things i love (and hate) right now

1. this beautiful weather. i LOVE that my kids can play outside all day, the redbud tree blooming right outside my front window, the flowers popping up, the breeze, the way that warmer weather makes me happy.

but - i can't think about this summer and how miserable it will be. also, with spring weather comes spring allergies and sinus problems. a sinus headache with pressure making me feel like my face is going to explode is a less-than-fun way to wake up. thank God for sudafed (and that none of my family makes meth, so it's easy to get from the pharmacy).

2. books. matthias loves books. he spends hours (really, not exagerating), sitting on the living room floor, looking at books. he makes up stories or remembers a line here or there, and it is so cute listening to him. hiba likes to read too, and can memorize a book after hearing it one or two times.

but - i know, how can i hate books, right? well, they are all over the living room floor, all the time. and i love the books we have, but matthias does not really get the whole "be gentle" thing. which means they get stepped on and torn and then i get angry. also, they love the same books. as in, they love the exact same book at the exact same time (which leads to screaming and tearing) and they love to hear me read the same book over and over and over and over and over and over again. which, as you can see, i clearly love.

3. sand. we got matthias a sandbox for his birthday last september. but between the rain and the cold, the kids have not gotten to play in it much until the last week or so. and they LOVE it. the make cakes, they build hills, they have sand fights. what's not to love, right? and it keeps them entertained, happy, and relatively getting along for a large amount of time. which means i can do things like blog, look at facebook, clean the house. win-win.

until they come inside. which they do often. jason suggested that i just make them stay outside if they have been in the sand. they didn't really want to do that though. so they come in and out, or even just in at the end, and get sand EVERYWHERE. today, i have swept the floor 3 times. and not because i care about what it looks like. but because every time i sweep, there is a pile of sand from the exact spot that i just swept. there is sand on the couch. there is sand on the kitchen floor. there is sand on their beds. there is sand in the bathroom. and there is definitely sand on the floor by the backdoor. i'm pretty sure i will never sweep it all up. ever.

4. 17 months. that is the age difference between hiba and matthias. it is great, because they are basically on the same schedule and they are "best friends forever! yay!". they play games together, they read books together, they have picnics together, they run together, they laugh together. it is so fun to see them love eachother.

but. they also scream together. and hit. and bite. and argue. and scream. and fight. and fight. and fight. and fight. i have started just telling them "work it out" when they complain to me about the other one doing something, but that usually ends in hitting or biting. which, i guess is a way of working it out. but i would love it if they would find a way to solve their problems that didn't end in screaming and tears.

all in all, life is pretty fun right now. beautiful weather, lots to play with, kiddos who play together all day long. and as much as those thing sometimes annoy me, i love them all so much more. 

it's hard to be 2

we never really went through the "terrible/tantrum twos" with hiba. i mean, we thought we did. looking back, she was an angel. (ha - it's funny how time messes with memories). now, she definitely has a strong personality, which led to our fair share of fights, disagreements, struggles with her, but she is so verbal and just basically tried to reason with us most of the time. a lot of times (and still today), if we can get her to listen to what we say and give a reason for it, she agress. or comes back with a very reasonable (especially for a 3-year-old) counter-offer. and overall, she is a people-pleaser. she wants us to like her. she wants to hang out with us. she wants to be friends.

enter matthias. he is 2. he is not so much what i would call a "people-pleaser". he is a charmer. that is for sure. but he is also a "i'm gonna do things my way and you can live with it or leave me alone" kind of person. and if we think hiba has a strong personality - she's got nothin' on matthias (those darn second-born's. oops, that'd be my genes he's got....).

so i would say that we are in the midst of the "terrible twos". because really, many days his behavior is terrible. he is not terrible. he is still cute and funny and learning to grow up. but his behavior - oh. my. goodness.

for example, on tuesday morning, basically anytime i asked or even suggested that he do something, his response was to SCREAM "NOOOOOOO!", throw himself on the ground and/or run away from me. now the things were things like get his shoes so he can go outside, let me change his diaper, not dump sand all over the floor, let me wipe the snot rocket (or snot rocket ship, as hiba calls it) off his nose. in my opinion, all of those things actually benefit him and are not all that unreasonable. but that is obviously not his opinion.

and he is learning to talk (he says a lot of words, but i think he is still learning what they all mean), which also leads to a lot of frustration. if he has a request and can't think of the words, he just sits there and pants, fusses, and eventually screams. which is always a fun way to handle situations.

it must be hard to be 2. i think there is a reason that God made it so most people's earliest memories are a little later on in life. i mean, he can say words, but is still learning to actually use them. he is learning to do so many things - get dressed, brush teeth, eat, etc. - but can't quite do them by himself. he is learning that he can assert control, but there are boundaries that he is still figuring out.

but, if it hard being 2, i have to say - i think it's harder being a parent of a 2-year-old. it takes so much energy, consistency, love, attention, patience, energy, energy....things that don't come all that naturally to me. as matthias is growing, i am realizing how different he and hiba are. so everything that we did with hiba basically does not work with matthias. and things that we do with matthias do not work with her. so it takes a lot of on-the-job-learning, adjusting, and laughter.

i will say, that i love that he is getting older. even the screaming. because it means he is learning and growing and testing out this world, seeing how he fits into it. and that's a pretty fun thing to watch. even if it wears me out.

just another monday

today was a beautiful day. i really love this early spring. although i'm not looking forward to july. but let's just focus on the positive.

anyway. hiba, matthias, and i took a little drive to russelville to meet up with my mom and my grandma at a park there. the kids played, we had lunch, and took a little walk. we ended up on a bridge over a little creek and taught hiba and matthias how to play "pooh sticks". oh my. sooo much fun.

what a big boy!

hiba being tall. even taller than grammy!

the see-saw! 

hiba and GG 

hiba, GG, grammy, and matthias

hiba picking out a stick for "pooh sticks"

so whiny and so cute. and he knows it. 

trekking to the bridge

drop the sticks in..... 

and fast, fast, fast, look on the other side!

the final stick 

teamwork!

on our way home, we stopped at wal-mart for a way overdue shopping trip. it was actually semi-enjoyable. we got a good parking spot, a big cart, the kids were in good moods, short line - it ended with no tears from anyone, which is sort of rare when i have to grocery shop with both of them.

when we got home, the weather was still gorgeous, so the kids played outside for the rest of the afternoon. matthias did want to come in at one point, as he was covered in sand and water, but he just hung out and looked at books and then went back out to play some basketball.

he shoots....he scores!!

hiba's castle

this is where she likes to sleep outside

so blessed.

well, hello again. a lot has been happening around the pollack house. but more of that another day. today i want to brag on my in-laws. because they are awesome.

i know a lot of people don't get along great with their in-laws. and, i'm not gonna lie, there are times when the differences between me and my in-laws cause a little stress. but, overall, i am waaaaay blessed to have a monther-in-law that i like, that i like being around, and who loves me and my kids. i am so blessed to have a sister-in-law who likes hanging out with my kids and does it a lot. i am so blessed to have a second family that really is a family to me.

yesterday, i woke up with strep throat. i knew it was strep because i have the privilege of getting it about once a year. fun times. swollen glans, can't swallow, fever...awesome. and to make the day better, jason had rugby practice in the evening, and instead of being 70 degrees and sunny like it had been for the last week, it was cold and rainy. not the kind of day you want to be sick with two kids at home.

hiba was very sweet in the morning. she was so cooperative and even tried to get matthias to be good, although he wasn't really catching on to the mommy-is-sick-so-let's-be-super-good thing. so i texted lizzie (my sister-in-law) and kathy (jason's mom) to see if they would be interested in hanging out with my kids for a while. i was thinking a few hours so i could go to the doctor without them and maybe get a few hours of sleep alone, and they would get a few hours of human interaction instead of watching 17 hours of diego. because i am soooo not above them watching tv all day when i'm sick. don't judge me.

so, i got a text back from lizzie saying she would be there in about 30 minutes to get them. she came and picked them up, kept them all day, the kids ended up spending the night, and brought them back this afternoon.

so i got to sleep on the couch all day, go to the doctor without my two darling children, sleep some more, sleep until 10 this morning, get up, take a shower in peace, go get some food by myself, and come home and relax for a little bit before they got home. so even though yesterday was pretty awful for me (i HATE being sick. i'm a huge baby.), it was way better than it could have been. my kids got to hang out with their aunt, uncle, and grandparents, go to the library, eat real meals (because i'm also not above feeding my kids cookies or whatever they can reach for every meal when i am sick. don't judge me), and actually get attention. they even got to go to teen mops (because lizzie helps in the childcare) which is pretty much what hiba's week revolves around. she was pretty thrilled when she figured out she would not have to miss it. they were happy to be home and were so sweet to me today, making sure i'm feeling better and asking if i needed anything.

so today i'm definitely feeling better and although i know it due partly to the wonderful antibiotics i'm on, part of it is because i got to rest and let myself recover. so thanks, in-laws, for loving me and my kids and helping out. you all rock. 

zuzu, the ladies man

so last weekend when we were up at my parents, we went to a basketball game at JBU. we've taken the kids to a few others, and matthias was generally interested in the game in the past. not this time. he was most interested in running around, throwing himself on the ground when we told him not to run around, eating pizza, watching the "real golden eagle", and the halftime show.

for halftime, they had a gymnastic group perform. the girls had these cute little sparkly red uniforms and did tricks. matthias was mesmerized. he sat on jason's lap, completely still, the entire time. mesmerized.

fast forward to today. we were driving to kroger and passed a basketball court with some kids playing. matthias informed me, emphatically from the backseat, "i HATE basketball". (which sounded more like "i  HAY baffeball"). i said, "what?". he repeated, "i HATE basketball!". i said, "why?". and he responded, "i HATE basketball. i just want to watch the girls. at the JBU. i like the girls".

and he's only two. lord, help us.