Happy Holidays (updated)

So as most of you know ( and the rest can probably see), I'm not good at keeping my blog up-to-date. Try as I might, I just can't find the time. So apologies aside, I hope everyone had a happy holiday (and upcoming New Years).

Well Keaghan's last day of school was December 18th and they had a cool little Holiday party. I was able to bring Kaitlynn and Gavin and they had a lot of fun. The kids did crafts, ate food and read holiday books. Kaitlynn thought she was a student and did everything Keaghan did. Gavin was well, Gavin.

The following week was a bit of a whirlwind (to quote some friends of ours). I Monday I worked, Tuesday Keaghan and I did something ( I honestly can't remember).

Wednesday our friends Michelle and Morgan came over during the day for some cookie decorating. Note to all parents with youngsters... Don't let your kids eat straight food coloring gel. While they won't get sick, the poopies will be very interesting colors.

Thursday was great. The kids were treated very well by Santa. Kaitlynn thought every gift that had a K on it was hers and she and Keaghan made their way through present after present. Gavin was more methodical about opening gifts. Really examining each one. Everyone got what they wished for. Keaghan an American Girl Doll named Mia, Kailtynn a Dollhouse and Gavin a remote control dinosaur. In addition they got tons of books, artsy stuff, clothes, games etc.... Tim and I really enjoyed watching them.

Saturday I took the girls ice skating at the outdoor mall. We went with Michelle and Morgan. This was quite an interesting endevour. My girls had never been ice skating and I haven't been in many many years (too many to recall). Well we get there and the smallest skate size they have is a 9 (available at that time was a 10). Kaitlynn is a size 6 1/2. So trying to get her balanced in a 10 was a challenge. Keaghan was a little uneasy at first (apparently she didn't know that falling was part of ice skating) but once she made it around the first time (with my help), she really enjoyed it. I'm not saying she was Dorthy Hammill (did I just date myself?) but she gave it a go and is open to do it again.

If you read this all the way through Thanks. I will try to be better at posting in 2009!! Happy New Years.

We have a biter

So today all three of my kids want to take a bath together. Great I think, we'll save some water. All is well until lo and behold we hear a blood curdling scream. Great I think what now (the dog just ate destroyed my gifts to my brother and Tim).

Well it turns out Gavin has bitten his sister. Not just a little bite, he almost broke skin. The picture below doesn't do it justice.

Making a gingerbread house

Today after swim lessons and shopping, we decided to make a gingerbread house that grandpa had given us a couple of months ago (don't ask). The kids had a great time and I'm happy to say Tim kept his cool (in case you don't know Tim, he is a bit of a perfectionist).

Madagascar 2

It was a beautiful 65 degrees out today in Denver CO. So naturally Keaghan and I went to the movies. We say Madagascar 2 and it was great. It was short enough to keep the kids's attention and funny enough to keep mom's. Some of the humor was so-so but that flies over their (at least my kids) heads.

After that we went home picked up the other two kiddos and the puppy and went to the park. We left dad home to cook dinner (AKA watch football). The kids had a blast.

It's starting to look a lot like X-mas

It was the day after Thanksgiving and as we do most years, we started putting up our Christmas decorations. I must say it was an interesting undertaking with 3 kids and a puppy. Needless to say they all wanted to touch, touch, touch.

Terror in Target

So I am still not clear when I became one of those parents that had kids that got so out of control.

Take today for example. It was a day of non-listening for my two younger kids.

We made the mistake of visiting the toy section in target first. Well by the time we were got to shopping, the little ones were gone.

Kaitlynn was having a meltdown once she learned that she wasn't getting a cookie as she wasn't behaving. Then since Kaitlynn was crying Gavin needed to do some sympathy crying.

It was so bad that at one point Tim told me I was embarassing him because I was trying to get the kids under control. I guess at that point you just leave them.

Well I am glad to say that 5 minutes after they got in the car they were asleep.

Boy was that a fun trip.

7 going on 13????

Have you ever heard of the statement that 50 is the new 30. Well 7 is (apparently) the new 13.

So in case you have never met or heard me talk about my daughter Keaghan you are in for a treat.

Keaghan is one of the smarter people you will ever meet (Yes Tim and I often question where this came from). She goes to a gifted and talented school and never ceases to amaze us.

But alas, with this gift comes many challenges. Because often when you are way above the norm in intellegence, you are a bit (or alot) behind in the social skills.

Keaghan once again demonstrated this to us on Sunday. She had a friend (Aspen) over for a playdate. While they haven't played for a while since Keaghan now goes to the GT school, they have been friends for a while. All was fine for the first 4 hours. The girls played (and the little ones slept) and had a blast. Then after playing on the bouncey castle and having a snack, Aspen wants to go into the basement to play (we have a playroom down there). Apparently Keaghan just read a book that now gives her an irrational fear of the basement. So long story short, Keaghan has a major meltdown ( I swear I wasn't going to be ready for this until she was a teenager). She starts the "I have no friends tyraid (Yes I did just say she had a friend over for a playdate). This of course sends me over the edge crying and thinking I am a failure as a parent.

So I bring Aspen home and then try to convey to Keaghan the concept of having someone in your home and how you have to comprimise. She struggled with this and declared that she never wants to be a hostess again. Always a fun time in the Banaitis house. As always, I welcome any suggestions, tips etc... for raising my kids.

Introduction

So I thought today would be a good day to start blogging. My neighbor and girlfriend Michelle seems to do this alot and although I have I three kids aged 7, 3 and 2, I figured I have no excuse not to find the time.

So a little about me... As I stated above, I have 3 kids Keaghan is 7, Kaitlynn 3 and Gavin 2. I am married to Tim ( 10 years this July) and we have a puppy Pixar 8 months old.
I work for a relatively large Yellow Pages publisher as the Brand manager. While times are tough for this industry. I have a really fun job.

So I thought I'd start my blog with swim lessons . This is the first time Kaitlynn has taken swim lessons. She is a doing great and I've been so proud of her. Keaghan is also taking them and she is a trooper. She was sick during her first class but hung in there and did awesome. The pictures here are from today (week two) as I thought I had forgotten the camera last week (it was actually in the car).