There Are Times...

There are times when I think my children are going to make me lose my mind, like last Sunday at Target when Isabella had a COMPLETE meltdown over a My Little Pony toothbrush, or yesterday morning when Emmalena had a meltdown over her hair as we were trying to leave for school. Then there are the times when my children just melt my icy heart, like when I found Ali and Isabella holding one another in their sleep this morning. Why can't it always be this good? I guess because we wouldn't appreciate it!

Be on the Look Out!

As I sat at the dining room table this morning, bleary eyed and barely awake, working on my grocery list for Thanksgiving, MS came charging in to see me. "Mommy, I have three teeth loose! See, feel them!" Oh, yes, just what I want to do, put my hand in your unbrushed mouth before I have even had my coffee, but I obliged. Hmmm, they all feel pretty solid to me, but I say to MS "Oh, yes I can feel them wiggling around". MS skips off singing "Three teeth are on the loose, three teeth are on the loose"!

Oh, How the Mighty have Fallen

I have a confession to make. I used to go to people's houses, see crayon or marker scribbled on the walls or furniture and wonder how they let that happen. I mean, really, is it so hard to keep an eye on the writing implements? And the children? BS and MS never wrote on anything. Seriously. Well, along comes LS. She is a graffiti bandit. I swear she has some kind of radar for lead and wax. BS and MS have designated areas for pencils, markers and crayons, but LS seems to find the random ones that fall under beds or have been tossed in the trash. She has already tagged my bedroom walls, her sister's footboard and my antique armoire. She is very proud of her work. After she has completed her piece she will find me, with the tagging instrument of choice in hand. She will hold it out and say "No, no, no." I then say "Show me what you did" and she takes off. No guilt, no shame and certainly no fear! She walks right up to whatever she has just written on, and points away "No, no, no."

Mr. Clean's Magic Eraser took care of the armoire. It would have been more magic if I hadn't rubbed my fingers raw making it work, but oh well. Erasing pencil off the wall is semi-effective. Just don't try it with a blue eraser shaped like a snow flake. It leaves a mark.

I am worried now about all the other child related issues I thought I had mastered. They seem to be coming back to haunt me. My girlfriend saw LS unzipping her footie jammies and suggested putting them on backward. I said that it didn't really bother me if she unzipped them, like some cheesy guy in the 1970s wearing a leisure suit. Well, my friend has four children. She pointed out that her son unzipped his footie jammies one night, stripped down and proceeded to paint the walls with the not so pleasant product of his digestive system. My first thought was "Well, none of my kids have painted the walls with their poop". Oops! Lord, I see the errors of my ways. I will no longer be uppity and prideful when it comes to child rearing. PLEASE don't let LS poop paint to teach me a lesson!

Raising This One Right

I have a theory that you ought to know how to raise children by the time you have the third. No one knows what they are doing with the first child. With the second kid, you work out some of the kinks, figuring out what works and what doesn't. By the third child, you better know what you are doing or you are in BIG trouble.

So, poor LS is screwed. Now we know all the tricks of the trade (ha ha), and we are starting off early with her. There will be no whining, back talk or slacking off from that one! And, she is going to help around the house! Starting now!

Rip Van Winkle

Yesterday was a beautiful, fall day. The sun was shining, it was 75 degrees outside. Jimmy took the big girls to the Air Force Football game. It was so warm that he and the girls left the game early!

Today is a different story! I feel like I went to bed in October and woke up in the middle of January! It is 32 degrees outside, the wind is howling, we have 4 inches of snow, and no signs of it stopping!

If the leaves on the tree out front weren't A) still on the tree, and B) such vibrant colors, I'd really think I slept for four months!

As the weather man said "Welcome to Colorado Springs in the Fall."

Here We Go!

Heidi, my beloved SIL, has had a blog for several years. I have to admit, I am addicted to it. I check it several times a day - as if she has time to update it that frequently! I love hearing about the tiny details of her day, and what is going on with my brother, my niece and nephew. Her writings have made me feel closer to them. I really enjoy the Air Force life, but I miss the day to day interaction with my family and friends. Phone calls and emails are great, but it isn't the same.

So, I am going to try (BIG emphasis on try) to keep a blog, a la Heidi, that keeps everyone in the loop with all the mundane, and sometimes exciting, things that happen here.

I wanted to title my blog "Under the Big Top" but it was already taken. Since we had Ali, I refer to our house as the three ring circus. I feel like the Master of Ceremonies, and sometimes like the freaky side show!

I hope you all enjoy. I am reluctant to invite my brainiac family to view this, as my grammar is sure to be wrong. But, with three kids you all get what you get!
I openly admit to being the dumb one in the family.