The Joys of Poop

If you have small kids like I do, then you probably understand the joys of poop.  You understand that when your fifteen month old walks up to you as your sitting in the family room blogging on your computer and throws a piece of poop fresh from his backside at your face and smiles, that this is just the beginning of your problems.  And, you would think, as a mom of three small boys I would understand that you NEVER leave a 15 month old alone without a diaper on for more than about 15 seconds.  But of course you'd be wrong.

So that poop at my face?  Yep, you guessed it.  I traced it back to a small art project in the kitchen where he had walked through it and sat in it.  It was, or course, trailed through the kitchen and into the pantry.  It was all over his legs, his rear end, and his arms.  Say it with me, EWWWW.

As I proceeded to give him an impromptu bath in the kitchen sink, I decided I needed to start counting down the days until the last child is officially potty trained.  But then again, with three boys, is that even possible?  If you have multiple boys you know what I mean.  They may not be going in their pants anymore, but that doesn't mean they're not missing aim; sometimes quite a bit I must add.  I've cleaned  pee off the surrounding floor, the shower curtain next to the toilet, the blinds and the windows.  Sometimes I wonder how the heck they get it where they do.

We finally broke down and invested in some targets for the kids toilets and I'm happy to report that they are working.  The pee seems to have cleared the windows, blinds and curtains for now.  All though I still occasionally find a puddle on the floor.

So if you have boys, I'd love to know your thoughts on ways to contain their you know what to the you know where.

I'm late! I'm late! For a very Important Date!

Well, with only six days left in the school year, I finally did it.  I forgot to set my alarm clock and woke up only 5 minutes before Nicholas was supposed to leave for school.  Yikes!  Have you ever done that before?  There's that first minute where you wake up and think, "man, do I feel great this morning, I wonder what I did different?"  And then there's the realization like a brick over the head; that "OH CRAP, I slept in!"

I'm running down the hall like a woman possessed telling Nick we have to get dressed NOW.  And he just comes down the ladder and says, "Mom, it's ok.  I laid out my clothes the night before and I'll take my breakfast in the car (we drive him instead of him taking the bus, incidentally so that Mommy can have an extra half hour sleep.  Apparently she needs more). 

That boy is wise beyond his years.  Just being around his calm presence this morning calmed me and  believe it or not, he was dressed and out the door in 10 minutes with lunch in hand (and breakfast as well).

Thank goodness there's only five more days of waking up.  If there's one thing to look forward to with summer break, it's not having to set the dreaded alarm.

He's Stopping Nursing

So Andrew has initiated ending our nursing relationship.  He's started to kick and scream at me and sit up when I try to nurse him in the morning.  We've only been nursing  twice a day (in the morning and before bed )for the past month or two so I knew that we were winding down regardless in the next couple weeks, but it's still difficult when it happens.  This is my third and most likely final child and it just sort of feels like the end of an era.  He'll be 15 months on Thursday so regardless, we've had a good run.

He's also full on walking now.  It's so cute watch him walk around the house like a man who's had one too many vodka martinis.  It's hard for me to write down the point where he actually "walked" for the first time.  I feel like it's been more of a process that's gone on the past over the course of the past couple months.  He still crawls about 1/3 of the time, but it's looking like my baby won't be around much longer; the toddler is here to stay.  

He's also started saying words and it's so much fun to listen to him say them.  His favorite right now is "car".  He says it for everything.  Although when he says it, it sounds a bit more like a southie from Boston.  More like a "Ca" with the silent r.  He also says this and points quite a bit which can be entertaining.  

Nicholas turned six this past Friday and we'll be having his Star Wars party this Saturday.  I think that it should be a pretty fun time and there will even be a visit from Darth Vader!  I'll post up some pictures of that next week once we get through the whole thing.

Nap Time

Here is a picture of Andrew taken at the Walmart while I was buying a gift for a friend of Alex for his birthday party tomorrow.  Do you think it might be nap time? :)

 

Big Life Moments

So we've had a couple big life moments these past few days.  Nicholas lost not one, not two, not three, but FOUR teeth this past week.  He looks like a completely different child with all those spaces in his mouth!  I need to get a picture of it for posterity and post it up on the blog. 

And Andrew took his first steps today.  Not a full on walk yet, but he did three full steps this evening before bed.  I can't believe how fast it's happening!  Nicholas and Alex were both much later; 16 and 17 months.  I have to say though, that I am ready.  I will miss having a baby, but at the same time he's been much more "attached" and I think that walking will help a bit with the independence.

Wednesday we leave for camping.  I'm really excited for it!  I think it should be a really good time.  We are camping at the beach and we will get to visit Brook Green Gardens which I've been wanting to visit since we moved to the East Coast.

Finally, Nicholas is turning six next month - Six!!  I can't believe it.  I feel like he was just a baby the last time I looked.  It's amazing how fast the time goes.  He wants a Lego Star Wars party this year so I need to get on the ball with planning.  Off to research cakes and games!

Andrew gets Baptized

We finally, FINALLY, got Andrew baptized.  It went pretty smoothly, aside from forgetting the donation envelope at home (Typical for us). We still haven't turned it in, but plan to soon.  Of course, our child was the oldest at the baptism.  We joked that he could have practically walked to the baptismal font on his own.  It's all good though.  He's free from original sin and can move forward now.  I feel like the weight's been lifted from us as well.  Now if we can only get the will updated we'll be doing good.  Here are a few shots from the day:

I'm not sure at what point I developed such an amazing double chin.  Perhaps I should lay off the homemade chocolate chip cookies a bit.  HA.

New Beginnings

Eight weeks ago I began a journey at my church called MOMs and last night was the culmination of that time.  What a great group of ladies and a fabulous experience this was!  If I felt like I was different from everyone here in Charlotte, I don't anymore.  The women in my group were amazing and I feel like I will make some lasting friendships from it.  It also helped me to really get in better touch with myself and how I project myself to others.  I only wish I could take it a second time.  I can always moderate a new group, but I'll admit I'm a bit nervous about that still, so we shall see.  I challenge anyone that's not feeling connected to their church or themselves to get more involved with some of the groups and events their church sponsors.  I promise not only will it bring you closer to God, but it will also help bring you closer to yourself and others around you.  It definitely made a big church seem a little bit smaller to me.

Andrew makes a move

No, not walking - yet.  Although i think it may be coming soon.  I actually caught him standing next to the couch yesterday, with a lid in one hand and a bucket in the other, no supports, just standing there looking all proud.    I know I'll miss the baby stage once it's gone, but right now, I'm looking forward to evolution from 4 paws to two.  Hopefully I don't have much longer to wait.

Andrew also seems to have figured out how to climb up the stairs.  And I'm not talking just one or two stairs but the entire stairway.  I didn't even know he did it.  One minute I am helping Nicholas with his homework in the kitchen while the other two play in the adjoining room and the next thing I know, I hear Alex upstairs talking and playing.  

Um, wait a minute here.  Last time I checked he was playing with the baby.  Alex upstairs, baby.... CRAP.  Sure enough, upon running up the stairs to see where he his, I find him up with Alex happily stuffing a lite brite peg into his mouth.  Ugh.  So now it seems as though we need to have a gate at the top AND the bottom of the stairs.   Basically we'll all be confined to the downstairs for the next year.

 

Pukefest

OMG.  If one more kid pukes in this house I think I'll just launch myself out the door, still in my pj's and scream bloody murder while running full bore down the lane never looking back.  

Andrew, my youngest, started the puking spree in the wee hours of Saturday night (why must sickness always occur when there are no medical professionals available within a 48 hour radius?) and is still going strong as we speak.  There's something almost maddening about making the effort to nurse a child, only to set him up on your lap when he's finished and watch him immediately proceed to projectile vomit all that hard made milk across the floor and your clothing  (and your hair, and your furniture, but hey, who's keeping tabs?).  Yesterday, it was across the back of the car when he decided to eject his breakfast while strapped into the car seat.  I am so looking forward to the fun job of cleaning that up today.  And now I woke up to my 5 year old having thrown up this morning (at least he made it to the bathroom), so we have a full house of sickos today.  Bring on the insanity.

Ok, I realize I sound just a wee bit cynical and I apologize for that.  I think it's just that after being holed up in the house with the five and under sick crowd for multiple days on end, you just need to spit the words out to enable yourself to get through the impending day.   See, I'm feeling better already.  Love you boys!  Now off to play nursemaid.

Nick makes dinner, Nick builds a lego leprechan trap

Yep.  A post dedicated to my oldest, Nicholas.  First up, Nicholas has been really into legos for the past year or so now.  A couple days ago he received a free lego magazine in the mail.  There was a page where kids had mailed in pictures of themselves with their lego creations.  He saw that and decided that he had to do one of his own.  I love legos for stuff like this.  You can really see the creativity coming through.  Here's what he made:

Next up, Nick and his father decided that Sunday night was the night to earn their orange feather for Indian Guides.  For those that aren't privy to Y Guides, an orange feather is what you earn when you make dinner on your own and clean it up.  And by george was it tasty.  Here's what he made: 

Doesn't it look tasty?  It was so delicious.  Kind of like a greek gyro made with ground chicken.  I gobbled it up and had the leftovers for lunch the next morning.  Yay for the orange feather!  I wish he needed to earn a second one; I could get used to someone else making dinner for me!

Real boys wear pink

So Alex, my four year old, is into pink.  This is nothing new; he's been into pink for a couple years now.  A couple days ago we went to the shoe store to find his brother and him some new sandals for the summer.  I'm sure you're seeing where this is going.  That's right, he picked out the hot pink jelly sandals.  Now it's not that I have a problem with him liking the color pink.  On the contrary, I've never been one to believe that girls need to be pigeon holed into pink and boys to blue.  But despite that belief, I couldn't in good conscience let him wear pink jelly shoes.  A shirt is one thing, but a pair of shoes is a whole 'nother ball of wax.  You gotta love him.  I know I do.

On another note, AAARRRRGGGHHH.  Ok, that felt better. I'm so frustrated with Nick's school situation.  I know I've posted about this before, but I just need to get it off my chest again.  We have been called in for another conference to the school.  I know the teacher feels he has ADD.  I'm not saying he that he for sure doesn't, but I'm also not going to just jump on the medication band wagon because he's having issues at school.  I need more evidence.  It's especially disconcerting to me because he's only seemed to develop all these issues since he's started to go to school here.  I sometimes wonder if it's more the school and the teacher than it is the kid.  Are we pushing him to behave this way?  Or did we just not see it in preschool because it's a smaller class and a more warm and fuzzy environment?  All I know is that I need to get some answers soon.  It's affecting all of us and I'm about at my wits end with all of it.  Ok, back to regularly scheduled programming.

The First Haircut

Well it happened.  I finally broke down and gave Andrew his first haircut.  It's never an easy decision to make, but I figured if his hair was long enough to put a bow in it, it was probably time.  With Nicholas, my first, he came out needing a haircut.  Alex, on the other hand, turned two and still looked like a balding old man.  Andrew has been the first child where it was kind of just right.  He didn't mind it too much.  His biggest complaint was when I sprayed him with the water, oh, and when I took him out after he was all done, only to realize I forgot to take the aftershot and needed to put him back in.  Then the waterworks really started up.  I needed to give him a toy just to get him to stop long enough to get the shot.  Despite all the adventure, I think he looks pretty cute when all's said and done. Here's the before:

 

And here's the after.  Yes, yes, those big bags under his eyes are from crying.  I actually photoshopped out the tears because I felt so bad for making him cry.

 

Isn't he cute?!  No more bows for this boy.  Now I need to tackle my two older ones.  I'm not sure what's more difficult, the baby or the older boys.  Anyway, off to enjoy this beautiful day.  It's supposed to actually get into the 60's today for the first time in quite awhile.  I don't know about you, but I am soooo over winter.  Enjoy the day!

Seinfeld, no, supper club, no Seinfeld

Oh my Gosh.  So we decided to join our neighborhood supper club since we were having trouble finding couples to get together with on our own.  Wouldn't you know we'd be the youngest couple by at least 20 years.  I just had this feeling when I was signing up that we might encounter something like this.  But when I asked the coordinator about it, she said you get what you get and make it work.  And in fairness, I will say the couples are very nice. But they are in a completely different place from us.  The youngest couple has a senior in college and the oldest?  Well, let's just say they rival my parents and leave it at that.  One of the guys is so out there, that it doesn't matter what you're talking about, he'll just bring up another story completely unrelated.  Like the time he fooled a realtor by making his own railroad crossing sign and putting it up in the neighborhood. Huh?  The upside is that I can't knock the food.  It was all delicious.  Wouldn't you know, we're locked into this for a year.  Next meetup is in April.  Seinfeld here we come. ;)

Happy Birthday to me

Today was my birthday - the big 36.  Do I feel a year older?  Absolutely.  It's amazing how the older you get the older you feel.  Ok, that sounded kind of corny but you know what I mean. It was a nice day overall.  Spent a morning with my MOMS group and got to talk about feelings.  Then headed back to the house and spent the afternoon with the boys.  Scott hadn't been feeling well so he went to the doctor and then came home and surprised me with a birthday cake!  I think the boys loved it even more than I did.  We had a nice dinner from New South Kitchen and watched an episode of Lost.  Scott saw fit to get me a new computer for my birthday!  I can't wait to pick one out and get on with using it.  This Thinkpad has served me well, but it's time to pass it on to the boys for their use and enjoyment.

Nick got his third round of smileys in a row.  I'm so proud of him and I think he is proud of himself.  He's trying to get 6 hours of wii time (2 weeks worth of smileys).  I know he's got it in him to do it.  He's such a smart kid and can do anything when he puts him mind to it. 

Andrew is having carseat issues lately.  I'm not sure what the problem is, but every time I put him in and drive, he cries.  I'm wondering if he wants to face forward.  I was hoping to be able to turn him around, but wouldn't you know, I take him to his one year well visit and they tell me that they are now recommending you wait until two years old to turn them around.  So backwards he will stay for a bit longer.  My husband is, of course protesting because his legs are so cramped in the front of the car.  We'll see if we can't just move it to the middle for longer trips.  Anyway, I ramble on.  American Idol calls so I'm signing off for now.

Andrew's First Birthday

Well, my youngest is now officially one year old.  My parents came down this weekend to help us celebrate and we had a really nice time.  On Saturday afternoon after my parents got here we went for a walk at the Greenway for an hour or so.  My kids really love wandering around on the trails.  Nicholas is into exploring everything and was questioning grandma on how electricity works.  Alex started strong but then slowed down exponentially as usual and was done about a mile into the walk.  Andrew just chilled in the stroller and took it all in. 

After finishing up our walk, we headed over to The Waldhorn restaurant for a birthday dinner (yes it was more for us than him, but he did really enjoy the pretzel rolls and sausage).  We enjoyed delicious food some of which included a sausage sampler, rouladen, duck, and schnitzel.  After dinner we headed back to the house where we blew out candles and sang happy birthday to Andrew (pics to come shortly).  The next day we made homemade noodles while Andrew napped and then headed to Ikea for a little lunch and shopping in the afternoon.  I did buy a few small things including lingonberry jam, some candles, and some cups for the kids.  Andrew was so tired by the time that we got home that he didn't even eat dinner.  He just went straight to bed.

All in all it was a nice birthday celebration.  We all had a nice visit with my parents and now it is time to get back to in's and out's of day to day life.  The upside is that we are one day closer to spring and even though it's still February, it feels like spring is coming.  Maybe it's the rain today; I'm not sure.  All I know is bring it on.  I am so ready.

Updates

So my parents are coming to visit this weekend for Andrew's first birthday.  It should be a fun time.  The best part is that it will force me to clean the house which desperately needs it.  I'm hoping we get a chance to go to IKEA when they're here.  I know my mom would enjoy it (and secretly I'm really craving their daim torte).  It's amazing to me that Andrew is already one.  While at times, it felt like time was crawling, for the most part, it's gone by really fast.  We're now getting into my favorite stage; one to two.  Old enough to understand and communicate, but young enough not to talk back.  Perfect.

Nick is still plowing through kindergarten like a bull in a china shop.  I got a call from his teacher on Monday once again relaying her concern for him.  While I appreciate that he is not being "left behind", I'm frustrated that there seems to be a lot of, for lack of a better term, complaining, but not a lot of resolutions as to how to fix the problems.  We are into week two of the tutor (he meets up with her again tomorrow) so hopefully that will help a bit.  The teacher did insinuate on the phone however, that she thinks Nicholas has ADD.  While I'm not ruling it out, I can't say that I'm convinced either.  While it's true that he does have a difficult time focusing on his schoolwork, he has no problem focusing on tasks that he enjoys such as puzzles and legos.  Maybe there's a selective ability to turn it on when you want to?  I don't know, but if so, that seems more behavioral than medical to me.  Honestly, at this point I'm wishing I had wrote the letter to the school talking about the type of teacher that would work best for Nicholas.  You better believe I'll be writing that letter for first grade.  To me, it really seems that while Nicholas' kindergarten teacher is good at what she does, she's not a "good" fit for my son.

The boys make a tent

Yesterday was the day after the snow day and it was beautiful out.  The boys played for over two hours outside and thoroughly enjoyed themselves.  I don't know all of what their games were about, but when all was said and done, this is what was left to show for time outside:

 

When I asked what it was, I was told that it was a tent and that it was a very dirty job.  And indeed, if you could see all the mud on their pants from the tent making effort, you would agree that it is indeed a dirty job.  Yes, I let them watch Mike Rowe once or twice and now they are very into "dirty jobs".  I thought it was cute and plan to send it on to Mike himself so he can see what a real dirty job is.

And just for posterity's sake, here are some pics from the snow day on Saturday:

 

  

  

  

  

Yes that's Andrew trudging through the snow over by the driveway.

Started a new blog today

So I'm pretty excited to say I started up a new blog today called Car Camping Adventures for Families.  As you've probably read in my previous posts, I'm not only getting excited for camping in a couple months, but I'm writing up a camping cookbook.  So I figured the natural progression of this would be to start up a camping blog for those of us crazy enough to venture into the wild outdoors with small kids.  I'm pretty proud of what it looks like so far and am looking forward to expanding on it weekly if not daily.  I already have a bunch of ideas for upcoming posts so I see it growing quickly in content.  I'm trying to figure out how to get it some visibility.  I've already posted it on my facebook page and added it to a few directories.  I think now I will try and get it attached to a few other peoples blog rolls to continue to get it out there.

Andrew is not sleeping for nap today.  I'm not sure what the issue is, but he has probably slept for a total of 1.5 hours today nap wise.  We are supposed to be heading for dinner at Mcallisters in just under an hour and I'm not sure he'll be in any mood to do it considering he's been up most of the afternoon.  I guess we'll take it one minute at a time and see what we decide in the end.  I can always cook something quick and simple at home if he decides to go to sleep.  No go so far though.

Tomorrow is the next installment of MOMS.  I'm excited for it, but I'm a bit nervous the daycare will get upset with me considering Andrew has a bit of a cold.  I'll assess it in the morning and see if he's able to go or not. 

Good Morning Monday

Poor Andrew is sick.  He has a fever and has just been irritable in general.  Yesterday he was probably up for a total of 3 hours and did nothing much except nurse.  I expected a rough night but bless his heart, despite all that, he still slept through the night for me and is sleeping as we speak.  I'm hoping he's feeling a bit better today as the doctor's office is not really what I want to do today (As though the grocery store is that much more exciting).  I can't believe he's going to be one in less than two weeks.  The time just seems to have gone so fast!  He is such a sweet and easy baby.  I can't imagine him not being with us. 

Scott just sent me pictures of his parents home in Delaware with their new snow.  What a winter this has been for snow!  My Aunt and grandparents dug out of five feet (yes I said five) of snow just a few weeks ago and now DC and Delaware is hit with close to 30 inches.  El Nino is definitely making himself known.  We've only had one storm that resulted in snow down here and it was fairly puny, but it let us get some sledding in so we'll take it.  Now that I have a child in the public school system, snow days aren't my friend as much as they used to be.  Nick had a snow day last week and now he needs to go to school on Presidents Day.  It's a bit of a bummer because everyone else including Scott has off that day and we had planned on doing something as a family. Well, we'll see.  There may still be a mysterious cold that shows up that day. :)~ 

Infant botulism, lent, and other oddities

The sun is out this morning for the first time in what feels like weeks and it just puts a smile on my face.  I am so through with the winter and can't wait for the promise of warmer weather and more time spent outdoors.  I suppose that dream will have to wait a few more weeks though as we are expected to get freezing rain and snow on Tuesday. 

Anyway, on to the topics of the day.  First up, infant botulism.  Have I got your attention yet?  No, I don't think we have it, but of course I had to wonder a few minutes.  Andrew woke up at 4:30am this morning crying and we couldn't get him back down no matter what we did.  He finally fell asleep again about 20 minutes ago.  I have no idea what's wrong; there's no temperature, no rash, no nothing.  So of course I flash back to a couple days ago when I accidentally gave him a bite of my homemade bread with some honey butter on it.  Yes, call me a bad mom, I gave my child honey before he was one.  Once I read the symptoms of botulism though, I realized that is most likely NOT what it is.  Why do we moms do that to ourselves?  We instantly drop the guilt on ourselves.  You'd think after raising kids for almost 6 years now I would learn a bit more.  I'm still not sure what it is, but at least he's sleeping for the moment.

Lent is coming up and it's time to figure out what to give up for the next six weeks.  Scott and I gave up alcohol and dessert one year and, needless to say, we were two very cranky people by the time it was all over.  So this year, I'm going to do something a bit different.  I'm giving up the internet games that I play.  I spend way too much time on them as it is, and hopefully taking six weeks off from them will not only break my habit to them, but also help me to get a lot more stuff done in my life.  Now if my mother in law would just give up smoking for Lent.....

Finally, we survived the birthday party and had a really good time.  Eight kids were there including my oldest two and everyone seemed to have fun bowling.  The cake was delish, the cookies were delish, and the t-shirts were a hit.  Now on to Andrew's party in two weeks.  That one should be a bit calmer as he'll be the big 0-1. 

the birthday party

Ha.  When I first wrote the title to this blog post I accidentally put partay and then thought about how that might be the more appropriate saying for it.  Alex's birthday party is tomorrow and he'll be four.  We're having a bowling theme and a handful of kids are coming in addition to his cousin.  I, of course, have taken on more than I probably should have for this event.  I made cookies (yes I feel the need to show them off to myself and my one follower - hi Amy!)

 

and will begin making the cake today.  I also made team bowling shirts for all the kids which were a pain in the you know what, but were cute enough when finished to be worth the effort.  To top it off, my SIL is hopefully coming down to stay with Alex's cousin so she can come to the party too.  I say hopefully because if  you live on the East Coast and haven't looked out your window lately, the weather stinks.  Freezing rain, regular rain, ice, snow... you name it, it's falling somewhere on the East coast.   If all goes well, people will show up, bowl and have a great time.  In the meantime though, I'm running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to do too much in too short a period of time.  

Next up, Andrew's birthday in two weeks and Nick's party in May.  He wants a lego Star Wars party, so you will be seeing deja vu of this post in a few short months.

Grrr

Do you ever just wake up frustrated?  You're not even sure what the problem is, you just know the first person that talks to you is going to take the brunt of it?  That's how I feel this morning.  I feel like I just woke up on the wrong side of the bed.  I think I'm mostly frustrated about Nicholas, my five year old.  We continue to struggle with his focus issues and his teacher is really no help.  She sends these emails almost every day telling me how poorly my child is doing but offering no ways we can fix it.  I know he's smart and I know he can do the work, he just doesn't.  I've decided to hire a tutor for him once a week to see if that doesn't help.  She's another teacher from PSE.  When I told her about Nick's issues, she said that described pretty much her entire second grade class, which makes me wonder if Ms. Sherrill is being a little bit too hard on him.  This is kindergarten afterall.  Sometimes I just wish I could hear something good from her.  If we weren't so far into the school year, I'd consider moving him to another teacher, because I feel like she's just not a good fit for our family.

On another more positive note, the MOMS class went great.  The women are all so nice and everyone is in the same situation which is so reassuring.  I'm thinking it's really going to help me and I'm so glad I decided to join.  Scott and I also finally broke down and paid the HOA dues so that we could do some of the activities in our neighborhood.  We just joined the supper club and I think I'm going to see about joining the book club as well.  It's amazing that we don't recognize a single name in the supper club groups.  I thought I knew alot of people in this neighborhood, but clearly I was wrong.  I'm looking forward to getting to know a few more.

Anyway, time to sign off and get going with this day.  The exterminator is coming at 10am to check for termites (oh joy) and I want to get the upstairs cleaned today.  I'm sure you feel better now that you know that exciting tidbit from my life.

MOMS group starts today

So I joined this MOMS group through my church that starts today and I'm really excited about it.  It's an eight week program that meets Wednesday mornings and centers around the issues of being a mom.  Loneliness, stress, low self esteem;  all the issues we moms feel on a daily basis but don't really feel like we can share with anyone.  While I don't regret moving to Charlotte, it hasn't been the easiest of adjustments.  I'm really hoping this class helps.  I've heard such positive accolades from women just like me who participated.  I'll let you know more after it's over today.

On other news fronts, Nicholas got all smileys from the teacher yesterday for focusing on all his tasks earning him a half hour of wii time.  I'm so proud of him for really putting forth the effort to have a good day.  The teacher is still on him like a cheap suit, but hopefully if we can have a few more days like yesterday, she'll back off a bit.  We've got an email out to a few teachers to hopefully get him some one on one tutoring help.  It can't hurt and if it goes well, we'll probably keep it up through the summer.

Speaking of summer, I know it's the dead of winter still, but dang if I'm not ready for summer to be here.  I'm tired of being cold and tired of getting up early.  It will be so nice to not have to drag my unexercised flabby rear end out of bed at 6:30 every morning.  The baby once again decided to get up at 5am, putting a damper on my beauty rest.  I let him go (he would cry or 10 minutes, sleep for 15 and then start over again for those of you who are about to cry foul for me letting my child cry it out), but he still didn't stop the cycle until 6am and by then there was no getting back to sleep.

Well, a shower calls. 

Let it snow

So Charlotte had it's first snow/ice storm this past weekend.  We got a whopping 1 inch of snow, but you'd think we just got a foot.  The snow came on Friday, it is now Monday, and school is closed.  Yep, for an inch of snow.  Maybe it's because I grew up in Wisconsin, maybe it's because I really really want my kids back in school (let me put the obligatory "yes I love my kids" I just love them more when I get a few hours away from them a day) but I find it CRAZY that there's no school today.  So instead of enjoying a relaxing day with just the baby and me, I have two crazed boys running around the house creating mess and havoc.  We are heading to Chick-fil-A for lunch here in a minute and it can't come fast enough.  Let's see, a peak at the upcoming forcast says potential freezing rain tomorrow night and the possibility for snow on Friday.  All I have to say is this week is getting longer by the second.

Cookbook writing

Ok, so fiction is out for now and cookbook is in.  I know, I know, make up your mind already.  I just wasn't invested in fiction the way I should have been and when Scott mentioned cookbook, it just sounded so much more interesting to me.  I mean really; food meets writing.  What else do you need?  Anyway, I decided to do a camping cookbook for families.  It will be called Car Camping Cookbook:  A Family Guide to Making Great Meals in the Great Outdoors.  Right now I'm trying to get a list of delicious sounding foods and then I will go to work trying to devise a recipe for each of them.  I ordered a few books from Amazon on cookbook writing to hopefully help me along a bit.  I never finish anything, but I'd really like to finish this.  I'm not quite sure of the steps needed to do it and if I ever do finish it, I don't know anything about the publishing industry so it may never happen, but I will still try.  S'more anyone?

Alex's birthday party is coming up a week from Saturday.  We're doing a bowling party this year and I've decided to make t-shirts for all the kids. I need to get working on them this weekend.  Hopefully it won't be too difficult.  It's supposed to snow/sleet/freezing rain anyway, so this should give me a good indoor project.

On a final note, is it spring yet?  I am so ready for warmer weather, if just to get outside more.  I'm getting so excited for camping this year.  Andrew will finally be old enough to go and not be too much trouble (even though we have already camped with him once).  We have a camping trip planned for Spring break and I'm hoping to plan another one for Memorial Day weekend.  Maybe Stone Mountain?  Spring and summer can't get here fast enough.  Unfortunately it's still January, but a little wishful thinking never hurt anyone right?

Frustration

Ack.  I am so frustrated with Nicholas and kindergarten.  He just can't seem to get focused no matter what I try.  His teacher is on him like no one's business.  I get an email at least twice a week, sometimes more, talking about all his problems and how he's behind in school.  Sometimes I feel like she doesn't like him and picks on him more than she should.  I always thought he was so smart; now I'm starting to wonder if maybe something's wrong like ADD.  I'm not sure what to do to fix it any more.  One word sums it up; frustration.

For the love of food

Or the lack there of as my five year old would be quick to point out in his not so subtle ways.  Dealing with a picky eater is definitely not what I signed on for when I decided to have children.  My husband and I love food; all food.  Heck, trying new foods is one of my favorite pastimes.  It's a wonder I don't weigh a thousand pounds.  Alex is following in our footsteps with food.  He's not as adventurous as we are, but what three year old is?  He tries most everything and that's the best I can ask for.  Andrew is a bit too small to have an opinion yet.  He tries everything, but somethings do pop back out I will admit. 

Nicholas though, has recently developed a knack for saying Yuck and Disgusting, before he even knows what something is.  You just say, for example, we're having hashbrown potatoes and before I even get through saying it he declaring, "disgusting!"  "You don't even know what's in it", I tell him.  To which he replies some mumbo jumbo about how he's had them before and didn't like them then.  To which you reply that's impossible because you've never made this recipe before today.  He sits at his chair pushing the plate at you like if it gets to close to him, it may actually jump out and bite him.  I finally find myself losing my patience and telling him he can't have any more smoothie unless he tries a bite of his potatoes.  He finally breaks down and tries a piece.  And wouldn't you know it, Mikie likes it!  I believe his explanation was that his tongue changed from the last time he tried it and now it's good. *roll eyes*.  Hopefully this is just a phase, because it's never easy to hear that all your hard work is disgusting and yucky.

Hilton Head

Well, we just got back from yet another fun filled weekend in Hilton Head visiting my parents.  It's never a dull moment when we go down there; probably why I enjoy it so much.  It's definitely made moving to the East Coast worth while.   The trip down was uneventful; Andrew did a bit of fussing, but that's typical for the under one crowd.  The first night we were there, Drew threw up everywhere.  And threw up, and threw up, and threw up.  I was really worried about him, but he seemed to pull through and was eating fine again by the next day.  Then the boys flooded the toilet.  Oh joy of joys.  It leaked through the ceiling and the guilt trip was on.  I know that after being around my mother for 35 years, I should get her, but she still manages to push my buttons with her continuous guilting over the act.  In the end we apologized to each other though and all was good.  I guess I really am my mother's daughter.  Anyway, even though I'm glad to be back, I have to say I enjoy going down to visit my parents.  It's nice to feel like a kid again, even it's only for a few short days.

We're supposed to have nice weather here, so the boys and I may attempt to find some outdoor time today.  We shall see how it goes.

Looking for purpose

As a stay at home mom, I feel like I'm constantly looking for purpose.  Don't get me wrong.  I know that raising three boys is a perfectly legitimate purpose, really I do.  But sometimes after telling someone to put their shoes on for the four hundredth time and finding you use the word potty way to often to describe your forays to the bathroom, you begin to realize that maybe it couldn't hurt to find another hobby outside your children.  That's where writing comes into play (ok, and sewing and decorating, as well and yes it's not technically a hobby, but also shopping).  I realize that I have an issue with commitment, but despite this I really want to work on becoming a better writer.  I've always wanted to write my own novel, even though I know it would probably be fairly sophomoric when finished and the only person that would ever enjoy reading it would be me.   To top it off, I have no idea what I would write about, although after living in this neighborhood for a year now, I definitely see some potential in a few thoughts (you really have to live here to fully understand; hence the story idea). 

I've taken a writing class in the past and really enjoyed it.  I also think about NaNoWriMo every year when it comes time, but don't ever end up doing it because it's such a tough time of the year to be investing that level of time into a hobby.  But what I'm wondering, is how hard it would be to attempt to write a page a day for a year and in the end come up with what would hopefully be a somewhat mildly entertaining novel or at the very least, a sense of accomplishment that at least I committed myself to a task and finished it.  So what do you think?  Should we get started? :)

Projects for the new year

So I'm looking forward to getting started on the projects for the new year.  Alex and I went to buy paint for his room today- a nice blue grey color.  I'm hoping to use it in his bedroom and in the downstairs bathroom.  We're going to paint some letters in different colors on his walls after painting blue. I'm also hoping to finally get the circles painted on Andrew's wall.  I plan to buy a space saver for the downstairs bathroom as well.  Alex and I are going to share the sewing room.  After we get rid of the extra chair up there and get the room painted, we'll set it up a bit better than it is now.  I'm also hoping to work on the deck a bit more this summer, although I suppose it will depend on how the deck and water heater hold out.

I'm finally starting to feel settled in North Carolina and see a bit of a light at the end of the tunnel.  I'm hoping to get a bit more involved in "non neighborhood" activities this year as well.  I'm going to try and start up a book club outside the neighborhood and I've also joined a couple new groups; a natural living group and a MOMs group through church.  We have a couple of fun trips planned this year as well.  We're taking a camping trip in April, maybe another in June, a trip to Vermont in June/July for our 10 year anniversary, another trip back up to Delaware most likely in August, and perhaps a family trip of some sort for Christmas if we head to Phoenix again.  I'd love to take a trip back to Texas at some point as well.  We'll have to see how it goes with Andrew.

Winding down

It looks like we're going to survive Christmas and New Years.  We just got home today from a fun two days in Wintergreen with the clan.  There were eight kids and six parents.  And despite being outnumbered, things went pretty smooth.  The kids all had fun together as did the adults.  There was a good amount of snow on the ground which both Alex and Nicholas were excited about.  Nick went sledding on Thursday and had a fun time.  The best part of the whole thing for both boys was their new boots.  We didn't think we'd be able to find any, but I ended up scoring a couple pairs last minute at a local consignment shop.  Andrew was his joyful self as usual.  He had a rough night the first night, but made up for it the following night when he only woke up once. 

Now we have two more glorious days of vacation to recuperate before heading back to the grindstone.  Tomorrow we are moving the bottom bunk into the sewing room for Alex.  He is going to share the bedroom with me; half for him to sleep and half for me to have as a sewing room.  He'll still have all his "things" in the other bedroom; he'll just sleep in the sewing room.

I was trying to think of a resolution for New Years as we were driving home today.  I'm still not sure about a definitive one, but I do know that I want to resolve to extend myself more outside the neighborhood.  I'm starting to do this by joining the MOMS ministry at our church.  I'm hoping that it will help me to meet a few more people that aren't in the cocoon of Providence Plantation.  I'd still love to find more people that are interested in starting a gourmet club here.  I think it's going to be easier said than done.  We really had a unique and wonderful group for that back in Texas.  I also want to do some more small things to our home.  I'd like to change out the door knobs slowly this year, maybe paint the bathroom; well both bathrooms and perhaps change out the light fixture in the boys bathroom.  Not very exciting I know, but it's a start.