Changes are good!

Times - they are a'changin'. THANK GOD! Just a not-so-quick update for those of you who may have read about the sleeping woes of our little princess.

I can't imagine any of you reading (if there are any others) could be more excited than I am that miss Abigail is finally sleeping through the night. If I could, I'd hire a band of angels to sing a firm "Hallelujah!!" to commemorate this milestone. Now, when I say sleeping through the night, I don't mean she's snuggled up in her own bed with her lovey's throughout the night. That would be too ideal and I think I'd been whisked away to Heaven. She's still sleeping on the love seat, just outside our bedroom door, like she has been for a good 3-4 weeks now. Yeah, so what? I'm taking delight in the simple things... the fact that I don't have to sit with her while she falls asleep every night... that she's not raiding our bed a few hours after I've sat with her for 30+ minutes... oh, not to mention that my body has actually gotten a FULL night's sleep - for the first time in about 4-1/2 years! Those are major accomplishments in our house and I'm proud of them!

Today she found a part of Seth's ceiling fan (no clue how this was found in his closet and brought out, but anyway...) and came out with it on her head. We laughed and laughed at her. She looked like a little Japanese woman serving saki at the Japanese steak house. The smile she gave Allen when he took the picture even makes her look asian. Too funny!








Now, on to Seth's latest adventures. As of this moment, he's been sent to his room as punishment for letting his anger out on a cute little book that's been around for ... who knows how long. He got mad and ripped the little cover off of it. It was the last straw of the hour for me, and he's abolished to a few minutes of agony in his toy-filled room. What a punishment. If he only knew that he could actually play and forget about the "punishment" part, he'd be a lot happier, but no... he'd rather cry, wail, cough, hack, kick, etc. for more attention.


Okay, now that that's said, he's had a milestone of his own this week. He completed his first week of Pre-K and actually liked it! I think we're onto something here. Tuesday morning when I tried waking him up, he just didn't want to get up. He hollered at me "I'm not going to school! I don't want to go to school!" Oh, boy... already??! Do I really have to deal with this on day TWO of school ever?? Once I tickled him out of bed he was ready to get dressed and head out. I'm so proud of him and at the same time I could just cry that he's already school age. I just hope he's a good student and makes some good friends, which I know he will. His teacher, Ms. Renorda, has her hands full!!


We had his 4 year pictures made today at JCPenney. He was excellent for the girl! I've had a bad experience there before with a different girl, but this one is really good and I'm glad I went back there. You can't beat the $3.99/sheet deal! I'm posting a few of the ones we got of him. He's so grown up!






This is totally non-related to these updates, but my Dad suggested I "journal" the sayings of my kids and that's really where this new blog has started. There have been many funny lines from both of them, but before I end this post, I'll leave you with a recent story. Something you can laugh about.

We took Seth to his 4-year check-up on his actual birthday. After that, we took him to eat at Long John Silvers (yes, we love the greasy food). As we were standing in the line, a larger lady was standing ahead of us. Seth pointed to her, cocked his head to the side and said "Now, THAT lady is fat." After I dug my head out of my backside, I gave him the eye. You know, the mom eye... the one where your eyes are opened as wide as they can get and you try your hardest to give them that "you better fear me" look. After I distracted him with asking what he wanted to eat, he realized I hadn't really acknowledged what he had said, so he started to say it again. He pointed that finger and I grabbed it right away before he could say a word. I was mortified, knowing the fat lady (and yes, she was quite large) had heard him. What can you do??? You know she heard it and you know you're mortified and you know she's probably mortified. Seth, on the other hand, was just being a kid, and really thought nothing of it. A kid too much like his mama. I did that same thing when I was little. A couple of times. And this is my payback. All I can do is laugh. I know my Papa would be laughing his head off, slapping his knee, if he could hear this story. Man, how I wish I could hear him laughing right now.

That's all for now. Bath time for the kids. Thanks for reading (and I hope someone is)!

My grown-up boy

Well, today was the day. Seth woke up at 6:15 - I guess excited about school. I made him go back to sleep for a while, then tried waking him at 8:00. After several times, he finally got up and got his clothes changed. I was very sick today, so in addition to being sappy about his big day, I was weepy just because I was hurting all over. We took Abbey next door and headed out around 8:40. After signing him in, we went through the doors to his classroom. All the VPK kids were in the same room for Ms. Renorda's class, along with most of the parents who had stuck around to watch their kids for a bit before leaving. We stood in the doorway of the room for a few minutes, mainly because it was jam-packed with people. After it cleared out, he anxiously asked "Mama, can I go in and play?" Oh, man... he was more ready than I was. I said "sure" and he headed in there to play with the kids. I stayed and watched for a few minutes, feeling the emotions welling up inside me. My baby isn't a baby anymore. He's a grown-up 4-year old in Pre-K. When I was on the way out, I caught his eye and waved to him. "I love you and I'll pick you up later today, okay?"... "Okay, mom!"

Pre-K day is here

Hard to believe 4 years ago today I had an 11-day old boy in my arms after 2.5 days of off-and-on labor. He's had many milestones... his first cold, first tooth, first haircut, first accident, etc. Twenty-one onths later we added Abbey to the family. He wasn't too sure about her that first day, but he's come to understand that she's part of us now. They play together - sometimes calmly, sometimes not. All of those milestones in my first child's life have meant a lot.

But tomorrow is a day I just really haven't thought too much about... until now. My baby's going to his first day of Pre-K. I'll be strong on the outside, but inside I'll be a mooshy mess. Think of watery Jello. Or runny mashed potatoes. Hopefully I can keep my composure while I'm there, so he can see I really am excited that he's starting a new journey. He'll be making lots of friends and turning new corners in his learning. I'm a proud mama. I'll post pictures of his big day, with a big smile on my face. Until tomorrow... :)

Sleeping beauty - Part 2

... and she slept all night on her little love seat bed. I think I'm onto something here. Now to strategize how to get her in her own bed and do the same thing... soon.

Sleeping beauty

My kids have never been good sleepers. Since day one really. Yeah, there were a few nights along the way where I thought "yeah, we got this thing... they've got it down pat and we won't be one of THOSE sets of parents..." How wrong I was. Seth's been sleeping through the night since he was about 2-1/2 or 3 - a little over a year now. He gets up occasionally during the night, but it's pretty rare anymore. Abbey, on the other hand... that girl's internal sleep clock is messed up. The (recent) former routine was bath, bottle, then I'd sit on the end of her bed while she fumbled around and tried to get comfortable. Sometimes this went on for 30+ minutes. That just plain made me mad that I "had" to do this every night. And most nights I'd leave her awake, only to trigger the next phase - the crying and yelling, getting out of her bed, spanking, etc. I was going to bed very late every night, then being woken up a few hours later when she'd pile in between us. Inevitably, I'd end up in my 2nd bed, the rocker recliner, for the remainder of the night. Now, I will admit - that is one comfortable chair to sleep in - if one has to sleep in a chair. But my bed is much better.

We've recently made a breakthrough of sorts (insert clapping and cheering). She's been sleeping on the love seat for about a week or two now. I make her a little pallet of blankets and she sleeps there. Just within the last few nights she's actually stayed there all night long. That's a breakthrough, people, in case you missed it! It's the little things that make me happy. Not only am I not sitting with her, waiting for her to fall asleep, but she's actually staying out of my bed! As I type away, she's behind me all covered in big bubba's (Hollis's) penguin blanket, zonked out from her long day which included a 15 minute nap. I just hope this isn't another one of those times where I'm thinking "we got this thing..." and it's really just a passing phase. I would love for her to sleep in her own bed, don't get me wrong. But for now, I'm just enjoying the simple fact that I can have some free time to myself while she drifts off on her own. Not to mention getting my bed back permanently.

I'll end with our nightly exchange: "Night night, sleep tight. Don't let the bedbugs bite."

I'm back

It's been a long time since I've posted on here (over a year). With the revival of my memories, I've also made some changes to my blog outlook and life outlook. I came back to the blog for a few reasons, but mainly because it's a great place to capture some of the priceless things my kids say and do.

Abbey turned 2 in May. She's a little princess. She's a little sweetheart. She's a little devious at times. She's got better manners (please, thank you, I'm sorry...) than most kids I know. She has the perfect personality to balance that of her older brother. She's got her mama's curly locks and blue eyes. She's the little girl I hoped to have. Likes to be pretty but yet likes to get her feet all dirty going on walks with her Papa. I look forward to seeing her learn more, sing more songs, give us some cute facial expressions and play with her older brothers.

Seth just turned 4 a week ago and he'll be starting Pre-K on Monday. I haven't been too caught up in this milestone along the way to this point, but I really feel a wave of emotion heading my way on Monday morning. I have a kid in school now. No more lazy free days for him... for many many years. I tried explaining it to him but he has no clue. He's happy to be 4, and thrilled to be starting Pre-K... meeting new friends, learning new things and bringing home stories to tell. So instead of stressing about how I may feel about this milestone, I think I'll just take his 4-year old view on this new journey and let him be a 4-year old. No sense in cluttering up his young mind with the stress of his mom's insecurities.

I'll be posting some short and sweet conversations, comments & stories soon that my two have come up with lately. They're definitely worth sharing for a good laugh!