My little Klepto

My OB is on call this weekend... so obviously I'm doing everything I know of to help things along. And of course I'm still here at home with little guy chilling out. Of course it was a ground blizzard after work last night so we decided to do a little walking around in the mall.

And what else could be looking for but beautiful (white) Easter Dresses. Or so Abby thought. Prying the white, silky Easter dress from her fingers was like ripping away her most prized possession. She found one in Children's Place that was 'destined' to be hers. No amount of bribing, explaining or discussion could convince her that we weren't going home with that dress tonight. So she decided the next best thing would be to sneak out amongst the crowds of people and clothes with it. Yep... my little Klepto.

First I had to chase her down before she got out of the store, then came the conversation about how when we take things that don't belong to us it is stealing. And how stealing makes others feel bad... etc etc. She cried most of the way through the mall after that.

I'm not as excited to go Easter Dress shopping with her again.... at least she likes them I guess.


This afternoon we went with my sister and my brother's fiancee to have pedicures done. Abby was a little in shock and wasn't interested in doing anything even after the kind lady offered to paint flowers on her fingernails for free. So Abby watched while I had a pedicure done. It was fun to have a little time to relax even though it was hard for me to justify spending the money. But I guess it is good to get a little pampered once in awhile too. It was a fun girls afternoon.

I picked up a few more cloth diapers (I'm excited to try them) at a local place and we had a little lunch before we came home. Now Abby is crashed out on the chair after she threw up a little in the bathroom. I knew she wasn't feeling good so I rocked her to sleep while watching Curious George. She had been telling me her tummy hurt. I suppose she has whatever bug Kara had. At least it seems to be short lived. If you know Abby... she doesn't cuddle long so she must not have been feeling very good to rock to sleep with me.

Yuck

Please Lord don't let me catch the stomach flu... I really don't want to be sick while having this baby....

Kara just puked everywhere... hope it's the only time this night

Waiting Game...

No baby yet.... I'm pretty sure he's never going to come out. (ok, perhaps never... but it feels like forever) Perhaps he wants to wait until after his little cousin has turned one (Happy Birthday sweetheart!). We have our appointment on Friday and I'm anxious to see where things are at and also hoping we don't make it to that point. So far I don't have a lot of faith in his impatience to get here...

And there are good reasons to hold off... for me personally though I'm ready to be done dealing with the extra fluid weight. I'm excited to actually wear my wedding ring and fit in half normal clothes again. Just a little longer I guess!

(The girls on V-day with their little M&M fans from Tom and I)

The girls and I went out for a walk yesterday, I'm trying to get one in most nights now and the weather was very nice. (40 for February!) We walked and Abby talked and talked most of the way. She was a princess and was very excited about this. She didn't nap yesterday and had preschool so I think she was just beyond tired out. Towards the end of the day she was completely wiped (aka hyper and pushing her sisters down) Tom worked last night and does again tonight. It is good to have the extra money but I do miss him on those nights where it is all me.

Kiley and Kara have been super walkers lately and sit so nice in the yellow stroller. A massive change from what they used to do in the stroller! They did have a small fight over a 'ni night' that was in the stroller to keep them warm but resolved it for the most part on their own lol.

Well I should grab a cup of coffee and wake up so I can get to work on time ;) One more day down, one day at a time...

Sailor Girls

Home with the girls tonight. Tom is off to work again tonight. We had planned on going down to visit grandma but that didn't work out. My poor mom is sick with a stomach bug... and we don't want to be anywhere NEAR that! I can only imagine being in labor while throwing up and being sick... noooo thanks.

It's been a pretty nice day. We've gotten a few more projects done around the house. I finally finished the nursery mobile that I've been dying to make.

I think it turned out fantastic. Hopefully he will like it too. I can drop it down closer or move it up depending on what height I need it to be. It was a lot of work but fun too. Abby wanted to help but it wasn't really a project that was good for her to help with. She punched a lot of holes and cut up paper for me though. My living room was covered in it...

The girls wore the cutest dresses to church today. They were quite the spectacle... and a lot of people had something to say about them. The best part was they actually kept the hats on!

I really want to find Easter dresses with hats now... the tricky part is finding them. Bows and flowers are much more in at the moment it seems. Still super cute. On a similar note I've decided I'm going to make my own church bags. I think I will pick up some canvas 'grocery' bags (they make some cute ones if you find the right places) and some clip boards. crayons, small toys that I can just leave in and take with us to church. Then I won't have to worry about whether we get there soon enough to get a bag, or two... or three.

(Kara... ignore the nasty booger, we have the crud here too, and Kiley too lol)

101 Things to do...

So I have joined the rest of the internet browsing hoards out there ... and finally joined Pinterest. The thing I love most about it are the ideas of craft things for kids, recipes... it's seriously a magazine where you choose the content, clip things out for later and best of all... it's free!

*love*

I've stumbled onto a few great ideas of activities to do with the kids... most aren't anything new but when you are sitting at home, staring at the same four walls, pile of toys and the mess around you... it's hard to find something new and creative to do. Want to check it out yourself? Let me know, I can send you an invite.

So as I narrow down the final days/weeks of being in the maternity section of this kiddo... I've decided we are going to need a few new things to do when I'm on maternity leave. And since the weather isn't cooperating and dumping fresh new snow to play in. Here is what I want to do.

100 things to do with todders... I want to get through most of these. (Original link is here)

1. Color
2. Blow Bubbles
3. Play Hide-and-Seek
4. Peek-a-Boo
5. Play Chase
6. Do Finger-plays
7. Sing a song
8. Collect rocks in a basket
9. Make an obstacle course out of cushions and/or furniture
10. Make a fort out of cushions and sheets
11. Go for a Walk
12. Make a Car out of a Box
13. Read a book
14. Go to the park
15. Finger-paint
16. Play with Play-Dough
17. Toss Bean bags into a Bucket
18. Play the shell and pea game
19. Dance to music
20. Download games for toddlers from the Internet
21. Practice putting things in and taking things out of boxes and bags
22. Make a temporary slide out of a table leaf and your couch
23. Roll a ball back and forth on the floor
24. Scoop dirt or sand into a child's bucket (or use a serving spoon and bowl)
25. Practice climbing by stacking boxes on top of each other (only with adult supervision)
26. Put on a puppet show
27. Go fishing with a yard stick and yarn
28. Make a Horseshoe game
29. Make a Shape Puzzle
30. Play paper basketball
31. Run through a Sprinkler
32. Play with a bucket of water and a sponge (PLEASE WATCH CHILD AT ALL TIMES!)
33. Make a Drum out of an oatmeal box
34. Play with a kazoo
35. Wash windows together
36. Bang on Pots and Pans with a spoon
37. Brush each other's teeth
38. Play dress-up with stuffed animals and your child's clothes
39. Stack canned or boxed food on top of each other
40. Let child stack mixing bowls inside each other
41. Make a playhouse out of a large box
42. Let child play with a sticker sheet (make sure your child doesn't eat them!)
43. Put stickers on fingers for finger puppets
44. Play a musical instrument together- i.e.recorder, piano, etc.
45. Go on a Smelling Hunt
46. Frost Cookies
47. Plant a flower or vegetable plant together
48. Roll a tennis ball into an empty trash can or bucket
49. Draw on a mirror with dry-erase markers
50. Play hide and seek together- trying to find a stuffed animal or other object
51. Have a splash party together in the bathtub
52. Put a leash on a stuffed animal and walk around the house
53. Record each other on a tape recorder (great for scrapbooks or journals!)
54. Make and try on paper hats
55. Give a piggy-back ride
56. Play "Horsey"
57. Talk into an electric fan (it distorts your voice)
58. Play tug-of-war with a blanket
59. Collect flowers (felt, artificial, real...)
60. Make a camera and go on a Safari
61. Play games with frozen juice lids
62. Disconnect your phone and pretend to make phone calls to relatives
63. Leave your phone connected and really make phone calls to relatives- let your child talk too
64. String large beads onto or along a shoelace
65. Squirt each other with squirt bottles
66. Glue shapes onto paper
67. Make sock puppets
68. Make paper puppets
69. Fill an old purse with toys
70. Use a paper towel tube as a megaphone
71. Make binoculars and go "Bird Watching" or "Stuffed Animal Watching"
72. Put snacks in different fun containers (paper sacks, empty canisters, etc.)
73. Act out a story from a book
74. Walk on a balance beam- use a 2x4 placed on the ground
75. Draw with chalk on the sidewalk
76. Sketch an outline of your child on the sidewalk or paper with chalk
77. Paint child's palms with tempura paint and blot on paper. Makes a great card for loved ones!
78. Put lipstick on child and kiss a mirror
79. Make a puddle on cement and splash barefoot in it
80. Let child decorate and eat an open peanut butter sandwich
81. Make a toilet paper barricade for child to go under, over, or through
82. Do the Hokey Pokey
83. Make a super-hero costume out of household items
84. Do Knee-Bouncing Rhymes
85. Play "Red Light, Green Light" saying "Go" and "Stop"
86. Make a shoe-box train for stuffed animals
87. Make a pillow pile to jump on (keep it clear from any hard surfaces, including walls!)
88. Make an easy puzzle with felt and Velcro
89. Make bracelets or collars for stuffed animals out of pipe cleaners and jingle bells
90. Learn numbers from a deck of cards
91. Play the matching game with a deck of cards
92. Make a domino chain
93. Have a picnic in the park, backyard, or living room!
94. Play dress up in Mommy or Daddy's clothes
95. Make a tin cup telephone and talk to each other in it
96. Make a nature collage
97. Mirror each other
98. Make a "Mummy Mommy" with toilet paper
99. Make a tape recording of short music selections and instructions to move in different ways
100. Make and walk along a toilet paper trail
101. TAKE A NAP!

Vday + One

I was so tired I didn't get a chance to post this last night but I wanted to make sure that I documented it. :o) We had decided a few weeks ago that we weren't going to do anything for Valentine's Day... or so I thought. Money is a little more tight right now and we don't have anyone to babysit... plus I had to work during the day and he had to work at night.

So Valentine's Day came along and I went about my busy self, not really paying attention. My doctor came out and told me that there was someone waiting out front for me. I went out to the front lobby and there was a Barbershop Quartet. They sang to me and gave me a rose. It was shocking and wonderful.

We gave each of the girls a little Valentine M&M fan... and Abby had her Valentine's Day party at school. It sounds like they all had a pretty good time.

I'm glad today is the last day that Tom has to work tonight. It is exhausting running things alone. I had an appointment this morning and it looks like our little stinker is still breech... now we wait until Monday to find out if he still is, then we talk other options.

Greeeeeeeeeat.

Hope he flips on his own! I've been antsy all day. I can hardly stand being at work and I just feel out of sorts. Hope that Monday gets here soon....

There and Back

I have a confession to make... I'm not a perfect mom.

And in the midst the crazy exhaustion I'm feeling, the pregnancy hormones and stress from work... I feel like I should still be able to come home and be the mommy I want to be.

And it's one of the worst feelings to know that I can't. Somehow I need to let go of the rosey perfect picture of what I want to be as a mom, that perfectionist ideal that no one can live up to and just be mom. And the tears that I cry are the evidence that it's something I have a hard time doing.

I'm exhausted. My feet are cankles, I feel more unattractive right now then I have probably felt since I was 13. I can hardly sit on the floor to play with my girls because the cramping in my legs or abdomen will get so bad. T-shirts and sweatpants are about the only things I feel remotely comfortable in because the rest of my clothes doesn't fit. I've completely given up on trying to find the time to get my hair cut or permed or whatever. Aka I'm miserably trying to bask in the last few days/weeks of this pregnancy... because I know I will miss carrying him around with me.

And of course bedtime was a disaster again, Abby has been driving me a little crazy with her random screaming just when the girls are settling down, Kiley needs to get out of bed 20 times to give me a hug. Kara likes to get involved in schemes with Abby or keep her going on the path of madness. I sit on a little pink beanbag for an hour telling them to lay down, stop spitting, stay in your bed, stop bouncing...

And I get upset.

And I hate getting upset. Because they find it funny. Which makes me more angry.

My girls fell asleep tonight and I was tired of giving them hugs. I didn't want to kiss their 'owies' that they got by trying to crawl out of bed for the 100th time. I didn't want to hear their 'stories'. In fact they only fell asleep after I told them that I was crying.

Then I wrapped Abby's Valentine's Day box for preschool without her... and I cried again.

Now I wish I could have been more patient, because more then anything I miss them during the day. I miss being Mommy, (or Mimi as Kara calls me)

I believe it's just time to get a little sleep. Tomorrow is after all a new day. I love my girls with all my heart, beyond even words. And tomorrow I'll get back up, dust myself off and try again... and perhaps sneak in a little more snuggle time and that extra hug... even if it means I need to hear about the birthday party, cake and decorations for the next 3 months... 

Sometimes we all need a simple reminder that we can't do things on our own. I'm thankful that I don't have to. And please Lord grant me the confidence, courage, patience, serenity to be the mother you've called me to be... 

"They know me in a way no one ever has; They open me to things I never knew existed. They drive me to insanity and push me to my depths. They are the beat of my heart, the pulse of my vein and the energy in my soul. They are my kids."

Bliss

Love love love Saturdays. They mean sleeping in (till 7), lounging around on the couch, catching up on projects. Even the knowledge that the coffee creamer has run dry... cannot damper my spirits today. I'm in with the girls waiting for the eldest to fall asleep. I guess I wore the other two out, they were down in about 15 minutes. We cleaned up around the house this morning and Tom and I worked on the nursery again (with some help from the girls)


I really think it is coming along nicely. Starting to get that nesting feeling into overdrive... can you tell? lol

Kara told me this morning that she had a baby in her tummy too. She lifted up her shirt and stuck out her tummy. It was pretty cute. We are talking more and more about it with them lately. That Mommy and Daddy will go to the hospital and either grandma or maybe Tiffany will come play with them when we leave. Thus Abby has been asking almost every day if we are going to leave soon. Pretty sure it's not because she's excited about the baby lol!

Last night we went up to my grandma's house and had a wonderful time. I told the girls we could go if they stayed awake in the car. So I dressed all three in the REALLY cute pajamas that I picked up from Kohls for 5 bucks (80% off sale... they had been 30+) and threw in a new Dora DVD and off we went.

And they all stayed awake! Both on the way there and back. They had a good time and it was so wonderful to get out and talk with other adults and let them play with new toys. My grandma really seemed to enjoy having us stop by too. OF COURSE it was the coldest night of the week... but we survived ;)

I think after Abby takes a nap the two of us will go up and do some shopping. This mom still has a few things I'd like to get ready before baby comes!

Let's Draw :)

So as promised, without further ado... Abby's artwork...

(I believe this is a drawing of me, she commented that I have really long hair)

(This is one of her "story" drawings, where she starts with one thing and tells a story as she draws. I tried to outline things a little closer so that you could see what the characters are. Note Rapunzel's very long hair (and crown...) They are in the tower, interesting perspective on the drawing. I enjoy Pascal myself...)

(Pizza... yes it is pink)

(This is one of her 'Full body" drawings ((Sorry no idea what the yellow thing is, that was an addition tonight)) Note that the drawing has eyes, nose, mouth, hair, arms, sleeves for the dress, legs and fingers and toes. Sorry I love child development and from what little I know this is a little beyond what kids her age typically are drawing. Would be curious to see what others think. I of course am a little biased and think it is awesome if not a little creepy :o)

Here is the scoring for the "Draw a Person Test" A real developmental Test for children:

One Point Assigned per Feature:
Head present	Fingers present
Neck present	Correct number of fingers shown
Neck, two dimensions	Opposition of thumb shown
Eyes present	(must include fingers)
Eye detail: Brows or lashes	Hands present
Nose present	Arms present
Nose, two dimensions	Arms at side or engaged in activity
(not round ball)	Feet: any indication
Mouth present	Attachment of arms to legs I
Lips, two dimensions	(to trunk or anywhere)
Both nose and lips in two	Attachment of arms and legs II
dimensions	(at correct point on trunk)
Both chin and forehead shown	Trunk present
Bridge of nose (straight to eyes;	Trunk in proportion, 2 dimensions
narrower than base)	(if greater than breadth)
Hair I (any scribble)	Clothing I (anything)
Hair II (more detail)	Clothing II (two articles of clothing)
Ears present
Mental Age (yr)	Points Scored by Boys	Points Scored by Girls
3	4	5
4	7	7
5	11	11
6	13	14
7	16	17
8	18	20

Where do you think she scores?

I'll let you know what I come up with later ;)

It's just that kind of night

Just finished getting the girls down to bed. Phew they wore me out tonight. I knew we were in for trouble when Tom picked me up at work and they were all asleep in the car. One thing you should know about my girls; as hard as they are to get asleep... is as hard as it is to get them awake after they have gone to sleep. I remember once I had Abby standing straight up and she was still sleeping.

There just isn't much you can do to get them to stay awake. Their eyes roll back in their head and they are OUT.

So we did bedtime a little later tonight. When we made it home the girls were all crying and weepy. Nothing I did seemed to help. I was stressed out, needed to use the bathroom and they were all hanging on me. So I tactfully shut and locked the door... and then stayed in there. They were all crying by the door, little fingers peeking under the doorframe. I told them I wasn't coming out until they all stopped crying.

It actually worked.

So then we had supper, watched a cartoon, I gave them baths and we colored. I forced... yes forced Kara and Kiley to read a book. Not sure who was more upset by the time we finished that. I miss having a kid that actually WANTED to sit and read a book. Abby continued to color. Wow she has really gotten better. I'll take a few pictures of her drawings in the next post where I can feature her artwork. :o)

Baby is giving me crazy heartburn lately with his head pressed so hard against my stomach. Time to get some sleep!