Asher has a baby too!

As of late, Asher has been telling me that he has a baby in his belly...more specifically, a baby boy, that is *nice* and will be coming out through Asher's belly button when he's ready to. Just now, Asher informed me that his baby boy was "hungy"...and that I needed to stick my finger in his belly button and feed him.

Is he cute or what? His imagination has been running rampant lately with all kinds of wild ideas...there is a "snow monster" that has to be scared away from time to time...and of course, Swiper comes along every once in a while...but it's the "nakes, spiders and crockdiles" that seem to be everywhere. Sometimes he gets SO involved with what he's saying, I think he genuinely believes these things are there...because he gets scared and will run into your lap until you make them go away.

The video below is just a small snippet of Chris playing guitar hero...Asher and Ayris were "playing" their own guitars too...it was kind of cute. I like how the strap is down to Asher's feet and that he's shaking his booty...meanwhile, Ayris can't even be bothered to stand...she prefers to sit while she plays! I was shooting this from the loft which is why it just the back of them...I didn't figure they'd let me tape them if they were aware of it.

A night to myself!

God is GOOD! We'll start with that. As for winter, I'm over YOU...it's time to get on board with Global Warming Minnesota! Last night was MY first night in like forever without kids and a husband. It started great with a movie (When in Rome)...and on the drive home I was daydreaming about how the rest of the night would go...bath...some DVR'd American Idol, Bones or House...but instead...when I pulled into the driveway, my garage door would NOT open because of these lame*ss subzero temps we've been having. So I get out my keys and go to the front door, only to remember that my overly paranoid self just had Chris install those locks at the top of the door like what hotels have...so the kids can't open the door all the way...since I haven't mastered the art of magically opening them from the outside, I knew I was locked out. After about 20 minutes of pressing the garage door opener repeatedly while thinking of how it was too good to be true to have a night to myself AND a quick little prayer to God...it opened! And the angels sang (I will say that God tested my patience for a good 10 minutes before answering my prayer BUT in the end he did and that's what counts!).

BUT, I did get my night and it was wonderful. I stayed up until 11:30 and didn't wake up until 8...I've watched House this a.m. and taken a shower...had breakfast, put on my makeup and done a few loads of laundry...all without any distractions! So thank you to Chris and Papa for taking the kids to the Mall of America and then having a sleepover so I could have some much needed ME time. (The only problem I foresee now is wanting that luxury more often (wink wink) =)

In other news, I stuck to my plan of saying YES more yesterday...Ayris started the morning asking to do face paints...NO is what I wanted to say...what a greasy mess...followed by about 15 good minutes of scrubbing the kids bodies so hard they turn red...and I say bodies because we couldn't keep it in the general face area...it was on the bottoms of their feet, arms, legs, faces, bellies...and lucky for Asher, he still has it inside both of his ears...apparently Lions have a blue color inside their ears (that's what Ayris was going for...painting Asher like a lion)...anyway, Asher wasn't having the scrubbing inside of his ears so for now...they remain blue...and probably will for some time. My second opportunity to say NO came when Ayris asked to get into her costume from 2 years ago. That may seem like a simple request...and it is for the most part but its way high up in the closet...not to mention the fact that its about 2 sizes too small for her...which translates to a waste of time to pull down some kitty costume that barely fits...BUT again, I said yes and the kids ran around in their costumes for a good 5 minutes before stripping down to their skivvies. And lo and behold, it only took a good 3 minutes when I count the time to get them out and put them back later in the day. I'm sure Ayris would have whined for a good 5 minutes about the whole thing so...I think this is a good thing =) I actually gained 2 minutes in this scenario and everyone was happy!

AND, as for little man Collins...I *THINK* he might have had hiccups this morning...I'm just sorry I wasted the time without realizing it. I was on the computer and had it resting on my stomach...he kept knocking at the computer but I left it because I like feeling him move...but he kept it up so much that I decided maybe he was uncomfortable and I was crowding his space in there so I moved it...but the "thumping" continued 3 more times after I moved it...just as I began wondering if they had been hiccups at that point, they stopped...so I guess I'll never know...but I'm crossing my fingers that they were and they'll start increasing in frequency from here on out =)

Just Say Yes...

I just finished watching "The Boys Are Back"...long story short, the mom dies of cancer and the dad is left to raise the boys on his own...on his refrigerator, there are magnets that spell out "Just say yes"...when asked what that meant, he explained that it was to remind himself to say yes more to his kids.

I'm actually going to try this myself. I was thinking about that tonight as I was laying in bed with Ayris. I'm pretty sure I say "NO" about a hundred times a day...sometimes without even thinking...it's just become natural to blurt that out without even considering whether the request is really that ludicrous to begin with. Not only that, but half of the time, if Ayris' pesters me enough, I eventually cave...so is it better to have a mother who just allows you to be a kid and do the crazy things you want to do...or to have a mother who goes back on her initial word and just gives in because she's sick of hearing all the begging? Obviously it's not the latter...I've taught her that if she just wines enough, there's a 50% chance I'll give in...and then it becomes increasingly difficult for her to even understand when sometimes it's a solid NO with no options of it turning into a yes.

When you think about it though...it's no wonder kids want to grow up so fast...it would suck to be living by someone else's rules 24/7 and never being able to do the things you want to do. Having not one, but multiple adults deciding what is best for you on a day to day basis...and by best, I don't mean important things like holding hands when we cross the street or brushing your teeth at night...I mean, the little things kids want to do that we just automatically say no to.

Today Ayris wanted an ice cube in her macaroni because it was too hot...I told her that we only put ice cubes in soup to cool it off but not macaroni because that would make it gross. Looking back, who cares...more than likely, the child isn't going to care if it gets watered down because half of her food ends up being dipped in her milk or water anyway and she still manages to eat that...so again, I should have just given her the ice cube.

She often wants to put her stuffed animals in the bathtub to "wash" them...sometimes I tell her it's okay and sometimes I say absolutely not...because in turn, this requires me to then put the stuffed animals in the washing machine so they don't get that yuck smell...and in my mind, I already have enough laundry to do without the addition of some huge stuffed elephant that "needs a bath." But again, how much more work is it to just toss it in and then throw it in her toy basket after its dry? I don't even have to fold it or hang it up!

I can't count the number of times that I've said no to painting because I wasn't in the mood to clean up the brushes and the table and the kids clothes and the kids themselves after they had painted on everything that was in arms reach...

Just last night I told Ayris she couldn't get out her legos (not the huge duplo kind...the teeny tiny kind that have about a thousand pieces to their name) because we were going to be leaving in a few minutes and I didn't want to pick up the mess...well why buy the toy if I don't want them to play with it?

I know there are a million other things I say no to on a daily basis...with most of my reasoning being based on how much more work it's going to create for me. I tend to think I have enough on my plate without spending an extra twenty minutes picking playdoh out of the carpet because neither child knows how to keep it on the huge space we call a table...but honestly, what is more important? Having my children look back on their mother as someone who always said NO so her life could be easier, or sacrificing a little bit more time so her kids could be happy? And that's being a little dramatic because I do think my kids are happy BUT I almost guarantee if I started saying YES more, Ayris would take notice and ask what was up. There was one day when we were all driving in the car and Ayris and I were talking and all of a sudden she goes "Mommy, why are you being so nice?"...and I was like, what do you mean?? "Well you're just not yelling..." She didn't mean it in a bad way (obviously I had just yelled a lot that day for whatever reason) but it kind of broke my heart at the time. It's hard being a parent sometimes...because you just do things on autopilot...whether it be saying no 24/7 or yelling, or having high expectations from the oldest...and you don't really think about it until an incident like that happens and you're faced with the reality that you're obviously not that perfect mom that you think you're striving to be...far from it.

Anyway, long story short...I'd like to start saying NO a little less and YES a little more...we'll see how long I can keep it up...as I will forever be a work in progress...I'm just glad I have these little reminders that are my kids to keep me in check!

Pregnancy Post...23 weeks

I decided I should post a pregnancy picture...I wasn't good about taking them with Ayris and Asher and haven't been good about it this time around. After I had Ayris take the picture, she decided she wanted to pose too.

I think I'm looking a little large for 23 weeks but I've only gained 5 pounds so far...however, three of those pounds were just gained in the last week or so, so I'm still not sure if my attainable end result of 170 is feasible...I'd have to stay within gaining 10 pounds in the next 17 weeks. BUT the good news is that I was 160 pounds at my 24 week appointment while pregnant with Asher...so perhaps it will happen. IF it does, that means I will have gained 35 with Ayris, 25 with Asher and 15 with this one...you think I could only gain 5 withe the fourth??? Totally kidding. But it's weird how it's easier to gain less weight with each kid you have...

I have my glucose test next week since I was borderline with Asher...God knows it'll be easy to attain my 170 goal if I find out I have gestational diabetes...all eating will pretty much cease at that point because my diet is pure carbs, sugar, all the good stuff you can't eat with GD. So let's cross those fingers that I remain diabetes free so this child can enjoy donuts, pizza and McDonalds for the next 4 months before all it gets is boring milk. =)

Also, I stopped with the baby updates but basically in a nutshell, at 23 weeks, this little guy can hear all of the yelling and shouting that goes on during the day (I first wrote that with myself in mind...but in actuality, the children do far more yelling and shouting than I do...I was telling Chris the other night that it must suck to be 23 weeks in utero just developing the ability to hear and not being able to "silence" the little people who constantly make noise around you (I feel your pain little man...)...I think it's interfering with his daytime sleep schedule because he's starting to have those little parties that his brother and sister used to have smack dab in the middle of the night when I'M trying to sleep...) he also is almost 12 inches long...so more than half the length he'll be at birth (both kids have been 100th percentile for length at 21.5 inches at birth)...he's gotten VERY active...which I love, love, love...Chris was able to feel him going crazy the other night and was pleased as well. I read somewhere once that being pregnant is the one time a woman is able to assist God in creating a miracle...so true...it's an amazing experience and I'm already getting antsy for him to come out so I can see whose been rumbling around in there. The one thing that has yet to happen though, that is my utmost favorite thing, is hiccups...can't wait for those!

Yet Another Video of Asher...

This kid used to know how to climb out of his crib...when he had an inflatable car right next to it that he could use for support...but for whatever reason, he stopped getting out of the crib on his own months ago...when Ayris started yelling for me to come watch him climb out today, I admit, I got a little excited.

It was about a month ago that Asher actually woke up before Chris left for work so Chris was able to get him out and change his diaper that morning before I got up. I told Chris that night how nice it was to have a morning off from lifting those 43 pounds out of the crib and changing him.

I think Chris thought it funny that I would be so impressed by something like that but seriously...it's the little things that count...and with two kids...I've done my share of lifting out of cribs and changing diapers...not that I'm complaining but now that I stay at home...I get a lot more of that monotony day in and day out so...

With this long rant, I was getting to the point of my excitement...now that Asher can climb out of his crib again, I won't have to be lifting all of that weight every single morning...which is proving to be even more awesome the bigger I get. And speaking of getting bigger, perhaps my next video should be of me trying to put on the sheets in his crib with this ever growing stomach...I'm pretty sure baby Adler gets a little worried each time he sees his entire living space caving in on all sides while I try to quickly lean over and put the sheet on. Maybe that could be Asher's next goal? Help a mama out...learn how to make your own bed!

As you'll see in the video, we still need a little work when it comes to climbing INTO the crib...but for now we'll manage...if worse comes to worse, we could put a little step stool there...let him climb on his sisters shoulders...buy a mini trampoline or get some of those doggy stairs? I'm not too worried...the possibilities are endless...

Repost of videos

The three videos of Asher/Ayris didn't come through so I'm reposting using Vimeo...we'll see if that works:

Asher singing Happy Birthday from Michelle Collins on Vimeo.

P.S.

Asher's loving sister threw a Zhu Zhu hamster at his face earlier today...which is why he has those super awesome marks on his nose.

A few pictures and videos from Ayris' Birthday yesterday...

I came across this place called Party Bound in Lakeville...Asher was completely displeased when it was time to go...

Videos posted above.

Happy Birthday Ayris!

Four years ago today marked one of the best days of my life. My beautiful baby girl came into the world and life has never been the same since. It's crazy to even look at some of the pictures below because I can't ever remember her being so tiny and without all the attitude and spunk that she has now.

Okay, so I guess the attitude has been there from the beginning...

This is one of my all time favorite pictures because of how happy and totally adorable she looks...

And this one with her two little front bottom teeth...

Look at that big mouth! All the better for those undeniable vocal cords that she puts to good use for about 14 hours of every day.

Always the little entertainer...

Big sister...

And Loving daughter...most of the time!
It does suck how fast the time goes. I was laying in bed with the kids the other night watching All Dogs go to Heaven when I put one of my fingers in Asher's hand to see if he'd grab it (like both kids and most babies do when they're tiny)...he removed my finger and grabbed his bear...so we're past that milestone he used to do...they also used to call us mommy and daddy...and now we're Mom and Dad...and sometimes, if we're being really awesome, we're referred to as "Crazy." Somehow Ayris managed to grow teeth, get taller, get off her pacifier, the bottle, and be potty trained...all that and way more in 4 years. I think Chris and I are both surprised that we even have such a well adjusted little girl turning 4...that seems crazy. And she's been so self sufficient and sustaining...she's like a little Chia pet that we just had to feed and she did the rest of the work all on her own. She's pretty amazing like that.

So here's to Ayris and the beautiful girl that she's become in 4 short years! We love you always!

Potty training...a trip to Chuck E Cheese and a Puppet show!

Here are some shots of the kids just being themselves...

Here's Asher sitting on his new frog potty...he says "RIBBIT!" each time he pees in it...

Pretty proud of himself...such a big boy!

Riding the carousel at Chuck E Cheese...

Playing this game got Asher like 243 tickets. I played the game first and I got 3 tickets each try...the first time Asher had his spin, he got 9 tickets =)

This was like a flying bike that went up in the air as you peddled...

This is where the kids and Chris do their "puppet shows"...there's a little gap in between the two bunk beds so it makes for a nice puppet opening...

Asher helping...

After the puppet show...it was movie night in Asher's crib...

Here's a video of part of the puppet show...

Here's a video of Asher singing his ABC's...he's not singing the original ABC score...this one is the Super Why version from PBS.

Ayris wanting to join in...

Ayris is going to LOVE my blog when she's a teenager

So today, as I was on my way to my friends house to drop the kids off, Ayris is wanting me to put this harness thing on her horse. So at each stoplight, I'm trying to figure out how in the world this stupid pink plastic thing goes on the darn horse...I'm trying to put it on her butt so the tail could go through the hole...and getting irritated, I tell Ayris it's not working...

"Well that's not how it goes mommy!!"

To which, all I heard in my mind was, "Uh DUH mom...it doesn't take a genius."

And furthermore, if YOU know how it goes then why I am I the one fiddling with it? Needless to say, I finally figured out that it goes on the horses head (after Ayris told me that's where it went)...which looked rather obvious once I had it on...so perhaps she was right to question my intellect.

So after I handed it back to her, I inform her that there is a bandaid in the horses' hair (she put about 10 bandaids on the horse last night which is why I knew it was a bandaid) to which she informs me that it's actually TRASH and that it's TRASH that I had in my lap while I was fixing the horse and that's how it got there.

Mommy: Um yeah...cause I tend to have random trash sitting in my lap at all times??
Ayris: Yeah.

No appreciation for fixing her stupid horse, just a scolding for getting trash in her horses hair. AND THEN, she tells me to drive with both hands (I only had one hand on the steering wheel)...so not only am I inept at putting on horse gear but my driving is crap too =)

The one thing that made me smile though was the idea that 12 years from now, I'll be putting a status on Ayris' facebook page (because we all know that Ayris isn't getting a facebook page until she "friends" me) that reads: Honey, go check mommy's blog at www.comingupcollins.blogspot.com to read my accurate account of your hormonal meltdown in the car this morning...Love ya, Mom!

At which point, all of Ayris' friends will be able to click on my blog link and read about the super cool things that Ayris puts her mommy through on a daily/weekly basis...and the embarrassment that will go along with the fact that her obviously uncool mother blogs about her while inviting all of her friends to read it. Perhaps that'll be enough to keep her in line?

I've become one of THOSE moms...

As I was putting on the same yoga pants, t-shirt, and sweatshirt that I wear practically everyday not 3 seconds ago, I thought to myself that I have become one of THOSE mothers. I remember vividly walking with my friend Michelle as we were leaving the Express Scripts building when we saw an older woman walking with her child...she looked horrible. I remember telling Michelle that I would never be the mom that only worried about how her kids looked...I'd make sure I looked decent too...because afterall, what child wants to be embarrassed by how their mom looks? Well lucky for my children that they're both at ages where they don't care yet because in addition to the 2-3 t-shirts/sweatshirts and yoga pants that I have on rotation, I've also lost the desire to wear any makeup. I've convinced myself I "don't look half bad." That's a far cry from the girl who used to wear full on makeup, wash/dry and curl her hair everyday and actually worry about her weight. (I still do my fair share of worrying about my weight these days...I'm just far less proactive about it...actually, I'm not any kind of active when it comes to losing weight =) When I was in labor with Ayris...before going to the hospital I made sure I was all groomed...everything was shaved neatly, makeup on, hair done, etc...I was going to be beautiful giving birth...after having my second child, at my 6 week followup appointment with my doctor (with a student intern in tow for my lovely vagina checkup) I realized that I plum forgot to shave my other leg...so I had one shaven leg and one extremely hairy leg....I didn't even care!

It is kind of sad to think about it though. At least for my children and husband anyway...I...being the fortunate one...don't have to look at this mess day in and day out =)

For now...I'm off to Walmart sans makeup looking "not half bad!"

The musings of Ayris...

First off...Ayris was being an all out LOUD nightmare tonight as far as volume is concerned. It was driving me nuts so I finally yelled at her for like the 15th time to turn the LOUD down that is her voice and she must've gotten it because she goes:

"Is it okay if I laugh mom?"

That kind of made me feel like a crappy mom...what kind of child has to ask permission to laugh? But two seconds later I was over it...this child even knows how to laugh at insane levels! For the longest time I was searching for her mute button...but now I'd just settle for volume control.

Also...last night we were laying in bed together talking and she was asking about Heaven and out of nowhere the conversation went like this:

Ayris: Well I don't want to go there because I don't like HIM.
Mommy: You don't like who?
Ayris: I don't like boys.
Mommy: Why don't you like boys?
Ayris: Because they have penises and I don't like penises and big balls.
Mommy: MmmmK. What do boys have to do with Heaven anyway?

The conversation just got confusing for Ayris at that point...she didn't understand why I was asking what boys had to with heaven was about...so we dropped it and went to another topic...HOWEVER, score one for my daughter for not liking big balls! Wonder where she got that from? Next topic:

Ayris: Mommy, what is this? (Walking in from the bathroom)
Mommy: It's for your feet...it gets rid of dead skin on the bottom of your foot.
Ayris: Oh, well can you get rid of my dead skin?
Mommy: Well, your feet are too young, there's no dead skin...old people get that.
Ayris: Oh, then there must be some on your feet...let me try and get it off.

4 seconds later after I've shown here where the "dead skin" usually is on your foot...

Ayris: Oh yeah, grandma Sooner has a lot of that white stuff on her feet...I'll take this over to her house next time and let her borrow it so she can get rid of her dead skin too!

There is another penis in my stomach!

That probably sounds crass...unfortunately, that's what kept floating around in my mind when I was pregnant with Asher...and it hit me yet again when I was sitting through the drive through that I have yet another penis in there again. It never phased me when there was a vagina in there...I guess since I've carried one around my whole life, it was nothing new =) ANYWAY, it's a BOY for sure...as you'll be able to tell by the pictures. I was a bit disappointed at first (as was Ayris) as I was really hoping to get the next girl out of the way so I could have boys from there on out...AND Ayris REALLY wanted a sister...and age wise, I thought it would be nice if this was a girl (there'd be 4 years between Ayris and her sister and then 4 years between Asher and his brother had this been a girl and the next a boy) AND I wasn't really ready to give up Asher's status of being my SWEET BABY BOY so soon...BUT, it is what it is and he is a miracle no less. He looks wonderful in utero...everything seems to be great so that's all that matters...and I know once he's here, the idea of even wanting a girl will have flown out the window =) I've even managed to get Ayris on board with yet another brother as long as I promise to try REALLY hard for a girl on the next round =)

Here are a few pics...they should all be labeled: