For some reason, I'm having a really nostolgic night tonight. Actually, I know the reasons, and there are several. First of all, I spent the morning with Emily Gilbride, who is 9 months pregnant right now. She is describing every last symptom I felt last fall : the cramps, low pressure, tiredness, and loss of patience(i.e. guilt) she has with the other two kids. I feel bad for her, but at the same time I know, from looking back on it, that my kids didn't suffer as much as I thought they did from that time. I felt so negligent as a mom and during that time, actually they grew in their sibling relationship, as well as by themselves, learning to play and entertain themselves. It's a necessary growing pain that is well, well, well worth it. That 3rd kid is such an amazing addition to the family. It makes it feel like a real family to me- not to say that #2 didn't.... but it's just a 'full cirlce', complete feeling.
Secondly, I talked to Meghan Nowlin a lot today about the end of her pregnancy. In so many ways, I don't want her pregnancy to end because it reminded me so much of that awesome time we had of anticipating Jack's arrival. But of course, I am coming out of my skin with excitement for them. To see two people like Meg and Ryan become parents is beyond exiting. They are so perfect, so ready, so excited themselves.... I keep flashing back to the days before Jack was born. I remember them so well- which is so uncharacteristic of me! Tommy and I were on pins and needles, always waiting for SOMETHING to happen, but not knowing WHAT!? I felt so anxious to be a mom and be DONE with being pregnant.. but at the same time, really at peace and just knew things were going to go smoothly. I know it was Ali at my side the whole time. It was great to be close to her then. I know the Nowlin's have a few guardian angels by their side like I did and Baby Nowlin is going to just glide into the world on their wings. It's so, so so exciting.
On the skirts of thinking about Jack being born, I gave that kid a bath tonight. I used to sit down, indian-style and plop him down in front of me to put lotion on him and jammie him up. Tonight, I put him down and went to put lotion on his face. I had to lean over and stretch away from me to reach him!! He's sooooo tall all of a sudden. I don't know what happened and it sent me into a panic attack that he's getting too old and going to leave for college. This, on top of the fact that he's blasting homerun balls out of our yard when we play baseball, his new favorite thing is riding his two-wheeler (with training wheels, but he's getting so good that I'm thinking about taking them off!), and he has an adult-style appreciation of music (asking for Tommy to play some ColdPlay for him tonight, and knew all the words). I don't know how 3 1/2 years passed this quickly, and more importantly, how he has learned so much in that time. He never ceases to amaze me.
Claire and Finn were over at bath time tonight and we decided to give Finn and ANnie a bath together. Finn did not enjoy it, as it was his first introduction to a big-boy bathtub and a LOUD one at that!! All of his cousins were 'helping' and I can only imagine how overwhelming it was for the little guy!!! In the midst of the upset, Jack decided that 'I need to take some pictures of this!!" and told us to "Wait a minute! My camera is downstairs!" He ran down to get his own camera and ended up taking some decent ad pretty funny pictures to hold on to to commemorate the event!! :)
Annie is also jumping ahead by leaps and bounds lately. In the past two weeks, we have taken her off her pepcid prescription and she is doing great- eating at least 5 or 6 oz. a feeding. SHe's starting to sleep through the night, at least the last few nights... I'm sure now that I'm writing this, she will be up all night toingiht!! :) SHe's getting on a decent napping/ sleeping schedule, if I am good about keeping her on it (i.e. not schlepping her around the city all morning, so she can sleep!).
By the end of the day, her little tops of her feet are black from crawling on my eternally dirty floors. She is everywhere, pulling herself up on chairs, tables, gnawing on chairs and toys and anything she can reach. SHe continues to think Jack and Mallie are the most hilarious people on Earth and enjoys to maul Finn any chance she gets.
THis weekend she popped up with a couple great new tricks. First, she started clapping. I've been waiting fo this one. It's so great. ANd she's sooooo happy with herself when she' doing it, which makes it that much more reason to clap!!! She is starting to clap when you say, 'Yeaaa!', too. THen, yesterday, she did the 'arms up' motion for ' How big is Annie!??" twice! Again, she's very happpy with herself, but we need a little more practice. She also is waving witha full arm up and down motion when you say 'Hiiiiii Annie!!!" She has also actually said "Ahhhhh!" (which I interpret as 'Hi!"while she does this, but mostly only when Jack tries to get her to do it. Again, this needs more practice, but she is definatley getting it!!
Mallie is also starting to be a 'big girl', too,as she reminds us constantly. The other day we were on a walk and she saw an American flag hanging on a tree. SHe looked back at me said said, "look Mommy! A America Tree!!"
She is saying the following ALL the time: "Watch this Mommy!", "Not Again!!!" (said this today when I took out her xylophone instead of her cat keyboard that she wanted...as though I do that ALL the time!!), " "What's that called Mommy?", and "What did you say MommY?" These are all great questions for her to know and will teach her lots of things... even though she asks them a million times a day! :) It makes me sick that she's going to be 2 years old next week. My kids are growin up!!! CRAZY!!
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Sunday, July 12th, 2009
This marks the end of one of the busiest, most fun weekends I have had in a long time. It just so happens that I have barely seen my children since Friday afternoon, as well. Coincidence? I'll let you decide! :) Molly and Scott Martin got married yesterday. I was lucky enough to be a part of their wedding as a bridesmaid. So Tommy and I were invited to the rehearsal dinner Friday night. My parents, Uncle Crabby, cousins Ian and Jason, Claire and Finn all chipped in to baby-sitt. Yesterday, everyone dropped me off at Farrell's at 8:30 a.m. Tommy then dropped Jack off at my parents' house so Papa could take him to soccer (which ended up being cancelled). Then he took Annie to Claire's while he went to swim lessons with Mallie. After collecting everyone back at home, he got them ready to spend the afternoon with Meghan Nowlin (who is a trooper to volunteer her service being 8 months pregnant) and Uncle Brian. At 4 p.m. the shift change occured when Hannah, Tommy, Lauren and Emily arrived to stay with the kids for the remainder of the evening. When they say that it 'takes a village', they aren't kidding- especially in this case. I write all of this both to remember all the sweet people that helped this weekend, and because I feel so lucky to have such an unbelievable support system in place that help nurture our kids. I barely had to ask any of these people to help- they jumped on it as soon as they caught wind that we were going to the wedding and had such a marathon weekend ahead. I was able to completely let go and focus on my friend on her happy day without any concern that something might be wrong at home.
Yesterday afternoon, Emily, Lauren and Tommy took the kids for a walk to Bohlken Park. On the way, Jack noticed a statue of Jesus in someone's front yard. This started a whirlwind of questions including, "Who is that?", "Do we love Jesus?", "Why do we love Jesus?", "If God is already in heaven, then where will he go when he gets old and dies?", etc. Emily, wisely steered clear of answering these and let Lauren field them instead- seemingly to Jack's content. At the park, the kids went on the swings and Emily was telling them, "Yeaaaa! The swings! Aren't they fun? Don't we just love the swings?" Jack replied at the top of his voice, "YEAAA!! WE LOVE THE SWINGS AND WE LOOOOOVE JEEEESUS!!!!"
The other day I took all the kids on what normally would have been a quick trip to Target. There were several meltdown and blatant, in-mom's-face misbehavior. On the way home, I stopped to get myself a coffee at the Dunkin Donuts drivethru. As we waited in line, Jack continuously asked, "Mom, can I get a donut??" and I continuously answered him, "No, your behavior was ridiculous in Target and you're not getting a treat." When we pulled up to the speaker to order, I rolled down my window. Before I could open my mouth to order, Jack was yelling from his carseat in the way-back of the van, "YEAH! UMMMM- COULD I GET A DONUT PLEASE??? A DONUT WITH HOLES IN IT!?" I don't think they heard him, so they really must have thought I was a kook when I pulled up to pay with tears of laughter in my eyes and unable to speak to them!
Tommy "put Jack to sleep" the other night while I finished watching my show on T.V. When I came up for bed, Jack and Tommy were laying in our bed flipping between boxing and rugby on T.V. Tommy said he had tried to get him to sleep. But as soon as Tommy laid down in our bed, he heard Jack calling for him saying, "Ummmm...DAD!? Ummm... I'm having a rough day in here!!!"
Mallie's temper tantrums have been getting pretty lengthy and outlandish lately. I think we're hitting our terrible 2's. The other day, she screamed for 1/2 hour because she wanted to leave her tennis shoes outside. Others involved not wanting to stop washing her hands or brush her teeth. And most recently because Tommy borrowed my flipflops to take the trash out. There is nothing to do but ignore these, but they are becoming fierce. We had to take her to Costco the other day with her face full of red blotches and her eyes all puffy.
When Jack is trying to be a part of an adult conversation or tell an adult a story, he jumps into a new persona. He uses his hands alot more, takes his time getting his story out (because he really enjoys the attention on himself) and uses the phrase, "it was like..." a whole lot.
Jack was giving us a piano concert this week. As he banged on the keys, he sang, "OOOOHH Patty!!!! (our next door neighbor) I think your cuuuuuuuuuute!!! I love you!!!!!"
Before 8 a.m. yesterday Birdie girl had: a full-blown tantrum because she had finished brushing her teeth and didn't want the water turned off, emptied her entire pajama drawer, and smeared 1/2 tube of Desitin all over her face.
Tommy was driving the kids today after rushing out of the house without Jack's glasses. From the backseat, Jack called, "So, Dad, we decided to go without the glasses today?" And Tommy said, "Yes." To which Jack replied, "Hmmmm.... that's interesting."
Annie is becoming a force to be reckoned with. She is EVERYWHERE and can get there quickly. Her newest trick is to stand on her feet and hands as though she is about to do the bear walk. It is still so strange for me to see her do these thing, even crawl. I always marvel at how strong she is getting and how quickly it's coming along! I honestly believe she'll be walking in a month.
When I put Annie to bed at night, I lay her on her side in the crib. She take her little hand that is free and rubs the sheet next to her, up and down, up and down up and down, really fast. It's her little comfort move that helps her calm down at the end of the day.
Yesterday afternoon, Emily, Lauren and Tommy took the kids for a walk to Bohlken Park. On the way, Jack noticed a statue of Jesus in someone's front yard. This started a whirlwind of questions including, "Who is that?", "Do we love Jesus?", "Why do we love Jesus?", "If God is already in heaven, then where will he go when he gets old and dies?", etc. Emily, wisely steered clear of answering these and let Lauren field them instead- seemingly to Jack's content. At the park, the kids went on the swings and Emily was telling them, "Yeaaaa! The swings! Aren't they fun? Don't we just love the swings?" Jack replied at the top of his voice, "YEAAA!! WE LOVE THE SWINGS AND WE LOOOOOVE JEEEESUS!!!!"
The other day I took all the kids on what normally would have been a quick trip to Target. There were several meltdown and blatant, in-mom's-face misbehavior. On the way home, I stopped to get myself a coffee at the Dunkin Donuts drivethru. As we waited in line, Jack continuously asked, "Mom, can I get a donut??" and I continuously answered him, "No, your behavior was ridiculous in Target and you're not getting a treat." When we pulled up to the speaker to order, I rolled down my window. Before I could open my mouth to order, Jack was yelling from his carseat in the way-back of the van, "YEAH! UMMMM- COULD I GET A DONUT PLEASE??? A DONUT WITH HOLES IN IT!?" I don't think they heard him, so they really must have thought I was a kook when I pulled up to pay with tears of laughter in my eyes and unable to speak to them!
Tommy "put Jack to sleep" the other night while I finished watching my show on T.V. When I came up for bed, Jack and Tommy were laying in our bed flipping between boxing and rugby on T.V. Tommy said he had tried to get him to sleep. But as soon as Tommy laid down in our bed, he heard Jack calling for him saying, "Ummmm...DAD!? Ummm... I'm having a rough day in here!!!"
Mallie's temper tantrums have been getting pretty lengthy and outlandish lately. I think we're hitting our terrible 2's. The other day, she screamed for 1/2 hour because she wanted to leave her tennis shoes outside. Others involved not wanting to stop washing her hands or brush her teeth. And most recently because Tommy borrowed my flipflops to take the trash out. There is nothing to do but ignore these, but they are becoming fierce. We had to take her to Costco the other day with her face full of red blotches and her eyes all puffy.
When Jack is trying to be a part of an adult conversation or tell an adult a story, he jumps into a new persona. He uses his hands alot more, takes his time getting his story out (because he really enjoys the attention on himself) and uses the phrase, "it was like..." a whole lot.
Jack was giving us a piano concert this week. As he banged on the keys, he sang, "OOOOHH Patty!!!! (our next door neighbor) I think your cuuuuuuuuuute!!! I love you!!!!!"
Before 8 a.m. yesterday Birdie girl had: a full-blown tantrum because she had finished brushing her teeth and didn't want the water turned off, emptied her entire pajama drawer, and smeared 1/2 tube of Desitin all over her face.
Tommy was driving the kids today after rushing out of the house without Jack's glasses. From the backseat, Jack called, "So, Dad, we decided to go without the glasses today?" And Tommy said, "Yes." To which Jack replied, "Hmmmm.... that's interesting."
Annie is becoming a force to be reckoned with. She is EVERYWHERE and can get there quickly. Her newest trick is to stand on her feet and hands as though she is about to do the bear walk. It is still so strange for me to see her do these thing, even crawl. I always marvel at how strong she is getting and how quickly it's coming along! I honestly believe she'll be walking in a month.
When I put Annie to bed at night, I lay her on her side in the crib. She take her little hand that is free and rubs the sheet next to her, up and down, up and down up and down, really fast. It's her little comfort move that helps her calm down at the end of the day.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Monday, July 6th, 2009
AHHHHHH!!!!! It's 10:15 pm and Mallie and Jack are STILL awake upstairs. I have, at this time, put Mallie back into bed 5 times. Tommy has done it once. I am SLOWLY and PAINFULLY coming to the realization that maybe naptime isn't needed anymore. Or at least the 2 1/2 or 3 hour naps that they take...that I love....that I need and don't know if I can let go of. Oh LORD! I hear her up there AGAIN. She is up... now she's coming downstairs. This is truly ridiculous. Now she's sitting on my lap as I write this. I'm too tired....
Anyway, today Annie had her swimming lessons. Tommy took the kids to the splash park and met his parents and Joseph there while I was in the pool with her. She hasn't exactly been herself the past few days. We are wondering about whether she is teething or maybe has an earache. I always hesitate to call the doctor for a possible earache, because she will want me to come into the office to check it out and then I always feel like an overreactive parent when there's no ear infection.....Although, my mind always floats back to Mallie's 1 year old well visit check up. She was perfectly fine, to me...but apparently had a raging double ear infection that was causing her to get up in the middle of the night. I blamed this on teeth.
The really big news with Annie is that she is officially a crawler. She crawled across the basement floor on the 4th of July. SHe's been doing the up-on-all-fours and rocking thing for a week or so. But she really covered ground on Saturday and has been getting more and more endurance each day. This morning I put her in her usual place in the living room to play with her toys while I did the breakfast dishes. The next thing I knew, her little face was peering around the corner into the kitchen. SHe came right over and pulled herself up on the dishwasher and started going through the silverware! It's like having a new kid because we now have to re-baby-proof the house AND she is so much more determined and persistent (dare I say a bit irrationally angry) about getting to things. Not to mention the fact that she is into Mallie's toys now (which is a GREAT lesson in sharing.... albeit a very slow lesson learned) and into Jack's things (so now we're working on playing up high so Annie can't get to his stuff). There's just a lot to deal with now and it'll take some getting used to. She's real cute though and her little crawling motion couldn't get more adorable. I use the 'squeak, squeak' sound affect when she gets going because it's her movements are so small.
In other news, we had a great 4th of July. On the 3rd, Tommy was off work and we took the kids to the History Museum. We met my Aunt Di and my cousins Lauren, Tommy and Halle there. The kids had a BALL. Annie was awesome and the other two LOVED running around the museum with the big kids. We went to a party at Brian and Elissa Hricik's house that night. Then on the 4th, we had a relaxing day at home and went to Di and Kevin's for a cookout. Jack and Mallie did some sparklers (surprisingly!) and ran around with the other kids. We came home to put the kids to bed, but the neighbors were shooting off fireworks. I told them to just lay there and listen to the fireworks for America's birthday (which, by the way, Jack keeps calling Barack Obama's birthday). Anyway, I left them in their room listening to the fireworks and came down to watch the Boston Pops on TV. As I sat on the couch, I heard Jack yell, 'Mommy! Isn't this FUN!!?" This made me feel sorry for them for putting them to bed without seeing any fireworks and only making them listen to them in their bed! So I had them come down and watch the display with us on TV.
On his last day of preschool, Jack won tickets to the Cleveland Orchestra concert at Blossom on the 5th of July. So last night, we packed a great picnic dinner and all the kids into the van to drive down to the concert. We were soooo excited about it. We got there, set up our blanket and ate our dinner. Kids were running around and chatting and it was a great atmosphere.....Then the concert began and the whole thing changed. You could have heard a pin drop. It was truly like we were watching this concert at Severence Hall. I hadn't even prepared the kids about being quiet during the music (not that it would have made a difference). They were FULL of loud questions (Where is the conductor? What is he doing with his arms? Where are the violins? Etc.) So we moved to a less crowded area on the lawn. It seemed OK to let the kids kind of run around and dance. But an usher promptly informed me otherwise. He said the concert was being broadcast and he was told that they could hear children over the broadcast so to keep the kids quiet (I can only assume that he was not referring to my children specifically- Oh dear Lord, PLEEEEASE!!) So, up we got and home did trot (with our tails between our legs and me nearly in tears of disappointment and embarrassment).
This Blossom debacle has opened a whole other can of worms about discipline. I may be naive and totally biased.... but I honestly think our kids are pretty good kids. Not only sweet and kind-hearted (I pretty much think that about most kids) but pretty well-behaved and decent in public. Of course we have our flare ups....In fact, we've had lots of flare ups. But I've certainly seen worse- WAY worse. And our kids are still small. Jack's not even 4 yet! Tommy, however, is of the school of thought that it doesn't matter about their age. But that they should listen to us at all times. He says that he listened to his dad whenever he was told to do something...even at age 3 and if he didn't he was spanked. Now, I find it hard to believe that Tommy remembers what he was like at age 3- I certainly do not. But I just have kind of a hard time being that tough on a 3 and 1 year old. I consider myself a pretty stern mom and sometimes worry that I'm being too strict. I don't let them get away with much- especially in public. But, I also have age-appropriate expectations of them. If you take a 3 and 1 year old to church, they are incapable of sitting quietly for a full hour, unless they are tired. If you take them to a orchestral concert and do not tell them that this is a quiet event and to whisper, there is NO CHANCE of them doing so on their own. And even if you do issue that warning, they probably won't follow directions. Especially with a huge, open field at their disposal. Anyway, it's really gotten me thinking about who's way of disciplining is right, better, more appropriate. It's easy to say that I like mine.... But then there's a huge naggin question in the back of my head about whether or not I'm spoiling them and letting them get away with murder. Needless to say, I've been super-strict today with them. Mallie's been in time out 3 times and Jack twice- all completely justified. It's probably good to crack the whip a little once in a while to make them see that I mean business. I just don't want to be unfair with them when it comes to expectations. It's confusing and leaves them sad, scared, unsure, and feeling confused.
Anyway, today Annie had her swimming lessons. Tommy took the kids to the splash park and met his parents and Joseph there while I was in the pool with her. She hasn't exactly been herself the past few days. We are wondering about whether she is teething or maybe has an earache. I always hesitate to call the doctor for a possible earache, because she will want me to come into the office to check it out and then I always feel like an overreactive parent when there's no ear infection.....Although, my mind always floats back to Mallie's 1 year old well visit check up. She was perfectly fine, to me...but apparently had a raging double ear infection that was causing her to get up in the middle of the night. I blamed this on teeth.
The really big news with Annie is that she is officially a crawler. She crawled across the basement floor on the 4th of July. SHe's been doing the up-on-all-fours and rocking thing for a week or so. But she really covered ground on Saturday and has been getting more and more endurance each day. This morning I put her in her usual place in the living room to play with her toys while I did the breakfast dishes. The next thing I knew, her little face was peering around the corner into the kitchen. SHe came right over and pulled herself up on the dishwasher and started going through the silverware! It's like having a new kid because we now have to re-baby-proof the house AND she is so much more determined and persistent (dare I say a bit irrationally angry) about getting to things. Not to mention the fact that she is into Mallie's toys now (which is a GREAT lesson in sharing.... albeit a very slow lesson learned) and into Jack's things (so now we're working on playing up high so Annie can't get to his stuff). There's just a lot to deal with now and it'll take some getting used to. She's real cute though and her little crawling motion couldn't get more adorable. I use the 'squeak, squeak' sound affect when she gets going because it's her movements are so small.
In other news, we had a great 4th of July. On the 3rd, Tommy was off work and we took the kids to the History Museum. We met my Aunt Di and my cousins Lauren, Tommy and Halle there. The kids had a BALL. Annie was awesome and the other two LOVED running around the museum with the big kids. We went to a party at Brian and Elissa Hricik's house that night. Then on the 4th, we had a relaxing day at home and went to Di and Kevin's for a cookout. Jack and Mallie did some sparklers (surprisingly!) and ran around with the other kids. We came home to put the kids to bed, but the neighbors were shooting off fireworks. I told them to just lay there and listen to the fireworks for America's birthday (which, by the way, Jack keeps calling Barack Obama's birthday). Anyway, I left them in their room listening to the fireworks and came down to watch the Boston Pops on TV. As I sat on the couch, I heard Jack yell, 'Mommy! Isn't this FUN!!?" This made me feel sorry for them for putting them to bed without seeing any fireworks and only making them listen to them in their bed! So I had them come down and watch the display with us on TV.
On his last day of preschool, Jack won tickets to the Cleveland Orchestra concert at Blossom on the 5th of July. So last night, we packed a great picnic dinner and all the kids into the van to drive down to the concert. We were soooo excited about it. We got there, set up our blanket and ate our dinner. Kids were running around and chatting and it was a great atmosphere.....Then the concert began and the whole thing changed. You could have heard a pin drop. It was truly like we were watching this concert at Severence Hall. I hadn't even prepared the kids about being quiet during the music (not that it would have made a difference). They were FULL of loud questions (Where is the conductor? What is he doing with his arms? Where are the violins? Etc.) So we moved to a less crowded area on the lawn. It seemed OK to let the kids kind of run around and dance. But an usher promptly informed me otherwise. He said the concert was being broadcast and he was told that they could hear children over the broadcast so to keep the kids quiet (I can only assume that he was not referring to my children specifically- Oh dear Lord, PLEEEEASE!!) So, up we got and home did trot (with our tails between our legs and me nearly in tears of disappointment and embarrassment).
This Blossom debacle has opened a whole other can of worms about discipline. I may be naive and totally biased.... but I honestly think our kids are pretty good kids. Not only sweet and kind-hearted (I pretty much think that about most kids) but pretty well-behaved and decent in public. Of course we have our flare ups....In fact, we've had lots of flare ups. But I've certainly seen worse- WAY worse. And our kids are still small. Jack's not even 4 yet! Tommy, however, is of the school of thought that it doesn't matter about their age. But that they should listen to us at all times. He says that he listened to his dad whenever he was told to do something...even at age 3 and if he didn't he was spanked. Now, I find it hard to believe that Tommy remembers what he was like at age 3- I certainly do not. But I just have kind of a hard time being that tough on a 3 and 1 year old. I consider myself a pretty stern mom and sometimes worry that I'm being too strict. I don't let them get away with much- especially in public. But, I also have age-appropriate expectations of them. If you take a 3 and 1 year old to church, they are incapable of sitting quietly for a full hour, unless they are tired. If you take them to a orchestral concert and do not tell them that this is a quiet event and to whisper, there is NO CHANCE of them doing so on their own. And even if you do issue that warning, they probably won't follow directions. Especially with a huge, open field at their disposal. Anyway, it's really gotten me thinking about who's way of disciplining is right, better, more appropriate. It's easy to say that I like mine.... But then there's a huge naggin question in the back of my head about whether or not I'm spoiling them and letting them get away with murder. Needless to say, I've been super-strict today with them. Mallie's been in time out 3 times and Jack twice- all completely justified. It's probably good to crack the whip a little once in a while to make them see that I mean business. I just don't want to be unfair with them when it comes to expectations. It's confusing and leaves them sad, scared, unsure, and feeling confused.
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