Playing!

Gabe just discovered this morning if he concentrates really hard he can occasionally slap at the toy on the toy bar. At one point, he was smiling and cooing at the green rubber shape!

Liam has trapped Spitfire the calico cat in his bedroom and is attempting to make her eat goldfish crackers. I have discovered a weird pimply, painful bump on the pad of my pinkie finger. Wonder if something bit me during the night?

Going to be a fantastic Sunday!

Karl starts his new schedule tomorrow. He will be working either 4:15 or 4:45 pm until 1:15 am, five days a week. This will allow me to work 3 afternoons a week, if I feel the need. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't.

My mom wants to come watch them, and that's fine, but now I won't have to cancel work if she is sick or something. 

Busy Day

Liam slept away most of the morning, and the afternoon was so productive.

Oh by the way, I feel a little bad about ranting about Karl sleeping in earlier. I am still mad, but really this is a blog and blogs are supposed to be about the highlights, not the drudgery of life, right?

First, I bought some zucchini a the farmer's market last Saturday, and I figured it was time to use it. First, I got out my new-to-me "Dine on a Dime" cookbook. I chose to make a zucchini cake with buttercreme frosting. It was rather funny, because as I explained earlier, we live in an old house. Another issue with the house is sloping floors. Well, I noticed today this even affects our cakes!

Here is one layer of the prefrosted cake. It was really good, though. We also fried some of the zucchini up, and it was good!

Then, I decided to make a fall bunting for the fireplace using scrapbook paper. I make a very simple one layered bunting (you can add stickers and decorations and other layers, but I wanted quick and easy.
Here's the result. I'll be amazed if Liam doesn't tear it down within a day.

Now off for a walk!

Soft Gray Skies

Which has nothing to do with my post.

SO happy summer is over!

It's been busy around here. I am taking the week off work, which nearly kills me every time a job pops up, although I would rather be at home. I have been so grumpy. I hate...the insecurity of not being able to support myself. I hate when Karl sleeps late. I HATE when KARL SLEEPS late.

I have decided to let Liam's top hair grow out again.. The short, shorn look doesn't really flatter his soft rounded features. But that growing out stage will be awkward. I want to get his pics done, but not until his hair is decent again.  Liam, by the way, was up a great deal of the night, fell asleep on the couch and just now rolled off it. He isn't crying, though.

Living in an older house, there are all sorts of weird quirks. Well, there's the damp, smelly basement, which unfortunately blows air out into the house through the furnace. There's the cracking foundation. The cracks appearing in the walls. But there is also the fact that we are renting. I am not putting a lot of money into a house that isn't mine. We do some upkeep because we live here (like replacing the ceiling tiles in the basement bathroom), but none of us our handy, so our fix-it's don't work too well.
But the wall board that has been placed over the brick fireplace (the part above the mantel) was beginning to sag and pull away (I think it leaks around the chimney). We couldn't figure out what to do. Finally, I found a throw online that covers the area and hung it. I think it looks SO much better, although when I removed the photo frames to hang it, there was a brown recluse on the wall behind one. Those things really scare me. I just imagine one of the kids getting bit and disfigured and in pain.

Well, it's better anyway. Liam is asleep again. It was really rough last night. He wouldn't fall asleep. Then apparently it stormed last night, and he was crying. Tierney got in late from babysitting, and heard him and went and sat with him, but he never fell back asleep until about 8:30 am. I feel awful that he was crying for me and I didn't hear him. I guess I need to get a baby monitor. 

Enjoy this last week of good ole September. It's hard to believe, after such a relentless summer, that October is almost here!

Sigh

After nearly bouncing off the wall for two days with excitement, Caleb's "game" got canceled. Sigh. I wish he could catch a break sometime.

This is very typical Caleb luck. It's usually  his toys that are defective or break. His X-Box wouldn't work with our  HDTV (we didn't know until the warranty period was up because he used it with his tv first-which stopped working a couple months after he bought the x-box)). His plans get canceled. 

Blah. Well, if nothing else, he should be skilled at handling disappointment by adulthood. Hate when my kids are disappointed, though.

Ah Autumn

Love this time of year. And winter. And spring. And summer. It's all good, really.

Today I got dressed, made up, and even curled my hair early because I planned to go to the history conference at Doubletree Hotel with Karl. But then he said he didn't mind going alone if I didn't want to go (I didn't) so Tierney and I took the little boys to a yard sale where we found several cute items and then we went to the farmer's market.

At the yard sale we found two one piece outfits for Gabe-one is for Halloween and one is for Thanksgiving. We also purchased a hat with bat wings for him. Very cute. Liam picked out an engine for his Thomas set at the yard sale. Tierney found a Dr. Who poster and I bought a couple Halloween decorations.

The farmer's market was great. I am a sucker for anyone who raves on my kids, I just have to buy. If I ever have a store, I'll have to remember that.

Karl brought the Autumn decorations up (they are sitting on the porch so all the brown recluses in my imagination (maybe) can crawl away), and we went for a short walk. It's so freaking beautiful today!

One of those happy days where life is a pleasant snapshot of sunlit joy.


Caleb has been busy making plans with to play with airsoft guns with Jake and his friends. Apparently there is some place you can pay and play. Whatever. I am just glad he's getting out with other boys. And I hope Jake follows through. The equipment was pricey and Caleb would be so disappointed, too.


So Taryn informs me that a picture of our house on street view on Google shows the trash can overflowing with trash and the screen door (which is broke) is hanging wide open. Nice.

With a half day here, and a half day there

Here a half, there a half, everywhere a half half.

Yesterday my mom said she was ready to try babysitting while I worked. She is still in pain from the shingles, but the pain may be ongoing, and she isn't contagious anymore.

Well, there isn't school this Friday, so I guess that means I can try Monday afternoon.

I went ahead and scheduled a half day tomorrow afternoon (Karl's off), because I have a doctor's appt in the morning. But I am dreading it already. It's funny. All these jobs pop up and I am frustrated because I can't take them. Then when one comes up and I take it, I am frustrated because I have to go to work.

Silly. Sounds like a personal problem to me.

At least I can appreciate my time at home when I have to go to work. Really though, is it just negativity and pessimism plaguing at me? Grass is greener? I should be thrilled I can work parttime. Shouldn't that be the best of both worlds? I guess I need to focus on the fact that money will be going into my bank account. And that's nice.

And the song? Liam likes to sing Old McDonald now (well parts of it) so it is really stuck in my head. I thought I'd share with you! ;~)

Fingerpainting!

Liam wasn't in a Mighty Machines mood this morning, and Gabe was happily swinging away, so we decided to make sweetened condensed milk fingerpaints (we don't have any paintbrushes).

Here are our results!:

We practiced mixing red, yellow, and blue to get other colors...

Guess who did this one? 

And a pic of Gabe from the other day, just because...

(ever had so many kids you can't keep their names straight?)

Drink more water!

We hear all the time we should drink more water. My older kids said their dad buys a big tank of water and that makes it accessible. I don't see myself doing that, but I did find one thing that worked this summer. In the morning I would fill a pitcher with water and ice, and then add slices of lemon or cucumber and place it on the table. It was usually gone by mid-morning.

Also since the last few packages of carrots and the cucumber I have bought have gone bad. I have decided to take the few minutes to actually get them ready to eat. I peeled the skin (letting Liam "help" with the peeler) and then sliced them up into dip-able and easily eatable pieces. We'll see if they go faster this time. 

The Chiefs Suck- and Sibling Rivalry

The KC Chiefs just break my heart. Call me a fair-weather fan-I think I am done.

Pre-haircut

Post haircut (I am getting better and Liam was pretty still this time!)

Now onto my real topic. Sibling Rivalry. Last spring I was congratulating myself on having the best toddler in whole wide world. Yes, I had him. He was sweet, smart, could talk like a big boy and was potty training well.

Now, he slaps an innocent baby, deliberately pees on the floor or couch when he is scolded, and his development seems to be stuck.

Let's dissect this. The hitting. I did some reading and I "know" this is very common. But it's so frustrating. When the boy you love so much hits the helpless other boy you are getting to know, it's not only infuriating, it's confusing. Mama bear instincts are raised, but you can't just write off the older one because you know, he's yours, too. It's so frustrating. Add to that an aching back that makes getting up and down, and picking baby up painful, and...it's been a sad day.

The peeing. Oh sigh. I guess that's the regression they always talk about. Why did I think my angel would not  fall prey to psychology's darker side?

The development. I feel like Liam isn't making progress on his talking. I am probably wrong. He is likely picking up new vocabulary all the time. I just don't see it.

I guess I just hate being another average mom, dealing with normal average problems. I am frustrated that this sibling rivalry will make my son just another average kid instead of the wonderous kid he could have been. I am frustrated that I care. I should be above such worries.
I will probably delete this post. I don't like pimping out my feelings for the entertainment of others. I like expressing myself, but then I feel angry. Who is reading? Besides my relatives? Is it fun for my readers to read about my problems?

Yeah, the back ache is really making me a little grumpy.
Liam is at my mom's. and I am so mad that I can't give him the attention I want him to have. The baby is starting to stir, and somehow I have to bend down and PICK HIM UP. And this hurts so much right now.
And I decide I am going to be cool. But then Liam slaps the baby and I yell. Then I am mad at myself for yelling. But I have to react. I can't just ignore it.

It will get better. And then Gabe will learn to stand up and it will start all over again. If the Tierney/Caleb interactions are any indicator of what will happen.

Oh if only patience could be refilled with a bucket and shovel. Running a little low? Just grab the little shovel and spoon some more in. That's what I need.

Gosh the Chiefs disappoint.

Falling into a rhythm

Well, not a strong rhythm, but a relaxed one. We wake up. I get on the computer until 8:30 or so. It isn't strict computer time as I am making breakfast and caring for Liam and baby. Now, 1.5 hours in the morning on the computer IS a lot. I have no excuses other than I love reading about stuff.

Liam doesn't always nap now, so after lunch I have instituted a "quiet time". Basically I go through the motions of tucking him in, but before I shut the door, I tell him he doesn't have to sleep and can play if he wants. This helps, because I really like the 7pm to 7am sleeping time for him, but I still need a break during the day. After an hour or so I open the door. If he is asleep. I try to wake him, but sometimes he sleeps a bit longer. Half the time he is still awake.

The baby doesn't have a set pattern. He is a very sweet baby. He has a lot more body control than Liam did at his age. He just seems more wiry and stronger. Liam was always big and clunky and had trouble building the neck muscles to lift that head.

I love this softly falling rain. Love love love it! I want to go to Cider days or whatever it is down on Walnut street, but I am not sure I want to brave the rain. Why does it always rain on Cider days? We went there a few years ago when I was pregnant with Liam. I just walked in a daze, slightly nauseated. Then we went home and ordered quikdine sushi. Ah those quiet weekends when the older kids were at their dad's and the younger ones had yet to emerge.

I hear Gabe grunting. His eyes are closed, but he will likely wake soon.

Caleb played for an hour, and then asked to watch "Mighty Machines". It's a pretty cool show for little boys. This episode they are visiting a sawmill and it shows all the machinery used. Liam LOVES the big machine trucks. He is a boy's boy. Except when he sneaks into his sister's room and states, "I need to put my makeup on."

Caleb's been depressed again. I made an appointment with the younger boys pediatrician. I don't know if meds would help, but I can't afford therapy, and can't just stand back and watch him be miserable. I wish he would listen to some of the advice we give him regarding how to talk to people. Even with family, he is inappropriate. He will walk into the room and instead of saying, "Hi, what's up?" he will say, "You all should just go away." Well, I am not a social queen, but I know that isn't a great way to connect to people. Sigh.
The strange thing, he thinks he is dumb, but when I do his work with him, he is quite capable. I don't understand where he got this idea from. He may not LIKE doing work, but he is definitely capable in his schoolwork. He is struggling in ART class. He says he doesn't know why, but in reality, he just isn't telling me. I mean he is either doing the work or he isn't. If he is doing it "wrong" then surely he is getting feedback.  I guess I could ask the teacher. I am so afraid of being one of those pushy, reactive parents, that I probably don't get involved enough. I still feel insecure with teachers. They treat me like I am .... uneducated and lowerclass. I can't help that my older kids don't care about appearances. Maybe I should have forced the issue but I just wanted to let them be who they wanted to be. Is that wrong? What else are they basing this on. That they are getting free lunch? Or maybe this is just my own imagination, because I hate when people act like they know more than me? In regards to how my kids stack up with other, they probably do. I mean they can easily compare them with the other students. BUT...when Taryn was in 5th grade and I was teaching, her teacher asked the kids what their parents did. Taryn said I was a teacher, and she insists her teacher argued with her that I wasn't. I guess that makes me feel bad.

Anyway, getting off subject..I don't know what the subject was. I am enjoying being home. You know with student loans supplementing Karl's income, it isn't half bad. If only he made 10K more. Then we'd feel pretty comfortable. But what could he do? He doesn't like sales. He folds under high stress. Hmmm.

Enjoy this fantastic, gray morning. We deserve the delight after this killer summer.

Love,

Jill