Mom said I needed to write this one down and I agreed:

For a good while now (6 months at least), Auggie has been saying horrible things like, "I hate you" and "I hate you, Butt" and "I'm going to pee on your face, you Butt" in a really mean voice when he gets angry.  More recently though (the past couple days) he has gotten more teenagy with his choice of words, saying "I hate everyone in my life" and then he lists all of us who he hates- "I hate my mom, I hate my dad, I hate Elek, I hate my whole family.  I hate all of my friends.  I hate my teachers."  And the voice that he does it in is low and super mature sounding.  I know it is terrible but it is usually very hard for me to not laugh.  Andrew says I let him get away with way too much but, #1 - his little face is so darned cute, #2- it ain't easy disciplining a toddler while perched on a knee scooter or crutches, and #3- his little face is so darned cute.  I always SWORE to myself that I wouldn't show favoritism toward the baby during disputes between siblings as I felt my mom did with me and Gigi but holy hell is that a hard thing not to do!  Beata and Elek, if you are reading this now you may be mad or jealous or resentful but I tell you babies, just wait until you have your own and you'll forgive me just like I am now forgiving Weeta for all of those times she lectured ME while my stinker of a sister made faces at me behind her back.

In other news, I took the kids out to get ice cream after we picked up Elek from school today to celebrate 3 things:

1- Elek was the top reader in all of Kindergarten for Reading Counts, a program where you read books at school and/or at home and then earn points by taking a little comprehension quiz on what you have just read.
2- Beata read enough chapter books to fill up an entire 8 x 11 piece of paper
3- Auggie made the teeny tiniest little turd in the potty today and wore big boy undies.  The thing was so small he didn't even realize that it had dropped from his bottom until after he got off and I pointed out to him and did a happy dance but it was poop in the toilet nonetheless so the kid got ice cream (but mostly because I was already taking him to the ice cream shop to celebrate his siblings' accomplishments and this made for a convenient excuse as to why he could also have a treat).  I'm not holding my breath about him staying in undies though as this is at least the 3rd time that we have attempted potty training this boy.  He simply has no real interest in using the potty and I ain't got the patience to make him (I know, I know, terrible parenting....so shoot me).  In fact, when he begged me to put a diaper back on him and I refused, it was one of several times today that I heard those beyond-his-years words leave his mouth:  "I hate my whole family.  I hate you.  I hate all my friends.  I hate everybody."


And with that, I am off to melt into my couch while watching tv and eating a slice of the apple pie that a friend dropped off (Andrew pointed out that my sweet tooth must be notoriously bad if people randomly drop leftover treats off at my doorstep....he is right).

Last week we went to an end of the year conference with Elek's kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Palmer.  Time to brag:

- She said he has exceeded all of the goals set for kindergartners
- She said that he is the only one in the class that she doesn't make do morning work because it is too easy for him.
- Instead of morning work she lets him read a book and log on to the computer to complete a "Reading Counts" quiz on that book.  He is apparently the only student who can log themselves on.  (He has to hold down shift and another key at the same time and then type in a user name and password)
- He completed all of the sight words lists that she had (I think she said hers went up to the list required for kids exiting 2nd grade).
- She recommended gifted testing.  We might do this over the Summer with an outside psychologist since it takes a long time to get tested and start in the program when you go through the school.  We would like him to be able to start the program right away in 1st grade since we think he will really enjoy it and we are hoping he will meet some buddies.

Alright, that was a lot of bragging for one post but I am really proud of him and I want him to be able to look back on this when he is older and be proud of his kindergarten version of himself.  Elek, if you are reading this as an adult,  I told ya you've been a bright kid from the get-go...nice work, buddy!

Meanwhile, Beata continues to kick some reading and math butt as well and Auggie....well, let's just say this meeting had me thinking about how much poor Auggie has been shafted in the education department by being a 3rd born.  That's ok though because he is still super intelligent and he has got a personality that trumps smarts!

More later on B and Auggie :)

This past weekend was Mother's Day.  At the last minute I decided to take Auggie with me to St. Pete to see Grace one last time before she left for Australia (she left this morning).  We literally did not leave 465 from the time we arrived at 3PM on Saturday to the time we left at 5PM on Sunday.  Soon after arriving my dad took Auggie with him to run some errands and I passed out for an hour and a half, getting that type of deep, gloriously cozy and rejuvenating sleep that one can only get when under the same roof with their mama in the house they grew up in.  When I woke up, Colin was there and Grace and the Allen showed up not long after.  We ate a great meal on the back patio and the kids swam in the pool.  At night, I was able to snuggle with Auggie on the couch till he fell asleep in my arms, something that I always want to do but can't because B and Elek would get jealous and I would feel guilty not spreading the love around.  I took Beata to St. Pete without the boys on my mom's birthday weekend this year and that was so nice too.  It is a whole other experience having just one of the kiddos with me.  I love being able to give them my full attention and not feel constantly torn between 3 little humans who all want me to focus on them.  Without the incessant infighting and tormenting a single kid is so much more pleasant to be around too.  Beata's whining completely disappears when the boys aren't there to harass her.

Anyways, back to this weekend.  Sunday we did absolutely nothing but laze around and eat.  Grace packed her bags and we kinda stared at each other a lot like we felt like there were a million things we should be saying because she would be gone for a year but unable to think of anything that hadn't already been said (e.g."I am so excited for you," "you are going to have so much fun," "don't forget to journal") we instead shot the shit ("don't forget to wear sunscreen," "I can't believe that Aiden from Sex and the City and Bo Derek are dating!").  It's funny because I just got off of Skype with Grace a few minutes ago (she is waiting around for 14 hours at LAX to board a 14 hour non-stop flight to AU) and we both agreed that in our short convos on the phone today we covered more and deeper ground than we covered the whole time we were together this weekend.  Funny how pressure works :)

Saturday morning I was awoken around 7:30AM by the door opening and little feet running into my room.  Elek  laid something on my stomach and then bolted out of the room.  I moved my hand to touch the object and my fingers landed in a heap of strawberry preserves.  I sat up and smiled big when I saw that the preserves had been spread on bread (not toast) and that the two slices of bread rested on a piece of white computer paper (he couldn't reach the plates).  To my surprise (and relief because I knew I would have to fake it if it was disgusting) the preserves on honey wheat was delicious.  Soon after I too the first bite Elek came back in the room, beaming.  "I made it all by myself!!! I told you I was going to make you breakfast in bed! Did you like it?? " "Loved it! But ya know what, I'm getting full.  Do you want the other slice?" "Sure mom, sure."  As if it was his duty to dispose of the food but also as if he had died and gone to Heaven.  He is such a sweet boy.  He can be a stinker but he sure is sweet.

This past Sunday we were in St. Pete for Easter.  We had a great time hanging with Weeta and Pop Pop, the Allens, and Gigi who is in town for a month before she takes off for a year in Australia. It was a fun filled 3 day visit a trip to a model plane air field, the chance to see glass being blown at a museum downtown, a delicious meal at Engine #9, outdoor shenanigans in Sy and Liam's backyard, a Easter egg hunt and scavenger hunt at Weeta's house, and a lovely brunch made by Aunt Sita.  Yes, the weekend was going wonderfully until.....I decided to show off my Skip-It skills in front of the whole family (but mostly Andrew who I had been told wasn't good at the Skip-It) on the street.  I was whipping that plastic ball around like a boss until I tried to move sideways while jumping and rolled my left foot.  I knew immediately that I was in trouble and I instantly saw the course of the next several months changing before me.  Mostly I knew that it would be a long time until I could workout again which, for me, isn't just about staying in shape but about staying sane.  Apparently that was the first thought in my sweet big sister's head too as she said, "guess you can't workout any more.  Looks like you are going to get fat."  Ahhhh sisterly love.  Anyways, of course the minute I fell to the ground in pain a car started coming toward me so Gigi and Andrew put me on a skateboard and wheeled me over to the curb.  And though I was in a great deal of pain (this is my worst injury to date...I know, I'm very fortunate) I couldn't stop laughing because I could totally appreciate the hilarity of someone falling while in the middle of showing off how good they are at using a 90's children's toy.  Had someone caught it on camera it surely would have gone viral on You Tube and maybe even landed me on Ellen or a Tosh.O redemption.  Anyways, the funniest part of the whole thing is when my dad got really serious and told everyone it wasn't funny and ran over to me, got down at my level, and said "I don't like how you look right now.  Are you ok?"  Apparently he thought I had fallen on my butt and hurt my back so I understand why he would have been worried but the seriousness of his expression was just too funny amid everyone else's laughter.  Anyways, long story short the left side of my foot swelled up and now I am on crutches.  As I dropped Beata and Auggie off at school today a mother commented, "well, that looks inconvenient," and I told her that she had used exactly the right word to describe being on crutches as a mother of 3.  Luckily the kids have been extremely helpful so far.  They are eager to help in any way that they can whether it is fetching me something from another room or moving something out of the way so I can get through on Andrew's wheely desk chair or my crutches.  Unfortunately, this is more than I can say for their dad who does help when I ask him to but with the most begrudging/resigned look on his face.  I swear he thinks that I like being immobilized so I can tell him what to do but I also swear that I absolutely hate it and would give anything to be able to use my foot like normal again...and this is only day 3....yikes!  

Well, thought I would have more time for an update but while I was writing Elek's school called to tell me that he was in the clinic because his ear hurt.  That was actually another bad thing that happened over the weekend.  While swimming Elek developed intense ear pain and was writhing in pain for a good 45 mins.  A little while after arriving back in Melbourne yesterday (Monday) Andrew took him to the doctor and discovered that he has a middle ear infection, an outer ear infection, and swimmer's ear, poor baby.  Since the pool incident he hasn't really complained at all which is why I sent him to school this morning.  I am guessing that the down/quiet time at school probably gave him more of a chance to notice the pain.  Needless to say he will be resting a lot today so he can go back to school tomorrow because this mama can't take  more kids in the house than absolutely necessary right now.  

Alright, off to pick up the other two.  Hoping that this laid up state I am in will give me more time to post on what has been going on around here and with my 3, sweet munchkins!