Two weeks ago, when people asked me how staying at home was going, I said, "Great, I love it!" If you had asked me during this past week (which was hard because I don't think I put on make up, got dressed or left the house) I would have shot you a glare and said, "Don't ask."
That's because the flu got us. Again. And while it's been about a year, it seems like it was only days since the last time. I hate the flu. I mean, really, vehemently, venomously, abhor it. I'll take colds, congestion, coughing, strep throat, heck, I'd even take a little bird flu over THE FLU. Not the flu for which you get a shot every year, the dreaded stomach flu.
Ben got it first. Friday night we had a play date at a friend's house while Matt hunted. We were there not twenty minutes when Ben sneezed, looked at me, and promptly threw up on their carpet. I thought, naively that it was an anomaly. Thirty seconds later he proved that theory wrong. This time we made it to the bathroom floor anyway. Well, playdate over! We cleaned up, I left Gabe there because he was having a great time and my friend was willing to keep him for awhile and we went home in the van. With a bucket!
We got home, Matt got home, and Ben threw up again. Poor kid. He's never had it happen before and you could just tell he was a bit bewildered. I was cleaning up the carpet in the hallway and he came out of the bathroom with a towel and said, "I help you Mommy." What a sweetie. Then he said, "I got to bed now. I'm tired, " picked up his puppy and his paci and headed down to his room. I never heard another peep from him and he slept a full 13 hours. Saturday dawned, nobody threw up again, I cleaned and lysoled everything I could and I thought, "Oh thank goodness, we're in the clear." Early Sunday morning, Gabe threw up.
Now, as a side note, you should know that one of the very worst, depressing periods of my life occurred when Gabe was 20 mos. old and I was pregnant with Ben. Gabe got the rotovirus. He was literally sick for almost 8 weeks and I practically missed work the whole month of March. It was awful. Two trips to the ER for fluids and $1400 later, he recovered, but man, it was a long haul!
(NOTE: I started this post on Nov. 18th and am just returning to it now on Jan. 11th!)
Well, Sunday morning was not the end of it. I ended up taking Gabe to the ER and 2.5 hours later they sent us home with advice to wait it out. Tuesday morning Lyndee threw up. Wednesday night Gabe started throwing up again. Thursday morning Lyndee threw up again. Ugh, I think we finally were rid of it by Sunday. Thankfully Matt and I escaped it. I don't know what is worse though, thinking you're going to get it and feeling sick all the time, or just getting it and being done with it!
Then the second week of December it hit us again! Only Ben this time, yay! If there is a Yay in that at all!!!
Finally we are all doing better and getting on with our lives. Seriously, being sick or having sick kids consumes your days and your nights. Knock on wood, I hope we're in the clear for another year!
Lesson learned: Use lysol often and religiously along with clorox wipes, purell hand gel and frequent hand washing. Also, patience....this too shall pass.
Kiddos 2014
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Four Hot Wheels and a Barrette
Gabe seemed to have a penchant for chewing things when he was a baby. I can remember when he was about 9 months (the same age Lyndee is now) and in daycare while I worked. He had somewhat of a constipation problem, so I never worried when he seemed to have a hard time going number two! Well, one weekend it was a little worse than normal. At last he seemed to succeed. I changed his diaper and Matt was with me.
"What's that?" he said when he saw the diaper.
"I don't know, something black," I replied a little impatiently. I just wanted to be done with that stinky mess. We tended at that time to examine most diapers since he had had problems with a protein allergy early on in his babyhood. We were constantly looking for signs that the allergy was rearing its ugly head again. That said, Matt wanted to take a closer look.
"Amy, get out here and look at this."
Baby on my hip, I walked out on the deck and saw my husband with two toothpicks holding up something black.
"What is it?"
"A wheel."
"A wheel?"
"A hotwheel."
"What do you mean a hotwheel?"
"You know, a hotwheel, like from a hotwheels car!"
I was amazed and since we didn't own any hotwheels at the time, I knew it must have come from daycare. I called my daycare mom and told her about it laughingly. I really thought it was funny and made for a pretty good story for his baby book. She of course was mortified. I assured her it was no big deal and we'd see her on Monday.
Sunday night, we had another poopy diaper. Of course, we examined it as usual. Only this time we found the other three wheels! Now we had a complete set! We've laughed about that story many times over the past three years.
Next, Ben comes along, never swallows anything but food. Doesn't chew on stuff he's not supposed to, just exists as the model child.
Finally, Lyndee the chewing machine joins our family. I can't believe that Lyndee is already 9 months old! She is truly a wonderful, delightful little girl, but she hasn't been without challenges. Currently the challenge is to keep things out of her mouth. With two boys and two dogs around, challenge is exactly what it is!
The first thing she munched, choked on and succeeded in swallowing was part of a Ty beanie baby tag. I wasn't even sure she had gotten it. I thought I saw a flash of red, then there was a a cough, a smile and it was gone. Two days later, out it came, covered in yellowish you know what. I showed it to Matt and he unknowingly picked it up.
"What is this I'm looking at?"
"Ummm...you know that tag that we thought Lyndee swallowed? Well, that's it."
"You washed it right?"
"Well, not exactly."
"What?!"
Yeah, that was not my most wifely moment. I mean, I had it on a napkin. I didn't think he'd actually pick it up!
On to bigger and better swallowed items.
She's taken a liking to one of the toy baskets in the living room. I think it's because it sheds these raffia bark like pieces. She finds these, even immediately post vaccuum, and pops them in her mouth like gum.
Now that it's fall, she also likes leaves, their stems, and the boys' croc shoes that they leave by the back door. The other day I heard, "squeak squeak squeak." Was it a mouse? No just the two new top teeth of my daughter's squeaking on the rubber crocs!
Let's see, what else? A short list includes: socks (dirty or clean), her own shoes, toilet paper, bath toys, water bottles, baby food tops, newspaper, magazines, books, styrofoam packing peanut, baby wipe, bottle cap, hotwheels, Little People, stuffed animals, the boys' clean undies, and her own toes. I know there are a lot of things in there that are choking hazards. I try to keep it all out of her way, but sometimes my vigilance is not so vigilant. I admit, I'm rather easily distracted at times.
Last Saturday was one of those times. I was out shopping with a friend and I had Lyndee dressed up in the cutest little outfit, complete a blue glitter encrusted barrette. I mean, she has enough hair now and even dressed head to toe in pink, people still think she's a boy. I wanted to make her look very girly. She was adorable and the barrette stayed in most of the day. Until we got in the car to traverse from the mall to Target. She was cranky so we were taking the back way in the hope that she'd catch a little cat nap. About a minute into our short commute, she choked and coughed, I looked back to see if she was okay, she started crying then settled down when I gave her a toy. I figured, no big deal, sometimes she just coughs! We got to Target and I took her out of her carseat to feed her so we could shop in peace.
No barrette in her hair.
I proceed to search for said barrette.
No barrette in the car seat.
No barrette on the floor of the van.
No barrette in her sweater.
No barrette in the van seat.
No barrette anywhere.
Baby smiles at me. Hmmmmm...barrette in tummy?
48 hours later.
Barrette in diaper. Baby smiles at me. Barrette not in tummy anymore!
Just in case you're wondering, after going through the entire digestive tract, glitter and blue paint were still very evident on the barrette. The thing I find most ironic about the ability of my daughter to swallow non-food items? The fact that she resists almost all solid food and simply wants to nurse! I guess she's just a gourmet!
"What's that?" he said when he saw the diaper.
"I don't know, something black," I replied a little impatiently. I just wanted to be done with that stinky mess. We tended at that time to examine most diapers since he had had problems with a protein allergy early on in his babyhood. We were constantly looking for signs that the allergy was rearing its ugly head again. That said, Matt wanted to take a closer look.
"Amy, get out here and look at this."
Baby on my hip, I walked out on the deck and saw my husband with two toothpicks holding up something black.
"What is it?"
"A wheel."
"A wheel?"
"A hotwheel."
"What do you mean a hotwheel?"
"You know, a hotwheel, like from a hotwheels car!"
I was amazed and since we didn't own any hotwheels at the time, I knew it must have come from daycare. I called my daycare mom and told her about it laughingly. I really thought it was funny and made for a pretty good story for his baby book. She of course was mortified. I assured her it was no big deal and we'd see her on Monday.
Sunday night, we had another poopy diaper. Of course, we examined it as usual. Only this time we found the other three wheels! Now we had a complete set! We've laughed about that story many times over the past three years.
Next, Ben comes along, never swallows anything but food. Doesn't chew on stuff he's not supposed to, just exists as the model child.
Finally, Lyndee the chewing machine joins our family. I can't believe that Lyndee is already 9 months old! She is truly a wonderful, delightful little girl, but she hasn't been without challenges. Currently the challenge is to keep things out of her mouth. With two boys and two dogs around, challenge is exactly what it is!
The first thing she munched, choked on and succeeded in swallowing was part of a Ty beanie baby tag. I wasn't even sure she had gotten it. I thought I saw a flash of red, then there was a a cough, a smile and it was gone. Two days later, out it came, covered in yellowish you know what. I showed it to Matt and he unknowingly picked it up.
"What is this I'm looking at?"
"Ummm...you know that tag that we thought Lyndee swallowed? Well, that's it."
"You washed it right?"
"Well, not exactly."
"What?!"
Yeah, that was not my most wifely moment. I mean, I had it on a napkin. I didn't think he'd actually pick it up!
On to bigger and better swallowed items.
She's taken a liking to one of the toy baskets in the living room. I think it's because it sheds these raffia bark like pieces. She finds these, even immediately post vaccuum, and pops them in her mouth like gum.
Now that it's fall, she also likes leaves, their stems, and the boys' croc shoes that they leave by the back door. The other day I heard, "squeak squeak squeak." Was it a mouse? No just the two new top teeth of my daughter's squeaking on the rubber crocs!
Let's see, what else? A short list includes: socks (dirty or clean), her own shoes, toilet paper, bath toys, water bottles, baby food tops, newspaper, magazines, books, styrofoam packing peanut, baby wipe, bottle cap, hotwheels, Little People, stuffed animals, the boys' clean undies, and her own toes. I know there are a lot of things in there that are choking hazards. I try to keep it all out of her way, but sometimes my vigilance is not so vigilant. I admit, I'm rather easily distracted at times.
Last Saturday was one of those times. I was out shopping with a friend and I had Lyndee dressed up in the cutest little outfit, complete a blue glitter encrusted barrette. I mean, she has enough hair now and even dressed head to toe in pink, people still think she's a boy. I wanted to make her look very girly. She was adorable and the barrette stayed in most of the day. Until we got in the car to traverse from the mall to Target. She was cranky so we were taking the back way in the hope that she'd catch a little cat nap. About a minute into our short commute, she choked and coughed, I looked back to see if she was okay, she started crying then settled down when I gave her a toy. I figured, no big deal, sometimes she just coughs! We got to Target and I took her out of her carseat to feed her so we could shop in peace.
No barrette in her hair.
I proceed to search for said barrette.
No barrette in the car seat.
No barrette on the floor of the van.
No barrette in her sweater.
No barrette in the van seat.
No barrette anywhere.
Baby smiles at me. Hmmmmm...barrette in tummy?
48 hours later.
Barrette in diaper. Baby smiles at me. Barrette not in tummy anymore!
Just in case you're wondering, after going through the entire digestive tract, glitter and blue paint were still very evident on the barrette. The thing I find most ironic about the ability of my daughter to swallow non-food items? The fact that she resists almost all solid food and simply wants to nurse! I guess she's just a gourmet!
Monday, October 8, 2007
Confidence
Okay, I know, it really has been too long. I think when I started this blog, I had the romantic notion of myself on the computer either early in the morning after my run, or in the evening while my husband put the kids to bed. Neither has happened on a regular basis as of late.
Early in the morning doesn't work well for a couple of reasons. One of which is that I am NOT a morning person. And the second reason is that I haven't been able to run or resume regular exercise of any sort until this week. You see, I had varicose vein surgery almost two weeks ago! I won't write about that yet, but let it be known that that experience was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. In fact, I kind of enjoyed the anesthesia experience as a whole! It's the most carefree I've felt in years!!!
No, I want to write today about confidence! Remember that deodorant commercial years ago, "Confident, confident, dry and secure, raise your hand, raise your hand if you're sure!" Well, the truth is, having three kids in four years has not been easy on my confidence and sense of self. Part of that is because being a parent, for most of us, is very self-sacrificing. You do more things for the betterment of others in your life and not for yourself. I don't say that to have you think, oh, look at her, always helping others rah rah. I say it because for me it has been true.
I had a conversation with one of my HS friends last spring about making friends beyond HS and college. And she described her friends that she has coffee with once a week. She mentioned one of her friends and then said, "She's my you, my Amy. I mean, she's really got her act together." And I was shocked. Really? Do I really portray that attitude to others? That I've got my act together? Because for most of the time over the past four years, I've felt like I'm simply treading water. Not that some of that treading hasn't been wonderful and amazing, but still the learning curve is so high as a new parent three times over, that I feel lucky to keep my head above water.
I know that my family views me as confident and a take charge kind of person. We often laugh about the stories of summers when I would get the community education brochure and plan out my entire summer. I'd go from swimming lessons in the morning, to arts and crafts downtown, to home and lunch, then bike to canoeing class in Memorial Park and then take off to floor hockey at the high school. That's not even mentioning swimming with friends in the afternoon and organizing neighborhood night games in the evening. And I was EIGHT! So, yes, at that time I could do anything!
And then in junior high and high school I held many leadership positions and membership in lots of different activities and athletics: musicals, plays, declam, basketball, track, cross country, cheerleading (that may have been a minor misstep on my part!), band, choir, student council, peer helpers, etc. etc. I was a leader and except for in the area of boys, I was confident. College followed a fairly similar pattern although at that time, I guess I became more a part of the general crowd instead of being a leader.
In my early years of teaching I was fairly fearless and innovative, coaching too. But then my confidence began to erode a bit. Especially in the last four years, there are many times I can recall thinking back on the girl and young woman I'd been and thinking, "Where did she go? Where did that fearless girl go?" And the funny thing is, I couldn't really begin to determine why my confidence had suffered so much until recently.
For me, confidence has always been tied to a few things.
Appearance - okay, well since my physical appearance has changed several times in the past four years with three pregnancies that caused some difficulties in maintaining confidence, no matter how shallow that may be. And being pregnant and gaining weight was not the challenging part, I loved the whole deal, morning sickness, bloated ankles and all. The challenging part has been finding clothes that you feel good in when you've fluctuated so much in the past years. It's kind of like yo yo dieting with a purpose and three babies to show for it.
Work - Am I good at my job? Are the kids learning? Am I communicating with parents? Am I being a leader? In the past four years, I have taught two and a half years. So, I haven't been consistent in that area at all. And when you're home with little kids or working and picking up your kids, no matter what your situation, being a parent is not a very appreciated thing. Your two year old isn't going to say, "Thanks for this mac and cheese mommy. I know it was a hard day at work and this is the best you could muster up on such short notice. I love you anyway." No, he says, "Don't want mac and cheese!" and proceeds to feed it to the dog. Your four year old isn't going to say, "Mom, thanks for going to work today, and for vacumming too. I really appreciate the clean clothes." No, he says, "I don't wanna go to daycare. I wanna go to Grammie's!" And your baby won't say, "Mom, I know you're really tired, and your students were really taxing today. I think I'll just go to bed early and you can wake me in the morning." No, she doesn't go down until 10 and then proceeds to wake up every two hours to eat because she's trying to get her teeth! This has also been tied in to financial confidence. In the past year, I'd wonder why we struggled so much to make ends meet and why when compared to others our age we "had" less. Until I realized that I've essentially been part time and paying daycare when I have been full time.
Marriage - Am I a good wife? Am I giving my husband enough time and attention? When you have three little kids, it's impossible not to let something slide and the easiest thing to let go of is your marriage!
Now that I'm home, I'm reassessing my level of confidence and where my priorities lie.
As far as appearance goes, I'm doing okay. I'm trying to exercise on a regular basis and am finding clothes now that I hope will fit for a longer period of time. From my earlier posts, you know I've discovered the beauty school and so keeping my hair the way I wanted on a limited budget can now be accomplished. Plus, for the most part, I'm around other moms with young kids and I really don't care what I look like. Seriously, I dress for me and my kids and not for anyone else and that feels good too!
Work now is working at home. I described myself recently as a "recent stay at home mom." I guess you could also say I'm a "recovering teacher." Prior to this fall, I have said to many friends that I didn't know if I was going to be able to do it. And now, I don't know how I ever did it before! How did I teach, coach, maintain my home, be a wife, friend and a parent? The answer is that I truly did none of it as well as I wanted to. I wasn't as good of teacher or coach as I can be. My home was not maintained (although sometimes it still isn't!), my husband lost some of the girl he married and my kids got what was left over, which oftentimes wasn't much. No wonder I lacked patience and confidence! Now that I'm home I feel so much more focused and less fragmented. I can sit and read with my kids at any time during the day. I can go to the bathroom anytime I want (although I usually have company). I can have pancakes for breakfast and frosted flakes for lunch if I want. I can make a good supper for my family and we can sit down together. I can be what I am, and that's my kids' mom.
And, I can actually have conversations with my husband that aren't about what he doesn't do to help me, but about what I'm doing to help him and his children and what he does to help me and our children. The financial challenge hasn't gone away, but we're working on it and I think we'll be okay!
So, when Matt and I decided that it made sense for me to stay home with the kids, it wasn't the kids I worried about, or Matt or even our finances. It was me. Will I be able to do it? Will it drive me crazy? Will I feel trapped? Will this battle with my confidence continue to be a battle?
I'm surprised. Incredibly surprised, you could even say amazed. I can do it. I'm not crazy. I'm not trapped, I feel peacefully grounded. And my confidence? It's back! I can't believe it! For the first time in four years, I really feel like myself again. I don't wonder where that confident girl of my youth has gone, because crows feet and all, I'm right here and better than before.
What a journey this past month has been. Both for myself and my family. One of my favorite quotes came from one of the stores at the Mall of America - Autumn Cottage. It said, "Whatever you are, be a good one." And that's what I'm doing.
Early in the morning doesn't work well for a couple of reasons. One of which is that I am NOT a morning person. And the second reason is that I haven't been able to run or resume regular exercise of any sort until this week. You see, I had varicose vein surgery almost two weeks ago! I won't write about that yet, but let it be known that that experience was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. In fact, I kind of enjoyed the anesthesia experience as a whole! It's the most carefree I've felt in years!!!
No, I want to write today about confidence! Remember that deodorant commercial years ago, "Confident, confident, dry and secure, raise your hand, raise your hand if you're sure!" Well, the truth is, having three kids in four years has not been easy on my confidence and sense of self. Part of that is because being a parent, for most of us, is very self-sacrificing. You do more things for the betterment of others in your life and not for yourself. I don't say that to have you think, oh, look at her, always helping others rah rah. I say it because for me it has been true.
I had a conversation with one of my HS friends last spring about making friends beyond HS and college. And she described her friends that she has coffee with once a week. She mentioned one of her friends and then said, "She's my you, my Amy. I mean, she's really got her act together." And I was shocked. Really? Do I really portray that attitude to others? That I've got my act together? Because for most of the time over the past four years, I've felt like I'm simply treading water. Not that some of that treading hasn't been wonderful and amazing, but still the learning curve is so high as a new parent three times over, that I feel lucky to keep my head above water.
I know that my family views me as confident and a take charge kind of person. We often laugh about the stories of summers when I would get the community education brochure and plan out my entire summer. I'd go from swimming lessons in the morning, to arts and crafts downtown, to home and lunch, then bike to canoeing class in Memorial Park and then take off to floor hockey at the high school. That's not even mentioning swimming with friends in the afternoon and organizing neighborhood night games in the evening. And I was EIGHT! So, yes, at that time I could do anything!
And then in junior high and high school I held many leadership positions and membership in lots of different activities and athletics: musicals, plays, declam, basketball, track, cross country, cheerleading (that may have been a minor misstep on my part!), band, choir, student council, peer helpers, etc. etc. I was a leader and except for in the area of boys, I was confident. College followed a fairly similar pattern although at that time, I guess I became more a part of the general crowd instead of being a leader.
In my early years of teaching I was fairly fearless and innovative, coaching too. But then my confidence began to erode a bit. Especially in the last four years, there are many times I can recall thinking back on the girl and young woman I'd been and thinking, "Where did she go? Where did that fearless girl go?" And the funny thing is, I couldn't really begin to determine why my confidence had suffered so much until recently.
For me, confidence has always been tied to a few things.
Appearance - okay, well since my physical appearance has changed several times in the past four years with three pregnancies that caused some difficulties in maintaining confidence, no matter how shallow that may be. And being pregnant and gaining weight was not the challenging part, I loved the whole deal, morning sickness, bloated ankles and all. The challenging part has been finding clothes that you feel good in when you've fluctuated so much in the past years. It's kind of like yo yo dieting with a purpose and three babies to show for it.
Work - Am I good at my job? Are the kids learning? Am I communicating with parents? Am I being a leader? In the past four years, I have taught two and a half years. So, I haven't been consistent in that area at all. And when you're home with little kids or working and picking up your kids, no matter what your situation, being a parent is not a very appreciated thing. Your two year old isn't going to say, "Thanks for this mac and cheese mommy. I know it was a hard day at work and this is the best you could muster up on such short notice. I love you anyway." No, he says, "Don't want mac and cheese!" and proceeds to feed it to the dog. Your four year old isn't going to say, "Mom, thanks for going to work today, and for vacumming too. I really appreciate the clean clothes." No, he says, "I don't wanna go to daycare. I wanna go to Grammie's!" And your baby won't say, "Mom, I know you're really tired, and your students were really taxing today. I think I'll just go to bed early and you can wake me in the morning." No, she doesn't go down until 10 and then proceeds to wake up every two hours to eat because she's trying to get her teeth! This has also been tied in to financial confidence. In the past year, I'd wonder why we struggled so much to make ends meet and why when compared to others our age we "had" less. Until I realized that I've essentially been part time and paying daycare when I have been full time.
Marriage - Am I a good wife? Am I giving my husband enough time and attention? When you have three little kids, it's impossible not to let something slide and the easiest thing to let go of is your marriage!
Now that I'm home, I'm reassessing my level of confidence and where my priorities lie.
As far as appearance goes, I'm doing okay. I'm trying to exercise on a regular basis and am finding clothes now that I hope will fit for a longer period of time. From my earlier posts, you know I've discovered the beauty school and so keeping my hair the way I wanted on a limited budget can now be accomplished. Plus, for the most part, I'm around other moms with young kids and I really don't care what I look like. Seriously, I dress for me and my kids and not for anyone else and that feels good too!
Work now is working at home. I described myself recently as a "recent stay at home mom." I guess you could also say I'm a "recovering teacher." Prior to this fall, I have said to many friends that I didn't know if I was going to be able to do it. And now, I don't know how I ever did it before! How did I teach, coach, maintain my home, be a wife, friend and a parent? The answer is that I truly did none of it as well as I wanted to. I wasn't as good of teacher or coach as I can be. My home was not maintained (although sometimes it still isn't!), my husband lost some of the girl he married and my kids got what was left over, which oftentimes wasn't much. No wonder I lacked patience and confidence! Now that I'm home I feel so much more focused and less fragmented. I can sit and read with my kids at any time during the day. I can go to the bathroom anytime I want (although I usually have company). I can have pancakes for breakfast and frosted flakes for lunch if I want. I can make a good supper for my family and we can sit down together. I can be what I am, and that's my kids' mom.
And, I can actually have conversations with my husband that aren't about what he doesn't do to help me, but about what I'm doing to help him and his children and what he does to help me and our children. The financial challenge hasn't gone away, but we're working on it and I think we'll be okay!
So, when Matt and I decided that it made sense for me to stay home with the kids, it wasn't the kids I worried about, or Matt or even our finances. It was me. Will I be able to do it? Will it drive me crazy? Will I feel trapped? Will this battle with my confidence continue to be a battle?
I'm surprised. Incredibly surprised, you could even say amazed. I can do it. I'm not crazy. I'm not trapped, I feel peacefully grounded. And my confidence? It's back! I can't believe it! For the first time in four years, I really feel like myself again. I don't wonder where that confident girl of my youth has gone, because crows feet and all, I'm right here and better than before.
What a journey this past month has been. Both for myself and my family. One of my favorite quotes came from one of the stores at the Mall of America - Autumn Cottage. It said, "Whatever you are, be a good one." And that's what I'm doing.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
The play set from hell
Okay, so it's not really from hell. And it probably would have been easier to put up with my dad around. But we were bound and determined to do it on our own. Well, a weekend and two afternoons and evenings later, it is almost finished. In fact, as I write, Matt and neighbor John are out there with flood lights trying to finish the darn thing.
It all started Saturday. Well, it really all started in July when my dad bought the play set for us from Menard's. It's pre-cut, pre-measured, pre everything, impossible to screw up. Not so. We did screw it up. Several times. But it is standing and it looks great in the flood lights.
I'll back up. We bought it in July. It sat in the garage for 6 weeks. Did I mention before that we are both teachers? How did we not have "time" to do it this summer? Well, if I am to be totally honest, it was me who did the dragging of the feet. I mean, Ben just turned two and has no fear. I really did not want him climbing on a structure four feet off the ground and flinging himself down a slide or rock wall and until he was at least two years and two months! Which he is now. Factor in also that we just recently got our back fence opened up to include our whole yard instead of just a portion of it. So the play set actually has a large area to sit.
Now, on to Saturday. Friday night I say, "Honey, let's get a plan so that we can start this thing in the morning and not sleep in (HA!) and then open the boxes, realize we need other things from Menard's and then finally start at 2:00."
"Umm, okay, but I have to set up my deer stand tomorrow and the Huskers play at 11:00."
Scratch the plan that was in my head, try to stick to reality. "Okay, I'll go to the Farmer's Market with the kids, let you watch the Huskers and we'll start at 2:00." No, we started at 5:30. And it morphed from "we" into Matt and neighbor John. I guess my role in getting this all done was limited to watching the kids.
A little side note here. I love my kids. I love doing things with my kids. I love talking to my kids. I also love my husband. I like my neighbor. But by the time Sunday night rolled around, I didn't like ANYONE!
Saturday progresses......sloooooowowwwwwlllllyyyyyyy. Sunday is rally Sunday at church. I take the three kids, by myself, to the last part of church, then to Sunday school and the nursery and finally home. I drive into the driveway. I see no progress. I get crabby again. Apparently, a team of carpenters can build a house in 72 hours on extreme home makeover, but Matt and neighbor John cannot build a platform with a frame in 36. The learning curve here is immense. I spend all day with the kids. Gabe has two timeouts. Ben has one timeout. I take Gabe and Lyndee to Target while Ben is sleeping. I feel as if I am slowly losing my mind and Gabe's continual conversation and questions starts to sound to me like the teacher's voice on Charlie Brown. Woh wah woh wah wonh wohn.
Sadly, not my most brilliant parenting moments occur on Sunday. At 8:00 I put all three kids down to bed. I sigh in relief. At 8:03, I start the marathon of getting the boys to be quiet and stop being silly in their now shared bedroom. I went in the first time and they were out of their beds wrestling. I threaten, cajole and bribe them back into bed. The wrestling was mildly entertaining. The next time I go in, everything that was on Gabe's bed and on the floor are now on Benjamin's toddler car bed. I can't find Benjamin, he is buried.....and laughing. I threaten, cajole and bribe them back into bed. I take Ben into our bed. I put Ben back into his bed. I take Gabe into our bed. Finally, at 9:00 pm on Sunday, I march outside and tell Matt that he has to be done, I cannot take it anymore and can he PLEASE come inside and help me get Gabe to bed?! I think he thought that he was going to have to check me in somewhere because he got very quiet and agreed to come in.
I recovered and Monday we began our week again. It was a fine day, considering that Gabe had lost all tv and bike riding privileges for his behavior the night before. Matt came home at 4:00. We did not see him again until 11:00 pm. Tuesday, Matt works over lunch, takes a continuing grad credit class, comes home at 7:00, goes to work on the play set. It is now 11:03. They are still working.
I know it will all be worth it in the end. The kids will love to play on it. I will enjoy sitting outside watching them play on it. Matt will feel proud that he built this for his kids. My dad will be happy that Matt did it by himself. Our friends and their kids will enjoy it, too. But for now, I miss my husband, my kids miss their dad, even the dogs miss him. We'll remember his hard work this weekend when we're playing on it and he's fishing for muskie up in Detroit Lakes. I guess he's earned it.
And the next project on my list? Putting together the bunk beds for the boys. Stay tuned!
It all started Saturday. Well, it really all started in July when my dad bought the play set for us from Menard's. It's pre-cut, pre-measured, pre everything, impossible to screw up. Not so. We did screw it up. Several times. But it is standing and it looks great in the flood lights.
I'll back up. We bought it in July. It sat in the garage for 6 weeks. Did I mention before that we are both teachers? How did we not have "time" to do it this summer? Well, if I am to be totally honest, it was me who did the dragging of the feet. I mean, Ben just turned two and has no fear. I really did not want him climbing on a structure four feet off the ground and flinging himself down a slide or rock wall and until he was at least two years and two months! Which he is now. Factor in also that we just recently got our back fence opened up to include our whole yard instead of just a portion of it. So the play set actually has a large area to sit.
Now, on to Saturday. Friday night I say, "Honey, let's get a plan so that we can start this thing in the morning and not sleep in (HA!) and then open the boxes, realize we need other things from Menard's and then finally start at 2:00."
"Umm, okay, but I have to set up my deer stand tomorrow and the Huskers play at 11:00."
Scratch the plan that was in my head, try to stick to reality. "Okay, I'll go to the Farmer's Market with the kids, let you watch the Huskers and we'll start at 2:00." No, we started at 5:30. And it morphed from "we" into Matt and neighbor John. I guess my role in getting this all done was limited to watching the kids.
A little side note here. I love my kids. I love doing things with my kids. I love talking to my kids. I also love my husband. I like my neighbor. But by the time Sunday night rolled around, I didn't like ANYONE!
Saturday progresses......sloooooowowwwwwlllllyyyyyyy. Sunday is rally Sunday at church. I take the three kids, by myself, to the last part of church, then to Sunday school and the nursery and finally home. I drive into the driveway. I see no progress. I get crabby again. Apparently, a team of carpenters can build a house in 72 hours on extreme home makeover, but Matt and neighbor John cannot build a platform with a frame in 36. The learning curve here is immense. I spend all day with the kids. Gabe has two timeouts. Ben has one timeout. I take Gabe and Lyndee to Target while Ben is sleeping. I feel as if I am slowly losing my mind and Gabe's continual conversation and questions starts to sound to me like the teacher's voice on Charlie Brown. Woh wah woh wah wonh wohn.
Sadly, not my most brilliant parenting moments occur on Sunday. At 8:00 I put all three kids down to bed. I sigh in relief. At 8:03, I start the marathon of getting the boys to be quiet and stop being silly in their now shared bedroom. I went in the first time and they were out of their beds wrestling. I threaten, cajole and bribe them back into bed. The wrestling was mildly entertaining. The next time I go in, everything that was on Gabe's bed and on the floor are now on Benjamin's toddler car bed. I can't find Benjamin, he is buried.....and laughing. I threaten, cajole and bribe them back into bed. I take Ben into our bed. I put Ben back into his bed. I take Gabe into our bed. Finally, at 9:00 pm on Sunday, I march outside and tell Matt that he has to be done, I cannot take it anymore and can he PLEASE come inside and help me get Gabe to bed?! I think he thought that he was going to have to check me in somewhere because he got very quiet and agreed to come in.
I recovered and Monday we began our week again. It was a fine day, considering that Gabe had lost all tv and bike riding privileges for his behavior the night before. Matt came home at 4:00. We did not see him again until 11:00 pm. Tuesday, Matt works over lunch, takes a continuing grad credit class, comes home at 7:00, goes to work on the play set. It is now 11:03. They are still working.
I know it will all be worth it in the end. The kids will love to play on it. I will enjoy sitting outside watching them play on it. Matt will feel proud that he built this for his kids. My dad will be happy that Matt did it by himself. Our friends and their kids will enjoy it, too. But for now, I miss my husband, my kids miss their dad, even the dogs miss him. We'll remember his hard work this weekend when we're playing on it and he's fishing for muskie up in Detroit Lakes. I guess he's earned it.
And the next project on my list? Putting together the bunk beds for the boys. Stay tuned!
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
I've given up...
Okay, don't panic. But I have given up.....on my quest for a tan. I remember my summer lifeguarding days in high school and college. I fancied myself tan, blonde and rather leggy. Now, I'm just highlighted, wearing capris to hide my veriscosities and incredibly white Norwegian. I always start the summer under the illusion that I may once again get that golden glow. After a few days spent at the pool or the lake, I achieved all that I could achieve this summer. Not a tan, not even a rosy glow, but only a minor pink hue. I've lost all my ability to turn what little melanin I have into a tan. I'm not the only one in my family to be pasty white. Both my sisters are (sorry guys), my mom used to be although she's the tannest of us all now, and my dad, well, only his forearms bear witness to the fact that he's been in the sun.
And now, it looks as if I've passed down the pastiness to my children. Gabe is a true tow head. White blonde hair in the summer, a touch of strawberry in the blonde the rest of the year. Ben, thankfully, inherited the Northrop olive tone and darker blonde. And Lyndee, well, she is perhaps the whitest baby I have ever seen! I am loyal to sunscreen and my kids have never had a burn, as white as they are. It's amazing stuff. And they really do have a bit of a tan, but only my husband and I can see the tan lines in the tub. And when the kids have declared, "It's naked time!" but that's another posting altogether. Until then, pasty whites, unite!
And now, it looks as if I've passed down the pastiness to my children. Gabe is a true tow head. White blonde hair in the summer, a touch of strawberry in the blonde the rest of the year. Ben, thankfully, inherited the Northrop olive tone and darker blonde. And Lyndee, well, she is perhaps the whitest baby I have ever seen! I am loyal to sunscreen and my kids have never had a burn, as white as they are. It's amazing stuff. And they really do have a bit of a tan, but only my husband and I can see the tan lines in the tub. And when the kids have declared, "It's naked time!" but that's another posting altogether. Until then, pasty whites, unite!
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Home
We left Omaha on Monday, later than anticipated of course, and got back to Rochester at about 9 pm. Matt grumbled about having to start work on Tuesday and we set about unpacking. I unloaded the car while he readied the kids for bed. Between 9 and 10:30 I don't think I sat down. Between putting kids to bed, feeding Lyndee and unpacking, it was just a blur. Right in the middle of this Matt says, "Ready for bed?" Daggers shot from my eyes. "Ummm...no, I don't think so. Do you not see everything that has to be done before I can relax?" And in all reality, he doesn't. He could go to bed with things piled everywhere and it wouldn't bother him. Sigh, sometimes, I wish I could be more like that. Needless to say, Matt went to bed. I cleaned up a bit more, then sat on the couch, downed 4 pieces of friendship bread and a water, and read the paper. Downtime and alone time are necessary things after a togetherness weekend!
And then it was Tuesday and the first day of school. Matt made it out the door on time. I had to wake Gabe up so that he could get ready because we had Meet the Teacher for preschool. Mom came to babysit the little ones and Gabe and I were off. I had combed his hair, sprayed it and made him wear a collared shirt. What I hadn't done was prepared myself for this. I had to admit, I was nervous! And anxious. And a little sad! This was my baby, going off to school for the first time! Gasp, sob! Okay woman, get a grip. It's preschool, and it's only Meet the Teacher for crying out loud. You're not leaving him there! Deep breath, here we go.
We walked to room 7, met his teachers, found his cubby and signed in. He explored the science table (yay, bugs!), the water table, the painting table and the blocks. Then he got to go outside with one of his teachers while I and the rest of the T/Th am parents stayed to listen to the teacher. I have to say, it is quite different being on this end of the parent/teacher relationship. I admit I was a bit intimidated. And worried about how I was going to be judged as a parent. If anything, this will definitely make me approach teaching differently. During the presentation, the back door creaked open and in walked my son. He walked straight to me and said, "Mommy, I'm going to play inside now." Ummm, not you're not and I took him straight back outside. No sooner had I sat down in my preschool chair than I heard the door creak open again and heard my 4 year old sobbing. I knew before I turned around that it was him. Yep, I'd know that sorrowful, "I've been injured" cry anywhere. Turns out, he had fallen off the swing. Nope, no ice thanks, it wouldn't help anyway. As we walked off the hurt, turns out the thing he wanted most was to play in the three year old playground. It did look a bit more enticing with its brighter toys and other climbing things. And no basketballs were out in the four year old playground. My son the ball boy! We were finally calmed and able to leave without a scene. I hope his teachers didn't look at each other after we left and go, "yep, he's the one this year, he's the crier." I am a tad apprehensive about how Thursday will go. We'll just have to wait and see I guess.
The funny thing that happened today actually occurred in the van while running an errand. We have many great conversations in the van.
"Mommy, why do rotten eggs smell?"
"Well, I don't know. I guess it's because they don't hatch right or something inside goes rotten."
"Oh. Maybe they're rotten because they come from rotten birds."
You can just hear the wheels turning all the time. I mean, that would be logical, wouldn't it. Rotten eggs come from rotten birds! "No, I don't think so honey. I think the eggs just go bad sometimes."
"I think I know why Mommy. I think it's because their mommies don't take care of them."
"Oh, I don't know honey. I think sometimes it just happens."
"Yeah, and maybe it's because sometimes their mommies don't take care of them," he replies.
What could I do but agree with him. Maybe it is because their mommies don't care for them. There are so many questions to which mommies don't know the answer. Not the least of which is why rotten eggs smell bad!
And then it was Tuesday and the first day of school. Matt made it out the door on time. I had to wake Gabe up so that he could get ready because we had Meet the Teacher for preschool. Mom came to babysit the little ones and Gabe and I were off. I had combed his hair, sprayed it and made him wear a collared shirt. What I hadn't done was prepared myself for this. I had to admit, I was nervous! And anxious. And a little sad! This was my baby, going off to school for the first time! Gasp, sob! Okay woman, get a grip. It's preschool, and it's only Meet the Teacher for crying out loud. You're not leaving him there! Deep breath, here we go.
We walked to room 7, met his teachers, found his cubby and signed in. He explored the science table (yay, bugs!), the water table, the painting table and the blocks. Then he got to go outside with one of his teachers while I and the rest of the T/Th am parents stayed to listen to the teacher. I have to say, it is quite different being on this end of the parent/teacher relationship. I admit I was a bit intimidated. And worried about how I was going to be judged as a parent. If anything, this will definitely make me approach teaching differently. During the presentation, the back door creaked open and in walked my son. He walked straight to me and said, "Mommy, I'm going to play inside now." Ummm, not you're not and I took him straight back outside. No sooner had I sat down in my preschool chair than I heard the door creak open again and heard my 4 year old sobbing. I knew before I turned around that it was him. Yep, I'd know that sorrowful, "I've been injured" cry anywhere. Turns out, he had fallen off the swing. Nope, no ice thanks, it wouldn't help anyway. As we walked off the hurt, turns out the thing he wanted most was to play in the three year old playground. It did look a bit more enticing with its brighter toys and other climbing things. And no basketballs were out in the four year old playground. My son the ball boy! We were finally calmed and able to leave without a scene. I hope his teachers didn't look at each other after we left and go, "yep, he's the one this year, he's the crier." I am a tad apprehensive about how Thursday will go. We'll just have to wait and see I guess.
The funny thing that happened today actually occurred in the van while running an errand. We have many great conversations in the van.
"Mommy, why do rotten eggs smell?"
"Well, I don't know. I guess it's because they don't hatch right or something inside goes rotten."
"Oh. Maybe they're rotten because they come from rotten birds."
You can just hear the wheels turning all the time. I mean, that would be logical, wouldn't it. Rotten eggs come from rotten birds! "No, I don't think so honey. I think the eggs just go bad sometimes."
"I think I know why Mommy. I think it's because their mommies don't take care of them."
"Oh, I don't know honey. I think sometimes it just happens."
"Yeah, and maybe it's because sometimes their mommies don't take care of them," he replies.
What could I do but agree with him. Maybe it is because their mommies don't care for them. There are so many questions to which mommies don't know the answer. Not the least of which is why rotten eggs smell bad!
Weekend in the Big O
We had a great time in Omaha! Gabe and Ben love going to "Inbraksa."
Gabe and Lyndee woke up early Saturday, so we decided to let Daddy sleep and take a walk. It's a great neighborhood to walk in, and we headed down the hill. And I mean, hill! As we walked down, I wondered how I was ever going to make it back up. We walked till we got to a nice park and Gabe got down to play. He was worried that he was going to get sand in his flip flops and and I wouldn't let him take them off because of my worry of glass. So, he finally agreed that these were his "sandy shoes," and it was okay to get sand in them. He fell off the merry go round once, all because "you were supposed to stop it when I said stop Mommy!" Ooops, chalk it up to my poor mind reading ability once again!
He went up a really big slide and I said, "Be careful!"
"I know Mommy. I know to be careful, so don't say it ever again!" Little does he know that I said it again and again each time he climbed up the steps for that slide!
We were enjoying the morning when who should happen upon us but Matt's dad, out for his morning walk. "Hi Grandpa!" Gabe waved as he approached. Grandpa kept on his walk, we took a short cut and Grandpa caught up with us. We stopped to put Gabe back in the double stroller just as a very short woman came down the path with her dog. "That sure is a little lady, Mommy!"
"Quiet honey. It's not polite to point out people that are different from us."
"But I didn't point." Have I told you that my son is very literal?
Thank goodness Grandpa walked the rest of the way with us and helped me push the stroller up the big hill. We made it home in one piece!
Gabe and Ben played pretty hard in the morning, outside, inside, down the basement, you name it. In the basement they played trampoline with the spare bed and the air mattress. I didn't know what they were doing until I peeked in and Ben was sitting on the air mattress. Gabe was standing on the bed. He yelled, "Hiiiii Yahhhh!" and jumped down onto the air mattress. Ben bounced into the air, appendages flailing. I cringed, Ben giggled hysterically. Then they switched places. They're taking turns! I thought proudly. I had to interrupt the fun to tell them that lunch was ready.
They sat down at the table, red faced Gabe gulped down two glasses of milk. Then they proceeded to eat bananas and pb and j. If they ate well, then they got their chocolate muffin for dessert. Who said bribery at meal time doesn't work. Gabe had to eat one more bite of banana.
"I did it Mommy, can I be excused?"
"Don't you want your chocolate muffin?"
"Not right now."
I should have known then that something wasn't right. My son, turning down chocolate. Was it opposite day? I ate the rest of his sandwich and his banana and went to check out the new bookcase that Cheryl bought.
"Mommy?" yelled G from the kitchen. "Mommy come quick!"
Panicked, I rushed in. I found Gabe holding his tummy. "Mommy, my tummy hurts. Look how big it is."
"Uh oh, does it feel like you're going to throw up?" No sooner had the words been spoken than "Blaaaaaahhhhhhhhh......" All over the kitchen floor. Now, throw up is not my favorite thing in the world, but I have an amazing ability to close off my senses and just do what needs to be done. But Matt, well, Matt and vomit should never be in the same place. Never. Ever.
I have to say, in this instance, once his initial gag was over, Matt did an admirable job taking care of Gabe in bathroom. Other times I've had to yell at him, "Go, just go. I can't clean up after both of you!" So, I'm cleaning up and extrapolating out in my head what this means for the weekend. I imagine myself cleaning up after all three of my kids in a house that should never have anyone sick in it because it is way, way too beautiful and put together. I imagine us being sick all the way home. I imagine myself sick shortly because I did, after all, just down Gabe's sandwich and banana without a second thought. Thankfully, that was the only episode of sickness that occurred. Twenty minutes later, Gabe wanted to eat his chocolate muffin. Needless to say, I kept him in the tiled kitchen vs. the brand new eggplant colored carpet in the living room, for about two hours.
The rest of the day was fine. The Huskers crushed Nevada and Matt and I got to take a sunset drive in his parents' solstice convertible.
We went to bed and Sunday morning came quickly. It started in a hurry. About 6 am, we hear thud, scream, crying. Gabe fell out of bed and hit his head. Now my eldest son had a very low pain tolerance. If Ben had fallen out of bed, he probably wouldn't even have woken up. If he would have woken up, he would have said, "Ow," and promptly gone back to sleep. Gabe on the other hand screamed bloody murder, thereby waking Matt and me, Ben and Lyndee. After drinks, we finally got them settled again albeit in different places in the house. Matt and Ben in the end bedroom where the boys had been together and me, Gabe and Lyndee in the middle bedroom. I finally gave up trying to sleep when Lyndee and Gabe decided that 6:30 was a good time to be awake. We went for another walk, this time with Lyndee in the front snugli and Gabe walking with me. We did NOT go down the big hill. It was another exercise vs. entertainment walk. We talked about sprinklers, flags, sewers, pine trees, leafy trees, deciduous vs. coniferous, sharks vs. fish and the purpose of speed bumps. It was enlightening.
Next came church. It was very enjoyable, mostly because the boys were in the nursery. Pastor Brad talked about work, being it was Labor Day weekend. The interesting point is that we are never really away from work. Not with cell phones and virtual work space and computers. We think about how convenient it is, when in reality, it just means that when we are at home, we are still working. There used to be more of a separation between the two. We've just become such a multitasking nation, perhaps even world that oftentimes I think we always feel distracted. I know that I feel like that sometimes anyway. My advice for a day, turn off the cell phone, don't check your email, don't text anyone, go for a walk, talk with your family. You'll be surprised at how much better you can concentrate. I know that I am.
We made it successfully through breakfast at LePeep, put Ben and Matt down for nap, (just kidding honey, although he did sleep!), and then went to the zoo. I had remembered Matt's claritin, the zoo pass, some ibuprofen, juice boxes and snacks for the kids, diapers, wipes, the snugli......but not the stroller. We pulled in to the parking lot, started unloading the kids and "Oh no."
"What?"
"I forgot the stroller."
"You've got to be kidding me."
"Ummm, nope."
"Well, now what?"
"I don't know, walk I guess."
"There goes your wife of the year award."
Dejected, we started up the hill to the gate. Half way up I had an epiphany. "They must rent strollers or something!" We got there and the sign posted said, "Sorry, we are out of strollers at this time. Check back later." Well, one minute later I walked up and checked. Sure enough,they had a double stroller and the best part? The attendant let us have it for free. He must have taken one look at our load and felt pity on us. We got to see everything we had planned on, except the elephants. Gabe was pretty disappointed with that, and so were we since we had walked to the far end of the zoo to see them.
But then we went to the giraffes. We saw the male in his inside dwelling. Gabe said something that I didn't hear.
"What honey? Yeah, he does have a big mouth."
"No, not mouth Mommy. He has big balls!" Oh floor, please open up and swallow me now.
Matt looked at me apologetically and said, "Yep, you're right son, he does have big balls," and shrugged his shoulders. Boy am I in trouble when the boys get older!
When we left, Gabe said his favorite part was seeing the choo choo train. Hmmm. Ben said that his favorite was seeing the gorillas. We didn't see any gorillas. Hmmm. Makes me wonder if the zoo pass is really worth it! Just kidding, we love the zoo. My favorite part? Seeing the elephants. What?! We didn't see any elephants? Oh yeah, that'll have to wait until the next visit.
Gabe and Lyndee woke up early Saturday, so we decided to let Daddy sleep and take a walk. It's a great neighborhood to walk in, and we headed down the hill. And I mean, hill! As we walked down, I wondered how I was ever going to make it back up. We walked till we got to a nice park and Gabe got down to play. He was worried that he was going to get sand in his flip flops and and I wouldn't let him take them off because of my worry of glass. So, he finally agreed that these were his "sandy shoes," and it was okay to get sand in them. He fell off the merry go round once, all because "you were supposed to stop it when I said stop Mommy!" Ooops, chalk it up to my poor mind reading ability once again!
He went up a really big slide and I said, "Be careful!"
"I know Mommy. I know to be careful, so don't say it ever again!" Little does he know that I said it again and again each time he climbed up the steps for that slide!
We were enjoying the morning when who should happen upon us but Matt's dad, out for his morning walk. "Hi Grandpa!" Gabe waved as he approached. Grandpa kept on his walk, we took a short cut and Grandpa caught up with us. We stopped to put Gabe back in the double stroller just as a very short woman came down the path with her dog. "That sure is a little lady, Mommy!"
"Quiet honey. It's not polite to point out people that are different from us."
"But I didn't point." Have I told you that my son is very literal?
Thank goodness Grandpa walked the rest of the way with us and helped me push the stroller up the big hill. We made it home in one piece!
Gabe and Ben played pretty hard in the morning, outside, inside, down the basement, you name it. In the basement they played trampoline with the spare bed and the air mattress. I didn't know what they were doing until I peeked in and Ben was sitting on the air mattress. Gabe was standing on the bed. He yelled, "Hiiiii Yahhhh!" and jumped down onto the air mattress. Ben bounced into the air, appendages flailing. I cringed, Ben giggled hysterically. Then they switched places. They're taking turns! I thought proudly. I had to interrupt the fun to tell them that lunch was ready.
They sat down at the table, red faced Gabe gulped down two glasses of milk. Then they proceeded to eat bananas and pb and j. If they ate well, then they got their chocolate muffin for dessert. Who said bribery at meal time doesn't work. Gabe had to eat one more bite of banana.
"I did it Mommy, can I be excused?"
"Don't you want your chocolate muffin?"
"Not right now."
I should have known then that something wasn't right. My son, turning down chocolate. Was it opposite day? I ate the rest of his sandwich and his banana and went to check out the new bookcase that Cheryl bought.
"Mommy?" yelled G from the kitchen. "Mommy come quick!"
Panicked, I rushed in. I found Gabe holding his tummy. "Mommy, my tummy hurts. Look how big it is."
"Uh oh, does it feel like you're going to throw up?" No sooner had the words been spoken than "Blaaaaaahhhhhhhhh......" All over the kitchen floor. Now, throw up is not my favorite thing in the world, but I have an amazing ability to close off my senses and just do what needs to be done. But Matt, well, Matt and vomit should never be in the same place. Never. Ever.
I have to say, in this instance, once his initial gag was over, Matt did an admirable job taking care of Gabe in bathroom. Other times I've had to yell at him, "Go, just go. I can't clean up after both of you!" So, I'm cleaning up and extrapolating out in my head what this means for the weekend. I imagine myself cleaning up after all three of my kids in a house that should never have anyone sick in it because it is way, way too beautiful and put together. I imagine us being sick all the way home. I imagine myself sick shortly because I did, after all, just down Gabe's sandwich and banana without a second thought. Thankfully, that was the only episode of sickness that occurred. Twenty minutes later, Gabe wanted to eat his chocolate muffin. Needless to say, I kept him in the tiled kitchen vs. the brand new eggplant colored carpet in the living room, for about two hours.
The rest of the day was fine. The Huskers crushed Nevada and Matt and I got to take a sunset drive in his parents' solstice convertible.
We went to bed and Sunday morning came quickly. It started in a hurry. About 6 am, we hear thud, scream, crying. Gabe fell out of bed and hit his head. Now my eldest son had a very low pain tolerance. If Ben had fallen out of bed, he probably wouldn't even have woken up. If he would have woken up, he would have said, "Ow," and promptly gone back to sleep. Gabe on the other hand screamed bloody murder, thereby waking Matt and me, Ben and Lyndee. After drinks, we finally got them settled again albeit in different places in the house. Matt and Ben in the end bedroom where the boys had been together and me, Gabe and Lyndee in the middle bedroom. I finally gave up trying to sleep when Lyndee and Gabe decided that 6:30 was a good time to be awake. We went for another walk, this time with Lyndee in the front snugli and Gabe walking with me. We did NOT go down the big hill. It was another exercise vs. entertainment walk. We talked about sprinklers, flags, sewers, pine trees, leafy trees, deciduous vs. coniferous, sharks vs. fish and the purpose of speed bumps. It was enlightening.
Next came church. It was very enjoyable, mostly because the boys were in the nursery. Pastor Brad talked about work, being it was Labor Day weekend. The interesting point is that we are never really away from work. Not with cell phones and virtual work space and computers. We think about how convenient it is, when in reality, it just means that when we are at home, we are still working. There used to be more of a separation between the two. We've just become such a multitasking nation, perhaps even world that oftentimes I think we always feel distracted. I know that I feel like that sometimes anyway. My advice for a day, turn off the cell phone, don't check your email, don't text anyone, go for a walk, talk with your family. You'll be surprised at how much better you can concentrate. I know that I am.
We made it successfully through breakfast at LePeep, put Ben and Matt down for nap, (just kidding honey, although he did sleep!), and then went to the zoo. I had remembered Matt's claritin, the zoo pass, some ibuprofen, juice boxes and snacks for the kids, diapers, wipes, the snugli......but not the stroller. We pulled in to the parking lot, started unloading the kids and "Oh no."
"What?"
"I forgot the stroller."
"You've got to be kidding me."
"Ummm, nope."
"Well, now what?"
"I don't know, walk I guess."
"There goes your wife of the year award."
Dejected, we started up the hill to the gate. Half way up I had an epiphany. "They must rent strollers or something!" We got there and the sign posted said, "Sorry, we are out of strollers at this time. Check back later." Well, one minute later I walked up and checked. Sure enough,they had a double stroller and the best part? The attendant let us have it for free. He must have taken one look at our load and felt pity on us. We got to see everything we had planned on, except the elephants. Gabe was pretty disappointed with that, and so were we since we had walked to the far end of the zoo to see them.
But then we went to the giraffes. We saw the male in his inside dwelling. Gabe said something that I didn't hear.
"What honey? Yeah, he does have a big mouth."
"No, not mouth Mommy. He has big balls!" Oh floor, please open up and swallow me now.
Matt looked at me apologetically and said, "Yep, you're right son, he does have big balls," and shrugged his shoulders. Boy am I in trouble when the boys get older!
When we left, Gabe said his favorite part was seeing the choo choo train. Hmmm. Ben said that his favorite was seeing the gorillas. We didn't see any gorillas. Hmmm. Makes me wonder if the zoo pass is really worth it! Just kidding, we love the zoo. My favorite part? Seeing the elephants. What?! We didn't see any elephants? Oh yeah, that'll have to wait until the next visit.
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Garage Sales, Packing, and a Road Trip
Another beautiful morning. I'm starting to appreciate the early peacefulness of mornings vs. the latenight peacefulness of my post midnight life prior to the start of the school year. We got out of the house early to go garage sale shopping with Grammie. The kids were great. At one sale we stopped at there were numerous toys in a sled to look at. This occupied the kids so I could clothes shop for Lyndee. When I was ready to go, I told the boys that they could each pick out one toy from the sled to buy. I had to steer Ben away from a plastic Twins cup (I've successfully managed to rid my house of most of those "collector" items). He ended up choosing a rubber snake with a strangely missing tail. Gabe chose a light up bouncy sticky octopus squid like thing that was quite occupying for the rest of the morning.
Garage sales are a phenomenon that intrigue me to no end. Here, I'm going to put stuff I don't want in my driveway and garage, price them, and wait for you to dig through them and buy what you want of my cast offs. At some sales I'm like, "You don't want this anymore? Sweet! My gain!" At others I'm like, "Yeah, and you want a quarter for THAT?!" It always slays me when something is marked 10 cents and a buyer will say, "Take a nickel for this?" Ummm...no? I mean, it's only a dime!
I had a garage sale last Friday and the Friday before that. It was supposed to be a Friday/Saturday thing, but we had torrential rains and flooding on Saturday. So, I figured since it was already set up in the garage anyway, might as well try next week, too! It was fairly profitable for me and then none of it came back into my house so it feels great too. On the final day, I put a sticker on Gabe that said $1 and on Ben I put one that said, "Make Offer." No one bought the boys but I had several offers for cute little Lyndee.
My favorite purchase of the morning came at the end where I got an Old Navy sweater and pair of Gap jeans for myself. Seriously, I am the queen of bargains! You know those magazines where they put "affordable" outfits on models and then list prices like "Sweater - $90, Jeans - $120, Shoes - $80, Total for this great outfit - only $290!" They could put me in there with this caption "Gap Jeans - $1, Old Navy Sweater - $.50, Old Navy Flip Flops - $2, Total price - $3.50!" I love the hunt. Garage sales do kind of ruin me for the mall though, because later on I'll be thinking, "$29.99 for a pair of Gap jeans? Pshaw, I could get them for $1!"
After a successful day of shopping, we came home, had lunch and started packing for Nebraska. Gabe says, "Inbraska." It's one of those things we don't want to correct him about. That and "Happy Donald's." I called Matt and said I was packing the van and he could come home anytime. He came home while I was changing Lyndee's diaper and I told him he could change Ben's diaper and vacuum and we'd be ready to go. "What? I thought you said you were ready?"
"Well, I am except for those things, Oh and nursing the baby."
"Really, you want me to vacuum?"
Does he have to ask? I have this thing about coming home to a vacuumed house. Just one of my annoying idosyncrasies. Kind of like the use of a carpet rake for those of you who know my inlaws! I say that completely lovingly, too!
Just to appease me, my hubby did vacuum while I got the rest of us ready to go. We were packed, got some gas, and headed down the road. Sippy cups filled, diapers changed, DVD player in place, Diet Coke on hand. We had a great ride, mostly because the kids fell asleep right out of the gate and Matt and I had some quality converstation, and some opportunity to catch up on the latest Harry Potter book. I get to read them aloud as Matt drives. We've done that with all the books. The kids woke up just north of Des Moines and we stopped at Happy Donald's for a drive thru meal. It took 20 minutes in the drive thru, which would ordinarily annoy me. But it gave us a chance to go to the bathroom, change diapers and feed the baby. Oh and Gabe and I found 4 pennies!
The boys enjoyed the rest of the ride, we played I spy, read some books, and managed to only play the DVD player the last 45 minutes. Matt and I shared his Ipod to play name that tune. I'm terrible. He's the detail guy who remembers every play from every game, or one liners from movies, or statistics from any sporting event. I'm the big picture girl. Alas, I can sing the song (or the first few lines anyway) but have no idea of who sang it. He knows after the first few bars who sang it, on what album, what era, what genre, etc. etc. It can be fairly irritating to those of us who like to be right all the time!
Right or not, it was an enjoyable way to start the last weekend of our summer. Yep, it's true, Fall is upon us. Sniff, Sniff, Tear, Sigh......On to new horizons.
Like Super Target, Sonic, and Scheels. Man, I love Omaha!
Garage sales are a phenomenon that intrigue me to no end. Here, I'm going to put stuff I don't want in my driveway and garage, price them, and wait for you to dig through them and buy what you want of my cast offs. At some sales I'm like, "You don't want this anymore? Sweet! My gain!" At others I'm like, "Yeah, and you want a quarter for THAT?!" It always slays me when something is marked 10 cents and a buyer will say, "Take a nickel for this?" Ummm...no? I mean, it's only a dime!
I had a garage sale last Friday and the Friday before that. It was supposed to be a Friday/Saturday thing, but we had torrential rains and flooding on Saturday. So, I figured since it was already set up in the garage anyway, might as well try next week, too! It was fairly profitable for me and then none of it came back into my house so it feels great too. On the final day, I put a sticker on Gabe that said $1 and on Ben I put one that said, "Make Offer." No one bought the boys but I had several offers for cute little Lyndee.
My favorite purchase of the morning came at the end where I got an Old Navy sweater and pair of Gap jeans for myself. Seriously, I am the queen of bargains! You know those magazines where they put "affordable" outfits on models and then list prices like "Sweater - $90, Jeans - $120, Shoes - $80, Total for this great outfit - only $290!" They could put me in there with this caption "Gap Jeans - $1, Old Navy Sweater - $.50, Old Navy Flip Flops - $2, Total price - $3.50!" I love the hunt. Garage sales do kind of ruin me for the mall though, because later on I'll be thinking, "$29.99 for a pair of Gap jeans? Pshaw, I could get them for $1!"
After a successful day of shopping, we came home, had lunch and started packing for Nebraska. Gabe says, "Inbraska." It's one of those things we don't want to correct him about. That and "Happy Donald's." I called Matt and said I was packing the van and he could come home anytime. He came home while I was changing Lyndee's diaper and I told him he could change Ben's diaper and vacuum and we'd be ready to go. "What? I thought you said you were ready?"
"Well, I am except for those things, Oh and nursing the baby."
"Really, you want me to vacuum?"
Does he have to ask? I have this thing about coming home to a vacuumed house. Just one of my annoying idosyncrasies. Kind of like the use of a carpet rake for those of you who know my inlaws! I say that completely lovingly, too!
Just to appease me, my hubby did vacuum while I got the rest of us ready to go. We were packed, got some gas, and headed down the road. Sippy cups filled, diapers changed, DVD player in place, Diet Coke on hand. We had a great ride, mostly because the kids fell asleep right out of the gate and Matt and I had some quality converstation, and some opportunity to catch up on the latest Harry Potter book. I get to read them aloud as Matt drives. We've done that with all the books. The kids woke up just north of Des Moines and we stopped at Happy Donald's for a drive thru meal. It took 20 minutes in the drive thru, which would ordinarily annoy me. But it gave us a chance to go to the bathroom, change diapers and feed the baby. Oh and Gabe and I found 4 pennies!
The boys enjoyed the rest of the ride, we played I spy, read some books, and managed to only play the DVD player the last 45 minutes. Matt and I shared his Ipod to play name that tune. I'm terrible. He's the detail guy who remembers every play from every game, or one liners from movies, or statistics from any sporting event. I'm the big picture girl. Alas, I can sing the song (or the first few lines anyway) but have no idea of who sang it. He knows after the first few bars who sang it, on what album, what era, what genre, etc. etc. It can be fairly irritating to those of us who like to be right all the time!
Right or not, it was an enjoyable way to start the last weekend of our summer. Yep, it's true, Fall is upon us. Sniff, Sniff, Tear, Sigh......On to new horizons.
Like Super Target, Sonic, and Scheels. Man, I love Omaha!
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Exercise or Entertainment?
I would term today as a complete success!
Post Office - check
Library - check
Delivering MK orders at school - check
Talking to friends at school - check
Lunch - check
Naptime - check
Vacuum out van - check
Matt folding laundry - check
Curious George - check
Walk with kids - check
No tantrums today! Hooray! The kids actually got along for most of the day and played together very, very well! Ben was funny today. We must be making a strong impression with the use of time outs. He came outside this morning and noticed that a squirrel had dug in our geranium planter. "No Squirrel. Naughty. Squirrel go to time out!"
Last night our overnight was not so peaceful. I think Lyndee (who has started almost crawling now, and on Matt's bday said, "Da Da") was up about four times. Ben was up once. Gabe was up once and then slept wedged between us. Both kids were up at 7 am so I did not go for a run.
Hence, the walk tonight while Matt mowed the lawn. Usually Gabe rides his bike and Lyndee and Ben go in the double stroller. It can be a really good work out, considering that the stroller probably weighs between 30-40 pounds, Ben weighs 28 and Lyndee 18. However, tonight Gabe wanted to use the scooter instead of his bike. I tried to convince him otherwise. "We won't be able to go as far."
"Don't worry Mommy, I won't get tired." I reluctantly said okay and proceeded to learn multiple lessons from my four year old. I went on this walk thinking exercise. Gabe wanted entertainment. We went about 2 blocks when he decided that we should play a version of red light, green light. This, after I had rammed him from behind a few times or tried to pass him because I thought he was going too slowly.
"Okay, Mommy. Now listen to me. You go when I say go and stop when I say stop." He starts on the scooter, push push push glide. "Go!" He stops abruptly in front of me, waits till I am about to bump him and says, "Stop!" This went on for the better part of a block, through an intersection and part way up a hill. All the while Ben wanted in on the game and was shouting out stop and go commands at his own intervals. In the middle of the hill, Gabe stops, spins around and says, "Okay, we can turn around and go home now."
"Nope, no way pal. We are here for exercise!" So, I picked up the scooter and put it in the basket of the double stroller and Gabe walked beside me pointing out the important things of the beautiful night. I forgot about exercise and started to be entertained. He is so observant and notices everything! Things deemed important were:
A remote airplane "Kind of like my remote car that we sold on the garage sale." Ouch.
A flat tire
A car draped in cloth "Maybe it's a present for someone."
A red car "We don't have a car, just a van and a truck."
A willow tree "I'd like to swing on the vines."
A group of kids biking
Two loud motorcycles "They are not safe Mommy because they don't have helmets."
A broken branch in a lawn "Poor tree."
Weeds that looked like thistles "That whole lawn is full of ouchies!"
A sprinkler that was run through three times "Mommy, I was so fast on the last one you couldn't even see me."
It was a walk filled with precious moments with my kids. Perhaps the funniest moment was when I asked Gabe if he wanted to ride his scooter for the last few blocks. "No Mommy. Scooters are exhausting."
Post Office - check
Library - check
Delivering MK orders at school - check
Talking to friends at school - check
Lunch - check
Naptime - check
Vacuum out van - check
Matt folding laundry - check
Curious George - check
Walk with kids - check
No tantrums today! Hooray! The kids actually got along for most of the day and played together very, very well! Ben was funny today. We must be making a strong impression with the use of time outs. He came outside this morning and noticed that a squirrel had dug in our geranium planter. "No Squirrel. Naughty. Squirrel go to time out!"
Last night our overnight was not so peaceful. I think Lyndee (who has started almost crawling now, and on Matt's bday said, "Da Da") was up about four times. Ben was up once. Gabe was up once and then slept wedged between us. Both kids were up at 7 am so I did not go for a run.
Hence, the walk tonight while Matt mowed the lawn. Usually Gabe rides his bike and Lyndee and Ben go in the double stroller. It can be a really good work out, considering that the stroller probably weighs between 30-40 pounds, Ben weighs 28 and Lyndee 18. However, tonight Gabe wanted to use the scooter instead of his bike. I tried to convince him otherwise. "We won't be able to go as far."
"Don't worry Mommy, I won't get tired." I reluctantly said okay and proceeded to learn multiple lessons from my four year old. I went on this walk thinking exercise. Gabe wanted entertainment. We went about 2 blocks when he decided that we should play a version of red light, green light. This, after I had rammed him from behind a few times or tried to pass him because I thought he was going too slowly.
"Okay, Mommy. Now listen to me. You go when I say go and stop when I say stop." He starts on the scooter, push push push glide. "Go!" He stops abruptly in front of me, waits till I am about to bump him and says, "Stop!" This went on for the better part of a block, through an intersection and part way up a hill. All the while Ben wanted in on the game and was shouting out stop and go commands at his own intervals. In the middle of the hill, Gabe stops, spins around and says, "Okay, we can turn around and go home now."
"Nope, no way pal. We are here for exercise!" So, I picked up the scooter and put it in the basket of the double stroller and Gabe walked beside me pointing out the important things of the beautiful night. I forgot about exercise and started to be entertained. He is so observant and notices everything! Things deemed important were:
A remote airplane "Kind of like my remote car that we sold on the garage sale." Ouch.
A flat tire
A car draped in cloth "Maybe it's a present for someone."
A red car "We don't have a car, just a van and a truck."
A willow tree "I'd like to swing on the vines."
A group of kids biking
Two loud motorcycles "They are not safe Mommy because they don't have helmets."
A broken branch in a lawn "Poor tree."
Weeds that looked like thistles "That whole lawn is full of ouchies!"
A sprinkler that was run through three times "Mommy, I was so fast on the last one you couldn't even see me."
It was a walk filled with precious moments with my kids. Perhaps the funniest moment was when I asked Gabe if he wanted to ride his scooter for the last few blocks. "No Mommy. Scooters are exhausting."
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Mt. St. Helen's x 2
I realized after I made my blog public yesterday, that I have to be a LITTLE bit careful about what I say and who I write about! :) I promise to portray all of you family members (and friends who feel like family members) in a glowing light and only show the flaws of myself and my off spring!
On to today. Without the two major eruptions that occurred, it was a very well managed day! It started with three alarm clock snoozes. After the last one, my husband flung himself on my side of the bed and muttered, "Get out," in a not so nice way. Had it been my son, I would have continued yesterday's lesson and said, "I'm sorry, but I think I just heard someone speak in a rude way to me." Just kidding honey. I did manage to make it out without waking up any of the three sleeping beauties and hit the pavement. It was another good way to start my morning.
Bagel Wednesday became cereal Wednesday when the boys decided not to eat their cinnamon raisin bagels. And my good intentions of making my fruit/veggie/yogurt/flaxseed smoothie disappeared when I saw the Fruit Loops and Captain Crunch. It was a beautiful morning so we played outside for a while, had some chocolate chip cookies and then we headed to the bank, a quick stop at a friend's, and the athletic club.
The boys had a blast at the club. They jumped on the mini trampolines, designed for trampoline basketball, and Lyndee in the front carrier, was totally enthralled watching them. From there, it was on to the big toy or indoor jungle gym, where for the first time this week they played together without an argument. Finally we went to the preschool play area and they played hard. When, after 20 minutes, I saw their red, sweaty faces and damp hair, I decided it was time to go. I tried to follow the parent rules of giving them a countdown. Ten minutes, five minutes, one minute and let's put our shoes on. Gabe put his on after a short whining episode and I finally wrestled Ben's crocs on him. He cried until I said we could get a drink downstairs. As we walked out of the preschool play area I said to myself, "Ha, and Matt thought it was hard to get them to leave. I've won, I've made it."
Until Ben spotted the golf clubs.
"Want ball."
"No, not now, we're getting a drink and going home."
"NO, want to goff."
"No, not now, we're getting a drink and going home."
"NO, NO WANT TO GO HOME."
I finally pried the ball out of his hands, and tried to get the club out of his hands while still holding Lyndee. I gave up and just dragged him and the club over to the club tub. I'm sure people thought I was a little ruthless. I prefer to think of it as efficient.
Screaming ensued. Crying ensued. Tense smiles, apologetic smiles from me to the other club members around us. The screaming and crying was not from me, however, that was Ben. And Gabe said, "Mommy, I'm being good. Look, I'll carry your purse." Not an easy task since my purse is actually a small suitcase that I think still looks cool because it is leopard print. Finally, I had to put Lyndee back in the front carrier, hold Ben like a battering ram (a kicking and screaming battering ram) and follow my leopard print bag toting four year old son out of the club. Never did the walk to the van seem so long. I got many looks. Some sympathetic, some empathetic, some just plain pathetic. We managed to get in the van in one piece.
"Tell Mommy you're sorry."
"NO!"
"Tell Mommy you're sorry or you go to time out when we get home."
"NO!"
"Okay, time out when we get home."
"NO!"
Well, thankfully the drive is short. Time out occurred at home.
"Sorry Mommy."
End of Volcanic Eruption Number One.
Then on to lunch time. And nap time. And Laundry time. And reading time with Gabe. And outside time with Gabe. And a pleasant peaceful afternoon. And a fairly peaceful evening.
Remember the new McDonald's from yesterday? It's Happy Donald's at our house. Well, it was ice cream specials tonight. So, we had bath time for all three kids, got jammies on and drove to McDonald's for our cones and shakes. Yesterday I lost a baby toy and so at the first drive thru window I asked if they had a lost and found. "Ummmm...I don't know, ask at the next window." So I ask at the next window. The fifteen year old worker in his McDonald's uniform and hat looked at me and said, "Ummmm...I don't work here. They just called me in to work tonight." Okaaay, you don't work here but you have the uniform and you just took my money and gave me ice cream in return. I was a little confused. He said he would check anyway and the next worker said, "Was it one of our toys?" I have 12,000 happy meal toys. Do you really think I would care if I lost ONE? Unfortunately, after all that, still no baby toy. I guess Lyndee will survive.
On to Volcanic Eruption Number Two.
We stopped at a friend's on the way home. It was perfectly clear that we were not all getting out of the car. That would add at least 30 minutes to a stop that was supposed to be 3 minutes. Gabe was mad we were not getting out. Without getting into everything, let me just tell you that the poor kid's throat will probably be sore tomorrow from the high pitched screaming that he did for about 15 minutes. When I planned this little outing, I did imagine a beautiful sunset on a rural road on a cool fall night. However, I didn't imagine that I would be seeing it outside of my van on a rural road while supervising a four year old's time out. Time out successful, until I wouldn't let him stay outside and pick up rocks. (Oh the enticement of a rural road). So he continued to scream all the way home, probably damaging my ear drum in the process. Once he got home and was carried to his bed, still screaming, he managed to settle down once he drank some milk. Mommy and Daddy got their apologies. When Ben saw him after his time out, he said, "Oh, hi Gape," and gave him a kiss and went good night. It was almost like he remembered his tantrum from earlier in the day. Gabe and I sat on the couch while Daddy went down to play xbox and I said, "I think you made it hard for me to hear with all your screaming. I don't think I can hear as well as I did before. Now you need to go potty before bed."
He must have been pondering all the while he was gone, because he came back and whispered, "I love you, Mommy."
"I love you, too, Gabe."
"See Mommy, you can still hear fine."
Oh yes, I guess I can. Apology accepted.
On to today. Without the two major eruptions that occurred, it was a very well managed day! It started with three alarm clock snoozes. After the last one, my husband flung himself on my side of the bed and muttered, "Get out," in a not so nice way. Had it been my son, I would have continued yesterday's lesson and said, "I'm sorry, but I think I just heard someone speak in a rude way to me." Just kidding honey. I did manage to make it out without waking up any of the three sleeping beauties and hit the pavement. It was another good way to start my morning.
Bagel Wednesday became cereal Wednesday when the boys decided not to eat their cinnamon raisin bagels. And my good intentions of making my fruit/veggie/yogurt/flaxseed smoothie disappeared when I saw the Fruit Loops and Captain Crunch. It was a beautiful morning so we played outside for a while, had some chocolate chip cookies and then we headed to the bank, a quick stop at a friend's, and the athletic club.
The boys had a blast at the club. They jumped on the mini trampolines, designed for trampoline basketball, and Lyndee in the front carrier, was totally enthralled watching them. From there, it was on to the big toy or indoor jungle gym, where for the first time this week they played together without an argument. Finally we went to the preschool play area and they played hard. When, after 20 minutes, I saw their red, sweaty faces and damp hair, I decided it was time to go. I tried to follow the parent rules of giving them a countdown. Ten minutes, five minutes, one minute and let's put our shoes on. Gabe put his on after a short whining episode and I finally wrestled Ben's crocs on him. He cried until I said we could get a drink downstairs. As we walked out of the preschool play area I said to myself, "Ha, and Matt thought it was hard to get them to leave. I've won, I've made it."
Until Ben spotted the golf clubs.
"Want ball."
"No, not now, we're getting a drink and going home."
"NO, want to goff."
"No, not now, we're getting a drink and going home."
"NO, NO WANT TO GO HOME."
I finally pried the ball out of his hands, and tried to get the club out of his hands while still holding Lyndee. I gave up and just dragged him and the club over to the club tub. I'm sure people thought I was a little ruthless. I prefer to think of it as efficient.
Screaming ensued. Crying ensued. Tense smiles, apologetic smiles from me to the other club members around us. The screaming and crying was not from me, however, that was Ben. And Gabe said, "Mommy, I'm being good. Look, I'll carry your purse." Not an easy task since my purse is actually a small suitcase that I think still looks cool because it is leopard print. Finally, I had to put Lyndee back in the front carrier, hold Ben like a battering ram (a kicking and screaming battering ram) and follow my leopard print bag toting four year old son out of the club. Never did the walk to the van seem so long. I got many looks. Some sympathetic, some empathetic, some just plain pathetic. We managed to get in the van in one piece.
"Tell Mommy you're sorry."
"NO!"
"Tell Mommy you're sorry or you go to time out when we get home."
"NO!"
"Okay, time out when we get home."
"NO!"
Well, thankfully the drive is short. Time out occurred at home.
"Sorry Mommy."
End of Volcanic Eruption Number One.
Then on to lunch time. And nap time. And Laundry time. And reading time with Gabe. And outside time with Gabe. And a pleasant peaceful afternoon. And a fairly peaceful evening.
Remember the new McDonald's from yesterday? It's Happy Donald's at our house. Well, it was ice cream specials tonight. So, we had bath time for all three kids, got jammies on and drove to McDonald's for our cones and shakes. Yesterday I lost a baby toy and so at the first drive thru window I asked if they had a lost and found. "Ummmm...I don't know, ask at the next window." So I ask at the next window. The fifteen year old worker in his McDonald's uniform and hat looked at me and said, "Ummmm...I don't work here. They just called me in to work tonight." Okaaay, you don't work here but you have the uniform and you just took my money and gave me ice cream in return. I was a little confused. He said he would check anyway and the next worker said, "Was it one of our toys?" I have 12,000 happy meal toys. Do you really think I would care if I lost ONE? Unfortunately, after all that, still no baby toy. I guess Lyndee will survive.
On to Volcanic Eruption Number Two.
We stopped at a friend's on the way home. It was perfectly clear that we were not all getting out of the car. That would add at least 30 minutes to a stop that was supposed to be 3 minutes. Gabe was mad we were not getting out. Without getting into everything, let me just tell you that the poor kid's throat will probably be sore tomorrow from the high pitched screaming that he did for about 15 minutes. When I planned this little outing, I did imagine a beautiful sunset on a rural road on a cool fall night. However, I didn't imagine that I would be seeing it outside of my van on a rural road while supervising a four year old's time out. Time out successful, until I wouldn't let him stay outside and pick up rocks. (Oh the enticement of a rural road). So he continued to scream all the way home, probably damaging my ear drum in the process. Once he got home and was carried to his bed, still screaming, he managed to settle down once he drank some milk. Mommy and Daddy got their apologies. When Ben saw him after his time out, he said, "Oh, hi Gape," and gave him a kiss and went good night. It was almost like he remembered his tantrum from earlier in the day. Gabe and I sat on the couch while Daddy went down to play xbox and I said, "I think you made it hard for me to hear with all your screaming. I don't think I can hear as well as I did before. Now you need to go potty before bed."
He must have been pondering all the while he was gone, because he came back and whispered, "I love you, Mommy."
"I love you, too, Gabe."
"See Mommy, you can still hear fine."
Oh yes, I guess I can. Apology accepted.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Small Successes
Oh, it was a good day today! It started well because I made myself get up and go for a run, albeit a short one. It still started my day off in a good way. We had a few things to do today, so we were out the door by 9:10, dressed, showered and with make-up! Well, it was only me in make-up! We went to the bookmobile, got a couple of Baby Einstein VHS (yes, they still carry them for those of us who are technological dinosaurs), a few books and we were out the door. We stopped to see Matt at work and played on the school's new playground equipment. Boy are my kids daring, much more so than their mommy. Then we were off to Grammie's house. On the way there, we took a pause in a church parking lot to watch the fire truck shoot water out of the top of the tall, tall ladder. We couldn't believe how tall it was, and it made a rainbow too!
Next, to Grammie's. We stayed for awhile, read a few books, raided the chocolate covered peanuts (boys) and Diet Coke stash (Mommy) and nursed (Lyndee). And you know what else? Introduced Grammie to my new blog! It was a little risky, but rewarding all the same. Pretty analogous for my life right now. Did I spell that right? hmmm.....
One of the high points of the day, and there were many today, was eating at Happy Donald's with our friends. It was a new McDonald's south of town and guess what promotion ran today? Happy Meals for $1!!!!! Yay, it even made Mommy happy!! The boys played well with their friends and I had a great time visiting with my friend. It's amazing how you can tune out 27 other families with toddlers in a small space. One acquaintance of mine was also there (a stay at home dad!) and he came up to the counter as I was paying. He said, "I think I know why the Happy Meals are so cheap. Look, my hamburger has no hamburger!" Too funny!
When we arrived home, Matt was home for lunch, the kids (except Gabe) went down for a nap, and I got to run an errand ALONE! When I got home, Ben tried to escape his nap time, unsuccessfully, and then my mom got to come over to baby sit for an hour while I got, perhaps the best haircut I have ever gotten! And the best part, it was only $10!!!! I've started going to a beauty school just down the street from me. My stylist is graduating in three weeks though and going to a real salon, so I'll have to check out her new prices to see if I can stay with her.
I did try something from one of my parenting magazines today that actually worked. Gabe said to me rudely, "I SA-ID, I want some milk NOW!"
So I said, "I'm sorry, but I thought I heard someone speak to me in a rude way."
Gabe: "I said I want some milk now."
Mommy: "Oh boy, I think I heard rude manners again."
Gabe: "Mommy, can I have some milk please?"
Mission accomplished!
The rest of the night was pretty uneventful. We had spaghetti for supper, Matt helped me clear the table and clean up, the boys were playing well, and then I saw a flying wooden tiger out of the corner of my eye and a loud WHACK as it hit the glass of the deck door. Thankfully nothing was broken but the four year old did have to go to timeout. I think things are getting better though in that department because the ensuing tantrum lasted only about a minute instead of 20 minutes.
Gabe is funny sometimes because he wants Ben to play with him so badly, but yet wants to determine every action of his little brother. And Ben will have none of that! If Gabe won't let him play how he wants to play, we'll hear, "No Gape!" and then he'll simply quit playing.
Then Gabe will lay down wherever he is, wail loudly and say, "I want someone to play with me!"
"I'll play with you," I say.
"No, not a grown up Mommy! I want someone who's 2 who is a boy named Ben to play with me!"
I guess I don't fit into that description on any count. Hopefully they'll learn to give and take eventually and not hit and take. The jury's still out on that one.
Next, to Grammie's. We stayed for awhile, read a few books, raided the chocolate covered peanuts (boys) and Diet Coke stash (Mommy) and nursed (Lyndee). And you know what else? Introduced Grammie to my new blog! It was a little risky, but rewarding all the same. Pretty analogous for my life right now. Did I spell that right? hmmm.....
One of the high points of the day, and there were many today, was eating at Happy Donald's with our friends. It was a new McDonald's south of town and guess what promotion ran today? Happy Meals for $1!!!!! Yay, it even made Mommy happy!! The boys played well with their friends and I had a great time visiting with my friend. It's amazing how you can tune out 27 other families with toddlers in a small space. One acquaintance of mine was also there (a stay at home dad!) and he came up to the counter as I was paying. He said, "I think I know why the Happy Meals are so cheap. Look, my hamburger has no hamburger!" Too funny!
When we arrived home, Matt was home for lunch, the kids (except Gabe) went down for a nap, and I got to run an errand ALONE! When I got home, Ben tried to escape his nap time, unsuccessfully, and then my mom got to come over to baby sit for an hour while I got, perhaps the best haircut I have ever gotten! And the best part, it was only $10!!!! I've started going to a beauty school just down the street from me. My stylist is graduating in three weeks though and going to a real salon, so I'll have to check out her new prices to see if I can stay with her.
I did try something from one of my parenting magazines today that actually worked. Gabe said to me rudely, "I SA-ID, I want some milk NOW!"
So I said, "I'm sorry, but I thought I heard someone speak to me in a rude way."
Gabe: "I said I want some milk now."
Mommy: "Oh boy, I think I heard rude manners again."
Gabe: "Mommy, can I have some milk please?"
Mission accomplished!
The rest of the night was pretty uneventful. We had spaghetti for supper, Matt helped me clear the table and clean up, the boys were playing well, and then I saw a flying wooden tiger out of the corner of my eye and a loud WHACK as it hit the glass of the deck door. Thankfully nothing was broken but the four year old did have to go to timeout. I think things are getting better though in that department because the ensuing tantrum lasted only about a minute instead of 20 minutes.
Gabe is funny sometimes because he wants Ben to play with him so badly, but yet wants to determine every action of his little brother. And Ben will have none of that! If Gabe won't let him play how he wants to play, we'll hear, "No Gape!" and then he'll simply quit playing.
Then Gabe will lay down wherever he is, wail loudly and say, "I want someone to play with me!"
"I'll play with you," I say.
"No, not a grown up Mommy! I want someone who's 2 who is a boy named Ben to play with me!"
I guess I don't fit into that description on any count. Hopefully they'll learn to give and take eventually and not hit and take. The jury's still out on that one.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Survival!
I would have titled this success, except, it wasn't a totally successful day. I am, as I anticipated, completely exhausted and ready for bed at 9:30. And, if you know me, normally at 9:30, I am just gearing up for the night and a probable post-midnight bedtime.
In the middle of the night, we listened to a big storm, loud enough to wake us, but not thankfully the kids. The baby almost slept through the night, up only once and that was at about 5 so I did get a fairly good stretch of sleep. Gabe crawled in bed with us at about that time and so the three of us shared the bed for the rest of the night. It's one of those things they tell you you shouldn't do in the parent magazines that I do anyway and later on feel guilty about. It's one of those "chalk it up" kinds of things. I was going to go running this morning. Was. Didn't happen. The plan was to get up and go at about 6:45 so that I'd be back in time for Matt to leave for work at 7:30ish. Well, Matt left for work at 7:30ish and I was still snoozing in my warm bed with number one son. We managed to get out of bed at about 8, at the wailing insistence of Lyndee, the baby, demanding to be fed.
My plan after that was to get the kids up, fed, dressed and in the van by 10 so that we could do my short list of errands. I found out after today that a short list of errands would be one thing and not four. Although we did accomplish all four, it was not without pain on all of our parts. The first hitch in the plan was the Ben, number two son, didn't wake up till after 9. Then I needed to clean the kitchen and one show of Wonder Pets became two and another show that I don't know the name of. And then, to top it all off, the fence guys came (four days late with nary a phone call) to put up our chain link fence.
I should have known then that I was setting myself up, if not for failure, then at least for frustration. My first mistake was in telling Gabe to help Ben put his shoes on. Gabe was already wearing his camo crocs and wanted Ben to match. Ben did NOT want to match. He did NOT want any shoes on at all, he wanted his bright blue rubber rain boots on. I would not let him wear them because he has been wearing them every day for the past 10 days, wherever we have gone and I wanted the boys to match too! And darn it, it was going to be my way or the highway today! When Ben would not allow Gabe to put his shoes on, Gabe fell to the floor in very dramatic fashion and wailed, "If he won't let me put them on and he won't match me then I don't want to go ANYWHERE!" I should have agreed with him and never left the house. But darn it again, I was going to win today and accomplish my errands. I don't know how, but we did get the camo crocs on, topped the baby off with a little breast milk and headed to Proex. Proex was a successful over $100 dollar stop. Then, it was on to the bank. And finally, we made it to Wal-Mart.
The boys were saying, "Yay, Wal-Mart." and I was saying, "Oh No, Wal-Mart." Have you ever tried to play I Spy while shopping for groceries, price comparing, looking through coupons, pushing a cart filled with groceries and two kids and holding a four year old's hand all at the same time? Not an easy task. And for the most part we did make it. I was just incredibly tired at the end. And since the boys had been reasonably good, I had told them I would buy them an icee at Sam's club. Another parenting magazine no-no that I have ignored on many occasions. We returned two swimsuits and stood in line at the icee station. And stood in line. And stood in line. Finally, the harried clerk shooed aside the people in front of me and when I said two cherry icees, he tried to let me down gently. "It's not working today Ma'am." "What?!! Not at all, not even a little bit?" "Nope, not even a little, maybe in a couple of hours," he added when I must have started looking frantic.
By this time, it was way past lunch time, and definitely past Diet Coke and Icee time. "But I wanted an Icee, " wailed the four year old, "And I was so good!" like the good behavior was all for nothing. And me saying, "I know, I wanted it to work out too," like it was some relationship that we had failed at. I decided that I would get them an icee, even if I had to drive to BK to get one. And get one, no two, I did! Only I didn't realize it would take 15 minutes in a slower than slow drive through. And I didn't realize how much my talking to other cars has rubbed off on the four year old. "What is taking so long? What in the world did they order? I wish they would hurry up!" he says, "Don't they realize we are THIRSTY?"
We arrive home, at long last, in one piece, at about 1 pm. An hour and half after I intended on getting home. The afternoon was fairly uneventful. I checked my email, worried about money, wondered if anyone at school was missing me, you know the usual. It was peaceful playing cars in the living room while the little ones slept down the hall. I should have known it was the calm before the storm.
Then, Daddy came home, the little ones woke up, and suddenly, it became the arsenic hour. Only it lasted about 2 hours. It was sibling rivalry at its worst, or best, depending on how you look at it. My two boys could fight about the color of the sky or what the number one means. It doesn't matter, they always take opposite sides. And fight they did, about cars, about animals, about supper, about boots, about big or little, about ants on a log, about yogurt, about EVERYTHING. The only respite was taking a walk with the whole family, yellow lab included and coming home to put the kids to bed. My husband helped all he could today. I know he's tired too, so now we will go to bed and hopefully no little four year old will come between us so we can get a good night's sleep for a change. Or maybe not.
In the middle of the night, we listened to a big storm, loud enough to wake us, but not thankfully the kids. The baby almost slept through the night, up only once and that was at about 5 so I did get a fairly good stretch of sleep. Gabe crawled in bed with us at about that time and so the three of us shared the bed for the rest of the night. It's one of those things they tell you you shouldn't do in the parent magazines that I do anyway and later on feel guilty about. It's one of those "chalk it up" kinds of things. I was going to go running this morning. Was. Didn't happen. The plan was to get up and go at about 6:45 so that I'd be back in time for Matt to leave for work at 7:30ish. Well, Matt left for work at 7:30ish and I was still snoozing in my warm bed with number one son. We managed to get out of bed at about 8, at the wailing insistence of Lyndee, the baby, demanding to be fed.
My plan after that was to get the kids up, fed, dressed and in the van by 10 so that we could do my short list of errands. I found out after today that a short list of errands would be one thing and not four. Although we did accomplish all four, it was not without pain on all of our parts. The first hitch in the plan was the Ben, number two son, didn't wake up till after 9. Then I needed to clean the kitchen and one show of Wonder Pets became two and another show that I don't know the name of. And then, to top it all off, the fence guys came (four days late with nary a phone call) to put up our chain link fence.
I should have known then that I was setting myself up, if not for failure, then at least for frustration. My first mistake was in telling Gabe to help Ben put his shoes on. Gabe was already wearing his camo crocs and wanted Ben to match. Ben did NOT want to match. He did NOT want any shoes on at all, he wanted his bright blue rubber rain boots on. I would not let him wear them because he has been wearing them every day for the past 10 days, wherever we have gone and I wanted the boys to match too! And darn it, it was going to be my way or the highway today! When Ben would not allow Gabe to put his shoes on, Gabe fell to the floor in very dramatic fashion and wailed, "If he won't let me put them on and he won't match me then I don't want to go ANYWHERE!" I should have agreed with him and never left the house. But darn it again, I was going to win today and accomplish my errands. I don't know how, but we did get the camo crocs on, topped the baby off with a little breast milk and headed to Proex. Proex was a successful over $100 dollar stop. Then, it was on to the bank. And finally, we made it to Wal-Mart.
The boys were saying, "Yay, Wal-Mart." and I was saying, "Oh No, Wal-Mart." Have you ever tried to play I Spy while shopping for groceries, price comparing, looking through coupons, pushing a cart filled with groceries and two kids and holding a four year old's hand all at the same time? Not an easy task. And for the most part we did make it. I was just incredibly tired at the end. And since the boys had been reasonably good, I had told them I would buy them an icee at Sam's club. Another parenting magazine no-no that I have ignored on many occasions. We returned two swimsuits and stood in line at the icee station. And stood in line. And stood in line. Finally, the harried clerk shooed aside the people in front of me and when I said two cherry icees, he tried to let me down gently. "It's not working today Ma'am." "What?!! Not at all, not even a little bit?" "Nope, not even a little, maybe in a couple of hours," he added when I must have started looking frantic.
By this time, it was way past lunch time, and definitely past Diet Coke and Icee time. "But I wanted an Icee, " wailed the four year old, "And I was so good!" like the good behavior was all for nothing. And me saying, "I know, I wanted it to work out too," like it was some relationship that we had failed at. I decided that I would get them an icee, even if I had to drive to BK to get one. And get one, no two, I did! Only I didn't realize it would take 15 minutes in a slower than slow drive through. And I didn't realize how much my talking to other cars has rubbed off on the four year old. "What is taking so long? What in the world did they order? I wish they would hurry up!" he says, "Don't they realize we are THIRSTY?"
We arrive home, at long last, in one piece, at about 1 pm. An hour and half after I intended on getting home. The afternoon was fairly uneventful. I checked my email, worried about money, wondered if anyone at school was missing me, you know the usual. It was peaceful playing cars in the living room while the little ones slept down the hall. I should have known it was the calm before the storm.
Then, Daddy came home, the little ones woke up, and suddenly, it became the arsenic hour. Only it lasted about 2 hours. It was sibling rivalry at its worst, or best, depending on how you look at it. My two boys could fight about the color of the sky or what the number one means. It doesn't matter, they always take opposite sides. And fight they did, about cars, about animals, about supper, about boots, about big or little, about ants on a log, about yogurt, about EVERYTHING. The only respite was taking a walk with the whole family, yellow lab included and coming home to put the kids to bed. My husband helped all he could today. I know he's tired too, so now we will go to bed and hopefully no little four year old will come between us so we can get a good night's sleep for a change. Or maybe not.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
A New Life
Well, deep breath, here we go. Tomorrow morning, my life as I know it changes. I'll have no job, no money,different friends, a different title, will spend time in the kitchen (maybe), will clean my house (maybe), will see my husband less, be exhausted most of the time, and hopefully be deliriously happy in my new environment. Witness protection you ask? Ahhhh, no, nothing that exciting.
Tomorrow starts the school year, and for the first time in 30 years I will not be a part of going back to school. Am I retiring? No, I'm not that old yet! I'm simply taking a year away from my position to stay at home with my kids. The thirty years just refers to the fact that I have either been attending school or teaching school since I was five. Tomorrow I would be beginning my 14th year of teaching, that in and of itself sounds crazy. I really never imagined myself teaching for that long. Who knows what I thought I would do instead and now I can't imagine doing anything else. Except that is, what I'm doing now. And if I am to be totally truthful, I really never imagined myself being one of those "stay at home" moms. I always anticipated daycare and the title "working mom."
Instead, tomorrow, I'll be changing diapers, shopping at Wal-Mart, wiping faces, getting messy kisses, taming tantrums and working like a dog. My oldest, a boy, is 4 years and 2 months. My middle, a boy, is 2 years and 2 months. And my youngest, I thought was a boy turned out to be a girl (happiest day of my life, hands down) is 7 months 11 days and few hours. We hadn't planned on three in such short succession, but alas, things do not always go according to plan!
I honestly have no idea of how this is all going to work. Sure, I've been home with them for the past three months, just like most teachers who teach on a traditional schedule. But guess who else was home with me? Yep, I married a teacher. It really is the life, except for the lack of material wealth. How lucky my kids have been to be able to have two parents at home with them all summer! My hubby had to work two days last week, and I can already tell that the kids are going to go through a major bumpy transition. How do I know? Well, ever since those two days, my two year old cries when daddy's in another room and says, "Miss Daddy!" He doesn't believe that he's coming back. He's started playing "going to work" and my husband seems to have velcro on him because the boys are glued to him constantly!
I got a glimpse of my life as "single stay at home parent" not to be confused with single parent. That truly would be the toughest way to parent and I have no desire to find that out for myself. No, I say single stay at home parent because we've been dual stay at home parents all summer. Anyway, back to my glimpses.
FFL or for those of you not in the know, Fantasy Football League, dominates our Sundays and Mondays come regular season. No longer can I watch my home team, or if I can, then my husband is constantly flipping back and forth with our ancient (seriously ancient) remote. Plus, if he has someone playing against my MN Vikings, then he cheers, gasp, against the purple and gold! It's a roller coaster of emotions and they're not even my emotions! But, I digress, the reason I mention FFL is that the draft, or should I say, THE ALMIGHTY IMPORTANT, NOT TO BE MESSED WITH, RESEARCHED EXCESSIVELY DRAFT, was this weekend. And seeing as how 4, 2, and 7 mos. can be very distracting during THE DRAFT, I left, along with my sister-in-law and 9 month old niece (whose husband and daddy was also in THE DRAFT) to IKEA.
Ikea is an experience when you do it all by yourself, but now imagine with 3 kids in tow. I can't complain however, they really were quite good. They just have to touch everything. And anything. And did I mention everything? My oldest even laid down on the bed in the children's section and announced, "I think this fits me Mommy. Can we get it?" And, no we can't, we just ordered bunk beds. That is another post.
Before we even started shopping, my sister in law and I decided the kids probably needed fuel for the trip. So we stopped in Ikea's restaurant, which is much like a college cafeteria and got some food. Well, picture me pushing a double stroller and trying to fill up a tray with food, paying and then trying to find a table. Not an easy task. And my sister in law was a great help, but it is hard to help when you have a 9 month old yourself. I got the kids their usual favorite, mac and cheese and french fries (aren't fries a vegetable?) and milk and ordered a soda for myself. Ummmm, yeah, soda comes with a kid's meal, but you have to pay extra for milk. Does that make sense? Not to me! Nevertheless, we made it, not very gracefully, to a table, where my children proceeded NOT to eat their favorite. It was like homemade and not like Kraft, enough said? Creatures of habit my kids are! So, a few fries later, a little milk (Most of the 2 year old's milk ended up on the floor and his shorts. He's not real adept at using a carton and a straw yet), two glasses of diet caffeine for me and some nursing for the 7 month old and we were off. Two hours later my husband calls, says the draft is over, his team's a loser for sure, the Vikings just started and the kids don't have to eat, we saved them some pizza (taco pizza and banana pepper/pepperoni are not really part of my boys' desires yet). You can see how FFL has already taken over my husband's brain.
So that was glimpse number one of single stay at home parenthood. Glimpse number two was today when we stopped in Medford at the outlet mall. I'll have to save that for another day. Just let me say this, 15 minutes and $16 in the Gap outlet for me does not compare to 3 hours and $200 (thank God for gift cards!) in Cabela's for him!
So tomorrow I start my new life, wish me luck!
Tomorrow starts the school year, and for the first time in 30 years I will not be a part of going back to school. Am I retiring? No, I'm not that old yet! I'm simply taking a year away from my position to stay at home with my kids. The thirty years just refers to the fact that I have either been attending school or teaching school since I was five. Tomorrow I would be beginning my 14th year of teaching, that in and of itself sounds crazy. I really never imagined myself teaching for that long. Who knows what I thought I would do instead and now I can't imagine doing anything else. Except that is, what I'm doing now. And if I am to be totally truthful, I really never imagined myself being one of those "stay at home" moms. I always anticipated daycare and the title "working mom."
Instead, tomorrow, I'll be changing diapers, shopping at Wal-Mart, wiping faces, getting messy kisses, taming tantrums and working like a dog. My oldest, a boy, is 4 years and 2 months. My middle, a boy, is 2 years and 2 months. And my youngest, I thought was a boy turned out to be a girl (happiest day of my life, hands down) is 7 months 11 days and few hours. We hadn't planned on three in such short succession, but alas, things do not always go according to plan!
I honestly have no idea of how this is all going to work. Sure, I've been home with them for the past three months, just like most teachers who teach on a traditional schedule. But guess who else was home with me? Yep, I married a teacher. It really is the life, except for the lack of material wealth. How lucky my kids have been to be able to have two parents at home with them all summer! My hubby had to work two days last week, and I can already tell that the kids are going to go through a major bumpy transition. How do I know? Well, ever since those two days, my two year old cries when daddy's in another room and says, "Miss Daddy!" He doesn't believe that he's coming back. He's started playing "going to work" and my husband seems to have velcro on him because the boys are glued to him constantly!
I got a glimpse of my life as "single stay at home parent" not to be confused with single parent. That truly would be the toughest way to parent and I have no desire to find that out for myself. No, I say single stay at home parent because we've been dual stay at home parents all summer. Anyway, back to my glimpses.
FFL or for those of you not in the know, Fantasy Football League, dominates our Sundays and Mondays come regular season. No longer can I watch my home team, or if I can, then my husband is constantly flipping back and forth with our ancient (seriously ancient) remote. Plus, if he has someone playing against my MN Vikings, then he cheers, gasp, against the purple and gold! It's a roller coaster of emotions and they're not even my emotions! But, I digress, the reason I mention FFL is that the draft, or should I say, THE ALMIGHTY IMPORTANT, NOT TO BE MESSED WITH, RESEARCHED EXCESSIVELY DRAFT, was this weekend. And seeing as how 4, 2, and 7 mos. can be very distracting during THE DRAFT, I left, along with my sister-in-law and 9 month old niece (whose husband and daddy was also in THE DRAFT) to IKEA.
Ikea is an experience when you do it all by yourself, but now imagine with 3 kids in tow. I can't complain however, they really were quite good. They just have to touch everything. And anything. And did I mention everything? My oldest even laid down on the bed in the children's section and announced, "I think this fits me Mommy. Can we get it?" And, no we can't, we just ordered bunk beds. That is another post.
Before we even started shopping, my sister in law and I decided the kids probably needed fuel for the trip. So we stopped in Ikea's restaurant, which is much like a college cafeteria and got some food. Well, picture me pushing a double stroller and trying to fill up a tray with food, paying and then trying to find a table. Not an easy task. And my sister in law was a great help, but it is hard to help when you have a 9 month old yourself. I got the kids their usual favorite, mac and cheese and french fries (aren't fries a vegetable?) and milk and ordered a soda for myself. Ummmm, yeah, soda comes with a kid's meal, but you have to pay extra for milk. Does that make sense? Not to me! Nevertheless, we made it, not very gracefully, to a table, where my children proceeded NOT to eat their favorite. It was like homemade and not like Kraft, enough said? Creatures of habit my kids are! So, a few fries later, a little milk (Most of the 2 year old's milk ended up on the floor and his shorts. He's not real adept at using a carton and a straw yet), two glasses of diet caffeine for me and some nursing for the 7 month old and we were off. Two hours later my husband calls, says the draft is over, his team's a loser for sure, the Vikings just started and the kids don't have to eat, we saved them some pizza (taco pizza and banana pepper/pepperoni are not really part of my boys' desires yet). You can see how FFL has already taken over my husband's brain.
So that was glimpse number one of single stay at home parenthood. Glimpse number two was today when we stopped in Medford at the outlet mall. I'll have to save that for another day. Just let me say this, 15 minutes and $16 in the Gap outlet for me does not compare to 3 hours and $200 (thank God for gift cards!) in Cabela's for him!
So tomorrow I start my new life, wish me luck!
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