I hope you all had a nice Memorial Day weekend. We certainly did. It has become our tradition to have a metric ton of mulch delivered on the Friday of the long weekend. And so we spent much of our days doing yard work while the children played around us. Andrew and Lily were in a pretend play nirvana...honestly entertaining each other for hours at a time. Michael was just happy to be wandering around in the dirt, finding "pie-der wehs" (spider webs) and helping move the mulch around in the wheelbarrow.
We bought a bigg-ish inflatible pool that took all afternoon to inflate. The kids played in it so long it was well worth the chest pains.
We ate outside several nights. Kids sitting around the picnic table, still dripping from the pool, shoveling food in because they are so hungry. Dripping ice cream all over themselves and then rinsing in the pool. Going to bed tired and happy.
Michael is having some issues with sunscreen, I think. I bought a gigantic bottle of Target brand sunscreen last year that I never opened. So last week I cracked it open and slathered it on my kids several times a day. Fast forward to Michael scratching huge sores open on his back and chest. Ugh. Since stopping the sunscreen, he seems to be healing. Oh! And he has a huge plantar's wart on his second toe, which we are slowly and painfully removing with drops. Try keeping a band-aid on that bad boy as he plays for hours in the hose. Ugh.
This morning, we are back to normal. Except that Jeff just left for Texas. For the week.
Today Andrew has school and Michael has speech. Tonight Andrew has his very last baseball game, which will likely go late...and I won't have the option of leaving early to get the littles to bed. Oh! And it is supposed to be 90 degrees and humid or something. Good times.
Tomorrow we are hoping to go downtown to a park while Andrew is at school. He has chess and it will likely be pizza night. A pretty low-key day.
Thursday, we have a make-up gym class in the morning and shopping and planning and packing and cleaning the house will be happening for our weekend trip. I also need to go to the bike shop to pick up our bikes from being tuned up. I've never used the bike rack before. Should be interesting.
Friday, Jeff will arrive home around noon. I'll drop Shadow off at her foster family and pick up Andrew a bit early from school so we can start our drive to the state park where we'll meet up with Jeff's folks. We will have a fantastic weekend of boating, hiking, and hanging out with family.
What's your week look like?
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Thursday, May 26, 2011
In a sentence or less
1. Is there anything cuter than a 3 year old helping mow the lawn?
3. What Andrew did for most of the baseball game he went to with his school for family night.
4. Lily moves on to the 4 day 4's program at her pre-school with an adorable musical production.
5. Upon seeing my latest book sitting next to our recliner, Jeff exclaims, "Just looking at a book that big puts me in a bad mood."
6. My latest book is Roots, by Alex Haley.
7. No I have never seen the mini-series.
8. I ran 20 minutes this morning, despite being convinced that the only way I would make it home from such an undertaking would be in a hearse.
9. Jeff is going to be gone for most of next week and I'm not even blinking about it.
10. We had the most beautiful family evening last night with the kiddie pool and sprinkler and hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill and ice cream and all.
11. Except for the part where Andrew sulked up at the top of hill, a.k.a. "tick alley", because we wouldn't let him body slam his brother and sister at the bottom of the water slide.
12. It is now established in the neighborhood that I am the stick-in-the-mud mother with a house full of un-interesting activites.
13. I need suggestions for music to run to, keeping in mind that the music I tend to like does not really work for exercising.
14. Have I mentioned my love affair with Phil Collins's music?
15. Add "hopelessly uncool" to #12.
2. Still (not) photogenic
3. What Andrew did for most of the baseball game he went to with his school for family night.
4. Lily moves on to the 4 day 4's program at her pre-school with an adorable musical production.
5. Upon seeing my latest book sitting next to our recliner, Jeff exclaims, "Just looking at a book that big puts me in a bad mood."6. My latest book is Roots, by Alex Haley.
7. No I have never seen the mini-series.
8. I ran 20 minutes this morning, despite being convinced that the only way I would make it home from such an undertaking would be in a hearse.
9. Jeff is going to be gone for most of next week and I'm not even blinking about it.
10. We had the most beautiful family evening last night with the kiddie pool and sprinkler and hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill and ice cream and all.
11. Except for the part where Andrew sulked up at the top of hill, a.k.a. "tick alley", because we wouldn't let him body slam his brother and sister at the bottom of the water slide.
12. It is now established in the neighborhood that I am the stick-in-the-mud mother with a house full of un-interesting activites.
13. I need suggestions for music to run to, keeping in mind that the music I tend to like does not really work for exercising.
14. Have I mentioned my love affair with Phil Collins's music?
15. Add "hopelessly uncool" to #12.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
How much longer?
How much longer will my biggest boy cuddle with me during family movie night?
No, wait. Don't answer that.
Creative Parenting
Last week marked the end of the class that I took with Michael, Creative Parenting. It was a fun little pre-preschool...for ages 18 months to 3 years...an hour filled with arts and crafts, play time, circle time, snack, and songs. It is amazing how much the teacher fit into an hour class...and equally amazing how it matched the attention span of the children.
Here's Michael waiting for class to begin.
First you do arts and crafts. Michael was the speed champion in this area. If there was no paint for him to smear his hands in, (liquid glue would also appeal as a second best) he wanted little to do with the craft. The one on this day had those paint dot thingies. He took about 2 minutes and then ran to the next room to play.
This is the second step...the toy room. There are toddler toys strewn about the room for the kids to play with. A kitchen set, a doll house, cars, building blocks, puzzles, light-up noisy toys, you name it. When the time is up, all the kids have to clear the room of toys...because this is where we have circle time/snack time/the rest of the class. It is an amazing thing to watch 8 two year olds clean a room of toys with little to no tantruming.
One of the toys is a little mailbox. At the beginning of the year, Michael would bring me a letter and I would "open" it and read it. It always read, "Dear Mommy. It is time to tickle Michael." And then I would tickle him. And he would run off and find another little plastic letter and bring it back to me to read..."Dear Mommy. It is time to kiss Michael on the ear." Etc etc. A few weeks ago, Michael started reading the letters to ME. Nothing cuter than hearing his little voice, "Sccccooo sccccchooo (ripping open the letter)...Dear Michael, Tie to tickle Mommy. Tickle tickle tickle." Love him.
After we cleaned up the toys, it was circle time. We recited rhymes and sang songs. Here the kids are gathering with Miss Maryanne to sing 5 Little Monkeys. After the song is done, they each get a little finger puppet monkey to bring back to Mommy's lap and exercise with. Very well done.
Here's Michael and his two "teachers"...they had a mock graduation from the class since it was the last day.
Here's the whole class. No way could anyone have gotten a shot where everyone was facing forward. Can you find Michael?
Here's Michael waiting for class to begin.
First you do arts and crafts. Michael was the speed champion in this area. If there was no paint for him to smear his hands in, (liquid glue would also appeal as a second best) he wanted little to do with the craft. The one on this day had those paint dot thingies. He took about 2 minutes and then ran to the next room to play.
This is the second step...the toy room. There are toddler toys strewn about the room for the kids to play with. A kitchen set, a doll house, cars, building blocks, puzzles, light-up noisy toys, you name it. When the time is up, all the kids have to clear the room of toys...because this is where we have circle time/snack time/the rest of the class. It is an amazing thing to watch 8 two year olds clean a room of toys with little to no tantruming.
One of the toys is a little mailbox. At the beginning of the year, Michael would bring me a letter and I would "open" it and read it. It always read, "Dear Mommy. It is time to tickle Michael." And then I would tickle him. And he would run off and find another little plastic letter and bring it back to me to read..."Dear Mommy. It is time to kiss Michael on the ear." Etc etc. A few weeks ago, Michael started reading the letters to ME. Nothing cuter than hearing his little voice, "Sccccooo sccccchooo (ripping open the letter)...Dear Michael, Tie to tickle Mommy. Tickle tickle tickle." Love him.
After we cleaned up the toys, it was circle time. We recited rhymes and sang songs. Here the kids are gathering with Miss Maryanne to sing 5 Little Monkeys. After the song is done, they each get a little finger puppet monkey to bring back to Mommy's lap and exercise with. Very well done.
Here's Michael and his two "teachers"...they had a mock graduation from the class since it was the last day.
Here's the whole class. No way could anyone have gotten a shot where everyone was facing forward. Can you find Michael?
He really has changed so much since we started this class in September. I think he's going to have a lot of fun in pre-school next year. He's just really acting like a kid lately. For example...
Yesterday morning, I was talking to my mom on the phone while Michael ate breakfast. He all of a sudden called out, "Mom? May nee tah to me." (Memere needs to talk to me). I of course handed the phone to him and he proceeded to tell her about our stink bug problem and what he was eating for breakfast. Very cute. What can we say? Memere needed to talk to him ;)
Thursday, May 19, 2011
It just takes a little threatening...
So I sent out another e-mail to my contact at the agency for Michael's speech...and I amped up the desperate tone a bit. I Cc'd anyone and everyone whose e-mail address was found on their website. The problem with all of your advice to just speak to another supervisor, or to go to their boss...is that I have no idea who any of those people are. I have one phone number and one e-mail address.
Anyhoo, I'm pretty sure my e-mail must have sounded like my next step was to visit their offices with a pipe bomb or something. I sent the e-mail at 6:30 am.
At 7:05, I got an e-mail response from one of the people I'd Cc'd. She said, "I can tell you are frustrated. I am not involved with pre-school speech, but I'll make sure this e-mail is forwarded to the appropriate person. If you have any additional problems, feel free to contact me again." See? I must have sounded like I was going postal...she doesn't even deal with this issue and she was trying to talk me down ;)
At 8:15, I got a phone call from a man who is the scheduling coordinator for speech services. He gave me the name of the speech therapist who would be calling me. If she hasn't called me by Friday (tomorrow), he instructed me to call him back. Of course, he only works on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. He also sounded a little snarky when he said that according to Michael's paperwork, "We seem to owe Michael 2 1/2 hours of missed therapy time. That will be made up during -sigh- our vacation." I mentioned that I wasn't so worried about making up time, just about starting at all. He said, "No, no, we owe you this time so it WILL be made up." Like I'm the difficult one here.
-sigh- It is Thursday afternoon and I haven't heard from the speech therapist yet. I also forgot to ask where she is located. Hopefully she is closer than 30 minutes away. If she ever calls me in the first place. I have a feeling that this supervisor man and I will be getting to know each other better. Oh! And! While I was picking Lily up from school, my original contact left me a phone message telling me that she's been trying to get a hold of people to find out about scheduling a therapist for Michael. So she is apparently not in the loop that this other guy already contacted me.
Whatever. This is so incredibly awful. I am so grateful that Michael is not severely disabled. Because Lord knows what kind of hoops I'd have to jump through to get occupation AND physical AND speech therapies. Ridiculous.
Anyhoo, I'm pretty sure my e-mail must have sounded like my next step was to visit their offices with a pipe bomb or something. I sent the e-mail at 6:30 am.
At 7:05, I got an e-mail response from one of the people I'd Cc'd. She said, "I can tell you are frustrated. I am not involved with pre-school speech, but I'll make sure this e-mail is forwarded to the appropriate person. If you have any additional problems, feel free to contact me again." See? I must have sounded like I was going postal...she doesn't even deal with this issue and she was trying to talk me down ;)
At 8:15, I got a phone call from a man who is the scheduling coordinator for speech services. He gave me the name of the speech therapist who would be calling me. If she hasn't called me by Friday (tomorrow), he instructed me to call him back. Of course, he only works on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. He also sounded a little snarky when he said that according to Michael's paperwork, "We seem to owe Michael 2 1/2 hours of missed therapy time. That will be made up during -sigh- our vacation." I mentioned that I wasn't so worried about making up time, just about starting at all. He said, "No, no, we owe you this time so it WILL be made up." Like I'm the difficult one here.
-sigh- It is Thursday afternoon and I haven't heard from the speech therapist yet. I also forgot to ask where she is located. Hopefully she is closer than 30 minutes away. If she ever calls me in the first place. I have a feeling that this supervisor man and I will be getting to know each other better. Oh! And! While I was picking Lily up from school, my original contact left me a phone message telling me that she's been trying to get a hold of people to find out about scheduling a therapist for Michael. So she is apparently not in the loop that this other guy already contacted me.
Whatever. This is so incredibly awful. I am so grateful that Michael is not severely disabled. Because Lord knows what kind of hoops I'd have to jump through to get occupation AND physical AND speech therapies. Ridiculous.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Why do I...?
Why do I find it so difficult to sign my children up for swim lessons? I am so lazy. I found lessons at our local high school's pool for the summer, but you have to drop off the forms in person at the pool between 3 and 6 pm during the week. I don't know where the pool is, so it would mean wandering around a high school with 3 children. So perhaps they won't ever learn how to swim because I'm too intimidated. Also? Don't want quite know how to get all 3 into lessons, since I still have to go in the pool with Michael and Lily is petrified. -sigh- Too bad they won't magically figure out this skill on their own.
Why do I feel the need to point out obvious things when leaving a phone message? Like when I leave a message for a mom that I know pretty well, I'll say, "Hi! This is Giselle S----, Andrew's mom." No s--t, Sherlock! How many Giselle S's is my friend likely to know? Or, "Hi, I'm calling at about 5:00...that's 2:00 your time." No s--t, Sherlock! Do you really think your friend can't figure out the 3 hour time difference?
Why can't I get ANY RESPONSE from our Intermediary Unit (the agency responsible for providing Michael with speech services)? It has been 6 1/2 weeks since Michael's IEP meeting. I e-mailed my contact 3 times and left her 2 phone messages, which resulted in one e-mail that basically said she'd sent my info on. Last week, I went to their website and pulled the e-mail of the director. I sent her a note begging for any information if she couldn't provide some action. No response. Nothing. Nada. I have no other names or numbers. Do I contact my local representative next? Let him know that a government agency is denying services to a child with an IEP? I have no idea where to turn next or who to talk to. Why won't they just send me a note explaining that they don't have enough therapists, or they're waiting for more spots to open up at the end of the school year, or ANYTHING. So frustrating.
Why do I think I can teach Andrew to play piano? We inherited an electric piano last weekend, and everyone is really excited about it. It was going to be one of my projects for the summer with Andrew. Except that we run into the same problem as always. There are 2 other children in the house. And the only time I have alone with Andrew is after Lily goes to bed...and I'm pretty sure he'll be too tired and grumpy to practice at that point. I suppose I could put her in front of the tv while he plays or something...but the sound of the tinkling keys will inevitably bring her in. I think we may have to find a teacher for him...other than me. I can help him practice with Lily around, but I'm not sure I can instruct him. Homeschooler I am not.
Why do I think I can teach Andrew to ride a bike? Ditto to argument above. We get weekends. Otherwise, Jeff is at work and I am trying to run down the street holding on to Andrew's bike seat, while Mike and Lily fight over the 4 other trikes that we have and roll uncontrollably into the street. -sigh- I think I am probably qualified to have just 1 child.
Why do I start these blog entries without any good material to fill it?
Why do I feel the need to point out obvious things when leaving a phone message? Like when I leave a message for a mom that I know pretty well, I'll say, "Hi! This is Giselle S----, Andrew's mom." No s--t, Sherlock! How many Giselle S's is my friend likely to know? Or, "Hi, I'm calling at about 5:00...that's 2:00 your time." No s--t, Sherlock! Do you really think your friend can't figure out the 3 hour time difference?
Why can't I get ANY RESPONSE from our Intermediary Unit (the agency responsible for providing Michael with speech services)? It has been 6 1/2 weeks since Michael's IEP meeting. I e-mailed my contact 3 times and left her 2 phone messages, which resulted in one e-mail that basically said she'd sent my info on. Last week, I went to their website and pulled the e-mail of the director. I sent her a note begging for any information if she couldn't provide some action. No response. Nothing. Nada. I have no other names or numbers. Do I contact my local representative next? Let him know that a government agency is denying services to a child with an IEP? I have no idea where to turn next or who to talk to. Why won't they just send me a note explaining that they don't have enough therapists, or they're waiting for more spots to open up at the end of the school year, or ANYTHING. So frustrating.
Why do I think I can teach Andrew to play piano? We inherited an electric piano last weekend, and everyone is really excited about it. It was going to be one of my projects for the summer with Andrew. Except that we run into the same problem as always. There are 2 other children in the house. And the only time I have alone with Andrew is after Lily goes to bed...and I'm pretty sure he'll be too tired and grumpy to practice at that point. I suppose I could put her in front of the tv while he plays or something...but the sound of the tinkling keys will inevitably bring her in. I think we may have to find a teacher for him...other than me. I can help him practice with Lily around, but I'm not sure I can instruct him. Homeschooler I am not.
Why do I think I can teach Andrew to ride a bike? Ditto to argument above. We get weekends. Otherwise, Jeff is at work and I am trying to run down the street holding on to Andrew's bike seat, while Mike and Lily fight over the 4 other trikes that we have and roll uncontrollably into the street. -sigh- I think I am probably qualified to have just 1 child.
Why do I start these blog entries without any good material to fill it?
Monday, May 16, 2011
The annoying neighbor
We have recently welcomed a new neighbor with children just Andrew and Lily's ages and genders (G and A). It is fabulous. Playdates are spontaneous and often short. The children get along. They are respectful and kind and the kids have genuine fun. Dare I say a dream come true?
But there is another girl, H. She is homeschooled and 10 years old. She is wanting to play with our 4 year olds every day. In fact, I think she must go to my neighbor's house every day, because now when I call to see if A. wants to play, H. is always there or always comes over with her.
I feel bad for H. She is obviously a very social girl, and I don't know why she is being homeschooled, but it is hard on her. She was in the public schools until January or February, and she was always so friendly and social as she got on and off the bus. I can tell that being home is difficult. She apparently only gets schooled in the mornings, because she is wandering the neighborhood starting just after lunch.
The thing is? I don't really want H. playing with Lily and A. all the time. When they are alone, Lily and A. play very very well. They take turns being bossy and controlling. They are thoughtful of each other in a way I didn't know 4 year olds could be. But H. clearly favors A., since they play more and I think because A. is a lot more sophisticated than Lily (in the music she likes, her knowledge of pop culture, etc). So when H. is involved...they basically ignore Lily. Which is really irritating when they come to play at our house. A. and H. traipse through our house playing with our toys and literally don't even respond to Lily. Lily is so desperate for playmates, she just kind of pathetically follows them.
It is beyond irritating. And H. just doesn't get the hint. I've asked her to go home...she comes back 30 minutes later. She is persistant and has the attention span of a fly and gets into stuff that the little girls wouldn't. Like using my big extra supply of bubbles as "tea" while playing outside instead of water or nothing.
Yet? She's not actually doing anything wrong. She's just being a kid who plays with much younger children. She is the ring leader naturally, since she is SIX YEARS OLDER than her playmates. And now that she is a permanant attachment to A., Lily's basic choice is to not have a neighborhood playmate or to be ignored and mistreated by an older girl.
So I don't know what to do. Logically I know that summer vacation is coming, so H.'s older friends will be home...perhaps she'll ditch the younger girls for more appropriate friendships. Logically I know I can just make playdates for Lily with little girls outside the neighborhood like I did before A. moved in. Logically I know that this is a learning experience for Lily...to learn how to navigate complicated girl relationships...to know when to stand up for yourself, when to be quiet and put up with things, and when to let friendships go.
But she's 4. And she doesn't know how to do this yet. And I'm really annoyed.
But there is another girl, H. She is homeschooled and 10 years old. She is wanting to play with our 4 year olds every day. In fact, I think she must go to my neighbor's house every day, because now when I call to see if A. wants to play, H. is always there or always comes over with her.
I feel bad for H. She is obviously a very social girl, and I don't know why she is being homeschooled, but it is hard on her. She was in the public schools until January or February, and she was always so friendly and social as she got on and off the bus. I can tell that being home is difficult. She apparently only gets schooled in the mornings, because she is wandering the neighborhood starting just after lunch.
The thing is? I don't really want H. playing with Lily and A. all the time. When they are alone, Lily and A. play very very well. They take turns being bossy and controlling. They are thoughtful of each other in a way I didn't know 4 year olds could be. But H. clearly favors A., since they play more and I think because A. is a lot more sophisticated than Lily (in the music she likes, her knowledge of pop culture, etc). So when H. is involved...they basically ignore Lily. Which is really irritating when they come to play at our house. A. and H. traipse through our house playing with our toys and literally don't even respond to Lily. Lily is so desperate for playmates, she just kind of pathetically follows them.
It is beyond irritating. And H. just doesn't get the hint. I've asked her to go home...she comes back 30 minutes later. She is persistant and has the attention span of a fly and gets into stuff that the little girls wouldn't. Like using my big extra supply of bubbles as "tea" while playing outside instead of water or nothing.
Yet? She's not actually doing anything wrong. She's just being a kid who plays with much younger children. She is the ring leader naturally, since she is SIX YEARS OLDER than her playmates. And now that she is a permanant attachment to A., Lily's basic choice is to not have a neighborhood playmate or to be ignored and mistreated by an older girl.
So I don't know what to do. Logically I know that summer vacation is coming, so H.'s older friends will be home...perhaps she'll ditch the younger girls for more appropriate friendships. Logically I know I can just make playdates for Lily with little girls outside the neighborhood like I did before A. moved in. Logically I know that this is a learning experience for Lily...to learn how to navigate complicated girl relationships...to know when to stand up for yourself, when to be quiet and put up with things, and when to let friendships go.
But she's 4. And she doesn't know how to do this yet. And I'm really annoyed.
Friday, May 13, 2011
School projects
Well, I wrote a long post about Andrew and school projects and Blogger ate it. Grrrr.
A short synopsis:
1- When I thought about how many children I wanted, I never really considered the "extra" stuff. Like the sheer volume of laundry and food one more child would entail. Or homework and activities.
2- I am terrified beyond terrified about how crazy my life is going to be in a few years when all the kids are in elementary school.
3- Andrew is a very smart boy, but when faced with deadlines and projects? He drops his pencil on the floor 55 times and gets hand/leg/face cramps that cause him to double over. Also? His handwriting goes to crap and herunsallhiswordstogethersohehastoredoit which only makes the agony of the project last longer.
4- In one week he was Star of the Week in his class (do a poster), had a book report (diorama/3Dbox project), and wrote a letter to my friend's daughter for her Flat Stanley project. Epidural-free childbirth was less painful than that week. Imagine when I have 3 children each with 3 different projects to work on!?! Hide the knives and ropes!
Pictures of Andrew with Flat Stanley... We could have taken him to the Liberty Bell or Independence Hall, but we wussed out and took him just down the road to Washington's Crossing, where old Georgie boy crossed the Delaware with his troops on Christmas Day. We also dressed him in an Eagles jersey and stuck a cheese steak in his hand.
And here's the Mother's Day program at Andrew's school. I'm the face on the purple flower just to the right of Andrew. He cried while he sang to me, he was so moved. I swear, I had no chance at not crying. He is so sweet and tender-hearted. I swear I will hunt down and destroy the girl who breaks his heart someday.
Also? Since when do I have as many chins as I have children. Not okay, Giselle. Not okay. At least look up into the light. Have I learned nothing from my years of watching America's Next Top Model?
A short synopsis:
1- When I thought about how many children I wanted, I never really considered the "extra" stuff. Like the sheer volume of laundry and food one more child would entail. Or homework and activities.
2- I am terrified beyond terrified about how crazy my life is going to be in a few years when all the kids are in elementary school.
3- Andrew is a very smart boy, but when faced with deadlines and projects? He drops his pencil on the floor 55 times and gets hand/leg/face cramps that cause him to double over. Also? His handwriting goes to crap and herunsallhiswordstogethersohehastoredoit which only makes the agony of the project last longer.
4- In one week he was Star of the Week in his class (do a poster), had a book report (diorama/3Dbox project), and wrote a letter to my friend's daughter for her Flat Stanley project. Epidural-free childbirth was less painful than that week. Imagine when I have 3 children each with 3 different projects to work on!?! Hide the knives and ropes!
Pictures of Andrew with Flat Stanley... We could have taken him to the Liberty Bell or Independence Hall, but we wussed out and took him just down the road to Washington's Crossing, where old Georgie boy crossed the Delaware with his troops on Christmas Day. We also dressed him in an Eagles jersey and stuck a cheese steak in his hand.
And here's the Mother's Day program at Andrew's school. I'm the face on the purple flower just to the right of Andrew. He cried while he sang to me, he was so moved. I swear, I had no chance at not crying. He is so sweet and tender-hearted. I swear I will hunt down and destroy the girl who breaks his heart someday.
Also? Since when do I have as many chins as I have children. Not okay, Giselle. Not okay. At least look up into the light. Have I learned nothing from my years of watching America's Next Top Model?
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Sugar, running, and other despicable things
-- The sugar thing...or the lack of sugar thing...is going okay. The 2nd week of any challenge is always harder for me. I have great will power and attention for a short period of time. Then I lose interest and start saying, "Who cares if I'm fat and diabetic?!? It's not worth losing this gummy bear over!" Rational.
But who would have thought that Mother's Day would be such a deal breaker? I started my sugar fast last Sunday, May 1st. (Although I already started out as a cheater, since I didn't cut out yogurt or creamer in my coffee. Whatev')
Tuesday, May 3rd, Michael's little class had a Mother's Day feast. Where the kids serve you treats...pretzel's with a dollup of chocolate on top. And since this is a 2-3 year old class, the kids basically force fed us. Fail. Then Thursday, Lily's class had a Mother's Day Tea, where the pre-schoolers excitedly led us to a table they'd decorated and then served us cookies while the teachers poured us tea. How do you say no to your enthusiastic 4 year old? You don't. Fail. Then Monday, Andrew's class had a Mother's Day play. And they served us cookies afterward. Andrew was all teary-eyed with emotion...I couldn't exactly say no to anything he offered at that point. Fail.
But other than my 3 Mother's Day fails, I've been doing awesome. Michael was given a York Peppermint Patty at a friends' house and he ended up not liking it. I managed to throw away the perfectly good peppermint patty...even though it is like one of my favorites. I had a raging headache on Friday and Saturday when I switched to sugar free creamer. It felt vaguely like a caffeine headache, so I'm pretty sure it was sugar related. And yesterday afternoon the cravings kicked in high gear and I paced the kitchen like a caged bear at the zoo. But I prevailed. The good thing is, salty snacks don't really appeal or satisfy me at all. So I've just been eating less. We'll see. One of the deals with the sugar fast is I am not to weigh myself at all. This is NOT about weight loss. It is about not being a slave to sweets.
--Running...well, running sucks. I have to write about it, because I was so disheartened after reading a friend's blog that stated she was a couch potato and then decided to start running and in one month she got up to running 10 miles while pushing 2 kids in a jogging stroller! Holy Effing God. For the last SIX WEEKS, I have been going out 3 mornings a week, and I still feel like I am going to need an ambulance when I have been running for 5 minutes straight. I hit a big victory this morning when running 3 minutes felt okay. I spend the whole time running thinking about when it will end and trying to convince myself to just put one foot in front of the other. I feel great afterward. One reason to keep going. Jeff is, of course, up to running 26 minutes and pushing himself and doing awesome. I have to make this about myself and not anyone else, of course. I am the one who is 35 pounds overweight. I am the one who does zero physical/aerobic activity. I am the one with no muscle tone or stamina. I have further to go to get there. I just need to get out and go.
-- Every time that there is a parent function at one of the kids' schools, I am totally taken back to my junior high self. I always feel like I'm not in one of the "cliques". I never look as put together. People are polite to me, and then move into their little groups. Of course, I have my groups too, and I am old enough now to look rationally at the situation. I'm confident in who I am and how I act, I don't wear makeup because I'm lazy and I don't really care, and the women who are simply polite to me don't have children who are friends with my child...so what do we have to talk about, I only see these people at school functions and they are neighbors/playgroup friends/etc etc. I just have a little de ja vu...and then I shake myself and move on.
-- My parents are in France and on a cruise where they cannot easily be reached. And I ask...how is it possible for me to miss them so much? We don't live in the same town, we see each other only every couple of months or so. And yet I look foward to my morning call from my mom and the sneaking in between calls with my dad. I like having people to hash out the day with and hear what's going on with other family friends, etc. The only good part about them being gone is I hear from my sisters a lot more. :) I think they miss talking to Mom and Dad too.
-- Michael should be potty trained. He willingly goes when we get dressed for the day or for bed. He is almost always successful when he tries. We went 9 days with no poopy diapers, because he was going in the potty. I need to just bite the bullet and take diapers away from him. I bought a box of pull-ups yesterday. I think I'm going to make it the last. When we run out, he has run out of time. Yah, right. I suck at potty training. I have no patience for it. A few weeks ago, I forced him into underpants and then reminded him every 20 minutes or so. He peed through after 35 minutes. I cleaned him up and put another pair on him. 40 minutes later he peed through. And I was done. I just can't be bothered cleaning up messes. Soon, though. Right?
-- Speak of the devil, Michael is begging for the computer. He knows how to open the internet and get on PBS kids (it is saved as a favorite). He can use the mouse to open the game he wants and to manuever and do what he wants. It is amazing. And a little sad...because it shows I let the kids on the computer too much. At least it's Sesame Street?
-- I'm in full planning mode for S____ Summer Camp 2011. This year we're doing it by themes. I'm kind of excited. I love the planning part of things. It's just the follow through that is tough for me. I need ideas for field trips with 3 kids, though. Those are always the most fun for me...definitely not the crafts and cooking.
Okay, enough rambling. I'm off!
But who would have thought that Mother's Day would be such a deal breaker? I started my sugar fast last Sunday, May 1st. (Although I already started out as a cheater, since I didn't cut out yogurt or creamer in my coffee. Whatev')
Tuesday, May 3rd, Michael's little class had a Mother's Day feast. Where the kids serve you treats...pretzel's with a dollup of chocolate on top. And since this is a 2-3 year old class, the kids basically force fed us. Fail. Then Thursday, Lily's class had a Mother's Day Tea, where the pre-schoolers excitedly led us to a table they'd decorated and then served us cookies while the teachers poured us tea. How do you say no to your enthusiastic 4 year old? You don't. Fail. Then Monday, Andrew's class had a Mother's Day play. And they served us cookies afterward. Andrew was all teary-eyed with emotion...I couldn't exactly say no to anything he offered at that point. Fail.
But other than my 3 Mother's Day fails, I've been doing awesome. Michael was given a York Peppermint Patty at a friends' house and he ended up not liking it. I managed to throw away the perfectly good peppermint patty...even though it is like one of my favorites. I had a raging headache on Friday and Saturday when I switched to sugar free creamer. It felt vaguely like a caffeine headache, so I'm pretty sure it was sugar related. And yesterday afternoon the cravings kicked in high gear and I paced the kitchen like a caged bear at the zoo. But I prevailed. The good thing is, salty snacks don't really appeal or satisfy me at all. So I've just been eating less. We'll see. One of the deals with the sugar fast is I am not to weigh myself at all. This is NOT about weight loss. It is about not being a slave to sweets.
--Running...well, running sucks. I have to write about it, because I was so disheartened after reading a friend's blog that stated she was a couch potato and then decided to start running and in one month she got up to running 10 miles while pushing 2 kids in a jogging stroller! Holy Effing God. For the last SIX WEEKS, I have been going out 3 mornings a week, and I still feel like I am going to need an ambulance when I have been running for 5 minutes straight. I hit a big victory this morning when running 3 minutes felt okay. I spend the whole time running thinking about when it will end and trying to convince myself to just put one foot in front of the other. I feel great afterward. One reason to keep going. Jeff is, of course, up to running 26 minutes and pushing himself and doing awesome. I have to make this about myself and not anyone else, of course. I am the one who is 35 pounds overweight. I am the one who does zero physical/aerobic activity. I am the one with no muscle tone or stamina. I have further to go to get there. I just need to get out and go.
-- Every time that there is a parent function at one of the kids' schools, I am totally taken back to my junior high self. I always feel like I'm not in one of the "cliques". I never look as put together. People are polite to me, and then move into their little groups. Of course, I have my groups too, and I am old enough now to look rationally at the situation. I'm confident in who I am and how I act, I don't wear makeup because I'm lazy and I don't really care, and the women who are simply polite to me don't have children who are friends with my child...so what do we have to talk about, I only see these people at school functions and they are neighbors/playgroup friends/etc etc. I just have a little de ja vu...and then I shake myself and move on.
-- My parents are in France and on a cruise where they cannot easily be reached. And I ask...how is it possible for me to miss them so much? We don't live in the same town, we see each other only every couple of months or so. And yet I look foward to my morning call from my mom and the sneaking in between calls with my dad. I like having people to hash out the day with and hear what's going on with other family friends, etc. The only good part about them being gone is I hear from my sisters a lot more. :) I think they miss talking to Mom and Dad too.
-- Michael should be potty trained. He willingly goes when we get dressed for the day or for bed. He is almost always successful when he tries. We went 9 days with no poopy diapers, because he was going in the potty. I need to just bite the bullet and take diapers away from him. I bought a box of pull-ups yesterday. I think I'm going to make it the last. When we run out, he has run out of time. Yah, right. I suck at potty training. I have no patience for it. A few weeks ago, I forced him into underpants and then reminded him every 20 minutes or so. He peed through after 35 minutes. I cleaned him up and put another pair on him. 40 minutes later he peed through. And I was done. I just can't be bothered cleaning up messes. Soon, though. Right?
-- Speak of the devil, Michael is begging for the computer. He knows how to open the internet and get on PBS kids (it is saved as a favorite). He can use the mouse to open the game he wants and to manuever and do what he wants. It is amazing. And a little sad...because it shows I let the kids on the computer too much. At least it's Sesame Street?
-- I'm in full planning mode for S____ Summer Camp 2011. This year we're doing it by themes. I'm kind of excited. I love the planning part of things. It's just the follow through that is tough for me. I need ideas for field trips with 3 kids, though. Those are always the most fun for me...definitely not the crafts and cooking.
Okay, enough rambling. I'm off!
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Back here again
Step 1: Be happy in life. Enjoy house, neighbors, kids' schools, groups and friends. Plan future possible part time jobs...in your head at least. Talk to people about which teachers are good in upper grades, when the correct age is to start la crosse, what dance school has the least creepy costumes for recitals. Make plans. Dig in roots. Feel contentment and stability.
Step 2: Husband lets you know he has an interview for a new job. (he is now under strict instructs to not tell you until he has an actual in-person interview) Talk obsessively about job and its possible pros and cons. Discuss what is known about new city. Pros and cons versus our current location.
Step 3: While husband is away on interview, fight urge to search for houses in new area. Fight urge (and usually fail) to talk to everyone you see about the possibility of moving. Look around house with the eyes of a potential buyer and begin panicking about how much work there is to do. Fight the urge to reconsider signing up for things that start in a few months for fear we will be gone.
Step 4: Listen to husband be excited when he comes home from the interview. Hear his hope and enthusiasm for taking his career in a direction more suited to him. Begin listing the reasons NOT to stay where we are. Begin justifying why it will be okay for us all to leave. Mentally begin pulling those roots up and out a bit. Imagine how you will tell your friends in the area that you are leaving. Start thinking of hiring a handyman and collecting paperwork from the children's doctors and schools and finding out where to live in the new location.
Step 5: Wait. And wait. And tell more people about the possiblity of moving. And wait. And wait some more.
Step 6: Find out the job went to someone else. Remind yourself why living here is actually really nice and the kids are happy and Jeff isn't too too unhappy in his job. Tell everyone that you blurbed the news to that you once again are the boy who cried wolf. Just kidding, no moving. Comfort your husband and bolster his dejected ego all while you secretly breathe a sigh of relief. No moving...not now. Not yet. Forget about all the fun things you brainstormed about the new location, perhaps you'll have to go on a trip there. Settle back in and let those roots stay put.
Now start over again at Step 1.
And now you know how my life cycles a few times each year. -sigh- It gets so old.
Step 2: Husband lets you know he has an interview for a new job. (he is now under strict instructs to not tell you until he has an actual in-person interview) Talk obsessively about job and its possible pros and cons. Discuss what is known about new city. Pros and cons versus our current location.
Step 3: While husband is away on interview, fight urge to search for houses in new area. Fight urge (and usually fail) to talk to everyone you see about the possibility of moving. Look around house with the eyes of a potential buyer and begin panicking about how much work there is to do. Fight the urge to reconsider signing up for things that start in a few months for fear we will be gone.
Step 4: Listen to husband be excited when he comes home from the interview. Hear his hope and enthusiasm for taking his career in a direction more suited to him. Begin listing the reasons NOT to stay where we are. Begin justifying why it will be okay for us all to leave. Mentally begin pulling those roots up and out a bit. Imagine how you will tell your friends in the area that you are leaving. Start thinking of hiring a handyman and collecting paperwork from the children's doctors and schools and finding out where to live in the new location.
Step 5: Wait. And wait. And tell more people about the possiblity of moving. And wait. And wait some more.
Step 6: Find out the job went to someone else. Remind yourself why living here is actually really nice and the kids are happy and Jeff isn't too too unhappy in his job. Tell everyone that you blurbed the news to that you once again are the boy who cried wolf. Just kidding, no moving. Comfort your husband and bolster his dejected ego all while you secretly breathe a sigh of relief. No moving...not now. Not yet. Forget about all the fun things you brainstormed about the new location, perhaps you'll have to go on a trip there. Settle back in and let those roots stay put.
Now start over again at Step 1.
And now you know how my life cycles a few times each year. -sigh- It gets so old.
Sunday, May 08, 2011
Happy Mother's Day!
Happy Mother's Day to my mom, whose words come out of my mouth daily as I deal with my own children. Who has taught me what it is to be a mother and wife and home caretaker. She is the one I strive to be in the day to day trenches of mothering. The memory of the mother she was when I was little is a level I feel impossible to reach day to day. Perhaps my children will not notice or remember my day to day struggles as well? She is the one who is teaching me that you never stop needing your mommy...and in fact perhaps you need their words and hugs and love even more in the cold reality of adulthood. She is the one that makes me ache that I live so far away. The one I can talk to every morning and never run out of things to say. The one who I can tease and vent to and still know I am loved.
Happy Mother's Day to my second mother, Linda. Who raised a son that became a thoughtful and caring and patient husband. Who is truly a super-mom...someone who has managed to have it all and be it all, career woman, fantastic mother, home maker extraordinaire. Who is patient and understanding of her less than super-mom daughter-in-law...watching me do things differently than she would and still being supportive and loving. I consider myself lucky beyond luck to have been born to a woman that I love, respect, and enjoy the company of. To have married a man with an equally wonderful mother? Indescribable.
Happy Mother's Day to my sister. She is another of those super-moms...balancing a career and family. She teaches me every day about the power of unconditional love. She bounces back from frustrations and perseveres in ways that I don't know if I could. She no doubt could spell persevere without spell check...something I can only dream of. :) I am proud of the mother my sister has become and I am so grateful to have someone to brag to and cry to and vent to that loves my children and me so much.
Happy Mother's Day to my grandma, who is recovering from a partial hip replacement and suffering from Alzheimer's. She raised 8 children, one of whom became my father. Like many from her generation, life was not always easy for her. But she is the model of unconditional love...keeping her marriage full of love even through illness and addictions, welcoming new family members (like step-grandkids, etc) and treating them like her own, and always willing to keep the peace enough for family functions to run like normal.
Happy Mother's Day to my memere, who is 91 and suffering from demensia. She manages to enjoy life and maintain her pleasant outlook, despite confusion and physical discomforts. She is childlike now, but still so sunny and loveable. All I can hope to be when I am elderly. (Although, who are we kidding? I am totally going to be the cranky one at the end of the hall who constantly complains and throws her bedpan at people.)
Happy Mother's Day to all the mother's that support me and keep me sane and give me a lifeline in the day to day trenches of motherhood. I'm talking to you, Mommy-bloggers. And you, neighbors and local friends. And you, random grandmothers in the grocery who tell me what delightful children I have. Not you, cranky librarians and impatient store clerks. But all the others. Thank you for walking this road with me!
Happy Mother's Day to my second mother, Linda. Who raised a son that became a thoughtful and caring and patient husband. Who is truly a super-mom...someone who has managed to have it all and be it all, career woman, fantastic mother, home maker extraordinaire. Who is patient and understanding of her less than super-mom daughter-in-law...watching me do things differently than she would and still being supportive and loving. I consider myself lucky beyond luck to have been born to a woman that I love, respect, and enjoy the company of. To have married a man with an equally wonderful mother? Indescribable.
Happy Mother's Day to my sister. She is another of those super-moms...balancing a career and family. She teaches me every day about the power of unconditional love. She bounces back from frustrations and perseveres in ways that I don't know if I could. She no doubt could spell persevere without spell check...something I can only dream of. :) I am proud of the mother my sister has become and I am so grateful to have someone to brag to and cry to and vent to that loves my children and me so much.
Happy Mother's Day to my grandma, who is recovering from a partial hip replacement and suffering from Alzheimer's. She raised 8 children, one of whom became my father. Like many from her generation, life was not always easy for her. But she is the model of unconditional love...keeping her marriage full of love even through illness and addictions, welcoming new family members (like step-grandkids, etc) and treating them like her own, and always willing to keep the peace enough for family functions to run like normal.
Happy Mother's Day to my memere, who is 91 and suffering from demensia. She manages to enjoy life and maintain her pleasant outlook, despite confusion and physical discomforts. She is childlike now, but still so sunny and loveable. All I can hope to be when I am elderly. (Although, who are we kidding? I am totally going to be the cranky one at the end of the hall who constantly complains and throws her bedpan at people.)
Happy Mother's Day to all the mother's that support me and keep me sane and give me a lifeline in the day to day trenches of motherhood. I'm talking to you, Mommy-bloggers. And you, neighbors and local friends. And you, random grandmothers in the grocery who tell me what delightful children I have. Not you, cranky librarians and impatient store clerks. But all the others. Thank you for walking this road with me!
Tuesday, May 03, 2011
What do you do all day?
You may have heard this one before, I certainly have, but I feel like it is worth putting in here for when I forget...
A man came home from work and found his three children outside, still in their pajamas, playing in the mud, with empty food boxes and wrappers strewn all around the front yard.
The door of his wife's car was open, as was the front door to the house and there was no sign of the dog. Proceeding into the entry, he found an even bigger mess. A lamp had been knocked over, and the throw rug was wadded against one wall.
In the front room the TV was loudly blaring a cartoon channel, and the family room was strewn with toys and various items of clothing.
In the kitchen, dishes filled the sink, breakfast food was spilled on the counter, the fridge door was open wide, dog food was spilled on the floor, a broken glass lay under the table, and a small pile of sand was spread by the back door.
He quickly headed up the stairs, stepping over toys and more piles of clothes, looking for his wife. He was worried she might be ill, or that something serious had happened.
He was met with a small trickle of water as it made its way out the bathroom door. As he peered inside he found wet towels, scummy soap, and more toys strewn over the floor. Miles of toilet paper lay in a heap and toothpaste had been smeared over the mirror and walls.
As he rushed into the bedroom, he found his wife still curled up in the bed in her pajamas, reading a novel. She looked up at him, smiled, and asked how his day went.
He looked at her bewildered and asked, "What happened here today?"
She again smiled and answered, "You know how yesterday you came home from work and asked me what in the world do I do all day?"
"Yes," was his incredulous reply.
She answered, "Well...today I didn't do it."
A man came home from work and found his three children outside, still in their pajamas, playing in the mud, with empty food boxes and wrappers strewn all around the front yard.
The door of his wife's car was open, as was the front door to the house and there was no sign of the dog. Proceeding into the entry, he found an even bigger mess. A lamp had been knocked over, and the throw rug was wadded against one wall.
In the front room the TV was loudly blaring a cartoon channel, and the family room was strewn with toys and various items of clothing.
In the kitchen, dishes filled the sink, breakfast food was spilled on the counter, the fridge door was open wide, dog food was spilled on the floor, a broken glass lay under the table, and a small pile of sand was spread by the back door.
He quickly headed up the stairs, stepping over toys and more piles of clothes, looking for his wife. He was worried she might be ill, or that something serious had happened.
He was met with a small trickle of water as it made its way out the bathroom door. As he peered inside he found wet towels, scummy soap, and more toys strewn over the floor. Miles of toilet paper lay in a heap and toothpaste had been smeared over the mirror and walls.
As he rushed into the bedroom, he found his wife still curled up in the bed in her pajamas, reading a novel. She looked up at him, smiled, and asked how his day went.
He looked at her bewildered and asked, "What happened here today?"
She again smiled and answered, "You know how yesterday you came home from work and asked me what in the world do I do all day?"
"Yes," was his incredulous reply.
She answered, "Well...today I didn't do it."
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