When Will It End??

The sleepless night will never end. I believe the two younger Koomens had a pow-wow before bed last night to organize a crime filled night, the crime being interrupting parental sleep. I love that I am needed for an itchy toe at the bottom of zipped and footed pajamas in the dark, not to mention at 2 a.m. I sure do appreciate bathroom visits over wet beds... only to wake up to a bloody disaster that looked like it needed to be sent to a crime lab. Carly's bloodstained face, hair, clothing, bedding, and arms looked to be picture worthy, but I felt compelled to clean her up immediately.

So here I am listening to the kids play nicely after a tired morning. It is nap time, but I don't want to interrupt their sweet imaginative play. Although the tattling has been blown to large proportions in this house.
Conversation from the lunch table -
Carson: you are going to be on the naughty list
Carly: no I am not
Carson: yes you are...
(footsteps running to the dining room)
Carly: Mommy, Carson said a bad word...

She has learned the tattling presentation, but the lying to get there is not attractive.

Sunday night is always a ritual around here, we eat dinner, bathe, pajamas and hit the couch for AFV at 7:00 p.m. It is Carly's favorite television show! (She has been known to request it at all hours of the night). There was a boy on the show doing a pogo stick at the top of the stairs and of course he went flying down all of them to crash land on his face. Carly's response to it, "he is going to need a nurse."

She is so matter of fact these days... I find myself just video-ing her conversation because I want to bottle it up and save it forever.

Lastly, Jason ran to the store last night for a milk run... He picked up a Findlay Area Family Magazine while he was there. He brought it home and set it on the counter. After a while, I heard him say, "that is Carly." She made the cover and and the other two kids are on the inside in their snow attire. They all feel famous, even if it is a local magazine...

I MADE IT!

My New Year's resolution was to exercise and blog... I wanted to accomplish those two items before the month of January escaped me, well here we are January 31st. It came to mind today as I watched our three children sit a table in the cafeteria and enjoy the 8th grade spaghetti dinner, that our lives are running away. They sit patiently at the table, they bow their heads to pray, and they never leave until their plates are clean... we were in a public place! All of those nights that we nag over and over about table etiquette, we witnessed perfection. So the occasional meal at home is not perfect, but the fact that they can pull off a successful meal in public, made me feel good all over!

Then we came home... we needed to call Uncle Marc today to sing "happy birthday" and everyone is bellowing out the tune, we get to his name in the song and Carly sings "Dear Uncle Stinky" and all the sweetness disappeared. It was a hilarious moment, and all too appropriate. She makes us laugh, cry, and laugh some more. She is our spirited, independent, boisterous, and sometimes MEAN child. That wraps it up for her, but I will promise myself to hit the blogs with her antics more often!

Carson came upstairs this morning to have his hair combed, he asked for a "mohawk..." So I reluctantly gel-ed up the do and away we went. He was so proud of it and was loving all the compliments. He asked me if it would wreck when he went to sleep??? I guess I will be doing a hair re-do for school in the morning.

I was on the treadmill this morning (ah yes exercise) and watched Carson write on the dry erase board. It was so sweet to see him writing his letters in uppercase and name them as he wrote them. I keep thinking that I need not compare him to Caitlin, and yet find myself doing it. I am so proud of everything he has accomplished. He even can kick some serious Olympic skills on the Wii snowboard event.

Yesterday we watched Caitlin play her second upward game of the season. Jason is not coaching her, but watching intently from the side lines. She is a good defense player and she made six baskets yesterday. She doubled her score from last weeks three baskets. Yeah Caitlin. On Wednesday nights she is playing tennis in her Y class. She still loves tennis and woke up this morning to watch Roger Federer win the Australian Open.

Yesterday Grandma came to watch Caitlin play basketball and go to PTC bowling. It was so fun to watch Caitlin and Carson help Carly bowl for the first time. The kids had a blast bowling with friends and Grandma. It was a great way to kick off Catholic Schools Week which is celebrated all week at school.

It is an amazing feeling to know that I registered all three of the kids for St. Michael School last week. Time is so precious since it comes at you at unstoppable speeds.

The Lost Fall of Blogs

Okay, so it didn't work out... I didn't work out... the blogs did not come out. I have some memories still in the memory bank that are worthy to note.



We rescued a dog from a puppy mill, and we named him "FIN". He is a golden doodle with a lot of energy and his size resembles that of a Budweiser Clydesdale...



We endured two more ER visits all for the same child within weeks of each other. Carly earned stitches in the eyebrow from attacking the stairs, and staples in the back of the scalp for a simple slide off the couch.



Carly is a complete conversation piece and a conversationalist... she is the crazy one of the birth order and no one questions us for injuries since she falls last in line to the Koomen kids.

The kids were so into the holidays with cookies, crafts, candy making, and all the wonderful traditions the holidays bring for our family.

The LOST Summer of Blogging!

Well, five months later... I have appeared from behind the scenes at the "Live with Jason and Chrissy" show. Now that Fall has officially arrived (but with the central air running) I figured I am long overdue on updating the life of my children. Maybe I am over committed in my professional volunteer position that I have accepted, but I vow to keep this somewhat updated. Maybe I need to not update Facebook pictures, but blog instead. :)



We did some fun family events this summer. We traveled to Terre Haute a couple of times and even celebrated Carly's big number two there. We cheered Jason on as he rode his bike across Indiana with a fabulous group of guys, including "Uncle" Tim (the kids' Godfather). We traveled to Michigan's Schuss Mountain over Caitlin's big number 8 with Jeff and Lauri for four days, where the kids played in the sand and tubed behind the boat (all three of them). We took the kids to Kalahari, which is a humongous indoor water park. Marc and Sandy (Jason's brother and sister-in-law) visited from Canada. It was a great time for the cousins to get together. We also went to Cedar Point for a day as the roller coaster enthusiasts Caitlin and Carson rode their hearts out.



School came so fast this time, it just seems like time gets faster and faster. This time we sent two off to school. It is amazing that Carson went off to preschool at the Academy of Angels. The first two days were a bit scary with a lot of fears and tears. With a little help from a big sister that is upstairs in the second grade, Carson was safely delivered to his class led by the hand of Caitlin. It was a very proud moment as a mother to see her take over in such a mature way. Now the days are speeding by with constant stories all the way home from the pick-up line.



Fall sports are in full swing, but going in so many directions. Caitlin decided to stick with her two sports for one more year, cross country and soccer. The conflicts are minimal when it comes to her, but Jason and I are always in two separate places. He is also the coach of Carson's soccer team this year. I missed his first goal on Saturday because I was at Maumee Bay at a CYO cross country meet. I was so sad, but quickly recovered after seeing it did not even bother him that I was not there. So a sample schedule this past weekend was crazy, soccer pictures at 8:00 a.m. and a soccer game at 9:00, followed by an hour drive to a cross country meet for Caitlin. Carson had pictures at 10:15 and a game at 11:00. Then we had a birthday party in the afternoon when we finally arrived back together. It was so fun! Now it is time to do it all over again this weekend minus the pictures!! Cannot wait to see sleepy eyes at the cold 8:00 a.m. pictures.



As for the young one of the house, she is a gem... many stories and lines to share. Too many to post, too many to remember (reason for needing to stay on top of the blog). So here is to the lost blogs and the many more that I will try to create. She is happy in to be in tow to all of the events we go to her for her older siblings. She worships the ground they gallop, skip, and roll around on.

Good times, quiet times...

It has been a "quiet" couple of weeks around the Koomen house. By quiet, I don't mean noiseless, but uneventful. I did not make time to blog because it did not seem right to always blog about Carson's funny sayings, Carly's boisterous personality, Caitlin's negative attitude.

Caitlin is still in full "swing" of tennis two days a week. She has started soccer season which her father is still coaching her team. She has been so unhappy the last couple of weeks and she has given Jason and I reason to question our parenting skills. Her life is perfect. She has a loving parents and friends, a great school, excellent health, but still she can find the negative in everything. We are learning, as we do everyday, that parenting is not an easy task. So I spend time talking to friends and looking for things to read about how to get her to snap out of it. There is a lot of emotion to raising a girl, and something tells me that Caitlin will be the easy girl. The last couple of days have improved, we are just taking the "love" approach. Positive reinforcement and a lot of hugs. I guess being the oldest is not the easiest... the expectations are higher and the attention is less. We are working on evening that out a bit.

We went to the zoo on Saturday with 15 of Caitlin's fellow Girl Scouts. I am the fearless leader of the bunch (hmmmm... another thing I said "YES" to) and it was a good time. It was 85 degrees and sunny, not something we have been used to yet this spring. Carson and Carly went around the zoo with Jason. Carson insists that he should be a Girl Scout because he wants to do everything the girls do. OH NO!

Caitlin scored two spectacular goals at her soccer game on Saturday. She was happy and we were proud. Those were her first two of the season, and they happened all within 5 minutes. The field is bigger, the goals are wider, and the competition is stronger... we are having fun!

Carson has been enjoying his new ride, a "Trail-a-Bike." Jason's running partner gave him this tremendous bike for us to have for our kids. It hooks to one of our bikes and turns it into a tandem so that Carson, or whoever, can keep up. Carly sits in the bike trailer still, but Carson thinks he is the big stuff.

Carson has also found out the books with cars, trucks, trains, tools, etc. are things of the past. He is following in his big sister's footsteps and enjoys reading. He loves to hear whatever is being read. He still loves Mr. Roger's - the only TV show he enjoys with the exception of America's Funniest Home Videos. He found Mr. Roger's on the web and I can occasionally hear Trolley dinging in the den.

Carly, the communication giant of the house, is a constant chatterbox. If you don't hear her the first time, she screams it. She is loud and a screamer, where does this come from. She must do everything the big kids do and the trampoline is her favorite. I hear chants of "jump, jump, jump" always coming from the sliding door. She will spend the whole day on there, unless Carson is driving the Gator, and she must have a ride. She has started telling stories and information and she can put together almost any phrase now. Last night at dinner she heard the "ice cream truck" and said it right away. The baby phase is gone, welcome to the two's.... the terrific two's.

My Reason for a Perfect Weekend

Jason was able to help organize the first annual Pump and Run 5K here in town. He made wooden signs and took ownership of what he was in charge of. Part of him missed out on the run, but he is doing a full marathon next weekend, check blog next week. :) He also was able to watch the entire NCAA division II championship game on TV to see our Alma Mater, Findlay, win the game.

Chrissy got to go shopping with friends and eat at PF Chang's all afternoon/evening on Saturday. It was a nice break to prepare for a week without the traveling husband.

Caitlin started off her weekend by being picked up at school and bringing Lucy home with her. Lucy spent the night. They played outside for hours on the trampoline, and going around the neighborhood. She then participated in the Girl Scout Water Stop at the Pump and Run. It was a ton of fun! She was also able to hang out with big Carly all day at the Smith's house on Saturday. Carly is in 6th grade and Caitlin felt like big stuff hanging out with her.

Carson fun weekend started on Sunday with standing on the altar at church with mom and Stephanie. He was able to come up and stand with me the whole time during the scrutiny. He was so GOOD! Then the real deals came... his dad took him to the Train Show and the University of Findlay Jazz ensemble. He had a blast! He took lots of pictures, so I will be posting them later. What a ham... At dinner last evening he proclaimed, "the weather is just miserable" and that really made us chuckle.

Carly's weekend was pretty uneventful. She took her baby for a walk around the block in the stroller. It is just amazing how grown up she looks pushing that little stroller around!

Is There a Professional in the House?

I would like to think that in a few years, there may be...

Caitlin came home from tennis lessons last week to proclaim to the housetops that Coach Hayes is moving her to the 9-12 year old group. Each group a proper name (current Future Stars), but I prefer to use the age group term because Caitlin is still 7. She said to Coach, "I am only going to be 8 in September, you do know that right?" Coach told "Catie with a C" (he is the only one who calls her this) that he goes by ability, not age. Caitlin was beaming to know that she was going to be with the "older" kids. We are so proud of her and she truly loves it!

I heard her at dinner last night groaning that basketball is over. I did not have the heart to tell her that soccer season was right around the corner, because I loved hearing her sadness over basketball being over. I love her enthusiasm for any sport that she plays. Her dad certainly does too.

I am sure I constantly gloat about the good things, and we all know there are good and bad. Caitlin is just doing so well in school and sports and we just want to savor these moments because it won't always be perfect. I know, the older they get the harder it gets.

Changing of the Seasons

Spring has sprung, so that took us to Wal-Mart to go in search of a bigger "big-boy" bike for Carson. After going around the block with him on his little bike and seeing how exhausting it was for him to keep up with us, we felt it was time for a big bike. He was so excited to go shopping especially since his behavior had improved so much. (We did not have one timeout last week on the step - been a problem since his little sister encroaches in on his space many times). He even bought a kickstand to go with it since we were trying it out on two-wheels without the trainers. Exciting times!

You can also tell when spring has arrived since the big green box has been pulled from the shelves in the garage. The trampoline has risen again, with a new escape proof hatch for Carly. She now spends many minutes screaming at the sliding door to "JUMP." She loves to be on it just like her older siblings, but since the broken arm it makes me a little nervous.

It is also warming up when the kids are insistent that it is shorts weather, ugh! I am picking my battles so if you see the Koomen kids running around in shorts, they do really have parents with good judgement.

I forgot to mention the best part about the bike shopping, we left the class rabbit "Travel" in the bike section. Caitlin brought Travel home for the week from Mrs. Greer's class and we decided to take her out for a little adventure, oops! Well at least we remembered her before we left the parking lot!

The "Buppy" vs. The "Potty"

Who will win? Will she be able to give up the pacifer a.k.a "BUPPY" before she is 21 months, or will she be potty trained before the time expires with the "buppy?" She proclaims everytime the diaper comes off she wants to go potty... so now she does it and she tries even when she does not have to go. We have even had to sing the "bye-bye song" when she surprised herself and went #2. The pacifier has been downgraded to bedtime only use, so we have hurdled a major step. Stay tuned and see who wins the showdown. Did I mention they don't make Pull-Ups to fit that less than 20 pound teeny thing?

I Spy...

It is a famous game in our house, in our car, and sometimes in church in times of desperation. Carson and Caitlin love to play it. It creates the best distractions and passes a little bit of extra time that needs to be spent. This time though I am not playing the game, but spying a change in Carson... could it be? Do we have room for more of these in our house? Can a blondie really look cute with them? WHAT is IT you ASK? FRECKLES! Last week we were outside enjoying a 70 degree day for about four hours. I watched him play his hardest, then we came inside and there they were. The cutest freckles on his face. I remember when we moved to Findlay almost five years ago and it happened to Caitlin too. She started getting freckles and they were just a delightful little addition to that red hair. I mean do they really have a chance with Jason and Chrissy as parents who are loaded with freckles? Yes, a blondie can really look cute with freckles... he has enough cheek space for freckles beside those cute little dimples.

The Chair, the Stool, the DOG?

She uses everything, and anything to climb onto to reach whatever destination is that she is going for. I am tired and distraught over this because we are two weeks out from cast removal and I am finding her in places that should not be reached by a 20 month old. "Challenge" is a great word to describe Carly. She has mood swings, tantrums, but is still the cutest little red-headed stinker in the house. I laugh when I say she is easy going... she is with schedules and meals, etc. She just has this certain evilness about her that worries me. I will probably sit back and chuckle over this entry someday... but c'mon Carly, Philly was not meant to climb onto to get you onto the kitchen counter!

A Few Questions for the Wee Lads

Answers by Caitlin - 7 and Carson - newly 4

1. What is something mom always says to you?
Caitlin - "I love you."
Carson - "Go to the door and see if there is a train coming Carson."

2. What makes mom happy?
Caitlin - "do my chores without you asking"
Carson - "ME"

3. What makes mom sad?
Caitlin - "when we don't listen"
Carson - "when our power goes out"

4. What does your mom do to make you laugh?
Caitlin - "tickle me"
Carson - "you toot"

5. What was your mom like as a child?
Caitlin - "you had red hair"
Carson - "you played with dolls"

6. How old is your mom?
Caitlin - "31"
Carson - "8" but the day before he told Stephanie "60"

7. How tall is your mom?
Caitlin - "72 inches
"Carson - "2"

8. What is your mom's favorite thing to do?
Caitlin - "take naps"
Carson - "wash dishes"

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
Caitlin - "miss me because your helper is not home"
Carson - "clean up"

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
Caitlin - "famous figure skater"
Carson - "race car driver"

11. What is your mom really good at?
Caitlin - "always finding anything everyone else cannot"
Carson - "skating"

12. What is your mom not very good at?
Caitlin - "you are good at everything"
Carson - "putting screws in the wall"

13. What does your mom do for a job?
Caitlin - "take care of the three of us and daddy"
Carson - "clean dishes and cook lunch"

14.What is your mom's favorite food?
Caitlin - "hot dogs, no PIZZA"
Carson - "carrots, beans, and milk"

15.What makes you proud of your mom?
Caitlin - "cook the best food in the world"
Carson - "you read to me a lot"

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Caitlin - "Daphne from Scooby Doo"
Carson - "Tom from Tom and Jerry"

17. What do you and your mom do together?
Caitlin - "we read books and play Wii"
Carson - "play games"

18. How are you and your mom the same?
Caitlin - "same eyes"
Carson - "brown hair"

19. How are you and your mom different?
Caitlin - "you are tall I am small"
Carson - "we do not match"

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
Caitlin - "you give me presents at times I don't need them"
Carson - "you lay with me"

21. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
Caitlin - "Game night with friends"
Carson - "eat dinner somewhere"

22. What does your mom do for you?
Caitlin - "help me with my homework"
Carson - "read to me"

23. What is the best thing about your mom?
Caitlin - "you are the most loving mother"
Carson - "you make food for all of us" (the way to a man's heart is through his stomach:)

24. What is the worst thing about your mom?
Caitlin - "(laughing) pimples, there is nothing worse about you but your pimples"
Carson - "you stink sometimes"

25. What is your moms favorite thing to do?
Caitlin - "go shopping"
Carson - "eat ice cream"

The Delinquent Blogger, The Trumpet, and The Healer...

Why yes I am a delinquent blogger, thank you. I have everything stored in my giant memory bank, and it is about to explode (for various reasons). We have survived Family Reading Night, then event that I chaired at St. Michael this year. It was a success, and now I may just be able to return to normalcy, whatever that is in this house. Well at least I will have more time to blog.

The kids are doing well. Carson is happy at four, any surprises? He has a new sidekick that makes a tremendous amount of noise. He received a trumpet, a real trumpet, from his grandpa Jeff and Teresa. He loves it, and man can he make some serious music. We were so shocked when he got it because we did not think that he could produce enough wind, we were way off. He has inherited the Davis wind... no stoppin' him. It was a funny thing though because it was damaged in shipment and we had to go through some hoops returning it and getting a new one, but throughout all of it he learned patience. So now he has a steel drum, a saxophone, a trumpet, some cymbals, a piano, a drum, a harmonica, and a recorder. Can I just say, NOISE???

Carson is also spending a lot of time writing on paper, and getting ready for "basketball practice." His imagination runs wild, and I love it. He sits for stories and loves to be read to at night. His love for books has been passed on from his sister. We went shopping at Tractor Supply the other day, he loves that place. He bought a truck and horse trailer and some Breyer horses, all with his birthday money. He was so proud! Today when we went to the children's liturgy at St. Mike's, he was able to wear dress shorts! He LOVES shorts, and when we were on the way home... his most famous line "can I put on basketball shorts?"

Caitlin is zipping right through first grade. The academics don't challenge, but she is learning the challenges of friends. It is the whole tattling age, and "I am not your friend" things that I don't like for her to deal with at school. All facts of life I am sure! I gave her a kiss at school and she wiped her mouth after that, I told her she is not allowed to wipe off my kisses, and she said "I am allowed to wipe of that lipstick." She was Dani's first passenger on Wednesday, Danielle got her license and picked Caitlin up at tennis lessons. She was so excited to get to ride in the car driven by Dani. She has given up chewing gum for Lent, and she doing a GREAT job. She still continues to help with Carly, loves her brother and is highly annoyed by him too!

Carly is CAST FREE! Yeah she no longer has that bulky weapon on her arm. She seems much happier, but still ornery. She continues to mimic everything you say, but carries on conversation with anyone like she is five. We are no longer using the polka dot highchair, she is now at the table with the rest of us. The baby stages are gone and we are becoming a full-fledge toddler. I cannot believe it... the diaper bag is getting smaller too!

The kids went to Fort Rapids Waterpark with Grandma Kathie last weekend. They had a great time with their cousins, Cassie and Tim. Caitlin was independent and off on all the water rides, Carson enjoyed the rides he was tall enough for and Carly is purely a water LOVER! All three of them will be so fun this summer at the pool! Thank you for a fun weekend Grandma!

The Fourth Birthday to REMEMBER!

Okay - so Monday (President's Day) was Carson's fourth birthday. We finally made it after the whole weekend of celebrating, he was thrilled to say that he was finally four. He was so pumped about his big day that the energy level was just exploding. J took the day off to spend with all of us in honor of Carson's day, Caitlin already had the day off with the exception of tennis, and little ornery Carly was ready to go. We were helping Lisa, Jade, and Josie gather their belongings when we heard a loud scream. The scream would be coming from the bathroom where Carson had just dashed off to shower with his dad. I thought to myself , "he could not possibly be in trouble on his birthday?" I ran in as I always do at the sound of the cry, and there was Jason holding naked Carson who just had a large toilet seat and toilet lid come crashing down on his most private area. There was swelling, blood, and a lot of tears. It was an unpleasant way to start the birthday. He said so many funny things about it after the pain had subsided (many hours later). I love how he told the story to many people but just kept it plain and simple.
This was just the beginning of injuries for the little man on his birthday. To keep a long story short, he fell through an opening in a dock (without water underneath) and hit his mouth on a boat on the way down. Thank goodness his foot caught him and thank goodness he is tough.
Happy birthday Carson J!

Things That I LOVE...

I was standing in the family room today watching the weather radar (anticipating the worst) and listening to the computer generated voice... Carson runs in from the kitchen and watches right along with me, and then says "is that God talking in there?" I love that...

This morning we were at Dr. Mike's office for Carly's millionth x-ray and the beep, beep, beep comes across their intercom/radio. Carson freezes and says, "is it going to flood?" Everyone laughed for a second, then stopped and wondered why an almost 4 year old would have that on his mind... (his trains are in the basement). I love his concern...

I love that tonight Caitlin said she was going to live by the 10 Commandments this week.

I love music, our kids love music... but I make music choices that other parents would probably cringe at, I love the top 40 music and so do my kids. We are great parents that teach right and wrong and the kids know that we don't use foul language or be rude to one another, but this is great... Carly first song that she can sing was a shocker to us because we do listen to a lot of children's music. The TV ads for the Grammy's came on during the news last week and she heard Katy Perry singing, she comes running around the corner in her 18 month old voice and sings, "I KISSED A GIRL." I know you are all cringing right now... It is not foul language or being rude. :)

I put Carly into the real bathtub tonight, she seemed so happy to be out of the kitchen sink for a bath. So tonight, I love trash bags to put around broken arms.

I know that one of my kids is going to be a meteorologist because they all watch the weather, even Carly. Carson builds a pillow shelter when he knows a storm is coming and Caitlin just prays. I love that my kids don't watch TV much, but when they do it is Mr. Rogers for Carson, and the Weather Channel for everyone!

I love that Carson is SO excited for his birthday!

Those are the "loves" that I could remember this evening... there will be plenty more to share as we get close to the "lover's day."

Classics from the Koomens

Some Of My Recent Favorite Pictures...

The Fabulous Trio...

Carly and Mommy

Carly chatting on the phone in desperate need of haircut!

Carson taking his very own snapshot of his cat...

The Innocent 4 Year Old...

My favorite face...

And another...