It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...

The bedtime routine has always been tough.

I remember how tiring it used to be teaching a newborn about the difference between day and night. I remember how wild it was trying to wind a toddler down at the end of the day. I remember when Avery was new to a big boy bed and would get up over and over again to try to get out of sleeping...sometimes I would return him to his room 20 times in one night! I remember doing this all at the same time...all in one night...nursing Jack as a newborn, singing Lily to sleep and talking Avery into sleeping for a little while...all at the SAME TIME. I look back at those days and wonder how I survived. But, I did and now my challenges are a little different.

This is our new bedtime routine...

The kids clear the table while Jake makes himself comfy on the couch. I begin cleaning the kitchen. Jake signs folders, checks homework and listens to Lily read...he does all of this whilst still firmly planted on said couch and with one eye on whatever ball game is on. Since half of his attention is on the ballgame and the other half is pretending to listen to Lily read...I am left screaming at the top of my lungs for the boys to get ready for bed...as I have to be heard over the running water since I'm washing dishes, the garbage disposal, the ballgame, Lily's reading and whatever commotion the boys are causing. Every 3 minutes...I scream at the boys which prompts Jake to echo my screams in order to keep up the charade that he is actually helping out! This goes on for about 25-30 minutes. Just about the time that I finish the kitchen, the chaos has crescendoed to an unbareable intensity and I'm ready to explode. Through clenched teeth and with an anger in my voice that would make the devil himself a little afraid...I shriek, "The beatings are about to begin!!!" The children scatter like roaches and the silence that ensues is golden...I bathe in it for a few minutes, then take a deep breath, then go in to finish the job.

When I walk into their rooms, the devil-lady is gone and their Mommy has returned. One at a time, I sit down with each of them. We chit chat for a few minutes, I talk about silly things with Lily, about her friends and what happended at school. Avery and I talk about things that he knows that I surely do not. Jack and I will sing songs and I rub his back. Before I kiss them goodnight, I always ask them..."Who's the best little boy/girl in the whole world?" They will say, "Me?", sometimes quizzically, sometimes they will rattle off a list of other boys and girls just to be silly, then they will smile and say, "I am." Then, I say, "Who's the luckiest Mommy in the whole world?"...to that they say, "You are." I kiss each of them on the bridge of their nose, which is my favorite place on each of their faces...and the day is done.

It's magical...my day goes from utter pandemonium to pure pleasure in a matter of minutes. I wouldn't change a second of it...not the screaming, not the chaos, not the fighting...none of it...for the reward at the end of the day is just too, too sweet!

Oh What a Night..

We had a blast...the kids ended up choosing a witch, an army man, and Darth Maul. The kids scored butt-loads of candy, but unfortunately, over 3/4 of it was poisoned, damaged, or questionable and had to be confiscated by Jake and I. That's our story and we're sticking to it!

This was the first year that we didn't trick-or-treat with all the kids. Lily had more important things to do. She was invited to a party and trick-or-treated with her friend Kody from school. She was so cute...took a shower, wanted to crimp and streak her hair, painted her nails....oh man...I'm not ready for all that. The little boy even called her to make sure she was coming...we better buckle our seatbelts!!!

Hope ya'll had fun...we sure did!

The Big Day...

These pics are from the festival on Wednesday night...I don't know what the kids will decide to be tonight. But, I do know it won't cost me a dime! WooHoooo!

First we have a basketball player (Ave's buddy down the street) and Avery the army man...



Next, the cutest witch ever who didn't want to mess up her rad red highlights with a silly witch hat...



Here's Lord Sidious from Star Wars...most people probably don't even know the guy, hell I don't..and we had to do lots of explaining at the carnival...but Jack instructed me on how to paint his face and when I found a pic online to check my work...Jack did a pretty good job.

The first one is Lord Sidious before the carnival, looking rather sinister...



This one is of Lord Sidious when we told him it was time to leave...still looking sinister, and now scaring the bejeezus out of me....little kids are creepy when they're mad, especially when made up to look like lords of the dark side...



Lastly, our little hot dog...funny, he has a sinister look, as well...the "you're gonna be so pissed when you find out where I'm going to pee" kind of sinister look. Nope..that's utter humiliation...



Ya'll have fun...I'm sure we will!!!

Uncivilized...

No, my family is not being raised by apes. Lily requested a spaghetti dinner sans silverware for her birthday dinner and against my better judgement...I obliged. I dreaded it and couldn't fathom the mess that would be made, but to my surprise and really to my disappointment...they were no messier without silverware than if they had used forks for their meal. Hmmmm...interesting!

I'm at a good place in my life...

I have to say...I'm quite proud of myself and my kids...and I guess my husband had some small hand in it somewhere down the line.

For the past month or so, the kids have been telling me who they wanted to be for the big day...Indiana Jones, Darth Vader, Hannah Montana....they rattled off a list of characters for which I would not only be paying for the costume, but the name and the packaging...all I could see was $$$$$$.

I've always kept all the kids old Halloween costumes...for play, for hand-me-downs, extra costumes for multiple parites, etc.... So, in our attic is a large tub with remnants of Halloweens long ago. The other day, at gun-point...Jake climbed up there and brought it down. Hey...it's football season and a girl's gotta do what a gir's gotta do...plus, it was only a BB gun.

When that tub was placed in the middle of the living room...it was magical! The kids faces and eyes were aglow with Halloweeny happiness. They tried everything on, danced and played around...it was amazing to see them so excited about a box of old costumes.

The best thing about it all...the kids have decided to create their own Halloween costumes from bits and pieces of their old ones. So, I can't imagine what they'll come up with...but what I can see clearly is that this year...I will spend a big, old, fat $0.00 on costumes!!!! That's the kinda shit that makes me happy!!!

Here's what makes me so proud about this whole thing...first, I'm proud of the kids for not being so materialistic that they HAVE TO HAVE the newest fad when it comes to dressing up. I'm also extremely proud of their creativity, that...and it should make for a good laugh. Don't worry, I'll definitely post pics of their masterpieces. Lastly, I'm quite proud of Jake and I, as parents. I'm proud that we have instilled in our children that creativity and making something for yourself is fun and something you can be proud of...and I'm quite proud that I'm not one of those psycho moms that will spend a fortune on every accessory for each costume, hair dye, nose jobs...whatever it takes...so the kid looks EXACTLY like the real thing.

This year...I CANNOT wait until October 31st!!!!

Face it...boys have a penis and girls have a vagina

In our house...I've taught my kids the actual names of their anatomy. Some use "PP", "privates", "weener"...all the cutesy little names kids call their nether-regions. My parents called my vagina a "ya-ha". WTF? What the hell is a "ya-ha". Well, it is not uncommon in our house to hear the following phrases:

"Mom, she kicked me in my penis!"
"Mom, he threw the ball at my vagina!"
"Mom, there's something in my penis!" (see the post titled, 'There's a splinter in your WHAT?!?')

Anyway, I personally don't think there's anything wrong with kids saying 'penis' and 'vagina'. The same way saying stomach and tummy are the same...so are "PP" and 'penis'. Let me back up...my kids don't just run around the house yelling "PENIS, PENIS, PENIS, PENIS"...well, I mean, sometimes they do...but, they definitely don't do it in public. And, for pete's sake...they're not dropping F-bombs!! These are appropriate words for their anatomy.

A little while ago my kids were in the Kids Klub while I was teaching yoga...I went to pick them up and Avery was in time out. The overworked, underpaid, wrung out looking pleasant child care worker explained to me that he had said the word "penis". I asked in what context and she said, "He came up to me and said that Jack hit him in his (she leans in to whisper the word) penis." I immediately turn to Avery and say, "Oh man, is your penis okay?" The lady didn't think it was very funny.

My point is, I think people are too sensitive to those words. Of course, there are times that using it is inappropriate...like if they run out of the bathroom right after a shower, jump in front of the tv, and with the carefree glee only a 4 year old possesses, they exclaim, "Look at my penis!" I agree, that is a little too much. And, in my defense, that is something that we're trying to stop Jack from doing. But in the appropriate context...I have no problems with my kids saying penis and vagina. In fact, I quite enjoy the look on people's faces when they hear my kids use those words.

Overprotective moms....

got into a discussion the other day about bullies and hazing and protecting our kids from harm. i was listening to these moms say that any time their kid has an argument or a run in at school...they rush up there, rip the principal a new one and demand that something be done to protect their kid!! ranting and raving about the physical and psychological damage that bullying causes. now, i don't deny that it can cause damage...but, i don't think it has to.

we, as parents, can only do so much to protect our kids. we can't be there 100% of the time to watch over them, nor should we be. there are things we can't control and that stuff happens. bad things happen....they just do. if parents had the power to prevent bad things from happening to kids....they wouldn't happen. there wouldn't be any accidents, molestations, abductions, etc.... there wouldn't be a parent out there who would "let" any of these things happen to their kid.

the best way for us to protect our children is to teach them to protect themselves.there are most def circumstances where adults should intervene, but for the most part...teach your kid to stick up for himself.

how about teaching your kid at home about bullies and the sort...why they do what they do...that they should never let someone else influence how they feel about themselves...teach them to be more aware and not set themselves up in a situation where they could be bullied...teach them to use intelligence and wit to outsmart bullies...teach them to rally their friends and plan something to get the punks (not to hurt anyone) if they are being bullied. if taught these things at home to fight their own battles in the world, then these kinds of situations would build character instead of destroy it.

i know kids can get hurt when this stuff gets out of hand...that's the flip side...but, you can't control other people. no matter how hard we try, we can't stop people from being mean, or evil, or stupid....we have to teach our kids how to handle these situations.

losing my son didn't make me more protective...it showed me that no matter what...shit happens. all the "want to's" or "should have's" or "could have's" in the world wouldn't have saved my son...so, i've learned to lighten up and enjoy life a little...and let my kids enjoy theirs as well!!

Have you ever listened to yourself?

Ya know....you hear the words from your mouth after they were spoken and been a little shocked or surprised by what you said. This is what I heard myself say today, well, yell today....

"GET OUT OF MY FACE WITH THAT FACE...I'M TIRED OF SEEING KIDS WITH THAT FACE!!!"

Kinda weird, huh? Oh yeah...I've said some things that are much more foul and offensive, but these words just struck me as funny! This was in reference to 2 very pouty children approaching me consecutively within minutes of one another...hoping that their pouty lips and sad eyes might influence me into changing my mind about....whatever it was I had previously said "no" to.

Poor kids...I remember trying out those faces with my mom...what am I talking about...I still use those faces with Jake!!!

Ahhhh....Fall!

My Psych professor made a similar post on the discussion board inspiring my take on the change of the seasons:

I just fed the kids, the dog and passed by my yoga mat that may never be used again…at least not until this degree is finished. The days move more quickly now…with just a brief lull while everyone is at school and the only sound to be heard is the clicking of the keyboard while I type this message. The coolness of the air has brought with it a newness and an energy that the summer sun seems to stifle. The couch sits with the impatience of a child on Christmas Eve…eagerly anticipating “any given Sunday”….it, too, knows.