The Pirate

The Pirate

Random facts about The Pirate:


He is my middle child-7 yrs. old


He weighed 9lb. 15oz. at birth (2 weeks early)


He was such a great baby!


He was SO darling as a toddler. I found this picture awhile ago and about cried, he was so cute!

When he was 3yrs. he was hospitalized for severe dehydration due to the flu 


When he was 5yrs. he got hit in the mouth with a metal golf club and had to get stitches


He LOVES, LOVES, LOVES, 4-wheeling

He loves amusement parks


He LOVES extreme sports (and got his 1st snowboard this year)

He is obsessed with Little Ceasar's breadsticks
(would eat them for every meal if given the choice)

He's really good (usually) about doing his chores and homework without complaint

He loves to play the Wii, especially Guitar Hero (and he's really good at it)

He is a really funny kid


He can make The Pea laugh like nobody else

He is really fun to hang out with!

The Princess...

I thought I would take the next few posts to introduce my family.... 

The Princess  

Random facts about The Princess:

      

She is my oldest child-9yrs.old

She weighed 9lbs. 7oz. at birth (3 weeks early!)

She had HORRIBLE colic as a baby but has grown up to be a very calm, sweet girl

When she was 1yr. old she pulled a hot curling iron down into the crook of her arm and still has a scar from it ( it kinda scarred me too...)

When she was 4yrs. old she fell while rough housing with her grandpa and slammed her cheek into an end table (which resulted in her one dimple) and put her hand through a glass candle holder (which resulted in 16 stitches and a really cool scar) 

She had her tonsils out when she was 5

She LOVES animals as much as I do (which is ALOT!)

She loves Jamba Juice

She is awesome at art and playing the piano

She has a HUGE heart and is always worrying about how others feel (even strangers who look lonely or sad)

She has a really funny sarcastic sense of humor

She loves to camp, hike and fish

She loves dirt and bugs just as much as she loves getting all dressed up and her hair done fancy

People love to be around her because she is so sweet and funny

She is an amazing big sister (especially when it comes to her baby sister)

She tends to be shy and HATES performing in front of any kind of audience (gets that from me)


She wears the same size shoe as me (Women's 9)

She is one of my best friends! 






P.S. Piper is doing so much better! Yippee!!!!

Foot problems...

Look at those feet. They look so innocent and so sweet. Who'da thought they could cause so much drama! Last week at 3:32am (yes-I looked at the clock) I awoke to The Pea's cries coming from her crib. I groaned. I hauled myself out of bed grumbling in my head all the way to her room (ok it's like 5 feet from mine but at 3:32am it feels a lot farther!) You see, she's famous for standing in the corner of her crib crying at all blasted hours of the night just so I will come and put her binkie in her mouth, hand her her woobie (blanket....ya know....Mr. Mom.....? Yeah. Never mind. Anyhoo...), and lay her back down. Really? REALLY!? She can't do that herself? Let me just stop right here and say how much I truly ADORE sleeping! Like, I wait from the minute I get up in the morning to crawl back under those cool refreshing sheets at night to drift off to dreamland....*sigh*.....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz......I'm awake!

So. There I was, 3:32am and grumbling about how she could stick her own darn binkie in her own darn mouth and how big of a pushover I am getting up to do it for her when I discover that one of those sweet little feet is stuck between two of her crib rails. Did I say stuck? I meant S...T...U...C...K! (FYI-Her crib rail is a serious of evenly spaced slats until each end where they narrow considerably. Again. REALLY?!) I tried to gently twist her ankle, the cries intensify. I try to slide her heel back through hoping the toes will follow, the cries turn into screams. I panic. I go back to my room and loudly tell The Hubster that I need him. Now. He awakes with a start, throws off his CPAP mask (for Sleep Apnea) and jumps to his feet with a loud, "I'm up. What's wrong?!" Let me stop again and tell you that The Hubster sleeps deeply. Nothing wakes him up. NOTHING. However, when something startles him out of sleep he's immediately in fix it/on guard/ protection mode. One day I'll do a post just on his sleeping habits and the funny things he's said and done while sleeping or when woken up suddenly....but, back to 3:32am.

So. I quickly explain the situation and he follows the screams down the hall. He twists, he pushes, he examines. I offer to get butter. He seriously contemplates busting out the two slats that are holding our Sweetpea's foot hostage. I offer to get hand soap. Finally he says pick her up and twist her body to the right. I do so and though the screams intensify for a brief second, she is then freed and the crying stops. Victory! Now she was clutching on to me taking ragged, panicky breathes but babbling cheerfully and laughing a little. Yeah laughing. Want to know why? Because now she was wide awake and would be up until 5. I however? Was not amused. Drama, drama, drama....and yes, the other two slept through the whole thing.

My little artists...

Warning: For some reason these pics looked SO much better in Photoshop than on this post. Not to mention The Pirate's nose wasn't yellow...grrrr....frustration.

Last week we went to the Elementary School for the annual Art Gallery Walk. Each year the students do artwork for the various bulletin boards in the halls and the parents come on Gallery Walk Night and beam with pride as their kids show off their handiwork. My kids LOVE art projects. They are always SO excited for this night!

 
I have to admit, The Princess was actually supposed to participate in a non-mandatory recorder concert that night with her fellow 4th graders. The usual chaos ensued at home that evening, which this night included a cranky toddler with a cold to make everything that much more enjoyable, and we missed the recorder concert. I can hear the nominations for Mother of the Year now.... Truth be told our princess didn't want to participate anyway. She takes after her mother who HATES public speaking/performing of any kind! So when the Hubster got home that night we headed over to the school where we were so late that we were the only ones left in the school. We had exactly 15 minutes before the place was supposed to be locked down for the night. We strolled through the halls while The Princess and The Pirate proudly showed off their cutting, gluing, shading, bubble-wrap painting skills and The Hubster and I oohed and aahed  at all the appropriate moments.

Isn't it funny how you really do always think that your child's project is the best? The Pea had a great time running around like she owned the place. I watched her and thought of how quickly the time will fly until she will be roaming those halls as an actual student. *sigh* 15 minutes later we rounded our little Picassos up and headed home, one more annual Art Gallery Walk under our belts...

                                                                             

When I grow up...

 
I read this blog all the time. I admire Shawni so much as a photographer, I aspire to be that good someday. But more than that, her love of homemaking and her zeal for motherhood make me want to be a better person. Ya know 'Joy School'? Her mom started that. Yeah. She has to be great right? She is. Then yesterday I read this post on CJane and thought about it all day. Why don't I find joy in being a homemaker? I want to. How does one change their attitude? I mean really change it. I don't just want to tolerate it. I want to find joy in it! 


I also watched Oprah the other day. Did you see it? The one where they took all of a family's techno gadgets for one week (even the microwave--HORROR!!!), then organized their home and had them really concentrate on connecting with each other. They had to eat more nutritionally, eat together, spend time together etc. No TV, no video games, no cell phones, nothin'. The parents talked about how they had come to let the TV entertain their 5 year old all of the time he was at home. The teenager talked of how he texted almost non-stop and the parents were always either on the internet or checking email. Sound familiar? I don't have a teenager and most nights we have dinner together, but the other stuff fits the bill. 


I remember this talk awhile back. I remember how it made me feel. I remember how it inspired me. Of course, I didn't change anything. But I came across it again the other day and I almost felt like I was being reminded that I was no better off as a mother today than I was the day I heard that talk, and I felt ashamed.  I have to admit, I kinda TV, video games, eating out, reading blog after blog about other people's lives that are always more interesting than mine.You know....the easy way.........  






I think that maybe easy isn't acceptable anymore.

But I'm keeping the microwave.