Sunday, December 30, 2012

Babysitter needed

With all of the hustle of raising 3 children in a family, there must be time allotted for the individual (i.e. self), the couple, and then fun time with the kids. Often times I find it difficult to have fun because I mix up the roles of dad, professional, and husband.

Interchanging the roles are okay but I believe there has to a be a priority to things. With this in mind I must force the order as follows: husband, dad, and then professional...

Back from my segway, I NEED A BABYSITTER! I saw a soft add on Facebook about a student I used to teach. That is ideal because she is old enough (and in this case mature enough) to handle the responsibility that comes with the job. My children are 3, 4 and 9. The 9 year old is entering her Tween phase ("Grrr"). My 4 year old is the middle child, asthmatic, and if that weren't enough, is in constant competition with her other two siblings. Lastly my 3 year old is the only boy, new to the "Terrible Two's" phase, and I'll leave it at that.

The ideal babysitter would be old enough to not fall prey to any of the aforementioned strong personalities and needs. This babysitter would be mature enough to hold a 5 minute time out when needed and be able to multitask well. This person would be resourceful when necessary (e.g. able to give medicine to Ella, call if things could get out of hand, etc). Ultimately this person would be available to care for our children the way my wife and I would normally for a 3-5 hour time slot occasionally.

Do you know of that person?

Sunday, December 23, 2012

The Race...

So this week Molly, Gabriella and I were doing our usual race to the car after dropping Quentin off. But this is where our race took a turn for the worse. Let me back up a little to tell you our brief race history and the details of the racing therein.

The history of our race is as follows: One day I raced Molly (holding Gabriella) to the car and she won. Another day we raced again (with the same format) and I won. Keep in mind that this all happens after we drop Quentin off for daycare at about 7 am in the morning. Back to where it took a turn for the worse.

In this final race something went horribly wrong. I will set the scene. It's dark outside. I'm holding Gabriella while Molly is set in her faux race stance ready to go. As she starts to run she yells go and we started from near the door for the daycare. We ran across the grass down a sloping lawn with a payment separating the lawn and the car. After I struggle to win I struggle to gain my balance and slow down then speed up just enough for a photo finish. Then all of a sudden I smack into our car!

I twisted my body at the last minute because I was afraid Gabriella would get any of the impact. While doing this I landed full force on the mirror on the passenger's side of the car. I kick myself for falling victim to "the race" but am glad to etch another great memory in the minds of the Hasty Kids.

Sunday, December 16, 2012

What I learned at Daycare

When your child comes home from Daycare you have faith that they will learn the best; e.g. artwork, songs, habits, etc. This is not the case at our current daycare. Since September Quentin has come home with too many examples of what the ideal daycare should not look like.
Two incident reports, habits of my-way-or-the-highway temper tantrums, and an oral fixation (i.e. talking in a rude manner and licking just about anything).

We are doing better since our original outbreak. Quentin bit Gabriella on the back and that's what prompted this current post. Since then Quentin has been acting better but I am on my toes...

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Christmas Pictures 2012

Shout out to Santa at the Montgomerryville Mall this week. His helpers made sure that the Hasty  kids were taken care of (even though Quentin was scared of him). Next year Quentin will understand because Gabriella was the same way he was last year.

What a hassle getting them there. I mean as soon as G & Q were in the car they started screaming because they were both tired and hungry; I guess. Both didn't even want me to buckle their belts. Gabriella was upset that her seat belt was sticking. Quentin was upset just because he could.

Afterwards, we went to Chili's across the street from the mall. The service seemed slow but the food was pretty good. It all went as planned but I just wish the kids acted nice in restaurants, being that Eileen and I like to go so much.

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Tempter Tantrum part 1...

One morning this week Gabriella reminded me of the following: that she still thinks she is the boss in this house, she is an important child, and that she is relevant. Gabriella is all of these things and her need to tell me rolled into an AM-tempter-tantrum while my wife and I were hustling to get ready for work.

I am an advocate of time out but when you are short on time you can't/won't/don't time-out. Other forms of punishment came to mind but I settled on my particular favorite, which is taking their favorites away. Every Friday morning I get the children a treat on our way to daycare, etc. This treat is always sweet and (to be more specific) usually is a pop-tart or a donut.

I immediately eventually threatened her with taking the brown sugar and cinnamon pop tarts away on Friday. This didn't work and (to make a long story short) I eventually got of the door with our children to get on with our morning.

I feel the urge to break down exactly what her tantrum consisted of but I will spare you and save that for a later post (if I can remember). Gabriella has the strongest personality/attitude/will-power out of all three of the Hasty children and that will benefit her in the future. I just hope that she doesn't persist in using that will-power against me because I don't want to have to write about it again.

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Thanksgiving 2012

Thanksgiving has come and gone and it was a blessing. As I reflect I am grateful for my wife's aunt, my mother-in-law, and my aunt for making the trip out to see us.

My children enjoyed the food and family thoroughly. Their happy memories are forever engraved in their minds and hearts and I will only pray for every Thanksgiving here on out will be as blessed as this one was.

Happy Thanksgiving 2012!

Sunday, November 18, 2012

The Potty...

Quentin is the last of three children to be Potty trained. He is doing well so far but it has been a long journey to the point where we are now.

Funny I'm blogging about this now because I lost it the other day when he pooped in his underwear, while wearing pants, and it wasn't all solid (sorry for the details). I asked him why? I put him on the toilet, and I threw his underwear in the trash. Later on he told me that he was sorry and I felt better but. To add insult to injury I left him on the toilet for about 3 minutes to go back upstairs and find that the rest of the roll of toilet paper was used and in the toilet. :(  Why?

Quentin has been actively potty training since June 2012. He has done a remarkable job but still has his rebellious side. Today, I am proud to say, Quentin goes to his pre-school in underwear and comes home with the same clothes. He is on a streak of about 5 classes and counting...

Steps for getting him where he is today are as follows:

  • Offer an incentive for potty training (something immediate like candy or a dance, etc.)
  • Praise him once the deed is done (hi-five's worked well for Quentin)
  • Offer to take him to the bathroom every hour for the first month, every other hour for the second month, and whenever you use the bathroom thereafter
  • Never think you are out of the forest until the child is 4 years old (with the exception of the nightly-before-bed-bathroom reminder)
I love my boy!

Sunday, November 11, 2012

The chocolate donut

On Friday I took the Hasty Kids to get donuts. For clarification, we eat Pop Tarts or donuts every Friday to celebrate the end of the week.

Well grace be to God for my order mix-up last Friday because I would never have tasted the chocolate goodness of my chocolate frosted donut. Molly gets vanilla frosted, Gabriella gets chocolate frosted with cream, and Quentin gets chocolate frosted. I mixed up the order at DD and got an extra donut. Bottom line, it tasted great when I drove solo to work and I have Master Quentin (and his siblings) for an unexpected "Happy Friday" treat!

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Halloween 2012

So we missed the Chestnut Hill Trick-Or-Treating extravaganza because I had to work last Sunday. We live here (and as a side note, I wish I didn't ever work my part time gig because I lost out on a lot of family time) and missed out on trick-or-treating on the Avenue. This included going in and out of the boutiques, getting candy and dressing up all in the convenience of a 5-10 minute walk. We missed other C-Hill events but that will be in a later post especially since I plan on attending them.

Our tradition begins with going over my brother-in-laws house, getting costumes on and taking pictures. Afterwards we are off into the cool night zig zagging our way through the streets and houses with lights on.

This year Quentin walked by himself and carried his own bag. One funny memory is after Quentin carefully walks down the many stairs of these Northeast houses, he runs as fast as he can to catch up to his older sisters and his cousins.

I thank God that everyone is healthy and well in our families and am appreciative to celebrate this years Halloween with no strollers.




Sunday, October 21, 2012

Cranberry Fest 2012

Six hours on a Saturday and I am appreciative, once again, to have my beautiful family. Aunt 'Reen, Uncle Pete, the #HastyKids and I were in Chatsworth, NJ today at the annual Cranberry Festival.

It was our first time as the Hasty Family (minus my wife) but you couldn't tell with our grins, moonbounces, and water (Italian) ices. We sure missed Eileen Hasty but there is always next year.

Some things to remember for next are as follows: don't bring a lunch (there is too much to eat; bring my wife (her jokes, love and support were sorely missed); prepare cranberry recipes in advance so I can have a better understanding if what I need; and plan a budget (the money goes pretty quick when we're there).

Thursday, August 30, 2012

I'll miss you

Just a few minutes ago Molly inquired about how often I would work at my second job. I told her a few days during the week. She then said, "oh, because I was gonna wake up early to see you".

Sometime I miss you doesn't do it. Sometime acting good, hugging and kissing, or talking to someone isn't enough alone. Molly's actions (or plans to act) show me that she cares for me, she loves me, and that she ultimately misses me.

When you eventually read this, I love you too Molly Patience Mulvey and I appreciate all of your actions, thoughts and plans.

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

No training wheels

Yesterday my family and I went out to ride our bikes. My wife and I watched as Quen rode his tricycle, Gabriella rode her toddler bike with training wheels, and Mol rode her bigger bike with training wheels.

All three children did well but I am most impressed with Mol. After enduring a popped back bike tire, she settled for learning how to ride on our back up bike (see video below).

Congrats Molly!