Things that make me wonder....

Jay had a play date this past weekend. It is a friend from class that lives down the street. They seems to get along really nice which works out great. Jay feels like he needs to have his own friends where as EE could care less. When my husband went to go pick him up at the time agreed upon the Mom was gone and the Dad was there. The Dad told my husband that the kids were at the neighbor's house. And then I think my husband had to walk over there to get him. Honestly, when I send my child to a friend's house I expect them to play there and to be watched. I don't know the neighbor. It has really bothered me all week and now I have to figure out a way to ensure the next play date will go the way I want it to.


I found out that on Sunday at my surprise Lady's brunch, one of the Moms called the hostess to see if it was ok if she brought her 2 year old with her. Her husband was taking their other kids to a movie and she would not be able to stay long if she couldn't. I can't understand if all the other Moms are leaving their children behind why she thinks it would be ok to have her child there.

Winter Wonderland

The boys have not been to school all week. Monday was a teacher work day and Tuesday and today are snow days. We had snow on and off on Tuesday. I had the boys play outside but the snow was very dry and we were not able to make snow balls. It actually felt really nice out. Here are a few pictures.

The baby was upset because I stopped his ride to take a picture.

Jay shoveled some snow off the sidewalk.

EE thinking it might be a good idea to ride his scooter.

This morning we woke up to a sheet of ice over our entire area. My husband was able to make it to work but slid down our driveway and drove carefully on our neighborhood streets. I shoveled the ice off the driveway and sidewalk. I am hoping that my husband will be able to get his car up the driveway when he gets home tonight. It is still misting a bit outside and we may have more flurries before the night is done.

There is a possibility of more snow next week. I think I need to plan a little better and have some crafts for the boys to work on while they are home. We have had Nintendo DS overload.

Nathional Aquarium

Our membership to the National Aquarium has been very nice. We have certainly made good use of it this year. It is very nice when we have visitors. Also nice when we would like something to keep us busy for a few hours. It doesn't feel like a waste of money to go for a few hours and then leave.

This past weekend we took the boys on Saturday.

The baby was intrigued by the glass tube of bubbles.

This is really the first time that the baby has been that he has actually been able to enjoy the exhibits. He has so much fun looking at all the fish.

Any outing for us always involves food. We made a pit stop in the cafe for a small snack.

We saw a 4-D show on planet earth, shallow waters. The boys EE and Jay did not want to stay for the entire show. During the show, you get sprayed with water when something happens on the screen and your back gets poked several times throughout the presentation. The boys were so scared, I had one on my lap and the husband had one on his both wanting to leave the show. The baby was fine he just didn't like the water spraying on his face.

It was a fun family day.

Turning 4-0

I have often heard the quote "life begins at 40" and wondered what it was supposed to mean. When you turn 40 is something magical supposed to happen? Are you really supposed to wait 40 years for your life to begin? Are you supposed to feel older or wiser? I guess I am in big trouble if any of that is true.

So I looked up the quote which was made by an American journalist named Helen Rowland. She actually was a very quotable journalist. The entire quote goes like this "Life begins at 40 - but so do fallen arches, rheumatism, faulty eyesight, and the tendency to tell a story to the same person, three or four times." Oh, now that makes more sense.

My 40th birthday has come and gone and so far all is well. I remember being young and thinking that 40 was so old. Well, when you look at it from this side it doesn't seem so old to me. And I am really ok with being 40.

To celebrate my big day, my husband took the day off from work so that I could take the day off from my job. I changed no diapers and only gave orders as to what needed to be done to get everyone ready for the day. I have major control issues and it is very hard for me to be hands off.

In the evening, my husband took me to dinner at this very nice restaurant in historic Ellicott City. We also invited our neighbors to come with us. The dinner was absolutely wonderful.

The partying didn't stop there. My neighbor called me about noon on Sunday and asked me to come over to help her pick out paint samples. I didn't think anything of it at that particular moment. I finished putting up groceries and then took Jay over to his play date down the road. I took my time because the Mom just had her 4th child and he was just precious. I then actually thought about it a little more and it smelt a little fishy to me. Mind you I didn't think anything about driving down the road past all of my friend's cars that were "hidden" from me. As I pulled in my driveway I thought it was odd that she had her blinds closed, because they are always open. So I made my way over there and when I walk in I get the big "surprise". There are about 10 of my friends waiting on me. It was a very fun lady's brunch.

Our neighbors have been so incredibly nice to us since we moved here over a year ago. It was very thoughtful of her to plan this party for me.

And that is how I celebrated turning 40! Although we know someone who says that you really have a week to celebrate, so I guess I have about 4 days left.

You can't make me watch it

I am probably one of a small group of people who did not watch much of the inauguration activities Tuesday. In fact, I was a bit peeved that as I got on the treadmill at the gym my only viewing choice was inauguration news. School was delayed one hour due to icy roads so I was unable to make my workout class. It makes me wonder why each and every station has to start their reports many hours before the actual swearing in. I can't tell you how many times I had to see the same footage over and over in the one hour I was exercising. Or how I had to listen to the newcasters make the dumbest comments.

I know someone in my neighborhood who made the trip down to be among the million plus people to witness the event. She said it was amazing. Me, I prefer to stay away from crowds as much as possible.

Once the inauguration ball came around I was zonked out in bed. I did hear the many reports of the dress that Michelle O. wore. I finally did a search on it today and say I have to agree with the reports of how absolutely hideous it was. I have a friend who I quote said this about the dress "wonder why Michelle O. let the designers dress her like a very poorly designed wedding cake?" How well said is that especially since she is always dressed so fashionably.

The weekend

We had a nice long weekend. My weekend started on Saturday with me getting my very first mammogram. I should have had one about 5 years ago but I procrastinated. I have heard many differing views about mammograms, from it is really not that bad to it is not really that comfortable. I would have to agree with the later. It is hard to get your boob up on the machine when you are not so well endowed, actually very flat. The tech tried her hardest to get all she could on the machine (by pulling and tugging) and then the top part of the machine squeezes down and then just when it hurts she loosens the machine so that it comes down more. The best news is that I may have to go back in for another one. The tech said since this is the my first mammo. they may see dense areas that need further investigation. I can't wait! In all honesty, I think that mammograms are so important for early detection of breast cancer.

The most exciting part of the weekend was the snow that fell on Monday. It started early Monday and continued for most of the day. We were not able to build a snowman but we were

able to have a snow ball fight.

As I was tucking Jay into bed last night, he says "Mom can we as a family play spin the bottle?". Imagine my confusion, especially when he said his Dad told him about the game. Well, spin the bottle was a game that the character Arthur was playing in the book they read last night and the husband explained what the game was about. No worries we won't be playing any incestuous games in this house.

Baby it's cold outside

It is so true to that song today. When we woke up this morning it was 9 degrees outside but with the wind chill it felt like 1 degree. I knew it would not be possible for the baby and I to walk the boys to the bus stop this morning. We waited for the bus to pass by and then I had the boys run to the bus stop. I know I will probably hear a little complaining when they get home as they like to be the first ones on the bus NOT the last. We are expecting frigid temperatures for the remainder of the weekend and into next week.

Yesterday the older boys had a play date with someone in the neighborhood. This boy was one of the first friend the boys had over. We had just moved into the house and his father asked if the boys could play. Since I did not know them well, I suggested they play here and he glad accepted. When he got here and started whining and not wanting to do anything I had a complete meltdown. Mostly I was just missing NC and all our friends there. The boy has come a long way in just the last year. So I take the boys over and decide to stay so that I can talk with the Mom. We had a grand time catching up. When it was time to leave my boys come up from the basement complaining they didn't have an opportunity to play WII. Basically, the boys played on his own the entire time, one hour. I can't believe they didn't say anything sooner. I hope the Mom has a talk with her son. My boys will not want to play with him in the future if he can't play with them.

The baby had a play date this past week also. I am going to try to make more of an effort to get him around kids his own age. I had a lady in the neighborhood and her 2 year old boy over as well as a friend that I met through the Mothers of Multiples group up here and her 2 year old twins girls. It was a great time and we are planning on getting together again next week.

Mish mash

Really?
I go to the gym regularly from week to week (unless the baby is sick or I have some other things that must be done). The child watch center is fantastic. They have an infant room, a toddler room, a basketball court, a climbing structure and computers (EE and Jay love to play with these). I have them keep the baby in the toddler room. It is huge area with many toys and a TV. I am not ready for him to have access to the entire place yet. I got called from a workout one day because he had soiled his diaper. They do not change diapers here, which is ok by me. I was close to being done so no big deal, I went changed him and we left. At the same time another Mom got called because here daughter wet through her diaper. Her daughter had to be over 2 years old. The Mom changed the girl's diaper and took off her pants because they were wet. She then left here daughter in her diaper. I can't imagine this is allowed plus it was a very cold day. The employees were not sure what to do and we ended up leaving before we saw it unravel. I love getting my workouts in as much as anyone, but really.


Homework- ambiguous directions
The boys have homework Monday - Thursday and are required to read so many minutes a month. I don't really know how many minutes they are supposed to read because they have not told us. They provide a calendar to track the reading minutes per day but do not include a goal in the line provided. Language arts homework is started on Monday and completed on Thursday with a spelling test at home. In math, they are given a worksheet most days and other days are asked to play math games on the PC.

Here is a worksheet that Jay brought home the other day. They are working on measurements.
The instructions state to "Use your ruler to measure the length".


So I had him measure the line on the page and write the correct length. We get the page back from the teacher who wrote this note, "use your body!" :) Maybe it has just been too long since I have had to complete homework but would providing a bit more instruction on homework hurt?

Being PC
EE and Jay have their 7th birthday coming up. We have decided to let them have a party, a laser tag party. I know I said this last year, but this will be their last big party. They are too expensive and I think we need to start thinking about different ways to celebrate. Anyway, we have made a list of people they would like to invite. There is someone in the neighborhood that they did not include on the list. They don't play with this child a lot but they do see him occasionally. We are inviting several other of his friends in the neighborhood. I think if the Mom found out she would be a little upset. So I have added him to the list.

Last time I will talk about Preschools

I spoke with one of my good friends from NC yesterday. Just a little part of me started to really miss NC again. Don't get me wrong, everything is going well for us here in Md. We are so fortunate to live in a really good area of town, close to my husband's job and to be in one of the best school districts. My friend had an older child (around the same age as EE and Jay) and we were pregnant at the same time. It was so awesome to have someone in a similar situation.

Among so many other things, we talked about preschools, which is almost becoming a bad word in my house. She is getting her daughter into her church program which is 2 days a week for 4 hours and the cost is about half of what I would pay up here to get my little guy in a 2 day a week program for 2 1/2 hours. In my opinion it is just crazy.

I have made up my mind. I will register him for one place and only one place. Well, it is not like I have tons of options up here. The 2 year old programs are hard to come by. They all typically enroll church members and alumni families first and then hold a lottery for any additional spots open. I have a friend who called one of the co-ops and they told her that they would probably not have any room left in the 2 year old room. I have also heard that the church we have been attending will not have a preschool program next year (they will wait to build a wing at the new church and then restart the program.) Anyway, I have sent a registration form in to an Episcopal church that I have heard really good things about. If he gets in, great. If not, he will be home with me for another year. I will then have to find different things for him to do so that he can socialize a little more with different kids and maybe also have a sitter come at least one day a week.

Why does this bother me so much? I feel like he is not getting the same opportunities as his brothers did. They went to our church preschool from 2 years on and they absolutely loved it. The school has wonderful teachers and they had so much fun.

I had a friend in NC who was so frustrated with the preschool programs that she opened her own. She was Jewish and had a little problem with her children learning Religion from any of the preschools. I so wish I had the business sense, an education degree and the money to open my very own place. There is such a need up here.

Payback

I had a sitter today so that I could volunteer in Jay's class this morning. I also wanted to run just a few errands but they both failed. I got home just in time to do a breathing treatment with the baby. Much like this:

Then it was off to bed for a nap. The baby was in his room for about 1 hour. He played for a while but then he started whining. The crying/complaining did not stop so I thought it may be time to get him out. I go in and he has his pants and diaper off his body. That would have been ok if he didn't have poop in his diaper. We are talking poop all over everything, sheets, crib, clothes, body. I very carefully carried him to the bathroom for a bath and just disinfected his sheets, clothes etc.

It reminds me of the time when the older boys were almost 2. I went away for a weekend for a Mothers of Multiples convention. When I called to check in I heard about how my husband went in to get the boys up for the morning and found EE naked with poop all over the place. Of course, since this had never happened to me I thought it was hilarious. Today I wasn't thinking it wasn't so funny.....but maybe one day soon I will.

Mom's being replaced

Jay has been wanting to read the baby his bedtime stories for several nights. I thought the baby would always choose me over someone else reading him stories. Last night, he chose Jay to read him his 2 books. Jay read Arthur's Reading Race and another book that escapes my mind. This is one of the baby's favorites as it was EE's and Jay's.

A few funnies

My husband likes to read. A few months ago he finished the Harry Potter series. He really enjoyed reading them. We will save the books for when the boys get older as I have no interest in reading them. The books I read have to be filled with trashy romance kind of things. I keep thinking one day I will start reading books but for now I will stick with my magazines. Anyway, I saw that J K Rowlings had a new book out. So I purchased "The Tales of Beedle the Bard" for my husband for his birthday. I really didn't think to look at the summary on the back. I thought for sure he would like it given what I had said above. So he started reading it the other day and tells me last night that the book has short stories that are for children. I could not help but laugh. One day hopefully the boys will pick it up to read.

*************************************************************************************
The baby went as he says "poop" on the potty the other day. He really just peed...but he thinks every time you go to the bathroom it is "poop". We all were very proud of him and cheered him on. The funny part about this is when he does start to pee, he stands up on his feet and pees. He won't just sit on the potty. Yesterday he even stood facing his small little potty and peed. He missed of course but it was very cute (not so cute when the others miss). Need I say anymore about living in a house full of males?

*************************************************************************************

In other (not so funny) news, the baby is still sick. It seems like he has not been able to overcome his wheezing, coughing thing he has had going on since around Thanksgiving. I have kept him on his nebulizer treatments but they have not really helped much. We had a 2 hour marathon Dr. appointment today. The Dr. said he was so congested that she could not tell if he was wheezing (which is probably why I have not been able to hear him wheezing). So we did a breathing treatment in the office and she was able to hear him wheeze. We did another treatment with a stronger medication to really clear his lungs out. Hopefully, in two weeks we can have him well again. Oh and he also has an ear infection.

Do you bathe everyday?

I know what an usual tittle for a post. It seems as though everybody has something that is important to them. It could be having a REALLY clean house all the time (as my neighbors do) or it may be catering to your child no matter how badly they behave (another neighbor) or letting your children watch unlimited TV. You know we all have things we do that other people don't do and vice versa.

I think you all know how I feel about TV watching and if you know me at all you know that my house is not REALLY clean all the time (lucky if it can be once in a while) and I tend not to cater to my children. So what is my thing? Baths, everyday, for everyone in the house. Yes, that seems to be the thing I do that others do not. I feel that my kids are around gross germy kids all day long. It makes sense to me that they come home from school and scrub down before rolling into bed for a good night's sleep. One of our friends has a 6th grader (who is close to puberty I am sure) that doesn't bathe everyday. One of the reasons I have heard is that a child may have dry skin....oh yeah well 2 of my 3 have dry skin. Have you heard of lotion?

So I wonder when you actually make the change and have your child/young adult bathe everyday? I bathe everyday and even as I child I was made to bathe everyday. This is one thing I don't bulge on even if it is late at night and the kids haven't done much during the day. Happy Bathing!

New Years Resolutions

When we had friends over for our New Years party, us girls talked a little about resolutions. I have one friend who has several very specific wants on her list, including running a 10 miler next year. She has them posted on her fridge so that they will be in her sight everyday. I have another friend who was going to start her diet on Monday, which I found out was ruined when she took a bite out of her first cookie at 9am.


This got me thinking because I have not really made any specific resolutions for this year. I try to make decisions based on what is going on in our life when it goes on. I don't feel so inundated when the new year rolls around to get 5 items on a list to keep up with for the year. A few months ago when the economy took a nose dive, I decided it was time for us to cut back our spending, know exactly what we are spending money on and stick to buying basic necessities. With the exception of Christmas, I think we have done well with our spending. Before the holidays started, I decided I would ramp up my exercise routine as to not put any weight on during the holiday. I have also decided that we will start eating better (of course, we did indulge a bit during the holidays). Just maybe I will actually be able to take off these 10 pounds that has been lingering around for the last 2 years.

At the beginning of every year I do feel a need to de-clutter and clean out. I get files cleaned out, drawers straightened, the boys' closets organized and anything else cleaned that may look like it needs some attention. It is such a fresh way to start the new year....even it if only last for 30 days or so.

Party time

For future reference, getting woken up by your baby (and only having 5 hours of sleep) and then baby goes on to play with noisy toys does not make for happy parents. I am sure this will be the longest day ever.

My husband was born on December 31st. Can you imagine how excited his CPA father was? Got to get that tax deduction. And can you imagine what his Mom felt like when she had to leave the party she was hosting? Yeah, not the most ideal day to have a birthday in my opinion. He is unfazed by having a birthday near Christmas and on New Year's eve. So it is what it is and I have gotten better at making it special.

We hosted a party yesterday inviting 4 other families. It was a fun filled evening of drinks, dinner and dessert of course. I found this bakery that makes the best cakes ever. I wished I would have gotten a picture of the cake as it was beautiful.

There were 12 kids here and they were given several lectures about behavior ( biting, kicking, pushing, licking, touching, looking at each other the wrong way etc) that was not permitted. We only had 1 tattle tale incident which was quickly taken care of by my neighbor.

Everyone left by 11:30 and I was able to clean up the kitchen a bit before retiring for the evening. The husband and I made it past midnight!!

Hoping my husband had a great birthday! And wishing everyone a very happy new year!