Tuesday, April 29, 2008

nothing exciting...

Not too much exciting going on right now with us. Still busy most nights with projects or baseball, but both of the boys are doing so well. Sammy is really doing well with his team, and Timmy got one of the game balls from his last game. Basically, the coach gives out a game ball after each game and this past saturday, he couldn't decide, so he gave one to a boy who had a great hitting game and then gave one to Tim and commented that he "was going to be some kind of ball player". It was really cool because Tim has made an impression on the coaches by doing whatever is asked of him.

Max was home yesterday with pink eye but has been a trouper about putting the medicine in his eyes. All is well now.

I think that is about it for now. This weekend is the school talent show in which Tim is doing something with his class. And the Mega Raffle is also happening this weekend. Other than that, we will be having Max's first friends birthday party. Should be fun!

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Is it cruise time yet???

Ok, Let me just start by saying, I am so ready for my cruise. I know I'll miss all four of my guys terribly (and I know that Rich will be tearing his hair out with all of the activities that he'll have to handle himself), but I really need this break!

Ok, vent over...

my story for this morning is that Max has struck again!! As I was showering this morning, Max came in, said something and left. Well, when I came out to tell them to get dressed, I see Max sitting on my good couch, with a big wet spot between his legs and his head soaking wet and dripping... Anyone want to venture a guess as to why???

Let me tell you... it is because he got a hold of the spray sunscreen (clear mist) and decided to drench his head in it. It is now dripping across his forehead, so I grab him and throw him in the tub because I don't want him to get sick or get it in his eyes. As I put Max in, Sammy comes in saying that Max sprayed his head too and that he doesn't want to get sick. So I throw them both in the tub (at exactly the time we should be driving out of the driveway for karate). Luckily, it washed out of their hair easily, but the spot on my couch has pretty much just crusted over. Ugh!!!

Monday, April 21, 2008

some stories

So today was supposed to be our annual trip to watch the marathon, but Rich managed to gets 4 tickets to the Red Sox game, so he took his dad and the older 2 boys. That left me with Max for the day. He was behaving well for the most part, but he did come out of his room buck naked saying, "there's poop in my underwear." Well, as I'm getting up, he decides to sit down, on my nice furniture... so after cleaning him up, I got to clean up my chair.

Then later after the boys got home they were all playing nicely in the backyard. Then I realized that I couldn't see any of them which typically means that they are behind the shed. Well, out come the first 2, followed by Max with his pants unbuttoned... well, they taught Max how to pee behind the shed. He was very proud of himself... his comment was a very enthusiastic, "I pee'd on the ground!" Someday we are going to get arrested!

some pics

Here are some pics from this weekend:

Max got markers in his goodie bag... this is what he looked like by the time we got home... all damage done in the car on the way home.


Sammy in his T-ball uniform... he is on the Bulls


Tim in his Redwings uniform... he wasn't happy I wanted a picture.


Tim and his bowl of ice cream? He put more chocolate syrup in the bowl than there was ice cream!

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Weekend Recap

Well, Max is back and I while I missed him, I now realize how lucky I was to have a break from him. He is so exhausting... so much so that when my parents met me to give him back, they didn't stay for lunch, they pretty much booked it out of there as fast as they could. I don't blame them, he is a handful and I appreciated their taking him for a few days.

So Sam has had his first T-ball practice and it was very cute... if I can get my phone to actually send photos, I'll try to get them up here. Tim also had his first scrimmage in the rookie league and although they don't keep score, Tim knows that thye won 12-3. He had a great hit the first time he was up and I know that he struck out another time, but he was no more disappointed then anyone else who struck out, so that was good.

We also had a birthday party to go to and then last night we took my friend to get her first tattoo. Rich got his fifth. Hers literally took 6 minutes to do (I timed it), but looks really cool and I don't think that she could have taken more than 6 minutes. Rich's also looks very cool and when he posts pics, I'll link to them.

Today, I made the boys help me clean my car, I ironed while I watched the entire neighborhood come over, I folded about 8 loads of laundry, (took 45 minutes to go running), went grocery shopping, made the boys dinner, and bathed Max and Sam and finally put them to bed. I'm finally sitting down and my feet are killing me.

Tomorrow, I will head in to work for a little while since I want to see part of the marathon come through and I'd like to quickly see the new people in my group. But for now, I'm doing nothing.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

wow, where has time gone???

I had no idea that I hadn't posted in so long. So, as much as Max is a handful, I had a really hard time letting him go home with my parents tonight...

Let me back up... Daycare is closed for the next 2 days and my mother is going to watch Max. Well it is easier for her to watch him at her house then here so she is taking him tonight until Saturday. Which is going to make my life a little less stressed, but I already miss him :)

Report Cards came out this week and both boys are having absolutely no problem academically, they are both fabulous. But Timmy has to work on not being too bossy when given a leadership role and Sammy needs to follow the rules and practice self-control... is anyone surprised after the posts about Sammy? :)

Lots of baseball going on right now, and the boys totally love it! Ok, time for bed!

Friday, April 11, 2008

another week comes to an end...

As usual, we have been busy... But it is only going to get worse :) Baseball, for 2 kids, starts next week. The boys are so excited. Poor Timmy is totally worried though because we can't fin his glove and he keeps reminding us that practice starts Tuesday. In fact, that chlid is so excited, he has pretty much memorized his schedule and he tries quizzing me. "Mom, who do I play on May 22nd and where?" How the heck do I know, I don't even know what we're having for dinner tonight.

Max had an epic week this week... he had 13 time-outs at daycare this week (but who is counting). I really have found that if he doesn't get enough sleep at night he is a total bear at school. So we'll keep working on that.

The boys have started a chore chart this week so that they can earn allowance... they were gung-ho the first day and have sort of trailed off each day after that. I've got to find a way to keep them motivated.

Ok, it's late and Rich said he'll give me a back-rub!! Woo hoo!

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Happy Birthday, Grandma!!

Today is my moms birthday. I will not tell you how old she is (although she has never been the type to care). Unfortunately, I do not have a fun video for her, but she did get a cute voicemail from Max.

Some of my favorite memories of my mom include riding roller-coasters at Riverside, back when it was still Riverside, of getting out of being grounded (ok, she was just a little more lenient :)), of watching RoseAnne with her, and more recently of climbing Mt. Chocorua with her (and watching her taken done on a stretcher... ok that was not a favorite part, but it still happened), and of hearing my kids excitement when they get to tell me how late grandma let them stay up when they sleep over.

I am not someone who like to talk on the phone much, so I do not call as much as I probably should, but Happy Birthday, Mom, I love you!

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Weekend Recap

Phew! I am ready for bed!!

We had a pretty good weekend. On Saturday, Rich got up and took Sam to karate while Tim, Max and I just kind of hung. I decided that I was going to take the boys to see Horton. I got them kind of excited about it because it was Max's first movie in the theaters. So we picked the 11:50 show and went to the mall. We grabbed some Burger King in the food court and then off we went.

as a sidebar, I am very proud of my boys growing up and becoming more independent. They asked for plain burgers and didn't get them, so I told them to go up to the counter and tell the guy that they asked for it plain. It may sound small, but I'm glad I didn't do it for them. It shows me that they are gaining confidence and independence.

Ok, so we headed to Horton. Tim complained through the entire previews that he didn't like the seats and then Max spent most of the movie playing with his milk bottle, BUT he stayed in there the whole time and even watched some of it :) It was cute, but a little slow.

Then we came home and took naps. The boys went outside to play while Max napped and then once he was up we took Lucy for a walk. Then I went for a quick run before dinner. And then ultimately, I went to grab a drink with my neighbor Kristen. All in all, a pretty good day.

Then today we knew that Rich would be gone most of the day at a mountain bike race (which he came in second). So the boys and I ran an errand to Bed, Bath, and Beyond and then Target. They spent the afternoon cleaning the playroom (and Tim's room), so they could earn money. Then we went to skating and out for dinner.

Another couple of sidebars... Tim cleans his room like I did (everything went under the bed :) ) There is another story here to tell about stealing.

This morning, the boys were counting Sammy's money to see how much he had and if he could buy a few things at the store. well, apparently, Max joined in by opening his piggy bank and throwing his money around. well, the older two took this a reason that they could keep his bills and add it to the money they had. The only reason they told me was because I knew he had cash in there. You should have seen the pile of bills and quarters that these boys had. (Plus somehow, Tim convinced Sam to "lend" him a bunch of money.) So I proceeded to tell them about the time that I stole $10 from my mother (which I embellished a bit by telling them I lost my birthday party because of it.... really I had to pay half of it back , my friend paid half back and then I was grounded for a month). In either case, they did not buy anything today and they had to give Max $7 from their stash which is what they originally tried to take from him. All their cleaning pretty much went to Max today :) I hope they learned their lesson!

Friday, April 4, 2008

Guys night out?

can I just tell you how much I love "guys night out"? Right now, I am sitting upstairs watching a taped show while all of my "guys" are downstairs watching Teenage Mutant Ninja turtles together.

Rich decided that he was going to take the older 2 out for dinner tonight, but instead they had a picnic downstairs (I was emphatically "kicked out") and then they switched off the lights and started watching the movie. And I must say this must be the best movie ever because I haven't heard a word out of them since they went downstairs after eating their cake dessert. Oh yeah, Sammy tried to convince us that he should have fruit snacks for his extra dessert because he only had the frosting part of his cake. can you say sugar overload?

I love that my husband can easily sit with them and watch those stupid movies. Guys night is something that they are going to remember for a long long time :)

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

ugh... sent to the principal...

So, when we sent Sammy to Kindergarten we knew that he was going to have to learn how to be in school... he couldn't be chatty, had to pay attention, that kind of thing. He knew his letters and numbers and all that too well not to send him. But his chattiness and behavior really makes me wonder if we made the right choice!!

He was sent to the principal for a second time this year... this time he was talking with another boy about stealing something form the classroom. Granted it was a glue stick, but still it must have been pretty bad if she sent him to the principal to talk about it. He is talking all the time and needs to understand what his words could do.

He is fine academically, one of 2 kids in the class reading and ahead of the class in math, but I just don't know what to do anymore in terms of his behavior... Consequences either aren't harsh enough or they aren't working. I have sent the teacher an email hoping that maybe we can turn this around into a reward type of system. For example, he has so many days of not being talked to about this and he earns a privledge. But I haven't talked to Rich about this yet to decide what to do!

Ugh, parenting is so darn hard!!!

Gotta run, Max has just come out to say that he has to brush his hair before he can go to bed... I swear what this kid comes up with...