3 Year Old Devastation

THIS caused a major loss of sanity to my 3 year old... No amount of consoling, explaining, snow dancing, or love helped... He wanted him back.

Po Skates...

We are too poor to afford skates, so our boys have come up with these... they slide real nice on carpet!


My three charges today...

The snow was calling their names...

We have snow! For a little while anyway. The boys could not wait to go out in it and then had a great time. I need to find snow gloves for Carsten as his hands got quite icy in his little fleece mittens. Reese stayed warm and dry. They made a snowman, snow angels, and threw snowballs. Jim went out with them and they couldn't have been happier. Our snow will melt soon, but we enjoyed it while it was here.

Kisses for our snowman...

Carsten's favorite trick--putting snow on his own head.

Reese just waiting to get hit by a snowball from daddy.

Reese trying out the snow angel thing...

The boys and their snowman/snow firefighter.

Stayin' Home Blog

My sister-in-law, Alicia, and I have started another blog. We obviously don't have enough to do! If you'd like to check it out it is Stayin' Home. It is for moms to communicate about the ins and outs of staying at home with the kids. We hope that we can share money saving tips, child rearing advice, funny antidotes, and emotional support when the going gets tough. All are welcome to comment and be contributors even though the emphasis is on staying at home.
If you'd like to be a contributor please just comment on this blog, Alicia's blog, or the new Stayin' Home blog.

My little Superhero

The other day when I had nothing better to do--hah--Reese wanted me to make him a superhero cape. One of our friends, thanks JoAnn, has a cape and now he wanted one of his own. Daddy has been explaining what a superhero is and what they do and how they are pretend, but, Reese is determined to be one. Without a TV his imagination is running wild--the only superheros he has seen are on plates, cups, backpacks, books, etc. The look he has must be a requirement as is the cape.

A Full Weekend...

We got the harebrained idea to run to IKEA on Saturday when Jim got home from work. We thought of it and 10 minutes later were on the road. Carsten's nap happened in the car. We were going for kitchen ideas and to see if we liked their kitchens enough to just get one there. Conclusion? We loved two of them! We also found some flooring that we like since a hardwood floor is no longer in the budget. It was fun to get out (since I've been somewhat isolated with MRSA--doing tons better for those interested)... We ate dinner there, bought a few fun things, then headed home.
Sunday was busy and the picture above is on the way home Sunday. Carsten was listening to the LeapFrog pad thing and he just nodded off...

A Cherry Picker, a Saw, and Some Trees--Entertainment!

The boys have been watching these guys work all morning (and, yes they are standing on the window sill above the couch). The men are trimming trees around the power lines. Reese is also listening to a story...

Cooking...

Cooking is not one of my favorites and my mom put it bluntly that I'm not a tremendous cook. She meant that I don't like to cook often and she was teasing, but I really don't love cooking. My MIL got a cookbook for me (kind of--I stole it in one of those gift exchange deals) Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld. It is all about how you can sneak vegetables into normal food and no one is the wiser, but hopefully they are healthier. The really good part about this is that I am in the group of people that don't love vegetables, so I benefit as well as the kids. We've cooked four of the recipes so far and I'm working on my stockpile of pureed vegetables to put into our food. We like it! Last night we had turkey burgers with pureed cauliflower in them and then brownies with pureed spinach and carrots. The brownies had 1/2 cup of pureed spinach and 1/2 cup of pureed carrots, which ends up to be quite a bit (spinach really cooks down and then when you puree it, it becomes a lot of spinach in a little half cup). You bake them in an 8x8 pan, so you are getting quite a bit of veggies in your dessert! I highly recommend this cookbook to anyone with vegetable problems, or even it you don't, something different.
Disclaimer... This is not an advertisement, just something very cool that I found that works for our family!

Stuff...

We have *stuff* going on here... yucky stuff... It appears we are a breeding grounds for MRSA... I am the current victim and I'm telling you it is not pleasant. Ughhh. Jim has had two episodes and we think that each of the boys have had a case each. Grossness. We do everything they tell us to keep from getting it, but somehow we are spreading it around. Our doctor is consulting with an infectious diseases doctor (yikes) today to make a plan so we can rid ourselves of the *disease*. Just thought I'd document the fun times we are having... Don't you want to have us over???

Also thought you'd like to see our cute boys...


Carsten sporting his new haircut... I love my boys with short hair! Carsten has a cold this week... not bad yet and hopefully we can cut it short.

This is Reese's "farmer hat" as he calls it. We got it very cheap last year and he loves it. Daddy is not so sure.

This picture is for Grandma Keri and family who sent the boys these fun shirts. Reese loves his and pretends to play sports while he is wearing it... He'll ask you what number you are while he *plays*...

Haven't Given Up Yet...

Well, we haven't totally given up blogging although I'm sure some of you are wondering! We have had fairly uneventful days here and I won't bore you with the details... rather mundane things going on... (laundry, cleaning, cooking, etc.).
We did have a fun weekend with our good friends, Bob and Nana. Callie was home as well, so good times there. It snowed while we were there and the boys couldn't have been happier.
We came home and went to Papa and Grandma Paula's for Christmas day... the boys got some fun things and we had a relaxing day. Jim got sick on Christmas day--sore throat (swollen tonsil stuff), fever, headache... this lasted until just this weekend. Yikes. Thankfully no one else has gotten it.
On Saturday we went back out to Papa and Grandma Paula's to celebrate with Papa's family. This was not the relaxing celebration we had earlier in the week! Lots of people and the kids were a little overwhelmed. Fun to be with family though.
Last night we were with friends and we did not stay up until midnight... our neighbors did wake up up with fireworks though... :)
Happy New Year!

Carsten starting in on presents at Grandma Paula's and Papa's on Christmas day...

Reese and his new fishing pole... he bugged Papa to take him fishing the rest of the day.

Grandma Erma on Christmas day...

Paula on Christmas day...

Reese told Bob that he "needed" a snow shovel when he went out in the snow... Bob obliged.

Two little marshmallows...

Reese had no mercy with his brother and kept throwing snow at him. Carsten couldn't get his hands to work in his gloves to make a snowball and then couldn't aim to get it at Reese...

The boys were playing on the computer while we packed things up...

Oma's Gone... Boo Whoo

Today Oma went home... Reese cried and I got teary eyed watching him struggle with telling her goodbye... We love our visits from Oma and wish they were more frequent. Carsten was even excited to see her show up at our front door. I think we could get used to having her always here. Another set of hands is very useful indeed. Especially when your children love those hands!

Since we haven't updated enough this month, you all are expecting great things! We haven't had any more sickness, no great hurdles, nothing really too note worthy. I've come to terms with *me time* and am figuring out ways to keep my sanity. Jim is so helpful and supportive (even though he still believes in his heart that I sit/eat bon bons (whatever those are)/and read books and magazines).

Other than that we are looking forward to the holidays and being with lots of family and friends...

Carsten with Whiffer, his special animal (it goes everywhere and sleeps with him)

Lamby LuLu, Reese's special animal...

Lane, watching our two boys...

A funny grin from Carsten this morning...

Reese got a stethoscope and thermometer from a friend that had to be in the hospital. They have throw-away stethoscopes and thermometers now, so Reese scored them. He brings them everywhere we go. If you need your heart/lungs checked out or your temperature taken he still has some openings.

Reese got to make a gingerbread house last year at a grocery store where Oma lives. This year we couldn't find any here, so we made one at home. Thankfully they make kits for this type of thing... I don't think I have the patience to make it from scratch.

Good Karma

I am going to try for some good karma now...
Yes, I can put Reese in our room for quiet time and I'll try not to worry too much about the worrisome things kids do. What I meant by the naughty things kids do--the time Reese confiscated a pen and drew on his sheets, pillow, books, body parts not mentionable... I've then heard of some worse things involving body fluids/solids... I do need to let go though I realize as I cannot watch 24/7 and if I did that would be weird in itself... Thank you prrrof for pointing out that we can be *watching* them and disastrous things occur (brings to mind a battery and a broken collar bone...).
So, I am going to try to wiggle naps around, get Reese some quiet time and me a little kid free relief. Reminds me of a sign I saw, "I child-proofed, but they keep getting in".

I should mention that Jim got the sickness... Now I just hope the kids don't get it... or at least wait until my mom is here until they get sick!

Thank you wise moms...

Okay,
First, thank you for all your wise council! Great ideas of which I'm going to implement some of them (Reese is laying on the couch listening to a story right now!)...
Now for the complications...
*Lane takes a different nap than my boys. When??? do I get a break???
*I have a hard time disciplining Reese for, say taking more than 5 books when he is in the same room as Carsten. Even if I take him out to talk to him and he ends up crying, etc. it wakes his brother. And, each time I go in to tell him to lay down, no more books, stay put, and so on I get more and more frustrated which I'm sure gives him frustrated vibes...
*I have heard of kids doing naughty/weird/quiet stuff while they are in quiet time and want to keep that from happening... I like the couch idea--then I can keep an eye, but have boundaries (no getting up except for the bathroom and no talking to me, etc.)
*When Reese does nap, or did nap, he was having a harder time going to bed at night... he'd lay there for an hour or more trying to fall asleep. But, on the other hand without any nap he does get a little cranky in the evening--a shorter fuse.

Thanks for letting me vent here and for helping me! My mom is coming next week and I can't wait!!! She is an indispensable help. It is always like a mini-vacation for me when she comes. Not so many diapers to change, baths to give, dishwasher loads to empty... love it!

Help...

Dear Blog Readers,
I am hoping you can help. Reese is 3 1/2 and he is no longer taking a nap. We still go through the routine--read three books, go empty the bladder, lay down with LuLu and a couple of books... and then he proceeds to get up and get more books, many more books (did I mention a gazillion more books???) and eventually ends up waking up his brother by turning pages loudly, dropping finished books on the floor, going to the bathroom, etc. I get irritated (hardly ever do that, but at these times I do) and then I don't know what to do--end Reese's nap time? I desperately look forward to my boys' nap time and I NEED their nap time. I kind of thought they'd nap until they were 18... maybe not. On that thread... when does a mom get a little down time when she has a non-napper? I've thought about quiet time downstairs with me, but then I still have to be ON (and have to keep telling someone to be quiet and lay down, or stay put or whatever).
Hopefully you all are more knowledgeable on this than I am and can fill me in...
Sincerely,
A Mom Needing Selfish Me Time

First day with Lane...

We started watching Lane today... Fun stuff--figuring out naps, changing diapers, how to feed three at once... We had a good time and Lane was awesome! We'll be watching him for six months while his mom goes back to work.
We were getting ready for Lane to come, so we were setting up the Pack & Play and just talking to our boys how Lane was going to be coming each day and napping here, eating lunch with us, etc. Reese said, "I don't think I can handle two babies in my room". I assured him that we would put Lane in guest room so he wouldn't have too *deal* with him!

On another note... NOT FAIR. I really don't think it is fair that moms can get sick. I'm talking the throwing up kind of sick. I can handle a cold, the aches, but NOT throwing up. I haven't thrown up in over 4 years and this weekend I got sick and threw up... with Reese watching! I told him to go get daddy please which he promptly did... "Daddy, come help... mommy's throwing up". Nice little helper the whole weekend. I'm recovered, but still miffed that moms CAN get sick--we have too much to do and take care of and I can't stand the way I feel when I'm nauseated.

Sleep update...

I guess since I'm taking advantage of it right now I should update about it... Carsten is doing really well in his own crib at night. He doesn't cry at all now and willingly goes down for the night. He wakes up maybe once a night and cries a little, but stays in his crib. He then doesn't wake up to nurse until around 6ish... then he sleeps with me for another hour or two. Today I've started putting him in his crib for nap. He has been up there for an hour and a half now so my fingers are crossed that this will go well. He was of course super tired today and he nursed to sleep, but he noticed where he was when I laid him in his crib...

Kids...

On our Saturday Thanksgiving we got treated to a John Denver concert... Jim's mom loves John Denver so some relatives organized a little concert for her. Maybe I shouldn't say little--10 people and they played/sang for two hours! It was really nice. Above is Jim's cousin, Thomas, who played with them.

So, we've decided there is no easy way around it... Carsten IS going to cost us money. Friday night was quite cold here so we turned on our gas fireplace as nice as you please. Jim went upstairs to work out on the elliptical and I was on the computer downstairs with both boys. I noticed that it smelled like burning plastic so I got up and moved the plastic fence we had put in front of the fireplace... went back to the computer. A few minutes later I looked over and there seemed to be smoke. Now this is a gas fireplace with fake logs, you can't get into it, it shouldn't smoke. I quickly turned it off and told Reese to go tell daddy that the fireplace was smoking. I opened a couple of windows and waited for Jim. He came rushing down and we racked our brains for what could be wrong. Well, lo and behold if Carsten hadn't put four plastic spoons in the top of the fireplace! Lovely day... we had four plastic puddles of goo oozing and smoking toxic plastic smoke into our house... Nice. Jim started taking the thing apart and scraping off as much plastic as he could. We opened ALL the windows (mind you we had turned on the fireplace because it was so cold out in the first place) and let in the 29 degree, um cold. I bundled the kids in coats and we froze while Jim worked. We are still not sure if we'll ever turn on the fireplace again.

Thanksgiving Fun

A little fun with wigs... Ivy and Justin. The other kids wouldn't leave them on long enough for a picture.

Stella celebrated her 3rd birthday...

We spent Thanksgiving with Jim's family out at his folks. There weren't many of us, which was nice and relaxing. I'm sure it was true for all you, but our food was really good! Now on Saturday we are going to do it all over again with Jim's other side of the family...

Heard of Olivia?

Reese decided to form his own band, similar to Olivia in Olivia Forms a Band... notice the bells on the feet. Since the picture we've added more instruments to his band.

On another note... One of those days. Carsten is somewhat congested so he slept for a half and hour at naptime. This means we all got up and continued on our day, no nap for mommy or Reese. Today I NEEDED the time alone, quiet, peaceful, without kids pulling on me... not to be. Earlier in the day we headed out to do errands and Reese had a meltdown about wearing a jacket in his carseat--I couldn't take it anymore and turned around and headed home. We ventured out after the failed naps instead. I wonder if it is the winter time weather, attitude, stuck inside business setting in, or what??? The kids have been on my last little thread of a nerve lately and I'm really trying to be nice. Hopefully the holiday gaiety will set into my hard heart and I'll turn back into a good mommy... we'll see.

First cavity...

How does it happen? We brush our kids teeth morning and night--could it be the few times we've skipped??? Do we not know how to brush teeth???
Reese had a discolored spot on his tooth and when we would brush his teeth he said it hurt. We called the dentist and then went to see them today. The dentist thought it was just discolored, but when he looked more he decided it was a cavity! He luckily had time to just fix it right then. Reese was such a trooper!!! He did so great. He had to have a shot, and endure the drilling, etc... Of course Reese didn't say one word the whole time and Carsten cried as he thought he was going to get an x-ray or something--looked too medical for Carsten...

We went to the coast this last weekend with Jim's parents for dinner... It was just in time for the sunset... I had Reese's camera, so here are a few pictures.