Just....happy.

It rained all day at my house. Zack has been MIA lately because of work. Matthew is recovering from a week of being sick. Our fridge is being wonky. A few things in our house are literally falling apart.....

But right now? I am happy. 

Our day started out looking pretty bleak. I forgot to put a pull up on Jonathan last night, so this morning I woke up to him storming in my room, totally naked, yelling, "I AM SOAKING WET!" Awesome. We couldn't go to church in case Matthew was still contagious, so I knew I had hours of time to kill with the boys inside due to the weather. But you know what? It turned into a pretty fun day. We made brownies, colored pictures, had a few dance parties, got to ride bikes during a break in the rain, made a VERY quick trip to Sams....a few good naps later and here we are. A good day. And it made me reflect on the last week, which was a total freak show, and realize that we had so many awesome moments. And then I started thinking of all the tiny little things that make me happy....that often go unnoticed. So I decided to make a list. Because, let's be real.....my blog works best in list form. And now, in case you were dying to know, some of the things that have made me happy lately :)

• The Friendship Song by Carbon Leaf, from the Curious George 2 movie, and Good Morning by Mandisa. Both songs make me want to dance and smile and enjoy my awesome life. (A little too cliche? Sorry bout that...) But for real, they are great and will put a smile on your face. And don't judge me that one of my favorite movies right now is Curious George...it's super cute.

• The fact that this kid is just as content laying on the floor playing super hero as he is when I take him somewhere awesome. If only we were all so easily entertained.

• Anything that makes my house smell like fall. A candle, pumpkin bread in the oven....I don't care. Equal opportunity scent picker here. No wait, I lied....if there is pumpkin bread in my oven, that I actually get to eat later....that wins.

• When the boys play together. It doesn't happen often, but when it does, it's super cute. They were on "an adventure in a space ship" in this shot....

• When I remember that I hid an entire bag of candy corn pumpkins....and they are all still there....just waiting to be eaten during nap time. Oh, how I love candy corn. I know some of you have differing opinions on this, and that's okay. Just know that you are wrong.

• When Jonathan tries to put his clothes on himself...

• Every now and then, the stars align and all of my favorite shows are on in one night. And sometimes, Zack has to work late on those nights. And sometimes the kids are super tired and NEED to go to bed early. True life, that happened the other night. It was like a perfect night trifecta. And the shows that came on at the exact same time? My DVR loves me enough to tape them.

• Absolutely anything this little guy does...(Not for real...but you get the point. Don't be fooled...he can be pretty mean to his brother and has a decent arm when it comes to throwing food.)

• When, even in the midst of crazy, God reminds me to stop and look around for the things that make me happy. And there, right in front of me, are a million little things to be thankful for. Things that can change my mood around in an instant. Things that are there, every day....if I just remember to look for them.

What little things have been making you happy lately?

Turns out....parenting is hard.

I don't know about y'all, but for me, parenting toddlers/preschoolers is proving to be freaking hard. Every single day I am discovering something that I should do differently. For example, a few months ago, I learned that you shouldn't let your toddler sit on the counter at Chick-Fil-A.....because he will probably fall off. The problem, however, is that I have no idea what the "right way" is when it comes to parenting. Teach them important lessons? No idea. Discipline them in the right way? No idea. Teach them to be awesome, respectful, well mannered children? No idea. 

Let me explain....

• Yesterday at recess (my class shares recess time with Jonathan's class,) I looked over and saw Jonathan fighting with another little boy. My first instinct was to rush over there and discipline my son....but before I did, it came to light that the other little boy was messing with Jonathan first and stole his favorite toy by force. Apparently, Jonathan was just defending himself. And apparently, not just standing there and letting yourself get beat up is a good thing. So now, I am trying to figure out how to teach Jonathan that it is important to stand up for yourself, but really, we NEVER hit or hurt others. It is proving a tough lesson to learn.
• The other day, Jonathan told my Mom to "chill out." Take a guess where he got that from....So we talked about words that adults can use, but that little boys probably shouldn't use. Again, a tough lesson...this time, for both of us. At least I don't use cuss words....
• Lately, Jonathan and Matthew are having a hard time sharing. Matthew wants to play, so he grabs a toy. Jonathan doesn't want to share that toy, so he starts screaming. I yell at Jonathan for screaming and being mean to his brother, but forget that it's pretty lame of Matthew to steal the toy in the first place. Especially since Matthew is plenty old to know what he is doing. So we practice sharing, using our words etc....so far, no dice.
• Matthew has been screaming for no reason. A lot. I try to tell him no and usually swat his hand or something. We have tried time out in his crib when he does it.... He doesn't care. Like, for real.
• A few times this week, Jonathan has corrected his teacher at school for ridiculous things. For example, they were together at the sink today and she had to raise her voice so a student on the other side of the room could hear her. Jonathan looked at her and said, "we do NOT yell!!" I mean, the kid is right....but he can't be telling his teacher what she should and shouldn't do. So how do I teach him that those things are true, but he can't say them to his teacher?!

Somebody please tell me how to raise my boys. Somebody give me all the answers. I just want happy, respectful kids. And I want this to all be much easier. Think, unicorns and rainbows....Oh, even better, think Rainbow Brite riding her unicorn down a rainbow....I want parenting to be like that.

In the last week I....

• Took Jonathan to his second dentist appointment. I give the entire situation 5 stars out of 10. There was still lots of screaming, kicking, crying, throwing.....BUT, he let the dentist look in his mouth with a flash light. So....it was kind of a win. And I kind of gave in and got him a special toy at Target for his small accomplishment. P.S....I LOVED his pediatric dentist and her office. I give her 10 stars.

• Ate a fruit snack off the floor that could possibly have been there for a few days...because I needed some sugar and the kitchen was too far away. And because I have officially hit rock bottom.

• Had a great dinner with my awesome best friend, without my kids being all up in our business. I mean, technically, they were still there... but thanks to the play ground at Los Cucos, they were not REALLY there. It was delightful. 
  
  
• Took the boys to their first professional baseball game! Zack is a huge Cincinnati Reds fan, so our sweet friends invited us to the game when they played the Astros. I love these pictures so freaking much....And, Jonathan stood like that, with his little glove up in the air, forever!! He was so sad he didn't catch a ball. I mean really, how sad is that picture!?

• Watched the same episode of Duck Dynasty 3 different times. That show is beyond hilarious to my simple, reality TV tainted mind. As for all the rumors that it is scripted....I don't care. If it is scripted, then it's well written and makes me laugh. So...whatever. Keep doing whatever it is you guys are doing, A&E. 

• Attended the Living Water International charity gala. It was amazing. Seriously. If you are looking for a charity to become involved in, I suggest this one. They do awesome stuff. Not to mention it was pretty fun to get dressed up, go out without kiddos, eat a great dinner and hear some amazing speakers from around the world....all of whom love the Lord. Unfortunately, this was the best picture we got before hand.....if this doesn't describe our relationship, I don't know what does.

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  Overall, a pretty solid week. I could have gone without the dentist situation and probably should refrain from eating the kids snacks off the floor....but whatever. We all have our issues. (and I can't, for the life of me, get rid of that random bullet point next to our picture....I am the worst.)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Epic.

What I witnessed this morning at the dentist, can only be described as "epic." And not in a good way. But in an, "oh, mother of all craziness, that kid is not human..." kind of way.... Let me preface this by saying that I really do love my dentist office. The staff is super sweet and man, did they give it their best effort. The responsibility of this rests solely on the shoulders of my over dramatic son. And maybe mine....since I am in charge of raising him. But for the sake of my sanity, we will say it is all on him.

Jonathan has been to the dentist like 4-5 times already. He always cries a little, usually refuses to comply and makes a scene. But it is usually pretty fast and up until now, he was small enough that it could be considered cute and sad. So, knowing what I was in for, I started preparing him about a week ago. Lots of talk about the dentist....books, TV shows, practice etc...He recently got a spin brush, so he was even used to the noise and movement in his mouth. I thought we were good. The kid even let me floss his teeth last night! So, this morning, we showed up armed with Cailou on the iPad, tons of pictures to look at on my iPhone, books, juice, fruit snacks for after and a standing bribe of a new truck if he was brave. 

2 minutes... That's how long he lasted once we went back before he lost his cool. Literally, as soon as we sat down he started crying. Oh! And did I mention Matthew was with us? Ha! Luckily, he was pretty chill and looking at pictures on my phone. The hygienist then let me know that we are going to do his first round of x-rays today....just two little pictures. Surprisingly, Jonathan let her put the weighted vest on him (I put one on too) and, for a second, I thought we were going to dodge the bullet.  Oh, how naive I was. The SECOND she showed him the bite wing (I think that's what it is called) he started screaming. Not just a little scream....but a bloody murder, being mauled by a bear in the middle of a wild fire scream. There was no reasoning with him, so I just started to cram that stupid thing in his mouth. The hygienist tried her hardest to make it work, but my boy is strong. AND LOUD. And can clamp his teeth closed like a freaking wild animal trap. At this point, Matthew, as if hearing some kind of secret brother message being sent by battle cry, started crying his opposition to the situation. So we give up on the x-rays for a minute and take the vests off. She wheeled Matthew back into the room and he calms down and goes back to looking at pictures, apparently convinced that the danger to his brother has passed. Jonathan even calmed down for a minute. 

So she gets the mirror (which we talked a lot about this week) and starts looking around. All was fine, until she used a little pointer to COUNT HIS TEETH. She was barely even touching them and definitely was not hurting him. Brother Man LOST IT. At this point, there was screaming, snotting, crying, shaking, kicking, attempting to roll himself out of the chair....it was bad. I am trying to shove Cailou in his face, which makes him cry louder. But let's be honest....doesn't that weird little bald kid freak you out too? So he throws the iPad to the floor in an act of protest. Matthew then throws my iPhone to the floor in an act of solidarity with his brother. Who knew these two were so tight? At this point, they are both screaming, but I was NOT giving in. I took Jonathan to the bathroom, gave him a "come to Jesus" talk, and marched him back to the chair. He stayed chill for like 30 seconds and the hygienist was able to polish half of his teeth...and he was cool with that. I think he realized that it felt like his tooth brush....Then she made a fatal error. She brought out the spit sucker. And that was it. Through his snotty screams, he kept yelling, "PLEASE! Can I go home and go to time out and get a spanking!?!" PLEASE!" That's right....my son would rather have a spanking and go to time out, than sit through the dentist. I actually asked the her if she could just do her work while his mouth was wide open and screaming, you know, cram those tools in their in between wails....She looked at me like I was an idiot and said "Uh, well....we have other clients." Oh, yeah...right....we aren't alone in here. 

And so, we left. Having had NOTHING done but half of his teeth polished. In a brief moment of "I'm the most terrible Mom in the world," I told him his teeth were all going to fall out at home because he was so awful at the dentist. Of course, this made him scream louder. So, I took the march of shame with my two wild chimpanzees, one of which was yelling "I don't want my teeth to fall out!" and the other crying for no good reason.

Ya'll....I cried the whole way home. I have NEVER been as embarrassed as I was walked out of that office. And you know what, my little guy was just scared. That's all it was. HE. WAS. PETRIFIED. He calmed down on the way home and spent some alone time in his room chilling out. We talked about things when he was ready to come out....he was just terrified and had no idea how to tell me that. If you know Jonathan, you know he is a pretty sensitive guy. He is scared to death of Monkey Joes (one of those inflatable bouncy house places) and covers his ears any time there is a loud noise. The kid closed his eyes for like half of the shark ride at the Aquarium....he is just sensitive. So this? This sent him over the edge. You live and learn I guess. As much as I love my dentist, I came straight home and made an appointment for him with a pediatric dentist. A place with more toys, kids movies, private rooms and special "non-gag" bite wings. Will it make a difference? Who knows....but I have to try.

So that's how I got here....sitting on the couch, eating brownies and downing my 3rd diet Coke of the day.

Random Thoughts

And now...a brain dump. Because, at this point in time, that's all I can offer.

The other day, I was getting onto Jonathan for something crazy he was doing and he looked at me, serious as day, and said "Mommy. You need to CHILL OUT!".....I am not sure if that is a mom fail or a win. I mean, obviously, I say that to him too much and probably could find better words to use....but, it also shows that he is listening to me and understands the use of context. So, that's a win in my book.

Today, I was in the middle of vacuuming the floor and I looked over to see Matthew covered in granola bar crumbs. Use your imagination to figure out what I did next....Let's just say, Matthew is now as clean as my living room rug.

I had to bring Jonathan home sick today during recess. First of all, there are few things as sad as a little guy with a high fever. Second, there are few things as sad as taking a little guy away from his friends on the playground. When we went back up to school a few hours later to get Matthew, Jonathan asked if he could go eat lunch with his friends....Brother was in a time warp. He totally thought his friends were still on the playground and about to go eat lunch. Oh, and I think he might have West Nile. Like, for serious.

School started last week and it has been a whirlwind! We have lots of new, sweet friends in our class and I am so excited about getting to know each of their fun personalities! One little girl looked at me yesterday and said "Mrs. Katy....when I get older, I am going to college!" Rock on sister, rock on. Oh, how I love my job. And my own kids couldn't have been any cuter walking into school on the first day :)

I watch Here Comes Honey Boo Boo. No shame here. And if I am being totally honest, I kind of want to live in that family. Okay, maybe not forever, but at least for a day or so. I think it would be hilarious. Actually, you know what would be hilarious? A family gathering of Duck Dynasty and Honey Boo Boo peeps.....Seriously, my brain hurts thinking about the awesomeness. 

Matthew has recently started getting super brave around the house. Which is a nice way of saying that he basically thinks he can do whatever he wants. This is a tough age for me, discipline wise at least. You really can't reason with him yet, and time outs/spankings don't make much headway....but the kid needs to be reigned in. (That green thing is his humidifier, which he took apart and found the water, then splashed around in until I came in and found him red handed.)

Hope you are all having a great week too! Life is all kinds of crazy around here right now. And you know what? It's awesome.

We need help.....like, for real.

I give up. 

I am waving the white flag.

I am asking begging for the help of all you amazing, parents of the year out there. 

My kids refuse to sleep. Between the two of them, we have been awake multiple times a night for the past 2 weeks. Not to mention, up for the day long before the sun. I seriously need help getting back into our normal routine. Wait, scratch that. I don't even care if it is our normal routine. I just want them to sleep through the night and not wake up at some ungodly hour. Is that too much to ask!? Every single night, for the past two weeks, one of these scenarios has happened....

Scenario #1. Matthew wakes up SCREAMING in the middle of the night and cries for about 20 minutes. If I make the mistake of actually going in to check on him, it can go on for as long as 2 hours. He is then exhausted from his middle of the night escapades and sleeps until 7:00. However, Jonathan decides to wake up at 5:55. And now, he can open his door.....so he comes busting into my room at 6:00 yelling "I HAVE TO POOP!" Apparently, his new "bathroom time" is at the crack of dawn. This has happened 3 days in a row. 

Scenario #2. Matthew actually sleeps all night, but wakes up at 5:20 (as was the case this morning)....I let him cry for 20 minutes, trying to show him that we wake up when the sun wakes up. Unfortunately, Matthew's screaming woke up Jonathan. Now, both boys are awake at 5:55. 

And so that you know what we have already tried....I took Matthew to the doctor to check all the normal culprits (ears, throat etc...) and everything checked out. We have tried Motrin before bed just in case some random pain was waking him up. We have tried going in to check on him and not going in. Changing his diaper, not changing his diaper. We altered bed time and nap time, limited nap time sleep and, another time, let him sleep as long as he wanted. Nothing matters. Nothing changes. He still wakes up.

For Jonathan....we have had LOTS of talks about not coming out of his room until the sun comes up. We have shown him to go to the bathroom and then walk back to his room, we showed him how to turn on his light so that he could play in his room until the sun woke up....Nothing helps. He is still in our room at 5:55. Especially if Matthew is already screaming.

So please....PLEASE.....help us. Share your guaranteed trick to get these kids to sleep better. Matthew is 1 1/2 and Jonathan is 3 1/2...I am willing to reward the winning idea with cookies. Or cake. Or cupcakes.....I don't really care. I just want to sleep.

But today....today was a good day.

So, I know that my blog tends to lean towards the outrageous and seriously ridiculous days in the life of my family....but, lest you think we never have good days, I wanted to share how things went down today. It was one of those days where everything just works. The stars aligned and God was smiling down on us. And more than once, I found myself saying (out loud...) "Dang girl, you've got this!"

Interestingly enough, the day didn't start that great. Matthew is in a TERRIBLE routine of waking up at like 5:30 and then screaming at the top of his lungs until I go in and get him. Unfortunately for him, his Mama is just as stubborn as he is and I refuse to go in before 6:00. So he cried forever. Then woke Jonathan up. So, we were all up before dawn. If you have ever wondered what totally exhausted, yet stubbornly awake kids look like.....

After we watched way too many episodes of Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, I was able to convince both boys to eat their breakfast. And I didn't even give them cold cereal....I made them scrambled eggs and fruit! And they ate it! Win #1.

Since my training didn't start until 10:00, I was able to fit in an at home work out. Granted, it was on my driveway and the little boys standing at the bus stop may or may not have been laughing at me....but whatever. 

(Broken record alert....) I got to "start" the new year today with in-service at school. I LOVE MY JOB. Seriously. Love it. I love the people I work with, my bosses, my students....I just love it. So I was actually pretty excited about going in today and seeing everybody. It didn't hurt that my awesome bosses brought in Rudy's breakfast tacos for breakfast and pizza for lunch. If y'all know me at all, you know I have always been able to be talked into ANY meeting if there is food provided. That hasn't changed. Win #2.

At the end of the day, I went to pick up the boys from the child care rooms at school and I found Matthew still napping on his nap mat. This is very rare as he typically doesn't nap well at school. When I went to wake him up, I just looked at him for a minute.....he is getting so old. 100 times a day he reminds me that he is getting so old....but in that moment, as I kneeled there next to him, I realized that he is still my baby. Still my little baby who cuddles with his blankie as he sleeps. My baby who snores, ever so quietly, when he is deeply asleep. My baby who wakes up with crazy hair and sleep marks across his face. Although VERY quick, the moment was a gift. MEGA win #3.

I talked myself into going to the gym after training for some cardio...you know, in order to work off my 1st and 2nd breakfasts, pizza lunch, and candy desserts. Win #4.

To finish off our day, we headed to Skeeters to support a sweet little boy fighting for his life. Gotta love restaurants that are willing to give money to kids that need it. I went alone since Zack lives at his office, and if you can believe it, my kids were awesome. There was no screaming or throwing food. No running away from me, no crying because they couldn't drink their dinner (in milk form....) and they even ATE! This is a win, in and of itself. The only craziness came in the form of Matthew getting creative with his crayons....please note the green crayon coming out of his ear and the brown crayon bits around his mouth......that came from eating it. 

So, there you go. Most of our days are nutty. But every now and then, God throws me a bone and gives me a day like today.