Sam's 2 Year Stats

I finally got around to taking Sam in for his 2 year checkup.  Since it wasn't a vaccination appointment, I was hesitant to take my perfectly healthy toddler into that germ infested environment, but I wanted to talk to the doctor about Sam's new habit of furiously blinking his eyes. As I predicted, she told me to take him to his eye doctor (the one we see every 3-4 months for his strabismus). So, I didn't get much accomplished other than getting his stats.

Weight: 36.6 lbs (100%)
Height: 36.5 in (95%)
FOC: 20.5 in (100%)
BMI: 19.3 (95%)

What a beast.

Weekend recap: Fun with family edition

This past weekend was spent doing what I like best...spending time with family. Friday, I brought my nieces home with me from swim practice so they could play with Jack and Ellie even though I had just told Ellie the day before that they were grounded for a full week. I may have even told Ellie that I was going to make her life so miserable she was going to wish she had never been born. Clearly, following through is not my strong suit.

It was raining Saturday morning so Ellie's game and Jack's practice were cancelled.  I was not heartbroken.  Ellie and I were able to go watch my niece Aidyn's piano recital.  She did awesome!

Sunday was busy. We were celebrating my mom's 65th birthday at Mark and Rosie's house, but Tom's family was also celebrating my niece's birthday at the same time. After eating with us, Tom took the older two kids to the party while Sam and I stayed for the rest of my mom's party.  I guess I missed the excitement because Tom's brother proposed to his girlfriend at the party (the party was for their little girl). I had my own excitement, though, because Sam fell in the pool and I had to go in after him.  I was halfway expecting it to happen. I even took my phone out of my pocket and took off my Fitbit just in case it happened.  Taking preventative measures is also not my strong suit, but being prepared is! ;)

Prior to falling in the pool

Drying off after they ALL "fell" in the pool

Sam and my brother looking fierce

More stellar parenting

Yesterday started off really bad, but ended up being a pretty awesome day.  I needed to take my car into the shop for an oil change and because my check engine light was on, so Tom suggested that we take the day off work and make a fun day out of it. I knew he would still go to practice so I only requested a half day off and planned on going into work for my first two classes (I have conference and lunch after 2nd period).

We had some car issues in the morning that involved me trying to tie the back passenger door shut with a jump rope.  The jump rope was stretchy material, though, so the door would fly open at every turn. I then had my 5 year old son hold the door shut and yelled at him whenever it would start to open.  I know, I am such an awesome parent.  I did manage to drop the kids off and Tom came home and fixed the door for me so I could go to school.  This is a much shortened version of the whole ordeal and let's just say I called Tom sobbing on the phone.  I can't even remember the last time I cried, but, boy, was I crying yesterday.

Anyway, we went to lunch and a matinee before getting the kids and it was awesome to just hang out together.

Today, the area track meet is being held at my high school so Tom is here with his athletes that qualified.  I was able to go watch during my conference period and lunch.  I like to watch Tom in action.  I sometimes feel overwhelmed during track season because he is gone so much, but I always feel proud of how dedicated he is to his team and how much time and effort he puts into it.

Alright, alright, enough of that. I will probably be singing a different tune this evening when I am trying to wrangle Sam at Ellie and Jack's softball/t-ball practices.

Oh, something that made me laugh yesterday.  I was texting my sister-in-law about my car and how the mechanic said it would be almost $400 to replace the vent. My car was still safe to drive without fixing it, but it was an emissions issue and my car wouldn't pass inspection without it getting repaired.  I texted Sabrina, "Who cares about emissions? Screw the environment...I've got mouths to feed."  Her quick reply was, "Happy Earth Day!"  Hahaha, I totally forgot that it was Earth Day, but loved the irony of it all.

Relaxing and ignoring the 6 kids running wild

I am having a lazy Saturday. Lazy, even though I have 3 extra kids in addition to my own 3 who stayed up late and woke up ridiculously early. All games were cancelled this weekend due to rainy weather so we are all still in our pajamas and the kids are destroying the house and I am staying surprisingly zen about the whole thing. My kids love having their cousins around. They are so fortunate to live in the same neighborhood as so many of their cousins. 

I was a little crazy last week. And then I finally went and refilled my thyroid medication Friday morning and realized that going a week without it probably wasn't wise. 

I booked our hotel for our annual New Orleans trip and even though it isn't until the very end of July, I am really looking forward to getting away with my Tom. I need a vacation. Don't get me wrong, I am really looking forward to our cruise in 6 weeks which I know will be a blast, but with the kids and my entire family along, I don't know how relaxing it will be.  Either way, I am ready for a vacation, but for now I will just sit here and enjoy my lazy Saturday. 

Too tired to think of a title

Yesterday, I went home determined to be a better mom.  I worked with Ellie (aka The Hoarder) on cleaning her room for about two hours. Then I made the kids a gourmet dinner of hot dogs and peas. Sam immediately threw his plate on the floor in a fit of rage. At this point, I decided I was done.  Tom was home for the first night in days so I told him I was going to take a shower (at 5:30).  After a very long shower, I grabbed the iPad and some headphones and climbed into bed for an ANTM marathon.  This is very unusual for me. I have working-mom guilt so I always feel like I need to spend all my at-home time either with the kids or getting stuff done around the house.  But, as you can tell from my post yesterday, I am a little burnt out. Tom did an awesome job running interference and letting me have some alone time.

We had a massive thunder storm all night long and our ridiculous dog kept us up for hours.  We put her in the garage, in our bedroom, back in the garage...it was like a circus.  Needless to say, Tom and I got very little sleep so I was not in the best of moods this morning.  Certainly not in the mood to deal with this:

You can't really see it, but Sam is throwing his body around and banging his head on the floor.  I have no idea what he was so mad about, but I tried really hard to figure it out and to distract him.  So, not the best start to the day, but it IS Friday.  And it is my sweet mom's birthday. And Tom does not have any track meets this weekend...which is a good thing since I am keeping my sister's kids and both Jack and Ellie have games. So, I am going to work on changing my attitude and I am going to try to give Sam more one-on-one attention this weekend. I've got this.

In which I feel like a failure

So, yesterday happened. It was the kids' last day of swim clinics and they were being evaluated for swim team.  I knew Jack would not make the team and I knew Ellie would since she swam the past two years. But I wanted to see how well Jack did and I wanted to see what skill level Ellie would be placed in.  Sam had other plans. He did ok for most of Jack's clinic, but then he decided he wanted to go home. When I wouldn't take him home, he started throwing one of his loud, screaming fits.  When Sam throws his fits, he doesn't stop unless he gets what he wants.  The kid has stamina like no other.  Most kids his age can be distracted by toys or snacks or even comforted...not Sam.  He just goes on and on, my friends. Since we couldn't leave the clinic because Ellie hadn't even started yet, I just ignored Sam and let him sit in the field behind us and scream.

Side note: parents are not allowed to be in the pool area during clinic so the parents set up camp in the empty field outside the pool gates.

Ok, so Sam is screaming and screaming and the moms I am with understand because we are all friends, but the other moms that are nearby and don't know me are thinking that Sam is in serious distress and I am a terrible mother for not trying to comfort him.  They don't know that Sam cannot be comforted. But after two moms questioned me about him and offered "advice" I went over and picked him up. So, I am walking around holding my squirming, screaming, 40 pound 2 year old and then Jack comes over crying and says he stepped in fire ants.  I look at his foot and, sure enough, it is covered with fire ants. I put down the screaming Sam and try to get all the ants off Jack. Now I have two crying kids and Ellie's clinic has only just started.  At this point, I am done.  I turn to Sabrina, ask her to bring Ellie home after practice, and then just leave.

Another side story: Yesterday when I picked up Sam, Ms. Donika told me they were playing outside and Sam got mad about some little thing. She was sitting there letting him throw his fit, when the bus pulled up to drop off the 1/2 day kids. A mom at the stop saw Sam screaming, but didn't see Donika so she ran over to Sam's aid (thinking he must be terribly hurt, judging by his screams). Donika's dog saw a strange lady going for Sam so the dog ran over and bit the lady's stomach.

Tom got home last night a little after 9:30, but the kids and I were all sound asleep because I could not do my day any longer.

Y'all, I see people with 3+ kids all the time at these sort of things and they make it seem so effortless.  I feel like I am doing something wrong.  I seriously try to be so prepared.  I pack the iPad so Sam can watch Elmo, I pack toys, snacks, drinks...everything I can think of and still we keep having these sort of scenarios. I feel like I do a pretty good job maintaining a calm exterior (putting my teacher-training to use, never let them see you lose control), but inside I am losing my mind.

The best day of Ellie's life

Yesterday was a day that Ellie proclaimed many times over to be the best day of her life.  I surprised her by checking her out of school at 9:30 - after her teacher takes attendance so as not to ruin her perfect attendance record.  We then went to breakfast at Denny's where she chowed down on all her favorite foods.  Then I gave her the choice of going to the movies or going to get manicures and pedicures. She chose the movie so we went to the matinee of Home. After, we met up with Tom for ice cream at Cold Stone.  We still had more time before having to pick up the boys, so I decided to do the manicures/pedicures after all.  Ellie told me, "I am being spoiled rotten today."  If you can't be spoiled on your birthday, when can you?

The day was awesome and I loved spending it one-on-one with Ellie.  The evening was not so awesome.  Tom had a track meet so I had to take the kids to swim clinic from 4-6. Jack also had a t-ball game that started at 6:30.  Picture me in the cramped, hot, outdoor bathroom trying to peel Jack out of his swimsuit and into his baseball uniform, all while trying to keep Sam from throwing things in the toilet.  Good times.  Because it was past his bedtime, Sam was so tired and cranky during the game.  He did not want to sit in his stroller, but he wouldn't stay near me either.  It was so stressful trying to keep tabs on him and still be near Jack's game in case I was needed (I gave up on watching).  I did catch him at bat one time.

 Ellie saw some friends on the playground so she took off over there, but she wouldn't watch Sam because she wanted to play.  I got pretty annoyed with her, but it was her birthday and I do put a lot of Sam responsibility on her.  By the time we got home and I was able to get the kids bathed and in bed, it was 2 hours past their bedtime.  Everyone was cranky. Except Ellie. She was still riding the high of being spoiled all day.  I was able to end the evening on a high note by reading her her Dr. Seuss Happy Birthday book that I bought her for her 6th birthday.  I think her birthday was a success.

Dear Ellie at 9 years

Dear Ellie,

Happy 9th birthday!  You were so excited for your birthday last night.  As I was tucking you into bed, you told me that all you could think about was presents and that made you feel a little guilty because it seemed greedy. I told you that I should be getting presents since I was the one that gave birth to you! But, seriously, you know how much I love your birthday.  I always tell you that it is my favorite day of the year because it is the date I first became a mom.

I stayed up late last night decorating the kitchen in various shades of green party decorations since you are currently obsessed with the color green.  Your main birthday gift was a basket full of green goodies. You also had some gifts from your daddy, who ignored me when I said you already had enough presents and went and bought you two more on his own.

Ellie, you are growing into such a lovely young lady.  You are funny, smart, kind, pretty, and witty.  You still love to read and always have your nose in a book.  I find your books all over the house - in the bathroom, kitchen, playroom, everywhere! And while I get after you for not picking them up, it reminds me so much of myself when I was your age. Actually, I still leave my books everywhere, too, so I can't get after you too much.

You are really excelling in school.  You have yet to receive anything lower than an A on your report card and you are going on your 3rd year of perfect attendance.  I am actually surprising you today by checking you out of school so we can go celebrate your birthday, but I have to wait until 10 because I don't want to ruin your perfect attendance!  I am proud of your grades, but I am even more proud of your behavior in school.  Gone is the girl who came home from kindergarten every day with marks on her conduct card.  Your teachers love you and always comment on how helpful you are.  You recently went to your art teacher and asked if you could be her helper before school since you are there so early.  You now go in and sharpen pencils and clean up for her.

Another gift you have is with the little ones.  Kids love you.  You are so sweet and gentle with babies and young kids. You told me you were famous at school

and I thought you were joking. But then I went to an after school function and kid after kid kept running up to you for hugs.  When we are at your brother's practices or swim clinic, you entertain the younger siblings of his teammates.  I love watching you with the little ones, especially with your brother Sam.

Ellie, I often get after you for not cleaning up after yourself, for talking back, for questioning me, and for not obeying the first time. But I hope you also know how thankful I am for you and how amazing I think you are.  You are my Ellie-belly, my little Choo-Choo, and I will love you forever. No matter what.

Happy birthday, my sweet girl.

Love,
Mom

Weekend recap

This weekend was awesome because Tom did not have a track meet!  We had a family movie night on Friday.  We watched "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day." Yes, the same movie based off Jack's favorite book that I took everyone to for Jack's birthday.  I think the movie is really cute and I like their family dynamic and overall message of the movie.

Saturday was our crazy day.  My church was hosting a Teacher Appreciation brunch and Ellie had invited her teacher from school. So, Ellie, Sam, and I went to that while Tom took Jack to t-ball pictures.  Then, Tom swung by and grabbed Sam who was not happy about being at the church on a Saturday.  Or maybe he was just terrified I would try to stick him in nursery.

  Jack was supposed to have practice, but it was cancelled due to wet fields.  Then, Ellie had a game at 2:00.  They continued their losing streak, but Ellie looked good. She is definitely improving each game.

And then, being the awesome wife and mother that I am, I left Tom with bedtime duty and went out with my friends to dinner and a movie.

Yesterday was church as usual and then Tom and I trading off naps in the afternoon.

A Thursday

Yesterday I took a half day from work and went to Jack's preschool for the Mother's Day Tea.  They do such a cute job and Jack was so happy to see me. He had made me this bracelet from ribbon with a flower glued to it and then we did a craft together. Afterwards, we went to this cute cafe they have in the school for our luncheon.

Then, I took Jack up to the elementary school to register him for kindergarten.  It was kind of anticlimactic for Jack since it was just a lot of waiting in lines and filling out paperwork.

Tom had a track meet that evening so I took the kids to their practices.  I was trying to keep Sam entertained by letting him wear Jack's helmet (he called it a "hat"), but when it was time for Jack to bat he took his helmet back from Sam. Sam followed Jack back onto the field, screaming bloody murder, and I had to drag him off.  At least the picture I got before the fit was cute.

Ellie and I were talking before she went to bed and she asked me to take a selfie with her. She told me to post it with the caption along the lines of, "This is how crazy Sam makes us when he throws his fits."

Just Jack

Jack is my sensitive child. He is so loving and says the sweetest things.  He wants so much to be a good boy and has a strong sense of right and wrong.  Which is why the events of yesterday caught me so off guard.

On Sunday, my mother-in-law gave me a $20 to buy something for Ellie. That night, I took it out of my pocket and placed in on the bathroom sink. Monday night, I remembered it and went to go put it in my wallet, only to find it missing.  I asked Tom if he picked it up, but he hadn't, so I assumed Ellie grabbed it since she knew it was for her birthday.

Tuesday morning, I asked Ellie about it and she was like, "Mom, I would never take money without asking. What if it had been Daddy's money?" I then asked Jack and he told me no.  A few moments later I felt like I should question him a little more, so I asked him again and told him that I wouldn't be mad as long as he told the truth. He told me no. I asked again, and again he said no. We then left and as I was dropping the boys off at the babysitter's, Ms. Donika asked Jack if he had left some money at her house yesterday.  I asked her if it was a $20 and she said yes.  I had to get to school, so I just told Jack how disappointed I was and that we would talk that night about his consequences.

I think it weighed on his mind all day because as soon as I picked him up, he apologized and called himself a liar.  I told him that his Dad and I wanted to talk to him about it later, but that he was grounded from all electronics for two weeks and he would have to do extra chores each day.  We talked a little about trust and how hard it is to regain it once lost.  With Jack, he takes things so much to heart that I have to be careful when disciplining him because he will often beat himself up more than I ever could (not literally, obviously. I try not to beat my kids).

Both Ellie and Jack had games yesterday.  Ellie's game was later than Jack's, so I brought the boys home to give them baths and put them to bed. Jack told me he was nervous about his talk with Daddy and I told him to go wait in his bed for Daddy. Well, Ellie's game lasted later than I thought and Jack was asleep before Tom got home.

The whole thing really bothered me because it seemed so out of character for Jack. Also, the fact that he lied straight to my face three times over and I totally couldn't tell he was lying.  Hopefully, he learned his lesson. It seems a little silly to write it all out, but I just love that kid so much and I know what a good heart he has so it kind of breaks mine to see him make a bad choice.  Clearly, I am not going to handle the teen years well.

Easter weekend

This past holiday weekend was so fun, but so busy.  Tom had track meets (of course he did) on Friday and Saturday.  A friend had asked us to go with them to the beach on Friday, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to deal with Sam at a beach.  However, she talked me into it and I am so glad she did! Dianna and Sabrina came along with their kids, as well. Sam hated the sand. He kept wanting me to wipe off his feet and hands with wet wipes because he was "dirty." And the ocean terrified him at first. Every time the waves lapped over his feet, he would scream. So, initially, he just sat on my lap and watched the other kids play.  Ellie was going way out with the boogie board and scaring me to death because the waves were rough.  Jack and Naomi stayed close and had fun trying to jump over the waves.  Sam finally got over his fear, but then he would not leave the water. He wanted to stand there holding my hand for hours while the waves hit his feet. He was the happiest I have seen him in awhile.  All the kids were and it made me wonder why we don't do this more often.  Galveston is only 90 miles away, but the last time I went there, I was pregnant with Jack!

Saturday morning, I watched Sabrina's kids for a bit and the Saturday evening Dianna brought her kids and a movie over.  My kids are always happiest when they have cousins around to play with.

Sunday morning was Easter and General Conference so we didn't have to rush to church.  The kids had to hunt for their chocolate bunnies instead of eggs since we didn't actually get around to dying some the day before.


Our friends had invited my family out to their golf course for dinner and an Easter egg hunt like we did last year.  I asked if I could also make it Ellie and Sam's birthday party and invite Tom's family. They were more than happy to oblige.  I went with a green theme since green is Ellie's favorite color (she is obsessed with it) and also kind of Easter-y. I didn't take any pictures, though, of all the green stuff I bought.  Sabrina brought all green veggies and Rosie cut up limes in the water. I had dropped off 175 Easter eggs they day before for our friends to hide. I also had green party favor bags filled with green candy and a green Easter egg with a dollar bill.  That was about as far as my creativity extended.  Everyone seemed to have a lot of fun and it was the easiest birthday party ever.  I should always hijack other people's invitations with my kids' parties.

Bragging on my girl

Ellie hit a single and double tonight the only two times she was at bat. Also, she was the first person to cross home plate this season for her team!

Home-style partying

 We celebrated Sam's birthday last night with some pizza, breadsticks, and cookie cake.  I really don't thing Sam understands the concept of birthdays, but he enjoyed the singing. And the food.  I love this picture because it shows how protective Ellie and Jack are of Sam. 

They are seriously always watching out for him.  I think part of it is that they don't trust my parenting skills, but whatever.  I also have several pictures in a row of them making faces which I failed to notice as I was taking the picture. What a bunch of weirdos.

 

 

Since today is Sam's actual birthday, I wanted to acknowledge it in some way, but my creativity and time is seriously limited at 6am.  So, they had a healthy breakfast of donut cake.



Ellie and Jack have swim clinic this afternoon so I think I am going to go pick up some cookies to share with our little friends poolside to continue the celebrating.  And, because y'all know how I like to drag out birthdays, we are doing the big family party on Easter Sunday for both Ellie and Sam. Party on.

Dear Sam at 2 years

Dear Sam,

    Happy birthday, Sambo! You are turning two, but everyone assumes you are much older because you are a beast!  Seriously, kid, you are wearing shirts that Jack wore a year ago. Not only do you look older than your age, but you desperately want to be older.  You want to do everything your brother and sister do...especially Jack.  You get angry if we try to make you sit in a stroller or force you to stay indoors when Ellie and Jack are running free.  We drag you along to all of their activities and I know it frustrates you that you can't be on the field or in the pool with them.  Soon enough, Sam. Soon enough.

     You still don't like to snuggle or be held, but you do greet us with hugs and a happy, "Hi!"  You say, "I love you" and press your body into ours for a second before you are off and running.  The one time you really let me hold and love on you is at church, but I think that is just because you are so terrified that someone will take you to nursery.

  Like your brother and sister when they were two, you love Elmo. No, you REALLY love Elmo. I am talking obsessed.  You would watch Elmo for hours if I let you. But you refuse to watch any other part of Sesame Street so we have to forward to Elmo's World or you will start throwing remotes and screaming.  I finally wised up and downloaded a few Elmo's World episodes. 

  The one thing you like more than Elmo is riding tricycles outside or playing at the park.  You love playing outdoors.  You also like riding your ride-on toys indoors and you do fast loops around our downstairs. 

  You still don't talk a whole lot because you are waited on hand and foot by everyone around you.  I had your hearing tested a couple months ago and the ear doctor said you are just the typical third child.  You are remarkably clear when you need to be, though. For example, "I want more" is crystal clear.

  Sam you are so stubborn and strong-willed, but you are funny as heck.  You really do have a great sense of humor. You have all of us wrapped around your little finger because you are so dang adorable.  You are the perfect bookend to our little family.  I love you forever, Sam the Man. Happy birthday.

Love,
Mama