My Little Evil Genius!!!

Callum's name means calm and peace which is very fitting for his character but sometimes it is the quiet ones who you have to watch out for!  This kid really reminds me of Bart Simpson's: no one ever suspects the butterfly.

The other day during church I was trying to keep the babies happy so I let them have a little bag of Teddy Grahams mid-way through the service.  This little distraction helps break the monotony of the time but this time it just back fired on me.  Cally started singing the Smurf song loudly while dancing his little Teddy Grahams all over the pews.  Okay that was embarrassing but than when he than started voicing Godzilla attacking the Teddy Grahams violently and the Teddy Grahams had to beg for their little lives I was mortified and laughing my head off at the same time.  Than it got worse... he would bite their heads off and than start maniacally laughing loudly like and angry villain.

Yup, don't be fooled by his cuteness!  He has a streak of maniacal genius in him.  I never would have guessed a few years ago it would have been him out of the three but it is.  Harmon is always Buzz Lightyear and Callum happily is the Emperor Zurg.  Harmon loves Thomas the Train while Callum is obsessed with Diesel 10.  This clip of in Misty Island rescue is Callum's very favorite.  He just loves it and watches it 20 times in a row and copies the laugh.



The thing is that several of us in my family have a bit of a dark side, including myself.  Callum is just a chip off the old dark block that is me.  Still if I ever see Harmon and him playing out Pinky and the Brain I may need to say something.

I really don't want him actually taking over the world.  I also should probably do Cheese Nips next Sunday at Church.

Scary Cheesiness!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHH!!!!

This is a really busy time of year for me.  So what in God's green earth was I thinking???  

Every year we go all out for Halloween.  After much thought I honestly think we do as many activities for Halloween as we do for Christmas.  Anyhow as I mentioned last blog the real big change in our home is the kids embracing Charlie Browns, the Great Pumpkin.  So Rachel as asked to be a ghost for Halloween.  Of course I had already bought costumes.  Oops!  So what did I do?  I of course went and made some new costumes for her and I... 

Last month I saw this costume in a parenting magazine.  I thought it was adorable but the responses were: it looks like the Hamburgler.  So I rethought it and this is what we came up with...

Rachel

Me

I also made the little dress for her at the top of the page.  I still need to find some tights this weekend and make some neat bows but at least I'm done.  I still can't believe I took the time to do it but I figure Rachel isn't getting any smaller and soon one day she won't want her mommy and her to wear matching ghost costumes.  With everything going on I need to make sure these special things are not lost!  So anyone who is mad at me for not getting something done please, watch out or I will haunt you!

I iz a good Mom?!?!

Yes, I did it!  I did the unthinkable!  I forgot to pick my daughter up from school yesterday.  It wasn't that bad.  The students are officially out at 2:30 and I realized at 2:29 that I had forgotten that I needed to pick her up.  So I broke a few speeding rules and perhaps made a few jaywalkers think twice about their unruly behavior but I got to the school at 2:40.  

Now if Rachel had been a teenager one might think 10 minutes is no big deal but when you have a wee three year old, it is a big deal.  I was apologizing to her teacher profusely and the teacher teased me: "don't worry, you only big black mark on your record now".  

My heart sank.  "But, I'm so sorry...  I am trying the best I can".  Rachel's teacher saw my distress and replied she was only teasing.  Still I felt bad.  Than we started talking about what it is like to be a working parent.  That occasion taught me some valuable lessons.  First of which, I'm not alone.  Second, that I am a good mom.

The idea of feeling like you have to do everything and because you are doing everything nothing is up to the standards you wish they were at.  That is how I feel.  I feel like my work gets the short end of the stick and so do my kids.  I don't have time for PTA's or Field Trips and as much as I hate to admit it I'm the mom who leaves her kid's work in their back pack for a month.  I think of all I could do work wise if I wasn't always tied up with IEP meetings and doctor's appointments.

In talking with her teacher I realized something though.  We may feel as parents we don't do enough but you have to give yourself a break.  Are my kids well fed, happy, well behaved, and clean?  ALWAYS!  Is my home always clean, do I have home cooked meals piping hot at the stove, or is my work desk free of paper piles and my inbox empty?  NEVER!!!  

I'm learning the hard way that I continually have to put my existence into perspective.  After the accident the people who helped with our kids told me how well behaved and kind my kids are.  I couldn't believe it, thinking maybe these friends and family members had my kids or alien pod children; but after I was released from the trauma center after a week of being gone I went home and indeed they were my children.  

Since that experience my perspective has changed a lot.  The kids all do wonderfully in school and their teachers adore them.  Recently the district had a Fall Break and so I signed the kids up for a day camp.  When I went to pick them up the women in charge told me she was so worried about them because the minimum age for the kids was six (which they forgot to mention in the letter) and the twins were barely three.  Nevertheless my babies she told me were the best in the class as per behavior.  Another lady mentioned she calls Rachel, "the please and thank you" girl because she always is saying "please" and "thank you".

I wish I could say this was all me.  It isn't!  I have an amazing support group.  The children's school, Rachel's DD-Pre class, family, friends, different early intervention therapists, and of course my WONDERFUL Miriam (yes she still is their nanny even though we said we would be parting soon) all support the raising of my babies.  I can't do it all but with a team like this behind me to support these children, my babies are turning out quite well.  Part of being a good parent is to ensure when you can't be there that the kids have plenty of support.

Hillary Clinton said, "It takes a village to raise a child".  I couldn't agree more.  While I may never learn how to make a home cooked meal every night I do know how to be there for my children and when it comes down to it this is why God created Schwans food delivery!

Chilling with Charlie and Ichabod...

On the first day of October we always celebrate the coming of Fall.  This year was no different except we did it on October Eve because I had an engagement that Monday.  

We make homemade Pumpkin cake, and put on our perennial favorite of Charlie Brown, Ichabod Crane, and our newest love Scooby Doo!  We have put these videos on for the kids every year and every year they have disliked them.  I was always secretly sad about that.  This year though my kids have gained a new maturity and they now LOVE the classics.  Their favorite thing is when Charlie Brown is trick or treating.  They will play pretend now and take turns saying: "I got a lollipop", "I got a candy bar", "I got a rock..."

Scooby Doo is really great because our kids are like other kids.  They get a little freaked out with all the spooky stuff (retro picture of Harm when he was 3 at Spirit).  But in Scooby Doo they always solve the mysteries.  The spooky stuff is proven to be all make believe.  That has been very beneficial because now the monsters and everything else is just make believe to them.

So now the spooky is fun!  My kids love witches, blood, and skeletons.  I believe in certain supernatural forces but in Halloween's case it is just fun to have fun.  Chris is disturbed how much the kids are getting into it but he is still getting used to marrying into "The Addams Family" and my kids are just like me!

Opposing forces: Fun vs Work

I am blog slouch.  In fact I'm sitting here in a business ethics class listening to a debate heteroglassia.  Oh well, at least I am blogging.  

So the last blog I wrote after this blog we were in Albuquerque.  In less than a month we have had to go from Phoenix to Albuquerque to El Paso and back.  The reason is because of possible expansion and also I am getting great options for continuing education.  What we decided for now is that I need to stay put at least till May because of the kids and the fact is we are all drowning in work.

So what is else is going on?  Well October is our favorite month!  We sit and watch Scooby Doo, Charlie Brown, Ichabod Crane and other great classics all month long.  This is the month where we do the County Fair, Corn Mazes, and Boo at the Zoo.  This year we are only doing one party.  I'm happy about that one.  School for the kids is doing well but we are struggling to balance pre-k, DD-Pre, speech, and physical therapy for Rachel. 

Finding the time to sit and go "ahhh" that is the challenge as always with life!

Midnight Road Trip...

I'm always so amazed by my friends children who can sleep in the car. I'm always having people tell: travel late at night or early in the morning. My kids that doesn't work! We couldn't leave till late tonight and the kids never slept. In fact I just got them asleep. It's past midnight and Harmon wanted to go swimming (and was mad at Daddy for not taking him), Rachel was calling room service, and Cally was philosophizing over "the magical clock". This is why we get a suite.



As tired as I am right now I wanted to remember these moments. The twins are just so funny and cute how they work in synchronicity with their curly hair and devilish grins I almost want to overlook the messes they are causing, Harmon was just so precious. He had night terrors last night and they made him a little queasy so while the twins went to Halloween camp he took turns going to work with mom and dad. He was really just preciously sweet tonight. He asked me if I loved him as much as I loved the twins and I told him of course! We talked about why we brought them this time and he told me he was happy.



My day to day feels like a blender. Sometimes I just wish I could stop and enjoy them as I did just now. Not having Miriam around this week and having school go on Fall Break has been a little bit of a nightmare for me but I'm glad for it. I miss a lot with them and this week I was able to catch up a little on these moments. Even though there has already been a lot of screaming, fighting, and crying I'm glad to have my midnight warriors with me. Each little baby I have is unique and special.

Hopefully tomorrow the to do list and the fun lists don't clash too much but most of all I just really hope these munchkins sleep in :p


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