*Sigh* All that Pinning....

...and our (my lol) brilliant ideas will need to wait about 5 more years. Since twins were born and we realized private school not really an option with 3 kids (we had anticipated two children lol), we have been going back and forth on staying in our current house or moving. Moving for two reason 1) boys school 2) closer to Marcin's work. I love our current house...if I could take it and move that, I would be happy! lol

I was pinning ideas for a great mudroom with cubbies for all the boys school things, shoes, sports stuff, instruments...whichever they may get interested in:-) We toyed with moving the laundry room upstairs to our sitting room.....because really? Who uses a sitting room? Ours has a futon mattress for the boys to jump on and a love seat we dont' need. A storm door for our front door. Extending Master bathroom shower...maybe some nice tile. Tiling over the downstairs bath, the morning room and the new mudroom. I guess I will be saving these for next house, well except for the granite. That would be a good reselling point. That thought just depresses me because while we sold our townhouse at the peak of the market 5 years ago...we also bought at the peak so obviously we won't be making money on this house when it does sell. I never thought we would but I had hoped we might break even....I don't see that happening unless something crazy happens with the market :-(

When we were searching for houses 5 years ago, we ideally wanted to be in the Pike Creek area. Beautiful area but older homes with higher price tags :/ Some needed new roofs, windows, kitchens and bathrooms gutted, etc. Not minor renovations but costly and large renovations. So we started looking elsewhere and found our house :-) We picked out all of the options we wanted, except granite because we figured we could get to that later. Obviously, our needs/wants have changed over the past 5  years that we have been living here. Marcin would also like a slightly larger yard and we both would like a neighborhood or area without the homes being as close. This also seems hard to find in Delaware without a hefty price in the area we would want.

So for fun, I and sometimes Marcin joins me in the fun. I was optimistic in that maybe there were would be more available than there used to be in the Pike Creek area. Not so much. Similar houses....15-20 years old with original kitchens, mauve carpeting, maroon tubs and vanities, forest green carpeting, wallpaper....lots and lots of wall paper! that can be fixed but sheesh, so much wallpaper! LOL The older homes tend to have larger lot sizes. The newer homes that we like tend to be on smaller lots and higher price : /

That leads us to look in Pennslyvania....Landenberg/Avondale area. Beautiful homes, nice lot sizes, most of the homes less than 10 years old, great school districts. Sounds great right? The property taxes are crazy...well compared to Delaware. Some $10k and higher. Although I have been recently told that you can appeal these taxes and possibly cut them in half because some need to be revaluated based on the market going up and down. I need to look into this because almost all of the homes I see here, I really like or need minor cosmetic changes. This area is just 5-10 minutes from Delaware and around the area of Pike Creek/Hockessin. So it would meet our needs of better schools and closer to Marcin's work.

So as I was looking at ways to better organized our hot mess of an office, I realized I really don't need to spend that much of my time on this. Our list has shortened of things to do in our current house....granite in kitchen and updating upstairs bathrooms by painting cabinets and making them more organized/user friendly for family of five :-)

I think we finally decided on a 5 Year Plan. Alot can happen in 5 years....our needs/wants can change. Assuming things don't change too drastically, we will be looking for a new home. What we would want in a new home has also changed a little, more specific that I think will take us a while to find. We should just build our own home but with Marcin overseeing that, it would YEARS to be completed! It would be perfect once done :-) But years and years to meet his standards:-P (love you honey!) Gah....I should start packing now. The thought of packing/unpacking a family of five makes me want to chug a bottle of wine. I haven't done that since college. It was a pain to move with just TWO of us....let alone FIVE! oh vey....in my dreams I see the 9 year old Gavin being super helpful with packing and bossing his younger 7 year old brother around and delegating their tasks. A mom can dream :-P

Photo Book

Click here to view this photo book larger

Build your own high-quality photo books at Shutterfly.com.

Happy Mother's Day!!

Being a mom is probably the best thing in the world. I may change my tune when I have 3 teenage boys in my house lol These boys are my life and so very much fun! Yes, there are rough days where I just want to hide in a closet with a good book and relish in the quietness. Although, once it is quiet, I never know what to do with myself :-) These boys constantly amaze me and the love for them is just out of this world. I don't know what I have done to have such a blessed life with my family. They are amazing and I thank God for them every single day.

We started Mother's Day around here last Sunday lol Simply because the restaurant I wanted to go to for brunch does not accept reservations. I am pretty most places will be busy tomorrow for brunch and well....we weren't too crazy about waiting with the 3 kids in tow, so we went last weekend and it was just as amazing as I thought it would :-) We like to go to Deer Park in Newark and sit outside. I don't know why but this restaurant has become somewhat of a tradition for us :-P It was the first place we went out to eat with Gavin, J&K, Mother's day past couple of years..it just seems to keep coming up :-P And with the kids during warmer months, we always go where we can sit outside...so much to keep them occupied. Deer Park is right by train tracks! The street is right there so plenty of cars, trucks, motorcycles, etc. to keep the boys happy lol

Tomorrow we are hoping to get an early dinner in at Chesepeake Inn, sitting outside of course, on the deck....BOATS! The boys will like that :-) There are also speakers and doors for gavin!

Speaking of doors...if I didn't know better, I would guess that Kaleb is following in Gavin's door obsession foot steps. Of course, Kaleb and Jakob are always around when we are doing errands and Gavin needs to open/close the door so it was bound to happen eventually. Gavin started with the sliding deck door....Kaleb has started this also. Lord help me! lol

Today Gavin and I went to see the Imagination Movers! I have to say for a kids concert, they did a good job! They seemed really into it but not weirdly into like the annoying Wiggles :-P The band was interactive with the kids in the audience. Kids were dancing, jumping around and going crazy in the aisles! So cute! And a lot of the adults were really into it also....dressed up like a Mover and all that. Some families were all dressed like a Mover. One dad had made some pretty serious signs lol

Gavin was too funny! This was his first official concert and I don't know that he was prepared very well. When we first got there, he was glued to me and just taking it all in. We sat down and after 10 minutes he came to the conclusion that they weren't coming lol They did come a few minutes after that and the kids went nuts! Except Gavin....he was still sitting there trying to figure out what was going on :-P He was in complete awe of the instruments, the rotating and changing color of the lights. The mechanics of everything drew the most attention for him, no surprise there....our little engineer :-)
At one point, I was laughing hysterically because the Movers were trying to get the kids to 'raise the roof' and Gavin kept looking at the ceiling, hehe! I am guessing we need to get him out more? Kids are seriously the best at allowing you to see things through their eyes. I love it! We had a great time together today. I love it when he and I can get out and do things together :-) I think he does as well. Right now it looks like a disco club in his room since I let him take his flashy woggle goggles and some other light flashy thingy in his room for bed.

So earlier in the week, I realized two things that I need to work on:
1) I was losing my patience with kids, especially Gavin way too often.
2) I was on my phone too much with kids awake.

These things needed to change. Obviously some days are going to be better than others but I could see a change in Gavin's attitude and mine. He is older so more is expected from him. However, J&K are into just as much and they seem to get the smaller brunt since they are smaller and not so much expected of them being 20 months. On Thursday and Friday, I tried really, really hard to relax a little and not stress over little things. What an amazing turn around in Gavin's attitude by Friday. Even on Thursday, I could tell a difference with his demeanor and his willingness to listen more and follow directions. It was like we were both reinforcing each others behavior :-)

The phone....I remember almost a year ago telling a friend that I didn't need a phone with the data package and all that stuff. I just wanted a phone for talking, texting, pics/video. That's it. Well Verizon didn't offer very good phones with these features unless it was a smart phone. So I caved and got one. It turned out to be a stupid, smart phone so I went to the dark side and got an iphone. The iphone is great.....it is like a pocket sized person. I am available to everyone 24/7. If I need directions or answer...it is there. Takes good pictures. It has all I need and them some....it is distracting me from my kids. I shouldn't be checking emails and Gavin is asking me to come play. He shouldn't have to ask me to come play. Of course, same goes for cleaning the house. So I put my phone down. I mean, is there really anything THAT important that I need the phone attached to me? no there isn't. So I turned off my notifications and left it on the table. It was nice......I will be working on this also. So if I don't get right back to your emails, text, phone calls, etc., this is why.

Here are some fun pictures from the past week or so :-) A little peek into my crazy, fun house!!!!

doesnt he look scary?! lol

light sabers.....oh vey!

he loves his tata!!

lol they love climbing on backs! great massage lol

Gav and I getting ready to go to Movers!

hehe jealous jakob....he has to get a pic too!





















It's not slowing down.....

Usually after Christmas....January and February are sort of a lull with not much going on. That wasn't so this year. So I figured eventually things HAD to slow down at some point, right? Hmm....not so much. I am starting to think this is life for a family of five :-) There is always something going, somewhere to go and something to do while you have time :-) I guess I should just start stocking up on wine and roll with it, right? hehe

It has a a been a couple of weeks since I blogged! So long in fact that Blogger has apparently all new settings that are way too complicated for my brain to process at 6:00 a.m. and only half a cup of coffee! maybe later because it looks like some fun new additions! I woke up at 5:30 a.m. all by myself today....this may have to do with the fact that since the new year I have been getting up btw 5:30-6:00 to either exercise or get my shower (some days both!) in before everyone wakes up or I just couldn't sleep today because Gavin has his surgery to get his adenoids removed and tubes placed in his ears.

Over the winter Gavin had constant ear and sinus infections. Then once we met with ENT to review his x-ray which showed that his adenoids were huge and he was thoroughly tested for 31 allergens, only to be mildly allergic to mold which didn't not explain all his issues. So ENT suggested to definitely remove adenoids and we might as well get tubes placed while he is under in hopes of that getting him through this years winter...we shall see. I hear so many stories of tubes seeming to fall out of the older kids and then having to be replaced :/ ENT also believes removing adenoids and tubes will help decrease the amount of fluid constantly in Gavin's ear and hopefully he will be able to hear better once the fluid can drain properly. And by removing the adenoids he should have less sinus/ear infections and his voice will even out instead of sounding nasally. His surgery is at 1:00 and we need to be at hospital by 12:00. He cannot eat anything but jello or clear liquids until 10:00, after that....nada :-( That is the part I worry about most. And him waking up in recovery...that part seems to be really tough for the kids. I will be there waiting for him and we put together a fun little goody bag for him with some Super Hero Rescue Squad books, DVD, a spiderman blanket and stickers :-) He has really been starting to get into Super Heros lately. Especially Spiderman and Ironman, so cute! Although I watched a Spiderman episode on demand the other day just to preview....um inappropriate for anyone under 15 or maybe even older. One chick was talking about Peter Parker coming after her because once she got to the water, she was getting naked! WHAT?! Sorry....I like Gavin's current Nick Jr./Disney bubble :-) I know, I know....we can't protect him forever but I feel like anything goes on TV lately.

Gavin got his 3 y/o preschool evaluation yesterday, hehe!!! He got an "M" (Mastered) in everything but paying attention and 'using his manners without being reminded." Paying attention section was also followed up by a comment stating he tends to get easily distracted with other activities going on in room." yep...that's gavin :-P I was a little surprised by the manners because he usually used his manners well but it was furthered explained that when he wants something, he says, "I want..." instead of asking, "May I have...." this is true so I guess we will be working on that. He is great at holding doors for everyone :-P Overall, I am happy with his school this year. I think he has learned alot both academically and socially. I thought he would have picked up more negative behaviors than he did, so for that I am thankful lol

Kaleb is doing great! I know I have said this before but the kid is so silly! He loves to jump out and get you from behind a wall and will giggle to no end! He is just a big teddy bear and allows Jakob to jump/crawl all over him. Which is funnny because if you would have asked me a year ago, I would say Kaleb would be more dominant when it comes to physical play but he isn't. He still loves to cuddle too which is the cutest thing ever! He is starting to use more words and definitely knows a lot, he can point out or show you just about anything you ask him to. But he isn't repeating words you ask him too unless it is easy like dada, mama, more,down, etc.  No worries...he still gets his wants/needs across just fine! Kaleb can also be pretty spiteful when it comes to toys and snacks. Even if he doesn't want something, he will still try to take it from Jakob or Gavin just to prove that he can. He will take and grin. Yesterday Gavin was sitting with me watching a show and Kaleb kept pointing to my lap where Gavin was sitting. I told Kaleb it was Gavin's turn...apparently I am not to be shared. If someone is sitting with me.....Gavin, Jakob or Kaleb, only one person at a time. So Kaleb proceeded to climb up until he was just about sitting on my shoulder. All the while Gavin telling Kaleb to stop it, it was his turn. lol Lately, Kaleb has been very much into diggers, dump trucks, tractor trailers, etc. In the car, he will repeatedly ask, pretty loudly, "WHAT'S THAT?!" If he sees a digger that is on, he gets so excited! He has been reminding me a lot of Gavin also with his shyness. Gavin will sing away, play the drums and rock out if he thinks you aren't watching but as soon as you catch his eye...he will immediately stop and ask me to look away. Kaleb does similiar if you catch him doing something :-P

Jakob also doing great! Removing his adenoids seemed to really help him out! He has been sick but once since he had his surgery in february! He did start to have some coughing/congestion a while ago but pediatrician suggested starting singulair and within 3-4 days, he wasn't coughing anymore! YAY!!! He still loves to tackle everyone, steal Kaleb's toy while running away giggling :-P It is so funny to watch because he will run around house with the toy while Kaleb cries and then if you ask him to give it back to Kaleb....he will. It seems like he just to torture his brother :-P Jakob is also getting better with his words/sign language. He is more likely to try and repeat a word. He will also sign for drink, more, all done and other things that he has made up. We understand it but other people probably wouldn't lol He is also loving cars, trains and airplanes :-) He loves to sit and play with a car and a race track. So odd to me to have a child that sit stills for any period of time.

I don't know about Marcin but I am having a blast with these boys!! They are so much fun to just sit back and watch them learn about the world around them. Their energy is endless (super jealous of this!) and their curiousity is endless! Sometimes Gavin will be going somewhere and ask his brothers for a hug and kiss before he goes. Sometimes Jakob will just come up and start hugging and kissing you for no reason...he is a BIG cuddler, so sweet! Kaleb will just come up, put both arms around your neck and bury his face in your shoulder for a few minutes. Of course, some days I would like to just sit and do nothing and one day I will be....in 20 or so years. Some days are stressful and I can't wait for bedtime.

I look at our boys and wonder, where did the time go? How did they all get so big, so fast? *sigh*

Have a wonderful weekend! Sorry to be slacking on my blogs (reh reminded me to get on here), just busy around here!!