bitter mommyhood

I am not a huge Desperate Housewive's, but I happened to catch this clip on last night's season premier (thank goodness for DVR!!) I thought it was REALLY funny and it made me laugh really hard out loud!



http://www.movieweb.com/video/VIsXRsszoucVwx

is it too much to ask?

I just want to do a little venting here. It's my blog, so I guess I can. I love my children very much. However, I just had one of the most frustrating evenings with them - and I was only with them from 4pm on!!!! Sad!!! It started before we even left 'school' when Lauren pinched Josh for no apparent reason. It then continued in the car when she slugged him, again, for no apparent reason. They tormented each other at the grocery store, even though I got the cart with the car in the front of it so they could "drive" the cart! Of course, all that really did was bother me and everyone around me. Oh, and I forgot to add in Logan's occasional falcon screeches, which I'm sure were entertaining to everyone but me. We get home, Lauren socks Joshua yet AGAIN and gets sent to her room, where she cries the most dramatic cry I've heard in a long time, stomping up the stairs exclaiming with each stomp, "YOU....ARE....SO....MEAN!!" Mmm hmm. The "Falconer Jr." continues his vocal mayhem as Josh repeats, "Mom, mommy, mommy, mom, mama, mama, mommy, mom........." Can anyone say insane assylum??!
I send Lauren over to the neighbor's with a bag of stuff that belongs to them thinking that an errand might do her some good. It seems that sometimes when she feels "responsible" she starts behaving as though she is older than Josh instead of acting like she's 2. I tell her to come back home right away, she can't stay there and play (as I am afraid of her behavior!!) She comes back over and asks very excitedly, "Can I play over there?" I ask her if she was invited and she informs me that she was by her friend's mom who said it was okay if she comes inside to play. These are her words, not mine. Some sort of instinct inside of me thinks that this just might not be the case, so I decide to walk over with her to find out. As we are walking out the door I inform her that if she is lying to me, she will be in big trouble (she got caught in a lie last night). So, we get next door and my neighbor tells me that she told Lauren she COULDN'T play inside because the neighbor friend was in trouble. HMMMM....REALLY?!?! ARRRGH!!!!!!
So, you get the picture. And that was all before dinner!! What it comes down to is this -

As a mom, I just want to know is it too much to ask that:
-my kids not lie to me?
-I not be asked literally 15 times what is for dinner?
-I not be required to repeat "stop hitting your brother" a gazillion times in one stinking day?
-I be able to have a two-minute conversation with the neighbor while we are on a walk to get the mail without my daughter continuously squeezing her baby brother's cheeks seemingly just to get my attention?
-We get through one day without me hearing "My tummy hurts" - the indiscriminate tummy ache has got me baffled.
-Tattling be abolished?
-I have just one son that is not constantly committed to mimicking a falcon or a velociraptor?

Again, ARRGHHH!!!!

It really isn't bad and it could be terribly worse.

I know I'm incredibly lucky to have three healthy, beautiful children.

I really do realize this and I don't take it for granted.

Just some days are......arrghhh!!!

the guitar

Lauren really wanted a Hannah Montana guitar for her birthday. She didn't get one and although she loved all of her presents, she still remembered that this beloved guitar was missing. We made a deal with her that if she worked through an alphabet workbook, practicing her letters and finished all the letters before preschool started, we would get her the guitar. She worked very hard and finished all the letters. It got hard towards the end when I'm sure to her it felt like forever she had been writing these letters with no guitar. Finally, we went to Target and picked out the guitar. She even carried it up to the check-out herself! We brought it home, tore it open and she's been strumming and rocking out ever since. I'm so proud of her for willingly sharing her prized possession with Josh and being genuinely excited for him to "rock out." I'm glad she got to feel what it is like to work hard and earn something that she really wanted. Now......if I could only disable the "Best of Both Worlds" song since that's the only one BOTH kids will play on there! Good job, Lauren!!!!!

"If you become a bird and fly away from me," said his mother, "I will be a tree that you come home to."

Runaway Bunny

by Margaret Wise Brown

a couple = two

This past weekend we were at my aunt and uncle's house in for a family BBQ. Lauren asked my Aunt Sandy for a cookie she spotted in the cookie jar. Sandy told Lauren that she would have to ask me before she could have one. Lauren asked me if she could have a cookie, to which I replied that she had to eat a couple of grapes (that Sandy was cleaning at the time) before she could have a cookie. Sandy put three grapes in her hand for Lauren to grab. Lauren looked at her and in a very serious voice stated, "A couple is two" and only took two of the three grapes! Miss smartypants!!

school friends...

This is Lauren and her friend from "school," Kate. Kate and Lauren are like peas and carrots at school and the teachers have told me that wherever one is, the other is not too far away! We were invited over to Kate's family's house a few weeks ago and what a great time we had! Lauren and Kate played and were very good about including Josh. Logan stuck pretty close to me, but that's to be expected!! We had a campfire, smores, some Scooby-Doo, a wonderful dinner, a walk to the nearby park and Brian even managed to see Favre throw a few passes thanks to a sneak at the first pre-season game! Thanks so much Joe, Karla and Kate for a great "playdate" for us all!!

family, farm, and elvis....oh my!

Cousin Kelcey, Josh & Lauren watching Elvis

My dad's cousin's hosted the "Lee Family Fall Festival" a couple of weeks ago down in Brownsdale, MN. It was such a fun time! It was held on my dad's cousin's farm and it was filled with food, fun and family! It was great to see so many people that I haven't seen in so long. And yes, Elvis did make an appearance! Seriously, who knew that an Elvis impersonator could keep little children occupied for so long! I may hire one for the next birthday party I throw!!

So, here's to all the Lee's that made it and to those who didn't! We're a goofy bunch, but a family filled with love! Oh, and special thanks to John and Patti and the Weldon girls (and their families) for use of the indoor bathroom for Josh. He was scared of the porta-potty and the last thing we want to do to a boy during potty-training is frighten him!!



" Are you REALLY Elvis?" --------------------------Lauren and Grandma


Elvis serenading my great-aunt Joy----------- Grantie Dana and Lauren