Weathering the storm

Well, so far, we have survived Isaac.  I'm not sure what/if other significant weather is coming our way. This is partially because I've never been one to keep up with the weather very well.  This is also because my 4 year-old is a little freaked out by the hurricane images he's seen on TV, so I've done my best to steer clear of the weather.  We've probably watched a lil more Phineas and Ferb than we should, but I believe that's better than having him anxious about the weather.  

It's been approximately 60 hours since my kids last left the house.  So, to say they have cabin fever is a bit of an understatement.  Our homebodieness hasn't just been due to the weather.  No ma'am.  We would've been living it up at the children's museum today if I was just trying to avoid being caught in rough weather.  We've been the poster children for Benadryl and Robitussin, so we are staying put until we know our funk is gone.  We sure don't want to spread the funk.  Well, not that kind anyway.

So, how have I stayed sane?  Honestly, I don't remember much about yesterday.  I felt pretty cruddy, and the hours just kinda ran together.  I DO remember what I cooked last night, but only because I feel like I'm wearing it in an inflatable innertube around my waist today.  It was some serious fat girl food...chicken and rice casserole, butter beans, fried okra, buttermilk biscuits, and ooey gooey chocolate butter cookies.  Paula Deen and my granny would've been proud.  The arc trainer is going to whip my tail whenever I can scrape up enough energy to visit him (yes, it's a him).

Today, I've stayed sane by sewing, taking pics, and wearing scrub bottoms.  I have showered today, and I did initially start the day off wearing blue jeans, but they got wet while taking pics.  So, I changed into my scrub pants.  Darn : )  I finally started quilting Cade's quilt today, but my upper thread was breaking every 30 seconds.  I just had to back away from the machine...slowly and without scissors in hand.  Otherwise, it may have gotten shanked.  After a Tervis tumbler of coffee and some snuggles with my Trek man, I revisited the machine.  I decided to check out what was going on in the bobbin casing.  Holy moly.  Lint central.  After cleaning out what amounted to a small rodent's worth of lint and dust, I tightened a couple of screws and put it all back together.  Now it purrs like a kitten instead of making a chomping noise as it severs the thread and builds a bird's nest in my bobbin casing.  Whew.  I really didn't want to kill my machine.  Now, if I could just get someone to deliver new needles for my serger and my machine, I'd be great.  Maybe that'll be my sanity trip tonight after my hubs gets home.  Everyone needs to make a sanity needle run every now and then.  

No, really, today has been pretty chill.  I pulled out the camera, threw the ole plastic fantastic on (don't hate), and sat on the back steps with my favorite girl.  We had a good time catching rain drops, making silly faces,  and giving/receiving hugs.  She brought me to tears when she wrapped her little body around my legs and told me "I love you mommy."  It's not that she never says she loves me, or that she never hugs me. It's the fact that she did it without any prompting or ulterior motives (that I know of yet).  She likes to play hard to get most of the time, so moments like these are priceless.  I'm just so happy to have these sweet images to re-visit when she's being a tough little fireball.

One of my favs...I'm thinking enlargement fa sho.

This begins the "many faces of Eve series"...Ha

As I was looking through these images, I had a flash...way-back...flashback.  I started singing an old hymn in my head..."Count your many blessings name them one by one, count your many blessings see what God hath done...."  I think looking through all these different "faces" triggered this feeling of being blessed.  I know I've said it before, but this little girl challenges me like no one else.  God gave her all these different facets and faces, and today I felt truly blessed and honored to be the person who gets to see them each and every day.

Speaking of faces, here's one you haven't seen much of, but it will melt you.  This little chunk may leave a lot to be desired in the sleep department, but he has stolen our hearts with his smile and blue eyes.

And Cade, who has had a love/hate relationship with the camera lately, snuck in for a few with his brother. 

There were very few clear ones with the two of them because when Cade's around, Trek just can't contain himself.  Arms and legs start flying.  They LOVE each other.  So much so, we decided to bunk them in a room together and let Miss Priss have a girl room.  Well, that wasn't the only reason for the move, but they do love each other, and I think Cade takes a lot of pride in having a "boy's only" room now.  Eve loves to talk.  It doesn't matter who or what you are.  She's going to talk your ears off.  This wasn't working out so well and nap and bedtime.  Cade was getting frustrated, and they were both getting in lots of trouble.  This was frustrating everyone.  It was an all-around sucky situation.  Trek is still waking up quite a bit, so we have a pack-n-play that we can re-locate him to at night when he fusses, but he usually spends at least half the night in his crib in the boy room : )  I think Cade is ready for him to jump on the bed with him and build cool Lego creations, but I also think he thoroughly enjoys having his baby brother.  He has such a sense of ownership and responsibility when it comes to Trek...it's really hard to fully explain just how special their relationship is.  

Now, I'll leave you with some of the random, funny stuff I've overheard here lately.

*Eve-"Pfft....oooooh Cade, I just pooted." (this was actually stated with an apologetic tone...not her norm)

Cade- (with sympathy) "Eve, it's ok.  I do it sometimes.  So does mommy."

*Yesterday, I made them go outside to play before the weather started acting a fool.  I knew it was gonna be a long few days ahead, and it felt amazing outside.  After being out there a few minutes, I hear them both start to shriek.

Cade- "The wind is blowing!  That bi-bi-big circle thing..uh...hurricane daddy showed me on the computer radar is going to get us!  He said it's coming right for us!"...

After reassuring them that the hurricane was not about to blow them away, they played for a few more minutes as I attempted to get the house clean and quiet for Trek to nap.  Suddenly, I hear more shouting, and I see them running up to the back door.

Cade-"I heard a tornado!  I sounded like one of those big trucks on the innastate!"

Great, I thought.  It sounds like he's auditioning for the redneck slot on the post-tornado newscast.  All we were missing was a leveled trailer park in the background.  

*After the kid room swap was complete, I heard Cade explaining the purpose of the swap to Eve.

"Now that we have a boy room, and you have a girl room, the baby girl can go in your room when mommy has her."

Ummm.  Nooo.  I am not pregnant, no matter what my kids may tell you.  Let me repeat...they do NOT know anything you don't!  There is no bun in this oven.  No ma'am.

And the last one for now...

*As I was preparing a cheesecake one evening, Eve asked if this dessert was for her.  I told her it was for the next night, when Brandon's parents would be coming over for dinner.  Her voice rose several octaves and went syrupy southern, she started stroking and twisting her hair, and she said, "Oh, I am sooooo ready for papa and nana to come over to my house and say '"Oh my!  You are so beautiful Eve."'

Unfortunately, that is an extremely accurate portrayal of that scene.  No elaboration.  I'm telling you, she's trouble. Brandon says she's either going to be extremely savvy and successful, or she'll end up in jail.  With Eve, he's right.  There's no in between!

Until next time....whenever that may be : )

Rebel Child

When people see me out and about with one child, they often feel the need to tell me that I better enjoy having just one for a while.  After I inform them that I actually have three, they usually ask about ages, their genders, yada, yada, yada...  Inevitably, after learning that Eve is sandwiched in between two boys, they say "Oh, she's going to be a tough one with two boys around."  To which I reply "No, they're going to be tough ones with her around."  They chuckle like I'm being funny or making a little joke.

People.  I'm not joking.  You'd think this girl has been training to be a cage fighter.  

She.  Is.  Tough.  Stubborn.  Strategic.  You name it.

Here lately, I'm sure my friends on Facebook and family members feel like maybe I'm "picking" on her or exaggerating her less than desirable behavior.  Well, ladies and gents, I've been taking it easy on her. I'm not sure how she functions throughout the day because she has apparently straight up lost her mind.

I'm sure you remember from the previous post that she pooped on the bathroom floor a couple weeks back.  The thought of it still makes me gag.  I mean, she was 2 feet from the toilet.  She's been fully potty trained for 9 months.  What gives?!?

So, here we are a couple of weeks later, and the girl hasn't lost steam.  If anything, she's gaining it.  

Yesterday, while loading the dishwasher, I detected a "minty" odor in the air.  I ignored it.  Big mistake.  About 20 minutes later I heard a noise from the older two kids' room.  Perched at the end of her bed, Eve is scooping out and slathering Vicks Vapo rub all over her body...clothes and all.  I wiped her up, changed her clothes, and ordered her back to bed.  Goodness.

Now here we are, 24 hours, 15 growls and "I fustated wif you"s, 30 screams, 2 pull-your-hair-out bedtimes, 3 pull-your-hair-out meals, 3 spankings, and 2 snuggle sessions later.  

Oh, I forgot to include the "I colored all over my parents' 2-day-old 750TC sheet set and 1 of their 3-day-old pillow shams which belongs to a discontinued, super rare organic line which my mom scored at Hudson's for 17% of its original retail" part of that time period.  Ooops.  How did I forget that detail?

I'll tell you how.  I'm still on the verge of tears.  My hands are about to crack from being exposed to so much rubbing alcohol, hairspray, and ink remover.  In my washing machine, sits my set of still ink-stained sheets which we scrimped and saved for.  That's how I forgot...I want to pretend it never happened. We recently wore holes all the way through both fitted sheets from sets we were given at wedding showers.  They were that bad.  We've been sleeping on top of and under flat sheets.  Needless to say, I was a little upset today when Brandon sent the text that "Eve has taken a pen to our sheets."  Here I was, grande caramel frappe in hand, cruising Target, kid-free...living it up.  The next second, I'm struggling not to cry on the curtain rod aisle.  It wasn't until I got home and saw the actual extent of the damage that the bile began to rise up in my throat.  I've used every trick I can find on the web to remove these black, gel-ink pen marks.  I've given up on the sheets.  Those marks can be hidden.  The sham is a different story.  It fell victim to the most damage.  I'm going to cross my fingers and take it to the cleaners tomorrow.  

Now get this.  After a daddy spanking...the girl was still tear and remorse-free.  

I just about cry when I witness a daddy spanking.  

Occasionally, she softens up, says kind things, obeys, and melts my heart.  But right now, she apparently has ice water flowing through her veins, and she's breaking my heart in two.  

Ehhh.  Tomorrow is another day.  Let's just hope she doesn't take my pair of Gingher scissors to her new patchwork quilt I just completed last night.  

To lighten things up a bit, here are a few pics from this morning...before it all went soooo far south.

After the kids knocked and whined at the back door constantly for 30 minutes to come back inside (I know I'm not the only one who banishes the kids to the back yard every now and then), I got the bright idea to drag the plastic kiddie pool to the foot of their playset slide.  Did I mention I'm a genius?  They played virtually whine and altercation-free for almost an hour.  We cooled off with a fruit bar and some intense rolly polly hunting.  

Wounded

Speedy recovery : )

Well, I guess I'm off to throw my one-of-a-kind pieces of artwork sheets into the dryer now.  Gag.

An update...if you can call it that

After sitting here with a major case of writer's block for 17 minutes, I realized I now have some of my pics moved over to the new computer.  I also realized I still haven't showered after my trip to the gym.   So, this is gonna be a quick one.  I've decided to make this my most random blog update of all time.  Here's a bunch of grainy, blurry iPhone photos and the stories behind them.

This is Eve's idea of a cute outfit.  It's also her idea of a smile.

This is a pic from our "big kid" ice cream date.  This was not long after we experienced the worst customer service EVER at a nearby ice cream parlor.  Thankfully, we came to our senses and went to Bops...a place where we've always had stellar service.

We sold the Jeep (sniff) and bought an Element.  It's not like we'd been able to take the top off this summer anyway.  It's too stinkin' hot.  Brandon's much happier with his new ride.

I've licked way too much of this peanut butter straight off a spoon.  It's got crack in it.  I'm convinced.

We dressed up like cows.  All of us. We ate full combos for free.  Take that, you haters.

Fanciest cow ever.

Trek got the short end of the deal.  He had to dress up, and he can't even eat chicken yet.

We baked an Oreo inside of a chocolate chip cookie.  Oh yes, we did.

I went to Easely Amused for the first time.  I also kicked my leg up for a pic for the first time.  This was our attempt to be "different and cute" to win free sessions.  Right after this, the instructor told us girls had done splits and pyramids.  We felt lame.

Umm...yeah.

Trek can finally sit in the Bumbo for a decent amount of time, so he took his first trip to the fountains.

I shoved all my kids into a double stroller and shopped at Kroger like this.  You can read about it here.

Trek tried out the swing for the first time.  Not really sure how he felt about it.

Eve had her first super girly playdate.  

A few more updates...no pics for these.

It's July 30th, and I finally got a swimsuit today.

My daughter pooped on her bathroom floor last night.  Late last night.  I threw up in my mouth about 20 times while cleaning it up, and my throat is sore today as a result of it.  

FYI-I actually DO have a picture for this one, but I'll spare you.  You're welcome.  

I ate my feelings tonight. Apparently, in the food world, extreme exhaustion and kid-related frustration equal two scoops of vanilla ice cream, hot fudge, whipped cream, and sprinkles.  Pretty sure it totally canceled out my workout today, but it was good.  It was either that or walking out back and yelling at the top of my lungs.  I didn't really think the neighbors would respond very well to that.  Which makes me wonder if all of those ladies who talk about going outside and yelling to the top of their lungs have actually ever done it.  I mean, I'm pretty crazy, and I couldn't get up the nerve to do it.  I just don't think these other women have actually done it.  Lies...all lies.  

Done.  Bam.

some rambling, potty talk, and some seriously therapeutic reflection

"I'm peeeeeing in my bed. Ohhhhohhh yeayahhhh. Pee pee in my beeeeed. I'm shaking my boooootayyy and pooping and peeeiingg in my beeed."

 Yeah. That's what my 2 year old, tutu-wearing "princess" is singing at the top of her lungs right now. At 9:18 p.m. In the room next door to her 3 month old brother who spent the better part of the evening screaming like a banshee, but is now sleeping peacefully, but not for long if his sister doesn't stop singing about excrement.

 Gross.

 Another thing that's gross is the fact that I just put my kids in the bed without a bath even though we just left the "splash pad" at Renaissance. I'm sure there's a fair amount of urine flowing through that thing, but things were going south FAST, and sanity trumped being sanitary. They'll live.

 I'm going to go ahead and warn you. If you're not okay with reading about gross kid talk and genitalia (which I've learned are one in the same), you may want to leave now. For those of you who want to read about my potty mouthed, crazy kids...stay with me. This is going to be a good one. I guess I'm going to have to back track to early June. We'd just heard an awesome sermon on sex and marriage (click it...it's good stuff), which among many other things, pointed out the importance of teaching our little ones the correct terminology for their body parts. Well, we taught Cade "penis" when he was super young because little boys just love to tug and shake it just as soon as they discover it. We figured he may as well know what it is. Brandon and I pretty much detest baby talk and all these little made up names people come up with for things, so we shot straight with him, and "penis" it was from day one. I'm not sure why we hadn't had this discussion with Eve yet, but that night at bath time, Eve and I had a little talk about her parts and how she differed from her brothers.

 The girl was fascinated. She probably said "bagina" 50 times that night. She named all the females she could think of...stating that each and every one of them also had one. She would ask any and everyone she came in contact with if they knew she had one, and then she'd ask if they had one too. You get the picture. This was a week or so before Sports Camp (our VBS), and I just knew she was going to take it upon herself to educate her entire class of 2 year olds about their sexual organs. Great. We'd only been to this new campus a handful of times, and I could just see all of these parents giving me the stank eye because their little one learned the "v" word from my fireball.

 Fast forward a week later. Eve and I were butting heads BIG TIME, so I thought maybe we just needed a little mommy/daughter outing. Since we'd just joined a gym with a pool (insert hallelujah chorus), I figured I could use this outing to search for a swimsuit. Gag. I decided it was a necessary evil, though, so we hit up the Target swimsuit section. Immediately, Eve starts oohing and aaahing over the ruffles adorning the microscopic triangles that were obviously designed to adorn parts of a female who had never breastfed 3 kids. She picks up one of these tops and yells "Look mom! This is to go over your nickels (nipples)." A chorus of laughter from several ladies erupts. Great. This is just like pouring gasoline on a fire. Then, she picks up some bottoms and asks (loudly, of course) if these "cover up a penis or a bagina?" Swimsuit shopping immediately ended.

 All this talk about body parts has piqued Cade's interest in the subject, and he also feels the need to discuss and display his parts often. Both of my kids think "I'm Sexy and I know it" is the greatest song ever. Shake your head, wag your finger, tsssk tsssk all you want to. They hear it EVERYWHERE and think it's hilarious to dance to it. In a month or so, this song will be a faint memory, but for now it is nothing for me to hear that phrase a few dozen times a day. Really.

 Sooo, a few days ago my granny brought the kids a few dollar store toys. Eve's toy was a pack of elastic rings that had a different colored light on each one. Of course, the kids fought over them, and at one point I stashed them on top of the microwave and forgot about them. Well, after a morning "swim" in the kiddie pool, Cade was supposed to be changing into dry clothes. I heard him making some noise in the kitchen, and then I heard him quietly giggling in his bathroom. Since I was feeding Trek, I called him into the living room to see if he was getting dressed. This kid walks to the doorway, butt naked...except for two of these ring lights which are wrapped around...you guessed it...his penis. He stops in the doorways, starts shaking his hips, and sings "Girl, look at that penis" (as in "girl, look at that body" from the song I just mentioned...if you're clueless, count yourself lucky). I wasn't sure whether to freak out about the possibility of him cutting off circulation and ruining my chances of being a grandmother, or to be impressed with his impromptu lyrics. So, I did what anyone else would have done. I laughed so hard I almost cried and ordered that crazy kid to remove the disco from down below and get some clothes on. Craziness. Pure craziness.

There's probably 50 other stories I could tell...if I remembered them...about their sudden fascination with these words. Once upon a pre-Trek time, I had an on-going sticky note or word document on the computer with this stuff so I could remember it. Now, my brain is mush...along with my tummy and thighs, but that is going to change. Not the mushy brain. That's probably going to be the state of my brain for the rest of my life, or until all the kids are out of the house. No, the tummy and thighs are about the change. We joined the Y, and this girl is about to bust it to get these pounds off. I've been really enjoying going to work out. It's a win, win, win, win situation. #1, I get some time to myself because the kids go to child watch. #2, the kids get some non-mommy time, and usually have a few kids to play with. #3, I feel better and have more energy. #4, Brandon gets a hot wife and a cleaner house since I have more energy. Best money ever spent. I'm not gonna go all crazy and post a before pic along with my weight. I'm crazy, but not that kind of crazy. But, I will keep you posted on how much I've lost and such. You know, every few months when I actually sit down and write a post. 

You've probably noted that there still has not been a "Trek" post. Penises and vaginas were just more fun to talk about for now. After this evening I needed to laugh, not re-live a 10 pound baby exiting my body. If I get around to that post before his first birthday, I'll consider it a success.

 Speaking of success, I finagled a quick run in Kroger with no infant carrier or sling tonight. Trek ditched the carrier a couple of weeks ago. The boy couldn't stand it. So, tonight, on the way home I remembered I needed some things from Kroger. Since Brandon has worked nearly 9 days in a row, and I'm operating on borderline single parent status, I knew I just needed to suck it up and go in with all 3, even though Trek had been screaming since we left the fountains. So, I lugged the ginormous double jogging stroller out of the back of the van, and proceeded to position the kids strategically so that everyone is perched in a somewhat stable fashion, but not crushing one another. This, in an of itself, is a feat. But, oh. I didn't stop there. I actually got Cade and Eve positioned so they weren't even touching each other because you know that irritable siblings touching each other is like pouring acid into a paper cut. It's ugly.

 Despite the craziness of the riding situation, it was an overall, somewhat enjoyable experience. I mean, I was even nice to the guy in line who read Trek's bib (which had his name monogrammed on it) and asked "What's his name? Shrek?" Well, I guess I was a little edgy with my answer of "Yeah, it's like Shrek, except it starts with a "Tr" instead of "Sh" and he's not green, so noooo...not really. It's not like Shrek at all." He gave a little laugh like he couldn't really tell what just happened in the interaction, and before he could figure it out, I swerved my loaded down stroller around to the next self check register; at which we completed a transaction without a kid putting his/her hand on the scanner, which usually throws off the weight and alerts the cashier, who is trying to monitor 8 self check stations which are being used by people who really should have used the 15 items or less cash register manned by an honest to goodness human. In short, it was a miracle. We made it through the store without any tears, touching, or toppling out of a stroller built for 2 kids which for 23 minutes moonlighted as a triple stroller and shopping cart all in one.

 Now, I guess I'll include some random photos that are grainy and not in focus since I rarely have the brain cells to use an honest to goodness camera, and my phone is always an arms length away. *(insert 5 minutes of searching for photos on my hard drive) Oh wait. Psych. We just got a new computer and my pictures are on an external, which we've yet to import. Sorry if you got your hopes up. If you're "friends" with me on Facebook, you've probably seen them anyway. Speaking of friends, I hope we're still friends now that you know that my kids talk constantly about genitalia and sing highly inappropriate songs.

 Now, you may think that I'm just throwing some "token" spirituality in at the end of a post full silliness and vulgarity, but here goes. These kids are constant reminders of the broken world we live in. It's not because they are "bad" kids. They're so young, but they've already picked up so much junk that's out there. They aren't even in school yet, and they are bombarded with so much "stuff" just in the small (well, most of the time it's small) amount of time they watch TV. If it's not sexual things or language, it's commercial after commercial showing them what they "need" and what will make them "happy." Sometimes I find myself wishing they were better behaved and didn't say inappropriate things that make people question our parenting, but then I realize how crazy I am, and I snap out of it. They are His creation...made in His image. They are rude, and then they are gracious. They are loud, and then they are meek and obedient. They are selfish and loud, and then they are brokenhearted over the homeless and hungry. I LOVE how human they are. Kids are like the ultimate accountability partners. They are precious gifts entrusted to me and Brandon, and they are so multi-faceted because it's good for us as parents to be stretched and challenged beyond our comforts.

 This season of being home with them has caused me to grow sooo much, whether I wanted to or not. Sometimes I feel like I'm sitting at a potter's wheel (I wish!) and the "pot" that I'm throwing is my family. Every time there's a little wobble in the pot, I have to hunker down and steady my hands and arms; re-centering it. When there's a small rock, it has to be removed, and there are often thin spots or tears to repair. And sometimes, when I've over-worked the pot because I can't get it to look the way I wanted it to look, I have start over fresh and try a new shape...maybe one I've never thrown before and I'm not familiar with, but the artist inside of me knows it's the direction I need to take. I'm so thankful that my potter has the patience to steady and repair me and to take me in new directions that challenge and stretch me. I pray that He continues to use the joy and heartbreak these kids bring me to break my heart for what breaks His and take me to new places physically and spiritually that I never would have imagined.

 Wow folks. That was a long one. It was good, though. I needed to sit and reflect. It doesn't happen enough...thanks for joining me.

Who's that girl?

If Eve didn't look sooo much like me, I'd swear she wasn't mine.  She would paint herself pink, if given the opportunity.  Ideally, all of her food would also be dyed pink.  She ooohs and ahhhs over all things princessy and girly.  Tonight, after I'd pieced only three rows of the quilt I'm making for her together (which has waaaaay too much pink in it for my taste, but I'm sure she'd be happy if it were all just 50 different shades of pink), she exclaimed "Oh my gosh, I never seed anything wike that before.  It's wike so bootiful."  She then declared that it was finished and ran off to her room with it.  After I explained that it needed 15 more rows, batting, backing, about 2 hours worth of machine quilting it, and binding for it to be finished, she reluctantly relinquished it.  I don't know how our DNA meshed to form this girly girl who is so polar opposite of us, but I know I love this girly girl to death.  God definitely has a strong sense of humor.   I mean, just look at this outfit she put on today.

Here's just a few things that have come out of her mouth over the last few days.

"Hey mom, I'll brush my teeth in jus a minute.  I need to color dis picture jus right.  I'm gonna need you to leave me alone till I'm finished.  Okay?  Okay."

I heard her saying "Hey...hey you" over and over, so I said "Hey."  She said, "Mom, I was talkin to me and I was fixin to answer myself.  Just leave me alone." (Are you seeing the independence theme?)

"Cade, weave me alone or I'm gonna spank your booty butt, and I'm not even kiddin."

"If Trek doesn't stop whinin, he's not eber going to get his paciwer back.  He's just gonna have to cry, and I don't care.  He's drivin me crazy." (Oh, I forgot to mention she can be mean as a snake.  Seriously.  Sometimes, she scares even me.)

I WILL get to a post all about Trek.  Eventually.

The boy that cried poop

Does everyone's kid magically have to poop as soon as their body hits their bed at night?  It's like there's a "poop" button on their back.  I'm convinced there's either a button OR they have receptors in their brain that can sense my relief that they are about to be asleep, and their receptor says "Oh no sista...you ain't winning this battle that easy."  The older two each shoot for a minimum of 2 trips to the bathroom after lights are out.  Goodness.

Speaking of poop.  This is the little one's "poopy" face.  Actually, this is the "I'm pooping in my diaper you put on less than 30 seconds ago" face.  They're cute for a reason.  Oh, and this is Trek's unofficial debut to the blog.  I'll give him his own post soon.  Promise.

Enough poop talk.  It's RAINING.  Finally.  I've waited all day for this.  My body has been ready to switch into thunderstorm nap mode at any moment.  It was almost like waiting for contractions to start all over again.

This post was short...and pretty pointless, but I figured maybe someone would find comfort in the fact that they aren't the only one making half a dozen potty trips with their kid every night.  I'm about to go and cut some quilt squares and enjoy the glorious sounds of this thunderstorm.

lessons learned by a mother of 3 chirrens 4 and under

Yeah, I'm not even gonna try to play catch up.  I may back track later and put up a birth post.  Maybe.

I'd pretty much decided to let the blog go entirely, but I had a change of heart this week.  As I was reading a super transparent and entertaining post written by a mom, I realized how much I missed writing my own.  Not that mine are particularly transparent or entertaining, but they are definitely therapeutic.  I need this outlet.  So I'm gonna keep on keepin' on with the ole blog...even if it's extremely sporadic.

Now, for the actual topic of this post.  These are a few lessons I've learned over the last couple of months as a mom of 3 kiddos ages 4 and under.  Deep stuff.

Number 1.  You can't condition your hair with shampoo.  Now, I already knew this, but somehow that didn't keep me from trying.  A while back, I scored lots of Pantene for $1 each at Kroger.  I thought I recalled every bottle being conditioner.  So, one morning after I'd already washed my hair in the shower...only to reach for an empty conditioner bottle, I made a mad dash to my stash closet and grabbed one of those bottles.  I noticed that the liquid was a little on the thin side, but I figured it was just a special concoction for "curly, thinning, blonde hair" or some mess like that.  You know how they act like each formula is so revolutionary and specific.  I believe this was in the first week after coming home from the hospital, and I was obscenely tired.  I used my "special" conditioner for over a week.  One morning, I finally looked at the bottle and realized why my hair had been a frizz ball for so long.  Granted, I hadn't really tried to do much with my hair, but I had definitely noticed it felt a little gross.  I just blamed it on the hormones...along with everything else : )

Number 2.  A third baby can still be a baby of lots of "firsts".  Baby Trek has definitely kept me on my toes.  He's the first birthed sans epidural.  He's my first 10 pounder.  He's my first evening crier.  I honestly believe he poops twice as much as the other two ever did.  I had no idea a two-month-old could "projectile poo".  Seriously...shot it a good three feet.  Gross.  I know.  I also think he smiles more.  He knows the crying business gets OLD, so he compensates by grinning all day.  Sometimes, the kid can't even nurse for grinning.  It's cute and aggravating all at once.  Mostly cute, though.

Number 3.  I have the ability to watch the same episode of Chopped 5 times without it getting old.  Did you know that some nights/mornings Chopped is on until 3 a.m.?  Well, it is.  Glorious hours and hours of re-runs...Ahhh.  I liked the show before Trek came along, but now that I spend a third of my day and night nursing, I'm really thankful for the frequent marathon runs.  Thanks to Chopped, I feel pretty confident that I could make a meal out of black licorice, sea urchin, bread in a can, and miso paste that would make you swoon.  I don't know very many people who can say that.

Number 4.  I CAN function on 4 hours of sleep.  Hey, I didn't say I could do it WELL, but I can get the job done.  Some days, that just has to be enough.

Number 5.  I have a less patience than I like and more love than I realized.  Some days, these chirrens do me in...by 8 a.m.  It can be ug-lay.  Patience has always been on my "to work on list".  It recently shot up to the top.  I have to pray continually for patience...and grace.  Not only to give the grace, but to rest in His.  Otherwise, the day stinks.  Also, I did what lots of parents do with the birth of a new child.  I doubted my ability to love them all equally.  For real, I was skeered.  I already knew I wouldn't love them all the same.  They're not the same little people.  But now I know why they are soooo different.  It  gives me lots of different reasons to love them differently.  I know kids often doubt whether or not they are loved as much as their siblings.  There have been plenty of times in my life when I doubted as much.  Now I see how many different ways kids need to be "loved".  Allowing independence, snuggling, singing, not screaming every time a Lego pierces my foot, putting pink food coloring in the biscuit dough, wearing a baby in a sling....all different "love" needs that make my kids who they are.  And I love it.

Number 6.  Tervis Tumblers are lifesavers.  I no longer drink out of a normal mug. I was recently without mine for over a week.  I was lost without it. Finishing a cup of coffee in a timely manner just ain't happening these days.  That Tervis keeps it drinkable for HOURS.  It's truly an amazing thing.  It may be my go-to baby shower gift from now on.

Well, that's it for now.  Trek is hungry and my other two are making a fort out of my mountain of clean clothes....on the dirty den floor.  Gross.

Lovey kids and loogies

First of all, mad props to my man for dominating his interviews and getting a sweet promotion.  I'm super proud of him : )  Not psyched about him being gone 3 out of the next 4 weeks for training, but I know it's a necessary evil.  I'm definitely pacing myself over these next few weeks...easy meals, carefully choosing my cleaning battles, and being a naptime nazi.  Nap-less days just aren't an option when this chick is flyin' solo.  

So far, the kiddos have been super good.  Granted, we've only been alone two whole days, but hey, every hour counts.  Just check out this sibling love : )

They hauled every blanket, pillow, and stuffed critter they could find into their playhouse and begged to take their nap in there.  They were so sweet.  So, I let themmm....stay there until I could grab my camera to snap this pic.  Then, I brought them back to reality and put them in their own beds.  This momma just doesn't toy with sleep : )

This is a super sweet shot that I wish was a video instead of a pic, but I don't think I'll forget the dialogue anytime soon.  Cade was "reading" Eve her favorite book, "Biscuit".  It's a super short, simple book about a puppy's bedtime routine.  I'm afraid it's given them a super skewed reality of what having a dog will actually be like, but it sure makes for a good bedtime story right now.  This dog is basically spoiled rotten. He gets a snack, drink, hug, kiss, blanket, doll, and story before he goes to his bed, and that's still not enough.  He then traipses upstairs and steals the little girl's blanket and snuggles at the foot of her bed.  Most nights, it's a stretch for my KIDS to get all of those things before going to sleep.  A dog?  I don't think so.

Well, I have a kind of a big "project" going on right now, but I'm still waiting for some details to work out, so I'm going to keep you in the dark for now.  If it doesn't work out, you may never know what was going on : )  Pretty shady, huh?

To make up for keeping things under wraps, I'll leave you with the uplifting words spoken to me by my four-year-old son today, while I was slaving away to prepare his gourmet lunch (turkey and cheese w/ fruit).

Cade- "Hey mommy.  You are getting really big."

Now, since I've been trying to explain the growth of Trek and how that affects my size, I was happy he'd finally noticed that my belly was growing.  I mean, I am 29 weeks along, after all.

Me- "Yeah.  Trek is really making mommy's belly grow, isn't he?"

Cade- "No.  Pretty much all over you are getting really big."

I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry...or spit on his sandwich.  Just kidding.  I wouldn't really spit on my kid's sandwich.  But I sure would have if it had been an adult, so watch your back...and your sandwiches.

I wear my sunglasses at night

Yeah, so I don't even own a pair of sunglasses.  My 2 year-old, however, owns 20.   Well, maybe not 20...but definitely at least 13 pairs.  For some reason, she always seems to have them upside down on her face, which, of course, causes them to slide down her nose.  This, consequently, causes what I would describe as a "hissy fit".  Cade is usually my OCD kid, but Eve has him topped when it comes to fashion.  "Momma, get it right or get outta my face" is generally her motto when I'm doing her hair or attempting to accessorize her.  Just check out what happened when she became "fwustawated" with her shades the other night.

Yes, I'm one of those evil women who takes pics of her crying child.

Before you report me to DHS, just know that the waterworks shut off as soon as her brother dug her princess shoes with "Chwismas lights" in the heels out of the depths of the dress up trunk.  Whew. 

Annnd after a 10 minute battle of wills over whether or not she could wear the glasses to bed, we struck a compromise.

This time, I was the one about to have a hissy fit trying to make those stinkin glasses stay put on the Cabbage Patch doll's watermelon head.  

And yet another sunglasses shot.

Yeah, I still have another kid.  He just generally avoids the camera unless he's naked, which of course is a no-go on the ole blog.  I did snag a few of him while he was too silly or drugged (allergy meds) to notice.

First, here he is in his "drugged" state.  He's also in his fav position...spread eagle.  He assumes this position whether he is clothed or not.  I'm a little tired of seeing his boy junk.  He, on the other hand, never grows tired of seeing, shaking, and flaunting it.  In fact, he stated a few days ago that boys and girls should all have penises because they're awesome.  Let's just hope this fascination tames down before kindergarten : /  If not, I can forsee lots of office visits.

And here we have my kids in the throws of their daily ritual.  It's called the "mommy just made up the bed, let's destroy it" ritual.  Just in case you're wondering, this is not one of the battles I pick every day.  I make that bed knowing there's a 50/50 chance it'll survive the rest of the day untouched, and I'm generally willing to take that gamble.  I know, I'm such a risk taker.

Speaking of risks...asking Cade to dress himself when I'm in a time crunch is another risk I sometimes take.  There's pretty much a 100% chance that it's going to cause a further delay, but my brain-dead self usually forgets this and asks him to do it anyway.  Blame it on the baby.  Sometimes, he "loses" the clothes I lay out for him and asks me repeatedly where his clothes are.  Other times, he layers his clothes over his pjs because he gets focused on a cartoon and he forgets to undress first.  But here lately, his trend is to shake things up a bit by using his shirt as pants and his pants as a hat.  See?

He'd shucked the hat before I could snap a pic.  Sometimes he even stuffs the legs of the pants so that they stand up on top of his head to resemble "ears"(I'm sure he gets this humor from his daddy) 

...then he laughs himself to tears, and my crazy, pregnant, temporarily emotionally bi-polar self usually ends up joining him.  See what I'm talking about with the delays?  At this point, not only am I un-stuffing jeans and dressing this kid, but I'm re-doing eye makeup, as well.  In the midst of all this chaos, Eve has probably managed to sneak into the kitchen, unwrap, and devour half a dozen cheese slices.  

Oh, and look what Mr. Smartypants did.

Why?

"Well, you said to stop throwing my dirty clothes on the floor."  No comment.

I know I've totally skipped the Christmas blogpost.  No worries.  I'm sure I'll get to it before next Christmas.  I will give you a little sneak peek as to how well my kids are treating their brand spankin' new toys, though.

Can I interest you in a game of head-less, ball-less Hungry Hippo, anyone?