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).