Ok...I am starting to detest this.

I have downloaded and  uploaded I don't know how many blogger templates! I haven't found one I like yet. I am very close to putting it back to the basic template I found on this website b/c everything just keeps getting me fuzzed up. Either it loses something, moves it around, or completely distorts it. Grrr... so what to do? I have been sitting here for what seems like hours, and I have accomplished absolutely nothing. Not to mention the fact that I have used up most of my bandwidth. Oh YAY!

I'd Like to Order a Name Please

I can't help but laugh every time I think of this, so when I saw the retweet for NJBaby by NJFamilyMag for responses on how parents selected baby names, I knew I had to share. Twitter limits your post, so I figured...why not blog and then tweet it!

The name game is always a fun one. We already had two children and each of them had names linked to other relatives/loved ones. We were at a loss for names for this baby (boy or girl). Everyone offered ideas including the principal at the school where I was employed at the time as a teacher. During a faculty meeting a paper was passed around with several of our family members full names. A few of my co-workers, including the principal tried with no avail to come up with some suitable choices for our little one. The most normal name was for a girl. It was a combination of our son's middle name and our daughter's first name. Brian and Emilee became Brilee. We weren't feeling it, but it wasn't X'd off as of yet. Nothing excited us! Finally we gave up and thought we would just put more effort into it once we knew the gender of our baby.

That day was an interesting one to say the least! Of course we were excited to be finding out the gender of our baby, but we were still pretty nervous because early in the pregnancy the doc suspected twins for some reason and had mentioned it on various occasions. No scans ever spotted a twin, nor did we ever hear a 2nd heartbeat. We were sure we had dodged that one, and were so happy about it! Twins are most definitely the cutest things in the world, but we sure didn't' think that was a task we were ready to take on! Dads 'n Moms of multiple birth babies definitely have their hands full and kudos to them! I think they are awesome! I have cousins who are twins... and well, that would be a whole nother blog post in itself! lol!

So we get to the office, and wait our turn. Finally I get to go back to the 2nd waiting area and wait, and wait, and WAIT some more! I finally get my turn and the tech is freaking me out! She was all fidgety, so I was about to go off! By the time you sit there and wait for what seems to be an eternity holding your urine, you definitely think you will truly burst; you want the tech to get the entire process over with as quickly as possible.

In this case, the tech was in a talkative mood as she pressed and prodded all over my belly hitting! I was so loving that pressure on my bladder! I am a nice person, but I was very close to saying shut up and get on with it when she finally seemed to get serious and down to business. She then stops moving about and pops a huge smile on her face followed by the question of who was with me? I told her my husband was in the waiting room, but he was just fine there.

Since this was our third baby, there was not really anything new to be seen in my hubby's opinion.  He swears he can't focus on those crazy things, anyway! It's not real fun to stare intently at a blurry screen, and say "Oh I see her face!!" -- only to be smacked and told ... "dummy, that is her rump!" That of course is then followed by cackling from half the staff when it gets around the office! :)
So... he had opted to sit in the lobby for baby #3 and wait for me to come out and simply surprise him with the gender of our baby. The next thing I know the tech is insistent! She wanted him in the room and was overly joyed to run out and get him even though I tried to tell her it was completely unnecessary! Besides that would totally ruin my plan to freak him out and fib... they found twins! ha ha!

As the tech went off on her merry way, I sat there doing everything in my power not to pee on myself!
Then, it suddenly hits me... Oh no!!! Jokes on me; she has found that twin!

I am then in a panic... I can't be having twins! This baby was unexpected, unplanned, being born 4 years after our last one, my hubby was scheduled for the snip, I was using birth control and other forms of contraceptives... and...AND... OH NO!!! HURRY UP!!!! I THINK I AM GOING TO PEE!

I am wondering where in the world that tech is? and where is my husband? The pregnancy hormones are raging! I am freaking out! Just as I think I am going to pee all over the table, here they come waltzing through the door!
My husband looks absolutely clueless! I look absolutely petrified! And the tech... well, she needs the smile slapped off her face! lol! That would be those hormones again btw!

The tech points my husband to the other side of the table, grins from ear to ear, positions both hands on the monitor (one on each side), turns to us and says, "Are ya'll ready for this?!"
She spins the monitor around to reveal a VERY CLEAR, good sized ... no mistaking it... MALE PART!! lol!
The tech gingerly says, "I have never seen one this clear and pronounced before!"
I guess she thought my husband just had to be there! Are men seriously that proud when their offspring is well endowed? lol! My husband was like...whatever! He probably thought it was an elbow! ha ha! And... I am joking! It wasn't THAT pronounced to be mistaken for an elbow!

I suppose the tech expected to hear a gasp from each of us, but all she got out of me was a sigh of relief! I was so relieved, I almost relieved myself! lol! This was good! I was overjoyed! I had JUST ONE perfect baby with all ten fingers, all ten toes, and ummm... well... a penis! lol!

But back to the name...We had the gender, so the name had to be chosen! We couldn't bring a nameless baby into the world! :)

My dear husband took me out to eat after I had spent what seemed like 20 mins in the restroom relieving my bladder. Now, like any pregnant woman who sat in the doctor's office all morning, I was ready to eat! The other two children were with their grandparents, so we decided to enjoy a meal together alone at a restaurant we seldom get a chance to go to. I opted for my favorite Italian restaurant! I'm usually one to want Mexican, but this was my fav when the kids weren't with us-- quite and romantic even during the day! Perfect for an after-ultrasound date to discuss baby names! lol!

Still laughing about the ultrasound and how relieved we were that our little boy wasn't twins, we began perusing the menu. My husband opts to try something new.  He does one of them wiggly finger dances across the menu and opts to order whatever his finger lands on. I'm not that brave; I stick with my fav and go with the seafood alfredo. He tells our waiter he would like the Adriatic shrimp. We're in Louisiana, so I doubt very seriously those shrimp came from the Adriatic Sea, but it did sound interesting!

The waiter leaves and my hubby jokes that our boy was definitely no shrimp, but we could name him Adrian. We laughed so much,  I was sure I would have peed had I not already hit the restroom again when I arrived! And suddenly I stopped laughing... it hit me! I snatched a napkin, searched frantically in my purse for a pen, and then jotted A-D-R-I-A-N on the napkin. My husband was a bit puzzled at my actions. I then explained...
A is my mom's middle initial, D is my dad's middle initial, and RIAN are the last letters of our 1st child's middle name (though the ending wouldn't be pronounced the same as R-I-A-N in Brian).

I don't recommend anyone going to a restaurant and looking on the menu for baby names, but hey... you never know! That name could be right on the tip of your tongue! :)

Adrian is now 6 years old, and he is defiantly not a shrimp! He is just a big boy...big boned, heavy, and tough! It was no wonder they kept thinking I was caring twins! He came 2 weeks early and was barely under 9lbs!

What's wrong with my kids???

I took great measures to redo my entire schedule (btw iLuv schedules 'n iLuv to stick to them, so this was hard)! I had to do something, though! My 14 yo couldn't seem to stay awake for much of anything unless he was working on tasks with me or he was outside swing a baseball bat. Reading a small passage of science or doing a puzzle for health in the morning hours was sure to act as an instant sedative! It was almost as if I had to stay right on top of him to get anything accomplished! There is only so many times you can flick ur teenager on the ear... you'd think it might just be a wee bit sore by now! lol!

So the new schedule is done and we started it Tuesday. I am used to rising early thus I feel like sleeping late is such a waste, but if that's how my kids are wired...well, there isn't much I can do! I've got to go with what works best for them! In doing this my hopes are that the kids will enjoy the extra bit of sleep in the morning, the allotted free time, gaming rewards, and the individualized PE time (w/activities to suit their individual interests). My other hope is that by my breaking everything up, we could possibly accomplish more w/less fuss!  Oh, 'n we have also incorporated more family time! I have been riding bikes with the kids in the morning after breakfast (if they are quick to get their chores done). DH has since pulled out his own bike and has been working on it. I think he plans on joining us for our evening rides. That's a bonus b/c he and I both could use the extra exercise! 'n well, everyone can use the family time!

But back to my point-- Here I go giving them all this extra free/fun time 'n... ??? Today, my two older kids scarfed down lunches, went outside and rode their bikes at the noon break, and then they came back in 15 mins early without a word... AND started doing their school work!!!! Have they lost it? or am I imagining this?

Rain, Rain, Go AWAY!

Yesterday we attempted a new PE game. I would have posted a picture, but as I said... we attempted it. Just as I got everything set up, a rush of wind came and rain swept in without warning! I never seen such disappointed kids in my life! They were so excited they attempted to play it in the rain, but I frantically started grabbing everything and ordered them all inside! We were hoping to try again today, but the rain just blew in again!!! Can you believe it! Perfect timing...just thirty minutes before we are to do PE. It wasn't a lot, but it was just enough to make a mess! So... we will put off our new game again! ho hummm...

Relax!!!

Uh... is there really such a thing? Some days I wonder if I am pushing my perfectionistic attitude onto my children. It really is a curse. I know where I learned it... my own parent, and now, ... ugh.  Can I break the wheel?  No, I don't want slackers, but I really do want my kids to enjoy life at least a tiny bit more than I have! I've got a schedule and I am pretty headstrong about keeping it... but this morning my lil guy, 6 yrs old, got up when his daddy got up to get ready for work 'n wanted to get his work done so he could have the day off! I almost wanted to tell him no b/c ... WE HAVE A SCHEDULE... that wd just totally throw me off, ya know! but his enthusiasm to get to work, get done, and just relax and have fun... Well, you have got to envy that! So he drug his chair over from his desk, and pulled it up to my teacher table and got started. He has been working pretty diligently since 6:15 this morning! I decided to get on the computer and do a few things, my back to him. I spun around to discover something all too precious! I guess it was just way too early for school work. Bless his heart... he tried, though! I got to give him that!