Halloween 2008

Preschool Day #2

Wyatt cried for a couple of minutes today when I dropped him off at preschool, but then was fine for the rest of the day. When I went to pick him up the teacher asked me if he likes to climb and I said yes why? She told me that he kept climbing onto the table during snack time and wouldn't get down. She said that she had to keep telling him to get down (Wyatt did not overhear her telling me this either). I waited until we got home and had the following conversation:

Me: "Did you listen to Ms. Rochelle at school today?"
Wyatt: "I climbed on the table"
Me: "So were you listening to Ms. Rochelle today?"
Wyatt: "No, not today. Maybe later."

At least you have to commend him on his honesty......

Is That Snow????

We had our first snowstorm of the year today! Maybe I should have the kids go Trick or Treating as Eskimos on Friday! I had no idea that it was going to be this cold by the end of October!!! The kids were fascinated by the snow and Wyatt kept saying "Mommy, the snow is coming out again"! They wanted to go and play in the snow and didn't understand that it wasn't sticking to the ground. In other news, Wyatt has become obsessed with changing his clothes several times a day. I have always heard people with girls talk about how their kids changed their clothes all of the time, but I never expected that Wyatt would get it that too! He will go upstairs for a nap and come down wearing something totally different. When I ask about it, he will say that he needed some new clothes because the other ones were dirty?!?! Plus, he absolutely insists on sleeping in his crib along with every pair of underwear that he owns. But, when he changes clothes, he leaves the old clothes in the crib, so John and I never know which of his clothes are clean. He may be wearing the same underwear for weeks on end...we can't figure it out!!!!

Preschool Day #1

Wyatt went to preschool for the first time today. He was excited to go and didn't mind when I left, but he cried after I was gone for most of the day. Poor little guy. I waited in the hall for about 30 minutes before I left the school, but he cried the whole time that I was in the hall. He kept asking his teacher "Is my Mommy coming back to get me?" and she would say "Yes" and then he would stop crying for a bit, but then he would start crying again and the cycle would continue. I made sure that he didn't see me out in the hall because he would never have stayed in the room if he knew that I was close by, but I wanted to make sure that he didn't become hysterical. My friend Carrie kept peeking in the window of his room for me and she said that she thought that he was just "sad". She said that he was still participating and following directions, but he was missing his Mommy. He sure was excited to see us when we came back to get him though. The boys and I spent the morning doing errands and brought Wyatt a pumpkin-shaped sugar cookie when we came to pick him up and he was as happy as a clam for the rest of the day! When I asked him what he did at school today Wyatt said "toys and phones". He also insisted on drinking juice with lunch which has never happened before and then told me that the juice was just like the juice that he had in school today and "don't fold the cup up or spill it!". It's funny the bits and pieces of his day that he decides to talk about! He also got school pictures taken today, which should be pretty interesting to see! I think that Thursday should go better now that he realizes that we will be coming back to take him home!

Prepped and Ready to Go!

Tomorrow is the big day! Wyatt starts preschool. We have done a lot of prep work talking about what to expect, but I am not sure how it will go! My big fear is that he will be fine and I will cry my eyes out when I leave my little guy at his new school! I am keeping my fingers crossed for both of us!

Drumroll Please.....

The epoxy floor is finished! It looks great! We are both exhausted...John from doing the epoxy floor and me from entertaining the kids away from home for two solid days to avoid smelling the fumes! We can use the floor in 72 hours! I am counting down the minutes!!!!!

Feeling Spooky

The boys each did a little ghost craft project today, without much help from me, and really enjoyed it! I may make crafting a regular part of our day since it killed about 40 minutes and everyone was happy at the same time. In other news, John and I cleaned out the basement storage area to get ready to do the epoxy floor and came across an interesting find! We found a roasting pan full of cooked meat covered in dead maggots! Yummy! I am not sure how long it has been down there (or how exactly it got there?!?!?), but at least a couple of months!!!! Needless to say we didn't try and save the pan and are both considering becoming vegetarians now! And finally, it was another PERFECT football weekend! Michigan State won, and University of Michigan and Ohio State both lost!

Power Outage

Yesterday we lost power for about 2 1/2 hours. It happened at 6 pm just after dinner and baths. John left to go to dinner with some people from work and I was meeting some girls for a movie and dessert. We had a babysitter lined up and I wasn't sure what to do. It gets pretty dark here now around 6:30 so I got some candles out. The kids were running around the house trying not to run into things and laughing hysterically because it was getting so dark. Wyatt kept asking me to try different light switches..."Mommy, turn this light on. No, try this light Mommy, etc". Finally when the lights had not come on by 7pm, I put Jonah and Sammy to bed. Our babysitter came over and I left Wyatt with her and went to my movie! It was kind of weird to leave her in a pitch dark house, but we had a working phone and John would be home within an hour, so I decided not to cancel my plans. This morning I asked Wyatt what he did with Logan and he said "we played legos and played with flashlights!". It sounds like they had a good time, so I guess that it wasn't such a bad thing after all!

A Visit

We went and visited Wyatt's new school today. He was really excited about it. They had lots of toys for the kids and they even have a fish in their classroom! He kept asking to go back after dinner, but I am not sure if he totally understands that he will be there by himself. We will be doing a lot of talking about school and what to expect before next week.

Here We Come!

We finally found a preschool that will accept Wyatt even though he misses the September 1st birthday cutoff! It is a church preschool near our house. He can start as early as next week if we are ready! It is 2 days a week for 2 hours. I am really excited for him. I think that he will really benefit from spending time with older kids instead of his baby brothers all day long! I am already getting a little sad that we will have 2 mornings without Wyatt, but I am sure that I can find stuff to do and will not be too bored without the big guy!!!

Swim Lessons Week #3

Swim lessons for Wyatt are getting a lot better each week. His listening skills are improving and he is starting to get excited at the idea of going to lessons! No pictures today.

Dirt Party #2

My friend Erin and her husband John hosted another dirt party for the kids at their landscape supply center. This time I took Jonah and Sammy and not just Wyatt. The kids were covered in dirt from head to toe and loving it! I can't think of a more exciting place for boys to hang out and play.

Painting Day 1

Tomorrow John will put the finishing touches on the paint for the basement. We are starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel! It will be so nice to have some extra space for the kids to play! I will post some pictures soon!

Ok, Seriously

Just when I feel like I have my head above water and am able to tread, the landscape changes again. After their afternoon naps, Jonah climbed out of his crib and came downstairs. Sammy, of course, was hysterical because he can't climb and so he watched helplessly from his crib as Jonah scaled the bars, climbed out, possibly waved on his way out, and left the room. (Samuel may have limited climbing skills, but his diaper removal and poop smearing skills are killer!) I'm not even in the mood to type about the new confinement method we have going on right now for Wyatt, but it is similar to Alcatraz. I am soooooo looking forward to figuring this out with another child! Maybe we should do something soundproof underground for both of them......
(This picture is after eating waffles with cherries...not sure about the crying!)

Exercise 101

We had a dreary rainy day here, so I didn't take the boys anywhere today. It was risky to stay home all day because that usually means that the kids are really wound up, but luckily for me they figured out a new way to burn off some energy. The boys took turns walking each other around the house using the strap from the monkey backpack as a leash. Why haven't I ever thought of that?!?!?!?

Emotionally Unstable

The kids were emotionally unstable today! I felt like I was working in a mental institution all day! I am physically and mentally exhausted. I am going to bed!

Ms Diane and Swim Lessons

Last week Wyatt started swim lessons. I didn't write about it because it didn't go well (and there are only so many negative things that a person can write about). Last week I called John on the way home from the first swim lesson and told him that I had just wasted $80 on swim lessons because all we were paying for was Wyatt to ignore Ms Diane (his swim teacher) and do WHATEVER her wanted inside the pool enclosure. Things like...run on the deck, try to stick his wet fingers in the closest electrical outlet (yes, really!), lay on the pool deck and pretend to sleep, take his bathing suit off, and a variety of other things that could only make a mother proud! Today was the second swim lesson and it was a complete success. There were a couple of times that Wyatt did his own thing, but it was mostly a fantastic change for the better. The teacher came up to me after the lesson and said that Wyatt had improved 110% and said "nice job Mom!". Then she said "high five Wyatt, great job today!". It was a great feeling to see how far we can come in one week. It's amazing how much a great swim lesson for a three year old can improve your outlook! I have a feeling that this is going to be a great week!

Flu Shot Fiasco

Why is it always so hard to get flu shots????? I scheduled all three boys for flu shots about a month ago. I specifically ordered the mercury-free vaccines for ALL THREE boys since last year my pediatrician told us that they were in short supply and needed to know ahead of time how many to order. I thought that we were good to go! WRONG!!!! When I took the boys in (Kathie came to help) to get their shots on Thursday they informed me that they didn't have a mercury-free flu shot for Wyatt since he was now three years old! Apparently at age three the flu shot dosage changes and the kids need more vaccine than ages 0-35 months. The pediatrician doesn't stock or order mercury-free flu vaccine for 36months-8 years old (which is the next age bracket). Wyatt had only been 3 years old for 6 DAYS at that point, but they were determined that he needed the flu shot specifically designed for 36 months and up even though they didn't have a mercury-free version. So, I made the decision to skip the vaccination for Wyatt, get the twins their shots, and go home to call around and try and find a place that stocked or would order a mercury-free flu shot for 36 months-8 years old. After unsuccessfully trying for several hours to find a doctor that stocked it, I found out that Wallgreens did have it in stock. We drove there with the kids and found out that they didn't have the right needle tips to administer his shot, so we had to go back the next day to finally get Wyatt his flu shot. The kids are all vaccinated!!!!! John and I will be getting our flu shots in the next 2 weeks! Now hopefully they picked the right strains of flu to put into the flu shot this year so that I can say that was all worth it!

TB

I sound like I have Tuberculosis (I can't believe that I spelled that correctly on the first try)! I have a cold that has settled in my chest and I literally cough until I throw up (or pee in my pants...one of the many joys of pregnancy)! I am on antibiotics, but I am starting to think that his may be a virus. I feel relatively decent...it's mostly just the cough that bothers me. Fortunately it has not stopped me from having a good time visiting Bill and Kathie. We took the kids to a farm yesterday where we saw farm animals, played in a corn maze, dug in piles of wheat, and went on a hay ride. It was a lot of fun!

Birthday Cake #2

We love cake!!!!

Birthday Weekend #2

John's parents came today for a visit. They brought gifts for Wyatt's birthday. He was thrilled with all of the attention and gifts. How are we ever going to explain to him that his birthday is not really 2 weeks long?!?!

It's A BOY!!!!!!

We are having another boy!!!! I found out at 12 weeks that he was a boy, but I saw the evidence myself today at the 19 week ultrasound. He has all of his parts and they all seem to be working perfectly so we are thrilled! He is scheduled to arrive on or before March 2, 2009! Now we have to figure out what to name this little guy! We have exhausted all of our boy name options....I've got nothing!

Wyatt calls the new minivan his van as in "Mommy, are we going to drive Wyatt's van or Mommy's truck?" or "Mommy don't drive Wyatt's van, take Daddy's car!". Funny stuff!

Here are a few pictures from Wyatt's new "kid-proof digital" camera that he got for his birthday. I didn't realize that I can choose a higher resolution, so these were saved as low resolution, but he took them all!

Getting in the Spirit

We are trying to get into the Fall spirit!

One Tired Puppy

Why am I so tired? Hmmmmmmm....let's see what happened this week......

1. John was in California all week for work (I offered to go in his place...and I was serious!!!)
2. Wyatt got sick (which always seems to happen when John travels)
3. We went to the pediatrician (and probably picked up 25 new viruses)
4. I got a babysitter to go birthday shopping for Wyatt's birthday (nothing like planning ahead!)
5. I called the pediatrician because Wyatt got sicker (and was prepared to cry on the phone just so they would call in a new prescription instead of having me bring all three kids back in by myself....which they did!)
6. John came home (just in time for Wyatt to get better!!!)
7. We bought a minivan (silver Honda Odyssey WITH the DVD and navigation systems....a little tooth pulling required there)
8. I got hit in the minivan (less than 24 hours after purchase while I was sitting in a parking space in Home Depot filling out a bank deposit slip. Luckily there was no damage or I might have gone to jail for the assault that I would have waged against the idiot that backed into me!!!)
9. We completely filled the truck with stuff to sell in the Mothers of Multiples garage sale (We didn't even put a dent in the amount of kid stuff that we own!)
10. I spent Friday night helping set up for the garage sale at the middle school
11. My parents came for a visit
12. We went to a pumpkin patch with tons of kiddie activities (we may have actually arrived before the place opened because we were the only people there, but nobody asked us to leave and the kids loved having the play village and hay maze all to themselves)
13. Wyatt opened birthday presents and had birthday cake
14. John and I went to a huge firework display in downtown Pittsburgh
15. The kids carved pumpkins and played with the new remote controlled car from Grandpa and Grandma
16. We spent this afternoon shopping for, and buying a new mattress for the spare bedroom!
17. Now it's time for SLEEP.......

Happy Birthday Wyatt!!!!

Wyatt is officially three years old today!!!!!

A New Medicine

Wyatt started a new medicine tonight. He just didn't seem to be getting better and I had the pediatrician call in a prescription for something stronger. Let's hope that this does the trick! I would hate for him to be sick on his birthday!!!!

The Road to Recovery

Wyatt is marginally better today, but I am planning on calling the doctor tomorrow if I don't see significant improvement by then. After 72 hours on antibiotics I don't think that Wyatt should still have a fever, but he does. So far he hasn't had a fever yet tonight, but the night is still young. John is coming home tomorrow and we couldn't be happier!