Lather, rinse & repeat.

 This month has been all about trying to establish routines.  Both for the kids and for ourselves.  Daddy has been home "manning the ship" with all 3 on his own while Momma has gone back to work.  We're desperately trying to get everyone aligned on some sort of schedule and have that schedule be reproducible for maybe 3 days in a row.  It's rarely a success.  Moodle is getting her bottom 2 teeth already, which is crazy because the boys didn't teethe until 6-7 months, and she's only 4.5mo.  But, I can see them.. I can feel them.. and most importantly she's been absolutely beastly because of it.  Teething is awful.  I almost wish they'd just come out of the womb with all their teeth.. I could handle some more kicks and jabs throughout pregnancy in exchange to avoid the awful months of seeing your kid miserable and in pain afterwards.  But, the more I think about that, the more I get flashbacks to Twilight's Breaking Dawn with the vampire baby that was born with fangs... meh, I'll pass.

Newborns are tough.. they don't sleep, they cry a lot, they can't communicate well.  But, I'm slowly learning that toddlers can be tougher.. they can sleep, but choose not to.. they know how to manipulate and cry in an attempt to get what they want.. and, they can communicate.. and that communication is often in the form of arguing with us, the parents, in some form or another.  I keep reminding myself how important a quality it is to teach our children to become strong, independent individuals.. and, by doing so, that also means embracing their need to express their independence now.  Sigh.

Our days are slowly becoming more predictable, though still far from the routine I have envisioned in my mind.  Mostly because everything we try and do takes a bazillion times longer than anyone would ever expect.  Let me elaborate with some examples.

Bath Time.  A process in which we treat like a small assembly line.  First, one of us accepts the task of scooping up the baby and attempting to herd the boys into the bathroom.  It usually takes several attempts and multiple times of me or Daddy having to raise our voices because someone took off running in the other direction again.. as you hear the pitter patter of little feet running through the hardwood hallways.  Once all 3 are in the bathroom, we lock them in.  Everyone gets bathed individually.  Mostly because Aidan still poops in the tub if we're not super fast and careful (ie can't fill the tub, he essentially sits and I spray the shower on him as I wash him).  Ironically enough, each one of my kids loves the tubby, which is great, because if I'd let them they'd stay in there for hours.. but, they can't because there are 2 others that need to be bathed after them.. which results in a mass meltdown because no one wants to leave the tub.  Funny how it took all my might to wrangle them all into the bathroom, but now it's absolute devastation to get them out of the tub.  I can't imagine how much more thrilling tubby time will be in 9 months from now when Amelia is darting away, too! Maybe we should look into getting a border collie.. or some other herding type breed.. I'm gonna need some help!

Bedtime is my next favorite routine that takes a gazillion times longer than it should.  Amelia, knock on wood, has been going down (most nights) relatively well.. which is great, because it gives both Jason and I the ability to both put the boys down together.  Why?  Well, simply because the boys would have it no other way.  Once upon a time, bedtime consisted of brushing teeth, reading a story, tucking in and kissing goodnight.  A process that took about 10 minutes.  Lately.. this process takes 40 minutes.  Every. Night.

Brushing teeth is a battle.  Especially if you're doing it on your own.  Someone is trying to climb into the shower, or attempting to unravel the toilet paper roll, or flush the potty 49 times or get into the cabinets and drawers under the sink all while I'm trying to coax the other child to open their mouth long enough for me to actually brush their teeth and not just allow them to suck off all the toothpaste and swallow it in one gulp.  I try singing "If all the raindrops were sugar plums and gum drops, oh what a rain that would be" because then on the chorus part (eh eh eh eh eh eh eh) they open their mouths so I can get in there.  Cracks me up listening to Daddy trying to sing it.. needless to say he changes the words quite a bit.

After teeth brushing (and each dumping water all over themselves, because, ya know getting a drink from the bathroom cup is the COOLEST thing ever), we head in for bedtime.  1 story days are LONG gone in this house.  We currently read 4 stories.  And, they are not just stories.  The first one that is on our every night reading list is "Head to Toe" by Eric Carle.  And, it's like an acting book.  "The penguin can turn his head.  Can you turn your head?"... and we all must turn our heads.  Then we must bend our necks like a giraffe, and puff our shoulders like a buffalo.. and thump our chests like a gorilla.. donkey kick the air.. stomp like an elephant.. also, did I mention that Amelia's room is RIGHT underneath us??  Yep.. but we must do this every evening.  Then comes reading Mom is great.. which after every page he corrects me and lets me know Mom ISN'T whatever the page said.. (for example, isn't Mom so brave.. he retorts, no, Mom isn't brave.. he's a sweetheart!).  And then comes Beach with Dad.. usually by this point no one is paying much attention now, they're both jumping on Owen's bed, wrestling each other, and I'm able to skip half the pages.

Then comes the actual bedtime procedure.  I first take Aidan in.  We must locate his phone, his bear guy, his elmo, his Elmo and Grover books, both blankies, his chew toy keys, and the little taggie blankie that he covers bear guy with.  I snuggle him for a minute and try kissing him goodnight as I tell him that I love him and hope he has sweet dreams while he's trying to backwards head dive out of my arms into the crib.  We hand him each one of his babies and tuck them all in next to him, tuck him in, and out I go.  Easy.  Not really, because spoiler alert.. I'll be back in.

Then I go to Owen.  Owen's bed has Buzz, Jessie, Woody, Woody 2 and his plastic hat, bear guy, baby doll, "scary monster" (some scooby doo action figure ghost thing), his clock (which is a compass), his phone, Olaf which takes up half his bed and that awesome head to toe book we were talking about before.  Now, we also have to make sure the baby doll has her pants on because OMG he takes them off of her every single night and then freaks out if we didn't put them back on her.  After we spend a good 5 minutes saying goodnight to all his companions and putting them in their proper spots in bed, we then have to sing him a song.. and then we have to soothe the baby doll, because normally she's crying.. which requires rocking her and patting her on her back.. then we say no tears, no crying.. mobile on.. because, he tells me it's "perfect" when the music from the mobile is on.. and we attempt to leave.  It's usually at this point where if we haven't both done bedtime, Owen will start asking for the other.. and by asking, I mean break out into a hyperventilating sob until we're both present to say goodnight. Sometimes he'll then decide he wants to have more to drink.. or wants to suddenly go try and do peepee.. or will think of some other random toy that he absolutely needs in his crib to sleep with, all in an attempt to further stall this 45 minutes process.  About 5 rounds of hugs and kisses and "no tears no crying" and sweet dreams and we usually can get out of the room.

But then there's Aidan.  Who's now standing up, yelling "MOMMMM!".. because, who knows what he's done.. thrown all of his toys on the floor.. is attempting to climb out to get said toys he threw on the floor.. wedged his chubby little leg in between the crib rails?  Maybe a combination of all these things?  He's also learned that if he starts yelling "Ow!  Booboo!" I come running in no questions asked.  So, sometimes he'll stand there and point at something (often his ears or cheek or eye) and tell me he has a booboo (I'm watching him on the monitor.  So, at some point one of us gives in and goes and picks up all his toys, lays him back down and tucks him and all his guys in again.

It's. Exhausting.  Usually by now it's almost 9pm, and we then go on to clean up each room that they've disasterized through the day, washing juice cups and bottles before collapsing in bed in front of the TV.  I used to HATE the idea of having a TV in our room.. and, I only caved when I was pregnant with Amelia.. but, omg, does it get use!  We almost never watch TV in the family room.  I honestly couldn't even tell you the last time.  Because, by the end of the day.. we are too tired to unwind on the couch downstairs knowing we'll have to walk the entire flight of stairs up to our room before bed.

My catch22?  I drink a soda around lunch time.. that boost of caffeine gets me through the rest of my day and gives me enough energy to make it through bath and bed time... however.. then comes 12:45AM and I'm still wide awake.  Which means tomorrow I'll only survive the day if I drink another soda.  Vicious cycle on repeat!

Clean House Nonsense

A few years back, when both Jason and I were working full time, we used to think we were so busy all the time that it was difficult to keep up with the household chores.  Back then, we would take 3-4 hours on Saturday or Sunday each week and deep clean the whole house.  Floors were always mopped, every room picked up and dusted and vacuumed.  Bathrooms bleached and scrubbed.  No dog hair anywhere.  No fingerprints.  After it was all done, we'd light a few candles and I'd just look around and feel accomplished... everything smelled clean and looked organized.  And, it would stay that way, at least for a few days.

I feel like I've been trying to get my house to look like that, even if it's just for ONE day, for over 2.5 years now.  If we thought keeping our house clean was challenging before, oh my were we wrong!  These days, I feel like I'm chasing a tornado.. or sister tornadoes (brothers actually).  These kids have so much crap.  Everywhere.  And, because we have a decent sized house, I swear their stuff just breeds and spreads and takes over each and every room. We've tried so hard to isolate the disaster zones to certain parts of the house, but that proved useless.  Creating a "safe room" as a playroom is great, but the idea that it would serve as the primary location for all their junk is absurd.  Ludicrous even.  Laughable.  It just spreads like the plague and takes over each and every area of the house.

My goal these days is to try and tackle one room at a time.  If I can just get one room fully clean.. dusted, vacuumed, windexed.. no dog hair, no fingerprints.. no toys!! I feel like that's a success.  The problem is, even on the days when I can actually accomplish this, the second my little terrors get back in, it's all wasted energy.  I found myself writing my accomplishments on our whiteboard almost as PROOF that I actually did do them, because at the end of the day.. every day.. it looks as if I didn't straighten up or clean a single thing.

And, the laundry!  Dear god the laundry!  There is always laundry that needs to be washed, folded or 4 baskets somewhere that need to be put away.  Tack on the fact that someone is always outgrowing a size and needs to have their clothes sorted through to rid anything that doesn't fit anymore and it's just the most tedious task in the world.  I don't mind washing the clothes.. and, honestly, I find folding kind of cathartic.. but, putting laundry away is one of my least favorite tasks.  And it doesn't matter if I spend ALL DAY LONG doing laundry, because the second I think YES! there's no more dirty laundry!  I realize that it's almost bed time, and with bed time comes 1/2 a load of wash that needs to be done.

This too shall all pass.  I do look forward to the day when my kids are all old enough and I can give them chores of their own.. when they understand the concept of not making a mess after I've JUST cleaned.. and when I can buy new furniture that won't be destroyed.  But, then I look back at their baby pictures and realize just how quickly time actually is going, and I take back wishing away these young years in exchange for a clean house.. I'll choose playtime with my kids any day .. even if that means baby laughs and toddler giggles in a house full of dust balls and fingerprints.  These years truly are the most incredible moments I've had in my life.

Wrapping up 2014.

The weeks keep disappearing without me finding the time to catch up on this thing.  I think about writing all the time, but then I think about how long it's been since my last entry and how much "catching up" there'd be to write, and before I know it I've found myself laying in bed watching late night TV instead.  These three little cherubs of mine.. and I choose the word cherubs solely because I've got myself some chunky little babies.. they keep me awfully busy these days!

 Without opening another browser and checking my blog page I'm not exactly sure when my last entry was.  I think it was shortly after Halloween.. mid November ish?  When Amelia fooled us the first time thinking her sleep patterns were changing.  Spoiler alert.. they weren't!  We had about a week or so of hit or miss decent sleep and then it all went to crap again.  We did see a GI doctor, who confirmed her reflux, and also confirmed that she is already on the max dosage of medication for her weight, so that didn't help us much.  I gave up dairy (I may have mentioned this last time.. it is miserable), which didn't really make any difference, but I've kept up with it anyway in fear that reintroducing it would cause some kind of regression.  She just wasn't a great sleeper..  However, two days before Christmas she slept through the night.  12 hours.  First time ever that long.  Our Christmas gift! And, she has since repeated that almost every night.  Sleep has never felt so good.  Honestly.  But, I'm sure now because I've made this public knowledge, she'll revert back to waking every two hours... dear God I hope not!

I reminded myself earlier why it is that I started this blog.. to remember the little things that my kids do that make me smile (or scream).. the things that will slip my mind in the days/weeks/years to come.  These kids are changing so quickly.  I love it and hate it at the same time.  I love seeing their personalities ever evolving, and seeing them each becoming more and more independent, but I also wish they'd stay little for longer.. I know even on my longest days time truly is getting away from me.  So, I really do want to try and make a more conscious effort to write more often.  Even if it's just short spurts.  

 December came and went in a flash.    I returned back to work, which was hard, but not as hard as I expected.  Adult time was really nice.. and, because my boys stay up until 8 and Amelia.. well for a while she was still waking up several times a night,  I didn't really feel like I was "absent" that much.  Chrismas came so fast.. thinking and shopping and wrapping for three kids is a lot more difficult than I expected it to be.. especially when you can't actually get out to any stores.  We also never went to see Santa. Oops.  I guess that part works in Ojo's favor.. I probably saved him from another blackmail photo of him screaming on the lap of a stranger!  I did feel a little guilty about not taking them though, since it was Amelia's first Christmas, but I quickly got over it.  The stress and anxiety I would have gotten just trying to take them wasn't worth it.. I'm sure Aidan would have puked in the car, Owen would have screamed and refused to go near him, let alone on his lap, and Amelia probably would have had some kind of crazy outburst, too.  No thanks.  Maybe next year.

Christmas day was pretty successful.  The kids enjoyed their gifts.  Mostly.  I was clearly way more excited then they were considering I was up more than an hour before them.  Everyone went to bed late on Christmas eve, thanks to our attic visitor (squirrel or something), which meant they slept in later, go figure.  The first 3 minutes of Christmas morning went great.. both kids immediately opened a gift.. and then it all kinda went to crap for a bit.  Owen wanted the gift that Aidan opened (a toy microwave), but Aidan wasn't letting it go, and Daddy and I both kept trying to explain that there are many more gifts to open, but at that point both kids were crying, no one wanted to open more gifts, and Momma was thinking.. and I did all this work for...??? Ha.  But, once the morning meltdown subsided, things got more pleasant.  Aidan has a small obsession with Elmo... his favorite gifts were this little Elmo guy that he sleeps with now and another Elmo that sings and plays the drums.

  Owen doesn't really have a favorite.. he likes it all.  He got a toy cash register, that he INSISTS on calling a computers.. with the s.. he also loves his talking Woody doll that my Mom had gotten him.. he is now called "woody 2" since he has 2 woody dolls that sleep with him in his crib.  No!  No more crib!  We bought him a Nemo bedding set and converted his crib into a toddler bed.  So far that transition has been going really well.  The first day we converted it and he went down for a nap he went missing twice.. once I saw him just standing next to his bed looking all around.. like, "Hey.. can I really get out of this now?!".. the second time he was no longer in the view of the monitor.. so eye-in-the-sky (as we call the monitor) said "OJO! Back in bed!!!".. and I saw him come running and jump back in.. but, since then he has done really well! 

Funny story.. Owen has started "mimicking" our bedtime/naptime routines with him on his bear guy.  It is hysterical!  The first time I saw him do it, I was with him putting laundry away in his room.  He laid bear guy into his bed, and said "Go to sleep, Bear.. no tears, no crying".. turned on his space heater, and then his sound machine and walked out of the room.. then, he proceeded to come back in, and say, "Bear! No crying!"  And then he'd pick him up and go over to his rocking chair and sing "oh oh Ojo" to him (side note, Daddy sings Eric Church's Springsteen to Owen every night and changes the chorus to oh oh ojo).. then, back in bed, sound machine back on, and back out the door.  He kept doing this over and over and you could see after about the 5th time he was starting to get frustrated.  It just made me laugh to see him replicate this.  Could have been worse!! I was waiting for him to call his bear a pain in the ass, since that seems to be a phrase he overheard and one he enjoys repeating.. all. the. time.  I'm a pain in the ass.  Dad's a pain in the ass.  Aidan.  His toys.  The dog.  Yea.. we're working on correcting that one... this Momma needs to be more careful about what she says around little ears!!!

Santa also brought him a potty.. and we've had 3 successful "pees" on the potty!  I'm really hoping that we'll have him potty trained by springtime.  And, ironically, Aidan watches him like a hawk when he's on the potty.. I wonder if maybe Aidan will end up taking an interest earlier because he's seeing his brother do it!  Seriously.. just the idea of not having to change 3 poop diapers back to back every single morning makes me SO excited to think about :)

They also got a playhouse from my parents.. I think they ask to go outside every day!  The first night they got it, they played outside with "the guys" (Alex & Liam) and some flashlights.  The playhouse came with a little grey phone.. needless to say Owen has also confiscated that and added it to his must have items in his bed.  I think this kid may be a hoarder one day.  The number of things in his bed, I swear!

 Their cute new hats were part of their gift from J's  parents.  Owen loves wearing a hat.. and he's also obsessed with putting on gloves, too... otherwise he just tells me "my fingers are cold, Mommmm!" Aidan's hat is just a little big, so it kept falling down in front of his eyes and then he was tripping.  This kid and his unsteadiness!  We took him to an ENT a few weeks ago to see if they had any suggestions for his severe motion sickness in the car.  The appointment was kind of annoying.  The Dr was not my favorite.. argued with me over carseat laws which really ticked me off because he kept telling me to turn him around forward facing when state law is RFing until at least 2.. but, I digress.  Turns out Aidan failed a hearing test in both ears.. significantly impaired, they said.  And, this is likely because he has fluid in both ears.  Our old Ped told me a few times that he had fluid in his ears at past visits, but said it was never infected.  I miss my old ped.  Sigh.  Anyway, we have a follow up in Feb and if there is still residual fluid in there then they recommend putting tubes in.  The Dr said the fluid in his ears could be contributing to motion sickness, his poor balance and could lead to speech issues in the future.  That's why I'm not so sure about this diagnosis because my Aidan.. he talks like a champ!! Seriously.  SO much more than Owen did!  I think he talks more at almost 18mo than Owen did when he turned 2.  We'll see what they say.. I, personally, think maybe the fluid was just residual from them being sick in November.

November illness!  I totally forgot to mention that.  Ugh, worst 3 weeks ever.  We even missed Thanksgiving.  They each had croup.  It was scary.  Legit.  Owen got it first.. but, in him it was more of a sore throat/raspy voice and a wet cough.. Aidan got the croup cough.. ya know, the one that sounds like a seal barking.  The first morning he got it I jumped out of bed thinking there was a dog barking outside.. so much so that even Chunk started growling at the door.  Wasn't until breakfast time when I heard Aidan do it again that I realized it was him.  And then, Miss Amelia got it, too.  Ugh.  3 weeks of little sleep for everyone and LOTS of stress for Mommy and Daddy trying to juggle 3 sick kids.  I hope so much that's the only illness that plagues us this Winter.. but, I also know the reality is that's unlikely.  One can dream.

Miss Amelia.  My pretty little lady.  We really need to work on calling her Amelia, and NOT Miss Amelia, as Owen thinks that's her new name.  He refers to her as either Miss Amelia or "my sister".  He is so very sweet with her... when she was in her Christmas dress, he came over and told me "Mom, Miss Amelia is a princess"...!  Melt.  The other night we had gone out with my in-laws to celebrate Aunt Nicole and Poppop's birthdays.. Amelia was an angel the entire time, until the drive home where she SCREAMED practically the whole ride.  Owen patted her arm the entire time and sang to her.. he sand Oh Oh Ojo.. then he sang ABCs.. then he sang Santa Clause is Coming to Town and Frosty.. nearly the whole drive.. he just continued patting her arm and singing.  Seriously.  He is such a sweet, sweet boy.. he definitely has Daddy's sensitivity and kindness in him.  Aidan is a lot more like me.. tougher on the outside!  He's got that charming side, too.. but it just takes some time for you to be privy enough to see it.  Amelia.. I haven't quite figured her out yet.  She LOVES to be close to someone.. hold her and cuddle her and snuggle her and she is happy as anything.  She will smile and coo and giggle all day long.  Even when she's been screaming crying refusing to sleep.. as soon as I walk into that room, she immediately stops and lights up and starts smiling at me.  She loves the affection.  But, she's also quite particular at times, too!

So, here we are.. January 2015.  Heading back to work tomorrow after 2 weeks off, and having only been back for 3 weeks prior.  Reality.  Like I said earlier.. I really do enjoy the adult conversation.. but I'll miss them during the day.  I'll miss nursing Amelia.  I'll miss laughing at the silly things Ojo says throughout the day.  Or the random hugs from either of my boys.. the 57 books that Aidan will bring me to read.. the quiet time rocking Amelia before her nap.. I'll miss them.  But, 3 days goes quick!