So So different

Paisley is so very different from Tab and Benton. Her temperament that is. The boys were both very good and fairly easy babies. Paisley started out by following in their footsteps and she mostly screams and refuses to sleep during the day A LOT. See...And even more..always it seemsI have spent a lot of my time literally running circles between my kitchen and livingroom as I bounce her until she falls asleep or at least stops screaming for a moment. I finally got the fabric to make my carrier and it has been very helpful. And do my postpartum baby gut is not that big...that is a baby butt strapped to my midsection.This is her sleeping after about a 30 minute "jog". As I'm sure you can tell from the expression on my face I'm not too pleased about having to do it and I'm pretty much exhausted.I have to admit that things have been better for the last week, but she is still VERY temperamental and cries a lot. She spends a considerable amount of time in her crib for both of our sakes. Now instead of torturing me nonstop during the day she has decided to wake up every 2 hours at night and then pretty much refuse to sleep after 5:30 AM. I'm mostly a walking Zombie. This too shall pass...right?

Every now and again we get some of this, which helps her to survive each day..lol. I have hopes that someday we'll see more of this than the screaming.It is hard to believe that those pretty blues can cause me so many tears already.

Gone Fishing

Jason's parents are in town right now. Yesterday Jason took the day off and went fishing with his dad. They couldn't stop talking about how much fun they had. I'm glad that they enjoyed their day. I know that Jason really needed a break to do something fun just for himself.

They had a good haul. They each caught several very big fish. Here is Jason with his 20 pounder. You can tell by the look on his face how excited he was.Here is Steve with one of his.

Fun in the Sun

I know, I know, I know...I've been a crappy blogger lately and I'm sorry. My kids have just been an extreme handful lately and expend all of my energy. By the time they are in bed I don't have energy left to do my blogging. I'll try to do better...maybe.

Over Labor Day weekend we went to visit some family in St. Joseph. And what to do on Labor day weekend but go to the Beach! We had a blast. Little Miss Paisley showing her pasty whiteness that she inherited from her mom.Here is the biggest boy of all playing in the sand. It was hard to keep him from melting down each time that Benton smashed part of his castle.Jason finally wised up and put the boys to work. Benton was dumping water in the moat for Jason to use in building the castle.Tab helped out too.When the high tide started coming in, the boys dug a deep moat around the castle and turned the castle into an island. Then they enjoyed tromping around the island. Benton started to get a little too comfortable and started wandering into the water so Jason took him out. He loved it. It was freezing!See, I was there too. Those are my feet that Tab is burying.
The day we were there, a fountain opened up about a block from the beach. We decided that it would be perfect for getting all of the sand off of the boys before getting in the car.This little town also happens to have a train that runs through it, right by the beach, twice a day. We just happened to be there at the right time.Tab was elated.

Que the Choir of Angels

SCHOOL IS IN! (Preschool that is.) I couldn't be happier. My house is for the most part calm and quiet this morning. Sigh...... Perhaps I should feel guilty about how elated I am right now, but I've been looking forward to this day for about a month and a half.

So, here we go... Obligatory 1st day of school picture.I think that he may just be ready too.Benton threw a fit because he wanted to be in the pictures too.
Tab on the bus. And can I just say that I am thrilled about the 5-point harness?Benton after the bus left. He doesn't care that Tab left, just that he wasn't allowed to ride the bus.The first thing I did after the bus left was load up Benton and Paisley and headed for the store. I am in heaven. Benton plays so nicely and quietly without Tab around. There has been very minimal screaming. I just hope that it lasts.

What happens when a 2 year old refuses naptime?

This happens at 5:00.

Please disregard my disturbing chortle.

What else would you use an iPhone for?

Jason got an iphone recently and discovered the most ridiculous app. But I have to give it to him, it was worth it when it turned the boy's temper tantrums in the car into fits of hysteria.What app could produce such smiles you ask? Why the "Atomic Fart" app of course. Boys!!

City Cruise

As part of the 50th Anniversary Celebration for the city they had a "cruise", where people came out with their awesome cars and cruised up and down one of the main streets as well as were parked in store parking lots all up and down the same street. We just happened to be out and about when this was going on. It was crazy traffic with everyone driving up and down the street but we really enjoyed seeing the cool cars.

Here are a few of them that I happened to get pictures of.

Bed Race

The city that the hospital Jason is rotating at recently celebrated it's 50th Anniversary. So the hospital hosted a "bed race" for the occasion. One of the Medical Education ladies organized a team consisting of the Kirksville Students. It was a blast. I brought the boys over to watch daddy run it.

Here they are in their pre-race parade. Each team had a theme, theirs was obviously cowboy themed.The MedEd Adviser gave each of the boy's these cute little stick horses which they have since decided are swords. Ahh....boys.And of course I had to take this picture for Tab. He wanted to know why daddy couldn't be on the pirate team, afterall, it was so cool.Here they are getting ready to take off for their first race.And here they are, completely smoking their competition in the first race.I am happy to say that they went undefeated against the 4 or 5 other teams and won first place. Here is the MedEd Adviser holding the "trophy" or bed pan award.
And finally, the whole team.

Hey Spaz!

We were at McDonald's for dinner one night. (You know, one of those nights were I just couldn't take it any more.) Tab figured out that his mouth is really "stetchy", his words, not mine. I thought that you might enjoy.

Hi, My Name is Benton and I have Crazy Hair

My only explanation for this is that this is Benton's napped on Mohawk.

Take a Deep Breathe...this is but for a short moment

Right? Someone please tell me I'm right because I'm about to lose my top. I can't barely stand my boys right now, or for the past month that is. They are the worst behaved children I've ever seen. The don't obey, they don't do anything I think but scream and yell and throw fits and get send to their room or the corner or, or, or... I'm about at the end of end of my rope, I kid you not. I know, I know, you don't believe me, I usually just post the lovely fun stuff. But I just wanted to keep it real.

These are pictures of what is REAL and very REGULAR around our house. I just happened to have my camera right on the counter next to me and taking a picture was the only thing that kept me from crying. And just imagine Tab 2 minutes later doing the same thing.Here he is pulling on my pocket trying to get me to do something or give him something or just make me crazy, who knows.No wonder I can't get a thing done all day. I promise I will only say this once, I WANT TO GO HOME. And by home, I mean Kirksville... it has really become what I think of when I think home. Thank you for your patience, now back to your regularly scheduled "happy" blogging.

A little Pais Update

First of all, her oldest brother is completely and totally wrapped around her little finger. Apparently he was still tired after waking up one morning, so he laid down next to her for some snuggles and fell asleep. Paisley's first in the tub bath. We procrastinated this because her belly button took FOREVER to heal and because I hate bathing little babies. Let's just say I've never owned a good baby bathtub that was worth owning. And she is screaming bloody murder because mean daddy is following mom's instructions to scrub at the cradle cap that is so hideous. And finally, Paisley's new favorite past time. She is quite good and batting at the toys and will do it for a good 20 minutes at a time.

You Don't say...

Someone in my house is obsessed with pirates. I don't think that I need to name names. I believe we have already had several posts about this matter. And as you may know, I have been doing quite a bit of crocheting lately. While I was crocheting the baby legs, Tab has been begging me to crochet him a sword. I tried telling him that he would be sad with a crocheted sword as it would be pretty pathetic and flimsy. So I decided to try my hand at crocheting him a pirate. I scoured the web for a free pattern but could only find one on Etsy. I decided that I couldn't afford the cheap pattern because I could totally figure it out myself. So I gathered the yarn that my mom gave me when I was visiting in May and set to it. I absolutely refuse to link you to the inspiration as mine looks nothing like it and is completely horrible by comparison.

Now, here he is. Tab has named him Captain Slobs, which is what he calls himself.
A little closer up. (I should have used a single crochet as my base stitch, alas)I love how the eye patch lifts up.
Mostly, I am just really proud of it, egg shaped head and all, because of this.I couldn't get him to hold still for a picture because he was swinging it around and hugging it. He has been carrying it everywhere with him since I gave it to him this afternoon. We were walking to the park and he slung him over his back and wrapped the guy's arms around his neck as he was walking. I wish that I would have had my camera with me.

How to Be a Pirate According to Tab

First you must learn how to talk like a Pirate. Here Tab is yelling Arrrgh at Jason.And Then you must know how to properly wield a fake sword, as pictured below.Also, you must learn corny pirate jokes and tell them to everyone.