I Sometimes Wonder If I Will Be Lonely

When my personal space finally becomes my own again. I'm not sure what I will do. Maybe I will start hearing voices that aren't really there instead of the three little ones I hear constantly now. Or maybe I will start having to take a stuffed animal or something with me to the bathroom, so that I won't be alone. It is crazy how you wait and wait and wait for your kids to be able to talk to you and once they can, you just wish you could shut them off every once in a while. My days are filled with constant chatters of "look at this" "what's your name (don't ask about this one, I thought it was so cute weeks ago and now I just want it to go away)", "I need (fill in the blank, but usually it is milk, water or my butt wiped)", etc. The other day I was trying to unload the dishwasher, a relatively mundane task, right? And I pretty much just snapped and banned all people under the age of three from the kitchen until the task was completed. The kids are constantly checking out what I am doing in the bathroom (which is sometimes reading People a little bit longer then neccessary just to get away for a moment or two) and today when I announced that I was going to take a shower (why do I even announce such things) I got two bathing buddies in the form of Ben and Maddie. That's right, the shower isn't even sacred anymore. So anyway, I'm so accustomed to having someone accompany me everywhere and of having constant chatter going, I'm not sure I will know what to do when it is gone. Granted, this will be a LONG time from now, but believe it or not Ben is starting preschool on Tuesday which makes me realize when people tell you time flies with your kids, they are not joking around. Maddie also thinks she is attending school, so it should be an interesting first day drop off. We had to take Zach back to the doctor this week and turns out he did have an ear infection. Antibiotics seem to be kicking in and he seems to be doing better. We take him back at the end of next week for his 6 month checkup. I'll be curious to see if he has made it to the 125th percentile yet;)

Small Vacations, Good Times

So this last weekend the troop headed to Des Moines for a mini-vaca. We also brought along our niece Abby, and let me tell you, we might not be able to take any more vacations without her. Having an extra stroller-pusher, hand-holder, drink-fetcher, etc. is quite the luxury. So on Sunday we headed to the Blank Park Zoo via Urgent Care for Zachary. Saturday night was a rough night for the little guy that we had originally attributed to teething. But, he became pretty much inconsolable and if you even moved him an inch, he would scream. I thought I maybe dislocated a shoulder picking him up or something (trust me, I had some paranoid scenarios going through my head, especially when I couldn't get him to roll over, something that had become second nature to him). Anyway, the doctor said it was just a virus, but in doing my own diagnostic work (just call me Dr. House, because I went down about three different paths before arriving at my conclusion) that I think he was having a reaction to the Target formula we bought him. That's what we get for being cheap. So, I was starting to wean him and now all of that has went in the crapper and he's back to breast feeding all the time and I haven't given him cereal for about a week. However, the chunky monkey weighed 24 pounds 10 oz at the doctor, officially surpassing his sister by about a pound. So, in other words, I don't think he's hurting for meals. He seems to be doing much better now, besides the fact that we think he is starting to scream to imitate his sister, which is not a pleasant noise:) But I digress. So we head to the zoo on Sunday afternoon and had a great time. If you haven't been to the Blank Park Zoo and have little kids I highly recommend it. It was just the right size, and it wasn't so crowded that you had to fight to see the animals. It was perfect. Then we headed to a hotel that I kind of want to keep a secret because it was so great and Matt and I don't want the word to get out:) Okay, I will tell you guys. We headed to the Ramada on Merle Hay Road that has been COMPLETELY redone with an awesome pool area. It was perfect. The kids had so much fun. Monday we got up and swam some more and then headed to the Iowa State Fair. So we figured a Monday would not be too busy, but boy, did we figure wrong. It was CRAZY busy! The kids got tatoos, went down the giant slide (nearly causing me to have a heart attack as I looked on) and ate some food that both Matt and I regretted that night and Zach regretted the next day. But all in all, it was a great time. One of the best things about staying at home (besides hours upon hours of time with my kids....) is the fact that Matt and I have been able to spend some time together with our kids without dipping into what was once my meager vacation time. It has given us some freedom which is really nice. Kind of makes me hope we can afford to have me stay home forever...and hire a nanny:)

Grab a Minute When you Can

So I am waiting for my good friend Emily to bring some sub city over for lunch, and thought I would type a quick update. All three of my kids are in bed (and possibly sleeping, I haven't heard from Ben in awhile) which to me, is the biggest feeling of accomplishment that I think a stay at home mom of three little ones can feel. If you haven't seen Zach lately, you wouldn't believe how big he is...he is my little sumo man. I think I am slightly addicted to him. Madilyn is as talkative as ever. We have taken to calling her by different names just to hear her say, "I not Charley (or Twililla or Jim Bob or whatever). It is so stinking cute. She can also tell us that she lives on Jay Lane, in Waterloo, her dad is MATT BROGAN and her mom is JESSI BROGAN and her name is Madilyn AMELIA BROGAN. I put those things in caps because she says them like she means business. It is hilarious! We had our first parent meeting for Ben's preschool last night. So crazy! He is on snack duty for day one, which is kind of a lot of pressure for me. I mean, I don't have anything to set a standard by...do you set the bar high or low or what? He is putting us in the hot seat on day one, just because he is first in the alphabet. I knew Matt should have taken my name after we were married:)

Indiana!

Well, we are back from our week long vacation visiting our family in Indiana. So, first off, let me thank the Kocher Family for the GRACIOUS hosting. For families with small children, let me stronly suggest that the only way to go for vacation is to find a house that you can stay at that has three teenage built in babysitters and an awesome host and hostess! It was so relaxing and our whole family had a blast. I'm working on getting some pictures together, but posted a few for now. I have to be quick, because the kids are actually sleeping and I have a list about a mile long of things to do and blogging isn't one of them. However, I figured you all missed me:)

The highlights of our trip included Ben's three rounds of miniature golf (let me tell you in a year I bet he will be able to challenge any of you to a mean game of putt-putt...the kid had a couple of legitimate holes in one), Madilyn's enjoyment of the Linton park (minus the header she took off the merry-go-round...Kocher family her nose is healing very nicely!) and Zach was introduced to sweet potatoes on the trip (while the Kocher family was re-introduced to how completely disgusting a five month old's poops can be while eating sweet potatoes). We had a great time, but the old adage is true...there is no place like home! (especially when that home has gates across bedroom doors when mom can say, time for a nap and shut the gate then come downstairs and blog:)

One other quick thing to anyone who knows or interacts with our family. We have grown a world class whiner in Madilyn, so after much serious discussion last night (okay, a quick conversation over the OP pizza Matt and I dominated last night) we have decided it is time for some tough love! NO more giving into Maddie when she asks for anything in her whiny voice which then usually escalates to crying when we say no. So, if you happen to be around Maddie, prepare yourself to use the phrase "Can you ask nicely?" A LOT.