My mom is the smartest person in the whole world

So as we all know I have been having all kinds of problems getting Ian to sleep at night. I put him to bed around 8 or 9 and he spends the next two hours or so destroying things, fighting with his sisters, yelling and so on. Instead of peace and quiet that should come with bedtime I hear doors slamming, the girls screaming at Ian and Ian crying. Then the kids come thundering down the stairs half a dozen times to tattle on each other. The girls complain that Ian won't stay out of their room, Ian complains the girls are being mean to him. Then it quiets down but we have found that Ian gets up in the middle of the night to play (remember the Moon Sand?) or to get food to sneak up to his room. Last night he got into the game closet and this morning when I got up there was Monopoly money, puzzle pieces, Sorry cards and all kinds of other game pieces scattered all over the upstairs. Well I have about had it. I called Mom to vent to her about it. She suggested we make Ian a pallet on the living room floor. That way I can keep an eye on him and he can't get into any trouble. And look!



He has been sound asleep since 9:30. Much earlier than usual. Karl said he had never heard of having to move a child out of his room to sleep in the living room . I agree, I never have either. I certainly know I wouldn't have dared to be pulling all those nighttime shenanigans when I was little. Nor would most children. But like I told Karl this particular child is not typical. It isn't that we let him get away with things, he just doesn't have that worry of getting in trouble that most kids have. So until he gets to that point, we are just going to have to keep a much closer eye on him. And having our bedroom on a separate floor just doesn't allow for that so we are going to have to improvise.

So anyway I am so glad my mom thought of it. She is good for looking at things with a clear perspective when I am too overwhelmed to think. So Mom, if you could now solve our other issues for us that would be great. Specifically, what do you do with a child that does not respond to timeout and leaves a wake of destruction in his path on a daily basis? And once you get done with that, head over to ChaBa's blog. She has some baby powder issues that need to be sorted out. Thanks!

All drama, all the time

It has come to my attention that perhaps I am a little dramatic. I noticed that everything that goes on around here seems to be an Event. Me taking all the kids by myself anywhere is an Event. Housetraining the dog is an Event. Giving up naps is an Event. I don't recall hearing other people go into such great detail and dramatics over their events. Which I won't capitalize, because clearly they are not as eventful as my Events.
My latest Event was taking all the kids to get their pictures taken. I ironed the girls' fancy sleeveless floor length dresses, got Ian dressed in his suit, curled the girls' hair, tried to flatten Ian's hair down with a variety of hair product. We ended up carrying the girls' dresses with us so they wouldn't get smooshed in the car. I figured they could change in the bathroom once we got there. Out of the stall comes Alexandria with tattoos on both arms. We forgot about said tattoos because she has been wearing long sleeves. Said tattoos did not go very well with fancy satiny floor length dress. We scrubbed as best we could, I think the end result will be that her arms look a little dirty in the pictures, that is all. When we got in the studio Elizabeth was not impressed. She wanted no part of being photographed and kept crying and bolting for the door. So we basically had to stick her in the spot and the photographer took the picture as fast as she could before Elizabeth took off. Which would have been okay but we had three other people who needed to look presentable as well. Annika had some earring issue and her ear was sore so she kept grabbing on to it and cocking her head to one side. Alexandria was getting all dramatic and doing jazz hands and whatnot. And Ian was...a four year old. Actually he did pretty well. All that being said, I think we got one good picture out of the bunch so I was happy. And even more happy that I won't feel obligated to do that again for awhile.
See, I can create drama out of anything. It is a gift.

New pictures

I just got the little kids' pictures back (apparently shoelessness is the theme of the month.) The big girls got theirs taken at school and we should get them back soon. Also, last week I took all four to get their picture taken together. I think they turned out pretty cute- I can't wait to get them back.

Bad Mommy is on a roll

Yesterday I thought I would be nice and go get the kids donuts for breakfast, we sometimes do this as a treat on Saturdays. We were in a rush (as always) so I told Annika to eat her donut so she could get ready for soccer. Her response? "Mommy, could I have something healthy to eat instead? I think that would be better since I have a game." I hung my head in shame and made her some oatmeal.

Work, work, work

We put them to work early:

Silly Girls

I will not be winning Mother of the Year anytime soon...

Because tonight Annika went to church barefoot. And I didn't notice she was barefoot until we were getting ready to leave the church. Actually I didn't notice, my mom did and pointed it out. And it is a little cold out to be running around shoeless. Here is how my night went, maybe you will have some sympathy for me?

Disclaimer: We have been having behavior issues that have coincided with the decision to cut out Ian's naps. So I know there are problems to address, I am just needing to vent. Also, I am venting here because I can't discuss it in real life because it just makes me mad and tired and frustrated.

Today was normal. We went shopping with Grandma Goody, Elizabeth took a nap and Ian had quiet time. We played outside for awhile. Then the girls got home and all you know what broke loose. It wasn't anything they did, Ian has just completely been flipping out every afternoon right around the time they get home. Maybe he is upset about having to share attention, maybe he is tired from not having a nap. I don't know. Today he got a block of cheddar cheese out of the refridgerator, chewed it up and spit it on the living room carpet. He also took my new eyeliner and colored all over the wall and the toilet. I sent him to timeout, he wouldn't sit in timeout. I took him upstairs to his room and he fought me the entire time. He was acting really ugly and I will admit I was not a shining example of patience. I left him in his room so we could both cool down. When he is in flip-out mode that is about all you can do. You cannot speak to him or reason with him because he is screaming and crying so loud he can't hear you anyway. Eventually he calmed down and we had dinner. I got the kids ready for church. Elizabeth was upset because she loves to go places but does not like to wait for everyone to get ready. So she was at the door crying while I was prodding everyone along. I took the dog out and he refused to do what he was supposed to. So that meant he would inevitably would have an accident while we were gone. I loaded the kids in the car (Annika did have shoes on at that point) and then realized I didn't have keys. Since Ian had taken my keys up to his room on Monday (making us late to soccer practice), I knew he had done something with them again. I asked him where they were, he wouldn't say. So I told everyone to get out of the car and sent Ian up to look for the keys. There was much sassing going on over that. It was suggested that I go look for the keys myself, which did not sit well with me at all. The whole time Elizabeth was crying, completely heartbroken because she had been looking forward to going bye-bye and didn't understand why she was pulled back out of the car and taken inside. After about 20 minutes of searching, I finally found the keys underneath Elmo in Ian's room. So back we went to the car and we did make it to Bible Study, albeit late. We got home to find that, yes indeed Max did have an accident on the floor. Not only that but he managed to somehow stretch his tether in such a way that he was able to leave the kitchen and have his accident on the hardwood floor. So under these circumstances, is it any wonder my children aren't properly dressed?

**Also, do you know what my husband said? He mentioned that Ian and I both have similar tempers and this is why I am having problems dealing with him. Did you ever?

I hate computers

My internet is down (again) so no new posts from me for awhile. There is some problem with the wireless card? I don't know but we had it rigged with some plug in dealy but now that broke too. I could go down into the dungeon to use IT Support's computer but I don't like the dungeon. Hopefully he will get me back up and running soon. I hate technology. Nothing ever works like it is supposed to.

More bedtime woes

We have been having some bedtime issues with Ian. I put him to bed around 8 or 9 and he stays awake for hours upstairs yelling, pestering the girls and just causing trouble in general. Tuesday night I put him to bed at 8. I fell asleep about 11 and was awakened at 12:30 by a clattering noise in the kitchen. I went in to see what it was and was surprised to see Ian sitting at the kitchen table playing with Moon Sand. Does that make me sound too negligent? Like one of those moms who is asleep on the couch in the middle of the day and the police knock on her door after they find her naked 2 year old wandering down the highway? But honestly, I don't know what to do, other than sit in a chair outside his door all night. So my thought is that maybe he is just not tired at all when I put him to bed. Which, as much as it pains me to think this, might mean it is time to give up his nap. Sigh...I love his naptimes. It is so quiet and peaceful. And if there is no naptime, that means I am on duty from 7 am to 9 pm with no break from entertaining, fetching drinks and food and fielding demands. But I can't have him up all hours of the night either. So today, we are seeing what happens when we forgo the nap.
Here is how I found him when I went to call him for dinner:



He only slept for about 10 minutes though, so that doesn't count. It is now 10 pm and I still hear little footsteps upstairs. He should be exhausted. He played hard at the park, then running around the house with his friend. We went to the library, then to Grandmas. I am worn out, why isn't he?

Update: It is now 10:30 and he is asleep. Still far to late for a four year old to stay up in my opinion.

Because you haven't properly enjoyed your spaghetti until you've smeared it through your hair...

As a side note: As much as I enjoy our new camera, I have the hardest time getting pictures of the kids with their eyes open. There is this bright light that goes off pre-picture and it makes them flinch.

Reading time pictures...just because

My favorite time of day...reading time. Annika loves to photo bomb which always cracks me up.

Deep conversations

Once Karl gets home I get the big ignores from Elizabeth. I mustn't interfere with their time together or she gets very irritated. We were laughing today because she was so intent on having his complete attention while she jabbered at him. We aren't sure what she was saying but whatever it was it was very important. I had to get the camera and get a picture of it.

Blah blah blah

I have not been doing very well with this blogging lately. Partly because I don't have much going on. Well nothing blog-worthy anyway. I have been running the kids to Girl Scouts, soccer practice, the library, the playground. Rinse repeat. For some reason despite all the running I feel a little bored. I was talking to my mom the other day and just had to stop mid-sentence because I was boring myself. Blah. You know when you are talking and you realize even you don't care what you are saying? No? Maybe it is just me.

Today we went to the dentist- Alexandria needs braces once she loses her baby teeth. But no cavities for her or Annika so that was good. Elizabeth went to Grandma Goody's and enjoyed bossing her grammy for a few hours while we were gone. Alexandria and Annika are spending the night there tonight. Ian was not at all happy about that, as he thinks every time should be his turn. Even though his turn was just last week. When he was there Grandma gave him a Toys r us catalog that he has been obsessed with. I have been hearing "I want this and this and this" all week long. I am thinking of hiding it.

Annika has her first soccer game this Saturday which should be fun.

That is all.

Happy Birthday Mom

I thought February was the month of birthdays but March seems pretty busy too. Or is it just that there are so many people in our family that every month has lots of birthdays?

Today is my mom's so we had a little get together which was fun. My newest niece Ella was there and Elizabeth was very interested in her. Poor Ella! Hey I just realized between Karl and me and our siblings we have children named: Elizabeth, Eli, Ellie and Ella. El El El El. But I digress. Anyway, Happy Birthday Mom, we love you.

The dudes (and Elizabeth) go to the library

I took Elizabeth, Ian and the little boy I babysit to the library today so they could pick out some books. For them this means yanking some random book off the shelf and thrusting it at me so they can run off and play in the little playhouse. Anyway, as we were leaving, the security guard called out "Bye boys!" Ian said "We are not boys, we are dudes."
As we got in the car Ian asked if we would eat lunch when we got home. I told him yes and asked "Are you guys hungry?" Ian looked at me like I just asked a really dumb question and said "Mommy! Us guys are always hungry." Duh!

Will someone PLEASE open this toy already?

These are from Annika's birthday. Annika got a Barbie but was so distracted by her other gifts she took off and left it sitting on the couch unopened. Poor Elizabeth really, really wanted that box open so she could get to Barbie.

Not much to say, but a lot of pictures

No energy for a real post, so here are just a few random things:

Elizabeth only likes the park when there are no other children there.

I don't have any current pictures of Annika because her eyes are closed in every single one.

My kids are getting really sick of me following them around taking their picture.

We got a new dog

Okay, not really, but the dog we got back from the groomer's does not look like the one we took in. I thought they gave us the wrong one, but as soon as we got home he pottied on the kitchen floor. Then I knew we were okay. His fur was so matted they had no choice but to shave him. I can't help it- he won't sit still, his fur is impossible to brush. I was tempted to tell the groomer that he was a stray I rescued and that is why he looked so bad.

Along with his drum, Ian got two drummer shirts, one made by Erin, the other bought by me because I am not crafty like that. I had to post these because I thought Ethan (the other drummer in our family) would like.

Embarrassing moment # 564

Today I took the van in to get it inspected. Turns out it needed four new tires (which we suspected.) So we were told it would take an hour, but it ended up taking 2 1/2. I was starting to get desparate for ideas on how to entertain Sir Chatterly and Baby Busybody after they got bored with their books and crayons. So I involved Ian in a rousing game of I-Spy. I spied a race car, he found it. Then it was his turn.

Ian (loudly): I spy a man with an angry face! Do you see him Mama?

Me(realizing he is talking about the customer sitting five feet away from us but hoping to head off any further comments): Shhh. No I do not see anyone who looks angry.

Ian(pointing at the man): He's right there Mama! See?

Annika's Slide Show

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

So I am finally finished. We didn't get a digital camera until Annika turned one, so I don't have any pictures on the computer for that first year. I used some more upbeat music- it needed to be something sunny and happy for the girl who would live in tank tops and flip flops if she could. Just click on the arrow if you want to watch

Dangerous shots and running errands

Ian and Annika had their 4 and 7 year checkups today. I am putting their height and weight on here so I can find them easily if I want or need to.

Ian:
40lb. (75th percentile)
42" tall (90th percentile)

Annika:
47lb. (25th percentile)
47" tall (50th percentile)

(By the way, after my next checkup don't expect to see my stats)

Both kids are doing well although Ian was very upset over having to get four shots (and a finger prick.) He cried and proclaimed shots "very dangerous!" I was busy trying to comfort him while keeping Elizabeth from opening every drawer in the office, digging through the trash and climbing onto the doctor's chair. I scheduled the appointment right during naptime and I can't for the life of me recall why I thought that would be a good idea. About halfway through Elizabeth decided she was tired and ready to go and flung herself on the floor crying because we couldn't. I was glad I had Annika with me though because she helped distract her.

After that and some other errands (Penneys, the gas station, taking Annika to and from school for the appt.) I was tired of running around and ready to stay home tonight but the girls ran off the bus telling me it was 'McTeacher night' and we HAD to go to McDonalds. Annika told me we should go because then I wouldn't have to cook. So we went and then headed to Target for diapers. The kids visited the dollar aisle which they think is the best thing ever. So now they are in bed and I am worn out. I am, however, enjoying having the van at my disposal and having the option of running all over town.