Odds and Ends...

I work best when I list things...so deal.

1) Yesterday was MY Mother's Day. Last Sunday? Doesn't count. My husband dropped the ball in a major way and he asked for a Do-Over. Of course I agreed. When I came downstairs, I was greeted with pictures from the kiddos, a french vanilla latte, donut holes, and promises. Promises of a clean second floor bathroom, to rearrange Girls' bedroom, all of the laundry done before a certain Man leaves for Chicago, and more importantly...a promise to remember, respect, and above all else appreciate all that I do for this family.

The day was fantastic. We went to Wally World for a few things, and I got to pick out my Mother's Day gift. While I really wanted a new piece of Vera (I covet the new Bali Blue pattern), I chose something else I also really wanted...a hummingbird feeder (and a 20 pound bag of wild bird seed). We came home and the kids went to bed. While they were napping, Jon started in on the laundry and he finished cleaning the bathroom. Call me crazy, but there is nothing sexier than a man on his hands and knees scrubbing mildew and other scum out of the shower tiles with a toothbrush (ok -if the man were either John Krasinski or Hugh Laurie it might be a little sexier). Since Elliott decided not to nap, I put her to work. Cleaning her room. She reluctantly agreed, and we were able to rearrange the whole room and move Janna into her toddler bed (she's been trying her hardest to climb out of the crib lately, and the last thing I need is for her to fall out and hurt herself. So, toddler bed it is. Until July. When Gram and Gramps get her her Big Girl Bed.). While we were arranging, flowers were delivered. I was totally surprised, and it was the perfect end to a wonderful afternoon. My only complaint about the day is that Jon could have (and should have) put the effort and thought into making my Mother's Day great last week.

2) Jon's thoughtlessness about Mother's Day wasn't the only thing that made the day kind of crappy. The kids' behavior was also to blame. They were just so naughty. So I decided to try something new - marble jars. The sticker charts just aren't getting the job done anymore. The kids don't care. I'm sure the magic of marbles will soon wear off, but for right now they are working wonderfully! The kids want to earn marbles. They want to see the jars fill up. They want to see what kind of surprise they will get if they earn the required amount of marbles at the end of the week. So we'll see. The rules are simple: at the end of the week, Gabriel and Elliott need to have at least 15 marbles to get the special reward. Janna needs 20 (since she's potty-training, we give her a marble for every time she actually goes on the potty). The special reward will be some sort of outing - to be chosen by the kiddo with the most marbles. Last week's tally: Gabriel (13), Elliott (10), Janna (19). Not too bad!!

3) Last night was Janna's first night in her toddler bed! She started the night out in the bed, but she had to be moved to the pack 'n play...because her Sister wouldn't STFU. Obviously, Janna decided that it would be more fun to mess around, but she was genuinely tired. Had Elliott not been a PITA, she just might have gone to sleep. Oh well. We are going to keep her in the p 'n p for now (and move her once she and Elliott are both asleep) . Starting July 1, Bedtime Boot Camp will commence.

4) I have something to confess. I have a mini-crush. On 4 dudes. Named Rich, Scott, Dave, and Smitty. I want to put my number in their bag!

Weekly Weigh-Ins!!

The Last Two Weeks: Have been insane!! Between random kid activities, MOMS Club, and family stuff I haven't had time to post anything. To recap...

Gabriel's still playing T-Ball...and the poor kid still has no clue what's going on. He spends all of his time throwing himself to the ground in boredom. It's funny...and annoying at the same time. His behavior in school has been less than exemplary as of late, but we're dealing with it. His teacher started a behavior chart for him, and every Friday she sends it home. The first week wasn't so good - 3 stars out of 15. He was disappointed with himself and he promised he would try harder. This week? 13 stars out of 15!! He was so proud of himself when he saw all of the stickers! And of course I was (and still am) exceedingly proud of him, too.

Gabriel and his chart!

Elliott has probably been the busiest of all of the kids. She's only in preschool twice a week, but those days are crazy! Last week she had a Mother's Day Tea Party...and it was wonderful. She was so excited to get all dressed up and drink tea like a big girl. It was adorable. And because she's only in school on Tuesdays and Thursdays, she has the opportunity for more outings than Gabriel. Last Friday, Erin and I took our 4 Little Ladies to see Thomas. I bought the tickets in January thinking that Gabriel would still want to go. He informed me about 2 weeks after I bought them that he no longer wanted Thomas stuff...he was too big for it. I was annoyed, but figured I'd just make him go anyways. We kept talking about it, but I realized that he really didn't want to go - he wanted to go on a "man date" with Jon instead. So I asked Erin if she thought her girls would like it. The Girls loved it! They were really good, too. It was tons of fun, and I'm so glad we all went. Her last day of school is next week...and I'm not quite sure how to deal with that. It's been so nice to have her gone two mornings a week! And no, I don't feel guilty about saying that out load at all. Her behavior sucks lately, and the small breaks have been welcome.

Elliott and I at her Mother's Day Tea Party. Notice our matching Vera Bradley dress/purse?

Janna Banana has had a busy few weeks, too. She gets to do everything because she's still fairly easy to drag anywhere - and she's usually content with being dragged (and when she's not being cooperative, I can "buy" good behavior by giving her a pack of gummies) . Right now her favorite things are Thomas, babies, flowers, and talking. The kid's language skills are insane! She's starting to use actual sentences, and she learns a new word every day. The explosion of language is my favorite thing about this stage of growing up. My least favorite part? The sudden propensity towards tantrum throwing.

Janna loves flowers! She has been harassing the lilacs in the backyard all week!

The Weight: Has been pretty much holding steady. I think I've finally reached the "maintenance" level. I lose a pound, I gain a pound. And I'm ok with that!! So, total weight loss: between 66 and 67 pounds!

Athletic Supporter

If you know me, then you know that sports are not one of my favorite things. They're not any of my favorite things. In fact, I pretty much loathe any and all sports. I hate watching them, hearing about them, participating in them...hate, hate, hate. I just don't care. Never have, probably never will. And I totally hit the sports-hating jackpot when I got married - Jon doesn't like sports (other than running) either. SCORE!

But today I was a willing athletic supporter. Gabriel's first T-Ball game was this morning, and like a good Mommy I sat on the sidelines and cheered my clueless little man on. Most other kids at least had some sort of idea about what to do other than hit the ball off the tee and run away. They knew where the bases were, how to throw the ball, who to throw the ball to. Gabe? Not a clue. Poor kid. He spent most of his time throwing dirt and dandelions at other players and rolling on the ground. He had fun, though, and I guess that's all that matters!

Whirlwind Big City Adventure!

I love MOMS Club. Honestly. I sing its praises whenever I can. It has been such an important part of my life for almost 3 years. I'm a better Mom because of it. So when I was given the opportunity to volunteer for International, I said yep. I'm a Big Sister Coordinator - soon to be a full-fledged Primary Coordinator. Not that you care or anything, but I think it's pretty cool.

Last weekend was my first International event - the Northeast Regional Luncheon held in White Plains, NY. It was awesome! The luncheon itself was lots of fun, but it was the company that made the weekend so incredible (oh, and of course having it be a kid-free weekend wasn't too shabby, either)! Erin, Kari (the Secretary from our chapter), and I left here at 11am. The 5+ hour drive was filled with giggles and chatter. When we arrived at the hotel (which, by the way, was FREE!!), we were surprised by the loveliness of the room...and the price of water.

Erin and I had to "work" on Friday night. We had to attend a dinner (again FREE), and we had to help set up the ballroom for the Luncheon. At times it was extremely annoying (Have you ever been forced to listen to a bunch of sober Rochesterians? The accent hurts the ears. It's even worse when alcohol is involved.) - but it was a small price to pay for such a nice weekend. The Luncheon was on Saturday, and it was lots of fun. There were guest speakers (Vicki Glembocki was very cool), raffle baskets galore (I won one!!), lots of interesting people, and good food.

Instead of eating pizza with the other NYS coordinators (and once again abandoning poor Kari) , we left the hotel in search of junk food and found a local grocery store (with a 3 story parking garage!) and got a ton of munchies. We went back to our room and stayed up til 1am - giggling like little girls. It was so much fun!

Sunday was ours to do with as we pleased. Instead of dragging our buns home at a reasonable hour, we decided to go into the city. OMG. It was the best decision in the world! I hadn't been into NYC for at least 13 years, and we had a blast! We rode the train into Grand Central (my first time riding a train!!) and we wandered around Times Square for a while. We had reservations for a tour bus, too. One of the big double-decker buses. It was totally cheesy...and very awesome!

I won't bore you with all of the city pictures I took, but it was amazing. The bus took us all over the city. Our first tour guide was amazing...she knew everything! She pointed out lots of little details that I would never have picked up on my own. We got to see a ton of stuff...the "famous" buildings (Empire State, Macy's, St. Patrick's Cathedral, St. Paul's Chapel...), the shopping district, Ground Zero (we didn't get off the bus - but it was so surreal to see exactly where the Twin Towers should be standing...everyone got very quiet on the bus, too.)...it was amazing. We also hopped on the ferry to Liberty Island. Every time I see the Statue of Liberty I'm awed.

We spent the the entire day in the city (and I have the reverse raccoon sunburn to prove it). It was fantastic. We got on the 4:45 train back to White Plains and we made it home at 11:45. It was a perfect weekend. Amazing and awesome aren't the words to describe it!

Conversations With My Kids

Cheryl has started posting some cutely hilarious conversations with her grand-daughter, Emily. I am taking her cue and posting about my recent conversations with my kiddos.

Gabriel
G: "Mommy? Do you know what "oviparous" means?"
M: "Oviparous? Ummm, yeah. But I don't remember right now."
G: "It means animals that lay eggs. Some animals come from eggs!!"
M: "Oh yeah! Wow, Gabriel. You're a very smart Dude. Where did you hear that?"
G: "Mrs. Evans told me."
(The next day...)
G: "Hey Mommy. You aren't oviparous."
M: "Oh no? How do you know you weren't hatched from an egg?"
G: "I asked Daddy. He told me. I didn't come from your belly-button, either. You squeezed me out of your tushy (which is what I call girl parts). And you made blood."
M: "Ummmm. Yes."

Elliott
E: "Hey! Look! Horses!" (We were driving past the race track on our way to preschool.)
M: "Yep. What are they doing?"
E: "Running on a road."
M: "That's what horses do. Sometimes they just like to run."
E: "But they aren't in strollers. They're too big for strollers."
M: "Yeah. You're right. But horses don't need strollers. Cause they're horses and they have four legs for running."
E: "But they should be in strollers when they're running on the road. They don't want to get hit. And they should hold hands when they go in front of cars."
M: "I'll tell them that the next time I talk to them."
E: "Ok. Good. I love you, Mommy."

Janna
J: "Goin'. To Gamma's house. Bye-bye!"
M: "Why are you going to Gramma's?"
J: "Cuz. I say so."
(The next day...)
M: "Janna, please pick up toys (or eat...or whatever I repeatedly had to tell her to do all day)."
J: "No."
M: "Why?"
J: "Cuz. I say so."
(The above is Janna's new favorite phrase. And I know I should be annoyed when she back-talks, but it's so cute. I can't help but smile when she says it.)