Overheard

Ethan- "Don't look at me! I'm dead!"

Hannah- "yeeeeaaahhh, me too."


- Posted from my iPhone

Don't cry...

Cleaning up pools of milk in each button hole of the couch is not fun. Just letting you know. ANd it all happened in the time it took to take Grant to bed. NOT EVEN 5 minutes. I love you, Hannah.

This girl is Bananas! B-A-N-A-N-A-S!!!!

I  love me some Hannah! Especially when she's eating something. She dances and really "experiences" the food. SO I couldn't pass up this opportunity to get some good shots of her enjoying her lollipop the other day.

Have a great day!

little updates

here's some updates on the kiddos. Well, updated pics. Nothing is really new.

potty training, starting solids and registering for PreSchool...can you guess who?

Little Helpers

I constantly wonder how I can make helping mommy look or sound fun. Apparently I haven't found it yet. Everything I say (even bribery with chocolate or lollipops) has not seemed to work. Ethan's stock answer is , "I can't right now because I'm __________." [to tired, sick, wearing a shirt] pretty much anything that would sound like an excuse to a four year old.
Hannah eagerly answers with a "YEAH!" and then gets distracted the second she leaves to do the "chore".
Grant and Louie are useless. I'm done trying with them.

So this topic brings me to todays post. We've been trying the whole have-to-clean-up-before-we-start-something-new routine. And I guess you could say it's going pretty well. It takes A LOT of help on our part to get them to actually do it, but it's teaching them something (i hope). So today, I'm loading the dishwasher while the kids are playing upstairs. Both come down and Ethan says, "puh! ewww, yuck, I can smell Hannah's poopy diaper!" (This would be the third one of the day. She's obviously sick).
"Hannah did you poop?"
"ya, i poop." (can you tell we need to start potty training!?)
"ok, mommy has a few more dishes to go, can you go get your diaper and the wipes for me and I'll be right there to change you?"
"YEAH!"
Off they go into the living room.
Then. It happens.
Ethan decides right then that this would be the perfect time to be mommy's little helper.
Right then. My hands are wet and soapy. Louie's scratching at the door. Grant needs a bottle. Ethan wants to change Hannah's diaper. yeah. ok. you get what I'm saying here?
He comes in the kitchen with a poopy wipe in his hand saying, "eww..this stinks!" (I can't control my laughter while typing this)
I freak!
I enter the living room to find 3 wipes (dirty) on the floor next to a filled diaper and hannah staring up at me, with NOTHING but carpet underneath her butt. (Did I mention she was sick!?)

So, you can't clean up the legos cause you "have to get underwear on". You can't put your clothes away because you're "wearing socks". You can't even eat your food, because you're "seeing what that noise is". But you WANT to change a nasty diarrhea poop of your sister's because you're 4 and you know how to do it!??!?!

I need the number to the nearest mental hospital.

Chittlins

So I can't help but wonder if I'm in for a lifetime of stress.
Part of the joy of having three kids under 5 is that we'll be "getting it out of the way" all at once. Not like I don't enjoy it, but you know, that's just what they say. You raise them all at once and then you're done. You're not starting over in 5 years with another bottles bibs and burpies. Stupidly, I thought that would mean this would be somewhat easy? What was I drinking when I had that epiphany?
I just gave thanks to the Lord that Ethan has moved beyond the stage of screaming/crying over food. As in, every morning, no matter how careful we were, something about breakfast was not prepared correctly. And we all know that "Actually mom, I didn't want syrup on the pancakes, I wanted it in a bowl so I could dip it, but that's ok, thank you so much for a great breakfast even though it's 5 am and I know you'd rather be sleeping, etc..." is not a part of a 2-3 year old's vocabulary. I guess they just know that crying over it will make us do anything to make it right. Nevertheless, the kid has moved on. Moved on to pleases and thank you's, excuse me's and may I's. It was wonderful...for the 1 day it lasted. Then it was like something in Hannah's brain clicked. "Wait a minute, polite? what's that? I want what I want right now and I'm gonna get it no matter what!". She has decided to pick up right where E left off. I dealt with it for 2 years, stressful mornings of walking on eggshells, and now it's Hannah's turn. So 2 more years of this, seriously? I don't know if I can handle that. Because now I'm thinking, when she stops, Grant will start, and then when he's done, it will be Ethan's turn to start the "I hate you's and you're the worst mother ever!" phase... And then is that all gonna repeat, and then Hannah will hit the "boy crazy" phase, and my sons will have girlfriends, and fights, and school issues, and Oh my, I don't know if I can even deal with this!
I guess I'll just have to take it "One Day At a Time", like the AA members say. Because let's face it, being a SAHM is almost like recovering from an addiction. An addiction to thinking it's all about me.

Holy Cow...Was That 2009?

by Paul

As 2009 draws to a close, I am looking back on the past twelve months and wondering how we managed to squeeze so much into a calendar year. Abbey and I have jokingly labeled the last few years with an appropriate title; 2006 was the "year that wouldn't end," as a littany of events and changes made the year stretch on and on. 2007 was the "year of fun," as I finished my post as an aide and we hosted both sets of grandparents in Okinawa and got out to see a lot of the island. 2008 we dubbed "the year of sickness" due to both kids being in pre-school and life on that tiny island bringing every manner of germ and bacteria home...it seemed like at least one or all of us was consistently down with something or other for the entire twelve months. 2009 had to be the year of transition, or maybe activity, as we have been running non-stop.

The year began for us back in Oki. Just after the new year, we were enjoying the warm breeze on our back porch one night and I said to Abbey, "you watch...it will be 2010 before we know what's hit us." Not that I looked in a crystal ball, but I suspected that the moving process, starting a new job, recovering from surgery, a new baby, setting up house back in the States, and multiple family visits would make the year fly. And so it did.

Here's a quick recap of what went down, in no particular order...

Michigan

We managed to all make it back to our home state twice in 2009. Abbey & I had each visited once separately but it had been our first collective visit since 2005. I had been really missing the ol' mitten but a properly-timed trip in the throes of winter made me again thankful for living in the South.

Grant

We added another boy to our family with Grant's arrival in August. The bonus of living relatively close to home (well, compared to Japan) allowed both Grandmas to come and assist with the first weeks of his life.

Mark

My brother, Mark, earned his commission as a second lieutenant and was able to move to Tennessee temporarily to work with me. This was definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity and I'm so thankful we were able to make it happen. His presence in Middle Tennessee has allowed us to pursue the "Pizza Quest," where we sample all of the local pizzerias and see how they stack up. So far, so good. We also got to take a family road trip to our old stomping grounds in Virginia to see him graduate OCS.

Sports

I've admittedly never been a huge sports fan, but being in Okinawa and having little or no access to such things most of the time leant itself to rekindling my interest in hockey and college sports. Plus, my duties require me to talk collegiate football a lot so it's really "researching," right? I hadn't been to a pro sports event in years but I managed to squeeze in the following in 2009: a couple NHL games, a Texas Rangers game, in Arlington, a Memphis Grizzlies game, and something like 10 NCAA football and baseball games. And Ethan got to go with me to see a minor league baseball game (Nashville Sounds) and watch the Predators lose to the Flames.

Family Thanksgiving

Abbey and I decided over a year ago that, when we returned to the States, we would love to host our families to a Thanksgiving dinner. We were really excited about doing it but, honestly in the back of our minds we didn't think our families would ultimately be able to make the trip. To our delight and their credit, everyone made it down and it was easily one of the most memorable holidays ever.

Officer Selection Duty

My new job has been stimulating and rewarding. It keeps me on the road a little better than half the month on average, but I love what I'm doing and enjoy being out in the civilian community. I think we all miss being near a lot of other Marines, though.

There's so many other things but those are the big ones. We have a lot of goals in 2010 and are hoping it turns out to be as amazing as 2009 was...although hopefully a little more stable and less busy. :)

Announcing Grant Bertolone

We added a beautiful baby boy to our family on August 25th named

Grant Benjamin Bertolone.

Weighing in at 8lbs 10oz, and measuring 21 inches long, he is adorable!

Dark brown hair, blue eyes and a little dimple like his daddy. We can't get enough of him!

Brother and Sister are already smitten as well. It took a few days of warming up, but now we have 2 wonderful helpers on our hands that are ready and willing whenever we need them.

We've had so much help from family, it's overwhelming. We are not used to being this spoiled when a new Bertolone arrives, we may have to have more! (TOTALLY JOKING)

We've had pictures taken already, birth announcements printed and they'll be posted and mailed out soon. We hope everyone is doing well. Abbey bounced back the quickest with this one so things are going very good.

We're just hoping someday we can have some alone time again.

Christmas time is here....

ok, look up to the sky, shape your mouth like the letter 'O' and start singing like the PEANUTS! Cause it's that time of year!!! YAY!

I have to say, I love the fall, when sweater season approaches I get all giddy inside, but there is something even more cozy about setting up that tree and sitting in all it's twinkling glory while sipping on hot apple cider. (yeah, I've done it.)

It's great though. And you know what's even better? Actually enjoying putting the tree up and seeing your little children decide where to put the ornaments. Not worrying about perfection, just sitting back and watching him go. Trying to explain that if too many ornaments are on one branch, it might be too heavy. Watching his face while he figures out what you just said. And then seeing him carefully remove each ornament and find a new "perfect" home on another branch. Warm fuzzies abound! :) I'm lame, I know. But seriously. Previous years, I was so stressed out that an ornament might break, the tree wouldn't look perfect, I wouldn't get it up in time, etc.  All of that is gone, and I have to tell you, I couldn't be happier with our hodge- podge, non-symmetrical tree.

Here are some pics of our evening. "Tradition" was the day after thanksgiving, but the timing just wasn't right, so, I waited until the next day, when Ethan could help, and I'm so glad I did.

This was cute, everything that had a hole in it went on the tree...

This puke is BANANAS! B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

Oh my, I guess we have found the culprit.  Those nasty little bananas have messed with my girl's tummy one too many times! To hell with you I say!  Bananas, thou shalt not enter my dwellings againeth! (or however they spoke back then, you know, when all the bananas were reeking havoc on small villages, that era). Any way, it's back again, and with a vengeance.  Those nasty pukes that I thought were caught by modern day petri dishes (a.k.a. toddlers), came back 1-2 hours after Hannah ate her first serving of bananas since the last sickness.  I thought for sure it was a fluke, but now I know, and I am never giving them to her again!After pulling into the commisary parking lot, she threw up in her carseat (exorcist style).  I was astounded as to how much it was.  The size of an infants tummy is a lot bigger than I thought.  I drove home immediately, helpless as she kept heaving in the back seat.  Got her inside, in the tub washed off, only to have her puke again.  By the evening, I was reduced to this:

(which is a great idea if they won't quite puking, I even thought to myself, "I should post this in a mommy tips blog or something!")

So Ethan, Hannah, and I were all chilling in the bathroom and of course I was all dramatic thinking this was so stressful, then Ethan broke the tension with a real hum dinger.

He looked over at me, pointed at my cleavage, and asked, "Is that your butt?"

The day ended in laughter, which is always a good thing.

Hot Mess and Gutbusters

So everyone with a 2 year old knows there are just some fights you don't even try to win.  When it comes to wearing a seatbelt, or holding hands while crossing a blazing intersection, then yes, I have to put my foot down.  However, when it's 7:30pm and he's already whining about what kind of toothpaste he wanted but we don't have, and it's time to put on pajamas, I am not going to argue with what he wears.   I try, I really do, I buy the cute airplane pajamas, or the ones with cars all over them, thinking, "oh yeah, Ethan's gonna love these!"  But apparently only shark shirts and bulldozer shirts from grandma get him going, cause the airplanes and cars get benched for a "shirt and shorts" combo EVERY SINGLE NIGHT.  We have limited it to "no buttons and no pockets. (which at least eliminates polos and cargo shorts)  But it has to be shirt and shorts for Ethan, nothing else.  And I am thinking that the color blindness has been passed down from Paul, cause the boy has no style sense, unless he's just way ahead of the times.

So here is a picture from E's bedtime tonight. He had a band-aid on his foot so he insisted he needed socks for bed...check out my HOT MESS:

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So, Ethan is in his terrible 2 phase MOST DEFinitely.  Whining is in full force, OCD has kicked in, and discipline is proving harder than ever.

Every night now, we have Ethan pick up his toys (so we don't have to) and put them away (so we don't have to).  It really instills good routine (cause we don't want to pick up his toys).  So every night, he has tried to "play for FEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWW more minutes, k?"  So clean up is never done in a timely fashion.  Sooner than later my patience wears thin and I start getting firm (pretty much threatening to throw cars in the trash if he doesn't get his butt in gear, knowing full well if I actually DID follow through, I would then be pulling them out after he was in bed, cause I am not wasting 75 cents on a matchbox!)  So the other night, he started this new thing, laughing at me.  I'm talking full out GUTBUSTERS every time I try to talk serious to him.  You can only imagine what happens to me.  Pretty soon we're both cracking up ( **note, I am even laughing while I type this), cars aren't getting put away and he thinks this is a great game now.  "Make mom laugh so she'll stop telling me what to do Game"  I hate it...and I love it.  I guess these are the things that keep you sane throughout the terrible two phase.  "Do you want a time out?" in full gut-busting laughter doesn't really have the affect I was going for.

Ethan-isms

Ethan-isms

 

2 ½ years old.

 

E: I have to go poop.

M: Ok, let’s go.

E: Uh…uh…uh.

M: Are you going poop?

E: Uh, I can’t, it’s too hard.

M: Oh, is it too hard to go poop?

E: Yeah, it’s too hard, the poop is too hard, we have to get scissors.

M: Uncontrollable laughter.

 

D: What do you want to be when you grow up?

E: uh…a pillow.

D: Who’s pillow?

E: Louie’s

M: What kind of pillow will you be?

E: ummmm, orange!

 

M: We’ve got to learn our days.

E: Yeah, we have to learn our days.

M: Is today Monday?

E: Yeah, today’s Monday.

M: Why is daddy home? Is today a holiday?

E: Yeah, today’s a hot day.

 

M: Are you going to just do the opposite of everything I tell you??!

E: Yeah, I have to.

 

M: Ok, here are your stickers for going poop!

E: Yeah stickers!  I look at them ok?

M: Sure. Want to put them in your sticker book?

E: oh yeah!

M: Where did your sticker book go?

E: Oh, just leave it, ok? I just look at them for a little bit.

Some are just funny for the mere fact he speaks like an adult.  Stay tuned, more to come!