The Kids

The Kids

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Whoops

I know my parent's anniversary is on February 20th.  I do not need to write it on my calendar or have my phone remind me.  However, I do need to have a clue that the 20th is approaching.  Considering my wall calendar is still on January, that will tell you how in touch I am with reality right now.  I will blame it on Nick being gone this past weekend and me being outnumbered by my crazy children.

So, my deepest apologies to my parents, who did celebrate their annivesary the other day.  I did not realize my mistake until the next day when my mom called, "just to chat" and happened to mention it to me.  I could not have felt worse. 

A card would be too late, flowers would be too cliche, so here are my thoughts to make up for my mistake and to remind my parents how much I love them...

My favorite thing about your marriage is how much you are each other's best friend.  Not in the cheesy, movie line kind of way, but you are always in conversation and on the same side.  If one of you is in pain, the other feels it.  You celebrate together and work hard together.  My idea of marriage was based on how well you communicate with each other. 

You have both sacrificed so much for us.  Yet, no matter your circumstances, you continue to love each other more every day.  One of the best things a parent can do for their children is to truly love their spouse.  We are so fortunate to have grown up feeling safe and secure.

So, again, I am sorry that I forgot.  But, no matter the day, know that your marriage is a wonderful example of how God intended it to be.  And this daughter feels blessed.

Monday, February 21, 2011

Murphy's Law Of Children

"Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong."

Hmm.  Old Mr. Murphy (who whoever actually came up with this idea) clearly had children.

In light of my stage of life in which I take care of a six-year old, a four-year old and a four month old, I thought I would share my version of Murphy's Law for kids.

-If you have nowhere to go during the day, your child will not take a good nap.  If you do have plans, your child will take the longest nap in which you will have to wake him up and deal with the consequences.

-If your baby has not pooped in awhile, go ahead and put him in the highchair, exersaucer or anything that has him sitting up.  He will immediately let loose and it will go up his back.  Works every time.

-Wherever you place the burping cloth, your baby will choose the exact opposite side of your shoulder to spit up on.  This works especially well when you are wearing a nice shirt.

-If you have plans, your child will get sick that day. 

-As soon as you clean your carpet, your child will either wearing muddy shoes across it or throw up on it.

-You may have to drag your child out of bed every school morning, but come Saturday morning, he is right on cue, standing at the side of your bed, asking for breakfast.

-If your spouse happens to go out of town, your child will pick those nights to have nightmares, wet the bed and need numerous glasses of water (which he will inevitably spill on his sheets and complain of being wet).

-The more crabby your child is, the longer the line at the check-out line.

-Once you are in line for something, your child will pick the perfect moment to have a bathroom emergency.  It is usually once you have been in line long enough to not give up your spot, not quite near the front and stuck in the middle where you could not move even if you tried.

-The day you decide to mop your kitchen floor is the day your child decides to spill everything.

-The moment you place the phone to your ear, your child will immediately need you for something.  Siblings bring on the added bonus of fighting.

-If you want to have a private conversation with your spouse, your child will suddenly become super smart and catch what you did not want him to hear.  However, he will not hear you when you tell him to pick up his toys or do his homework.

-Your child will be perfectly content with what he is eating until he sees what you are eating.  You will then be asked, "Can I have that?" until you finally give in and learn to eat at a later time.

-You may have an entire house of rooms, but if you are trying to exercise, your child will pick that exact spot to play.

-While on a road trip, your child will need to use the bathroom exactly three miles past the rest stop.  While the other sibling is sound asleep.  And you are the only adult in the car.

-Your child may be compliant and sweet, but as soon as he is around your parents, he will disobey, talk back and act like he runs the show.

-If you are expecting company, your child will play with every single toy in the house that day.

-And, finally, once you have a child, your heart is no longer your own.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Calebisms Again

Yes, it is about Caleb again.  The boy is never boring.

The other day, he was cleaning his room (i.e. getting more toys out instead of putting the first ones away) and Abby quietly walked in and yelled, "Boo!" at him.  He got really mad and said, "Abby, you scared me!  You turned me into a girl!"

Apparently girls can get scared, but not boys?  This coming from the boy who left the movie theater during Toy Story 3 because he was afraid the toys were going to burn in the garbage fire.

(Who am I kidding?  I was scared for them, too!)

Last night was fun.  I woke up at 5 AM to see Caleb standing next to me, staring at me.  After I recovered from my heart attack, I asked him what he was doing.  He told me "I just wanted to tell you that I didn't cough last night!"

After I sent my clearly sleep-walking child back to bed, I heard him again.  Basically, every time I would fall asleep, I would hear him open his door to check to see if anyone was awake, yet.  Then he would shut it and do who knows what until he checked again.

I am exhausted today.

On a nice note, Nick and I were able to take Caleb out for lunch yesterday.  I realized that he never gets time alone with us.  Noah was with us, but at least he does not constantly interrupt with conversation (give him time) like a certain sister I can think of.  Because I did not have to bring Caleb's carpool friend home yesterday, and because Nick's schedule was different that day, we met at First Watch and had a nice little lunch.  The best moment was when we sat down and he looked out and saw his dad walking in.  He was so surprised and excited.

Caleb Paul, you are a treasure.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Football Madness

Is it wrong to be thankful that the football season is finally over?  Does that make me a bad American? 

Maybe if I grew up in a football watching family, I would understand what all the fuss is about.  Personally, I enjoyed our tradition of watching movies on Sunday afternoons.  Those were the only days that my dad did not live in the barn all day and made sure he took some time off.

It is probably a good thing that I did not grow up loving football.  If I did, I would most likely be a Steelers fan (grew up an hour north of Pittsburgh) and since I fell in love with a Bengals fan, where would that leave us?  I strongly believe Nick would not have dated and especially not married me if I was a Steelers fan. 

Thankfully for us (and our marriage), I do not really have an opinion about any of the teams, so I simply stand by my man and hope the best for his team. 

I heard a story on Super Bowl weekend about a Steelers fan who went down to Texas for the game, but then his wife went into labor back home.  Did he go home for the birth of his first-born child?  Nope.  He stayed at the game.

(Okay, so the news reporter went on to defend him by stating he tried to get flights or rental cars home, but couldn't find any, but still...)

I told the story to Nick (without the defensive "couldn't find a way home" part) to which he stared at me and said, "Tammy, it's the Super Bowl." 

Oh.  Okay.  So, any insane act a football fan commits can be justified because "it's the Super Bowl."

Nick went on to defend his argument by saying how it's a once in a lifetime thing and how you would never forget that day.

Kind of like the birth of one's first-born child.

At least this Super Bowl was an exciting game.  I watched most of it, carefully avoiding facebook since my home page was full of my Pittsburgh friends comments about the game.  I smiled as my husband rejoiced over every moment leading to the loss of the Steelers and quietly played Angry Birds on my new phone.

Finally, the season is over and life can stop revolving around a sport.

Oh wait-next month is March Madness.  Never mind.

Monday, February 7, 2011

Noah Update

Little Noah is starting to develop quite a personality.  He has always been pretty laid back (he has to be-he is the third child), but lately, he has been voicing his opinion a bit.

Great, just what we need-another Rosenfeldt kid who never stops talking.

He "talks" a lot to his toys and to us.  He stays pretty content, but really, really likes to be around people.  Toys are fun, but if we just sit and smile at him, his day is made.  This evening, he was enjoying his swing while we played a board game with the kids.  Then, he noticed that he was missing out on something and vocalized his annoyance until he was finally sitting at the table with the rest of the family.  Our table would not be complete without his wide eyes and steady stream of drool.

One of Noah's favorite times of the day are when he is being changed.  Perhaps it is because he really likes being clean, but I think it is because for those few minutes, my attention is totally on him.  He gives me his best stuff during those moments-lots of dimple-filled, toothless grins, coos and giggles. 

You want to know what really makes him laugh?  When he fills his diaper in such a way that it goes up his back.  That child squeals in delight when he sees me wrinkle my nose and pull out a hundred wipes.  Today, he managed to pee on my leg while getting into the bath-he found that pretty funny, too.

This boy also loves his brother and sister.  The moment he sees them, his face lights up.  And they love him, too.  Many fights have broken out over who gets to hold him/play with him/look at him.

(Funny enough, no one is fighting to be with him when he is crying, poopy, or at dinner time.)

Noah also loves music and bouncing around.  Needless to say, he finds it very entertaining to watch his siblings dance around the house to Chris Brown's "Forever."  His little feet immediately start kicking to the beat.

Noah Michael, what a delight and blessing you are. 

Friday, February 4, 2011

Look Alikes

 Some say that my kids look a lot alike.  Thoughts?