Photo Book

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Someday, I will not procrastinate with my free books and actually do a journal it a bit more.  

Me:  what's your favorite part of school?

Wesley:  coming home.  

Me: Why?  Don't you like preschool and seeing your new friends?

Wesley: That's cause I miss you.

Ahh..... I miss you too.  His second favorite thing is playing

Indoor Camp Out

The kids have wanted to camp out, however I know they have a hard time falling asleep outside and the weather is great.  So we brought it indoor to their bedroom.  We practiced our cutting and glueing to make the fire from a brown paper bag turned inside out.  We then put a flashlight inside to help it glow.   We had a great time making memories, we sang song, told scary stories and ate s'mores.

Well scary according to them 

Wesley". A man exploded like a bomb. BOOM!"

Amelia" one day a pony was flying in sky, it bumped into a bird 'Boo'.  And it fell from the sky splashing into cows  milk. And she said sorry"

I didn't catch Emily's but it was about a skeleton in trees in the dark night.  

Backyard treasures

Normally the kids chase frogs and toads, bunnies and squirrels.  But today they found two monarch butterflies.  I am sure they were already injured and dying and not solely from the kids' fascination.  They are beautiful.

Wesley's first day of preschool

The kids first day of school and the house caught on fire, phone rang to say Millie ran away, and I accidentally cooked dirty socks in waffle iron and sent them to school for wesley's waffle sandwich and then I woke up.  Phew...
I am so grateful that today was nothing like that but instead filled with excitement and only a few tears.  He loved his first day of school and made lots of new friends.  He was a upset about not getting to ride the bus home the first day and very tired.  But overall a great day.

Rough and tumble

Unpublished post from July 26 2012

background story.
Our little Amelia is a high maintenance baby. She fooled us the first month or so by being so perfect, but ever since she started teething ( at 2 1/2 months), she demands me me me all the time. (And yes she really started teething that early the bottom teeth were fully popped thru by her 3 month birthday and two weeks later her top four popped thru and by four months she had 8 teeth. Watch out cause she is a vampire and will bite. She has always had a strong attachment to her mommy. Around 6-7 months she started having breath holding spells. http://www.webmd.com/parenting/tc/breath-holding-spells-topic-overview

She generally has them when I walk away from her. The first time it happened I was holding her and set her down at my feet to start cooking dinner. She let out a short single whine nothing else. I figured she was fine till I felt a tug on my pant leg and heard a thud. I turned to see her blue and passed out on the floor. She was only out for a few seconds. A few days later she was playing on the floor and I walked upstairs. I hear a thud, turn to find her in a seizing and losing consciousness.  Rushed her into the doctor only to be told it was bhs and I needed to see a psychiatrist.  She was only doing it for attention and to manipulate us.   Screw you doc,  but she has no control over. Whit thought I was exaggerating and a hypochondriac, till he witnessed it as well. There is nothing to do for them and children will grow out of it, around 6 to 8.  WHAT???? years of this. NO THANK YOU. I keep an eye out for them but try not to rush to her, if it is bad I will hold her until she is back and then set her back down.
On to today... Amelia has been sick off and on with a fever and a cough. Yesterday she had a fever and was real lethargic. She was following me down the stairs.  I reached the bottom of the stairs, turn to see her start a spell.  And in my worst parenting moment, I am not able to catch her before she tumbles down the stairs.  She is unconscious, gains consciousness and then immediately as another spell.  We rush her in, she gets an x-ray.   I am so grateful she is alive and no serious injuries. Black eyes heal and bruises fade.  For now I can't take my eyes off of her.

Life through rose colored glasses....not here, but I sure want outsiders to only see the positive.  Yet life isn't always so positive.  My apologies to those really close who get an earful of the downs / stressors in my life.  And let's face it married life with kids has it's share of them even for the seemly perfect family.  I really dislike the airing of dirty laundry publicly and I don't ever want my kids to be scarred by something I couldn't handle.  They are kids after all. But as I was talking with my sister,  I realized just how important some things are.  Not because you are trying to get attention or embarrass other but because you and others in similar situations (and them) need to know the strength you gained from enduring.  I sure wish my mom had left more specific details about the struggles and health issues I had as a child.   As I looked over my neglected blog, the real issues that we have been dealing with have been passed over and the highlights of " normalcy" are in their place.  Issues that are infact our lives.  Issues of being developmentally delayed,  autism spectrum, involuntary breathe holding spells, sensory processing disorder, ADHD, and childhood apraxia of speech,  As I try to recap before I forget they will not be in any particular order.

Cookies

We love pb cookies mostly for the pure simplicity and ease. The kids have the perfect mixing ratio, (where as I usually over mix). I love their excitement as they watch the cookies bake.

Dyeing Easter eggs

I wanted to dye Easter eggs but the I could only imagine the spillage would be greater than than the coloring of eggs. But luckily Pinterest came to the rescue. Now it sure was messier but the kids loved it and clean up was a breeze. Plus nothing else was dyed. It became a combination of fingerprinting and egg dyeing.

Pity party, table for one please

I realized today how fast my little kiddos are growing up and just how much I am missing with each one. I feel like I am losing out on the greatest moments of their life because I am always busy in the background cooking or cleaning or trying to have everything perfect. Mostly in slow motion because my brain is to tired and fried to be clearly organized or remember where I put anything. Now this might be better if things were getting done or if I had something to show for it. A clean house, or great meals on the table, perfect kids, a perfect birthday party, or even a good looking me... But nope. I got nada. Instead I don the mommy perfume ( baby spit) going on day 3 or 4 of not showering. That once was pulled back hair has now been pulled out by the kids , still in my Pjs because they are the only things that fit cause I am now 40 lbs overweight. And my kids may or may not have the berries washed off their faces from meal time. And poor Charli wants to eat again. It is a far cry from mental picture in my head of how life should be. I look around and feel like everyone is moving on and going somewhere (with their perfect hair, slender bodies and clean house), while I look like i just got out of bed after a late night. And the house is about to be swallowed up in dirty dishes and laundry.
Charli is going to be 4 months in a week, Amelia is now two and Wesley is three and in sunbeams. All I really want to do is sit and read with my kids, play trucks with Wesley or house with Millie. Or just sit and talk with Charli and soak in all her smiles. And I want pictures to capture it all. I can't even remember the milestones for a four month old or what it is we should be working on. And secretly I don't do tummy time like I should because the thought of her crawling around and then running is too much for me to handle. Wesley and Amelia no longer have craft time each day. I can't find the time to sit and work with them on their letters or colors, but we have an app for that. (tis with shame that I admit that). Parenting is now 50 % us and 50% iPhone /iPad. There is so much to teach them and yet an electronic tablet is doing it instead of me. Don't get me wrong I love the iPad / iPhone. I just wish there was an app that would clean my house put good food on the table instead. If only.....