Operation Robot Hands

Perhaps you'll remember the gloved crusaders.
Two weeks of gloves and Munchkin had stopped sucking her thumb (and Thumbelina had gone from two fingers to just her thumb.) Fast forward 8 months. Munchkin sees Tumbelina sucking her thumb (all. the. time.) and decides it may be worth another shot.

See my head explode.

Two months later, Thumbelina decided that the cracked skin on her hand from all the sucking may not be worth it and stops. ON HER OWN!!!

Munchkin, on the other hand, is hooked. Either hand works for her. She doesn't discriminate. So I figured we have a couple of months before the baby comes while it's still cold/cool outside and wearing gloves wouldn't be considered torture. The last time I tried gloves on her (right after she started sucking again) she ripped off every piece of tape I put on. We used packing tape last time so it wouldn't be so glaringly obvious that I am taping up my children, but this time, I pulled out the big guns.


And thus begins Operation Robot Hands

Tired...and Hungry

Hubby and I have been extra tired lately. Maybe it's because we know a baby is coming soon and we are trying to stockpile sleep. Maybe it's because we have three kids already and rarely a moment of peace. Maybe it's because we get up too early. Yes, Munchkin, I am looking at you!

So last night, after the kids went to bed, hubby and I were in the kitchen talking. I mentioned that I might just go to bed. We both looked at the clock. 8:30 pm.

Then hubby surprised me by saying, "I'm okay with that. I'll go with you and watch a show or something."

The only problem with that is our DVR is in the living room so we usually end up watching The Food Network. So after eating our soft pretzels (which were featured on Unwrapped a while back prompting our purchase of them), we were both out by 9:30.

(too bad we started Operation Robot Hands yesterday and Munchkin kept waking up because she couldn't suck her thumb. It would have been a great night of sleep.)

Never Again

I am trying to figure out (still) what on earth I was thinking when I decided to let my son have a friend birthday party. In what universe does it seem logical to invite 7 six-year-old boys to your house for two hours when you are 6 months pregnant?! Not only that but equip them with party horns!!

But mostly I am wondering why my husband didn't stop the insanity.

****
For the record, ET had fun. I think all the boys were a little too much for the girls as they spent most of the time with Mom and Dad. Oh yeah, and my kids were the only ones who really ate anything. Munchkin had three pieces of pizza, Thumbelina had two, and ET had two. Every other kid didn't even finish their first piece. Same with the cake. And there were some kids who didn't want ice cream!

Still, we made it through and don't have to go there for another 2 years...unless I can't talk Thumbelina out of a party this summer.

2 Years

I have been blogging for 2 years.

Munchkin was 6 weeks old when I started.

I didn't tell anyone but my sister about it for a long time.

Since then, I have met a lot of new blog friends, and kept up with real life friends and family.

My husband gave my blog address to his coworkers without telling me.

Some months I have posted a lot, some months a little.

This is my life, and for the last two years at least, it has been somewhat documented.

...sometimes mostly with pictures...of the kids anyway.

So then:

And now:

Fashion

Don't you just love it when your children develop their own fashion sense?

ET is trying to win me over on the 'just pants to bed' thing. Does he know it is WINTER?! But he keeps trying. At least once or twice a week. Other than that, his fashion style is whatever superhero costume or karate suit he can find.

Munchkin's style is pretty much whatever she can put on by herself. It doesn't need to match or even be the right clothing for that part of her body. If she can get a shirt on as pants, she is as happy as a clam. Her weakness is shoes. She clomped around the house for a good hour yesterday in a pair of my shoes and I have to say she handled them better than I do.

Now Thumbelina is a totally different story. She is all about skirts. She has over 20 skirts (well, her and munchkin together) and she wears them all. She went through a phase when she was 2 where she would only wear skirts. So we had to go and buy her a bunch of tights so she wouldn't freeze during the winter months. But now...

I'm pretty sure this falls into the category of 'so ugly it's cute.' She usually just throws on a skirt over whatever pants she is wearing. But she loves these leggings from grandma--so much that I bought her three more pair. My only rule is if I can't complain about her fashion choices, she can't complain if she's too cold/hot.

He's 6 Years Old!

I am here to testify that 6 is great! For the past two weeks, ET has been very respectful, helpful and just plain sweet. For example:

*tonight he said, Thanks for dinner, Mom," for mac and cheese and tater tots

* I was sewing and stood up and had a sharp sciatic pain. He said, "I'm sorry you hurt Mom; you should go lay down for a while."

* Munchkin fell off her stool and got a bloody lip. He kept telling her he was sorry she fell.

(Disclaimer--he still argues when asked to do chores or something he doesn't like but on the whole...)

He is so excited for every day. Today he was excited to get his birthday crown and goody bag at school. Tomorrow he is excited for centers at school and his party. All the time he is saying, "I can't wait for ..."

I saw this fantastic idea on another blog (sorry I don't remember which one) where she makes (appliques) birthday shirts for her kids. I asked ET if he wanted one. Batman please, with a 6 on the back. I tried to talk him into the stick numbers (you know where you do 4 straight lines and #5 crosses over it) but he wanted a 6. Great! Curvy lines! He was so excited to wear it and at least three times on the way into school, he dropped his backpack trying to show someone how old he was.

He invited 7 boys to his birthday party. We are really just recycling his party from last year (substituting Batman for Spiderman, of course) because he is inviting all different kids. So 7 boys (who have all rsvp'd) plus ET and Thumbelina makes 9 kids. Add Munchkin in there and that takes us up to about 37!

He got to go shopping with us last night for a few party things we forgot. We put the girls to bed and let my brother listen for them. It is fun going shopping with just one kid. There is no fighting, no arguing over who gets to push the cart, and the things he said were just hilarious!

Now we just have to decorate and wrap presents...

Pretty Low Key

We are not really a big gesture kind of family. We don't really make a big deal out of much. Valentines Day is a couple of weeks before our anniversary, and our birthdays are 6 days apart. So making a huge deal out of every thing would kind of be overkill. And now that the kids are older, they don't want to be left out of anything.

So Valentines this year was pretty minimal as far as romance stuff goes. Hubby and I went out to dinner on Friday and ate way too much. But it was so good and we were alone! I told hubby I wanted a staple gun for my present and he wanted more money for his iTouch.

Saturday morning, the kids found their valentines on the counter--a Cars flashlight for ET and Lipsmackers for the girls. And a little heart full of candy for each. Of course they fought over who got what candy so we mixed them all up and then divided them. HA! We made heart shaped pancakes for breakfast with strawberry syrup (that the kids didn't even like!) Then we went shopping for stuff that we needed anyway. Lunch was popcorn chicken from the deli.

We let the kids 'make' valentines until they got bored. (pretty much construction paper, stickers and lots of glue.) Hubby even helped them with paint for the stamps. Two gluesticks later, they were ready for dinner. YUM--leftovers! (mine was from the restaurant) The kids got brownies for dessert and we played as many games as we could tolerate. The kids are now on a Cadoo kick and we have to play it every night.

I am pretty sure Jason and I fell asleep on the couch around 10pm.

I know...hot stuff, right?

Life

Life has gotten a little out of control lately. Not really but it so seems that way in my head. I am desperately trying to get somewhat organized so my house isn't just a series of piles. Here is what I have been able to accomplish:

1. I bought this for ET, and have him get his weeks clothes ready on Saturday or Sunday.


2. I bought this (just the bench) for our table (and will show you a picture as soon as my craft stuff vacates said table) so we actually have enough seating.


3. Our bathrooms are seriously lacking towel rods. The kids bathroom has a peg board on the wall that we use for their towels, but mostly the towels would fall off and just be a huge pile on the floor. So I took 30 minutes and sewed a loop of ribbon on each towel so they will stay on the pegs.

4. I bought laundry hampers for everyone's bedrooms. My washer and dryer are on the landing between the kitchen and what used to be the garage. So most times when I fall behind on the laundry, the landing gets completely covered by dirty laundry. So if they have hampers in their rooms, the laundry piles up there.

5. I finally went through all the junk that has been cluttering my dining room since Thanksgiving. We filled up our garbage, our neighbors garbage and our recycle bin...on Monday. (I am so glad it is Friday and they are coming to empty it!) I semi-sorted my craft totes and stacked them in Munchkin's room.

6. I have a chore book that, if followed, will give me a clean house. Monday and Thursday are laundry days, Tuesday is dusting and vacuuming, Wednesday is bathrooms, and Friday is Kitchen. So far, I have been doing okay on the laundry days. I finished my huge pile of months of laundry on Saturday, and then had the laundry done again by Tuesday. Yesterday I almost got everything washed and dried. And I have trained the kids to put away their own clothes. The kids did the bathroom for me yesterday...well, kind of.

So in between folding the laundry and cleaning the kitchen today, I am making sugar cookies for the kids, Valentine decorations to put up tonight, and ET's birthday shirt. Oh yeah, and then there is the matter of my bedroom and vacuuming the whole house and putting new stuff in my shop. Tomorrow, we are having a Valentine party family day so I want to get everything else done today. Wish me luck...

Why, Oh Why?

My son turns six next week. Today we had his 6 year check up at the doctor. Some highlights:

* His favorite part of school (besides recess) is spelling tests.
* He weighs 59.5 pounds and is 49 inches tall--keeping him in the 95th-99th percentile, where he has resided since birth.
* It took him 5 cups of water and 25 minutes to pee in a cup, all while Munchkin laughed at his bum.

Fun times. I think hubby is doing Thumbelina's appointment in August.

*******

I finally got the girls Valentine stuff done and they even humored me by wearing it when we got home from church yesterday.

The best part about having this done? All of the red heart fabric is finally gone!!

Saved by the Bell

...or, more accurately, the CPSC.

CPSC Grants One Year Stay of Testing and Certification Requirements for Certain Products
Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission voted unanimously (2-0) to issue a one year stay of enforcement for certain testing and certification requirements for manufacturers and importers of regulated products, including products intended for children 12 years old and younger. These requirements are part of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), which added certification and testing requirements for all products subject to CPSC standards or bans.

So I get at least one more year of Etsy. I am so excited because there are so many cute kid things out there I haven't bought yet!

Watch for new stuff in my shop as I try to turn my four totes of fabric into stuff I can actually sell! More footballs and mini-balls are coming--as well as new patterns.

Compare and Contrast

I am totally over not having another boy. I am glad I will be having a girl for a few very selfish reasons:

1. I bought a lot of new 0-3 month clothes with Munchkin and am so excited to use them again. I refuse to go through all of ET's old clothes because it would totally negate this.

2. Girls eat less than boys. ET is my only boy and will not stop growing! He is in size 8-10 clothes and will be six years old in 2 weeks. For dinner tonight he ate 4 slices of pizza, fruit salad, 2 cherry tomatoes, and baby carrots and ranch. When I asked him if he was full, he said, "not yet but I need to save some room for dessert." In comparison, I can't remember the last time the girls got dessert because they never finish their first helping of dinner. I am officially dreading the teenage years just for my grocery bill!

Undone Plans

We had big plans for Saturday. Oil change for the car, birthday party shopping, Doc's Pizza for lunch (per the kids' request) and major grocery shopping. Our first stop was for the oil change. I ran to the grocery store across the parking lot to find some Tums and my debit card was declined. I immediately got nervous about how we were going to pay for the oil change if our card wasn't working. So hubby called the bank and they said they couldn't see why it wouldn't go through.

Of course it didn't go through. So after another call to the bank and being transferred to some 1-800 number, we found out that there had been fraudulent activity on our card and so they froze it.

We had gotten cash out already for lunch, but other than that, we were stuck.

Luckily, the car place took our check, and we were able to order new cards at the bank; but it really messed with our plans for the day. Our day ended up being infinitely longer than we had planned.

...all because some loser used our card number on Napster. I didn't even know Napster was still around.