Good Grief!!

  It's Sunday night, and I'm smack-dab in the middle of a five night stretch. Sophia has been acting up lately, more-so than usual. She's a good kid, but boy is she ever dramatic! (I have NO idea where she gets it!) She threw an absolute fit on Friday when I left for work, so maybe she's just trying to pay me back...
  On the weekends I work nights, I get very little sleep because my husband works every weekend, usually around 2 or 2:30 pm. Our sitter doesn't come until 6:15 pm, so I'm in charge of the kiddos from when B leaves until Kristina comes. Generally, B puts them down for a nap, hoping they'll all sleep or play quietly until 3 or 4 pm, but I'm rarely that lucky (often I get woken around noon, then again at 2 or 2:30). On Saturday, I woke to the sound of my front screen door slamming and went downstairs to find Sophia and Noah OUTSIDE (by themselves) on the chairs on the porch with our candy bag, gorging themselves on suckers, tootsie rools and mini snickers. This bag is not easily accessible; we keep it in the top of the hall closet. However, my daughter is apparently a monkey and grabbed one of our tall stools and climbed up and grabbed the bag and pulled it down. There was one benefit to the situation; Sophia did share with her brother without fussing or fighting.
  Today was a little better- they let me sleep until about 3:30. I woke up to the smell of poop. Really? This again?? It's been at least three weeks since I've had to deal with poop, and today I am five days out from my baby having heart surgery and I am pretty sleep deprived and even more stressed, so why not?? I went into Sophia's room, where she was playing quietly (Noah and Bennett were asleep in my room with me) and tried to discover the origin of the smell. I asked Sophia when I walked into the room,
   "Where is the poop?"
  "It's in a garbage can." She was right- sitting at the bottom of her pink plastic garbage can were two little turds. I picked up the can, grabbed Sophia's hand, and into the bathroom we went. "You, my dear, are cleaning this up." So, she grabbed some toilet paper, picked up those turds and threw them into the toilet (where she SHOULD have put them in the first place!). Then she grabbed some Clorox wipes and cleaned out the garbage can. She apologized and went back to her room to play.
  A few hours later, Kristina arrived and I was getting ready to go to work. I was telling Kristina about Sophia's poop incident and how she had pooped in the garbage can again (I should never have to say those words- really?) when Sophia ran through the kitchen and stated "No, Mommy, I pooped in the hat and THEN put it in the garbage can!" Well great, now I have to disinfect that stupid hat (it is a play hard-hat Noah got with some of his trucks) too. I am glad she told me though! Hopefully they will let me sleep today. Tuesday and Wednesday morning they all go to daycare, then we leave for Bennett's surgery Wednesday afternoon. What a life we have! There's always SOMETHING going on. It's crazy, but honestly, I wouldn't change it for the world. I love my kiddos and am everyday reminded of what a blessing they are. My new favorite saying is "God, please give me the patience to deal with my blessings." That fits me to a T!

Showing some appreciation...

Mustache Wevers'

 For any of you that know my husband and his friends, the phrase "Mustache May" should be familiar to you. Every May for the last four years, B and his closest friends have grown mustaches during this month just for the sake of growing a mustache. To be honest, I think they all look like pedophiles, therefore I have renamed the tradition "Molestache May." June tends to be my favorite month- just because it means the end of the mustache for another year! Last night, our friends decided to have a "Mustache appreciation barbecue" to celebrate another great year of mustaches, and to celebrate the growing number of participants (it now rivals the "Christmas Combover."). Even the girls and the kids joined in the festivities- there were mustaches everywhere! We even invented a game for the night: "Pin the mustache on the Noob." Our friend Max shaved off his mustache mid-May, so the other guys were giving him a lot of crap for it. For the party, B drew a stick man and cut out over 10 different types of mustaches and we spun people around and had them try to get their mustache on the "Noob's" face. There was food, drinks and a great appreciation of mustaches- it was a great turnout! I hope everyone had as much fun as the Wevers family did!

The Girls

Bennett and Anaka

Pin the Mustache

Fun times and fellowship with friends...

Double rainbow!! (The second is to the right)

  Today we had the pleasure of meeting with the other families in our small group for an end-of-the-year barbecue. We all ate some hot dogs, brats, chicken legs, and all the picnic fixins and watched the kids play as we enjoyed each others' company. To me, the most special part was when the whole group (children included) gathered around Bennett and me and prayed over us for Bennett's surgery next week (I can't believe it's next week already!). It helped to have so many people around us praying for us. I know there are many people we don't see praying for us- it's overwhelming the response we've gotten since we first got the news about Bennett's condition. Praise the Lord for putting so many wonderful people in our lives! We had such a good time of fellowship with our friends- and leaving we got to see a double rainbow!! My kids thought it was the most wonderful thing they've seen and proceeded to tell me all of the colors in the rainbow. Noah made me stop four times in one mile so he could look at it again (which I did happily). I told the kids that a rainbow was God smiling down on us and showing us his love. Sophia asked if Jesus had a big mouth... I love my kids!
  When we got home, it was straight to the bath for my filthy kiddos. Clothes off for a tick check (they were playing in the long grass in the country where the barbecue was) and each of them had two ticks- gross!! Sophia had one on her belly ("Is that a spider??") and one on her back that were both attached pretty well. Noah's were both in his hair (only one was attached), which made me very glad for Sophia's short hair as I searched diligently for ticks on her head as well. They scrubbed and scrubbed to get off all of the dirt and blood. Yes, blood. They were climbing a few trees and got scratched up on their heads, especially around their ears. Can't have too much fun without a little dirt and blood, right? After they were finally clean again (as was my bathroom floor since that's where most of the water ended up), it was jammas on and off to bed- without a fuss!! It was great not to have to fight for bedtime! B got home and tucked them in, then it was cuddle time with us and Bennett for a while. B even brought home some ColdStone ice cream for me as a surprise- yum! It was a fun-filled Sunday- thankfully, since it was the last we'll all spend together until after Bennett gets home from the hospital. His surgery is in 12 days, and we leave in 10 days. It's all coming so quickly! God bless you all this coming week!

What did you do?

Sophia after seeing my look of shock

 I'm sure every girl does this at some time in their lives- but my four-year-old cut her own hair today. Not trimmed but full-out CUT her hair- chopped, gone forever! The look on her face after seeing the look on mine was priceless... (see left). I tried to reassure her. She asked if we were going to put more hair on... Nope!
"Do we have to cut all of my hair off?"
"Not all of it, but a lot of it!"

The back

 I tried to fix it the best I could, but it was a lost cause so I jumped into the shower, got the four of us ready and off we went to Cost Cutters. Luckily the hairdresser there was able to salvage the 'do a little, and now she's just as cute as ever, minus about 4-5 inches of hair in the back. Oh, my Sophia, what will I ever do with you? We were able to show off the new hairdo at a barbeque and a wedding dance tonight. The circus never ends around here. I'm just glad I didn't get super upset with her. Just rolling with the punches- another day at the Wevers'.

The "fixed" back

Happy Saturday!

  Hooray- the weekend is here! I don't work now until Tuesday night, so it's Mommy-kiddo time until then. I'm excited, but exhausted thinking about it. I don't know how those stay-at-home moms do it- I love my children more than I can ever explain, but going to work is a great break for me (my time off from my kids consists of delivering other peoples' kids)! I'm pretty sure I'd go nuts staying home all of the time. I admire SAHM's very very much- you have the hardest job in the world and you NEVER get a break (or paid enough). Yesterday was a great family day- I think the last we will all have together until Bennett has surgery. The kids played and tore the house apart- but what's the point of having a house with kids if it doesn't LOOK lived in, right? I guess today will consist of cleaning up and getting ready for the 2 grad parties and the wedding we have to go to today (why is everything on the same day all the time?).

The kids relaxing watching a movie

  I just gave my kids the choice to watch "Despicable Me" or go for rest time. Their choice: jumping on the guest bed while singing "No more monkeys jumping on the bed!" I don't remember giving an option C. And now, one of my monkeys just fell off (and hurt his ear). All done now! Thankfully, they are starting to listen a little better- and (crossing my fingers) it's been almost a week since Sophia's last poop incident, so I hope we're done with that nonsense now. And... Bennett is thisclose to rolling over from his back to his belly! He gets almost all the way over, usually to look at something next to him. They change SO quickly when they're little!! My favorite thing to do is just hold him and talk to him, and him smile and talk back to me. What a joy it is to be a mother!! I hope today is a great day for everyone- and congrats to Paul and Hayley on their marriage and to Gloria and Amanda on graduating from grad school!

Maybe we can count TODAY...

Happy boy, even after shots and medicine!

 What a great day! I kinda think my family is celebrating Mother's day a day late for me since yesterday turned out so awful! Last night when Brandon got home, some good friends of ours stopped by to see the house. Of course I was a mess, the house was a mess, the kids were in their swimming suits of all things, but Bob, Lila and Lisa just visited and played with the kids with no judgment (SO nice!). Then Lila offered to watch the kids this morning while I took Bennett to the doctor which was also so nice- I didn't have to get all of the kids ready and out the door, just the little one. It was a nice, calm check-up where we discovered our baby is growing (albeit slowly: 13th percentile for weight, 23rd for length and 3rd for head circumference) and has an ear infection I never even suspected since Bennett is such a happy boy! So we came home with owie legs from 4-month shots and a bottle of Amoxicillin. Surgery is still on for June 3rd, so only 25 more days until the longest day of my life!

  After we got home, the kids ate some lunch (PB and J with cut up peppers and some craisins, chocolate milk to drink- yum!) and then came downstairs and the older two cut paper while Bennett played on the floor. Noah went pee on the potty ("My go on the potty Mommy- My want a pooper!"- which he got), and then a little on the floor as well ("Oops Mommy- my not done peeing- sorry!") then off to bed for rest time. So far it's been a great day- and I still get to go grocery shopping BY MYSELF when B gets home from work. Happy mother's day to me- TODAY! You know you're a mother when going to the store by yourself is your "me time," and you love every minute of it!

What a day...

 Happy Mother's Day to all you mommas out there. I hope it was a great day for you all- it was sure interesting here. We spent the morning visiting with the neighbors, then we came home, had lunch and played and watched a movie for a while. The kids were fighting, like siblings do, but they also played nicely together. Bennett was in a "hold me or I'll scream" mood for a few hours too, limiting my ability to do most anything else (not that I minded all that much- he was pretty smiley when he was held).
  Finally, we all laid down to have rest time together (I thought that would be nice, especially today, to cuddle with my kiddos for nap time), except it was anything but! The older two were rolling all over and yelling and screaming until I finally put in Lion King. After a little while, Sophia asked to get up and I agreed. She was quietly playing for some time until I got suspicious. I went into the bathroom and was welcomed by the smell of - you guessed it- poop. There was poop on the floor, on a magazine, and most interestingly, in a toy airplane. I nearly lost it! How many times do we have to do this??? I yelled and disciplined, then spent 30 minutes cleaning my poop-infused bathroom while all three of the kids were screaming. Happy mother's day indeed! I sat with Sophia afterward and asked what kept possessing her to poop in places other than the potty. First she said it was dangerous- that mean guys were in the potty. I reminded her that she went pee in the potty and she changed her story- "I just don't want to." I explained that was unacceptable and that sometimes we have to do things that we don't want to do. I told her how yucky it was for me to have to clean up her poop all of the time, and then I realized that for the last couple weeks she was sporadically asking for "poopers." (Poopers are these little knit animals from Auntie Sara that have skittles come out of their butts- used for potty training) I explained to her that she doesn't get poopers because she already knows how to use the potty, and that Noah gets them because he is still learning. (Highlight of today- Noah voluntarily went poop on the potty!!) I told her that I don't get anything for using the potty; "Because you're a big girl?"- "Yep, and so are you." I really hope that's the end of this nonsense!

My Mother's Day bouquet from my family

   After we all calmed down, I made a quick supper. While sitting together, I had the kids all copy me in taking a deep breath to calm ourselves. Then we took turns apologizing to each other: me for yelling, the kids to me for misbehaving, and the kids to each other for not playing nicely. The rest of the night has gone MUCH better. Sophia told me she loved me so so so so so so much and all the kids played very nicely for about an hour. Bennett is now content laying down playing with his baby gym and the kids helped me clean the living room. The day didn't turn out quite as bad as I thought, and I just keep reminding myself how very blessed I am to have three beautiful, wonderful (albeit sometimes naughty) children. God is so good! And I just got a bouquet of the most beautiful flowers I've seen. Thank you to my husband for not forgetting me! I hope you all had a wonderful day. There's always something going on in this circus of mine, but what's not to love!

Happy Ending

Dance costume

 Today it ended- all of her hard work since September has paid off. Sophia had her first dance recital today, and was she ever cute! We sat in the front row, and as soon as she came out on stage she started scanning the room looking for us. Once she saw us, she waved frantically and then started her dance. I thought for sure she'd have some sort of meltdown once she saw us, but she was great! She got a little ahead of everyone else, but it was perfect for a 3-5 year old group. It made hauling her to class each week and all the money we paid for everything worth it! I would say her first involvement in a group activity was a success, and I can't wait for her to start again next year. If she's going to be my only girl- we're going all out!

Something funny I heard...

Noah being silly, as usual

  My favorite thing about my Noah right now is the way he talks. He has such a deep voice for a little boy, and the things that come out of his mouth kill me. My favorite was a few weeks ago when it was just starting to get nice outside. Sophia was riding her scooter along the sidewalk and calls out to her brother "Noah, come ride scooter with me!" Noah was already on his scooter, half-way out the garage when he calls "My are!"
  Everything is "my" instead of "I" or "me." I love it! And his sister is always "Do-dee," or at least that's what she's been since he could talk. However, today he started calling her "Do-fee." He's growing up- and I know I'm really going to miss this stage, although I will NOT miss the attitude or fits being thrown. He's such a sweet boy though, randomly giving hugs and/or kisses and trying to hold up his hand for I love you in sign language or saying "wuvs you mommy" unprompted. He LOVES to play and often asks "pay tars (cars) wif me" or "mommy pay outside me!" I have to oblige- he's just so cute! I wish he could stay this little forever!

Again with the poop?

There is something going on with this kid... mind you, Sophia has been completely potty-trained for well over two years and has only had 2 accidents since then, until recently. I walk into our bathroom downstairs to wash my hands, right into an overwhelming stench of poop. I look to the garbage can and see a garbage bag full of diapers. As my mom is in town watching the kids this week (we have no daycare just this week), I look at the bag and think "Mom must have left one of Noah's poopy...wait... what is that??" I look in the clear, plastic garbage can to see a large turd lying in the bottom.
  "Sophia, come in here!"
  "Yes, Mommy?"
  "Did you poop in the garbage can?"
  "Yes Mommy?"
  "Why???"
  "I had to go potty." (matter of factly)
  "The potty is RIGHT THERE!" (the toilet is literally 6 inches from the garbage can)
 I proceeded to give her some clorox wipes and made her clean out the garbage can. I also learned today that Brandon had to clean out the garbage can in her room because it smelled like urine, AND that she pooped in the tub the night before. Something's really going on with this girl, now to try to discover what it is. Noah won't even look at the potty- let alone use it! Correction... the other day, he DID want to try to go, but once I grabbed his seat to put on the toilet he yelled "No, tand up!" So I grabbed the step stool and helped him climb up. He stands there, his penis pointing straight at the floor. I tried to get him to aim into the toilet, but he was having none of it, so what do I do? I spent the next two minutes aiming his "peenie" into the toilet as my 2-year-old grunted and tried to pee into the potty, to no avail. Well, at least he tried, right? What a zoo!

My life as a circus...

Sophia and Noah loving on their new brother Bennett

 Since I've been told how funny my children are, I've decided to start this blog- if for no other reason than a written account of the everyday happenings at my house. With three kids age 4 and under, life can get pretty interesting at times. I've always kept track of the funny things my kids have SAID, but now I can keep track of the funny things they've done as well. I feel as though my life is a three-ring circus and I'm the ring master, trying to keep everything organized- right now I'd settle for keeping them all in the rings!

  Example 1: On Thursday, I was making lunch for the older two kids while they played outside (Sophia is 4 and Noah is 2 1/2). Being the end of April in north eastern North Dakota, it was the first warm day in MONTHS, so the kids were having a great time being out in the sun. My four-month-old Bennett was in his swing in the kitchen playing. I look out the kitchen window to see Noah wearing only his polo shirt. Yep, that boy was walking around the backyard naked from the waist down.
  I decided to go outside and investigate, knowing full-well Sophia was a part of this somehow (she tends to involve her little brother in her schemes, and in doing so, get him in trouble right along with her). I calmly asked: "Noah, where are your pants?"

He replied "In a shed- my poop!"

Sophia chimes in: "Noah's trying to pee and poop outside!"

"Why on earth would he do that? Noah, do you want to go inside and go poop on the potty?" (At this point, I got a little excited, as we have been attempting to potty train him for months now.)

"No Mommy, my poop outside, like Dodie (his version of Sophie)." OHHH- NOW life makes more sense!
 "Sophia, did you poop outside?"

"Yep- right over there, see? I peed outside too!"

We then proceeded to again go over where we should be attempting to go to the bathroom ("In the potty!!"). I then got Noah dressed and into the house I went to finish making lunch. I looked outside again to check on the kids and... really? Again? Noah is missing his pants and now SOPHIA is running around the yard completely naked. Out I go- and in they come. They both ran upstairs- past my husband who is now inquiring about why our children are yet again naked. Of course, he thinks it's hilarious that Sophia pooped in the yard, but he thinks it's even funnier that the dog was trying to eat it. Gross!! Later on, I asked Brandon if he had seen Sophia's gift in the yard. He replied that it was gone- "Sophia said you cleaned it up." I didn't clean it up...where did it go? We looked at each other as we came to the same realization. Nobody let the dog lick them- yuck!!

The rest of the day went off without a hitch- but there's always something going on in this circus I call life!