Ok - so once in awhile something like this will sleep in.
Sorry.

So, I was looking at FaceBook which is one of my guilty pleasures.

Anyway, looking at friends* pictures I see group shots. While people who wouldn't have given me the time of day back then, I now chat with online. People whom I shared a mutual dislike for, now seem more appealing and we get along well (again online).

So while the "walls" are broken down through all this time, the cliques are still there. It's sad for me to see everyone posting pictures hanging out with friends that they've had for years. Last picture of me & a friend I have is from back in high school.

I am jealous of the people who maintained those relationships. I guess they had more to offer then I did. I am jealous of their social life whereas mine consists of playing board games with my husband after the kids go to bed (while I totally love and value this time, getting out with him and some friends would be a nice change of pace).

So that's my pity-party vent. Thanks for reading (if ya did).

* the term friends is used loosely. Basically it means people i went to school with for years.

Ok... Owen is a sweetheart and in THAT sense, yes he is a doll but a physical doll... not quite!

My niece is infatuated with Owen (rightfully so). He is cute and sweet and usually happy and well... the baby of the family.

Let me start off saying we were at my mom's for New Year's dinner. Apparently, Cole said he liked my nephew best (leaving my niece out). I spoke to him and told him that wasn't nice and while he may have a favorite, you should never say that in front of someone. He agreed my nephew was his best friend (he doesn't know the meaning... as my husband says, "he thinks he's gonna marry me." so obviously, he's still too young for certain concepts). Anyway.. I know this is crap because he asks for HER to come over all the time, NOT him. As soon as he wakes up he asks for her. He loves her to pieces even though they have NOTHING in common. Anyway... she was in a sad mood because of that.

She wanted to play with Owey. He lets her do most things. I ask she stay on the floor with him and not carry him. What does she do? Keep carrying him and trying to put him on her tiny lap on the couch. I ask to put him down and she doesn't listen. her mom is right there and doesn't say anything. He slipped down her one time Ont the floor and no one saw but me and she saw that I saw and stopped for a minute and proceeded back.

Owen is adamant lately about walking,. He is trying his darnedest to get this walking thing down. He doesn't like to be held onto and likes to do things on his own. I asked that she leave him as he was trying to walk. I told her one or 2 times more as did my mother. She went over to her mom and Owen, who was next to me, turned around and walked half-way across the room to my mom (about 15 steps or so). I quickly told my niece what he just did. I went back to watching him. He crawled back to me after falling 1 or 2 times more attempting to come back. She came over and tried to hold his hands and take them off of what he was holding onto. I asked her to please leave him alone because he is trying to walk and wants to do it on his own (he snapped his hand back from her and started batting it in his "get away" motion"). My sister-in-law (I forgot the wording now as it was 2+ hours ago) grabbed her and on the way out of the room said something like, "She doesn't nee dot be crushed anymore then she already is."

EXCUSE ME? back the F-up here.. My 10 month old is being dragged around by a 5-1.2 year old and she wont leave him alone when he wants to be left alone and I am the bad guy? WTF? So, Tom said, time to go and we all packed up and left...

Tom was now in a piss-ass mood and took it out on everyone.. welcome to my life.. i walk on eggshells with that man and he is seriously worse then the kids. UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OK... Maybe it's because they aren't out of bed yet and there is still peace in the house but... I am proud of my kiddos.

I sent a message to a friend whose phone lost a tooth. I didn't even think he was old enough for that and he isn't much older then Cole. That made me think...

Cole. He's 4-1/2 years old.

He taught himself to read. He can read the chapter books but kinda gets bored but he can read them. He can read just about anything even words you think would be too tough.

If that weren't enough, apparently the kid can spell too! Yesterday he wanted to add something to his Santa List (a black & white marble notebook like the ones we grew up using in school). I helped him spell it (I don't remember what it was right now). I had to run to the store and pickup Tom's prescription (right around the corner and it's a drive-thru so it was quick). I get home and saw another page in his book.

"Marro Supr Sggs"

OK... so he was a bit off but I knew exactly what it was! Mario Super Sluggers. I think he didn't really try for the last word but man! He's 4-1/2 and can spell? And this came as a surprise to me? We already have to spell fast in front of him or he can figure it out... in his head!

I should also add... he can add! Yup, my kid id teaching himself how to add and subtract.

Talk about a geekling... I guess what else could the spawn of me & Tommy be BUT a geek?! :)

Hunter. 2-1/2 years old.

1st off, this kid is more charismatic then you can imagine. It's everyone he sees. It's an amazing thing to watch but his smile.. OMG do i melt every time I see that Hunter smile with those little teeth and that little gap and the eyes that scrunch up. And his bear hugs.. seriously it's one of the best hugs ever!

OK... Now... Hunter ain't no fool either. He, I think, is also at the VERY beginning stages of reading. He can do some sight words already and he knows the kids names in his class (from seeing their names by their coats and associating it with them). Example: I made a list for his Halloween party so I knew what names had to go on the buckets.I wrote in script and kinda messy. It was upside down to him. He was like, "Abby, Ariane, Mina, Evan, Braxton, Hunter" I was floored. I spoke to the teachers and they hadn't tried to teach them other kids names. That was totally him. He's done stuff like that a few times. You can just see the gears going on his head.

I cant think off-hand anymore of what he does but yeah... another smart kid. Oh yeah, he potty-trained himself before the age of 2... pretty good for a boy!

Owen. 10 months.

Hard to compare but he does some cool things.

He is up to 9-steps. He probably would been walking already if it wasn't for a raging ear infection he had. It made him feel like crap and well, ear infections lead to balance issues so.... another early walker.

Owen basically said good-bye to baby food. He doesn't like most baby food... he wants real deal stuff and would rather feed himself.

Owen is also a charasmatic little fella. He loves people and his smile is too precious. He smiles and then scrunches up his nose which makes him over-the-top cute! And to top-THAT-off, when he's exited that smile comes with a snorty noise.

It's hard to tell Owen's intelligence but motor skill-wise, he blows the other 2 out of the water.... while they were advanced.. he's just that much more. I thin Owen's gonna be the one we gotta watch out for... and they say IQ drops subsequently with each kid. HA! We laugh at that statement (especially since i am the baby in the family!).

It had ot come to an end like all good things.
This time in blood-curdling screams!

I was cleaning downstairs. They were playing nicely. My mom called to tell me something. I had to cut her short because of the muffled screams.

I threw down teh phone (I presume Owen ot it and is playing with it) and started walking briskly until I heard teh way teh cries were and I ran!!!

There was Hunter with his head in between 2 cabinet doors with a child-lock on them (so they couldn t open and his head was VERY tightly stuck! I couldn't leave him and I couldn't get the damn child-lock off. So, I unscrewed teh handle it was being held into and freed him that way. His lip was bleeding, his neck beet red (from being scraped by cabinet doors), his face red from screaming. Through his tears he said Cole did it. I wasn't sure if he would and they do the blame game all the time so I didn't know at this point.

I finally calmed my baby down and made sure he was OK.

Then, I went to speak to Cole (who I had previously yelled at because he didn't not tell me Hunter was hurt and stuck - I didn't know who did it, but Cole should have told me). I sat him on teh bed and talked ot him. I told him I did NOT want any lies and tell me what happened.

"We, me & Hunter, were playing cars in the bookshelf and I closed the doors and locked it. It was a mistake and by accident."

I told him that Hunter could have been very badly hurt and maybe even died because he couldn't get enough air.

"I tried so hard to get him out but I just couldn't."

I told him he should always just come and get Mommy and Mommy will always help.

Hunter is still mad at Cole and will not let him apologize. i don't blame him!

Ok.. so the kids had their Christmas show at their preschool last night. Tom was late or cutting real close at last years 2 (Christmas and end-of-year) and Cole was upset by this. I made sure that he made sure he'd be there. I assured Cole we'd be there and in the front.



We got their early (my mom and I) and we saved seats. Tom got their right before it started. He too was right in front.



Cole walked out and saw his Dad.



"My Dad is here! My Dad is here!"





"Ms. Jenny, My Dad is here! He's right there!"

They all came out (including the young 2's which is younger then Hunt's class). They were all so cute! They sang 2 songs all together. Then the young 2's got picked up by their parents. The whole time, Hunter was half-asleep. He didn't nap during teh day and fell asleep a SOLID sleep on the way to school for the show. It was hard to wake him up... He was in such a daze up there.

There is Hunter & Abby... he likes Abby :) They sang like 3 more songs... :)

...and then we had a cookie social and went home to bed.

I got 2 different kinds of cookies baked whole Owen was napping (still is). So 2 kinda of cookies in less then 2 hours is pretty good. the boys fought over a spot on teh coach for like half-an-hour. They fought over putting the rocking sheep on teh rug or not on teh rug... it's just a constant battle. Even when they're being angels to each other, you still have to be on high-alert. An hour-and-a-half left until we leave for the Preschool Christmas show..... I cant wait to see them singing.. how cute are 2-year olds singing Christmas stuff? I am dying! Last year it was Cole & Lauren and Cole didn't say a peep. This year he is raring to go and Hunter will be performing too.... SO exciting!

So I leave at 9am to bring my kids to school. My mom watched Owen today since he isn't well (no need to drag him out). Then after school, I went to Maureen's (she is my Sister-in-law who lives around teh block) because she was doing my hair (I decided to do subtle highlights and cut my hair). Anyway... I get home at 11:45, make sure my baby is ok and off I go to pick up my kids from school. We get home just before 1 and now I gotta make lunch and put the baby to nap up in his crib. It is now, at 11:15, I get to check e-mail and then run downstairs with my monitor to begin making cookies for Tonight. My mom comes over at 4:45 and we leave here at 5:00-ish to go BACK to school for their Christmas pageant at 6:00... It's gonna be a long day. And Owen is still in [rain with his earache.. poor bugger!

I gave this page a new look. My kids are my monkeys so I found this appropriate. I made it myself and I guess that is why it works so well - because it's totally me. I will tweak a few more aspects of it... but enjoy the theme - playful and totally boy!

Owen had a fever. No sleeping issues. NO eating issues. Just a fever. Then the crankiness came. My husband has never had an ear infection so not only does he not know they pain they cause, but he knows nothing about spotting them or any of that stuff.

I told him to let me know if O goes to his ear and which one it was. He pointed it out twice. I saw it a few times.. its like brushing off an itch - it was quick and not very often. If I had to wage a bet on why he was sick, I'd have said an infection in his right ear.

Mom's intuition was right again... He was in perfect health except for his 1-sided ear infection. So they gave him Amoxi and we follow-up in 2 weeks.

I was happy it was just an ear infection and nothing contagious. And he should be feeling better in 2 days - yay!

N.B. (which means "note bene" or "note well" in case you didn't know where that came from):
This is Sick visit #4 for teh Edwards kids. Cole is 4-1/2. Hunter is 2-1/2. Owen is10 months and between all of them, I have only had 4 (including today) sick visits for all of them combined. In general, I have some healthy kids. Must be those "strong as bull" German genes!

I want to keep this totally up-to-date but a few things have had me back lately... in no particular order.. here is why i don't pot more

(1) Oddly, My Kids. I know the reason for this blog is my kids but its also a huge reason I cant post. Either I am busy spending time with them or I am busy trying to keep them from killing each other.
(2) The Holidays. Ya know, Holiday shopping, decorating, baking, all that jazz.
(3) Tom. We've hit a rough patch and we've been trying to work on it. What that means to me is I spend less time on the computer in general.
(4) Life. It's been a bit overwhelming for me lately and I just kinda pull myself inward and withdraw from things.

OK, now you know why I haven't posted. I want to post more... and in the new year, with my new plan, I want to add a daily update no matter how medial it seems.

So why am I going slowly insane?

THIS IS WHY...
They fight.. I know, I know..all kids fight. Not like these 2! They fight over going to the bathroom. Over who is gonna open a door. Over who walks a step further.. seriously EVERYTHING is a battle nowadays.

there are times they love each other but holy cow.. they fight worse then any siblings I have ever seen.

THEY'RE AGGRESSIVE

My baby just started crying. Why? Hunter ran. Cole immediate started crying and saying I wanna say something. Right there it told me who the guilty party was. I asked Cole over and over "why is the baby crying?" and he would tell me. I scooped up the baby and slammed the door.

I asked Hunter, "Why is Owen crying?"
Hunter said, "Cole hit Owen."
"Why did Cole hit Owen?"
"With the computer."

I went into the room (Cole had a toy cash register in his hand before). and I asked him, "You hit Owen with the cash register?"
"Yes."
"Why would you do that?"
"I wanted to play with the register but Owen tried to take it from me."
"So you took it and hit him with it?"
"uh-huh?"

I see complete red and I yell at him and slam the door.

He proceeds to throw a COMPLETE fit slamming things and going nuts.

I go back in to tell him he is NOT allowed to do that and i unplugged his TV and closed the door again.

WHERE DID MY SWEET ANGELS GO?

This is an older post I forgot to post (saved but not posted) It was written on Wednesday the 26th.

The had door slamming contests.... over and over again.. they wouldn't stop!

They couldn't use the playroom because they shredded the Styrofoam (apparently to make snow)and its was ALL over the place.. in the toy bins... stuck everywhere.

Owen got rough and slammed his head into my occipital bone... which slammed the edge of my thick glasses into it.... and I teared immediately and I thought it was gushing blood. It's now swollen and i might have a black & blue for Thanksgiving.. ya me!

And the screeching.. Oh my gosh - I think my ears are bleeding again!

So the kids "vacation" starts for them today.. they are off for 11 days.. then go back for 2 weeks then off for another 2 weeks! Wonderful for the kids - MAJOR stress for me...

They woke up and were raring to go by 6:45 this morning. Not terrible if Tom had already left for work (he was still here) an I didn't attempt to wake up early to get some work done on the computer.... so hat went out to the window. I begged them to go back in their room and watch TV... they did but with fighting. Then they were good for about an hour... now it started.. Hunter is a super whineball... Cole won't share his magazine (which I guess is my stupidity because I took a Good Guys car magazine out of the draw because Cole loves cars... now Hunt wants to see it, but Cole is being mean which leads to whining and screaming). It's not even 9:30 and my head feels like it's gong to explode and my ears are gonna gush blood.

And I have more the 10 days let? NO!!!!!!!!!

Yup - It's official... Owen took his 1st step on Friday, the 21st of November! He is just over 9 months old! I'm a super proud Momma bay and I know I should hold onto this baby since it's probably my last but.... I am excited (as always) to have a walking kiddo! I mean... he's not a walker yet... but he's on his way... Maybe by Christmas!

So I moved the Step2 Lifestyle Deluxe Kitchen like I do every year from downstairs to upstairs.... Only thing is, i must have had help in the past b/c I never remember it being so darn heavy! So I single handed dragged the kitchen from the downstairs butler's nook to the upstairs play room (I do it ever Christmas). Wow... Either I am THAT weak or it is THAT heavy... who would have thought hallow plastic card weigh so freakin' much!?!?! It must be those "granite" counter tops!

Ok - I had to look it up on the Step2 site... http://www.step2.com/product.cfm?product_id=1218 - it's 70 pounds and quite awkward to carry - especially when you're only 5'2"!

ANY time I try and clean, hell breaks lose. They scream, they fight, they bite each other, slam toys into each others heads, fight over even minuscule toy (which is funny b/c they have WAY too many toys as is). So I attempt o clean the bonus room (which is the upstairs play room with the most toys) and I cant... they keep fighting and screaming and being nasty.... It never eds.... This is why my house looks like this... between Owen hating me doing dishes and laundry and the other 2 always fighting whenever I try and straighten up.. how can it EVER look nice?

I seriously don't understand how someone so freakin' smart can be so clueless as to how I feel. I mean, I know he has issues with subtlety but I have NOT been subtle. He thinks everything is fine... yeah right! Last night, in the middle of the night, he tried to wake me up (I was actually the one who woke him up - I was thirsty so I got up to a drink and came back to bed which is what woke him up in order to wake me up) for 'ya know'. I was soooo not having that! Besides the fact that I had so serious intestinal malfunction going on last night, I was still holding a grudge and sex certainly was not gonna make things any better. MEN!

Owen falls asleep (late for his nap).. phone rings and wakes him up, then again then again... I finally think phone tag is over and he is asleep again.. then the doorbell rings (i was NOT expecting anyone so I didn't put out my "Do Not Ring Doorbell - Baby Napping" sign out. So Owen world up and wont go back...

Then Hunter slept for 5 minutes on the way home from school and wont' nap...

God, I hope Tom aint' late today because this is gonna be one super cranky house in a few short hours!

PLUS - i swear they know when I want to do something.... now that no one will nap, there is so much less I can do! UGH!

So I made sure to get home by 6:30 so I could have dinner made for Tommy (the boys ate over at Aunt Maureen's). Well.... come to find out, Tom left me an IM at around 4 saying he was "grabbing a few beers with guys from work". O I was annoyed he didnt call my cell since I never answered him. So he got home after 9:30! Ugh! He kept falling asleep during the TV show (which was Bones that was TiVo'd). I kept telling him to get to bed. I shut everything off downstairs and he came into bed by 10:30.. I laid there and I just wanted to scream and cry... so I got up and wen tot do laundry. I was closed in that room and crying.. so I wrote a note... explaining how tired I was of this and that and how he makes me fell. But me being me, I am gutless, and I left it there knowing he'd never see it, and it was more for me to vent then for him to read (although if he read it that would have been nice). So after my 1/2 hour-plus of crying, I folded laundry (lots) and then proceeded to clean the kitchen.. not straighten up but clean.

When my mom waled in to get the boys for school today she said, "what'd ya do? stay up all night and clean?".... I kinda did.. I went to bed at 1am which is WAY late for me.

ANyway.. that's done.. and I am almost done hand SCRUBBING (I mean pouring a certain liquid on a small area and scrubbing the old gook off all my hardwood floors) the floors.... Hopefully i can decorate for Christmas this weekend... I am sooooo behind!