Soccer Boyo

My soccer stud.

Go Boyo Go!

First Goal! (Well, for the right team)

He decided it was break time.

His turn to be goalie.

Three is better than one!

With his certificate.  I'm not sure if he is saluting or blocking the sun.

Remember how I mentioned here how this one didn't want to play?  Guess who is begging to be signed up for AYSO.

Even BabyGirlie got in the spirit of the game.

Happy Fourth Birthday Boyo!

Happy Birthday to my crazy and creative, 

 

Super sweet and super silly, 

Loving and Exhausting, 

Goofy and Giggly,

Four Year Old Guy! 

I love you Boyo! 

I Know I Need A Nap

~
I was only the phone with my sister the other day when my son began smacking the dog with a stick.

"Boyo, put that stick down! We do not hit the dog!" I ordered him. Boyo ran off to put the stick down (I thought) and I continued my conversation with my sister.

Five minutes later, Girlie came up to me sobbing.

"Boyo hit me with a stick!" she wailed.

"The same stick I just told him to put down?" I asked.

"Yes," she sobbed.

"Did you hit him back?" I asked.

"No," she cried.

"You should go do that," I told her. Not my finest moment, I know. Plus, my four year old doesn't get sarcasm.

"I don't want to," she cried.

"What do you want me to do?" I teased her. "Do you want me to go hit him back for you?"

"Yes!" Girlie wailed.

Calm down. I didn't. I didn't even consider it.

And then Boyo piped up with: "It assident Momma!"

My sister about peed her pants listening to this on the phone.

Three Kids

Since I had the baby, I've gotten all sorts of looks from people. Looks that say, "Please don't let her get in line behind me," to "Well, that is a walking ad for birth control." Looks that are disgruntled, looks that are sympathetic, and looks that are comedic.


And, invariably, I get the question: "How do you do it?"


Just to be a smart ass, I always reply with a smile, "Do what?"


"Have three kids!"


The way people ask makes it sound like I'm an endangered species. Or an alien. Or an endangered alien species.


Here's the thing - and it's not a secret, so feel free to share.


I just do.


Every day, I just do. I get up before they do. I shower, check my work emails, get breakfast ready, and get them up. I get them to school if it's a school day or a fun activity if it's not. I get them home and settled with a movie for quiet time. I get them back out to play in the afternoon. I cook dinner, do the dishes, work, and sometimes clean my house.


I dress them, feed them, love them, cuddle them, and yes, sometimes I yell at them. I kiss "blood owies," referee fights, read stories, and spin around the living room with them. I tickle and tease, brush Barbie's hair, fight light saber battles, and clap Baby Girl's hands.


I do let some things go - some things that I know moms with one or two kids wouldn't. Things that I can't always do since I divide my time among three. And it's taken me a while, but I'm working on being okay with that. Am I tired? Of course. But I'm no more tired with three than I was with one or two.


However, I'm also more careful with my three than I was when I had just Girlie or just Girlie and Boyo. Each child gets me and Daddy all to themselves at least twice a month - date nights with each child go on the calendar and are written in stone - they can't be broken. They get naptime snuggles with Mom, and bedtime snuggles with Daddy. They get siblings to play with during the day. Taking turns has been drilled into their head - so has the idea that Mommy and Daddy will make things as fair as possible.


I don't know how it all works out - it just does. I don't think about how because I don't have time.

Round Two

~

'"The time has come," the Walrus said... " (L. Carroll)

This is it. We're potty training the boy.

We were going to try the Three Day Potty Training Method. But several things convinced us that this might not be the best method for us:

1. I'm pregnant. And the amount of patience that I do have will not fill up a thimble.

2. The 3 Day Method calls for staying inside for two days with no TV. Well, you can go outside for an hour on day two and for two hours on Day 3. But still... Boyo starts to go crazy if we don't get him out of our house by 10 am every day. So 3 days, basically stuck inside, seems like a suicide mission.

3. He doesn't fit on toilet training potty seats. He's large and if we sit him on a toilet ring or a potty chair, he can't put his pee down; there's just not enough room. But he's still only two, so he doesn't fit on the adult toilet seat either without spreading his legs really wide.

4. He all ready gets it. He sees his sister use the toilet. He tells me when he is going potty or has to go potty. He runs to sit on the potty and then demands a sticker. So I don't see the need for a 3 day method.

So we started yesterday. When we are home, he wears underpants. (And they are so cute!) So far, we have had one accident and two successful potty trips. When we go out, he wears pull ups (which we call outside underwear). And he still wears a diaper to bed.

I say, "Tell Momma if you have to go potty," about once a minute. And he does. Sometimes we make it, sometimes we don't. When we go out, he looks at me and says "Potty" clear as day.

He still hasn't made it to a potty out of our house, but that will come with time. And he still hasn't gone number 2 in anything but his "Outside Underpants" but that will come too.

Our methods might not be what works for everyone, nor will some people agree with us. After all, we are breaking the cardinal rule: Once you start potty training, you can't go back to diapers/pull ups. You know what? I don't care.

I'm much more relaxed about this than I was with Girlie.