Taxi cab

I'm not supposed to be a taxi service yet. We haven't even started with after school sports and other things that would require a taxi service. Here's my day so far and it's only 4:00 PM. Let's start with the 5 AM feeding.

5:00 AM get up feed Timmy
5:30 go back to bed
6:30 I hear the boys yelling at each other and go tell them to go back to bed until the alarm goes off.
7:20 Alarm goes off, and I help get Matt ready for school
7:45 call the Dr to get Doug in to see him about his eye
8:00 drop off Matt for school
8:15 take Doug to Dr where I wait in the car with Thomas and feed Timmy (I went along just incase they did something to Doug where he couldn't drive back.) We found out though that if you think you need stitches that you need to take care of it within 6 hours of the incident. The doc said that he should have gotten stitches last night, but this morning was too late. He did get a tetnus shot though.
9:00 Drop off Doug at Metro
9:15 Drop off Thomas at Preschool
Come back and take a shower.
10:30 go to bank and then Borders
11:45 go back to get Thomas
12:15 Come home to eat lunch and get ready to go to store. (This morning I discovered that our milk, which does not expire until next week, was already bad. I made powdered milk for the boys cereal. That stuff is discusting!)
12:45 Sit down to feed Timmy, and realize that I'm tired.
1:30 Talk to Doug and he said that his eye was hurting and he was coming home early. So I get the boys into the car to go pick him up.
2:00 Pick up Doug at work
2:15 Race to the store to get milk and get back before Matt gets out of school
2:56 Pull up to get Matt just in time.

Now I'm resting a bit. Later tonight I'll go out for girl's night. I'm going to Book Club with some girls from church where we're talking about Breaking Dawn. I'm looking forward to getting more input about the book from others and having a time to socialize.

I think I'll put my feet up for a couple hours and hang up my keys. Unless of course I head out to go get pizza.

Church ball

The baby has been asleep for nearly 2 hours, the boys are also quietly sleeping and I'm very tired. So why don't I go to sleep you ask? Well, my husband is playing church ball (basketball at the church with a bunch of guys for those who don't know). I wait up every week, even though I should go to bed, because I know that someday I will get the dreaded phone call that he is seriously injured. So tonite when the phone rang earlier than usual, my first question was, "Are you injured?" This is why I wait up for him every week. When he got home he first went to the fridge for a cold water bottle, and proceded to tell me about the injury. I had to stop him short to tell him to wipe away the blood before it dripped into his eyeball.

Of course he'll go back for a beating next week. Boys will be boys. Is this what I have to look forward to with 3 more boys?! I need a vacation.

My job

Thomas was telling me all about our different jobs during our breakfast conversation. Here are our individual jobs according to Thomas.

"Matt's job is to go to school. My (Thomas') job is to go to preschool. Daddy's job is to go to work. Your (Jen's) job is to go to Girl's Night. Timmy doesn't have a job. No, Wait. Timmy's job is to eat."

Sounds like Timmy and I have pretty nice jobs. Now if I could only figure out a way to get paid.

Pancakes and chocolate cake

Every once in a while I am not in the mood to cook dinner or I have no idea what to make. On nights like these we have two options: 1. Go out. 2. Doug cooks.

Doug has a few specialties. Namely breakfast foods (pancakes, waffles, and eggs) and Mac & Cheese (boxed). I usually don't care to eat any of the above for dinner, but tonight was another exception. So they made pancakes, and Doug "kicked it up a notch". This is what we had for dinner.

Why, yes, that is a pancake with melted chocolate chips and colored marshmallows on top.

And I wonder why my kids don't like to eat vegetables. The boys, of course, were singing praises to Doug for his culinary delight. They love it when he cooks.

Kind of like when Bill Cosby gave his kids chocolate cake for breakfast.
Bill Cosby Himself - Chocolate Cake

Everyone does it

Potty training. Ah the joys. We fought with Matt about it and when he turned 4 he decided that 4 year olds use the toilet, and has been fine ever since. Well, mostly fine. Accidents do happen.

That's what I learned from "Elmo's Potty Time" today. Thomas and I just got done watching it. Thomas is actually doing quite well with using the toilet. He's been wearing underwear and has been dry for 4 days now. Quite the accomplishment. So I got out this DVD because he hasn't seen it.

It's a cute video about how to use the toilet. They go through all the steps, how to wash your hands, and how to recognize what your body is trying to tell you. There are all sorts of songs that the muppets sing. They sing about how hard it is to try something, and this song about how everyone does it (uses the toilet). "Mom and Dad do it. Even Kings and Queens do it. They use the potty."

There is this song that Elmo's dad sings with him about using the toilet. I found it on U-Tube and it's pretty funny.

Thomas was entranced with the video. I remember that all the Matt got out of the video was that "accidents happen", which he repeated to me every time it happened and that accidents are OK. Yeah, only sometime accidents.

Anyway, we're all very proud of Thomas. He saw a train in the toy store recently and I told him he could get it when he uses the toilet all the time. So I think he'll probably earn it next week. Maybe we'll even get him some new underwear and let him choose it all by himself. Of course he already has "Cars" and "Thomas the Tank Engine" underwear. I'm very happy to be able to stop buying the pull ups. 2 boys down, 1 to go.

Two month birthday!

I can't believe that Timothy is already two months old. He's a happy growing little boy.
He actually fits well in the swing now. See how his feet hang down over the edge? He's noticed the bears above his head and is facinated.


At his appointment he weighed in at 11 lbs 6.4 oz. He's grown nearly 3 inches and measures 22 1/2 inches. I wish I could grow 3 inches in 2 months. This past month he's started smiling at everything. He loves watching the boys and he often laughs at their silliness. He's still sucking on his fist and occasionally he actually gets a finger or a thumb in his mouth. Once he realizes that he can control his hands, he'll be a thumb sucker I'm sure.

For the past couple nights he has slept for 6-7 hours at a time. That is great for me. However, he still sleeps in his car seat. We'll work on getting to sleep in a bed soon. Maybe this weekend we'll set up the crib. Maybe we should invest in a mobile. Maybe I should be grateful that he's sleeping at all and take a nap!

Laundry, and children, and dishes...OH MY!

Do you ever have one of those days where you feel like your home looks like this?

*Just so you know, this is not my house. It's a random picture off the internet!*

We all have our days where all the various chores pile up and we feel like we should call Niecy of Clean House and get her over here to clean up our place. Then again maybe it's just me. Maybe all of you are neat freaks and loyal followers of Fly Lady. But if you know what I'm talking about then let me know so I don't feel like a crappy housewife (I really dislike that word).

I have a friend who always feels like her house is a mess and everyone else's is nice and clean. I tell her that when people know that company is coming over, they usually clean up first so that you THINK that it is always clean. So, my dear friend, this is for you...(and anyone else out there if it will make you feel better)

At the moment I have 6 loads of laundry on the couch, chips under the table, paper piles on the computer desk, the shelf, and the piano. Yes, we're "pilers" not "filers".

The boy's play room is always a mess, but at the moment the only things all over the floor are dinosaurs, cars, and car race tracks. So, compared to the usual, it's not bad.

My bedroom always has clutter in it. Someday I'll really go through those boxes we packed up more than a year ago to move here. And once again, Mom was right; the room DOES look nicer when the bed is made.

As least the dishes are done. This morning I had Thomas help me unload the dishwasher. He was in charge of the silverware and all the plastic dishes. I reminded him to put the big plates on the bottom so everything stacks up well. This is what I found.

Like the way the bowls are under the plates? It's like it's the leaning tower of dishes. Oh well. He's learning how do to a job, and that's the important thing.

So what do I do instead of doing it all. I take pictures of it. I really will fold the clothes. Maybe I'll have the boys help me. Again, it's not how well it's done, it's that they learn a lifelong skill. It's funny when Matt folds the clothes. He holds up folded towels like he's a pizza delivery boy and walks around asking if anyone wants "pizza".

I'll fold the clothes tonite when Doug goes to basketball. I'll put in a girl's movie and fold while I watch TV. That's why they're all over my couch. I prefer to fold clothes in front of the TV instead of the closed in area of the laundry room. Anyone want to come over for a girl's nite laundry folding-athon? I've been meaning to make a dense, flourless chocolate cake, and if I have company I might have to make some! I just have to remember to pop the popcorn AFTER I fold the clothes.

Baby blessing

So, we really had Timothy's baby blessing a week ago, but I haven't gotten around to putting up pictures. It was a really nice blessing and we were able to have friends and family with us. He was perfectly quiet and slept almost the entire time at church. Here are some pictures of him on his special day.

First day of school

Today was the first day of school. I still find it hard to believe that this little baby started school today. I don't know who was more nervous; me or Matt. (Of course he looks a bit nervous in this picture!)

We have opted to do the "Kiss and Ride" (although there is a bus stop near our home, I figured that at this stage in my life with a preschooler and a newborn that it would be easier to pack everyone in the car and go to school). So this morning I go and drop him off at school. He hopped out of the car and walked off. I saw him struggling with his backpack (heavy with school supplies) and I realized that I didn't give him a kiss and hug. Then I saw the masses of people and I started wondering if he was going to freak out with all the people around him and not know where to go, and my heart sank. I felt so bad that I didn't walk him to the door (not like there was a place to park anyway-and oh yeah, I was still in my PJ's). But the more I thought of him, small and scared, the more I started worrying and stressing over my little boy. Then I saw a friend of mine walking her kids into the school and I decided to go to where she parked her car and wait for her to come out and ask her if she saw Matt and how he was doing. As it turned out she didn't see him, but said all the kids were being ushered into the cafeteria. I hoped that he was ok. As my friend and I talked about our kids finally starting school we both shed some tears. OK, so I'm a worry-wart. I came home, hoping for the best and took a long shower to calm down.

After school Matt was very tired. "That was a very long day of school!" People kept bombarding him with questions and he just said he was tired. Later we asked him what his favorite part of the day was. He said the best part was playing with Legos. And they played outside for recess. He said he was the first to come to the door when the teacher blew her whistle. Then we asked him what the least favorite part of the day was. After thinking about it he said, "not getting to say something when I wanted to." Apparently he needs to learn to wait his turn to say something. I was relieved that he didn't mention the morning drop off. That made me feel better. We'll get better at this each day. Perhaps I won't shed any tears tomorrow!

The beginning of the next phase of my life

Tomorrow my first born starts school. Wow! I remember thinking for the past 5 years that I can't wait for my kids to go to school. Now that he's starting, I'm afraid for him. He's never been away from us for all day (yes-all day kindergarten). I'm turning my little 5 year old who has been protected by a paranoid mom for 5 1/2 years over to total strangers for an entire day. I worry that he's be totally worn out and have a meltdown in the afternoon. I worry that there will be discipline problems. I worry that he will find people that aren't very nice and hurt his feelings.

But do I show any of this on the outside? Of course not. I constantly tell him how much fun he will have, and how cool it is to go to school. He has his own Spiderman backpack with a matching lunch bag. He's already met his teacher and some kids at his table. When we went to the open house last week he met the boy that will be sitting next to him. Their conversation was like this:

Matt "We have a new baby at our house"
Gabriel "So do we" (apparently his mom had twin girls on July 25th)
Matt " So we have a minivan now"
Gabriel "So do we. Is yours a Honda?"
Matt "Dad, what kind is ours?" After asking Dad "No, ours is a Dodge"
And then they discussed the different bells and whistles of their minivans.
Ah, Male bonding. Over minivans.

So I need to try to get some sleep. Tomorrow starts the beginning of the next phase of my life. I do not get to sleep in for the next 17 years. Then again, it's not like I've really slept in tons for the past 5 1/2 years either. Wish us luck tomorrow morning.