Blame game

The boys were goofing off at bedtime the other night, and I went upstairs to reprimand them. I had already been up once, and told them NOT to get out of bed. When I opened their door, Sam was still laying in his bed, but with a stricken look on his face, and Jack was standing frozen next to Sam's bed, half smiling and half afraid of my wrath! Sam said right away "I stayed in my bed!" and Jack pointed at Sam and said, totally seriously, "But HE made it fun!"

My silly kids

We have been overtaken by tiny bugs. Terminix has come once, but the bugs will not go away! They are some kind of tiny shelled bug, and they appear at every doorway all day long. Yuck. No one in this house hates bugs like Jackson, and yestday after discovering some in the laundry room doorway, he wanted me to get rid of them. I was busy getting Claire and Olivia, both asleep, from the car into the house, and as I snapped a pic of Liv with my cell phone to text to Ryan, Jackson came to the doorway and said "What are you doing, Mom? It doesn't really seem like you're doing anything about this bug situation."
Good observation, and yet... ;-)

Angel baby

Oh my poor, sweet, child number four...there are no pics posted here yet, and no posts about your size, what you're doing, etc. The camcorder is rarely pulled out, and the camera (which was used daily with our first, despite the exorbitant cost of developing at Ritz, the two unemployed parents, and the fact that it was a film camera) is used only a few times a week. It's certainly not that we love you less, because that could never be true. You are beautiful, you are sweet, and we love you very, very much. It's just that there are so many kids now, and we are outnumbered and crazily busy! My day today was a race from getting ready this morning to taking the boys to school, taking Liv to ballet, running errands, picking the boys up from Lucky lunch after school, baking/decorating cupcakes for Jack's class party tomorrow, cleaning and finding a sitter for tomorrow morning while washing the karate uniforms, dashing to karate class, then off to the CFF fundraiser at Friendly's until we were home and I showered with the three older kiddos and had them in bed by 9:30. And that is not really so terribly busy of a day. Life is just that way right now, and I love it, despite being exhausted all the time.
Dear Claire, you were four weeks old yesterday. You are spending more time alert and have "smiled" at the kids, though I'm not entirely sure we have seen a genuine smile yet. You aren't fussy at all. Your Daddy has named you "Angel baby" because you have yet to keep us up at night. I don't think you have cried at all at night, and you are so pleasant 99% of the time. You are holding your head up so well, and your siblings continue to ADORE you, smothering you with kisses all the time. Even though it may seem at times that you are being shortchanged, just remember how many people you have to love you and look out for you, and you will know you are so very lucky.

Bathtime adventures

Overheard tonight during bathtime
Sam, to Jack: "I smelled your heinie and it smells like pineapple a....n....d (thoughtful pause) GLUE."

Jack, incredulous: "REALLY? Try it again!"

I laughed until I cried. Kids, gotta love em!

Claire Allison is here!!!

Claire Allison was born Wednesday, March 3, 2010 at 6:42 p.m. at 8 pounds, 14 ounces, and 21 inches long. Labor was LOOOONG, starting at 8:15 am and stalling out several times. But in the end, getting from 7 cm to holding a clean baby in my arms was approximately 30 minutes, so she made up for it!
So far, she has a very sweet temperament, tolerating the older kids with ease, sleeping and eating and pooping just like a baby should. Nights have been relatively easy, and she has had absolutely no day/night confusion. (KNOCK ON WOOD!!!) The siblings ADORE her and smother her with adoration and kisses all the time! Olivia calls her "My cutie pie" and "My pooh bear" and I have to PUSH Sam away multiple times a day. He is very protective of her, asks to hold her ALL the time, and kisses her all day long. Hopefully things will stay this way, but we'll see...

D day

The due date has come and gone, and still no baby. I am two days late right now, and the back pain, contractions (but without rhythm) and discomfort is becoming debilitating. I am scheduled for an induction on Thursday (March 4) and while it is nice to know there is an end in sight, I also feel some sadness at missing out on the spontaneous labor experience; the excitement of the first regular contractions, the race to the hospital, the unknown. But the planner in me loves the fact that my mother arrived tonight, the kids' clothes have been laid out for the next three days, their schedule has been written, backpacks packed, laundry done, and house all cleaned up. Going into labor on my own in the next 36 hours would be perfection. But we'll see! I have grown increasingly tired of the anxiety of everyone around me about the arrival of the baby, and want to scream "I WANT HER TO COME MORE THAN ANY OF YOU, and if I knew WHEN it was going to happen I would be a billionaire!!!! BUT THANKS FOR ASKING!"
The kids have grown with excitement each day and while I know there will be jealousy, I hope they will love their baby sister as much as they think they will!

Mmmmkay, time to get my heinie back in gear!

SO much has happened since my last post. We've had oodles of snow, Christmas, school parties, Sam's birthday party, Valentine's Day, and Livi started school and ballet. We have redone the nursery in anticipation of baby Claire, gotten back our precious next door neighbors who moved to Nashville for 6 months, and had tons of fun!
And with the best intentions, I will for SURE go back and update to include all that stuff, complete with pictures. And fairies will sprinkle pixie dust all over my house, which will be clean and organized, and my kids will behave. Oh yeah, right. None of that stuff is actually gonna happen, so I guess I should just vow to do better from here and begin again.
SOOOOOO, Claire is officially due in 5 days. I was 2 cm dilated as of this morning, and Dr. Wiles attempted to get the ball rolling, so we'll see what happens from here. This pregnancy has been a fairly easy one, once I got past the treacherous first trimester when I couldn't eat...or get off the couch...or survive. BUT since then it has been pretty easy, and even here at the end, I think it has been easier than my others, but I am just ready to Have.This.Baby.Already. I thought that since this is most likely my last baby, I would feel more sadness at the end. But not so much. I'm sure it will come with a vengeance after the baby is born, but right now I just want her to come out, meet her excited siblings, and be able to hold her in my arms.
Olivia talks about baby "Cwaiwa" all the time. I think she will eventually love having a sister, so that in the moments when the boys are playing the wii together and Ryan and I are working on a project, she won't have to disappear into the playroom alone like she does now, but will have her own partner in crime to share her tea parties, fill her dollhouse, and wear princess costumes. Right now, she tells me I am her "best fwend in da whole wowod" and melts my heart. We have "girl power" together, and we comb each other's hair. We sing princess songs, paint our fingernails, pick out adorable clothes, and love pink. I look forward to sharing those things with Claire, and having a special relationship with her, but at the same time hope Olivia and I don't lose our magic.
She loves school and adores her "bawaweena cwass" (ballerina class), and is such a joy in so many ways. For her second day of school, she was so concerned that the boys might make her late for school, she made them get dressed, put on their shoes, and get in the car. I turned around from pouring my coffee and all three kids were in the car waiting to go...a full 25 minutes early. She loves the boys, takes care of them, and demands that they take care of her too. On Wednesday as I chatted with another mom in the parking lot after picking her up from school, she was tugging on my arm, pleading with me to hurry up "I want to see my BOYS! Come ON Mommeeee, I need to see my BOYS!" They carry things around for her, hang up her towel, make her bed, and help her use the computer.
Jackson has changed so much since turning 5. He is definitely seeking some independence, and tends to be a bit more difficult than he used to be. He is sent to his room alot more, and struggles between wanting to please, and wanting to take care of his younger siblings, and being terribly jealous that they get their way so often. When he wants to be sweet, he is painfully sweet, but when he wants to be rotten... well... he excels! He still loves art, and will sit at the table to draw, color, and write for long periods of time. Olivia often joins him, but Sam...not so much. The boys have become rather obsessed with video games since getting the Wii from Grandpa for Christmas, and DS's from Santa. While I welcome the quiet time it provides for ME, I know we need to be firmer with our limitations on screen time.
Sam has been a sweetheart lately. He definitely is all boy and tends to get a little wild sometimes, but genuinely wants to help and make others happy. Anytime I need someone to bring me something, he's my man. He does his bath by himself, wipes himself, and is so looking forward to "the new baby sister." He loves karate (especially dodgeball) and continues to thrive at school. He is so smart, and so funny, and definitely keeps us on our toes.
SO come on out, Claire, and meet your family! Here's hoping for a baby soon!