Underwear & A Dream

I have this dream. And it involves diapers. Throwing them out, never buying them again, never changing them, never having to think about them...you get the idea. I'm reaaaallly tired of diapers. Dash? Dash is not tired of diapers. Not one bit. I actually think he enjoys having me at his beck and call when his pants need to be, um, "refreshed". I have tried every trick in the book, from candy to harping on being a big boy and NOTHING seems to make him at all interested in the process. That stinker will sit on the potty for 20 minutes and get off only to soil his britches within minutes. So thinking back to Fin's (very easy) potty training, I remembered something. I remembered the power of underpants...
The power of underpants with your friends on them. Underpants you can't WAIT to wear...
Underpants with Toodee...
...and Foofa...
...and Wubzy. Wow Wow.

Here's hoping that they actually work. He asked to wear them right away, but over his diaper. I said no and so he's just been looking at them longingly for the past two days...Baby steps, baby steps...

Brothers

Those Eyes...

IMG_3917, originally uploaded by maggiefielding.

And you can see what keeps me away...

I Am Not My Mother (& Repeat)

I am not my mother. Sounds so simple and obvious, but sometimes I need to say it. Out loud.

I am not my mother.

We're alike in many ways - we both have a pretty mean sense of humor and a low threshold of embarrassment, we're both good dancers, we can both be pretty stubborn, we've both been known to break into song for no reason...

But there are also more than a few areas where we're different. And I need to learn that that's ok.

Cause I am not my mother.

I know, you're saying "duh". But I think we all grow up wanting our children to enjoy all of the advantages we had as kids. And when we can't provide that, it's hard not feeling like you've somehow failed them. I had the house people always wanted to come to - my kids would rather go to Monika's house than Disneyland. My mother always had a hot dinner ready - I can NOT cook. I'm working on it, but progress is slow and really, you're either a natural or you're not. And as a child, my mother (and by extension I) took great pride in never donning a store-bought Halloween Costume.

So this time next year, can someone please look at me, remind me "You are not your mother" and send my ass to Target?? Oh, and make sure it's the one with the Pizza Hut so I can bring back dinner too.

I Know, I Know...

Dust is collecting. I get it. BlogHer even took all my pretty ads away.

But let me say that having three small boys sometimes feels more like 9. They're just exponential like that. So here's what has been keeping us busy...

1. Kell is nursing every two hours at least. Yes, around the clock. And he has a constant need to be held. Sometimes, he'll let me put him in the swing, but I never know if I have two minutes or two hours.
2. On a positive note, Kell is also making tons of eye contact and wants to make faces back and forth as often as possible. Yay for cuteness!
3. Dash has developed this terrible screeching noise that I can't figure out how to stop. Any advice appreciated.
4. Dash has also decided that he neeeeeeds a three hour nap. This is problematic on school days.
5. On a positive note, Dash is the loviest little guy on the planet so even as he's screeching or protesting the sudden early end to a nap, you can't help but wanna love on him anyway. And you're rewarded with "I love you mommy" at every turn.
6. His other favorite thing to say is "Wanna go Mon-Ka's house!". And I oblige him every chance she allows I get. I like it there too.
7. Fin has school Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoon. So our mornings consist of running around trying to get the house in order, get dressed, have lunch and get out the door. Then I come home and try and get Dash down for his nap (see #4) and I nap too (see #1)
8. Fin has soccer practice on Fridays and games Saturdays and some Wednesdays.
9. Fin has decided that he constantly needs to irritate Dash in any way humanly possible. Which results in #3. Often.
10. On a positive note, Fin is a terrific helper and has been my savior (with diapers, water, burp cloths, etc) more times than I can count.
11. We, Mom and Dad, decided to make their Halloween costumes this year. Expect a long post on this later with pictures and expletives and a LONG explanation on why we will never do this again.
12. Dad started a new job, Yippee! But it's busy. And he's busy. Which means Mom is extra busy.

And Kell looks sleepy so he's about to be fed and all to bed. But there's the shortlist as to why I've been MIA. Again. But I promise a good post soon (see #11)!