Friday, November 27

Sneaky Little Cupcakes!

Emile took a sick day. I stayed home with the children until about 10:30am. Dan arrived and he took care of them for the rest of the day. In the morning, the three girls and I baked cupcakes. The intention was that they would put frosting on the cupcakes in the afternoon with Dan. I also told him that there was still lots of batter in the fridge that he could bake. In the end, Dan didn't finish baking the cupcakes or frosting them. In the morning, I found out why. Turns out that the twins ticked Dan off so much that he refused to make icing.

Apparently, Dan put Sarah down for a nap. He then relaxed on the couch while the twins watched Treehouse. The intention was to let them watch TV for 30 minutes or so and then work on the cupcakes together. However, Dan fell asleep. He swears that he wasn't asleep for more that 15-20 minutes. The twins realised that he was asleep, and headed straight for the cupcake batter. They licked the bowl clean.

I wanted to find out what happened, from the girls perspective. Here is the conversation I had with Katie:

Me: What did Daddy say when you were eating the cake batter?
Katie: Nothing.
Me: Why didn't he say anything?
Katie: He was sleeping?
Me: How did you know he was sleeping?
Katie: We kept checking to make sure. And we were very quiet!

Devious little things, aren't they?!

Thursday, November 26

You Better Watch Out

Yesterday morning, the kids were being wicked. Even Sarah! By 8:15am, I was absolutely livid! I lost my cool, and said, "We're going to have to go back to Santa and tell him how naughty you're being! He doesn't bring presents to naughty little girls!". This did not change their behaviour. They were still bad. After my outburst, they were bad and crying. Great.

This morning, Bethie was super good. She ran and did whatever I told her. She was all ready to go before the other two were even out of their pajamas. I was impressed. When I told her how proud I was of her, she said, "Are you going to tell Santa how good I was today?". I promised I would. Poor Bethie was so concerned that come Christmas morning there would be no presents from Santa because she had been naughty. That's why she was being good.

Katie, on the other hand, decided to risk it.

Monday, November 23

It Runs In The Family

Growing up, I thought my parents were stupid. It sounds harsh, but I had sooooo much evidence to back up my beliefs. They could never remember anything. They would rent videos that they had seen before, and wouldn't realise it until half way through the second viewing. Dad would make a promise to me, and I would have to get it in writing because he truly wouldn't remember the conversation ever happening. Dad would buy toilet paper in bulk. Every week. Whether we needed it or not. We were completely prepared for the toilet paper shortage that never happened. Our huge linen closet looked like the Loblaws Super Store toilet paper aisle. I couldn't understand how these two clever people functioned! Now, I do.

I used to be smart. Really. Then I got pregnant and lost all memory space in my brain. I have conversations with people and I don't remember having them at all. I'm not being difficult or daft. Just can't remember what has happened. I, too, have watched movies (and TV shows) that I've seen before. Can't remember a thing! Grocery shopping is a challenge. I've learned that there are certain items that I enjoy buying. Broccoli, paper towels, and milk. Like Dad, I am better stocked than the grocery store!

I went grocery shopping today. There was a deal. Three dozen eggs for $5. Great! I love a good deal! I started loading eggs into my cart. Then I envisioned Dan coming home from work and making some snide comment about all the eggs. I sighed, and put all but one dozen back. When I got home and unloaded my groceries, I discovered that I already had 2 dozen eggs in my fridge. Oops. I've numbered them in order that they need to be consumed, and I've added eggs to my "Think Before I Buy" list.

Friday, November 20

Time For Some Snaps!



Sarah cozied herself up on the couch to eat her Eggo.


Sam, Bethie, Sarah, and Katie


Bethie, Katie, and Sarah waiting for me to tickle their toes!

Wednesday, November 18

Count Our Blessings

I was talking to a man the other day. He has a daughter about 20 years old. He was telling me that he bought her a new (expensive) winter jacket, and she was mad that he hadn't purchased new gloves for her as well. She pitched a fit right in the store, much to his horror. When I spoke to him, he had just gone back and purchased for her the gloves and some cozy flannel pajamas. I said, "Lucky girl!". He said, "No. You have it backwards. I'm the lucky one. God blessed me with a daughter that I absolutely adore".

Awww. Nice story... except the whole demanding and ungrateful daughter bit.

Monday, November 16

Who's The Boss?

If the children were in control, this is how our lives would be:
  • We'd be late getting up during the week, but we would get up before the crack of dawn on the weekends
  • We'd feed them an endless supply of treats and yummies hoping that tomorrow would be better
  • We'd cook Kraft dinner and hot dogs every night for dinner
  • Tucking the children into bed would take hours. We would go to sleep before the twins would
  • We would be expert trackers of toys, particularly all blankies and bears
  • We would never watch TV again because it would be on the Treehouse channel during the day, and we'd drop from exhaustion at night
Oh, wait...that is our life!

Friday, November 13

Things That Go Bump In The Night

I am desperate to raise strong daughters. I have no worries about Sarah. She is one tough chickie! However, I'm losing the battle with the twins. They are delicate, little things right to the core. They love to dress up and look "gorgeous". They don't like to get dirty. They, certainly, don't like to strain themselves in anyway. Also, Disney isn't helping either. Katie and Bethie are determined to be proper little princesses who will be rescued by their prince.

I am trying to be the example. I am an independent person. No one tells me what to think or what to do. I don't take guff from anyone. Truthfully, I should say that I don't take guff from anyone over four years old! I am confident in my opinions and in my abilities. I take on the world. You would be shocked to know who I have stood up to (ie told off!). I used to believe that my babies would see these qualities in me and try to emulate them. Not so much, I have discovered.

I was putting the twins to bed and they were being wicked. I told them that I have had enough of their nonsense and did not want to hear from them again that night. I pointed out that if they wanting to use the washroom, they could do so without summoning for me.

Bethie said that she needed me to be able to go to the washroom. I told her that was nonsense. She goes to the washroom all by herself during the day. The bathroom light is left on. She can go by herself in the evening. What on Earth did she need me for? Here is the conversation that followed:

Beth: You need to watch out for monsters.
Me: There are no monsters in my  house.
Beth: But what if one sneaks in?
Me: What would Daddy do if he saw a monster?
Beth: Kill it!
Me: What would I do if I saw a monster?
Beth: Call for Daddy to come and kill it!

You can imagine how I reacted to that! I ranted about my feminist ideals. I blamed Dan for catering to the girls so much. I cursed society for its perpetual cycle of teaching girls "their place". And I banned Disney!

Wednesday, November 11

Dinner

As I am cleaning the dinner table in the evening, I am already thinking of what to cook for dinner the next night. I have to thaw the meat, and figure out what vegetables and sides I am going to serve. Sometimes, if I'm very tired, I will plan dinner in the early morning. Dan doesn't give dinner any thought until 30 minutes before it's time to serve the meal. I have always believed that I was the only one in the house who gave any thought to what was going to happen in the near future. It turns out that I was wrong. Somebody else also gives it some thought.

Bethie woke up about 6:45am. She came downstairs and said, "Where's Daddy?". Truthfully, I got a little nervous. The twins like it when Dan wakes them up, but I wanted them to get a little extra sleep. I told Dan that I would wake them up, and risk their wrath. Bethie knew full well that Dan was at work. I looked at my little angel and said sweetly, "Daddy is at work".

Bethie said, "Does Daddy get paid today?". It wasn't pay day, but I didn't want to tick off my little cherub. I replied that it was, in fact, pay day. Bethie said "Good. Now we will have money to pay the pizza man tonight!". Deal!

Sunday, November 8

GO!

Every morning, I race the clock. Despite getting up around 4:45am, I never seem to have enough time to do everything that needs to get done before we all head out of the door. Dan tries to help, but he leaves for work at 6:15am leaving me to feed, dress, primp, and polish the children all on my own. I have a finite amount of time. There is no room for nonsense, games, or silliness. The girls and I just have to go!

We go at different speeds. Sarah does everything at full-throttle. This would be very handy if she was doing what she was instructed to do. This seldom happens. Sarah prefers to race a toy shopping cart around the house, bumping into the kitchen island and the twins. She takes great joy in sitting on the potty. Fully dressed. With no intention of doing anything but sit there. She will not tolerate being rushed.

Katie, unfortunately, has lost the ability to hear... unless I am blocking the TV, standing six inches from her face, and shouting "Let's go!". At which point, some sound waves pass through her ear drums. Due to her hearing impairment, the message because muddled. "Let's go!" sounds more like "Lie on the floor, kick the wall and the baby, shout out demands for a frozen Eggo, and throw whatever may be in arm's reach".

Bethie, shockingly enough, is very good in the mornings. Like always, she marches to the beat of her own drummer...a very slow drummer. But she is accommodating. I can tolerate slow. It's the dead stop that drives me up the wall!

One morning is the same as the next. I deal with three tired girls and do my best to get out of the door on time. One particular morning, we were running behind schedule. While the children were supposed to be eating breakfast, I ran upstairs to finish getting myself ready for work. While brushing my teeth, I heard Sarah pound up the stairs. I was moments away from being ready to go, and I was in no mood to deal with the tyrannical demands of my baby. She raced into my bedroom, and I followed closely behind shouting "No, no, no! Let's GO!". She turned on my clock radio, and music filled the room. I had a mini-fit and turned the radio off. Sarah said "Dance!", and turned the radio back on! So, we danced. We danced because it made her happy. We danced because another minute late was not going to make a difference. We danced because Sarah The Mute graced me with word that I could actually understand!

Friday, November 6

Fight AND Flight

Dan and I decided to get the children their flu shots on the morning of Hallowe'en. We debated whether or not we should give them a "heads up" about the upcoming shot. We decided against doing so. We thought we'd avoid hours of fighting and crying if we told them at the last minute. We were wrong!

The morning went well. The twins were super excited because it was Hallowe'en. To add to their excitement, we packed them up and headed to the mall (where the flu shot was being administered). Once there, we lined up. Police men came around handing out bags of candy. Ladies dressed up as witches were handing out treats as well. The twins were anxious to leave the line up and discover what was going on behind the boarded up store front that we were waiting to enter.

We walked beyond the boards and discovered a doctor's waiting room! Bethie was the first to become concerned. She announced that she was not sick and, therefore, we should leave. I told her that this waiting room wasn't for sick people. That calmed her down.

While we were waiting to go into the "shot room", Katie and Bethie were talking to one another. They commented on the grown ups in costumes. One was even dressed up as a nurse! It became clear to Dan and I that they were expecting a "Hallowe'en Surprise" on the other side of the door. Ummm....they were going to be surprised alright. Dan and I debated whether or not this was the right time to tell them what was going on. Before we could come to an agreement, we were called in.

Once in the "shot room", the nurse said "Who wants to go first?". Katie and Bethie practically killed each other vying for first place. Katie won. Katie sat on my lap, while Dan held Sarah, and Bethie watched. At the precise moment that the needle came into view, Dan said "Katie! Look at me!". Katie looked at Dan, the needle went in Katie's arm (without Katie even realising it), and Bethie ran for the hills!

Dan chased after Bethie and picked her up. She began shouting "I DON'T WANT A SHOT!". Katie tried to calm her down. It was at this point that Bethie inadvertently kicked Katie in the head. Both Katie's head and heart were wounded by this blow. Sarah's shot was quickly administered, and she threw a fit. We had three screaming children, and the loudest one hadn't even had her shot yet!

I took Bethie from Dan and tried to calm her down. She was yelling and crying and punching. I held her in a tight hug, but this wasn't enough to hold her still. Reinforcements were called in. Bethie was pinned down. When the nurse cleaned her arm with the alcohol wipe, she went from horribly upset to absolutely livid! The needle went in, and I let out my breathe. I, naively, assumed that the worse was over.

Wrong, again! We went into the waiting room and Bethie unleashed. She screamed, "THIS IS AN EVIL PLACE! I AM NEVER COMING BACK HERE AGAIN! WHY DIDN'T YOU STOP THEM WHEN THEY WANTED TO GIVE ME A SHOT?! THAT DOCTOR IS WICKED!". The rant went on and on and on. She had attracted the attention of the entire waiting room, which really ticked me off because I wanted to sneak out before the 15 minute post-shot wait time was up (I have pneumonia, cut me some slack!). A nurse came over trying to help calm Bethie down. She was absolutely amazed to see that Bethie's rage would not subside. Bethie told her off, too!

After about 10 minutes, Dan and I got up and walked out. I was giving everyone my super angry look, and Bethie was raging against the world. No one dared to stop us. We exited the waiting room, and entered the mall...exactly where the line up was formed, full of children whose parents also "forgot" to warn them that there was a shot coming their way. Bethie cleared this little fact up for all those in doubt.

As Dan and I loaded the children in the car, Katie begged and pleaded with us to stop talking about the "bad thing" that had just happened. She would prefer that we all forget about the shot and never mention it again (how very Dan of her!). Bethie screamed "MUMMY! YOU NEED TO COME BACK HERE AFTER WE ARE IN BED AND SHINE A LIGHT IN THAT DOCTOR'S EYE! YOU TELL HER THAT SHE IS WICKED AND WE ARE NEVER COMING BACK!". I had two options at that point. I could:
  1. go along with the hysterical child in the hopes that she would eventually calm down, or
  2. tell her that she only got a 1/2 dose and we need to come back in 3 weeks!
Guess what I did?!

Wednesday, November 4

Hallowe'en Snaps


Bethie (top), Katie, and Sarah ready to go Trick or Treating!


Our little butterfly!



Andre wins!


Begging for treats.



Mum and Sarah trying to keep up with the twins.


Bethie, Katie, and Sam have mastered Trick or Treating.



The loot!