OLD.

Here, because it is rainy and I have some extra time to blog is a short list of why I feel extra old today.

1. I've given up caffeine. I don't drink coffee so I got all my caffeine from soda. Lately I've been smacked in the face with the truth of how much damage regular soda drinking can do to your body so I knew it was time to give it up (the daily consumption, not soda altogether, that would be crazy talk). But seriously, how is a mama supposed to make it through the day with no caffeine? I'm struggling.  Which leads me to #...

2. Lucy STILL does not sleep through the night. 17 months and counting of the same schedule she had as a newborn.

3. Whenever I was pregnant I would get the worst heartburn. Then magically, after the baby was born it would disappear and I never had any problems with it. But ever since Lucy was born, I still get it. I'm pretty sure it has something to do with getting older and the soda drinking (another reason to cut back). It isn't so much painful as it is embarrassing. I was out to dinner with Andy Saturday and just knew that my fajitas and beer were going to end badly so I went to pop a preemptive Tums. As I walked past the bar I noticed that everyone at the bar was about a decade younger than me. They were laughing, eating mountains of nachos and chugging soda and beer like it was going out of style. It was barely 7pm so I'm sure they were at their first of many stops for the night. And there I was, clutching my little roll of Tums, planning to go home after dinner, unbutton my jeans, lay down on the couch and maybe make it through the first half of a movie with Andy before falling asleep.

See? OLD.

School Vacation Week

This past Saturday we had so much fun at the Boston Children's Museum. After a  long vacation week without much to do around the house we decided we needed to end the week with some adventure.

I would have more pictures but it was nerve wracking trying to keep our eyes on all the kids at all times. The kids did a great job of sticking together and not wandering away but there was so much to see and do and so many kids around it got a little crazy. There was something fun for all of them, and by the time we left they were all totally wiped out. They slept a little in the car and we had a yummy Mexican dinner at a nearby restaurant when we got home.

Not much to report about the rest of our vacation week, I spent most of it at home trying to keep the peace. Andy took each of the kids out on their own special dates. Ace went to pick out his birthday present with Grandpa and Andy (a new bike), Hayley went ice skating and out for lunch, and Julia went out to breakfast. Lucy actually had her date with me because I wanted to shop for some new clothes so I took her to her first tumbling class and then we went to the mall.


I have to admit, dropping the kids of at their schools this week was a welcome relief for all of us! 

Valentines

For Valentine's Day I got a new camera so stay tuned, more and better pictures are coming soon to liven this blog up a little.
I hope everyone is enjoying a day filled with love and chocolate. I let Lucy eat a big chunk of a milk chocolate bar when I finally got out of bed close to 11am this morning (Andy got up with the kids and let me sleep late because I stayed up way too late playing Rock Band and watching Couple's Retreat with him last night) so now I am her favorite Valentine EVER.
My mom made homemade Valentines for each of them with their pictures on them and last night I was putting them up on the mantle and it took my breath away, how beautiful they each are.

Speaking of beauty, here is my Valentine this year and forever.  He'll be 49 next month. Okay, not really, he'll only be 38 but I like to annoy him by telling people he's at least a decade older than he really is. It's okay because he could easily pass for 5 years younger than his real age. He laughs at all my jokes, even the lame ones. He tells me I'm good at Rock Band even though he has to turn it on No Fail mode so I can make it through a song without getting booed off the stage. He is strong and smart and can do tough math problems in his head in less time than it takes me to do them on a calculator. He can fix anything. When Hayley was little I knocked a breast pump off of a really high counter and broke it and then I got mad because I was hormonal and tired and I threw it and it broke even more. And Andy fixed it. Sometimes I'm afraid that people will think he's grumpy because he is very quiet and doesn't talk much at all (see where Julia gets it?) but he is actually one of the most open hearted people I know and once he is on your side, he will stick with you through anything. I'm lucky he's stuck with me. Happy Valentine's Day, Andy, I Love You.

When you were 4....

You had a birthday party with a Knights and Princesses theme. Your friends came and we played games and ate a yummy chocolate cake that Grandma made for you.

You joined a T-ball team. You tried to catch every ball, even the ones you hit with the bat. You made a good friend, Jack and your teammates called you "Mr. Incredible" because you wore an Incredibles baseball cap.

You started sleeping in your own bed, all through the night (most nights) and talked in your sleep frequently. Mommy and Daddy would be in our bed in then next room and giggle at the silly things you would say in the  middle of the night.

Your Grandpa Alvin, Grandma Karen, and Aunt Chelsea came to visit. You went fishing with your Grandpa Alvin and he told us it was a dream come true for him, he didn't even care if he caught any fish (but he did, and so did you)

You went fishing later with Mommy and Daddy. We ate slim jims and you pretended they weren't too spicy for you. You caught a fish that day too.

We spent most of our summer at the beach. Grandma and Grandpa would meet us there late in the afternoon and they would take you out into the water. You loved to play in the sand too, building castles and digging holes. And Grandma would take you for walks to find shells and crabs.

In the Fall, you started going to preschool 4 days a week instead of 2. You were so popular with your friends and teachers, they called you "The Mayor". You always had a big smile and hug for your friends and they loved you right back.

Sara and Naomi came to visit and we went to see The Nutcracker. You sat through the whole performance and used excellent manners. I think your favorite dancer was the Arabian princess,  you wanted the binoculars to watch that performance. Daddy thought that was really funny.


We went on a trip to North Carolina for Christmas and you met your new cousin Caroline for the first time. You loved to play with her and you sat down to teach her how to have a tea party. Your favorite Christmas presents were your firefighter toys and your helicopter. You and your Daddy spent hours putting together the helicopter and you have taken very good care of it.


I put you to bed on the last day you were four and told you I better hold you for as long as I could because tomorrow you will be Five and who knows how big you'll be. I might not be able to lift you. You told me maybe I won't even recognize you because you may have a mustache and be tall and I may think you are a firefighter.

I can't wait to see what you do when you are five. It will be the best year ever, all over again. 

We were driving to storytime this morning and talking about the friends that would be there. Ace stopped and said "I wish my heart were bigger, like this big [stretches out his arms really big] because there are so many people that I like. I want to love so many people and have so many friends."
Ace, trust me, your heart is plenty big.

3am

At 3am Lucy's cries woke me from a dream of my past self, a time before I was a wife and a mom and had a baby who woke me regularly at 3am just to say Hi! It wasn't a particularly good dream and I woke up feeling anxious and regretful.  It seemed like all the mistakes I made had decided to pop into my subconscious  all at once and I couldn't shake the bad feeling. I wished I could go back and do so many things over. It was 3am and I thought "I did so many things wrong".

I went to Lucy and brought her back to my bed. She nursed and stuck her feet in my face to kiss them, she giggled and opened one eye when I thought she had finally fallen back to sleep. My dream and the anxious feeling it brought on started to fade away.  I turned around to try and convince her that playtime was over and she snuggled into my back and soon started snoring away. I turned back towards her and watched her sleep. I didn't want to go back in time, I wanted to stay right where I was. It was 3:30 and I thought "Well, I must have done something right."

Parent/Teacher Conference Highlights

Some quotes from Julia's portfolio:

"...a delight to have in class. She has spunk and is always smiling. ..a smart little girl, who picks up on concepts and will answer most of the questions asked on circle time. ...she has confidence in herself and has been a pleasure to work with in class."


And from Ace's:

"Ace is one of the those children who you would describe as wearing his heart on his sleeve. He is one of the most social and caring boys I have had in a class in a long time. He cares more about his friends than he does about himself."

I'm so proud of my little scholars. I pray everyday that they succeed in school and do well academically but above all else, I want them to have confidence in themselves and be kind to others. I'm so happy that they are in a school environment that nurtures those qualities and recognizes them for their individuality and strength.

We Love Lucy

Lucy has 2  new habits. One is sticking things under her armpits. If she doesn't like the dinner I serve, she will tear the food into small pieces and stick them in her armpit. At bathtime, entire slices of torn up pizza will fall out from her shirt when we take it off. She also does it with small toys that she wants to keep from her siblings. Julia has a wooden birthday cake with small decorations. Lucy doesn't show much interest in eating them but we still try and keep them away from her. When she finds one she doesn't want it taken away so she stores in under her arm. All of her shirts have stretched out necklines from where she tugs on them to stick things in her armpit.

Her second new habit is wiping her bottom. Perhaps this is an early step towards potty training so I encourage it. Plus, it is funny. Anytime she has a paper towel or a baby wipe she goes right to wiping. She also tries to wipe her brother and sister's bottoms. And the dogs. Dolls. Her Dad.  But mostly her own bottom.

There are many reasons we love Lucy but one of them is definitely her ability to do something that we would otherwise consider socially unacceptable and slightly gross and turn it into charming and adorable. Don't even get me started about how much she loves to make people smell her feet.



Here is a picture of what Lucy was doing a lot of one year ago:

Some of this and some of that....

After our holiday travels and Julia's birthday celebrations, we are falling into our winter hibernation mode. Partly to avoid germs and try to have a healthy winter but also, I admit, because the cold weather  makes me lazy and what I most want to do is cuddle under the blankets and sleep the season away. I want to come back in a future life as a bear.
We can not possibly survive a winter with four very active kids on DVDs and hot chocolate alone though, so we do have some fun plans for the next few months.  I have set aside some "mad money" to fund ice skating and bowling afternoons on the weekends and the kids have their busy school routines. We got a new dog, Coco, who is big and needs a lot of exercise so on days when the weather is tolerable we want to take her out to run and play. And of course we have 3 more big birthdays to celebrate (Ace in Feb, Andy and Hayley in March). So, winter may be long and cold but we'll make it fun.
I've been impressed with how hard Ace is trying to be more cooperative, I think he must have made a secret New Year's resolution. He is having fewer outbursts and is not using his "bully" attitude to try and get his way as much anymore. He is even remembering to use his words to show affection, instead of just frustration. Tonight I told him he was my favorite boy in the world and he said "You are too, Mommy". Then he thought for a minute and realized that wasn't quite right so he said "No, your not my favorite boy, you're just a girl that I love." I was the best moment of my night.
There are about 10 stories that I would love to share about Hayley because she is at this age where almost everyday she does something new and great (like today, when she decided at 7:30 am to write an Ode to Butterflies and asked me how to spell eerie) but once in a while I'll tell someone about something cute she did or some funny story and then realize that she was embarrassed because she thought I was making fun of her. I don't want her to feel that way so if you realize she is underrepresented in this blog, that is why. It's not because I don't have great stories about her, it's  that they are now her stories to share when and where she chooses. Maybe she'll start blogging, she would rock the blogosphere.

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Happy Birthday, Julia Marie

You are so cool.