*Thousands of dollars of dental reconstruction might be easier than putting up with a 3 yo on thumb-sucking withdrawal.
*I am not pretty - physically, mentally, or socially - on 5 hours of sleep a night.
*My 6 yo doesn't have great pitch, but it is pretty cool to hear him walk around the house belting out "God, You Reign."
*There is no limit to the number of cookies high schoolers will eat in one morning.
*Garage Sales are still not my thing. We are piling up some stuff to sell, and I even have a few things I'd like to find on Saturday, but the whole process feels like a lot of stress and zero fun.
*No matter what might be bothering me at any given moment, there is always someone else who could use my encouragement more than hearing about my own selfish pity parties. If I would remember that more often, we would all benefit.
*The house just refuses to clean itself. I keep wishin', it keeps not happenin'.
*I do believe I am counting down the days left of school more than any student I have! I'm sure they would argue that, but it's definitely a close race.
*I have some of the best friends ever. This week I had some great conversations and priceless girl-time that helped me push through all the craziness. Thank you!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
Learning To Ride
He is so proud of his new tricycling accomplishment.
We're cruising now.
His legs are baarrrreeelllyyy long enough. Enter Stress.
The little guy is attempting to show me the jelly bean big brother gave him as a bribe to get him to "STOP CRYING!".
It didn't work.
Giving it another try.
The day would not be complete without a crash.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Not Enough Time
Typically when I neglect my blog, it is because I don't have anything to write about. However, this week things have been happening each day that make me think "I should write that one down so I can remember it...". But by midnight each night, after all the lesson plans and grading and report writing (and maybe a little facebook chatting) are finished, my brain just can't make sense of itself.
For the sake of "writing it down", here are the highlights of our week.
~On Sunday we celebrated our friends' son's first communion. We have several friends who are catholic, so mass was not new to us, but this was my 6 yo's first experience. Oh, the questions! He kept asking me if they were getting ready to do a skit. I kept telling him no, and finally he asked, "Then why are the two guys up front wearing those fancy robes and why are the three girls dressed up like angels?" I think we made it through that answer, but I am STILL trying to explain the holy water.
For the sake of "writing it down", here are the highlights of our week.
~On Sunday we celebrated our friends' son's first communion. We have several friends who are catholic, so mass was not new to us, but this was my 6 yo's first experience. Oh, the questions! He kept asking me if they were getting ready to do a skit. I kept telling him no, and finally he asked, "Then why are the two guys up front wearing those fancy robes and why are the three girls dressed up like angels?" I think we made it through that answer, but I am STILL trying to explain the holy water.
~On Monday, my 3 year old discovered that he is FINALLY tall enough (almost, just barely, soooo close) to ride his tricycle...if someone gives him a little push. Or if he's going downhill. Or if he just gets lucky. All other times include much screaming and tantrum throwing.
~A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that our dentist was fairly successful in getting our 3 yo to stop sucking his thumb. However, we started noticing that he was sneaking in a thumb fix late at night and during naps. At the same time he developed this nasty little wart on his thumb. So, we fixed that problem right up with some medicine, bandaids, and athletic tape to make sure the bandaid stayed on. Two hours later I walked into his room while he was sleeping, and what did I find? Sure enough, he was sucking the thumb that we had doctored up. I wasn't sure whether to laugh or call poison control. Instead, I slept on his floor the entire night to make sure he didn't overdose himself by sucking in too much wart medicine.
And my favorite quote of the week from the 3 yo while sitting on the toilet: "Wait, I'm not done yet. My poop is just BEGGING to come out!"
Friday, April 17, 2009
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
ABC's of the Past Week
A - Annual "Brother's Day" celebration at Chuck E. Cheese. When, oh when, will they ask to go somewhere else?
B - Basement clean-out weekend. When your father says, "Sure looks like this place could use some organization," that's a hint that it's really, really bad.
C - Chlorine pump on the water system broke again. It feels like we're showering in the swimming pool. But, my toilets sure smell clean!
D - Dusted the living room for the first time in weeks. It's very sad when your child asks what the fuzzy things are on the piano. Unfortunately, I'm not kidding.
E - Easter lunch and Easter egg hunt at grandma's at noon. Easter supper and Easter egg hunt at other grandma's in the evening. I still feel full. Ugh.
F - Four days of fever for the 6 yo.
G - Grandma and Grandpa made my black list for all the candy they sent home with us.
H - Hours and hours of prep for an accreditation meeting.
I - Irritated my children by making them help me clean.
J - Junk sale, errr, I mean garage sale preparations.
K - Killed any resemblance of a diet all week long.
L - Laughed hysterically when my 6 yo took one bite of the dessert my sister-in-law made and said, "This isn't the best there ever is." Tried so hard to correct him, but just couldn't keep a straight face.
M - Made Cherry Pepsi Jello. Yum!
N - Nine-and-a-half hour accreditation meeting on Thursday. I know I'm weird, but I loved it!
O - Overestimated my ability to get things done. The 'to do' list is still quite lengthy.
P - Planted flowers for the very first time ever. Luckily it has rained, so I haven't killed them yet.
Q - Quote from my 3 yo in church on Easter morning: "There is way too much music in here for me to talk!"
R - Rain, rain, go away. I want to be able to send my kids to the sandbox every day!
S - Set up and cleaned off the ping-pong table. It has been a storage table for junk for way too long.
T - Talked to an old college friend whom I haven't seen since our freshman year. Great to catch up.
U - Underestimated the consequences of the 3 yo having no nap on Easter. Lots of painful screaming followed.
V - Very long days. Very short nights.
W - Watched much of season 5 of Reba. I'm minorly addicted.
X - X is not a fun letter for show-and-tell. We spent way too much time this week thinking of something with x.
Y - Yelled for joy about having a three day weekend.
Z - Zero idea what to write for z. The week just wasn't all that exciting.
B - Basement clean-out weekend. When your father says, "Sure looks like this place could use some organization," that's a hint that it's really, really bad.
C - Chlorine pump on the water system broke again. It feels like we're showering in the swimming pool. But, my toilets sure smell clean!
D - Dusted the living room for the first time in weeks. It's very sad when your child asks what the fuzzy things are on the piano. Unfortunately, I'm not kidding.
E - Easter lunch and Easter egg hunt at grandma's at noon. Easter supper and Easter egg hunt at other grandma's in the evening. I still feel full. Ugh.
F - Four days of fever for the 6 yo.
G - Grandma and Grandpa made my black list for all the candy they sent home with us.
H - Hours and hours of prep for an accreditation meeting.
I - Irritated my children by making them help me clean.
J - Junk sale, errr, I mean garage sale preparations.
K - Killed any resemblance of a diet all week long.
L - Laughed hysterically when my 6 yo took one bite of the dessert my sister-in-law made and said, "This isn't the best there ever is." Tried so hard to correct him, but just couldn't keep a straight face.
M - Made Cherry Pepsi Jello. Yum!
N - Nine-and-a-half hour accreditation meeting on Thursday. I know I'm weird, but I loved it!
O - Overestimated my ability to get things done. The 'to do' list is still quite lengthy.
P - Planted flowers for the very first time ever. Luckily it has rained, so I haven't killed them yet.
Q - Quote from my 3 yo in church on Easter morning: "There is way too much music in here for me to talk!"
R - Rain, rain, go away. I want to be able to send my kids to the sandbox every day!
S - Set up and cleaned off the ping-pong table. It has been a storage table for junk for way too long.
T - Talked to an old college friend whom I haven't seen since our freshman year. Great to catch up.
U - Underestimated the consequences of the 3 yo having no nap on Easter. Lots of painful screaming followed.
V - Very long days. Very short nights.
W - Watched much of season 5 of Reba. I'm minorly addicted.
X - X is not a fun letter for show-and-tell. We spent way too much time this week thinking of something with x.
Y - Yelled for joy about having a three day weekend.
Z - Zero idea what to write for z. The week just wasn't all that exciting.
Friday, April 3, 2009
The Lesser of Two Evils?
On Wednesday I took my 3 yo to the dentist. He did a great job and the cleaning was over in a flash. Then the dentist came in. He took one look in that cute little mouth and asked, "Does he sometimes suck his thumb?"
SOMETIMES? Yes, he does. The more accurate answer is that SOMETIMES he doesn't. Like when he's eating.
The dentist graciously asked if I minded if he talked to my son about it. Go ahead, I said, while I internally laughed my head off that he thought talking to him would do any good. He told my son how sucking his thumb was hurting his teeth and that he really needed to work on stopping.
It worked. No kidding, he has stopped sucking his thumb. The only time I've seen his thumb in his mouth was yesterday while he was sleeping. It was almost time for him to wake up, so I went over to his bed and slipped his thumb out of his mouth. While still asleep, without opening his eyes, he smiled a little and said in the cutest little voice, "Sorry." Then he rolled over and started snoring.
I'm too skeptical to say that this is going to last forever, but in the meantime I've been shocked and amazed at this turn of events. However, there is one little problem...okay, one big problem. The absence of thumbsucking has created an absence of something very important in his world and mine.
You got it......naps. It seems as though it is difficult to go to sleep when you've relied on the thumb for nearly three years.
Next week we are heading back to the dentist. It's time for that man to have a little talk with my child about the importance of naps.
The dentist graciously asked if I minded if he talked to my son about it. Go ahead, I said, while I internally laughed my head off that he thought talking to him would do any good. He told my son how sucking his thumb was hurting his teeth and that he really needed to work on stopping.
It worked. No kidding, he has stopped sucking his thumb. The only time I've seen his thumb in his mouth was yesterday while he was sleeping. It was almost time for him to wake up, so I went over to his bed and slipped his thumb out of his mouth. While still asleep, without opening his eyes, he smiled a little and said in the cutest little voice, "Sorry." Then he rolled over and started snoring.
I'm too skeptical to say that this is going to last forever, but in the meantime I've been shocked and amazed at this turn of events. However, there is one little problem...okay, one big problem. The absence of thumbsucking has created an absence of something very important in his world and mine.
You got it......naps. It seems as though it is difficult to go to sleep when you've relied on the thumb for nearly three years.
Next week we are heading back to the dentist. It's time for that man to have a little talk with my child about the importance of naps.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
LOL
So I saw this quiz on facebook......"Your Ideal Job".....and thought maybe I would learn something new.
I answered job-relevant questions like what kind of chocolate I would pick out, my favorite subject in high school, and what I would change my name to. Feeling ever so confident about the results, I hit 'submit'.
Here is my ideal job and the reason why.
**Bartender**
You love a night out and don't mind serving a class or two of alcohol. you can drink anything from tequila to beer, you have a great personality and always the centre of the party. so grab your RSA and get working behind the bar!
Try not to hurt yourself when you fall over laughing.
I answered job-relevant questions like what kind of chocolate I would pick out, my favorite subject in high school, and what I would change my name to. Feeling ever so confident about the results, I hit 'submit'.
Here is my ideal job and the reason why.
**Bartender**
You love a night out and don't mind serving a class or two of alcohol. you can drink anything from tequila to beer, you have a great personality and always the centre of the party. so grab your RSA and get working behind the bar!
Try not to hurt yourself when you fall over laughing.
I Was the Perfect Parent...Until I Had Kids
I'm feeling exceptionally sad for my 6 yo today. He just doesn't seem to be comfortable in his own skin; and I have no idea what to do about it. If there is a fear to have, a worry to create, or a situation to be timid about, he will. I vacillate back and forth between wanting to tell him to suck it up, quit worrying, and get a grip...and...pulling him in my arms and crying with him and telling him everything will be okay. I just don't know what is best for him.
Last month he got scared during a school chapel music performance and started sobbing. He got so worked up about the evening performance that he never even made it on stage. Last week he cried at the thought of riding the kindergarten float through a parade. Yesterday he cried at school when another teacher was in the room observing the kindergarten class.
Today it was the dentist. To his credit, the kid does not have a stellar dental history. He got the short end of the straw when it came to healthy teeth...in other words, he got his dad's genes instead of mine. He instinctively closes his mouth and gets really tense when the dental tools start coming his way. The poor kid was nervous, but he made it through with only a stray tear or two.
Then it was his brothers turn. Since he just turned three, this was brother's first time at the dentist. He hopped right up in the chair, reclined in perfect relaxed form, and opened his mouth so wide a small cow could have crawled in. The hygienist ooohed and aaahhed over how well he did, and what a big boy he was, and how he could teach his older brother how to do it. I could see the tears welling up in my 6 yo's eyes, and could feel the mama bear rising up in me.
The poor lady didn't have a clue what she was doing. She thought she was being so encouraging to my 3 yo (which she was), but really, the kid didn't need it. In fact, he said, and I quote, "When the dentist comes to check my teeth he is going to look in there and say WOW!" No self-esteem building needed for that one.
But the 6 yo, my heart just breaks for him. I spent four years training to be an educator, and many more years training in special education. I've read heaps of parenting books, and have watched all the videos. But at this moment, I've got nothin'.
Last month he got scared during a school chapel music performance and started sobbing. He got so worked up about the evening performance that he never even made it on stage. Last week he cried at the thought of riding the kindergarten float through a parade. Yesterday he cried at school when another teacher was in the room observing the kindergarten class.
Today it was the dentist. To his credit, the kid does not have a stellar dental history. He got the short end of the straw when it came to healthy teeth...in other words, he got his dad's genes instead of mine. He instinctively closes his mouth and gets really tense when the dental tools start coming his way. The poor kid was nervous, but he made it through with only a stray tear or two.
Then it was his brothers turn. Since he just turned three, this was brother's first time at the dentist. He hopped right up in the chair, reclined in perfect relaxed form, and opened his mouth so wide a small cow could have crawled in. The hygienist ooohed and aaahhed over how well he did, and what a big boy he was, and how he could teach his older brother how to do it. I could see the tears welling up in my 6 yo's eyes, and could feel the mama bear rising up in me.
The poor lady didn't have a clue what she was doing. She thought she was being so encouraging to my 3 yo (which she was), but really, the kid didn't need it. In fact, he said, and I quote, "When the dentist comes to check my teeth he is going to look in there and say WOW!" No self-esteem building needed for that one.
But the 6 yo, my heart just breaks for him. I spent four years training to be an educator, and many more years training in special education. I've read heaps of parenting books, and have watched all the videos. But at this moment, I've got nothin'.
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