Daily Dabble 9/30/11

Carter informed me first thing this morning "My pirate teeth feel better!" I was so glad. His gums are still tender and bleed when I brush, but hopefully that will be better soon. We had a good day overall. Carter attempted swimming, but realized I was telling the truth when I said the water was cold. Maylee decided to skip her nap. The boys played in clean laundry with the radio on while I worked. Maylee loves light switches and wants to turn them on and off. I totally forgot about speech therapy and the house was a disaster when she got here, but all is well! I am envisioning dinner at home just you and me after the kids go to bed...sounds delightful, right?

Did I mention it is the last day of September and I THINK today is the last day of temperatures over 100°. FINALLY!

Daily Dabble 9/29/11

Up at 4:30. Carter up at 5:30 and loaded straight into the car. Dentist at 6:00. Carter was a happy camper in the car.

C: Where we going mom?
M: To the dentist.
C: Oh, you go by yourself to the dentist mom?
M: Yes son I am going and you are going by yourself too!
C: No mom, just you.

Little did he know....

He did well when we got there. He played with the toys and was thrilled to find a "shooter". The anesthesiologist came out and let me know how things were going to go. This was a little different than I was used to with Andrew. I held him while they gave him a shot in his arm (he was NOT happy about this) and then within minutes he got funny and said mommy in a very confused way and then went into a blank stare. It was awful and so scary that one little shot can do that to your body. They took his limp little body from me and off they went. They had to do x-rays and I knew more damage would be found...and I was not wrong. With an ever increasing bill and a nervous mommy the doctor wrapped things up in about an hour and I got go back and hold my baby while he came out of it all. He did alright. He wanted to be held, his head was floppy, and he just kept saying "I want to go home mommy". We waited a bit and then we got go home. He was so sad and out of it and the whole way home he kept saying "I'm dizzy mommy" and "What happened to me mommy".  Sweet boy. Good thing he doesn't remember any of it.

He is now the proud owner of clean pearly whites with sealants on all his teeth, except for the two silvers crowns he has which we all so lovingly refer to as his "treasure teeth" or "pirate teeth". He will show you if you ask!

Apparently the doc said when his teeth were developing they didn't have the right minerals or something. So that combined with very close together teeth equals disaster. Hopefully the sealants and religious brushing and flossing will get us through his baby teeth without too many more bumps.

As for the rest of the day - I came home and got things a little more put together here. Lu came over and watched the little ones while I went to Drew's school to volunteer/observe for a couple hours. It was fun to see him in his element. He was not big on the idea of me coming to lunch with him, but he warmed up after a while. I had fun and can't wait to go back.

The rest of the fluttered by. Being up since 4:30 takes a toll on the body and mind. Cookies seem to make everything a little better....so that is what we did!

Daily Dabble 9/28/11

New first today. I had to encourage Carter to blow coco krispies out of his nose. That was fun. I had to keep him calm and with three blows all three krispies were out. Oh little boys. The day has been pretty quiet here. Maylee finally took a good nap. Drew did great coming home from school today and didn't throw a fit before therapy which was so nice. We are now in the "fun" time of the day! Love love love love you!

Daily Dabble 9/27/11

Happy Anniversary! I can't believe it was eight years ago when we were sealed together for all eternity. What better way to spend the day than with you at work and me at home...mingled with a little lunch together at the "other fry store" to please the children and looking forward to a dinner together (with the bonus of bringing our anti-nap daughter)....oh and of course...bubbles make everything seem a little better, right?!

Happy Anniversary babe. I wouldn't change one thing about our lives. Love love love you!

Carter and the Chocolate Factory

Things get pretty routine around here and I needed to do something different so my sister and I loaded the not school age children and headed on a 45 minute drive to a real chocolate factory! Carter was STOKED to say the least. It was a fun place and I would imagine it would have been a great tour if our guide wasn't such a bummer. Oh well. We did get to see how they cover pretzels in chocolate and how they make their special mint chocolates. Their mints were DIVINE. The kids loved the samples (Maylee couldn't get enough!)

The boys got to make their own chocolate pizzas. And yes, Carter was that excited pretty much the whole time!

These girls are just too cute for their own good! I just love watching them explore together!

It was a fun trip, but not so sure we will make the drive out there to go again anytime soon. The memories are worth it though!

Daily Dabble 9/26/11

Happy last Monday of September and the day before out Anniversary! We have had a good day complete with work, cleaning, laundry, and video games. We played outside for a while and ate on the table since I moved the chairs to mop (well, Carter ate on the tape). I taught the boys how to mop and they loved it. I am always amazed at the sound of crumbs being sucked up by the vacuum. We sure have a lot of crumbs, but it gives me a weird sort of satisfying feeling knowing they are being sucked up and gone for good! Well - at least until they return from the next bowl of cereal carried around by our little princess. Excited to see you tonight - love you xoxox

First Nightmare

Carter had his first nightmare last week. He woke up screaming crying at about 11 so I rushed in there with Tylenol in hand thinking he didn't feel good. I found him crouched in a little ball at the end of his crib (yes, he still sleeps in a crib) screaming/crying. When I went to pick him up he was shaking! He told me there was a bug in his bed. Of course I panicked a little and luckily he sleeps with a little glow seahorse so I turned that on and scanned his bed...no sign of a bug. I asked him if he saw it...nope...did he feel it...nope. I then realized it was a nightmare. The poor little boy was SCARED to DEATH. I held him and rocked him for a while. I love when I get to do that. Drew snoozed through the whole event. When it was time for him (and me) to get back to bed I had to double check his bed and show him there were no bugs. I got him an extra snugly blanket from the couch and he drifted back to sleep. Ugh - it was not fun. Poor little guy!

Daily Dabble 9/22/11

I took the kids on a field trip today with my sisters. Carter had a BLAST. We took them to the chocolate factory in Glendale (yes, I know - it was a LONG drive) but he loved it. He loved everything about it. Ming was neither here no there, but sure did enjoy her chocolate sample. Drew had a great day at school besides tripping getting on the bus to come home apparently. Thank goodness for his cast or else he would have had a sweet scrape up his leg. Luckily it is just a scrape up his cast! To end the day we made some "galaxy play dough". The boys helped make the black dough and then I let them smoosh in glitter and add diamonds. Carter was not a big fan since it smelled so salty, but Drew was very much into it! Excited for this weekend. xoxox

Daily Dabble 9/21/11

It has been a bit crazy around here! We have had some waffle making, colored shaving cream painting, destroying the playroom, table climbing, doctor appointments, first nightmare, colds, casting, and on and on.

We are here and we are surviving!

Colored Shaving Cream

After making waffles, complete only with sprinkles of course the kids needed a bath.  To change things up a bit and to pass the hardest time of the day with a little more fun I let them pain in the bathtub with colored shaving cream. They had a blast to say the least. I decided it was time to wrap things up when Maylee decided it was time to eat the shaving cream - gross, I know!

Random Notes

Some random notes and thoughts from my little brain over the summer and beginning of the new school year. 

Adding to Carter's jar of words....
guitard - guitar
kangaroom - kangaroo
poscable - popsicle
Swimming soup - swimming suit

Costco is WAY cheaper for prescriptions. The hours at the pharmacy are not so great, but SO worth the money saved. 

I will never again take for granted swallowing pain free. (We had a couple rounds of strep throat this summer)

Drew now resorts to telling me he is going to throw me in the garbage can when I tell him he can't do something he wants to do.

Pediatric dentists are VERY expensive. The same dental hygiene works wonders on one kid and terrible on another.

Drew is in love with school, but still is surprised and excited every morning when I tell him that is where he gets to go that day and his response is usually an enthusiastic "YES!" or "again?!" to which I think to myself....oh my son, you have thirteen more years of this AT LEAST!

Parenting is a lot of work. I am always learning. We are always tweaking. I am constantly on my knees asking for help. But goodness....I love it and wouldn't trade it for anything. We are so in love with our children. I only hope they turn out okay!

Daily Dabble 9/16/11

Long day. Three kids. Three activities. Peace for at least 5 minutes.

Daily Dabble 9/14/11

Success at the gym, but excited to start going early in the morning. Trip to the park. Nap for Ming. Therapy for Drew. Walk around the block to survive the evening. I love our family.

Just thought you might want to see the cute face I get each day when I get her up from her nap. I did take this picture in the dark with the flash so I was not sure what I was going to get!

Daily Dabble 9/13/11

Carter went to the gym yesterday with NO problem. I just packed his backpack with his toy camera, juice box, and smarties and he was good to go. Both kids were in great moods. Ming is usually in the baby swing there when I go to pick her up. It is so funny to see her swinging in that thing and more often than not Hailee is right there pushing here. So cute! We actually got to play outside yesterday and it was SO nice. I bribed the kids with a trip to the park if they ate their dinner and lo and behold - it worked! We only lasted a little while since it started to thunder and lightening, but when we got home it was just raining so we played outside for well over an hour in the showers. It was SO nice and the kids had so much fun. Of course, there is no better way to end the day than popsicles in the bathtub.

Master-pieces

He loves scissors and paper. It is entertainment for at least an hour. He cuts out triangles, rectangles, and "shooters", at least this were some of the little treasures put on my chest while I rested on the couch. 

 

Daily Dabble 9/9/11 and 9/12/11

Let's just say that I had a little help in the vacuuming department on Friday. A little help goes a long way!

Yesterday was a nice day. The weather sure made it better. The boys were SO excited to play outside when it was sprinkling and made sure they had their shirts off to feel the rain. They are so cute. It would have been a bit better if the termites weren't migrating and playing in our backyard (eew!) but the boys had fun squishing them. Maylee looked adorable with her little pigtails and this is the aftermath of playing at Shelley's for a little while, but still so cute!

My Sanity.....Down the Drain

Maylee has been different from the beginning...aside from being a girl which is way different from my boys, she has always been more high meantenance. She came early, required more attention and effort, cried for months on end, cried in the car, persistent reflux, etc. I love her to pieces and would not trade her for the world. I love her sparkly eyes, cheesy grin, whispy hair, never ending eye lashes, love for books, sweet snuggles, and the joy and spark she adds to our family...but let me tell you, I know her differences are just beginning. I have never had a climber or a really busy child. My boys are busy yes, but I have never needed child locks, toilet locks, etc.....those will soon be happened in our home. She climbs onto Drew's chair and onto the table...she gets stuck in cupboards...she climbs on the kids table in the office and yells for help to get down.

In a matter of about three minutes, yes...three minutes on Saturday the sweet child went into my room, unrolled some toilet paper, dropped my cell phone into the open toilet, and then climbed into my shower only to pull off the drain cover and play in the drain gunk. Oh that spicy little girl! My phone is sitting in rice (high hopes it pulls through) and we now keep my bedroom door and the guest bath door closed.

Good thing she is so stinkin' cute and we adore her to pieces!!!!!!

Did I mention USC football season has officially begun?! Yes - we are all just a little excited!

Daily Dabble 9/8/11

Drew has been begging to go to school all day. He keeps telling me he is not sick and is ready to go. Poor kid. He is doing a bit better and his fever has tapered off and is just mild now. They watched a ton of TV this morning and we were all starting to go a little crazy so we went swimming. Shelley and Hailee joined us. We enjoyed popsicles outside and then lunch inside. All the kids are napping now and I am busy with work, office papers, phone calls, and organizing. All things considering the day has gone pretty well. You are up for watching the kids for my class tonight, right?? It starts at 7, not 8...and all kids will have napped so they will all be awake. I could take Ming to the kids club if you just want the boys. I love you xoxox

So maybe I was a little off by saying Drew was doing better. He got up from his nap and his temp read 102.3 which means it could even be a degree higher than that....sigh. He is resting on the couch watching a show now. Hopefully he feels better soon. Poor little boy......

Daily Dabble 9/6/11 and 9/7/11

Yesterday was a nice Tuesday for a Monday. Drew had a great day at school and Carter didn't cry at all when we went to the gym. Apparently smarties, juice box, and mickey mouse clubhouse was the key combination! We went to our "indoor zoo" aka Petsmart in the afternoon to pass the time. It is so fun to watch the kids love those little animals. Even better that they can enjoy them and I don't have to take care of the little things! I love being home with our kids. Thank you so much for working so hard so that I can be home to enjoy these little moments all day long with them. I love you.

We had a good day today. No gym or errands or appointments, just a nice day at home with the kiddos. I picked Drew up from school for therapy and that was a bit crazy and just not complete without a huge meltdown, but we survived and he actually did quite well for Becky. Maylee enjoyed her lunch of oranges and graham crackers with Nutella...she is so picky I run out of things to feed her! Can't wait for it to cool down here....love you!

Daily Dabble 9/2/11

It's Friday. We survived. Excited for the weekend. xoxox