Just a quick one from lunch yesterday. I had asked A, the little girl I babysit for, to finish the last few bites of her sandwich. She was being a bit uncooperative. The following ensued.
Kyle: A, do you want to take a bite with me? Here we go! (Chomp)
My hubby often does this with the boys at dinnertime when they don't want to eat what is being served. I love that Kyle was able to pass on the same things that work for him to someone else. I know that he is definitely going to be well-liked as he gets older, since he seems to have empathy for others and can recognize what to do with it. What a lucky momI am sometimes!
B
Saturday, March 8, 2008
The Rush
Do you ebay? If you do then you know what I am talking about. That rush you feel when you are about to win an auction, and then the relief when you know you have won.
My sister is getting married. For her bachelorette party, she wants to go to the Cub game with her fiance and all their friends and then separate in the evening for seperate evening activities. Of course we have to go on a Saturday which makes tickets more expensive.
The tickets were sold out the first day they went on sale, so I began checking ebay to see if there were any available. Of course there were. We had to wait six long days for the auction to end. See, my hubby is really the ebay king and knows how to get just about anything we decide we want on ebay.
On the day the auction ended, the boys and I were eating lunch and my hubby was pulling up the listing on his work computer. We use that because our computer at home is way too slow. With about four minutes left in the auction, he heads to the bathroom. I couldn't believe it! I was so nervous and I wasn't even the one doing the bidding, and he was going to the bathroom! Anyway, he got back in time and put in our max bid with 30 seconds. He spent the next 30 seconds refreshing his screen over and over and over again until the auction had ended. We are all watching him in the kitchen. You can see him just getting more and more anxious about it. Finally we won. My hubby had to take a few minutes and calm down because his heart was racing from all the excitement. Mine was too and I didn't even have anything to do with it.
After we both calmed down we talked about the rush that comes from bidding this way, we talked about what had transpired. He worried that he had actually put the bid in too soon. I guess it's his calm demeanor beforehand that helps him win almost every auction he enters.
B
My sister is getting married. For her bachelorette party, she wants to go to the Cub game with her fiance and all their friends and then separate in the evening for seperate evening activities. Of course we have to go on a Saturday which makes tickets more expensive.
The tickets were sold out the first day they went on sale, so I began checking ebay to see if there were any available. Of course there were. We had to wait six long days for the auction to end. See, my hubby is really the ebay king and knows how to get just about anything we decide we want on ebay.
On the day the auction ended, the boys and I were eating lunch and my hubby was pulling up the listing on his work computer. We use that because our computer at home is way too slow. With about four minutes left in the auction, he heads to the bathroom. I couldn't believe it! I was so nervous and I wasn't even the one doing the bidding, and he was going to the bathroom! Anyway, he got back in time and put in our max bid with 30 seconds. He spent the next 30 seconds refreshing his screen over and over and over again until the auction had ended. We are all watching him in the kitchen. You can see him just getting more and more anxious about it. Finally we won. My hubby had to take a few minutes and calm down because his heart was racing from all the excitement. Mine was too and I didn't even have anything to do with it.
After we both calmed down we talked about the rush that comes from bidding this way, we talked about what had transpired. He worried that he had actually put the bid in too soon. I guess it's his calm demeanor beforehand that helps him win almost every auction he enters.
B
Friday, March 7, 2008
Parenting 101
Seriously, I need a course in this. Tonight at bedtime, Kyle made a decision to come out of his room within minutes of being put to bed. As usual, I walked him back to bed and locked his door (we have turned the lock around on his bedroom door). Usually, he gets a little upset but goes back to bed and falls asleep. Then when I go and check on him, I leave the door unlocked. Never do we leave it locked overnight when we are not awake. Tonight was a whole different story.
After coming down from locking the door, I immediately heard a hard thunk on the door. This is Kyle's new thing. He was throwing things in his room at the door. It started with board books and cars, the few toys that he actually has in his room. So, I went in there, never looked at him or spoke to him, and took those out. Next he was throwing his little suitcase that his clock sits on (I had already taken the clock out with the toys) and his monitor, so I took the suitcase, the bulletin board that sits on the floor, and the monitor. Next he found some storage containers that are part of his captain's bed and he threw those at the door. I went in and took those out. Then he went in his closet and pulled out the bins that are in there that I have been putting clothes in as the boys have been outgrowing them. He threw the lids at the door. I went in and took out all the bins, laundry basket, and little basket that I keep their socks in. Then he started jumping and taking things off the wall. We have thermometer secured to his wall. He jumped and pulled that down and threw it at the door. So I went in and took everything off the wall or shelves that he could possibly get to. He took the crank shafts off of his windows and was throwing those at the door. Again, I went in and removed them. Finally, he has a low and high hanging bar in his closet. He pulled the low hanging bar out of the closet and was hitting the door with that. I went in and took it. All the while not looking at or speaking to him. He then resorted to just banging on the door and throwing things that didn't do damage, such as stuffed animals and his pillow. Finally after and hour and a half, he was asleep and we unlocked his door.
I don't know how else to handle this. He just seems to want attention and is obviously willing to do whatever it takes to get it. Rest assured there are going to be big consequences in the morning for what happened this evening. Also though, I think that I am going to try and give him some more one-on-one time during the day so that maybe we won't have to go through this again. We have never had any kind of serious problem at bedtime before. In fact, my mother has often commented on how well my children go to bed. Where have I gone wrong?
Pretty sure this takes me out of the running for Mother of the Year. Darn, and I know that I was so close too! It also means that I have clean up outside of Kyle's room. That's where we stacked everything as we took it out of his room.
B
After coming down from locking the door, I immediately heard a hard thunk on the door. This is Kyle's new thing. He was throwing things in his room at the door. It started with board books and cars, the few toys that he actually has in his room. So, I went in there, never looked at him or spoke to him, and took those out. Next he was throwing his little suitcase that his clock sits on (I had already taken the clock out with the toys) and his monitor, so I took the suitcase, the bulletin board that sits on the floor, and the monitor. Next he found some storage containers that are part of his captain's bed and he threw those at the door. I went in and took those out. Then he went in his closet and pulled out the bins that are in there that I have been putting clothes in as the boys have been outgrowing them. He threw the lids at the door. I went in and took out all the bins, laundry basket, and little basket that I keep their socks in. Then he started jumping and taking things off the wall. We have thermometer secured to his wall. He jumped and pulled that down and threw it at the door. So I went in and took everything off the wall or shelves that he could possibly get to. He took the crank shafts off of his windows and was throwing those at the door. Again, I went in and removed them. Finally, he has a low and high hanging bar in his closet. He pulled the low hanging bar out of the closet and was hitting the door with that. I went in and took it. All the while not looking at or speaking to him. He then resorted to just banging on the door and throwing things that didn't do damage, such as stuffed animals and his pillow. Finally after and hour and a half, he was asleep and we unlocked his door.
I don't know how else to handle this. He just seems to want attention and is obviously willing to do whatever it takes to get it. Rest assured there are going to be big consequences in the morning for what happened this evening. Also though, I think that I am going to try and give him some more one-on-one time during the day so that maybe we won't have to go through this again. We have never had any kind of serious problem at bedtime before. In fact, my mother has often commented on how well my children go to bed. Where have I gone wrong?
Pretty sure this takes me out of the running for Mother of the Year. Darn, and I know that I was so close too! It also means that I have clean up outside of Kyle's room. That's where we stacked everything as we took it out of his room.
B
Haircuts
Today I took the boys (all three of them) for haircuts. We went to the SportClips because that was where I had the best coupon. I am not opposed to shopping around when it comes to their haricuts. We'll do the Great Clips, SuperCuts, whatever I can find. I don't feel connected to any one place. I am always so amazed at how well they sit and how excited they are to go every time! Jacob always wants to go first, followed byKyle. Today Zachary was asking, "When my turn?" I am telling you, getting a 2-year-old to sit still for that long is truly an accomplishment in itself, and he looks so stinking cute, I almost don't know what to do with myself. Anyway, the rest of this entry is me gushing about my boys, so if you can't take that, stop reading here!
Now that they have their cute little buzz cuts, I can't believe how old they all look. I know that I am a bit biased (yes, just a bit) but I really think that I may have some good-looking boys. I am afraid that they may break a few hearts as they get older, not that I am ready to consider that age yet. We are struggling enough with learning how to wipe our own bottoms! Anyway, I know that God has given me these boys to raise and I (we) are doing the best we know how, but if they really do end up to be quite handsome, is that going to change the way I need to parent. I know that looks aren't everything, but if the girls are going crazy for your boy, does that mean that some lessons are going to have to come early, even if I don't feel they should be ready for it? Kyle is going to be popular no matter what because he has one of those personalities that makes everyone look to him as a leader. I guess we'll just have to rely on God for guidance and see what the future holds!
B
Now that they have their cute little buzz cuts, I can't believe how old they all look. I know that I am a bit biased (yes, just a bit) but I really think that I may have some good-looking boys. I am afraid that they may break a few hearts as they get older, not that I am ready to consider that age yet. We are struggling enough with learning how to wipe our own bottoms! Anyway, I know that God has given me these boys to raise and I (we) are doing the best we know how, but if they really do end up to be quite handsome, is that going to change the way I need to parent. I know that looks aren't everything, but if the girls are going crazy for your boy, does that mean that some lessons are going to have to come early, even if I don't feel they should be ready for it? Kyle is going to be popular no matter what because he has one of those personalities that makes everyone look to him as a leader. I guess we'll just have to rely on God for guidance and see what the future holds!
B
A Maze
My 4-year-olds have a new passion! They love mazes. Now, what kid doesn't like a good maze? We had one of those Kumon books and they pretty much finished it in a matter of half an hour, granted there were two of them doing the mazes, but still. So, today I printed out some free mazes on the internet and Jacob and Kyle worked hard on them, if they only took them 10 minutes. This was after they waited so patiently for them to print out, which took about 5 minutes as well. Oh well, it gave me at least 10 minutes of free time!
B
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Bad Back?
Okay, so I have been troubled all my life with a bad back. I can remember feeling it even in high school. My mom also has back problems, so it seems as if I have inherited it. Anyway, I always just kind of lived with them, taking it easy when my back was hurting and such until one day after Thanksgiving of '06. I woke up and I had no feeling in my right foot. My back had been bothering me some, but the numbness really scared me. Anyway after seeing a specialist and having some tests I found out I had a herniated disc in my back. I had spinal injection and then three months of physical therapy and fortunately was able to fix the problem without surgery. In fact, the physical therapist even found that if I played volleyball (my lifelong love) my back would look and feel better the next day. Since then my back has flared up two times. Once last fall. I did my exercises and it seemed to get better. Then again, this week. Monday night I could hardly move. I was getting a little worried. I started up my exercises again (I know, I should have never stopped them) and tried to figure out what I was going to do if it still hurt this badly on Wednesday. I have been playing volleyball for a friend every Wednesday for the last few months. As the week went on, I decided that I would be okay to play. After playing last night, my back feels better than it did all week. Is this just my body's way of saying it's time to get moving again? I hate that I don't do much in the winter. Also, I am not supposed to lift much (i.e. Zachary is too heavy, but how can I not lift him?) and I am definitely not supposed to lift and twist at the same time. It's just so hard to expain to everyone (especially my sister) that I cannot lift things, but playing volleyball actually seems to be good for my back. I feel as though people are wondering if I am just saying my back hurts to get out of doing certain chores (bathtime--too much bending, twisting, lifting, etc. plus, I do hate bathtime) or if I really have a problem. Well, I have the MRI, on CD-ROM nonetheless, and there is defintely something wrong! But look how long it just took to explain it to you!
B
B
Geography Lesson
Okay, so we were doing some cutting today. Kyle asked for just a piece of paper and started cutting, with the words, "I'm going to make a picture. I'm going to make the ut." I had to ask him what "ut" was as it is not in my vocabulary. He said, "You know, what God made." We had just read the story of creation and the fall of Adam and Eve a few days before, so I figured out that he was talking about the earth. Well after a carefully placing each piece that he cut, I asked him about his picture. Here is how he described it.
Kyle: "This piece (the piece next to his right hand) is Florida. This piece (the long skinny one above it) is Colorado. This (the big square in the middle) is a bridge and there is water underneath it. This piece (the one way over on his left) is.....where is longer than Florida Mom?"
Mom: "You mean Mexico?"
Kyle: "Yeah, this piece is Mexico. That's my earth."
I have a good friend who is a geography teacher. I really hope that he doesn't see this. He will lose all his faith in me as a mother and a former teacher. But hey, at least he's trying!
B
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