The Nay-Nee

All of my children have blankets or blankies. They all got their own (all the same kind) when I was pregnant with them. Meredith has green (because she was supposed to be a surprise), Noah blue and Margot pink.  My oldest two have always slept with their blankies, but they never needed them.  It was the paci's they could not live without.  I was expecting the same with Margot, but if Margot has taught me anything it is to always expect the unexpected.

She has never liked her pink blankie.  It still sits unused in our linen closet upstairs.  She has however fell madly in love with one that was given to Meredith from a friend when she was born. I guess it's my own fault since I covered her with Meredith's old one from the day she came home from the hosptial. Mainly because it was smaller and warmer. And since she could speak she has named it Nay-nee, which is a loose translation for blankie. And honey she cannot breathe, eat or most importantly sleep without that nay-nee.

We once left it and our bag of important documents (like plane confirmations, disney tickets and birth certificates for the kids) on a monorail at Disney world. I started freaking out. Not because of all the important papers that were lost, but because I knew that no one in Orlando was going to get a wink of sleep without that nay-nee. Thankfully josh and I climbed on every monorail that passed through our hotel and we located it within a half hour. Thank God for small miracles. The documents were there too.

I came home thinking it would be smart to order a back up Nay-nee.  However our original was 5 years old then and washed frequently.  The textures were so vastly different, I knew immediately that a back-up was never going to work.  It now sits to her pink blankie that I bought for her while she was in utero.

That being said the Nay-nee is now like my 4th child. I don't leave home without it and I never leave it at a friends house without permission or without leaving my 3rd child behind with it.

So you can imagine how tough blankie washing day is. I can't just sneak off and wash it. She will then walk around the house yelling "Nay-nee where are you?" And then cry all day until we " fine it momma fine it."  And you can't take it from her when she is sleeping or switch it out for another impostor blankie.  She will call you out on it within twenty minutes.  I promise.  So I've come to learn that telling her, that her Nay-nee needs a bath and having her help me put it in the washer is the best method to go about washing it. She is actually the one that throws it in. Then we normally check on it several times until it is done and depending on her mood we can then easily or forcefully with lots of tears throw it into the dryer. However I must confess, I've been known to give it to her wet.  Margot is a great fit thrower when she does not get her way.  Re-reading that statement makes me think that I may need to take a look at some discipline issues....hmmmpf.

Back to the point....Today the Nay-nee was filthy and it smelled and I was at home waiting for a delivery and nap time was far off (see how much planning goes into the washing of the damn Nay-nee) so we threw it in begrudgingly together.

We checked on it together about 5 times. Then I couldn't find Margot and walked into the laundry room and found this....

I said..."Giddy how did you get up there?"  And I got her down and she showed me.  It's like she is spiderman!

I was impressed, but I knew I had to nip that behavior in the butt immediately.  so I took her down and told her no-no.  And that it was dangerous and as I was pulling her off she grabbed the lid and tried to force it open.  It didn't work.

When she realized the lid wasn't budging she peered in and in the softest voice said "Nay-nee I wuv ooo!"

The Summer....A letter of apology

Dear Children,

The summer is over and I'm not sure if I should rejoice and celebrate or cry.  It's been a summer.  Our house has been re-listed, which meant loads of cleaning and showing and this momma stressing.  Your Poppa had a really big surgery and had a very rough recovery.  It stressed me, Nanny and Mimi out.  There were ups and downs and all kinds of bumps in the road.  The good news he is home and now driving Mimi crazy while on a road to a full recovery.

So I guess those things were stressful and I admit I was a little stressed, and therefore I let your summer down.  I let you stay up late and then woke you up early for the gym.  I did fun things with you, but stayed on you correcting you like little soldiers the entire time we did the fun things. I never got into the moment.  I was always sort of removed and my mind somewhere else.  I hardly ever enjoyed or seized the moment.  I was tired and lazy.

We had our fair share of days at the pool.  We took 2 vacations, although one as shortened and rainy the entire time.  You had a lot of babysitters and days home.  You didn't seem to mind.  It was probably nice to not have me breathing down your neck yelling to keep the house orderly or stop fighting.

We skipped out on the summer reading program at the library, even though I had the best intentions and signed us all up.  We only made one trip and one event.  I didn't even get the books we checked out back on time and we never checked any out again all summer.  You still read at home though.  Meredith you read to everyone.  You did your workbooks and you painted with watercolors and you cut and glued and used all sorts of pipe cleaners.  But I always fussed about the mess.  We had movie nights, but the popcorn wasn't there.

I bought cup cake mix and lots of icing and sprinkles and declared on the first day that we were baking them on the first day off.  The mix and icing and sprinkles still sit on the pantry shelf.

We did playdates, but not as many as we normally do.  We went to the pool and we did camps, and we stayed busy.  We fit in the children's museum and waterpark, but I always felt overwhelmed.  We went to the movies and jumpy places.  We did chuck-e-cheese and maybe we did Gattitown, I really just can't remember.  We ate out a lot, like all summer and you often asked for home-cooked meals.  You spent a lot of nights with just your dad, while I sat with Mimi at the hospital.  I missed you.

I guess in a nutshell, I'm apologizing.  For being a mom who was missing from the moment this summer.  I promise to always do better.  You guys were 6,4 and 2.  I expected and demanded you act a lot older.  It wasn't fair and this Momma is sorry.

I love you guys and I'm already sad that school is back in, but I promise, come 3 o'clock I'm going to the bestest momma in the world.  And next summer....it's going to freaking ROCK!  Thanksgiving Break, Christmas Break and Spring Break too!

Love,
Momma

It's been a while...

I guess I unintentionally took another summer off.  Blogging has been one of those things that I have not wanted to do.  The thought of even logging into Blogger has scared me.  Seriously.  I've been overwhelmed, between my dad being in the hospital, trying to sell the house, selling the house, un-selling the house and now trying to re-sell the house.  Yeah I guess you get it.  But I want to record as much as my kids life growing up as I can and how I coped and handled it all.  Let's just say I've been swamped. So I'm back and I'm going to do my best, to blog every week day.  Especially since I now, well as of Wednesday, will have 2 in school full time and one that still naps!  FREE time!  I have no clue what I will do with it.  Woohoo!  I'm also going to go and back-blog a little.  Try and at least hit highlights, like birthdays, anniversaries and the vacations.  We shall see!

Friday Fun-day

Today when I picked up Noah from preschool I told him I would take him to McDonald's.  I was thinking the drive-thru which is about all the McDonald's I can handle nowadays.  He was thinking inside in the play place.  Reluctantly I agreed.  When him and Meredith were both in preschool we would meet up with friends all the time (not that he remembers those days now)..... now we never go so this was a real treat.

I ordered them lunch, gathered our food and drinks and headed into the place place.  We were the only people in there besides one other mother and her son who was Noah's age. Within three minutes both of my tikes decided they weren't eating and wanted to play.  Noah and his new best friend (so he told me) helped Margot up into the play area.  I let them, forgetting Meredith was not with us to help guide her and help her down.

Within 5 more minutes , the place filled up.  There were now at least 15 kids int he play area, Margot being the youngest and the rest about Noah's age.  I started getting very nervous about Margot being up there with all the bigger kids, but after hearing her fuss loudly at a few I figured she could hold her own.  Things were going well, until about 20 minutes later when I decided I was ready to leave.

I called their names and Noah came down.

I sent Noah back up where he tried to coerce Margot into coming down with him.  It didn't work.

I then sent Noah back up to make her come down.  It didn't work either.

I then instructed him to go back up and try and get her to sit on or in his lap to come down the slide.  I heard "NO NO NO NO NO!"  It didn't work.

Noah's new best friend's mom tried telling her son, who was a little smaller than Noah, to help her come down. I got real panicky and said "We have it, thanks though."  He tried anyway, much to my dismay and....It didn't work.

I then asked Noah to get her to watch him come back down through the area you crawl up.  She watched and stayed firmly planted at the top.  It didn't work.

Meanwhile there are now like 20 kids in the area running around and screaming like hyeanas.

After about 10 minutes of me calling her name and begging Noah to please help me by helping her down.  I gave up. I just left her there.

Oh I'm only kidding.... I took off my shoes....I waited at the bottom for my turn in the climbing structure....   waited like 2 minutes, there were that many kids....and then I started to climb.  Guess what, it's not made for big people.

As I was climbing up in my white jeans, I heard parents chuckling and kids laughing.  I was also told by a few kids that I was way too big for the play place and that it was not for mommas!  Thanks kiddos, I had no idea.

Oh and let me say this...Upon my embarrassing climb of shame I noticed a few things mommas....that play place is DISGUSTING!  I mean it...AWFUL.  Really AWFUL.  It's dusty and dirty and slimy feeling.

When I got to the top and reached for Margot to bring her back down the climbing area she ran away.  Go figure...right?

Finally I talked her into coming near me and she talked me into going down the red slide.  Both kids and parents were laughing when I emerged from the slide, Margot in tow.

Yes, just another Friday fun-day.  No more play places for this momma for a while.

And that there is Noah's new best friend's momma...who totally thought it was okay for her 3 year old to carry my 21 month old.

Christmas Cheer

Christmas 2012

Thankfully I remembered to grab my camera and take a quick photo of us before we rushed out of the door for mass.  It's normally something I forget to do.  But look how nice we all look, and the kids... in their matching outfits....still relatively clean.  This happens once and a blue moon these days so enjoy it....pictures that is.

The reason we probably took the picture above is because my picture obsessed loving father-in-law was in town.  And had we not taken those photos before mass....no matter how late we were going to be....he would have flipped.  But seriously I'm happy he was here and that he has a very unhealthy habit of taking photographs or I would not have that gem above.

Luckily he managed to grab a few with the kiddos as well.  I think he is physically restraining Margot from moving right here.  No I'm not kidding....anything for the picture.

After Mass, we headed home where we took our turn in hosting the annual Christmas Eve party.  I managed to get one picture of the kiddos with their nice clothes on by the tree before all our company arrived.

Sadly my father-in-law was upstairs changing clothes or doing God knows what,  and I know he was because if he was around for the tree picture taking session, I'd have a lot more than the one above to show you.  In fact, he may have even got a rope out to tie that youngest tike to the tree for the perfect picture.....and there are some of you out there that think I'm kidding.  I'm so not!

After lots of drinks, food, laughter and almost setting my neighbor's yard on fire, we said good-bye to our company and got into our cozy jammies.  We read our yearly "Twas the Night Before Christmas" and then got settled into our beds, with visions of vomit dancing through someone's head.

That's right, as Santa and his elves were finishing up downstairs we heard a weird noise coming from the littlest tike's room.  I debated on whether to actually go into her room to check on her, I immensely feared waking her up and that resulting in her wanting to come down and play with all the new loot Santa had just dropped off.  It has been known to happen with our sweet, stubborn, little caboose.  Once she is up, she is up. But that mother's instinct kicked in and I went up to check on her.  As soon as I opened her bedroom door, the smell knocked me out.  All of the Christmas goodies she had eaten that night made a nasty re-appearance.  So at 2am we  whisked her off into the bathtub and then into a new set of pajamas with a fresh set of sheets on the bed.  Nothing like early morning Christmas laundry.  Then we amazingly were able to tuck her little butt back in bed.

At this point Santa was exhausted and so was his elf.... and the Momma knew it would be a long Christmas day ahead.  The biggest two tikes were up bright and early and were mesmerized when they woke up to this...

 But I made them wait patiently until their baby sister was awake...after about 45 seconds of them complaining about the unfairness of that.  I decided they were right and told Josh to go and wake the little booger up.  I mean I have been woken up by her more than my fair share....what do they say  about payback.  Oh I kid...she did rally though and came down with a smile....well sort of a smile.  

Meredith was thrilled to finally be able to attack her pile.  She went at it in true Meredith fashion. One gift at a time, taking her time and watching to make sure she was going to be the last one left with something wrapped.

I wasn't quite sure how Noah would attack his pile, but he did just that.  He went at it full speed.  He never turned around or showed us what he got.  He simply unwrapped every wrapped item in the pile to quickly see what it was.  We heard.."WOW....COOL....I LOVE IT.....AWESOME...COOL....LOOK!"  Over and over until it was nothing but a pile of unwrapped toys.  It took approximately 35 seconds.

Margot went right after hers as well.   She became increasingly interested in unwrapping gifts this Christmas. In fact a few family members received already opened gifts this year.  I was not wrapping anything twice.  She attacked her few wrapped gifts cautiously and thoroughly.  She ripped tiny piece by tiny piece and didn't stop until the job was complete.   And once it was, she parked her little but in her new house and watched everyone else.

After about a half hour my living room looked like this.  You can see Noah's pile over there of semi wrapped gifts.  The first thing he did was go to the toy room and get some of his old toys to play with his new ones.  Meredith looked at her gifts one by one and decided what she was saving to play with later.  And Margot, well her everything Santa left open and unwrapped she plays with daily, but the ones in the original packaging are still in the original packaging, in her closet.  Mainly because I am the meanest mother ever and have decided that since our house was on the market, we weren't opening unnecessary toys.  They would be easier to move in the original boxes.  It would be like Christmas all over again when we moved.  Now 2 months later, the house still on the market, I guess I should break out those little people.  Seriously, it was only like 3 things...maybe two...Hmmm I wonder where they are.  Poor third child.

And that my friends was our Christmas.  Margot wound up spreading her Christmas Cheer around to everyone, including me.  Phenegran gel and Zofran became my favorite gift that year.  Tis' the season.  We also sent that special cheer home with Poppy Greg.  

**This post was written in February of 2012...the end of February.  I'm backdating it.  I'm trying to get back at it and highlight some of the things I missed.  

Follw me on over....

Hey you, come on over and check out my new blog.....

What's for Dinner!

I'm still going to post on this one too, that one is just a project!

Around here somewhere

When Margot was first born things were hectic.  Doctor appointments, doctor appointments and more doctor appointments.  I felt like I was always running, trying to catch up.....not even dreaming of keeping up.  Almost 10 months later, things are still crazy.  I'm convinced this is it.  Life will not slow down.  There are no more mornings of sleeping in and hanging in our jammies all day.  Now there is school and car pools.  Ballet lessons and appointments.  I'm always running.  ALWAYS.

So more often than not, my house is a wreck.  There is always a load of laundry to be done, dishes to be washed, clothes to be folded and put away, dinner to be cooked and cleaned, toys to be put away, beds to be made, butts to be wiped and tiny hand prints to be wiped away.  I've tried to keep it clean, I've tried to keep it presentable.  I've tried and wished and hoped to channel my inner Type A self, but it just isn't happening.  Hell at this point I'd settle for just being able to find a place to sit on the couch and possibly find my car keys without having to curse repetitively to myself.

Before kids I was the type that did baseboards when company was coming over.  Now I settle for at least straightening up the areas the company will see.  So it utterly shocked me when I had someone coming to the house that I barely knew for the first time and did nothing.  Someone who I barely knew and normally would require having a spotless house to let walk through the door.  However it was a day Josh was on call, my son was miserable from a tonsillectomy and hadn't slept in day, I was working on zero sleep,  and my very last nerve was dangling from a thin string.  I was barely keeping it all together.

In fact I had totally forgotten the appointment and that someone was even supposed to come by.  So when I got a text that day that she was 5 minutes away, I quickly surveyed the house wreckage and deemed the mess impossible to be cleaned in 5 minutes.  I targeted one area of the disaster.  The kitchen.  In four minutes I unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher, I cleaned off the counter tops and table and quickly wiped them down.  I gathered all the toys my two arms could hold and threw them into the toy room.  With a minute to spare I walked into the living room to survey the rest of the house.  I cried.  Why had I picked the kitchen???....................why the HELL did I not do a damn thing about the living room.  Where the hell was my brain????  So with 30 seconds to spare, I gathered up the toys in the living room and foyer and pitched them into the toy room, I grabbed blankets and pajamas that were strewn all over and threw them into the laundry room and then I saw her car pulling up.  There was still a mountain of laundry on the coffee table and loads of unfolded laundry on the couches.  I hauled all of the laundry onto one couch and grabbed the unsightly Cars sleeping bag that was heaped up in the middle of the floor and threw it on top of all the clothes to hide them.  Because that was all I had left in me and surely that shit would work...right?  I mean really would you even notice this.....

Would you think less of me?  Or that I was at least a little off?  Would you think....damn this woman has stooped to an all new low and has lost it?

Exactly!  I can't even see that large unsightly, red sleeping bag....sleeping bag?  What sleeping bag?  I mean as long as I think that, then it works right?  My visitor briefly let her eyes flutter in that direction, but she never mentioned it.  She also spent a total of 20 minutes here and never made it to my "clean" kitchen.  But she never mentioned the mess and for that I love her.

Yes, that is what I have stooped too.  Josh and I are picking up a few more sleeping bags for our next cocktail party.  Especially since the Caboose's new favorite activity is to create a mess like this in under 2 minutes.  Yes, 2 minutes, the approximate amount of time I have to take a shower these days.

Spring Break - Lessons Learned

The sand is not my friend.

My kids love the sand.

The laundry doesn't take a week off too.

School takes up a lot of time.

Preschoolers do not get the term "sleeping in."

Neither do toddlers or babies.

Eating a picnic lunch at the beach is not nearly as fun as it sounds.

Other peoples children are a great source of entertainment for your children, almost like a babysitter.  However you will not feel anymore relaxed that day, then if you had to entertain them all day by yourself.

Being a mom is exhausting.

I never realized as a child that someone actually packed all the stuff we needed, kept drinks cold, fixed dinner, grocery shopped or all the other things that made my spring break vacations a vacation.

The beach is a fabulous place to be.

Call during Spring Break sucks.

The gulf is cold in March.  Very cold. 

Kids do not have an internal thermometer like adults.

I will never again go to the beach without my husband until everyone can carry their own shit, wipe their own ass, and feed themselves.

Kids have no concept on how much work it is for you to take them, they had an ABSOLUTE blast and so did I, once I was upacked.  Thank you so much Leslie!

Going somewhere with the older two is getting much easier.  Going somewhere with just Margot is easy.  Going somewhere with all three is like carting the circus around with you.

You are hard pressed to find a waitress wanting to take the table with 3 adults and 7 kids.

Sipping a strawberry abita in the afternoon with a friend while your children run wild is a spring break must.

I'm convinced if my house was smaller it would be less to clean and would always be neater.  That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

Babies learning to crawl will do it at the beach and crawl off the blanket to load a fistful of sand into their mouth.

After they gag and choke on it and you fish it all out and clean them all up, they will inevitably do it AGAIN and AGAIN.

Babies can nap anywhere.

Josh does a whole lot more than I give him credit for.

Quantity does not equal quality.

Attempting Panera at noon with three kids by yourself is impossible. 

Three kids needing to poop in a public restroom at the same time is going to happen on spring break. 

Drive thrus were made for me. 

Traveling between meals is even better.

Unpacking is not easier than packing you can just take as long as you would like to do it, that is the advantage.

What lessons did you learn this spring break?

A break....spring break to be exact.

Tomorrow I am taking this crew to the beach....minus the husband.  Wish me luck and sanity and an extra pair of hands.  It's gonna be a fun, wild ride.  I can't wait.  The yukon is loaded down and we pull out bright and early.  See you in a few days Josh and internets!

An the universe throws me another curve ball

Today I took the youngest two tikes to see good ole' Dr. H.  Our ENT.  Noah had an appointment for a re-check.  The last time we saw Dr. H it was more of an emergent situation.  Noah was screaming in pain and I called begging for them to fit us in immediately....which they did considering we were under a tornado watch or warning at the time....whichever one it is that they actually see a tornado.  We were the only people there that day....no wonder they fit me in.

Anyway today was our "2 week check-up" to make sure the antibiotics that Dr. H gave Noah worked.  Well since the Universe thinks I am awesome with dealing with sickness, guess what....his ears are still infected.  Yep, Dr. H said Noah will once again need surgery to put tubes back in.  And then he so casually mentioned that while he was under we might as well take his adenoids and tonsils.  I knew that part was coming.  Then he asked where in the world my children got such large adenoids and tonsils?

This is where it all went to hell in a hand basket.  I said..."well I've never had an ear infection, but I do have abnormally large tonsils.  I've had lots of doctors trying to take those suckers out for years, but I wouldn't let them."  Big Mistake.  HUGE.  Dr. H then told me to open wide and say Ahh.  He peeked in with his super cool light and tongue depressor and said "Holy smoke they are huge....we have got to get them out of there." 

He asked if my throat was bothering me now....which it is.  He then asked what kind of medicine I was on....to which I said none.  He then said that they were infected now with lots of puss and stuff on them.  And that whether I liked it or not he was getting those tonsils out of there.  He then proceeded to sit me in his fancy chair and suction the disgusting stuff off my tonsils.....too much information.  That's why I put all the cute pictures. 

So after he was done with me. I asked him to peek into Margot's ears....you know for shits and giggles. She had just gotten the all clear on her ears last week from Dr. B, our pediatrician.  So we held Margot down so Dr. H could take a peek and again he said "Holy smoke has she got fluid in those ears....yep I have to do something about those ears too." 

I told him just last week they were fine, and he disagreed based on the amount of fluid in them and the consistency of it. He asked how long this had been going on and when I told him since November, he was a little blown away that we hadn't made it there with Margot's own appointment by now.

So the next thing I know, Dr. H's sweet nurse is putting all three of us on his surgery schedule.  And while I committed to a date for the two youngest tikes, I would not commit to a date for me.  No three for one special for me.  Come on, we have all heard of the scary tonsil removal in an adult story.  No way am I doing that.  I'll keep my tonsils and my funk with me and that is exactly what I told Dr. H.  He took me very serious to my word because before I could get everyone loaded up and in the car he had called Josh to break the news to him and made him promise to see my tonsillectomy through.

And that my friends is how it goes here.  Never a dull moment.  Never a doctor visit that says...things are going great.  See you next year.  Or even see you in three months, nope it is more of a "see you for surgery in a few weeks", or "we need to get this kidney stone out right away", or "you really need to get that MRI now", or "she will then follow up with a neurosurgeon on Thursday", or "we need to repeat her blood work in a month", or "your blood work came back abnormal for xyz and we need to draw some more". 

Yes, that is what we have been going through here on top of stomach bugs, viruses and ear infections.  And it is no freaking fun.  AT ALL.  Yes, Margot has a diagnosis of Congenital Hypothyroidism.  We have no other diagnosis for her at the this time.  She is growing well and meeting all her age appropriate milestones, but we do have a surgery scheduled now and we also have an MRI on the books for her, with a follow up appointment with a neurosurgeon.  We could use your thoughts and prayers.

Noah has a diagnosis of shitty ears and abnormally large tonsils.  I hear his surgery won't be pretty either.  Although it will be prettier than mine.  I'm guessing my mother of the year award will be in the mail for making him go first and me being too chicken to do it.  So when you are praying for my sweet baby girl, please pray for my baby boy as well.  And hell go ahead and throw a little prayer in that Meredith's tubes stay put or we will be doing a three for one special that day.

And that my friends is a small sampling of what my life has been like for the last 7 months.  Okay let's be honest.  The last 15 months.  Margot has kept us on our toes.  But she is perfectly healthy and perfectly, perfect.  And for that I am so very thankful.

I hope you enjoyed my pictures from my impromptu photo shoot with Margot and Noah.  I am by no means a photographer.  I have the fancy camera, but I just point and shoot and I know that is sad.  But at least I am taking it out again and taking pictures.  My motivation to do that lately has been overshadowed by my exhaustion.  But Margot is growing so fast these days andI know I need to document it.  You can also see how easy it is too take pictures of two children when one is named Noah.  You ought to see the outtakes of trying to photograph three.  Well hell the only way for you to do that is for me to show you, so tomorrow I will.

And one last photo of Margot in deep thought.....I wonder how long she is going to point that thing in my face and yell Margot....Margot....clearly if Noah doesn't need to listen, then neither do I. 

Sick of it...

I am sitting here typing this with my Kleenex box by my side, my nose running, my throat sore, my head aching and my eyes burning and I am longing for the days of summer, when no one is sick. 

Today is my 6th day with this cold.  The cold that came after the most awful stomach virus that has ever hit our family...pre and post tikes.  I am OVER it.  We have had RSV, fevers, the flu symptoms without the presence of the flu, bronchitis with breathing treatments, ear infections, more fevers, constant runny noses, the most awful stomach virus and kidney stones.  Dear Universe.....I have dealt with more than my fair share.....so take your sicknesses and shove it. 

My tikes are driving me crazy.  And I am not myself.  I'm exhausted, I'm irritable, I'm rundown and worn out.  I'm OVER IT!  Completely over it.  I long for the day that hearing my sweet children's voices at a high pitched squeal doesn't remind me of nails being scratched across a chalkboard.   I'm sick of being on edge and wanting to just retreat to my room with the door locked.  This is not me.  I thought about postpartum issues, but I am sure it is more cold and flu season issues.  I just want to feel well and while I am at it.....I am sick of my kids being sick.  Margot's nose has been a faucet that has been turned on since Halloween, and I am not exaggerating.  Poor baby has been so sick she probably has no idea what it is like to feel well and not have a fountain permanently attached to her face.

But despite all these illness that have plagued our family, we have managed to keep it real here. 

We have road monster trucks.

And we have gone bowling...

We got a jump start (thanks to garden club) and planted our spring garden.

 We have soaked up the beautiful weather outside.

We have gone fishing.

No we don't let illnesses keep us down.  I have tried convincing my husband to just blow up the house and build a new one.  I'm convinced that is the only way to get all the germs out.  Then once our house is rebuilt for insulation I'm going to just a cellophane type thing to keep it germ free.  Think that will work?  So Internets what has plagued your house this cold and flu season?

In hiding....

I've sat down to blog in the last couple of months a million times, but each time I got up right after logging in.  Because blogging, like my life, has become overwhelming.  I mean it's not that I don't have much to say, it's that I have too much to say.  Life is changing rapidly  here and while I am now confidently treading the water of being a mom of three.  Every now and then our pediatrician life throws us a huge tidal wave.

Lots has happened....lots of changes....lots of news....lots.  So I figure if I don't just jump back in, there will never be a good time to start blogging again.  It amazes me how much one more child can add to your plate.  Life with two was pretty great and pretty easy.  Not to say moms of two have it so much easier than me.  I think it all has to do with what's on  your plate.  My life with two was easy.  Three tikes has spread me so thin I don't know if I can do it all.  Granted Margot has more doctor appointments than your average bear and Meredith suddenly and unexpectedly made a huge school change.  We went from a small playschool to a preschool at a real school.  Those few things alone have added so much to an already full plate.

I mean between doctor appointments, dental appointments, kidney stones, field trips, Christmas programs, lunch dates with mere, drop off and pick up and meetings for the various organizations I belong to, I don't know how much more I can  handle.  And so it was at that point I had to start cutting things from my to do list.  Blogging was one of the things I put on the back burner, along with baby books, housework, baseboards, and laundry.  But when the whole family wore dirty jeans to a birthday party and Josh wore dirty scrubs to work, I decided the laundry had to be permanently put back on the to do list. 

Blogging did not make it back on the to do list, but I've missed it.  And I'm sure you have missed hearing all about my so called life.

So let's start with a few updates....

Margot

She is 6 quickly approaching 7 months old.....I guess that is tired speak for 6 and a half months old.  She is sitting with minimal assistance, she is cooing like a champ, she is eating like a champ - when she is not sick.  She loves her baby food and thinks puffs are great too.  We have come a long way with my little Margot.  She has been in more specialist office in the last 6 months than the other two tikes put together.  She has a diagnosis of congenital hypothyroidism and we have an appointment with a pediatric neurosurgeon in March.  She is a pro at having blood drawn for lab work and that just breaks a Mommas heart.  She is the worlds best baby.  She sleeps in her baby bed all by herself.  She falls asleep on her own, but will also let her Momma rock her.  She loves toys, keys or anything she can get those little chubby fingers around and when she does it all goes straight to her mouth.  She laughs uncontrollably at her big sister and hides in fear from her brother.  She loves him, she just really loves it when he doesn't torment her.  She loves to nurse, however she prefers to do it at 9pm, midnight, 3am and 6am....because the daytime is way too busy to stop and eat.  If it is time to eat and we just can't for whatever reason she is totally cool with that and will wait  patiently.  She's my shoulder baby....meaning she will fall asleep while I'm holding her by laying her head on my shoulder....that is a first for me and I freaking love it!   Laid back doesn't even begin to describe my smiley, happy baby girl.  If I could be guaranteed 4 more like her I'd beg Josh for 4 more....kidding Josh....kidding....well sort of.  I'd beg for just one more.  Her favorite toy is a pink rattle.  Her favorite snack is puffs I guess or breast milk.  Her favorite food is sweet potatoes.

Noah
Noah is a little over 3 and right smack in the middle.  That is my Noah.  He is in the middle constantly, he is shuffled to all of his big sister's activities and all of his little sister's doctor appointments.  He walks to the beat of his own drum.  He goes with the flow, but makes it known he is going with it because it is his choice.  He does nothing quietly and if he does...you can bet the middle of the oreos are gone.  I feel bad about the him being in the middle.  I strive to make sure he gets as much attention as the first who is always experiencing something new and the baby who needs lots of attention.  Noah is smart.  He gets things.  He can watch something for a minute and he has figured it out and if he doesn't, he will ask.  He has the vocabulary of a 5 year old....I laugh when I think about how I had him evaluated for speech.  He is my only child who never shuts up.....EVER.  He is constantly telling you something, asking you something or talking to himself.  Surprisingly he never runs out of things to say.  He loves the colors green and white.  LOVES them, even though he will say his favorite colors are pink and blue....because that is what his big sister says.  He adores his big sister.  Most of the time, like 98% of it, they are best friends......the other 2% I want to run away screaming.  He loves school and is fiercely independent.  He can drive a power wheel like no body's business.  My neighbor thinks he is a better driver than most of the other cars that drive through my neighborhood.  His listening skills need major improvements and he will tell you that. He will randomly tell you throughout the day that he loves you for no reason.....and it will melt your heart.  He loves to be social and isn't really shy, although he's not super outgoing either.  He's right in the middle, which is a great place to be.  He has the absolute best personality.  He wakes up extremely happy and has everyone around him in stitches all day.  He rarely gets angry, but when he does watch out.  He's a ham bone and so loved.  His favorite toy is a toss up between trains, his fire engines and his big 18 wheeler.  His favorite book is "The little engine that could."  His favorite snack is Oreos.  And he recently decided he hates bananas, but when he gets that you wont' give him any other snack but a banana, he WILL eat it with gusto.  His favorite food is spaghetti and meatballs.

Meredith

Meredith is 4, but soon to be 5.  Most of her little friends are already 5 and that is devastating to her.  She is now in pre-k 4 at the local Catholic school here.  She wears a uniform and goes to school for far too long each day.  It still makes me sad to think about it and I'm sad all week long and can't wait until friday of each week when she is home.  We moved her mid year, which is hard, but she has adjusted way better than I ever thought she would.  Her teacher said she is doing great and making friends.  She can write her full name, she can read various sight words, she can recognize color words and shapes.  She can write her numbers.  She LOVES computer time at school and also LOVES music class.  She doesn't like to color and she will tell you that.  She is not fond of her new school, because it's long and frankly I agree.  Moving her to a new school was one of those decisions as a parent that you don't want to have to come across.  We moved her for big reasons.  Big reasons that kept us up late at night.  We made hard decisions that we knew would not be easy to follow through with, but we did.  Because we knew that, that was ultimately the best thing to do for Meredith at the time and because that is what parents do.  I hope one day she realizes why we made them.  Because right now she still doesn't want to go to  her new school in the mornings....and that is hard.  She loves to play school at home though.  She loves to read and write.  She loves to be the teacher and hold  up flashcards for me and noah ALL DAY LONG.  While I play along with it....let's just say Noah is not a star pupil after about 2 minutes.  She loves to dance.  She can come up with a song and choreograph a dance in no time.  She's got lots of rhythm.  LOTS.  She is a great helper.  She can change a diaper and believe it or not is always willing to help me out with the younger two tikes.  However when it comes to helping herself, she still likes to be the baby at times.  She's shy....painfully shy.  She's just like I was, so I know she will be okay and outgoing one day.  She's not a morning person and she definitely has her mommas mood.  While Noah may be all smiles, Meredith is all attitude...it just depends on the day of the week.  She is still very much a mommas girl and that is okay with me.  Her favorite colors are still pink and blue.  Her favorite singer is Madonna.  Her favorite toy is her barbie dolls right now.  Her favorite book is any book, my child has a serious addiction to reading....she is her mother's daughter.  I will often catch her reading to her brother and sister and her brother will sit intently listening to her.  And no she cannot really read, but she can pick out sight words out of lots of books.  By reading I mean she has most of her books memorized.   Her favorite snack is anything with sugar.  Her favorite food is Chinese or shrimp pasta and dessert.  My baby lives for dessert. 

My kids think I am the world's best cook.  I wanted that written down for proof....in case they ever change their mind.  So there we are...all caught up.  HARDLY.  But I will be back and give more updates.  I PROMISE!

My brain has left me and other things....

I'm still here, my brain I'm not so sure about.  For instance my husband bought me this gorgeous bag from my favorite store....

I know it's gorgeous and I love it, however it fell apart 2 months after owning it.  Well the entire purse didn't fall apart, but the gold clasp did.  And then it looked like a gorgeous purse that had a hole in it, I know, that part sucked.  Mainly because I drooled over this purse for months weighing in on whether or not I should fork out the dough for it.  I asked various friends and night after night looked at it online and in catalogs.  Finally after many nights me going back and forth with Josh as to whether or not I should buy the purse he had heard enough and ordered the damn thing.  That's a man for you.  It arrived when I was in the hospital with Margot a day after she was born.  My good friend brought it up to me so that I could actually hold the bag I had been agonizing over for months....screw the new baby.

And sadly two months later the bag broke.  I almost cried, but I've had lots of other things to cry over the past couple of months, things that put the whole bag breaking in perspective.  So I called the company who sold me the bag and they sent me a prepaid shipping label to return the bag to them so I could receive a refund.  I am toying with the idea of buying the exact same bag again since the company had such great customer service, but first I have to make sure they get the bag.

This is where the whole losing one's brain comes in.  I brought the purse and prepaid label to the local UPS store today to ship back like the store instructed me to.  I had to buy the box, which really ticked me off, but I did.  Then I threw the purse in the box, closed it up, put on the the shipping label and left the store.  I have no idea how or if the company that sold me the purse will ever know that it came back from me because.....I included no paperwork with the purse, not even a sign that said you broke my heart with your cheaply made clasp.  Nothing.  So this major company will get a box with a purse in it, in approximately 4-5 business days and I am sure they will think "stupid people."  Because an hour after I left UPS I was thinking stupid ass....where in the hell is your brain.

I called the store to tell them this today....their response...."oh my!"  My response...."surely this can't be the first time it's happen....I just had a baby....she's still getting up two times a night....my kids are wearing me out....I feel like a chicken running around with my head cut off....I hate that saying too"

As for my brain, I'm betting it's laying on my pillow and probably been laying there since that night that I decided that three kids ages 4 and under was a fabulous idea and talked Josh into giving it a go.  Oh I kid.  I love me some Margot.

But in all honesty I really have lost it.  I mean three kids whose butts constatnly need wiping, whose faces constatnly need cleaning, breakfast/lunch/and dinner need making, there is always a mountaing of laundry, a fire to put out and someone always needs to go potty.  I often wonder back to when it was just Meredith and try to remember what I did with all that *free* time.  Life is busy....very busy.  And some days it is 9pm before I can even just catch a breath.  It's hard to imagine what three kids so close in age are like, unless you have three.  I love it when people without three try to tell you they know where you are coming from.  I politely smile, but inside I'm thinking...."you have no freaking clue!"

I know life will get easier, I know at some point the three of them will be roaring out the door without a second for me.  I'll miss them being babies at that point I am sure, but right now I'm just surviving the day and doing the best I can.  So if you see me driving down 98 with my tailgate open....honk for me to close it and then just laugh with me.

The Chaos

Even taking family photos with tikes is chaotic now!  This is the one and only we have of all of us, except for in the hospital.  Partially because as soon as we got everyone positioned in their matching outfits, the camera broke and partially because cooperation from three tikes is never going to happen simultaneously.  It's the way it works here.

Look at the hospital pictures if you don't believe me...chaos at it's best...that's how I would describe life now, good chaos.  These are our two family photos, I LOVE them.

 

Life really isn't bad, I mean it as chaotic as all get out, and still as crazy as this post, but not bad....it's good old fun chaos.  In fact I decided to change things up a little bit since Margot has come around.  Like my ass never hits the sofa anymore during the day.  And as you can tell from my blogging, it hardly ever hits the computer chair.  I do sit here often  and play bejeweled blitz, my biggest vice.  Mainly because I can do it with one hand while nursing and because Margot loves to watch all the bright colors moving so quickly.  It has nothing to do with my addiction to it at all...it has everything to do with nursing and Margot.

Other things I have started doing is making the bed!  I know, I now have three kids to get out the door on time, 2 lunches to make and I all of a sudden decided I cannot leave the house without the bed made.

I read two books and joined a book club.  I am sleep deprived and exhausted, but yet I stayed up very late several nights in the last two months to finish two books, The Help and The Castaways.  Both books I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend.

I also had someone plants tons of shrubs and bushes in my backyard that I am now have to water daily.  Just a few more living things, depending on me to take care of them.  I suck at gardening and anything green.  I am taking bets on how long these plants will live. 

I stay on top of the laundry or as on top of the laundry I can.  It is a never ending process and I never see the bottom of the basket, however everyone is always wearing clean underwear these days and not turning them inside out.  I've also enlisted the help of my children with this....hurry and run to call the child labor agencies on me.

I accepted the invitation to join the Junior Auxiliary. I think it is a wonderful organization that does wonderful things for the community. I added one more thing to my very full plate.

I once again, like the ladies on Wisteria Lane, am in the garden club. It hasn't helped me one bit in the past with my gardening skills, maybe this will be the year it does, if not I will go to the meetings and eat bon bons, like all the other stay at home moms.

I developed a new method for letting one know their gas tank is empty. I didn't find the light that most car manufacturers install to let one know an effective method at all.

I decided to tackle potty training my two year old.  It's a slow process and I am not doing so well....neither is he.  I'm going to blame it on the diarrhea.  Yeah that sounds good doesn't it.

I've decided the 8lbs of baby weight that won't fall off  looks good....I'm loving it.  My gym won't let me drop off Margot in the child care room until she is 6 months old.  I am currently scouting out places to get her a fake ID.

I have taken up the practice of letting people cook for me and my family and then devouring every last bite.  It went on for at least 5 weeks after Margot's birth.  I am so damn blessed to have such fabulous friends. I'm considering a 4th baby just so that I won't have to cook for 5 weeks again....kidding Joshua!

I now have a wake up time of 4:30am.  I'm not complaining because at least I'm not setting an alarm to wake my baby up like I was having to do.

I have taken up "spending time in doctors waiting rooms" as a hobby, I do it at least once a week, here are two of my favorite people doing it with me. 

I am becoming very well versed in the the condition of congenital hypothyroidism.  It has been many a topic of conversation around here lately.

I dispense medication like I have an RN behind my name instead of an SLP.


I enrolled my tikes at 2 different schools, because I thought waiting in two different car lines all the way across town from one another would be awesome...it's overrated, but they are both loving their schools and teachers, so I am confident I made the right decision for each of them.

I ate lunch with an adult friend with no kids for the first time today in well over 2 months.  Then I had to rush out and pick up kids at 2 different schools, but it was a nice change of pace to only have to worry about feeding two people instead of 4 and having an adult conversation while doing it.  **I realized after publishing this and talking with the friend I had lunch with, that I counted eating with just Margot as eating by myself.  Yes one child feels like being alone, three feels like a damn circus.

I let my kids take responsibility for putting on their own shoes in the morning.  Sometimes we go to school like this.  Yes, we both knew they were different, it's just what he chose to wear.  He is expressing his sense of style and creativity.  I was picking my battles.  Roll with it, I did.

I've become addicted to sister schubert's yeast rolls....they are so not helping my 8lbs.  But I cannot resist buying them in the grocery.  At least I've contained myself to only fixing them every other night!

I let my kids have a lot of say in what they are wearing these days.  Call it lazy, ridiculous, absurd or you can just call it smart parenting like I do.  His sister picked the outfit, he picked the hat, and I picked the lime green crocs to go with it.

I've also let them start fixing their own hair....it helps on days when we got like 30 seconds left to get out the house before I miss the car lines at both the schools.  And if I miss them I would have to get out and walk them in....in my pj's.....that is my motivation people....CAR LINES!

 

So that is an update on me I promise to give one on each of the kids this week too.  And here is one of my butter bean, because she is too cute for words.  She is literally growing right out of her bouncy seat.  I stinkin' love it!  Although she is getting way too big too fast!