Weekly Weigh-In!!

The Week: Have you ever really just wanted to ship one of your kids somewhere? Far, far, f.a.r. away? That's pretty much how I feel about Elliott. Yeah, she's cute and sweet and funny and such a great little girl. But she's also a gigantic pain in my ass. For the last 2-3 months she's been overly whiny and disagreeable. If she doesn't get her way, she's miserable. Which makes everyone around her miserable, too. Every morning this week I have been rousted from a sound sleep (at 6am) by a screaming, whining Elliott. She wants Gabriel's trains. He gives her some. But not enough. So she throws a fit. He gives her more trains as a "trade" for Barbies. No go. She throws a fit because he has the audacity to even think that he can play with her dolls. She then throws an even larger fit because we make her give back the trains because she can't share. Then it all starts again when we get downstairs. Good times. Don't get me wrong. I realize that two-year-olds are like this. And she's not always being a miserable little cuss. When she's happy, she's HAPPY. But she's a mini-me - she's got more attitude than one little girl needs. And she's got my nasty streak. When she and I are both pissy, stay away.

I also think she has a touch of the "middle-child-syndrome". I'm trying to spend quality one-on-one time with her (sans siblings), but it doesn't help. I get so frustrated with her, and that leads to meltdowns...for both of us. My little get-away with Jennifer is exactly what I need right now. Miss Jennifer has a conference at the hospital my Mommy works at, so we're going "home" for a few days. Janna's coming, too.

Gabriel and Janna have both had pretty great weeks! Gabriel is still in love with pre-school (and his little pal Kyra). He seems so big to me lately. I'm sure it has a lot to do with the fact that he's in a "Big Boy School (that's what he calls the Elementary School)". It's also probably because his size 5 Slim pants are almost all too short for his legs. He's huge!!

My Sweet and Petite started walking this week! She woke up from a nap and took off. She also sprouted three new teeth. She's just growing and growing...and it doesn't seem possible that she's not really a baby anymore.

So the week wasn't great. But it wasn't terrible.

The Weight: I dropped 1.2 pounds this week bringing my total loss to 27.8 pounds. I need new shirts!! All of mine are all stretched out, and they look sloppy. I hate that. So while I'm visiting my Mommy, I'm going to drag her shopping with me. I may even make her go look at Vera Bradley bags, too.

Matchit Johnson

That's what I call people who don't match. Mismatching is one of my largest pet peeves. I hate it. It makes my skin crawl. I want to ask people if they own mirrors. How can you not notice that your clothing is just so...wrong???

While it bothers me when I see kids in various states of mismatch, it doesn't bother me nearly as much as when I see adults all mixed up. Kids are kids. Mine choose their favorite articles of clothing and throw them on. They don't care. Neither does my husband. He very often is the person responsible for laying out their morning running clothing, and I can't stand it. I realize that the kids will be strapped into a running stroller. And that no one is going to be paying attention to them at 6:15 in the morning. But it still makes me insane. Jon doesn't understand my need for matching clothing. He never has. When I met him, he was a huge Matchit Johnson. I was embarrassed to be seen in public with him at times. But, he's a dude. And sometimes dudes just don't get it. He's changed in his "old" age, and he actually comes to me to make sure he matches. It's nice! I just wish that he would accept my need to have the kids match.

My Mom is almost as bad. She dresses impeccably for work, and she always looks nice when we're going out to do something. However, he choice of clothing for hanging out in is questionable. Actually, it's more than questionable. It's downright hideous! She's a huge fan of "cozies" - sweats, pj bottoms, huge long sleeved tops - which is fine. But the outfits that she puts together from all of the mismatched and misshapen cozies is nasty. Thank goodness her teal sweatpants have met their demise. You don't want a picture - trust me. Again, I realize that when she's all shut up in her house it doesn't matter what she's wearing. But sometimes it hurts my eyes to look at her noxious get-up. I love you, Mom. But I hate your worn-out flannel jammie bottoms and your bright orange wooly coat thing.

Ok. Back to the mismatching of my kids. For the most part, they actually try to match. Gabriel doesn't like to wear stripes and patterns together. It bothers him. He's happiest in jeans and a long sleeved tee. And there's no matching there. Elliott doesn't care at all. As long as part of the outfit is pink, she's happy. However, she loves to dress her dolls in completely mismatched outfits. As horrible as it is, I think her dolls look homeless or something (yes, I know. I am totally un-PC.) . Her baby dolls and her Snap ' Style dolls aren't much better. Janna is still too little to care about her clothes.

When the Hosers do come down in something that I find less than appealing, I try to let them keep part of the outfit. If it's a busy top, then maybe we can find some plain bottoms. You like the camo or stripey bottoms? Then let's find a plain top. If nothing works (and we aren't dealing with any kind of time constraints), then I dig out the dress-up stuff. They can create their own "pretend" outfit. That usually always heals any hurts. As long as they can wear some of the jewelry out and about. Well, I hate it. But ok.

After some "good dress-up", the kids will pretty much let me change their clothing. The Mardi Gras shirt of The Boy? Hate.

So....why am I blogging about my loathing of mismatching? For a Parent Bloggers Blog Blast, of course. Together with the Polly Pocket Pop 'N Swap, PBN is endeavoring to hear all about the fashion mishaps of our kids. Do you have any pictures of your little Matchit Johnsons?

Walky-Walkerton

It's official. Janna is a bona fide toddling toddler. She's been taking steps here and there for weeks, but today she's full-on walking. By herself. Without holding onto furniture or hands. While I am so glad that she's doing this on her own, I'm still slightly saddened (and when I say "slightly", I mean very slightly.). She's not really a baby baby anymore. She's growing up. And right now she's also making a huge mess. See? Yep. I'm blogging while my kids are playing. Bad Mommy!!

This? Is my new bag. My congratulations-on-losing-20-pounds present to myself. Isn't she super-cute? She's also super-functional. I needed something that was super-easy to grab and super-comfortable to wear. It holds all of my crap and still lays super-nicely on my hip. I am super-pleased with her. Oh - just in case you were wondering...I do refer to all of my Vera bags as "her". They're ladies. I also added all of those "supers" in there just for you, Erin!!

Weekly Weigh-In!!

The Week: While I was very excited to have it end, it was much better than last week. I am still getting used to the kids' schedules, and having to be in more than one place at a time is definitely a struggle. But I am managing, and everyone seems to be adjusting well. Gabriel and Elliott love pre-school, and they are both exhausted when they get home. I was afraid that nap-time would end very quickly for The Boy, but he's still taking a 2.5 hour nap every afternoon. Elliott and Janna are still snoozing for 3+ hours, so I really can't complain at all about their sleeping. They will still go to bed fairly well most of the time, too. Though we've only had one day of quality alone time (which was spent grocery shopping), Janna seems to like the new routine, too.

Jon's going out of town this week, so I have a feeling that things will be a little more than tense around here for a few days. We'll see...

The Weight: I have no idea how I did it, but I lost 4.6 pounds this week! I ate (and drank) more than I should have, and I still managed to lose weight. I am very proud of myself! This week's loss brings the total up to 26.6 pounds!

Essential Necessities

Being a SAHM to three wild kids is tough. I don't get paid and I receive very few thanks. I come from a long line of SAHMs, so I knew it was going to be a rough road. But as tough as most days are, there are a bunch of modern conveniences available that make life just a little easier. I don't know how my Grandmothers (and my Mom) survived without little things like microwaves, disposable diapers (that have elastic sides and leg openings - I was notorious as a baby for leaving "droppings") , cordless phones, the internet, electric coffee makers with timers, coffee grinders, and garbage disposals. Those are just a few of the items that I wouldn't be able to live without on a daily basis. OK, so I could give up the garbage disposal, but then my house would reek due to all of the food that gets thrown away every day (2/3 of my kids are on a food strike right now. We waste a lot of food.). I could also probably live without the coffee grinder, but there are just times when it's so nice to have freshly ground coffee without having to drag three screaming kids into the nearest Finger Lakes Coffee Roasters.

Aside from the household appliances listed above, there are a number of things that I couldn't live without. A world without coffee (and fat-free French Vanilla creamer and a large coffee mug) , my "crack" - wintergreen Tic-Tacs (to slightly diminish the coffee breath from the aforementioned necessity). , Bath and Body Works Black Amethst body spray (it works really well to mask any smell that happens to befall my clothing - puke, sweat, poop, you get the idea), hair products, Vera Bradley bags, or men's white v-neck undershirts is a world in which I do not want to dwell. Of course I also require fresh air, food and water, and a roof over my head, but it's the little things that help make my days brighter. And brighter days for me mean brighter days for my kiddos.

If you asked them, I'm sure the Hosers would each be able to give you a list of the things they require to make it through the day. The lists would include various toys (trains for G, Barbies for E, and babies for J) , books of all kinds (Thomas books for G, Golden Books for E, and any book that J can get her hands and mouth on), and food. Aside from the obvious (PB&Js and chips), there are two foods that my kids can't live without. Sprinkle crackers (saltines) and yogurt. We go through a box of sprinkle crackers in 2 weeks, and we go through 2-six packs of yogurt each week. They love the stuff. I bring up their love of bacterially-charged dairy products for this week's Blog Blast from the Parent Bloggers Network and Yoplait Kids (our favorite brand of yogurt - yeah it's because the containers have Dora and Diego on them).

So. What stuff makes your life easier? What can't you live without?