After some research...

and a few hot flashes today and irrational reactions to my hubby trying to be sweet, I am leaning heavily towards the hormonal imbalance with a little sadness of weaning, added like a cherry on top. (did you like that run on sentence?) This is just crazy though! I seriously don't remember feeling like this in the past while weaning. But I am weaning two at once this time. I am seriously feeling as hormonal as I was when pregnant. (no I'm not pregnant!!! I would have a heart attack if I was!!) The way I'm feeling is also very similar to right after you give birth. Just craziness.

now it really didn't help that I got to take a group of 7 year old cub scouts to tour a tv studio at the high school and then got to spend 45 minutes in hell, (aka mcdonalds playland) while having all four kids by myself (thank goodness for all of the mom's in our den that help me out so much!) and did i mention that it looks like ella may finally be getting her two top teeth in? i can actually see the white lines under her gums trying to pop out. and then beck has another tooth popping through. so yeah...really cranky babies.

and then (are you enjoying all of the "and thens") i find out after wrestling two babies into pjs and putting them to bed that B has work that has to be done tonight that he didn't get done at school.

Work that he should of gotten done in the three days that he had 30 minutes each day to work on. Work that wasn't really that hard but he said he couldn't concentrate because of how loud the class was.

So it took us 45 minutes before dinner and 45 minutes after dinner to finish 12 sentences that had to be at least 7 words long. It took him 4 minutes to write one sentence. It DRIVES me CRAZY!!!! (especially being so hormonal)

He is very exact when he writes and it takes him forever to just finish each letter because he wants to do it exactly right. Its great that he cares so much but I have to wonder if it isn't just a stalling tactic. I know part of it is just daydreaming. He has a super active imagination, which I love, but need to figure out how to put it on the back burner long enough to get his work done.

Does anyone have a kid like this? And what have you done to help him get a little speedier in school and at home? The teacher has said she has tried everything and has run out of ideas. I understand her frustration but wish she wold be more willing to work with us on a solution.

If you've read this far I truly apologize for the rant and all fo the random thoughts, but thanks for taking the time to try and comprehend it.

Huh?

So nursing mothers...did you go through any sort of hormonal surge while weaning? Just the past few days I have been feeling a bit off, just feeling down more than normal. And the only thing that is different is weaning. We are down to nursing three times a day ( we were still nursing 6-8 times a day). I plan on being done in 3 weeks. I just don't remember feeling this way after H and B were weaned.

Also did anyone lose that extra weight that was just hanging on when they finally stopped nursing? Now granted I haven't really tried to diet but I have been somewhat watching what I eat and weight is going nowhere. I'm planning on going full throttle into getting back into shape as soon as they are weaned and I don't need the extra calories. I probably don't eat enough right now anyway and my body is just holding onto everything. Who knows.

Other reasons I may be feeling down is because I'm not working right now. We are taking a few months off for Jen to get to spend her bonding time with her new baby. Which is great and I'm loving my time with the babies, the kids and Brandon. But I think I'm just not made to stay home. Anyone have anything they need done between the hours of 10-2?

Snuggly Babies

More derby pics

I forgot my camera for the first part of the race (the part with just our tiger cubs racing), so I just got these pics from one of the other moms. Thanks Paige!

Pinewood Derby

B had his first Boy Scout Pinewood Derby today. And for our den he won first place! We also went and competed in the pack finals and made it all the way to the 3rd heat but then lost. I think we had more fun with it than he did. He was literally sitting and playing with his Bionical (sp?) when he won the race and I had to take it away from him so that he would stand in the picture with his trophy. And then of course the poor kids who didn't win were so upset. I felt so bad for them. But since my kid rarely wins this type of thing, I was pretty pumped. Brandon and one of his buddies cut the car out of the block of wood. And then Ben painted it all up. I think it looks cute. Can you call a derby car cute?

this is his car (right next to the baconater)

a line up of all of the winning cars from the day
The green car in the corner is the one who won the whole thing

The track

One of B's races he won

B watching the cars race

All of the derby winners from all of the dens

Brandon has some major plans for next years car, that he has assured me will win the whole thing. :) Who is this competetion for again?

January Park Fun

Only in Texas would we have an almost 80 degree day at the end of January. Here are some pics from the park today.

The last 12 months in photos

11 months old

My babies are 11 months old today! Where has the time gone??? I got a few shots of them before their nap this mornign but am going to try to get a few more later on. Wasn't real happy with their faces but here are a few to tide you over. :)

For those of you thinking of having children...

Are you considering having children? To determine whether you are truly prepared for the experience, we suggest you take this set of simple tests...Naturally, one must multiply these by the number of children you have, if you're a multiple Mommy!

MESS TEST
Smear peanut butter on the sofa and curtains. Now rub your hands in the wet flowerbed and rub on the walls. Cover the stains with crayons. Place a fish stick behind the couch and leave it there all summer.

TOY TEST
Obtain a 55-gallon box of Legos. (If Legos are not available, you may substitute roofing tacks or broken bottles.) Have a friend spread them all over the house. Put on a blindfold. Try to walk to the bathroom or kitchen. Do not scream (this could wake a child at night).

GROCERY STORE TEST
Borrow one or two small animals (goats are best) and take them with you as you shop at the grocery store. Always keep them in sight and pay for anything they eat or damage.

DRESSING TEST
Obtain one large, unhappy, live octopus. Stuff into a small net bag making sure that all arms stay inside.

FEEDING TEST
Obtain a large plastic milk jug. Fill halfway with water. Suspend from the ceiling with a stout cord. Start the jug swinging. Try to insert spoonfuls of soggy cereal (such as Fruit Loops or Cheerios) into the mouth of the jug while pretending to be an airplane. Now dump the contents of the jug on the floor.

NIGHT TEST
Prepare by obtaining a small cloth bag and fill it with 8 to 12 pounds of sand. Soak it thoroughly in water. At 8:00 PM begin to waltz and hum with the bag until 9:00 PM. Lay down your bag and set your alarm for 10:00 PM. Get up, pick up your bag, and sing every song you have ever heard. Make up about a dozen more and sing these too until 4:00 AM. Set alarm for 5:00 AM. Get up and make breakfast. Keep this up for five years. Look cheerful.

PHYSICAL TEST (WOMEN)
Obtain a large beanbag chair and attach it to the front of your clothes. Leave it there for 9 months. Now remove 10% of the beans.

PHYSICAL TEST (MEN)
Go to the nearest drug store. Set your wallet on the counter. Ask the clerk to help himself. Now proceed to the nearest food store. Go to the head office and arrange for your paycheck to be directly deposited to the store. Purchase a newspaper. Go home and read it quietly for the last time.

FINAL ASSIGNMENT
Find a couple who already have a small child. Lecture them on how they can improve their discipline, patience, tolerance, toilet training, and child's table manners. Suggest many ways they can improve. Emphasize to them that they should never allow their children to run riot. Enjoy this experience. It will be the last time you will have all the answers.

Texas Weather

Only in Texas can we have a day where it barely gets above 40 and then the next day is in the 60's and beautiful. I totally got to enjoy it while taking a walk this evening with the babies and the dog. I did have to bribe the babies a bit by giving them some juice to give them something to do while riding along. They aren't real into being strapped down into anything. Cause you know its just so much fun to be able to move.

Beck still has a major fascination with the dog water bowl. We ended up gating the kitchen off, which helps every now and then. But when he does make it into the kitchen he is like a heat seeking missile and goes straight for the bowl. Thankfully he is starting to listen when we tell him no and not to touch. Now that doesn't mean that he stops the first time we tell him no. He tries about 15 more times until we redirect him somewhere else. But the look on his face is so darn cute its really pretty funny.

Okay, so tonight I am watching "What a Girl Wants" for about the 50th time. Its a cute movie thats fun to watch and better then watching Cops (even though my husband would disagree). But really people how many times can you replay this movie on tv? Tonight though, I'm glad its on to distract me until my hubby comes home from work. Hope you all have a fabulous evening. :)