Eight is Great Cecelia!

(Our Christmas celebrations haven't ended so I will post on that later)

Miss Cecelia turned 8 this week and BOY did we celebrate! We went to the Mall of America on her "actual" birthday and the kids rode on rides all day. Grandma Claire was quite patient! Cecelia has a super duper fun birthday party with her friends at the Roseville ice rink the next day. She runs with a really great group of friends and it's a joy to be around them. Lastly, we had a birthday dinner/last supper with Grandma Claire at a Japanese restaurant. My little 8 year old loves sushi!

No one deserves to be celebrated more than our little lady. We love ya Cees!!!

MN Science Museum

Delaney had a birthday party at the Science Museum so the rest of us screwed around while we waited.

Blogs I Like

It's true, I am a little bit of a blog-o-holic, but I just love when people say things and it feels like you share a brain.
You must read "everyday I write" because she is just SO funny!

Christmas Spirit

I am definitely in the Christmas spirit thanks to my most most most favorite people in the whole wide world.

School

We are full swing in the school year and have really (thank you Jesus) got in to our routine.
Things were a little rough for Delaney for a while and I was slightly concerned that she was really going to struggle with kindergarten. I got called on two seperate occassions because she was hiding under the table in the classroom. I feared that maybe she was too young to start school. However, after we talked about it and made an "Awesome Day" chart in which we put a sticker on for...wait for it...when she has an awesome day at school.  I have seen a real positive change in her. I think learning how to read has got her pumped up.

Cecelia is doing great. She's just a great kid. I caught myself asking her sisters why they can't be more like her the other day. I know it was TOTALLY not cool, but it's kind of true. She loves school. Like, a lot. She doesn't have to be told to do her homework. It's wonderful. She is a wonderful example to her younger sisters and we couldn't be more proud.

Laila is also enjoying school. Granted, she only spends 5 hours a week there, but she has no separation anxiety at all, she just gives me a kiss and off she runs in to the class. It's kind of sad...for me...but I'd rather it be this way than leaving her in tears.

Lastly, I am also doing pretty good in school.  The semester is almost over and I've got to kick some serious butt on my finals to keep my GPA high in the sky.  I find the material very interesting which makes it easier to sit in a night class in the cold and dark 2 nights a week.  It seems like I will never be fluent enough to interpret, but I know as time goes on I will continue to improve.  I also have been tickling my brain writing papers (lots of papers) and reading text books again.

We're going to have a lot of time off from school for the holidays so hopefully next semester will go as smoothly as this one has for us.

Yay for school!!!

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2011/1107/Wealth-gap-between-young-and-old-is-wider-than-ever/(page)/2

All About Me

Let's talk about me and the fact that I have become one of those people.

You know, the kind that complain about stuff, but don't do anything about it.

The biggest issue: body.

I weigh myself almost every morning and seriously wait for that day when all of a sudden I've lost 5 pounds. Like magic.
Obviously that hasn't happened. Then I stare at my fat gut in the mirror and wish I could just cut it off.

I know I should work out, but honestly I don't feel like it will help.
I proved to myself last year that running on a treadmill won 't make one bit of difference.
Sit-ups don't help either.
Halloween candy is only making it worse.
I feel like the only people who have totally awesome bodies work out everyday.  I don't want to have to do that!
I have found that finding the perfect shirt helps the most - something "flowy" for example.
I'm also holding out for that one day when the perfect body style is like those women in old school paintings. It obviously was in at one point in time.

By the way, don't ever let my girls read this because I never want them to care or worry about what they look like.

I am such a cliche.

Happy Fall Y'all!!

3

I would like my girls to sometimes have to earn the fun things that we do. Lately, I've been struggling because 2 out of the 3, or 1 out of the 3 will be cooperative but then the other 1 or 2 is not.

I want to tell the one(s) that are acting like wild animals that they will not be rewarded for their behavior.  For example: if I tell the girls that we can go to the DQ today if everyone helps picking up, and only one or two actually help out (without complaining constantly) then only the one(s) who helped should be able to go.

BUT, that would mean either Bill or I has to stay back

or

if it's just me and the girls I bring them all and only reward some?!?

I can't imagine doing that.

However, if I say no to the DQ all together then those who were "good" get screwed.

How do you do it with 3?

"Disability"

Being back in school, and learning about deaf culture, has been super fun. I have learned a LOT about deaf people already (and am slowly mastering ASL).
I have seen through the last couple of months a common theme that I heard a lot when I was doing my undergraduate schooling in psychology which is this:
If your child is born a certain way, please please please just leave them be.

I remember back at Moorhead State hearing about babies being born with both genders. Most of the time, the parents just pick the gender they think is best and then raise the child that way.
9 times out of 10, once these children grow up they are not only extremely disappointed in their gender but also sad that they're body has been essentially mutilated.

In the deaf culture, the big issues are:
cochlear implants
mainstream school vs. residential school
oral vs. ASL education

I honestly cannot say how I would feel if I had a deaf child. As a hearing person I would probably feel distraught that my child would never hear the things we take for granted every day. On the other hand, knowing what I know now about the deaf world I would hopefully not try to "fix" my child.

Trying to teach a deaf child to hear and talk is a futile effort. These children have a language and a culture of their own and expecting them to be just like the other kids is really not even possible.

Time after time I have heard stories from deaf adults who were tortured as a child - not allowed to use sign language, being forced to learn speech, being thrown in to a regular school without other deaf students or an interpreter.

As parents, we see our children as a reflection of ourselves and want them to be "perfect." However, what may seem like a disability to us, is just normal to them and the bottom line is that we should just leave them alone until they are old enough to make decisions about their own life.

Great Day

My great day is due to:
the fact I had the day off.
I got to visit CeCe's classroom.
Laila and I went to the park.
while at the park the church
bells rang Fur Elise
(the whole song)
Me and my girls all got
to have lunch at school together.
We raked leaves in the warm sun.
Bill took all the girls to
gymnastics by himself.

Rewind: 1st Day of School

Doesn't Laila look super pumped for school?

All 3 kids have school now. Crazy!

Laila: 3 year old preschool

Delaney: Kindergarten

Cecelia: 2nd grade.

I kind of miss having them home with me all day - but Delaney and Laila are still home for most of the day. Cecelia is gone all day I get so excited for her bus to get here everyday.

They all seem to like their teachers and have friends in their class.

So far, so good.

New York City!

Me and my dark red hair will be hopping on a plane tomorrow to meet up with my Mom in NEW YORK CITY!
I pulled out anything in my closet that could be considered somewhat cool (2 shirts in all, I think) so that I don't scream "Hi, I am a 35 year old mom from the midwest who wears a hat, jeans and a t-shirt everyday"
Not to worry, I plan to take lots of pictures and you can judge for yourself.
Boy oh boy I can't wait!

Do It With Love

Lately I've been feeling like the little engine that could. Being the HBIC is not easy. At all. I have so much to think about, organize and plan it's rediculous.
I won't do a laundry list (that reminds me, I need to do laundry) because we all know what it takes to raise a family, but let's just say it's a lot. A lot, a lot.
My husband is a good supporter, but is pretty much clueless as to how much effort it takes to keep things running smoothly around here. And even though he helps out quite a bit, it's all me who's pulling this train. Sometimes it feels like I don't even have wheels and I'm slowly pulling this thing with my feet - Flintstone style.
Wouldn't it be nice if someone else were to take care of something for once? I can't imagine coming home to the hubs saying "I think the girls should take piano lessons so I went ahead and found a piano" or "I noticed the front closet is a total disaster so I went ahead and cleared it out and organized it"....you know, something along those lines.
I mean, I guess I like being the boss for the most part but it would be nice to get a break once and a while. Like, a break break.
Bill said I will get a break when I go to New York with my Mom in a couple of weeks, but I told him that's not entirely true. It's not like I just pack a suitcase and leave. I don't even know how I'm going to get to the airport! I have to make sure clothes are clean, food is bought and meals are planned. I have to make sure they get to all the social obligations while I'm gone and make sure gifts are bought and wrapped.
I will be free once I'm gone, but them coming home is a whole other task. Gotta make up for the days I was gone.

Yikes.

It is really super duper easy to get crabby with all the stuff, but I have a new thing I've been working on which is this: Do it with love.
Seriously.
I was making the beds the other morning and was getting all sweaty and frustrated and I starting thinking about Moms who probably do the same thing but actually enjoy it. I was picturing them tucking in the sheets ever so gently and smoothing out the bedspread with a smile on their face knowing that they were doing it for their child, who they love so much. I thought, I love my children, so why not hop on board.
So far, I have forgottem my mantra on a couple different occassions, but once I remind myself that I am picking up toys, wiping a butt, brushing teeth, preparing a meal, organizing a school folder, un-inside-outing clothes for wash, buckling a carseat, defusing a meltdown, putting Barbie's shirt on, making a doctor appointment, sharpening a crayon, wiping crayon off my wall, mopping up milk.....it's all for someone I love.
Doing it with love does make a difference.

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.....

What A Summer

I seriously cannot believe summer vacation is already over!

Here are some of the things we did this year. Click here.

The ER

So, this past weekend Bill and I dropped the girls off at his parents to we could go on our annual camping trip in Taylor's Falls.
Unfortunately, while we were gone Delaney had a fever and wasn't feeling well.
One thing led to another and on Sunday morning the poor thing started to throw up chunks of blood. After a couple episodes we told Bill's Mom to bring her to the ER. After 4 hours at one hospital we were told to bring her to Children's for more testing.
Needless to say, we were both freaking out.
The good news is that it wasn't anything serious. Thank God.
The bad news was that she was completely dehydrated and somewhat starved from not eating for a couple of days in row.
Boy did I feel guilty for going out of town. Like, really guilty.
After the doc gave Laney a couple rounds of fluid (IVs) she was feeling much better.
They said the blood was more than likely from drainage from a bloody nose and was all she had in her stomache when she got sick.
Poor thing.

The moral of the story is this: Yes, your child can starve if you let them. And, Children's Hospital is the best hospital ever. Ever ever.

We're glad our little lady is doing better and hope that we never have to deal with this issue again.

Henry's Sisters

I just finished reading the book Henry's Sisters and for some reason I dog-eared quite a few pages - which I normally never do.
So, here are some of the quotes that I liked:

"The problem I see with fights between sisters is that the fights can degenerate to scorching meanness so quick, the words cutting right to the marrow, because sisters know how to hurt each other with pinpoint accuracy. They have history and hurts and slights andjlealousies and resentment and they don't know how to rein it in, filter, or how not to be brutally honest with one another.
Sometimes it's a lovely relationship.
Sometimes it's a disastrous relationship.
Sometimes it's both."

"When I hear about an adult having a problem, whether it's mental or physical or emotional, well that's a sad thing. But it's life. We all get hit in the face.  We all get brought to our knees. Buck up and take it.
But kids. That's a whole 'nother bucket."

"I went home and went to bed. I slept seventeen hours straight. Ladies, do this. Life is too rough and tough and sucky to go through it without taking yourself to a spa. Trust me. You deserve it."

"Watching Cecilia's anger is like watching a fire take hold. It simmers, it grows into tiny orange flames, then it leaps, and it burns down the whole darn forest, taking Bambi and all those fury friends with it."

"...Henry loves....He loves butterflies and dandelions. He loves watching geese fly overhead and spiders making their webs. He loves eating cookies and spaghetti and he loves Saturday morning cartoons. He loves the sun and he loves rainy days when he gets to wear his yellow galoshes."

July 20, 2011

I have yet to upload pictures from the last month or so but there is one day I don't want to slip under the radar - my bubba's 3rd birthday.

Miss Laila will be starting preschool this year, is wearing underwear, gets herself dressed (multiple times a day), can swim with floaties all by herself and is officially a....."big girl."
My baby.

Oh, it's so hard to watch her grow but she is turning into such a beautiful young lady.

She works so hard to take care of herself and do things without any help. She will not tolerate being called little. She is big. "I not little, I big."
She has lots of questions about what things are made of such as: the kitchen table, water, carpet, belly buttons and so forth.
She loves, loves, loves to play dollies. She will even make do with crayons or even her own fingers as people if she has to. All the dolls refer to eachother as sister or sweetie.
Laila's going through this squinting phase right now where she goes up to people, squints and then asks "What your name is?" I will have to refer to it as her Clint Eastwood phase when she gets older.
She also likes to become someone else from time to time. That person is Sophie Stars. Don't ask me where she came up with the name.

She's just cute as cute can be and we're so lucky to have her to make us laugh everyday.

Happy (Belated) 3rd Birthday Baby Girl!!! (don't tell her I said baby.)

New Computer

Hi!! I haven't had a computer in over a month so I have lots to catch up on. As soon as Bill shows me how to get my pictures on here I will fill you all in!

In the meantime know this: we are still having the best summer ever.

Daughter's Prayer - Tina Fey

"First, Lord: No tattoos. May neither Chinese symbol for truth nor Winnie-the-Pooh holding the FSU logo stain her tender haunches.

May she be Beautiful but not Damaged, for it’s the Damage that draws the creepy soccer coach’s eye, not the Beauty.

When the Crystal Meth is offered, May she remember the parents who cut her grapes in half And stick with Beer.

Guide her, protect her ;
When crossing the street, stepping onto boats, swimming in the ocean, swimming in pools, walking near pools, standing on the subway platform, crossing 86th Street, stepping off of boats, using mall restrooms, getting on and off escalators, driving on country roads while arguing, leaning on large windows, walking in parking lots, riding Ferris wheels, roller-coasters, log flumes, or anything called “Hell Drop,” “Tower of Torture,” or “The Death Spiral Rock ‘N Zero G Roll featuring Aerosmith,” and standing on any kind of balcony ever, anywhere, at any age.

Lead her away from Acting but not all the way to Finance. Something where she can make her own hours but still feel intellectually fulfilled and get outside sometimes And not have to wear high heels.

What would that be, Lord? Architecture? Midwifery? Golf course design? I’m asking You, because if I knew, I’d be doing it, Youdammit.

May she play the Drums to the fiery rhythm of her Own Heart with the sinewy strength of her Own Arms, so she need Not Lie With Drummers.

Grant her a Rough Patch from twelve to seventeen. Let her draw horses and be interested in Barbies for much too long, For childhood is short – a Tiger Flower blooming Magenta for one day – And adulthood is long and dry-humping in cars will wait.

O Lord, break the Internet forever, That she may be spared the misspelled invective of her peers And the online marketing campaign for Rape Hostel V: Girls Just Wanna Get Stabbed.

And when she one day turns on me and calls me a Bitch in front of Hollister, Give me the strength, Lord, to yank her directly into a cab in front of her friends, For I will not have that Shit. I will not have it.

And should she choose to be a Mother one day, be my eyes, Lord, that I may see her, lying on a blanket on the floor at 4:50 A.M., all-at-once exhausted, bored, and in love with the little creature whose poop is leaking up its back.

“My mother did this for me once,” she will realize as she cleans feces off her baby’s neck. “My mother did this for me.” And the delayed gratitude will wash over her as it does each generation and she will make a Mental Note to call me. And she will forget. But I’ll know, because I peeped it with Your God eyes."

— Tina Fey (Bossypants)

Hello Sunshine!