Kiddy Camp

I signed my kids up for summer camp! Well, it's not exactly all summer, nor is it technically camping, heck it isn't even all day. What it is, however, is 4 wonderful mornings all to myself (with the baby of course). I'm going to get so much done in the 3 hours that they are off playing games, creating art, making friends, doing who knows what and really who cares as long as I have ME time. What bliss it will be.

I'm so excited about all the time I have on my hands and not wanting to waste it, I make a list of all that I will accomplish while they are gone:

Clean house,

Do laundry, ( not sure why this is on my "list" since it's all I ever do and never can complete)

Organize pictures,

Start Ava's baby book ( I know, I know, she's 3, but it's never too late)

Clean out closet

Organize Mia's room ( which I still refer to as "the office")

Take pictures of Mia ( I don't have enough, poor 3rd child)

Read a book ( or at least some of one)


On Monday when I drop the kids off at 9:30 they are eager to leave me and go play. It helps that Carter has a friend there from preschool. Even Ava who has never gone off on her own before is completely okay with me leaving her. She waves to me as she begins to color a picture. "That was easy," I think to myself.

I hurry back with Mia to the car. I am eager to get home, begin my list and have some quiet time. I pull in the garage, take Mia out of her car seat, and bring her in the house. I set her down and am about to put a load of laundry in when Mia begins to cry. "Oh, she must be hungry, no problem." I feed her. She continues to cry. I change her. Still she cries. I swaddle her and rock her. Finally she's asleep and it's quiet.

I put the load of laundry in. Then I look at the clock. Wow, it's already 11. I'm getting hungry. So I pop in a quick frozen Weight Watchers meal and sit down and begin the crossword puzzle from the days newspaper. Four minutes later my meal is ready. When I finish eating I clean the kitchen, dining room and begin the living room. The phone rings. It's my friend Amy. I chat with her while I begin folding the clean laundry that has been sitting in the baskets for about a week (Lovely, wrinkled clothes, because you know I don't iron). After about 10 minutes I glance at the clock.

"Shoot, I gotto go pick my kids up," I tell my friend as I hang up the phone. It's 12:00. I gather Mia, change her diaper, strap her in her car seat and head out. I arrive just in time for the 12:30 pick up. Perfect.

So much for my 3 hours of heaven. I think tomorrow I will skip my list and just relax for the few moments I have.

Our Newest Addition

Mia Bella Thompson was born on April 18th at 3:06pm. She weighed in at 7lbs 11ozs and was 20 inches long. She is 8 weeks old and is a great baby. She sleeps so much that Carter gets excited when she opens her eyes and he tells us, "She's peeking out, she's peeking out." Both kids seem to be handling the adjustment of their new little sister very well. Although, just tonight Carter was thinking about what to rename her. Poor Mia.

What do you want for your birthday?

All Carter's friends started getting 2 wheel bikes around their 3rd birthday, but Carter didn't seem that interested. I really wanted to wait until he asked for one. I wanted him to really want one so that it would feel that much more special. So last year when he turned 4 I asked if he wanted a bike for his birthday. No, was his response. Okay that's fine. This year for Christmas I asked if he wanted a bike. No, was his response again. Whatever, he's not ready, I thought. Well now he's turning 5, so he MUST want a bike, right? I asked him the other night over dinner if he wanted a bike for his birthday. His response, "Why do you keep asking me that? I DON'T want a bike for Christmas, I DON'T WANT a bike for my birthday. I DON'T want a bike." Jeez, fine, I was just asking. I then turned to Ava, who is turning 3, and asked "What do you want for your birthday?" "A bike," she said.

Hey, do think if I start asking now if he wants a car the same thing will happen?

I Will Never

I was so sure of all the things that I would never do before I had children. I had my list of "I Nevers": I will never give my baby a pacifier, I never will put MY child in front of the TV, I will never give my child candy before they are 3 years old, maybe 5, I will never raise my voice or yell in anger at my children, I will never use the phrases my mother used on me such as "Because I said so, that's why." Then I actually had children and reality set in. My ideas, some of my convictions, my "nevers" all seemed to fly out the window. It was all I could do just to survive this thing called parenthood.

This is what happened to my list of "I Nevers". Carter had a pacifier before we even left the hospital ( what did those books know anyway, some kids just need to suck, and please, he never had an issue nursing). I admit I did put my child in front of some Baby Einstein videos, not to make him smarter, just to give myself a break for half an hour to make dinner, take a shower, heck, to pee by myself. I am still a stickler about sweets, but let's face it, I'm not about to deprive my child or myself the photos of his/her 1st taste of birthday cake. And yes, although I'm not proud of it there are times when I yell at my children, sometimes in anger. I try to work on it but it's a reality, I am not perfect. The phrases my mom used to say to me that I hated so much make a lot of sense now that I am a mom and yes on occasion I use them.

The one "I Never" that I still truly believed in, that I thought I would never waver from, that I was certain I would never do, I finally did. No, I still have not beat my children, that one I'm sticking to, but the other biggie I caved in on. I swore I WOULD NEVER BUY A MINIVAN and yes you guessed it. I did. Now there are a million reasons why I swore that wouldn't happen, I mean it screams MOM ( I know I am, but I am so much more). My car was the last thing that was mine, something that didn't necessarily define me as a mother ( so what if there were 2 car seats in it). It was a car I picked when I was still childless and carefree. It was sort of the one thing that I had from that prior life. Mind you I love my life, I love being a mom, but truly it's not all that I am. However, with baby number 3 on the way our choices were limited and after doing the research it really was the best thing out there for me. So I bit the bullet and got the minivan.

The funny thing that I NEVER thought would happen is that I really LOVE my car. It drives so smooth, it has plenty of room, I can carpool now, and it's just so easy. I should have learned my lesson with my first "I never" list, you can't always predict life or how things work out or even what you will do in any given circumstance. But the truth is I still have my "I never" list of the future: my kids will never date until they are 16, they will never have tv's in their rooms, I will never just give them money they will have to earn it, and the list goes on and on. Oh well!

Chocolate Syrup Anyone?

The other morning my kids woke up and I set them up in front of the TV with a cup of dry cereal and went back to bed, (yes, I know, I win for mother of the year). Being pregnant I am extra tired I don't care if it's an excuse. So I go back to bed. I wake up a little while later and the house is eerily quiet. Any mom knows quiet is NOT a good thing. Quiet means there is trouble. So I drag my tired body out of bed to see what my little angels could possibly be doing. I walk silently into the kitchen and that's when I see it.

My children have worked together like a team, they are getting along fabulously, they were quite ingenious really. They have taken 2 plastic bowls, poured cereal into each, moved the stool around to the counter where the chocolate syrup (that I bought for the 1st time the day before) is still sitting. Carter has opened the brand new syrup bottle (he tells me he used a sharp knife to cut the plastic, but he didn't cut himself he proudly states) and proceeded to dump almost the entire contents into these 2 small bowls of cereal. Not only that, but now they are eating these lovely bowls of chocolate filled cereal with spoons that they took out of the drawer.

The looks they give me are priceless. They are mixed with fear (mom will be mad) independence (look what we did all by ourselves) and sheer happiness (chocolate in the morning, doesn't get much better than that). I can't help but laugh as I scold them for eating chocolate in the morning. I pour out their delicious concoction and tell them that I am proud that they worked together. I will take what I can get.

Catch Up

So here I am, finally writing again. There have been a lot of changes in the last few months, but before I delve into that I thought I'd catch you all up on the last few months. After we returned from Scandinavia we decided we needed a nice, relaxing vacation. So we did what we've done for the last 3 years, we went to San Diego. I mean what's more relaxing than a 9-10 hour car ride with 2 young children? Did I mention our tire blew out on us on the 5? What could be more entertaining than standing along a dangerous highway with your husband under the car and your children trying to stay cool in the 100 degree weather under dried brush with used toilet paper all around? The kids are sweating and wanting to touch "stuff" and I'm trying my best to make a game out of it. "Let's see who can squat the longest in the shade" or what's better than a game of I Spy when there's dirt and weeds all around. Now truly, this is my idea of fun!

The trip was a success though. We made it relatively unscathed and stayed with my best friend Amy and her family. They have a beautiful house and our kids are the same age so it was great. We hung out, had some nice meals, and even went to Sea World which was fabulous. The kids were able to see Shamu, eat cotton candy, and Carter even went on his first real roller coaster. It was dark, so I don't think he realized how big and tall the ride really was.

After a few days with our friends we went to Paradise Point and met up with Bill's parents and his sister, Debby, and her family. We had a lot of fun hanging out at the pool, riding bikes, playing on the beach, and so much more. Carter and his cousin Alex have a great time playing together. So even though our trip started out a little rough, in the end (before the LONG drive home) it really was a relaxing, enjoyable vacation.