An update from a nonexistent blogger

I don't really know why I have been nonexistent on my blog these days. It is turning into a mommy blog all about kids, when I originally set out to basically journal. I want it to be about me, darn it!!! However, lots of my readers are checking in on the kids through this anyway, so I may as well embrace it. It has also not become quite what I expected. I haven't put a lot of time into finding friends or bloggers, so it just isn't the friend tool it can be. I'm also having a hard time lately with wondering what creep-o's out there could track us down -- let's call it security issues. So instead of figuring stuff out, I've disappeared. I'll get back into this one of these days!

For now, I'm so far behind, that I'll just update most recent events. Here are the kids with summer hair - look how light, and what a buzz cut on my big boy. I got a little carried away teaching myself how to use the electric clippers...... But it has grown on me, and Matthew loves it!

We are just getting back from a trip to sunny CA, which it really was this time! It was fun for all the cousins on my side of the family to see each other. And can I preface this all by saying I was the worst photo journalist of all time on this trip??? Now that I'm back, I realize I have next to no pictures. We were there to see my 6-week now 7-week new niece, and do you think I took any pictures of her? NO! Well, 2, but they weren't even great shots. And no, not because of my niece, because she's absolutely adorable, but because I apparently do not take good pictures. And now that there's a load of little ones, most of the time none of us had the time to even think of breaking out the camera. I sure hope someone else did better than me! Swimming? No pics. Airplane ride? No pics. Newborn? 2 mediocre pics. Fun with family friends who have triplets? A few mediocre, if that, pics. So here are some from the night the whole CA branch of the family met up with us.

Staredown between cousins Ellie and Mackenzie -- this lasted quite a long time with the two of them standing in this exact spot - they looked back and forth from each other to the kitty toys in their hands, since there are so many kitty toys associated with the presence of FOUR cats in a house. (I won't be running out to get 3 more to add to our house!)

Random silliness -- Mackenzie has discovered somersaults and rolling around like a crazy woman!
And here's the closest pic I have to kids in the sunshine. Why am I lame? Who cares about my lameness, aren't they darling?

Matthew was a dream come true on this trip. No problems with him. Ellie did pretty well on the flight out, minus a couple outbursts, but the 2nd leg of the flight back was horrendous. My Ellie dear fights sleep like a professional, and she was completely exhausted and crabby, but unwilling to let herself sleep. Sorry NW flight companions. That flight was only 2 hours, and it felt like 14. I can say this since I don't anticipate it coming to fruition, that my idea of hell would be being trapped on an airplane with an overtired child. But all is well, we had a great time, we're back safe and sound, and if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go continue the post-trip re-training. Apparently we were a little too lax on rules while traveling or something. Sheesh. Lesson learned. FINE. :)

A boy and his bike, and a smiley girl

Can anyone find Ellie????

A boy turns 4

I can hardly believe my first baby turns 4 in two days!! Well, today we had his 4th birthday party! Here he is through the years:

0

1

2
3

4

Happy Birthday my little Mattso!!! We made it through 2 and 3!!! You seem so grown up already!

When you were 0, you didn't know you were here

When you were 1, you were still just a baby

When you were 2, your favorite was Curious George

When you were 3, you obsessed over Thomas the Train

Now that you're 4, you love baseball and golf!

I wonder what 5 will bring!

Summer Fun

Am I the only woman I know that didn't blog about their wonderful husband on Father's Day? Oops. We've got a bit on our minds over here, what can I say. Well, he is wonderful, and he's such a great parenting partner. Kind of ironic that he's leaving me this weekend, isn't it? A cabin full of guys sounds better, I guess. Just kidding, we try to share the freedom. Case in point, I was in CA a few weeks ago, just me and my mom.... I digress.

Summer is full of fun.

Operation: Embrace Ellie's Curls

3D Movies!

Baseball games!

Swings!

AND popsicles!!!

The Cuteness Factor

Seeing that I may have left some of you to wonder when I'll be starting therapy, I thought perhaps something cheerful was in order. So why not start back up with the cuteness factor? It's been such a long time! But first I have to say the day after my motherly meltdowns was completely different. I didn't have to climb in a bouncy and drag out a kicking screaming kid, in fact, that same kid made it through a whole day of church, swimming lessons, and going out for dinner without a meltdown. Hurrah! And they were so good when we were out to eat. I've never seen Ellie eat so much! Her belly was gigantic! Let's just say I have an idea what she may look like pregnant some day. (when she's old and married) Even when we found out they ran out of Matthew's pick (mac & cheese), he didn't crumble. Success.

Ellie

Ellie is a hilarious girl, I must say! This little wonder really cracks us up. She's up to so many cute things these days. Just tonight, she was carrying a giant stuffed kitty around and rolling around on the floor snuggling it. She's at the stage where you can tell her to give someone a kiss and she'll actually do it. With a mighty large pucker I might add. She sticks her lips out and says mmmmmm the whole way to the person she's going to kiss and follows it with a uah. mmuah.


She has also taken to running, which is pretty funny with her gait and her crazy hair bouncing all around her. She runs everywhere - to the swingset, to wave at/kiss/hug somebody, away from you when she's upset, to take a bath, to chase her big brother. She's also quite a little dancer. We've been playing the Francesca Battistelli song on the way to daycare in the morning this week, and she lights right up and starts kicking and throwing her head around to the beat, and trying to sing along. Both kids do, actually.

Matthew

Matthew has plenty of cuteness going on these days, too. Let me start by saying he's in love and he has a girlfriend - 2 different people. He's in love with my friend, Britt. Little schemer even snuggled up to her and ever so discreetly reached to hold her hand. The same day he informed us Payton is his girlfriend (from daycare). Hmmmm. I'm not sure what to think, but I do know he likes blondes. Payton's not a blonde, but every other girl he's mentioned before is. And usually older girls, too. But I won't give away ALL his secrets.

We really like to pick on Matthew now and then. He plays into it so well, we can't resist. Recently Sean got him going on the whole who's on 1st? routine. He was answering it so perfectly, that Sean couldn't stop - no, who's on 1st, but what's on 2nd, etc, etc. There was another day where he was getting ready for bed and we were all on the couch. When he went in to brush his teeth, I decided to see what he'd do if I hid. So I didn't move, all I did was throw a blanket over myself. So he comes out of the bathroom, and I hear:

M: where's mommy?

S: she said she was leaving

M: where did she go?

S: she said she was going to go get an ice cream cone. because she's cold.

M: ....but....you don't get ice cream when you're COLD!

This went back and forth a few more times. Meanwhile, he keeps getting closer and is finally basically sitting on my head, not even aware that I'm there, when I burst out from under the blanket. He cracked up. He makes us do these things. He's so funny about it.

My kiddos are fun, even if they have a bad day here and there. The good definitely outweighs the bad. Yessssss

Can I have a do-over?

I HAVE HAD IT! I want to start this day over, because most of it blew chunks. I always know it will be a bad day if it starts out this way. We talked about Matthew staying in his room until 7:30am on the weekends. It's been the rule in the house for a while now, since our kids seem to love the 6 o'clock hour, even though they don't during the week. We've been getting lax on this rule, so we thoroughly went over it again at bedtime. So about 7, Miss Ellie begins crying, which she does lately when she wakes up. No more sweet sounds in the form of crib jabber. No, it's crying, and it's I'm-not-going-to-stop-crying crying. While dealing with her, Mister Matthew saunters out into the hallway. And this is where I knew the day was bound for disaster. I say, "It's not 7:30, go back in your room." "But I don't want to." "It is not 7:30 yet, go back in your room until 7:30." "But, Mommy, it's sunny out." "I don't care. It's not 7:30, go back to your room." Staredown ensues. Oh dear.

The whole day followed in this direction. Do you ever have one of those days where your sparkling 3-yr old is bound and determined to say no to everything, and argue about everything, and throw a fit twice at an outdoor carnival-type thing, etc, etc?!!! Have you ever had to climb into a Vikings helmet-shaped bouncy house to retrieve your sparkling 3-yr old who is the only one who will not come out when his time is up?

Have you ever been so fed up that you snapped at everybody around you, in full on Kate Gosselin style, and wanted to crawl into a hole and never be seen again, and felt like a huge jerk? That's about where I'm at. Only it didn't stop there. It continued after we came home and after naps, and this time I very nearly exploded! God help me! I can't handle these children today! I should say THIS child. Having little kids is the hardest thing in the whole world, I'm convinced.

We're tearing down our fence, perhaps I need to go give that fence hell some more. Oh, but wait, our neighbors are having a party, perhaps that won't be a nice sight for them... Hmmm. I know, how about laundry? That would be A-W-E-S-O-M-E.

What a negative nelly. I can't believe I'm admitting all this for the world to see!!! Seriously, all I want is a do-over for the day. Anyone have a rewind or retry button? I know! How about the Staples easy button?! OMG, please someone find me an easy button!!!!

I used to be calm. Honest, I did.

You know you have a girly girl, if.....

At age 1 and a 1/2, she pukes away from herself! If you don't like hearing about puke, stop reading now. About 4am last night, I was up washing sheets and cleaning up puke. And it didn't even bother me much (beyond the gag factor). Incidentally, that's also how you know you've been a mom a while. When getting up to change pukey sheets doesn't really bother you that much anymore. ANYWAYS, so I go in Ellie's room, and find a puke puddle in her crib, and her, sitting away from the puddle with hardly even a mess on her. She cried, and I truly think it is only because she was grossed out by the mess. Man, this girl amazes me! As soon as I had her out of her clothes and a new shirt on - AT 4AM - she grinned and started chattering. This girly girl pukes away from herself and only cries about some getting on her hands? And then smiles and is totally happy again? What the heck? With Matthew at that age, it would have required a bath and extensive carpet cleaning and lots of comforting!

Don't get me wrong, the last thing I like to deal with is puke clean-up, but maybe with my girly girl it won't be so bad. I'll cross my fingers now.

By the way, I don't know if Ellie is sick or not. She seems fine today. She's probably just waiting for the full-blown flu since this is a 3-day weekend. And what better way to spend it than with the flu? :)