Sometimes I wonder why I love Friday. When I used to work at a traditional office job, Friday signaled the end of the long workweek, a day where I left the office at 5pm or before, two full days home with my family, potentially a night out with friends and two days that neither my husband not I needed to go to or think about work.
None of those things hold true anymore. Since I work for myself, my weekends are never truly 100% work-free. There's always the potential for the need to have a phone call, answer an e-mail, write a blog post or something equally as interesting, or attend an event which means that my Saturday and Sunday aren't all that different from my Monday through Friday. The main difference is that there's no school and no work, so kids and husband are all home.
On the weekends, we try to catch up on laundry, run errands and go food shopping. Last weekend we planted around the house and tried to make our sorry excuse for landscaping look like less of a sorry excuse for landscaping. As the weather gets nicer, our weekends are starting to include the park, playground, riding bikes and bar-b-ques for dinner. I try not to make too many plans because I like our weekends to be our weekends. I don't want to be responsible for holding ourselves to being at specific places at specific times or make enough plans to account for every waking moment of our two days of freedom. In the interest of saving money, we're not really going out on Saturday nights but doing more family things - making dinner together, watching movies, having ice cream.
So, what does this weekend hold? No BIG plans. Saturday, we'll go to Aaron's basketball game, run some errands and go to a late afternoon birthday party. Sunday, I'll spend the morning talking to 15 pregnant moms about where they can find information that they need and then Aaron has another birthday party at Adventureland (local amusement park, so he is totally psyched) and that's it.
No BIG plans.
And that's how I like it.
Showing posts with label Kids. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kids. Show all posts
Friday, April 9, 2010
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Friday, April 2, 2010
BIG Boy
At 7 years old, Aaron is not only my BIG boy, but my BIG toothless boy!! He has so far lost 6 teeth, two of which came out in the past week. He also left a note for the tooth fairy asking how many teeth he needs to lose to get her to bring him an iPod Touch. I think he thinks his toothfairy is Steve Jobs.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
BIG Girl
The theme for April for NaBloPoMo is BIG. This might get tough, but here we go....
4 years ago you were born, a little tiny baby girl (who we totally thought was a boy!). We loved you from the moment we saw you.
You started to amaze us from the very first day. And all of a sudden, you were one year old! You had a big cake and were a birthday princess.
You grew, learned to walk and learned to talk, and another year went by, and then you were two! No longer a baby, but a toddler. And becoming your own person. And potentially a rock star.
This is the year you went to camp and school. And cried. Every. Single. Day. For what seemed to be a super long time. But you eventually learned to love school and made a ton of friends. You loved it all so much we had to put you in school an extra day each week halfway through the year! And then you turned three (and still a princess)...
Now you're a big girl. You have your own mind, know what you like and make a lot of your own decisions. You pick out your clothes, pick your TV shows, choose what you want to eat. You're four years old now, what a big girl!
4 years ago you were born, a little tiny baby girl (who we totally thought was a boy!). We loved you from the moment we saw you.
You started to amaze us from the very first day. And all of a sudden, you were one year old! You had a big cake and were a birthday princess.
You grew, learned to walk and learned to talk, and another year went by, and then you were two! No longer a baby, but a toddler. And becoming your own person. And potentially a rock star.
This is the year you went to camp and school. And cried. Every. Single. Day. For what seemed to be a super long time. But you eventually learned to love school and made a ton of friends. You loved it all so much we had to put you in school an extra day each week halfway through the year! And then you turned three (and still a princess)...
Now you're a big girl. You have your own mind, know what you like and make a lot of your own decisions. You pick out your clothes, pick your TV shows, choose what you want to eat. You're four years old now, what a big girl!
Monday, October 5, 2009
Day 1
Things haven't been so great lately. It's not because of one event, or two or even three, but lately I've been feeling more of the negative and less of the positive. It seems that, in my life, the happy and good things make me feel happy and good for less time than the bad and sad things make me feel bad and sad. I have two amazing kids and I don't want to ever look back on this time in their lives and feel that I missed because I was constantly rushing through it. Every day we seem to be in a rush, but I'm not sure where we're rushing to. I was speaking to a woman the other night who has no kids of her own but she stated a very simple observation, from an "outsider" perspective - parents generally don't seem to enjoy their children. As I thought about it, I realized that it's both sad and true. I had kids because I love them, and although I do truly love my children, I can honestly say that most of the time, I'm not actively enjoying them. Which really sucks.
I also have to say that in many aspects of my life, I am constantly wanting them to be different. It's really a big giant pity party over here. Which also really sucks.
Recently my friend Jen's mom suggested that instead of holding her daily pity parties, she should started a Gratitude Journal. Each day for 75 days, she is going to write one thing that she is thankful for in the hopes that by Thanksgiving, she'll be out of her funk. Ever since I read her first post, I thought that it made sense. Focus on the positive, write it all down and put it in perspective. So this is what I'm going to do. On the happy days, it will be easy, but I hope that even on the sad days I can find one thing, even though it might be something silly.
I'm starting today and going to go through Thanksgiving, which is 52 days away. If it works, I'll continue. Only time will tell, but today is day 1.
Today I am thankful for the fact that the sun is shining and it's quiet. After a rainy Saturday and a weekend of running around, I'm glad that I have an opportunity today where the sun is shining, kids are in school, husband is at work, dog is quiet, phone is not ringing and I can think. I can concentrate on getting work done or do no work at all. I can do the laundry, empty the dishwasher, think about making dinner tonight. Or I can do none of those things and just revel in the quiet for a little while. I think that's exactly what I'm going to do.
I also have to say that in many aspects of my life, I am constantly wanting them to be different. It's really a big giant pity party over here. Which also really sucks.
Recently my friend Jen's mom suggested that instead of holding her daily pity parties, she should started a Gratitude Journal. Each day for 75 days, she is going to write one thing that she is thankful for in the hopes that by Thanksgiving, she'll be out of her funk. Ever since I read her first post, I thought that it made sense. Focus on the positive, write it all down and put it in perspective. So this is what I'm going to do. On the happy days, it will be easy, but I hope that even on the sad days I can find one thing, even though it might be something silly.
I'm starting today and going to go through Thanksgiving, which is 52 days away. If it works, I'll continue. Only time will tell, but today is day 1.
Today I am thankful for the fact that the sun is shining and it's quiet. After a rainy Saturday and a weekend of running around, I'm glad that I have an opportunity today where the sun is shining, kids are in school, husband is at work, dog is quiet, phone is not ringing and I can think. I can concentrate on getting work done or do no work at all. I can do the laundry, empty the dishwasher, think about making dinner tonight. Or I can do none of those things and just revel in the quiet for a little while. I think that's exactly what I'm going to do.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Dear Time...
I had one question when I got up this morning and that was, WHERE THE HELL DID THE WHOLE SUMMER GO??
Seriously, how could it have flown right by me without my noticing?
It was apparently moving at the speed of light because I didn't even feel the breeze as it rushed by.
Maybe it was because it rained every day except for 3 during the entire month of June.
Or because our first day that the temperatures went over 90 degrees was in August.
But sigh, camp is almost over for the kids - only one more week.
Which means that I only have one more week of freedom between the hours of 9am and 430pm. And probably only one more week of finding Camryn asleep in her bed at 6pm and having her sleep until the next morning until 730 or 8am.
Soon they'll be back in school. And we'll be waiting for the school bus again every morning.
I'll be the mom of a first grader. A first grader who will be getting some serious homework this year.
And then the weather will get cold. We'll probably skip fall again and then all of a sudden we'll be knee deep in snow.
Why is it that as soon as I had kids, time just started to fly?
I feel so super young, but numbers don't lie. And my number isn't super low anymore.
So here's my plea.
Dear Time,
Please slow down. Just a little bit. Let me appreciate and enjoy my kids while they're young because if you keep going as fast as you are, I'm going to turn around soon and they will be gone. So if you could just slow down a little bit, I'd really appreciate it. Let me feel the breeze as you pass by. Pretty, pretty please? Thanks.
Love,
Amy
Seriously, how could it have flown right by me without my noticing?
It was apparently moving at the speed of light because I didn't even feel the breeze as it rushed by.
Maybe it was because it rained every day except for 3 during the entire month of June.
Or because our first day that the temperatures went over 90 degrees was in August.
But sigh, camp is almost over for the kids - only one more week.
Which means that I only have one more week of freedom between the hours of 9am and 430pm. And probably only one more week of finding Camryn asleep in her bed at 6pm and having her sleep until the next morning until 730 or 8am.
Soon they'll be back in school. And we'll be waiting for the school bus again every morning.
I'll be the mom of a first grader. A first grader who will be getting some serious homework this year.
And then the weather will get cold. We'll probably skip fall again and then all of a sudden we'll be knee deep in snow.
Why is it that as soon as I had kids, time just started to fly?
I feel so super young, but numbers don't lie. And my number isn't super low anymore.
So here's my plea.
Dear Time,
Please slow down. Just a little bit. Let me appreciate and enjoy my kids while they're young because if you keep going as fast as you are, I'm going to turn around soon and they will be gone. So if you could just slow down a little bit, I'd really appreciate it. Let me feel the breeze as you pass by. Pretty, pretty please? Thanks.
Love,
Amy
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Man Up Little Boy!
On Friday night, Craig took Aaron to the Long Island Ducks baseball game. I've never been, but they are a minor league team and the games are supposed to be geared towards the kids and really super fun. So when Aaron's school sent home a flyer that they were having a group ticket sale for Friday night's game, I sent in a check and bought 4 tickets thinking it would be a great family night. Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans right? Ya, G-d was certainly having a good laugh at my expense. With Camryn skipping her nap two days in a row, a 7pm baseball game with a 60% chance of rain and thunderstorms forecasted was not my #1 choice of place to take her. So with me and Cam sitting this one out, Craig and Aaron had a boys night with the Ducks.
For me, taking my kids anywhere is always stressful. Why? Because I want them to behave. No, change that. I expect them to behave. I am certainly no drill seargent and my requirements are not too much. Don't scream at the top of your lungs. Don't run around like an animal. When in a restaurant, don't go under the table. And when I say something, listen. Understandably, 6 year olds and 3 year olds don't listen 100% of the time. Like I said, I'm no drill seargent - a 50% success rate would make me happy. But when in public, listen to me when I tell you something. And knowing in advance that that most likely is not going to happen usually stresses me out before we're even out the door. Craig though is different. The antithesis of my Type-AAA personality, he's laid back. Sometimes it irritates me how laid back he is. It takes alot to get him riled up. So when he came home from the baseball game on Friday night with a look on his face like he was ready to clobber someone with his own baseball bat, I braced myself. Because he'd already had a 30 minute car ride to get over it and he so clearly wasn't.
For the next 20 minutes, I listed to why he was so mad. Did Aaron run around like an animal? No. Streak across the baseball field? No. Not listen? No. What then? He cried. Four times. So hysterically that every single person sitting in the section stared. And stared. And kept on staring. For a long time. And the worst part? The crying was for absolutely no reason. As Craig is relaying the goings on of the night, I'm slowly coming to realize why he's so pissed off. Because for someone who absolutely hates to be the center of attention, he had the entire section of the stadium staring at him 4 separate times while Aaron hysterically screamed his head off. I understood that if Aaron had actually been hurt or anything that warranted hysteria, Craig would not have cared who was looking at him. But for no reason? He was absolutely mortified.
I'm sure that those reading this (all three of you!) are on the edge of your seats wondering why all the crying. The first time, he legitimately got hurt. The other three times, in order, were:
Our current solution is just to ignore it. Let him cry. I'll send him to his room until he's done crying because I just can't take the sound of it. But when we're out in public, it's a problem. Like Friday. Poor Craig. I don't think we'll be seeing the Ducks again this season.
For me, taking my kids anywhere is always stressful. Why? Because I want them to behave. No, change that. I expect them to behave. I am certainly no drill seargent and my requirements are not too much. Don't scream at the top of your lungs. Don't run around like an animal. When in a restaurant, don't go under the table. And when I say something, listen. Understandably, 6 year olds and 3 year olds don't listen 100% of the time. Like I said, I'm no drill seargent - a 50% success rate would make me happy. But when in public, listen to me when I tell you something. And knowing in advance that that most likely is not going to happen usually stresses me out before we're even out the door. Craig though is different. The antithesis of my Type-AAA personality, he's laid back. Sometimes it irritates me how laid back he is. It takes alot to get him riled up. So when he came home from the baseball game on Friday night with a look on his face like he was ready to clobber someone with his own baseball bat, I braced myself. Because he'd already had a 30 minute car ride to get over it and he so clearly wasn't.
For the next 20 minutes, I listed to why he was so mad. Did Aaron run around like an animal? No. Streak across the baseball field? No. Not listen? No. What then? He cried. Four times. So hysterically that every single person sitting in the section stared. And stared. And kept on staring. For a long time. And the worst part? The crying was for absolutely no reason. As Craig is relaying the goings on of the night, I'm slowly coming to realize why he's so pissed off. Because for someone who absolutely hates to be the center of attention, he had the entire section of the stadium staring at him 4 separate times while Aaron hysterically screamed his head off. I understood that if Aaron had actually been hurt or anything that warranted hysteria, Craig would not have cared who was looking at him. But for no reason? He was absolutely mortified.
I'm sure that those reading this (all three of you!) are on the edge of your seats wondering why all the crying. The first time, he legitimately got hurt. The other three times, in order, were:
- He wanted ice cream. And then he didn't like the flavor ice cream that he got.
- He wanted a t-shirt.
- He couldn't decide whether he wanted to sit with his friend and her dad or go with Craig to the bathroom.
Our current solution is just to ignore it. Let him cry. I'll send him to his room until he's done crying because I just can't take the sound of it. But when we're out in public, it's a problem. Like Friday. Poor Craig. I don't think we'll be seeing the Ducks again this season.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Vacation Over
Things here have been crazy, clearly leaving me no time to blog. I'm trying, trying, trying to fit it into my schedule and hopefully will be a bit more organized going forward. But I have something I've been wanting to remember so the best way to remember is to start writing it down...
At the end of January, we gave up our nanny (we'll call her R). She was our third nanny in 6 years, but she was great, most of the time. My work situation changed and now that I work from home, we couldn't justify the expense of full time help anymore. So we gave R ample notice, found her a job with another family and said good-bye. Sort of. The last two weeks she was here, she basically did nothing outside of irritate me like crazy, so when it came time for her to leave, it was more like good riddance, as opposed to good bye. R's new employer is another local family that is an acquaintance of a friend (we'll call her K), and I had never met them up until a few weeks ago when we were introduced at a birthday party. We exchanged pleasantries, limited our conversation to "hello" and "nice to meet you" and went our separate ways. Which pretty much was why what happened the following week was so totally confusing.
I haven't spoken to R since we said good riddance good bye almost 2 months ago. She called a few times afterwards but we didn't connect, so I've written the relationship off as over and done. We met her through a friend's nanny who lives around the block (we'll call her X) and the two nannies are still friends. About two weeks ago, 7pm at night, our phone rings and it's X calling from around the block. Here's the conversation.
Friend's Nanny X: Hi Amy
Me: Hi X, how are you?
X: Fine - listen, K asked me to call you and see if you could come here, pick up her kids and R and drive them home to her house.
Me: Umm....what???? [because I couldn't imagine that I had heard her correctly]
X: K's kids and R are here with me and K is in the city and she realized it's late so she wanted to know if you could bring R and her kids home.
Me: No, sorry, kids are in the bath, I can't.
X: Oh, okay, thanks anyway.
Now, this really happened. A woman who I met one time and barely said hello to had someone call me at 7pm at night in the rain, ask me to pick up her kids at their friend's house and drive them home. Is this normal? Not in my world.
I've been thinking for the past few weeks that there had to be something more to the story, something that got lost in translation from K to X to me.
Yesterday, I spoke to a mutual acquaintance (who is due with her third child in 2 days) and went through the story. Her response was, "Ya, that sounds about right. K is pretty ballsy, she definitely expected you to do it. Oh, and by the way, she called me that night too because she was in the city running late to meet her husband for dinner."
There's really no way to end this story because there was no resolution. I never called her and asked what the issue was, she never called me to apologize for being, well, ballsy is the best word I can think of. So really, it just ends with me still being baffled and hoping that she never calls me again.
At the end of January, we gave up our nanny (we'll call her R). She was our third nanny in 6 years, but she was great, most of the time. My work situation changed and now that I work from home, we couldn't justify the expense of full time help anymore. So we gave R ample notice, found her a job with another family and said good-bye. Sort of. The last two weeks she was here, she basically did nothing outside of irritate me like crazy, so when it came time for her to leave, it was more like good riddance, as opposed to good bye. R's new employer is another local family that is an acquaintance of a friend (we'll call her K), and I had never met them up until a few weeks ago when we were introduced at a birthday party. We exchanged pleasantries, limited our conversation to "hello" and "nice to meet you" and went our separate ways. Which pretty much was why what happened the following week was so totally confusing.
I haven't spoken to R since we said good riddance good bye almost 2 months ago. She called a few times afterwards but we didn't connect, so I've written the relationship off as over and done. We met her through a friend's nanny who lives around the block (we'll call her X) and the two nannies are still friends. About two weeks ago, 7pm at night, our phone rings and it's X calling from around the block. Here's the conversation.
Friend's Nanny X: Hi Amy
Me: Hi X, how are you?
X: Fine - listen, K asked me to call you and see if you could come here, pick up her kids and R and drive them home to her house.
Me: Umm....what???? [because I couldn't imagine that I had heard her correctly]
X: K's kids and R are here with me and K is in the city and she realized it's late so she wanted to know if you could bring R and her kids home.
Me: No, sorry, kids are in the bath, I can't.
X: Oh, okay, thanks anyway.
Now, this really happened. A woman who I met one time and barely said hello to had someone call me at 7pm at night in the rain, ask me to pick up her kids at their friend's house and drive them home. Is this normal? Not in my world.
I've been thinking for the past few weeks that there had to be something more to the story, something that got lost in translation from K to X to me.
Yesterday, I spoke to a mutual acquaintance (who is due with her third child in 2 days) and went through the story. Her response was, "Ya, that sounds about right. K is pretty ballsy, she definitely expected you to do it. Oh, and by the way, she called me that night too because she was in the city running late to meet her husband for dinner."
There's really no way to end this story because there was no resolution. I never called her and asked what the issue was, she never called me to apologize for being, well, ballsy is the best word I can think of. So really, it just ends with me still being baffled and hoping that she never calls me again.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Our February Vacation
Being home with my kids after 6 years of working full time and having full time help is much harder than I thought it would be. Of course it's fun being able to be here with them and be at their schools, we are just coming off of a whole week of school vacation which meant lots of together time while my husband was working. Lots. And lots. The week was a little rough because Camryn naps in the afternoon which left me and Aaron unable to leave the house. At the beginning of the week I was really worried. What would I do without the distraction of school and homework and the regular rush of the school day?
Monday was President's Day and while almost everyone and their mother's offices were closed for the holiday, my husband's office was open. And everyone was working. So off he went to work at 730am and immediately Camryn starts wailing. Why? Because although we thought she was sleeping, she wasn't, and she saw Daddy get into his car and drive away without saying goodbye to her. Not a great start to a very long week! She got over it and Camryn, Aaron and myself went on a playdate with a boy that Aaron goes to camp with who has a younger brother the same age as Camryn. They all played nicely, although the little boy was constipated and didn't feel well. But they had a great playdate and when we got home around 2pm, Camryn napped and Aaron and I baked cupcakes. End of day thought: This week won't be so bad after all!
Tuesday was the one day that we didn't have any premade plans. We hung around the house in the morning, kids watched TV and I tried to get some work done. Keyword = tried. Didn't get, um, anything done. The kids and I decided that we would go to Bertucci's for some pizza lunch and then head over to Barnes & Noble where they were both allowed to get one book. We ate a great lunch and they each wound up with 2 books from Barnes & Noble, and after I paid I realized that Aaron has about $75 in gift cards to Borders that he got for his birthday. We got home, Camryn took a nap, Aaron watched TV and I, once again, tried to get some work done. My mom came over to babysite while I got ready and went into the city for the exclusive Yanni Voices preview concert and left for NYC. End of day thought: Two days down, three to go.
Wednesday was playdate day. Camryn went over to her friend's house while her friend's brother came here to play with Aaron. The boys played their games and Nintendo DS downstairs and I was upstairs getting work done. Everything was great until about lunchtime when Aaron's friend declared everything we had for lunch "disgusting". Hmm. Don't all kids eat macaroni and cheese, pizza and chicken nuggets? Now, I have had my share of my own kids being disagreeable and I can handle it just as well as the next mom. But when the whining starts, I just want to shrivel up and die. I really just can't deal with whining. When my kids whine, they know that it's not tolerated here. But how do you deal with someone else's kid whining? Clearly I can't send him to his room or tell him he's acting like a baby. So it was about 30 minutes of time that I would have rather spent watching paint dry than listening to this child whine about not wanting to eat any of the things I offered him. Finally he agreed to eat chicken nuggets and was fine the rest of the time. Around 2pm he went home and both my kids were exhausted, as was I, so we spent the rest of the day recuperating. End of day thought: I hope that my kids don't whine when they're on playdates.
On Thursday, my very best friend and her two kids were set to come over for yet another playdate, which we wound up canceling because Camryn didn't fell well. My friend has a 6 month old and both of her kids had just gotten over various sicknesses so she wasn't entering the house of germs. The kids and I spent the whole day doing pretty much nothing outside of the two kids fighting and me threatining to send them to their rooms about 700 times during the day. End of day thought: Is it Friday yet?
Friday. One of my most favorite words, beaten out only by Saturday and maybe 3 others. On Friday we were supposed to have a playdate with a friend of Aaron's from nursery school but it didn't work out. We had talked about staying home, cleaning up, doing some laundry and getting along. Around 11am, I got a phone call from the mom of the kids from Wednesday's playdate asking if she could come and pick up BOTH of my kids and bring them to her house for another playdate because her kids were bored. Um, what? You don't have to ask me twice. Now come over before you change your mind! And she did. She picked up both my kids, who were beyond thrilled to go with her, and brought them to play with her kids. And surprise her kids nonetheless. I did pick up Camryn around 2pm so she could come home and nap, but Aaron stayed there until about 415 when we picked him up to go get a haircut. After that, a quick visit to Grandma and Grandpa and guess what? Week was over! End of day thought: Yay!!
So, this vacation taught me alot. Like what? I think I'll use this on Tuesday for my "What I Learned This Week" carnival, hosted by Musings of A Housewife! Stay tuned....
Monday was President's Day and while almost everyone and their mother's offices were closed for the holiday, my husband's office was open. And everyone was working. So off he went to work at 730am and immediately Camryn starts wailing. Why? Because although we thought she was sleeping, she wasn't, and she saw Daddy get into his car and drive away without saying goodbye to her. Not a great start to a very long week! She got over it and Camryn, Aaron and myself went on a playdate with a boy that Aaron goes to camp with who has a younger brother the same age as Camryn. They all played nicely, although the little boy was constipated and didn't feel well. But they had a great playdate and when we got home around 2pm, Camryn napped and Aaron and I baked cupcakes. End of day thought: This week won't be so bad after all!
Tuesday was the one day that we didn't have any premade plans. We hung around the house in the morning, kids watched TV and I tried to get some work done. Keyword = tried. Didn't get, um, anything done. The kids and I decided that we would go to Bertucci's for some pizza lunch and then head over to Barnes & Noble where they were both allowed to get one book. We ate a great lunch and they each wound up with 2 books from Barnes & Noble, and after I paid I realized that Aaron has about $75 in gift cards to Borders that he got for his birthday. We got home, Camryn took a nap, Aaron watched TV and I, once again, tried to get some work done. My mom came over to babysite while I got ready and went into the city for the exclusive Yanni Voices preview concert and left for NYC. End of day thought: Two days down, three to go.
Wednesday was playdate day. Camryn went over to her friend's house while her friend's brother came here to play with Aaron. The boys played their games and Nintendo DS downstairs and I was upstairs getting work done. Everything was great until about lunchtime when Aaron's friend declared everything we had for lunch "disgusting". Hmm. Don't all kids eat macaroni and cheese, pizza and chicken nuggets? Now, I have had my share of my own kids being disagreeable and I can handle it just as well as the next mom. But when the whining starts, I just want to shrivel up and die. I really just can't deal with whining. When my kids whine, they know that it's not tolerated here. But how do you deal with someone else's kid whining? Clearly I can't send him to his room or tell him he's acting like a baby. So it was about 30 minutes of time that I would have rather spent watching paint dry than listening to this child whine about not wanting to eat any of the things I offered him. Finally he agreed to eat chicken nuggets and was fine the rest of the time. Around 2pm he went home and both my kids were exhausted, as was I, so we spent the rest of the day recuperating. End of day thought: I hope that my kids don't whine when they're on playdates.
On Thursday, my very best friend and her two kids were set to come over for yet another playdate, which we wound up canceling because Camryn didn't fell well. My friend has a 6 month old and both of her kids had just gotten over various sicknesses so she wasn't entering the house of germs. The kids and I spent the whole day doing pretty much nothing outside of the two kids fighting and me threatining to send them to their rooms about 700 times during the day. End of day thought: Is it Friday yet?
Friday. One of my most favorite words, beaten out only by Saturday and maybe 3 others. On Friday we were supposed to have a playdate with a friend of Aaron's from nursery school but it didn't work out. We had talked about staying home, cleaning up, doing some laundry and getting along. Around 11am, I got a phone call from the mom of the kids from Wednesday's playdate asking if she could come and pick up BOTH of my kids and bring them to her house for another playdate because her kids were bored. Um, what? You don't have to ask me twice. Now come over before you change your mind! And she did. She picked up both my kids, who were beyond thrilled to go with her, and brought them to play with her kids. And surprise her kids nonetheless. I did pick up Camryn around 2pm so she could come home and nap, but Aaron stayed there until about 415 when we picked him up to go get a haircut. After that, a quick visit to Grandma and Grandpa and guess what? Week was over! End of day thought: Yay!!
So, this vacation taught me alot. Like what? I think I'll use this on Tuesday for my "What I Learned This Week" carnival, hosted by Musings of A Housewife! Stay tuned....
Monday, February 16, 2009
She's A Repeater
My daughter is a repeater. I should have learned this with Aaron, to be careful what I say around him because you never know when it will resurface. Usually at less than opportune times.
Lately we've been having an issue with Aaron, who at 6 years old, thinks that just because he's bigger than her, he's "the boss" of her. Many times, we'll hear them arguing "I'm the boss of you" and then the other reply, "No, I'M the boss of YOU!" I constantly find myself telling Aaron, "You're not her mommy and you're not her daddy, so you're not the boss of her." Another favorite of mine, apparently is, "Mind your own business," although I didn't realize it. Until....
My almost 3 year old Camryn certainly doesn't stand for any of this crap of people being "the boss" of her and telling her what to do. The other day, we were in the car and Aaron was in her face about something and she just gets right up to him and screams at the top of her lungs "your business Aaron!"
Nice, huh?
See what comes out of the mouths of other kids at this great weekly meme, hosted by Unexpected Art: A Positive Blog.
Lately we've been having an issue with Aaron, who at 6 years old, thinks that just because he's bigger than her, he's "the boss" of her. Many times, we'll hear them arguing "I'm the boss of you" and then the other reply, "No, I'M the boss of YOU!" I constantly find myself telling Aaron, "You're not her mommy and you're not her daddy, so you're not the boss of her." Another favorite of mine, apparently is, "Mind your own business," although I didn't realize it. Until....
My almost 3 year old Camryn certainly doesn't stand for any of this crap of people being "the boss" of her and telling her what to do. The other day, we were in the car and Aaron was in her face about something and she just gets right up to him and screams at the top of her lungs "your business Aaron!"
Nice, huh?
See what comes out of the mouths of other kids at this great weekly meme, hosted by Unexpected Art: A Positive Blog.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
I'm back. I hope. Life has gotten totally busy lately and I haven't gotten to be able to do the things I want. Like blogging. And reading. And relaxing. Lately it's been all about working. And making sales. And talking about the site. And meeting with clients. And the kids. And cleaning the house. And laundry. Please don't get me started with the laundry.
It's all good because this is what I have wanted all along.
But somewhere I am losing myself because at the end of the day, there's cleaning to be done, things to be put away, a to-do list longer than when the day started and lots and lots of work to do. And I'm exhausted.
I was never confident that I could be a SAHM. I don't think I ever really wanted to. I have always been a better mom when I could spend time with my kids not worrying about cleaning. And laundry. And work.
Now it's all on me. And I'm not complaining at all, I'm just trying to figure out a way to organize it all. And get it all done. And it's really, really hard.
I started this blog as a way for me to connect with my thoughts on a more personal level than on my business website. Somewhere along the line, I decided that every single post needed to be thought provoking. And witty. And meaningful. But I realized, they are all of those things. To me. And that's really all they ever need to be.
So I'm back. I hope. My posts may not say anything at all sometimes, but to me, that's the point. This is somewhere where I can relax. And unwind. And review my day and my kids and make sure that I don't forget the really, really small things that I always want to remember.
It's all good because this is what I have wanted all along.
But somewhere I am losing myself because at the end of the day, there's cleaning to be done, things to be put away, a to-do list longer than when the day started and lots and lots of work to do. And I'm exhausted.
I was never confident that I could be a SAHM. I don't think I ever really wanted to. I have always been a better mom when I could spend time with my kids not worrying about cleaning. And laundry. And work.
Now it's all on me. And I'm not complaining at all, I'm just trying to figure out a way to organize it all. And get it all done. And it's really, really hard.
I started this blog as a way for me to connect with my thoughts on a more personal level than on my business website. Somewhere along the line, I decided that every single post needed to be thought provoking. And witty. And meaningful. But I realized, they are all of those things. To me. And that's really all they ever need to be.
So I'm back. I hope. My posts may not say anything at all sometimes, but to me, that's the point. This is somewhere where I can relax. And unwind. And review my day and my kids and make sure that I don't forget the really, really small things that I always want to remember.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Things are SO not getting better...
I apologize in advance for all the vomit talk lately, but seriously, this is my life right now. We last left off with Camryn's puke fest on Saturday afternoon. Sunday all day she was totally fine. Like absolutely herself, healthy and happy kid. Monday morning, same thing, totally fine. I was thrilled, we were out of the woods. Stomach viruses gone. Aaron goes to school, Camryn goes to school and I pick her up after school at 1230. They said she had a great day, ate her pizza for lunch and was very happy. On the way home, she starts getting cranky, but I figured it was because she was tired. We get home, she goes in for a nap and sleeps for about an hour, waking up around 3pm crying and she didn't seem to feel well. After a little while, she vomits. In the sink, which was a huge bonus. But still vomits.. Then she's tired, lays on the couch and watches Dora for awhile and then by dinner time is totally fine. I figured it was a lingering effect of the stomach virus and that it was over. Until the same thing happened again today!
This morning she was fine. Ate breakfast, played. Went to her friend's house with our babysitter and ate lunch, coming home around 2pm. Oh, one thing I forgot to mention was that I woke up with the stomach virus and vomiting this morning. Anyway, Camryn comes home, goes in for a nap and sleeps for about an hour, waking up at around 3pm crying. I sat with her in the rocking chair and she vomits. All over me. Then she was tired again, laid on the couch and watched Dora for awhile and now she seems to be feeling better.
It's all really odd. The doctor thinks its the lingering effects of the stomach virus but my mind is racing and hoping that's all it is.
This morning she was fine. Ate breakfast, played. Went to her friend's house with our babysitter and ate lunch, coming home around 2pm. Oh, one thing I forgot to mention was that I woke up with the stomach virus and vomiting this morning. Anyway, Camryn comes home, goes in for a nap and sleeps for about an hour, waking up at around 3pm crying. I sat with her in the rocking chair and she vomits. All over me. Then she was tired again, laid on the couch and watched Dora for awhile and now she seems to be feeling better.
It's all really odd. The doctor thinks its the lingering effects of the stomach virus but my mind is racing and hoping that's all it is.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
You Take The Good, You Take The Bad...
Today was Aaron's birthday party. After two days this week of his having a stomach virus, he was healthy and ready for his party today. For his 6th birthday, he wanted a movie party. Actually, first he wanted a party at one of those places where they have a gazillion inflatables to jump on, but the idea of a bunch of 5 and 6 year old kids running around and jumping on everything just didn't thrill me. When we talked about the idea of a movie party, what could be more perfect for a kid who loves everything about movies? It also didn't hurt that it was the least expensive of any of the party options, by far. After the debacle last year of the bowling party that cost an obscene amount of money and Aaron cried almost the entire party, this movie party was a great option.
The theater where we had the party at was great. It isn't one of these enormous 15 theater corporate owned movie theaters, but instead a privately owned four theater movie theater. They're really smart - 4 parties at 10am each Saturday and Sunday. When we got there, Aaron's name was on the marquee outside with a big "Happy Birthday" which was really cute. We had our own theater and when we walked in, there were two big tables set up down in front with popcorn, drinks and bagels with cream cheese and butter. Kids chose what they wanted to eat and took their seats. Aaron chose to see The Tale of Desperaux which he has been wanting to see since he saw the previews long ago at another movie. Everyone sat, parents stayed and they ate and watched the movie. At the end of the movie, we all sang happy birthday, he blew out the candles and cupcakes were served. Thanks for coming, the end. Truth be told, I can't wait for the day when Aaron wants to take a few friends to a hockey game or some other sporting event for his birthday. But I do have to say that this party ran so smoothly, even Aaron asked if he could have his party there again next year.
After the party welugged home his loot brought home his presents and I took Camryn to the end of her nursery school friend's birthday party. After that, Craig's brother came over with 3 of his 4 kids and all the kids played and Camryn took a nap. Understand that Camryn is a champion sleeper. She's almost 3 years old and her naps are generally 2 - 3 hours, sometimes longer. Today she was exhausted when she went down, and when she woke up crying after only an hour, I was surprised. I went in, took her out of the crib (yes, she's still in a crib, no comments please), sat down in the rocking chair and she puked all over me. Red icing from the cupcake she ate at Aaron's party was everywhere. Literally everywhere. All over her, all over me. It was not pretty. Of course, Craig had just left so I had to yell for Aaron to help me. Here's some advice - never ask a 6 year old to help you clean up puke - too much "Mom, that's gross" and "Man, that stuff stinks" like he has never puked before! Oh, and I also made him call Craig and make him come home.I'm not a wimp but really and truly , I was covered in puke with a puke covered baby crying in my lap and I couldn't get up without getting it all over the floor and everywhere else. What a mess. Finally we got cleaned up and she was puking on and off until around 8pm tonight. Really gross. Now she's sleeping and I'm hoping there's no middle of the night calling of my name.
So although mostly good, today was a very long day. And exhausting. And long. Not to mention that our plans tonight were canceled because of the snow, so I'm really ready to watch some DVR and go to bed.
The theater where we had the party at was great. It isn't one of these enormous 15 theater corporate owned movie theaters, but instead a privately owned four theater movie theater. They're really smart - 4 parties at 10am each Saturday and Sunday. When we got there, Aaron's name was on the marquee outside with a big "Happy Birthday" which was really cute. We had our own theater and when we walked in, there were two big tables set up down in front with popcorn, drinks and bagels with cream cheese and butter. Kids chose what they wanted to eat and took their seats. Aaron chose to see The Tale of Desperaux which he has been wanting to see since he saw the previews long ago at another movie. Everyone sat, parents stayed and they ate and watched the movie. At the end of the movie, we all sang happy birthday, he blew out the candles and cupcakes were served. Thanks for coming, the end. Truth be told, I can't wait for the day when Aaron wants to take a few friends to a hockey game or some other sporting event for his birthday. But I do have to say that this party ran so smoothly, even Aaron asked if he could have his party there again next year.
After the party we
So although mostly good, today was a very long day. And exhausting. And long. Not to mention that our plans tonight were canceled because of the snow, so I'm really ready to watch some DVR and go to bed.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Happy Birthday Aaron!
6 years ago today at 12:37am, I became a mom. What an amazing 6 years it has been. Full of mostly ups, some downs and getting to know the most amazing little boy I have ever met in my entire life. Experiencing things with him is like experiencing them for the first time.
Happy 6th birthday Aaron, I love you more than you could ever, ever imagine.
January 3, 2003
January 3, 2009
Happy 6th birthday Aaron, I love you more than you could ever, ever imagine.
January 3, 2003
January 3, 2009
Monday, December 22, 2008
On Paper, It's Simple
When my daughter was born almost 3 years ago, I was working full time. Although the job was great on paper, I truly couldn't stand it. It was almost a crying-every-morning-as-I-got-out-of-bed type of job. There were alot of things I couldn't stand about it, but first and foremost I was working for an super-extra-large company where the work that I did mattered pretty much only to my boss and his boss. My boss and his boss were both generally disliked so our chain of command was pretty much classified as "the red-headed-step-child" of the department. My responsibilities mostly depended on other people completing their responsibilities, so there was an unbearable amount of waiting around. Oftentimes I would spend my day surfing the internet or having extra long lunches due to the lack of work, but when my colleagues sent me their completed items at 4:45pm and went home, I would wind up having to stay for another 3 - 4 hours to put their information into my highly convoluted spreadsheets. All around it sucked and although the medical benefits were truly amazing, I couldn't stay there. It wasn't for me. Or my desire to stay sane.
Since my days were often spent waiting for other employees to complete their work, I had a good amount of time on my hands. I started daydreaming of starting my own business and working for myself. Those daydreams eventually turned to serious thinking. Why couldn't I do something on my own? I went through a number of opportunities until I found the right one, and within a few months, Long Island Parent Source was born. Described as an online guide that centralizes resources for families on Long Island, it slowly gained popularity. I soon left my job for a part time job, giving me the ability to put more work into the site. We all know how that ended, so we''ll just move on.
Right now, I find myself with time. As a mom, I've become accustomed to saying and feeling "I just don't have time" but now that Aaron is in school and Camryn is with our babysitter, during the daytime working hours, I truly have time. Time to work. Time I should be spending calling businesses, educating them about the site, giving them information and working with them to get their business listed in our directory. Because businesses listing in our directory means that they pay actual money. Doesn't seem so hard, right?
Wrong. On paper, it sounds so simple. Pick up the phone. Dial. Tell someone about the site. Get them listed. The end. In actuality, it's not that easy. Why? Because I am scared. Petrified. Like ready to vomit and have an anxiety and panic attack and want to cry at the thought of the dreaded S word - SALES. There are so many reasons this shouldn't be an obstacle for me. Generally I can talk to anyone. I love the site. I am so passionate about helping families and helping businesses. It's an easy thing for me to talk about. And the ultimate reason being that if this website doesn't work out for me on the sales front, I'm on my way back to an office job working for someone else - something I DO NOT want to do. Under any circumstances. Because I've tasted the sweetness of this independent life and I want it to continue. Forever and ever.
I love having the freedom to work for myself. I work during the day but can also run errands, be visible at both of my kids' schools and spend time with my kids after school. The other side of it is that I wind up putting in more hours than I would at another type of job because there's no guaranteed paycheck hitting my bank account every other Friday.
So today, I put on my big girl underwear (it's an expression, my friends) and made 10 (count 'em, TEN) cold calls to local businesses. Nine bowling alleys and a book store. One person didn't even let me speak before he hung up on me, others transferred me to someone's voice mail and still others gave me a name of someone I should speak to. The important thing to me though was not getting someone on the phone, it was actually dialing the number and speaking when the person answered the phone. Not hanging up on someone was a HUGE milestone for me. Yes, pretty sad, I know, but this is me. And I did it. Really did it. And I didn't vomit. Or have a panic attack. Or get struck by a lightning bolt coming out of the sky.
Today I'm pretty proud of myself. I'm making a goal for 2009 is that twice each week I will call 10 businesses. And then the following week I will follow up with those businesses. I will become the type of salesperson that businesses want to talk to because I will prove to them that I am here to help them, not to shmooze them into sending me a check. 2009 will be a great year for me. For LIParentSource.com. For my family. Because we will all be successful in everything we set out to do.
Since my days were often spent waiting for other employees to complete their work, I had a good amount of time on my hands. I started daydreaming of starting my own business and working for myself. Those daydreams eventually turned to serious thinking. Why couldn't I do something on my own? I went through a number of opportunities until I found the right one, and within a few months, Long Island Parent Source was born. Described as an online guide that centralizes resources for families on Long Island, it slowly gained popularity. I soon left my job for a part time job, giving me the ability to put more work into the site. We all know how that ended, so we''ll just move on.
Right now, I find myself with time. As a mom, I've become accustomed to saying and feeling "I just don't have time" but now that Aaron is in school and Camryn is with our babysitter, during the daytime working hours, I truly have time. Time to work. Time I should be spending calling businesses, educating them about the site, giving them information and working with them to get their business listed in our directory. Because businesses listing in our directory means that they pay actual money. Doesn't seem so hard, right?
Wrong. On paper, it sounds so simple. Pick up the phone. Dial. Tell someone about the site. Get them listed. The end. In actuality, it's not that easy. Why? Because I am scared. Petrified. Like ready to vomit and have an anxiety and panic attack and want to cry at the thought of the dreaded S word - SALES. There are so many reasons this shouldn't be an obstacle for me. Generally I can talk to anyone. I love the site. I am so passionate about helping families and helping businesses. It's an easy thing for me to talk about. And the ultimate reason being that if this website doesn't work out for me on the sales front, I'm on my way back to an office job working for someone else - something I DO NOT want to do. Under any circumstances. Because I've tasted the sweetness of this independent life and I want it to continue. Forever and ever.
I love having the freedom to work for myself. I work during the day but can also run errands, be visible at both of my kids' schools and spend time with my kids after school. The other side of it is that I wind up putting in more hours than I would at another type of job because there's no guaranteed paycheck hitting my bank account every other Friday.
So today, I put on my big girl underwear (it's an expression, my friends) and made 10 (count 'em, TEN) cold calls to local businesses. Nine bowling alleys and a book store. One person didn't even let me speak before he hung up on me, others transferred me to someone's voice mail and still others gave me a name of someone I should speak to. The important thing to me though was not getting someone on the phone, it was actually dialing the number and speaking when the person answered the phone. Not hanging up on someone was a HUGE milestone for me. Yes, pretty sad, I know, but this is me. And I did it. Really did it. And I didn't vomit. Or have a panic attack. Or get struck by a lightning bolt coming out of the sky.
Today I'm pretty proud of myself. I'm making a goal for 2009 is that twice each week I will call 10 businesses. And then the following week I will follow up with those businesses. I will become the type of salesperson that businesses want to talk to because I will prove to them that I am here to help them, not to shmooze them into sending me a check. 2009 will be a great year for me. For LIParentSource.com. For my family. Because we will all be successful in everything we set out to do.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Bedtime Stories
From the time Aaron was little, he had a routine at bedtime. We would read books and then sit with him in the rocking chair while his CD was playing music until he fell asleep. Then, and only then, we would carefully maneuver him into his crib. If he woke up, the whole thing would start all over again. Some nights were relatively quick, while others took hours. He would sleep with various stuffed animals and a number of pacifiers (one for his mouth, one for each hand and a few extra just in case). When he turned two years old he cried every single night because all he wanted to do was sleep in my bed. We let him "cry it out" a number of times which got harder as he got older because he would yell actual words ("Mommy, I need you, come here please") as opposed to just general wailing. When he was about two and a half years old, I would have to sit on the floor and hold his hand while he fell asleep in his crib. That ended pretty quickly after one night of my pregnant self not being able to get up from the floor. By the time he came out of his crib at 3 years and 2 months old, he transitioned pretty easily into a bed. (Please no comments about how old he was when he came out of the crib - if I hadn't needed it for Camryn when she was born, he still might be in the crib!). The routine changed, but didn't get much shorter. The new routine consisted of reading books, telling stories and then laying there with him for awhile. Not until he fell asleep, but for a good while. At almost 6 years old, his bedtime routine consists of reading a book, talking a little and then he goes to sleep. Good night, see ya tomorrow.
When Camryn was born, I swore up, down and sideways that she would NOT have any type of bedtime routine. We would put her into the crib when she was awake and she learned to put herself to sleep. No pacifer. No 45 minute route. No sitting on the floor while she fell asleep. Just bottle and crib. Good night. She has always been a great sleeper, going to bed at 7pm and waking up at 7am. When she woke up, she would play in her crib until we came in to get her. We thought we did it - we had at least one child who could go to bed quickly. Until now. At two and a half years old, Camryn now required a crazy bedtime routine. First she and Aaron jump on Aaron's bed (with Craig's supervision, of course). When they're done jumping, they lay down and Craig reads them a book. Camryn doesn't always listen, but it's usually a relatively short book, with outbursts of "Camryn, stop" and "Camryn, sit down." They get through the book, have already brushed teeth and washed hands and then Camryn goes into her room. After she needs a drink/ different pajama pants/different socks/has to pee, she needs to hear a story. Not a book, but a made up story. With Craig, he makes up elaborate stories. Not me. With me, she gets the same story every night. She picks the character (Miss Beth/Miss JudiAnn/Mr. Chris/Mr. Nick/Shrek/Fiona/Dora/Diego/Boots/Swiper) and then whoever she picks goes to school and hurts their knee. Don't look at me - she asks for this story. Every. Single. Solitary. Night. Multiple times!
So, alas, both of my kids have crazy bedtime routines where we start putting them to bed about an hour and a half before we actually walk out of their bedrooms. It's a giant pain. However, in my heart of hearts, I know I shouldn't complain because one day I will want to tell Camryn the story of whoever hurt their knee, have her jump on Aaron's bed or sit with Aaron until he falls asleep.
When Camryn was born, I swore up, down and sideways that she would NOT have any type of bedtime routine. We would put her into the crib when she was awake and she learned to put herself to sleep. No pacifer. No 45 minute route. No sitting on the floor while she fell asleep. Just bottle and crib. Good night. She has always been a great sleeper, going to bed at 7pm and waking up at 7am. When she woke up, she would play in her crib until we came in to get her. We thought we did it - we had at least one child who could go to bed quickly. Until now. At two and a half years old, Camryn now required a crazy bedtime routine. First she and Aaron jump on Aaron's bed (with Craig's supervision, of course). When they're done jumping, they lay down and Craig reads them a book. Camryn doesn't always listen, but it's usually a relatively short book, with outbursts of "Camryn, stop" and "Camryn, sit down." They get through the book, have already brushed teeth and washed hands and then Camryn goes into her room. After she needs a drink/ different pajama pants/different socks/has to pee, she needs to hear a story. Not a book, but a made up story. With Craig, he makes up elaborate stories. Not me. With me, she gets the same story every night. She picks the character (Miss Beth/Miss JudiAnn/Mr. Chris/Mr. Nick/Shrek/Fiona/Dora/Diego/Boots/Swiper) and then whoever she picks goes to school and hurts their knee. Don't look at me - she asks for this story. Every. Single. Solitary. Night. Multiple times!
So, alas, both of my kids have crazy bedtime routines where we start putting them to bed about an hour and a half before we actually walk out of their bedrooms. It's a giant pain. However, in my heart of hearts, I know I shouldn't complain because one day I will want to tell Camryn the story of whoever hurt their knee, have her jump on Aaron's bed or sit with Aaron until he falls asleep.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Kids Remember
Aaron's birthday is coming up, he'll be 6. Either that means that he's getting old or I'm getting old, old enough to have a 6 year old. A little scary either way you look at it.
The other day we were talking about what we would do on his birthday. Mostly because as the slacker mom that I am, by the time I booked his birthday party, the day of his actual birthday was all booked up, so we have to have it the next week. I keep tellingmyself him that it just makes his birthday longer. Anyway, in our discussion about what we should do on his birthday, we talked about going out to dinner to a hibachi restaurant where they cook in front of you. We talked about inviting Grandma and Papa and maybe even Grandma Cheryl.
Here's the conversation that followed.
Aaron: Grandma Cheryl can come too?
Me: Yes, we can ask her.
Aaron: But Papa Bill can't come because he died.
Me: Right.
Aaron: Mommy, if Papa Bill didn't die, I would have wanted him to come to my birthday.
Me: Me too.
In the six months that my father in law has been gone, Aaron really hasn't talked about him. I wondered if he understood, remembered or how his almost 6 year old mind had processed the whole thing. Clearly he both understands and remembers both his Papa Bill and how much they loved each other, which makes me happy.
The other day we were talking about what we would do on his birthday. Mostly because as the slacker mom that I am, by the time I booked his birthday party, the day of his actual birthday was all booked up, so we have to have it the next week. I keep telling
Here's the conversation that followed.
Aaron: Grandma Cheryl can come too?
Me: Yes, we can ask her.
Aaron: But Papa Bill can't come because he died.
Me: Right.
Aaron: Mommy, if Papa Bill didn't die, I would have wanted him to come to my birthday.
Me: Me too.
In the six months that my father in law has been gone, Aaron really hasn't talked about him. I wondered if he understood, remembered or how his almost 6 year old mind had processed the whole thing. Clearly he both understands and remembers both his Papa Bill and how much they loved each other, which makes me happy.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
The Many Faces of Camryn
All kids have many faces, right? Here are the many faces of Camryn, at 2 1/2 years old.
The silly face...
The annoyed face...
And the cutest face ever!
The silly face...
The confused face...
The annoyed face...
And the cutest face ever!Saturday, November 22, 2008
Too Much Dora?
Coming home from a birthday party today, we pulled into the driveway and as I'm getting out of the car, my two year old yells "Open my door! Abre! Abre! Abre!"Is a Spanish speaking two year old (when we're not Spanish nor do we speak Spanish) the sign of too much Dora the Explorer?
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Bedtime Routines
By day, she's an adorable little girl, pretty cool clothes, curly blond hair and big blue eyes. She says the most adorable things. Like yesterday, she looked at Grandma's shoes and said, "Grandma, mommy have same shoes," and then ran inside I got them. Pretty good for a 2 and a half year old, they were very similar, outside of the color, but who cares? She eats, she takes a pretty good nap, she doesn't mind when I leave for work and she's mostly nice to her brother. At night though, the wild beast emerges and my husband and I look at each other as if to ask, "Who is this?"
Our routine has been dinner, bath and bedtime. Because our first-born's bedtime routine sometimes exceeds 45 minutes (yup, books, stories, then it starts - Can you lay with me/send mommy in/send daddy in/give me a drink/I have to pee?) when our daughter was born, we made a conscious effort for her to have pretty much zero routine. Have the bottle and go in the crib. Usually awake. And it worked for us, until now.
Last night, we ate dinner and then she burst out crying hysterically at the mention of a bath. She now doesn't like the faucet on, which is semi-understandable because it is pretty loud. But, her new rule, which she screamed and cried for a good while, is NO TOYS IN THE BATH. Yes, zero. They have to be outside of the tub. Not even in the bag in the tub, but truly outside of the tub. This is reminiscent of when she was petrified of the bath after she pooped during one, but that's neither here nor there. We complied with her rule (anything to stop the crying), she took a bath and was herself again. Until someone mentioned the dreaded word - BEDTIME.
Hysteria. We read books. Two to be exact. And twice each. Dora and Sesame Street. Then she decided she needed socks. Of course, the white socks that she was wearing weren't good. She needed the Elmo socks. I'm sure you've already guessed that they were in the laundry. And I don't usually do laundry, so she was pretty much out of luck. Crying again. Finally we found socks that were okay - they were pink ("my favorite color") so she was pretty happy with it. Almost ready to go into the crib, but no, the wrong baby is in there. The pink baby is in the crib, of course, because she's been sleeping with that baby for about a month, and she wanted the white baby. Where's the white baby? It's downstairs. So I leave her in her room and go downstairs to get the baby. She then decides that the baby's face is dirty and we have to clean it. Took out the wipes, wiped the baby's face and then the baby was totally ready for bed. Oh wait, we have to pick out a CD to listen to. She decides that she wants the "orange CD". What's the problem? We don't have an orange CD. We have a purple CD, a name CD and a few white ones, but no orange one. So trying not to lose my patience, we put on the purple CD and she goes in the crib. Quietly, no crying and I think I'm in the clear.
So hubby and I sit down to catch up on Army Wives (new favorite show, by the way) and of course, the crying starts. I'm done, so it's his turn. He's in there for about 10 minutes going through the same thing I just went through with her - change the socks, change the CD, clean the baby. Finally, he's out and she's still crying. At this point, we decide to just let her cry it out. After about 5 minutes, she's still crying and as we sit down, he says, "I think you're making a mistake letting her cry."
Yes, he did. He really did. He really said that. And as if that wasn't bad enough, he didn't understand why I got pissed off and why I went into her room. That was like saying, "Hey, you're the worst mother in the world, but keep doing what you're doing." UGGGGGH.
The end result was, I did go in to her room, we changed the CD AGAIN, and she finally laid down and went to sleep. Total time spent, about an hour and a half. And not a fun hour and a half.
I hope that she goes back to her regular bedtime routine of pretty much nothing. A book then the crib then sleeping for about 12 hours. Just when you get used to a routine, these kids go and change it up on you. Hoping that tomorrow night goes a little bit easier....
I hope that she goes back to her regular bedtime routine of pretty much nothing. A book then the crib then sleeping for about 12 hours. Just when you get used to a routine, these kids go and change it up on you. Hoping that tomorrow night goes a little bit easier....
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