Minute by Minute

Hello blog, it's been a while.  I don't think we have any friends or following anymore due to my inconsistent visits.  A lot can happen quickly when you have three kids (shocker) and time moves faster than I thought possible.  My bitty baby still looks bitty to me but at 6 months, she's really not.  My big baby isn't even so much a baby and my little guy's missing teeth are a testiment to him not being so little anymore.  It feels sad to write that...

Part of the initial reason for starting a blog was because I have such an awful, awful memory and often rely on others recollections to re-create my past.  With as hectic as things are, there is NO way that I will remember this time in my life if I don't document it.  So, today updating this blog is taking priority over the many other things I could and should be doing.

Today as I went about our daily routine, it occurred to me that I don't remember what my routine was with Frankie when he was Bailey's age, let alone Cj's age.  I only rememebr feeling extremely overwhelmed all the time.  That part hasn't changed a whole lot! Anyway, I thought about how in 10 years (probably not even that long), I'm going to wonder how in the world I managed things at this stage in my life. And at that future date as I'm wondering, I'm going to become very annoyed with myself for not being able to remember.

Which brings me to this post. 

If you are a wayward follower, you might want to check out now, cuz this is going to be a boring one.  I'm mapping out our schedule (halleluia, we finally have some predictability!)

5-6am Cj requests to cuddle with mom and dad in their bed (sometimes)
6-6:15 Kim makes her way downstairs (typically with at least one baby) and gets FZ's bfast ready, packs his snack and lunch, double checks that he has his water bottle and homework, gets a bottle ready, gets Bailey's milk ready, feeds whichever baby is with me, change diaper
6:15-6:20 wake FZ and nudge him to get dressed and downstairs, grab second baby
6:20 feed and change second baby, make sure FZ is eating bfast
6:30 if riding the bus, get FZ on track and brushing his teeth, getting shoes, coat and bookbag on, if car rider, let him relax and entertain the babies
6:50 FZ to busstop (if bussing)
7:00 if car rider, get fz and babies loaded up to go to school
7:30 school drop off
8:00 back from drop off, bfast w/oj for BK and CJ babyfood - fruit(she hates it)
8:15 empty dishwasher
8:30 -9 mommy and baby girls play
9:00 Cj has a bottle and goes down for nap in PnP in our room, Bk and mommy do quiet activities (color, paint, read, puzzles)
10:00 Cj wakes (sometimes wants another small bottle), Bk has yogurt
10:15-10:45 DANCE PARTY
10:45 lunch prep
11:00 lunch with milk for bk, Cj babyfood - fruit/veggie mix
11:30 Bk naps in her crib
12:15 cj bottle
12:30 cj naps in PnP in our room
12:30-2:00 dinner prep (I really cook real meals now - mark 2010 as the year that finally happened!), clean up, laundry, run dishwasher
2:00 both girls wake up around the same time, bk snack with juice, cj bottle
2:30-3 outside time (weather permitting)
3:00-4 Fz gets home, inside for homework and Fz snack, then play
4:00 final dinner prep, along with the most chaotic, trying hour of the entire day where all three kids drive me bonkers
5:00 cj dinner babyfood - veggies (loves it)
5:30-6 Don gets home, dinnertime
6:15 bathtime for the girls
6:30 cj bottle
6:45 bk milk
7:00 brush teeth, stories, songs, bedtime girls (both in their room)
7-7:45 solo Fz time!!!
7:45 Fz shower
8:00 brush teeth, stories, Fz bed
8-10 clean toys, empty, load & run dishwasher, switch laundry, fold clothes, lay out kids clothes for tomorrow, check lunch menu to see if Fz will buy or bring, set out stuff for the morning, shower, hang with husband til I fall asleep.
10-5am re -insert Cj's pacifier 2-20 times throughout the night

*sigh*
Well, now, that wasn't quite as therapeutic as I hoped it would be... every minute of the day seems accounted for, but it would be total chaos if I tried to wing it each day and I really don't need that added stress.  And while we have the predictability that I so craved, our schedule pretty much ties us to the house the entire day - ugh.

Who talks like that?

There are all these dumb quizzes on Facebook that ask many questions that should 'reveal' something about yourself that you may not have been aware of before.  I'm not really sure what you're supposed to learn or get out of this inane knowledge, but I see many of the questions are similar to those you might encounter in a professional ice breaking session.  I've always hated them as they tend to make me overanalyze things, which is something I can (and will) do on my own w/o needing a question to prompt it. 
One of the questions asked wants to know what my pet peeve is.  It's not the first time I've been asked and I usually come up with a common, normal response that probably isn't all together true, but fits the bill.  Well, I've come up with a unique pet peeve.  Using someone's last name when intimately addressing them.  Like in a romance novel: "I love you, John Smith" or even just in normal conversation.  While watching Mad Men last weekend Betty chastises her daughter Sally at a formal dinner.  "Sally Draper!"  It was then, I guess that I realized how irritated I am by it.  I can't say that it will cause me to stop watching Mad Men ('cuz damn, that's a good show)- maybe they talked that way in the fifties. However, in 2010 dialogue, it makes me cringe. It has caused me to boycott beloved writer to many, Janet Evanovich (her atrocious writing, boring subject matter, and repetition also contributes to this decision).
Maybe it's just me.  Maybe I'm just jealous since I don't exactly have a name that rolls sweetly off the tongue. 

What we love about...

The big balls (tee-hee).  Clean thoughts, please.  The Target back home on Niagara Falls Blvd. has giant, red, cement balls that sent BK into a fit of excited squeals ("baaaaaaaaaal").  Since it's a favorite word in a very limited vocabulary, she jumps at every opportunity to use it (curse Vanessa for having furniture legs that resembled the beloved "baaaaaaaaaal" - very frustrating!) Here's Bailey testing out one of the target balls.  FYI - we had to test out a couple - they could vary in comfort, you know. 

Poppa

Cutie pie Emma

BK gives Poppa kisses

My Dad... do you think he loves being a Poppa? Unfortunately, I don't have any shots of Poppa with the grandsons, however, he is now "Poppa" to 5 - Frankie, Emma, Bailey, Wesley, and Charlie. We had a few fantastic visits at Nana and Poppa's house while on our 2 week NY stint. Next time maybe we'll let the boys into the photos!

CJ is cozy with Poppa

Helping the girls "paint"

Swimming!

Just when I started to worry...

 about running out of blog material, FZ lays this one on me at lunch today:

"You know what, Mom? If Paul Bunyan and Johnny Appleseed were for real, they'd be mortal enemies.  Know why?  'Cuz one plants the seeds and the other one cuts down the trees they grow into!"


Even though I have plenty of other catch up posts to make, I couldn't wait on this one!

Addendum: Frankie just got upset when he heard me relaying this story to my mom w/o asking his permission to share it. When I informed him that I didn't need his permission, I received the following response: "Fine! Then I'm going to tell the world what you look like naked when you're wearing your boobs!"

Watch out world.  Or I'll take my boobs off.

The 4th!

Despite the garage sale madness, we still managed to celebrate the 4th - sorta.  We decided that we'd make the trek to Caseville to check out the beach and town since the kids and I had never been there.  It would have been more enjoyable had Bailey been in a happier mood.  Heck, if she had been in ANY other mood it would have been better than what she started out in!  The sibling picture attempt... Bailey was crying and had just whacked Frankie in the face with her headband.  Frankie was irritable because the sun was in his eyes (and probably some sunscreen as well), and CJ was looking away from the camera - my guess in an attempt to avoid a stray headband blow, sunscreen in the eyes, or the sun.  Most likely, all of the above.  Good times.

 

Lovely.  Will my children ever take a decent picture together?

bathing beauty... when she's not screaming.

We have happier kids when they're not near eachother.

Later that night - fireworks in the front yard.

Garage Sale results

Well, I have to say the garage sale was definitely a success, but it's hard to tell if the effort was worth the payout. It was a LOT of work. I guess I could use exhaustion as the reason for the missing blog posts for nearly the last month. It has been a general theme. However, I think a more viable excuse would be that for the week prior to the sale, we were busy with prep and the week following the sale was dedicated to packing for our 2week NY stint. And of course, blogging from NY was out of the question... state laws.

FZ did a great job handling his first lemonade stand. Here he is setting up his display to bring in the buyers. Quite a little marketer/salesperson. Very few people were able to resist his dimpled smile when he politely asked if they would like to "buy a glass of tasty lemonade". He even went so far as to offer free samples ("like at Sam's Club, Mom") to rake in customers. Our only glitch went something like this:

Aunt Mary: "Ok, Frankie, if your lemonade costs $.25 and someone gives you $1, how much change should they get?"
FZ: "I give them 3 quarters back."
Aunt Mary: "Great! What if they give you $1 and want to buy some of the bottled water that's $.50?"
FZ: "Then I give them 2 quarters back!"

Sounds perfect right? About 2-3 hours into the sale I notice a little girl (maybe 9yrs old) with a glass of lemonade. Here's my convo with Frankie...

Me: "Hey bud, how's business?"
FZ: "Great! See that girl over there? She gave me a $5 bill!!!" *excitedly waving said $5 bill* "That was sooo nice of her, so I just gave her all my quarters for her change."

Hmmm. So we've started working with the money flashcards...