Every year I tell Charlie I'm not going to go overboard with the kids' gifts at the holidays and every year I do anyway. It's not really my intention, it's just that we try to only buy them stuff for the holidays and their birthdays, minus books because I say they don't count, so when I do get to buy them presents it's easy to go a little crazy. This year I swore I wasn't going to do it again, and a few weeks ago told Charlie I was done shopping and listed off the few gifts I got for each of the kids. Except that was a few weeks ago.
I have this problem where I am a little OCD about gift buying. If I know I have to buy something for someone, or have a buying opportunity, it will consume me until I've taken care of it. In the same respect, if I need to return something to the store, I will keep planning out how I can get to the store to return it as soon as possible. Neither one of those is a horrible trait in itself, except that when I go to the store during the holiday season to buy something for someone other than the kids or to return something, I end up buying more.
I can't tell you how many times I've told people over the past three weeks that I'm done with my Christmas shopping, only to buy something the very next day. Not something we need to have, but something I saw that I know Charlie or the kids would love and just can't pass up. I probably have enough stocking stuffers for two stockings for everybody and let's just say it's a good thing that Andy's birthday is only a couple months away and I can save some of his gifts for then.
Today, however, I finished for good. One reason is that we are leaving for my parent's house tomorrow and aren't coming back until Christmas Eve. There isn't time to do anymore shopping. The other is because I bought the last of the stocking stuffers I had in mind and found a perfect gift for Amanda this morning. Unfortuantely, I accidentally left it in a bag on the kitchen counter. She wouldn't see it up there, but Andy is home "sick" from school (he has strep but no fever and barely a sore throat yet still can't go to school) and was standing right by the bag. I don't know that he saw anything, but since this may be the last year he admits to believing in Santa Claus, I didn't think it would be fair to actually give the gift to Amanda from Santa confirming any doubt he has is true. I already have a gift from Santa for her, but this would have been a perfect addition. As I took the gift upstairs and threw it in my closet I cursed the fact that I rarely get any time to myself and would have liked to have this last day of school without prying eyes at home. At that point I knew I had had enough of this holiday season.
So I'm done shopping and, except for two things I bought today, done wrapping the presents. The kids finished school today and I made it through Sarah's party (one bonus to Andy being home is I got to skip his party). Amanda had her little school show tonight, which was nothing like the elaborate shows put on by her previous school, and finished without singing but also without a tear. As we were leaving one of her classmates said good-bye to her and it made me think that maybe she's growing up and isn't a baby anymore, until we got in the car and she threw a huge fit because her paper antlers weren't covering her ears and correctly and "nobody wants to hold my hand". Yep, done with that too.
A couple days with my family and their cousins is exactly what we all need. The kids need to bond and I need a respite from hanging out with them all day. We'll still be in the house together, but they will be fully occupied with their cousins and aunts and uncles and grandparents. I can relax a little. Then we are home for Christmas and then April from New Jersey and her husband and son are coming to visit, another thing that I am so, so excited for, and Charlie will be home for the week.
After that, I'll be ready to start the New Year and get the kids enrolled in some extra-curricular activities and start the craziness all over again.
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Tragedy
As much as I'd like to pretend the tragic events from yesterday at Sandy Hook Elementary didn't happen, I can't just make my next post about some silly anecdote about the misdoings of my kids without addressing this first. I first heard about the shooting while I was exercising at the gym. The t.v. on my treadmill was broken so I was stuck watching the Lifetime Fitness channel, but I could see CNN across the room. It was pretty early in the story and at the time they were reporting that only three people had been killed. I was saddened but thankful that the casualties were so small.
I picked Amanda up from school, we ran a quick errand and then came home. When I turned on the t.v. I found out the real story. I watched for a little bit but didn't really want it on with Amanda home, so I turned to social media. I read post after post on Facebook from moms that were devastated and praying and wondering if they should go pick their kids up early from school, just because they wanted to be with them and hold them and make sure they were okay. I knew my kids were safe, but I completely understood that urge to go to them.
When it was finally time to get them I noticed more parents at pick-up than normal, and definitely more fathers. It was comforting and sad at the same time. I didn't want to say anything to the kids before talking to Charlie and felt a strong need to do something with them besides letting them bicker at home so everybody was really happy to go out for frozen yogurt. We didn't end up discussing it with them last night because we had a babysitter coming and didn't want to leave her with the aftermath.
In the middle of the night, Sarah showed up at my bedside. When I asked her what she needed, all she said was "I want to be with you." Normally I would have shooed her back to her room, or reluctantly gotten up to take her myself, but this time I invited her to crawl in bed with me. She stayed for a little bit then had to go to the bathroom and decided she would get back in her own bed. I didn't really say anything to her when she was in bed with me, she just needed some reassurance from me that I was there.
This afternoon Andy and I went out and he asked me why the flags were at half-staff. I told him that we would talk about it with Daddy tomorrow but that there had been a shooting. "At midnight, like the other one?" he asked me. "No, this was different, but we'll talk about it tomorrow." Why in the world do I have to explain to my nine-year-old about mass shootings twice in less than six months?
I would do anything to have to avoid this conversation with the kids and have them go on being blissfully ignorant, but unfortunately that can't happen. Other people are going to tell their kids and they will find out about it at school, so if we don't tell them they are going to hear bits and pieces here and there and come to conclusions by themselves and their imaginations will run wild. Then it won't be just every once in awhile that Sarah turns up at my bedside and it won't be just for a few minutes.
My heart goes out to all the people of Newtown that were impacted by this terrible tragedy. To the parents who have lost their babies and would do anything to hug them and tell them they love them one last time. To the kids who lost friends and teammates and parents and teachers. To the people who lost neighbors and church members and co-workers. The entire community. I am so saddened and angry for these people and for everyone that has to sit down with their children and explain the actions of a crazy man.
None of this makes sense, and none of it is fair and there are absolutely no words that can make this post end in an uplifting way.
I picked Amanda up from school, we ran a quick errand and then came home. When I turned on the t.v. I found out the real story. I watched for a little bit but didn't really want it on with Amanda home, so I turned to social media. I read post after post on Facebook from moms that were devastated and praying and wondering if they should go pick their kids up early from school, just because they wanted to be with them and hold them and make sure they were okay. I knew my kids were safe, but I completely understood that urge to go to them.
When it was finally time to get them I noticed more parents at pick-up than normal, and definitely more fathers. It was comforting and sad at the same time. I didn't want to say anything to the kids before talking to Charlie and felt a strong need to do something with them besides letting them bicker at home so everybody was really happy to go out for frozen yogurt. We didn't end up discussing it with them last night because we had a babysitter coming and didn't want to leave her with the aftermath.
In the middle of the night, Sarah showed up at my bedside. When I asked her what she needed, all she said was "I want to be with you." Normally I would have shooed her back to her room, or reluctantly gotten up to take her myself, but this time I invited her to crawl in bed with me. She stayed for a little bit then had to go to the bathroom and decided she would get back in her own bed. I didn't really say anything to her when she was in bed with me, she just needed some reassurance from me that I was there.
This afternoon Andy and I went out and he asked me why the flags were at half-staff. I told him that we would talk about it with Daddy tomorrow but that there had been a shooting. "At midnight, like the other one?" he asked me. "No, this was different, but we'll talk about it tomorrow." Why in the world do I have to explain to my nine-year-old about mass shootings twice in less than six months?
I would do anything to have to avoid this conversation with the kids and have them go on being blissfully ignorant, but unfortunately that can't happen. Other people are going to tell their kids and they will find out about it at school, so if we don't tell them they are going to hear bits and pieces here and there and come to conclusions by themselves and their imaginations will run wild. Then it won't be just every once in awhile that Sarah turns up at my bedside and it won't be just for a few minutes.
My heart goes out to all the people of Newtown that were impacted by this terrible tragedy. To the parents who have lost their babies and would do anything to hug them and tell them they love them one last time. To the kids who lost friends and teammates and parents and teachers. To the people who lost neighbors and church members and co-workers. The entire community. I am so saddened and angry for these people and for everyone that has to sit down with their children and explain the actions of a crazy man.
None of this makes sense, and none of it is fair and there are absolutely no words that can make this post end in an uplifting way.
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Holiday Dance
I'm not exactly sure what I've been doing over the past week, but unfortunately I haven't been on here. Don't get me wrong, I've got a million little stories I want to tell running through my head all day long, but during the day I'm too preoccupied with kids and other crazy things to sit down and concentrate on writing, and at night I get wrapped up in other things that I finally say at 1 a.m. "I really need to go to bed and oh crap I forgot to write in my blog again." Oh well, it is what it is and is only going to get worse and we get closer to Christmas and the kids are out of school and I slowly go insane. But April from New Jersey is coming to visit right after Christmas so she will keep me from going insane by me watching her going insane by being around my kids all day. Bwahahaha. Just wait, lol.
Anywho, for the past several days we've been jumping back and forth between holidays. I was telling one of the teachers at Amanda's school that by the time my kids grow up they are going to be so messed up about the holidays, but she said they would be diverse and cultured and that sounds like it won't cost as much in therapy so I'm going with that. Charlie finished putting up the Christmas lights outside on Saturday (yep, it was a two-weekend job) and now we just have to remember to turn them on at night. There are 12 houses in our cul-de-sac and 11 of then have lights on their house and most nights we are the 1 out of 11 that forgets to turn them on. We do get credit for having them out at all, however, and don't look as bad as the bastard across the street who didn't decorate. I said at Halloween how impressed I am with our neighborhood with how many people participate, it continues with Christmas lights. Not everybody has them, but a large majority of people do, and they look good. There's nobody like the Griswald's and nobody that just has one week string of blinking lights around their tree. Most of them look classy and well-spread-out. I'm once again so happy that we chose to live where we did.
So Saturday night was the kick-off to Hanukkah. Charlie is trying like crazy to get Sarah to remember the Hanukkah story and why we light the candles for eight days, while I'm just trying to teach Amanda that she has to be quiet during it. She will learn, the other two did, but it's amusing to watch her. She has had a breakdown almost every night either before we light the candles, after we light the candles or during the present opening. Charlie requires that we all hug and say "Happy Hanukkah" each night after we light the candles and before the kids open a present and that is almost too much for her. She does not want to hug Andy because she doesn't like to hug boys, or at least that was her excuse tonight, but by Charlie's rule she has to hug everyone or she doesn't get to open anything. Then deciding which present to open is a huge decision. This is my fault. In past years I have been so late in the game with wrapping that I usually just go upstairs right before and wrap one present each and bring it down. This year Charlie helped me and we wrapped them all before Hanukkah started. Even Andy is a little overwhelmed by presents under the tree (yes, I get the irony) this early in the month. After opening the present the kids are required to say thank you which again causes angst for Amanda. Christmas at my parents house my kill her.
I also took the kids to see Santa this week. Luckily they all asked for things that I already had. Usually they don't know exactly what to ask for and I kind of guide them into asking for things I know they will get. Or I just tell them to tell Santa to get them what he thinks they would like, since really Santa knows best. I wasn't sure whether or not Andy was going to want to do Santa this year and whether or not he still believed, but he's still all in. I know for two reasons. First, if he didn't believe and knew what we going on, he wouldn't be able to contain himself and would be giving all sorts of hints to Charlie and me that he is smart and has figured it out. So much so that it would be extremely annoying. Second, he said that he still believes in Santa. That was the main giveaway. He wasn't excited about getting his picture taken with Santa, but he did it for me anyway. This may be the last one I get. Thankfully it was the easiest picture taking experience I have ever had with the three kids and the picture turned out great.
Finally Sarah had her family tradition presentation at school. There was a lot of stress in getting ready for the presentation, mostly for me. Every time I asked her what tradition she wanted to talk about, she said she didn't know. I gave her three or four to pick from, but no decisions. When she finally decided, she said it was to hard to remember every and she couldn't do it. I really hate it when my kids say "I can't". It drives me nuts and I have no patience for it. I'm pretty sure I did it as a kid, even though I don't remember, so I thank my parents for putting up with it and not killing me in the process. Charlie helped her some, because she is way more receptive to him and he has tons more patience than I do, but it still looked like she was going to bomb. I went this morning and watched her give the presentation and she did an excellent job. I was so proud of her. I knew she could do it all along, which is why the "I can't" stuff was making me so mad. So happy that's over.
This weekend we will make cookies and chocolate covered popcorn for the teachers (don't be too impressed, the cookies are that pre-made dough I bought for the school fundraiser in the fall and we're using microwave popcorn) and then four more days of school. I still have a ton of gifts to wrap, but I'm sure I can do it. Otherwise there will be a lot of gift bags under the tree this year.
It's all good, I'm not going to stress. It's going to come whether we are ready or not, and I'll be ready. Sleep deprived, but ready.
Anywho, for the past several days we've been jumping back and forth between holidays. I was telling one of the teachers at Amanda's school that by the time my kids grow up they are going to be so messed up about the holidays, but she said they would be diverse and cultured and that sounds like it won't cost as much in therapy so I'm going with that. Charlie finished putting up the Christmas lights outside on Saturday (yep, it was a two-weekend job) and now we just have to remember to turn them on at night. There are 12 houses in our cul-de-sac and 11 of then have lights on their house and most nights we are the 1 out of 11 that forgets to turn them on. We do get credit for having them out at all, however, and don't look as bad as the bastard across the street who didn't decorate. I said at Halloween how impressed I am with our neighborhood with how many people participate, it continues with Christmas lights. Not everybody has them, but a large majority of people do, and they look good. There's nobody like the Griswald's and nobody that just has one week string of blinking lights around their tree. Most of them look classy and well-spread-out. I'm once again so happy that we chose to live where we did.
So Saturday night was the kick-off to Hanukkah. Charlie is trying like crazy to get Sarah to remember the Hanukkah story and why we light the candles for eight days, while I'm just trying to teach Amanda that she has to be quiet during it. She will learn, the other two did, but it's amusing to watch her. She has had a breakdown almost every night either before we light the candles, after we light the candles or during the present opening. Charlie requires that we all hug and say "Happy Hanukkah" each night after we light the candles and before the kids open a present and that is almost too much for her. She does not want to hug Andy because she doesn't like to hug boys, or at least that was her excuse tonight, but by Charlie's rule she has to hug everyone or she doesn't get to open anything. Then deciding which present to open is a huge decision. This is my fault. In past years I have been so late in the game with wrapping that I usually just go upstairs right before and wrap one present each and bring it down. This year Charlie helped me and we wrapped them all before Hanukkah started. Even Andy is a little overwhelmed by presents under the tree (yes, I get the irony) this early in the month. After opening the present the kids are required to say thank you which again causes angst for Amanda. Christmas at my parents house my kill her.
I also took the kids to see Santa this week. Luckily they all asked for things that I already had. Usually they don't know exactly what to ask for and I kind of guide them into asking for things I know they will get. Or I just tell them to tell Santa to get them what he thinks they would like, since really Santa knows best. I wasn't sure whether or not Andy was going to want to do Santa this year and whether or not he still believed, but he's still all in. I know for two reasons. First, if he didn't believe and knew what we going on, he wouldn't be able to contain himself and would be giving all sorts of hints to Charlie and me that he is smart and has figured it out. So much so that it would be extremely annoying. Second, he said that he still believes in Santa. That was the main giveaway. He wasn't excited about getting his picture taken with Santa, but he did it for me anyway. This may be the last one I get. Thankfully it was the easiest picture taking experience I have ever had with the three kids and the picture turned out great.
Finally Sarah had her family tradition presentation at school. There was a lot of stress in getting ready for the presentation, mostly for me. Every time I asked her what tradition she wanted to talk about, she said she didn't know. I gave her three or four to pick from, but no decisions. When she finally decided, she said it was to hard to remember every and she couldn't do it. I really hate it when my kids say "I can't". It drives me nuts and I have no patience for it. I'm pretty sure I did it as a kid, even though I don't remember, so I thank my parents for putting up with it and not killing me in the process. Charlie helped her some, because she is way more receptive to him and he has tons more patience than I do, but it still looked like she was going to bomb. I went this morning and watched her give the presentation and she did an excellent job. I was so proud of her. I knew she could do it all along, which is why the "I can't" stuff was making me so mad. So happy that's over.
This weekend we will make cookies and chocolate covered popcorn for the teachers (don't be too impressed, the cookies are that pre-made dough I bought for the school fundraiser in the fall and we're using microwave popcorn) and then four more days of school. I still have a ton of gifts to wrap, but I'm sure I can do it. Otherwise there will be a lot of gift bags under the tree this year.
It's all good, I'm not going to stress. It's going to come whether we are ready or not, and I'll be ready. Sleep deprived, but ready.
Friday, December 7, 2012
Spreading Holiday Germs
On Thursday as I was finishing my morning errands and on my way to pick up Amanda from school before running my afternoon errands, I got a call from the elementary school. The dreaded call from the elementary school. Sarah was sick. At first they said she was really sick, but they continued to say her only symptom was a 102 fever. No vomiting, nothing else, just a fever. To me that does not denote a very sick child, it just means that I am going to have a cramp in my style for the next few days.
She went to the clinic because she had a tummy ache. They decided to take her temperature while she was there and that's how they got the 102 reading. They must have taken it during the only hour of the day that she had a fever, because once I got her home and gave her some Advil she perked right up. Unfortunately, the school has a 24-hour no fever rule and you can't really trick the school when they are the ones that are taking it. Not that I would anyway. I'm a stay at home mom, I don't really have a good excuse for sending my kids to school sick, unless lazy is a good excuse. So, since they took her temp at 11 a.m., she automatically excused herself from school today as well.
I'm not saying that she's not sick, but the only symptom she has is a fever, and once she's got a little medicine in her it's like she's not even sick. No stomach ache, no ear ache, no cough or runny nose, no sore throat, just a fever. Andy did this once to me for five days, I thought I was going to go crazy. She was actually pretty mature about it and tried to take a nap this afternoon, but then Andy came home from school and started very loudly telling Amanda how to play a game on the computer and Sarah couldn't sleep. Poor kid.
Tomorrow we're supposed to go to see Disney on Ice, just the two of us for some mommy-daughter bonding, so unless her condition gets worse and she's super duper sick I will still take her. She's already said if she feels awful that Amanda can go as her backup (very sweet), but I don't think she'll allow that to happen. Then tomorrow night we're supposed to go to some Lights At The Zoo thing, so hopefully she'll be up for that as well. More importantly, I just hope whatever she has doesn't spread. This is not a good time of year for any of us to get sick, and I certainly don't want to be the new family that gives the gift of illness at the holidays.
She went to the clinic because she had a tummy ache. They decided to take her temperature while she was there and that's how they got the 102 reading. They must have taken it during the only hour of the day that she had a fever, because once I got her home and gave her some Advil she perked right up. Unfortunately, the school has a 24-hour no fever rule and you can't really trick the school when they are the ones that are taking it. Not that I would anyway. I'm a stay at home mom, I don't really have a good excuse for sending my kids to school sick, unless lazy is a good excuse. So, since they took her temp at 11 a.m., she automatically excused herself from school today as well.
I'm not saying that she's not sick, but the only symptom she has is a fever, and once she's got a little medicine in her it's like she's not even sick. No stomach ache, no ear ache, no cough or runny nose, no sore throat, just a fever. Andy did this once to me for five days, I thought I was going to go crazy. She was actually pretty mature about it and tried to take a nap this afternoon, but then Andy came home from school and started very loudly telling Amanda how to play a game on the computer and Sarah couldn't sleep. Poor kid.
Tomorrow we're supposed to go to see Disney on Ice, just the two of us for some mommy-daughter bonding, so unless her condition gets worse and she's super duper sick I will still take her. She's already said if she feels awful that Amanda can go as her backup (very sweet), but I don't think she'll allow that to happen. Then tomorrow night we're supposed to go to some Lights At The Zoo thing, so hopefully she'll be up for that as well. More importantly, I just hope whatever she has doesn't spread. This is not a good time of year for any of us to get sick, and I certainly don't want to be the new family that gives the gift of illness at the holidays.
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Kid Quote of the Day
I( was having a stern discussion with Andy about wearing his coat...
ME: One of these days you aren't going to wear your coat and you are going to freeze your butt off.
AMANDA: (Whining) Then I won't have a butt and then I can't wear underwear.
ME: One of these days you aren't going to wear your coat and you are going to freeze your butt off.
AMANDA: (Whining) Then I won't have a butt and then I can't wear underwear.
Sunday, December 2, 2012
It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas
Last weekend when we were driving home from the airport we noticed that a lot of people already had their Christmas lights up. So as we pulled into our neighborhood, instead of going straight to our house we drove around looking at the lights. Amanda kept saying, "Christmas is here!" and I tried to explain that it was still several weeks away, but she could not be deterred. How come Christmas wasn't at our house yet? We assured her that we would be putting up all our decorations the following weekend.
This weekend we put up our outside lights, for the first time in several years, and our trees. Yes, I said trees. A couple of years ago I got the kids their own small four foot tree. I did it because I was sick of all their school made ornaments junking up my tree (I am not sentimental that way) and because I got a fabulous deal and got a tree for under $20 a couple days before Christmas at Target. Oh, I could go on and on about the many reasons I love Target.
We've tried live trees in the past and it was a total disaster, so by the time we reached Andy's first Christmas we had moved on to artificial trees. A few years later we found out Charlie was allergic to cedar and I stopped feeling guilty about the fake trees. I am so thankful for that allergy and it's ability to wash me of all fake tree guilt.
Anyway, we put up the kids tree and decorated it on Saturday, but the kids were a little done with decorating after that so we put up the main tree but didn't decorate it until today. It went pretty well, except everybody was mad that they didn't get to put the star on the top of the tree (Charlie did it) and we broke two ornaments. Even Amanda did an awesome job putting ornaments on the tree and there were only three or four placess that had more than three ornaments on one branch. I may have said this in the past, but now I totally and completely understand why my Mom would rearrange all the ornaments after we decorated the tree when I was a kid. It offended me at the time, but I get it now. The one difference is that when I move the ornaments, it will be after the kids go to sleep instead of right in front of them right after they put them on. Love you Mom!
So all of our decoration are up except a few outside lights. It doesn't matter that we have tubs full, the kind that we really wanted to use we didn't have enough of so Charlie had to run out and get them today and then didn't have time to finish the outside. We'll take care of that next weekend. We started our advent calendars today (yes, a day late) and had the Christmas music blaring. Now all we need is the snow.
Starting next weekend we'll take a little Christmas hiatus and start Hanukkah and then the mass-presents-in-the-month-of-December begins. The kids are excited, we're not beaten down yet, it's all good.
This weekend we put up our outside lights, for the first time in several years, and our trees. Yes, I said trees. A couple of years ago I got the kids their own small four foot tree. I did it because I was sick of all their school made ornaments junking up my tree (I am not sentimental that way) and because I got a fabulous deal and got a tree for under $20 a couple days before Christmas at Target. Oh, I could go on and on about the many reasons I love Target.
We've tried live trees in the past and it was a total disaster, so by the time we reached Andy's first Christmas we had moved on to artificial trees. A few years later we found out Charlie was allergic to cedar and I stopped feeling guilty about the fake trees. I am so thankful for that allergy and it's ability to wash me of all fake tree guilt.
Anyway, we put up the kids tree and decorated it on Saturday, but the kids were a little done with decorating after that so we put up the main tree but didn't decorate it until today. It went pretty well, except everybody was mad that they didn't get to put the star on the top of the tree (Charlie did it) and we broke two ornaments. Even Amanda did an awesome job putting ornaments on the tree and there were only three or four placess that had more than three ornaments on one branch. I may have said this in the past, but now I totally and completely understand why my Mom would rearrange all the ornaments after we decorated the tree when I was a kid. It offended me at the time, but I get it now. The one difference is that when I move the ornaments, it will be after the kids go to sleep instead of right in front of them right after they put them on. Love you Mom!
So all of our decoration are up except a few outside lights. It doesn't matter that we have tubs full, the kind that we really wanted to use we didn't have enough of so Charlie had to run out and get them today and then didn't have time to finish the outside. We'll take care of that next weekend. We started our advent calendars today (yes, a day late) and had the Christmas music blaring. Now all we need is the snow.
Starting next weekend we'll take a little Christmas hiatus and start Hanukkah and then the mass-presents-in-the-month-of-December begins. The kids are excited, we're not beaten down yet, it's all good.
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Going, Going, Gone
This morning Sarah came into my room rather distressed by the fact that she could not find the tooth that had been loose the day before. I didn't think it was that loose, but apparently it was because she lost it overnight. I'm pretty sure she swallowed it, as she has done 2-3 times before, but she thinks maybe she took it out and put it somewhere - "oh wait, maybe I just dreamed that." Anyway, she has now lost all eight of her front teeth (she also lost one two days after Thanksgiving) and she is only six and a half. I'm pretty certain there are kids in her class at school that haven't lost any teeth yet and she's lost all she's going to lose until she's twleve. I know neither one of us had anything to do with that, but I'm happy that for once she's got a leg up on her classmates and is able to do something that (right now) they can't. She doesn't have many opportunities to beat them at anything, so it's nice that she gets a little win.
Unfortunately, the female half of the Tooth Fairy used her last $1 bills to tip the pizza delivery man tonight since she was too lazy to cook, and the male half is in Boston on a business trip, so I'm actually going to have to borrow $1 from Sarah's piggy bank to put under her pillow. I could just give her $5, but that would just set a bad precedent and Andy would get very angry. Just not worth it. Because she has no tooth to leave for the Tooth Fairy, Sarah wrote her a note on a orange sticky note that says:
Dear Tooth Fairy,
I can't find my tooth, please come anyway.
Love,
Sarah
Straight and to the point. Lucky for her the Tooth Fairy always comes, assuming she remembers. Sometimes the Tooth Fairy comes a day late because she is so busy in other parts of the world. As of right now, it's etched in my brain.
One other thing that's missing in Sarah's life is her curly hair. It was long and wavy and I thought it just wasn't that curly because it was too heavy. Right before Thanksgiving I took her to get her haircut and asked them to take four inches off, thinking it would be lighter and thus curlier. They did, and the curl is gone. There is a tiny bit underneath and some of her wisps are still curly, but that's about it. When it's up in a ponytail from the back it looks totally straight. It's still thick and beautiful, the most amazing colors, but I'm so sad to see the curls gone. I really thought they would stay forever. She loves that her hair is straight now and was so done with the curls. Supposedly your hair changes every seven years and can do all sorts of crazy things. Hopefully at some point those curls will decide to come back out.
I'm trying not to make too big a deal of it, because I don't want her defined by her curls or her hair, but I really did love them. Probably because I've never had curly hair and would love to have it myself. It can be a pain to brush and take care of, but it's so low maintenance otherwise.
Just two more signs that my little girl is growing up. Now if the whining would just go by the wayside, my life would be so much more zen.
Unfortunately, the female half of the Tooth Fairy used her last $1 bills to tip the pizza delivery man tonight since she was too lazy to cook, and the male half is in Boston on a business trip, so I'm actually going to have to borrow $1 from Sarah's piggy bank to put under her pillow. I could just give her $5, but that would just set a bad precedent and Andy would get very angry. Just not worth it. Because she has no tooth to leave for the Tooth Fairy, Sarah wrote her a note on a orange sticky note that says:
Dear Tooth Fairy,
I can't find my tooth, please come anyway.
Love,
Sarah
Straight and to the point. Lucky for her the Tooth Fairy always comes, assuming she remembers. Sometimes the Tooth Fairy comes a day late because she is so busy in other parts of the world. As of right now, it's etched in my brain.
One other thing that's missing in Sarah's life is her curly hair. It was long and wavy and I thought it just wasn't that curly because it was too heavy. Right before Thanksgiving I took her to get her haircut and asked them to take four inches off, thinking it would be lighter and thus curlier. They did, and the curl is gone. There is a tiny bit underneath and some of her wisps are still curly, but that's about it. When it's up in a ponytail from the back it looks totally straight. It's still thick and beautiful, the most amazing colors, but I'm so sad to see the curls gone. I really thought they would stay forever. She loves that her hair is straight now and was so done with the curls. Supposedly your hair changes every seven years and can do all sorts of crazy things. Hopefully at some point those curls will decide to come back out.
I'm trying not to make too big a deal of it, because I don't want her defined by her curls or her hair, but I really did love them. Probably because I've never had curly hair and would love to have it myself. It can be a pain to brush and take care of, but it's so low maintenance otherwise.
Just two more signs that my little girl is growing up. Now if the whining would just go by the wayside, my life would be so much more zen.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Sleep With One Eye Open
I was washing the dishes from dinner tonight while all three kids were in the office together. They all wanted to play on the computer, which was a problem because we only have two. Remember when it was a big deal to have two TVs and now it's not even a big deal to have two computers? Crazy. Anyway, Andy started yelling at Amanda to stop whatever she was doing and then he yelled some more and then Amanda got really mad and I heard someone (her) banging on the keyboard. The next thing I know Andy was carrying Amanda out of the office and she was crying.
I decided to stay out of it since nobody was hurt and see where it went. Andy and Sarah fight all the time and it usually ends up with Sarah crying, because honestly everything makes Sarah cry, but he rarely fights with Amanda. So Amanda is crying and yelling at Andy and trying to go back to the office and Andy won't let her. Eventually I convinced Amanda to come over where I am and Andy tells me that she was clicking buttons like crazy and he was worried she was going to delete things and so he took the mouse away from her and she went ballistic. That part I had figured out.
I don't remember exactly what happened next but I told the kids it was time to go up to bed and nobody was allowed to play on my computer anymore. Which means all three of them have to share one computer (you know, the KIDS computer), oh the injustice. It was about then when Amanda turned to Andy and said something close to, "You are going to die in your sleep".
Andy and I looked at each other with amazement and kind of asked one another if she just threatened him, which it pretty much sounded like she did. I'm not sure where she learned that, but it freaked Andy out just a tiny bit. He wrapped his arms around me and asked me if Amanda was going to kill him in his sleep.
I'm pretty sure that couldn't happen, he could overtake her any day, but hopefully he has learned that he should not mess with her. Now if only Sarah could learn some of that attitude from her we might have a little peace in this house.
I decided to stay out of it since nobody was hurt and see where it went. Andy and Sarah fight all the time and it usually ends up with Sarah crying, because honestly everything makes Sarah cry, but he rarely fights with Amanda. So Amanda is crying and yelling at Andy and trying to go back to the office and Andy won't let her. Eventually I convinced Amanda to come over where I am and Andy tells me that she was clicking buttons like crazy and he was worried she was going to delete things and so he took the mouse away from her and she went ballistic. That part I had figured out.
I don't remember exactly what happened next but I told the kids it was time to go up to bed and nobody was allowed to play on my computer anymore. Which means all three of them have to share one computer (you know, the KIDS computer), oh the injustice. It was about then when Amanda turned to Andy and said something close to, "You are going to die in your sleep".
Andy and I looked at each other with amazement and kind of asked one another if she just threatened him, which it pretty much sounded like she did. I'm not sure where she learned that, but it freaked Andy out just a tiny bit. He wrapped his arms around me and asked me if Amanda was going to kill him in his sleep.
I'm pretty sure that couldn't happen, he could overtake her any day, but hopefully he has learned that he should not mess with her. Now if only Sarah could learn some of that attitude from her we might have a little peace in this house.
Monday, November 26, 2012
Kid Quote of the Day
ME: I'm going to eat you. Nom, nom, nom, you taste like chicken.
AMANDA: No, I taste like cake!
If the saying "You are what you eat" is really true, she's pretty accurate!
AMANDA: No, I taste like cake!
If the saying "You are what you eat" is really true, she's pretty accurate!
Warp Speed
We made it home safe and sound after a very long day of flying yesterday. We survived the weekend (the fact that they stayed up really late everyday was buffered by the two-hour time change), I got to read an entire book and I became proficient in Plants vs. Zombies. What more could I ask for?
The next several weeks are going to fly by. Hanukkah starts a week from Saturday (luckily I think I have most of my shopping done, I need to take inventory some time this week while the kids are at school) and then Christmas is just a couple weeks after that. I already got my holiday cards out because I wanted everybody to have our new address and not send our cards to the cranky people who bought our house and may or may not forward the mail. Otherwise, that would still be looming over my head as well.
For some strange reason, I'm feeling abnormally calm about this holiday season. I don't know if it's because we got an extra week after Thanksgiving this year or I shopped really early (but I do that every year) or that I decided we aren't going to get the kids as much this year. I say that every year, but I think this year I've actually stuck to that.
I don't know, we'll see. The tree and decorations go up this weekend so maybe my attitude will change. For right now, I'm not stressing about anything which for this time of year is really, really nice.
Let the crazy, fast, loud, hectic holidays begin!
The next several weeks are going to fly by. Hanukkah starts a week from Saturday (luckily I think I have most of my shopping done, I need to take inventory some time this week while the kids are at school) and then Christmas is just a couple weeks after that. I already got my holiday cards out because I wanted everybody to have our new address and not send our cards to the cranky people who bought our house and may or may not forward the mail. Otherwise, that would still be looming over my head as well.
For some strange reason, I'm feeling abnormally calm about this holiday season. I don't know if it's because we got an extra week after Thanksgiving this year or I shopped really early (but I do that every year) or that I decided we aren't going to get the kids as much this year. I say that every year, but I think this year I've actually stuck to that.
I don't know, we'll see. The tree and decorations go up this weekend so maybe my attitude will change. For right now, I'm not stressing about anything which for this time of year is really, really nice.
Let the crazy, fast, loud, hectic holidays begin!
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
To Grandmother's House We Go
Amanda has been asking me on a daily basis if today is the day we are going to Grandma's house. Are we going to the airport? Are we getting on a plane today? Everyday I have said, "not today" and then told her when we are leaving. Well, today is the day.
All three of the kids are so excited to go so they can see Grandma and their uncles and cousins, go to the beach, eat Grandma's yummy food and see friends who live in Florida. They are also excited because when we are at Grandma's house during Thanksgiving they get to stay up really late and go do lots of fun things and basically come home from vacation as one big hot mess from which it takes about a week to recover.
I like going to Grandma's house for all of those reasons (except the hot mess part) and because I have built in entertainment for the kids and the pressure is completely off. They are having so much fun with everybody else that they pretty much ignore me for most of the weekend and I get to spend a little time reading or shopping or surfing the web without anybody pulling on my pants or asking me for something.
That is one of the many things I am Thankful for.
All three of the kids are so excited to go so they can see Grandma and their uncles and cousins, go to the beach, eat Grandma's yummy food and see friends who live in Florida. They are also excited because when we are at Grandma's house during Thanksgiving they get to stay up really late and go do lots of fun things and basically come home from vacation as one big hot mess from which it takes about a week to recover.
I like going to Grandma's house for all of those reasons (except the hot mess part) and because I have built in entertainment for the kids and the pressure is completely off. They are having so much fun with everybody else that they pretty much ignore me for most of the weekend and I get to spend a little time reading or shopping or surfing the web without anybody pulling on my pants or asking me for something.
That is one of the many things I am Thankful for.
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Spinal Defects Clinic
I know I've said it before, but we have found some wonderful doctors in Colorado through Colorado Children's Hospital. They have such a seamless network that you can talk to one doctor and the next doctor you speak to picks up exactly where you left off with the first one. I continue to be amazed by the service and care that they provide.
Today was no exception. This morning I took Sarah to their Spinal Defects Clinic. This is an all-morning clinic that is set up for kids with spinal cord injuries or spina bifida. They check you in, assign you to a room, and then one by one a large rotation of doctors and nurse practitioners comes to your room. You get all of your appointments done at once instead of going to multiple appointments at different times on different days, and all the doctors are there in one place to discuss your case. At one point we had at least five people watching what Sarah was doing and discussing the best course of action for her.
By the end of the morning she was tired and didn't want to talk to anybody else, but I felt like they truly had a good understanding of what was going on with her and what her needs were going forward. I don't know that I have ever felt that confident with any of her doctors in the past. Not that they weren't good and didn't ease my concerns, these guys just did it better.
I cannot explain how happy I am that we have found such a fabulous medical staff. And I know that even if we were to leave Colorado sometime in the near or far future (no plans to do that right now, just saying), I am confident that we could keep coming back for our yearly visit to the Spinal Defects Clinic and continue to get exactly what we need.
When you have a child with crazy medical needs that you think nobody understands, this is huge.
Today was no exception. This morning I took Sarah to their Spinal Defects Clinic. This is an all-morning clinic that is set up for kids with spinal cord injuries or spina bifida. They check you in, assign you to a room, and then one by one a large rotation of doctors and nurse practitioners comes to your room. You get all of your appointments done at once instead of going to multiple appointments at different times on different days, and all the doctors are there in one place to discuss your case. At one point we had at least five people watching what Sarah was doing and discussing the best course of action for her.
By the end of the morning she was tired and didn't want to talk to anybody else, but I felt like they truly had a good understanding of what was going on with her and what her needs were going forward. I don't know that I have ever felt that confident with any of her doctors in the past. Not that they weren't good and didn't ease my concerns, these guys just did it better.
I cannot explain how happy I am that we have found such a fabulous medical staff. And I know that even if we were to leave Colorado sometime in the near or far future (no plans to do that right now, just saying), I am confident that we could keep coming back for our yearly visit to the Spinal Defects Clinic and continue to get exactly what we need.
When you have a child with crazy medical needs that you think nobody understands, this is huge.
Monday, November 19, 2012
Picture of the Day
Sorry it took me so long to post this picture, I was having some trouble uploading pictures from my phone to the new computer. This is from last weekend's 1/2 marathon, within 30 minutes of us finishing. Of course John finished almost two hours before April and me, so he looks just a little happier than we do.
I'm Tired
Whenever Amanda doesn't want to do anything, she hunches over, drops her arms down and says, "I'm tired". It could be first thing in the morning after she's gotten 12-14 hours of sleep and you ask her to get dressed before she's ready and her response is, "I'm tired". Yes, well I'm tired too but I still need to get dressed.
I'm not sure if she doesn't know how to express herself or if that is just the most polite way she can do it. She doesn't throw a fit or put up a huge fight, just says that she tired. If I try to walk her into school and she doesn't want to go, if she doesn't want to eat anymore dinner, if she doesn't want to go pick up the kids from school or eat her lunch or take her shoes to her room or pick up her toys -- it's always because she's tired.
Either this kid has some serious thyroid disorder or anemia issue or she truly believes that if she claims she's tired she'll get out of whatever we're asking her to do. So far it's not really working for her, but it is amusing.
I'm not sure if she doesn't know how to express herself or if that is just the most polite way she can do it. She doesn't throw a fit or put up a huge fight, just says that she tired. If I try to walk her into school and she doesn't want to go, if she doesn't want to eat anymore dinner, if she doesn't want to go pick up the kids from school or eat her lunch or take her shoes to her room or pick up her toys -- it's always because she's tired.
Either this kid has some serious thyroid disorder or anemia issue or she truly believes that if she claims she's tired she'll get out of whatever we're asking her to do. So far it's not really working for her, but it is amusing.
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Kid Quote of the Day
AMANDA: I don't want to be a girl.
ME: What do you want to be?
AMANDA: A boy.
ME: Why?
AMANDA: Because I want to be Daddy.
ME: What do you want to be?
AMANDA: A boy.
ME: Why?
AMANDA: Because I want to be Daddy.
Friday, November 16, 2012
Age Appropriate Vocabulary
When Andy was younger, he had an excellent vocabulary. He still does. When he was little, it was because we didn't talk down to him just because he was a kid or use baby talk. Now, it's because he reads a lot. Sarah has a pretty good vocabulary too, not quite as advanced as Andy's was at her age, and Amanda's is coming along very well but has a few things in it that aren't that normal for your typical three year old.
I noticed it the other day. Andy was doing something obnoxious, as usual, and Amanda told him to stop being annoying. I'm pretty sure that most three year olds know what annoying means, but they don't often tell other people that they are being annoying. Especially if they are child number one, because really, who could be annoying them?
The second thing that Amanda said came straight from Sarah's mouth. She says it all the time to Amanda, so why wouldn't Amanda repeat it? Sarah was doing or saying something mean to Amanda, which she has started doing more often as a way to exert her independence, and Amanda told her Sarah she wasn't her friend anymore. Then she told her that she wasn't her sister anymore. The only thing she left out was that Sarah wasn't invited to her birthday party, but I'm sure that will come. Sarah didn't start saying this crap until at least Kindergarten, but we're getting an earful now that both of them are saying it.
The last crazy thing came out of her mouth last night while I was making dinner (yes, I do that every once in awhile). It went something like this:
AMANDA: Mommy, I want broccoli for dinner.
ME: Okay, we can do that.
AMANDA: PSYCHE!!!
Seriously, she psych-ing me at three? She even used it in the correct context. As a reward, she did get broccoli for dinner.
I can't wait see what comes out of her next. Whatever it is, I'm sure it's going to be a doozie.
I noticed it the other day. Andy was doing something obnoxious, as usual, and Amanda told him to stop being annoying. I'm pretty sure that most three year olds know what annoying means, but they don't often tell other people that they are being annoying. Especially if they are child number one, because really, who could be annoying them?
The second thing that Amanda said came straight from Sarah's mouth. She says it all the time to Amanda, so why wouldn't Amanda repeat it? Sarah was doing or saying something mean to Amanda, which she has started doing more often as a way to exert her independence, and Amanda told her Sarah she wasn't her friend anymore. Then she told her that she wasn't her sister anymore. The only thing she left out was that Sarah wasn't invited to her birthday party, but I'm sure that will come. Sarah didn't start saying this crap until at least Kindergarten, but we're getting an earful now that both of them are saying it.
The last crazy thing came out of her mouth last night while I was making dinner (yes, I do that every once in awhile). It went something like this:
AMANDA: Mommy, I want broccoli for dinner.
ME: Okay, we can do that.
AMANDA: PSYCHE!!!
Seriously, she psych-ing me at three? She even used it in the correct context. As a reward, she did get broccoli for dinner.
I can't wait see what comes out of her next. Whatever it is, I'm sure it's going to be a doozie.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Kid Quote of the Day
"I just want cupcake makers and things like that, no matter how girly they look. The treats are just so good, know what I mean?"
-Andy
-Andy
Band Concert
Andy had his first band concert last week. He's been playing for about two months, so there wasn't a lot of material, but the band director wanted to show them off just the same. The band director -- there is a special place in the afterlife for people who can teach music to young kids. You must have about 100 times more patience than I ever could.
When I told my mom we were going to Andy's concert, she laughed and said something like "good luck" or "have fun!". Having four children, she has been to her fair share (and then some) of band concerts and piano recitals. I bet she missed the orchestra concerts, however, because none of us ever played strings, but we were fortunate enough to get that concert too. It was a band and orchestra mix.
To be perfectly honest and fair, it really wasn't that bad. Then entire thing was only about 40 minutes to see both groups. They each played about three songs. They weren't fabulous, but they weren't horrible either and you could see that after just a few months they were starting to learn a few things. Our money is actually going to good.
We left the girls at home with a babysitter because a) they would have been bored and driven us crazy and b) when the two girls get together they act all goofy and would have driven us crazy. Either way, crazy is a big part of it. After the concert we took Andy out to dinner at the restaurant of his choice. He was pretty happy because he rarely gets to be alone with one of us let alone both of us for that long.
I'm amazed at how much my baby boy has grown up. The past 9+ years have flown by and he's such an amazing kid, even with his strong need to antagonize. I can't wait to see the adult he turns into, but am enjoying all the new things he continues to try and experience.
When I told my mom we were going to Andy's concert, she laughed and said something like "good luck" or "have fun!". Having four children, she has been to her fair share (and then some) of band concerts and piano recitals. I bet she missed the orchestra concerts, however, because none of us ever played strings, but we were fortunate enough to get that concert too. It was a band and orchestra mix.
To be perfectly honest and fair, it really wasn't that bad. Then entire thing was only about 40 minutes to see both groups. They each played about three songs. They weren't fabulous, but they weren't horrible either and you could see that after just a few months they were starting to learn a few things. Our money is actually going to good.
We left the girls at home with a babysitter because a) they would have been bored and driven us crazy and b) when the two girls get together they act all goofy and would have driven us crazy. Either way, crazy is a big part of it. After the concert we took Andy out to dinner at the restaurant of his choice. He was pretty happy because he rarely gets to be alone with one of us let alone both of us for that long.
I'm amazed at how much my baby boy has grown up. The past 9+ years have flown by and he's such an amazing kid, even with his strong need to antagonize. I can't wait to see the adult he turns into, but am enjoying all the new things he continues to try and experience.
Monday, November 12, 2012
Wine & Dine and Walk
This past weekend I flew to Orlando to walk in the Disney Wine & Dine 1/2 Marathon. I've been training since August, so I was ready to do the real thing. I was also ready to get away from the house and the kids for 48 hours and spend some time on me.
I flew in Friday night and April from Florida and her lovely husband, John (two of my favorite people), picked me up. We didn't do anything crazy, just hung out in the hotel room and talked, but it was very nice and relaxing. The next morning we had a carb-filled breakfast at the Kona Cafe in the Polynesian Resort Hotel. It was so yummy and we were so full afterwards. So far everything was going as planned.
From there we went to the Expo to get our racing bibs and shirts and get checked in for the race. They had all sorts of vendors there selling every kind of running gear you could think of, and some you couldn't. We hung out for an hour or two and then went off to Downtown Disney for a few hours. There were a lot of things going on at Disney this weekend, so Downtown Disney was incredibly packed. We didn't end up staying very long because we wanted to get back and take a nap.
John had to run an errand but April and I tried to nap. Except we couldn't. I don't know if it was excitement or nerves or just the fact that neither of us ever gets the luxury of taking a nap during the middle of the day, but we didn't sleep. But we did rest, so that's all that mattered. Around 6:30 we had a nice pasta dinner to get the last bit of carbs that we could and then we got ready to go to the race.
The race itself didn't start until 10p, but the last bus to the race was at 8p. I'm not sure why they make you get there so early, but we had to sit around for almost two hours before the race started. It was kind of cool to see all the people in costume. I don't know if that goes on at a regular run of the mill 1/2 marathon, but tons of people wear tutus and unusual costumes at Disney races. April's favorite was the guy dressed like Hulk Hogan with a yellow tank top, yellow Speedo-like running bottoms, knee-high socks, blond wig with hair down to the shoulders and a yellow sweat band around his head.
They broke everybody up into six groups, A-F. John was in group A as he had run and qualified in a Disney race before, but April and I were in group E (thanks to a nice man at Runner Relations who moved me up from F) so we had to split up from him. He got to start the race right on time, but by the time our group was allowed to start it was 10:20.
It was a long trek, but also a lot of fun. Plus, after the race finished the kept the Food and Wine Festival open until 4am so we could eat yummy foods from all of the countries. We didn't go to run, we both agreed to that from the beginning. In fact, the conversation went something like this:
ONE OF US: I want to do the Wine & Dine 1/2 Marathon, but I don't want to run. Do you want to do it with me?
THE OTHER ONE OF US: Only if we don't run, I hate running. But I can walk forever.
THE FIRST ONE OF US: Definitely, no running, I hate running too, but I can walk forever as well.
Looking back after that conversation and after the race, I cannot walk forever. But I can walk a lot longer and fast than I can run. In fact, if I had run the race I'm pretty sure my time would not have been any better and may have actually been worse. We just kept telling ourselves "slow and steady wins the race" (you know, the crap that you tell your kids) and kept walking along. Plus, there was so much to look at that it was very entertaining.
We did actually pick up our pace in the last couple of miles and start to walk really fast when we heard that we were behind the pace leader and we thought they weren't going to give us our medals. That put a huge motivation out there and made us walk faster than we had ever walked. There was no way after weeks of training and all the time and effort and money we had put into that trip that we weren't getting our medals. We didn't beat pace, but we did both set a personal record and we got to finish the race which was most important.
The best part is that neither one of us was discouraged and we are planning on walking (and maybe running just a tiny bit) the Disney Princess 1/2 Marathon at the end of February. We saw the medal at the Expo and it's awesome. I can't wait!
I flew in Friday night and April from Florida and her lovely husband, John (two of my favorite people), picked me up. We didn't do anything crazy, just hung out in the hotel room and talked, but it was very nice and relaxing. The next morning we had a carb-filled breakfast at the Kona Cafe in the Polynesian Resort Hotel. It was so yummy and we were so full afterwards. So far everything was going as planned.
From there we went to the Expo to get our racing bibs and shirts and get checked in for the race. They had all sorts of vendors there selling every kind of running gear you could think of, and some you couldn't. We hung out for an hour or two and then went off to Downtown Disney for a few hours. There were a lot of things going on at Disney this weekend, so Downtown Disney was incredibly packed. We didn't end up staying very long because we wanted to get back and take a nap.
John had to run an errand but April and I tried to nap. Except we couldn't. I don't know if it was excitement or nerves or just the fact that neither of us ever gets the luxury of taking a nap during the middle of the day, but we didn't sleep. But we did rest, so that's all that mattered. Around 6:30 we had a nice pasta dinner to get the last bit of carbs that we could and then we got ready to go to the race.
The race itself didn't start until 10p, but the last bus to the race was at 8p. I'm not sure why they make you get there so early, but we had to sit around for almost two hours before the race started. It was kind of cool to see all the people in costume. I don't know if that goes on at a regular run of the mill 1/2 marathon, but tons of people wear tutus and unusual costumes at Disney races. April's favorite was the guy dressed like Hulk Hogan with a yellow tank top, yellow Speedo-like running bottoms, knee-high socks, blond wig with hair down to the shoulders and a yellow sweat band around his head.
They broke everybody up into six groups, A-F. John was in group A as he had run and qualified in a Disney race before, but April and I were in group E (thanks to a nice man at Runner Relations who moved me up from F) so we had to split up from him. He got to start the race right on time, but by the time our group was allowed to start it was 10:20.
It was a long trek, but also a lot of fun. Plus, after the race finished the kept the Food and Wine Festival open until 4am so we could eat yummy foods from all of the countries. We didn't go to run, we both agreed to that from the beginning. In fact, the conversation went something like this:
ONE OF US: I want to do the Wine & Dine 1/2 Marathon, but I don't want to run. Do you want to do it with me?
THE OTHER ONE OF US: Only if we don't run, I hate running. But I can walk forever.
THE FIRST ONE OF US: Definitely, no running, I hate running too, but I can walk forever as well.
Looking back after that conversation and after the race, I cannot walk forever. But I can walk a lot longer and fast than I can run. In fact, if I had run the race I'm pretty sure my time would not have been any better and may have actually been worse. We just kept telling ourselves "slow and steady wins the race" (you know, the crap that you tell your kids) and kept walking along. Plus, there was so much to look at that it was very entertaining.
We did actually pick up our pace in the last couple of miles and start to walk really fast when we heard that we were behind the pace leader and we thought they weren't going to give us our medals. That put a huge motivation out there and made us walk faster than we had ever walked. There was no way after weeks of training and all the time and effort and money we had put into that trip that we weren't getting our medals. We didn't beat pace, but we did both set a personal record and we got to finish the race which was most important.
The best part is that neither one of us was discouraged and we are planning on walking (and maybe running just a tiny bit) the Disney Princess 1/2 Marathon at the end of February. We saw the medal at the Expo and it's awesome. I can't wait!
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Evolution
Andy and Sarah didn't have school yesterday. There was no polling at their school, but there was at the high school down the street and other schools in the district, so they just chose to leave the kids at home and make it a teacher work day. I'm not sure why the kids can't be there when people vote, whether it's for the safety of the kids or the voters, but regardless I had to do something with the kids. Instead of staying at home driving each other crazy like we normally do, I decided to take them to the zoo. Charlie didn't think I would do it, but I did, and it went pretty well.
The most amazing part of the visit was not the cool Elephant habitat or the fact that the lion was roaring at us right at the edge of the glass (which means if it were not for that glass he was less than 12 inches away from taking Amanda's arm off). Nope. Actually, it wasn't anything about the zoo per se. It was the fact that we didn't have to take a stroller, no diaper bag (truthfully I haven't carried one of those for months and months), no sippy cups or anything else that made me feel like a sherpa for the day. Instead, all three kids walked and Amanda conned me into buying ice cream for everybody but that was about it. We stayed for three hours, everybody had a reasonable good time (I'm the only one in question since the crazier the kids got the more I wanted to go home) and nobody cried. All in all, a success.
Light at the end of the tunnel. All we need now is for Amanda to move from the car seat to a booster and life will be grand. My babies are growing up, but I'm ready for all the new opportunities that will bring.
The most amazing part of the visit was not the cool Elephant habitat or the fact that the lion was roaring at us right at the edge of the glass (which means if it were not for that glass he was less than 12 inches away from taking Amanda's arm off). Nope. Actually, it wasn't anything about the zoo per se. It was the fact that we didn't have to take a stroller, no diaper bag (truthfully I haven't carried one of those for months and months), no sippy cups or anything else that made me feel like a sherpa for the day. Instead, all three kids walked and Amanda conned me into buying ice cream for everybody but that was about it. We stayed for three hours, everybody had a reasonable good time (I'm the only one in question since the crazier the kids got the more I wanted to go home) and nobody cried. All in all, a success.
Light at the end of the tunnel. All we need now is for Amanda to move from the car seat to a booster and life will be grand. My babies are growing up, but I'm ready for all the new opportunities that will bring.
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Catching Up
Wow, I can't believe it's been almost two weeks since I've written. My days are flying by. I also have a three-yr-old who, when home, doesn't want me to do anything but sit next to her on the couch and watch t.v. Since she's only at school for about 2 hours a day, I spent a lot of time doing nothing, and I mean nothing, with her. However, I know it's not going to last forever, this need to sit with me at all times, so I am trying to just enjoy it and humor her before she wants nothing to do with me.
Last weekend my sister-in-law, Nanci, and my nieces and nephew came to visit. They flew in Thursday night and spent the night with Nanci's brother who lives about 30 minutes south of us. They arrived on our door step on Friday night around 9p, about an hour after we got home from the kids' school sock hop. My awesome neighbor made felt poodle skirts for the kids, so they got to go in costume, and the kids actually had a lot of fun. Nanci and the kids had to leave on Sunday morning at 9a, so we got about 36 hours of quality time with them.
Even though it was a short trip, we had a great visit. We had a big Saturday morning breakfast and then all the girls except Amanda went for manicures and/or pedicures and then a yummy pizza lunch. When we got back I took my nieces and Amanda and Sarah to the mall so I could spoil them some more while Charlie and Nanci relaxed at home. Then that evening Nanci's brother came back and we had a nice steak dinner. Andy and my nephew bonded over video games and only came up from the basement for meals, but that's what they both wanted to do so they enjoyed it as well. It was so good to see everybody even if it was for just a short time.
A couple days later we celebrated Halloween. The kids all had parties at school and got to wear their costumes. Andy was a ninja, Sarah was Rapunzel and Amanda was Minnie Mouse. Wednesday night I took them out trick or treating while Charlie stayed home to give out candy. I was amazed at how many kids were in our neighborhood and how many neighbors participated. In the past maybe one out of every four houses had somebody home handing out candy, and there were kids around, but not tons. This year there were parents and children everywhere you looked, traveling in large groups, running from house to house. Almost every house was lit and had someone at the door handing out candy. Everybody was having a great time, parents included. Sarah saw several of her classmates while we were out and loved that.
On Friday our backyard play set was delivered. It was one of the things we promised the girls we would get when we moved here and just hadn't done it. We finally sucked it up and got one and the kids love it. Today all three of them played in the backyard for quite a while and there was very little fighting. Ah, finally. I'm hoping that they continue to like it as much as they did today.
So now we start November. I can't believe we've been here for over four months and Thanksgiving is only a few weeks away. Now that Halloween is over things have calmed down a little, but it's just going to ramp up as we get closer to the holidays. I'm still adjusting, but we're doing well and are starting to enjoy our new home and surroundings.
Things can only get better from here.
Last weekend my sister-in-law, Nanci, and my nieces and nephew came to visit. They flew in Thursday night and spent the night with Nanci's brother who lives about 30 minutes south of us. They arrived on our door step on Friday night around 9p, about an hour after we got home from the kids' school sock hop. My awesome neighbor made felt poodle skirts for the kids, so they got to go in costume, and the kids actually had a lot of fun. Nanci and the kids had to leave on Sunday morning at 9a, so we got about 36 hours of quality time with them.
Even though it was a short trip, we had a great visit. We had a big Saturday morning breakfast and then all the girls except Amanda went for manicures and/or pedicures and then a yummy pizza lunch. When we got back I took my nieces and Amanda and Sarah to the mall so I could spoil them some more while Charlie and Nanci relaxed at home. Then that evening Nanci's brother came back and we had a nice steak dinner. Andy and my nephew bonded over video games and only came up from the basement for meals, but that's what they both wanted to do so they enjoyed it as well. It was so good to see everybody even if it was for just a short time.
A couple days later we celebrated Halloween. The kids all had parties at school and got to wear their costumes. Andy was a ninja, Sarah was Rapunzel and Amanda was Minnie Mouse. Wednesday night I took them out trick or treating while Charlie stayed home to give out candy. I was amazed at how many kids were in our neighborhood and how many neighbors participated. In the past maybe one out of every four houses had somebody home handing out candy, and there were kids around, but not tons. This year there were parents and children everywhere you looked, traveling in large groups, running from house to house. Almost every house was lit and had someone at the door handing out candy. Everybody was having a great time, parents included. Sarah saw several of her classmates while we were out and loved that.
On Friday our backyard play set was delivered. It was one of the things we promised the girls we would get when we moved here and just hadn't done it. We finally sucked it up and got one and the kids love it. Today all three of them played in the backyard for quite a while and there was very little fighting. Ah, finally. I'm hoping that they continue to like it as much as they did today.
So now we start November. I can't believe we've been here for over four months and Thanksgiving is only a few weeks away. Now that Halloween is over things have calmed down a little, but it's just going to ramp up as we get closer to the holidays. I'm still adjusting, but we're doing well and are starting to enjoy our new home and surroundings.
Things can only get better from here.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Unexpected Compliment
Sarah had an accident at school today. Not a full blown pee in your pants accident, but one where she got to the toilet on time but couldn't pull her pants down far enough and ended up peeing on the back of her pants and underwear. Due to some issues that we are still trying to figure out but believe are partially neurological, she doesn't always have a lot of notice that she needs to go to the bathroom. We're working on it but as they say, accidents happen.
Luckily I help out with reading in her classroom on Tuesday mornings so I happened to be there when the accident occurred. Apparently at the beginning of the school year I had put an extra pair of leggings and underwear in a bag and put it in her backpack, so she had extra clothes. I'm so good I didn't even remember it was there, but she did. So I went with her to the bathroom to help her change her clothes.
It seems like it would be easy, but because Sarah wears a knee brace and braces on each foot, changing her pants is kind of a big deal and a total pain in the butt. She chose the larger bathroom and I helped her take everything off, put everything dry back on and told her I would take care of the wet stuff so she didn't have to worry about it.
At one point she looked at me and smiled and said, "You're a good mom". Nothing else, no "I love you", no big hug, just that one statement. But that was enough. There are many, many days when Sarah blames me for the most crazy things that I have no involvement in or control over, creating anger and guilt for things that I can't do anything about. But that one statement told me in the end, no matter how much we disagree and go at each other and no matter how much I have "ruined her life", she knows that I'm trying. Trying to do what's best for her, trying to help her out and make things right, and trying so hard to make the shitty things in her little six-year-old life just a little bit better.
I'll take "You're a good mom", because that's mainly what I strive for everyday and often feel that I come up short. That may be one of the best compliments I ever get.
Luckily I help out with reading in her classroom on Tuesday mornings so I happened to be there when the accident occurred. Apparently at the beginning of the school year I had put an extra pair of leggings and underwear in a bag and put it in her backpack, so she had extra clothes. I'm so good I didn't even remember it was there, but she did. So I went with her to the bathroom to help her change her clothes.
It seems like it would be easy, but because Sarah wears a knee brace and braces on each foot, changing her pants is kind of a big deal and a total pain in the butt. She chose the larger bathroom and I helped her take everything off, put everything dry back on and told her I would take care of the wet stuff so she didn't have to worry about it.
At one point she looked at me and smiled and said, "You're a good mom". Nothing else, no "I love you", no big hug, just that one statement. But that was enough. There are many, many days when Sarah blames me for the most crazy things that I have no involvement in or control over, creating anger and guilt for things that I can't do anything about. But that one statement told me in the end, no matter how much we disagree and go at each other and no matter how much I have "ruined her life", she knows that I'm trying. Trying to do what's best for her, trying to help her out and make things right, and trying so hard to make the shitty things in her little six-year-old life just a little bit better.
I'll take "You're a good mom", because that's mainly what I strive for everyday and often feel that I come up short. That may be one of the best compliments I ever get.
Monday, October 22, 2012
Blankets
The first few months we lived her the girls were sleeping so well they lured us into a false sense of security. I don't know if the move was overstimulating for their little brains or it was the mile-high mountain air, but we were getting an amazing amount of sleep. So much so that I started to actually think clearly and wasn't walking around like a zombie most day. I believe those days have come to an end.
It started with Amanda's cough, and then Andy's, and then fevers and just snow balled. Everybody is sleeping well again, meaning we're not all kept up by coughing at night, but the girls are still finding ways to wake us up most nights. For example, last night I woke up from a deep sleep. I looked next to the bed, nothing there. I rolled over and look at Charlie's side of the bed. Sure enough, Sarah was standing there. I'm not sure if I heard her say something and that woke me up or if it was just the presence of someone staring at you. I asked her what she needed. Water. Her sippy cup was empty. Why, at six years old, she can't fill her own sippy cup in the middle of the night and she has to wake up one of us to do it is beyond me. But she does.
That wasn't normal, though. Sarah does wake us up for stupid things 1-2 times a week, but it's Amanda who wins the award for the most annoying and useless wake up calls. She probably does it 3-4 times a week, and it's always the same thing. She'll yell out for one of us to come in her room and we'll rush in there so she shuts up and doesn't wake the other two only to find out that she wants us to put her blankets back on her. That's all, she needs her blankets on.
I know she can do it herself, tiny little arms and all, because I've seen her do it. Reach down, pull them up, roll over and go to sleep. But she doesn't want to do it, she wants us to do it. On top of that, she sleeps with anywhere from 4-6 blankets a night, and she wants them in a certain order. I'll come into her room at 2:30 a.m. and she'll tell me "I need my blankets on". However she doesn't just want you to pull them up and go back to sleep. I've had this conversation more than once in my delirious, over-tired state:
Amanda: I need my blankets on.
Me: You can't do this yourself? (no answer)
Amanda: The peek one laa (rhymes with bad)!
Me: Huh, what did you say?
Amanda: The peek one laa!!
Me: What? I still don't know what you are saying.
Amanda: THE PEEK ONE LAA!!!
Me: The pink one last? Seriously? Does it really matter?
Apparently it does. We've been humoring her for the last few weeks. It's easier and quieter to just do it and go back to sleep then try to get her to do it herself, kind of like all that crap we used to do with her in the middle of the night when she wanted us to rock her to sleep. Same story, different year. But we're starting to lose it, and it's not just me it's Charlie too. I'm not sure how it's going to change, but whatever we do it's going to be painful. For us, for her and for the other two kids.
I wonder if they make Snuggies in her size?
It started with Amanda's cough, and then Andy's, and then fevers and just snow balled. Everybody is sleeping well again, meaning we're not all kept up by coughing at night, but the girls are still finding ways to wake us up most nights. For example, last night I woke up from a deep sleep. I looked next to the bed, nothing there. I rolled over and look at Charlie's side of the bed. Sure enough, Sarah was standing there. I'm not sure if I heard her say something and that woke me up or if it was just the presence of someone staring at you. I asked her what she needed. Water. Her sippy cup was empty. Why, at six years old, she can't fill her own sippy cup in the middle of the night and she has to wake up one of us to do it is beyond me. But she does.
That wasn't normal, though. Sarah does wake us up for stupid things 1-2 times a week, but it's Amanda who wins the award for the most annoying and useless wake up calls. She probably does it 3-4 times a week, and it's always the same thing. She'll yell out for one of us to come in her room and we'll rush in there so she shuts up and doesn't wake the other two only to find out that she wants us to put her blankets back on her. That's all, she needs her blankets on.
I know she can do it herself, tiny little arms and all, because I've seen her do it. Reach down, pull them up, roll over and go to sleep. But she doesn't want to do it, she wants us to do it. On top of that, she sleeps with anywhere from 4-6 blankets a night, and she wants them in a certain order. I'll come into her room at 2:30 a.m. and she'll tell me "I need my blankets on". However she doesn't just want you to pull them up and go back to sleep. I've had this conversation more than once in my delirious, over-tired state:
Amanda: I need my blankets on.
Me: You can't do this yourself? (no answer)
Amanda: The peek one laa (rhymes with bad)!
Me: Huh, what did you say?
Amanda: The peek one laa!!
Me: What? I still don't know what you are saying.
Amanda: THE PEEK ONE LAA!!!
Me: The pink one last? Seriously? Does it really matter?
Apparently it does. We've been humoring her for the last few weeks. It's easier and quieter to just do it and go back to sleep then try to get her to do it herself, kind of like all that crap we used to do with her in the middle of the night when she wanted us to rock her to sleep. Same story, different year. But we're starting to lose it, and it's not just me it's Charlie too. I'm not sure how it's going to change, but whatever we do it's going to be painful. For us, for her and for the other two kids.
I wonder if they make Snuggies in her size?
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Wait A Minute, Did You Say I'm Three?
After two weeks of Andy being sick and one week of Amanda home from a fever, we topped it off this week with fall break. One week of all three kids home from school (except for two days when Amanda had her Spanish school) after being stuck at home for so long with sickos is enough to drive me to the brink. Top it off with me making several appointments this weeks - well visits, dentist, other random doctor appointment and fall pictures of the kids - that required the kids to "be on their best behavior" and I am done. Put a fork in me!
All this means is that I have a very low level of patience or threshold for irrational behavior. Unfortunately I have a three year old, and they thrive on irrational behavior. I don't know what happened to my happy go lucky, low key little girl, but all of a sudden Amanda has decided that she wants to push buttons and be in control and not do anything that we ask her to do. I'm hoping that it has something to do with the fact that we are totally off schedule this week and we're wearing her out, but I really think she's just decided that it wouldn't be fair for her to go through her three's without torturing me a little bit.
Thankfully she has school tomorrow morning and the older kids will be back to school on Monday. I just have to make it through one more day of Andy torturing the girls and then we are back to normal. If what we have going on here is normal. On the plus side, I just went to check on her in bed and when I leaned down next to her she said, "Mommy, I love you." I never get tired of that, and it sure will help me make it through tomorrow.
All this means is that I have a very low level of patience or threshold for irrational behavior. Unfortunately I have a three year old, and they thrive on irrational behavior. I don't know what happened to my happy go lucky, low key little girl, but all of a sudden Amanda has decided that she wants to push buttons and be in control and not do anything that we ask her to do. I'm hoping that it has something to do with the fact that we are totally off schedule this week and we're wearing her out, but I really think she's just decided that it wouldn't be fair for her to go through her three's without torturing me a little bit.
Thankfully she has school tomorrow morning and the older kids will be back to school on Monday. I just have to make it through one more day of Andy torturing the girls and then we are back to normal. If what we have going on here is normal. On the plus side, I just went to check on her in bed and when I leaned down next to her she said, "Mommy, I love you." I never get tired of that, and it sure will help me make it through tomorrow.
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Kid Quote of the Day
Sarah: Why is Amanda crying?
Me: Probably because she can hear you (saying mean things).
Sarah: Well, I can hear the upsetment in my heart.
Me: Probably because she can hear you (saying mean things).
Sarah: Well, I can hear the upsetment in my heart.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Kid Quote of the Day
"Prepare to fight the bad guys. Or as we heroes like to call them, baddies."
-Andy, trying on his Halloween costume. He's going as a ninja, I didn't know they were considered heroes.
-Andy, trying on his Halloween costume. He's going as a ninja, I didn't know they were considered heroes.
Monday, October 15, 2012
Apple Pie
My parents were in town last week (which is part of the reason I didn't post that much, but the other part is because I am lazy) which brought tons of visitors. It seems that everybody that comes to visit us knows more people here than we do. It helps us meet new people, but kind of stinks that we don't know anybody.
In the course of the weekend, my mom's second cousin, Marie, and her husband came on Friday night for dinner, my mom's childhood friend came on Saturday for lunch, and my college roommate and her family came on Sunday for dinner. By the time the weekend was over we were beat, but very happy to have so many visitors.
Marie brought us a big box of apples from the apple tree in her back yard. I've only seen her one other time since we moved here, while my sister was visiting, and that time she brought us peaches. I would love an apple and peach tree in my back yard, but apparently they only produce fruit about once every six years here. The trees give fruit in the summer/fall, but freeze the following spring, and don't recover enough to produce fruit again for 5-6 years. I think that would drive me bonkers, so I'm okay with no fruit trees.
Anyway, huge box of apples. There is no way we can eat them all and a lot of them have spots and worm holes and other issues since, as Marie's husband put it, they are organic and free range so I decided to make an apple pie. From scratch. For some people this is no big deal, but I've never made a pie before except those ice cream pies where you buy a pre-made crust, melt the ice cream in it and then refreeze it. No brainer.
Charlie helped by peeling the apples and my mom and I cut them, but that's all I would let them do. I wanted to do it myself. Except for missing the part where you can, but don't have to, add cinnamon for flavoring, the pie turned out really good. I was so excited that a few days later I made a second one. Unfortunately we didn't want to eat another pie, so I made it for my neighbor. I didn't taste it, but I'm pretty sure that one turned out even better.
I still have apples left and would love to make one more pie, but I don't have anybody else to give one to and since Charlie and I are trying so hard not to eat junk, another pie in the house is not a good idea. I may cave anyway, because I get on kicks like this where I make something and I have to keep doing it over and over again, even when it doesn't make sense and there are a ton of other things I should be doing instead. I just think it's cool that I can make a pie. Plus I love to bake.
Next summer I'm going to make cherry.
Here's a picture of pie #2. We ate the first one so quickly I forgot to take a picture :)
In the course of the weekend, my mom's second cousin, Marie, and her husband came on Friday night for dinner, my mom's childhood friend came on Saturday for lunch, and my college roommate and her family came on Sunday for dinner. By the time the weekend was over we were beat, but very happy to have so many visitors.
Marie brought us a big box of apples from the apple tree in her back yard. I've only seen her one other time since we moved here, while my sister was visiting, and that time she brought us peaches. I would love an apple and peach tree in my back yard, but apparently they only produce fruit about once every six years here. The trees give fruit in the summer/fall, but freeze the following spring, and don't recover enough to produce fruit again for 5-6 years. I think that would drive me bonkers, so I'm okay with no fruit trees.
Anyway, huge box of apples. There is no way we can eat them all and a lot of them have spots and worm holes and other issues since, as Marie's husband put it, they are organic and free range so I decided to make an apple pie. From scratch. For some people this is no big deal, but I've never made a pie before except those ice cream pies where you buy a pre-made crust, melt the ice cream in it and then refreeze it. No brainer.
Charlie helped by peeling the apples and my mom and I cut them, but that's all I would let them do. I wanted to do it myself. Except for missing the part where you can, but don't have to, add cinnamon for flavoring, the pie turned out really good. I was so excited that a few days later I made a second one. Unfortunately we didn't want to eat another pie, so I made it for my neighbor. I didn't taste it, but I'm pretty sure that one turned out even better.
I still have apples left and would love to make one more pie, but I don't have anybody else to give one to and since Charlie and I are trying so hard not to eat junk, another pie in the house is not a good idea. I may cave anyway, because I get on kicks like this where I make something and I have to keep doing it over and over again, even when it doesn't make sense and there are a ton of other things I should be doing instead. I just think it's cool that I can make a pie. Plus I love to bake.
Next summer I'm going to make cherry.
Here's a picture of pie #2. We ate the first one so quickly I forgot to take a picture :)
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Last Ditch Effort
How can you say no to this face?!?
Andy has been working his tail off the last two days trying to meet his goal for Cub Scout popcorn sales. He has knocked on every door in our neighborhood. It amazes me how many people are obviously home (garage door open with two cars inside) and do not come to the door. I think it has to do with the ridiculous amount of solicitors in our neighborhood, but I'm getting off topic.
He set a goal for himself of $600 in popcorn sales. He is almost there, but a little bit shy. His money is due tomorrow so today is really the last day we can go door to door. If you want to support him, any amount of sales will help. If you don't want any popcorn for yourself, there are also two different options to support our military troops and send them popcorn overseas.
Here is a link to his online account: http://www.trails-end.com/shop/scouts/email_referral.jsp?id=29552023
Thanks so much for your support, and thanks to Grandma S, Grandma and Grandpa D and April from Florida who have already placed an order!
Friday, October 12, 2012
Next In Line
Andy finally went back to school for good on Monday, appetite starting to come back and lethargy gone. On Monday afternoon Amanda looked flushed so I took her temperature. 102 something. You know what that means, no school the next day. Why can't they just all get sick at once. Especially when it's not puking sick, it's just "I feel fine but have a fever so can't go to school" sick.
Today is Friday and she still has a low grade fever. She isn't acting sick, but by the end of the day her cheeks are red and she is worn out and she has a tiny little fever. So, five days at home for Andy, four days for Amanda. Three visits to the doctor. I should be getting tons done because I'm home all day, but I'm not. I feel trapped in my house. I just really hope Sarah isn't next, because we have well-visits on Monday, dentists appointments on Tuesday and Sarah has a big doctor appointment on Wednesday.
Also, did I mention that the kids are on fall break next week? Yeah, we've never had that before, but they got today off and all next week. So I filled it with tons of appointments so they didn't have to miss anymore school. I just didn't take into account when I scheduled them that one or more of them might be sick and blow the whole thing out of the water.
It does add a little excitement to it all, but not really the kind I was looking for. Keep your fingers crossed that everybody (and at this point everybody means Sarah) stays healthy.
Today is Friday and she still has a low grade fever. She isn't acting sick, but by the end of the day her cheeks are red and she is worn out and she has a tiny little fever. So, five days at home for Andy, four days for Amanda. Three visits to the doctor. I should be getting tons done because I'm home all day, but I'm not. I feel trapped in my house. I just really hope Sarah isn't next, because we have well-visits on Monday, dentists appointments on Tuesday and Sarah has a big doctor appointment on Wednesday.
Also, did I mention that the kids are on fall break next week? Yeah, we've never had that before, but they got today off and all next week. So I filled it with tons of appointments so they didn't have to miss anymore school. I just didn't take into account when I scheduled them that one or more of them might be sick and blow the whole thing out of the water.
It does add a little excitement to it all, but not really the kind I was looking for. Keep your fingers crossed that everybody (and at this point everybody means Sarah) stays healthy.
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Cold, Cold, Cold
I took Andy back to the doctor on Wednesday. We thought he was getting better so he went to school on Monday, but by Wednesday morning he was still lethargic and had no appetite and was still coughing horribly. I let him go to school because he didn't have a fever and had missed so much the week before, but ended up picking him up early for the doctor appointment. It was a good thing I did, because he had pneumonia. Just the beginning of it, but still it was there. Ugh.
The doctor said he could go to school on Thursday because he wasn't really contagious anymore, but Wednesday night he had a fever of 101.6 which meant he wasn't going to school on Thursday. So many days of sick, sad Andy and so many missed days of school. For some weird reason his teacher didn't send any make-up work home, even after I asked, but I didn't push it. He wouldn't have wanted to do it anyway and I didn't want to have to make him do it.
Just as he was trying to get over all this sickness the weather changed and the temperature dropped. A lot. On Wednesday it was in the mid-seventies, on Thursday it started getting colder and by Friday it was in the mid-forties. Friday morning there was snow on the ground. SNOW. Don't get me wrong, I'm not delusional, I knew it was going to snow here. I mean, we live in Colorado now. However, I did not know it was going to snow on October 5th. Not a good sign. It's going to be a long winter.
So, Andy's turning the corner on this lengthy illness, and I am starting to realize what a long, cold winter it's going to be. I know I'll survive, I'm just not going to be happy about it.
The doctor said he could go to school on Thursday because he wasn't really contagious anymore, but Wednesday night he had a fever of 101.6 which meant he wasn't going to school on Thursday. So many days of sick, sad Andy and so many missed days of school. For some weird reason his teacher didn't send any make-up work home, even after I asked, but I didn't push it. He wouldn't have wanted to do it anyway and I didn't want to have to make him do it.
Just as he was trying to get over all this sickness the weather changed and the temperature dropped. A lot. On Wednesday it was in the mid-seventies, on Thursday it started getting colder and by Friday it was in the mid-forties. Friday morning there was snow on the ground. SNOW. Don't get me wrong, I'm not delusional, I knew it was going to snow here. I mean, we live in Colorado now. However, I did not know it was going to snow on October 5th. Not a good sign. It's going to be a long winter.
So, Andy's turning the corner on this lengthy illness, and I am starting to realize what a long, cold winter it's going to be. I know I'll survive, I'm just not going to be happy about it.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Picture of the Day
Andy has been sick since Tuesday. He rarely gets sick, but there's some crazy virus going around his class that left his with a horrible, hacking cough and a fever. We went to the doctor this morning and she checked for strep, bronchitis, pneumonia and the flu, but he was negative for all of them. Just a very bad virus with some asthma side effects.
It really hasn't been a fun week for either of us. He is supposed to be grounded from all electronics this week for various indiscretions, but it's pretty hard to kick him when he's already down and take away tv, so I've been pretty lenient in that department. I've been stuck in the house all week except for a few times when I left him here, which isn't very enjoyable either. At least I've been able to get to a few things that I've been putting off. I ran out of excuses and "home all day but just didn't want to do it" didn't fly anymore. Hoping the girls don't get it and he feels better by Monday.
Andy was playing with the fridge magnets this morning before we went to the doctor. This is his final product. Notice the creative use of punctuation and alternate letters.
It really hasn't been a fun week for either of us. He is supposed to be grounded from all electronics this week for various indiscretions, but it's pretty hard to kick him when he's already down and take away tv, so I've been pretty lenient in that department. I've been stuck in the house all week except for a few times when I left him here, which isn't very enjoyable either. At least I've been able to get to a few things that I've been putting off. I ran out of excuses and "home all day but just didn't want to do it" didn't fly anymore. Hoping the girls don't get it and he feels better by Monday.
Andy was playing with the fridge magnets this morning before we went to the doctor. This is his final product. Notice the creative use of punctuation and alternate letters.
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Picture of the Day
Andy brought this home the other day from school. A couple of these are really good.
Monday, September 24, 2012
Just Because He Does It Doesn't Mean I Have To
Charlie and I spent the last week putting together the desk for the office. It is one of those desks that you buy at an office supply store, comes in a very flat box and has 67, yes 67, steps and countless pieces to put it together. We spent a few hours on it every night, finishing one side, then the other, then the center drawer and so on. I groaned and moaned through the entire process and even got Charlie to admit on day 4 or so that maybe we should have invested a little more money and got a good-quality desk that was already put together before it made it's way into our house.
When it was done it looked pretty nice, but one of the drawers does not go in and out very smoothly despite Charlie spraying it with DW40, so I will curse it every, single time I open it. Maybe I will just not put anything in that drawer so that I don't have to open it and will just choose to open it on those days when I am already angry with Charlie and need more fuel for my fire. Or maybe I should just shut up and get over it.
Anyway, we've moved it into the office at this point and it is 100% better than the little table that the computer used to be on, so I can't complain too much. As long as the kids never touch it and put tape on it that takes the finish off when I rip it off I think I'll get over it and be okay.
However, here's the funny part of all of this. The other night Charlie was watching Hard Knocks, an HBO show that follows a different NFL football team each season. This season they are showing the Miami Dolphins, Charlie's favorite team. At one point he called me into the room to show me a clip from the show. It was about the Dolphins' new quarterback, who was just drafted and is straight out of college. He was given a $7.5 million signing bonus and is making another $3 million plus this season. So the guy has a lot of money.
In this particular scene he and his gorgeous wife were building their own end table. It probably came in a box similar to the one our desk came in, but much smaller. They couldn't get the drawer to work at all. Charlie looks at me, smiling, and says something about how this guy makes millions of dollars and he builds his own furniture, so why can't we? My response was simple. He's about 22 years old. He's supposed to build his own furniture at 22. I'm 40. I've already been through the years where I build my own furniture. I'm old enough that I've earned the right to buy one already made.
Someday I am going to buy a kick ass desk, I just may have to wait awhile. I can tell you for sure, the next one we buy will not come in a six inch high box.
When it was done it looked pretty nice, but one of the drawers does not go in and out very smoothly despite Charlie spraying it with DW40, so I will curse it every, single time I open it. Maybe I will just not put anything in that drawer so that I don't have to open it and will just choose to open it on those days when I am already angry with Charlie and need more fuel for my fire. Or maybe I should just shut up and get over it.
Anyway, we've moved it into the office at this point and it is 100% better than the little table that the computer used to be on, so I can't complain too much. As long as the kids never touch it and put tape on it that takes the finish off when I rip it off I think I'll get over it and be okay.
However, here's the funny part of all of this. The other night Charlie was watching Hard Knocks, an HBO show that follows a different NFL football team each season. This season they are showing the Miami Dolphins, Charlie's favorite team. At one point he called me into the room to show me a clip from the show. It was about the Dolphins' new quarterback, who was just drafted and is straight out of college. He was given a $7.5 million signing bonus and is making another $3 million plus this season. So the guy has a lot of money.
In this particular scene he and his gorgeous wife were building their own end table. It probably came in a box similar to the one our desk came in, but much smaller. They couldn't get the drawer to work at all. Charlie looks at me, smiling, and says something about how this guy makes millions of dollars and he builds his own furniture, so why can't we? My response was simple. He's about 22 years old. He's supposed to build his own furniture at 22. I'm 40. I've already been through the years where I build my own furniture. I'm old enough that I've earned the right to buy one already made.
Someday I am going to buy a kick ass desk, I just may have to wait awhile. I can tell you for sure, the next one we buy will not come in a six inch high box.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Kid Quote of the Day
Sarah: Can we have dessert?
Me: No, we're not having dessert tonight.
Sarah: Then I'm never going to give my kids dessert and I'm going to eat it all myself.
Me: No, we're not having dessert tonight.
Sarah: Then I'm never going to give my kids dessert and I'm going to eat it all myself.
Try And Try Again
When it comes to trying something even slightly difficult, my kids are notorious for giving up rather quickly. It's maddening, and I have very little patience for it. What a surprise, me without patience! This weekend I took the girls to the park and Sarah asked me to teach her how to swing by herself. Her cousin, Ella, can do it and since Ella is only five months older than Sarah it kills her that Ella can do something she can't.
She knows how to pump. She's known how to do that for a couple of years. That does not mean she can do it well, it just means she knows to put her feet forward and pull them back and can do it at the right time. Whether she can do it with enough force to actually move herself is another story. I showed her how to stand as far back as possible, jump on the swing as it's moving forward to get some momentum and then exaggerated how to lean forward and back to get the swing going and go high doing it. She tried for about three second, back and forth two or three times, and then gave up and whined because it was too hard. She did this several times, each time only trying for a few moments, before giving up completely and declaring that she would never ever learn how to swing. Probably not with that attitude.
Andy is very similar. He is a smart kid and likes people to think that he is, so he doesn't like to do things that he is not good at or are hard. Well, basically if they are hard then he isn't good at them. He doesn't ride a bike, because he never finished learning. He was about 95% there, but who knows now. It was too tough and didn't make him look very good for not knowing how to do it. There are several other things that we've asked him if he wants to try and he always says no. Too hard, wouldn't be good at it. God forbid you try something you aren't good at!
I've read articles about this (yes, Mom, I do read a few things other than People magazine from time to time) and he is a classic case. Smart kids don't like to do things that they aren't good at because they think people won't think they aren't smart anymore. To fix this problem you are supposed to emphasize how hard they try something, not how well they did it. You are definitely not supposed to tell them how smart they are, instead saying how determined and hard working they are. We've tried that, it doesn't work with our kids.
I'm not really sure where they get it from. Not from Charlie, that's for sure. That guy doesn't know how to half-ass anything and I'm pretty sure tried anything and everything as a kid. It is not in his DNA to give up or believe that he can't accomplish something. I'm not quite that amazing, but I do remember shooting baskets for hours in my driveway trying to get better at basketball (I never did) and don't tend to have a defeatist attitude about trying new things. I'll refrain from doing things because I'm lazy, but not because I'm not willing to try or not good at it.
Now go back a month to the beginning of school. Andy came home and told us he wanted to join the band. We agreed that he could, one of the stipulations being that he had to practice everyday which is good because that lines up with the goals of his teacher as well. We went to instrument night to get a saxophone, his instrument of choice. Do you know how much a saxophone is? Well, when I was in band my mom bought me a flute for around $250. I think they might even still have it. I thought maybe a saxophone would be around there. Not even close, but that was over 20 years ago. We are "renting" one (it's actually rent to own) for $50 a month. We only have 58 months to go before we own it. When I asked if we were getting a new one or a used one the owner told me we were getting a very high quality saxophone. Um, he's nine. I don't want a high quality saxophone, I want a cheap one that still sounds good.
Anyway, let's jump forward to yesterday. Andy was upstairs in his room practicing his saxophone while I was making dinner. He was playing a brand new song - Mary Had A Little Lamb. That makes two songs he knows, the other being Hot Cross Buns. Yes, it does take a lot of patience to listen to him practice. He keeps asking me to sit in his room while he practices, but believe me, you can hear that thing all over the house. So he played Mary Had A Little Lamb over and over and over again and kept making mistakes. He was getting really frustrated because I could hear him grumbling and yelling at himself which is exactly what I would do. Finally, after about 10 minutes, he played it correctly. As soon as he was done he yelled, "YES".
I'm not sure if he kept trying because he was determined to learn it or if he had to practice a certain amount of time anyway or because he didn't want to look stupid in band practice, but I don't really care. I'm just glad that he stuck with it and is discovering that you can take something you don't know how to do and practice and get better. Maybe he is maturing or his dad's DNA is finally kicking in, but I hope there is more to come.
If he could pass some of it onto his sister, that would be pretty cool too.
She knows how to pump. She's known how to do that for a couple of years. That does not mean she can do it well, it just means she knows to put her feet forward and pull them back and can do it at the right time. Whether she can do it with enough force to actually move herself is another story. I showed her how to stand as far back as possible, jump on the swing as it's moving forward to get some momentum and then exaggerated how to lean forward and back to get the swing going and go high doing it. She tried for about three second, back and forth two or three times, and then gave up and whined because it was too hard. She did this several times, each time only trying for a few moments, before giving up completely and declaring that she would never ever learn how to swing. Probably not with that attitude.
Andy is very similar. He is a smart kid and likes people to think that he is, so he doesn't like to do things that he is not good at or are hard. Well, basically if they are hard then he isn't good at them. He doesn't ride a bike, because he never finished learning. He was about 95% there, but who knows now. It was too tough and didn't make him look very good for not knowing how to do it. There are several other things that we've asked him if he wants to try and he always says no. Too hard, wouldn't be good at it. God forbid you try something you aren't good at!
I've read articles about this (yes, Mom, I do read a few things other than People magazine from time to time) and he is a classic case. Smart kids don't like to do things that they aren't good at because they think people won't think they aren't smart anymore. To fix this problem you are supposed to emphasize how hard they try something, not how well they did it. You are definitely not supposed to tell them how smart they are, instead saying how determined and hard working they are. We've tried that, it doesn't work with our kids.
I'm not really sure where they get it from. Not from Charlie, that's for sure. That guy doesn't know how to half-ass anything and I'm pretty sure tried anything and everything as a kid. It is not in his DNA to give up or believe that he can't accomplish something. I'm not quite that amazing, but I do remember shooting baskets for hours in my driveway trying to get better at basketball (I never did) and don't tend to have a defeatist attitude about trying new things. I'll refrain from doing things because I'm lazy, but not because I'm not willing to try or not good at it.
Now go back a month to the beginning of school. Andy came home and told us he wanted to join the band. We agreed that he could, one of the stipulations being that he had to practice everyday which is good because that lines up with the goals of his teacher as well. We went to instrument night to get a saxophone, his instrument of choice. Do you know how much a saxophone is? Well, when I was in band my mom bought me a flute for around $250. I think they might even still have it. I thought maybe a saxophone would be around there. Not even close, but that was over 20 years ago. We are "renting" one (it's actually rent to own) for $50 a month. We only have 58 months to go before we own it. When I asked if we were getting a new one or a used one the owner told me we were getting a very high quality saxophone. Um, he's nine. I don't want a high quality saxophone, I want a cheap one that still sounds good.
Anyway, let's jump forward to yesterday. Andy was upstairs in his room practicing his saxophone while I was making dinner. He was playing a brand new song - Mary Had A Little Lamb. That makes two songs he knows, the other being Hot Cross Buns. Yes, it does take a lot of patience to listen to him practice. He keeps asking me to sit in his room while he practices, but believe me, you can hear that thing all over the house. So he played Mary Had A Little Lamb over and over and over again and kept making mistakes. He was getting really frustrated because I could hear him grumbling and yelling at himself which is exactly what I would do. Finally, after about 10 minutes, he played it correctly. As soon as he was done he yelled, "YES".
I'm not sure if he kept trying because he was determined to learn it or if he had to practice a certain amount of time anyway or because he didn't want to look stupid in band practice, but I don't really care. I'm just glad that he stuck with it and is discovering that you can take something you don't know how to do and practice and get better. Maybe he is maturing or his dad's DNA is finally kicking in, but I hope there is more to come.
If he could pass some of it onto his sister, that would be pretty cool too.
Friday, September 14, 2012
Doctors
One of my biggest fears about moving was leaving Sarah's doctors and her physical therapist. In fact, I was more sad about leaving the therapist than the doctors, because she had been working with Sarah since she was five months old and knew her better than any doctor. She watched Sarah's progress from the very beginning and taught her how to roll over, sit up, crawl, walk, run, ride and bike and everything in between. As for our doctors, we had quite a few and had built up a pretty good rapport with them as well. I was struggling with the thought of getting a new cardiologist, neurologist, neurosurgeon, urologist, gastroenterologist, and pediatrician. Sarah is so tired of telling her story, and I am tired of people not knowing exactly what to do for her. Her urologist used to call her his "mystery patient", which he thought was great because it was a challenge but from the patient's perspective you never want to be a mystery.
I used to tell Charlie that due to all the doctors, we couldn't move unless he was really sure or unless wherever we were moving had fantastic doctors. Luckily, that was the case with Denver. Children's Hospital Colorado, which has a branch right in our town but the main campus is also less than 30 minutes away, is an amazing hospital and ranks higher in every single specialty than the places we were going in Dallas. I think in 2012 it ranked 6th in children's hospital across the country. I didn't know exactly where to start, but Sarah's therapist told me to call the NICU at the hospital and ask them who they would recommend. She is so smart, I really miss her.
I called the NICU, but they referred me to a special branch of the hospital where you tell them what you are looking for in a provider and they recommend someone for you that fits your needs. Awesome. They referred us to a fabulous pediatrician that is minutes from our house, who was able to refer us to several amazing specialists. I was so happy when we left that pediatricians office, she was so receptive to Sarah's needs and really put her at ease.
She sent us to the Rehab department at Children's Colorado where we met an amazing doctor. For the first time ever, I spoke with someone who understood what was going on with Sarah and even asked spot on questions about side effects and symptoms. Nothing I said was a surprise to him and he correctly asked me about things that I had forgotten to tell him. He knew exactly what was going on with her. It was one of those "everything happens for a reason" moments where I realized why we had really come to Colorado.
With every doctor we had seen in the past, they had no idea what was wrong with her or what had happened. Her therapist knew far more than the doctors, who often told us there really wasn't anything they could do for her and insinuated that we should just be happy that she could walk. We saw specialists at Scottish Rite, at Shriners and all over Dallas and Fort Worth. This was the first person in six years that knew exactly what her diagnosis and issues were. Even better, he said that they see about 600 kids from around the country every year with the same problems. They had a weekly Spinal Defect Clinic where all the doctors and specialists come together for about a four hour period and spend time with the kids. That way you don't have to go to multiple appointments with multiple doctors, they all come to you.
Sarah is scheduled for the clinic in November. I am so excited to see how it goes and find out what they recommend. I'm not expecting anything ground breaking, but hoping we can get a better idea of what the possibilities are for the future. In the meantime, she starts physical therapy in a couple of weeks and she's going to get fitted for new braces next week.
On we go!
I used to tell Charlie that due to all the doctors, we couldn't move unless he was really sure or unless wherever we were moving had fantastic doctors. Luckily, that was the case with Denver. Children's Hospital Colorado, which has a branch right in our town but the main campus is also less than 30 minutes away, is an amazing hospital and ranks higher in every single specialty than the places we were going in Dallas. I think in 2012 it ranked 6th in children's hospital across the country. I didn't know exactly where to start, but Sarah's therapist told me to call the NICU at the hospital and ask them who they would recommend. She is so smart, I really miss her.
I called the NICU, but they referred me to a special branch of the hospital where you tell them what you are looking for in a provider and they recommend someone for you that fits your needs. Awesome. They referred us to a fabulous pediatrician that is minutes from our house, who was able to refer us to several amazing specialists. I was so happy when we left that pediatricians office, she was so receptive to Sarah's needs and really put her at ease.
She sent us to the Rehab department at Children's Colorado where we met an amazing doctor. For the first time ever, I spoke with someone who understood what was going on with Sarah and even asked spot on questions about side effects and symptoms. Nothing I said was a surprise to him and he correctly asked me about things that I had forgotten to tell him. He knew exactly what was going on with her. It was one of those "everything happens for a reason" moments where I realized why we had really come to Colorado.
With every doctor we had seen in the past, they had no idea what was wrong with her or what had happened. Her therapist knew far more than the doctors, who often told us there really wasn't anything they could do for her and insinuated that we should just be happy that she could walk. We saw specialists at Scottish Rite, at Shriners and all over Dallas and Fort Worth. This was the first person in six years that knew exactly what her diagnosis and issues were. Even better, he said that they see about 600 kids from around the country every year with the same problems. They had a weekly Spinal Defect Clinic where all the doctors and specialists come together for about a four hour period and spend time with the kids. That way you don't have to go to multiple appointments with multiple doctors, they all come to you.
Sarah is scheduled for the clinic in November. I am so excited to see how it goes and find out what they recommend. I'm not expecting anything ground breaking, but hoping we can get a better idea of what the possibilities are for the future. In the meantime, she starts physical therapy in a couple of weeks and she's going to get fitted for new braces next week.
On we go!
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Rainy Days
I used to love rainy days, especially when the kids were at school. It was an excuse to be casual all day - not wash my hair because it was just going to get messed up anyway, don't wear nice clothes because they were just going to get wet - and put off errands to another day when you weren't going to get soaked as you went from place to place. I could just sit at home by the computer or with a magazine or every once in awhile even a book, and relax while the rain fell outside.
Not so much anymore. In the past the most trying part about a rainy day was getting the kids in and out of the car due to the fact that we never parked in the garage because there was too much junk and kid's toys taking up the parking area. I always got really wet strapping Amanda into her car seat while the rest of them complained about something or other. Yes, there was always complaining, whether it was about not getting to use the umbrella, not getting to use the right umbrella or that their hair got slightly damp while I am getting dumped on outside the car. But that was it, a few struggles in and out of the car and then done.
Now that we live across the street from the school, we have to walk in the rain. I could drive them, but that would make me look bad, plus with around 850 kids at the school the drop-off line on rainy days is ridiculous and I would go even more insane if I was in that line with the kids in the car. Everybody needed their own umbrella, fortunately for some reason we have an overabundance of them(probably because the first one I tried wouldn't open and the second one had holes, yes holes, in it and we never throw anything away), and a rain jacket. Sarah walks slow on a dry day, but on a rainy day it's worse because she can't see where she's going with the umbrella. So she slowly trudged up the hill to the school and I had to keep with her or else she would cry that she was always last and left behind, all the while the back of my sweatshirt was getting soaked.
Amanda stepped in a huge puddle next to the curb, partly because it was unavoidable and partly because she doesn't really know how to jump over it. I don't know when the motor skills for jumping kick in, but she hasn't figured that one out yet. I know three year olds can do it because Max is three weeks older than her and he was jumping back and forth over his dinosaur puzzle this weekend. Oh well, I still say she's ahead of the game.
By the time Amanda and I got back from dropping the older two at school, my jeans were wet about six inches up from the hem and Amanda needed to change her socks and shoes. Then we had to get her off to school so I had to fight rainy day traffic and get a little more wet getting her out of her car seat.
So, yeah, I'm not a fan of rainy days anymore. I'll take them on the weekend any day, then you never even have to get out of your pajamas, but during the week I'll pass.
Not so much anymore. In the past the most trying part about a rainy day was getting the kids in and out of the car due to the fact that we never parked in the garage because there was too much junk and kid's toys taking up the parking area. I always got really wet strapping Amanda into her car seat while the rest of them complained about something or other. Yes, there was always complaining, whether it was about not getting to use the umbrella, not getting to use the right umbrella or that their hair got slightly damp while I am getting dumped on outside the car. But that was it, a few struggles in and out of the car and then done.
Now that we live across the street from the school, we have to walk in the rain. I could drive them, but that would make me look bad, plus with around 850 kids at the school the drop-off line on rainy days is ridiculous and I would go even more insane if I was in that line with the kids in the car. Everybody needed their own umbrella, fortunately for some reason we have an overabundance of them(probably because the first one I tried wouldn't open and the second one had holes, yes holes, in it and we never throw anything away), and a rain jacket. Sarah walks slow on a dry day, but on a rainy day it's worse because she can't see where she's going with the umbrella. So she slowly trudged up the hill to the school and I had to keep with her or else she would cry that she was always last and left behind, all the while the back of my sweatshirt was getting soaked.
Amanda stepped in a huge puddle next to the curb, partly because it was unavoidable and partly because she doesn't really know how to jump over it. I don't know when the motor skills for jumping kick in, but she hasn't figured that one out yet. I know three year olds can do it because Max is three weeks older than her and he was jumping back and forth over his dinosaur puzzle this weekend. Oh well, I still say she's ahead of the game.
By the time Amanda and I got back from dropping the older two at school, my jeans were wet about six inches up from the hem and Amanda needed to change her socks and shoes. Then we had to get her off to school so I had to fight rainy day traffic and get a little more wet getting her out of her car seat.
So, yeah, I'm not a fan of rainy days anymore. I'll take them on the weekend any day, then you never even have to get out of your pajamas, but during the week I'll pass.
Monday, September 10, 2012
Friends
Never underestimate the power of friendship. That is one of the things I've realized after moving. You truly figure out who your friends are and who is just one of those for the moment friendships.
This weekend I took Andy and Sarah back to Dallas to see some of our friends. A couple of weeks ago I was feeling all sad and mushy and nostalgic and missed my friends terribly so when I got an email from Spirit Airlines about their cheap, cheap fares I had to go. Seriously, cheap. Of course they nickel and dime you for everything, but still cheaper than anybody else. And, they sell Cup Noodles on the plane. What other airline does that? Why would an airline do that?
Anyway, the kids had Thursday and Friday off due to teacher evaluations and I signed them up for first thing Thursday morning so they were schedule free after 10 a.m. on Thursday. We woke up unbelievably early on Friday morning and were in our rental car by 11 a.m. We made two quick stops, one of them to buy our favorite pancake mix that we haven't been able to find here and costs about $8 a box via the world wide web. Andy and Sarah told everyone we saw the rest of the weekend if they wanted to visit us they must bring at least one box of Aunt Jemima Whole Wheat Blend pancake mix or they couldn't get in. I'd let them in anyway but frown in disapproval.
From there we had lunch with a bunch of my wonderful mommy friends, dropped by Andy's old school so he could say hi to some friends and teachers and then went to the splash park they built right after we moved and topped it off with the best shaved ice ever. EVER. Andy got to go see Star Wars with his best buddy, Mark, while Sarah and I stayed with Larisa and Natalie (and little Max). We didn't do anything amazing, just sat around and told stories and laughed and laughed. Such good medicine.
The next day I got up and walked eight miles (that's right, have I mentioned I'm walking a 1/2 marathon in November?) and then we went to one of our favorite taco joints to meet up with my hilarious friend, Melanie, and her two kids. Melanie is so much fun you can never, ever, be in a bad mood after hanging out with her, especially when schooners of Shiner are involved.
That afternoon we saw Jim and Sharon and their kids and we just relaxed outside while the kids swam. It was heaven. Then we went back to Larisa's house and had a dance party with the girls while the boys played hours of video games and we laughed some more. Breakfast the next morning with another visit from Melanie and then lunch with my old friend, Bren, and her wonderful hubby and kids. A weekend with all my favorite people.
The kids stayed up way too late both nights and there was a tad too much whining and crying here and there, but overall a wonderful weekend. I would love to do it by myself next time, but then my friends would have to dump their kids too so maybe instead I can entice them into joining me for a weekend away. I don't really care what we do, I just want to make sure I keep up with the people that count, the ones I love most and have shown me that they are going to be my friends for the long haul. You know who you are!
This weekend I took Andy and Sarah back to Dallas to see some of our friends. A couple of weeks ago I was feeling all sad and mushy and nostalgic and missed my friends terribly so when I got an email from Spirit Airlines about their cheap, cheap fares I had to go. Seriously, cheap. Of course they nickel and dime you for everything, but still cheaper than anybody else. And, they sell Cup Noodles on the plane. What other airline does that? Why would an airline do that?
Anyway, the kids had Thursday and Friday off due to teacher evaluations and I signed them up for first thing Thursday morning so they were schedule free after 10 a.m. on Thursday. We woke up unbelievably early on Friday morning and were in our rental car by 11 a.m. We made two quick stops, one of them to buy our favorite pancake mix that we haven't been able to find here and costs about $8 a box via the world wide web. Andy and Sarah told everyone we saw the rest of the weekend if they wanted to visit us they must bring at least one box of Aunt Jemima Whole Wheat Blend pancake mix or they couldn't get in. I'd let them in anyway but frown in disapproval.
From there we had lunch with a bunch of my wonderful mommy friends, dropped by Andy's old school so he could say hi to some friends and teachers and then went to the splash park they built right after we moved and topped it off with the best shaved ice ever. EVER. Andy got to go see Star Wars with his best buddy, Mark, while Sarah and I stayed with Larisa and Natalie (and little Max). We didn't do anything amazing, just sat around and told stories and laughed and laughed. Such good medicine.
The next day I got up and walked eight miles (that's right, have I mentioned I'm walking a 1/2 marathon in November?) and then we went to one of our favorite taco joints to meet up with my hilarious friend, Melanie, and her two kids. Melanie is so much fun you can never, ever, be in a bad mood after hanging out with her, especially when schooners of Shiner are involved.
That afternoon we saw Jim and Sharon and their kids and we just relaxed outside while the kids swam. It was heaven. Then we went back to Larisa's house and had a dance party with the girls while the boys played hours of video games and we laughed some more. Breakfast the next morning with another visit from Melanie and then lunch with my old friend, Bren, and her wonderful hubby and kids. A weekend with all my favorite people.
The kids stayed up way too late both nights and there was a tad too much whining and crying here and there, but overall a wonderful weekend. I would love to do it by myself next time, but then my friends would have to dump their kids too so maybe instead I can entice them into joining me for a weekend away. I don't really care what we do, I just want to make sure I keep up with the people that count, the ones I love most and have shown me that they are going to be my friends for the long haul. You know who you are!
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Picture of the Day
Sarah had Hat Day at school on Wednesday. This is what she picked. I think we may be in trouble in a few years.
Kid Quote of the Day
"It's so dark. I think I want to play monster."
-Amanda, who really looks for any reason to play monster. I mean, who wouldn't?
-Amanda, who really looks for any reason to play monster. I mean, who wouldn't?
Addendum
When I went to pick up Amanda from school today I found out that this week's letter of the week is W, not L. She said it with such conviction when I asked the other day I thought for sure she knew what she was talking about. Looks like it may not be as easy as I thought.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Picture of the Day
First day of school pictures. These were the best I could get from someone who did not want to go to school this morning.
First Day Take 2
Today was Amanda's first day of school. Well, first day of one of her schools. Yep, that's how we're rolling around here this year, Amanda gets two schools. I was looking forever for a Spanish immersion preschool like she had last year. I found one that was just starting up and she was the very first student to enroll, I wasn't playing around. They only need three for a class. Three. They got two more but one dropped out, so back and forth I went with the director of the school as to whether or not they were going to have a class.
I almost dropped the whole thing entirely, but we really want her to get some Spanish so I stuck with it. Last week I spoke to the director again and she said we can do one month with two students and if we get another, which she is so, so sure will happen (ahem, ahem) then we will continue. Otherwise, it will be one and done. I don't want to start the whole preschool search over and have her miss even more school, so Charlie and I decided she would do the Spanish school on M/W/F and another preschool on T/Th, just in case. If Spanish prevails that's great, if not then she will at least have one school. It sounds like a lot but both school are only half-day, which is stupid and ridiculous anyway, so she's at the Spanish one three hours a day the other one 2.5 hours a day. I'll spend more time in the car driving back and forth than she will at the school. Well, not exactly, but you know what I mean.
Anyway, today was the first day at the non-Spanish school. She did not want to go because she really wanted to watch Doc McStuffins (I would not make this up) and she wanted to walk to her school the same way Sarah (and Andy, although she didn't mention him) do. The entire drive there she cried that she wanted to walk, even though it's a ten minute drive from the house. In fact, after I picked her up she whined about that same thing for about another ten minutes. I'm convinced both girls were having a long weekend hangover this morning and were feeling no love for me at all. Days like this make me really dislike being a mom.
I dropped off a crying Amanda, went to the grocery store and then went home. I would have stayed out longer and run more errands except my cell phone is not functioning properly after I jumped into a swimming pool this weekend with my clothes on and my phone in my pocket to save Amanda who ended up not really needing to be saved but was instead just very distressed that Andy and Sarah weren't playing near her. Yes, my wonderfulness just keeps going on and on. No worries though, I had insurance on said phone and will have a newer, better one delivered to my door for a crazy-but-not-as-crazy-as-the-cost-of-a-new-phone co-pay tomorrow.
As I was putting away the last of the groceries the phone rang. It was the school. Crap. Nope, actually a good thing. They were just calling to tell me that Amanda was doing wonderfully, even better than they would have hoped for her first day, and had stopped crying minutes after I left (of course, they always do that). I had nothing to worry about and could enjoy my remaining 15 minutes before I had to come pick her up. Okay, I had a little more time.
It's nice to know that she likes the school and is well adjusted and happy. I knew she could do it all along. The best part is that I asked her if they learned any letters today. She said yes, one. The letter L. There's a good chance that kid will actually know the alphabet by the end of the school year. That would be amazing!
I almost dropped the whole thing entirely, but we really want her to get some Spanish so I stuck with it. Last week I spoke to the director again and she said we can do one month with two students and if we get another, which she is so, so sure will happen (ahem, ahem) then we will continue. Otherwise, it will be one and done. I don't want to start the whole preschool search over and have her miss even more school, so Charlie and I decided she would do the Spanish school on M/W/F and another preschool on T/Th, just in case. If Spanish prevails that's great, if not then she will at least have one school. It sounds like a lot but both school are only half-day, which is stupid and ridiculous anyway, so she's at the Spanish one three hours a day the other one 2.5 hours a day. I'll spend more time in the car driving back and forth than she will at the school. Well, not exactly, but you know what I mean.
Anyway, today was the first day at the non-Spanish school. She did not want to go because she really wanted to watch Doc McStuffins (I would not make this up) and she wanted to walk to her school the same way Sarah (and Andy, although she didn't mention him) do. The entire drive there she cried that she wanted to walk, even though it's a ten minute drive from the house. In fact, after I picked her up she whined about that same thing for about another ten minutes. I'm convinced both girls were having a long weekend hangover this morning and were feeling no love for me at all. Days like this make me really dislike being a mom.
I dropped off a crying Amanda, went to the grocery store and then went home. I would have stayed out longer and run more errands except my cell phone is not functioning properly after I jumped into a swimming pool this weekend with my clothes on and my phone in my pocket to save Amanda who ended up not really needing to be saved but was instead just very distressed that Andy and Sarah weren't playing near her. Yes, my wonderfulness just keeps going on and on. No worries though, I had insurance on said phone and will have a newer, better one delivered to my door for a crazy-but-not-as-crazy-as-the-cost-of-a-new-phone co-pay tomorrow.
As I was putting away the last of the groceries the phone rang. It was the school. Crap. Nope, actually a good thing. They were just calling to tell me that Amanda was doing wonderfully, even better than they would have hoped for her first day, and had stopped crying minutes after I left (of course, they always do that). I had nothing to worry about and could enjoy my remaining 15 minutes before I had to come pick her up. Okay, I had a little more time.
It's nice to know that she likes the school and is well adjusted and happy. I knew she could do it all along. The best part is that I asked her if they learned any letters today. She said yes, one. The letter L. There's a good chance that kid will actually know the alphabet by the end of the school year. That would be amazing!
Friday, August 31, 2012
Kid Quote of the Day
Sarah: Mommy, can you hand me my water?
Me: Where is it?
Sarah: It's on the floor next to the girl's head.
That would be the top of a toy box that I thought was really cool but the kids are all afraid of it.
Me: Where is it?
Sarah: It's on the floor next to the girl's head.
That would be the top of a toy box that I thought was really cool but the kids are all afraid of it.
Holes
When we were getting the Texas house ready to sell one of the things we did to make it look better was add knobs and drawer pulls to the kitchen cabinets. I think at one point Charlie had asked me if we needed them and I just kind of answered, "eh", so we had never really pursued it before that. But adding hardware to the kitchen made it look so much better I was amazed.
So when we moved into this house and found that there weren't any knobs or drawer pulls anywhere in the entire house, this time I decided that we would put them on sooner than later. I am going to make the house look nice for me instead of the people who we eventually sell it to or in other words make the house show ready now instead of worrying about it later. Don't worry, we are not moving again any time soon (or not that I know of).
I bought all of the hardware at Target. They have a very small but very good selection of handles and knobs and they are much cheaper than Lowe's or Home Depot. In fact, when I was checking out the cashier was really impressed and surprised that they even sold something that looked that nice. I guess not that many people buy them if she had never seen them before, but that's one of those great things about Target - you can always find something that's a little nicer than you expect.
I was sort of waiting for the right time to put them on but finally got sick of waiting and tired of slamming my fingers in the drawers and this week did almost the entire house. Charlie walked into the office last night and asked if I was going to change out the knobs that were already on one of our crumby dressers (which I should because it would make it look so much nicer), but I told him I wasn't putting any knobs where I didn't make the holes myself.
I was empowered with the drill and once I started I couldn't stop. When we did it at the old house I hired a handyman to do the kitchen. But I didn't realize that you can buy little plastic templates at Home Depot and they are really cheap and it is super easy to do as long as you have a drill. I watched the handyman do it the first time and was all "I can do that!". My dad helped out in the old house, but he isn't come to visit for a couple of months so I did it all myself. It was awesome. I only messed up one drawer where I put the hole a little too far to one side and had to play with it for awhile, otherwise it was a piece of cake. I did the entire kitchen in less than two hours.
I'm telling you, this place is coming together!
BEFORE:
So when we moved into this house and found that there weren't any knobs or drawer pulls anywhere in the entire house, this time I decided that we would put them on sooner than later. I am going to make the house look nice for me instead of the people who we eventually sell it to or in other words make the house show ready now instead of worrying about it later. Don't worry, we are not moving again any time soon (or not that I know of).
I bought all of the hardware at Target. They have a very small but very good selection of handles and knobs and they are much cheaper than Lowe's or Home Depot. In fact, when I was checking out the cashier was really impressed and surprised that they even sold something that looked that nice. I guess not that many people buy them if she had never seen them before, but that's one of those great things about Target - you can always find something that's a little nicer than you expect.
I was sort of waiting for the right time to put them on but finally got sick of waiting and tired of slamming my fingers in the drawers and this week did almost the entire house. Charlie walked into the office last night and asked if I was going to change out the knobs that were already on one of our crumby dressers (which I should because it would make it look so much nicer), but I told him I wasn't putting any knobs where I didn't make the holes myself.
I was empowered with the drill and once I started I couldn't stop. When we did it at the old house I hired a handyman to do the kitchen. But I didn't realize that you can buy little plastic templates at Home Depot and they are really cheap and it is super easy to do as long as you have a drill. I watched the handyman do it the first time and was all "I can do that!". My dad helped out in the old house, but he isn't come to visit for a couple of months so I did it all myself. It was awesome. I only messed up one drawer where I put the hole a little too far to one side and had to play with it for awhile, otherwise it was a piece of cake. I did the entire kitchen in less than two hours.
I'm telling you, this place is coming together!
BEFORE:
AFTER:
BEFORE:
AFTER:
BEFORE:
AFTER:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)