Stop the Madness!

I can't take the early wakings! School is out this week, so we have no need to wake up early. Yet, still the kids are up by 5 or 6 and never later than 6:30. Mostly, they will leave me alone but I can't really sleep once I know they are awake because I have to keep an ear out for them. This weekend, Xander was up playing by 4:45! How could these kids be mine? I don't think I could have ever been an early bird and remember Nathan making me mad by waking me up in the mornings to go watch cartoons with him (much like X goes and wakes up G&G). I've told Xander he must stay in his room until 6 (and he mostly does), but 6 is still pretty rough on me. I can't tell him 7 because that would be too late on school days. Even when they go to bed late, they still wake up early. Any ideas to change their internal clocks? If we keep Grace and Greta in a crib or pack n play they sleep much later, but they can't be in baby beds forever. I remember the days, way back when Xander was a baby when he'd sleep until 9....that was nice. Sure, he had probably been screaming until 3am, but just to see the clock say 9 instead of 5 is nice in the morning. I bet Marie would sleep until 8 or 9 too if the kids weren't waking us up.

Random Cuteness

Jon got some pretty cute pictures of the girls at the zoo last week! It looks like they had a really good time!







Greta had tons of fun getting her hair done by Aunt Kelly! If you live near Mt Pleasant, Kelly can make your hair just as beautiful at Stella Nova!


Marie is a very strong little girl and has really great head and upper body control and she loves to bounce, so we got the jumperoo out today. She's a little small for it and a lot younger than the other kids were when I let them in things like this, but she loved it! (For like, 5 min!). My little baby is trying to grow up so quickly! It was also a good day for her because she seems to be feeling a lot better in her tummy since finishing her antibiotics.

Xander the Author

Xander spent most of the day creating little Princess books for the girls. He came up with the idea all by himself! He got out some computer paper and illustrated and wrote the stories as best he could and he taped the first one together himself. First, he made Greta a Cinderella book that involved Cinderella having some kind of pirate island! Then he made Grace an Ariel book that we helped to bind with staples instead of tape. The girls were thankfully very appreciative of his efforts and Grace is actually sleeping with her book tonight. I asked if I could put it on the table by her bed and she said no, she wanted it with her. I told her it may get torn if she slept with it, and she held it over her chest and said, "But, I'll keep it right here." So cute! He's planning on finishing a book about Aurora tomorrow to give to our friend Bella!

Here's some of Xander making the books and of Grace with her book.

Wizard of Oz

Last week, the kids and I read The Wizard of Oz. Don't be too impressed- it was this pop up version which, while it has more text than you might expect, is very abridged. The kids were really into it and when it was over, I told them there was a movie and we'd try to watch it. (It's also the reason we have similar pop ups on the kids' Amazon wish list). It was much harder to find than we expected but after looking online for quick downloads and trying 3 different local stores, we finally found it in an almost unmarked Blockbuster box. I put it on for them and it was a beautiful moment! I almost teared up seeing my 3 kids totally enthralled with the Wizard of Oz! They all sat through the whole thing without becoming bored. Greta declared it was "scary" when the flying monkeys came and went to hide behind the chair, but spent the rest of the time smiling and peeking around the corner. After it was over, they wanted to see all the special features and first thing this morning they asked to watch "Dorothy" again! So sweet. Here's how Greta spent the first half of the movie:

The Melanie Effect

I've always had a strange way of affecting (usually negatively) computers, electronics, and other technical things. Computers crash and lock up when I am near and work when I go away or the problem magically disappears when someone else comes to see what's wrong. My tv and dvd player will randomly turn on and off when I am in the room (never happens when Jon is alone!). Jon gave me his perfectly functioning laptop and now that I have it, it immediately started having all kinds of problems maintaining a connection to our wireless internet and I somehow managed to kill the internal wireless device (it just stopped working) and now I have to plug something into my computer to connect to the internet, and all kinds of crazy malfunctioning things have been happening! Yesterday, while I was talking to Jon, the cordless phone suddenly stopped working mid-conversation and seemed to be resetting itself! We've joked for years that I have some sort of personal aura that destroys electronics. At first Jon thought I was crazy, but now he's a believer. I went to his office yesterday. They had a power failure later that day. Coincidence?

In my research to identify my problem, I've stumbled upon something called the Pauli Effect. It is named after a theoretical physicist who had an uncanny tendency to be nearby whenever laboratory equipment broke or malfunctioned. Hmmm...I am more of a theoretical thinker myself...I've also found something called Streetlight Intereference Phenomenon. I've never noticed that I have an effect on streetlights but it seems to be the same type of thing.

I wonder if it is hereditary because I remember as a kid hearing jokes about how my Aunt Jo also was a destroyer of electronics and cars. And, my aura seems to have been much stronger while pregnant with Marie and now that she is here. I wonder if she will be a personal destroyer as well? Jon was having all kinds of problems uploading pictures today and I wasn't all that close...but he was holding Marie a lot...coincidence? What do you all think? Do you believe there is a "Melanie Effect" wherever I go? Do you have your own personal freaky aura too?

And- just as I hit publish it says I cannot connect to blogger! My computer says my connection is excellent. How fitting! You know, I think I am going to try to channel my energy. This week, I'll concentrate really hard when we are driving to turn all red lights in my way to green. I'll let you know how I do.

One more- I can't watch my direct tv tonight! The system was "unavailable" at one point and when I tried again, it played but was all disjointed. Call me "The Destroyer."

My Wish List

I made a wish list for Jon and myself today. Some of it is things both of us would like but mostly I just created the list and put things I thought I or both of us would like. I told Jon to add some things for himself on it but I don't think he has yet. I'll keep reminding him.

Wish List

I made a Wishlist for the kids on Amazon if anyone wants ideas (mom). It has things in no particular order that they may like or have asked for. Hopefully you can figure out what is for who. Some of the larger things (like the Wedgits) would be fine for all of them to share. Also, since it is just an idea list, other similar items would also be good too. For instance, I put a Batman action figure down, but he'd also like Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and any of the bad guys as well and he would like anything having to do with Ben 10- not just what I put up as an example. And they'd like any of the Wedgits sets, any of the color wonder marker or paints sets, and the girls would like all things Princess. I didn't see it online, but they'd also like some princess wigs and slipper sets that I've seen before. And, don't feel obligated to purchase anything from amazon since it doesn't always have the best price. If anyone wants to get clothes, I'd buy size 6 for Xander in most things, 3t for the girls, and 3-6 months for Marie. They all actually are wearing a size smaller but I think the bigger sizes would last longer. They all love clothes! I hope this helps some. I still need gift ideas for you all too or who knows what I'll come up with!

When Xander gets angry...

Since yesterday I talked about Xander talking about how he feels when he's angry, I thought I'd tell you all some of the things he says when he gets mad. I don't think it is typical kid stuff-what do you think? Some things we've heard and hear regularly are:

"When I grow up I won't let you play with my kids." (I tell him that would make his kids very sad.) "Well, I'll let you see them, but I'll make it really hard for you and you won't like it."

or-

"When I grow up I won't let you see my really cool show that I'm going to make."

or-

"I'm not going to give you any kisses." (But won't you miss getting kisses?) "Oh, you can still kiss me, I just won't kiss you back." He actually followed through on this one for a few days. One night while it was going on, I said, where's my hug and kiss goodnight? He said, "Mommy...remember what I said about kissing?"

and

"When I grow up I'm going to make an invention that will go back in time and smash all of your rules!"

What kind of kid thinks like that?

Heard at my house this week

I say, "It's almost time for a rest!"

I hear, "Come on Cinderella, we need to hide!"

And-I say, "Let's clean up."

No response.

I try singing the new Dora Mermaid clean up song.

Girls look at me like I'm stupid and Greta says, "But...I don't have a tail."

Of course. You can't clean up if you don't have a mermaid tail.

Sweet Moment With Xander

On the way home from taekwondo, Xander and I had a sweet little conversation. He said, "You're the best Mommy." Then, he said, "Sometimes when I get really angry I might say that you're the worst Mommy...but that's not true. It's just because I'm angry and I sometimes want to say bad things if I'm angry but it's not true." It may not sound so sweet to you all, but it was really sweet to me. He's been having issues with getting really angry about little things so we've been trying to get him to talk through his feelings more. Then, he went on to say it was like he had a good guy and a bad guy in his head and they would fight about what to say if he was angry and sometimes the bad guy would win but he always wants to be good. Then, he got all weird like he does talking about how he's going to invent superhero powers to make himself always have the good guy win...and it went on and on...

Long Weekend

We had a long weekend last weekend. Jon had Fri and Mon off for Veteran's Day and my brother and Kelly came to visit for the weekend. The kids had a great time playing with Uncle Nate and Aunt Kelly! I think they enjoyed themselves too, but they probably spent the ride home talking about how they might not want kids anytime soon! I was still getting over my cold, Greta and Marie were still recovering from ear infections, and on Monday we discovered Xander also had an ear infection and had developed bronchitis!

Grace was especially excited when Uncle Nate "found" some coins in her ear. She had no idea she had her own personal ATM on her head. She is still walking around, holding her ear, and asking us to check and see if there's anymore money in there! She wants us to check Greta and Marie's ears too!

Yesterday, Jon took the girls to the zoo while I enjoyed some one on one time with Marie. You never realize how easy one baby is when you have your first! It was really nice to just have a few hours to play with Marie and I think the girls had fun with Jon. I haven't seen any picures yet from their zoo trip, but if they got any good ones, I'll put some up. Xander also got his first official report card yesterday and he's doing very well. He's on track for everything academically and his behavior is good. The teacher did note that he doesn't seem to be paying attention all the time but he's learning the material anyway.

I also got to have a nice Mom's Night Out last night! I'm so happy to have such a fun group of friends here. What makes it even better is that all of our kids seem to get along just as well as us moms! We closed the restaurant down that we were at and had to move on to another place that stayed open later. I was happy to get home and snuggle with Marie, though! I still don't like being away from her too long because she's so sweet!

My mom requested a Christmas list for the kids (and us) so I'll try to think of somethings tonight and tomorrow and just put it here in case anyone else wanted ideas.

Marie- 3 months!

I can't believe Marie is 3 months already! She doesn't have a 3 month well check at the pediatrician so I had to measure her at home. Weighing myself with and without her, she came up to exactly 9.4oz and about 22in long, with a head circumference of 15in. That puts her below the 5th percentile for everything but her head circumference which is in the 5th percentile. She needs that bigger head for all her genius brains!

Marie couldn't be a sweeter little girl. She eats well, sleeps well, and is almost always content while awake. She will give big smiles for anyone who sweet talks to her and likes to try to talk back. She's not really playing with toys yet, but she really enjoys laying on her gymini playmate and looking and cooing at all the toys around her. I think her favorite thing to do on her playmat is to kick at the windchimes. She rolled over from her front to back at the Dr on her 2 month visit but hasn't done it since. Of course, she's rarely on her tummy because she hates it! This week she seems to be trying to roll from her back to her front. I expect she'll be quite upset when she accomplishes this and finds herself on her tummy, where she least likes to be!

She has changed and grown so much in 3 months!

Dr Today

I went to the Dr today and he thinks I have whooping cough! I'm not surprised because that's what I was thinking when I made the appointment. I didn't sway his opinion, however, because he said he thought it was whooping cough before I mentioned what I was worried about. He said in adults who have previously been vaccinated the symptoms are usually mild and the coughing fits are usually not that frequent, which is true for me. When they do hit, the coughing fits are really, really bad. I haven't been sick enough to haul myself to the Dr in about 5 years, but after the 2nd fit yesterday I called and made an appt right away. It took me so long to catch my breath that I was so dizzy afterwards and things were spinning, and I really thought I may pass out! So far, I haven't had another that bad.

Jon took the girls to the Dr because Marie was getting a cough too and not acting like herself. Turns out she has an ear infection. The Dr checked out Grace and Greta since they were there too and had been sniffly for a while and Greta has an ear infection too! Marie's cough is not worrisome at this point but since I have been diagnosed with whooping cough and she is too little to have had the full round of vaccinations we are supposed to keep a close eye on her. It could be really bad if she catches it at her age. If her cough gets worse, we'll take her back to the Dr right away. She just got her first shot for it last month so hopefully that will help but it supposedly takes 3 shots to provide full immunity.

Whooping cough is apparently making a comeback. If you are around babies very often or have breathing problems it is recommended that you get a booster shot. You all might want to consider getting a booster- especially if you are pregnant or hope to be pregnant because it is the babies that are too young to get the shots that are most at risk for serious complications and they are most likely to catch it from a close relative. Symptoms in adults can be really mild and you will most likely feel fine except for the cough, so if you have a persistent bad cough, you might want to go get it checked out just in case. Typically in adults you will have a mild cold for a week or so with no fever or a low fever. After that, you will start to get a really bad cough that won't go away with no other symptoms.

The Bad Lady

I may have given myself a bad reputation at Grace's orthotics appt. last week. We have a game we play based on the old Disney movie The Rescuers. Grace and Greta pretend to be the little girl, Penny, who has been kidnapped by the "bad lady" played by myself. The bad lady forces Penny to search for a diamond in this hole and threatens to take her teddy bear away if she doesn't cooperate. The bad lady also has a crocodile that guards Penny to prevent her escape.

So, we're at the office waiting a while and I'm trying to keep the girls occupied. One of them comes up to me and quietly says, "You'll never get my diamond." Not really into it, I just say, "the crocodile's gonna get you!" She comes back to me and whispers again, "I'm not getting the diamond!" Again, not paying much attention, I say, "I'm going to put you in the hole!" The last time, just before our name was called, they both came over and said something about not giving me their diamonds. This time, I give them my best bad lady look, and in my best bad lady voice, I say, "You'll never see your teddy bears again!"

And then, I see all the other parents and adults staring at me with horrified looks!! We go back to that office next week. Maybe I should have the girls bring their teddy bears with them?!

Long Mornings

The mornings sure do drag on forever when you wake up at 5 or 5:30!! I find myself looking at the clock and thinking, "Wow-it's still only 8am! SuperTarget is still closed!" The big kids seem to be advocates of Ben Franklin's "early to bed, early to rise" philosophy because they've been going to bed between 6 and 7 and waking up around 5-6. They may be waking even earlier but I can usually ignore them for a while so I don't always catch the time when they wake. Xander has been waking early for a long time but he was good about playing quietly in his room by himself. Now that the girls are waking early too, they want to play together which means I have to get up to make sure the inevitable fighting doesn't get out of hand. I'm not sure how these kids can be mine. I'm more of the late to bed, late to rise type! Even when we do manage to keep them up until 8 or so, they still wake up early. Marie seems to prefer sleeping in like me. The good thing about waking early is that I'm not so rushed in the mornings anymore. Maybe I'll grow to like it and turn into a morning person!

Sick

I have caught the cold the kids have had and I'm feeling like a big baby. My nose is yucky, my throat hurts, and I'm tired and achey but I don't even have a fever to show for it. I think I'd feel better if I could take my temperature and have some high number to tell people to justify my whining. I even lost my voice for a few hours this afternoon which was no fun when I was trying to get Grace and Greta to understand what I wanted them to do all day. It is mostly back now but Jon is making fun of me for sounding like a man!

Greta and Grace have a cough and runny nose but don't seem to be feeling that bad. They have been taking naps again which I greatly appreciate. Xander has been running a low fever for over a week now but appears to be asymptomatic and Marie and Jon seem to be healthy. Nathan and Kelly are coming to visit later this week so I hope we are all healthy by then!

Here's some pictures from this weekend. When did Xander get so big?

National Milk Bank

I have contacted the people at the National Milk Bank about possibly being a donor. They will be contacting my dr and Marie's pediatrician to get their approval, then I'll have to give them some blood and DNA to make sure I don't have any infectious diseases and they can tag my milk as mine, and then I may start pumping and donating. They will be donating a portion of the milk collected to the International Breastmilk Project which sends breastmilk to orphans in Africa and the rest of it will be used for research and babies in the US. I am excited to start doing this! I won't be paid and this milk bank is a for profit venture, but I am still happy to donate. If you are pregnant or nursing and interested in this, please feel free to ask me any questions and I'll tell you what I know (which isn't much at this point!).

Marie is a genius!

I have a little game I play with Marie where she sits on my legs and I lift her up and down. When she goes up, I say, "Up, up, up!" and when we go down, I say, "Down!" Sometimes, I'll ask her, "Do you want to go up?" and she'll get all excited and either just give me a big smile or she'll pump her legs like she's trying to stand. Other times, I'll just let her sit there on "down" for a while and wait for her to smile or pump her legs to tell me she's ready to go back up. This morning, I lifted her up, brought her back down, and waited. I said, "What do you want?" She smiled, pumped her legs, and I promise- she said, "Up!" Genius.

Christmas

It is the first weekend in Nov. and I am almost done shopping for the kids and doing pretty well on the rest of my list! It feels so great to already be this far along. Don't tell them, but for their main gifts, Grace and Greta will be getting different interactive dolls and Xander is getting the Superhero version of Heroscape. I'm a little nervous about getting the girls different dolls. I hope they don't end up fighting over them or that they decide one doll is better than the other and someone feels left out. Grace has been insistent that she wants this one. Greta liked that one too at first, but now keeps saying she wants a baby like Marie and not Grace's. I took her to the store to see if there was one she would pick out but she wasn't much help. I tried to convince her that she still wanted the same one that Grace wanted, but she wouldn't go along with it. So, I've picked up this one and I hope she likes it as much as Grace likes hers.

I have a few smaller things for the kids to go with those and might pick up little things I see on sale here and there, but mostly we are done! I'm trying not to buy too much this year. My best scores so far are an Ariel and Barbie Fairy costume I picked up for 70% off after Halloween! The girls love to dress up and these will be perfect! Marie is a hard one because she needs nothing but I think we'll wrap up some diapers and wipes and pull out some old toys for her that the others have outgrown. I can't see a reason to buy her any new toys. I'll probably also get her a new dress and maybe some little bows since Grace and Greta's old ones are a little worn looking.

If you are on my Christmas list, (and you know who you are!) please send me some ideas soon! My goal is to be finished shopping before Dec. Let me know if you want ideas for the kids and I'll put some up.

Uninvited Excitement of the Day

We had some excitement this morning when I looked over and saw a little bird hopping across my kitchen floor. Lucky for him, my dogs were asleep because they were laying only a few feet from the bird. He must have come in through our doggie door on the back door which is sort of broken and hangs open a little bit unless we go kick it closed. Birdy quickly realized he was not where he was supposed to be and started frantically flying around the house and banging into every window he saw. I opened the front and back door and tried to shoo him out but he didn't want to cooperate and alternated being flying full force into all the windows and hopping along our counters and furniture. He was banging so hard into the windows that I'm surprised he didn't knock himself out or kill himself! I was starting to wonder what I was going to do with him if he killed himself and if I could somehow conceal it from the kids until Jon came home or if I would have to dispose of him myself. Grace and Greta were upstairs and as I was yelling for them to come down and see the bird, Buddy and Fluffly woke up. They spotted the bird and went nuts! Birdy then flipped out even more and, I'm not sure, but one of the dogs may have gotten a little nibble in! I dragged the dogs to their kennel and when I went back after the bird he was gone. The girls didn't get downstairs in time to see the bird flying around and I don't think they believed me until I showed them the pictures. After seeing the pictures, they were very excited to help me hunt for the bird but we never saw him. I hope he made it outside. I'm going to be keeping an eye out.

Birdy did leave us few gifts before he left. Ugh. My house stinks now. We'll be disinfecting and looking for presents the rest of the day!