Horrible Fits!

The last 2 nights in our house have been anything but quiet evenings at home with the kids. Wednesday night Jacob had to use the potty before dinner. When he was finished, I heard Brian tell him, "No Jacob. Don't put your head in the potty. That's gross!" Then I heard, "Jacob gets to sit on the naughty stool for not following Daddy's directions." So Brian puts him on the naughty stool, tells him why he's on there and that he needs to sit quietly for 2 minutes before he can get off. So Jacob carries on and on: My potty sticker (stickers are the reward), Mommy, Daddy, Andrew....loud and crying, or rather fake crying, the entire time. We started at 6:30; at 7:00, Brian and I were finished with dinner. Brian wanted to pick up everything from the table and let Jacob just miss dinner, but I wasn't quite ready for that yet. I decided I'd let him go on for another 15 minutes. By the end of the 15 minutes, I was in our bedroom feeding Andrew. I heard Brian start to clear the table, and then Jacob got really loud: My plate, my fork, my big chair, my milk! So finally, at 7:30....an hour after we started, he got to get off of the naughty stool.

I was expecting him to be perfect last night, but no such luck. Last night he told us he wanted to sit in his little chair instead of his big chair. So we pulled up the little chair, and of course he immediately started asking for his big chair. We put him in his little chair, and he carried on about wanting the big chair for about 30 minutes. Then he got to sit on the naughty stool for standing in his little chair. He was there for about another 30 minutes because of the crying, whining, and getting up off of the naughty stool. No dinner again for the second night!

I'm sure that the teachers from Primrose think that I'm talking about another child. I'm so happy that Jacob behaves perfectly for you all! And honestly, I feel that if this is the worst thing he does, then we don't have that big of a problem.

I've been trying to get video of the boys dancing so that I can post a tribute to MJ, but they don't dance or shake their @$$es like the little girls.

Ear Hurt, Call Doctor

Jacob told us on Sunday that his ear hurt and he wanted to call the doctor. He said it a couple of times, and I finally told him that we'd call the doctor on Monday. We've had this nasty cold running through the house for about 3 weeks now. All of the boys are passing it back and forth to each other. So we get up Monday morning; I ask if his ear hurts; and he says no. So I thought I'd wait until Tuesday. I noticed Monday evening that he said his ear hurt when Brian was paying attention to the baby, so I thought he was saying it for attention. I mean, he's freaking 2! So I decided not to call the doctor.

Tuesday, 3:30 p.m.: Daycare calls to tell me Jacob has a fever of 100.4. I felt so guilty!! So I leave work, call the doctor, and surprisingly they can get me in that afternoon. It all turns out to be a sore throat; his ears are clear. And they didn't give us a prescription because it is just a viral infection. You could tell Jacob didn't feel well by looking at him.

Last night, or actually this morning, at 2:15, I wake up to Jacob running out of our bathroom and saying, "Mommy, mommy?" He got out of his bed and came into our room. This is only significant because he has been in his big bed for a year and had never done this! He still waits for us to go into his room to get up in the morning. I guess he really didn't feel well last night. This morning he wanted to cuggle before I went to work.

Here is a picture of the boys that was taken by a company who came to our house. The least expensive package was $100 for 5 5x7's. The most expensive I think was $800. They had a CD with the most expensive packages, but I just got 8 sheet of pictures and the CD for $130 when I took them to Sears. So I politely asked for my free 8x10. This is it. They were beautiful pictures, but I cannot justify the cost.

Russell Neal

As you may have heard, my uncle Russell passed away last Wednesday. He had been in the hospital for 6 days and received a pacemaker on Tuesday morning. He was released to go home Wednesday afternoon and collapsed about 10 minutes after arriving home. Russell was the kind of person we should all strive to be: loving, friendly, non-judgemental, innocent, playful, and just truly loved life! He had Down's Syndrome, so he lived with my grandfather. So our weekend was half-full of funeral and family stuff. Friday night we went to the viewing. Russ looked great! Then the funeral was Saturday morning. It was probably one of the best I've been to; it was very similar to Wanda's (another special needs family member who was the most amazing person! She passed away 9 years ago). My brother, cousin Jaime, and I had a lot of input for the service. We, along with our siblings, spent a lot of time with him over summers and spring breaks. So we played songs that he liked and tried to keep the service pretty upbeat. I swear, I have never seen so many flowers and plants at a funeral service. He was loved by everyone he ever met!

I took a nap Saturday afternoon after everything was over. I guess everything really wore me out. Sunday Brian and I played with our kids a lot. We would have small spurts of work, but overall we just spent time with the kiddos. It was so nice!

Yesterday was a crazy day. It started with my getting up at 5:00, rushing around the house to do everything I needed to do before I left for work, and leaving the house at 7:20 which is 20 minutes late. I felt so defeated! I'll spare you the rest of the details but basically nothing went as planned. I worked hard all day on various things to make something happen only for it to not happen at all! Frustrating. So when Brian asked me to get the boys from school, I was thrilled! I had the best time with my babies last night! Go figure...this morning I barely watched the clock, got both boys dressed, pumped, fed Andrew, got myself ready for work, and I was right on time!

July 4th Weekend

Here are some pictures from our trip to Red Oak from 2 weekends ago.

Jacob and Andrew - I know Jacob has a goofy smile, but I just love this picture!

Jacob kisses Andrew

Grandma Rose and her grandsons!

Brian and Jacob rest from playing outside. Jacob is glistening!

Brian and Andrew.

Our July 4th weekend was GREAT! Friday we took Andrew to school and took Jacob to the zoo. It was so hot at the zoo, but he loved it! We decided to get season passes. We only had to buy them for Brian and me because Jacob gets in free. Brian and Jacob went back on Sunday because Jacob told Brian he wanted to go to the "goo." Here are a few pics from the zoo.

Jacob walks on the alligator.

Jacob on a stagecoach.

Then Friday night we had date night. We went to dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse and got to experience a few kid-free hours. Thanks to Grandmother for watching the munchkins for us!

The rest of the weekend I spent cleaning. It sounds bad, doesn't it? It was actually great! Brian took the kids out of the house so that I could work undisturbed. Now the real chore will be to keep it up! But since we only have a couple of clutter spots now instead of a lot, I think we'll do okay. Let's see how long it is before I post another blog like this.

Andrew is 3 months old today! I cannot believe it! He is such a good baby, and he has adjusted to daycare pretty well. He has stepped up his sleep to 7.5 - 8 hours a night. He loves bath time, and he is extremely chatty! I think he is starting the teething process because he is drooling everywhere, and he has these random fussy fits. The other day he literally cried and screamed for an hour and a half. Then he fell asleep, and he was fine! He loves Jacob, too! I'm so happy that both boys are so happy and like each other so much!

Finally, today is our 4 year wedding anniversary! I love the life we have built together so far and cannot wait to see what lies ahead for us. I still love and adore Brian as much as I did the first day we met!