He did it!

Ethan made it through one FULL day of Preschool. He's going to be going all day on Tuesdays and Thursdays from now one. Both his teacher, who I love, and I agreed he was ready. He's done 2 full days previously but it was on days there were field trips so that's not really the same as the regular full routine of eating in the lunch room, nap time, and ending the day. The preschool aide said he had a rough start but did well the rest of the day. I was most concerned with lunch which I packed for him and nap time. It was reported he had some trouble laying down a little but it was the first time and he slept for a total of 20 minutes. He was pretty subdued when I picked him up but he played quietly for most of the afternoon. I thought he would be wiped out but somehow as soon as this tired boy hits his room for about 5 minutes, he is re energized every single time. It's 9:45 so an hour and 15 minutes has gone by and everyone is asleep but Ethan is sitting with Daddy in the playroom laughing it up watching who knows what on TV. I'm really looking forward to Tuesdays and Thursdays however my first Tuesday was spent on taking Addison to the eye doctor in Peoria but I hope to enjoy these days home more than doing errands.

MIA

I know I'm becoming on those bloggers that never updates their blogs . . . bad blogger. I have no good excuse. Just not feeling myself lately these days . . . overwhelmed would be the best word. I have a lot going on . . . we all have a lot going on but lately seems like my "list" is miles long and my ambition is not existent . . . it will be fine . . . I will be fine . . . everything will get back into sync again just takes time . . . in the meantime I'm not blogging much but on a happier note I am trying to maintain the laundry situation . . . situation is the right word for my laundry.

Another excuse for my non-blogging is my computer is FULL to the brim. I finally looked up how many photos are on my computer: 23,808. It will not take one more and it reminds me this every three seconds. My wonderful sister gave me an external hard drive for my birthday and this weekend I am going to figure out how to transfer most of my photos there so my computer will be happier and I can empty my camera. It has about 2 weeks worth of photos on it which is probably 600 or so. I know I have a problem. Anyway I will want to show all the great or not-so-great photos I have and I can finally update my 365 blog. I am still taking photos just not able to post them.

So don't give up on me. I'll be back with photos.

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

At least until I have a vehicle to take these kids to school. I don't mind rain but I do mind walking 2-1/2 blocks pushing a non-cooperative stroller while holding an umbrella and having to stop every 5 seconds to yell at a equally non-cooperative boy who is also holding an umbrella and standing in a huge puddle saying he is stuck. It only rained one of the three times I had to walk. I'm glad it was the last time, we all had to change our clothes, wash coats, and air out book bags. We were completely soaked. As soon as we stepped out the door to leave it started raining harder. I really didn't want to go but I had no other option, none of my neighbors were home to ask if I could borrow their car or at least stay with Ethan and Reese. We didn't melt, I got good use out of my rain boots (yes, I had to mention them again, Keely) and I took photos so it must not have been that bad, huh? Maybe the truck will be fixed tomorrow night . . . at least no rain is forecasted for tomorrow.

Running from Stress

I don't know what it is but lately I've just been feeling so stressed out and down. I swear days go by super fast and I feel like I get nothing accomplished. I am trying my best to blame it all on Mr. Winter who is slowing packing his bags here in the Midwest. Maybe I'm some freaky person who needs X amount of sunlight each day because I feel a lot better when it's sunny than cloudy -- that sounds so dumb. Yesterday was another one of those days, maybe it was the fact that I knew Aaron had a meeting and told me he would probably be home about 10pm. Right there is enough to put me over the edge. It didn't helped that I was running everywhere all day long -- I went to school 4 times yesterday, good thing we only live 2 blocks away. So I made the plan that we would go to the YMCA that night -- the babysitting room opens at 5:00 so we had to wait until then. I walked on the treadmill for 35 minutes I think I got in a little more than 2 miles. Having my MP3 player is about the best thing ever! People are probably thinking I'm about ready to fall or have some sort of weird stride because I'm practically dancing on the treadmill. I sure hope I'm not singing out loud too! I worked out pretty hard and then decided I would run. Remember I'm not a runner but I'm doing a 5K this year sometime. I ran for a little more than a whole "lap" which is only a quarter of a mile. I know that's a sprint to most people to me it could be a marathon but with Kenny Chesney blaring in my ears it wasn't so bad. Not too sore today. After I ran which was about 4 minutes, I took my heart rate on the treadmill. Oops only about 20 beats above the really hard workout rate for my age so it was a good time to quit before they call an ambulance. I really need to get into shape but wow I felt energized and ready to go. We came home and I made supper put the kids to bed by myself started cleaning up the house and scrapbooked for a while. I think I'm adding the Y at night more often. It's hard to wait for Aaron since he gets home at 6:00 so I think I'm taking them at least once or twice a week for the time being. Especially after these days that I feel so stressed out I doubt I can run away from my stress but maybe I can get ahead of it for just a little bit!

All Pooped Out!

Dear Ethan,

I am at a breaking point (and I don't feel I get to breaking points easily) with you and potty training . . . seriously you are almost 4 and a half years old, it's time actually way past time and then some. I started potty training you and your brother and sister when you were about 2 and half years old . . . almost 2 years ago. Your sister, being a girl and all, pretty much did it herself. Your brother, on the other hand, was a slower go and took about 9 months to be officially potty trained. I didn't push you, I didn't want to traumatize you for life as all the propaganda says. We're gently nudging and encouraging, but I'm losing stamina.

You're so very stubborn . . . you don't seem to care about incentives. Your siblings were thrilled with charts and stickers and promises of "guys" for pooping on the potty. Even with bribes of special fun things like extra visits to Grammy & Papa's house . . . you have the so what? attitude. Maybe if I got the real live Wiggles to come here in person and live at our house you'd do it . . . doubtful. I'm even thinking would a puppy help? No, that's something else I'd have to potty train, I need to regroup.

The comment that I always jokingly say: He'll have to find a wife who will change his pull-ups . . . isn't so funny anymore and I'm beginning to think seriously what are you going to do? What am I going to do? I still have to potty train Reesey after you . . . maybe I'm just tired after all Daddy and I changed approximately 6,000 diapers your first year and probably close to 14,000 to date all in the short period of 4-1/2 years so I am just all pooped (and peed) out! So will you please at least pretend your interested in going instead of ignoring me when I tell you it's time to go try and when you want me to sit on the tub by you for what seems like endless hours could you at least put some effort into the whole experience instead of just wanting to get down only to wait 5 minutes after I put a new pull-up on you then you say "I stinky, I poot." I really want you to be a big boy and I know you do too.

Please, please, please, maybe there's a puppy waiting for you on the big boy side . . . puppies have got to be easier to train than their 4-1/2 year old owners.

Love, Your tired mom

Paci Free Days

Well we have one day under our belt. I decided that yesterday was the day to take Reese's pacifier away. She's almost 16 months and I am appalled at myself for letting it go this long. My light bulb moment was a few weeks ago the older kids had a dentist appointment and they have some enamel issues due to prematurity and the Dr. Egger just wanted to make sure it wasn't a genetic thing so he looked in her month and said right away: "pacifier or thumb sucker?"

We stopped using pacis with the triplets when they were 10 or 11 months old. It was such a nonevent I don't even remember the exact timing. They loved their pacifiers too, Ethan loved his thumb more but he would take a paci. Around 8 or 9 months I just stopped bringing it out of their beds because first I had to locate them since they were always under the bed beside the mattress thrown across the room. Then downstairs we had 3 to keep track of and which was whose. It was a pain so they just used them at nap and night time. I didn't even put them in their mouth, if they could find them, good for them. I really believe that anything you are going to get rid of using with the kids has to be done before or right around 12 months of age otherwise emotionally dependency kicks in and then it's a thousand times harder. Bottles were the same at 1 year for all my kids we slowly got rid of them and it wasn't hard at all.

Reese has only been using her paci at nap time, bedtime, in the car, and during shopping for the about 2-3 months except for a few times when she was sick, we didn't let her have it during the day. Yesterday Reese and I ran errands in the morning and didn't take a paci with us. She was fussy for a little bit but I turned on the Wiggles CD and she started dancing and singing instead, easy enough. She didn't' get a morning nap so I put her down a little early in the afternoon and she cried for about 2 hours. After she emptied her bed and tore down her mobile, I didn't think she was going to sleep so out she came. I thought she might be bordering insanity by the end of the day but she wasn't grouchy at all. Then came bedtime and she cried for just a little bit maybe 5 minutes and she was out. She woke up twice and after holding her for a little bit in our bed she'd fall back asleep and we put her back in her crib. She was up bright and early at 6am which is unusual for her but we made it. I just put her down for a nap and she was not happy at all. Screaming and really mad, I went up there once. I held her and she was fine until I laid her back down. It's been about 35 minutes and I'm not hearing anything. So I think she may have given in and went to sleep. So wish me good luck, we're on to the next thing -- what would that be . . . potty training? (just kidding)

One of those days

Yesterday was just one of those days where everything (most everything) was relaxed (as relaxed as it can be with 4 small kids) and fun.

We started the day off with bacon and pumpkin pancakes that three out of four kids ate. My theory of keep on serving something over and over and over again and eventually they will eat it is panning out. It also helps that Addison and Reese (because she can't be left out) will eat about anything with whipped cream on it too. Caden likes his pancakes plain: no butter, no syrup; in my opinion what's the point of eating pancakes then?

Reese took a short nap and we played outside scooters and sidewalk chalk.

Daddy came home from helping our neighbor and he took the older kids to the park for a while.

We decided to go out for a little lunch. I wanted Steak and Shake for a change of pace unfortunately so did everyone else and it was a wait so McDonalds again which made all the kids and Daddy happy.

We had birthday gifts to buy at Walmart and the kids had some money from Valentines Day so they each got to buy something. Ethan couldn't decide on his purchase and he had about 6 things in the cart at once, mix that with being tired and we had several rough moments but that's normal.

We came home, the kids played outside a little more, and we had a clean out the fridge supper. Before long it was bedtime and they were all asleep by 8:30 which is very unusual especially for Ethan since he's in his big boy toddler bed, he can spend a few hours causing mischief every night. I won't mention that he woke up talking loudly at 3 am and wouldn't go back to sleep so he came into our bed and I was so tired I'm not sure if he ever went back to sleep but judging by his behavior at school today I say no he didn't but I'm not mentioning that.

It was just one of those relaxing, nothing pressing, fun days . . . we don't get them very often but we need them.

Weendend RECHARGE!

I know I've been a REALLY bad blogger the last couple weeks . . . there just isn't enough time in the day to get to everything I want to . . . same sob story I always have and it's a whole other post, right?

This weekend Keely and I celebrated my birthday late . . . her fam came down and the guys agreed to stay with the kids and Friday we went to Scrapaganza. She had a credit from the last garage sale and it was burning a hole in her pocket and she wanted to check out their new store. I can't believe she found anything to buy because I swear she owns about everything but somehow she found some stuff, of course, I try to keep on my scrapbooking diet but somehow I fall off the wagon every time. My friend, Candi, was back in town and we tried to sign up for their crop but it was full . . . we still got to see Candi and her new baby, Piper. We also went to Joann's and Target and to Red Robin for dinner. Neither one of us had ever been . . . we had them awesome bottomless strawberry lemonade and blueberry pomegranate drinks. I drank 3 they were so good! {It says a lot about my less than exciting life when one of the highlights of my year so far is a nonalcoholic fruit drink, huh?} I liked my meal too. I'll be going back but it's not a kid place, at least for my kids anyway. We got home at 11pm. We didn't do much after that. I thought I wanted to scrapbook but didn't really happen.

Today we went to the the Country Fair Mall in Coal Valley. I went there back in January and this was Keely's first time. It's an awesome place where you could easily spend an entire day and still not see everything. We had a time frame so we only made it into 2 of the 3 buildings. But we made some awesome finds.

I got a big box of ric rac and bias tape for scrapbooking and other crafts. Two cute vintage aprons that I will wear (I'm not into having stuff just to have it, if I have it, I'm using it).

Refrigerator dishes -- I've been wanting a set of these for a couple years. I'm using them for leftovers and ditching most of the stupid "gladware" stuff that we can never find a lid for. Bonus that I found a matching mixing bowl too.

This cute doll bed came with the quilt for $13. It is adorable. I might repaint it -- at one time I can see where it was pink. I just have to convince Reese it's for baby dolls and not her.

I wish I could have bought this pink hutch and all the pink stuff in it. Isn't it cute? If I had a scrapbook room . . . is what I kept thinking and saying. This room was so fun because everything was 40s/50s/60s and organized by color and it just made everything look so fun and cute. That metal cart in front of the hutch is pink too!

And what I set out to buy today was a table for my sewing machine. When I moved my scrapbook stuff upstairs, I wanted my sewing machine accessible all the time so I would use it more. I orginially put it on a phone table which was probably about 12 inches by 12 inches barely big enough for the sewing machine, not to mention it was way too short to be comfortable to work at. Recently since I'm making quilts I put my machine on a card table of course too big in the bedroom. But I found this today. It has leaves on each side that go up to make it bigger and a long drawer. I think I'll paint it some fun color but I'll have to decide what color I want. It's a great size and very sturdy. The best part it was $30.

We still had time for some pizza lunch. We would have had more time but Miss Safe Driver got a speeding ticket. I never speed but I do forget about being in town and got ticketed for going 45 in a 30 mph -- oops. I was lucky with just one ticket because my drivers license had expired on my birthday but the officer was nice and just warned me about that. I couldn't find a current insurance card for a while but it turned up. I'm not mad, I was speeding and I could have gotten 2 tickets, I was in the wrong. I haven't had one for a long time since way before we were married . . . need to remember to slow down in town. I never even seen him . . . Keely did after he already clocked me, guess where he was . . . right in front of the police station, who would have thought there'd be police at the police station!

I feel so recharged just getting away for an evening and part of the day, having a couple meals without kids and spending time with my sis. We asked Monica to come along too but her hubby was out of town for the weekend so it didn't work out. Too bad it would have been more fun with her too. I am ready for a week of fun, creativity, and productivity . . . seriously . . . I've been feeling kind of "down" lately and mainly I think I need spring more than anything along with some sunlight but having "me" time is something I haven't had in a long time . . . it's hard to manage that with all the kids and so little time where we can be together as a family but it really is a necessity.

I hope you're having a great weekend and getting some recharging time in too!

Supermom?

In the short period of 59 minutes I:

• got dressed


• made my bed


• woke up 2 kids


• found clothes for 4 kids


• dressed 2 kids (the other 2 dressed themselves)


• made 3 waffles (toaster), 3 mini pancakes, cut up one banana


• poured one sippy cup and 3 cups of milk (one with strawberry quik)


• made 2 lunches


• got 4 kids in coats


• drove 4 kids to school and dropped them off (only 3 not 4)

Am I a Supermom? Definitely not . . . just a mom who woke up late again . . . blasted time change! Did I mention there was a lot of crying (not by me) and some yelling (by me) and Ethan got dressed at 8:20 and they should be at school at 8:25. Reese didn't wear shoes or have her coat zipped on the way to school. Addison didn't get her hair combed (me too), no one brushed their teeth (including me), I don't know if anyone had hats or gloves and it's freezing outside. I'm probably the only preschool mom who walks her kids to the front door of the school and opens it and sends them in. Every other parent is walking their {ONE!} child to their classroom. I wouldn't even walk them to the front door but it's too heavy for them to open. I'm all for independence and don't want to go in since this Supermom hasn't done anything to herself except get dressed (and geesh I haven't even been up an hour . . . I'm not ready to mingle with real people yet) . . . now this Supermom is off to do some laundry, pick up the breakfast dishes, eat some breakfast, and possibly scrapbook during the baby's nap.

Edited to add: Looks like this Supermom needs to find an iron for her outfit huh? I wish I was Supermom so I could figure out how to get something done while still having time for me.

I know it's been said before . . .

{by me!} I don't {heart} the time change . . . AT ALL! Whoever thought of this didn't have kids on a schedule. We know how I love having my children on a schedule. There was a lot of horse play before they went to bed last night like 2 hours of it mostly by Ethan. Aaron got up about 15 minutes after the time he should have already left for work. Couldn't be that my baby woke up screaming at 11pm and proceeded to do that for the next hour and I have no idea why. I think I put her back to bed but it lasted like a 30 minutes so she slept in our bed . . . which means not much sleep for me. We are down to one vehicle with the truck in the shop so we walked to school. Thank goodness, no rain but it was a tad chilly and I didn't wear a hat or gloves. Kids' eyeglasses and the hearing aid were left in the van so they went to school without. We have no bread and my house is such a mess. We were gone to Keely's and Jeremy's all weekend so I have a lot to do. I am shocked that I haven't been blogging or keeping up on my 365 Photos. I'm off to put this baby to bed, eat some breakfast, and clean up this disastrous house. I'll try to be back later with more positive thoughts!

What a week

1. I went to a meeting last Monday night, we went out for my birthday on Tuesday night, Aaron had meetings on Wednesday and Thursday nights, Friday night he had to go have his truck looked out (more problems) and look at someone's plumbing so he got home late again, Saturday he had to help my dad return a refrigerator and pick up a new one, Sunday I had to get groceries then Aaron had to finishing the plumbing job and help our neighbor. Geesh what a week! I'm so ready for us to have some family together time at night this week -- I'm not really good at the single mom thing!

2. The kids had the day off today so we went to the Y. I'm ashamed to admit we haven't made it to work out since December. Things just get crazy and the kids were sick for so long too. Boy is it hard to go back that first day. I only walked on the treadmill and used that bike standing thing for 55 minutes and it felt like I was there for hours. I like watching The View while I walk on the treadmill (you can tune your radio to hear the TVs) and I think I laugh out loud sometimes.

3. I have all the squares cut and quilted for Reese's quilt. I made myself stay up until midnight working on that, doing laundry, watching TV. I just have it sew together --tonight, I hope.

4. Celebrity Apprentice was really good -- I such a geek for saying that too! I kind of let Tom Green slip out of my mind but he's really funny and odd too.

5. We did our picnic for my Creativity Project last night check it out on my 365 blog if I ever get my photos to download.

6. We took the kids to Bounce Town on Saturday. While they had a blast, that will probably be our only trip there. It was so loud and places like that are fun but they are super hard to keep track of your children if you don't have one on one supervision. There were too many BIG kids in my opinion who were much too old and too wild to be playing amongst the younger ones. Once I could hear Aaron yelling throughout the whole place I knew it would be time for us to leave soon.
7. I got the new Gary Allan CD on Saturday and it is so good!

8. There was a time yesterday when I seriously wondered how I was going to make it through the summer with all these kids being home all day with me. When Aaron finally came home I told him "I quit!" but he said it isn't allowed. It will be better when they can get outside -- right?

9. My computer is bursting at the seems. I get a message every 5 seconds that it has NO MORE ROOM at all for anything. I am trying to delete stuff but every time I do it makes no difference and I end up deleting stuff I use and don't know it and then it won't work right. Gotta love technology especially when you don't know what you are doing!

10. Now I'm off to paint with the kids for today's creativity time.

Handmade Giveaway

Go check out my sister's blog today or tomorrow, she's doing a fun giveaway where you could win the opportunity for her to make you something -- I promise that she makes cool stuff! So leave her a comment and make her work for you!