Birthday Party Panic

Eric wanted a birthday party with his friends from school. Not being big on the Chuckee Cheese, bouncy house kind of parties I decided to "plan" one at home. Let's not bring up the fact that not one ounce of planning has occurred yet. The party is Saturday. Let's also not bring up the fact that even though I made and sent invitations to the kids in his class (20) that I've gotten 2 negative RSVPs and no one saying they are actually bringing their child. Let's just pretend that the first "sorry not coming rsvp" didn't mention the reason that they couldn't come is because Eric's stupid mother planned the party for the Saturday before Spring Break and they were going out of town. I'm panicked. My kid wants a birthday party and in my slacker way I tried to make it happen. Somebody has to come to this party!!!!! I don't want him sad on Saturday because no one is here. I even had a related dream last night that I will post about later... It's driving me crazy! I just need one kid to come. 5 would be PERFECT!!!

Ahhhhh. I'm going to leave and obsess about this some more. As long as it doesn't haunt my dreams I'll be ok. :)

Water Fun

As we tried to figure out what to do this weekend to entertain the boys we noticed several people had inflatable pools out with kids splashing and having fun. Of course the boys saw this too and they wanted one. So we got one. If it's still cold where you live, please don't hate me. I will pay for this later on in the summer when it is unbearably hot. But for now I will take the amazing weather! (And it's totally worth the payoff!) Saturday Ben went into the pool a little but he hated it. I got the lovely look that says "MOM, what are you doing to me?" followed by the scream that says "GET ME OUT OF HERE LADY!!!" So he didn't participate in Sunday's water fun.

So Much to Say

I have so much I want to post here today that it is all kind of running through my head in a jumble and I can't seem to straighten it out enough to get it into a post. We did have a fabulous weekend and I have some pictures to share so maybe I'll start there.

Sunday was haircut day and Kevin took the clippers to them all (even Ben!) I love haircut day. They look so cute! I am not the best photographer in the world. I might be the worst. I thought I had everyone in the picture. Poor Eric got cut out partially. Oh and I snapped him with his fingers going into his mouth.EW. Unfortunately, this is something he does lately and the other 16 pictures I took of this pose have a variation of that look. I am posting this picture because as often happens in families with lots of kids they were DONE and this was as good as it got. Hey, four out of four looking at the camera AND smiling with only one looking goofy... I call that a win!

I was hoping to get more pictures on but now I have to go pack lunches and get the older two to school.

If You Were A 13 Month Old...

... you would not have hidden your mother's keys. You would never do such a thing. At least not this time! This time mommy threw them up in the front seat like always and they feel in a crevice between the seat and the console. Mommy looked in the car several times, but did not find them, thus concluding the baby must have done it. He really had been playing with the keys. Mommy is sorry Ben. The great thing though is I found them! I feel really really dumb for walking all the way to preschool, with a cough and a fever to get Mark. One of the other mothers took pity on me & took me and my gang to Eric's school & Eric was thrilled to get picked up early.

I wish I didn't feel it necessary to confess these things because I really feel quite stupid now.

I Think I'll Let This One Speak For Itself

If You Were A 13 Month Old...

...Where would you hide your mommy's keys? I'm serious. I went to get in the van, and actually had already buckled the little ones in the car to meet a mom from Mark's preschool at the Rec. Center for an activity for the 2 year olds. Then I realize I don't have my keys. I run in to get them and they aren't any of the places I usually put them. Then I remember seeing Ben walking across the living room keys in hand. Oh nooooo. WHAT was I thinking? WHY didn't I take them away. Really why? I've scoured the house numerous times and I can't find them. It's been over 2 hours and I still can't find them. I've crawled around on the floor, tried to think like a baby to find them. I have dug through trash (that's fun, really,) just while typing this I got up and looked again. They are NOWHERE. But the tricky thing is they have to be SOMEWHERE right? We were home. They were in the house. We were here for 30 minutes. So, I guess we're walking to get the big boys. My best guess is the entire route will be about 5 miles. I'm taking the double stroller so I can probably get Mark in with the little guys if and when he gets tired. Eric will only have to walk about a mile, Mark will be about 3.5. This even wouldn't be a huge deal except I don't feel great. I have a 100.1 fever and coughing. So walking is not an exciting prospect. I could call Kevin but he works far away and I hate to take him away from his JOB to come rescue his airhead wife. Oh and this should all be a non issue because we put one of those locking box thingies on the undercarriage of the car (you know for the next time I lock my keys in it) and it is G-O-N-E. This is a little worrysome in and of itself. Anyway, it's about time to start walking. I leave you with the question... If you were Ben where would you hide the keys? Answers are welcome. Feel free to laugh at me too. I will be laughing later (probably not until after I find the keys though.)

Happy Friday!

I woke up this morning and had no idea what day it was. I don't remember ever waking up that disoriented. Of course, I slept like a rock last night. Ben only woke up once and cried, but before I could get to him he was back asleep. Thank you Ben. Zack did not wake up screaming even one time. Thank you Zack. Apparently at some point Eric came down and Kevin sent him back upstairs. I had no idea. And about 6 Mark came down and wanted to snuggle. It was almost time to get up anyway so I let him. So I almost slept through the night besides that 2 am thing but it was so brief! YAY for kids sleeping. But, I seriously had to think about what day it was. I was willing it to be Saturday but after going through the list of things we did yesterday finally realized it was Friday. As I lay in bed thinking about the calendar, Mark heard Zack come down the stairs and popped out of bed and said "Hey Zack-a-roo-ski" which made me giggle. It still makes me giggle when I think about it. Mark is such a mini parent in every single way from his intense desire to be the boss to his loving, and nurturing the little ones, to his wanting with all his might to be bigger than Eric! It warms my heart to see him love his brothers. Everyone got dressed (with the bribe of if they got ready early they could watch a cartoon before school) with no major drama. No one complained about what was for breakfast. It's ok if that's only because I bought Frosted Mini Wheats on my crazy grocery store trip yesterday at Eric's request. Apparently Cheerios, even the Honey Nut variety are no longer an acceptable breakfast food. Eric even brushed his teeth WITH toothpaste without me telling him 50 times and ending up having to do it myself. Neither Ben nor Zack is screaming at me and I am so so thankful for that.

Good job boys!! Thank you for making it a great morning! Happy Friday everyone!

100

Ok, so that was 99... I told ya I was math challenged. I could delete and pretend I didn't mess up but this is SO me! All the thoughts in the previous post hold true and now this is 100!

Unless I am Mistaken

I may be wrong because I am slightly math challenged and too lazy to pull up the calculator right here on the computer (dude, that's LAZY!) this is my 100th post. I started this blog to give myself an outlet for feelings and frustrations, as well as joys & just plain funny stories. For about the first year it sat here and I posted maybe once a week (sometimes less.) My goal now is to post something every single day. I do this most days! I hope that people really enjoy hearing about my boys and my sometimes intelligible (I hope) thoughts. I love love love reading comments so thanks for all of you that comment! Anyway, I guess my 100th post seems like somewhat of a milestone to me. I am so happy to have this journal of sorts to record what our family does and remember just how crazy and fun things are around here!

I Should Have Known

I should have known that after the night that we had that I should have stayed home. Especially after all the fussing and screaming I endured this morning from both little ones. I somehow managed to convince myself otherwise. What convinced me was the simple fact that we need food. As in, I don't think I could scrounge up a meal tonight if we didn't go shopping. So we headed out after taking the big boys to school. I should have known I shouldn't be there when I pulled out a gallon of milk which then started draining it's contents all over me. Nice. It was like someone had poked a small hole and milk was spewing out of it. I chose to push forward determined to get the items on my list. I MADE A LIST FOR GOODNESS SAKE!! I haven't made a list in ages! I wasn't sure what to do with the leaky milk carton because try as I might it would not go back where I got it. I sat it on the floor for a minute and it was making a big puddle. I walked three steps away and couldn't leave it there, so I turned around and placed it on the top shelf of the refrigerator since it was empty. I didn't think about gravity, it started drizzling down to the other gallons of milk. It was right then that Ben started to fuss and I rushed away, thinking I would tell the first employee I saw what had happened. I'm sure you can guess that both I never saw an employee until the cash register and by that point didn't even remember to tell her "Hey, I made a huge mess in the milk department." But you know what? It wasn't my fault. I didn't bust a hole in the milk. Even if I am wearing it. So I talked to Ben and attempted to finish shopping while perusing my list and trying to actually get the items into the cart. We got to the meat department and Ben flipped out. He was done. I wasn't ready to be done. We had maybe 1/3 of the items on my list. I tried to calm him and all it did was make him scream louder. I got him out of the cart and pushed it while carrying him and trying to get a few more things so we can at least have dinner tonight. At last, I make my way to the check out stand. Meanwhile Zack was pulling on his seatbelt demanding I "buckle him" too. This is his way of saying he wants OUT! Mercifully, I was able to convince him to stay in without provoking a tantrum. He wasn't happy but he is easily distractable. I survived and made it out of the store but what was I thinking? None of us had a good night sleep, Ben and Zack had both been shrieking all morning. Why did I think it was so brilliant to go shopping. The even more brilliant thing is I had told a friend just.this.morning. that it wasn't all that bad going to get food with just two. I should have known. Next time I'm going on the weekend!

I'm Scared

Zack is my first child that has a lot of fear of imaginary things. My bigger boys were scared of things, sure, but it was more of real things (mostly dogs). Zack's fear of monsters has me baffled. He doesn't watch scary tv. He's never seen Monster's Inc. So where in the world did he come up with this stuff? It has left me unsure how to deal with it. Do I say "monsters aren't real" or "we don't let monsters come in our house." I've actually said both and gotten better results with the latter. But I wonder if it's good to let him think it is a real concern. Much worse the inconsistency of the two arguments must leave him confused.

The thing that helps the very best is to give him a favorite toy (and this changes day to day) and say "dinosaur will keep you safe." He smiles and snuggles in to go to sleep. He still wakes up once or twice a night terrified though. Last night it was at 10 and 3. At 3 he was crying and coming down the stairs saying "I scared momma, I scared." I took him into his room to see what was scary. He went to his window and lifted up the blinds. I could see the reflection of the blinds in the window and told him "it's just a shadow baby, there's nothing out there." To which he replied "shadow scary." Poor boy. I feel so bad for him that he's scared but there is a big part of me that is just annoyed to be up at 3 AM. He, after being reassured that there was nothing scary outside his window, snuggled in with his monster truck (don't most kids like to sleep with SOFT things??) and closed his eyes.

I wonder how long this stage will last. I hope it's a sign of a good imagination and creativity. I hope he can learn the difference between pretend things and reality. I hope at some point he will sleep with his light off (even the little lamp we got him is scary.) I hope someday I can sleep through the night on a regular basis. I hope I'm handling this right and not making mistakes that will increase his fear.

There Might Be an Ice Storm.

That's the weather forecast... according to Mark. It's chilly today. Well, Florida chilly, defined as I woke up COLD this morning and the kids wore their jackets (light ones) to school today. The low temperature this morning was 40 which is pretty frigid for here, we get colder, but not often. People would laugh at me, but I'm FREEZING in my capris and short sleeves. I'm about to put socks on. That means it's cold in my world.

ANYWAY, on the way to school as I was listening to my oldest two converse about the weather and how cold it is today Mark says "You know mommy, there might be an ice storm today." I respond incredulously "Really? Where did you hear that?" And he answers "I just knew." So there you have it... the weather according to Mark.

And for the record. It's March!! What is up with 40 degrees in Florida in MARCH?

Mark Needs Mail

Mark is a little letter writer. He loves to write letters. He even more loves to GET letters. He wrote two letters the other day and has been waiting to recieve mail ever since. I don't know what to tell him. I told him maybe he should write more letters to other people. I think he wants me to call and tell them to write him back but I just won't do that.

So, if you want to write Mark a letter he'd LOVE it. I guarantee you'll get a letter back!

How Do They Do It?

Last night after the kids went to bed I sat on the couch and turned on the television to see what was on. Mostly nothing, but I saw a show that sounded like it had potential. It was called "We Have 15 Children" I immediately flipped to that channel. I enjoy watching shows like this and "Jon and Kate Plus 8" and would really watch them more often if Kevin would enjoy them. I think they freak him out. He asked me last night "don't you get enough family chaos during the day? Why do you need to watch it from others." My honest answer is because it makes me feel better. Because as hard as having 4 kids is, having 8 is clearly harder. I can't even imagine 15, 16 17. Heck, I couldn't imagine 5. I couldn't imagine any more than we have and I know our family is complete.

So the shows make me feel better, but in a way they make me feel worse. Worse because those women have their stuff together. They do it all and even seem to enjoy it. I definitely enjoy my kids, but I certainly do not have it all together. How do they do it all? It is intriguing to me. I didn't watch the whole show (Kevin stole the remote control), but forever burned into my brain was this nice British lady dishing out dinner to her family, plates lining the entire cabinet. How does she do it and still stay sane? THAT is my question.

More Easter Pictures

Egg Coloring on Saturday

The ChocolateThe blur in the background is Mark.
Time to hunt the eggs!

Happy Easter

We are having a great Easter Sunday! The Bunny brought baskets, the eggs were hidden & hunted (twice, the boys wanted to hide them for us to find. How fun is THAT?) We've been on a bike ride and eaten entirely too much chocolate (and I had an egg salad sandwich for lunch. YUM!) Thanks to my mom for the beautiful tulip bouquet!! It's been a wonderful day!

I Did It!

So after about a week or two of debating (and whining about)what to do about my hair I finally went and got it cut!! I've never posted a picture of myself on this blog but it was past my shoulders and now, well... here's the result. Since leaving Oklahoma I have never had a good haircut (except when my mom came to visit or we went home) and I was scared... really scared. But the lady did exactly what I asked and it's perfect! LOVE IT!!!

Please forgive the no makeup... eek. Oh, and ignore the messy table behind me.

Why Chocolate?

Why does every major holiday have to center around eating chocolate and in general pigging out? Not that I don't like chocolate. In fact, I like it a little (lot) too much. Right now I have a bag of Hersheys Miniatures in the pantry calling my name (be quiet little candy bars it's 8:00 a.m.) Besides being a diet disaster, it causes other problems. My children (who have inherited my love for chocolate) obsess over it. Every five minutes I get "Mooooommmmmmmmy can I have a candy?" Who can blame them? I tend to obsess over it too when it's around. Zack is without a doubt my most chocolate obsessed child. He is driven to find my hiding place, climb up to the highest heights and devour what he can before mommy figures out what's going on and puts a stop to the madness. So I have rotating hiding places and try to limit it to a few pieces a day. And I try not to let loose and release my inner chocoholic.

I'm trying to eat well, cut the junk and lose weight. I'm doing ok. I'm exercising like crazy but the food is slowing me down. Because I think like this. It starts at Thanksgiving. On Thanksgiving we give thanks and eat. And eat. And then we eat more. That's the purpose right? Then of course Christmas and the month between the two is riddled with treats and parties and FOOD. So I decide after Christmas I'll eat great. No more excuses. But wait... then it's my birthday. I can't diet on my birthday. So, Jan. 6 we get it together lady. No more junk on Jan. 6. Which is fine until February when everyone sends candy for Valentines Day. Which they should. After all, candy is a huge part of Valentine's Day. You can't miss the entire aisle of pink wrapped candy in every store. I'll be good after Valentine's Day. Wait, what's that? Easter's early this year? Well, it's just Easter.. there's going to be candy. I'll eat what I want until Easter and then I'll get on it. But then it's going to be Eric's birthday and there will be cake. I have to eat cake on my first born's birthday, right. Then Mark's birthday, July 4th, Zack's birthday, then Kevin. Then Halloween and then we start the Thanksgiving, Christmas mania again. Almost every month has a diet saboteur lurking. If I could limit it to the DAY of the holiday it wouldn't be so bad but it is so hard to get back on track after the fact that sometimes the holiday bad eating just blurs together into a never ending eatfest. So since the fact that holidays and treats and good food just go together I just have to find a way to resist. A way to cover my ears when the candy bars are calling me. Or have just one like I'm trying to teach my kids to do.

Discipline & Drama

I often wonder who discipline is harder on. Me or my children. I'm tired, I'm frazzled, and I'm in no mood to be firm. However, I want my kids to be good kids. So I do what I say and I be the mean momma. I hate it. I know it's necessary.

Tonight was rough. Kevin was taking Eric and Mark to Home Depot. Mark punched Eric while they were getting shoes on. Apparently because Mark wanted to go by himself with Kevin, leaving Eric behind. Sigh. Somebody shoot me now. Because "we don't hit in our family" is one of our most important rules we told Mark he wasn't going to Home Depot. As you can imagine, he didn't take it well. At all. In starts the "explaining" (read: shrieking) in a high pitched voice "telling" us that it's not fair and he wants to go. So, I pretend to be calm. Sure, cool as cucumber, that's me. "Mark, go get your jammies on. We don't throw fits." (That's another biggie in the house rules. Broken a lot, but it's on the list, nonetheless.) More explaining. The tantrum escalates as Kevin and Eric leave to go to Home Depot leaving me to deal with the drama at home. Ohhhh the drama. As I told Mark (calmly) that he needed to get his jammies on (NOW!) he started flipping out about dessert. We don't generally have dessert but as both sets of Grandparents sent candy for Easter I was going to let them have a piece each before bed. (I try to be nice.) So, since he brought it up, I told him (still calm... my blood pressure was raising, but my voice was calm) that if he didn't get his jammies on he would lose his dessert. GASP... horror of horrors the fit continued. I wasn't surprised. Growing tired of the nonsense and quickly losing my ability to be the calm assertive momma I walked him to bed, watched him get his jammies on and kissed him good night. I wish I could say it ended there but then he started with the "Pleeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaase give me (sob) one (sob) more (sob) chance," making me feel like dirt and contemplate just for a minute if I should just give him a piece of stupid chocolate. Of course, I couldn't and I didn't but I sure thought about it.

FINALLY the kid went to sleep and I'm sitting here in relative quiet eating chocolate. What? I didn't throw any fits today even if I did think about it.

This is What Happens

This is what happens when mommy tries to multitask at breakfast time. It was messy.

WHOA!!

What is happening to me?? I posted that last entry and THEN reread it and I can only hope no one read it before I edited it. I misused one word TWICE and then misspelled another. EEK... I never used to do that! So, instead of fixing it and letting it go, I feel compelled to tell on myself. My brain is failing me. I hope I got all of the typos!

Biting my Fingernails

I'm biting my fingernails because as I was bringing Eric home from school I saw the neighborhood association lady drive by. This must mean she's checking for infractions and violators of the code of the HOA. I'm biting my fingernails because this means in the next few days we'll be getting a letter. Our lawn is not bad by a longshot. But there are a few weeds in the flower bed and a few more weeds in the lawn. I *think* our palm trees are "up to code" but not 100% sure on that. I can only sigh. There are lawns in the neighborhood that are completely dead. There are lawns that have more weeds than grass. We have actually fertilized and treated for weeds more than once and I don't know what more to do short of doing so again and KILLING said grass. I knew about the HOA when I moved in so I shouldn't complain. But what I really want to do (but won't) is write my own letter and say.

Dear HOA,

I have 4 children that I have to feed, clothe and run every which way. I have to keep my house in some semblance of order. My husband has a highly stressful job. We have way more things to worry about than weeds. If you are concerned with the property values, perhaps you should concentrate on the house down the road that has literally no living grass in the lawn. Or the one that has a patch of weed flowers that takes up 1/4 of the lawn. What about the one with the palm tree with NO green left on it? We are trying. We play by the rules. LEAVE US ALONE!!!

But I won't write that letter. Instead I will sit here and fret until said letter arrives and then I will rush out and pull every weed from the flower garden and I guess out of the lawn too because I'm afraid to put any more chemicals on it. This effort will be meaningless however, because they will be back before the HOA checks again. Then the cycle continues.

Alligator

The boys were playing outside and I had the door open so I could keep an eye and ear on what was going on. Suddenly an ear splitting scream came out of Zack so I ran to see what was wrong (and half expecting blood from the nature of the scream.) I asked what was wrong and he said "Momma alligator gettin' me." I looked around and out at the pond (because you actually COULD see an alligator around here) and saw nothing until my eye went back to Zack and onto the slide he was on. I saw one of the lizards that you can't avoid in FL especially this time of year. I don't blame him for screaming. They freak me out too. But, they are harmless (or so I assume) and a far cry from an alligator.

A Dream Crushed

My dreams of the idyllic family bike ride where everyone has fun, no one whines, gets frustrated and where the babies (must stop calling Zack a baby) Zack and Ben ride blissfully in the trailer pulled by mommy are crushed. They came to an abrupt halt last night when the six of us went out for a ride. We started out great. I got a little cranky with Eric who kept stopping right in front of me. I was afraid I wasn't going to be able to stop in time and hurt him. But we got to the point where we usually turn around and I realized Ben was sleeping. Beautiful! I couldn't ask for a better scenario. Kevin let me get in front and he said he'd deal with the chronic stopper and we pushed forward. That was our mistake. It was a big mistake! I realized this was an error when suddenly Ben started SCREAMING... I stopped and tried to help him but he would not be consoled short of getting the heck OUT of there. Which, obviously wasn't possible. So Kevin gives me the housekeys and told me he'd get the big boys home and I could just go fast and get home. There was only one problem with that solution. The wind was blowing. Hard. I hadn't noticed it so much in the mile ride out, but riding home, with it blowing in my face, it was horrible. I pushed ahead and talked to Ben telling him we would be home very soon. It did nothing for him. He wanted out. Apparently, he wasn't the only one who wanted out because as I was peddling and peeked back to see how angry and distraught Ben looked I saw Zack messing with the velcro to open up the trailer. I didn't worry too much since he was securely buckled in. I turned into our neighborhood. Almost there, and blissfully Ben stopped crying. I looked back to check just as Zack's foot poked out of the trailer. He somehow managed to escape from his seatbelts, and was on his way OUT of there. I stopped my bike, got off, and fought back tears. Somebody SHOOT me now... somebody RESCUE me... something. While I was getting off my bike, Houdini climbed the rest of the way OUT of the trailer and did a little dance of victory. Kevin caught up to me at this point and asked what I was doing. He was having his own fun issues with the big boys (whining, complaining, tired because their dumb parents forgot that they are LITTLE kids and bike rides should be SHORT and not at bedtime.) He offered to trade and I said no thanks and buckled Houdini back into his seat (MUCH to his dismay and not before running circles around the bike until I caught him.) He cried and whined and said "My want to ride WITH YOU!!" I told him no because the only thing I can think of that would have made this ride worse would be if I tried to hold him in my lap while trying to get home. We got home without further incident and promptly put our four dear children to bed.

It was all our fault. We went too late, and for too long. Lesson learned. I'm not giving up on the dream of the family bike ride. We will go again. However, my expectation for the perfectly fun, blissful situation where everything goes right is gone. Next time will be better!!!

Words I Would Like to Never Hear Again

It's boring....

I'm JUST (followed by one or more reasons why they should continue doing what I've told them not to)

That's dumb.

Anything related to poop (why is that SUCH an attractive word to little boys)

No.

I don't WANT to.

The list goes on but that is good for now!

Another thing Zack said...

Zack had my chapstick and was licking it (ewww) so I went to take it away and he said "NO take it away momma. It's MINE now." I think this is the longest sentences he's used and it cracked me up. He's saying "it's mine now" a lot lately... Funny kid!

My Did It!

Since Mark was really upset about not getting to give daddy a goodbye hug and I was really tired of hearing about it I let him call Kevin to say good morning & see you tonight. Mark handed me the phone, I said goodbye and hung up and then Zack was very offended that he didn't get a turn to talk. I told him he could talk to daddy later and put the phone down. About 5 minutes later he comes running to me proud as anything saying "MY did it momma, MY call daddy." And sure enough he had. It was ringing and I quickly hung up and put the phone in my pocket. Kevin called me back and laughed when he heard what happened. I went ahead and did what I should have in the first place and let Zack talk to daddy. Now I have to remember to NEVER leave the cell phone unattended.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Today started well at the late great hour of 7 a.m. That felt great! I told the big boys to get dressed and reminded them to wear green. Mark, who was already disgruntled that he didn't get to give daddy a goodbye hug (he was sleeping when daddy left) informed me, "I don't WANT to wear green. I want to wear PINK." So, it's going to be that kind of day. I told him he could wear whatever he wanted but that it is kind of fun to wear green on St. Patrick's Day "besides, buddy, you don't even have a pink shirt." Eric came down in a long sleeve shirt which I recommended against since it's going to be 80 today. He pretty much insisted that he was going to wear that shirt. I decided that was not a battle I was willing to fight (kind of like the green shirt vs. non existent pink shirt issue.) I know he's going to be hot but maybe next time he'll listen to his mommy. Anyway! Zack and Ben obediently allowed me to put them in their cute little matching green dinosaur shirts.Isn't it nice when they don't have an opinion yet? I didn't wear green because I don't own anything green. Nobody better think about pinching me! Do people really still do that? For what it's worth after the discussion Mr. I Don't Want to Wear Green ended up coming down in a green shirt.

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!

Stinkin' Walkie Talkies

On one of Kevin's trips to Target with the boys (he takes the big boys sometimes on the weekends... I think for recreational purposes more than anything. It's part of our divide and conquer tactic we use often in an effort to preserve our sanity) they found walkie talkies. They wanted them. They were on clearance for $2.48 so they went in the basket. I was thrilled! How fun for them! YAY walkie talkies! Then we put the batteries in and try as we might to get them to use the things properly I hear this "pssshhhhhh pshhhhhh (my attempt to type out static noises) beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep beep beep beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep psshhhhhh pshhh pshhhhhhhh beep beep beep beep beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep." Until I say "STOP pushing the call button. Here's how you use them again." After showing them 5,327 times in the past 24 hours how to use them correctly and not just pound on the call button with that incessant beeping (which I think they like to hear) that makes me want to throw them out the window (the toys, not the boys) that it is a lost cause and perhaps the batteries should "die" really quickly (aka mean mommy removes them to save what sanity she has left.)

It's All in the Spin

One thing I have learned so far as a parent is that sometimes (often) children will not respond to logic or reason. I've also learned that you really shouldn't TELL your kids anything that might change. Sometimes things happen. "Hey kids let's go to the zoo!" and on the way it starts raining. Explaining to the children that it is raining and we can't go to the zoo or we will get wet is usually met with much whining, crying, and sometimes even a fit. Put a little spin on it... find something even MORE fun (even if it might not be) and it can alleviate the problem.


My husband is the king of spin. I tend to forget the trick and try to reason with these little boys too often. Yesterday we decided Mark needed a new bike. He is way too tall for his so off we went to buy one. Then we got to thinking. Eric might need a new one instead since he's getting on the big side for his too. So we did that parent thing we do where we change our minds and change the plan. I was stressed. We had already told Mark that he was getting a NEW bike and he is the most likely to pitch a fit when things change. So I tried to think of a way to break the news to the kid. Luckily, daddy swooped in to my rescue and said "hey Mark, Eric needs a bigger bike too." Mark didn't look too sure. "Wouldn't you just love to have Eric's super fast bike?" At the words super fast he smiled. Then adding just a little more spin... "... and Eric got that bike when he was 4, and YOU are 4 so it's perfect for you to have it now. You will be able to ride super fast!" Repeating the super fast resulted in an excited "YEA!!" from both boys. I just shook my head. I could have presented that situation a thousand different ways and not gotten a remotely positive response. Daddy just knows how to spin it!

We got to the store and it turns out the next size up bike is actually too big for Eric so we were kind of back to square one. We decided just to let them pick since the two bikes were pretty much the same. Mark was insistent that he get Eric's bike instead of the new one. Eric was more than happy to take the shiny new bike. Everyone was happy. Which makes mommy VERY happy!

So I got more shoes...

Cute? I was at Target and even though I told myself I wasn't going to buy cheap shoes THIS time I couldn't resist these... Now usually I am cheap cheap so spending money on frivolous things is hard for me. So when I saw this pair that was *kind of* what I was looking for and given I had already spent more money than I ever have on two other pairs of shoes I decided to just get the cheap ones for this pair. And I like them. Except. Yea, except that after wearing them to the store to run in for milk they rubbed a hole in my heel. You might be able to see it in that picture. So every time I think about putting these shoes on my feet I almost cry because I know I can't wear them because I am not strong stupid vain enough to stick it out through the pain. Anymore. I used to be just that vain. So, feeling like this purchase was a waste I still needed a pair of shoes like this. I went on Zappos.com this morning and found this pair. I almost bought a very similar pair at Kohl's the other day but they weren't QUITE right. These are exactly what I was looking for instead of just kinda sorta almost what I wanted. So I think will like them better and I hope hope hope they don't rub holes in my heels. I'm telling myself that since they are more expensive and all that stuff that they will be great. And the reviews (which I read AFTER I hit the purchase button) say they are comfy! We'll see!

Kindergarten

I love to see what Eric is learning in Kindergarten. I think back and I don't remember learning any of these skills in kindergarten. He is reading, writing and learning about money. It's all very fun to watch! For homework today he is writing a telling sentence, a question and an exclamation. He came up with the sentences, and spelled the words without asking me for help. His sentences were "My momma's shirt is green." "What color is momma's shirt?" and "Oooooooow I scratched my knee!" hehe. There were a few misspellings but he was close (and he's FIVE of course he'll make mistakes.) I am amazed every day by the things he is learning! It is so much fun to watch him gain confidence in his newfound knowledge! YAY for Eric! YAY for kindergarten!

Notice to My Children

My hair is not a handle to climb up, catch yourself to keep from falling, or a toy to yank on just for fun. Furthermore, my hair should never, EVER, EVER go into your mouth for any reason. My hair is attached to my head and it hurts when you do these things (except for in the mouth, that's just gross.) That's all!!

ps. I think it's time to get a haircut!

Update on the Pink Carpet

I just realized I never updated on the pink carpet. Well, that's because it's still pink. I was able to make some good progress and managed to get it to a light pink rather than RED but the fact is it's still noticeably pink. The iron and dawn trick worked pretty well and then when I got bored with that (it's slow) I doused it with OxiClean water (that I boiled, I am trying everything) and then ran the carpet cleaner over it and that really did lighten it up. I'm afraid to do that too much for fear of bleaching the carpet and having a different problem altogether. I do plan to put OxiClean in the carpet cleaner the next few times I shampoo the carpet. Which, let's face it, is going to be soon.

I realized a few days after the Kool Aid powder incident that my mistake was getting the spot wet first. It spread like crazy the first time I shampooed it. I think if I'd have used the mighty Dyson first I would have had better luck (or at least be dealing with a smaller area of pink.)

The thing that aggravates me most about this whole thing is we don't even drink Kool Aid. Ever. That particular packet (well the 2 of them) have been in my pantry for several years. I'm not sure why I even bought them. But it is done, so I will deal with it. Kevin can't see the spot which blows my mind because it stands out like crazy to me. I am chalking that up to his color blindness and (I guess) happy it doesn't bother him as much as it does me. I'm not quitting yet though! I plan on getting the iron back out when Ben naps today to see if I can get some more progress. Maybe someday I will get this to the point of being satisfied with it. I'm afraid that won't happen until the carpet is white which I fear is pretty much impossible at this point.

Bike riding

We went bike (and scooter) riding yesterday. Up until recently I was able to carry Ben in the sling, push Zack on his little trike and keep up with the big boys (mostly) while we rode all around the neighborhood. Um, not so much anymore. They are either getting faster or I'm getting weaker/slower. Ben is a handful in the sling now and he likes to kick me in the back in the baby backpack we have for hiking. Both of which make pushing Zack difficult. Also making the push trike difficult is the fact that Zack turns the handles so I'm forever correcting and trying to keep him out of the grass. So I didn't feel like fighting with this yesterday, but we still needed some outside time. SO I let them ride on the sidewalk, around the cul de sac, then across the street (eek... don't worry I was watching like a hawk and they had to stop, look for cars, and then cross.) It was fun! I still want to be able to take them further distances so I ordered a bike and a trailer (for the babies to ride in) so I can keep up with the big ones and get a little exercise in myself. In case you are wondering what in the world Mark is wearing, that is his "super cape" and he insisted he wear it bike riding. Eric chose to ride his scooter this time, and then he got irritated that Mark was faster on the bike so he switched back and forth.

Ben found it deliriously funny to push Zack on his little trike (Zack found it funny too.) I really should have videoed this...they were both giggling like crazy. It was cute. Try as I might Zack will not push the pedals on the trike if I'm not pushing him. He pushes while I'm pushing. If I stop so does he. I hope he will settle for riding in the trailer when I get the bike. He's pretty anti riding in the stroller these days and will say "noooooooo, my ride me BIKE!!"

Sleep Deprivation

I don't know what has gotten into these boys of mine. Is it daylight savings time? Or just a weird fluke of waking up in the middle of the night thinking it's time to eat, drink and play? I don't know but I do know that after two nights of it I am finished. I have reached a point in motherhood that I expect to get a decent night sleep except for those times that someone is sick. When they are tiny I expect to get no sleep and just deal with it, but now? The baby is one, HE sleeps through the night as long as no one does something crazy like climb into the crib with him and wake him up (ahem, Zack) or wake up screaming their head off thus waking up everyone in the house (this is also Zack.)

So at 4 am I wake up finding myself sandwiched between Mark and Zack. I have no memory of them getting there but now Mark is talking. And talking. And talking. I tell him he can sleep in my bed ONLY if he stops talking and goes to SLEEP. And then the baby cries. It's 4:30 and I get up to help him. But wait, no sooner do I get to the living room and the crying stops. Good! That saved me a trip upstairs. Mark kept talking and I told him to go to his own bed. I'm not the nicest momma in the middle of the night. I think I slept for about 30 minutes when I realized Zack was up and in the kitchen crying. Um, great. I get up and go see what the problem is. The problem is he wants milk. It's 5:00 a.m. and I have no intention of getting milk or anything else at this hour. I tell him as much and am met with the screaming wrath of a 2 year old which I ignore and say "Zack, we are going back to bed. Do you want to go up to your bed, or lay down with mom and dad." He instantly calmed down (wow!) and led the way to my room. I don't know what made me think he'd go back to sleep. Instead he pulled my ears, my hair, my nose until I was ready to scream. I removed his hands from my face and held them in mine and fell asleep. At 5:30 I hear Mark's voice "Mooooooooommmmmmmmmy, Zack has the peanut butter out." UGH... I went and got the peanut butter away and repeated the above scenario and tried to go back to sleep. At one point Zack said "My be right back" and left to go play. I could hear him playing with a noisy toy. I couldn't go back to sleep but I did lay there for awhile figuring we were safe as long as I could still hear the toy. Not too long later Ben was up for the day and it was time to get ready for school. I am so tired I just want a nap but that's out of the question soooo instead here I sit wondering when (please don't tell me after the kids leave home) I am going to get a good night sleep again. Tonight would work for me!

Why am I the second boy?

When Mark is in the car he is talking. Constantly. The conversations are always interesting and always keep me thinking about how to answer his next question. Yesterday after we dropped Eric off at school he went back to one of the usual topics. "I wish I went to kindergarten. It's not fair. I want to be five and go to kindergarten." To which I give my standard answer, "Mark, you get to go to PreK. All your friends are there and NEXT year you get to go to kindergarten." Sometimes this is enough to ease his feelings of the cruelty of the fact that he was born second. Not this day. "But WHY am I four and Eric's five. It's not fair! I want to be your FIRST boy." I explained that I couldn't help when he was born. "BUT WHY?" There it is... the why! "Because when Eric was in my tummy he was just Eric, and when you were in my tummy you were just you. Mommy didn't get to decide, I was just glad I got to have you!" And then the conversation took another turn. "But mommy, Jack and Aidan are both the same age!" (I guess he was thinking of you guys Shanna). "Because they are twins Mark." "BUT HOW?" It really never gets better with the questions. "Because sometimes 2 babies grow in a mommy's tummy instead of just one." And then taking me totally by surprise, my silly guy says "So she got even fatter than you did!" Wow! I guess he remembers me being pregnant. Then before I can wonder if he'll realize he never saw Jack and Aidan's mommy "get fat" he says "but mommy, why didn't we see her when they were in her tummy." I explained to him that Jack and Aidan were adopted and what that means. I think he understood but the conversation ended because we arrived at his school. The conversations we have can be both fun and trying. They can start out about one thing and end about something completely different. We never got back to "why am I the second boy?" although I'm sure we will visit that topic again. I love to see how his little mind works and I still hope I do a good job explaining things and answering his questions.

Step Class

Last Monday I started a step class at the gym. Of all the ways for me to embarrass myself this is high on the list. Coordination is not my thing. It is fun though and my theory is if I keep going maybe I'll do a little better at keeping up. I hope! If nothing else at least it IS a work out and more fun than doing the elliptical one more day a week.

I really have enjoyed the gym and not just because of the childcare (although that is for sure part of the reason I love it!)

Shoe Shopping

I love shoes! It is bonus time at Kevin's work (yay!) so we each have a certain amount we set to spend on ourselves & be responsible with the bulk of it. So I set out to buy shoes. It really may seem boring but it's so fun for me. Or it should be. It has been so hard to find the perfect pair. I like cute shoes and I'm trying to look a little more stylish these days. As much as I can and still have the practicality I need for my "job". I like a bit of a heel to give me a little boost in the height department, but I do not want the heel to be so high that I twist my ankle and end up in a useless pile on the floor. I love the look of the higher heels and the almost not even there shoes. Again, I would wind up on the floor. I need some cute, stylish, kid chasing shoes. I did buy these (in black) yesterday. I do love them and I think they are fun and still a little bit practical. They are totally flat which is unusual for me, but they were too cute to resist. Today I continued my shoe shopping mission and found a pair (in brown) at Kohl's that I liked. They fit all of my criteria for the brown sandals I wanted. A little heal, fun and strappy, and I think I'll be able to walk in them. So I think my quest for shoes is over for now. 3 hours to find 2 pairs of shoes seems insane to me, but I guess it is a worthwhile cause.

Announcement

At this very moment the laundry is done. It's folded, in hampers and ready for little boys to put away tomorrow. All of it. I washed dried and folded six loads today (I was behind) and until I go get ready for bed (right after I post this) there will be no clothes in the hamper. I had to announce this because it won't happen again for quite awhile.

My Town

When we bought this house I knew I was moving to a small(ish) town. Immediately outside my neighborhood there is nothing. It's just a field and way more wide open spaces than I'm used to. A lot of people would love it. I sit there and dream of what the future holds. I have to confess I'm not a small town girl and I'm not a live out in the sticks kind of girl. When I exit my neighborhood I feel like I'm out in the middle of nowhere or out in the country. Don't feel too bad for me. I'm really quite over dramatic about it and embarrassed to say Super Target is only 3 miles away. Yet I still complain. In our last neighborhood I could walk to several stores. Not that I did it that often. But I could. Even the stores that we do have (except Target) are older and kind of small. Not bad, just not what I'm used to. There is progress, though! They are building a Publix right at the end of the neighborhood! This is the kind of stuff I get thrilled over. According to rumor, there is a lot planned for our little town so in a year or so I'll be complaining about the traffic instead of the wide open spaces. (It's just human nature, right? To want what you don't have and then when you get it complain about it? Or is it just me? Don't answer that!) I really can't wait to watch the stuff progress and before I know it there will be a grocery store right on the corner! This is fun to me!

Another interesting thing about my town that I discovered while googling "things to do in" my town is it is (are you ready because this is good) it is the nudist capitol of the WORLD. It cracks me up. They aren't on our side of town (obviously, we just have fields) but there are quite a few nudists resorts around. They are discreet but it really cracks me up. You can't google the name of my town without getting some results about Caliente CLothing Optional Resort. I've seen road signs "this street adopted by so and so nudist club, and the kicker... last night as I was driving down the road a local pizza place announced on their sign "Nudists welcome." I guess it is just so different from what I am used to that I can't help be silly and giggle about it. It's not as if you see people walking down the road naked. I just never really thought about such places and certainly didn't expect to find them just a few miles down the road.

Despite the wide open spaces and the nudist resorts I really do love it here. The part of town I live in is up and coming. I get to watch it grow and develop and that excites me! The school Eric goes to is awesome and the people I have me are so very nice! I'll still complain that I have to drive SO far to get anywhere (although I think I'm getting used to it) but I love my house and my neighborhood and I'm really starting to love this town. Just don't expect me to be visiting the nudist resort anytime soon!

Today

Today was a doozy!! Mr. I Haven't Taken a Sick Day Since 2005 woke up sick and decided to stay home. Actually, he decided to work from home which kinda sent me into a tailspin wondering how in the world I would keep it quiet enough for him to get any work done with children home. I figured once the big ones were at school I could distract the little ones enough for him to get some work done.The day didn't start well. Eric and Mark were doing anything but getting ready for school despite my efforts to keep them on task. I also was trying to get online to find a doctor for myself since I'm still sick (let's just say since Monday even though I know it's been longer) and my ears are still clogged. They wouldn't adjust to pressure on the flight home and I still have that feeling like there is cotton jammed in my ears. Lovely. I never accomplished that task and decided I really didn't want to go to the doctor anyway. I was packing lunches and discovered Eric left his lunch bag at school. Again. So I told him he was going to have to buy a lunch today. He said "I hope they have pizza." I said "no" and told him what was on the menu. He wasn't crazy about it but that's the deal. Maybe next time he'll remember his lunch bag. Maybe.I got both Eric and Mark to school and came home. Kevin decided we should go to the mall to look for a new watch. His broke. In case you are wondering, he really is sick. My husband just doesn't know how to take it easy. The mall was fantastic with only two kids both in the stroller and it was so easy! We found a watch (not an easy task - not only is Kevin allergic to stainless steel he is also very, extremely, excruciatingly picky when it comes to watches.) By then I was feeling pretty bad so we headed home and on the way took advantage of the 2 kid situation and had lunch at Chilis! That was great! One kid for each parent!So, that concludes the fun and easy portion of the day. We went to get Mark who the second he saw me stomped over clenching his fist and said through gritted teeth (well what teeth he has left) "I'm going to miss the celebration." I of course had no idea what on earth he might be talking about as it was time to go home. I told him to relax and let's talk about it in the car and he stood his ground. Wouldn't budge. I scooped him up to which he smiled and said "thanks mom." On the way to the car I got him to clear up this celebration business. He explained, "they said at the end of school we are having a graduation celebration." OK, I get it now. I reassured him that they meant at the end of school for the year, not the end of school today. He gets in the car and bursts into tears, I assume more on missing celebrations, but alas, discover it is over the Auntie Anns cups that are in the car. Yes, we dared to get Zack a pretzel at the mall. Mark hates missing out. I didn't even think about the evidence we were bringing along.Things were fairly calm. I went to go get Eric and discovered to my horror that he didn't like what they were having in the cafeteria for lunch so he ate the leftovers (ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww) out of his lunch bag from yesterday. I explained to him to never EVER do this. Day old turkey and cheese sandwich is just not right. He still doesn't get it even though I've told him repeatedly we don't eat things that have been sitting out. So far no signs of illness though so he may be ok. (Please, I don't need food poisoning).So pretty much things were normal up until this point. With four boys I expect a certain level of craziness and drama on any given day. And then everyone lost their mind. We heard more fussing and screaming and whining and complaining than I remember ever hearing. And it was all of them. At once. It was bad. Usually if Kevin is home the dinner hour goes better but even with us both home it was rough. So after dinner they all got in the tub and we put them to bed...at 6:10. Thankfully none of them tell time yet (or if they can they don't) and we got away with it. So now it is blissfully quiet. Kevin is doing some woodworking in the garage and I am obviously here and it is perfect.

No Means No...

So we were sitting at the table having dinner and I suddenly realize I am arguing with my two year old. I tell him to eat, he says "no" so I proceed to explain WHY I am telling him this (faulty brain of mine doesn't remember what the argument actually was about). Right after it dawns on my the ridiculousness (is that a word?) of this conversation I tell him "Zachary. Do not tell mommy no." He is silent for a moment and then comes up with "No means NO momma." I laughed. I couldn't help it. How funny is it when a two year old comes up with THAT? Well I thought it was funny. And then so did he when he saw he caught me off guard.

I've never uttered the phrase "no means no" to this particular kid but have to Mark who is constantly trying to think of ways to change my mind when I say no. To have it used on me is pretty funny though especially coming out a little one.

Who Needs Decorations?

I have 3 little artists in my home (and one future artist I am confident.) It is no longer enough to make their masterpieces and hang them on the fridge. They MUST be displayed prominently. All over the house. It makes me smile. We are past the days of "mommy can I have tape?" as now they help themselves and it's on the wall before I know what happened. On occasion this self helpfulness has resulted in long piles of bunched up tape and other things irritating to mommy so we have implemented a new rule. You must ask mommy before getting tape. That way mommy can keep an eye on the taping process. So really, who needs to go out and buy pictures and such to decorate the house when I have my own art gallery? I mean what can compete with this?
Sometimes mommy loses her focus and something like this happens. Mark informed me (when I said "whoaaaaa what are you doing?") that the tape was part of the decoration. Who am I to argue with that?

New York City Part Two

After Serendipity we headed back to the hotel and hung out in one of the rooms and I stayed up until 3 am. Yes me, the one that crashes on the couch if I'm up much later than 10, stayed up until 3. I can't even remember the last time I was up at that hour willingly. It was fun! Then I got to sleep in until 8:30. I wanted to sleep later but I just couldn't so I got up. We went and got bagels and tried to make a plan for the day. We ended up just hanging around the hotel for an hour or so waiting for everyone to be ready for checkout. We then stored our bags at the hotel and went off again and walked around a little. Pretty soon it was lunch time and we ate at Juniors to get lunch and cheesecake. I didn't have cheesecake, but the others said it was so creamy and good. Later I was kicking myself because cheesecake is one of those foods you are SUPPOSED to eat in New York. I just wasn't thinking. Mostly everyone else headed for the airport and my friend Brandy and I took a cab to 5th Ave. (Brandy is the best at hailing a cab!) We walked around, went into Tiffany's (whoa!! They have 4 floors of shopping. We only saw one but it was enough. Everything was beautiful but I don't even want to think about how much it costs! Then on to FAO Schwartz which was fun! The boys would love that store! Tons of toys including hugely ginormous stuffed animals such as this one. It was pretty cool!

As we walked we saw St. Patrick's Cathedral and noticed some people wander in. We wanted to see so we followed. I was kind of surprised to see they were having mass. It was beautiful but it was uncomfortable to me that they were having mass. Like I really shouldn't be there standing in the back staring at their beautiful building right then. The back was full though and people were taking pictures. I'm not even Catholic but I found that very disrespectful. Brandy felt the same and we didn't linger. It was a really amazing thing to see! Another cab ride later and we were back at the hotel to get our luggage and off to the airport.

So that's the end (unless you want to hear about the exciting wait in the airport and flight home?? Anyone? ) of my NYC experience. I had a blast and will have to go back someday (in the summer please) to see everything I missed!

My Spy

I've mentioned Zack's pronoun confusion on here at least once. Well in the car the big boys and I often play I Spy. Today Zack got in on the action telling me. "My turn to spy momma" so I told him to go ahead. "My spyyyy some-tin Ben's shoes". Ok, so he doesn't quite get it but it is so fun to see him get in on the action. I'm sure it won't be long before he gets it down. I hope he figures out the use of the word I soon since I'm a mom and I worry about these things, but in the meantime I will just enjoy the cuteness of his mistakes.

New York City Highlights Part One

It really was a great trip! I have to say 2 1/2 days is not enough and we crammed as much into every minute as we could. Friday afternoon was a meet and greet of sorts (not officially it just felt that way) as we waited for everyone to arrive. Then we headed out and walked around the city for awhile. I noticed a NY mommy glare at us as she rushed past us with her stroller as we huddled on the sidewalk (What? We are tourists.) We went to ground zero and I don't even know how to express that in words. It really brought it all back to me. I never saw the twin towers when they stood but the gaping hole in the middle of the city and remembering how that hole got there was difficult for me.

Saturday started with a tour of NBC which was so much fun! The tour guides were fantastic and it was just a good time! We saw the studio for the evening news with Brian Williams, Conan O'Brian and SNL. They were actually working on the SNL set for the night's show. We asked how hard it is to get tickets and he said VERY. Apparently there is a lottery in August where you put your name on a list. They then draw however many names and call you and tell you when you can come. He said if your name gets pulled you better get there because it's probably a once in a lifetime experience. I found that interesting even though I haven't watched SNL in over 10 years.

After the tour we scooted over to Broadway to enter the Rent lottery. Some of the girls wanted to see a show, and for Rent they have a lottery you can enter for a chance at first and second row seats for $20.00. There were 23 of us and we all entered the lottery requesting 2 tickets each. It was pretty exciting that we got the exact number of tickets we needed. It couldn't have been more perfect. While I someday want to see a show on Broadway (yes, I clearly must have another trip to NYC) I was more interested in seeing more of the city. So, those of us not seeing Rent headed via Subway (watch those Subways, they aren't kidding when they say hold on to the rail) to Chinatown and had the best Chinese food ever!!! There is more we did in Chinatown but I think I'll save it for it's own post... It is shocking (ok, probably not... but at the very least it is interesting.) Then after some shopping, we headed over to Little Italy (on foot it was close) and got Cannoli at a little bakery. I had never had Cannoli before but it was so so good. Then we rode the subway back to the hotel to meet up with the other girls. We hung around the hotel for a little while and then at 8 went over to John's Pizzaria for dinner. It was good! Do you get the idea this day was all about food? It was, and it was great! After dinner we went ice skating at Rockefeller Center and that was such a good time! Some had never ice skated before and others had been but not in forever (like me), but we all held our own and even gained some speed toward the end. Sadly, I fell. Only once but no one else did. That's about par for me though since I'm not known for my athletic ability. After skating we went to Serendipity 3 and a lot of girls had the frozen hot chocolate they are known for. By this time the cold had started getting to me and I opted to have peppermint tea instead. It was very nice! Everyone loved the frozen hot chocolates though... I'll have to try it some time but for this time the tea was just what I needed.

Lullaby

Last night Ben had a super tough time going to sleep. He just wouldn't quit crying and after about 10 minutes I couldn't take it and went up to help. The scene I walked into was just too sweet! Eric was singing to Ben, trying to help him stop crying. Eric looked up and said "mommy, it's ok, I'm singing him a lullaby." I told him he could keep singing if he wanted. He went on to sing a sweet little song that I didn't recognize and I asked him where he learned it. He told me he just made it up! What a great big brother! I don't remember the words to the song, only that it sounded so nice and I was very impressed! I am hoping that later today he will remember some of what he sang so I can get it written down somewhere!

First things first...

We are breaking the Tooth Fairy's bank around here. Mark lost two (yes two) more teeth. Mark.. the one that's not quite five. I would be beside myself freaking out, but wait... the first permanent tooth is already breaking through the gumline. It looks huge!! So much wider than the little baby tooth it is replacing. It leaves me wondering where in the world the other two permanent teeth will reside. I don't know. I guess it will all work out in the end. So he's pretty cute with the missing teeth I must say. I'll add a picture in a little while after I unpack the camera. Today Mark asked me "Mommy, if the tooth fairy is so little tiny how does she carry all the teeth and money around. How does she hold the dollars?" I took a deep breath and lied to my child that the tooth fairy is just a little bit magical and that is how she does it all. That's the same line I use for the mystery surrounding Santa and how he gets in our house and all considering we don't have a chimney. Mark is just a little thinker. I hope I can keep up with him.

I'm back!

NYC was incredible!! So much fun!! There is so much I want to write about my trip but I don't have time right now. So, for now I'll just leave it at I'm back and NYC is awesome!!