treat from the stroller and was given another treat. HOLD THE PHONE. The next house she was a bit more enthusiastic. And by the 4th house, she was out of the stroller and charging up to doors with her brother and cousin. She wasn't afraid of other kids, or scary music, or big inflatable Jack-o-lanterns. She charmed everyone with her little "Tank-oos" after each treat. She must have done 15 houses without complaint. Seriously, her almost 4 year old cousin puttered out before her. She was on fire.

Andrew and Colin were cute too. Colin got props for the best costume. Everyone was commenting on it. Although Kate was a big upset that everyone was calling him "Maverick". She preferred "Goose", thank you very much. Andrew made me proud...he waited for us slowpokes without complaining, he didn't cry when there were no Skittles to be found anywhere, he was just fun fun fun. He was a bit intimidated by the other kids, but not the houses. No worries, next year Lily will protect him ;) Even I was amazed at the sheer volume of chocolate for this poor boy. He does NOT like chocolate. So when we went through his bag, he was left with a few rolls of Smarties and a sucker. But no complaints or whining. I think I may just go out and buy him a stinkin' bag of Skittles.

After the sugared up kiddos went to bed, Kate, Jeff and I had some spiked coffee and relaxed. But even though we went to bed late and with lots of excitement...I am up listening to my 2 oldest in the monitor at 5:45. They are sharing a room this week (Kate and Colin are bunking up in Andrew's room). They are having fun...a little too much fun. My light sleepers wake each other up with every cough and snore...and are more than happy to talk and sing to each other rather than sleep. So far they haven't been too grouchy during the day...just Mommy is.

I hope you all had a nice Halloween also! I will post pictures of my Cookie Monster, football player/ninja, and leopard when I finally get that program up and running on our new computer. And I must post pictures of Mikey sitting up...he looks so grown up! Finally, I will be trying to post every day in November...just as a fun challenge. I just love disappointing myself, so let's set it up ;)