Worn Out

I am so tired of all the bickering going on in my house with the 2 extra girls in it. I would like to appeal to you more experienced moms of multiple children on how you deal with it. Please share your secrets cause seriously it is driving me crazy.

I believe this morning I am going to sit them down and lay down the law. If anyone is unwilling to share and arguing follows the item will be taken away for 30 minutes and will come back to the person that requested it (as long as they requested nicely). If it happens again with the same item it will go away for the rest of the day. If they can't sit together and complain they are to close or whatever everyone will have to move. How does that sound? I don't want to be an ogre but come on can't we get along?

The younger one tends to say if you don't do "whatever" I am not going to play with you again. The older one can't decide if she wants the younger ones to play with her or leave her alone. She sends mixed signals and then gets mad if the little ones stop wanting to play with her. Anna just doesn't know how to share and thinks if someone gets something that looks fun she should get it. She is finally picking up on the take turns thing but sometimes it is still hard.

Any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated!!!

Where I come from

I realized yesterday that everyone likes to know where they come from. Not just the people around them but how they acted and what they were like as a smaller child. Anna is already curious about her life as a baby. So this is for my Anna!

Where Anna came from:

Anna came from 2 parents that loved her so much before she was ever born. We were on pins and needles just waiting to make sure she would be ok because she was so very small. She wasn't growing very well in me and now I realize it was just because she was anxious to get out and see the world and be a HUGE part of it. As a baby she didn't sleep much. She would catch a few short naps but only if I were holding her. Or to be more accurate if I nursed her. She was a champion nurser lol. She started growing in leaps and bounds after she was out in the world. Her size never held her back though. She was trying to roll over at a young age and sitting up pretty young too. I would have to go back and check my notes to see exactly when. Anna never liked tv as a baby. Baby Einstein did absolutely NOTHING for her. Even now at almost 4 I am doing good to get her to watch 30 minutes for me to get something done without her under me lol. She loved to swing! Except she didn't like going front to back she preferred side to side. She wouldn't sleep in her crib until she was 4 months old at which point she started sleeping through the night! At 7 months we went on a fabulous vacation to Holden Beach where she decided that sleeping through the night was totally over rated! Her first belly laugh was 4.5 months old. We were watching White Christmas, a movie that I loved and will cherish even more now!

As Anna has been growing she has gone through a number of phases. Some that I would like to forget and others that I will hold on to too get me through the tough ones ;) She went through the NO phase! Everything was NO even if she really meant yes. She is still going through a phase where she hits. If she gets mad or is not getting her way she strikes out. She is a Drama Queen and has been since she was a baby. She started posing for pictures when she was old enough to realize what a camera was. She turns everything into a HUGE deal. Which can be good if it is something like a picnic and a movie. Not so great if she bumps her toe and her world crumbles!

I expected most of these things though cause she is so much like me. She picks through her food to see if there is something gross in there. She laughs with her whole body and soul. She feels other peoples pain so deeply that she will cry for them. She loves to snuggle but also likes to have her space. She also has a lot of her Daddy in her. She likes to scare people and play tricks on them. She moves very slow (sometimes) making sure everything is JUST so! She likes a variety of different foods. She doesn't like to be touched after 10:00 PM lol. She loves to put things together and take things apart. She has to have things done a certain way and she hates it if you change it up on her. For example, we have assigned seating at the table, we have to go a certain way into the grocery store etc.

She is a quirky little kid and I love discovering these things about her. She loves to help clean house and do laundry! Maybe we can keep her that way lol. Her favorite chore is wiping tables and stuff. Anything with spray!!! She loves her babies and takes very good care of them. She will be a great Mommy one day! She feeds them, changes there diaper, rocks them and plays with them. She even selects a lucky one to ride in the car with us where ever we are going. She hates to leave them in when we go to the store but I make her leave it. I am afraid if we left it somewhere the world would come to an end as we know it. Remember DRAMA QUEEN!!!

She loves swimming and is a little fish. She is doing extraordinary with it, she can swim the width of the pool without help, do flips under the water and swim down to touch the bottom of the pool with her fingertips. She loves to have picnics in the living room and watch a movie. She loves sitting out in our driveway and waving at people as they go by. I don't think she realizes how much joy she brings to the people driving by. I can see most of them looking tired after a long day and then they see her waving with such a cute smile and their faces brighten up and most of them wave back or honk the horn. She loves to ride her bike and climb things. She loves to play with her very good friends. She has so many now I never imagined she would have so many friends. She tends to get shy with new people but she is breaking away from that a little at the time. She loves getting her nails done and her hair too. She enjoys getting in the car and going as long as we don't have to drive to long. She likes to pretend like she is driving the car. Her favorite thing to do at the park is swing! She would swing for hours if you would stand there and push her lol. She is starting to learn how to do it herself but knows it is much easier if someone does it for her lol.

She doesn't like big crowds, she doesn't like putting away her toys (I think it is because she is thinking I am just going to get them back out later), she doesn't like bug bites, she doesn't like sitting still for to long, she doesn't like having to get a bath until she gets in (she loves it after she gets in), she doesn't like missing things, she doesn't like not being able to do something one of her friends can do.

She loves pretty much all fruits, she loves chips, plain or with salsa and sour cream or dips. she loves hot stuff, she loves sweets, she loves granola bars but her favorite snack is goldfish! Her favorite meal is chicken and pasta or either ham. She doesn't like broccoli, she doesn't like raisins, she doesn't like well I can't think of anything else at the moment.

Right now we are facing the 3-4 year old attitude. Sometimes I am trying so hard not to laugh when she gets it going. She just gets this look on her face and some of the things that come out of her mouth. Other times I just want to hang her up by her toe nails lol.

She is a delightful little girl and I am so blessed that God brought her to my life.

Dancing with Anna!

Being a Mom is so confusing sometimes. It is like a confusing dance (I have never been a good dancer!) that is ever changing! They are growing and changing and we are growing and changing as parents as well. This means that things will be different from one day to the next.

Anna and I have been feeling growing pains lately. That struggle for power. The I am a big girl and I want to do it myself. I try to give where I can and stand firm where I need too. On the flip side of that sometimes I seem to push her to hard. But then I wonder if it is to hard or if it is necessary. See a confusing dance! Y'all tell me I am not alone on the dance floor! Tell me that we will survive and make it to the next step!

She Totally Gets it from ME!

This is typically something I would do over at my daughters site but I thought you guys had a right to know a little bit about me lol. Anna has been dying to paint for oh I don't know a week or maybe a month. I decided that since it was so very nasty out this morning we would do that today. So she worked out with me this morning and then we got right to the important stuff!

We have an art kit that I break out for just such an occasion. It has a few different kinds of paint. The kind you use with a brush and then finger paints. So we got these items out and spread paper on the floor in the kitchen and got busy! I hate to admit it but I had trouble with the paint you were supposed to use the brush. I tried wetting the brush and then rubbing it over the paint. That barely worked. I tried using my finger lol I know kinda defeating the purpose of the brush. Then finally I tried to wet the paint and then dip the brush into it and voila that worked!

The finger painting well you know that is a no-brainer! My kind of painting lol. I have always thought that I didn't have any artistic ability. Guess what y'all I can use kids paints and create a little turtle. Of course it is kinda like looking up at the clouds and trying to pick out a shape lol. Check this out!!!

Tell me you can totally see my turtle, right? Ha ha I know so anyway I looked over at what Anna was doing and look at what I see!

You can totally see her dolphin, right! Isn't that cool! Now mine is questionable at best so you know my title is totally bogus. She really gets any artistic ability from my hubby! While we were both all yucked up with paints I decided to do something that we could look back on and marvel at:

I think we will do this yearly and we can see how much her hand grows. How close it gets to being big like mine.

Stuttering

My vibrant and very intelligent 3.5 year old has started stuttering lately. It is pretty much the first word of a sentence. Mainly when she begins the sentence with you or we. I was getting a little concerned about this especially when my father in law pointed it out.

I was talking to a friend of mine about it and she said the same thing happened with her nephew. The parents checked with a teacher of Psychology and were told it is a phase they sometimes go through. Of course, being the computer guru that I am I had to check it out. I found numerous websites pointing out that this happened to their children and that is completely normal. I had no idea that this could possibly happen. They say if your child does this to not interrupt them and to listen carefully to them. The phase should last no longer than a few months.

I can't tell y'all how relieved I was to read that. I was feeling like I was doing something terribly wrong. For her to go from speaking perfectly clear to stuttering I thought something traumatic had to have occurred. No, that isn't the case it is another phase; another sign that she is growing and learning. Apparently her mind is working so fast that is hard for her mouth to keep up with it sometimes. Now my husband and I just have to remember to not try to rush her or make her take her time. Just let her go with the flow and work it out for herself.

Did your little one go through this phase? If so how long did it last?

Memory Lane Friday

When I was in high school I loved football season. No I don't know a thing about it. Well, I do know an incomplete pass, a fumble and a touchdown but other than that I am totally clueless. I still loved football season! I loved the excitement of the game. We had an awesome football team! They were really good. The fans were constantly on their feet and the band was always playing fun music. I usually sat near the band so I could stomp and clap and sing. I would also spend a lot of time walking around chatting with friends and don't forget checking out the "tight ends". Oops did I say that?

I loved football so much that I had a short stint at flag girl. I really wasn't very good though. I was NOT coordinated at all! I quit after a short while. My senior year I went out for mascot. We had Spike a lovable Bulldog. I got to do a pep rally before tryouts and I was GOOD! My job was to "play" an electric guitar while running around dancing. Just so you know I CANNOT dance! Something happened though, I got in the bulldog suit and I knew no one but a handful of people knew it was me and I rocked the house! My then boyfriend (now hubby) didn't even know it was me at first. This was in my yearbook. I don't have a scanner so this is a picture of a picture that is why the quality isn't so great!

I didn't make it as the regular Spike. I was runner up. Apparently, Spike needed to be fit and be able to do things like push ups ha ha. I was asked to fill in for one game. It was an away game and it happened to be a game that we made like 50 some odd points. Now there is no way I could do push ups. After our first touch down the crowd was cheering me to do my thing, I thought well I will just do jumping jacks. I can do that even with this big ole suit on. Little did I know the team would go nuts getting touchdown after touchdown. Every time I would do jumping jacks in the bulldog suit the hat would bounce up. I was sure that it was going to pop off at any moment. Miraculously, it didn't but I don't know how. By the end of the night I was so sweaty and utterly exhausted. I was thanking my lucky stars that I wasn't the regular Spike lol.

This is my senior picture. Just wanted to show you how cute I was!

This was me and my best friend.

This was before I went out and rocked the house!

What about you? What stands out to you when you think High School Football?

If you want to join in and share your memories or just read others go to Girls in White Dresses!

I am also going to use this as my thematic photography post. These pictures are 17 years old! *shudder*

Where did my baby go?

We walked into the building and there was complete chaos. Anna doesn't do well with chaos. It makes her nervous. She was nervous anyway because we were out of our element. Anna didn't hide behind me and she didn't cling to me. She stood in front of me watching all of the other children playing and talking. She watched them go to different play stations and do different things. I talked with the Director while she stood there in awe. Her one request before we went in was to see babies. The Director was more than happy to take us back. Anna looked at all of the babies and didn't say a lot. We finished up and left. As we walk out the door Anna complains. "Mommy, I want to go back! I want to see the babies again." My only thoughts were you are MY baby you are to young to go to school. And yet that is exactly what we were there for. We were there to see what kind of program they had and see what we needed to do to enroll her.

I can't believe my baby is going to go to school come August or September whenever they start. I kept thinking back to the day Anna was born. When she was still inside me. The truth is she is growing up. A fact she likes to share almost daily. She is not that same baby that would nurse for hours at a time or that would look around so very alert from the very beginning. She is not the toddler that depended on me to help her walk or eat or translate for her. She is a beautiful little girl that is getting ready for school. She is her own person with her own little personality.

Relationships with your baby are ever changing. So many different phases. Forever changing and growing personalities. It all creates a relationship that is never the same. Every day it is different. Anna keeps me on my toes every single day and I love it. I loved being her Mommy when she was a baby, even though I was exhausted. I loved being her Mommy when she was a toddler, even though she was not sure if she depended on me or herself. I love being her Mommy now, even though she isn't my baby anymore.

So do any of you have a good way to deal with the preschool blues?

Rocking Chairs, Rocking Babies!

Tuesday Anna and I had a playdate with friends. Anna was feeling a little fiesty or off kilter or something. She cried any time I asked her not to do something or she would cry if the other kids were doing something and she had to wait her turn. I didn't know what was going on but we stayed and worked our way through it. When one of our friends left and it was just Anna and Allie it was as if the sun had come out. Apparently she didn't want to share her friend! We stayed a while longer and we were out sitting in the yard when this really odd bug started flying around me. I moved out of his way and then realized it was a baby and its Mommy had been under the arm of the chair. The baby landed on its Mommy's side and hung out there. My friend Shanda and I decided the baby was nursing (do bugs do that? lol) Anyway, then after watching for a few minutes we decided maybe the Mom was dead. I mean seriously, she hadn't moved in about 5 minutes not to mention she didn't mind having me sit on the chair or Shanda touch her. Finally, I saw her little legs moving so we knew she was alive. Anna and Allie kept asking what they were doing so we told them the baby was drinking milk. They continued to ask so we said oh they must be taking a nap now. Anna looked down there and said "but where is their rocking chair?" My sweet baby girl apparently thinks you shouldn't take a nap without a rocking chair lol. During the week, yes, I still rock her to sleep even though she is 3 years old. I still hold precious those moments when we get to snuggle and cuddle and just be still with one another. I love to feel her breathe on my cheek or my arm. I love to have her snuggle a little closer when she feels me stand up to lay her down. I love when she gets to bed and she looks up at me and then just rolls over and goes right back to sleep. It is like she has this complete trust that I will be there when she wakes up and I will protect her while she sleeps. I am going to cherish it as long as I can because I know it will not last forever and all to soon she will not need me (as much).

Happy Birthday My Sweet Anna

I cannot believe that you are 3 years old. It was just yesterday that my doctor said "Lets do a c-section on August 3rd." The past 3 years have been so much more than I ever imagined! You are truly the light of my life. You bring so much joy and wonder into my world. I only hope that I do the same for you.

Lets see if we can recap the year. When you turned 2 you were so grown up to me lol. I think it is funny how at each stage we think much the same thing. You continue to grow and learn at a speed that is crazy. Anyway, when you turned 2 you were using small sentences, running and playing. You were of course beautiful! During the course of the past year your sentences have turned into long complicated ones. You are using your verbs correctly for the most part and you astound me with some of the things that come out of your mouth. You have learned to run faster and to jump with both feet coming off the ground. You not only play beside your friends but with them (which I think is very cool!) You are potty trained even at night for the most part! This is my favorite newly aqcuired skill lol. You will even go do it all by yourself. One of your favorite sentences happens to be "I do it myself"! This summer you got to take swimming lessons. You can now swim underwater! You can throw a ball better than most of the other kiddos we hang out with and you are starting to get the hang of catching. You love to play with your babies. You are so nurturing and loving with them. You are starting to pretend a lot more now which I love to see. You enjoy taking pictures and are actually pretty good at it. I love that you are creative and eager to learn new skills!

Some of your favorites:

Favorite food: dessert lol if that isn't an option pizza

Favorite movie: Jungle Book

Favorite tv show: Dragon Tales

Favorite outdoor activity: Swimming

Favorite indoor activity: vacuuming or playing dolls or reading

Favorite time of day: morning

Favorite lunch: Sandwich (it isn't lunch if it isn't a sandwich!)

Favorite item in your room: Your fish tank and 4 goldfish

Favorite friends: Allie and Brooks

Favorite person in church: Ms. Lisa Stephens (Sunday School Teacher)

Favorite outfit: Your Koukyla (sp?) shirt it means doll baby in Greek

Life has been challenging this year. Between the temper tantrums that would crop up on occassion to that stubborn streak in you that comes out, we have kept things interesting. Oh and we can't forget your impatience (I don't know where you get that from ;)) All of our struggles are nothing compared to the joy you bring us. You make us laugh when we are down. You do something silly when you know I am feeling sad or you will come snuggle up for some lovin if you think that is what I need. You are incredibly intuitive for such a little person. You are not only that way with me and your Daddy but with your friends and others. I admire that quality in you. I also admire how observant you are. You remember locations and details that amaze me because I am terrible with that stuff! You obviously get that from your Daddy. You are still a Mama's girl. You had me sit on the steps at the pool during swimming lessons. It helped you feel confident enough or safe enough to go in and do your thing. Although you are closer to your Daddy than ever. I love to watch you guys playing video games or playing ball together. You always laugh and have such fun! You are a shy girl until you get to know someone then you can talk a mile a minute.

I thank God daily for bringing you into my life. You are such a wonderful blessing.

What was I thinking?

I totally jinxed myself! I was talking about how smoothly our sleep transition has been so far. Ha!!! That is almost all I can say. If I were anyone else that would be about it lol. I am however never short on words or at least very rarely. Tonight We did our bed time prayer and she climbed into bed. I though YES we are there!!! Ha!!! She scooted to the bottom of the bed and said "you get in your spot". I explained to her that I wasn't that I was going into the living room. I would sit in the yellow chair so that she could still see me. She started screaming hysterically. I loved on her and told her I had too. I proceeded to leave the room saying I would come check on her soon. 5 minutes later she sounds like she is about to be sick she has cried so hard. I go in and I can't hear myself talk over the screaming so I tell her that when she settles down I will come back in. Hmm, about 10 minutes I guess she finally settled down. It felt more like a life time. I went back in there and her shirt was drenched from her crying. We get her shirt changed. I tell her that I love her so very much. That she was the greatest gift God could ever give me. That I feel that she has given me so much more than I can ever give her. All I can do is love her with all of my heart and soul and take care of her like I think she needs. I think we need this! I said you know I love you, right? She nodded her head. I said you have made me so proud the past few nights. I need you to do it again. I explained that I would be going to the living room and she could see me in the chair. She said but Mommy stay in her, lay down with me. That very moment I wanted to cave. I thought is this really worth it? Do we HAVE to do this now? She is still really just a baby. Then I thought about how far we have come in just a few days. I thought about having to start over one day down the road. So I kissed her and told her that I couldn't. I came back to the living room and she can see me from her pillow. She is laying there right now watching me as I type this. Every time I look her way to check on her she waves at me. It would be so very easy to go in there and snuggle up.

Tell me what you think. Is it going to be worth it? Should I not force it and enjoy these snuggles as long as she lets me? Why do we feel compelled to rush them through childhood? Why can't we hold on tight and keep them small as long as possible? Would it be so terrible if they depended on us for a while longer? Is there a way to pause time and or slow it down and cherish every moment a little longer?

I read other Moms in the bloggy world that are trying to speed up time. Trust me I have my moments for that too but right now I just want to stop time. I want to remember every smell, taste, sight, feeling and sound. The smell of sweaty hair after running around in the back yard. The taste of the food that she wants to "feed" me. The sight of her having the time of her life in the pool. Learning how to jump off the side of the wall without holding onto my hands. Without me even right there with her. The feeling of her wrapping her arms around my neck for a hug. The feeling of her reaching up and grabbing my hand. Not because we are in a parking lot but just because she wants to be connected to me. The feeling of her sleeping on me because she woke up from her nap a little to early. The sound of her giggling when I do something silly. The sound of her voice when she is being all sweet and loving. The sound of her singing with me.

Sorry I totally got off topic lol. To finish the sleeping thing she is finally asleep. I hope tomorrow night is easier!

Phases

It is funny how our little ones go through phases. You have the "shoulder slug" stage when they are new borns. All they do is rest on your shoulder, between eating and pooping that is. Then you have the "I want to learn everything I can" stage. This is when they are learning to sit up and crawl etc. Then you have the "I do it myself" stage. Of course this is the stage in life when they realize that most of the stuff that you have been doing for them can be done BY them. This is a very long stage or it was/is for me. Every stage has something wonderful about it and they all have something not so great about it. We are in a new phase now, we are reverting back to the shoulder slug, ok so not really lol. We are going to the "Mommy, hold me" phase. She wants to be attached to my hip at any given moment. Paticularly when I need to get something done lol. I am not sure exactly how this stage came about. Part of me likes it because I miss that baby part so much some days. Part of me hates it because I have gotten very comfortable with the fact that I can have 2 hands to do stuff even if they are diverted on occassion. I know that this phase will be short lived so I am just going to try to enjoy every moment of it, like I have with all of the others.

Tell me, what phase are you going through with your little one? What phase will I have coming up in the near future? If you don't have a little one yet which one do you think you will enjoy the most? or which one do you think you will like the least?

My baby is growing up!!!

You know honestly it seems like just yesterday we brought home our 4 lb baby girl and now she is transitioning into a full size bed. I did ok with her first birthday because she was still my baby in so many ways. Now I am struggling to find ways to remember she is the baby I brought home! Not really but you know what I mean. She is so grown up in so many ways. Moving her to her big girl bed just kind of sent it home I guess. Just for the fun of it lets look at her through the months so that I can go back down memory lane! I am really having an emotional breakdown here :( I will survive but if you know of a way to slow down time please leave me a comment to let me know!

Oh yeah go to Anna's webpage for a video of her discovering her big girl bed and testing it out!