Last Supper

Tonight I went out for dinner with my girlfriends. It's silly, but I love saying "my girlfriends" because I'm actually proud of them. They are the most amazing group of women. I don't want to leave them behind. We have had such fun times, meeting at someone's house for lunch (these days we have so many kids around it's wild when we do this), scrapbooking in the day or at night, or our favorite--at Winter Park, celebrating birthdays by going out for dessert, trading babysitting and playdates, meeting at the park, laying by the pool, going to the pumpkin patch, even just sitting at the back of Relief Society and chatting. They have also been there for me in not so hot times, when I am frustrated with my husband and need understanding, when I'm tired and grumpy and fed up with motherhood, when I need good advice, when I'm pregnant and worn out, even when my brother and then my dad passed away, they are the best. They all have their strengths and I've learned from every one of them. I love you friends! Get those blogs started, I refuse to miss too much of your lives!

SAHM

Last night I slept with three children. Nate was in the closet as usual, Ashley came down at 4am and stuck her feet in my ribs, and I had the baby moniter in Emma's room so she could call me if she needed pain medicine (she had a ganglion cyst removed from her knee yesterday.) Then I woke up at 7am to Camille slamming my door and getting loudly angry because she didn't get to snuggle with us before I said it was breakfast time.

The two middle girls continued to have issues and fighting over who sat by mom at breakfast, who got conditioner first, who got out of the tub first, whether they rinsed hair with a cup or lying down, who got lotion first (are you getting a common theme here), what they wore, what they could eat for snacks, whether they rode in carseats or not (seriously--like I ever let them ride without), in the car over what they had written on ziplock bags several days ago, and on and on and on. No wonder it's 9:30 and I want to go back to bed.

My brother said to me when he got up, "no wonder all those stay at home moms do drugs." I laughed and said, "Yeah, maybe I should try that. Pick me up something on your way home."

P.S. Ashley just told me with her best pouty voice, "Mommy! You always do that! Hop on the computer quick so I can't have a turn! And, I want some Gatorade!" What a glamorous life I have.

Life at Grandma's house

If cousin David is in the bath, everybody wants to get in the bath.


They sneak into Grandma's bed when we aren't looking:


Camille and Ashley are not good people to share a bed with, unless you like little toes and elbows in your ribs. Grandma is kind enough to share her room with them. They are supposed to sleep on little foam pads on the floor, one on either side of the bed. It takes a good hour of giggles, whining, crying, tantrums, and at least a dozen trips back into Grandma's room to get them to sleep. OR, Grandma lies down with them for 15 min. and they're gone!






Ahh, spring in Denver. Yet another violent weather mood swing, 77 degrees the previous day and we were at the park with friends, then... Unfortunately for me my car was parked outside this time and I had to dig it out of several inches of snow to go somewhere. My van is in Dallas, so Deb very generously lets me drive her Denali, and let me tell you that thing is HUGE! You can fit a lot of snow on the hood of a Denali, and it takes a serious wingspan to get it all off!


Nate is almost 7 months old, and getting better and better at sitting up. He babbles mama now, and dada, and loves to blow bubbles. He also enjoys sitting in his chair and smacking his hands on the counter. He hasn't been sleeping as much as I'd like though, we are going to work on that as soon as I am not sharing a room with him.


I sleep in Jenni's room downstairs, she was kind enough to move out for me. It is nice because it has an attached bathroom, and the closet is big enough to be Nate's room. Emma was roommates with Jenni in the sewing room, but last night she was fed up with our loud movie watching and after stomping out of bed to tell us she got no respect she moved to a bedroom downstairs.

Deb got a new puppy, which the kids absolutely adore, and they are a little terrified too, which I find hilarious. We had fun thinking up and voting on names. The girls liked "Snort" from "Are You My Mother." It was Camille's number 1 vote. We also voted on Scout, Fergie, Maggie, Juno, Sparkles (Camille's number 2), Sophie, and others. I think Scout is winning, but it's not official yet. Bash is obsessed with the dog and carries it around like a little dolly. She has to hug it at least fifty times before bed. Deb is almost as obsessed as Ashley, and has several doggie outfits already.

I guess I'll post my funny videos later, they are taking forever to load and I'm wasting precious sleep time.

in limbo

I have lived out of a suitcase since--well, I don't remember really. I think it's been 3 weeks, and I'm not done yet. My mom has been so nice, but the stress of trying not to overwhelm her is getting to me. Living with us is like living with a tornado, and as usual I'm having trouble keeping up. Not to mention that single parenting is not my favorite. Justin started in Dallas on April 14th, and he has been putting in such long hours and traveling so much that I probably wouldn't have seen him much anyway, but still.

I'm saying my goodbyes slowly to favorite places and friends. Last week we went to Westlands Park, where we took Michelle and our cousins. Then Saturday we went to the Southridge Rec Center, or the "lazy river." It occured to me that since I no longer own a house in Highlands Ranch, from now on (or whenever my card stops working) I will have to pay per kid to swim there. The girls had a blast. And everytime I drive west I look out and sigh. I really will miss those mountains.

I've been reading Love and Logic parenting books to try and grasp at threads of control and keep my sanity. I've made little improvements and just today came across a trick I think will work nicely with a little attitude issue a certain child of mine is having. Anyone who knows the kids could make a very educated guess. She has been nicknamed by our family friends as "the hand grenade" because one minute you are playing with her and the next she blows up.

I'm looking forward to organizing my kitchen, and having our family whole again.