Cai-Lo

Last week, we were at our friend's house and Caitlyn was being a stinker. She was climbing on the coffee table, and I asked her to stop. Here's how it all went down:

Me: Cai-Lo, you need to get down off the coffee table please.
Caitlyn: ***nothing***
Me: Caitlyn! Get off the coffee table, please!!
Caitlyn: No!!
Me: Excuse me?!
Caitlyn: (quieter this time) No, ma'am.

How can you possibly get mad at that?

One of Those Days =)

I've been a crabby, grumpy mommy lately. I feel like every night when I get the kids to sleep I have wasted yet another one of their infinitely short childhood days being a crab. Why? Simply put, I am stressed- stressed about money, stressed about our student loans, stressed about our credit card debt...just stressed! Why, why, why? The thing is, I know it will work out- it ALWAYS does. I just want to quit wasting my time stressing about it. Stressing won't solve anything, and I honestly don't need an ulcer in my 20s- I'd rather wait on that one.

In honor of my crabby self, and partly because one of the thousands of e-mails that made their way down the family e-mail tree touched my heart, here are some alternative ways to look at our situation-
*rather than stress because my kids are too loud, I will rejoice that they have the ability to run and scream.
*rather than yell or get aggravated because my husband is sooooo laid back, I will rejoice that he allows me the freedom to pursue my own interests, and that he fully and unquestionably trusts my judgement.
*rather than feel upset about our credit card debt and student loans, I will rejoice that my husband and I were afforded the opportunity to receive wonderful post-secondary educations, and I was able to be home for our children during their formative years.
*rather than complain about my 1006 square foot home, I will remember that the vast majority of the world's populous has neither indoor plumbing nor actual floors in their homes- I am blessed.

When I visited Mexico during the summer of 2000, my "friend"- an American girl can never spend an extended amount of time in a foreign country without making herself a "friend", right? Oh single life- I am SO glad you are a distant memory!- and I rode la ruta-the public transportation buses- all around the outskirts of Cuernavaca. While the countryside was breathtakingly beautiful, I was shocked when he told me that, yes, people-families!- really did live in those teeny tiny tin sheds dotting the hillsides. These were structures you would feel guilty housing your chickens in, much less your children. And yes, that really was flannel in the windows, and no, they do not replace it with glass in the winter.

And a mere 8 years later, I have the gall to feel sorry for myself because my fully climate controlled house is "small" and "crowded".

Poor me...

I am so glad my stresses are due to a "numbers game" rather than actual, real, life-threatening danger.

Cammy-isms

Every night we wish on our star. Tonight I started our wish:

Star light, Star bright

The first star I see tonight.

I wish I may I wish I might

Have the wish I wish tonight

I wish.. I wish...

We have a rule that we are not allowed to tell our wish "because if we tell, it won't come true!" I tell them. I was saying the rhyme and got to the "I wish" part, when Cam reminded me of the rule. I assured him that I would not reveal my wish! Because I really, really want my wish to come true! He told me that he hopes my wish comes true, and that he hopes that I wished for another baby! The following conversation ensued...

Me: Another baby, hmmm...I don't know if that one's gonna happen any time soon buddy!

Cam: But Mom, we need another baby in our family!

Me: Why Cam? We already have 4 kids, and Caleigh's still a baby.

Cam: But Mom, we need another baby because you have 2 meemees (our word for breasts). If you have two meemees, you need two babies to feed.

He explained it like it made all the sense in the world. Kids, kids, kids... =)

Later, he told me he did not want me to fall asleep in his bed because when I sleep in his bed I look like look like a monster. I asked him what he meant, and he told me that when I sleep my head looks like a flying dinosaur and it scares him. *singing* I feel pretty, oh so pretty...

Poor kid! Or is it poor me? Who knows...

Caleigh Bug =)

Caleigh had her 4 month well child check up this morning. She weighs a whopping 11 lbs 4 oz! She's in the 10-25th percentile for everything (weight, height, and head circumference), so she is well-proportioned, but small. Oh well, we'll keep her =)

John took some vacation time off from work to focus on some projects for school, so it will be nice to spend some time together! We went on a real live date on Saturday. We were invited on a Halloween-themed scavenger hunt with some other couples. Our team came in 4th place (out of 5!) and had a lot of fun! After the hunt, we went out to eat. I love being at a restaurant and hearing kids screaming or seeing them throw food on the floor- or in their parents' hair- and knowing that mine are HOME! The little things really do make me happy.

Just a quick funny- you know how Dora pauses after she asks questions?...pause... Well, Caitlyn thinks this means she has to YELL the answer at the top of her lungs. Caleigh hasn't quite caught on to the whole question...pause ....ANSWER!!! routine, so every time we watch Dora, Caleigh ends up crying. Dora asks a question...pauses... Caitlyn ANSWERS!!..and Caleigh jumps-shocked-and starts one of those really cute, but heartbreaking, sad wide-eyed baby crying sessions.

Sleep, Glorious Sleep

Tonight was one of those nights where if motherhood was a pass/ fail test, I think I would be in dire need of a remedial course. The kids and I shared a lovely day together, complete with two hours at the park, plenty of peanut butter and honey sandwiches, and more crayons on the floor than you can shake a stick at (well, not that you'd want to shake sticks at crayons, but you know...).

After returning from the park at around 6:30, I was pretty sure that the kids were just about ready to start winding down and get ready for bed. I figured I would let them watch a show while I sat with a cold glass of chocolate milk to recharge before bath time. Apparently, by the time we were ready to start the night time routines (bath, book, Go Diego Go, SLEEP!!!!) they were already overly tired- you know, the overly dramatic, talk a mile a minute, ignore any semblance of reason type of tired. I decided to salvage the evening by cutting my losses and skipping straight to the SLEEP portion of our nightly routine. I turned on a kid friendly movie and laid them down. After an hour, it became increasingly obvious the kids were tired beyond reason. In desperation, I pulled out the parental trump card- I loaded them into the car and took them for a drive. After 30 minutes of hearing their near-constant fighting, bickering, and whining all concentrated in an area roughly the size of oh, perhaps, one Jeep Grand Cherokee, I implored them to stop fighting, sit still, and go to sleep. The squawking crescendos, along with my stress and aggravation level, until...cue Handel's Hallelujah Chorus...SILENCE! Glorious Silence!

I know one of these days, I will think back and wonder why I let myself get all worked up over the kids' refusing sleep. One of these days, there will be much bigger fish to fry- drugs, peer pressure, basketball coaches... but for now, here's a tribute to sleep...


Collin has always slept like this- isn't he just precious!

Cameron and Collin snoozing in Nanny's car- Love it!

Daddy and Collin- what a sweet heart!

Caitlyn snoozing in her seat- Check out those little rolls!

My little Collin Bug =)

Thank you, Lord for these little ones.

Oh happy day!

Cameron is wearing short socks! I know this doesn't seem like a big deal, but believe me- it is! One of his little quirks is his love of routine. When he was little, we had to drive to daycare using the same route. Now, he HAS to wear shorts, his black shoes and LONG SOCKS every day, no matter the weather. At bed time we have to watch Go, Diego, Go and he sits in my lap until he gets tired, then he lays down on the floor with his blanket and pillow and crashes out. I could go on, but I won't...

I'll just say thank goodness we are expanding our horizons!