Built-In Entertainment

I'm finding that one of the best things about having a 3 1/2 yr old around is the constant flow of entertainment. Anna's just so funny! I have to share her ramblings from tonight...

First off, I apparently have a boyfriend that I am unaware of. Tonight while we were praying for our usual list of loved ones, somewhere between Aunt this and cousin that, she slips in "mommy's boyfriend" and then continues on with herself. So, I stop her and ask "what did you just say?...who is mommy's boyfriend?" and she erupts into belly shaking giggles. She then tells me that it was an accident and she didn't mean to say that, but she apparently thinks the idea of it is so funny. Then I realize...this child is laughing at me!! I realize that I must be so old and uncool in her eyes that I couldn't possibly have a boyfriend. So, I triumphantly exclaimed "Well, Anna, as a matter of fact, I do have a boyfriend". Her laughing abruptly stopped and she looked at me wide eyed with a very worried look and said "mommy, what? you have a boyfriend?" and I said "yep, and his name is daddy". Sorry D.J., she thought that was even funnier.

The other hilarious thing she said tonight was practically said in her sleep. I had eaten a chocolate chip cookie just minutes before I went upstairs to check on the girls before heading to bed. While in Anna's room, I bent down to tuck her in and kiss her on the cheek (she usually doesn't wake up). But tonight, as soon as my lips hit her cheek, her groggy eyes flew open and she exclaimed "I smell chocolate"! LOL

This Dude Is Scary

He is. Let's face it...The Easter Bunny is one scary dude. He even freaks me out a bit. So why is it that each Easter we all torture our poor children by taking them to "sit on the Easter Bunny's Lap"? I dunno, but we do. So yesterday we did just that...we took the girls on what was supposed to be a fun family outing to see the Easter Bunny. Josie just had one look at him and lost her mind. I mean, she completely freaked out. But we had taken the time to get all cute and hauled everyone out over to the mall, so of course come hell or high water we were gonna get that pic. I mean, who doesn't have a decade's worth of pics of their kids freaking out on Santa's lap? One day she'll look back at this picture, laugh and say "aw, wasn't I cute?...look at me crying and freaking out...isn't that just the cutest thing...I was so upset, how cute was I just freaking out like that?".

Huh?? No!...isn't this like child abuse or something? ha Josie was so discombobulated after her 5 seconds sitting near (not even on) the Easter Bunny that she couldn't even get her bearings about her. She was just walking in circles and running away from us screaming. She wouldn't even come near me...I think the thought of me bringing her back into even the vacinity of the Easter Bunny literally put the fear of God in her.

But, on the other side of the Easter Bunny's lap sat Anna Jane, timid but smiling and happy. She was scared, but her desire for presents totally overrode her fear. See, she had to be sure that the Easter Bunny knew exactly which Bike she wants him to bring her for Easter this year.

Bedtime

Whoa!! I can't believe it's been over 10 days since I last posted. I think that's the longest I've ever gone. We've just been so busy. The weather's getting nice, we took a trip to Cincy, I've been selling tons of crap on Craigslist....oh and then of course there's that thing called work. But tonight all I want to talk about is Bedtime, otherwise known as "the most torturous time of my day", every day.

It's amazing to me that my kids' personalities are the exact same as they were at merely a week old. That brings me to bedtime. Thank God I was blessed with at least one child that loves everything about bedtime...loves her bed, her room, the dark, her blankie, her paci and frankly, just wants to be left alone as soon as the clock hits 7pm. Sometimes I try to rock Josie before bed and most nights she'll have none of it, reaching out and asking for her crib. And sometimes after I think she's been asleep for an hour, I'll sneek quietly into her room and there she'll be sitting up and reading to herself or playing with her baby just loving every moment of solitude.

See, Josie is my saving grace for the hot mess that is Anna at bedtime each and every evening. You would not even believe the shrieking and snot curdling screams that are coming from her bedroom right now. And each night it's the same story. I put her to bed and all of a sudden she needs one of everything in this house...a band aid, a kleenex, socks, her kitty, her toys, a book, etc etc. Then she has to go to the bathroom or something hurts and needs ice. This could go on and on and on, so when I limit it and don't allow it, she puts on this show. Seriously if the Nanny 911 camera crew were here even they'd be shocked and appalled.

And see the picture above?.. that was Anna the first 3 months of her life if I so much as thought about putting her down. I realized quickly that she wasn't colicky, she was just stubborn and knew exactly what it was she wanted...even just days old...and she was going to make damn sure that the whole world knew it too. Of course, I wouldn't want her any other way and this persistence to always get exactly what she wants will hopefully make her wildly successful. But, please God help us through the teenage years...

My Mom List

I like this depiction of motherhood above. I like to imagine that this is what I look like when I'm at home with my mom hat on...multitasking like a pro while wearing my fabulous shoes, hair shiny and bouncy and full, make-up applied perfectly, delicious dinner in the oven because of course I'm a fabulous cook...all done with a smile. And there's my content little baby playing peacefully by herself...wow, she's so advanced, I'd think to myself...what a great mom I must be. HAHAHA...right. Try me for real at the end of the day...barefoot in sweatpants and t-shirt with what I am sure are boogers on my sleeve, make-up rubbed off from a hard day's work and hair frazzled and messy. I slave in the kitchen taking the Kids Cuisine out of the wrapper and placing it the microwave while my kids terrorize each other and the dog and destroy my house. How's that for the cover of Parenting Magazine? :-) Well, awhile back I listed all the many reasons that sometimes I feel like anything but a mom, but lately I've been thinking about all things that make me, without a doubt, a mom. Here are a few...

1. Way too frequently, the following words come out of my mouth: "If I have to tell you one more time", "1-2-3", "Do you wanna go straight to bed?", "Absolutely not!" and "What did I just say?".

2. I think Justin Bieber looks like a baby...literally.

3. I traded my sophisticated weekends full of dinners and adult parties for weekends full of activity running and birthday parties with little snot nosed kids.

4. All of our money goes to diapers, wipes and daycare, so I get excited when we get Babies R Us coupons in the mail.

6. Instead of a teeny tiny purse just big enough to hold my phone, id and key, I'm now a walking drugstore and at all times carry around a bag most 16 yr olds would consider an "overnight bag".

7. Now I go to bed at a time when I used to eat dinner.

8. I am now that obnoxious mom toting multiple kids around in the backseat with dvd player going and driving carefully in the biggest most ridiculous gas guzzling vehicle available...and I love it!

9. I look in the mirror and sometimes see little girls that are 30 yrs younger.

10. I have mom joy. I seriously think only moms can have this because I'm not sure you really know how much you are capable of loving someone or something else until you have children. It's like being in a constant state of falling in love.

Move Over Dave Matthews Band

It is a slight understatement to say that my kids are obsessed with Noggin (aka Nick Jr)...the entire line-up. Kai Lan, Yo Gabba Gabba, Backyardigans, Blue's Clues, Wonder Pets...for those of you who are subject to the same torture...i know, I know..if I hear "the phone, the phone is ringing" one more time I may throw our flat screen out the window. I can't even escape Noggin in the car!! I swear somewhere the Nick Jr bigwigs are sitting together in a conference room laughing and coming up with ways to torture innocent parents by only creating 3 different shows of each kind and replaying them over and over and over. But thankfully, my kids are just as obsessed with The Laurie Berkner Band, who gives a refreshing reprieve from the otherwise unbearable repetition of Doras and Diegos. And I actually like Laurie Berkner and find myself shamelessly turning up the volume when she comes on and dancing around the family room with my girls like I'm 4 again. Her tunes are catchy for the parents and the kids know every word! Sometimes at night when we're upstairs getting ready for a bath, Laurie Berkner will come on downstairs in the family room where Noggin was left playing to an empty audience. Anna will hear one note, scream "Laurie Berkner" and all girls (myself included) will go tearing downstairs to dance along to "i'm sittin here I'm one day old, now I'm sittin here I'm 2 days old".

About 6 weeks ago we took the girls to The Laurie Berkner pajama party concert and they had a blast! To check out the band and find out when they may be coming to your neighborhood, click HERE.