Death of a Vegetable Garden & Other Random Thoughts

Recently, our next door neighbor offered to give us their gently used wooden swingset because her son no longer uses it. So, we spent most of the weekend preparing a space for it. When we moved in last summer, the previous owner had kept an amazing vegetable garden. But, since we kind of have a lot going on right now, we didn't maintain it and it became overgrown with weeds and served as a dumping ground for miscellaneous dirt and other stuff from other places in the yard. So all day yesterday and today was spent pulling weeds, taking down the fence, rototilling, raking, and using a gigantic water-filled rolling thing to flatten out the ground. Here are some pictures...

Here is the swingset in our neighbor's yard...
The rolling thing actually weighs about 250 lbs when it is full of water...




In other news...I have a new nephew! His name is Beckham and Hannah helped pick him out. The reason for his name: He is black and white like a soccer ball and to say my sister has a crush on David Beckham would be a massive understatement. He is an adorable little 3- month-old Yorky-Poo.

Which leads me to MY favorite 3-month-old! Such a good little boy! He is such an angel...always smiling and sleeping like a pro (knocking on wood right now).

Finally, tomorrow morning is my first day of Fitness Boot Camp so hopefully I will survive to blog again...we shall see...

Hannah's Soccer Camp

Hannah LOVED having the ball...and she had it most of the time :)

 

Hannah playing against Jon and Calah

 

Mommy & Jacob just watching

 

Afterwards, we went to the new Seven Gables park to play.

 

Weekend Update

Sisters & Princesses

 

She DOES cry! :(

 

Jacob will be 3 months on Wednesday

 

Hannah is a great big sister!

 

Fat Skinny Person

So, you know how you have a mental picture of yourself and what you look like? And maybe you think you look good...not great...but good, considering you just had a baby 3 months ago and all. Maybe you're not ready for a bikini, but you think you look pretty decent in normal clothes. You might even have some more weight to lose, but you tell yourself it's not that bad because you still weigh less than 80% of the American public. But then, along comes Merlin. Merlin is a personal trainer and whether Merlin is magical, as his name suggests, remains to be seen.

About a month ago, a friend of mine called me and asked me if I would be interested in doing a fitness boot camp with her. Since I haven't exercised since 12th grade and have given birth to 3 babies in the past 4 years, I decided it might be a good idea. So, as part of the program, Merlin comes to your house and does a "free" fitness assessment. I was pretty foolishly confident that my fitness assessment would reveal no more than a need to tone up, and maybe shed a few extra pounds. Well, to my surprise, Merlin had a few tricks up his sleeve and one of them was the fat pincher thingy. He took my measurments, did some calculations, and calmy told me that I had 29% body fat. OK, I thought...whatever that means. But then he said what I will always remember for the rest of my life..."31% is considered OBESE"...(just wait)..."You're what we call in the industry a FAT SKINNY PERSON." Oh...my...goodness...
I didn't know if I should laugh or cry...so I kind of did both. Even worse, my sister and friend were both there too getting their assessments, and I was the "fattest" person in the room! The rest of the day, I just kept replaying the words in my head...FAT SKINNY PERSON...FAT SKINNY PERSON...FAT SKINNY PERSON...FAT SKINNY PERSON. I didn't eat a speck of sugar or fat all day. Hey, wait a minute...

Anyway, we took "before" pictures, which I will post, but only if the "after" pictures are really really good. For now, here's Hannah's pictures:
 
 
 
 

Random News

 
Well, I don't really have anything interesting to write about today...just some random mom stuff. We are in the process of interviewing nannies for the fall. So far, it has been kind of a discouraging process. I've talked to a lot of people who run home daycares, but that just doesn't seem to be the right option for us. The thought of bundling them all up in the winter and dropping them off someplace and having to pack all their stuff is just crazy. Also, in a home daycare, you just have absolutely no control over their environment or how many other kids there are. I know I can't protect my kids from everything, but the less runny-nosed little children they're exposed to, the better. I was shocked in talking to some of these people because a lot of them were taking care of 10-12 children! I just can't see how that is safe. I can barely take care of 3...how are they possibly watching all 12 at once? There is a lady from our church that responded to the add we posted and she seems promising so far. She is 63, retired, and is looking for a part time job with children. She has been babysitting and working with kids in the church for a while. She seems energetic enough (she is going to Australia in October)and I think would be very structured and safety-focused. She also has a lot of experience with the 3-4 year old age group, so I think that would be good for Hannah. My only concern is if she can handle all three at once. Their very different needs can be overwhelming at times, even for me, and I'm only 29. So, she is coming over this week to try it out for a while. She seems very confident and I like that about her...so we'll see.
What else? Oh yeah...I'm scared to say this out loud or even write about it for fear of jinxing myself, but...Jacob has been doing AMAZING at the whole sleeping thing. The past couple weeks he has been sleeping 8pm-6am with no feedings and is taking 2-3 solid 1-2 hour naps during the day. Alone. In his bed. WITH NO PACIFIER. When I think back to the first 4-6 weeks and how challenging of a baby he was and then now...it's a world of difference. He is so smiley and he "talks" all the time...even more than Hannah (uh-oh). :) The first three months with a newborn is so hard. Even the third time around. It is just so exhausting because you somehow have to care for the needs of 3 children on top of the fact that your own basic need for sleep is not being met. It really is the hardest thing I've ever had to do..and that part never gets easier no matter how many you have. But, I think the difference with him was that there were a lot of times where I simply could not get to him when he was crying...so I think he learned how to self-soothe pretty early. I feel bad, but I really let him cry a lot more than the girls...and by the time I'd get to him, he'd be sleeping. With Hannah, the second she would whimper, I'd race to her side and I don't think she learned to go to sleep alone until she was 9 mos-1year...but, you live and learn I guess.

The Trouble with Blogs...

You know you're blogging too much when...

It's hard to tell from this photo, but the sink was actually overflowing...

 

This one pretty much speaks for itself...

 

Some People...

Funny Pics and Myspace Layouts at pYzam.com

Ok, so maybe I wouldn't ever really push someone down a flight of stairs, but the thought is sure comforting sometimes...

Today I had my first "encounter" with the Wheaton Soccer Mom. I guess, in a sense, I am also a Wheaton Soccer Mom in that I reside in Wheaton, my daughter plays soccer, and I watch...but I refuse to group myself into the same category as this woman. And since I am still under 30, and have yet to sell my soul to the minivan devil, I think I can justify the segregation.

Today was Hannah's first day of soccer camp. It started at 9:00 a.m. so of course I had to bring all three kids. When we arrived at the soccer fields, it was quite a chaotic scene. Parents and kids running everywhere, trying to check in, get a soccer ball, and break off into individual age groups. Of course, now that you get arrested for leaving your kids in the car for 30 seconds while you walk 3 feet away, I had to carry both Calah and Jacob and walk Hannah through the crowds to check her in. I got in the soccer ball/marker line. I was next to check in and was about to reach for the marker when a short, stern-looking woman stepped blatantly in front of me. Now, maybe she didn't see me or Hannah or Calah...but she certainly saw Jacob because she practically tripped over his baby seat in her bold effort to cut in front of me. She was the typical Wheaton Soccer Mom...probably in her mid-upper 30s,short fake-blond hair, little to no make-up, dark designer sunglasses, capri jogging suit, and the keys to her stupid mini-van in her hand. Given the chaotic circumstances, I didn't say anything because I figured she just didn't see me or maybe she just wanted to ask a quick question. But, I quickly grew annoyed when she continued to ask one ridiculous question after another and they were entirely irrelevant because her kids weren't even in the camp in the first place. She just wanted to "get some information".
There were a couple of camp counselors there at the table so I decided to ask another one for a marker so I could write Hannah's name on her ball. I said, "Hi, can you pass me that marker?"...and to my utter shock and disbelief jogging-suit-suburban-clone half turns to me and says "EXCUSE ME, I'M TALKING". Just like I was her child.
WHAAAT? Are you kidding me? I couldn't contain myself. Maybe it was the fact that she clearly saw me standing there with three small children and ignored me...or the fact that she had rudely cut in front of me in the first place...or that HER kids were probably waiting in the car and the Wheaton Police were no where to be found...but I just sarcastically blurted out "Oh, thats OK because I was actually standing here first anyway."
She just gave me a mom-ish look and then walked away. I just don't understand some people. You'd think in an area where there are churches on every corner and where everyone has everything they need and more that people would be more considerate of each other. But that is so not the case most of the time. She just better hope we never meet on the bleachers :)

Friday Laugh of the Day

I absolutely love this Saturday Night Live Commercial. Every time I watch it, I laugh until I cry...Don't forget to pause the playlist to hear the commercial...

Mom Jeans commercial - kewego
For moms who are not the greatest in shape, this is a commercial showing some different style of jeans that fit them.

Keywords: commercial ad jeans style mom fit trousers shape

Video from idog

Perfect Imperfection

I chose this picture today because it illustrates the true nature of our house at any given moment in time. Here we are, trying to take an adorable family picture, but like always, there are some unpredictable issues. Calah is obviously not into the whole holding-still and smiling thing, and Jacob is about to cry because Hannah just head-butted him in her excitement to get into this ridiculous pose that mommy suggested on a whim at 8 pm on a random Tuesday night. I always see these family pictures in photographer's windows...the whole family is dressed in khaki and white and frolicking in a meadow and somehow even the smallest of the group manages to take the most perfect picture. Who are these people? Do they really exist?
Today I was awakened (a little too early for my taste) to 3 hungry kids and no milk, eggs, juice, syrup, or anything else breakfast-ish. I think I knew last night that we were out of these things, but maybe I was hoping the food fairy would come while I slumbered and restock our refrigerator. Sure, this morning I could have gone to the grocery store, but here is what that would have entailed: dressing them all, loading them all in the car, driving to the store, unloading them, racing thru the grocery store, loading them back in the car, driving home, unloading them all and somehow the groceries at the same time, making breakfast while Jacob is crying for a bottle, feeding them all at the same time (but not myself...not enough hands), cleaning up, and then maybe (if I'm lucky) eating breakfast myself...all before 8 a.m.
YEAH....SORRY...NOT GONNA HAPPEN.
So, I put them in the car in PJ's and no shoes and drove thru McLIFESAVERS. We all had a glorious meal of Cinnamon Melts, Pancakes, Sausage, Eggs, and Biscuits. Oh, and let's not forget the vital cup of coffee so mommy doesn't die.
This leads me to my next point...in my spare time I'm going to invent the DRIVE-THRU grocery store. You can either order online and pick up in the loading docks or you can speed thru the 15 items or less drive-thru lane and pick up the essentials in 5 minutes flat without having to unload your entire family. I personally think it's a great idea and one day I'm gonna be rich because of it!!
Oh well, I guess if we were the perfect family, I would always have a stocked refrigerator and we would always take flawless family picures. But, that's definitely not our reality..and sometimes the imperfection is much more fun...and fattening.

Am I Crazy?

I've come to a conclusion recently that I'm crazy. Insane. A fry short of a happy meal. Completely nuts. I should be locked in the smelly psych rooms at work were everyone can watch me talk to myself from the cameras outside and laugh as the professional healthcare workers they are.

As if I don't have enough to do these days, I've decided that I want to add something else to the list: nursing school. I've been planning this for a while and have been taking classes since Hannah was born to prepare. I was one of only 75 applicants out of 500 to be admitted and I have the greatest support system I could ask for. All the pieces seem to be falling into place (with the exception of a nanny, which we are still looking for). But last night, I realized that this is going to be really hard. I had my first class which met from 5:30-10:15 pm. I was really hoping that we would get out early because I've never had a class in my college history actually go all the way to 10:15pm, but I guess there is a first time for everything because I didn't get home until 10:30. Normally, this wouldn't be a big deal, but little Jacob is still waking up for a feeding between 4-5 am. So that makes for a short night of sleep, followed by a tiring day of taking care of the kids. Also, Jon has a long day as well because as soon as he gets home from work, I have to go to school. He has to do dinner, baths, and bedtime alone with all three kids. Luckily, they all go to bed at 8pm, but it's a very busy 3 hours! Last night I came home and he had somehow managed to take the kids to the library & out for ice cream, clean the kitchen, our bathroom, and fold a load of clothes on top of it! Seriously, I don't know where he has the energy after working all day. He is amazing.

I guess in the back of my mind I'm wondering if it's the right time to do this...my kids are so little and we are so busy. But waiting would mean retaking all my science prereqs which would be a huge waste of time and money. And, really, is there ever a time when we will not be busy??? As the kids get older, they will just be involved in more things and so in many ways, I feel like this is the best time to get this done. Sometimes I don't even know why I feel guilty when most of the moms that I know work 40+ hours outside of the home and their kids are thriving. I guess I just think it is good for my kids to see their mom doing other things, and for us to have a "break" from each other. I want my daughters to know that they can do anything they want, not just because I tell them so, but by example. This morning, Hannah was very excited to ask me about my class. She asked me what my friends' (classmates) names were and if we got juice :) It was so cute!

I just don't know where I will find the time to study! I guess maybe I should be doing that right now instead of writing this blog about not having enough time!!

Fun Weekend

Just wanted to share a few pictures from the weekend...
We took the kids to a fair near our house. Calah had her first carousel ride, and they also had free pony rides and a small animal show. The girls got to pet an armadillo, racoon, and lizard.
Jacob just had fun eating and smiling, as usual. We love summer!

Our Very Romantic Non-Romantic Date

This past Friday night, Jon and I celebrated our 5th anniversary. It's funny because I usually LOVE to get all dressed up and go out for a night on the town, but this year, I just wanted to do something fun, relaxed, and of course, without the kids. So, we decided to go on a long bike ride, like we used to do in our pre-children days. Grandma Susan came to watch the kids and we were off. We decided to take the Prairie Path and rode into Lombard, a few towns to the east of us. The weather was looking kind of threatening so we rode back to eat dinner in downtown Wheaton. We were sweating, so I wanted to eat outside, and since it was also the Friday night classic car show and the Cream of Wheaton, I thought it would make for some good people-watching. It was a very hot and humid day, and it was also extremely windy. Jon wasn't as enthusiastic about eating outside because of the wind. But, I told him to stop complaining because it was our anniversary and the hurricane force wind was a welcome change from eating with three children! Well, it turns out we were both right about something...

There were some VERY interesting people: This man was like 6'6".

And it was WAY too windy: This is Jon's cheeseburger sans lettuce because it was blowing down the street :) HA HA!

But it was a great date nonetheless!

Happy 5th Anniversary!

I first met Jon in 1999 when I was working as a server at Outback Steakhouse. A friend of mine invited me to the movies one night and brought him along. I don't remember what movie we saw or really anything else about the night, but I do remember meeting him. As I shook his hand outside AMC Cantera, I remember thinking that he was cute, but definitely shy. A few months later, I met him again when he started working at Outback. He actually started on Halloween, and I was dressed as a bar-tending nun. He was sitting with his "trainer" in booth number 1 and I sat down and said "hi". Little did I know, he would follow me around like a little lost puppy for the next year. Every morning, bright and early, he would call me to see what I was doing that day. (Now that I know Jon, I think he must have set an alarm or something because there is no way he would wake up that early on his own!) Even if I told him I was going to the store to buy feminine products, he would say "OK", and then there would be a long pause...finally I would ask if he wanted to go...and he would say "OK!" Or he would just randomly run to my house from his apartment and then ask for a ride back. We didn't even live in the same town! I guess that should have been my first clue that he liked me, but for some reason I felt like he thought I was too loud and crazy, probably because he was always so quiet. During that year, we spent a lot of time together as friends, most of the time hanging out before/after work at his messy apartment because I still lived at home with my parents.



In the summer of 2000, a bunch of us decided to take a trip to Europe. Jon's best friends Ryan, Dan, and Jeremy, as well as Jen, my best friend from high school, all went together for a 3 week trip to London, Switzerland, Italy, and France. I guess I should have known by the way he was looking at me in this picture at the airport that he liked me, but I missed that too...



But I do remember walking the streets of London and thinking that despite the fact that he was wearing scrunched down tube socks, that Jon had really nice calf muscles. (Don't have a picture of that, sorry)!





And from that point on, I think I finally started to realize what I had in front of me for so long. We spent a lot of time together in Europe and it was there that I knew he would always take care of me. Like the time when I had to move from the "smoking car" of the train because it made me feel nauseous and he followed me. Or the time I had an unfortunate bathroom incident in France and he waited outside for me while the rest of our group went on to the beach. Or the time that I almost died of boredom in The Louvre and he almost died with me.





He also made me feel safe trying new and scary things...this is one of my favorite pictures of us.




We got married on June 6, 2003 and went to Belize for our honeymoon. Hannah came 10 months later, and the rest is history...in the making...






There is one thing that I know for sure and that is our marriage would not be as strong as it is without Jon's enduring patience. It is one of the things I have come to love so much about him.
Here are some other things...



Jon makes the very best french toast and grilled cheese sandwiches (he calls them toasted cheese sandwiches, but they aren't toasted, they are grilled in a pan so they are really grilled cheese sandwiches).


Jon doesn't get angry...even when I want him to and try really hard to make him.


Jon never EVER EVER complains about taking care of the kids if I need to get out for a while.

Jon does the laundry, cleans the house, takes out the garbage, takes care of the plants, and washes our sheets without me ever having to ask him, even once.


Jon has happily gotten up with all three newborn babies, even when he has to work the next day, and even if he's tired, just to help me.


Jon is the best navigator and can find his way anywhere without a map.


Jon calls his parents daily and is one of the most loyal people I've ever met.


Jon is strong where I am weak, and gives me peace.


Jon will make dinner, clean it up, give the girls baths, put them to bed, and make brownies all in one night.






Jon is, by far, the best daddy I could have ever dreamed of for my children, and the best husband I could ever wished for myself. I am truly blessed!

Happy Anniversary!