So, yesterday did, in fact, turn out to be a good one. The kids managed to keep the craziness to a dull roar. I was able to get my chores done before going to a power sculpting class at the club, then came home and fed the kids lunch and got them down for their naps so that I could mow the lawns. After that, I even had time to shower and dry my hair and then we were off to the grocery store for some last minute party supplies.
We had a few friends over and it was fun. Good friends, food, and drinks. That's all you really need. :) We walked downtown to where they were showing the opening ceremony for the Olympics (or at least that was the plan) and hung out for a while while they tried to overcome some technical glitches. But the kids were having fun dancing around, eating snacks and just enjoying the "buzz" and excitement of the evening. We came back home when they gave up on overcoming the glitches and turned on the ceremony here and hung out for a while longer. Good times. :)
I had another glass too many last night and woke up this morning, so dehydrated that my EYES were dry. I think I had three glasses? So, I had no choice but to get up early-ish and get some water. But, when Bennett woke up at 7am, I moved no muscle in the direction of getting him up since IT'S MY DAY OFF! That's right! I'm off today. When the kids started with the "Mom I'm hungry" and "Mooooom, I can't find my pencils" this morning, I told them that Mom is off today and to talk to Daddy. :)
So, the plan is to go, at least briefly, to the park playdate this morning for the Kindergarteners so that I can try to figure out a time to do a "trial run" with watching her 14 month old and vice versa so we can work in the classrooms. Once that's done, I have the whole day to myself. And then we have a BBQ to go to tonight at 5. So, I may just show up right before that. :)
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Friday, August 8, 2008
I have a feeling....
So, it's finally Friday. Hooray. And even though I didn't get much sleep last night, I have a feeling that today will be a good day. You can call me crazy if you want, but I just have that feeling.
Despite being out late and having one too many glasses of wine with the girls. Despite waking up at a little before 4 with an arm muscle that would NOT stop twitching, and then subsequently being awake until around 5. Despite the fact that Bennett woke up crying at 5:30 (but thankfully Lance got up and dealt with him). Despite the fact that Bennett continued to cry, off and on until I finally went down and got him out of bed at 6:30. I brought him into my bed and he proceeded to point out all the things related to "Daddy", like pajama bottoms, a cup, and his side of the bed. Despite the fact that I was up at 7, whether I liked it or not. Despite it all, I just have a feeling that it's going to be a good day.
Morgan woke up shortly thereafter, dressing before she left her room. When I asked her if she wanted breakfast, she said "Yes, thank you. But first, can I get Elly's food for her?" and then she proceeded to fill the dog's bowl with food. While eating breakfast, she asked me if I had any dusting she could help me with today and then when I told her no, asked if she could help unload the dishwasher. See, maybe it WILL be a good day today.
And just to press my luck, I've decided on a whim to see if some of our friends might be available for an impromptu Olympics opening ceremony party at our house. Yep, because we are selling crazy today.
Isn't it amazing what one night out with the girls can do for you? :)
Despite being out late and having one too many glasses of wine with the girls. Despite waking up at a little before 4 with an arm muscle that would NOT stop twitching, and then subsequently being awake until around 5. Despite the fact that Bennett woke up crying at 5:30 (but thankfully Lance got up and dealt with him). Despite the fact that Bennett continued to cry, off and on until I finally went down and got him out of bed at 6:30. I brought him into my bed and he proceeded to point out all the things related to "Daddy", like pajama bottoms, a cup, and his side of the bed. Despite the fact that I was up at 7, whether I liked it or not. Despite it all, I just have a feeling that it's going to be a good day.
Morgan woke up shortly thereafter, dressing before she left her room. When I asked her if she wanted breakfast, she said "Yes, thank you. But first, can I get Elly's food for her?" and then she proceeded to fill the dog's bowl with food. While eating breakfast, she asked me if I had any dusting she could help me with today and then when I told her no, asked if she could help unload the dishwasher. See, maybe it WILL be a good day today.
And just to press my luck, I've decided on a whim to see if some of our friends might be available for an impromptu Olympics opening ceremony party at our house. Yep, because we are selling crazy today.
Isn't it amazing what one night out with the girls can do for you? :)
Thursday, August 7, 2008
I'm not the best mom in the world
I'm sitting here, in my post-mopping glistening, listening to Lifehouse on my iPod. I find them to be very inspirational and moving. And I need a little of that right now. I'm not sure if it's just the culmination of being on kid patrol for the past nearly two weeks without a real break, or if it's other things working on my psyche, but I'm not feeling like the best parent today.
I took the kids out to a park this morning to meet up with a new group of moms and their kids. This is a MOPS group from the church I've been attending regularly for the past 7 months. I've been sort of "eyeing up" the different groups in the church to figure out what I wanted to get involved in and I figured this would be a good one. It's mostly for the moms in the church, connecting to each other (they meet every other week for two hours and have breakfast, and either a speaker or a craft), but also provides a social outlet for the kids. So, I explain to Morgan that this gathering at the park isn't about *her* and I ask her to be patient and to please be on her best behavior. And, while I could attempt a similar pep talk with Bennett, I think we all know how pointless that would be. After securing her promise that she's be on her best behavior, we went to the park (which happens to be one of their favorites since it has both water stuff as well as play structures) and I meet up with some new Moms. Now, as a woman, I am keenly aware of how these "meetings" can often go. They have the potential to be wonderful meetings, but they also have the equal potential to be awkward and disheartening. I got up early this morning so that I could shower and put on clothes that matched and even eyeshadow and eyeliner in anticipation of meeting some new women. I had the pre-park warning talk with Morgan and had plenty of snacks packed, along with swimsuits and toys, and all the things that help ease a day at the park.
When we first met up with the other moms, Morgan kept interrupting the conversation to tell them random facts about her and her life. I asked her to please go play with the other kids, and after a little bit of resistance, she finally complied. Things were fine for a while, but then I heard Morgan being ugly to one of the other kids who dared to want to sit on a rock she had been sitting on. I asked her to please give him a turn and then she went into full 15-year-old sass mode. Arms crossed, glaring eyes and talking back. I was, once again, mortified by my child. I told her to come over to me, to which she started talking back and so I started the countdown... 5-4-3-2-1 and she's screaming at me the whole time that she's COMING AS FAST AS SHE CAN!! I asked her to sit down until she could change her attitude and she continued to talk back to me. I was SO EMBARRASSED. As I'm discussing the consequences of her behavior, she's getting more rapidly out of control. I'm now about five inches from her face, telling her that I will NOT put up with this type of behavior when, out of the corner of my eye, I see Bennett fall down from a picnic table, where he'd climbed up and had been standing on the bench. He hit his head on the concrete and it was all I could do to not start weeping right there. Morgan still had her attitude going on and now I had a wailing Bennett that I needed to make sure was okay. I grabbed Bennett up, sat Morgan down and started to make sure that Bennett was okay. Now Morgan's crying about having to get dressed and I grab her by the arm, look her in the face, and let her know that I'm so embarrassed by her behavior and that she WILL go get her clothes on RIGHT NOW or else she will spend the rest of the day in her room. She continues to talk back, but I just go put her clothes at a picnic table that's away from the crowd and point her in that direction. I'm changing Bennett and soothing him as she finally gets her clothes on and then we are finally able to leave.
As we are leaving, one of the MOPS moms asks if I think I'll be signing up (which I'm positive is code for "Are we going to have to worry about your kids hanging out with our kids?"). I told her I thought I would be signing up. And unbelievably, she sounded relieved and said "Oh, good, then we didn't make too bad of a first impression then?". To which I just laughed and almost snorted as I said "Oh, no. Not at all!". Unlike the first impression I just made.
I couldn't help but lose it in the car on the way home. I just feel like a complete failure. The fact that this child of mine has the audacity to be so disrespectful like that, particularly in front of others. How did this happen? And had I not been so distracted by her, then Bennett wouldn't have fallen. And really, I should have never let that happen. I just feel like a complete and utter loser as a parent.
So, I get home and I get through lunch with the kids, put them down for their naps and get on the phone with my mom. Who then assures me that this is normal. They aren't bad kids, but they are kids. And parenting is hard. We talk through a lot of "you did this" and similar like stuff. I tell her the obvious, that as parents, you are always wondering if you are getting it right. It really is the toughest job, with the biggest consequences. And she confesses that there are things she would have done differently. But, she can't go back and undo any of it. And it doesn't matter anyway, because my brother and I turned out pretty good. Therefore, the good that she did, must have outweighed the bad. And in the end, that's all that really matters, isn't it?
So, I've gotten some hope from my mom, who just so happens to be the best mom in the world. That hope is that maybe I'm not going at this all wrong. Maybe, though it may appear that my kids are going to be the biggest brats on the block, just maybe it's a stage. And maybe it's a stage I went through also. And see? SEE HOW GREAT I TURNED OUT?!! ;)
And just for my mom, I'll put this caveat in there. FINALLY. See how great I turned out, FINALLY. :) Thanks Mom.
I took the kids out to a park this morning to meet up with a new group of moms and their kids. This is a MOPS group from the church I've been attending regularly for the past 7 months. I've been sort of "eyeing up" the different groups in the church to figure out what I wanted to get involved in and I figured this would be a good one. It's mostly for the moms in the church, connecting to each other (they meet every other week for two hours and have breakfast, and either a speaker or a craft), but also provides a social outlet for the kids. So, I explain to Morgan that this gathering at the park isn't about *her* and I ask her to be patient and to please be on her best behavior. And, while I could attempt a similar pep talk with Bennett, I think we all know how pointless that would be. After securing her promise that she's be on her best behavior, we went to the park (which happens to be one of their favorites since it has both water stuff as well as play structures) and I meet up with some new Moms. Now, as a woman, I am keenly aware of how these "meetings" can often go. They have the potential to be wonderful meetings, but they also have the equal potential to be awkward and disheartening. I got up early this morning so that I could shower and put on clothes that matched and even eyeshadow and eyeliner in anticipation of meeting some new women. I had the pre-park warning talk with Morgan and had plenty of snacks packed, along with swimsuits and toys, and all the things that help ease a day at the park.
When we first met up with the other moms, Morgan kept interrupting the conversation to tell them random facts about her and her life. I asked her to please go play with the other kids, and after a little bit of resistance, she finally complied. Things were fine for a while, but then I heard Morgan being ugly to one of the other kids who dared to want to sit on a rock she had been sitting on. I asked her to please give him a turn and then she went into full 15-year-old sass mode. Arms crossed, glaring eyes and talking back. I was, once again, mortified by my child. I told her to come over to me, to which she started talking back and so I started the countdown... 5-4-3-2-1 and she's screaming at me the whole time that she's COMING AS FAST AS SHE CAN!! I asked her to sit down until she could change her attitude and she continued to talk back to me. I was SO EMBARRASSED. As I'm discussing the consequences of her behavior, she's getting more rapidly out of control. I'm now about five inches from her face, telling her that I will NOT put up with this type of behavior when, out of the corner of my eye, I see Bennett fall down from a picnic table, where he'd climbed up and had been standing on the bench. He hit his head on the concrete and it was all I could do to not start weeping right there. Morgan still had her attitude going on and now I had a wailing Bennett that I needed to make sure was okay. I grabbed Bennett up, sat Morgan down and started to make sure that Bennett was okay. Now Morgan's crying about having to get dressed and I grab her by the arm, look her in the face, and let her know that I'm so embarrassed by her behavior and that she WILL go get her clothes on RIGHT NOW or else she will spend the rest of the day in her room. She continues to talk back, but I just go put her clothes at a picnic table that's away from the crowd and point her in that direction. I'm changing Bennett and soothing him as she finally gets her clothes on and then we are finally able to leave.
As we are leaving, one of the MOPS moms asks if I think I'll be signing up (which I'm positive is code for "Are we going to have to worry about your kids hanging out with our kids?"). I told her I thought I would be signing up. And unbelievably, she sounded relieved and said "Oh, good, then we didn't make too bad of a first impression then?". To which I just laughed and almost snorted as I said "Oh, no. Not at all!". Unlike the first impression I just made.
I couldn't help but lose it in the car on the way home. I just feel like a complete failure. The fact that this child of mine has the audacity to be so disrespectful like that, particularly in front of others. How did this happen? And had I not been so distracted by her, then Bennett wouldn't have fallen. And really, I should have never let that happen. I just feel like a complete and utter loser as a parent.
So, I get home and I get through lunch with the kids, put them down for their naps and get on the phone with my mom. Who then assures me that this is normal. They aren't bad kids, but they are kids. And parenting is hard. We talk through a lot of "you did this" and similar like stuff. I tell her the obvious, that as parents, you are always wondering if you are getting it right. It really is the toughest job, with the biggest consequences. And she confesses that there are things she would have done differently. But, she can't go back and undo any of it. And it doesn't matter anyway, because my brother and I turned out pretty good. Therefore, the good that she did, must have outweighed the bad. And in the end, that's all that really matters, isn't it?
So, I've gotten some hope from my mom, who just so happens to be the best mom in the world. That hope is that maybe I'm not going at this all wrong. Maybe, though it may appear that my kids are going to be the biggest brats on the block, just maybe it's a stage. And maybe it's a stage I went through also. And see? SEE HOW GREAT I TURNED OUT?!! ;)
And just for my mom, I'll put this caveat in there. FINALLY. See how great I turned out, FINALLY. :) Thanks Mom.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
It had such potential...
The day actually started out pretty good. I woke up early, when Lance's alarm went off and then deftly masked my woken state by covering my sounds with the sounds of Lance getting ready for work. I was successful at doing this, so I was able to get up, get dressed, get my bag packed for the gym, the bed made and then had an entire TEN MINUTES of complete solitude this morning. I know, miracle, right?
But the Momma senses are strong in my kids and soon, I hear the patter of Morgan's feet, getting out of bed. I hear her turning off her nightlight and then a little more stumbling, and then she comes out of her room, big grin stretching across her face, and announces that she got dressed before leaving her room like I asked her to last night. :) I gave her my biggest smile and a huge hug and then we headed in to get breakfast. These days, she's preferring cereal over any hot breakfast, so she's pretty easy. I start chopping up fruit for Bennett (some for now and some for playgroup) and make him some toast and then I turn on the coffee pot, sure that this will rise him from his state of slumber. There was an 8:30 class I wanted to take! But I didn't hear him, so I sent Morgan in to wake him up and she did just that. I went in and got him up and dressed and then set him in his highchair to eat his pears and toast. He was happy as a clam, as I went ahead and got his shoes on and gathered all the requisite bags by the door -- gym bag, gym diaper bag, and real diaper bag. Check, check, check. Morgan is quietly watching cartoons, which is a rare treat so early in the morning. Ahhh, breathe it in. A peaceful morning.
We get to the gym, not running so that I make my class, but WITH TIME TO SPARE, so I'm able to go to the bathroom and do some stretching before it starts. Morgan decides she wants to do Kid Fit, so I'm happy that she'll be burning off some energy before Bennett's playgroup. I took a new class for me - power cross training - and it was good, but I doubt I'll become a regular. Nevertheless, it was a good workout. After class, I have time to shower and actually dry my hair ALL THE WAY, including the FLAT IRON. Yeah, what a luxury! I'm chit chatting with some other moms about potty training, look at the clock and realize it's time to pick up the kids from the nursery. I get Morgan from the gym and Bennett from the nursery and we head off the playgroup.
Playgroup was going so well. We were at Melissa's house, in her beautiful backyard. Morgan had another older child there to play with and they were totally in love with their playhouse in the backyard. There was a water table for the little kids, and then Melissa went and got out the baby pool and Popsicles. The toddlers loved the Popsicles. See, here? This is one of the last pictures taken before the day took a grim turn.
I *think* it started when Bennett dropped the last 1/4 of his Popsicle on the ground. Given that he was already covered in Popsicle juice and the last bit had fallen on the ground, I walked over to the table to put it in the wrapper and throw it away. Only want to know what he saw?? Giant woman snatches baby's only possession, news at 11. Yep, he had a HUGE conniption fit. Okay, okay. So, I went inside and rinsed it off and he proceeded to lay himself on the ground so that he could have a full fledged temper tantrum. He scooted himself across their patio, kicking and screaming! I raced back to him with the freshly cleaned Popsicle and even that could not undo the events that unfolded next.
He stumbled around, drunk on his tantrum, and then he actually tried to go INSIDE with his purple gooey mess all over him. Of course, that wasn't happening until I cleaned him off. So, as I'm taking him over to the baby pool, he throws himself down on the ground and starts rolling around in the grass, screaming and crying. Oh the drama! People, this was academy award winning material. But, when I had the AUDACITY to try to wash him off in the pool??? Oh no. That's when he really pulled out the big guns. He even went so far as to start hitting himself in the head.
Trying my best to remain calm and at least APPEAR to know what I'm doing in front of all the other moms and kids, I take him over to dry him off so that he can then go into the house. EXCEPT HE WON'T SIT DOWN. Like I cannot BEND his legs that way. Oh this kid!! I finally wrap him up in a towel and pick him up and bring him inside, away from the spectators. He finally settles down, but I still had to get Morgan and our stuff outside together so we could leave. So, I go out and ask Morgan to get her shoes on so we can go. I'm sure you all know how she responded. "Of course, mother. I can see how difficult this is getting for you, what with the way my brother is behaving. I'll make it easy for you. Here. Let ME pack up the snacks we've pulled out. Oh, don't worry. I'll get the stuff back in my backpack." But that was just a momentary dream, and the reality of her standing there, crossed arms, telling me she didn't want to go smacked me right in the face. But, I cannot be distracted. I have a tantrum-drunk toddler on the loose inside. Must. Get. Stuff. FAST.
Of course, this is when Morgan bumps her head on the edge of a patio chair and I'm surprised that it wasn't pouring blood, from her reaction. I told her that when she was done with her dramatics, I need her to get her shoes on and gather her backpack and come inside. And off I went to deal with terror #2.
And I thought it was pretty funny when the pediatrician recommended a therapist. But you know what's even funnier than that? One of the moms asked me if I thought he got bit by a bee or something. Because that is the only explanation she could find for such behavior. Ha! I'll take that one to the therapist.
But the Momma senses are strong in my kids and soon, I hear the patter of Morgan's feet, getting out of bed. I hear her turning off her nightlight and then a little more stumbling, and then she comes out of her room, big grin stretching across her face, and announces that she got dressed before leaving her room like I asked her to last night. :) I gave her my biggest smile and a huge hug and then we headed in to get breakfast. These days, she's preferring cereal over any hot breakfast, so she's pretty easy. I start chopping up fruit for Bennett (some for now and some for playgroup) and make him some toast and then I turn on the coffee pot, sure that this will rise him from his state of slumber. There was an 8:30 class I wanted to take! But I didn't hear him, so I sent Morgan in to wake him up and she did just that. I went in and got him up and dressed and then set him in his highchair to eat his pears and toast. He was happy as a clam, as I went ahead and got his shoes on and gathered all the requisite bags by the door -- gym bag, gym diaper bag, and real diaper bag. Check, check, check. Morgan is quietly watching cartoons, which is a rare treat so early in the morning. Ahhh, breathe it in. A peaceful morning.
We get to the gym, not running so that I make my class, but WITH TIME TO SPARE, so I'm able to go to the bathroom and do some stretching before it starts. Morgan decides she wants to do Kid Fit, so I'm happy that she'll be burning off some energy before Bennett's playgroup. I took a new class for me - power cross training - and it was good, but I doubt I'll become a regular. Nevertheless, it was a good workout. After class, I have time to shower and actually dry my hair ALL THE WAY, including the FLAT IRON. Yeah, what a luxury! I'm chit chatting with some other moms about potty training, look at the clock and realize it's time to pick up the kids from the nursery. I get Morgan from the gym and Bennett from the nursery and we head off the playgroup.
Playgroup was going so well. We were at Melissa's house, in her beautiful backyard. Morgan had another older child there to play with and they were totally in love with their playhouse in the backyard. There was a water table for the little kids, and then Melissa went and got out the baby pool and Popsicles. The toddlers loved the Popsicles. See, here? This is one of the last pictures taken before the day took a grim turn.I *think* it started when Bennett dropped the last 1/4 of his Popsicle on the ground. Given that he was already covered in Popsicle juice and the last bit had fallen on the ground, I walked over to the table to put it in the wrapper and throw it away. Only want to know what he saw?? Giant woman snatches baby's only possession, news at 11. Yep, he had a HUGE conniption fit. Okay, okay. So, I went inside and rinsed it off and he proceeded to lay himself on the ground so that he could have a full fledged temper tantrum. He scooted himself across their patio, kicking and screaming! I raced back to him with the freshly cleaned Popsicle and even that could not undo the events that unfolded next.
He stumbled around, drunk on his tantrum, and then he actually tried to go INSIDE with his purple gooey mess all over him. Of course, that wasn't happening until I cleaned him off. So, as I'm taking him over to the baby pool, he throws himself down on the ground and starts rolling around in the grass, screaming and crying. Oh the drama! People, this was academy award winning material. But, when I had the AUDACITY to try to wash him off in the pool??? Oh no. That's when he really pulled out the big guns. He even went so far as to start hitting himself in the head.
Trying my best to remain calm and at least APPEAR to know what I'm doing in front of all the other moms and kids, I take him over to dry him off so that he can then go into the house. EXCEPT HE WON'T SIT DOWN. Like I cannot BEND his legs that way. Oh this kid!! I finally wrap him up in a towel and pick him up and bring him inside, away from the spectators. He finally settles down, but I still had to get Morgan and our stuff outside together so we could leave. So, I go out and ask Morgan to get her shoes on so we can go. I'm sure you all know how she responded. "Of course, mother. I can see how difficult this is getting for you, what with the way my brother is behaving. I'll make it easy for you. Here. Let ME pack up the snacks we've pulled out. Oh, don't worry. I'll get the stuff back in my backpack." But that was just a momentary dream, and the reality of her standing there, crossed arms, telling me she didn't want to go smacked me right in the face. But, I cannot be distracted. I have a tantrum-drunk toddler on the loose inside. Must. Get. Stuff. FAST.
Of course, this is when Morgan bumps her head on the edge of a patio chair and I'm surprised that it wasn't pouring blood, from her reaction. I told her that when she was done with her dramatics, I need her to get her shoes on and gather her backpack and come inside. And off I went to deal with terror #2.
And I thought it was pretty funny when the pediatrician recommended a therapist. But you know what's even funnier than that? One of the moms asked me if I thought he got bit by a bee or something. Because that is the only explanation she could find for such behavior. Ha! I'll take that one to the therapist.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Number 12 - just for good measure
12. I just noticed that Firefox is displaying the pictures from my previous blog entry on top of each other. IE does not. I had to edit the entry only about 5,327 times and finally did it in IE since Firefox wouldn't let me drag the picture above where the box was in Blogger. IE will let me do that, but won't let me Undo when something goes awry. Frickity frack. Well, you know what? If you want to see the pictures without them being on top of each other, you're gonna have to suck it up and use IE. So there, Internet! ;)
Less than blissful
I'm not feeling the domestic bliss today. It's really just a series of minor irritations, but I'm just not feeling it. I know, I know. You are saying to yourself, "But she's always so cheerful and upbeat and always LOVES being around those two kids of hers, how can this be?" *yeah right* But trust me, if given the option TODAY, I just might opt to go back to work, where I fondly recall having a lunch hour. Yes, an HOUR. Devoted entirely to ME and EATING. I also recall being able to have a discussion on the phone without someone nagging me to play with them or screaming at me that they want more water. Yeah, I know most of the people who I worked with were children in their own right; but at least I could look at them, tell them they needed to figure it out, and not worry about whether or not they would cry or hit each other. (most of the time).
Here are just a few of the reasons why I'm feeling less than blissful today.
1. After dinner last night, I still had not gotten any exercise in and so instead of cleaning the kitchen, I went for a run. I came home and Lance had cleaned up the kitchen EXCEPT the pots and pans that needed to be washed by hand. I was actually surprised to find that the food wasn't just sitting out, since I didn't put it away myself, so I was totally prepared to wash those dishes. Except that when I thanked him for cleaning up the kitchen, he told me that he hadn't washed the pots and pans, but he would. How nice of him! Except as of this morning, they were not washed. Not even soaked. And I cooked pan seared steaks last night - and the whole "pan-searing" can do quite a number on a pan. So, I got to get up and immediately start washing dishes this morning. Lucky me! Oh, and we'll just tack this one on to here as well. I'm not sure how he didn't notice when he was cleaning up the kitchen last night, but the dishwasher was totally full when I got up this morning. And totally dirty. It had not been run. I know, it's so unbelievable that someone could actually FILL a dishwasher to the BRIM and not run it, but it happened to me. I swear it! So, now I have to run it and wait for it to be done and dry before I can put any dirty dishes in there. Yeah, not happy about this.
2. I was informed last night that we were "running low on dog food". So, I put it on my shopping list and thought that was that. Except this morning? Barely half a bowl of food for the dog. Now, I guess I should have some sort of "sense" for when we are running low, but honestly this is not MY thing. This is Lance's thing. So, the shopping trip got bumped up in priority since the poor dog can't starve. And who knows how much Bennett is going to feed her.
3. In another Best-Mother-Award moment, I called this morning to see about taking Morgan back in for her TB test. You see, I totally FORGOT to go back in the 2-3 days after the first test to have the test read. Yeah, I know. I suck. I had called when I realized, but it was too late to be read and they told me to call back another day to see about doing a drop-in for her TB test. So, I thought this morning would be perfect since it's right on the way to Morgan's soccer practice. So I call to see about the drop-in appointment and they tell me that she can't have the test performed again until SIX WEEKS after her previous vaccinations. What??? I'm totally thrown off by this, so I ask to speak to a nurse and they have to take a message. When she does get around to returning my call, she has to explain to me (several times, slowly so that I understand, and probably answering too many of my questions) why she can't have the TB test done now. The upside is that they had already prepared the paperwork and so it looks like she has complied with all the necessary vaccinations for kindergarten. Plus, they don't view her as a "high risk" person for TB. While I thank them for trying to work with me here and realize that I am ultimately to blame for this entire situation, I'm also a person who typically plays by the rules, so this really bothers me. I ask for the date that I can bring her back in and am told by the nurse that it's 4 weeks after her previous vaccination, so Aug 16. So, I can still have this done before she starts school, which is good. But this is all just another minor irritation to my not-so-blissful morning.
4. So, now with no TB test to go have done before soccer practice, I decide to go ahead and do my daily chores (laundry, cleaning out the diaper bag, my purse and wallet, cleaning the toaster, cleaning the bathroom mirrors and the computer screens). I actually break one of the mirror panels in our downstairs bathroom and can only think of seven years bad luck as I'm finishing the rest of my chores. As I'm doing this, Morgan pulls out Bennett's Mega Blocks and starts playing with them and then getting mad when he wants to play with them. I remind her that they *are* his, but that's neither here nor there to her. So, I go get *her* wooden blocks from the playroom for him to play with. I bet you can see where this is going. Now she wants NOTHING to do with his blocks and he only wants to throw her blocks at the wall, at her, at the TV, whatever. So, FIVE TIMEOUTS IN A ROW later, I'm counting down the minutes to leaving for soccer practice.
5. The phone rings and it's the people in charge of soccer and they're having to cancel soccer practice today because the coach is having car trouble. They will make up the session by adding another day to the end of the "season". Except that that is during school. She tells me that she's been hearing that a lot from the calls she's making this morning, so they might have to refund some of our money. Okay, whatever. And now we are here at home with no plans of leaving whatsoever.
6. Next up? Shopping. I decide that since I have the extra time and now have to go to the grocery store today, I will look at next week's ads to see if I should hold off on buying anything I was planning on buying until they are on sale. So, essentially all the planning I did on Sunday had to be redone. And as I'm doing this, I get a text message from the other co-director of the Moms club. She wants me to call her. Only a few people have RSVP'd that they will be at the board meeting. So, I call and unload on her all the issues I'm having right now with lack of participation of *different* people doing stuff for the club. I'm almost to the point where I just don't care anymore because I honestly cannot keep asking the SAME people to do the stuff that needs to be done. And I certainly don't want to have to do everything myself. As I'm on the phone with her, I walk outside into our courtyard for some privacy so I can speak freely. Except Morgan, with her ever so keen "Mom is on the phone" senses, follows me out there and stands, with the door cracked ever so slightly, trying to listen to what I'm saying. I'm doing all the hand motions for "GET YOUR ASS BACK INSIDE", but she acts like she doesn't know what I'm saying. I finally have to interrupt the person I'm talking to to ask her to get back inside. I told her that I came outside so I could talk on the phone in privacy. Want to know what she asks me? "Can I just play with the sand table?" The one that's outside? In the courtyard? Two feet from where I'm standing? Are you freaking serious??
7. Am I on number seven? I can't even keep count! We'll make that minor annoyance number seven.
8. So after getting off the phone, I finish up the grocery list and once the kids have been sufficiently "snacked", we head off to the store. The shopping trip itself is only your typical level of irritation - with Morgan jumping around from square to square at the store (note to self: see if we can't find a different store WITHOUT varying colored squares) and with Bennett yelling MAMA at the top of his lungs. I get to the dog food aisle and there's NO WAY I can get that size bag INTO the cart. You know why it needs to go INSIDE the cart?? Because there is no bottom rack on this cart. (I'm using the term cart since I am apparently the only person on the face of the planet that uses the word buggy for a shopping cart. I want you guys to understand me) SO GLAD I DECIDED I HAD TO SHOP TODAY FOR DOG FOOD!! But whatever. There was plenty of other things we needed, so it wasn't totally wasted.
9. They are running a promotion where for every $25 you spend, you get something for free. I spent $75, so I got some free bread, lunch meat and CINNAMON ROLLS. Like freshly baked cinnamon rolls. Cream cheese or vanilla, the cashier wants to know. Cream cheese, of course. This is irritation number nine. I don't NEED those freaking cinnamon rolls staring me down. But how can I turn them down?? They were FREE! I know you aren't going to believe me, but they actually called my name in the car on the way home. I know I heard it.
10. Staying strong, I have my EVERY DAY lunch of light bread, with fat free mayo, and 2% cheese and 98% fat free lunch meat (with pickles!), a side of baby carrots and 1 oz of Ruffles Light chips. And the kids got to eat a cinnamon roll after their lunch. Only they didn't finish it. So there was about 1/4 of a cinnamon roll left on Morgan's plate. And then, it practically DARED me to eat it. I don't know about you, but I'm always up for a dare. So, I ate it. And you know what?? It sucked!! It was dry and not at all delicious. It soooo wasn't worth putting those calories in my body.
11. Even though I got all my chores done this morning, know what I had to spend the first part of nap time doing? Unloading the freaking dishwasher, so I could put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher. Yeah, not happy about this.
And they day isn't even half over. What other blissful things await me today?? I can hardly wait to find out!
Here are just a few of the reasons why I'm feeling less than blissful today.
1. After dinner last night, I still had not gotten any exercise in and so instead of cleaning the kitchen, I went for a run. I came home and Lance had cleaned up the kitchen EXCEPT the pots and pans that needed to be washed by hand. I was actually surprised to find that the food wasn't just sitting out, since I didn't put it away myself, so I was totally prepared to wash those dishes. Except that when I thanked him for cleaning up the kitchen, he told me that he hadn't washed the pots and pans, but he would. How nice of him! Except as of this morning, they were not washed. Not even soaked. And I cooked pan seared steaks last night - and the whole "pan-searing" can do quite a number on a pan. So, I got to get up and immediately start washing dishes this morning. Lucky me! Oh, and we'll just tack this one on to here as well. I'm not sure how he didn't notice when he was cleaning up the kitchen last night, but the dishwasher was totally full when I got up this morning. And totally dirty. It had not been run. I know, it's so unbelievable that someone could actually FILL a dishwasher to the BRIM and not run it, but it happened to me. I swear it! So, now I have to run it and wait for it to be done and dry before I can put any dirty dishes in there. Yeah, not happy about this.
2. I was informed last night that we were "running low on dog food". So, I put it on my shopping list and thought that was that. Except this morning? Barely half a bowl of food for the dog. Now, I guess I should have some sort of "sense" for when we are running low, but honestly this is not MY thing. This is Lance's thing. So, the shopping trip got bumped up in priority since the poor dog can't starve. And who knows how much Bennett is going to feed her.
3. In another Best-Mother-Award moment, I called this morning to see about taking Morgan back in for her TB test. You see, I totally FORGOT to go back in the 2-3 days after the first test to have the test read. Yeah, I know. I suck. I had called when I realized, but it was too late to be read and they told me to call back another day to see about doing a drop-in for her TB test. So, I thought this morning would be perfect since it's right on the way to Morgan's soccer practice. So I call to see about the drop-in appointment and they tell me that she can't have the test performed again until SIX WEEKS after her previous vaccinations. What??? I'm totally thrown off by this, so I ask to speak to a nurse and they have to take a message. When she does get around to returning my call, she has to explain to me (several times, slowly so that I understand, and probably answering too many of my questions) why she can't have the TB test done now. The upside is that they had already prepared the paperwork and so it looks like she has complied with all the necessary vaccinations for kindergarten. Plus, they don't view her as a "high risk" person for TB. While I thank them for trying to work with me here and realize that I am ultimately to blame for this entire situation, I'm also a person who typically plays by the rules, so this really bothers me. I ask for the date that I can bring her back in and am told by the nurse that it's 4 weeks after her previous vaccination, so Aug 16. So, I can still have this done before she starts school, which is good. But this is all just another minor irritation to my not-so-blissful morning.
4. So, now with no TB test to go have done before soccer practice, I decide to go ahead and do my daily chores (laundry, cleaning out the diaper bag, my purse and wallet, cleaning the toaster, cleaning the bathroom mirrors and the computer screens). I actually break one of the mirror panels in our downstairs bathroom and can only think of seven years bad luck as I'm finishing the rest of my chores. As I'm doing this, Morgan pulls out Bennett's Mega Blocks and starts playing with them and then getting mad when he wants to play with them. I remind her that they *are* his, but that's neither here nor there to her. So, I go get *her* wooden blocks from the playroom for him to play with. I bet you can see where this is going. Now she wants NOTHING to do with his blocks and he only wants to throw her blocks at the wall, at her, at the TV, whatever. So, FIVE TIMEOUTS IN A ROW later, I'm counting down the minutes to leaving for soccer practice.
5. The phone rings and it's the people in charge of soccer and they're having to cancel soccer practice today because the coach is having car trouble. They will make up the session by adding another day to the end of the "season". Except that that is during school. She tells me that she's been hearing that a lot from the calls she's making this morning, so they might have to refund some of our money. Okay, whatever. And now we are here at home with no plans of leaving whatsoever.
6. Next up? Shopping. I decide that since I have the extra time and now have to go to the grocery store today, I will look at next week's ads to see if I should hold off on buying anything I was planning on buying until they are on sale. So, essentially all the planning I did on Sunday had to be redone. And as I'm doing this, I get a text message from the other co-director of the Moms club. She wants me to call her. Only a few people have RSVP'd that they will be at the board meeting. So, I call and unload on her all the issues I'm having right now with lack of participation of *different* people doing stuff for the club. I'm almost to the point where I just don't care anymore because I honestly cannot keep asking the SAME people to do the stuff that needs to be done. And I certainly don't want to have to do everything myself. As I'm on the phone with her, I walk outside into our courtyard for some privacy so I can speak freely. Except Morgan, with her ever so keen "Mom is on the phone" senses, follows me out there and stands, with the door cracked ever so slightly, trying to listen to what I'm saying. I'm doing all the hand motions for "GET YOUR ASS BACK INSIDE", but she acts like she doesn't know what I'm saying. I finally have to interrupt the person I'm talking to to ask her to get back inside. I told her that I came outside so I could talk on the phone in privacy. Want to know what she asks me? "Can I just play with the sand table?" The one that's outside? In the courtyard? Two feet from where I'm standing? Are you freaking serious??
7. Am I on number seven? I can't even keep count! We'll make that minor annoyance number seven.
8. So after getting off the phone, I finish up the grocery list and once the kids have been sufficiently "snacked", we head off to the store. The shopping trip itself is only your typical level of irritation - with Morgan jumping around from square to square at the store (note to self: see if we can't find a different store WITHOUT varying colored squares) and with Bennett yelling MAMA at the top of his lungs. I get to the dog food aisle and there's NO WAY I can get that size bag INTO the cart. You know why it needs to go INSIDE the cart?? Because there is no bottom rack on this cart. (I'm using the term cart since I am apparently the only person on the face of the planet that uses the word buggy for a shopping cart. I want you guys to understand me) SO GLAD I DECIDED I HAD TO SHOP TODAY FOR DOG FOOD!! But whatever. There was plenty of other things we needed, so it wasn't totally wasted.
9. They are running a promotion where for every $25 you spend, you get something for free. I spent $75, so I got some free bread, lunch meat and CINNAMON ROLLS. Like freshly baked cinnamon rolls. Cream cheese or vanilla, the cashier wants to know. Cream cheese, of course. This is irritation number nine. I don't NEED those freaking cinnamon rolls staring me down. But how can I turn them down?? They were FREE! I know you aren't going to believe me, but they actually called my name in the car on the way home. I know I heard it.
10. Staying strong, I have my EVERY DAY lunch of light bread, with fat free mayo, and 2% cheese and 98% fat free lunch meat (with pickles!), a side of baby carrots and 1 oz of Ruffles Light chips. And the kids got to eat a cinnamon roll after their lunch. Only they didn't finish it. So there was about 1/4 of a cinnamon roll left on Morgan's plate. And then, it practically DARED me to eat it. I don't know about you, but I'm always up for a dare. So, I ate it. And you know what?? It sucked!! It was dry and not at all delicious. It soooo wasn't worth putting those calories in my body.
11. Even though I got all my chores done this morning, know what I had to spend the first part of nap time doing? Unloading the freaking dishwasher, so I could put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher. Yeah, not happy about this.
And they day isn't even half over. What other blissful things await me today?? I can hardly wait to find out!
Pictures from Cull Canyon
These are pictures from our trip to Cull Canyon yesterday. As you can see, Bennett and some of the other toddlers from his playgroup are having a great time. They really are enjoying digging in the sand.
Morgan was sitting on the beach and Brandon came crawling over to her and sat in her lap. She was rather pleased with herself.
Brandon also liked hanging out with the older babies and Bennett didn't mind sharing his "girls" with another boy.
The only down side was that there were some yellow jackets that were particularly fond of us. But, Cristina surrendered her turkey sandwich and they were more interested in that than they were in us after that. Thanks for taking one for the team, Cristina! :)
We may have to make another trip back there before the summer is over. The kids had so much fun and slept so well for their naps -- always a bonus!
Morgan was sitting on the beach and Brandon came crawling over to her and sat in her lap. She was rather pleased with herself.
Brandon also liked hanging out with the older babies and Bennett didn't mind sharing his "girls" with another boy.
The only down side was that there were some yellow jackets that were particularly fond of us. But, Cristina surrendered her turkey sandwich and they were more interested in that than they were in us after that. Thanks for taking one for the team, Cristina! :)
We may have to make another trip back there before the summer is over. The kids had so much fun and slept so well for their naps -- always a bonus!
Monday, August 4, 2008
That son of mine!!!
Cranky as all get out until Daddy got home from work. Then he really put on the charm. He even ate a decent dinner WITHOUT throwing food. All the while, smiling at Daddy. Little stinker!!
There go my plans.....again!
It's 2:45 and we just got home from Cull Canyon, a chlorinated swimming lagoon. I'll be downloading the pictures later, so you can see them in all their sandy glory. We had a ton of fun and the kids are finally down for naps now.
You know what this means? That 5pm cardio & core class? Not so much. They probably won't wake up until after 5. I'm so torn as to what to do now. Do I go ahead and hit the treadmill here now? Or should I try out the 7pm yoga class at the club? Decisions, decisions!
And just as I put this out to the universe, the kids are sure to wake up early. Because they like to screw with me like that.
You know what this means? That 5pm cardio & core class? Not so much. They probably won't wake up until after 5. I'm so torn as to what to do now. Do I go ahead and hit the treadmill here now? Or should I try out the 7pm yoga class at the club? Decisions, decisions!
And just as I put this out to the universe, the kids are sure to wake up early. Because they like to screw with me like that.
He may be home...but still need that mantra!
Lance didn't get home until 8:00 last night, which meant that he came in just as Morgan was going to bed. Of course, that leads to her not wanting to go to bed, but she finally fell asleep. This morning, I decided to get up before the kids so I can get a head start on the day, wanting to hit the gym before going to our outing today. Unfortunately, the kids have some strange sixth sense where they sense that I am awake and wake up immediately. So, I was unable to get the car packed up in peace, so I decided to forego the gym this morning and make pancakes for them instead. :) On the up side, I've already done all my chores for the day (cleaning bathrooms, replenishing toilet paper, and getting Benson going on vacumming downstairs). So, when we get home from our outing, I hope to tuck some exhausted kids into bed for naps and either nap or just have some downtime to myself. I'm hoping to catch a 5pm cardio & core class at the club since I didn't get there this morning. Oh, and I guess I need to cook again since Lance is going to be expecting some dinner. *sigh*
I feel like I've been GOING non-stop for over a week now (hey - I have). I need a break.
Bennett is really driving me crazy right now. He keeps hitting me and kicking me. This is such foreign territory for me, as Morgan NEVER did this. It's like he gets some sick pleasure in trying to hurt me. I remember hearing about kids this age "acting out" with their favored parent, as they feel most secure with them, but that really doesn't make me feel any better in the heat of the moment. It's all I can do to contain myself when he slaps me, I tell him that we don't hit and show him how to touch gently, and then he gets that twinkle in his eye and hits me harder. Or repeat, only with kicking.
So, here's a shout out to all you moms out there - WHAT DO I DO ABOUT THIS??
I feel like I've been GOING non-stop for over a week now (hey - I have). I need a break.
Bennett is really driving me crazy right now. He keeps hitting me and kicking me. This is such foreign territory for me, as Morgan NEVER did this. It's like he gets some sick pleasure in trying to hurt me. I remember hearing about kids this age "acting out" with their favored parent, as they feel most secure with them, but that really doesn't make me feel any better in the heat of the moment. It's all I can do to contain myself when he slaps me, I tell him that we don't hit and show him how to touch gently, and then he gets that twinkle in his eye and hits me harder. Or repeat, only with kicking.
So, here's a shout out to all you moms out there - WHAT DO I DO ABOUT THIS??
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Day Three: REMEMBER THE MANTRA!
Keep a positive attitude. Keep them busy.
So, I should have known that we'd peaked in our "Daddy is gone and we're gonna have fun" glory yesterday, roughly around 5pm. That's the exact time that we had spent too much time at the pool and the kids were ready to go. But noooo, I pushed it to 5:15 and clearly, that's when it was time for all hell to break loose. This is also the time (right about when I am ripping Bennett's swim diaper off his little body) that I realize that I FORGOT their change of clothes. Luckily, I had a diaper with me, but NO CLOTHES! I got them dried off as much as I could, threw my towel around Bennett's naked little body, and tried my hardest not to act like there was anything wrong with that picture.
We got home and I really needed ALL of us showered. And fairly immediately (we were all in wet bathing suits, afterall). I'm trying to figure out the logistics of this while also cooking up some mac n cheese for them. So, I put them both in the tub, run downstairs and cook the macaroni and cheese, and then when I can't stand Bennett's screaming anymore, run back upstairs to figure out how to make this work. You see, I planned on us all going to church this morning, which would require that we are all "church ready" fairly early. That means that I need to have gotten a shower and actually been able to dry my hair before anyone woke up. And this would be difficult, given that I was going to be sleeping in the same bed as Morgan. That meant that I needed to shower then and then dry my hair while they were strapped down --I mean busy -- eating. Hmm, what to do??
Bennett was clearly done with the tub, but he's the one that I need to keep in there because I can't have him wandering around unattended. So, I opted to boot Morgan out of the tub temporarily, to allow room for myself to get in there and shower faster than I've ever done in my entire life, bathe Bennett and then get out and get him out, while then giving her the shower for her to do her thing by herself. Once I was done showering and got Bennett out, I went to quickly put some clothes on at the exact moment that Bennett decided that he should mark my bedroom floor as his territory, if you know what I mean. I couldn't even believe what I saw. He's standing there, just whizzing away, as if it was the most natural thing in the world to PEE all over MY CARPET. Great! So, not only do I have to worry about putting clothes on me, diapering and clothing him, but now I have to clean up this mess on top of it all. But I manage to get us both dressed and get him set up in the high chair with some mac n cheese and wait for Morgan to come downstairs (wouldn't want him to eat alone!). She comes downstairs and actually gets her pajamas on in a normal pace because she has mac n cheese AND Girls' Night to look forward too. Amazing how these things can speed up a snail...
I do manage to get my hair dried before Bennett started throwing food and was able to get him ready for bed and asleep without much further strife. Girls' Night went as explained before, complete with a horrid night's sleep.
But, given the fact that I was sleeping in the same bed as Morgan, I was able to wake up at the crack of dawn, which is the precise time that she decided to start whining about being hungry. This meant that I could actually get up and get dressed for church before Bennett was awake. So, I got ready, made the bed, fed the fish and dog, got Morgan dressed, got her going with breakfast and then cooked up some eggs for Bennett and myself for Breakfast. By this time, it was getting late (8am) and we needed to leave by 8:30ish. So, I put the eggs on Bennett's tray, put the tray on the counter and then went to get him up and dressed.
As I'm changing his diaper, I hear the LOUDEST bang and crash and I immediately put together in my mind, the sequence of events. Tray. Eggs. Morgan. Trying to do something "nice". Dog. Eggs. Floor. Oh geesh. So glad I cooked up those eggs! I stormed into the kitchen and yelled at the dog and Morgan, simultaneously. I was yelling at Morgan that I knew she was trying to do something nice but to PLEASE ASK before she does things like that. I could tell she was upset and I knew that I was just frustrated, knowing that we have to leave for church soon, I was going to have to cook more eggs, and Bennett takes as long as Morgan does to eat a meal. I took a few deep breathes, repeated my mantra "Keep a positive attitude", strapped Bennett into his high chair and went to talk to Morgan. I had to apologize to her for yelling at her (I *hate* having to do this!!). I told her that I know she didn't mean for that to happen and that I was just frustrated and I shouldn't have yelled at her. She tells me it's okay and now I've got just 20 minutes to make more eggs and get Bennett fed before we have to leave.
We managed to leave only 10 minutes late and given that I always give myself a "cushion" of time, we had just enough time to drop them both off at their respective classes and I made it to the service just in time. After church, we hung out and had doughnuts and then ran by Bed, Bath & Beyond before heading to Sweet Tomatoes to meet some friends for lunch. I obviously have a failing memory, because once again, I forgot that I cannot take Bennett out to eat at this age. He did okay, but there was still some food slinging, some yelling, and a bunch of him hitting me with greasy hands. But, the kids got fed, somewhat healthy food, we got to socialize with some friends and then the best part? When we got home, it was nap time. Oh sweet nap time. And they've been sleeping for almost three hours now. And when they get up? I'm going to the club and dropping them off in the nursery. And I may not even work out! Ha!
Which is good, because Daddy? He just called to let me know that even though he told me yesterday that they would be home "worst case by dinner", let me know that this has now morphed into ~7:30.
Please, oh please let him be home by bed time.
So, I should have known that we'd peaked in our "Daddy is gone and we're gonna have fun" glory yesterday, roughly around 5pm. That's the exact time that we had spent too much time at the pool and the kids were ready to go. But noooo, I pushed it to 5:15 and clearly, that's when it was time for all hell to break loose. This is also the time (right about when I am ripping Bennett's swim diaper off his little body) that I realize that I FORGOT their change of clothes. Luckily, I had a diaper with me, but NO CLOTHES! I got them dried off as much as I could, threw my towel around Bennett's naked little body, and tried my hardest not to act like there was anything wrong with that picture.We got home and I really needed ALL of us showered. And fairly immediately (we were all in wet bathing suits, afterall). I'm trying to figure out the logistics of this while also cooking up some mac n cheese for them. So, I put them both in the tub, run downstairs and cook the macaroni and cheese, and then when I can't stand Bennett's screaming anymore, run back upstairs to figure out how to make this work. You see, I planned on us all going to church this morning, which would require that we are all "church ready" fairly early. That means that I need to have gotten a shower and actually been able to dry my hair before anyone woke up. And this would be difficult, given that I was going to be sleeping in the same bed as Morgan. That meant that I needed to shower then and then dry my hair while they were strapped down --I mean busy -- eating. Hmm, what to do??
Bennett was clearly done with the tub, but he's the one that I need to keep in there because I can't have him wandering around unattended. So, I opted to boot Morgan out of the tub temporarily, to allow room for myself to get in there and shower faster than I've ever done in my entire life, bathe Bennett and then get out and get him out, while then giving her the shower for her to do her thing by herself. Once I was done showering and got Bennett out, I went to quickly put some clothes on at the exact moment that Bennett decided that he should mark my bedroom floor as his territory, if you know what I mean. I couldn't even believe what I saw. He's standing there, just whizzing away, as if it was the most natural thing in the world to PEE all over MY CARPET. Great! So, not only do I have to worry about putting clothes on me, diapering and clothing him, but now I have to clean up this mess on top of it all. But I manage to get us both dressed and get him set up in the high chair with some mac n cheese and wait for Morgan to come downstairs (wouldn't want him to eat alone!). She comes downstairs and actually gets her pajamas on in a normal pace because she has mac n cheese AND Girls' Night to look forward too. Amazing how these things can speed up a snail...
I do manage to get my hair dried before Bennett started throwing food and was able to get him ready for bed and asleep without much further strife. Girls' Night went as explained before, complete with a horrid night's sleep.
But, given the fact that I was sleeping in the same bed as Morgan, I was able to wake up at the crack of dawn, which is the precise time that she decided to start whining about being hungry. This meant that I could actually get up and get dressed for church before Bennett was awake. So, I got ready, made the bed, fed the fish and dog, got Morgan dressed, got her going with breakfast and then cooked up some eggs for Bennett and myself for Breakfast. By this time, it was getting late (8am) and we needed to leave by 8:30ish. So, I put the eggs on Bennett's tray, put the tray on the counter and then went to get him up and dressed.
As I'm changing his diaper, I hear the LOUDEST bang and crash and I immediately put together in my mind, the sequence of events. Tray. Eggs. Morgan. Trying to do something "nice". Dog. Eggs. Floor. Oh geesh. So glad I cooked up those eggs! I stormed into the kitchen and yelled at the dog and Morgan, simultaneously. I was yelling at Morgan that I knew she was trying to do something nice but to PLEASE ASK before she does things like that. I could tell she was upset and I knew that I was just frustrated, knowing that we have to leave for church soon, I was going to have to cook more eggs, and Bennett takes as long as Morgan does to eat a meal. I took a few deep breathes, repeated my mantra "Keep a positive attitude", strapped Bennett into his high chair and went to talk to Morgan. I had to apologize to her for yelling at her (I *hate* having to do this!!). I told her that I know she didn't mean for that to happen and that I was just frustrated and I shouldn't have yelled at her. She tells me it's okay and now I've got just 20 minutes to make more eggs and get Bennett fed before we have to leave.
We managed to leave only 10 minutes late and given that I always give myself a "cushion" of time, we had just enough time to drop them both off at their respective classes and I made it to the service just in time. After church, we hung out and had doughnuts and then ran by Bed, Bath & Beyond before heading to Sweet Tomatoes to meet some friends for lunch. I obviously have a failing memory, because once again, I forgot that I cannot take Bennett out to eat at this age. He did okay, but there was still some food slinging, some yelling, and a bunch of him hitting me with greasy hands. But, the kids got fed, somewhat healthy food, we got to socialize with some friends and then the best part? When we got home, it was nap time. Oh sweet nap time. And they've been sleeping for almost three hours now. And when they get up? I'm going to the club and dropping them off in the nursery. And I may not even work out! Ha!
Which is good, because Daddy? He just called to let me know that even though he told me yesterday that they would be home "worst case by dinner", let me know that this has now morphed into ~7:30.
Please, oh please let him be home by bed time.
Girls' Night
I knew Morgan was excited about "Girls' Night" yesterday when she told the same guy TWICE about our plans for the evening. This guy (with his 18 month old daughter) was at the park we went to and had lunch yesterday and then he showed up at the tennis club to swim at the same time we were there. She told him both times.I believe, however, that the actual night surpassed her expectations. Once Bennett was in bed, we got Charlie and The Chocolate Factory going while Morgan soaked her feet in the foot spa. I made popcorn and came back and gave her a gentle massage with the pumice stone and then a little foot massage. She picked out the nail polish color and we painted her toes up.
Note to self: Who needs Hooker Red in their OPI collection? Certainly NOT the mother of a five year old who will give her ALL the choices.
After I was done with her, I did my feet and toes and then we vegged out on the couch, watching the rest of the movie and eating popcorn. Towards the end of the movie, when Wonka is asking Charlie to move into the factory and take over and he tells him he will only come if he can bring his family, Morgan starts to get all teary eyed. I look at her, with a knowing smile, and ask her what's wrong. "I think I'm about to cry." I asked her why and she told me that she didn't know. So, I say, "Is it because you are sad that he's not moving into the chocolate factory because he doesn't want to leave his family?" She responds, "Yeah, I'm sad that he's not moving into the factory. I want to live there. He should just go live there." Unclear on her feelings, I asked if it was because he didn't want to leave his family, and she informed me that NO she wasn't sad about THAT. Just the part about him not moving into the factory. Oh, this empathetic child of mine!
When the movie is over, Morgan asked if it was time to go to bed yet (eager to sleep in my bed). I told her that there was no way we could go to bed right now. My toes were still drying and we needed to make banana splits. "WHAT IS A BANANA SPLIT?" my deprived daughter asks me. Follow me, my child and I will show you the way. So, I hook her up with a miniature banana split and we EVEN EAT IT IN THE LIVING ROOM (yes, we are living on the edge!!). She is sitting next to me and she keeps looking up at me; smiling, kissing me, hugging my arm.
"This is the BEST IDEA you've EVER had, Mom", she says."You are the best Mom ever", she says.
"I just *LOVE* girls' night", she says.
"Next time, we'll have to do it with Daddy."
Stop right there little lady. We can't exactly have GIRLS' NIGHT with DADDY! She tells me that we can, just NOT with Bennett. Oh, okay. I think I'm catching on now.
When it's bed time, Morgan takes great pride in going through my nightly routine with me. Getting the dog in her kennel, brushing our teeth, and removing the stacks of pillows from the bed. Once we get settled into bed, she cuddles up to me and gives me a big hug and tells me how much fun she had and that she can't even believe it. She can't wait to tell Daddy. And one day, she wants to live in a chocolate factory.
Then, she proceeded to go all horizontal on me and kick me ALL NIGHT LONG. Worst night of sleep I've had in a long time.
Love you too, sweetie. :)
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Day Two: Operations "Daddy's Not Home"
I didn't sleep very well last night. Probably just the empty half of the bed I'm not used to. Then Bennett was up with hiccups at 6am this morning, but he did go back to sleep. The kids didn't sleep LATE like I had hoped when I wore them out at Super Franks last night, but they didn't get up early either. And you know what? I'll take that.
Not sure if it's the fact that I was wincing my way down the stairs this morning, or what, but I wasn't very chipper this morning and the kids were bouncing off the walls. The first thing Morgan wanted to know was what I had planned for today. I think she's getting a little spoiled by all the fun stuff. Good thing school starts in a few weeks! I told her that I didn't have a ton planned, but that if she was good today, we'd do a "girl night" tonight after Bennett goes to bed.
"Girls night" consists of:
1 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory movie rented yesterday (opted for the newer version with Johnny Dep. Yumm-o)
1 bowl of fat free popcorn, with White Cheddar popcorn seasoning
2 glasses of water
1 foot spa
1 bottle of nail polish
plenty of napkins and paper towels
staying up past bed time
spending some good time together at home - just the two of us
a dash of giggling
letting Morgan sleep with me in my bed (has NEVER happened before)
whispering until we fall asleep
So, she was all "yippee" and I'm all "remember you have to earn this". To which, she assured me she would.
I had planned on taking a 9:30 kickboxing class, but trust me when I say I thought about going EARLY just to get these bouncy kids out of the house. Bennett was in the full fledged toddler mode of pulling stuff off shelves and getting into things and Morgan was hovering over him, reporting all the infractions. I managed to push off our departure time until just *slightly* earlier than necessary and we got to the tennis club with just enough time for me to get everyone settled, have a potty break and then go to my class.
The class was a bit cardiovascularly challenging, but really it's my freaking legs that are KILLING me. Like my quads. Should have stretched them better after yesterday's workout, I think. But, I made it through the one hour torture, and went and got the kids. My plan was to hit a park on the way home and then do lunch and naps. However, my plans quickly changed when a certain five year old informed me that she needed to go potty. So, we headed home where she went to the bathroom, I changed Bennett's diaper and then I packed up our lunches and we took off for the park.
It must be national Dads Take Your Kids To The Park Day because there were three other families there, but no other Moms to be found. This only served to make us miss Daddy a little more, but we wouldn't let that spoil our fun! We played for a little while on the playground equipment and with the other kids. Oh! Did I mention? Tom Cruise was there? Yeah. This guy looked EXACTLY like him. I was trying to discreetly smell my arm pits to see how bad I stank. Want to know something? There's no discreet way to do that. So, instead, I imagined that he really was Tom Cruise. With all his crazy Scientology craziness. And I was all good with my gym clothes and sweaty pits. :)
After playing for a bit, we sat down and had our picnic lunch and then there was more playing, tree climbing, nature walking and then FINALLY it was time to go home. We came home and the kids easily went down for naps.
What's next on Day Two, you might ask? Well, not to let anyone get BORED or MISCHIEVOUS, we will go directly to the pool when the midgets wake up. It's finally warm enough today. And after the pool? We'll come home and have showers and dinner and I don't even have to cook! I have leftovers for me and I'll make mac n cheese for the kids. After dinner, Bennett will go go to bed and Morgan and I will have our girl time. See recipe above.
This is how the rest of the day WILL go. Right??
Mantra:
Keep a positive attitude.
Keep them busy.
I will make it through this with my sanity intact!
Not sure if it's the fact that I was wincing my way down the stairs this morning, or what, but I wasn't very chipper this morning and the kids were bouncing off the walls. The first thing Morgan wanted to know was what I had planned for today. I think she's getting a little spoiled by all the fun stuff. Good thing school starts in a few weeks! I told her that I didn't have a ton planned, but that if she was good today, we'd do a "girl night" tonight after Bennett goes to bed.
"Girls night" consists of:
1 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory movie rented yesterday (opted for the newer version with Johnny Dep. Yumm-o)
1 bowl of fat free popcorn, with White Cheddar popcorn seasoning
2 glasses of water
1 foot spa
1 bottle of nail polish
plenty of napkins and paper towels
staying up past bed time
spending some good time together at home - just the two of us
a dash of giggling
letting Morgan sleep with me in my bed (has NEVER happened before)
whispering until we fall asleep
So, she was all "yippee" and I'm all "remember you have to earn this". To which, she assured me she would.
I had planned on taking a 9:30 kickboxing class, but trust me when I say I thought about going EARLY just to get these bouncy kids out of the house. Bennett was in the full fledged toddler mode of pulling stuff off shelves and getting into things and Morgan was hovering over him, reporting all the infractions. I managed to push off our departure time until just *slightly* earlier than necessary and we got to the tennis club with just enough time for me to get everyone settled, have a potty break and then go to my class.
The class was a bit cardiovascularly challenging, but really it's my freaking legs that are KILLING me. Like my quads. Should have stretched them better after yesterday's workout, I think. But, I made it through the one hour torture, and went and got the kids. My plan was to hit a park on the way home and then do lunch and naps. However, my plans quickly changed when a certain five year old informed me that she needed to go potty. So, we headed home where she went to the bathroom, I changed Bennett's diaper and then I packed up our lunches and we took off for the park.
It must be national Dads Take Your Kids To The Park Day because there were three other families there, but no other Moms to be found. This only served to make us miss Daddy a little more, but we wouldn't let that spoil our fun! We played for a little while on the playground equipment and with the other kids. Oh! Did I mention? Tom Cruise was there? Yeah. This guy looked EXACTLY like him. I was trying to discreetly smell my arm pits to see how bad I stank. Want to know something? There's no discreet way to do that. So, instead, I imagined that he really was Tom Cruise. With all his crazy Scientology craziness. And I was all good with my gym clothes and sweaty pits. :)
After playing for a bit, we sat down and had our picnic lunch and then there was more playing, tree climbing, nature walking and then FINALLY it was time to go home. We came home and the kids easily went down for naps.
What's next on Day Two, you might ask? Well, not to let anyone get BORED or MISCHIEVOUS, we will go directly to the pool when the midgets wake up. It's finally warm enough today. And after the pool? We'll come home and have showers and dinner and I don't even have to cook! I have leftovers for me and I'll make mac n cheese for the kids. After dinner, Bennett will go go to bed and Morgan and I will have our girl time. See recipe above.
This is how the rest of the day WILL go. Right??
Mantra:
Keep a positive attitude.
Keep them busy.
I will make it through this with my sanity intact!
Operation "Daddy's Not Home": Update on Day One - with Proof!
Things went really well yesterday afternoon. Once the kids got up, they had snacks and then we headed off to the library, where Morgan stocked up on nearly the entire collection of the "If you give a __________ a _________" collection. After the library, we stopped off to get gas and to mail off a package and then we hit Blockbuster to rent a movie for Morgan and I to watch together and one for me to watch alone.
After this, we were off to Super Franks, where we took advantage of their special where we got admission for two into the gym and Taught Town, $5 worth of tokens, a large pepperoni pizza and 4 drinks for $19.99. We played a few games of skeeball and then we sat down and ate our pizza. After pizza, we hit the open gym for a little bit until they had a birthday party come in there. After that, we went up to Taught Town where the kids had fun playing and climbing.
You can see from this video, why I needed to get them out of the house. This kid has lots of energy and LOVES to climb!
We left Taught Town and went to play some more games with our tokens. The kids rode an airplane and Morgan cashed in her tickets for some new glasses.
When it was about Bennett's bed time, we were headed out when we noticed that they were having open gym again. With a zip line and swing for the kids to play on. Morgan went back in to ride the zipline and play while Bennett and I hung out in front of the gym, playing with the toddler toys.
Morgan was having a BLAST on the zip line and Bennett was all loopy, running around in front of the gym. Overall, a good time. :)
After this, we were off to Super Franks, where we took advantage of their special where we got admission for two into the gym and Taught Town, $5 worth of tokens, a large pepperoni pizza and 4 drinks for $19.99. We played a few games of skeeball and then we sat down and ate our pizza. After pizza, we hit the open gym for a little bit until they had a birthday party come in there. After that, we went up to Taught Town where the kids had fun playing and climbing.
You can see from this video, why I needed to get them out of the house. This kid has lots of energy and LOVES to climb!
We left Taught Town and went to play some more games with our tokens. The kids rode an airplane and Morgan cashed in her tickets for some new glasses.When it was about Bennett's bed time, we were headed out when we noticed that they were having open gym again. With a zip line and swing for the kids to play on. Morgan went back in to ride the zipline and play while Bennett and I hung out in front of the gym, playing with the toddler toys.
Morgan was having a BLAST on the zip line and Bennett was all loopy, running around in front of the gym. Overall, a good time. :)
Friday, August 1, 2008
Day one of operation "Daddy's Not Home"
I've been totally dreading this weekend. I really look forward to our family time and also getting the occasional break from the kids. But, Lance is geocaching all weekend with his buddies and I'm here for some LOOONG weekend days. Especially after the other day, when things were just not going right, I was really not looking forward to having a whole weekend of that. By myself. Last night, I tried to talk Lance into taking Bennett with him. You know? Man time? Yeah, I guess it doesn't really take on the full meaning until they are actually a bit older, huh? It would be so nice to be alone with Morgan for the weekend. We could do fun stuff like movies, and pedicures, and girl talk. But having a 15 month old along for the ride doesn't really make it so fun. So, we'll make due.
As I was falling asleep last night, I had two mantras.
Keep a positive attitude.
I truly believe that this rubs off on the kids and helps soften them a bit, making them less likely to want to hit me (Bennett), sass me (Morgan) or throw things at me (Bennett).
Keep them busy!
Nothing is worse than a five year old who is bored and a 15 month old who is just looking for things to get into. The plan for the weekend is to keep them busy, maximize my two hours of free childcare at the nursery at the gym and keep them out of the house as much as possible.
So far, things are going well. I'm fully aware that it's just 1pm on the first day. And since I just now said that, my afternoon is sure to bring the hellfire out of each of my two offspring, but I'm just gonna put it out there. My mantras are working!
We hit the club this morning at 9:30 and I was going to take the sculpt-stretch-tone class, but was diverted by my former boss in the lobby of the club. He and another friend of mine from the moms club were going to do this insane workout regimen where you run 9 laps around the indoor track and then go up and down the stairs nine times. Then 8 times around the track and 8 sets of stairs, etc., on down to 1 lap. By the end of it, I had run four miles and done 45 sets of stairs. It was an awesome, unexpected workout. I hit the showers and took my time getting ready and then picked up the kids. We got home and they were hungry, so we went ahead and did lunch and then they both wanted naps early. Which is fine with me. Both were pleasant during lunch and Morgan is being downright helpful. I'm not sure what it was that Lance whispered to her last night as he was putting her to bed, but whatever it was, she responded that Momma would tell him good things when he gets back. Bless him!
I was able to get my chores done this morning before we left for the club, so now I have a good solid two to three hours to recharge my energy and prepare for the afternoon - easily the worst time of day. But my plan is to get them out of the house as quickly after naps as possible. We'll do snack and then we'll head off to the library for some books and then we are going to go to a local kids outing place where they have a gym for the kids to expend their energy. We'll have dinner there and then by the time we come home? It will be bedtime.
Day one down. Two more to go.
As I was falling asleep last night, I had two mantras.
Keep a positive attitude.
I truly believe that this rubs off on the kids and helps soften them a bit, making them less likely to want to hit me (Bennett), sass me (Morgan) or throw things at me (Bennett).
Keep them busy!
Nothing is worse than a five year old who is bored and a 15 month old who is just looking for things to get into. The plan for the weekend is to keep them busy, maximize my two hours of free childcare at the nursery at the gym and keep them out of the house as much as possible.
So far, things are going well. I'm fully aware that it's just 1pm on the first day. And since I just now said that, my afternoon is sure to bring the hellfire out of each of my two offspring, but I'm just gonna put it out there. My mantras are working!
We hit the club this morning at 9:30 and I was going to take the sculpt-stretch-tone class, but was diverted by my former boss in the lobby of the club. He and another friend of mine from the moms club were going to do this insane workout regimen where you run 9 laps around the indoor track and then go up and down the stairs nine times. Then 8 times around the track and 8 sets of stairs, etc., on down to 1 lap. By the end of it, I had run four miles and done 45 sets of stairs. It was an awesome, unexpected workout. I hit the showers and took my time getting ready and then picked up the kids. We got home and they were hungry, so we went ahead and did lunch and then they both wanted naps early. Which is fine with me. Both were pleasant during lunch and Morgan is being downright helpful. I'm not sure what it was that Lance whispered to her last night as he was putting her to bed, but whatever it was, she responded that Momma would tell him good things when he gets back. Bless him!
I was able to get my chores done this morning before we left for the club, so now I have a good solid two to three hours to recharge my energy and prepare for the afternoon - easily the worst time of day. But my plan is to get them out of the house as quickly after naps as possible. We'll do snack and then we'll head off to the library for some books and then we are going to go to a local kids outing place where they have a gym for the kids to expend their energy. We'll have dinner there and then by the time we come home? It will be bedtime.
Day one down. Two more to go.
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