Okay.

So maybe I over-reacted a bit by blocking EVERYONE from seeing the blog.

I have to say, I didn't realize that people really read it.

I will just have to be nicer when describing the people that look at my house. Or maybe I will just blog those things and save the posts to put up AFTER this house is closed. =-) Because, believe me, I have lots to say.

It occurred to me today that I don't say enough good things about my children on this blog. My kids are great. They're smart, loving, want to do the right thing (most of the time) and spunky. To say that I love them is a gross understatement.
Today I am just so darn proud of them.
It has been a transition to get used to Daddy's new job. Actually, the past month or so has been one transition after another - the house being renovated and going on the market, school starting, Junior passing away, Daddy starting in Walkersville and my new work schedule. They have been shuffled here and there during showings and while we were getting the house ready to sell. The kids have done an amazing job with rolling with the punches - they just go with it. I can't count the times where I have been on the verge of tears or just obviously overwhelmed and either Sam or Caroline has come up to me and hugged me or given me a stuffed animal to hug or told me, "It's alright, Mama - you have us to help you." That's pretty powerful coming from a 3 and 5 year old. It's enough to make me think that we might be doing okay at this parenting thing. There are other times when I just shake my head and say "What the f**k were we thinking?!?!?" - don't get me wrong - there are PLENTY of those moments - but that's a different story for a different day.
Today was just a great day for the kids. We all got up (after CJ and I stayed up and re-arranged furniture last night) and got ready for church without any yelling (or even much cajoling). We enjoyed mass. The kids participated well. I had total strangers come up to us after mass and comment on how well behaved the children were and ask what my secret was to managing all these kids by myself and could I bring their grandchildren to mass and teach them to behave?
Apparently they weren't at the mass on Friday morning when Nate's bottle ended up three pews ahead of us when he chucked it, his shoe ended up two pews ahead of us because he chucked it and his toy dinosaur was under the kneeler, where he chucked it (sense a pattern??). Nate then thought it would be fun to test the acoustics of the church during Monsignor's homily by howling and thought it would be even more fun to try to pull all the hair out of my head. I ended up with him screaming in the back of church while Sam sat through mass.
But I wasn't about to break it to them! I'm okay with them thinking that the Three Amigos behave like that every week!

So...

Makes for some slow blogging since Daddy went back to Maryland.
Reasons why?
-Everyone seems to have caught a chest cold.
-Sleeping is *oh so* fun with said cold and somehow everyone ends up in bed with me.
-They seem to sleep just fine once they're in my bed. I, on the other hand, do not. You will see why later.
-I've had a two day migraine, which again, is *oh so* fun.
-We have had a goodly amount of traffic in the house looking to buy. Makes for lots and lots and lots of cleaning.
Oh - and here is photographic proof that Sam sleeps every night as though he just got off a three day bender. I put him on the floor so I could get some sleep and then woke up with Caroline in the bed instead. =-)

Let's See if I Can Sneak These In...

...before Jim gets the kids out of the tub.
That's right - Daddy is home! Hooray!
After the kids are in bed we have to clean this house. Did the outside today (I kind of feel like this is Groundhog's Day - I keep doing the same stuff over and over again...
Here are some pics from today:

And So It Begins.

The kids and I are adjusting to our new normal now that Jim has started his job.
They helped out by going to sleep early so I could clean the house and now I think I'm about to pass out (provided that Nate doesn't wake up screaming. Again.).
All three kids are fighting a cold (thank you Abby Kelley Foster Charter School) and now I think I'm coming down with it. Nate is pretty snotty and pulling on his ears consistently. We'll have to see how he does later on in the week.
Nina and Pops came out this weekend. It was really nice to see them. We had a nice BBQ with Nina, Pops, Grampy and Grampa on Saturday.
The morning comes awful quick - so good night!
Pictures are courtesy of Pops. And yes, one of these things is not like the other.
Yoooooouuuuk!

Sammy's First Day of School

Sammy finally had the day he has been waiting for for at least the past two years. After hearing, "Why don't I get to go to school?", "Caroline always does everything," and "I really, really, really want to play with the train table," constantly over the past week, Sam was THRILLED when today was his first day of school.
His teachers said he did just fine ("He reminds us so much of Caroline" - huh?) and interacted with the other children and did more than play with the train table. He got new shoes yesterday (he insisted that they be the exact same ones that Caroline has for school) and has been on pins and needles ever since, hoping that it's "time to go to school yet?".

The house has never been so clean. I am channeling my inner Virginia and washing floors, windows, bathrooms and walls constantly. The more I clean the more I see that needs to be cleaned. My Grandmother was so right when she told me, "You should never be bored. There are always windows to wash." I see now that this is true. The kids are doing better about putting stuff away, but I would be lying if I told you if I said I didn't trail them and have to nag (a lot) to keep things under control. I am learning to live without stuff (like I really needed it anyway) and am finding I am actually liking having less things around. Less clutter makes it easier to think. We're getting used to the idea of the big changes coming up in the next few weeks. =-( It will be an adjustment. Just one of many adjustments recently. We need to keep on keepin' on.






And this was the aftermath of the day. Passed out on the green room floor. We have one tired kid on our hands. Let's hope he sleeps tonight.