Safety Patrol

Katie is now a member of the safety patrol at school. She started today. She couldn't do it in the afternoon today because Kyle was napping so I called her teacher to tell her to ride the bus home. What sucks is that she has to be there right at 7.15 so I have to take her to school (which is fine because Lauren has been waking up at 6 am) and it ends at 3.00 so I have to pick her up at school, which may be difficult because sometimes Kyle is still napping. For those of you who don't know what safety patrol is, its the kids who help/open car doors for the car riders who get dropped off and picked up. They also help keep the line of traffic going. She is very happy that she gets to do it because only the good students get to do it. Also she is one of the few 4th graders who get to do it because its only supposed to be done by 5th graders but they fell short so they selected a few 4th graders and she was chosen. Very proud of her.

Being Kids

Puddle Fun

Monday it rained here. When I went to the gym yesterday there were rain puddles everywhere. As we were walking to the car, Kyle had to splash in every single one. It was so cute they way he kept laughting and saying rain. I think even Lauren had fun seeing him splashing and making a mess everywhere. Wish I had a video camera for that moment.

Hungry Girl

Lauren is eating cereal for breakfast, then about 4 oz of formula (7-8 am). Then for her second feeding I give her bananas (9-10 am) and about 4 oz. The around 12-1 she eats a 6 oz bottle to try to take a nap. Around 2-3 pm she eats carrots and another 4-6 oz. Around 6-7 pm I give her cereal and another 4-6 oz. Then around 8-9 she eats another 6 oz. She usually wakes up somewhere between 10-12 to eat another 6 oz, at 2-4 am to eat 6 oz, 5-6 am to eat another 6 oz. The it starts all over again. Should I give her water at night to keep her from eating so much formula or should I increase her solids?

BTW, she did the cutest thing today...She stood up on her own for 45 seconds and put her arms out for a hug from Kyle. He pushed her down; she cried. Sibling love...so sweet.

Wrestle Mania

Today my children made me laugh. Lauren was playing with the phone and Kyle saw her so he went to grab it from her. She then started to climb on him to get the phone back. He pushed her off him and she came right back and tried to sit on him. He leaned against her so she fell and laid on her so that his head was right underneath her chin. She managed to squirm away from him and then got ontop of him. I think she scratched him because he had a scratch mark on his face. This went on for another 10 minutes or so. Sometimes they were laughing and other times they were screaming at each other. It's funny because Kyle has taught Lauren how to scream exactly like he does and sometimes they get into screaming matches. They just made me laugh when I saw them wrestling like that. It really was like watching the WWF.

Sleeping

So Lauren hasn't been sleeping well and quite frankly Micau and I needed to find a solution. You know me...I always turn to books. Found this great one that we like. Turns out I believe Lauren is overtired. She isn't one for taking naps or when she does they aren't very long or sometimes it can be a 4 hour stretch. She doesn't really have a regular schedule. This book says that she needs two naps at about 1.5-2 hours each. So I've chosen between 9-10 am for her first nap and 1-2 pm for her second nap. The book also suggests setting up a nightime routine and letting her know when its bedtime. This we haven't done. And to start her off earlier because she has a tendency to stay up until 1-2 am. So we are going to try some of the strategies...the book says it may take up two months for them to get used to a schedule, to have patience and not give up. Hopefully we can do this. Its gotta be better than getting no sleep at all.

New Books

We had 3 giftcards to Barnes and Noble that we hadn't used yet so I decided this morning to go since we couldn't do much else today..it's raining. I took Kyle over to the kiddie section and let him play with the nice train set they have there. He is so possessive...he thinks everything is his. He kept hogging the trains and screaming when another kid got one. Lauren did well in the stroller. She actually stayed in it for about 10 minutes without crying. Gotta savor the accomplishments.
Anyways, I looked for the book I wanted to get and also saw some potty training books. I think I'll look for them at the library before actually buying them. I also got a baby/toddler play/activity book. I think it has some neat ideas. I am one of those moms without a creative bone in her body.
Kyle got a cute counting dinosaur book. Lauren liked it more than he did I think. I got Lauren a lift the flap book for animals. She was more interested in chewing on it than actually reading it. She does pay attention when you read to her though.
Katie of course got another fairy book. There is a collection of fairy books and she got the new one..they didn't have the newest one and I didn't realize we could order it; micau informed me later.
What's so funny is Micau checked his email after getting home from work and he had a 15% coupon for Barnes and Noble and 25% coupon for them. Kicking myself in the butt. Oh well.

Spring Break

Yesterday we went to the San Antonio zoo. Today we did absolutely nothing because Lauren didn't want to sleep last night. Katie had a birthday party to go to so she did that for 2 hours. I watched Van Wilder on comedy channel..I love that movie but boy does it suck on network TV. I think I'll put it on Netflix to watch the entire film unedited. I have no idea what to do for Spring Break. I was going to go to this park that has all kinds of stuff to do (hiking, rafting, canoeing, and playgrounds) but it is supposed to rain until Thursday. So that idea is shot. Guess we will have to think of something.
Micau's son GC had a rowing competition today. He placed first in three categories so he is going to nationals. Micau is very proud of him. He also has a girlfriend..well sort of. Her parents are real strict. She isn't allowed to go to the movies or even to a dance. Micau and his ex are hoping that he will just follow her around for the next 2 years and not be involved with anybody else since she is a very good girl. I personally think it kinda sucks to have your whole life planned out for you; to have such high expectations. I see this girl going totally wild in college or maybe not. Maybe she will do just what her parents want her to do. Of course, I'm no example so I guess I should keep my mouth shut. Anyways, we are going to have to save money since the nationals are in TN this year. I think is a 2 week event. Go GC.

The Babies

Okay so technically Kyle isn't a baby...he is a toddler but they are the babies of the family. Anywho...yesterday was Lauren's 9 month checkup. That's right folks she is 9 months now. She is 26 1/2 inches long and 18 lbs 14 oz. She only got one shot..the flu shot, which she had a very bad reaction to. She's been feverish and throwing up all night so all she's had to drink is pedilyte (only 2 oz at a time). She hadn't really kept any down so we are taking her back in this morning just to be sure everything is alright. Not to brag about my little one but she is already doing things that a 10-12 month old is doing. She waves bye bye and hello, crawls, cruising (getting ready to walk..we think in the next 2 months), trying to feed herself, can stack 2 blocks together and already knows some colors. She is one smart cookie.
While with the doctor I mentioned that we are planning on putting Kyle into a school when he turns 3. She advised against doing that since public schools are hard on austistic kids. Whoa. Wait a minute. The neurologist told us he isn't autistic. According to her records he is a bit on the lower spectrum of autism. In fact, because we live in Round Rock, the school system has a very good program starting at the age of 3. She wanted us to go ahead and get the ball rolling on that because its alot of paperwork. She doesn't think Kyle would do well in a regular daycare/school place and the program here in RRISD is designed for kids like him. So we have to start doing that. She seemed a little concerned about some of his obsessive compulsive needs (such as doors being closed). But it is a little early to set him up with a specialist..she is hoping he outgrows it. Since he is on the low spectrum he may grow out of it or it may get worse. She can't say as it is too early. But he hasn't advanced too much on his development..even talking he is still way behind other kids. She has grown concerned about that. Hopefully the program will help out. It is based on income so that is a good thing..we won't have to pay and arm and a leg for it. I hope it won't be too expensive.

Driving Crazy

Okay so I am not a multitasker when it comes to driving. I am one of those people whom you probably have cursed at because I can't drive while changing the radio station or eating an ice cream cone. Cases in Points: A couple of days ago we went to Sonic and I got an ice cream cone. Well I'm trying to drive around the curb turning the steering wheel with one hand. Almost hit another car. It is just so much more difficult driving the Armada than the Malibu. I'm not used to big cars...just small cars (no dirty thoughts please...lol).
#2..I forgot to brush my hair and didn't realize it until I was on my way to meet up with a friend. So I'm trying to brush my hair while driving. Again not a good idea for me. You'd think I'd learn my lesson. But no.
#3..Talking on my cell phone has also posed a problem with the Armada..wasn't too difficult in the Malibu but for some reason I just can't drive one handed in the Armada. I not only got distracted while talking on my phone..i changed lanes without realizing i did until another vehicle honked at me because I cut him/her off.
So I have learned that if I need to do something wait until I am stopped or at my destination and try not to call or answer my cell while driving. At least I realize I'm not a good eater/talker/makeup artist while driving. Think of all those crazies who still get on the road and think they can drive while getting dressed, putting make up on, talking on cell, eating, and etc.

Other People's Kids

Okay so I have befriended a 23 year old mom from church. She has a very active three year old and a 5 month old. Her three year old is very much a discipline problem. He has been kicked out of 3 preschools and acts up at the daycare during church. He bites, hits, talks back (mostly he says he's the boss when you tell him no), he doesn't listen, i mean there is just so much. This is what i observed when they came over yesterday. It was the first time I really gotten to talk to her and meet her kids. In my house, I tell my kids no three times and if they continue to do the same thing then I punish them. The mom kept telling him no and he wouldn't listen but she wouldn't punish him. She says they have tried time outs and spanking but it doesn't work and even tried taking toys/movies away. I just don't know what to tell her. But I feel like if I have them over again then I need to explain the rules and enforce them. Is that okay to punish someone else's kid when they are around and they don't do anything?
She just is very lonely because she doesn't have any friends and I have a feeling its becasue of her son. I honestly think if she was more consistent with punishment and not let him think he was the boss then maybe he would be better behaved. I would like to be her friend because she needs one but I also don't want his bad habits to rub off on Kyle. Any advice?