Update.

The van owner did call me back. She just happened to be the receptionist at the doctor's office we used to go to - the receptionist that sort of annoyed me. I felt very guilty because I expected her to be mean and demand payment...she was sweet, understanding, and honest. She told me I hadn't caused the dent, just the big scratch and not to worry about it. I was very surprised and a bit ashamed. I apologized for hitting her car and admitted to her that I expected an angry rant and was so thankful for her kindness. But, I couldn't apologize for expecting the she, as an individual I was acquainted with, would be mean. God showed me, in a very gentle way, that I still need to work on being less judgemental. I had no real reason for expecting bad behavior from this woman. As a receptionist she actually seems to be very competent and friendly, but something about the way she answered the phone annoyed me, so I expected bad from her?!?
But enough public confessions....

On another note: It's Halloween. My least favorite holiday. I dislike strongly (ok hate) being scared. I also do not enjoy going up to people's front doors for any reason (even if I know them), so going up to doors to beg for candy - not my thing. Some of this might stem from the fact that as a child I never participated in Halloween (I think for religious reasons). But, mostly I think it's the fear and the begging.
Anyway, my husband does enjoy Halloween and wants his children to get to participate. I have no problem going along with this, but I do have a problem with creativity. I just don't have that cranial area that tells me how to make an awesome costume out of things around the house - or even out of things from the craft aisle. So, we waited until last night to finally go buy premade costumes. The Halloween store was EXTREMELY overpriced (in my opinion), so we headed back to Wal-Mart. I figured things would be picked over, but we would be able to find something! What I didn't expect was to find Christmas. Not just moving in, but set up ready to go. No sign of Halloween, fall, Thanksgiving, nothing - all the holiday isles were set for Winter celebrations. There were no costumes - even on sale wracks. Luckily, we found fairy dress-up clothes in the toy aisle that will pass as costumes (and can be reused for their intended purpose). But poor Baby J., there were no costumes for her. They had a few left over Halloween onesies (one said "This is My Costume" the other said "My Mummy Loves Me" - not so good), and even they were on a wrack with the Christmas onesies.
I am a firm believer in keeping all the holidays to their own months - so, to me, this is outrageous!! I know people complain every year about Christmas season starting earlier and earlier - but when will it end?!?! I really don't think Thanksgiving is a holiday to sneeze at - we really need a day of giving thanks - especially right before the insane rush of Christmas.
Ok, I'm done griping!

Not to worry, Baby J. will (probably) not go costume-less because a friend has offered us one from last year. Our 'Great Pumpkin Party' at church sounds like it will be a lot of fun- what's not to like about carnival type games and candy, right? :) And then tomorrow I can start making plans for Thanksgiving ;)

Shots!!!

Today we went to the doctor for the big girls' 4 year check and shots and Baby J.'s 9 month check. All the girls were also slated to get their flu shots - yay!

Now at our last appointment when the doctor told us the girls would need to come in after they turned four, I could have sworn she said they needed to come in for a shot....as in ONE shot each. So I told the girls they were going to be brave today and get 2 shots (one regular, one flu). They were actually quite eager to display their bravery and even reminded the nurse that they needed shots :)
During a discussion on blood and hearts with the nurse, A. informed the nurse that Mama breaks her heart sometimes. *sigh* The nurse chuckled and told me a story of a little boy who came in with chest pains and was all worried that Jesus was broken - since Jesus was in his heart - poor kid!

I decided, again, that there is no torture quite like sitting in a tiny examination room with 3 children and no distractions. They were bored with the fun Spongebob wall border and the dolls they had brought after about 2 minutes. They proceeded to mess with the light, the door, the doctor's spinney, rolly chair, and the baby and her stroller. Fortunately, they were very compliant with the doctor and nurse and A. even started the visit with the doctor by spelling her name. For some reason B. was being very defiant today (usually it's A. who give me trouble in that area), but it's feels mean to threaten to take away privileges from a child that is going to need treats after upcoming shot trauma.

After the consult with the doctor and hearing tests for the big girls, it was shot time. The doctor came in to tell me that our previous, less-than-organized doctor's office had not faxed over any records of a 4 months check for Baby J. So, we don't know what shots she received at that appointment because they didn't tell me at the time either. Hopefully, they do have records from that appointment and just forgot to send them - or else Baby J. will have a series of unidentified shots in her body. I was also a bit cranky when I realized that due to the behindness of the previous doctor, Baby J. only received one out of three of the rotovirus vaccine doses. It's a newer vaccine and prevents against the devastating diarrhea disease (that's my nickname for it). The nurse said the one dose will provide some protection for Baby J., but I'm still grumpy (it's too late to get any more doses).

Oh - and right before shot time the nurse peeks in to see if we should separate the girls while she administers the shots because they are going to get not 2 but 5(!!!) shots. When I told A. she was going to get 5 she lost her courage. She said she'd be brave for one but not 12 (I told her a few - she heard 12). B. volunteered to go first, but A. said she didn't want to leave the room - I think she though if she left she wouldn't get any shots...and she did want to get one shot! So I held B. while the nurse put three shots in one leg and two in the other (it really seems to add insult to injury that they have to pull down their pants to get shots). B. actually giggled a bit after each shot was finished. Her little body tightened up during each prick, but she didn't cry at all!!! Amazing considering we had to have help holding her down for last year's flu shot and then her iron test at the WIC office! After watching B. get her shots A. was firmly convinced that she didn't wan ANY. I had to fight her a bit to get her pants off and then she had to hold her doll and she still screamed for each prick. The whole time she was begging for no more (I always feel sorry for the nurses at this point). What made her even more upset, however, was hearing that Baby J. was getting shots next. She was pleading with the nurse not to hurt J. and then shrieked for each of the two shots that Baby J. received (Baby J. barely whimpered). The nurse felt so bad for A.'s sympathy screams that she had to hug and comfort her when we were all finished. Poor A. was thoroughly traumatized - and this is the girl that just last week thought it was great helping the WIC nurse collect blood out of her finger for her iron test.

To top off our shot adventure - I hit the back end of a random van in the parking lot while backing out. I obviously can not drive my big SUV. I left the van a note with my number on it...and am now very apprehensively awaiting an angry phone call.

But we all survived, Baby J. is taking her afternoon nap while the girls get their daily dose of Sesame Street. B. claims to love shots now. A. never wants a shot again.

Just to recap - at total of 12 shots, two hearing tests, and one van butt bump were administered today :)

***Weird thing of the day...I just got a phone call from an unknown number. I let it go to voicemail (see above about fear of angry van owner) and got a message from a place that said it does Newborn Screening (I started to get a little nervous thinking that they had decided - sort of late- that J. has a metabolic disorder or something), they used my name, but then said to call in reference to Braeden?! So, I called them back and confirmed that yes, my name is ___ ___, but no, I don't have a son named Braeden born in 02 of 07. No, that's not my SSN number or my address....
I find it very strange that my number would be incorrectly listed with someone who has the same name as I do. I hope they figure it out, though; she said she really needs to find that boy! (No I don't think it was some sort of info stealing call because she did not ask me for my info - just listed off the wrong info she already had.)

Trapped in the Tree.

The posistive reinforcement of receiving a comment so quickly from Sister on the previous post has encouraged me to post again today. (That and I felt the need to record a bit of this morning's performance by B.).

Before I get to recording the behavior of my children for posterity, I do need to make one little note. I have been made aware, again, of just how good and comparatively easy my life is. It makes me very thankful and relieved to realize/remember that God gives us only what we can handle. I also realize that I must be a bit of a weenie. I think I'm ok with that. I just felt a little guilty complaining about the difficulties of taking 3 kids to Wal-Mart after reading about the day/week some others have been having. I am very blessed to have 3 kids that are healthy!!!!

Back to this mornings events:

B. is part monkey. She has always enjoyed climbing things. She has very little fear on playground equipment - even when she was 2 and the equipment was obviously made for much older children. Yesterday she spent the evening jumping from the back of the couch (over the seat) to the floor. Today she climbed into the tree and sat 2 feet off the ground and cried. She could NOT get down. It was impossible. Not doable. In her mind her options were to have me take her out of the tree or to stay in the tree forever. This has happened before. Last time a bug of some sort scared her and she came out of the tree at lightning speed. It's amazing how we can get fixated on one thought/belief and no amount of reasoning can make us see differently. I told her that the tree was lower than the couch. I told her she had jumped out of the tree before and that the only way to learn how to jump out of the tree was to practice etc, etc. (I also reminded her quite a few times that I had told her not to climb the tree unless she could get herself down - this has always been the rule)
Four-year-olds can not always be reasoned with - so I had a dilemma. Do I help her out of the tree because she is afraid and Mom's are supposed to be rescuers?? Or do I make her do it (with some guidance) because she CAN do it and just needs to learn to calm down and make the effort??

Well, I don't know that we learned anything - but I stood in front of her and gave her the option of jumping to me (she would also land on the ground with her feet because she really was just not very high). She refused to jump to me - she wanted only to be rescued. So I grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the tree (this sounds a lot more violent than it actually was). In my mind it was a compromise of sorts - I helped her do it. She, however, thinks I am mean for pulling her out of the tree and insisted she had all sorts of 'owwwies.' (She had two little scrapes - the sort that are white and disappear after a few minutes..).

It is very hard to know, in my opinion, how much of B.'s fearful behavior was caused by her love of drama and how much is actual fear. I do know that she is very prone to giving up on anything she thinks might not be able to do - so in my mind the tree problem was a manifestation of that behavior. I may have a bit of a perfectionist on my hands!!

Anyway - all that to say that I found it rather amusing that my little daredevil refused a jump that, for her, is usually just routine.

Blog Time!

The baby is napping; her sisters are watching Sesame Street; the house is mostly clean; and my sister says I need to write a blog today (and I always cater to her every desire!), so here's the latest:

Baby J. is pulling up on lots of stuff. She survived her first non-nursery babysitting, and (I think) she didn't give the babysitter too much trouble.
She seems to enjoy eating yogurt and most finger foods - but she is still gagging on things she thinks are too big or too thick. She doesn't really use the chewing motion much. We have a doctor appointment next week - I don't remember all the food-related rules/milestones so it will be nice to consult the doc!

The girls are starting to recognize songs on the radio and sing along. B. will go around singing little snips of random songs to herself or just sing about whatever she's doing. It's very sweet. My favorite so far is her rendition of my new profile song (if you're listening) by Toby Mac. She sings the chorus: "I don't want gain the [insert some garbled guesses at words here] and lose my hole." :)

We are currently working on using 'soft' voices. I've noticed recently that my house is loud. It makes me crazy. I need a lot of quiet. So, instead of just hollering (and adding to the din) to the girls to be quiet, we are now learning about proper volume. I've been wondering why I get so on edge by the end of the day and then last night we were at the table and I noticed that the girls were almost yelling their conversations. No wonder I'm frazzled!!

Last week I decided to brave Wal-Mart by myself with the kids. I really needed baby wipes and an ingredient for supper... I should have figured it was a bad idea when I went to push the cart and could barely get it rolling (granted we were on the uneven surface of the parking lot) because my children weigh about 85 lbs total. Add to that the fact that two 4-year-olds will probably never ride well together in the basket of shopping cart....imagine trying to push a cart that is swaying from side to side with the movements of two heavy bodies. I was able (barely) to at least keep them seated, but at one point thought someone was walking by who had just had a perm, but realized a few minutes later - when B. started screaming that A. had squirted her in the eye - that the girls had found the bottle of sunscreen/bug repellent.
Baby J. was well behaved for the most part, but since we had already been to story time and the park, she kept pointing at my chest and whimpering to remind me she was hungry. So, I've decided that there really is just nothing (ok, hopefully nothing) that I need bad enough to ever take three kids by myself to the store again. Besides, we all sort of enjoy our family Wal-Mart outings :)

Well this is a sorry attempt at a post - but at least sister will have something new to read ;) I'm having trouble thinking straight after a night in which A. came in around 1, woke up the baby, got sent back to bed, started crying, wouldn't stop crying until Mama came in, started crying again after Mama left to go tend to crying baby who woke up and cried every time Mama went to attend to A. I can't remember if it took 3 or 4 visits to A.'s bed before she stayed asleep - but I was able to remain calm and comforting (I was awake enough to stay rational!). And of course a night like that only happens when we have a stressful, early morning appointment!!!

I just realized that I wasted my Sesame Street snooze time writing this blog - boo!!! Thank goodness for Sesame Street, though :)

Oh! and I made it in for early voting today (thanks to a friend watching my kids in the neighboring park) - so I did my democratic duty - woohoo!

Night Owl.

It's 11:22 PM and Baby J. shows no signs of sleepiness.

I stopped trying to nurse her to sleep when she bit me.

She has been working on pushing her bedtime back by taking later and later morning and afternoon naps. But, this is ridiculous. Because, she didn't take 2 naps today. She didn't even take one normal length nap. She slept for an hour and a half - at one thirty. GRR. Usually, I get an hour and a half in the morning and two hours in the afternoon with a strict 9:45 bedtime.

I have DVRed shows to watch, a shower to take, and a bible study at 9:30 tomorrow morning for which I have to get up.

She is now crawling silently around the living room pulling things out of cabinets and off of shelves. I think she's eating my to-do list.

Busy Two Days

First, a conversation with A:
A. (again sitting on the toilet): "Mom, you broke my heart" - said in very sad voice, of course.
Me: "Why?"
A.: "Because you put soap on it."
Me:"No, that was your tongue. And you got soap because you were screaming."
A.: "Oh."

So, yesterday, we made our first trip to the zoo. The downtown, far away with lots of scary driving zoo. One of the reasons I bought a membership to this zoo was to force myself to make the trek through the city. We made it there with not much trouble (I varied the route slightly due to some trouble with a round-a-bout). The girls had a lot of fun seeing the elephants, giraffes, seals, snakes, and fish. I think their favorite (or maybe it was mine) was when the 'Daddy' giraffe came close to the window so it was almost like we were standing at his feet. You really don't have a true understanding of just how huge they are until you get a perspective like that. Although, I think the girls were more in awe of the fact that he stuck his tushy up to the window and pooped. Giraffe poop looks like giant deer or bunny poop.
We met my step-mom and lil siblings there and the zoo was at its emptiest visitor-wise - so it was a very fun zoo visit overall.

We did, however, run into a little bit of trouble getting home. The on ramp was closed. And I was scared of the people sitting on the corners glaring at me, so I didn't really feel comfortable driving around searching for a different on-ramp. The zoo is on the south side of town. The people that gave my husband directions to give to me advised me to drive straight north until I hit the main East/West interstate...on the north side of town. We had a great mini-tour of downtown. Then the road I was on ended and forced me to hop on the interstate going East...I live west of town. I did finally get turned around and safely home. It was all very stressful, but, worth it, I think. So, now that I know what I'm doing we'll be heading back soon!

Today we went to see 'Beverly Hills Chihuahua.' My girls love George Lopez (or rather they love the character he plays on his show on Nick at Nite), so I figured his voice in combination with a movie all about cute little doggies was sure to be a hit. The movie just didn't have very much kid excitement though....they really just need more physical comedy to stay entertained. I guess I should have known they weren't ready for live action since they barely made it five minutes into 'Homeward Bound.' But, for the first 2/3rds of the movie they enjoyed munching their popcorn and trying not to get eaten by the chairs, so I think we'll score the days activity as a hit rather than a miss. Although, unless you really like dogs/Chihuahuas, I don't recommend the movie.

So we had a busy couple of days and tomorrow we have a potential park date with a bunch of mom's of infants (most of the ladies in my MOPs group are new mommies with under-a-year babies). My house is starting to get away from me clutter-wise, so we might have to take a day off. Seems like we're either horribly bored and lonely or just swamped with potential activities!

***Baby J. update: she's now pulling up -yay. She's still in the early stages, though. She gets stuck and cries until someone comes and sits her back down. Usually, that makes her even more upset, though, not sure why....***