So Much for Theories...

So, in my last post I mentioned my theory that after a really bad day, usually a really good day follows. Apparently I've forgotten that any time I say something out loud (or evidently, type it) the absolute opposite will happen.

Basically, my kids have been bodysnatched and replaced with ungrateful, fit throwing, demanding...I could go on, but suffice to say it hasn't been pretty.

I'm all about not creating a false impression here and glossing over the bad stuff or pretending to be a perfect mother. As much as I want to be a perfectly patient saint of a mom the reality is I struggle. Because 4 boys day in day out is just hard. I try not to moan too much about it for a multitude of reasons. Including, but not limited to the fact that if the boys ever read this blog, I don't want them to feel like all I did was gripe and complain about how haaaaard this all is.
Anyway, if I sound scattered, it's because I am. And, oh! If I endupleavingspaces outofmy text it isbecausemyspacebar was removed by mysweeeeeeeet baaaaybeee. I put it back on, but yeah...it's not working as well as it could.

Anyway... last few days. Let's sum it up shall we?

On Tuesday, I went to a meeting in which my kids were among many, and everything went well until one of mine "steamrolled" one of the smaller kids resulting in many tears of said younger kid. In his defense, steamroller is a game we play around here. Mostly with daddy in which everyone is laying down and one guy rolls over the others while singing "steamroller, steamroller, steamroller." So, my kid didn't mean to hurt the other kid, but it was still slightly frustrating. That wasn't the worst thing at the meeting either. If it had been it actually would have been easy, breezy. No big thing. The fact that it happened after one of my more humiliating mothering moments could have made it seem worse than it actually was. THAT oh so embarrassing thing was when the daughter of the mom whose home we were invading meeting in whispered in my ear "Your boy that's wearing the blue shirt isn't wearing pants or underwear." I leapt up in the midst of discussing something important. I ran to find him and his pants. I only accomplished one of those feats. Luckily, I have been keeping Ben pants and undies in the car due to him being accident prone of late. Even if that were the end of this story it would be still kind of funny. However, I never found the other pants. Then, at dinner last night, while the boys and I recounted the story to Kevin, Ben smiled and said, "I pooped in them" and laughed. How do you spell humiliated? I'm pretty sure it looks a lot like p-o-o-p-y- p-a-n-t-s.

That's not all, though. No, there were multiple incidents of poor behavior in public places. Particularly, by children old enough to know better. There was the matter of a certain boy who has taken to yelling at me. Issues cropping up that I thought were long since dealt with. Fighting boys, rowdy boys, screaming boys. Oh.my.

And this, my friends, is why this Momma is ready for school to start. I'm hoping some one on one time will tame the wild Benjamin. I'm hoping some time apart will quell Eric and Mark's compulsion to beat on each other. Most of all, I'm hoping that me missing my kids (and I promise in spite of it all, I will miss them) will restore some sanity and calmness to my mind that is oh so needed.

Today we met the teachers. I couldn't be happier with who we got. Monday can't come fast enough. I just hope that my kids will return to the sweet, lovely boys I know they are by then.

You Know It's A Rough Day...

You know it's a rough day...

...when you cancel your errands after the first one due to children's behavior in favor of sending them to their rooms.

...when you catch "the baby" sneaking into your bedroom with the tub of margarine. (Although, admittedly it might have been a worse day if I had not caught him.)

... when you find underwear with poop in it in the laundry hamper. (Again, could have been worse if I had run it in the washer before I found it. GAG)

... when the bird cage gets knocked over by a rogue soccer ball. (We DON'T play soccer in the house. HELLO!!! - Thankfully, the bird is fine!)

I'm a firm believer that when you have a really rotten day, usually a really good day follows. So, since we got all of that out of our system, today should be fantastic!!

Hair Cut

We (or I should say Kevin) cuts all of the boys hair. It's pretty easy with the clippers and it seems logical and frugal and time saving.

Sometimes, the tools get left out. Last haircut the clippers were still plugged in and Ben got them and I yanked them out of his little hands before any damage was done. THIS time everything was uplugged (and still on the bathroom counter.)

The Damage:

The Fix:

The Lesson:

Always put the clippers up high, out of reach, and out of sight immediately upon finishing hair cuts.

Also, Ben is still cute even when he's bald.

It's Almost Here

My thoughts regarding school ending/summer vacation are along these lines...

(In the mornings) Is school out yet? Why are they still getting homework? How is it that it is so hard to get out the door still? COME ON SUMMER!!!


(5 minutes after they arrive at school).... Ahhh sweet peace! I love school. Man, what am I going to do this summer?

(While trying to get from our morning errands/activities to get Zack fed and to preschool on time) Man I'm ready for summer. All this driving is for the birds! Can't wait to have some UNstructured time.

(Randomly) Summer is going to be a disaster. I must get a schedule together. We need STRUCTURE!

(At pick up time) Grumble grumble. No one else is still in school! Why do we go so late? Let's bring on the summer.


(5 minutes after they are all home) Maybe Florida will adopt year round schooling*...

It seems I change my mind on this topic about 17 times per day, or roughly once every waking hour. Consistency never really was my thing.


*kidding about that... I am totally a fan of the kids getting a break.

Is there a masculine form of the word fashionista?

I just spent way too long finding acceptable clothing for my children to wear. Not because there was anything wrong with their clothes, or that it didn't fit right, but because they were being picky. I suppose I had it coming since often I remark to my friends how lucky I am that the boys just pretty much wear whatever I throw at them. Sigh. One day I will learn to keep my mouth shut. Ok, I probably won't - let's just be honest.

In short, Mark wanted shorts that went to the knees. That's fine, but they couldn't hit the top of his knee, it had to go all the way to the bottom of them. And, even when I found a pair meeting his requirements he tried to tell me they weren't quite right. So, when questioned why he had to have them to that exact part of of his knee he said "because I just like how it looks." Ok.

Zack, wanted anything that wasn't a size 4. The problem with that being that most things size five and up are simply too big for him. Once I finally found a good pair, and attempted to find a matching shirt he spotted THE shirt he wanted to wear. Does it match? No. Is he wearing it? Yes. Do I care? Not so much.

Eric & Ben were fairly simple, but the other two, man oh man that took forever!

Things That Have Made Me Laugh

Ben answers me now when I say "Bennny, where ARE you?" He'll tell me 'side' when he's on the patio, 'stairs' if he's upstairs, and 'potty' if he's in the bathroom wreaking some kind of havoc. When I say "Hey Ben how are you?" He says "good" and the funniest thing recently is out of the blue he said "Go Sharks." Eric and Mark's soccer team is the Sharks. Try as I might to get it out of him at a game, he won't open his mouth, but at home, at dinner "Go Sharks." There are many, many things Ben does right now that do not make me laugh, however the things that come out of his itty tiny mouth. Hilarious!

Zack is quite the comedian. I ask him what letter his name starts with and he says "two." When I suggest that two is a number and his name starts with the letter Z he laughs hysterically as if I'm crazy. He knows the answer, he just thinks it's funny to say the wrong thing. Also, if asked how old he is, he says "big." He just beats to his own little drum. Only don't tell him he's little. Oooooh boy, no, he does not like that! Also, recently he told me he did not like his orange drink (a rare treat around here) that it tasted like wood. Mmmkay then.

Mark is so dramatic it makes me crazy when it's not hysterically funny. The other night I made French Dip sandwiches for dinner. I got the recipe from a friend of mine, and it truly is awesome! As I'm scrambling to get things ready, he says "Mom, can I have some of that famous dip?" I was at a loss. No earthly idea what he was talking about. "You know mom, that really good dip you make." Well, I certainly don't have time to make any DIP. Before I could get any words out he elaborated. "YOU KNOW, the famous dip for the sandwiches?" "Ohhhh, sure you can have some. With dinner..." Along the famous and cooking lines, the boy is destined to be a chef or something. Sunday night the boys wanted dessert and I had not planned on making it. Kevin suggested that our very big boys make muffins from the Jiffy mixes we have. They read all of the instructions and did all of it with no help, except for cracking the egg and putting them in the oven. GO BOYS! Anyway, Mark went on and on about how amazing these muffins were. "Do you think they are even better than the muffins you made us from a recipe mom? " Sure Mark, I just bet they are. (Even though those same muffins were "famous" not a few days before.)

Eric is funny in a quiet way. At soccer he is improving. He'd be even better with out his "poses." His runners pose where he gets all bent over with his arms out like he is at the starting blocks of a track race. The little skip he does as he runs after the ball, and lets not forget the celebratory pose when someone else scores a goal. Fist in the air! Other arm at a 90 degree angle by his side! And give a little leap! His enthusiasm is adorable, the physical drama tickles me! Even if he chooses his words wisely he does come out with some zingers sometimes. One night I was thawing meat for dinner and he asks me "where's the food mom? What's for dinner?" I replied that the meat was defrosting and then I'd cook it. I couldn't help but crack up when he answered "MOM you can't put frosting on MEAT! Ewww!" I still haven't decided if he thought I had lost my mind or if it was a play on words. Either is equally likely with him.

Then there is me. My thing that made me laugh, is as often is the case, strictly due to Mommy Brain. For about a week when I've tried to wash any clothes on HOT or even warm, no hot water would come out. I tried turning OFF the cold water and then NO water came out. I made a note to mention it to Kevin to see if he could work some kind of magic on it. Tonight, I went to transfer a load from the washer to the dryer and noticed the sheets from a pee incident the night before still smelled like pee. Ewwww. What the heck? So I added more detergent and started the cycle again. Later, I walked by and thought, well that was reallllly fast. It's already done. So I glanced at all the knobs and it was on it's "quick rinse" cycle. I'm actually quite horrified that all of our clothes for the past week have been quickly rinsed, rather than running through a proper wash cycle. However, the hot water now works. At least I can laugh about it, right?

More Reasons My Nerves Are Shot

1. Re Potty Training. My child is going to be four in four and a half months and we just keep having issues. I should KNOW how to get through to him. And yet...So, I'm pretending like I haven't potty trained him yet and starting over. Again.

2. Big kids fighting. That's just self explanatory. I have a pretty high tolerance level for chaos (good thing since our family tends to be a teeny bit chaotic!), but an insanely low tolerance for bickering and picking at each other. Can't.stand.it.

3. And this is the biggie. Ben learned a new thing this week. He got into the garage (without me knowing) and the first I knew of it I heard the garage door go up. I ran out there and caught him just before he got to the street. Since he figured out that trick I've been making sure to lock both the door to the garage (which he can unlock but it's difficult and thus sometimes a deterrent), and also lock up the van IN the garage (which annoys me to no end for some reason.) On Wednesday I slipped and forgot to do this. I went to the bathroom and came back and didn't see Ben. I decided to peek out in the garage just in case and the door was wide open, and no baby. I freaked out and started screaming his name. I'm sure I looked like a nut, but fortunately I don't think anyone saw me. I ran a few houses down looking for him, then turned to home to figure out what to do. I shouted his name one more time, nearing panic, ready to call 911 for help and start knocking on neighbor's doors to help me look. And there he was. Standing at the entrance to the garage, looking at me like I had lost my mind. Little does he know how close he is to being correct. I haven't forgotten to lock that damn door since.

Your Favorite Contest Winner

Thank you to everyone for telling me your favorite blogs! I've really enjoyed looking at them & have a few more to go take a peek at.

This would have been up earlier except that I am sick and did nothing last night except watch tv, and this morning had to run Mark to the pediatrician because his ear was hurting. Sure enough, he has a bad ear infection.

Anyway, with no further ado... I am happy to announce that the winner of the contest (chosen by random number generator) is The Kundin Family! Congrats!!! Please email me (baileylifewithboys@gmail.com) your address & I'll get your prize out soon! Thanks for playing, and sharing your favorite blog. And I totally agree, no one understands boys better than moms of boys.

Now I must go report Mark absent from school. I forgot to do that with all the running around.

After the Big Day

Many years, after the opening of gifts and general chaos that Christmas morning brings, I am sometimes let down because the kids don't always get excited about the stuff Santa brought and you know, Santa works hard to get Christmas just right. This year I think we, I mean he did very well! This is one of the games the boys got, and we had quite a fun time playing yesterday. Please excuse the piles of laundry that haven't been put away, as well as any other clutter. And my hair, please excuse my hair.

Part of what I love about this game is almost everyone can play. The easy level (colors only) is perfect for Zack, while the harder levels are a bit more fun for the boys... Even though Zack was playing on his own team every time his turn was over he'd run away crying and say "I NEBAH get a turn!!!!" He's a funny guy!

Poor Mark got stuck on my team. Kevin & Eric won almost every round. We did manage one victory towards the end. Before that he was pretty sure the ONLY way he'd EVER win would be to ditch Momma and get on Daddy's team. Whatever little dude!

Before I Forget It

Delivering goodies to the neighbors.

Children run exuberantly to the house!! "Hello," says the neighbor!

Eric: Merry Christmas!
Mark: Yeah! Merry Christmas! We made these treats!!!
Zack: (running in circles) Happy Holidays tooooooooo! (he's the MOST excited.)
Ben: (lifting up his foot) Shooooooeeeee!

So, Ben doesn't quite get what all the fuss is about, but he does want to add to the conversation. And he really, really loves shoes.

School Vacation DayTwo... Much Less Eventful

Yesterday was mostly one of those boring days that I crave. We cleaned up, went to the playground, we baked some goodies and the kids played like crazy. I decided at the last minute that I did want to bake some goodies for our neighbors.

Brownies, Gingersnaps & Biscotti

I really thought the boys would want to help and I was ready to let them, but instead they played, and fought, but mostly just played. It was just too easy.

I still have to wrap every single present. Kevin still has to put together the kitchen we Santa got the kids. I never got the capes for my kids made, although I may still do that today. Either that or I'll finish them in the next little bit and just give them to them.

Busy as it will be I am excited. It's a good kind of busy.

Happy Christmas Eve!!

Countdown

3 days til Christmas... are you ready? I can say that I totally am. Except for wrapping... and planning our Christmas day meal. But other than that READY! I'm super excited.

10 days until New Years Day! How is that even possible? A whole other year gone. It's unbelievable.

13 days until our vacation. A much needed one by everyone too. I'm not even close to ready for this, but boy I am READY. I need the downtime.

Now I'm off to try to stay sane on the first day of the kids break from school. Wish me luck!

On My Shopping List

On my shopping list for today:

Toilet seat locks - it seems Ben has discovered what the toilet is for, however still likes to paddle in it. Ew. I've had other kids that liked to play in the potty, but I could just shut the door. He opens the door, and if I put a gate up he climbs it.

Something to make it so Ben can't turn on the water faucets. He climbs on the toilet and then on the counter and turns on the water. I have nightmares of him flooding the bathroom while I sleep. I only say this because when I woke up this morning with him on the bathroom counter and the water running. Luckily I got there before any messes were made or kids drowned, but I don't think I'll always be so lucky. Anyone know if this kind of child proof device exists? They are just the regular round handles.

Looking into getting the "Mark detector" back out and re-dubbing it the "Ben detector."

Flashback... Mark's always been an early riser. When he and Eric were 2 and 3 and Zack was just a wee little baby Mark used to like to play "camping." Unfortunately this entailed taking the contents of the fridge outside into their little play fort. We finally did get a lock for our sliding door that was way up high so they could not get out, but Mark found more mischief to get into. True to personality, Eric was happy to participate, but also happy to announce "It was Mark's idea." Finally, I decided the root of the problem was when he woke up he never came and got me, so I would wake up when the craziness escalated past an acceptable point. So Kevin made a little alarm for Mark's door. It went off as soon as he left his room, so I could get up and keep both eyes on the boys. I think it's time to revisit this technique.

I'm off to take boys to school and then to the doctor to find out what is wrong with my foot. I don't remember hurting it but it HURTS.

Impromptu Adventures

The only bad thing about our little adventure yesterday is that I didn't bring my camera. I wanted to pick up a new book I've been wanting to read. I tried checking it out at the library but I was # 84 on the list and I'm just not quite that patient. There were 17 copies, at 2 weeks each being checked out and if my calculations are right that would put it in my hands about February. I wanted it NOW.

On the way to the book store every last child of mine fell asleep. So, I just ran in and got it...

I love bookstores. They make me feel so lovely and just in awe. All of those words, all of that paper. I love the library too, but something about crisp, new, fresh pages waiting to be read for the first time is amazing to me.

Now that I sound like a complete wacko I may as well confess that I got a little lost. Kevin was out in the car waiting for me. As I walked out the door still in my book induced stupor it took me a few minutes to realize that I had walked out the wrong door. This brand spanking new two story Barnes & Noble is part of a brand spanking new outdoor mall so there is a front and back entrance to B&N. I got my head back on straight and resisted the urge to further explore the mall and made my way back to the front and found my snooze mobile. The kids were still sleeping and Kevin and I tried to decide what to do. If we tried to go home and transfer kids to beds someone would wake up. They were obviously tired and needing to sleep. On the other hand, while there was a time when we would aimlessly drive with no known destination those days ended around the time gas hit $3.50 a gallon. Even though gas is hovering right around the $2.15 mark, I still can't justify the needless waste of fuel.

So, I had an idea. Let's drive out to this park that I love, but we don't go to often because it's 45 minutes away. The kids started to squirm just about the time we got into the town and suddenly Mark said "Huh, this place is unusual!" Then, the kids started to recognize where we were and remember the awesome playground which they've dubbed "rock forest." They were convinced we had tricked them about running errands and had planned this outing all along. I told them what had really happened, but I think they were pretty solidly believing that their own theory was correct.

For Kevin and I this little excursion was an answer to a dilemma, we decided to go based on logic and reasoning. It was a bonus that it would be fun, of course but there was a problem (kids needed to sleep, we needed to keep moving) and this gave us a solution. To the boys, it was a grand adventure.

The time at the park was great! We walked around, then the kids played. There were some serious tree climbing lessons with the bigger boys and daddy. We sat and watched the butterflies in the butterfly gardern. Despite wishing I had my camera it really was a perfect outing.

Watching my kids have fun gives me the same feeling being in the bookstore does. They are so amazing, even awe inspiring. Watching them run and play with no thought to the worries of the world. Motherhood doesn't get much better than that.

Down With the Mouse

You know, the dreaded mouse. The big one that sings and dances and serves pizza and lures your children in with the promise of fun games! and little tickets! and prizes! I never have minded going there. It can get crazy, yes, and crowded. But it has always been worth it to see the looks of pure joy on the kids faces. That is until today.

Today fell right into the category of the mouse is pure evil and I think we might not go back for a very, very long time.

There were at least 5 groups there: daycares, camps, random kids off the street. It was complete mayhem. We ordered the food & got the tokens and let the kids free with 5 tokens each. I only give 5 at a time so they have to come back every few minutes because I have a hard time having them not in my line of vision. So, things were going pretty well. The food got there, which was eaten by some and not by others and then off they went. I tried to eat but even then kept noticing the horrible behavior by these other children. First of all we were approached by at least 5 other children asking us for tokens. I told them they needed to find their mommy. To which they responded by looking at me like I had 5 heads and saying "We're on a fieldtrip." I guess that should have caused me to say "Oh in THAT case HERE, have our tokens." I didn't and they stomped off. Then Eric ran over to me in tears because some little boy knocked him into a game. I'd like to give the benefit of the doubt that it was an accident, but really, watching these kids, I don't even know.

At one point Zack was hiding under the table. I'm not sure why, but I think maybe it was a bit overwhelming for him. In the end, my friend and I walked around the place with all the kids instead of just the smaller ones because it was scary, and easier to maneuver with a mom around.

There were adults with these kids, but you really couldn't tell because they were never around for the bullying, begging, and various other bad behavior.

I could go on, but I won't because, honestly I don't want to relive it. It was bad. I was shaking by the time we left and I think it was just the stress. And in case you think I am just overreacting, there were plenty of other mom's complaining. I even overheard a worker in the prize section say "I'm afraid for my life."

I will say that if any of my children were ever to behave that way in public I would fall over dead right then and there. Really.

Suffice it to say it could be a really, really long time before we return. And at the very least I will be phoning ahead to see if there are any groups of mass proportions there.

Sports 101

Kevin and I aren't really all that sporty. I've recently discovered my more active side, but I'm pretty sure I would still suck at anything having to do with athletics. I enjoyed going to football games back in the highschool days (was in marching band, so I did go to lots of football games) and if my husband was interested in watching sports I would watch with him. Since he's not, and I'm don't really care enough to pursue watching them on my own. All that to say, now my non athletic self is the mother to 4 boys (yea, yea, you know that!) Four boys who probably don't know enough about sports. Oops. I keep meaning to sign them up for things and by the time I get around to looking it up the deadlines have passed. Because I'm on top of things like that. Anyway, I did manage to sign them up for a summer bowling league. I thought it was a good summer activity what with the million degree temperatures and 1000% humidity. I saw a sign for a soccer league for fall and assuming I haven't missed it, I'll get Eric and Mark in on that.

The thing that got me writing this post, though, was this. I got Zack a Little Tykes basketball goal for his birthday. The boys LOVE that thing. Even Ben likes it when Mark lifts him up to the goal so he can put the ball in the net. And Zack. Well, Zack will make a basket and say "MOMMY I GOT A STRIKE!!" And "HOME RUN!!!" And once he told me "Keep your eye on the ball Mommy!" So, you see, I think we have some work to do here. I told him several times to say he got a goal, or a basket (is that even right?) but still, he persisted in saying he got a STRIKE.

There's some serious sport confusion going on around here. Is there some sort of remedial sports education class for NON sporty moms out there?

Because Everything's an Adventure

It's virtually impossible to go anywhere with four kids without a fiasco of some variety. I've been trying for weeks to get a passport for Eric and Ben for our trip in January. I'm pretty pleased that I'm getting this done early and not waiting until the last minute here. Yet, it seems that some sort of force has been working against me to keep this from happening. I even had an appointment last week to get this done and only had 3 kids with me. Sadly, I had forgotten that the child had to be with you and since Eric was in school they couldn't do his. So, I rescheduled for yesterday.


I misjudged how the traffic would be, and somehow managed to hit every single red light on the way so I was about 5 minutes late. I hate being late. It gets me all anxious and stressed. Even with four kids in tow I usually manage to be on time. It's just one of my things. So, I was already flustered. In my attempt to not be even more late I opted to leave the double stroller in the car and just let Zack walk and carry Ben. Remind me to never do that!

Despite being late, I got right in, which really hacked off the guy behind me who apparently had been waiting awhile. The post office guy explained to him that I had the next appointment and his appointment wasn't for 20 minutes. I felt kinda bad for him that he got their responsibly early and I fly in late and don't have to wait. Ultimately, it worked out well for me, though. The first little bit went okay, I had to fill in a few spots I left blank because I have been left so addle brained from all these kids that I can't fill out a simple form correctly. The kids were standing in a corner of the very small office and that was fine except they were getting increasingly louder and louder and oh my goodness could they be any louder? Yep, they sure can! I shushed them and tried to remain the calm but firm mommy and they kept getting louder. Only now Eric and Mark were on the floor rolling around and at some point it looked like they were trying to play leapfrog. I had enough of the shenanigans and pulled the instigator out of the mix and made him sit on the floor at my feet. Success! It was suddenly calm and quiet... for about 3 seconds. Then there was a crash and an ear splitting scream and my Zack was on the floor with the stool that was in the corner on top of him. It had smashed his poor little finger and he was distraught. I tried to comfort him but the time had come to write checks which meant I had to put him down. Lots of tears later, we were heading out of the post office with my mission accomplished.


I debated whether to take Zack to the doctor, and got some opinions from friends and ultimately decided that I'd wait until Kevin got home and let him make the call. Zack, while being really careful with that finger, was not complaining or whining or really doing anything besides being his happy, bubbly self, so I felt pretty confident that no bones were broken. Kevin did all the movement tests and all that and my boy didn't even flinch. It seems he could move the finger just fine and while it looks horrible, the swelling is down today, and I only feel a teeny bit nervous that I didn't take him in to the doctor. I've told myself if he starts acting like it bothers him that I'll take him in. In the meantime I'll just wonder if I've made the right choice and fret and worry until his finger no longer looks like this.