Someone Has a Lazy Mommy

It's this guy. The one with the huge cheeks.

He loves food so much he doesn't even make a mess!

The one who is seven months old and has barely had table food.

Because seriously, that is A LOT of work that I can't really deal with doing at this moment. (See post about extraordinarily clingy baby)

But I kind of got my act together about 10 days ago and started giving him rice cereal. Otherwise known as the most disgusting gelatinous crap on the planet. He wasn't sure what to make of it, but he kept putting it away. So on Saturday we started giving him "real" food since I knew I needed to get that show on the road prior to Erik leaving or he'd miss the spectacle.

It took a few days to get Nash really on board, but holy cow is he into it now! Last night he probably consumed an entire half cup of the stuff.

Is it weird that I'm sentimental about the fact my other two kids started out on carrots and he didn't?

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85% of my day is spent holding a baby or listening to said baby cry. The last 15% is reserved for when the baby sleeps, which, as far as infants go, is NOT very often. And when he does sleep, it's short lived because of his sister wanting to kiss on him or his brother's ridiculously hectic schedule of school and soccer. (Okay, that doesn't sound like much, but seriously, all I do is drive that kid places! And letting full day school out at 2:30 craps on everyone's afternoon, Georgia!)

Anyway, I don't mind holding him, as I'm really trying to soak up his baby-hood since we're pretty sure he'll be the last baby, but sometimes things have to get done and that usually involves him wailing. Not just fussing. Freaking the hell out. Which makes my milk let down and cause what I can only describe as mild to moderate electric shocks you-know-where. Lovely, huh? This is also the time in which one or both of my other children decide to have in-depth conversations with me and/or attempt to tear each other limb from limb.

Imagine my surprise when I laid him down this afternoon after picking up G, clicked on a show for the big kids (I admit it!) and sat down at the computer to organize photos off my camera - with ZERO argument from the baby. In fact, he's been playing quietly for the better part of an hour. And by "playing quietly" I mean desperately wishing he could crawl toward the toys instead of rolling and stretching and rolling and stretching.

I kind of wish I had chosen something more exciting to fill this time with besides file organizing.

Erik is gone for awhile and I have an ongoing list of honey do's for myself. Isn't that cute? That I think I'll get MORE done because my husband is gone? Riiiiight.

Picture Preview

The other day I had my kids pictures taken and just got the sneak peek. A photographer we love (that had moved away) was in town and offering half-hour sessions at the last minute. We still had their cute matchy-matchy outfits from Easter (though admittedly Nash had to be squeezed into his even then) so I jumped on board.

It's like a cruel game trying to get 3 kids to look at a camera while an (imaginary) timer ticks away. A joke even.

One kid looks when you sing Let it Go.
One kid looks when you sing a special song we made up called "Smash Mash Crash"

(("Smash, mash, crash,

Wonderific you're terrific

Smash, mash, crash,

Wonderific, you're terrific

NASH!"))

One kid looks all the time, but can't be bothered to smile anything but the biggest cheeserific smile you've ever seen, even though he's got the sweetest smile on the planet.

And they ALL wanted to run around the big, lush, green, gorgeous field and pick wildflowers and weeds instead of sitting and taking pictures.

Let me tell you, letting one sibling run and play while the other one gets individual shots taken does NOT solve this issue. It just doesn't.

See that super adorable girl there? She's the WORST at having her picture taken.
She doesn't want to do it, she doesn't want to smile and she can't be bargained with, begged or threatened. Just no.

This little sweetie though, he's as sweet and cooperative as he looks! Unless it's between the hours of 12AM and 5AM.

By the time this one (which was a product of P hiding and a very skilled photographer) I was ready for a cocktail.

Soccer and Self Esteem

As a parent, you try your hardest to build your kids up. But it's possible I've gone too far.

G has started playing soccer with the Y league. The kids on his team range from ages 3 to 5, and some are first timers, some are second timers and some (like he) are third timers. Now, let's be honest. The first few go-arounds with team sports at such a young age are so much more about socialization and *not* staring at the birds and shapes of clouds in the sky and more on the ball. I get that and we have definitely gone through that ourselves.

At the first practice I wasn't sure what to expect. He hasn't exactly been known for his focus or attention span. But I was pleasantly surprised. He wasn't well focused because he was busy meeting all the new kids but Erik has been working with him and he's got some serious power behind his kick!

HOWEVER

At the second practice he began announcing to everyone that he was the best player. "Stand back guys, this is going to be the best kick all day!!!!!""I'm the best!! Check this out!!!! I'm smart too, you know." So now we're working on that. Because (and I see my kids clearly, people, so this isn't just mom talking...) he really is one of the best players on the team. So he seems extra douch-y announcing his mad skillz on the field. Is it wrong to say your kid seems douch-y? Probably. But if someone else's kid was making these statements, I might think the same about him, so.... You know me, I like to call a spade a spade. ;)

So at the third practice, during our pre-practice pep-talk, when I'm usually recounting our plan "focus on coach" and "talk with the kids afterward" and "be a good example to the younger players" I have to now add in "You're an EXCELLENT player, but it's not nice to point it out over and over and over...."

But really, soccer is going super well this year. They're the Pirates. The Pirates with the most patient coach on the planet. Because let's talk about what a crappy job that would be. Noooo thanks. God bless people who like other peoples children! Teachers and volunteer coaches make the world to 'round!

Surely you recognize that blonde-headed number 10 there. 

Church

So we've been attending the church on post here for about a year. It took a LOOOONG time before P would be dropped off at the nursery without a barrage of tears, but we've made it there somehow - although sometimes she still overs her eyes with the back of her hand when we get to the nursery door. And G goes to children's church, though if I'm being honest, I'm not sure he likes it. Part of me understands, I'm bad about not taking them when Erik is gone, so we only go a few times a month so he's not comfortable there yet. Maybe he'd feel better if I was better.

Anyway, two Sundays ago we went to pick him up and the teacher comes out and says "I don't know what you're doing at home..." and I'm thinking "Oh, holy crap. Gonna have to find a new church..." and Erik later told me he started to open his mouth to say "I'm so sorry!!!" but then the teacher continued with "but he is the first to answer all my questions and he's so knowledgeable about the bible!"

Yeah, lady, I don't know what we're doing either. I thought he pretty much only knew about David and Goliath. Maybe we're better than I thought!