Friday, June 27, 2008

Cheese Strips

James has had a few very difficult days lately. They all culminated with a series of unfortunate events that had him in solitary confinement (aka his bedroom) for the day. Not only did he have to spend the day in his room, but he had every single item he possesses taken away AND he had to write sentences about never behaving that way again. In order to earn the right to go outside again he had to write 2 pages of "I will never hurt Jack again". He is now in the process of having to work to get his things back. Now, this may sound like a harsh punishment for a 6 year old, but trust me when I tell you that the pain of having to earn back your toys is nothing compared to the pain he inflicted on his brother.
 

I swear there is nothing on the planet that makes me as angry as when one of my kids hurts another one.

While James was in said solitary confinement, he kept calling out of his room that he was hungry (it was 9 am and we ate breakfast at 8 am). I didn't have a lot of sympathy nor patience at this point, so I told him to wait until lunch. I was folding clothes in the living room and noticed Jack running back and forth from the kitchen down the hall with a little backpack on wheels. I finally asked him what he was doing and he said "I am bringing food to my bawa because he is hungry". I asked him what he had in the backpack and he said "I am bringing bawa a cheese strip so he can keep writing so we can go play."



I was shocked and amazed at his ability to be compassionate after the events that occurred earlier. It made me realize that the things that are most important to me - love, respect, kindness, caring - must be in them somewhere and maybe there is hope for us after all....smile

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Update

So I am feeling very guilty about how I have neglected my poor blog. It seems like all of the interesting things seem to come in waves....and right now we are in a dry spell! I am however, continuously amazed at the ability of my three sons to abuse their bodies and still be able to move. Before we had kids, I used to tell people to buy stock in shoe stores...now I tell them bandage companies. And antibiotic ointment manufacturers.
 

So here are some updates on My Three Sons!And a random, embarrassing picture of Daryl.  HA!

JAMES

James has been officially signed up for Cub Scouts. I am not sure who is more excited...him or his dad. I see a gleam in Daryl's eye whenever he talks about the pinewood derby. I have had to remind him that this is an event for James, not Daryl....but I suppose the whole fun of having kids is to live vicariously through them, right?


James and Jack have two new friends that they have been spending a ton of time with - Sebastian and Will. The boys actually spent the afternoon at their house today (THANKS HOLLY!!) so now their mom is my new best friend....grin. Sebastian goes to school with Jack and Will is one grade ahead of James. It is so much fun seeing them all together...we go to the park on Tuesdays and Burger King on Wednesdays so there is a lot of time spent plotting against evil forces lurking in the trees and under the tables at Burger King.

JACK

Jack is a walking band aid. Seriously, the boy needs to wear an inner tube or something. The other morning, he had had a bloody nose, bruised knee and a cut on his head by 7 am. I am almost afraid to take him anywhere because I don't want people to think he is abused! Daryl is incredulous that he falls so much, but the boy is like a German Shepard puppy. You know how they have HUGE paws and are kinda gangley until they grow into their bodies? That's Jack. He is 5 pounds lighter than James and wears the same size shoes. I am going to have to shop at Omar Tent and Awning when he gets older. NOTE! In about 5 years, switch back from band aid stock to shoe company stock.

JOEY

JOEY IS ALMOST 1!! His first birthday is next MONTH! I can't get over it. It seriously seems like we just brought him home. I think the time goes by faster with each kid....or maybe with each of my birthdays. Either way, I am amazed at the little person he is becoming. He is crawling like crazy, standing up and has 6 teeth. He is cruising along the edge of the couch and should be walking any time. Plus he is really really cute...grin.

His party is going to be July 13th and you are all invited. SMILE!
 
 

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Summer Fun!

 
The summer seems to be going by so fast already, and James has been out of school for only a week! Jack and James decided that they had had enough of me and wanted to see their grandmother, so Jack spent the night at her house last night, and James is there tonight. James told me this morning that it is kinda boring here without Jack...oh, and quiet too.


Jack had an absolute FIT when Grammy was bringing him home and picking up James. I swear the entire neighborhood heard him scream "But I can't SLEEP without JAMES here! I LOVE MY BAWA!" In case you have never heard Jack say "brother" before, it sounds like bawa. Of course when you say it like he does, he immediately corrects you.


So my three sons have discovered Webkinz. They are these little stuffed animals that come with a tag that has a code written on it. You log into Webkinz's website, enter the code and POOF! there is your little animal. You adopt it, feed it, play with it....it is quite a set-up. The only problem is, they cost about $15.00 each and of course, they want every one under the sun. I discovered, much to Jack's delight, that they have Webkinz Pugs. We now have 2 named....you guessed it. Sadie and Solo. I am sure when he is grown up I will hear about how traumatized he was when his mom got rid of his real dogs and gave him stuffed ones instead! By the way email me if you want to know their names in Wekinz World...they love to send letters to people!

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Hugo Animal Farm



I got to go on a field trip with my favorite James!! (No, he is not THE favorite, just my favorite James....smile)



We had such a fun time...and the farm is GREAT!

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Sad Day

We had a very sad day yesterday...Sadie and Solo had to go to a new home.

Since we adopted them, they had pretty much continuously fought. Thursday last week they started to fight and Jack was in the middle of it. I had a pretty tough time getting them apart and Jack was scared half to death. Daryl and I decided that we couldn't take the chance that one of the boys would tick them off and they would get bit.

So they are going back to their foster home....but we are going to miss them!

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Kid Fest 2008

 
 
 
We had the perfect day for Kid Fest 2008!
 
It was warm, sunny and humid.
 
 
The 3-person Slip and Slide was perfect for racing...although the piece of wire we found in the grass after some scrapes kinda slowed them down!

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

New Additions!

Meet Sadie and Solo!



These are the new additions to our family! They come from a Pug Rescue Program in Lakeland.

The boys are in total heaven.

Friday, May 16, 2008

Whining Mommy

WARNING! LOTS OF WHINING AHEAD!

So this has not been a good week for me. Mostly I like to write about all the great things my kids do, but today, I would like to express my displeasure at the outcome of the last few days. If this will not be pleasant for you, please feel free to move along...smile.

My husband has this way of sneezing that has forever annoyed me. I get in my car after he has driven it, and the windshield is COVERED with dried up .... oh, I don't know....whatever it is that comes out when you sneeze. The man refuses to cover his mouth and he cannot go out in the sun without sneezing spastic-ly for 10 minutes, which most of the time makes me point and laugh at him. Last weekend, he decided, while holding a can of pop in one hand and our baby in the other (which he claims would not allow him to cover his mouth), to sneeze while infected with a whopper of a cold. Now I SWEAR he stood in the middle of our living room spinning around like a sprinkler, covering everyone and everything with spit. He tells me that I have a good imagination. Believe whom ever you wish.

So this spit-fest produced one whopper of a cold for me, too. As well as Joseph and Jack. I won't repeat the expletives expressed to my dear husband for sharing....you probably heard me anyway. So this whole week has been a mixture of sleep deprivation (from the cold and the baby) and downright crabbiness.

It all went downhill today. It started with my not being able to sleep last night because every time I laid down, it felt like I was being suffocated. Finally my alarm went off (who is my dear Joseph) at 5 (AM!). Jack woke up at 6 (AM!) and James at 6:30 (AM!). The first fight broke out about 6:33 with me giving my best impression of a bad Elmer Fudd impersonator. "Dames, if you hit Dack one more dime, you bill get a tibe out!" (translated: James, if you hit Jack one more time, you will get a time out!) James just sort of cocked his head to the side like a dog hearing a whistle. "Seribously! Do nob do bat agaib!" (translated: Seriously! Do not do that again!) His head moved to the other side. "Anb stob looking at me like thab!" (translated: And stop looking at me like that!). He just walked up to me slowly and petted my head while I whimpered.

By 7:30 (AM!) my day had progressed to finding bodily fluids on my person. Yes folks, STEP RIGHT UP! See the amazing FLUID LADY! Why you can locate and identify...ready for it? PUKE! SNOT! POOP! and yes, you guessed it PEE!! A freak of nature, she is a rare sight! Look at that hair! Not washed or combed...look at those bags under her eyes, and can you believe the red, chapped nose from sneezing all night?! Look at her markings...yes, it is unusual to find ALL bodily fluids at once!! A once in a lifetime occasion! And wait...she is coming out of her habitat WITHOUT MAKEUP!!!! Line up folks, for this is one site to see!

FINALLY! After spending the day with a 6-year-old who can projectile sneeze his body weight in snot, a 4-year-old who can pummel you with questions faster than an auctioneer (while you sit there looking like Jabba the Hut) and a baby who has a cold AND is cutting teeth, my dear husband comes home. WOOHOO! I shout. MY SAVIOR HAS ARRIVED! as I mutter "even if he is the one who caused all my pain". But he has had a bad day and is not one bit happy that I have to go grocery shopping and leave him home with the boys. On a Friday night. HA! HAHA! HAHAHA!!!! I laughed. Groceries. Boys. What really would be the lesser of two evils after the day I had?!

It occurred to me, as I am blowing my nose for the 50th time in a quickly disintegrating piece of Kleenex, pushing a cart with the required shaky wheel through a store filled with the worlds nastiest people, trying to hide a gigantic ketchup stain on my shirt, and lift a 5 pound can of peaches in my cart, ON A FRIDAY NIGHT that this really sucks. I was thinking as I balanced a 100 pound mini van door on my shoulder (the door broke, so it wont stay up!), threw $200 worth of groceries in the car all while trying to keep the cart from rolling away, control the river of snot that was running down my chin AND stay out of the rain, that this just was not what I signed up for. I am a living, breathing caricature of a stay-at-home mom. Make that a desperate stay-at-home mom.

The the lady in line next to me told me that the best time of her life was when her kids were little. I just cocked my head to the side like a dog hearing a whistle.

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Today was James' Garden Party at school. It has to have been the cutest thing ever! James was "Pig Number 2", and had THE best lines...smile. His 2 brothers caused quite a scene, however. Joseph decided to throw up on me, and of course, I was wearing black, so it showed up fluorescent orange. Here I thought I looked SO sophisticated with my pseudo pedal pushers, flowered flip-flops and "in" hair do. It wouldn't have been so bad, except that the other 2 sons went home early (thanks to Mr. Jack-Man for that one!) and I was left with a "snail trail" of vomit down my arm and shoulder, so I didn't even have a baby with me for an explanation.


Jack was in rare form. Or typical form...take your pick. Running all over, climbing on chairs. Yelling "HI JAMES!" to his brother in a perfectly quiet auditorium, and when I take him out in the hall, all you can hear is "BUT MOOOOOM! I HAD TO SAY HI TO BROTHER!!!!!!!!!!"


I was so impressed with James' teacher, Mrs. McNulty. I had to laugh because here she was, sundress and pony tail...acting out all of the kids' parts for them while standing on the sidelines. It was just the most adorable thing ever. James sure is going to miss her when Kindergarten is done!

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

My Cute Baby Joey



Joey is growing up so fast! He is crawling, eating solids, sleeping through the night and getting teeth.



We are having to get him into a bigger car seat because he has outgrown his baby one, and tonight we actually played a game! We rolled a ball back and forth to each other...it was pretty amazing.



He went outside for a ride on his swing for the first time the other day. Wasn't too happy with the sun in his eyes, but otherwise seemed to like it!

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Running WIth Froggy Boots



So Jack was running up the steps, wearing his froggy boots and tripped. He got a perfect circle of a sore on his chin and wanted a band aid on it.
He then decided that had better get him something else to hold the band-aid on because he didn't think it would stick while he was eating yogurt.
 
 
He sort of changed his mind after I was done with him.
 
 

The Artist

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Jacks 4th Birthday Party



GOTTA LOVE snow in April. And in particular, in April on the exact day that we invited 20 three and four-year-olds over. These poor kids where packed in my tree house (what I call my home because it is so small), all bunched up on the floor eating hot dogs and popcorn. They were so cute!! Our outside carnival party was a bust, but I think the kids had a good time. The crane game was the favorite. I tried for 20 minutes to get a damn piece of candy out of the thing and couldn't do it, but these kids were getting handfuls of it. I was so impressed!
 
My three sons had a blast. James was in heaven having all of the kids to run around and play with, and it goes without saying that Jack had fun. Not only was there unlimited food and a MOUNTAIN of gifts, but the love of his life was here (his teacher...giggle), and he just adores her (SORRY MRS. BENTS!!). I think she must still be blushing over how he wanted to introduce her to everyone at the party. Jack has also become enamored with his Uncle Dave since seeing him at Christmas, and was thrilled to see him and his cousin Cam! Joey was a little angel through the whole thing. Kids running around, people laughing and being loud, very little nap time and being completely off schedule didn't even phase him. Between Grandma Darlene, Aunt Dawn, Aunt Robin and his favorite preschool mom, Nancy, all paying attention to him, he was happy as a clam!



Jack is quite annoyed at the fact that there is not a HINT of his birthday cake left. Every time he sees a picture of it he walks away grumbling about not having enough of his carnival cake filled with blueberries. I have comforted him by telling him he can have a Dora cake next time. You know how he feels about Dora! He did got the one present he had been asking for since Christmas. Yes, you guessed it...a real vacuum cleaner. I know, I got that one wrong too. Never would have thought that he would want one, but he sat on Santa's lap and asked for a yellow vacuum cleaner. I have bought the boy every conceivable play vacuum, to no avail. The poor thing thinks Santa forgot about him, because, of course, Santa should have KNOWN what he wanted. Huge thanks to Aunt Robin for that one! Jack had to call her last night to thank her for the best present EVER, and of course, at 7 am this morning, he had to try it out.



There is just something about a kid who hugs a vacuum cleaner that makes me smile.

Monday, April 21, 2008

The Race Is ON!

So I am sure that I won't be able to post much for the next week, with Jack's party and all, but I thought I would just write a little bit about what the boys have been up to.
 
 
JOSEPH

Joey is now eating table food!! AND SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT!! I don't know what it is about that 9 month mark, but all 3 boys waited until then to gift us with a full night's sleep. We celebrated by having steak...smile. I am kidding. But he did eat a grilled cheese sandwich, mashed potatoes and chicken, carrots, peaches, bananas...WOOHOO! The days of $10-a-bottle formula is on it's way OUT!

JACK
 
Jacky has been very excited for his birthday. One of the things we decided to do this year is buy another play set for the backyard, and I wanted it built before the 30 four-year-olds come over. Jack has been helping with building it and shopping for all of his party stuff AND he is over the moon that his teacher, Mrs. Bents, and her 2 girls are coming!

JAMES

James lost ANOTHER tooth! I think he loves the golden dollars that the Tooth Fairy brings him so much that he decided to just go ahead and extract all of his teeth himself. On a SERIOUSLY DISGUSTING (and potential psychiatric-episode inducing) note, James...my lovely James, has surpassed all of my germ-a-phobe fears. As we were taking a potty break at the grocery store on Saturday, James decided to see what the handle on the bathroom door TASTED LIKE!! Hang on...I have to calm the screaming in my head. Seriously, someone get me a Prozac. He just licked it like a popsicle. I'm not positive, but I think the people in the back of the store heard me scream. Wait....that might have been in my head too. He is fine. I need to go lay down.

Sunday, April 13, 2008

The Tooth Has Left The Building!

 
James has lost his first tooth! Or I guess I should say "James was bribed with a video game to yank out his first tooth because his mom is one of the most impatient people on the planet and she couldn't stand waiting for it anymore!", or "James was bribed because his tooth is barely hanging on and his mom has an irrational fear that he would swallow it, requiring us to dig through poop to find it!". Either way, the tooth has been successfully extracted from his head, and all necessary imaginary childhood characters were alerted.

He looks like such a little man now.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Happy Birthday Jack!

At our house, birthdays are kinda a huge deal. Mostly because I make them a big deal, but still. We have over-the-top parties....and if I could do more, I would! I think each of my 3 sons should not only feel, but see the joy in celebrating a milestone like a birthday.

It is also a day for me to commemorate bringing an amazing little life into the world. In most of the blog entries I write we concentrate on the funny things that happen around here, but it is important to me to document how special I think each of them are, and nothing reminds me of that more than their birthday.
Jack came into the world the same way he enters a room today...with a lot of commotion. He was perfect...and had the most amazing blue eyes. I remember thinking while his eyes were closed that they were the exact size and shape as an almond. He had red, pouty lips and a ring of hair around his head like an old man. He had, and still does, an intense way of looking at you. On more than one occasion, people (including his pediatrician) have said to me that it's as if he can see what they are thinking!
My little Jacky wants what he wants when he wants it. He potty trained himself at 2 because he "didn't like the smell" of his diapers, and could ride a bike 2 years earlier than James....so he could "ride a bike like his brother". If you give him the right tools, he can dismantle everything in the room in 5 minutes flat. It can sometimes be a challenge (!!!) trying to reason with a 3 year-old who has more personality than most adults, but I wouldn't change a thing about him. He has an opinion about EVERYTHING, but at the same time you get a sense that he is trying to soak up everything around him. He is extremely intense sometimes....but conversely, he "feels" and loves strongly too. He can't stand not having his family around, and there have been some nights when he won't go to sleep until everyone is home. He is forever thinking of his big brother.... whenever Jack gets something, GOD FORBID if there isn't another one for James.
 
I am so proud and honored to have been chosen to be his mom. I can't wait to see who he decides to become! I love you Smoochy Face!