Thankful

For as much as I bitch and complain about life and kids on this blog, I have to stop and realize that I am thankful for so many things. Tomorrow kicks off the start of the holiday season and I am beginning to feel it. Even though the lights went up on my house 2 weekends ago, when the weather was nice, we already visited and took pictures with Santa and I have begun putting my tree up today. The weather has started to get really cold and I can almost smell the turkey in the air. Since having kids, the holidays have become a favorite time of year for me.

Reasons to be thankful this year:

1. After one miscarriage and an extremely rough pregnancy...the arrival of our beautiful daughter Alyssa.
2. My other 2 amazing children, Paige & Jimmy.
3. My husband, who is extremely loving and helpful, even though I don't tell him that enough.
4. My mother. I don't know what I would do without her.
5. My father. Who's spirit always remains high and no matter what, always has a hug and an "I love you" when I see him.
6. My brother. Every day I am thankful for the relationship we have.
7. That, although tight, we can survive on a single income and I can be a stay at home mom for my kids. Even though I complain a lot, I cherish every moment.
8. Good health. Us and all my family and friends are healthy.
9. We are constantly surrounded by wonderful people...friends, neighbors and family.

Sometimes we need to stop and think, it doesn't get much better than that.

Here's to a happy, healthy holiday season!

Four Is My New Two

I will always happily proclaim that 2 is my favorite age. In some ways they still resemble a baby but they're starting to loose the baby fat and you can slowly see the little kid coming out. Their vocabulary blossoms and you are constantly in amazement at the words and sentences that come out of their mouth. Their motor skills are developing rapidly, beginning to run and climb. It is an awesome year.

Next month Paige will be 4. I am in awe at how fast the time has gone. How is she 4 already? Regardless of how fast we got here, we are here, and if this past month is a peek into what 4 is going to be like, then I think this might be my new favorite age. She has become ultra cuddly, very understanding, compassionate and sensitive. Her ability to understand what is going on around her is astounding. Whether it be directions, reasons why she can or cannot do something or her adorable way of finding another solution to a problem. She has suddenly become rather cuddly, curling up in my lap for a snuggle. Randomly throughout the day, she will come over and say, "mommy, I love you", coupled with a big hug. Yes, that melts my heart into a pool of butter at her feet every time.

She is so gentle and sweet with her baby sister. Watching them play together is indescribable. Paige talks to her so sweetly, helps her with all her toys and tries at every possible moment to make her laugh. It is awesome to watch the two of them get going laughing at each other. Alyssa just lights up when ever Paige walks into the room or gives her any attention.

Lovey Sisters. Look at Alyssa's happy face!

Sweet kisses for baby sister. Alyssa is just eating it up!

Every day I am in amazement at how fast my kids are growing. Every day is a new adventure, never knowing what they will say or do. One day Paige is scribbling all over her coloring books and yesterday she proudly presents me a Christmas Mickey Mouse page colored almost completely within the lines. When did that happen?? I am always running into older ladies at the store who will ooohh and aaahhh over how cute the kids are. It never fails that their last sentence as they part from me is, "enjoy them now....they grow up fast!" Seriously. They do.

So stay tuned this year. I have a feeling you will see a lot more, "Paige's Quote of the Day" postings! And even though we arrived here a bit quicker than I expected, I am happy to accept this lovely new age of being fabulously 4. Anything is better than the tantrum infested terrible three's!

Paige's Quote of the Day

Tonight was Ooey Gooey Night at Paige's school (details about that some other time). I picked her up at 5pm and the event doesn't start until 6pm, so I had to kill some time. Since Alyssa had a rough day with no nap, I never got to eat lunch. I am pretty hungry at this point and decide it would be a good idea to stop at McDonald's for a quick snack. French fries and a soda. I head to the drive thru.

Now my kids are not allowed to eat McDonald's. They have the rest of their lives to make poor eating choices and I am not going to start them off at 2 & 3 years old. Fortunately it was already dark out and they would not be able to clearly see what I had in the front seat. As I pull up to the drive-thru, both kids are asking, "mommy what are you doing?" "Mommy what are you getting?" "Oh, I am just a little thirsty, so I am going to get a soda." They both know they cannot have soda, so my response doesn't phase them.

At the drive-thru, I order discretely, "I would like a small Dr. Pepper and a medium fry." Note, I did not say "french fries" or "fries". They would have caught onto that, especially my french fry monster named Jimmy, who resides right behind me in the car.

I pull up to the pay window and pay and move forward to the pick-up window. The girl hands me my soda first and then the small bag, which I quickly whisk away from her and into the safety of my lap. Within 5 seconds of those warm french fries entering the car, Paige, who is sitting in the 3rd row of the van, says, "ooohhh, mommy, your soda sure smells good!"

My Son, The Devil

My sweet, adorable, good natured little boy has become the spawn of Satan. In the past week, the devil has reared its ugly horns and unfortunately he is here to stay for a while. Nothing and no one can save us now.

I want to know what parenting professional came up with the terrible two's. Because as far as I am concerned, there is no such thing. Both of my first 2 children breezed through 2. In fact, I will brag to many that 2 is my favorite age. So adorable for so many reasons. Sure, there are some tantrums, but that is any kid at any age really.

The Terrible Threes. With my kids, things begin to go awry about 6 weeks before their 3rd birthday. They suddenly become a completely different child. Our house becomes a battle ground for everything. Everything. Going potty before leaving the house, putting on a jacket, what to have for a snack, taking a shower, what shirt to wear, turning off the TV, what show to watch when the TV is on...really, this list goes on an on. After each battle, most of the time I am not really sure who won.

Jimmy had 3 full blown tantrums in one day today. His tantrums are awful. Much worse than Paige's ever were. He rolls around the floor screaming. He will throw things, hit things. Scream at anyone that comes near him. He cannot be reasoned with under any circumstance. The worst part is, he will not stop. I don't like to give in to this kind of behavior, but he will go on for 30 minutes or more if I let him. I usually tell him if he is going to cry like that, he should go to his room. Most times he will do so. That was not the case today. Tantrum #1 was over the fact that he wanted to watch the Santa movie and I said no more TV. He stomps his foot and looks at me sternly, "YES! Santa movie!" I calmly reply, "sorry honey, we are not watching the Santa movie right now." That just fueled the fire...and on we go. I cannot even remember what Tantrum #2 was about because it was Tantrum #3 that took the cake.

I made a chicken and pasta bake for dinner. The kids normally wolf it down. Chicken, pasta and cauliflower, seasoned and baked in cheddar cheese with a parmesan cheese topping. Yum. Both kids rolled up to the table and got upset because they thought I was making macaroni and cheese, you know, from the box. "Sorry guys, this is what I made for dinner." Paige calmed down and ate most of her plate. Let the war begin. "I don't want this, I want the purple macaroni and cheese." Jimmy is now crying and screaming. He begins to push his mat around the table almost spilling his milk. I could tell he thought momentarily about picking up his plate and throwing it, but I was watching and I'm convinced he thought twice about that move. I moved his dinnerware out of the battlefield. "Honey, either eat dinner or get down and go cry in the other room." "NO!!" Then he hit his baby sister's hand away from him. She was sitting in the high next to him. I bolted up from the table and ripped him from his seat and put him on time out. "YOU DO NOT EVER HIT YOUR BABY SISTER!!!" I had to hold him in the chair with all my might for 2 minutes. After I let him go, still crying, he makes his way to the cabinet to pull out the box of what I am now supposed to make him for dinner. "Sorry bug, I am not making the mac n cheese. Come eat your dinner, please." He proceeded to continue his tantrum for the next 25 minutes. Paige and I ate dinner and Alyssa just stared at him rolling around on the floor with the box of mac n cheese in his hand. The poor box of Annie's White Chedder Mac N Cheese took a brutal beating, but managed to survive intact.

I love this child with my whole heart and soul. It breaks my heart when he is like this and it also works my last nerve. It is even harder to let him go on and on because I know I can't give in. He cannot think if he acts this way he will get what he wants.

The terrible three's should really be more popularized. My Google search proved that many parents deal more with the terrible threes than the twos. Add this to growing list of things I find a lot of parents don't talk about. I never read any books about parenting. I think they are all a load of bullshit. I believe in parenting from within. Do what you think is best for your child. For every child is different and only you know them the best.

Let's hope that tomorrow is a better day...

The Plague Has Arrived

The plague is beginning its takeover at my house. It arrived on Saturday night at 2:00 am when I awoke to Jimmy screaming in his bed. I bolt upright and run down the hallway, swing open the door to find him sitting in his bed crying and covered in vomit. Excellent. Why can't this happen at 2:00 in the afternoon? Poor little guy, he was so scared. I run out to the kitchen to get a bowl and return back to his bed just in time for another round. We made it into the bowl. All done, now I pick him up...carefully. Remove the pajamas, just so. Put new ones on and then proceed to strip the bed. Run everything to the garage to start a load of laundry and come back to remake the bed. Get him all settled with a bowl and a sippy cup with water. He nuzzles back into his pillow and closes his eyes.

Of course during this raucous, Alyssa decides it's a good time to wake up for food. Doug went in and changed her and held her until I was done with Jimmy.

After everyone is settled, I climb back into my bed. "Sigh." My first thought is "who is next?" Once a germ enters this household, all are doomed. We never know who it will strike next and how fast. I don't care if everyone in the house is vomiting, as long as it is not me. When I go down, then things fall apart a bit. It is really bad if Doug and I go down at the same time. That has only happened once and I never want it to happen again.

Well, almost 48 hours later, the germ has now taken down Paige. Fortunately this happened right before bedtime tonight and not at 2:00 am. While reading stories with Doug on the couch, she jumped up and started running and crying. I was cleaning up in the kitchen and turned to look at what she was doing. I could tell by the look on her face...I pushed her into a full blown sprint down the hallway to the bathroom. We made it. A half an hour later, we weren't so lucky. I didn't have to change a bed though. I really do love hardwood floors, so easy to clean.

Two down, 3 to go. So who is next?

Stay tuned...

Jimmy's Quote of the Day

I took Jimmy to the indoor kiddie gym yesterday. He was jumping between these two slanted mats and then rolling down them. Very cute. There were two little girls playing on these mats also. They were friends. At one point I was talking to Jimmy and the little girl in the yellow shirt erupted into a full blown tantrum. Jimmy and I stopped our conversation to assess the situation. I quickly realized that her friend was sitting in the cozy coupe and she clearly wanted it to be her turn.

As she is carrying on in a way that I am all too familiar with, Jimmy very casually turns to her and says, "if you are going to cry like that, you really should go to your room."

Miller Halloween Happenings

I love Halloween and ever since having kids, I have come to love it even more. Dressing up is so much fun. Each year the kids are becoming more and more into Halloween. It was awesome to see Jimmy running from house to house to get more candy. I think that 3 is the magic age where things really start to make sense.

Some Halloween traditions are quickly being set and I look forward to them every time October 1st hits. The decorations come out of the loft and go up on the house. My neighbors are always making fun of me because I am the first one with my decor out. October 1st the Halloween stuff goes up and Thanksgiving day weekend the Christmas stuff goes up. Anyway, I am looking forward to getting some scarier decorations once the kids get bigger. Our stuff is more festive, fun and cute at this point.

At some point during the month of October, a trip to Target occurs to purchase their adorable $5.00 kid Halloween shirts. We try to wear those shirts as much as possible, but in my eyes I really just want them for the photo ops.

Next up, is our trip to the local pumpkin patch the weekend before Halloween. We have been going to the same one on Highway 1 because they have a jumpy house and their largest pumpkins are only $5.00!!! We get to the entrance and tell the kids to have at it. Pick whichever pumpkin they want. I always think this process is going to take a while, but it is usually over in about 15 minutes. This year we squeezed in the patch between rain storms and on our way to a birthday party. The jumpy house was soaking wet, so they were a little disappointed to have missed out, but they got over it quickly when I told them we were on our way to have birthday cake!

The pumpkin patch photo op. Complete with the Halloween shirts!

The final selection.

Our Halloween weekend started off with a parade at Paige's preschool on Friday. It was so cute to see her entire class of like 4o kids all dressed up in costumes and marching around the playground and around the neighborhood block. Daddy took the day off of work to participate and my mom even showed up for the festivities. Paige was delighted to see her, "Grandma! What are you doing here??!!" After the parade, all the kids changed out of their costumes and had some quiet time to watch a movie before moving outside to play some more. We stayed to have lunch with the kids and then went home.

Paige's class. Paige & Jimmy are on the far right in the first/second row.

Grandma and Daddy participating in the parade.

 

Later on Friday night, we decided to let the kids carve their pumpkins. At this stage, that means we let them draw the face they want and then we carve it out. Alyssa's pumpkin was very small so I just drew a face on it!

The final product. Again...complete with the Halloween shirts!

Saturday night we got to dress up for a friends Halloween party. This was an adult party with kids, not the other way around. We had a great time, although a lot of the adults weren't dressed up.

Then came Sunday. The big day...or I should say, night. The excitement was building. Fortunately we had a our last session of swimming lessons that day, so it ate up a good portion of our morning. When we got home from swimming, Doug's sister and her two boys came over for a visit. Around 3:30 pm, we began getting ready. Doug and I fully dress up for trick or treating too. I love it!!

"The Mean Old Witch with a Hat" and her Pirate!

Another tradition that is being set so far, is we have been trick or treating with our very good friends, Seamus and Lorraine across the street. Their daughter, Shayla is the same age as Paige and they have developed an amazing friendship.

Super Girl Shayla and Princess Paige (Belle)

Belle, Super Girl, Spider Man and Bumble Bee

We take turns hosting dinner at our house and then head out to trick or treat with the kids around 6:30-6:45. We tend to go as long as they want. Which usually means up and down each side of our street and a couple of houses on the main street. We make sure to stop at all the neighbors houses so the kids can show off their costumes. It was so much fun. Even little Alyssa was a trooper, hangin out in the stroller for the entire duration.

It was a successful Halloween and I am already looking forward to next year!

Gray Really Isn't A Good Color For Me

I was getting myself ready the other morning. With 3 kids, that usually consists of throwing on jeans and some respectable shirt. Preferably one that is clean and doesn't have spit up, markers or dried play doh embedded in the fibers. I step into the bathroom to do the usual stuff...brush my teeth, deodorant, a little lipstick, some mascara. I have naturally curly hair, so my flat iron is my best friend. Washing my hair only comes every 2-3 days when I straighten it. This particular day my hair was already straight so I was looking for a clip to pull it away from my face a bit. I look in the mirror to get my hair just so and then...

...no. Is that? No way. I lean in for a closer look.
No. What the...? It can't be. But it is. Right there staring at me. A gray hair. Holy shit! Who is this person in the mirror. It surely cannot be me, because I am still 25.

I am not one of those people who is going to enjoy growing older. I won't do it gracefully either. I already don't like it. Now, I am not one to dive into plastic surgery...no, no. But I will be the one still exercising, trying to eating well, surfing until the day I die and dying my hair GODDAMIT!

Birthdays aren't really my thing anymore, unless they are for my kids. I stopped counting after 25. What's the point? All the milestone birthdays have passed...at least all the good ones. I don't really consider 40, 50, 60 or above, milestones. I know hitting those birthdays are better than not hitting them. It will mean I got to see my kids grow up, but I am still having a hard time accepting that I will be 37 in January. Yuck.