Yadda, Yadda

You know the drill by now, no news is for the most part good news. Sorry for the lack of pictures this time around. I do have some, but will share later. Anywho, the news on the Goebel front is as follows:
Walker- He is now officially 4. He had a great birthday. The fact that we had to celebrate again with his aunts, uncles and cousins had him convinced he was now 5. I assured him he has 355 more days of being 4. His new one is "How tall am I going to be when I am 5?" He has settled into the school routine. He loves his teacher, which (thank God) is not me. He still has moments when he thinks he belongs on my leg, but they are A LOT less frequent. He has made some buddies too. It is nice to see him develop in a social setting.

Lauren- I am now her teacher. It is like night and day with those two. Walker acted out and was needy when I was with him. She acts out a little bit (more to test me than to get my full attention I think), but she is not near as needy. She plays with her babies, pretends to be the teacher or with her best friend of the day just fine and I can actually do my job!! She is still retaining any and all songs she hears to be practiced only at bedtime when the rest of us are trying to go to sleep. She is also still crazy about books. She pretends to read them to her imaginary class. Most days, she says her best friend is Walker which is kinda cute I think.

Brady- Well, Butch is still as big as ever. He is 27 pounds of stubborn boy. In case you are ever called to babysitting duty in our house take heed:
-He does not like to be changed, clothes, diapers, any of it. He will through himself back and fake a closed head injury just to get you to go away. The key is to turn on a Wiggles video (yes, I have another Wiggles disciple) and do said changing in front of the TV
-He is quite attached to the binky and the blanky. He will frequently hug you with his blanky. If your are getting him up from a nap, he will hand you the blanky so it is with him at all times.
-He must eat what ever everyone else is eating, so no sneaking snacks or he will go back to throwing himself down and faking another closed head injury.
-He signs like a madman. They have taught him at school (to my knowledge he is not deaf or autisic, so don't panic) please, more (I could have done without this one), all done and Thank you.

As for us, we are still married and we still know each other's name which is pretty big most nights (just kidding). We are loving our little family and trying to keep each other sane with humor and love. I have to say, Doug keeps his cool A LOT better than me, so I am learning.

Well, I will post pictures soon!!

Pam

Long Time, No Blog

Nothing earth shattering has been going on, hence the lack of blogs lately. Here's the low down:

Walker is doing better at school. We still have our moments, days, what have you. He has decided that he likes his teacher, not me thank goodness. He does well when I am not around.

Lauren is well, Lauren. She does her thing with her class. As long as she can read and sing songs, she is good to go, well, she needs some time to play babies (she is quite the little mother).

Brady has done well in his class mastering sign language and he is top in his class at meal times (he's a bit of a pig it seems).

Other than your run of the mill sibling rivalry things have been pretty average here.

Oh yeah, Doug and I have commenced our sixth year of marriage. We made it through the first five. We sure squeezed alot into those five years!! We've learned a lot about ourselves and each other and I think we are in a good spot to keep building on our relationship!!

Walker will be 4 on halloween. This should be interesting!!

Until next time!!

No News... Blah, Blah

Well, to say no news is good news is somewhat true. I have learned that it isn't my profound writing that brings people (all two of you) to this blog. Its the pictures of the kids, so I will load up this entry with some. Basically, life has changed for us again. The kids and I went back to school too. We are at Rosewood Academy. Walker and I are in preschool and Lauren and Brady are in their respective age groups. Lauren is loving it except for nap time. She doesn't seem to be comfortable sleeping there. Brady has staked his claim on a lady named Kathy who he hogs and tries to charm with his chubby cheeks and manly growl (truly, he growls). Walker and I have been having a bit more of a struggle adjusting (enter uplifting and constructive comments here JK). So here's the bottom line, Walker and I have the same personality so we tend to clash in a big way and feed off of each other under stress. Yes, I am the adult and I should know how to handle this but I don't. He is seeking my attention by being naughty and like a sucker, I feed right into it. It is so hard to stand by and watch your own kid be naughty and not do anything. We have been having melt downs daily (him, me or both of us). He is also having huge separation anxiety. For example: Today Walker slept in my bed last night, showered with me, went to school with me, went with me on break because he would have disrupted everyone in his class, came home with me and is now watching TV with me. We have literally not spent two whole minutes apart today. Any suggestions????????????? Note the desparation in the number of question marks. He is an adorable little boy and I want to make good memories for him from this experience.

So now you know my latest failures in parenthood. Stay tuned for the next blunder!!!


Explanation of pictures: The first one is of all the grandkids on Doug's side, so my kids and all of their cousins taken back in April. The next one was of Doug in Brady (too cute) and the last I think sums up my sentiment on a bad day (Lauren in one of her not so finest moments). Enjoy!!

Change

Well, school is about to start and that is the signal that everything is about to change again!! Doug is getting ready for a new school year with some changes there. The kids are getting older and their interests and personalities are changing too. No one deals well with change, but I always seem to get sentimental about it. There is always something you are leaving behind. Come August 25, I will no longer have any babies. While I'll deny it profusely if ever asked, I know I will miss these guys being so little. I have a hard time believing Brady is still for the most part still a baby. He has always seemed so old to me.

Well on a different note, we finally got some picture back so here they are, starting tonight with Easter.

Lata!

Just Kidding!

Nothing too exciting going on. Summer is winding down and Doug is gearing up to go back to school. The kids are doing well. Walker had a remarkably good day today. He was very polite and receptive to correction and redirection today. He did kind of melt down at the end of the day, but he had a busy day and no nap, so he was tired. Lauren is coming into quite the personality. Her new things are to get your attention, do something silly and then say "Just kidding!". She had a panic attack in the car today as she watched Brady "bite his feetsies". He was playing with and chewing his toes and she flipped out. "Mommy, Bady is biting his feetsies!" I think she fully expected me to climb back there and rescue him from himself. He of course, was just giggling away. Speaking of Brady, he is just having a blast being an early toddleer. He's becoming a little mischevious too as he thinks if he flashes his big toothy grin, you'll forgive anything he may have knocked down or torn up. Interesting strategy, but hey, it works!

On to the rest of my day!!

Another "Mother of the Year" Title down the tubes!

So, I begin this post with rare, unsarcasticated (is that a word?) honesty; Brace yourself. I am not a good mother. I am not a good wife. Sometimes I am not even that great of a person. I am not saying this to garner sympathy. It turns out for me that being a wife and a mother is a very humbling and rocky experience drizzled with moments of warmth, affection and joy. It is those moments that keep me in the game. I realize that in most other aspects of my life, I tend to be a quitter. If I don't get it right the first time or don't win right away, I give up. Marriage and motherhood has been the exception to that. This is not something I can give up on, yet I repeat patterns of imperfection to point that right now I am just frustrated. I know where I go wrong. Most of the time, I even know it in the moment I choose do lose my temper or lash out at Doug, but I do it any way. It is hard to start fresh when you can't run away and start over with a new husband and kids. So, that's my serious, frustrating confession for today. Take it or leave it.

On to news of the kids. Today was hopefully a lesson learned for Walker. We had a babysitter for a couple of hours this afternoon and apparently he was physical with her (pushing and pretending to bite). These are things he does to me when he doesn't like what is going on. I assumed (yes, I know what that does) that he would know better when some one else was in charge of him. While I do not like that my child did this to our babysitter, I am glad it was a teachable moment for him. On this rare occasion, I did not lose my cool (totally) with him. Instead, I told him how disappointed and sad I was. Then, I gave the harshest punishment I could think of: (any guesses??) Yes, I took away Disney channel for two days. The boy SOBBED for a straight hour. Surprisingly, he did not lash out at me like I expected him to, he just cried and cried and cried. I am hoping this is because he realizes he was wrong. It got the point that he said in his defeated little voice: "Can we just stop talking about this, PLEASE!"

Lauren Grace (Warren Gace as she calls herself) is getting to be quite the feisty little one and chatty too!! She scraped her knee yesterday when Doug took them to the park. You would of thought she was just accepted to the elite toddlers club where you have to have at least one "big owie" as your initiation in. Well, she's in. She is still my little cuddle bug.

Brady boy. What a hoot he is!! He is walking from here to there and everywhere (thank you Dr. Seuss for that one!). He is quite proud of himself to. While the novelty has started to wear off a little, lucky for him Walker still makes a big deal of it when he is walking so he still beams when he is toddling around. That darn kid is on the tall side too, so things that were once safely out of reach on tables and counters are now fair game. The edges of my counters are nice and clean while the middle is piled high with stuff to keep away from Mr. Sticky-Fingers.

Well, you know what they say, while at work . . . . check you e-mail one more time! Just kidding, I should probably get back to work!!

Hope I didn't dash anyone's high moral standard for me!!

Always human, sometimes less so,

Pam

We're BAAACK!!

The first vacay as a family of five is complete (PHEW!). The only real bummer was that despite the over $400 we spent to get it fixed, our van still refused to provide us airconditioning. It was pretty hot to say the least. Luckily, the kids are young enough that they did not know that this was not normal. We spent most of our trip up in Estes Park at David's timeshare. It was very nice and the kids had fun swimming. Walker was a bit accident prone and cut himself of some glass as well as stubbing his toe. Lauren, in Lauren-style, took it all in in her own way. She spent most of her time trying out every "potty" she could. Brady boy did his thing as well. Best of all for him, he has really stepped-up the walking thing (yes, pun intended). He is getting around pretty well on two feet. This makes him my earliest walker at 11 months.

We also tried to get a photo of the three of them at Sears. Their personalities surely came out. Walker thought it was his own personal photo-shoot and the other two were just "extras". Lauren was pretty timid of the process. Brady was being quite the contrarian (do I get .50 cents for that one??). If they wanted him to walk, he crawled. If they wanted him to stand, he sat, you get the idea. OH WELL!! The ladies kept saying they were the best behaved kids they have ever tried to photograph. I always have a hard time taking compliments about my kids because I don't want it to go to their heads (or mine!!) and I never am sure if it is sincere. For being 3, 2 and almost 1, I guess they weren't as bad as they could have been.

We are re-adjusting back to life as we know it at home. They are certainly pushing buttons lately (that or I need to chill out, probably the latter). I am going to pray for more patience and get back to work!!

Adios!

Getting Ready For Denver

This has definately been a week!! We have been on count down status all week to Saturday (Denver Day). The kids, Walker especially, are VERY excited about our upcoming vacation. Doug got both Walker and Lauren a tote bag from the closet to pack what they wanted to take for the car, etc the other day. Walker packed his FULL, slung it over his shoulder, and filled the remaining space in his hands with a ball and a feather sword (you can't leave town without one!!). He donned his brand new Sponge Bob (which by the way I do a killer Patrick impression) flip flops that are too big for him (hey, who said clearance was perfect??) and said "I am ready to go to Denver now!!" It was so cute, we took a picture!! He has all of his stuff (which now consists of his pillow, blanket, swim trunks, life jacket and what have you) all by the basement door ready to go.

Lauren, what can I say about that girl? She is going through quite the phase lately. I don't know if it is hormones or genes (hee hee) but she has been waking up beyond crabby and spending most of the day crying and screaming in time out. This is not like her at all (isn't that what they always say, but really it is not). She is usually pretty even tempered and cuddly. Most of her fits center around me doing stuff for her or with her. No one else can fill in. I have to do it. Clearly, it does not matter to her that I have two other children and a few other personal needs, she must come first!! Doug is finding this frustrating as he tries to help and it only escalates her tantrum. Not sure what this is all about, but I hope she works through this quickly. As I tell her often, she is lucky she is cute!! Poor baby girl cried herself to sleep tonight in her room in time out.

Brady boy- He is sooooo cute!! Pretty soon, he won't be my baby anymore!! Anywho, he is kind of clingy lately too! I try to do dishes (I must reassign this task to my partner if this keeps up) and he stands holding my pant leg crying until I pick him up. Then he is happy as a clam (are clams really happy? Talk amongst yourselves). Putting him down is like handing him to the wolves with the way he carries on!! Other than that, he is sprouting teeth everywhere (this could be the culprit) and taking more steps everyday!!

Well, getting ready for Denver!!

See y'all!
Pam

Guess What?

Guess what's new????? Any guesses??? Well, it seems my Brady boy wants to be a big boy. He is officially taking steps on his own. He is so proud of himself (maybe because we cheer wildly when he does it!) It is hard to believe he was ever a "little" baby. He is so cute!! He laughs all the time with his half teeth. I love to watch him sleep. He HAS to cuddle his blanket.

He is also a very curious boy. It is hard for him to finish a bottle now because there is just so much more to do!!

Well, thought I would keep y'all (all two of you out there) in the know!!

Firecrappers

The fourth of July!! We had a pretty good day today. We went swimming at Dianne's pool. Walker swam his heart out with Kelsey (no surprise there). Lauren played cautiously in the baby pool, mostly on her own. Brady played and napped in the baby pool too. He is really starting to like the water and crawl around in it. He has even taken a couple of steps in the water. After swimming, we went to Dianne's house for dinner. Everyone played well. When the firecrackers started going off around the neighborhood, Walker said "Cool!" Lauren covered her ears, crawled in my lap and kept saying that the "crappers" scared her. Brady was so tired, he just wanted to find a place to rest his little head. Needless to say, they all passed out when they got home.

Doug is off from summer school now, so the days have been pretty active. We went to the zoo the other day and had fun walking around there. Walker's favorite is the giraffes. Lauren likes the fishies. We have also been swimming as much as possible. Walker is unstoppable in the water. Lauren is cautious, so I don't worry too much about her. Brady is getting pretty daring so I have to keep a good eye on him. Our next adventure is Denver in a week and a half, so we'll see how it all goes!!

Gotta get back to work!!

So many Kids, So Little Time. . .

No big news on the Goebel front. June is winding down and we are getting ready for our big trip to Denver. It'll be the first road trip as a family of five. Wish us good luck!!

Walker is doing sooooooooooooo good sleeping in his own bed!! As with most things with him, when he is ready he'll do it. On that front, Brady is doing so much better going down at night too. He hasn't really cried at all in a few weeks. It makes a difference when Walker is in there with him. He loves that. Although Doug and I have degrees, we are not the brightest bulbs in the chandelier (and they let us raise kids??). We have FINALLY started putting the older two down at eight or after and they are going to bed so much better and getting up at a more reasonable time. I had been trying to put them down at 7 with me, but that was not working so great.

Lauren Grace, what a little bugger!! She is, as Doug calls her "Lucy loud lips!" That girl talks and talks and talks and talks. But she is so cute with Brady. She loves to try to make him laugh while he is eating lunch.

Brady boy, he is just hanging out!! Today was pretty cute. He was literally wrestling with Walker and Lauren. He was having such a good time, laughing like crazy!!

So that's what's new!!

Adios!

Pool days, School days!

Well, Lauren seems to have conquered her fear of the water. She likes to swim in the baby pool now with Brady. Brady just takes it all in and Walker, well he is our fish. He is now jumping into the deep end with his life jacket on. He LOVES to swim!!

Lauren seems like all of a sudden she is getting so big!! What happened to my baby girl? And boy is she a talker!! She is such a cutie!!

Walker is gearing up for preschool. He is pretty excited!

Brady boy is just crawling around like crazy!! He is talking like crazy too!! "Da!! Hi!! Ma!!"

In terms of speech therapy, I am working with Walker on Yellow. He says Lello. I think this is pretty typical, but I just wanted to see if he could do it. It is still Lello!

Lauren makes her S's into F's. For instance, she says "I want to go fwimming!" Embarrasingly, "I no want a fanking!! (spanking)" Walker's stuffed dog Sparky is Farky to her. Pretty cute!!

Well, off to work I go!!

The Long and Winding Road

Nothing to terribly exciting to report. Summer is here and the pool is open! Walker loves to swim. He would jump in all day if he could. Lauren won't go near the water. Not quite sure what the deal is there. Brady is loving sitting in the baby pool and watching the other kids.

Doug is teaching summer school right now. I think this will be a good thing because it is not all summer long and will give him a bit of a break. We are planning to go to Denver in July and maybe, finances willing, California for Christmas. I would really like to get out there, but we'll see how it all goes.

Every day has its little challenges. I have to admit, I wish I was more patient. (if you are my brother or sister, stop laughing as you know that I have a history of being impatient and prone to temper tantrums). I am really trying not to get to upset with the kids of insignificant things. My big hurdle right now is the whole potty training thing. Poor Lauren. She gets it. She does it. But she doesn't always remember to scoot back on the potty, thereby peeing all over the floor. I am so tired of wiping up pee!! But I also know that she is not even 2-1/2 and I need to not take it out on her. Those of you who know me well will appreciate that Walker is just like me, thus we butt heads quite a bit. If I lose my temper, he loses his and it escalates. If there were a video camera, it would almost be funny to watch because he says and does EXACTLY what I do when I get frustrated with him, down to the facial expressions. Nature or Nurture? Talk amongst yourselves. Otherwise, he is really getting to be a fun little guy, riding his bike, playing, reading books and boy does he remember every little thing I tell him!! He is also a great big bro to Brady (Except when Brady blocks the tv, where does he get this from?)

Brady boy, or as Lauren calls him "baby boy" is getting himself into more and more trouble by the day! Yesterday he climbed all the way up the stairs!! He is pretty darn tall to so putting stuff up is not always out of his reach!! He is such a little cutie!

Lauren Funny- Doug bought them some batons at the grocery store the other day (SUCKER!) and taught her the following that she now does standing on top of the lego box as her stage "Go team GO! Go Team GO!" waving her baton. It cracks me up!!

Well until next time, Toodles!

Generous CA Aunts and Uncles!

Well, I have to type in DODGER blue today. Much to his auntie's pleasure, Walker is blossming into quite the baseball fan. He is really into batting the ball (and his sister, and my furniture). Today my ever reflective 3 year-old said "I love aunt Tracy. I love Aunt Tracy because she gave me a baseball, bat, hat, bracelet and shirt. " I think he would still love her even if she didn't spoil him. He even said "Maybe Tracy can take me to a baseball game. She can come, get my seat and we could go!" Are 3-year-olds allowed to travel unaccompanied?

Don't feel left out Uncle Steve. In the interest of getting a nap in my own bed (something I rarely see during the week) Walker and I lay upstairs and watch a DVD. Two days in a row he has been watching the "Here Comes the ABCs" Uncle Steve sent him eons ago by They Might Be Giants. They might be quite entertaining!! He is at an age now where he appreciates it a lot better.

No, this is not a plea to get the rest of the aunts and uncles to antie up and start sending stuff to my kids. But it is nice to see them play with and appreciate what people have given them. I make it a point to tell them if they have something given to them and by whom.

Well Lauren's pool is almost up and running. The pool at our complex has been fancied up and almost ready for swimming. She always calls it "my pool". If you ever really want to get under her skin, tell her she is naughty. She HATES that!! "I not naughty!" she will say emphatically. It is one of the things Doug and I do for a laugh. Yes, we tease our kids for our own enjoyment. That's what happens when you cut back your cable. Well, enough wasting time at work.

Toodles!

No News is Good News!

What's new? Not a whole lot. Same old, same old. Walker has been rather naughty this week. Not sure what is going on there. Lauren is still potty training and having less and less accidents. Brady is pulling himself up on anything and everything. It is pretty cute. Doug is feeling better in terms of his back, but he has some kind of bug (no, not a nagging wife) that has him down for the count now. With summer around the corner, hopefully we can re-energize!!

Peace out!

Lemons and Lemonade

What a week!! The overshadowing event of the week was Doug's back going out. It was brewing over the weekend and came to a head on Monday when he came home in excruciating pain. He was unable to move Monday and Tuesday and finally got some movement back Wednesday. He feels ALOT better now. The kids have been pretty good throughout most of it. Poor Lauren. She is trying so hard to be a big girl, but she has been having accidents (most notable was pooping in the tub the other night, thoroughly disgusting.). I feel I lost my temper with her more than she deserved. Walker slept in his bed all night one night this week. That is quite a feat for him. He tried last night and came in to go potty after he had fallen asleep. He asked to sleep in our door way. I said "sure." When I got up to got to work at 10:30, he was on my side of the bed, on the floor, in my pile of clean clothes. That'll teach me to put my clothes away!! Brady had his nine month appointment today. He is off the charts in height which makes his weight not so bad. He is 22+ pounds. He is a solid boy. He is not only crawling now, but he is pulling himself up on the couch and other things to stand. He is also really getting into bath time. Fortunately he got out before the Lauren poop fiasco. We are hoping to go out this Saturday night but I no longer get my hopes to high. One never knows what will happen next!!

My Girl Likes to Potty all the Time . . .

Well, you know how the song goes!! Lauren has been accident free all week!! Our only hurdle is the big girl potty. She will not use it at all. She might just take her potty chair to college!! Won't she be popular!!

Walker has been sprouting quite the personality lately. He tells me when he gets mad at me that he is going to go find a new mom. He also has requested a different sister. I told him that there are no more sisters coming out of this momma!! (Maybe his new mom will be willing, JK). I have no idea where he gets his attitude from!! (It's like looking in the mirror!!)

Brady boy is going to eat me out of house and home. He will eat anything you put in front of him!! He is starting to pull himself up a little bit now on the stairs and on me when I am on the floor with him. He has the "da da da" down now he just needs to learn "ma, ma, ma!"

By the way, thank you aunty Tracy for the Dodger paraphernalia. Walker wears the hat everywhere and much to my surprise was fine with the fact that he did not get clothing like the other kids. We have been playing baseball (I toss a soft baseball into his velcro glove) ever since. Thanks (I think!). Lauren looked cute in her jersey. It fit her pretty well too!! Brady looked like a cutie in his Dodger blue too!! Thanks for thinking of the kids! They love getting mail!!

Till the next update, adieu!!

What's New

New in the Goebel household: My baby girl is no longer a baby girl! She is pretty much potty trained!! Our only hurdle is that she is not a fan of the "adult" potty. In time, I suppose. She is pretty darn proud of herself!!

Where Walker is concerned, Dr. Goebel (me) has diagnosed him as having "night terrors." After my extensive research on the topic, it is essentially, a step deeper than nightmares. They happen about two hours after he falls alseep and he is completely unaware of our presence but is very agitated. Afterwards, he has no recollection of the episode. They say there is not much we can do about this except just let him have his little tantrum. They recommended him going to bed early (he already goes down at 7, so that is out of the question), letting him sleep in (if only!!) or napping. He has given up the nap, so I tried having him nap for about an hour and this seems to be holding off the "terrors".

Brady is sitting up all by himself. He is starting to climb the stairs and get curious in the kitchen!! He is a busy boy! He is adventuring into the world of table food too, so life is pretty good for him!!

Well, must go!!

Potty Treats

Good Day All!! (I say all as though there are thousands reading this). Well, as the title implies, it has been quite the week of potty-training. Yes, for Miss Lauren. My baby girl is a big girl, although when you ask her she says "I not big girl mommy!!" She is really on top of when she has to go pee and she has not once wet her underwear. This is in large part due to the fact that she is a candy addict who wants her "potty treat", a starburst. Of course, Walker wants one to so he has really upped his trips to the bathroom, but I do give him a treat because he is being really supportive and helpful with Lauren. For instance, when they go together he will say "Mom, look what my sister did!" I usually dread this phrase, but lately it has been good news. The only thing we still need to work on is pooping. She poops in her underwear. She'll get there!!

Today was a special day for Walker. He got to go to his cousin Ainsley's house all by himself. Aunt Vickie came to get him and brought him home (how nice!!). He was pretty enthused and helped make himself a lunch. The only hang-up I had was that Danny and Vickie just got a new dog. My kids are a bit skiddish with dogs, so I did my best to prep him. Vickie said he did okay. Lauren was absolutely heart-broken that she couldn't go (the dog's would have given her a heart attack and it was Walker's special day). She calmed down and enjoyed a quiet day with mom and Brady. On a side note, she will be the most popular girl in high school and college because she loves to strip down to her underwear! She is not a clothes girl. Lately she even takes off her pj's before she falls asleep. Oh well. Pick your battles, right?

Brady has been battling diarrhea and a cold. You would never know this by his demeanor. He is a busy boy and he just glides across the floor like it is nobody's business. He has quite the facination with the electrical outlets so we have to hurry up and dig out the covers for that. I just love how he is so attatched to his blankie (I may take that back later)!! He just pulls it up over his head and buries his head in it! It is so cute!

Well, I think I have brought everyone up to speed!

Lata!!

Another Week!

There went another week!! Notable notes: Walker- Walker has been doing awesome at going to bed lately. He has also become quite friendly with Lauren lately and they are playing together really well. He has been a little more clingy to me than he has been in a long time. Not sure what that is about. He also is afraid all of a sudden of swinging and riding his bike. He used to swing as high as possible, but now he won't let me let go of the swing. My instinct is that this comes from a traumatic fall he had on his bike a few weeks back on the way to the play area. He was not hurt, but it apparently has scared him pretty good. Even when driving, he'll tell me to slow down because "remember what happened to me on my bike? I don't want the car to tip over." We'll see where this goes.

Lauren Gracie girl. What a spirited little girl we have in her. Or, maybe its just the sugar. She is quite the candy addict. She will stop at nothing to get stuff shoved back on the counter. I literally have to hide candy from her. I thought I would use this to my benefit this week and use it as a potty training incentive. Well, it did not go as I had hoped, but she did stay dry the whole day in Walker's spiderman underwear. I told her not to wet his underwear and brother of the year said "it's ok mom if she pees in my underwear. She can keep them." I had to explain that it is not ok to pee in underwear, but sometimes accidents happen.

Brady-boy- He gets around!! He is just content to eat and play!! He is a cutie, but he is getting to be a big lug!! Carting him around in that stupid carrier is a work-out!!

Nothing else notable that I can think of at this second.

See Ya!

Same day, different . . .

You know how the saying goes. This week has been pretty regular so far. Brady is just cracking me up!! That boy gets around!! He just scoots around and plays with whatever he can get his little hands on. Right now he is drinking out of Lauren's water bottle. I am actually pretty impressed that he is doing it!! He'll just be playing and let out this big scream of laughter. You think he is hurt so you look over there and he is just laughing away!! He is a busy boy!!

Walker thinks he is pretty hot stuff. He makes me laugh at bedtime. He will lay down and you think he is ready to settle in for the night and he says "I forgot to give you a hug and a kiss!! I am so funny!! I forget that every night!" Coincidence, I think not!! Meanwhile there is Lauren in her room shouting "Mommy, I love you!!" "Goodnight Walka!" Poor Lauren, she gets one goodnight from Walker. He will not say it again once he has said it. Speaking if the she-devil, she is in this screaming to get what she wants phase. It drives me bonkers. I go to take her to her room and she is doing the full-on hysterical girl heaving cry "I sorry Mommy!" with her big watery blue eyes! How can you punish that face? That and her poor little brother will probably always be to her "Baby boy". She'll say "Where is Baby Boy, Mommy?" Don't forget, he's her baby, I just work here.

Well, enough time wasting! Back to life as I know it!

What a Weekend!

Yeah!! The weather is finally nice!! It was quite the busy weekend. Friday was my day with out the big ones. Their wonderful aunt Denise took them and Ainsley to her house for a little play date for Catie's b-day. Vickie, myself and the babies took full advantage and went shopping at none other than the GoodWill and out to lunch at Jason's Deli (yum!). Then Denise brought the kids back to us around 1pm. Guess who's kids were wining that they wanted to go home before lunch? That would be mine!! So the kids took a little nap then when Doug came home we went to Burger King with a play area. Then, as Friday nights tend to be, it was slumber party night (that means we all sleep downstairs, oh joy). Hannah Montana had her new video premier and we could NOT miss that.

Saturday we went to Ben's b-day party at the Coopers. As Doug stated, any kids party with beer is a great party!! I saw the man drink one, but seven beers later, I was packing up the kids and driving home (he blames the pizza, not sure what that is). Walker and Lauren were pretty shy when we got there and the fact that they have a dog (a little dachsund sp?) was a hurdle for Lauren. After the cake and ice cream, Walker got pretty crazy. He was dancing all around singing songs from the Disney channel. This got him some attention which only made him ham it up even more. I also got questioned on whether or not he has had his first hair cut and sadly, the answer is still no. Lauren played off by herself for the most part and had quite a time with the bucket of ice. She eventually warmed up to the dog too.

Sunday we went to Lincoln with the other Goebels to visit Grandpa Goebel. He was quite surprised as he did not know we were coming. We picnicked at a park and the kids played and played and played. Doug, Walker and Lauren all got some sun. We ended the night at Runza and then came home. Brady explored the leaves and took a nap in the shade. He was a good sport!!

Well, Brady is getting into his diapers (hint for me?) and the older ones are watching Zack and Cody so I better get something done while I can!!

Bye!

Another Day In Paradise!

Well, I guess that was the trick!! Ask for advise and the problem clears up!! Walker has been going to bed with little resistance and actually wanted to sleep in his bed (instead of the hallway) last night. According to Doug, he stayed in his bed all night. This is such a relief and makes are evenings that much nicer.

My newest Walker issue is the Booger thing. The kid picks his nose like crazy and puts boogers everywhere except a kleenex! I keep getting after him, but I still catch him digging away!!

Lauren is trying to deal with life without a binky. She has thrown a couple of fits over it, but for the most part is handling it pretty well. She is playing with her baby (as usual). She is so cute when she talks about Brady. She'll say "Where's Brady-boy??" It just cracks me up!!

Brady, well I think I should have named him Frank. The way his hair is growing over his ears, he looks like Frank from Everyone Loves Raymond. Hopefully his hair will even out!

Well, got to go look at Hannah on the Disney site!!

When It's Good, It's Good

Ahh. Everyone just took a nice nap (which means I got some good rest). This has been one to those days that makes you glad to be where you are. Walker has been in a good mood and actually laid with me on the couch while I rested. Brady is a little under the weather, I think, but he took two good naps for me and has been in a generally good mood. Lauren is finding her way to the bottom of the Pringles can and has been pretty sweet today. She is so cute with her out of the blue declarations "I love you Mommy!!" Even when Doug says he loves her, she says "I love Mommy!" That's my girl!. Walker is watching his Disney DVD AGAIN!! I think he is trying to memorize it (I know I have!).

Well, I am going to enjoy this while it lasts!!

The Aliens are Here!

No, it is not the end of the world, nor is Omaha the new Roswell. Walker has just reported that the aliens are back in the bathroom (clear as mud, right?). For some reason, he calls ants aliens and apparently he spotted one in the bathroom. Hopefully this alien doesn't invite all his friends here!!

While no day is dull around here, we have settled back into our "normal" routine after having Doug out on spring break last week. Walker seemed a little out of sorts today and was naughtier than usual when Ainsley came over to play. Lauren has a pretty crusty nose, but her mood is happy as usual. Brady is just enjoying the show and scootching where ever he can!! He has a pretty good attachment to his blankie, which I think is pretty cute. He is the only one of mine that is attached to anything other than the binky.

Well, I am going to swallow my pride and ask for it. ADVICE!!! We are still having a pretty hard time with Walker and bedtime. We are putting him down when Lauren goes down, but he refused to sleep in his room and after he falls asleep, about an hour and a half later, he wakes up crying, crabby and irrational. I almost think he might still be half asleep because you can't reason with him at all in this state. The two nights I get to sleep are spent trying to get him to go to bed half way decent. Doug has to deal with him when I am working. Any advice??

As miserable as he is at night, he is trying on his swim trunks right now, yes, over his pants. He can be cute too!!

Be honest, but gentle with me!!

Peae Out!

Easter Day

Well, so far, it has been a pretty good Easter. The Easter bunny was good to the kids. He brought Walker the Hannah Montana DVD (which we have all watched now twice, strangely at Doug's request, hmm, closet Hannah fan??). Lauren got a Barney DVD which she got to watch before church. Surprisingly, they did well at church and were pretty pumped to blow bubbles and do sidewalk chalk (Easter Bunny loves his Walgreens dollar isle!!), but Lauren fell asleep (bless her heart) and it was a little too cold for Walker. Brady got some binkys, he took it in stride.

Lauren is melting down due to the fact that she ate all her chocolate this morning. Where does she get that from??

Anywho, its off to Debbies for another Goebel Easter!!

See you in about 5 pounds!!

Scrapbooker I ain't!!

Well, I have decided in this digital age that I have neither the time nor the money to create scrapbooks for my kids to look back on and use to tell the story of their childhoods. I thought this might be the best way to personally track all the ups and downs of motherhood as well as hopefully capture realistic and memorable aspects of my kids as they grow and their personalities develop. It will also serve as a tool for those who don't have the pleasure (and I use that term loosely) of seeing us daily to keep up on our lives (albeit generally unexciting).

With that said, here we will start with what is up with the kiddos.

WALKER-My oldest, 3 going on 13. He is a disneychannel-a-holic (hey, it buys me a nap in the afternoon). He is pretty geared up for Easter and is hoping the Easter bunny will bring him "That's So Sweet Life of Hannah Montana" (don't ask). His favorite song other than Hannah Montana songs is "Waiting for the World to Change" by John Mayer. I'm not sure if this is the early buddings of a little political activist, but my guess is he likes that the chorus repeats words he can understand.

LAUREN- The middle child- two going on trouble. She is sweet and sneaky. She loves Barney and her brothers. She is the mommy to her baby brother (I am just the underpaid nanny apparently). She plays with him, feeds him (pretend food), and always makes sure he has a stuffed animal near buy. She is going through the first of many difficult adjustments as we try to break her of her "mimi" (no not a person, but a binky).

BRADY- Number three- seven months- This baby has seen it all!! He is scootching now. He loves to play in his exersaucer. He jumps like he is trying to reach the moon. The look on his face cracks me up because it is so nonchalant, like "yup, this is what I do, I jump." Cutie pie!!

So that is the news in a nutshell for now. Hopefully this is the first of many fruitful posts!!