thanks for the advice

Wow who knew that a topic such as food would get me so many responses! First of all--thank you to all of you for your tips. Vic--this is a first to hear from you. Hooray! I don't even think I knew you ever read this. (PS: Your daughter always loved healthy food....)
Anyway, the only reasons beans come up is that it's one of the more edible vegetables in our house. No one likes: peas, broccoli, asparagus, spinach, carrots (cooked or raw), or any other one I can't think of. Ryan will eat beans, Olivia will eat corn, Kate will eat one bean, and Ryan won't eat corn. Too much drama in our house huh?
I agree with Erin on the control thing. I also think that Olivia is stressing about it. For the last four days she has asked me what we are having for supper by say, oh, 11am. Then she asks if we will have beans.
I have been giving her V8 fusion (I didn't see V8 Splash), and you guessed it, tummy issues. Maybe I will go with the "eat what you can" business. Jenay I love your idea too. I told Olivia we were doing that last night, but then Thad dumped her plate!

Before I forget, tomorrow I go back to work outside of the home. I won't have access to blogger during the day (this is a new thing). That's a good thing I guess, because I get paid to teach, not blog! Anyway, if you need to get in touch with me, it's best to email my work account. I am dreading being away all day, but I am also excited for the new year for my children and for me. Change is always difficult, but it's good too.

Olivia

This child is driving me crazy at dinner time! Seriously, what the heck is up with her? Each night she flips out when she sees what I have made. It doesn't matter if she loved it two weeks ago, now she hates it all. Most nights she refuses to eat. So far I have tried:
1. ignoring
2. sending her to her room
3. no dessert
4. putting it in the fridge until later
5. no food the rest of the night
The other problem is that she will eat a few bites and 'be done.' Do I let it go? Do I make her sit there all night? She hates vegetables, so unless it's corn, you can forget it.


Here is the kicker: I was a small eater (as a child). I hated veggies. I remember sitting there having to eat a stinking brussel sprout, spinach, or whatever gross vegetable my parents served. I gagged, whined, sobbed, and everything she is doing. I get how she feels. I know that she doesn't understand why it's important for her body to eat healthy foods. She's four for crying out loud. I want to scream!

My dad has repeatedly told me not to struggle with my kids over food. I don't want food to become a power struggle. That could cause a real problem down the road. I also don't want my four year old thinking that Chef Mommy is going to give her an extra big bedtime snack later on when she is hungry. Another issue is taking the kids for ice cream (like tonight b/c Ryan had two teeth pulled today) and knowingly bringing a screaming kid who can't have ice cream. It's not fun, and it ruins the fun for all involved.

I need some advice gals. Do I let it go? Do I stick with it? Do I tell her to "eat what she can" like my dad told me as I got older? I really don't think that I will get her to eat veggies whether or not there is a consequence or reward. HELP.

PS: She told me that it's not fun the way I treat her. Olivia also told me that I like Kate than her, because Kate will eat beans. I am 'the meanest mommy ever.' I am currently listening to sobs about the fact that she 8 or 20 bites so "what's the answer mommy? Can I play or not?" Oh and I just got asked what we are having tomorrow night. I told her maybe more green beans. She didn't see the humor in that.
Dear Lord.

Non-terrific Tuesday

You can see that Ryan was in 'a mood' when this was taken.
Always posing...always dramatic
A typical day where no nap was taken.

Brady being sweet as always.
It's been "one of those weeks" around here. If it's not Ryan pushing it with his attitude, it's Kate with her 'jumpupanddownflailing' crying fits (hearing one upstairs as we speak), it's Brady's continual blueberry or peach poop blowouts in public (Target or at football practice tonight), or Olivia's "I hate everything you make for supper" whine-fests.
I look at Brady each day and fully realize that I am on borrowed time with him. In a year (or so), he will be throwing tantrums, crying uncontrollably over something ridiculous, stop eating veggies and fruits, start hitting, biting, kicking, and worst of all, stop liking me!

I want you think back to when your first born child in your arms. Think how tiny he/she was, smelled, and looked at you.
Now, slap some football pads on him, fast forward almost ten years, and that's about how I was feeling when I took this photo. What happened to my 5 lb 14 oz baby???

So tell me (too)...

Melissa put this on her blog. I am answering it, and I would love it if YOU would do the same on yours!

When you were 18....

1) What was your dream job? being a mom
2) Car? Some sports car. I can't remember the name, but it might have been a 3000GT?
3) Vacation? I had just taken my first vacation with Thad and his mom to California. It was awesome.
4) Husband? was NOT thinking like that at 18
5) How many children were you going to have? didn't think about that either
6) What was your favorite food? drink? Taco Bell or Pizza. I think I drank a Dr. Pepper daily at MSUM. Didn't drink alcohol really--I know, I know.
7) Where did you work at? Tastee Freez
8) What did you do for fun? Gamma Phi Beta stuff
9) Favorite movie? No clue
10) Favorite color? Pink
11) Were you college bound or college broke? College bound & loved it.
12) Hair color? Reddish brown
13) Favorite store? Back then? I will guess Express.
14) Best memory? Being a GPB pledge, Owl parties, the summer of 1994 when Thad, Elli, and Melissa lived together, and just moving toward the next stage of life.
15) Current job? Teacher and mother

Need a laugh?

Yesterday morning after breakfast while Thad is walking upstairs in his "pajamas" (t shirt and underwear), Olivia said, "Daddy your penis is really big. It's huge."

Just so you don't think...

....that life is always peachy around here, today:

1. Brady screamed bloody murder during the night. He was inconsolable until Thad brought him outside for 30 seconds. The pacifier, singing, bottle, or any other darn thing didn't work. He did take a huge poop later today. Must have been alllll those blueberries he ate.
2. Kate lost friends and tv today. We have had way too much whining, arguing, and tantruming for her seven year old mouth.
3. Ryan came home from a sleepover. Within 20 minutes, he also lost friends and tv today for telling Kate to "shut your butthole."
4. Olivia has thrown about 5 tantrums since this afternoon. We have had the, "I hate tacos" tantrum, the "I don't want to go to the store" tantrum, the "I am not getting out of the car" tantrum, and "You are the meanest mommy ever" tantrum.
5. Thad and I have already gotten on each other's nerves as well tonight.

Now tell me that your day wasn't perfect either?!

bedroom progress

Remember back when I was trying to find the perfect color to paint my bedroom walls to match my gray bedding? After three months, Thad painted the room. I don't love the color, but it's better than the ugly mauve it had been. We picked a very pale lavender color.
Yesterday I put up a vinyl monogram above our bed. I think I like it. Really, I am just glad something is up on the wall to give the room some oomph. You can decide for yourselves what you think.
Frankly I would rather invest my money in a vacation any day!

hot!

I love, love, love hot summer days. We haven't had enough of them this summer--bummer!
Yesterday for the first time in my life, I took the kids to Buffalo State Park where they have a man made lake. My friend Tami took her kids as well. Boy did they have a blast! I admired the hoards of people swimming, diving, and wading in the water. My own children in particular were so carefree. I am not a lake person at all. I have thought many times that I would love to have a lake to go to, but in reality, it's not for me.

I am very scared of lakes, lake water, aquatic life, and most things related to nature. Bless Tami's heart for going in to the water with my kids. I walked in to almost my waste, but that was all I could handle. The anxiety instantly kicked in, and I had to go back. Give me a cement walled chlorinated pool any day, but a lake? No thanks.

Today was another scorcher. Ryan went with a friend to the Moorhead Pool. This place was my second home for years in the summertime. My bestest childhood friend Stephanie and I headed there every possible day. I can still hear Y94 blasting, watching her go off the diving board (I couldn't swim so I didn't try to pass the test you had to take to do that), laying out on our towels, eating crap food, and being lost in our own little world.

But I digress....since Ryan was off at the big kid pool, and Kate was busy with her friends, I took Brady, Olivia, and my friend Jenny's boy Brandon to the park pool. Brady isn't a fan of the water yet, but we made do. He did enjoy sitting on the edge and splashing his little chubby legs in the water. Olivia and Brandon were so cute to watch. They splashed, sang (mostly Olivia), played games, and enjoyed the wonders of summer.


Tonight the rain is falling, the thunder is rolling, and cool air is returning to the area. I am sitting in a quiet house while Thad is away on a boys' weekend, Kate is next door having a slumber party, and the three other kids are sleeping. I have nothing good to read, doing school work is still not happening, so here I sit blogging. If nothing else, this quiet time enables me to sit and reflect on the great couple of days I have had with the kids.

There are many parts to each day where I feel a little cranky (like today when I spent over one hour putting away load after load of laundry), frustrated that my girls ask me daily "how many more bites until I can be done with supper?," want to pull my hair out at back talk, defiance, and rudeness, or get mad when I eat a big blizzard that I didn't even like AND a bowl of cheetoes (ahem tonight).

The beauty of blogging is that it enables me to set myself straight. I can focus on the positives, feel blessed and grateful, and even get to read about other people I care deeply about. It's rather cathartic actually. If people think it's foolish to do this, so be it. I for one, feel pretty darn lucky that there is such a thing as a blog...and hot summer days!

bittersweet

August is such a bittersweet month for me. I fully enjoy the beautiful weather (finally). I love watching my kids play, swim, sleep in, snuggle with the kids every morning, exercise daily, stay outside talking to my friends as late as I want, watch tv as late as I want, and be available to my entire family. While all this is going on, the reality that I have to be at work in a few weeks looms over me like a dark cloud each year. Don't get me wrong, I love my job. But, I really love summer vacation. I also love not having to correct papers, lesson plan, go to meetings, deal with the guilt of trying to fit in 'me' time after working all week, and feeling like my life is one big race.
I have so much work that has to be done at work. Am I there doing it all? Hardly. Finally it's hot out, and so I am playing the typical "maybe next week" game. Really, next week, I have to crack down, but for now...
I love watching the girls include Brady when they play house, school, daycare, or whatever.

I love taking the kids to the pool although this summer the opportunity hasn't presented itself often enough.
I can't get enough of watching Ryan make his brother smile all the time. I love watching Brady grow and change daily. His favorite thing right now is doing "SO BIG."

I love to watch Olivia dress up at any time of the day.
Do you see those two top teeth?

It doesn't help that the months of anticipation for our vacation is over too. That's okay, I guess. The six of us plan to do it again next year.
Until September 1, I plan to try and savor all the last moments of summer....

Vegas Vacation

Thad, Wes, Jenny, Ryan, Kara, and I had a fabulous vacation in Vegas. For you readers who don't know the connections all of us have, I will fill you in. Wes and Jenny are neighbors. This is our third trip together to Vegas. Kara and I worked together for a few years at Kohls during my college days. For those of you who have worked retail (or anywhere) together, you know the fun friendships that you make. Kara also happens to be married to a fellow Thomas Edison/MHS classmate of mine. Even more coincidental is that Ryan, Wes, and I are all Edison kids and MHS 1994 grads.
We were picked up from the airport in a limo courtesy of Ryan and Kara. Then we were dropped off at our hotel, the Monte Carlo, and the fun began. First on my list: find Luis the blackjack dealer who I met last year. Jenny was told he was on vacation until Thursday night. Until then, we got to enjoy the likes of Leonardo, Sal, Ines, and Dora on my last day. There were other good ones, and a few jerks as well. The three of us stuck to Blackjack. The boys? They discovered (thanks to Thad) craps. We could hardly peel them away from the craps tables, but when we did, it was fun to have the six of us at one table.
I have learned through my trip with Erin and my mom that slots suck. You are sure to lose. At least with Blackjack, there is good conversation, many, many laughs, lots of begging, whining, and screaming. The whole casino was staring at us on Thursday night as we made quite a scene.
Anyway the rest of the trip was spent laying by the pool, drinking good drinks, eating good food, a little shopping, taking in Phantom of the Opera, and making more memories.
Some people don't like Vegas. I love it. Where else can you gamble, lay out in a guaranteed hot sunny atmosphere, fly direct from Fargo, eat great food, see lots of interesting people, AND do this at a reasonable price?
To that end, I hope that the six of us go again next year. I really enjoyed my time away from Moorhead. I find that as I get older, I appreciate these getaways more and more. Thad has said that we are definitely doing it again. So I better start saving our money...
Special thanks to my awesome sister in law Stacy for taking the two big kids for a few days. She ran them ragged at VallyFair, the Como Zoo, Chutes and Ladders, and the Splash Pad. Morgan, my dear babysitter made our escape even more memorable. There is nothing like receivng nightly texts saying my babies were sound asleep. In the mornings, I would read texts of how Brady slept all night, Olivia had been fun, and so I have already hinted that I hope she will do this again.
Now I need to shake this "I am back in town with no vacation to look forward to" funk I am in. Then again it is great to be home and back with my kids!
**It should be noted that after Phantom on Thursday night, I was giddy with excitement to see Luis (aka Superman amongst the other dealers). My heart was racing. Unfortunately, seeing him this trip was not meant to be. He was on vacation for another night. Lucky for me Sal was a stud and made our last night lots of fun!

Almost ready

We are leaving for the airport pretty soon! I am looking forward to a relaxing, fun, and couples-only time with Thad and friends. Maybe I will meet another quasi-famous person too!
Have a great week everyone!