Dysfunctional

My blog posting is as dysfunctional as this moment in my house.

While trying to edit a post I wrote 2 days ago, this is happening...

I'll set the stage of the last 30 minutes...
It's 25 degrees in Columbia, SC. The kids had a delayed start at school and weren't allowed to play outside. The sunshine is completely misleading because it's freezing!!!

Protester 1: (after already having 45 minutes on the PS3) Mom, can I have my phone (Shannon's old iphone - no phone service, that all 3 share)?

Me: If you want "screen time" you need to earn it by cleaning your room and making your bed.

Protester 1: I can't stand this house! Why do I have to do all this stuff? Why do I have to earn screen time? What is wrong with y'all?

Me: Ok. No. You may not have your phone! You are not going to talk to me like that.

Protester 1: Fine! I'm going outside. (wearing jeans, 1 pair of thin socks, a t-shirt, and a hoodie)

Me: Ok. You need on more clothes. It's freezing!

Protester 1: I'm fine!

Protester 2: I'm bored! Why does it have to be so cold? I want to jump on the trampoline.

Me: You can jump on the trampoline but you need to have on plenty of clothes because it's freezing.

Protester 2: (Also wearing jeans, 1 pair of thin socks, a t-shirt, and a hoodie) I have on plenty of clothes! I'm fine!

Protester 3: I want to jump too!

Me: Ok. Let's get some extra layers on. (I get out red soccer socks to put over regular socks, a hat, and gloves.)

Protester 3: I don't like these bumpy socks! They won't fit in my shoes! (Crying) Why do I have to wear all this?

Me: Well, slip your Keens on over them because you're just running out to the trampoline.

Protester 3: It feels weird (crying, shoes on wrong feet).

Protester 2: (Coming in and running back upstairs) I can't feel my feet. I'm going to get more socks.

Me: Why?

Protester 2: Because it's freezing outside.

Protester 1: (also coming back inside) Where are my gloves? It's too cold out there.

No one EVER listens to me.
And I can't EVER get a thoughtful or memorable blog post done.

I try {in blogging and parenting}. I really do.

 

Plans

I'm one of those people who gets bogged down in all my plans. I have lots of little ideas running around in my head. Usually, I can make it all happen. Some way, some how. I think I get that from my momma. She's the mastermind at pulling stuff off in her sleep, with her hands tied behind her back.

 I had PLANS to do lots over this Christmas break. Most of which involved making memories and being festive.

• I had plans to take my boys ice skating at our local ice skating rink. It's a temporary attraction and quite a novelty considering our city tag line is "Famously Hot".
• I had plans to go to several of the holiday lights hot spots. We only made it to two.
• I had plans to take the boys to the Edventure New Years Eve at Noon celebration.
• I had plans to make homemade pasta with my mom.
• I had plans to make my Aunt Laynie some soup and yummy treats.
• I had plans to make my little brother Puppy Chow because he was a little disappointed on Christmas day when he saw I hadn't made any.
• I had plans to go on a date night with my hubby to dinner and to see This Is 40.
• I had plans to take my Goddaughter to lunch.
• I had plans to visit with my cousin who is in town from Texas.
• I had plans to spend New Years Eve with my bunco friends.
• I had plans to blog about our wonderful Christmas and the year in review.

It seems that my body had different plans.

Shan and I are on day 4 & 5 of the worst virus I think I've ever had. Shan's symptoms started Wednesday and mine started Thursday. Both of our flu tests were negative, but we've had the worst flu-like symptoms with no option to take Tami-flu. In addition, we've both had sinusitis and bronchitis to go along with it.

My dad took Shan to the hospital Saturday morning to make sure he didn't have pneumonia. He did not. Thank goodness. Shan's mom came to take the boys to the lake so we could sleep. I could not be more grateful. There is NO way we could have taken care of them with the 2 of us down.

 

John Lennon sang it best... Whatever gets you thru the night!

We are hopefully turning a corner, as we have both actually showered now and ventured to the store to get more Advil.

So the last 5 days have been a bust. And the few days before Christmas were spent tying up loose ends and visiting family. So my window of opportunity is extremely small now for all those plans!

One of my favorite sayings talks about a road to a certain place being paved with good intentions. I make lots of plans and get so disappointed when they don't work out. What I really want is a do-over. But that's not going to happen.

I happened to read this just as I was about to compose this post and it was a good thing.

So for now, I'm letting it go. I'm giving myself grace. I'm going to get done in the next few days what I can. I think the boys will understand. I hope.

Let's see...

Where was I?
Here I am. Back again after almost a month. I'll spare you the mumbo-jumbo about how crazy my life has been with Shan traveling, Holiday Market obligations, Sunday School prep, soccer x3, 4th grade chaos, etc.

If I had to dedicate this post to someone other than my children...it'd be Beth. I get frequent reminders from her to update my blog. So this one's for you, Beffrey!!! Thanks for following me!

I'm going to back up about 5 weeks ago and highlight my precious Fu-bird's 7th birthday. All I have to say is...

Move over American Girl Store! This is how boy-moms do it!

It was "A Very Lego Birthday". In lieu of a party, Fulton wanted to make a trip to LEGOLAND in Atlanta. Since parties can be kinda "spancy", it was a pretty good trade off on our end. If you have a Lego-crazed child, you MUST go. It's very affordable and great entertainment for the whole family. We made it an overnight trip only because my boys and I have a sick fascination with hotels, but it can totally be done in a day trip.

Any who...here are the highlights in pics.

 My sweet boy was all smiles. He really enjoyed himself as he was completely surrounded by EVERYTHING LEGO! There was a Lego 4D theatre, a Lego Master Builder Academy, Lego City which was amazing, and a Lego Cafe with a pit of rubber bricks to build life-size creations and so many more exciting things to do.

Sam and Oliver didn't have any complaints either. They got to take advantage of all the fabulous attractions too. We were all in complete awe of Lego City with their perfect replicas of all the hot spots in ATL. The possibilities were endless for everyone to be creative and have a fantastic time.

On his actual birthday we continued the Lego madness. One of his new favorite things is Lego Ninjago. I don't get it, but all that matters is that he does. We had a Ninjago-style dinner at one of his fave Japanese restaurants. It seemed like the perfect spot! Muzzy, Boppa, Nana, and Papa joined us and we topped our awesome weekend off just right!

Monday following his birthday we had his celebration of life at school. That darn thing gets this sappy momma every time! To say it's flying by sounds so cliche...but it really is. We all enjoyed celebrating sweet Fulton. He is growing into such a fine handsome boy and we love him TONS!

I'm so far behind with this post and can't believe that we will be celebrating Sambo's TENTH birthday on Monday. So stay tuned for more catch up posts and Sam's bday!

Analogies and Updates

I've been working on analogies with Sambo. When I was drumming up examples for him this one popped into my head...

Laundry:Mountain::Blogging:Agglomeration
Relationship- What happens when things are neglected.

I have great intentions with both my laundry and my blog. I love the end result - fresh smelling clothes, fully stocked drawers and closets; organized thoughts, memories, and pictures documented for my boys, friends, and family. It's always the process of both that wipe me out. Washing, drying, and folding...I can handle that okay. It's the getting them from the baskets to the drawers that I can't stand! I'd live out of baskets for weeks if I had some where to put them that was out of the way. With blogging, it's finding the time at night and early in the morning when I'm super tired to jot something into a blog post, upload and edit pictures, and publish the post. All of the above requires time and energy, which I have very little of these days. Unfortunately, my housework and blog have both been neglected in a bad way over the last couple of weeks. And I now have that "mountain" and an "agglomeration"!

I have been working 'round the clock filling orders {To my customers out there...I'm loving all your great ideas for theme parties. I am so thankful that you let me bring them to life.}! The volume of orders I've been filling has kept me crazy busy. It's been great!

School. School. School. Sam is in 4th grade. Need I say more? The homework is a completely new concept for these Montessori folks here. Up until now we have only had monthly book reports and quarterly research projects. So all you mommas who've been doing it all along...KUDOS!

We have all had the crud. Head, chest, ears, scratchy throats...UHG!!! School is definitely back in!

I am so excited that Shannon and I just started teaching an adult Sunday School at church. We have been spending lots of time getting our ducks in a row for that. Look for a post really soon.

We celebrated Fu's 7th birthday. This year he chose an "adventure" over a party. So we headed to ATL for Lego Land! Stay tuned for that post. It was so much fun!!!

Shan and I actually got a weekend away by-our-selves for the first time in 7 years. We had been away with friends, but not alone. That post is soon to follow also. It was long overdue and much appreciated.

On top of all that I start subbing this week for our school district. I decided to do that rather than return to work full time. I think it will be great!

I'll be doing a little catching up this week on this here blog. I appreciate all of you who have sent me messages to find out how Fulton's birthday was and what's been going on. Thanks for sticking around and being interested in CTBaker in the Acres!

Now...On to tackle the mountain.

Olympic Overload

I don't know about y'all, but the 2012 Olympics have really cut into my shut-eye! I'm dyin'! We have so many awesome athletes that I am totally sucked in. Thankfully they end very soon and I'll have a week to get back into the sleep groove before the rude awakening of school on August 20th. Geeze!!!

As for my boys, they have taken on a love for the Olympics, just like their momma. Every morning they ask which events are on the schedule for the day. They cheer our people on, hoot and holler, and even act it out a bit. They were super jacked when they saw wrestling and thought it'd be a good idea to try it out on each other. Ummm! NO...STOP!

And then there was rhythmic gymnastics.

Two words...

Help me.

(Roll film.)





Any who... It's been a good ride for the US of A! I'm so very proud of our athletes and thankful for them inspiring my boys to be future Olympians... even if they're the 1st male rhythmic gymnasts! ;-)

Doing the "Write" Thing

Well, here we are. Winding down another summer.

May 20-something seems like yesterday. Yet, May 20-something I thought, how am I going to make it until August 20-something?

For some reason I was dreading it.

Maybe it's the "dynamics" I have going on in the house right now. Ya know...three very different ages. Three very different stages. Three very different and precious personalities. There's no doubt that I love each one of them more than life itself for who and where they are, but it all seems so daunting to manage sometimes.

But somehow I have managed another fun, long, hot summer with my little peeps.

Overall, it's been really good and I didn't go into "Crazy Mommy" mode as often as I thought I would.

And lately, I'm all for "whatever works". I think you kinda have to be that way as a mom of 3 boys!

In our effort to maintain order and reinforce our expectations for S & F, Shan and I decided to do something different this year and have tried not to raise our voices.

I'm not saying that hasn't happened at all, because inevitably there will be days when certain people choose to blatantly ignore your instruction. But it has NOT been our go-to summer parenting method like it has been in the past.

Any who...

We have decided to make them write. Yes. Write.

Kinda like your teacher may have done.

Depending on the severity of the offense, it could be 10 to 25 times of a particular statement such as "I will not..." or {for Sam} a paragraph/essay on "Why he shouldn't..." or "What would have been a better choice".

It lasts as long as they make it last. It's legal. It's portable. All you need is a notebook and a pencil. I don't think it's anything that will land them in a shrink's office either. And the best part, they learn from it.

We've reached a point where writing for a consequence is as painful as having to lose the Wii or TV for a week and it appears to be as bad as having to sit in time-out or being reprimanded in front of your friends.

I don't have to fight them to do it. They just know that they can't get up or move on until they've finished. One takes longer than the other due to the drama involved...but we won't mention any names. ;-)

Recently, I went back through the notebook and started laughing at some of "The Best of Summer 2012". I thought I'd share a couple.

So without further ado...

I posted this one on Facebook a few weeks back and got a barrage of "likes" and hilarious comments. I think lots of people can relate.

I realize we clearly have a throwing problem.

And what I love on a couple of these is how they tried to weasel out of writing the whole sentence or change it to a shorter sentence, only to have to re-write it per mom and dad's request. Ha! And then they REALLY loved us.

All I can say, is it's just a day in the life of a mom of three boys...doing whatever works.

I have been told by very wise women that I will look back and laugh at these days. I already am. And I love that some of it has been documented...in their handwriting!

XO,

Jello: Stir Crazy

What's this?


That's right!
It's red Jello.
Red Jello makes Oliver crazy.
Stir crazy - that is.


He finished his lunch at Muzzy's. He asked for some Jello.
There was one left in the fridge.
To help him manage a little better I gave it to him...er, um...stirred.
He went crazy.
For 20 minutes!
Crying. Screaming. Pouting.
How could I???
I stirred the red Jello!
Who knew it was taboo to stir Oliver's Jello?
By golly! He likes to stir his own Jello!
Oliver's world was upside down at the sight of his Jello all stirred into little pieces.
So what does every good mom who has just broken her child's heart do?
She puts the Jello in the microwave, of course!
She melts the Jello.
She puts it in the freezer for speedy-congealing.
We sat and waited anxiously for it to all be "all fixed up".



And it was.
The Jello and Oliver's world was "all fixed up", as he said!

I can't imagine from where he gets these idiosyncrasies!

CTBaker

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

C'mon Get Happy!

The last 6 weeks have been very trying to say the least.

We went on our fabulous Baker Road Trip and it all seemed to start spiraling from there.
I suddenly began to have migraine headaches WITH aura about 3-4x a day from April 3rd-ish to May 2nd. At times they were so severe I truly thought I may be having mini-strokes because of my visual disturbances and pain. This was all totally strange and frightening because I do NOT get headaches.

At the advice of good friends and their ability to pull some strings, I slid right on in to a neurologist's office who told me originally that it'd be the end of June for new referrals. Um, no thanks! But I got in that same day. He scheduled an MRI and my report came back fine. But now I have to figure out my "triggers" for my new ailment and learn how to manage them. My follow up is in a couple of weeks, so we shall see!

My Papa passed away last week on May 7th. We had been expecting it, but it doesn't make it any easier. I am going to really miss him and his stories. And my heart is still very sad for my dad. I plan to write a tribute to Papa very soon.

My Aunt Laynie and her daughter Renee {my cousin} are both very ill and I am praying for miracles. I'd love it if you would too. I love both of them beyond words and I also believe in miracles.

Yesterday Oliver woke up with an odd bug bite on his calf and wouldn't use his leg at all! I ended up at the doctor having it lanced. Poor Oliver! It broke my heart because he does NOT cry, but he did today. LOTS. We are now on heavy duty antibiotics to prevent staph. Fun stuff.

Not to mention... it has rained and rained and rained so much that Shan and I are about to start building an ark!

Any who...
It seems I've been surrounded by lots of gloom recently, so it's the small blessings and little things I am rejoicing in today.

1) My most recent Etsy feedback made me smile.
2) My awesome new hairbrush that baby-Ver picked out by accident at the drug store. I love it!

3) My Aunt Laynie's MRI of her spine came back negative.
4) Our VBS that was on the verge of being cancelled is back on and the volunteers are steadily coming in. So thankful!

 Columbia folks, register here.
5) My new Bible study

and Sunday School

are helping me to keep my eyes on Him to get over these hurdles.
6) This little person

said "I'm so lucky you're my mom!" this morning before he went to school.

I am truly thankful for those of you who know "where I am" right now and all your prayers. I am looking forward with hope that things will be looking up soon.
XO

Life is Good

3 Boys

2 Games going on simultaneously...1 on the T-ball field and 1 on Kids Pitch

1 BIG Mud Puddle

0 Clothes to change into

Life is good.

14 Lovely Days: Day 2

Well, we've been living in the land of the crud all week and the last 2 days I've had all three home sick. Cabin fever is setting in!

I tried really hard to keep the peace today. I let the boys pick their "territory". Sam chose my bedroom and Fulton chose the den. Ollie just roamed and took turns visiting his brothers in their territories. It was an interesting day to say the least. I'm just hoping everyone is well enough to go to school tomorrow.

Any who... on to Day 2.

My random act for the day originally involved making a special snack together, but I didn't think sharing the germs any further was a very good idea.
So instead...I picked a little activity that I found on Pinterest the other day.

Origami Monster Bookmarks! Cute, huh?

But when I got to the site from where it was originally pinned, I realized my Japanese was a little rusty. Sooo I did a little googling and found an origami site the shows you the folding process for the bookmark and we made our own.

I tried to photograph step-by-step so you could follow along...

Supplies:

Card stock or construction paper in various colors

Scissors

Hole punch for embellishments

Glue

We started with a 6x6 square

Fold into a triangle

Fold the left corner to the center point

Fold the right corner to the center point

Open up to a triangle again and fold one flap of the center point to the bottom

Re-fold the left corner towards the center point and tuck it into the "pocket"

Re-fold the right corner toward the center point and tuck it into the "pocket"

Cut a contrasting square slightly smaller than the 3x3 pocket

Apply glue and press inside

Cut embellishments- teeth, eyes, nose, tongue, etc.

Apply glue and press in place

Slide them onto the page corner of your favorite book

and voila!

Poor Sam was feeling so bad that he didn't want his picture taken. But he wanted me to let everyone know that he made the one that looks like a tiger, "with the cat eyes".

And finally. What does the 3 year-old who is fascinated by the scissors do while you're origami-ing with his brothers?

Well...

He cuts a hole in his shirt, of course.
Good times. Good times.

XO,

My poor children!

Back in November, on the way home from my mom's house, we spotted and old ugly vanity and a hopeless looking lamp. I made Shannon stop AT ONCE, as I am on this DIY-One man's trash-jag.
I yelled, "Ooooo, ooooo! Pull over!"

Shan said, "I really don't think we need this. Nor can we fit it in the car."

Little voices from the back seat shouted, "What are we doing? Mommy, why are we taking someone's trash?"

But I was determined!

We removed the passenger's side middle seat and put it in the way back so we could slide the vanity in, but we couldn't close the hatch, nor could we close the door all the way because the vanity was hanging partially out. But I didn't care because...We weren't far from home and all that mattered was we got it in the Odyssey!

Please look at poor Sam and Fulton's faces in the back!

{Note Sam's guitar. Never leave home without it!}

My OH-SO-COOL and humiliated 9 year-old kept saying, "Are we really doing this?" Fulton chimed in, "Can't we just take it back?" Poor Oliver just looked completely confused as we drove the mile-and-a-half home.

Shannon and I were laughing so hard because the back hatch, which was not closed because we stuffed the middle seat back there, kept flying open...even with us going 15mph!

Every time we stopped to push the back hatch down, the moans and pleas from the backseat got even louder.

When we finally arrived home, Sam hopped out as quickly as he could and said, "thank goodness that's over!"


Oh my! I know they think I'm nuts.

Sadly, I think they're right.

But isn't it cute? Doesn't it just scream po-ten-tial?!?!

Do you recognize the lamp? See my dresser re-do here and you'll see the lamp...as good as new with a fresh coat of paint and a new shade.

Hi! Didja miss me again?
I'm wondering if I'll ever come up for air these days. I cannot seem to get it together.
I last blogged 10 days ago. I had all intentions of putting together our Christmas and New Years Rewind but it never happened.

I feel slightly inadequate in blogland sometimes...I have SO much to say and share with you (my family and 5 readers), but so little time to write it all down. I have several friends who blog and have scheduled times each day that they post. Currently, I'm a night-time blogger - after the boys go to bed. I'd love to fit it into my day, but I'm just not that organized. I'm trying...but I'm not there yet.

Anywho...

The past 10 days have been a whirlwind. Shan rarely travels, but when he does he's gone the entire week. When Sam was a baby I didn't mind it so much. I'd hang out with my mom and dad a lot and they'd take us to dinner. I'd schedule lots of evening playdates with friends and their babies to kill time while I was missing Shannon. But now, so much has changed. I have a ton on my plate with the schoolwork and extra-curricular schedules of my 3 boys and my volunteer obligations. It's so much easier to cook a quick supper and stay in from the time they get home from school until bedtime. Anything extra outside our home is just too much.

Shan headed out last Sunday morning and I was on my own. Every time he travels, the place in my heart for single parents and military spouses grows even bigger. I DO NOT KNOW HOW THEY DO IT...EVERY DAY! We picked him up Friday night and I couldn't wait to see him. It makes me really realize what a wonderful guy I married. He helps me so much and is the best dad. The boys really missed him and were kinda outta sorts all week. But we got through it without too many issues.

However, while he was away, I thought I'd try to be a little more productive. I finished planning and shopping for Ollie's birthday and tackled a few little projects around the house - necessary and frivolous, alike.

I cleaned out and purged lots. I organized little things that had gotten out of control, and I did some deep cleaning that had been neglected over the holidays.

I made these cute pillows for my den...

And a cute winter wreath...

(We frosted the glass on our storm door for Ollie's birthday...It doesn't usually look cracked and smudgy.)

 Needless to say, Shan was quite happy to see that we not only survived without him, but that I was productive too! (Not because he thinks I'm incompetent without him, but because I'm always very weepy when he leaves as I'm dreading the overwhelming week ahead.)
The boys and I spent LOTS of quality time together and we learned LOTS more about each other's personalities. Let's just say it's nice to have daddy around as a buffer!

Hopefully, we can get a little more back to normal in the upcoming weeks and maybe I'll be able to get back on a regular blogging schedule. I wouldn't want to leave all of you sitting around on pins and needles for too long awaiting my next post!

XO

Blackhole-iday

I fell into my annual blackhole last week.

That blackhole is called The Holiday Market, sponsored by the Junior League of Columbia.

For the past 5 years I have helped organize this enormous under-taking along with an amazing group of ridiculously talented and well-organized women.

I have compared it to a pregancy, leading up to labor & delivery.

It is a year-long process. We start meeting once a month, then twice a month, then weekly...and then TA-DA! It's market week! During market week we spend just about every waking moment together. We learn way too so much about each other.

Planning the market is so much fun. It's great to watch friendships blossom, to be a part of a team, and see another thematic vision unfold. I am always inspired by the beautiful decorations and the way our committee takes a big metal warehouse-type building and turns it into a holiday wonderland. It's simply amazing! In fact, the color scheme was so beautiful that my house very closely resembles the market...pics to follow.

It is a loooong week, but lots of fun. We host 3 big events in addition to standard shopping hours.
Our big Holiday Market Preview Party is held the night before the market opens to the public. It is a black tie event with TONS of great food and drinks! I always look forward to seeing what people are wearing. This year, I went for cheap and comfortable!

{FORGIVE THE TERRIBLE IPHONE PICS! I was so busy running back and forth, to and from the personnel office to keep up with a camera and my phone.}

Thursday night we hold the Ladies Night Out event. JUST FYI: This is a presold event that sells out every year. Get your tickets ahead of time next year if you missed it this year. It is the best time! I always bump into some of my favorite people there. Again...no pics because I just couldn't juggle it all.

Me and my sweet friend, Eron. She's a long-time, dear buddy. We have a whole slew of pics like this circa 1990. It's been years, but still seems like yesterday since we posed cheek-to-cheek. LOVE HER!!! She was just one of the several familiar faces that I was able to visit with that night. It really is a great "girlie" time!

Then there's PJ's with Santa; a family event. It's always a great time for the kids. There's tumbling, Christmas movies, story time, cookies and milk, the balloon man, face painting, crafts, and of course... SANTA!

{At least Ollie wasn't screaming this year! He still doesn't look too sure though.}

In the past, I have had the pleasure of chairing/vice-chairing a couple events; Ladies Night Out (in its infancy-2007 & 2008) and PJs with Santa (the inaugural year-2009). I have also been behind the scenes with Marketing (2010) and Personnel (2011). I have to admit, I love the event planning the most. Who knows what next year will hold. I will probably finish out my JLC career in the Holiday Market placement in the next few years

Any who... the market was a huge success again this year. I was so happy to be part of it.

Now, to climb out of the blackhole, finish decorating my house, get caught up on Christmas card orders, and do some holiday-ish stuff.

Stay tuned!