Whose Juice Cup?

Jake is showing more signs of entering terrible twos, although he's only going on 14 months. Maybe it's just being the younger brother that's causing this, but he's definitely going through some phase here. Jake has never been able to drink orange juice because of the acid - it gives him a diaper rash. Of course, Bailey's favorite juice is nothing other than orange juice. Naturally Jake is determined to drink orange juice. Who wouldn't want to drink it? I should buy stock in it as much as Bailey drinks. As much as she goes on about it, I'm sure he thinks it must be the best juice ever. And mean old mom is just depriving him and spoiling that older sister once again.

Well... I've come to discover that the orange juice means much more to Jake than just juice.

Yesterday, Jake was doing his typical sneaking around while I was cooking dinner. He was trying to get the computer mouse when I wasn't looking. He was considering sticking his finger in an uncovered electric outlet when I turned my back to him. He was taking the blinds to the patio door and pulling on them, trying to get them to come off altogether... you know, typical Jake stuff. :) This time, I turned around to find him on his tippy toes pulling Bailey's orange juice from the table where she sat waiting for dinner. Amidst her yells of objection, he turned the cup up to drink. I, being the terrible mother I am, ran to Bailey's rescue and took the cup from him, handing him his apple juice. He proceeded to throw a fit and throw his juice cup at me before lying on his stomach in front of the patio door, crying. I tried to console him and distract him with the apple juice, but that was just not going to cut it. He wanted that orange juice... or so I thought. So, giving in to the whims of a baby, I poured out his apple juice and replaced it with watered-down orange juice. I handed him the cup. He refused. I put it in his mouth so he'd know it was orange juice. Still refused. I sat the cup on the table beside of Bailey's. I asked him if he wanted Bailey's cup and he became quiet. I handed him his watered down orange juice, saying it was Bailey's and he drank it with a smile. Is it orange juice he wants? Nope... he just wanted to show his sister he could get his way too. I guess he learned from the best. :)

Painted Nails

I woke up on time (uncharacteristically) this morning. It was nice taking my time to get ready, with the kids and Brad sleeping soundly in the next room. I had prepared everything for our day back to day care and work, so the morning was going smoothly. Bailey woke up first, straggling into the bathroom, gently swiping the hair from her eyes using both hands. She was in a good mood, which made everything that much easier. We made our way to her closet. That's where things always get interesting lately. Bailey is getting in that stage where she likes to pick out her own clothes. I urged her to wear a pair of yellow shorts and an orange shirt, and she agreed. Thinking that the hard part was over, I plopped her up on her bed to get dressed and proceeded to fixing her hair. Halfway into the pony tail I was working on, Bailey decided that she needed her nails painted - toes and fingers. It had to be done before day care... Is she 3 or 13?

Beautiful Weekend

It's been a long time coming, but we finally had a long, beautiful weekend with great weather and lots of time outside. I won't give you the complete rundown of our entire weekend, although my family would all laugh and say this might be the first time ever (yes, they say I give too many details in my stories, making it difficult to listen to me for long periods of time). It's OK. I know I'm a little detail-oriented. :)

Brad was playing basketball on Saturday, so the kids and I took advantage of the weather and worked on planting some flowers, cleaning up the yard, and shopping for outdoor items. We were the comic relief for everyone at Lowe's when we decided to purchase four (rather large) trees. I suppose I'm used to strange looks when I decide to do things that most people wouldn't attempt with two kiddos, but sometimes I just can't help myself. I guess it's my small way of still having spontaneity in my otherwise very scheduled life. We made it home with the four trees hanging out the back of the Escape, only losing a few leaves and a branch on the way home. After all that hard work, we had to take a dip in the Masterson Station pool. Bailey was thrilled; Jake was not that enthused. But, we have hope that we'll get him warmed up to the idea soon.

Brad came home that night, exhausted, but facing the daunting task of putting together the swingset that we have procrastinated on for at least two months. On Sunday, that's about all we accomplished. All of us ended the day sunburned, exhausted, and overjoyed at the thought of having the swingset there all the time. I'm so lucky to have a husband that can do these things. He did a wonderful job and is now napping on the couch. :) No work for him today... the trees that we bought will just have to wait. lol...

A few pictures from the weekend are below... Hope you guys all had a wonderful long weekend!

Just a little spring cleaning...

Most of you know that I'm always concerned about my house being a mess. Every time I think I get it cleaned, I walk into a new mess made by my wonderful children. It seems like it's never done and that I'm always working to clean up after someone. I guess that's the life of a mom, but it can get frustrating. Well... I think I'm going to have a new little helper. Jake has been entertaining himself for hours with a broom. Every time I open the pantry door, he comes running to get the broom out. He goes all through the kitchen, dining room and living room, sweeping. I'm hopeful that maybe he'll train his sister and dad on how to use this tool. Maybe I'll have less complaints about the floor being dirty now. :)

Home sweet home

I was so happy to see my husband when he finally arrived at home last night at 1 a.m. after nearly 24 hours of traveling on very little sleep. Maybe it was relief that he was back home, in the US, safe and sound. Or maybe it was that I missed his dirty socks laying on the back of the couch (not really). Most likely, it was because my kids have been wild since he's been gone and I am ready for him to give me a break! That Mother's Day gift is going to come in handy...

Jake has transformed, overnight it seems, from the sweetest little baby into the loudest, toughest little boy I've been around. I honestly don't know if discipline is going to be an option with him. He now will turn to me when he's in trouble and point his finger at me and/or slap my hand. My mom and I were totally cracking up at him over the weekend, when he would go to the tv to turn it off (isn't it fun to watch the light go off and on when you hit that button). I kept telling him no and slapping his hand to reinforce the message (the slaps were not that hard, but they were enough for him to understand). He would simply laugh and slap my hand back or point his finger at me. Then, he'd return to the tv to do it again. I slapped his hand so many times, a little harder each time, that it was blood red... yet, it did not work. He kept laughing (and so did we when he wasn't looking). What do you do with a little boy like that?

In all honesty, I'm so happy to see him becoming a little more rowdy. He's been such a sweet little guy and always taking orders from Bailey, so I'm happy to see that he might stand up to her a few dozen times a day. While they really are wild children (so extremely loud that I'm truly surprised we haven't had complaints about noise from our neighbors), they are also extremely sweet. Watching them play together is becoming more and more fun. Among a thousand pretending games that were played today, they wanted to pretend they were leaving us (me and Brad). They kept walking into the other living room, toward the front door, and yelling bye to us waving the entire time. They'd run back and give us kisses and hugs, and then leave again. They'd come back and go again. For some reason, they found pure hilarity in doing this. Jake was giggling so hard, blowing us kisses and coming back with his little arms open for a hug. Our house will never be quiet again... except at midnight when all are exhausted. :) I can't imagine life any other way.

And the fights begin...

I guess fighting would be an appropriate title for this week, since my husband is away in Germany to assist my brother, Cory, as he prepares for a welterweight title against Alexander Frenkel (the fight will be on May 17). They arrived in Germany at about 3:30 this morning (our time), safe and sound.

So, I guess I should have expected my son to decide that this week would be the week to begin defending himself against his sister. Yesterday was the day it all came to a head for Jake. Bailey has been pushing him down every chance she gets for about two weeks now. She'll take things away from him, just for the sake of showing him that she can. His frustrations have been building each time and he's responded with tears and screams, which usually results in me spanking Bailey, or taking toys away from her, or just scolding her to tearful apologies. So, when Bailey pushed Jake down yesterday, I was expecting the same response. Much to my surprise, Jake pulled himself to his feet and slapped Bailey in the face. The look of shock on her face was priceless. I'm sure it is probably not nice for me to laugh about the fact that one of my children slapped the other, but it was truly hilarious. What was even funnier was that Bailey didn't figure it out with one slap. This scenario played out several times throughout the afternoon. A few hours later, Bailey took a toy from Jake and I saw the teeth literally come out. Fortunately, I made it across the room to them and stopped Jake from biting his sister. It's now going to be interesting... I'm sure that my parents will laugh at me and tell me it's time for some serious payback for all of the years my brother and I spent fighting.

Maybe those fights made my brother tougher and will help him to win his bout this weekend. :)

I wish I was bigger...

"I wish I was big wike you..."

"When I get bigger wike you, I'll be a mommy and I'll have my own sweetie..." (Translation... her own baby. I call her sweetie and she thinks that all children are called sweeties).

"I'm getting so much bigger... wook how big my muscles are..."

This seems to preoccupy Bailey more than I would have ever imagined. At the age of three, I don't recall ever thinking about being a mommy or worrying that I needed to be bigger. I'm sure that it was all there, but Bailey seems almost obsessed with growing up. She tells me about growing up and I laugh to myself at her concepts of "being big." She has even become aware that I don't want her to grow up too fast. She'll look at me and tell me how big she is, only to follow it with, "Don't be sad 'cus I'm gwowing bigger... you aren't sad, wight, Mommy?" Of course, I try to explain that I want her to stay little as long as she can, but that I'm so proud of her for growing up.

Me being proud of her is also something that she worries about. Last week, we were driving home from day care and she was telling me about what a good girl she had been at day care. She went on to explain that all the other kids throw fits, but that she is a very good girl and never gets in trouble. She was going on and on... and I was partially listening. My ears perked up when she asked me sweetly, "Are you pwoud of me, Mommy?" I could feel the lump form in my throat. How could she ever wonder if I was proud of her? One of the two best things I had ever done... how could she ever doubt it? I explained to her how much I loved her and how I was so proud of her, everyday, even when she was in trouble. I guess she is even more grown up than I realize sometimes.

Mother's Day

I enjoy writing about my babies. I always wish I had more time to sit and share all of their little quirks and record all of the funny things they do and say. I know one day I'll look back and wish I could remember what Bailey called her pacifier (her dapsi) and what noises Jake makes when he's walking around (he spends a lot of energy grunting and flexing his arms as he walks!). I probably spend as much time worrying about forgetting these things as I do actually noticing them. But I know that I'll wish that I could look back and remember each second.

However, tonight, I need to record something else to my blog memory... for 100 reasons. Most imporantly, I want to recognize how wonderful my husband is. But, also, I guess I'm giving him some ammo when I forget how he really does appreciate me. :)

You may or may not know that I am now working from home three days a week and in the office two days a week. It's been a balancing act, trying to figure out a schedule that gives everything enough attention. There have been times that I have thought I'm crazy for trying to take this all on, but when it comes to pay day, I like the extra money... and when it comes to spending time with the kids, I love being at home with them so much more. All in all, it is working out best for me and for the kids. BUT... sometimes when Brad gets home, I've had enough pressure from the kids and/or from the lack of work that I've accomplished in the day, and I take it out on him. I vent about needing more time to myself or just time to relax or just time in general. I never feel like it's Brad's fault that I don't have enough time. He just ends up being the only person that I can lay this all out on. And, he's probably the only person that can make a real difference in this arena.

I guess it should not have come to a shock to me when my extraordinary husband was the sweetest man in the world and went and bought me a present from the kids for Mother's Day - a day at the spa, including a pedicure, manicure, and a massage. Of course, I haven't gone yet (and who knows when I might be able to make that happen), but I was truly blown away. It was really nice to feel appreciated and to feel like he really does listen when I say repeatedly that I'd love to just spend a day relaxing.

Thank you, honey, for being the person that puts up with me when I need someone to vent to and for taking the time to make me feel so special.

Almost Yellow Grass

When we compare Bailey to members of my side of the family, my middle brother, Cory, is typically the person was compare her to the most. They have some very strange similarities and have always been known for their energy and attention-getting personalities. It is not often that Bailey reminds me of Colt, my youngest brother. His personality is much more like that of Jake's... quiet, laid-back, relaxed... So, today, when Bailey reminded me of Colt, it was noteworthy.

I took Bailey and Jake to the park today. We were the only ones there, so Jake was wandering around and I was following closely behind. Bailey was running back and forth between the slides, tetter-totter and swings. It was one of the only times that I've been able to just let them go without concern that they would get hurt or hurt another child. I returned a call to my friend, Cilla. Amidst our conversation, Bailey came up and told me that she needed to pee. I told her that we would go home and go to the bathroom and come back. While I was trying to round up Jake and talk to Cilla, I turned my back to Bailey. When I turned back to get her, she was in the grass, shorts and panties around her ankles, sitting to go pee. I rushed over to her, laughing hysterically, and pulled her clothes back on and rushed her to the car. I couldn't help but laugh. In some ways, it was my own fault. A few months back, we were on our way back from Ashland and she needed to go to the bathroom. I had to pull over on an exit without a restroom and let her pee in the grass. I guess she thought it was OK to do this anywhere!

I had a complete flashback when this all happened though. And yes, Colt would kill me for telling it. When Colt was about the same age as Bailey, we threw a pool party at my grandmother's for Cory's baseball team. Colt was very accustomed to swimming in his little white underwear and hopping out of the pool to pee in the grass. So, low and behold, in the middle of a huge party, he jumps out of the pool and runs over to the fence and starts peeing in front of everyone. Cory and I were mortified!! Everyone found it hilarious, except for us. :)

Anyway... it's nice to finally have something that I can tell Colt that Bailey gets from him. Maybe it's just one of those Joe Dirt things... maybe these things are just bred into us rednecks from eastern Kentucky. :)

Sweet Kisses

Today was a very affectionate day for Jake... I woke up at 8:30, much later than usual, with both babies still asleep (in the same bed as us of course!). While I was still forcing myself to wake up, Bailey started to move around. Jake followed shortly after. The typical day started... Bailey began asking for breakfast, more specifically, pancakes, and telling me to turn on cartoons. Jake was crawling around the bed, trying to get out of reach of my hands as I grasped onto his ankles to keep him from toppling over the side and into the floor. Jake crawled up to the top of the bed and leaned over me, planting an open mouth, slobbery kiss right on my mouth. This wouldn't be that unusal if it were Bailey (except that she doesn't give open mouth kisses any more - yay!). With Jake, this is a new development. He's always been cuddly and thoroughly enjoys being hugged up. He'll even sit with his head on your shoulder for 5-minute spells just to get some affection. But, kisses have not been something that has interested him that much until now. He's getting plenty of practice now though... we've had kisses all day long. Sweet little surprises for all of us, out of the blue and completely unsolicited. Maybe that's what makes them even more sweet!