That's not Abby.....

Gabe was watching Noggin and they have a story time where kids will tell what happened next. Gabe was watching it and at the end Moose A. Moose said that's The Three Little Bears and Abby's story of what happened next. Gabe looks at the TV and says, "That's not Abby. Abby is asleep. That's not Abby!!"

I had to explain that other people can have the same name. But he was right that's not his sister Abby.

Family Visits

My mother, sister and her two children will be coming for a visit on Sunday. They will be here for a couple of days. I'm looking forward to Gabe having a playmate and to visiting with my family. Karoline and Gabe have both been asking when this visit is going to happen. Next time my sister and I need to not tell them about the visit prior the the event. We will be spending a lot of time in the pool and visiting some of the parks in the area. I will post some pictures of all the fun after the visit.

My Dad and Uncle will be driving to Cleveland, Ohio to do some fishing this weekend. Even though it is about an hour and a half out of the way they are talking about coming by and spending the night on the way back home. I hope they do. It would be nice to see them as well. Now if we could get the rest of our family members up for a visit. It's difficult as it is so far and everyone is so busy.

School for Gabe, Abby, and Matt

Last week I told Gabriel that he would be going back to school at the end of August. Since then he asks about school everyday. He is really looking forward to it. I just hope he is not disappointed to find that his old friends and teachers are not there. Abby will be going to the same school and will be in the toddlers/walkers class. This will give her some socialization that I feel she really needs. Both kids will be going on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This is a Mother's Day Out Program through a church we have been attending.

Matt is working on getting all his paper work into IU (Indiana University) so that he can go back to work on getting his Mastersin Business Administration. He is hoping to get enrolled in any prerequisite class he will need to take for this fall and then start his Masters in the spring. I hope he is able to get enrolled and start those classes so that he feels he is accomplishing something. I wish him lots of luck.

Asking Toddler about the Cat

Mom: Have you seen Scat?
Gabe: Yeah.
Mom: Where is he?
Gabe: Outside in the road.
Mom: Why is he outside?
Gabe: He got hit by a car. (he then proceeds to make crashing sounds)
Mom: Did you let him out?
Gabe: No, He's down here.

This was very disturbing to me.

Lost Cat

We lost a cat. I couldn't find him anywhere. He had to be in the basement the door was closed and he was locked in the sump pump room with his brothers. Silly had managed to climb up to the ceiling and get out through the tiles so maybe that's where Scat is right now. But he couldn't be there, he is just to big and fat. I searched for two hours with no luck. I call Matt. Matt comes home, walks down stairs and starts calling for the cat. Scat magically appears. Such is my luck.

Never Leave Your Sewing Out

Last week I was working on smocking a dress for my niece I had finished a row and had one more to go but it was late so I set it aside to finish the next day. I forgot it was on the couch along with my floss and scissors. Gabe later comes walking over to me and hands me my scissors. As soon as I saw them my heart stopped and my stomach did a flop, I knew what to expect. I walked over to the dress and picked it up and inspected it. Sure enough Gabe had cut the dress. Unfortunatly it was in a place that could not hide it with a seam or hem. I am having to start over and am not happy about it. I called Stitcher's Playhouse and they have pleated up a new dress for me and I should be getting either today or tomorrow. I will now need to work overtime to get it finished before winter so that it can be worn this year.

Gabe BTW received timeout in his room as we have had this discussion about using scissors before. He knows that scissors should only be used when he asks permission and when he is using them on paper. I was not happy in the least and did not react well I do have to say. I have not been that mad in a long time. I was more mad at myself than at him though. It was a stupid thing for me to do.

Hear NO Singing!! Hear NO Singing!!

Last night I was getting the kids dressed for bed in the bathroom after their baths. Matt was in the tub and he started to sing, really awful. Gabe was in my lap and I looked over at Abby she had her hands over her ears. I then looked down at Gabe and he has his head on his knees and his hands over his ears as well. I pointed this fact out to Matt and he started singing even more and worse than before. It was pretty funny to see the kids this way.

Thunderstorms and Tornados

Last night we had some major storms. I have never been one to gather the kids and take them into the bathroom or closet and cover their heads during a storm, but last night we did just that. Except we took them to the basement, which we have never had before, and didn't cover their heads just put them to bed. It was one big slumber party. Abby slept on the co-sleeper turned bench, Gabe and Matt slept on the air matress, and I slept on the couch. I don't think any of us got much sleep. I kept hearing the storm raging outside. I can't imagine what it would have sounded like if we had been upstairs in our beds. But anyway everything is good and looking outside you can barely tell there was a storm. I guess we will all have to go to bed a little earlier tonight. TGIF

Why do new mouse pads stink?

I bought a new mouse pad for my computer so that Gabe could play his new Dora Game. It Reeks!!! I got back in the car after getting it and Matt asked me what smelled so bad. We figured out it was the Mouse pad I had just bought. It is still smelly, maybe it is because it is Sponge Bob.

Potty Training is No FUN!!!

We have been working on getting Gabe potty trained for a while now. He is doing a really good job remembering to go potty but sometimes he just doesn't make it. I have a very hard time keeping my cool when this happens mainly because he doesn't let me know when he has an accident. He walks through the pee and lets the poop just run down his legs while he continues to play. Today he has had two such accidents. He has peed on the floor and then he pooped on the floor an hour later. And both times were shortly after I told him to go potty. I keep trying to stress to him that he has to tell me when he has an accident. It's just not making it through his thick head. This is just annoying to me. I need to remember to be patient and that he will get better. This must be some regression, though I'm not sure why heis regressing.

No Punishments Allowed for Accidents! Right?

Anyone have any suggstions for me?

Back From Vacation

We had a wonderful vacation spending time with both sides of the family. The first half of the visit was in Chattanooga visiting my parents and siblings. We were able to spend much of our time at my parents house playing with cousins and just hanging out. My parents, husband and I played Canasta in the evenings or at naptime. Both sets of partners won some and lost some. This is always a favorite of mine. On Tuesday we visited the Chattanooga Aquarium. The old part was still pretty much the same but we were able to see some birds this time (this was a first for me). Abby loved watching the birds and butterflies (new part). Gabriel enjoyed watching the fish and sharks (new part). The new part was pretty neat but the aquarium in Gatlinburg is a better one for salt water. I hope to do this next time I'm in Knoxville.

On Wednesday we left for Knoxville to visit Matt's family. This was a very good visit as well. Wednesday night everyone gathered together at Matt's parent's house for dinner. The kids all palyed well together while the adults visited. The following night we took the youngest three to Chuck E Cheese's. They had a blast a were wound up by the time we left. On Friday night we met at the park for a picnic dinner and playtime. This was also much fun. I think this was probably Gabriel's favorite. Friday night Sarah and Amy came back to the grandparent's house and spent the night. The kids played and watched TV until 11:00, and then were up at the crack of dawn. That morning Cathy and the rest of the family came over for breakfast. I got to hold Evan,Cathy and Doug's youngest, for a long time. This made me very happy and worried Matt because he knows I want another child. It did give me baby pangs. We then left Knoxville at 4:00 for our trip home.

We are now home, for a while at least. No traveling is scheduled at this time. Gabriel had so much fun he said he didn't want to be home he wanted to go back to his grandparent's houses. This gives me mixed feelings. He loved coming home after visits before we moved but I think this was because he had friends to play with. Since we moved he has pretty much had just Abby and myself. We need to find him some activities and some friends. Preschool will help this fall but that is still months away. Though I am very glad he enjoys his visits with family.