2 thumbs down

I know 2 post in one day, I guess this is what happends when you have alot of stuff happening. Today we took Picasso into the pediatric orthopedic. It was something that we hoped we never had to do, but it was time. Picasso 2 little thumbs do not unbend. They are locked, bent at the knuckle. We aren't sure if he was born this way but we noticed it really around 6 months. We have been hoping that they would correct themselves. No such luck. At his 2 year check up his Dr. reffered us to this orthopedic Dr.. Today was our appointment. And our fears were confirmed. My little man needs surgery on both of his thumbs. He has what they call trigger thumbs. This is when they get stuck in one position, and most of the time they lock and unlock at random times . Picasso's never unlock they have stayed in the same position. The Dr said today that most kids born with this out grown it by the age of 2, if they are going to outgrow it. Since picasso is already 2 and his thumbs have never unlocked he is going to have the surgery. The surgery in and of it self seems really simple. The Dr. said it would take about 15 minutes for each thumb. They simply go in and cut a small whole in the tendon so that it can have room to move. He said patients only lose about 2 drops of blood. The things that I am worried about is Anstheisa, and then after word. Both of his thumbs will be casted. The dr said that little kids seem to find a way to get the cast off the thumbs really quickly so they have to cast the whole arm to keep things stable. He will have both arms cast for 10 days. So that means I get to spoon feed him and all of that fun stuff. It will not be fun. On the positve side, by getting this taken care of now, he will never have to be frustrated by it because it could be a big problem in learning to write and play sports, anything like that. So tomorrow I call to schedule is surgery. And pray everything turns out ok.

The Honda Curse

So the Honda curse continues. Let me tell you about our /my history with Honda's and then you can decide if you think its really a curse. Let me take you back to about 10 years ago. It had only been a few months after graduating from high school that I bought my first car. It was a Honda and very old Honda. I'm not sure of the year but it was like 15+ years old. It ran great and it was in great condition. Honestly I really loved it. I'm not sure if it was because I purchased it on my own or what, but I really liked Beauty (my sister gave it this name) . After having the car for awhile it was stolen. My dad woke up for work and it wasn't there. Honestly I was shocked, it was so old who would want that. The police found it a few hours later just a mile or so away. We think it was just some punks out for a joy ride. But in order to start the car they had to rip apart the steering column, and then they stole everything that was in the car. Radio Cd's school stuff, everything.
A few months later Beauty was broken into again and my newly purchased replacement CD player and Cd's were stolen again. At least this time they didn't take the car. I purchased a Saturn soon after and that car was never touched. When I met the MR. he was driving a Honda. After we were married and pregnant we traded in my Saturn for another Honda. So now we had 2 Honda's in the family. Everything was going really good till we went to the Space Needle for dinner. We parked in paid parking in downtown Seattle. When we were done with dinner and came back to the car it was broken into, the stereo was gone, Cd's gone, stuff riffled through. again. When we started planning on kid number 2 we traded in one Honda for a minivan. So we haven't had any problems in years. Until yesterday. The Mr. still has his Honda and it has been a great car. He works in down town Seattle and he rides the train to and from work. But he drives his car to the train station and parks in a parking garage. Yesterday when he was coming back form work he had gotten off the train and was walking to his car when he noticed lots of glass and basically his driver side window laying on the ground. The curse had returned. Some one smashed out his window (cutting oneself in the process, there is blood all over the dash board and side panels and in the trunk) they tried to take his radio but they couldn't get it. Not sure why. But they did manage to get his radar detector, his nice speakers in the back and the sub woofer. His glove box was open and stuff gone through. Luckily the car was still there, and the blood is all on stuff that can be cleaned. A new window is being put in tomorrow. So the bad luck is on going. I think the Honda curse will continue to "haunt" our family till we get rid of our hondas. Unfortunatlly for us we really like the cars and will probably always have one around.

Mr. Independent

My little boy is growing up. Sometimes it catches me so off guard. He's only 4, but my gosh he seems to be way older then that sometimes. My how times goes by so quickly. It was just yesterday it seems that I was holding him in my arms for the first time and realizing how much I love this little baby, more then I ever realized I could. It was very overwhelming. Now he is 4 and he just doesn't need me as much anymore. I appreciate his Independence, don't get me wrong, it makes my life alot easier, I am just sad to think that he isn't my little baby anymore. You are probably wondering what has brought all this on. Well let me tell you. This morning Einstein wanted breakfast and he wanted it "right now". I was in the middle of changing lovebugs and Picasso's diapers and getting their clothes on for the day. So of course I told Einstein that he had to wait till I was done then we would all go eat breakfast together. He went off sulking, and I didn't see him for a few minutes. After I was done with the daily tackle of changing out of PJ's to clothes. we headed up to eat breakfast. And there was Einstein sitting at the table with a bowl of cereal. I had to stop and think, did I get it for him? Then I looked a little closer and noticed the chair in the kitchen he pulled up to the cabinet with bowls. He of course got the big bowl out so he could be like daddy and have a huge bowl of cereal. Of course cause he had a big bowl then he had filled it up with tons of cereal . But he was almost finished with it. He also had poured him self a cup of milk with it. As I'm getting Lovebug and Picasso settled into there chairs, Einstein finishes his breakfast and pick up his bowl and cup and takes and puts them into the sink. He comes back and asked if he could go play now. I gave him a big hug and thanked him for being such a big boy and cleaning up is dishes. He then proceeds to take the gallon of milk that I have left out after pouring milk into our bowls and puts the lid on and puts it back into the fridge. As he walks out of the kitchen he turns off the light and heads down stairs. I sat there stunned for a few minutes not sure to be happy that he finally is listening to all the nagging of cleaning up after himself and turning off the lights, or be sad cause he doesn't need me to "get him cereal " anymore. I decide it was ok to be both. Its great that he is starting to do things for himself. And I am so excited that he is growing up. I swear he is already smarter then me, he just doesn't know it yet. When he figures that out I might have a big problem on my hands. But for now I will just cheer on my Mr. Independent, and encourage him to be all that he can be. And I can just sit back and be the proud mommy, till he decides he needs me again!!!!

Better Late Then Never

Here are some pictures of the kids in their Easter Clothes. We really tried to get a cute one of all 3 of them together but it just didn't work out. Kids what can you do.

Isn't she getting so big? I don't have a baby to snuggle anymore. I guess I'll have to go snuggle my new little nephew. And that reminds me congratulations to my sister in law Erin, and my good friend Heather. They have both found out they are expecting boys!! I am so excited for you both!!!

Memories

Over this last week I have been reminded of a memory 3 times. I had forgotten all about this memory until I was at my sisters house the other day. I was there helping her get stuff ready for a huge crowd of people coming over for lunch after her little baby's sweet blessing. We were cutting stuff up for sandwich's when she grabbed a pickle and asked for a slice of cheese. This is something that as kids we used to eat all the time for a snack. A pickle with cheese and sometimes a slice of meat wrapped around it. So when my sister asked for one the other day I could only smile as the memory came flooding back and i just had to chuckle. Dad and LJ do you know where I'm going with this? My other reminder was 2 days ago. I was siting down stairs folding laundry while my kids napped, or so I thought, when i heard a big thud from up stairs. As I'm running up the stairs I'm thinking someone fell out of their bed. Wrong. Einstein was up and trying to be a big boy and help himself to a big cup of red koolaid. Yep you guessed it. The cup spilled because he over filled it, then he dropped the pitcher to save the cup. Unfortunately he was in the dining room and my carpet was covered. The walls were covered. It was just one big red mess. So as Einstein and I are cleaning the mess I told him that he was grounded from the koolaid. He was clueless, he's never been grounded (yet). I was totally serious about no more koolaid. Then the memory came flooding back and I started just laughing. Now today I was standing in front of the fridge with the door opened trying to devise a plan for lunch and I saw the jar of pickles and laughed. That is when I decide that 3 reminders in one week was some kind of sign and that I needed to tell my dad that I totally understand now why he did what he did.

Along time ago when I was 12 or 13 and my younger sister, LJ, was 10-11 we were just home from church and looking for a snack to hold us over till the big Sunday dinner was done. We being me, LJ, my 2 younger brothers, and youngest sister. We were downstairs and we told LJ to go make us all a snack. She complained but she knew she was way out numbered so she went up stairs. She came down a few minutes later with a plate full of pickles with cheese wrapped around them. Being the bratty kids that we were, we decide that those were not good enough, and told her to get back to the kitchen. So apparently she went up and threw them away. I'm sure she brought something else down but I don't remember. The next thing that I remember is all of us kids being called upstairs by my dad. As we gathered around the garbage can he asked us " who had thrown away all these pickles" now my dad being very mild mannered usually, was pretty upset. So of course I and the rest of my siblings offered LJ up as the culprit. She was told that she could of put the pickles back in the jar and LJ was trying to explain that she had done something nice but we didn't want them. Somewhere as this is happening my dad very seriously and sternly tells LJ that she is grounded from the pickles. Now I don't remember if we thought it was funny at that moment but I know for the next month or so while LJ was "grounded" from the pickles we all got a great laugh and made tons of fun of my dad and LJ. Still to this day something will come up and we all joke that dad might ground us from that.
So now as I am a mother and I have now officially grounded my son from koolaid, I must say dad sorry for laughing at you and thinking it was the funniest thing in the world. When now I know you were dead serious. I think LJ has always known though cause after all she couldn't have pickles for a month.

What Would I Do?

Today I found myself wondering how I couldn't live without a few things in my life. These are things that I never in a million years would of thought that I would depend on, on a daily basis. So I decided to put together a list of the things that I consider must haves. Of course I can't live with out my husband, kids, and extended family. I love them all to much. but this list more of things that I use. So here goes.

1. My carpet flick- clean messes well, and is a good thing to use while kiddies are sleeping. I love this thing.
2. My new carpet cleaner- why it took me so long to buy one I'm not sure. We use it alot now that we have it.
3. My family room door- this may seem weird but this door is a lifesaver. It keeps my kids in while I take a shower or try and cook dinner. And its just noisy enough that I can always hear if someone escapes.
4. My pledge multi purpose wipes- we love these. they clean my coffee table which has both wood and glass. And they are also great for the kids to "help clean" the slidding doors. Works great on all my bathroom mirrors too.
5. My phone- its my connection to the real world and adult conversations during the day. Some days I probably annoy my husband, mom, and sister with how many times I call. Sorry guys!!
6. My tv.- there i said it. some times is just the best babysitter.
7. My Costco card- where eles can you get large quanites of diapers, wipes, formula, and meat for so cheap. Gotta love that place.
8. 2 cars- if the Mr. took the car to work and I was stuck at home I would go stir crazy.
9. Radio Disney- the kids love it. its clean, fun and actually have some upto date songs that we can all sing to, plus all the oldies but goodies.
10.Lots of hugs, kisses, and snuggles-this one I think seriously is the most important to me. It gives me energy through out the day and just keeps me going with a smile on my face. I never can get enough hugs and kisses!!!!

So theres my list. If you have something that you can't live without. Tell me. I would love to hear some of the crazy things that you guys have to have!

Why Didn't Someone Tell Me...

So why hasn't anyone told me that I'm not superwoman, or should I say supermom. You may laugh and think this is a joke, but I promise you that I'm serious. Now I don't think I'm a super hero, But I have always thought that I would be better then other moms and the problems that they have, will never happen to me, and that I could and would handle anything. I mean I've taken enough child psychology classes and childhood development that I should be well prepared and will be able to handle everything cool and rationally. With my first 2 kids I didn't let them hold me back. If I wanted to go shopping I would, and that was that. Grocery shopping no problem with 2 kids. I always thought that those moms who wouldn't take their kids to any stores were ridiculous. My kids were pretty good, and I was handling this motherhood thing well. Then something happened to me. I had my 3 child. It wasn't when I got pregnant. I still thought I could handle anything. But when love bug was born my supermom theory was shattered. It has been the hardest thing I have ever done. I do not have 3 arms, and I don't have enough lap space for them all to sit. It's hard to concentrate on all 3 of their needs at the same time. I do not take 3 kids to the store buy myself. And as you can see from my last post even if I have help it still is crazy. Grocery shopping gets done late at night with no kids. My house is a disaster zone on a daily basis. My 4 year old son is in this stage where he knows everything and he is always in your face telling you what you've done wrong, or what the right answer is. He also has figured out that he can say hurtful things when he is angry. I have heard " I hate you mama" one to many times this week. Why don't they teach you any of this stuff in all those early childhood development classes? So now I humbly apologize to all those that I thought that I was better at this "mom stuff "then they were. I was wrong, oh so wrong. And to my mom, can't believe you survived 5 kids. I apologize for everything that I ever did wrong. I am so sorry for ever saying I hate you, and for thinking that our house being messy was your fault. I just didn't know. So now in my humility I am going to go find a shovel and get started on the pile of laundry, that I swear I just did, and try to get my messy house clean. Then maybe I can sit down and snuggle my 3 kids, and maybe for a few minutes I can once again feel like a Supermom!

A Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

As I left the house this morning I thought that things had gone well when getting the kids ready this morning and we were even out the door almost on time. I was ready to go do some shopping with my mom and sister. The diaper bag was loaded with snacks and drinks. I even had note books and pens if the kids wanted to draw. The Semi ( this is what we call our double stroller, cause it is just so long) is in the back of the van. Einstein has been told, and retold to hold on to the semi or my hand at all times. So as I'm driving I'm thinking "OK this is going to work". Now let me interject that I am not a lucky person, never have been never will be. It always seems that I get to do things the hard way. With that said, as I'm driving from our house to the mall to meet my mom and sister I seem to hit every red light and then in the one lane road i get stuck behind the person doing 30 in a 50. So now instead of being just 5 minutes late( which is good when I get myself and 3 kids ready and out the door before 9:30am)I'm more like 15 minutes late. But that's ok my mom and sister will understand. Evey thing is still good. We finally get there and I get Lovebug and Picasso loaded in the semi. Einstein is holding my hand. We cross the parking lot with out incident, we get in the mall find my sister and mom. Then we enter JC. Pennys. That is where every thing changes. Almost instantly upon entering the store Lovebug starts to whine. So I pull out the sippy cup. That should do it. Nope, it was thrown into the next rack of clothes, so down I go to retrieve it. She does the same with snacks. But I don't realize it until I start rolling over teddy grahams with the wheels of the stroller. I pick up the big pieces, and push the rest out of the walk way and just pray that someone with a broom will come along soon. At this point Picasso has joined in on the fit throwing, and Einstein is "flying" all around the clothes and up and down the walk ways. Oh and I forgot to mention that my sister has 2 kids and 21/2 year old girl and a 1 month old boy. At one point when my sister was trying on clothes, we thought we could let the kids get out of strollers for a few minutes and play in the empty dressing rooms. Didn't work so well. The baby started to get fussy. So grandma was holding him and the rest of the kids were everywhere. Slamming doors and 2 of them managed to get out, so off I go running through jcp trying to catch the fast kiddies. Once everyone was rounded back up and strapped in to the strollers, we headed over to the shoe section to see if the have any good sandals for all of us to go with our Easter outfits. So there were 3 adults and 5 kids that wanted to try on shoes. The poor lady was really hating her job. None of the shoes she brought out fit any of us. We had stacks of shoe boxes that didn't fit. Of course as the moms try to find shoes that fit, the kids are everywhere. Lovebug is just tall enough and enjoying the freedom of walking and has pulled all the shoes from the bottom shelf off the display, Einstein is off flying like buzz light year again, and Picasso thinks that the stroller is his very own jungle gym. I have tried on tons of shoes none fitting, this is what happens when you have long skinny feet. So this is when I had reached my boiling point. So I quickly loaded up the kids and and walked around for a minute then just decided to go. what a terrible, horrible, very bad day. but wait its not over yet.
I had check ups scheduled for Lovebug and Picasso later in the afternoon. Their 1 and 2 year checkups. I thought I would save my self a trip and schedule their appointments together. so grandma is watching Einstein. Everything is going fine. They were great in the waiting room, loved the fish tanks and finding "nemo". The nurse called us back, did all the measuring and weighing. Piece of cake. now we are just waiting for the Dr. . When he walked in both of my kids started to scream. They both were clutching on to me for dear life. we decided to tackle Lovebug first. So he checks her eyes, ears, the whole time of course she is fighting him pushing his hand away and trying to just get away. It was horrible, but we still had one more child to go and shots for both of them. Picasso is up, and he has a death grip on me and just giving me that pleading look that says " please don't put me on that table" but there I was holding him down so the Dr could do his stuff. And of course Lovebug is still screaming and clutching my leg, I try to hold her while holding Picasso down, doesn't work, so back to the floor she goes. Finally the Dr. is done. He tries to talk to me and tell me something, cant hear him over all the screaming so finally he basically starts yelling so that I can hear all the details. Then the nice Dr. that he is comes over and puts his arm around me and asks how I'm doing. I of course answer quickly that "I'm fine". I don't want to even think about how my day is cause I might just have a break down in the dr office. plus I don't want him to think I'm a frazzled mom. So I start apologizing for all the screaming and craziness. He looks at me and says " what are you talking about? your kids were great." what a good liar. I'm sure he has a few scratch marks to remind him of our visit. But what a good guy with the kids and the frazzled moms!!! I think we will keep him. After the dr. leaves we take a few minutes and have a snuggle session to get everyone calmed down. I get them dressed and we are out of there. I get them loaded in the van, and we are off to grandmas house to pick up Einstein. Once Einstein is in the car we head home. Half way home I noticed that all the kids were asleep. So I decided to just keep driving. I knew if I went straight home they would all wake up once I tried to move them. So I just drove and drove and drove. Trying to recoup from the days events. Finally after about an hour Einstein woke up and was panicked that we were lost. So I quickly drove home reassuring him the whole way that I knew where I was. As I pull into the driveway I just prayed that my Horrible day was over and that we could have a decent night and that the kids will go to bed early. I can only pray!!! I just want his day to be over with.

Finally!!!!

Well after about 4 years I think we have finally done it. ALL OF OUR KIDS SLEEP THROUGH THE NIGHT. In their own beds to might I add. Einstein has always been a difficult sleeper. We went through a stage where he ended up in our bed for the majority of the night, and he is obsessed with pulling my hair, so that stage meant no sleep for me. Picasso from the start has been a great sleeper, and has always taken long naps. What a blessing that has been with having Lovebug so soon. Now Lovebug seems to take after little Einstein in the sleep department. Hard to get to sleep, waking up a lot at night, short naps, and then of course miserable cause they don't get enough sleep. All of that said this last month has been sooo nice ( knock on wood). little bug has started to let us lay her down, awake, and she goes to sleep pretty easily, and she is staying asleep. She is taking longer naps too, thank goodness. My little Picasso, is a snuggle bug and is just great at going to bed, and sleeping through the night. And finally Einstein is staying in his bed. When he does wake up to go potty he gets up, goes potty and we usher him back to bed. No climbing in our bed and no hair pulling. So you know what this means for me and the Mr. right??? A GOOD NIGHT SLEEP!!!!!! FINALLY!!!!