Sick, sick, sick. That's what we have been. Hence the reason for no posting. And my other computer has "cookies". Whatever that means technically, I'm not sure. Practically, it means it wouldn't let me sign onto blogger.
Ugh..
It has been 4 months of complete health around here. It's been a wonderful miracle. But most good things must come to an end and we have reached ours. Going to the doctor this morning will be pretty much the first time I've left the house in almost a week. That makes me crazy. Plus, we had a small blizzard that forced most of us to stay home anyway. Good timing, I guess.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Tim Gunn's got nothin' on these guys.
Oh yes. My little fashionistas in the making.
My mom and I took Joel to the outlet mall to get the boys some summer clothes for our upcoming trip to California. Jesse and Brody will mostly wear clothes that Joel (and 3 other boys who gave us the clothes) wore in the past, but Joel doesn't have anything bigger for next summer so he got to come (and he's dropped his afternoon nap so he was the only one still awake when we left).
And this is what he picked out.
He found the sweater on a clearance rack but they didn't have his size. He carried it around the store forever, begging my mom to let him get it. He was so insistent that she asked a saleslady if they might have his size in the back. And, oh yes, he was in luck!
While I was waiting in line to check-out, he was digging through a bin of hats and gloves and found the perfect additions to his beloved sweater. The whole outfit only cost $5, othewise I would have put my foot down over this fashion nightmare.
He wanted the entire ensemble on as soon as we got home and didn't take one piece of it off for the rest of the day. Mind you, it was 72 degrees outside. I think he even slept in it. All of it. What a funny guy!
And Jesse wanted in on the fashion action so he modeled his new swimming suit and hat. What a stud :). I think he looks like an 80 year old man on the beach in Florida with that combo (dark socks, white legs, plaid shorts...whew!)
This is one of the first times that Joel (or Jesse) has ever cared about what he wears. It kind of surprised me that he could be so passionate about it. All you moms of little girls are probably fainting as you read this because you've been fighting clothing battles since your girls could walk or talk. I even had a friend just tell me that her 8 week old daughter started crying hysterically when she put a pair of jeans on her, so she took then right off and the baby was as happy as could be. Apparently she already has an opinion about what she would like to wear!
My mom and I took Joel to the outlet mall to get the boys some summer clothes for our upcoming trip to California. Jesse and Brody will mostly wear clothes that Joel (and 3 other boys who gave us the clothes) wore in the past, but Joel doesn't have anything bigger for next summer so he got to come (and he's dropped his afternoon nap so he was the only one still awake when we left).
And this is what he picked out.
He found the sweater on a clearance rack but they didn't have his size. He carried it around the store forever, begging my mom to let him get it. He was so insistent that she asked a saleslady if they might have his size in the back. And, oh yes, he was in luck!
While I was waiting in line to check-out, he was digging through a bin of hats and gloves and found the perfect additions to his beloved sweater. The whole outfit only cost $5, othewise I would have put my foot down over this fashion nightmare.
He wanted the entire ensemble on as soon as we got home and didn't take one piece of it off for the rest of the day. Mind you, it was 72 degrees outside. I think he even slept in it. All of it. What a funny guy!
And Jesse wanted in on the fashion action so he modeled his new swimming suit and hat. What a stud :). I think he looks like an 80 year old man on the beach in Florida with that combo (dark socks, white legs, plaid shorts...whew!)
This is one of the first times that Joel (or Jesse) has ever cared about what he wears. It kind of surprised me that he could be so passionate about it. All you moms of little girls are probably fainting as you read this because you've been fighting clothing battles since your girls could walk or talk. I even had a friend just tell me that her 8 week old daughter started crying hysterically when she put a pair of jeans on her, so she took then right off and the baby was as happy as could be. Apparently she already has an opinion about what she would like to wear!
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Field trips are for the birds.
We had a not so good experience today.
I got a note in Joel's preschool box on Monday saying that today they would be having a field trip to a local pizza place where they would learn how to make pizza.
Great.
Here's the catch. The parents had to take their own kids, stay there for 1 1/2 hours, and then the preschool day was over. That's it. So really there was no preschool that day, just lunch at a very overpriced pizza place.
I grumbled but tried to have a good attitude as I loaded up all the boys and trekked over to the restaurant.
Long story short:
Brody screamed 90% of the time.
Jesse whined, dropped toys under the table, and had a bad attitude 90% of the time.
Joel preferred sitting with us (I have no idea why--see previous 2 sentences) over sitting with his classmates and interacting--which I see as the point of preschool.
I paid $8.00 for a bowl of watery pasta.
We could have re-created this whole scenario at home, but saved $8.00 and a whole lot of stress.
Since I figured the morning couldn't get much worse, we walked next door to the grocery store after the "field trip" to get food for dinner. I pushed Brody in the stroller--now just quietly moaning, instead of screaming--and pulled the boys behind me in a cart. It worked well...I might try that again.
But then Joel decided he needed to use the restroom. I don't really want to go into all of the reasons why I HATE public restrooms with small children. I'll just say that he decided to take a really LONG time and go #2 which apparently required him to take all of his clothes off and lay them on the floor next to the toilet. Great.
I would have put an end to that germ party right away except that I was tending to "the moaner" and "the whiner" (otherwise known as Jesse and Brody). "The whiner" was fascinated with putting his hands in the trash and "the moaner" spit up so much that he soaked his entire shirt and the car seat straps so I was a bit preoccupied.
A lady came in with a cute little girl. They did their business quickly and on the way out she said, "Oh, 3 boys, bless your heart!" I almost asked her if we could trade.
I did discover that the bathroom had lovely smelling soap and to this point, that has been the highlight of my day. Sad but true. In fact, I can still smell it now.
I got a note in Joel's preschool box on Monday saying that today they would be having a field trip to a local pizza place where they would learn how to make pizza.
Great.
Here's the catch. The parents had to take their own kids, stay there for 1 1/2 hours, and then the preschool day was over. That's it. So really there was no preschool that day, just lunch at a very overpriced pizza place.
I grumbled but tried to have a good attitude as I loaded up all the boys and trekked over to the restaurant.
Long story short:
Brody screamed 90% of the time.
Jesse whined, dropped toys under the table, and had a bad attitude 90% of the time.
Joel preferred sitting with us (I have no idea why--see previous 2 sentences) over sitting with his classmates and interacting--which I see as the point of preschool.
I paid $8.00 for a bowl of watery pasta.
We could have re-created this whole scenario at home, but saved $8.00 and a whole lot of stress.
Since I figured the morning couldn't get much worse, we walked next door to the grocery store after the "field trip" to get food for dinner. I pushed Brody in the stroller--now just quietly moaning, instead of screaming--and pulled the boys behind me in a cart. It worked well...I might try that again.
But then Joel decided he needed to use the restroom. I don't really want to go into all of the reasons why I HATE public restrooms with small children. I'll just say that he decided to take a really LONG time and go #2 which apparently required him to take all of his clothes off and lay them on the floor next to the toilet. Great.
I would have put an end to that germ party right away except that I was tending to "the moaner" and "the whiner" (otherwise known as Jesse and Brody). "The whiner" was fascinated with putting his hands in the trash and "the moaner" spit up so much that he soaked his entire shirt and the car seat straps so I was a bit preoccupied.
A lady came in with a cute little girl. They did their business quickly and on the way out she said, "Oh, 3 boys, bless your heart!" I almost asked her if we could trade.
I did discover that the bathroom had lovely smelling soap and to this point, that has been the highlight of my day. Sad but true. In fact, I can still smell it now.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Boys will be boys...
...and I don't have much firsthand experience, but I think they are a lot different than girls.
We went to dinner last week at a restaurant (thanks again to the kind person who gave us a gift card!). It was overall, a pleasant experience, which is always a gamble with three boys 4 and under.
However, at one point as ours (well, not Brody) were crawling all over the booth and laughing and playing peek-a-boo under the table, Zac looked at me and said, "Wow, look at those girls". I turned around to look at the booth behind me. It should have said something that I wasn't even aware that children were sitting there. But I look and see two little girls, probaby the same ages as Joel and Jesse, just quietly and efficiently coloring on their coloring page/menus.
I don't know...are boys and girls really that different? When I ask Joel and Jesse to quietly color you would think I asked them to climb Mt. Everest...it's just not gonna happen.
We went to dinner last week at a restaurant (thanks again to the kind person who gave us a gift card!). It was overall, a pleasant experience, which is always a gamble with three boys 4 and under.
However, at one point as ours (well, not Brody) were crawling all over the booth and laughing and playing peek-a-boo under the table, Zac looked at me and said, "Wow, look at those girls". I turned around to look at the booth behind me. It should have said something that I wasn't even aware that children were sitting there. But I look and see two little girls, probaby the same ages as Joel and Jesse, just quietly and efficiently coloring on their coloring page/menus.
I don't know...are boys and girls really that different? When I ask Joel and Jesse to quietly color you would think I asked them to climb Mt. Everest...it's just not gonna happen.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
I promise, he really does smile.
For several weeks now I've been trying to get a cute picture of Brody to post on the blog. He's growing so quickly and I want to give him a little more "blog-time" to document that. But, he refuses to smile for the camera :). I've tried and tried, to no avail. So, what you get is a bunch of serious pictures, otherwise I'll never get to post any. And I'm not kidding, he smiles until the second before I snap the picture, and then smiles again as soon as I put the camera down. Some weird picture paralysis.
Monday, March 9, 2009
He's a rock star.
Zac was showing me how to link to something on my blog. Although he knows nothing about blogging, he knows a lot more about webpage and html codes and stuff so he gave me a little tutorial. And in the process, plugged him own myspace page. You should check it out. I think he's got some of his music up and it's a taste of what will be on the CD he is currently recording.
Speaking of recording, is it Memorial day yet?! That's the end goal for his recording project to be mostly finished. I'm trying to be a good sport (see, I haven't even complained once on my blog and it's already been 6 weeks of this!!), but it's taking him away from home a lot more evenings and weekends. Plus he stays up 'till the wee hours of the night, most nights, working on editing stuff. And let's just say, he's a little "preoccupied" mentally with the whole thing.
But, I love him (like he wrote for me on the last post) and I hope that he is pleased with the final product!! The boys and I will be excited to hear the final product :)
Speaking of recording, is it Memorial day yet?! That's the end goal for his recording project to be mostly finished. I'm trying to be a good sport (see, I haven't even complained once on my blog and it's already been 6 weeks of this!!), but it's taking him away from home a lot more evenings and weekends. Plus he stays up 'till the wee hours of the night, most nights, working on editing stuff. And let's just say, he's a little "preoccupied" mentally with the whole thing.
But, I love him (like he wrote for me on the last post) and I hope that he is pleased with the final product!! The boys and I will be excited to hear the final product :)
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Why do I even care?
I have to confess something that caues me great angst.
So there is this mile stretch of road that I encounter on the way to church/preschool. It runs along an open space of land next to a beautiful reservoir, smack dab in the middle of metro Denver.
And it's full of prarie dogs.
It should be called "Prarie dog Beverly Hills" because the houses just across the road probably cost close to a million dollars--we are talking prime real estate at it's best, yet this beautiful, costly land is reserved for the most esteemed of rodents.
The problem is that these creatures are not content sitting by their little holes and enjoying the beautiful view. Oh, no. They are daring and bold. And dumb.
Every single time I drive on this road (which is usually 8-9 times a week) they stand on the side of the road until they see me coming. At the last moment, one of them darts in front of my car and stands there, just staring at me.
Um, are we playing chicken?! Because if we are, I will definitely lose.
I absolutely hate roadkill. Every time I see something up ahead on the road that even has the potential of being a dead animal, I intentionally close my eyes when I drive by or try my hardest to look at something else. I have this fear that someday I will look right in the eyes of someone's former favorite cat, Fluffy, and I'll never be the same.
So as I am approaching these aforementioned stunt devil prarie dogs at high speeds, I always look away, tense up, and brace myself for the "thump thump" sound as I cruise over it in my minivan.
But somehow, I've been lucky enough to never have actually run over any of them. In fact, just yesterday, I was SURE it was inevitable and after I prepared for impact, nothing happened. I looked in my rearview mirror and the stinker was nowhere to be seen? Seriously?! I actually thought it might be some sort of bionic, MacGuyver type prarie dog and he was holding onto the undercarriage of my car, waiting to drop himself off at the next stoplight.
So weird.
So there is this mile stretch of road that I encounter on the way to church/preschool. It runs along an open space of land next to a beautiful reservoir, smack dab in the middle of metro Denver.
And it's full of prarie dogs.
It should be called "Prarie dog Beverly Hills" because the houses just across the road probably cost close to a million dollars--we are talking prime real estate at it's best, yet this beautiful, costly land is reserved for the most esteemed of rodents.
The problem is that these creatures are not content sitting by their little holes and enjoying the beautiful view. Oh, no. They are daring and bold. And dumb.
Every single time I drive on this road (which is usually 8-9 times a week) they stand on the side of the road until they see me coming. At the last moment, one of them darts in front of my car and stands there, just staring at me.
Um, are we playing chicken?! Because if we are, I will definitely lose.
I absolutely hate roadkill. Every time I see something up ahead on the road that even has the potential of being a dead animal, I intentionally close my eyes when I drive by or try my hardest to look at something else. I have this fear that someday I will look right in the eyes of someone's former favorite cat, Fluffy, and I'll never be the same.
So as I am approaching these aforementioned stunt devil prarie dogs at high speeds, I always look away, tense up, and brace myself for the "thump thump" sound as I cruise over it in my minivan.
But somehow, I've been lucky enough to never have actually run over any of them. In fact, just yesterday, I was SURE it was inevitable and after I prepared for impact, nothing happened. I looked in my rearview mirror and the stinker was nowhere to be seen? Seriously?! I actually thought it might be some sort of bionic, MacGuyver type prarie dog and he was holding onto the undercarriage of my car, waiting to drop himself off at the next stoplight.
So weird.
Oh, yes I did...
I've been a little on edge today. Not sure what's bothering me...I think it's probably several things combined that are weighing heavy on my mind.
Anyway, frequently when I am trying to feed Brody on the couhc, the boys are jumping all around us, talking loudly in his face, handing him toys, accidently kicking him with wayward feet, etc. That was going on this morning and it's always a little annoying to me (and Brody, I'm sure). Here's what ensued.
Me: "Can you guys please back off a little? I'm trying to feed Brody."
Boys: Act like they haven't heard a word I just said. Continue jumping around and yelling.
Me: "Please move AWAY! It's hard for Brody to eat when he's fearing for his life!!"
Sheesh, did I really just say that?...I think I need to take a couple of deep breaths :).
Anyway, frequently when I am trying to feed Brody on the couhc, the boys are jumping all around us, talking loudly in his face, handing him toys, accidently kicking him with wayward feet, etc. That was going on this morning and it's always a little annoying to me (and Brody, I'm sure). Here's what ensued.
Me: "Can you guys please back off a little? I'm trying to feed Brody."
Boys: Act like they haven't heard a word I just said. Continue jumping around and yelling.
Me: "Please move AWAY! It's hard for Brody to eat when he's fearing for his life!!"
Sheesh, did I really just say that?...I think I need to take a couple of deep breaths :).
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Chamba chai, oh how I love you!
Do you remember those old Folger's commercials when a groggy looking man or woman would stumble out of bed into a bright, country kitchen and then just come alive when they opened their fresh, wonderful smelling can of Fogler's? Yeah, I never was really sold on that commercial because I don't like coffee.
But now I get it.
A few months back I took a sample of Chamba Chai tea at Costco (because let's be honest, that's half of the reason I go to Costco--for the samples). And this one blew my socks off. It tastes a lot like the chai tea I used to get in college at our campus coffee shop. Mostly sugar, with the best spices to boot!
Anway, now that person in the commercial is me! I stumble out of bed with the smell floating in my brain and I walk to the kitchen like an addict, looking for my next fix of chai (risque, I know). I have now limited myself to one every other day (it wasn't helping me reduce my sugar intake). But I thought it deserved a written tribute, especially since I am enjoying a nice cup right now.
But now I get it.
A few months back I took a sample of Chamba Chai tea at Costco (because let's be honest, that's half of the reason I go to Costco--for the samples). And this one blew my socks off. It tastes a lot like the chai tea I used to get in college at our campus coffee shop. Mostly sugar, with the best spices to boot!
Anway, now that person in the commercial is me! I stumble out of bed with the smell floating in my brain and I walk to the kitchen like an addict, looking for my next fix of chai (risque, I know). I have now limited myself to one every other day (it wasn't helping me reduce my sugar intake). But I thought it deserved a written tribute, especially since I am enjoying a nice cup right now.
A revelation.
So I don't blog as much as I would like to because I feel like a blog posting is sort of incomplete without pictures. And I hate downloading pictures from my camera to the computer and then uploading them onto blogger. It takes forever (okay, only a few minutes--but every moment is precious with 3 kids under 4 at home)and so then I just don't blog.
I'm freeing myself from that expectation and letting my pictureless blog posts flow.
Sorry to the family members who read this--I will still post pictures, maybe just not as often. :)
So there, I feel much better.
I'm freeing myself from that expectation and letting my pictureless blog posts flow.
Sorry to the family members who read this--I will still post pictures, maybe just not as often. :)
So there, I feel much better.
We got ourselves a big one!
Baby that is...
Brody's 4 month appointment was today, although it almost didn't happen. Why, you ask? Because Joel locked my keys in the car before he conveniently went to preschool (so I couldn't bust him for it). And if you are wondering HOW he got to preschool, Zac took him.
Where, you may also ask, was your spare key? (Because those that know me know that I occasionally have a "losing" problem and a spare key would be a necessity in my life). To solve the problem of always losing my car keys, I decided to always put them in the cupholder of my car so that they are always right there when I am ready to drive away the next day. That's been working VERY well for me for the past year (except when Zac takes the boys somewhere in my car and drives away with my keys). In that case, I make use of the aforementioned handy spare.
Well, the great irony is that as I was holding Brody in the infant car seat that weighs like 80 pounds, carrying my 50 pound diaper bag, and Jesse's snack, I irritatedly look into the window of the car and see my spare key mocking me from the driver's seat where it was laying next to my other keys.
Did I mention that Joel has been obsessed with keys lately?
Those of you still following this pathetic story will wonder why my spare is in the car instead of in the house where it normally resides.
Simple.
Because Joel locked my keys in the car yesterday too and I forgot to put the "handy" spare back inside.
I'm not the brightest light bulb these days.
Anyway, back to Brody. (I don't mean to overshadow my precious baby with a story about keys). I quickly called a friend who lives nearby to see if she could take us. Her kids are all in school now and so I'm sure she has better things to do than go to a well-baby visit, but she was kind enough to take us. And we only had to wait for half an hour after the appointment for her to come get us...this may cause the end of our healthy streak...I could just see the germs in there :).
Oh, and while we were waiting, Brody decided if he didn't eat immediately, he would die so I begged the nurse for a bottle and a free sample of formula because the bottle I had made for him was sitting at home next to the garage door that I never exited (along with my list of questions for the doctor).
Okay--
26.5 inches (95%)
16 pounds (75%)
small head...at least the kids got something of mine (I'm not calling myself dumb--despite the day's events--I really do have a small head!
Brody's 4 month appointment was today, although it almost didn't happen. Why, you ask? Because Joel locked my keys in the car before he conveniently went to preschool (so I couldn't bust him for it). And if you are wondering HOW he got to preschool, Zac took him.
Where, you may also ask, was your spare key? (Because those that know me know that I occasionally have a "losing" problem and a spare key would be a necessity in my life). To solve the problem of always losing my car keys, I decided to always put them in the cupholder of my car so that they are always right there when I am ready to drive away the next day. That's been working VERY well for me for the past year (except when Zac takes the boys somewhere in my car and drives away with my keys). In that case, I make use of the aforementioned handy spare.
Well, the great irony is that as I was holding Brody in the infant car seat that weighs like 80 pounds, carrying my 50 pound diaper bag, and Jesse's snack, I irritatedly look into the window of the car and see my spare key mocking me from the driver's seat where it was laying next to my other keys.
Did I mention that Joel has been obsessed with keys lately?
Those of you still following this pathetic story will wonder why my spare is in the car instead of in the house where it normally resides.
Simple.
Because Joel locked my keys in the car yesterday too and I forgot to put the "handy" spare back inside.
I'm not the brightest light bulb these days.
Anyway, back to Brody. (I don't mean to overshadow my precious baby with a story about keys). I quickly called a friend who lives nearby to see if she could take us. Her kids are all in school now and so I'm sure she has better things to do than go to a well-baby visit, but she was kind enough to take us. And we only had to wait for half an hour after the appointment for her to come get us...this may cause the end of our healthy streak...I could just see the germs in there :).
Oh, and while we were waiting, Brody decided if he didn't eat immediately, he would die so I begged the nurse for a bottle and a free sample of formula because the bottle I had made for him was sitting at home next to the garage door that I never exited (along with my list of questions for the doctor).
Okay--
26.5 inches (95%)
16 pounds (75%)
small head...at least the kids got something of mine (I'm not calling myself dumb--despite the day's events--I really do have a small head!
Monday, March 2, 2009
Video
I posted a new video at the top of the blog, next to Brody's birth video. It's Joel and Jesse and their cousin, Joanna, singing "Jesus Loves Me" last December. Pretty cute stuff (probably more so if you are immediate family :).
Happy 4 months old!!
Wow! Brody will be 4 months old tomorrow...that's 1/3 of a year. Sometimes I look at him and squeeze him and tell him how glad I am that he is here and not in my tummy anymore. It still feels like it was just yesterday!
He is just the sweetest baby in the world! Joel was the hardest baby in the world (seriously--colic, reflux, asthma, allergic reactions, lactose intolerant--you name it, he had it). We were at the doctor every week for the first year of his life, and he spent 80% of his waking life crying. The other 20% he spent voraciously eating. But, he was also quite smiley and had the best laugh in the world (he still does).
Jesse was a little easier, but still had his share of fussy moments. He was my best sleeper in the carseat and for naps, but not so great overnight until he was 6 months old. A more stoic little guy he was, but also pretty mellow.
Anyway, back to Brody. So sweet. He is smiley and happy, but not over the top. He always gives you a huge smile when you pick him up from his crib--even if he had been hysterically crying just seconds earlier. He's starting to eat better after our rough start. He's a great napper. And he very rarely cries. Seriously. I know. Most all babies have fussy periods. But he doesn't. I wasn't expecting that but it's been a great blessing!!
I just wanted to get this in writing because time is flying quickly and there is not one word currently written in his baby book...yikes! I promise to not give him the "3rd kid treatment". I just need to find a little spare time and voila!
He has his check-up on Thursday so I'll post stats then. All I know is that he is big and is wearing 6-9 month clothes just fine :).
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