New Blog!

I started a new blog just for pictures!

http://momofonetwothreefourphotoaday.blogspot.com/

My goal is to post one picture per day!!!  Every Day!!

:) MomOf4

Photo Story Friday - Pinewood Derby 2010!

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

My son, the Prince, was so happy to be able to join boy scouts this year!  The boy scouts have a Pinewood Derby every year and for the last couple of weeks, DadOf4 and Prince have been creating the "best pinewood derby car on the face of the earth!!" according to my son!

Prince does not look very happy here but he is really just irritated that I interrupted them from their work!

\

Progress!  DadOf4 and Prince had fun hanging out together!

My little Knight sat so nicely while the big boys worked!

Happy Boy Scout!

Daddy and son!

"The best pinewood derby car on the face of the earth!!"

Happy Photo Story Friday!

Sleep Deprivation, Isolation, and Depression - Oh My!

I took my kids outside to play on Tuesday afternoon.  It was a busy night - lots of homework - and Princess had girl scouts.  But it was also 65 degrees and sunny!  It is hard to live 1000 miles away from home, but on days like this, when Iowa is blizzarding and Texas is beautiful, it's a little easier.

We live on a pretty busy street, but the neighborhood directly behind us is on a cul-de-sac and, since we know so many friends on that street, we have no qualms whatsoever about heading over there to play.  We bring bikes, scooters, and band-aids because invariably someone gets a boo-boo.  The kids ride their bikes in the street, and the adults watch for cars.  If we see one, we all yell "CAR!" and the kids know to race over to the sidewalk until the car has passed.

My friend, AB's mom, my new neighbor friend, K, and I were all sitting in our strategically placed camping chairs so we could have a good view of our collective eight kids and chat at the same time.  We weren't there long when another mom came walking down the street to join us.

Seeing her brought back a lot of memories.  She was me 6 years ago.  She was walking her 2 1/2 year old daughter around and carrying a 6 month old, and she looked tired even though she was trying her best to not to.  She was smiling and chatting, but I could see it in her eyes.  So, I asked her how her baby was sleeping.

She laughed and said "Not so good."

Her first child had been a perfect sleeper - not unlike Princess.  Princess slept through the night - we are talking 7:00PM-7:30AM - at 2 months old.  The 6-years-younger me and this new mom had both thought that it was because we were doing something right.  BEEP!  Wrong answer!

Along came child #2.  And it really doesn't matter that her second child was a little girl and mine was a little boy.  What mattered is that they were NOT good sleepers at 6 months of age.

6 months may not seem like that long of a time, but if you are not sleeping, it seems like forever!

So we chatted about this and instantly bonded the way moms do.  Motherhood is a sisterhood in and of itself.  And it is my firm belief that if we can help each other through the tough days, we will all be better for it.

She had not been out and about for a few days.

Have you ever been, (not exactly) trapped (but you know what I mean) with a baby and a toddler?  For several days in a row?  I have.  And it isn't pretty. 

When I was that 6-years-younger mom, there were weeks that would go by and I would not get out of the house except when DadOf4 took me out to eat on Friday night.  Yea, dumb I know.  But I was tied to nap schedules and feeding schedules and it was really, really hard to get of out of the house on my own with two kids. Those schedules are really good for the kids, but they are tough on mommies.

I never experienced Baby Blues right after the kids were born.  Or maybe I did and it just didn't last too long.

I did however experience depression and all of the guilt that goes along with it.  How can a new mom possibly be depressed?  She has that precious little baby and I was lucky enough to have a precious little baby and a toddler too.

It is simple math here people. 

Sleep Deprivation + Isolation = Depression.

I am a slow learner, but by baby #4, I finally got it.  It is important to do stuff that is good for me too even if it gets us off schedule and a nap is missed here and there.  Bottles are a good thing.  Pumping is not a sin and neither is formula!

I hope I helped that new mommy.  Knowing that you are not alone and taking isolation out of the equation goes a long way to combat depression.  So does getting sleep but that is not always possible. 

And so, we pushed homework back on a beautiful 65 degree, sunny day here in Texas and Duke skipped his afternoon nap. 

And we are all better for it!

Wordless Wednesday - Daddy and Prince working on Pinewood Derby Car!

If Life Were A Balancing Act, I'd Be Hanging On By My Little Toe!

If life were a balancing act, I would be hanging on by my little toe. 

Barely.

Life can be crazy.  And once you throw kids into the mix, it can get insane. 

Sometimes I feel like the main attraction at the three ring circus: Mommy the Juggler.  Let's see how much she can keep in the air at the same time:

8 year old - CHECK!  (please note that these first 5 are all equal - no favoritism at my house!)
6 year old - CHECK!
4 year old - CHECK!
1 year old - CHECK!
DadOf4 - CHECK!

(Now it gets a little trickier!)

Healthy Meals Together - CHECk
Homework - CHEck
Playdates - CHeck
Outside time - Check
Kitty Cat Care - check

(Uh oh, something's gotta give!)

Excercise - *heck
Volunteering at school - **eck
Housework (much to the chagrin of DadOf4)- ***ck
Keeping in touch with old friends - ****k
Irrational Emontions - ***** (the kids', not mine)

Now, what was I forgetting, oh yeah...

MomOf4 - (blank, blank, blank, blank, blank)

Time to build up that little toe muscle and pull myself up again.  I guess that is why I started blogging again.  No one else may read this, but it is a good outlet for my whining/*itching/moaning. (And of you are reading this, make my day and post a comment!  :) )

Promise to Princess

Last night was one of those nights. 

And it followed one of those days. 

You know, the ones where you are spinning your wheels in the sand trying to get something done and it doesn't get done and feels like it never will.  It was 8:30, and Princess came out of her room and asked me if I wanted to talk.

I am more than a little sad/mad at myself for saying no. 

But it was 8:30.  On a school night.  Bedtime is at 8:00.  And it had been one of those nights when her little brothers didn't want to go to sleep and were being naughty. 

I was tired.

But my little girl who I know will not stay a little girl forever wanted to talk to me.

I know there will come a time when I am the last person in the world she will want to talk to.

I know that her friends are becoming more and more important to her.  My influence is waning.

And she asked me to talk.

And I said no.

Princess, I promise the next time you ask me to talk, my answer will be a hearty YES!

And I will try to ask you to talk tonight.  And if you say no, it will be OK. 

But I am going to ask tomorrow too....

I love you my little Princess.  :)

Pictures!

We are missing the grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins today!  Here are some pictures!

Taken 1/23/2010.  He is starting to look like a little boy!!

What a handsome and happy boy!

These kids are wearing Daddy out!

Playing Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots!

Knight calling God.

This morning my little Knight and I were chatting about what he has been learning in pre-school.  We talked about how Jesus lives in his heart.

About an hour later he came up to me and asked...

"What is God's phone number?"

I don't have answers for all of his questions, but for this one I did.

"Just fold your hands and pray."

I love 4 year olds!

Happy MLK Day!

The kids get Monday off from school. I am so excited to have a 3 day weekend!  Time goes so quickly anymore that an extra day here and there is a true blessing.

As we approach Martin Luther King Day, I started thinking about his "I Have A Dream" speech.  I remember being blown away by his beautiful words when I was a freshman in high school. 

My kids go to a public school, and I believe they are much better for it.  The school is diverse.  There are children attending originally from Korea, Mexico, China, Vietnam, Nigeria, India, and the list goes on and on.

When my daughter was in Kindergarten, a new girl from Korea joined her class who could not speak a word of English.  She was placed in Princess's class because there was a little boy in class also from Korea and he could help translate the teacher's instructions.  It was simply amazing how quickly that little girl caught on!  And not to the detriment of the rest of the class.  They learned from her too. 

They learned that not everyone speaks English.
They learned that if you don't know a language, you can learn it pretty quickly if you decide to do so.
They learned that a good and positive attitude can take you a long way.

Today this little girl is in 3rd grade and is doing very well.  Kids are resilient. They do not doubt that they can learn something new given the tools to do it.

I watch my kids on their school playground and I think of this line from the I Have A Dream speech:

"I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers."

I watch all of the kids playing together on the school playground and I think maybe, just maybe we are getting a little closer to the realization of this dream...?

Diapers

You know how your mind wanders when you are tired?  Well, I have been sleepy this week so my mind has gone to all sorts of silly places.  I got to thinking about diapers the other day.  And how many diapers I have changed in the last 8 1/2 years and how many diapers I will have changed after the Duke gets potty trained.

Princess was about 2 1/2 when she was completey potty trained.

Prince and the Knight were 3 or a bit older. 

If I assume the Duke follows in the boys' footsteps, I will have changed the following amount of diapers:

365/2 = about 183.  365+365+183= 913 days of diaper changing for Princess.  I estimate that I change diapers about 5 times per day.  (Wake up, after nap #1, after nap #2, before bed, and a poopy diaper.)

913*5= 4565 diapers for Princess.

265*3=1094*5=5475

5475+
5475+
5475+
4565=
_____
20990

That's a lot of diapers!

Wordless Wednesday - Texans in the Iowa SNOW!

Looking Back...

Happy New DECADE! 

I saw this on another blog and thought it would be fun!  My last decade was completely and utterly dominated by babies, kids, and family.  It makes me wonder what I want the next 10 years to look like....  :)

10 years ago:  I was planning our wedding.  We will celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary this coming May 20th.  Time flies when you are having fun (and having babies). 

9 years ago:  I was expecting Princess, my parents' very first grandchild.  We had been married for 8 months.  We moved 1000 miles from home for DadOf4's new job and I was telecommuting, working 60+ hours a week with some really communication-challenged people.  Very stressful.  We had Princess this year and I was so excited, happy, and scared to be a mom.  I didn't want to mess her up! 

8 years ago:  I had a 6 month old and we had just moved into this house.  I quit my job after 9/11 to stay home full time - that was a huge identity crisis for me.  We had been living in an apartment for a year after moving 1000 miles away from home, family, and friends.  It took many years to find close friends again.  This was hard.  This year was also hard because I was either really needed or really had nothing to do but clean the house. I was struggling a bit to reinvent myself in this non-working mother role. :)

7 years ago:  I had a 1 1/2 year old and I was expecting the Prince.  We were deep into remodeling our house.  We re-did the entire kitchen, painted every room in the house but the bathrooms and the two formal rooms.  Progress!

6 years ago:  I had a 6 month old and a 2 1/2 year old.  We had a big enough snowfall on Valentine's Day of that year to make a life-sized snowman!  I joined MOPS (Mother's of Preschoolers) this year and started making some new friends (lifesavers).  We went to Disney World this year because DadOf4 was sent to a conference in Orlando and we thought "What the heck?"  I would like to go back this year too!  We also re-carpeted the house this year.

5 years ago:  I was expecting the Knight, had a 1 1/2 year old and a 3 1/2 year old.  This time was very structured.  Both Princess and Prince napped on a tight schedule and things were running pretty smoothly at home.  We were pretty much tied to nap schedules and keeping the kids happy.

4 years ago:  I had an almost 1 year old, a 2 1/2 year old and a 4 1/2 year old.  This was one of the most difficult years of my life.  I love having kids so close in age, but this year almost did me in.  I was spread very, very thin and had little if no time for myself.  I gained weigh and felt horrible about that.

3 years ago: Three years ago I had an almost 2 year old, a 3 1/2 year old, and a 5 1/2 year old.  Princess was in Kindergarten and that was really hard for me to bear.  We lost my grandfather on February 25th. 

2 years ago:  Two years ago, I had an almost 3 year old, a 4 1/2 year old and a 6 1/2 year old.  I had just started training for my first 5K race.  I was also 30 pounds heavier than I am today.  I've gotta pick up running again after all of the New Year Resolutioin crowd have stopped going to my gym!  I would like to work up to a 10K this year.  A month after my first 5K we found out about the Duke.  We were happy and a little nervous to go back to having an itty bitty in the house.

1 year ago:  One year ago, I had a newborn baby boy who had just come home after spending a week and a day in the NICU.  I also had an almost 4 year old boy, a 5 1/2 year old boy and a 7 1/2 year old girl.  Prince and Princess were both playing basketball and we were running ourselves pretty ragged getting everyone where they needed to be when we needed to be there. I was having many sleepless nights and feeling very lonely and longing for family to come out and visit our newest addition.  A year ago we were also looking forward to being a part of the wedding party for DadOf4's brother and his now wife.  It was a great motivator for losing weight!  I lost 35 pounds total.

Today: Today I am feeling happier. I have a really good friend who likes to go to the gym - two birds with one stone!  I am better at watching what I eat and understanding how that affects my mood.  I am as busy as I have ever been.  The downtime I have, I feel like I have to borrow from the kids.  They do homework, nap, watch a movie, and I facebook, blog or read.  I need those stolen mements though - even if they make me feel guilty.  I have 4 beautiful, precious children who are counting on me to be their cheerleader, motivator, and, well,  mother.  If I have learned one thing, it is this: to be the best mom I can be, I have to have some time to fill myself up.  If I am running on empty, they get nothing.  If I can take a few minutes every day and do something for myself, be it running, writing, or facebooking to reconnect to an old friend I am a better mother for them.
Maybe I will look into my crystal ball and try to predict what the next 10 years will bring.  I will save the Looking Ahead for another day.

Princess Versus Sugar

Princess has always had an issue with sugar.  She loves it, but quite honestly, she gets really revved up after she eats sugar.  Or should I say after the "sugar high" wears off, she because a bear.  This has been an on-going battle.

The first time I recognized the role that sugar would play in our lives was at a birthday party  for one of Princess's friends.  She was about a year and a half old at the time.  Princess has always been a good listener.  Even at a year and a half, she would stay beside me, and come back if I called her.

On this particular Saturday we went to a birthday party.  They of course served cake, ice cream, and the kid-standard juice box.  Princess ate every bite of her cake and ice cream and loved her very first juice box.

A few minutes later, my sweet, good listener broke away from me.  The birthday party was at the Children's museum down here.  I remember having to chase her through a throng of people while she laughed and ran away.  Ugh!

Also about that time, we noticed something else about juice.  This was plain old ordinary orange juice and not juice boxes.  Princess would ask for a little juice before she went to bed and we usually gave in because she didn't have any sort of weight problem and we were new parents.  We started noticing that on nights when we gave her juice, she would wake up with night terrors. 

Night terrors are scary things to deal with.  Your child wakes up screaming bloody murder, but when  you get up to her, she looks right through you.  She is not really awake yet.  We delt with this by pulling her on my lap and speaking soothingly to her.  Eventually she would settle down and go back to sleep.

The funny thing is that when we took the juice away at night, the night terrors stopped.

Hmmm...

My kids have been blessed with a daddy who has a really high metabolism and a mommy who swore her kids would not have to suffer through being the "fat kid in school" like she did.  We eat healthy food at home most nights, and go out only occasionally.  When we do go out, we usually make good food choices - no McDonald's, etc.  So far our kids have not had to battle any weight issues and for that I am very thankful. 

But I don't want food to become a fight for later either.  I am quite aware that I have a very bright daughter who likes to be in charge of anything she can get her busy little hands on. I am also aware that these are the key ingredients for developing an eating disorder later in life.  Food cannot become a control issue.

That being said, we have had horrible after school times for the last 6 months.  DadOf4 and I have talked extensively about what is causing our very-well-behaved-in-school daughter to come home a snarling, snippy little girl.

Did she use up all of her good behavior in school?

Is she just hungary?

Is what she ate for lunch affecting her after school behavior?

We have been focusing on the latter.  She eats lunch right around noon.  We have noticed in the past that when she eats sugary things, her behavior erodes about three hours afterward. 

She gets home at 3:00.

I have scheduled a doctor's appointment to discuss this further.  I have read up on diabetes.  It does not appear to be that.  She does not drink water and go to the bathroom all the time. 

DadOf4 and I have come up with the theory that when her blood sugar plummets (as in 3 hours after eating a sugary snack) her behavior plummets as well.  DadOf3 is very much like that.  If he has had to skip a meal because of work issues, he comes home very crabby.  We always have cheese sticks on hand for him.  Princess does not like cheese sticks and she has caught on to the fact that when she is ultra crabby I ask her to drink a glass of orange juice.  She now refuses.

This issue will not be solved today.  We need to get some doctor input and luckily we have wonderful pediatritians down here.

This is my issue of the day!

Brothers

The Prince and the Knight share a room. The Prince is now 6 1/2 and the Knight will be 5 in February. Bedtimes are a nightly challenge for us. The Prince falls asleep very quickly, but the Knight needs a while to settle down and fall asleep - he gets that from me.

DadOf4 can literally fall asleep in under 2 minutes after we have gone to bed. I know this - I have timed him. Me? I take at least a half an hour to settle down.

DadOf4 and I work this out by him falling asleep right away and by me either reading or watching a little TV in our room until I get sleepy.

The Prince and the Knight work this out by the Prince falling asleep right away and the Knight throwing toys at the Prince's head.

Yeah - this is not exactly working out for them.

The Duke (1 year old) currently has his own room. This was necessary last year when he was waking up three times per night. But now that he is sleeping through I am rethinking the entire roommate situation.

Princess is the only girl - plus she is the oldest (8 1/2). She gets her own room.

I would like to give Prince his own room too. He has put up with a lot from the Knight the last few years.

However, the Knight will start Kindergarten next year. I am just not sure it makes sense to separate the Knight and the Prince now. It would be nice to have the Duke sleep past the 6:00AM school morning wake-up call when school starts next fall.

This is my dilemma right now.

Any suggestions?

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Here is a sneak peek into our 2500+ mile drive to Iowa and back.

We got up bright and early the Wednesday before Christmas to start our trip! DadOf4 and I woke up at 3:55AM!
We stopped at my sisters for the first night. Here is my sis and Duke!

Next stop was Grandma and Papa's house! The Knight and I made a neat snowman!

Merry first Christmas little Duke!

Santa found us at Grandma and Papa's and left stocking presents!

Prince with Uncle B!

DadOf4 and his sister!

Aunt J and my little Knight!

Papa, Duke and Cousin O!

Cousins!

Grandma, Princes, Cousin O and Princess!

Off to my side of the family! My Dad with Knight, Duke, and Prince!

My dad with Duke and Princess!

Happy Birthday to Grandpa (December 31) Duke (January 1)!

My sister, my mom, Princess, and me.

My mom and Princess!

Cousins in the snow! It was a White Christmas for us!

My sister and her hubby!

My mom and DadOf4

We just returned home after a wonderful Christmas with family. The time always goes too fast! Here are some pictures!