Monday, September 29, 2008
Oh Hello...it's been a while
Haven't seen you in these parts here for a little while, but I have been expecting you. After all it is back to school season and germs abound to help you out. Not sure if you were just going to stop by or stay for a bit. Luckily one little dose of motrin was all that was needed to take you from 102.8 down to 99. Hopefully it was just teeth and you can go visit another family. Now if you can stay away at least until Christmas I would be happy.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Forecast....rain
So apparently children seem to know when a storm is coming. Kids and dogs are good barometers so who needs the weather man on channel 5? So far in the past two days we have gotten soaked three times, had countless meltdowns and many bossy moments from both girls towards the other. I have had fights over who will sit on my lap, help me open the door and who is going to help me load the dishwasher. At the moment I have a spare second to type because they are blissfully watching some TV together in my room, on my bed....a forbidden thing to do. Not that I am upset by them on my bed, but they have each fell off the bed numerous times from jumping that they are no longer allowed on it.
We tried a trip to the mall today to try and get out for a few minutes and see something other than ourselves for a bit. That was a mistake. Not only was everyone else seemingly trying to do the same thing, but the early departure from the mall because Gary and I couldn't take the people there anymore forced more meltdowns finally coming to a climax when we got stuck in a random downpour on our way out to the car. Aimee hates to be wet so that included a whiny ride home from her the whole 5 minutes it takes to get from the mall to the house.
And I am being beckoned again from the whiny twins about who did what. I think I need a black and white striped shirt for my referee gig here.
We tried a trip to the mall today to try and get out for a few minutes and see something other than ourselves for a bit. That was a mistake. Not only was everyone else seemingly trying to do the same thing, but the early departure from the mall because Gary and I couldn't take the people there anymore forced more meltdowns finally coming to a climax when we got stuck in a random downpour on our way out to the car. Aimee hates to be wet so that included a whiny ride home from her the whole 5 minutes it takes to get from the mall to the house.
And I am being beckoned again from the whiny twins about who did what. I think I need a black and white striped shirt for my referee gig here.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Random Happenings
A few things came to my attention in the past few days and I just had to share them with you. They have no order and are rather random but made me stop in my tracks when they happened.
First would be the fact that on Monday I was not feeling so hot leaving work and on the way home had chills, could hardly keep my eyes open and a few times wondered if I was going to heave in the car. I made it home all the while praying that I could just get in the door. I figured Gary could handle the girls and I would be able to hightail it to bed. But, when I walked in the door, Gary looked worse than I felt and suddenly it was like a switch went off and I had to suppress my own illness so that I could care for the girls, finish up the evening with pajamas, teeth brushing and stories for bed. Gary in the meantime lost his lunch and from the sounds of it his toes in the other bathroom while I was helping the girls brush their teeth. So he does win hands down of being the sicker of the two of us. My lunch though not quite agreeing with me did stay down. But it still amazes me that despite feeling like crap myself I was able to push through it and get the girls to bed, which, with my kids is no small feat. The two of them are the worst when it comes to going to bed at night, but that is another post entirely. I even had it in me to clean up the kitchen from the supper Gary somehow managed to prepare, took a walk next door to get some Gatorade from my parents for Gary in his weakened state (though they stayed clear of me whilst in their presence out of fear of germ passing). Luckily the girls did not get this random bug, or maybe they did and just didn't affect them as much as it did us.
Anyway, my random musing with this one is that I think women have an inherent ability to put children and family first before themselves. It is an amazing trait, truly. But I wonder how bitter it makes some of us. I know for me, I have a list in my head of things I do that Gary doesn't. Does he have the same list? Probably not. Most of my list consists of chores, others are clothes buying or replacing staple items in the house. I don't get bitter about it regularly, but today for instance, I am bitter about it all because of one simple comment my husband made to me as he was sitting on the couch watching the morning news (he does drop off to daycare and preschool on Thursdays and can't leave until almost 8AM to do it or he will be early to preschool)...."why does it take you so long to get out of the house?" I think it seemed innocent enough, but when I took a moment to look at him while I was in the midst of picking up random toys on my way out the door, it was all I could do not to list off the things I did that morning or even the night before so that things would be easier in the morning. Instead I sighed an "I don't know" and gathered up my stuff to leave. I really don't know why I take it upon myself to make sure the kitchen is cleaned, toys put away, beds made and the dog watered before I leave. I should just get up at 5AM and head out to work right? There is a gym and locker room at work to shower, I should just do it. But yet I don't. Mother guilt? Possibly. I think it is more that I love to see the girls in the morning all rumply and sleepy ready to give me a big hug.
The next random thing is something I noticed this morning and it was a biker, not motorcycle rider, but an actual pedal biker getting a ticket. Now I am all for riding your bikes, but I can't tell you how many times I have been cut off by a biker around these Cambridge parts when I come into work. I know we all share the road and they have more right to be there since they don't technically pay for the privilege to ride on the road like motorists do, but I was secretly elated that this gentleman got a ticket. More so because another bicyclist, a cop on a bike, was the one writing the ticket. How funny is that? Again, nothing against bikers per se, I know there are plenty out there that follow the rules of the road to a tee. But for some reason here in Cambridge I come across the worst bike riders. Many times when I have a green light they are trying to eek across the crosswalk. Once I even stopped for one of these bikers quite scared that I may hit him and let him go across in front of me and he shook his head in disgust at me for letting him go. Apparently he knew no one was behind me (hindsight on my part) and was balancing on his bike with both feet on the pedals on the double yellow line waiting for me to pass so he could finish crossing the street and by my stopping it forced him to change his plan and he got all upset with me. I was concerned he would lose his balance and fall, thus me hitting him with my tank of a car. I guess getting an angry finger signal is far better than hitting him, but it irks me still.
Last random musing here is about preschool. I love that Aimee is going to preschool. In fact, she is going to the same one I went to as a kid, talk about memories. But many of the parents at school remind me of exactly why I wasn't a cool kid in school. I didn't join in everything. I wasn't overly popular. People liked me enough, I did my thing, I wasn't trying to be the rebel all in black at the back of the class pissed off at the word. But I also didn't try to please all the "in" crowd just to stay above their radar. And yet, here I am with all of these mothers who at 9AM in the morning look like they are ready to step foot in a nightclub with their get ups. I see tight jeans with flares, pointed toe boots with heels, more makeup than I could ever own and cars that make mine look small. These are the same mothers that roll their eyes because the director of the school has said over and over again, "playground appropriate attire and footwear at school please." I get it. Aimee goes in her cute consignment sale pants and jeans with her Velcro stride rites and looks cute as a button to me. They want the kids to be comfortable, to be able to get messy, have fun and be safe with good shoes while they climb the slide or run around outside. These mothers want to dress them in skirts, dresses, tights and clogs. Cute outfits, no question, but it is preschool!
I have noticed that some of the mothers have a little clique because they know each other from last year since the school has the option of kids starting at 2.9 years in a playgroup two days a week. I have tried to be nice and interact with these ladies and will continue to do so but it just reminds me of the fact that some people just never grow up in life. One mother actually looked horrified that I (*gasp*!) worked. She noticed I didn't drop Aimee off on Thursdays and I said, that I worked and she looked so surprised. To her credit, she did a good job covering it by asking, where do I have to commute and when I answered Cambridge at least the surprise could stay on her face.
No, I am not a trophy wife, yes, I have to work to keep us in the lap of luxury called insurance and yes my husband is self employed. I am eternally grateful I only have to work 24 hours. It gives me enough time to be my own person outside of kids while allowing me to be home too.
So those are the random thoughts in my head today. For those of you on the edge of your seats, I did lose 4 lbs this week at WW. I don't know how other than the random sickness but I am thinking that 4 lbs in a day would be strange since I got sick Monday afternoon and weighed in Tuesday night. But I will take it. Down 8 lbs total since I started back in late August. No where near my goal but like I learned from my children...baby steps.
First would be the fact that on Monday I was not feeling so hot leaving work and on the way home had chills, could hardly keep my eyes open and a few times wondered if I was going to heave in the car. I made it home all the while praying that I could just get in the door. I figured Gary could handle the girls and I would be able to hightail it to bed. But, when I walked in the door, Gary looked worse than I felt and suddenly it was like a switch went off and I had to suppress my own illness so that I could care for the girls, finish up the evening with pajamas, teeth brushing and stories for bed. Gary in the meantime lost his lunch and from the sounds of it his toes in the other bathroom while I was helping the girls brush their teeth. So he does win hands down of being the sicker of the two of us. My lunch though not quite agreeing with me did stay down. But it still amazes me that despite feeling like crap myself I was able to push through it and get the girls to bed, which, with my kids is no small feat. The two of them are the worst when it comes to going to bed at night, but that is another post entirely. I even had it in me to clean up the kitchen from the supper Gary somehow managed to prepare, took a walk next door to get some Gatorade from my parents for Gary in his weakened state (though they stayed clear of me whilst in their presence out of fear of germ passing). Luckily the girls did not get this random bug, or maybe they did and just didn't affect them as much as it did us.
Anyway, my random musing with this one is that I think women have an inherent ability to put children and family first before themselves. It is an amazing trait, truly. But I wonder how bitter it makes some of us. I know for me, I have a list in my head of things I do that Gary doesn't. Does he have the same list? Probably not. Most of my list consists of chores, others are clothes buying or replacing staple items in the house. I don't get bitter about it regularly, but today for instance, I am bitter about it all because of one simple comment my husband made to me as he was sitting on the couch watching the morning news (he does drop off to daycare and preschool on Thursdays and can't leave until almost 8AM to do it or he will be early to preschool)...."why does it take you so long to get out of the house?" I think it seemed innocent enough, but when I took a moment to look at him while I was in the midst of picking up random toys on my way out the door, it was all I could do not to list off the things I did that morning or even the night before so that things would be easier in the morning. Instead I sighed an "I don't know" and gathered up my stuff to leave. I really don't know why I take it upon myself to make sure the kitchen is cleaned, toys put away, beds made and the dog watered before I leave. I should just get up at 5AM and head out to work right? There is a gym and locker room at work to shower, I should just do it. But yet I don't. Mother guilt? Possibly. I think it is more that I love to see the girls in the morning all rumply and sleepy ready to give me a big hug.
The next random thing is something I noticed this morning and it was a biker, not motorcycle rider, but an actual pedal biker getting a ticket. Now I am all for riding your bikes, but I can't tell you how many times I have been cut off by a biker around these Cambridge parts when I come into work. I know we all share the road and they have more right to be there since they don't technically pay for the privilege to ride on the road like motorists do, but I was secretly elated that this gentleman got a ticket. More so because another bicyclist, a cop on a bike, was the one writing the ticket. How funny is that? Again, nothing against bikers per se, I know there are plenty out there that follow the rules of the road to a tee. But for some reason here in Cambridge I come across the worst bike riders. Many times when I have a green light they are trying to eek across the crosswalk. Once I even stopped for one of these bikers quite scared that I may hit him and let him go across in front of me and he shook his head in disgust at me for letting him go. Apparently he knew no one was behind me (hindsight on my part) and was balancing on his bike with both feet on the pedals on the double yellow line waiting for me to pass so he could finish crossing the street and by my stopping it forced him to change his plan and he got all upset with me. I was concerned he would lose his balance and fall, thus me hitting him with my tank of a car. I guess getting an angry finger signal is far better than hitting him, but it irks me still.
Last random musing here is about preschool. I love that Aimee is going to preschool. In fact, she is going to the same one I went to as a kid, talk about memories. But many of the parents at school remind me of exactly why I wasn't a cool kid in school. I didn't join in everything. I wasn't overly popular. People liked me enough, I did my thing, I wasn't trying to be the rebel all in black at the back of the class pissed off at the word. But I also didn't try to please all the "in" crowd just to stay above their radar. And yet, here I am with all of these mothers who at 9AM in the morning look like they are ready to step foot in a nightclub with their get ups. I see tight jeans with flares, pointed toe boots with heels, more makeup than I could ever own and cars that make mine look small. These are the same mothers that roll their eyes because the director of the school has said over and over again, "playground appropriate attire and footwear at school please." I get it. Aimee goes in her cute consignment sale pants and jeans with her Velcro stride rites and looks cute as a button to me. They want the kids to be comfortable, to be able to get messy, have fun and be safe with good shoes while they climb the slide or run around outside. These mothers want to dress them in skirts, dresses, tights and clogs. Cute outfits, no question, but it is preschool!
I have noticed that some of the mothers have a little clique because they know each other from last year since the school has the option of kids starting at 2.9 years in a playgroup two days a week. I have tried to be nice and interact with these ladies and will continue to do so but it just reminds me of the fact that some people just never grow up in life. One mother actually looked horrified that I (*gasp*!) worked. She noticed I didn't drop Aimee off on Thursdays and I said, that I worked and she looked so surprised. To her credit, she did a good job covering it by asking, where do I have to commute and when I answered Cambridge at least the surprise could stay on her face.
No, I am not a trophy wife, yes, I have to work to keep us in the lap of luxury called insurance and yes my husband is self employed. I am eternally grateful I only have to work 24 hours. It gives me enough time to be my own person outside of kids while allowing me to be home too.
So those are the random thoughts in my head today. For those of you on the edge of your seats, I did lose 4 lbs this week at WW. I don't know how other than the random sickness but I am thinking that 4 lbs in a day would be strange since I got sick Monday afternoon and weighed in Tuesday night. But I will take it. Down 8 lbs total since I started back in late August. No where near my goal but like I learned from my children...baby steps.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
And so it goes....
Another weekend gone by and all I have to show for it is a sense of total exhaustion. Our Fridays have become very jam packed lately. It's crazy. This past weekend was a consignment sale that I have come to love. It is a bi-annual sale held in the spring and the fall where I get to shop for many additions to the girls' wardrobe. This past weekend was the sale. The pre-sale is Friday tonight and is for consignors and volunteers only. So I typically try to consign a few items to offset the dough I spend there. I also have started volunteering on Saturday evening to help cleanup and tend to get a few steals there since a lot of stuff is 1/2 off at that point. I have even been known to take some brand new things home with me. I love it. I got quite a few things for the girls. My favorite being a lavender colored jacket and snow pants for Nicole from LLBean for $18. Now you know that if I decide I don't like this outfit I can send it back to LLBean and get it replaced FOR FREE. Not that I will though because I love it, but LLBean has the best customer service on the planet. Everyone is so happy and friendly when you talk to them. They must be in cahoots with Trader Joe's.
So this past Friday, we started out early as I had a doctor appointment at 10:30 so we took our Papa with us and armed with snacks I left the girls and Papa in the car while I went into the DR. About 45 minutes later I emerged with a clean bill of health for another year. I also arrived to three people having a great time in the car listening to music and playing various games. The girls so love their Papa. We then headed grocery shopping for Papa to visit his favorite grocery store, a little place called Roxies. The man walks out of this little hole in the wall with the best of produce and meats for under $40 ready to feed a small army. They were celebrating their 50th anniversary (obviously they are doing something right) this week and they had some wonderful sales on local produce, seafood and dairy items. He had a blast; partially from the great deals he got but more so from his shopping partner, Nicole who whips things over her shoulder into his carriage whether he wants them or not. Suffice to say if he tries to stop her from taking certain items he may not want in his cart, a smallish tantrum comes about wherein her favorite doll is thrown to the floor. So it was his best judgement to keep her happy and unload unwanted items to the checkout lady.
We left Roxies and dropped Papa off to his DR appointment where Nana was going to pick him up. From there we headed home for quick naps (the girls, not me, unfortunately) and then Nana came from Papa's DR appointment and to our house so that she could stay with Nicole while I took Aimee to her first Ballet/tap lesson. I took these lessons when I was Aimee's age. In fact I can still remember being a munchkin in my first recital. I also remember one girl's mother watching us in a rehearsal and crying at the end of it. At the time it struck me as odd because in my short life at the time, crying for me was when I was unhappy and this mother was trying to tell her daughter how happy she was and that in fact was the reason behind her tears. I gave a big shrug and never thought of it again until this past Friday. The lessons started last week but we were not able to start with the rest of the class. So this week the teacher let me look on as Aimee did her thing with her classmates and one of her new friends took her hand to lead her across the floor, I had to wipe a tear away from my eye. It is amazing to me how life comes full circle and goes around. Aimee of course loved her lessons and even learned her right from her left or as the teacher told her (Lenny and Ralph...ingenious).
So after we left our ballet lessons for the day, we went home, changed her out of her leotard and tights and got Nicole, Nana and Papa together again and off we went to the consignment presale. Gary was at a networking event that he didn't want to miss, thus the 5 of us trotting around together in the Yukon. So, Nana (mom) and I went into the sale and were a bit overwhelmed by all of the people in there but were able to score some good fall clothes for the girls as well as aforementioned snow suit and some snow boots. For about $100 I easily picked up a load of clothes that would have cost 3 times that. When we came out of the sale, I saw that Papa, Aimee and Nicole were having a rousing game of wake up! go to sleep! Apparently for the uninformed such as myself, this game consisted of Aimee pushing the button to turn the light on and she would say "good morning!" and then after a few pleasantries were exchanged among them of previous night's slumber, etc. it would then be time for her to push the button again and make it dark thus, "good night" and they would all start to snore. Apparently this went on for some time, never boring the participants in the least.
Saturday was a low key day. We took the girls to a restaurant in Plymouth called Plane Janes which is at the municipal airport and they watched planes come and go as we ate breakfast. Then we headed to Toys R Us for a bit to pick up birthday presents for our nieces. We came home, played in the yard and then I went back to the consignment sale with my mom to help break down where we organize the unsold items back to the consigners and put together the items that people decided to donate. After almost 4 hours of this work, we decided we had put in our volunteer time and took off.
Today I washed and dried all the clothes I bought from the sale, went to the mall to pick up cards to go with above mentioned birthday presents and came home to finish putting it all away while the girls napped. Then we headed out to the birthday party where the girls had a fantastic time.
So now it is late on Sunday night, I have all of our lunches packed for tomorrow and a lot of work to do when I get into the office tomorrow. So I hope you all had great weekends and enjoyed this last day of summer. Here is the fall!
So this past Friday, we started out early as I had a doctor appointment at 10:30 so we took our Papa with us and armed with snacks I left the girls and Papa in the car while I went into the DR. About 45 minutes later I emerged with a clean bill of health for another year. I also arrived to three people having a great time in the car listening to music and playing various games. The girls so love their Papa. We then headed grocery shopping for Papa to visit his favorite grocery store, a little place called Roxies. The man walks out of this little hole in the wall with the best of produce and meats for under $40 ready to feed a small army. They were celebrating their 50th anniversary (obviously they are doing something right) this week and they had some wonderful sales on local produce, seafood and dairy items. He had a blast; partially from the great deals he got but more so from his shopping partner, Nicole who whips things over her shoulder into his carriage whether he wants them or not. Suffice to say if he tries to stop her from taking certain items he may not want in his cart, a smallish tantrum comes about wherein her favorite doll is thrown to the floor. So it was his best judgement to keep her happy and unload unwanted items to the checkout lady.
We left Roxies and dropped Papa off to his DR appointment where Nana was going to pick him up. From there we headed home for quick naps (the girls, not me, unfortunately) and then Nana came from Papa's DR appointment and to our house so that she could stay with Nicole while I took Aimee to her first Ballet/tap lesson. I took these lessons when I was Aimee's age. In fact I can still remember being a munchkin in my first recital. I also remember one girl's mother watching us in a rehearsal and crying at the end of it. At the time it struck me as odd because in my short life at the time, crying for me was when I was unhappy and this mother was trying to tell her daughter how happy she was and that in fact was the reason behind her tears. I gave a big shrug and never thought of it again until this past Friday. The lessons started last week but we were not able to start with the rest of the class. So this week the teacher let me look on as Aimee did her thing with her classmates and one of her new friends took her hand to lead her across the floor, I had to wipe a tear away from my eye. It is amazing to me how life comes full circle and goes around. Aimee of course loved her lessons and even learned her right from her left or as the teacher told her (Lenny and Ralph...ingenious).
So after we left our ballet lessons for the day, we went home, changed her out of her leotard and tights and got Nicole, Nana and Papa together again and off we went to the consignment presale. Gary was at a networking event that he didn't want to miss, thus the 5 of us trotting around together in the Yukon. So, Nana (mom) and I went into the sale and were a bit overwhelmed by all of the people in there but were able to score some good fall clothes for the girls as well as aforementioned snow suit and some snow boots. For about $100 I easily picked up a load of clothes that would have cost 3 times that. When we came out of the sale, I saw that Papa, Aimee and Nicole were having a rousing game of wake up! go to sleep! Apparently for the uninformed such as myself, this game consisted of Aimee pushing the button to turn the light on and she would say "good morning!" and then after a few pleasantries were exchanged among them of previous night's slumber, etc. it would then be time for her to push the button again and make it dark thus, "good night" and they would all start to snore. Apparently this went on for some time, never boring the participants in the least.
Saturday was a low key day. We took the girls to a restaurant in Plymouth called Plane Janes which is at the municipal airport and they watched planes come and go as we ate breakfast. Then we headed to Toys R Us for a bit to pick up birthday presents for our nieces. We came home, played in the yard and then I went back to the consignment sale with my mom to help break down where we organize the unsold items back to the consigners and put together the items that people decided to donate. After almost 4 hours of this work, we decided we had put in our volunteer time and took off.
Today I washed and dried all the clothes I bought from the sale, went to the mall to pick up cards to go with above mentioned birthday presents and came home to finish putting it all away while the girls napped. Then we headed out to the birthday party where the girls had a fantastic time.
So now it is late on Sunday night, I have all of our lunches packed for tomorrow and a lot of work to do when I get into the office tomorrow. So I hope you all had great weekends and enjoyed this last day of summer. Here is the fall!
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Serious Attitudes
I have noticed lately that people seem to have a total sense of entitlement. I mean it is even with simple things like waiting at a red light. Back in the days of drivers education I learned that red means stop, not go. You come to a red light, you stop. Heck, you come to a yellow light you are supposed to stop but I have been known to step on it a tad just to get through it, so I am not casting stones on that one. But yesterday I was going to a friends house with the girls and while waiting at a light the person directly across from me decided that she had waited long enough and since no one was coming the other way that it would be okay to just go through the red light. Admittedly she did it with ease and no adverse effects were seen, but come on. Are we too busy with life that we can't even wait to follow the law of stopping for a red light?
I wish I could say that it was only affecting (or is it effecting? I never was good with this particular point in grammar) place that I see these attitudes. I also seem to see them in grocery stores. Hello? Grocery stores. Yes, the friendly grocer down the way also known as Stop and Shop. The other day I lined up all of my groceries from my sports car shopping cart that my girls were ferociously driving and the checker who was all of about 16 stopped the manager on his way past and said (true story here...) can I take my break now? Um, I just unloaded about $150 worth of groceries and you are honestly asking if you can just walk away before you start running it through that little beeper thing where it reads the barcodes? The manager looked at him, then at me and shrugged his shoulders and said, "when Shelly gets back." I mean really, if the manager had said yes I would have been left there with this kid not caring at all just so long as he got his break. And can I take this moment to say that I have worked a few jobs in my day and I can't remember getting a break with any of them. So, then when I remarked that he didn't credit me for my 6 green bags that I brought in, he carelessly said, "oh, do you want me to just give you the 30 cents?" I realize that to this little snot that 30 cents isn't a lot of money and okay I will admit that I have more than that rolling around in the ashtray of my car, but for goodness sake, what is up? It is the store's policy that if you bring in any reusable bag, you get a credit of 5 cents per bag. I am not making it up, your employer is, give me my damn money for hauling two kids and 6 green bags in with me. Sheesh.
I wish I could afford to buy all of my groceries at Trader Joe's. They have THE NICEST people working there. I wonder if they make them take a test prior to being hired wherein they list the adverse conditions they could possibly face during the day and how they would handle them because the crew they have in there have the right attitude. Both of my kids get stickers and balloons in Trader Joe's and as a mother, anyone who helps me out or shows the slightest kindness to me or the kids while I am shopping gets a thumbs up in my book.
I also wish that I could tell you that it is only complete strangers giving me attitude lately but sadly it has followed me home by way of my own three year old. Yes, we have serious attitude going on right now and simple questions I ask of her like "why did you take every single book out of your bookcase?" is met with the "Because I wanted to." Can't argue with that can you? I was very upset with Aimee the other day because she decided it would be a good idea to take her sister's heels and drag her by them off of my bed. So when I heard a big thud and a loud scream as I was just feet away in my bathroom I asked her "what did you do?" To which she looked me straight in the eye while still holding her sister's heels and said "nufing" (preschooler speak for nothing if you didn't get it). So I proceeded to tell her, we don't do that to Nicole, she can get very hurt by that. And I swear to God, Aimee looked at me and with a bit of a glare said "don't tell me what to do." Three years old people. Three. I thought I had at least until teen years to hear those words come out of her mouth. Suffice to say that was a bad day leaving Aimee in her room more times than she was out.
Of course the good days are also just as prevalent as the bad ones where she is my little side kick and helps me whenever I ask. But it's the days like above that I describe where you wonder, what have I gotten myself into and how am I going to make it? I now have no preconceived notion or discontempt for how others mother. If you need to scream at your child in the middle of the frozen food aisle to get them back into your shopping cart so you can just get the rest of your grocerys, get out of the store and strap them back into their car seats for a few minutes of sanity, I let you be and make no judgement. Because typically this episode is probably not the first of the day for that child but most likely one of the many of the day.
In other news, preschool has been off to a great start and Aimee loves it. I feel a bit sad for Nicole though. Aimee is at a new school, taking swimming lessons and just signed up for ballet/tap class and then there is poor Nicole just waiting in the wings. I don't really know if I should sign her up for a music class with me or something but I feel as though she has been watching Aimee do all of these fun things and I should do something with her, I just need to figure out where I can fit in that one little tidbit in our days. Stay tuned for what I decide to do.
Also for those of you on the edge of your seats, another 1-1/4 pounds lost in WW for a total of about 4 I think. I used to be able to lose that much in a week and now it has taken me a month. What gives? Whatever, at least I haven't gained 4 pounds on it, as I have done that in the past in my first weeks as well.
I wish I could say that it was only affecting (or is it effecting? I never was good with this particular point in grammar) place that I see these attitudes. I also seem to see them in grocery stores. Hello? Grocery stores. Yes, the friendly grocer down the way also known as Stop and Shop. The other day I lined up all of my groceries from my sports car shopping cart that my girls were ferociously driving and the checker who was all of about 16 stopped the manager on his way past and said (true story here...) can I take my break now? Um, I just unloaded about $150 worth of groceries and you are honestly asking if you can just walk away before you start running it through that little beeper thing where it reads the barcodes? The manager looked at him, then at me and shrugged his shoulders and said, "when Shelly gets back." I mean really, if the manager had said yes I would have been left there with this kid not caring at all just so long as he got his break. And can I take this moment to say that I have worked a few jobs in my day and I can't remember getting a break with any of them. So, then when I remarked that he didn't credit me for my 6 green bags that I brought in, he carelessly said, "oh, do you want me to just give you the 30 cents?" I realize that to this little snot that 30 cents isn't a lot of money and okay I will admit that I have more than that rolling around in the ashtray of my car, but for goodness sake, what is up? It is the store's policy that if you bring in any reusable bag, you get a credit of 5 cents per bag. I am not making it up, your employer is, give me my damn money for hauling two kids and 6 green bags in with me. Sheesh.
I wish I could afford to buy all of my groceries at Trader Joe's. They have THE NICEST people working there. I wonder if they make them take a test prior to being hired wherein they list the adverse conditions they could possibly face during the day and how they would handle them because the crew they have in there have the right attitude. Both of my kids get stickers and balloons in Trader Joe's and as a mother, anyone who helps me out or shows the slightest kindness to me or the kids while I am shopping gets a thumbs up in my book.
I also wish that I could tell you that it is only complete strangers giving me attitude lately but sadly it has followed me home by way of my own three year old. Yes, we have serious attitude going on right now and simple questions I ask of her like "why did you take every single book out of your bookcase?" is met with the "Because I wanted to." Can't argue with that can you? I was very upset with Aimee the other day because she decided it would be a good idea to take her sister's heels and drag her by them off of my bed. So when I heard a big thud and a loud scream as I was just feet away in my bathroom I asked her "what did you do?" To which she looked me straight in the eye while still holding her sister's heels and said "nufing" (preschooler speak for nothing if you didn't get it). So I proceeded to tell her, we don't do that to Nicole, she can get very hurt by that. And I swear to God, Aimee looked at me and with a bit of a glare said "don't tell me what to do." Three years old people. Three. I thought I had at least until teen years to hear those words come out of her mouth. Suffice to say that was a bad day leaving Aimee in her room more times than she was out.
Of course the good days are also just as prevalent as the bad ones where she is my little side kick and helps me whenever I ask. But it's the days like above that I describe where you wonder, what have I gotten myself into and how am I going to make it? I now have no preconceived notion or discontempt for how others mother. If you need to scream at your child in the middle of the frozen food aisle to get them back into your shopping cart so you can just get the rest of your grocerys, get out of the store and strap them back into their car seats for a few minutes of sanity, I let you be and make no judgement. Because typically this episode is probably not the first of the day for that child but most likely one of the many of the day.
In other news, preschool has been off to a great start and Aimee loves it. I feel a bit sad for Nicole though. Aimee is at a new school, taking swimming lessons and just signed up for ballet/tap class and then there is poor Nicole just waiting in the wings. I don't really know if I should sign her up for a music class with me or something but I feel as though she has been watching Aimee do all of these fun things and I should do something with her, I just need to figure out where I can fit in that one little tidbit in our days. Stay tuned for what I decide to do.
Also for those of you on the edge of your seats, another 1-1/4 pounds lost in WW for a total of about 4 I think. I used to be able to lose that much in a week and now it has taken me a month. What gives? Whatever, at least I haven't gained 4 pounds on it, as I have done that in the past in my first weeks as well.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Back to school
Oh the busy life of a part time everything. It seems that the end of the summer and beginning of the school year always brings about new schedules. Even when I was not in school I found that I would have to change my own schedule for things like commute to work, time at the grocery store, etc. etc. when the start of school began. The commute to work is totally different. I used to be able to leave the house by 7:30 and get to work by 8:30 but now, forget it I won't get there until almost 9:30 so I need to leave by 7 at the latest. The grocery store is just off limits on Sundays with the deli line wrapped around the produce section by other mothers buying the contents of the kids lunches.
I actually took the T to work on Monday. Gary had to have his car fixed and instead of wasting money on a rental car we decided we could manage with one car for a few days. So Gary and the girls dropped me off at the choo-choo in Braintree and I took the mass transit to work. I hate to admit that I rather enjoyed it. I was able to read a book without falling asleep and without someone taking my book mark. I forgot how many books I used to read. I also got to work in record time, though I am not naive enough to think that this happens everyday. I am not that far removed from the T that I think it is always the fastest option. There have been plenty of days when it takes twice as long on the train. I also realized how much walking I used to get in when I took the train.
The first 6 years that I worked in Cambridge I took the train to work everyday. Then I got a spot in the work garage when I was getting my masters at Tufts and with the late nights and logistics of getting to and from work and school all at the same time, having a car just made sense. Now with the girls it is fastest to get home when I need to by car. But I am also just sitting on my ass the entire ride into work in the car with the only steps from my house to the car door and from the car door to the office door. But by train, I had to walk up all the steps to the train door at Braintree and then again at Kendall Square. Then walk another 15 minutes to the office. It was actually an invigorating way to start the day. Granted I was sweating and panted at my desk for a good 10 minutes after I sat down.
In other news, Aimee started preschool on Tuesday. They gave us 10 minute intervals for us to go in and see her classroom. It was set up so that we could overlap with the child before us and after us. So we met a little boy named Griffin and a little girl named Ava. Griffin was pretty excited about going to preschool but Ava was preoccupied making sure that her mother was not going to leave her. I stepped out of the classroom for a minute and Aimee never even blinked an eye at me. I think she will be fine going for a few hours without me seeing as how it took a lot of arm twisting to get her out of there. I did tell her that she should be sure to talk to Ava because she will be missing her mommy the first day. So we'll see how it goes again tomorrow. I will drop her off and Gary will pick her up. They have a nice little one way mirror that I can look at her without her seeing that I am looking forward to using. And a little shout out to my husband with this whole school/kid thing.
We had a parent night last week for her pre-school (where I saw an old crush from high school, who's daughter is going to the same school but a different class) and there was definately way more moms there than dads. I am sure that some of the parents had already been through this the year before since many of the parents there have kids starting another year at the school since it has both 3 and 4 year old classrooms, but I was still thankful to have Gary there to do it with me.
In other news, I have picked one zucchini, one summer squash, one cucumber (do you see a theme here) and one spaghetti squash from my garden. Not quite a rousing success but still I was happy with my little crop. There are a whole lot of tomotoes out there but they are of the green variety. Here's hoping that the sun remains strong enough for the next few weeks to ripen them up.
Also, I am down another 3/4 of a pound on Weight Watchers. I know it would go better if I could get to the gym regularly but I haven't gotten that part of my schedule down yet.
I actually took the T to work on Monday. Gary had to have his car fixed and instead of wasting money on a rental car we decided we could manage with one car for a few days. So Gary and the girls dropped me off at the choo-choo in Braintree and I took the mass transit to work. I hate to admit that I rather enjoyed it. I was able to read a book without falling asleep and without someone taking my book mark. I forgot how many books I used to read. I also got to work in record time, though I am not naive enough to think that this happens everyday. I am not that far removed from the T that I think it is always the fastest option. There have been plenty of days when it takes twice as long on the train. I also realized how much walking I used to get in when I took the train.
The first 6 years that I worked in Cambridge I took the train to work everyday. Then I got a spot in the work garage when I was getting my masters at Tufts and with the late nights and logistics of getting to and from work and school all at the same time, having a car just made sense. Now with the girls it is fastest to get home when I need to by car. But I am also just sitting on my ass the entire ride into work in the car with the only steps from my house to the car door and from the car door to the office door. But by train, I had to walk up all the steps to the train door at Braintree and then again at Kendall Square. Then walk another 15 minutes to the office. It was actually an invigorating way to start the day. Granted I was sweating and panted at my desk for a good 10 minutes after I sat down.
In other news, Aimee started preschool on Tuesday. They gave us 10 minute intervals for us to go in and see her classroom. It was set up so that we could overlap with the child before us and after us. So we met a little boy named Griffin and a little girl named Ava. Griffin was pretty excited about going to preschool but Ava was preoccupied making sure that her mother was not going to leave her. I stepped out of the classroom for a minute and Aimee never even blinked an eye at me. I think she will be fine going for a few hours without me seeing as how it took a lot of arm twisting to get her out of there. I did tell her that she should be sure to talk to Ava because she will be missing her mommy the first day. So we'll see how it goes again tomorrow. I will drop her off and Gary will pick her up. They have a nice little one way mirror that I can look at her without her seeing that I am looking forward to using. And a little shout out to my husband with this whole school/kid thing.
We had a parent night last week for her pre-school (where I saw an old crush from high school, who's daughter is going to the same school but a different class) and there was definately way more moms there than dads. I am sure that some of the parents had already been through this the year before since many of the parents there have kids starting another year at the school since it has both 3 and 4 year old classrooms, but I was still thankful to have Gary there to do it with me.
In other news, I have picked one zucchini, one summer squash, one cucumber (do you see a theme here) and one spaghetti squash from my garden. Not quite a rousing success but still I was happy with my little crop. There are a whole lot of tomotoes out there but they are of the green variety. Here's hoping that the sun remains strong enough for the next few weeks to ripen them up.
Also, I am down another 3/4 of a pound on Weight Watchers. I know it would go better if I could get to the gym regularly but I haven't gotten that part of my schedule down yet.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
What is the fascination?
For some reason all children seem to have a fascination with balls. Now you can get your head out of the gutter...I am talking the round toy variety. We have just about 100 balls in our house. I know this because I recently tried to organize our toys here. I ended up cleaning out our toy boxes and rooms and rid ourselves of some older less used toys. It was in this toy cleaning mission that led me to my discovery of just how many balls we have in our house. We have the typical outdoor variety of swirled pastel colors, wiffle balls for the t-ball set up here, some fun squirty ones that we have for the pool, little ones that rattle, some that go round and round in other toys, you get the drift.
So I organized our toys as best as one can with two active little girls with fantastic imaginations that like to stuff things into pocketbooks. One of the bins I reserved just for balls and I was amazed at how many I ended up putting into it. Now comes the love of all things round. The first thing that my kids do each morning it seems is to empty out this one bin of balls. I can't figure out why they do this. It's very intriguing to me.
Outside in the yard we have a few bigger balls to play with. Again it is fascinating to me to see the girls play with these balls too. Especially to see how the hand eye coordination comes together for them. Kicking a ball is something I have probably always taken for granted as something you just do, but apparently it is yet another milestone for children. Learning to throw, kick and hit a ball are all gross motor skills they have to learn. Who knew? Reason #1502 for why I am again not going to get mother of the year award.
In other news, we finished our long weekend away in New Hampshire. We did Storyland again and I am afraid we may have scarred Aimee for life by taking her on the log flume ride. She loved all of it until she got wet. She will get knee deep in sand and dirt and get any type of food on her shirt. But when the slightest bit of anything wet gets on her pants or shirt she wants to immediately change her outfit. Another toddler/preschooler quirk I have found.
We also had a family first for us. We all slept together in one room while in NH. We have access to a family house that my parents built forever ago before they had us kids. However, this weekend both my parents and my brother and sister in law were up there as well. So we were in one room with a double bed, pack and play and aerobed. This is the first time Aimee has slept in a bed without a side rail. Of course the bed was technically on the floor and to be completely honest we did find her at one point face down on the floor after rolling the 6 inches off the mattress, but she did a great job with it overall.
Next up for us is preschool. We go to a parent orientation on Thursday and then a visitation day next Tuesday to gear up for the big start next Thursday. So we'll see how it goes. Why oh why do I have these terrible visions of Mister Mom where I go the wrong way for drop off and pick up? Stay tuned for our adventures in preschool.
As for my own quest, I am down 2 lbs from last week at this time. So it's a start. Not quite what they see on the biggest loser but then again I don't have 4-6 hours to devote to exercising everyday.
So I organized our toys as best as one can with two active little girls with fantastic imaginations that like to stuff things into pocketbooks. One of the bins I reserved just for balls and I was amazed at how many I ended up putting into it. Now comes the love of all things round. The first thing that my kids do each morning it seems is to empty out this one bin of balls. I can't figure out why they do this. It's very intriguing to me.
Outside in the yard we have a few bigger balls to play with. Again it is fascinating to me to see the girls play with these balls too. Especially to see how the hand eye coordination comes together for them. Kicking a ball is something I have probably always taken for granted as something you just do, but apparently it is yet another milestone for children. Learning to throw, kick and hit a ball are all gross motor skills they have to learn. Who knew? Reason #1502 for why I am again not going to get mother of the year award.
In other news, we finished our long weekend away in New Hampshire. We did Storyland again and I am afraid we may have scarred Aimee for life by taking her on the log flume ride. She loved all of it until she got wet. She will get knee deep in sand and dirt and get any type of food on her shirt. But when the slightest bit of anything wet gets on her pants or shirt she wants to immediately change her outfit. Another toddler/preschooler quirk I have found.
We also had a family first for us. We all slept together in one room while in NH. We have access to a family house that my parents built forever ago before they had us kids. However, this weekend both my parents and my brother and sister in law were up there as well. So we were in one room with a double bed, pack and play and aerobed. This is the first time Aimee has slept in a bed without a side rail. Of course the bed was technically on the floor and to be completely honest we did find her at one point face down on the floor after rolling the 6 inches off the mattress, but she did a great job with it overall.
Next up for us is preschool. We go to a parent orientation on Thursday and then a visitation day next Tuesday to gear up for the big start next Thursday. So we'll see how it goes. Why oh why do I have these terrible visions of Mister Mom where I go the wrong way for drop off and pick up? Stay tuned for our adventures in preschool.
As for my own quest, I am down 2 lbs from last week at this time. So it's a start. Not quite what they see on the biggest loser but then again I don't have 4-6 hours to devote to exercising everyday.
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