Being the baby of four

Being the baby of four means that there is little peace and quiet in your life, means there is plenty of hugs, kisses and tickles waiting for you!! It means when you wake up grumpy, like today, you will be bombarded with love from your siblings whether you like it or not!! Harrison at your toes saying "Awww cutie your awake...tickle....tickle", Olivia in your face rubbing your cheek saying "good morning baby boy". Now most mornings Max is very welcoming of his siblings love and affection, but he seems to be catching a cold so today he really wasn't too pleased by this. On normal days he'll give them each a hug and kiss while still in my arms, laugh at Harrison tickling his toes and really just eat up their attention. Today he just wanted to snuggle with his Mama, and of course I couldn't resist!! So I spent a good hour in my room rocking him while the kids played, I helped Olivia sign up for her fund raiser from across the room, I didn't make dinner but that's okay it's just going to be a pizza night now. He is now all better and in the toy room playing with his brothers and sister, I love that they love each other!! I'm sure it's quite lovely to be the baby of four, all the love, kisses, tickles.

All the other kids would gladly drop what they are doing to help him out or assist him in something. Jack is amazing with him, they are really close, probably the closest. Max will run to him crying when he gets hurt for comfort if I'm not right there, and even sometimes he'll choose Jack over me. Jack will hold him, rock him, rub his back it's really so sweet. You'll often find those two watching cartoons together at 6am, Jack will grab him out of bed and take him downstairs get him a cup of milk and they'll watch morning cartoons together. Olivia and him mostly share the love for music, you'll often find those two in her room singing, dancing, playing the guitar and piano, and jumping on her bed to the music blaring!! She also loves to mother him but usually a little too intensely for Max's liking!! Max will often grab her finger and pull her to do something with him because he know she just can't say no to him!! Harrison is starting to fill that big brother role himself!! They play together a lot more nowadays, and Harrison will take any kind of beating that Max has in store for him!! They are sweet to watch play with their guys and cars. Harrison is always the first one at the crib when Max wakes up, he often will let Max hit him and he'll fall down like a crazy man, and Max will just laugh and laugh. I've caught him climbing in the crib a few times to hang out with Max. So sweet.

God give me patience!!

So Tim's out of town for a few days, so it's just me and my four kiddies!! Today started out wonderful, took Max for a nice long walk to the kids school to give Livy her shot. Max fell asleep in the stroller so I walked some more and then just pushed the stroller in the house. I was able to eat lunch in complete peace and even pick up without someone following me around taking the things back out!!

Max only slept for like a hour or so, this is where my problem starts. We go get the kids from school, get most of their homework done and outside we go. Usually Max is sleeping for this part of the day...not today!! He's a crazy man running all over the place, taunting me by putting his foot in the road looking at me saying "nooooo" and then running in the darn road!!! UGH!! So I chase this child around the street for the next two hours, take him for a bike ride, try to play basketball with Harrison and almost getting a chance to have a grown up conversation with my neighbors!

My friend Robin and Elizabeth invite us to go to dinner with them, I thought that sounded wonderful...I didn't have to cook :) This is when I think I might loose my mind. We go to McAlisters deli, kids eat free on Tuesday so we showed up with 10 of them and 3 of us adults. Max decides right there and then he's going to single handily try to push my patience farther than any other child has before. He is SCREAMING in this place, trying to run from me, I'm trying to hold him, he's trying to hit me over and over, people are staring!! My mind thinks people are looking at me and thinking a few things, here's a few of the top ones...1. this lady cannot control her child, she should not be bringing him out in public, 2. this lady has too many kids and they are so misbehaved, 3. what the hell was this lady thinking bringing her four children out to dinner by herself!!

While Max was screaming his head off Olivia just couldn't decide what she wanted to eat, I was not so pleasant with her because of Max, this makes me feel lousy!! I was short with her telling her that she just wouldn't eat dinner if she couldn't decide. In my defense I did go over the menu with her 4 times, ask the lady about two of the items, all while I'm holding onto Max in a death grip while he screams bloody hell!! AHHHH

So we get our food ordered and sit down, Max then decides he doesn't want his pop, he wants mine!! Like heck I'm giving this child caffeine right now, because I'm so planning on taking him home and plopping his little hiney in bed early tonight!! So he cries some more, more people stare and judge, I feel guilty about how bad he's acting out with my friends..I'm sure they're going to want to invite me out again really soon :)

He eats his dinner, he picks off my plate, he gets on my lap off my lap. When he's finished he then decides that he's going to run around the restaurant and make me chase him, grab him and then of course scream some more!! After maybe 10 min's of this I tell the kids it's time to leave!! When I'm done buckling this child into the car and get into my seat I swear I melted into my seat for just a moment saying "Thank God that he's strapped in some where"!!

One of my big mistakes was not grabbing a high chair for him, I was already struggling with him so much that I didn't know how I was going to do this. Little did I know it would of be darn worth it!! O and ya Tim took me out to breakfast yesterday, Max broke a plate there..nice!!

So I guess it's boot camp time on our little monster, wish me luck I'm defiantly going to need it to tame this wild child!!!

Chili

It's what's for dinner tonight!!

Here's how I make our chili, now I know everyone knows how to make this and has their own style, but my kids LOVE it!! I make a full crock pot of chili, so if you don't have so many people eating it you might want to cut it in half!

1 pound ground turkey
2 cans bush's chili mix, 1 mild 1 medium
1 can kidney beans and sometimes I throw in some black beans
2 cans stewed tomatoes
2 cans corn
a couple cans of water
a little garlic, pepper, chili seasoning

I let this cook all day long, that way I don't have to stress about dinner :)

Now the real trick of my kids loving my chili is the toppings, yes I do a good job of junking this up!!

We add a little sour cream, shredded cheese, and crushed up Doritos!! Everyone might eat it like this, but when kids come over they always tell me that they hate their mom's chili and love mine ;)

Some pics of Max, just for a certain someone I know :)

My Little Man

I was just playing with Max and Harrison, and at that moment it hit me...he's not a baby anymore!! He's a ruff little toddler beating up his older brother :) As I watch them play swords and wrestle on the ground I see it in him, he's got that feisty fight of a kid!! He no longer just comes crying to me, he gives a good fight back now. He's caring less and less for his "baby-ish" toys and is trading all those in for swords, cars and mini guys. I feel so blessed that I get to watch these kids grow up together, watch their individual relationships with each other grow and change. Tonight I feel so lucky to have these four great kids, tonight it defiantly all seems worth it!!

My timing sucks

So a house just went on the market a few houses down from me, in the wrong direction of course :( But the house would be just PERFECT for my family, and I of course kinda want it!! It has four bedrooms upstairs with a bathroom on each side for two of the bedrooms and a play room in the middle of it all!! Sounds like a dream to me!! Master on main level...perfect...a good size fenced in back yard, I'm telling ya this house is calling my name!! The problem being of course is that I just got into this house 3 months ago, I signed a two year lease, and I really can't imagine packing up my stuff and moving right now! Maybe I'll get super duper lucky and this house will still be there in two years :)

I just need to learn to be more patient with life, need to try to believe that things happen for a reason. I'm sure I'll end up where I'm suppose to end up when I end up there, right?? I guess that's what brought me here, and I'm so thankful that I'm here :)

Valentines Day

This post is a little late, but here is what we did on Valentines day!! We had a busy day, it was Olivia's good friends Payton's Birthday so we said we'd go to church and to lunch with them. Yes, *GASP* we went to church, and we even kinda liked it :) I even think we'll be going back this Sunday and probably the next.


We had our annual Valentine's Day scavenger hunt. The kids just love doing this, they get so excited running around the house looking for their hearts!!
I didn't forget about Max, he got a present too, but he didn't do the scavenger hunt. They didn't get anything to exciting...Jack got the book 3 and 4 of the Lighting Thief series, Olivia got art pads and new supplies, Harrison got a watch and a couple Bakugon, and Max got some new crayons, a jumbo coloring book and a new "foo foo".
I hurried up and made a cake, because I forgot to make it earlier!! I was going to make one a lot like the rainbow cake, but like I said I forgot. We ordered the kids pizza fed them, and left Jack to babysit for a hour while we went out to dinner.

We had a great day, it was a little warmer during the day so the kids and Tim all played soccer in the street with all the neighborhood kids and Dad's.

Who are you and what have you done with my daughter?

The mouth on my eight year old daughter is unbelievable!!! She is in a mode right now where she argues EVERYTHING with us, talks back, doesn't do what she's told, and is a overall snot!! I knew these things would happen when she was a teenager, but at eight really?!?! I hate to confess this but I times I can't even stand to be around her, it's that bad!! I told her today that she had to journal every night (her teacher's request) she flipped a lid!! Olivia spent a good hour crying, yelling and arguing with me about it!! She insists that she is not going to do it, it's stupid and she says she'll "NEVER do it"! Ugh..I would love to explain to this lovely child that I mentally cannot handle having one more of these "arguments" with her. I boldly tell her that she is going to do it, that this is not a choice. No matter what I say or do she flies off the handle and goes nuts!! I know something needs to be done, I'm just not sure what. We ground her and send her to her room, but none of these things affect her at all!! I need help...any advise??

Not me Monday!!

Okay I've seen this on Mckmama's blog for awhile, and then my friend Ashley did this just a little bit ago on her blog..so I yesterday I totally had one of those days and I thought why not :)

So on Sunday I defiantly did not drive my children to McDonalds in their jammies to get breakfast because Tim wasn't home. Max didn't stick his hair in his pancakes and get syrup in his hair so he would require a bath. And while I was running a bath he defantly didn't decide to poop just then. When I stripped him down and ripped the tab to his diapers and realized he pooped, I absolutely wasn't so lazy that I just wiped his bottom with tiolet paper. And when I couldn't get it all I didn't put him in the sink and wash him up with my bare hand. No way, I wouldn't EVER do such a thing because that would be just disgusting!!!! If I would ever do such a thing I would certianly wash the sink out with bleach while Max was bathing.

And after that wonderful morning I didn't hide from my children for a good hour in my bedroom, because I would never do such a thing! And when I finally got in the shower I wasn't so scattered brained that I shaved the same leg twice, no I would never be that out of it! And the kids and myself did have a good day hanging out together..for real!! We defiantly didn't hang out all day and barely do any of our chores, we got them All done and the house was so clean it sparkled!!

Miss Livy Jane all dressed up for the Daddy daughter dance!!

Need my husband home now please...Thank you!!

So Tim has been gone since Thursday, not gone gone but not getting home until around bedtime. It has truly sucked. I was thinking maybe me and the kids would have a blast without him, I was wrong. What I realized is that the kids have so many friends around here they really don't want to tell them no they can't play to hang out with me. So what I do get to do is make lunch for 2 or 3 extra kids, referee them, make sure they're all okay outside, dink around on the computer, clean, clean and clean...it sucks!! I'm not used to spending my weekends without Tim, and I'm not really having any fun!! I'm tired, stressed and lonely!! Reading that makes me sound like such a cry baby :)

Tim and Olivia went to the Daddy Daughter dance, I was jealous. Yes people that's how bad it is, I was jealous of my daughter!! I'm ashamed to admit that!! They went to this really nice restaurant here called Micky and Mooch, which I haven't had a chance to go to yet. Her Daddy bought her a new charm for her pandora bracelet. She looked absolutely beautiful, and grown up. I'm so glad that she has such a great Daddy to treat her to such a nice night...really!! Once I find my cable I'll upload some pics of Livy!! See these are the kinds of things I need Tim for, where in the heck is my cable!!

I some how have to figure out how to shower before we go to our neighbors for a super bowl party. Wouldn't be a big deal if I didn't have a ton of extra kids here, and I could trust my kids not to walk in my bathroom to tell me something. With glass shower doors it's just way too scary and our lock on that door doesn't seem to work very well! Looking forward to talking to the girls since it's been cold here I haven't talked to anyone in a week or so.

sick kids = $$$

Olivia and Harrison have strep throat again!! I'm trying not to complain too much, because this is only the second time they have been sick this year. Last year my kids had strep throat six times. But what gets me every time is the money!! That makes me sound like a awful Mom, but my kids don't really act sick with strep and when one gets it they all get it. I took Olivia in yesterday, paid my $25 co-pay. Decided to take Harrison in today, because he wasn't feeling good over the weekend, but seemed to be okay since then. Harrison was positive so I decided to swab Max...negative. $50 dollars later I'm thinking to myself I'm sure I'll be bringing Max and Jack in soon to test them both, another $50. It really seems crazy that when my kids get sick I usually spend around $100 in just co-pays!!! Does anyone else think that their co-pays are just crazy high?? I remember when Jack was little and we spent $10 for a co-pay that wasn't too bad, but now I pay for half of the Dr. visit?!?! Just one of those things that bother me!!

So Tim is in a training class for the next three days, which is probably why my kids are sick ;) I was looking forward to some time alone with Max, but now I have three kids at home and no hubby!! Not really what I had planned, and to top it off I feel like crud myself!! Not a good combination. Tim isn't even suppose to be home until around 7:00-7:30, so I'm really on my own for these four days. Hopefully the other two kids won't get sick and we can have a fun weekend.

Olivia and Tim are going to the Daddy Daughter dance Saturday night at the school, Olivia is really looking forward to that. We were suppose to go dress shopping but I'm not sure that's going to happen, she just might have to wear one that's already in her closet.

I'm feeling very blah and defeated today. Some days just aren't good Mommy days. Not that my kids are being terrible, it's just that I'm not feeling the best which makes me moody. I hate feeling moody and crabby towards my kids!

On a positive note, Max has started calling me "Mommy", at least I think he knows it's me. He now says "Mommy Mommy Mommy" all the time, I'm not sure if he knows he's calling me, or he just knows when he says it I melt and give him whatever he wants. He's a little slow on the talking but he's really starting to catch on finally. What I find to be more than adorable is when he bumps into someone by accident and looks up at them and says "kuse me", or when he makes himself burp and says "kuse me". He'll also tell you "sorry", loves to call choos choos "foos foos", loves the new cartoon Chuginton, gets so excited when it's on and says "FOO FOO"!! He's still signing for eat and drink, although he says eat, just not drink yet. He got weighed at the Dr's today a whopping 24 pounds!! He's getting so big and we all just love this baby so much!!

I feel like I should update on the other kiddos too!! Jack is doing so well in school, and has been invited to join a Duke university accelerated student program!! He was recognized for being in the top 5% of his grade and was the only one in his grade to receive this invite. We are very proud of him!! The school has also requested him to be tested for a gifted program, he'll be taking this test in the next few weeks. He's going to start guitar lessons next week too. He's a great kid, and a GREAT big brother!! He's made so many new friends, and is really loving living down here!!

Olivia is still her sassy self, but is doing great in school and has the most amazing teacher this year! She will start piano next week too! She's also looking into a acting class and maybe starting ballet again!! She has a pretty busy social life down here, so she just needs to make sure she can fit it all in :) She's become a pro on the pogo stick and at rollerblading recently!!

Harrison....O Harrison, what can I say about this kid, he holds a special place in my heart :) He is just a funny, goofy kid. He brought home a thank you note from his teacher last Friday thanking him for the note he had written her. She thanked him for inviting her out to McDonald's, to come to his Birthday party, and even invited her to a sleepover at our house!! What a ham!! He also has too many friends on the street and we can barely keep him indoors!! He's thinking about starting Karate, and will play baseball here in a month or so. He's doing well in school and is almost what I consider a reader! Now, he can read small words, and even easy books, but I don't consider my kids readers until the can truly read just about anything I put in front of them.

I'm not sure how this turned into a big update, but o well!! I guess I should go make dinner, because no one else is going to do it for me!!