Sunday, March 28, 2010

Austin's Anitcs, Again.

If you're a friend of mine on facebook, you recently read this...

Oh Austin, I just don't understand your drive to make me completely INSANE! Why son? Why did you pour a quart of motor oil all over the back of my car?! Why, why, why...

That's right. He poured a quart of motor oil all over the INSIDE of the back of my suburban. Why? I have no idea. I let Austin and Annie play in the car for a minute, while I ran in the house to change my shoes, and grab Annie's soccer stuff. I actually thought to myself...There's nothing in here that he could get in too much trouble with..."

Oh why am I so naieve?

The tiny blessing is that most of the oil landed on the removable carpet pad, and washable things. His coat and blankie, and the stroller took the biggest hit. The stroller may always smell like oil, but it did come clean with some dawn. After some googling, I found the solution to gettting the smell out of the blankie and coat. Muti-purpose orange cleaner! A good soak in that, another wash, and about 5 dryer sheets later, they smell mostly normal!

I know I've said it before, but THIS BOY! Where did he come from?! What do I do with him?! I've decided God made him so stinkin' cute to protect him in times like this. Mind you, he did get in major trouble, but he is still alive. :)

Other antics lately have included scaling the backyard fence in about 1.2 seconds. Seriously, it poses no challnge at all. Also standing on the faucet in the kitchen, and causing it to snap off, making him fall to the tile floor ON HIS HEAD. And yet, he was fine!

Someday I will understand, right?

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Our Mini-Vacation!

Our Spring Break was last week, and we decided to take a little mini-vaca to the big city of St. Louis! In the effort of keepin' it real, I am providing a bit of commentary on my own pictures. What you actually see, and the story BEHIND the picture. A peek, if you will, into what is really happening, and what I was thinking. Enjoy!

The first thing we did in St. Louis was SWIM! I think the kids were the most excited, and had the most fun, at the indoor pool at the hotel. But did I get any pics of that? Nope. There were a lot of kids swimming, and I was afraid that my camera wouldn't make it out alive. The kids had a blast at the pool though, and Annie loved the hot tub! The next day we went to the Zoo!

The St. Louis Zoo is incredible, and is always a favorite with my family! Apparently some other people like it too, because they had record crowds the day we went, and we got to park about 3/4 of a mile away, and hike to the zoo. We made it though!

Here's sweet Annie, making good friends with a Chimpanzee! (back story: There were CROWDS of people around us at this point, and I had to fight my way through to get this pic. I heard several people comment about "that chimp and that cute little girl!")


My three sweet darlings at the zoo! (back story: It took three tries to get them all three to look at me, and this is the only picture I got of them all together the entire trip!)


Ellie eating Dippin' Dots! (back story: She was so happy Daddy let her get this treat! She deserved it though, she was quite a trooper this day, and never complained!)

Ellie at the Mississippi River and the Arch! (back story: Ellie really wanted to see the river and the arch. I love that she is interested in the things she's learning about at school! Shortly after this however, she had her toughest moment of the trip in a crowded restaurant. We got through it though, and I was proud of her for being able to work it out.)


The Magic House! Another favorite of my kids! This was the first time we'd been there since they added on, and WOW, it's even more incredible now! This was in the new part, it's the Beanstalk from "Jack and the Beanstalk!" The kids LOVED it! (back story: This thing became my nightmare! We couldn't get Austin out a couple of times, and had to send Ellie in after him. Annie never wanted to leave it, and got mad when we made her. She retaliated by disappearing a few minutes later, and we found her back here. She got in MAJOR trouble for that little stunt. Ellie liked it, but I could tell that it was major sensory overload for her, and yet I couldn't keep her out of the darned thing! She did fine while we were there, but afterwards was edgy and grumpy.)


Austin LOVED the Magic House! He did really well overall, and that made me so happy! (back story: Really, he did great! Mommy however, was in a bit of a grumpy mood this day. I blame it on not sleeping well the night before. Which may have had something to do with the fact that my sweet husband thought a hammock was a good idea for an extra bed in the hotel room. It wasn't.)



We got to see this sweet little two week old baby! Our good friends Matt and Gina are proud new parents! We were thrilled to meet this little guy, and spend a little time with his great parents. He is a DOLL! (back story: Gina, you are a brave, brave woman for inviting our circus over to your house! I hope we didn't stress you too much! Thanks for letting us meet your sweet baby!)

On our way home we visited another favorite place, Purina Farms! They had their Easter Village set up in the barn loft, complete with all kinds of baby animals the kids could pet! The girls were fascinated with this gosling! (back story: I couldn't keep Ellie away from the baby animals. She was in heaven.)


"What baby animals? LOOK! TRACTORS!" (back story: Austin quickly lost interest in anything but the tractors!)


And the Grand Finale? A CAT THAT DID TRICKS!!! His name was Friskie, and he was 5 months old. I was impressed! (back story: Ellie now wants to be a vet AND and cat trainer. She was beyond excited!)


I will say we had our ups and downs. Our kids are never easy kids, but on the whole, I am VERY proud of how they all did! It was a great getaway! We've done this trip before, almost three years ago! If you want a little peek into the past, and you have an extra 10 minutes, click here to see my post from that trip. (It's kind of long!) My how the kids have grown and things have changed!

Happy Spring Everyone!

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Spring Soccer 2010

It's Spring soccer time again! Our little Annie is starting to get a little more aggressive...a little. :)
 




Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Some days...

Some days are Good. Some days are Great! And then there are days like yesterday, days when I think…REALLY??

Yesterday was scheduled to be a good day, maybe even great. Ellie had a swimming lesson, then we were headed to Wacky World again, this time with all three kiddos. Also we were meeting Grammie to do a little Easter outfit shopping. Ellie had OT, and then all 3 kids were going home to Grammie and Grandaddy’s house for the night! Yay!

BUT (there’s always a BUT with my family!) before we left the house, Austin decided to change the plans. He climbed through the little “window” from the living room, to the kitchen. He loves to do that, and usually he’s quite good at it. Yesterday though, I guess he decided to stand on the faucet. I didn’t see it, but I heard it…BOOM.

It broke.

He fell.

On his head, on the tile floor. Oh mercy me. I really expected blood. But no, Mr. Hard Head only had a small bump. Thank you God, once again, for protecting my son’s head.

So after I watched him for awhile, and decided he was okay, we finally made it out the door, late. We missed swimming lessons, but went on to Wacky World. We arrived, and the kids were off! They were having a blast, Grammie arrived, and everything seemed to be going pretty good.
UNTIL…I decided to be a “young and fun” mom, and follow Austin through one of the bouncy thingies. I was doing okay, until we reached the climbing wall. I told Austin to go on without me, but he insisted “Mommy, COME ON!”

So I did.

Then I fell.

Ouch.

Turns out, even though they are air filled cushions, they can still hurt. My ankles folded under me, and a few hours later, I was in a LOT of pain. Both ankles were throbbing, and I could barely put weight on my right foot. I was actually pretty scared because it was hurting so badly. After I got the kids settled with Grammie, I made it home, driving with my left foot, and cruise control.

After soaking both ankles in ice water, taking a good dose of medicine, and eating a delicious dinner my sweet husband made for me, I was feeling a little better. And today, I was able to walk semi-normally. Which is a good thing, considering we are going on a little family vacation tomorrow, and I had a lot to do today!

So, I guess I'm "Not as young as I used to be." At least that's what my mom and my dad told me. Nothing like your own parents reminding you of that.

Here's hoping for a nice, uneventful, mini-vacation for us. Where I don't lose a camera.

A girl can dream...

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Wacky Fun!

When I was younger, and dreamed of the day that I would have beautiful, perfect children of my own, I envisioned days of peaceful playtime, and fun excursions to exciting places...

Then I had Ellie! When she was a one year old, we joined our local Mops group, and began fulfilling our destiny. We started going to playgroups, and Kindermusik. It was just like I'd imagined...

Then I had Annie! Things got a little tougher, but we managed. We continued with Mops, I even served on the steering team for a few years. We went to two Kindermusik classes, one for each girl. It was more hectic than I imagined it would be, and my energy started to dwindle a little...

Then I had Austin! And all of a sudden it hit me, I was exhausted. Ellie started school, we struggled to make it to Kindermusik and Mops. Soon I decided I liked being home more, it was just easier. Our days of exciting adventures wiped me out, and made me cranky. As Austin grew, and became, well...Austin!...I found there were very few places that could handle his level of energy. Throw in Ellie's sensory issues, and well, I became Hermit Mom.

Okay, maybe not Hermit Mom, but close! I pretty much stick to activities that will be easy, and with my small group of friends who don't judge. :) When I venture out of my comfort zone, I'm usually met with looks. You know, the ones from people who either haven't reached my stage of life yet, or have forgotten how it was. The dreams of perfect children, and endless days of exciting activities have become the running joke of my friends and I. Obviously real life with real kids is much harder than we thought it would be!

But something came over me the other morning. Something I hadn't felt since the girls were little. A restless stirring to do something, dare I say....Fun? I hopped online and after a bit of research, packed those little kids of mine up, and we headed to the "big city" to play!

We found a great indoor inflatables place called Wacky World Kidz. Their location was great, a straight shot from our town, and their hours and prices were great too. We called Grammie on our way out the door, and she said she'd be in town anyway, so she'd stop by and play too! More fun!

We hit the door, and POOF they were off!

They ran, they climbed...


They jumped, they played...


They slid down giant slides and smiled...


They were moving so fast I could barely take pictures!


They even played air hockey...


She might be a bit competitive...


They wore themselves out! Yay!


It was a really fun day. I am so glad I didn't squelch that feeling to go and do something fun. I am so glad to have had a day somewhat like the ones I imagined, it's been awhile! Since Austin was born, life has been much harder. He's been more than "just one more." Lately I feel like we're coming, albeit slowly, out of the fog. I feel like I can handle a bit more, not a lot, but just enough to give me hope that things will get easier! And I'm so glad to have found a fun indoor play place, we'll definitely be going back!

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Little Hands, Big Voices!

Tuesday night was Annie's preschool program, Little Hands, Big Voices. Those sweet preschoolers stood up and sang like little angels! And no, of course I'm not biased! Ha! There's sweet Annie Grace with the yellow sweater and bow, sitting with her sweet class of friends!


They also showed off their marvelous artwork! Seriously, I think we have the most talented children here in our little town. Again, no bias. :) Here's a little sample of Annie's work...


I love seeing these sweet kids preform together. I love this sweet school. I just loved last night! Me and my sweet girl...(and that's Ellie and Nana in the background :)


And I love this great teacher! Mrs. B has taught both my girls, both years they went to preschool. She's been a wonderful influence on them, and me!

What a wonderful way to spend an evening!

Monday, March 1, 2010

The conundrums of motherhood...

I have sick kids today. Well, one sick kid, and one that was sick, but is apparently better, since he's had the energy of 10 wild animals today.

Poor Ellie. She really is sick. She's spent 1/2 the day in the bathroom, and the other half on a couch or in bed. (She's gonna love me for writing that someday.) I did see her walking a little just a few minutes ago, so she may be on the upswing...And that's good...right?

You see, I have a bit of a conundrum. A dilemma, if you will. I want my children to be healthy. But when they're sick, well, they're much easier! For instance, last week Austin had an ear infections in both ears, and for four glorious hours, he laid still. He snuggled with me, he was calm, he was sweet. As soon as the meds kicked in, he was back to his normal crazy mischief. Today with Ellie has been calm and quiet. No fights, no arguments, just a sweet girl needing her mama.

So I do want her well...just maybe not until tomorrow. :)

Austin on the other hand, stayed home "sick" because he was sick last night. Today, however, has been an entirely different story. Today Austin...

Put a hole in the wall with a screwdriver, dumped a box of tiny nerds candies in the playroom, climbed on the counters approximately 214 times in an hour, dumped a box of crayons on the floor, colored on his sisters nightgown (which she retaliated and colored on his pj's..fun.), tried to swing from the chandelier in the dining room, and dumped a large pitcher of freshly, perfectly made iced tea, all over the kitchen counter and floor.

So, can you see where I am coming from?

Yeah, I think you do!