Oh the joys...

Today was one of those days. It started out great, had a productive morning, even had a play date with out friends at the house. No fights or quarrels between the kids, baby well behaved. All was too good to be true.  As soon as I helped my friend Lindsey and her kids get into the car, I went back inside. Big mistake!
Eve was screaming as she was falling down the stairs towards me. Adrenalin rushing through me as I try to catch her, only to trip myself killing my elbow. After I get her calm(ish) I hear Graham fussing. It being a while since I fed him, figured he was just hungry. I pick him up out of his exersaucer, and sit down to feed him.
Well, he was covered in poop! The biggest blow-out of all time! I was cleaning poop out of his armpit crevasses. As I am trying to clean up the poop that is all over his clothes, the carpet, my hands, and his back Eve is in the background complaining that she is "soooo bery hungry". So I start to make her some lunch. And rush this gross poop covered mess into the bathtub.
I seem to get him cleaned up, and as I lift him out of the tub he pees in my face and all over my clothes...great. I hear another cry for help as I hear Eve falling down the stairs again (seriously?! Inner ear problem?)
So, I leave Graham on the floor as I go find Eve while urine is running down my face. And what I find is Eve sprawled out at the bottom of the stairs, with an empty cup. Water, all over the painting I had started for a friend that was (stupidly, I will own this one) sitting at the bottom of the stairs. She was coming up to tell me that her grilled cheese I started making her was "smelling gross". Oh yes, I forgot about the grilled cheese, burnt to a crisp.
Well, I managed to keep it together long enough to get the kids down for a nap, with this blessed moment of peace, I choose to blog  (before I forget the gory details, because this post reveals that my mind isn't functioning at it's best today), try to salvage the painting that got wet, and put together the pieces of my sanity....In conclusion: kids-5, mom-0. Better luck tomorrow.
Just as I finished writing this, I hear little footsteps down the stairs. Eve, having just woken up from her nap, says "I didn't mean to, but I just woke up and I had pee in my pants, and in my bed." awesome, better go take care of that.
Oh parenthood, it brings so much joy and happiness. But at times, I just have to shake my head and say "you can't make this crap up"...literally, this life is messy.

G's first hair cut

Hair is getting a little long around here...I have been blessed with babies that have lots of long hair and as a result, at 4 months he was looking kind of scraggly. I only took off about an inch, but it made all the difference. My little guy looks like a little man...I love it. The hair cut took off most of his dark ends, so he looks so much blonder. And don't look too close, it is a hack job, I have no hair cutting skills, and he was squirming the whole time. We did our best.

New Haircut

So, the last few months Eve had developed a new habit. She has this thing, that whenever she is idle(watching tv, going to sleep at night, sitting at the table etc) she likes to twirl her hair. It looks kind of cute I will admit, but she keeps twirling it until it becomes a huge knot. Often, she gets her finger stuck, and rather than ask for help (heaven forbid!) she just pulls out the knot! It's awful, every time I see it happening I try to stop her before she pulls it out, but more often than not, I am too late. I have been finding hair everywhere, and as much as I try to "redirect" her habit, this one seems to stay. I don't know how to get rid of these little habits. It went from biting her nails, which I painted "no bite" solution on her fingers and the bad taste seemed to get rid of that one. Then she went to picking at her lips, I think the annoyance of a peeling lip put out that flame quite quickly. And alas, she started pulling out the knots she makes in her hair, lovely.
Well, the entire underside of her hair is very short, and the top half quite thin. So we decided to cut it, to A) even it out. And B) Hope that the shorter hair is less twirl-able. So I had a good friend come on over and cut it. Eve had a hard time with it. When we talked about what was going to happen, she would be firm in telling me she did NOT want her hair cut. 
And as the scissors came out, she said between sniffs, "not my punzel hair mom". AKA Not my Rapunzel hair mom. Broke my heart! She kept saying it, "no, not my punzel hair". Luckily Hanna was quick on her feet and told Eve we would do a cute haircut just like Dora. No bangs, but mostly like Dora. After we finished Eve was thrilled with the results, as was I! It looks so cute! I love the little bob she has, and it is just the right length so she can't twirl it. No ponytails for a while, but hopefully we can kick this habit. Cross your fingers!

Isn't it so cute!?

Graham is 4 months

4 months, this must be one of my favorite stages. Right now is when babies are so delicious! They are stationary, incredibly smiley, no hassle of eating solids, alert, and (hopefully) sleep through the night. My favorite! This little guy is so fun, he's super happy and smiley,"chatty", cooing all the time, but the little stinker hasn't laughed for me yet. He gets so close, but he's holding out.
Graham? Oh you mean moose? Ya, he's gaining handsomely. My little tank is weighing in around 17 lbs 2 oz, putting him in the 75th percentile. It is great, except I had such cute stuff for him in the 3-6 month size, and he's outgrowing them too fast! His Buddha belly prefers the 6-12 month size. When Eve holds him she always says "he's so heavy! I'm done!"
He's still pretty tall length being 26 inches and in the 80th percentile.
I can't get enough of this guy, he's so sweet. Eve wasn't the most cuddly baby, and still isn't. She's always been so independent. But this guy, he just melts into you. He loves to be snuggled, loved, and oogled over. And I'm happy to do it! I love that I'm the only one he wants to rock him to sleep at night. He is a champ at night, sleeping about 11 hours, but during the day he's not the best sleeper. No regular nap schedule, just naps when he feels like it really. Usually getting 2 decent naps, give or take a cat nap.

4 months into it, and Eve still likes him :) she loves to play with him, and make faces at him. She can be a little rough, which is to be expected, but Graham doesn't hold it against her. 

Mini Me

During hurricane Sandy, as previously mentioned we had the pleasure of having our friends the Arbuckle family stay with us. The most memorable moment from this was the moment I realized how much my Eve is like me. She repeats everything I say, follows me around, "helps" with everything I do, etc. The husbands had left on an errand, leaving Lindsey and I with the toddlers and babies.
We were casually chatting, but listening to our children play as well. (Mothers are the best at multi-tasking) And what we heard was hilarious! Our kids were acting exactly like us. Eve and Eliza were arguing with each other, but they kept repeating things we say to them when they are in trouble. An example:

Eve: "No Liza! That's my crayon!"
Eliza: "No shouting! You go step!" (her mom's place for a time-out)
Eve: "Shhh! No screaming! You wake the baby!"
Eliza: "hey!"
Eve: "You no talk to me like that, you get time out"
Eliza: "5, 4, 3, 2, 1" (the countdown to go to timeout)
Eve: "No sassin' me, that's not nice"
Eliza: "Look at my eyes!"

Lindsey and I could hardly catch our breath we were laughing so hard, but we were trying to keep it quiet so we could continue to hear their encounter. Typical toddlers/girls, they were best friends hugging the next second, then back to bickering, then best buddies.
It really opened my eyes up to how I discipline her. It is the best advice, to treat others as you would have them treat you. But with your kids, it's treat them as you want them to treat others. It was a blast to listen in on their candid conversations.
Eve disciplines her toys and babies the way she is disciplined. But better yet, she loves them like she is loved. She cuddles them, plays with them, but also puts them in time out. I have a lot of work to do as a mother, I will continue to forever be a work in progress.

Hurricane Sandy

Hurricane Sandy came whipping through with little warning. We did some of the basics, got water, food, charged phones etc. I cannot believe how blessed we were, we only lost power for a few hours, and internet/cable for a day. Power was coming and going, but overall we managed to stay warm. Being down the street from a bank and gas stations has its perks I guess. We are so grateful. 

 It was very scary hearing the wind gusts and window panes rustling. But looking on the bright side, it was so fun to have Braden home for a few extra days! His company data center got damaged so no emails or anything could be done for the few days during and after the storm, thus giving us Braden's full attention :) My office was also closed, so we just enjoyed each other's company during the less than ideal conditions. Turns out, lounging in sweats, with nowhere to be was really nice. 

We got to have some good friends stay with us for a few days while they waited to receive power. It was so fun to have them over, the kids were a blast. Eve loved having some playmates. 

This is them all lined up watching Cinderella. (I wonder who picked the movie?)

Graham got bored with the movie. 

Halloween

Eve painting her first pumpkin, she loved it! She spent so much time on it, paying very close attention to detail. It was either a clever ruse to postpone her nap, or she has a little artist in her. 

Funny situation this year, we picked out two pumpkins the night before, and I just grabbed whichever one was closest when it came time to carve them. Turns out, I made the right choice. Braden picked up the second one, cut open the top, and it was SOUP on the inside! We have never smelt anything so gross, but Braden being the boy scout he is, carried on. He cleaned out and carved that disgusting pumpkin, I wouldn't say with a smile as much as a grimace, but he did it nonetheless. But one second after the ward activity ended we pitched it, for obvious reasons. Mine only lasted about a day, thanks to the hungry squirrels living by our place.

This year we were the mario brothers for Halloween. I love to do a theme for the families costumes, but this year Eve had a bit more of an opinion over her costume. She wanted to be a princess, but she never specified which one :) So she got to be princess peach, and she loved it. 

We had a blast at the ward party, it was so fun to see all the creative costumes. Eve was in heaven, lots of games, kids to play with, and treats :) Graham had a hate/hate relationship with his costume. The poor kid couldn't stand the huge hat he had to wear, but it was my favorite part of any one's costume!

I never bothered to attend any "trunk-or-treat" activities before having kids, and I am sorry I didn't. They were so fun, and I forget how much I love to see all the creative costumes, some store bought, some homemade, some outlandish, some traditional. So much variety seen over the Halloween holiday, 

Mommy Makeover

These days, I'm sporting a new look. Now, being a working mom of two, sometimes I hardly recognize myself. New hair treatments include ponytails, ponytails, and a ponytail! With the baby now grabbing things with what seems like a death-grip, hair must always be back in a ponytail if I want to keep it. 

New wardrobe consists of t-shirts and cardigans, usually covered in baby drool. 

New face has lovely dark circles under my eyes, minimal makeup, and no lipstick/gloss because I'm too busy kissing my babies :)

New aroma, baby drool....the culprit...this guy!

A friend of mine has a poem on her blog, and it really sums up my feelings. 

I'd rather be a mother than anyone on ­earth
Bringing up a child or two of unpretentious ­birth. . . .
I'd rather tuck a little child all safe and sound in ­bed
Than twine a chain of diamonds about my [carefree] ­head.
I'd rather wash a smudgy face with round, bright, baby ­eyes
Than paint the pageantry of fame or walk among the ­wise.
--Meredith Gray, from The Beauty of Motherhood

I love my kiddos, and every day I wake up and see them, I am so thankful they are ours. I love being a mother, and I'd take the ponytail and life of little glamour over anything else.