Today C decided to help her sister do a little scooping up after the dog. I guess one piece was a little tricky and the kid used her HAND. What's worse is that I didn't feel like barfing. Instead I was just like, ick go wash your hands and do a good job scrubbing them.
She has changed her clothes multiple times today. She has settled on a bright lime green shirt and navy blue with purple flowers pants. (I really spelled that flours at first.... I really am losing my mind!)
This afternoon she said, "I can't squeeze my po po." A po po is the ballet teacher's name for your behind muscles. I don't know why C was trying to squeeze her po po since she doesn't take ballet lessons.
This morning she got her violin out first thing so she could practice while DH was still home.
As for the other kids.........
M stayed home from school today. She still has 'the fever'. It makes me wonder if she thinks has 'the plague' or something like that. Not to worry kid, it's just a cold.
T got a little talking to about getting in trouble at school. I guess last week he played on the 'snow mountain'. I guess it's forbidden and after 3 months he couldn't resist and fell in with some 6th graders who were having a snowball fight. He ended up in what I consider detention for a little while. I hate to say it but I'm not that worried about it. I pretended to be frustrated but well, come on, it's a snow mountain. I'm just surprised he hasn't climbed it.
D had a great day at school.
and C... well we already discussed her.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
The long weekened
Of course everyone was looking forward to the long weekend. For me, it means one more day until 'Monday' comes and I need to clean up all the fun.
Saturday was T's last basketball game. It was the craziest game. You have to remember, these kids are THIRD graders. So far, our team is undefeated. There are a couple of good players on the team, but one kid is awesome. He has been playing accelerated basketball for sometime and he just rules the court. On Saturday he wasn't there and neither was his father who is the awesome coach. Anyway, we go to cheer T on and end up watching a game that is like grown men church ball or something. This team played dirty and the other coach really encouraged it. My friend's husband was coaching for the day as our coach was out of town and he didn't really want this guy on his back. Heck, I was scared of that coach. Two of our kids ended up being dragged off the court hurt. Hello other team. It is not normal for third graders to wrap their arms around the other team's players. You can't purposely trip them as they go up for layups. Anyway, had that been a real game there would have been only a few kids left on the other team as they would have all been ejected. Then the other coach would call double dribbling and travelling calls on our kids. He never once called it on his own. Sorry buddy, but I don't really like you. T had a great game though. He stole the ball a bunch and grabbed a ton of rebounds. I was proud that he played aggressively, yet cleanly. Oh, and they won.
After that I took M to the music store to buy a new chin rest for her violin. I really didn't want to spend 40 bucks on one when she has one on that violin already. But I also didn't like the fact that at the Christmas concert it looked like she had a double chin the whole time. This kiddo of mine is at the very bottom of acceptable weight for her height. At the Christmas concert though, I couldn't get a picture where her neck looked right. (I know... what do you expect when you are holding up an instrument with your chin?) The new chin rest combined with a new shoulder pad made all of the difference and magically the double chin disappeared. I wish I could figure out how that would work for me.
That afternoon DH and I went out to the gun range. Most people who know me wouldn't believe that I really quite like that. It's fun to shoot at targets. I always joke around with DH that we are only buying the regular targets, not the ones that show some big scary man holding some very shapely blond hostage.
Then that night I stayed up way too late watching clips from Family Feud on hulu. There are all of these hilarious clips. "Name a 3 letter animal." You'd think dog, cat, rat, bat,... something like that. Instead there was frog and alligator. LOL. I ended up watching for two hours.
Sunday DH's brother and family stopped by on their way out of town. My niece was pretty sick but I was still glad they came. And crazy as it seems, it really wasn't any harder to feed our 7 plus their 6. Maybe having a gazillion neighborkid over has prepped me for feeding big crowds.
Monday DH took D skiing. The mountains had received something like 3 feet of snow and it was a beautiful day. They both had a lot of fun. D took a lesson in the morning while DH enjoyed the harder runs and then they spent the afternoon together. I took T to swim practice in the morning, did some grocery shopping, and then hung out with the kiddos. Holidays seem to pretty much be normal days. But I didn't mind this time.
And last night T started coughing. I got the puffer out in case we needed it. Luckily today he wasn't worse. I'm glad because he has a swim meet this week and I would really like him to do well. After school, M came home and said she didn't feel well. She had around 102 degree fever. So our afternoon plans changed quite a bit as I ended up ditching 3 of the planned violin lessons. S and C ended up doing a 'group lesson' with me. S did really well. I don't know what it was about tonight but she wanted to do a good job. C was just little miss cranky pants and wouldn't listen to much. I'm worried she is getting sick because she was just as cranky as they come from about 3pm on.
M-Tonight we were looking up Grace Coolidge's photos online. M needs to dress up like her for her presentation on President Coolidge. M was looking through the photos and says, "She's kind of hard to look at." Well little missy, you get to play her so cut it out. How we are going to get M's hair to look like that is beyond me.
T- He finally brought all of his coats home from school. I was thinking I was going to have to march over there and clean out the coat rack myself.
D- He had a great dance class tonight it seems. He was happy as a clam when he got home. I think having a day with dad yesterday was really good for his spirits.
S- She had blast today having a friend over for 4 hours. The kids didn't even make a huge mess. Those were good times. The same struggles are there but she did much better and we all had more fun as a result.
C- She was a tyrant today! She was in her room several times in time out. Nothing could make her happy. Let's hope tomorrow is better.
Saturday was T's last basketball game. It was the craziest game. You have to remember, these kids are THIRD graders. So far, our team is undefeated. There are a couple of good players on the team, but one kid is awesome. He has been playing accelerated basketball for sometime and he just rules the court. On Saturday he wasn't there and neither was his father who is the awesome coach. Anyway, we go to cheer T on and end up watching a game that is like grown men church ball or something. This team played dirty and the other coach really encouraged it. My friend's husband was coaching for the day as our coach was out of town and he didn't really want this guy on his back. Heck, I was scared of that coach. Two of our kids ended up being dragged off the court hurt. Hello other team. It is not normal for third graders to wrap their arms around the other team's players. You can't purposely trip them as they go up for layups. Anyway, had that been a real game there would have been only a few kids left on the other team as they would have all been ejected. Then the other coach would call double dribbling and travelling calls on our kids. He never once called it on his own. Sorry buddy, but I don't really like you. T had a great game though. He stole the ball a bunch and grabbed a ton of rebounds. I was proud that he played aggressively, yet cleanly. Oh, and they won.
After that I took M to the music store to buy a new chin rest for her violin. I really didn't want to spend 40 bucks on one when she has one on that violin already. But I also didn't like the fact that at the Christmas concert it looked like she had a double chin the whole time. This kiddo of mine is at the very bottom of acceptable weight for her height. At the Christmas concert though, I couldn't get a picture where her neck looked right. (I know... what do you expect when you are holding up an instrument with your chin?) The new chin rest combined with a new shoulder pad made all of the difference and magically the double chin disappeared. I wish I could figure out how that would work for me.
That afternoon DH and I went out to the gun range. Most people who know me wouldn't believe that I really quite like that. It's fun to shoot at targets. I always joke around with DH that we are only buying the regular targets, not the ones that show some big scary man holding some very shapely blond hostage.
Then that night I stayed up way too late watching clips from Family Feud on hulu. There are all of these hilarious clips. "Name a 3 letter animal." You'd think dog, cat, rat, bat,... something like that. Instead there was frog and alligator. LOL. I ended up watching for two hours.
Sunday DH's brother and family stopped by on their way out of town. My niece was pretty sick but I was still glad they came. And crazy as it seems, it really wasn't any harder to feed our 7 plus their 6. Maybe having a gazillion neighborkid over has prepped me for feeding big crowds.
Monday DH took D skiing. The mountains had received something like 3 feet of snow and it was a beautiful day. They both had a lot of fun. D took a lesson in the morning while DH enjoyed the harder runs and then they spent the afternoon together. I took T to swim practice in the morning, did some grocery shopping, and then hung out with the kiddos. Holidays seem to pretty much be normal days. But I didn't mind this time.
And last night T started coughing. I got the puffer out in case we needed it. Luckily today he wasn't worse. I'm glad because he has a swim meet this week and I would really like him to do well. After school, M came home and said she didn't feel well. She had around 102 degree fever. So our afternoon plans changed quite a bit as I ended up ditching 3 of the planned violin lessons. S and C ended up doing a 'group lesson' with me. S did really well. I don't know what it was about tonight but she wanted to do a good job. C was just little miss cranky pants and wouldn't listen to much. I'm worried she is getting sick because she was just as cranky as they come from about 3pm on.
M-Tonight we were looking up Grace Coolidge's photos online. M needs to dress up like her for her presentation on President Coolidge. M was looking through the photos and says, "She's kind of hard to look at." Well little missy, you get to play her so cut it out. How we are going to get M's hair to look like that is beyond me.
T- He finally brought all of his coats home from school. I was thinking I was going to have to march over there and clean out the coat rack myself.
D- He had a great dance class tonight it seems. He was happy as a clam when he got home. I think having a day with dad yesterday was really good for his spirits.
S- She had blast today having a friend over for 4 hours. The kids didn't even make a huge mess. Those were good times. The same struggles are there but she did much better and we all had more fun as a result.
C- She was a tyrant today! She was in her room several times in time out. Nothing could make her happy. Let's hope tomorrow is better.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Sleep and other things
Just a review of our week so far-
M- She had a frustrating week at school. I'm trying to figure out as a parent when to step in and say, hello, that answer is right and when to let it go if she isn't willing to stand up for herself. (She has a long term sub right now.) She got her violin practice upped to an hour a day today, not because she wasn't doing a good job but because she has been doing a good job. That's kind of an odd way to reward a kid.
T- This kid has too much of me in him. His room is a wreck once again and he just can't stay focused enough to keep it clean. He tried to surprise me by doing his homework at the beginning of the week to have it 'cleaned' up by the kindergartners who were having playgroup here. He thought he was going to die today because I forgot to bring an afternoon snack for the trip to violin lessons. He was still eating 35 minutes after starting his meal. I guess the kid was hungry.
D- He was one tired kid today. I picked him up to take him to the dentist and I noticed he was acting a little out of it. I said, "D you look tired. Did you get enough sleep?" He replied that he did but then added that he woke up at 11:45 and then again at 1:30 and stayed up the rest of the night. WHAT? So we won't be weaning him off his meds. It's better to get good sleep and be up at 5:15 than be up all night. He played at a friend's house on Tuesday and was so thrilled.
S- She snapped out of her streak on Tuesday afternoon. Things have been so much more pleasant since then. She has been so interested in sharing and being kind. Yesterday I went to pick her up from ballet and I asked her how things went and the teacher chimed in that it went great :) and so much better from the last week which was 'really hard'..... At least it isn't just me seeing this. So we'll take the better times that we have right now and hope they last a while.
C- Stinker stinker stinker... She went to playgroup today and played pirates. She was the pirate mom. I guess that's more fun that just house. She took a huge container of barbies into the shower with her. She barely had room to stand. She's crazy that way.
Me- I have been trying to get on top of things. I should stop trying to do that and just try to stay afloat. I did receive my new phone and have had so much fun goofing around with it. It's nice to have a cell phone again even if I don't use it all the time.
DH-He came home earlier (pre 6:30) two nights in a row! That's not too bad.
This weekend I drive to dance, have a basketball game, and hopefully a little time to enjoy my cleaned house :)
M- She had a frustrating week at school. I'm trying to figure out as a parent when to step in and say, hello, that answer is right and when to let it go if she isn't willing to stand up for herself. (She has a long term sub right now.) She got her violin practice upped to an hour a day today, not because she wasn't doing a good job but because she has been doing a good job. That's kind of an odd way to reward a kid.
T- This kid has too much of me in him. His room is a wreck once again and he just can't stay focused enough to keep it clean. He tried to surprise me by doing his homework at the beginning of the week to have it 'cleaned' up by the kindergartners who were having playgroup here. He thought he was going to die today because I forgot to bring an afternoon snack for the trip to violin lessons. He was still eating 35 minutes after starting his meal. I guess the kid was hungry.
D- He was one tired kid today. I picked him up to take him to the dentist and I noticed he was acting a little out of it. I said, "D you look tired. Did you get enough sleep?" He replied that he did but then added that he woke up at 11:45 and then again at 1:30 and stayed up the rest of the night. WHAT? So we won't be weaning him off his meds. It's better to get good sleep and be up at 5:15 than be up all night. He played at a friend's house on Tuesday and was so thrilled.
S- She snapped out of her streak on Tuesday afternoon. Things have been so much more pleasant since then. She has been so interested in sharing and being kind. Yesterday I went to pick her up from ballet and I asked her how things went and the teacher chimed in that it went great :) and so much better from the last week which was 'really hard'..... At least it isn't just me seeing this. So we'll take the better times that we have right now and hope they last a while.
C- Stinker stinker stinker... She went to playgroup today and played pirates. She was the pirate mom. I guess that's more fun that just house. She took a huge container of barbies into the shower with her. She barely had room to stand. She's crazy that way.
Me- I have been trying to get on top of things. I should stop trying to do that and just try to stay afloat. I did receive my new phone and have had so much fun goofing around with it. It's nice to have a cell phone again even if I don't use it all the time.
DH-He came home earlier (pre 6:30) two nights in a row! That's not too bad.
This weekend I drive to dance, have a basketball game, and hopefully a little time to enjoy my cleaned house :)
It's a conspiracy
The floss makers conspiracy that is.... This morning I got the kids off to school and received a call from the dentist's office. Could D and I come in today instead of next week because someone couldn't make it down for an appointment due to the crazy weather we had yesterday (which took down 1 1/2 panels of my fence dang it)?
Yes, of course.
But that changed my day. I had planned to stay in my jammies and clean my house because I have cleaners coming over tomorrow (Christmas present). I really need a good day to clean for the cleaners.....
Instead I took the kids to school (too much snow to walk) and then came home for a few minutes to get C ready for her playgroup. After dropping her off I jumped into the shower because I couldn't go all grimy to the dentist. We all know that getting ready can easily suck up some time and before I knew it, I had to be out the door.
Now to the bad news.
Let me preface this with saying I have really cruddy teeth. We are talking I have a mouth full of crowns and root canals. So you can imagine my surprise at my last two checkup when I have been told I need no fillings. (You know, they mention watch buckle zmf on the upper right distal whatever, but NO fillings.)
Today I had FOUR cavities. Should I mention I brush 2-3 times a day and usually floss twice daily as well and I had four small cavities.
I felt like a failure. The hygienist could tell I was flustered and tried to make me feel better by telling me she actually just had her teeth cleaned and has a cavity too. She said, "I know how you are feeling."
And I laughed. Ha ha... feeling/filling... so perfect for someone to say at the dentist.
Then I gave myself a silent pat on the back for catching that.
But those flosser people must be in on the conspiracy. I so should NOT have a cavity, let alone 4!
The only thing I can think of is that I pretty much wasn't eating crap (sugars, starches, etc.) and have been somewhat since October. I think eating this crap is not only making my behind wide, it's wrecking my teeth. Maybe it's the motivation I need. I am generally not super vain. But I am vain enough to want to have some teeth in my mouth as I age. So good bye sugars and starches until I get a good ol good job from the hygienist.
Yes, of course.
But that changed my day. I had planned to stay in my jammies and clean my house because I have cleaners coming over tomorrow (Christmas present). I really need a good day to clean for the cleaners.....
Instead I took the kids to school (too much snow to walk) and then came home for a few minutes to get C ready for her playgroup. After dropping her off I jumped into the shower because I couldn't go all grimy to the dentist. We all know that getting ready can easily suck up some time and before I knew it, I had to be out the door.
Now to the bad news.
Let me preface this with saying I have really cruddy teeth. We are talking I have a mouth full of crowns and root canals. So you can imagine my surprise at my last two checkup when I have been told I need no fillings. (You know, they mention watch buckle zmf on the upper right distal whatever, but NO fillings.)
Today I had FOUR cavities. Should I mention I brush 2-3 times a day and usually floss twice daily as well and I had four small cavities.
I felt like a failure. The hygienist could tell I was flustered and tried to make me feel better by telling me she actually just had her teeth cleaned and has a cavity too. She said, "I know how you are feeling."
And I laughed. Ha ha... feeling/filling... so perfect for someone to say at the dentist.
Then I gave myself a silent pat on the back for catching that.
But those flosser people must be in on the conspiracy. I so should NOT have a cavity, let alone 4!
The only thing I can think of is that I pretty much wasn't eating crap (sugars, starches, etc.) and have been somewhat since October. I think eating this crap is not only making my behind wide, it's wrecking my teeth. Maybe it's the motivation I need. I am generally not super vain. But I am vain enough to want to have some teeth in my mouth as I age. So good bye sugars and starches until I get a good ol good job from the hygienist.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Valentine's Day
Oh the day has become a day for the kiddos it seems.
Over the weekend the kids addressed their 'cards'... oh, that's right. They weren't cards. They were Sweet Tarts, Starbursts, and suckers. When did this holiday become Halloween dressed in pink and red?
M made her box for school. She turned it into an ipod complete with the playlist. I may be a little short on tin foil the next time I need it now but it was worth it as the box was really cute.
T made a cute 3D pig for his box. Of course the valentines would go in the little oinker's mouth.
S and D made their bags at school and poor C, she just sat and cut up leftover bits of foil and and paper and made robot valentines for her friends.
I managed to get the giant heart cookies made for teachers and all the supplies for the Minute to Win It game for 5th grade before heading over the the school.
The kids thought the game was awesome. I was just glad it went over well. The 'bobble head' game was hilarious with pedometers hooked to their heads using either a knitted cap or goggles.
I stopped in T's classroom on the way out to verify that T is being good in school. I guess he's doing well :) His teacher did tell me that she got T's "Happy Valenswine" greeting. Where does he get this stuff?
Then it was off to swim and dinner in the car on the way home. DH thought he was going to be late doing some work and so I decided to make life easier and have them not wait to get home.
Then it was off to find the floor in this house (which I found and is already LOST). DH came home earlier than expected and did his extra work from home. The poor guy ended up eating Oreos and candy hearts for dinner.
Luckily, we were equally unprepared and so neither of us was disappointed.
Now to go and get C out of her Valentine's shirt from yesterday. She's still celebrating :)
Over the weekend the kids addressed their 'cards'... oh, that's right. They weren't cards. They were Sweet Tarts, Starbursts, and suckers. When did this holiday become Halloween dressed in pink and red?
M made her box for school. She turned it into an ipod complete with the playlist. I may be a little short on tin foil the next time I need it now but it was worth it as the box was really cute.
T made a cute 3D pig for his box. Of course the valentines would go in the little oinker's mouth.
S and D made their bags at school and poor C, she just sat and cut up leftover bits of foil and and paper and made robot valentines for her friends.
I managed to get the giant heart cookies made for teachers and all the supplies for the Minute to Win It game for 5th grade before heading over the the school.
The kids thought the game was awesome. I was just glad it went over well. The 'bobble head' game was hilarious with pedometers hooked to their heads using either a knitted cap or goggles.
I stopped in T's classroom on the way out to verify that T is being good in school. I guess he's doing well :) His teacher did tell me that she got T's "Happy Valenswine" greeting. Where does he get this stuff?
Then it was off to swim and dinner in the car on the way home. DH thought he was going to be late doing some work and so I decided to make life easier and have them not wait to get home.
Then it was off to find the floor in this house (which I found and is already LOST). DH came home earlier than expected and did his extra work from home. The poor guy ended up eating Oreos and candy hearts for dinner.
Luckily, we were equally unprepared and so neither of us was disappointed.
Now to go and get C out of her Valentine's shirt from yesterday. She's still celebrating :)
Monday, February 7, 2011
And the kids went to bed.................
Remember those good Christmas times I mentioned in the last post... let me remember for a bit so I can see how things have improved because boy was today a BEAR!
T woke up this morning with a tummy ache. I figured the boy was probably hungry or that he just did NOT want to do his practicing. But then again, a stomach bug has been going around and good moms don't generally send things kids off to school when they might barf at any minute. So I had him eat and then had him stay home as the other kids left.
It turns out he was just fine. He also asked me if listening to church yesterday counted toward his 'reading minutes' for the class literacy competition. WHAT? I guess the person in charge said if someone was reading to you it could be counted. Sorry buddy. Church doesn't count.
Anyway... once he felt fine I took him to school.
Later that day, after S got home I took my two girls plus cute little neighbor girl to Walmart to buy more duct tape (I still had two bags left to finish up from the birthday party). I told the kids before we went in that, no I wasn't buying treats nor was I buying them lunch inside. But if they were good I would give them a piece of gum when we got back to the car. S started having problems immediately. She got her warning and then just wouldn't obey. Defiance was everywhere. Come on kid, I just want to buy some duct tape. I couldn't pass up some great clearance and got each of the girls (including little neighbor girl) and outfit. They were cute and in the right price range. But in the end, no one got gum. The funny thing was C knew it. While I was paying she was spinning the bag holder thing for the register behind us. I told her to stop and she didn't obey. So I told her to go sit on a bench. She says, "Now I don't get any gum." (sob sob) We got to the car and S asked for her gum. She knew she shouldn't get it but she thought she'd give it a try. More grouchiness...
Then home with more fits, stomping, storming off..... the list goes on. I made them lunch, let them eat, and then sent them to play.
During play time I tried to sort out details on my new phone. When I tried to order it some funky things happened and I wasn't sure it went through. So I called the CC company to verify and yes something did go through. Then there was that tiny (NOT) blizzard last week and that caused issues with their customer service and no one was available. So finally today I called... yep, order never went through and it was off my CC. The good news is now I have replace my order and everything went through as it should have. The bad news is I have to wait for my phone.
After school I made cookies for their snack. I hate to say it but it was easier than coming up with a healthy option other than apples (40 lbs on my counter). D was bummed he couldn't play with a friend from school (he's not quite catching on to the fact that far away friends are hard to have... when things get crazy this mom likes to say, "Okay, it's time to go home.") I did M's hair, finished her friend's duct tape bag and left for swim. I thought T's swim was at one location today and he informed me as we drove that I was wrong. Well, I only had so many options. I didn't have the info and I knew if he went to one location there would for sure be swimmers and if he went to his normal location there would only be swimmers if he was right. So I trusted myself knowing that he could always swim with the other half of the team.
I dropped him off and headed out to run an errand. When I arrived back I looked for him in his lane. There was no T. I looked in the other lanes.... still no T. I started panicking. Where was he. I ran down and had the pool mom ask his old coach if she had seen him. No siree. I ran to the front desk and asked the boy there check the locker room. My heart was pounding away. You know, little Mikelle we knew in Arizona is always on my mind at times like this and she was 11 when she was kidnapped and never returned. Then I turn around and see him dressed on a bench. Relief and then frustration continued. What the heck T? I guess when he saw that he wasn't supposed to be at that pool that day he just decided he wasn't supposed to swim. I told him to go and get dressed and head out there he had 20 minutes. I still wasn't angry at him. I mean, he's 8 and what would an 8 year old think? But I was frustrated. So he goes out there and they don't let him in his old lane. I thought maybe he was in trouble. When he was done I asked him what was up because he ended up swimming in the second lane for his just over 15 minutes of practice. I guess when we moved pools T had just passed into the next level up and it didn't get communicated to anyone. So he's in a faster group now :)
When we got home the kids started playing while I made dinner. When it was time to clean up, S got really mad and started being destructive. She dumped buckets, ruined other things people were doing. She pretty much just set herself out to be a tornado. Anyway,.... then she wouldn't help clean. And the deal is the basement needs to be cleaned before dinner. Instead she just kept being destructive. So I told her to go down and help clean or she was getting bread and milk for dinner. She didn't go help so I had DH bring her upstairs. I offered her this gigantic roll (I can't remember what kind it is but they are HUGE) and she just went bazerk and starting screaming and kicking. I said so nicely, "Do you want your roll." And what did I get but a defiant NO. So I took her to her room and held her until she could calm down. Then later I took the milk to her. She drank some and was done and went to bed. What do you do? I gave her a consequence before. Help clean or you get bread and milk. That isn't going to kill anyone. DH's dad told me that it was a regular meal when he was a kid. It's not like she didn't have oatmeal for breakfast, soup, apples, and a cookie for lunch and those cookies for snack... But then she refuses the bread. I'm not going to beg her to eat it. She knows I am not going to go back on what I said. It's key to our survival. We don't promise unless we can follow through because then they know we are trustworthy and won't lie. It's been the same way for years and she still thinks she can hit,slap, scratch, head butt, scream, and pinch her way out of it. Anyway... I took her milk after she calmed down. She didn't even want it all.
She's going to get it, right? Today I felt deflated. I just keep trying and trying and it seems that so often it's just because. It's the right thing to do I know. You keep working even when it's really hard. But it's tricky to work when the pay seems so far away. Anyway, I look forward to seeing if she's ready to be happy tomorrow. It'll be tested after school. She has one big mess to work on in the basement. I might be willing to help if she can control herself and not turn into another screaming tornado.
M had a bad day at school. Her class is in trouble frequently at school. I hate to say it but at her age, that is the norm. There are always rotten preteens. It just really hurts her to be in trouble as a group so much when she is generally a really awesome kid.
So tomorrow we try again. I have to work in S's class in the morning. It's a good thing to have to serve the one who is pushing your buttons. Sometimes there is a breakthrough when that happens. I'll do my best. I locked her stuff in her closet so I know she won't ruin it tonight and be so sad tomorrow. She can really be delightful at times. People are drawn to her. They really like her sense of humor and funny ideas.
And now I get to sleep. I have to prepare for tomorrow. I have some chia seeds that I am going to try to make pudding with. It might be horrible but at least it'll be healthy. ;)
T woke up this morning with a tummy ache. I figured the boy was probably hungry or that he just did NOT want to do his practicing. But then again, a stomach bug has been going around and good moms don't generally send things kids off to school when they might barf at any minute. So I had him eat and then had him stay home as the other kids left.
It turns out he was just fine. He also asked me if listening to church yesterday counted toward his 'reading minutes' for the class literacy competition. WHAT? I guess the person in charge said if someone was reading to you it could be counted. Sorry buddy. Church doesn't count.
Anyway... once he felt fine I took him to school.
Later that day, after S got home I took my two girls plus cute little neighbor girl to Walmart to buy more duct tape (I still had two bags left to finish up from the birthday party). I told the kids before we went in that, no I wasn't buying treats nor was I buying them lunch inside. But if they were good I would give them a piece of gum when we got back to the car. S started having problems immediately. She got her warning and then just wouldn't obey. Defiance was everywhere. Come on kid, I just want to buy some duct tape. I couldn't pass up some great clearance and got each of the girls (including little neighbor girl) and outfit. They were cute and in the right price range. But in the end, no one got gum. The funny thing was C knew it. While I was paying she was spinning the bag holder thing for the register behind us. I told her to stop and she didn't obey. So I told her to go sit on a bench. She says, "Now I don't get any gum." (sob sob) We got to the car and S asked for her gum. She knew she shouldn't get it but she thought she'd give it a try. More grouchiness...
Then home with more fits, stomping, storming off..... the list goes on. I made them lunch, let them eat, and then sent them to play.
During play time I tried to sort out details on my new phone. When I tried to order it some funky things happened and I wasn't sure it went through. So I called the CC company to verify and yes something did go through. Then there was that tiny (NOT) blizzard last week and that caused issues with their customer service and no one was available. So finally today I called... yep, order never went through and it was off my CC. The good news is now I have replace my order and everything went through as it should have. The bad news is I have to wait for my phone.
After school I made cookies for their snack. I hate to say it but it was easier than coming up with a healthy option other than apples (40 lbs on my counter). D was bummed he couldn't play with a friend from school (he's not quite catching on to the fact that far away friends are hard to have... when things get crazy this mom likes to say, "Okay, it's time to go home.") I did M's hair, finished her friend's duct tape bag and left for swim. I thought T's swim was at one location today and he informed me as we drove that I was wrong. Well, I only had so many options. I didn't have the info and I knew if he went to one location there would for sure be swimmers and if he went to his normal location there would only be swimmers if he was right. So I trusted myself knowing that he could always swim with the other half of the team.
I dropped him off and headed out to run an errand. When I arrived back I looked for him in his lane. There was no T. I looked in the other lanes.... still no T. I started panicking. Where was he. I ran down and had the pool mom ask his old coach if she had seen him. No siree. I ran to the front desk and asked the boy there check the locker room. My heart was pounding away. You know, little Mikelle we knew in Arizona is always on my mind at times like this and she was 11 when she was kidnapped and never returned. Then I turn around and see him dressed on a bench. Relief and then frustration continued. What the heck T? I guess when he saw that he wasn't supposed to be at that pool that day he just decided he wasn't supposed to swim. I told him to go and get dressed and head out there he had 20 minutes. I still wasn't angry at him. I mean, he's 8 and what would an 8 year old think? But I was frustrated. So he goes out there and they don't let him in his old lane. I thought maybe he was in trouble. When he was done I asked him what was up because he ended up swimming in the second lane for his just over 15 minutes of practice. I guess when we moved pools T had just passed into the next level up and it didn't get communicated to anyone. So he's in a faster group now :)
When we got home the kids started playing while I made dinner. When it was time to clean up, S got really mad and started being destructive. She dumped buckets, ruined other things people were doing. She pretty much just set herself out to be a tornado. Anyway,.... then she wouldn't help clean. And the deal is the basement needs to be cleaned before dinner. Instead she just kept being destructive. So I told her to go down and help clean or she was getting bread and milk for dinner. She didn't go help so I had DH bring her upstairs. I offered her this gigantic roll (I can't remember what kind it is but they are HUGE) and she just went bazerk and starting screaming and kicking. I said so nicely, "Do you want your roll." And what did I get but a defiant NO. So I took her to her room and held her until she could calm down. Then later I took the milk to her. She drank some and was done and went to bed. What do you do? I gave her a consequence before. Help clean or you get bread and milk. That isn't going to kill anyone. DH's dad told me that it was a regular meal when he was a kid. It's not like she didn't have oatmeal for breakfast, soup, apples, and a cookie for lunch and those cookies for snack... But then she refuses the bread. I'm not going to beg her to eat it. She knows I am not going to go back on what I said. It's key to our survival. We don't promise unless we can follow through because then they know we are trustworthy and won't lie. It's been the same way for years and she still thinks she can hit,slap, scratch, head butt, scream, and pinch her way out of it. Anyway... I took her milk after she calmed down. She didn't even want it all.
She's going to get it, right? Today I felt deflated. I just keep trying and trying and it seems that so often it's just because. It's the right thing to do I know. You keep working even when it's really hard. But it's tricky to work when the pay seems so far away. Anyway, I look forward to seeing if she's ready to be happy tomorrow. It'll be tested after school. She has one big mess to work on in the basement. I might be willing to help if she can control herself and not turn into another screaming tornado.
M had a bad day at school. Her class is in trouble frequently at school. I hate to say it but at her age, that is the norm. There are always rotten preteens. It just really hurts her to be in trouble as a group so much when she is generally a really awesome kid.
So tomorrow we try again. I have to work in S's class in the morning. It's a good thing to have to serve the one who is pushing your buttons. Sometimes there is a breakthrough when that happens. I'll do my best. I locked her stuff in her closet so I know she won't ruin it tonight and be so sad tomorrow. She can really be delightful at times. People are drawn to her. They really like her sense of humor and funny ideas.
And now I get to sleep. I have to prepare for tomorrow. I have some chia seeds that I am going to try to make pudding with. It might be horrible but at least it'll be healthy. ;)
Friday, February 4, 2011
Boy am I behind?
I have thought about blogging over the course of the last month and just haven't found the time to do it. It seems that there are always dishes to be done or another load of laundry. I've also been trying to do better about taking my C time after the kids leave for school. She has a list of books ready to read just about every day.
Christmas was really great this year. We couldn't believe how nice it was. There wasn't a bunch of fighting. Everyone seemed pleased with his or her stuff. DH and I just kept saying how surprised we were that it was so calm.
Of course, it didn't last as there was too much of a break in routine. And in our family routine means everything. But I'll treasure how nice that Christmas day was.
The update of the last month....
M- She turned 11. We had a birthday party were the girls all made bags out of duct tape. It was quite a fiasco. As you can imagine, duct tape was sticking to itself and then kept getting put into the junk pile. Thankfully we had a neighbor who had one extra 55 yd roll of black. He saved the day as we went through our 14 roles too quickly. M also auditioned for a ballet program that is in New England. We did it just for the experience never thinking she would get in. Today she got an acceptance letter. YIKES! I can't send my 11 year old to New England by herself for 2 weeks. And of course, it's super expensive as well. She also finally taped her submission for Suzuki graduation. She might have to redo the Vivaldi as she played it at 120 instead of 80 something. I don't know how she got her fingers moving that quickly as the song is already really fast. Her teacher really wants her to do a Suzuki program for a week in the summer. I'm thinking we'll try for a scholarship and see how it goes. I want her to have chances at so many things but I would like to do it without breaking the bank.
T- He's been a busy boy with both swimming and basketball. He's had two swim meets where he got faster times. Basketball has also been a learning experience for both of us. I am just so clueless and have done nothing to teach him about 'real' playing. Luckily, his coach, also a neighbor, is doing a good job and he is finally looking like he knows what he is doing part of the time. He's the team's tallest kid so it's his job to get rebounds. He's on a grade level team so he's also one of the youngest kids out there as he barely makes the deadline. He had a bit of a rough time getting his act together when he went back to school. Luckily he got motivated quickly by his piggy pillow pet to not mess around at school. Once again, we don't do well when our structure changes. One night this week I left to go to the store and gave him the get your spelling homework done lecture. He didn't want to do it and I was sick of trying to force him to do it at the end of the week. When I got home, he surprised me with a huge grin and the entire packet done. I was so proud of him.
D- He loved the break but I think he's happiest back in his school element. He's trying to write the longest fractured fairy tales in his class right now. He has really been loving scouts. He finished his bobcat tasks and should receive it next week. He's super thrilled about that. His reading has also taken off. He really likes to read now and is into any mystery book he can find. We are still trying to find a good close friend for D. He has one friend from school who he is always wanting to invite over. We tried twice during the break and he wasn't home either time. It's hard because there just isn't a ton of time during regular school time to invite friends over who don't live close. He's been doing a pretty good job of getting control over his meltdowns too. And as a mom, I am learning better how to deal with them. We have to cut these puppies off and get rid of the conversation quickly. Conversation does NOT help a tornado of a meltdown. It just fuels it. D is still super happy at dance and recently asked me when he can go on So You Think You Can Dance. I told him it's going to be a few years.
S- We've had a hard time keeping S stable since Christmas. That break in routine is just really hard on her. She has had some happy times but it seems like we are going back and forth a lot. She has been improving a bunch on her reading. She really surprises me sometimes with the things she figures out. She has been loving her 'American' girl doll and has taken her with us so many places. She went skiing once already and had a lesson. She is still liking that. Her teacher at school changed and that could also be contributing to some of the chaos in her mind. She likes her new teacher. But change and S don't go together very well without consequences. Her teacher was really struggling with her at first. One time she told her that if she didn't complete a task she was going to have to stay back from the first five minutes of PE. S said, "That's okay. I didn't really want to go to PE." But I've drilled it into her that she pretty much has to do her school work whether she want to or not. But she has been in and out of it. There's only so much I can do. Yesterday was one of the more tricky days again. She started throwing a fit while practicing and it ended with her violin being tossed to the ground again. (Didn't this just happen in Dec.?) I so wanted to scream, but instead told her to go 'strong sit' (criss cross apple sauce folded arms tall back) to try to get control of her body. Once she was done I told her I felt bad because she wasn't going to be able to have a lesson that day as I couldn't let her touch her violin that day. I cleaned her room that day while she was at school and did some things that had been bothering her. Then later, when she got home from school I told her I felt so sad for her because Heavenly Father gave her this great musical talent and she can't develop it if she ruins her instrument. We had a little conversation about how she was made so special and I left it at that. She was remorseful then it seemed but she went back and forth between that and defiant all day. I even got my first, "You're not my real mom." It sort of hurts, but not like I thought it would. I just think of how much time and effort I put into things. She has no idea how much it takes. The mom is the one who does the work. I hope someday she realizes that and well, if she doesn't then I'll count the blessing I got trying to figure this all out myself. Luckily, bedtime came. And today, well, it was a bit better :)
C- She has been so funny lately. In the car the other day she said, "When I am mom I am going to have a big butt." Hmm... why dear darling I asked... okay... maybe not that nicely. "Because you have a really big butt." NICE kiddo. Another day she grabbed my face tenderly and said, "Mom, you are weally pwetty..... (pause pause as I think she's so precious) pwetty weird." She has an agenda for every day it seems and it often includes cutting things into small pieces. She hates ponytails these days and wants her hair down everyday (which means tangles galore!) and tries to wear the same sparkly skirt and sequined shirt. She is always wanting to eat and I don't think it's associated with hunger. The second the kids leave and she feels even a tiny bit of boredom, she wants a snack. She told me one day, "But for breakfast I had sugar (it was cereal day) and sugar doesn't feel your belly up. " That's what I tell her when I don't want her eating sugar. She totally used it on me. She's super into spelling things lately. I find papers all over covered with letters (and then of course cut up).
DH- He had the big 40 birthday. Work is busy of course. What else? He's still into listening to Guntalk on the radio. But since work has recommenced after the holiday it seems like his new found interest is slowing down. He's taken the kids all to the mountains (well tomorrow is C's first time).
Me- I aged as well. Now my age is finally catching up to how old I have felt for over a decade :) I actually have spent most of the past 2 months fighting colds. I think I am just about over this last one and hopefully I am set for the next bit. I wish I could come up with something fantastic to say that I have done but there just isn't a whole heck of a lot. It's been the same things over and over. But that's motherhood half the time I guess.
It has been FREEZING lately. (I really mean it... like sub 0 in the morning. ) The nice side in me has decided to take the kiddos to school :) I think we are all feeling a little cooped up though.
And I think that catches us up somewhat. Life just keeps moving forward and I think we are learning things that will hopefully make us better.
Christmas was really great this year. We couldn't believe how nice it was. There wasn't a bunch of fighting. Everyone seemed pleased with his or her stuff. DH and I just kept saying how surprised we were that it was so calm.
Of course, it didn't last as there was too much of a break in routine. And in our family routine means everything. But I'll treasure how nice that Christmas day was.
The update of the last month....
M- She turned 11. We had a birthday party were the girls all made bags out of duct tape. It was quite a fiasco. As you can imagine, duct tape was sticking to itself and then kept getting put into the junk pile. Thankfully we had a neighbor who had one extra 55 yd roll of black. He saved the day as we went through our 14 roles too quickly. M also auditioned for a ballet program that is in New England. We did it just for the experience never thinking she would get in. Today she got an acceptance letter. YIKES! I can't send my 11 year old to New England by herself for 2 weeks. And of course, it's super expensive as well. She also finally taped her submission for Suzuki graduation. She might have to redo the Vivaldi as she played it at 120 instead of 80 something. I don't know how she got her fingers moving that quickly as the song is already really fast. Her teacher really wants her to do a Suzuki program for a week in the summer. I'm thinking we'll try for a scholarship and see how it goes. I want her to have chances at so many things but I would like to do it without breaking the bank.
T- He's been a busy boy with both swimming and basketball. He's had two swim meets where he got faster times. Basketball has also been a learning experience for both of us. I am just so clueless and have done nothing to teach him about 'real' playing. Luckily, his coach, also a neighbor, is doing a good job and he is finally looking like he knows what he is doing part of the time. He's the team's tallest kid so it's his job to get rebounds. He's on a grade level team so he's also one of the youngest kids out there as he barely makes the deadline. He had a bit of a rough time getting his act together when he went back to school. Luckily he got motivated quickly by his piggy pillow pet to not mess around at school. Once again, we don't do well when our structure changes. One night this week I left to go to the store and gave him the get your spelling homework done lecture. He didn't want to do it and I was sick of trying to force him to do it at the end of the week. When I got home, he surprised me with a huge grin and the entire packet done. I was so proud of him.
D- He loved the break but I think he's happiest back in his school element. He's trying to write the longest fractured fairy tales in his class right now. He has really been loving scouts. He finished his bobcat tasks and should receive it next week. He's super thrilled about that. His reading has also taken off. He really likes to read now and is into any mystery book he can find. We are still trying to find a good close friend for D. He has one friend from school who he is always wanting to invite over. We tried twice during the break and he wasn't home either time. It's hard because there just isn't a ton of time during regular school time to invite friends over who don't live close. He's been doing a pretty good job of getting control over his meltdowns too. And as a mom, I am learning better how to deal with them. We have to cut these puppies off and get rid of the conversation quickly. Conversation does NOT help a tornado of a meltdown. It just fuels it. D is still super happy at dance and recently asked me when he can go on So You Think You Can Dance. I told him it's going to be a few years.
S- We've had a hard time keeping S stable since Christmas. That break in routine is just really hard on her. She has had some happy times but it seems like we are going back and forth a lot. She has been improving a bunch on her reading. She really surprises me sometimes with the things she figures out. She has been loving her 'American' girl doll and has taken her with us so many places. She went skiing once already and had a lesson. She is still liking that. Her teacher at school changed and that could also be contributing to some of the chaos in her mind. She likes her new teacher. But change and S don't go together very well without consequences. Her teacher was really struggling with her at first. One time she told her that if she didn't complete a task she was going to have to stay back from the first five minutes of PE. S said, "That's okay. I didn't really want to go to PE." But I've drilled it into her that she pretty much has to do her school work whether she want to or not. But she has been in and out of it. There's only so much I can do. Yesterday was one of the more tricky days again. She started throwing a fit while practicing and it ended with her violin being tossed to the ground again. (Didn't this just happen in Dec.?) I so wanted to scream, but instead told her to go 'strong sit' (criss cross apple sauce folded arms tall back) to try to get control of her body. Once she was done I told her I felt bad because she wasn't going to be able to have a lesson that day as I couldn't let her touch her violin that day. I cleaned her room that day while she was at school and did some things that had been bothering her. Then later, when she got home from school I told her I felt so sad for her because Heavenly Father gave her this great musical talent and she can't develop it if she ruins her instrument. We had a little conversation about how she was made so special and I left it at that. She was remorseful then it seemed but she went back and forth between that and defiant all day. I even got my first, "You're not my real mom." It sort of hurts, but not like I thought it would. I just think of how much time and effort I put into things. She has no idea how much it takes. The mom is the one who does the work. I hope someday she realizes that and well, if she doesn't then I'll count the blessing I got trying to figure this all out myself. Luckily, bedtime came. And today, well, it was a bit better :)
C- She has been so funny lately. In the car the other day she said, "When I am mom I am going to have a big butt." Hmm... why dear darling I asked... okay... maybe not that nicely. "Because you have a really big butt." NICE kiddo. Another day she grabbed my face tenderly and said, "Mom, you are weally pwetty..... (pause pause as I think she's so precious) pwetty weird." She has an agenda for every day it seems and it often includes cutting things into small pieces. She hates ponytails these days and wants her hair down everyday (which means tangles galore!) and tries to wear the same sparkly skirt and sequined shirt. She is always wanting to eat and I don't think it's associated with hunger. The second the kids leave and she feels even a tiny bit of boredom, she wants a snack. She told me one day, "But for breakfast I had sugar (it was cereal day) and sugar doesn't feel your belly up. " That's what I tell her when I don't want her eating sugar. She totally used it on me. She's super into spelling things lately. I find papers all over covered with letters (and then of course cut up).
DH- He had the big 40 birthday. Work is busy of course. What else? He's still into listening to Guntalk on the radio. But since work has recommenced after the holiday it seems like his new found interest is slowing down. He's taken the kids all to the mountains (well tomorrow is C's first time).
Me- I aged as well. Now my age is finally catching up to how old I have felt for over a decade :) I actually have spent most of the past 2 months fighting colds. I think I am just about over this last one and hopefully I am set for the next bit. I wish I could come up with something fantastic to say that I have done but there just isn't a whole heck of a lot. It's been the same things over and over. But that's motherhood half the time I guess.
It has been FREEZING lately. (I really mean it... like sub 0 in the morning. ) The nice side in me has decided to take the kiddos to school :) I think we are all feeling a little cooped up though.
And I think that catches us up somewhat. Life just keeps moving forward and I think we are learning things that will hopefully make us better.
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