My Boys' Room

Boys are kind of gross.

Every morning, when I open the door to Caleb and Noah's room, I am greeted by an overwhelming scent of urine.  Sometimes, Noah gives me an extra treat by adding a poopy diaper to the mix.

Seriously, what is up with the smells?  Even when Abby was in diapers, I do not remember her room stinking like that.

It does not help that Caleb still wears pull-ups to bed.  The child physically cannot wake up to anything, especially his own bladder.  Between him and Noah, I do not know how they both tend to sleep in-doesn't the smell wake them up in the middle of the night?

Even without the stench, their room is always a mess, too.  Okay, so that is mostly Caleb's fault.  After all, the one-year old is not exactly playing in there every afternoon.  Every morning, I risk my life to attempt to walk into their closet to seek out clothes.  I never know what I am going to fall over on my way in.

Not only is it stinky and messy, it is also a little scary.  Caleb keeps collecting these fake spiders.  Thanks to trick-or-treating at King's Island and goodie bags at parties and soccer, he has quite a group of fake insects.  I would not mind so much if he put them away when he was done, but, as I mentioned before, he is not known for picking up his toys very well.  I cannot keep track of how many near heart attacks I have suffered thinking that I was about to step on a real spider.

Do they have to make them look so real?

As an added bonus, he left one on the stairs the other night.  Yep, almost fell down the entire flight of stairs trying to escape the rubber insect.

I love my boys, but I will admit that I prefer walking into Abby's room-it is the color of lilacs and has dolls and pretty pillows and jewerly.  Even when she leaves things out, it is still comforting somehow.

Oh well.  I guess the smiles that I receive from my boys in the morning make the bad smells worth it.

Usually.

Bathtime

For those parents thinking of having a third child.  Take a glimpse at my night of bathing my children.

I followed the boys up the stairs to their bathroom, pausing to catch Noah as he almost stumbled at the top step.  We went into the bathroom where Caleb promptly removed his pants to pee.  I grabbed Noah to keep him from touching the stream of urine, tripping over a stray bath toy that somehow left its home in the basket.  I took Noah out of the bathroom to change an extremely smelly diaper, leaving Caleb to start the bath water.  I returned to find Caleb just standing around, naked, with no bath water started.  Noah started to open the toilet lid so I placed the bath toy basket on top of it to keep it weighted down.  I leaned over the tub to start the water when I saw Caleb removing the basket because he had to pee again.

Sure, the kid has no problem wetting his pants when he is too busy placing Wii (ironic name of a game system given the current topic) to stop and use the bathroom.  But, in the chaos of three people in a small bathroom, he is all about going again.

Before I could stop him, Noah immediately reached his hand into the toilet.  The toilet that had yet to be flushed.  I ran his hand under water and put him into the tub.  I had finished bathing Noah and had just started on Caleb when I heard a cry from downstairs.  Apparently, Abby slipped on the steps and had fallen down.

Not wanting to leave Noah in the tub without my watchful eye, I quickly wrapped him up and went to inspect the damange.  After all, the girl currently has an ankle sprain so why not add a broken arm to it?  Abby was laying on the floor, crying just enough to get my attention, but at least it was not a serious injury.  I encouraged her to get up and come upstairs while I continued to hold a wet, naked Noah.

After getting Noah dressed and leaving him with Abby in her room, I finally finished bathing a then shivering Caleb.  I managed to get him into his room, just in time to remember that his sheets were in the dryer.  You know, because he wet the bed last night.

I took Noah from Abby so that she could start her bath.  Normally, she is the easy child who takes her own showers.  But, since her foot is currently wrapped up for her sprain, she needed a bath in which she could not get her foot wet.

Cue more chaos.  I kept Noah with me since I cannot trust him alone with Caleb and his tiny chokable toys.  While Abby kept her left leg over the side of the tub and I attempted to wash her thick hair with a cup, Noah took a toy and kept throwing it into the tub.  He would then scream to get it back, but then immediately throw it in again.  At one point, Caleb tried to come into the bathroom, left when I yelled at him to give Abby some privacy, but did not shut the door all of the way.  Next thing I knew, Noah was out the door and crawling toward the top of the stairs.  I raced over, grabbed him, just in time to stop him from tumbling headfirst down the stairs.

Miraculously, I finally finished bathing Abby, sent her on her way to get ready for bed, then settled down to relax Noah with a bottle.  That was when Nick returned to find our house a peaceful place.

If he only knew.

Journaling

Abby's class regularly writes journal-like thoughts in class.  Her teacher gives them a theme to write about and lets them be creative.  The following is what she brought home this week.  The topic-"Why I can't go to bed right now." 

I will be writing this exactly as Abby wrote it so good luck reading the kid writing.

I can't go to bed becuse baby Noah is sick and I want to help get him better.  I can't sleep becuse Caleb is making a raccet and it's LOUD!  I have to finish my book mom!  If I clean up can I stay up?  Im waching a cute movie and it's almost done, two minits!  Noah is screming so loud that none can sleep thou it it's so loud.  Can I have a bedtime snack?  Mom, Caleb wreseling with me so much that I can't move a tiny bit and I can't berth (breathe) either.  Mom Noah headbutted me in the nose and it's bleeding.  Felicity came over, can me and Caleb go over to play with her pese just this one time?  I can't sleep Mom, becuse dad is yelling so loud that you coud hear it for miels.  Im so exsidid for tomorer I can't sleep a bit, not even a tiny bit.  Can I have just one more cookie, just one more plese?  Mom I'm in the midil of a troble game.  Mom, my best frend Sidney's on the phone and she asked to have a sleepover tonite and stay up late, can I go?  (This is where my voice is apparently heard)  As long as you don't stay up late, that's fine with me.

Before anyone goes calling social services on us, I would like to defend my family and make sure the truth is told that Nick does not yell all of the time, Noah does not headbutt on purpose, and Caleb is smaller than Abby and does not really pin her down to the point of passing out.

What fun to be an elementary teacher and read these thoughts.  No wonder I sometimes get strange looks from her teacher.

Caleb And The Girls

Caleb has great friendships with girls.

I think it is because he has an older sister.  And because he has always been outnumbered on our street by girls.  There was hope when little Cody moved in across the street, but then he moved away this summer, much to Caleb's dismay.  Now, he has to wait around for Noah and little Daniel across the street to grow up.

In the meantime, I have heard some fun conversations from Caleb and his ladies, lately.

While walking out of school the other day, I listened in on a talk that Caleb was having with his carpool friend, Izzy.  For some reason, they were talking about marriage.

Caleb:  "Boys marry girls and girls marry boys."
Izzy:  "What about boys marry boys and girls marry girls?"
Caleb:  (laughing) "Oh, Izzy, that's silly.  Boys don't marry boys and girls don't marry girls!"
(Thank you private school)
Izzy:  "Okay, so girls marry boys and boys marry girls.  Just like my mommy married my daddy!"
Caleb:  "I could marry you someday."
Izzy:  "Okay!  That would be okay because I'm a girl!"

Love it.

As I am typing this, Caleb is playing with his neighbor, Felicity, who I am watching for a little while.  They were playing with a toy and then Felicity said, "Let's pretend it's at a store and we are shopping for it!"

Caleb, being the understanding brother that he is, agreed.

They used Noah's shopping cart to walk around the living room, shopping for toys.  This is what I heard...

Felicity:  "Oh look, those are so cute!"
Caleb:  "Yes, they are cute!"
(My son will make a great husband if he can understand that women say "cute" quite often while shopping.)
Felicity:  "Let's go pay for it."
Caleb:  "Look, it says it's a million dollars."
Felicity:  "That's okay, I have a million dollars.
Caleb:  "Me too!"

Really?  Would you two like to share some of that money with your parents?

The Healing Power Of A Fry



Not feeling well during Abby's soccer game

 So, apparently Noah does not do well with shots.

He had his one-year check-up this past week.  The night before his appointment, he woke up in the middle of the night with a fever.  Good timing-at least we already had an appointment lined up.

The fever was from an ear infection (following in the footsteps of his siblings with their constant ear infections).  He went through the torture or being examined by the doctor, received his shots, then dealt with stopping for meds to make him feel better.

Sometimes I wish the doctors had pharmacies right in their office so that we do not have to run another errand with a sick child.

Anyway, I figured Noah would sleep better that night from his meds.  After all, my other three always did.

Nope.  Up a lot, just wanting to be held and still running a fever.

He perked up a bit on Saturday, just long enough for us to go to the soccer games.  However, by night time (why is it always night time when they bring on their true colors?) he was not feeling well again.  By Sunday morning, his temperature was 104.1.

Yes, I panicked.

The doctor saw him that morning and sent him over to Children's for blood work.  As if the kid had not been
through enough already.  Drawing blood from a sick one-year old...not fun.  I felt my eye make-up running a bit while I held back tears for his pain.

Thankfully, the blood work proved that he was okay and that the fever was simply the result of a reaction to his shots.  Seriously?  I have him get shots to prevent getting sick, only to have sick child who will not eat, drink or leave my arms?

Two days later and he is finally getting back to his usual self.  He is still a bit clingy, but at least he is eating and drinking. 

I must admit, I did enjoy the closeness while he was sick.  He just wanted to cuddle and sleep in my arms.  It has been a long while since he has wanted to do that. 

Of course, he was a bit spoiled during that time, so now he still thinks he has to be in my arms all of the time.  Sorry buddy.  You are one of three kids.

My favorite part of this entire experience was the turning point.  Sunday night, Abby and I got home from a birthday party just in time for dinner, which Nick was not able to make because Noah would not leave his arms, leaving us to get some fast food.  Noah sat there, watching us eat, and the moment he saw the french fries, he smiled and reached for one.

I promise, the kid has maybe had one fry in his life.

He ate that fry and enjoyed every bit of it.  Then another.  Then another.

Hey, after not eating for two days, I had no problem with it.

More Quotes

-Abby was in the car with Nick and started talking about her dating life.

She said, "I can't wait until I'm ten!"

Nick asked why and she explained, "Because then I can find a boyfriend and date him!"

She then went on to explain that she would get married at age eleven.

I don't think so sweetheart.

-Abby was trying to figure out today's date and she asked, "Is it the 13th?"  Caleb replied, "No!  It's the 14th!"

When I corrected him and said, "Actually, it's the 15th," he shook his head and explained, "I'm just all mixed up today!"

Conspiracy Of Birthdays

I would like to know where the tradition of birthday parties started.

More specifically, the tradition of celebrating the person who did nothing but enter the world via the work of his or her mother.

Let me see if I have this straight.  The mother goes through nine months of pregnancy, goes through painful labor, and takes another few weeks to heal from the torture that has occurred to her body.  She then has to celebrate those memories each year by spending money on a party for her child.  She has to bake, clean, cook, plan, and put on her happiest face for her child on his or her "special day."  She watches her child have a great time, thanking all of his or her friends for their gifts, but never actually thanking the person who did all of the work.

Does that sound like a conspiracy to you?

I believe it is time for tradition to change.  When it is a child's birthday, all of the gifts and love should be showered on the mother.  Balloons should be replaced with flowers, cheesecake should be served instead of birthday cake, and pinatas should be filled with chocolates and spa coupons instead of candy and stickers.

If only this was true already.  I just celebrated all three of my children's birthdays this past week.  If it was all about the mom, I could be basking in some great gifts right now.  Perhaps instead of this look of exhaustion and defeat that has been on my face all week, I could have a radiant glow from a day at the spa.  Instead of still waiting for a thank you from any of my kids, I could be in a blissful mood from all of the kind words that were spoken to me on my special days.

Sadly, this tradition will never change.  For one thing, we moms are outnumbered.  Our kids will never go for it and something tells me that our husbands will not, either. 

Secondly, and most importantly, something happened at the birth of our children.  Seeing their joy became more important than our own happiness.  Watching them celebrate with their friends and family is like forgetting the pain of labor when we see their newborn faces.

Someday we will get our thank you.  You know, when our children become parents and realize what they just took for granted all of their lives.

Happy 1st Birthday, Noah!

A year ago today, I went into super fast labor and had baby Noah two hours later.  No drugs.  No calm breathing.  Just chaos.

Funny that a year later, he is still bringing on the chaos.

Noah is hilarious.  Anytime anyone is laughing, he has to be a part of it.  He giggles at everything and finds himself rather amusing.  Now that he is walking around, he looks around expecting us to applaud him everytime.  In fact, he looks a bit insulted if we fail to acknowledge his great accomplishment.

He is also into everything.  He has piles of toys, but for some reason, he is determined to get that bottle of Resolve out from under the sink.  He still finds the dishwasher fascinating and loves to watch the spin cycle on the washing machine.

This year has flown by and I cannot believe my Noah Michael is a one-year old.  Simply amazing.  I love him so much and find myself just watching him in awe.  Perhaps because he is our baby and I want to savor every moment of this time. 

Or because he is so stinkin' cute and fun to watch.

Either way, he is a wonderful blessing in our lives and I cannot imagine our family without him.

Some Abby And Calebisms

-Caleb was picking on his sister while eating dinner and I said, "Caleb, stop being such a bum."  He replied, "For the record, I am not a bum."

Oh.  Well, excuse me.  I thought we were off the record.

-While riding home from his soccer game, Caleb was talking about a particular play in his game.  He explained what he saw and said, "It was unbelievable!"

Hearing his excitment over a three-on-three boy's soccer game where the boys do more laughing than playing was pretty cute.

-Nick was teasing Abby about how toys really come alive while we are gone.  She argued that they did not, but Nick kept insisting that they did.  Abby said to him, "Daddy, if you really think that happens and you are 32 years old, then you are insane."

She also went on and said, "You know that's for kids, right?"

Funny that she is so above the Toy Story idea, considering this is the same girl who rings the bell and knocks on the door before we get in our house, to warn the toys to go back to their places.

Happy 7th Birthday

Seven years?  My Abby has really been around for seven years?

Seven is one of those ages that has always seemed to mark a significant point in life.  No longer a baby or a toddler or a pre-schooler, but an actual kid.  Abby is not just a cute little girl, but a kid.  I cannot think of another word to describe the age, but "kid." 

Eventually, she will grow into a more detailed age.  Pre-teen.  Not looking forward to that.  Or the teen years.

But, I am skipping ahead.  Today, my little Abby turned seven-years old and I love her more every day.

She is doing so well in 1st grade.  She enjoys her friends and has such a heart for people.  Her favorite things to do when she gets home is to play with her dolls, especially her American Girl dolls, and to read.  Gone are the days of reading little books.  She flies through her American Girl chapter books and her library books.  She has been working on my collection of Little House on the Prairie books.  She keeps asking to read Harry Potter.  Sorry, Abby, in a few more years.

The girl is also loving soccer.  I know it is early in her career, but I see her as a great mid-fielder.  She already talks about wanting to play in the World Cup. 

Abby is also really sweet with her brothers.  Okay, I will be honest.  She is really sweet with Noah.  She tolerates Caleb.  I do not have the heart to break it to her that Noah will eventually bug her just like Caleb does.  I will enjoy her tender heart toward Noah as long as I can.

I have been blessed with such a dear, little girl.  Happy 7th Birthday, Abigail Grace.  I love you, sweet girl.

Caleb's 5th Birthday

My little boy is five-years old.  Little Caleb Paul, who is loving life, is actually five.

He got to start his day by having Fruit Loops for breakfast.  Not exactly the breakfast of champions, but a treat that helped him out of bed.  The words "fruit loops" actually motivated his usually tired and grumpy self out of bed with me only having to call his name three times instead of ten.

I stopped by his pre-school class to deliver his birthday treat.  His entire class was very excited about their pumpkin shaped cookies and I am sure his teachers were even more thrilled about the sugar.  A bunch of four-year olds hyped up on sugar-sounds perfect.

He also had another surprise in store.  His daddy picked him up from school.  Not only that, his daddy then took him to meet me at LaRosa's for lunch.  He was pretty excited.

Dinner was of his choosing so of course he chose the dinner of champions-hot dogs.  Anything in the world to eat and that is what he chose.  Sounds perfect.

Add on some Wii, some outdoor baseball, and extra dessert, and I do believe that he had a great day.

Words cannot express how much I love this boy.  He has his irrational moments (especially in competitve situations), but who doesn't?  He is full of energy and love.  He will swing the baseball bat around the house one moment, then sit and draw a picture for me in the next moment.  He is a wonderful big brother to Noah and loyal to his friends.  He is so close to reading, does better math than I do, and loves to learn.

And all of my faithful readers love his Calebisms.  The child is never boring.

Happy Birthday, sweet Caleb.  You have blessed my life is more ways than you will ever know.