bah humbug!

I am severely lacking the Christmas spirit today folks. I am NOT in a good mood. I am tired. My kids are doing a lousy job of sleeping in during their break from school. They are doing a great job of tearing through the house like a giant tornado, leaving toys, clothes and books strewn about everywhere.

Yesterday I got up and went to Jazzercise which was all well and good but then I spent the bulk of yesterday afternoon doing yardwork and bending and squatting and now I am sore. So, this morning I rolled over a few minutes before my alarm was set to go off at 5 am and turned the dang thing off. I stayed in bed a couple more hours, until I could no longer ignore the panting, whining dog next to my ear and could no longer stand the guilt of staying in bed while the hubs was getting ready for work.

I am mad that the gifts I need to mail have not yet been mailed. I am feeling guilty about not sending out a Christmas card. I am not at all interested in baking treats for the neighbors and feeling guilty about that too.

The only light at the end of my tunnel is that the kids are spending the night with my parents tomorrow night and I will have 24 hours all to myself. I will have ample opportunity to clean my filthy house and to finish wrapping all of our unwrapped gifts. But what I really want to do is spend that time curled up on the couch and watching trashy tv like "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills."

Heaven help me, our plans for today include a trip to see Santa at the mall and a trip to the post office. Good grief!

just another manic monday

I snapped some shots on my iphone as I went through my day yesterday, so you can get a feel for a typical Monday around here.

At least 3 days a week, I get up at around 5 am and head to Jazzercise. The class starts at 5:40 and lasts for an hour. There's nothing like a little "Turning Japanese" to start the morning.


And, it's cold!


I walk back in the door a few minutes before 7, in time to feed Avery (and Hannah if she's up) breakfast, make lunches, fix hair and send Avery out the door with Jeff no later than 7:30.


7:45 and Ethan has his first meltdown of the day because I gave him the juice he requested instead of the milk that he now wants...


Jeff and Avery are gone and the little kids have been fed so I finally have a chance for a much-needed cup of coffee mixed with a generous amount of creamer.


8:00 am and the first load of laundry goes in. See my new washer and dryer? Aren't they pretty? I surprised myself by not purchasing a front-loader pair. But when the salesman at Home Depot showed the the size of the washtub on this washer, I was sold! It's huge! I can fit all of the kids sheets in one load and all of their towels in another!


Then, I remember to plug in the Christmas tree.


After dropping Hannah at school at 9, I head back home and steal a few minutes for myself at the computer checking email and Facebook. I look over at my dogs laying in the sun and think that it must be pretty nice to be a dog...



After lunch, Ethan lines up his cars before heading off for his nap.


And, I fold some laundry...


Now that Ethan is down for a nap, I finally have time for a shower (just 6 short hours after my workout). I am trying out these Whitestrips in an effort to a) avoid the dentist's office for professional whitening stuff and b) avoid paying an arm and a leg for the aforementioned professional whitening stuff. I actually think they are working!


After I pick up Hannah at 2 and then Avery at 2:45, I head out with my entourage to do some shoe shopping. Avery came out of school on Friday with her sneakers literally falling apart. We had no time to shop over the weekend, so today was the day!


We also stopped in at Target and picked up a hat and some mittens for Ethan who surprised me by wanting to wear them after we got home. Probably won't be able to get them on him again...


5:00 and I am just now getting around to looking through Avery's backpack. There are various things to sign each day and assignments to do. Blah.


The girls amuse themselves by playing dress up and dancing all through the house while I make dinner.


During dinner we burn our Christmas candle. I remember having one on our table as a kid and when I mentioned it to my dad, he was kind enough to track down some for us to have at our table. He had them shipped all the way from England!


Thankfully, tonight is not bath night so after dinner Jeff plays with the little kids while I work with Avery on her research paper for her piano class. Then, it's upstairs for jammies and bedtime stories. After the kids are tucked in, I do a bit of this and that and then head off to bed myself. I have a book on my nightstand that I can usually manage to read about 4 pages of before I fall asleep. It's not the book, it's that I am exhausted! And, I will wake up and do it all again tomorrow (except maybe with less laundry).

the one-eyed babysitter

I have a problem.



My kids have been watching too much tv. And by "too much tv," I mean way too much tv.

I find them slack-jawed and glassy-eyed on the couch watching the likes of Spongebob Squarepants or some other equally nauseating animated character. And then there are the "teenager shows" that send my girls into fits of giggles over some obnoxious teen who has done or said something that only a 7 year old and 4 year old would find funny.

It's not their fault. It's mine. It's a crutch I use to keep them entertained (and still) while I get things done or have some all-important "me time." The excuses in my head range from, "I just need to get the upstairs bathrooms cleaned and then I will turn it off." Or, "I have to give Ethan something to do while I'm in the shower." And the saddest of all, "She is tired and just needs some time to veg out in front of the tv." I'm pathetic.

I have never been one to have the tv in the background all day long. So, turning it on and changing the channel to one of the kid ones is a deliberate act. I pick one of the above excuses, then the show is over and I go to turn the tv off and the kids say, "No! No! I want to watch the next show!" And I shrug my shoulders, leave the tv on and go about my business. Did I mention that I'm pathetic?

And as long as I am no longer kidding myself, it is no coincidence that I have been overwhelmed lately with all that has to be done after school lets out. Avery has 20 minutes of math and spelling homework, 20 minutes of reading homework, plus at least 30 minutes of piano practice. Nevermind playing outside, having a snack and occasionally having a friend over to play. Now, I'm no rocket scientist, but I'm pretty sure that eliminating tv would free up a lot of time for those things. And, just maybe I might not be so overwhelmed by them.

So, this past weekend, I made up my mind to drastically reduce the amount of time my kids spend in front of the tv. I chose not to tell them about my decision in the hopes of avoiding the inevitable arguments and drama. At first, the kids were especially obnoxious, dumping out all of the toys in the playroom and making all sorts of noise. They had to re-learn how to play with their toys and I had to re-learn (still learning) how to manage them. But, by Sunday night things were looking better. After school we have spent tons of time outside playing and riding bikes. Ethan and I went to the library and checked out some new books to read. And, most amazing of all, my girls have started playing Barbies together!

I am exhausted, my house is filthy but my kids are better for it...

miscellaneous

We had a very happy Halloween and hope you did too. This year the kids dressed up as a Frankenstein, a witch and a Spiderina (I don't know...). We trick-or-treated on our cul-de-sac and the one next to us and came home with plenty of candy. I am trying to limit the kids to 2 pieces per day but Daddy seems to have no such restrictions :-)

This past weekend, Daddy also decided that it was time for Ethan to have his hair cut. His hair is very slow-growing but was entirely too long in some places and starting to look a little funny. Jeff did a fantastic job of trimming his hair and Ethan was so good through the whole thing! He just sat there on our bathroom counter and didn't care a bit that Daddy was cutting his hair!



In other news, I took the girls to the dentist yesterday. It was Hannah's first visit and the dentist told us that it was time for her to stop sucking her thumb (I knew he would). So, I bought a sleeve-type thing that fits over her thumb and around her wrist for her to wear at night so that she won't do it in her sleep. Last night she was so nervous about going to bed and not being able to suck her thumb. But, she was a brave girl and came downstairs this morning so proud of herself. I promised her a new Barbie doll if she could go two weeks without sucking her thumb. Wish us luck!

weekend away

Bright and early Saturday morning we loaded the kids in the car and drove 4 hours to Brenham, Texas to attend the annual Baranowski Halloween Party/Reunion. The family gathering has been a long-standing tradition in the Baranowski family. I have been going to Brenham (or to "The Country" as we like to call it) with Jeff ever since we started dating. We look forward to it every year.

This year we were blessed with beautiful weather and the good health of everyone. We spent a beautiful day eating, talking, playing in the dirt, riding 4 wheelers, carving pumpkins and even going for a hayride. It really could not have been a more perfect day...

















On our way back home on Sunday, we stopped in Waco to take the kids for a walk around Baylor's campus. Jeff and I wanted to show the kids around and see for ourselves how much had changed. I have always loved how pretty the campus is and how much the architecture makes it feel like a traditional college campus. Although there were several new buildings, the campus still felt very familiar. Jeff and enjoyed our walk down "memory lane" and it was a nice break for the kids on the long drive home.

the light at the end of the tunnel

We have been sick. We have been sick for weeks. First Hannah and Jeff got sick and were both sicker than I've ever seen them for a week. Then, two days later, Avery got sick and was down for 5 days. A day later I got sick and was pretty much miserable for a solid week.

After spending $200 on multiple doctor's office visits and antibiotic prescriptions for Hannah, plus whatever Jeff had to spend on his multiple doctor's office visits and prescriptions, we found out that the culprit was a virus. A nasty, nasty virus that causes pink eye, fever, sore throat, body aches and a cough. The virus lasts a full 5-7 days and there is nothing to do but wait it out.

Now that we are almost 4 weeks out from where we started and now that the nasty virus has made its way through 4 out of our 5 family members, I think I am beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Fingers crossed that Ethan doesn't succomb to the wrath of the adenovirus...

5 lessons from a 4 year old

1. Don't be afraid to smile at strangers. I cannot tell you how many times I have been in the grocery store (or some other such place), completely absorbed in what I was doing and looked up to find some stranger smiling and carrying on a conversation with Hannah. She doesn't care if she knows them or not, she just smiles...and they smile back. I need to break out of the habit of self-absorbtion and remember to flash an occasional smile at those around me.

2. Speak up for what you want. Hannah has only recently started standing up for herself and I have loved watching her learn. Avery no longer bullies her and I can no longer tell her what to wear or how to fix her hair without hearing her input. The truth is, I think the world might be a little better place if more people stood up for what they want and didn't let themselves be bullied by others.

3. There is no shame in the afternoon nap. Hannah loves to sleep. I'm pretty sure she gets that from me. I will often find her asleep on the couch in the afternoons. Taking a nap is so often considered a luxury or for lazy people but shouldn't be so. In fact, it is a great way to refresh your body and your mind and to turn a bad day around.

4. A little hug goes a long way. There is nothing like someone coming to you with a hug to make you stop whatever it was you were doing and remember what is really important.

5. Be confident in your choices. Just the other day, Hannah came downstairs wearing a long sleeved silver sweater and a pair of blue jean shorts. She chose the sweater because she liked the way it was sparkly and the shorts because it was warm. She didn't care that I was telling her they didn't match. To her, her choices made sense and she wasn't about to change just because someone else didn't agree. How wonderful would it be to have that much confidence?

starting preschool, take 2

Officially, the first day of preschool for Hannah and Ethan was last Wednesday. But, I didn't take pictures because it was pouring rain and Hannah was crying and I was running late. So...better late than never.

Both Hannah and Ethan attend preschool at our church. I love it there! It is a really loving environment and I felt like Avery came out very well prepared for kindegarten. Plus, I like the fact that the building is familiar as are many of the kids since we also see them in Sunday School. This year (her last), Hannah is going to school Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Ethan is going only on Wednesdays. Both of them go from 9 am to 2 pm, thus giving me 5 hours of freedom one day a week.

Hannah loves school but complains about going every time. She says that she'd rather stay home with me :-) After school, when I ask her what her favorite part of the day was, she says "All of it!"

I really wasn't sure how Ethan would react to being dropped off at school. Sometimes he cries when we leave him in the nursery room for church. But, from the beginning, he just went right in and made a beeline for the toy trucks. I am so proud of him for not crying! Just the thought of my baby boy learning to walk in a line, eat from his lunchbox and sing songs, totally makes me smile! He is going to have such a great year!

soccer star?

Saturday marked the season opener for our local recreational soccer league. Starting at 8 am Saturday morning literally half the town trudged out to the soccer fields with their collapsible chairs, water bottles and cameras in tow. Parents, grandparents and siblings all came to see their very own soccer stars in action. We were no different.

This year, Hannah is our soccer star playing in the Girls Under 5 bracket for a team called the Gators (so creatively named for the color of their jerseys). She is on a team with 7 other little girls her age, one of whom happens to be her good friend Paige whose parents Jeff and I know from our days at Baylor.


Hannah has been telling us that she wanted to play soccer for months now and so naturally, when the big day came, she was super-excited. And, we were excited for her. So excited, in fact, that we didn't realize her first game had a 12 pm start time. Our excitement dwindled significantly as we trudged the half mile from the parking lot to the field in 95 degree temperatures with 100% humidity (no, I am not exaggerating).


Nonetheless, Jeff and I just knew that Hannah was going to have a great game. After a bit of warm up time, the girls took the field. Hannah was chosen to make the first kick off. She did great! She kicked, she ran, she kicked again. Soccer at its finest!



Then, about a minute and a half into the game, the other team took control of the ball and somehow Hannah got hit in the leg with the ball. At this point, the heat, the frustration and the pain all got the better of our little soccer star.



Poor Hannah had to learn the hard lesson that the other team will, in fact, try and take the ball away from you. She was so angry and upset that she didn't stop crying until we left for home and her thumb never left her mouth, even when she did go back onto the field. Fingers crossed for a better game next week!