PRACTICE FOR LATER

For the moms like myself that don't have much time to watch the early morning shows or search youtube for goodies, here's the Mom's William Tell Overture seems perfect training for when baby gets just a little older. This lady shoots all the directives in the span of a few minutes that moms of school age children parcel out during the course of any given day.

I don't have to deal with Ipods or problems with the little ones texting at the dinner table yet. My little ones are not old enough to know much more than cellphones are the way we call Mawmaw to tell her something wonderful we saw at the park or the zoo. But, the rest of the stuff like eat what's on your plate, don't sit too close, etc. etc. all ring true.

I will have to listen to the video again when I have a little more time to focus to see if there are other lyrics of her Mom's take on the William Tell Overture that apply to me and the average day in the life of the mom of many.

I noticed on the program where the mom was interviewed that her children were in their early to late teens. This gave me pause as I wondered whether I would still be telling the kids to comb their hair and don't be late when they get that age!
I wonder if there are ways to teach and discipline while they are young that will get that out of their system before they get to high school! I certainly hope so, big kids are so much harder to intimidate!

So, what do we do to avoid having to commit ourselves to a constant stream of orders until the kids leave home to go to college? Suggestions?

DON'T FORGET THE STROLLER

Against all odds we managed to make a zoo trip yesterday. It was the last day of that some of the exhibits were open and I was determined to make the trip. It was Cass' first time to stroll through and Lyndi and Allyson had not seen the exhibits that I mentioned.

The umbrella stroller was at Mamaw's house (of course) so we had to jam the BOB into the hatch. The danger in this was that even in the collapsed state, it was impossible to keep some of the frame from being lodged against the glass of the door. The prospect of hauling one and possibly two solidly built little girls through the zoo was not appealing, busted door glass or no. The BOB had to fit one way or the other. I wound up dumping some of the other contents in the middle of the carport (they're still there) and engaging in plenty of pushing and twisting to get it wedged in place, but ultimately I was able to slam the door shut without hearing anything crack.

Things started off well enough, but 30 miles into the journey there began to be signs of stress from the three sisters in the back seat. The complaints ranged from the usual "She's hogging the seat" to "Her finger is too close to me". Her FINGER?

Then the biggest one started to complain that the oversized stroller was pushing her seat into an uncomfortable position. I explained to her that there was no easy fix for this and she would just have to make do. Then the middle one started to say her head was beginning to hurt and she was sure it was from the stroller tapping and scraping against the hatch door every time I hit a bump.

Finally, we arrive at our destination! I wrestled the stroller to the ground and loaded the underseat storage area with everything but the kitchen sink. I went around the vehicle to unbuckle the littlest one and place her in the stroller (which operates like a dream, it's just big or my hatch is too small)raving about all the cool stuff she was about to see and then.....

she starts to scream that she doesn't WANT TO RIDE IN THE "CROLLER" she wants mommy to carry her!

And wouldn't you know, I had left the aspirin at home.

Cool Weather Doesn't Mean I Can Quilt

I finally got the nice cool weather I'd been asking for. FINALLY! Now I'm in the mood to do all those crafts and stuff it's been too hot to do! I'd love to make a baby quilt but I am just not sure that I know my way around a frame or a hoop or whatever you have to have to make a quilt.


Now, I'm on the lookout for quilt patterns for babies. I'm too impatient to sew by hand, but the sewing machine should move things right along if I could just figure out how to keep the bobbin thread from getting all twisted up. Just because it's cooler outside doesn't mean that my needlework will improve, does it?

Three Year Olds and Church

Well, now I've been humbled before, but DH got it GOOD Wednesday night. I'm telling you he came in from work with his stinger out ready to scrap (verbally of course) with any and everybody.

The girls knew to give a wide berth to their ill tempered daddy. We didn't even make the mistake on this particular afternoon to say, "What's wrong?" Apparently kids learn from their mistakes. Once or twice a year this mood hits and in the past we asked...we quickly found out either we really don't care or we really don't want to know.

The evening moved forward and at 6:30pm we headed out to church leaving hubby and his snarky mood behind in the wake of three girls going for religious training. Classes let out and we congregated for a closing moment in the main sanctuary. At the end, the pastor always asks for prayer requests and lo and behold who raises her hand like a shot? My Cass and wouldn't you know it she was two rows in front of me out of reach and she PRETENDED to be out of earshot, too!

The pastor might have thought he was going to skim over her, but not my Cass! When he failed to acknowledge her raised hand, she called his name! OH LAWD!!! Right in the middle of church. I suppose he felt he had no choice but to call on her and he did so. She rang out clear as a bell that she wanted prayer for her daddy because he was acting UGLY! This child whom even I have trouble understanding at times spoke without so much as a lisp when telling off on one of her parents! Ouch!

Who am I to argue with success? When we got home he had calmed down and was darn near apologetic! Thank you Jesus!

CAMO BABY STUFF - WRONG MESSAGE? Or JUST RIGHT FOR FALL?

Hubby and I went shopping Sunday in search of some jeans for him. For some reason he thinks that the jeans at Goody's are the best. I wasn't enthusiastic about going there because I just don't care for their lines of lady's clothing. Since I was there anyway I thought I'd take a look at their baby clothing.

The only thing that caught my eye was some pink camouflage pants with matching pink or green tops that were colorful and cute. The price was good and the fabric seemed sturdy and I almost picked a pair of pants and a top up to buy. Then it struck me that we are neither a military family nor do we hunt. It almost seemed that I would be sending an incorrect message about who we were by buying the camouflage clothes for the baby.

I see camouflage strollers for boys and girls, camouflage diaper bags for dads and camouflage baby bedding and nursery themes. Are hunters and soldiers children the only customers for these baby items or are they considered the same as any print and to be enjoyed by anybody? I mean we wear duck and kitty cat prints and we don't own either as a pet. So is camo print the same thing? Just a pattern with no meaning? I certainly would love to hear some thoughts and comments on this one!

Do people think kids wearing camo are affiliated with a hunting camp or a branch of the military or just wearing trendy clothes for fall?

BROWN TICKS, BABIES and the CIRCUS

What do brown ticks and babies have to do with fashion? Well, not very much but this baby story deserves to be blogged because it was so cute that I wanted to share it with our visitors. Sometimes real life stuff trumps new fall designer clothes for babies.

The children were playing in the front yard yesterday and once when the ball the were playing with bounced into a wooded area, the older of the girls ventured into the brush to fetch it. She was the hero of the afternoon's activities. Even the toddler recognized bravery and her act of self sacrifice was rewarded with cheers and enthusiastic applause. As the adult in charge, I saw the relief on the hero's face that she made it in and out of the underbrush with no injuries, snake bites or other mishaps. At least that's the way it seemed at the time.

That night the order was administered for all to ready for bathtime as per the normal routine. I was finishing up the dishes when our two year old came toddling
into the kitchen lisping that Ninny Bayuh (Lyndy Beth) has a "ticket". I was mildly inquisitive but nothing alarming about a "ticket" right? I remembered there was a pre-school "circus" coming up so I thought teacher had passed some free tickets to the kids. So, on I go putting up plates and cups.

This went on a few more minutes and I saw that the little one was looking at me with that "What kind of mother are you?" look on her face. I gave pause and said, "Wow! Sissy has a ticket! That's so nice!" Now things began to get serious as her little face crumpled and she told me that I was just MEAN!

Confused as I was I followed her down the hall directing her to get ready for her bath! She cut left into the bathroom and I considered cutting a hard right into the nursery to pick up a few clothes while they were entertained in their baths. I don't know why, but my eyes veered to the left behind little one and I saw Lyndy inspecting her tummy while perched on the side of the tub.

I headed over to see what was so fascinating about her belly button and found that she had not come through her heroic moment unscathed. Yes, you guessed it; a nasty engorged blood sucker was fastened to my brave little girl's stomach. ICK!!! She was not nearly as upset as I was at this time, but when I fished the tweezers out of the drawer and told her I'd have to pull it out she wasn't very pleased to say the least.

So, that's the connection between brown deer ticks, babies and a circus. Ok, so now tell me about YOUR day!

SOCK MONKEYS!

Clothes with a big grinning monkey printed or embroidered on them are all over the place this fall. I can remember my mom making me sock monkeys as a kid. She said everybody had one when she was coming up. I can remember one mean little kid making fun of mine and I hid it behind the toybox so mom wouldn't notice that I didn't play with it anymore.
I'm sure she notice, but didn't say a word. I wonder what my little ones hide from me now so that "I" won't get my feelings hurt. I wonder if small children will ever appreciate the time we take to do special things for them? As I sit here and type, I realize that mean little girl was probably jealous. I should've told her to sit on a tack.

LEOPARD PRINT STUFF for BABY! CUTE BABY LEOPARD FAUX FUR BABY CARRIER COVERS

I saw some pictures of a cute leopard print baby sleeper that I might get Cass for fall. I could pin on a tail and voila instant Halloween costume! There's never been a lot of stuff out there in wild animal prints for babies that I like, but what goodies I'm finding right now in leopard and cheetah patterns are pretty cool!

I even found a baby carrier in leopard. I don't care how cute the carrier is, it's gotta be comfy! Cute don't get it when it comes to carrying a heavy baby!

The Jean Debate at My House

I adore my designer jeans although to be honest, there are days that they don't seem to fit the same as they did on the day that I found them on sale. (wonder why?) Anybody else have this issue? I could care less as the day you get a discount on these cool jeans is a red letter day and I'm thankful for each and every moment of the days they fit my tush nicely because these jeans are so cool!

Anyway, am I wrong to think that my rear deserves expensive designer blue jeans but not my girls? I really don't want my sweet little baby girl to be "hot", I don't even want to consider her lukewarm at the moment. Did I mention that these jeans are pricey as heck? Yep, they are in the $200.00 range or thereabouts,(I paid less than that for my Johnny jeans!) Matching mommy and baby girl jeans might be cute but not at that price.

THE CLOTHING CRUNCH

Somehow I've never made the following connection:
Child and shoes and Polo or Ralph Lauren, have you? I suppose I was just out in the ozone because some of the most popular baby clothes out there are sporting the pony logo. For those of you just tuning in that would be the logo featuring a polo player with mallet (is that what it's called?) lifted high with an even higher price tag.

It's my motto that baby girls are only baby girls for a very short while and that i want to dress them as cute as can be, but how we can afford some of this stuff in the stores? Grief! I seem to be obsessing about clothing prices lately and I even promote some of the stuff on another site, but things really seem to be getting out of hand in kids clothes. Then again, my clothes don't seem to be as expensive as they once seemed. Is that just me justifying getting a new outfit?

Finally Cooler Temps

Finally, some cooler days. Business has really picked up and am I glad.

I finally finished the baby bedding set that I was working on.
Even though I'm no huge fan of bright (and I do mean BRIGHT) green, the John Deere Decor kind of fits in with the season. After all it's harvesting time and all.

Not so Fast

I just scanned yesterday's post and I can't believe how energetic I sounded. I don't feel very energetic today, that's for sure.

The babies just didn't sleep very well last night. Thunder woke them up, I think. I'm tired and they are testy. Cass got into something that has flared her allergies up something awful. On top of that when I was shampooing the carpet she slipped and bumped her chin on the hearth. She told her Mawmaw on the telephone she had a "goose egg" on her chin.

First Entry

Ok, I'm the lady you saw in the grocery and asked if my babies are twins and I said, no they were just born that close together.

Nine months apart almost to the day due to a premature hatching of nub number two.

Everything I own is double, duo or twin. And guess what....I'm pregnant again. Yep.

I had two choices:

(a) to whimper, piss and moan about how it's just not fair and how tired I am all the time or

(b) to do it in style and have fun

I have chosen option b.

I plan to shop till I drop and do the kid thing to the unth degree.

I'm gonna decorate, dress-up, do Santa, Halloween...you name it. I'm gonna have a blast if it kills me. Am I coming off manic? Don't knock it, mania may be all that's keeping me on my feet at times! HA