I've Been Tagged!

Shauna tagged me!

Here are the rules:
a. Link to the person who tagged you.
b. Post the rules on your blog.
c. Write six random things about yourself.
d. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blog.
e. Let each person know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment at their blog.
f. Let your tagger know when your entry is up.

1. I LOVE paperwork. No, I'm serious. I really like filling out forms and things of that nature. In some way, the uniformity of the task is relaxing to me. It's really dorky, and I totally acknowledge this. And really, I'm pretty dorky. My husband likes to refer to me as the female Alex P. Keaton.

2. I cannot stand to not have my toenails painted. It doesn't matter if it's summer -- I need to have them painted.

3. I have a stationery obsession. Oddly though, I very rarely actually write anyone a real letter. I love to get them, but am too lazy to write them, even though I have an enormous stationery collection.

4. I don't ever want to have a white car. I have no idea why, but it is my least favorite color for a car.

5. Similarly, I can't white walls in my house. Perhaps it's a result of years of white walled apartment living, but I cannot stand to have a room that's painted white.

6. I don't like to swim in the ocean. I love to go to the ocean, but hate swimming in it. I would sit on the beach sweating like a hog drinking water like crazy all day before I would go swimming.

I tag Julie, Kelly, Briana, Stephanie, Susan, and Katie Jane.

Six for Saturday

1. David has another ear infection. He's been saying for a few days, "Mine ear hurts. Can I have more medicine?" so I figured it was a ploy to get more amox. Notsomuch. I brought him in on Friday. Full of wax and PUSS, ruptured ear drum. Swell. His prescription this time is Omnicef, which tastes like Omniass. He spit the first teaspoon back in my face, which is how I know it tastes like Omniass. I mixed it with some chocolate frosting this morning and let him eat it from a bowl. He lapped that up like a dog. Unfortunately that means he'll have to eat a small bowl of frosting for the next 8 days. . .

2. I got Jell-O dark chocolate pudding today. It's delicious!

3. We went to the Franklin farmer's market this morning. It was great! Not a huge selection of stuff, but what was there looked great. We got eggplant, cucumbers, zucchini, peppers, zephyr squash, honey straws, and some odd pepper I don't remember the name of. They have a cute children's area with a children's garden and a hay area with things to trim the hay and they do a craft each Saturday morning. It was very cute. D&H loved it. Mostly David enjoyed wearing an old Gramma style hat. It was purple and he loved it.

4. Jack's little tooth is out! And now the drooling has begun.

5. David poured (I think) water all over the TV in their bedroom tonight and "it smell like fire!". Duh, you think? The sound was working but there was no picture. They freaked out. I'm glad, because I don't think they need a television in their room anyway. I certainly didn't mind. I read them nine books, sang three songs, and they went to sleep in about 8 minutes.

6. I want to eat everything sweet that I see!

Hump Day

We've had a busy week so far. And that's being reflected tonight in some sleepy boys and a sleepy mama. Sunday we swam at my parents' house for the whole day. We literally came home after their normal summer bedtime. We had fun chatting, swimming, and eating. Monday we ran some errands and I did some baking. We played outside a bit then went swimming that afternoon. Yesterday David and Henry played either in their room or outside all day long. They played really well together, which is always nice for me. I got my hair cut in the morning, and decorated 4 dozen cupcakes and a cake in the afternoon. I was very thankful they played so nicely all day, because I got so much done we were able to go swimming in the afternoon. The boys always sleep so much better when they swim.

David spent the whole morning mad and saying, "I WANT TO GO TO JULIE'S," because I had told them they were going to go to her house this afternoon. Today I had two cake deliveries to do this morning, and a cupcake tasting to do this afternoon at a stationery store in Murfreesboro. The store is having a Christmas in July event and are interested in selling individually packaged cupcakes in their store as well. They're researching the cost of the packaging now to see if it would be worth doing. It will be interesting to see where that goes, if it goes anywhere. I love the concept. While I was with those ladies, my children were at Julie's house playing on the water slide. They were mad when I said it was time to leave and have pretty much been (tired) mad since then. Henry fell asleep and peed on the couch, and he's been pissy (ha!) since that happened. I think he may be "crying" (read: whining) himself to sleep now. I'm sure they'll get up early in the morning, but it will be worth it for the peace I'll have tonight.

Happy Wednesday!

Five Month Man

I'm a little behind. Jack turned five months on Thursday. He's had a busy month! He rolls back to belly and vice versa. He sleeps in his room by himself all night long. He still wakes up very early in the morning to eat, but he sleeps "late" for one of our children! He l-o-v-e-s to eat. Nursing as well as his other foods. He has had cereal, fruits, and vegetables. There's nothing he's not liked so far. Applesauce, bananas, pears, peaches, prunes, plums, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, avocado, pumpkin, peas, green beans, carrots. . . he'll happily eat them all! He's getting so big. I weighed him today on my parents' scale and I estimate he's about 18ish pounds. He smiles all the time now, and his brothers make him laugh constantly, especially David. Henry's still not super interested in Jack, unless someone says they're going to take him home, keep him, etc. Then he's very defensive and says, "He's OUR baby!" He laughs a great big belly laugh which has quickly become one of my favorite sounds. He wakes up cooing and "talking" in his crib in the morning, craning his neck to see his Glo Worm. His two bottom teeth are starting to come through. They're not entirely out yet, but you can see and feel them. He's a wonderful baby and has quickly earned the name Happy Jack. Photos coming soon!!

Stevie Wonder

They don't call him Stevie Wonder for nothin'!

David attends a Methodist preschool, as will Henry in the fall. At lunch each day, they sing "God Our Father" before eating. It goes:

God our father, God our father
Once again, Once again
We bow our heads to thank you, We bow our heads to thank you
Amen, Amen

David's teachers had told me several times that they call him Stevie Wonder at lunch, because he squeezes his eyes shut, puts his hands together, and sways back and forth while he's singing. They were not kidding. We were singing it tonight at my parents before we ate, and David was ROCKING it! Except his version, eyes wide shut, hands clamped together, and swaying back and forth went like this:

God our fadder, God our fadder
Once again, Once again
We bow our hands and fank you, We bow our hands and fank you
All our men, All our men
(Fist pump in the air) DIG IN!

I love that child. He cracks me up every day. I asked him to sing it again for my dad and David laughed and tried to make his armpit make a tooting noise. Again, something I thought we had some time to kill before that particular lovely would be happening.

And speaking of him rocking. . . at our garage sale on Friday, my sister was selling a two burner electric hot plate. David said, "OH! Want to see me make some music?" I thought he would sit down and bang on it like drums. Ah, no. He sat down, put his left hand over his ear, and rubbed his right hand back and forth on one of the burners, making a "scratching" noise while he did it. Julie and I cracked up and she called him the next DJ AM.

Waffler

My husband is a waffler. In the largest sense of waffling. In the car today, which is the only place we can have a sane conversation because Jack sleeps and David and Henry watch a movie with headphones on, this was our conversation:

Kim: I'm going to call our insurance company on Monday and see what sort of coverage and co-pay is involved for the essure procedure.

Chris: (With a perplexed look on his face) What's essure?

K: It's that procedure I told you about that's like getting my tubes tied, but it's done in my doctor's office, not as a "surgical procedure".

C: Wait, is that permanent?

K: Um, yes. Isn't that what you want? You've said several times that you don't want another baby. I don't want to sit around *hoping* you'll change your mind.

C: Well, I guess I just don't think I mean I don't want another EVER. I mean, I'm not 100% opposed to it. I just don't know.

K: (Thinking, WHAT THE HELL?!) You're not? I was under the impression that you were 100% certain that you thought three is plenty.

C: Well, I just think about how expensive they'll be, how much money it costs to raise them, feed them, send them to college. I think you just think about babies. We don't don't have enough room for another child in our house.

K: (Thinking he's exactly right, both about the babies and the room.) Well I don't want another one tomorrow, but it's never been a secret that I would like to have another. You told me that the only way that was happening was if we won the lottery.

C: Well that was just a joke. I just don't think we should do something permanent.

WHAT THE HELL?! Of course I'm encouraged that he isn't totally shutting the door on a fourth child, but so frustrated that it's like pulling teeth to get that finally out of him!

Honestly

It's no secret that my dream job would be as a party planner. Except when I get emails such as the one I got today from a bride. I'm doing the cake for her August wedding. Her first payment (50% of her total) is due next week. She emailed today to ask what happens if "someone gets sick near the wedding? Or the day of the wedding?" I wanted to say WTF do you think happens? You eat cake when you feel better. However, I politely emailed back and referenced the portion of the contract she has that states that all changes to the order must be made prior to her final payment, 14 days before the wedding. After that time supplies have been purchased, etc. And hello? The day of the wedding? The freaking cake is done! What happens with the rest of your suppliers if you "get sick"? You have pretty flowers in your bathroom as you throw up wearing your wedding dress. Seriously people.

Five for Friday

1. I've entirely not followed Weight Watchers today. Thanks for the doughnuts Julie.

2. We had our garage sale today. It was the worst one I've ever had, but I still managed to get rid of some stuff and make some moola.

3. As a result, I am So. Tired. Why does a garage sale have to be so much freaking work?! And we still have stuff to bring to Goodwill!

4. David and Henry spent a good portion of the morning standing near the end of our driveway screaming, "STOP! STOP HERE!" and "dancing" to entice people to stop at our house. They were pissed when it didn't work.

5. Jack spent a good portion of the morning sucking on his hand. Probably to feel the tooth that came through last night. Um, what? I guess it was closer to coming out than I expected.

I forgot

Kelly's comment to my below post made me think of something. Tuesday night, the night before Henry's sleepwalking incident, Jack woke up at 4 AM to eat. I was walking to his room, and I noticed the boys' bathroom light was on. I figured one of them had gotten up to go to the bathroom and left the light on, which is not at all uncommon. Ah, no. Henry was laying on the floor in the hallway, wrapped up in his silky blanket, sleeping! I picked him up and brought him back to his bed, and he didn't wake up at all. When he woke up I asked him about it and he said, "Mama! You're silly always playing tricks on me. I sleep in mine bed!" He had no idea what I was talking about. I hope this is a phase that he grows out of quickly.

Aaaahhh!

I was loading the dishwasher tonight, and I heard the big boy's door open. (They were already in bed and loooong asleep.) I thought it was David going to the bathroom. Nope. I peeked my head around the corner and saw Henry walking down the hall with his hands in front of him, palms up. I said, "What's up H?" and he said, looking right at me, "I told you these stickers go on the inside!" I looked at him strangely and said, "What honey?" He said, "Miss Frankie, I TOLD you these stickers go on the inside!" Um, Miss Frankie is David's teacher. I realized then he was sleeping. WALKING AROUND WITH HIS FREAKING EYES OPEN! I turned him around and walked him back to his room. He stood in front of his bed and stared at me with a blank look on his face. I told him I wanted to change his underpants into a diaper for the night. He just stared at me. Or through me. I asked him to take his underpants off and he just kept staring. Finally I just did it, put his pull-up on, and put him in bed. I said, "Good night Henry" and he just kept staring. I looked at him as I was about to close the door and his eyes were closed. WHAT?! Chris (jokingly?) said we should put this musical instrument bracelet they have with bells on it around his ankle when he goes to sleep. Thank God for deadbolts and chain locks at the top of all of our doors, or I would be nervous at night. At least I know he can't get out of the house.

Hump Day

I have no organized thoughts, so you get a list today.

1. I think Henry is having night terrors. Or something similar. It's happened three times now. He wakes up SCREAMING, like something is hurting him, sweating, sometimes shaking, his heart racing, and this continues for approximately 10 minutes. He doesn't want anyone near him, but doesn't want me to leave the room. His eyes are open, but he doesn't respond to me asking him questions, talking to him, or anything. It generally happens about 60-90 minutes after he's gone to bed, and it ends just as randomly as it starts. He'll just roll over and go back to sleep. I'm going to do some research and call his ped. if it happens again. I'm not really sure what she'll tell me, but . . .
2. Last night between 10:15, when I went to bed, and 12:45 David and/or Henry came into my room SIX times. Come on. Then Jack woke up to eat. Then at 2:30 David woke up crying because he doesn't have a new lunchbox for school and Target might sell out of them before we get there. Then Jack woke up at 3:30 crying. Then David and Henry woke up at 5. For the day. Clearly I like sleeping much more than they do.
3. Jack is getting his first tooth. I can see the white, but it doesn't look anywhere near close to coming through. David was 6 months when his first tooth came, Henry 5 months. Jack will be five months(!) tomorrow, so he's right on track with the other boys.
4. Speaking of Jack, he's at such a fun age right now. He laughs all the time, a great belly laugh. And, for some reason, he really thinks New Kids on the Block are funny. Especially when I sing "Hangin' Tough". Go figure. I think he's not the only one who thinks NKOTB are funny.
5. Today H & J took great naps. David took everything out of every bag he could find in his room. Then came waltzing into the living room, buck naked. Well, except for the Diego backpack he was wearing. He also had a lollipop in each hand. Lollipops that he had gotten on his last day of school and I forgot about. He was eating both at the same time. When he decided he was done with them he asked if he could put them in his hair. Seriously, WTF? At least he asked first.
6. I took the boys to the splash pad in town yesterday. I hate that place. And, lucky me, so do my children. I think they hate the cold water. I'm not sure why I hate it. And I hate the 11ish year old boy who told my 3 and 4 year old, "MOVE, MOVE! It's MY turn," when he wanted to play with the foot washing thing they were playing with. And I'm sure he hates me, as I told him how I felt about his obnoxious behavior. Oh right, and I told his mother too. She probably hates me as well.
7. I was a raging bitch yesterday. I hated everyone. And then I gained 4/10 of a pound. On probably the only week I actually kept track of EVERY SINGLE thing I ate, like a good little WW girl. Each freaking bite. Can you say hormones?
8. I am very excited about a call I got today. A local stationery store is doing a Christmas in July event and wants me to do some cupcakes. I heart cupcakes.

I'm off to fold some laundry. Or maybe eat some fat free tapioca pudding and go to bed.

CRAZY

So I just sat down and figured this out. Since getting pregnant with David in the summer of 2003, in the last five years through three pregnancies, I've gained a total of 103 pounds and lost a total of 147 pounds. What. The. Hell. That explains the way my stomach looks. . . So I guess I shouldn't be as pissed at myself as I was when I went to WW today and gained 4/10 of a pound. As my husband pointed out, the sunglasses on my head probably accounted for that weight. And come on -- if I can lose 147 pounds I can certainly lose 4/10 of a pound.

Hysterical blog

There are very few blogs that make me laugh out loud. This one makes me crack up. It will make you too, especially if you've had a child.

itsababynotbrainsurgery.blogspot.com

Dora Cake!

This child had some very specific requests -- a blue Dora cake with a bumblebee and gum. . .

It's Monday Again

When I think, "Oh I should. . . " I need to do it immediately. Or, "Oh maybe he's going to . . . " in reference to something one of my children might do. I'm always sorry I didn't do whatever it is I was thinking, check on someone, etc. What am I talking about you may ask? For example, the first time Jack rolled over, I had put him on his back on a blanket on the floor as Chris and I brought some things out to the car. As we were walking in I said to Chris, "Wouldn't it be funny if Jack rolled over while we were out here?" Sure enough, guess who was on his belly when we got into the house?

Our neighbors moved two weeks ago and gave us a travel potty. It has a spot where you attach a Ziploc bag, and the potty opens up so that the sides form little legs. The child sits on the potty, does their business, and you just remove the bag, zip it up and throw it out. I have a larger potty seat in our car, which everyone makes fun of. Hi, do you want to bring three children into a public bathroom and try to keep two of them from touching/flushing/licking everything in sight? Didn't think so. The potty's been used QUITE a lot. Today, as we were leaving to go someplace with no bathrooms, I thought to myself, "Oh, I should put that potty in the car." I didn't. Don't you know, about 30 minutes after we get to the fountains David said, "Mama, I have to go poopy." Of course you do. I bring all three kids to the van, start it and turn the A/C on, and David plops himself down on the potty seat, puts his headphones on, watches Spongebob on the DVD player, and pooped. Um, then what do you do with it?! I had to take it out of the potty with a wipe and tie it up in a Target bag I keep in my car exactly for situations like this.

Later at home, I was getting dinner ready and Jack was in his exersaucer in the kitchen. Super smeller David walks by Jack and starts gagging and pointing at him. I thought Jack had spit up, which makes David mental. I asked if that was what happened and David said, "NO! I need a cracker to hold in front of my nose so I don't smell that baby." Um, Ok what? I looked at Jack who was jumping around, happy as a pig in you-know-what. Oh no, maybe I should say happy as a baby in you-know-what. He had pooped. BIG time. It squirted out the side of his diaper, all down his leg, and into the base of the exersaucer. A large pile of it. And he proceeded to jump in it. A lot.

And again I will ask, whose life am I living?

Rhubarb Recipe

I've had a hankering for rhubarb lately. Yes, I said "hankering". I bought some, but didn't really know what to do with it. I found this recipe, and it is FABULOUS! And, for my fellow WW girls, it's only 2 points per serving, and a serving is big. 1/6 of the entire recipe. If you've not tried rhubarb before, give it a shot. It was soooo good. Chris even liked it, and he's very, very unadventurous when it comes to new food.

Rhubarb Crunch
3 ounces quick-cooking oats (1 cup)
6 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons Brown Sugar Twin
1/4 cup reduced-calorie margarine, melted
4 cups diced rhubarb
1 package sugar-free strawberry gelatin (4-serving)
1 package sugar-free vanilla pudding and pie filling Jell-O (4-serving) cook and serve
1 1/2 cups water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. In a medium bowl, combine oats, flour, cinnamon, and Brown Sugar Twin until well blended. Add melted margarine. Mix until crumbly. Set aside.
3. Place diced rhubarb in an 9-inch square baking dish.
4. In a medium saucepan, combine dry gelatin, dry pudding mix, and water. Cook to boiling, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla extract. Pour hot mixture over diced rhubarb. Top with crumbs.
5. Bake 1 hour. Cool on a wire rack.

Serves 6
Per serving: 60 calories, 3 g fiber, 5 g fat
Source: Health Exchanges Cookbook by JoAnna M. Lund Book

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to my daddy! As he's enjoying his father's day on the boat, I hope he knows how much I love him and appreciate him, and what a huge influence he's been in my life. My dad has a huge appreciation for education, which he passed on to me, and has (obviously) taught me a lot. He's taught me things that involved actual instruction, such as how to ride a bicycle, how to catch a softball in a glove, how to drive a stick shift, how to makes pigs in a blanket, how to pile wood (which I always pretended I didn't know how to do!), and how to make a snow house from the big pile of snow left by the plow. He taught me how to drive a boat, how to water ski (which I'm still no good at), how to put a worm on a hook, that if you don't know what something means you look it up in the dictionary, how to shoot a gun, that if you play with the big boys you might get hurt, and how to sail.

He's also, through his example, taught me about things that there are no instructions for. He's taught me that you should always tell the truth the first time, because the truth will always come out. He's shown me that if you have to work hard for something, it's typically worth it. He's taught me to be respectful to other people, but that you don't let people walk all over you. He's shown me that sometimes you have to take risks, and that the unknown is just something you don't know about yet, not something you have to be afraid of. He's shown me that it's not what you say, it's how you say it. (We're both still working on that one.) He's taught me that, in whatever you do, you need to do your best. He's shown me how to be confident, not to take myself too seriously, and that having fun is as important as working hard.

He's taught me that you get what you pay for, especially with cheap beer. He's shown me that fireworks are fun, and that blowing stuff up is usually pretty cool. He's taught me that thunderstorms are exciting, not scary. He's had a tremendous influence on my political beliefs, and I love talking about politics with him. He's taught me that history is important, whether it's about our country or our family. And he's shown me that a rocking chair on the porch of the club on Lake Monomonac, early in the morning when the water's like glass, is a spot that's just about as close to perfection as you'll find on earth.

My dad, rumor has it, was very curious as a child, taking things apart, blowing them up, sneaking out on the roof, and throwing rocks at cars. He definitely is a little boy at heart, and he got one of the girliest, prissiest daughters he could have ended up with. I love to see him play with my little boys, pushing them on the swings as they scream, "HIGHER GRAMPY!" I love to see his appreciation for Henry's curiosity, even as it drives my dad crazy that H will dump everything out, push every button, and touch anything he can reach. I love to hear him explain something to David, after he's asked 2393476 questions already. And I love to see him do Trot, Trot to Boston with Jack, just as he did with me when I was little. My dad has never hesitated to tell me that he's proud of me, or that he loves me, and I love to see him treat my children the same way. It's always evident immediately on his face when he's proud of them learning to ride their bicycle, when they hit the baseball off the tee, or when he sees David swimming by himself. And he never hesitates to crack up when my boys say something silly, do a crazy dance, or tell a "funny" joke.

Thank you Daddy -- I love you!

Because I'm All About an Update

I was very excited at Weight Watchers today when I lost 1.6 pounds. That brings my total, since walking into the hospital to deliver Jack, to down 35.4 pounds. While I'm by no means where I want to be, it's certainly encouraging to see that I've lost almost 36 pounds. And somewhat maddening too -- where would I be if I hadn't "cheated" so much?!

Paci Update. Because You've Been Waiting For It

WAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH! David has an ear infection on top of no paci. . . I want to run away.

Actually, that's being dramatic. Last night went OK. They both got up twice SOBBING, but went back to sleep fairly quickly. David went to the doctor this morning to have his ear looked at. Of course, it was FULL of wax. She couldn't see the ear drum or anything else because of the wax. That left us with two options -- water irrigation, which I quickly vetoed, or picking it out. He was not excited, to say the least. There was a med student there who got a bit of trial by fire. He got to hold him down. I think he was afraid to be sort of forceful with him. It took three of us to hold him so the doctor could clean a bit of wax out. And, not a big surprise, it's got a bunch of fluid in it. She said no swimming for two days. David said, "What if I wear floaties and don't go under the water?" That boy is SMART!!!

No More!

Tonight is night one of no more pacifiers. . . it took me three hours to get D&H to sleep. And they were exhausted -- it was a day of no naps, a trip to the library, then playing outside at Julie's house in the afternoon. Henry's already gotten up once, had a major meltdown, then went back to bed and is (was?) watching a movie. I can't bring myself to look in and see if he's asleep. I pray tonight goes well, since Chris is at work and I don't want to have to deal with a long tantrum filled night. And I feel so bad for them. They're so sad, and keep crying and literally begging for a paci. This is ridiculous, but this has been probably the most difficult thing I have had to do with them. We lost one paci today, and I threw the remaining one away so there's no temptation. Wish us luck!

It's 11:30, and both boys just woke up crying. Hard. Henry went back to sleep pretty quickly, but David held on. I think it took me about 30 minutes to get him to calm down and go back to sleep. I am so hopeful that he will sleep through the night now. He's SO sad, crying and begging for "a big boy paci" it breaks my heart! And has been saying for the day that his ear hurts. I hope it's not an ear infection. That would be really stinky timing, given what we've gone through tonight!

Tuesday 12

1. I'm getting my hair cut on Friday, and I cannot wait. I need to have it short(er).

2. All three children are napping at the same time again today. This is too good to be true. Normally I wouldn't want David to nap, because he stays up VERY late when he does. However, the last few times he's napped it's not been a problem. And since it's summer I don't really stick to our normal bedtime anyway, and they've been sleeping much later lately. Yahoo!

3. I already have dinner made for tonight. I love organized days. I'm watching LJ for a little while this afternoon, and I suspect I would have a difficult time making dinner with four children underfoot!

4. Jack has decided he's a stomach sleeper. He looks so cute with his bum sticking up in the air.

5. I think Jack's working on some teeth, as he's been putting his hands in his mouth 24-7, drooling, and is very fussy at night. Last night was better. Perhaps due to the Tylenol I gave him before he went to bed. . .

6. Henry is done with diapers and pull-ups, except at night. I'm not buying anymore. It was a crutch for Chris and me, so they're gone. He's done very, very well. Good thing, because he needs to be 100% trained for school.

7. We're down to only 2 "big boy" pacifiers. And one of them has a hole. David will still use it with the hole. (Yes, my children are 3 and 4 and still use a pacifier when they sleep. Or ride in the car. If you have an opinion about this, I don't care to hear it.) They'll be gone very shortly, purely because I refuse to buy any. The paci man is coming to town!

8. I went to Kroger today to pick up milk, some ground beef, fruits and veggies and bread. I spent $160. Someone please explain that to me. My children eat SO MUCH during the summer. What the hell is our grocery bill going to be with three boys in 10 years?

9. Since Jack is officially moved out of our room (the earliest of all of my children, FYI) we moved an exercise bike in. I'm so glad!

10. I just made some roasted garbanzo beans. They're supposed to be crunchy but are a bit mushy. Perhaps because I used canned? Next time I think I'll use dry beans.

11. I made a bunch of fresh fruit baby food to freeze for Jack today. When I think about making it, I always procrastinate because I feel like it takes so much time. It really doesn't, and I'm always glad when I do it. He's going to try pumpkin tonight for the first time (which I didn't make!) I hope he likes it. I think he will, as he's a huge fan of the orange veggies. Green, notsomuch. I'm going to pick up an avocado the next time I'm at the store and see how he likes that.

12. David has some weird issue with smells. He was gagging FOUR TIMES today because things smelled "bad". I couldn't smell anything, and I'm a pretty sensitive smeller. That child. . .

Monday Musings

I hope everyone had a nice weekend. We did! Friday . . . seriously, this was just three days ago, and I can't think of what we did. I had to look at the calendar! We took the boys to see Kung Fu Panda. It was a cute movie, and they did really well. Between changing Jack and taking the boys to the bathroom, I went six times during the movie! After the movie we came home and rested for a while, then went swimming after dinner. Henry is not nearly as nervous as he was just a week ago in the pool. Really he's not nervous at all. And David is a little fish. He's doing so well with his swimming, without taking any lessons. I can't get over how much he's improved literally in just a week.

Saturday we did a few things around the house, cut the grass, ran some errands, and I met with a really sweet girl about her wedding cake. When I got home from that appointment we went swimming. Yes, we go every day. When we got home, I put the boys to bed and decorated a Dora cake for a party yesterday.

Yesterday we had a really nice day. My parents had a birthday brunch for me. My in-laws came, as did Vanessa and Jarrod. My mom baked my favorite cake -- carrot cake! It was so good. We had all kinds of delicious brunch food, I got some really nice gifts, and we did a lot of swimming. I left briefly to deliver my cake and left my parents without any pacifiers! Ooops! The boys were EXHAUSTED last night. I think they literally were in the pool from 11-6. And the big boys have the sunburns to prove it. I feel awful about that. Note to self -- no more spray on sunscreen. They hate it, and it clearly didn't get applied everywhere.

Today we're having a sun-free day. We're not an inside family. They've been going crazy and driving me crazy. D&H are both napping now, so when they wake up we'll go swimming. I wanted to keep them out of the sun today, but by then it won't be an issue. We did some cleaning and laundry this morning, cleaned some stuff out for a garage sale, did some puzzles, painted, watched Finding Nemo, did some workbook pages, and I watched about 10328487 reenactments of Spongebob scenes. My children are obsessed with the sponge. While they're napping, I'm going to eat my lunch in silence and read some of my new book. Have a great day!

Happy Birthday To Me!

How the hell am I 31 years old? Seriously, how did this sneak up on me? When did I wake up over thirty, married, with three children and a minivan? Did I honestly buy (more) advanced wrinkle prevention cream this morning? WRINKLE PROTECTION?! Was it really me who happily spent my birthday changing diapers, wiping spit up, blowing bubbles, applying (and reapplying) sunscreen, giving baths, doing laundry, cleaning out closets, doing puzzles, playing trains, and doing dishes?

Gone are the days of taking my birthday off from work, doing whatever I want all day long, and dinner and drinks that night with friends. Gone are the days of treating myself to a new Coach bag for my birthday. Long gone is the carefree lifestyle I had on previous birthdays.

In it's place today was my first, "Is it your birthday yet?" whispered with hot sleepy breath in my face and skinny sticky arms around my neck at 3:45 AM. Those carefree days were replaced by David and Henry excitedly shouting, "SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAMA!" as soon as I walked out of my room this morning. It's been replaced by my sweet husband taking care of all three boys and turning the baby monitor off in our room so I could sleep as late as I wanted, even though he had just worked all night long. I spent it with a wonderful friend stopping by this morning with an adorable gift. I spent it getting calls, cards, and funny emails from friends all over.

Instead of spending my birthday by myself I spent it with four people who love me more than anyone in the world. I spent it with four people who wouldn't rather be spending their time with anyone else, who weren't thinking about other things they had to do or places they had to be. I spent it with two sticky, sweaty little boys who were so excited to make me smile they kept shouting to me all day, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY! IT'S STILL YOUR SPECIAL DAY!" With Henry who said, "I borgot to get you a present. I'll give you sixty forty kisses instead. Dat be OK?" And who will not understand until he's a parent himself that his sixty forty kisses for my birthday were better than any gift he could have ever picked at the store. And with David who said, "You look so pretty Mama. I fink it's because it's your special day." And with Jack, who smiles so much he makes everyone around him smile. I spent it with my parents, who still - 31 years later - make a point to make birthdays a special day. They made a wonderful dinner after working all day and then acted like they had nothing better to do, swimming in the pool and doing "cannit balls" with David and Henry until 8:00.

I can't remember a better birthday. And, for those still wondering, I didn't get the Buxton Organizer. Don't cry.

Cake Vent

I had a woman contact me recently about doing a cake for her child's birthday. She said she had looked at my website several times and had eaten cakes I had done twice, at two different events. We worked out the details of the cake over a series of phone calls, at which time she then asked for the total cost. I told her what it would be, including the $10 delivery charge, and she was silent. "Oh. That's honestly more than I thought it would be." I didn't want to point out that this information is clearly posted on my website that she has looked at "several times". And she asked why there's a delivery charge. Um, why do you think? I didn't mention that the location she wanted me to bring the cake to is 28 miles from my house. That's 56 miles round trip. I haven't increased my delivery charge at all since I've started doing cakes. Gas prices, as we all know, have increased significantly. By delivering her cake for $10, it will actually COST me money! (I could hear her husband say in the background when she mentioned the delivery fee, "It's because of gas prices.") I completely understand that my cakes are not inexpensive. But, like most things, you get what you pay for. My prices are significantly below what someone would pay at a specialty bakery. If you want an inexpensive cake, go get a sheet cake at Sam's. It certainly doesn't hurt my feelings that someone wouldn't order a cake from me because of the price. However, I'm not doing this just for fun. She's going to discuss the cake with her husband and I'm still waiting to hear back from her. . .

edited to add: I heard back from her. She wants a cake half the size, but still the same design. That doesn't really work when you're going from a two tier cake to a single tier, but I'll figure something out.

Just Another Manic Monday

It's official -- Jack is sleeping in his room now. I've even removed the bassinet from our room just so the temptation to put him back isn't there. I've realized that he sleeps much better when swaddled still, now mostly so he won't play with his feet each time he wakes up. Last night he actually slept from 10 until 6 this morning. I was so nervous when I woke up before him! The big boys also slept later this morning and didn't even come out of their room until after 7. That's a really big deal around here.

This morning we went to the farmer's market in Nashville with Julie and LJ. The selection was pretty slim, unless you were looking for cucumbers, zucchini, yellow squash, or tomatoes. I picked a couple of things up, but was very disappointed. I'm hoping in a couple more weeks there will be more to choose from. After that we went to Whole Foods. We free-sampled our way through the store and picked up a few things. I let the boys get cupcakes because it's my birthday this week. The man behind the counter heard me say that and had me pick a cupcake too and gave it to me as a birthday gift. He was very sweet. We ate lunch there. I had sushi, David and Henry had cupcakes. Henry was dripping the milk from his milk box all over his legs. When I put him back in the shopping cart to leave he whined, "What's all over mine legs?!" I told him it was milk and he yelled, "From your boooooooooobies?" I just looked at Julie and laughed. It was clearly time to go!

I'm going to pick up the house a little while they "relax" in their room (read: trash it) and Jack takes a nap. Then we're going to swing by Target to pick up a sprinkler and some hanburger buns I forgot to get at WF while we were there. After that we're going to hit the pool for a bit, and I think I'm going to leave the big boys with my mom and go to Weight Watchers tonight. It's sad that I have to pay someone $12 a week to weigh me in order to lose weight. Chris said he'd weigh me each week. Um, no. I don't need to live with the food police, thankyouverymuch.

Buxton Organizer. . . Again

I was just pulling out some larger size clothes from Jack's closet. He shares his walk-in closet with craft supplies, games, and some random junk. David was in the closet with me looking around at all the stuff, trying to find something to do. I had just walked out when he said, "MAMA LOOK! OH MY GOODNESS!! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!" I thought something was wrong. I asked him to show me what he found. He said, with a small camera bag in his hands and a look of excitement I've never seen before on his face, "We had one all along! A Buxton Organizer handbag!" Um, OK. Back the train up. How the hell does he know what a freaking handbag is? And why is he so damn excited to have one?! I was honestly surprised when he didn't pee with excitement when I told him he could have it. He scampered happily away to his room to fill his "handbag" with trains.

I also think it's hysterical that, according to sitemeter, I've gotten two people looking at my blog because they were led here by google searches for the Buxton Organizer!!