Exasperated

Exasperated: –verb (used with object)1.to irritate or provoke to a high degree; annoy extremely


That's me right now.

Both boys in 'time out,' one who has fallen asleep, thank goodness.

Let me back up (and be very honest)...

The B Man got out of school on Tuesday and things already are not going that well so far.

I'm frustrated because I think I have pretty good kids and I don't mind them 'horsing around' a bit (the boys) but they've managed to knock down a lamp each day and if things get too heated Little G ends up biting his older brother (also has basically happened every day).

So.

Today I got REALLY angry and spanked them both. And I don't like typing that. And I don't like doing it.

I don't want to be one of those mothers. I don't want them to remember me as their mother that spanked them. But I feel like that's the only way to get their attention these days. I can reason with the six year old but the three year old, no way. I say "stop" and I'm pretty sure he hears "GO!" At least that's how it seems.

I can't do this all Summer. Maybe I'm not strong enough or very good at this Mother 'gig' but I really can't.

I mean we have things to do this Summer a lot of the time but not EVERY day and I can't always go where my friends are going with their kids because Baby K needs a decent nap in the morning. I know we need to get out but some days we WILL be staying in (like today) and I'm just afraid those days will all go like this.

And they can only watch SO much t.v. , you know?

I'm not one to do a lot of crafts with my kids but they do paint, play with play-doh, color, all that good stuff. And I TRY to do some stuff with them. I do NOT sit at the computer all day, even though it may seem that way. We build puzzles, read books, play a game here and there.

But as most of you know, I'm sure, that stuff only lasts so long too.

I love my children, but I LOATHE days like this. They make me feel lonely and mean and leave me very upset.

I feel like I should do better. BE better.

What am I missing?

You Capture - SKY

The rain continued to fall slowly last night as I laid my tired body down. I could hear it on the window. pit pat pit pat.

This afternoon there were storms all around us but it barely rained here.

I have storms inside of me - things I struggle with on the daily. But I'm working on them.

Tonight things are getting clearer for me. And the sky is clear too.

(see what you want to see. I KNOW what I do... )

WW - Grow On

Did you just say "uh oh?" Because I did when she first did this yesterday. Yes folks, she's definitely on the move. And my life as I knew it is now over.

Oh, and the 6 year old is officially a first-grader after completely Kindergarten today.

Not to mention the 3 year old is now regularly going 'tee tee' on the potty.

This ALL happened overnight by the way.

Click on the button for more WordFUL Wednesday...

Conversations

Some stuff overheard at our house lately...


Little G: Katie DON'T pull my hair!!!
Baby K: 'baby giggle'

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Little G: Mommy, can I play with my wienie now?
Me: NO!!!

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The B Man: (while showing me his pretend 'laboratory' in Tim's office) Mommy, you can't touch this button right here because if you do there will be a HUGE explosion!

Me: (inching my finger over to the button to tease him)

The B Man: NO, MOMMY!!!! Do you want to kill everyone in the whole world? GAH!

*************************************************

Me (to Little G): Go to your room!!! (after throwing a pillow and breaking a glass on the tile floor in the living room)

Little G: Alright
(he knew he'd better just go!)

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Little G: Can I have a snack (x 200 times a day)

************************************************

While at the dinner table the other night...
The B Man: Mommy, what's an 'announcement'?
Me: It's usually when someone has something really important to say and they tell everyone.
The B Man: Well then I have an announecment!
Me: What's that?
The B Man: I want dessert!!!


Yeah, me too son. This ricotta stuff is gettin' kind of old.


Oh and the winner of the $50.00 gift certificate for Initials, Inc. is Jen from Buried With Children. She's a devout commenter so I'm so glad she won! Of course there are many of you and I wish I could give you all $50 but then my husband might make me stop blogging. ;)

Are Three Kids Too Many?

Tim left today for a 'business trip' in which he got to go back 'home' and see old co-workers and some family.

And don't even think about trying to find me to rob my house or anything, now that you know this because I have mean, scary neighbors with big guns. I don't really know this for a fact but this is the South so they must have some guns. So yeah, be scared.

Anywho, I was a little stressed yesterday before he left because this is my first time to do the "just me and my three kids" gig.


I got a little mad at him on the phone, while he was running an errand for me, for no reason really, claiming he didn't help enough in the kitchen last night, but see... he did. He helped a lot. And he always does, so I was actually upset because I knew that my main and BEST helper was leaving.

Having three kids is hard sometimes. I know some people probably shake their head at my saying that and think, "really, three kids are hard to handle? Nah." I know some people have more and may even think it's no big deal.

But. I am not them.



And one of my three is still a baby and demands A LOT of me. The same one that STILL gets up between 4 and 6 a.m. for bottle.

On the other hand, The B Man can do many things for himself. Although. Guess what? I found myself wiping his tushie today. Haven't done that in a while.

But all of that doesn't matter. What really matters is how I feel. And sometimes, no matter what anyone thinks, I feel overwhelmed.

I look around and think, "ME, I, ONLY ME RIGHT NOW, is responsible for these three human beings." And then my mind follows with a "Woah."

And there are moments when the baby is crying with her nose running and she's sitting in her spit-up before I can wipe it and the boys are horsing around, and Little G tackles The B Man (yes, it goes down that way) and then hits his head on something and starts cyring.


Those moments, although somewhat amusing after-the-fact, and when everyone is fine, they are the ones that make these feelings come to a head.

But after the crying stops and things are cleaned up and all is fairly calm, that's when I can stop and realize that yes, they are all of my babies, the ones God has entrusted to me and my husband.

Are there times that I wonder what He was thinking? Sure there are.

And in the grand scheme of things, I know it's all in the plan and that He gave them to me because he knew I could handle it.

But, there are still those moments...

South Beach Before the Beach

If you follow me on twitter or even good ole FB, you know I've started the South Beach diet, as of Monday. And I'm here to tell you, the first couple of days are HARD.

I could have INHALED the entire container of strawberries when I was packing some for The B Man's lunch on Tuesday (btw, my son has only eaten in the cafeteria ONCE this year and the last day of school is Tuesday, just sayin')

But, I refrained.

(you can't have ANY fruit {I LOVE FRUIT} for the first two weeks)

I also have not had ANY chocolate besides a few mini chocolate chips that are allowed in the ricotta cream 'dessert' (using that term VERY loosely...).

No juice, no WINE.

NOTHING from the pantry. Everything I have eaten, except for sweetner (which I'm against in most cases, except to help jump-start my weight loss apparently...) has come from the fridge or freezer.

And this super baby gut, it's disappearing, like FAST. As in 4 lbs. GONE.

Tim has joined me (although there's a few things he's had that are 'off-limits') and already lost 5 lbs. himself. It's been 4 days y'all.

This stuff WORKS.

Now I'll admit, there's a reason some weight loss became imminent. We are off to the beach (DearGodpleaselettherestillbeanicebeach) in Florida in a couple of weeks and I figured I'd better start this now for two reasons: 1) to lose a few lbs before I have to sport a swim suit everyday 2) to get the hardest part over with before we go.

I have to say, it's really amazing what a low carb, RIGHT carb diet can do. And I don't mean diet as in "DIIEEETT - UGH", I mean diet, as in lifestyle change, what you eat every day, MY actual diet of foods.

I can't really tell yet if I have that much more energy, but I do know I just FEEL better in general and I'm not as impatient with the kids or even Tim! Maybe it's partly psychological since I know the weight it starting to come off, but whatever it is, it's GOOD!

Oh and by the way, someone else is getting ready for the beach soon too! Don't you just love her new Target special faux beach crocs? Yeah, me too!


P.S. Where did the big girl come from??

You Capture - Depth of Field

I'm still learning how to use my camera. Most of it is experimentation, I'll admit. And that is no different with this week's You Capture 'assignment.' I just played around with the camera until I kinda figured it out. Except for the first and last pics. They were taken last week. But still.

And most of these have a clear subject at the forefront and blurry background, except the last one. And it's not necessarily a wonderful photo but I like that it's opposite.

I have a giveaway going on for a $50 gift certificate for cute handbags. Just leave a comment to enter! :)

Stars in Their Eyes

Yes, I invested a few dollars of our money in cheap sunglasses for party favors and yes, they were "Made in China" but in this case, I kinda think it was worth it.







And yes, Little G's are upside down. The Birthday Boy can wear 'em any way he wants AFAIC.*

*as far as I'm concerned

P.S. I have a fun, cute giveaway going on right now and ALL you have to do to win is leave a comment. You don't want to miss it, trust me!

Initials Inc. - Review & Giveaway

I like bags. And no, I don't mean the ones under my eyes.

I mean cute ones that I can strap over my shoulder and function well for me.

Initials, Inc. makes sassy, cute bags of all kinds and they personalize them with just about any monogram you want for free!

It goes without saying (but I will anyway) that I was very excited when they contacted me to sample one of their bags.

I chose the "Hippie Chick" and it's so great! It's good for going to the mall or grocery because I can just strap it across my body and have everything I need right on my hip. It can even hold my diaper sleeve for some diapers and wipes. The front flap is great for easy access to my keys and the inside has a zipper pouch, as well as a place for my cell phone.

And the cute "E" on the front makes it extra special, don't cha think?


Here's a little more about the company....

"Initials, Inc. was founded by sisters - Britney Vickery and Ivy Hall shortly after becoming SAHMs. During that time they loved being home with their children but found that they were seeking three things; to be challenged creatively, to have flexibility in schedule and to contribute financially to their homes... but they didn't want to give up time with their young families to get it. Initials, Inc. was created to meet those needs as woman and new mothers. Over time, they quickly realized that the solution they they created for themselves could be a blessing to other women. Initials, Inc. officially launched in February of 2005. Today, Initials, Inc. is national in scope and is supporting women and families all across the country through home parties, selling personalized gifts. "

Now I just know one of you would love to win a $50 gift certificate to apply to any product of your choice from their lovely catalog!

If so, Go HERE and 'flip' through the catalog and come back and leave a comment telling me what item catches your eye.

You can get a second entry for tweeting a link to this giveaway. Come back and leave a SECOND comment that you did so.

This giveaway will run until the evening of Monday, May 24th at which time I will choose a winner at random. Open to U.S. residents only. Please make sure I have a way to get in touch with you if you should win.

Good luck! I'm already a little jealous of the winner. :)




*Disclosure - I was contacted by Initials, Inc. with the opportunity to do this review. I was supplied with one monogrammed bag from their current collection, at no cost in order to do the review. These are my honest opinions and I was not paid for this review.

Partyin'

We had a whirlwind of a weekend.

I even think a little tornado went through my kitchen, what with the baking and barbecuing and just general party prep and happenings.


See what I mean? (that's a lot of foil...)

All that really matters though is that my Little G had a good time and I believe he did.

He splashed around in the backyard with his friends (please forgive my lack of pictures, I was running around too much, being social and all and didn't take any pics of the water fun) and enjoyed his ice cream cone cupcake, after licking the icing off of his candle.


Tim and I made the executive decision not to have G open gifts during the party, as is customary these days. It just always seems like such a circus when we've done that in the past. And the person most upset about this was The B Man, by the way...

Instead, we let him open them after all the guests (except for my parents) were gone and it was so nice because he could stop and really look at them and even played with a few. And his siblings got to help and watch!

Of course it had to rain in the morning (when it hadn't rained in WEEKS!), much to both my and my barbecuing husband's chagrin.

(yes, that's him holding up a patio umbrella to protect his bbq pit)

But thankfully it stopped for the splash party and that was about it. Seriously. It then rained most of the afternoon and night.

All in all the party was a lot of fun but it took it right out of me. Hence the two hour Sunday afternoon nap. For both me AND Little G.

Here's the only picture I managed to get of me and Little G together, a classic "self picture" taken on the afternoon of his third birthday.

Oh I could just smooch that sweet, THREE year old face all day! (his, that is... not my own! ha!)

It was a good day with new friends, neighbors and family.

In other words, a rousing success. :)


Linking up to Mommy & Me Monday at Krystyn's place...

He's Three!

It's pretty late as I'm posting these words about my sweet, darling 'Gavie'. I just finished baking the ice cream cone cupcakes for his party...

He's THREE years old and my heart swells just thinking about the day he was born. The minute they showed him to me in the O.R. and I saw that cute 'button' nose of his, I melted. And well, I haven't been the same since.


There are days that I can be in a horrible mood and he flashes his adorable, dimpled smile and I can't help but smile back.

Lately he's showing so many signs of being a bigger boy, that it breaks my heart a little. He's definitely no longer a 'baby', even though he'll always be mine, of course...

He's going 'tee-tee' on the potty (wahoo!) and he follows his brother around like a little shadow, repeating what he says and listening to his direction while they play together. He's also talking up a storm and will go into long diatribes about certain things such as what happened on the latest Tom & Jerry episode (one benefit of having an older brother, you get to watch "T&J")

Around the holidays he became quite the fan of Toy Story and he loves to play with 'Buzz' and 'Woody'. He also likes to play with Play-Doh A LOT and enjoys coloring and watercolor painting.

Many days for lunch I make him a 'Gavie Sandwich' which consists of one piece of bread sliced in half, a little light mayo, one piece of turkey and one piece of cheese. He continues to LOVE all fruit, especially berries and we often tease and say he could be a 'fruitetarian'. He also loves 'yogurt drinks' and pretty much any dairy.

Since he and his big brother share a room, he's used to going to bed at the same time (with some exceptions) and most nights Daddy reads a book and tucks them in. Many nights I go in to round out the bed time routine with prayers. When I ask G what he's thankful to Jesus for he usually goes on about some nonsense and then adds "Mommy, Daddy, Ben and Katie."

And "Meow- Meow". Yes, his beloved little stuffed cat that goes EVERYWHERE with us. He is most certainly in his prayers. ;)

He's still not a fan of being dropped off at his little school but he does have a good time while he's there. He no longer naps regularly (although he does at his school) but will often fall asleep in the car when we go get The B Man from school.

Right now he likes to play outside and ride on his little four-wheeler that he calls his "charged-up race car." He also likes bubbles and he loves going to the pool and MUST have his little polka dotted "floatie" every time we go swimming.

He LOVES sweets (NO idea who he got that from...*whistling*) and juice, although he doesn't get the latter very often anymore (I'm just trying to cut out more sugar).

He can be a little "spitfire" at times and has a bit of a temper but he can usually get over things pretty quickly and move on from them.

On our evening walks he's taken to wanting to walk on the sidewalk by himself or run while holding my hand. He has a pretty good throw for a three-year old and I can see him really liking sports. He even wanted to play soccer with The B Man and his teammates earlier in the Spring.

People comment on his utter cuteness (what? I'm his Mother, of course he's the cutest thing) pretty much any where we go. And although I'm not sure where he got them, I personally love his hazel eyes.


And to my Little G, I want you to know you've captured my heart from day one and I feel so blessed that God gave you to me. I love you so much and hope you have a great party and a wonderful time this year as you grow bigger and learn more. I'm so excited to see where this next year takes you and I love you so, so much.

Happy Birthday, my sweet, lovable little joy!!

Some pics from this last year...
And watch out for the last one, it's shocking what a big boy he looks like. *sigh*