Keeping Busy

We painted our yearly pictures (Johnny's first) a few days ago, while Brian was still here. I requested that Galina paint a family picture and she obliged, but added Anna too :) and painted me as Belle. I took a picture with Brian's phone, so one day I'll add it to the blog. 

Johnny enjoyed himself. He, of course, had to get in a little taste. Crazy boy. He really liked doing his hand print. I've saved a few gigantic rocks (basketball size) from the front yard and we're going to paint them this summer. I think I'll let the kids paint them and then I'll add eyes :) that way we can have some garden rock monsters! 

Galina and Johnny are really growing into great friends. Some days are better than others, but for the most part he adores her and she him. Granted, he doesn't talk yet, so that could change the game substantially, but for now they have a great little system going. 

I took the following picture a few days ago, when Galina was reading a book to the boys and Johnny decided to climb up next to her and try to lay on her shoulder. She wasn't thrilled with that position, and let him know with a nice shoulder thrust, so he contented himself with sitting as close as humanly possible and reading his own book. Well, he was actually tickling the book and making his little sound "Weeeoooooo-Eeeeeooooo" really fast. It's 100% adorable and we love it. So, they sat there for a good ten minutes and "read" while I sat with my camera snapping pictures and wasting my time with them on Facebook. It's a problem really, and the only way I can combat it is to go and do things with them. Go jogging, go to the playground (come on warm weather!!), or just go sit in the living room with them. Tonight I was on the computer and realized that they were both playing in the front living room. I made myself stop, after an internal dialogue that went something like this, "Come on, Katie. You're missing out on them, you are NOT missing out on anything online. They want to play for a little bit, you want them to play, you want them to be tired for bedtime, you'll get your chance to sit aimlessly in front of the computer when they are asleep." So, I turned off the computer and went into the front living room. Galina confirmed my feelings of guilt by saying, when she saw that I was sitting down with them, "Are you going to play with us, Mother?!" I don't do it enough, and yet I am with them 24 hours a day. I don't know. 

At any rate, tonight, as I was rocking Johnny to sleep, I felt like I should take a minute to write down some things that I want to remember. I tried to fill in their baby books last night, but there are only so many places for me to write and I like to write. 

Most mornings I wake up to Johnny saying, "Mama" on the baby monitor, intermingled with quiet moaning because he's probably laying face down, on his knees, in the crib trying to decide whether he wants to get up or go back to sleep. When he decides he wants to get up, he empties his crib - blankets, toys, it all hits the floor. If you take longer than five minutes, once the "Mama" has started, he'll start crying. I go pick him up, once I've donned these two kitty hand puppets that he loves, and quickly walk into my room to change his diaper and not wake Galina. We don't spend long in my room because it's pointless to try and lay down with him, he'll throw a fit. Both of my kids are early risers and once they're up, it's all business. They are not sleepy-heads in the morning. 

We try to walk downstairs quickly and I'll put my finger to my lips and say, "Shhh, Galina is sleeping." And he'll put his finger to his lips and say, "Shhhh" the whole way down the stairs. Our first stop is letting the dogs out to go pee. He likes to look out the window and "Eh!" at the dogs and cars and birds. 

Once the dogs are back in, we figure out breakfast. For being so little, he sure has an opinion about what he wants to eat. He does not like Cheerios (and they're honey nut!!), but he does enjoy frosted shredded wheat (strawberry first, then blueberry) or fruit loops or oatmeal - any kind. He's not a huge fan of a glass of milk, he'd rather have orange juice any day. He doesn't like when he sees me do 1/2 water 1/2 juice, but he'll drink it anyways. I LOVE to watch him sit at the table and eat a bowl of cereal with a spoon. It's just adorable. I don't know how else to describe him. Adorable. Is this a mom/son thing? Or what? Everything he does is adorable to me! It's a little ridiculous. Hands in pockets? Adorable. Saying, "Mmmmm, no."? Adorable! Unrolling all of the toilet paper in my bathroom? Okay...maybe not that, but dadgum he's adorable when you catch him and say, "Johnny! Don't do that!" because then he will say, with a little shake of his head, "Hmmhmm" which is his way of saying, "Okay." Tell me that's not adorable? 

Anyhow, sometimes I'll ask him if he wants to watch cartoons while he eats breakfast and he'll get a huge smile and open his mouth with a "Haaaa" sound. He gets very excited about cartoons. He loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Timmy Time and Imagination Movers. He also really enjoys this little short cartoon that comes on between Timmy Time episodes called "Go, Baby!" It's not my favorite, but he really likes it. 

So, he sits there, eating little bite by little bite, covering himself in milk. And if I've refused his "No" and given him Cheerios anyways, he'll sit there and smash them with his hand to watch the milk squeeze out. Adorable. Kidding! :) 

After about twenty minutes Galina comes down the stairs and says, "Hi, Mother." I love her. She comes down and instantly wants breakfast. Sometimes she'll even eat a few bites before she goes tinkle - that's bladder control. I also have to add that typically I go upstairs towards the end of breakfast and turn off all fans and noisemakers, make beds and open blinds. This morning Galina made her own bed before she came down. I was thrilled and shocked! Okay, so then she sits and eats breakfast and watches TV or will read whatever books are laying around. She also always asks for a glass of milk with her cereal. And will eat and drink both. She loves a bowl of cereal. Neither of them are too keen on hot breakfasts, unless it's a Saturday morning and Brian is here to act excited about it. Every once in awhile Galina will ask for pancake bites, but I think that's only because I put chocolate chips in them and she loves those. 

After breakfast I usually attempt a work out of some sort. I say attempt because unless they are strapped into the stroller and I am jogging, it's a very hilarious attempt at a work out video with Johnny constantly under foot. I usually do my videos on the computer and have cartoons on for them. Galina will watch cartoons solid, for hours, if we will let her. I don't know why, but she will. Johnny...not so much. One of the best parts about working out with him around is that if I walk away from the computer (to fill a drink, get a drink, help in the potty, etc.) he'll reach up and pause my work out. He knows how to push the space bar to do it. Then he races back ahead of me so he can start it again. My least favorite part is if I do anything on the floor, he instantly thinks I'm a jungle gym or a horse. He likes to unwrap my exercise mat for me and then tries to hand it to me, no matter what I'm doing. Same with the resistance band. Galina used to like to "work out" with me, but I'm sad that I squashed that desire. There just isn't enough room and I don't want to step on her little toes with my sneakers, or, even worse, kick her! So, she may come up while I'm stretching and say something like, "I can show you how to stretch, Mother" or "I know how to do yoga!" When I go jogging outside she tells me that she'll show me how to stretch out. She'll do two or three random leg movements and then say I should be good. 

After exercise is my shower. Johnny always follows me upstairs, while Galina parks herself in front of the TV, or if she's lucky enough to find it unattended, the iPad or iPhone. Tech-junkie :) Johnny wanders from room to room upstairs. He'll come into the bathroom and chuck things into the tub for me, or wave the curtain opened and closed. I'm used to the bathroom being arctic while I shower because he'll also turn on and off a floor fan that we have in there for night time noise. 

Once showers are over, I get the kids dressed. Johnny is easy because he could care less about clothes. Galina, at 4 almost 5, is a different story. She's very opinionated about what she's going to wear in a day and hates when I impose my judgement on her outfits. Of course she'd wear a dress 24 hours a day if we let her. I don't think it's because she's girly either, I think they are just easier to her. Also, she has a Merida dress and a Tangled dress - so...I mean how can you blame her? Never mind that she walks around looking like she should be at a Medieval fair :)

By the time all of the exercise nonsense is over we either have to go outside and play instantly (weather permitting) or this is errand time. We're typically home by 1, if not earlier because I hate feeding the kids fast food for lunch, especially when they would prefer a ham and cheese sandwich, or pb&j (finally with Johnny!!) just as much, if not more. 

Johnny naps at 1:30 p.m. sometimes earlier, sometimes later, but not by much either way. And to put him down, you have to let him say goodnight to Galina, which he does by waving "bye-bye" and blowing kisses. Then you change his diaper, and rock him in the glider. He always, nap time and bedtime, wants you to sing a few songs. Namely: Popcorn Popping, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Roll Your Hands, and Head Shoulders Knees and Toes. He does hand motions to all and loves them. Once you sing through that list, then he'll lay his head down on my shoulder and wrap his arms and legs around me and snuggle in for a night time song, either Baby Mine, Goodnight My Love or Rockabye Baby. Then, and only then, can you lay him in his crib, where he instantly points at the quilt that Erin made Galina (with the A,B,C's) and wants you to tell him the letter and the picture. I'll do two or three and then I blow him a kiss, which he returns, and I walk out with him saying, "Eh!" behind me. But you rarely ever hear a peep out of him after that. 

Galina, during his nap time, will play her letter game or do some sort of "school" activity. Once she feels she's accomplished something she'll say, "Now I get to watch a movie!" Sometimes I give in then, sometimes I say, "Only if you do________ first." She's okay either way. She also enjoys playing a Webkinz game online too though. Of course, I enjoy it too - there is a game arcade and I could waste just as much time there as I do on Facebook any day! We try to limit the time on Webkinz, for her :) She's doing great at her letter game, but if she's aggravated with something or preoccupied (Heaven knows how that's possible with a four year old) it will take FOREVER to do a simple 20 minute game. Some days I plow forward, other days, I turn on the TV. Yes, I am seriously going to homeschool this year....

I try not to waste nap time and will either read myself, or straighten up, start dinner, do 1 on 1 time with Galina or, if it's just a yucky day, waste time on the internet. Amazing how quickly two hours can pass online! 

Two hours later Johnny is up and ready for a snack, but it is always so close to dinner that I can never strike the right balance and either give him too much (won't eat dinner) or too little (screams until dinner). There is never a happy medium. At least, I haven't found it. He will stay underfoot, too, if no snack is given. But if I give him something, he'll disappear into another room and play or aggravate Galina :) 

Galina has this fantastic habit of going "poopy and potty" as she calls it, with the dogs in the smallest bathroom in our house. It started when she would sit on the toilet and talk and talk and talk to me, and not go potty forever. So, I started calling the dogs in (in HI the bathroom was HUGE) and she would talk to them for awhile, then call me to finish up. So, she still does it now, except Johnny likes to join the party too. Sometimes I think, "Gosh, that's gross." and stop it. Other times I think, "Oh well." and let him in there. But he inevitably aggravates the snot out of Galina because he just wants to open and close the door, which makes the dogs walk in and out and just frustrates G. I think, personally, that it is hilarious, but I've never let them know that. 

So, where are we...dinner time. Here in Mass, dinner doesn't happen until about 6, if Brian is home. Right now he's away so it's happening between 4:30-5 p.m. When he's here, after dinner the kids corner him in a room and play with him while I clean up or...you guessed it...waste time on the internet. When he's not here, after dinner we either go on a walk or clean up or....I'm not going to beat a dead horse. We count down until bath time - 6:30 (if it's been an awful day and I'm done) or 7 p.m. (if we're all in good moods). Sometimes we'll do a treat before bath time. Then we're in jammies and we all gather in Galina's room to play, make a mess, read stories, tickle - to tell you the truth, I love the bedtime routine most of all. I feel no urge to be at the computer. I love to be in her room for that hour or so and just play with them. They run around like crazy and are so loud. They both pick books and love to listen to their stories. But, eventually Galina will say, "Phew, I'm tired." and that's our cue, like my Dad saying, "Wellp" when he's ready for everyone to go home :) So, we say prayers - well Galina says her bedtime prayer: "Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for this day. Thank you for our home and that we're safe. Please bless that Daddy will have a good night's rest. Please bless that Mother will have a good night's rest. Please bless that I will have a good night's rest. Please bless that Bing and George will have a good night's rest. Please bless that Johnny will have a good night's rest. Please bless that we won't have any bad dreams. Please bless all the people in the Hawaii town. Please bless all the people in the Massachusetts town. Please bless that we'll have the spirit to be with us. In Jesus Christ, Amen." That's a pretty solid representation of her prayers these days. A few things vary, but for the most part, that's it. We try to add variety and every once in awhile she won't be in the mood to say a prayer, so I will, or Brian. Johnny always starts out pretty good, standing next to the bed with his hands clasped together in front of his forehead, but after a few seconds he starts roaming the room or jumping on the bed. He's so torn between folding his arms, like Brian and I do, and clasping hands, like Galina does. I have no idea how she started doing that, but she does it and I can't correct her. Not when I peek out at her during Primary and see those little eyes glued shut, with a forced look of placidity on her face, and her little hands, fingers straight, palms together, right below her chin. Love her. I can't do it. One day she'll look and see that she wants to fold her arms, but for now - well...she looks Catholic :) but she's sincere, so I'm okay. 

Speaking of Primary, I love her in Primary. She'll raise her little hand if she wants to talk, but never above ear height. She sits in her seat like she's glued to it. Still, listening. Of course, the other week she wore a necklace (every Sunday asks to wear a necklace) and was playing with it during Singing Time and it broke. So her little face, she didn't make a sound, just screwed up her little nose and mouth, turned red and started tearing up. Walked up to me at the front of the room (I do singing time) and I have to pause and see what's the matter. The funny thing is that because she's always so quiet, but everyone knows her for some reason, the whole room stops with me to see what the matter is with her. And everyone wants to help. She's just a sweet girl. 

Goodness...I've rambled forever. I just feel like I want to keep so much of this for myself, for them and I can never write long enough in my journal to get it all down. Typing is so much faster for me. Anyhow - I'll write some more another day. For now, I'm so grateful for my babies. They're healthy, sweet, adorable, smart and so entertaining and they love Brian and I so much. It's humbling. I'm so, so grateful for them.