Musing from Little Man

As we sat on the couch watching Shrek and i was feeding Little Lady, Little Man looks over at me and says:

LM: You know what? I wish I was a mom.
Me: Really, how come?
LM: So I would know if it tickles when babies eat.
Me: It doesn't tickle.
LM: Oh, well, I still want to know.
Me: Not gonna happen, just take my word for it.
LM: Okay.

Last night

It is our last night camping and I really wish it weren't. We have had a great time and have embraced the dirt full on. I see lots of socks that just aren't gonna make it. Anyway, although camping with kids is more work than camping solo, it is by far worth it and I have to say, Little Lady did quite well, too. She is still in her sleepy phase. Packing up will be a bit more difficult, but, again, worth it!

Naps - part 3

Naps - part 2

Naps - part 1

Camping

We are camping this week at the beach. Little Lady was not super cooperative during my designated packing time but we got it done. The campground is near Santa Barbara and is on the beach. We can hear the waves rolling onto shore as we sleep and we can sit and stare at the ocean all day- or in those few moments when we aren't chasing the kids around.

The drive yesterday was pleasant... Except for when we had to stop in the 108 degree temps. Luckily, W0 minutes later, and a drive over the mountains, it was like 30 degrees cooler.

And, after our first night as a family of five camped in one monstrous tent, we are officially on vacation! 5am wake ups and all (Little Man may have set a new record!). Little lady did well with minimal crying/complaining. And squeaker managed to sleep slightly past his siblings - he didn't have a chance with all the noise of the other two!

Sibling snuggle time

Little Man really does adore his sister.

My thoughts on Three

First week with three on my own, sorta. (Lucky for me, Daddy is working from home these days, which has been helpful at times, even though it is distracting for the boys at other times.) Anyhow, here is what I think -- oh, I guess I should preface this by mentioning that we are experimenting with no naps all around for the boys. Squeaker gave them up a short time ago. He has always had a difficult time getting himself calmed down to fall asleep and it really was inevitable. Little Man, despite being 2 years older, still requires a nap -- which has become more evident by our little experiment. I have no problem with only one kid napping, however, their schedules are not coinciding. LM wakes at the crack of dawn or earlier. This is one of the biggest factors to his needing the midday nap. They both go to bed at 7-ish each night without problems. Squeaker wakes a couple hours later and thus does not need the nap. Our experiment is primarily to see if LM has it in him to sleep later. Result: Nope. I am pretty sure he will never sleep past 6:30. So far it has happened maybe... once?

So, I am considering going back on our experiment and letting the poor zombie kid sleep. I am also incredibly tired and physically exhausted - you know, the whole waking up in the night for an hour or so each time -- so I could use the break. I just wish I could convince Squeaker to join his brother. Any suggestions? :)

Oh yah, so back to what I think... um, three is awesome and quite difficult at the same time. We can have several wonderful hours when everyone is in sync and I am happy, then, just after lunch, things go downhill rapidly and I can feel that happiness slip away with the weight everything. I need to figure out when to get me a glass of wine.

Conclusion: Mommy needs a break.

Weekend Wrapup

We had such a wonderful weekend, I just have to share. We were blessed with some special visitors. Firstly, Grandma West came down for a visit and to meet her 13th great grandchild. 13 is a lot of great grand children. Especially since she has 4 more grandchildren that have yet to add to that number. Little Lady had a great time snoozing on Grandma's shoulder and in her arms throughout the weekend. She is the perfect size. LM and Squeaker are too big for that now. ;)

And, if that wasn't excitement enough, my best friend came down with her mom and her daughter. I love that we live close enough that we have been able to see each other 3 times already this year and we were barely able to see each other once a year when we lived on the east coast. We didn't do a whole lot - but it was great. I even got a girl's night of shopping out of it. I can't tell you the last time I have been to the mall sans whiny kids. It was delightful. We did have a 2 week old tag-a-long, but she slept the whole time, so I can't complain. And, then, as a trial run for next week, we took everyone to the beach. It was wonderful. The boys, despite being tired, had a great time and did very well. I should have put on sunscreen and perhaps we should have given Squeaker some sunglasses* but all in all, it was perfect weather, kids had fun and the day was amazing.

*did you know that you can get a sunburn on your eyeballs?

Sweet sleeping baby

I have a problem. I can't stop gushing over the sweet little bundle of sleepiness. It just melts my heart.

Please Hold

Can't blog now, have been very busy starring at the baby (and eating cake). Can't stop staring. So cute and small. And, as an added bonus, she does not talk back, throw toys or fight with her brothers... yet! ;)

Potty Update

Going on 2 weeks now, Squeaker is a potty trained little boy. He just decided one day to wake up with a dry diaper and hasn't turned back. Great timing, eh? Usually parents put off potty training when there is going to be a new baby in the house for fear of a regression. Well, since Squeaker demands individuality, he did it all himself. Can I get a Hal-le-lujah!!! We just squeaked by to have only one kid in diapers at a time. Woo Hoo.

The only problem is not wanting to leave his toys. He holds his underwear and does the potty dance until he can't hold it any longer. Sometimes he makes it, sometimes he almost makes it. So, if he were an only child, he'd be 100%. Hopefully he'll learn really quick that he can go pee fast and come right back to his toys and that his big brother won't take his toys while he is gone. In the meantime, we'll just have extra undies at the ready for those 'almost' moments.

Excuses

So, I am pulling the "I just had a baby, cut me some slack" excuse. For everything. I feel like I should be more productive given the number of things going on in my head... but alas, I just had surgery less than a week ago and I am still recovering. I am using the excuse on myself this time. Unfortunately, my brain wants me to get things done.

Anyhow, I have been sending out monthly photos to friends and family since Little Man was born. It has been great for those who don't live close, but even better for me because I have been able to keep track of the highlights over the months. Unfortunately, Kodak Gallery decided that they were going to delete my photos if I didn't pay them an annual fee. Of course, I refused, being the stubborn girl that I am, and they really did delete them all. I do have all the pics on my computer and my back up hard drive, but no longer do I have the whittled down version. Instead of 50 pics a month, I have like 200 each month to go through to find the highlights. All that hard work for 4 years is gone gone gone. So, last month I switched to a different photo sharing site. And, this month, I decided that I would also try to include these pictures on this blog. I have been having a tough time finding a spot within the layout I have chosen, so I am going to just post them in today's post and hope that I can find a layout or design a layout someday to accommodate my picture addiction. Enjoy.

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