Costumes

I bought some costumes off of Ebay on October 16. It wasn't until after I purchased them that I realized they were being shipped from HONG KONG!!

The instructions said it would take up to 10 BUSINESS DAYS to receive them.

I am still waiting for them to arrive, and getting pretty nervous at this point, because I've promised the boys they could be superheros. Yikes!

Holy roller

Today during naptime, #1 did not want to sleep and kept trying to get off of his nap mat. His teacher, Mrs. W., kept trying to keep his body on the nap, which was not at all what he wanted to do.

He told her, "The LORD said to be nice!" to which she replied, "Well, the LORD said to obey!"

My child is a holy roller. LOL!

One of my favorite songs...I need this today.

Hats

Even at this early age, my boys are starting to exercise their individuality. They all have a different way they prefer to wear their hats. #1 wears it down low, so low that he has to lean his head back to see where he is going. Other times he wears it backwards. #2 wears it straight, and #3 wears his backwards, usually tilted to the side. It makes me wonder how different their interests will be down the road.

Most useful baby items

This weekend I went to a baby shower for a friend who is having twins. Instead of one big gift, I decided to buy her a few of the things I found to be the most useful to me as a mother.

My top ten most useful things are:
1. Ultimate crib sheet
2. Bottle or sippy cup leashes that attach to strollers or high chairs (to keep them from falling on the ground when out and about)
3. Good Night Moon book
4. I Love You Forever book
5. Brown Bear Brown Bear book
6. Snack catchers (the little cups that have a star-shaped slit in the top that lets kids get Cheerios out but doesn't spill easily)
7. Sippy cup / snack cup combo things (I don't know what they are called, but the top half holds a snack and the bottom half holds a drink, and on top there is a straw and snack opening)
8. Butterfly Kisses lullaby CD
9. High Chair covers (the kind that slip off easily for washing without having to unthread the straps)
10. Disposable plastic placemats that stick on the table (great for going out to eat)

What things hit your MVP list of most useful baby items?

My silly boys

Matt has a remarkable ability to take something ordinary and make it into something fun for the boys. One night we were having strawberries with whipped cream for dessert, and he put a dab of whipped cream on the end of his nose. The boys thought that was hilarious, so he made a mustache as well, which they loved as well. The boys wanted to have some on their face too, so here are some pictures of their mustaches and goatees. My silly boys (all 4 of them)!





By the way, yes the boys were naked when the picture was taken. They had gotten soaked outside with the water house, and since they were about to take a bath, I let them eat in the buff. No sense dirtying another set of clothes just to eat, right?

Pumpkin patch

There is a pumpkin patch at a church we pass by on the way home every day, so we stopped by there the other day to pick up a pumpkin. The weather has been absolutely gorgeous the last few days - perfect fall weather!

Pics from last Halloween

Goody two shoes

This weekend my parents came to pick up the boys to let them spend the weekend with them at the farm (Mommy and Daddy actually got to go on a date night while they were gone!).

As they were walking down the stairs, my dad (who is famous for his silliness), broke out into a version of Michael Jackson's "I'm bad, I'm bad, you know it, you know it) and started dancing down the stairs. When they reached the bottom, a small voice from #1 said, "I'm goooooooood."

Goody two shoes... :)

Our special day together

Monday was a school holiday, so I wanted to do something special for them, but kept striking out in my efforts. When the boys woke up that morning I told them I had a special surprise in store for them. We went to Chic-Fil-A for breakfast and ate some yummy chicken sandwiches with honey. Then we loaded back into the car and I told them we were headed to the surprise place. The boys could hardly stand it and were yelling out "Yeah!!!" with big smiles on their faces.

Strike One:

We headed towards the Woodlands and parked right outside the Children's Museum. I remember thinking how lucky I was to snag such a close parking spot, especially on a holiday where a lot of kids were out of school. We walked to the front door and the boys were SOOOOOOO excited to be going to the museum.

A sign taped to the window stopped us in our tracks. CLOSED!!! They were not just closed for the day, but closed down for good. We peered inside and there were packing boxes and stuff strewn about.

The boys were so disappointed and started to cry. I thought about the carousel that was in the food court area of the mall, and convinced them to walk back to the car so that we could go ride the horses on the carousel. Tearfully, they walked back to the car, and we drove around to the side of the mall near the food court.

Strike 2:

We walked in the mall and went up the escalator to find the carousel. Guess what? The carousel was out of service too! The boys were not happy about this either.

Strike 3:

I thought about the children's play place in the mall, so we headed in that direction. The boys played for about 10 minutes until one of them had an accident in their pants. Naturally, I had nothing with me so we had to leave the mall, once again with much crying and gnashing of teeth.

At this point I was frustrated. I had envisioned a fun day of exploring and dressing up at the museum and everything I tried to do was just not working out.

We ended up eating lunch sitting in the swivel barstools at Johnny Rockets, so they enjoyed making their stools swivel back and forth.

The Homerun:

That afternoon, I took them to the movies to see the 3D double feature of Toy Story and Toy Story 2. We played in the video arcade between movies, and gorged ourselves
on popcorn and candy, so the day was not all lost!

Halloween

This is a picture of the boys from 2 Halloweens ago. It seems like only yesterday that I remember snapping this picture. It makes me smile every time I look at it because #3 in the bee costume is standing there innocently while #2 has this devious grin on his face as he reaches to pull the antennae of #3. Cracks me up every time.

Stranger comments

It is starting to happen more and more. Comments from complete strangers criticizing me or my children, especially #1, when we are out in public.

Today's incident has brought me to tears and I can't seem to stop crying about it.

After church I went to eat with a friend of mine who also has three children, so there were 2 adults and 6 kids between the ages of 2 and 4. We were sitting in a booth that had a hard wooden bottom. The kids were being, well, KIDS. Amber and I did our best to keep them from disturbing others and to eat their food. Towards the end, an older couple sat down in the booth behind us.

#1 started swinging his feet and bumping them on the wood below the seat because it made a loud sound. I tried to stop his feet from swinging by holding my foot out underneath the table. The couple, clearly annoyed, glared at us. A few minutes later, #1 did it again. I sternly told him to stop kicking his feet, to which he immediately kicked his feet again.

The man in the booth behind us started kicking his feet into the bench wildly, and glared at us again. I know my son's actions were not right, but I felt the man's actions were way out of line. He was acting like a toddler himself.

My friend pulled #1 into her lap to keep him from kicking again (she was sitting right next to him), but I could not let this man get away without at least knowing the truth. I got up and said, "Excuse me. I'm sorry for my son kicking the seat. He is autistic, and we are doing the best we can to help him learn what to do and what not to do."

The man huffed back, "Well, I didn't know he had a PROBLEM!!"

As we were leaving the restaurant, someone who witnessed the 'incident' from another table sympathized with me, saying the man should not have acted like that.

We left the restaurant, and in the parking lot I burst into tears. My child looks just like other kids look, is the same size as other kids, so people have an expectation that he should behave like other kids. He does not wear a label on his forehead that he is autistic, so when he acts out, strangers are quick to jump to conclusions that I am a bad parent that doesn't discipline her kids. Now that they are getting older, the level of expectations that stragers place on children goes up. Sometimes they make comments, sometimes it is a glare or loud sigh, sometimes it is childishly kicking the seat like the man today.

I don't want to turn a blind eye to disciplining my child to the point where everything is excused away as a part of his autism. Although he has autism, he can learn things and behave, but he may learn in a different way and may take more time than 'normal' kids. Autism is not an excuse, it is just a fact of life of who he is and how God made him.

It is hard being the mom of three young ones so close in age, and doubly so since one of them is autistic and half of the year my husband works every weekend. What I want to scream to them is that I truly am doing the very best I know how. However, I am not a screamer, so instead my reaction is to just cry. Do they know that he was born three months premature weighing 2 lbs 8 oz, that he had seizures as a baby, that he attends a special school to help him learn the social skills, that he goes to speech therapy and occupational therapy, that I've read numerous books on parenting an autisic child?? No, instead they choose to jump to conclusions and be critical. There's no other way to describe it. It just hurts.

Mr. Miagi

I think a pregnant gnat must have flown into my car and given birth to a zillion baby gnats. Every time we are in our car, I see a gnat or two flying around. I try to swat them or grab them, but it's hard to do when driving, so I am usually flailing my arms about in vain. I'm sure I look pretty silly if you were in the car next to mine.

I feel like Mr. Miagi, although he was successful at catching the fly with his chopsticks. Maybe I should buy some chopsticks...

Praying the scriptures for my kids

I found another passage in the Bible that makes a wonderful prayer for my own children. It echoes my wishes that my children as they begin their life's journey together with God. From the time we found out we were pregnant, Matt and I have prayed fervently for our precious boys, for health, and for all these things echoed in this passage below. Please join me in praying for them and for your own children.

Colossians 1: 9-12
9For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. 10And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully 12giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you[d] to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.

He's a smart boy

Sometimes when the boys don't want to get out of their beds in the mornings on school days, I tell them that their teacher would miss them and would be "Sooooo sad" if she didn't see them in class that day.

The other day, I picked up the boys from school and we were headed home to eat dinner. #2 asked if we could go to Itz Pizza for dinner. When I answered that we could not go there today but perhaps another day, he responded, "But the bakers would be so sad if we didn't go to Itz!"

Wait a minute...aren't I the one who is supposed to be using the psychology on them, not the other way around? He's only 4 but he is a smart boy!

My car is possessed

My car is possessed. I will be driving along, and suddenly the radio will stop working, the A/C stops blowing cold air, and all of the lights on the dashboard will come on. The windows and door locks don't work, so it is like being trapped in the car.

Know how I get it to start working again? I have to open and slam the glove box closed, then everything start working again. Weird, I know.

I know it is some sort of electrical short, but I have taken it in before and they supposedly fixed it. Well, it is STILL happening, at the most random times. Now I have to find time to take it in. Again. Ugh! I hate having car problems!!! It makes me feel so helpless because having a car to get back and forth to work, school, etc. is such a necessary thing in my life. I don't know how to fix it and I don't know how to function without it.

Second soccer game

I wanted to take some pictures of the boys' second soccer game. Unfortunately, the boys had other plans. Not one single boy played a single minute during the game. They all sat on the sidelines beside me and refused to play. Nice.

Birth Order of Children

Below is a post about the birth order of children that I think is so funny because of the hints of truth behind the extreme scenarios. My favorite one is the "At Home" scenario. I don't know who wrote it, but she was a very wise mommy! Hope you enjoy it too, especially those of you with 2 or more children!


BIRTH ORDER OF CHILDREN

1st baby: You begin wearing maternity clothes as soon as your OB/GYN confirms your pregnancy.  

2nd baby: You wear your regular clothes for as long as possible.

3rd baby: Your maternity clothes ARE your regular clothes.

_____________________________________________________

Preparing for the Birth:

1st baby: You practice your breathing religiously.

2nd baby: You don't bother because you remember that last time, breathing didn't do a thing.

3rd baby: You ask for an epidural in your eighth month.

__________________________________________ ____________

The Layette:

1st baby: You pre-wash newborn's clothes, color-coordinate them, and fold them neatly in the baby's little bureau.

2nd baby: You check to make sure that the clothes are clean and discard only the ones with the darkest stains.

3rd baby: Boys can wear pink, can't they?

_ _____________________________________________________

Worries:

1st baby: At the first sign of distress--a whimper, a frown--you pick up the baby

2nd baby: You pick the baby up when her wails threaten to wake your firstborn.

3rd baby: You teach your three-year-old how to rewind the mechanical swing.
______________________________________________________

Pacifier:

1st baby: If the pacifier falls on the floor, you put it away until you can go home and wash and boil it.

2nd baby: When the pacifier falls on the floor, you squirt it off with some juice from the baby's bottle.

3rd baby: You wipe it off on your shirt and pop it back in.

______________________________________________________

Diapering:

1st baby: You change your baby's diapers every hour, whether they need it or not.

2nd baby: You change their diaper every two to three hours, if needed.

3rd baby: You try to change their diaper before others start to complain about the smell or you see it sagging to their knees.

_______________________________________________________

Activities

1st baby:  You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics, Baby Swing, Baby Zoo, Baby Movies and Baby Story Hour.

2nd baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics.

3rd baby: You take your infant to the supermarket and the dry cleaners.

_____________________________ _________________________

Going Out:

1st baby: The first time you leave your baby with a sitter, you call home five times.

2nd baby: Just before you walk out the door, you remember to leave a number where you can be reached.

3rd baby: You leave instructions for the sitter to call only if she sees blood.

______________________________________________________

At Home: 
1st baby: You spend a good bit of every day just gazing at the baby.

2nd baby: You spend a bit of everyday watching to be sure your ol der child isn't squeezing, poking, or hitting the baby.

3rd baby: You spend a little bit of every day hiding from the children

______________________________________________________

Swallowing Coins (a favorite):

1st child: When first child swallows a coin, you rush the child to the hospital and demand x-rays

2nd child: When second child swallows a coin, you carefully watch for the coin to pass.

3rd child: When third child swallows a coin you deduct it from his allowance!

______________________________________________________




MEANING OF GRANDCHILDREN:

God's reward for allowing your children to live

One of my favorite web sites for kids

A co-worker of Matt's told him about a website called www.starfall.com. It is a web site that teaches kids to read with fun, interactive stories. There are different levels, from learning to recognize letters to reading stories. We have been doing it for a little over a year, and the boys LOVE it! #1 started reading right after his third birthday, and hasn't stopped since. The others are coming along with their skills too. I am amazed at how much they are learning, and they don't even realize they are learning - they think the stories are just plain silly and funny. I'd highly recommend it if you have toddlers!

Here are some pictures of the boys reading with Daddy: