[ scare tactics... ]

sooooooo... i let a lot of things go with my boys but oscar (4) recently has started making this really annoying noise. it's a cross between the sound larry david (curb your enthusiasm) was making when he had a pubic hair stuck in his throat & the noise a vampire makes when someone shines a light on their face.

this has become more & more frequent, averaging on 1-2 times a minute. so in typical me style, i let it go (hoping 'the not bringing attention to it' will work. to be quite frank that method has never worked on anything for me, maybe i'm doing it wrong, hahahaha ~ let it go some more, let it go even more, ask politely, ask politely ~ then enough is enough!

i didn't even think about it & this came out of my mouth:

me: oscar... do you realise what you are doing?

oscar: no...

me: that noise you are making is how people call vampires & if you keeping doing that they'll start showing up. (at this point i'm scaring myself!!) (i'm such a wuss!)

oscar: vampires aren't very nice are they?

me: nope

i could see the cogs working in oscar's head & that was that ~ i have never heard it again. ok ~ so i don't expect jo from the nanny show to be ringing my doorbell for more of these handy tips but it did the trick & hopefully this won't be one of the things he'll bring up in therapy in 20 years time!!

hissssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss ;)

[ clean up, clean up... ]

sooooooo... i try to walk into the boys playroom to let them know we have to go to the shops & can't actually find anywhere to put my feet... so i ask.. ok tell them to clean up

me: boys you have to clean up this space... there's no where left to walk. i want everything off the floor please.

i go off to try & find my car keys!! those keys are sneaky & are never where i expect them to be!!

oscar comes running to find me

oscar: mom mom you have to come quickly!! we have a surprise for you...

i follow oscar to the playroom feeling slightly nervous... a 'surprise' could mean anything & usually involves cleaning products!

we arrive & oscar, very proudly pronounces: TA-DA!!!  mom look at the floor.

me: wow!! guys that's great...

the floor is indeed spotless ~ then i look up at the couch...

that isn't quite what i had in mind... but i did say i wanted everything off the floor...

no sympathy at all though when oscar complains there is no where to sit!!!

[ baby #3 dilemma ]

sooooooo... i'd love to hear all your views on my current dilemma!! i am a mom to 2 beautiful healthy boys, 4 & nearly 3, that bring us an abundance of joy, lots of laughter, so much pride & fear provoked grey hairs.

i've never been a 'i've got to have babies' type of girl... & quite frankly i'm really bad at making those types of big decisions... luckily my husband, mike, thought we should start a family so we did & i've never looked back... or had so many life lessons cramped into a short space of time.

from the beginning of this parental roller coaster mike has always said he wanted 3... i've kind of had that in my head... but since my second, flynn, was born till about a month ago i've always said, i'm not ready to sell the crib... but i couldn't handle another... ok i mean.. i couldn't handle another properly without compromising on every one's attention...

but as oscar (my oldest) & flynn get bigger, more independent & i watch these amazing little personalities develop i can't help but think what would #3 be like?? would it make me feel complete? or be a total nightmare that sends me over the edge?

there are days when the boys are really demanding ~ i feel like i'm going insane & i think to myself how can i even contemplate having another ~ i'm struggling with the 2 i've got...

i've been getting some nice freelance jobs ~ would i still be able to do all that?

there is also the question of age ~ i hit a 'big' birthday next year, & i don't mean 21! (easy mistake though!)

of course the people who already have 3 say it's great, that's because once it's done it's done & you're making the best of it.

i also know people that are happy with 2 ~ are absolutely sure 2 is it... i wish i was one of those people, but i've never been like that. when i was trying on wedding dresses some girls would be crying in their dressing rooms over the dress because they had found THE one!! i never experienced anything like that.

i'm on the fence... if we don't have anymore will i regret it? or in the long run is 2 the most sensible thing all round, i only have 2 arms (but i can give lots of hugs!!) i'm not desperately saying i want another baby...

mike doesn't mind either way... he's a great dad. i think deep down he's good with 2 but he'd be up for the chaos!

also it's not a having a girl thing... boys are fantastic & if we were blessed with a girl i'd be shocked!! & would have to get an instruction manual! (bet there are lots of volumes!!)

when i ask the boys if they want a little brother or sister they both say no. oscar said he wants an older one instead!

one person i spoke to said the dynamics of 3 isn't as good as with 2. i also read it's nice for siblings to have more than one to play with. so there's pros & cons to everything.

are there any people out there that were on the fence about a third & stayed at 2?

any advice at all in general? THANK YOU!!

[ flynn says... ]

soooooo... we are sat at the table eating lunch:

flynn (2): mom if i pull my ears off will i have to go to the doctors?

a little later oscar (4) asks me to sing a song about a him: (neighborhood dogs get ready!!!)

oscar: mom that's not about me you're singing about a man

me: but you will be a man one day...

flynn: when he grows up

me: yes thats right

flynn: when i grow up i'm going to a lady

me: ok...............

[ I'M ANGRY WITH 6 FLAGS SAFARI!!! ]

sooooooo... my beautiful boy, flynn, will be 3 next week, oh how the time flies... as usual i'm planning to get as much as possible into a day!! we wanted to take him to 6 flags safari, neither of my boys has been on one before, so hopefully a fun time will be had by all!

i read that they open at 9am... but i suddenly thought... let me just ring to make sure if that would be a good time to come... i want my boys to experience some animal action & wasn't sure if everyone would be up yet...

i call the number & speak to the operator ~ she says that no-one has any idea what time the animals get up, there is no good time to come.

so i ask do the animals sleep at night? she replies i have no idea....

because, sadly for her, that answer doesn't satisfy me & i stay on the phone she transfers me to someone else.

this was a much friendlier person ~ who thought i had a very good question, YEAH!!, but didn't know the answer, BOO!!

so she transfers me to another 'lady'

firstly ~ i was shocked by her curtness... the whole attitude was what the hell are you bothering me for, i have no intention of helping you & basically let me as rude & ignorant to you as possible to reinforce that!!

i politely asked my question... is there a better time to come in the day where the animals are more lively??

she tells me that 'ma'am' (oooooooooooo i love being called 'ma'am!!! ;) 'ma'am this is a safari, not a zoo. we don't know the animals behaviour.'

YIKES! i repeated what she's said to make sure i heard her right... really, no-one has any idea about the animals behaviour.

that's right.

i told her i found that really sad.... you are meant to be a safari, taking care of these animals ~ yet no-one has any idea (& by the sounds of it doesn't even care) about them...

& also she 'informs' me there is no-one who will know.

(this doesn't instill me with any confidence whatsoever. so there could be some crazy rhino out there snorting, running round in circles about to charge a car or a sick giraffe lying on it's back with it's legs in the air & no-one would think that that was unusual because no-one knows any of the behavioural habits of the animals they are meant to be taking care of!!)

she says ~ this is the information desk (OH!!! i must be really stupid!! where i come from, that's ENGLAND, please cue the song 'land of hope & glory', an information desk would be where you were given information... which i'm sure they hope, would reflect kindly on their business, be friendly~ish & maybe even if they don't have the answer find something out...) but apparently 6 flags safari doesn't give a toss about any of that!!

anyone got any ideas what to do as a family activity for a 3rd birthday???