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[Jul. 10th, 2009|08:07 am] |
Hmmm...my mom's guitar, that she's had since teenagerdom, and which I've had for about 7 or 8 years, might be worth something. Antiques Roadshow, here we come! I guess my mom met a guitar guy, and he was like "a Gibson, eh?...." Interesting.
Gearing up for our last day of Bible School. In desperation, I called my stepmom to come babysit Nathan today, but she's not available. Everyone else is working. All the teenagers I know are volunteering at VBS. Crappity.
Okay, gotta go get dressed, etc. Supposed to be leaving the house in 17 minutes. |
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| (no subject) |
[Jul. 9th, 2009|02:29 pm] |
Seriously, this VBS gig is stressing me out. Thank GOD tomorrow is the last day. Having to juggle Nathan and this class of kids* is putting me in the absolute worst mood.
I am so glad that Nathan goes down for nap right after we get home, because I NEED to just be by myself for a while.
In other, TOTALLY RELATED, news, Nathan (three years old) has now fully figured out how to flail around and twist and kick, when picked up. Oh, jeez. It's like...it's like he just lets everything from his ribcage, down, go limp. Except with kicking. It's all very awkward, and certainly attracts a lot of attention. Especially when he yells NO MOMMY NO PUT ME DOWN DON'T PCIKING ME UP! and then kicks over a chair. (For example: in the middle of a very nice lady's very sincere presentation on her calling from God to found a local homeless shelter.)
He thinks it's funny to ignore me. And funny to disobey me. And funny to make a big scene. ARGH! He shows absolutely no remorse. He's like a tiny sociopath.
I know this is normal. Normal, developmentally average boundary-testing, etc. But...GAH! It SUCKS. And I try, I really do try to remain calm, and keep the boundaries firm, and to just guide my child into appropriate activities. But sometimes, he is causing such a gigantic distraction that he needs to be physically removed from the situation. That's when he goes all flailing-spaghetti-body on me. And I am not superwoman, people. I am only just me. I do the best I can, but flailing-spaghetti-body is just about doing me in.
This is just not working. I will muddle through tomorrow, but I'm not doing this VBS thing again, probably EVER. PHOOEY.
(I remember stories from my childhood of me causing such a gigantic disturbance in grocery stores that my mother had to abandon whole shopping carts of food, hoist me up under her arm, and just carry me out and leave. The farther along I go in this parenting thing, the more fully I think I understand my mother.)
*Background: Nathan = three years old. Supposed to be in preschool class for VBS, but really not developmentally ready, so got bounced back to me and my class of first-graders. So I'm trying to manage a class and also have a tag-along three-year-old. It's not working. |
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| Dead plants. |
[Jun. 29th, 2009|03:30 pm] |
Is there some secret to keeping plants alive in containers? I have never, ever been able to keep one from shriveling up and dying, or looking all yellow, or whithered, or leggy, or whatever. They never stay lush and pretty. I seem to water them too much, or not enough. It makes no sense to me.
It's weird. You would think that after, like, 8 years of home ownership, and feeling like I want to have a container of petunias or whatever by my door, that SOMETHING would have clicked by now. But, nope.
Am I supposed to be watering things every day?
Seriously. I need to take a class or something. |
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| (no subject) |
[Jun. 29th, 2009|09:37 am] |
Whoops! I let too much time slip away this morning. Now it's 9:37, and I have to shower, dress, dress Nathan, and get to a meeting at church by 10:30. (Training for VBS. I don't know what my role is going to be. I guess I'll just do whatever they tell me. I THINK I'm going to be shuttling three-year-olds from place to place and drinking kool aid, but we'll see.)
I also need to hit the library, to pick up a book for my step-dad. He is temporarily home-bound, and I am glad he called me to ask if I could go get this book. I love being useful. :)
Uh-oh. 9:39. Better split. |
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| When they finally get it. |
[Jun. 25th, 2009|11:38 pm] |
You know that part in a story, where all the things that have been falling apart just start coming together instead? And if you're really into the story, and you're really invested in the characters, then you almost want to cry a little bit because you're so happy for them? Because it finally looks like they're going to get it right?
It's that part when Westley and Buttercup find each other in the honeymoon suite.
It's when Harry tells Sally that he wants the rest of his life to start right now.
It's when Starbuck and Apollo take turns screaming their love for each other into the night.
THAT part. I love that part*.
( spoilers re: The Office )
(* Just for reference, it's the OPPOSITE of that part where Scarlett realizes that it's RHETT she's been searching for in the fog. Don't get me wrong...I love that, too. But it's totally the opposite of what I'm talking about.) |
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| Princesses are solids |
[Jun. 25th, 2009|08:23 am] |
Fundamentals of Science: an interview by almost-three-year-old-Nathan
Me: When it's hot out, we try to drink a lot of liquids.
Nathan: What are liquids?
Me: Well, liquids are things that you can drink out of a cup. Water, milk, apple juice...
Nathan: What about my shirt?
Me: Your shirt is a solid.
Nathan: What about ANGELS?
Me: Um...well...let's see. I guess we don't really know what angels are made of.
Nathan: What about a princess?
Me: (I know this one!) Princesses are people, like you and me. So a princess is a solid. |
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| (no subject) |
[Jun. 24th, 2009|10:32 am] |
New plan for today.
Swim Lessons in 90 degree weather, not even in the water for the second day in a row? Not happening.
Long cool shower, then Target run, then air-conditioned library? Yes, indeedy.
What pushed me over the edge into actually bailing on lessons today is that Nathan's got a smidge of a fever. Like, in the 99.5 range. That's enough. We don't need to take even teeny-fever boy outside in the middle of the day today.
So say we all. Ha. |
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| Mini update |
[Jun. 24th, 2009|07:56 am] |
These first couple days of official summer have been hot, hot, hot. "Summer-in-Illinois" Hot, if you know what I mean. Ha. (I have heard rumors that "Summer in Virginia", and "Summer in Indiana" are also much like this.)
I've had Nathan in tot swimming lessons for the last week and a half. They are not going especially well. Nathan is not interested in doing what his teacher says. AT ALL. And he is rude to her, to boot! He yells at her and thrusts his hand at her and says "I don't like you!," then crys to me, saying the teacher doesn't like him. He runs away, up the beach, turning back and laughing at the ruckus he's causing. I'm not interested in spending 45 minutes every day chasing him around the beach, trying to herd him back to the water. He's plenty willing to be in the water. Just not willing to take instruction and do what the teacher says. He wants all free-play, all the time. I guess that's not TOO unusual, but it sure is a pain to try to change his mind.
Yesterday, there was e-coli in the water, so the WATER at the beach was closed. Nate had a substitute swim lesson in the main beach building, in which his teacher read him a story book about swimming lessons. HE LOVED IT. He was obedient, and calm, and sat sweetly by the teacher listening to the book. He was willing to hold her hand and walk around the building and view the first aid center with her. Totally my normal, compliant boy. Clearly, it's not the TEACHER the he's resisting. It's the system. My little anarchist.
So yesterday, after Nathan's "swim lesson", he and I took a walk down the lake shore. We went all the way down to where Park District property ends and private homes start. It was a nice walk. The shore is grassy and shaded. We went out on each fishing pier we came to. We saw schools of teeny minnows, and some medium sized fish with dots on their...necks. And then we saw SIX GIGANTIC FISH. They were probably 24 inches long, and they were the fat kind of fish, not the flat kind of fish. I don't really know fish species very well, but maybe they were carp. They had kind of downward-facing mouths. Anyway, I think the fish sensed us on the dock, because they seemed to come and sort of check us out. We didn't have bread or anything to throw in the water, so they left after a minute or two. Anyway. Very exciting wildlife encounter.
We came home after that, and turned the A/C on. We sat around the kitchen table in our swimsuits, eating gold fish crackers and drinking lemonade and watered-down apple juice.
Nathan's been using one of my old twin-size sheets from childhood on his toddler bed. It's printed all over with characters from the classic Little Golden Books series. Tawny Scrawny Lion, Saggy Baggy Elephant, Tootle the train, Pokey Little Puppy, etc. He loves it. And I love when he's using it, because Naptime is the new Lunch Break.
(more later) |
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| Cute kid stuff |
[Jun. 18th, 2009|12:27 pm] |
Nathan calls rice crispie treats, "Rice Christmas Trees." |
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| (no subject) |
[Jun. 18th, 2009|08:12 am] |
Question:
Who does it look like this Father's Day card is intended for?
I'm going to call that some poor graphic design. (I think it's supposed to say "Pop Pop", but I can't help seeing "poo poo". Nice.)
I also saw, this morning, lovely photos and a floorplan for a $6 million house that's on the market in Philadelphia. Whoever made the floorplans misspelled the word "exercise". They wrote "EXCERSIZE". I always wonder how stuff like that gets to print. In my fantasy, the copywriter and the proofreader had it perfect, and then their illiterate clients INSISTED on having it THEIR way. That's how things like that usually happen. |
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| (no subject) |
[Jun. 15th, 2009|09:05 am] |
Nate and I start swim lessons today. He's registered for "First Splash" again this year, and I'm hoping that he doesn't get bored with it. I have a feeling that he's going to be like "I can blow bubbles! I can be an alligator! I can jump off the dock! See ya later, suckers!" But he's still probably too young for the first level of real, teach-you-to-actually-swim" lessons, so we are going for increased and continued water comfort and exuberance. We'll see.
I thought it would be sort of futile to shower this morning, then slather up with sunscreen and go to the sandy beach and muddy lake. So I skipped the shower. Yeah. I'm suited up, and slathered up, and feelin' greasy. It's magical, let me tell you.
Ugh.
In better news, I have been watching "The Office" (the American series) on Netflix on my lunch breaks (aka naptime). It's funny. I'm somewhere in season 2.
Okay. It's quarter after 9, and I need to start getting Nathan ready. He's so excited to be going. :) |
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| Acrylic-coated cotton and Crabby McCrabbycakes |
[Jun. 12th, 2009|08:11 am] |
Ooooh, searching for acrylic-coated cotton tablecloths!
I like using a tablecloth. I do NOT feel especially enthused about vinyl (though it is cheap and practical, it does not tend to come in patterns that thrill me.) I don't enjoy the shiny clear plastic tablecloth covers. (Sorry, ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) torapines! I know you like yours very much. And I fully acknowledge that it's very functional. I just can't move past the shiny factor. Call it my personal neurosis.) I like CLOTH tablecloths.
But I have one tablecloth that my mom brought me from France. It's faboo. It feels like cotton. It drapes like cotton. But you can wipe it clean. You CAN throw it in the wash, but you don't have to do it very often. I LOVE this fabric. And I just did a little research, just now, and discovered that what I have is acrylic-coated cotton.
Little did I know how European it is! I mean, I knew the tablecloth is from France, but I didn't know that the whole CONCEPT of acrylic-coated cotton is hard to find closer to home. Well, I mean, the CONCEPT can be located anywhere and nowhere, I suppose, since a concept is an idea, not an actual tangible thing, blah blah blah noun English Major, etc. But the TABLECLOTHS! They are hard to find in the U.S.
From what I've gathered, this fabric is easing its way into the U.K. market, and I've seen it at import shops online.
Anyway, I like this stuff. If I could find it by the yard, find a pattern that was attractive and also combined the colors blue and red... (I have blue willow dishes and red kitchen accents. I want to keep both. I would LOVE to find a kitchen tablecloth that melded the two to my satisfaction. I'm okay with things not matching, but I like things to GO.) Anyway. If I could find the right fabric, for the right price, that would so totally make my day.
*******
My day is not particularly going well. I am feeling crabby. I didn't get enough sleep last night, due to a variety of factors, some of which were of my own doing and some were not. My very beloved son woke up at 5:00, crying for Daddy, and was willing to be soothed only by crawling in bed with us and confirming that Daddy was HERE, and not in fact in some other house. Then he stayed awake and kicked me and petted my face and pulled my hair and knelt on my breast. Needless to say, nobody got back to sleep.
Someone also seems to have hit the "on" switch on my very beloved son's voice box, today. He seems SO LOUD, and SO CONTINUAL, today. I suspect that I am just having heightened awareness because of not having enough sleep, but still. I am not at the top of my mothering game, and Nathan is sort of needing high interaction today.
We're going to the park as soon as I get him dressed here. The outdoors is usually a good choice.
*******
I am sort of glad it's Friday. I think I used to look forward to Fridays more, back when the weekend meant I got two days off from my regular job. Now, I get no days off from my regular job. Oooh, look, Crabby Heather is finding stuff to complain about. Big surprise. I'd better cut this off, now. Adios! |
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| (no subject) |
[Jun. 11th, 2009|09:46 am] |
A blog post that I have, well, I guess I have skimmed it thoroughly. I have not read it in exquisite detail. But I think I've got the gist.
http://ourmothersdaughters.blogspot.com/2009/06/one-method-of-so-called-discipline-that.html
It's about kids misbehaving, reasons, prevention, discipline, etc. It was written by a mother of four, whose youngest, if I remember correctly, is a teenager. So, someone who has been around the block on the whole parenting thing.
Anyway, she talks a tiny bit about spanking, which I don't totally agree with, but I don't totally disagree with. We've never spanked Nathan. I got spanked, as a kid, though, and I think Rob did too. Just for the record. It certainly is an immediate consequence. But that's not really what I'm trying to talk about.
What I really took away from her post is the idea that a lot of kids' misbehavior has predictable roots. Hunger, boredom, tiredness, etc. Things that should be predictable to adults, and preventable. Or at the very least, understandable. And she points out that a good chunk of misbehavior could be changed, dealt with, prevented, etc. with a little forethought from the parents. Bring a snack, plan errands reasonably with respect to kids' bedtimes, EXPECT your kids to get bored and whiny in the waiting room at the doctor's office (aren't we ALL bored in waiting rooms? And kids certainly don't have the long-range perspective that adults have in that situation.) Expect them to be bored, and plan accordingly. Bring a coloring book. Take a walk. Look out a window, etc.
Speaking of which, this is exactly the kind of thing my parents used to do with me and my sister when we were little. I especially remember going out to restaurants with my parents and grandparents, and after we placed our order (in the LONG LONG 15 minutes before food arrived), my grandpa would invariably take my sister and me to walk around and look at things. Maybe a fish tank in the lobby. Maybe climbing on the rocks outside. SOMETHING, other than just expecting us to sit there and behave appropriately. I think that was one way of showing reasonable expectations of us kids.
So, all her suggestions were things to do to curb bad behavior OTHER than spanking, but still without resorting to wishy-washy consequences that lose effectiveness because they're not immediate.
Anyway, I find a lot of food for thought in this blogger's writings. She is consistently showing compassion and empathy to her (or your) kids, but she is no pushover.
Anyway, food for thought. (can I say it again? Food for thought!) For me, anyway. I know I don't have my response all fleshed out and nicely written. But I enjoyed the article. I took away some things to think about. I don't necessarily agree with everything she's advocating. But I have also not gone through the experience of parenting four kids all the way (or most of the way) to adulthood. I have a limited perspective. So. I like to think about ideas from those who have gone through it already. |
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| Catchin' Bugs |
[Jun. 11th, 2009|08:05 am] |
Nathan thinks the fly swatter is for "catchin' bugs".
So sweet. |
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| Sugar request |
[Jun. 11th, 2009|07:25 am] |
A request:
I do not want to ever spill an ENTIRE canister of granulated sugar all over the counter AND THE STOVE, EVER AGAIN.
Thank you. |
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| Stuff that happened today |
[Jun. 10th, 2009|02:13 pm] |
Oh, also, Nathan ran away from me in the library today, and they came *this close* to calling a Code Adam on him. My main concern was that I know he knows how to push buttons on the elevator, and how to push the handicap buttons to get out the door. Sigh. Fun times, y'all. He was eventually located by a librarian amongst the stacks in the children's section. Whew.
After a talking-to (in which I hope we established, at least, that if Mommy calls your name, you should run to her and give her a hug (the hug was Nathan's idea.) ) he was very well-behaved at the garden shop, where we bought a hydrangea for the north side of the house. I used a little money that my Grandma gave me for our anniversary to buy it. That makes me happy. I will try to keep this plant alive. Wish me luck!
Nathan took turns riding in the plant wagon and pulling it. He was silent or talky-backy to every friendly garden center employee who talked to him. Sigh. That's something we're working on. He used to be very engaging and social, but seems to have taken a turn towards shyness or defiance. Like, some friendly person will speak to him (in my presence), and say some friendly thing, and Nathan will stick his hand out at them and shout, "NO!" So, yeah. We are working on that. I suspect it's fairly typical young-three behaviour. Don't disillusion me if it's not. Ha ha.
I am stripping covers off the downstairs couches, thinking about redecorating since I've got the covers off anyway, and watching episodes of The Office on Netflix. If I don't go out and buy Diet Cherry Coke this afternoon, I will have none for tomorrow. Milk, too. But let's be honest about our priorities. Ha. :) |
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| Benefits of potty training |
[Jun. 10th, 2009|02:11 pm] |
So, I am finding that one of the big benefits of doing the whole potty training thing is that I am getting to wash household items that I maybe haven't been motivated to wash in a while.
I know that sounds a little sarcastic, but I am actually kind of serious. Like, if I waited until all other laundry was done before I stripped the couch covers and washed them? Well, I'd never get around to them. But if I have some kind of serious motivation, then, well, the couch covers get washed. And that's a good thing. |
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| Lonely this morning. |
[Jun. 10th, 2009|08:06 am] |
On Monday, I still had company until 12:30.
Yesterday, I really just chilled out, more than cleaning anything up. Nathan and I built some elaborate train track thing in the play room. I did a little laundry and a little dishes, but not much. I stayed in my pajamas until about 4:00.
Today, I am really missing everybody who was here. These are my very much loved roommates from senior year of college (senior year = 13 years ago. EEK!), along with their (also beloved) husbands and kids. We'd all known each other for all of college already by the time we five girls rented a house together across the street from campus. It was green. A Green House. I still think of this group as the Green House Girls.
I guess I don't even really know what I want to say. I have these friends. They are awesome, and they have known me since way back when, and that is a valuable thing to have in your life.
OH! Also, Sunday was Rob's and my 6th anniversary. Go Team Bernhard! |
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| The family you choose |
[Jun. 9th, 2009|10:57 am] |
I keep finding thing put away, in places other than where I would have put them. (Perfectly reasonable places, though. Good places for things. Just not my HABITUAL places for things.) Bowls, leftovers, chips, plastic cups...little surprises as I move through my day.
And it gives me a little ZING of happiness every time, because it means my friends feel comfortable enough in my home to just put things away in places that make sense to them, without all the inefficiency of inquiring with me.
It makes me feel like we are family. |
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