Another Haircut Story

Let's just say that someone in this house got a haircut today. By Abby.



Now I know to keep my scissors put up while I'm clipping coupons & have to walk away for a minute.

Our Quiver Runneth Over

Psalm 127

A song of ascents. Of Solomon.

1 Unless the LORD builds the house,
its builders labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city,
the watchmen stand guard in vain.

2 In vain you rise early
and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat—
for he grants sleep to ^[a] those he loves.

3 Sons are a heritage from the LORD,
children a reward from him.

4 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
are sons born in one's youth.

5 Blessed is the man
whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame
when they contend with their enemies in the gate.

Yup, our quiver is full of them. Lots of kids, you know. I was asked (again) today if seeing Ethan walk well makes me want to have more kids. Sometimes, yes, but sometimes no. Seriously, having newborns is horrible, horrible, horrible sometimes! But what mother doesn't look back at every second of her children's babyhood and long to try it just one more time?

Although lately, I've really wanted to get a dog. Hmm... I'm not sure which is more work, but I don't see anything in this Psalm about a houseful of puppies!

Another First/Last

I finally gave in and cut poor Ethan's bangs. He says he felt like a sheep dog. No kidding. Those were his first words.

But really, he did do that blinking in disbelief thing all the time - unfortunately, the disbelief was in how much his long bangs got in his eyes. Now he's less of a baby... More of a toddler... Closer to a kid... Almost a man!! Like I've said before, I have a hard time letting go. This was Ethan's first hair cut, but my last first haircut to give. If that even makes sense to anyone but me.

However, lately I've felt that my kids are still quite young, and I have a long way to go before they're grown. I don't know which is better - feeling that time is flying and being depressed because they're growing so fast, or feeling that they'll be little forever and not noticing that time is flying by. It's just so hard emotionally to be a mother - I wonder what dads think?

Enough of this - I think the snow and clouds are effecting my mood. Also, that new Superchick song is on the radio, and it's very depressing....

On a lighter note, here's a cute picture of Ethan cross-dressing!

A Break to Examine Eyes.

Every person in my house has a different color eyes. Weird, huh?

He's My Boy

This past weekend was another one of those weekends. While the kids seem to be getting better from their sicknesses, mine hasn't really gone anywhere at all, and Daniel is off and on with his own form of sickness. Well, now the kids are acting sick again. This has been the sickest winter ever for us - an award we're very reluctant to accept.

Yesterday was Sunday, and since only Avery and I appeared to be well, we headed off to church. This was after a lot of bathing and dressing and coercing. We finally got in the car, nice and clean, neat and tidy, and ready for church. Since eating was not a part of our getting ready for church that morning, we were forced to stop at Tim Horton's for donuts and iced cappuccinos (just kidding, only one!!) on the way to church, despite having barely enough time to get to church before the Sunday school class I teach starts.

Everything is going great. Avery's got donut holes, and we're within a couple miles of our church, with 5 minutes to spare! Avery's in the back seat talking and singing and acting Averyly, so I have the rear view mirror adjusted so I can watch him be Averyly (safe, I know.). I watch him stuff an entire donut hole in his mouth. Despite my warning to "be careful," he starts to slowly, slowly choke on that donut. The bad thing is, I didn't even think "Oh my gosh, my son is choking!" I thought more about him spitting the whole thing out and where it would go. That's also an Averyly behavior.

Well, he spit it out alright, along with all the other donut holes he already had in his belly. He "spit" them out all over the front of his coat, his pants, his shirt, and his carseat. Did I mention we're within a mile or so of church and have 5 minutes to spare?

He's crying, saying he threw up his "donut balls." I'm trying to comfort him, keep him from getting it anywhere else but his seat, and drive all at the same time. Moms are definitely multi-taskers. I pull over to see what can be done to get this kid to church. Hmmm... Nothing. Nothing at all. So I attempt to clean up the mess with the two napkins Tim Horton's gave us, some wipes, and a plastic bag. I also have to turn my head every few seconds to prevent myself from adding to the mess. I have a very weak stomach for these things.

So, I finally give up and take Avery's pants and coat off, and sit him in Ethan's carseat. Thank goodness we have three carseats crammed into our backseat!! I cover him in a blanket, and we head to church.

At church I have already decided to head home, but I need to find someone to cover my Sunday school class. Well, when I get there I feel guilty for planning on leaving, so I run around the bottom floor looking for pants for my kid, and a friend is running around the top floor looking for pants. There are no pants in our church.

So, I have a half-naked Avery in my arms, a huge picnic blanket wrapped around him, and he smiles up at me and says "I'm hungry, Mommy." We leave church early, and head back to Tim Hortons.

The Middle Ground

So, yesterday was Valentine's Day. This is my very first Valentine's Day with a kid in school. I've been looking forward to this for years - I love making Valentines, I love making those covered boxes and cans to hold the Valentines, and also hearts are just really easy to draw & cut out.

Well, I didn't want Abby to be different from everyone else in the class, but I didn't know if the other kids would be making their Valentines or just signing the store bought Valentines. So Abby & I made some, and we bought some. We cut hearts out of red foam, punched holes in it, stuck in a sucker, made pipe cleaner bees, and wrote "Bee Mine" on the hearts. And last time I was at CVS, I picked up some Valentines that held suckers. I know, sucker overload, right?

Well, we get to the Valentine party, and most of the kids brought store Valentines. However, this one kid and his mom took microwave popcorn packets, wrote "You make my heart pop!" on them, and made paper hearts that they sewed together and stuffed with candy, and made the teachers cookie-mix-in-a-jar, covered with country-ish fabric and a picture of the kid (I'm not kidding, here) wearing a cowboy hat and dressed in a western shirt.

So now I have a question: Is there a middle ground here? I mean, is it possible to not do too much, yet still do something worthy of putting your kid's name on it? I doubt any parent wants their kid to be the only one that brought nothing but a card, and I personally don't want my kid to be the one that does it all. Of course your kid is worth all this work, but is it really for the kid - or for the other parents?? Of course all the other moms and the teachers told this mom "you're so crafty!!" I wonder if they were also thinking "and you must have a super amount of spare time on your hands!!"

I just don't have the time to do that, and I doubt I have the will to do that with 3 small kids. There are only 8 kids in Abby's preschool class - what will it be like next year when she has closer to 30 in her class? I'd better start reserving that pony now....

Voices

I have quite possibly found the most child unfriendly device know to man. It can be dangerous, it can be annoying, but it can also be funny. If you've ever called your mortgage company, your bank customer service, your power company, or anyone else that doesn't realize people have kids - then you probably know what I mean.

It's the voice-automated phone systems that are everywhere these days. I suppose they make life easier for... someone... but not me. I call one these numbers, and inevitably, my kids run in the room screaming. The "woman" on the phone either says "I didn't quite understand you," or "I think you said... buy a boat." This could really be dangerous.

But even if you don't have problems with your kids, you could (read: will) have problems. Have you ever tried to use one of these systems when you have a cold? Each cough sends you to a different department. Or if you walk past a TV, who knows what Dora will make you buy!

What ever happened to waiting on hold for an hour and then being transfered to twenty other departments before you're told they can't help you??

5 Bad Things and 1 Good Thing

This weekend was just horrible. Yucky and bad. All 3 kids, Daniel, and I were sick with (I guess) the flu. Now everyone knows how bad it is to be sick. Everyone with kids knows how bad it is to have even one sick child, let alone 3 at once. But really, can you ever get over being sick, and having 3 sick kids at once? I've never actually done this before, and I hope to never, ever, ever, ever do it again.

So that's the 5 bad things (5 sick people). Now for the one good thing. Daniel was just really, really awesome this weekend. He cooked (even though no one wanted to eat, exactly), he washed dishes, he did laundry, he put away the laundry, he cleaned up throw up, he cleaned up barf, he cleaned up vomit, and he generally did everything else. What on earth would I do without him??

Daniel does react differently to being sick than I do, and he always has since I've known him. When I throw up, I feel much worse and know for sure that I am sick as can be. When Daniel throws up, he's happy because he feels better and knows that he's getting better. When I'm sick I don't like to be touched or even talked to. When he's sick, Daniel wants to be cuddled and paid lots of attention to. When I encounter sick kids, I get sick myself (just at the sight). When Daniel encounters sick kids, he just cleans them & gets on with what he was doing.

While I was sick, lying on the couch and not eating, Daniel was sick, holding two sick kids in bed and eating eggrolls. Not all at the same time, but you get the point.... Thank goodness for Daniel.

That Explains It...

Have you ever wondered why Avery has blonde hair and blue eyes, yet no one else in the family does? Well guess who came out of the womb after him:

Yup, it's Baby Hitler in footy PJs.

But really, is it just me... Or is it rude to ask someone if their son is really theirs? Practically every time I go anywhere with all 3 kids, someone asks if they're all 3 mine, or if they all have the same father (yes, really), or how did Avery get that hair? Sometimes people try to be sneaky and just say, "Look at that hair!" I know that's code for "your kids look nothing alike."

But by far, my all-time favorite rude question asked about Avery's hair is this: "What color hair does your mailman have?" Am I the only one who sees a problem with this question - even as a joke?

Advertising Works

Now I know why some parents in the 80's were so against commercials that target children.

My kids used to only watch the Disney channel (I know, it is an advertisement), but over the past few months they've gotten into Nickelodeon more and more. As most parents know, the difference between Disney & Nick is that Nick has commercials, while Disney doesn't (sort of). At first they thought the show was over every commercial break and went to their rooms to play instead of finishing the show. Then they realized that the show comes back after those commercials, and got mad when the commercials came on. Then they realized that those commercials are full of fun toys and junk that they need to have in their rooms!

Abby is certainly a victim of commercial targeting. Just about every time a Barbie commercial comes on, she runs to me and says "You know, there's this new Barbie out there that has wings that pop up!" Just so I know, you see....

I've also always wondered why Nick runs bathroom cleaner commercials during shows like Yo Gabba Gabba and The Wonder Pets. Are they hoping that the kids will run and clean the bathroom after the show? My kids just don't do that. Sure, parents supposedly watch TV with their kids - but what parent just sits there and listens to "snacky-snack-snack snack-snack" for 30 minutes, when they could be washing dishes or starting a load of laundry, or taking a shower while their kids are so engrossed in this show??

Now don't get me wrong, I don't let my kids watch TV all day - but I do take advantage of clever shows like Gabba or The Wonder Pets. They're just too good not to watch, and I do feel that they are not violent or inappropriate in any way, and my kids do learn something each time.

Now back to that bathroom cleaner. Abby came up to me just a minute ago (while watching Gabba), and said "Mommy, can you buy one of those new toilet brushes that cleans under the edge better? Cause our toilet brush is no good, and this one cleans the edge much better." Does advertisement work, or what??

Now if I could just get one of the kids to clean the toilet with that new brush....

It's Cold

Sorry - it's too cold to blog.

Monday Memories

Remember how things were before you had kids?

1. I could go to the grocery store without prior planning, and without hunting for 3 coats, 6 mittens, 3 hats, 6 socks, and 4 shoes!
2. I could go anywhere in 30 minutes or less, and spend less money doing it!
3. I could eat at actual restaurants.
4. I only had to do laundry once a week.
5. I only had to clean my house once a week.
6. I could watch TV shows during the day that did not have Rockets, Tiggers, or Jaguars in them.
7. I could take as long of a shower as I wanted, and at any time I wanted.
8. I went entire days without getting food, snot, or playdough on my clothes.
9. Speaking of clothes, I dared to buy "Dry Clean Only" before I had kids.
10. I also dared to wear black.
11. I spent my days wishing I had kids.
    

A Long Post About Shoes!

I have never in my life thought about shoes as much as I have in the past 5 days. I decided on Monday that Ethan should finally start wearing shoes. We went to church Sunday, and he was the only kid with no shoes. When we go out to eat, he's the only one that seems to defy the "no shirt, no shoes, no service" rule. I've always felt that you should hold off on shoes for as long as possible, and if they never walk outside - then they never need shoes. It is winter, so Ethan has not really walked outside, ever... But on Monday, it was super nice and warm outside (70 degrees!!), and I decided to let the kids play in the yard. I stood Ethan in the yard and realized he needed shoes. Not only did his socks get mulch, grass, and mud all over them - he also looked odd outside without shoes, for some reason.

So, I changed his socks and headed to Payless to have them measure Ethan for shoes. There are no better shoe stores in my town - sad, huh? They said he was a 5 1/2, so I headed to the toddler section and tried on a cute 5 1/2 shoe. Hmm... I couldn't even get his whole foot in there. Maybe he needs a 6? I try a 6. Same problem. A 6 1/2 - same thing. I put a 7 on him, and it fits, but the straps will not close. I took off the 7 and held it up to Ethan's foot upside down (that's how he'll wear it, actually). The 7 is way too long for his foot.

I drove straight home and began researching baby shoes. Turns out I was right, they shouldn't have shoes until they can walk, and then only outside. Well, Ethan has been walking for 2 months... *shhh* I start to feel like a parent that just found out their kid has some sort of disability. Not that I'm comparing this to that - I just felt like Ethan was somehow different all of a sudden. He's normal, but has this one thing that makes him special.

I decide to google "shoes for baby feet that are too fat". Bingo! I find a nice article about choosing the right shoe for your baby. The shoes all sound awesome, so I look up some of the brands. Umi, Pediped, See Kai Run, L.A.M.B., Roberto Cavalli... The least expensive seems to be around $30, the most expensive around $175.... hmm...

So I e-mail a friend that prefers European shoes, assuming that she would know some of the brands - European or not - and she does. She tells me that Marshall's carries Umi. I immediately (okay, the next day) drive to Marshall's and look at every baby shoe they have. They only have Umi for girls, so I decide to try every boy shoe they have on Ethan. After literally trying on about 15 brands of shoes, each in a size 6 and a size 7, I give up and grab a pair of Converse. I loosen all the laces, pull the tongue back as far as it will go, and squeeze Ethan's foot into the shoe. I tug at the back of the shoe, I slap the bottom, I loosen the laces again, I adjust his sock, check to see if his toes are curled (they are not), pull at the back, loosen the laces, straighten his foot, slap the bottoms, and PRESTO! Ethan is wearing a shoe! I pull them off, and go pay for them.

The shoes sat on his dresser for 2 days before I even tried to put them on his feet again. I went through the same tug, slap, loosen, etc thing to get one of the shoes on his foot. Then I realized that I could fold down the back, thread the laces the wrong way through the eyelets, and possibly, hopefully, get these shoes on Ethan's feet a little easier. The shoes are canvas high tops, by the way, and remind me of 80's punk every time I look at them. I love them.

Yesterday, I put the shoes on Ethan with the backs folded down. It only took me about 5 minutes that way! Progress! I stood him up in his new shoes, and he stares at them for a second, then takes a step. Have you ever seen a dog wearing booties? Daniel and I used to love watching a TV show with funny pet videos, and every episode there would be a dog wearing booties, walking around like each step is into a big puddle of honey. It's hilarious. Please don't tell Daniel that I told you he used to watch that show :o)

So, here is Ethan, walking like a dog with booties on. Then he sits down, unties one shoe, and cries. *sigh* Off to find Pedipeds....

It's Been a Year!

Last year, January 8 was on a Monday. I know exactly what I was doing that day - from 8 am to 12:30 pm I was in labor, and from 12:30 to 12:56 I was pushing a 9 pound, 7 ounce baby out of my... you get what I'm saying... Then for the rest of the day, I was admiring my big baby.

Ethan is one today! He's just so cute and sweet - I'm really, really happy that he surprised us & decided to be born!! It's been a really good year. The third baby leaves you feeling this way, I think. By now I'm a pro and I know how to take care of a baby - finally!

Ethan has just started pointing in the last week, as well. It's the cutest thing. Ask Ethan where mommy is, and he'll look right at me and point. Ask Ethan where Daddy is, and he'll look right at Daniel & point. Ask Ethan where Nana is, and he'll look right at his spinning gear toy and point. Why? I don't know! But it sure is cute.

What a great baby to end my pregnancy days on! (If I do stop here....)

Wonderment

I've been reading Ravi Zacharias' "Recapture the Wonder" for the past couple of days. I know I'm only on the second chapter, but I just had a thought about what I've read so far.

He mentions that wonder is interchangeable with innocence, and specifically describes the wonder that all children are born with. You know that wonder - its what makes a nine-month-old baby stand in front of a window forever, just looking at nothing. Its what makes a four-year-old jump up and down at the mere thought of snow. This is the reason tiny babies become fascinated by their own hands. Its the thing that makes everything new and interesting to kids.

Can you imagine adults feeling the way kids do about anything? We wouldn't be able to get dressed in the morning without admiring our hands and feet for 10 minutes, snapping the elastic on our undergarments for 20 minutes and laughing each time, and teasing our hair with the hairbrush for another 10.

Anyway, if all kids are born with this wonder, do we as parents destroy it in part every time we say "hurry up!" or "clean this mess right now!"? Kids learn through that wonder - why do moms feel the need to burst those bubbles of amazement?

I am definitely not a patient person, and I hate to see a messy room. But my kids are fascinated with things like soap bubbles on the bathroom floor, squishy pudding on the kitchen table, and compacted snow on the carpet. Every time I yell at them, clean their mess, and say "don't do that again!" am I chipping away at their wonder?

Am I killing my kid's innocence?

The Case for a Surefit Slipcover

If you would like to keep your kids busy for an entire hour and get some cleaning done, then buy a Surefit Slipcover. Really, whether you need one or not. The price is justified when it's time to wash the things. Yesterday, I took the slipcovers off both of my couches to wash them, and my kids had so much fun playing with those bare cushions that I actually felt guilty putting the slipcover back on. In the space of an hour those cushions were boats, mountains, water, cars, houses, and planes. No one cried, no one fought, and no one bugged mommy! Amazing....

The Most Eventful End of the Year, Ever

Well, 2007 is almost over, but the last two weeks have been crazier than any other weeks I've ever had. As I mentioned in my last post, Daniel's mom visited us off and on for the last two weeks. Abby had her first school play - she was the best stage-frightened angel I've ever seen. Last Friday was Daniel and my 9th anniversary! Not bad for two kids who married their first love at age 18.

Unfortunately, two sad things happened in the last week as well. The saddest of the two still makes me cry a little from time to time. Our little kitty, Saliva, had to be put to sleep last Friday. She was just really, really sick, so I made an appointment with the vet. I thought maybe they would say that she wouldn't last too long, maybe one or two months... But they said she needed to be euthanized right then, she was so sick. Her kidneys had shriveled up, and there was no way she could have lived much longer. So, instead of going out to dinner for our 9th anniversary, Daniel and I headed to the vet with our tiny, sick cat. As the vet said, we'll never forget this anniversary...

The next sad thing is more bittersweet than sad, really. I like to breastfeed all my babies to a year old, at least. I breastfed Abby for 15 months, and I literally had to force her to stop. I did the weaning that time. With Avery, I didn't have much milk after 9 months because I was pregnant with Ethan, so on Avery's first birthday I said, "This is your last boobie, baby." Avery agreed and didn't fight the next night at all. With Ethan, though.... He just decided this week that he no longer wants mommy milk. *sigh* I was hoping to breastfeed him to 15 months or longer - after all, he is possibly my last baby. But now, I offer him milk and he just sticks out his tongue and smiles. How did this little cutie go from demanding milk every hour as a newborn to this?

So, in the last couple of weeks we've had to let go of a lot. That's always been hard for me - especially when it comes to letting the kids grow up. I can definitely see why some people have lots and lots of kids - it helps you postpone the final letting go for a while. If weaning is this hard, how will I deal with sending my kids off to college??

New Boots!

Grandma is visiting! And, once the first snowflake hit the ground, she said the kids needed snow boots. She headed to Kohl's, and came back with all the snow gear Abby & Avery will ever need (until they get bigger, at least).

Avery put on his boots and started posing provocatively - yes, I have spared you of photos that are both provacative and of Avery in his underwear. I swear, he does own pants.


Abby loves her new coat, snow pants, and boots! What parent can deprive their child of the joy of wearing their new snow gear indoors for an hour or two? She kept saying, "I need water...."


And, for good measure, here is Ethan wondering where his new snow stuff is. Silly boy - it's right there on Avery! He'll realize that next winter.

Monday Memories

Avery is definitely my drama baby. I've said this since the day he was born, and he proves it again and again. I have to keep a very close eye on this one. As you read this list, keep in mind that he is only 26 months old...

• When Avery was born, I went to the hospital and was sent home 3 times without being admitted. I was told that I wasn't "really" in labor. Two hours later, he was almost born in the car. We got to the hospital at 9:51 p.m. and he was literally born 6 minutes later, at 9:57 p.m.
• Before he was even born, my OBGYN wanted to do a C-section because Avery was breech, with his head tipped back, and his foot headed out first. Apparently this is not good at all.
• We couldn't find anyone to circumsize him until he was 13 days old. The doctor informed us that he screamed more than any baby he had ever circumsized.
  
• When he was 3 weeks old, he peed in his own eye while I changed him. He ended up getting a yeast infection in his eye. (Please see the lovely picture for more detail.)

• At 16 months, Avery broke his pinkie finger on a door. The cast covered his entire arm - shoulder to finger tips.
  
• When the doctor put the cast on Avery, he had to have three additional nurses hold him down. I was told that Avery is very strong.
  
• On vacation this year, Avery woke up with sores all over the inside of his mouth. He had hand foot and mouth disease.
• Avery is now deathly afraid of doctors.

My poor pumpkin. I don't know if I should ever let him play sports.

We woke up this morning to a beautiful white-covered yard.