This past weekend Shawn and I went to a wedding in Buffalo, New York. We suckered my parents into watching the boys for us for the weekend. I dropped them off at school Friday morning, packed the car and took off for Upstate New York. My parents picked up the kids Friday at 5:00. I think they regretted agreeing to babysit for us by 6:15.
Below is a word-for-word copy of an e-mail my mother sent me after we returned home...
Things I Have Learned in the Last 3 Days (written at random 'cause my brain does not work right now)
1. I will take a 800 pound black bear over a 16-month-old and a 4-year-old. The bear does not scare me as much as they do.
2. Nick feels like he weighs in at 200 pounds when he climbs in bed with you in the middle of the night. He insists on sleeping on top of you.
3. Evan hates waking up to anyone other then his momma.
4. Evan has broken Jessica's record of throwing a fit. He does not pass out. He just keeps screaming.
5. Nick "hears" only what Nick wants to hear.
6. You can survive on chicken McNuggets, bread with butter and cheese sandwiches.
7. You can watch the same tv shows over and over and NOT have a breakdown. At least I think I didn't. I am still hearing "voices" so I am not so sure.
8. Nick is a smooth talker. He can make you feel guilty like a pro.
9. Divide to conquer. You may survive if you split them up.
10. If Nick is playing with something Evan will want it. See number 4 above.
11. Outside or inside does not matter, you can ALWAYS find something to climb on to give Pop Pop a fit.
12. Four-year-olds have a very short memory.
13. Sixteen-month-olds know more then they let on.
14. If a tv show is on, and they are actually watching it, don't even try to ask a question.
15. Frank says if he keeps his eyes closed he can survive anything Nick does.
16. It helps to know where the clean clothes are stored.
17. The "mother's voice" still works when you finally loose your patience.
18. Babysitting is like an episode of Star Trek. Time slows down, but aging does not.
19. If there is a stick, broom or anything that can put an eye out, Evan will want to play with it. See number 4 above.
20. Our hearts are willing, but the bodies can't handle it.
21. If you want to keep Nick occupied, take him to a book store. He will ignore the books, but play with the Thomas the Tank display for hours.
22. Evan's "Damian Face" does not bother Nick at all. We on the other hand know what's coming. See number 4 above.
Glad you guys had a good time. Keep that memory alive as we will NEED an extended recovery time period. LOL
When we got home last night dad said, "do you hear that?" I said, "hear what?" He said, "exactly." The he asked me if I wanted to watch Wow Wow Wubsy or Hot Wheels Battle Force 5. Of course I passed on both, then we went right to BED. The Upside Down Show was in my dreams....
Disclaimer: No beating/spankings where handed out to children during this event. However, they spanked us good!
P.S. We have filed a copy of this for future reference in the event we are asked to do this again in the near future!
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Now, we did have an amazing time at the wedding, then we headed north to visit Niagra Falls for a couple hours before heading home. I don't know if my parents know just how much we needed and appreciated the weekend alone, but I do know that I'm never going to be able to thank them enough. Shawn and I were able to be 'just us' again for the first time in a very long time. We were able to remember how much we love each other and we were able to re-charge ourselves so we have a better chance at keeping up with our children.
Here's to Eric and Andrea - may they be as happy together and Shawn and I are! I'd also like to send some Best Wishes their way for the upcoming birth of their son, Cooper! If any two people I know deserve to find happiness, it's them!!!
So, what do you think the chances are I'll be able to convince my folks to watch the kids so we can go out for our anniversary next weekend? Yeah, I'm betting slim to none.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
We're going to the chapel...
I have no idea why, but the other day I decided it was a good idea to ask Nicholas if mommy and daddy should have another baby. He said that we should. I asked if he would prefer this hypothetical baby be a boy or a girl. He said girl. I asked what he would like us to name her. He said 'B' (I'm keeping the full name out of this entry for the privacy of the little girl he's referring to). B is the name of his girlfriend in school. I asked him why he would want to name his sister B. He explains, "when I marry my B, Evan can marry the new B." Interesting way to keep your little brother from stealing your girlfriends, but I see an issue here. I explain to him that brothers and sisters cannot get married. He innocently asked me why. I tell him, "because we don't live in West Virginia." He says (and I'm going to have to spell phonetically here), "why does it matter if we're in Ver-jine-er or not?"
The conversation ended there as I was laughing too hard to respond at that point.
The conversation ended there as I was laughing too hard to respond at that point.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Pillow Talk
My nearly-20-month-old is at that stage where children start to mimic all kinds of words. I say, "Evan, say banana." He responds, "na-na." Nick says, "no Evan!" He responds, "no ni-na." Shawn says, "damn it!" He responds, "nah nit!" The only thing that he will not, under any circumstance, repeat is, "love you". I lie, he did say it once... to my mother! Therefore, I say it doesn't count and it was just a fluke. Otherwise, I really do enjoy this stage. He's becoming far less frustrated because he's able to communicate better. We're better able to know what he wants or needs. This is a win-win all around.
This past Saturday Shawn had to work and my folks were up in the mountains. I was home alone with the boys. We had a lovely morning out yard-sale hopping (my grandmother would have been so proud, I got a lovely picnic basket, red plaid blanket and all, for $2) and visiting with a friend and her baby. I stopped for happy meals on the way home and survived through lunch with no major melt downs. I really am getting good at this mommy stuff.
Anyway, lunch is over and we're preparing for nap time. This is when I'm braced for my worst battles of the day. Mommy vs. 2 over-tired children who are in denial about how tired they truly are. Mommy will win this battle, the question usually is, at what cost. I am a big fan of warning children prior to whatever horrible fate awaits them (ie, we're leaving the park in 5 minutes, yes you're getting a needle but it will only hurt for a second and the like). This particular Saturday I give them the 5 minute warning and get no response. I believe it's because they're far too engrossed in Hot Wheels Battle Force 5 to pay any attention to what I'm saying to them. A minute or so later, Evan wanders over to where I'm sitting on the couch and puts his arms up in the air in the typical 'pick-me-up' way all toddlers do. I picked him up and was shocked when he immediately wrapped his little arms around my neck and said, "ahhh ohhh" (which sounded a lot like Love You!!!!). My heart melted and I decided in that moment that the children deserved to stay up all afternoon with no nap, all the ice cream and cookies they wanted and we would move their beds out to under the swing set as soon as Shawn came home! My children were the bestest children in the whole world! My little guy just hugged me and told me he loved me!!! It was right after those decisions that I was smacked in the back of the head with the throw pillow that was on top of the couch behind me. Turns out he wasn't hugging me as much as reaching past me to grab the pillow. Also turns out that a nearly-20-month-old saying pillow (or many other 2 syllable phrases) can sound a lot like 'love you' to a mother who desperately wants to hear it.
I s'pose I learned that even a toddler knows he must be missing out on some magical world while sleeping during nap time and, once they learn how to better communicate their needs with their parents, they're also able to communicate how much they don't want to take a nap by smacking their mommy in the back of the head with a pillow. Of course, I changed my tune once I was fully aware of his intentions, decided ice cream and cookies were out of the question, no nap for them meant no relaxation for me and mattresses and swing sets do not mix under any circumstance.
At this point 5 minutes have passed, I straighten my back and announce that 5 minutes are up and it's naptime; catch the over-tired, hyper little men; wrangle them into bed; play relaxing music on their cd player and snuggle into bed myself for a much needed rest. Evan may not have verbally told me that he loved me that afternoon, but the way he rests his hand against my cheek just before passing out told me everything I needed to know.
This past Saturday Shawn had to work and my folks were up in the mountains. I was home alone with the boys. We had a lovely morning out yard-sale hopping (my grandmother would have been so proud, I got a lovely picnic basket, red plaid blanket and all, for $2) and visiting with a friend and her baby. I stopped for happy meals on the way home and survived through lunch with no major melt downs. I really am getting good at this mommy stuff.
Anyway, lunch is over and we're preparing for nap time. This is when I'm braced for my worst battles of the day. Mommy vs. 2 over-tired children who are in denial about how tired they truly are. Mommy will win this battle, the question usually is, at what cost. I am a big fan of warning children prior to whatever horrible fate awaits them (ie, we're leaving the park in 5 minutes, yes you're getting a needle but it will only hurt for a second and the like). This particular Saturday I give them the 5 minute warning and get no response. I believe it's because they're far too engrossed in Hot Wheels Battle Force 5 to pay any attention to what I'm saying to them. A minute or so later, Evan wanders over to where I'm sitting on the couch and puts his arms up in the air in the typical 'pick-me-up' way all toddlers do. I picked him up and was shocked when he immediately wrapped his little arms around my neck and said, "ahhh ohhh" (which sounded a lot like Love You!!!!). My heart melted and I decided in that moment that the children deserved to stay up all afternoon with no nap, all the ice cream and cookies they wanted and we would move their beds out to under the swing set as soon as Shawn came home! My children were the bestest children in the whole world! My little guy just hugged me and told me he loved me!!! It was right after those decisions that I was smacked in the back of the head with the throw pillow that was on top of the couch behind me. Turns out he wasn't hugging me as much as reaching past me to grab the pillow. Also turns out that a nearly-20-month-old saying pillow (or many other 2 syllable phrases) can sound a lot like 'love you' to a mother who desperately wants to hear it.
I s'pose I learned that even a toddler knows he must be missing out on some magical world while sleeping during nap time and, once they learn how to better communicate their needs with their parents, they're also able to communicate how much they don't want to take a nap by smacking their mommy in the back of the head with a pillow. Of course, I changed my tune once I was fully aware of his intentions, decided ice cream and cookies were out of the question, no nap for them meant no relaxation for me and mattresses and swing sets do not mix under any circumstance.
At this point 5 minutes have passed, I straighten my back and announce that 5 minutes are up and it's naptime; catch the over-tired, hyper little men; wrangle them into bed; play relaxing music on their cd player and snuggle into bed myself for a much needed rest. Evan may not have verbally told me that he loved me that afternoon, but the way he rests his hand against my cheek just before passing out told me everything I needed to know.
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