We Have Pink, People! We Have Pink!

Living in a house of boys can be  is loud, dirty, smelly and really BLUE! I trip over tool belts, step on legos, and read stories about dinosaurs. I throw footballs, climb trees and teach my boys how to be secret spies in the backyard. I stop to admire the snakes slithering along the trail, gather up slugs, and go on bug hunts.

I have joked about being the mom of three bustling boys. It goes something like this: "Hubs, if you come home and find me decked out in heels (which I rarely wear), gallons of make-up, and wearing layer after layer of ruffles you will know that I have hit my testosterone limit for the day."

After scrubbing and wiping and mopping (and encouraging some big-little, responsible party fingers to help) the crevices around our potty chairs, I decided it is high time to have a girly stamp in an area that was becoming less and less enjoyable to be in. Introducing Pink into a world of boys. Not too much, but just enough!
                                                                           Before:

We had already taken down the flat edge- less mirror when I took the photo. Bleh.

After:

B.P.s Are On The Brain (and I'm ready for a break!)

B.P.s? What are those you ask? Let me give you a hint or two. We I plan them months in advance. They are  for me little people. They are meant to be fun and celebratory. They are elaborately planned. They are work fun! And the guesses are?

Yup...birthday parties. We've been in full B.P. season now since October, planning and executing just two parties (though one had to be cancelled and rescheduled because of the flu - yuck!, so if truth be told it felt like three parties).

My first rule for throwing a birthday party: robust party favors. Yes, robust. No cheesy dollar store plastic disposable toys here. I want the kiddos who are taking the time out of their parents' busy schedules to walk away with a toy/item with real staying power. Something that lasts longer than a day. Something that will remind them of the party they were at. Not a bad rule, really, but generally for me it's a time consuming rule.

My second rule for throwing a birthday party: easy on the budget. I don't care for the word cheap. 'Cheap' has never really been my thing. 'Frugal' is just a nicer way of saying 'cheap.' Parties need to be affordable. Doable. Easy on the wallet. Not a bad rule either, but sometimes a little harder to follow since I'm not stopping in the dollar store to buy my party favors.

And rule number three? Maybe the most important rule of the entire party: planning, planning and more planning. The more I'm planned, the more I'm prepared. The more I'm prepared the more I can prevent possible obstacles throughout the day. This same rule applied to my teaching days and I stick by it 100% when planning a get together of a lot of busy little bodies. Otherwise there's chaos. You know the kind - kids   bouncing off walls, tables, each other. I don't do so well with chaos.

Here's a sneak peek at some of the parties that have been occupying my brain this last year:

                                                                     H's Owl Party

O's Soccer Party

C's Robot Party

All the parties were a success, though some were more fun than others. I'll certainly take that into consideration the next time I'm planning a party. 

   

Time Flies

It's about time, isn't it? I mean, really...little C looks nothing, I repeat, NOTHING like he did in the last post.He is now a very precocious 20 month old who is decidedly more of a risk taker than his big brothers. He'squick as a wink, both in toddle and in wit. His language is clear and his sentences are growing by the day. Some may think that now that I have three very mobile boys I must have more time on my hands to recreate (aka write posts about life as The W5). Ha! Fooled you. Did I mention that C is precocious? He is in to absolutely, I repeat, ABSOLUTELY everything. It's only when he's in the 28" x 52" slatted safe house (aka crib) that I can get anything done. But he's darling. He's fun. He's sweet as can be. And I am madly in love.

Little C in a rare moment sitting still. 

A New Beginning

Eleven days after C was born I sent Hubby on a plane to the west coast for a couple of job interviews. I know what you, or anyone of reasonable mind, is thinking...'what was I thinking?' Don't worry - I had my mom with me helping to hold down the fort while I delicately balanced the new role of mom of three. She cooked...yum. She played. She gardened. She crafted. She showed me that life doesn't slow down one bit (to anyone who doesn't know - my mom courageously raised six children...how did she do it?). She made it look easy. And fun.

What came of that trip? We spent our summer sifting through our life in the Midwest, selling or giving away unused possessions. Our house was listed on the market and a large box semi was ordered for pick-up in mid-September. We decided to move west.

The big boys waited in anticipation, 'helped' pack box after box, and said their good-byes to friends through play dates at favorite parks around the city. None of us knew what to expect with our move - more family time, yes; more time in the mountains and by the water, yes; less bone chilling (below) zero degree winter days, yes! None of us could anticipate the friends we would meet on this new journey or what our life in our new corner of the world would look like. We just hoped and trusted that it would be good.

O double checking the size of the bag the boys would be using on our drive West. Yup, he fits!

Saying goodbye to our beloved babysitter!

Baker stuck close to the boxes (and the door!) for fear she would be left behind. 

Baby C being oh, so helpful (and darling, don't you think?).

The World Is Your Oyster!

Introducing the littlest one, C. We have spent ten long months waiting, dreaming and praying for him and he finally arrived in mid-May! I realize that most mothers are quick to announce the arrival of their little ones. I am no different, but somehow the time that has lagged between the arrival of baby and publishing this post has felt a little bit like a blink of the eye. With number three there is no idle time. No staying at home while you adjust to the new life you are supporting. No hesitation to keep going strong with daily routines and outings. Caring for three has meant things get put on the back burner. If you know me at all, you know that it won't ever be my children or my husband, but something has to. I've been slower to answer emails, slower to fold the baskets of laundry, slower to sit down and take a break.

But as I look at my precious little one I am of course reminded of new beginnings and fresh starts. Instead of dreaming about what he will look like and how my other boys will adjust to life interrupted, I am thinking about the possibilities that lie ahead for C. What will he dream of. What things will inspire him? What will his passions be? I am thrilled to be a part of that journey with him, guiding as best as I can, nurturing and nudging along the way.

The world is your oyster, C. The world is your oyster!

"I Think Getting Our Hair Cut Was A Gooder Idea Mommy!"

Raise your hand if you've ever gone through the car wash. Now raise your hand if you've ever gone through the car wash with one and a half screaming kids. Grrr....I should have known better.

Yesterday was that day for us. I was trying to kill some time with the boys so hubby could have a quiet house to study in and the choices were a) go get O's hair cut or b) go get the car washed. We attempted option a) first. Coupon in hand, a willing boy and we were set. But when we got there I could tell from just looking through the window that it was going to be a long wait. Yes, it's true that we wanted to kill some time, but waiting in a waiting room with no kiddo instruments (you know the kind - cars, books, dinosaur figurines) in hand might have been a disaster.

So I asked the boys if they would like to go through the car wash, to which the replied an enthusiastic, "YES!" Generally we would wash our car at home, but with hubby busy studying and my big belly screaming at me to clean everything in sight (not to mention protruding from my normal frame in such a way as to make it literally and physically impossible to accomplish such a feat) I decided to pay to let someone, or rather something, else do it for me.

I chatted with the boys about what they would see, thinking that prepping them might help alleviate any of the fear should there be any. "First, our car will be sprayed on like a rain storm. Then, it will spray soap and not just any soap. This soap will smell like bubble gum (side note: why on earth do car washes have bubble gum soap anyway? Like the scent of bubble gum is going to make the claustrophobic experience and the really loud rumble of the washers any less scary. Maybe they should add soothing music.). Next, the washers will come scrub the car. It might make a loud sound but it's like when we wash our selves with a foofie (I don't know the real name for those sponge balls people use in the shower/bath. At our house, they are simply "foofies."). The car needs a big foofie to be washed. And then we'll get a rain shower again and be done. Does that sound like fun?" Again, an enthusiastic, "YES," came from the back seat so off we went.

The first part of the car wash went off without a hitch. Wait in line - easy. Pay - good. Enter the car wash until the obnoxious buzzing sound told us to stop - fine. Gentle spray of water spraying our car wet - nice and soothing. Bubble gum soap - fascinating (O thought that we were being 'rainbowed'). Car wash foofies - not bad for the first minute, but what a long minute. I wasn't watching the car foofies during this time, I was watching the boys, trying to keep tabs on how they were doing emotionally. O looked curious. H looked curious...then sad...then scared. Then, whatever the word for more scared is, he looked it. Then it happened...the inside or our car erupted with the sounds that no parent enjoys hearing - loud, terrified screams, sobs and pleas from the littlest one of the bunch, "Me don't like car wash foofies. Stop Mommy. Stop."

Oh, buddy if I could have stopped the car wash and let us out I would have. It's horrifying to think that in that moment I was scaring my kiddo. I don't know how long that fear will last, but I do know that it was real and it was intense.

The rest of the day, evening and week was spent playing 'scary car wash,' with H's little fingers wiggling as if they were the foofie and his voice repeating,'Me no like car wash foofies,' over and over.

I don't like car wash foofies either. We won't be seeing them again any time soon.

Dinosaur Love

What I learned about dinosaurs...from my four year old!

1. Brachiasaurus is twelve kids tall! That's really tall.

2. The biggest dinosaur is Argentinasaurus.

3. Meat eaters have sharp teeth and lots of plant eaters have beaks.

4. Xenotarsosaurus - that one starts with an X, but it sounds like a Z.

5. Troodons they have great night eyes and they're omnivores. That means they eat meat AND plants.

6. Dome heads bonk heads with their crests. That might hurt. What is a dome head - pachysephalasaurus and stegaserus.

7. Buitre Raptors are smaller than robins. "Were there worms in dinosaur times?"

8. Euopolosephalis and ankylasaurus were 'tank' dinosaurs.

9. This is a long neck - shunosaurus - and he has a club on his tail!

10. Bird hipped dinosaurs and lizard hipped dinosaurs - a bird hipped dinosaur is archyopteryx and a lizard hipped dinosaur is a t-rex.

Hmmm...I learn a little something every day.