We Broke Down

Okay, so again, I have REALLY been slacking. But one thing after another has been hitting the Brogan family which has slowed down my ability to sit down and write about what it is that has been preventing me from writing. Perhaps the biggest roadblock was the fact that our laptop crashed. Kind of hard to write without a computer. Then I got the mother of all mastitis infections (third one with this kid) and feeling like you have been hit by a bus, then the bus backed up and ran you over again for good measure does not make a happy blogger. But, I'm back and better than ever:) You know, with the passing of Ed Thomas last week all of these people have been issuing statements about Thomas and their relationship, etc., etc. I told Matt that no one has ever asked me to issue a statement. So, I decided I am going to issue my own statement about something, sometime, right here on my blog. I just haven't decided what yet. But enough about me, people want to know about our kids. Oh, one more thing about us. We bought a minivan. I can't believe I have succombed to peer pressure and double sliding doors, but yes, we did it. Granted, in the world of minivans, I feel that ours is cooler than most, but it is a minivan none the less. All I need is a soccer ball.

Okay, on to the kids. Ben has been regressing a bit on his potty training. I'm not sure what the deal is, but it all started this weekend in Walmart when he stood up in the cart and proceeded to pee in the aisle. It was the aisle with the potties, so maybe he was moved to action. Who knows? It could have been the crapload of water he drank too. He also is showing a real fear of loud noises. If you remember our experience with the fireworks, you kind of know what I am talking about. This weekend we took the kids to the Sturgis Falls parade and he cried at both the fire trucks and the motorcycles.

Maddie is now yelling at me from her room "up mommy, up mommy". Yep, her vocabulary is coming right along.

And Zach is as cute and as big as ever. He has his 4 month check up on Friday, so I will update everyone then. But my guess is the kid weighs at least 20 pounds. He is so happy and mellow, I don't know what I would do without him! Once we get the pictures off our laptop that crashed I will post some new ones:)

Fireworks!

Last night we got to witness the enigma that is a three year old in true form. Jeremy's work was sponsoring some fireworks and Ben was so excited to go. The kid remembers the only other time he saw "fireworks" (Missouri style at mom and dad's last fourth of july) and all afternoon he was talking about how he was going to say "oooh" and "aaah". So we get there and he is still SO excited and it's getting to be time for them to start so he settles in his little lawn chair next to Evan and then they set off one of those big fire bombs that are now all the rage in fireworks followed by a big continuos blast of some colorful ones. Ben turns around and I thought he was laughing, but turns out he was screaming and crying. Guess they scared him. So we had to watch the show in the car and he was fine for a while, talking about all of the colors and how many were going up in the air at a time and then all of a sudden he decided he was going to cover his head with his blanket and hide. Kids are funny! Maddie on the other hand, loved the fireworks and watching them with her dad, but I am not loving post firework Maddie as she is not a very happy camper when she is tired. All morning she has been super fragile and so I was just waiting for the minute I could lay her down for her nap which was about noon. And then at 130 she started crying and I thought, oh no, you are taking at least a two hour nap, so I was letting her fuss which then woke Ben up. So, I took him some more water to have him lay back down and she is now throwing a world class fit in her room. Maybe it will tire her out enough to take another nap. I certainly don't want to hang around her right now:) But my main man Zach is just chilling on the couch with me taking a little rest of his own after a big ol' #2. Ah, to be a three month old!

So I have been slacking

In my blog efforts lately. By don't worry, it's not just my blogging that I have been slacking on. It also includes laundry, cleaning, and writing thank yous for the last couple of months. So, if you got me a birthday present and have not yet received a thank you, don't worry, it 's not just you. In fact, I told myself I was going to write thank yous during nap time today, yet here I am...

Anyway, I put up some new pictures from our trip to KC. Our kids had a great time and Matt and I had a great time (for the most part...and the bad times had nothing to do with the great company we were in, but with our kids' ability to deal with being out of their element). Jeremy and I were once talking about this and he commented that you think your kids would love being someplace new, doing all these fun things like you, but when it comes down to it, they just want to sleep in their own beds every night. That is my kids exactly. But, we are making an effort to break them of their routine (Just a little) so that we can have an overnight trip away once in a while without complete chaos. Our Kansas City trip was hopefully a good warm up for a trip to Indiana to visit family later this summer. Have you noticed though that when you take a vacation with your kids you don't get to do any of the things you used to do on a vacation? There is no sleeping in (or through the night for that matter), no long days lounging by the pool doing nothing but reading a book, no late nights with cold beer, heck not even a baseball game. Instead, we get a morning trip to the zoo (oh boy...the train!), shopping for new shoes (for Ben, not for me!), an hour long bed time routine that leaves me more tired and frustrated then when I started and Imagination Movers on a different TV (that was most exciting, I think!). Don't get me wrong I wouldn't trade it (okay, I would trade it, but maybe for just a little while). The best part about being gone was that after the kids went to bed Matt and I had some adult time with our friends. I never knew board games and the one beer I allowed myself could mean so much!

Oh, another milestone...Ben got an email from his preschool teacher noting some important days and telling us to be on the lookout for his school supply list. That cracked me up! What do preschoolers need for school supplies? I can tell you what Ben is going to need... an extra pair of underwear as he is sure to crap in his, and yep, that's about it. That is our new threat. If he doesn't stop pooping in his underwear, he doesn't get to go to school. It probably won't work either, but it's worth a try.

Besides that, all is good in the Brogan household. We are enjoying a quiet Saturday at home preparing for Zach's baptism tomorrow. Hopefully it will stop raining long enough for the guys to put together the new swing set!

Near Tragedy Followed by a Laugh

Okay, so I have a semi-serious topic that I hope by getting it out will help me get over it. Our family of five made their first big trip together to visit our good friends Angie and Dave in Kansas City. We arrived Thursday night and were fairly exhausted. We finally got everything unpacked, kids calmed back down and into bed ourselves around two. Ben woke up at about 4:30 and after I got him back to sleep I went to check on Zach who was sleeping in his nap nanny at the foot of our bed. I couldn't see him because he was completely covered by a comforter that Matt and I had kicked off at some point in the night. I am having a really hard time getting the image of Zach as I pulled the blanket off of him in my head. Thank God (literally) that he was still breathing and didn't appear to be any worse for the wear. He was really hot and clammy so I immediately scooped him up and woke him up so that he could get some fresh air in his lungs. He fell back asleep and woke himself up to eat about an hour later. The next morning he was smiling and didn't seem any different so I think he didn't suffer any adverse affects, but holy cow did I become a more spiritual person! I now believe with all my heart in divine intervention because if Ben wouldn't have woken up who knows what would have happened. So, anyway, I had been having bad dreams about the whole thing and we got home on Sunday and Zach gave me his first real laughs. So, I think that is his way (and God's way) of letting me know that all is okay and to try to laugh it off! Matt and I have learned now to be more vigilant of our surroundings. It is so easy to say this is our third child, we know what we are doing, we don't have to worry about anything. But really, we need to always pay attention to what we are doing. Good lesson learned. When I have more time I will write some more about our vacation...which was a lot of work but even more fun.

MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM,
MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM,
MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM. Oh, I'm sorry have I been repeating myself? I just thought you might all like a little taste of the stage Ben is in right now:)

Madilyn is REALLY coming along in her speech. She knows so many words and is starting to string them together. However, she is really dramatic! The other day she was throwing a fit and I told her that her fits don't affect me anymore, so she might as well start to throw them when it really matters. I'll be darned if she didn't just stop fitting and say "OK" in her little pixie voice and wander off to play with something else. She's pretty stinking funny!