Blogging Break

We're back from our mini-vacation to San Antonio (pictures coming soon...I've got to find the camera first) and now I'm in full time packing mode. The move is set for Saturday and I've still got to pack the kitchen, laundry room, bathroom and our clothes. Unfortunately, those rooms have to be packed fairly last minute since we need to use the things in them up until the very end.

Therefore, as I look at the chaos of moving boxes and packing tape in my living room, I'm going to have to declare a blogging break (not that I blog all that frequently to begin with). I'll be back once we're moved and our internet connection is up and running; in other words, sometime next week.

Until then, enjoy my new blog layout (that's the Houston skyline at the top) and check out some of the blogs I added to my Favorites' List on the left. If you read through a feeder of some kind, you'll have to click to see the new page.

Have a good week, everyone!

***Edited to say to Mommy Daisy that I'll answer her pre-school questions next week!

Sydney

I haven't written about Sydney lately and I think it's about time. It's not that I don't like her or anything (although I could live without the recent whininess and attitude), it's just that she is at school 9 hours each day and I just don't have the opportunity to spend as much time with her as I used to.

Anyway, I've discovered a new tool to add to my arsenal of disciplinary weapons: threatening to talk to her teachers.

First, she left half of her lunch in her thermos last week and when I asked her why she didn't eat it all, I got a teenager's response: "I don't know" and "I didn't have time." So I asked her what her teacher would say if I talked to her about the amount of time they got at lunch. Hysterics ensued. I never did talk to her teacher, but she's eaten her lunch everyday since.

Second, she bragged that she no longer has to have 'rest time' while at school. Consequently, she has been a royal pain in the tookus from about 6 pm onward (bedtime is at 7:30) due to lack of sleep. After a huge meltdown over nothing last night, I threatened to tell her teacher that Sydney still needed 'rest time'. More hysterics ensued and a promise to be nicer followed.

I am so excited about this new weapon, but I know I can't overuse it or it loses all meaning. I hope I can control myself.

Also, Sydney is quite excited about her new, pink room. (I promise to post pictures once her furniture is in place.) We asked her if she was going to miss sharing a room with Liam since they've bunked together since January. She said no, but I have a feeling that she will.

Last night, they played some kind of little game with one another for an hour before falling asleep. I have no idea what it was, but it involved a lot of giggling from both of them and some unidentifiable thumping sounds. They even paged Ryan at the same time: while she sang "Dad-dy, Dad-dy" over and over, Liam contributed "Da-da, Da-da" to the duet in a similar sing-song fashion. Adorable. I'm going to miss hearing that.

At five years old, she's growing up too fast for me. She's starting to phase out all of the princessy things that she's obsessed over for the past 2.5 years and is only two months from starting kindergarten.

Makes me a little sad.

As Promised....

Our new house:




More pictures will follow once furniture has been moved....

All Boy

Things I never thought I'd say:

"You cannot ride the vacuum."

"Eating a spider is probably not a good idea."

"Get your hand out of your diaper, please."

"Please don't lick the bottom of your shoe."

"No! Don't splash in the potty!"

"NO!!!! Don't wash your face with the potty water!"

____________________

House picture coming soon.....I promise!

House!

We now own a house in The Land of Fruit!!!

As soon as we get the keys and do some cleaning and mowing (even though it's supposed to rain tomorrow after a month of drought), I will share some pictures.

The second best news this week is that I am back in my pre-baby clothes! I've lost 20 of my 30 baby-related pounds which is just enough to allow me to squeeze back into non-maternity wear. Bye-bye elastic waisted shorts and big, frumpy shirts!

The rest of our week has been a balancing act of trying to keep Evan awake during his feedings, tending to Liam's ear infection and battling Sydney to eat her entire lunch instead of playing. Who says parenting isn't fun?

And as a consolation for my lack of posting this week (hey - I've had TWO babies on my lap for hours on end), I'll leave you with a photo summary of our lives the past few days:

Ryan as a jungle gym:




Liam after discovering our box of dress-up clothes:




Liam blow drying his curls:




And then eating the blow dryer in true toddler style:




Giving hugs to little brother:




And Evan in his favorite spot:

Updates

1. We survived our day alone. All of us were up, dressed and out the door by 7:45 so that I could drop Sydney off at school and then drop Ryan off at work. Aren't you impressed? It helps that Evan let me have an unprecedented FOUR hours of sleep IN A ROW last night. Let's hope this is a trend and not a coincidence. It also helps that my sister came to visit/hold Evan/entertain Liam/bring me lunch. Talk about a huge help.

2. Sydney is not any taller than she was at her checkup. But we're hoping that the vitamins she's now forced to take will encourage a growth spurt. One can hope, right? Now if they just made a chewable pill for whininess and arguing.....hmmm......

3. Liam is saying a couple of new words so I can add them to the theoretical list that I'm supposed to be making for the pediatrician. He is also recovering from yet another ear infection - his third since March. Poor little guy. He is also being much nicer to Evan which is a huge relief. He is very curious about Evan and likes to touch Evan's nose and then his own nose or touch Evan's ear and then his own ear. He is also quite fond of giving Evan hugs and kisses, although he's a bit rougher than we'd like him to be. But, hey, I'll take rough hugs and kisses over hitting any day.

4. Evan is growing by leaps and bounds. I don't know how much he weighs now, but he's outgrown a couple of his little outfits and a set of pajamas already. He has also decided that all he wants to do in the evening is eat, which is fun for him, but kind of a pain for me since I'd like to do other things with my time, like say take a shower or eat dessert or fold laundry. (OK, maybe I don't WANT to fold laundry, but it still has to get done) BUT, if this non-stop eating means I can get more than two hours of sleep in a row, I'll take it.

5. Our new house.....sigh. We were supposed to close last Thursday, but the paperwork wasn't done. Ditto for Friday. And since the owners have already moved, when the paperwork does get done, it will have to over-nighted for them to sign and then over-nighted back here for us to sign. So who knows when we'll close. We were hoping to move at the end of the month, but if the lazy/stupid/incompetent paperwork people don't do their jobs, it may have to wait until July. They're just lucky that Ryan is the one dealing with them because if I were the one calling them, they would truly understand the wrath of a hormonal, sleep-deprived mother of three who has a very low threshold for laziness and incompetence.

Fear

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." - Franklin D. Roosevelt

Tomorrow is my first day alone with both of the boys and fear is an understatement. Ryan is headed back to work after three weeks at home (two on paternity leave, one "working at home") and I don't know if Liam, Evan and I are going to survive.

Of course, I don't know if it's actually going to be all that horrible or if I'm just anticipating that it's going to be horrible. I warned Ryan that my only goal is survival and to not expect any housework or cooking to be accomplished and he admitted that he'll be happy if we're all still alive when he gets home.

So that's my goal....for all three of us to be alive (not necessarily bathed or out of our pajamas) at 5:30.

Think we can do it?

Say a little prayer for us.

Help Wanted

Wanted: Night Nanny/Wet Nurse

Start Date: Immediately

End Date: When baby is sleeping through the night (optimistic end date: January 2009, pessimistic end date: never)

Duties: To get up and feed 3 week old from the hours of 10 pm to 7 am. Number of feedings per night may vary from two to four. Most nights will require feedings at 11 pm, 1 am, 3 am and 5 am. Nursing is required (no formula for the first two months or so). Cleaning up spit-up after each feeding is required. Speaking English is NOT required, but willingness to change diapers after feedings a plus. Please be aware that the baby is a poop machine and will require several diaper changes each night.

Salary: Negotiable....say room/board/food and our undying affection? Extra ice cream provided in exchange for light (and quiet) housekeeping and laundry services.

Benefits: Unlimited time to sleep during the hours of 7 am until 11 pm (provided you can sleep through newborn and toddler noise all day). All meals provided (we hope you like casseroles and cold cereal). Nursing creams, bras and pads also provided upon request.


Any takers?

Summertime

Although we've had 90 degree temperatures for several weeks now, summer didn't start for us until last weekend.

Sydney and Liam playing in my in-laws' pool over Memorial weekend:






And what's summer without a little playing in the sprinkler?












And even though he's too little to play in the pool or sprinkler, Evan had his own fun in the tub (pics of before and after):






Happy Summer, Everyone!!!!!!