New York City baby!!!

I'm outta here! Well, not yet but early enough tomorrow that there is no way I'm writing anything before I head out tomorrow. For the next 3 days there will be no dirty diapers, no kids to feed, no baths, no bedtime battles, no dropping off, picking up and running ragged around school. No messes to clean, unless I make them. Just me and a bunch of my friends in New York City. I am unbeleivably excited. I owe BIG thanks to my husband for agreeing to take Friday off work and do kid duty all weekend by himself. Awwww what a guy!! I'm so ready to go! Except I'm not ready. There's still cleaning, packing, and and other chores to do before I am really prepared. In every other way though I am ready for this break! I'd like to say more but for now I better get to work!!!

Progress??

You tell me.

Before (after shampooing the heck out of it)

And after hours of the dawn & iron method. I see progress. I have hope.

More on KoolAid

Ok, so it's not a sure thing but I'm working on a fix for the carpet issue. I shampooed it with my Bissell carpet cleaner with all my might and it lightened but it was clearly not going to get clean that way. My friend Sue reminded me "there is a web site for everything" and told me about this idea. Searching for clarification I found this site. Let's cross our fingers that it works!!!

Did you know?

Did you know that koolaid mix when sprinkled across the newly mopped kitchen floor dissolves into a cherry and grape flavored mess? Did you know that before koolaid powder cleans up it spreads like crazy? Did you know the cherry spreads way worse than the grape? Did you know how many times it takes to mop it before it is clean? (the answer is a lot!) Did you know that it only takes 1 minute of a distracted momma (phone call) to have such a disaster occur? Did you know that 2 packets of koolaid mix can cover an entire kitchen floor? Did you know that it also will cover the two year old who created this catastrophe? Did you know that such a mess can turn a fairly calm, happy momma into an eye twitching, hands shaking, cleaning maniac? Did you know that the same momma would want to cry when she discovered red koolaid powder on her carpet? Did you know that the kitchen floor cleaned up fine? Did you know that the carpet still has a light pink tint? Did you know this makes me CRAZY?

If anyone knows how to get cherry koolaid out of carpet PLEASE comment! I'm begging!!!

You Are My Sunshine

Last week I out of nowhere started singing "You Are My Sunshine" to Mark. He really ate it up. The boy just loves his individual attention and this was right up his alley. I worried a little it would create problems with the other boys but so far they really haven't noticed. Obviously my problem being with the word ONLY since clearly I love all of my kids. So he started telling me, "Mommy, YOU are my only sunshine too. And daddy and my brothers." Perhaps ONLY wasn't clear to him, but given my concern for the other kids it allowed me a little leeway to say they were my "sunshines" too. Since then he just keeps bringing it up. One evening he was in trouble and asked me "Mommy am I still your sunshine?" I told him of COURSE he was and I would always love him no matter what. Fast forward to yesterday when they asked for a fudgesicle for snack and I said yes. Mark exclaimed "MOM fudgesicles are my only sunshine too!!"

I guess I should be happy to be ranked right up there with fudgesicles.

Conversation

Mark: Zack STOP poking me!!!
Zack: YOU stop poking me EITHER!!

Anyone have any ideas where Zack got this poking game? Mark, maybe?

Dinner Disasters

Last night I was going to make taco salad. Scratch that, I DID make taco salad. Too late, I realized the meat was just not right. Had a funky maybe slightly spoiled taste to it. Fortunately I realized this before I served it to my family. Unfortunately I did not realize it before the entire meal was prepared.

I hate it when I take the time and effort to cook and then have to go get takeout anyway. It's somehow like a waste of eating out since I still cooked and had to do cleanup.

Notice to all Germs

Go away! Go away immediately and find another place to take up residence, some place other than my home and mine and my children's bodies.

Yes, I caught the kids cold. I'm particularly irritated by this as this weekend is my trip to NYC and I refuse (hear that germs?) REFUSE to be sick.

I am taking Zicam and it seems to be helping. So, I'm fighting this hard. The germs better be afraid.

Sneaky Momma

So, I had forgotten how hard it is to get drops in a 1 year old's infected eyes. It's hard. But I had a thought last night... He likes his antibiotic. Like he gets excited when he sees the bottle. I was giving him the antibiotic, then doing drops. Somehow, I thought what if I do one eye, then meds, then the other eye maybe it would work. It DID! I couldn't believe it. I can usually sneak the first eye's drops in before he realizes what is coming but then he's really mad and scrunches that next eye tight so I have to pry it open. I hate it. I guess he thought he was done with the bad stuff so he was soooo much easier to give the other eye it's drops. I feel a little bad tricking him but since it worked and made my job a little easier I think it's ok.

I really thought this would be a one time thing. I figured he would not fall for it again today but he did! Lucky for me one year olds have a very short memory.

A Few thoughts on Toddlers

Having a two year old in the house is tough work. They do maddening things like empty momma's wallet and stack the credit cards, library cards, Insurance ID, etc. Then when momma catches them and says "Noooooooo" they say cute little things like "Just shoppin' momma" and melt their momma's heart.

Toddlers go all out on everything. When they play they play hard, when they run they really go. They are a constant source of background noise and chatter. As I said above they can completely drive a person crazy and then with one cute comment, or a hug or any number of toddler tricks they have to stay out of trouble it all washes away and life is good.

On any given day I might think HOW am I going to do this stage again with Ben? And two minutes later finding myself thinking how cute and fun Zack is and how much I love having a toddler in the house. He climbs, he screams, and throws a good fit when he doesn't get his way. He gets in bed with me at 5 AM which in and of itself is no big deal but then he starts pulling my ears, playing with my hair and other crazy things that to him are acts of affection, but to me just plain aggravating. He tells me "you not hunny" (Zack replaces the f sound with an h), "go away momma" and "no miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine" and it drives me crazy but just a distraction away is an "I wuv you momma", or the above "just shoppin' momma" and I just laugh... or melt.

The fact of the matter is despite the typical two year old antics I love having a toddler in the house. He loves to help me clean, loves to snuggle, loves to make people laugh. I adore the endless chatter even when I complain that I want quiet.. I love it when he runs in circles giggling with his brothers. I adore the way he sings songs. I delight in his mixed up pronoun, mispronounced word language, and I love the way he just loves his momma. He makes me smile every day and I wouldn't change one thing about my little toddler.

Sick sick sickie...

Well, Thursday brought goopy eyes and more nose running and a fever for Ben so we went back to the doctor and sure enough he has pinkeye. He looks pitiful. So now he's on antibiotics AND eye drops and I think feeling better today. He still looks pretty bad, poor little guy.



I hope this is the end for a while. I'm ready to get out of the house!!!

While I was looking at pictures...

I found this from the weekend. These boys of mine are so silly!

And here we are out

hiking. The boys wanted to go "somewhere we've never been before" so we found this place. It was pretty neat!

Notice that only Kevin and Ben are actually looking at the camera and Eric and Mark have funny looks on their faces... Ben looks less than thrilled. But it really was a great time! Sadly this is the best picture I was able to get.

Cute Little Baseball Boys

So, Mark is still home from school which Zachary is thoroughly enjoying. They were playing "baseball men" earlier and I had to take pics of course (with my lovely new camera by the way)... here are my baseball buddies :)

Funny things I've heard today

From little girl at the doctors office... to Mark

girl: "Hey it's SO cool you have 3 boys"

Mark: "Yea, and ACTUALLY we have FOUR, one's just at school" He puts four fingers in the air
Zack: "Two, two two" (I dunno, just what he said, and he was putting 2 fingers in the air)
girl: REALLY WOW!!!! WE have one at school too. And actuuuuualllllly, we have more than two (her mom looks at her funny)kids because we have imaginary friends."

I LOVED That little conversation...

There is more and I'll add to this post as soon as I remember. I've actually heard quite a few hilarious tidbits today. I'll probably remember as soon as I go try to do something productive.

Sick house

Everyone is sick. Ok, Eric's not. But everyone else is sick in some way today. Mark coughed all night last night. He is going to the doctor. I'm not entirely sure Zack and Ben shouldn't go too as they both have had nasty runny noses and we are soooo fussy (yes I said we on purpose, I am not exempt from this fussiness.) I think for now though since Mark is the sickest I will take him in and see how the others do later. For now I have to get Eric ready for school and Zack off the countertop.

I am editing to update that Mark went to the doctor and we came out with a prescription for an antibiotic and a low dose steroid to open him up so he can breathe better. Yay for good meds and here's hoping he's doing better. I did ask about the other 2 sickies and he said as long as there is no fever and if it stays just a runny nose (even a icky super gross runny nose) to hold off. but bring them in if they get a fever.

I have to admit I was bummed our normal ped wasn't working today. She is super fun and we laugh so hard when I go in there. This guy was fine but the other ped and I just click. Like I'd like to be her friend if that weren't just ridiculously awkward to ask your kids' doctor if she'd like the kids to play together (she has two little girls.) Yes, it's official, I'm crazy :)

What Should I Put on my Ipod?

So just a random question! I love music of most every variety and I JUST got an Ipod for Valentines Day from my sweetie (yep, I'm behind the times!) So if you are reading this blog whether I know you are not, please post a comment and tell me what I should be listening to. I am in desperate need of some new music!

The Tooth Fairy Strikes Again

This time it's Eric who is losing his first tooth (yes, after Mark...) so the tooth fairy made another visit to the Bailey household. Apparently this trip was MUCH easier as Eric sleeps like a rock and Mark, well, he just wakes up at every little thing. But life was very happy this morning for Eric with two dollars under his pillow and the tooth magically missing. I just love it! Anyway some pictures are in order.

Eric showing off his missing tooth.

Eric and Mark together :)

And last but not least... Zack had to show off his tooth too. He was pretty sure it was his turn to lose a tooth next. Daddy had to convince him he needed his teeth for a little longer.

Poor Eric

I am realizing I haven't written about my biggest boy in quite some time. It's not that I don't think of him all the time. He's just such a low key, easy going guy I'm afraid he gets lost in the shuffle sometimes. My goal is to NOT let this happen. With part of our tax return refund Kevin bought a lathe. My knowledge of woodworking tools is unimpressive so here's a link to find out what the heck that is :) Anyway the point is Eric has spent lots of time with Kevin out there the last few days with Kevin eating it up!! They've made some pretty neat things too (candlesticks mostly, just practicing) It's actually been great cause Kevin needs a hobby and Eric needs something to do with daddy.

He also had a field trip yesterday to MOSI and he was SO super excited. Mark of course was highly irritated that he didn't have a field trip. He just wants to do everything Eric does.

He told me about the skeleton riding the bike and the flight simulator. he had a ton of fun!

Just a Picture (ok 2)

Since I'm on a blogging role today I thought I'd share a picture (make that 2) I snapped in the backyard today. I really love these guys!

Then Zack had to get in on the flying action!

Benny Bo!!

Where did my baby go? The inevitable happened. He turned one! Which he celebrated by adding to his walking capability. He's taken two or three steps before... Now he can do 5. Only problem is he tries to run and falls face first. I keep telling him to slow down to no avail. Great! Another kid who won't listen to me... This is really such an amazing age though. So much development. So much sweetness :) I guess they can't stay little forever and I can't keep on having them (no really, I realllllly can't!!!!!) So it's bittersweet. Of course he's still a baby but they just grow sooooo fast!

I can SEEE!!

I can't believe I'm just now posting this but it's official... bye bye glasses!! I had Lasik last Friday and it is awesome! I still have the vague feeling that I just MUST be wearing contacts but I'm obviously not. Thanks to Kevin for really encouraging this as it was quite the anxiety provoking thing for me. I was so afraid I would freak out. And inside I was. They gave me valium but I really really don't think it kicked in until after the procedure. Ack. They gave me a little stress ball to hold and I squeezed that thing so hard I'm surprised it didn't bust. So just a little description of the procedure. They laid me down and numbed my eye with drops. Then they put this thingie on my eye to hold it open (don't you love my medical terminology?) Then they said "we are going to put this ring on your eye and apply pressure. Let us know when your vision blacks out" Niiiiice aren't we supposed to be improving my vision? Ok so that was one of my freak out points. The "pressure" didn't really hurt but I definitely noticed it. And of course there was the vision blacking out part I really didn't love. But that was temporary and then they released the pressure. THEN they started the fun part. I honestly felt as close to a panic attack that I've ever felt. My heart was racing and I just kept thinking they need to restrain me I'm going to freak out and start thrashing around. But I practiced my deep breathing (thank you child birth classes) and tried to focus on something, ANYTHING else. Then they turned on the pretty red light and while that wasn't comforting it at least gave me something to focus on. They didn't say one more word for the rest of the first eye which was fine with me. I didn't need them saying "now we are going to slice a flap on your cornea" because that might have set me over the edge. Ok, maybe they did mention "look at the light, try to hold your eye still" which is hilarious cause I really felt I had NO control of that. But the pretty red light followed my eye movements. I was vaguely aware of stuff going on and the clack clack clacking and slight burning smell of the laser were very very stress provoking. Whew. Eye one was done. The surgeon said "hey why are you so uptight? You did great! Now try to relax and we will do the next eye." Which lightened my mood. I figured I survived the first one only one more to go. Don't get me wrong I was still squeezing that poor ball for dear life. At first I felt like I was looking through water. I could see the clock and what time it was but it wasn't clear. That is very normal and I could actually see better than I expected to. It only took a couple of hours to have my vision totally clear and the next day they checked my "flap" and my vision and not only did my eye look great (the dr. said if I went to get an eye exam today he would bet the dr. wouldn't even be able to tell I had surgery the day before"...but also my vision was a little better than 20/20. I am in awe. It all seems very sci-fi but it is real! YAY!! I can see!!!

If you are considering Lasik I highly recommend it. It was 100% worth every single moment of stress I experienced. I couldn't be happier.

Mark's big news!

Mark's big news is that last week he lost his first tooth. I admit I was alarmed around Christmas time when I discovered it was loose. I was sure he was too young and something was horribly wrong. However, upon consulting my mom friends I learned 4 1/2 was in fact not too young to loose a tooth. It is for me though. Mommy was NOT ready for this step. Mommy had to get on board though because the inevitable happened and that sucker came out. I picked him up from school and he told me it came out and the teacher handed me a cup with the tooth inside. He looks pretty cute with the little hole in between his other teeth (another of which is loose eek!) The tooth fairy was kind and Mark was so excited to find TWO dollars under his pillow the next day. There was only a little grief on Eric's behalf when Mark said "Now I'm bigger than YOU since my tooth fell out first." I assured Eric this was not true. And of course, Eric is not far behind with his own very loose tooth. (Please let it fall out at school too! I think I might prefer it that way! )

Isn't he CUTE??

Things I'm Missing Right Now

Thanks to my lovely children... Or at least that's my story...

1. My keys with my key fob thingie to the gym.
2. The battery to the thermometer which I could really use right now since I feel feverish...
3. Lots of brain cells :)
4. Mark's SS card (Ok this one is solely my fault and it's around... just not able to find it right.this.second.)
5. 8 pounds (well, these I don't want to find... and I'm taking credit for this one too!)
6. My sanity!

I really really really want to find my keys... really. I have no idea where they have gotten to but I'm almost positive boy 1 2 3 or 4 have taken them to some exotic location. Of course no one is fessing up!!!