Wednesday, January 30, 2013

GymRompers Bully

So since Lindsay has been attending Gymrompers there has always been this older boy who picks on her. He's about 2 1/2 and for some reason he has always wanted to annoy her. At first I thought it was just b/c maybe he liked her but didn't know how to show it. But each week his behavior becomes worse and worse. I have tried to just ignore it in hopes that he would stop. His mom just sort of blows it off. The mom is very friendly and I have enjoyed meeting her and I think she really cares about Lindsay and she tries to protect Lindsay from him but she also never punishes this boy when he hurts her. He has several times "hurt" her and leaves her crying. He has hit her, poked her in the eye, thrown a ball at her face, pushed her, shoved her, and taken toys from her. I am not an "overprotective mom" at all! I have never freaked out I usually just smile and try to comfort Lindsay. I try to not freak out b/c I don't want Lindsay to freak out. I want my kids to be tough and be able to shake that kind of stuff off b/c I know there will always be kids like that in the world. But yesterday I had had enough...he comes and picks on Lindsay for no reason. I feel like she can't even fully enjoy herself anymore b/c everything she tries to do he follows her or tries to take from her. Plus yesterday he was incredibly mean to every kid in the class. He hurt a couple of the other kids. Well I am not a confrotational/tattle tale mom at all but I had enough! I called the owner yesterday afternoon and she said I wasn't the only one complaining. She said he has one more chance next week and if he doesn't behave they will have to ask him to leave. I hate to be that way but its not fair for me to pay money for my child to come home being hurt and beat up the whole hour. I know the other parents are getting sick of it too!
Lindsay is really doing well at GymRompers though. Her latest thing is understanding when its time to pick up she actually tosses the toys back into the basket. She seems to really enjoy herself. Since the new semester started she is a lot braver and explores the entire place. She climbs really well too! I hope that we can get this little situation taken care of so she can enjoy it even more!!

Monday, January 28, 2013

Weekend





Whew well I haven't blogged all week! Its been busy! Austin was working like crazy preparing for SuperBowl and Mardi Gras. He was late every night so it was me and the kids all week. Colby had school all week. Lindsay and I had Gymrompers and ran errands. Now the weekend is here and we are enjoying the break from routine and the awesome weather we have been blessed with!
Saturday Austin worked so I took the kids over to my parent's house to hang out. It was also the first and only parade that would pass by their house this year so I figured it would be a good time to bring colby. I hope Lindsay can make a parade this year but I couldn't handle them both by myself. My mom stayed with Lindsay and my dad walked with Colby and I to the parade. At first I thought it was going to be a wash out...Colby got upset at first b/c he didn't catch something off the first float. Then he spotted a pair of blue beads on the ground that he had his eye one. I told him as soon as there was a break in the parade I would run out and get them...well before I got a chance someone else scooped them up! He was devastated! I really wondered how the rest of the parade would go but once he caught a stuffed snake a couple pairs of blue beads he started having a blast! I was so thankful! The parade was only about 35-40 min long so we made it back to my parent's house about 12:30. I decided since Lindsay wasn't asleep yet to just bring her back home and let Colby play over there awhile. I hated to run out but I had stuff that needed to be done here plus I knew Lindsay would nap better at home.
We rested that afternoon then both Austin and Colby got home around 5. It was nice to have a quiet Saturday night as a family.
Sunday we were so excited to find out that austin was going to be off! I really enjoy going to church as a family but its also SO much easier for me to have his help! Sunday mornings are also so nice now that we don't have to leave for church until 10. We have a nice leisurely breakfast and take our time getting ready! The kids both seem to enjoy their classes and I love going to worship service! Every week I just feel so refreshed and renewed and ready to take on another week. I have really felt God convicting me lately of my judgemental attitude towards others. I know I don't have it all together but some days I know I judge others and I shouldn't. After church we decided to go out to eat as a family. We haven't done this in quite awhile and I figured out WHY! It was a mess! I felt like I hardly tasted my food just inhaled it. Colby was climbing the walls literally! And Lindsay was tossing more food on the floor then she was allowing to get in her mouth. it was pure craziness! I would much rather pick up Wendy's and come home and eat on my couch where the kids can act like hooligans in our own house lol! Anyway it was nice though to not have to cook or clean up! We have felt convicted lately also of our spending especially on take out. So eating out really is a treat...we are trying to only do it maybe 2 times a week. Its just getting so expensive with 2 kids and we are trying to save our money plus use it for better purposes. Once we got home I figured we would have a nice long nap but I was wrong. Lindsay maybe slept for 45 min and Colby never slept. I guess he has outgrown naps officially...I mean he may take one once in awhile now but he hasn't slept during the day in almost 2 weeks! That night we had lifegroup which also makes for a short afternoon but its SO worth it! Last night we had a HUGE group! Everyone was there plus we had a new couple! Our friends Casee and Alex were there too! There were so many kids! 3 preschoolers and 4 babies! We are loving lifegroup though! Its so nice to spend that time with friends our age! Its really meant a lot to us! Sunday nights though by the time we get home we are all wiped out! My parents kept Lindsay for us but she fell and got a goose egg while we were gone. They were soo worried but she was fine! They kept her awake so we could check her but as soon as I saw she was fine we put her to bed. Colby always crashes too! Anyway it was a great weekend and thankful for it! Love the break in the weeks routine!!

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Zoo Day

Since Colby was out of school today for MLK day I wanted to bring him to do something special. We decided to meet our friends Casee, Jax and Mason at the zoo. Its nice to have someone I have grown up with with kids around the same ages. It was my first MAJOR outting with 2 kids! And I have to say it went well but it wasn't easy! We got to see a lot though considering we had 4 kids under 5! The boys mainly just wanted to run and play though. They spent a lot of time on Monkey Hill. I think we could have stayed an extra hour with them but the younger siblings were getting tired. I hated I couldn't pay much attention to Lindsay. She just had to sit in the stroller and munch on snacks! I hope Austin and I can take them back soon so that we can let her get out of the stroller and really see the animals and explore.
Colby had a great time but was upset we didn't stay longer and that we didn't play on the playground. I usually let him go/do whatever he wants when we are there by ourselves. Since we are members I don't ever feel like we have an agenda when going. I warned him though that when we go with other people we have to follow their lead. It worked out well though. They got to see a lot of animals: Elephants, tigers, bear, lion, leopard, gorilla, monkeys, giraffes, rhino, and more! I hope we can go back soon and Austin can join us so I can let Lindsay "experience" more of the zoo! It was a fun way to spend his day off of school though!

Saturday, January 19, 2013

4 1/2













My first baby is officially 4 1/2! I can't believe he is 6 months from being 5! I think 5 will be the most bittersweet birthday yet! At 5 he definitely no longer seems like a baby! He's grown up so much! He's turned into a wonderful big brother! He's still jealous at times but its obvious he loves and cares about his little sister! They get along really well at times! Other times not so much...I find the more they are around each other the better they get along. Like at Christmas break they got along really well but now that Colby is back in school they fight more?
Colby is doing so well in his 4 year old preschool this year. He goes 5 days a week 9-12 three of those days and Monday and Wed he goes 9-2. He loves school and loves his teachers and friends! He's so social and active! Preschool has been wonderful for him. This is his last year at AUMC and it will be sad to send him on to big boy school but the time must come. We are in the process of deciding on where to send him next year. I can't believe he will be in kindergarten.
He's a very healthy boy although he had his first ER visit back at Thanksgiving. He was sick with the stomach virus for over 2 weeks. He got dehydrated and had to go to the ER on thanksgiving night. That so far has been his most serious illness yet! We are so thankful for that! He weighs about 40-42 lbs. He seems so skinny though! He is also about 41 inches tall. He's one of the tallest kids in his class! He wears 4T clothing but his pants are soo loose on him! He needs 4T for the height but could probably go back to a 3T for his waist size!
He's very smart and we feel he may be gifted but I guess time in school will truly tell us that. He's still into cars but has recently gotton more into animals then cars. He's very loving and sensitive. He also has a very strong will and is very opinionated. He will let you know when he does not like something. He's well behaved at school and is good at home but we have had a few minor discipline issues with him lately.
He hasn't gotton an interest in sports yet...I am hoping to get him involved in teeball or tennis. He says he doesn't ever want to play soccer again..not sure why he did not like it?
He has a HUGE vocabulary and is so well spoken for a 4 year old. He has a lot of friends and just enjoys being around them. He also loves family! He pretty much enjoys everything he does! He's become pretty picky. He eats like a bird...I guess this is normal for his age though!
He has adjusted really well to us going to Calvary after being at MBC for his whole life! Like I say he's really well adjusted and just loves life! I can't believe he's 4 1/2 I can't imagine life without our active, crazy, stubborn, smart boy!!

Daddy Days...

Austin is starting a 5 day off stretch this week and we are ALL excited! It brings a smile on these cold, dreary days we are having!
Today (Wednesday) Colby had school 9-2 so I wanted to get out and do something fun with Lindsay. We decided since it was too cold to do anything outside that we would go check out the mall. It was a nice morning...we walked around and talked and shopped. Even now with Lindsay we can still visit b/c she is happy to sit in the stroller munching on snacks...when we go on an outting like this with Colby he takes a lot more attention! I think Lindsay enjoyed all the sights as well! We were mainly window shopping not looking for anything in particular. We did let her get out of the stroller in PB Kids and push the stroller around. She enjoyed that and DID NOT want to get back into her stroller! After shopping we went to eat lunch at La Madeline's. Again Lindsay was SO good and just seemed to enjoy all the attention on her! She didn't really fuss all morning! We enjoyed our special time with her. Its nice having mornings with just her. Once Colby got home from school we just enjoyed the afternoon together as a family.
Thursday Colby had school again but only 9-12. I had some errands close to the house that I needed to run. So once austin got home from bringing Colby to school we got out to do these. One was setting up a savings account for Lindsay. We did this for Colby when he was a baby. Its something we have been meaning to do since she was born but just haven't had the time. Afterwards we went to the embroidery store to get her new big girl book bag monogrammed. I can't believe my baby is outgrowing a diaper bag =(.  Afterwards we picked up a kingcake for Colby to bring to school on Friday. He got the baby last Friday =).  When we got home we worked around the house until it was time for Austin to go pick up Colby. That afternoon the 4 of us just enjoyed hanging out at home. Austin and Colby ran errands and did outside work.
Friday Colby had school and Austin went to play golf in Hattiesburg. It was a busy morning for me since I had to bring Colby and pick him up. Lindsay and I did got to Michael's though. Once we got home with Colby after school it was naptime. Neither kid napped at first so it was 2 before either of them fell asleep which resulted in them sleeping until 4. We knew after Austin got home that we needed to get their energy out so we packed up and headed out to the park. The playground part was closed but we all had fun just walking and running around! We all ran the bases with Colby! Good excercise and I am hoping it might get him interesting enough to play teeball! Lindsay did good and enjoyed the outside air but poor baby just wanted to get out and run around too! It will be a lot easier when she can walk so we can let her burn off energy too! Afterwards we went to NOHS and picked up dinner. Lindsay was not a happy camper by that point! It was a nice quiet Friday night we ate our dinner then watched Fox and the Houd with Colby!
Saturday we had a busy morning planned. Our lifegroup was meeting at IHOP at 8 for breakfast. We joined them for that! It was nice to get out and socialize with our friends although bringing 2 kiddos that early for breakfast was busy and hectic. They did well though. There was another 3 year old boy there he and Colby played then 2 one month olds. It was fun and the breakfast was quite good I guess we will have to do IHOP more often! After breakfast we had to return library books so we stopped off at the library. We let Colby choose more books and just let Lindsay roam around! Austin dropped L and I off at home and he and Colby ran more errands. Its been a nice quiet day at home since then! I love having Austin home on a Saturday. We had a homecooked meal for lunch and took naps then he and Colby have been outside ALL afternoon. Lindsay and I got to take a long walk. We have had a great few family days together! Looking forward to church day tomorrow!
Sunday was a great day! We went to church as a family! I got surprised and ended up working in the nursery with Colby's class. I told the children's minister before Christmas I would like to get involved after the first of the year. I just casually mentioned it again yesterday and they obviously were short handed so they grabbed me up quickly after my offer! I got to help in Colby's class. That is a blessing and a curse! I enjoy seeing him and what he acts/does in our new church I also enjoyed meeting his new friends. I only knew a couple of them so it was nice to learn more names and faces! Its a curse though b/c I know Colby tests the limits more with me in there. This became a very big problem at our last church b/c things would escalate and it just wasn't good for the 2 of us. This time I chose mostly to difuse the situation and ignore him. I tried to focus on the children who were listening. He wasn't bad but he did "Test" me a few times which is normal I am sure! We had fun though! I enjoyed being back in the classroom and interacting with the 3s and 4s. After church we were later getting home since I had to clean up and wait on all parents to pick up their kids. We ate lunch and napped. We had a short afternoon with lifegroup. Colby didn't nap which with going to lifegroup at night with us makes for a long day. We bring him but not Lindsay. Colby usually does very well...he's old enough to stay back in the little boy's room my parents keep Lindsay b/c she would not stay back there and therefore would be a huge distraction for me! Anyway before lifegroup Colby acted out very badly. I thought about keeping him home. He did ok at lifegroup but had to be corrected for being too wild and not listening but the other little boy was wound up too so I think they were feeding off each other! We are really enjoying lifegroup and enjoying making some new friends!

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Blessings in Disguise

Well I will admit I have been feeling a little BLAH the last few days. With being sick and having sick kids I have had a case of the BLAHS! I know I have whined and complained. I have felt like Colby has been home sick more then he's been at school well. Then I thought: I am so lucky to get to stay at home with him and get to be with him on sick days, I am blessed that even though he's been sick it hasn't been anything life threatening, I am blessed that we have made many good memories despite being sick!
So Monday I really thought Colby would be well enough for school. We layed low on Sunday for this very reason. We skipped church and had a stay at home day. So Monday when Colby woke up I really thought he would go to school b/c Sunday night he really perked up and seemed to turn a corner. That morning he woke up a whiney mess and just had one crisis after another. He got so upset he said he didn't even want to go to school which shocked me! So I figured by that point we would be late anyway we might as well skip. I knew we needed to get out though and I knew Colby would be disapointed so I wanted to make it up to him and make it a fun day. I needed to run to his school to drop off his tuition checks so we did that then went to get a smoothie! He ofcourse loved that! Afterwards we went to the library for storytime. We don't get to make storytime often now with his school schedule although I do hope to start taking Lindsay. They both seemed to really enjoy it! Colby acted out a little he tried to crawl around and act like Lindsay but he was pretty good and I was VERY proud of her! Even though she crawled around she actually did WAYY better then he did at that age. She seemed to enjoy the music especially. After the storytime and craft I let him pick out one DVD to take home. We came home and enjoyed the rest of the day from home. Even though I was bummed he missed school we ended up having a great day!
Tuesday Austin was off. Colby went back to school that day. We ended up sending him to lunch bunch to make up for Monday. I feel like he missed so much school in November and December that we have been paying tuition for him to stay at home so I was going to get my money's worth this week haha! They were fine with him staying. It gave Austin and I a little more time plus since the maid was here cleaning it worked out for the best. Lindsay started her new session of GymRompers too. This semester she has to go on Tuesdays which I don't really like b/c once I start back to Bible Study I am not sure how we will make them but I will figure that out at that point! Lindsay had a blast and was WAY braver then she usually is. She crawled everywhere and started climbing things. Usually I told Austin she would just stay on the mat. She would crawl around some but never crawled up things or got off the mat like she did! He was impressed! I was too how much she has changed since the last class in December! After her class we went to eat at McAlister's. It was nice just spending some 1 on 1 time with her. Usually Colby steals the show when its all 4 of us especially with Austin. After we ate we came home to rest until it was time to get him. That afternoon we just had a low key evening around the house!
Wednesday Austin was off again and Colby had school. Austin brought him b/c I had a hair appointment later that morning so that way I could do a few things around the house while they were gone. It was nice not having to rush off and take my time getting ready. I enjoyed my 2 hour hair appointment. Its nice to just sit in quiet and not have 2 children needing me. I was thankful for Austin watching Lindsay! It was hard to carry on a conversation with my hair dresser b/c I have a really bad cough and so everytime I would talk I would start coughing. That afternoon we once again stayed at home and enjoyed the afternoon together. We spent some time outside and even took a family walk!
Update on sickness: Colby is ALL better except for coughing sometimes when he runs around or gets excited. Lindsay is fine except she is getting her 1 year molars so she is whiney from that. Austin never got sick. I am the worst off right now. I have lost my voice and still have a sore throat and coughing a lot especially when I talk a lot...which is hard not to do when you have kids! I hope by this weekend I will be over all this mess!

Sunday, January 6, 2013

First Sickness of the New Year

Well in following our traditional January sickness its the first week of January and we are all sick once again! It started with Colby and a runny nose a couple days ago. We are now on day 3 with him. He's got a wet cough, runny nose, stuffy nose, and you can tell he just doesn't feel good. So far no real fever if he has run fever its been only a degree.
He's done pretty well today was probably the worst he felt...usually day 3 or 4 is the worst so tomorrow will be our tell tale day. I am hoping its just a typical cold and nothing more. Usually our January mess is a "cold" although last year we all had RSV which was no fun. I am praying it doesn't turn into that mess!
Lindsay has started with a runny nose and maybe a slight cough...I figure she is on Day 2. I feel a little stuffy in my head so I am probably on day 2 as well. Thankfully it didn't affect Colby going back to school Thursday or Friday. He has been sleepier then mormal but he also had a very busy few days with no nap so part of it is him catching up from that I'm sure. Lindsay has seemed her same self so I think tomorrow will tell us if she is going to get any worse.
Well today Sunday things were about the same. Lindsay seems fine so I think she's ok. Colby was about the same stuffy head, slight cough. He just doesn't seem himself. We skipped church just as I figured we would. Even if we were all well it would have been hard b/c it was a cold, rainy morning and getting 2 little kids to church alone is hard enough much less in those weather conditions! I hated to stay at home all day but there wasn't much we could do. No park, no walk...we finally braved the weather to go get a king cake! I figured since it was King's Day and all I wanted to do something for Colby to cheer him up!
I think its just a bad sinus cold b/c he doesn't even have a bad cough unless that is yet to come. We finally gave in tonight and bought him mucinex for kids. It seems to have already helped. I am hoping with another dose of that he can go to school tomorrow! He will be so sad to miss!
I am ready to get back into the routine too! Plus I was planning a fun morning with Lindsay. We may stop and see a friend, go to the grocery store and maybe even the library for story time.
If you read this pray for Colby, myself, my mom, and my brother though. We are all the ones sick. So far my mom, Colby, and brother have it worse then me though! Hopefully we can get past this funk and enjoy the rest of January!