Skiing/Snowboarding with Hudson

I LOVE going snowboarding with Hudson at Wintergreen. I'm so proud of him holding his own on the ski slope. This kid can already ski pretty much as well as I can snowboard (I don't know what that says about him or me for that matter). Gregor and I got a babysitter yesterday for the girls and took hudson up for a little fun in the snow. He rides the lifts and even went down the intermediate slope yesterday. I can't believe he's only 5 when he's out there... he's a trooper. He never complains or whines... I'm just amazed by him and so very proud. He must not have been feeling well because he woke up in the middle of the night barfing and had to stay home today from school.... but you never would have known that watching him on the slopes! We went up there with Luke (Hud's friend from school) and his dad, Chris... you can see everyone in the video.

Favorite Thing #15

MOMA ROCKING HORSE

Fairy godmother Aran sent the kids this awesome rocking horse for Christmas. I thought it was cool... nice color, cool design... but the kids think this thing is AMAZING. Brooke gets on there and rocks like it's going out of style, Larkin uses it as an accessory, and Hud just tries to get on it when Brooke is on there so they can do it together. It really is fun, and light enough to move from room to room. you can get one here if you want. Thanks Aran!!

Barf-o-rama and burritos

Today was one of those crazy solo lunch days that really just went beyond gross. I decided to take all the kids (by myself) to grab a quick lunch at chipolte after pre-school. I'm thinking the rice would be good for Brooke... she's got a MAJOR case of the Hershey squirts (as my mom always lovingly called the shits) from all the antibiotics she's on (at least that's what the nurse thinks... I'm not so sure). Anyhow, we get there, get our food and sit down. I'm sweating already, but we've got some sense of sanity. Literally the minute I bite my burrito, Brooke looks at me a little funny and the next thing I know a fountain of barf comes out of her mouth... seriously it is just gushing (on the floor mostly). Luckily, it's not the gross chunky kind.. just the watery kind. This is when I know that I'm a mom of three. I grab our stack of napkins, wipe of the watery mess off of the chair and the floor, discreetly change her outfit in the highchair and regain control. Nothing is going to get in the way of me and my burrito! I'm starving... even with the smell of vomit on my hands... a little hand sanitizer and I'm good to go. Seriously, no one in the restaurant gave us a second glance, Brooke didn't make even a whimper, and Hud and Larkin didn't look twice at the barf... it was freakishly casual. So here's where I do feel bad. On my trip back from getting more napkins, I see a guy in this nice suit grabbing our extra (vomit) chair. Just as he's about to sit I see that I missed a line of white barf on the front edge of the chair... sorry guy in the nice suit that is now going to have a vomit stain on the back of his knees :(
After that episode, Brooke was starving. She scarfs down more than Hudson and Larkin combined and seems perfectly fine. Crazy I know.
Then.... I pick her up to go outside to the car and realize that she has had another poop attack which is oozing out of her pants and up her back. Why do all the bodily grossities happen at the same time. At least at this point I'm done eating and I can deal with this mess in the car. I'm thankful that I keep extra clothes in my bag including and extra shirt for myself in the car. Gross Gross Gross. So is the barfing from her antibiotics too?? I don't think so, but what do I know... I'm just a doctor of the beaches. We did stop off on the way home to get this probiotic powder at the suggestion of auntie Cat... I hope it works!!

Loveys

Why is it that every one's child seems to have a comfort lovey except for mine. I'm on my third kid and not one of them is attached to anything like that... not a blanket or an animal or anything of the sort! I guess you could say that Larkin is attached to her Binky (I don't know how I'm going to get rid of that!). Hudson loves all snugly blankets and stuffed animals but really doesn't get a sense of security from anything. There is no "have to have it" item for him. It's not for a lack of trying. I've gotten all the kids little blankets, bigger blankets, snugly animals, baby dolls for the girls... all the classic lovey items. I've put everything in their crib and tried to put consistency into items. I even tried making the loveys smell like me when they were babies. They just don't seem to care. Brooke is starting to show a little preference for one of her blankets and for this cute little bunny, but nothing is a "have to have it" item yet. It seems like I'm their comfort item, and it just feels like if I could find something that they get comfort from maybe they would all feel more secure leaving me. Larkin and Brooke still have serious separation anxiety. Brooke just loves having her crib packed with blankets, loveys and babies. It's funny though, I think she inventories everything in there. If I throw an extra baby or lovey in there, I find it tossed out of the crib the next morning. The crib seems like it is packed, but if I take stuff out, she's just points to it and cries. I line everything up on the sides of the crib at night and fold the blankets into a snuggle size, but by morning, she's made this huge pile in the center of the crib and is sleeping on this huge heap of stuff... so is this her version of a lovey... the snuggle pile?? I don't want to have to take all that stuff with us when we travel!! Does anyone have any advise on creating that bond between child and blanky, baby or animal?

Unmotivated and uninspired

I've been unmotivated and uninspired by my blog recently. I don't know why... maybe I've been unmotivated as a mom and just don't feel like I have anything to share. Don't get me wrong I adore my kids, had a fantastic time celebrating their birthdays and christmas and really smile at something they've done every day... but...it's been a long winter. Being inside is tough with the kids. I'm constantly having to find ways to entertain everyone while at the same time running damage control. The house is always crazy. Brooke empties every drawer or cabinet a thousand times a day. I feel like I just make laps around the house picking up her messes just so she can pull everything out again. I wish I could tone down my OCD tendencies and just live with the mess, but I can't function when everything just feels so cluttered! The kids continue to get sick, so the places I can take them are limited. Brooke and Larkin's noses are running again, and Brooke is on antibiotics again for another ear infection. I would bet that tubes are going to be in her future. Gregor has had a lot of random holiday days off of work, so our normal weekly schedule that really helps me stay sane has been off. We've had a lot of great daddy time, but the kids just add a little extra crazy to get daddy's attention sometimes. Money's been tight, our future as far as where we are going to live and what I'm going to do for work has been up in the air. I don't know, I think I just have a case of the winter blahs. I really want to get one of those light machines... what is it called... I think I suffer from that seasonal depression disorder... the thought of sitting in front of a warm light just makes me smile in anticipation and warms me up on the inside.
As for the blog, I've been trying to think of something to add to my favorite things, but I'm just not loving anything right now!
On the kids front, Larkin got a new phrase from me today... "Holy snapping assholes"... yeah I'm a good mom right... I just hope that one doesn't come out in some embarrassing place or ever again for that matter.
Hudson has us all hooked on his star wars video games.
Brooke learned to crawl up the stairs today!! Good for her, bad for mommy. I'm sure there will be a fall down the stairs in the near future.

Birthday Slideshow

This is my first attempt at a slide show... I hope it works! We ended off the birthday festival week with a fantastic party at Explorations Play studio. Hudson and Brooke had a great time with their friends. Poor Larkin said "I so sad mommy because it's not my party." Nothing like being the middle child with the off birthday. Thanks to everyone who made this week special!

Happy Birthdays!! 1 and 5

Happy birthday hudson and brooke!!

I can't believe my baby baby is 1 year old and my little baby boy is 5. That is just CraZY to me. Hudson woke up this morning so excited... I think even more excited than Christmas morning if you can believe that. Today was his choice to pick everything. We had eggs for breakfast, Popsicles and a story by dad at school, pizza buffet for lunch (gross), and a trip to the toy store to pick out 5 toys for Hud and 1 toy for Brooke (Larkin also picked out her 3 items that she wants when she turns 3 in March). This afternoon, it's been star wars video game bonanza and tonight is barracuda cake (see pic above... Brianne, I need some serious cake decorating lessons... what kid wants a freakin' barracuda cake!!) and games with Dad. Brooke has been a champ going along with whatever Hud wants. I'm sure next year she'll have a little more say in the birthday day... but for now, she's happy with whatever. Brooke and Hudson are so similar. They are both just so sweet can cuddly with the most genuine hearts. Brooke got birthday bangs (to go along with the christmas bang trend). I think they look adorable. She woke up yesterday morning with all her hair plastered to her face with snot, and I'd had enough. She won't keep her barrettes in like Larkin did, so we are trying the bangs. I think they are super cute... although they make her look so much like hudson did at her age (see picture... yeah, that's Hud around 10 months!) that sometime I call her a he instead of she, especially when she's wearing Hudson's old jammies. I hear the thump of feet upstairs... nap time must be over. I'll try to post better pictures tomorrow. It's sad that the one on here is the best I've gotten all day!

Playing Catch Up

I know... it's been forever since I've blogged. So much has happend this holiday season. For Christmas this year we got 12 Colds... 5 ear infections... 3 pink eyes... and 1 vomiting little girl. Sounds like fun doesn't it! Despite all the ailments, we had a fantastic Christmas. I left my camera on Hilton Head, so I've been waiting on that before I blogged (a sorry excuse I know). Of course, my camera battery died christmas morning so I don't have many pictures. Anyhow, Hilton Head was amazing. The weather was in the seventies and we had a blast riding bikes on the beach, going out on the beach, and soaking up the rays. The kids got more than they could ever want from santa and we had quality time with the entire family on my mom's side... I think it was 27 people total... a madhouse, but really fun!

So here are the catch-up events:

1. Brooke is FINALLY pulling herself up to standing (I still think she stands on her foot weird but everyone just gives me that "shut up kiki... she's fine" look when I say anything about that.

2. Brooke had her first ponytail and pigtails (a favorite first of mine)... see picture.

3. Gregor got the first cold/fever that I remember in years!

4. We had our first Christmas on hilton head (we always went to Ohio growing up and in recent years we've been to New York and Florida)

5. Pottery barn kids decided showcase the name Brooke in seriously every single page of it's catalog (in addition to their new Brooke collection)... see an earlier post for my weird cosmic name connection to pbk).

6. Hudson and Larkin got scooters for chistmas in addition to pretty much everything else on their lists.... thanks to all of you that made that possible!!

7. Gregor met his new sister Eve (see picture)... long story short, Gregor just found out that he has a half sister that is 34 and plays viola with a symphony in Berlin. She grew up in NY but he didn't know about her.

8. Mollie and I cut our hair and got "Christmas bangs" together in Hilton Head.

9. My aunt Lori got married on Dec. 28th! Congrats Lori and David... I wish we could have been there!!!

10. I've gotten sucked into the twilight series of books (thanks Cat).. and I seriously can't stop reading them... my work, mothering, and blogging is suffering. I'm almost done though... they are so good! I bonded with my 14 year old cousin over these books...

11. Gregor is getting really good at beer pong thanks to my cousins and our neighbors.

I think that's about it for now... now that I'm caught up, I feel a lot better :)