Mama's Blog

It's 5:00 p.m. The oldest is in sitting on his bed with instructions to play with NOTHING. The middle one is dangerously close to a time-out and he tries to focus on cleaning up a game he spread all over the floor, but keeps getting easliy distracted. The baby is moaning about something - god only knows. Uh oh...I hear footsteps...someone is getting spanked. Hmm, seems two minutes in his room was torture. He came down to apologize. Fine, thanks. Now could you PAH-LEASE stop talking for two minutes?!?!? Ok, at least he's keeping the baby from screaming.
There goes the two year old again. Totally distracted from his task.
Why am I trying to accomplish anything at this hour? Good question. My last attempt to show that I accomplished something at all today, maybe. Anyone else have this witching hour problem? For us it's really about two hrs long. 4 to 6 p.m. Doesn't help that it's colder than heck outside and I can't get the kids to go out there and play for a while. I suppose it's time we did a contest so I can get some tips to survive the winter with my children indoors. Mail your tips to mama@mycicy.com. Sounds like I've got a diaper change coming up. Have a lovely evening friends. :)

Well my friends, I'm so sad to report that the cleaning lady is already fired. What a terrible job it was. First, we had to try to stay out of the house, or out of the way. Tough with three little boys. So I go check my shower, and it's still filthy. Of course I haven't given it a good scrub in a long time. Hence, the reason I am paying extra for a deep clean. I ask about it, she says she cleaned it with a Mr. Clean Eraser. "well, it's dirty. The glass doors need to be clear, not covered in hard water or whatever that is". I proceed to show her how I can easily use the scrubby side of my little sponge and wipe a strip clean with nothing but water. So she goes at it again. I tell her partner, "make sure she gets it clean. My husband will think the whole house sparkles if that shower is just shining." Well, I could go on and on how I told her several times about the shower. We obviously have different outlooks on what a clean shower and clear shower doors look like. Add to that the spit up splatters still on the kitchen floor and (imagine the apprentice) YOU'RE FIRED! Damn, now I have to do it myself. Of course, after seeing how expensive it was, hubby is ready to learn how to scrub. Yahoo!

I just thought I'd let the cat out of the bag now because I'll let it slip eventually. Supermom's, prepare to be disgusted! I, mother of 3, business owner, dedicated -but slightly faltering - wife...have succumbed to a cleaning lady. ACK! I know...the horror! How can I NOT find the time to clean???

I admit that I cannot do it all. My house is a disaster area, 24/7. I am constantly tidying, never actually cleaning the film off everything around me. My friends think it's clean when they come over. Well, they don't see the second story. Ick. So the cleaning lady, Glenda (who I refer to as the good witch), will be here tomorrow afternoon to make my world sparkle. I cannot wait. I envision a house transformed. I will return to my house with my hair suddenly styled (and washed), my children clean and all of us free of baby spit up. This phenomenon is, of course, a chain reaction from Glenda waving her magic Swiffer, for all who enter shall be transformed. I will then go retrieve my suddenly angelic kindergarten boy who will have straightened clothes, an organized backpack, and a loving hug for his mother.

Ok, maybe I'll just have a clean house and my hubby will come home to be suddenly transformed into someone other than the grumpy guy who feels like he has to help clean once he's off work. Maybe I'll even get a hello kiss. We've been married long enough that it's only a goodbye kiss I get each morning.

So supermom's, kiss off. I quit and Glenda's hired. Munchkin land awaits you my good witch!

I just have to plug this totally cute site for ordering photo cards, just in time for the holidays. http://www.skyartcards.com

Fresh ideas, quality materials, and owned by a fabu mama. Check them out now to get your cards in time for Christmas mailing!

My sweet baby is four months old today. Of course I didn't think to get the camera out to document the big day. But I did clean two of our four toilets. So I was slightly productive.

The baby gets cuter every day. I finally cut the long curly tuft of hair at the nape of his neck because the strip above it has been rubbed fuzzy and nearly bald. He still has the beautiful curls coming down over his ears. People think he's a girl. I've been blessed, or cursed, with pretty baby boys. But "HELLO?". He's dressed in blue. It's NOT a girl. Sheesh.

I spent a few hours with twelve, 11 year old, girls today. My ears are still ringing. It was a fun little birthday party. I'd just forgotten how giggly that age is. I just recall that I don't ever want to be a pre-teen again. Ever!

Hey Mama's, I need some advice, opinions and tips. Got some? Send them my way. We moms need to stick together and share our wisdom. Those little monsters sure don't come with instructions you know. Email me at mama@mycicy.com. Signing out for now. Somehow all three boys are sleeping and I've got a great new book to read.

I got all sorts of looks and laughs when I was about town wearing a t-shirt from planetmomtshirts.com. It says "Whine? No. Wine? Yes." Ha ha! I think it's hilarious, and so very ME. Wine is my answer to everything. Good day? Celebrate with a nice wine. Bad Day? Have a glass of wine. Stub your toe? Have some wine. Interesting that the people who commented on my cute t-shirt were also mom's. Does that say something about kids these days? Or moms? Oh, who cares. Give me my wine!

Well sort of. I put baby in the exer-saucer today and he could touch the base. It was so cute! He has just barely mastered holding his head up and I'm already tossing him in the bouncing baby-sitter. Ahhh...now I remember how fun 4 months old can be. Of course he's not sleeping through the night, but thankfully he's so stinking cute that I'll put up with it. Just a few days shy of four months old, he's now grabbing for things, laughing a little bit, and LOVING his older brothers. For a lot of people, four months old is their magic number. Many babies (not mine) start sleeping better, getting on a schedule (again, not mine) and get so darn cute (yeah mine). Suddenly my only mission when I grab that bundle of slobbery love is to get him to giggle. I don't know what comes over me. Something about an infant giggling. They nailed it on the head in Monsters, Inc. when the little girl's giggles electrified the city. A baby's giggle electrifies your soul. It gives you such a positive charge that no amount of caffeine can ever match. So grab your little one, or not-so-little one, and get yourself a giggle charge. If everyone started their day with one of those, imagine how happy we'd all be.

Ok friends. Up on my soapbox for a jiffy. When are you too old to trick or treat? When you think you're too old and too cool to wear a costume. Sorry kids, no costume, no candy at my house. If you are too cool to dress up and look a bit silly, then you are probably NOT too old to have a job and buy your own dang candy.

Do the parents of these kids really condone this? Frankly I'd be embarrassed if my teenage kids were to go to someone's house, asking for candy, simply because it's Halloween. So I don't have teens yet. So what. Throw a party for them and their friends. Let them bob for apples and play goofy games like we did as teens. I honestly don't remember trick or treating past the age of believing in Santa Claus. So kids, take your pillowcases and non-costumed selves, and try another house, because this winter witch has no treats for you.

Speaking of cleaning...that is something the kids and I argue about constantly. The five-year old will usually tidy up after telling him 4-5 times. The two-year old, I'm sure you can guess what he says. "NO!" (Imagine that)
We have a finished basement that is family room / playroom. It's always a mess. I'm slightly ok with it when the mess is in the play area and not in front of the couch and TV. That is rare. It's not uncommon around here for the cushions to come off the couch, the spare blankets and guest sheets to come out of their hiding places, and join all the toys on the floor for some sort of camp-out or clubhouse event.

Today, in my usual calm, sweet voice I scream "this room is such a mess! An elephant could get lost in here!". Then suddenly I shreik. "OOOOOUUUUUCCHHHH!" I stepped on something that has surely pierced my foot. A dagger, a shark tooth? No...just and elephant.
I rest my case.

How do people with more than a few kids keep anything clean? The Mama would love to know your secret. The shoes near the front door, piles of laundry, some clean, some dirty, some questionable. One of our CiCy friends submitted this great tip:

"Instead of using dryer sheets (they render towels less effective anyway due to the waxy coating), spritz liquid fabric softener onto a damp washcloth or reusable wipe-sheets. Toss into your dryer along with the laundry. This is just as effective as using a dryer sheet or pouring the liquid into the rinse cycle, except it conserves your liquid fabric softener. Your supply lasts a lot longer this way without sacrificing softness in your laundry."

Thanks, Yetunde, for that super tip!

Since when is it socially acceptable to ask someone what they do with their boobs? Ok, maybe a friend can inquire. But a perfect stranger? Someone I just met asked if I was breastfeeding my baby. ACK! At least ask if I'm nursing. Don't throw BREAST out into the conversation on the first date for crying out loud! First of all, what do you intend to do with that information and second, why the heck is it ok to ask me that? Actually, I DO nurse, so don't send me any hate mail from the lactation society. Not that it's any of your beeswax. But I'm not bringing this up because I'm anti-nursing. I very much for it and feel it is the best choice for MY child. Yes, not your's, not that kid over there...MY child. Which is MY business. I think I might start saying "no" just to see if I can stir up something fun. Just to see what exactly the point of the conversation is. Because when I say "yes, I'm nursing," the subject usually dies off from there. Either the person is just checking into my mothering status, or she was suddenly embarrassed to know what I do with my boobs on occasion.

What were you thinking, Katie?!? All I can think about that is "eeewwwwww!"

Good lord, let's hope the poor girl doesn't get post-partum depression. Especially if his "belief system" is upheld and he doesn't allow her to hoot, holler and yell during childbirth. If she goes PPD after that horror then she'll take every bit of that labor pain out on him in a big way! On that note, I wonder what his "beliefs" are about your beloved beating the snot out of you since she can't yell during childbirth.

I say again, "eeewwwww!"

Sorry I've been a posting slacker. Time gets away from you with a few kids always running around. I think I'm officially a soccer mom. We have soccer practice for my Kindergartener once a week, and a game on the weekend. With that, and taking him to and from school every day, I'm sick of having to BE somewhere every day! What could be a quick ride turns into an hour long preperation for a noisy stress-filled car trip. And here I sit, posting when he has to be to Kindergarten in 20 minutes. Serves me right, huh? But the baby is sleeping and I have missed you all so much. :)

On a funny note: Kids are parrots. Yesterday, in the coffee shop, a young man said "Oh damn." Which my two year old then needed to inform me "That guy just said, damn". Um, yep, he did.
So what would you do? Say anything to the guy, or let it go?
Well as my friends would guess, I said something. I politely thanked him for teaching my two year old to say "damn". Of course, he didn't even realize he said it, so I recounted the story back to him to refresh his memory. He apologized, but really didn't seem to care. I guess if they say it on t.v. all the time, it's now an accepted word in society. Well, then, I guess it's good that my two year old can now use it in context. :)

Have a great day friends!

He is 12 weeks today and he rolled over! Geez. His dad doesn't even know it yet, and here I'm announcing it to all my CiCy girls. Well, that's what he gets for going out of town and leaving me with his three angels.

It was one of those "do NOT put me on my tummy, I HATE tummy-time" rolls. He rolled from front to back three times in a row. By the time I got the video camera going for the fourth go, he was so ticked off and was screaming - and I got that little angel on tape. Ha! Hey, at least I got the camera out. After all, he's the third kid. He's lucky we have any video at all! That reminds me...we need to get photos taken of the two youngest. Oh that will be fun. In case you haven't tried this yet, a two year old does not hold still and make a nice picture pose. Not a boy, anyway. Oh well. We'll go to one of those places where you don't pay if you don't like the photos.

Happy 12 wks baby boy!

Did I mention that I hate diets. Well I'm trying to reduce my portions. Seems I was eating for 12 for a while there. My husband would actually stare at me while I put away a huge steak, plus potato, corn on the cob and a salad. I can imagine that it's a bit odd seeing a small framed gal put away that much food. It's not going to my stomach though. I may as well duct tape the potatoes to my thighs. That would be quicker, though not nearly as satisfying.
So I'm a big cranky lady with dieting and lack of sleep. I finally broke down and bought cookies for the boys (fine excuse). I had two tonight and I feel this huge magnetic-like pull to get another. I even stopped having coffee for a few days, but the headaches were too much. So I've really slipped today. But my hubby went out of town, so I had to go into survival mode, right?

Maybe I'll do better tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Ugh...dieting really sucks. I'm decreasing my portions a bit. Ok, really, I'm forgetting to eat half the time because we're always flying out the door. It's: make lunch for the older two, fight with the older two to EAT the lunch, meanwhile baby is screaming because he'll take lunch/brunch/dinner ANYTHING. So I nurse the baby while the older two continue to drive me nuts and get crumbs all over the kitchen without leaving their chairs. Then it's off to get ready for school. Sorry if this is a high expectation, but after a month I expect my 5 year old to know what it means to "get ready for school now". But somehow this totally smart kid forgets all he needs to do to get ready. Which only consists of possibly a clothing change, brush teeth, get backpack, put on socks and shoes. Same thing every day. But I still follow him around, keeping him on task WHILE still nursing the baby. I've got to remember to keep the blinds closed.

Anyway..where was I? Oh yes...dieting. Yeah, I hate it. I have no self control. Even though I can stand in front of the mirror and feel nauseous looking at this jelly like stuff I call my legs and arse. Three weeks to lose some of this extra stuff. Yikes!

I have not eaten ice cream in a while though. So at least I can say I'm trying. Sort of. Anyone know where I can buy a bit of will-power?

There must have been some cold winter nights filled with snugglin' and lovin' back in December and January, because now every time I turn around there is another baby being born this month! You too? Well never fear because the shop-mama is here. I'm also know as "Bargain Betty" among my friends. So where better to shop for great deals and the best new baby gifts than right here at MyCiCy.com? Here are some of my fave's:

~Bath by Bettijo's "Welcome Baby Gift Set". Soothing oil for relaxing baby massages, baby balm to calm diaper rash, even a clever book for dad's. Plus, you can personalize the gift a bit by specifying boy, girl or ???.

~Lizzie Wishes has the cutest little baby T-shirt that says "Open 24 Hours". Us new moms know that's no lie. What a perfectly humorous gift.

~jennyLou has the perfect piece of jewelry for the new mama. The "Mother's Bracelets" come in a variety of styles from simple and sweet to chunky monkey designs. Celebrate the new mother in style!

~GirlyGirl Note Cards helps you top off your gift with beautiful personalized notecards. Mama's favorite is "Multi Dots", in chocolate and pink, I just can't get enough!

~If you are ahead of the game and the baby has arrived, then treat the expectant mama to these stylish flip-flops by Deedee's Designs. You need to look cute when you're walking those hallways during labor.

I hope this helps you busy mom's get some quick shopping done and another task or two marked of your gigantic list of things you never seem to get done. Now I'm going to go back to some of those links above and start making my Christmas list. Ho Ho Ho!

The first day of the rest of my life. Yeah hardly. I don't want a life of dieting. But I will suffer for 4-6 weeks. Luckily, I'm nursing, so that has helped shed some pounds already. But I'm also eating like I'm still pregnant, thanks to the nursing. So this last 6-8 lbs are being stubborn. So I'm starting a diet today. No, none of that silly business of counting, measuring, etc. Just sensible eating. Much less bread and bagels. More fruit and water. Less cheese, more low fat yogurt. And a LOT less ice cream covered in hot fudge topped with whipped topping and a cherry or two! :) I am trying to say goodbye to potato chips, but that might be a lot harder.

This morning I took the boys for a walk to the park and back. They thought the van had broken down. Ha ha! Oh how they know their mama well. Like running. That is fine for some people. I'll do it if I'm being chased by someone trying to take away my ice cream sundae.

I have one month to slim down and get back into my regular clothes. Wish me luck!

Someone help me. I was trying to tell a friend about these baby carrier covers I once saw on a web site. It's for people like me that have a 5 year old Baby Bjorn and want a new look, or maybe to pass my blue Bjorn on to a friend who has a girl. There is some clever person out there making these carrier covers and I can't recall who it is. If you can point me in the right direction, please email the CiCy Mama at mama@mycicy.com. Thanks friends!

On a baby note: he slept about 4.5 hours straight last night! Doin' the happy dance!!! (since it's usually 2.5 at a time)

Recently we (really I) had the brilliant idea of making up a Binky Fairy. She comes to your house, takes all your binkies away - because you're a big boy now - and leaves a gift for you. I know, I'm stealing the tooth fairy idea, but he's only two, so the tooth fairy comes later.

The first day we had to nap without binky resulted in a complete meltdown. Bed time wasn't a whole lot better. Fast forward a few weeks to the present. Bed time is no problem. But that is mostly because we now have NO NAPS! Nada. None.

Actually, our original nap time is not such a bad time of day. The oldest goes to afternoon kindergarten, we chill at home. It's five o'clock that is the witching hour. I'm trying to cook dinner, well, throw in a pizza. Baby inevitably needs to nurse Now. The other two are usually screaming at each other by now because the two year old hasn't napped..for two weeks now! I don't know what to do. He was absolutely melting this afternoon due to no nap. The meltdown was so severe I thought I'd have to call in the Feds. I want the binky back!!!!!! Must be strong, must be strong. Do you think a two year old could reason wth getting a binky at nap time but not bedtime? Ay yi yi. I'd better pour myself another.