The ugly part of parenting

Have you ever noticed when people have children their conversations mostly are about poop and pee?

Its really annoying when you don't have kids. No one wants to hear about the color or odor or consistency. But once you have kids... its all open game.



So skip this if you don't feel you need to know about my children's bodily habits.



So the kids lay down for their naps. We had a time crunch here today because we were going down to the EAA to see the airplanes and helicopters and shop at 3:30. So took the kids outside and ran em around, we swung, we swam, we rode on toys, we bathed, etc... And do you think that they would lay down and sleep? No. Two of them had messy diapers. And this was a 1/2 an hour into when they were supposed to be sleeping. So I rocked Matthew and put him back to bed. No sleep for him, awhile later still up. So I brought him back down and he had another messy diaper. Got the other two up a 1/2 hour later and then John had a messy diaper.



And then tonight since Matthew didn't take a nap, I put him to bed at 7:30 p.m. and he was still up at 8 p.m. when I put John and Brooke to bed, and sure enough... another dirty diaper.



What am I feeding these children? I can't wait until they can take care of their own bathroom needs themselves and I don't have to touch poop and pee again.



Soooo, my sister Julie and I took the kids down to EAA. We parked at the outlet mall and got the lawn chairs out and snacks and drinks for the kids. Jacob thoughtfully packed cars and dolls and blocks for the kids to play with and handed them out during the air show. He was trying to earn back three sad marbles from yesterday. He got two of them back today, leaves one for good behavior tomorrow. (I feel like I'm trading again, talking about leaves)



Jacob and John were so excited to see the airplanes and helicopters flying around. Matthew and Brooke, not so much. But we sat for probably 30-45 minutes and watched and then we shopped.



I told Jacob we were only going to two shops, but it ended up being five. And the kids were very good for being two year olds strapped to a stroller. Jacob kept reminding me that it was more than two stores. BUT, we had to get him some shoes for school and Stride Rite had awesome sales. AND, (I'm taking a deep breathe) the outlet mall just got a new store. A Gymboree outlet store. I am so lucky to live within 25 miles of a real Gymboree level 2 store and a Gymboree outlet store. God bless America.

White fence

You see this white fence? This is what our neighbors who surround us see. Its six feet tall and completely private. Of course it does not provide a noise barrier, which can be a problem.

A couple of days ago a neighbor pointed out that they heard Jacob yelling in the backyard. They heard me, not Jacob.

Anyone walking by my fence can't see anything but a nice vinyl white fence, but this is a sample of what they hear.

"I said, NOOOOO!"
"Stop splashing the babies."
"Don't get me wet."
"Stop that now!"
"Get your hand out of there!"
"If you do that again you are going inside!"
"No throwing!"
"Not in their faces!"
"I'll take it away."
"Good job!"
"Don't push that hard."
"Be careful!"
"Turn it off now!"
"When you waste water daddy has to work more!"
"Don't walk on the rocks."
"You have to take turns."

I'll bet my neighbors think all I do is yell. Its probably why my head feels this way at the end of the day.

And then for peace, I just look up at the sky and realize God gave me them all for a reason.

I'm up to my eyes in Barrettes

I'm been up to a lot lately. Just got a job at the local YMCA to work one or two days a week. I'm excited to: get out of the house, do something different, get a free membership and get out of the house.

Secondly, for the past few months I haven't blogged everyday because I've been busy making barrettes.

It started out that I wanted to match Brookes outfits. Then I thought, "Hey, this would be a good fundraiser for FVMOM." And then my friend and fellow president of the Club said she'd help out too. Well, she happens to be the next younger version of Martha Stewart... so she makes really cute stuff. If you have time, check out our new store. http://www.ribbonandglue.etsy.com/

I'm still loading all the barrettes on the sight, but pass this along to anyone who is needing barrettes.

Proceeds benefit FVMOM. And maybe my medical bills because I burned myself really good on the glue tonight. Ouch.

Time to throw the manual out

Is it over yet? Will I wake up one day and my kids will automatically listen to me and be polite to me and to each other? Does it take me saying, "No" or "Be gentle" or "Those are unkind words" or "Did you hear me?" or "I said, NOW!" 158 times a day to get through their heads.




I've heard that some children just become conditioned to these words or they know they can get away with it three times, but the fourth time they better listen. (or whatever the number is)





Its so hard not to yell and get in their face at times. Not talking about the babies here. I'm talking about a five year old.



As Scott and I took the kids walking around our circle today the neighbor stopped me who lives right behind us and as we were talking she said, "Oh yeah, I heard a lot of yelling today. Jacob must have been having fun." And I fessed up and said, "That was probably me yelling at him." Great. Now the neighbors can hear.





I never wanted to be a yeller. But with the noise of four children and especially when they are running away from you, you need to be heard, so the voice gets a little louder.



Brooke usually wears hair clips. But on this day when someone other than me put it in, it looked like this. Its Pebbles, reincarnated.

Below, Scott, his dad and Jacob went fishing to Lake Michigan Saturday night. Jacob fell asleep half way home and I couldn't resist taking pictures of him. These will be shown to all his girly friends in high school.

The other reason why Jacob is getting under my skin lately is because he's being stubborn about whatever he eats. For the last year or so he has eaten just about everything that we eat. Now, he doesn't like it, its yuk, etc... and its really really getting me mad. I've tried making him eat a certain amount of bites, I've tried saving his plate for later, I've tried starving him between meals. And I'm getting frustrated because I don't want his behavior to rub off on the babies. They eat almost anything and I want to keep it that way.

This has always been a control issue for Jacob. He knows hes got us by choosing to eat or not to eat. And I'm not giving in. He doesn't understand he got his stubbornness from someone. And I've got a lot more stubbornness in me. Any suggestions would be welcome as he only wants to eat hot dogs, macaroni and cheese, toast, waffles and pancakes. And some assorted fruit.

A gallon of milk

You know when you have a lot of children when you purposely look for the earliest expiration date on milk because no matter if I get two gallons or five, it will all be drank within a few days.

Wordless Wednesday July Edition

Matthew fell on his milk cup - hence the eye injury. The chin injury... last week fell off a chair and bumped his chin. I'm just doing social services job for them when they come to take away my children.
Words don't describe John.
He's a very special child.

O.K. that was not wordless Wednesday. But its my blog. I can modify the rules.

Popcorn stealer

I already posted once today, but I HAVE TO blog about my Johnny. Oh, special Johnny.

We get to Bay Beach (local amusement park) and the first ride was decided. The kids were going to ride the "race cars" which are cars that go are on metal bars that go around in a circle. The kids each picked their race car. John was touching one, but as soon as Shell Dinter put him in it. I mean, tried to put him in it, he became stiff and uncooperative. So, he wasn't ready to go on a ride.
As went the rest of the night. John would run into the ride area when the gates were opened, but never wanted to get in. So each time I'd ask for his ticket back.

Then Shell Dinter took Katie and Jacob on the Ferris Wheel and I had the three monkeys. I had three 2-year olds and only two harnesses. Soooo, I put the harnesses on Brooke and Matthew and carried John since he's the lightest.

We sat at a bench right near the ferris wheel eating snackwell cookies and mini-Oreo cookies. (Its the fifth food group that really isn't talked about much in health class) A lady was sitting next to us with a newborn in a stroller. She had some popcorn that she asked me if the kids could eat popcorn. So she offered some and John sat by her and ate 3/4 of the lady's popcorn. Brooke was more interested in cookies and Matthew just stared at the popcorn, but didn't seem interested. So fast forward to the end of the ferris wheel ride for Shell Dinter, Katie and Jacob. Shell spies us down below and sees John eating out of this ladies popcorn and starts laughing. I'm sure it was a funny site, this child eating a stranger's food.

I don't think John wanted to leave because he liked "sharing" this woman's popcorn.

Its all funny until someone pees on your lap

Do you ever have days where you say something, but mean something else? Its been happening to me a lot lately.

I need to clarify in a previous blog that my friend Cindy is Matthews Godmother, not Brookes. Shell Dinter is Brooke's Godmother.

I'm so excited! Today, tonight Shell and I might take the kids to Bay Beach again. I working up the courage to do the swings. O.K. chances are that Shell will do all the daring rides with Jacob and I'll stay with the babies. Thats o.k. too.

A funny thing happened the other day.
We were all driving home from church. The kids were in their car seats and I was holding onto Brooke's doll. I had my feet up on the dash board and had Brooke's doll facing me. Its a 14-15 inch doll and it was naked.
Well, Scott noticed that the people in the lane next to us were just gawking at us. He thought it was because the doll looked like a baby sitting on my lap. It was hilarious. Because this doll does have a lot of human features. I'm sure they thought I was nursing it or cuddling it and were just outraged. If those people ever find this blog this is what I'd like to say. HAHAHAHA! You should have seen the looks on your faces! It was a doll! Com'on! You think I'd have a naked baby sitting on my lap? I'd have a diaper on it at least.

Home Improvement

Busy day at the Callaways. We went to church today and lasted 55 minutes. Not to bad for 2 adults being outnumbered by four children. We sat in the last pew possible. The poor people ahead of us had to listen to the babies talking. Its hard to keep them quiet and I haven't really worked on the whole whispering thing. And then there were fights over the Thomas the Train sticker book.

Scott put up new shelving in the garage to help keep track of our toys, shoes and other miscellaneous stuff that normally ends up on the floor. Jacob was intrical in getting all the bubbles, bubble toys and shoes lined up neatly on the shelves.

Which reminds me. Someone recently commented on how anal I am. (I like to call it organized and thoughtful) And I replied that Scott is more so. It falls short of having his socks lined up neatly in a drawer, but he keeps his vehicles and playtoys spotless and all his tools and hunting stuff neat. Well, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Yesterday Jacob lined up all the cozy coupe cars and the ride on toys and washed them all. Then he had to get all the soap out of the sponges before he put them away.

I think we're just supplying jobs for medical professionals later in life.

He also helped me take pictures of the barrettes that I and my friend Kamie from FVMOM have been making. I can make the simple ones but Kamie has such talent for well, almost everything. We're thinking about selling them on Etsy. His favorites are the purple dragonflies. He's got good taste.

I also put up all the new crib tents today and put hypoallergenic coverings on their crib mattresses. And while I had everything else apart, I vacuumed their room. They should be sniffle free tomorrow.

The Big Read

I just saw this on a friends blog and could not resist adding!

Look at the list.
Bold those you have read.
Italicize those you intend to read.(I'm modifying this to books I've seen as movies or plays)
Underline the books you LOVE. (I'm skipping this)

1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2. The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4. Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6. The Bible
7. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8. 1984 - George Orwell
9. His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11. Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12. Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14. Complete Works of Shakespeare
15. Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16. The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien1
7. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18. Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19. The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20. Middlemarch - George Eliot
21. Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchel
22. The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23. Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25. The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26. Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28. Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33. Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34. Emma - Jane Austen
35. Persuasion - Jane Austen
36. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40. Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41. Animal Farm - George Orwell
42. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44. A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46. Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47. Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48. The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49. Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50. Atonement - Ian McEwan
51. Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52. Dune - Frank Herbert
53. Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57. A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60. Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63. The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65. Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66. On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67. Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68. Bridget Jones’ Diary - Helen Fielding6
9. Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70. Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72. Dracula - Bram Stoker
73. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74. Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75. Ulysses - James Joyce
76. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77. Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78. Germinal - Emile Zola
79. Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80. Possession - AS Byatt
81. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82. Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83. The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87. Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88. The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90. The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92.The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93. The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94. Watership Down - Richard Adams
95. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96. A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97. The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98. Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100. Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Game over

If today was a game, the score would be 10-0 with the kids winning. They really got to me today. It didn't help that today it was hot and humid or more humid than anything else and I always feel like crap and have no energy.

I was on the phone with my friend Cindy, Brooke's Godmother, and we were catching up on stuff. During that phone call, the kids broke into the pantry five times. And then they scattered kitty treats all over. So I'm trying to clean that up and my back is turned, they 'd get into something else. Now, I have a disclaimer. I WAS watching them. I was not on the computer talking with Cindy for more than 2 minutes out of the 1 1/2 hour conversation. I sat on the steps looking into the kitchen and they still got the child-proof locks open.
Then at nap time John learned to open his crib tent (which has a hole in it by the zipper for easy access) and he got out and was monkeying around in the room. I was trying to lay down in the room next to them and heard him. He had given all his NUKs to a sleeping Brooke. Which was somewhat nice, but I didn't want him to wake her up. So I put him back into the crib and I told him if he got out again I'd tie him down. Luckily he never took me up on that threat.

Then tonight, Scott and Jacob went to Lake Michigan fishing. So I took the kids to run some errands. Between stores, I stopped at a Brat fry (only in Wisconsin) and got a hamburger and a coke. Ate that and went to Target. As I was loading each child out of the cart and putting them in the van, John got a hold of my can of coke and spilled it. All over my seat and the middle console. Yeah. Right there I did get tears in my eyes.
So I went to my parents house to visit and cleaned it up while they played with the kids. And I sat on a biodegradable shopping bag that wasn't water proof. So of course my bottom was wet. It couldn't get much funnier. But at the time and even now I still didn't feel like laughing.

Then the kids were pains when we got home and when I got them out of the van scattered in three different directions. Bedtime was a pain. And my frustrations grew to a boiling point. When will they or any of my kids learn not to push my buttons. Or at least recognize when they shouldn't mess with me.

Life in the not so fast lane

I got (received) good news the other day. The Birth to Three OT said that since we're doing really well with John with him seeking input for sensory issues. But its interesting because it seems we go in streaks where he has really good days and then days where he pins Matthew down on the ground, lies on him and tries to smother him with a pillow. Or he's just a live wire. Which has been the past few days.

The OT suggested more sensory play. We have a texture box with rigatoni, chickpeas, and navy beans. We have Crayola Fusion model clay. The kids will go around and around in circles on their ride-on toys. I encourage a lot of jumping and dancing. Outside in our backyard we have a mini-trampoline, ride on toys, a huge sandbox, a pool, two play sets and out of all that, I think John likes to play on the rocks or walk barefoot in the grass the best.

I'm very lucky that John has responded well. The only issues left for him are his oral fixations and his low muscle tone in his mouth. He still drools when he concentrates and much of the time his jaw is hanging open just a little bit. I'm not sure if the speech therapist will come for that issue yet or someone else.

Today I discovered at Woodman's that the Fast Lane (Under 20 items) is not really the fast lane. I newbie, who was actually quite old, was in charge of the five registers. I brought my own reusable bags and put them on the scale. The checkout lady just needed to clear the screen from her computer and I could go on checking out my 22 items. She was working another checkout area and couldn't get that error cleared. Pretty soon four out of the five registers were at a standstill because the rest of us just needed her to push just ONE little stinking button and we'd be on our own self-checking way. It took her eight minutes to clear me. I even asked her to just clear my bag weight error. And she was extremely disorganized and had to focus on just this one thing. She missed out on the multi-tasking gene.

So, I picked up my Dodge today from the local dealership today. They had to fix something something air condition piece in the rear of the van. I mistakenly thought they'd do this under the van. But no, they had to take out all three of my car seats out to do whatever they had to do. Scott told me to get over it, which I should. But it is a real pain in the patuddy to put them back properly. It will take me over an hour to get all three just right. And its humid outside and even more humid in my van. But wait! My air conditioning is fixed so I'll probably turn that on.

Today, as I was on the phone with the dealership trying to figure out if my van would be ready for me to pick it up, Jacob made the babies their dinner. I was on the phone downstairs so I wouldn't be disturbed. I came up and he had them in chairs, with plates and had given them yogurt, deli turkey and sliced cheese. It made my heart melt at how thoughtful and helpful he was. He gave them big people forks and he said,"Mom, I didn't know what forks to give them." And I said that he did a great job.

Tomorrow I'll blog about my arch-nemesis. Actually, I have two.

Door to door hoodlums

Tonight at an FVMOM dinner, I dropped my van off at the local dealership to get fixed. I have a Dodge. In my life I have owned two Dodges. My first Dodge in 1999 had a whole new transmission after 6,000 started the trend of the unlucky Dodge Stratus which I got rid of two years later.

Then I needed to get a minivan and I think Dodge was the only one with stow and go AND in my price range. And in the 30 months that I have owned this thing I think every summer the air conditioning has been broken and its had two or three recalls. You try to buy American and see what it gets you...

So, last Saturday night at 8:30 p.m. central standard time, the doorbell rings. I'm sitting on the couch with the kids (babies) and we're about to go to bed. And the front door has a straight shot view into our living room. So I can't not answer the door. So I get up and the three monkeys follow me. They have their noses squished up to the front door while I step out into our entrance to get the door.
This young man has a tan polyester short sleeve shirt with a plain brown tie that's loosened at the neck. He's young enough to be a punk in ill-fitting clothes.

So he says to me, "I'm the building inspector and I'd like to" - and then he laughs. And he starts his plug for whatever he is selling. He's got this yellow pamphlet in his hand and he's waving it around while he's yapping about vacuum cleaner specials. He's a hand waver. This habit doesn't go well with a customer trying to read the "special".
Actually there would be no way I'd let a stranger into my house at 8:30 at night and my husband is not home. And WHY would someone sell Oreck vacuum cleaners at this time of night.

He was up to no-good. I just know it. He was either casing the joint or going to steal my kids. After he saw that there were three, I don't know if he changed his mind or not.

Wipeout

How about some fluff? Enough of that serious stuff. I've got a headache just thinking about it. Or it could be that the barometric pressure thingy.

There's a new show called Wipeout that ABC has put on the air. I think that ABC has hit an all-time low with a show that purposely makes fun of people and makes them look stupid. Com' on! So, ABC was on today and during General Hospital and Who Wants to be a Millionaire I saw commercials for this Wipeout show. So did John.

John laughed hysterically. That's not even a good way to describe what his laughter sounded like. It was a guffaw, it was a shriek, it was pure joy. So tonight, the show was on and John sat on the couch and laughed when the people fell off the obstacle course and did stupid things. It was so refreshing to see someone laugh so uninhibitedly. Even though I normally would not have that type of show on because I think it teaches children that you can make people laugh by doing stupid things. These stupid things often lead to them hurting themselves. Remember that MTV show Jackass? If not, its not worth anyones time.

Another strange thing I saw today is when I was at Sam's Club. In the parking lot there were two girls - teenagers getting out of their vehicle at the same time the kids and I were. I glanced at the girls and both girls had these little baby doll dresses on. You know, the ones strippers wear when they come out on stage. (See the Demi moore movie for affirmation) These dresses did not come down probably more than 2 inches of their bum. And one of the girls pulled up the dress and adjusted her underwear. It was white with little designs on the edges. That was how long she pulled up her dress. A 14 year old girl pulled up her dress to rearrange her underwear. She was even with her mother. At first I thought maybe she was disabled in some way. Because there is such a thing as self-awareness at age 14. That is cute when a girl or boy is first potty trained, but not at age 14.

Bubbles anyone?

The thing I put on my wall in last nights post... it proved true today. "Grant me patience to deal with my blessings."
First, there were a lot of tears shed today. Not by me though. By all four kids. Jacob didn't want to go to swimming lessons, he didn't want to go to VBS, he didn't want to come home from Katie and Sam's house. He wanted band-aids on about eight different scrapes.
Brooke was picking on the boys, literally. She was pulling them around by their shirts, pulling their hair, she was a meanie today.
And THEN, THEN!!!!

No one took naps today. The three monkeys just jumped up and down in their cribs, they unzipped each others crib tents. Brooke gave all her blankets to Matthew. John horded all the nuks. He actually stacked about eight of them together and was playing with them.

So needless to say, it was a difficult day until they went to bed. I cuddled with Matthew after I put Brooke and John to bed and he fell asleep before his head hit my shoulder. They were all in bed by 7:30 - an hour earlier than usual. Oh, I should say that after I picked Jacob up from my brothers, Brooke did fall asleep in the car and then she took a nap until 5:30 and STILL went to bed at 7:30 without a fight.

Then I went outside and Jacob had the bubble machine going and I just sat and drank my margarita. It was one of THOSE moments. Those moments where everything is perfect and still in the world and you know the reason why you're at the place you are at. Doesn't happen that often, but most of the time it does happen when I'm with Jacob. Its that feeling that I'm glad that I'm at home with my children and there is no other place I'd rather be. I've only had that feeling once or twice with the babies. Its just because there is so much more chaos with them that I think those moments will happen more as they get older and more civilized.

Grant me patience....

This is my second vinyl expression by upppercase living. The wall was bumpier than the dining room and took more time to put up. The secret - a hairdryer. The vinyl when warmed will stick much better.

I wish I would have ordered this sign in the next size up. I think it may be a little too small.
This morning the kids were all coloring at the table. We have a table that seats six people comfortably. The four kids were sitting on two chairs total until Brooke "booted" Matthew off her chair and then I had him sit in his own chair next to her. They love to color, but love to color on objects other than paper more. Until then, colors will be under lockdown.

In-between the lines

You know how people say that they have it tougher than their parents did? Growing up in these times can be really tough with peer pressures, over-scheduling, inflation, etc...

Well, I found another thing that I can add to that list. Coloring books.

Jacob and I were coloring tonight using small crayons and I pulled out this coloring book that there was no way I could color in between the lines because it was so complicated and detailed. Whatever happened making kids feel good about themselves when they accomplish something? I've run into more coloring books that are so detailed and not simple that its really hard to stay within the lines.
I didn't have a sharpener with me and I could not stay in the lines. No wonder kids these days have self-esteem issues.

Uppercase Living

I got my Uppercase Living order today and immediately put one of the Vinyl sayings up. I know I'm a grown up when this kind of stuff thrills me.

I wish my pictures weren't so dark. I guess I'm no Dave Jackson.

Hide and Seek

I took Jacob out to lunch today to meet a friend, Magan. That was the last lunch he will ever eat in a public place other than school.

I didn't know how prejudice he really was. He wouldn't eat his chicken tenders and french fries because they looked different. We were at a mexican restaurant. They had a different batter on their food and I think they did leave it a little too long in the fryer. No other puns intended here. I told him (with Magan as my witness) that it tastes the same on the inside even though it looks different on the outside.

This will be a lesson tucked away for later in life when he finally notices that people come in different shapes and sizes. Although, I think he knows people come in different shapes because today as I was in my bedroom and told him I wanted privacy he said, "O.K. buttabutt." and left. That was a jaw-dropping moment.

So, tonight Jacob and Scott were playing hide and seek. Jacob has been playing hide and seek, probably since about 2 1/2 to 3 years. The problem is that he hasn't really caught on to the concept of the game. Lets look at the words and their meaning. First word Hide - not found in plain sight. And - this word connects two other words. Its a conjunction? I think? Last word Seek - to look for, to discover.

So Scott counts to 20 while Jacob hides. First of all you can hear obvious signs of where he hiding. He slams doors, opens closets, etc... Then he yells for Scott , "Ready Dad!" Now that's a problem cause it gives away his position. So Scott walks around and says, "I wonder if Jacob's in the laundry room?" And Jacob yells out, "I'm in the bathroom!" Scott walks around more, "I think Jacob is in the computer room." And Jacob yells out again, "I'm in the bathroom dad!"
He's always going to be it because he'll be the first found.

The Park Incident

I forgot about an incident that happened at the park yesterday until I was not so gently reminded of it today.

I was parked next to the park and my friend Shell Dinter was parked behind me. We got the kids packed up and we both got into our respective cars. Jacob started jabbering and I'm checking my mirrors. I see Shell in my mirror and wave to her. I start to pull away and get maybe 20 feet and realize that I left my sliding door open. Sigh. O.K. so I'm NOT perfect and I'm a bit frazzled when I have all four kids in the car and Jacob is talking.

That was just an excuse. That was just a classic Jean move.

And when I stopped the car and looked back at Michelle she was laughing - at my expense. I closed the sliding door. I pulled away and she was still laughing.