Really, one more month till school starts?!

I don't know how I feel about school not starting for another month. Part of me is glad for lazy mornings and no need to get dressed until whenever, but part of me longs for the kids to get the hell out of here. Individually, they are all awesome! Combined into a unit-- maybe not so much. We have limited money, space, means, stuff, and etc., so we have always consistently stressed sharing. It is one thing we do all the time. You share food, toys, drinks, clothes, and whatever else there is to share. It turns out this has not taught our children that sharing is a lovely wonderful trait, it has taught our children to get what they can when they can, I believe it has made them selfish. Hmm....sharing = selfish. If there is a sharing soda in the car, the take a drink and pass it rule turns into take a drink for 2 minutes or until my brother complains or mom and dad notice my drink has taken longer than the normal amount of time. This is the case with everything these days!!!! I am going insane. Also, one-upping is at an all time high. Really, I don't care if you can eat your hot dog faster, if your car is 'more awesomer', if you slept longer, stayed up later, have a better shirt, like the better super hero, or anything. I really just don't care!!!!! Another thing that has started is the whole - you are not my buddy- conversation. This started out last year as super cute- the brothers would spend a Saturday or weekday afternoon hanging out and there would be hugs and a brother saying- you are my buddy. It was cute. No, not anymore. Now I say-- we are  not doing buddies!!! No one is anyone's buddy, you got it?!!  It is a threat, a way to say I am mad at you, you can't play, you aren't wanted, they say-- You are NOT my buddy! Followed by tears and tattling. Poor Thomas is 3, and this age is now my least favorite. He whines day and night. Really, he walks into my room at 6:30 am and in a very whiny voice says- I am hungry, when are you going to make me cereal?! It doesn't stop until he goes to bed, and Thomas, so far, is the one child who needs very little sleep so even though I put him down at 7ish, he is still awake at 10 and coming down the stairs whining that he can't sleep for any number of reasons, one being- Mom, but I love you and just want to give you a hug and kiss because I need to. So, of course, when I tell him-No, No you have to go to sleep right now!!! - I become some mean mom who doesn't want to kiss her kid.

Meg is a mess all by herself. If you tell her no she cries. Period. It has gotten to the point where I hear  myself saying to the brothers--Don't tell her no. Just don't say no to her. Let her do it. Great parenting I know. The best way to raise your daughter is by never telling her no and letting her fits win. Man, she is just so loud, it is instant, and she throws herself on the floor. I don't have the energy to deal with her. If she wants that Hot Wheels Car then sorry brothers, you are giving it to her. She doesn't want to drink water or milk and when I say no and she sobs for 30 minutes, I say fine have your juice I don't care. She is stubborn, she may be more so than me, and that is saying something. I stuck to my guns two days in a row about the whole not just drinking juice stance, and she barely drank anything for two days, and barely peed too. What?!! Really?!! She is also a dare devil, wild, crazy, and has already hurt herself more than her brothers ever did. She has chipped both her front teeth, she has fallen off the patio chair and had her nose catch her, she climbs up and over everything. When she is tired she pulls her hair, slaps herself, and always manages to position herself in a place where she is tripped over and stepped on. If anyone has food she will cry until she gets it too. So, now I say - if you are getting food you either have to give some to Meg or get her some too. She is too much.

Rob is still good. Lovely baby. He just has crazy hair. We have decided the best way to dress him with his crazy hair is to put him in onesies with suspender or bow tie pictures. It seems to work.

That is life here, and what life here will be like for at least a month more.