This Weeks Plan

Today I have a hundred thoughts running through my head.  I am all over the place and for that I apologize.  This blog has really inspired me to try new things and to be more creative.  As a result I am getting ready to borrow a sewing machine (Lord help us all) from my sister-in-law.  Every morning as I dress my kids I find myself thinking, I could make that.  Don't get too carried away, I do not intend to make a full wardrobe for my 3 children, only to try out a few things.  We will all see how this new indeavor pans out as I promise to show the good, the bad, and the ugly.

On top of my new quest to sew, I am getting ready to do a mini-renovation in Patrick's room.  He is getting too big for his changing table and I am preparing to put a twin bed in his room to use for dressing and changing him.  In the process, I am going to repaint, and redecorate.  This should all be interesting because I have a very small budget (my husband still doesn't fully know what I am up to).  Having two toddlers on the ground and moving to a new home while pregnant with Patrick, I sort of threw a room together and I have never really loved it.  Now is as good a time as any to tackle it I suppose.  I have some fun ideas and I will share them along the way.


As if these new endeavors were not enough, I have decided to pick up and take all 3 kiddos to the river cabin for the week.  My husband is slammed at work and I know the only way he can get it all done this week will be with a quiet house.  Don't worry, I am not totally insane... I will be taking along a babysitter for some much needed extra hands and eyes.  Even I am not crazy enough to brave the river and driving a boat with 3 little kids alone!  Since the cabin is in the middle of nowhere, you can rightly assume that there is absolutely nothing to do there (oh, and NO internet).  I have been packing all day and I am coming fully armed.  I am bringing plenty of outdoor things to do including bubbles, sidewalk chalk, and little fishing rods.  I am also bringing fun recipes to do with your kids.  I plan to try my hand at bread making and attempt homemade soft pretzels (recipe soon to follow). 

FYI- I have never driven a boat and I have never fished.  One thing is certain... I will return Friday loaded with pics, good stories, and recipes.  This should be interesting... 

Ballet Class

Not long ago Mary Catherine started her summer session of ballet.  Since she is my oldest she was the first to start any kind of "big kid" activity.  Today was the last class so they let the parents watch... You better believe I had the camera in hand!  I cannot believe how big she is getting.  This was one of the moments I thought about when I was pregnant with her...

Rainy With A Chance Of Cabin Fever

This afternoon was one of those yucky rainy days that seems to drag on forever.  Luckily, I was prepared (or so I thought) with an activity to occupy the kids.  First, we would make homemade granola bars... recipe soon to follow, and then we would build with marshmallows.  My cousin has an amazing blog (check it out here) and she gave me the marshmallow idea.

The cooking was a success and the bars are going to be my new playgroup staple.  The marshmallows, on the other hand, looked quite impressive but really only entertained my 3-year-old.  Jake gave it a try, but just couldn't stick with it.  Mary Catherine made a princess castle out of pink marshmallows and Jake attempted a fire station.

 With 2 hours left until Daddy got home we resorted to some good old fashioned hide-and-seek.  This, on the other hand, proved to be a total hit!  The kids raced around upstairs while I counted to 10, then as I yelled, "ready or not, here I come," I could hear loud squealing and doors slamming.  These are their faces as they were found...

    I have to admit, I got quite a kick out of it too.  As you can see things don't always go as planned, but we manage to figure it out along the way which brings me to my last story of the week.  As a result of this blog I have received lots of emails from friends wondering how I find the time.  Many of you have mentioned that the blog made you feel like you needed to do more at home and with your kids.  All of you who have emailed are WONDERFUL mothers who are selfless and hard working.  I want to make certain that you know I am NOT Martha Stewart and I am NOT Super Mom.  On most days I am just surviving and trying to put out fires while I count the hours till Daddy gets home to provide backup.

This should level the playing field...
Last week while Mary Catherine was in ballet Jake took a very large runny poop in his diaper.  I took him outside to the car to change him.  After wiping his bottom clean and rolling up the dirty diaper, I realized I was out of clean diapers.  I quickly scanned the parking lot looking for another mom I could pawn one from, but I was all alone.  In complete despair I rummaged through the car- here's where it gets good.  Laying in the back was a wet diaper that I had changed earlier from Patrick.  (You get where this is going...)  With no other options, I lined the old wet diaper in clean baby wipes (as if that makes it better) and put it on Jake.  I cannot express the guilt I felt, but what else was I to do?  At least we were heading home right after ballet!

Thank you all for the compliments and praise, but as you can see I am just like every other mom, doing the best I know with what I've got- literally.

Adjusting to New Baby

Most moms of two or more know how this scenario goes...

You are bringing home baby and you are braced for the "big adjustment."  You spend tons of time and energy focusing on big brother or sister so they don't feel left out and you make sure to include them in all new baby tasks.  "Do you want to help mommy change baby's diaper?"  "Do you want to hold baby?"  You get the idea.  Both times I brought home a new sibling this was me.  I was always braced for a difficult adjustment and it never came.  That is, not until a year later.

I am certain having mine so close together is largely the cause, but both times I brought home baby it was smooth sailing.  However, as the baby grew and approached his first birthday I started noticing a change.  Once the baby can walk and fully contend for toys and attention the competition always sets in.

Lately, Patrick has turned 11 months and I have been struggling with Jake being gentle and sharing with baby brother.  I am beginning to worry that Patrick will grow up to think his name is "No Patrick" because that is the first and only thing Jake says to him.  I have to admit it has been an bit funny to watch.  As Patrick becomes more accustomed to this treatment he is developing a strong will and some seriously thick skin.  I was the youngest of three and watching this dynamic it is no wonder I am stubborn as a mule.  Patrick (my sweet 11 month old) now yells louder than a 6 year old and has recently tried to head-butt his big brother.  Seriously, this is not good!

I can talk about this all now with some humor because things are really improving.  I know that there is no instant fix for this.  We are three weeks in to "Operation Crack Down" and I can already see bluer skies.  It is taking LOTS of love, even more patience, and consistent reinforcement.  The reward came this morning while cooking breakfast.  I looked up ready to leap across the room as Patrick approached Jake's toy truck and I heard, "Here you go Patrick."  Jake had actually handed little brother his favorite truck!  I took a breath, smiled and... Patrick proceeded to drive said truck into Jake's head!  What will I do with these boys?

How could this sweet face be the cause of any problems... right?

 Ahhhh... holding hands on our bike ride.  I couldn't miss this one.

Patrick is Almost 1!

As my baby Patrick approaches his first birthday lots of things are changing.  He is walking everywhere (yes, he started walking at 9 months- help me) and he is trying his hardest to be one of the "big" kids.  This means that he is putting up quite a fight when it comes to his morning nap.  We are in that dreaded phase where two naps is a bit too many and one is not quite enough.

As a result, he has been taking two short naps that are not much use to me anymore.  Reluctantly, I decided this morning to let him drop his first nap and just take one in the afternoon with big brother and big sister.  This task was much easier said than done. I made sure to get him out of the house around 10:00 which is when he usually starts to fade.  Surprisingly, he did very well and went to an open gym play time with us all this morning.  I could tell he was getting cranky and so we loaded up and headed for a quick lunch.  Patrick ate well and was an angel at lunch too.  I was quite pleased and thought I might push my luck and make a diaper run to Sam's Club, but as we loaded to head home I looked in the back seat and this is what I saw...

 I took it with my phone so it's not the best quality, but I simply could not miss this moment!  Poor guy.

Letting The Little Things Slide

Let me start this one by admitting that I am a total perfectionist.  I do things 100% and I have great difficulty delegating to anyone else.  I like things done a certain way and that is most often "my way."  Sometimes this trait is an asset, but when it comes to parenting I am being forced to learn to roll with things a bit more.

That being said, this morning I began my routine after breakfast of getting all the kids dressed.  Now that Mary Catherine is 3 she has a very strong opinion of what she wants to wear.  Her requirements are simple... It must be fancy, it must be pink, and it must be sparkly.  It is near impossible to get the girl into anything that is not a dress or skirt.  While I was busy dressing the boys she went into her closet and selected her own outfit.  It was a pink t-shirt with a pink tutu skirt finished off with purple and blue crocs.  In retrospect it really wasn't that bad, but of course I had something quite different in mind.  I tried my usual tactics to bargain with her, hoping that maybe she would change the top or the bottom to keep it from being SO much pink.  Of course all efforts failed.  She was determined and she was quite proud that the managed to match the pinks.

After much ado I caved and let her wear the all-pink ensemble.  (Really, did you see that cute face?  I didn't stand a chance).  I am almost guilty telling this story now because it was really so minor.  The only reason I bothered to write about it was because I realized that in the end we both won this battle.  She left the house with a little extra pep in her step because she had won the power struggle and because she was truly excited about her little outfit.  I, on the other hand, learned that no one on this earth even noticed other than me.  Mary Catherine and all our children are put here to teach us about ourselves.  Reluctantly I am letting go of the little things and learning how freeing it can be to be a great mom without being a perfect mom.

Finding time to exercise

As many of you moms already know, it sometimes seems impossible to take a shower, much less to exercise.  I am not a gym lover and I will never be someone who just loves to workout.  I envy those women, but sadly I am not one.  In order to stay in shape I typically try to eat healthy and other than that, simply keeping up with 3 toddlers seems to do the trick.

Recently I started to get creative because I wanted to do something entertaining and something that could kill some of that dreaded late afternoon time with the kids.  So, after a little research I purchased an
iBert Safe-T Front Mounted Child Bicycle Seat
for kids AND a bell bike trailer for two.  (I found the Bell trailer at a consignment exchange so I got a steal).  The iBert installs easily and goes in front under the handlebars.  It is great because I can interact with the baby and he gets a front row view.  Since I am far from an experienced biker, I selected a cheap cruiser style bike for myself.  It reminded me of the ones we always rent at the beach and it seemed pretty idiot-proof to ride.

Well, I am happy to report that I have been having a blast and it doesn't hurt that I'm entertaining 3 kids and getting in a workout at the same time.  Sometimes if we are just cruising my oldest (Mary Catherine) rides her bike along side me and I pull the boys.  All three love our afternoon rides and I love the peace and quiet.

www.ibertinc.com
PS- I am well aware the baby needs a helmet.  I just had the babysitter put him in it so I could snap a pic.  The best part is that the seat will comfortably seat up to a 4 year old!