Just for the record

Nothing happened to Jacob's homework tonight.  :)

Something odd happened though...at seven my three-year-old told me he was tired and was going to bed.  He looked at me and sweetly asked "Can I look at a book first, Mommy?"  I told him of course.  Then to please turn his light out and go to sleep.  I checked on him fifteen minutes later and his light was out, he was hugging his book, and he was fast asleep.  It must have really been a busy day for the little guy.

An average week for me

So Monday night my oldest went to do his homework.  I left the room for a minute and came back and the edge of his paper was ripped off and the back was sticky.  Ugh.  The baby had smeared yogurt all over my oldest's mat and I didn't see it.  So I wrote a brief note on his homework sheeting explaining that the state of his homework was my fault.

So Tuesday night comes and Jacob gets his homework out.  He put it down for a minute to go get something and next thing I know Aidan is announcing that he threw Jacob's homework away.  Double Yikes.  It was crumpled into a tight ball in the trash can.  I managed to smooth it out...but I had to explain yet again that it was Sibling issues. 

So Wednesday morning dawns and I crack my eyes open and look at the clock.  8:22 AM.  To say the least, Jacob had already missed his bus, and Aidan barely made his.  I took Jacob to school.   I hope he was on time.  I rushed to the school just to get stuck behind Aidan's bus unloading.  Some dude behind me kept honking his horn for me to go around the bus.  Yeah, like I am going to go around a bus that has its stop sign out, lights flashing, and has children getting off.  I blocked the road so the guy couldn't go around me or the bus.  I'm such a ray of sunshine sometimes.  ;-) 

Upon returning home, I start to unload the dishwasher and Robby helped me like he always does.  Only this time he decided that handing me the plates wasn't good enough.  He wanted to throw them.  There was one casualty.  I am not really upset that he broke a plate by itself; but I am a little sad because it was from the set that was my Mom's.  Almost all of the plates have been broken now.  :-(  At least Robby wasn't hurt...he threw it down right at his little bare feet.

                            ...I wonder what will happen to Jake's homework tonight? lol

Have I mentioned?

Have I mentioned that I have a little boy who can read.  He is doing awesome.  At story time before bed, if it is a short book Jacob will read it all.  If it is particularly long, we will swap off pages.  I have peeked into his room in the early hours of the morning to see him sitting with his back to his door holding up a book and two of his siblings sitting Indian style facing him.  He reads books to them in the morning.  How sweet is that? 

Have I mentioned that Alexia has perfected counting to ten and can write the numbers correctly with some concentration?  She can spell "C-a-t" too, without missing a beat.  She has worked very, very hard since report cards came out.

Have I mentioned that Aidan's arm has finally healed and he has no more pain?  Yay!  He worked very hard splashing around in water to get it strong again.  :-)  Aidan can also count to ten with manipulatives. 

Have I mentioned that Robby is into everything and basically loves being a toddler?  He yells "Buuuuuu!" when he sees a bus.  He also yells "Buuuuuu!" when the mircrowave beeps.  He's so helpful.  He's also sleeping so much better these days.  He only gets up once or twice a night.   He even slept in until 10:30 this morning. 

Have I mentioned that I love the Holiday Season?  We are almost ready here.  I just have to go through all of the kids toys and get the ones that I am giving away out and clean them; I have to steam clean and spot clean the carpets; I have to deep clean my house; I have to decorate;  I have to bake; I have to finish my Christmas cards and Christmas shopping - then I will be ready for Christmas!  See, not much to do then I can relax.  ;-)

Today, seven years ago...

...was Thanksgiving Day.  Alan and I spent the entire day in the hospital awaiting the birth of our very first baby.  It was our first Thanksgiving that year.  What better way to say thanks than to welcome a new life into the world.  Jacob finally arrived in the evening.  He was perfect.  Eight pounds four ounces and twenty and a half inches long.  I held him and nursed him and was just in absolute awe.  Then, two days later we went home.  Jacob was asleep in his carseat, and we set him in front of us on the floor and Alan and I sat on the couch and looked at him.  I remember my exact thought.  "Now what?"  The past two days had been chaos.  First, giving birth, then the nurses in and out and all the paperwork and trying to establish breastfeeding.  No sleep...then we get home and the baby was asleep and we didn't know what to do. 

The days that followed were lovely.  The nights were a little rough, but the days were bliss.   I slept when Jacob slept.  I cleaned while he hung out on the floor playing with toys.  Or he sat in his swing and giggled at me.  I didn't have to worry about anyone trampling him.  No pets, no siblings, and Daddy was away, also.  I spent the days playing with Jacob and watching him grow.  I smile fondly when I remember the sheer calmness of those days. 

 ...He is my special little boy.  My first Baby Boy.  I love you, Jacob.  Happy Birthday.

Just a "Hey-do!"

Thanksgiving was very nice.  It was great to see my family again.  I haven't seen them since July.  My dad and brother his family all didn't make it, but at least we were able to visit with the extended family. 

We are all a little sick right now.  I hope we didn't leave a lot of germs with the family. 

:-(

 

Today we decorate the house!  We usually don't decorate outside, but this year I found some of the plumping pipe-like candy canes and I am going to line our front walk with them.  I have some things for the window.  Inside will be a little more decked out.  Tree, garlands, mistletoe!  I can't wait.  Now I just need to summon the energy.

Happy Thanksgiving

                                      Giving Thanks

For the hay and the corn and the wheat that is reaped,
For the labor well done, and the barns that are heaped,
For the sun and the dew and the sweet honeycomb,
For the rose and the song and the harvest brought home --
Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving!

For the trade and the skill and the wealth in our land,
For the cunning and strength of the workingman's hand,
For the good that our artists and poets have taught,
For the friendship that hope and affection have brought --
Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving!

For the homes that with purest affection are blest,
For the season of plenty and well-deserved rest,
For our country extending from sea unto sea;
The land that is known as the "Land of the Free" --
Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving!

Author Unknown

Report Card day

Aidan is progressing nicely and should reach the goals stated on his IEP by his next review.  He has difficulty with numbers and patterns and excels with letters and shapes.  He is doing excellent socially.

Jacob is also doing very well overall.  The only large area of concern is his Social/Behavior patterns.  I know I have talked about that so much that it isn't a surprise to anyone.  :-)  Jacob is the opposite of Aidan.  He excels at math and needs a little help with letters and shapes.  When he slows down, he does very well.  He is always in such a rush to finish his writing that it comes out very sloppy.  I have noticed that spelling is getting more difficult for him and he doesn't take the time to sound it out or think of any special rules. 

Alexia...well...Alexia needs my help.  Every area except Social/Behavioral was filled with "AC" which means "Area of Concern."  She can count to 10 and she knows about half of the Alphabet.  She stops at "p."  She doesn't associate sounds with the letters yet.  I will be working with her diligently every night even more than I already have.  I knew about all of these things from Parent/Teacher Conferences.  What I didn't know is that many of Alexia's problems may stem from the fact that Alexia prefers to play with her shoes or twirl her hair and stare out the window while the teacher is reading/talking, etc.  This was an obstacle in preschool, also; but I didn't know it was still happening so often. 

All in all each and every one of them is working very hard.  I am proud of all of them.

It has happened

It's official.  I'm a Soccer Mom. My hubby made the comment yesterday to me that "We have made ourselves very busy parents."  Yessiree.  He is correct.  We got up at 7:30 this morning and got everyone dressed and fed so we could go get Jacob Soccer Shorts and Shin Guards before we went to his very first soccer game.  I must say, he did fairly well for never having played before.  He doesn't know it, but he is getting a soccer ball next week for his birthday so we can practice with him.  It was supposed to be for Christmas, but it's really no big deal to swap out his Birthday present (power rangers) for the soccer ball, kwim? 

After soccer, we took the kids to see the movie "Happy Feet."  The two middle kids watched the trailers for it yesterday and they sat there for half an hour giggling their little heads off.  The movie was not a disappointment.  Loved it!  It was so funny to see the three dancing kids sitting between DH and I.  Robby stayed awake for about half an hour.  He made sure all of the popcorn was gone and watched quietly for about ten minutes before getting his snooze on. 

After the movie, we came home where I spent 10 minutes trying to detach the kids from my space.  After I relaxed for a minute, I took the kids to the basement to play for a while, then we came up and baked cookies with mini-chocolate chips and peanut butter chips.  Yummy!  Then the kids went to play on their own for a while while I finished baking cookies and started dinner. 

This schedule will probably stick around for a while.  Alexia begins Cheerleading this coming week.  The coach, whom I have only spoken to on the phone thus far, told me she would teach me the cheers so I could help Alexia.  ::cough cough:: She most obviously hasn't met me yet, lmao.  Cheerleader material, I am not.  I will do my best, though. 

Alexia has one day of practice a week and one game to cheer at a week, and Jacob only has a game every Saturday, so the schedule should be gentle enough to break me into this Soccer mom thing. 

I have decided that Soccer is infinitely cheaper than Cheerleading.  Haha. 

One of the negatives to soccer is that one of Jacob's "Posse" (group of friends he always gets into trouble with) is on his soccer team.  He was pulling her pig tails instead of listening to coach.  Alan is proud, I just shake my head, LoL.

Yup, it's Monday

I had a phone conference scheduled to finish Aidan's IEP.  I have already tried to finish his IEP twice...the first time I asked for further testing to add his Grammar into the IEP and the second time was a phone conference but the counselor called and asked to reschedule the phone conference for this morning at 9 A.M.  So nine comes and goes...no phone call.  By 9:20 I was getting a little antsy...then the phone rang.  The Counselor says "Did you remember we had a meeting this morning?"  I said yes and she didn't respond, so I said "Yes, I did" a little louder.  She stutters for a minute then tells me that it was 9:20 and the meeting was at 9 A.M.  I told her I was aware of that, I had been sitting there waiting for her call.  Silence.  The silence stretched into a ten month pregnant pause.  I could hear papers shuffling around.  Then the light bulb came on.  "OH!  Yes, you are right, I have it written right here that this was supposed to be a phone conference!"  So, she put me on hold so Aidan's teacher could come down, then she got back on the phone and let the speech pathologist tell me the results of the testing "while we waited for the teacher."  The speech teacher said her thing, and the meeting ended, and the teacher never made it, lol.  It was a five minute deal, after ten minutes on hold.  I knew it wasn't going to be a big deal, that is why I wanted a phone conference instead of dragging kids down to the school for a five minute meeting.  I already knew that Aidan's language is average, but he needs help with Grammar.  No surprises.  I just wanted it added to his IEP since he already had one.  I'm glad it all ended up OK.

Lunch time rolled around and I started the grilled cheese then opened a can of chowder and turned on the burner.  We have one of those stoves with the iron burners on top.  After a few minutes my soup was still cold, so I realized I had turned on the back burner instead of the front burner.  It would not have been that big of a deal if I hadn't had a plastic plate on the back burner.  That is a completely Shel move.  I need to scrub the melted plastic off of my burner now and throw the plate away.  It was only .99 cents and I bought it five years ago, but still!  A plate is a plate, lol.  Plus my kitchen stinks. 

Yup, it's Monday. 

Spring is here!

Erm, wait, that isn't right, is it?  ::scratches head:: I'm so confused, Mother Nature!  Help me!  Three weeks ago we were all wrapped up with hats and gloves and it was getting down into the 20's at night, and the 30's during the day.  Now it's 74 degrees and we are supposed to be getting ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Instead, we were out playing in the park and walking and romping and running around without coats wishing this weather would stay! 

I love Winter, and I love Fall.  And I love Spring.  But not all in the same month!  Or week, even!

This weeks Happenings

This week I became an Aunt.  I have a beautiful niece.  I haven't seen her picture yet, but I am positive she is beautiful, just like her Mommy and Daddy!  Congratulations to my brother and his wife!  She has a beautiful name, by the way.  ::grins::  She is just a tiny thing, weighing in at 7.4 lbs and 19 inches. 

Robby gave me a scare this week.  I was having a particularly bad day and I turned my back for 10 seconds and he climbed up on the kitchen table then dove off.  He was screaming and holding his leg funny.  He calmed down right away and walked with a slight limp, so the doctor and I decided it could wait until office hours.  When Robby woke up in the morning, he was walking with his leg perfectly straight and his foot turned in.  He had X-Rays in the morning and he has a very bruised hip, but he's going to be fine.  They want me to put ice on his hip.  Have you ever tried to ice a seventeen-month-old's hip? Fun, fun, fun!  Maybe I should duck tape a bag of frozen peas to his hip...

The children have been busy with school.  They both got to go see a Children's Play this week.  They love field trips.  I'm glad that they are able to go on them.  Also with the older kids and school, we have been making Turkey's for school projects.  Alexia's turkey  turned out...interesting.  The poor thing was eaten by a dog and disassembled by a baby.  I patched it up as best as I could.  Alexia is so sweet...she told me "I know you tried, Mommy.  I think it's beautiful."  Awwe, ::sniff sniff::, pass the tissues.  Hopefully Jacob's turns out better.  We will be finishing it tonight.  Wish us luck!

Have I mentioned?

That Aidan is 100% potty trained?  Even night time training?? I'm so excited!  He's such a big boy.  He will be four soon, so I am so happy to have this milestone passed.  He had a little regression where he would wait too long every single time and potty in his pants right in front of the toilet.  Cookie Monster had to spend one night on top of the fridge and I told him it would be OK to start getting his pants undone on his way to the potty when he is at home.  He's been doing great since. 

Way to go, Little Man!

Lullaby, and goodnight...

...or not so good night. 

Last night I had just drifted to sleep when my husband brought his cold old self into bed and wrapped it around my warm self.  Very uncool, but I still love him.

I finally drifted off to sleep again for a little over two hours when I was awaken by a little voice stage whispering "Mommy!  Mommy!" from my doorway.  Alexia had woken up and wanted a hug.  So I got out of my warm cocoon and gave her a hug.  I had an awful time falling back to sleep.  I think I managed it around 3:30 A.M.  Then Robby woke me up at 4:30 A.M.  He didn't go back to sleep until after 5 A.M.  I managed to fall asleep again around 6, then was back up at 7 for the day. 

I'm way too old for these type of nights.  I am beyond needing my "Beauty Rest."  I just need "I can function for the day rest," lol.

I'm a sucker!

Never, ever, ever trust a 3 year old when he promises to keep a surprise a surprise!  I just couldn't wait until Sunday and I took Aidan to pick up Robby's Chicco table.  This time of year, I like to grab things when I see them because they might not be there when I go back.  So while I was there, I decided to pick up a truck for Jacob to finish him up.  These were gifts from the kids to the other kids.  So Aidan says "I promise I won't tell Jacob!"  I left, came home and the kids were home from school and Jacob comes in and says "Aidan told me I got a truck for Christmas!" 

 

I am such a sucker.  I fell hook, line, and sinker for the big blue eyes and innocent look when he said "I promise, Mommy!" 

 

Bahumbug!

What a Downer

My sweet little baby girl just came up to me and said "Mommy, I'm going to miss you when I grow up."  I was like "AAwwe!"  So I told her I would miss her too when she grew up and moved out, but she could still come to my house and visit whenever she wanted.  She goes "No, Mommy.  You are going to die and I'm going to miss you!"

Wow.  Sock me in the chest and take all of my breath away, why don't you? 

That one floored me. 

I told her "Yes, you are right, that is what happens, but hopefully it won't be until you are big and grown up like Mommy."

I think I need a good cry now.

She did it!

My daughter did it.  She wrote her name.  All of the letters are properly formed and in the correct order.  She is also writing her name from left to right for the first time.  I'm very excited and I'm very proud of her!  Way to go, Little Princess!