Silly Lauren

This is the after-dinner conversation tonight:

Lauren: Mommy, I want a brownie.
Me: I know. We have to wait for the brownies to finish baking. When the timer on the oven goes beep-beep, then the brownies will be baked. Then we have to wait for them to cool. And THEN you will get one.
Lauren: (ever so quietly) beep-beep. (then loudly) MOMMY! The brownies are done baking!
Me: Nice try!

A Day In My Life

Today went something like this:

• 5am - Logan woke up. I went in to give him his nuk. I tried to go back to sleep. Logan didn't.
• 5:30am - Brian got up to get ready for work.
• 6:15am - Logan was still making all kinds of noise. Not crying, but not sleeping.
• 6:30am - Joshy songbird is up. He's very loud.
• 6:40am - I get into the shower as both my boys are singing their morning songs.
• 7am - I get Joshua up, dressed, and his and Lauren's breakfast ready.
• 7:15am - I get Logan up, dressed, and his milk ready.
• 7:30am - I feed Logan while Josh eats cereal and watches Mickey Mouse.
• 7:45am - Lauren wakes up. I tell her to go into the bathroom and go potty, pick some clothes out to wear and get dressed.
• 8am - Logan is fed, burped and changed. Josh is still eating cereal. Lauren is still talking to herself in the bathroom mirror.
• 8:15am - Josh is done with breakfast. Lauren is still trying to find something to wear.
• 8:30am - Logan is hanging out in the exersaucer. Josh is continuously asking me if we can watch "Cars." Lauren comes downstairs in black tights that are not pulled up all the way and a shirt. I tell her to get some pants on.
• 9am - Logan is ready for a nap (go figure). Josh is playing with his trains. Lauren FINALLY comes downstairs dressed normally. I am trying not to throw my computer out the window.
• 9:15am - Logan is fast asleep in his crib. I bring in the tricycle from the garage so Josh can practice pedalling to get ready for spring. Lauren is dancing and singing along to the Cheetah Girls "Dig a Little Deeper" and some Hannah Montana on Radio Disney.
• 9:30am - Josh is pedalling like a champ all around the house.
• 9:32am - Josh and Lauren are fighting over the trike.
• 9:33am - Josh is crying because Lauren pushed him off the trike.
• 9:34am - Lauren is crying because Josh hit her.
• 9:35am - Josh and Lauren are each in separate corners for their time-outs.
• 9:40am - After apologies and discussion on why sharing is important and hitting is not okay they are best buds and off to the basement.
• 9:45am - They are both back upstairs for a snack.
• 10am - 12pm - Josh and Lauren are playing/fighting/crying in the basement. I am doing dishes, laundry, being a lawyer, finding out about the insurance coverage of Logan's circumscision (or lack thereof), building blocks, playing cars, dancing with Lauren, wiping tears, wiping noses, and drinking my Diet Mountain Dew to keep up.
• 12pm - Lunch
• 12:30pm -Naps for Lauren and Josh. Logan FINALLY wakes up!
• 12:40pm - Feed Logan.
• 1:15pm - Get out the Jumparoo for Logan - he LOVES it!!
• 1:30pm - Vacuum the floors.
• 2pm - Wash the kitchen/dining room floor while Logan jumps around.
• 3pm - Brian gets home. I run to the post office. All kids are sleeping.
• 4pm - All kids wake up. Brian feeds Logan. I get Lauren and Josh a snack.
• 4:30pm - Start thinking about dinner, as in "UGH.....what do I make for dinner TONIGHT?"
• 5pm - I start dinner as Lauren is looking through her Valentines and Josh is riding the trike.
• 5:30pm - Lauren finds the buttons that I cut off Logan's outfit today (I was afraid he would choke). Lauren sticks one up her nose.
• 5:31pm - Lauren starts freaking out because there is a button up her nose. Brian coaches her to blow her nose really hard into a tissue. The button flies out.
• 5:32pm - Brian talks to Lauren about the fact that we don't stick objects in our nose, ears, or mouth.
• 5:33pm - 6pm - Lauren and Josh fight over the trike.
• 6pm - Dinner. Logan lays down for a nap.
• 6:20pm - Josh is done with dinner as he refuses to eat and only insists on banging his fork against the table. He has a meltdown. Pleasant dinner audio.
• 6:45pm - Dinner is done. Brian is reading the kids a book while I clean up dinner.
• 7pm - We decide that since we have played hard all day with no tv we can watch a movie. We watch "The Incredibles" (our new favorite).
• 7:15pm - Logan wakes up.
• 8pm - PJ's for all three, milk for Logan, brushing teeth and books for Lauren and Josh.
• 8:15pm - Bed for Lauren and Josh.
• 8:30pm - Bed for Logan.
• 9pm - Bed for me........GOODNIGHT!

Lauren Knows All

Josh and I butted heads this morning. He got sent to a time-out, but he would not stop his wail. Brian calls him "soggy-face" when he does this. He's tears, snot, drool, everything....all at once. And the high-C wail that accompanies it is almost enough to make me lose my mind! Anyways, the wail continued, so I told Josh that he would have to go to his room if he did not stop yelling and crying. He did not stop, so I took him to his room. I was very upset with him and I felt bad about it. I came downstairs and laid on the couch feeling like I wanted to cry. Lauren walked over to me and this is the conversation we had:

Lauren: "Mommy, are you tired?"
Me: "No, mommy is just feeling sad right now."
Lauren (with an all-knowing nod): "Because I picked my nose, right."

She did not ask this, she informed me, as if she already knew! I told her it was not because she picked her nose, although that is so DISGUSTING! She laughed at this. : )

Lauren's "Disgusting" List

Lately everything for Lauren is disgusting. So, I thought I would make a list of things that she finds disgusting, as in "__________ is disGUSting":

• Milk
• Potty
• Josh
• Any mean words
• Any food that I make with the exception of chicken nuggets and tomato soup (not together)
• Kleenex
• Mud
• Bad guys in movies or tv shows
• "Cars"
• Her princess chair (she'd much rather sit in Josh's Cars chair because it bothers him)
• Dixie
• Poopy diapers (can't argue with that one!)
• Soap
• Naps

You get the idea. EVERYTHING that she does not want to do, say, look at, or deal with in general is "disgusting." This morning I asked her to go potty when she woke up and in her whiny three-year-old voice she said, "But I caaaaan't because the potty's disgusting" coupled with the foot stomp that seems to go along with everything she says and does lately. So, of course, Josh chimes in, "Disgusting, mommy, disgusting?" Hmmm. He's already walking around saying "Hannah Montana," now we can add "disgusting" on the list of words she is teaching him. I guess the second one advances quicker than the first....what will happen with Logan?!

Dog-Gone Dixie

So, Dixie tried to run away a few weeks ago. It was actually really hilarious! The neighbor girl came to the door to see if Lauren could play. Logan was sleeping, so Brian hushed Dixie quickly. Dixie's feelings get very hurt when Brian even looks at her crossly (any of you who have had experience with a Viszla understand this!). So, Dixie took off away from the front door to pout, or so we thought. She ended up going around the opposite way, through the dining room and hall to come to the front door once again. Only this time she didn't even stop to sniff anyone, she just kept trotting right out the door. Normally, if Dixie is outside leash-less she is wild. She acts like a maniac, sniffing here, peeing there, trying to be everywhere all at once. Not this time! She kept her trotting pace across the sidewalk, down the driveway and into the cul-de-sac, like she was determined to find a new home! Luckily, after about a dozen calls to her she came back in. I was laughing so hard! All she needed was a red handkerchief full of treats tied to the end of a stick and she would've been set!

Dixie getting ice cream on her birthday last May

Lauren's Dinner Prayer

"Thank you for this Jesus food, Amen."

Huh?

I decided that I would make a list of my catch-phrases in our house as of late.

• Stop bugging Dixie.
• Please be nice to your brother.
• Use your listening ears.
• Use nice touches.
• No hitting.
• For crying out loud.
• You're gonna be in big, big trouble.
• If you do _____ again, I will take away your B (blankie).
• If you do _____ again, I will take away your Lightning McQueen.
• No, we are not watching Cars.
• No, we are not watching Mickey Mouse.
• Get your shoes and coats on.
• Put your arms through your arm straps, please.
• Stop hitting your brother.
• Tell him/her how that made you feel.
• Stay in your bed or you will lose your B.
• Go potty.
• Wash your hands.
• Put your socks back on.
• Give him his toy back.
• That is hers.
• Stop chasing Dixie.
• Go downstairs if you want to run and jump.
• Please don't color on the chairs.
• We only color at the table.
• We only eat at the table.
• We do not jump on the couch.
• Come here.
• Sit down.
• WASH YOUR HANDS!!!

So, you get the idea. These are the things that are said MULTIPLE times in a day. This doesn't include the nice things that get said for doing nice things. These are the staples - like bread, milk, and eggs. I really try to be positive, but I get so unbelievably sick and tired of repeating myself!! I love my children very much. I also appreciate the time they are away from me as I can sit in silence and not have anyone saying, "huh?" or "what'd you say, mommy?"

Color Code

I was doing some color matching activities with Josh this morning. He is learning colors. Here is an exchange that I had with him the other day. It is SO very on point as to where he is at with his personality these days:

Josh: (holding up a yellow marker) Mama, it's yellow.
Me: Yes, Josh! Good job! You're right, it is yellow.
Josh: It's green?
Me: Well, no. It's yellow. You were right the first time.
Josh: NO! IT'S GREEN!

Josh is caught between being two and just being stubborn as a personality trait. He comes by it honestly! Anyways, going over the colors with Josh this morning reminded me of when Lauren was learning her colors. She actually associated colors with people. Here is the rundown of what everyone's color was:

Lauren: Pink or Red (of course!)
Daddy: Blue
Mommy: Yellow
Grandma Marcia: Green
Grandpa Smiley: Brown
Grandma Jane: Orange
Josh: Purple

I think Grandpa Larry also had a color, but I can't quite remember what it was. Anyways, this was Lauren's color palette. When she would see something, anything of a certain color, she would say, "Mommy, look, it's Daddy" or whatever color fit with that particular name. And she NEVER mixed them up. It was really interesting the way she associated colors. I had to explain this to her teachers as one day when I dropped her off for breakfast, she sat herself down on two yellow chairs at once and exclaimed, "Mommy, look, I have two mommies!!" I figured that it was time to let them in on Lauren's color code! Don't need them wondering what strange things are goin' on at the Kraby house!!

It was a very creative code she came up with. Sometimes, I miss her color code. I guess it is just an example of how time marches on.......

Logan

Logan will be four months old on Wednesday! These last four months have gone by very fast. It seems like he should still be a newborn sleeping and drinking little bits at a time. He now drinks a LOT of milk and will therefore be starting cereal very soon. I don't think he can consume much more milk before he will pop! He is playing with toys and loves to look at himself in the mirror. He is such an incredibly easy baby. I feel bad because I didn't really know him and his habits until just this past weekend. I spent all day Friday and Saturday with him and came to realize that once I got him one-on-one, he is the easiest baby ever born! Okay, that might be stretching it, but he is great. He eats every three hours on the dot between the hours of 8am and 8pm. He will sleep for almost twelve hours at night! And during the day he's a little cat napper - 45 minutes here, and hour there. And he's SO HAPPY!! He just smiles and coos and hangs out. He is so very laid back! The picture was taken this morning....he's rockin' a nice mohawk from his bath last night! Anyways, here are his four month stats:

• Weight: 17.7 lbs (97th percentile)
• Height: 2 ft. 2 in. (92nd percentile)

I don't really pay much attention to the percentiles probably because my kids have all never gotten out of the 90's. I just think it's funny that at four months Joshua weighed 22 pounds! Hopefully Logan will stay on his current weight gain and not cause his mother great back and arm pain at the age of six months like Josh did! Josh has spent a good amount of his life OFF the growth percentile chart. Man, I've got some big kids!! I love it! Happy four months Logan!

For Cryin' Out Loud

Lauren has been obsessed with Dixie lately, chasing her, trying to guide her around the house, laying on her and just generally bugging her. Whenever Lauren is playing with Dixie, she has this certain laugh. It is a really loud laugh with evil undertones and it is very annoying. So, last week when she was laughing this certain laugh and playing with Dixie, Brian told her to go down to the basement playroom to play with Dixie. A short while later we saw that Lauren had made a circle out of the wooden train tracks and heard her telling Dixie to sit in the circle. Dixie would not cooperate. We then heard Lauren say, and I quote, "You're in big, big trouble, Dixie. You have to sit for four minutes 'cause you are four years old. For cryin' out loud!" Brian looked at me and asked if I heard what she said. I said that I did hear her and those are all my words and my rules coming into her ears and straight out of her mouth, and I don't apologize for any of it! Especially not the "for cryin' out loud" part!!