Thursday, November 30, 2006

Yes, they really do that stuff

Today I had a "Wow" moment. It wasn't a good wow though. We dropped Jack off at school. We ran some errands. We went to Ms. Deena's music class. We were early and men were painting in her hallway so we (Nate, Maddie and I) went into an adjacent classroom lest I be the one repainting where there were tiny handprints on the wall.

It was a huge room. HUGE to run around in. And run my 17 1/2 month old did. With my keys. Straight to the ONE non childproofed outlet in the room. I didn't think kids really did that stuff. It was sorta made up by saftey people to scare us new moms. But yes, they really do. Luckily I caught him before he did any damage.

Note to self: Don't tell a child NO when something is dangerous. It gives the allure of the forbidden. Then they'll want to do it even more. Not sure what the other option is, but don't make something bad look appealing by giving it a red light.

Please tell me my kids aren't the only ones trying to electricute themselves!!

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Enter the Griswold's

Sunday we we missed Bear's Kickoff to hunt for our fun old fashioned family Christmas perfect Christmas tree. Here it has been spotted by Numero Uno. The tree farm idea is great, they have a warming house with hot cocoa and sell pine cones for a dollar. Our tree came with pinecones anyway I think, so we didn't buy any. Daddy, boys and sharp harmful tools are always a winning combination. Jack did most of the hard labor here. We had such an awesome day too, it was in the mid fifties up here. Sure it was early to get a tree, but why freeze if you don't have to? I'm sure Maddie preferred it this way, as did I. Said tree is still in the garage sitting in water however. Hard to decorate with babies!!!

Thanksgiving!!


Here is the Divine Ms. M. with her first Turkey leg. We went straight from breastmilk to bone- in protein.








Hours and hours of preparation led to this....the
Happy Meal Lion Toy decided he was hungry and wanted some of mom's pumpkin pie. Rarrr!



Check out the food spread here! It was awesome, except for the Brussels Sprouts. On principle they are just gross. Of course, the cranberry chutney sauce and veggie dish (always my faves) were perfection, and 5 days later still are delish!





Brooke's first Thanksgiving...she got one of the turkey legs!!! Mmmmm....

When I was a little kid....

I was informed by my oldest, the one there with the Scooby Doo cup and utensils up his nose that "When I was a little kid mommy, I used to play with those toys". Referring to Nate's toys. Apparently, according to him, he is not a little kid, but "A big Man".

My, how time flies.

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Peace

I'm not usually a fan of country music, but can't help love this music coupled with the amazing artistic images. My cousin Erin is an incredible artist, for some reason some of the images made me think of her, and her beautiful talent. I regret only that the ability to create art is not a talent I inherited from my dad's side of the family. She however, was blessed, and I love telling people that I am related to a bona fide artiste!!

Back to the song...There is something so powerfully peaceful about the lyrics, listening to the words makes me realize my babies are ever more precious. There are so many horrible things in this world, I am glad they can "keep the world at bay for me."

I am thankful this year for my blessings times three. Although they never really are "peacefully silent" they are my salvation. Enjoy....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQvD5tdTHW8

Monday, November 20, 2006

Power Rangers at church

Yesterday, Jack had a Sunday School lesson on giving thanks. I'm trying to get him to realize that holidays are more than just presents, Santa Claus and food.

At the end of class, he very proudly showed me the class mural. Kids had said, "I'm thankful for mommy", or 'butterflies' or "birdies". Jack had drawn a blue and black scribble. "Look mom, I'm Thankful for Power Rangers".

Mind you, this is a show he's never seen. He's just been in contact with it because boys at school talk about it (peer pressure at 3?).

I consulted the teacher, did he REALLY say he was thankful for (gasp) Power Rangers??

No, according to her, "He's really Thankful for the Power Rangers he's going to get for Christmas".

Oh, Really, huh?

Hmmm......

Aaaargh Matey!



I just find this photo funny as hell. For some reason, John looks happiest posing with a Pirate Dog. He doesn't even look this happy in our wedding photos. He looks happier than the kids to be standing next to Pirate dog.

As for Pirate Dog, he just looks a little confused. Sorry buddy!! But, hey, he's a great dad, isn't he? Three cheers for Daddy and Pirate Dog!!!

The museum

Today we went to the Big City to the Children's museum. We had a blast.
Below, see Jack in the "climbing schooner" very very high in the air. It was made for kids 5 and up, or so it said. This 3 yr old took it on no problem. His mother however, had a heart attack and watched Nate play in the nearby safety town ambulance.















This is not ET, however after walking around the water exhibit for a while, I was craving Reese's Pieces.






















More in the climbing schooner, and ET trying to drink the water at the exhibit. So Gross.


Digging for dinosaurs was tough work today!!!

The boy can EAT!

I am not entirely sure why, but most of the pictures we have of Nate involve him eating. Sometimes we can get him eating AND sleeping, at the same time. Not many people can participate in their two favorite activities at once, but he has made an Olympic event out of it.

Nate tries to steal others snacks in public. He has been known to eat off the floor (usually while I'm trying to clean the mess he has created with his food). He's been known to attempt to eat inedible objects, like leaves and rocks. Yes, the boy can eat, and when he does, he has a certain panache, if you will.

Forget handi-wipes, Bring in the hose!!

Sweet Girl

Here is the Divine Miss M at her finest...I love the tongue!
She just loves to smile at her Uncle Richie!
She is sooo baldie bald. And she looks just like her brothers. Thank goodness for pink!
I think this one may be my fave. She is just so innocent, and happy, and a great baby!

Full length shot...see how big she's getting? Oh, and notice the one sock. We have a rule in our house...you may only wear one sock at a time.
Thought I'd share these... She's just sweet sweet sweet!

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Poo!

I warn you, this blog is not for the squeemish. That being said, I'd like to thank my oldest for the quite visual and fragrant reminders that my bathrooms needed cleaning. Allow me to divulge more....

Monday, I went upstairst to check the progress of teeth brushing, when I encountered a horrid smell in the bathroom. I asked son if he forgot to flush and realized I was standing smack in the middle of a poo Picasso. It was smeared on the floor, the rug, the tub, the toilet, the sink, everywhere. I'd like to think that he was wiping, got some on his hands and proceeded to make art because he couldn't reach the faucet. However, after today I'm pretty sure numero uno has a poo fascination and I'm just grossed out.

Today we headed out to music class and to get Jack a haircut. I noticed a funk in the downstairs bathroom but didn't have time to figure it out until we came home 2 hours later. The boys were eating and I still couldn't find the source of the smell. After Monday's episode, I checked the counters and under the sink, and the garbage. No visual...until that is I opened the potty that hasn't been used for anything other than a stepstool for at least a year.

There, lying in the potty was a man sized poo that was making my bathroom smell like a porta potty. Of course I cleaned it out and disinfected and put the potty in the garage to avoid future issues, but I asked son when he did this. "Well mommy, I did it like, 2 days ago". It could be the truth, or just a bad sense of time for a 3 year old. 2 days ago was Monday though, and possibly just a poopy day in general.

This is the stuff you can't make up, and nobody tells you about this part of parenting. All you hear when you're pregnant is "Sleep now" or "Good luck with labor". Nobody ever says to you, "Hey, you may want to reconsider buying a new home because nobody really appreciates poo remnants smeared everywhere". Speaking of which, do they make the sellers of a house disclose any poo incidents, like they do when someone is murdered or dies in a house???

Parenting at it's finest.

Sunday, November 12, 2006

Running

I did a 5K race with Steph today. She paced in at about a 10 minute mile, give or take a few seconds. I was tired since the baby was up at least twice last night and paced a 12 minute mile. Not too bad 3 mos. postpartum and out of shape, but not the greatest either.

It was fun, once you get past all the garbage in your head telling you how much it hurts, and how
crazy you are. Then you look around at the beautiful scenery and enjoy the run because you know at the end there will be food and water, and in some cases even beer (not today though).

The best parts of the race were A.) when I wanted to quit I "hooked up" with another lady and we ran the last 3/4 mile together. It was good motivation and incentive. B.) My sister met me slightly before the finish line and pushed me to the end by running with me. C.) We saw a really hairy guy and could laugh together and "Scary Harry" who by some freak of nature actually had more body hair than my brother, whom we have nicknamed the "Wookie".

We are hoping to do a Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving. I hope she finds one by her because the one by me doesn't cost anything to enter except a can of food for the food pantry, but doesn't give you a t-shirt either. When you run these things, it's all about the t-shirt.

Oh, and the beer and the food at the end don't hurt either. Thanks Steph, I had fun today!!!

Girl Talk

Thursday the girls came over for our monthly scrapbooking session. They scrapped, I wrote in the baby book. They left around 10:40 ish, at which point John asked me if we always stayed so late to scrapbook and gab. This was followed by a very confused: "But WHAT do you guys talk about for so long?"

Guys don't understand it I guess. Or they're insecure because they probably think we're talking about them, which is sometimes the case but not always. This week, we had riveting conversations about hemorrhoids, incontinence, how loud 3 year olds can be, Grey's Anatomy, the dynamics of the Reese/Ryan divorce, how being pregnant screws with your body and basically destroys it and how much fun THAT is, my new found love of the Momfidence book (www.momfidence.com) and dancing with the stars. We agreed that Mario is a little cocky.

These are all subjects that you simply cannot discuss with your husband, which is why we get together to gab. With your hubbie you're relagated to "safe" topics, such as the kids and bills and politics. Bring up the K-FED EX gossip and you are being tuned out. You can see the little radio of circus music playing in his head as you wonder how fat Tori Spelling is going to get, and how much she'll spend on plastic surgery post-delivery. I can visualize the eye rolling if the TomKat wedding is even brought up...

Yes, that is why girls get together. These things are not necessarily important to us in our lives, but sometimes a little mindless celebrity gossip is fun, especially when you are "on" all day with your kids.

Girl talk is simply essential to the survival of our femaleness. As the Spicegirls said "GIRLPOWER RULES"!!!

Thursday, November 09, 2006

Madilynn Grace

Take note mom, the spelling is MADILYNN.

The other day, my parents called to ask how Maddie spells her name. This would have offended someone else, I'm sure, since they only have 2 granddaughters and Brooke isn't easy to forget how to spell.

However, half the time I look at my kids and call them by the wrong name entirely (I've been known to call Jack "Richie", Nate "Jack", and Maddie "Nate"). When strangers ask me how old they are I actually have to STOP AND THINK ABOUT IT, because I've forgotten, and on a bad day, DO NOT even think of asking me how big they were and how much they weighed when they were born. I can't keep that crap straight, and it's all written down somewhere so that I don't have to.

No, I'm not offended when others forget details that I'm lucky myself to remember about the fruits of my loins. I'm lucky I remember they belong to me because believe me, there are days I try to forget!!

Weekly Lessons

Though it is only Thursday, I thought I'd write down a few things I've learned this week:

1. When Jack tells me he is going to "play doctor" at school with the girls, he and I have very different views on what it means to "play doctor".

2. Madilynn does not like baked Tostitos tortilla chips.

3. Madilynn does not like Extreme Cheddar Goldfish Crackers.

4. Madilynn does not like honey flavored Teddy Grahams.

5. It doesn't count as a first solid food if the 16 month old is shoving said food at the 2 month old.

6. Nathan really will bump his head on everything not padded.

7. My children occasionally find it amusing to skip their naps. I disagree with them on this subject.

8. I refuse to "agree to disagree" about aforementioned subject.

9. Jack loves Christmas music almost as much as I do.

10. My children's unending happiness really isn't my problem, now is it?

Sunday, November 05, 2006

Camera Thief!

My sister thinks it's funny to take random pictures of herself with other peoples cameras. They usually involve a pose much like this one, only her mouth is usually open. This picture is old, but I thought I'd put the warning out there. Beware where you lay your cameras!! You never know what you're going to get!!!

I am pretty sure at Brooke's college graduation someone will have memories like the one below to look back on fondly.......


Thank god for digital because I used to get entire rolls of this:



OH! The pain of it!!!

I have not been to yoga in a loooong time. I went today after church. I am going to be so so so so sore tomorrow. I'm already sore now. Oh. My. Gosh.

If you don't hear from me for a few days, it's probably because I am lying immobile somewhere (I'd like to think bed, but HA! to that happening) unable to even turn my head because I was massaging my insides using Ujahi (spelling?) breathing. How creepy is that? "Let's massage our internal organs using good breaths". Uh, what??? I love yoga, I do, and I usually feel better afterwards, but please don't tell me I'm massaging my insides.

Anyways, I'd prefer laying on a warm table with someone massaging my tense neck and back...you know, massaging my outsides......

Saturday, November 04, 2006

And So It Begins.....

Today on my way to work I discoverd that a local radio station has begun its annual Christmas Themed programming. Meaning, all Christmas music, all the time. I cannot tell you how excited I was driving to work on a cloudy Saturday morning, drinking my coffee and listening to Christmas music.

I am of the opinion that there is no finer holiday season than the Christmas season. It's not about the presents, in case you're wondering. For me, Christmas has always been magical and beautiful. When they're not out in a mall shopping, people just seem nicer, or want to try to be better people anyway.

I love the lights, the music, the snow, the cold winter nights cuddling on the couch with a cup of hot cocoa and a good movie on. I love seeing my kids so excited. I love storefront decorations, and mall window shopping. I love hot soup and comfort food. I love the idea of peace on earth and good will towards men.

Most of all, I love "A Charlie Brown Christmas", "It's a Wonderful Life", "The Grinch", and all the holiday cartoon/claymation favorites (Frosty and Rudolph anyone?).

I love the fact that on my wedding day (December 16th) the church was decorated with poinsetta's and it snowed. The reception hall had a tree with lights on it and we played Christmas Carols during cocktail hour. It was a perfect day.

The Christmas season has begun, and with 3 kids, it doesn't get any better than this.

On losing your Mind

I think I'm going crazy. It is quite possible you know. I recently discovered that Thank you notes written for Maddie's baptism were just weird. I thanked people for the wrong things, or left things out altogether.

I think on one where Miss M. got 2 gifts from the same family, instead of thanking them for both gifts, I said thank you for the same gift twice. As in..."Thank you very much for my purple outfit. I will wear it a lot. Also, thanks for the purple outfit. I put it in my college fund, and it will come in handy in the future."

Yesterday I almost put a small grocery bag with 2 nasty diapers into the fridge. I had intended on taking them OUTSIDE to the garbage, but I guess when you go a little crazy diapers end up in the fridge.

I could also be just plain old exhausted with a newborn up to eat in the middle of the night, and a 16 month old up cutting teeth, and a 3 year old scared of some Halloween decoration that consisted of a talking head in a Globe. Some idiot told him it was grandpa's head and every night since Tricks or Treats I've found him in my bed. We've also had to call grandma and grandpa three times since then to ensure that it wasn't HIS grandpa's disembodied head in a globe.

Let's think of a better way next Halloween to petrify the 3 year olds, hmmmm?

Thursday, November 02, 2006

Recently Viewed

Watched a phenomenal movie yesterday called "Iris" starring Judi Dench and Kate Winslet, both outstanding British actresses. The movie was about Iris Murdoch and her demise via Alzheimer's.

British movies don't beat around the bush, and over expound on any given subject. I find British movies to be efficient, to the point, and raw. The movie was not about Alzheimer's though, it was a story about love and loving what is good in this life.

I highly recommend it. http://www.shape9.nl/murdoch/movie.html

The Efficiency of Toddlers


The funniest thing happened the other day. My baby Nate here was multi-tasking. Not only was he sleeping, but he was also eating an oreo. He was sooo tired he couldn't stay awake, but he was SOOO hungry for his cookie that he wasn't letting it go for anything or anyone.

Now THAT is what I call a gifted child....

Fun with Pumpkins

Pumpkin carving is a big deal. A fun tradition full of goop and glop and bloody injuries (Jack sliced open his finger...)


Either we don't feed Nate enough, or we don't love him enough. I can't figure out if he's trying to eat the pumpkin or kiss it. Either way, it's slightly disturbing.
The Alpha Males of the family, during some quality bonding time. Note the EXACT SAME EXPRESSIONS on their intense faces. The only difference is Dad's pumpkin had eyes and a nose. Jack's had some holes that led to his bloody injury when he poked a hole in the pumpkin with the designated pumpkin tool.
Note Nate's swanky get up. T-Shirt, diaper, and one sock. He takes after me in the style department.
Even the baby got in on the carving. She's awesome.

The Candy Capers

I am mortified and unsatisfied. My kids got the motherload of candy on Tuesday...they hit paydirt basically. I am pretty sure my chocolate purist friends will call for my lynching, but so far the only candy I've been able to happily filch from the kids is ONE bag of Skittles and TWO mini packs of Starbursts (that's 4 Starbursts total).

Now, don't get me wrong, I like chocolate too, but my favorite candies are Skittles and Starbursts. For all the houses the boys went to, only ONE bag of Skittles has emerged.

And, while I'm on the subject, what's up with those cheap skates who hand out Brach's Star Mint candies??? Oh, you know the ones that NO KID likes and basically guarantees an egging by the older trick or treaters. Seriously, you buy that crap in bulk and can get it at an Italian Restaurant with your bill.

I remember once as a kid getting walnuts at one house instead of candy. Healthy, sure...kid friendly NO WAY!! Poor Charlie Brown only got a rock. Fess up folks, what are your Halloween Horror Candies??? Can't wait to read them!!