We made it to 1!!!!

Today is the day that one year ago our lives changed. The day was super snowy and cold and unexpected weather for March. Unexpected has been the word to describe these boys.

The boys are such a joy! From the first Dr appointment that was unexpected to their early arrival they have been a pleasant surprise. They have been a joy to have in our house and I wouldn't change a thing.

Happy Birthday Boys!!!

We had a nice day yesterday celebrating their "big #1" as my dad put it. Thanks to family who helped with the food and the fantastic presents.

love,
mom, dad, Emma and Claire

Pros and Cons

Do you ever have a day where you feel like you need to list the pros and cons of the day to realize that it really isn't that bad? I had one yesterday.
Kent has been out of town since Thursday morning and comes home this Friday and yesterday was the half way mark. That means that it was pretty much a crappy day. I don't really know why it was but the entire day just felt "off". You know what I mean?
So in order to combat it by the end of the day and countless moments of losing my patience with my children I listed the pros and cons.

Here is what I came up with in no specific order...please don't judge me!:)
Cons:
-I am flying solo which means no down time.
-Emma is sleeping now officially in my room on the floor which means she goes to bed with me and wakes up with me. I don't know about you but with the down time I need my alone time. Selfish I know but that is the truth!
-Claire's fish died and I had to be the one to tell her and dispose of him. She did not take the news well...ask Aunt Hannah. RIP Bobby!
-Mack and Morgan both have double ear infections which does not make for pleasant babies. Need I say more?
-I had McDonald's for breakfast and dinner. No lunch. (this could be a pro as well I am not really sure!)

Pros:
-I have an amazing family on both sides who call and check in to see if I am still sane.
-I have a wonderful bed which when I finally crawl into I can't keep my eyes open for more than 2 seconds. Not to mention a home and food and clothes. ALWAYS a bonus!
-The girls bought the boys birthday presents with coupons I got in my first Sunday paper. (see it is all ready paying off!)
-I am healthy and well.
-I have a wonderful mom who came and helped me fold every clean article of clothing that I had in the house!
-I have a wonderful husband who is working hard to provide for our family
-I have a great job that enables me to work on something besides kids which in essence gives me a few moments of sanity.
-I bought "New Moon" the DVD and watched half of it. I plan to finish the other half today. (again please don't judge! It is like candy to my brain. No need to think just sit and veg.)

I found this to be incredibly therapeutic and helpful to my mental state.
What are your pros and cons? Do you ever have to do this?

My new obsession

I have a new obsession. Coupons. I have been watching these blogs that people have and am amazed at how much $ they can save. How do they do it?!

I have officially subscribed to the Standard Examiner for the coupon special. 5 Sunday papers every week and one weekly paper for the low price of $19.99 per month. So the way I figure is if I can at least save $120 a year then I have paid for my papers. I think that is feasible. I don't know for sure.

So here is the deal (no pun intended)I need your help. Does anyone know of someone who would teach me a coupon class? Does anyone want to come to a class if I can find someone? I would be willing to host it I just don't know of someone who would teach. I have emailed a couple of people with no response. I would love to learn how to use all my new "specials".

I am also open to ideas or encouragement as this is a whole new world to me!:)

Thanks everyone!

It's my birthday shout HOORAY!!!!

Emma had her 5th birthday last Saturday and it was such a milestone!

She had a date night on Friday with mom and dad and we went and got her birthday present. Kent and I decided that she needed a bike so that is what she got whether or not she wanted it. Lucky for us the store had a princess bike. She died when she saw it and was able to ride it out of the store!

On Saturday she had a beauty shop party. Thanks so AMAZING family (Hannah and Allison) and friends (Allie, Madeline and Abby) we were able to set up a little salon with hair, nails and makeup. The little girls loved it and Emma was in heaven. It is amazing how much personality these kids come with. I would have never thought of the beauty shop idea but Emma was all over it!
The other things she wanted to do at her party were a fashion show (which Allison took pictures like real paparazzi!) play go fish off the balcony and break a pinata. It all came and went so fast that I was not sure if it went well but we had no one crying so that is always a success! (We did have one little girl trying to put her shoes on to go home right after the party started but were able to distract her long enough to keep her here.)

Then today we went in for the Kindergarten checkup with Dr. V. It went pretty well and Emma is 100% ready to go to school next fall. I can't believe how big she is getting and am so happy that she is my oldest. I admit that I get a little frustrated sometimes because she is so strong willed but I think she needed to come down first. She has to put up with all my mistakes as a first time parent over and over again and teach me how to be a better person and more have more patience.
Thanks Emma for coming to our home!
Happy Birthday girl!!! We sure do love you!
love,
mom, dad, Claire, Mack and Morgan

Part 3....What to do when your child is smarter than you?

I GIVE UP!

I just want to state it here and now. I have come to the conclusion that I have no idea what I am doing as a parent and that Emma is smarter than me. There. I said it! Don't get me wrong, I am laughing as I write this because I can't even believe it. Perhaps I am in denial...hmmm....there's a thought?

Today I did the last ditch attempt to keep her in her room. I bought the baby door knob handle and tried to lock her in her room. She has 2 hours to do and she was fighting me tooth and nail to do it. So after a couple of agonizing guilty moments (which was not helped with every article on the internet telling me that I should not lock my child in her room for fear of emotionally scarring her for life!) I went back up stairs to chat with her.

I knocked on the door quietly with Morgan in hand, you know, to keep me patient, and went in to find that she had successfully taken the lock off her door knob(because she couldn't figure out how to open the door!) and was laying on the floor eating a sucker. A sucker that she had smuggled in with a bunch of other treats for moments like this one. Yep. She had unlocked her door had a treat and was just hanging out until her time is done. I just laughed and hugged her. Really. What would you have done? So I have now thrown in the towel. She is smarter than me and there is nothing I can do about it!

Well played Emma...well played!

Doing Time

Emma in fighting mode!!!

So in response to all the well wishers of our bedtime problem I thought I would do a follow up post. Emma has not really figured out the whole staying in bed thing yet but has figured out that her daily routine now includes doing time in her room.
I kid you not! She has spent EVERY DAY at least a minimum of 30 min in her room. Saturday it was 5 hours (down from 7 because Kent sprung her early!) and today it is 35 min. On top of that I have not let her watch TV for a week since the days she does time means no TV. WHAT DO I DO???? Let me know if you have any other brilliant ideas.

On the positive she has now figured out how to go to bed and stay in her room when we put her down. It is the 12:45am wake up call to Kent and I that we have. I am getting desperate. We have tried sticker charts, threats, rewards, bribes, timeouts (obviously), spankings, yelling, being nice and going with the flow,the super nanny things where you just ignore and even letting her sleep in our room on the floor.
I feel like that part in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory where Veruca Salt is being tested by the squirrels to see if she is a good nut or not. Am I being tested by my child to see if I am a good nut or not? It sure feels like it!:)

Happy week to you all who are getting more than 4 hours of sleep. Those of you who are not, you may call me anytime from 12:30-2:00am. I am up!