Family photo shoot...shoot me now!

So I was looking at the family pictures on my wall the other day, crying about how little my babies used to be.

This was our first trip to church with floopy Elizabeth.

The Christmas before Caleb was born.

The beach after Caleb was born.

Last year's professional beach session.

And then it dawned on me that we haven't had any decent family shots taken this year.  Well, unless you count these bad boys...

Easter...glorious Easter!  (Caleb didn't care that He had risen...)

Before church one Sunday.  Two out of three cooperated.

So I found a fantastic deal and booked a local photographer that's done a good job for some friends of ours.  I picked out outfits - which is a painstaking process, when you have a two-year-old that prides himself in wearing super hero shirts every day - and just prayed that we would have no rain when the big day came up and that there would still be some leaves on the trees.

Oh and that we would get one decent shot for this year's Christmas cards.

So this weekend rolled around and, I kid you not, Caleb hit his head on something every day.  He has a goose egg on his forehead, one in between his eyes and some sort of rash breaking out on his cheek.  Awesome.  And I have had no fewer than three zits on my chin.  When was my last acne attack?  I couldn't tell you.  But today, I have three.

God bless Photoshop.

As luck would have it, we had a beautiful fall day today - it was 60 and sunny and the leaves were just gorgeous.  Caleb was crabby and whiny in the beginning, Rachel was crabby and whiny at the end and Elizabeth...well she posed through the whole thing.

Let me stop here and say that my oldest is pretty much unaware of social media.  So I have no idea where she got that she needs to put one hand on her hip and do a kissy face any time someone pulls out a camera.  But that's been the latest trend.  All.the.time.

And she kissy faced and posed her way through all our pictures.  In fact, I am just hopeful that we have ONE that she is simply smiling that I can send my grandmother.

And I started to steam until I remembered a certain photo shoot when yours truly was around seven.  My mom did an awesome job having pictures made.  She bought the packages at a local photo place and we went every six months or so and had group shots and individuals done.  Well, I remember vividly that Allison was young and Andrea was a baby, so I'm sure my mom was just thrilled to sit in a chair without small people mauling her.  And somewhere I got the idea to curl my upper lip into my teeth when I smiled.  

Oh Lord, please no.  My stomach still churns at the thought of it.

I did it through the whole thing.  All the pictures.  I thought my mom was going to kill me when she got them back and saw my goofy smile.  

And of course, that very thing popped in my head while Elizabeth blew kisses at the camera today.  (That was YOU.  SHE IS YOUR CHILD!)

Good gracious.  We get them back in three days.  Here's hoping to at least ONE good one.  One more than my mom got way back when. 

:)  Cheers friends!

Potty all the time

Good gracious, I really thought I had experienced most parenting obstacles...and then I started potty training a boy.

Really, he started training himself.  We had been going to the potty before baths and just sitting on it a little bit here and there until one day, Caleb decided he DID NOT want to wear diapers and WANTED to "doe in da pobby, mama."  

This was one week before preschool started, mind you.  *Sigh*  And so we began.

Now, I should have started him at the beginning of the summer.  That's what I said I was going to do.  That's what I aimed to do.  But people, I was so tired,  And just letting him wear diapers was so darn easy.  

But whatever, so we started.  

Now, I have to tell you - as much as I moan and groan, it has really been easier than what I expected.  I potty train by stripping them naked at home and then gradually adding clothes back on.  Little did I know that this would be the boy's wheel house and this whole no-clothes thing would be his new favorite past time.  So we had gotten well past the point of figuring out when we had to go and he still refused to put clothes back on.

I am still apologizing for the early anatomy lesson to most of my friends who brought their little girls to my house to play.  Oh don't mind Caleb being naked...sorry!  Sorry, Mr. electrician!  We're potty training...  So sorry Mr. UPS man about my son standing at the door, smashed up against the glass...naked...

I swear, I should have made a yard sign.  

Him running out behind me to get Elizabeth from the bus...naked as a jay bird and the bus driver just laughing and waving.  I really do have a million of these.

The solution to my little pint-sized David?  Super hero underpants.  Once he saw those bad boys, he was over being naked.  And ran around in just his underwear for a while - which I'm not really sure was any better.

Besides the streaking, the hardest thing for me to get over was the cleanliness issue of boys and bathrooms.  And I hear this will not improve.  I've heard it from lots of people.  Thanks a lot for building me up, people. 

However, I was not prepared to live in a Clorox commercial 24/7.  

Like the time he came downstairs to tell me that he pee-peed in the potty...carrying the potty with him.  (Slosh, slosh, slosh)

Or when he called for me from the stairs that he had poo-poo'd.  And he was sitting (yes naked) on the stairs.  

(My poor stairs...)

But the story to top it all off came when Scott was out of town for a weekend.  I was in full survival mode and was just trying to keep the house from falling over.  Caleb was still naked most of the time and all three kids were just pills from the adjustment of school starting.  Well there was this leaf in the hallway that I had assumed the dogs brought in and I kept stepping over it and walking around it.  

Until one time, I accidentally stepped on it.  And it wasn't a leaf.  

It was a little squashed poopie. 

WHO WANTS TO COME FOR DINNER??!!

Happy weekend, sweet friends!

Easter and Home Construction

Whoa.

If you've hung out with Caleb for even a little while, you would know that this is one of his favorite expressions.  

"Whoa!  Big truck!"

"Whoa!  Tractor!!"

"Whoa!  (Unintelligible whatever)!!!"

But this would be a very "Whoa!  It's been a while."

It suddenly dawned on me today, as I was battling ants in my kitchen, that I needed to make a better effort to record the events in my kids' lives.  I hate ants.  And I hate the craziness that keeps me away from writing and I hate that I've missed recording so much here in the past couple months.  Because Lord knows, I've done just a bang up job on their baby books...

But any-who.....I'll catch you up eventually.

Easter was awesome here.  Mom came down and visited and really created some great memories for the kids.  Caleb even gave her a name, which was kind of like "Eh-ma" and sounded like Elmo.  At first I couldn't figure out why the sudden Elmo obsession, until I realized that every time he called it, she answered.  And that just made my heart smile. I remember when I was pregnant with Elizabeth and she was really concerned with what her name would be.  Like what they would call her.  So far, it's been Grandma, but Caleb is so behind on his language, that he really hasn't called her anything.  Therefore, the Eh-ma was especially sweet.

Saturday was our big celebration because she had to go home on Sunday so she and the kids made a bunny cake (which is a tradition my aunt has amazingly done for years) and then she hid 100 Easter eggs in the back yard.  Each egg had a puzzle piece in it and the kids then came inside and did the puzzle with Grandma.  

And yes, the spatula STAYED in the boy's mouth

Mom videoed the whole egg hunt for my grandparents to watch later.  It took Caleb a little bit to catch on.

I don't know if you had beautiful weather this weekend, but for us, it was gorgeous.

Did I mention they tore the back off our house??  No??  Oh, that will come with the catching up part. 

 

 

So it took a while to get the puzzle together because, as seen in this picture, Caleb was on top of the table and had knocked a good half of them underneath.  I liked this tradition way more than candy, because they were all straight crazy people after eating the goodies from their school egg hunt. 

We went to church Saturday night and then had to say goodbye to Mom on Sunday.

Of course, I worked in bunny ears.  And no, the boy would not put his on.  Not that we tried...hard...

This is my "please don't leave, Mom...I'm so tired.  Can't you see that I'm tired?!" face.  She used to cry a little when she left.  Now she burns rubber and waves out the window.  ;)

Speaking of crying a little bit, this was last year.

Why yes, that is the same cardigan.  Don't judge me people.  It's very springy.  And just look at Caleb.  He was so drooly.

Here is was tonight, pointing out the holes in the ground.

OH, YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THE HOLES?!  Fine, stop yelling.

Well, of course, I forgot to take a before picture.  So this was last summer and you can see that we have plants and siding and a deck.

This was after today.  They are laying the footers for an 800 square foot addition, that will have our new master suite, laundry room and office.

And new deck. Those are the holes for the base of the deck.  The real rub?  See them stairs over yonder?  That was what was allowing the dogs access to the yard.  

Yes, exactly.

So now I have to take the dogs AND my little children out front to walk and go the bathroom.  Tonight, we went for a stroll after dinner, both dog leashes in one hand, the handle of the wagon containing Rachel and Caleb in the other, and Elizabeth following behind on her scooter.  It was really fine until Elizabeth tried to take a hill too fast and bit it on the way down, skinning a knee.  So then I had a howling 5-year-old bringing up the rear.  It was awesome, really.  I hope my neighbors aren't fans of youtube.

Didn't you miss us??  :)  Much love, my friends.

Small Victories with the Little People

As sweet as Elizabeth can be, she's not much of a hugger.

Cuddling and sneaking a squeeze is just not her thing.  In fact, even 'I love you's' are tough to get out of her.  Now, this is not the case for the other two, who race and push each other down to get to my lap as soon as I take a seat anywhere in the house.  Most mornings find me covered in Rachel and Caleb, with Elizabeth on the edge of the love seat.  

That is her perch, especially after I (stupidly) taught her how to use the remote.

But that's another story.

Anyway, I have begged my child to come lay with me, cuddle with her mama, give me a hug...you get it...and sometimes she will...begrudgingly.

Now there have been random times that she's giving me glimpses past her tough exterior.  Like about a month ago, when we were driving back from Wheeling, WV.  We were about 6 hours into the trip and Caleb and Rachel (who both sit in the middle captain chairs of the van) were beginning to lose it.  So I started playing "this little piggie" with their toes, making the little one go whee whee whee all the way up to their very ticklish necks.  

Elizabeth was watching a movie and seemed to have cared less.

So I couldn't figure out why she was crying when we stopped for lunch.  As she was bawling in my arms, I finally got out of her, "BUT I WANT TO DO THE LITTLE PIGGIES!!"

Guilt flooded me.  "Oh honey!  I'm so sorry!  I didn't get to do the piggies with you, did I?"  And we went to our seats and made the little piggies race up her neck right in the middle of McDonalds.

Flash forward to yesterday.

We had just been having a day of rumbles between Elizabeth Rose and myself.  Her personality is strong and we're at the stage that she will just flat-out ignore me if she doesn't want to do what she's been asked to do...which of course, lights a fire under me faster than gasoline.  We argued about which leotard to wear to gymnastics.  We argued about picking up the major pony fort she had constructed during nap time.  We argued over her not being able to light candles by herself (true story...she had put the play chair on the hearth in order to reach the lighter on the mantle...didn't see THAT ONE coming).

And the problem with the oldest being defiant is that the other two tend to follow right along suit.  So it was just one of those days that I felt like all I did was discipline and harp and lay down rules and those just aren't that fun or rewarding.  By the time Scott got home, I was spent.  And I felt stupid being spent as a stay at home mom because duh, I STAYED AT HOME, but spent I was.  

So dinner rolled around and, as I watched my children push the healthy food around their plate and moan and groan about the frittata I had fixed that had "yucky steak" in it, I felt myself sink lower and lower.  Just the day before, I had heard a devotional on finding Jesus in our every day chores, to look for Him when things were mundane or hard raising our little people.  But, for the life of me, I couldn't see Him.  

Deciding that she was finished, Elizabeth hopped up from her seat and ran into the living room.  Amazingly, she came back willingly when we asked her to clear her dishes and then the rest of the table (she enjoys most chores that don't involve picking up toys).  Then, when she came back into the dining room from her first load, it happened.

She hugged me.  

She stopped, put her arms around me and hugged me for a good 20 seconds.

Within the first 10, I was bawling my eyes out.  

She looked up at me, shocked.  "Mama!  Why are you crying?"

And in that moment, I decided to be honest with her.  "Oh honey," I sniffed.  "Sometimes I'm just not sure you love me at all."

She hugged me tighter.  "Well of course I do," she giggled.  "You're the best mama I have!"  (Oh Jesus...THERE you were!)

And with that, she cleared the rest of the table, each time stopping to give me a quick squeeze.  Scott reached across our ketchup covered son to squeeze my hand and we both paused in the brief minute of peace in the house.  

Well, until bath time...

Happy Wednesday, friends!

From Messes to S's...

Lately, I've been dealing with control issues.

Or a lack of control issues, if you might.

My children run around crazy, my eyebrows are out of control and my house is a wreck.  And while the "get it together sister" part of me is yearning to tighten the reigns and go to all ends to have control, the "they're only young once" other part of me is urging myself to enjoy the journey.  

All this being said, I've been in a mass cleaning and purging stage while I move our belongings back in from the garage, where they were stored as the floors were getting done.  Boxes of items we don't need have been sent to the thrift store and I've actually been thankful for the process because I don't think it would have otherwise gotten done.  

When they replaced the floors, they had to tear out the subfloor, leaving a thick layer of dust on anything standing - blinds, curtains, baseboards, pictures left on the walls, etc.  The only reason why I'm telling you this is to paint the picture that I've kind of been on a cleaning frenzy around this joint.

So you can imagine my disbelief when I walked into the entryway yesterday and discovered writing on the wall.  In crayon.  Blue crayon.

Now, let me pause again and tell you that all of my children are smack on the edge of big developmental stages.  Caleb is trying with all his might to talk.  Elizabeth is beginning to go from rebellious to helpful and want responsibility.  And Rachel is exploding in creativity.  She really has started to color well and is wanting to make letters randomly.  

Rachel, more than the others, is very sensory driven.  She clings to a blankie with soft edges, especially when she's upset.  She is the only one that bites her nails and toe nails (which both grosses me out and makes me jealous of her flexibility).  And lately, she's taken to picking all the leather off our couch, which drives us crazy but no one's been able to catch her in the act yet.  

However, this was all very far from my mind when I was trying desperately to get my house back together yesterday around 5 p.m.  It had been a long day and the kids were running crazy around the house, since it was too cool to go outside with their drippy noses.  Dinner was on the stove and I knew Scott would be on his way home soon.  I had wiped down surfaces, dusted the living room and was just finishing up the floors when I saw the brand new art work on the wall... in blue.  

I knew it was Rachel, as we had already been down this road with Elizabeth, and I began to blow my top at my three-year-old.  Of course, she denied it and cowered under her blanket and I felt all my control issues bubble to the surface.  

Your house never looks put together.  You're just not a good homemaker.

Your children can't follow the rules.  You're just not a good mom.

Your husband is going to think you have no control of your house.  You're just not a good wife.

and even

You're taking out your frustrations on your three-year-old!!  You really have no self-control.

And while the true battle of control was raging inside me, Elizabeth walked up behind me.

"Mom!!  Look!!  Rachel made an S!!"

And she had.  There in the middle of the "art" was a perfectly scrawled S...in blue crayon...in my entrance way.

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.  2 Corinthians 12:9  

I pulled Rachel on my lap and apologized for getting upset and asked her if she would make all her letters on paper so that I could keep them forever.  Her tears dried up in an instant as she jumped down and ran off to do just that.  And once again, I was thankful for pint-sized grace that forgives me quicker than I deserve.   I was thankful for Elizabeth's sweet heart and gentle reminder of what was really important.  I was thankful even for my control issues because they keep me looking to the One who is so much stronger and has it all together so that I don't have to. 

And I was also thankful for the big box of Magic Erasers that was on sale last month at Costco...

Happy Thursday, friends!

 

First Day Recap and Daddy Birthday Parties

Well, she survived.  

I have to tell you, I held my breath walking into preschool on Wednesday afternoon.  I was so nervous that Rachel refused to go to the potty or threw a crying fit or had a horrible time.  There were a couple of moms standing at the doorway chatting when I walked up.  I overheard the teacher talking about the kids working with scissors so I glanced over her shoulder and saw Rachel, sitting quietly at a table, not doing anything.

Oh no.

And then she looked up and saw me...and smiled...

Ahhhh!!  Sweet relief!!  Once the teacher realized who's mom I was, she told me Rachel had a great day, although they weren't sure she could talk until she saw Elizabeth on the playground and went crazy.  (Sounds like her.)  Elizabeth's day was pretty typical for her and she got rave reviews from her teacher.

We talked about their days and new friends and then set out on our secret mission.  We had big fish to fry...it was Daddy's birthday.

We were making our plans on how to celebrate that morning when Elizabeth asked how old Daddy was.  Doing the math, I couldn't believe he was turning 39, making it ten years ago that we celebrated his birthday together for the first time.  Life was so busy then (ha!), with the college kids getting back to campus and school starting.  We hadn't been dating long, maybe a couple weeks...way too early to know how someone celebrates their birthday.  (You know what I mean...is it no big deal or is it a national holiday?  You never know!!)  So I asked him if he wanted to go out or did he want me to make him a special dinner?  He thought they would be practicing late and said he could just stop by afterwards, which worked out for me because we had practice too.

I ended up being pretty late for some reason that I can't now remember and walked in the door with nothing prepared, which I sheepishly admitted when he called to tell me he was on his way.  "No problem," he said.  "I'll be right there."  Ten minutes later, he walked in my little house with two cartons of ice cream and toppings and we celebrated his birthday with ice cream sundaes and watching TV on the couch.  I was mortified that he bought his own birthday treat, but he didn't seem in the slightest bit upset and told me that he just enjoyed relaxing and chatting.

Oh, I was smitten right away!  ;)

Fast forward waaaay into the future and three kiddos were excited to celebrate with him and we definitely weren't stopping at ice cream!  

Caleb and I met Scott for lunch at one of our favorite little restaurants that doesn't care if you trash the tables.

After picking up the girls, we ran to the fancy store (Stein Mart) to find him some presents, which, much to the chagrin of Elizabeth, did NOT include a Hello Kitty watch.  Then we went to Publix to get balloons and a cake.

The balloon tradition started not long after we moved here.  We had very little extra money and no little friends to make a birthday party special.  So Scott walked in the door of Elizabeth's 2nd birthday with two $2.99 balloons...the mylar kind with a character on it and they were instant hits...for a week!!  So now, at every birthday, each kid gets to pick out a special balloon and it normally still lasts a while.  

The nice lady at Publix agreed with the girls that Daddy would LOVE two princess balloons and Caleb got Toy Story.  We shot home, wrapped presents, decorated the house and they played and colored as I got dinner going.  During this time, I asked Rachel why she wasn't cutting with scissors with the other kids.  She just kind of shrugged at me, so I said, "Rachel, if your teacher asks you to cut, then you need to do what she says."  She paused for a minute and then looked me in the eye and said, "But mom, she said we didn't HAVE to and that we could color instead.  I already know how to cut."  WHOA!!  A fully sentence and not a hint of crying??  Yes!! (cue air fist pump!)

Then came the really important part...practicing jumping out and yelling surprise.  (This was right in Caleb's wheel house, in case you didn't already suspect.)

Here they are, keeping "look out" for Scott to get home.

I'm sure YOU'RE not surprised that it was a wonderful evening and we celebrated 39 years well.  Today, revealed another day of preschool and we were better prepared for the routine and had everyone's "bap paps" ready (Thank God!).

And then today really marked the first day of quality time with just me and my son.  Wednesday was so chaotic that we weren't really home much together.  So today, he broke me in by walking right in the door from the Y, running in the kitchen and pointing up at the refrigerator like, "Here!  Can I spell it out to you any more woman??  Cook me some lunch!!"  

"What??  I was huuuungry!!"

Sigh.  And now it's nap time and I'm off to tackle some ga-ross bathrooms.  Have a wonderful weekend, my sweet friends!!  Thank you for all your kind wishes, prayers and texts on Rachel's first day!

First Day of Preschool!

I forgot how much I used to LOVE nap time.

With Caleb being the only napper in the house, the 12-2 hours are now some of my craziest.

"Mama, what can we do now?"

"Mama, can you get this toy down?"

"Mama, can we play on your computer?"

"Mama?...Mama??..."

So I basically keep running on a normal day and didn't realize how much I missed the solitude of a good nap time with no children awake until right now.

Ahhhh...quiet.  Can you hear it?  I'm drinking it in.

Well, except for the new garage door getting installed.  That's a little noisy.  But I'll go into all that next week.

Today, I had to take my heart to preschool.  Now, you know that Elizabeth went last year and she was jacked about going back.  Not a hesitant bone in that child's body, I swear.  But Rachel...

Well, we signed Rachel up because the pediatrician thought it would be best.  She is our shy one, our sweet and quiet one.  She will rarely talk to adults and sometimes not even kids her own age.  And she's never really been away from me for more than a couple hours.  I would be lying  if I said I wasn't nervous all morning, but she was really all smiles picking out her outfit and getting ready.

Ok, girls!  Stand there so I can get a picture of you in your back to school outfits!

Ok, Caleb...You want to get in there too?  Ok, now everyone look at me!  No, stop moving.. No, look at me.  Wait!  Hold still just a second...

Don't squeeze her head off Elizabeth!!

I asked the girls to go to the potty, got my bag on my shoulder and walked back in the den to see them both standing with their backpacks on, holding their lunchboxes, waiting on me.

*tear wipe*

And then Caleb pointed up at me, "Bap pap."

I have no idea why my dad taught him to say backpack at the beach, but somehow it wound into conversation.  Well, now here it was.

"BAP PAP!!"

He wanted to go too.  And was quite insistent on my making it happen.  I ran back into the kitchen, his chubby little feet hot on my trail, and grabbed his lunch box out from under the island.  Happy to have something like his sisters, he marched proudly to the door to stand with them.

And there they were, ready and excited for what was very much the real world for a 5, 3 and 17 month old.  We walked in the school and dropped Elizabeth off, no problem.  Caleb held tight to his "bap pap," and after saying goodbye to Elizabeth (with a reminder to listen and obey), I turned to find a very nervous Rachel standing in the hallway.

Oh, how I know that feeling and how I wanted to take her back to the car with me.  Doesn't being the mom just suck sometimes??  

I smiled and gave her a big hug and we walked the hallway to her classroom and met her teacher.  Much to my relief, she was scooped up in her teacher's arms and told how excited she was to see her.  And then I saw Rachel's slow smile and knew she was going to be ok.  And I thought that I probably would be too...

Until I looked down to see my son staring up at me, expectantly...the one who has never been an only child in the house.  Sizing up his playmate for the day, he turned on his heel, grabbed his bap pap and started running for the car.

So much for being sad!

And now that my playmate is down for the count, I'm going to try to tackle my kitchen...which is still wrecked from making pancakes and lunches.  Happy Wednesday, my dear friends!!  And I'll let you know how the day went tomorrow...that is, if the girls let me use my own computer during nap time.  ;)

Dreaming of Organization

There are times I get a burr up my butt and decide that This is the day I will get organized, and (cue horn salute) today was (kinda) one of those days.  Ok, only in one small section of the house, but really that's a step up for me.

We decided to come home after dropping Elizabeth off at preschool, instead of going to the Y or the store, which I had previously planned.  It was raining cats and dogs and there was a cold wind blowing and it just sounded a whole lot better to come home and watch Sesame Street and drink another cup of coffee.  I'll let you just guess which sounded best to whom...

So after making a batch of muffins and lunch and putting Mr. crabby pants down for a nap, I decided to tackle two of my biggest issues in the kitchen:  my leftover containers and my pantry. 

Now, don't get me wrong, I have spent plenty of time getting these two places organized.  However, there are three small people, WHO WILL REMAIN NAMELESS, that don't quite care for my system.

Here they are, making mama work to get to the stove.  This was while I was making dinner.  Now, the leftover containers were previously in that white cabinet behind Caleb.

Sine he has been able to walk, Caleb has been fascinated with the pantry.  It seems like every week, I have to move the heavier things up higher so he doesn't pull a can of beans down on his toe.  This has resulted in a ticking time bomb food avalanche just waiting to happen.

Did I take before pictures?  Oh, you know me better than that.  That would take previous thought and planning...two things I have not done since having these little creatures.  But I don't think the end results are too shabby.

Ok, here's the finished pantry with the heavier things up higher and the fun-shaky-but-can't-get-into things on the bottom.  We're going to have to repaint the cabinets...I'll save that sob story for another day...but the inside of this will be done and I bought some chalkboard contact paper to put on the inside of this door too.

This single move is going to piss my son off to no end.  He LOVES scattering leftover containers to all ends of the earth.  But I HATE picking them up and finding dog hair and slobber and who knows what else inside them.  So up they go.

He won't be left empty handed though...look at all those fun things down there to destroy play with!

Has anyone ever started to empty the flour into the canister, only to discover that there's too much in the bag but you already tipped it over so you just leave it there until you figure out what else to do?

Yeah, me neither...

I think it's a sign I need to make cookies...   :)

Happy Wednesday!

Heaven is Real

I don't have too many opportunities to call Elizabeth an angel (ha!).  Maybe it was her singing or the message or maybe it was just the sun angle and her fairy wings, but this took my breath away.

Happy Wednesday!

Flu recovery, gym time and mystery diapers

I think yesterday was my first weights workout in about a month.

Now normally, I get stressed and busy about this time of year, as well as every other mother I know.  Last week, I had a senior pitcher that was stressed about her Calculus final and basketball games and trying to get her college applications in and I said, "Oh yeah?  Well, I need to get out cards and start on cookies and finish my shopping..."

Somehow, she didn't find my humor appealing. 

But it's been more than the holidays keeping me away from the gym.

Our house has been battling the flu.  And the sinus crud.  And the general moanies and groanies. (*cue unenthusiastic yay*)

This has been Scott's and my pose for about a month.

So I took a break from the Y and focused instead on stocking up on tissues and Cloroxing door knobs.  But yesterday, I felt good enough to get back into the routine and get my hour in.  However, my body felt like it had been sick for a month.

I wish I could encourage you if you are in a similar situation that I felt good after a warmup and I left feeling better than ever, but to be honest, the entire time was a struggle.  And I know it's going to be that way until I can get my stamina back up.   

Which is why I hauled my sore butt to the Y again today and pushed through the cobwebs to get some squats and a light run in.  I know I'll feel better eventually, but until then, it's going to be a little rough.

Speaking of rough, I have to tell you about Caleb's doctor visit yesterday.  Did I tell you my baby is 9 months old?  Holy moly...he is a crawling, talking, drooling machine that keeps everyone in the house on their toes.

So, after I was feeling pretty stellar from the gym, we went in for his check-up.  I was talking to the nurse and stripping the boy down when I smelled that his diaper was definitely due for a change.  Well, if you don't have little ones, you have to take their diaper off at the scales anyway, so I just told her that I'd better change this one here so we don't ruin the equipment.

She laughed and we continued to chat.

Until I looked in his diaper.

And there, mixed in with the foul-smelling mess, was a full gum wrapper, fully intact.  I have no idea where he got it or how long it took to go through his system, but I felt like signing up for Mother of the Year there on the spot.  

The nurse just laughed, but she must have made a note on my chart, because later, when I was talking with the doctor (who I love), he said, "So...how is his eating?  Does he like table food?  Baby food?  Gum wrappers??"

Ok, I'm off to make some applesauce for my little Hoover.  Have a great day, my friends!!

Baby Talk

Conversation with Caleb at 7 months:


Me:  Dada??
Caleb:  Dadadadadadada

Me:  Thhhhhwwwwwppppppttttt  (blowing raspberries)
Caleb:  Thhhhhwwwwwppppppptttttt  (pause)  ttttttthhhhhhhhwwwwwwwppppppttttttt

Me:  Nananana?
Caleb:  Nanananananananana

Me:  MAMA????
Caleb:  DADADADADADADA!!!!!

*sigh*  :)

Just Breathe...

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control.  Against such things there is no law.  Galations 5:22

This was the crux of our moms Bible study this week.  We talked about how to cultivate these qualities into our homes - things that we can do to build our little people up to have these characteristics.  

The discussion should have empowered me.  I should have left on cloud nine, ready to take over my home and mold my children.  But in reality, I felt even more defeated.

Because I very rarely feel like this.  

Let me go into detail.

We have had issues with Elizabeth getting up around 5 a.m. and coming downstairs to spend an hour by herself doing whatever she wants until we get up.  She turns on every light in the house and loves to get into the pantry to snack on things she knows she's not allowed to have.  Yesterday, I found her with a pack of the real expensive organic baby yogurt bites and almost had a coronary.  

So we got her one of those alarm clocks that changes colors when she's allowed to get up and it has worked really well.  So at 6 o'clock on the nose, she walks in our room and announces, "The clock is green, Mom!!"  Now, I would be tempted to drift back to sleep except for the sound of a dining room chair being scooted across my kitchen floor in order to assist her to get crayons, Play-doh, or scissors (ha!). 

Caleb gets up five minutes later; Rachel 10 minutes. My day starts lecturing, correcting, disciplining.  

Don't lay on your brother.

Please go back to bed if you're going to cry.

I swear, I will start breakfast in a minute.

No, you cannot go outside.  It's cold and you have pj's on. 

Breakfast is a blur of demands and whines and a baby banging on his high chair for attention.  I make Elizabeth's lunch for preschool, Scott's snacks for work and chug my shake and a second cup of coffee.  In the background, I crank the praise and worship Pandora station because I tend to be more patient when I can at least hear positive music.  

Which proved a challenge this morning when the girls ran downstairs waving the LaLaLoopsy dolls they had found...in a box...in my closet...which had been intended for Christmas.  *breathe*

The dolls went on the dining room table and the process of begging/bribing/threatening to get ready for the day got underway.  Rachel has two outfits she is willing to wear without a fit.  Elizabeth has to run around naked at least 20 minutes before getting dressed and Caleb enjoys pulling out and chewing on the girls' nastiest shoes.  

Need the Reader's Digest of the rest of the morning?

Rachel picked up all the toys in the den (the first time I asked!) and got her doll unwrapped and was thrilled.

Elizabeth refused to make her bed and did not get her doll.

Rachel enjoyed teasing her big sister with her doll and Elizabeth threw a tantrum to try to get hers.

Caleb came crawling up to me chewing on something.  It was dog hair.

My friend called as I was pulling out of the driveway and I was so excited to talk to another adult that I drove right past the entrance to preschool.

Another Elizabeth tantrum.

Finally got her dropped off and made it to BodyPump class in time to get an awesome workout.

In the middle of shoulders, I realized I had left the dogs outside with no water...and had fed them leftover, salty pork for breakfast.

Picking up the kids, did I know that Caleb only had one sock on when I dropped them off?  Oh, and Rachel's hungry.  Check that:  starving.

Loading up the little two, I saw Elizabeth's drink still in my bag.  I had forgotten to leave it.

Back to preschool.  Unload two kids.  Drop off drink.  Reload two kids.

Rachel crying, "But I thought you said we were going to Taaaaarrrrgeeettttt."

Seriously.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control.  Against such things there is no law.  Galations 5:22

You know the best part of this verse for me?  These are the fruit of the SPIRIT.  Not ANNIE.  It is through HIM, by HIM, that these things are revealed.  Although, during the times that my voice is raised and the house is a blur of chaos around me, I wonder...  

And just when I feel like I am going to lose it completely, He gives me glimpses of hope.

Today, when I dropped off Elizabeth, I clued her teacher in on our morning a bit and warned her of the mood.  "Oh, I would never believe that of your little girl," she said.  "She is just the most respectful and precious thing with the sweetest heart.  She always does everything I ask and is kind to others."

Funny how just a slight word of encouragement can reset you and make you feel like maybe you're doing something right after all and revealing the fruit of the Spirit, even if you don't think you are.  One day, I will laugh at all this...heck, I'll laugh about it tonight when they're in bed.  But today, I just work to make it through.

And finally today, after thinking all week on this verse, I accepted the grace that I don't have to be perfect...because HE is.  I was putting some sort of (definitely) unrealistic expectation on myself to achieve these things when I actually have to achieve nothing...I just have to live through Him.

Thank God.

And now, Rachel is calling from the potty and Caleb is yelling for me to get him from his crib.  Thanks for letting me vent, my friends. 

Hair-Raising Tuesday...

You all can really help a girl out of a funk, let me tell you.  After posting Elizabeth's adventure with a pair of scissors yesterday, I got so many ideas and words of support on the blog, Facebook and by text that I immediately felt better about the whole situation.  THANK YOU.

So this morning, we decided to ditch the gym and take care of early voting, pick up a couple items that I could only get at Whole Foods and then finish up at the beauty shop.  I don't know why I expected early voting to be a "get in, get out" sort of thing and, while I'm not especially political, I AM all American, so we stood in line and talked to people, did ballerina pirouettes and played peek-a-boo with Caleb until it was our turn.  

Thirty minutes later, we had cast our vote and put quite a hurting on their supply of "I voted today" stickers that Elizabeth tattooed all over herself. 

Now, to fill you in, Elizabeth was not at all remorseful over cutting her hair herself.  When she looked in the mirror, she only saw the front, which looked long and pretty, so it was really no big deal.  No matter how much I tried to drive the point home.

Me:  "Come here and let me put your hair in a pony tail since you CUT YOUR HAIR and it is TOO SHORT IN THE BACK and LOOKS SILLY."

ERS:  *Shrugs*  "I like it."

Me:  "We're going to have to get it all cut to match the back and we won't be able to braid it for a while."

ERS:  *Shrugs again*  "That's fine...I like headbands."

Me:  *Exasperated sigh*

In fact, this is what I found on the camera yesterday...

So Mom keeps harping on this whole hair cutting thing.

Me?  I kinda like it!

Maybe they'll make a Barbie with a reverse mullet!!

Then Mom will be all like, "Oh snap Elizabeth, you are so smart for cutting your hair."

(Come on...you know you look for ways to insert "oh snap" into conversations too...)

ANYWAY, back to today, after stopping at the store, we went to the local Snip-it's (think beauty shop with a Chuckie-Cheese-on-crack spin) and the lady looked at Elizabeth's hair and then looked at me like I was crazy.

Insane Kiddie Beautician:  "Well, you know, you could just keep it in a pony tail.  If I cut it up to match that, it'll be way short." 

Me:  "Can you just trim it up shorter with some layers so you don't see where she cut it?"

I.K.B.:  "You'll still see it.  I mean, I can try."

Me:  "Super...SINCE SHE'S FOUR, I don't really think it matters if you can still see a little bit."

Now, my daughter LOVED the attention and has done nothing but strut ever since and it IS pretty cute.  What do you think?  (Note, please disregard my house in the background.  It is child-decorated at the moment.)

On to the next adventure!!