Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Happy Presidents' Day!

I know that George and Abe are not as cute as C.B., but I have to acknowledge Presidents' Day this year. It's a holiday that I rarely think of. There are no family traditions based on this day, no parties, no special meals. However, this little thought of holiday came just in time for me this year. I really needed a day where I had nothing to do, no place to go, no plans at all. I could stay in my PJ's all day if I wanted to. It was wonderful...and it was a Monday no less. My Monday's are usually like this or this! Not this Monday, by golly! Presidents' Day has been my favorite holiday so far this year. I hope you enjoyed yours too.

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Tuesday's Top 5

5 Things you may not get the chance see at your house
if your kids are the same gender:

1. A fifteen-month-old girl wielding a lightsaber and growling.

2. A 3-year-old boy whose favorite music CD is the
High School Musical soundtrack.

3. This

4. Or this

5. Boys who pair up Polly Pockets with
their very own color-coordinating dinosaurs.

Monday, February 12, 2007

Just another manic Monday

Mondays have been a little hectic ever since I’ve signed the boys up for a number class at the community center. Needless to say I did not expect a quiet morning. However, it was a little crazier than I anticipated.

Over the weekend we had 2 real estate agents show our house. That’s as many showings as we’ve had since it went on the market in October! That kind of interest motivated me to get the house in order before I left for preschool pickup, taking me a little more time to get out the door. While I was busy making beds I got a call from my sister-in-law that she needed me to pick up my nephew from school this morning. No problem! There would be 40 minutes between Big D’s pickup and my nephew’s, then 35 minutes before I would need to get the boys to their class. I finished getting the house straight and started thinking about how to pull off 2 pick-ups, lunch for three boys and dropping off at the community center before noon. That’s when the phone rang again.

Miss M’s school called to let me know that she had developed some kind of itchy bumps on her arms since getting to school that morning. They asked me if I could stop by the office with some kind cream or ointment to make her more comfortable. No problem! I got coats on kids, let the dog out to go potty, and gave one last look around to make sure the house looked presentable. I hadn’t really figured out lunch yet, but I figured I wouldn’t have time to come back home between pick-ups. Lunch might even have to be in the car. I loaded 2 kids in the car and buckled 2 car seats. I started the car to see the lovely yellow “you are out of gas” light shining up at me. No problem! I would at least have enough gas to get to school.

Lucky for me, Miss M and Big D are at the same school; different buildings, but the same school. I stopped by the office with some cream for Miss M (with Banana & C.B. in tow), got back in the car and made it over to pick up Big D just as the teacher was bringing the kids out. See? No problem! Now I just had to get gas, something for the boys to eat in the car for lunch and come right back to pick up my nephew so I could get the boys to their class. It all seemed very overwhelming, but it actually worked out just fine. I even had time to spare, when I thought I would be really pushing it to get everything done.

As I later recounted the events of my day to my husband, I realized that I tend to get stressed out and anxious about things when they come up unexpectedly. Sometimes I even get anxious about things I have known about for weeks. I think that building things up in my mind like that leaves me feeling pleasantly surprised when they weren’t so bad after all. As it turned out, I had a pretty good day overall. I think my favorite part was going to Target with my nephew while the boys were at their class. That’s certainly not something I planned on, and it might have stressed me out initially, but I’m really glad to have had that time with him.

Now…have you been able to get that Bangles song out of your head yet?

Friday, February 09, 2007

T.G.I.F.

Have you ever had one of those days where you were constantly busy, but by the end of the day you didn’t really get anything done? Well, that’s how this whole week has been for me. Based on the lack of writing on the family calendar I should have been able to get a lot accomplished. But it didn’t work out that way. I can’t even pinpoint the kinds of things that impeded my progress, so there’s no real explanation for not being productive this week. It’s like how some weeks seem to go by S-L-O-W-L-Y and others just fly by. Often there’s no reason for it…that’s just the way it is.

You'll notice I mentioned being unproductive, yet busy. This would be a boring post if I didn’t have anything else to write about. Thankfully, there were a few things that happened this week that are worth mentioning.

Banana started saying “Mommy” this week. However, she mostly says it while she’s groaning about something or wanting me to pick her up. It’s really nice to finally hear her calling for me though. She has also begun taking only one nap a day. I thought I would be bummed about her giving up one of those precious naptimes, but it’s working out well so far. I have more freedom to leave the house in the morning if necessary, and that one nap is usually a good, long one. It is bittersweet, of course, because it’s just another sign that my baby is growing up.

C.B. has had a really good week, especially considering his usual behavior. He has spent very little time in Time-Out and hasn’t had to go to bed early any night this week (another little “punishment” we use around here.) He hasn’t put up the usual fights when he is asked to do something he doesn’t want to do, or asked to stop doing something he does want to do. He has been helpful and has been trying very hard to use his listening ears and good manners. He will be four next month, so maybe he’s just “maturing”.

Big D, on the other hand, has been in Time-Out more often than usual and has gone to bed early every night this week. While C.B. has been more subdued, Big D has picked a battle with me over most everything this week. He has had more tantrums and done more insensitive things to his siblings during this one week than he has since he turned five last Fall. While C.B. has been trying to use good manners, Big D has been throwing phrases dripping with bad attitude in my direction, along with the “angry faces” that come with them. It’s been shocking to me, as I thought Big D was well beyond this behavior. Big D and C.B. have the same teacher for preschool and she mentioned that she has noticed the same behaviors that I have in both the boys. Unfortunately, I have no explanation for this sudden reversal in roles.

Miss M had a great week at school, and brought home the tests and papers to prove it. I joked to my mom the other day that I getting bored with all the 100%’s Miss M has been bringing home from school. It was definitely a joke. We are very proud of Miss M and the effort she puts forth at school. She has even been reading more than usual, and trying to tackle more challenging books as well. Last year at this time we were struggling with getting her to read, much less to retain what she read. It seemed to correlate with the struggle to get her away from the television. That was about the time when we decided to get rid of satellite TV and we bought a $9.99 antenna from Walgreens. That not only cut down on TV watching time, but also dramatically improved the scores on Miss M’s reading tests. A year later, she doesn’t mention missing the shows on Disney Channel as much as she used to, but she does enjoy going to both grandparents’ houses, where the Disney Channel is available.

I had an interesting thing happen this week, too. I made decorated cupcakes for someone who was not a member of my family AND they paid me for it. I decided a while back that it would be nice to make some extra money and that making cakes and candies are things I actually enjoy doing. The hard part is getting the word out to the people who want cakes and candies. Making those cupcakes this week was the first step. I have even had someone ask about possibly ordering a birthday cake this week because of those cupcakes. (Thanks, Staci!)

So, while nothing much was accomplished, there was still plenty going on around here this week. And as busy as I have felt since Monday, I am looking forward to a relaxing weekend.

** Addendum: I found out on Saturday that Banana says "Mommy" to pretty much anyone when she wants to be picked up. I have to admit that my excitement has been taken down a notch.