tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42835062436910402382024-02-19T09:58:16.468-06:00One Boy, One Girl, One BlogOne Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15509473226183430391noreply@blogger.comBlogger354125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4283506243691040238.post-44810093104996273852017-10-29T01:14:00.002-05:002017-10-29T01:14:43.784-05:00School and conferences and winter, oh my!<div style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">This year has been weird. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Last year was a big adjustment for Katie. She moved into the middle school and there was drama and there were tears. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">This year it occurred to me, as she opened up her locker like a pro during the open house we went to on the second day of school, how much one year changed her. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Last year she had a hard time getting around to her classes and getting her locker to open... she was doing okay, but it was tough.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">This year she's just more confident; she speaks up for herself, she's taking care of her homework (mostly)... she's just really matured. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">We had conferences recently and her teachers were so complimentary. They all mentioned that they like having her in class (one teacher even said she was a pleasure to have in class, which is awesome to hear) and that she's working hard. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">There's only one class where she's got to work on something and it's gym class. </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">She doesn't change into her uniform. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Now, I want to support the gym teacher and make sure Katie knows that it's important to be prepared, so we talked about making sure she changes into her uniform every class and explained how important it is. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I'm saying all of the parent-y things I should say, but</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> inside? I'm like whoa... my kid is going to gym class AND she's participating in gym related activities??? </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">She's already putting more into the class than I ever did just by showing up on time and doing the thing the teacher asks! (</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I hated gym and I think my gym class participation may have ended with learning line dancing in middle school. The fact that participation usually involved exertion, which usually meant sweating didn't help though.)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">She PARTICIPATES, and that means doing sprints and RUNNING! Which kind of blows my mind.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I don't even care if she ever comes in on time with whatever tests are used to measure physical fitness, I'm just so impressed she makes the effort!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Plus, she's a smart, sweet, kind kid. And that's awesome.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Jacob is doing great too. He'll have homework and he'll guesstimate how long it will take, and he'll tell me it will take 3 minutes (or something really quick). And he'll get it done! He's soooo smart. He's smart in math and with reading.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">And he's</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> got two really good friends that live close and he loves to have them over for play dates and sleepovers. They play Terraria and Minecraft for as long as they're allowed and only go to bed when I make them shut things down! </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">He includes Jack too, and that makes me so happy. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Jack is learning a lot too, but I think he has a short attention span which makes it hard for him to sit still. He's also having a hard time keeping his hands to himself. (*He's* pretty tough but other kids may not want to play like they're professional wrestlers or boxers and he's got to tone it down.) </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">He's getting better but it's something he needs lots of reminders about. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The school is great; they have a program kids join when they have a hard time paying attention AND/OR keeping hands to themselves. They also have groups for kids and the groups meet to talk about friendship or parents who are divorced and there are a few other groups, too. I'm so thankful they support students and parents. </span></div>
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That said, school conferences are coming up... I usually kind of hold my breath till their teachers get through the first part of the feedback sandwich (you know, say something nice then talk about the negative thing and then say something nice so no one leaves feeling totally awful). </div>
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It's okay if you just lay it out for me. I already know my kids, and if you tell me that Jackson's a sweet kid but he makes you crazy most every day, I'll probably say "I hear ya." Because I totally get it.</div>
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And Jacob is pretty much always doing well in class and following the rules, but if he doesn't see the logic in what he's being asked to do, he'll ask why. And if he still doesn't think it makes sense, he'll ask why again. He wants to understand and, I think, he's weighing the pros and cons of doing the thing the teacher wants him to do with how it lines up with what he thinks is okay. </div>
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For example, last year he wore his winter coat, WITH the hood on, all day in class. </div>
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The teacher would ask him to take his coat off and he would. For a minute. And then he'd put it back on. </div>
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I asked him what was up and he told me, with a really disgusted tone, that kids cough and sneeze and don't cover their mouths. I wanted to laugh because he sounded like a grumpy old man, but he was really bothered by it. </div>
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He felt like his coat protected him from their germs. </div>
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We ended at an agreeable impasse. The teacher looked the other way going forward, and he didn't have to disobey requests to remove his coat.</div>
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So, hopefully we have some good news at conferences. </div>
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That's about all I'll write about tonight! It's super late and I'm not going to edit this like I normally would... I think I'll just post what I've got and head to bed. </div>
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Oh! I'm hoping to sleep really well again tonight! I actually slept so well LAST night that I woke up and had a panicked feeling... the same type of panic I felt when a kid started sleeping through the night... I'd wake up in the morning feeling rested and then realize it's because I actually SLEPT the night before instead of getting up three or four times with the baby, and then I'd jump out of bed to check on the (at the time) baby to be sure they were okay!</div>
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This morning I woke up after a really good, deep sleep and felt panicked, but it was short lived (whew) because I could hear Katie and Jacob talking in the living room. So I went back to sleep!</div>
One Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15509473226183430391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4283506243691040238.post-63175767071449424822016-08-02T22:56:00.001-05:002016-08-02T23:01:49.589-05:00Good Morning(s)So this happened and I laughed.<br />
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Jacob brought his shoes into his room tonight. He never has before so, it was weird but I was busy and didn't ask what was up. Jackson came and got his shoes and brought them into his room too.<br />
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I just went to check on the boys and saw Jacobs shoes and full outfit laying on the floor... and Jackson's too! Literally, right in the middle of the room, on the floor.<br />
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Jackson looks up to his big brother and likes to do what he does and, if any of my kids has an outfit laid out and ready for morning, it would definitely be Jacob.<br />
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This kid is up every morning at 6:50 (he gets up when his alarm goes off and he WANTS to get up before everyone else!!!), he gets dressed and brushes his teeth, has his allergy medicine, then plays on the computer till its time to leave. He is very focused on getting through his morning routine so he can do what he wants. He's the kid I don't get much complaint from when it's time for chores!<br />
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Jackson gets up at the <u>last</u> <u>possible</u> <u>minute</u>, you know, once he can sense there's no more dragging it out and I'm getting ready to give him a consequence.<br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">He often tells me he just doesn't want to get up, he wants to stay in bed, to which I reply (dryly) "you and me both, kiddo." (I don't know if he really thinks that my favorite thing on a weekday morning is to be fully upright and getting ready to leave the house. If so, he would be wrong. So, so wrong.)</span><br />
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He gets ready slooooooowly and I have to stick with him because I might *think* he's getting dressed when he's actually crawled back into bed and is cozy under his covers. I have definitely learned that I have to stick with him until it's time to actually walk out the door. I could think he's in the way out, he'd start walking TOWARDS the door, and then veer off to the side and head back to his room!<br />
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Also? When he finally gets dressed, he might be wearing pajamas, or he might be wearing three shirts (but he's dressed so really I only interfere if it's a weather issue or a safety thing)!<br />
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Katie's in between. She's not up and ready super fast, but at least with her, I know that once she's up she'll STAY up!<br />
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She sets her alarm and she's pretty good, generally speaking, at getting up when it goes off. Recently anyway. Now that she wants to move her room downstairs. Which I'm fine with. I just sooooooo don't want to have to run down the stairs every 5 minutes *in the morning* to tell her to get up... and then make sure she's up!<br />
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As of a couple of weeks ago, I'd have had to shout out to her to get up and turn her alarm OFF, that thing is so loud and she wouldn't wake up at ALL (and it was waking me up... I just want just 5 more minutes of sleep before I have to coax Jackson out of bed)! But lately, once her alarm goes off, she gets up and is pretty good at getting ready. I mean, sometimes I see her staring into her closet for a while, but I do the same thing and, once she's got things sorted, she's ready to go. <br />
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I'm so lucky the kids are how they are. I mean, I could use a little more cooperation from Jackson (but in the spirit of full disclosure, I'm not rushing to get him up... And in fact I *might* lie down with him to snuggle for oh, maybe 15 extra minutes in the morning...) but overall, I'm so thankful they are as good as they are every morning!<br />
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School starts soon. Not much change with the wake up and bed times from our usual schedule, since the kids are in day care and are used to the time. But it's that time of year for school supply shopping! (I am not excited, but I hope to do this early enough this year so I have options and can find good prices on stuff. Like 120 pencils. Sharpened. đ±)<br />
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Happy school supply hunting!One Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15509473226183430391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4283506243691040238.post-75314285410332581092016-07-21T23:09:00.000-05:002016-07-21T23:09:56.667-05:00At least 32% easier...<div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">So it's been a while. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">In the time I've been away (and this post might not mark my return to blogging; it's actually a Facebook post that got so extremely long that I thought, "Hmmmmm, this is way too long. Anyone who reads this is going to go cross eyed if I put it here... Wait!... Where's that blog again?")...</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Ahem... Starting over...</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">In the time I've been away... </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I've gotten a divorce (but have a great texting relationship with the kids' dad and they see him every other weekend), gotten a new job (same place I had been working, just in a new area), and have been trying to let my kids be more independent and make choices for themselves (while giving the full disclaimer that those choices come with consequences, so make good ones). </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Things in the last year or two could have been so difficult for me with bills and house stuff and kid stuff and work stuff, but I have a great family, and parents especially, who have been there for me in good and bad times. Parents who got involved, came to school events, went with me and the kids to fun activities where three kids and one mom would have been challenging, and so much more. I couldn't have asked for a better support. (They DO live with me, so they were already around for some of it, but they chose to take on more just to help me.)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">So now, looking back on where I was to where I am now, I just have to say, things with life and with the kids are so much easier (or at least 32% easier) than they were just a year ago. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Katie... She's 10 now and is such a good helper... she'll read to her brothers or play a video game or computer game with them and I can hear her talking with such patience and kindness (she helps with chores that aren't hers, too, like the clear table chore Jacob drew tonight). She is "obsessed with the color blue" (like a minty teal blue) right now, and is so excited to move her room downstairs... her room will be teal blue and grey. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">She's also been showing a very mature side... I got a call from Katie at day care a couple of weeks ago asking me to pick her up early because there was bullying going on at the day care. The teachers took care of it, but she didn't want to stay because she felt uncomfortable. I guess the mean girls were trying to get her to join them in the bullying and she wouldn't, which is a huge relief because, until my kid was faced with the situation of bullying and peer pressure - and these bullying girls were friendly with her at day care!, I wasn't sure how she would handle it; I was so proud of her for choosing wisely. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Later, after everything had been talked through, I remembered I had told her, and my boys, from a very young age, that if they're in a situation they don't want to be in or in trouble, they could call me and I'd come get them. (I also tell them that if they were doing something they shouldn't be doing and they call me to get them out of the situation, I would come, and I wouldn't yell at them when I picked them up. I'd very patiently wait until the next morning...) So maybe some of what I say is sticking? I hope so...</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Jacob is 7 and is very responsible and conscientious (sometimes I'll tell him to go do something and I'll go to remind him and he's already done it, he just didn't make a fuss about it!) and he loves to explain things... he also enjoys a good joke and has a very good sense of what is fair. He likes to cuddle, but only if it's just him (he doesn't want to share mom with his brother or sister). </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">And he LOVES Minecraft, playing Minecraft, watching Minecraft videos, talking about Minecraft. He usually brings two of his (Minecraft) books to day care each day but the other day he was sad because he was sure he had forgotten them. I was going to bring them to his class but could only find one. I got there and he's got a friend sitting next to him and another on the carpet holding one of the "forgotten" books. Turns out he left them at school and the book I brought was Katie's. Left that with him and when I walked past the room again (after checking on Jack), saw him and 3 other little boys sitting around the table... talking Minecraft. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">He does not enjoy being outside. Some days, when it's nice, I have to tell him that we're all going to spend 10 minutes outside (I'm not outdoorsy, but I go too). Usually once he's out there, he finds something fun to do and, before we know it, 30 minutes has passed! And sometimes even 45!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Lastly, Jackson. Jackson is 5 and, well, he's Jackson. He's been getting away with pretty much everything until recently because he's been "the baby". And, because he's super cute and knows it, it's gone on for far too long. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Now, because I figured I should try to prepare him to be more responsible because he'll be in kinder next year, he's got to do "big kid" stuff, like putting away his laundry and doing home chores, so he can have the benefits of being a "big kid." </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">One of the benefits is going to bed when "the big kids" go to bed. (Shhhhhh, don't tell him that bedtime is at any time between 6 pm and 9 pm, and that the earlier bed times are often randomly chosen by me based on how well the kids are getting along and how tired I am.) he loves hearing that it's time for big kids to go to bed and when he asks me if that means him too, I say, "Of course! You're a big kid!"</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">It's so fun to see him work on filling the dishwasher or setting the table (he likes to pick out just the right plates and cups, and he laughs when he sneaks in a baby spoon at someone's spot!). </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">He's been having a hard time at day care, though, just like his big brother did at the same age, and pretty much making his teachers roll their eyes and sigh heavily. We're working on that so it will hopefully NOT be a big deal in the fall. đł</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">School is starting in a little over a month, and I think I have three kids who are ready and excited to go. I'm so proud of them. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">(*I'm* not prepared to see them as a kindergartner, 2nd grader, or MIDDLE SCHOOLER, though. And I am definitely soooo not fully prepared for all of the school supplies... those lists are crazy!)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">They still have their moments when they make ME roll MY eyes and sigh heavily, but overall, I'm so proud of the people they're growing up to be.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">So this turned out to be a rather lengthy post. I'm glad I remembered this blog and maybe I'll remember to post more here... Life's been good, but super busy, so who knows what will come up in the next little while!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Also, it's super late and I'm trying not to be such a perfectionist in the things I have a tendency to over think (like, say, anything I write) so... I'm posting this without reading it over 5 times. Good night!</span></div>
One Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15509473226183430391noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4283506243691040238.post-4959358752847023622013-12-23T17:00:00.000-06:002013-12-23T17:00:07.714-06:00Just some observations and stuffâŠ<div class="defaultFont">
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Iâm looking at Jackson and heâs sitting next to me with his hands behind his head. This seems to be his laying/sitting lounging pose. Itâs very cute. Just as cute as his standing lounging pose where he leans on something with one or both hands in his pockets and one foot on top of the other. Right now heâs patiently waiting for Despicable Me to be over so he can watch his evening episode of Team Umizoomi*. </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">*Team Umizoomi is Jacksonâs most favorite show in the universe. There is no program he likes better. He asks to watch Team Umizoomi alllllll of the time. He loves it. Iâm so happy that itâs actually quite educational.</span></div>
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Jackson has been talking a lot. And making total sense. He says things like âthat would be great!â and "Mommy, I don't want to do that. I want to ..." or âWhere is Katie and Jacob?â when we got in the car last week and it was just me and him on the way to school. Stuff he says makes me stop and stare for just a moment. I donât remember the other kids being so clear and forming full sentences at two years old, but I could be mistaken. It just seems weird that he's SO clear!</div>
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Jacob also likes Umizoomi. It's not his favorite show, but he enjoys it. Heâll shout out the answers to the questions they ask⊠like, which unit of measure is larger. Or what color in the pattern comes next. Or how many cartons of milk are there. Heâs always right, too. I told him today that heâs super smart. His reply was short, sweet, and to the point⊠a simple âI knowâ and then as he's craning his neck to see around my face, âmommy, you're in the way⊠I canât see Umizoomi.â</div>
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Jake also has a new routine at night. It involves him racing Jackson to bed because the first kid in bed gets their song sung first (point to mommy for thinking this up). So, after I sing Jacobâs song to Jacob, and Jacksonâs song to Jackson, and pray with them, and give Jacob his water with ice, and give Jackson âfreshâ water, and say âwhatâ about 800 times and try to answer those 800 questions, and finally say âthatâs enough, itâs time to go to sleepâ, THEN Jacob will tell me âGood night and sleep tight, donât let the bedbugs lightâ (yes, he does say âlightâ), then Jackson will say âgood night, sleep tight, I love youâ. And then... finally itâs okay for me to leave the room. This process cannot be altered by much or it makes for a long evening of interruption. The interruption is limited to Jacob because Jackâs still in his crib and hasnât figured out how to climb out of it yet. (There was one touch and go moment where I overheard Katie and Jacob start to tell him how he could get out all by himself but I stopped them with a loud hiss and a very emphatic âNO! Itâs too dangerous. He could fall and hurt himself.â That was the main reason but a very close second was that he stays put when I put him to bed. I want to hold on to that for as long as I can.)</div>
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<br />Katie was playing downstairs with the boys earlier today and she sent me a note using Jacob as a messenger saying that I needed to come down and talk to her âabout a thing.â Apparently Jacob was misbehaving. She wanted me to sit and listen to her explain everything in (very detailed) detail. When I suggested she make a list* and give it to me later, she got out a piece of paper from the stack next to her and drew a line down the middle. She labeled one side Good, the other side Bad. Well, I thought bad sounded a little harsh so I suggested she use âarea for improvementâ, which would have been amusing for me, but she said no, she was using the word âbad.â Apparently, the person sitting on the princess chair behind the princess table gets to make that call. A few minutes later I had to go upstairs to see what Jackson was up to and I havenât seen that list yet. But I probably will.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">*Katie is very good at recording behavior. One weekend when the kids went to the lake with their grandma and grandpa, Katie gave me a chart of behavior she recorded for one of the days. She used the colors they use at school⊠green is good, yellow is not great, red is really naughty. Iâll just say that Jacobâs favorite color in the world is red. Itâs the color of Darth Vaderâs light saber AND the color of hot lava. It's not easy being Jacob's teacher at school. I really feel for them.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Things start out okay...</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">But they go downhill pretty quickly...</span></div>
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I went to Katieâs conferences a few weeks ago. Sheâs pretty much awesome in class. Sheâs a great kid and a great student. The only thing the teacher mentioned is that she doesnât turn in her homework. It doesnât concern the teacher because Katieâs doing really well in class. This is good, because I think homework is dumb. Yes, you heard me... I. think. homework. is. dumb. I thought so back when I was in school and didnât turn mine in, and I think so now that Katie is in school and not turning hers in. So I donât push for her to do it much. I would rather know that sheâs got the people skills and is good at thinking for herself. Now, if she was sick and had to stay home for a few days, I would want her to do it so she would be familiar with the lessons but generally, Iâm not going to be the homework police.</div>
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Everyoneâs asleep now and Iâm sitting in the living room enjoying the peace. And thinking of the stuff I need to do before Tuesday. For Christmas eve. You know... TWO days away. Oh, the pressure!</div>
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Aside from the worry that I'll forget something important, Iâm really looking forward to Christmas this year. Getting together with my family, eating some really good food, and watching the kids open presents and play together.</div>
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One Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15509473226183430391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4283506243691040238.post-45373384066244719132013-12-21T22:50:00.000-06:002013-12-21T22:50:50.535-06:00Ho, ho, ho! or Traditions are Fun<div class="defaultFont">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Yay! Itâs almost Christmas⊠and I have the presents to prove it. Theyâre all stored in my bedroom.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I think theyâre safe in there. Itâs the one place in the whole house where the kids arenât allowed to play. They go in only to grab their nooks (and they leave the light on every single time, which drives me nuts) or wake me up on the weekends, but itâs not a gathering place.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">You know, I used to have this thought that it would be sweet to snuggle in bed and watch TV together, but in reality itâs mostly pretty uncomfortable because everyone piles on top of me and then they all vie for the best spot⊠which is usually the spot my head is occupying. Then, and this is all just speculation on my part (is it still speculation if it's highly likely to happen?), a serious fight would break out over who should have "the best spot," and then there would be an argument over what to watch, and then one kid would want to play on their nook but would have forgotten to charge it, and then another kid would go and get their fully charged nook and comment on everything they're doing on it which would upset the owner of the not fully charged nook, then someone would want to eat breakfast, and then someone else would be upset because they want to cuddle more, then my newspaper would be crinkled and torn in all of the ruckus and everyone would be cranky... so, no, we donât gather there and spend lazy Saturday mornings with me reading the paper in bed and the kids lounging around in their jammies next to me watching cartoons. Instead, we do our lounging in the living room where we can all spread out unless we want to cuddle. Like right now for example⊠Iâm typing this while Jackson sits next to me, Katie next to him, and Jacob next to her. Weâre squished onto two thirds of the couch. Itâs cozy and no one has their feet in my face. Plus, itâs very warm. (If I didnât have this laptop in my lap, I would try to convince Jacob to sit with me too⊠on the foot rest because 1. he likes to sit there, and 2. he keeps my legs warm when he sits on them.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Oh, we had a really fun day last Saturday. Grammy had sugar cookies made and we got to go decorate them! (On a related note, I need to buy Grammy some decorating stuff because the kids dumped all of hers out while decorating their cookies.) It wasnât too bad of a mess because we had them put their cookies into a dish before they dumped a ton of stuff on them. We brought our cookies home and Iâve been eating them all week. They turned out really good and I would say that next year Grammy should make the same recipe for the cookies and frosting. And then she should invite us over again to decorate them. This would be a <strong>great</strong> tradition. Are you reading this Grammy?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">And finally, Iâm starting to get excited about Christmas. We went to the Christmas service at church and there were Christmas decorations and Christmas songs and a really good pastor message and my mom went with us. Yay! AND Iâve got most of our presents bought. Now I just have to wrap them (while watching the Christmas movie marathons on Hallmark channel, of course... that seems to have become my tradition. Yes, Hallmark channel movies and running out of tape because, for some reason, I always think I have way more than I actually have, and I always expect to find a backup roll in the last place I remember seeing one⊠even though I used *that* tape up when I ran out the year before. Maybe I need to find new traditions, like Netflix and buying lots of tape in advance). Iâm also excited because this year I planned ahead and bought stuff for their stockings instead of waiting till the last minute.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Okay, finally for real this time, Jacob is wearing a Santa hat. Heâs worn it all day, since Grandpa gave it to him. He wore it while playing, he wore it while eating, he wore it at church⊠heâll probably want to wear it to bed. Yes, he wore it to bed. I took it off of him and put it on one of his toys so he'll see it in the morning.</span></div>
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One Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15509473226183430391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4283506243691040238.post-19617427784563947792013-12-14T00:47:00.001-06:002013-12-14T00:47:17.922-06:00Stepping Carefully onto the BandwagonI got a new phone recently. It's pretty awesome. Especially for something I didn't know I would want. <br />
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I was perfectly happy with my old LG Ally until I went to Target with my mom and grandma and they were looking at the iphone my mom saw advertised for $49. I was still perfectly happy with my phone while I watched as the lady walked my grandma through the process. This started at around 8:30 p.m..<br />
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I was still perfectly happy with my old phone while I did a little shopping. <br />
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But then, you know, at around 9:00 p.m., I started thinking about a new phone. Something I hadn't had for a few years because I didn't want to renew my contract. And I started to think a new phone wasn't such a bad idea. <br />
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So I did it. I signed on for a iphone. And the best part about it is that it was free! Sure, there was a $50 out of pocket cost but then they give you a gift card for $50. Win/Win.<br />
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I picked white. Because it looked clean and I could find it in my dark purse. And I guess I like it. It's no LG Ally, but it looks like this iphone thing isn't just a fad so I'm jumping on the bandwagon.<br />
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Plus, I feel like I'm embracing the present by buying one. <br />
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(I don't even set the clock on my VCR... or program the remote for TV and cable (I changed the code on my remote about 3 weeks ago when I tried to program the DVD to work with my TV and when it didn't work AND I realized I messed up the code, I just started using two remotes; one for cable, one for volume), or change my clocks for daylight savings.)<br />
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We got home at around 11 p.m. then sat around playing on our new phones. Pretty awesome.One Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15509473226183430391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4283506243691040238.post-47439995528004245862013-10-30T23:45:00.002-05:002013-10-30T23:45:31.057-05:00Laundry. Why doesn't it just do itself?<br />
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I have a basket.<br />
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It's just one basket but it's full to the brim with socks. Based on the massive amount of socks in the basket, I am amazed that we have ANY socks in our dresser drawers.<br />
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I think about the actual size of socks. Not that big, right? And then I think about how many socks would be needed to FILL a basket. That's a lot of socks. And they're all in my basket.<br />
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And since I am the only person who I trust NOT to toss the socks around the room when forced to do something with them, I'm the one who will match them up and put them away. Although, if the kids were going to be home this weekend, I *might* have made them sit with me and help... but they're going to the lake with grandma and grandpa. So, down side is that I'll be matching and folding socks all by myself, the upside is that my matched and folded socks will <em>stay</em> matched and folded.<br />
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Of course I had to fit some fun friend plans into the weekend. We're going to some art thing... to look at some art. I'll get some culture and won't spend the day in sweat pants and a ratty t-shirt. I think there will be jewelry there too so I might even buy myself something pretty! That's my plan for fun.<br />
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My other, not so fun, plans include shopping for a new pair of jeans, getting an oil change, cleaning popcorn out of the van from the weekend, changing sheets, buying groceries. You know, the stuff that isn't as fun.<br />
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Oh well. It could be worse. I could be doing all of the not so fun stuff with three children in tow!<br />
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P.S. Here are some pics of the kids at a corn maze. Pumpkin carving pics to come soon!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDG742FpnMLjta6NTF_d__DQHH2HZuNOLqaQIxKRKZPbLLQwwDNjvCCaHI84cv9tRp014Zli-peIcQRYfm1O2ao6b1EbSZvsBL9JxTvvCWXGUbQTJmVm5cvOrJPTes8Ee1xmsf7jGkL0w/s1600/DSCN0283.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDG742FpnMLjta6NTF_d__DQHH2HZuNOLqaQIxKRKZPbLLQwwDNjvCCaHI84cv9tRp014Zli-peIcQRYfm1O2ao6b1EbSZvsBL9JxTvvCWXGUbQTJmVm5cvOrJPTes8Ee1xmsf7jGkL0w/s320/DSCN0283.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jake loved the corn pit</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfkNLg9jK275vjz-AWkFk6eTnigCHuE8PyNKjhJxifT2d3_ZhMnJOpSVoplx-6SkNHcpWm2IcwXj4ABMqLTVPxzUZ73XuLpZq3xQszTEogtIK_1L66K84ASt9HPF9UyJIJ_EB1RcEfOrE/s1600/DSCN0300.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfkNLg9jK275vjz-AWkFk6eTnigCHuE8PyNKjhJxifT2d3_ZhMnJOpSVoplx-6SkNHcpWm2IcwXj4ABMqLTVPxzUZ73XuLpZq3xQszTEogtIK_1L66K84ASt9HPF9UyJIJ_EB1RcEfOrE/s320/DSCN0300.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Queen of the hill</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMQRsJ92WRAVd5HBPVDG9B_DLQJVSxVk184DO1dp532r-v4Zt1RVAa3jGxBmMQ_vtlN76ypAMacx_rdypynW5ZcA5V5lP-Kbwrr9w1xW8rhFnql3UoSDkgMPMIwuS4Axs1MDOLR8YhsT0/s1600/DSCN0302.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMQRsJ92WRAVd5HBPVDG9B_DLQJVSxVk184DO1dp532r-v4Zt1RVAa3jGxBmMQ_vtlN76ypAMacx_rdypynW5ZcA5V5lP-Kbwrr9w1xW8rhFnql3UoSDkgMPMIwuS4Axs1MDOLR8YhsT0/s320/DSCN0302.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jack</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSZs84Wte5T9RYKtLfi5foDG_RVB84Su_EtWqw8sRcZ26D1EgOMc-KcFfvIvnEKYxswmGO4SgWB3cHuBjaROIoQe14XiXZYzbGWJ2O6kJbB132_CWXpeb6cte9ydkXpLhQswdvxglXK38/s1600/DSCN0303.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSZs84Wte5T9RYKtLfi5foDG_RVB84Su_EtWqw8sRcZ26D1EgOMc-KcFfvIvnEKYxswmGO4SgWB3cHuBjaROIoQe14XiXZYzbGWJ2O6kJbB132_CWXpeb6cte9ydkXpLhQswdvxglXK38/s320/DSCN0303.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPBNyibcdmk80DX1MH-X1MUFS5qTLlHO7asQWrRX7qEHtK8mLugAO6wIP9-vB8S_qzrDvx_Y9EPVM0BLNWd8G_d_abrGdtOg3NbtNDiXz6OYG-Px4KwvAvDF7CLgZc-PIIvgUFvD6iEo4/s1600/DSCN0304.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPBNyibcdmk80DX1MH-X1MUFS5qTLlHO7asQWrRX7qEHtK8mLugAO6wIP9-vB8S_qzrDvx_Y9EPVM0BLNWd8G_d_abrGdtOg3NbtNDiXz6OYG-Px4KwvAvDF7CLgZc-PIIvgUFvD6iEo4/s320/DSCN0304.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I wondered why he had such a weird expression on his face. <br />
Then I realized he was being a pirate.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9RQA5sY9PrBryuRc5nVN3xNFkvO3tOk-ShDDvBs5ZlNz4uhMT2Hi8m1Ubp0b9pkImB8tXCQlY8RD2pDh_rGHElMw0f8wfgV4Iry8jYVfVEMWEkwLK2LvT_tS4vq6DOvvQ7UomNRKT6nw/s1600/DSCN0313.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9RQA5sY9PrBryuRc5nVN3xNFkvO3tOk-ShDDvBs5ZlNz4uhMT2Hi8m1Ubp0b9pkImB8tXCQlY8RD2pDh_rGHElMw0f8wfgV4Iry8jYVfVEMWEkwLK2LvT_tS4vq6DOvvQ7UomNRKT6nw/s320/DSCN0313.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Katie got to hold a parakeet</td></tr>
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One Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15509473226183430391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4283506243691040238.post-54034398670217922372013-10-23T21:45:00.000-05:002013-10-23T21:45:10.367-05:00Tuesday Nights have been busy nights...Tuesday nights have been busy, busy, busy for me and Jacob. I signed him up for a gym class through the community center and so far the kids have played soccer, basketball, football, and baseball. It's like a sampler of sports. And it takes place INDOORS. Which I'm definitely a fan of.<br />
<br />
The class only lasts 45 minutes and of that time about 15 minutes is spent wrangling kids. There are only 6 kids in the class but there's at least one kid not listening, running away from the group, or playing with the dots they're supposed to be sitting on. The teacher, Margo, is pretty much the most patient person in the universe. She's never raised her voice at any of the kids and she keeps them involved with the activity. Jacob really likes her. I'm undecided. She may be a pod person.<br />
<br />
So, Jacob never actually <em>wants</em> to go to class so I tell him we have to go TO the class to tell his teacher he wants to cancel. And every week, he gets into the van and we drive to class and he tells me he doesn't want to cancel after all. I ask him if he *really* wants to go in and he assures me he *really* does. So in we go. We usually get there early and Margo is getting the balls out. Jake usually picks out a ball and the color he chooses becomes his color for the rest of the night. And no one better mess with his color. The other kids are kind of the same. They pick their color and that's the color they stick with for rest of the class. The funny thing is that next week, they change up the color. After class we hit the restroom and then we go someplace for dinner. I like that part. Sometimes even... Target. Even more awesome.<br />
<br />
The other kids hang out at home with Grandma and Grandpa or (one week) with Grammy and Grampy. They haven't complained that they feel left out... yet.<br />
<br />
As I type this, Katie and a friend are giggling from their bed of blankets on the floor. Katie wanted to invite a friend to Awana tonight. She's also been wanting to have this friend sleep over. Well, between Jackson getting sick, the kids being at the lake, me just feeling tired and not wanting to plan anything... it just didn't happen. But when I was texting her friends mom last night about this friend coming to Awana, I mentioned that she could also sleep over. And here we are! It's almost 9:30 p.m. on a Wednesday night and they're having fun watching Taylor Swift and One Direction videos and playing games (there may have been a "Roar" and a "Just give me a reason" in there too... with accompaniment by Katie and friend which is just adorable!). Lights out in 15 minutes.<br />
<br />
Jackson wasn't feeling good. He's got a cough but otherwise seems fine. He made me smile tonight. He usually brings an assortment of funny things to bed with him, for example he went to sleep tonight with his baby doll, a slinky dog flashlight (from Toy Story) that really barks, his sippy, and my blanket. He wanted me to sing a song and as I started singing, he sang along.<br />
<br />
We've got plans this Saturday with a few friends. I'm looking forward to it but at the same time I'm starting to plan. What goes into the diaper bag, what do the kids need to wear, do I have a bright shirt to dress each kid in so I can see them easily, how will they do on the car ride, did I buy enough food tickets in advance... the list goes on. But it will be a lot of fun. Tiring but fun.<br />
<br />
Work is great too. I love my job. It's been a year and I still like what I'm doing and my coworkers are great. Busy but really good.One Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15509473226183430391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4283506243691040238.post-82151124218894732872013-09-07T21:48:00.000-05:002013-09-07T21:48:40.464-05:00What doesn't kill you makes you stronger...We've successfully completed Katie's first week of 2nd grade. SECOND GRADE. Katie loves her teacher, one of her best friends is in her class, and she has been happy and upbeat about getting up in the morning. Like, so happy she hasn't growled at me when we share bathroom space and I happen to get within 2 feet of her space bubble.<br />
<br />
It's been great.<br />
<br />
I took the day off so I could get her to school. Me and the boys walked her to her class and Jacob went in and gave her a big hug before we left. There were no teary eyes (mine OR hers), mostly because she just marched in and moved her name from the "out" section to the "in" section on the smart board, then sat down at her table.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">As a side note? Smart boards are awesome.</span><br />
<br />
I stayed and watched her for a few minutes then we headed home to get in the car and head to the day care where I had an appointment for Jack's conferences at 10:00 and there was an open house for both of the boys.<br />
<br />
Jack's conference was good. I heard a lot of positive stuff about Jack and he's "developing as expected" which is great! The leader was saying that he's got a funny and kind of advanced sense of humor, he's talking a lot, he comforts others when they are upset, he's very loving when he plays with dolls, and he's still a little clumsy. (A little clumsy is better than a lot clumsy which is what he used to be.) Oh, and they'll start potty training as soon as they see cues that he's ready. Woo hoo!<br />
<br />
Then we had a treat... kiwi smiles. They're just graham crackers topped with whipped mixed berry cream cheese and kiwi slices. I didn't think it sounded good but it turned out to be delicious! (So good that I had to buy the stuff to make them at home.) We also visited Jacob's room and looked around.<br />
<br />
I needed to pick Katie up after school and Grammy came over to watch the boys so I could spend some special time with her to hear about her day. Jack ended up sleeping the whole time so she got to visit with Jacob. <br />
<br />
I waited in front of school wondering which door she would come out of. One of the day care people who was also helping out at the school told me that 2nd graders usually come out of the door on the right. Not realizing he was telling me this specifically because my kid is a SECOND GRADER, I asked which door 1st graders come out of. Duh.<br />
<br />
I was so relieved to hear that Katie had a great first day. We stopped and sat down in the grass on the school property and Katie enjoyed her drink and snack cake. We chatted about school and the kids in her class while we watched everyone heading home. After about 30 minutes, we headed off to relieve grammy.<br />
<br />
The boys started day care the next day and I headed back to work. Drop off was weird. Jackson usually clings and wants to stay with me. Jacob usually marches into class. That day, Jackson marched right in and started to play with his friends. Jacob was extremely clingy. He was adorable though. I had to have hugs and kisses and he told me that he loves me even when he can't see me. Is that cute or what!<br />
<br />
Going back to work was a welcome relief after the horribleness of last week. The kids were all home, no day care or school, and grammy and grampy watched them on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I was home with them Tuesday and Thursday. Those two days were the loooooooongggggggesstttttttt days I have ever experienced*. It was like the days stretched into a neverending rotation of kids fighting, kids playing nicely, kids fighting, kids jumping, kids screaming, kids yelling, kids playing nicely, kids pulling out all of their toys, kids hitting, kids fighting, kids playing, kids running, then finally... finally... kids sleeping.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">*I wouldn't recommend last week to anyone. Jacob has a laugh he uses, I think he modeled it after the laugh at the end of the Thriller video, and I usually hear this laugh when he's doing something he should not be doing. Like sitting on his brother, pushing him over, throwing toys at Katie, jumping off of the couch, etc. I heard the laugh many many many times last week. And at about mid-day every day, I had a strong desire to throw candy and BBQ chips at the kids just to keep them safely occupied.</span><br />
<br />
It just makes me even more thankful for the support I have from my grandparents and parents. And reminds me of how lucky am I that my parents live here! Mom and I figure out what's for dinner, dad plays with the kids, I actually have time to fold laundry or clean the bathroom... and I feel less alone. (And BONUS that mom is a good cook. I love when she makes dinner!)<br />
<br />
Well, I'm off to be productive. Nothing exciting. Just time to clean the kids' bedrooms and maybe "put away" some toys. Because they aren't here at the moment so I won't have to hear them complain when I throw away the broken toys or the happy meal toys. Not surprising, those toys won't be missed when they get home.<br />
<br />
One Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15509473226183430391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4283506243691040238.post-14498552888343335562013-08-10T23:17:00.001-05:002013-08-10T23:17:33.442-05:00You've got a friend in me... or, Surreal Errand TripWe were in the car yesterday after day care pick up. I had a very... optimistically extensive errand list that I didn't think we would get through but I decided to just take a deep breath and go for it.<br />
<br />
We headed to the library first to return a stack of books that were just a tiny bit overdue. We used the outside book return. Jake went first with his books, then Jack returned mine, then Katie, who had been waiting patiently with her three books, went. Jackson didn't realize that his fun was over and he turned to Katie expecting to put one of her books in the return. When she saw his sad face, she gave him not one, but TWO of her books to return. I was very proud of her kindness.<br />
<br />
We hopped back into the car and headed to the mall. I wanted to go to Bath and Body for their free lotion. We parked and I went to the back to get the stroller out. Katie and Jake hopped out of the car and I reminded them that they needed to keep a hand on the car when we were in parking lots. Now, usually they ignore me until I threaten to put them back into the car but that day they actually listened!<br />
<br />
I got Jackson settled and buckled in (he loves the stroller, or maybe it's just that he loves getting out!). Then I told Jacob that his spot was going to be next to the stroller, holding on to the side. Imagine my surprise when he actually listened and did what I asked! The whole time we were in the mall, except when he forgot, and for the couple of minutes at DEB when I told him he could dance to the music, and a few minutes at Bath and Body when he was smelling stuff. And when he forgot and walked off I just had to ask him "Jacob? Where are you supposed to be right now?" and he was back before I could blink.<br />
<br />
There were a couple of tense moments when he and Jackson started to scuffle. But Jacob was holding onto the side of the stroller the whole time. HA!<br />
<br />
Oh, and I don't shop at DEB. Never been in it. But Katie asked if we could go so I said yes. We went in and she marched her way to the back of the store. We looked at sparkly dresses and I put some of them up to her in front of the mirror so she could see how she looked. Then she asked where they did ears. And that the girl "over there" (points a few racks over to a little girl maybe a year older than her) was telling her mom that she was nervous to have her ears pierced. So we asked if they did ears, and they don't. It was a little odd. Then Katie led us out and off we went back to the car.<br />
<br />
We stopped to get some groceries (and of course I realized once we got home that I was almost out of milk and orange juice, ugh) and then picked up a pizza for dinner. There was no fighting. None.<br />
<br />
Then, on the ride home from the pizza place I sang them that James Taylor song about "you've got a friend in me". Katie looks at the boys and says, "If you ever needed me, I would come. And Jacob, if you were drowning in the water, I would throw you a life saver. And then I would jump in and pull you to shallow water. and save you. Because you're my brother." It was one of those "awwwwww" moments. And pretty awesome to hear, as their mother who gets to hear all of the fights and yelling.<br />
<br />
And the other day when Katie was doing naughty things and Jacob was following her lead (mostly not listening at an earlier trip to the store), I told him that he shouldn't go along with her if she was doing something mommy didn't want her to do. I asked him if he was going to listen to Katie or if he was going to listen to mommy next time... because if he listened to mommy he wouldn't get into trouble. He looks at me and says, "Mommy, I don't want to choose sides." <br />
<br />
While their teaming up can be a little trying sometimes (because I seriously don't need TWO children looking at me like I'm a big dork much less three with Jackson joining the crew), I love that they're sticking together. And that Katie would be there for them if they needed her. I always tell them, "You don't have to like each other, but you have to love each other because your brothers and sister will always be there."<br />
<br />
So far that whole "love each" other thing is tested daily with arguments, stuff being thrown, scuffles that end with someone crying, water being spilled, but there are more and more "I'll always be there" moments like this one. And I'm very grateful for that.One Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15509473226183430391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4283506243691040238.post-47395865697643773942013-08-03T23:30:00.002-05:002013-08-03T23:30:30.958-05:00Ch-ch-ch-ChangesHi all. It's been awhile since I've posted. I've got some personal stuff going on that I never thought I would be going through (DUM dum dummmmm) and I've been avoiding a lot of things computer related. And paper related. And phone related.<br />
<br />
I'm not going to say a lot about it here, other than to share that I'm filing for a divorce*. Well, I'll start filing as soon as I finally force myself to dig around for the documents I need. Which could take me awhile. If you remember the social security card debacle you'll know what I mean. (I actually did get that taken care of, finally. It was very anticlimactic. Disappointing really.)<br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-size: x-small;">*Yes, divorce. Queue the violins. And the sad trumpets. And the clowns with sad, frowney faces ... wait, no clowns. *shudder* Too scary.</span></em><br />
<br />
Meanwhile, the kids are doing great (considering the situation) and all of them are in the same day care over the summer. Hooray for not having to drop two off in one place and the other somewhere else!<br />
<br />
The two older kids are taking lots of fun classes. The baby (who's two so he's not so babyish anymore!) gets to participate in one of the classes but otherwise that age group is just too little for the cooking, outside adventures, and dance routine classes the older kids get to do. He's pretty busy anyway with all of the crafts they do in his class and the play time they have.<br />
<br />
It's so cute to see them with their friends at pick up and drop off. Katie is still friends with the same two girls she met when she was four and started with the day care. Jacob seems to make friends pretty easily but he talks about the same two boys pretty regularly (and when he saw another friend in the hall, they shared a goodbye hug which was very cute!). Jackson is friends with everyone. It surprised me that he could name the kids from their pictures in the hallway. I mean, hearing him talk these days I have to look to make sure it's Jackson talking and not Jacob! There are times when I can't understand anything but those times are getting fewer and fewer.<br />
<br />
Some highlights from the week:<br />
1. Jackson ate toothpaste. Sure, he ate it off of a toothbrush (neither of which were his) so that's a step in the right direction.<br />
2. Katie told me we were all (me, Katie, Jacob, and Jack) BFFIID's or "Best Friends Forever Intil I Die"... we'll be working on spelling.<br />
3. I bought the kids squirt bottles from Target. BEST 97 cent purchase ever. They go outside and have a great time spraying everything.<br />
4. We had a movie night and watched Jumanji while we ate popcorn.<br />
5. Jacob loves Darth Vader. Still.<br />
<br />
So, while the divorce is horrible, I'm doing pretty well. And I'm actually happier than I've been in a long time. Which is really saying something.<br />
One Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15509473226183430391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4283506243691040238.post-89094919107277200542013-07-09T00:21:00.003-05:002013-07-09T00:21:43.772-05:00Some things just don't make sense. And sometimes that's pretty funny.True story...<br />
<br />
I was at Menards a couple of weeks ago. As I walked down the aisle where the cash registers are, I saw a little boy (maybe 6 years old) pulling on something that seemed to be connected to the shelving, it looked like a pipe.<br />
<br />
He was really tugging and pulling to loosen whatever it was. I was about 5 registers away when he finally pulled it loose and he was pretty surprised. And I finally figured out what it was. One of the railings on the endcap. That was supposed to not probably come out. It was about 5 feet long (longer than this boy was tall) and it was shaped like an "L".<br />
<br />
He looked up to see me walking toward him and gives me this guilty face, an "oh boy am I in trouble now" look, as he was holding this railing in front of him with both hands. I kept a straight face and when I was about 6 feet away, I shrugged and gave him an oops look. He shrugged with the same look back. As I passed him I said, "Well, these things happen". (I do not know WHY that's the ONE THING that popped into my head as logical to say in that situation.) He shrugged again and smiled a little. <br />
<br />
Once I was about 6 feet away I looked back to see what he was doing and saw him just standing there, holding this long railing, trying to figure out what to do with it. Then as I watched, he dropped it to the floor, looked around to see if anyone heard the noise as it hit, then walked away... quickly.<br />
<br />
It's still making me laugh even weeks later.<br />
<br />
Some happenings I posted on Facebook...<br />
<br />
I moved a small bench with shelves from the living room to the boy's room. I guess Katie wanted a change for her room too. She told me that she wants me to "move the objects in her room around so it looks different."<br />
<br />
Jackson is so precious. I was singing the song that repeats God made me and God loves me and substituting Jack's name for the word me. I heard him singing the words right after me... Substituting my name. He was singing "God loves mommy" and "God made mommy". It was so sweet.<br />
<br />
<span class="userContent">Leaving urgent care with Katie and I was pushing the button to open the van door but it wasn't working. So I did it a few (or like 10) times and it STILL wasn't working. I was getting frustrated when Katie says, "Mom? Isn't THAT our car?" And points to the car BEHIND the one I was trying to open by yanking on the handle. Once I looked up, I saw that ours was about 3 feet off center from the one I *thought* was ours. This brings back memories of my mom trying to teach me how to drive a stick shift in the parking lot of the church near our house. Apparently we seemed like a threat to the older ladies inside of the church who were watching me drive back and forth, stalling and jolting, around the lot. Enough of a threat that they called the police. Yes, they called the POLICE. Which was a little embarrassing at the time, but funny now. (I still can't drive a stick shift.)</span><br />
<br />
I was telling Katie something about the history of the U.S. flag and she cut me off saying, "Do you have my teacher's phone number?" Like MY guess wasn't good enough. So I told her we would google it when we get home. <br />
<br />
(On a side note, does having children make *everyone* feel like a big dork sometimes? Or is it just me.)<br />
<br />
<span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}">Jacob is saying "Hello Oklahoma." Which would be great... if we weren't in Austin. Texas. (We were driving home from a family vacation to Texas with my parents and me and the kids. We were about 5 hours into the drive... with about 30 hours left to go. Thank you for the reminder of how far we had yet to go Jacob.)</span><br />
<span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"></span><br />
<span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}">On our trip to South Padre, Jacob got one of those water canons (the kind where you draw back the handle and suck water into it, then push the handle to force the water out). He started out by spraying our family; my aunt and uncle, cousins, his sister and little brother, grandpa, grandma. That was a little naughty. But then, THEN he started to spray other people who were not related to us. Like the two older women who were standing in the water up to their knees in shorts and t-shirts just having a nice chat. Or the little, little girl playing near us. And a number of other innocent bystanders. It wouldn't have been so bad if he hadn't laughed like a villian EVERY TIME he did it (a hearty HEH HEH HEHHHHH laugh), RIGHT in front of the now wet, not thrilled children and adults he had just hosed down with water (salt water too, yuck). It was terrible. But funny. No, terrible... No, funny. Yep, it was funny. Mostly because *I* was safely sitting on the beach.</span><br />
<span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"></span><br />
<span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="userContent">Katie lost her THIRD tooth today while she was eating a piece of hard candy!! I asked if she wanted to put it under her pillow for the tooth fairy and she told me she knew the tooth fairy wasn't real. She was suddenly a believer after hearing that kids who don't believe in the tooth fairy don't get money from the tooth fairy!</span> </span><br />
<span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"></span><br />
And finally, just for fun, here's one of the (surprisingly many) pics I've taken in the car (while stopped at a red light, or parked!). My head looks abnormally large here, but I promise you it's perfectly normal. Jacob or Katie are usually making some odd face in almost every car picture if I give them advance notice that I'm taking it. If I go stealth (or if I provide treats), I can sometimes get a sweet picture of the two of them talking quietly or just gazing out the window. I'm not often stealthy enough. And my treat budget is limited.<br />
<span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"></span> <img alt="Photo: At a red light." class="scaledImageFitWidth img" height="378" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/p480x480/601847_10201224328512063_710677730_n.jpg" width="504" /><br />
<br />
Well, that's enough for now. Hey! I'll have to post about our trip to Texas soon. It was so much fun! Mostly the actual *being in* Texas. Not so much the getting there and home part. But that is definately another post.One Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15509473226183430391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4283506243691040238.post-50386114363515607462013-07-06T15:04:00.000-05:002013-07-06T15:04:22.848-05:00The beat goes on.My last post was a little... negative. All about stuff that was going wrong at the time. It's amazing how a little time (and tax money) can change things.<br />
<br />
Like...<br />
I was down to one car. Out of the blue my mom tells me that one of her friends posted on Facebook that she wanted to sell hers. And its... a minivan. A MINIVAN! Hmmm. Room for my three kids, groceries, kids friends, kids stuff, kids seats NOT right next to each other? SIGN ME UP! I heard about it on Monday, went to look at it on Tuesday, drove it home that night. The color wouldn't have been my first choice, it's gold, but it's beautiful.<br />
<br />
Like...<br />
The
kitchen chairs are sadly damaged. The table is wobbly. Those things (at least ones that can stand up to three small-ish children) aren't cheap. Someone at work advertised that they were selling their table. A round, oak table. With FIVE chairs. At a hugely reasonable price. Bought it. Love it! <br />
<br />
Like...<br />
Getting bad news from the fridge repair guy that my fridge was on its last legs. There is a part that they can no longer find. Sad news because the fridge is awesome. (Water and ice dispenser = awesome in my book.) Found a NEW one just as nice as the old one for about $500 less than I expected to pay.<br />
<br />
Like...<br />
My cousin offered me one of those outdoor block things for kids to play on. For free! She came with her little girl and husband to deliver it. The kids played while her husband put it together.<br />
<br />
Like...<br />
The air conditioning finally went out (bummer, right?). Bad news on top of everything else. Service Plus came out the day after I called to give me an estimate. It's a lot. BUT, I can pay a small amount each month to pay it off.<br />
<br />
Like...<br />
The kids have been doing well... aside from Jacob's scares with pink eye (yes, scares plural) and Katie's ear infection. Jackson... well, he's fine so far aside from the normal bumps and bruises that come from just being 2 years old. <br />
<br />
There are some things in my personal life that are a little tough right now so when I need something to be thankful for I just remember that I have three sweet (mostly!) and totally wonderful kids (always), a supportive family, and great friends.<br />
<br />
And remembering all of this awesomely good stuff that has happened in the last 5 months doesn't hurt either.<br />
One Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15509473226183430391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4283506243691040238.post-14984570891185360792013-03-19T11:18:00.001-05:002013-03-20T20:45:21.592-05:00Depressing rant... Full steam ahead!(Oops! Just edited to get rid of all of those random characters.)<br />
<br />
Ever get so excited about something that you've been working toward, that's finally JUST about to happen... it's right around the corner... only to find out, out of the blue, that it's not going to happen after all?<br />
<br />
That was me today.<br />
<br />
I've been working with the mortgage company to refinance the house. I've gotten paperwork and I've talked to the guy who sits with you to SIGN the papers. I thought this was a done deal.<br />
<br />
Until today's call.<br />
<br />
Todays call was a huge letdown.<br />
<br />
We can't refinance because of a child support debt. A debt we pay each month. A debt we've been regularly paying off (the required low amount) for the last couple of years.<br />
<br />
I'm... disappointed to say the least.<br />
<br />
I'm also... mad, and sad, and very unhappy.<br />
<br />
Now I have to mentally give back the $300 we would have added to the checking account as a buffer... and for car repair, new insulation, maybe replacing a window or two.<br />
<br />
It would have been nice, because we ALSO have doctor visits, hospital bills (ER visits are not cheap), birthdays coming up, Christmas to think about (yes, starting to think about it now), and Katie's clothes that are in their last wears and will need to be replaced.<br />
<br />
But, on the upside, our family still has a place to live, food on the table, healthy (aside from some stomach issues and colds) kids, cable and internet, cell phones, and one good car. So I guess it's not ALL that bad.<br />
<br />
I'll just add all of that *other* stuff to my running list and *eventually* it will (probably? hopefully? maybe?) happen.<br />
<br />
Sigh.<br />
<br />
Thus concludes my whining. (And some really weird spacing between paragraphs.)<br />
One Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15509473226183430391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4283506243691040238.post-32061866146181707442013-02-17T19:32:00.001-06:002013-02-17T20:22:12.940-06:00THIS is glamour.<p>This is how I answered the door when the pizza guy delivered the pizza. </p>
<p>This is not how I remembered looking.</p>
<p>Then again, the last time I looked at myself in a mirror it was 2:00 and I had just rushed through a bathroom break before returning to my chores while refereeing the kids in their play. At 2:00 today*, I did not have the thick headband, nor the accenting sparkly BELT of Katie's, on my head. When I add the arm shrug in large floral print that I remember answering the door in, well, it was a winning look.</p>
<p>(*If I was looking for a pearl of wisdom, it might be that alot can change in 3 minutes/hours, and... don't store found accessories on your head while cleaning.)</p>
<p>So, for the first time since 2:00, I looked in the mirror while I was sitting with Jack during his bath. I  realized how I looked... oh so glamorous. </p>
<p>The pizza guy (good looking, young, hip, and did I say good looking?) was smiling a little and I *thought* he was amused by Jake's claim that he could carry the burning hot child size pizza box. Instead, it seems he *may* have been laughing just a little at my appearance.</p>
<p>Then I remembered that I'm a mom of three and while I do clean up nice, I've had these adorable, inquisitive, imaginative barnacles.... er,  kids hanging off of me all day. So I've moved on. Because there are more important things to think about.</p>
<p>Like, does anyone else have a kid who likes to drink their bath water? Pretty gross.</p>
<p>In other news;</p>
<p>Katie and Jake are friends again. They're walking their pillow pets around the house on leashes (made from Katie's tights). They are called "Apple Dash" and "Dark Vader". The kids are VERY responsible stuffed pet owners.</p>
<p>Jake is a BIG fan of Darth Vader. He roots for him in every YouTube video we watch, and he almost has me convinced that D.V. is the hero and *not* Luke Skywalker.</p>
<p>Almost bedtime. The time of night I look soooo forward to. But first, showers for the rest of the kids, then story time, and then bed!</p>
<div class='separator' style='clear: both; text-align: center;'> <a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSA0sQd1mZR2BwapmUJ4aI7r12fCsvM_fHoImSO02wFNcN0L6gGxsDUjToijGQQXTS0ks_bD9HO2xtoWOn0KkIRIRbaKMKu8FZI6P5LiOpOdT7ozAzYsZBrb5L7TMcU-fcq3yflZriHao/s1600/0217131920a.jpg' imageanchor='1' style='margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;'> <img border='0' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSA0sQd1mZR2BwapmUJ4aI7r12fCsvM_fHoImSO02wFNcN0L6gGxsDUjToijGQQXTS0ks_bD9HO2xtoWOn0KkIRIRbaKMKu8FZI6P5LiOpOdT7ozAzYsZBrb5L7TMcU-fcq3yflZriHao/s640/0217131920a.jpg' /> </a> </div>One Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15509473226183430391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4283506243691040238.post-7018196650802313112013-02-15T22:27:00.001-06:002013-02-15T23:29:56.505-06:00The Secret Garden - Spoiler Alert: It's a story about an ugly, cross girl whose parents die of cholera and who is deserted by the servants soon thereafter. (And that summarizes chapters 1-3)<p>I just started reading this book with Katie and Jacob tonight. (Well, more with Katie because Jake was out like a light by the 8th page.)</p>
<p>She really liked it, even though we stopped at the end of each section to talk about things that happened. Like, say, CHOLERA ("Where is the cholera, Mom? Is it NOW??"), a little girl being left alone when her parents DIE from the cholera ("What do they do with the people who die, Mommy?"), a little girl being totally FORGOTTEN when all of the servants (who don't really like her anyway) DESERT the house, and the same little girl being described as "cross" and "ugly" for the entire first three chapters... I didn't really remember any of this from when I read the book.</p>
<p>Come to think of it, maybe I saw the movie. Where they summarized lots (and LOTS) of the first chapters. I think that's why all of the story setup is vaguely familiar but still surprising.</p>
<p>But, Katie seems to like it. She was "imagining the story" when she closed her eyes and didn't actually fall asleep, so I guess we'll continue on.</p>
<p>(Jacob can join us. This story is great for putting him right to sleep!)</p>
<p>Speaking of Katie, she's been sick all week. She started puking on Sunday and was FINALLY well enough to go to school today. </p>
<p>I knew she was better because, 1) she was no longer vomiting up ONE ounce of water she tried to drink, 2) she was able to keep some actual FOOD down, and 3) she wasn't the polite little girl she had been.*</p>
<p>*Oddly, my kids lose most of their demanding side when they get sick. Not just puking sick, cough and cold sick too. Dealing with the symptoms is gross, and messy, and a lot of hard work to get through, but it's kinda wonderful too. Because it's not everyday that my kids are all, "please" and "thank you" and "may I" and no one is fighting or exclaiming about how the other kid did them wrong...</p>
<p>Is it weird that I'm a little nostalgic?</p>
<p>Not that I like the puking or anything, it's just a nice change from the yelling and arguing that I see more often than I would like.  And I'm expected to mediate for the arguments when there is clearly no answer that won't result in one or both kids being furious with me. </p>
<p>(My newest approach to fighting/arguing is to put both of them in time out when they start up. They both know in advance that this is what will happen, and I usually ask, "Oh wonderful children that are the sunshines of my life [I may be paraphrasing a little bit here], are you fighting? Because if what I hear is fighting you will both go to time out..." because I'm a softie and don't *actually* want to punish anyone. Luckily, that stops things from progressing, or at least pulls it back from the hitting phase, where no one is a winner.)</p>
<p>They *do* get along a lot of the time though. And they bond over school (Katie's the teacher), Spongebob, books (Katie's the reader), games on Katie's nook (Katie's the game planner), and Katie mothering her brothers, and that makes me proud.</p>
<p>Just too bad we can't stretch that "a lot of the time" to include the other 80% of their waking hours.</p>
One Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15509473226183430391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4283506243691040238.post-45999245899188359452013-02-06T22:22:00.001-06:002013-02-06T23:22:10.620-06:00Jacob is... Quirky. <p><p>So. Every morning Jacob wakes up and fusses because he doesn't want to get up. He says it's too bright, school is stupid, he's too tired, and "eeeaaaaaahhhhhhaaaa". (I don't know what that means. It's just some kind of nails on chalkboard sound he makes when he's... displeased. It's awful. Especially first thing in the morning. Or anytime.)</p>
<p>When he can *finally* be coaxed from bed, daddy helps him get dressed and then it's my turn to oversee the teeth brushing/bathroom stuff. This goes pretty smoothly for the most part, exept for one tiny, little, horrible thing. </p>
<p>Jacob has issues with water. </p>
<p>Oh, he loves to play in it... He can play *in* it forever and his hands and feet can get all pruney and he's fine, but get a drop of water on the kids' clothes and it's the end of the world. Like, must-change-my-shirt, can't-wear that, why-can't-my-shirt-just-be-dry horrible. First thing in the morning. Quirky, right?</p>
<p>So this is what's been happening every. single. day. for about 2 weeks...</p>
<p>I take a shower each morning (just as I have for longer than Jake has been ALIVE). When I get out on the shower, water drips onto the floor (not rocket science, right?).</p>
<p>Jacob always manages to find one tiny drip with his socks.</p>
<p>I (in my most patient of voices, you know, the one that makes me sound like a crazy disney princess?) humor him and tell him that they will dry, but he doesn't care. All he can say is that his socks are wet. And I know from past experience that his feet aren't going anywhere near his shoes till those socks are dry.</p>
<p>So, I grab the socks he didn't wear from the day before (they were wet, doncha know) and put them on him. He's fine with that. And today's socks have now become tomorrows.</p>
<p>So today, imagine my surprise when Jacob gets through his morning routine with no water/sock drama!</p>
<p>Thinking I'm in the clear, we start getting shoes and coasts on. Gramps comes in from outside to get Katie to the car. Leaving behind tiny amounts of... snow. Watery, drippy snow.</p>
<p>All is fine till Jacob gets to the kitchen and goes to get his shoes on... and steps in a little bit of water from Grandpa's boots.</p>
<p>Insert big sigh here.</p>
<p>Luckily I had the socks from the day before so he had dry socks.</p>
<p>Tomorrow I'm going to put his socks in his shoes. Duh. Why didn't I think of that sooner...</p>
One Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15509473226183430391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4283506243691040238.post-71474428647641019552013-01-25T21:00:00.001-06:002013-01-25T21:33:15.660-06:00When you wish upon a star...<p>My mom wish list...</p>
<p>1. Sleep seven nights through without being woken up by the odd sensation that someone is staring at me while I sleep (scary the first couple times it happens) or fussing because they need to go potty RIGHT NOW... or just randomly talking (loudly) in their sleep.</p>
<p>I'm at about three nights a week of (blissful) uninterrupted sleep right now. Big cheers for leaving the infant phase!</p>
<p>2. Plan ahead for birthdays and holidays. Like having outfits ready *before* the day of the event (and gifts I don't pick up from Target on the way to the party).</p>
<p>3. Expose my kids to more culture and learning experiences. You know, once I think I can handle jaunting off with the three of them on a whim. To places where we'll end up visiting a restroom on every floor (twice, because when I asked if anyone else had to go, you know, since we were already there, everyone, EVERYONE said no). And doing this at an age where they will understand that they have to act like refined children instead of like a bunch of loveable, but nutty crazies. Oh, and bonus if I don't end up dripping with sweat because the crazies fed on each others' energy till they were all bouncing off the walls (and it might not be acceptable to use a stroller for a 7, 4, and 2 year old) and I become more interested in finding the nearest exit to get our of dodge before things get REALLY bad... AND finding a bathroom because someone has a tiny bladder and won't be able to walk another inch unless the bathroom is in sight. </p>
<p>(Of course, I'll still hear the dreaded "Mommeeeeyyyy, I have to go potteeeeyyyyyy" as soon as we're in the car on the way home and... I've just exhaled all of my tension in anticipation of a nice, peaceful ride home.)</p>
<p>4. Ummm. Maybe substituting their current shows with more...  educational television?<br>
(I doubt that iCarley and SpongeBob are not considered educational TV. I'll admit I find SpongeBob... entertaining. But educational? Probably not so much. Bummer.)</p>
<p>5. Learn that crazy math Katie will be doing in school before long (or at least a few of the newfangled math terms *she* knows NOW but that sound like craziness to me... math mountains anyone?).</p>
<p>6. Spend more time with Jackson. Poor kid gets lost in all of the noise with the older kids and he's so funny and kinda chatty at 19 months.</p>
<p>7. Keep cheering the kids on, but not in the weird "you can be anything you want to be" way. No, instead, in a more realistic, "if you work hard at something, you might be able to reach your goal... maybe."</p>
<p>(I told Katie about *my* childhood dream of becoming a vet. And how that dream changed after I realized it wasn't all petting cuddly animals and wearing a crisp, white coat. There would be a lot of school and some animal dissections and the possibility of having to perform *gulp* "real" surgery as a vet... Well, those realizations changed my mind really quickly.)</p>
<p>And isn't it better to be honest when your kid's dream (of the week) is to be a princess? Of course, I gave her my blessing to try the princess thing, but asked her to get her education so she would have something to fall back on.</p>
<p>8. Add another set of eyes to the ones already on the back of my head. But these should have xray vision to see through walls. Cause kids are sneaky and my mom superpowers need to step it up a bit.</p>
<p>There are more, but I'll stop here... It's bedtime and I have to pry Katie's nook from her hands. Her iCarley intake is at maximum (which means it's getting late, and I can't listen to any more screaming teens tonight).</p>
One Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15509473226183430391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4283506243691040238.post-59764517816978369082012-11-15T18:00:00.000-06:002012-11-15T18:00:03.913-06:00Juggling. Never one of my strengths.I feel like a juggler these days.<br />
<br />
<br />
When I think about juggling I think about people on unicycles.<br />
<br />
And when I think about people on unicycles I think about parades.<br />
<br />
And when I think about parades I think about clowns.<br />
<br />
<br />
I do not like clowns... and I do not like anything that reminds me of clowns. Like juggling. (I have nothing against people on unicycles however.)<br />
<br />
These days I've been juggling. A lot.<br />
<br />
I do laundry on Saturday so I can plan outfits for the kids for Monday through Friday, I pull outfits together on Sunday (appropriate outfits based on what they'll be doing at school on a given day) for the whole week and I *try* to check the calendar to see if there are any special activities going on* and put out clothes that would be good for that activity. I grocery shop on the weekend in between wrangling kids and mediating fights.<br />
<br />
<i>*I forgot to do this a couple of weeks ago. I went to pick Katie up from school and was surrounded by kids... IN COSTUME. Dancing and listening to a DJ. Because, you know, costume parties are common for HALLOWEEN. I totally forgot kids could dress up that day, even though a note was sent home about it. I would have felt worse except that Katie wasn't mad about it. Neither of us said a word about the kids in costume all around us like it was an everyday thing. (Oh, that princess over there with the gown and gloves and tiara? Not wierd at all. Or the kid in the hulk costume with the bulging muscles? Totally normal for a Friday.) She just walked to get her backpack and coat and headed to the car saying good-bye to a few friends as we left. It was odd, but a big relief. Jacob had HIS dress up day a week later. I didn't forget. Definately some guilt going on.</i><br />
<br />
It's pretty busy and I have to be totally <b>on</b>. Like, <i>can't forget I paid a big bill so DON'T spend big bucks at the grocery store, even if meat is on sale </i><b>on</b>.<br />
<br />
And in the middle of all that crazy, I have to think about holidays.<br />
<br />
Like Halloween. All I can say is that I'm glad Jake's costume still fit him after a whole year (of wearing it around the house to play in). Even if it was a little... snug and maybe a tad bit... short in the legs. Oh, and yay that he still had all three pieces for it! We didn't buy new costumes for any of the kids this year which was nice, but I can just tell that next year we're going to need to get new costumes (or maybe we can hit some sales soon!).<br />
<br />
So even with the usual craziness, Halloween was fun. Me, the kids, Grandma and Grandpa, and Grammy and Grampy went to church for the harvest festival. Telling knock knock jokes in the car on the way.<br />
<br />
Candy, games, bouncy house... they had a blast. Oh, and hot dogs and chips for dinner. (I wonder why hot dogs taste better anywhere but at home...?)<br />
<br />
Katie was... a princess (shocker, right?), Jake was batman, and Jackson was a lion. He wore the costume big sis and big bro wore when they were around his age.<br />
<br />
When we got home at around 7:30, me, mom, and Katie and Jake* walked around the neighborhood and stopped at probably 15 houses. They were so cute running up to each house.<br />
<br />
Along the way, Katie heard some big kids say "trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat" and was <i>facinated</i> by it. At the second to last house, mom noticed she paused before getting to the steps... Katie was doing a quiet run through under her breath.<br />
<br />
She wasn't quite ready to tell the people at that house but at the <b>last</b> house mom told the lady that Katie was practicing something and Katie did recite it. It was quiet but she got it all said and got a second piece of candy for her efforts!<br />
<br />
Then it was back to our house. The kids dumped out their buckets and we looked at the sea of candy and oohed and ahhhed over the treats until bed time.<br />
<br />
*Jackson stayed home; he was pretty tired after running wild at church for an hour and all of the excitement and people, but the other kids had some energy to burn!)<br />
<br />
<br />
Finally the house quieted down... and I got to enjoy a few pieces of candy!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU9rnITne_BjRbLqnrTon3m2QHzjxHJuCt0u0KbH4ZJAbQPpi286ZlEUT0TzlzNXWWB2fFS2nKRzxaNAzMnGdn_GfoWPTDe8g_jjnnl6z93ILFtClg7wl9HNY5eXf42KSOVO3M0KY4h1U/s1600/Halloween+10.31.12+me+and+kids.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU9rnITne_BjRbLqnrTon3m2QHzjxHJuCt0u0KbH4ZJAbQPpi286ZlEUT0TzlzNXWWB2fFS2nKRzxaNAzMnGdn_GfoWPTDe8g_jjnnl6z93ILFtClg7wl9HNY5eXf42KSOVO3M0KY4h1U/s320/Halloween+10.31.12+me+and+kids.JPG" /></a></div><br />
Me with my princess, my lion, and my batman.One Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15509473226183430391noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4283506243691040238.post-2098220836256565762012-10-19T13:30:00.002-05:002012-11-15T12:06:09.423-06:00And on and on and on... Where I fill you in on the past month.Hey everyone out there!<br />
<br />
It's been a busy last few months for us in a pretty good way.<br />
<br />
Katie started 1st grade and loves it. She's so busy every day with her before and after school program, "centers" in her classroom, art projects and school work (I get to pull many papers out of her folder each day), that she falls into bed each night between 8 and 9 which is SUPER nice for mommy!<br />
<br />
She's also got ... homework! Every Wednesday she brings home something for math. Wednesday is <i>also</i> the day she goes to Awana for church. This means that on Thursday night we're busily working on homework before (and usually after) dinner. And here I thought that when I was done with school I would be done with homework. <b>*sigh*</b><br />
<br />
At least now when she does her addition and subtraction I can check her work. Who knows what 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc. grades will bring. (A little nervous for algebra over here.)<br />
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Katie went to a pumpkin farm with her day care club. She had fun. I got a call from a teacher to say that she "fell and cut her lip, and I wanted to let you know before you came to pick her up. She's okay and everything, but her lip was a little bloody and now there's a bump on it but she's fine and I just wanted to tell you so you have advance warning before you come to get her today. I hope you get this message by then... Goodbye." I got the message and chuckled a little bit. As long as they don't call to say KATIE IS IN THE HOSPITAL, HURRY, SHE'S BLEEDING PROFUSELY, I'll be okay.<br />
<br />
It was a bit red and there was a cut... but it seems to be over her prior cut where she fell off of a bench and hit her lip on the corner of the wall in the living room. <br />
<br />
A count of the kids' injuries (If there were tears but no blood, I didn't count it) so far:<br />
Lip - Katie (twice), Jake (once), Jack (once)<br />
Stitches - Jake (once - with 5 stitches)<br />
Head - Jake (twice), Jack (twice)<br />
<br />
If we were counting bumps and bruises, I think the list would go on and on. Especially since Jake seems to like pushing Jackson over (poor baby!) and Jackson seems to fall over a lot on his own - he fell <b>3 times</b> in one day at day care, right onto a hard floor. (I took him to the clinic that night and found that he has an ear infection. Hopefully that will clear up the problem a bit.)<br />
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Yep, I said day care! Jake and Jack have taken a huge step forward. Both boys are in the childcare program at the community center Katie went to when she was younger! Jackson is in the baby room and Jake is in pre-school.<br />
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Jacob seems to like the toys but doesn't really want to go (probably because he has to share and do things with the group... and he "doesn't want to play with other kids" and he "doesn't want to eat lunch" because he wants to keep playing) but it's getting better. He's starting to conform. Not hugely, but enough so he can stay out of the take a break chair. <br />
<br />
And the teachers told me (with raised eyebrows and a look of shock) that he's great with clean up time. Probably because he hears it all of the time. Before he started pre-school, I would get home from work and we would have to do clean up time... Jake was pretty good with that once I labeled bins with pictures for him but I was a little surprised to hear he was one of THE BEST kids when it comes to cleaning up at school!<br />
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He went on a field trip last month and was SO GOOD! He got to pick a pumpkin to bring home and he got to ride on the bus. He was thrilled. (I was thrilled that he wasn't banned from future field trips due to any naughty behavior!)<br />
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Jackson seems to like his class. Each morning when I drop him off I fill out a sheet with his name, the date, how long he slept overnight, and what he's eaten that morning. The teachers fill out his diaper changes, what he ate for each meal, something he had fun doing that day, and finally they complete the sentence: I was a little ____ and a little ___... or something like that.<br />
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When we arrive he sits in one of the chairs around the little table (<b>on his own!</b>) and the teacher gives him his breakfast. It's the cutest thing EVER.<br />
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Things have been changing for me, too! I started a new job as a business analyst in the IT department (at the same company I've been working for the past 8 years). It was hard leaving the comfort of my old department but this move was great for me. So far, I'm loving it.<br />
<br />
And surprise, surprise, we're having car issues. One of the cars, you know, the one that's <b>just been paid off</b>, died. It cost about $100 to get it towed from the parking lot to our house until we can figure out what to do next. Dad thinks repairs might be in the THOUSANDS. I'll just say "Ugh" and leave it at that.<br />
<br />
And John has been able to find work now that his days are free. So far he likes what he's doing and I think he likes being around other adults!One Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15509473226183430391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4283506243691040238.post-52227180732200022892012-05-27T23:19:00.001-05:002012-05-27T23:19:52.041-05:00Supercalifra... Where are you, Mary Poppins?<div><p>I know why they make kids toys in such bright colors.</p>
<p>It's so parents know at a glance if the thing baby is banging on the wall is a toy, or something big brother or big sister happened upon in their constant search for breakables and ink pens. And markers. </p>
<p>And scissors.  </p>
<p>And cash (because what fun is scissors without something valuable to cut up?). </p>
<p>(That only happened once...)</p>
<p>So if I don't see pepto pink, princess purple, primary orange, red, blue, green, and that bright yellow, I'm pretty certain I need to intervene.</p>
<p>Or, if someone is sitting quietly for more than 2 minutes, usually in a different room and usually with their back to the door, that's my cue to run over. (Literally run. Those seconds saved by running vs. walking are VITAL. From one who knows.)</p>
<p>And when I DO catch someone doing something they shouldn't be doing, they're always shocked to see me. </p>
<p>If it's Jake, he gives me a big grin and if he's standing he'll usually do a little jump and his eyes dart from side to side like he's looking for an escape route.  He usually denies all. Even though the evidence is *right* in front of me.</p>
<p>And sometimes he just shrugs and says "Yep mommy!" when I catch him.</p>
<p>Always with a smile.  He stands still *just* long enough for my heart to melt at how precious/precocious?  he is... and then he's off again. Onto his next adventure (and my next few grey hairs).</p>
<p>Katie's quieter.  Also? She does things that we might not notice right away...  like when she cut off a chunk of her hair and I didn't notice it till I found the evidence under her bed. I confiscated scissors two days before. And I had even washed her hair the day before and didn't notice a thing. So I don't know who was MOST surprised.  Me to find a chunk of hair? Or Katie because she didn't expect to be found out. She looked at me and all I did was shake my head and ask her if she was hungry for some dinner. </p>
<p>Or when she made "nests" out of dry spaghetti noodles and we found them in her room under her bed, under the desk, IN the desk, under her rug, and behind the couch. And not all at once either! It was a gift that kept on giving.</p>
<p>Jack is pretty little yet so we've got lots and lots of time to learn his quirks. And hopefully we'll catch on quickly.</p>
<p>I do look forward to the days when I won't need to sleep with one eye open or jump up to check on one of the kids when things are *too* quiet, or encourage cleanup cooperation when kids are "too tired" or their "legs hurt"... or they "can't bend". </p>
<p>But I don't want to be too excited about time moving forward. Because once these days pass, there's no going back and I will (probably) really miss the baby/toddler stages (when I'm dealing with three teenagers and licenses and dating and busy "teen" activities).</p>
<p>And I've loved every moment with these kids even when I don't know weather to laugh or cry. I usually lean toward laughing. A sometimes maniacal laugh, but hey, still a laugh.</p>
</div>One Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15509473226183430391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4283506243691040238.post-80730135966590624172012-05-05T21:29:00.000-05:002012-05-05T21:30:14.925-05:00Birth certificates and taxesWell, it's official. Birth certificate stuff is my nemesis.<br />
<br />
I'm not sure if you remember the birth certificate debacle from last year (if not, you can read <a href="http://oneboyonegirloneblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/katies-kindergarten-registration.html" target="_blank">here</a> for a refresher) but basically I put off getting one for Katie, didn't even think about it, until I learned that we needed it to enroll her in kindergarten, then the race was on. It worked out but it was stressful.<br />
<br />
If you do remember, well, you're probably wondering how I could have run into problems so soon. I mean, neither of the boys is old enough to enroll in school so no rush there. And we're not traveling so we don't need it for that. (Given the timing, you can probably guess why we need it but let's pretend I'm keeping you in suspense till the end of the post . Like a mystery...)<br />
<br />
Well. I can explain. And I'm happy to report that it is not my fault. Well, not all of it is my fault.<br />
<br />
<br />
The story begins a long time ago, in a land far away... or rather...<br />
<br />
Back in June of 2011 when I had my third and final baby. While I was in the hospital after giving birth, I filled out a lot of forms. A whole mess of them.<br />
<br />
On one of those forms there was a little tiny box that parents were supposed to check off if they wanted to receive a shiny new social security card in the mail mere months after giving birth.<br />
<br />
I checked that box. Unfortunately it did not occur to me that I should have been keeping an eye out for the card to show up.<br />
<br />
Finally, I realized* (when the clinic bill came for some of Jack's well checks and I actually opened the letter and saw that the total was in the THOUsands... and freaked out a little before I realized that it was because they didn't have a SSN for him) that I hadn't seen the card yet. <br />
<br />
*<span style="font-size: x-small;">I *might* have realized this in January (okay, yes, it was January). </span><br />
<br />
So I called the hospital and explained my dilemma and before I had taken my next breath, the lady told me to call the social security office. And that was that.<br />
<br />
So I did and let me just say, have you ever had to call the social security office? I waited for probably 25 minutes for someone to answer my call for help and was on the phone for maybe 3 minutes - just long enough to explain my problem, and listen to some fast typing by the rep, before I was told to call the hospital again because the social security office didn't show any request for a card.<br />
<br />
Soooo, I called the hospital back. And after waiting on hold (for 15 minutes I would never get back) then being told yet again that I needed to contact the social security office, and then INSISTING the hospital needed to look into the issue, the nurse researched. She found out that whoever sent in that batch of requests had not marked whatever she should have marked so I would get that shiny new card in the mail.<br />
<br />
And I asked her if I had checked that box on my form (because I had a tendency to fill out the forms in the wee hours of the night when there was nothing else to do and it's entirely possible I hadn't checked it.)<br />
<br />
But, you guys, I DID check that box!<br />
<br />
So you can maybe imagine my frustration at being told that I would now need to request a card from the social security office. So, I called social security again to explain the situation. Hoping that there was a special "go-to-the-front-of-the-line" prize for people with my special circumstances.<br />
<br />
I can now tell you that there is not a special prize.<br />
<br />
You get the same sucky "prize" as the people who forgot to check the stupid box in the first place. Can you guess what that is?<br />
<br />
Ahhh, I'm happy to tell you.<br />
<br />
You get to mail in a request for a BIRTH CERTIFICATE. And once that arrives, *then* you get to mail in the request for a social security card. <br />
<br />
I checked last week to see how long it would take to get the birth cert and it looks like they're starting to work on the requests received in... oh, mid to late February. Yes. They're more than 2 months behind.<br />
<br />
More. than. two. months.<br />
<br />
So you might wonder why it took me so long to start this whole process after talking to someone months ago and I'll tell you.<br />
<br />
I'm not proud of it but...<br />
<br />
I was sulking. I was grumbling. I was mad and holding a grudge against the nice hospital lady who couldn't help me at all. And every time I started thinking about it, I would get madder and I would get huffier.<br />
<br />
And I was protesting against the injustice of it all. (And maybe whining a little bit.) And... well, I didn't think I would need it for 4.5 more years, so I was procrastinating the whole thing.<br />
<br />
And then? I started filling out my taxes (on April 12). And realized that the social security number is necessary if I wanted to claim Jack... and boy did I ever!<br />
<br />
So here it is, almost a month later. I'm still huffy. And I'm still feeling a little grudgy. But I put the form in the mail last week.<br />
<br />
Now I wait.<br />
<br />
And hope that I get everything by October so I can file by the extension date.One Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15509473226183430391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4283506243691040238.post-18267601153175572072012-04-16T23:23:00.000-05:002012-04-17T16:52:35.758-05:00Sweet, then sour, then a time outWhy can it be so hard for two children to get along for more than 8.2 seconds while sharing the same 8 x 10 space?
<P>
But then be so sweet you kinda want to check their backs for wings?
<P>
And then go back to fighting again?
<P>
And then be so sweet... well, you get the idea, right?
<P>
So this weekend I took Katie to her school carnival. I was going to take all of the kids but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that taking all three kids would be ... well... *crazy* is one word that came to mind.
<P>
So I told Katie that it was just going to be a Katie mommy/date, and isn't that going to be great!?
<P>
And Katie stopped what she was doing and looked at me with a sad face and asked if Jake was coming too, "because he would have so much fun."
<P>
After I explained that Jake would be staying home, I actually thought she would ruin my planned stealthy escape by telling Jake about the plan to go someplace ALONE (any time I go somewhere with one child, I do almost feel like I'm alone!) or decide not to go!
<P>
Luckily, she was okay with going and coming home to get Jake and bringing him later.
<P>
Off we went. Katie played lots of games, ate cotton candy, had lunch, played more games, and she won two books, purple vampire teeth (that she immediately decided should be given to Jake), a chapstick, a felt board with a scuba scene, and some candy.
<P>
She saw three of her friends and I talked to parents to give them a heads up about Katie's upcoming friend party! (That's a whole 'nother post...)
<P>
She had a great time and shared some of the candy she won with her brother. Sweet kid!
<P>
We never did go back with Jake. He didn't really miss us - he was toobusy playing with Katie's new dollhouse.
<P>
Grammy and Grampy picked her up in the evening for an overnight and church on Sunday morning. She got home at around noon and it was play/fight with Jake/play nicely with Jake/complain that Jake is pushing her/play quietly by herself/play quietly with Jake/fight with Jake/talk back to mommy/go to time out/dinner/bath/bed.
<P>
Needless to say, I was a little excited for bedtime.One Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15509473226183430391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4283506243691040238.post-57378422678453038232012-03-11T22:13:00.001-05:002012-03-11T22:13:55.734-05:00Exercising... again. Finally.<div><p>So this was day 1 of the 30 Day Shred.</p>
<p>If that sounds familiar,  well, it should. I went through this a couple of years ago when Jake was about a year old (and there were no plans for another baby). And stopped when I found out I was pregnant with Jackson.</p>
<p>Yeah. Preggers. That was a surprise.  Exciting but unexpected. </p>
<p>That was 18 months ago and I've been great at finding excuses for why I didn't have time, energy, or child-free moments since then. </p>
<p>So at that point I didn't just stop doing the shred.. I pretty much stopped doing ANYthing (except eat. I did lots of that. Especially eating for two... ahem.) and now, I'm about 10 lbs. (okay, more like 15) over the weight I was when I found out I was expecting.</p>
<p>So I'm getting back into it.</p>
<p>Today was day one. And I'm partly in it to improve my health, and partly because I found a great trench, and I've *always* wanted one, on sale (my jaw dropped when I saw the price and I immediately clutched it to me and started eying other shoppers with distrust. Stopped just short of stroking it and calling it Preciousssss...) at Target last year that I MUST fit into this spring.</p>
<p>I'll have to post a picture when I wear it for the first time.  Can't wait.</p>
<p>Unfortunately this means cutting back on my candy intake. No more red hits, licorice,  or *sigh* Hot Tamales. </p>
<p>But it will be SO worth it.</p>
</div>One Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15509473226183430391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4283506243691040238.post-14428944497643988512012-02-27T20:53:00.001-06:002012-02-27T20:53:27.813-06:00Conjuncta-wha???<div><p>The boys are sharing!  </p>
<p>So what if it's pink eye.  Sharing is sharing, right?</p>
<p>Um, if you just shouted "NO!" while vehemently shaking your head and making sweeping arm gestures...</p>
<p>well, I totally agree with you.</p>
<p>Sharing conjunctivitis isn't as nice as sharing oh, say, a truck or a cookie. (Mmmmm. Cookies!)</p>
<p>And also I want to know who came up with the name "pink eye"?  It sounds.. cute and fuzzy!</p>
<p>Conjunctivitis is not cute and fuzzy. It's all matted eyelashes, avoiding wet baby kisses and hands (at least if ya want to avoid catching it yourself!), crying over eye drops (Jackson) and eye ointment (Jacob... because I thought we could hold him down for a quick eye swipe better than actual drops) and is not all of the fun it's name implies.</p>
<p>Luckily John is really good at wrangling them for the eye stuff AND the amoxicilan Jack is taking for his neverending cold.</p>
<p>So, pray for us. We really don't want to get sick ... again (I still remember the puke incident from a few months ago. *sigh*).</p>
<p>At least Jake is still his usual, charming and sneaky (did I just type that?? Um, yeah. I did.) self. </p>
<p>Case in point?</p>
<p>John saw Jake walking to his room with a glass of water and when he walked to the kitchen and back to his room with a refill, daddy investigated. Especially after, when questioned, Jake paused to tell him that he wasn't spilling.  Which is probably true because he was probably pretty intentionally "dumping" the water out. And that's not the same as "spilling" to a 3 year old.</p>
<p>When he saw daddy coming down the hall, he shut his door.</p>
<p>Daddy opened the door and stopped him before he could dump the cup out in the middle of his floor, to add to the puddle he'd already started.</p>
<p>Crisis averted.</p>
<p>And a clean floor to boot!  Win, win!</p>
<p>Now, if only he would have rolled around in the water a little. </p>
<p>Bathtime*? Check.  We could've called it a day.</p>
<p>Maybe next time... maybe.</p>
<p>*Okay, I wouldn't classify that as a bath.  There would have to be soap involved and after the last incident of a very bubbly bubble bath and unusually foamy hair because *someone* hid the bubble bath bottle under the bath water, mommy learned to lock that stuff up. So I'm sure we won't be enjoying any spontaneous puddle baths any time soon.  Unless he convinces Katie to help him with the child proof locks (that I've already mentioned are *not* childproof for Katie).  She might help him too. If she can pin it on him (or the baby) when they get caught.</p>
<p>Love these kids... they keep me on my toes!  And, even with this pink eye fiasco, they're super cute!</p>
<br/><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU1-jR0oi7A8bVMfk40Pl6d4zjA25FxQJL-M3xZA03YpQL-0UoxHmyJuYETkcgpchtctCgTpWIqEHULBQoW4FuXSTjIP9ENXr2Q-Pt8lOhnN99w6GBSB_BGFzTnJhKURsxJp56pMe9XAY/' /></div>One Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15509473226183430391noreply@blogger.com0