My new housekeeper

I'm on the phone during lunch and Alexandra goes to the bathroom to what I think is to wash her hands. She stays in there for a long time. I head in there to find soap all over the bathroom sink. She tells me that she's cleaning the sink. I get her a wash cloth and she finishes up. Then she tells me she wants to clean the bathtub as well. I'm so jumping at that. I put a little bit of water in the tub and rolled up her pant legs. I just let her use baby soap but she did a really great job. She told me she'd do it every day if I asked her to. I wish I had a tape recorder at that moment. I did take these pics though!

Then she took to washing herself. I drew the line when she dumped water over her head!

Tears of change and growth

I kind of thought this day would come but I guess it impacted me more than I expected. Alexandra told me yesterday that she didn't want to go to School. I told her we would see about it on Tuesday. This morning she told me the same thing. We got clothes on and went to school. We got there and she saw her friends and I thought we were ok. Then we got ready to leave and she started crying and asking to go with Buddy and I. I told her I'd come back but the crying only got louder. The teacher tried to distract her but she ended up carrying Alexandra over to a craft table. As we're leaving I hear her still crying. It was hard to hold back my tears but I did until we got to the car. I cried the whole way home. Not because I didn't want to leave her but because of the look on her face when we left. She was so scared. I think Preschool is a good thing for her and for me. It's a good program and I think the activities are good for her. What I'm thinking this morning is that this is just the first of many tears of change and growth. I'm not looking forward to shedding many many tears in the future over my kids and the changes that will come for all of us. You don't think about those things when you have a baby and with no instruction manual there's no warning of things like this on the horizon!

Niles Erbe?

Tonight I come home from Curves and Paul is watching an episode of Fraiser on DVD. We get done with the episode and Alexandra and Sebastian are watching it and Sebastian sees a picture of Niles Crane, Fraiser's brother. He points at the TV and says it's Daddy. He repeats it a couple of times as Alexandra says that's not Daddy. Then Sebastian points at Paul and points at the TV and says Daddy! Paul and I couldn't contain our laughter. You be the judge

another one bites the hand, another one bites the arm

I was watching a couple of our friends kids this week and the two girls were playing and wouldn't let the boy play with them so the boy decided to grab Alexandra's hand, stick it in his mouth and bite down. Two days later, Alexandra and Sebastian were wrestling on the floor and Alexandra comes into the kitchen crying. Sebastian bit her in the arm. I'm making an official rule right now, no more boys biting my daughter under my roof!

I'm just not that kind of mom

I made a huge realization this week. I'm not that kind of mom. One of our very good friends is having her 4th child and she's just been put on bed rest. She has a 6 year old, a 4 year old and a 1 year old. I decided I would take the two older kids for Wednesday and Friday. It seemed like it was just too much for me. Here's the thing, I never really babysat growing up, I even thought for many years that I wouldn't have kids of my own because It was never a great desire I had. Now let me say first that I love my 3 kids. They are awesome. But I don't like managing my kids and other people's kids. This was a hard realization for me. I would want people to take my kids if I was pregnant and on bedrest. God is showing me that I'm just not wired to do everything everyone else does and vice versa. I can speak to thousands of people every week on the radio. I can manage a website. But it's just not my gift to watch other people's kids. Let me say too that these two kids weren't really bad, although there was a biting incident which I'll talk about later, it's just I'm not good at managing other kids along with my own. My friend Linnea is a kids person and she was a great encouragment to me this week as I struggled with this. This also made me think about a woman who had a great influence on me, Mel Hopper. She took care of Charlie and I when My mom was working. She managed her own 6 and many more and did it with great ease. She was also a kid person. I'm just not. So, don't worry about me becoming a teacher anytime soon or opening up a daycare!

Just me and the Boys

Today was the first day Alexandra went to Preschool without us staying. She had a few moments over the last day where she cried a little bit thinking about us leaving her. She was really excited this morning. We all went and dropped her off. Sebastian had a really hard time leaving her. He threw himself on the ground, he cried and he tried numerous times to go back to the classroom. Even on the way home, he whined. We got home and I got him out of the van and he asked for Sissy! I told him she was at school and we'd go get her in a little while. He started to get tears in his eyes. I was so surprised. Once we got in the house he was fine but I'm sure he'll be really happy to see her when we go and pick her up.

My free music friday

If you like Michael W Smith you can get a free download of one of his songs here

It was Pajama day

It was my turn to work at the preschool. My first time and I was in my nightgown. I realized I don't do dress up in a public place very well! Every thing was going good, I was cutting out circles and watching the kids. Then it's table group time and the teacher puts me at the table with peanut butter, bread, teddy graham cookies, honey and two butter knives. Not a good combination! The point of the table was to let the kids make their own sandwich. It was quite a sight to see 3 year olds trying to put peanut butter on bread. I wasn't about to let them do the honey on their own though. I had to draw the line somewhere. Overall the morning went well. Alexandra has made friends with a girl named Charlize. She's just like Alexandra. It's pretty funny. She's outgoing, very independent and very verbal. We'll see how things develop.

I'm a preschool mommy

A new title has been added to my name! Alexandra, Sebastian, Atticu and I all headed off to Parchment United Methodist co-op preschool this morning. We were a little late and really weren't sure where the building was. They usually meet in their church, but it was set on fire last summer by an arsonist. They are now meeting in an out building at the catholic church in Parchment called St. Ambrose. So we get out of the van and head into a building. We couldn't hear anyone so we wandered around and found a room with a light on. It was who I think was the priest in what looked like his pajamas! I asked him where the preschool was and of course he said it was in the other building. As I talking to him, Sebastian hears a TV and wanders into another room. There's an elderly gentleman sleeping in a chair with the TV blarring. I grab Sebastian and we head back out the door. It must have been where the Priest lives. We head across the parking lot and into the other building where the preschool meets. There was two mom's and the teacher Mrs. Keiser. There's about 6 other kids in the class. She did really well. She had a good time. I think this is going to be great for her and for the rest of us!

A conversation before bed

I got home from dropping off the paperwork and money for Alexandra to start preschool tomorrow and Paul was just putting the kids to bed. Paul went to take Atticus downstairs and Alexandra and I were sitting in her bed. She looked really sad. She said to me "I'm not sure what I'm going to do about tomorrow." I asked her why. She said she was scared and that she wanted me to stay with her tomorrow while she's at school. I told her that when she went to school she'd stay there for a couple of hours and then I'd come to pick her up. She started to cry and said again she was scared. I told her that tomorrow if she wanted we could go meet the teacher, meet the other kids and play for a little bit and then we'd all come home. She said through tearful eyes "You promise I can come home". I said yes I promise. She looked at me, wiped her tears away and said "I feel a lot better about this mommy, a lot better". I smiled, hugged and kissed her and told her I loved her. This is a new chapter for her and I'm glad I got to talk to her about her fear. It's scary to be with new people that you've never met. Most adults feel the same way.

My Mom the Blogger

I got an email today from my mom that she started her own blog. I'm really proud of her since so many people are intimidated by the internet and blogging. Give her some love and check out her blog!

24 is coming

We are huge 24 fans in our house. If you are I know you won't be calling me on Sunday or Monday night. If you aren't, first don't call me Sunday or Monday night. Second, here's a chance for you to get in on season 7. If you'd like some info on 24 and it's characters check this out! Oh and if you plan on being funny and calling us on Sunday or Monday night, have fun talking to our answering machine! :)

The Short fuse

After getting my hair cut today I ran to the store, without the children to get a few things for our 24 party tomorrow night! I kept passing by this dad with two kids, one boy who was about 5 and a girl who was probably 2 1/2 or 3. Everytime I saw him he was barking commands at them or sighing with frustration. At first I felt bad for the kids, but then some of the words that came out of his mouth had also come out of mine in the past. A lot of what the kids were doing were just being kids. They weren't moving fast enough for him or were distracted by something or wanted to stop and look at something that caught their eye. I thought, how many times have I barked at the kids out of frustration just because they were being kids. A lot let me tell you. I'm going to choose to deal with them differently and ask God to show me when my expectations are too high for them.

A sunset from God

Yesterday as I was driving around getting a few things and the prescription for Atticus I noticed a beautiful sunset in the sky. It seemed to me that God planned it just for that night. I needed to see something beautiful on a day when it seemed so much had gone wrong. It was pink and red with clouds. It was awesome. And it was a great reminder to me that God is in control!

Atticus Update

Thanks for the prayers and support. Atticus is going much better today. The Dr. was really pleased to see how much better he was breathing. We will still do the treatments for another day or until the cough goes away. It was so nice to see his happy disposition back today. Again thanks for the prayers. I know that they helped to make him better.

Please pray for Atticus

We took Atticus to the Dr. today and even though the test hasn't come back yet, the Dr. is pretty sure he has RSV. What's interesting is that we all could have had RSV because it's just a cold to kids a year and older but for a little guy like Atticus it can be really dangerous. We have to give him breathing treatments every 4 hours and the Dr. wants to see him back in the office tomorrow morning. The oxygen in his blood is at a good level and they will check that again tomorrow. Sebastian had this when he was about Atticus' age. It's very scary for me and since we've all been sick please pray for all our healing and rest.

I'll keep you updated after the appointment tomorrow. Thanks in advance for your prayers.

A trip to the Dr.

Atticus woke up yesterday with a barky cough. He also had a very rough night for him. All of us have been sick but this reminds me of when Sebastian had RSV so we've got an appointment for 1:30 today. I hope this is the end of the sickness for a while. I'm kind of at the end of my rope and the sleep deprivation isn't helping either. Pray for us today. Paul's coming home for lunch so I can take Atticus without the other kids. Pray that Paul will be able to stay on top of things at work even though he'll be home for a few hours today. Thanks.....

Curious Mama

We watch Curious George almost every morning on PBS kids. I watch a lot of the same episodes over and over again. If you are familar with the characters there's a professor that's "Friends" with George and the Man with the Yellow hat. Her name is Professor Weisman. Now on the surface, it seems like the man with the yellow hat and the professor are just friends. BUT...There's one episode where TMWTYH invites Professor Weisman over for dinner for her birthday. He buys her favorite fruit and he remembers her favorite symphony and gives it to her for her birthday. It seems that maybe he would like to date her instead of just being friends. Has anyone else thought of that or do I need to get out more and stop watching so much Curious George?

A sweet time with Sebastian

I'm realizing that especially when Sebastian is sick he really needs his time alone, away from Alexandra. Today as I was cooking dinner, I noticed Sebastian in the play room all by himself. He was playing with the cars we got him for Christmas. Alexandra was in the living room watching PBS. I sat down with him and right away he came and sat on my lap. We played with the cars seeing who would fit in what car and who wouldn't. It made me realize I really don't get that much one on one time with him. It was really nice just to hang with him for even a few minutes.

He's a stool carrying two year old

Sebastian has figured out and has gotten the nerve to climb up on the stool and get things. He can now get up to the sink in the bathroom and wash his hands. He wants to wash and wash and wash. He also just carries the stool around and climbs on it to see what he can see and touch.

Happiness is....

A warm bed with an electic blanket at 8 AM in the morning.

Reality is....

A baby boy going through a growth spurt up at 5 AM. A little girl in my bedroom at 8 Am poking me saying "I see the 8 momma. It's time to get up"!

The baker Erbe's

Even though sickness has abounded at the Erbe house, I felt like I needed to do something last night that we'd all enjoy. So I made blueberry muffins. That sparked Alexandra to make a chocolate potato cake. Daddy said it was his favorite but I said that I'd just take a chocolate cake. What you might not know is that you must wear a bowl on your head to be a baker man or woman. Hence the bowls on their heads.

God reveals when I least expect it

I went out last night to the store to pick up a few things and drove through an apartment complex as a short cut to get home. I remembered that about 4 years ago when I was working full time at WaYfm I worked with a guy that I didn't treat very well. I didn't treat him well because I was so afraid of losing some of my "power" at the station. He wasn't my boss but I had to work closely with him a lot. As I drove through that apartment complex it made me think of him and the fact that he and his family use to live there. We even went to their apartment to watch a survivor finale, when I was still watching survivor. One thing I realized is that I put my position, my power over his value as a person. I was really immature with him and I cringed to think about the way I acted. I also realized that I've changed. I don't think I would do that again. I now value people over an position or job. Even though I regret the way I acted back then I'm thankful that God revealed that to me and that I have changed and hopefully won't do that again.

It's Back!!!!

This truly is the dress that won't die. Meme said that when Alexandra put it on she wouldn't take it off since it made her look like a beautiful Ballerina. Meme said she couldn't resist that. Hopefully I can convince her that it needs to go back to Meme's!

It was 1:30 PM

A rare thing happened today. It was 1:30PM. Alexandra was actually sleeping, Atticus and Sebastian were both sleeping. I layed down on the couch and fell asleep to the sound of nothing and the smell of pot roast in the crock pot. Ah, you got to enjoy the small pockets of silence and the knowledge that dinner will be ready when it's dinner time!

Our Cutie Boy

It's pretty amazing how Atticus is developing. He has such a sweet disposition and smile!

Something Stinks!

Before Christmas I used our Den to wrap and store gifts since the kids really don't go in there. Right around Christmas, something started to smell in there. It smells like wet clothes or a towel. We thought it was our renter. The washer and dryer are right under that room in the basement. Paul went down there to replace some light bulbs and checked the dryer. He said no clothes in the dryer. I started on the mission to find what it was that stunk. I think that it might be something in the basket with our hats and gloves but I'm still not sure. I'm going to wash everything in there because I can't stand the stench any more! I'll update you later.

Sebastian's Birthday

Time really does fly, especially when your pregnant and having another baby. Sebastian turned two on the 30th. He again enjoyed his cake but not as much as the year before, as you can see. It really is amazing that he's two! We had a house full of family and after the first present, he really didn't want to open any more gifts. It was just like Christmas. Alexandra had a hard time, but Grandma Erbe gave her a pretty pair of girly sandals to brighten up the evening.

New Year's resolutions

I know, I know. Every blogger is doing it. I need to put mine in writing for my own benefit.

Eat less, do more!

Quit picking at my cuticles.

See that wasn't so bad.

We're on Vacation

Paul's been on Vacation since before Christmas. The kids have heard him say that's he's on vacation a lot. One day Alexandra came to me with buddy and said "We're on Vacation!"