"Don't Make Me Stop This Van!"

I uttered those words for the first time yesterday. Usually by the end of the week, my patience has worn pretty thin, and I'd just read yet ANOTHER note from Zeke's teacher stating he had a hard time listening and keeping his hands to himself in the hallway. This was the second time this week, and I was irritated.

We were on our way home from school/daycare, and Zeke was in the kind of mood where he just didn't want to keep his hands to himself. All of a sudden, Zeke started hollering. In the Mommy Mirror (that wonderful devise that lets you see the entire inside of the minivan and the area immediately surrounding the outside), I could see Gabe pinching Zeke.

"What's going on??" I asked.

"Gabe pinched me!" yelled Zeke.

"Why did he pinch you?"

"I don't know!" (Lie. Just moments before, I saw Zeke waving his hands in front of Gabe's face and messing with him.)

"Tell you what," I said, "I want you to sit with your hands in your lap and don't bother your brother. Mommy has to concentrate on the traffic."

A moment later, all was quiet in the back, but I could see Zeke's hand edging its way up the side of Gabe's car seat.

"Hands to yourself, Mister!" I said sternly.

"But I don't wanna!" whined Zeke. "I just wanna put my hand right here on the side."

By now, Gabe was trying to remove Zeke's hand from the car seat. At the same time, he had taken to screeching at his brother at the top of his lungs.

"Alright, you two!" I had taken my voice up a notch or two. "Quit all that carrying on back there!"

"But--"

"Aaaarrrgggghhhhh!!" screamed Gabe.

"DON'T MAKE ME STOP THIS VAN! You'll get a whoopin' before we even make it to the house!"

[Cue water works from Zeke.]

"What's the matter now??"

"I don't like what you had to say just now."

[Mental head slap.]

"Well, if you'd do as you were told and not mess with your brother--who doesn't know any better, by the way--maybe I wouldn't have to tell you you'd get a whoopin'," I said.

I still love how I can get away with the mere threat of punishment, which has almost as good an effect. Hey, Hubby and I and many of our contemporaries lived through it, and we weren't emotionally scarred from getting our tails whipped if we stepped out of line.

My point? I have to say that while verbal reasoning with a child old enough to understand is a good way to encourage good behavior, I'm not against giving out a pop on the hiney, if one is much needed. Some parents feel we should never smack children. To that, I say, "GET REAL!!" Kids will be kids, but someone has to keep things in check, and sometimes a pop on the butt is what it takes.

It hurts feelings more than it hurts little behinds. Really.

You don't have to agree with me. Many don't. But when my mother got out her de-feathered feather duster (which was by then the perfect cane) after my brother or I screwed up, well, that put the fear of God in us pretty quickly. Of course, we grew big enough to where it didn't really bother us, so my mother found other ways to get her point across, when she wasn't happy with our behavior.

For now, my 5 year old and 1 year old will just have to learn these things in time. Until then, little bottoms beware!

Parenthood: 5 Years Down and Counting...

Today, Hubby and I are celebrating having survived the first 5 years of parenthood. Yep, our little Ezekiel hits the big "05" today at exactly 4:32 p.m. As far as he's concerned though, he's already 5.

Five years ago at this very moment, I was resting in my hospital room after being told that the induction has failed to progress, and we will be proceeding with a c-section. I know how some mothers feel they have failed in some way when presented with this news. I, for one, was relieved. They'd given me the option of calling it off, taking a shower, getting a bite to eat (by now, I hadn't eaten anything since the night of September 20, so yeah, I was famished), and going home for the night.

"Oh, HELL no!" I said. After coming this far, being sent home was NOT an option. Dang it! I had been through this much crap for the past 24 hours, and I wasn't going ANYWHERE without a baby in my arms!

The c-section was scheduled for 4 p.m. In the mean time, I was to get some rest, and the anesthesiologist would come by to get me prepped for surgery early in the afternoon.

I'll never forget the way Hubby had to sit at the far end of the room during the epidural. He can't stand needles, and his face was looking very flushed at this point. From the time we headed to the O.R. to the time we were back in Recovery, he was so red in the face, I had to ask the nurse to keep an eye on him. Luckily, he was fine, but he couldn't bring himself to take pictures of the actual delivery, so the anesthesiologist grabbed the camera from him and snapped away. Apparently, that was before there was a ban on filming or taking pictures of the actual surgery, so we don't have anything from Gabe's actual appearance into the world, but quite a few of Zeke making his grand entrance. (Too gruesome to post on here, I'm afraid. Trust me...you'll thank me. LOL!)

He was perfect. Perfect little fingers and toes, perfect little nose, perfect little...umm...boy parts. *grin* Hubby checked that first, I think. LOL! He was our perfect little baby boy.

And here we are 5 years later, and we're still living through it, every high and low, every scraped knee and all the tears and laughter. It's definitely been an interesting ride thus far, but I'm proud to say to the whole world, "Yes, I'm a MOM! And I've got the scars to prove it, by gosh!"

We're having dinner and a cake tonight at home with my folks. Unfortunately, Hubby won't be home to join us, but we'll take lots of pictures. The pan of brownies pictured above is for his class at school today. With all that frosting on top, the teacher is going to have 20 kindergarteners bouncing off the walls...literally!

Happy 5th birthday, big guy. Lots of love from Momma, Daddy, and baby brother Gabe. xoxoxox

Moments

I posted this as my Facebook status last night, but I wanted to write about it here, too. Last night while trying to get Gabe to go to sleep, I was rocking him and singing "Twinkle Twinkle" to him. He'd been rather restless and fussy all day from a cough and runny nose, and I knew he was beyond tired.

Gabe looked up at me while I was singing, and I smiled at him. The next thing I knew, he squeezed his eyes shut, scrunched up his nose, and gave me a big, toothy grin. It was so unexpected that I laughed out loud, at which time he peeped one eye open and giggled.

My heart melted. :)

I tried to carry on singing, but he just kept on doing it and making me laugh. Every time I'd get him settled down, he'd do it again and giggle, and I'd laugh, and we were back at Square One.

He FINALLY stopped the silliness and drifted off to sleep. I wish I had my camera with me to catch that peaceful look children have on their faces when they first nod off, but I didn't. I wanted to remember that sweet little face for when he becomes a teenager, and I have to remind myself why I should tolerate all the B.S. I know teenagers put their ever-loving parents through every day until they grow enough sense to match their rapidly growing bodies.

It's moments like these that make me realize I'm so glad I'm a mother. Yes, they do try my patience just about every chance they get, but then they do something goofy like this, and you can't help but love them that much more. You take a big risk putting your heart out there, in that little body that was once inside you and is now a little person of his own. When he wants you to put him down so he can go toddling off to explore, you feel a mix of emotions. One day, he'll be off to college, his own place, maybe a wife and family of his own, too. At the same time, a part of you doesn't want them to ever leave.

Until they do something that snaps you back into reality, and you try to assess the damage and figure out what it's going to cost you this time. "How long did you say until you turn 18 again?"

*grin*

It's all part of parenthood, people. It's the emotional roller coaster you sign up for when that kid enters the world in all their naked, wrinkled, screaming glory. It's messy, it's tiring, and it's downright bloody challenging at times.

And like many of us, we just can't get enough of it.

At The Hospital

Yesterday morning...very early in the morning...I wheeled this little guy and a sleepy big brother into the main entrance of the hospital. Gabe was getting tubes in both of his ears in an effort to reduce the number of ear infections he keeps getting in his right ear.

Since he wasn't allowed anything to eat or drink after midnight the night before (and those of you with little ones know just how cranky a hungry or thirsty child can be early in the morning), I opted to bring in the once-banished pacifier in an effort to keep him quiet.

I'm glad to say it worked. I'm also glad to say he forgot all about the pacifier after the procedure!

My little trooper was in and out in no time at all. He did a great job, the doctors and nurses were fabulous, and the whole experience went surprisingly smoothly. We had all the grandparents in the hospital room, along with big brother Zeke and myself. Hubby was at work and couldn't make it, but he did call to check in on the lil' fella later on in the day.

Once back in the room, I handed Gabe his sippy cup of milk, and it was gone in all of about 2 minutes, followed by a meltdown, followed by the nurse hurriedly bringing in some apple juice for the pint-sized patient. He still wouldn't crack a smile, at least not until after getting something to eat.

After a trip to McDonald's for a late breakfast, Gabe was back to his old self, if still a little tipsy from the anesthesia. It was funny to watch him try and walk around, much like watching a happy drunk stumble over his own feet, get up, laugh, and do it again.

Anyway, all's well now. We're on drops for a couple of days, and then a follow up with the ENT doctor in a few weeks. Gabe's back in daycare today and is back to his old sassy self. I was pretty nervous about putting such a little guy under general anesthesia, but like I said, it was over so fast that we didn't really have time to dwell on it. At least it's done and over with, and hopefully we can look forward to an ear infection-free holiday season.

Thanks to everyone who was in attendance on the day and to all the support and thoughtful comments from friends and family. :)

Catching Up

I've been horrible about staying current with this blog. Now I'm lucky to post once a month! Sorry, sorry...life's been busy as of late. So to get caught up, here's what's been going on the past month or so.
The biggie was Zeke starting kindergarten. He's been there for almost a month now, and I think he's having a great time. There's so much more to do and learn than there is in daycare (and understandably so), which he finds mentally stimulating. A kid like Zeke needs to stay occupied, otherwise he winds up goofing off and getting into trouble.

Gabe had his first hair cut! He doesn't look like a baby anymore!! Actually, since these pictures were taken at the salon, he's had a haircut at home, too.

Gabe's also going to end up getting tubes placed in his ears on Monday. The poor thing has been dealing with ear infection after ear infection since about Christmas, and the doc and I are in agreement that this has got to come to an end. Hubby will still be working out of town, but all four grandparents are going to be joining us at the hospital at 6 a.m. come Monday. I hope this takes care of the ear infection issues. :-\

Hubby's working with a highway paving crew now. While it's still an on-the-road job, at least he's home every other weekend. He's excited about this weekend because we're going to a benefit picnic in Smyrna, and his all-time FAVORITE cartoon characters will be there (yes, he's the only adult I know that ADORES the Power Puff Girls). I said I'd even humor him and take a picture of him with the girls, just so he can frame it and put it on his PPG knickknack shelf at home.

Not much else going on right now. Work's steady, the kids are fine, the Hubs is fine. Can't really ask for more, can I? Well, maybe a million dollars, but that's another story.

Hopefully it won't be another month before I post on here again. LOL! Blame those awful games on Facebook. I think my evenings are sucked into a black hole of Frontierville, Mafia Wars, and Cafe World. It's sickening really.

Ciao, peeps!