A shortfall

I cannot believe that I am blogging three days in a row. But I had nothing short of an epiphany today.

As the kids and I were watching this Heroes of the Bible story about Jesus's birth, I realized that I wasn't doing my job in raising them in a Christ-centered environment.

I think I'm still in survival mode. They get fed, they have clean clothing, I read to them, sometimes I play with them, I take them to swimming lessons and other activities. But at a cost to my own being. Its not always fun, its usually stressful, but its necessary.

I realized the triplets had not been to church since the middle of October. Or at least thats what I last remember. I have been to church several times with Jacob, but I don't take them. Its too much work, I don't have enough hands, and I don't hear the sermon at all.

Things need to change. Christ is the center of my life (or should be) and it should be theirs also. I need to take the time to take them to church, sing songs with them, go to sunday school. Now that they are mostly potty-trained I can sign them up for Sunday school. They'll get the interaction they need with other kids and learn about Christ.

For a good cause...

My friend Michelle is having an auction. She's adopting a daughter, Lily, from Eastern Europe. Lily is a twin who was given up at birth because she has down syndrome.

Michelle and her husband Brian have three children. Karly is 14 and two years ago was diagnosed with a rare form of ovarian cancer and is now cancer free. Braden is in Kindergarten this year and their youngest is Ruby who is 2 1/2. Ruby is a twin. With no words to describe the situation, Lydia was stillborn at 38 weeks. Ruby and Lydia are identical twins and have down syndrome.

Michelle and Brian have opened their hearts and home to another child and I hope that you can support them emotionally and maybe even donate to their cause. Keep Lily and her new family in your prayers.

ahomeforlily.blogspot.com

Is it done yet?

Where has the time gone? There are a few reasons why I haven't updated the blog. 1) Facebook. Much easier and quicker. You can put a one or two liner on and be done with it. 2) Projects - I've been sewing a bunch and also working on library stuff for Jacob's school. 3) this one is important, I've been lazy.

I think of things, but don't take the time.

For instance, I'm not sure anyone really wants to hear the ins and outs of potty-training. Its not fun, its TMI and really that's what consumes my time. I spend hours with Matthew on the toilet coaxing him to poop. I feel like a labor coach. I actually think I could deliver a baby now with my experience and advice on getting the kids to poop. Poop. Whoever thought I'd be actually blogging about it. But I think that the kids are doing really well and are probably 80-90% potty-trained. Hopefully by Christmas there will be no more accidents.

Secondly, the boys needed something else to sleep on besides their crib mattresses. We got them low rise loft bunk beds. The beds are perpendicular and John sleeps on top and Matthew actually sleeps at the foot of his own bed on the bottom. Why John on top? He doesn't move at all when he sleeps and has a really good compass when it comes to where he is and how to get around at night. On the other hand, Matthew falls off his crib mattress several times a night. I don't think he's fallen out of his bed though. But he still does cry out a lot. Not sure why.

So tonight at the football game is on, I heard whining/crying. I went up to find John laying on top of Matthew, half asleep, crying. I don't know if he tried getting off the side of the bed and fell on Matthew. But Matthew didn't notice a thing and John was crying. It was really funny and disturbing at the same time.

Fall Pictures III

Fall Pictures II

Fall Pictures

Jacob's school is closed due to sickness. So we had some fun outside instead.

Chchchanges

I just keep putting this off. Well, because I'm a facebook fanatic now. And I usually blow off my steam on there.
Updates:
Since September 3rd I have been sick. It started out with a migraine, then pneumonia for three weeks which immediately followed by a sinus infection. Can I catch a break? I'm just hoping I'll get all this over and have a happy and healthy winter. One can only hope.

The kids got a cough in mid september and Brooke has not shaken it yet. Jacob had it too and on Sunday he came down with a fever. Due to the heightened awareness of the flu virus and H1N1, many schools are taking a lot of precautions. Like sending out notices about having kids in with fevers. A big no-no.
So I kept him home monday and he was acting like normal, except for a little bit on the quiet side. Last night he climbed into bed with me and he had a fever. I gave him medicine and he was fine and spunky. So I sent him to school. He fell asleep when he got home for about two hours. Then he threw up the yogurt I gave him. I think it was due to him not wanting to eat it and my policy of "you'll eat if and I don't care if you vomit it up." But with him falling asleep and having a slight fever tonight, I'll keep him home tomorrow.

And speaking of being sick of things, I need a good night's sleep without kids coming in and out of the bed all night. Mostly I've put up with it because they don't feel well and I think its just my maternal duty to cuddle with them a bit more. Sometimes I take them back to their beds and just lay with them. But their beds are very small so its not very comfortable.

I have seriously considered drugging them so that they sleep 8-10 hours or more and not get me up at 2 and 3 in the morning. I'm hoping for a peaceful sleep without children tonight.

Jacob seems to be liking school. He really has taken off with reading and I'll read books to him too. He can memorize really easily. Makes my job easier. But we have at least 1/2 hour of home work each night plus any additional reading.

I dread when the triplets get to school and trying to manage all of this. I know by then I'll have come up with a system, but its just overwhelming. I guess that should be a little lesson reminder to me to just take one day at a time. Maybe it will be easier teaching three kids at once. I'm glad that they will be in the same classroom. Makes it easier on me and less confusing.

Potty training is going really really well. Its just getting them to poop in the toilet. They still hide on me and its doesn't seem like incentives are working for this one. Maybe they are afraid, maybe they don't want to give up control, maybe they realize its one step towards independence.
I'm not putting them in underwear because we just got a new couch and I really don't want to be cleaning that over and over again.

What is really nice is that I bought diapers in the beginning of September (176 of them) and we still have over 1/2 left. I bought a small pack of girl pullups and a big pack of boy pull ups in 6 weeks. I need more pullups now, but the nice things is that I've probably spent $80 in the last 6 weeks versus spending $200 in that amount of time.

School's in session

Its been nearly a month since I last blogged. A couple of different reasons. I forgot my login and password and got sick of guessing. And secondly I've been sick for two weeks.

New stuff in the Callaway household... POTTYTRAINING

I started about two weeks ago with all three children. I didn't want to do all three at once, but I wasn't having much luck with Brooke on her own.

So I got about $50 worth of little toys, stickers and a reward chart and gave them stickers every time they tried to go potty. It only took a few days for the boys to catch on. Matthew is even dry at night about 1/2 the time. John is probably the most ready for underwear now, but can be just stubborn.

Brooke is another story. It took her a very long time to figure out how to use her muscles to go potty. She does have a few accidents during the day, but has done really well with improving how many times she goes potty. I don't think she's ready for underwear just yet.

The only problem is that the kids are potty-trained, not poop-trained. I think if I can catch them a couple of times trying to hide to go in their pull-ups, I can get them to go on the toilet.

Jacob started school two weeks ago. He doesn't really want to go to school. He's still got his shy problems from last year. He doesn't want to make a mistake. And then there is the whole, "they already have friends and I don't want to ask them to play with me" thing. I just wish he could make one or two friends instead of wandering around at recess by himself. It breaks my heart.
He's doing very well academically though. I was surprised to find him reading a level 1 book all by himself.

Matthew started Early Childhood two weeks ago. He's a good role model in the class as there are new boys in his 3 year old class. He even asks to go potty at school.

John started his speech class today. His teacher said he is doing so wonderfully and must have had a growth spurt in his speech over the summer.

The other thing we are doing is going to "school" otherwise known as library time at the Neenah Public Library on tuesdays when Matthew is in school. Its for 3,4, and 5 year olds without a caregiver. The key word is "without". John wouldn't let me leave him so I sat through story time, dance time and puppet time.

Tranvestite in the making????

The old saying, a picture is worth a 1000 words applies here.

The hangover

And boy do I have one. Las Vegas was tiring. I think I'm still recovering.

I had suppressed my known fear of flying until I got on the airplane. Not sure why I don't like flying. Lack of control, fear of heights, smell of stale urine, who knows.

But the fun started when we got to our rental car and tried to leave the security area and they gave us the wrong car, so in the 100 degree heat at midnight we figured it out with the nice but clueless Budget people.

We stayed at Circus Circus and it hadn't changed in the five years that we had been there last. Same gaudy decorations, but the rooms are nice and comfortable. Basically we gambled a lot, did a little bit of sightseeing and not much sleep. I think our highlight was seeing Red Rock Canyon. Very pretty area. Very different from the green vegetation around here. I love the Red Rock Canyon Casino too. Very nice place.

The last night we went downtown and boy has it gotten seedy. I cannot believe how many children are out at all times of the night for one thing. Las Vegas is not a place for children. Or at least children you want to keep from seeing the darker side of life. Anyway, as we walk down Fremont street I look into a casino and see a girl pole dancing around blackjack tables. We go into Binions to play poker and when we come out the same thing is happening there too. Come on.

This whole thing got brought up at the Poker table. I was sitting next to the dealer and he leaned to me and said, "They have places around here that men dance too." I wrinkled my nose up and said, "that's not for me" or something to that effect. It was like the dealer was talking about a favorite blanket or teddy bear. He whispered to me, "oh, I just love watching men dance." And I got the hebbiegebbies. And then I realized I wasn't in Kansas anymore. It wasn't so much that he was gay, it was more about the tone of voice and how he described it. I didn't have to guess where my tips were going...

And that basically sums up my trip. I like living in an area where there isn't advertisements for sex being blown around, parents respect children's nap times and bedtimes, respect for ourselves and others is predominant. All those good things that make Appleton a great place to raise a family.

Going to Vegas...

Alrighty then. I am super-dooper excited. I am also ultra-uber nervous. Scott, my parents and I are flying to Vegas tomorrow night and stay until Sunday. I am a quiet nervous flyer. Having nightmares that the plane will go down and my children will be left without parents. On the other hand I'd be in Heaven right? I'm pretty sure I would be except for the gossiping part. The 11th commandment would be - Thou Shall Not Gossip. So I'll take that up with God tonight when I pray.

So if something would happen to me, a freak accident, I die peacefully in my sleep or the Boogeyman gets me - this is my last and only Will and Testament.

I, Jean Marie Plamann Callaway, being of somewhat sound mind and body, would like my family and loved ones know that I'm in a better place, don't mourn for me, celebrate my life.

My life has been consumed by my children, which are most precious. God has been gracious by giving me four children and I or my husband are no longer able to take care of them, I would like them to grow up knowing God and be living examples. (So that narrows down a bunch of people ;). Just kidding.)

I would like my children to be raised by my sister-in-law Amy Elizabeth Wichman Plamann and my brother James Walter Plamann. They will take care of my children and Jim can be executors of our estate (or whatever is not in debt). I would like my children to get a christian education and be good citizens of this earth.

Secondarily, my cat Cosmo is very dear to me. I don't want her put in a shelter or given away to strangers. There are a short list of people I think would take her in, Amy & Jim Plamann, Mike & Kathy Callaway or Fred & Arlyne Plamann. Please take care of my kitty.

My living will has been established and is with my doctor and a copy is at Theda Clark in Neenah.

Jean Callaway

Now, I haven't written a will before, but it would look like this. I was afraid to do it because I wasn't so sure that Amy and Jim would want to take my kids in if I asked them, but if I'm dead I figure they'd follow my wishes.

I'll really miss my kids, but I know I'll come back a refreshed better mother. And hopefully with more money in my pocket than I went with.

More cute pictures

The kids lined up for pictures at the lake. This was last Tuesday at the campgrounds were Aunt Julie and Uncle Kelly were. We had a really good time. Very nice campgrounds.

Aunt Julie and Uncle Kelly at their camp site. The kids kept wanting to go inside the camper and play.

Mister Matthew is such an angel. For those who have met him you know what I mean. He has a kind heart.

Today he fell out of the cart and landed on his head. I could only buckle two in and he was sitting in the big part of the cart. I had been telling him all day to sit down, but I was preoccupied and turned the cart and he fell out. I can't tell you how I felt at that moment. You hear the thud of his head hitting the ground, you see him crying and in pain. And you know that you were responsible for it. I picked him up and comforted him. I carried him while pushing the others in the cart and Jacob yakking a mile-a-minute. Within a few minutes he had a goose egg on the top right side of his head. I went home and gave him some Motrin and then tried putting ice on his head, which he did not want. I watched him for any odd behaviors, but he was talking in sentences and his eyes looked fine.

I think tonight I finally felt the fear that I suppressed all day. He could have been critically hurt and I am so lucky that he wasn't.

I realize why kids are supposed to be buckled in and why kids are not supposed to ride in the big part of the cart, but what do you do with triplets? I could try pulling two carts, but that is really hard to do. If I bought the stroller all the time and pulled a cart behind me its still very hard to do. Its just not easy keeping them from harm sometimes.

My little man

Matthew refused to take our hands when walking at the campgrounds yesterday. I think this is my new favorite picture of him.

Sometimes its the last person you'd think

Scott went fishing with Jacob today and when they got home I took the kids to Michaels and then to the mall so Scott could get some sleep. I know, I'm very thoughtful.

We get to Michaels and we get out of the van. Brooke is the first to hold my hand, then as I yell for John he comes over and gets my other hand. Jacob is chasing Matthew around the parking lot trying to get his hand.

Luckily the parking lot is pretty empty and no one is trying to back over my children. So I start yelling at Matthew to hold Jacob's hand or my hand. We get into the store without Matthew holding anyone's hand.

Then the two little boys wanted to stand and started fighting over space in the cart. We were the highlight of other's shopping trip. A lot of whispering and stares.

I still take them to the mall. This time I put the steel grip on his hand and Jacob holds Brooke's hand. (It was really cute)

We play in the play area and then we're off to Stride Rite to get the kid's shoe sizes. Matthew refuses to hold hands and actually lays down in the middle of the mall. The other two little ones are running around us. Oh, I'd love to get my hands on that video surveillance. I start to get a little impatient and raise my voice.

The good news is that we made it to the store and back through the mall to our van without: losing a child, getting hit by a car, or social services being called for mommy dragging unwilling toddlers.

Brooke has a size 10 foot. She's 3. When is this going to end. She's going to be 6 feet tall with size women's 10 shoes. Definitely does not take after me. So now we need to buy her some new tennis shoes.

Do unto others as they would do unto you (or something like that)

One of my pastors puts out daily prayers. This one was just perfect for me.


PRAYER: This can be so hard, Jesus. Not as much with the ones I love or even with strangers, but it's extremely difficult to do for that person who hurts me, who rubs me the wrong way, or who has lost my respect. It's so tempting to turn around and be uncharitable, insulting, and vindictive - treating that person in a way I think he deserves. Forgive me for when I do that. How quickly I forget that I deserved to be treated this way by you. As much as others offend me, what my sins do to you is infinitely worse. Yet you love me! You died for me! No matter what others do to me, help me always to love them doing to them as I would have them do to me. Amen.

I've been dealing with someone who isn't my biggest fan. Rumors are spread, false truths, made-up stories, etc... and its so hard not to fight back and defend myself. Instead I've just been ignoring it hoping it will go away. I'm hoping that my actions of silence speak louder than anothers words.

I've tried to figure out why there is an "I Hate Jean club" and here's what I've come up with.
1) I say whats on my mind and that is unsettling to people
2) I am a pretty organized, driven individual and I think it intimidates people
3) Some people need to raise themselves up by putting others down
4) Some people are so miserable that they want to make others miserable
5) Absence of God in their life...

I can laugh about it now because I know its not true and God knows its not true and I'm trying to be sincere. But its hard. Because its fun to be catty, but its a bad example for my children. Sigh.

A balancing act

Its been a very long, long day. And an even longer week.

John has worn me down. I'm reading James Dobson's The New Strong Willed Child. Its really good. A couple of things that I've gotten out of the book are that if a child has a strong will, just imagine what a strong will he will have for God. A child that has this drive and determination, the possibilities are endless. FDR was considered a strong willed child. Ted Bundy probably was too though. I'll settle for somewhere in the middle though.

The other thing is that I as a parent am not a failure just because I have a strong-willed child. I have a couple of other cookie cutter children that are low maintenance. And God does give me what I can handle.

The other issue with John is that not only is he a strong-willed child, he has sensory issues. He seeks sensory input. He craves bumping, jumping and motions. He runs full force into things and people. He smashes food, he does inappropriate things. But its all based on his neurological needs.

Its a fine balancing act.

If John doesn't want to do something, its stupid, stupid kid, stupid man, dumb and I hate you. He's three. Can you imagine the strings of curse words that he's going to throw down when he's ten? If I ignore him then he has won. If I confront him and have him sit on the stairs, his high chair,his room, he goes ballistic. If I put soap in his mouth or something else less tasty, he spits and spews and I do not even recognize him. These fits can last for long periods of time. How do I take care of the other kids when this is going on. Its not fair to them. But it would be a bigger injustice if I did not address it and nip this problem in the bud. Which according to Dr. Dobson could take years.

I don't have years left. I'd like to settle down, read a little more, relax, maybe make a few meals from scratch, take a shower everyday, sew, do a little surfing on the web...

Wow, this parenting stuff is really hard. I think good birth control would be to show teenagers and young adults videos of three year olds. Or just have them watch them for a day. It makes me think twice about bringing more children into the world.

And then there's me. I've been to the doctor twice this week. Two days in a row. I went to be Tuesday evening with a really sore toe. It was throbbing. Turns out I have a ganglion cyst or something to that effect. Basically, one of the kids stepped on my toe that night and probably ruptured it. I'm supposed to elevate, ice and where sandals (stiff ones). I'm not supposed to bend my toe so the joints don't get more aggravated or something like that. I don't know, I'm not a doctor, I've just spent a ton of time in their offices. As I was there I had the doctor look at the dimple at the bottom of my foot. It turned out to be a corn and he cut it out. And now it feels great. Then he looked at my elbow and I have tennis elbow and its been pretty painful. I think the kids caused this one due to me having to push, pull, carry, drag, resist, or put stress on my type of body.

So I had ice on three different areas of my body, have strengthening exercises for a couple of different areas.

Then today I went in for my knee. The inner part of my knee is very tender and every time I bend it, I have a lot of pain. Bending, sitting, going up stairs, etc... is really stressing it out. The doctor says I have Plica Syndrome which has to do when I was formed in my mothers womb and when the knee formed. I have a ridge in a tendon or disc or something that when it rubs on my kneecap becomes irritated and inflamed. So I got some prescription drugs and more exercises.

Better than going to therapy. The only kind I want right now is mental. I'd like a shot of sanity along with patience.

Questions unanswered

How come I find less and less time to blog, but more time to play scrabble on Facebook? How come I buy Iams Weight Control and Hairball Remedy but my cat is still chubby and vomits hairballs?

How can I get it through a certain 3 year olds head that stupid and poopy are not appropriate words. If I don't say anything, then the others think its o.k. If I correct him and tell him those are bad words, he purposely says them. Like, 30 X's a day. If I send him to his room, he just sits by the door and repeats those words over and over. If I put him in his high chair he just rants and raves and screams and says every bad word that he can think of. So I wash out his mouth with soap. Liquid soap. This has mixed results as he spits it out and usually still says them. So now I threaten him with Red pepper. I put a tiny bit on the tip of his tongue and that usually works. And I give him a drink after a minute or so.

But the kid just does not give in. Matthew, Brooke and Jacob spend half their day telling me what John said.

I don't know if I should try taking something away from him, physically beating the words out of him, trying a nastier tasting soap, getting a muzzle, electric shock therapy, its these things I fantasize about but never really push the line. Because I do really love him and just want to contain his spirit, but not break it.

Actually, I think the shock therapy thing would work.... hmm.... if we put them on dogs, why can't we put them on our children?

Vacation 2009

Vacation was filled with lots of firsts. Each of triplets caught their first fish. They seemed to like fishing off the dock. They also got their first tube ride before the boat. They didn't cry, but Brooke and John really didn't like the water spraying in their faces. Matthew was really relaxed and seemed to enjoy it the most.

The weather was very good. Warm, 70s, and only rained twice. The day we arrived and the day we left. The kids enjoyed playing on the playsets and running around. I put life jackets on them most of the time and they loved playing on the beach in the sand and in the water. It was just easier to watch them that way with their life jackets on. It gave me piece of mind.

Jacob was obsessed with finding out-of-state license plates. I got him a board that had a picture of the U.S. and then listed all the states on the back. You're supposed to check the state when you see it. He found 23 different states when we were in Minocqua. Thats amazing. But its a pretty popular vacation area.

I didn't have to stop at all on the way to Minocqua. It was a good 2 3/4 hour drive. But on the way back, Matthew had dropped his blanket on the floor while I was driving on HWY 29 and John unbuckled himself from his car seat and picked it up and gave it to him. I think I almost passed out. I pulled over and told him he had to stay in his car seat and he then thought it was a game. Brooke started doing the same thing, unbuckling herself when we were driving.

Sigh.

Finally, I had it with Brooke and we were in a parking lot going about 5 miles an hour. I put my brakes on a little harder than normal and she flew forward onto her feet and hit the seat in front of her. This not so gentle reminder has gotten her to keep her from doing it again. She wasn't hurt, just surprised. I told her that's why we wait until mom or dad tells you that you can unbuckle the seat belt.

I'm just getting over my migraine that started at 8 p.m. last night. I went to the doctor around lunchtime and he gave me some stuff to take when I got home. Luckily, my MIL and a friend were over and could watch the kids. For anyone who has had a migraine, you know how horrible it hurts. But when you're watching four kids who can't be quiet and are jumping on you, it really brings you to your knees. I'm glad the medication worked although I still feel a little fuzzy. A good fuzzy though.

Going, going GONE!

Busy, Busy summer. We now have Jacob's T-ball games twice a week. He seems to really like playing ball and actually pays attention most of the time. At least for the moment he's not the kid picking grass in the outfield. But we've got 8-10 games yet to go, so I won't get to cocky yet.

Jacob asked me the other day how old he has to be to drive the boat. I told him 16. I think he's now required to take a boaters safety class anyway before he actually gets to drive on his own. Then I ran across these pictures of him driving. So I guess dad or grandpa let him drive. I'm sure its thrilling for him to steer the boat, but at least I know where the line of questioning came from.

I'm trying to pack for our vacation to Minoqua Wisconsin next week. Its hard to pack around kids because they take stuff out of the bins you just put in. Or they don't want you to pack the toys or throw a fit about something. So I have to be sneaky. Still challenging though. I have a ton to do, but decided to blog about it first.



Jacob cannot wait to go fishing at the cottage. I think Scott is not far behind him in excitement. I have a feeling that John will want to go with them this year too. We'll try fishing off the dock with the triplets and see how much they like it and how long their attention span is.

Either way, I'm still stuck with two kids and its really not a vacation for me since the kids now no longer nap and they are getting up earlier than I'd like. I have my fingers crossed that the weather is good and we can be outside.





I admit that facebook has been quite addicting. I love to play scrabble with friends (and strangers) on it. They also have great games and time fillers. Its also nice to chat with friends and people I haven't run across for awhile.

Well, I'm off to get the kids dressed and get something done.

Crucial Spongebob life lessons

Its been so long since I last posted that I even forgot my log-in. Wow. Either I'm getting old or I'm really busy. I'll vote for the latter.

Lets see, Jacob finished school last Friday. It was bittersweet as I was happy to not have to get up to bring him to school. His report card came today and he did pass Kindergarten and will be in 1st grade next year. Its shocking to me that I have a 1st grader. Where did all this time go?

A lot of weird things have been happening lately. The kind of weird that you think there are hidden cameras around and Ashton Kutcher will be popping out from behind a tree weird.

A couple of weeks ago I went out for a walk at 10 p.m. A neighbor a couple of houses down was out cutting her lawn. In the dark. At night. When people are sleeping. In the pitch dark. So I shook my head as I was out for my walk thinking how I'd be ticked if I was the next-door neighbor trying to sleep. Last week as I was out with my daycare passel she screeches to a halt in front of my house and she tells me shes beeing stalked. She goes on about how her 25 year marriage went to hell when her husband met someone else out-of-town and then she finally got back in the dating game on Craigslist. This nice fellow she met on Craigslist was abusive and she said she got a restraining order on the guy, but then she said something about him getting a restraining order against her. Babble, babble, babble, head nod, head nod...

And when I could get a word or two in I told her to call the police and have extra patrol in the area. Apparently since she knew Scott was a copper she must have wanted him to sleep on her couch. She should have looked for someone on Craigslist to help her with her stalker.

Craigslist. Com'on!

Speaking of cops. On Scott's birthday we (my dad, Scott's mom, Scott and I) head up to the casino and we're on HWY 29 cruising along in the good ol' mini van. When suddenly lights appear behind us and Scott is being pulled over. Now, he was talking with my father, but he had set the cruise around 72ish and the speed limit was 65. The state trooper came up to the window and yadda, yadda, yadda, said he was giving him a warning. Now, he didn't know Scott was a cop because it wouldn't have come back if he checked the license plate and Scott didn't tell him. The only thing that saved him from a court date in Shawno County was the "Got Triplets" sticker on the back of the van. I could tell he was peering in the back just dying for a look at the freak show. But it was just me and my MIL.

And FYI, this is the second time Scott has been pulled over on his birthday and I've been with him in the car. I have not been pulled over in about 8-9 years (knock on wood). But I did have a pretty good streak going there for a bit.

Lately my kids have been obsessed with Spongebob. I had TIVO'd the SpongeBob movie and actually never really watched the whole thing because I do other things while their eyes are glued to the TV. Why is a TV called a BoobTube? I don't get it? Why do people have bumper stickers that say WALL DRUG? Another mystery. I digress...

So John has been saying, "Stupid Kid!" Its very clear and I'm impressed with his enunciation, but I have been upset at him saying "Stupid" because we don't say stupid in this house. Its not nice and its not kind. So I'll tell him what I just told you and he still says it. Go figure. So as I'm watching the end of SpongeBob, Plankton calls SpongeBob - yep, you guessed it! "Stupid Kid!" A couple of different times. Great.
Then Jacob also says or yells, "I'm SO the boss of you!" To the triplets a lot. Then I saw the episode when SpongeBob wants to bathe Gary, his pet Snail, and I heard that line several times too.

This is why people don't let their kids watch SpongeBob. These same people don't even buy the SpongeBob fruit snacks when they shop.

And maybe tomorrow or the next day I'll tell you about Johns antics and how he's going to get himself put in toddler jail.