We’re in so much trouble….

I just can’t get over Aidan’s expression in the first picture…he just looks so devilish!

And seriously, I have no idea where Bee learned about microphones, but she’s on her way to being the next American Idol.  She’s quite the crooner!

These two are trouble together lately.  They find the pool.  They fill it up.  They make mud.  They dance in it.  They antagonize one another and then cry when someone gets hurt.  I’ve actually found myself uttering the phrase, “It’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt.”  All those things I swore I’d never say to my children…all very necessary phrases in the daily life of raising them.

What can I say?  Life is good.

Sunshine and warm days means one thing….lots of outside playtime! 

Katie Bee is thinking about taking up golf…I’m sure her daddy wouldn’t complain.  She’s also working on mastering the fine art of tantrums, gluing herself to mommy’s hip and proving that she is a stubborn, strong-willed little girl. 

Aidan is interested in anything and everything that involves being outside; riding his bike, playing in the sprinkler, you name it.  On top of that he’s mastered his letters (uppercase and lowercase) and letter sounds and has even started spelling and sounding out some words.  It’s crazy.  We’re not pushing him by any means but he seems to have a goal to be reading before we know it.  His verbal skills are still behind where he should be (he still doesn’t speak in elaborate sentences…he’s a man of little words and always has been) but we are in no way worried about intelligence.  Thursday was his last day of preschool for the school year and he’ll start the new year July 26th.  He loves his class, his teacher, riding the bus and everything else that preschool involves.  We couldn’t ask for anything more.

Weekends are good.  Three day weekends are wonderful.  Three day weekends are for Friday night Ace’s games, Saturday lunch at Taco Bell for “burr-ee-yos” (Aidan’s word), trips to Toys R Us for a new play kitchen and Leapster, mega-savings (gotta love 30% off coupons!) at Carter’s and OshKosh, family visits, lots of play time, nap time and relaxation.  Aaaah.  

Both of my camera batteries were dead this weekend and I didn’t bother to charge any of them until Sunday.  So, here are a few pics from Monday, along with the cookie baking that was documented with my iPhone.  (I am so surprised Aidan didn’t have a tummy ache after all the cookie dough he ate!)

Future baseball star

There’s nothing quite like a nap during a Phineas and Ferb marathon…

She’s very lady-like in her dress…showing off her faux-denim diaper!

Pretty girl

Poor Bee doesn’t have many photos…she napped while we were outside with Aidan playing baseball…I’ll try to get some more this weekend.  Speaking of this weekend, remember this post from last year?  Yup, it’s that time again!  Jamie, out of fear of what disease(s) will plague us this year, decided to drive up to Winnemucca Saturday morning so he’ll only technically be gone one night.  Stay tuned…

Motherhood is probably the toughest, most emotional, confusing, stressful, yet rewarding and most wonderful job I’ve had in my life.  The day I became a mother was the day I became a little less selfish, a little more sentimental and a little more patient.  Becoming a mother meant sacrificing hours of sleep (per night), putting someone else’s best interests before my own and realizing what people mean when they say that something makes their heart smile.

As a mother I get the opportunity to see life through a child’s eyes another time.  I know how it feels to love someone so much that your heart aches, how kissing owies magically makes it all better and how snuggling in bed watching Disney channel at 6 a.m. is the perfect idea of a Saturday morning. 

I am so blessed to be the mother to two wonderful children who have taught me so much about life, about love and myself.  As a parent you give up things that you once had/did, but it’s not a sacrifice as much as it’s a privilege.  Your adventures are different, but no less adventurous.  Life is never dull and I love it.  If you ask Jamie, I tend to thrive on the moments where life is in chaos; kids are screaming/laughing/yelling/running/stripping down naked/turning the house upside-down.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers/grandmothers in my life.

It’s May.  I didn’t write a single post in April.    Correction.  I wrote posts in April but they never got posted…either because a) I never finished them or b) I’m very particular about my writing and have a hard time putting things out there that are, in my opinion, sub-par (or dull).  Most All of the posts I wrote and never posted were both.

So, here is a  recap of sorts.  I’m going to try to get better about writing more regularly…

Bee celebrated turning one by getting an ear infection (diagnosed after a weekend-long fever and SEVERE crankiness) and then proceeded to have an allergic reaction to not one, but TWO antibiotics.   (I will spare you the pics of the horrible hives she had covering her body, but in the Disneyland pics, you can tell her poor little face/eyes were swollen!)

The following weekend involved haircuts, coloring eggs, finding eggs and eating candy….oh, and numerous head injuries.  (It wasn’t one of our finer weekends in parenting.)

On April 7, we loaded the kids in the car and, against our better judgment, the 4 of us headed on the long drive to Disneyland.  We had looked in to flying, but considering our current budget; with one income, two children in childcare, tuition and all the other necessary bills, we couldn’t rationalize it with the amount of money we’d be saving.  However, there are still certain things I will “splurge” on considering that, as I tell Jamie, “These are years of our children’s lives we will never be able to re-live…” therefore certain splurges are not splurges but rather, necessities.

3 days in Disneyland+2 days driving was perfect.  I discovered though that having two children to keep track of, especially one who is swollen and hive-y (is that a word?) and attached to your hip makes for a busy trip.  There is a surprising lack of photos (at least compared to child-less and one-childed trips) and the majortiy of the ones that we do have look like the kids either went by themselves or just with Uncle Ryan and Uncle Phil.  Either way it was fun, and although we discovered Bee truly REALLY ABSOLUTELY is not a car person (Aidan on the other hand did not complain once either way as usual) there is something I love about being stuck in a car for 9 hours with my little family.  The screaming from the small female child in the backseat did make me question why I loved it, but I loved it nonetheless.  If it were up to me, the Sei family would take more road trips!  (I know Jamie is rolling his eyes reading this part.)

Things calmed down a bit after that.  I finished up my semester and we have even been able to enjoy some days in the backyard…when it’s not snowing of course.

Back to school for me tomorrow.  Life as I know it is over.  My nursing classes officially start, along with Saturday clinicals.  I’m excited/scared/anxious/nervous.  On the bright side, only 15 months and some-odd days until I will be an RN!  (providing I pass my NCLEX)  And I’m really going to try to post more often…even if it’s not perfect/has nothing to do with the children/contains no pictures/is a total rant about how much homework I’m procrastinating.

Hold me to it.

****WARNING: Serious Photo Overload****

This last one really shows how swollen her face was…she really is a beautiful mess.

Dear Katie/Bee/BeeBee/Princess/Katie Bee/Katie Jay/Sister/Sissy,

     Happy 1st Birthday!  Who knew a year ago just how much our life would change with you in it?  In retrospect we should have known what we were in for after those first few days.  After a very quick arrival I was disappointed to learn we would most likely spend an extra day in the hospital due to a potential infection.  Due to the concern, you had multiple blood draws during our stay and the first morning the nurse came in to tell me how it had taken two nurses to hold you down while the phlebotomist did his blood draw.  Strong-willed indeed.

     After wasting no time entering this world, you continue(d) to waste no time reaching milestones.  Having a big brother seems to have motivated you to grow up and join the “big kids” as quickly as you can.  You don’t care much for “baby” toys, took your first steps a day before turning 10 months old and just seem very social and worldly beyond your year.

     I never understood the phrase, “beautiful mess” until I met you.  You have a bad habit of smearing food in your hair (a compliment to the chef?), drinking your milk so that it dribbles down your chin and finding every spare speck of dirt.  You’re most confident when your hair is a mess, preferrably from wrestling with your brother, eating or life in general.  Your favorite pasttime seems to be emptying cabinets and drawers….”shopping” as your daddy and I call it.

     I don’t think your daddy (or anti-pink me for that matter!) understood just how quickly or easily we could embrace the sea of pink clothes, hair bows, tights and accessories that come with having a girl, but we have.  I find myself admiring, and oftentimes purchasing those frou-frou outfits and accessories I swore I’d never be caught dead buying.  And, as much as you can be very rough and tumble, you seem to appreciate clothes, accessories and items of “girly” persuasion.

     It’s funny how in just one year life seems so complete with you in it and life before you seems like decades ago.  For all your smiles, stubbornness, giggles, kisses, fits, scrapes and messes, we love you. 

Even Aidan. 

Happy Birthday Katherine Jaycie Sei!

Love,

Mommy, Daddy and Aidan

May God give you…
For every storm, a rainbow,
For every tear, a smile,
For every care, a promise,
And a blessing in each trial.
For every problem life sends,
A faithful friend to share,
For every sigh, a sweet song,
And an answer for each prayer.

-Irish Blessing

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

…playing with the couch cushions and all the giggles and static that follow.  Seriously.  Bee even stayed up past her usual self-imposed 7:00 bedtime because she was having such a good time.

We’ve come to the conclusion that Aidan is touring the Reno/Sparks area one bathroom at a time.

It doesn’t matter if he’s just used the restroom, but the instant we are in a store/restaurant/piece of public land, he’s got to go.  Seriously.  We’ll be 3 feet in the door and hear this little voice say, “Potty?  Potty?”.  It’s sad when your son knows the location of the Home Depot bathroom better than you do, but then again, it’s one of his favorites.

I admit it’s tempting to use the, “No, we just used the potty 30 seconds ago” line but when the alternative potentially means being 30+ minutes away from home with a 3 year old that’s wet from the waist down and errands still to run, you can’t help but give in.  Call us weak, but I guess we’re just not  fans of being out in public with our son 1/2 naked and the countless police/CPS visits that would most likely follow. 

This has led to some interesting bathroom encounters, namely the Del Taco bathroom on north McCarran that I swore after the first visit I would never go into again but had to during another potty “emergency”.  Let’s just say that because of those bathrooms I would NEVER eat at Del Taco. 

I learned early on in Aidan’s potty training days that having a boy definitely has its benefits when on the road.  I can’t begin to tell you the number of times we’ve pulled over somewhere between our house and Fallon to ”water some sagebrush”.  However I think sometimes that peeing on the side of the road becomes a novelty.

About a week ago we left for the sitter’s house and as I was about to pull out of the neighborhood Aidan squeaked from the back, “Potty?  Potty?”  I assumed I was safe until we reached the sitter’s but as I turned around to talk to him at the stop sign I noticed the telltale potty dance of a small child whose bladder is moments from bursting and has no chance of holding it for the 3 minutes it would take us to get back to our house nor the 5 minutes it would take to continue on and use the sitter’s bathroom.  With no other choices (I was not in the mood to wash the carseat cover and spend 5 hours of my life figuring out how to incorrectly put it back on the frame) I pulled into the public land use area above the high school, strategically parked so that we could be discreet and quickly let him do his business.  Crisis averted.

However, my son, whose memory is like that of an elephant’s, does not forget all the cool bathroom stops we make.  Two days later we were leaving the house and after we passed the outdoor potty spot I heard from the backseat, “Potty?  Potty?” to which I said, “We’ll go potty when we get to Kim’s.”  Aidan’s response?  “No, over there.” (pointing to the sagebrush)  Having witnessed him use the bathroom at our house not 10 minute prior, I chose not to give in.

Every weekend I look forward to the new bathrooms I can critique.  Today during a 4 hour excursion we toured the bathroom at Snip-Its (children’s hair salon), Home Depot and Starbucks…and that’s a slow day.

Look for our upcoming guidebook, Northern Nevada Bathrooms 2010.

As a parent you analyze everything your child does. 

“Aidan can figure out how anything works…he’s going to be an engineer.”

“Did you see the way he scribbled outside the lines?  He’s the next Kandinsky for sure!”

“Katie is indestructible…I bet she’ll be a roller derby queen.”

But ultimately you just want them to be happy, successful and leave their mark on the world. 

As for Aidan, he’s busy leaving his mark on the play-doh of the world…spurred on by daddy showing him how to make handprints.

And this one…oh, she’ll go places.  It’s only fair to leave your mark on the world when it keeps leaving it’s mark on you.