abc's

here is my little sassy pants singing her abc song. well, sort of.

18-36 months

people are always telling me they feel bad that i have to work so much, but they should really be feeling bad for the guy left at home.
in addition to our own four children, there were three neighborhood kids over this evening. all seven were trying to play the wii, and my three year old was not sharing very well. curled up in a ball hiding the controller screaming sort of not sharing. my 20 month old was flinging meatballs across the kitchen. i grabbed my lunch, kissed my husband and enjoyed my peaceful drive to work.
he called a little later and begged me to come get my youngest. he actually requested me to come get her and see if i could mail her to siberia. my sweet little maggie? i mean, what could she possibly be doing wrong now?
he said she pulled off her shoes, socks and pants. then she pulled off her diaper.
then she stood up on our cloth couch and peed right on it. after peeing a good puddle, she laid down and rolled around in the urine.
while lying there, soaking up the pee, she said "oh no, mee mee made a mess. ohhhhh noooo.
messy mess daddy."
why?? i will tell you why. because she has hit the dreaded 18-36 month stage.
once they turn 18 months, all sweetness and reason goes out the window. they are in this world for themselves only. you can attempt all the love and logic you want, but they aren't going to be reasoned with.
they do horrid things like throw themselves on the ground in target. they take full cups of water and throw it on the kitchen floor, only to tell you "oh no, mee mee made a mess" and they pee on the furniture, just because they can. and they delight in getting a rise out of you. it has taken me four kids, but i have learned. just sit back and wait the third birthday. they will then return to your little angel, and you can start up the love and logic again. until then, sit back and enjoy the ride.


i had hope for this sweet little blond haired blue eyed cherub, but no such luck.
here we go... only 16 months to go.

things i have not done

here are a few things i have not ever done. not so much a "not me monday", because i know i can't commit to something so... well weekly. so here are just some things i have not done in my life.

~i did not sit on my oldest son when he was two years old in a price chopper entry way to keep him from running out in the parking lot. i did not keep one hand on the cart full of groceries to keep it from rolling away while begging my four year old to pick up my purse and its contents either.

~i did not chase my oldest son when he was two through kohl's while nine months pregnant picking up various items of clothing he had stripped off along the way. i did not run all the way from the women's section around through the toys, bedding, shoes and men's while dragging that same four year old along. i did not get recorded on kohl's security camera sitting on him trying to put those articles of clothing back on his little naked body either, while other mothers shook their heads in disgust.

~i did not not bathe my children on "bath night" one night just so i could put them to bed a little earlier and plop on the couch to watch some desperate housewives. i did not then devour yummy snacks that had been hidden from them earlier.

~i did not tell my eight year old to read to her little brothers and sister one night so that i didn't have to. no way jose.

~i did not let my three year old sit on the computer for over two straight hours one afternoon while the baby was napping so that i could crash on the couch.

~i did not let my boys eat girlscout cookies one morning this week so that i wouldn't have to cook them waffles. that would be terrible!! their growing bodies need real nutrients.

~i have never ever left my newborn in a car by mistake...

~i have never let my five year old get zipped up inside a comforter bag...

~i have never forgot it was early release day and left my first grader waiting outside her school for me, only to be out shopping and have her grandpa be called by the school to come get her.

~i have never taken my eyes off my three year old at the swimming pool and let him stumble off the stairs and go under for a couple of seconds.

~i have never gotten distracted outside and realized i couldn't find my two year old, and then after sending the neighbors out looking while i was not panicked and not crying like a loon found him in a model home next door.

~i have never eaten four donuts in a row while pregnant and then tried to explain to my astonished husband that the doctor said i needed to increase my carbs a little.

well, it looks like i have not done a lot of things.

im sure i will think of even more things i haven't done, these were just the first few that came to mind.

gracyn

check out my new addition to the blogroll about baby gracyn. this is a uplifting, warm your soul kind of story... i was in tears the other night listening to this coworker talk about her journey of adopting her new baby girl gracyn.
it is really great to read of a happy story in a seemingly stressful world lately.

big girl on a little trail

so i am still trying to "be fit" as i called it in my resolutions, not really focused on the weight so much as i am on getting in shape. i work out for 30 minutes a day 6 days a week, most of the time 7, but i give myself the option of resting one of those days.

i started jogging many months ago as you know. well, i am now able to run the length of my subdivision trail all the way from one end to the other end and back again. i believe this is a little over two miles. not a marathon by any means, but progress for a girl who couldn't run around the block last summer for sure.

today was beautiful outside, so after i woke up i got dressed and headed out. i was feeling good, listening to my super uncool songs on my ipod (think a mix of mmmm bop, my humps, michael jackson, shakira, and it gets worse) enjoying the suprisingly warm day and running right along.
i was thinking to myself, man, over half way through and i am doing good - i may be even a little faster now. woo hoo, i am hot to trot - in my big tee shirt and mismatched sweatpants.

and then it happened.

my ego went poof, right into the air.

over my ipod which happened to be rockin to some old school arrested developement, i hear, "excuse me", "on your left". oh, bikers i think and scooch over. no not bikers, two super skinny girls in tight tank tops, running pants and matching sports bras pushing jogging strollers with their newborns. running, zoomed right past me. yes i said newborns.
and then came another gal right behind them. super cute with a double jogging stroller holding toddlers. probably 50 lbs worth of toddlers, and she just zoomed right on by me with her cute little nike visor and pony tail. i think the little boy even looked at me and giggled.

that was a breath of reality. big girl on a little trail. keep on running sista, you got a long long way to go.

my little cheer leader

how cute is this? i was never a cheerleader, so this is totally new to me, and i am loving every minute of it.

superstar

she is a superstar in the making, i know. she may have learned it by watching her mama karaoke at the neighbors new years eve party.... but nobody has proof of that. this has been the bulk of our days recently, guitar hero, american idol and wii fit. it counts as family bonding time even though its all centered around a video game, right?

sorry friends, no video of me singing baby got back... maybe next year, what happens at the neighbors, stays at the neighbors!