sheesh.

My kids are killing me! Slowly, but surely, they are killing me. Well, to be fair - Rhys and Oliver, together, on their worst days are half the challenge of Charlie on a typical day. I'm flummoxed.

On one hand, my picky child has been eating foods I never imagined would pass his lips. Pizza, spagetti (the sauce, at least), gravy on his mashed potatoes! Charlie showers on his own now. And he's done beautifully at school. Loves his teacher. Adores riding the school bus.

The problem comes when he isn't at school. He has regressed to where he was before the wonder of preschool--back to the tornado of a child I had hoped I'd seen the last of. Enlisting little Rhys as his accomplice, Charlie has been emptying hampers full of dirty laundry and throwing the clothing around the room. He's been urinating in my house! Pouring milk on my kitchen floor. Coloring on my furniture with pink sidewalk chalk. Spitting at me. Ripping entire boxes of tissues into tiny pieces and tossing them around like confetti. Escaping through windows and climbing fences and pulling down blinds and curtains and breaking windows on my van. The two little delinquents sneak upstairs and throw things out the window. Toys, candy, books, cd's, pillows... anything they can get their hands on. Today it was snaps. An entire bag of snap pieces rained down on my driveway.

I should take this moment to clarify that though Rhys surely makes his own contribution to the chaos, he never does anything like this on his own. His largest motivation, it seems, is pleasing his big brother. While I suspect that Charlie's motivation is to con Rhys into doing the dirty work.

I just can't keep up anymore. I'm drowning. I really wish that someone would take me seriously about my trouble with Charlie and HELP me!

Quikie Update ;)

Been so long since I blogged! How has it been since the end of March?! Wow. Looking back at the past few months -- in an exhausted, bleary-eyed daze, mind you -- nothing really stands out. I'll probably kick myself for that statement soon, but for the moment, let's look forward, shall we? :)

Being past midnight, my little Charlie - my first baby! - starts kindergarten TOMORROW. I've impatiently anticipated this day for years (so has he); yet, now that it has arrived I can't believe that the school years have come already. Charlie is so grown up now! Quite the little character too. ;) I'm so excited to see what this new chapter in our lives will bring. And so not excited about getting up so EARLY. ug.

Rhys has been getting speech therapy a couple of days per week this summer to work on his k, b, and g sounds. He's had a blast in "school" and he's much easier to understand now. ;) Now I'm trying to come up with a last-minute, affordable preschool option for him so that he can continue getting regular interaction with other kiddos his age (who don't beat him up!).
Oliver is a hoot! Quite the charming little fellow. :) He does a lot of talking now; unfortunately, it seems that he speaks a foreign language. Been working on sign language a bit with him and trying to teach him English. ;) He really gets a kick out of me doing the signs for him - even more so when his brothers help - but seems to think that those hand signals are just silly things that everyone else does.

David is finishing his fifth year with CableOne this month. Another "where has the time gone?" scenario. He gets along well with his co-workers and is well respected for the excellent work that he does. I'm so proud of him :) He's been trying harder lately to be a better father and husband. Most days, I can tell. ;) The other day, while visiting Judy and Dennis, David's parents, Rhys wanted Daddy to read books with him - not Mommy, not Grammie, Daddy! Melted my heart. There are few things more beautiful to me than a man being a great dad. :)

And I've now given up a whole hour of sleep! Hope you appreciate it. (hehe. ;) ) Until next time... :)