For the few loyal followers that I have, I am sorry that I haven't been writing very much. There's just no time. I never in a million years thought that our summer would be this busy. Hopefully in a couple of weeks when the kids go back to school and Amanda is back to taking two-hour naps everyday I can enlighten you with my wisdom on a more consistent basis.
As for now, tomorrow we leave for Denver, where we will spend the night with one of my college roommates, and then we are off to Estes Park. I have no grandiose plans of writing while I am there as I don't think the YMCA of the Rockies has wifi. I will take notes and hopefully when I get back with have some funny stories to tell of my family reunion. There's always good stories to tell from family reunions, right? Plus, when I'm around all my nieces and nephews (but especially the nieces) I get some very juicy quotes for Kid Quote of the Day.
Two days after we get back from that trip we are headed to Myrtle Beach. Finally. Although the Myrtle Beach trip has existed for the last ten years, we haven't actually been to Myrtle Beach since Sarah was three months old. Last year we couldn't go because I had Amanda the day after we would have gotten home, the year before that we had to move the trip to West Palm Beach and the year before that we had to move it to Destin. All the changes were due to kids and family planning of our ever expanding group. That's just how it goes. So, we're very excited to actually be going back to Myrtle and catching up with all of our friends.
We get back two days before Amanda's first birthday, Sarah starts school a week later, and Andy starts school the week after that. Man! So, what I'm trying to say is don't expect much from me for the next couple of weeks, but I promise I will come back. I truly enjoy writing this and telling all six of you about my crazy life. It is therapy like I never expected. Please don't give up on me, I will return with earnest!
Friday, July 23, 2010
Kid Quote of the Day
"Mommy's the greatest hero of the day."
-Sarah, talking to Amanda. I don't know what prompted it, but I like it.
-Sarah, talking to Amanda. I don't know what prompted it, but I like it.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
There's Nothing Up My Sleeve
Yesterday my friend, Nicole, called to ask me advice about getting her baby to sleep through the night. She specifically asked if I knew the magic to make her baby sleep at night. Me? The woman who's baby peed on her this morning and puked on her this afternoon and didn't change her shirt either time because it wasn't that bad and it would dry? Um, yeah, not so much. Remember, I'm the woman who was wondering if it was worth getting up for a couple of hours to get the baby on a routine where she slept all night when I could feed her and be done in 15 minutes. She's still not a perfect sleeper. We're (okay, mostly I'm) still getting up with her at 4:00 or 5:00 a.m. most mornings to feed her and put her back to sleep for another hour or so before our day begins way too early.
There is one thing I've worked out. I don't know that I had much to do with it, but maybe with a consistent bedtime routine, which is one thing we've always had with all three of our kids, it just kind of was inevitable. Amanda now goes to bed without crying. At all. Even if she's awake. I know, I'm shocked too. I'm not even telling you this prematurely. She's been doing it for probably a month now, I just haven't had time to write about it. It's truly fabulous. Where before I either had to put her down completely asleep, which doesn't teach her very much about how to put herself back to sleep in the middle of the night, or she would cry for 5-10 minutes the second she sensed I was going to put her in bed, now she just lets me put her down and either rolls over or snuggles up in her blanket and watches me leave. Occasionally there is one quick cry of discontent, but otherwise silence. I can even walk back into the room to get something and she's still awake and she sees me and doesn't make a peep. I don't know what I did, but I deserve it.
I don't mean that from a toot your own horn sort of way, because there are plenty of things that I haven't done right this time around, I mean it from an I haven't gotten very much sleep in the last 11 months and I deserve one in the win column sort of way. This is what it means to me: it's been a tough year of adjustment, but we are finally getting to a place where it's not so hard. It's all coming together. I know it shouldn't have taken a year, and for some people it doesn't, but for some, unknown reason we've really struggled this year. Not as a couple, not our marriage, just trying to find the balance, our new normal. This is just one sign that we're getting back on track. We'd be even further along if she would just sleep a little longer in the morning, but you can't win them all.
I don't have any magic, in fact I wish someone would pass some along to me, but hopefully we're getting past all the sleep issues and life will come more into focus. I want to enjoy my kids, and the time I have with them, and this little victory makes it just that much easier.
There is one thing I've worked out. I don't know that I had much to do with it, but maybe with a consistent bedtime routine, which is one thing we've always had with all three of our kids, it just kind of was inevitable. Amanda now goes to bed without crying. At all. Even if she's awake. I know, I'm shocked too. I'm not even telling you this prematurely. She's been doing it for probably a month now, I just haven't had time to write about it. It's truly fabulous. Where before I either had to put her down completely asleep, which doesn't teach her very much about how to put herself back to sleep in the middle of the night, or she would cry for 5-10 minutes the second she sensed I was going to put her in bed, now she just lets me put her down and either rolls over or snuggles up in her blanket and watches me leave. Occasionally there is one quick cry of discontent, but otherwise silence. I can even walk back into the room to get something and she's still awake and she sees me and doesn't make a peep. I don't know what I did, but I deserve it.
I don't mean that from a toot your own horn sort of way, because there are plenty of things that I haven't done right this time around, I mean it from an I haven't gotten very much sleep in the last 11 months and I deserve one in the win column sort of way. This is what it means to me: it's been a tough year of adjustment, but we are finally getting to a place where it's not so hard. It's all coming together. I know it shouldn't have taken a year, and for some people it doesn't, but for some, unknown reason we've really struggled this year. Not as a couple, not our marriage, just trying to find the balance, our new normal. This is just one sign that we're getting back on track. We'd be even further along if she would just sleep a little longer in the morning, but you can't win them all.
I don't have any magic, in fact I wish someone would pass some along to me, but hopefully we're getting past all the sleep issues and life will come more into focus. I want to enjoy my kids, and the time I have with them, and this little victory makes it just that much easier.
Kid Quote of the Day
Me: Andy, it's time to go. Go to the bathroom.
Andy: I'm not the problem, she's the problem. Still clicking away when it's time to go.
Me: (walking into the bathroom) Who are you talking to?
Andy: You could hear me?
Me: Yes.
Andy: (embarrassed smile) Oh, I was talking to myself.
Little did he know I was printing coupons to Chuck E. Cheese's while he was in the bathroom and I was "clicking away".
Andy: I'm not the problem, she's the problem. Still clicking away when it's time to go.
Me: (walking into the bathroom) Who are you talking to?
Andy: You could hear me?
Me: Yes.
Andy: (embarrassed smile) Oh, I was talking to myself.
Little did he know I was printing coupons to Chuck E. Cheese's while he was in the bathroom and I was "clicking away".
Monday, July 19, 2010
I'm Sorry, Do I Know You?
Amanda has been having problems with stranger anxiety for several weeks now. Pretty much the only person she will go to is me or Charlie, and sometimes not even Charlie. The bummer of this, is that we spent the last two weeks with my family. Everybody wanted to hold her and kiss her and love her, and she wanted nothing to do with it. It took her five days to warm up to my dad, and as soon as she was comfortable around him we left for Chicago. We were in Chicago for four days and it wasn't until the last day that she would willingly go to my sister-in-law. It's pretty normal at this age to stick close to mom and dad, but it's hard to travel and visit with people when you can't put the baby down and can't share her with others.
After Charlie left us with my parents on July 4th, we didn't see him for almost two weeks. The kids were so excited to see him when he came back to my parent's house on Friday, except for Amanda. She looked at him like she had never seen him before. When I tried to hand her to Charlie she clung to me and would not let go. She was like that for most of the day and finally warmed up to him by bedtime. It was really weird. I'm not sure what the issue was. I don't think she was punishing him for leaving her for so long, she seemed like she genuinely didn't know who he was. Shady character.
Whatever her reason, she worked it out. I'm hoping after being introduced to so many people over the last couple of weeks, friends and family, that she will be a little more open to new people moving forward. Especially since we have a large family reunion next week and our annual Myrtle Beach trip the week after that. More people, more love for the baby.
After Charlie left us with my parents on July 4th, we didn't see him for almost two weeks. The kids were so excited to see him when he came back to my parent's house on Friday, except for Amanda. She looked at him like she had never seen him before. When I tried to hand her to Charlie she clung to me and would not let go. She was like that for most of the day and finally warmed up to him by bedtime. It was really weird. I'm not sure what the issue was. I don't think she was punishing him for leaving her for so long, she seemed like she genuinely didn't know who he was. Shady character.
Whatever her reason, she worked it out. I'm hoping after being introduced to so many people over the last couple of weeks, friends and family, that she will be a little more open to new people moving forward. Especially since we have a large family reunion next week and our annual Myrtle Beach trip the week after that. More people, more love for the baby.
Kid Quote of the Day
Me: Who wants dino chicken?
Andy: Me!
Sarah: Me!
Andy: Yay! I got a T-Rex!
Sarah: Yay! I got a not T-Rex!
Andy: Me!
Sarah: Me!
Andy: Yay! I got a T-Rex!
Sarah: Yay! I got a not T-Rex!
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Why I Need a Dog
For some unknown reason, my kids cannot leave food they do not want to eat on their plates. If Sarah is eating something and she doesn't like it I'll tell her that's okay, you don't have to eat it, just leave it on your plate. But she can't. She will keep moaning and groaning and making a fuss about it until you take it off her plate. It's crazy. Like if she leaves it on her plate the food is just going to magically jump into her mouth, assuming that because it was on the plate it was meant to be eaten. Take it away before it makes me eat it.
The same thing goes for the baby. I've been trying like crazy to teach her sign language so she can tell me two main things. More and all done. So far she doesn't want to do either one. No worries, I did the same thing with the other two and it took them awhile to catch on as well. With both of them I started around nine months, and right around a year when I was getting really frustrated and about to give up they would realize the fun was almost over and start doing it. Amanda refuses to do sign language, even though I'm positive she knows how to do the signs and what they are, instead she tells me she's done in another way. She throws all her food on the floor.
The problem with this is that I am very lazy and I don't really enjoy cleaning the floor. Plus, it's very difficult to clean up wet food. It's much easier if you wait until it dries. So, a lot of the time I don't clean up the food right away. The problem with this, however, is that Amanda puts everything in her mouth, and just because she doesn't want the food now doesn't mean she wouldn't be happy to eat it an hour from now. And she will. She'll crawl right over to the eating area and eat everything she previously dropped on the floor. Yuck!
I'm not sure why she can't just leave the food on the tray if she doesn't want to eat it, but she can't. Usually I take this as a sign that she's done eating, but sometimes she gets really mad when I start to clean her up and take away her tray. It's kind of like, no Mommy, I don't want to stop eating, I just don't want to eat that stuff and I can't have it sitting on my tray. Don't you understand?
I don't know when they get over this "no offensive foods are to be left on my plate" thing. Even Andy has a hard time with it. We have to tell him a couple of times just to leave it there. Is there something the kids know that we don't? Probably not, it's just one more way they can be picky and controlling and make a fuss. That's really what they live for, making a big deal out of nothing to make them feel like they are in control of something. I'd be happy to put them in charge. They can start by cleaning the kitchen floor.
The same thing goes for the baby. I've been trying like crazy to teach her sign language so she can tell me two main things. More and all done. So far she doesn't want to do either one. No worries, I did the same thing with the other two and it took them awhile to catch on as well. With both of them I started around nine months, and right around a year when I was getting really frustrated and about to give up they would realize the fun was almost over and start doing it. Amanda refuses to do sign language, even though I'm positive she knows how to do the signs and what they are, instead she tells me she's done in another way. She throws all her food on the floor.
The problem with this is that I am very lazy and I don't really enjoy cleaning the floor. Plus, it's very difficult to clean up wet food. It's much easier if you wait until it dries. So, a lot of the time I don't clean up the food right away. The problem with this, however, is that Amanda puts everything in her mouth, and just because she doesn't want the food now doesn't mean she wouldn't be happy to eat it an hour from now. And she will. She'll crawl right over to the eating area and eat everything she previously dropped on the floor. Yuck!
I'm not sure why she can't just leave the food on the tray if she doesn't want to eat it, but she can't. Usually I take this as a sign that she's done eating, but sometimes she gets really mad when I start to clean her up and take away her tray. It's kind of like, no Mommy, I don't want to stop eating, I just don't want to eat that stuff and I can't have it sitting on my tray. Don't you understand?
I don't know when they get over this "no offensive foods are to be left on my plate" thing. Even Andy has a hard time with it. We have to tell him a couple of times just to leave it there. Is there something the kids know that we don't? Probably not, it's just one more way they can be picky and controlling and make a fuss. That's really what they live for, making a big deal out of nothing to make them feel like they are in control of something. I'd be happy to put them in charge. They can start by cleaning the kitchen floor.
Kid Quote of the Day
Sarah: Amanda, you hurt my feelings!
Me: She hurt your feelings?
Sarah: Yes, because she went to Andy and she wouldn't let me hug her.
Me: She hurt your feelings?
Sarah: Yes, because she went to Andy and she wouldn't let me hug her.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
When I Grow Up
When Andy was little, he had very specific ideas about what he was going to do when he grew up. One time when we were getting on a plane he stopped to talk to the pilots. We had Sarah (she was a baby) and a whole bunch of other crap so the flight attendant told us we could find our seats and she would bring him back when he was done. She came back with him and was laughing and saying how funny he was. Believe it or not, we get that a lot. Seriously, people are always commenting on how hilarious the kid is. We don't get it, but we're also around him all the time and I think the funny wears off after awhile and just becomes annoying. Anyway, we asked her what was so funny and she said while he was in the cockpit the pilots asked him what he wanted to do when he grew up. His answer? Drink beer. Well, they didn't ask him what he wanted to BE, they asked what he wanted to DO. Obviously a big difference.
When Andy was three or four, or three and four, he knew what he wanted to be when he grew up. Most boys want to be a fireman or policeman or astronaut or something heroic. Not Andy. He wanted to work at Chick-fil-A and be a pool boy. He was going to work at Chick-fil-A everyday except Sunday, when they are closed because of God, and Tuesday, which would be his day off. On those two days he was going to be a pool boy, taking care of people's pools and possibly fooling around with their wives (he didn't say that part because he didn't know it was one of the perks of the job).
Amazingly those were his career aspirations for a couple of years. Any time he would say he wanted to do something else we would ask "What about Chick-fil-A?" and he would always change his mind and stick with his original choice. I think he is finally past that and moving on to bigger and better job choices. The other day he told me he wanted to be a video game tester. Now that would be an awesome job. Not only would you not have to sit behind a fryer for hours on end, you would get paid to play video games. Then, you would tell the creators what you did or didn't like about the game and they would change it to fit your desires. HOW COOL IS THAT?
I have a feeling that over time his career choice may change again. Besides my brother, I don't know a lot of grown men that actually want to play video games all day everyday. I am, however, glad that he starting to think a little more creatively and is thinking about his future at all. You may not make a lot of money being a video game tester, but it seems like a pretty stress-free job and, coming from a video game junkie, an enjoyable one.
When Andy was three or four, or three and four, he knew what he wanted to be when he grew up. Most boys want to be a fireman or policeman or astronaut or something heroic. Not Andy. He wanted to work at Chick-fil-A and be a pool boy. He was going to work at Chick-fil-A everyday except Sunday, when they are closed because of God, and Tuesday, which would be his day off. On those two days he was going to be a pool boy, taking care of people's pools and possibly fooling around with their wives (he didn't say that part because he didn't know it was one of the perks of the job).
Amazingly those were his career aspirations for a couple of years. Any time he would say he wanted to do something else we would ask "What about Chick-fil-A?" and he would always change his mind and stick with his original choice. I think he is finally past that and moving on to bigger and better job choices. The other day he told me he wanted to be a video game tester. Now that would be an awesome job. Not only would you not have to sit behind a fryer for hours on end, you would get paid to play video games. Then, you would tell the creators what you did or didn't like about the game and they would change it to fit your desires. HOW COOL IS THAT?
I have a feeling that over time his career choice may change again. Besides my brother, I don't know a lot of grown men that actually want to play video games all day everyday. I am, however, glad that he starting to think a little more creatively and is thinking about his future at all. You may not make a lot of money being a video game tester, but it seems like a pretty stress-free job and, coming from a video game junkie, an enjoyable one.
Kid Quote of the Day
Andy: Mommy, can I take the Wii to college?
Me: Yes. (Because, really, who's going to want the thing in 10 years? It will be so outdated).
Andy: Sweet! I am going to have so many parties that I'm not going to tell you about.
Me: Yes. (Because, really, who's going to want the thing in 10 years? It will be so outdated).
Andy: Sweet! I am going to have so many parties that I'm not going to tell you about.
My Kind of Town
We got back late last night from a fabulous weekend in Chicago. Truly, fabulous. The kids had a great time playing with their cousins, I had a most relaxing weekend hanging out with my sister-in-law, brother, sister and brother in-law, and we even got to do some educational stuff. Hopefully a vacation the kids will remember for a very long time.
We left on Friday morning. Not too early, but early enough to arrive in Chicago right around lunch time. The kids were wonderful in the car. No fighting, everybody got along, and even a little sleeping. We made one stop for a snack without getting out of the car and didn't even have to stop for a potty break. We made it in record time. I was starting to think I had somebody else's kids with me.
After a little chaos and confusion we met up with my sister-in-law, Mary Ann, and my nieces and nephew, Jack, Sarah and Allie, at Shedd Aquarium. We had lunch and then walked around and checked out the aquarium. Saw the Fantasea show, hit the gift shop, had a little run-in with an employee who tried to kick us out before the museum was truly closed and then were off to Hard Rock Cafe for dinner. Then back to David (my brother) and Mary Ann's house.
The next day we went to the pool and met up with my sister, Kathy, and my niece, Ella. Ella is just a few months older than Sarah and they have a wonderful time together. We hung out at the pool for several hours and then went back to the house for dinner where my brother-in-law, Ren, joined us as well.
Sunday was a lazy day where Dave hung out with all the kids and Mary Ann and I got to take a short walk. We never really left the house, except for the walk, which my brother calls an excellent day. Very lazy. Of course, Andy played about 15 hours of Wii and Playstation with David and Jack that day, with Sarah and Allie playing occasionally, so he was over the moon. You think I'm exaggerating, but they really only emerged from the basement long enough to eat each meal, and then they went back to their games. It was crazy, but he deserves to do that every once in awhile and there are no video games the rest of the this trip so it evens out. He just did two weeks worth of game playing in one day.
Yesterday we hit the Field Museum before driving home. The kids didn't want to leave and their cousins didn't want us to go either. They had so much fun together. Jack, Sarah and Allie were so sweet to Andy and Sarah. They were patient with them and so nice and Sarah was extra spoiled. Her cousins did everything she wanted to do, and then some, and even carried her around. So much that I worry she's going to have attention withdrawal. Mary Ann took great care of us too, making wonderful meals and having lots of yummy and healthy snacks around the house and even doing my laundry, yay! Boy, do we ever get spoiled when we are there.
The ride home was by far the worst part of the trip. Of course the trip home is never fun, but the kids made it extra challenging this time. I thought it would take us no more than five hours to get home, four hours of driving plus an hour for dinner, but that was wishful thinking. It ended up taking us six hours to get home. Much different from the four hours it took us to get to Chicago.
First, about an hour or so into the drive Sarah has to go to the bathroom. Never mind that we went right before we left the museum. We were on the Chicago Skyway, which has hardly any exits, and were fortunate to be about to pass one because another sign said the next exit was in 23 miles. Unfortunately, there wasn't a bathroom right at the exit. Long story, but by the time we finally found a gas station, unloaded all the kids from the car to go in to use the bathroom, because I couldn't leave them in the car and Charlie wasn't around to stay with them, and found our way back to a different highway (because we didn't need to be on a toll road anymore so why not just take the free highway), it was probably a good 30 minute stop.
We stopped for dinner about an hour later. After dinner, we all went to the bathroom again, even Amanda. Not an hour later, Sarah had to go to the bathroom again. This time she had too poop and she had to poop badly. Or so she said. So, once again, I got off at the next exit. Of course it was a tiny little town and the Waffle House right by the exit was closed. Huh? I didn't think Waffle House ever closed. So we made our way into town, found the only gas station in the one-light town, and we all unloaded once again so Sarah could go to the bathroom. The bathroom in this gas station was a tiny toilet room and all three of us were in there for at least 20 minutes. I'm sure the attendant was starting to get worried. For someone who had to poop badly, it took Sarah about 10 minutes to make the magic happen, during which she told us not to look at her or talk to her because it was distracting and she wouldn't be able to poop. Seriously, this bathroom was so small there was no way you couldn't look at her. When she finally finished Andy decided he needed to poop too, and then I figured I might as well let Amanda try and she pooped as well. Unbelievable. Luckily that was our last pit stop. All three kids were asleep by the time we got home and we arrived safely.
Always trying to better myself, here are a few things I learned from this driving trip:
1. A new video game goes a long way with Andy, and can make it through a four hour drive to Chicago. Sarah, not so much.
2. My kids go to the bathroom a lot more in the afternoon than they do in the morning.
3. Candy is a wonderful way to pass the time and decreases fighting immensely. It is a very powerful tool.
4. If you buy a toy for two of the kids you have to buy one for the third, even if they don't ask for it, because even though they say they don't want it, they will, and fights and stealing will occur.
5. We need to do this kind of stuff a lot more, because this is what they will remember when they are my age.
We left on Friday morning. Not too early, but early enough to arrive in Chicago right around lunch time. The kids were wonderful in the car. No fighting, everybody got along, and even a little sleeping. We made one stop for a snack without getting out of the car and didn't even have to stop for a potty break. We made it in record time. I was starting to think I had somebody else's kids with me.
After a little chaos and confusion we met up with my sister-in-law, Mary Ann, and my nieces and nephew, Jack, Sarah and Allie, at Shedd Aquarium. We had lunch and then walked around and checked out the aquarium. Saw the Fantasea show, hit the gift shop, had a little run-in with an employee who tried to kick us out before the museum was truly closed and then were off to Hard Rock Cafe for dinner. Then back to David (my brother) and Mary Ann's house.
The next day we went to the pool and met up with my sister, Kathy, and my niece, Ella. Ella is just a few months older than Sarah and they have a wonderful time together. We hung out at the pool for several hours and then went back to the house for dinner where my brother-in-law, Ren, joined us as well.
Sunday was a lazy day where Dave hung out with all the kids and Mary Ann and I got to take a short walk. We never really left the house, except for the walk, which my brother calls an excellent day. Very lazy. Of course, Andy played about 15 hours of Wii and Playstation with David and Jack that day, with Sarah and Allie playing occasionally, so he was over the moon. You think I'm exaggerating, but they really only emerged from the basement long enough to eat each meal, and then they went back to their games. It was crazy, but he deserves to do that every once in awhile and there are no video games the rest of the this trip so it evens out. He just did two weeks worth of game playing in one day.
Yesterday we hit the Field Museum before driving home. The kids didn't want to leave and their cousins didn't want us to go either. They had so much fun together. Jack, Sarah and Allie were so sweet to Andy and Sarah. They were patient with them and so nice and Sarah was extra spoiled. Her cousins did everything she wanted to do, and then some, and even carried her around. So much that I worry she's going to have attention withdrawal. Mary Ann took great care of us too, making wonderful meals and having lots of yummy and healthy snacks around the house and even doing my laundry, yay! Boy, do we ever get spoiled when we are there.
The ride home was by far the worst part of the trip. Of course the trip home is never fun, but the kids made it extra challenging this time. I thought it would take us no more than five hours to get home, four hours of driving plus an hour for dinner, but that was wishful thinking. It ended up taking us six hours to get home. Much different from the four hours it took us to get to Chicago.
First, about an hour or so into the drive Sarah has to go to the bathroom. Never mind that we went right before we left the museum. We were on the Chicago Skyway, which has hardly any exits, and were fortunate to be about to pass one because another sign said the next exit was in 23 miles. Unfortunately, there wasn't a bathroom right at the exit. Long story, but by the time we finally found a gas station, unloaded all the kids from the car to go in to use the bathroom, because I couldn't leave them in the car and Charlie wasn't around to stay with them, and found our way back to a different highway (because we didn't need to be on a toll road anymore so why not just take the free highway), it was probably a good 30 minute stop.
We stopped for dinner about an hour later. After dinner, we all went to the bathroom again, even Amanda. Not an hour later, Sarah had to go to the bathroom again. This time she had too poop and she had to poop badly. Or so she said. So, once again, I got off at the next exit. Of course it was a tiny little town and the Waffle House right by the exit was closed. Huh? I didn't think Waffle House ever closed. So we made our way into town, found the only gas station in the one-light town, and we all unloaded once again so Sarah could go to the bathroom. The bathroom in this gas station was a tiny toilet room and all three of us were in there for at least 20 minutes. I'm sure the attendant was starting to get worried. For someone who had to poop badly, it took Sarah about 10 minutes to make the magic happen, during which she told us not to look at her or talk to her because it was distracting and she wouldn't be able to poop. Seriously, this bathroom was so small there was no way you couldn't look at her. When she finally finished Andy decided he needed to poop too, and then I figured I might as well let Amanda try and she pooped as well. Unbelievable. Luckily that was our last pit stop. All three kids were asleep by the time we got home and we arrived safely.
Always trying to better myself, here are a few things I learned from this driving trip:
1. A new video game goes a long way with Andy, and can make it through a four hour drive to Chicago. Sarah, not so much.
2. My kids go to the bathroom a lot more in the afternoon than they do in the morning.
3. Candy is a wonderful way to pass the time and decreases fighting immensely. It is a very powerful tool.
4. If you buy a toy for two of the kids you have to buy one for the third, even if they don't ask for it, because even though they say they don't want it, they will, and fights and stealing will occur.
5. We need to do this kind of stuff a lot more, because this is what they will remember when they are my age.
Kid Quote of the Day
"I hate this place because everything is dead."
-Sarah, at the Chicago Field Museum, commenting on all the taxidermied animals.
-Sarah, at the Chicago Field Museum, commenting on all the taxidermied animals.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Removing "No Offense" From My Vocabulary
Andy has gotten really bad about saying "no offense", but in a very offensive way. For example, this afternoon he said to my dad, "Your belly is really fat. No offense.". No offense? Sorry kiddo, but that's offensive. He does it all the time. Charlie and I have tried again and again to tell him that just because he says "no offense" does not mean that it's okay to say it. It also does not mean that it's not offensive. In fact, when discussing it this evening I told him if he felt the need to say something and is going to follow it with "no offense" then he probably just shouldn't say it at all.
No matter how many times we tell him this, he just doesn't get it. Of course, he is only seven, but you'd think after awhile it would start to sink in. We've made several other comparisons to show him what he's saying is wrong, such as "Andy, you're ugly. No offense." or "Andy, you smell. No offense." or "Andy, you're not very smart. No offense.", but generally the little lesson we are trying to teach just makes him mad. I wonder why?
It's kind of made me think about how often I use that term, and I've come to the conclusion that I'm just going to eliminate it from my vocabulary. The more I hear him say it, the more I realize that there really isn't a time when you can say "no offense" without being offensive. I'm sure you can provide a few examples, but in general, it's not a very nice way to end a sentence or phrase.
It's funny how when you have a child they are a clean slate. If you think about it, it is truly amazing that they know NOTHING and you have to teach them EVERYTHING. Even things that seem so simple have to be taught at least once before they understand how the world works. I am constantly amazed by this fact. There are so many things my kids still don't know and I get to teach them. What if I mess it up? What if I teach it wrong? I guess when they finally figure out that I didn't do it correctly, I can always reach back into my unused vocabulary and say, "I'm sorry I turned you into such a dumb ass. No offense.".
No matter how many times we tell him this, he just doesn't get it. Of course, he is only seven, but you'd think after awhile it would start to sink in. We've made several other comparisons to show him what he's saying is wrong, such as "Andy, you're ugly. No offense." or "Andy, you smell. No offense." or "Andy, you're not very smart. No offense.", but generally the little lesson we are trying to teach just makes him mad. I wonder why?
It's kind of made me think about how often I use that term, and I've come to the conclusion that I'm just going to eliminate it from my vocabulary. The more I hear him say it, the more I realize that there really isn't a time when you can say "no offense" without being offensive. I'm sure you can provide a few examples, but in general, it's not a very nice way to end a sentence or phrase.
It's funny how when you have a child they are a clean slate. If you think about it, it is truly amazing that they know NOTHING and you have to teach them EVERYTHING. Even things that seem so simple have to be taught at least once before they understand how the world works. I am constantly amazed by this fact. There are so many things my kids still don't know and I get to teach them. What if I mess it up? What if I teach it wrong? I guess when they finally figure out that I didn't do it correctly, I can always reach back into my unused vocabulary and say, "I'm sorry I turned you into such a dumb ass. No offense.".
Kid Quote of the Day
Sarah: Andy, you're taking all the stuff!
Andy: Duh, that's what evil people do. They take all the stuff.
Andy and Sarah trying to play, but Sarah wasn't too keen on the "rules".
Andy: Duh, that's what evil people do. They take all the stuff.
Andy and Sarah trying to play, but Sarah wasn't too keen on the "rules".
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Water, Water and More Water
We spent the 4th of July weekend at my brother's house. He lives on a canal of a lake, so the kids had a great time out on the boat, swimming in the lake, and just playing on the beach in his backyard. They played outside all afternoon on Saturday, and most of Sunday. The weather was perfect and it was wonderful to be able to sit outside and watch them and enjoy a cool breeze. This time of year in Texas there are barely any breezes and if so, they are not cool. By the time we left my brother's house to head to my parent's house the kids were asking if they could move in with my brother and never leave. Tempting, but I've put too much time and energy into them so far to just give them away at this point. Nope, they're stuck with me.
Yesterday we went to Lake Lansing. The name is a little misleading, because it is not in Lansing, but rather in Haslett or some other town much closer to our house. I used to go to Lake Lansing when I was a kid. There is a picnic area and pavilion in the back by the road, but there is also a huge lawn with lush grass and a small beach and then the lake. There is also a concession stand, at which of course all the kids want to spend their money buying popcorn and popsicles. When I was a kid there was a carousel, and as it went around you tried to grab the bronze ring from some sort of hook out to the side. There were several silver rings but only one or two bronze. If you did get the bronze ring you got to ride again for free. We would spend what seemed like hours riding that carousel time after time, mostly on free rides. Later on there was also a big wheel track, which was super cool, and big wheels that you could ride around up and down hills and over and under bridges. Both of those are now gone but there is a nice playground and a volleyball court.
As I got older I don't remember Lake Lansing being a very cool place to be. In fact, I remember hearing, or thinking I heard, that it was kind of a cesspool and filled with three-eyed fish (if you know what I mean). The last couple of years my parents have suggested I take the kids there but I've always kind of shrugged it off and dismissed the idea. I'm so glad we ended up going yesterday because my impression was completely wrong. The kids had a blast. My dad sat on a bench right by the beach and water and watched the older two play in the sand and the lake, while I sat in a nice shady part of the grass with Amanda, enjoying the breeze. Amanda was perfectly content to play with the soft grass, since we haven't really had her out in the hard, ant infested grass at home, and kept pulling it out and putting it in the leftover sand toys. As long as she was sitting with me she didn't care that she wasn't in the water. Overall a very enjoyable afternoon.
Today we went over to my friend Missy's house to swim. I've known Missy since 6th grade, but I guess even earlier than that when we were on a rec basketball team in elementary school that I don't remember very well. She is one of my best friends from high school and one of the few people that I've been able to keep up with over the years. Missy just moved into a beautiful house with a pool a couple of months ago, and the kids had fun playing in the pool together for a couple of hours. We went in for a little bit with Amanda, but spent most of the time catching up and chatting. I always have a good time with Missy.
So far, the vacation is a success. Tomorrow we don't have anything planned, but I'm sure we'll find something to do. Friday we leave for Chicago to see my brother and sister and their families. We saw my brother two weeks ago and my sister the last two weekends, which is highly unusal, but that's just how this summer is working out. Regardless, Sarah can't wait to play with her cousins Ella and Ally and Sarah again (especially Sarah who was so sweet to her when we were in for my parent's 50th) and Andy is very excited to play with Jack and Uncle David. I'm just happy that the kids are having a good time, I'm (relatively) relaxed, and they are getting to spend time with their family. It's so important to me that they grow up knowing their cousins and have a good relationship with them and this is the best way that I know how. I just hope they look back on this time years from now and remember it fondly.
Yesterday we went to Lake Lansing. The name is a little misleading, because it is not in Lansing, but rather in Haslett or some other town much closer to our house. I used to go to Lake Lansing when I was a kid. There is a picnic area and pavilion in the back by the road, but there is also a huge lawn with lush grass and a small beach and then the lake. There is also a concession stand, at which of course all the kids want to spend their money buying popcorn and popsicles. When I was a kid there was a carousel, and as it went around you tried to grab the bronze ring from some sort of hook out to the side. There were several silver rings but only one or two bronze. If you did get the bronze ring you got to ride again for free. We would spend what seemed like hours riding that carousel time after time, mostly on free rides. Later on there was also a big wheel track, which was super cool, and big wheels that you could ride around up and down hills and over and under bridges. Both of those are now gone but there is a nice playground and a volleyball court.
As I got older I don't remember Lake Lansing being a very cool place to be. In fact, I remember hearing, or thinking I heard, that it was kind of a cesspool and filled with three-eyed fish (if you know what I mean). The last couple of years my parents have suggested I take the kids there but I've always kind of shrugged it off and dismissed the idea. I'm so glad we ended up going yesterday because my impression was completely wrong. The kids had a blast. My dad sat on a bench right by the beach and water and watched the older two play in the sand and the lake, while I sat in a nice shady part of the grass with Amanda, enjoying the breeze. Amanda was perfectly content to play with the soft grass, since we haven't really had her out in the hard, ant infested grass at home, and kept pulling it out and putting it in the leftover sand toys. As long as she was sitting with me she didn't care that she wasn't in the water. Overall a very enjoyable afternoon.
Today we went over to my friend Missy's house to swim. I've known Missy since 6th grade, but I guess even earlier than that when we were on a rec basketball team in elementary school that I don't remember very well. She is one of my best friends from high school and one of the few people that I've been able to keep up with over the years. Missy just moved into a beautiful house with a pool a couple of months ago, and the kids had fun playing in the pool together for a couple of hours. We went in for a little bit with Amanda, but spent most of the time catching up and chatting. I always have a good time with Missy.
So far, the vacation is a success. Tomorrow we don't have anything planned, but I'm sure we'll find something to do. Friday we leave for Chicago to see my brother and sister and their families. We saw my brother two weeks ago and my sister the last two weekends, which is highly unusal, but that's just how this summer is working out. Regardless, Sarah can't wait to play with her cousins Ella and Ally and Sarah again (especially Sarah who was so sweet to her when we were in for my parent's 50th) and Andy is very excited to play with Jack and Uncle David. I'm just happy that the kids are having a good time, I'm (relatively) relaxed, and they are getting to spend time with their family. It's so important to me that they grow up knowing their cousins and have a good relationship with them and this is the best way that I know how. I just hope they look back on this time years from now and remember it fondly.
Kid Quote of the Day
Sarah: Can I have some candy now?
Me: We'll see how everybody behaves getting off the plane and getting to the rental car and if all goes well once we're in the car we can break out some candy.
Sarah: Good deal, high five!
Me: We'll see how everybody behaves getting off the plane and getting to the rental car and if all goes well once we're in the car we can break out some candy.
Sarah: Good deal, high five!
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Backseat Drivers and Uninvited Guests
Yes, I am behind. Way behind. I'm not sure how I got that way, but I did. Last week Andy was at Camp Thurman everyday between 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. Everyday. You would think I would have had plenty of time to get everything done and then write a little blog post at the end of the day. Somehow, that did not happen. In fact, on Thursday I got nothing done all day. I woke up at 6:00 a.m. and was busy all day, but didn't get a thing accomplished until the kids went to bed. After 9:00 p.m. Which means I did not have time to write my blog because I was too busy doing all the crap I was supposed to be doing all day.
So, today I am going to write a post I should have written last week, and, not only that, I'm going to combine two posts into one. I'll try not to make this a habit, hopefully this time at my parent's house with nothing to do but hang out with the kids all day and play and play and play and not do any household chores will allow me to get caught up in the blogosphere of life. However, I'll never say never. Let's just pretend that it's Friday, July 2.
Andy had been at Camp Thurman all week with three of his friends. Two of them live nearby so we were carpooling. I got the afternoon shift, so it was fabulous in the morning when I just got to send him off, but a little more work in the afternoons when I needed to pick him, and the others, up. Camp Thurman is a 30 minute drive from our house when there is absolutely no traffic. However, at 3:15 p.m. when I left my house every afternoon, there was traffic. I'm not sure who or how or where they were coming from, but there was traffic. It was it fine, it just made the entire trip to pick them up and drop everybody off and get back home a two hour ordeal. Again, no big deal, just hard on the girls and a lot of time in the car.
The first day I picked them up I threw a few snacks in the diaper bag in case they were hungry. I also had a couple of snacks that were left over from something else, which is unusual, so I was good to go. Or so I thought. I stopped carrying snacks in my diaper bag awhile ago. I got very tired of the kids yelling at me because they didn't like the snacks I brought, or because I got too busy to refill the snacks and didn't have anything at all. How dare you not know and anticipate that I was going to be hungry and want to eat Sun Chips? Not pretzels, I hate pretzels. Why do you always have the worst snacks? Yeah, that gets a little tiring. So I basically told the kids to suck it and stopped carrying snacks in my bag. Now I remind them that they may want to get a snack before we leave the house but I don't bring anything for them. The only exception is Amanda. I usually have Cheerios or puffs or something for her to a)entertain her and give her something to do when we have to sit through two hours of gymnastics and b) because she gets hungry when she has to sit during the aforementioned class.
Where was I? Oh yes, or so I thought. So when the boys got in the car that first day I casually asked them if they wanted something to eat. They ate it all and then asked for more. I couldn't figure out why they were so hungry. Come to find out they had a snack at camp but they ate it super early in the day and then rarely had time to eat all of their lunch so four or five hours later when I picked them up they were famished. I started bringing a variety of things for them to eat and choose from each day but tried to limit it to two snacks per kid. I figured they would eat soon after I dropped them off and didn't want their moms mad at me because they weren't hungry when they got home. By Friday I was a little lenient and one of them ate four snacks. I'm not exactly sure which one, I just know it wasn't Andy (only because I stopped him before he had a chance to eat the last one). Oh well, the week was over and they couldn't yell at me because I'd be out of town.
Now, most of the days I dropped the boys off I did not see them get out of the car with their snack wrappers. There is a little space in the way back of the car where Andy sits where he likes to put his wrappers. He calls it his trash pocket. I don't know what it was designed for, probably a space to put your DS or books or other things, but it has a little top that lifts up on hinges and is about the size of half an adult shoe box. A couple of times I heard Andy tell them to put the wrappers in there, and then a couple times when I was in the trunk during the week I saw a few of them lying around. I should have made Andy pick them up everyday, and one or two of the days I did, but by the end of the week the car was trashed. I knew we needed to clean the car, but I was trying to get ready to go out of town and take care of everything else I needed to do and just let that one slide.
The last day of camp I decided to take Ethan home first. Every other day I had taken Mark home first. I always had a reason to take Mark first, much to Andy's disappointment. It's not that he doesn't like Ethan, he does very much, it's just that right now Mark is one of his best buds. They have a lot in common, they are both seven going on forty, and they like to spend as much time together as possible. So, in taking Ethan home first I went a little different way than I went every other day. As we're driving, the boys asked me where we were going. I explained that today we were taking Ethan home first. Then Ethan said, "This isn't the way to my house." I smiled and told him it wasn't the way we normally went but that I could, indeed, get to his house this way. Then Mark piped up with, "Where are we?". I told him we were on Glade, not Hall-Johnson. Mark and Andy both live off Hall-Johnson. To that Mark said, "Ah, Glade, of course I know where we are now", which I found difficult to believe, but I told you, he's just like Andy. I kind of laughed at the thought of my three back-seat drivers, eating everything in sight, and mentally compared them to Sarah who is at the point right now where every time we see a stop sign says, "Mommy, that says stop sign." She loves to tell me how to drive. So, I dropped everybody off, the week was over, we left on our vacation and life was grand.
Yesterday Charlie got home from the long weekend with us and decided to clean and vacuum my car. What helped him make this decision was all of the ants he found in the car. Red ants. Apparently, I should have been more careful about making the boys pick up their snack wrappers. I should have also been a little more insistent when I told Andy I didn't want him keeping his snack wrappers in his trash pocket. He had about 20-25 wrappers in the trash pocket, and many others strewn about the floor. There's nothing more I hate about a car than people who just let it go and don't clean up their kids' mess and I did just that. In order to scare Andy straight so he learned from this little invasion, I told him that if Charlie hadn't cleaned out the car he would have sat in his seat, minding his own business, and the ants would have come and bit him while we were driving and there was nothing he could do about it. He has been bitten by red ants before, and was visibly sorry and ashamed that there were ants all over the car. Red ants suck.
I may also have to suspend snacks in the car, which I have threatened time and again, but somehow they always make their way back in. Usually because the kids wait to grab a snack until we are on our way out the door. They could be home for two hours and eat nothing and as soon as you tell them we are leaving to go somewhere they ask for a snack. Also, it doesn't matter how long we are going to be in the car, 30 minutes or three, they need to bring a snack because they just can't make it to or through the next activity without one.
Most of all, I need to get my mojo back and start enforcing the rules and keeping my car clean. Just one more step to getting things back on track.
So, today I am going to write a post I should have written last week, and, not only that, I'm going to combine two posts into one. I'll try not to make this a habit, hopefully this time at my parent's house with nothing to do but hang out with the kids all day and play and play and play and not do any household chores will allow me to get caught up in the blogosphere of life. However, I'll never say never. Let's just pretend that it's Friday, July 2.
Andy had been at Camp Thurman all week with three of his friends. Two of them live nearby so we were carpooling. I got the afternoon shift, so it was fabulous in the morning when I just got to send him off, but a little more work in the afternoons when I needed to pick him, and the others, up. Camp Thurman is a 30 minute drive from our house when there is absolutely no traffic. However, at 3:15 p.m. when I left my house every afternoon, there was traffic. I'm not sure who or how or where they were coming from, but there was traffic. It was it fine, it just made the entire trip to pick them up and drop everybody off and get back home a two hour ordeal. Again, no big deal, just hard on the girls and a lot of time in the car.
The first day I picked them up I threw a few snacks in the diaper bag in case they were hungry. I also had a couple of snacks that were left over from something else, which is unusual, so I was good to go. Or so I thought. I stopped carrying snacks in my diaper bag awhile ago. I got very tired of the kids yelling at me because they didn't like the snacks I brought, or because I got too busy to refill the snacks and didn't have anything at all. How dare you not know and anticipate that I was going to be hungry and want to eat Sun Chips? Not pretzels, I hate pretzels. Why do you always have the worst snacks? Yeah, that gets a little tiring. So I basically told the kids to suck it and stopped carrying snacks in my bag. Now I remind them that they may want to get a snack before we leave the house but I don't bring anything for them. The only exception is Amanda. I usually have Cheerios or puffs or something for her to a)entertain her and give her something to do when we have to sit through two hours of gymnastics and b) because she gets hungry when she has to sit during the aforementioned class.
Where was I? Oh yes, or so I thought. So when the boys got in the car that first day I casually asked them if they wanted something to eat. They ate it all and then asked for more. I couldn't figure out why they were so hungry. Come to find out they had a snack at camp but they ate it super early in the day and then rarely had time to eat all of their lunch so four or five hours later when I picked them up they were famished. I started bringing a variety of things for them to eat and choose from each day but tried to limit it to two snacks per kid. I figured they would eat soon after I dropped them off and didn't want their moms mad at me because they weren't hungry when they got home. By Friday I was a little lenient and one of them ate four snacks. I'm not exactly sure which one, I just know it wasn't Andy (only because I stopped him before he had a chance to eat the last one). Oh well, the week was over and they couldn't yell at me because I'd be out of town.
Now, most of the days I dropped the boys off I did not see them get out of the car with their snack wrappers. There is a little space in the way back of the car where Andy sits where he likes to put his wrappers. He calls it his trash pocket. I don't know what it was designed for, probably a space to put your DS or books or other things, but it has a little top that lifts up on hinges and is about the size of half an adult shoe box. A couple of times I heard Andy tell them to put the wrappers in there, and then a couple times when I was in the trunk during the week I saw a few of them lying around. I should have made Andy pick them up everyday, and one or two of the days I did, but by the end of the week the car was trashed. I knew we needed to clean the car, but I was trying to get ready to go out of town and take care of everything else I needed to do and just let that one slide.
The last day of camp I decided to take Ethan home first. Every other day I had taken Mark home first. I always had a reason to take Mark first, much to Andy's disappointment. It's not that he doesn't like Ethan, he does very much, it's just that right now Mark is one of his best buds. They have a lot in common, they are both seven going on forty, and they like to spend as much time together as possible. So, in taking Ethan home first I went a little different way than I went every other day. As we're driving, the boys asked me where we were going. I explained that today we were taking Ethan home first. Then Ethan said, "This isn't the way to my house." I smiled and told him it wasn't the way we normally went but that I could, indeed, get to his house this way. Then Mark piped up with, "Where are we?". I told him we were on Glade, not Hall-Johnson. Mark and Andy both live off Hall-Johnson. To that Mark said, "Ah, Glade, of course I know where we are now", which I found difficult to believe, but I told you, he's just like Andy. I kind of laughed at the thought of my three back-seat drivers, eating everything in sight, and mentally compared them to Sarah who is at the point right now where every time we see a stop sign says, "Mommy, that says stop sign." She loves to tell me how to drive. So, I dropped everybody off, the week was over, we left on our vacation and life was grand.
Yesterday Charlie got home from the long weekend with us and decided to clean and vacuum my car. What helped him make this decision was all of the ants he found in the car. Red ants. Apparently, I should have been more careful about making the boys pick up their snack wrappers. I should have also been a little more insistent when I told Andy I didn't want him keeping his snack wrappers in his trash pocket. He had about 20-25 wrappers in the trash pocket, and many others strewn about the floor. There's nothing more I hate about a car than people who just let it go and don't clean up their kids' mess and I did just that. In order to scare Andy straight so he learned from this little invasion, I told him that if Charlie hadn't cleaned out the car he would have sat in his seat, minding his own business, and the ants would have come and bit him while we were driving and there was nothing he could do about it. He has been bitten by red ants before, and was visibly sorry and ashamed that there were ants all over the car. Red ants suck.
I may also have to suspend snacks in the car, which I have threatened time and again, but somehow they always make their way back in. Usually because the kids wait to grab a snack until we are on our way out the door. They could be home for two hours and eat nothing and as soon as you tell them we are leaving to go somewhere they ask for a snack. Also, it doesn't matter how long we are going to be in the car, 30 minutes or three, they need to bring a snack because they just can't make it to or through the next activity without one.
Most of all, I need to get my mojo back and start enforcing the rules and keeping my car clean. Just one more step to getting things back on track.
Kid Quote of the Day
Me: Are you listening to other people's conversations?
Andy: I always am. Especially yours.
Andy: I always am. Especially yours.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Vacation or Business Trip?
Tomorrow morning, well it's actually already tomorrow so later this morning, we're headed to the Detroit area for the Fourth of July. My brother always has a big party at his house. He has a huge backyard and lives on a canal to a lake, so the kids swim and go out on the boat and we all have a good time hanging out. When it's time for the fireworks we take the boat to the middle of the lake and watch as the neighborhood show goes off right above our heads. It's very cool and the kids love it.
Charlie is coming for the weekend, but then he is heading back home to make the bacon. Why do they say make bacon? What does that have to do with money anyway? Getting back on track, although the though of bacon does make me drift off into a happy place, I am staying in Michigan for two weeks with the kids while lucky Charlie gets to stay home in a quiet, empty house. I'm only a little jealous. Of course I will get to spend time with my parents and my high school friends and enjoy 80 degree weather instead of 100 degree nastiness, but the idea of having the house to myself for a bit is quite nice.
Anyway, that wasn't really my point. Charlie was telling me about some conversation he was having with a few people about a show that they were watching on tv. The woman on the show was saying that as a stay at home mom, when you go on vacation you don't really get a vacation. You take your work with you. Therefore, it's really a business trip. Funny, and technically true. You never really get a chance to escape your job or the people you are with all day long. When you go on vacation, the vacation part of it is that your spouse is now with you to share in the joy of spending time with your cranky, whiny, bossy, argumentative children.
So, are we really going on vacation? In some ways yes, in some ways no. Yes, because I'll get to spend time visiting with friends and I won't have to do all the things, like gobs and gobs of laundry and cooking the meals, that I would have to do if I was sitting around my own house. No, because the kids will still be with me. Aww, I make it sound like I don't want to be with my kids. Not true, I love them dearly. But I could also use a break from them since the only other time I get any peace and quiet is at 1:15 a.m. the night before we are leaving on a long trip because I found a cloth diaper in my diaper bag that absolutely had to be washed before we left (I can only imagine what a moldy mess that will be if I wait until we get back to wash it).
I know I chose to stay home and I wouldn't change that for the world, but every once in awhile it would be nice if they had a mandatory stay-at-home mom conference in some tropical locale that did not allow children.
Charlie is coming for the weekend, but then he is heading back home to make the bacon. Why do they say make bacon? What does that have to do with money anyway? Getting back on track, although the though of bacon does make me drift off into a happy place, I am staying in Michigan for two weeks with the kids while lucky Charlie gets to stay home in a quiet, empty house. I'm only a little jealous. Of course I will get to spend time with my parents and my high school friends and enjoy 80 degree weather instead of 100 degree nastiness, but the idea of having the house to myself for a bit is quite nice.
Anyway, that wasn't really my point. Charlie was telling me about some conversation he was having with a few people about a show that they were watching on tv. The woman on the show was saying that as a stay at home mom, when you go on vacation you don't really get a vacation. You take your work with you. Therefore, it's really a business trip. Funny, and technically true. You never really get a chance to escape your job or the people you are with all day long. When you go on vacation, the vacation part of it is that your spouse is now with you to share in the joy of spending time with your cranky, whiny, bossy, argumentative children.
So, are we really going on vacation? In some ways yes, in some ways no. Yes, because I'll get to spend time visiting with friends and I won't have to do all the things, like gobs and gobs of laundry and cooking the meals, that I would have to do if I was sitting around my own house. No, because the kids will still be with me. Aww, I make it sound like I don't want to be with my kids. Not true, I love them dearly. But I could also use a break from them since the only other time I get any peace and quiet is at 1:15 a.m. the night before we are leaving on a long trip because I found a cloth diaper in my diaper bag that absolutely had to be washed before we left (I can only imagine what a moldy mess that will be if I wait until we get back to wash it).
I know I chose to stay home and I wouldn't change that for the world, but every once in awhile it would be nice if they had a mandatory stay-at-home mom conference in some tropical locale that did not allow children.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Dog and Pony Show
Now that Amanda has reached the ripe old age of ten months old (she'll actually be 11 months old next Friday) she's starting to be able to do more. She crawls pretty well and she can pull up to a standing position. The other day she even walked about five feet while holding onto a chair. She's figuring out how to turn on toys that before she only looked at in amazement, and she can drink through a straw, which my other two couldn't do until the were well over a year old. Best of all, she does tricks.
It's not like she does magic tricks, she can't pull a rabbit out of her onesie or anything, but she can do little things when you give her a cue. For example, if you say "Yay!", she'll clap her hands. If you tell her to say goodnight or goodbye to someone, she automatically starts opening and closing her fingers in a tiny wave. Sometimes she'll hear someone else saying goodbye, not even talking to her, and her fingers automatically start moving. If you look at her and say with a little sing song "no, no, no" and shake your head, she'll shake her head as well. All things very cute, and not yet annoying.
My favorite is when she nods her head. Today I went to lunch with a couple of friends. I kept asking Amanda questions like "do you want more?" and she would nod her head yes. It was amazing and seemed like she completely knew what I was saying and was answering me. Although I'd like to think my daughter is a genius, I decided to test it out. So, I asked, "do you want to jump off a bridge?" and she nodded yes. "Do you want to eat spinach?". Yes. Okay, I know she's willing to try anything, but I know she does not want to eat spinach. Who really does?
So it's cute, but she doesn't know quite what she's doing. That's okay, I'll enjoy it for what it is, because sooner or later she will start talking and communicating the right way, and I'll long for these days when she just nodded because she was happy I was talking to her.
Kid Quote of the Day
Sarah: What?!? They're both pink?
Me: Is that bad?
Sarah: No, it's awesome!
Sarah, realizing that the two lollipops given to her by the tech at the Cardiologist were different flavors but yet both pink.
Me: Is that bad?
Sarah: No, it's awesome!
Sarah, realizing that the two lollipops given to her by the tech at the Cardiologist were different flavors but yet both pink.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)