Merry Christmas!

Yesterday a boatload of food was made and eaten. We had relatives of both my in laws at their house for dinner. The food was scrumptious. The kids had a fantastic time. Krismon has two cousins who are tween and teen that the kids love to pull on and play with, and the boys are very good natured and let them. Nice right?

My father in laws, brother in law's sister and niece came. The niece was amazed by the amount of food and the amount of people to eat it. Now we all made a good dent in the food and everyone went back for seconds and thirds and probably sometimes fourths and then took home good bags of food for today. So you can imagine the amount of food that was made. And it was fabulous. My husband's family really really know how to cook. I contributed beer, wine and soda.....

The kids stayed up super late for them and really did not want to go to sleep but Max had the glazed gamer look going (the young and old boys(adult boys) were playing super mario brothers) mixed with tired eyes.

Maggie was giddy with the two presents she got to open last night. A doll house that we will be bringing home and putting together and a super super cute backpack with her name on it. And she became an octo mom in one evening as well when her Great Aunt Edith brought her daughter's old baby dolls for Maggie.

I look forward to seeing what is in store for them today as they open their presents!

Max is 6!

Yesterday my first creation turned 6. It is still incredible to me that not only do we have one but now we have 3 kids. Max was so excited for the day and for all that he would get to have and do and the people he would see. He was really getting into the birthday spirit. 'It is my birthday today, I should get to eat candy in the morning.' Yeah like that held much water with me...

Maggie and I headed over to Kaye Ann's, my sister in law, house around 11 to bake Max his cakes. We had discussed making a cake for Jesus's birthday but then she decided that she wanted to make Max his cake. We wanted to do it kind of on the sly. She so enjoyed herself, mixing the cakes (at one point, I heard her say 'bate, bate, bate' (mix, mix, mix from a Dora book, of course!) Her ninong Jason (Godfather and uncle) took plenty of pictures. She helped me scoop batter into the cupcake wrappers. While the cakes were baking, Jason and Kaye Ann took pity on me. They let me rest my eyes on their couch and even covered me with a blanket. It was so nice to not be in charge for a little while and leave Maggie in their capable hands. Kaye Ann curled Maggie's hair so that she could become 'Curly Shirlie Maggie'. And they watched part of 'Bolt' and 'Monsters VS Aliens'. Maggie iced a bit of the cake and then left the rest for us. Once we left, they took naps. Maggie wiped them out.

We got home, ate lunch, Maggie napped. Max played his leapster. 5:30 rolled around and we got the party started. We got lots set up so that when everyone arrived between 6 and 6:30 we could make individual pizzas. Again Kaye Ann and Jason rocked by making the dough and bringing. The kids enjoyed making pizzas and eating their creations. And there was general enjoyment of company, kids running, dog running and laughter. We ate, we drank, we ate some more and we ended up chocolate peppermint cake and red velvet cake and cupcakes with neopolitan ice cream. Max got lots of great presents that he stacked up for pictures.

Today he is wearing the pants and darth vader shirt that we got him. I am glad he is happy with his gifts and that he enjoyed himself.

PS Maggie got a present herself while we were at her Aunt and Uncle's. Kaye Ann gave her a heart necklace and earrings. Of course, the earrings will have to wait but she is rocking the necklace!

Will I or Won't I

Stay on the blogging bandwagon... That tis the question. Last year I got derailed when we came here to CA for the holidays. That thought crossed my mind last night right before I went into the sweet oblivion of sleep where I will be headed soon.

Yesterday was such a big day. We were up super duper early. Excitement was the name of that game. The kids were ready. Maggie had her winer mini ballet recital at 9. Max's Christmas show for school was at 10. Do you see the problem? We got good breakfasts in us. I went to walmart to get some last minute things like OJ, our contribution for the after ballet goodies. When I got home from Walmart, Harry needed to go down for a nap. It drew near 9 so we got the others ready and I sent them on their way since Harry wasn't awake. Harry got up around 9:15. Feed, clothe, diaper, Juno in crate, strapped into car and it was almost 9:30. Max needed to get to school at 9:30. Go to ballet school, be bad mom and leave car running with baby inside while I grab Max quickly. We get to the car and to school. I put Harry in the carrier so I can be hands free. We get inside and get Max where he needs to be. I get his violin set up and phew I get to sit down. Max opens the show playing 'silent night'. Maggie and Krismon arrive around 10 after 10 and thankfully we get to see all of Max's performance as 'King Balthazar'. I was sad not to get to see Maggie but thankful that I do get to go each Saturday and watch her perform in class.

After that, we scooted on home and Krismon got the car packed for the most part before he and Max headed out to violin and Harry took another nap. Once they got home, it was finishing packing the car and get the heck out of dodge.

Off we drove into the wild blue yonder, well not really, more brown than anything. Thank got for XM radio! It was so lovely to have radio the whole time to listen to. Very very enjoyable. Harry did better on this drive than on the return trip from Phoenix. I guess it helps that we know what his cries mean better. It was hard to believe that we actually got here before 10 pm. It was a long day and just writing about it makes me tired.

The kids were up again at the crack of dawn but how mad can I be? We are surrounded by family and that makes them and me happy.

Why won't you sleep.....

So we were doing so beautifully there for a month or two. He would be up once a night close to morning. He lulled me into bragging to the doctor about his sleeping at his 4 month appt. I think he was daring me now that I look back. I took the bait....

We went to Phoenix for my birthday and Thanksgiving. I THINK that our sharing a room caused some serious problems. He started waking up sometimes every two hours. It did not help that the other kids would come into the room at very early hours disturbing all of us. Now we are back and it's been a few weeks and my memory fails me whether it got better or not. Harry got RSV which has been hard and maybe he is more aware now. He has been waking up at night and then again in the early morning hours. Last night, it was 3 times. I was hoping for a better night's sleep and I probably jinxed myself again by saying anything to Krismon last night. He, also, hasn't been as easy to get back to sleep. I feel bad knowing that a large part is sickness. It has effected his naps as well. When they don't sleep well at night, they don't nap well, argh.

I think tonight may be an early night for all of us, well at least for me and Harry.

PS Thank goodness for an older brother and sister who decide that they want to reward us by making us breakfast this morning. And they stayed in bed til 6.

Photo Friday

Priceless

I have this snapshot in my mind, well actually moving picture would be more accurate... I wish that I had taken a picture but it would have been disruptive to the process. What process you ask?

Krismon got home around 8:30 last night. We got to enjoy about 45 minutes before Harry stirred. Krismon changed a diaper and we hoped that he would drift back to sleep. No such luck. Harry was diagnosed with RSV yesterday. We gave him a breathing treatment, he was not exactly excited. Krismon bounced, I rocked, he swayed and then bounced again. It was during the swaying that I just had that moment of 'Wow, he is really such an awesome father and husband.' He spent the day in the airport and traveling and here he was cradling his son, singing to him, loving him. It was nice for me to have him take on baby duty as well.

It used to terrify me to have the kids while he was gone. I guess the one thing that helps is having the older kids in school. They have stayed on a pretty good schedule. But at different times, they each stepped up to the plate and helped out.

I guess snapshots is better way to put it. Pictures of kids, hubby and love.

blahhy blahhy blahhy

I am following Heather's post.... I am not sure what to post. I don't feel like I have anything new to say.

Krismon left for New York early this morning. I was up for an hour with Harry last night. Poor guy, awful cold. Maggie crawled into our bed around 4 or so. That was a first for a long time. I pulled the Santa Card this morning.

'If you get out of your bed at night, Santa won't come because he won't know if you are asleep or a wake.'

'That's what my teacher said as well.' (Glad to know her teacher and I are on the same page.) I am hoping it was just the anticipation of Krismon leaving for a few days that motivated her visit.

She didn't fall back asleep til after I fed Harry again at 5:20 right before Krismon left for the airport. Max came into the room at 6:25. He went back out and let me rest until Harry woke up about 5 minutes later.

This morning went pretty well getting everyone taken care of and off to school. I have figured out dinner the next few days. I am hoping we can have fun and enjoy each other and get along while Krismon is gone so that he can have a fun time without worrying about us AND look forward to coming home to us. I know how it must seem some days when he comes home from work and we are all just done in by the day. I can imagine that he would like to turn around and walk right back out. Thank Goodness he doesn't. And he will get back after everyone is in bed so that should make him an exciting present come Friday morning for the kids.

You know the other nice thing. We get home from school and I am thinking Maggie will be excited to have a pb and j since we didn't have the j for her until I went to the store this morning. Nope, she wanted tomato soup and I added in the grilled cheese sandwich. It's nice having children who enjoy fruits and veges.

Papa's Time

It's what every kid wants right? Well mine are lucky. Krismon does a great job of doing one on one with the kids. Yesterday it was running errands with Max and eating out at McDonalds.

Today it was picking Maggie up from school so that Harry could nap. We did not understand that when Maggie grabbed the leftover apple slices from Max's lunch and bagged them that she thought it meant she could stay for lunch at school. Krismon got her and took her for pizza. She was so excited for that time she spent with him. It was great to see the smile on her face when he dropped her off.

To me, it is so important that we spend individual time with the kids so they can realize how each and every one of them is important to us. Thank goodness Harry is super easy on this score...

Well for now at least.

Decorating for Xmas

Yeah so I pulled it out of the garage and into the house. It's in the dining room because isn't that where everything that isn't being used gets stored til it gets used? I feel bad for my poor neglected dining room table that doesn't get the use that it deserves or the hate that the Nevada sun definitely gives it. But that is a whole other tangent.

So yes I want to get stuff out and yes I want to do it with the kids. Am I scared that it is going to be a free for all? Oh heck yes. I feel frazzled and I haven't even taken anything out of a box yet. I know that I am excited to have it all out and to put stuff up with the kids especially since it doesn't excite Krismon. Can you feel my hesitation?

I will let you know how it works out....

Can I brag?

It is just soooo sooo wrong I know and it really doesn't tell the whole picture of my kids and I sometimes question if they are just feeding me a line but here goes... Deep breath... We got the kid's IQs tested. It was the slosson intellegence test. And yes it does say not to label a child based on the results. It didn't give a solid number... Is the build up killing you because it is killing me. Very Smart and Too Damn Smart For Their Own Good. Just kidding.

Maggie is 3.5 and her age came to 5.5 with her IQ somewhere between 135-157.

Max is almost 6 and his age came to almost 8.5 with his IQ somewhere between 125-147.

Like I stated, I know this isn't the whole picture and that they aren't the true genius kids who can read and speak before a year of age. But they are quite intelligent and I guess it was nice to have a test confirm that.

Now I just need to be knocked down a peg or two so I can return to earth. Ah yes nothing helps that like having to wipe a poopy butt.

Harry's Happy Smile and Joshua's Happy Smile

for my dad, their (gr)Ampa. It is kind of just what the doctor ordered. He was recently diagnosed with Parkinsons Dementia. His has been a long tough road full of pitfalls and obstacles. Some he made himself and some that started the path. His doctors have said that it is not genetic but environmental. He hasn't always been the greatest about taking care of himself and this has created a laundry list of issues. I love him to death but it is hard to know that some of his problems could have been prevented. Man the whole getting older thing can really suck you know what I mean?

But to get back to my dad, both boys whenever they would see him would break out these beautiful smiles that just seemed to dazzle him. I think it was seeing such unconditional love from such little ones. And the older kids loved sitting with him at the computer playing solitaire. That was something we would do with him as kids, of course, that was with an actual deck of cards. I am glad to see him have this to do with the kids.

Max fell into it with my father in law this summer so I think he was excited that my dad would do it with him too.

It was a real gift that the kids gave him, smiles and time. And it was nice to see him give back to them with smiles of his own and time.

The best gifts really are free.

First words

So this is really bad.... I can't remember what Max's first word was. I don't know if I am just having a brain fart but it kind of bothers me. I am hoping that I have it written down somewhere that I can reference for later or add in a comment but at the moment I will just have to be sad about it.

Maggie, on the other hand, said 'Bubba'. And then again I have another sad moment missing Bubba who just loved on both Max and Maggie. I am just glad that we made the decision not to wait too long to get another dog. Juno is a great addition, he loves the kids, has his crazy moments and he thoroughly enjoys the fact that Harry gives open mouth kisses....

Anyways not to further digress... It has been going through my mind what Harry's first word will be. I guess this is because Krismon said that Harry said both 'Mama' and 'Papa' the other day. I am not putting much stock into this since I have not heard a peep from him that sounds like either of these words. So what will he say and when? Any guesses...

Cats of the Corn

That's what my neighborhood is like....

I walk outside to get the newspaper and I see those glowing eyes. I look out my front door and they are in my little courtyard and there are a scattering of feathers. I don't even want to go out and see what they have done.

Juno is constantly tormented by them in our back yard and Bubba was before him. We walk the neighborhood and you can smell the foulness of cat urine from two houses that are allowing the cats to camp out in their garages.

I left the garage door open and I walked back to go in and out shoots a cat like a bat out of hell.

I just keep getting visions of cats lining up with opaque eyes just staring staring staring....

Chiropractor, how I like thee..

Let me count the ways.... Made my neck better in my riding days so my hand stopped going numb on the bike. Took care of my sciatica during both Max and Maggie's pregnancies. Took care of my shoulder when Maggie decided to sit on me while doing push ups. And I stupidly kept trying to do them with her there. Yeah I know.... dumb dumb dumb.... And now he took care of my neck, shoulders, hips, mid back and lower back from Harry's pregnancy, summer travels, sickness and a 5 month old 19 lb baby who doesn't sit up yet.

Yesterday's news

ANOTHER TOOTH! Yeah, now hopefully the kid can catch a break and get some rest. He's been happier that is for sure.

It has been a pretty eventful week or so. My parents came to visit two weeks ago yesterday. Max and Maggie had a violin concert. It was Maggie's first concert and Max's first time in the orchestra. It was so great to see the confidence in both kids and the excitement in Maggie's eyes.

My parents stayed until Wednesday when we had them skedaddle on out of here. Max woke up with a 102.6 temp. With my mom still recovering, we figured it would be better for them to take off pretty quickly rather than risk either of them getting sick. Can I just tell you that after 5 days of having all the kids at home with me, I was more than ready for Max and Maggie to go back to school today... Thankfully Max's fever only lasted between 24-48 hours. I feel like I haven't really been on the computer much during all this time. Today has given me a little bit of a breather but I still have things to get done so I guess not as much of a breather as I would have liked.

I am just grateful that the kids are getting better, that I am feeling better and that we have all been sleeping a bit better. I am hoping we can keep up

A TOOTH

Thank you thank you thank you thank you for this blog.... Who wouldn't love being able to record the date that they feel their son's first tooth. Yep I was totally bad with the first two but then I didn't have a blog. Usually it is the other way around right? Usually by the third child, ie me there isn't as much done in the baby book. This time around I really am trying to record those special firsts. And so I am so pleased to announce this moment.

Milestones

We take things for granted the older we get. Snapping the fingers, whistling, those two seem to be huge for some reason. Both Max and Maggie want so much to be able to do those two things. I can't remember when I learned how to do either one. I know that my Dad was always whistling some tune or another. Probably one of my fondest memories is my Dad doing that plus it helped us to know where he was in the house :). Anyway, yesterday Max was trying to whistle something he has been trying to do for at least a year. Hell I wish I had some audio of his 'whistling' it was a crack up. And he taught Maggie his style of whistling. I digress anyways yesterday I thought I started to hear the start of his whistling and today I have confirmation that he can indeed whistle. It may not be loud or strong but the air come out of his mouth is making the right noise.
And he is oh so close to snapping his fingers.

Now that is another story with my dad. Probably my not fondest memory was of him either snapping his fingers at my sisters and I or whistling to tell us that in his mind it was time to leave some store we were in. Now that I think about it, it was a whistle and it was one he only used for this purpose and it used to bug us a lot. And when he did this time, we had finally had enough. My Mom was there and we spoke to her about how inappropriate and rude we found the whistle to be. We aren't animals that you whistle at to come inside or do your bidding. And you know the bad thing.... I find myself wanting to whistle at my own kids to come to me or do whatever I have asked them to do. And then I give my head a shake as if to say, please do not do what you hated most.

Sunday, the longest day of the week

You know it could have been a rough hard day. I was certainly tired and a bit grumpy. I am sure there could be a debate on the use of the word 'bit'. We need to get Harry a white noise machine for his room because he seems to be bothered by the airplanes flying overhead and the fan isn't cutting it besides that will get turned down with the weather change.
So my saga begins Sunday morning dark and early around 12:50, Harry wakes up. I feed him. Krismon is off working. 3:30am, I hear Harry and come out. Krismon is home, working, Max had gotten up with a nightmare and was back in bed. I went back to bed but did not go back to sleep well. Krismon comes to tell me an hour later that Max had been down a few more times in that time and he says he is still working and I need to help. I finally go up around 4:50, hearing Harry. Max is in their bathroom reading. I open the door and this wakes Maggie up. I tell Max to go back to bed. I get Harry, Maggie comes out of the room and sits on the couch as I feed Harry. Internally, I am freaking out because I am afraid that I am going to end up with three awake kids. Maggie thankfully lets me feed Harry and get him back to bed. I go in and talk to the kids and tell them to go back to sleep. I stayed upstairs in the guest room so I could monitor the kids. The last time I went in their room was 5:30am. 6:15 Maggie comes into the room and says she is hungry. And guess who was asleep? Yep, Max. He did not wake up for another hour or so. argh. Krismon didn't finish working until 6:00 so I kept the kids as quiet as I could until around 11:30. Then he got up because Harry was fussing on the carpet while I was getting something in the kitchen. Around 12:45, Krismon gave me a two hour break. It was really awesome. I didn't exactly nap but I rested. Anyway, honestly the day went well despite the early early start. It was kind of a surprise.

I am hungry, I can't breathe, I am hungry, I can't breathe...

Yes that is the dilemma that Harry is going through at the moment, poor kid. He has this desire to eat but then his nose is blowing snot bubbles in his attempt to breathe while a boob is stuck in his face. I bet you are getting a nice mental picture with that one...

I was able to avoid the doctor's office because Maggie's fever went away finally and hasn't been back. I don't want to take the kids in if at all possible. More worried about what they would pick up in the sick room.

So that was written yesterday. It seems that Harry is doing better. His nose is not running so much. And I have noticed that he can in fact turn from his belly to his back when he wants to. This is a new development that I noticed in his crib. I am quite excited to see this next spark of independent movement from him. I am sure soon enough he will be rolling his way around the floor trying to catch up to his sister and brother.

They are really quite good with him too. It is nice to see them love on him so much. I hope it continues and he doesn't end up falling into the category that I did where my sister's never wanted me around because I was toooooooooooo young. I don't think that will happen since the ages separating them isn't all that far apart.

Why oh why

So our house needs to be bombed to get rid of the germies already! Max has a cold, Maggie's nose is running running running. She woke up yet again last night with a fever. (I have a call into the doctor's office.) Harry had a slight fever this morning and had a crappy night's sleep because of a stuffy nose, poor guy. So out comes the lysol, off go the bedsheets so that they can be washed in hopes of stemming the tide of sickness. I know grasping at straws.

I think more than anything that Maggie is going to get sick of me. Max is feeling neglected since Maggie has been sick. Max isn't feeling all that great and has a hard time expressing that. And I definitely wasn't a barrel of laughs this morning when Max got up at 5. I do regret my childish behavior now after the fact, and yes I did apologize to Max. Anyone with more ideas on how to get him to stay in his room in his bed with his eyes closed please send them my way. Otherwise, I will need to resign myself to getting up early and gasp maybe getting us a better routine of exercise like yoga in the morning so that I can have some namaste.

We tried the alarm and that hasn't worked. I think I just need to again get over myself and accept that my kids at this point are just super early risers and that there is not much I can do about it.

Crap, crap, crap part deux

"You made me sick, you gave me germies" Yes that was me, head held low in shame that my Maggie is sick. She yelled for Krismon Wednesday night, I was on the verge of sleep. He brought her down, temp taken 103+. That is when she made her heartbreaking accusation and what could I say other than sorry. We gave her tylenol, thanked my mom in our head that she got a mattress topper that we could put on the floor in our room to make a bed for Maggie. She laid down next to Krismon. She said she was hungry so Krismon made her warm milk.... That came back up with her dinner. He gave her motrin a few hours later. She did not sleep well that night and neither did I. I ended up worrying about Harry, only to feed him around 4 and finding him as cool as a cucumber. Maggie woke up again with 103 fever around 5:30am. She threw up again so since then we kept her on a limited diet of cheerios, toast, homemade chicken noodle soup, and korean kalbi soup. It had been over 24 hours yesterday and she woke up from her nap with her temp again at 103 so even she wanted to go to the doctors office. I called and I think we must have gotten the last appt for 6pm. Max started developing a cold yesterday. That turned into his usual bad cough that he wakes up with. It was all we could do to get him some benedryl to quiet the cough some vicks on his chest and a cough drop to soothe his throat. While this was going on, Harry for whatever reason woke up unhappy with a wet diaper and then needed to be fed and pacified to sleep. It wasn't an idyllic night's sleep, Max in our room on the mini bed. Both older kids got up at 5am, Krismon thankfully got up with them and fed them. And then they fed themselves and then I got up because Harry woke up and then I fed them some more.

I think the hardest part is that I wasn't buying into the whole swine scare until it was my kids getting sick and then all of sudden I was having worst case scenarios going through my mind. I know they can be hard to handle sometimes but I love them to pieces and to see them sick, not feeling well just hurt. We have so many choices that we need to make as parents when it comes to the care of our kids, vaccines, flu shots, not to mention diet and exercise, school, etc. How do we decide what is best? I am just thankful that Maggie woke up with a 100 degree temp instead of a 103 so we are going in the right direction. Both Max and Maggie's noses are running or sneezing and it is clear so that is nice. And we are making sure they wash hands. What more can we do outside of making sure we have lysol handy so we can spray doorknobs and places that kids tend to touch over and over again.

Crap, crap, crap

That's how I feel and have felt the last few days. Argh. It's tough when mom is sick, not only for mom but for everyone else in the family.

This weekend

So Saturday was not my finest day. I am not sure what was wrong with me but I did not feel at all well so it was more of a stay in bed day. It was actually nice because I stumbled upon ET on one of the movie channels. It was great to call the kids into the room to watch it with me. Maggie came right away and Max did not come for another 20 minutes I believe. The kids couldn't even be pulled away when food was offered. I think Krismon felt pretty lonely eating lunch by himself... He very nicely brought the rest of the food in our room and let the kids picnic while watching. And then he even popped corn for us too. Talk about being a great husband and papa! Max had to practically be dragged away to go to his violin lesson. While Maggie and I finished the movie. She had lots of questions about the movie. I wish I could remember them all now. She is still too young to get all emotional like I did. Wow I can't believe that movie still gets to me after all this time and to watch it now is so different. It really holds up well. Plus I think that it really explores topics of otherness but that could be a whole other blogpost or college paper which I am sure has been written.
Sunday thankfully started with me feeling much better. I got around 10 hours of sleep. While the kids came in between 6 and 7, they let me stay in bed until 7. Harry did not get up for the day until 8. Max and I finished Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone Sunday afternoon. He cheered when Gryffindor's won the house cup. It was great to see him enjoy the story and be excited for the next book. It was torture when we first started the book but now that he is also reading a chapter book for school, 'Stuart Little' he has changed his tune. Now I just need to hunt down a copy of the movie since he gets to see that as well.
Here is to the start of the new book tonight!

Glad I didn't bet the doctor

So we ran into the kid's pediatrician on Saturday at REI. Harry's 4 month well check was this morning. I said I thought he was 19 lbs, He looked at him sitting in his carseat in the stroller and said nope, I think he is 18lbs. Well yes he was right.

Here are the stats....

Height 26 90%
Weight 18lbs 10oz 95%
Head Circumference 43.5 75%

And then he had his shots. Poor kid. I mean really poor kid. They just changed how shots could be done here. So now the doctors have to give the shots. When the nurses were giving shots, they were quick and efficient. They tried to get it done fast so the kids wouldn't suffer long. Well as you can imagine, it did not go like that. I am glad I gave him Tylenol before we came. He calmed down fairly quickly. I didn't strap him into his seat before we got outside because I wanted to let him have some time to settle a little. He actually went to sleep in the car on the way home. I am hoping the shots don't affect him like they did last time.

So that's my news for the day.

Joy and Pain

Sunshine and Pain come on come one... Joy and Pain sunshine and pain. You remember this song. It was running through my head yesterday. I thought wow this is a good title for a blogpost considering that is kind of what Motherhood is all about joy and pain.

Maggie and Max were playing outside quite a bit yesterday because the weather is finally changing here. The bonus that Krismon was smoking a turkey breast in his spanking new smoker.

Maggie kept coming into our room, she was a horse once and something else another time. The whole time she kept giggling. It was such a joyful sound to our ears. Then she decided to make a home for a beetle and asked to us to be quiet because the beetle was sleeping. It definitely helped to balance the frustrations of getting Max to do his homework.

It was also so joyful to go out and do stuff with the kids this weekend. Yes, it can be tough but I like going out and finding things that I think we will enjoying doing as a family. Because staying home and doing nothing has its place but then there is the pain involved with bored kids. And we all know what happens when you have bored kids. You end up with bad kids.

Sometimes I think of it like Caesar Milan on the dog whisperer. If you exercise your kids then they are less likely to cause trouble because they are too tired to. lol Now I wish that was true all the time.

Reading Material on the dog crate

Yep that is my couch table. It houses my laptop, the bumbo chair and various baby toys appropriate for Harry as well as a kids dictionary, Harry Potter and Dan Brown's 'The lost symbol'. I have other books that I am trying to read, you know those books that are supposed to help you and your kids get on the same wave length or help them to sleep, stay asleep, go back to sleep, etc. It seems like since College I have had an incredibly tough time reading non fiction books. Maybe because I don't get to open my mouth and talk about the material read and that is what stops me from reading these books. And the best part is that these are books that I think look interesting and I am sure the knowledge would be helpful.
Anyways off that tangent. So I got the new Dan Brown book. I am enjoying it. It reminds of a show that was on tv a year ago or so. It was one of those follow the clues shows with families piecing together clues and traveling throughout the US and even to Paris. It was really a chance to explore our nation's history. I would love to see it happen again. Especially when my kids are older so we could watch it together. And it reminds me of the Nicolas Cage movies National Treasure1 and 2. Needless to say, I am enjoying the book.
Now onto Harry Potter. You know the cool thing about reading it out loud, is that you slow down. You can only read as fast as you can say the words out loud. I feel like I am learning so much more and I am loving that I get to finally share Harry Potter with Max. I look forward to reading it to Maggie as well in the near future (especially since she is the resident story teller.) My only sadness is that Max because of his early mornings falls asleep within a matter of minutes some days. It cuts my reading pleasure short....

Breakfast in Bed Part Deux

Yes... I am hoping that this means that Max has turned some corner and is planning to go back to his sweet ways. Now I do not know what time he got up this morning but he did not come in to our room until 6:15am. Ahhh it was so nice and such a sweet thing to do. The menu you ask...

two bowls of cereal (one for each of us)
2 cups of water
1 apple in a bowl
2 little tupperwares with milk in them for our cereal
1 napkin with forks and spoons
1 tupperware with the rest of our butter pickles

Yep that is right because doesn't everyone want to eat pickles first thing in the morning! lol. It was a pretty nice thing to do and I relish those moments and hope they continue to happen.

Maxwell silver hammer and Maggie story teller extroidinaire

Miss Shehara, I am smart.
Is it smart for you to come up and tell me that?

Miss Shehara, your handwriting is so much better than mine, could you write this for me please?

Miss Tejani, I know how to read, just ask my mom. You go help xyz because he doesn't know how to.

Yes this is my son. The first two things were said to his teacher this year already. The last when he was still in preschool. Too many people have told Max that he is smart and he now believes the hype. I like his teacher because she is pretty tough on him. She lets him know that just because he has a brain doesn't mean it won't rot if he doesn't use it.

I know this will be a slight tangent but I have noticed that people say Max is smart and Maggie is pretty. I really don't like it. It's not like they say them in the same breath but I worry that somehow she is going to think that pretty is more important than brainy. She is so smart and so creative. She tells the best stories, they drive Max crazy which makes them even better. lol. I try and make sure that she understands how smart she is. Heck, the girl loves to keep us in the dark about how much she truly knows. Just like her stories mess with Max, she likes to mess with us.

I look forward to seeing how she does at school and seeing if she will let her teachers in on the secret so we can find out.

An ode to time outs and keeping your cool

My hormones must be in a happy place the last few days for the most part because not only have time outs worked but I have mostly kept my cool. Yes, I did write mostly. I can't be expected to be level headed all the time. We are talking about my high energy children. I went back to using time outs with a timer and putting the kids where I want to put them not necessarily in one spot. I think that I am actually keeping my cool better or something. I am not sure what has changed at the moment but whatever it is, I am grateful for it. And I know the kids will be as well.
I really want to try and get back to being a nice person to all.
For whatever reason, time outs have been working. I, also, went back to the rules and really trying to keep it simple. Be kind and you hit you sit. They go along way. It seems to be working. Yes, mornings are still not that great. Max doesn't get that 5 am is not the time to wake us all up. He says he got lonely the last two mornings so that is why he woke Maggie up. Then poor Maggie starts to have a rough day. Thank goodness for naps.

How do single parents do it

And not go crazy? Yesterday after I had picked Max up from school and dropped Maggie off at dance, we went home. Let me preface by saying that Max, as far as I know, did not drink one drop of liquid the entire time he was at school. I can't say for sure but I do know that he did not drink any water from his bottle.
We get home. He wants a snack, so he grabs a pop tart (I know healthy, right? At least it is organic. lol somehow my justification that it is all right). He drinks some water and complains of a headache, I am figuring it is dehydration so I suggest he drink more water. We go pick Maggie up and he is close to up chucking the goods. This is the worst part, there was teeny weeny baby in there. We didn't stay long and he didn't go near the babe but still...
We get home and he is really hurting, crying and at some point he is on his way to the bathroom when he lets loose. (Now thank goodness, Maggie has a stomach of steel). I get the floor cleaned up and she helps me wipe it afterwards. Max gets to the pot in time to unload some more. We check for fever, none. I have lay down with a cool washcloth on his head and he goes to sleep.
In the meantime, where is Harry, you ask? Yes he is on the floor complaining loudly about how he is on his belly and can't quite figure out how to get to his back. I think Juno was watching him, I know, I know. You are never supposed to leave a baby and dog alone in the room. I do think though that Juno thinks he is his because he is forever trying to bathe Harry with his tongue.
Ah yes now I remember where the edge was and how I tipped Max over. I gave him watered down gatorade. That put him over.
Next I tried to make him some chicken and rice soup, out of can people, no time plus I believe he actually needed some of the salt. While he was sleeping, Maggie and I had franks and beans with texas toast. Yes we were oh so healthy with our dinner. Maggie goes off to watch a little tv. I settle down to nurse the little man, heck I probably should have given Max some of my milk... but oh well don't want him traumatized in later life. Harry conked for a bit so I thought I would put him in the crib. This gave me enough time to get pjs for Maggie. I thought I would try taking Max to his bed. That did not work. He came back down. I tried to give him soup and crackers. Guess what the crackers were bad so it made things worse. The whole time he was not talking just crying crying crying to the point where I was about to cry because I did not know what to do to help him. And of course, by now, Harry is back downstairs because he only catnapped. Max convinces me to get him medicine for the headache. That again was the final straw. This time however I got smart and had a bowl there just in case. This time I settled him back on the couch let him know I was taking Harry up to bed. Got Harry settled. Max was passed out by this time. I took Maggie up and read to her and got her settled. I just left Max until 9pm on the couch and then carried him up. It was rough getting pulled in 3 directions without my partner in crime who had a business dinner.
So to all you single parents my hats off because it was tough trying to care for the needs of all of the kids.

Lazy Sunday kind of...

Last week, Krismon asked if I wanted to go camping Saturday night. Someone at Zappos got the big campsite on Mt. Charleston and we haven't gotten to go camping at all this summer. duh? right. Well unfortunately, at this time of the year, it gets cold at night up on the mtn. He decided to take the older kids and Harry and I would stay home. I thought, ahhh, I will finally get a good night's sleep. Krismon borrowed an rv from a friend of ours as a just in case. In case, I wanted to go with Harry and just snuggle down in there or if they needed to use it that night. They got up there but I guess there were problems. Krismon called me to let me know that I would need to come and drive the kids home. This was not exactly the relaxing morning at home that I was picturing. Oh well I got what I needed mostly. I ate a sub sandwich, got Harry to bed, drank a beer while watching two shows and got to bed super duper early. Harry wouldn't have woken up if Juno hadn't started barking at the darn cats that like to go in our backyard at night and torture all of us. Luckily he went back to sleep until 6. I got to drink a little coffee, eat some breakfast, take a shower before heading up the hill to get the kids. Juno came along for the ride and was he ever happy. The drive went surprisingly quick. Harry slept, thank goodness!
At the campsite, Juno was so happy to wander, hang with the other dogs, generally get some outdoors time. And what is really nice is that he comes back when called!!!! I am not used to having a dog like that. Harry decided that yesterday was the day to unload about 4 days worth of poo in one diaper. It wasn't a pretty sight but I was so excited for him. I can't imagine keeping that much inside but I know that with breastfed babies they can go longer and not have it mean anything. I am just used to my superpoopers. They were both pretty regular, Maggie is very regular. I know tmi but whatever back to the story...
The kids had a great time, there were two other kids there one each their age so they had buds to play with. Poor Krismon though had to deal with Max waking up at 4am. He kept him quiet until 6. Then Maggie woke up as well so he herded them into the rv for another hour before starting breakfast. I missed a great breakfast from what I know. French toast among other things. We stayed a few more hours and then headed home. Max passed out in the car, Harry cried for a good 20 minutes of the drive. Maggie and I sang the ZYX song (abc song backwards) trying to serenade Harry into a better mood. It did end up helping.
Max stayed asleep for a good 4 hours, Maggie and Krismon took a two hour nap. Harry napped most of the afternoon. After everyone woke, I vacuumed the whole house. Not relaxing but I do feel so much better about having cleaner floors.
I am going to stop there before I bore you even more....

Just when you think

Ahhh they go and switch things up. Harry made great strides by learning to turn over to one side from his back to his front. Now, all of a sudden, he wanting to turn over from his back to his front from the other side. He is so frustrated that he ends up crying out as if in pain. I believe it is more mental anguish than anything. But I have this theory that because of these changes that he is trying to make that he is having more difficulty sleeping or he is starting to his new sleep stages and I am just clueless at the moment. Either way, he went from.... sleeping through the night for a few weeks to suddenly up twice a night and the second time he wants to stay up. Now this is just the second day but it does scare me a bit that he isn't going back to sleep like he did before this if he did indeed get up at night to nurse. ARGH 4-5 is not a proper wake up time. But at least I can understand a baby having a difficult time registering that.

Now Max on the other hand, he has been hard hard hard hard to deal with on this issue. Yes, I know that 5 is still a child and a young child at that. But he can read a clock, he knows what the sound of an alarm is but chooses instead to ignore all of that and bother everyone in the family. I am at a huge loss as to what to do to impress on him that it isn't respectful to wake others up nor is it very nice. Yesterday he decided that 4am was as good a time as any to get everyone up. Luckily, Maggie was willing to go back to sleep until 6am. (Side note- she is starting to realize that she doesn't want to be in trouble like Max nor does she want Max to be in trouble either). Need less to say, Max's day at school was less than stellar. He actually screamed in class, thankfully it wasn't the teacher that actually had to deal with that. It was his older classmates. AH I love Montessori where they have a couple of ages in each classroom. The older classmates spoke to Max about his actions and behaviour. And they did it a great job of it. I am big on the village besides having kids tell another kid in a nice way that their behaviour isn't okay is a more teachable moment than having an adult do the same.

But any other suggestions for getting Max to stay in his bed until 6am and not waking his sister up before then please let me know.

Two word Friday

Four AM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Gap Casting Call

I did it. I signed up to get more junk emails to my junk email address because I find my kids to be so uber cute. Yeah I know. I fantasize about their college education being paid for by a few gigs of modeling in which we end up with great photos that we can hang on our wall in beautiful frames. And then get them away before modeling and fame can warp their young and oh so impressionable minds. I know this is just a dream but please don't burst my bubble too soon.

So gooooooo voooteeeee pretty please with sugar on top.

http://family.go.com/gapcastingcall/entries/hidjbo/

Tyng shoes and Lotus of Siam

What do these two things have to do with each other... Nothing.

You know there are milestones that you notice but you could shoot yourself for not remembering the exact date that they did this or that. Honestly, this is one of those. Last week, Max, after having been shown how to tie his shoes, has mastered it. I am not saying that he ties them tightly but he ties them well and even double knots them. It's pretty cool. And it doesn't hurt that they are converse which he wore in a wedding this summer. :) It is one of those rights of passage events. It brings a little more independence in his life and means he is stepping further away from that young young childhood. Heck, now I am about to cry thinking about it.

Okay must move on.... Yesterday was one of those day. Everything was one off. I should have put Harry down for a nap before trying to exercise. At this point, I don't remember if I did and it didn't work or what but he ended up in the swing. By minute 22, he was sending baby daggers with his eyes. I kept saying, please I am almost done. Regardless, I got him down for his nap and he slept for an hour I would say but I think that was the start of my trouble. My parents and their friends were blowing through town on their road trip and we were going to see them and have lunch. Well, I figured I would see them before getting Maggie from school. Through no fault of theirs, they just took longer to get going and get out of their hotel and to our house. So after visiting for a bit and then heading out to get some pizza before they were on the road again, we got back home at 2pm. This is too late for Maggie to get a nap, Harry was having a bad car day. Okay at this point, can you tell my nerves were getting shot?... So I drive to pick up Max at 3pm and there is no spot to park. They changed their sign in, sign out policy. You are supposed to sign in and out with the teacher in their room. For whatever reason, this has created havoc. Honestly, I wish they would go back to the old way with binders at the front. Okay so we get home. I have to let Max know that he wasn't going to see his grandparents. And really, he took that well surprisingly. He was happy to get a piece of the pizza for snack and to know that he would get to see Allison that evening. She has been the greatest babysitter. Allison comes at 6:30. Krismon doesn't get home til almost 7. Harry was having difficulty going down for the night, Thank GOD Krismon took over getting Harry down. And then we were off....

AHHHHH Lotus of Siam... This is truly one of the best restaurants in the country. I sat there for a bit with our friends Nick and Mike and over the course of dinner felt my shoulders drop little by little. Just getting to talk and laugh was really nice. The wonderful aspect of this restaurant is that you don't need to look at the menu. In fact don't look at the menu. When they ask to take your order, you just say whatever the chef is doing special for the night. And if you have the money for it... get the lobster! They were out, actually I think there was a table that ordered the last one so that we missed out. It was sad moment, we mourned for a minute and then moved on. They brought out a wonderful Sea Bass soup as well as a beef salad and some sort of other appetizer. They were good and then some curry shrimp, yummy duck, more sea bass and another beef dish. Yummy and a nice Riesling to cut the heat. When we left, I noticed how much better I felt for the time away from the house and kids. It was nice to get away so necessary for me yesterday.

So if you don't live here but plan to visit anytime in the near future and you like Thai food... you need to go there but be warned that you must must must make a reservation. And the best part of the adventure, it is in a semi sketchy area so you will be thinking huh how could it be here and then once you eat the food, you won't care.

Breakfast in Bed

Yes that is right. Max has been wanting to make us breakfast in bed. Yesterday he was talking about it, but I didn't think about it too much. Can you imagine my surprise? Maggie came into the room at about 5:50 and I told her she needed to wait until 6 for me to feed her. She came in and out of the room a few times.
Needless to say now that Harry is turning over, he got upset three times last night having turned over. The first time around 11:30pm. Then sometime after midnight, I had Krismon go up and just turn him over. And then around 4:20am, again he woke up. I went up so he could have the special sauce as well.
I did have the thought that murphys law would strike and the kids would get up extra early but they were gracious to an extent. Max did wake Maggie up but luckily it wasn't too early. And then he did make up for it by making us our breakfast in bed. It was pretty wow. And smart. He got an oven tray, spread pb on two pieces of bread and added raisins. That is his secret recipe! lol And then he got two little bowls with cereal, two small spoons and added two cups of milk that we could either drink or pour into our bowls. I intercepted the two on their way into our room. I got the tray on the table and each received a hug and thank you. It really was such a nice surprise. Especially since they sometimes have a difficult time realizing that the rest of the world is not awake and it might be nice to put a filter on their general enthusiasm. They were quiet in their mission and they made it happen using teamwork. It really was a nice way to start the morning.

19lbs!

Harry is not even 4 months old. In fact, he will not be 4 months old until Oct. 3rd. Krismon did the weight test yesterday. It's incredible how much he has grown since he was born. The other two didn't approach those numbers for a while. It's great. We already had to push his exersaucer up one because his feet were flat. He is rolling over and holding his head up more.

Maggie is as tall as a 4 yo that we met at a birthday party on Saturday. She is getting used to preschool and slowly making friends. She loves dance. It's fun to see her so excited in her dance class.

Max is liking elementary after the initial week. He gets to garden and and look at bugs under a microscope. And he is happy that Maggie is finally going to his school.

That's the update.

My newest plan

So the kids are still not waking up at 6am. Are you wondering if that means they are waking up later? Nope, I would really love for them to actually stay asleep until that time. Maggie was really a good sleeper until we put her in the room with Max. We were hoping that she would rub off on him. Nope, it backfired and made her a worse sleeper.

We have an alarm set in their room for 6. All the books say that it should work, hmm what do books know... They don't know my kids.

So now that Max knows how to write and Maggie is learning to write I figured might as well reinforce their learning...

Max is copying sentences 5 times while Maggie has to write the number 6 over and over again.

I will not wake my parents up until the 6am alarm unless I am sick.
I will not wake up my sister.
I will not wake up my brother.
I will go back to sleep until 6am.
My sleep is important.
My brother's sleep is important.
My sister's sleep is important.
My parent's sleep is important.

You get the drift. Each day that it happens, I am adding a new sentence. And until he does this no breakfast. I know mean mom, right? I am hoping that at some point, he will begin to understand that he is the one choosing to have these things happen. It's really sad because his lack of sleep directly affects his behavior towards us and his sister. And my lack of sleep doesn't help me to behave as well as I should either.

It looks like we might have to put them in separate rooms as well. I will say that the separate bedtimes has made a huge difference. Plus I am enjoying reading Harry Potter to Max. I really want him to use his imagination to create pictures in his head of what Hogwarts looks like etc. Once we finish the first book, I think we will watch the movie together.

I know this has been a bit disjointed but ah well.

On a roll

Wouldn't that be funny? Somehow in writing that I had this mental picture of me on a breadroll. Kind of like a Lily Tomlin rocking chair kind of breadroll. I like taking it old school. Anyone?....

Back to school night for Max and Maggie was on Wednesday. They had a speaker, a diagnostician (lord help me that I spelled that right) who helps with the curricula. I believe he was probably supposed to speak for at most 20 minutes. Nah he decided he needed to lecture us on how to raise our children for around 40 minutes. He did know that we were in a private christian Montessori school because we are concerned about the educational system here in Vegas? And that we decided that we wanted God in the classroom? To me it seems pretty clear that most of us have our kids best interests at heart. Now please don't misunderstand, the public schools are as good if you are really involved in your kids education. And actually that is my plan this year. If I am needed, I am going to volunteer in the class since they have no problem having me bring in Harry.
Also, I am a product of a great public educational system in Iowa. Krismon is a mixed bag since in the Philippines the Catholic schools are the really good schools but then he went to public schools in CA and had really great teachers. Actually I am a little jealous because he had teachers that worked for NASA and other companies in the area that volunteered to teach courses at his High School. How cool is that? But I digress. hmm like my little tangent. So this guy, lectures us for 40 minutes at least and keeps couching everything by saying that we can take his advice or leave it but that his one daughter is a professor and his only son a broadcaster and his other daughter is in college at this very moment.
Why is it that we don't have the (fill in the blank) to just get up and leave when it starts to get old? Anyways after it was done, we got to meet their teachers. I really like Max's teacher. She will challenge him but he is already enjoying class more. They are going to garden and they are looking at bugs under the microscope. I didn't meet Maggie's teacher, Krismon did. Maggie is a little timid right now because she doesn't know everyone. I know Maggie timid, shy, crazy huh? I figure before the year is out, she will be ruling the kids. lol.

Shall we try again

Yes we shall. I started this two days ago and yet it is still unpublished because I don't feel capable of writing something cohesive. Maybe that is the problem, maybe I need to give up the idea that I am going to be cohesive for a while.

Okay so here goes. Harry rolled from back to front on Wednesday 9/16/09 around 9:40am as I was doing Ab Ripper X. Yep that is right. It is the only one that I have done so far from P90X but it is a start. Harry got into the spirit of the video and did his own crunches. He was baby swearing as well as screaming to get the job done. Then there was the inevitable... 'hell, what do I do now that I just got myself here, MOM!'

Phew I think that is all I got for brain power right now.

Playing catch up.

We have had a crazy couple of weeks. First Krismon gets a cold and then the kids get it and it turns into ear infections. They get their antibiotics. We have friends come for a quick visit on their way to a longer visit with great grandparents. And of course, I couldn't escape so I caught the kids cold.
Right before leaving for San Diego.... Can we talk about a fun car trip of going up and down in altitude with ears plugging, nose sore from blowing. By the time we got to our little vacation rental, one ear was completely plugged. UGH. I couldn't just lay low either or hang on the beach. We had 3 park passes for Sea World, San Diego Zoo and the Wildlife Park. Thank goodness, Krismon's sister Krystine flew down from the bay area. We all went to Sea World on Friday and had a great time (outside of the red nose from incessant blowing). Max and Krismon sat and got wet during the Shamu show. Max begged to go on the Journey to Atlantis ride. Krismon took him, I am not that silly. I got a great photo of him after the first drop with a petrified look on his face. lol It was priceless. There was still more to come so afterwards he just kept saying he didn't like the ride..... Then we saw the pet show and that redeemed the day. We stayed in mission beach which was wonderful because once we got naps or rest periods the kids could play at the beach and enjoy the sun, surf and sand. Maggie loved the giant sandbox....
Saturday, Krismon started his golf tournement with his college buddies and Krystine, the kids and I met up with the other moms and kids and a couple of non golfing dads at the wildlife park. I am so glad Krystine was there because there were tons of hills that would have killed me to try and push both kids in the stroller up those monsters. We had a good time wandering around doing the safari bus tour. Then it was nap time then beach time. Later we went over to the single guys beach house for pizza, burgers and hot dogs. I think all the kids scared the single guys out onto the balcony. Quite a few, seemed very afraid to come inside like the kids were going to rub off on them or something.... lol There were a few though that have been around all the kids enough to just enjoy the time having them all together.
Sunday was the Zoo and just Krystine and I and the kids. We really enjoyed the Zoo, it was my favorite place. They have a double decker bus tour that shows 70% of the zoo. It was great since this was even hillier. And they had a sky gondola ride. That was fun too even though you couldn't really see the park but you could see the city a bit. We looked at the animals that we wanted to and skipped the ones we had already seen the prior two days. It was really good. And then Monday morning we were off after breakfast with Krismon's cousins and their family. It was a really great time despite the sickness and now thank goodness I am on antibiotics so hopefully I will get better soon. Such a whirlwind trip that the kids really loved.

Rock and a hard place

So I haven't written in a long time. And you would think no news is good news well not exactly. I am doing well. The pregnancy is going great outside of my turning into a major hormonal monster some days. My poooooor children having to deal with me on those days. Juno is slowly settling in even though we don't have a great daily walk habit established. Thank goodness for the treadmill.

The rock... My mom, the hard place... here. We went down to Phoenix, the whole crew two weekends ago. Mom had just gotten home from the hospital but sounded weak and frail on the phone. It didn't get much better while we were there in fact it got rougher. Her mental attitude is in a tough place, understandable given that none of us realized just how hard the recovery would be or how long it was going to take. It is definitely marathon paced. It will take a long time and she will need lots of help and probably some tough love as the process continues. She has been back in the hospital now for a few days which I believe to be a good thing since her medications need to be better regimented and she needs to be eating more solid foods before she is released again.

It is tough to be so far away, pregnant and not able to provide the support that I would like to give to help both my parents out. I wish that I could do more and be there for her. Plus at this point, it would be nice to have the kids out there even for bits of time to give her some smiles. I think Max would do a good job of that. Maggie might wear her out but either way, it won't likely happen that we get down there again before this baby comes unless I go on my own again which would be hard on Krismon.

Max is hitting the terrible 5s. He can be really helpful and then at times he just breaks down and reverts into toddler behavior. He has this tendency to mimic a friend of his that both cracks me up and annoys me at the same time.

Maggie is a tweenager living in a 2 yo body. I don't know how it is possible but she just is. Last night, we went to dinner with some friends. The kids call them Uncle. Uncle Nick was joking how no boy stood a chance when it came time to dating Maggie because of her Uncles and my husband. She misinterpreted what they were laughing about and thought they were laughing at her. She turned in her seat away from them and pouted and said, 'Hmf, they are laughing at me Mama.' I pointed out that in fact they were not laughing at her but at the thought of any boy standing a chance of dating her. Well that doesn't really comprehend with a 2 yo so it took a few times of not only me saying it but the guys telling her as well that they were not laughing at her before she turned around to smile at them. Another time after a playgroup at a dairy, Maggie was playing with two other girls when she said that they were mean to her. She walked to a bench away from them. When they would come over, she would get up in a huff and walk away. It was pretty funny but oh does it scare me with what is to come.

This weekend is a bit scary for me since Krismon is on a business trip and it is just me and the kids and the dog. Ummm yeah yesterday was a bit rough with Maggie starting my day at 4:30. Thank goodness today I got to sleep in til 6am. Right now they are taking pity on me and playing in the loft. Either that or cleaning or both. I still need to decide what are plan of action is for the day. I would like to wear them out so they sleep well tonight and so we can have a fun day today.

So that is my bit of catch up. I hope that I get to posting a bit more.

Waiting waiting waiting

So Monday night, we waited, my Dad and I until the surgeon came to see my Mom before going home. I believe we finally left the hospital around 9:15pm or so. He comes after he is done doing surgeries for the day. This man has been done a lot of surgery on my Mom and I had not met him prior to Monday. It becomes harder to be there when you have your own family to care for. Well I had heard lots about VLR (Dr. Van Lier Ribbink) can you see why they use initials for him? I was curious after hearing his name so often and not always in a positive way, he is a surgeon you know... Don't make me spell it out for you.

Anyway, given the amount of times he has operated and the severity of the surgery this time, I know something has changed for him. All of sudden, my Mom is now calling him by his first name and he has really humanized her. I guess you can only maintain that distance for so long.

Regardless, it was nice to meet him and have him explain in detail what his expectations were for her recovery and his concerns. And he let us know that if he didn't deliver enough detail when he came to see her and we were there that we should give him a boot to the posterior and demand more info. I assured him sweetly that I could comply with that. lol. He seemed a little surprised but then I am sure he is not used to many people agreeing to those terms.

Yesterday, Mom had a ct scan and is looking better so we wanted to hear from the horse's, err lol, VLR's mouth what he had to say about the scan. We waited until 10pm and he was a no show. We were poooppped out. I am hoping that he did end up coming by and seeing her before taking off for the day so that we do not need to wait tonight.

Anyway regardless of what he would say, it is so nice to see her willing and wanting to get up and walk around more and more independently. She is walking a little further each day and slowly getting her strength back.

Heck, she is even talking about wanting the whole family to take a cruise. I put the kabosh on it being before the baby is born. I can't even imagine wanting to be on cruise ship when I am 7 or 8 months pregnant. Besides the fear that we will be in Mexico and I will suddenly go into labor or some such.

My realization

It struck me yesterday that my life at home has gotten busier than I realized. Maggie has ballet now two days a week. She is in preschool one day a week. We usually have playgroup 1 to 2 days a week. Max is in school 5 days a week now that he turned 5. He has violin once a week and now on Fridays he is taking karate/gymnastics at school as well.

I know that it isn't actually a ton of things and they don't last for long periods except Max's schooling. It still is unbelievable that they are growing up and wanting to do more activities and be busy.

I keep calling and annoying my husband with the details of what they have going on. lol. I just want to keep them doing their things and give my mother in law a break at the same time so that she can have some time to herself. And thank goodness for my friend, Shelby, who is helping get Maggie to and from places and giving her a chance to be with her friends today and tomorrow. Who knew that a 2 yo would understand the concept of friends so well? I don't think Max did at her age. She is much more socially interactive unless the place is completely overrun with boys and then she likes to hide.

They drive me crazy but I miss them and I love hearing their voices on the phone.

PS My mom seems to be doing better and better each day. I am hoping today follows in the same vein.

Talk about falling off the wagon

January has just about gone away and I don't believe I have posted much. It seems like it has been an incredibly busy month of trying to get back into the swing of things and failing miserably. I haven't posted any holiday pictures like I wanted to but oh well.

The kids are glad to be back to school and activities. We got Maggie started at a recreation center taking a few preschool classes. Shhh don't tell anyone she is not three if they ask. My friend who watches her for me was taking her older son and Maggie and her middle son would participate sometimes and we figured we would throw them in as well. She is enjoying it so far. Then on Mondays and Saturdays, she has ballet class. I, so, did not think that she would love it as much as she does. She truly enjoys it and listens enthusiastically. Max began taking karate and gymnastics at school on Fridays and is so happy to be doing that.

Last weekend, we decided to go to all the petsmarts and look at the rescue dogs to see if we could find our new dog. We ended our quest at the aspca, where we found Juno. He is a small lab/dalmatian mix. He is a pretty boy, black with a white tuxedo front and some white on his paws. He is a little over a year old and weighs about as much as Max. The kids love him and he loves to play with them. I think we knew as soon as we saw him that he was meant for us. Now we just need to do some dog training with him. hmmmm that should be fun.

Now to the heavy stuff. My mom had surgery in the beginning of the month. It was pretty major and I guess I didn't realize how major it was until I got here on Friday. She's a survivor. She's had cancer 3 times and this time it was a little tougher because they had to take much of her pancreas. She has pretty much been in the hospital since the surgery because of infection. Before the surgery she had broken her ankle and that did not help to have that added to her recovery. Today though was a good day. Her infection seems to be slowly clearing up and the pain wasn't quite so bad. But there is still a several roads to choose from once she has made it out of the hospital. I thank God for the wonderful friends and family that she has that care for her and are here for her. And I thank God for my friends and family who have made it easier for me to be here as well so that I can help relieve a little of the burden that my Dad and Sister have in being there for long hours at the hospital. Now if I could lift a little of that burden off my Mom. I am just hoping to get her home before I have to leave so that she can get a better night's sleep and feel comfortable in her own home.

So if you have wondered where I went this is kind of the story but I am hoping that February I will get more on board again with the blog.
I got an email today from NaPo whatever about taking up the challenge of writing about wants everyday for a month. The idea of that really appealed to me because there are so many ways to talk about wants and especially how it relates to my born and unborn kids. Just so you know there is only one boy in my belly right now, not two.