Went to Quizno's after 6:30 last night, so it was dark. We saw about 10 deer over at the Baptist church, so we pulled into the parking lot to take a closer look at them. They cooperated by running, but not too far, so the kids got a good look. I was suprised at how many there were so close to our house. I guess that explains what happened to all our roses last spring...
Mikey asked, in the car, "do you think Santa is nocturnal?" We discussed the difference btn a species being nocturnal and a person having a night job! Do he and the elves make toys during the day or at night, hmm?
Caroline had something to say on the way home and so called out "excuse me, may I have everyone's intentions?" So we gave her our full intentions.
Dinner and then quite a few games of Tetris with Mikey. Last year, he couldn't play hardly at all, but he's really starting to get it. I almost threw the controller at Papa when he started "helping" me by telling me where pieces should go. When I think of all the hours, days, weeks I've played that game...whew. I tried to explain to Mikey what it was like Back in the Day when we didn't have the choices of endless games on endless websites and we just had one or two games to choose from. Not sure he can even comprehend such a dark and dismal world, lol.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Too Quiet
It is now officially too quiet. I'd expected us to be busy enough, with ballet and gymnastics for C and gymnastics, TKD and the drama class for Mikey. Unfortunately, the drama class got canceled and gymnastics is a no-go for now. The Youth Center didn't call me when the class started back up--just like they didn't tell me the class was canceled--and now it's full. Plus, the classes are Tuesday or Thursday. We couldn't make it on Thurs. at all and Tues. would have to be from 4:30-5:30 and then TKD at 6pm or not at all. Mikey's certainly got enough energy to do 2 classes in one evening, but it would be a pain.
I didn't sign the kids up for Kindermusik because of the time and money we were planning on spending on the jewelry making class, drama class and gymnastics. Grrr.
So now I will look into the gymnastics place in town, Cub Scouts, Kindermusik for January, etc. Maybe the creek waters have gone down and we can go to the playground on the creek again without fear the kids will get washed away if they fall in! (yeh, it's not very deep but when you see white water it's hard to let the kids-who-don't-swim play near the edge). And we can try the playgrounds on base and see if Evan plays or just runs for the street constantly.
I've been avoiding the library lately because I got tired of Evan running and yelling the whole time. Plus, I'm still not used to the small-town-everyone-knows-your-name thang. The librarians know us by name which I can't consider a good thing when the kids are always noisy and our DVDs are always late! We can try the county library, but the kids section is NOT in a separate room which means I'll be shushing like crazy. Maybe I'll take Mikey after TKD today...
Mikey is super excited about the Secret Santa at TKD. He just asked again if it's today. No, one month to go, we still have to get a name, try to find out what that person wants, get a gift, etc. He very sweetly checked with Miss R (the teacher) to make sure she was putting her own name in!
Oh, and he finally, FINALLY got to spar. He joined TKD at the end of July and this is the first time he got to do it!!!!! And I missed half of it while doing the Thursday Main St. Shuffle (back and forth on Main St. to drop off C, pick up C and drop off M, take C home and go back to pick up M--not too bad, except for the day the Homecoming parade was on Main St). Still, it was a good thing. Miss R noted that they don't have enough pads for everyone and people are welcome to buy their own, on sale now for $100. Eh, maybe not. Hmm, maybe just the gloves for him to use against me when we spar...those little knuckles can hurt!
I didn't sign the kids up for Kindermusik because of the time and money we were planning on spending on the jewelry making class, drama class and gymnastics. Grrr.
So now I will look into the gymnastics place in town, Cub Scouts, Kindermusik for January, etc. Maybe the creek waters have gone down and we can go to the playground on the creek again without fear the kids will get washed away if they fall in! (yeh, it's not very deep but when you see white water it's hard to let the kids-who-don't-swim play near the edge). And we can try the playgrounds on base and see if Evan plays or just runs for the street constantly.
I've been avoiding the library lately because I got tired of Evan running and yelling the whole time. Plus, I'm still not used to the small-town-everyone-knows-your-name thang. The librarians know us by name which I can't consider a good thing when the kids are always noisy and our DVDs are always late! We can try the county library, but the kids section is NOT in a separate room which means I'll be shushing like crazy. Maybe I'll take Mikey after TKD today...
Mikey is super excited about the Secret Santa at TKD. He just asked again if it's today. No, one month to go, we still have to get a name, try to find out what that person wants, get a gift, etc. He very sweetly checked with Miss R (the teacher) to make sure she was putting her own name in!
Oh, and he finally, FINALLY got to spar. He joined TKD at the end of July and this is the first time he got to do it!!!!! And I missed half of it while doing the Thursday Main St. Shuffle (back and forth on Main St. to drop off C, pick up C and drop off M, take C home and go back to pick up M--not too bad, except for the day the Homecoming parade was on Main St). Still, it was a good thing. Miss R noted that they don't have enough pads for everyone and people are welcome to buy their own, on sale now for $100. Eh, maybe not. Hmm, maybe just the gloves for him to use against me when we spar...those little knuckles can hurt!
Friday, November 09, 2007
Changing Seasons
It's November and it feels like it. I'm seeing numbers like "59" on the thermometer. Of course, that's at night and it goes up to 75 or even 84 today!
The days are shorter and the kids are older. Evan says "let's nuggle, Mommy" and (s)nuggle we do. Mikey is very pleasant to be around. He's doing great at Tae Kwon Do and not bouncing around the room talking during class. He's happily reading chapters of The Lion, the Witch and the Waredrobe with Papa at night. Last night, I got very grumpy and instead of Mikey trying to make it worse, he got super nice and sweet and took care of stuff and tried to help with Even. Suprised me right out of my grumpiness!
Caroline is slowly coming out of the post-illness grumps. It's hard when that lasts for 2-3 weeks. Really hard. I'm finding little ways to connect with her. She got her costume for the Christmas show yesterday: red leotard, red tights and a big Santa hat. She and I oohed and ahhed over EVERYTHING in the Hanna Andersson catalog. We trying to read books together, but Evan jumps in almost every time with his favorite Thomas books.
There shall not be kids other than Evan in Mommy's lap!! Unless Evan specifically gives permission because he has more important things to do...like jumping on the trampoline. Until last week he only ran on it but now the jumping has begun! Changing from a toddler to a kid right before my eyes.
The days are shorter and the kids are older. Evan says "let's nuggle, Mommy" and (s)nuggle we do. Mikey is very pleasant to be around. He's doing great at Tae Kwon Do and not bouncing around the room talking during class. He's happily reading chapters of The Lion, the Witch and the Waredrobe with Papa at night. Last night, I got very grumpy and instead of Mikey trying to make it worse, he got super nice and sweet and took care of stuff and tried to help with Even. Suprised me right out of my grumpiness!
Caroline is slowly coming out of the post-illness grumps. It's hard when that lasts for 2-3 weeks. Really hard. I'm finding little ways to connect with her. She got her costume for the Christmas show yesterday: red leotard, red tights and a big Santa hat. She and I oohed and ahhed over EVERYTHING in the Hanna Andersson catalog. We trying to read books together, but Evan jumps in almost every time with his favorite Thomas books.
There shall not be kids other than Evan in Mommy's lap!! Unless Evan specifically gives permission because he has more important things to do...like jumping on the trampoline. Until last week he only ran on it but now the jumping has begun! Changing from a toddler to a kid right before my eyes.
Saturday, November 03, 2007
Soccer Wrap Up
Today was the last game of the season for the mighty Thunder. They played a great game against a team that had easily beaten them earlier in the season. The game was scoreless until near the end, when the Geo team scored three unanswered points.
Caroline and I took Mikey for the start of the game and Papa brought along Evan during half time. Mikey was on the field ready for the game to start when he noticed everyone was there. He got a laugh from the parents when he yelled "My whole family is here!!"
Evan was in shorts, which was fine at first, but it suddenly got windy and Evan got very snuggly! Right as the game ended, it started to rain. And then it started pouring. Caroline and I were making a tunnel with the other parents and when we finished that I turned back to Papa and Evan to find the little guy holding tight to Caroline's chair and crying his little eyes out because the rain was scaring him! Everyone was heading to the concession stand because it was covered, so I yelled for Caroline to follow number 8 (that would be Mikey) and I scooped up Evan.
At first I tried to get E to let go of the chair, but he was hanging on for dear life, so I was running along laughing at the absurdity of it all. We finanlly made it to the concession stand. Some of the kids, including C, had cut across a field that had a game still going on, but the ball was fortunately out of bounds at the time. When I tried to put Evan down, I found out he was not only clutching the chair, but still holding half a hot dog! No downpour is going to get between that boy and his lunch.
Got to the covered area just in time for the rain to let up. Evan was shivering like crazy, so Papa took him on home while C and I stayed for The Official Post Game Ceremony: kids got medals on ribbons, Coach got a plaque. Then we had pizza. Except for that one kid in the bunch who doesn't like pizza.
I got him a hot dog.
Mikey didn't play much of the game, but was a forward when he was in. He's definitely improved a ton since the beginning of the season. He still looks like he's trying to play the part of a soccer player more than he's really going for the ball. It's tough for a lot of the kids this age to be aggressive. The few kids that are aggressive really control the game.
I enjoyed the soccer season. Lots of 10:30 games, so it wasn't horribly hot and we didn't have to be dressed and out the door at 8:20. I won't miss driving down to the border for the games, though. That road through the industrial park is bumpier than many dirt roads. The bull poking his nose through the fence at the first practice was pretty charming, though.
Now Mikey can get back to Tai Kwon Do 3 days a week and take his yellow belt test in a couple weeks. I still feel bad that I didn't let him take the test in October, but I had this silly idea that he actually had to be able to do all of form 1, like they said. They passed everyone who took the test, even the kids who couldn't make it to step 8 (out of 20) without 3 mistakes. Stupid grade inflation. I've read that TKD is more about making money ($30 per belt test) than the art. Maybe, but I think they just really believe in praising and encouraging the kids. For real accomplishment or just showing up. Not something I like, but overall, the class is really good for him
All the parents know him as the kid who asks questions or interrupts to ask to get water. They all think he's soooo cute. We keep talking about not interrupting and he's getting better. He did 2 full classes on Thursday because he wants make sure he knows all of form 1. Can I just say I love that he want to do it right even though he knows he doesn't have to? Awesome.
Caroline and I took Mikey for the start of the game and Papa brought along Evan during half time. Mikey was on the field ready for the game to start when he noticed everyone was there. He got a laugh from the parents when he yelled "My whole family is here!!"
Evan was in shorts, which was fine at first, but it suddenly got windy and Evan got very snuggly! Right as the game ended, it started to rain. And then it started pouring. Caroline and I were making a tunnel with the other parents and when we finished that I turned back to Papa and Evan to find the little guy holding tight to Caroline's chair and crying his little eyes out because the rain was scaring him! Everyone was heading to the concession stand because it was covered, so I yelled for Caroline to follow number 8 (that would be Mikey) and I scooped up Evan.
At first I tried to get E to let go of the chair, but he was hanging on for dear life, so I was running along laughing at the absurdity of it all. We finanlly made it to the concession stand. Some of the kids, including C, had cut across a field that had a game still going on, but the ball was fortunately out of bounds at the time. When I tried to put Evan down, I found out he was not only clutching the chair, but still holding half a hot dog! No downpour is going to get between that boy and his lunch.
Got to the covered area just in time for the rain to let up. Evan was shivering like crazy, so Papa took him on home while C and I stayed for The Official Post Game Ceremony: kids got medals on ribbons, Coach got a plaque. Then we had pizza. Except for that one kid in the bunch who doesn't like pizza.
I got him a hot dog.
Mikey didn't play much of the game, but was a forward when he was in. He's definitely improved a ton since the beginning of the season. He still looks like he's trying to play the part of a soccer player more than he's really going for the ball. It's tough for a lot of the kids this age to be aggressive. The few kids that are aggressive really control the game.
I enjoyed the soccer season. Lots of 10:30 games, so it wasn't horribly hot and we didn't have to be dressed and out the door at 8:20. I won't miss driving down to the border for the games, though. That road through the industrial park is bumpier than many dirt roads. The bull poking his nose through the fence at the first practice was pretty charming, though.
Now Mikey can get back to Tai Kwon Do 3 days a week and take his yellow belt test in a couple weeks. I still feel bad that I didn't let him take the test in October, but I had this silly idea that he actually had to be able to do all of form 1, like they said. They passed everyone who took the test, even the kids who couldn't make it to step 8 (out of 20) without 3 mistakes. Stupid grade inflation. I've read that TKD is more about making money ($30 per belt test) than the art. Maybe, but I think they just really believe in praising and encouraging the kids. For real accomplishment or just showing up. Not something I like, but overall, the class is really good for him
All the parents know him as the kid who asks questions or interrupts to ask to get water. They all think he's soooo cute. We keep talking about not interrupting and he's getting better. He did 2 full classes on Thursday because he wants make sure he knows all of form 1. Can I just say I love that he want to do it right even though he knows he doesn't have to? Awesome.
Halloween
What a fun evening we had! I was not looking forward to it. It was so overwhelming last year, plus most of us had a cold that had kept us from going to 2 or 3 different Halloween parties.
Evan didn't want to wear either his Pablo the Penguin costume or Mikey's old Thomas costume, so I put him in the double stroller and put Thomas next to him. Off we went, down the street. Mikey and Caroline were both (still) afraid of the decorations at B's (friend from soccer) house, so his mom was kind enought to walk down the driveway to give them the goodies.
It was still light out, so we started off by going to every house, since no one had their lights on! One older woman let the kids take a handful of candy from a bowl and Caroline burst out "I LOVE you!!"
The kids didn't want to stay out long, so we headed home and set up camp in the driveway to hand out candy. Sure was hot this summer, but you just have to love sitting under the palm trees watching the sun go down while it's 70 degrees out. Rough life, doncha know?
The annoying things happened again this year: bumper to bumper cars as people drive along while their kids walk. (Why on earth do that instead of parking and walking around??? Esp. when there's one parent walking with the younger kids and one driving the car.) The kids (pre-teen and teen) with no costumes. Adults taking candy 1) in costume, 2)not in costume and with a tiny baby and 3)sometimes just an adult or two not in costume. Oh, and since Mikey, Car and I were all handing out candy, some kids tried to take some from all of us. At first M and C handed to them, but I said they didn't have to! Just because someone asks for something, doesn't mean they need to get it. So Mikey started saying "You already got some."
Caroline was Snow White and Mikey was Spiderman. We saw lots of those costumes on other people, including a family with one of each! We told 'em they obviously had good taste. The woman was wearing BDU's but hers were much, much shorter than Papa's. (Actually, they were indecent and the glare off her white cheeks was harsh. Children's holiday. CHILDREN. Ah well.)
We had more than 4 GROCERY bags full of candy and it all went by 8:30.
The kids are most of the way through their candy since they didn't get much.
Thursday Caroline and I got a scarecrow for the front yard. It's really cute, but I keep thinking someone's out there. It's lurking, I tell you!
Evan didn't want to wear either his Pablo the Penguin costume or Mikey's old Thomas costume, so I put him in the double stroller and put Thomas next to him. Off we went, down the street. Mikey and Caroline were both (still) afraid of the decorations at B's (friend from soccer) house, so his mom was kind enought to walk down the driveway to give them the goodies.
It was still light out, so we started off by going to every house, since no one had their lights on! One older woman let the kids take a handful of candy from a bowl and Caroline burst out "I LOVE you!!"
The kids didn't want to stay out long, so we headed home and set up camp in the driveway to hand out candy. Sure was hot this summer, but you just have to love sitting under the palm trees watching the sun go down while it's 70 degrees out. Rough life, doncha know?
The annoying things happened again this year: bumper to bumper cars as people drive along while their kids walk. (Why on earth do that instead of parking and walking around??? Esp. when there's one parent walking with the younger kids and one driving the car.) The kids (pre-teen and teen) with no costumes. Adults taking candy 1) in costume, 2)not in costume and with a tiny baby and 3)sometimes just an adult or two not in costume. Oh, and since Mikey, Car and I were all handing out candy, some kids tried to take some from all of us. At first M and C handed to them, but I said they didn't have to! Just because someone asks for something, doesn't mean they need to get it. So Mikey started saying "You already got some."
Caroline was Snow White and Mikey was Spiderman. We saw lots of those costumes on other people, including a family with one of each! We told 'em they obviously had good taste. The woman was wearing BDU's but hers were much, much shorter than Papa's. (Actually, they were indecent and the glare off her white cheeks was harsh. Children's holiday. CHILDREN. Ah well.)
We had more than 4 GROCERY bags full of candy and it all went by 8:30.
The kids are most of the way through their candy since they didn't get much.
Thursday Caroline and I got a scarecrow for the front yard. It's really cute, but I keep thinking someone's out there. It's lurking, I tell you!
Monday, October 08, 2007
Whew
Well, seven days after it went missing, we found Mikey's brand new Leapster. I was starting to get worried; it was not cheap. He'd put it in a good place so Evan wouldn't play with it.
E and C are almost well. They actually ran around yesterday without much coughing. That was a nasty cold. Papa still has it, but is improving also.
Evan has a new trick. He pulls...something...out of his diaper and then stares in glee at it. Pulls his shirt up, looks at it, tucks it back in the diaper, repeats. Boys and their toys, huh?
Still hot here. Highs in the upper 80s and hitting 90. Glad only one of Mikey's soccer games was at noon. That was brutal.
The soccer team lost again. Mikey I think was playing the part of a soccer player. He knows how the game works and runs to almost the right place, but tries to stay just out of reach of actually taking the ball away from the other team! Sometimes he does get in there and get the ball, but it's about one out of every 5 opportunities. The other team played rough. First time I've seen elbows flying and pushing like that.
Ah, the Halloween decorations have come out of hiding. Halloween is scary here. Last year we went T 'n T-ing on base. When we drove home, it took 10 minutes to drive the last 3 blocks because of bumper to bumper traffic. A good portion of the kids don't even bother with costumes, esp. the teenagers. It's hard to enjoy giving candy to people without costumes.
E and C are almost well. They actually ran around yesterday without much coughing. That was a nasty cold. Papa still has it, but is improving also.
Evan has a new trick. He pulls...something...out of his diaper and then stares in glee at it. Pulls his shirt up, looks at it, tucks it back in the diaper, repeats. Boys and their toys, huh?
Still hot here. Highs in the upper 80s and hitting 90. Glad only one of Mikey's soccer games was at noon. That was brutal.
The soccer team lost again. Mikey I think was playing the part of a soccer player. He knows how the game works and runs to almost the right place, but tries to stay just out of reach of actually taking the ball away from the other team! Sometimes he does get in there and get the ball, but it's about one out of every 5 opportunities. The other team played rough. First time I've seen elbows flying and pushing like that.
Ah, the Halloween decorations have come out of hiding. Halloween is scary here. Last year we went T 'n T-ing on base. When we drove home, it took 10 minutes to drive the last 3 blocks because of bumper to bumper traffic. A good portion of the kids don't even bother with costumes, esp. the teenagers. It's hard to enjoy giving candy to people without costumes.
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Bday #7
It was an interesting day. First Mikey woke up at 4:30 and watched tv by himself before Papa woke up at 5:30. Everything was great and wonderful...for a while. Then he wanted his presents. I tried to dole them out slowly, but that didn't work. He started off saying he wanted cake and presents and party games in the evening. Great, I explained the cake would be ready at 3pm, Papa would be home around 5pm, etc. Then he wanted the presents earlier and he kept asking for the cake NOW and talking about having friends come over.
I'm truly worried about how he kept insisting people were coming over, despite the fact that they weren't. He wouldn't go to the auditon and I tried really, really hard to change his mind. Usually I don't push an issue like this--it's his choice and trying to change his mind will just make him dig his heels in. But he misses having friends who come over, so I talked a bunch about how it would be a great chance to see people he already knows and maybe meet new people. He just insists that he has plenty of friends and that's that.
(Now this morning he is talking about how maybe Tutu is bringing a present for him despite several conversations about it coming in the mail. I'm not sure how to handle this...)
The day was saved by the mail! I checked the mail and he had two cards with $$. So we picked up the cake and he spent about half his slush fund on 3 toys. He only picked out two and then was happy! I thought we'd be there for a long time while he tried to spend all the money. I reminded him of one other toy he'd been asking for, so we grabbed that too.
We tried to look at Halloween costumes for him. I wanted to take a quick look at the decorations to see if there was anything we could get. Unfortunately, there was a life-sized mummy that made scary noises when we walked by. Mikey and Caroline started screaming and crying. I shouldn't have laughed. It was wrong. But they were screaming at the top of their lungs and crying and nobody noticed at all because it sounded like all the Halloween noise makers! I was pulling them to safety while laughing, so I'm not all bad.
Dinner and cake was great. I got over my funk at him skipping the audition. He'll go to Tae Kwon Do and soccer this week and we'll just keep rolling along.
I'm truly worried about how he kept insisting people were coming over, despite the fact that they weren't. He wouldn't go to the auditon and I tried really, really hard to change his mind. Usually I don't push an issue like this--it's his choice and trying to change his mind will just make him dig his heels in. But he misses having friends who come over, so I talked a bunch about how it would be a great chance to see people he already knows and maybe meet new people. He just insists that he has plenty of friends and that's that.
(Now this morning he is talking about how maybe Tutu is bringing a present for him despite several conversations about it coming in the mail. I'm not sure how to handle this...)
The day was saved by the mail! I checked the mail and he had two cards with $$. So we picked up the cake and he spent about half his slush fund on 3 toys. He only picked out two and then was happy! I thought we'd be there for a long time while he tried to spend all the money. I reminded him of one other toy he'd been asking for, so we grabbed that too.
We tried to look at Halloween costumes for him. I wanted to take a quick look at the decorations to see if there was anything we could get. Unfortunately, there was a life-sized mummy that made scary noises when we walked by. Mikey and Caroline started screaming and crying. I shouldn't have laughed. It was wrong. But they were screaming at the top of their lungs and crying and nobody noticed at all because it sounded like all the Halloween noise makers! I was pulling them to safety while laughing, so I'm not all bad.
Dinner and cake was great. I got over my funk at him skipping the audition. He'll go to Tae Kwon Do and soccer this week and we'll just keep rolling along.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Caroline in September
She is quite the artist. She's drawing pictures of animals...and asking me to do the same. I keep biting my lip to stop from saying "I can't do it, I'm no good at drawing!" It's true, but being afraid to try something I'm not good at...not the kind of example I'm trying to set!
She is learning the sounds that letters make and how to write letters and numbers. Papa bought a Princess thingie that has addition and subraction flash cards and a workbook, plus a reading workbook. She's doing great at the math. We're reading the stories together and she's pretty vague on the questions about what happened and who did it.
It's so different working with her. She'll happily sit down and work with me for 45 minutes. Lots of times she gets distracted and I ask if she wants to go on. Yes, please and on we go.
She's coming out of dance class happy, but then when I ask her about class, she complains about different things. Then the next day, she's happily doing her dances around the house. I don't know what to think. She's excited about going, she's amazing at how well she does the dances already. So much expression. Not the least bit hesitant, just like Mikey with sparing: this is what I am ready to do and watch me go!
Caroline has been saying she's bored a lot. I'm not sure how to respond. We've been doing crafts more and that's been great. All the stuff I tried to do in the past and had go so badly, now we can just do. Mikey and Evan join it at their own level and leave when they want and it just flows nicely.
I'm going to make an effort to read more with her. She likes it, but doesn't ask much and I have not been suggesting it much lately. (We seem to either be going all out or resting, with not much in between.)
I love how she'll ask for the meaning of words or phrases. She wants a long, thorough definition. (She is sooooo related to her Papa!!)
She is learning the sounds that letters make and how to write letters and numbers. Papa bought a Princess thingie that has addition and subraction flash cards and a workbook, plus a reading workbook. She's doing great at the math. We're reading the stories together and she's pretty vague on the questions about what happened and who did it.
It's so different working with her. She'll happily sit down and work with me for 45 minutes. Lots of times she gets distracted and I ask if she wants to go on. Yes, please and on we go.
She's coming out of dance class happy, but then when I ask her about class, she complains about different things. Then the next day, she's happily doing her dances around the house. I don't know what to think. She's excited about going, she's amazing at how well she does the dances already. So much expression. Not the least bit hesitant, just like Mikey with sparing: this is what I am ready to do and watch me go!
Caroline has been saying she's bored a lot. I'm not sure how to respond. We've been doing crafts more and that's been great. All the stuff I tried to do in the past and had go so badly, now we can just do. Mikey and Evan join it at their own level and leave when they want and it just flows nicely.
I'm going to make an effort to read more with her. She likes it, but doesn't ask much and I have not been suggesting it much lately. (We seem to either be going all out or resting, with not much in between.)
I love how she'll ask for the meaning of words or phrases. She wants a long, thorough definition. (She is sooooo related to her Papa!!)
Stomp, Stomp Like a Fairy
That is what Caroline has been singing, having learned it at dance class.
Or so we thought.
Turns out it's the Strawberry Shortcake theme song: "Straw- b-b-b-b-berry..."
I like her version better.
The Thunder won the soccer game! They only had 6 players, so they had to play the entire game. Mikey was on defense the first half. At half time, he asked the coach to play offense. We were all suprised, but Coach said, "if you want to, you can". He did okay. He ran to the right places, got the ball sometimes. He still hesitates to go for the ball when the other team has it. I tried to talk to him about it afterwards, but he just started arguing. I said we won't talk about it if you don't want to and left it alone. He knows what he's doing in the game and eventually he'll get more aggressive and/or be ready to talk about it.
Evan is still sick, but in a good mood this morning. I'm sick but frightened by the state of the house, so I'm going to push myself to clean.
Auditions tomorrow afternoon. Here's hoping...
Or so we thought.
Turns out it's the Strawberry Shortcake theme song: "Straw- b-b-b-b-berry..."
I like her version better.
The Thunder won the soccer game! They only had 6 players, so they had to play the entire game. Mikey was on defense the first half. At half time, he asked the coach to play offense. We were all suprised, but Coach said, "if you want to, you can". He did okay. He ran to the right places, got the ball sometimes. He still hesitates to go for the ball when the other team has it. I tried to talk to him about it afterwards, but he just started arguing. I said we won't talk about it if you don't want to and left it alone. He knows what he's doing in the game and eventually he'll get more aggressive and/or be ready to talk about it.
Evan is still sick, but in a good mood this morning. I'm sick but frightened by the state of the house, so I'm going to push myself to clean.
Auditions tomorrow afternoon. Here's hoping...
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Thursday and Thursday
Well, at least soccer is back to Wednesday nights. T0day we just have to get C to ballet, Mikey to TKD and meet up with someone who's going to take my old double stroller. She has 3 mo. old twins, so it will be used.
Mikey did great at TKD and soccer this week. His team is finally learning the pieces of the game--passing and moving toward the goal--that the other teams seemed to know already. I don't know what to think. I'm glad that the coach isn't strict and I understand he coaches another team, so it would be hard to have 2 practices a week...BUT I don't think Mikey and the other kids enjoy the games as much when the other teams can beat them so easily. For 6-8 year olds, 1 vs. 3 hours of practice per week can really make a difference.
Tomorrow starts off the Mikey Birthday Extravaganza Week with a picnic on base...
Evan is napping after waking up in the night with an awful sounding cough. I think it's allergies, because I'm feeling it, too.
Mikey did great at TKD and soccer this week. His team is finally learning the pieces of the game--passing and moving toward the goal--that the other teams seemed to know already. I don't know what to think. I'm glad that the coach isn't strict and I understand he coaches another team, so it would be hard to have 2 practices a week...BUT I don't think Mikey and the other kids enjoy the games as much when the other teams can beat them so easily. For 6-8 year olds, 1 vs. 3 hours of practice per week can really make a difference.
Tomorrow starts off the Mikey Birthday Extravaganza Week with a picnic on base...
Evan is napping after waking up in the night with an awful sounding cough. I think it's allergies, because I'm feeling it, too.
Friday, September 21, 2007
Mommy, I stopped crying
Almost every time Evan starts to feel better after an upset, he explains (in a suprised but pleased tone) to me that he has stopped crying. I tell him I'm glad he's feeling better, he smiles and nods and we move on. It's a good ritual.
Quiet day today after ballet, Tae Kwon Do and soccer last night. I didn't get back to TKD until after class had ended and found Mikey outside crying. Ugh. I thought we'd had the "stay inside until I get there" talk, but I'd only been telling Caroline that repeadly. Mikey "explained" that he went outside because he just didn't know if it was going to be a long time until I got there.
TKD had belt tests last night, but Mikey wasn't ready. He's been very nervous about going to class, worrying about the belt test, then Tues. he decided he wanted to take the test and then Thurs. we agreed that he wasn't ready yet. I'd wanted him to watch the test, but that didn't work out. He's still disapointed that there's been no real sparing since he started.
Evan is speaking in full sentences as of yesterday! Not all the time and he is still hard to understand, but wow! "Mommy, I see the garbage truck." Once again, he woke up quietly and started wandering the house. I heard footsteps, assumed they were Mikey's and 3 minutes later heard a whimper and found Evan in the bathroom, scared. Last time he was sitting in the dining room crying.
Quiet day today after ballet, Tae Kwon Do and soccer last night. I didn't get back to TKD until after class had ended and found Mikey outside crying. Ugh. I thought we'd had the "stay inside until I get there" talk, but I'd only been telling Caroline that repeadly. Mikey "explained" that he went outside because he just didn't know if it was going to be a long time until I got there.
TKD had belt tests last night, but Mikey wasn't ready. He's been very nervous about going to class, worrying about the belt test, then Tues. he decided he wanted to take the test and then Thurs. we agreed that he wasn't ready yet. I'd wanted him to watch the test, but that didn't work out. He's still disapointed that there's been no real sparing since he started.
Evan is speaking in full sentences as of yesterday! Not all the time and he is still hard to understand, but wow! "Mommy, I see the garbage truck." Once again, he woke up quietly and started wandering the house. I heard footsteps, assumed they were Mikey's and 3 minutes later heard a whimper and found Evan in the bathroom, scared. Last time he was sitting in the dining room crying.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Hello again
Two days in a row now of not being sick and having air conditioning! For the first time in almost a month, I'm raring to go and getting things done. What a nice change.
Evan had a much better night, at least partly because I slept beside him the whole night. He started to fuss a couple times, but I didn't need to get up with him at all. That's good. He still was very upset when Papa left the house today. I think he'd like it if the whole family spent a couple days in the same room! I'm trying to get as close to that as possible...We need to rest up before next week anyway, what with soccer camp, swim lessons and gymnastics on the schedule.
For soccer camp, I'm supposed to review some topics with Mikey to prep him for class. I think I'll print out the list and go from there. Need to refresh the British trivia questions, too! Here's hoping it doesn't rain much between now and next Friday so that the kids aren't playing in a swamp.
Evan had a much better night, at least partly because I slept beside him the whole night. He started to fuss a couple times, but I didn't need to get up with him at all. That's good. He still was very upset when Papa left the house today. I think he'd like it if the whole family spent a couple days in the same room! I'm trying to get as close to that as possible...We need to rest up before next week anyway, what with soccer camp, swim lessons and gymnastics on the schedule.
For soccer camp, I'm supposed to review some topics with Mikey to prep him for class. I think I'll print out the list and go from there. Need to refresh the British trivia questions, too! Here's hoping it doesn't rain much between now and next Friday so that the kids aren't playing in a swamp.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Vet
Survived going to the vet. Only trama was after we got home and Evan stuck his head in the kennel. That was fine, it was getting it back out that wasn't so easy.
He let out the most amazing squeal of delight when a puppy came in. The tech had taken a puppy out for a walk and Evan saw them come back in. She came back out to comment on how happy Evan had been and said that she would have let them play, but the pup was sick.
He let out the most amazing squeal of delight when a puppy came in. The tech had taken a puppy out for a walk and Evan saw them come back in. She came back out to comment on how happy Evan had been and said that she would have let them play, but the pup was sick.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Dentist
Really not fun.
Evan was cranky the whole time. Caroline was fussy. Kids have cavities. Dentist has no appointments before the end of March, so we have to wait. Don't know when we'll get back here, so can't schedule something now. We were there for almost two hours. They aren't organized. Spent 15 minutes getting a prescription ready for Mikey in between x-rays and cleaning his teeth! And so on.
Tomorrow, the vet! Trying to get a babysitter. Would be nice if someone answered my emails, but, no.
All set for going to San Antonio on Friday!
Evan was cranky the whole time. Caroline was fussy. Kids have cavities. Dentist has no appointments before the end of March, so we have to wait. Don't know when we'll get back here, so can't schedule something now. We were there for almost two hours. They aren't organized. Spent 15 minutes getting a prescription ready for Mikey in between x-rays and cleaning his teeth! And so on.
Tomorrow, the vet! Trying to get a babysitter. Would be nice if someone answered my emails, but, no.
All set for going to San Antonio on Friday!
Monday, February 26, 2007
Take my day...please
Ack.
Plan was to get out early, go take care of the car regestration renewal and then go to the playground at the Fam Camp.
Needed to do the reg in person because they were only kidding about being able to do it online and if you want to mail it in, you need to get it to them 15 days before the due date. Cuz everybody looks for small print that says the deadline isn't the deadline.
Okay, I'm feeling paranoid so I fight through 17 web pages to make sure I'm supposed to go to the same place I got my driver's license. Good thing, because it's a completely different place. The county tax office!
The kids aren't cooperating so it takes a major meltdown and a lot of time before we get out the door. And guess what? Once again, the automatic door has decided that closing all the way is BORING and is open a crack. Yes, I should have checked the door open light, but sometimes I'm carrying in a lot and only check the doors I opened and closed.
Evan was heartbroken that we had to come back in the house. Since I couldn't sleep last night and had a full list of things to do today, I burst into tears. Mikey and Car decided that the best thing to do was to keep yelling at me to go get the neighbor who had helped us before.
After about 20 minutes, Evan calmed down and I called AAA. 30 minutes later, a guy in an old beat up Chevy came by and got the car started. Got the kids shod again and headed out.
By now it was 1pm. As we got about a mile away, I realized I'd never locked the front door and wasn't even sure it was closed tightly. Looped around home, locked the door and headed to South DR to find the tax office. Of course there was quite a line and only one person let us cut ahead. The kids were being kids, while the signage was coy...more fun. Handed over $70 and got a sticker. Hardly seemed worth it...
Got to the playground after 2pm! 85 degrees and windy, so dusty and dry. I forget how dusty it is out there. Evan and I went down the double slides together: "Ready, Evan?" I asked and he said "One, two, three!" and let go. But we didn't stay for long, since I'd only brought enough water for 11am and 75 degrees, and our brunch was now a distant memory.
Evan fell asleep on the way home but woke up in time to drink half of my medicinal chocolate milkshake. He was grumpy at only having a short nap, so has been in my lap a bunch. I'm now going to start my phone calls!
Tomorrow at 9am M&C have dentist appointments. No problem!
Plan was to get out early, go take care of the car regestration renewal and then go to the playground at the Fam Camp.
Needed to do the reg in person because they were only kidding about being able to do it online and if you want to mail it in, you need to get it to them 15 days before the due date. Cuz everybody looks for small print that says the deadline isn't the deadline.
Okay, I'm feeling paranoid so I fight through 17 web pages to make sure I'm supposed to go to the same place I got my driver's license. Good thing, because it's a completely different place. The county tax office!
The kids aren't cooperating so it takes a major meltdown and a lot of time before we get out the door. And guess what? Once again, the automatic door has decided that closing all the way is BORING and is open a crack. Yes, I should have checked the door open light, but sometimes I'm carrying in a lot and only check the doors I opened and closed.
Evan was heartbroken that we had to come back in the house. Since I couldn't sleep last night and had a full list of things to do today, I burst into tears. Mikey and Car decided that the best thing to do was to keep yelling at me to go get the neighbor who had helped us before.
After about 20 minutes, Evan calmed down and I called AAA. 30 minutes later, a guy in an old beat up Chevy came by and got the car started. Got the kids shod again and headed out.
By now it was 1pm. As we got about a mile away, I realized I'd never locked the front door and wasn't even sure it was closed tightly. Looped around home, locked the door and headed to South DR to find the tax office. Of course there was quite a line and only one person let us cut ahead. The kids were being kids, while the signage was coy...more fun. Handed over $70 and got a sticker. Hardly seemed worth it...
Got to the playground after 2pm! 85 degrees and windy, so dusty and dry. I forget how dusty it is out there. Evan and I went down the double slides together: "Ready, Evan?" I asked and he said "One, two, three!" and let go. But we didn't stay for long, since I'd only brought enough water for 11am and 75 degrees, and our brunch was now a distant memory.
Evan fell asleep on the way home but woke up in time to drink half of my medicinal chocolate milkshake. He was grumpy at only having a short nap, so has been in my lap a bunch. I'm now going to start my phone calls!
Tomorrow at 9am M&C have dentist appointments. No problem!
Saturday, February 24, 2007
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Only 12 miles from the house in Hampton, there is Jazzercise!!! Classes Mon-Fri with childcare!!!!!
I'm a bit excited.
It will give the kids a chance to see other kids, too, which I was a bit concerned about. Get us out of the house first thing in the morning, then we can explore the area. Seems like there are lots of parks to visit on nice days.
There are also evening and weekend classes.
YEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm a bit excited.
It will give the kids a chance to see other kids, too, which I was a bit concerned about. Get us out of the house first thing in the morning, then we can explore the area. Seems like there are lots of parks to visit on nice days.
There are also evening and weekend classes.
YEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Tap, tap
Is this thing on?
Ahem.
We've had a busy couple days. Caroline made up a gymnastics class yesterday, so we had her class followed by Mikey's class and then another Caroline class this morning. Whew.
Two hours in the gym was a little tough on Evan, which is why I don't usually do that.
Caroline has been suddenly different. First she needed to talk to Tutu for a LONG time, then during Mikey's class yesterday, she was amazingly outgoing. When people started arriving for the basketball practice, she would go greet them, shake their hands, introduce herself, etc.
Oh, it actually started when Katie and Rachel's dad came in. In BDUs, with dark hair...Evan went up to him and snuggled against his leg while Caroline shook his hand and chatted. Sniff.
Anyway, Caroline hit it off with a family and played with the two girls and their parents for about 20 minutes. At first the girls were too suprised to respond, esp. because they were quite a bit older than her, but then they started having a great time. And before her class she also told one of the girls "I want you to be my new friend."
Last night, I asked her if she wanted to give her too-small leotards to Rachel. She said yes and then said "Let's pretend Rachel's here right now. Rachel, stop following me!" Really, no pause between the two sentences.
We went to Walmart after class today. I got one of those big carts that all 3 kids can ride in. Usually they walk quite a bit, but not today. Kinda wore myself out getting through the store and home again.
Evan and Caroline have grown. Caroline needs size 5 shirts and dresses now. Evan can wear a 3T shirt and it's only a tiny bit too big. The pants he has on today are showing quite a bit of ankle, too. Not that I noticed until we were out.
It's really warm today. It was 67 when we left the house this morning. Jeans were not a good decision on my part.
Ahem.
We've had a busy couple days. Caroline made up a gymnastics class yesterday, so we had her class followed by Mikey's class and then another Caroline class this morning. Whew.
Two hours in the gym was a little tough on Evan, which is why I don't usually do that.
Caroline has been suddenly different. First she needed to talk to Tutu for a LONG time, then during Mikey's class yesterday, she was amazingly outgoing. When people started arriving for the basketball practice, she would go greet them, shake their hands, introduce herself, etc.
Oh, it actually started when Katie and Rachel's dad came in. In BDUs, with dark hair...Evan went up to him and snuggled against his leg while Caroline shook his hand and chatted. Sniff.
Anyway, Caroline hit it off with a family and played with the two girls and their parents for about 20 minutes. At first the girls were too suprised to respond, esp. because they were quite a bit older than her, but then they started having a great time. And before her class she also told one of the girls "I want you to be my new friend."
Last night, I asked her if she wanted to give her too-small leotards to Rachel. She said yes and then said "Let's pretend Rachel's here right now. Rachel, stop following me!" Really, no pause between the two sentences.
We went to Walmart after class today. I got one of those big carts that all 3 kids can ride in. Usually they walk quite a bit, but not today. Kinda wore myself out getting through the store and home again.
Evan and Caroline have grown. Caroline needs size 5 shirts and dresses now. Evan can wear a 3T shirt and it's only a tiny bit too big. The pants he has on today are showing quite a bit of ankle, too. Not that I noticed until we were out.
It's really warm today. It was 67 when we left the house this morning. Jeans were not a good decision on my part.
Monday, February 05, 2007
Depending on the kindness of...aquaintances...
Well, I asked two people for help today. Coulda toughed it out myself in both cases, but didn't.
First, we'd left one of the doors of the van open. It was the automatic one, so I'm really not sure how that happened. And we hadn't been out in a couple days, so the battery was dead.
I could have called AAA but noticed my next door neighbor's SUV was there. We walked over and he was great about it. Little while later, we were on our way--taking the very, very looong way to Wal-mart!
Ran into Miss K in the store. Chatted about the pizza lunch we're all going to tomorrow, found out the auction this weekend made $15,000! I'd bought long spoons for a smoothie basket, which went for $150.
Got in line behind her and got a little help getting the groceries off the cart. She says that if I don't ask for more help, they are going to start showing up at my door! I mentioned that it's going to be tough getting out of here and she says they will do whatever it takes to help, even taking us to the airport at 5am. I'd have a really hard time asking for THAT, but I'll take some help.
Getting to Walmart an hour later than planned made the trip much harder, but we survived and the kids are really well behaved. They wandered away from me much more than I like, but it really was okay.
Evan now insists that his string cheese stay wrapped in the plastic. This makes it really tough when there's only a tiny piece left! H started crying in line. Poor little guy! I'm trying to get groceries in the cart and re-wrap his cheese stub at the same time. Finally got him another piece and then Mikey sang Itsy Bitsy Spider to him.
Caroline was making up a new song and playing her guitar when I started writing this. Something about "now she's not a toddler any more, she's a kid". Don't know if it was autobiographical.
First, we'd left one of the doors of the van open. It was the automatic one, so I'm really not sure how that happened. And we hadn't been out in a couple days, so the battery was dead.
I could have called AAA but noticed my next door neighbor's SUV was there. We walked over and he was great about it. Little while later, we were on our way--taking the very, very looong way to Wal-mart!
Ran into Miss K in the store. Chatted about the pizza lunch we're all going to tomorrow, found out the auction this weekend made $15,000! I'd bought long spoons for a smoothie basket, which went for $150.
Got in line behind her and got a little help getting the groceries off the cart. She says that if I don't ask for more help, they are going to start showing up at my door! I mentioned that it's going to be tough getting out of here and she says they will do whatever it takes to help, even taking us to the airport at 5am. I'd have a really hard time asking for THAT, but I'll take some help.
Getting to Walmart an hour later than planned made the trip much harder, but we survived and the kids are really well behaved. They wandered away from me much more than I like, but it really was okay.
Evan now insists that his string cheese stay wrapped in the plastic. This makes it really tough when there's only a tiny piece left! H started crying in line. Poor little guy! I'm trying to get groceries in the cart and re-wrap his cheese stub at the same time. Finally got him another piece and then Mikey sang Itsy Bitsy Spider to him.
Caroline was making up a new song and playing her guitar when I started writing this. Something about "now she's not a toddler any more, she's a kid". Don't know if it was autobiographical.
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Travel Whine, Part 1 of Many
It's not that I expected traveling with kids to be easy. Esp. not from a small place like this.
What's got me beating my head against the keyboard is 1)that the 2 ways to get a direct flight from Houston are to take a 6am flight from here or pay $200 more per person; 2) because they don't exactly fly DC10s into here, both flights have 3 seats across, two on one side and one on the other. So I guess Mikey and Caroline sit together in front of Evan and I?
So far my best idea is for Mikey, Evan and I to drive while my mom and Caroline fly to Norfolk. Or they fly to Atlanta, that might be better. Hmmm, Mikey and Mom drive to Atlanta while...
I didn't see any direct flights from San Antonio either. So we could drive there and change planes in Houston or Atlanta.
I just wish there were a better option than getting the kids up at 4am and then not being able to sit next to them.
What's got me beating my head against the keyboard is 1)that the 2 ways to get a direct flight from Houston are to take a 6am flight from here or pay $200 more per person; 2) because they don't exactly fly DC10s into here, both flights have 3 seats across, two on one side and one on the other. So I guess Mikey and Caroline sit together in front of Evan and I?
So far my best idea is for Mikey, Evan and I to drive while my mom and Caroline fly to Norfolk. Or they fly to Atlanta, that might be better. Hmmm, Mikey and Mom drive to Atlanta while...
I didn't see any direct flights from San Antonio either. So we could drive there and change planes in Houston or Atlanta.
I just wish there were a better option than getting the kids up at 4am and then not being able to sit next to them.
Double Jackpot
Well, one of the nice people checking in on us left us a bunch of chocolate and is coming by tomorrow to hang out with the kids while I clean.
Evan had a bad night...AGAIN. This time I think the snot in his nose was giving him a sore throat. It was humid/raining. So I'm really wondering if getting a humidifier would be a good idea. Stuffed up nose or sore throat??
Gymnastics this morning for C, but Mikey had no class yesterday. I don't know how Caroline did because the new teacher is much quieter and I was playing with the boys and having a nice chat with someone who came here from McGuire. She had 2 babies at HUP, knew Haddonfield, etc. and misses it all a bunch. Sigh. Me too.
Dropped off some long spoon/straw things for a smoothie basket that's to be autioned off this weekend with another MSG wife. She has a teenager who might just be able to babysit on Wednesdays; she has a class about a mile from here, so I could pick her up there and drop her off on the way to gymnastics. Here's hoping she has the time to do it.
Travel planning sucks. Well, not in theory, but this trip is going to be hard. Details later after I check on one more thing...
Keep forgetting to mention a funny sight on base when it snowed: the new headquarters building has a sloped roof--at a fairly steep angle. So the fire department was out hosing the ice off the roof before it landed on anyone! We drove in circles a couple times to watch the firefighters in the cherry picker.
Evan had a bad night...AGAIN. This time I think the snot in his nose was giving him a sore throat. It was humid/raining. So I'm really wondering if getting a humidifier would be a good idea. Stuffed up nose or sore throat??
Gymnastics this morning for C, but Mikey had no class yesterday. I don't know how Caroline did because the new teacher is much quieter and I was playing with the boys and having a nice chat with someone who came here from McGuire. She had 2 babies at HUP, knew Haddonfield, etc. and misses it all a bunch. Sigh. Me too.
Dropped off some long spoon/straw things for a smoothie basket that's to be autioned off this weekend with another MSG wife. She has a teenager who might just be able to babysit on Wednesdays; she has a class about a mile from here, so I could pick her up there and drop her off on the way to gymnastics. Here's hoping she has the time to do it.
Travel planning sucks. Well, not in theory, but this trip is going to be hard. Details later after I check on one more thing...
Keep forgetting to mention a funny sight on base when it snowed: the new headquarters building has a sloped roof--at a fairly steep angle. So the fire department was out hosing the ice off the roof before it landed on anyone! We drove in circles a couple times to watch the firefighters in the cherry picker.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Unconvinced Fruit-head
I tried to convince Mikey that he needs to be looking straight at me when he throws a ball, otherwise it could go anywhere.
He was not convinced, probably because his aim is dead on even while watching TV and barely glancing at me.
He likes to throw the ball like a pitcher. He looks ready to go pro any minute now.
Tonight in the bath, Mikey had a mix of honeydew, strawberry and watermelon shampoo, followed by grape conditioner. Thus, Fruit-head.
Evan's recognition of numbers was not a fluke. Playing with letters today, he said "H", remembering it from a few days ago. In my Sudoku book, he'll find and point to a 3 and then another 3, etc.
Caroline has been very snuggly today and keeping me company in the kitchen. She started doing backflips off the couch, too! Sits on the couch, looking at the back of it. Leans backwards and puts her hands and head on the floor, flip and repeat. Mikey was amazed! He wasn't sure he could do it, but I talked him through it. Meanwhile Evan exhausted me by demanding that I hold his arms while he jumped...about 200 times.
He was not convinced, probably because his aim is dead on even while watching TV and barely glancing at me.
He likes to throw the ball like a pitcher. He looks ready to go pro any minute now.
Tonight in the bath, Mikey had a mix of honeydew, strawberry and watermelon shampoo, followed by grape conditioner. Thus, Fruit-head.
Evan's recognition of numbers was not a fluke. Playing with letters today, he said "H", remembering it from a few days ago. In my Sudoku book, he'll find and point to a 3 and then another 3, etc.
Caroline has been very snuggly today and keeping me company in the kitchen. She started doing backflips off the couch, too! Sits on the couch, looking at the back of it. Leans backwards and puts her hands and head on the floor, flip and repeat. Mikey was amazed! He wasn't sure he could do it, but I talked him through it. Meanwhile Evan exhausted me by demanding that I hold his arms while he jumped...about 200 times.
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Music and Timeline
Last night Caroline, Mikey and I played "Name that Tune". We took turns humming or whistling songs.
Caroline is really, really good at it. She was better at guessing than Mikey or me. Mikey and I sometimes had a hard time guessing hers...when she decided to make up a new song!
Her first musical selection? "Tell him good-bye" (Na, na, na, na...hey hey...)
Today Mikey and I made a timeline of his life and wrote The Story of Mikey. I'll try to scan and post it later.
Caroline is really, really good at it. She was better at guessing than Mikey or me. Mikey and I sometimes had a hard time guessing hers...when she decided to make up a new song!
Her first musical selection? "Tell him good-bye" (Na, na, na, na...hey hey...)
Today Mikey and I made a timeline of his life and wrote The Story of Mikey. I'll try to scan and post it later.
Friday, January 26, 2007
Gymnastics Update
Mikey had 2 classes this week, Caroline the normal one. Both kids are doing great and are easily doing things they didn't even want to try at first. They are both going backwards over one of these now.
While one of them is in class, the other 3 of us have a good time throwing balls, running around, etc. Evan loved it when I made a basket, and insisted that I do it a bunch more time and took a few shots himself.
Their great teacher is on her way to Iraq now--civilian job there. The new teacher is alright. There were two other assistants who I don't think would have been good, but this one knows the subject and is okay with the kids. She's going to have to try a little harder to keep order, but I think that will come with time.
While one of them is in class, the other 3 of us have a good time throwing balls, running around, etc. Evan loved it when I made a basket, and insisted that I do it a bunch more time and took a few shots himself.
Their great teacher is on her way to Iraq now--civilian job there. The new teacher is alright. There were two other assistants who I don't think would have been good, but this one knows the subject and is okay with the kids. She's going to have to try a little harder to keep order, but I think that will come with time.
Self-gas-lighting
Since Papa's not here to mess with me, I am finding ways to do it myself.
A bit of stuff belonging in the junk drawer made it in to a drawer full of kitchen utensils. One of the items was a magnet (formerly of Cranky the Crane). Stuck to the magnet were a paper clip, a safety pin and 3 screws of various sizes. All this stuck itself to the bottom of a cheese grater.
Unsuspecting moi picks up the grater, grates some cheese, lifts the grater and finds a bowl full of cheese, screws, a paperclip, a safety pin and a magnet.
Moral: don't forget to flip your grater.
****
One night, I suddenly notice that one of Caroline's curtains is on backwards (or would you call it inside out?). I haven't taken the curtains down in a long time and I can't imagine Papa has either so how long has it been like this and why in the world haven't I noticed? Or is there some other explanation??
Next day, I figured it out. The curtains are sheer with colored lines on them. In the day time, you can barely tell the difference between the two sides. Guess I hadn't looked at them closely at night!
A bit of stuff belonging in the junk drawer made it in to a drawer full of kitchen utensils. One of the items was a magnet (formerly of Cranky the Crane). Stuck to the magnet were a paper clip, a safety pin and 3 screws of various sizes. All this stuck itself to the bottom of a cheese grater.
Unsuspecting moi picks up the grater, grates some cheese, lifts the grater and finds a bowl full of cheese, screws, a paperclip, a safety pin and a magnet.
Moral: don't forget to flip your grater.
****
One night, I suddenly notice that one of Caroline's curtains is on backwards (or would you call it inside out?). I haven't taken the curtains down in a long time and I can't imagine Papa has either so how long has it been like this and why in the world haven't I noticed? Or is there some other explanation??
Next day, I figured it out. The curtains are sheer with colored lines on them. In the day time, you can barely tell the difference between the two sides. Guess I hadn't looked at them closely at night!
Nice Day
Well, it's almost nice weather here. Tomorow is supposed to be 67. Today it hasn't hit 60, but the kids are still outside. (Evan is napping)
I'm still flinching from an ad I read this morning for a breakfast special: free coffee and menudo!!
Oy.
Mikey and I read the first chapter in his "History of the World" book. Basic explanation of history and archeology. Pretty well written so far. I printed out a family tree--well, tried to but it doesn't resemble a tree like I told him it would. I may cut the boxes out so we can make them into a tree.
I'm still flinching from an ad I read this morning for a breakfast special: free coffee and menudo!!
Oy.
Mikey and I read the first chapter in his "History of the World" book. Basic explanation of history and archeology. Pretty well written so far. I printed out a family tree--well, tried to but it doesn't resemble a tree like I told him it would. I may cut the boxes out so we can make them into a tree.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Numbers
In Caroline's room, we have a poster with the numbers 1-20, which the appropriate number of items with each number. It's a little weird: 5 briefcases, of all things, pentagons and hexagons, but not 5 and six of them. Evan likes to look at it and asks me what the various items are. Then he started asking what the numbers are and now he's telling me what they are. This morning, he looked at my Sudoku book and, amid a whole page of numbers, found an 8 and said "eight"! Cool.
1/26 update: He continues to ask me the names of everything. That's expected, but I keep laughing at being jumped on when he sees my Sudoku book so that he can point to every number on the page and hear the name. He also held up a toy "H" and repeated the name several time.
1/26 update: He continues to ask me the names of everything. That's expected, but I keep laughing at being jumped on when he sees my Sudoku book so that he can point to every number on the page and hear the name. He also held up a toy "H" and repeated the name several time.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Changes
It's different without one member of the family present. Of course we miss him terribly. We are going forward and I'm a bit amused at the little changes I've made.
The kids have more room to work at the craft table now that no one is trying to EAT there.
Since the buck stops with me, I finally got around to moving the top shelf of the fridge down so that there's more room for milk.
I'm actually eating better. I'm not sure how or why, but I'm eating lots more fruits and veggies. Maybe it's just the horrifying numbers I'm seeing on the scale, but it's a good thing.
I'm continuing to try to lighten our load. I've sorted out clothes and baby toys to give away. Some are hard to get rid of, but I'd better do it now before Papa ask how I could get rid of jack-in-a-box Elmo and other old friends. I've cleared off the little bookcase in Caroline's room and the white shelves (aka Fredette) in the boys room.
The kids have more room to work at the craft table now that no one is trying to EAT there.
Since the buck stops with me, I finally got around to moving the top shelf of the fridge down so that there's more room for milk.
I'm actually eating better. I'm not sure how or why, but I'm eating lots more fruits and veggies. Maybe it's just the horrifying numbers I'm seeing on the scale, but it's a good thing.
I'm continuing to try to lighten our load. I've sorted out clothes and baby toys to give away. Some are hard to get rid of, but I'd better do it now before Papa ask how I could get rid of jack-in-a-box Elmo and other old friends. I've cleared off the little bookcase in Caroline's room and the white shelves (aka Fredette) in the boys room.
Best Bath Ever
We had a great 3-kid bath tonight! Almost no fussing. (There was just that once when I got splashed...) Lots of fun. We managed to spell lots of words with the foam letters: Dora, Boots, Mikey, Carolime (close!). They all wanted out of the tub at the same time, so I had some assembly line drying going on in the bathroom. Evan and Mikey had a great towel throwing game going on. Then it was run naked from Mommy time until I got Power Ranger pjs on all 3 and played the PR theme song. Good times, good times.
The mildew smell continues to blow from the vents. I cleaned and mopped much of the house today to make sure there wasn't anything spilled anywhere that could account for it. Did a little searching online and found that it's a problem people have run into before! I'm going to keep cleaning and sniffing, see if the problem goes away if it ever stops being so wet here (more rain through Sunday!), and talk to a couple people more knowledgable than me.
Having the ducts cleaned probably would be a good idea no matter what.
The mildew smell continues to blow from the vents. I cleaned and mopped much of the house today to make sure there wasn't anything spilled anywhere that could account for it. Did a little searching online and found that it's a problem people have run into before! I'm going to keep cleaning and sniffing, see if the problem goes away if it ever stops being so wet here (more rain through Sunday!), and talk to a couple people more knowledgable than me.
Having the ducts cleaned probably would be a good idea no matter what.
Monday, January 15, 2007
Look who's talking
Evan is talking more and more. He said "here I come" this morning. Yesterday I asked "who wants chocolate milk" and he said "me, me, me!"
Oh, he also asks to watch "Wow, Wow Wubbzy" by saying "wow, wow, wow."
He says "cool" a lot.
Cutie.
I had iTunes going through our list of all songs and it just so happened that Mikey was playing "Feeding Frenzy" and avoiding being eaten by barracudas when the song "Barracuda" came on. He played it several times, lol.
This morning we were looking at photos of different fish. Now Mikey is reading a Dora book to Evan.
Caroline says she wants to play a computer game with me now. One that's hard for her, but easy for me. Here we go...
Oh, he also asks to watch "Wow, Wow Wubbzy" by saying "wow, wow, wow."
He says "cool" a lot.
Cutie.
I had iTunes going through our list of all songs and it just so happened that Mikey was playing "Feeding Frenzy" and avoiding being eaten by barracudas when the song "Barracuda" came on. He played it several times, lol.
This morning we were looking at photos of different fish. Now Mikey is reading a Dora book to Evan.
Caroline says she wants to play a computer game with me now. One that's hard for her, but easy for me. Here we go...
June To-do List
Organize Christmas decorations et al. in garage.
It almost looks like a tired and grumpy woman just threw the stuff into a big pile.
Go figure.
It almost looks like a tired and grumpy woman just threw the stuff into a big pile.
Go figure.
Friday, January 12, 2007
Friday
Yea, it's the weekend and...well, I don't get weekends any more. The next two days aren't going to be any different from the last several. Interesting.
This morning and early afternoon were pretty rough. Evan had several 10 minute tantrums last night. Mikey and Carrie have both woken up in the night for the last couple nights. This time I was in the double bed with Evan, then put Mikey in the twin, then put Carrie in the twin--at the other end! Then I kept hearing thuds every little while...she was rolling over and bumping the wall, just like she used to do in Maryland.
I'm not running on adrenaline any more. Kind of relaxed last night. I'm still getting stuff done, but in a more relaxed manner.
The kids are playing together very nicely tonight. We'll see if we've turned a corner or not.
This morning and early afternoon were pretty rough. Evan had several 10 minute tantrums last night. Mikey and Carrie have both woken up in the night for the last couple nights. This time I was in the double bed with Evan, then put Mikey in the twin, then put Carrie in the twin--at the other end! Then I kept hearing thuds every little while...she was rolling over and bumping the wall, just like she used to do in Maryland.
I'm not running on adrenaline any more. Kind of relaxed last night. I'm still getting stuff done, but in a more relaxed manner.
The kids are playing together very nicely tonight. We'll see if we've turned a corner or not.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Gymnastics!
Great gymnastics classes this week!
Mikey and the other boys worked yesterday on strength training. Lots on the parallel bars. During class, Caroline played with another little girl. Evan insisted that he was tall enough to drink from the water fountain without me lifting him (there's a stool) and he was right. When the kids took a water break, he successfully wrestled one boy away from the fountain before I could stop him. The kid, who is like 7 or 8 was rather suprised...
There is suddenly a Dollar General store on Rt. 90, almost directly across from Border BBQ (formerly Martha's). It's not open yet; looks empty inside.
Evan is suddenly talkative in the car. Yesterday when Caroline and the other girl were hiding, I asked him where are the girls and he went running toward them yelling "Girls!!+ and then later "Girl, girl!" Today when Miss Christy said "Ready, set..." he yelled "Go!!"
Caroline was AWESOME today. She learned how to do a cartwheel (not with straight legs, of course), she walked on the balance beam BY HERSELF and she did a back flip over the big round cushion. She did not want to do that at first, but the teachers worked with her slowly and gently. Christy was amazed at the big change from last week, when she didn't want to get on the balance beam at all.
Caroline woke up in the early morning because of a nightmare. I snuggled up with her in the little bed in the boys room. Then Dora-Knows-Your-Name woke Mikey up at 7am (need to change the wake-up time!!), so he came in and I put him with Evan in the big bed. Cozy. I took my shower in the master bath so I wouldn't wake them all up!
Mikey has been talking a lot about missing Papa. Evan wants to watch the videos again and again. I got our video camera set up last night, but still need to work on getting them posted.
Mikey and the other boys worked yesterday on strength training. Lots on the parallel bars. During class, Caroline played with another little girl. Evan insisted that he was tall enough to drink from the water fountain without me lifting him (there's a stool) and he was right. When the kids took a water break, he successfully wrestled one boy away from the fountain before I could stop him. The kid, who is like 7 or 8 was rather suprised...
There is suddenly a Dollar General store on Rt. 90, almost directly across from Border BBQ (formerly Martha's). It's not open yet; looks empty inside.
Evan is suddenly talkative in the car. Yesterday when Caroline and the other girl were hiding, I asked him where are the girls and he went running toward them yelling "Girls!!+ and then later "Girl, girl!" Today when Miss Christy said "Ready, set..." he yelled "Go!!"
Caroline was AWESOME today. She learned how to do a cartwheel (not with straight legs, of course), she walked on the balance beam BY HERSELF and she did a back flip over the big round cushion. She did not want to do that at first, but the teachers worked with her slowly and gently. Christy was amazed at the big change from last week, when she didn't want to get on the balance beam at all.
Caroline woke up in the early morning because of a nightmare. I snuggled up with her in the little bed in the boys room. Then Dora-Knows-Your-Name woke Mikey up at 7am (need to change the wake-up time!!), so he came in and I put him with Evan in the big bed. Cozy. I took my shower in the master bath so I wouldn't wake them all up!
Mikey has been talking a lot about missing Papa. Evan wants to watch the videos again and again. I got our video camera set up last night, but still need to work on getting them posted.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Bits
Mikey was reading a Ricky Ricotta book to Caroline last night. I'd started to read it, but Evan needed me, so Mikey took over. Soooo cool to watch.
Caroline saw me with my BIG new Sukoku book and wanted to help. She asked about how to make different numbers and letters. She even tried a few herself.
Today Mikey started up Insaniquarium and, as usual, called Evan to join him: "Evan, fishies!" But Evan didn't want to watch, prompting Mikey to say "Hmm, Evan turned his back on playing with the fish." Which led Caroline to ask what "turn your back" means.
She's been asking more about different sayings. I can definitely see some changes in her at four. I remember Mikey started to do some things on his own, like opening the gate and heading upstairs or downstairs. Caroline just started turning on the hall light and her bedroom light, instead of asking me to do it. She's taking off and putting her own clothes on again. She is a very capable person; I remember that from when she was a toddler. It's nice to see it coming out again.
She loves the swing in her room (was going to link to Ikea to show it, but they don't seem to carry it any more. Hmm, I wonder if they still have the mounts for the other one...Anywho, at first she wouldn't get in it without my help or swing if I weren't in the room, but she's starting to get more independent. Normally I wouldn't mind staying with her, but Evan follows and wants his turn NOW.
Caroline saw me with my BIG new Sukoku book and wanted to help. She asked about how to make different numbers and letters. She even tried a few herself.
Today Mikey started up Insaniquarium and, as usual, called Evan to join him: "Evan, fishies!" But Evan didn't want to watch, prompting Mikey to say "Hmm, Evan turned his back on playing with the fish." Which led Caroline to ask what "turn your back" means.
She's been asking more about different sayings. I can definitely see some changes in her at four. I remember Mikey started to do some things on his own, like opening the gate and heading upstairs or downstairs. Caroline just started turning on the hall light and her bedroom light, instead of asking me to do it. She's taking off and putting her own clothes on again. She is a very capable person; I remember that from when she was a toddler. It's nice to see it coming out again.
She loves the swing in her room (was going to link to Ikea to show it, but they don't seem to carry it any more. Hmm, I wonder if they still have the mounts for the other one...Anywho, at first she wouldn't get in it without my help or swing if I weren't in the room, but she's starting to get more independent. Normally I wouldn't mind staying with her, but Evan follows and wants his turn NOW.
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Numbers and Sand
Mikey was counting by 3's today. He also asked me what 10 plus 10 is. These things led me to put on Schoolhouse Rock (audio CD) and print out a multiplication table. I showed him how you can count by any number by reading across or down. I wanted to pick an example, such as 7x10, but he wanted to read through the 3's and then move on to the 4's, 5's, etc.
There's a name for that kind of thinking. Meth-od-i-cal? Something like that. Nothing I'm familiar with, certainly.
We are enjoying the videos messages from Papa. Tales of missing penguins and exploding peppers. Very glad he's had good weather for the drive.
The Moon Sand was fun and messy in a contained way. It does hold together, but it takes a little work. When Evan is sleeping, I'll find some other containers to use as molds.
I got a little of the benefits of being a single parent tonight: I got double the love and affection from the kids. Hadn't thought about that! I needed it. It takes the place of at least 2 hours of missed sleep. I ordered a couple light fiction books from Amazon yesterday and got a new Sudoku book with really BIG print and nice paper that doesn't fall apart after being erased.
I'd hoped to have the house out of the "chaotic" state and into "messy", but it hasn't happened yet. I've kept up with the kitchen and garbage and feeding/clothing/bathing us all. For the rest, I'm playing "Wack-a-mess"; as soon as I get the living room clean, the front room has popped up and exploded toys over every surface.
Mikey is pretending to be Calvin. Evan is Hobbes.
It fits.
There's a name for that kind of thinking. Meth-od-i-cal? Something like that. Nothing I'm familiar with, certainly.
We are enjoying the videos messages from Papa. Tales of missing penguins and exploding peppers. Very glad he's had good weather for the drive.
The Moon Sand was fun and messy in a contained way. It does hold together, but it takes a little work. When Evan is sleeping, I'll find some other containers to use as molds.
I got a little of the benefits of being a single parent tonight: I got double the love and affection from the kids. Hadn't thought about that! I needed it. It takes the place of at least 2 hours of missed sleep. I ordered a couple light fiction books from Amazon yesterday and got a new Sudoku book with really BIG print and nice paper that doesn't fall apart after being erased.
I'd hoped to have the house out of the "chaotic" state and into "messy", but it hasn't happened yet. I've kept up with the kitchen and garbage and feeding/clothing/bathing us all. For the rest, I'm playing "Wack-a-mess"; as soon as I get the living room clean, the front room has popped up and exploded toys over every surface.
Mikey is pretending to be Calvin. Evan is Hobbes.
It fits.
Careers
Caroline says that after she is an astronaut and a vet, then she'll become a garbage woman.
Mikey wants to be an engineer, a space man, and a baseball player. We threw a ball back and forth and worked out signals for different kinds of pitches. He likes to pitch, but decided today to be the catcher so that he could choose the pitches.
Everyone's in a bad mood tonight. Evan still isn't sleeping well, so I'm very tired. It's hard to handle all the grumpiness while tired (duh). Evan a little Wal-mart therapy didn't help...but at least we're stocked up on milk and bananas. And they finally had Moonsand again.
Evan answered "kay" when I asked him if he was okay this morning (after a table attacked him). We bought a heart made of roses [fake] and it is now in the front window in place of the star wreath. I'm waiting for it to inspire me to get the Christmas tree down...waiting...
Mikey wants to be an engineer, a space man, and a baseball player. We threw a ball back and forth and worked out signals for different kinds of pitches. He likes to pitch, but decided today to be the catcher so that he could choose the pitches.
Everyone's in a bad mood tonight. Evan still isn't sleeping well, so I'm very tired. It's hard to handle all the grumpiness while tired (duh). Evan a little Wal-mart therapy didn't help...but at least we're stocked up on milk and bananas. And they finally had Moonsand again.
Evan answered "kay" when I asked him if he was okay this morning (after a table attacked him). We bought a heart made of roses [fake] and it is now in the front window in place of the star wreath. I'm waiting for it to inspire me to get the Christmas tree down...waiting...
Monday, January 08, 2007
Muffins
We made muffins--from a Jiffy mix, not scratch, because I'm not that crazy.
Mikey and Caroline helped me put the mix into star-shaped tins. Evan supervised.
Later, Evan dragged a chair back into the kitchen. And by "Evan dragged" I mean, Evan moved it part of the way and then "suggested" that I move it the rest of the way. He happily sat in the chair eating a muffin on the counter while I did dishes.
Caroline, Evan and I liked the muffins. Mikey tried one but didn't like it much.
Mikey says: Hi! I played some games today with my mom. And we finally got past level 4 in Zack and Cody's Tipton Trouble.
Caroline says: I loved the playground, but not the boy. He was mean. I love Mommy, Mikey and Evan. They were at the playground with me. They were playing. My Mama was eating while we played. [everyone snacked!--ed.] I love my mom and dad and my brother and my brother. And all my family members.
Mikey and Caroline helped me put the mix into star-shaped tins. Evan supervised.
Later, Evan dragged a chair back into the kitchen. And by "Evan dragged" I mean, Evan moved it part of the way and then "suggested" that I move it the rest of the way. He happily sat in the chair eating a muffin on the counter while I did dishes.
Caroline, Evan and I liked the muffins. Mikey tried one but didn't like it much.
Mikey says: Hi! I played some games today with my mom. And we finally got past level 4 in Zack and Cody's Tipton Trouble.
Caroline says: I loved the playground, but not the boy. He was mean. I love Mommy, Mikey and Evan. They were at the playground with me. They were playing. My Mama was eating while we played. [everyone snacked!--ed.] I love my mom and dad and my brother and my brother. And all my family members.
And so it begins...
Papa drove off into the sunrise yesterday after kissing the kids good-bye as they slept. Tough to see him go.
Evan is mostly recovered from being sick. I thought I was completely well, until almost 10pm when Evan went to sleep (no nap!) and I had a lot of housework to do. Then my legs got wobbly. Still did a bunch of work, got the kids to sleep just in time for Evan to cry for 30 minutes. Got him back to sleep by midnight.
They are wobbly again after going on base (found a library book under the bed--so cliche, no?) and spending an hour or more at the playground. We went back to the one we used to visit while staying in TLF. E was thrilled at all the planes going around. Had a nice chat with another mom at the playground. Mikey was determined to have races and other competitions with Caroline. Wasn't working out too well, so I suggested he race with an imaginary friend. They both seemed happier after that; at least until he and his friend started racing with her and her friend. Ahhh.
The kids' emotions are pretty raw. In other words, any little thing has them yelling and lashing out. I've been as patient as possible, but they seem to be looking for me to contain them. Reassurance that some things are the same, even though lots has changed. Today is better than yesterday and I imagine we'll get settled down soon. I'm glad gymnastics isn't for 2 more days, though.
I did a thousand things around the house yesterday and so two rooms are no longer official disaster areas. I'd wanted to take the tree down today, but my legs are telling me to pace myself.
Caroline got really mad at me today and yelled that she hated me. Then turned around and asked what "I hate you" means. I almost laughed in surprise, but managed a serious answer.
Evan is mostly recovered from being sick. I thought I was completely well, until almost 10pm when Evan went to sleep (no nap!) and I had a lot of housework to do. Then my legs got wobbly. Still did a bunch of work, got the kids to sleep just in time for Evan to cry for 30 minutes. Got him back to sleep by midnight.
They are wobbly again after going on base (found a library book under the bed--so cliche, no?) and spending an hour or more at the playground. We went back to the one we used to visit while staying in TLF. E was thrilled at all the planes going around. Had a nice chat with another mom at the playground. Mikey was determined to have races and other competitions with Caroline. Wasn't working out too well, so I suggested he race with an imaginary friend. They both seemed happier after that; at least until he and his friend started racing with her and her friend. Ahhh.
The kids' emotions are pretty raw. In other words, any little thing has them yelling and lashing out. I've been as patient as possible, but they seem to be looking for me to contain them. Reassurance that some things are the same, even though lots has changed. Today is better than yesterday and I imagine we'll get settled down soon. I'm glad gymnastics isn't for 2 more days, though.
I did a thousand things around the house yesterday and so two rooms are no longer official disaster areas. I'd wanted to take the tree down today, but my legs are telling me to pace myself.
Caroline got really mad at me today and yelled that she hated me. Then turned around and asked what "I hate you" means. I almost laughed in surprise, but managed a serious answer.
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