Some time ago, I was asked by ecoSTORE USA to do a review on a few of their products. They graciously gave me the option of picking a few items from their store to review! I was in hog-heaven! My girlfriend, Dana, had given me a few of their baby products at my baby shower and ever since then, I've been trying to figure out how to get these items into our budget!
To read more, go here.
10/31/10
Needs Help!!
This is SOOOO not me, but I need help! I bought two pieces of clearance items at Old Navy and I have no clue how to "winter-ize" them. Not that I need to worry about winter temperatures right now, BUT I did purchase them for the Fall and bought a pair of cowboy boots to go with them. Not sure I can pull off the look, but here it goes........
Look no. 1....
OK, so.....what color tights would you wear? For some reason, I'm not loving the bare legs with this ensemble. I've seen pictures of people pulling this sort of look off, so I guess I'm trying to re-create it.... poorly, I'm sure, but nevertheless, trying..... so HELP!
Look no. 2......
This skirt is really cute and was super cheap on OldNavy.com, but its a tad bit short.... like when I bend over, just a little too short for my comfort... not that I plan to go bend WAY over in front of someone or get in an compromising position, BUT with 3 little boys, I want to be modest AND be able to move around without constantly making sure I'm not shining my hiney.... but it comes down to top of my knee/mid knee when I'm standing straight up, so no one worry! Its just short for me! Anyway, I need to know what color tights you'd put with this. I am clueless and don't plan on wearing the skirt until I have some tights and I really want to wear the skirt!!
Look no. 1....
OK, so.....what color tights would you wear? For some reason, I'm not loving the bare legs with this ensemble. I've seen pictures of people pulling this sort of look off, so I guess I'm trying to re-create it.... poorly, I'm sure, but nevertheless, trying..... so HELP!
Look no. 2......
This skirt is really cute and was super cheap on OldNavy.com, but its a tad bit short.... like when I bend over, just a little too short for my comfort... not that I plan to go bend WAY over in front of someone or get in an compromising position, BUT with 3 little boys, I want to be modest AND be able to move around without constantly making sure I'm not shining my hiney.... but it comes down to top of my knee/mid knee when I'm standing straight up, so no one worry! Its just short for me! Anyway, I need to know what color tights you'd put with this. I am clueless and don't plan on wearing the skirt until I have some tights and I really want to wear the skirt!!
10/29/10
The Week of Snot
Buggy got a nasty, runny nose on Sunday afternoon/Monday morning, so most of our activities this week, we have either canceled or been canceled because of the rainy, nasty weather. Unfortunately, things still needed getting done so we have been in the car a lot this week. I don't think I've ever taken the kids as much as we have gone this week.... not really going to have fun, but just getting things done. Mom did keep Buggy-boo on Wednesday so we could go to BSF, so besides that, we've been staying away from kids/friends! Since there are no other symptoms, we'll get out and about tomorrow! We can usually keep Buggy confined in the stroller when we need to get out!
One of the things that we've been hitting stores for have been to purchase Halloween costumes. Last year was SUPER simple. I had found Bubbie's costume (race car driver) at a yard sale at the beginning of the summer. Peanut wore a costume(Bob the Builder) that Bubbie had worn at the same age and Buggy was a cute baby!
This year, Bubbie has said for MONTHS that he wanted to be Wall-E. The costumes online cost from $40-$50 and we just don't play dress up enough to make this worth while. I asked Hubbie if it could be a project for him, a few months ago, and Bubbie and he have YET to start on this!!! I finally got "onto him" last night and he began the costume! Thank goodness!
Peanut has said he wanted to be a PIG. I found a few websites online that suggested ways on how to "make" a pig costume. I wasn't a fan of putting my child in bright pink sweat pants and sweat shirt, so when we found a frog costume at Kid2Kid for $4, I bought it. He seems content, but still talks about "PIG"..... maybe I can do a better job next year!
I purchased Buggy's costume online at OldNavy.com for only $7. He's going to be a bumble bee, because we call him "Buggy"....it was the only "BUG" costume that I could find for less than $40.
When did Halloween get SO expensive? This year is one of those years I wish I just found cheap costumes at yard sales and THAT be what my children would be!
And just in case, you're against Halloween, I figured I'd add that my husband and I discussed participating in Halloween or not. We both were able to trick-or-treat growing up and really enjoyed the candy and dressing up. We feel that dressing up and going door to door for candy is OK for our family, but I respect other people's decision to not participate in this "holiday". Typically we go to a local church's trunk or treat and the kids get candy, food and play games. Last year we got so much candy from the church, that we didn't trick or treat when we got home. The year before, we did go trick or treating to a few houses on our street. We really try to not make it a big deal but about candy and dressing up..... and we have a lot of explaining to do when our neighbor across the street decorates with tombstones, witches and ghosts!
One of the things that we've been hitting stores for have been to purchase Halloween costumes. Last year was SUPER simple. I had found Bubbie's costume (race car driver) at a yard sale at the beginning of the summer. Peanut wore a costume(Bob the Builder) that Bubbie had worn at the same age and Buggy was a cute baby!
This year, Bubbie has said for MONTHS that he wanted to be Wall-E. The costumes online cost from $40-$50 and we just don't play dress up enough to make this worth while. I asked Hubbie if it could be a project for him, a few months ago, and Bubbie and he have YET to start on this!!! I finally got "onto him" last night and he began the costume! Thank goodness!
Peanut has said he wanted to be a PIG. I found a few websites online that suggested ways on how to "make" a pig costume. I wasn't a fan of putting my child in bright pink sweat pants and sweat shirt, so when we found a frog costume at Kid2Kid for $4, I bought it. He seems content, but still talks about "PIG"..... maybe I can do a better job next year!
I purchased Buggy's costume online at OldNavy.com for only $7. He's going to be a bumble bee, because we call him "Buggy"....it was the only "BUG" costume that I could find for less than $40.
When did Halloween get SO expensive? This year is one of those years I wish I just found cheap costumes at yard sales and THAT be what my children would be!
And just in case, you're against Halloween, I figured I'd add that my husband and I discussed participating in Halloween or not. We both were able to trick-or-treat growing up and really enjoyed the candy and dressing up. We feel that dressing up and going door to door for candy is OK for our family, but I respect other people's decision to not participate in this "holiday". Typically we go to a local church's trunk or treat and the kids get candy, food and play games. Last year we got so much candy from the church, that we didn't trick or treat when we got home. The year before, we did go trick or treating to a few houses on our street. We really try to not make it a big deal but about candy and dressing up..... and we have a lot of explaining to do when our neighbor across the street decorates with tombstones, witches and ghosts!
10/27/10
Cleaning Freak!!
You know, I was thinking the other day, I use to be a clean freak... When I was pregnant with Bubbie, I remember thinking that I wouldn't be able to stress as much about my house and I needed to let some things go. I distinctly remember forcing myself to not stress about the kitchen floor needing to be swept. I use to sweep my kitchen several times a day- just cause there might be dirt....not because of food from the kiddos.
Nowadays, the house gets dusted once or twice a month. The bathrooms...well....those are almost daily frowned upon and then I walk out and shut the door! 2 little boys pee pee'ing in the potty...that room is NEVER clean! The floor gets vacuumed when I start feeling pieces of food under my feet. Actually, the only place that gets scrubbed on a daily basis is the kitchen... and that gets cleaned at least 3 times a day.... floors, counter tops, table, the whole sha-bang!
The laundry is often neglected and in piles around the house- no matter how early I wake up or how late I go to bed- things are left undone almost everyday. I dream of being able to curl up in my chair and read a book during quiet time and after the kiddos go to bed, pulling out my sewing and work on projects for a few hours.... unfortunately, I just don't have that kind of time anymore.
This weekend we had a busy one planned and I desperately needed help getting caught up. On Friday I cleaned out my van. It was a mess and there were lots of things in there that just didn't need to be. While the boys ran around the yard like wild monkeys, I threw away and took things into the house. Thankfully, the weather was GORGEOUS, so it made the task a little bit more enjoyable!
Next up was the PILES of laundry that had been overlooked for about a week. Hubbie had started the laundry that morning and for some reason, when he does that, it helps me stay on task with the laundry. On Saturday once ALL the laundry was cleaned and folded, I ran to the store while Hubbie put everything away. Then we swapped, I took the kids to a party and he fixed his car (broke down the night before- thankfully it was an "easy" and "cheap" fix). Once I got home, Hubbie had finished and it was time to cook for company and clean the house.
Sunday, I worked on the winter clothing. I tried to purge, but with the two youngest boys being so close in sizes, it was difficult to know exactly how much of a certain size, we needed, so I did manage to purge two bags of stuff and a box to give to a gal pal.
Once that was all finished, I attacked our room. When we have company, I am ashamed to say that most of the time, the overflow from the other rooms ends up in ours. For the last week, our floor was very similar to that of what you might see on one of those reality shows, like Hoarders! Hubbie said it wasn't that bad, but it really was...shoes needing to be put into the closet, baskets of laundry, little puzzles that the boys had brought in the room, dumped out and then left, leaving the pieces to be stepped on, sewing stuff..... it was a madhouse and I couldn't go to bed another night looking at it. So, I sadly put away my sewing and craft supplies, knowing that I wouldn't get to my hobby for a few days weeks and it was taking up valuable space in our room.
So, all in all, our house looks ten times better than it did on Friday evening. I owe a lot of that to my darling husband who knew I was stressed and overwhelmed with the amount of things that were on me for the weekend. Now, if we can just keep the house this neat, we'll be doing GREAT!
p.s. after working on laundry for 2 days, our laundry hamper is now FULL..... go figure.....
10/26/10
Just In Case You Ever Wondered....
.....washing your hair with dial or liquid dish washing soap doesn't really work all that well.
Last week we ran out of shampoo. Don't ask me how. I stocked up on Pantene at CVS in the beginning of the summer and I guess we went through all those bottles, because when we ran out, we went to our stash and there wasn't anything there!
Believe me when I tell you, I searched every cabinet, drawer, travel bag.... I just knew I had to have a tiny bit of shampoo SOMEWHERE in the house!
So, what do most Momma's do when they run out of something? Go to the store, right? So, I did. I went to Target ALL ALONE one evening and guess what happened? I forgot shampoo. BOO!
I improvised with Dial soap. That didn't work.
I improvised with dish washing soap. That didn't work well either.
We made it 4 days without shampoo and my hair wasn't looking so hot! Hubbie and I laugh about it now, but let me tell you, getting that bottle of shampoo was a BIG deal! Several days without shampoo stinks! My hair and husband thanked me!
10/24/10
Menu Plan Monday ~ Week of October 25th, 2010
Monday evening- Breakfast (eggs, bacon and biscuits)
Tuesday evening- "Healthified" Mexican Pasta Skillet and chips (sour cream, salsa and guacamole)
Wednesday evening- Teriyaki Sticky Chicken, rice and carrots
Thursday evening- Leftover mexican skillet
Friday evening- Homemade pizza, breadsticks and dessert
Saturday lunch- Leftover pizza
Saturday evening- Chili and cornbread
Sunday lunch- Leftover Chili and baked potatoes
Sunday evening- Friend's house for Halloween/trick or treatin'
For more menu planning ideas, visit Laura here.
He Did It!
My husband smoked the 1/2 marathon today! He beat last years 1/2 marathon time by 30 mins and like 7 min miles.... the best he's ever done! I owe it to a lot of prayer and his determination to stick with his training plan! He is an awesome athlete and I only call him that because he feels like one!
We love you Hubbie and I am SO proud of you!
And for my sweet, hard working Hubbie, I thought I'd show you how far you've come.... Here is last's year's marathon...exactly a year ago.....
You look awesome and have come SO far!!! :o)
10/21/10
Lu's Favorites
Here are a few of my favorite things....
Favorite Cereal
Can't get enough of this cereal.... its a luxury because the box of cereal is tiny and over $4 a box! Ouch, huh?! Pouring myself a bowl of this cereal with some yummy milk.... I can almost taste it now! Its not a "good for you" kind of cereal...loaded with tons of fat and carbs and sugar! Like I said...its a luxury and every once in a while (probably once a year) I give in and buy a box!
Favorite Place to Buy Jewelry
I have two favorite places to buy jewelry. One place is on Etsy... more specifically, from Adorn You, on Etsy! I've bought 4 pieces of jewelry from this gal and everything is well made and so pretty! I already have another 4 items picked out to use my "blow" money on. Hopefully I can get at least one of them next month!
And then another place is Brighton Jewelry. I am in love with Brighton jewelry and been able to get a few small pieces! I could drool all day on their website which is why I don't go there too often! I find too many things that I just "gotta have"!!
Favorite Food
When I think of a special yummy dinner, I think of fajitas! Oh yummy! Fajitas and margaritas! I'm not a lush and rarely drink..... and when I say rarely, I haven't bought a drink since a year before Peanut was born... at least.... just don't want to spend the money on them!
Favorite Movie
Favorite movie of ALL time...Steel Magnolia! Can you get much better than that??? Anybody?! Yeah, I didn't think so! Although, tied for favorite movie is this one...
Its like 6 hrs long and I have the video tapes.... In high school, I would watch a few and then go to bed and then the next day watch a few more! It took quite a while to get through them but this is- by FAR -the best Pride and Prejudice ever made!
Favorite Color
I was a strange little girl... I didn't have a favorite color... at least I don't remember LOVING a favorite color like other little girls. I had a best friend, when we lived in TX, and her favorite color was purple! This gal had EVERYTHING in purple! She had to have grape jelly on her sandwiches...because it was purple....and the only drink I can remember her drinking was grape soda....because it was purple! Her room was purple! The bedding was tiny purple flowers.... this girl lived for purple! Now, of course, this was back in 1992 and we were only 8 yrs old! I'm sure it wasn't long before the purple fascination died down, but still, I just wasn't the same way. When people asked what my favorite color was, I had a different answer every time... I just didn't have a favorite! Now that I am an adult, I have finally found my favorite color and its GREEN! Not sure why, but I love green and dark jewel tones! The deep purples and blues and greens.... they are just so rich and pretty! For a long time all I had in my closet was black and some white... bland colors! But now I have a colorful closet!
Favorite Holiday
My favorite holiday has always been Thanksgiving.... I don't know if its because its in the Fall and thats my favorite time of the year or what. Someone once told me it was because of the food, but I don't think that is it either. I'm not a huge fan of pie...and I HATE pumpkin pie (even though I once told my grandmother that she HAD TO MAKE IT.... the family later found out its because it was tradition to have it, not because I loved it!!) I finally realized, at the age of 26 that I do not like turkey and I'd much rather have something else on Thanksgiving day than that anyway!!! I think its because it reminds me of my Granny's farm. I guess we spent a lot of Thanksgiving Days at my grandparents farm. I always enjoyed going to the farm during the colder months because I would be willing to go outside. I hated going in the summer because of ticks and chiggers....but in the winter, we could go walking through the woods and stuff. But anyway, my Granny made the best dinner (maybe it is the food?) and the whole family would come over and it was always so much fun! We'd end the day by playing games or everyone talking in the living room or on the screened-in porch! Such great memories in the good 'ole days!
Favorite 'Lil Guys
And, of course, these are my favorite men! I love having all these men dote on me, although, at 6 am, I'm not in a doting on kind of mood, but I guess I can take the good with the bad! I love them all and they are precious!
Favorite Big Guy
My favorite big guy, isn't so big any more, huh?! This picture is at the relay race that he ran a few weeks ago. (Ignore the woman beside him...not me!) He is smokin' hot, if I do say so myself!
I think he's done a wonderful job and is about to run another 1/2 marathon on Sunday! Prayers would be appreciated for health( for the runner and the family) and for safety! Its a tough course!!
10/20/10
Momma Said To Share....
I can't help but let y'all see more of my family pictures from the weekend....
This is a small glimpse at our family fun day on Saturday! We found a local place to explore! A picnic lunch! The pumpkin patch! It was great!!!
10/19/10
A Momma's Bliss
On Saturday we picked out pumpkins..... Image it..... one Momma with her camera desperately trying to get those magically shots, one Daddy carrying 3 of the 5 pumpkins and then 3 little ones roaming the pumpkin "patch"....2 of those little ones were "carrying" their pumpkins. Yeah...that didn't turn out well. I feel bad for whomever chooses the other pumpkins that my 2 yr old decided to pick up and THROW. Because ALL things that are round are AUTOMATICALLY balls! And face it, we couldn't buy EVERY one of them.
All in all, we made memories... I got a few shots.... nothing photography prize worthy, but who cares anyway?.... Definitely not a perfectionist Mama like me! ;o)
Next year we are DEFINITELY hiring someone to get "these shots"! I was going to do it this year, but those cute, adorable shirts/shortall weren't ready yet! Don't my boys look smashing?! First year I have ever BOUGHT outfits and coordinated them. And I LOVE it! I usually come up with something on my own and make it myself. This year, a dear friend found the shortall at a yard sale/Goodwill for cheap! cheap! and I can't do anything on a shortall, so I hired the friend's talented SIL. The gal did such a fabulous job on the shortall, I asked if I could hire her to do 2 shirts that would match, for the other two! Although, I'm pretty cheap to hire someone to do shirts/matching outfits often, I know I can get several more "wears" out of these outfits. After I let them wear the snot out of these shirts the rest of Oct and all of November, eventually Peanut will fit into Bubbie's. Buggy will fit into the shortall and Bubbie's.... and thats saying that I can't get 2 years out them.... just depends on how much they grow! It was a good investment even for this super cheap Mama!
But seriously, it was a beautiful day! We did make some great memories and we DID arrive home with 5 pumpkins and children and pictures of the day!
10/18/10
Menu Plan Monday ~ Week of October 18, 2010
Sunday lunch- Slow cooker nacho & rice wraps with chips (leftover from last weeks menu)
Monday night- Baked ziti with salad and french bread
Tuesday night- Leftover ziti
Wednesday night- Leftover slow cooker wraps
Thursday night- Hamburger steak w/ gravy, rice, sweet potatoes and green beans
Friday night- Homemade pizza and salad
Saturday lunch- B-day party
Saturday night- Spaghetti dinner with salad, bread and dessert (Company over to carbo load for Hubbie's 1/2 marathon)
Sunday lunch- Out! Celebrating Hubbie finishing (hopefully) his 3rd 1/2 marathon at record time!
Sunday night- Leftover pizza
Don't forget, I've been using the menu planning template from Faithful Provisions! And for more menu planning and tips, visit Laura here.
10/17/10
Celebrating!!
We finally went out and celebrated!
Almost a month ago, we announced that we had become debt free. This, of course, was a HUGE deal in our life! We had planned on celebrating sooner, but days turned into weeks and life gets busy!!! Last week my in laws had asked if they could spend time with the boys and they were kind enough to offer to babysit the kids so that we could go out!
On Saturday evening, we headed out to a fancy restaurant and had a special dinner! We were served several courses and all we had to do was SIT and be WAITED ON! It was like a dream.... the only thing that would have made it better was if I was in my pjs, on the couch and watching a romantic comedy with my honey!!! The food was yummy! It was nice to just sit and chat with my husband! The server was very impressed about the reason that we were celebrating!
After dinner, we decided to head to Goodwill. One of the local Goodwill stores in town has a book store... its like a REAL book store. The books are separated by topic and there is a restaurant in the front of the store with tables and couches. Its very nice and cozy! So, anyway, Hubbie suggested we go to a book store after dinner. I love going to book stores and browsing, but its always depressing, because we find all these books we want to read and buy....and we are too cheap to buy any!!! At least if we find some at the Goodwill, we can afford them!!! ;o) The most expensive book is $3.99, I think.... Anyway, we found some goodies and headed back to relieve my in laws!
The boys had a fabulous time playing lots of games, eating dinner and watching football! They fell asleep quickly after their grandparents left!
It was a fabulous night celebrating!
10/14/10
Scheduling Our Day
About a month ago, a blogging pal posted about her schedule and using this resource as a tool for becoming more purposeful in her day. I was very convicted after looking around at this resource and some of the point that she made. I would love to listen to Susan Braddick's CD but really don't want to purchase it, so I just printed off the free downloadable worksheets( at the bottom of the page).
I held onto these worksheets for a while. Every once in a while, I would tell Hubbie that I wanted he and I to sit down and make up a schedule. Time would pass. Life got a little more hairy. The scheduling got put off on the FAR back burner....until issues came to a head last week. It probably didn't help that I was VERY hormonal and a tad bit.....hmmmmm......witch like! ;o) Hubbie was out of town, and of course, that put me over the deep end. Once Hubbie got home, I had cooled off and we were able to have a good discussion about our expectations of life, nowadays, with me being home, and the expectations I have of a homeschooling father, etc. Most of our expectations weren't fair for the other....and we were able to talk through a lot of that. One of the things that we finally concluded was that our daily schedule WAS NOT working for either of us and we needed to change these QUICK!
In came the wonderful worksheets..... I can't say that we actually did everything we were suppose while making a schedule, but some of the things that are important to us, Susan suggested that they weren't..... so we just used it how we felt fit.
We decided that morning and evening were our most important times that we were convicted about changing. I know this isn't like most families, but my husband doesn't HAVE to get to work at any particular time. Some days its more important for him to get to work at a specific time, but the majority of the time, its come before 10ish and you'll be fine. This has always irritated me because my husband is NOT a morning person. This has been a struggle and argument in our marriage ever since the beginning. We've tried countless times to fix this, but until HE wanted to make the change, there is really nothing I am able to do to get him out of the bed early! We grew up VERY difficult in this way and it definitely made an impact on us.
Because of the lateness of my husband's arrival at work, the later he would come home.... now, some days, it doesn't matter what time he goes in, because if an issue needs to be fixed ASAP, you stay until it gets resolved, but for the most part, after you've done your time and work, you get outta there! The ETA (estimated time of arrival) for my Hubbie kept getting later and later and this had begun to wear on me because I had been home with the 3 children ALL.DAY.LONG and I was DONE! Then if I wanted to get the kids in bed early or if they were hungry before Hubbie got home, it just made for one crazy evening, which is another thing we really needed to change. Our evenings!!!
Ever since we switched Peanut into Bubbie's room and purchased the bunk beds our lives and evenings have revolved around trying to get the kids to STAY IN BED, QUIET DOWN and GO TO SLEEP. Its been a battle from the first day and its still a challenge. I cannot say how many nights Hubbie and I would go to bed before Peanut was asleep.... some nights its been 12:30 and he's STILL partying in his bed. It doesn't matter what we've done...nothing works. My child is strong willed and there is no changing that.... We've read ALL the books and tried all the approaches! They don't work. If you think yours will, please PLEASE come try it! But I will warn you, you will be defeated by this child!
So, part of my frustration is that my husband will come home "late" which throws the whole evening out of the window. I've been fighting with my 2 yr old to nap all afternoon and then I spend all day with the 3 kids, teaching, entertaining, keeping busy and THEN we spend all evening getting the big boys to sleep. I am not getting a break and I'm flat out DONE DONE DONE! I am weary and exhausted and just DONE!
Our evening had to change and for our evenings to change, our morning had to change. So, Hubbie figured out a time he wanted to be at work by and we scheduled our morning around that. I wake up first around 5:45, do my Bible study, reading and computer time. My husband wakes up around the same time, showers and gets ready for work. Then while he gets the kiddos up and dressed, I'm prepping breakfast. This was another thing that I really wanted. A family gathering at the table in the morning. Its worked out pretty well too! All the kids are dressed and at the table for breakfast. We eat together. We haven't been able to do a morning devotional yet with Daddy, but that is the next step. Its been nice to be able to have a few minutes of talking with my Hubbie and the kids are able to sit at the table with their Daddy in the morning. We send Daddy off when its still dark outside and our day begins.
The day schedule hasn't worked too well. I mean, parts of it are good, but having that daily "at this hour we do this, then we switch to this" is very stressful for me. I'm a scheduler and organizational gal, but that was SO overwhelming the first day. I think we're going to have to tweak that a bit or wait until the little ones are a tad bit older. Besides, 2 or 3 days out of the week, we aren't home in the mornings anyway, so it just seemed a bit counterproductive to try this schedule for the other 2 or 3 days out of the week that we were home. Not sure what we'll do about the daily schedule, but some of needs to stick and the rest, I can be easy going with the rest. Most of our afternoons are the same, but we are still tweaking that.
Now, the evenings....ahhhh....the evenings...... have become ours again. I hope I'm not jinxing it by typing this, but man! oh man! God is good! And my husband is awesome again too! ;o) Hubbie comes home SUPER DUPER early! We eat a family dinner SUPER DUPER early. While I clean the kitchen, he bathes the boys. And then we go on a walk. This is a highlight of the day for the boys and they talk about it all day! And this also gets in another "need to for me" which is exercising. I can either exercise in the AM without the kids or do my quiet time in the morning without the kiddos. I figured that doing my quiet time first thing is more important than exercising which is why we are doing a family walk. Then we stagger bed times so that Bubbie gets some alone time with Mommy and Daddy. We usually read and I think Bubbie really likes this. Usually all the kiddos are asleep by 8- 8:30 and if they aren't asleep, they are quiet and we aren't fighting with them! Its amazing!
You might ask, how in the world did you go from horrible night times to dreamy night times by just having your husband come home early? Well, it wasn't that.... actually, I stopped putting Peanut down for naps. Yup! You heard right... the nap time QUEEN isn't making her child nap! Its awful, I know...and I hate it, but it works. Peanut would nap and he was doing a great job at staying in his bed during naps, BUT the night times had become a party. Not every night, but just about every night. It was draining and ridiculous! We had tried James Dobson's approach. We had tried Super Nanny's approach. We had tried our own approaches.....nothing was working....Until we did this. He isn't napping in the afternoons. He's going to bed SUPER EARLY and he's sleeping the whole night. Bubbie slept during nap times until a year ago and then during last school year, he was still falling asleep every other day. I was really hoping to get a nap time out of Peanut for that long as well....and who knows...when the bunk beds become a regular and he is more comfortable with the schedule, I may go ahead and put him back down for nap, but right now, I'm enjoying not having to fight and argue all evening long.
Don't worry though, Buggy is still taking a nice long nap and we're doing mandatory quiet play time. The big boys can do anything in their room or the playroom that is quiet...playing, reading..... no T.V. and they must stay in there so that Mommy can do what she needs to do. This part needs some work, but we're getting there.
After the kiddos are in bed, we prepare for the next day, have time for "30 mins" and still have over an hour of "me" time. This is awesome! We can watch T.V., get in bed, read..... anything we want, but its for Hubbie to do what he wants to do and I have time to do what I want to do. Then, we are in bed around 9:30 to read and settle down and then lights out at a 10pm! By going to bed at 10, we are definitely getting the amount of sleep that we desperately need in order to wake up that early. I haven't had trouble getting up at 5:45 yet and I know its because of the sleep that we are getting. I am even considering getting up at 5:30 so that I have more time before I hear little "Good morning, Mom"s from the kiddos.
So, there it is...our new schedule. Like I said, we will continue to tweak and if we need to make an adjustment for something, we will, but right now, we hope to be consistent with this routine while we all learn! Maybe as I tweak our day time routine, I'll blog about that too.
I held onto these worksheets for a while. Every once in a while, I would tell Hubbie that I wanted he and I to sit down and make up a schedule. Time would pass. Life got a little more hairy. The scheduling got put off on the FAR back burner....until issues came to a head last week. It probably didn't help that I was VERY hormonal and a tad bit.....hmmmmm......witch like! ;o) Hubbie was out of town, and of course, that put me over the deep end. Once Hubbie got home, I had cooled off and we were able to have a good discussion about our expectations of life, nowadays, with me being home, and the expectations I have of a homeschooling father, etc. Most of our expectations weren't fair for the other....and we were able to talk through a lot of that. One of the things that we finally concluded was that our daily schedule WAS NOT working for either of us and we needed to change these QUICK!
In came the wonderful worksheets..... I can't say that we actually did everything we were suppose while making a schedule, but some of the things that are important to us, Susan suggested that they weren't..... so we just used it how we felt fit.
We decided that morning and evening were our most important times that we were convicted about changing. I know this isn't like most families, but my husband doesn't HAVE to get to work at any particular time. Some days its more important for him to get to work at a specific time, but the majority of the time, its come before 10ish and you'll be fine. This has always irritated me because my husband is NOT a morning person. This has been a struggle and argument in our marriage ever since the beginning. We've tried countless times to fix this, but until HE wanted to make the change, there is really nothing I am able to do to get him out of the bed early! We grew up VERY difficult in this way and it definitely made an impact on us.
Because of the lateness of my husband's arrival at work, the later he would come home.... now, some days, it doesn't matter what time he goes in, because if an issue needs to be fixed ASAP, you stay until it gets resolved, but for the most part, after you've done your time and work, you get outta there! The ETA (estimated time of arrival) for my Hubbie kept getting later and later and this had begun to wear on me because I had been home with the 3 children ALL.DAY.LONG and I was DONE! Then if I wanted to get the kids in bed early or if they were hungry before Hubbie got home, it just made for one crazy evening, which is another thing we really needed to change. Our evenings!!!
Ever since we switched Peanut into Bubbie's room and purchased the bunk beds our lives and evenings have revolved around trying to get the kids to STAY IN BED, QUIET DOWN and GO TO SLEEP. Its been a battle from the first day and its still a challenge. I cannot say how many nights Hubbie and I would go to bed before Peanut was asleep.... some nights its been 12:30 and he's STILL partying in his bed. It doesn't matter what we've done...nothing works. My child is strong willed and there is no changing that.... We've read ALL the books and tried all the approaches! They don't work. If you think yours will, please PLEASE come try it! But I will warn you, you will be defeated by this child!
So, part of my frustration is that my husband will come home "late" which throws the whole evening out of the window. I've been fighting with my 2 yr old to nap all afternoon and then I spend all day with the 3 kids, teaching, entertaining, keeping busy and THEN we spend all evening getting the big boys to sleep. I am not getting a break and I'm flat out DONE DONE DONE! I am weary and exhausted and just DONE!
Our evening had to change and for our evenings to change, our morning had to change. So, Hubbie figured out a time he wanted to be at work by and we scheduled our morning around that. I wake up first around 5:45, do my Bible study, reading and computer time. My husband wakes up around the same time, showers and gets ready for work. Then while he gets the kiddos up and dressed, I'm prepping breakfast. This was another thing that I really wanted. A family gathering at the table in the morning. Its worked out pretty well too! All the kids are dressed and at the table for breakfast. We eat together. We haven't been able to do a morning devotional yet with Daddy, but that is the next step. Its been nice to be able to have a few minutes of talking with my Hubbie and the kids are able to sit at the table with their Daddy in the morning. We send Daddy off when its still dark outside and our day begins.
The day schedule hasn't worked too well. I mean, parts of it are good, but having that daily "at this hour we do this, then we switch to this" is very stressful for me. I'm a scheduler and organizational gal, but that was SO overwhelming the first day. I think we're going to have to tweak that a bit or wait until the little ones are a tad bit older. Besides, 2 or 3 days out of the week, we aren't home in the mornings anyway, so it just seemed a bit counterproductive to try this schedule for the other 2 or 3 days out of the week that we were home. Not sure what we'll do about the daily schedule, but some of needs to stick and the rest, I can be easy going with the rest. Most of our afternoons are the same, but we are still tweaking that.
Now, the evenings....ahhhh....the evenings...... have become ours again. I hope I'm not jinxing it by typing this, but man! oh man! God is good! And my husband is awesome again too! ;o) Hubbie comes home SUPER DUPER early! We eat a family dinner SUPER DUPER early. While I clean the kitchen, he bathes the boys. And then we go on a walk. This is a highlight of the day for the boys and they talk about it all day! And this also gets in another "need to for me" which is exercising. I can either exercise in the AM without the kids or do my quiet time in the morning without the kiddos. I figured that doing my quiet time first thing is more important than exercising which is why we are doing a family walk. Then we stagger bed times so that Bubbie gets some alone time with Mommy and Daddy. We usually read and I think Bubbie really likes this. Usually all the kiddos are asleep by 8- 8:30 and if they aren't asleep, they are quiet and we aren't fighting with them! Its amazing!
You might ask, how in the world did you go from horrible night times to dreamy night times by just having your husband come home early? Well, it wasn't that.... actually, I stopped putting Peanut down for naps. Yup! You heard right... the nap time QUEEN isn't making her child nap! Its awful, I know...and I hate it, but it works. Peanut would nap and he was doing a great job at staying in his bed during naps, BUT the night times had become a party. Not every night, but just about every night. It was draining and ridiculous! We had tried James Dobson's approach. We had tried Super Nanny's approach. We had tried our own approaches.....nothing was working....Until we did this. He isn't napping in the afternoons. He's going to bed SUPER EARLY and he's sleeping the whole night. Bubbie slept during nap times until a year ago and then during last school year, he was still falling asleep every other day. I was really hoping to get a nap time out of Peanut for that long as well....and who knows...when the bunk beds become a regular and he is more comfortable with the schedule, I may go ahead and put him back down for nap, but right now, I'm enjoying not having to fight and argue all evening long.
Don't worry though, Buggy is still taking a nice long nap and we're doing mandatory quiet play time. The big boys can do anything in their room or the playroom that is quiet...playing, reading..... no T.V. and they must stay in there so that Mommy can do what she needs to do. This part needs some work, but we're getting there.
After the kiddos are in bed, we prepare for the next day, have time for "30 mins" and still have over an hour of "me" time. This is awesome! We can watch T.V., get in bed, read..... anything we want, but its for Hubbie to do what he wants to do and I have time to do what I want to do. Then, we are in bed around 9:30 to read and settle down and then lights out at a 10pm! By going to bed at 10, we are definitely getting the amount of sleep that we desperately need in order to wake up that early. I haven't had trouble getting up at 5:45 yet and I know its because of the sleep that we are getting. I am even considering getting up at 5:30 so that I have more time before I hear little "Good morning, Mom"s from the kiddos.
So, there it is...our new schedule. Like I said, we will continue to tweak and if we need to make an adjustment for something, we will, but right now, we hope to be consistent with this routine while we all learn! Maybe as I tweak our day time routine, I'll blog about that too.
10/11/10
Menu Plan Monday ~ Week of October 11, 2010
Happy Columbus Day! Super excited about Columbus Day!!! Because it means Hubbie is OFF from work! WOO HOO! :) After a long week last week and an exceptionally long weekend without Hubbie (more on that later), I am glad to have some time with him here before starting a new work/school week!
We are gonna be focusing a lot on school this week...hopefully we can do everything we need to do!
Here's what we're eating.....
Monday lunch- Roast beef melts, carrots and dip and chips
Monday dinner- Remainder of Crunchy Chicken with veggies and homemade bread (taking to someone's house for dinner)
Tuesday dinner- Leftover roast in crockpot with potatoes and carrots
Wednesday dinner- Baked Ziti, salad and bread
Thursday dinner- Leftover ziti
Friday dinner- Homemade pizza, breadsticks
Saturday lunch- Leftover pizza with fruit
Saturday dinner- Out
Sunday lunch- Slow Cooker Nacho Cheese & Rice wraps with chips and fixins
Sunday dinner- Breakfast
If you wanna see a more detailed menu for the week, you can look at the coolest download that I just started using, here!
For more menu tips and ideas, visit Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie. And have a happy week!
As of Tuesday afternoon, we didn't have as many leftovers as I assumed we would have, so I had to do some creative rearranging.... so the image of the menu is different than what we will actually be eating this week! :)
10/8/10
Bubbie's Turn
Bubbie's turn for a father/son date for September didn't turn out the way they had hoped, but it looks as if they still had a blast! I am so thankful that my little boys are making great memories with their Daddy.
Hubbie and Bubbie left the house one Sunday afternoon, while the little boys were napping, and headed to the bowling alley! Bubbie loves bowling and taking scores- especially on the Wii and had been looking forward to a date with Daddy to the bowling alley. Unfortunately, once they got there, they found out that the place was closed because of a tournament. So, they decided to go next door and go shoot. Whelp! That didn't work out, because you have to be at least 6 years old to fire a gun at the place AND they were out of the bullets to the only gun that Bubbie would be allowed to shoot........ So, Hubbie and Bubbie were up a creek without a paddle! They continued to brain storm until they decided to head to Putt Putt!
It was a HOT HOT September afternoon and you can tell from some of the pictures that Bubbie was melting! But that didn't seem to stop his love for the activity or the date with Dad. They came home talking about their fun game, who won, Bubbie keeping score and about future plans for the next Bubbie and Hubbie date!
Like I said in Peanut's & Daddy's date post a few weeks ago, I am so thankful that my boys have a Daddy that, not only takes his sons out on fun dates, but also looks forward to them as much as they do!
Hubbie and Bubbie left the house one Sunday afternoon, while the little boys were napping, and headed to the bowling alley! Bubbie loves bowling and taking scores- especially on the Wii and had been looking forward to a date with Daddy to the bowling alley. Unfortunately, once they got there, they found out that the place was closed because of a tournament. So, they decided to go next door and go shoot. Whelp! That didn't work out, because you have to be at least 6 years old to fire a gun at the place AND they were out of the bullets to the only gun that Bubbie would be allowed to shoot........ So, Hubbie and Bubbie were up a creek without a paddle! They continued to brain storm until they decided to head to Putt Putt!
It was a HOT HOT September afternoon and you can tell from some of the pictures that Bubbie was melting! But that didn't seem to stop his love for the activity or the date with Dad. They came home talking about their fun game, who won, Bubbie keeping score and about future plans for the next Bubbie and Hubbie date!
Like I said in Peanut's & Daddy's date post a few weeks ago, I am so thankful that my boys have a Daddy that, not only takes his sons out on fun dates, but also looks forward to them as much as they do!
10/7/10
Rain Boots
Back in July, when my parents took care of the big boys while Hubbie, Buggy and myself went to a friends wedding out of town, my kids got these monkey rain boots from Target. I don't know how my boys talked their grandparents into buying these for them, because I sure wouldn't have! Nana kept them at her house for a while to keep them as Christmas presents, but decided that she would go ahead and let the boys have them in case the boots became too small before December.
This past week we had a few days of nasty, rainy weather(that would bring some cool weather behind it!!) and it was difficult to keep the boys entertained inside for 2 days straight. So, one afternoon, after nap, they were racing around the house, so I pulled out their rain jackets and brand new boots and sent them outside to play in the rain. (No worries- no storming going on that afternoon and a light misting). They had a BLAST!
I should remember to do this more often. They were out there for over a hour...playing in the dirt, doing stunts off patio furniture and being boys!
When Hubbie came home, he had to give them a bath before dinner, because they were so FILTHY!
The boots were such a hit that the next day it had stopped raining, but the ground was still SOAKED! Instead of going to a MOPS playdate, held indoors because of the wetness, the boys and I decided that the beautiful weather would be better spent outdoors with the rain boots! So, we loaded up with the boots and played at a fun park! The boys had so much fun and were DRENCHED from their shirts down to their socks! They were so wet that they road all the way home in their underwears! It was a funny sight- to see 3 little boys, buckled in their seats, in nothing but their briefs/diaper!!!
We can't wait for more rainy, non-threatening weather to get the boots out again!
10/6/10
Downtown Market
Our downtown has been trying to drum of business and visitors to their streets for quite a while. Its a difficult thing with new construction going on all the time across town and something that needs a lot more work. They did however begin a downtown market a few years ago that is getting better the long its around! They've had some wonderful vendors this summer!
A gal from MOPS sold her cupcakes at the market last weekend and we decided to head down there and show our support. This is the same gal that did the smash cake for Buggy's 1 yr portraits. (If you're local and want her name/info, let me know!)
We purchased a 1/2 dozen of her cupcakes and they were delicious! Oh my! I was HOOKED! Bubbie finished his ENTIRE cupcake (which is unusual for him). I think Peanut was enjoying himself too!
We also purchased about 10 lbs of sweet potatoes for $5 (what am I gonna do with them???!!!) and then a medium sized watermelon! Peanut was also ecstatic about the watermelon! :o) I love Saturday Markets with the family!
A gal from MOPS sold her cupcakes at the market last weekend and we decided to head down there and show our support. This is the same gal that did the smash cake for Buggy's 1 yr portraits. (If you're local and want her name/info, let me know!)
We purchased a 1/2 dozen of her cupcakes and they were delicious! Oh my! I was HOOKED! Bubbie finished his ENTIRE cupcake (which is unusual for him). I think Peanut was enjoying himself too!
We also purchased about 10 lbs of sweet potatoes for $5 (what am I gonna do with them???!!!) and then a medium sized watermelon! Peanut was also ecstatic about the watermelon! :o) I love Saturday Markets with the family!
10/4/10
Yard Sale Jackpot
I typically try to go to yard sales about once a month. Most of the time I go alone. Its welcomed alone time for Mommy after a week of full time care and teaching of 3 little ones. Over the last few months, my Mom has gone with me, which is a lot of fun!
On Saturday I decided to drag the family with me. There were several neighborhood yard sales going on this past weekend around town and then there was a fundraiser for a MOPS family. Plus we had LOADS of errands to run and I figured we could make a day of errands into a fun family day!
Here lately I haven't been having much luck in the yard "sale-ing" department. Most people are trying to sell J-U-N-K. I know most people think that thats what is at yard sales, but I can usually walk away with some great bargains if I am alone and hit quite a few. The last successful yard sale that I went to was back in the late Spring. All summer its been hit or miss.
This past Saturday we had trouble getting started. Most of the people were selling J-U-N-K but finally, we started to find some good ones and hit the jack pot!
On Saturday I decided to drag the family with me. There were several neighborhood yard sales going on this past weekend around town and then there was a fundraiser for a MOPS family. Plus we had LOADS of errands to run and I figured we could make a day of errands into a fun family day!
Here lately I haven't been having much luck in the yard "sale-ing" department. Most people are trying to sell J-U-N-K. I know most people think that thats what is at yard sales, but I can usually walk away with some great bargains if I am alone and hit quite a few. The last successful yard sale that I went to was back in the late Spring. All summer its been hit or miss.
This past Saturday we had trouble getting started. Most of the people were selling J-U-N-K but finally, we started to find some good ones and hit the jack pot!
Ignore the corn mill and paper towel rolls! That wasn't found at a yard sale!!!
We found a toy for both big boys (Winnie the Pooh toy, Candy Land Bingo), 3 books for the boys, 8 Target square bowls, pyrex dish, 2 pairs of shoes, 1 rain jacket and an GA atlas (for Bubbie! He HAD to have it and talked the lady down from $1.50 to 50 cents!) ...... grand total? $9.25 I was happy with that total!!! I probably could have talked one of the sellers down and saved a quarter or two, but I didn't argue!
The saddle shoes, rain jacket and Candy Land game were easily $65 brand new! :o)
All in all, a good shopping day!
10/3/10
Menu Plan Monday ~ Week of October 3, 2010
Sunday lunch- Chili, salad and cornbread
Sunday dinner- Crunchy chicken tacos with spanish rice
Monday dinner- Chili pie (fritos/rice topped with leftover chili, cheese and sour cream)
Wednesday dinner- Leftover beef tips and sides
Thursday dinner- Omelets and home fries
Friday dinner- Homemade pizza with fruit and salad
Saturday lunch- Mommy and kids out
Saturday dinner- Leftover pizza and sides
Sunday lunch- Baked ziti, salad and french bread
Sunday dinner- Put kids to bed early/Chinese take out for in house date night
I found this nifty download on Faithful Provisions last week! I love it! You can't save it to your computer, which is the frustrating part, BUT, you can fill it in on your computer and then print it off! I love it more than using my google calendar! And I also like how there is a spot for breakfast, lunch and snacks! Helps keep me organized and knowing that I do have things for snacks, lunch, etc. If I don't plan those things, I tend to over buy. I am also trying to limit the amount of prepackaged snacky foods that are coming into the house so this helps to know that I have enough.
10/2/10
Homemade Laundry Detergent
My friend, Jessica, posted a link to her recipe for laundry detergent a few weeks ago on Facebook. I had some of the ingredients at home and needed detergent for this month anyway, so I decided to give it a whirl!
We already make our own dishwashing detergent and I do a simple cloth diaper detergent (vinegar and baking soda), so I figured this couldn't be that difficult.
After looking around online, I've noticed that no matter where you go online, the recipe is ALWAYS the same for dry detergent!!! Easy peasy!
I decided that since I was saving SOOOOO much money on the detergent itself, I needed a cute jar for the detergent to go into! ;o) Hee hee!
I ended up making 2 batches and as you can see from the picture, I could have fit 2 more in this 2 qt sized jar! It took less than 20 mins! Give it a try!!!
Policemen in Action
A few weeks ago, Buggy got locked in the car while buckled in his seat. Thankfully it wasn't running and I am even MORE thankful that we were at home. It would have been worse if I had been in a big parking lot with 2 kids outside of the van and 1 kid IN the van!!! Here is what happened......
It was a typical day, running late, rushing and preoccupied with where we needed to be. We came out of the house and walked to the van. I always unlock my door first and it automatically unlocks the rest of the doors. Because I carry Buggy out, I always get him in the car first. The big kids are always asked to go to their side of the van and wait. Notice I said "are always asked"..... they never do it. I don't know why but they stand there and watch me put Buggy in or start running like wild monkeys around the van. Anywho...... While I was putting Buggy into the van, Peanut decided to start playing with the car keys that were still in the van door. He kept turning them and it, in turn, was locking and unlocking the van. I fussed at him and pulled the keys out of the door and laid them on the driver's side seat. While I finished with Buggy, Peanut then hopped into the driver's side and starting fooling with stuff. I fussed again, popped his butt for disobeying and shut my door....... YUP.... This is where the good part is. When he was messing with the keys and I had pulled the keys out of the door, the doors were all locked because of him playing. Before I realized it, as I shut my door, I also shut Buggy's door and started for the other side of the van. As soon as I turned, I heard the "click" and I immediately knew what had just happened!!!!!! I started to panic and then I got upset. If the boys had obeyed, this never would have happened. Thankfully I had left the front door opened so I could still get into the house, but we don't have home phones and my cell phone was locked in the van. EEK! I looked next door and noticed our neighbors were still home. Thank goodness, I could get over there and call a locksmith. Then I remember, Gmail Chat! I gave strict instructions to Bubbie and Peanut to stay ON THE PORCH and make sure that they talked to Buggy. I ran into the house, grabbed the laptop and got on Gmail Chat. Hubbie was on! YAY! I told him that I needed a locksmith called QUICKLY and that Buggy was in the van. Some of his coworkers said that they had called the cops before so Hubbie called the sheriffs department. When Hubbie finished the call, he got back on chat and told me that they'd be here soon, so we waited. Thankfully it was still morning so the temperature hadn't risen yet. Buggy was a little fussy, but wasn't screaming yet. Within 5 mins, street was filled with cop cars. No lie. 2 cop cars came from one side and parked in the middle of the street. 2 cop cars came from the other side and park in the street. Then I see a tow truck pulling him behind them. (I will never understand what the tow truck was for?) And then a lone cop pulls up behind the tow truck. The cops didn't even say anything to me. They all jumped out of their car, popped their trunks, pulled tools out and ran to the van. Within seconds the 4 cops were trying on all of our doors. Finally the lone cop walked up and said "Are you doing OK?" I said "Yeah" but really wanted to say "I am ticked with my children because they caused this mess!!!! And now my child is locked in the car!" By the time I finished thinking that thought, the van was unlocked. I said "Thank you!" and I quickly got Buggy AND THE CAR KEYS out and gave him a big hug! As quickly as the cops came, they all went back to their cars (and yes, NEVER SAID A WORD TO ME!), chatted for a second as the big boys watched and they all sped off.
As soon as they left, I told Hubbie that they were gone. I locked up the house, put the kids in the van (AFTER SCOLDING THEM!) and we were off....as if nothing had ever happened! By this point, it was still early and my nerves were SHOT!
I did briefly think about running to get my camera to capture this totally blog-able moment, but I thought the cops wouldn't have appreciated that! They didn't seem to be in a mood of helping this Mama make the blog post more interesting with a picture!
It was a typical day, running late, rushing and preoccupied with where we needed to be. We came out of the house and walked to the van. I always unlock my door first and it automatically unlocks the rest of the doors. Because I carry Buggy out, I always get him in the car first. The big kids are always asked to go to their side of the van and wait. Notice I said "are always asked"..... they never do it. I don't know why but they stand there and watch me put Buggy in or start running like wild monkeys around the van. Anywho...... While I was putting Buggy into the van, Peanut decided to start playing with the car keys that were still in the van door. He kept turning them and it, in turn, was locking and unlocking the van. I fussed at him and pulled the keys out of the door and laid them on the driver's side seat. While I finished with Buggy, Peanut then hopped into the driver's side and starting fooling with stuff. I fussed again, popped his butt for disobeying and shut my door....... YUP.... This is where the good part is. When he was messing with the keys and I had pulled the keys out of the door, the doors were all locked because of him playing. Before I realized it, as I shut my door, I also shut Buggy's door and started for the other side of the van. As soon as I turned, I heard the "click" and I immediately knew what had just happened!!!!!! I started to panic and then I got upset. If the boys had obeyed, this never would have happened. Thankfully I had left the front door opened so I could still get into the house, but we don't have home phones and my cell phone was locked in the van. EEK! I looked next door and noticed our neighbors were still home. Thank goodness, I could get over there and call a locksmith. Then I remember, Gmail Chat! I gave strict instructions to Bubbie and Peanut to stay ON THE PORCH and make sure that they talked to Buggy. I ran into the house, grabbed the laptop and got on Gmail Chat. Hubbie was on! YAY! I told him that I needed a locksmith called QUICKLY and that Buggy was in the van. Some of his coworkers said that they had called the cops before so Hubbie called the sheriffs department. When Hubbie finished the call, he got back on chat and told me that they'd be here soon, so we waited. Thankfully it was still morning so the temperature hadn't risen yet. Buggy was a little fussy, but wasn't screaming yet. Within 5 mins, street was filled with cop cars. No lie. 2 cop cars came from one side and parked in the middle of the street. 2 cop cars came from the other side and park in the street. Then I see a tow truck pulling him behind them. (I will never understand what the tow truck was for?) And then a lone cop pulls up behind the tow truck. The cops didn't even say anything to me. They all jumped out of their car, popped their trunks, pulled tools out and ran to the van. Within seconds the 4 cops were trying on all of our doors. Finally the lone cop walked up and said "Are you doing OK?" I said "Yeah" but really wanted to say "I am ticked with my children because they caused this mess!!!! And now my child is locked in the car!" By the time I finished thinking that thought, the van was unlocked. I said "Thank you!" and I quickly got Buggy AND THE CAR KEYS out and gave him a big hug! As quickly as the cops came, they all went back to their cars (and yes, NEVER SAID A WORD TO ME!), chatted for a second as the big boys watched and they all sped off.
As soon as they left, I told Hubbie that they were gone. I locked up the house, put the kids in the van (AFTER SCOLDING THEM!) and we were off....as if nothing had ever happened! By this point, it was still early and my nerves were SHOT!
I did briefly think about running to get my camera to capture this totally blog-able moment, but I thought the cops wouldn't have appreciated that! They didn't seem to be in a mood of helping this Mama make the blog post more interesting with a picture!
10/1/10
Big Boy
I know this is an awful picture. Taken with my phone.
I was busy in my bedroom yesterday morning and when Peanut came in he handed me his shoes and said "Put on me, puhleeze." I then noticed that he had dressed himself! Last time I had seen him, he was in his pjs. The best part about him doing this was that the laundry is folded on the coffee table. He had to go, pick out the clothing on the coffee table, dress himself, find 2 socks that matched AND THEN go to his closet and find a pair of shoes! To say that I was proud isn't even coming close! I was thrilled that he had taken the imitative and done this without any help!
Peanut's attitude of "do it by myself" has been challenging. Even if its things you know he can do, if you try to help or make it go quicker, he will fuss at you! Very difficult when you've got 3 little ones to attend to and you must get out the door!
Thankfully this week has been much better than last and he has the best disposition this week! Such a loving and agreeable child! Much different than the last two weeks! The sleeping is still the same...off and on...dependent on.....not exactly sure! Nothing has clicked yet! But we're staying strong, being consistent and following The Strong Willed Child's advice! We are convinced that our once wonderful sleeper will return!
In other news of Peanut...
He went to his second week of BSF this week and the teachers raved about his behavior and attitude! He has come home and is singing the songs that he is learning. BSF only sings hymns and even little ole me (who as raised in church 2-3 times a week) doesn't even know some of these hymns! Its fabulous that is he learning and retaining what is taught to him so quickly!
At nap time I do the same routine with Buggy every day and lately Peanut has been following me in so that he too can tell Buggy "good-night. sleep tight." and then insists that he shut the door!
Peanut is also insistent that HE help! He helps me unload the dishwasher almost everyday. He begs to help me fold the laundry. He will NOT clean the playroom. Not sure what I need to do so that he thinks THAT is a game!
I use to think that Bubbie was independent! Man! Oh man! We've got our work cut out for us! But what a sweet little boy he is.... and thankfully, I can say that this week, because last week, I couldn't! ;o)
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