Monday Rant Amendment

Okay, so I met new neighbor husband last night. He seems to be a very nice guy (as if we didn't know that from all the parties!) He was out walking his boxer, Brutis, who I forgot to include in my rant post. But, that's okay because my opinion of Mr. Brutis has changed! New neighbor husband and Brutis came over and talked to me and the boys. The boys LOVED the dog. And, he was extremely gentle with them. Honestly, Brutis was probably one of the most well behaved dogs around children that I have seen in a long time. I found out that new neighbor husband works for a logistics company and new neighbor wife is actually in nursing school. Maybe I can bond with her over the joys of nursing school and oh-so-politely mention to calm down the partying! So, I am officially going to attempt to have a better attitude about this whole situation. Maybe the dog just pokes his head through our fence because he wants to come over and play, not bite the heck out of my boys! And, maybe school will pick up for new neighbor wife and she will have to actually study or something instead of party. We shall see. So, here's to a new positive attitude! However, I am making no promises for Monday's rant post. It all depends on how the weekend goes...

So, You Want to be a Bee?!

Well, Patrick still wants to be a bee for Halloween. I think it's because Marshall has been stung several times by bees this summer. Bees just love my Marshy!! And, Marshall wants to be a bee now, too, instead of Scooby-Do. I'm asuming he wants to be a bee just because Patrick does. He's decided that Graham can be "Scooby-Scooby." I guess he still wants Scooby-Do to be with us on Halloween!! But, my problem with this whole bee thing, you ask? Well, all I can think of is the Blind Melon music video for No Rain. I don't know why this is the first thing that comes to my head, but it's making me have a hard time with the whole bee costumes for Halloween!! Crazy. So, this post is to document my crazy thoughts while I'm shopping on-line for silly bee costumes! Hopefully my boys will be such adorable bumble bees at Halloween that they will erase the image of the Blind Melon bee girl from my brain. We'll see. Now it's back to Old Navy's website to see if I can buy a bee...

Fall Fun

YIPPEE!!! It's Fall! The air has turned crisp and cool- I love it! Now that's not raining anymore, we've been outside. Gotta run off some of that wild, crazy boy energy. Here's a look at what we've been up to...

Marshall on the big boy swing.

He has to go "really high" or it's not fun!

Graham's first time on the glider.

He fell off just a few seconds after this pic was taken,

but still wanted to get back on. He's a trooper!

Weee!! Look, momma, no feet!!
Patrick's my wild one...

DIRT...it's what's for dinner.

We're supposed to have great weather all week, so there's no telling what we'll get in to!! I may even get the urge to put out some mums. :)

Monday Rants

Well, it's Monday. Whoop-de-do! So, why not get all my negative energy out so we can start the week off with a positive attitude. Here goes...

Dear New Neighbors,

Welcome to the neighborhood. You seem like a nice, VERY social couple. That's good. You have moved onto a great street. We are fun, nice, social and take care of one another. Many of us also have small chidlren. All of us have at least one person in the home that has to actually get up and be at work during the week. You DID NOT move into a college dorm! We do not appreciate loud outside parties, bringing beer and pizza home after midnight and doing so LOUDLY or numerous obviously-young-single-male vehicles parked on our street from Friday evening 'til Sunday evening. If this is going to be your lifestyle, please move back to where you came from. And, the $360,000 question being asked on the street?! If this how you live and the people you associate with, who pays your mortgage and what do you do for a living?? The rest of us are responsible, "normal" people and just wonder what you're up to...But again, welcome to the neighborhood. Hopefully we will become friends and I will have to delete this post. But, until then, I can rant about you because you are keeping me awake at night and it's just a matter of time before you wake up my children. Oh, by the way, we may be playing a loud game of Red Rover or soccer or some other loud, obnoxious game outside at 6am next Saturday just to give you a tast of your own medicine. But, like I said, welcome to the neighborhood and congrats on the purchase of your first home.

Sincerely,

Shannon



Dear Mackenzie,

Well, my sweet little cat, I must apologize for cursing your name at 4am this morning. When I woke up to a loud, howling cat that sounded as if it was in our home I just assumed it was you. But, you were cuddled up next to me trying to sleep, just as I was. So, to the radom cat that was howling outside from 4am to 5am this morning, BE QUIET!! And, who do you belong to??? I went outside to find you and got a glimpse of you. You appear to be a black cat. You better not be pregnant or better yet, have been in the process of having kittens in my yard. The last thing I need is kittens to find homes for. But, then again, your kittens would probably not survive my 3, 2 and 1 year old sons. So, problem solved. And, Mackenzie, I apologize to you, again. This time for stepping on your paw in my groggy, tired state as I was running all around the house looking out our windows trying to find the loud cat.

Sincerely,

Shannon


Dear Time Warner,

Seriously, are you that evil?? Why is our cable out on a Monday morning?? My chidlren are freaking out!!! This is not a good way to start the week. Just because it's very windy outside is no excuse. So, please fix this problem. I do not have the time or energy to call you and sit on hold forever. And, while I'm at it, I hate your new guide. It's slower than the old one. I've been meaning to tell you about this since the spring when you switched it. It's not better, just in case you were wondering.

Thank you,

Shannon


Okay, I feel much better!! Here's to a great week. It's not raining anymore and the temp's supposed to be really nice!! Until next time...

Just Another Morning in Paradise

Momma woke up at 5:45am with a sinus headache due the the crappy weather and went back to bed without making the boys' breakfast. They woke up not happy and momma didn't get her AM alone time. Just another morning in paradise...

Patrick and Marshall grabbed Robert's chocolate pudding snacks from the fridge and wanted them for breakfast. I let them in order to not have to hear screaming. Not good for the sinus headache. Just another morning in paradise...

Huge mess to clean up due to chocolate pudding. Just another morning in paradise...

Patrick's constipated and screaming because his "poopy hurts." Just another morning in paradise...

Marshall used the potty and played in the sink while washing his hands. I was busy "assisting" Patrick with his poop during this time. Yet another huge mess to clean up in the bathroom. Just another morning in paradise...

Marshall keeps screaming over EVERYTHING. Just another morning in paradise...

Robert's sleeping in because it's Saturday. His day to sleep in. Just another morning in paradise...

It's still raining and nasty outside. We're going to be stuck inside ALL. DAY. LONG. Just another morning in paradise...

Momma wants to go back to sleep. She was woken up by her new neighbors coming home with beer and pizza after midnight. Just another morning in paradise...

Graham slept from 8pm 'til 8am. He woke up, had his momma milk and cuddled. So sweet. Patrick just walked up to me while I am typing this post, sat on the chair with me and said, "Momma, I love you!" Now, that's what makes these mornings in paradise SO SPECIAL. :)

Friday Family Foto

Marshall and Graham watching our oatmeal-M&M cookies bake. Yes, this is the second week in a row of baking oatmeal cookies. But, I've got to use up all the original packs of oatmeal that my boys won't eat!

The boys in their super-fun colored bath!! We spent way too much time at Target today as a way to waste time since we are on day number 6 of rain and being stuck inside. It was effective! We came home with a bunch of fun bath markers and bath water dye and even some more Thomas wooden train stuff, Halloween candy and some new DVD's. Not so good for the bank account, though. Sorry, Robert...


Look at that green water! The boys wanted green water so we mixed a blue and yellow tablet. And, I must admit that momma and daddy were MUCH more excited about the colored water than the boys were! Hmmm...am I seeing a colored bubble bath for momma in the future?! I think I'd want PINK water! :)

Laziness

So, I have been caught in the act of pure laziness and I am now paying the price. It all started at nap time. P went peepee in the potty right before he went down and the other boys were already in fresh diapers. I was too lazy to put a Pull-Up on P, so I let him nap in his underwear. The big boys went down way too easy and G nursed himself to sleep while I dosed. Fastforward to wake up...I walk into the big boys' room to see P standing there completely naked. He tells me "it's all wet." He was right. His bedding, shorts and shirt were soaked. I stripped the bed and he asked for clothes. I suggested his favorite dino jammies, as I'm being lazy and it's 4pm- close enough to pj time, right? Nope. He imformed me that jammies are for when the "sun goes down." Urghh. What ever happened to wearing pj's on a gloomy rainy day?
While all of this is happening, M says he needs to go pee in the potty. I tell him to go ahead, as I'm preoccupied redressing P and stripping beds and too lazy to deal with making him wait until I can come with him. Well, wouldn't ya know it- he poops. Yet another mess to deal with as a result of my laziness because he got off the potty without wiping. Urghh. Again.

So, I am now heating up frozen pizza for dinner (can we say lazy!) and waiting for the washer to stop so I can switch over all the bedding. I even washed it all on the "light soil" wash because I'm too lazy to wait around and risk throwing off bedtime (dont' worry, I overdosed on Tide and used hot water.) Oh- I'm also sitting on top of the trashcan that I've pulled up to the kitchen counter as I type this post on my laptop. Why? Because I'm too lazy to actually deal with moving the laptop to the table or to bring a chair over to the counter. The trashcan's closer.

Last Firsts of Motherhood

I have found myself asking the question, "Have I, or am I experiencing the last firsts of motherhood?" It is a question that breaks my heart to think about, why I do not know. Have I had my last experience with morning sickness, feeling a baby flutter in my belly for the first time, the excitement and fear of prenatal ultrasounds and screenings, the growing belly that I love, the excruciating pain that is natural childbirth, the flow of emotions the first time you see your new baby on your chest after delivery, the first breastfeeding, the arrival home, the look that siblings give to their newest brother/sister, the amazing squishy newborn phase, the first smile, the first coo, need I go on???? When I see Graham doing new things I am taking them all in a little slower than in the past and wondering if this is it. He calls me "momma" now and I think, is this the last time I will hear a new little voice calling for momma? I do not know what the future holds for our family. Is our family complete? We have been blessed with three beautiful, healthy baby boys and for this I am eternally grateful. However, I think that if I decided today that our family is complete I would have an empty place in my heart. No, I do not want to have another baby right now, but will this change next week, month, year? How does one know when they are "finished?" Do you ever know? Is this a sign that I am not ready to make this decision? I'm guessing that it is. I am 30 years young and instead of making this heart wrenching decision now, I think I need more time. Just something I've been pondering.....any thoughts welcome.

Shan

Wordless Wednesday- When You Turn Your Back for 2 Seconds...

First Day of Preschool

Patrick's first official day of preschool

Patrick's new favorite silly pose for pictures!

September 21, 2009. My Patticakes' first day of preschool. He had a really good day and seems to like his teachers and new friends. He's figuring out that his teachers are Mrs. Hafner and Mrs. Stefani, not Mrs. Hafanie!! He goes from 830am-1130am. Not a long day, but enough. His drop off was better than last week at orientation, but he still wanted me and Marshall to stay with him. I'm sure he'll get the hang of it and march on in the classroom on his own pretty soon! Hopefully Marshall will start in the 2 1/2 yr old room in January because he really wants to go to school, too. He gets so sad when he has to leave with me. :(

I did not write last week after orientation because, to be quite honest, I was not impressed. Patrick had a very hard drop off and the whole thing seemed a little chaotic. I guess I'm just used to a very organized, professional setting coming from Procter and Gamble- Children's for Children. I am spoiled when it comes to childcare and I'm trying to give Hyde Park Community United Methodist Church Preschool a fair chance. It's a great preschool and I just have to get over my issues. Our old school had known our family since Patrick was 5mo. old, seen me throughout my 2 subsequent pregnancies and knew everything about our family. I am sure we will develop a great relationship with our new school, it will just take time.

The most thing is that Patrick has a great experience and enjoys his time in school, and this seems to be happening so far. So, here's to a new adventure for us!!!

P&G Dividend Day- Kings Island

Every year in September Procter and Gamble has Dividend Day at Kings Island. The park is closed to the public and P&G employees and their families enjoy and weekend and the amusement park. This year we took all three boys and it was quite different from our old days. We used to go with friends and ride all the roller coasters, now we go and spend the entire time in the Nickelodeon section. Oh, how times have changed!! (Warning: this post if full of pictures. Mostly for our family and close friends who don't get to see us frequently enough. Enjoy!)

The five of us in front of the water fountain.

This was the boys' favorite thing to look at!

Daddy and his boys!

Marshall and one of the many

characters he saw. He LOVED them!!

Patrick, however, was a little usure about big

cartoon characters wandering around the park.

Marshall with some random character.

If you know who he is, let me know.

"Scooby-Scooby"

Marshall is in love with Scooby-Do.

He says he wants to be "Scooby-Scooby" for Halloween.

Graham was a little scared of Scooby.

But, a kiss from Momma made it okay :)

Silly Patrick with the flashlight, one of the goodies

we got in our big sample bag.

Patrick at the water fountain.

Sweet Marshall with the tube of pure colored sugar

that we made at the Nickelodeon store.

Smiley Graham!

I just love the mohawk the wind gave Grammy!

Look at that water!

Our little stair step boys.

Patrick 37mo., Marshall 26mo. and Graham 13mo.

Silly boys enjoying some Pringles Stix

and Chick-fil-a for lunch.

Momma and her three boys sitting under the Charmin Bear.

Our boys love the Charmin Bears! They are at a lot of

events in Cincinnati and we just have to go see them

every time.

That's one HUGE bear!

Daddy and the boys under the blue Charmin Bear.

Graham patiently waiting while his brothers are riding the

helicopter ride. I'm sure he is thinking, "They get to ride

over the park in a helicopter and all I get is a silly Cheez-It!"

We waited over an hour and a half for them to stand in line

and ride the helicopters!

Marshall looking out of the helicopter.

Daddy and the big boys in the helicopter.

Daddy walking Patrick and Marshall to the bumper cars- one

of the few rides they were tall enough to actaully ride!

The bumper cars were a no-go. They were too

scared to sit in them alone! Maybe next year.

A Taste of What the Future Holds

"He's lookin' at you, Daddy!!"....do you even want to know the situation surrounding this statement by Patrick?! Well, Patrick went to the potty to go poop and when Robert came in to help clean him up Patrick was a little, well...um, excited. I think that's the best way to put it. Patrick looked down and noticed this and kept telling Robert, "He's lookin' at you, Daddy!" Oh my goodness!! I'm glad it was Robert and not me. I would have probably died on the bathroom floor laughing.

This event made me think about the years to come. Three adolescent boys in my house at the SAME TIME!!! AAAHHHHH!!! How will I survive??? I'm guessing that tonight was just a small, VERY small, taste of what the future holds...

Patrick-isms

According to Patrick...

running ears: headphones for your ipod. He always wants his "running ears" to put into his little MP3 player so he can run in a "big race" and get a medal.

Ms. Hafani: Patrick's new preschool teacher. Mrs. Hafner and Mrs. Stephani are his new teachers. He has combined them into one being that is named Ms. Hafani.

ediculous: aka rediculous. Everything is "ediculous" according to Patrick. I guess momma uses that word too much.

bee: Patrick wants to be a bumble bee for Halloween. When I asked him why he said, "So I can sting Marshy." Brotherly love of sorts, I guess.

big muscles: Patrick told me last night he wants big muscles, as he tried to flex his little arms. Why does he want big muscles?? To push Grammy and Marshy. Brotherly love at it's finest!!

Friday Family Foto

We LOVE our backhoe shirts!!

A great find at Old Navy and the boys think

they are the best things ever.

Random Rants

1. WHY are my children waking up BEFORE 6am?! WHY?!?! It's killing me. They go upstairs for bed at 730-8pm but don't actually fall asleep until around 930pm. They used to sleep until 7am or so, but not anymore!!! Graham is just waking up once a night to nurse, so that's not too bad. But, he also wakes up around 5am to nurse and then goes back down until 7am, or whenever his brothers wake him, which ever comes first. So, mommy has lost her morning alone time and has a new wake up time of 5am. Awesome...not really.

2. This morning when I turned on the TV I heard a strange noise and saw flashing lights coming from under the couch in the living room. It scared the you-know-what out of me!! Aliens? No. Just the boys' remote control helicopter that responds not only to it's little remote, but also to our television remote. Every night all toys must be put back in the playroom in their proper homes (yeah, if you know me well you know how OCD I am about my house looking as if we don't actually live here!) I guess the helicopter didn't make it.

3. While making oatmeal and slicing a banana this morning I cut my finger. I guess in my iritated, sleepy state I was not paying enough attention to the banana. Not a bad cut, but it hurts, none the less. And, Graham ate an entire large banana with his breakfast this morning. I guess I'll be complaining that he can't poop and is miserable in a day or two!

4. Marshall escaped with the package of blueberries and ran into the playroom. He ended up opening them and spilling them all over the berber carpet in the playroom. BIG MESS. Got those cleaned up, put back in the package and in the fridge where they belong. And, yes, I picked them all up and put them in the fridge for later. I buy organic fruits for them and it's expensive! They will be eating those blueberries. If you are at my house, don't eat the blueberries if you are bothered by the fact that they have been on our playroom floor.

5. The cat keeps peeing on the cat box mat that's in front of his box and also peeing on the big cat litter container that's next to his box in the basement. YUCK. As if I don't have enough crap (literally and figuratively) to clean up. Anyone want a cat?? He's beautiful, really soft, sweet and his name is Mackenzie.

6. Probably the reason for all this ranting. I am not sleeping well, AT ALL! I'm plently tired and sleepy, but I constantly wake up covered in sweat with soaking wet clothes and sheets. I get up, change clothes and head down to the couch where it's dry. Not fun. I'm sure it's hormonal, as I am now off of the progesterone and estrogen I was taking because my body had gone into a temporary menopausal state. I think I may be calling my MD to get back on something because this is miserable!!

Okay, the silver lining....give me a minute, I'm thinking....The boys should be ready for an early nap today. Momma will take a nap, too. This weekend is also Dividend Day at Kings Island for all P&G families. We will take the boys, it should be fun (hopefully!) Hmmm.....anymore silver lining??? Yeah, despite all of my ranting and exhaustion there is NO OTHER PLACE I'D RATHER BE!!....Well, minus the cleanig up cat pee thing. ;)

Rationing

What's for breakfast?? The first thing the big boys ask as they come down the stairs in the morning. Today is donut day!! They are so excited. They are sitting in their chairs eating while I fold laundry and wait for Graham to wake up. I go in to check on them and notice that all that's left of Graham's donut and a small 2in piece. I look at Patrick and he's got his donut as well as the rest of Graham's. I asked Patrick why he was eating his brother's donut and he told me because Graham only gets one piece. All while shaking his little hand with one finger held up. It was too late to take the donut back, as Patrick had already started licking all the icing off. Patrick proceeded to eat his donut, what he had taken of Graham's donut and even about half of what he had originally left for Graham. I guess if you snooze you loose in the Carraway house!!! Poor Grammy. He's in his highchair eating a Nutrigrain bar and fruit as I type this.

Wordless Wednesday- Brotherly Love and "Fower"

Super Mom

Well, I have been making a great effort to have more structured activities for the boys lately, especially after our playing in poop experience. I was thinking that having more activities would keep them occupied and challenged and make them less likely to resort to playing in poop! It has been effective, or maybe the cold shower was more effective after the 5th time playing in poop, but whatever. I've been pretty on top of my game, if I say so myself! This week we have had 2 playdates, caught tons of bugs and even baked cookies from scratch. It's only Tuesday!!! I know, I can hear you saying, "Slow down, Tiger!!" under your breath. ;)

Boxedler bugs have infested our backyard, as we have a female boxelder tree in our backyard. They are harmless, meaning they don't bite or destroy anthing, and they provide hours of entertainment for my boys. I can't even tell you how many of these crazy things I have caught lately!! The boys love to catch them and feed them dirt (because I guess all bugs eat dirt?? According to Patrick they do!) This is just a very small sampling of our boxelder bug population. There are literally hundreds of them on our yard.

Yesterday we baked oatmeal-chocolate chip cookies from scratch. I measured out everything while the boys were napping and had it all ready to dump in and mix. Marshall didn't want to bake cookies at first, and didn't want the rest of us to do so, either. I had to convince him to participate by allowing them all to eat lots of chocolate chips while be baked. Robert even asked after eating a few cookies where all the chocolate chips were! I told him to aks his sons. :)

The Before Pic

Mid-baking

The delicious outcome!!!

So, tomorrow is Wednesday. No great activities planned, but Patrick does go to pre-school orientation from 8:30-9:45am. A big day for my baby Patticakes!!! He has been in daycare/school before, but it'll be a new place for him. I'll post how it all goes. I am more worried about the logistics of it all than how Patrick will do. He'll be fine, I know. And, I must admit that I am ready to have a plain, normal, boring Thursday and Friday!!

Birthday Party

This post is a little late coming, as was our vactation post, but here goes!!

Come on Over

For Pizza, Cake & Fun

The Carraway Boys are Turning

3, 2 &1!!

Saturday, August 8th we had a joint birthday party for all three boys. It was a ton of fun and, boy, am I glad I did the joint party thing because I don't think I could handle three birthday parties in just a 6 week span. We'll see how long they let me do this before they catch on and each want their own party!

The Dining Room

Their sweet little birthday cake! Our invitations were a jungle theme.

The party

All five of us

The boys love their birthday present- a new swingset!

Patrick's favorite gift

Momma and Graham. I just love the expression on his sweet little face!

Um, yeah, this is our 3yr old with his cake. I think he was taking lessons from his baby brother!

Marshall obviously took lessons from Graham, too.

Happy Birthday to You...

Didn't take Graham long to figure out that birthday cake is pretty tasty!

Graham's first few bites

Now, how do I delete a duplicate picture!?

My thee sons digging through the tub of beer.

Gotta get 'em ready for college sometime, right?!