Big Beds & Threats

Everything seems to be happening at once. Potty training is going well, and now, we are moving into big beds. What happened to my babies? This is so crazy.

We bought 3 of these Ikea reversible beds that can be a regular bed and then, transformed into a bunk. Perfect for us. If you know Ikea, though, their crap comes in about 2 million pieces and takes FOREVER to assemble. Billy worked on one last week and another one this weekend. We don't have the third put together yet.

Abby got the first one because we were willing to try anything to get that child to sleep. We thought maybe the change of bedtime scenery would do the trick. No such luck.

The first night, she screamed bloody murder as usual for close to an hour. She fell out of the bed around 2 a.m., and I had to go in and put her back in. Then, she slept okay after that. The next night, she screamed bloody murder again, and woke up around 1 a.m. and cried for me until I came. The only good part was that I could sleep next to her, and I didn't have to bring her to my room and have Billy bitch at me because she was in there again, and she's the whole reason he stays in bed until late. Whatever. She's an excuse...not the reason. The third night, she kept getting out of bed. I left the room and shut the door, and she almost kicked it down. Pleasant. You get the picture...not going well.

Billy built the 2nd bed in that room yesterday, and we thought Will would want to sleep in it, but he opted out. Marie was going to take the spot, but after hearing Abby cry for a while, she decided she would rather go back to her queen bed in the guest room. Good choice. That child is a genius.

So, Abby slept in the new bed last night, but fell out in the middle of the night. She was so disoriented at that point that she climbed back into the other bed. Again, she was up around 4 a.m. crying for me, and I joined her in bed. It's pretty comfy.

Today at nap time, Marie took her chances in the room with Abby. We shut the door, and Abby started screaming. We could hear Marie saying, "Abby, please. No cry." Poor little girl just wanted to sleep. When the screaming ended nearly an hour later, I went in the room to find them both in the same bed. Marie woke up a little later, and was not thrilled with where she was, especially since Abby's feet were in her face, and I had to move her back to the guest room.

Tonight, Marie went back in to that room to bunk up with Abby. Abby started her crying, but I decided to try a new technique: threats. I pretended like I was calling her teacher, Ms. Donna, and I said that if she didn't get in bed and go to sleep, she couldn't go to school tomorrow. At the mention of that, Marie shoved her thumb in her mouth and closed her eyes tight. Abby's head hit the pillow hard, and she nodded her head at me. That was it. She's been silent every since. Did that really work? Holy shit. I'm "calling" Ms. Donna whenever I need anything.

Are my children the only weirdos who can't stand the thought of not going to school? This won't work forever. I'm sure.

Breaking Bread

If you know Billy, you know he loves bread. He's especially fond of a Publix French or Cuban bread loaf. Kroger bakery bread does not cut it for him. However, we have recently discovered that WalMart makes a mean Italian loaf -very soft and doughy on the inside. When we were in college, and he couldn't afford these luxurious loafs of bread, he would buy a loaf of Colonial white bread and smoosh 6 or 7 slices together and eat that as a snack. I'm telling you all this because this bread obsession continues, and he's now passing it down to the next generation.

Last night, the kids were having a lovely dinner of whole wheat pasta with homemade "Sneaky Chef" turkey meat sauce (I snuck in a bunch of extra veggies), sweet peas, and raspberries. Billy and I were having spaghetti squash with the meat sauce and peas, and Billy decided to open up a package of the WalMart Italian loaf. He tore off about 1/3 of the loaf and brought it in the dining room. The kids immediately started screaming, "BITES." This is their subtle hint that they would like whatever you having. Well, their bites were huge, and they kept screaming, "MAS BITES!" Between my 3 children and Billy, they ate 3/4 of the loaf of bread in one sitting! Of course, they were so full of bread dough that they didn't have room for the dinner I slaved over for them. They haven't seen the last of that meat sauce!!!

Cute faces

There are times when I take a picture and one or two are making such a cute face, I can't stand it. Here are a few recents....

Why is will so handsome? As he says, "Will guapo."

This smirk on Abby's face was cracking me up. The other two are all into the play-dough, but she's just leaning forward giving a half grin.

Marie is the funny one in this picture. She is totally posing for the camera.

OMG, could this hug that Abby is giving Will be any cuter? I love it!

Billy's iPhone Pics

Billy has a bunch of pictures on his iPhone, and I asked him to download them to the computer so that I could weed through them all and find some that were suitable for posting. They are kind of random, but I'll try to explain them...

Sitting on the chair together watching television. Now, they actually will watch a show for about 10 minutes. That's about it, though. Well, Abby would watch longer because she has a longer attention span, but the other two distract her from her shows.

Abby looks so cute just waiting to have her picture taken.

Now, everybody gathers up, but as usual, we can get all looking at the camera and all to smile. When does that ever happen?

We are potty-training, and they really support each other's pee-pees and poops. Here they are holding hands as Abby braces herself to make ca-cas.

They love to walk up and down our street. I make them hold hands, preferably with a grown-up, but sometimes they just want to hold each other's hands. It's so cute, I don't stop them.

Marie started coughing so Abby offered her some juice and Will is patting her back.

We went to the Sandy Springs festival, and they rode the choo-choo! They absolutely loved it. Don't you like how much they enjoy rocking the shades?

They love to stand up in their carseats and look back at us and we load and unload their belongings.

We went to a "touch a truck" festival in Alpharetta, and Will and I rode the school bus. Is that Will? I don't remember who got in with me. I can't even keep track of my own children.

Here are Will and Marie testing out the dune-buggy!

Marie was sitting in a truck here, but I can't remember what kind. Maybe a fire truck?

They are fighting over who will drive the truck. Abby didn't want to ride anything. Every time I asked, she shook her head and said, "No."

Totally random...here's Winnie wearing 3D glasses in bed. We thought it was kind of funny.

This was Will's 2nd haircut courtesy of Aunt Vivian. Rose was Vivian's assistant for this process.

Marie also needed a little snip-snip on her bangs. The other night I told her that her hair was getting long, and that she needed a haircut. I asked who would cut it, and she said, "Beeyan."

The Pumpkin Patch

We took the kids to a pumpkin patch this weekend! We had a great time seeing the farm animals, riding the tractor, and looking at the pumpkins (calabazas in Spanish). Abby was thrilled because orange is her favorite color! Abby, just chilling in her sunglasses.

I'm trying to get them to stand or sit together for a picture. Not happening.

Almost there. Will, sit down.

Over here, guys. What are they looking at?

As good as it gets. All looking in same general direction and all sitting. Seriously, it's sad, but this was the best we could do.

We walked across a big pumpkin field, and the kids got to collect little pumpkins and gourds along the way. Will decided he would try to eat one, and Marie joined in. Were they really hungry?

Then, they got tired and decided it was time to rest in the tall grass.

Again, I tried for a picture, but I'm the only one looking at the camera. Classic.

I had to add this one because it was so funny. I needed to get showered and dressed one morning over the weekend, but as soon as the trio sensed mommy was going to abandon them, they started freaking out. Daddy came to my rescue and said, "Who wants to watch Daddy cook?" This is hilarious on a couple of levels. #1: Seriously, Billy is going to cook? That's really funny. #2: How is that at all entertaining to three 2 year olds?

Well, the kids must have all thought this was going to be an amazing display in culinary genius. They raced to the kitchen to watch his cooking prowess. I decided to bring in their chairs so that they could be the studio audience. They all sat and watched daddy make scrambled eggs and pork roll. The Iron Chef was at it again!

I was able to make my escape....