We probably shouldn't show our faces at Deanna Rose park any time soon...

Number one most embarrassing Jack moment occurred at the park today.   In the middle of the park, surrounded by a circle of other kids, Jack pulled down his pants and underwear because he needed to use the restroom. I saw those bare cheeks from across the park and yelled "Jack Boddicker NO." Thank God he didn't start to go potty all over the other children gathered around him. Needless to say I pulled his pants up as quickly as a nine month pregnant mom could and we bolted from the park.

Bath time and Star sh*#$!

Jack was serenading me during bath time this evening with his own little rendition of a popular  Nicki Minaj song. ( I thought it was Katy Perry until Corey just now corrected me.)

While splashing around playing in the bath, in a high pitched voice, Jack sang,"Star shits were meant to fly." 

I heard this one line over and over and over until I couldn't take it anymore.  I yelled for Corey to come upstairs to hear it for himself!  We both laughed hysterically and enjoyed the new song lyric that came from a four year old just enjoying the bath!

Bathroom renovation, bedroom swapping, and oh, a new baby is on the way...

Well, if I had to sum up the last 6 weeks, I would say we are exhausted and now just anxious!  Over the past several weeks so much has happened.  I turned 30 in mid July which was a day of eating at some of my favorite places, opening 30 beautiful gifts from my parents, and being spoiled by so many loved ones!  Not to mention, Corey surprised me with a wonderful gift which includes a vacation for the two of us at the destination of my choice!!!  Around the same time, my father-in-law started renovating our master bathroom which also turned into a renovation of our master bedroom as well.  Pictures will be posted soon!  The renovation is almost complete.  Thanks to my parents for taking Jack and Caroline for an entire day one Saturday, Corey and I had the chance to potty train Thomas.   Against all odds, potty training was surprisingly pretty successfully! Lastly, just a few days ago we took the plunge and moved the boys into a room together to make room for the new baby.  Oh do they love chatting before bed!  They have hilarious conversations and it's pretty sweet to hear them converse before bed.  If we could just get them to nap during the day, that would be amazing!

The days have been long, busy, and so exhausting.  Corey has been super dad and has really taken it upon himself to do as many things as possible to make my day easier and God love him for that.  I have little gas in the tank as this pregnancy comes to an end and all I can do is focus on delivering this baby on Wednesday. 

The idea of another c-section makes me terribly anxious and I dread the surgery.  I think God knows I have such a weak pain tolerance so he has generously spared me the pains of natural child birth and for that I am grateful.  However, the surgery and slow recovery is no walk in the park either.  I keep reminding myself that the miracle of being blessed with another child makes it all so worth it!

We have no idea what the gender of this baby is and I can't wait to find out!  We have enjoyed discussing with the kids what names we like and whether or not the baby is a boy or a girl.  We have narrowed down a few girl's names but we really don't have a favorite boy name as of yet.  I suppose we should get on that!  More importantly than naming the baby, we just hope and pray for a healthy baby.  God has blessed us with three happy, healthy babies and we continue to ask for his hand in providing us with another healthy little one.  Wednesday can't come soon enough!

The Big 3-0

I am married to a fantastic man!  Watch this slide show Corey made for me for my 30th Birthday and you will see why I am one terribly blessed lady!

Click on the link below:

http://prezi.com/4kr4sjzcjxws/30th-birthday/?auth_key=844d81f274143a3f111326d95cbe6114d635135e

Uncle Brian

It hit me like a ton of bricks that I have failed to mention Uncle Brian in our blog.  How on earth could I have left him out thus far? He is a tremendous Uncle to our three kids.   He wears them out while playing werestle mania in the basement (it's a real sight to see), he takes the boys off my hands when I need a breather, he is so sweet to Caroline, and he laughs the hardest at my Jack and Thomas stories. 

Oh yeah, all of this does not make up for the 20 plus years of torture growing up.  But it's a start!!!

What goes with Cinnamon Rolls? ...MILK!

  
It's a good thing Corey went to Sam's to get milk for the week because I made cinnamon rolls for the first time on Tuesday.   What compliments cinnamon rolls better than milk?  Yummy!

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/ninety-minute-cinnamon-rolls/

Stephanie Got Hitched!!!

Congratulations Aunt Steph and Uncle Eric

June 22, 2012

Family Picture

James, Mike, Lisa, Caroline, Stephanie, Eric, Thomas, Brittany, Corey, Jack, and Alison

Boddicker Ladies

Aunt Steph and Thomas

Caroline

Jack

Desatin, No Problem!

Last week I stumbled onto a pile of creamy, white Desatin smeared all over the dinning room floor.  Hmmmmm.  I instantly knew who the culprit was due to the fact that both Thomas and Caroline were napping.  I quickly wiped up the mess and then I waited to see what Jack would do when he came back to the dining room and saw that the white goop was gone.  I know Jack all too well, and I knew that he was going to try to clean the mess up by himself before telling me about it.

Seconds later I peek upstairs to find the hall closet light on and I see Jack  looking for something.  I let him find what he is looking for and I waited in the kitchen for his next move.  Ah ha!  A new roll of paper towels came bounding down the stairs and Jack quickly came down after it.  He rounded the corner with his paper towels in hand and then stopped abruptly as he noticed the mess was gone.  I was spying on him from the hallway and trying so hard not to laugh out loud.  He had this quizzical expression on his face and before I knew it he was running toward me to tell me he 'accidently' made a mess and that he couldn't find the mess anymore.

I confessed that I cleaned it up first and that I was watching him to see how he was going to resolve the issue.  He then admitted that he had a rash on his bottom, applied the Desatin himself (which he has never done before for good reason), and then spilled a ton on Desatin on the floor and wanted to clean it up before I could get mad about it.  His words, not mine.  We both had a good laugh and then I had him go to the bathroom to wash his hands. Yuck.

Farewell Spring , Hello Summer!

 Thomas got his first haircut with the clippers! 

He looks so old and so much more like Jack!

 Katie turned the big 3-0! 

The high school gang got together to celebrate over dinner at Gram and Dun and drinks in Waldo!  We had such a fantastic time out on the town!

Thanks to Caitlin, Carrie, Katie and Molly for a fun evening!

 The Boddicker babes went to Grandpa Darby's pool for the first time this summer over Memorial Day Weekend.  Caroline looked pretty cute in her 3T swimsuit!

 Jack really wanted a T-Rex Takedown for his fourth Birthday! 

He saw this toy one time at Target and couldn't stop talking about it! 

Thank goodness Mom and Dad came through! 

The O'Shea and Boddicker babes celebrated Jack's Birthday! 

So typical that one Boddicker child  refused to face the camera!  Good work Caroline!

Jack turns 4!

Happy Fourth Birthday Jack!  We love you so much!  Life just would not be nearly as exciting or sweet without you!

Love,

 Dad, Mom, Thomas, Caroline & Baby # 4

The World is Jack's Urinal

Guest post #2 on the blog. Another story that has to be told in the first person. I am an avid outdoors man who enjoys hunting, fishing, camping, etc. Much to my enjoyment, both of the boys have taken a liking to going on "adventures" with their dad.

Every spring (usually in February) male deer drop their antlers and begin growing them back for the fall breeding season in order to fight for the females. There is a window of a few weeks after the antlers are dropped before the forest turns green again. It is a perfect time to head into the timber with the boys and hunt for deer antlers with Jack and Tommy.

This particular Sunday, Grandpa Boddicker and I loaded our pockets up with snacks and bottled water and headed into the woods with Jack and Tommy. After about an hour of hiking through the woods Jack announced that he had to pee and wanted to head back to the house and find a toilet. Grandpa Mike and I explained to Jack that when boys are in the woods, they can pee on a tree or in the bushes. Jack dropped his pants to his ankles and got a big kick out of peeing in the woods. We headed back to the house empty handed. Alison rolled her eyes about Jack "going in the woods" but the life lesson had to be learned. And now the story starts....

The following day, Alison had an appointment at the doctor's office. I made it home from the office early to relieve Grandpa Mike Darby of his babysitting duties. The kids were hopped up and acting like maniacs. We made some small talk and Mike started laughing and informed me he had a story to tell.

"After Alison left everyone was playing in the backyard on the swingset." Mike said. "I was pushing Tommy on the swing while Jack was running around the yard. Next thing I know, Jack drops his pants to his ankles and started  peeing on the lawn."

I told Mike the about the hike in the woods and had to sit Jack down and explain the difference between peeing in the woods and peeing in the middle of the yard. Alison was mortified. I, on the other hand, could not stop laughing about the whole situation. Three months later and we have yet to have a repeat.

Corey

Mother's Day

Mother's Day was delightful and good for the soul.  Corey got up with the kids in the middle of the night (all three kids have been battling pneumonia for the past week) and he let me sleep in!  I woke up to the glorious smell of bacon and french toast!  What else could a girl ask for?  With a little coaching I'm sure, the boys each told me Happy Mother's Day and smooched me up!  I laughed at my card which pictured a mother drinking out of a LARGE wine glass....hmmmm, my family knows me too well!  We took turns going to church and mass was particularly humbling because I had yelled at the boys just prior to church about being kind to each other and keeping their hands to themselves...typical stuff that I didn't think I needed to remind them about on Mother's Day.  Right..., they are 2 and 3, they will need to reminded of these simple rules until they are at least 29 and 30.  Later in the day Jack and I went to pick out flowers to plant in the urns on our front porch and we had a ball eating complimentary popcorn at Suburban Lawn and Garden.  When we returned home from our outing, I walked inside to find Corey asleep on the couch while Thomas and Caroline were napping.  Naturally, I took his picture and sent it to a few family members wishing them Happy Mother's Day!  We wrapped up the day eating a delicious dinner outside prepared by Aunt Steph and Aunt Boo!  I am a very blessed mother and I was certainly reminded of that this Mother's Day!

Dress like a Lady

During this fourth pregnancy I have resorted to wearing comfy clothes probably a little too often and my hair and make up routine have reached an all time low. Ponytails and concealer, that's about it. I feel pretty good if I shower by noon, and I feel pretty darn proud of myself if I slap on a little bit of mascara once a week. Corey is so lucky! So today, I woke up feeling like I had a little more pep in my step and I actually showered early, put on a maxi dress, dabbed a bit of make up on, and threw on some Stella & Dot jewels! When I came downstairs...the boys looked at me with pure astonishment. Jack even said, "Mom, are you getting married today? I said, "no, why do you ask?" He said, "well you are wearing a dress, you never wear dresses." I smiled and laughed and kissed him on the forehead. Even my three-year-old has noticed how my appearance has suffered lately. OUCH.

Life is busy and wonderful this Spring!

The Boddicker kids are making great strides!

Thomas is doing great with his new glasses!

Jack has mastered the fine art of Ziploc painting!

Thomas tried on his "fancy" dress shoes for Aunt Steph's wedding! He loved them!

I walk out of the room for 10 seconds and Caroline has managed to rip out half of the baby wipes! Excellent!

Surprise, we can't take a normal family picture on Easter! This was the best we could do...

Thomas was more than a little disheveled after Mass.

Caroline loved Easter...mainly because she was fed candy all day!

Easter Egg Hunt the day before Easter...Some children were more willing to participate than others!

Even Caroline was not on her best behavior!

Family Picture with Grandpa...thanks Jack for joining us!

Thomas tackles the toddler bed

I walked into Thomas's room last night around bedtime to find Corey and the boys converting Thomas's crib into a toddler bed. My first thought was, "boooooo," simply because Thomas is the kind of child who needed to be contained otherwise he would be running around like a wild man when he should be sleeping. My second thought was, "ok, it's time, he is 2.5 years old."

Last night Thomas was a little uncertain about sleeping in his bed that looked so different than his familiar crib but he was quite the trooper. When I went in his room this morning around 6:30 he said, "I slept all last night, Mommy!" In all actuality, he woke up once, but that is pretty typical! I'm pretty proud of him for staying in the bed! Looking forward to seeing how naptime goes today! Good thing Grandpa Darby will be here for that one while I am at the doctor!!! Good luck Grandpa! I hope Thomas stays in the bed during his nap!

Happy First Birthday Caroline!

Happy Birthday Sweet Pea! We love you so much!

Thomas gets glasses!

What does it take to get a two-year-old to wear glasses all day long? A lot of bribery!!!

Legos, Stickers, & Standing on Counter Tops

Thank goodness for family who are willing to babysit for the Boddicker crew. We all know it's a busy and exhausting job (a job without pay). We can't say thank you enough for the precious time we spend out of the house!

Last Friday I had an appointment to check up on baby # 4 and Grandpa Darby was so kind to babysit for me. I think I was gone for 90 minutes max. When I left, Thomas and Caroline were both napping and Jack was enthralled in playing in the basement. Piece of cake for Grandpa, right? WRONG.

In the short time that I was gone two potential disasters were brewing. Jack was playing with a toy that needed batteries so he left the basement where Grandpa and Caroline were and decided to get some new batteries. Problem, we keep the batteries in an overhead cabinet above the desk in the kitchen. Naturally in Jack's three year old mind, it made sense to climb on top of the desk and open up the cabinet to grab batteries that were three shelves up. Meanwhile, Grandpa came upstairs to see what Jack was up to and boy did he catch Jack red-handed. Jack instantly saw Grandpa and exclaimed, "Don't tell Mom." BUSTED. Crisis averted, no one got hurt, thank goodness.

In the midst of the battery crisis, Caroline found a small Lego amongst the sea of other potential choking hazards on the basement floor and decided to pop it in to her mouth. She didn't swallow it, she just chipmunked it for quite some time. The Lego was discovered when I got home from the doctor and we all felt a sense of relief that we didn't have to visit the E.R. that afternoon.

Much later after Grandpa left and we thoroughly checked each child to make sure they were safe from any sharp objects we noticed that someone had generously applied several stickers to the doorway entering the dinning room. Hmmmmmmm, I don't remember this happening under my watch. When we questioned Jack about the stickers, he said, " I just wanted to decorate." Lovely, at least it wasn't anything permanent. Jack proceeded to tell us that he had time to put the stickers up while Grandpa Darby was here. We laughed! What exactly was Grandpa doing for the 90 minutes while I was away? Napping? Eating pretzels? Watching ESPN? One will never know.

Sleep Deprivation

Corey and I have been severely deprived of sleep over the past three years and I know it's not going to get better anytime soon. The lack of sleep lately is definitely catching up to me. Just last week I caught myself putting face soap on my tooth brush before bed. Awesome. I have also tried to put the milk lid on a few sippy cups early in the morning on more than one occasion and tonight was the kicker...Corey actually fell asleep in our room around 6:30 while the kids and I were running all around him playing red light green light. So around 7:00 I put the kids to bed and here is where my lack of awareness/clarity comes to play. I went to check on all of the kids after I put them to bed and I noticed light seeping out from under Caroline's door...I put her to bed while leaving her light on. No wonder she cried so long before she fell asleep. Goodness gracious!!!

While I am on the topic of sleep, when really I mean a lack of sleep, I should document the sleep patterns of the kids to prove to them years down the road why the dark circles under my eyes are so bad!

Right now Jack is the best sleeper out of our three kids. He is generally a pretty heavy sleeper. He sometimes sleeps with his hands folded nicely behind his head like such an old soul. He does have his odd sleeping habits though...Jack occasionally roams the halls at all hours of the night, he often walks into our bedroom to tell us something very important like he needs to go potty or he needs chap stick, or the best one yet, "My pj's don't match" (sorry, he gets that from me), or sometimes Jack even camps out in front of Thomas's door on the floor. We have seen it all.

Thomas was a fantastic, routine napper and really a great sleeper until we took away the pacifier when he turned two. Ever since the magical pacifier has been taken away by the trash man our nights consist of his constant crying out for me. I mean constant. Almost hourly some nights. Just recently Thomas made it through the entire night without waking up and crying for me. We pray he is turning the corner. Despite some success with sleeping all night, Thomas continues to be an early riser. He is our 5:45 wake up call, not that we need one at that hour. We have talked to him in great length about laying back down and trying to rest until everyone else is ready to get up. He has managed to sleep in a little later and I thank my lucky stars we aren't starting our day at 5:45. OUCH.

Caroline has also been a great, routine napper and a good sleeper at night since about 6 weeks old. She did have some fiery nights in the first few months that flat out exhausted us and made us seriously think twice about whether or not we could stand the sleepless nights of having a fourth baby. HA HA HA! We better start mentally preparing ourselves now. Caroline is approaching one year next month and I am seriously thinking about taking the pacifier away now before she becomes so attached like Thomas was. That darn pacifier just comes in handy and makes life so much easier! Caroline does typically sleep all night and wakes up anytime after 6 for a bottle and then sometimes even goes back to bed. Not too shabby.

Corey always tells me we can sleep when we are dead (which also sounds like something my dad would say). So who needs a full night of sleep? There is time for that later I guess!

Count Your Blessings

This post is about the constant battle I fight as a mom to set the right example for my children. Yesterday we had several visitors in the afternoon. The kids got to go outside and play and get some of their energy out which was wonderful. Like always when family pops in I stress out about my house being clean and whether or not the kids will behave. Silly, I know.

So, my personality is obviously a little high strung and I tend to sweat the small stuff. I am the first person to admit that I over analyze things people say to me about my life, my parenting or about my children. I know that I hold onto things much longer than necessary. I know that I take comments personally when maybe they were not intended to be an insult, just simple, constructive criticism or even just simple conversation.

I don't want to teach my children this bad habit of mine. I would much rather them take after their father who does not tend to read into things and find fault in simple conversation, who is able to shake things off easily, and who can move on without hesitation. I actually woke up today fretting about things said in the past. I am sure this is not normal. When I told Corey about this, he couldn't even imagine waking up feeling annoyed about anything at all. I quickly realized that he was onto something. Instead of dwelling on the little things said or unsaid, I should be counting my blessings. This is what I should be teaching my children!