Summertime

Summer is here...

And out goes my sanity.

It's cool. I have the hubs on speed dial, 911 programmed into the phone, and a bottle of Valium with my name on them.

I'm going to be visiting blogs today to say hello to everyone (I have missed you greatly) as soon as my children are down for a nap (huzzah!). Then, I'm vegging out on the couch and enjoying the silence while it lasts.

Summertime = the school system's reminder of why you don't mind paying those tax dollars for a quality (or not so much, depending on region) education.

NO!

NO! You cannot...

Have more cereal, ice cream, chips, cookies, crackers or whatever other food you want right now.

Watch the same Thomas video over and over.

Play with the blinds.

Destroy my room.

Smear food into the floor.

Climb over the gate.

Play with the remote.

Eat that food you found on the floor.

Hit your sibling.

Yell and scream.

Throw a tantrum.

Break various objects.

Throw your toys.

Whine and cry about it.

And NO, I won't change my mind!

Other side of the Fence

Today the AC repairman came out to replace our system. I'd promised when he arrived I'd take the kids to pick a DVD at the store to keep them out of everyone's hair. We packed up and drove to the local Hollywood Video.

I was nervous as this was the first time at this particular store with all the children. Arwen and Logan held hands as I held on to Vincents and balanced Annabel's car seat in the crook of my other arm. We went inside and walked to the children's section.

I had to reprimand Logan a few times for running off but for the most part it went very smoothly. When we'd made our selections we took them to the counter. I was thinking to myself that it looked like I'd survive this trip unscathed. Of course it was around this time my 3 year old decided to bitch slap me back down to reality.

I was paying when Vincent saw the gumball machine. I walked around the edge of the counter and told him I didn't have any quarters and it was time to go. Arwen pulled out a dime to try in the machine and I explained it wouldn't work. Meanwhile this pisses Vincent off even more as he wants a gumball and Arwen is touching the machine (he's having sharing issues now, with everyone but Annabel).

This resulted in a full scale meltdown. He began thrashing and screaming (just like last time) and I stood mortified. I told Arwen to take Logan's hand, it was time to go. As I grabbed Vincent he decided to use his dead weight trick on me and dropped to the ground. His screams echoed through out the store and I felt myself getting hot from embarrassment.

Then suddenly I'd had enough. I sat Annabel down and handed Arwen the bag with the videos inside. I instructed her to grab onto Logan's hand because we were leaving. I walked over to Vincent, wrapped my right arm around his waist, and hoisted all 40 pounds of him up. As I walked around the wooden security posts Vincent grabbed them with his arms and began kicking and screaming. He kicked Arwen in the face and she began to cry. I made sure she was ok before telling her we had to get to the van. She wiped her tears and walked over to Logan and took his hand once more.

I turned to the video clerk and asked if he had a video camera handy. He laughed and said no and I said it was a shame because he had the opportunity to shoot the most influential birth control video the world has ever seen.

After pulling on him Vincent lost his grip on the posts. I hurried over to Annabel who was waiting patiently (god love her) and I picked up all 25+ pounds of her and carseat and began walking to the door. (This is harder than when I normally carry her because I was forced to hold her with my hand and arm only, instead of resting in the crook of my arm, it's very difficult to carry her and even more difficult to carry her for more than a minute) Arwen opened the door while also keeping a hold on Logan and I walked out. I carried Vincent to the van before putting him down. By this point he'd calmed and had stopped screaming and fortunately the short walk from the store to my van had cooled me off as well.

I guess this is karma's way of biting me in the ass for all those times I've seen wild children in public and thought to myself, "why does that parent let that child act that way??". If any of those parents felt like I did today then believe me, they were absolutely mortified. I couldn't get out of that store fast enough and if I weren't surrounded by patrons I'd have loved nothing more than to bust Vincent's tiny hiney.

I don't know what I'm going to do with him. He can be the sweetest boy in the world and he's so nurturing and loving with Annabel. But he's also capable of being so angry and loud when he's frustrated. It's impossible to calm him during one of his breakdowns.

One things for certain. I won't be returning to the video store again when he's with me. I don't want to be known as the woman who's kid goes apeshit in the store over gumballs.

Almost forgot. I've been keeping tabs on scoreboard but haven't posted it. So to update:

Summer Scoreboard:

Mom=10
Kids=8

Picnic

Today was the annual company picnic. We loaded up the kids and took off this afternoon in what we hoped would be a fun family day. For the most part, that is what we got, with one noticeable exception...the freaking redneckville HEAT.

Oh my dear god. I broke my "no shorts" rule and purchased some capri's the night before. It marked the first time in years I've worn anything other than pants out (another topic for another day) and it's a good thing too or I'd never have made it.

The one thing I have to blog about though is the poor little girl in the blue harness. She was perhaps 3 years old and was strapped into a blue harness that wrapped around her chest and shoulders. On the back was a clasp and this was attached to a blue leash. On the other end was the girls Mom. Now I realize some people like the child leash but it reminded me of a woman on a walk with her dog. This Mom would walk a decent distance ahead of her child and then pull on the leash. The little girl would stumble at times and do an odd jog to catch up only to fall behind and be tugged at once more. I finally snapped a picture to share with you all. Let's hope they never read my blog!

After we were finished we packed back into the van and rushed to Hell-Mart to pick up the things necessary to bake an apple pie (Jimbo's request for Father's Day). While there I got stuck in a 20 minute line and by the time I made it to the Van Jimbo handed me the camera with one instruction:

"You have to watch this, I recorded it while you were gone."

Since the kids were screaming their heads off I pretty much knew what it was he wanted me to see. I have to say I'm so glad I was the one that went inside the store.

Summer School

These books are AWESOME. I knew I'd keep up with arts and crafts and learning activities this summer with all children and when I went to Wal-Mart I hit up the school supply section. I got the various things; pencils, crayons, markers, water paints but I wanted something more and when I saw this I put it in the cart.

There are so many wonderful lessons and Arwen enjoys playing "school". So if you are looking for something like this for your own child this summer, consider picking one up. There are different ones, each for different grade levels.

Heat Wave

We have a lovely above ground pool situated around our wrapping deck in the back of the house. It was well used and adored before the children got a bit older and our parental concerns kicked in.

We decided to drain the pool until the children were older (and perhaps lessoned from swimming lessons at the Y). But the heat is terrible this year and the kids LOVE the water so we decided to purchase a little mini pool to keep them cool under the sun. We have two decks here, both enclosed. One is on the back of the house (where the other pool sits drained) and off the side where the basement is located (we placed this mini water paradise here). I'm grateful we had the insight to close them off now.

The only drawback I've found is the constant bickering between my children over the various water toys. I suppose this will happen with anything they play with now as it seems they are constantly at one another's throats. That is one thing I dreaded about having so many children, so close in age.

What's it's Like

I'm pulling a mattress down into the basement since the AC is on the blitz again. I'm at the bottom of the stairs tugging when:

Arwen - "Mom,when are you going to hook up my video game, you said you would!"

Me - "Gee Arwen, let me get right on that!"

I'm helping Logan wipe after using the potty, when:

Vincent - "Momma! Come here Momma!"

Me - "I'm busing wiping a butt at the moment, give me a minute!"

I'm getting drinks together when:

Logan - "Mommie, want chips!"

Me - "I'm getting your drink right now, one thing at a time!"

I'm feeding Annabel when:

Logan - "Poopie Potty Mommie!"

Me - "Ok I'm coming!"

I'm typing this entry when:

Arwen - "Momma, Vincent is writing on the walls!"

Me - "WHERE?!?"

Yep, today definitely goes to the kids. Hands down. I'm under manned here..

Summer Scoreboard:

Kids=4
Mom=4

Broken Record

I've repeated myself over and over today...

It's been a struggle. I will never understand why my children refuse to listen until my patience has been worn string thin and I finally warn them in 'that' voice. You know the one I'm talking about. They know when they hear that side come out it's serious business. This is all well and good but it leaves me in a foul mood that is hard to shake off. It has the ability to ruin my day completely, sometimes even reaching well into the evening.

So far this week: Logan and Vincent have begun fighting constantly with one another. Vincent has become a cry baby, Arwen has become boss-eena, and Logan has started getting up in my face when I tell him no (when he requests more and more snacks) and repeats which snack he wants over and over, louder and louder.

So today goes to the kids.

On another note, I purchased a monthly dry erase calendar which lays everything out for the day (what activites, dinners, etc). I'm hoping this helps ease some of my stress. Oh and I colored my hair. It's now RED and I do mean RED. I tried to capture it in a picture but I need one in the sun. I'll try to get one when it comes back out again.

Summer Scoreboard:

Kids=3
Mom=3

Too Posh to Push?

I'd never heard this expression until today. I have however heard about the increasing trend toward elective c-sections.

I just figured I'd share the article I read about it HERE.

Summer Scoreboard:

Kids=3
Mom=4

Losing Day

Lord.Help.Me.

I signed on for this, I keep telling myself over and over. It's been a non-stop battle of wits. Mom v/s Children. Mom fighting the good fight but losing ground.

I've been struggling with the snacks and when it was finally (read blessedly) time for nap I took the boys upstairs. Sadly the A/C is on the blitz...AGAIN.

For a quick update on this our A/C unit hasn't been right since we've owned the house. We broke down last month and paid someone to come out to evaluate it. We had the cash to pay to have it fixed but were told not to worry, they did something to hold it over until the summer so that we wouldn't be out money to fix it twice (in other words, pay double for a non-warranty coil). Well that lasted maybe 2 weeks and I had to call them back out here as there was no A/C again.

I called ahead of time for an estimate, I'm not stupid and we only have so much money. A different tech comes out, says he is calling the company to see "what's what" and he'll let me know what's going on. He knocks on my door 15 minutes later to tell me he charged the freon and handed me a bill for $100 over my quote. I refused to pay it and he informed me I had 30 days to pay it or to have my system replaced and that amount would count toward it.

Funny thing about it was when I told him my quote he got ugly about it, essentially calling me a liar. So I whipped out my previous statement and he then told me that the previous tech had "assessed the problem wrong" and he "didn't know why". That gives me TONS of faith in the integrity of these people.

So anyhow. I take the boys up to nap, hoping I can get one myself. Annabel hasn't been allowing me much rest and I'd hoped to snag even just 30 minutes of zzzz's. Lo and behold, Arwen comes into the bed with us. Fine, I tell her, just be quiet so we can nap. Instead she begins messing with Annabel and ultimately wakes her up.

I attempt to take my nap for 20 more minutes, most of the time walking back into the boy's room to settle them down, until I came to the the conclusion it was a lost cause. I grabbed the baby and walked downstairs when I heard it.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAA MOOOOOOMMMMMMIIIIEEEE!!!!"

I took off running up the stairs, two at a time. I rounded the top and busted into the bedroom. Logan was bent over in obvious pain.

"What's wrong??" I started looking him over.

"Back Mommie." Logan began to babble. It's hard to understand him when he's emotionally upset and his language is still choppy as his vocabulary is limited. But I finally "got" that his injury was on his back and that it was inflicted by Vincent scratching him. He has a nasty puckered red and blue blood blister, thanks Vince.

So now they are both in the basement as I struggle to stay awake. Of course as we walked down they stopped in the kitchen, "snack!" and when I said no they began to tantrum.

Summer Scoreboard:

Kids=3
Mom=3

Tally

Friday we did something for the first time as a whole family...we went out to eat in a restaurant. Ok technically we went to dinner at Pizza Hut but still, we took all the kids and it turned out to be a wonderful experience. I was so pleased as all of the kids were on their very best behavior. They sat patiently and colored on their papers until the pizza arrived. We left a 20% tip and I'm sure the waitress was pretty happy as it was easy money.

On to today. I'm disappointed to report that the alloted snack times are not working out so well. As soon as a snack is finished I immediately get asked for more. On one hand I don't mind giving snacks as we eat pretty healthy around here. Sure we have chips and snack cakes but usually we eat bananas, strawberries, yogurt or popcorn. Unfortunately however the cost of gas has really hit us hard. We paid $60 to fill up the van Friday. That's $10 more than our norm and considering we'll probably have to fill it again next week that's a $20 increase. This means we have to be more conservative with things and that includes cutting back on feeding snacks to my piglets.

I've decided to give snacks 3 times per day and the major snack I've decided on is popcorn. This way I can give a snack about an hour after breakfast, another an hour after lunch (before nap) and another when they wake from nap. I know they are not starving if they get these small snacks and hopefully they will learn that these are the only times I am giving into requests. I also have to teach them that snack times doesn't mean endless snacks. Logan is terrible about asking for a yogurt, wolfing it down and wanting another...and another...and another. Logan can go through roughly 10 yogurts per day if I'd let him. He loves them more than anything else.

Annabel has been difficult as of late. At night she doesn't sleep well and therefore I don't sleep well. At first I thought she might be coming down with the same bug I have but I found out today the cause of her discomfort is from cutting her top teeth. They are trying to come through and this means now more than ever she has to start on some solids. I hope to break some ground with her in the coming weeks.

Otherwise the day has been awesome. I'm waiting for my luck to run out!

Summer Scoreboard:

Kids=2
Mom=3

Woo-Hoo! I'm on top, wonder how long that will last?!?

Bottomless Pits

All day long I hear it. Sure it changes from time to time but the basic structure of the request remains solid.

"I want *insert food here* Mommy!"

I hear this minutes after breakfast, all through out the morning, and into the afternoon. I hear it after they've just finished one thing and have decided they still want more. In fact, this week alone they have eaten (just as snacks now):

3 bags of chips (Cheeto's, Doritos, and Chex mix)
14 cups of yogurt
2 boxes of little debbie cakes
1 carton of ice cream
2 boxes of cereal
3 cans of Mandrian Oranges
8 Bananas
2 gallons of milk

I've never been one to deny anyone food, especially children. But this is becoming crazy. A part of me thinks that since they do eat it (usually) that it's not wasteful and obviously they are hungry but another part of me knows this type of weekly gorging will eat our budget like nothing else. This doesn't even include things they want for drink all day.

Yesterday I did a structured time for snacks. I gave one 2 hours after breakfast and another after lunch (after they woke from naptime). This was hard however because Logan and Vincent cried, screamed and begged for more snacks. The only upside being they actually ate the dinner I cooked, especially Logan who turns his nose up at everything but yogurt, chips and oranges.

Maybe I'll keep trying to do the structured thing. I have planned to bake at least x2 per week this summer with the kids (it's a good structured learning activity and they enjoy it) so that should save a bit of money as far as snacks are concerned. I just hope after a few days the boys quit running to me constantly asking over and over again for different foods. I feel like snack machine.

Summer scoreboard for the day, I think I'm on top. I'm meeting Jimbo this afternoon to take the kids to Pizza Hut to use their reading completion coupons. So unless something goes incredibly wrong between now and then, I'm awarding today's point to me.

Kids=2
Mom=2

Summer Scoreboard

I've been kicked, tripped and pee'd on. I've been run ragged and put through the ringer.

But I'm not throwing in the towel just yet.

Summer Scoreboard:

Kids = 2
Mom = O

Smooth move X-Lax

Today I decided to attempt a venture out to Hell-Mart, all kids in tow. This is the first time I've ever braved the market alone with all of them. I'd also decided that if they behaved we'd visit the toy section for something small as a reward.

The trip to the store was uneventful, as we parked and piled out the children listened beautifully, forming a line and holding hands. I was so proud. We went inside, got a cart and off we went. After I made my selections we went to the toy department. We ended up spending more time there than intended but they still did me proud and as we left I decided since it was late to splurge on McD's Happy Meals and ice cream cones.

First I should say, I was stupid to consider this without going inside the store. I pulled up, placed our order and put the Happy Meals to the side. I passed the small cones to each child and pulled out into traffic. Maybe it was my intense pride that karma needed to bitch slap down to earth but I was about to start a headlong dive into hell.

I'm driving along...

"NO ICE CREAM CONE!" Vincent thrusts his arm holding his barely touched cone out.

"Aw come on Vince..."

"NO ICE CREAM CONE!" I realize immediately this will go one of two ways and sure enough he reaches to place it into the cup holder.

"Wait! Give to Mommy!" I reach back and grab it. I start looking as I drive for a trash can.

"Here Mommy." It's Logan this time. He's pushing is cone at me as well.

"Not you too! Eat your cone please."

"No." He keeps holding his arm out. I maneuver the cone I'm currently holding over to my left hand and grab it.

At this point I am trying to drive while also licking the cones alternately to avoid ice cream all over myself and the car. It's a losing battle. I can't keep up. Then by the grace of god I see a trash can! I hit my turn signal and start to turn when I hear it. A strange yet familiar watery sound...oh shit, the drinks!

I get to the trash can and throw away the cones. I then spend the next few minutes cleaning up the cokes I just spilled with napkins. At this point I'm cursing myself for ever leaving the comfort and security of my house. I get back into the driver's seat and begin hurrying home...when my irritable bowel attacks...from the ice cream I just gulped down.

As I'm driving I'm praying I don't have an accident. I feel like I'm about to die. I pull into the driveway and begin herding the children into the house. I leave everything else in the van to take care of business because some shit (excuse the pun) just won't wait.

When I'm done I go back outside and empty the van. I get the kids situated and comfortable when Annabel begins to cry. She's hungry. I grab her and get her fed before sitting down at the desk

Off to a rocky start, summer scoreboard:

Kids=1
Mom=O

It's Begun

This is why we can't keep new recliners. I found them doing this while making their snack...

Note the ripped corner...

Thank god for this baby girl or they'd be in sooooo much trouble.

Summer

Tomorrow is the first day of summer. I've got a plan of attack and it comprises of keeping the kids so busy they can't get into anything bad.

Lord help me, by the end of this summer I just know I'll be counting down until school again.

1 v/s 4 = It's ON

So Far...

I've made...

2 bowls of cereal.

2 bowls of popcorn.

4 sets of carrots with ranch dip.

6 refills of Kool-Aid.

and it's only 10:00am. And that's only with Logan and Vincent home. Tomorrow Arwen begins her summer vacation.