Friday, April 29, 2011

Guess I Forgot

That I have a blog.

I logged on today and was all like, "What? I haven't been posting? I thought I was...what is going on?" Then I realized that although in a very small set of circumstances it would be convienent for my thoughts to automatically shoot over to blogger, most of the time them doing that would be a disaster.

People would think I was crazy. I wouldn't have any friends.

You would know that I dream about the hospital, and escaping Nazi Germany.

And that Noah dreams about being a security guard for children bound to be kidnapped.

You would know that I have to go to the Y for the next two days to get my insurance discount.

And that I thought the whole Royal wedding was a little silly.

Prince William outkicked his coverage.

The dress wasn't that great.

And what's this about "to have and to hold from this day forward" when, from all accounts, that has already been going on.

Now, I am not saying that there is no point in getting married if you are already living together, but I will say the whole thing can come across a little like a farce if you don't adjust the wording of the very traditional ceremony.

Mawage, Mawage.

You would know that the only reason I caught the ceremony (and the fanfare) leading up to it was because I was at work and every TV in the hospital was tuned in. I couldn't escape it.

You would know that I have no groceries in the house, and that my schedule is awfully tight the next couple of days. I am worried about having to send Noah to the grocery store. Noah likes to grocery shop a little too much.

You would know that Deacon is in a musical this weekend and I am worried about him forgetting his lines and freaking out.

And that I am feeling guilty over an interaction I had with another parent, but that I get so irritated when other people boss my children around when I am RIGHT THERE, without giving me a chance to take care of whatever is going on.

You would know that I think people that constantly boss other people's young children around must not have anyone else in their life that listens to/obeys them, so they feel the need to push around those younger than themselves.

Of course, I don't mind if people intervene if I am not there or I miss what is going on. But please! Give me a chance! (By the way, most of the time your children aren't perfect either).

You would know that we have pulled a deer tick and a wood tick off of people this week.

And that, even though Noah doesn't understand this, 2 minutes does make a difference when waiting for a tick to be pulled off.

You would know that I need it to be sunny. Soon. I can feel myself withering away to nothingness.

You would know that it is time to go read the Berenstein Bears and scrub my children.

Yep, those are the things you would know if my thoughts uploaded themselves to blogger.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Good Friday

I've been waiting to have more than 3 minutes to type so I could blog about Good Friday. In retrospect the story is kind of funny, but let's just say that I hope to never go through a situation like this again! Roman heard me relaying the story to a friend and stated (very emphatically) "I am never doing that again!" In fact, I may have my children so scared that they may never get in the wagon again. Ever.

I worked Thursday night and slept a little on Friday morning. After that I gave the kids lunch and then my friend Jackie and her girls came over to paint paper mache eggs and frost Easter cookies. We had a fun time, and I was feeling rather energetic.

After they left my mind shifted to the evening ahead. We were planning to go to my parent's house for pizza and a movie after Noah got home from work. There was one slight problem: the van was in the shop and due to a miscommunication both my double stroller and all the carseats were still in the van, which was now 6 miles away. The kids don't all fit in Noah's car and we didn't have enough carseats anyway.

The van was done, however, and so we had to figure out a way to pick it up so that we would have it for the weekend. I decided that the best solution would be to put the kids in a combination of bikes and wagons and move ourselves over to my parents where the kids could stay while Noah and I went and got the van (when he arrived after work). I didn't want to wait for him, because I wanted to beat the sun going down and the imminent rain.

Confusing, isn't it?

I called my dad and told him that the kids and I were heading over. My dad mentioned that it was raining. I said it was more of a mist, and that was why I was leaving now vs later. He sounded dubious, but I assured him that all would be well.

2.7 miles. That was all I needed from my troops.

I bundled the baby up in multiple layers along with her winter hat. I told the boys to dress warmly, as temps were in the low 40s. I put a hat on and added my fuzzy jacket over my shirt. Deacon argued about attire. I told him to bring his sweatshirt and a hat. Roman wore his winter jacket, Lincoln put a hat on and was wearing long sleeves.

I put a towel in the wagon and Lincoln and Berean climbed in.

Roman was on his silly scooter, Deacon on his bike.

And off we went.

My first inkling that this was a bad, bad idea was 1/4 of a mile into the trip when Deacon came back to get his sweatshirt out of the wagon and we realized that it had been jettisoned before we had even left the garage, persumably by one of the smaller members of the party. I didn't want to go back for it, because I knew that we were already pushing our luck. In retrospect, I should have sent him back for it and then had him catch up with us...but I was concerned about him not locking the house up properly.

On we went. At 1/2 mile Roman decided he was tired of scooting (as I knew was bound to happen) and he and the scooter landed in the wagon, slightly disturbing the other inhabitants.

We made it to the 1 mile mark and turned the corner.

The direction change caused a severe drop in temperature, due to the new wind patterns. It also began to rain.

Oh, so not good.

But, it was a mile home and 1.7 to my moms. I told the kids that when we got to the next gas station I would stop and buy them candy. I told them to start thinking about what they wanted.

We went a little further and Berean started screaming. She was being jostled by her brothers and was done with this whole "wagon experience". So I put her on one hip and on we went. Suddenly Deacon was screaming. He was so cold, he couldn't bear it anymore.

I gave him my jacket.

Hauling 100 pounds of kid in a wagon through the rain is no easy task, and I was sweating anyway.

And on we went.

We needed to cross the road at a stoplight and I encouraged Roman and Lincoln to get out of the wagon at the other side and run up the hill to warm up. They did so. Well, kind of. Roman got out and ran up the hill with Deacon and his bike. Lincoln cried and fussed and wandered up the hill. I tried to get Lincoln to put the towel around himself, but he wanted to sit on it and didn't seem to understand that it would be warmer if it was around him. Finally I convinced him and he ran up the road, beach towel like a cape around his shoulders, tears streaming down his face all the while, howling like a wolf.

Berean had her head back and was in an all out scream by this point, Deacon was about to have a nervous breakdown and Roman...well, I gotta tell you, Roman was the one who kept his head. He was probably warmer than the other ones...but that doesn't usually matter with Roman. Roman is usually the one who loses it the quickest, so it was quite surprising (and pleasing) how well he handled the stress.

We walked across the bridge and watched the cars below. It distracted Roman and Deacon from their distress for a couple of minutes, although it didn't seem to impress the little ones at all.

Down the hill we went.

I wondered what all the people driving by were thinking. I was glad no one had stopped- because really, how awkward would that be, but quite frankly I was surprised. A women, holding a baby, pulling an empty wagon with 3 crying boys heads down the road in the pouring rain on a 40 degree day and no one even stops?!?!

We finally reached the back of the strip mall that is next to the gas station. We ran down through the grassy ditch (which, later, Deacon was to tell me, was awesome) and recollected ourselves in front of the liquor store, which, by the way, Roman tried to enter.

Deacon immediately calmed down when he could see the gas station and was out of the wind. He willingly gave my jacket up for Lincoln and excitedly headed for his promised candy.

I told them that I wasn't going to take them in if they were all crying, but soon realized that 2/4 not screaming was all I was going to get.

We walked into the gas station.

We bought candy. The older boys were happy and ready to return to the road. The little ones were not. We walked out the door. I knew, as soon as I walked back outside that there was no way I that we could go any further. It was just too cold, too rainy and I was just out of all of my earlier enthusiasm.

It is hard to admit. I am a person of boundless energy and an "I can do anything" kind of mentality, but I had reached my limit.

Now that I had quit walking, I was suddenly feeling how wet and cold I really was. It was miserable.

We went into the bathroom so the boys could pee.

Everyone was calm, finally.

I checked my phone. I had missed a call from Noah. I had missed a call from my mom. I got a hold of my mom. She was with Noah and they were trying to find me.

They must have driven by when we had already left the road for the short cut.

They were on the way to get the van from the shop.

They would be there to get us soon.

I hung up the phone. A young women was standing in front of me.

"are you ok?" she asked, "do you have someone to help you?"

She said that they were on their way to the baseball game and had seen us walking down the road. She said she told her husband that they just had to stop and make sure we had someone to pick us up.

I thanked her and told her that it was a long story but that my husband was on his way to rescue us from the rain.

She left and I turned to help Roman. Roman wanted to hand me his skittles so he could take his coat off. I didn't realize that the skittles bag was open, and the handoff was less than ideal.

Skittles all over the floor of the gas station.

Do you ever just want to disappear?

The boys started picking them up and eating them off the floor.

I stayed very calm, but inside I just wanted to cry.

Then Deacon said, "look, Mom, Roman is eating Berean's sucker that he dropped on the floor."

Gross.

One of the young employees mentioned that there was an eating area in the back of the store, and she said we were welcome to use it. I am sure she wanted us out of the front of the store. We went back to our area and sat down. I nursed Berean, which improved her mood dramatically. The boys chatted about their favorite parts of the "adventure".

I had to nix their plans for an elaborate game of gas station hide and seek.

We ate candy and we waited.

Finally my mom picked us up. Noah was on his way back to our house to get dry clothes, and pick up the movie and the pizza.

I took them to my parents and gave them warm baths. My mom made them hot chocolate and we wrapped them in warm pajamas.

Noah brought me dry clothes.

He brought me comfy outer wear, but very impratical innerwear.

I thanked him anyway.

We watched our movie, we ate pizza.

It turned out ok.

But never again will I make the same mistake.

Well, at least not until next year.

Monday, April 25, 2011

Taking The Time

I don't have enough blogging time tonight to write a "real" post...so here are just some quick points:

*we made neighborhood rounds today: 1 hour with some friends, 1 hour with other friends, 30 minutes with some more friends. Yard hopping may be the thing of the summer.

*my yard and garden need some serious help...if only it would stop snowing and Berean would stop putting everything in her mouth...

*I ran 12.1 miles last night. Yep. 12.1 miles with the only stopping being waiting for a car here or there before I crossed the occasional road. No walking. It took me 127 minutes- basically a 10min 30 sec mile, which isn't fast but isn't bad for doing 12 of them :) At least, I don't think it is :) I actually started out more at an 11 minute mile pace and picked it up for the last half, next time I will probably try to start out faster.

*Although Berean has been taking steps, she hasn't really been loving walking. This weekend however, she has made a transition. I don't know if it was something about not being able to crawl in her easter dress (because she kept getting it stuck under her knees) or if it was just time, but walking is now officially the preferred method of transporting her cute little self.

*Deacon has started Little League

*Deacon's play is next weekend and I am a little nervous. He apparently knows all of his lines, but he often gets distracted and forgets to say them. The girl next to him may have to do a great deal of poking.

*Lincoln's speech continues to improve dramatically.

*Roman's pajama wardrobe is falling apart. I have told him I am not replacing them and he is going to have to start wearing clothes during the day. Time will tell what happens next...

*Noah made great progress on our "new" closet organizational system this weekend. I am so excited to get it finished and put it all together!

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Heads Up For Noah (FINAL UPDATE)

I have big goals for the next 4 days. I started to tell Noah what I wanted/or what should be accomplished by Sunday night, but the conversation got interrupted.

So, Babe, here you go!

*Easter painting/cookies with friends
*finish cut out Easter cookies
*Dye eggs
*Lincoln's Preschool
*Library
*5 mile run + (Noah's workout x4x1)
*12 mile run
*walk
*swim
*family night
*paper work (gotta pick up one form, and will be ready to mail!)
*Quizzing stats
*bring van in for electronics work (headlights randomnly turning off, not good)
*work 1 shift
*Deep clean basement (and throw stuff out!)- didn't get to, but did spend 20 min down there getting a start!
*Install new closet - half done!
*deep clean our bedroom (and throw stuff out!)- half done! Can't finish into the closet is completed
*deep clean boys room
*deep clean upstairs bathroom
*clean carpets upstairs
*host Easter- Mom ended up feeling better and taking it back, but Noah made the ham!
*YMCA egg hunt
*home egg hunt
*Sunrise service
*teach preschool children's church
*a couple of quick shopping trips
*possibly a hair appointment for highlights?!?
*school two days
*Little League Practice


I think we can do it...here I go....!

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Oh, He Has Things To Say

I got asked if I was pregnant today. Maybe time to lay off the cardio milage and do some crunches?


Speaking of people saying things and asking questions...


Lincoln is talking.

He really, really is.


He sings songs. He tells jokes. He relays information. He tells on his brother.

He yells things in the store like, "I WANT MEAT".


And we can even understand him most of the time.


We are so pleased with his progress, and so are his therapists.


Yeah for language!

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

SAHM

Remember me? I am the girl that used to blog daily.

There is no real reason for the lack of posts, blogging is just the "dropped thing of the week". I have one (or two, or three) of those every week.

My master list has 12 vague items on it that I try to do daily. They are:
1. School
2. Devotions
3. Read (can be as little as 10 min)
4. Pray
5. Spend time with Noah
6. Family time (something fun with all of us)
7. Blog
8. Exercise
9. Daily task (1-3 assigned per day of the week)
10. Task of the week (1 floor assigned per week)
11. Calls/emails
12. outside home commitments

It is rare indeed for me to have a day that I cross all of those things off of my list, but it is what I aim for. And this last week, blogging got dropped.

Here are a few things running through my brain:

1. Last week I had a brief conversation with a stranger. He said something about stay-at-home moms not doing anything. I thought it was an odd comment. I mentioned this conversation to a coworker. I said, "HE SAID STAY-AT-HOME MOMS DON'T DO ANYTHING!!!!!!" (look at me all exclamation marky and offended, even though I am not a true SAHM). My coworker said, "a lot of them don't". He was not all exclamation marky and offended.

I have been thinking a lot about those short comments. I think that is very easy to take advantage of a SAHM status. After all, we don't really have supervisors to make sure we aren't slacking and to keep us from shopping or facebooking online all day. We ourselves have to stay disciplined and to work on making sure that as individuals we can't be accused of "not doing anything".

2."Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children, play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood." - Fred Rogers

"I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I can't do everything, I will not refuse to do something I can do." - Helen Keller

I saw the above quotes last week and of course philosophised about them while running. As a (partial) SAHM, who spends a lot of time monitoring play, I guess I am simply supervising their work. "Supervising my children's work" sounds fancier than "watching my kids play".

hmmm...enough comments for one day...I am off to continue to supervise my children's work and to continue to try to do the things that I can.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Berean

The boys and I were looking through the newly downloaded (uploaded?) pictures today. I noticed that they were mostly of Berean. I asked the boys if it made them feel bad that most of the pictures were not of them. Deacon looked at me incredulously and said, "why would we feel bad? She is soooo cute!"


My mom asked Deacon the other day if Berean had worn a specific onesie yet. Deacon said, "You know, I don't really notice her clothes that much because her face is just so cute". (Do you see the theme? If he is not talking about how cute she is, he is rejoicing with her over her new shoes).

And yes, sitting in her highchair with food on her face is a common look for her.

(I am hoping to get back to posting soon, I just got sidelined by life this week! Gotta tell you though, my living room looks incredible!)

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Maybe Not

I hoped to have some blogging energy tonight, but I don't. Getting all the kids to church for Awana, and then leaving 5 minutes after it starts because of a belligerent 5 year old and his copycat brother, is exhausting work. But do you know what? Up to that point we had a great day. My friend and her cute baby stopped over this morning, we read some good books, did another standardized test with Deacon, Berean actually ate her lunch and was happier this afternoon, we went to speech, swimming at the Y, played at the park and spent time with neighbors. And I even managed to get a 2 mile 16 minute run in. And some cleaning. Can't forget about the cleaning. And the sun shone. Yeah!

Girl Trouble

What happened to my sweet baby girl?


Let me give you some key milestones since Berean has turned one:

*snarling at strangers

*shaking her head "no" violently when offered food

*refusing to open her mouth when offered most food (lest you think that the violent shaking of the head is just for dramatic effect)

*pointing at things that she wants, even though when she gets them, 9 x out of 10 she immediately discards them

*screaming when I leave her

*screeching when her brothers come near here (I would too, I guess)

*sleeping a lot

*just drinking sips and then throwing her cup on the floor

*when she does put food in her mouth, we often find it chewed up and spit out


Here are some key events:

*she turned one

*she is getting her first molars

*had a fever off and on for 2 weeks

*I took her to the MD and she doesn't have a bladder infection,ear infection or anything respiratory going on

*lost 2 ounces in the past month (and she doesn't have much to lose)


I have so many questions...

*is the loss of appetite related to her teeth?

*should I quit nursing her in order to get her to eat more?

*did she have a virus and is just still off?

*are these behavior/personality changes and she is just developing an attitude?

*she eats a lot less than the boys did, but she is also smaller...does she just not need as much? (I do remember a time when Deacon was super picky and we let him have waffles and stuff instead of eating the regular food because I was worried about his weight. I swore I wouldn't do that again, because it made him more picky, but I gotta tell you- I am tempted)


My plan?

*keep a close eye on her intake this week

*try a different sippy cup

*offer frequent drinks

*insist she sign "please" when she wants something

*make sure she is getting plenty of uninterrupted nap time

*if I feel the need, take her back to the doctor and have her tested for strep or something (does it hurt to swallow?)

Monday, April 4, 2011

Monday

Hmmm....Noah was supposed to post a video of Berean to the blog this weekend...but I see it was never updated.


How do I know this? Well, it was on his weekend list. His weekend list that was in my head, that is. I suppose I never got it on paper and handed off properly.


Despite it being a work weekend for me, we managed to fit in some actual "fun" activities this weekend. It was very bizarre, and my household tasks got neglected, but that is ok occasionally- I guess.

Noah and I watched a movie on Friday night. It was forgettable. Sorry, Bobby, but it was.


Noah and I and my sister played Catan Trails to Rails on Saturday night. It was fun, but I did lose and Noah won. So that was somewhat forgettable.


Last night when I got up from my "nap" (nap- what everyone calls what I do during the day, even though technically it should be a full day's sleep), Noah informed me that he had rented "Tangled" for the boys to watch, but they hadn't wanted to. So, instead of cleaning up or taking another "nap", we watched it.

I was so happy when Eugene cut off all of that ridiculous hair.

So.Happy.

I have very little tolerance for unrealistic things.

I can hardly watch super hero movies because of all of the stuff that gets broken by all of these thugs and heroes. Don't they even see all the trouble they cause, and all of the money that gets wasted because of their ridiculous egos?


Noah likes to remind me that super heroes themselves are fake, so it is ok for them to break all the fake buildings. After all, they will be repaired using fake money.


But since they are real actors and actresses, it feels like it should be real to me.


But it is fake.fake.fake.

And Eugene and Rupunzel should have died like 20 times. And before they died they should have been severely brain damaged.


Come on, Disney, let's find a realistic way for them to get away from people on horses. and rushing water. and lots of arrows.


I kept telling Noah, "she has got to have a headache from carting around all of that hair", and he kept telling me "but Julie, it is magic hair".


Whatev, dude.


That is so unrealistic.