I am out from a run. Head home and into the kitchen to see the kids. I have a few layers on because I am always cold. M wants to play go fish so I take off one of the layers now that I am really sweating. M: I don't like your hotness. Me: Well sorry but I was out for a run, not much I can do. T: (Opportunity to be nice when someone was just mean as always) Mommy I like your hotness! (And proceeds to give me a huge hug) Translation of hotness - fresh sweat smell.
Weekend morning:
T rolls into my room as I lay in bed after I told her to go to the potty trying to get 5 additional minutes of sleep.
T: 'This was in my potty!'
I though oh god she has poop! But then it dropped on the ground, made a noise, and rolled around. Then I am thinking it is a random toy.
Me: 'Okay give it to me and then go use the potty.'
She gives it to me. I look at it, not sure what it is though it doesn't smell and it is hard. I bring it up to my nose, and yes it is poop.
Nothing like a personal delivery of poop directly to your bed to get you up in the morning.
Some times you have a long day and it is pictures like this that remind me why I am working so hard.
I have spent some time at the soccer field expecting my son to kick a ball and run around. He sat on the sidelines eating the orange slices and distracting the rest of the kids.
I was the last parent in the pool during swim lessons because he was the only one that wouldn't let his parent exit the pool.
I spent many a days at daycare and school peeling him off of me and going to work with dried buggers and snot on my work clothes and sometimes slightly running mascara from leaving him.
There are a million other examples of my shy and clingy child. There are also a billion other examples of pride and love that I have felt toward him. So this might be a small reward but it filled me with such pride and joy to see his face when he talked about it and showed me his pride.
The 'award'. M brought this home with him. He received the most stickers in one month for being a good listener and a good helper at school. 
The picture of the guy with his 2 cent prize. All of the only parent participating and snot melted away and I wanted to yell 'HA!' my kid did that! Yes a bit selfish but it felt good.
Saturday night:
T comes out of her bedroom, door slams. Walking upstairs. Door slams again. I head upstairs to see what is going on. She is back in bed so I start to clean a few things up. Then the door opens again. T is standing in the doorway with a bag of pretzels. T hands over the bag.
Sunday morning:
The bag of pretzels is on the counter. T walks by and taps it, looks at me and says:
'Mommy put these up high please because I want to eat them.'
Some background - things that they like and eat when they are not supposed to go up on high shelves. I thought that was pretty funny. Please take it away from me because I can't control myself!
We got the kids colored pencils for Christmas. M wasn't doing much drawing or writing any letters and T was a little behind in fine motor skills. Colored pencils were recommended more than crayons and markers for these areas. So each kid received a box in their stocking.
I was very happy/proud when I started to see letters spelling M's name different places:
Then the little one took colored pencils into a timeout. That is a picture of the wall next to the stairs and the actual damage is much large than this picture. Pride was not the word I was feeling:
M and I are in the car. He is telling me about how he made a bed on the floor because his bed isn't comfortable.
M: My bed isn't comfortable so I made a new one on the floor.
Me: Is it too small?
M: No. The one on the floor is even smaller.
Me: Okay. When we move I was thinking we could get you a new bed. And you could help pick it out.
M: Yeah! Can we get a new couch too?
Me: Maybe, I hadn't really thought about it. Why?
M: So we can jump on it.
Me: Jump on it? You can't do that.
M: Well M2 said that we could jump on his house when he moved into his new house so I want to do that too.
It all makes sense when you have the right context.
We tried soccer.
M: Yes I want to do Soccer!
Reality - We get to the soccer field, he spends his time on the team blanket distracting other kids. Kids leave the soccer field, he is out there on the field playing. At the end of the season he actually played a little but with one kid. I guess I should call that a success.
Me: Don't you like soccer?
M: Yes.
Me: So why don't you go out on the soccer field to play.
M: I want to play soccer but not with other kids.
Well that is going to work well!
He likes basketball but again - doesn't want to play with other kids.
I am thinking what can you do that involved other kids directly but isn't quite a team sport at the age of 4? Golf - I would love to have the next Tiger Woods (golf-wise that is) but I think golf might be a bit much. Swimming - we do that but he often throws up in the pool because he drank too much water. Tennis - maybe a little later. So the kid is low on confidence, doesn't socialize well, and needs an activity because the little people are getting crazy in the house all weekend with this weather.
Someone suggests karate. I email his best friend's mom asking what they think about it because I know M is more likely to participate with M there (I will call him M2 because they have the same initials) and they kind of have the same personality and they have had the same luck with M2 and activities. They are in. Now where to go. My girlfriend lives by them, her son goes to karate, they love the place, it is a 25 minute drive or so for me but we do it.
First day or karate:
We have a tour of the place and they get an individual evaluation to make sure they are placed in the right class. It goes well. They the sensei asks them some questions and lays out some rules. When to use karate, when not to use karate, how you should be a good listener her, you should look people in the eyes when they are talking to you, etc., etc. This is great! The boys where really good and they 'earned' their first belt. Now if only I could actually follow some of these rules.
Sensei: You don't just hit people at home and use karate on them. What would happen if you hit your Mom?
M: You get a timeout.
Me: In the background, I start to giggle a little and turn red. Not bad though I don't think they encourage giggling at the dojo.
Sensei: One time that you want to use karate is if a stranger comes up to and trying to get you into a car. (My mind is thinking this is great! Good life lesson!) Do you know what a stranger is?
M: Pause.....A Witch!
M2: Someone you don't know.
Me: In the background. I still haven't recovered from giggling from the other questions and now I lose it! I start laughing. Start to control things and then M2's Dad starts laughing. Well I am now crying!
M2's Dad and I decided to sign up for it because they kids did a great job in the individual evaluation. There was some crying when they went to the first class but I think they will get over it. M is showing me his straddle stance and we have to work on another one this week. I am hoping to have a stronger and more confident 4 year old after this experience. Now there is also an adult class at 9 AM on Saturday that I could take. Though I don't think they would appreciate the giggling. :)
Here is a little karate meets Star Wars at the play date after karate!
I know I can't. I have read a lot of articles on the subject of parenting becoming their kids best friends, being totally supportive of everything, and always being there to pick them up before they can even start crying. I can say I do this and I see a lot of it going on around me. I am going to make a point of letting my kids play by themselves, fall down and figure out how much it actually hurts, and let them experience some failure. It is a lot better to have this happen now instead of at a job interview. Here is an interesting article on the subject.
Article
Well I can tell you that mine is!
We arrive home from a play date around 9 PM. So yes the kids are exhausted and probably a little tired as well so a little crying and whining is expected. T never really wakes up so she is shuttled upstairs. M wakes up and starts to walk in. He makes it in the front door and then refuses to walk up to the second floor. A is carrying a ton of stuff and M is demanding to be carried. A says I will carry you if you go up to the 4th stair, M refuses and throws a huge fit. A comes upstairs and we watch a little TV. M starts yelling that he has to go to the bathroom. Time goes by. M comes up the stairs to use the potty. As he is getting off A goes in to say okay now that you are upstairs I will take you up. Before his pants are even up he starts screaming NO NO NO!!!! He sprints out of the bathroom and somehow goes back down the stairs and gets his pants up without killing himself on the stairs and goes back down to the bottom of the stairs again. Another screaming fit....Then A goes down and offers a compromise of 2 stairs instead of 4. Now keep in mind that he is already on the 1st stair. And what happens? Another fit. Then A comes back up stairs.
It was a true battle of wills! Honestly I thought I was going to die laughing when he came out of the bathroom with his pants down screaming no. I think he got the stubborn from both sides in a big way. God help us all!
I think that is a constant question that everyone faces. How many cookbooks, cooking shows, etc. exist just to answer that question. I find it hard. I work full-time and I have two small kids. That doesn't give me much time. I am exhausted and starting, they are exhausted and starving and no one is going to wait more than 5-10 minutes for dinner once we walk in the door. I actually really like cooking though at times it is yet another thing that is exhausting and hanging over your head. But when you do it, it is so good and I find it makes people happy. But you have an awesome week of food shopping, food prep, and then a week of good nutritious meals and not buying quick bad food for lunch at work and it is then followed my a horrible one. Why? Because you didn't make it to the store, you made it to the store but then you are too exhausted to make it, or sometimes honestly cereal is just good stuff!
In September I finally joined a CSA. A CSA is Community Supported Agriculture. I am definitely not early to this bandwagon but my husband still calls me super 'green' because of things like this. I decided I would start with a fall share because I generally like these vegetables so I thought there would less waste, there would be fruit, and I also signed up for eggs. I pick up each Tuesday evening for 9 weeks. I am three weeks in. I couldn't do one week because we were out of town so I gave it to a friend. So far so good. There are some leafy greens that I can't get through but luckily I found a guy at work that loves them so I just give it to him. You have no control over what you get and honestly I don't know what some of it is. But I have gotten my groove back as far as cooking is concerned. The summer was all about grilling - loved it! Barely any prep, I don't do the actual cooking, and there isn't as much clean-up because the grill is your skillet. So we are past that and now it is time for slow cookers, casseroles, and soup.
So Tuesday comes and pick everything up. Then Wednesday is figure out what the hell you are going to do with this before it goes bad - and BTW - it is organic and from a local farm so you have 2-3 days and you have already lost a day. I try to do what I can but I have found that it is better to at least cook it and then freeze it - so now my freezer is full. Or you can also double the recipe to get through the produce and put the second casserole dish in the freezer to have a little later. Result - a very full freezer! But it is nice. We are trying new things, supporting the local farmers, and I have to say eating pretty well. They have a winter share as well and I think I might sign up.
Here are a few things that I have cooked and the family was happy:
Apple and Pear Crisp
Sausage and Eggplant Stuffed Shells
Dumpling Soup
Butternut Squash Soup
Maybe I am turning a little green but cooking with local, in-season produce actually saves you money. And it is healthy for your family. Hopefully this helps you with your meals this week. Enjoy!
I read this book years ago before I had kids and I thought it was hilarious! I especially loved one piece when she goes to work to give a presentation, most of her co-workers are male, and she is very happy that everyone really seemed to be paying attention and was very interested in her presentation. Well it turns out she had a sheer light colored blouse on with a bright red bra that you could see right through the shirt.
Fast forward to me this morning:
It is Monday morning. It was a good weekend - the weather was nice, we had soccer game, I got my hair cut, colored, and done, we had an adult only party on Saturday night, Sunday we went to the park and watched the football game while a few people cam over to help us eat some of the leftovers. And I was finishing up the sangria around 7 PM which was quite good the second day.
I am up on time instead of 20-25 minutes late, T has slept pretty well though not great, and I am excited to go into work with my professionally straight hair. I catch the earlier train, it is packed but I have some personal space standing and I start to read the paper. A woman behind me taps my purse and the only thing that I can understand is 'open'. My purse is a little open so I say thank you and turn back around and continue reading. Fast forward a few stops and another woman says your skirt is open. So the open a few stops back is making a little more sense now.
I embarrass very easily and I also turn very red very easily as well. The combo of these at times are even more embarrassing. Maybe it was the fact that I was on the subway and not at work (I would have been horrified at work) or the fact that I was just too tired to care. So I simply let the people get off on the stop, zip my skirt up, and sit down in the open seats.
Honestly it was pretty bad. I guess at least I had underwear on though it wasn't covering much. I guess it gave all of those people something to talk about when they got to work on a Monday morning. I just hope they don't remember this too long considering that I ride the same train almost every morning with pretty much the same people.
M has moved to a new school for pre-K. I wish I could tell you that I have these really cute photos but they just wear a t-shirt and blue sweatpants. I ordered the correct t-shirts late so we don't have those. And really he has been going to daycare since he was 10 weeks old so it isn't like this is the first time he is going off. Though I have to say that the amount of tears, crying, snot, screaming, etc. that we have had this week would make you think that he has never gone to school before. It has been a very hard and long week. One of those weeks that makes you question your choices that you have made as a parent for your child. He needed to move on from where he was, I know that, but now I am questioning if this was the correct move. But then I think what was our other option, nothing because we were on the waiting list for every other school we applied for. My fingers are crossed that it improves over the next couple of weeks because there is only so long that this can go on before it breaks me. I am definitely already cracked but all it would take is one good day to wipe out all of those other bad days. So here is to hoping for that good day - we could all use it!
We have all survived our first vacation that was truly all about the kids. Yes we have been on vacation with them before but they were always places that you would go even if you didn't have kids. Storyland and Santa's Village is not a place that you go if you don't have kids. I have to say that I wasn't that excited for the weekend. The drive up with tons of traffic and construction didn't really set the mood either. But we go up there, checked in, and T woke up at 5 AM the next morning to experience it all! We had a great time, we went on rides, ate some bad food, went swimming, and T even got a fat lip in a fall that I thought was going to result in a trip to the ER. But it didn't and she recovered quickly. The kids are already talking about the trip next year.
Me: If you sit on the potty and poop or pee you can have a treat.
T: Okay. She sits down. One second later...
T: No poop, treat?
Me: No you have to poop or pee.
Then the above happens about 10 times with no poop or pee.
I start to upload pictures to the computer.
T: I tooted. (She is now in the corner of the room)
Me: Okay great.
I look in that general direction. There is a puddle of pee.
Me: T you are supposed to do that on the potty!
T: Oh my goodness!
She says this while looking at the pee like how did that get there?!
Summer has finally arrived. We head to the park with the sprinklers after school and work. At first no one would go in but as you can see that didn't last very long. I just need to remember to bring a change of clothes!
No T hasn't gone all bizzarro Benjamin Button. D turned 5 this month so if you multiply that by 7 that makes us both 35. D has really gotten the short end of the stick since the two small people have come into existence. She really is my original baby and she has been through a lot. I was looking at puppies online for awhile and they were all gone. Then suddenly one reappeared. I took it as a sign. I emailed the woman and drove probably almost 3 hours to go see this little puppy. Well she wasn't very interested in me, she was more interested in food and the other dogs. And her name was Stella - I kept thinking of Seinfeld. So was returned because the woman thought she had spinal bifida which is pretty serious. I was nervous about getting a dog that could have that though something like that should be totally obvious and this dog was running all over the place so I took a chance. And I had already driven 3 hours and I had another 3 ahead of me, now with sleet, so I threw her in the backseat and started my drive home. About 10 minutes in she was in the front seat and after 20 she was in my lap. I brought her into the house and put her on the ground in the kitchen as a surprise for Andy and I believe his reaction was 'What the hell is that!?'. I think he thought she was a rat.
Poor D has been through a lot. She was about 3 days from being fixed and she got her period - that wasn't fun for anyone. After having her about a month I got pregnant so I was tired and not much fun. Then we went on our final vacation, the 'babymoon', and had some very serious issues with the construction of our house. This resulted in the use of an aerobed for my entire second trimester. D was right there. She slept with her head between our pillows and snored all night. She has had 4 major surgeries - eyes, being fixed, and two knees. She is just coming out of her second knee. She is definitely no longer the same dog. She is scared of a lot of things and at times I honestly think she is depressed. Plus she has had to deal with LOTS of construction which honestly I think has made her hate blue collar workers - she can pick them out on the street. It is odd.
D was a very good prep for kids. I discovered that there really isn't anything on at 7 AM or 8 AM on Sunday mornings. I started to watch a lot of ESPN. Somehow I could tolerate Sports Center a lot more exciting than infomercials. I thought Outside the Lines was on super early! Little did I know that about a year or so later it would seem like I was up for hours by the time it came on instead of the first thing I watched.
Hopefully her next 5 years is a little smoother than the first 5. I am hoping for no more surgery and like the surgeon said, she doesn't have any more knees so that is good news. I sure hope so!
M & I are in the ladies room at the beach:
M: One of my poops looks like a turtle.
Me: There is a turtle in the toilet? ( I didn't catch the info on the first round)
M: No! One of my poops look like a turtle!
Me: Oh great, make sure you flush the toilet.
Woman walks into the bathroom.
M: There is red in it. Do you think that is a strawberry?
Me: Could be. How about you wipe and flush.
M: I think there is some yellow in it as well, it could be corn.
Me:Hoping the woman doesn't realize what he is talking about. So I saw 'Sorry about that'.
Woman: Don't worry we are at the beach with young kids as well. And then she walks out.
At least that is better than last year when M wasn't toilet trained, we didn't have any swim diapers, and he let one go in a very wet and sandy. I will leave that to your imagination but I can tell you that is seared in my memory and we still talk about it.
Back in February we got a second computer from H and it sat in the back of the car for awhile. Then it made it into the house and sat in A's office for awhile. I found a table, chair, and stool on craigslist and that was finally the catalyst to get it out of the box. I put the desk and chair together while A put the computer together. Software was ordered and M was using it a few days later to work on his letters and numbers. Hopefully this helps us turn the corner when it comes to letters and such. I know the computer is going to eventually be a fight but right now I think it is a better option compared to cartoons.
This year at school instead of doing the regular photos where you dress your kids up you had the option of letting them pick out a costume and dress up that way. I went with the costume option. This is the first year M has smiled and as you can see T is following in her big brother's foot steps.
The sad one:
And one was finally happy:
Here are the rest of the photos:
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