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."
Kiddos 2014
Thursday, August 30, 2007
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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