Happy Birthday My Boy!

I am no longer the mother of a one year old.

My baby, sweet Austin, turned two years old last Sunday.

We had a nice little, and by little I mean un-stressful, family party. We all gathered 'round for Austin to open his gifts.


That went well at first. He LOVED this broom toy that his Great-Grandma Ellie gave him. Someday his wife is going to have quite a helper in the sweeping department. This boy loves brooms!


After he opened the first couple of presents, he lost all interest in opening any more. So mommy stepped in and helped him with the rest. Here he is with another favorite, a bat that daddy and his sisters picked out for him.


Nana made him a beautiful growth chart. She's made them for all the kids, and I love plotting their progress on them. It seems crazy to think that one day he'll actually grow to the top of it! However, according to the doctor last week, he will. Our boy is in the 90th percentile for height! CRAZY! Dr. Z said he'll probably be well over 6 ft tall. Oh my goodness. That scares me!


Oh, and notice in the picture above how he's already using the broom as a weapon. Yeah. We've had to take it away. Several times. It's currently residing on top of the refrigerator. So far he hasn't climbed up there yet.

Yet.

I made him a road/car cake. It turned out pretty cute, and he wasn't scared of it. Last year he was scared of his cake, poor boy! Anyway, I really liked how it turned out, and it was easy, which is even better!


So, he's two. Which really is fitting. He's been acting two for awhile now. Throwing fits when we buckle him into the car...I know, can you believe it? I mean look at this face!



It gets me every time! He does something insane, and I get all mad, and then he just smiles at me. And I melt.

He's full of energy and curiosity. He's full of LIFE.

And he's getting so big. And so strong. And sometimes my heart just feels like it can't take it anymore. I want to hold him tightly and keep him from growing up anymore. I want to make time stand still so I can soak him up. As crazy as this age is, I feel like I already miss it.

Okay, I have to stop that. I'm making myself cry.

Happy Birthday sweet boy of mine. Have fun being a two year old. Just don't drive your mama too crazy.

Okay?

I love you!

Blessings

Well, Austin turned two. (more on that later)

And then I got sick.

Really sick.

Monday morning I woke up feeling a little nauseous. Assuming the feeling would pass, I got up and helped Ellie get ready for school. Soon after she and daddy walked out the door, I realized I was actually feeling a little worse. So I layed back down, again assuming the sick feeling would pass. I definitely didn't have time to be sick that day. Besides putting my house back together from the previous days festivities, and taking Annie to gymnastics, I was also set to volunteer at Ellie's school for the book fair that afternoon.

Annie woke up, and I gave up on straightening up the house, in hopes that a little more rest would make the sick feeling go away. Not so much. I began to realize that it was turning into some sort of stomach flu type thing. And then I remembered how Austin had thrown up all over me, two nights before, and it dawned on me that I might have been blessed by some of those germs. By the time Austin woke up I was in pretty rough shape, and I finally decided to call for help.

This is where I have to say that I am a very blessed person. When I decided to call for help, I knew I had a list, a long list, of family and friends who would help me in any way they could. I have the best family and friends in the world. Really and Truly.

My mom was the first call. I cried on the phone to her. (How come I can always hold in together until I talk to my mom?) The thought of Ellie showing up to the book fair that I had promised her I'd be at, only to find me not there was just ripping me apart. I knew if I couldn't be there, that Grammie would be a great substitute. Or even better than me, as it turned out. :) She dropped her plans and immediately came to rescue me. When she walked in the door, I knew everything would be okay. She went into action, cleaning up the messes Austin had already made that morning. Doing dishes. Feeding my children. Austin literally ran to her when she arrived, just melting into her, which isn't really like him. It's as if he knew mommy wasn't able to take care of him, and that Grammie could. And after all that, she went to the book fair in my place, so that Ellie wouldn't be disappointed.

My second call was to my mom-in-law. She was already planning to come over that afternoon, to watch Annie and Austin while I went to the book fair. I called to let her know I was sick, and that mom was taking my place at school that afternoon. But that I still needed her help, Tremendously. She came shortly after my mom, and also went into action. When mom left, Nana stayed. By that time I was so out of it, I could barely talk or think. At some point I realized Nana had taken the kids outside. Then she fed them. She put Austin down for a nap. She watched a movie with Annie. She folded my laundry.

Because of these two incredible women, I was able to sleep and rest all day.

My sweet mom-in-law stayed until Jason came home. By that time I was starting to feel a little human again. Jason was also Wonderful to me that night. He fed the kids dinner, and readied them for bed. I barely moved from my recliner all evening.

And Tuesday morning, I felt Fantastic.

Seriously.

You know how usually it takes a couple of days to really feel normal again, after you've had the stomach flu? At least it usually takes me a few days. But not this time. I felt incredible. Energetic in fact. It was the weirdest thing! But this is what I think, I got to rest. Really rest and sleep, and let my body heal, all day long. That's an incredible thing for a mom of young ones. An incredibly rare thing! And I think it's because of all that rest that I was so much better so fast.

So, all that to say...

THANK YOU!

Thank You to my mom and mom-in-law. Without you two, I don't know what I would have done!!! Well, I probably would have started calling my friends...so I guess I should thank you for them too! :)

And Thank You to my sweet husband. You were great at taking care of me and the kids that night. You've come a long way baby!

And one more Thank You to God. For giving me such a wonderful support network of family and friends to call on when I'm in need.

I am very, very blessed.

Austin's Antics...

Ready for another one?

He can climb out of his crib quite well now. He doesn't do it all the time, there really is no rhyme or reason to when he does it, just sometimes.

A few days ago, I layed him down for a nap. At the time I wasn't sure he was really quite ready to sleep or not, but I went ahead and put him down. A bit later I was sure that he was out of bed. Through the baby monitor I could hear a lot of noises. Noises that sounded like a little guy on the move. However, he was still confined to his room, and I had a LOT to get done in the short amount of time that I knew I had. So, I made the executive decision to just let him be. Assuming that whatever damage occurred in his room, would be far less than if he had the entire house to explore while I worked.

A little while later I heard nothing.

Hmmm, I thought, I wonder if he really WAS out of bed, or if he just climbed back in and went to sleep?

Did I go check?

Well no, that would just be crazy.

Because he was finally asleep, and I knew if I checked on him there was a significant possibility that he would wake up.

Not worth it.

A couple of blissfully quiet hours later, he woke up, and I went to get him.

The first thing I noticed when I arrived at the door to his room, was that the light was on. I knew then that he had definitely been out of his bed, because he can't reach the light switch (anymore) from his bed. The second thing I noticed was the door, it was locked. It's just one of those push button locks, and of course if he sees a button, he must push it. I keep a little key for it above his door, and I easily unlocked it and started to open the door. That's when I met with some resistance. At first I thought it was him, but then I realized it was the ottoman from across his room. Ahh, I thought, that's how he got to the light switch. There were clothes from his dresser scattered here and there, but other than that, not much damage. Austin was in his bed. He'd obviously just woken up. That's when I realized he'd done all this BEFORE he slept. Sweet boy. He'd napped with his light on! What a nut. That's the end of that story, but get ready, there's a part two, and it's a doozy...

I feel the need to issue a warning of sorts right now. Part two gets, well, a little stinky...if you get my drift. If you're not a fan of the stinky, then you might want to move on. But for me, this is life. And if I'm keepin' it real on my blog, then this goes with the territory.

A couple of days ago, I was getting ready for a shower, when I heard Austin wake up. As the mother of three, showers are a blessing, and I really needed one that day. Again, I made the executive decision to let him be, so I could get cleaned up. Again, I knew he was out of bed at some point, but he was playing happily, and I took advantage of that. An hour later I went to get him. This time the first thing that greeted me was a smell.

I opened the door.

I about fainted.

Austin was on the other side of his room this time.

Naked.

No PJ's, No Diaper.

And of course, he'd p**ped.

I'm sorry.

It was EVERYWHERE.

The floor, the chair, a stuffed animal, his blankie, Him. And completely covering a plastic toy tool box, that sadly, went straight to the trash.

He'd had quite the time.

I carried him, at arms length, to the bathtub. After I cleaned him, and secured him in his booster seat, I went back to the depths of despair. It took about 20 minutes to clean it all up. I have never before been so thankful for wood floors and a leather chair. Washable surfaces are my friend. After I disinfected his room, I opened his window, turned on his ceiling fan, and shut the door. A few hours later it smelled normal again.

Heaven's to Betsy! (I have no idea where that came from, but it popped into my head.)

So there is the latest of Austin's Antics. Who knows what he has up his sleeve next?!

Rainy day fun

Shelley

You should have been there.

If you would have been at our local Wal-Mart Super Center today from 4:10-4:40pm, this is what you would have seen...

Me, a bit tired from not a lot of sleep, with my 3 kids in tow.

Ellie, a lot tired from not a lot of sleep, and a busy day at school.

Annie, a bit tired from a busy morning.

Austin, a lot tired from missing a nap today.

You would have heard my girls begging me for a "treat" aka: a new toy, if they would be good for me while we got the 5 things on my list.

Obviously I'm not above bribery.

You would have seen my girls have their first fight just inside the first set of doors, over who would sit where in the "big" cart.

You would have heard their screams when I informed them they had just lost any hope of a "treat."

You would have heard Ellie start begging for "JUST ONE MORE CHANCE!!!"

You would have watched me drag myself through the store with a crying six and half year old, THE ENTIRE TIME.

You would have seen at least one more of my kids crying along with her. Which one it was varied.

At times it was all three.

You would have seen MANY dirty looks from strangers.

You would have seen my very tired, very stern face.

You would have seen my son wiggle out of the restraint straps, and climb out of the moving cart.

More than once.

You would have seen the check-out lady move VERY quickly to get us out of her line.

Especially after Austin tried to climb onto the conveyor belt.

And you would have seen the look of relief on the store managers face as we exited his store.

Okay, so I made that last one up. But it's entirely probable.

And WHY did I do this to myself?

Hangers and Safety Pins.

That's it.

I needed them tonight, for a children's clothing sale I'm participating in, and yes, I've waited until the last minute to get ready for this thing.

And I knew it.

I knew what I was in for as soon as I got the kids out of the car at Wal-Mart.

But sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.

And now I need to apologize to anyone who was in Wal-Mart today.

I'm sorry. I'd say it won't happen again, but there's a good chance that it will.

Two down, one to go!

Four years ago, when Annie was born just after the cut-off date to start preschool last year, I was frustrated.

Two years ago when Austin was born, I was even more frustrated that I couldn't send her off sooner.

At the time I was overwhelmed at the thought of three kids, ages four and under. It wasn't what I'd planned for.

As time went by, and my sweet Annie bloomed into a beautiful young girl, I started to be okay with her being home with me for one more year. And soon I wasn't just okay with it, but quite happy.

Had she been born 16 days earlier, she would've started preschool last year. And I would have missed having just her and Austin all to myself for that year. We had a great year. Now, looking back, I realize that it would have been a lot harder for her had she gone to preschool a year earlier. She's a tiny little thing, she's quiet, she most likely would have felt overwhelmed. This past year she's matured, she's grown a lot, and she has a certain confidence about herself that I just adore.

And yesterday she started preschool!

She was SO excited as we got ready for school. She dressed herself, which she does often, except yesterday she said she was doing it because she was "bigger today."

Too cute.

She sweetly posed for pictures outside her school.

As we walked into the building, she started to get a little scared. Lucky for us, Aunt Michelle is a teacher at her school, and we quickly forgot about our fears as we talked to her.

She hung her new Purple Princess Fairy backpack up in the hall by her name, and went into her classroom.

Mrs B. was there to greet her with her very own name tag, and welcome her to this wonderful world of school.

I love Mrs. B. She was Ellie's preschool teacher, and she taught me so much about parenting my strong willed first born.

Annie sat down with a puzzle. Actually, all four of the girls in the class had migrated to the puzzle table. They don't know each other yet, although I know two of the three other girls parents, and they are Wonderful people. I have a feeling they might become close friends.

At first she wanted me to stay with her, but after a couple of minutes she was ready for me to go. I gave her one last hug and kiss, and made my way out of the building.

And then...well then it hit me.

I'm down to one!

Whooo Hooo!

Thanks to Nana, who watched Austin for a little while, I even got a workout in!

It really sunk in when I picked Austin up from Nana's. I was buckling him into his carseat...and then I was ready to go.

Just one.

One to buckle.

Wow.

I can only imagine what it will feel like two years from now, when Annie starts kindergarten, and Austin starts preschool.

Somebody might have to pinch me!